Corporate Travel Management Limited (ASX:CTD), which is in the hospitality business, and is based in Australia, saw a significant share price rise of over 20% in the past couple of months on the ASX. As a stock with high coverage by analysts, you could assume any recent changes in the companys outlook is already priced into the stock. However, could the stock still be trading at a relatively cheap price? Lets take a look at Corporate Travel Managements outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if the opportunity still exists. Check out our latest analysis for Corporate Travel Management What is Corporate Travel Management worth? The stock is currently trading at AU$22.15 on the share market, which means it is overvalued by 50% compared to my intrinsic value of A$14.81. 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 Corporate Travel Managements 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. Can we expect growth from Corporate Travel Management? ASX:CTD Past and Future Earnings, January 19th 2020 Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. Although value investors would argue that its the intrinsic value relative to the price that matter the most, a more compelling investment thesis would be high growth potential at a cheap price. Corporate Travel Managements earnings over the next few years are expected to increase by 56%, indicating a highly optimistic future ahead. This should lead to more robust cash flows, feeding into a higher share value. What this means for you: Are you a shareholder? CTDs optimistic future growth appears to have been factored into the current share price, with shares trading above its fair value. At this current price, shareholders may be asking a different question should I sell? If you believe CTD should trade below its current price, selling high and buying it back up again when its price falls towards its real value can be profitable. But before you make this decision, take a look at whether its fundamentals have changed. Story continues Are you a potential investor? If youve been keeping tabs on CTD for some time, now may not be the best time to enter into the stock. The price has surpassed its true value, which means theres no upside from mispricing. However, the optimistic prospect is encouraging for CTD, 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 Corporate Travel Management. You can find everything you need to know about Corporate Travel Management in the latest infographic research report. If you are no longer interested in Corporate Travel Management, 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. World News: UN warns of ''much extreme weather'' ahead after hottest decade on record January 20,2020 | Source: Outlook India The past decade has been the hottest on record, the UN said Wednesday, warning that the higher temperatures were expected to fuel numerous extreme weather events in 2020 and beyond. The World Meteorological Organisation, which based its findings on analysis of leading international datasets, said it also confirmed data released by the European Union''s climate monitor last week showing that last year was the second hottest on record, after 2016. "The year 2020 has started out where 2019 left off -- with high-impact weather and climate-related events," WMO chief Petteri Taalas said in a statement, pointing in particular to the devastating bushfires in Australia. "Unfortunately, we expect to see much extreme weather throughout 2020 and the coming decades, fuelled by record levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere," he said. The UN agency said that average global temperatures during both the past five-year (2015-2019) and 10-year (2010-2019) periods were the highest ever recorded. "Since the 1980s each decade has been warmer than the previous one," the UN agency said in a statement, warning that "this trend is expected to continue". The United Nations said last year that man-made greenhouse gas emissions needed to tumble 7.6 per cent each year to 2030 in order to limit temperature rises to 1.5C -- the more ambitious cap nations signed up to in the landmark Paris climate deal. Current pledges to cut emissions put Earth on a path of several degrees warming by the end of the century. Taalas on Wednesday said that since modern records began in 1850, the average global temperature had risen by around 1.1 degrees Celsius, and warned of significant warming in the future. "On the current path of carbon dioxide emissions, we are heading towards a temperature increase of three to five degrees Celsius by the end of the century," he warned. WMO also pointed to a new study published this week in Advances in Atmospheric Sciences with data showing that ocean heat content was at a record high in 2019. The past five years, and past decade were also the warmest on record in terms of ocean heat content, that study showed. Since more than 90 percent of excess heat is stored within the world''s oceans, their heat content is a good way to quantify the rate of global warming, WMO said. Scientists stressed the urgent need to do more to counter the warming trend. "If we look at all the impacts around the world that are now occurring as a result of this warming, it is obvious that we are not succeeding in preventing dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system," said Bob Ward of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science. PR-Inside.com: 2020-01-20 14:10:37 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 559 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / January 20, 2020 / Black Tusk Resources Inc. ("Black Tusk" or the "Company) (CNSX:TUSK)(OTC PINK:BTKRF)(Frankfurt:0NB) is pleased to announce the contracting of Geophysique TMC to complete magnetometer surveying over the McKenzie East Project located 30 kilometres north of Val d'Or, Quebec. The survey will utilize Vision 4K unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV-drone) technology with a Scintrex Cs-Vl Cesium Vapor magnetometer to obtain magnetic data over the property. The survey is expected to be undertaken later this month. The majority of the claims will be covered at 50 metre line spacing.Regional magnetic surveying (SIGEOM) indicates a correlation between anomalous magnetic response and locations of mineralized showings. The upcoming drone-supported magnetic survey will provide high resolution data to assist in surface exploration and target definition for eventual diamond drilling.The property is dominated by intrusive rocks regionally mapped as Archean quartz diorite, granodiorite and tonalite. The northeast portion of the property is underlain by volcanoclastic rocks of andesite to rhyolite composition. The general geologic trend, including regionally mapped faults, is northwest to southeast across the project area.Nine historic drill holes plot within the McKenzie East Project claims (see News Release dated December 3,2019). The data shows a range of 0.1 to 2.2 grams per tonne gold in intercepts of 0.3 to 1.8 metres downhole width (true widths unknown).The most advanced project in the immediate area of McKenzie East Project is the McKenzie Break Project of Manarques Gold Corporation. At the McKenzie Break, gold mineralization is reported as visually distinctive 1 centimeter to 2 metre wide quartz-carbonate veins and vein complexes containing gold. A 2018 Technical Report prepared for Monarques Gold(1) includes a mineral resource estimate with a pit constrained indicated resource summarized as 939,860 metric tons (tonnes) at a grade of 1.59 g/t, and an underground indicated resource of 281,739 tonnes at a grade of 5.90 g/t, with an inferred resource for underground deposit of 270,103 tonnes at 5.66 g/t. The reader is cautioned that resources that exist on adjacent properties are not necessarily indicative of potential on the Black Tusk - McKenzie East Project.1 (NI 43-101 Technical Report on the McKenzie Break Project, April 17, 2018, Alain-Jean Beauregard, P.Geo., andDaniel Gaudreault, Eng., of Geologica Groupe-Conseil Inc. and Christian D'Amours, P.Geo., of GeoPointCom Inc.).On behalf of the Board of DirectorsRichard PennCEO(778) 384-8923Cautionary StatementThis press release contains forward-looking statements based on assumptions as of that date. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations; they are not guarantees of future performance. The Company cautions that all forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to exploration and development; the ability of the Company to obtain additional financing; the Company's limited operating history; the need to comply with environmental and governmental regulations; fluctuations in the prices of commodities; operating hazards and risks; competition and other risks and uncertainties, including those described in the Company's Prospectus dated September 8, 2017 available on www.sedar.com . Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions, and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions, and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information.SOURCE: Black Tusk Resources Inc The Duke of Sussex has met Boris Johnson and other world leaders attending the UK-Africa Investment Summit just hours after saying he had no other option but to step back from royal life. Harry carried out what is likely to be one of his few remaining official engagements before the Sussexes take a leap of faith and leave the monarchy for a new life in Canada, with the freedom to take on commercial ventures. Looking relaxed and wearing a suit, shirt and tie the duke arrived at Londons Docklands where Mr Johnson was hosting the global event. The Prime Minister and the duke had an informal catch-up chat, meeting for 20 minutes one-to-one without any aides present. Harry gave an emotional speech on Sunday night where he told the truth about leaving royal duties behind in a bid for a more peaceful life for his family. His comments came after Buckingham Palace released the outcome of talks between the Queen, Prince of Wales, Duke of Cambridge and Harry over the future role of the Sussexes. Harry and Meghan had wanted to remain as working royals, although not prominent members, and drop their public funding so they could become financially independent a dual role many commentators said was fraught with problems. Expand Close The Sussexes had wanted to remain as working royals PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The Sussexes had wanted to remain as working royals But in a statement issued on Saturday after royal family talks concluded, the Sussexes announced they will stop carrying out royal duties from the spring, no longer use HRH and will repay the taxpayers millions spent on their Berkshire home. Critics have accused the couple of turning their backs on the monarchy in order to enjoy the freedom that being able to take on commercial ventures brings. During the talks, all options were on the table and the Evening Standard has reported the Queen had the choice of stripping Harry of his dukedom and using one of his lesser titles. The newspaper quoted a source as saying it was seriously considered but another source told the PA news agency this was categorically untrue. The discussions to resolve the crisis between officials and members of the royal family were described as extremely friendly and constructive when they ended. Expand Close The duke spent 20 minutes chatting with the Prime Minister (Stefan Rousseau/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The duke spent 20 minutes chatting with the Prime Minister (Stefan Rousseau/PA) In a speech at a private event for his charity Sentebale on Sunday night in London, Harry told invited guests: What I want to make clear is were not walking away, and we certainly arent walking away from you. Our hope was to continue serving the Queen, the Commonwealth, and my military associations, but without public funding. Unfortunately, that wasnt possible. Ive accepted this, knowing that it doesnt change who I am or how committed I am. But I hope that helps you understand what it had to come to, that I would step my family back from all I have ever known, to take a step forward into what I hope can be a more peaceful life. "My work and commitment for this charity, that I founded 14 years ago now, will never falter," Sentebale Co-Founding Patron, The Duke of Sussex, told the audience at a special event held by Sentebale and hosted by The Caring Foundation. pic.twitter.com/FsCEFQCBvH @Sentebale (@Sentebale) January 19, 2020 The duke was not officially attending the summit but was holding audiences one-to-one meetings with a number of foreign leaders at the request of the UK Government. Harry sat down to talks with Saad-Eddine El Othmani, prime minister of Morocco, Peter Mutharika, president of Malawi and Filipe Nyusi, president of Mozambique. Speaking last week before the outcome of the royal talks were known, Mr Johnson said he was absolutely confident the royal family could resolve the crisis. Mr Johnson told BBC Breakfast: My view on this is very straightforward: I am a massive fan like most of our viewers of the Queen and the royal family as a fantastic asset for our country. Im absolutely confident that they are going to sort this out. It is likely the Government asked Harry to meet the world leaders because he has a keen interest in the continent and the royal family employ what is known as soft diplomacy to help strengthen Britains ties with her allies. But in a few months the duke will no longer be representing the UK in an official capacity and events like the UK-Africa Investment Summit will only be open to him as a guest. Questions have been raised about how Harry and Meghan will continue with their Sussex Royal brand when they cease being working royals. This issue and other questions including funding for the couple and their son Archies protection have yet to be resolved. New Delhi, Jan 20 : The Saket court in Delhi on Monday convicted 19 accused, including high-profile Brajesh Thakur, in connection with the alleged sexual and physical assaults on girl inmates at a shelter home in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district. Thakur is the owner of an NGO, Sewa Sankalp Evam Vikas Samiti. The Muzaffarpur case relates to a shelter home that ran under Sewa Sankalp Evam Vikas Samiti, where cases of sexual abuse, rape and torture were reported. In a medical examination, sexual abuse of 34 out of 42 inmates living at the shelter was confirmed. A first information report was lodged against 12 people on May 31, 2018. Mercure Dubai Barsha Heights Hotel Suites and Apartments shakes things up with its new meeting spaces called 4041 that encourages visitors to take their business discussions out of the usual boardroom and into a brighter, livelier setting. The four-star hotel on Sheikh Zayed Road has created a completely unique space for hosting a variety of events by combining two levels of the property 40 and 41 to create a large and flexible duplex that houses eight remarkable meeting rooms. The customisable spaces are set along both faces of the building, offering panoramic views of the city or sea irrespective of which room you are in. The meeting rooms have the added convenience of being able to be booked with adjacent ones for additional space and the possibility of using one of four urban-cool lounges that also can be modified to meet the needs of any style of event. The brand-new meeting space is designed to inspire, whether it is for a training session, conference call or just a change of scene. Each room features plenty of natural daylight and comes with high-quality AV equipment, outstanding catering, and a capacity to accommodate 20 to 100 persons The distinctive Mercure feature of putting up locally inspired art can be seen throughout 4041. The walls are decorated with large customised sketches of old and new Dubai cityscapes, a motif that continues throughout the hotels newly launched suites as well. Only a few steps from Dubai Internet City Metro station, Mercure Dubai Barsha Heights is a popular choice for meetings and corporate events in the city due to its excellent location on Sheikh Zayed Road. The property also enjoys proximity to key business districts such as Internet City, Media City and Knowledge Village, which adds to the convenience of hosting a corporate event at 4041. In addition to being just a minutes walk in the shade from the metro exit, the hotel also has easy access to the Monorail, Tram and the Dubai International Airport. Naseer Thodi, general manager at Mercure Dubai Barsha Heights, said: Where you work can impact how productive and innovative you can be, and the days of soulless meeting rooms are long gone. At Mercure Dubai Barsha Heights, we know first-hand how exciting surroundings can act as a catalyst for productivity. Hosting your next event at the bright and spacious 4041, along with spectacular views of the city, is sure to make brilliant things happen. With the launch of 4041, businesses operating in Dubai can forget about being trapped for hours within four boring white walls. These event spaces have something unusual to offer from catering concepts to excellent views and convenient location. - TradeArabia News Service 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. RIO DE JANEIRO - At least 26 inmates escaped from a prison in northern Brazil on Monday, according to authorities, a day after 75 men broke out of a prison in neighbouring Paraguay. The prisoners made a hole in the wall of a cell and used sheets twisted and tied together to scale the outer wall of the prison in Rio Branco, Acre states Justice and Public Security Secretariat said. The Brazilian newspaper O Globo reported the escapees were from the same gang involved in Sundays escape in Paraguay, the notorious First Capital Command, though officials did not confirm that. Meanwhile, Brazilian police said they had recaptured at least one of the 75 inmates who fled the prison in Pedro Juan Caballero, Paraguay, on Sunday. He wasnt identified. Forty of those escapees are Brazilians. Yes, its beginning to look a lot like Christmaswhich, for many of us, feels like a rush into chaos. Celebrating Advent during this season slows us down and helps our hearts and minds be reoriented around the coming of Christ.Yes, its beginning to look a lot like Christmaswhich, for many of us, feels like a rush into chaos. Celebrating Advent during this season slows us down and helps our hearts and minds be reoriented around the coming of Christ. Visitors to the Alley of Martyrs in Baku pay tribute to the martyrs of the "Black January" massacre in 1990. / Embassy of Azerbaijan This article was contributed by the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Korea. ED. On Jan. 20, 1990, the Central Soviet authorities perpetrated an atrocious crime against Azerbaijani people. On that day the Soviet Army stormed Baku capital of Azerbaijan to punish people rallied on the streets protesting against violations of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity. Special Soviet troops using heavy offensive weapons, including tanks and armored vehicles, occupied the city. As a result of punitive actions 147 civilians were killed and around 800 wounded, hundreds of people were arrested and subjected to various forms of physical pressure. Among victims were a seven-year old boy, a girl, 16, a man, 80, a young doctor shot in an ambulance while helping another victim, and many other civilians of different nationalities. This massacre entered Azerbaijan's history as "Black January." The strong indignation and protest of the people of Azerbaijan was caused by the prejudiced and biased policy of the Communist Party and the government of the Soviet Union toward the people of Azerbaijan. Soviet authorities' connivance at the Armenian expansionists, who claimed part of the territory of Azerbaijan, compelled the people of Azerbaijan to defend their country's territorial integrity. The policy of the Soviet leaders led also to the expulsion in 1988-1989 of 200,000 Azerbaijanis from Armenia. Not one sector of the Soviet mass media mentioned this crime, and the tragedy of the Azerbaijanis in Armenia passed in silence. Bloody events from 1988 to 1990 and the tragedy of Black January ushered in a tragic chapter in the policy of mass persecution and ethnic cleansing against Azerbaijanis, which had been executed primarily in Armenia, and in Azerbaijan itself by Armenian nationalists, dashnaks and their patrons from the Soviet Communist leadership at the beginning of the last century. People took to the streets to voice their legitimate protest against violations of the territorial integrity of their homeland by Armenia that was openly supported by the then soviet leadership, namely Michael Gorbachov and his close political and economic advisers of Armenian nationality like Aganbegyan, Shaghnazarov, Tsitaryan, etc. In the fall of 1989, the independence movement in Azerbaijan had reached incredible momentum with hundreds of thousands of people demonstrating for the ideals of freedom, independence and sovereignty. Clearly, the Soviet Army descended on Baku simply because the Kremlin was determined "to restore order" and return the status-quo to keep the regime of the Soviet Empire alive in Azerbaijan and anywhere else within the boundaries of the former Soviet Union. About 26,000 Soviet troops stormed Baku, center of the Azerbaijani national independence movement on the night from Jan. 19 to 20, 1990, in a desperate, brutal and yet futile attempt to strangle the national movement and stop the demise of the Soviet regime in Azerbaijan. The invasion was launched at the midnight and committed with ferocity and no mercy for children, women and elderly. Helsinki Human Rights Watch has documented how the Soviet army intentionally ran down and crushed unarmed peaceful civilians under their tanks. How they opened fire at a civilian bus that posed no conceivable physical threat, killing the driver and many passengers. How they attacked hospitals and clearly marked ambulances and medical personnel assisting the wounded. How they randomly sprayed residential yards and apartment buildings with automatic fire. Finally, how they stabbed defenseless civilians to death with bayonets. The Wall Street Journal editorial of Jan. 4, 1995, stated: "It was Mr. Gorbachev's recall, who in January 1990 chose to defend his use of violence against the independence-seeking Azerbaijan on the grounds that the people of this then-Soviet republic were heavily armed gangs of hooligans and drug-traffickers who were destabilizing the country and quite possibly receiving support from foreign governments." Black January has become the turning point in the history of modern Azerbaijan. Immediately after the tragedy, on Jan. 21, 1990, national leader Heydar Aliyev and his family members visited the office of Azerbaijan's permanent representation in Moscow. He expressed solidarity with his people, sharply condemned the Soviet leadership for the bloody tragedy and exposed those who led the operation. On Jan. 20, 1990, Azerbaijanis acquired their national identity. The Soviet invasion failed to achieve its aim. The Azerbaijani people confronted the tragedy with strength and dignity. Unfortunately, the perpetrators of the January 20 tragedy went unpunished. While the punitive actions against public in some former Soviet republics were strongly condemned by the Soviet and world public, the truth of Black January received less public attention through the efforts of the Soviet authorities. The Soviet authorities removed all files and evidence related to the massacre one of the outrageous manifestations of the totalitarian regime against its own citizens. In 1991 Azerbaijan became independent. During the independent years of Azerbaijan the Black January events have been given full political and legal assessment, and the names of their offenders made public. One of the highest points in Baku is the place that has become sacred for every Azerbaijani. It is the Alley of Martyrs, where victims of the January 20 tragedy, and those who died in the battles against the Armenian aggression were buried. Thousands of people visit here every year on January 20 to commemorate the sons and daughters of Azerbaijan, who sacrificed their lives for the freedom and sovereignty of the Motherland. Generations will change, but memory of them will live forever in our hearts. Sufficed by Anatole France when he said, "Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened." Authorities have started to rescue animals trapped in the danger zones upon possible hazardous eruption of Taal Volcano in the Philippines. According to Romelito Marasigan, head of the Batangas Provincial Veterinary Office, they initially focused on the evacuation of animals from the town of Balete. Some residents of Taal had gone back to the volcano island to rescue their animals, such as horses, cows, and pigs that may have survived the thick ashfall that has now enveloped the entire island. Two horses trapped on a Philippine island where a volcano has been spewing ash for days were rescued Thursday. The residents 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 tried to reach the animals. At least 100 live animals on Taal Volcano island were spotted 5 days after the volcano belched a giant ash cloud that reached to Northern Luzon. According to BGen. Marcelino Teofilo, aerial reconnaissance last Friday spotted about 100 animals, including horses and cattle, still scattered around the island. Last Sunday, Taal Volcano spewed lava, triggering earthquakes and emitting huge plumes of ash that have spread across the island of Luzon and beyond. Edsel Paredes arranged a temporary animal shelter in his home to look after the animals. According to Marasigan, "We are getting help from various animal rights groups, non-government organizations, and private individuals in evacuating these animals." Authorities said they initiated the evacuation of animals to ensure that residents of the volcano eruption areas, particularly farmers, have something to start with when things return to normal. Following the eruption, dozens of horses, cattle, and pigs died. The New York Times revealed photos of dead horses and other animals covered in ash. While about 57,000 people have left their homes in Batangas, usually thronged by tourists, many residents have also drifted back to check on animals and possessions. Authorities have set up a 14-km (9-mile) exclusion zone around the volcano with the possibility that an eruption could bring a devastating rain of rocks and magma and unleash a tsunami in the surrounding lake. According to the officials, at least 3,000 horses were living on the island, most earning money for their owners by carrying tourists to the rim of the volcano crater. Animal owners urging authorities to allow the rescue of as many animals as possible were rebuffed by the coast guard patrolling the lake. Marasigan said they initiated the evacuation of animals to ensure that residents of the volcano eruption areas, particularly farmers, have something to start with when things return to normal. The animals are the major sources of income for some of the residents. Unfortunately, the future is uncertain. More than 70 animals including horses were brought to safety since Wednesday by another group of rescuers, led by a police maritime unit. RELATED ARTICLE: TAAL VOLCANO: Coffee Industry Could Take Years to Recover "On my annual trip to the Sturgis rally, other riders told me they couldn't find slip-ons that delivered great sound," said Vance. "We needed to reinvent the 4.5-inch category." "I gave the challenge to our Engineering Team, and they needed to invent new baffles to do it," continued Vance & Hines President Mike Kennedy. "Now we offer the best sounding M8 slip-ons in the market and we can build them at Vance & Hines for a great price. That's pretty cool." The Torquer 450 slip-ons are the newest entry into the 4.5-inch diameter segment of the exhaust market. The 50-state emission compliant slip-on mufflers deliver superior sound and improved horsepower and torque, the best performance of any Vance & Hines slip-on exhaust. Vance & Hines developed the new free-flowing LS-275 baffle (patent pending) specifically to address the concerns of owners of Milwaukee 8-powered Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Design and manufacturing of the Torquer 450 takes place in the company's plant in Santa Fe Springs, CA. Style is important to every rider, so the new mufflers were designed with maximum visual impact. Featuring a huge 4.5-inch diameter slip-on and new, stylized, billet end caps, the exhaust makes a visual statement along with a deep, throaty sound. Pricing on the Torquer 450 is a winner, too. At $599(US) for Chrome and $649(US) for black, the new slip-ons are the lowest price of any 4.5-inch pipe in the industry. Torquer 450 slip-ons are available now at motorcycle dealers around the USA and abroad. Vance & Hines The Vance & Hines brand has always been about enhancing the exhilaration of the motorcycle ride. It started 40 years ago, when Terry Vance and Byron Hines were young enthusiasts in the Southern California motorcycle drag race scene. Terry wanted to go faster, Byron knew how to make that happen. Their on-track success drew the attention of other racers, riders and motorcycle manufacturers, which translated to commercial demand for their products and services. Today, the Company's mission is the same; make bikes go faster on the racetrack and use those learnings to make impactful products for riders around the world. Since the Company's inception, it has run factory race programs for Suzuki, Yamaha, Ducati and Harley-Davidson in drag racing, road racing and flat track. Contact: Steve Piehl 414-331-0500 [email protected] SOURCE Vance & Hines Related Links https://vanceandhines.com Huawei has struck a deal with the navigation and digital mapping firm TomTom to use the company's maps and services on its smartphones. Huawei has been cut off from Google upon whose Android operating system and apps its international products relied amid a trade war between the US and China. The ban, implemented in May, came after it was alleged that the firm has close ties with the Chinese government and represents a threat to US national security. Dutch firm TomTom provides a non-US partner that can furnish navigation software, maps and traffic information as Huawei develops its own suite of apps. The announcement follows recent rumours that Huawei's upcoming premiere smartphone offering the P40 will ship in March 2020 without Google software. Scroll down for video Huawei has struck a deal with the navigation and digital mapping firm TomTom to use their maps and services within new smartphone apps The deal with TomTom is the latest in Huawei's adjustments to its loss of access to Google product like its official android operating system and apps like Google Maps. The firm which is accused of having close ties to the Chinese government was effectively blocked from the US last year by President Donald Trump's administration, who cited concerns over national security. Huawei is now placed on the US government's 'Entity List', meaning that American firms are not permitted to do business with the Chinese firm unless they first procure a special licence. Following the ban in the US, Huawei has been forced to develop its own operating system for smartphones dubbed HarmonyOS and work on its own suite of native core apps to replace the so-called Google Media Service. This bundle included such products as Gmail, Google Drive, Maps, Navigation, Pay and YouTube. According to TomTom spokesperson Remco Meerstra, the deal with Huawei was finalised some time ago. However, the two tech companies have only just decided to make the association be known publicly. Mr Meerstra declined to provide more information on the specifics of the deal, Reuters reported. On the other side of the deal, the agreement is the latest in TomTom's move away from selling physical devices to instead providing software services. Last year, the Dutch company sold its telematics division to the Japanese tyre and vehicle part manufacturer Bridgestone, who are looking to provide a the real-time car fleet-tracking service. The move was reportedly intended to free up the firm to focus on its digital map-linked businesses. Left students of the Presidency University staged a protest against the CAA and the proposed nationwide NRC during the varsity's 203rd Foundation Day programme on Monday. Hundreds of students shouted slogans such as 'Fascism Manbo Na' (Down with Fascism) and 'We won't accept CAA, NRC' near the Derozio Hall where the programme was being held, said Subhajit Sarkar of the Students Federation of India. Students and alumni also wrote protest messages on a large white board that was put up on the campus. "We consider the CAA and the NRC as discriminatory and divisive. We won't allow the BJP to implement these black laws in the country," said Sinjini Moitra, a student activist. Theatre personality and Presidency alumnus Bibhas Chakraborty and alumnus and former bureaucrat Prasad Ranjan Roy, who attended the founder's day programme, also took part in the protest and wrote messages on the board. "We, theatre activists, had earlier taken out a rally against the CAA and the proposed NRC. The Centre had not taken public in confidence while framing these laws. I think a situation, similar to the Partition days, is being created," Chakraborty said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) More than 280,000 has been spent by two Government departments on VIP services at Irish airports over the past three years. This figure includes facilities for European Commissioner Phil Hogan, former taoiseach Bertie Ahern, and more than 30,000 in costs related to the visit of Pope Francis. The bulk of the money was spent by the Department of Foreign Affairs, which provides VIP services for visiting heads of states, ministers, royals, and senior diplomats. The Department of the Taoiseach paid for luxury services at Dublin Airport for former taoisigh Enda Kenny and Bertie Ahern, current Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, and Mr Hogan, according to records obtained under Freedom of Information. VIP facilities for Mr Hogan cost 1,003 for five flights that took place between 2017 and 2019. Asked why these services were used by the commissioner, given his 270,000 annual salary, a spokesman said the arrangements were a matter for the Department of the Taoiseach. Records previously released by the department have said that this was part of a standing arrangement with the Dublin Airport Authority. Mr Ahern has also made use of the VIP facilities for four flights that took place in July and September of last year. Each time he used the platinum service at Dublin Airport, the Department of the Taoiseach paid a bill of 225 per flight. Mr Ahern is only allowed to use the VIP facilities because of a decision made by Mr Varadkar in 2017 to reintroduce such perks for former taoisigh. They had been scrapped by his predecessor, Mr Kenny but Mr Ahern has been the only ex-taoiseach to avail of the arrangement so far. More than 220,000 has been spent by the Department of Foreign Affairs on platinum services and ramp transfers at Dublin Airport in the past two years. The bill for 2018 hit 120,000, fuelled mainly by the high costs involved with the two-day visit of Pope Francis to Ireland. Two separate bills were paid by the Department of Foreign Affairs for the papal visit, the first for 18,600 and the second for 11,600. That covered the costs of VIP facilities for Pope Francis and his more than 100-strong delegation, according to the records. Just over half of the bill related to the mysteriously titled Vamp Media (Vatican- accredited media personnel) journalists, who are officially accredited to cover all things pope-related. Costs for visiting royalty included a 2,000 bill for when Britains Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visited Ireland in 2018, and a 2,375 bill for the trip of Prince Albert of Monaco in March 2019. The red carpet was also rolled out for Donald Tusk, who, as then president of the European Council, was a key supporter of Ireland in Brexit negotiations. Platinum services and a ramp transfer were provided for him in 2018 at a cost of 2,000, later for 2,000, and again of 2,375. Visits from prominent US politicians also incurred large bills with 12,540 spent on VIP services for US vice president Mike Pence in September 2019. While the department usually footed the entire bill, there was one invoice where they shared the costs.For a 3,100 bill related to the visit of Austrian politician Gernot Blumel, a deal was struck for the Irish taxpayer to pay 1,890 of the bill. A department spokeswoman said: Given the use of a commercial flight with a tight travelling schedule, it was necessary to bring more than the usual number of individual passengers through VIP services, therefore it was agreed to share costs. No detail is available is President Michael D Higgins. One record of a trip by him, in and around April or May 2018, has been redacted from the invoice on the basis that records relating to the President still remain exempt from Freedom of Information law.In a statement on the VIP bills, the department said: For the entry and departure of high-level visitors and representatives, it is standard practice internationally to provide enhanced passenger services at the airport.This is a matter of courtesy and also to facilitate a secure and prompt entry and exit from the airport.The costs associated with providing these services differs from year to year and is subject to the varying number of high-level representatives coming to Ireland, with a particularly high number visiting in 2018 and 2019. New Delhi, Jan 20 : A massive Snickers bar made in Waco, Texas, has broken the Guinness World Record and grabbed the eyeballs of social media users all across the globe. Weighing in at more than 2,144.5 kg and measuring two feet high and 26 inches wide, the Guinness Book of World Records declared it as the world's largest Snickers bar. In a series of tweets, Guinness World Records tweeted: "This gigantic @SNICKERS bar just set a new record for the largest chocolate nut bar - 2,144 k (4,728 lb)." "Congrats to @SNICKERS on creating the world's LARGEST chocolate nut bar! Weighing in at a hefty 2144.5 kg, it includes 3,500 pounds of chocolate and 1,300 pounds of caramel", they added. As the tweet went viral, it led to some hilarious jokes, memes and sarcasm on Twitter. A user wrote: "I could break the record for eating the world's largest nut-cased chocolate bar @SNICKERS." A post read, "Oh man, I want a piece!" "How long would it take someone to finish that @SNICKERS bar?" asked one user. A Tweeple remarked, "Wow! If help is required, to finish it, I can always pitch in and lend a helping hand always Snickers bar." Were going to get back to living life, even if it kills us Three out of five people in UK would push a fat man off a bridge to stop a runaway train killing five people - many more than in most other European and Asian countries, a study finds. Researchers from the University of Exeter wanted to understand the morals of people around the world, so posed them the famous 'trolley question'. The question asks whether someone would actively kill a single person - in this case by pushing a fat man off a bridge - in order to save a larger group of people. It may be that people in the UK are more prejudiced against overweight people, but researchers say it is more likely that Brits aren't afraid to voice their opinion. Scroll down for video View of the end of La Rambla walking street, called 'La Rambla del Mar' which is a rotating bridge in Port Vell marina, Barcelona, Spain. The study examines whether people would kill a single person by pushing them off a bridge in order to save five people under the bridge. Stock Image In the UK, almost 60 per cent of people asked said the fat man should be pushed and killed to save the five people's lives. That was the fourth highest result in a league table of 42 countries. Dr Edmond Awad, first author of the study from the University of Exeter, said: 'We know from previous studies that people who say they would sacrifice one person to save more are seen as less trustworthy. 'Choosing to push the large man in the footbridge option may be seen by many as horrible, but one the other hand it saves five lives.' 'It seems like the approval of this choice has steadily increased in the last few decades,' he added. 'So these findings certainly do not suggest that people in the UK are more evil!' The study asked people if an animated man should save the five people on a railway track by switching the carriage to another track, where just one other person stood and would be killed. On a website called the Moral Machine, people were then asked if the animated man should push a fat man off the bridge. Importantly, he could not throw himself off the bridge to stop the train carriage as his body was not large enough to bring it to a halt. As a general rule, people in western countries were more willing than those in eastern countries to switch the track, or to sacrifice the fat man, to save more lives. High rates of people willing to sacrifice the fat man were seen in the US, UK and Australia, but low rates were seen in China, Japan and Korea, where people are less likely to admit this 'morally questionable' view. Train tracks leading into the sunset. As a general rule, people in western countries were more willing than those in eastern countries to switch the track and actively kill a single individual rather than passively allow a group of five to die In traditional communities, where people may stay in close, small communities their whole life for financial and cultural reasons, they don't want to alienate people by suggesting they would kill someone, expert suggest. In western countries, where it is easier to move on and find new social groups if someone disagrees with you, people may find it easier to voice, or think, such thoughts. The study asked 70,000 people across 42 countries the ethical dilemma, although most who engaged with the website were young adults, male and college-educated. Overall, 81 per cent were willing to switch the carriage to a separate train track to kill one person instead of five, and half would throw the fat man on to the tracks. The second option is seen as so difficult, according to research, because it involves an act of physical violence. The findings have been published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Photo: The Canadian Press The Hollywood hills are seen behind a bust of actor James Dean at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. The men bringing James Dean back to life for a forthcoming film are aiming not just to give his digital likeness a role, but a whole new career. Deans planned appearance in the Vietnam War movie Finding Jack, and the possibility of future parts, comes as digital de-aging and duplication of real actors has tipped from cinematic trick into common practice. And it's giving new life to old arguments about the immortality and dignity of the dead. Our intentions are to create the virtual being of James Dean. That's not only for one movie, but going to be used for many movies and also gaming and virtual reality, said Travis Cloyd, CEO of Worldwide XR, who is leading the design on the Dean project. Our focus is on building the ultimate James Dean so he can live across any medium." Legally, they have every right to do it, via the full agreement of the Dean estate and his surviving relatives. Our clients want to protect these valuable intellectual property rights and the memories that they have of their loved ones, said Mark Roesler, CEO of CMG Worldwide, the legal and licensing company that has long owned the title to Dean's likeness. We have to trust them. ... They want to see that their loved one's image and memory continues to live on." Dean is an obvious candidate for revival with his embodiment-of-Hollywood image and the brevity of his life and career he died at 24 and made just three films: East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant. Roesler and Cloyd have not obtained the rights from Warner Bros. to use footage from those films, but they have a large trove of photos and Deans dozens of TV roles. There are thousands of images that we do have to work with, Cloyd said. What we typically do is we take all those images and videos and we run them through machine learning to create that asset. That will be added to the work of a stand-in actor using motion-capture technology as commonly done now with CGI characters, along with the overdubbed voice of another actor. The announcement of the role last year caused a quick backlash, with responses like that of "Captain America" star Chris Evans on Twitter: Maybe we can get a computer to paint us a new Picasso. Or write a couple new John Lennon tunes. The complete lack of understanding here is shameful. "I think there's definitely something cynical and what feels like a little bit distasteful about bringing especially long-dead actors back to life," said Terri White, editor-in-chief of film magazine "Empire. The reaction to the likes of the James Dean news has actually shown that I think most people don't really want that. For the people behind the Dean project, the negative reaction is as inevitable as they believe the eventual acceptance will be. Cloyd foresees a Hollywood where even living actors have a digital twin that helps in their work. This is disruptive technology, Cloyd said. Some people hear it for the first time and they get shaken by it. But this is where the market is going. The revival of the dead, often done clumsily, has been happening for much of Hollywood's existence. Footage of Bela Lugosi, combined with a double holding a cape over his face, was used in 1959s Plan 9 From Outer Space, released after the horror star's death. Bruce Lees film Game of Death, left unfinished before his 1973 death, was completed using doubles and voice overdubs and released five years later. The Fast and the Furious star Paul Walker died in 2013 before shooting was done on Furious 7. His two younger brothers and others acted as stand-ins so his scenes could be finished. Even Lennon, and many other dead historical figures, were digitally revived in 1994 in Forrest Gump. But the technology of recreation and resurrection has taken a major leap forward in quality and prestige, with the extensive de-aging and re-aging used in Martin Scorseses The Irishman; a young Will Smith digitally returning to play opposite the current version in last summer's Gemini Man"; and Carrie Fisher, whose younger self briefly returned digitally in 2016's Star Wars: Rogue One and appeared again after her death, in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Credit: CC0 Public Domain Research undertaken at Bournemouth University is looking at ways in which leisure and forms of physical activity, such as dance and music-making, can have an important role in the lives of people seeking asylum. Dr. Nicola De Martini Ugolotti is looking at the ways in which leisure activities can represent opportunities for asylum seekers and refugees for socialization, belonging and identity in everyday contexts. Rather than being seen as a group of people seeking sanctuary, asylum seekers and refugees in the UK are often portrayed negatively, which can make it difficult for them to feel part of their new societies. Dr. Nicola De Martini Ugolotti is a lecturer in sport and physical activity at Bournemouth University, and a member of Associazione Frantz Fanon in Turin, Italy. He completed his Ph.D. in Physical Cultural Studies at the University of Bath, after an MSc in Medical Anthropology at the University of Amsterdam, and several years of professional activity as a clinical psychologist with migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in Italy. His research aims to explore how seemingly mundane activities, such as art and physical activity, really matter in the life of someone who is seeking asylum in the UK or Europe and to see the relevance of these practices in helping to displace or change the narratives about forced migration in the UK. "Forced migrants are often marginalized and considered to be a problem that needs to be solved or managed, or to be objects of charitable interventions at best," he says. "They can be viewed as a threat to the UK or as traumatized victims. One of the implications of this which has been highlighted by my research is that to be a refugee means to be stuck in this label where you are just a victim, or a 'bogus' refugee, and it's very hard to escape from those labels." Sessions were held with people seeking asylum or refugee status in Bristol whereby the participants could shape the activities themselves to make music, create art and dance. Dr. De Martini Ugolotti took part in these with two professional musicians from the Lorraine Ayensu Refugee Arts Fund in Bristol, who supported and facilitated the sessions. "Being in the sessions helped to build trust and relationships with the participants," explains Dr. De Martini Ugolotti, "This was key, especially for those people who don't speak English. "Some of the most insightful parts of the research were not during the interviews but came from being present in these sessions. For example, I was in a session in Bristol and we were sitting in a circle when a woman arrived who hadn't been there before. She was asked what she would like from this session and she said 'Well, I just want to laugh because as asylum seekers we don't get to laugh.' It was witnessing these kinds of moments that were so valuable for my research. "These sessions enabled people who are experiencing an extreme loss of control in their lives to start to gain control over something in their lives. The ability to feel, the ability to laugh again, to move again, to be able to sing and enjoy something in a long period of their lives which is usually characterized by destitution, precariousness and plain boredom. It gave them the opportunity to at least shape this time according to their needs and preferences of socialization and well-being, and the results for some extended beyond the context of the groups." Dr. De Martini Ugolotti found that these weekly groups really made the difference in some of the participants' lives: "As an asylum seeker, it feels like you don't exist in this world, you don't have any identity, you feel like an unwanted person [...] it's very hard, and in that time you need something to forget everything and to feel like you are wanted, you are welcome somewhere, that what I wanted. I think it's what everyone wanted, to be welcome, to be able to let their guard down, forget everything and feel alive." (Female participant). "In this situation, if I didn't have a place where I could talk, dance or sing, where I could forget just for few seconds all of this I don't know, I really cannot say, because at the end when I obtained my visa, my mental health was so bad, that having a visa was good, but I was not able to do much with it. It was very hard to have a reason to get out of my room." (Male participant). As a result of this research, Dr. De Martini Ugolotti reported that participants began to set up their own groups for leisure activities. Despite obstacles such as funding and the availability of venues, these initiatives show the commitment and endurance of some of the group participants to maintaining spaces, moments and practices that made a difference in their attempts to make Bristol and Britain, home. Dr. De Martini Ugolotti is still collaborating with them and the charities involved in the project to support and keep these groups going. Dr. De Martini Ugolotti received internal funding from BU's Charity Impact Fund in 2016 which helped to fund this research in Bristol. The aim of the Fund is to support the development of collaborative research with charities. The funding covered room hire costs, bus tickets for the participants and the time for him to carry out the research. He said "The funding I received made a huge difference. The project wouldn't have happened otherwise. It made a difference for me and for the group to have these resources." bogus Johnson appears keen to exploit Libyan conflict Iran Press TV Sunday, 19 January 2020 3:06 PM Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has said that British troops could help "police" a future ceasefire in Libya, as world powers scramble to contain the conflict in the war-torn North African country. Johnson was speaking ahead of an international summit in the German capital, Berlin, tasked with ending the conflict in Libya. In addition to European Union powers, the conference also brings together Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Turkey's president Tayyip Erdogan, who have both deployed troops to support opposing sides in the conflict. Johnson also appears to be keen to deploy troops to Libya under the guise of peacekeeping. "If there is a ceasefire, yes of course, there's a case for us doing what we do very well which is sending experts to monitor the ceasefire", the PM said. However, Johnson's assertion that any peace process must be "UN-led", appears to betray a less than detailed knowledge of the Libya conflict. In its simplest form, the multi-faceted conflict in Libya can be reduced to a power struggle between a Tripoli-based so-called Government of National Accord (which is backed by the UN) and the so-called Tobruk government based in the east of the country. Various regional and international states are involved in the conflict by backing opposing sides. Turkey, for example, backs the Tripoli-based government, whereas the Tobruk government led by warlord Khalifa Haftar (who is a dual US-Libyan citizen) is primarily backed by Russia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. It is not clear what role (if any) British troops can play in this crowded battle space. The UK is partly responsible for creating the chaotic situation in Libya as it was one of the main countries that participated in the 2011 military campaign to oust former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Tributes have been paid to outgoing PSNI Deputy Chief Constable Stephen Martin after he announced his retirement. Mr Martin has served as a police officer for nearly 34 years, both in the RUC and the PSNI. He said he will retire at the end of January when a new deputy chief constable will be appointed. Announcing his departure, he said it had been a "huge honour" and a "true privilege" to serve as a police officer. Mr Martin said: "I will always be grateful for the friendships I have built both within the police service and among the community I have been humbled to serve. "As I face the next chapter in my life, I am very mindful of the many colleagues and friends who weve lost and for whom retirement has been denied. They and their families will always be in my thoughts. "I am extremely proud to have been part of the journey that policing has made to date; and I know, with the commitment of colleagues and the partnership of the community, we will continue to make Northern Ireland a safer and more confident society. "I leave with a real sense of optimism for the future and wish all my colleagues well as they continue their vital service to our entire community." Mr Martin had applied to be the PSNI's chief constable before the post was given to Simon Byrne. Mr Byrne posted on social media: "Many thanks Stephen for your enormous and positive contribution to Policing in Northern Ireland over the last 34 years, and for your personal support to me over the last six months. "I wish you and your family my sincere best wishes for a long retirement and for the future." Justice Minister Naomi Long said: "Over a long and distinguished career in policing, Stephen Martin has made an enormous contribution to the security and safety of the Northern Ireland community. In his role as a senior officer, Stephen has been an eloquent advocate for the PSNI, working tirelessly and with integrity to play a crucial role in delivering a professional, high quality policing service for everyone in our society. We are all indebted to Stephen for the commitment he has shown over his 34-year career and I wish him well for the future. Northern Ireland Policing Board chairperson Professor Anne Connolly thanked Mr Martin for his contributions to policing and service to the community over his career and wished him well for the future. DUP MLA Mervyn Storey, who sits on the NI Policing Board, also paid tribute. In almost 34 years service Stephen has served the whole community through the dark days of the Troubles," he said. "The very real threat of terrorism and more recently alongside the establishment of devolved government in Northern Ireland and new, rising threats to law and order. "We commend him on this contribution to local policing and wish both him and his family a very happy retirement." Mr Martin was appointed as temporary deputy chief constable on in August 2018 and was previously responsible for the PSNI's Crime Operations Department. He was awarded the Queen's Police Medal in the Birthday Honours list 2013 and he received an OBE in 2018. JOHNSON CITY, Tenn., Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Crown Laboratories announced today that is has restructured its commercial operations business units as it continues to elevate its new "Skin Science for Life" commitment. For the past two years Crown has been dedicated to transforming its Northeast Tennessee operations into a leading global skincare company. After acquiring its Beauty and Aesthetic divisions, (formerly Vita Liberata and Bellus Medical, respectively), and strengthening its therapeutics portfolio through acquisition of six consumer heritage brands from GlaxoSmithKline, Crown is now poised to become a global leader in dermatology health and wellness. Skin Science for Life is Crown's commitment to providing healthcare professionals, their patients and all others with science-driven skin-health solutions no matter their stage of life. Crown has strengthened its capabilities with each acquisition, and with the new alignment now in place, Crown is proud to introduce its new global commercial business divisions: Crown Aesthetics Formerly Bellus Medical, which proudly offers SkinPen, SKINFUSE, ProGen PRP and Allumera Crown Beauty Formerly Vita Liberata Limited, makers of Vita Liberata and NKD SKN sunless tanning beauty products Crown Therapeutics New unit comprising Blue Lizard Australian Sunscreen, PanOxyl, Sarna and several other therapeutics brands "The improved structure and naming convention of these business units allows for a more memorable, distinct alignment within our organization," says Jeff Bedard, President and CEO of Crown. "We believe the power of team is far greater than the power of one, and by incorporating Crown into each of our business unit names, we are ensuring our customers recognize the greater team that stands with them. Whether patients require a therapeutic solution, are seeking an aesthetic treatment or beauty need, Crown is here to fulfill those needs." "Since Bellus Medical launched in 2012, we have been laser-focused on our customers, education and technology," said Joe Proctor, President of Crown Aesthetics. "Through constant innovation and staying tuned in to what customers want, we are proud to have changed the conversation in the aesthetics space." Proctor added, "In 2018, Bellus joined the Crown family through a shared vision for excellence and innovation. Transitioning to Crown Aesthetics allows us to communicate more effectively with our customers and leverage our brands to attract new patients to our practice partners." The rebranding of Crown Aesthetics will officially launch at IMCAS World Congress 2020 on January 30 in Paris. Visit us at Booth #N128 to learn more about all of Crown's business units and their offerings. In addition, Dr. Thomas Hitchcock, Crown's Chief Scientific Officer, will host three educational sessions: Active Acne: Skin Microbiome Interaction with Immune System and Implication on Acne January 30, 2020 12:11, Room 141 Level 1 R&D: Microneedling Fine Lines and Wrinkles January 30, 2020 17:30, Room Passy Level 1 Skin Microbiome: Re-examining the Role of P. Acnes in Overall Skin Health January 31, 2020 9:40, Room 153 Level 1 About Crown Crown, a privately held, fully integrated global skin care company is committed to developing and providing a diverse portfolio of aesthetic, beauty, and therapeutic skin care products that improve the quality of life for its customers. An innovative company focused on skin science for life, Crown's unyielding pursuit of delivering therapeutic excellence and enhanced patient outcomes is why it is poised to become a leader in Dermatology and Aesthetics. Crown has been listed on the Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Privately Held Companies List for six consecutive years and has expanded its distribution to over 25 countries. For more information about Crown or its products, visit www.crownlaboratories.com. SOURCE Crown Laboratories, Inc. Related Links https://www.crownlaboratories.com MAS organizes forces for upcoming elections in Bolivia On May 3, general elections will be held in Bolivia and although the most widely supported party, the Movement for Socialism (MAS), has not yet chosen its candidates for President and Vice President of the Republic, the names of several possible nominees are circulating. Bolivias Constitutional President, Evo Morales. After almost two months in exile, following the coup against Evo Morales, Foreign Minister Diego Pary announced that he will return to the Andean nation to represent indigenous peoples and other social movements in Bolivia. Speaking on a local radio station, Pary stated that he is grateful to the social movements that have put his name on the table among MAS pre-candidates. I come from the social movements ... and, within that framework, I will always be ready to serve in whatever capacity is decided. Other potential MAS candidates are former Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca, as well as Economy Minister Luis Arce, and coca union leader Andronico Rodriguez. The official MAS candidate will be announced on January 19 at a press conference in Argentina by Bolivias Constitutional President, Evo Morales, who called for a massive mobilisation in the nation and said he would present a report on his administrations work. According to a study by the Bolivian television channel Unitel, the Movement for Socialism is leading polls in the run-up to the Presidential elections. The survey indicates that a MAS candidate will win 20.7 percent of the vote, five percentage points ahead of the closest rival, de facto President, Jeanine Anez, with 15.7 percent. The analysis places right-wing leader and candidate in the cancelled elections of October 20, 2019, Carlos Mesa, in third place with 13.8 percent of the vote. According to teleSUR, the survey was carried out on December 21-30, 2019 and has a margin of error of 2.5 percent, giving the results a high level of reliability. The Bolivian Supreme Electoral Tribunal will officially convoke Presidential elections on January 6 and the MAS candidate will be called upon to defend the same government program presented by Morales in past elections and the accomplishments of his years in office. On November 10, a coup against President Evo Morales, orchestrated by the United States and the Organization of American States (OAS), was consummated after commanding officers of the armed forces and the police joined in calling for his resignation on the pretext of maintaining peace, while making false accusation of irregularities in the October elections. Granma ANN ARBOR, MI - Officer Clayton Collins was hired as Ann Arbors first black policeman in 1950, but there are accounts of someone else breaking the color line more than 100 years ago. Hired on May 20, 1907, Officer Thomas Blackburn was described in Officer George Camps 1940 history of the Ann Arbor Police Department as the first colored officer in the history of the city. But its unclear if Blackburn was black. The answer depends on which historian you ask, and contemporary understanding of racial identifying terms. Sgt. Michael Logghes 2002 book True Crimes and the History of the Ann Arbor Police Department" notes the discrepancy: ... According to Officer Camps report, a black officer named Thomas Blackburn, was hired in 1907. I discovered a photo of Officer Blackburn and it does not appear that he was black. Officer Blackburn was with the department for 10 years and it is open for debate if he or Officer Collins was the first black officer. An online exhibit of the University of Michigan Librarys 2014 Martin Luther King Symposium also asserts that the citys first black officer was hired in 1907: The city of Ann Arbor appointed their first black police officer in 1907. However, city government took much longer to diversify. Albert Wheeler, Ann Arbors first black mayor, was not elected until 1975, more than 100 years after black residents began to settle in the area in large numbers. The Bentley Historical Library has a 1908 photograph of a William Blackburn, identified in the caption as the citys first African American policeman." The man in the picture does not have features that would clearly identify him as black. Blackburn was the former constable for the Fifth Ward, the caption in the picture states. Most other historical mentions of Blackburn, however, identify him as colored, and not African American or black. For example, a Sep. 23, 1907 edition of the Ann Arbor News-Argus mentioned Blackburn on the first page, referring to him as Tom Blackburn, the colored cop. Colored was a racial descriptor used around the early parts of the 20th century to refer to, as the Department of the Treasury defined it in 1934, Negros, Indians, Chinese, Japanese and all other nonwhite races. One person who disputed the black officer moniker for Blackburn was Collins, who was believed to be the first black officer when he was hired in 1950. For Black History Month, read about these notable Washtenaw County figures Officer Collins had heard about Blackburn and thought he was half-Indian, Sgt. Michael Logghes wrote in his book. In any event Officer Collins was the first black officer in the modern era. I discovered a photo of Officer Blackburn, Logghe wrote, and it does not appear that he was black. Logghe followed up his 2002 writings a year later in the Washtenaw County Historical Society Newsletter called Impressions. He definitively called Collins the first black police officer in the city. Officer Clayton Collins worked from 1950-1955, Logghe wrote in 2003, and was hired as a result of a letter from Albert Wheeler [later Ann Arbors first black mayor] and others asking that the city hire a Negro. Collins later went on to work in several departments at the University of Michigan and spent most of his adult life living in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti. READ MORE MLK DAY STORIES FROM WASHTENAW COUNTY: Marches, music & more for MLK Day events in Washtenaw County MLK Day program in Ann Arbor includes townhall with countys justice leaders Civil rights activist Angela Davis to keynote University of Michigan MLK symposium Little Rock Nine group member to give MLK keynote at EMU Waiting for the weekend can often seem unbearable, a whole six days between Saturdays. Having seven days in a week has been the case for a very long time, and so people dont often stop to ask why. Most of our time reckoning is due to the movements of the planets, Moon and stars. Our day is equal to one full rotation of the Earth around its axis. Our year is a revolution of the Earth around the Sun, which takes 365 and days, which is why we add an extra day in February every four years, for a leap year. But the week and the month are a bit trickier. The phases of the Moon do not exactly coincide with the solar calendar. The Moon cycle is 27 days and seven hours long, and there are 13 phases of the Moon in each solar year. Some of the earliest civilizations observed the cosmos and recorded the movements of planets, the Sun and Moon. The Babylonians, who lived in modern-day Iraq, were astute observers and interpreters of the heavens, and it is largely thanks to them that our weeks are seven days long. The reason they adopted the number seven was that they observed seven celestial bodies the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. So, that number held particular significance to them. Other civilizations chose other numbers like the Egyptians, whose week was 10 days long; or the Romans, whose week lasted eight. The Babylonians divided their lunar months into seven-day weeks, with the final day of the week holding particular religious significance. The 28-day month, or a complete cycle of the Moon, is a bit too large a period of time to manage effectively, and so the Babylonians divided their months into four equal parts of seven. The number seven is not especially well-suited to coincide with the solar year, or even the months, so it did create a few inconsistencies. However, the Babylonians were such a dominant culture in the Near East, especially in the sixth and seventh centuries B.C., that this, and many of their other notions of time such as a 60-minute hour persisted. The seven-day week spread throughout the Near East. It was adopted by the Jews, who had been captives of the Babylonians at the height of that civilizations power. Other cultures in the surrounding areas got on board with the seven-day week, including the Persian empire and the Greeks. Centuries later, when Alexander the Great began to spread Greek culture throughout the Near East as far as India, the concept of the seven-day week spread as well. Scholars think that perhaps India later introduced the seven-day week to China. Finally, once the Romans began to conquer the territory influenced by Alexander the Great, they too eventually shifted to the seven-day week. It was Emperor Constantine who decreed that the seven-day week was the official Roman week and made Sunday a public holiday in A.D. 321. The weekend was not adopted until modern times in the 20th century. Although there have been some recent attempts to change the seven-day week, it has been around for so long that it seems like it is here to stay. Hello, curious kids! Do you have a question youd like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com. Please tell us your name, age and the city where you live. And since curiosity has no age limit adults, let us know what youre wondering, too. We wont be able to answer every question, but we will do our best. This article has been updated to correct the details on Earths revolution around the Sun. Kristin Heineman, Instructor in History, Colorado State University This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Prominent progressive advocacy group Texas Organizing Project on Monday endorsed Harris County district attorney candidate Audia Jones over incumbent Kim Ogg, a potential political blow to the prosecutors re-election campaign even as she holds a significant fundraising lead over her Democratic primary opponents. The TOP endorsement mirrors sentiment among some Democrats who claim the current district attorney is not progressive enough despite her election four years ago as a criminal justice reformer. The group supported Ogg in 2016, but now says her campaign promises have played out differently than they hoped. In particular, the group, which advocates for greater representation for black and Hispanic communities, takes issue with three moves by Ogg during her first term: her opposition to a bail reform settlement for Harris County aimed at allowing most misdemeanor defendants to be released without needing to post cash bail; her request for 100 new prosecutors, which was opposed by all three Democratic members of Commissioners Court; and her offices continued use of the death penalty in capital cases. We are about shrinking the amount of people that are incarcerated, TOP Deputy Director Brianna Brown said. That doesnt look like asking for more prosecutors that doesnt mean turning up the death penalty in Harris County. That doesnt mean coming out against bail reform. TOP said it would dispatch its significant resources to work phone banks and knock on doors for Jones, who Brown said shares the groups vision for criminal justice reform. That means Ogg will not benefit from the group as she did in 2016, when TOP provided $321,919 in in-kind contributions, helping her get-out-the-vote effort. Still, Ogg has a significant lead in fundraising over her opponents, according to campaign finance filings released Jan. 15. With five weeks until early voting, Ogg has $385,909 cash on hand; Jones, $29,973; Carvana Cloud, $16,889; Todd Overstreet listed no cash on hand. The failure to secure TOPs support means Ogg will have to rely more heavily on the benefits of incumbency and her fundraising to win a second term, said Michael Adams, professor of political science at Texas Southern University. She should be concerned, because we will have a historically large primary, he said. The endorsement from TOP could propel Jones into the runoff. Ogg touted her record in office as reason for voters to re-elect her, calling herself an evidence-based candidate, who has balanced the priorities of reformers with her responsibility to keep the public safe. The public now has three years of my record on diversion, on prosecution of violent offenders and common-sense criminal justice policy, she said. While it appears that things should go faster, operational realities and the fact that human lives are at risk require us to take each reform individually, at its own pace. Challenge from the left Ogg began the Democratic takeover of Harris County when she and Sheriff Ed Gonzalez defeated Republican incumbents in 2016. While Gonzalez faces token Democratic opposition this year, Ogg has serious challengers because she failed to satisfy the progressive and moderate factions of the party, University of Houston political science professor Brandon Rottinghaus said. The D.A. didnt move as far to the left as many progressives assumed she would, he said. The right thinks shes going too far in not prosecuting crimes The district attorneys getting squeezed from both ideological ends. Jones and Cloud worked as prosecutors under Ogg before separately resigning, frustrated the district attorney was not the reformer they initially supported, they said. Oggs opposition to the historic settlement on misdemeanor bail reform was the straw that broke the camels back, Cloud said. It never was a focus on balancing the scales of justice, she said. Unfortunately, I realized about halfway through the Ogg administration that it was just par for the course. Ogg was not among the cheerleaders when a cadre of elected Democratic officials celebrated the landmark settlement in June, instead joining with police unions in urging a federal judge to reject it. Ogg said reform was needed, but she was concerned the settlement would endanger the public, and favors the convenience of defendants over that of victims and witnesses. Jones quit the office in late 2018 and emerged as a buzz-inducing candidate early in the race, drawing support from the Houston Democratic Socialists of America. The former aide to Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee also set herself apart from other candidates with her pledge to stop prosecuting sex workers. Cloud, the former bureau chief of the district attorneys Special Victims Bureau, left the office in late 2019. She similarly has positioned herself to the left of Ogg with pledges to support the bail settlement, address racial disparities in the criminal justice system and create stronger diversion programs. Overstreet, a criminal defense lawyer who worked as a Harris County prosecutor in the late 1990s, said he has watched the office spiraling downward. Oggs decision to fire dozens of prosecutors before even beginning her term has contributed to a lack of experience in the office, which Overstreet said has hurt cases. Cloud and Jones agreed that the district attorneys leadership has led to dysfunction in the ranks. Ogg has faced other questions from her opponents, who claim she prioritizes politics over principles. Ogg hired a top fundraiser as a financial crimes consultant, whose lobbying on behalf of a poker club ruined ruined a major gambling prosecution by the district attorneys office. A Houston Chronicle analysis also found Ogg appeared to overstate the workload of prosecutors when she asked Commissioners Court to approve new positions. Incumbent touts progress While reformers have criticized Ogg for not being progressive enough, the district attorney said her administration has had many accomplishments. Two of the biggest, she said, are her mental health and marijuana diversion programs, which she said have given more than 40,000 people a chance to walk away from the criminal justice system without arrests or convictions. Ogg said she only has pursued the death penalty against one defendant, which she said shows her office is using discretion in a county that historically leads Texas in sending defendants to death row. If Ogg defeats her Democratic opponents, she would face one of three candidates from the Republican primary. They are: Mary Nan Huffman, a former Montgomery County prosecutor and current legal counsel to the Houston Police Officers Union; Lori DeAngelo, who was a Harris County prosecutor for more than 20 years, including in Oggs office; and Wayne Lloyd Oliver, a defense lawyer who has run unsuccessfully for several offices as a candidate for both major parties, primarily as a way to advertise for his legal practice. zach.despart@chron.com samantha.ketterer@chron.com PR-Inside.com: 2020-01-20 08:54:21 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 778 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 LAS VEGAS, NV / ACCESSWIRE / January 20, 2020 / Mars Parachutes entered into an agreement on January 13, 2020 with the Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems (NIAS) at CES 2020 to establish a physical footprint in Nevada through the new NIAS EXCEL ONE Business Incubator. California-based Mars Parachutes has been aggressively looking to expand its manufacturing base across the U.S., and Nevada was easily identified as the natural destination of choice following its recent two-year consecutive top tier industry position rating beating out other jurisdictions investing tens of millions of dollars in Drone Industry incentives.[i] "Our innovative EXCEL ONE Business Incubator focuses on resiliency and agility with a powerful revenue generation and sustainable core aspect from day one. We have an embedded process with our participating companies - more so than what you would see across the Autonomous Systems Industry. EXCEL ONE is not just a business incubator, we also accelerate and integrate success early in the process by disrupting the 12-18-month startup profitability model. You can't attract companies into such program unless you have mastered how to think like and operate as a startup. We are excited to see what impact Mars Parachutes makes on the UAS Industry through its innovative parachute and safety technology manufacturing as the drone industry grows into the Urban Air Mobility space," said Dr. Chris Walach, Executive Director, Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems (NIAS), the Nevada Global Drone Trade Alliance (NV-GDTA), and the FAA-designated Nevada UAS Test Site."It's not about the money, it's about the vision! Nevada and NIAS are consistently setting world records and widely recognized as the only state to win all major U.S. initiatives for 2019: the FAA's UAS Pilot Program (UPP 1), NASA UAS Traffic Management (UTM) Technical Capability Level 4, and NASA Urban Air Mobility (UAM) Grand Challenge Assessment. Specifically, the recent launch of the Nevada-Global Drone Trade Alliance (NV-GDTA) really fills a major industry gap to bring end-users, technology proponents, and investors together to create new business opportunities and facilitate investment into this highly dynamic industry. Mars is proud to be the first incumbent of both these programs and is extremely excited to create new employment opportunities throughout the state and establish a physical footprint in Southern Nevada," said Brian Colvin, Chief Revenue Officer, Mars Parachutes.NIAS has developed a robust strategy for investment attraction recently launching the Nevada-Global Drone Trade Alliance (NV-GDTA), NIAS EXCEL ONE Business Incubator, and Workforce Development (WFD) Programs. NV-GDTA will bring together the top industry stakeholders in March 2020 for its first commercial technology demonstration event in Las Vegas and Henderson, Nevada (link to event flyer here). The technology demonstration event itself will take place at the Henderson Unmanned Vehicle Range (HUVR) located on the Nevada State College Campus.In November 2019, NIAS was selected as a winner of the Google Impact Challenge Nevada Award for its new innovative workforce development program - ARISE: Attaining Resilience and Independence through Support and Education. Partnership with Mars Parachutes and other Nevada-based companies represents the first step to securing new employment opportunities across the Nevada Drone Industry.NIAS leads the FAA-designated Nevada Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Test Site to grow the Drone Industry on behalf of the State of Nevada government and FAA. NIAS has received both national and international attention through a 2019 business industry report ranking the Nevada Drone Industry in the top two positions in the U.S. for a second year in a row. As a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation, part of the NIAS obligation is to attract investment into the state and give back to the community and drone industry. This is why NIAS launched its new EXCEL ONE Business Incubator Program.About the Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems (NIAS):As Nevada's designated agency to manage the FAA Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Test Site, the Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems (NIAS) positions Nevada as the global leader in Autonomous Systems (AS) deployment. NIAS is the synergist, clearinghouse, and learning accelerator establishing the premier smart ecosystem for Autonomous Systems which grows the AS Industry while safely integrating AS into the daily lives of the public. Learn more at www.nias-uas.com About Mars Parachutes: Based out of southern California, MARS Parachutes was born in 2013 out of the need for affordable and effective solutions to the unplanned and inevitable accident. MARS Parachutes is the Global Standard in Drone Safety System. For more information about Mars Parachutes please visit www.marsparachutes.com For press inquiries, contact Brian Colvin, MARS Parachutes at bcolvin@ marsparachutes.com For press inquiries, contact Michael Couch, NIAS at michael.couch@NIAS-UAS.com [i] DroneLife, "Nevada Climbs into Second Highest Rating for Drone-friendly States", October 14, 2019: https://dronelife.com/2019/10/14/nevada-climbs-into-second-highest-rating-for-drone-friendly-states/ SOURCE: MARS Parachutes The Supreme Court Monday asked the Centre to respond to a plea filed by a law student seeking implementation of Justice J S Verma committee report on various aspects of crime against women and children. A bench, comprising Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant, issued notices to the ministries of home, human resource development, law and others while tagging the petition with another matter on the same issue. The apex court was hearing a plea filed by law student B Srinivas Goud seeking directions for the implementation of Justice J S Verma committee report and taking steps after considering the report "Magnitude of Substance use in India for 2019" published by Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. The report was submitted to the then Prime Minister of India on January 23, 2013 on various aspects of crime against women and children. The committee was formed after the Nirbhaya rape and murder incident in the national capital in December, 2012 to suggest various measures on check increasing crimes against women. The petition, filed through advocate Ramaswami Balaji, said that it is "unfortunate that though the report was submitted on January 23, 2013 to the Union of India, majority recommendations of the committee were not implemented even after passage of seven long years. This has resulted unrest among citizens of the country more particularly victims/parents of rape and sexual harassment". Goud said the increase in rape and sexual harassment incidents across the country and delay in punishing the culprits has been motivating the "Instant Justice" concept which has allegedly resulted the killing of four rape accused persons in Hyderabad by the police in the name of encounter. "Except few recommendations, majority of the recommendations of Justice J S Verma committee were not implemented. That due to non implementation of the recommendations of the report, the much needed changes/reforms in providing justice to the rape and sexual assault victims and preventive measures could not realised," the plea said. The PIL has also sought directions to "ban, restrict circulation of pornography and other provocative content in social media, Television, movies and internet etc and utilisation of 'Nirbhaya Fund' for providing safety, welfare measures for women". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Advisor to the Prosecutor General of Armenia Gor Abrahamyan has informed on his Facebook page that the National Security Service has instituted a criminal case for slander against the Prosecutor General. No lie can live forever, just like such manipulations, he wrote. Abrahamyan has disseminated the clarification that the Prosecutor Generals Office gave to Araratnews.am in regard to the information that human rights activist Artak Galstyan and lawyer Susanna Sargsyan released last year, according to which there had been a meeting between Prosecutor General of Armenia Artur Davtyan and Razmik Abrahamyan, who is Armenias top obstetrician and is charged with sale of children. The Prosecutor Generals Office reported that the National Security Service has finished investigating the case. During preparation of the report, A. Galstyan, who was summoned to the National Security Service, refused to report the crime and cited his sources of information. The investigative and procedural actions showed that, in the place specified in the report, Abrahamyan had meetings with his lawyer, not the Prosecutor General, and this fact was clear for the person who had spread the information. Whats more, through operational intelligence measures, there has not been any information about the Prosecutor General of Armenia visiting the specified place and having meetings with Razmik Abrahamyan, Lianna Karapetyan and other persons there, the Prosecutor Generals Office reported. Basta Boatlifts will display a boat lift at boot Dusseldorf 2020, January 18-26 in partnership with Ruban Bleu, booth 4F41. Basta Boatlifts designs, engineers and manufacturers luxury boat lifts, Personal Water Craft (PWC) lifts, seaplane lifts and lift accessories. Lifting capacities range from 635 kg up to 22,680 kg and are manufactured in both marine grade aluminum and galvanized steel, providing optimal material choices depending upon site conditions. Free standing hydraulic boat lifts protect boats from damaging waves. Lifts lock boats in place and out the of water, eliminating the need for anti-fouling paint. Boat lifts are remote controlled, powered by a deep-cycle battery, and charged by a solar panel, making them convenient where shore power is costly or not available. We are excited to partner with Ruban Bleu, who shares our commitment to quality and attention to detail. Beautiful boats deserve a beautiful boat lift that is built to last, remarked Basta Boatlifts owner Bryce Hansen. To arrange a meeting with Bryce Hansen while at boot Dusseldorf 2020, email him directly at bryceh@gobasta.com. About Basta Boatlifts Basta Boatlifts is the leader in hand-crafted luxury hydraulic boat lifts, seaplane lifts and PWC lifts. Basta patented the Over-Center gravity locking design in 1992 that changed the boat lift industry. Basta Boatlifts is a privately held company headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, USA. For more information go to bastaboatlifts.com. EUGENE, Ore. -- The victim in Saturday's deadly workplace accident at the Beltline/Delta Highway interchange was identified as Stephen Smith of Creswell, a truck driver with Hamilton Construction Company. Con O'Connor, president of Hamilton, said Smith worked for the company for nearly 10 years. "He was a great guy, a loving family man, and loved by all in the organization," O'Connor said Monday morning. O'Connor said Smith's death was the first in company history, which dates back to 1939. He said the company is fully cooperating with Oregon Occupational Safety and Health in its investigation. Oregon OSHA said it has 180 days to complete the investigation. A former co-worker of Smith told KEZI Smith was a great man, a role model in the workplace, and a pleasure to be around. According to Eugene Springfield Fire, Smith was caught between an excavator and a barrier just before 11 a.m. on Saturday. When first responders arrived, he had been freed. He was transported to Riverbend hospital with serious injuries. He later died. RELATED: Construction on Delta/Beltline interchange halted after workplace injury ODOT says work will resume on the project at 10 p.m. on Friday. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2018 there were nearly 5,000 public workplace deaths with over 1,000 of those being construction-related -- accounting for over 20 percent of workplace fatalities In Oregon, of 62 public workplace fatalities, 11 were in construction. OSHA specifies four key dangers they coin the "fatal four" in construction: falls, electrocution, being struck by an object, or getting caught in or between something. Police arrest two men in drug raids in Rassada PHUKET: Phuket City Police led by Sub Lt Lertpaiboon Sukhaphirom have arrested two men with 16 grams of crystal meth (ya ice), more than 740 pills of methamphetamine (ya bah), and a gun with ammunition. crimedrugspolice By Eakkapop Thongtub Monday 20 January 2020, 01:12PM The men were found in possession of drugs, and one was found with an illegal firearm, report police, Photos: Phuket City Police According to a report made available yesterday (Jan 18), Boonsom Tec Chimsang, 44, originally from Nakhon Sri Thammarat, was arrested with 13.74g of ya ice, 231 pills of ya bah, one unregistered 9mm handgun, seven 9mm bullets as well as 13 other items deemed to be evidence. Boonsom was arrested at a house in Soi Thiampracha Uthit on Koh Siray, said the report. Boonsom was taken to Phuket City Police Station and charged with possession of a Category 1 drug with intent to sell, and illegal possession of firearm and ammunition, the report noted. The other person arrested, Sutthikit Tom Jirawattanawijarn, 34, was taken into custody after he was found in possession of 2.38g of ya ice and 515 pills of ya bah at a house in Soi Ruampattana, Moo 1 of Rassada, north of Phuket Town. In placing Sutthikit under arrest, police seized a white Mitsubishi car valued at about B850,000 and two bankbooks, the report said. Sutthikit was taken to Phuket City Police Station and charged with possession of a Category 1 drug with intent to sell, confirmed the report. However, the report did not confirm when Boonsom and Sutthikit were arrested. Pariksha Pe Charcha 2020: Modi urges students to have technology-free hour everyday India oi-Madhuri Adnal New Delhi, Jan 20: A "technology free" room in homes, extra-curricular activities chosen on the basis of interest not glamour and realising that exams are not everything were some of the tips Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday offered students getting ready for exams. Reaching out to students across the country through the third edition of the "Pariksha Pe Charcha" programme at the Talkatora Stadium here, the prime minister also told them not to get demotivated by temporary setbacks. Here are the updates: Newest First Oldest First Answering burden of expectations Modi said,''The way ahead lies in pursuing, not pressurising children. Inspire children to do things that bring out their inner potential. Every parent/teacher must think about how they behaved with the children when they were about 4-5 years old. You didn't pressurize them, you just motivated them. Did you slap them for trying to walk? No. I want parents to accept that their children have grown up, but they must understand that their psyche to help them must never change or go away. Parents who allow their children to pursue things (if they are on the right track) are doing right thing.'' Arunachal Pradesh is the only state in India in which people greet each other with 'Jai Hind'. This is rare. You all should visit the North East It is common to see 4 members of a family seated together but each of them is on their phones. Can we think of a technology-free time? Or, have a space in the house which is technology-free. In this manner,we won't be distracted by tech. ''Remember India-Australia Test series in 2001? Our team was facing setbacks and the mood wasn't great. But, we can never forget how Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman turned the match around. This is power of positive thinking & motivation,'' PM said. Modi said,"Some people had told me not to attend the launch event saying 'there is no surety, what if it fails'. I told them that is the reason I must be there." If I make a mistake the friends in the media will love it, says Modi Pariksha Pe Charcha 2020 pic.twitter.com/JTdMuvMZUL KV Lokra (@LokraKv) January 20, 2020 Meanwhile, students in Kendriya Vidyalaya Lokra, Assam listening to Modi's Pariksha Pe Charcha 2020 Modi answers a question about 'mood off' during Board exams. ''You all were up during the Chandrayaan launch even when you had no contribution. But were you not demotivated when it was unsuccessful? When you don't fulfill any expectations, you don't have to feel disappointed. Ups and downs a part of life,'' Modi said. Aaj kal ka fashion hai "#withoutfilter", toh humare beech bhi jaise aap apne doston se baat karte hain waise hi halki-phulki baat karenge s PM, I get to attend many types of programmes. Each of the programme provides a new experience. But, if someone asks me what is that one programme that touches your heart the most, I will say it is this one I love attending Hackathons also. They showcase the power and talent of the youth of India. Modi interacts with students at Delhi's Talkatora Stadium Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi at an exhibition ahead of his interaction with school students during 'Pariksha Pe Charcha 2020' . pic.twitter.com/25epTcjfAi ANI (@ANI) January 20, 2020 Narendra Modi at an exhibition ahead of his interaction with school students during 'Pariksha Pe Charcha 2020' . Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi at an exhibition ahead of his interaction with school students during 'Pariksha Pe Charcha 2020' . pic.twitter.com/25epTcjfAi ANI (@ANI) January 20, 2020 Narendra Modi at an exhibition ahead of his interaction with school students during 'Pariksha Pe Charcha 2020' . Modi interacts with students at Delhi's Talkatora Stadium I love attending Hackathons also. They showcase the power and talent of the youth of India. s PM, I get to attend many types of programmes. Each of the programme provides a new experience. But, if someone asks me what is that one programme that touches your heart the most, I will say it is this one Aaj kal ka fashion hai "#withoutfilter", toh humare beech bhi jaise aap apne doston se baat karte hain waise hi halki-phulki baat karenge Modi answers a question about 'mood off' during Board exams. ''You all were up during the Chandrayaan launch even when you had no contribution. But were you not demotivated when it was unsuccessful? When you don't fulfill any expectations, you don't have to feel disappointed. Ups and downs a part of life,'' Modi said. Pariksha Pe Charcha 2020 pic.twitter.com/JTdMuvMZUL KV Lokra (@LokraKv) January 20, 2020 Meanwhile, students in Kendriya Vidyalaya Lokra, Assam listening to Modi's Pariksha Pe Charcha 2020 If I make a mistake the friends in the media will love it, says Modi Modi said,"Some people had told me not to attend the launch event saying 'there is no surety, what if it fails'. I told them that is the reason I must be there." ''Remember India-Australia Test series in 2001? Our team was facing setbacks and the mood wasn't great. But, we can never forget how Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman turned the match around. This is power of positive thinking & motivation,'' PM said. It is common to see 4 members of a family seated together but each of them is on their phones. Can we think of a technology-free time? Or, have a space in the house which is technology-free. In this manner,we won't be distracted by tech. Arunachal Pradesh is the only state in India in which people greet each other with 'Jai Hind'. This is rare. You all should visit the North East Answering burden of expectations Modi said,''The way ahead lies in pursuing, not pressurising children. Inspire children to do things that bring out their inner potential. Every parent/teacher must think about how they behaved with the children when they were about 4-5 years old. You didn't pressurize them, you just motivated them. Did you slap them for trying to walk? No. I want parents to accept that their children have grown up, but they must understand that their psyche to help them must never change or go away. Parents who allow their children to pursue things (if they are on the right track) are doing right thing.'' "We will once again have extensive discussions and insightful conversations on a wide range of subjects relating to examinations, especially how to remain happy as well as stress free during exam season. Inviting you all to join ''Pariksha Pe Charcha 2020''!" PM Modi said in a series of tweets. Office of the Prime Minister (PMO) tweets, "Interesting discussions on stress free exams, life after exams and more awaits. You will surely enjoy #ParikshaPeCharcha2020." pic.twitter.com/q1iP7XDAJm ANI (@ANI) January 20, 2020 Modi can only see 'white cap', 'hijab' and not tricolour: Yogendra Yadav lashes out over CAA In the run up to 'Pariksha Pe Charcha 2020', lakhs of students, parents and teachers shared their inputs and suggestions which are extremely valuable, giving insights into the pressing issues when it comes to exam preparation, the exam itself and the time after examinations, he said. "Discussion on exams, @examwarriors and the ''Pariksha Pe Charcha'' are a part of an endeavour to support our dynamic students and assure them that we are all with them as they prepare for their exams. See you tomorrow at PPC 2020!" Modi tweeted. NEWS AT NOON, JANUARY 20th, 2020 Officials said the event will start around 11 am and will be broadcast on YouTube. The students who will get to ask questions to the prime minister have been short-listed on the basis of essays submitted by them on five subjects a" Gratitude is Great, Your Future Depends on Your Aspirations, Examining Exams, Our Duties, Your Take, and Balance is Beneficial. "A lot of excitement and enthusiasm is being seen among the students, teachers and parents to not only participate in the unique event but also to receive valuable tips from the prime minister who is keen to ensure that the students take the exams in a relaxed atmosphere and do not come under stress, to ensure better results in the long run," the HRD Ministry said in a statement. A senior official said the ministry received around 2.6 lakh entries from students for the event this year. Last year, it was around 1.4 lakh entries. PM Modi took 10 questions in the 2018 edition of Pariksha Pe Charcha and 16 in last year's. Modi flag bearer of Indian culture, tradition: HM Amit Shah in Karnataka This year's event was initially scheduled for January 16 but was rescheduled due to festivals across the country. How to watch live telecast The Pariksha Pe Charcha will be broadcasted on news channels from 11 am. It will also be broadcast live on YouTube and Twitter handles of the Press Information Bureau (PIB) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Executives around the world regard the UK as a 'beacon of relative stability' for their businesses. In a major vote of confidence in Brexit Britain, a survey of bosses by PwC found the UK is the fourth most important country for international firms, behind the US, China and Germany. The accountancy firm's report found, for chief executives in Germany, France and Italy, the UK is as attractive now as it was in 2015, with 'a notable uptick since last year'. Co-operation call: Gita Gopinath, the International Monetary Fund's chief economist Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Kevin Ellis, chairman of PwC UK, said: 'The findings provide timely perspective on the UK's standing as a place to invest and do business. Viewed against the turbulent global backdrop, the UK is a beacon of relative stability. 'You can't replicate natural advantages like our timezone and location between the US, Asia and the rest of Europe, but more than that the UK is a fair and trusted place to do business.' Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom said: 'It's excellent to see such confidence in the UK.' The findings came as the International Monetary Fund said it expects the UK to grow by 1.4 per cent this year and 1.5 per cent next year faster than its main European rivals but not as strong as the US. But casting a shadow over the start of the WEF's 50th annual meeting in the Swiss ski resort, the Fund downgraded its forecasts for the global economy and warned that climate change and trade tensions pose major threats to living standards. Gita Gopinath, the IMF's chief economist, said: 'There is simply no room for complacency, and the world needs stronger multilateral co-operation and national-level policies to support a sustained recovery that benefits all.' Business leaders will be watching closely for any signs of tension today, as both US President Donald Trump and China's vice-premier Han Zheng are due to speak at Davos amid hopes their 18-month trade war may be coming to an end. The IMF said the world economy grew by just 2.9 per cent in 2019 the worst performance since the financial crisis more than a decade ago. And it trimmed its forecast for this year from 3.4 per cent to 3.3 per cent and for next year from 3.6 per cent to 3.4 per cent. The report said: 'Climate change, the driver of the increased frequency and intensity of weather-related disasters, already endangers health and economic outcomes, and not only in the directly affected regions. It could pose challenges to other areas that may not yet feel the direct effects, including by contributing to cross-border migration or financial stress, for instance, in the insurance sector. A continuation of the trends could inflict even bigger losses across more countries.' IMF's managing director Kristalina Georgieva warned that the world economy is facing startling similarities with the 1920s. She said growing inequality of wealth in countries such as the UK and the US, along with rapid advancements in technology meant the 2020s could easily be compared with the 1920s, an era which ultimately ended in the financial disaster of the Great Depression. DAVOS IS ACCUSED OF FOSSIL-FUEL HYPOCRISY Finance bosses attending this year's sustainability-focused Davos summit have been accused of hypocrisy after a report revealed they are pumping more than 1 trillion into fossil fuel companies. The tagline for the summit is 'committed to improving the state of the world', but environmental activists insist that business leaders who are at the World Economic Forum's 50th annual meeting are not doing enough. Research from Greenpeace shows that the banks and pension funds whose chief executives are at the exclusive Swiss resort together have 1.1 trillion of investment sitting in oil, gas and coal businesses. Jennifer Morgan, Greenpeace International's executive director, said: 'These money men at Davos are nothing short of hypocrites as they say they want to save the planet but are actually killing it for short-term profit.' Just ten banks account for the vast majority of the investment in fossil fuels, including JP Morgan, Citi, RBC and Barclays. Georgieva said: 'For the analogy to stop right there, acting together in a co-ordinated manner is critical.' But the IMF did have some good news for the business leaders who are jetting in to Davos. It said that there were 'tentative signs that manufacturing activity and global trade are bottoming out', and that there were 'early signs of stabilisation'. This was being helped along by the reduced risk of a No Deal Brexit and signs that the US-China trade war might be coming to an end. 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. A number of civil society organisations (CSOs) have ganged up against the interest of the good people of Ghana in furtherance of their parochial interests. They have left most Ghanaians in no doubt about their pact with the devil, the attributes of which deal are just emerging. Making maximum noise against the compilation of a new voters' register so the good thereof shall be dwarfed is a project being advanced. They shall fall, the good shall triumph. While some of the names associated with the Elvis Afriyie-Ankrah's inspired project are stained and their integrity when it comes to such matters are, of course, wobbling, others envious of the stature of the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), of which the Chairperson once headed, are seizing this opportunity to muddy the waters in a project which shall fail. With the countenance of the so-called coalition of CSOs now unmasked, most of us now know the project they are undertaking; what an addition to their already negative entries. For some of them, it is time to justify the donor funding for their so-called democracy-enhancing activities if their mischief can stand the test of integrity. What could be better than ensuring value for money in matters regarding the maintenance of the integrity of the voters' roll to rid it of cobwebs? Only closed minds treading on a prejudiced tangent will turn their backs on the financial wisdom of savings to be made with the procurement of new BVMS for the 2020 elections. Of course, it would be foolish and crazy to go for the refurbishing of the system at a cost of $74,364,500 when a new one goes for $56,000. We do not need a group of arrogant coalition to throw dust into our eyes about the sense therein. Equally instructive and revealing is the fact that the refurbishing of the old data centre with one year maintenance will cost, according to the EC, $19,000,000, whereas on the other hand the acquisition and upgrading of a fresh one with three years maintenance goes for $7,000,000. We are scared about a vendor lock-in and the STL element in the quotation process. Once bitten, twice shy. Elvis Afriyie-Ankrah's charge on his party to rather direct funding towards making the compilation of a voters' register not to happen has been heard, and it is being put into practice. The voters' register CSOs' behind-the-scene engagements with those who share knowledge of the source code with STL and other critical details is no longer a confidential stuff. The ear-piercing noise being generated by players of the protest industry cannot and will not dwarf the goodness in compiling a new voters' register. With an already prepared statement on 16th January 2020 intended to throw spanners into the works of the Electoral Commission (EC) as it were we are saddled with a group whose mind game manouvres have lost altitude. No group of Ghanaians, CSOs et all can take the people of this country for granted. If only they were as vociferous at the apogee of the dictatorship of the previous order at the EC, local politics would have been better for it. The fact is that the fate of Ghana's democracy cannot be left at the hands of the machinations of groups which lack deference to make their words acceptable let alone binding. We have not forgotten how this same blemished register and the manipulations thereof pushed the country to the brink. We would have had a bloodied nose but for the calmness of one of the aggrieved players. The argument that the same register was used in the last polls that brought the incumbent to power is flawed. The victors were ahead in their calculations relying on IT intelligence. There was no such thing as hacking as Charlotte said. There was rather vigilance on the part of the NPP, having realised that the flawed voters' register was about to be manipulated once more. MEXICO CITY The administrator of the elite Catholic school in Cancun, Mexico, used to take the girls out of class and send them to the chapel, where the priest from the Legion of Christ religious order would sexually abuse them. As some were reading the Bible, he would rape the others in front of them, little girls aged 6 to 8 or 9, said one of his victims, Ana Lucia Salazar, now a 36-year-old Mexican television host and mother of three. Afterward, nothing was the same, nothing went back to the way it was, she said through tears at her home in Mexico City. Salazars horrific story, which has been corroborated by other victims and the Legion itself, has sparked a new credibility crisis for the once-influential order, 10 years after the Holy See took it over after determining that its founder was a pedophile. But more importantly, it has called into question the Vatican reform itself: The papal envoy who ran the Legion starting in 2010 learned about the case nearly a decade ago and refused to punish or even investigate the priest or the superiors who covered up his crimes, many of whom are still in power and ministry today. The scandal is not the story line the Legion was hoping for as it opened its general chapter Monday in Rome, a weeks-long gathering to choose new leaders and approve policy decisions going forward. The assembly was supposed to have shown off the Legion embarking fully on its own after 10 years of Vatican-mandated reform. The Holy See imposed structural changes after revelations that the Legions late founder, the Rev. Marcial Maciel, sexually abused at least 60 seminarians, fathered at least three children and built a secretive, cult-like order to cater to his whims and hide his double life. The Cancun scandal, though, has exposed that the Vatican reform failed to address one key area: to punish known historic abusers and the people who covered for them, and change the culture of cover-up that enabled the crimes. From the outset, the late papal envoy who ran the Legion, Cardinal Velasio De Paolis, refused to hold complicit Legion superiors accountable or investigate past abusers. De Paolis said there would be no witch hunt, explicitly, and the consequence is that abuse and its cover-up have remained unpunished, said the Rev. Christian Borgogno, a former Legion priest who co-founded the Legioleaks Facebook group where Salazar first went public in May. Borgogno said De Paolis decision to leave in place Legion superiors, many of whom were close to Maciel, made reform impossible. The only way out was to foster charismatic leaders, and they were even repressed, he told the AP. Thats the main reason why many of us left. Following the AP story, the Legion announced on Monday it would conduct an investigation with the Vatican into the cover-up of the case, and vowed all superiors involved would cooperate. Salazar, whose story has made headlines in Mexico, wants more: What I want is for the pope to get radicalized, she said. Theres only one position, to be on the side of the violated children, not a religious order that has among its priests villains, delinquents, rapists, accomplices and victimizers. The Legion of Christ has no reason to exist, she said, echoing calls from even within the church that the Vatican should have suppressed the order 10 years ago. Its like taking apart a cartel; you have to remove the ringleaders and dismantle it. Legion spokesman the Rev. Aaron Smith argued that the Legions leadership had indeed changed over the past decade, noting that 11 priests are participating in the 2020 general chapter for the first time, and that most of the 66 participants are new to the assembly since the Vatican reform began. More than a dozen others, however, belong to Maciels old guard. Smith said the power structure of the Maciel era had been dismantled, with more decentralized authority and systems of checks and balances put in place. It would be practically impossible today to have actions like the ones which occurred during Maciels tenure to go undetected, he said in emailed responses to questions, after declining an on-camera interview. The scandal has struck the Legion at its core Mexico and cast a discrediting light where it hurts most: the Legions prestigious private schools, which cater to Mexicos elite and are the orders main source of income. Former Legion priests say the scandal is a devastating blow that they long warned about, since a loss of credibility among wealthy Mexicans would deprive the Legion of its key base. Already, the Mexican bishops conference has ended its silence about the Legion to denounce the newly revealed abuse and the Legions failure to provide a specific act of justice or reparation for the victims even after it acknowledged the crimes, vowed more transparency and pointed to its child protection policies in place now. The archbishop of Monterrey a Legion stronghold denounced the groups criminal silence and treatment of victims, and led recent calls from Mexican bishops for an end to the statute of limitations for child sex abuse cases. It was a remarkable turnabout, given that Mexicos Catholic hierarchy long supported the Legion and benefited from the once-wealthy orders largesse. Even the Vaticans ambassador to Mexico, Monsignor Franco Coppola, broke the Holy Sees tradition of diplomatic discretion to publicly criticize the Legions handling of the case and call for the Vatican to investigate the web of cover-up behind it. That too was remarkable, given that the Vatican itself has been implicated in the Maciel cover-up. Coppola also echoed calls from victims and the archdiocese of Monterrey for the Legion superiors implicated in the cover-up to at least stand down from the general chapter, calling it a great gesture of humility, though until Monday none had accepted. But on Monday evening, the Legion announced that the Rev. Eloy Bedia, who had been the Mexican superior who handled the complaints in the 1990s, had agreed to not participate in the meeting. But he also defended himself in a letter released by the order and noted that all personnel movements in the 1990s were decided by Maciel, not him. Asked about the criticism from the Mexican hierarchy, Smith said the Legion welcomed the input as it seeks to improve its handling of past cases of abuse and prevention efforts going forward. He said the general chapter would evaluate current child protection practices, ensure proper outreach to victims, and could mandate a continuation of the investigation into other cases of abuse of power by Legion superiors. However, victims see such promises as nothing more than lip service, and dismissed the letters they received from the leadership after the scandal broke promising reparations and change. The Legion hasnt yet settled all requests for financial compensation from eight of Maciels original victims, who made formal requests in 2018. Salazars case is particularly grave since her parents went to the bishop, himself a Legionary, to denounce the priest, Fernando Martinez Suarez, as soon as Salazar told them in late 1992 that he had digitally raped her. Then aged 8, she had been jumping on her parents bed one night when she revealed that Martinez would sit her on his lap, pull her panties aside, penetrate her and masturbate himself. My mother says that while I was jumping, it seemed like I was a butterfly, as if I were lifting the weight off, as if I were flying, Salazar said. But Martinez had friends, chief among them Maciel, who it turns out had sexually abused him. Martinez was one of nearly a dozen Legion priests who were childhood victims of the founder and went onto molest other minors, a multi-generational chain of abuse that the Legion acknowledged last month. Last week, the Legion announced that Martinez had asked to be defrocked, after an outside investigation determined he molested at least six girls in Cancun and that a series of Legion leaders, from the original bishop who took Salazars complaint to De Paolis himself, decided against reporting him to police or even the Vatican. Martinez had been transferred from Cancun to a seminary in Spain, with no formal restrictions imposed after the Legion received the first reports. De Paolis, one of the Vaticans top canon lawyers, then essentially became part of the cover-up: He had learned of the case between 2011-2013 when he was asked to take action against Martinez since no proper investigation had ever been conducted. But at the moment in which Martinez could have finally been brought to justice, De Paolis settled on inaction since no other complaints had been received, according to the investigation by the Praesidium firm. Martinez was subsequently transferred to Rome in 2016. The current Legion superior, the Rev. Eduardo Robles Gil, apologized to Salazar for how her case was handled originally and all the subsequent deficiencies. I could have remedied it starting in 2014, but I followed the decisions that were taken about abuse cases from previous decades, and we didnt reexamine it, he wrote her in November. He forwarded a letter from Martinez to Salazar, in which her abuser begged her forgiveness for the grave harm I caused you. He termed his behavior faults that were the result of an uncontrolled sexuality. Salazar was deeply offended, feeling the letters diminished the crimes and cover-up. It was revictimizing to me, humiliating, disgusting. After Salazar came forward, other Martinez victims broke their silence. Their stories were no surprise to Beatriz Sanchez, an English teacher at Cancuns Colegio Cumbres in the early 1990s who heard about the rapes after discovering a group of his victims whispering and weeping in the bathroom. When one approached me she said: Miss, each time Father is doing it harder with the littlest ones and we dont want this to happen to them, please help us,' Sanchez told AP. She urged them to write it down and then was promptly fired when she reported him to Martinezs then-superior, Bedia. After Salazar went public, the school official who used to take the girls out of class to offer them up to Martinez was fired from her job at another Legion school. One of the young victims was Biani Lopez-Antunez, whose mother had also reported the abuse to the Legion in 1993. Irma Hassey said she hadnt pried for details when her daughter first revealed Martinezs abuse as a child, not wanting to hurt her further, and only learned the full extent in November. Now, she said, she realizes with horror that for two years I was leaving my daughter at the door of a rapist. ___ Winfield reported from the Vatican. Holly Willoughby was moved to tears during Monday's instalment of This Morning, as she discussed Prince Harry and Meghan's exit from the Royal Family. During the broadcast, a montage of the couple's 'best bits' was played, prompting Holly, 38, to fight back tears as she admitted to feeling emotional over the affair. However, the TV personality's emotional display left a number of viewers baffled, as they also waded in with their opinions on the inclusion of a 'best bits' montage on Harry and Meghan's romance. Emotional: Holly Willoughby got emotional as she discussed Prince Harry and Meghan's imminent departure from the Royal Family during Monday's instalment of This Morning 'I can't bear it,' Holly admitted to her co-host Phillip Schofield after watching the footage of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who are planning to settle in Canada. She also admitted that she felt 'emotional' while watching Harry's heartfelt speech at a private dinner for his children's charity Sentebale on Sunday where he spoke of his 'great sadness' about quitting his royal duties. And viewers soon took to Twitter to share their feelings on Holly's emotional reaction, a number of whom struggled to understand why she was so moved. Quit: It was confirmed last week that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would be giving up their roles while building a new life in North America. Pictured earlier this month Wrote one viewer: 'Why the hell was Holly crying? Can't believe people are upset and even offended by their decisions. 'I am happy for them and really hope it all works out. Although unfortunately I think the press interference will only intensify now sadly.' Commented another: '#ThisMorning just had a REALLY cringey video montage of #HarryandMeghan & Holly Willoughby was crying! 'WTF? It was like ; Harry, Meghan, youve been voted out , these are your best bits! We dont caaaaaaare!' Baffled: This Morning viewers were baffled as they saw Holly (pictured with co-host Phillip Schofield) fight back tears after watching a 'best bits' montage of Harry and Meghan 'This Morning really just broadcast a best bits montage of Harry and Meghans relationship... what in the world?' stated a third, who added: 'They havent been voted off a reality show, give me strength.' Another found the choice of soundtrack for the montage amusing, writing: 'this morning creating a video montage of meghan and harry to accidentally in love from the SHREK soundtrack is peak british TV ridiculousness.' [sic] A number of other viewers empathised with Holly's show of emotion, with one tweeting: 'Im with you Holly ....its so sad #HarryandMeghan.' Commenting on the accompanying discussion about Harry and Meghan's decision to leave the Royal Family, another said: 'Phil and holly their clip of Harry and Meghan was so good,a fair and unbiased discussion so civilised. Montage: The broadcast included a discussion about the affair, dubbed Mexit, but a number of viewers struggled to get past the reality show-style montage that was included 'Brought tears to my eyes, please leave them alone. Parents dont always like the choices children make Cant we just give them our blessing and leave them to try.' [sic] On Sunday night, Harry spoke of his 'great sadness' at leaving the Royal Family, but said he and Meghan had 'no other option' than to quit senior royal duties. In an emotional speech, the 35-year-old said the UK is a place that he loves and that will 'never change' and the royal couple had hoped to continue serving the Queen, the Commonwealth and his military associations, without any public funding, but this was not possible. Harry also paid a stirring tribute to his grandmother, calling her his 'commander-in- chief' and that he was 'incredibly grateful' to Her Majesty and the rest of his family for supporting him and Meghan. Larking around: The rest of the show saw Holly regain her composure as she pressed on Emotional speech: On Sunday night, the Duke of Sussex made an emotional speech about himself and wife Meghan quitting the Royal Family Shared feelings: Many viewers appeared to empathise with Holly's open display of emotion He said: 'Once Meghan and I were married we were excited. We were hopeful and we were here to serve. For those reasons it brings me great sadness that it has come to this. 'The decision that I have made for my wife and I to step back is not one I made lightly. It was so many months of talks after so many years of challenges and I know I haven't always gotten it right but as far as this goes there really was no other option.' It comes after Saturday night's statement from the Queen that Harry and Meghan will 'not use their HRH titles', as they look to forge a new life in North America. As well as returning the 2.4 million spent on a lavish refurbishment of Frogmore Cottage, they will pay a commercial rent estimated at up to 360,000 a year to retain it as their British home. New horizons: It is believed that the couple will settle in Canada, after initially announcing that they would split their time between the UK and North America The Duke of Sussex added: 'What I want to make clear is we're not walking away and we certainly aren't walking away from you. 'Our hope was to continue serving the queen, the commonwealth and my military associations but without public funding. 'Unfortunately that wasn't possible. I've accepted this knowing that it doesn't change who I am or how committed I am but I hope that helps you understand what it had come to that I would step my family back from all I have ever known to take a step forward into what I hope can be a peaceful life.' The deal hammered out at Sandringham on Saturday stipulates that the pair, who will be known as Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, will cease to be working members of the Royal Family from this spring and will not perform any official duties on behalf of the Queen effectively leaving 'The Firm' completely. Family: Meghan has been in Canada with the couple's son Archie since news of their departure from the Royal Family broke. Pictured in December 2019 By quitting their senior royal roles, they will sacrifice their HRH title. On Sunday evening, the Duke of Sussex said the couple would continue to lead a life of service and were taking a 'huge leap of faith'. He added: 'I will continue to be the same man who holds his country dear and dedicates his life to supporting the causes, charities and military communities that are so important to me. 'Together you have given me an education about living and this role has taught me more about what it right and just than I could ever have imagined. We are taking a leap of faith so thank you for giving me the courage to take this next step.' Sacrificing titles: By quitting their senior royal roles, the couple will sacrifice their HRH title In an adorable moment, Harry also revealed his son Archie, who is in Canada with Meghan, recently saw snow for the first time. He told the audience: It has been our privilege to serve you, and we will continue to lead a life of service. So in that respect, nothing changes. 'It has also been a privilege to meet so many of you and to feel your excitement for our son Archie - who saw snow for the first time the other day and thought it was bloody brilliant! 'I will always have the utmost respect for my grandmother, my commander-in-chief, and I am incredibly grateful to her and the rest of my family for the support they have shown Meghan and I over the last few months.' BAGHDAD - Iraqi security forces fired tear gas and live rounds during clashes with anti-government protesters overnight and Monday morning in Baghdad, killing three and wounding dozens of demonstrators, officials said. Separately, three katyusha rockets landed in Baghdads fortified Green Zone, the seat of Iraqs government and home to several foreign embassies, but caused no injuries or damage, two security officials said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. The clashes prompted authorities to close key streets and thoroughfares leading to the Iraqi capitals centre. The violence was the latest since protests in Iraq reignited last week after a brief lull amid soaring tensions between Washington and Tehran following a U.S. drone strike that killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad earlier this month. Anti-government protests have similarly resumed in Lebanon after a brief hiatus, entering a new, violent phase as anger against a worsening economic crisis and politicians inaction mounts. Hundreds of people were injured over the weekend as security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets in clashes in downtown Beirut. The rockets landed close to the U.S. embassy in the Green Zone, and are the latest in several similar attacks. As in the other incidents, the perpetrators were not immediately known but the strike comes during a sensitive time as the U.S. and Iran step back from taking further escalating action on Iraqi soil. Two rockets fell in the Green Zone on Jan. 8. In Baghdad, the tear gas and live rounds were fired near Sinak Bridge and also the nearby Tayaran Square, which have been the scene of violence in recent days, medical and security officials said. A gunshot wound killed one protester, while a second died after being struck in the head by a tear gas canister, medical officials said. A third later succumbed to his injuries, the officials said. A statement from the Baghdad Operations Command said fourteen officers were wounded by a group of rock-throwing inciters of violence while trying to secure the entrance to Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the protest movement. Among the dead was Yousif Sattar, 21, a local journalist covering the protest movement, one medical official and an activist said. Despite these actions our forces continued to exercise restraint and follow up on the security duties assigned to them, said the statement. A security official said at least nine arrests have been made so far after the National Security Council authorized security forces to arrest demonstrators seen blocking main thoroughfares and roundabouts. The U.N. envoy to Iraq, meanwhile, urged Iraqi political elites to resume pushing for reforms and for protests to remain peaceful. Any steps taken so far to address the peoples concerns will remain hollow, if they are not completed, said Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert in a statement issued by the U.N. Violent suppression of peaceful protesters is intolerable and must be avoided at all costs. In the southern city of Nasiriyah, protesters blocked the highway linking the city to the southern oil-rich province of Basra. At least six protesters were wounded when an unknown gunmen fired at them from a speeding car, a medical official said. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity under regulations. On Sunday, protesters in Baghdad and southern Iraq burned tires, blocking main streets. Clashes in Baghdad wounded at least 27 people. Iraqi activists gave the government a weeks deadline to act on their demands for sweeping political reforms or said they would up the pressure with new demonstrations. The uprising began on Oct. 1 when thousands of Iraqis took to the streets to decry rampant government corruption, poor public services and a scarcity of jobs. Protesters are demanding an end to Iraqs sectarian political system, alongside early elections and the stepping aside of its ruling elite. The anti-government movement had scored several successes before the U.S. strike diverted public attention. In December, pressure from demonstrations lead Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraqs most revered Shiite cleric, to withdraw support for the government of Adel Abdul-Mahdi, prompting the prime ministers resignation. Later that month, lawmakers passed a key new electoral law that would give voters more say in whos elected to office. But bickering between rival political factions has set back talks over the selection of a new premier. Abdul-Mahdis appointment was the product of a provisional agreement between rival parliamentary blocs led by the influential Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, and another led by Hadi al-Ameri. Since the protests first erupted in October, at least 500 have died under fire from security forces. ___ Associated Press writer Murtada Faraj in Baghdad contributed to this report. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 17:16:18|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Alumni Association of the Huangpu (Whampoa) Military Academy held a tea party in Beijing Monday to celebrate the upcoming Spring Festival. Extending Chinese New Year's greetings to Huangpu alumni and their relatives at home and abroad, Lin Shangyuan, head of the alumni association, called on them to make new contributions to promote the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations and to achieve the complete reunification of the motherland. Established in 1984, the Alumni Association of the Huangpu Military Academy is a patriotic organization. The Huangpu Military Academy opened in southern China's Guangzhou in 1924. Photos: Thousands Attend Pro-Gun Rights Demonstration in Virginia Thousands of gun rights activists have gathered in Virginias capitol in Richmond to protest a number of gun control measures that were proposed by the states legislature in recent weeks as officials increased security. The rally has drawn not only thousands of demonstrators but international headlines and even comments from President Donald Trump, who wrote on Twitter Monday that the legislature is working hard to take away your Second Amendment rights before urging people to vote for Republicans in November. THREAD: NOW: Im at Virginia state Capitol covering the gun rights rally lots of people here already at 8 a.m. pic.twitter.com/rP2t0THWw3 Bowen Xiao (@BowenXiao_) January 20, 2020 Culpeper county sheriff Scott Jenkins speaking now. He repeats that he would deputise citizens to protect their constitutional rights. I spoke with him in an earlier article: https://t.co/dgiuc4T0tT pic.twitter.com/bCyQvXijhn Bowen Xiao (@BowenXiao_) January 20, 2020 Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, declared a state of emergency last week ahead of the planned event, saying there was credible intelligence from our law enforcement agencies that there are groups with malicious plans for the rally. He also told reporters that a militia group was aiming to storm the capitol premises, which warranted the need for heightened security. State officials appeared to erect a security perimeter around the capitol complex and banned weapons in that area, The New York Times reported. Live video footage captured from the scene showed that the majority of demonstrators were behind that security fencing. Whats at stake is our gun rights, one rally-goer said during a live stream. Another said that the Second Amendment is to keep tyrants in place, and suggested Gov. Northam was one. Gun rights activists take part in a rally in Richmond, Virginia, on Jan. 20, 2020. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times) Gun rights activists take part in a rally in Richmond, Virginia, on Jan. 20, 2020. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times) Gun rights activists take part in a rally in Richmond, Virginia, on Jan. 20, 2020. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times) Gun rights activists take part in a rally in Richmond, Virginia, on Jan. 20, 2020. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times) Gun rights activists take part in a rally in Richmond, Virginia, on Jan. 20, 2020. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times) Gun rights activists take part in a rally in Richmond, Virginia, on Jan. 20, 2020. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times) Gun rights activists take part in a rally in Richmond, Virginia, on Jan. 20, 2020. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times) Gun rights activists take part in a rally in Richmond, Virginia, on Jan. 20, 2020. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times) Gun rights activists take part in a rally in Richmond, Virginia, on Jan. 20, 2020. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times) Gun rights activists take part in a rally in Richmond, Virginia, on Jan. 20, 2020. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times) Gun rights activists take part in a rally in Richmond, Virginia, on Jan. 20, 2020. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times) Pro gun protestors gather outside the Virginia State Capitol building in Richmond, Virginia, on Jan. 20, 2020. (Roberto Schmidt/ AFP) Virginia State police troopers stand near a security checkpoint before demonstrators enter the capitol grounds ahead of a pro-gun rally in Richmond, Virginia, on Jan. 20, 2020 (Steve Helber/AP Photo) A spokesperson for the Virginia Citizens Defense League, the group that has organized the decades-long Lobby Day event in Richmond, said that Northam has touched the third rail and has motivated people to drive across the state and from other states to come protect our rights following the emergency declaration. Dozens of sheriffs across Virginia have said they would declare their counties Second Amendment sanctuaries amid the push for legislation. Culpeper County Sheriff Scott Jenkins has gone a step further, saying he would deputize all residents. He again reiterated that statement at the rally. NASHVILLE, Tenn., Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Students, parents, and community leaders will gather at the Tennessee State Capitol to celebrate educational opportunity on Monday, Jan. 27. The day features a series of events including a legislative luncheon from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m, a civics experience, and award ceremony from 3 to 3:30 p.m. Representative Rep. John DeBerry Jr. will be recognized for his years of service in the Tennessee General Assembly where he has been a tireless advocate for educational options that meet students' diverse educational needs. Students and families in attendance will have the opportunity to tour the capitol building and receive a civics lesson on the House floor. The Tennessee State Capitol is located at 600 Dr. M.L.K. Jr. Blvd. 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. "Parents from across the Volunteer State share one thing in common we want what's best for our kids, especially when it comes to their education," said Shaka Mitchell, Tennessee state director of American Federation for Children. "That means we need a range of options that can meet the unique needs of individual students. This week we celebrate our state and local leaders who respect the right of parents to choose the best education for their children." This event is organized by American Federation for Children - Tennessee, which is working to expand educational opportunities and ensure that more children have educational choice. 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/tennessee. SOURCE National School Choice Week Related Links www.schoolchoiceweek.com As we mark the 47th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision on Jan. 22, we are facing a critically important juncture in the fight to protect sexual and reproductive health and rights. As we look back on the escalation of attacks on abortion rights in 2019, we recognize that the promise of Roe v. Wade has never been fully realized by all. Unabated neglect of the health and rights of marginalized communities has continued to place access to reproductive health care out of reach for many. Looking ahead, we must diligently work to ensure the right to abortion. In 2019, we saw state legislatures enact 26 bans on abortion. Encouraged by the conservative tilt of the Supreme Court, many of the bans have the goal of bringing a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade. These bans have nothing to do with advancing public health and everything to do with a hateful political agenda. Earlier this month, a group of 200 members of Congress, including eight from Pennsylvania, sent a brief to the Supreme Court urging them to overturn Roe v. Wade. While support for abortion rights across the country is at its highest and growing, the fate of these rights is at its most tenuous since Roe v. Wade was decided. Pennsylvania already has restrictive abortion laws, yet we have seen an onslaught of pieces of legislation four in this session alone designed to further curtail abortion access. Elected officials pushing anti-abortion legislation have shamelessly used those who have experienced miscarriage, individuals with disabilities, and grieving families as political fodder to achieve their ultimate goal of outlawing abortion. We know who this legislation targets. Due to a long history of systemic inequities, abortion bans disproportionately threaten the health, rights, and lives of people of color, immigrants, people in the LGBTQ community, and lower-income individuals. People who depend on Medicaid for health care are barred from using their insurance for abortion care. Those struggling to make ends meet are faced with paying rent, child care, and putting food on the table. The additional burden of obtaining the funds to pay for an abortion, along with hurdles and barriers to care, often force unnecessary and harmful delays. When abortion bans are implemented, those with financial means will likely always have access to safe medical care, while others will suffer disproportionally from lack of options. A growing majority of Americans support the right to abortion. Yet some politicians are focused on anti-abortion policy that would put peoples lives at risk when it is within their power to pass policies to improve health outcomes. Clearly, if these elected leaders cared about lowering the abortion rate, they would focus on measures that have proven to be the front-line defense in reducing the need for abortion: increasing access to affordable birth control and funding comprehensive sex education in our schools. In fact, these measures are responsible for the current all-time lows in the rates of abortion. Instead, we see some legislators working to the contrary by supporting regulations like the administrations unethical gag rule on Title X funding, limiting the reach of the nations family planning program for those who are uninsured and underinsured. The hypocrisy of those who are committed to dismantling access to preventive health care does not go unnoticed. While the importance of the right to abortion cannot be overstated, Planned Parenthood commits to fighting an array of injustices that prevent our patients from exercising full agency over their lives and futures. We must strive not only to protect the freedoms guaranteed under Roe v. Wade, but to also ensure access to health care for all. The threat to the health of our most vulnerable communities is the greatest public health crisis of our time. There are vast and unacceptable health-outcome inequities by gender, race, income, and geography. Reducing and someday eliminating those inequities is our north star. Our doors remain open. Every day, our patients come to Planned Parenthood for a full range of sexual and reproductive health-care services. In 2020, our commitment to our communities remains steadfast and strong. For 103 years, Planned Parenthood has stood up to defend and fight for the people we serve. We will work to safeguard protections and continue to fight back against unjust laws and regulations, and we will work in coalition with our communities for a future that values equality, the freedom to control our own lives, and the ability for individuals to pursue and fulfill their own aspirational goals. Dayle Steinberg is the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Southeastern Pennsylvania. Having grown swiftly since the acquisition of Flipkart by Walmart in 2018, it was looking at a valuation of $10 billion. However, factors such as lack of diversification, new e-commerce and data policies, as well as the overall investment environment, have slowed the process. Photograph: Kind courtesy PhonePe.com Digital payments firm PhonePe, which was out in the market for a large funding round, now seems likely to take more time for this. Its proposal has not evoked much response, said sources in the know. The Walmart-owned firm has been in talks with several large global investors, to raise up to $1.2 billion (Rs 8,500 crore). Having grown swiftly since the acquisition of Flipkart by Walmart in 2018, it was looking at a valuation of $10 billion. However, factors such as lack of diversification, new e-commerce and data policies, as well as the overall investment environment, have slowed the process. Besides, investors are not ready to give them this level of valuation, a reason why these discussions are not making much progress, sources added. Among others, the payments firm was said to be in talks with Tencent, US payments firm Visa, SoftBank, Naspers and even sovereign funds such as Qatar Investment Authority and Canadian Pension Plan. If they had got the ($10 billion) valuation upfront, they would have raised the funding. "From the past few months, they have slowed down the process itself. "The challenge was that the investors had not given them this kind of valuation because they had not diversified and were only doing payments, said a person familiar with the fundraising plans. Also, the overall investment environment was a dampener. The acquisition of Flipkart, as well as the new data policies and their impact on getting into the broader fintech spaces other than payments, played a role. An e-mail sent to PhonePe did not evoke a response. Background PhonePe came to Walmart as part of the US retailers $16-bn acquisition of e-commerce firm Flipkart in 2018. According to sources, Walmart prefers that PhonePe raises funding from outside investors to scale up operations and take on rivals such as Alibaba-backed Paytm, Google Pay and Amazon Pay, also eyeing the payments and financial services market. Walmart is not like Amazon. They would not put a massive amount of cash into PhonePe as they have to also fund Flipkart. "Besides, they are spending a lot of money in the US e-commerce market, said another person, who didnt wish to be named. According to Ankur Pahwa, partner at consultancy EY India, though the fintech space has made rapid strides, especially in the payments and wallets space, it has a long way to go. For instance, in segments such as lending, investing and insurance. The need to be a one-stop app for most financial needs is certainly on the wishlist of big players in the segment and they are looking to quickly monetise on the customer base, he said. Progress PhonePe has started making deeper inroads into the countrys financial services market, expected to touch $340 billion in the next few years. This week, for instance, it launched a new savings product (Liquid Fund) on its app. While there are regulatory hitches, the overall view of the sector continues to be positive, given the impact and scale thats possible, along with the digital push from the government. "We will continue to see growth and investment activity as products expand and consumers adopting faster to digital fintech products. Mediation talks will take place this Friday in a bid to agree a State compensation settlement for the family of Garda Tony Golden, fatally wounded in a murder-suicide attack while on duty in Omeath more than four years ago. Eamonn MJ Coffey, counsel for Garda Goldens widow, Nicola, and the couples three young children, told Mr Justice Michael Twomey in the High Court today that a mediator had been agreed and settlement talks were set to begin at 11am in Dundalk. Mr Coffey said that if the mediation was successful the court would still have to approve the details on behalf of the three Golden children, Andrew, Lucy and Alex, who reside with their mother in Blackrock, Co Louth. The outcome of the talks will be mentioned before Judge Twomey next Monday. The judge was told that in the event of failure the hearing to decide damages under the Garda Compensation Acts would take at least three days and possibly a full week. Judge Twomey said a hearing date of Monday February 10 had been listed provisionally but he would be on circuit at that time and a damages trial may be necessary before another judge. Micheal OScanaill SC, who appears with barrister Joseph OSullivan for the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, said it was important any trial would minimise stress on the family and should not be drawn out over successive Mondays, the scheduled day for garda compensation applications to be dealt with. Nicola Golden at her husband Tony's funeral Ms Golden had been a State nurse with the HSE at the time of her husbands murder and had not worked since the shooting which took place on October 11 2015. Garda Golden was aged 36 when, in uniform and unarmed, he responded to a domestic violence complaint in Omeath. He had accompanied Siobhan Philips (23) to the house she shared with her physically abusive partner Adrian Crevan Mackin, a known dissident Republican who was on bail on charges of IRA membership at the time. Mackin shot Garda Golden five times and Ms Philips four times, including one bullet to her head, before turning the gun on himself and taking his own life. Ms Philips, who survived her injuries, is living in Co Down. She had two children by Mackin and issued personal injury proceedings against the Garda Commissioner, the Minister for Justice, Ireland and the Attorney General on her own and their behalf, alleging negligence. Talks to settle the compensation claims by Ms Golden and her children have already broken down once. Armenias Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Arayik Harutyunyan and Deputy Minister Arevik Anapiosyan left for London to attend the Education World Forum on January 20-22. This year more than 1,260 delegations from around 95 countries will participate in the forum. At the event, the minister is expected to present the achievements of Armenia's education system. The Armenian delegation will also get acquainted with the innovative approaches and developments presented by the education experts present at the forum, and will establish a wide range of cooperation to make the priorities and main directions of Armenia's educational policy more effective. Hyderabad: Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy alleged that the TRS was distributing liquor, chicken/mutton, and cash to voters in all the 120 municipalities and nine corporations where elections are to be held on January 22. However, he said people would take all the freebies and still vote for the Congress. On Monday, the last day of campaigning for the municipal elections, Mr Reddy participated in road shows at Neredacherla, Huzurnagar and Kodad municipalities. He said people have realised that they are being cheated by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, and minister K.T. Rama Rao, with their false and hollow claims of development. The Congress has exposed the secret understanding between the TRS and the BJP on the issue of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Population Register (NPR), he said, expressing confidence that the people will vote to defeat the TRS-BJP-MIM trio.Mr Reddy said that the Congress has a vision document to develop each municipality and corporation and people will vote for his party to convert the vision into a reality. He appealed to the people to do a reality check of the claims of the ruling party. Not a single rupee was spent for the development of Nereducherla by minister G. Jagadishwar Reddy, he claimed, but he promised that he would develop the municipality with his MP funds. The TPCC president condemned the Chief Minister for supporting the BJP led government at the centre on the CAA, NRC and NPR issue by not speaking out against them. Stating that not a single Muslim should vote for the TRS in the municipal elections, Mr. Reddy said while CMs of many states have openly opposed the CAA and announced that they will not implement NPR, Mr Rao has been silent on the issue. He said that the people, especially Muslims, could force Mr Rao to pass a resolution against CAA in the Telangana Assembly by not voting for TRS in the municipal polls. Later in the day, Mr Reddy had a live interaction with party workers through Facebook and urged them to stay cautious and alert till the counting of votes. He told them the Congress was heading for a major victory but they should stay alert to counter irregularities during the elections. Figure 1. Residents want out of industrial ghetto. Photo by Lloyd Fox for the Baltimore Sun, 1998. In April 1998, Jeanette succumbed to terminal cancer. She was only 56. Her obituary described her as a high-energy grandmother with short, spiky hair and a committed environmental activist.[1] Jeanette died fighting for a buyout of her home on Wagners Point, a waterfront neighborhood in industrial south Baltimoreand she was just one of three deaths on her sparsely populated block that year. A neighbor, John, told his wife: Put this in my obituary. I should be the last person to die [here].[2] Jeanette, like John, was fairly sure of what was killing her. She blamed the petrochemical industry (Figure 1). Her home was next to Texaco which was next to Amoco, Shell Oil, British Petroleum, and the Food Machinery and Chemical Corporation (FMC). Jeanette had seen chemical clouds float across the local sky. Shed watched workers dump waste into the water, surreptitiously. Shed even gone door to door, tallying up the cancer cases near her home. So there was an uneasy irony to the legacy she left behind. Jeanette died waging a buyout campaign that tactically ignored toxicity. Anthropology has a vibrant literature focused on how toxic violences get mobilized in law, science, and medicine while acknowledging this work is challenging.[3] Many chemicals are sloth, cumulative, easy to ignore; people often recognize their risks belatedly. These temporal challenges exist in a complex web with other obstacles: namely, chemicals are invisible, poorly understood, and subject to highly asymmetrical evidentiary regimes. Thats why even when one is certain as Jeanette was that chemicals are at the root of a problem, its nearly impossible to prove that toxics are the cause of a specific injury. So what do people do when exposures slow violences (Nixon 2011) dont elicit state intervention? How do they perform their vulnerability? While much of my work in Baltimore focuses on the creative ways that exposed communities work to mobilize longstanding toxic harms, things were different for Jeanette. In her neighborhood, residents chose to emphasize their potential demise in the event of an industrial catastrophe. This essay asks after that choice. Specifically, it reflects on the tragic constellation of forces that made that choice seem like the only way forward for a group of sick people struggling for state attention at the end of the 20th century (Figure 2). In what follows, I consider how the decision to bracket health, and spotlight devastating hypotheticals instead, was a strategy co-produced (Jasanoff 2004) alongside the limits of toxicological knowledge, Cold War affects, legal constraints, and the blind spots built into urban land-use policy. More importantly, however, I want to think about the ambivalent politics of toxic disavowal, particularly for a person like Jeanette. I say ambivalent because this is neither a story about how vulnerable people unwittingly bought into the conditions of their own subjection nor a story about how they contested those conditions. It is about how residents maneuvered to make claims in the late Cold Wars apocalyptic political sphere where the idea of meeting with a spectacular end overwhelmed more ordinary forms of harm. And lest we think weve abandoned this dynamic, consider the persistent political power of terror (Masco 2014), natural Figure 2. Photo from the 1950s Point, from the US National Archives in Philadelphia. disaster (Choi 2015), and epidemic disease (Lakoff 2007). In the academy, we know about the pitfalls of appealing to the spectacle. We know that it can pilfer attention from chronic violences. We know that toxic disavowal is old hat for industry. But so did residents of Wagners Point. That they acknowledgedthese dynamics and set toxicity aside does not necessarily mean they were naive. It means they deployed an analysis that worked. Here, I want to challenge those who might be primed to read this choice as an anti-politics to instead appreciate it as a studied response to the chilling knowledge that Jeanettes hypothetical death might carry more weight than her real one.[4] You cant see toxics, but I never met Jeanette. I never even saw Wagners Point when it was peopled.[5] By the time I began studying south Baltimore, the homes had long since been demolished. What did it look like, Id ask, when people actually lived here? It looked as though an angry god had taken some Monopoly pieces the houses and thrown them in the middle of this big industrial ring (Figure 3). That was how Rena remembered Wagners Point. Never sentimental, Rena was an environmental attorney who helped locals secure a buyout in the 1990s, and she had a habit of Figure 3. Photo of Wagners Point by Michelle Gienow for the Baltimore City Paper, 1999. putting things brusquely. In fact, though, Wagners Point was founded as a factory town when the factory in question was benign: it was a cannery. In the early 1900s, the cannerys owner constructed three dozen homes outside his business and rented them to Polish workers for $1.50 a week. People had lived in Wagners Point before it was a petrochemical zone, then, and they stayed as high-risk operations joined them through the 20th century. Many say they dont remember when it happened. The plants had encroached at a sluggish pacefirst one, then another, and another, until area homes were engulfed by the cold, white tanks of industry (compare Auyero and Swistun 2009, Beamish 2002). And even then, many of the industries effects remained ambiguous. Sometimes red dust would coat the whitewashed windowsills. Sometimes snow would turn rainbow, like asphalt tinged with gasoline. Sometimes womens stockings developed mysterious holes. And sometimes people would get sick, but they died slowly. This sluggishness is one of the complications in claiming toxic injury: time passed makes it difficult to prove a specific exposure caused a specific disease.[6] But sluggishness was not the only problem. In the 1930s, Baltimore designated Wagners Point as an industrial zone a space unfit for human inhabitance without evacuating local people. One effect of this designation was that it undercut potential legal claims.[7] It also made residents bureaucratically invisible to government authorities. Many of them stayed hidden there until December 1984, when a tank exploded at Essex Industrial Chemical Company. Some claimed the explosion put up a mushroom cloud, like the bomb at Hiroshima.[8] One resident, Minnie, told me the cloud offered visible proof of their endangerment. I knew the air was bad, she said, But that was the first time Id actually seen it. Rena was a bit more crass: You cant see toxics, but you can be very agitated about blowing up, she said to me. This time, she wasnt wrong. Unlike quotidian experiences of pollution, explosions were visceral, quick, and clear. And so the mushroom cloud marked an experiential distinction that would later be translated into strategy a recognition that certain forms of harm could assert themselves as proof that life was unsafe here. Making matters worse, the Essex explosion followed three other high-profile accidents in Baltimores petrochemical ring. It also happened on the heels of Bhopal, and at a time when the general public was steeped in the existential insecurities of the Cold War period. Minnies husband took stock of the plants around their home and called the situation a time bomb waiting to happen. People joked that the end times were near. Ive been told kids started rehearsing dark nursery rhymes. And folks teased that if another plant were to explode, then boom, boom, boom the Point would get blown off the map of the city. Besides convincing locals that the time had come to fight for relocation, accidents had what Ulrich Beck calls an enabling power (1992:78). They lent the Point a hypervisibility (Kuchinskaya 2014). All of a sudden, in December 1984, the state was prepared to acknowledge that people lived in the shadow of industry. Hazard plans When residents suddenly appeared to state officials in 1984, they appeared within a very specific frame. They appeared as the potential victims of a chemical catastrophe. While it was also true they suffered cancer rates that ranked among the highest in the nation, state agents did not step in to address existing health conditions.[9] They vowed to prepare for a hypothetical calamity. This form of intervention was not unique to Wagners Point; hazard planning suffused the United States throughout the Cold War period (Figure 4). The idea, to borrow from Andrew Lakoff (2007), was to prepare for the worst in order to prevent it to enact dystopian futures as a planning strategy. Among other things, this moment saw the development of Baltimores Chemical Hazard Plan. Unlike other cogs in the citys bureaucracy, this initiative recognized people on the industrial periphery. Specifically, it recognized them as complicating variables in a highly regimented, cross-institutional, multi-step disaster scheme. And it stipulated they should receive instruction in the form of drills and public service announcements (PSAs) on responding to disasters rationally. Brenda, another attorney on the Point, laughed as she recounted one such PSA. It was so Figure 4. This is a test Article from the Maryland Gazette, 1990. ludicrous, she said to me. The short film opened with a man and woman trimming hedges until an alarm sounded in the distance, then cut to a scene where they were joyfully enclosing their home in pre-cut plastic sheets. No one had an emergency kit, Brenda protested. And, even if they had, she doubted they could cover all their windows. Most residents were elderly. The film was plagued by knowledge gaps. It proffered a vision of containment so idealized that it had no practical utility (see Clarke 1999). But it did reveal a sphere in which the government was prepared to sustain life in a space it once insisted was for factories, not people. Of course, real accidents were more complex. In 1996, a tank blew up at FMC. The explosion sparked a two-alarm fire and injured six workers, but no alarm sounded. Managers had been out attending an emergency planning meeting. And then, in 1997, a fire erupted at Amoco. Four trucks rushed to the scene. According to the hazard plans, locals were supposed to be evacuated. But fire trucks blocked the only road in and out of the community. In previous years, residents eager to escape the Point had worked with Jeanette, Brenda, and Rena to publicize the health effects of living in a toxic atmosphere. It hadnt worked. But amid disasters in emergency response, a new opportunity made itself clear. Rather than staking claims for state recognition on their sick bodies as in Adriana Petrynas (2002) biological citizenship they could assert their vulnerability in the future tense. They were at risk of suffering catastrophe. Rena explained: It would have been impossible to prove locals had gradually contracted cancer from any given source. But the idea that hazard plans were faulty was simpler. You could just look at them and see. Here, as it had with Minnies exposure to the mushroom cloud, politicizing risk would hinge on visibility. Accidents waiting to happen Before moving further, its worth acknowledging the weight of this decision. Residents like Jeanette had not stopped caring about the long-term effects of toxicity. They had not stopped wanting to nail the companies for illegal exposures. They had not suddenly become healthy. So this decision to appropriate the states fixation on catastrophic hypotheticals was not a choice that residents made lightly. But it did reflect a remarkable awareness of the rhythms of environmental harm. And it showed that people were willing to abandon some rhythms and take up others to attract much-needed help. One interpretation of this choice could be that residents failed to mobilize themselves as toxic subjects. Another might be that, sometimes, the right analysis is whatever analysis works to get you out. Once the core group settled on a plan, they got to work. Jeanette rallied her neighbors while Brenda and Rena charged seven companies on the Point with violating federal policy. They also started scrutinizing hazard plans at the state level. The first thing they learned was that Marylands planning committee had not met in two years. On top of that, the states plans didnt make sense. They stipulated residents should flee to a shoreline likely to be aflame in the event of an emergency. The team also identified infrastructural problems: some of the plants had back-up generators for their lights, for example, but not to stabilize tank temperatures should a fire cut off electricity. In a press release penned from her death bed, Jeanette called these lapses accidents waiting to happen. She passed away in April 1998. There was another accident within three weeks. That accident happened in May, when a chemical tank exploded on the Point. No alarms went off in the community. Then, in October, a fireball erupted at Condea Vista. The explosion shattered windows and knocked down people in the plants immediate vicinity. Some residents, stuck watching the flames while awaiting official notice, pulled out camcorders to capture the scene. Others made contact with reporters, who played spectacular footage on the evening news narrated by locals on live telephone feed. For a while after Jeanettes death, the campaign had stalled as residents began demanding to be paid for the wrongs done to them, Brenda recalled. But officials did not embrace their arguments. Neither did industry executives, who expressed sympathy while denying any responsibility forhealth problems that residents anecdotal evidence suggest[ed we]re unusually severe.[10] It was this very ambiguity that had convinced the group to pursue an accident-oriented strategy to begin with: it would not be subject to the minutiae of formal risk assessment. The way Rena put it, focusing on preparedness allowed us to deal in very concrete terms with some very explainable problems. The way to go with this was not cancer, as she explained to me, and I felt vindicated when the head of the chemical trade association said on public television, What we need is a health study. She embraced it because she knew you could fiddle around with that kind of thing, change the assumptions, and make a big stink. Well, is it one in a million or one in 50,000? Lets measure all the reported releases. That path would take forever and get us absolutely nothing. Before long, Rena said, residents agreed to stay the course and focus on accidents which just kept happening. If the health risks of long-term exposure made for a tenuous case, then explosions unambiguously revealed life on the Point to be untenable. These accidents undercut the protective role the state had tried to inhabit after Bhopal, exposing inexcusable flaws in hazard planning. To be sure, this narrative did not blame anyone for residents slow deaths. It did not make a politics of toxicity. And some residents found that absolution hard to stomach. But focusing on hypothetical deaths did work. And by 1999, residents had signed away their rights to sue for health damages in exchange for a modest buyout from government and industry. Toxic disavowal At the ceremonial demolition of Wagners Point, a spokesman for the city announced that officials were happy the area is clearwe no longer have to be concerned with environmental risk [here].[11] On some counts, he was right: everyone could breathe easier knowing no one lived in the shadow of the plants. But his relief also revealed the partiality of residents victory. By displacing issues of contamination from the realm of political debate and forwarding a limited definition of protection-as-emergency-preparedness, their contract failed to address problems of protracted exposure. And it released both government and industry from responsibility for the slower forms of violence that would plague sick residents long after they vacated the region. One could very reasonably read this choice as a capitulation: to the politics of the spectacle, to the citys historic neglect of Wagners Point, and to a diagnosis of the problem that absolves industry for harm done. Toxic disavowal is, in a sense, all of these things. But it also exceeds them. It seems to me we need to think more about what it means to choose not to be a toxic subject.[12] I am not yet certain what to make of this choice or even whether it makes sense to call it a choice in the first place but for scholars of toxic subjects committed to making those subjects legible, one lesson to draw from Wagners Point seems clear: we should not be too quick to dismiss toxic disavowal as an anti-politics. Or, at least, we should acknowledge that such a diagnosis may be easier to make the farther one stands from ground zero. Notes [1] Pelton, Tom and Heather Dewar. 1998. Jeanette Skrzecz, 56, Environmental Activist Who Fought Chemical Plants. Baltimore Sun, April 19. [2] She did. See Mathews, Joe. 1999. Wagners Point Activist John Regiac dies at 79. Baltimore Sun, January 30. [3] Here Im thinking with Fortun 2001, Petryna 2002, Murphy 2006, Hecht 2012, Jain 2013, Shapiro 2015, Masco 2015, and Graeter 2017; also see Shapiro and Kirksey 2017. [4] I have in mind Miriam Ticktins use of antipolitics to describe a politics that does nothing to disrupt the established order (2011, 1920). [5] In this essay, I focus on Wagners Point but it was one of two adjacent neighborhoods on Baltimores industrial periphery that fought for a buyout during the late Cold War; the other was called Fairfield. [6] Nixon 2011, Murphy 2013, Jain 2013, Masco 2015, Ahmann 2018. [7] Residents could not effectively charge industry with impeding their quiet enjoyment of private property (the legal standard for nuisance claims) when they lived in an industrial zone. [8] Twigg, Roger. 1984. Chemical Blast Rocks Fairfield. Baltimore Sun, September 25. [9] According to reports, local air encompassed carcinogens at levels up to 30 times higher than the EPA considers safe, precipitating cancer rates significantly higher than the citywide average, which is higher than the state, which is the highest in the nation. Dewar, Heather and Joe Mathews. 1998. Residents Want Out of Industrial Ghetto. Baltimore Sun, April 9. [10] Quoted in Diamond 1998, 174. [11] Klein, Allison. 2001. Final Two Residents Close the Book on Wagners Point. Baltimore Sun, December 18. [12] For adjacent analyses of toxic disavowal in these cases, of people refusing to equate toxicity with harm alone see Stawkowski 2016, Roberts 2017, Langwick 2018, and Graeter 2019. Works Cited Ahmann, Chloe. 2018. Its exhausting to create an event out of nothing: Slow Violence and the Manipulation of Time. Cultural Anthropology 33(1): 14271. Auyero, Javier and Debora Swistun. 2009. Flammable: Environmental Suffering in an Argentine Shantytown. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Beamish, Thomas. 2002. Silent Spill: The Organization of an Industrial Crisis. Cambridge: MIT Press. Beck, Ulrich. 1992. Risk Society: Towards a New Modernity. London: Sage Publications. Choi, Vivian. 2015. Anticipatory States: Tsunami, War, and Insecurity in Sri Lanka. Cultural Anthropology 30(2): 286309. Clarke, Lee. 1999. Mission Improbable: Using Fantasy Documents to Tame Disaster. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Diamond, Philip. 1998. An Environmental History of Fairfield/Wagners Point. Baltimore: University of Maryland School of Law. http://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1030&context=mlh_pubs. Graeter, Stefanie. 2017. To Revive an Abundant Life: Catholic Science and Neoextractivist Politics in Perus Mantaro Valley. Cultural Anthropology 32(1): 11748. -. 2019. Mineralized Biologies. Theorizing the Contemporary, Fieldsights, April 25. https://culanth.org/fieldsights/mineralized-biologies Hecht, Gabrielle. 2012. Being Nuclear: Africans and the Global Uranium Trade. Cambridge: MIT Press. Jain, S. Lochlann. 2013. Malignant: How Cancer Becomes Us. Berkeley: University of California Press. Jasanoff, Sheila. 2004. States of Knowledge: The Co-production of Science and Social Order. London: Routledge. Kuchinskaya, Olga. 2014. The Politics of Invisibility: Public Knowledge about Radiation Health Effects after Chernobyl. Cambridge: MIT Press. Lakoff, Andrew. 2007. Preparing for the Next Emergency. Public Culture 19(2): 24771. Langwick, Stacey Ann. 2018. A Politics of Habitability: Plants, Healing, and Sovereignty in a Toxic World. Cultural Anthropology 33(3): 41543. Masco, Joseph. 2014. The Theater of Operations: National Security Affect from the Cold War to the War on Terror. Durham: Duke University Press. -. 2015. The Age of Fallout. History of the Present 5(2): 13768. Murphy, Michelle. 2006. Sick Building Syndrome and the Problem of Uncertainty: Environmental Politics, Technoscience, and Women Workers. Durham: Duke University Press. -. 2013. Distributed Reproduction, Chemical Violence, and Latency. Life (Un)ltd: Feminism, Bioscience, Race 11(3). https://sfonline.barnard.edu/life-un-ltd-feminism-bioscience-race/distributed-reproduction-chemical-violence-and-latency/. Nixon, Rob. Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Petryna, Adriana. 2002. Life Exposed: Biological Citizens After Chernobyl. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Roberts, Elizabeth F.S. 2017. What Gets Inside: Violent Entanglements and Toxic Boundaries in Mexico City. Cultural Anthropology 32(4): 592619. Shapiro, Nicholas. 2015. Attuning to the Chemosphere: Domestic Formaldehyde, Bodily Reasoning, and the Chemical Sublime. Cultural Anthropology 30(3): 36893. Shapiro, Nicholas and Eben Kirksey. 2017. Chemo-Ethnography: An Introduction. Cultural Anthropology 32(4): 48193. Shapiro, Nicholas, Nasser Zakariya, and Jody Roberts. 2017. A Wary Alliance: From Enumerating the Environment to Inviting Apprehension. Engaging Science, Technology, and Society 3: 575602. Ticktin, Miriam. 2011. Casualties of Care: Immigration and the Politics of Humanitarianism in France. Berkeley: University of California Press. Stawkowski, Magdalena E. 2016. I am a radioactive mutant: Emergent Biological Subjectivities at Kazakhstans Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site. American Ethnologist 43(1): 14457. Chloe Ahmann is a Harper-Schmidt Fellow at the University of Chicago and will soon join Cornell as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology. Her work considers what efforts to think and enact environmental futures look like from the sedimented space of late industrialism. Her current book-in-progress, Forgotten in Anticipation, sketches the variety of future orientations that have shaped south Baltimore over a 200-year period from its 19th century life as a quarantine zone through its more recent past as the proposed site for renewable energy projects querying how their historical and embodied residues are (and sometimes arent) made political in the present. She is also beginning work on Baltimores climate adaptation planning process. Share this: Share Email Facebook Twitter Reddit Tumblr LinkedIn [view academic citations] [hide academic citations] Passengers on board a Virgin Australia flight were horrified when part of the wing came loose and started flapping in the wind. Virgin Australia flight VA346 from Brisbane to Melbourne was forced to turn back on Sunday evening after crew and passengers spotted the alarming problem. A Virgin Australia spokesman said the plane, which took off around 6pm, had turned back due to an 'engineering issue'. A Virgin Australia flight was forced to land after a wing panel came loose and started flapping in the wind Bill Mauger, who was on the flight with his wife, told Nine News he realised something was wrong as soon as the flight took off. 'As we were starting to get some altitude I looked over to the wing and it looked like there was something caught in it. It looked as though there was a bit of cardboard,' he said. Mr Mauger said he found it weird and quickly noticed it was a 'part of the wing peeling away'. 'It was quite a large chunk of wing flapping in the breeze,' he said. He couldn't get the attention of the airline staff because the plane was still taking off, but as soon as he did, he let a flight attendant know. Mr Mauger said the flight attendant shut down the conversation straight away, saying the captain was dealing with the issue. Passengers were then informed the plane would be returning back to Brisbane because of technical difficulties, about an hour-and-a-half after take-off. The flight took off just before 6pm but a Virgin Australia spokesman said the plane had turned back due to an 'engineering issue' (stock image) Virgin Australia said the problem came down to engineering and not safety. The outer-skin on the plane's left wing partially separated from the lower flap while it was in the air. 'Virgin Australia flight VA346, travelling from Brisbane to Melbourne on Sunday 19 January, conducted an air return due to an engineering issue identified while inflight,' a spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia. 'This was not a safety issue, however the Captain made the decision to conduct an air return so the aircraft could be inspected by our Engineers as a precautionary measure.' 'The aircraft is currently being inspected by our Engineers and is expected to return to service on Tuesday 21 January.' Passengers were redirected onto another flight shortly after disembarking the original plane. A Birmingham bioscience company is rolling out the result of its work - a rapid, high-purity production process for a protein related to gene editing technology. The work has many applications for everything from cancer treatments to correcting genetic defects. TriAltus Bioscience is spotlighting its protein-based research this week at the PepTalk 2020 conference in San Diego, one of the largest annual gatherings of protein science researchers in the world. Simply put, company officials say their work will introduce simple, cost-effective practices into an exciting segment of the biosciences market. Many cancers and diseases have been linked to imperfections in the genome, TriAltus CEO Bob Shufflebarger said. Knowing that and being able to do something about it are two different things. CRISPR technology makes it relative easy to make edits in a gene that can then be administered to a patient. TriAltus is a company formed to commercialize technology developed at UAB. The companys work being spotlighted at the conference impacts CRISPR-CAS systems. CRISPR, which stands for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats, is the name for gene editing - the practice of altering parts of a genome, or its DNA instructions. The company will present information on its work Tuesday and Wednesday at the conference. More than 1,300 leaders and researchers from academia, biotech and pharmaceuticals gather annually at PepTalk to hear from industry experts and take part in conferences, short courses, presentations, training seminars and interactive roundtables. This Cas9 protein is an essential ingredient in the CRISPR process," Bob Shufflebarger said. "The materials used to do this are rather difficult to produce and isolate. By using the technology that was developed at UAB, we have a way to isolate these proteins more efficiently and with greater yield than existing methods. Because of that, we think we can offer higher quality components at a lower price. Philips PHG recently entered into a partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Republic of the Congos Ministry of Health to address the countrys high maternal and newborn mortality rates over the next five years. A large-scale Emergency obstetric and newborn care (EmONC) program that will reach more than 500,000 women and 70,000 newborns is being developed by the three parties to improve access to high-quality and affordable healthcare. The main objective of the program is to manage high-risk pregnancies and complications in healthcare facilities by training midwives, and enabling timely prevention of and intervention during complications related to pregnancy and childbirth. Health facilities in remote parts of Congo will be fitted with solar power systems and ultra-portable ultrasound and monitoring devices as part of the program. Moreover, community health workers will be equipped with backpack outreach kits, containing key equipment to assist in childbirth and a mobile phone to get remote technical support. Koninklijke Philips N.V. Price and Consensus Koninklijke Philips N.V. Price and Consensus Koninklijke Philips N.V. price-consensus-chart | Koninklijke Philips N.V. Quote Partnership to Aid Philips Expand Global Footprint The partnership will allow Philips to penetrate the highly underserved healthcare market in Sub-Saharan Africa, which per World Bank, has the worst healthcare facilities in the world. The region accounts for less than 1% of global healthcare expenditure. Nevertheless, as Africa's economies improve gradually, with GDP growth projected to accelerate to 4.1 percent in 2020, demand for good quality health care is expected to increase further. Per GBCHealth data, consumer spending in Africa is expected to reach $1.3 trillion by 2030. Thus, the companys expanding footprint in Africa makes it well poised to meet the demand for healthcare in the region. Notably, in May 2018, the company partnered the governments of Ethiopia and Netherlands to address the critical shortage of cardiology services in Ethiopia by building the countrys first Cardiac Care Centre. Philips also entered into a long-term partnership with the government of Kenya and the United Nations in 2017 to strengthen the countrys primary and community healthcare. These partnerships are expected to deliver strong financial returns and boost Philips growth in the continent over the long run. Moreover, these endeavors have helped Philips gain a solid foothold in International markets and expand its share in the health-tech sector, which per Mordor intelligence, is expected to witness CAGR of 12.8% from 2019 to 2024. Zacks Rank & Other Stocks to Consider Philips currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Some other top-ranked stocks in the broader technology sector include Cyberoptics Corp. CYBE, Inphi Corp. IPHI and Garmin Ltd. GRMN. All three stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. The long-term earnings growth rate for Cyberoptics, Inphi and Garmin is currently pegged at 12%, 39.9% and 7.4%, respectively. Biggest Tech Breakthrough in a Generation Be among the early investors in the new type of device that experts say could impact society as much as the discovery of electricity. Current technology will soon be outdated and replaced by these new devices. In the process, its expected to create 22 million jobs and generate $12.3 trillion in activity. A select few stocks could skyrocket the most as rollout accelerates for this new tech. Early investors could see gains similar to buying Microsoft in the 1990s. Zacks just-released special report reveals 8 stocks to watch. The report is only available for a limited time. See 8 breakthrough stocks now>> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Koninklijke Philips N.V. (PHG) : Free Stock Analysis Report Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) : Free Stock Analysis Report CyberOptics Corporation (CYBE) : Free Stock Analysis Report Inphi Corporation (IPHI) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Mumbai, Jan 20 : Kriti Sanon, who has worked in genres across drama, romance, comedy and historical, says she wants to explore herself as an actor. "Everybody likes different kind of films here (in the country). If I want to cater to all kinds of audience and also explore myself as an actor in different genres, it is because that's more fun. Otherwise you get stuck and it gets monotonous," Kriti told IANS. She says she wants to try out every genre possible. "(I want to work with) All genres and characters, and not restrict myself. I am not someone who watches or loves horror films but if I get something kickass in that genre I would still like to explore, because I feel it will help me grow," she added. Currently, Kriti is preparing for the release of "Mimi", a story based on surrogacy. The film has an unusual story by Bollywood standards. It casts Kriti as a young surrogate mother. "Mimi" is directed by "Luka Chuppi" fame Laxman Utekar. 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. A woman who suffers from Crohn's disease has claimed an upmarket gym kicked her out after accusing her of defecating on the bathroom floor. The gym-user, who wished to remain anonymous, was a member at the Les Mills studio in Wellington, New Zealand before a cleaner found feces on the floor of the disabled toilets. She claimed she had ongoing issues with the gym's staff which led to an agreement for her to only use the disabled toilets and clean up after each visit. The woman denies she was responsible for the incident and says the staff at the gym were using her disease as a 'scapegoat'. A gym goer suffering from Crohn's disease claims she was wrongly accused by staff who said she had defecated on the floor (file image) 'The thing with my condition is, yes, it's messy, but if it was me to blame there would be blood and not poo in the middle of the floor,' she told Stuff. She said staff claimed they'd received complaints about her behaviour while using the bathrooms. 'One complaint was that I made 'horrific noises', there's nothing I can do about that. It's to do with my condition,' she said. 'People with Crohn's disease go through so much. I feel like Les Mills went out of their way to make things harder for me.' Staff said there were 'health and safety' issues but the woman said she was distraught after having her membership withdrawn. She said another issue was that because she was confined to using the disabled toilets, they wasn't often a free cubicle, noting those suffering from Crohn's need to access a toilet immediately. This prompted her to use other toilets where she was forced to clean up other members' mess - or public toilets on the street. In October, Les Mills staff said the woman hadn't carried out all the agreements and denied they were related to her condition. The woman said she couldn't have been responsible for the mess on the floor as she was unable to access the toilets on the day it happened. The woman had her membership from the Les Mills gym in Wellington (pictured) removed but said she was not responsible for the incident Her two friends, Katy Young and Tanya Palmer, who were also Les Mills members have now boycotted the gym. Ms Palmer said her friend was bullied by gym staff and said she was 'distraught' when her membership was cancelled. 'This poor woman ended up so tortured by this that she didn't know what to do,' she told the New Zealand Herald. The pair sent several complaints to the national office of Les Mills, but were told by a lawyer the matter would not be discussed. 'We said that there was unfair, bullying and victimisation against this person and we're bringing it to your attention,' Ms Palmer said. 'At no stage did they ever produce any actual evidence.' Brett Sutton, Les Mills National's Head of Club Operations told Daily Mail Australia the complaint had been filed to the Human Rights Commission. 'There are two sides to every story, but as we believe a complaint has been filed with the Human Rights Commission, we are unable at this stage to comment further on this individual case,' Mr Sutton said. 'This is a very sensitive subject and ending anyones membership is not something we take lightly. Les Mills has a strict health and safety policy and we are obliged at all times to consider the health, safety and welfare of all our members and staff.' Sena wanted to form government with Congress in 2014: Chavan India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Jan 20: Former Maharashtra chief minister and Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan has revealed that the Shiv Sena had proposed to form a coalition government with his party and the NCP after the 2014 assembly election to stop the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from coming to power in the state. But the Congress had immediately rejected the proposal then, Chavan said. Even after the assembly election in 2019, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi was not ready for a coalition with the Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena but she relented after long deliberations, he told PTI in an interview. Will consider 'concrete' proposal from Sena: Prithviraj Chavan In November, the Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party and Congress formed a coalition government in Maharashtra under the leadership of Thackeray. Asked what made the Congress join hands with the ideologically opposite Sena, Chavan said, "A similar situation emerged in 2014 as well. Then too, Shiv Sena and NCP had approached me to form a coalition government to stop the BJP. I immediately rejected the offer then and said winning and losing is normal in politics. In the past too, we lost elections and sat in the opposition." In 2014, BJP and Shiv Sena fought the Maharashtra polls without an alliance, so did Congress and NCP. After the elections, BJP ran the government but later Shiv Sena also joined it. Chavan alleged the Devendra Fadnavis government tried to "kill the opposition" and there was a "lot of corruption" in the state. "During this time, efforts were made to destroy democracy. Around 40 MLAs of Congress and NCP were made to switch sides, people were blackmailed and lured with offers of government positions," he claimed, adding that another term for the BJP would have "completely destroyed democracy". "It was under these circumstances that we decided to change our role and thought about an alternative government. After a conflict between BJP and Shiv Sena, I initiated the move to form the alternative government and discussions about it began," the senior Congress leader said. NEWS AT NOON, JANUARY 20th, 2020 "Initially, the party high command was not in favour of joining hands with Shiv Sena. Sonia ji and Congress leaders from Kerala did not agree. But I held discussions with all MLAs and other leaders of the party. It was accepted that the BJP is our number one ideological enemy and everyone agreed to form the alternative government," Chavan said. Prithviraj Chavan hits out at govt over note ban, GST; calls them as 'attacks on economy' Asked whether the coalition government in Maharashtra would last its full term, Chavan said, "Nobody can give a 100 per cent guarantee in case of a coalition government. However, we came together against the BJP because it tried to kill the opposition and betrayed the Shiv Sena." The former chief minister said there will not be a problem till the coalition partners have a common understanding. He, however, accepted that there will be issues in the day-to-day functioning of a government and there had been problems but the BJP is trying to "highlight the issues of the past." Asked to share his views on NCP leader Ajit Pawar, Chavan said Sharad Pawar made the decision that his nephew be the deputy chief minister. "It would not be right for me to comment on this." On not joining the state cabinet, Chavan said, "Uddhav ji is chief minister, Ajit Pawar is deputy CM and Balasaheb Thorat the leader of the party," and he "did not find it appropriate" to work at a lower position. Chavan said he was offered the post of assembly speaker, however, to remain active in politics, he did not agree. He said he will accept whatever responsibility is given by the party leadership in future. Those unable to make it to their polling station due to infirmity have been left furious after being told they will not be able to vote in the General Election, having missed the deadline for postal ballots. Angry pensioners and elderly people attempted to contact their local councils last Friday to arrange the postal ballot but were told the deadline was the day before, just 48 hours after Taoiseach Leo Varadkar requested the Dail be dissolved. They have complained they received no notification or public warning that the deadline was so tight to register for such ballots. One 81-year-old pensioner, JJ O'Donovan from Dublin, said he is very, very angry at not being allowed vote having been denied a postal vote. A Limerick native, Mr O'Donovan is now largely housebound and is not in a position to attend at the polling station, and sought to cast his ballot remotely. Speaking to the Irish Examiner, Mr O'Donovan said: I have always voted. It is a God-given right and hard-fought for. But now I am being denied that right. "I rang the council, who passed me from pillar to post, before eventually telling me I had missed out by a day. Mr O'Donovan said there was no public announcement that such a deadline applied and cited last year's European elections when newspaper advertisements gave up to five days' notice to people seeking to use a postal vote. Postal voting allows ballot papers to be distributed to electors or returned by post, in contrast to electors voting in person at a polling station. Historically, postal votes must be distributed and placed in return mail before the scheduled election day, it is sometimes referred to as a form of early voting. In response, Dublin City Council said the postal date is the same for every local authority and is dictated by the Department of Housing, Planning & Local Government. Please be advised that anyone who had a postal vote for last Mays elections from DCC would still have that facility, a spokesperson said. In response to our queries, the Department of Housing said the law only allows for names to be added to the postal voters list for two days after the Dail is dissolved. Section 15A of the Electoral Act 1992, as amended, provides that, for a general election, an application by an elector to have his or her name entered on the supplement to the postal voters list which is received by a registration authority on or after the third day after the dissolution of the Dail shall not have effect in relation to that election, the department said. As President Higgins dissolved Dail Eireann on Tuesday January 14, legislation thus provided that applications received after Thursday January 16 should not have effect for the general election, the department said. The Army on Monday flagged off a 10-day national integration tour for schoolchildren of remote areas of the Jammu region to various parts of the country, a defence spokesman said. The national integration, educational and motivational tour has been organised by Tiger Division's 3-Dogra, he said. The tour, comprising 15 schoolchildren, was flagged off from Damana in Jammu and Kashmir by Brig K K Singh, Commander of Chenab brigade and many other dignitaries, the spokesman said. The children will visit New Delhi, Agra and Jaipur where they will get exposure to historical monuments, educational institutes and war memorial, he said. These children belong to remote areas of Pargwal region of Jammu district and have been selected to give them an exposure to rich Indian heritage and culture, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) For many years, Prince Georges was viewed as a runner-up to Montgomery in economic growth. Its reputation hit bottom in 2010 when FBI agents arrested the county executive, Jack B. Johnson (D), on corruption charges. The story drew international attention because he was caught on a wiretap urging his wife to flush a $100,000 check that hed gotten as a bribe and hide tens of thousands in ill-gotten cash in her underwear when agents knocked on the door of the couples Mitchellville home. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A West Brighton man was arrested and charged after he allegedly abandoned his 1-year-old son on a Bronx subway platform early Saturday morning, according to police. Dondre Hunter, 27, a resident of Bodine Street, allegedly left the baby at the Burnside Avenue platform in below-freezing temperatures between 2 and 3 a.m., an NYPD spokesman said. A straphanger found the 1-year-old alone at about 3:40 a.m., the spokesman said, and brought the tot to a nearby police precinct before the child who appeared unharmed was transferred to an area hospital. Police caught up with Hunter at the 125th Street Station in Manhattan almost five miles away and charged the Staten Islander with abandonment of a child and unlawful possession of marijuana, police said. It was not immediately clear if Hunter retained an attorney as of Sunday night. 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 A major new exhibition on the Mayflower will acknowledge the impact of the historic voyage on Native Americans. Mayflower 400: Legend And Legacy at The Box in Plymouth will mark 400 years since the English ship set sail from the Devon city for the US in 1620. Organisers say it is the largest exhibition on the Mayflower to be held in the UK and will acknowledge conflict between the settlers and Native Americans and the impact of colonisation on the indigenous population of America. A major new exhibition on the Mayflower (pictured in a drawing by George Clarke, which will be part of the display) will acknowledge the impact of the historic voyage on Native Americans Organisers say it is the largest exhibition on the Mayflower to be held in the UK and will acknowledge conflict between the settlers and Native Americans and the impact of colonisation on the indigenous population of America. Pictured: A ceramic cooking pot by Wampanoag artist Ramona Peters Mayflower 400: Legend And Legacy at The Box in Plymouth (pictured) will mark 400 years since the English ship set sail from the Devon city for America in 1620 The project has been co-curated with the Wampanoag Advisory Committee, along with tribal scholars and educators, to present a Native America view The project has been co-curated with the Wampanoag Advisory Committee, along with tribal scholars and educators, to present a Native America view. Objects included in Legend And Legacy include the first Bible to be printed in America and the last known record of the Mayflower, describing the ship as being 'in ruins' and worth 128 8s 6d. A HISTORY OF THE MAYFLOWER The Mayflower was a three-masted ship, most likely between 90 and 110 feet long, that carried the people who came to be known a Pilgrims from England to Plymouth in 1620. The ship was hired in London, and sailed from London to Southampton in July 1620 to begin loading food and supplies for the voyage--much of which was purchased at Southampton. The Mayflower left Holland on 31 July 1620, joining the Speedwell in Southampton, England, for the voyage to America. The two ships sailed on 15 August but returned because of the leaky condition of the Speedwell. The Speedwell was eventually abandoned, and on 16 September, 102 passengers and crew aboard the Mayflower finally sailed from England. The voyage itself across the Atlantic Ocean took 66 days, from their departure on September 6, until Cape Cod was sighted on 9 November 1620. The Mayflower followed the land-exploring party and sailed into Plymouth, Massachusetts, harbor on 26 December, where it remained until houses could be built for the new settlement. Source: Encyclopedia.com Advertisement The Second Peirce Patent - the oldest existing state document of New England that gave Mayflower colonists English permission to settle in America - will also be on display in Plymouth for the first time. Paula Peters, from the Wampanoag Advisory Committee, described the Mayflower as leading to disease, enslavement and massacre in the country. 'We're very pleased to be standing up as equals on an international platform to tell our story,' she said. 'So often the story of the Mayflower is just about the boat. The Mayflower lands and the pilgrims are depicted as founders, not takers.' The exhibition, which opens with the new 40m museum on May 16, explores early English attempts to colonise America following the Mayflower setting sail. Two new works of Wampanoag art have been commissioned by The Box - a pot by Wampanoag artist Nosapocket for the exhibition and a ceremonial belt that will be part of a nationwide tour. More than 300 objects have been loaned from 100 museums, libraries and archives across the world, including the Peabody and Smithsonian institutes in America. Visitors will also be able to see 17th century drawings and diaries recording the experience of the earliest English colonists, as well as maps and plans that document where some of the pilgrims had lived in Holland. A King James Bible that was printed in 1611, on loan from Exeter Cathedral Library, will also feature. Left: a plan of Plymouth's Barbican, early 1600s, which will be on display as part of the major exhibition. Right: A King James Bible printed in 1611, on loan from Exeter Cathedral Library, will also be on display There are children's toys to remind visitors that the Mayflower passengers included 19 families, four unaccompanied children and two dogs. The Box's opening programme features 12 other new exhibitions across contemporary art, history, exploration, maritime and naval history, and film and photography. More than two million artefacts, objects and artworks will be stored in the museum's archive. The Box's (left) opening programme features 12 other new exhibitions across contemporary art, history, exploration, maritime and naval history, and film and photography. Right: Paula Peters, from the Wampanoag Advisory Committee, with the ceremonial belt made by Wampanoag artist Ramona Peters Nicola Moyle, head of Heritage, Art & Film at The Box, said: 'The Box, which will open in spring 2020 as part of Plymouth's major Mayflower 400 commemorations, will also be renowned for its engaging and highly immersive exhibition programme. 'The programme will integrate the contemporary and the historic to bring the past to life through the present. 'It will showcase international visual arts and media, as well as Plymouth's rich heritage through ambitious touring exhibitions, new commissions and the city's permanent collections.' Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid leaves 10 Downing Street in central London after attending the weekly Cabinet meeting on 29 October, 2019 in London, England. Sterling dipped sharply against all of its main trading peers on Monday, as traders reacted to weekend Brexit comments from U.K. Finance Minister Sajid Javid. In an interview with the Financial Times published on Friday, the chancellor warned U.K. businesses that the government would remain committed to as hard a Brexit as possible and that it would not seek regulatory alignment with Brussels. "There will not be alignment, we will not be a rule-taker, we will not be in the single market and we will not be in the customs union and we will do this by the end of the year," Javid said. As markets woke Monday, sterling slipped by around 0.2% versus the greenback and 0.3% versus the euro. The pound has been losing value of late as poor economic data has taken the shine off the strong Conservative Party election win in December. In a note Monday, Societe Generale's Kit Juckes said many traders were still backing the pound, despite also pricing in a 70% chance that the Bank of England will cut rates later this month. "With so many longs, and unemployment data tomorrow and PMI (purchasing managers' index) on Friday, sterling remains on the back foot, sterling is vulnerable," said Juckes. The U.K. will leave the EU by the end of January where it will enter a transition period during which a new trading relationship with the EU will be settled. The largest body representing the interests of U.K. businesses is the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC). Following Javid's comment that there will be no regulatory alignment with the EU after Brexit, BCC co-Executive Director Claire Walker said the government must be careful not to drive employers away from Britain. "Our business communities have differing views but are prepared to be pragmatic about coming changes to regulation. Uncertainty around the extent of divergence risks firms moving their production elsewhere," said Walker in a statement Saturday. The BCC is also calling on the government to provide additional support to help firms adapt to new rules. The auto industry is a big employer in the U.K. but heavily dependent on the smooth transport of parts and completed cars between the EU mainland and the U.K. In an email to CNBC Monday, the chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), Mike Hawes, said that additional regulations could "add billions" to the cost of developing cars in Britain for sale in Europe. "It is important, therefore, that we have early sight of the details of the government's ambitions so we can evaluate any impact on our competitiveness and the future of volume manufacturing in the U.K.," he added. Last week, my son was tasked with memorizing and reciting the final paragraphs of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" (1963) speech for his class. I am proud that he did so, because, like most Americans, I've always been fond of the speech. Also like most Americans, I grew up knowing little else about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. beyond the fact that he was a prominent leader of the Civil Rights Movement who became a martyr when he was assassinated in 1968. His legacy, I believe, is largely predicated upon the words and power of his most famous speech, which beautifully conveys broad moral truths while marking few actual positions that would give someone pause to object politically. Making any political assumptions about the meaning behind the words in MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech is tricky and can create confusion. For example, at CNN, John Blake attempts to debunk the biggest myths about MLK, asking his readers if they remember the most famous line of his "I Have a Dream" speech: "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." "Conservatives sure do [remember that line]," Blake writes. "Some of them cite those words as evidence that King opposed affirmative action." It's not hard to understand why a conservative might assume, based upon those plain words and their context in the speech, that there is no way that MLK could have supported a racist concept like affirmative action. After all, affirmative action is entirely inconsistent with the meaning of those words. Affirmative action is nothing more or less than institutional judgment based upon skin color in order to distribute opportunity. It is, quite openly, not a judgment based upon merit or the content of one's character, but perceived as institutionally applied restitution for past wrongdoings against people of a specific skin color. Blake, however, argues that whatever one chooses to take away from those words in the speech, MLK was actually very much in favor of affirmative action. And he quotes MLK as having said so in his book, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? (1967). Blake writes, "King said that a 'society that has done something special against the Negro for hundreds of years must now do something special for the Negro.'" That's a disturbing sentence, when you consider it in the context of the first sentence that Blake referenced from MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech, because there is simply no way possible to morally reconcile the two competing beliefs that Americans should not be "judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character" with the statement that American "society must do something special for the Negro." It is utterly impossible to embrace both ideas as a morally acceptable path forward. More importantly, it highlights a contrast between the ideas of our most famous civil rights activist in American history, MLK, and the ideas of America's greatest civil rights activist: Frederick Douglass. Frederick Douglass circa 1879 (via National Archives). In the 1960s, MLK suggested that the American government should "do something special for the Negro" because of past wrongdoings. In 1865, Frederick Douglass had a message that was nothing short of the opposite in his speech, "What the Black Man Wants." "I am not asking for sympathy at the hands of abolitionists, sympathy at the hands of any," said Douglass. He continued: I think the American people are disposed often to be generous rather than just[.] ... [I]n regard to the colored people there is always more that is benevolent, I perceive, than just, manifested toward us. What I ask for the Negro is not benevolence, not pity, not sympathy, but simply justice. What, precisely, did Douglass mean by "justice"? He goes on, not speaking in morally abstract tones, but in bold and specific ones: Everybody has asked the question, and they learned to ask it early of the abolitionists, "What shall we do with the Negro?" I have had but one answer from the beginning. Do nothing with us! Your doing with us has already played the mischief with us. Do nothing with us! ... And if the Negro cannot stand on his own legs, let him fall also. All I ask is, give him a chance to stand on his own legs! Let him alone! In the end, both MLK and Frederick Douglass demanded that Americans be judged by the content of their character rather than skin color, and that this would lead to racial justice and freedom. While we should all remember the fantastic speech made by MLK in 1963, perhaps it'd be better if more of us remembered the brilliant and timeless ideas of a man who, nearly 100 years before, laid out the method by which we all might truly be appraised as free people, and a society in which we all might be judged by the content of our character rather than our skin color, or sex, or any other means of separation that human beings might create in our seemingly infinite moral fallibility. CANBERRA, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government has announced a support package for small businesses affected by bushfires. Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Michaelia Cash, Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business on Monday announced the "comprehensive suite of measures to immediately support impacted small businesses." The support package includes low-interest loans of up to 500,000 Australian dollars (343,751 U.S. dollars) to businesses that lost significant assets in fires that have devastated much of the country since September. Businesses and organizations damaged by fires will also be eligible to receive grants of up to 50,000 AUD (34,375 U.S. dollars) tax-free. "This comprehensive package will make it easier for those who have suffered direct fire damage, or have been indirectly economically impacted following the bushfires, to get back on their feet," Morrison, Frydenberg and Cash said in a statement. The government will spend 3.5 million AUD (2.4 million U.S. dollars) to establish a Small Business Bushfire Financial Support Line, which will be tasked with ensuring that relief is delivered where it is needed most. The support package was announced after the government consulted with business leaders, including Peter Strong, chief executive of the Council of Small Business Organizations. "We were hoping to get grants of around 20,000 AUD (13,749 U.S. dollars) and the grants are 50,000 AUD," Strong told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). "So that's more than double what we were looking at so you can't complain about that." Strong estimated that 430,000 businesses operate in areas affected by the bushfires and that the relief package could cost the government 800 million AUD (549.9 million U.S. dollars). "I don't think the cost will be a billion dollars, but it could be up there," he said. 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 China's central bank on Jan. 19 launched a new system to better disclose credit records of both individuals and enterprises. The new system will provide more details of the credit status in a better format, such as co-borrowing records and loan repayment records, according to the People's Bank of China (PBOC). The system update, reflecting recent developments in financial technologies, came in response to increased public demand for more effective credit information and service improvement, said the PBOC. Other details to be added to the individual's credit report include employment status, nationality and credit agreement information. For enterprises, inquirers will obtain further information like revolving overdraft and late payments. The new system has also intensified the management and protection of user identity and information transmission to ensure information security, said the PBOC. China first launched its credit record system in 2006. By the end of 2019, the system had kept records for more than 1 billion individuals and 28.34 million enterprises and organizations. Some 2.5 billion inquiries have been conducted with the system so far, according to the central bank. A Human Rights Watch (HRW) official complied with an Israeli expulsion order on Monday imposed over accusations he backs an international pro-Palestinian boycott, but said the edict would only encourage rights abuses. HRW and Omar Shakir, a U.S. citizen representing the New York-based organisation in Israel and the Palestinian territories, have denied the allegations. Three weeks ago, Israel's Supreme Court upheld the Interior Ministry's refusal to renew Shakir's work visa and ordered him to leave by November 25. The ministry said Shakir actively supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. Israeli law allows for authorities to ban the entry of foreign citizens who call for a boycott of Israel. Shakir denies that his HRW work and pro-Palestinian statements he made before being appointed to the HRW post in 2016 constitute active support for BDS. "If the Israeli government can deport somebody documenting rights abuses without facing consequences, how can we ever stop rights abuses?" Shakir said at a news conference in Jerusalem on Monday before heading to the airport for his departure. Expand Close Khulood Badawi, Israel and East Jerusalem Consultant at New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW), speaks to Omar Shakir, a U.S. citizen representing HRW in Israel and the Palestinian territories, during a news conference in Jerusalem November 25, 2019. Picture: REUTERS/Ammar Awad / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Khulood Badawi, Israel and East Jerusalem Consultant at New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW), speaks to Omar Shakir, a U.S. citizen representing HRW in Israel and the Palestinian territories, during a news conference in Jerusalem November 25, 2019. Picture: REUTERS/Ammar Awad Israel's Ministry of Strategic Affairs, which is tasked with combating the BDS movement, welcomed Shakir's removal, calling him "an active BDS propagator". "Israel, like any sane country, has the right to decide who is given the freedom to enter and work within its borders," the ministry said in a statement. Shakir will continue in his role from neighbouring Jordan, relying on a network of researchers in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza to conduct field work, HRW's executive director Kenneth Roth said at the news conference. "There's no point in replacing Omar because our next researcher would have the same problem," Roth said. "If Israel can pick our researcher, Israel can preclude certain topics. Imagine what other governments will do. China will say we cannot monitor Xinjiang (detention camps). Saudi Arabia will say that we leave Yemen alone," he said. Israel, Roth said, had joined the ranks of countries such as Iran and Egypt in blocking access for HRW officials. Roth said Shakir was being punished in part for HRW's work calling for businesses active in Israel's settlements in the occupied West Bank to cease their activities. The United Nations considers settlements Israel built on land it captured in the 1967 Middle East as illegal. Israel disputes this and cites historical and biblical links to the territory, which Palestinians seek for an independent state. HRW says it does not support boycotts of Israel but does defend the right of activists to engage in such non-violent protests. YEREVAN, JANUARY 20, ARMENPRESS. No signs of violence have been found on ex-NSS chief Georgi Kutoyans body other than the gunshot wound to the head, Investigations Committee spokesperson Naira Harutyunyan told ARMENPRESS. We havent yet received the forensics reports. No signs of violence were found on Kutoyans body, she said, adding that numerous tests such as forensics and ballistics are underway. Harutyunyan said authorities will provide updates from the investigation in the event of the information being subject to disclosure. Georgi Kutoyan was found shot dead in his apartment in Yerevan on January 17. His body had a gunshot wound to the head. Kutoyan, 38, served as Director of the National Security Service from 2016 to 2018. Earlier authorities had said they were treating the incident as a possible suicide but did not rule out other versions. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan Pipeline 20 January 2020 Radisson Hotel Group is proud to announce the signing of Radisson Hotel Apartments Muscat Ghala Heights in the Sultanate of Oman. The newest addition brings the group's portfolio up to eight hotels across five brands - including Radisson Collection, Radisson Blu, Park Inn by Radisson and Radisson - and will strengthen the groups leading position within the Sultanate. As the economic and commercial capital of Oman, Muscat hosts an array of international companies and institutions and boasts a rich cultural heritage along with beautiful landscapes. Located within the Ghala Heights business district, the hotel will be conveniently accessible from Muscat International Airport, making it an ideal location for both business and leisure. The heart ofMuscat's old towncan be reached within 15 minutes of the hotel's doorstep, making it easy for visitors to discover the city's rich history. Due to open in Q4 2022, the Radisson Hotel Apartments Muscat Ghala Heights will perfectly complement Radisson Hotel Group's array of city and leisure hotels across Oman. Guests requiring even more space or a longer stay will find exceptional accommodation in the hotel's 280 serviced apartments. The newly-build hotel will have a lobby bar, an all-day dining restaurant and one specialty restaurant. Guests will be able to enjoy an outdoor swimming pool as well as leisure facilities such as a ladies' and men's fitness studio. The hotel's conference venue will offer 850sqm, including two conference rooms and one large ballroom of fully equipped, state-of-the-art meeting and event facilities for the local and international business communities. The Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa's (Zeitz MOCAA) Institutional Advancement division has welcomed two new members. Annicia Manyaapelo has been appointed head of marketing and communications while Michelle Stein has been appointed as head of philanthropy. Annicia Manyaapelo Michelle Stein Manyaapelo brings over 20 years experience as a media, marketing specialist and business director to the museum. Most recently, she served as executive business director for FCB Joburg where she led the integrated agency teams that produced work for the South African Tourism authority. She also founded an African luxury business that profiled and promoted content on art and design from different parts of the continent.Stein, meanwhile, spent 12 years in London where she worked in fundraising for a range of charities, including the British Museum and the Commonwealth Secretariat. She led and managed a large portfolio of capital donors to the British Museum with a focus on securing international gifting, grant-writing and major donor events.Annicia and Michelle bring a richness of expertise and knowledge to their roles and the institutional advancement department. I am very excited to have them on board and look forward to working with them to expand the museums reach with key partners and individuals, said Koyo Kouoh, executive director and chief curator at Zeitz MOCAA.On her appointment, Manyaapelo said: I am thrilled to be joining the team at Zeitz MOCAA. I look forward to the opportunity to expand our reach and secure partnerships on the continent and globally. Its an exciting time to be part of the growth and success of this great museum.Stein added: I feel privileged to bring my experience in the UK back to my home continent, country and city. Zeitz MOCAA is an important institution doing vital work and education about contemporary art from Africa and its diaspora. Im excited to lead the team that is working with supporters to achieve this. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has said that he would never have sought to become president if he hadn't set a goal to achieve peace in Donbas. "I would never have sought the presidency without having such a goal," he said in an interview with The Times of Israel, answering the question whether it is possible to achieve peace in the east of Ukraine. Zelensky noted that he would like the settlement process to advance much faster, but there are very complex issues. "I can see the progress, because the number of exchanges of fire is significantly reduced. But it is still present," he noted. JP Morgan Chase & Co is the latest investment bank to significantly expand its Paris hub as part of plans to relocate some services from London after Britain's exit from the European Union, snapping up new premises in the French capital. JPMorgan would have said "No" to a Paris move back in 2016, its French executive told Reuters, but government-led labour law and taxation reforms made it review its stance. The US bank said it plans to buy a building in central Paris from France's BNP Paribas to house up to 450 staff in coming years, allowing it to keep operating in the EU once the current unfettered two-way direct access between Britain and the bloc comes to an end in December following a Brexit transition period. The expansion is expected to make the French capital, where it currently has 260 staff, its second-largest base in Europe behind London, where there are 10,000 staff, JPMorgan said. It currently has 600 staff in Luxembourg and 450 in Frankfurt. The bank will initially transfer sales teams, followed by trading staff depending on the timing of Britain's full withdrawal from the European Union, Kyril Courboin, JPMorgan's CEO of France, told Reuters. "Paris is going to be the second pole for our market activities in Europe," he said. "London will still be number one because we are only transferring euro activities." He declined to disclose the purchase price of the new building, which is close to JPMorgan's existing Paris offices on the prestigious Place Vendome. The move is part of a wider trend of banks shifting selected activities to euro-zone cities ahead of Brexit, without calling into question London's dominance as Europe's premier financial centre. MORE TO FOLLOW? Large international banks and investors could relocate around 4,000 jobs to Paris, the French financial lobby Paris Europlace said, citing data from "Choose Paris Region", which helps international companies set up business in Paris. "In addition to the new announcements made by American banks...Asian investors, from HongKong and Singapore...confirm their wish to strengthen their activities in Europe, in particular in Paris," Arnaud de Bresson, chief executive of Paris Europlace, told Reuters. Wells Fargo, which currently has three job openings in Paris, said in October it had chosen the city as its European hub for post-Brexit trading activities. Bank of America also plans to move more than 400 jobs into a new office in central Paris. An Elysee official said JPMorgan was one of several large banks who have been considering a move to Paris, without naming others, leaving open the possibility that more jobs will be relocated to the "city of lights". The building purchase by JPMorgan was announced on Sunday as part of the "Choose France" drive, an annual investment event created by President Emmanuel Macron to draw business leaders to France en route to the World Economic Forum in Davos each January. If you have a travel fling (or cultural epiphany) and dont post it to Instagram, did it even happen? Unfortunately, unlike the old if a tree falls in the woods and no-one hears it scenario, well never know the answer to the above question as it seems no one is able to resist the temptation to live blog every waking moment of their overseas travels. Fortunately, however, it makes for some entertaining news. Enter: Vitaly Zdorovetskiy, the most recent influencer to run into hot water (or, rather, an Egyptian jail), for climbing one of the pyramids of Giza to get the perfect Instagram snapshot. The American-Russian influencer/travel blogger recently revealed hed spent several days in an Egyptian jail after climbing one of the pyramids of Giza. I was locked up in Egypt because I climbed the Pyramids of Giza, he wrote. 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 then claimed it was not only worth it, but for charity: Was it worth it? F YEAH! I did it for a good cause and soon Im going to share the whole video so the whole world can see. Although the post has received over 197,315 likes, not everyone was convinced of his altruism, with several commenters complaining it was all a publicity stunt. Why dont you donate your money! Instead of climbing around on a [sic] ancient historical for no reason! wrote one Instagram user, to the tune of 2,361 likes. View this post on Instagram I did this for a good cause and it put me 5 nights in Egyptian jail. Even though Ive been in jail around the world many times for my previous stunts, this one has been the most horrible experience of my life. Lets unite and donate for Australia.I hope the world will hear me! A post shared by Vitaly (@kingvitaly) on Jan 16, 2020 at 2:08pm PST This would also appear to be the stance of the Egyptian parliament, who, as The Sun reported, decided that it was illegal to climb the pyramids in November. According to Fox News (who sourced their information from The Sun), Anyone who violates this law can face thousands of dollars in fines and up to 30 days in jail. Vitaly also uploaded a provocative picture before his arrest (and, presumably, before his climbing of the pyramid), in which he bragged that he was going to take over Egypt. View this post on Instagram @vitalyuncensored Takes Over EgyptJust Watch A post shared by Vitaly (@kingvitaly) on Jan 7, 2020 at 1:32pm PST We would say more to come, but in this age of self-promotion and social media virility, its pretty much a given. Read Next Located in the village of Raja Ulatu, the St Anne's Hospital and Research Centre has a capacity of 100 beds and will offer cutting-edge health services to the poor and needy. For the superior general of the congregation, all mankind has the full right to have quality care. New Delhi (AsiaNews/Agencies) - Hemant Soren, the newly-elected Chief Minister of Jharkhand, on Saturday inaugurated St Anne's Hospital and Research Centre (SAHRC), the first hospital of the Daughters of Saint Anne (DSA), in Raja Ulatu, a village about 16 km from Ranchi. In his speech, the chief minister praised the nuns for their commitment to the poor and needy. There's a lot that needs to be done to improve the standards of education and healthcare in Jharkhand, he said. However, having been a witness to the Christian missionaries' zeal in their service to mankind, particularly in the fields of education, healthcare and human resources, the state government looks upon them as its partner in development. Hence, my government will work in close association with all the stakeholders to improve the standard of living of people in Jharkhand." The healthcare facility has 100 beds and will offer services in the fields of gynecology, general medicine, neuro-surgery, orthopedics, digital radiology and pathology, among others. It is the first hospital of the congregation, which was founded in 1897 by Mother Mary Bernadette Prasad Kispotta, the first tribal Servant of God. Since its beginning, the institute has been in the service of the poorest, in India and the world, paying particular attention to women and children in tribal areas. Today the congregation has 1,030 members and in 2002 it received the recognition of pontifical right. During the ceremony, the chief minister mentioned that in 2013 he inaugurated a nursing college run by Christian missionaries in Dumka. "That nursing college in Dumka has flourished over the years and I am grateful that I had been a part of the nursing school's journey," he noted. Today, the St Anne's Hospital and Research Centre begins its long journey of service to mankind and it is my proud privilege that I am a part of this journey. For her part, Sister Linda Mary Vaughan, superior general of the congregation, said: We believe that all mankind has the full right to have quality care and SAHRC is committed to it. Archbishop Felix Toppo of Ranchi, who was among the Church leaders present, said that the Church is devoted to serve the poor, the down-trodden and the forgotten. It is, however, unfortunate that we are often accused of forcibly converting people to Christianity, which is baseless and untrue, he explained. Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas also pointed out that the Church remains committed to helping the state government in improving the standards of education and healthcare services in Jharkhand. Phone consultations between the King Mohammed VI and French President on the eve of the meeting scheduled to take place in Berlin on the Libyan crisis King Mohammed VI received a telephone call from president of the French Republic, a statement by the Royal Office said today The talks focused in particular on the Libyan crisis on the eve of the meeting scheduled to take place in Berlin on 19 January. On this occasion, the important role of the Kingdom of Morocco and its recognized efforts over many years to resolve the crisis in this Maghreb country were underscored. These efforts resulted, notably, in the Skhirat agreement, endorsed by the Security Council and supported by the international community. The requested page is currently unavailable on this server. Back to [RTHK News Homepage] T he Met Office has recorded the highest air pressure for more than 60 years in the UK. On Sunday night reading of 1050.5 hectoPascals (hPa) was recorded at the Mumbles in Swansea, Wales. This is the highest UK reading since January 1957. High pressure brought chilly and sunny weather conditions to much of the country over the weekend - though many woke up to frost on Monday morning as temperatures plummeted. The current highest pressure recorded in the UK is 1053.6 hPa, taken in Aberdeen on January 31, 1902. The Met Office says this is unlikely to be broken in the current weather spell. The sun rises over the village of Brill near Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire / PA Low pressure leads to unsettled weather conditions while high pressure leads to settled and fine weather conditions, according to the Met Office. High pressure in the winter leads to cold, dry days, with light winds, and frost overnight if skies are clear. A spokeswoman at the Met Office said that the rise in pressure for most of us, means nothing in real terms and most people will not notice any difference. Nicola Maxey, from the Met Office, said: I dont think, as far as most of us are concerned, it has any impact at all. The mercury dipped to below freezing in the south overnight into Monday, while temperatures in the north were much warmer. It is due to be another cold and frosty start across much of the UK on Tuesday, particularly in the south. There could be patches of freezing fog, according to Ms Maxey. Conditions in north-west England are cloudier and there is the chance of an odd shower on higher ground. Public Health England (PHE) issued a mid-range cold weather alert from Sunday to 6pm on Tuesday. It urged people to prepare for cold weather conditions and look out for those most at risk. Putin has decided to stay forever in power. But as a result he may have to leave earlier than he hopes for. Roman Dobrokhotov is a Moscow-based journalist and civil activist. He is the editor-in-chief of The Insider. On January 15, during his state of the nation annual speech, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced major constitutional changes. As a result, the government of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who reportedly did not know this was in the making, resigned. The amendments the Russian president put forward include term limits for the president, more authority for the parliament, which will be able to choose the prime minister, and wider powers for the State Council. These reforms outline Putins plan for preserving power after the end of his term in 2024. This time, he will not go for a rochade with the prime minister, as he did after the end of his second term in 2008, but a Kazakh move, in which the outgoing president will be given a special state organ to lead (the State Council), which will relieve him of day-to-day duties but allow him to retain power. Kazakhstans Nursultan Nazarbayev pulled such a feat last year and it seems Putin is walking in his footsteps. The Russian president will seek to retain control at the federal level through his ruling party, United Russia and at the regional level through the State Council. These reforms are not necessarily that surprising. Such an option was apparently on the table in 2007, when Putin was mulling ways to retain power after leaving the presidency. What is surprising, however, is that the president launched the implementation of his plan so early. It is possible that he was worried about Russian society and its elites growing anxious about the lack of vision for a post-Putin Russia early on, which could threaten the political stability of the country. He may have hastened to pass the reforms now, while he is still in full control. Although his proposal is meant to ensure he retains power even after 2024, it may cost him dearly. He has now showed his cards, declaring that, just like the party secretaries in Soviet times, he will stay on until death. The problem is, Russia in 2020 is not the Soviet Union and as president you do not automatically get the right to stay in power forever. Putins main challenge will be getting Russian society and its elites to buy into his proposed changes and the idea of him retaining power. In the process, he may actually meet his political demise. The Russian president has already indicated that while the people should approve these major constitutional changes, he will not call for a referendum. It is likely he is afraid of an opposition boycott and of not being able to get the voter turnout of 50 percent needed for referendum results to be valid. Whatever form this vote will take (other than a referendum), it is likely that it will lead to political unrest. A quick look at the history of revolutions against authoritarian regimes shows that during national elections even if they are completely unfree political sentiments often flare up and trigger political mobilisation. In other words, national polls can become focal points for public anger in unfree societies. The more repressed civil society is and the narrower the spaces for expressing dissent are, the more important these points become. They turn into opportunities for spontaneous political protest in the absence of strong opposition parties through which to channel political demands. And there is plenty of public anger simmering under the surface in Russia. The economy, albeit out of recession, remains sluggish as oil prices a major factor that determines economic growth in Russia remain low. Over the past few years, this has necessitated a number of painful social changes, including a pension reform that brought down Putins approval rating to 60 percent. Today public trust in the president is at 39 percent, and just 38 percent of Russians would vote for Putin if elections were to be held immediately. Over the summer, the elections for Moscows local parliament showed the potential for popular mobilisation around electoral events. The decision of the electoral commission to disqualify opposition politicians from running caused major street protests and unrest. It is quite likely that the voting on the proposed constitutional changes will trigger another wave of unrest around the country. Already the proposal has caused much dissatisfaction across the country. Whether such upheaval can lead to a revolution in the country remains to be seen, but even if Putin manages to put it down, he will still not be completely safe. For 20 years now, he has presided over a complex power vertical of formal and informal institutions and interests. Although it is quite different from the Soviet system, it similarly involves a delicate balance. In the 1980s, when Mikhail Gorbachev tried to introduce reform, he upset the balance and the system collapsed like a house of cards. Similarly, the changes that Putin proposes although aimed at securing his power in the long term are threatening the stability of the system. For example, as a consequence of the changes the president envisions, he will lose direct control over Russias various security agencies after 2024. That already happened once before in 2008 but then thanks to the high oil prices and robust economic growth, his position was strong enough to pull the strings of the security sector behind Medvedevs back. Today, it is not just the general population who are tired of political and economic stagnation, but also the elites, who apart from those in Putins immediate circle are also not too happy with his presidency. This means that by stepping down in 2024, Putin will be in a much weaker position, even if all the changes he has proposed are implemented; he will also not be able to rely on the security agencies. He would be much more susceptible to internal conspiracies. In other words, his Kazakh move might end up in a Kyrgyz disaster. In 2017, Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev, who as per the constitution could not run for a second term, passed the presidency to his political ally Sooronbay Jeenbekov after changing the constitution and enhancing the powers of the prime minister. Many believed that he would seek the premiership in order to retain power. But soon after he stepped down, he fell out with Jeenbekov, who had the parliament strip him of his political immunity and send him to jail. Russian history also has many examples of conspiracies against political leaders by purportedly loyal supporters whether it is the palace coup against Emperor Paul I in the 18th century or the plot to oust Nikita Khrushchev in the 1960s. Friends and cohorts can easily shift loyalty if presented with the right opportunity and reason. There are already reasons for some within the circles of power to desire Putins ouster and soon they may have a convenient opportunity. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance. Proper structures must be instituted to ... The threat of climate emergency is real even as world leaders turn a blind eye towards it and refuse to take appropriate measures to tackle it in the ling-run. Australia has alwready seen the effects of climate emergency. The world's largest reef system, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia is in grave danger. It has already been severly damaged by the changing climate and global warming. The recent bushfires in Australia wreaked havoc while the country's leaders continue to pretend as if nothing happened. Australia is also known for its unique wildflife, but humans' reluctance to work towards the planet is pushing any species to extinction. Prolonged drought and other effects of climate change are pushing Australia's unique platypus population towards extinction, scientists warned in a study published Monday. The river-dwelling animal has already disappeared from up to 40 percent of its historical range on Australia's east coast due to the drought, land clearing, pollution and building of dams, which fragment their habitat, the researchers said. They predicted that if the current threats persist, platypus numbers will fall another 47-66 percent over the next 50 years. twitter/representational image If projections about worsening climate change are taken into account, the numbers of the duck-billed, egg-laying mammal could plummet up to 73 percent by 2070, they wrote. The platypus is listed as "near threatened" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. But the scientists from the University of New South Wales' Centre for Ecosystem Science said damage to river systems caused by years of little rainfall and high temperatures had worsened prospects for the animal. twitter/representational image "These dangers further expose the platypus to even worse local extinctions, with no capacity to repopulate areas," said Gilad Bino, lead author of the study. The scientists said there is an "urgent need" for a national risk assessment to determine if the platypus should be downgraded to "vulnerable" status and to lay out conservation steps "to minimise any risk of extinction". The study is the first across all platypus habitat zones to establish a so-called "metapopulation" model while also projecting the impacts of climate change on the species going forward. twitter/representational image The survey estimated the total platypus population had fallen by 50 percent since European settlement of the continent two centuries ago. An earlier study published in November 2018 estimated the population had fallen by 30 percent over that period, to around 200,000. "Under predicted climate change, the losses forecast were far greater because of increases in extreme drought frequencies and duration, such as the current dry spell," Bino said of the latest report. The new study comes as unprecedented bushfires ravage vast areas of eastern Australia, fuelled by the drought and record-high temperatures. The platypus, which along with four species of echidna are the only mammals that lay eggs, is one of the world's strangest animals, with the bill of a duck, tail of a beaver, otter-like feet and a venomous spur on its hind leg. Gloria Taylor, assisted by her sister Patty Ferguson, pauses to talk to media outside the B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver on Dec. 1, 2011. Taylor, who had Lou Gehrig's disease, was part of a legal battle to change the laws that criminalize doctor-assisted suicide. (The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck) Consultations Belie Euthanasia Farce Commentary Although Canadas Constitution defends the right to life, Canadian courts keep mandating more death. The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) definitively ruled in 1993 that a ban on euthanasia protected vulnerable people in a constitutionally justified way. In 2015, the court changed its mind and forced the legalization of euthanasia. Last September, a Quebec court ruled that the law was still too restrictive. Now the federal government is holding hearings on how to change it. This sequence of events shows that the Constitution does not defend rights; it only empowers judges to remake Canada in their image. For many years, legislators, the courts, and the public prohibited euthanasia. The Constitution guarantees life, liberty, and the security of the person, not specifically a right to death. Early in the 1990s, Sue Rodruiguez, who had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), wanted to be euthanized and challenged laws that prevented that. But in a five-to-four decision, the SCC upheld the ban. Justice John Sopinka penned the decision and said the law was acceptable since the legislative purpose extends to protecting the life of the terminally ill. He said there was no halfway measure that could be relied upon with assurance to fully achieve the legislations purpose to discourage the terminally ill from choosing death over life. A dissenting Justice Beverley McLaughlin said this was unfair, since able-bodied people could kill themselves whenever they wanted to. She added, it does not accord with the principles of fundamental justice that Sue Rodruigez should be disallowed euthanasia just because some people might suffer an act of killing without true consent. What is fundamental justice? The Charter of Rights and Freedoms tells us the basis in its opening words, Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law. In this worldview, God is the author of life and death. The Old Testament, sacred in the theistic religions, views assisted suicide as murder. Most judges have rejected these foundations, leaving their sense of fundamental justice to their own liberal moral compass. They declare conservative precedents to be outdated and replace them with more liberal laws. So it was, and is, with euthanasia. Like Sue Rodriguez 20 years prior, Gloria Taylor was a British Columbia woman with ALS. But when she challenged the ban on euthanasia, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Lynn Smith struck down the law. Smith used interpretive gymnastics to rule that for Taylor, euthanasia may shorten her life. Ms. Taylors reduced lifespan would occur if she concludes that she needs to take her own life while she is still physically able to do so, at an earlier date than she would find necessary if she could be assisted. The B.C. Court of Appeal overturned Smiths decision, but the SCC agreed with it. Led by McLaughlin, who by then was Chief Justice, the judges ruled unanimously that Parliament should legalize euthanasia for the terminally ill within one year. Remember back in May 2016 when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau nudged Conservative Whip Gordon Brown and accidentally elbowed NDP MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau on the floor of the House of Commons as MPs gathered for a vote on the assisted-dying bill? It happened because the prime minister was eager for MPs to get back to business lest they miss the court-imposed deadline for new euthanasia legislation. Now parliamentarians are rushing againand not even for a federal judge. In accordance with the Carter decision, federal law states that euthanasia should be restricted to circumstances where death is reasonably foreseeable. Last September, Justice Christine Baudouin of the Superior Court of Quebec said that was too restrictive. The judge gave just six months for the law to change, despite the upcoming federal election. The re-elected Liberal government will consult Canadians for just two weeks on a literal life-and-death issue. In the past, judges have struck down pipelines for inadequate consultations with First Nations, even though they lasted for months. So continues the farce that has already made doctors responsible for one of every hundred deaths in Canada. Current consultations ask Canadians whether they would endorse euthanasia for minors, for the mentally ill, and for those who want to authorize it in advance (lest they be unable to at some point later). Imagine parents who plead with doctors not to kill their suicidal teenager, but have a medical and legal establishment tell them, Its their right and you cant stop it. When the SCC heard the Carter case in 2015, Professor Etienne Montero of Belgium warned that euthanasia is a slippery slope, where the acceptable criteria keep expanding and enforcement for wrongful deaths becomes difficult. Unless politicians are willing to listen to people and not just judges, this horror is a foregone conclusion. Lee Harding is a former political staffer, taxpayer advocate, and think tank researcher. He is now a columnist based in Saskatchewan. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Armed forces outside the prison in Pedro Juan Caballero: Getty At least seventy-five prisoners, including members of Brazils most powerful drug cartel, have broken free from a Paraguayan jail in an escape that was likely facilitated by prison officers, officials say. Authorities discovered a narrow tunnel, which was carefully hidden to avoid detection, though it is believed inmates were provided with inside help. Paraguays justice minister, Cecilia Perez, said: Its an operation that took days and it is impossible that the officials did not realise that they were leaving ... obviously this was a paid plan. Authorities had received prior information that an escape was being planned, Ms Perez added. It has also been alleged many of the prisoners were allowed to walk free through the main gate by jail guards, with the tunnel built as a cover-up for the operation. We found the tunnel and believe that it was a cover-up to legitimise or hide the release of the prisoners, interior minister Euclides Acevedo said. There was complicity with people at the jail, he added. The escaped prisoners included gang members from First Capital Command (PCC), Brazils most powerful and sophisticated organised crime group, the government said. The PCC, which has almost 30,000 members, is involved in drug and arms trafficking across Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia and Colombia. Inspections at the prison complex in the eastern city of Pedro Juan Caballero, near the Brazilian border, revealed hundreds of sandbags stored in a single cell. Intelligence also suggests that inmates had been allowed to leave in smaller groups over a number of days, Mr Acevedo said. The director of the prison, Christan Gonzalez, and six other prison officials have since been fired and arrested, according to reports. Paraguays National Police have launched a hunt for the escapees, a number of whom participated in a massacre which left 10 inmates dead at the prison in June last year. The Brazilian authorities in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul have issued an alert, with state police and the armed forces working in the area to track down the fugitives. Story continues Concerns have been raised that some of the escaped prisoners have already crossed into Brazil. Burnt-out vehicles have been found on the Brazilian side of the border. The investigation into the prison break is ongoing. Read more Soldier filmed wrestling journalist to ground in Paraguay By David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - There are still no firm plans for downloading the cockpit and flight data from a Ukrainian airliner which was shot down by Iran 10 days ago, Canada's Transportation Safety Board (TSB) said on Sunday. By David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - There are still no firm plans for downloading the cockpit and flight data from a Ukrainian airliner which was shot down by Iran 10 days ago, Canada's Transportation Safety Board (TSB) said on Sunday. A total of 176 people died in the disaster, 57 of them Canadian citizens. Canada's government reiterated demands on Sunday that the boxes be sent to either France or Ukraine. Iran is trying to analyze the black boxes, the state IRNA news agency reported on Sunday, denying a report that a decision had been taken to send the recorders to Ukraine. The TSB said in a statement that two of its crash investigators had left Tehran earlier on Sunday after a six-day visit during which they examined the wreckage. The TSB said it understood the boxes were still in Iran and added: "There are still no firm plans as to when and where the aircraft recorders will be downloaded and analyzed". Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said he wrote to his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif on Sunday to urge the boxes be quickly sent to Ukraine or France. "The wish of the international community is that the black boxes be sent where they should be sent ... to ensure we have proper technical expertise when (they) are opened," he said on the sidelines of a cabinet retreat in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday called on Iran to send the boxes to France, which he said was one of the few nations with the ability to read data from damaged fight and cockpit recorders. The TSB, which said its investigators would be heading to Ukraine for talks, added that Iran's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau had been "cooperative and helpful". Iran's military has said the airliner was shot down in error. The TSB said the chief Iranian investigator "may travel to Ukraine this week" for talks with the National Bureau of Air Accidents Investigation of Ukraine and to visit its laboratory. (Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Daniel Wallis) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. New research suggests Canada's largest national park is not drying out from upstream hydro dams or being contaminated by the oilsands. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 19/1/2020 (723 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. An aerial view of Fort Chipewyan, Alta., on the border of Wood Buffalo National Park is shown on Monday, Sept. 19, 2011. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh New research suggests Canada's largest national park is not drying out from upstream hydro dams or being contaminated by the oilsands. Recently published papers from scientists at the University of Waterloo question previous studies done for the federal government and the United Nations as well as long-held conclusions from Indigenous people. "Our findings counter widespread perceptions," said Roland Hall, an aquatic ecologist who is one of the co-authors. "There's been lots of controversy and claims that weren't necessarily supported by data." Others say the jury is still out. "(The scientists) overstate their position, stretching the applicability of their limited dataset," said Melody Lepine of the Mikisew Cree First Nation. The band has long voiced concerns about its traditional land in northern Alberta's Peace-Athabasca Delta and Wood Buffalo National Park. The park is one of the world's largest freshwater deltas and a World Heritage Site. But its water levels have been dropping, which the Mikisew blame largely on B.C. Hydro's Bennett Dam. They also say contaminants have been flowing downstream from the oilsands. In 2014, the Mikisew voiced concerns to UNESCO, which asked Canada to assess the park's 45,000 square kilometres of grasslands, wetlands and waterways. That study found ecological health was declining from climate change, dams and industry. It also noted the proposed Teck Frontier oilsands mine, waiting for federal cabinet approval, is only 20 kilometres south of the park. UNESCO is considering the park's status while Parks Canada considers a $27.5-million plan to rescue it. But after analyzing 150 years worth of lake and delta sediment cores, Hall said dams and industry aren't the problem. Parts of the delta are drying out and climate change may play a part, he said. But the biggest factor, Hall said, is the Embarras River, which redirected large volumes of water when it broke its banks in 1982. "It's probably the biggest hydrological event of the century and you don't even find it mentioned," said Hall. What's more, researchers found that the delta didn't start drying out until the 1980s. The Bennett Dam was built in 1968. The cores, which were examined for six heavy metals associated with oilsands, revealed changes over time that predate development. "We see flat lines, no rising trends," Hall said. Joshua Kurek, an ecologist at Mount Allison University in New Brunswick, was not involved in the study, but called the papers valuable. "We have a scarcity of observations and their approach provides convincing evidence of fairly stable baselines," he said. But Kurek pointed out that industry releases many more chemicals than those considered by the researchers. As well, Kurek noted, the cores were taken from a small area of the delta far from oilsands mines. "It's definitely not the final answer." Lepine said in an email that the research didn't test for contaminants other studies have found, including mercury, arsenic and many carcinogenic chemicals. And the paper doesn't look at the dam's impact on the Peace River, she added. Hall, who has been working in the area for 20 years, said conflicting theories speak to how little data is available on the large, complex, remote region and how hard it is to study. "It's not an easy place to figure stuff out." He suggests others may have let assumptions influence them. "Almost from Day 1, it was anticipated that (the dam) would cause negative changes," Hall said. "That idea has been in people's minds for so long that other possibilities are not being explored." He stands by the conclusions in his papers. "The extent to which industrial developments have altered the delta are not as bad as feared. "It doesn't mean industry can't change things in the future. This system is still very much acting like a natural system, but there is a strong need for continued monitoring." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 19, 2020 Follow Bob Weber on Twitter at @row1960 The lawyer of Pawan Gupta, one of the four persons convicted in the Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case, has claimed that the Delhi Police concealed his clients document. Pawan Gupta, who will be executed along with the other three convicts on February 1, 2020, was reportedly a juvenile at the time of the offence, i.e., December 2012. His lawyer AP Singh, who has been pushing for clemency claiming his minor status, has alleged that the Delhi Police deliberately concealed documents pertaining to Pawans date of birth. He further said his school certificates were also concealed by the cops on purpose. The Supreme Court, however, has clarified that it will not deliberate on a claim it had already rejected. According to an NDTV report, the apex court observed: "We don't find any ground to entertain this petition. Once the issue of a juvenile is examined and rejected by courts it can't be raised again." Singhs statement came after the Delhi High Court had issued a notice against him for filing forged documents of Pawan Kumar Gupta to prove he is a juvenile. The Bar Council was directed to take action against him on December 19, 2019, for also not appearing for a court hearing and filing the affidavits to deliberately delay the procedure. Six persons were found guilty of gangraping and fatally injuring 23-year-old paramedical student in Delhi in 2012. While one was let off after serving his time at a juvenile correctional facility, the main accused Ram Singh -- committed suicide by hanging himself inside Tihar Jail. New Delhi, Jan 20 : The Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice on a plea challenging the constitutionality of the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992, and the extension of the government welfare schemes to the religious minorities by utlising taxpayer money. A bench comprising Justices R.F. Nariman and S.R. Bhat issued a notice on a plea filed by followers of the Sanatan Vedic Dharam, who are members of the Hindu community. The writ petition was filed by Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain. The petitioners also challenged the constitutional validity of establishment of National Minority Commission by Central Act, as Parliament cannot make any law for the benefit of any religion maybe, for minority religious groups. Also, the special benefit and advantage within the sweep of Article 15(4) can be provided only to those communities who are found 'socially and educationally backward' classes of citizens by a Commission established under Article 340 of the Constitution. "From tax payer money, no religion or religious groups can be promoted and therefore, no Minority Commission can be created to achieve the purposes enumerated in the Act", said the plea. The petitioners cited that they are being unconstitutionally deprived of benefits available to similarly situated members of religious minorities through government welfare schemes, in violation of Articles 14, 15 and 27 of the Constitution. The petition contends that recognising religious minorities and extending special benefits to them, while excluding similarly placed Hindus, adversely affects the integrity of India. "The Government and Parliament of India cannot promote minoritism and cannot show inclination towards them and allure them to flourish by initiating beneficial programs for them. Such an action will be detrimental for the Sovereignty and Integrity of India and give rise to separatists and may create a situation for another division of the nation", said the plea. A specific challenge has also been made to the constitutionality of the National Minorities Commission as well, which has been contended as a fraud on the Constitution. "The purpose of establishing minority commission is unconstitutional and also the initiation of beneficial schemes for religious minorities is fraud on the constitution and misuse of power being committed by the Central Government to appease a section of the society at the cost of national integration", said the petiton. The act of the government to restrict welfare schemes and scholarships to only religious minorities discriminates against the Hindu community on the ground of religion. "The Government is showing undue favour to Waqf and Waqf properties denying the same benefit to the institutions of Hindu community like Trusts, Mutts, Akharas and other religious denominations...", said the plea. The petition urged the top court to declare that the Centre has no right, jurisdiction and power to grant benefits from tax payer money on the schemes framed in favour of notified religious minority communities. By Finian Cunningham January 20, 2020 " Information Clearing House " - Not since the 1930s has European appeasement been seen to be so cowardly, so cynical and ultimately so recklessly leading to greater escalation and war. In the 1930s, British and French appeasement of Nazi fascism led to World War II. Nearly a century later, the same unscrupulous fawning over American imperialism towards Iran is similarly creating the conditions that fuel lawlessness and aggression. The joint statement issued this week by the European troika of Britain, France and Germany regarding the international nuclear accord with Iran was a masterclass in deception and cynicism. The so-called E3 said they were triggering a dispute mechanism because, they alleged, Iran was in violation of the international accord, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) We have therefore been left with no choice, given Irans actions, but to register today our concerns that Iran is not meeting its commitments under the JCPOA and to refer this matter to the Joint Commission under the Dispute Resolution Mechanism, as set out in paragraph 36 of the JCPOA, read the European joint statement. It concludes: We do this in good faith with the overarching objective of preserving the JCPOA and in the sincere hope of finding a way forward to resolve the impasse through constructive diplomatic dialogue, while preserving the agreement and remaining within its framework. In doing so, our three countries are not joining a campaign to implement maximum pressure against Iran. Our hope is to bring Iran back into full compliance with its commitments under the JCPOA. Iran is being put in a no-win situation because of false claims. The dispute cannot be resolved, and so over the coming weeks the European are moving to re-impose UN and EU sanctions on Iran. The JCPOA is thus finished. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter As Russias foreign ministry pointed out, the European dangerous move to censure Iran is not justified, and it will lead to further escalation in an already dangerous stand-off between the US and Iran. What the Europeans are doing is falsely blaming Iran for violating the JCPOA by Tehrans incremental suspension of commitments over the past seven months. Iran was forced into doing that because it was the Trump administration that first violated the international treaty by unilaterally rescinding it in May 2018, and subsequently reimposing crippling economic sanctions on Iran. Iran warned the Europeans in May 2019 that they must take steps to uphold the accord and implement trade mechanisms to avoid US sanctions. The Europeans failed miserably to deliver on their commitments to the JCPOA and sheepishly backed away from doing business with Iran in the face of US threats of secondary sanctions. The pious joint statement this week from the EU troika is a mendacious cover-up of their own weakness and failure to stand up to American bullying. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in a separate statement: Our goal is clear: we want to preserve the accord and come to a diplomatic solution within the agreement. British counterpart Dominic Raab told Britains parliament that the Iranian regime has a choice. The regime can take the steps to de-escalate tensions and adhere to the basic rules of international law. Or sink deeper and deeper into political and economic isolation, he said. We urge Iran to work with us to save the deal, said Raab from the pseudo moral high-ground. The Europeans are turning reality on its head. Condemning Iran for violating the deal is the cowardly wheeze of blaming the victim while whitewashing the very real and much greater violations by the US and the Europeans themselves. Telling Iran that it must take steps to de-escalate is an absurd distortion of the relentless build up of military force by the US in the Middle East aimed at Iran. The Europeans make the risible claim that they are not joining the US maximum pressure campaign when that is exactly what they are doing. Its as insulting to common intelligence as Britains Neville Chamberlain proclaiming peace in our time after sucking up to Hitler at Munich in 1938. The European sniveling capitulation to Trumps warmongering towards Iran has been underway over the past three years. The American president greeted the latest act of European vassalage with stirring words of lies and more threats. The civilized world must send a clear and unified message to the Iranian regime: your campaign of terror, murder, mayhem will not be tolerated any longer, Trump said, according to a statement released by the State Department. Iran needs to face up to the truth. The European governments are not honest brokers nor are they genuine partners. They cannot be trusted, as Ayatollah Khamenei said this week. Iran is grieving the loss of national hero Maj. General Soleimani who was murdered on the orders of Trump. The country is grieving over the air disaster of a civilian plane being shot down by Iranian defense forces amid heightened tensions of an American-led war. Yet the Europeans say nothing of condemnation against the aggressor in Washington. Indeed, they are piling on the isolation and smearing of Iran, repeating baseless US accusation of it having secret nuclear ambitions. This European appeasement is only lending further false justification for American aggression towards Iran. It is fueling the danger of war despite its cynical claims of wanting a diplomatic solution and adhering to international law. Iranian-American scholar Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich has called this moment a wake-up call for Iran. In an interview for Press TV, she said: The Europeans have shown repeatedly through their actions they are not a European power. They are a European marketplace. And the United States has leverage in this marketplace and even dictates its rules. That was an implicit reference to the reported threats by the Trump administration to hit the EU with steep tariffs on auto exports if it did not trigger the dispute mechanism with Iran this week. Sepahpour-Ulrich also questions the basic premise of the 2015 nuclear accord which was signed by the US, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China after years of tortuous negotiations. She says that for the Western states, the JCPOA was never about establishing normal relations with Iran. It was about subduing Iran, undermining it and taking away its power, basically. As such, it is perhaps a good thing that the charade of the nuclear accord is finally finished, due to the latest bad faith from the incorrigible European lackeys in hock to US imperialist bullying. Being entangled in the charade was always a drain on Iranian power and, paradoxically, a source of escalation, as the disturbing current dynamic is proving. The false choice being presented by the EU to Iran of returning to compliance should be repudiated. Iran should henceforth direct its economic interests wholeheartedly towards co-development with Russia, China and the Eurasian realm. Any further wrangling with the Western charlatans is only inviting war. Zach Gibson RICHMOND, Va.Thousands of gun activists, many of them heavily armed and in full military gear, rallied around Virginias heavily secured state capitol complex on Monday to protest new gun-control proposalsamid a four-day state of emergency declared by Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam. Thousands of people entered the security perimeter around the state capitol, where Northam had banned guns in an executive order, fearing violence. But thousands of others rallied on nearby streets that didnt fall under the emergency order, many of them carrying assault rifles and wearing tactical gear. Members of the Three Percenter and Oath Keepers militias marched in the streets with their weapons, while other rally-goers cheered one man carrying a large sniper rifle with an orange Guns Save Lives sticker affixed to its magazine. The rally drew a number of fringe right-wing figures, including members of the all-male Proud Boys, and Joey Gibson, a right-wing personality in the Pacific Northwest who faces a riot charge in Portland. Far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones cruised the streets of Richmond with a megaphone and an armored truck. Shouting from his vehicle, deemed his battle tank, the radio host reportedly declared: We are here in Virginia at the capital in defiance of the globalist tyranny and their attempts to trigger a civil war. The pro-gun rally from the Virginia Citizens Defense League was initially tied to Lobby Day, an annual event where gun-control opponents and supporters lobby state lawmakers. But with the Virginia government now in unified Democratic control for the first time in 27 years and expected to pass mandatory background checks and monthly caps on gun purchases, the annual event took on national import for Second Amendment activists as well as fringe far-right groups. Prominent militia figures began speculating that the event would set off the boogaloofar-right internet slang for a new civil war. The Base, a neo-Nazi group, allegedly made plans for a shooting at the event before members of the group were arrested last week. Story continues Hoax stories claiming that Northam planned to turn off the power grid or call in the United Nations to disarm Virginians further fueled tensions ahead of the rally. Republican state Sen. Amanda Chase claimed the event was a set up meant to embarrass gun owners and potentially lead to their arrests. A lot of us constitutionalists feel that the Virginia bills set the stage for similar bills, said Jennifer Bailey, a militia activist who organized a State of the Militia dinner on Sunday night. While the event wasnt an official Donald Trump rally, paraphernalia supporting the president was bountiful. Shirt vendors sold tees with messages like God, Guns, and Trump, or Border Wall Construction Crew. An RV parked outside the entrance to the capitol featured a poster imagining Trump as Rambo. Also spotted in the crowds was a flag in support of QAnon, a bonkers pro-Trump conspiracy theory. While gun-control opponents filled the streets, a few advocates for stricter gun laws showed up after calling off their own event. Virginia resident Thomas Freeman was one of the few visible gun-control advocates in the crowd. Holding up a Gun Laws Save Lives sign, he said he felt he had to come to the event after other gun-control activists cancelled because of fears about violence. We had an election, guns were on the ballot, guns lost, Freeman declared. 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. It Was Mental Torture Madurima was quoted by BollywoodLife as saying, "It was mental torture. He had given me false hopes, which I realised later. Inside the house, he kept on poking me and made me feel disgusted about myself. He said I am zero, my career is zero and I have done nothing professionally without him. If you raise questions on someone's professional credentials, anyone would get instigating. He said I was someone solely because of him and that was traumatizing." 'Vishal Isolated Madhurima In The House The actress added that Vishal isolated her in the house and wanted her to be out of the show. She further said that although the slipper incident wasn't a huge one, he created drama. Vishal Provoked Her Non-stop & Succeeded She revealed that Vishal was unhappy with her presence. He provoked her non-stop and succeeded in instigating her to a level that she finally hit him. The actress further said, "If I was out of my senses, I would have hit him on the head but I hit him on his butt as I knew it would not hurt to a great extent. He wanted me out and got the needed reaction from me." He Has Hit Me Various Times But I Always Forgave Him Madhurima also revealed, "He has hit me various times but I always forgave him. I did not let it hamper my life or happiness as I loved him. What I have gone through is very personal and I would like to ask them would they be quiet if someone spoke about their professional achievements and work. Of course, people have different tolerance levels. I don't think I am at fault.'' My Self Respect Was Getting Hampered 24*7 The Chandrakanta actress also took to social media to apologise to her fans. She wrote, "I am really sorry to the viewers who got hurt by my actions. My self respect was getting hampered 24*7 in that house and I couldn't take it anymore. It was not easy being ignored by the one I was expecting the most and it led to my eviction. #BiggBoss13 #SalmanKhan @ColorsTV." - (sic) Amid ongoing protests in Andhra Pradesh over the three-capital proposal, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy led government on Monday approved the High Power Committee report at a Cabinet meeting. The Cabinet, which was chaired by Chief Minister Reddy, approved the idea of three capitals -- Visakhapatnam as executive capital, Kurnool as judicial capital, and Amaravati as legislative capital. Based on the recommendations of the report, other key issues like decentralisation of development, concerns of farmers, employee issues, insider trading of Amaravati lands and Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) amendment were discussed during the meeting, said an official release. In addition to the decentralisation and CRDA Amendment Bills, the state government has also agreed for offering better packages to the farmers of Amaravati region. The meeting decided to increase the ex gratia being paid to the farmers of the capital region from Rs 2,500 per month to Rs 5,000 per month. "The Cabinet has also approved the proposal to extend the tenancy limit for fifteen years to the farmers, who gave up their lands for the capital city construction and approved for the establishment of the Amaravati Metropolitan Development Authority in place of CRDA," added the release. Further, the Cabinet agreed to establish over 11,000 Farmer Assistance Centres (Rythu Barosa Kendram) across the state. After an hour-long Cabinet meeting, the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) meeting was held under the chairmanship of Speaker Tammineni Sitaram. Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy and the government's Chief Whip G Srikanth Reddy took part in the BAC meeting along with TDP MLA Atchannaidu. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) LONDON Google's chief executive called Monday for a balanced approach to regulating artificial intelligence, telling a European audience that the technology brings benefits but also "negative consequences." Sundar Pichai's comments come as lawmakers and governments seriously consider putting limits on how artificial intelligence is used. "There is no question in my mind that artificial intelligence needs to be regulated. The question is how best to approach this," Pichai said, according to a transcript of his speech at a Brussel-based think tank. He noted that there's an important role for governments to play and that as the European Union and the U.S. start drawing up their own approaches to regulation, "international alignment" of any eventual rules will be critical. He did not provide specific proposals. Pichai spoke on the same day he was scheduled to meet the EU's powerful competition regulator, Margrethe Vestager. She's also due to meet Microsoft President Brad Smith separately on Monday. [January 20, 2020] FeganScott Opens New York City Office, Adds Associate Chicago-based law firm FeganScott announced that attorney Jonathan Lindenfeld has joined the firm, opening its New York City office. This is the fifth location for FeganScott's expanding practice. Lindenfeld will help FeganScott bolster its focus on economic frauds and establish the firm's presence in New York City. With experience in federal securities litigation and shareholder derivative litigation, Lindenfeld brings valuable experience working with institutional clients. "Jonathan's experience in financial frauds will be an exceptional asset to our rapidly growing practice," said Elizabeth Fegan, founding partner of FeganScott. "His ability to consistently be an ally for his clients will help reinforce our mission of helping those who need it most." Prior to joining FeganScott, Lindenfeld was an associate at Pomerantz LLP, a securities litigation antitrust litigation and corporate governance law firm in New York City Lindenfeld earned his juris doctorate from Hofstra University School of Law, where he received honors in business law and was also the editor for the Journal of International Business and Law. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in economics from Queens College - City University of New York. Founded in 2019 by legal industry veterans Elizabeth Fegan and Timothy Scott, FeganScott is a national class-action law firm dedicated to helping victims of sexual assault, discrimination, consumer fraud and antitrust violations. Elizabeth Fegan currently represents victims of sexual abuse by Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein as co-lead counsel in the class action litigation. About FeganScott FeganScott is a national class-action law firm dedicated to helping victims of sexual abuse, discrimination, consumer fraud, antitrust violations and more. The firm is championed by acclaimed class-action and veteran attorneys and has successfully recovered $1 billion for millions of victims nationwide. FeganScott is committed to pursuing successful outcomes with integrity and excellence, while holding unjust parties accountable. To learn more, visit www.feganscott.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200120005536/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] British experts could be sent to Libya as part of a possible international force to monitor a proposed permanent ceasefire. It comes as Boris Johnson was among world leaders attending a peace summit in Berlin, which included all parties in the civil war and was aimed at stopping foreign influence in the conflict. The prime minister said: "If there is a ceasefire, yes, of course there's a case for us doing what we do very well, which is sending experts to monitor the ceasefire." It is understood they would be experts from the UK's Foreign Office. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said countries with interests in the conflict, which has evolved into a proxy war, have agreed they should respect a much-violated arms embargo. The nations also agreed to not provide any more military support to the warring parties and push them for a full ceasefire. The conflict has been raging since dictator, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, was overthrown by NATO-backed rebels in 2011. For more than five years, the oil-rich north African nation has had two rival governments - one in the east and the other in the west, with streets controlled by armed groups. The internationally-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) - led by Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, based in Tripoli in the west and backed by Turkish troops - is fighting forces loyal to eastern commander, General Khalifa Haftar. His self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) is advancing on the capital with the backing of Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Russian mercenaries and African troops. Up to 2,000 fighters from Syria's civil war have joined the battle, reportedly against Gen Haftar's men. The Berlin summit was hosted by Germany and the United Nations. Gen Haftar quit a Turkish-Russian summit a week ago and escalated the conflict on Friday when eastern oil ports were shut down. Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC), which has said it is neutral and deals with all parties in the conflict, claimed the shutdown was directly ordered by Gen Haftar's forces and would cut oil production by 800,000 barrels a day. Any lasting closure could hit Tripoli hard since the government relies on oil revenues to fund its budget. (JNS)-New excavations by Israeli archaeologists suggest the existence of a 2,000-year-old Jerusalem market in the City of David, the Israel Antiquities Authority said Monday in a statement, i24News reported. Archaeologists and historians call the road that is being excavated under an eastern Jerusalem Arab neighborhood the "Stepped Street," also called the "Pilgrims' Path" or the "Pilgrimage Road." A rare ancient measuring table and dozens of stone measurement weights that were recently excavated suggest that the location in the Pilgrimage Road served as a major town square-a center for trade for those traveling to the Temple-during the Second Temple Period. "The volume standard table we've found, as well as the stone weights discovered nearby, support the theory that this was the site of vast trade activity, and perhaps this may indicate the existence of a market," said Antiquities Authority archaeologist Ari Levy in a press release. "The fact that there were city-specific weights at the site indicates the unique features of the economy and trade in Jerusalem during the Second Temple period, possibly due to the influence of the Temple itself." The excavation has to date revealed the top of the stone table, which Levy said would have belonged to the market's manager or agoranomos (from the Greek word agora, meaning a central public space), who was in charge of supervising weights and measurements of commodities traded in the city of Jerusalem. Professor Ronny Reich, an archaeologist and expert in ancient Jerusalem who was among the first to find portions of the sewer system that led to the discovery of the Pilgrims' Path, said "other stone artifacts were very popular in Jerusalem during the Second Temple; however, so far, excavations in Jerusalem have only uncovered two similar tables that were used for measuring volume-one during the 1970s in the Jewish Quarter excavations, and another in the Shu'afat excavations in northern Jerusalem." Turkeys Libya strategy seems to have produced many side effects with the situation on the ground rapidly escalating. Turkeys hard power tactics on Libya perhaps paved the way for the Berlin summit by provoking the international community to take action against Turkeys unilateral moves, but the final communique that the foreign powers agreed on during the conference are conflicting with Ankaras interests and military plans. The provision that envisages sanctions on parties that break the United Nations arms embargo is effectively blocking Turkeys military venture. The communique also calls for a formation of a unity government that is recognized by the war-torn countrys Tobruk-based parliament that strongly opposes the military cooperation and maritime boundary agreements that Turkey signed with the Fayez al-Sarraj-led Government of National Accord (GNA). Russia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have boosted their support for Libyan National Army (LNA) leader Khalifa Hifter who announced Jan. 18 that he would block oil exports from the country's main ports in retaliation for Turkeys actions. The disruption in the oil production can have devastating consequences first and foremost for the Libyan people, warned the United Nations Libya mission. Ankaras road map with Libya derailed when several deterrent factors came into play preventing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to realize his plans to dispatch military troops to the war-torn country despite the parliamentary approval he obtained Jan. 2. Erdogan had to agree to work with Russia, but jointly brokered cease-fire talks between the GNA led by Fayez al-Sarraj and the Hifter-led delegation have not produced the desired results. Turkey was about to register the summit as a successful outcome of its hard power tactics, but Hifter left the negotiating table without signing the truce agreement leading everyone back to square one. Why has Turkeys tension strategy not yielded the results Erdogan has promised? Several factors have surfaced disrupting Turkeys plans. Apart from international objections, Libyas neighbors have been particularly annoyed by Turkeys interventionism. The capacity problems Turkeys air force is facing after the 2016 botched coup attempt aside, the distance between the two countries is preventing Turkey to conduct effective air operations in the Libyan airspace. Turkeys hopes to use neighboring countries as logistical routes and bases were also dashed by the staunchly neutral positions of Tunis and Algeria. Erdogan has been particularly disappointed by the Ennahda movement, when Tunisian parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi, leader of Ennahda and a close friend of Erdogan in the Muslim Brotherhood network, said that Tunisia will not be part of the Libyan conflict. Tunisian President Kais Saied denied Turkeys claims that Tunis was supporting the Sarraj-led GNA. Algeria also has adopted a similar position by announcing that the country will maintain its distance with the warring Libyan parties after some news reports claimed two Turkish frigates were en route to Algerian ports. Egypt, as one of the critical allies of Hifter, has challenged Turkeys plans more openly than ever. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced that Cairo is determined to take the necessary actions against any Turkish intervention. The announcement has raised the prospect of turning Libya into a direct confrontation scene between Turkey and the Egypt-UAE bloc that has been at odds with Ankaras foreign policy policies since 2013. Egypts military exercise called Qader 2020 coincided with the Moscow meeting leading many to consider the exercise as a show of force against Turkey. Turkeys Libyan venture also increased the tension in the competition over eastern Mediterranean hydrocarbon resources. Erdogan has argued that the deal Turkey signed with the GNA government to demarcate maritime borders would eliminate the Cyprus, Greece, Israel and Egypt blocs efforts to link eastern Mediterranean gas fields with European markets bypassing Turkey. In response, the bloc has stepped up these efforts by signing an energy cooperation deal between Greece, Israel and Cyprus. On Jan. 8, foreign ministers of Greece, Egypt and Cyprus met in Cairo to declare the deals Turkey signed with the GNA "void," in a move that further deepens Turkeys isolation in the international arena. Turkeys pro-government circles overoptimistic expectations about Turkeys pivotal role in Libya ignores the change of wind in Libya. Turkey-backed Islamist forces under siege between Tripoli and Misrata were hoping to push back the Hifter-led forces with the help of Turkeys military support, but in the end lost Sirte. The joint Turkish-Russian calls for a cease-fire came just as the Hifter-led forces were advancing toward Sirte. The LNA seized the city without much conflict when a Salafist jihadist faction defected from the GNA and joined the ranks of the Hifter-led forces. The defection indicates the volatile nature of the conflict. Although Tripoli-based Salafists supporting the GNA are quite powerful, in the climate of war one should always keep in mind reality: Tribes or clans tend to favor the powerful party, similar to the scenario that has transpired in Syria. Indeed, some 1,000 people from various tribes from several cities, including Benghazi, Tobruk, Bayda, Zintan and Ghat, gathered in Benghazi to pledge support to Hifter and the Tobruk-based parliament in early January. Apparently, some elements of the ousted regime also back Hifter, including the daughter of late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. When Turkish soldiers boots desecrate our homeland soil, which was watered by the blood of our martyrs, if there is no one among you to repel this aggression, then leave the battlefield to the free women of Libya and I will be at their forefront, Ayesha Gadhafi said Jan. 2, declaring her support for Hifter. Moscow invited Ankara to the negotiating table to prevent a possible Turkish military intervention, while maintaining its support for Hifter through private Russian military company Wagner Group. As a result, Erdogan backpedaled and brought up the idea of recruiting mercenaries from Syria for Libya to limit the Turkish armys role with coordination and training. Ankaras plan was to boost air defense in and around the airspace of Tripoli, which Ankara designated as a red line. So far, the number of Turkish troops dispatched to Libya have reached 80. However, Turkeys efforts to recruit Syrian fighters appears to have caused rifts in the Syrian opposition ranks. Hence, Turkey didnt have any choice but to sit at the table in Moscow. The initial plan was to launch an initiative similar to Astana, but the Libyan equation does not allow such an initiative. In Astana, Turkey talks on behalf of the opposition while Russia and Iran talk on behalf of Damascus. In the Libyan conflict, on the other hand, Turkey has lost its leverage for mediation, while Russia retains its potential to act as a mediator. Furthermore, the counter front against Turkey is steadily expanding with new members and none of them were present during the Moscow negotiations. We would like to join the efforts by the Europeans, including the Germans, the French and the Italians, as well as Libyas neighbors Algeria and Egypt and the UAE, Turkey, Qatar and the Russian Federation to channel them in one direction in order to urge the Libyan parties to the conflict to reach an agreement through negotiations, rather than to continue to sort things out by using force, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during a Jan. 14 news conference. Lavrovs remarks affirm Russia perhaps managed to block Turkeys military involvement, but there is more to be done. According to Sky News Arabia, Hifter laid down seven conditions before signing the truce, including the LNA will be deployed in Tripoli; Syrian fighters will withdraw from the country; Turkey will be excluded from the international force that will be deployed for peacekeeping; some armed factions in Tripoli will be abolished; and a new unity government recognized by the Tobruk-based parliament will be set up. None of these are in line with Turkeys interests in Libya and Erdogans self-contradicting remarks are not helping the cause. Last month, Erdogan asked Russia to end its support to Hifter while announcing his intention to deploy troops in Libya. On Jan. 5, Erdogan denied to recognize Hifter as a legitimate actor in the Libyan war when opposition parties criticized Turkeys one-sided Libya policy. There is a putschist on one side and a legitimate government on the other. How come one can be a mediator between a putschist and a legitimate government, Erdogan said only to be denied by Putin three days later. On Jan. 8, Putin said Russia and Turkey were acting as mediators in the conflict and called for a cease-fire, no objections were raised by Ankara. On Jan. 13, Erdogan dispatched Turkey's defense and foreign ministers and spy chief to Moscow to sit at the same table with the Hifter whom he had labeled a putschist. Another flip-flop came after Hifter refused to sign the truce and left Moscow. We will not hesitate to go after Hifter, Erdogan said. The only positive outcome of Turkeys tension strategy was paving the way for the Berlin meeting on Jan. 19. Turkeys most important objective is to make the maritime deal permanent, yet the result of the Berlin summit actually has made it more difficult. Haftar's forces are besieging Tripoli - REUTERS Khalifa Haftar, the warlord besieging Libya's UN-backed government, has choked off the country's oil exports in defiance of a shaky international ceasefire deal endorsed by international powers over the weekend. Vladimir Putin, Angela Merkel, Boris Johnson and other world leaders met in Berlin on Sunday to repeat demands for a ceasefire but the summit was quickly overshadowed by a fresh crisis over oil. Despite the fierce fighting between Mr Haftars self-styled Libyan National Army and the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), both sides have generally allowed oil production and export to continue. But in apparent bid to put pressure on the GNA, forces loyal to Mr Haftar have closed ports in the eastern part of the country and shut down a pipeline to two major oil fields in the southwest, effectively choking off oil production. The National Oil Corporation estimates that output will plummet from 1.2 million barrels per day to just 72,000 barrels per day in a few days time if Mr Haftar does not release his grip on the ports and pipeline. World leaders gathered in Berlin over the weekend to try to reach an agreement on Libya Credit: Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images The move caused oil prices to jump to a one-week high although markets appeared to expect that the situation would be resolved soon. Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary general, said he was very worried about the situation. The GNA is heavily reliant on oil revenues and a prolonged shutdown could severely weaken a government that is already struggling to hold onto the capital Tripoli against a months-long assault by Mr Haftars forces. There were reports of ongoing fighting on the frontlines south of Tripoli on Sunday and Western leaders appeared downbeat on the prospects of putting the ceasefire agreement into force. "Ensuring that a ceasefire is immediately respected is simply not easy to guarantee," said Mrs Merkel. "But I hope that through today's conference, we have a chance the truce will hold further. European leaders have discussed the prospect of sending forces to Libya to oversee the ceasefire but there appeared to be little appetite for deployment unless the ceasefire brought an actual end to the fighting. Story continues If there is a ceasefire, yes of course, there's a case for us doing what we do very well which is sending experts to monitor the ceasefire, said Mr Johnson. GNA forces inspect damage in Tripoli Credit: Photo by Enes Canli/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images EU leaders met Monday to discuss reviving a naval mission intended to ensure that a UN arms embargo against Libyas warring factions was respected. Despite the UN prohibition on sending weapons, regional sponsors of both sides of the civil war have flooded the country with weapons. Turkey has provided arms to the GNA and sent Syrian rebel fighters to aid them in battle while the UAE, Russia, and Egypt have all provided support to Mr Haftars forces. "It's clear that the arms embargo requires high level control and if you want to keep the ceasefire alive someone has to monitor it," said Josep Borrell, the EU foreign policy chief. Operation Sophia was set up in 2015 to combat people smugglers operating from the Libyan coast and to enforce a UN arms embargo on the warring parties. It was suspended as a naval mission in March last year after Italy objected to recused migrants being landed in its ports, and is now limited to aerial surveillance. The Duke of Sussex during a visit to the Kasane Health Post, run by the Sentebale charity, in Botswana (Dominic Lipinski/PA) The Duke of Sussexs decision to step back from royal life has been given a ringing endorsement by the chairman of his flagship charity, who said they needed their co-founders passion not his title. Harry gave an emotional speech on Sunday night where he said he had no other option but to give up his official royal duties and forge a new life with wife Meghan and their baby son in Canada. And during a visit to the UK-Africa Investment Summit in London where he met world leaders, Harry held a 20-minute meeting alone with Boris Johnson, who last week backed the royal family to overcome the crisis of the Sussexes future roles. Expand Close The duke spent 20 minutes chatting with the Prime Minister (Stefan Rousseau/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The duke spent 20 minutes chatting with the Prime Minister (Stefan Rousseau/PA) Johnny Hornby, chairman of Sentebale, a charity co-founded by Harry and Lesothos Prince Seeiso, said the duke had indicated the solution was not something he ideally wanted. But asked if it mattered to the Africa-based charity, which supports youngsters living with HIV, if Harry was royal or had a title, Mr Hornby told Radio 4s Today programme: No, I dont think it matters at all. I think he has a kind of unique ability and an aura around him when hes with children, when hes with any gathering, I think his passion comes over. He went on to say: We dont need from Sentebales perspective his title, we just need his time and his passion and hes committed to give us that. At a private event for his charity Sentebale on Sunday night in London, Harry spoke about leaving royal duties behind in a bid for a more peaceful life for his family. His comments came after Buckingham Palace released the outcome of talks between the Queen, Prince of Wales, Duke of Cambridge and Harry over the future role of the Sussexes. Harry and Meghan had wanted to remain as working royals, although not prominent members, and drop their public funding so they could become financially independent a dual role many commentators said was fraught with problems. But in a statement issued on Saturday after royal family talks concluded, the Sussexes announced they will stop carrying out royal duties from the spring, no longer use HRH and will repay the taxpayers millions spent on their Berkshire home. Critics have accused the couple of turning their backs on the monarchy in order to enjoy the freedom that being able to take on commercial ventures brings. Expand Close The Sussexes had wanted to remain as working royals PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The Sussexes had wanted to remain as working royals During the family talks, all options were on the table and the Evening Standard has reported the Queen had the choice of stripping Harry of his dukedom and using one of his lesser titles. The newspaper quoted a source as saying it was seriously considered but another source told the PA news agency this was categorically untrue. The discussions to resolve the crisis between officials and members of the royal family were described as extremely friendly and constructive when they ended. In the Sentebale speech, Harry told invited guests: What I want to make clear is were not walking away, and we certainly arent walking away from you. Our hope was to continue serving the Queen, the Commonwealth, and my military associations, but without public funding. Unfortunately, that wasnt possible. Ive accepted this, knowing that it doesnt change who I am or how committed I am. But I hope that helps you understand what it had to come to, that I would step my family back from all I have ever known, to take a step forward into what I hope can be a more peaceful life. Mr Hornby said he had met Harry on Friday when they went through the major events for the coming year, from trips to Africa to the opening on new camps that support teenagers living with HIV, and a research project the charity is doing with the Royal Holloway, University of London. He added of the duke: He couldnt be more passionate then he has been to date, and hell certainly be as passionate going forward. Harry was not officially attending the investment summit at a London hotel but was holding audiences one-to-one meetings with a number of foreign leaders at the request of the UK Government. Expand Close The Duke of Sussex meets Saadeddine Othmani, prime minister of Morocco (Stefan Rousseau/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The Duke of Sussex meets Saadeddine Othmani, prime minister of Morocco (Stefan Rousseau/PA) He sat down to talks with Saad-Eddine El Othmani, prime minister of Morocco, Peter Mutharika, president of Malawi and Filipe Nyusi, president of Mozambique. It is likely the Government asked Harry to meet the world leaders because he has a keen interest in the continent and the royal family employ what is known as soft diplomacy to help strengthen Britains ties with her allies. But in a few months the duke will no longer be representing the UK in an official capacity and events like the summit will only be open to him as a guest. Questions have also been raised about how Harry and Meghan will continue with their Sussex Royal brand when they cease being working royals. This issue and other questions including funding for the couple and their son Archies protection have yet to be resolved. It matters little whether the RSS is indeed running a Hindu majoritarian project or wishes to strip Muslims of their religious identity or plans to deport them out of India what matters is the perception built around it If someone suggests that your ear has been snatched away by a crow, it is better to first check the status of your anatomy before running after the bird. Except, perhaps, when it makes more political sense to run than check. There are no surprises in the way some political parties in India have reacted to RSS sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwats recent reported comments on two-child policy. For parties such as AIMIM, Congress or NCP, whose chief plank is identity politics, RSS serves an important purpose. The organisation is painted by the Asaduddin Owaisis, Rahul Gandhis or Nawab Maliks as the significant other, and this otherisation paves way for demonisation of RSS, spewing venom against it, fear-mongering over it by ascribing to the RSS sinister motives and accuse it of running a Hindu majoritarian project where Muslims would be relegated to second-class citizens. It matters little whether the RSS is indeed running a Hindu majoritarian project or wishes to strip Muslims of their religious identity or plans to deport them out of India what matters is the perception (mahaul) built around it. This perception helps these parties build their case for Muslim identity politics. Some such as Owaisis AIMIM do it openly, other such as NCP or Congress do it under the garb of secularism. Therefore, we find Owaisi slamming Bhagwat over the latters comments on two-child policy and accuse him of trying to restrict Muslim population in India. Shame on you! I am having more than two children and several BJP leaders have more than two children. RSS has always maintained that the Muslim population has to be controlled. This countrys real problem is unemployment, not the population, Owaisi reportedly said, addressing a public meeting in Nizamabad ahead of Telangana Municipal elections. He then went on to ascribe another motive behind two-child policy lack of jobs. According to Owaisi, Modi government is planning to implement such a step because it is unable to create jobs. NCP leader Malik went a step further. He invoked the Emergency and claimed that the RSS wants to force men into having a vasectomy a practice Congress under Sanjay Gandhi tried to implement during the Emergency and courted a fierce backlash. Nawab Malik,NCP: Mohan Bhagwat ji wants a two child law.He maybe doesn't know that Maharashtra already has several laws on this and many other states also.Still if Bhagwat ji wants to forcefully do vasectomies then let Modiji make such a law.We saw in past what happened with this pic.twitter.com/essbHYnyCj ANI (@ANI) January 18, 2020 What were the RSS sarsanghchalaks comments on two-child policy? Did he give any indication on vasectomy as a possible step? A report in Hindustan Times, quoting an anonymous source, claimed that during a meeting with the organisations volunteers in Moradabad on Saturday, Bhagwat apparently said: We have been advocating this for quite some time now and want that the country should have a policy on the number of children a couple can have. But then it is for the Centre to take a call and decide whether it wants to enact a law on the issue. The session was closed to media. On Sunday, during a lecture in Rohilkhand University in Bareilly, UP, the RSS chief commented on his reported remarks in Moradabad. Due to a misunderstanding, some are saying that the Sangh wants to restrict families to two children. We are of the view that the government should make a policy on it after deliberation. The policy should be made after getting consent from all sections of the society. India and China jointly account for around 37 percent of the global population, which stands roughly at 7.7 billion. Indias population stands at 1.3 billion and China is slightly ahead at 1.4 billion. By 2027, however, India is projected to have more population than China, according to a 2019 United Nations report, and that will be immeasurably bigger by 2050. It is not a criminal idea to have some sort of a policy in place to tackle the population explosion, given Indias resources and distribution of it. The important thing, however, that whatever policy is implemented, that should first be discussed threadbare in public domain and implemented only when society and communities have no objection to it. This is a reasonable suggestion and there is no reason why it should invite such apoplectic rhetoric from the Opposition. But the fact that it has, points to two home truths. The first, already discussed, is related to the Oppositions existential need to paint the RSS as a demonic force and create fear-psychosis around it, so that consolidation of minority votes becomes easier. Parties that indulge in identity politics do it all the time. Consider how AIMIM has reacted, what NCP has said, or what Congress has alleged many times in the past about RSS trying to create a Hindu Pakistan. The second, deeper cause lies in the influence wielded by RSS in Indias body politic that these parties find threatening and unsettling. This influence has not been built in a day. RSS volunteers and karyakartas have spent decades building the institution, spreading its influence, aligning with the cause of people and toiling hard to make its ideology acceptable to wider public. As JNU professor Makarand R Paranjape writes on the triumph of RSS ideology, No matter how much the RSS is misunderstood and demonised, whether by left liberals in India and abroad, or even by frustrated heads of state across the border, its contribution to the making of modern India is indubitable Today, it is force to reckon with in almost every area of Indian life and society. The real secret of its success, to my mind, are the thousands of fully dedicated workers who have given their lives for to make India a strong, stable, and resurgent nation. This ideological hegemony and acceptance among wider public have given RSS unprecedented political capital. The Sangh has repeatedly stressed that it is concerned with the moral, cultural and value-based upliftment of the individual and through it, the society and the nation. It has denied accusations of being a political force and puppeteering BJP. It has rejected allegations of interfering with elections or government. Even on Saturday, Bhagwat, addressing the workers, is quoted to have said: Elections mean nothing to us. We are working to maintain the values of the country for the last 60 years, he said. But political forces opposed to the BJP are deeply skeptical of RSSs claims, and finds in its ideological hegemony and wider social acceptance an existential threat that cannot be mitigated. This has also informed countless commentaries in media that is shaped by such fears. The RSS understands, as Bhagwat said on Sunday that Sangh follows the Constitution of India. It does not have any agenda and it does not want to become another power centre. A number of misconceptions about the RSS are being spread, and they can be cleared only when it is understood from close quarters. Some of the misconception is caused by the fear of unknown, while other is merely political, as Opposition reactions make it evident. It is, however, counterproductive to make RSS the subject of mindless fear-mongering instead of trying to understand it, and engage it in a critical debate. This is because RSS draws its strength from the people, and demonising it as a political strategy will only backfire. That, however, is not RSSs problem. 60 people evacuated from central Rome street. Rome firefighters have evacuated the residents of a building containing 24 apartments on Via Marco Aurelio after part of the pavement collapsed. Around 60 people have been evacuated amid structural fears for the foundations of the building, located a stone's throw from the Colosseum. The street has been sealed off to allow firefighters to carry out structural checks on the building. Photo Il Messaggero Ukranian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko told reporters that Ukraine will ask Iran to hand over the black boxes from the downed Ukranian passenger plane when the Iranian delegation visits for a meeting on Monday. Ukraine will try to convey the message that handing over the black boxes would show to the world that Iran wants an unbiased investigation of the crash. Ukraine wants black boxes The Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mohammad Eslami is visiting Ukraine to apologise and acknowledge Iran's role in the downing of the Ukranian passenger plane. Prystaiko hopes that the talks with Eslami can go beyond political discussions and into the discussion of practical problems. Among the practical problems that Prystaiko wishes to discuss, the return of the black boxes is of particular importance. According to reports, Iran had agreed to return the black boxes to Ukraine but later denied the reports and claimed that it was trying to analyze the black boxes itself. Referring to the report that Iran had chosen to hand over the black boxes and then their retraction, Prystaiko said that this created somewhat of a misunderstanding as to if the black boxes were being handed over or not. Read: Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei Issues 3-point Statement On His Country Downing Ukraine Jet Read: 'Iran Deeply Sorry; Mistake Disastrous': Rouhani Cites US Threats Over Downing Ukraine Jet Ukrainian plane shot down by Iran at takeoff All 176 souls on board the Ukranian passenger plane were lost when Iran's Revolutionary Gaurd shot down the plane. The victims included 57 Canadian citizens as well as 11 Ukrainians, 17 people from Sweden, four Afghans, and four British citizens. Most of those killed were Iranians. The plane was a Boeing 737-800 that was designed and built in the U.S. The planes engine was designed by CFM International, a joint company between French group Safran and U.S. group GE Aviation. Investigators from both countries have been invited to take part in the probe. (With Inputs from AP) Read: Iran IRGC Commander Takes Full Responsibility For Shooting Down Ukraine Plane, Killing 176 Read: Ukraine President Speaks To Iran Counterpart Rouhani About Downed Jet; Reads Him Riot Act 'We don't understand why [Government of India] did it,' said Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina in an interview published by Gulf News on Saturday, 'It was not necessary.' "We don't understand why [Government of India] did it," said Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina in an interview published by Gulf News on Saturday, "It was not necessary." The Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 signed into law on 11 December last year and the proposed National Register of Citizens, have been seen by many as targeting illegal immigrants specifically from India's neighbour to the East. And thus far, the Bangladesh government has been largely balanced in its observations about both. In her interview to Gulf News, Hasina reiterated the country's hitherto-held position that "Bangladesh has always maintained that the CAA and NRC are internal matters of India". She went on to add that the Indian government has also 'repeatedly maintained' that it is an internal exercise and that she was given personal assurances to that effect by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during her India visit in October last year. The topic of the then-Citizenship Amendment Bill was also discussed by the two South Asian prime ministers at a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York in a month prior. Notably, the joint statement issued by Modi and Hasina following their October meet contained no mention of any discussion or understanding on the then-bill or NRC. However, it did touch upon a whole host of other issues that form the gamut of bilateral relations, including the simplification of travel requirements and the phasing-out of entry-exit restrictions for Bangladeshi citizens with valid travel documents. While exchanges between India and Bangladesh have maintained the tone of reassurance from New Delhi and respect for sovereignty from Dhaka, it is the remarks and action from those in the Hasina government that have reflected the local unease caused by the CAA and NRC. Shortly after the passage of the CAB into law, emerged reports that Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen and Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan had cancelled their respective visits to India. Both would, however, go on to clarify that their decisions to call off their respective visits were unrelated to the CAA, but due to domestic commitments. On 12 December, following reports of CAA-related vandalism near Bangladesh's Assistant High Commission in Guwahati, the country beefed up security at the premises and lodged a complaint with India. A couple of days later, Hasina's media advisor Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury told India Today that despite the CAA being India's internal matter, "[if] any domestic issue can create concerns in Bangladesh, then we have reasons to be apprehensive." He went on to register his displeasure at being lumped with Pakistan and Afghanistan the two other countries, under the CAA, whose oppressed non-Muslim emigres living in India can apply for citizenship. "Do not club us with Pakistan and Afghanistan who are known for fundamentalism and terrorism," said Chowdhury, noting Hasina's vow that Bangladeshi soil "will not be allowed to be used against India". The great balance Coming back to Hasina's interview to Gulf News, her remarks do not represent a major shift from the country's firmly-held position of the CAA and NRC being 'India's internal matter'. By expressing her view that she didn't understand why India embarked on such a move and opining that it wasn't 'necessary', the Bangladeshi prime minister appears to be smartly balancing three sets of audiences. The first is the home audience that is restless about the implications of the CAA and NRC on Bangladeshis and their relatives in India. Hasina will have felt the need to assuage concerns in Bangladesh that their prime minister is dancing to India's tune to the detriment of her own people. These remarks will have helped establish that no matter the importance of the bilateral to Hasina, the well-being of her people comes first. The second audience is the one in India, particularly in New Delhi. Bangladesh and India are arguably each other's most important partners in South Asia and Hasina will have only been too acutely aware of this reality. It is likely then that the wording of her remarks which eschew what India 'must' or 'should' do and instead focus on her own understanding of the issue will have been engineered to keep India's sensitivities in mind and not rock the boat too much. The third audience is in Beijing. In October 2016 during President Xi Jinping's visit to Bangladesh, China earmarked a $20-billion loan package for around 27 infrastructure and development projects across the country. Dhaka, which was initially reticent about the Middle Kingdom's 'Belt Road Initiative', is now a lot more open to the idea. Hasina has long given the impression through her remarks and actions that she is vehemently pro-India even going as far as to state that the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir was India's internal matter, amidst Beijing's efforts to haul New Delhi over the coals in the UN over Kashmir. Hasina has long maintained that Bangladesh seeks amicable ties with all its neighbours (near and far) and her statements thus far have been in line with that policy. How the three sets of stakeholders respond to her latest remarks remains to be seen. Fleabag creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge's 2020 awards season triumph continues. The actress took home Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series at the 2020 SAG Awards for her role in the show and came prepared with a speech to read this time. "I don't trust myself not to be bleeped out this time," she told the crowd while reading a speech. She memorably gave a hilarious Golden Globes speech where she joked about President Obama. Phoebe Waller-Bridge / AFP via Getty Images After Obama named Fleabag as one of his favorite shows on his annual end of the year list, Waller-Bridge thanked the former president personally at the Golden Globes, saying, "Personally, I would like to also thank Obama for putting us on his list. As some of you may know, he's always been on mine. And if you dont get that, please watch season one of Fleabag really, really quickly." Phoebe Waller Bridge SAG acceptance speech Tonight, she was a bit more serious, thanking the room for being "so supportive" as well as paying tribute to "the six pack that my makeup artist drew on me this weekend" which was on display in her midriff baring ensemble. "At some point, it will all hit me and I'll just go into a corner and have a good old cry about it... in a room I never imagined I would be in," she said emotionally. Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Getty Images ) / Getty Images When The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel won next for Best Ensemble, actress Alex Borstein joked that she voted for Fleabag. After giving her acceptance speech, Waller-Bridge was seen in the crowd having a conversation with Jennifer Lopez. Pheobe Waller-Bridge with Jennifer Lopez (Getty Images for Turner) / Getty Images During the Critic's Choice Awards, Waller-Bridge informed the crowd that Lopez had inspired the Hot Priest character. "I don't know where she is, but I decided that the Priest's favorite song was 'Jenny from the Block,' and it opened the entire character up for me," Waller-Bridge said during her Critic's Choice Awards acceptance speech. It looks like she really is having the best awards season ever. SAN ANTONIO An argument at a River Walk bar just north of downtown ended with two people dead and five injured early Sunday night. The gunman was still at large as of 10 p.m. I saw a bullet fly toward the musician that was playing, said Jacob Flores, who was at Ventura San Antonio when gunfire broke out around 8 p.m. My life flashed before my eyes. A 21-year-old man died inside the bar, while another person was critically injured and died at a local hospital, San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said. There was an altercation between a group of individuals, McManus said. One person, at least, pulled out a gun and started shooting. Police dont know the ages of the other victims. All the victims were patrons at the bar, and no employees were hurt, officials said. A description of the shooter was not immediately released. Im confident that we will identify the individual and have that person in custody sooner rather than later, McManus said at the scene. Flores, a 17-year-old musician, said there was chaos after the gunshots erupted. He estimated that there were about 25 or 30 people in the bar at the time. As soon as everyone heard the shots, everyone bolted out, he said. Ventura, which opened nearly four years ago, offers live indie rock in a trendy area just west of Broadway bordered by the San Antonio Museum of Art to the north and the historic VFW Post 76 to the south. Sundays night event, billed as Living the Dream, featured numerous live bands. On Twitter, musician Ruz, who had been scheduled to perform at 10 p.m., had invited fans to come to the club. Around 9:30 p.m., however, he posted: My prayers go to whoever was hurt at Ventura. ashley.mcbride@express-news.net Michael Owino was involved in a road accident that changed his life forever; he has not been able to pass urine normally since 2002. He continues to nurse a wound that can only be solved by an expensive operation to correct his urethra. He hopes that someday, he will lead a normal life. Owino shared his story via Sunday Magazine. *********************** I was involved in a road accident in 2002 when I was 10. I was walking from school, somewhere in Maseno, when a lorry swept me off the road as it sped away. I landed on a huge rock which injured my genitals. A good Samaritan carried me home from the accident scene since I couldnt walk. My elderly grandma, who I lived with, did her best to nurse my wounds with home remedies. But I still woke up the following morning with sharp pains in my swollen groin. Though I felt the urge to pass urine, nothing would come out. I was rushed to a hospital where tests revealed that my urethra was twisted and that it couldnt allow flow of urine. I had to undergo surgery for a catheter to be inserted to remedy the situation. It wasnt a permanent solution but it was all we could afford then. I stayed in the hospital for a whole year with doctors changing my catheter and monitoring my condition. My uncles would come to visit me but when it was time to go home, no one came to pick me up. I didnt want to go back to grandma because I knew she wouldnt afford the medication. I didnt want to put it on her. Again, I needed to stay near Kisumu for easy access to the hospital for my clinics. Begged on the Streets An aunt who stayed in Kisumu grudgingly took me in but she kicked me out after only a week because my condition was too expensive. So I moved to the streets where I begged for food and money for my medication. Doctors had prescribed medication which cost Sh600 every day. The amount I used to get from begging was enough to enable me to religiously visit the doctor. I also saved some money and started selling calendars and charts on the streets. From this, I secured an affordable house close to town. There are days I skipped taking my medication and endured my pain just to save some money. I shelved the idea of going back to school when it dawned on me that I was on my own in the big cold world and staying alive was more important. I needed to hustle for medication. I needed Sh2,500 every two weeks to have my catheter changed. I only stopped attending clinics when my doctor taught me how to change the catheter on my own. I later moved to Makadara in Nairobi where I still sell the calendars and charts to buy catheters and pain killers. I spend Sh800 every two weeks. Limitations I empty the catheter at least three times a day and try to take as much water as possible to keep the equipment in good condition. When I dont drink enough water, my discharge blocks the catheter. I also cant walk for extended periods because the friction around the catheter causes it to leak. However, my biggest challenge is working when it is raining. In fact, I havent sold anything from the time it started raining because I must avoid contact with water as much as possible as the water destroys the catheter. Meanwhile, doctors at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga hospital have been trying to get a hospital that can conduct urethroplasty to correct my urethra. The doctor that operated on me after the accident has since died and there is no one at the hospital who can conduct the surgery that requires Sh3 million. I have been referred to many hospitals including Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, Kenyatta National Hospital and now, Kijabe Mission Hospital, but I do not have the money. Hopefully, someday I can get it and lead a normal life. A Chinese tourist has been missing for nearly a month after she left her hotel for a late night walk with $2,000 in her backpack. Ling Yaping, 45, was with a tour group in Melbourne when she left the Quality Hotel in Parkville after 10pm on December 23 without telling anyone why. Her room mate on the bus tour reported her missing when she never returned to collect her belongings. Ling Yaping, 45, was with a tour group in Melbourne when she left the Quality Hotel in Parkville, in inner Melbourne, after 10pm on December 23 without telling anyone why She had $2,000 with her when she vanished, according to The Herald Sun. Police said they are concerned for her welfare as she doesn't know anyone in Australia. Constable Andrew Wenhlowskyj, from the North West Metro Command, said no evidence suggested Mrs Yaping intended to go missing. The Chinese consulate is working alongside police to gain access to Mrs Yaping's bank accounts, as local police can't look at them without permission. Mrs Yaping's passports have also been flagged. She flew into Sydney on December 21 before travelling to Melbourne the following day to meet up with the tour group. Her room mate on the bus tour reported her missing when she never returned to collect her belongings from Quality Hotel (stock) Her husband, from south west China, has been helping the consulate with his wife's disappearance. Mrs Yaping has been described as having shoulder-length black hair and brown eyes. She is 162cm tall and has a medium build. The hotel where Mrs Yaping was staying is on the same street as Princes Park, where Jaymes Todd raped and murdered 22-year-old comedian Eurydice Dixon in 2018. (Bloomberg Opinion) -- BlackRock Inc., the worlds largest asset manager, says it will cut exposure to companies linked to thermal coal, among other climate-friendly measures. Its a powerful signal. Unfortunately, it only scratches the surface. If BlackRock CEO Larry Fink is serious about helping to eliminate coal while reshaping finance, his outfit can use its holdings of sovereign debt to tackle governments, too. Coal power generation has fallen steeply in Europe and the U.S. in the past year or so, thanks to cheap natural gas, higher carbon prices and green pressure. Yet in Asia, once you iron out some local peculiarities, demand for the black stuff remains remarkably resilient. That suggests that even if global appetite peaks soon, as most analysts estimate, it could well remain at high levels for years to come. Analysts at UBS Group AG estimated last July that on current trends the last coal-fired power station may close only in 2079. To blame are the likes of China, India and Vietnam. Their fleet is young, still growing and often state-backed; Western money managers selling out of public securities wont change that. There is good news. BlackRock is an investment giant, with $7.4 trillion of assets under management, so Finks call to arms last week marks a significant move. Cutting off funds for coal producers and driving up their cost of capital is key to suffocating a sector that is the single largest cause of increased global temperatures. BlackRocks strategic shift is also driven by self-interest. Thats encouraging, as such initiatives tend to outlast moral outrage. Heat from activists, like the BlackRocks Big Problem campaign, helped, but Fink argues he is making sustainability the new standard because it makes financial sense. The surge of inflows into the firms environmentally friendly funds last week will encourage that view. The devil, as ever, is in the detail. BlackRocks aim to divest thermal coal equity and debt will apply to its actively managed funds. Yet those amount to only under a third of the money it manages. Story continues As worrying is the threshold to be used to determine what has to go: The fund manager will sell out of any company where 25% of revenue or more is derived from thermal coal. That gets at narrowly focused producers like Australias Whitehaven Coal Ltd., but leaves untouched stakes in diversified heavyweights, like BlackRocks 6% holding in Glencore Plc, the worlds top producer of seaborne thermal coal, or other sprawling conglomerates. It also tackles primarily miners, not utilities that consume the fuel. Its possible to aim higher: Axa SA last year vowed to reduce its exposure to the thermal coal industry to zero by 2040. The bigger problem is that while such moves are necessary, they arent sufficient. Thats firstly because of the haven offered by private markets. If a large investment fund divests a stock or bond, or pressures companies into selling out of coal projects, what next? BlackRock investors may feel better, but will global production reduce overall? Quite possibly not. Will the world be greener? Also, possibly not, if the pit is sold to owners out of the public eye. Arguably, it may become harder to monitor. That suggests a more effective pressure point is demand, and that means tackling governments and state-backed firms still funding and supporting the fuel. Indeed, real impact will require a change in policy in Asian markets like Vietnam where coal is still a major employer and seen as a driver of economic growth. As a major investor in sovereign debt, even if much of it is in passive funds, BlackRock has enough leverage for meaningful dialogue at least. The challenge is significant. Consider China, which wants to reduce its reliance on coal. At least 200 million tons of coal capacity were ready to start production in 2019, while another 409 million tons of government-approved capacity are under construction, according to Bloomberg Intelligence numbers published last September. Together, thats almost a quarter of China's up-and-running thermal coal capacity. In Indonesia, coal consumption may grow at the worlds fastest pace. Earlier this month, Jakarta ordered coal miners to slash production after record output last year. Prices immediately turned higher. Policy, then, is the lever to significantly reduce coal use in the region where its still growing: Asia. Go back to the UBS numbers. On current trends, the last coal-fired power station closes in six decades. But a red alert scenario where leaders accelerate closures would shutter the last plant in 2058, according to the bank, closer to the 2050 target set by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Indonesias tussle with JPMorgan Chase & Co. in 2017 when Jakarta temporarily severed business ties over a negative research report is a reminder of just how much emerging market governments care about perception. BlackRock can make that count. To contact the author of this story: Clara Ferreira Marques at cferreirama@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Matthew Brooker at mbrooker1@bloomberg.net This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners. Clara Ferreira Marques is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering commodities and environmental, social and governance issues. Previously, she was an associate editor for Reuters Breakingviews, and editor and correspondent for Reuters in Singapore, India, the U.K., Italy and Russia. 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. Stranger Things stars Charlie Heaton and Natalia Dyer were affectionate with one another on the red carpet of the Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles at the Shrine Auditorium on Sunday. The Stranger Things stars, both 25, stood in style for photographers in top fashion, as their Netflix show was up for multiple honors at the award show. Dyer, who plays Nancy Wheeler on the show, wore a golden Saint Laurent gown with long sleeves, accessorizing with Cartier jewelry necklace and earrings at the luxe industry event. Cute couple: Stranger Things stars Charlie Heaton and Natalia Dyer, both 25, posed on the red carpet of the Screen Actors Guild Awards in LA at the Shrine Auditorium on Sunday The Nashville native, who has been dating Heaton for three years, had her lustrous brown locks down and parted as she made her entrance at the award show. The English actor, who plays Jonathan Byers on the Netflix smash, looked crisp in a black tuxedo by Lanvin. Honors are determined by SAG/AFTRA's 160,000 members at the annual ceremony. Heaton and Dyer are part of the cast nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. Other shows in the category include Hulu's The Handmaids Tale; HBO's Big Little Lies and Game of Thrones; and their fellow Netflix show The Crown. Chemistry: The couple of three years shared a tender moment during entrances Glitzy: They stood in style for photographers in top fashion, as their Netflix show is up for multiple honors at the award show Big night: Heaton and Dyer are part of the cast nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Natalia and Charlie have been playing Nancy Wheeler and Jonathan Byers on Stranger Things since it dropped its first season on Netflix in 2016. The show's third season was released in July 2019, and it's set to return for a fourth. After months of rumors, the couple confirmed their real-life romance by attending the Fashion Awards at London's Royal Albert Hall together in December 2017. Established: Natalia and Charlie have been playing Nancy Wheeler and Jonathan Byers on Stranger Things since its first season on Netflix in 2016 Enduring hit: Stranger Things is set to return for a fourth season Common bonds: Natalia said of their romance: 'Its an interesting thing to work with somebody who you go home with' Charlie covered last year's spring issue of V Man and chatted to the magazine about the benefits of dating a co-star. He shared 'there are times when you do get stressed. So to go home with someone you work with, and say: "I think they hate me..." Theyll say: "No they dont."' Charlie went on: 'You can break the walls down with your partner. Because we work in the same industry and have had similar trajectories, weve gone through it together. Sharing that does bring you closer.' Ensemble: The couple posed for a shot with co-star Winona Ryder at the show Co-stars: The pair met while filming Stranger Things, where they play Nancy Wheeler and Jonathan Byers (pictured in character during season two) He added: 'They understand something that maybe no one else would. You go into high-pressure situations together but you can share those insecurities or whatever they are. The great, happy times, too... Really f***ing sweet!' Natalia took the same view while talking to Refinery29 last summer, saying: 'Its an interesting thing to work with somebody who you go home with.' She added: 'Its always really fun. Were really comfortable with each other, so we can play and feel more free, and we can talk about it before.' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said he will attend events marking the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz Nazi death camp taking place in Jerusalem on January 22-23. In an interview with The Times of Israel published on January 19, Zelenskiy said he will attend the commemoration even though he isnt scheduled to speak. The most important thing for each country is to honor the memory of its Holocaust victims. Its very important to go, whether we [leaders] speak or not, Zelenskiy said. However, the Ukrainian president said he believes he should speak at the anniversary event. I know the Israeli side has a different format; we were not invited to speak. I think I should [speak], but I will go anyway, Zelenskiy said. Himself a Jew, Zelenskiy cited Ukrainian statistics that said every fourth Jew who was killed in the Holocaust during World War II was from what is modern-day Ukraine. But so many people who died in this tragedy [of the Holocaust] were Ukrainian Jews -- starting with Babyn Yar, where 150,000 Ukrainian Jews were executed, Zelenskiy added. He said initially he wasnt sure whether he would attend the events because of the Ukrainian passenger airliner that Iran shot down in Tehran earlier this month. All 11 Ukrainian bodies aboard Flight PS752 were flown to Kyiv on January 19. An estimated 1.1 million people died at Auschwitz-Birkenau during Nazi Germany's brutal World War II occupation of Poland. Most of them were European Jews but the victims of the death camp also included Polish resistance members, Roma, and Soviet prisoners of war. Based on reporting by The Times of Israel RICHMOND, Va. - Tens of thousands of gun-rights activists from around the country rallied peacefully at the Virginia Capitol on Monday to protest plans by the state's Democratic leadership to pass gun-control legislation a move that has become a key flash point in the national debate over gun violence. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/1/2020 (722 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. RICHMOND, Va. - Tens of thousands of gun-rights activists from around the country rallied peacefully at the Virginia Capitol on Monday to protest plans by the state's Democratic leadership to pass gun-control legislation a move that has become a key flash point in the national debate over gun violence. The size of the crowd and the expected participation of white supremacists and fringe militia groups raised fears that the state could see a repeat of the violence that exploded in 2017 in Charlottesville. But the rally concluded uneventfully around noon, and the mood was largely festive, with rally-goers chanting USA! and waving signs denouncing Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam. Many protesters chose not to enter the designated rally zone, where Northam had imposed a temporary weapons ban, and instead packed surrounding streets, many dressed in tactical gear and camouflage and carrying military-style rifles as they cheered on the speakers. I love this. This is like the Super Bowl for the Second Amendment right here, said P.J. Hudson, a truck driver from Richmond who carried an AR-15 rifle just outside Capitol Square. He was one of the few African American rally-goers in a crowd that was overwhelmingly white and male, and was frequently stopped and asked to pose for pictures wearing his Black Guns Matter sweatshirt. Demonstrators stand on the capitol grounds ahead of a pro gun rally, Monday, Jan. 20, 2020, in Richmond, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) An estimated 22,000 people attended, according to authorities, who said one woman was arrested on felony charge of wearing a mask in public. The protesters came out despite the frigid temperature to send a message to legislators, they said. The government doesnt run us, we run the government, said Kem Regik, a 20-year-old private security officer from northern Virginia who brought a white flag with a picture of a rifle captioned, Come and take it. Northam was a particular focus of the protesters' wrath. One poster showed his face superimposed on Adolf Hitler's body. The governor said in a statement he was "thankful" the day passed peacefully and that he will continue to listen to the voices of Virginians while doing everything in his power to keep our commonwealth safe. A man speaks during a pro-gun rally, Monday, Jan. 20, 2020, in Richmond, Va. Thousands of pro-gun supporters are expected at the rally to oppose gun control legislation like universal background checks that are being pushed by the newly elected Democratic legislature. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) The issues before us evoke strong emotions, and progress is often difficult, Northam said. Democratic lawmakers said the rally wouldn't impact their plans to pass gun-control measures, including universal background checks and a one-handgun-purchase-a-month limit. Democrats say tightening Virginia's gun laws will make communities safer and help prevent mass shootings like the one last year in Virginia Beach, where a dozen people were killed in a municipal building. I was prepared to see a whole lot more people show up than actually did and I think it's an indication that a lot of this rhetoric is bluster, quite frankly," said Del. Chris Hurst, a gun-control advocate whose TV journalist girlfriend was killed in an on-air shooting in 2015. Some of the protesters waved flags with messages of support for President Donald Trump. Trump, in turn, tweeted support for their goals. The Democrat Party in the Great Commonwealth of Virginia are working hard to take away your 2nd Amendment rights," he tweeted. "This is just the beginning. Dont let it happen, VOTE REPUBLICAN in 2020! Kevin Thompson, of Vero Beach Fla., demonstrates during a pro-gun rally, Monday, Jan. 20, 2020, in Richmond, Va. Thousands of pro-gun supporters are expected at the rally to oppose gun control legislation like universal background checks that are being pushed by the newly elected Democratic legislature. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) The Virginia State Police, the Virginia Capitol Police and the Richmond Police had a heavy presence, with officers deploying on rooftops, patrolling in cars and on bicycles. Authorities were looking to avoid a repeat of the violence that erupted in Charlottesville during one of the largest gatherings of white supremacists and other far-right groups in a decade. Attendees brawled with counterprotesters, and an avowed white supremacist drove his car into a crowd, killing a woman and injuring dozens more. Law enforcement officials faced scathing criticism for what both the white supremacist groups and anti-racism protesters said was a passive response. On Monday, Southern Poverty Law Center staff identified members of what it calls extremist militia groups, including the Oath Keepers and Three Percenters, as well as the League of the South and the Proud Boys, which the centre classifies as hate groups, according to outreach director Lecia Brooks. In contrast to Charlottesville, there was little sign of counterprotesters challenging the gun-rights activists. Police limited access to Capitol Square to only one entrance, and a long line formed to get into the rally zone. A man walks in the crowd during a pro-gun rally, Monday, Jan. 20, 2020, in Richmond, Va. Thousands of pro-gun supporters are expected at the rally to oppose gun control legislation like universal background checks that are being pushed by the newly elected Democratic legislature. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) Gun-rights advocates also filled the hallways of the building that houses lawmakers offices. One couple, Jared and Marie March, travelled from Floyd County, over three hours west of Richmond, to meet with legislators. Guns are a way of life where we live, said Marie March, who was concerned about a proposed red-flag law she said would allow citizens to be stripped of their guns due to subjective criteria. A proposal to establish universal background checks amounted to more Big Brother, she said. We just feel like we need to push government back into their rightful spot. Monday's rally was organized by an influential grassroots gun-rights group, the Virginia Citizens Defence League. The group holds a yearly rally at the Capitol, typically a low-key event with a few hundred gun enthusiasts listening to speeches from a handful of Republican lawmakers. But this year's event was unprecedented. Second Amendment groups have identified the state as a rallying point for the fight against what they see as a national erosion of gun rights. The pushback against proposed new gun restrictions began immediately after Democrats won majorities in both the state Senate and House of Delegates in November, with much of the opposition focused on a proposed assault weapons ban. More than 100 localities have since passed measures declaring support for the Second Amendment. Erich Pratt, senior vice-president of Gun Owners of America, said voters need to replace the Democrats in control of the government in Virginia. Fencing and magnetometers are set up around Capitol Square for the anticipated pro gun rally at the Virginia State Capitol Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020, in Richmond, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) We need to throw the bums out. We need to clean house in the next election, he told the crowd. 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. House Republican Leader Todd Gilbert complimented the behaviour of the rally-goers and said Democrats should take a lesson from them. The law-abiding gun owners in attendance today are the ones who would bear the brunt of their anti-gun proposals, which would have little to no impact on crime or criminals, he said in a statement. The rally coincided with the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, which is typically a chance for everyday citizens to use a day off work to lobby their legislators. However, the threat of violence largely kept other groups away from the Capitol, including gun control groups that hold an annual vigil for victims of gun violence. When that event was cancelled, students from March for Our Lives, the movement launched after 17 were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida in 2018, decided they had to do something. A group of about 15 college students and one high schooler slept overnight in the offices of two Democratic lawmakers to ensure they could make it into the Capitol area safely. The lawmakers, Hurst and Del. Dan Helmer whos sponsoring a bill that would block the National Rifle Association from operating an indoor gun range at its headquarters camped out as well. Michael McCabe, a 17-year-old high school senior from northern Virginia, said he was there to underscore the moral urgency felt by a generation unduly affected by gun violence. Our main goal is not to engage with gun extremists today, McCabe said. We are really here to be present in the legislature to make our voices heard." Iraqi security forces wounded dozens of protesters on Sunday as renewed anti-government demonstrations gripped the capital Baghdad. The mass protests had lost steam when soaring US-Iran tensions threatened an open conflict on Iraqi soil in past weeks. As the regional crisis receded, Iraqi activists gave the government a weeks deadline to act on their demands for sweeping political reforms or said they would up the pressure with new demonstrations. Expand Close An anti-government protester stages a sit-in while security forces stand guard (Hadi Mizban/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp An anti-government protester stages a sit-in while security forces stand guard (Hadi Mizban/AP) The uprising began on October 1 when thousands of Iraqis took to the streets to decry rampant government corruption, poor public services and a scarcity of jobs. Protesters are demanding an end to Iraqs sectarian political system, alongside early elections and the stepping aside of its ruling elite. Clashes between protesters and security forces in central Baghdad wounded at least 27 people on Sunday. Security forces fired tear gas to disperse crowds in Tayaran Square and the nearby Sinak Bridge, wounding 23, an activist and two medical officials said. Some protesters hurled rocks at police, wounding four personnel, a security official and two medical officials said. Three Iraqi activists said more rallies are planned in the coming days as the protesters seek to refocus public attention on their mass movement. Tensions between the US and Iran peaked after an American drone strike killed a top Iranian commander and Iraqi militia leader outside Baghdads international airport. Those killings prompted days of political turmoil across the region and Iraq that led to Iraqi politicians calling for a US troop withdrawal. Expand Close Anti-government protesters set fires and close streets (Hadi Mizban/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Anti-government protesters set fires and close streets (Hadi Mizban/AP) Supporters of the influential Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said they are organising a mass protest this week supporting calls for the ousting of American troops from Iraq in response to the US drone attack. Protesters have been in a standoff with security forces on three strategic bridges Sinak, Ahrar and Jumhuriyah that lead toward the fortified Green Zone, the seat of Iraqs government. Meanwhile, Iraqs parliament postponed a critical session on Sunday due to a lack of numbers. Politicians were expected to discuss candidates to replace outgoing Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi, who resigned in December under pressure from protesters. The next session is expected to be held on Wednesday. Earlier on Sunday, protesters burned tires cutting off main thoroughfares in Baghdad. Protests were also held in the southern provinces of Najaf, Dhi Qar, Karbala and Basra. SYRACUSE, N.Y. The Syracuse University police department is warning residents of the neighborhood east of campus to be wary of burglars who exploit unlocked doors and windows. The department is investigating a string of burglaries that occurred during the winter break when many students were out of town. Between Dec. 15 and Jan. 15, 13 burglaries were reported to the Syracuse Police Department. While it is unclear if these incidents are related, SPD reports that, in each instance, the alleged burglars have entered properties through unlocked windows and doors, SUs Department of Public Safety said in a news release. The department is warning students, who started classes again Jan. 13, to protect their belongings by locking all doors and windows even while at home, record serial numbers of electronic equipment, report suspicious activity, and store valuables in secure places. City police are asking anyone with information about the burglaries to call the department at (315) 442-5222. Thanks for visiting Syracuse.com. Quality local journalism has never been more important, and your subscription matters. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work. The administrator of the elite Catholic school in Cancun, Mexico, used to take the girls out of class and send them to the chapel, where the priest from the Legion of Christ religious order would sexually abuse them. "As some were reading the Bible, he would rape the others in front of them, little girls aged 6 to 8 or 9," said one of his victims, Ana Lucia Salazar, now a 36-year-old Mexican television host and mother of three. "Afterward, nothing was the same, nothing went back to the way it was," she said through tears at her home in Mexico City. Salazar's horrific story, which has been corroborated by other victims and the Legion itself, has sparked a new credibility crisis for the once-influential order, 10 years after the Holy See took it over after determining that its founder was a pedophile. The case has confirmed that the Legion's abuse problem is far worse than the founder's pathology alone. And it has called into question the Vatican reform: The papal envoy who ran the order learned about the case nearly a decade ago and declined to punish the priest or the superiors who knew of his crimes, many of whom are still in power and ministry. The scandal is not the story the Legion was hoping for as it opens its general chapter Monday in Rome, a weeks-long gathering to choose new leaders and approve policy decisions going forward. The assembly was supposed to have shown off the Legion embarking fully on its own after 10 years of Vatican-mandated reform. The Holy See imposed structural changes after revelations that the Legion's late founder, the Rev Marcial Maciel, sexually abused at least 60 seminarians, fathered at least three children and built a secretive, cult-like order to cater to his whims and hide his double life. The Cancun scandal, though, has exposed that the Vatican failed to address one key area: to punish known historic abusers and the people who covered for them, and change the culture of cover-up that enabled the crimes. From the outset, the late papal envoy who ran the Legion, Cardinal Velasio De Paolis, refused to hold complicit Legion superiors accountable. "De Paolis said there would be no witch hunt, explicitly, and the consequence is that abuse and its cover-up have remained unpunished," said the Rev Christian Borgogno, a former Legion priest who co-founded the "Legioleaks" Facebook group where Salazar first went public in May. Borgogno said De Paolis' decision to leave in place Legion superiors, many of whom were close to Maciel, "made reform impossible". "The only way out was to foster charismatic leaders, and they were even repressed," he told AP. "That's the main reason why many of us left." Salazar, whose story has made headlines in Mexico, goes further: "What I want is for the pope to get radicalized," she said. "There's only one position, to be on the side of the violated children," not a religious order that has among its priests "villains, delinquents, rapists, accomplices and victimisers." "The Legion of Christ has no reason to exist," she said, echoing calls from even within the church that the Vatican should have suppressed the order 10 years ago. Legion spokesman the Rev Aaron Smith argued that the Legion's leadership had indeed changed over the past decade, noting that 11 priests are participating in the 2020 general chapter for the first time, and that most of the 66 participants are new to the assembly since the Vatican reform began. More than a dozen others, however, belong to Maciel's old guard. Smith said the power structure of the Maciel era had been dismantled, with more decentralized authority and systems of checks and balances put in place. The scandal has struck the Legion at its core Mexico and cast a discrediting light where it hurts most: the Legion's prestigious private schools, which cater to Mexico's elite and are the order's main source of income. Former Legion priests say the scandal is a devastating blow that they long warned about, since a loss of credibility among wealthy Mexicans would deprive the Legion of its key base. Already, the Mexican bishops conference has ended its silence about the Legion to denounce the newly revealed abuse and the Legion's failure to provide "a specific act of justice or reparation for the victims" even after it acknowledged the crimes, vowed more transparency and pointed to its child protection policies in place now. The archbishop of Monterrey a Legion stronghold denounced the group's "criminal silence" and treatment of victims, and led recent calls from Mexican bishops for an end to the statute of limitations for child sex abuse cases. It was a remarkable turnabout, given that Mexico's Catholic hierarchy long supported the Legion and benefited from the once-wealthy order's largesse. Even the Vatican's ambassador to Mexico, Monsignor Franco Coppola, broke the Holy See's tradition of diplomatic discretion to publicly criticize the Legion's handling of the case and call for the Vatican to investigate the "web of cover-up" behind it. That too was remarkable, given that the Vatican itself has been implicated in the Maciel cover-up. However, victims see such promises as nothing more than lip service, and dismissed the letters they received from the leadership after the scandal broke promising reparations and change. The Legion hasn't yet settled all requests for financial compensation from eight of Maciel's original victims, who made formal requests in 2018. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) European business news recently announced the latest German government initiative to decarbonize its nations electric power generation by closing all coal fired generating stations by 2038. The plan received the usual mixed reception. Power generators claimed this latest initiative would cost them money while environmental groups said that the closures come too slowly. The government boasted it was getting Germany out of both nuclear and coal-fired generation at the same time having previously announced closure of the nuclear generation fleet. The government goal, incidentally, is for renewable resources to generate 65% of the nations electricity by the end of this decade. The Germans set up a committee that talked to all sides to fashion an eminently practical means to defuse the enormous opposition to closing coal stations especially in areas that rely on mining. The government ultimately promised a 40 billion package of payments and benefits to the affected parties. The big utility, RWE, will receive 2.6 billion and 1.75 billion is designated for utilities in the former East Germany. These closures will cause economic dislocation for thousands of workers in the related industries with the balance of payments going to regions most affected. RWE executives, diplomatically, said the governments subsidy package was okay. But it would not cover all the corporations costs to comply with the new coal closure policy which they estimated will total 3.5 billion. After the announcement RWs stock price went up. Related: Putins Powerplay Could Jeopardize The OPEC Deal The significance of this policy is that a government, and more importantly one of the worlds largest economies with a coal mining tradition, is coming out strongly against coal usage as part of an evolution in its environmental policy. The German proposal may offer guidelines for another large economy with a coal mining tradition, the United States. Coal mining in Germany, like the US, is/was centered in several states. Closing down the mines and power plants disproportionately depresses the economies in the affected areas. Not wishing to impose economic blight, the German Federal government acknowledged the looming economic problem. Following discussions with all affected parties, the government offered payments to those involved in or dependent on coal. Coal interests effectively resigned themselves to the fact that the end was imminent and that it was time to stop fighting it and collect whatever subsidies were being offered. In common parlance they took the money and ran. This coal closure deal will, no doubt, lead to much discussion of the practicality and economics of the German vision of its energy future. But the German plan for its electric utilities and soon to be former coal producing regions is significant for another reason. The governments solution was simple. Offer subsidies to its various coal producing entities as a means of facilitating decarbonization. The German governments proposed subsidies has avoided the usual debates about government's role with respect to failing industries or the disproportionate influence of big business. This also quiets those making the economic argument that Germany should continue to rely on its cheapest, domestic fuel resource no matter the environmental consequences. Industries or regions affected by economic change can exert their influence disproportionately to delay adverse policies or stop them altogether. The coal industry in the US and coal-dependent regions seem more interested in simple delay rather than looking at the potential economic inducements of environmental compliance. In sum, German utilities and others simply decided to take the governments money and run, so to speak. Their brethren in the US are fighting decarbonization efforts with what amounts to stout denial. At some point we expect the few remaining shareholders and other stakeholders in the declining US coal industry will follow the Germans example. By Leonard Hyman and William Tilles for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: 7ibbs.net scored 40 Social Media Impact. Social Media Impact score is a measure of how much a site is popular on social networks. 2/5.0 Stars by Social Team This CoolSocial report was updated on 25 Dec 2012, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared the 7ibbs homepage on Twitter + the total number of 7ibbs followers (if 7ibbs has a Twitter account). The total number of people who shared the 7ibbs homepage on StumbleUpon. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared, liked or recommended the 7ibbs homepage on Facebook + the total number of page likes (if 7ibbs has a Facebook fan page). The total number of people who shared the 7ibbs homepage on Google Plus by a google +1 button. The total number of people who shared the 7ibbs homepage on Delicious. Basic Information PAGE TITLE - Powered by Discuz! DESCRIPTION - Discuz! Board KEYWORDS OTHER KEYWORDS The keywords meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. The title 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. Domain and Server DOCTYPE XHTML 1.0 Transitional CHARSET AND LANGUAGE GBK DETECTED LANGUAGE SERVER Apache/2.2.3 (CentOS) (PHP/5.3.10) OPERATIVE SYSTEM Linux Linux Operative System running on the server. Character set and language of the site. Represents HTML declared type (e.g.: XHTML 1.1, HTML 4.0, the new HTML 5.0) The language of 7ibbs.net as detected by CoolSocial algorithms. Type of server and offered services. Site Traffic trend during the last year. Only available for sites ranked <= 100000 in the world. Referring domains for 7ibbs.net 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. 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. Facebook Timeline is the new layout of Facebook pages. The total number of people who like website Facebook page. The total number of people who tagged or talked about website Facebook page in the last 7-10 days. The URL of the found Facebook page. Twitter account link TWITTER PAGE LINK NOT FOUND Democrats are understood to be considering calling more witnesses to testify in front of Congress if the Senate does not allow fresh evidence to be heard in US President Donald Trump's impeachment trial. The trial - the third in the United States' history - begins tomorrow with Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, pushing for a swift hearing without calling new witnesses. But his stance has been undercut in recent days by a series of damning interviews given by Lev Parnas, a Russian-born businessman linked to Rudy Giuliani, the president's lawyer, and the willingness of John Bolton, Mr Trump's former security adviser, to testify under subpoena. "We would be remiss in the House of Representatives not to follow this trail to its conclusion," said Hank Johnson, a Democrat from Georgia and a member of the judiciary committee that drafted the articles of impeachment. "Parnas has emerged as an important figure in this criminal conspiracy to force or coerce a foreign government to help Trump's re-election campaign," he told 'The Hill' website. Democrat strategists believe calling fresh witnesses in the House will heap pressure on a handful of Republican senators - including former presidential candidate Mitt Romney and Maine's Susan Collins - to break ranks. The rival strategies became clearer over a weekend in which thousands of women took to the streets to march against Mr Trump. The president's legal team issued a six-page document describing the impeachment trial as a "dangerous attack on the right of the American people to freely choose their president". It was, the document added, "a brazen and unlawful attempt to overturn the results of the 2016 election and interfere with the 2020 election, now just months away". Alan Dershowitz, a key member of Mr Trump's legal team, reinforced the point on the political talk shows yesterday. Mr Dershowitz, a former Harvard law professor who describes himself as a liberal Democrat, insisted "abuse of power" - one of the articles of impeachment - did not give a legal justification for the removal of a president. "The framers didn't want to have that kind of criteria in our constitution because it weaponises impeachment. "I strongly believe abuse of power is so open-ended - half of the American presidents in history from Adams to Jefferson to Lincoln to Roosevelt have been accused by their enemies of abusing their power," he said. Beijing, Jan 20 : Sending a messege to the US that it can do without Google Maps, Chinese telecom and handset giant Huawei has now struck a partnership with Dutch location technology provider TomTom, which will allow it to use the companys maps, traffic information and navigation software to develop its own mobile apps. Fortunately for Huawei, TomTom isn't just a new player in that field, having specialised in navigation services and devices for more than two decades now. The arrangement had been struck a while back, according to TomTom's Remco Meerstra, but hadn't been revealed until now. The company declined to share more details, Engadget reported on Monday. This partnership is almost providential just as the Dutch location technology firm decided to shift its focus away from hardware and into licensing software and selling services. And even better, it isn't affected by the US Entity List ban on Huawei, according to Slash Gear. The US added Huawei to the Commerce Department's trade blacklist in 2019, making it difficult for the company to do business with its American suppliers. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeos Call with Iraqi President Barham Salih Washington, DC - Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo spoke Saturday with Iraqi President Barham Salih. Secretary Pompeo and President Salih agreed on the need to reduce tensions in the region. The Secretary reaffirmed the important role of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS in fostering a sovereign, independent, and prosperous Iraq. It is Ukraine's National Coat of Arms, the ministry stresses. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine expects a response from the UK authorities regarding the appearance of the Ukrainian National Coat of Arms Tryzub (Trident) in the UK Police Counter Terrorism Policing Guide. "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine took note of the information in the UK media about the fact that the Ukrainian National Coat of Arms has been put onto the Counter Terrorism Policing Guide, distributed by the British law enforcement agencies," the ministry said in a statement on its website on January 20. The Coat of Arms of Ukraine originates in the Kyivan Rus times and is one of the symbols of unity of Ukrainians, it said. "It is widely used by the Ukrainian public authorities and common Ukrainians alike. Any attempt to link the Coat of Arms of Ukraine to extremism offends millions of Ukrainians at home and abroad," Ukrainian diplomats said. Read alsoUkraine's Embassy in UK demands Tryzub be removed from Extremism Guide "We are looking forward to an official comment from the British Foreign Office and the Police. We assume it will be released soon. In case the discussed fact is confirmed, we demand that Ukrainian state symbols are removed from the document," reads the statement. As UNIAN reported earlier, the Ukrainian Embassy in the United Kingdom had expressed outrage over the fact that the Ukrainian National Coat of Arms had been put onto the Counter Terrorism Policing Guide. The Guide, which was prepared by British law enforcers, was published by The Guardian on January 17. It also features the Ukrainian Azov Regiment's insignia. Journalists drew attention to the fact that the document includes not only the insignia of leftist and rightist movements, but also those of environmental organizations (in particular, Greenpeace) and animal protection movements. Panaji, Jan 20 : The Aam Aadmi Party in Goa on Monday has demanded the resignation of the South Western Railway manager Ajay Kumar Singh, after he during a verbal duel with Goa BJP MLA Alina Saldanha allegedly suggested that she was of Portuguese descent. In a tweet on Monday, Goa AAP convener Elvis Gomes called the reference to Saldanha, an MLA from the Cortalim assembly constituency, "despicable". "Despicable. How dare he? A Manager of SW Railway Ajay Kumar Singh, Hubballi Div, insults @BJP4Goa women MLA Alina Saldanha. Says Goans are not Indians. @DrPramodPSawant, NRC started? @AAPGoa demands, if any self respect remains, get @PiyushGoyal @RailMinIndia to dismiss him. Now," Gomes tweeted. On Sunday, Alina Saldanha, who was leading a protest against the proposed demolition of houses in her constituency to make way for track doubling along the South Western Railways line, had taken offence to being referred to as one of Portuguese descent, during her face-off with Singh. "Are they taking Goans for granted by calling us Portuguese? We are Indians first," Saldanha had told reporters following the altercation with the senior Indian Railways official. Saldanha is the wife of former BJP Minister late Mathany Saldanha. Earlier, media reports have quoted Singh as having said: "India has houses that are 5,000 years old. Goans were the invading force who came about 500 years back. When you all came, you also must have destroyed houses here... By you I meant Portuguese". Singh, who functions from the headquarters of the South Western Railway in Hubli, could not be reached for a comment. For years now, Saldanha has led protests against the doubling of railway tracks along the South Western railway route, which passes through her constituency in South Goa, claiming old heritage houses would be demolished if the double-tracking comes through. Goa, a former colony was ruled by the Portuguese for 451 years before it was liberated by the Indian armed forces in 1961. Two men allegedly running a gun racket were arrested and huge cache of more than 60 sophisticated pistols were recovered from them, police said on Monday. The accused, identified as Sanjeev (27), a resident of Rohtak in Haryana was held from Shamshan Ghat in Delhi's Haiderpur, where he had come to supply the consignment of illegal weapons to one of his Delhi-based contact. His accomplice Noor Hasan (25) was nabbed from his residence in Meerut, they said. With their arrest, police claimed to have unearthed an illegal firearms manufacturing factory based in Meerut. In view of the forthcoming Republic Day celebrations and the Delhi Assembly elections, sleuths of the special cell of Delhi Police had launched a special drive against suppliers of illegal firearms in the national capital and NCR. Interrogation revealed that Sanjeev has been involved in supplying illegal firearms for more than five years. He used to procure them from one Fakruddin and his son Noor Hasan of Meerut and further supply the same to criminals of Delhi and Haryana, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav said. Ten semi-automatic pistols were recovered from Sanjeev, he said. On Sunday, Hasan was arrested from his house in Meerut following a raid and 50 more illegal pistols along with raw material and machinery were recovered from there, he added. During interrogation, Hasan disclosed that he has been indulging in manufacturing of illegal arms for the last 10 years along with his family. He used to procure raw material to prepare illegal arms from his contacts based in Meerut, the DCP said. Manufacturing firearms has been their family business for the last three generations. He learnt it from his father and has been preparing these weapons for more than 20 years. They supply weapons in bulk, he said. Both Sanjeev and Hasan have been previously arrested for their criminal backgrounds, police said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Plus, Bill's Message of the Day, we are living in the United States of Propaganda. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Parliamentary candidate for Anyaa- Sowutuom constituency in the Greater Accra Region, Mr. Emmanuel Allotey as part of his campaign tour has paid a courtesy call on chiefs and their elders in the constituency. He was accompanied by his party Chairman Mr. Kwasi Arhin and constituency executives. The visit was to officially ask the chiefs who are the custodian of the land permission to campaign on their land and also, to seek their blessings as he blazes the campaign trail ahead of the December 7th 2020 presidential and parliamentary polls. The group visited, Nii Larbi Mensah V, Ablekuman Mantse, Nii Kwaku Fosu, Chief of Ablekuman - Fanmilk, Nii Ofori , Chief of Sowutuom- Batisllo and his Nkosuhene, Alex. The group also visited, Nuumo Kalala , Family head of Antie- Anku and Santa Maria, Asafotse Addai, Asafotse of Sowutuom and Nii S3i , Stool Chief of Sowutuom among others. Mr. Allotey who is an renowned economist said they embark on such a tour to introduce himself to the constituents and ask for the blessing of the custodians of the land as he goes about his campaign to get elected as a Member of Parliament for Anyaa Sowutuom Constituency. The PC said he represents the hope of the youth, women and all vulnerable groups in the constituency and will do his utmost best for the people. According to Mr. Allotey, the constituency is deprived of basic social amenities and infrastructure for which reason he wants to be the MP in order to take development to the area. Chairman Arhin as he is affectionately called assured the chiefs and elders that the party will embark on campaign of issues and peace to safeguard the peace of the nation and constituency. "On behalf of the party, we'll embark on a peaceful campaign in your communities to protect peace and enhance our democracy as a nation. Ghana is a beacon of hope in Africa, so the NDC party would abide by the constitution that governs the nation" he said. Chairman Arhin indicated that the election was not about war but an opportunity for political parties to sell their messages to the electorates. Virtually all the chiefs and elders were amazed as this was the first time a parliamentary candidate and his party executives had called on them prior launching their campaign to officially ask for their blessing and support. The chiefs and their elders commended Mr. Allotey and the constituency executives for the initiative. According to them, it showed a sign of respect, humility and his willingness to collaborate with the traditional authorities. They showered their blessings on the PC and his executives and in some instances poured libation for ancestral support. About this blog In the interests of doing something different to every other wine blogger, this blog delves into the world of wine data, instead of wine itself. The intention is to ferret out some of the interesting stuff, and to bring it out into the light, for everyone to see. In particular, I draw pictures of the data as William Playfair said (in 1805): "whatever can be expressed in numbers may be represented by lines". So, I'd rather show you a graph than a paragraph. Hopefully, this will be both interesting and informative. WASHINGTON - On the eve of President Donald Trumps impeachment trial, the Senate leader proposed a compressed calendar for opening statements, White House lawyers argued for swift rejection of the flimsy charges and the Capitol braced for the contentious proceedings unfolding in an election year. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/1/2020 (722 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. FILE - In this Dec. 2, 2019 file photo, Attorney Alan Dershowitz leaves federal court, in New York. President Donald Trump's legal team will include former Harvard University law professor Alan Dershowitz and Ken Starr, the former independent counsel who led the Whitewater investigation into President Bill Clinton, according to a person familiar with the matter. The team will also include Pam Bondi, the former Florida attorney general.(AP Photo/Richard Drew) WASHINGTON - On the eve of President Donald Trumps impeachment trial, the Senate leader proposed a compressed calendar for opening statements, White House lawyers argued for swift rejection of the flimsy charges and the Capitol braced for the contentious proceedings unfolding in an election year. Final trial preparations were underway Monday on a tense day of plodding developments with Trump's legacy and the judgment of both parties in Congress at stake. The president's legal team, in its first full filing for the impeachment court, argued that Trump did absolutely nothing wrong and urged the Senate to swiftly reject the "flawed'' case against him. All of this is a dangerous perversion of the Constitution that the Senate should swiftly and roundly condemn," the president's lawyers wrote. The articles should be rejected and the president should immediately be acquitted. The U.S. flag flies over the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) The brief from the White House, and the House Democratic response, comes as the Senate could be facing 12-hour sessions for the rare Senate trial, with some of the very senators running to replace Trump as president sitting as jurors. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell proposed a condensed, two-day calendar for each side to give opening statements, ground rules that Democrats immediately rejected. Voting on the Republican leader's resolution will be one of the first orders of business when senators convene Tuesday. It also pushes off any votes on witnesses until later in the process, rather than up front, as Democrats had demanded. The Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, called the GOP leader's proposed rules package a national disgrace. Senators are poised for only the third presidential impeachment trial in U.S. history, coming just weeks before the first primaries of the 2020 election season and as voters are assessing Trump's first term and weighing the candidates who want to challenge him in the fall. Anticipated events in connection with impeachment of President Donald Trump.; House Democrats impeached the president last month on two charges: abuse of power by withholding U.S. military aid to Ukraine as he pressed the country to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden, and obstruction of Congress by by refusing to comply with their investigation. The Constitution gives the House the sole power to impeach a president and the Senate the final verdict by convening as the impeachment court for a trial. McConnell is angling for a speedy trial toward acquittal, and with Republicans holding the Senate majority, the proposal is likely to be approved by senators in the president's party. Its clear Sen. McConnell is hell-bent on making it much more difficult to get witnesses and documents and intent on rushing the trial through, Schumer said. He vowed to propose votes Tuesday to try to amend the rules package. He called it a coverup. The first several days of the trial are now almost certain to be tangled in procedural motions playing out on the Senate floor or, more likely, behind closed doors, since senators must refrain from speaking during the trial proceedings. American flags blow in wind around the Washington Monument with the U.S. Capitol in the background at sunrise on Monday, Jan. 20, 2020, in Washington. The impeachment trial of President Donald Trump will resume in the U.S. Senate on Jan. 21. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick) At the White House, where the president was embarking for an overseas trip to the global leaders conference in Davos, Switzerland, officials welcomed the Republican trial proposal. "We are gratified that the draft resolution protects the Presidents rights to a fair trial, and look forward to presenting a vigorous defence on the facts and the process as quickly as possible, and seeking an acquittal as swiftly as possible," said White House Legislative Affairs Director Eric Ueland. After the four days of opening arguments two days per side senators will be allowed up to 16 hours for questions to the prosecution and defence, followed by four hours of debate. Only then will there be votes on calling other witnesses. At the end of deliberations, the Senate would then vote on each impeachment article. McConnell had promised to set rules similar to the last trial, of President Bill Clinton in 1999, but his resolution diverged in key ways, which may leave some senators from both parties uneasy. The Senate side of the U.S. Capitol at sunrise on Monday, Jan. 20, 2020, in Washington. The impeachment trial of President Donald Trump will resume in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick) Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah said in an email message to his constituents Monday night that the resolution put forth by McConnell overall, aligns closely with the rules package approved 100-0 during the Clinton trial. He is among a small number of Republican senators who want to consider witness testimony and documents that weren't part of the House impeachment investigation. With security tightening at the Capitol, the House prosecutors led by Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff made their way through crowds of tourists in the Rotunda to tour the Senate chamber. The White House legal team led by Pat Cipollone and Jay Sekulow soon followed. Both sides were under instructions to keep the chamber doors closed to onlookers and the media. Four TV monitors were set up inside the Senate chamber, which will be used to show testimony, exhibits and potentially tweets or other social media, according to a person familiar with the matter but unauthorized to discuss it who spoke on condition of anonymity. In their own filing Monday, House prosecutors issued fresh demands for a fair trial in the Senate. President Trump asserts that his impeachment is a partisan hoax.' He is wrong, the prosecutors wrote. The House Democrats said the president can't have it both ways -- rejecting the facts of the House case but also stonewalling congressional subpoenas for witnesses and testimony. Senators must honour their own oaths by holding a fair trial with all relevant evidence," they wrote. The White House document released Monday says the two charges against the president don't amount to impeachable offences. It asserts that the impeachment inquiry, centred on Trump's request that Ukraine's president open an investigation into Democratic rival Biden, was never about finding the truth. House Democrats in their initial court filing over the weekend called Trump's conduct the worst nightmare" of the framers of the Constitution. President Donald J. Trump used his official powers to pressure a foreign government to interfere in a United States election for his personal political gain, the House prosecutors wrote, and then attempted to cover up his scheme by obstructing Congresss investigation into his misconduct. 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. But Trump's team contended Monday that even if Trump were to have abused his power in withholding the Ukraine military assistance, it would not be impeachable because it did not violate a specific criminal statute. No president has ever been removed by the Senate. The current Senate, with a 53-47 Republican majority, is not expected to mount the two-thirds voted needed for conviction. Even if it did, the White House team argues it would be an "'unconstitutional conviction'' because the articles of impeachment were too broad. Administration officials have argued that similar imprecision applied to the perjury case in Clinton's impeachment trial. The White House also suggests the House inquiry was lacking because it failed to investigate Biden or his son Hunter, who served on the board of a gas company in Ukraine while his father was vice-president. There is no evidence of wrongdoing by either Biden. ___ Associated Press writer Laurie Kellman contributed to this report. New Delhi, Jan 20 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Monday sought the UP government's reply on a plea, filed by the Allahabad Heritage Society, challenging the decision to rename Allahabad as Prayagraj. The petition also challenges the February 2019 order of the Allahabad High Court in which it dismissed the plea against the renaming. The renaming was approved by the Centre on January 1, 2019. It has been contended that the move to rename the city is against the secular principle of the Constitution and runs contrary to the spirit of composite culture. It has also stated that Allahabad has been associated with the city for nearly four centuries. It has also challenged the UP government notification, alleging procedural violations in the renaming process. The high court had observed that the name change would not affect the public interest also it couldn't interfere with the government's policy decision. ss/ Metro-North trains were on time 94.4 percent of the time last year the best track record by the commuter line in six years. We are very pleased to report significant and improved train performance, while continuing to improve safety for employees and customers, said Catherine Rinaldi, Metro-Norths president. This year we improved our on-time performance for 13 consecutive months while operating more service than the prior year, Rinaldi said. Statistics released by the railroad on Monday show cancellations were down 55 percent and there were 41 percent fewer trains delayed more than 15 minutes. The railroad also saw 63 percent fewer trains operating with less than their normal complement of cars. Trains traveled 64 percent more miles before experiencing a mechanical malfunction and causing a delay. Metro-North said the improved performance follows an overall enhancement program aimed at transforming customers day-to-day commuting experience. In 2019, Metro-North said it installed more than 50,000 new cross ties, 28 new switches and over eight miles of continuously welded rail. The railroad also surfaced almost 111 miles of track, replaced five railroad grade crossings, installed a new cab signal system for the Port Jervis line, renewed components of the Cos Cob moveable bridge and installed 1,800 feet of fencing. That is only made possible by the dedication and commitment of our workforce, who rise to the challenge every single day, Rinaldi said. James Cameron, founder of the Commuter Action Group and a Hearst Connecticut Media transportation columnist, praised the railroad for improving performance. "Let's give the railroad credit where it's due, Cameron said. On-time performance is increasing thanks to a lot of effort, even though the trains are not running as fast as anyone would like, Cameron said. Nor is branch line service keeping up with improvements on the mainline. Cameron noted it took decades of neglect and under-investment to get the railroad into its current state and it will take many more years to dig out of the hole. The governors dreams of 30 minute travel times between Hartford, New Haven, Stamford and Grand Central Terminal is an admirable goal but will never be achieved without adequate funding and a lot of patience on the part of commuters," Cameron noted. bcummings@ctpost.com Anytime an incident involves death, there are no winners. This young man is genuine, compassionate and remorseful, defense attorney Robert Ritacca said after the plea deal was accepted. He comes from an exceptional family, who has supported him at the time of tragedy. Thankfully, Caleb Rohrbach is afforded a second chance at life. DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Rick Parnell, CEO of the Foundation for Climate Restoration, issues the following statement on Microsoft's Recently Announced Plan to Remove its Carbon Footprint. "We applaud Microsoft for its newly-announced, ambitious commitment to be carbon negative by 2030. This is a critical contribution to the Climate Restoration movement as we work collectively to remove the trillion tons of excess CO 2 from the atmosphere and restore it to pre-industrial levels of less than 300 parts per million. We appreciate how Microsoft has chosen to go beyond traditional sustainable corporate practices by committing to removing the amount of carbon the company has emitted since its founding in 1975. The establishment of their new $1B fund that will invest in carbon reduction, capture, and removal technologies is bold, admirable, and necessary to ensure the survival of humanity." About Rick Parnell and the Foundation for Climate Restoration (F4CR): Rick Parnell is the CEO of the F4CR, a non-profit committed to restoring a safe and healthy climate for our youth and future generations. Climate Restoration means returning CO 2 to pre-industrial levels and preserving Arctic sea ice to prevent catastrophic methane emissions by 2050. The F4CR works with partners around the world to connect the right people to the right ideas and resources to launch financially viable Climate Restoration projects and develop and deliver education, networking and advocacy programs. For more information, visit www.f4cr.org . Media Contact: Alexandra Pony PONY Communications [email protected] 250.858.0656 SOURCE Foundation for Climate Restoration Related Links http://www.f4cr.org If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here Our Divisions Copyright 2021-22 DB Corp ltd., All Rights Reserved This website follows the DNPA Code of Ethics. The United States unveiled the first look of uniform for the space force launched by President Donald Trump in December last year. The US Space Force meant for protecting national interests and security in space shared the image of camouflage utility uniform nametapes on Twitter but got trolled by the netizens. Netizens' hilarious reactions How many trees are you expecting to find in space, asked a Twitter user taking a dig at the uniform camouflaged for ground. Check other reactions: My dog is better camouflaged for space than whatever that is. If you're looking to save the tax payers money this was only $3 in Walmart's infants section. pic.twitter.com/MYPec5hMUC Jackie D. (@brewsandbats) January 18, 2020 Have you been to a part of space where this camouflage would blend in? Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) January 18, 2020 Um, I'm no outer-space military strategist but shouldn't space camouflage be a dark background with white dots? You know, like space? pic.twitter.com/tgA0z9jmw8 BeaglesResist (@BeaglesResist) January 18, 2020 This is actually very smart. Get kids to sign up for Space Force, and then ship them off to Iraq or Afghanistan. Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) January 18, 2020 Read: Space Force Will Start Small But Let Trump Claim A Big Win When a user asked why do they need camo in space, the United States Space Force clarified that the space operators were utilising the uniform of the army as they are currently on the ground. We dont. Space Operators are on the ground, on Earth working with joint partners like the @usairforce and @USArmy. Hence utilizing their uniform. United States Space Force (@SpaceForceDoD) January 18, 2020 Read: Trump's Legal Team Rejects Impeachment Charges, Calls It 'brazen And Unlawful' Trump had signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) authorizing a historic $738 billion in defence spending for the fiscal year 2020. It established the Space Force as the sixth branch of the Armed Services, marking the first time a new branch of the military established since 1947. White House, in a statement, said that it is a major priority for the President to help ensure continued American dominance in space. Read: Trump Officially Launches US Space Force, Approves Funds Worth $1.4 Trillion Read: China Attacks US Space Force As Threat To Outer Space Peace Three people have been charged after four police officers were "viciously attacked" at a house in Co Antrim. Two of the officers were treated in hospital after being assaulted during an incident in the Tynan Drive area of Newtownabbey on Sunday. Two officers received first aid at the scene. Two women, aged 20 and 50, have been charged with number of offences, including assault on police, resisting police and obstructing police. Both women are due to appear at Belfast Magistrates Court on Monday, February 17. A 22-year-old man also arrested in connection with the incident has been charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm, resisting police and assault occasioning actual bodily harm and was due to appear at Belfast Magistrates Court on Monday. PSNI Newtownabbey said the officers were "kicked, punched, scratched and repeatedly bitten" during the incident. "A truly horrific and disgusting attack whilst simply trying to do their job," an officer posted on Facebook. "Two officers remain in hospital receiving treatment. They should have been at home with their families and loved ones. "It really is a job like no other, but such behaviour cannot and will not be tolerated." The post added: "We all wish the officers well and in spite of this they will continue to serve their community." By Ryan P. Haygood More than 50 years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., wrote his final book before his assassination urging us to make the choice between chaos and community. We are confronted with the urgency of now," he wrote, "This may well be mankinds last chance to choose between chaos or community. As we honor his 91st birthday and legacy today, we find ourselves again facing the same stark choice. Against the backdrop of our chaotic national landscape, it is easy to conclude that the arc of the moral universe is not in fact bending toward justice. That racial justice is an empty slogan. And that freedom and liberation are elusive and beyond our grasp. But as Dr. King knew well, there is indeed a choice on the other side of chaos. While Dr. Kings impact changed the world, much of his work was local because he knew that community could overcome chaos when people organized themselves around critical issues, were inspired by a vision beyond which the eye could see, were courageous truth-tellers who held people in power accountable, and were willing to sacrifice comfort. In New Jersey, we are choosing community over chaos. We are not waiting for democracy to trickle down to us from Washington, D.C. We are building democracy from the ground up. And its working. Nowhere is that more evident than in the slate of policy victories marking New Jerseys two-year legislative session that ended last week all a result of communities of people coming together, raising our collective voices, and moving our elected officials to action. Through our collective advocacy, we achieved passage of historic legislation to restore the fundamental right to vote to 83,000 people a population greater than our capital city of Trenton who are on probation and parole. This right was first denied to people with convictions in 1844, the same year the vote was restricted to white men in New Jerseys Constitution. Thousands of people across New Jersey said its time to be 1844 no more. We stood together to end prison-based gerrymandering -- the modern day 3/5 Clause that counts the bodies of incarcerated people in the location of the prison facility, instead of their home communities, for the purpose of legislative redistricting, while denying them the right to vote. Once the governor signs this into law, New Jersey will be the seventh state to take this step. We won a $15 minimum wage to help lift hundreds of thousands of people in one of Americas wealthiest states out of poverty, and to address our growing income inequality. We created a robust apprenticeship program, based on legislation that will help provide a path-way to living wage careers, particularly for people of color and women. We championed an independent prosecutor law to make law enforcement more accountable for misconduct. We secured automatic voter registration to make the promise of democracy more accessible. We won drivers licenses for our undocumented brothers and sisters. We significantly limited isolated confinement in prisons. We banned racially motivated discrimination based on hair style. And we secured $9 million in the state budget for Census 2020 outreach to help ensure that hard-to-count communities of color wont go uncounted, unfunded, and unrepresented. All of this remarkable progress was made in one legislative session even as we face one of our darkest national moments. Dr. King was clear that, even as we celebrate these momentous achievements, the work continues. Indeed, it was after the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and 1965 Voting Rights Act, watershed moments in American history, that Dr. King called us toward the beloved community, and urged us to contemplate next steps toward perfecting democracy in America. Our work continues in New Jersey to build a system to ensure that people of color live in a society that respects their humanity. To close New Jerseys staggering racial wealth gap in which the median net worth for New Jerseys Black and Latino families is $5,900 and $7,200, respectively, but $309,000 for white families. To transform New Jerseys shameful youth justice system in which a Black child is 21 times more likely to be locked up than a white child the highest racial disparity in America and where only eight white children are in prison, even though Black and white kids commit most offenses at similar rates. To make our democracy more inclusive, including by restoring voting rights for 19,000 people who are in prison. And to integrate New Jerseys classrooms, which are the sixth and seventh most segregated in America for Black and Latino students. As we honor Dr. King today, we must do more than post inspiring quotes on our social media pages. We honor Dr. King by following his example of choosing community over chaos. However difficult the national moment, Dr. King summonses each of us to courageously choose community over chaos through our advocacy for solutions to the most pressing social and racial justice issues of our generation. And in doing so we can continue to build a New Jersey that is a national, bright light of community coming together to build democracy from the ground up. Ryan P. Haygood is the president & CEO of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice. Prior to assuming this role, he litigated civil rights cases before state and federal courts across the country. The Star-Ledger/NJ.com encourages submissions of opinion. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow us on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and on Facebook at NJ.com Opinion. Get the latest news updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Kangana Ranaut, who will be seen playing a Kabaddi player in her next, titled Panga, has opened up about her struggles after she left home and how she grappled with sister Rangoli Chandels acid attack during her initial days in Bollywood. Talking about how she earned money for Rangolis treatment, she told Mumbai Mirror in an interview, I was just 19, on the threshold of a bright career, when the attack happened and it was a long, hard struggle to deal with this kind of perverse, sexist cruelty. Financially too, I was not strong back then. Girls around me would feel depressed by a bad hair day or because a meal was not to their liking. I was grappling with something far more real and yet had no time to sit and cry. I did tacky films, took on roles I did not deserve, accepted guest appearances, so my sister could be treated by the best surgeon in India. It took 54 surgeries. Also Watch l Please ban me: Kangana Ranaut refuses to apologise to journalists after spat She also spoke about how she went on to become the strong, independent woman she is today. Recalling the days of her struggle after she left home, she said, I fell into bad company straightaway. Some people took advantage of the fact that I was alone and couldnt confide in my parents, and Ive experienced the worst a person can go through. It toughened me up and made me the person I am. But I wouldnt want my children to go through such extremes. I would want to be there for them. Also read: Kangana Ranaut on reconciling with family: Had I not made it in films, I might have lost out on my family, my dream Kangana will be seen playing a mother to a school-going boy in Panga. Jassie Gill plays her husband and motivates her to revive her career as a professional Kabaddi player. Neena Gupta and Richa Chadha also have pivotal roles in the film. Helmed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, Panga is set to hit the big screens on January 24, 2020. The actor recently launched her production company Manikarnika Films and shared pictures of her new plush office situated at Pali Hill in Mumbai. Follow @htshowbiz for more SPRINGFIELD One state lawmaker wants to get rid of Illinois Firearm Owners Identification card. State Rep. John Cabello, R-Machesney Park, filed a bill to eliminate the law that requires residents to obtain a FOID card in order to legally possess or purchase guns or ammunition. Ive been filing this bill forever, Cabello said. I dont believe that FOID keeps us safer. I think that its just another roadblock for law-abiding citizens [to obtain a gun]. Illinois is one of only four states with similar laws on the books. Hawaii, New Jersey, and Massachusetts are the other three. We have laws on the books against murder, but people still commit murder, Cabello said. The criminals are never going to follow the law anyways. I mean, theyre criminals. Cabello says theres also the issue of the backlog at the Illinois State Police, where around 62,000 people are waiting for either their initial FOID card or for a renewal. The state police are doing their absolute best, but they were never given the funding to actually fund the office the way it should be, Cabello said. We hear stories from citizens that are doing everything right by applying early for the renewal. But it still takes sometimes three to six months to get their new FOID card. Cabello also believes there are ulterior motives for keeping the law on the books. If they would just come out and tell the truth, Cabello said. We dont really want anyone to own guns, so were going to make it more difficult for law-abiding citizens to have one. Plus, were going to use it as a revenue generator. Oh, OK. Well, at least youre telling the truth now. Illinoiss FOID card requirement has been in effect since 1968. Cabello has proposed similar legislation in previous years, but the measure never has received a vote in the full House. Chennai, Jan 20 : The uptrend in the automobile segment is expected to happen in the second half of this year as per the industry officials and that augurs well for the hospitality industry, said a top official of Welcomhotel GST Road, Chennai. Referring to the recent rebranding exercise of the property, he added that it is not just change of logo, visiting cards and other brand images that a guest sees outwardly, but it involves lot of backend and infrastructure work. The five-year-old 172-room 5-star hotel is located near the Ford India's factory in Maraimalai Nagar near hear. A lot of automotive ancillaries are also located. "Nearly 90 per cent of our businesses is from our guests who are from the automotive industries. Nearly 45-50 per cent of our guests are foreigners. The slowdown in the automotive sector has impacted hospitality sector in this belt. But the auto industry officials predict an uptrend in the sector's fortunes from second half of the current year," Sunil Tandon, General Manager told IANS. He said the average occupancy this year was 55 per cent. "There is no confusion now in the BS-VI emission norms implementation and auto companies focussing on electric vehicles, the industries near our property are hoping to see an uptrend," he said. That apart with two more international hotel brands coming up near the property -formerly Fortune Select Grand and now Welcomhotel GST Road - the hotel began losing foreign guests as they were able to utilize their international loyalty points at the other two properties, Tandon said. According to him, these factors led the property owners to go for a brand upgrade from Fortune to Welcomhotel. Tandon said the Welcomhotel brand is growing fast and soon two more properties under the brand are set to open and similarly one more Fortune brand hotel will be upgraded to Welcomhotel brand. "The brand change involves lot of backend work and also infrastructure changes. For instance, we are now installing about 70 fire resistant doors as per the standards of the new brand. There are many other things that a brand change involves," Tandon added. With digital space playing an important role in bringing guests to hotels, the change of brand was first intimated to the online players like travel sites, Trip Advisor and in the social media. "The perceptible changes for the guests are the under bed carpets, wall papers, paintings, change of toiletries and carpets on the corridors. In the food and beverages section, some menu card changes were made," Tandon said. Apart from change in staff uniform and training, the new brand has an entirely different standard operating procedure (SOP) as compared to what was followed under the earlier brand, he remarked. "As new properties under the Welcomhotel brand get added, staff can go up in the ladder moving to other properties," Tandon remarked. That apart, a well known brand attracts better talents and hotel management colleges will offer better students during campus recruitment, he added. Queried about the change in rates - room rent and food - he said the property driven majorly by room rent alone (65 per cent of the hotel's revenue is from room rent) till the end of this fiscal the old rates would remain. "As the service offerings are upgraded under the new brand we expect the market to absorb an upward revision of 10 per cent in our rates. Further our vendors will also be asking for a revision in the rates from next fiscal onwards, Tandon said. Online calls grew Sunday to help save five "malnourished and sick" African lions held at a park in Sudan's capital, with some demanding the creatures be shifted to a better habitat. The five lions are held in cages at Khartoum's Al-Qureshi Park in an upscale district of the capital, but for weeks now they have been suffering from shortages of food and medicine. "I was shaken when I saw these lions at the park... their bones are protruding from the skin," wrote Osman Salih on Facebook as he launched an online campaign under the slogan #Sudananimalrescue. "I urge interested people and institutions to help them." Park officials and medics said the lions' conditions deteriorated over the past few weeks, with some losing almost two-thirds of their body weight. Park officials and medics said the lions' conditions deteriorated over the past few weeks, with some losing almost two-thirds of their body weight. By ASHRAF SHAZLY (AFP) "Food is not always available, so often we buy it from our own money to feed them," Essamelddine Hajjar, a manager at Al-Qureshi park told AFP. The park is managed by Khartoum municipality but also funded in part by private donors. Sudan is in the midst of a worsening economic crisis, led by soaring food prices and foreign currency shortage. On Sunday, crowds of citizens, volunteers and journalists flocked to the park to see the lions after their photographs went viral on social media networks. One of the five cats was tied with a rope and was fed fluids through a drip as it recovered from dehydration, an AFP correspondent who toured the park reported. Chunks of rotten meat covered in flies lay scattered near the cages. The overall condition of the park itself was also affecting the animals' health, another official at the park said. Lions are classified as a 'vulnerable' species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). By ASHRAF SHAZLY (AFP) "They are suffering from severe illnesses. They are sick and appear to be malnourished," said Moataz Mahmoud, one of the caretakers at the park. It is unclear how many lions are in Sudan, but several are at the Dinder park along the border with Ethiopia. African lions are classified as a "vulnerable" species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Their population dropped 43 percent between 1993 and 2014, with only around 20,000 alive today. THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Former Supreme Court judge Justice Kurien Joseph has reiterated the need for reviewing death penalty as punishment. The former judge told a regional news channel that capital punishment had not resulted in decrease in the crimes for which death penalty is given. He suggested that person should be given imprisonment for the entire life instead. According to him, the trial courts had been imposing death penalties arbitrarily and freakishly. As many as 118 death penalties were imposed in a year. The jurist said that social and media trial in such cases was putting undue pressure on the judges. The main argument against capital punishment is that it deprives people of the opportunity to reform. Justice Joseph had earlier also called for reviewing the need for death penalty as a punishment, especially its purpose and practice. The big question is whether as punishment death penalty has served any goal, he had said. Those supporting death penalty have argued that criminals deserved the death that he has inflicted on the victim by committing homicide. Gardai got numerous calls about a stolen car being driven at speed around the northside of Cork city in morning traffic in an incident where the Volkswagen was driven down The 52 Steps. Sergeant Gearoid Davis said the Volkswagen Passat was driven across Gurranabraher, Fairhill, Sun Valley Drive and down to Watercourse Road where it was driven at speed onto the forecourt of OReillys garage and around the back of the premises. At the height of the driving escapade the car was driven down the pedestrian amenity in Fairhill known locally as The 52 Steps. Tony Caufield of 221 Cathedral Road, Gurranabraher, Cork, admitted driving the stolen car and to related counts of dangerous driving and having no insurance. Judge Carol Ann Ni Chullachain sentenced him to seven months in jail at Cork District Court and banned him from driving for a period of six years. Sergeant Davis said the incident occurred at around 9am on November 30, 2019, when gardai received numerous phone calls alerting them to the dangerous driving of the car around the north side of the city. At OReillys filling station he drove onto the forecourt and around the back of the premises. Gardai set up a patrol car on the other side of the building in an attempt to block him, Sgt. Davis said. He drove at speed in the direction of the garda vehicle, narrowly avoiding the garda car. In the course of the escapade the car was driven against a one-way traffic flow and against red lights. By the time the Passat stopped at Dominic Street three young men fled on foot from the car and ran in the direction of Popes Quay. Caufield was soon found hiding behind two parked cars on Popes Quay. He was arrested and taken to Gurranabraher garda station. Sgt. Davis said the car had been stolen two days earlier in Ballinlough. He had seven previous convictions for driving stolen cars. Frank Buttimer, defence solicitor, said the 23-year-old acknowledged an untreated addiction difficulty. Caufield had addressed his addictions but only sporadically. He apologises to his own family for what he has put them through. His long-term plan is to move out of Ireland and make a fresh start, Mr Buttimer said. Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Eun Sung-soo, left, and Korea Inclusive Finance Agency President Lee Gye-mun, second from left, distribute food to a senior citizen at the Senior Welfare Center of Seoul, Monday. The FSC also made a donation to the center on the occasion of Seollal, or Lunar New Year holiday. / Courtesy of FSC MTN says it will soon compensate its customers for the data challenges they experienced last week. Customers of the network from Thursday, January 16th to Saturday, January 18th, took to social media and other platforms to complain incessantly about their inability to access data services. MTN in an earlier statement attributed the problem to a double undersea fibre optic cable cut in Europe which affected six Operators in six West African Countries and beyond. Responding to calls for compensation by the Consumer Rights Protection Agency, Sam Koranteng, the Corporate Services Executive at MTN, told Citi Business News that efforts were underway to ensure that all concerns of customers are addressed. What is it is that, at MTN, when our subscribers have gone through some discomfort and challenges with the service, we make it a point to compensate them. As we are back and running on our normal routine, we are internally having that discussion and very soon we would come out with an inconvenience package for our subscribers. I am sure we should be coming out with something for our subscribers soon, he said. Earlier on 19th January, 2020, the telecommunications giant announced that it had fully resolved the data connectivity challenges. It tweeted a message assuring that Ghana is fully restored. MTN in an earlier statement attributed the challenges over the last two days to a double undersea fibre optic cable cut in Europe which affected six Operators in six West African Countries and beyond. The West Africa Cable System (WACS) is in the Atlantic Ocean and connects many other African countries to Europe, according to Openserve, a unit of Telkom SA SOC Ltd. Other countries across the coast of West, Central and southern Africa also suffered slow internet connectivity issues since last Thursday. ---citinewsroom JUSTICEINFO.NET IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS Essa Faal Legal Counsel of Gambias Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission Gambias Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission resumes its public hearings on January 20. For one year, the public face of the TRRC has been its legal counsel Essa Faal. He talks about the Commissions achievements, its weaknesses, the controversy over ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, and the factors which may explain why Gambias truth commission has been effective. JUSTICEINFO.NET: You began your career as a state lawyer in the Gambia in the early 1990s. How was the judiciary functioning at the time Yahya Jammeh took power? ESSA FAAL: I started my legal career at the same time Jammeh came to power through a military coup. Obviously, decrees were being passed frequently to try to bolster the power of the military junta. Nonetheless, the judiciary was not tampered with by Jammeh at the time. But there were some difficult instances that showed at the outset that Jammeh was interested in what the judiciary was doing and would take steps to interfere with the judiciary if it did not make decisions that were in his interest. Jammeh was a believer in the law as an instrument to secure compliance and obedience from the people. And to exert oppression and abuse? Yes. I mean if you look at the decrees that were passed, a lot of them have that effect. Was there a moment when you felt that by remaining a state lawyer, you would be compromised? No. I have had few instances wherein I was tested. There was a point Jammeh ordered that I should be transferred to the military to become the military lawyer. I refused. And nothing came out of it. And it was not only me. A colleague of mine, Dr Alagie Marong, who now works for the United Nations, was targeted to be moved as head of police prosecution. Both of us refused and nothing came out of it. So you could refuse and still keep your job? Yes. I suffered a few things, but nothing really serious. During those times, Jammeh wanted to flex his muscles. He tried to augment his power beyond what was authorized by law but he was not yet a dictator and sometimes he was challenged. How do you reconcile what you say with all that we have heard from the Truth Commission about illegal arrests, torture, in the early years of Jammehs rule? Yes, they were signs of dictatorial tendencies. But he did not have that dictator status. There was a system in place. There were institutions. He became a dictator subsequently when he was able to break the back or the will of these institutions to the extent that everybody in them became compliant. When was that turning point? It took years. In 1996 Jammeh was elected as president. That was a turning point because [prior to that] he was always trying to endear himself to the people because he wanted to win elections and remain in office. In the first few years after his election, Jammeh was still being reasonable. Then he became more entrenched in his position and did everything to further enhance his power. That was the beginning of the making of a dictator. I left the Gambia at the end of 1997. We had military decrees that were still in the law books. But the new constitution was a normal Bill of rights that you would find in many African countries. The dictatorship was not there yet. Jammeh was still vulnerable. We did not know how the disappeared people were killed. Many of us thought or believed the governments propaganda that the people died as a result of crossfire or during fighting. Up until 1997, as a prosecutor, did you have a clear sense of the human rights violations that were taking place? We knew that there was a coup or an attempted coup in 1994 but we did not know what actually happened. We did not know how the disappeared people were killed. Many of us thought or believed the governments propaganda that the people died as a result of crossfire or during fighting. And the practice of torture against civilians who were arrested during that period, did you know about it? You would hear rumblings that a particular individual may have been tortured in custody. But in those days, it wasnt so prevalent. Also, a lot of these things happened in secret. People did not know. It was only much later that the National Intelligence Agency became a notorious institution for torture. It was only much later that they created the Drug Law Enforcement Agency which also became an instrument of oppression. What made you accept the job as lead counsel of the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC)? I have done a lot of interesting and difficult cases but they were cases in foreign lands, with people I dont know, environments that are not familiar to me. This case in Gambia is about me, it is about my own people, family and the future of my country. So to be asked to come and contribute in that is the greatest honour one could be given. To be quite candid, it is the easiest decision one would have to make. I would leave everything behind to come and do it. Last June, you told us: All of us contributed. Our silence contributed. Weve seen the bad laws. Nobody would say anything and that encouraged the dictator. Jammeh kept pushing the envelope. Do you see the job at the TRRC as a personal responsibility? It is both a personal responsibility and a professional one. It is personal simply because this is something that hits home. The people who were arrested, beaten and tortured, a lot of these people are those that I know. It is also deeply personal because this deals with the future of my country. What are the institutional failings that enabled the dictator to be created? We have a stake, all of us Gambians, to ensure that we do this [TRRC process] properly, so that every single Gambian would have a commitment to ensure that never again will we allow an individual to so dominate our society. This is going to pave the way for the rule of law in this country. We cannot afford to mess it up. And that is why it is a personal crusade and a professional responsibility. it is our silence that strengthened and cemented Jammehs dictatorship. But you also seemed to suggest that intellectuals like you should acknowledge their own responsibility. Oh yes. The laws did not write themselves, Jammeh did not write them we, the lawyers, wrote them. It is those who were in parliament who passed the laws. It is the police officers and public servants who implemented the law. One of the worst laws to have ever been passed in this country is the law that allowed the president to do business. On the surface of it, it is not a big deal. But if you scratch deeper, it opened up a new world for Jammeh. He created an environment where business and entrepreneurship could not thrive because people were scared of him. Jammeh stamped out the competition and everything revolved around him. It is us who passed that law, it is us who sat back and watched him be a shark, prey on investors in all these sectors in which he was interested. So, it is our silence that strengthened and cemented Jammehs dictatorship. I think Gambians have now appreciated the importance of their voice. They will no longer keep quiet. How do you assess the progress of the work of the TRRC so far? I think we have done extremely well. We have unearthed facts and violations of rights that people never thought happened in this country. Gambians used to say that violations did happen, but that they were done by foreigners. Well, now we know that it was us Gambians who were killing our brothers. Look at all the topics we have dealt with: we have demystified the July 1994 coup and how it happened; we have seen how Jammeh has attacked all those elements and authorities that could check on [him]; we have covered how Jammeh has attacked and muzzled the media; we have uncovered untold amount of torture; we have exposed how Jammeh has attacked members of the opposition [and] civil servants, unlawful arrests and detention; we have also exposed the use of Junglers [a death squad] to kill his perceived enemies. We have achieved a lot. Now Jammeh is seen as an absolutely corrupt person. He is seen as a dishonest person. He is seen as a liar. He is seen as a murderer. He is seen, whether rightly or wrongly, as a rapist. He is seen as a thief. He is seen as an unpatriotic Gambian. You talked about demystifying Jammeh. Can you explain? There is a certain aura that always surrounds power and leadership and Jammeh had that. He managed to metamorphose from a mere 2nd lieutenant to a deified figure. A lot of people saw Jammeh as God. You recall images of him throwing water and imams and respected elders in society rushing to touch that water. They thought it cleansed or purified them. Embarrassing, isnt it? Such was [Jammehs] stature among some of our people. Who now looks at Jammeh in that same vein? Very few people. In fact, now Jammeh is seen as an absolutely corrupt person. He is seen as a dishonest person. He is seen as a liar. He is seen as a murderer. He is seen, whether rightly or wrongly, as a rapist. He is seen as a thief. He is seen as an unpatriotic Gambian. Do you think that the evidence brought before the Commission today would be sufficient to prove him guilty of these crimes before a court of law? His lieutenants, his minister of Defense [Edward Singhatey], his deputy chair Sanna Sabally, all of them implicated him in these murders as the person who ordered the killings, as the person who participated in a common plan in which they agreed to take no prisoners, to violate all norms of civilized behavior, to violate all the principles enshrined in the Geneva Conventions. So, yes I want to believe that before a court, he should be found guilty for murder. If we move from the assessment of the regime into the work of the Truth Commission itself, what would you say are its weaknesses? I think the area where we are not doing very well is reaching every part of the country in the best way possible. A lot of the hearings are in English and we are a multi-cultural society. That is the biggest drawback that we have. If we have the facility for everybody to hear and follow the proceedings in their own language, that would be fantastic. We are unable to do that. There are also people who now need reparations. We dont have the resources to be able to address the needs of all those people. The Commission is trying to address some of them. At the moment there are some of April 10-11, 2000, victims who were flown to Turkey for treatment. We wished the Commission would do more but that is not possible at the moment. People who are mentioned before the TRRC for their alleged role in crimes are served a notice of adverse mention. Do you plan on sending such notice to Jammeh? Obviously, Jammeh is not in the Gambia. The Commission will have to look into this issue and see whether to ask him to appear. I dont know how this will play out. Nobody is above the law. It is a possibility. But it all depends on whether we have an opportunity to interact with him or not. Do you think that if he remains out of reach, it will affect the outcome of the Commission? No. the Commission will have sufficient basis to make its findings and its own recommendations. Ultimately, I think any serious Commission that looked into Jammehs activities would come with a recommendation for criminal prosecution for Jammeh or some form of accountability. That is to be expected. Jammeh still has support in this country, but that is no reason for not prosecuting anybody. The question is whether applying the law will cause divisiveness in our society and whether that divisiveness will be harmful. Do you think that the Gambia is prepared for Jammehs appearance before the Commission or for his prosecution? Jammeh still has support in this country, but that is no reason for not prosecuting anybody. His supporters have a right to make their position known. This is a democracy. But the law must also take its course. The question is whether applying the law will cause divisiveness in our society and whether that divisiveness will be harmful. May be this is a political question for those in political authority to ponder. But if I have it my way, people who committed crimes in this country will be prosecuted in this country, for all to know that no matter how high, mighty or small you are, when you commit crime, you will be dealt with according to law. But at the TRRC what you basically tell witnesses is that if they are truthful, apologize and commit to repairing the victims, they may not go to prison or be punished by a criminal court But that is precisely the point: the person must not necessarily go to jail. My watchword is the rule of law. And the law in this country is that if you appear before the Truth commission and you tell the truth, you do not seal yourself from responsibility and you express remorse, you may be recommended for amnesty. But we were talking about Jammeh. The TRRC Act is very clear: you cannot recommend amnesty for those who bear the greatest responsibility for the crimes. And it is quite obvious from the testimony of Sanna Sabally and the Junglers that Yahya Jammeh bears the ultimate responsibility. Therefore, he will not be entitled to any recommendation for amnesty. He would have to be accountable for these violations. Also we cannot recommend amnesty for crimes against humanity. May be the Commission will find that some of these violations amount to crimes against humanity and therefore there would not be any recommendation for amnesty. And these rules would apply to Jammehs former direct colleagues? I would guess that they would fall under the same category. But still this is an assessment that the Commission will make. What would do you prefer? That I dont question them robustly and that they lie and get away with it? Or that they are questioned so robustly that at the end of the day they speak the truth? You did give the Commission quite a prosecutorial nature that many truth commissions do not have. You are using interrogation techniques that are typical of adversarial criminal proceedings. Did you plan this in advance? We have different categories of witnesses who appear before the Commission. You have the victims; they are questioned easily, they come and talk about their victimization and go. You have regular witnesses who are not adversely mentioned, they come and give their testimony and go. And then, you have the adversely mentioned people. A lot of them would want to come and lie. What would do you prefer? That I dont question them robustly and that they lie and get away with it? Or that they are questioned so robustly that at the end of the day they speak the truth? I would choose the latter. It is among persons adversely mentioned that we have had the highest percentage of confessions. And that happens not because they want to come and publicly confess to crimes [but] because they are questioned in a way that will elicit the truth out of them. I dont think truth commissions are just there to whitewash the truth. Truth commissions are there to find out the truth in a less controversial, adversarial way. If you look at what we do, we do not have any adversarial situation. In fact, these persons who are adversely mentioned are informed of their rights to bring a lawyer but none of them have chosen so far to do so. And in all honesty, they all leave [the TRRC] relieved. I have interacted with the Junglers: they feel relieved at the opportunity. Yankuba Touray, one of the top leaders of the 1994 military coup, was arrested on charges of contempt for refusing to answer the questions of the Commission. The Justice minister then charged him with murder. This decision was criticized. How do you look at it? People would hardly ever unanimously agree to a decision, especially a decision as controversial as this one. But the minister of Justice has a responsibility to uphold the law in this country. If the minister chooses to exercise his authority on a particular situation and think that under the circumstances, he needs to apply the law, I will not question that. And to be quite candid, I think it is a way out of the situation. You see, for contempt charges, they can go to jail for five days. Do you think that would have solved the problem? Many people would come here and sacrifice to go to jail for five days rather than come and speak the truth about certain things. Because it is uncomfortable to sit there and say: yes, I killed this person in such gruesome way. What could have happened if, say, Yankuba Touray was allowed to leave Mile 2 prison after five days or two weeks (in the event other charges of witness tampering succeeded)? May be some would think that the decision to charge him with murder, in the view of the evidence already presented, served a better example to the Gambians. People come here and answer difficult questions because they feel that they have to. If they know that they should not, they would not. Was it your conviction that if Touray was allowed to get away with it, it would affect the credibility of the Commission? Yes. The thing is we would not want the Commission to be seen as a toothless bulldog. We tell people that when you come before the Commission, you have a duty to testify truthfully and you have a responsibility to answer questions. People come here and answer difficult questions because they feel that they have to. If they know that they should not, they would not. And then the Gambian people would not know the truth and millions would have been spent for nothing. It has happened in other countries. Some truth commissions have failed woefully. Lets to go back to the controversy around Fatou Bensouda, a Gambian national who is the current prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC). We have seen former ministers showing up to testify before the TRRC and admit personal or collective responsibility. Fatou Bensouda was a minister of Justice under Jammeh. Why would she be an exception and not be called to testify? This is a storm in a tea cup. People are making so much noise out of nothing. Perhaps, it was a misunderstanding of the testimony. What happened was that we had a witness [Batch Samba Jallow] who explained that they were arrested, detained and prosecuted [in late 1995]. At some point, after about almost one year, the Ministry of Justice took over the prosecution and Fatou Bensouda happened to be the person with responsibility for the case. Typically, with any lawyer, the moment you are given a case file, what you look at is whether the charges are suitable or not. She looked at the charges and thought that perhaps a more sensible charge would be something different. She recommended to have their charge sheets amended. At the next hearing, she assessed the case and recommended for the charges to be dropped and the charges were dropped. So, what is the problem? What is her crime? I think Batch Samba Jallow made a grave error when he said that Fatou Bensouda was the architect of all their problems simply because he misunderstood the criminal justice system and how it functioned. I would not sit there and support a narrative that would put responsibility for everything that happened to them to Fatou Bensouda when I knew exactly that she had nothing much to do with it. Do not think we are just shielding Fatou Bensouda from responsibility. I know people will suggest that we have a good relationship. She has been my boss. I hold her to the highest esteem. But that is as far as it goes. The fact is that between 1994 and 2000 Fatou Bensouda occupied positions where she got access to information and to Jammeh himself whom she served. Wouldnt it be an interesting person to hear? In the case that Batch Samba Jallow talked about, Fatou Bensouda was a principal state counsel acting as deputy director of public prosecutions. She was not a minister of Justice or special adviser to Jammeh. So the two periods are different. But let me say something. We are doing an institutional hearing in which we are looking into the Ministry of Justice and some of the decisions that were made at the Ministry. We are not targeting any particular individual. We are going through all those years, look at all those laws that were passed or all those terrible cases that the Ministry of Justice worked on. And we will bring in the relevant individuals including the director of public prosecutions, attorney general or solicitor general to come and testify about certain things. If Fatou Bensouda happens to be one of those people who were involved in one or more of the areas that we may ultimately be concerned with, she will be called as a witness and testify. Do not think we are just shielding Fatou Bensouda from responsibility. I know people will suggest that we have a good relationship. She has been my boss. She has been my senior at the Ministry of Justice. I respected her and I learned a lot from her. She was my senior at the ICC. We interacted directly. I hold her to the highest esteem. But that is as far as it goes. I have a professional responsibility to act properly and fairly. If in the course of our investigations, certain things come up which I think Fatou Bensouda will answer for, she would come and answer and I believe she will vindicate herself because I have always seen her as a good leader. You have worked for many years as a prosecutor or defense lawyer at international tribunals, including the ICC. How has been your intellectual journey from criminal justice to a truth mechanism? I have seen quite cathartic moments in truth commissions. To me, it reinforces their value. We have seen people come here, they got healing and closure just from the fact that they were given the opportunity to sit there and share their stories. We have seen situations where perpetrators and victims, on the spur of the moment, choose to come and embrace and try to forgive one another and reconcile. That shows that in the quest for justice, there are various strands that can be quite helpful and effective other than the criminal justice system. Truth commissions really do work sometimes. And you did not know this before? I was not so convinced. I was acting deputy general prosecutor in East Timor when they had their truth commission. It did not have much impact. At the level of my office, it did not shift our needle one inch. But in the Gambia, this is my first real exposure of a truth commission producing such interesting results. Can you identify factors that may have made the process in the Gambia more effective? In most countries, they want to make this a sociological or anthropological exercise. So, they keep lawyers away. In others, they want to make it a legal exercise and they bring in lawyers. And each of those versions will fail. I think it is about getting the right balance and the right institutional arrangements. In Gambia you have a nice mix. You have lawyers but it is not necessarily a criminal justice process. So, lawyers would help teasing out the truth without having such a legalistic process of lawyers wrangling. But the justice component is not completely removed: it has been partly postponed. That too helped. You advocate for a combination of a truth-seeking and criminal accountability. Should it be, as we are seeing it in the Gambia, truth-seeking first and criminal accountability next? Yes. That sequencing is very important. The difficulty of getting the evidence is the crux of the matter. For dictatorships, it is more difficult to come out and gather the evidence. So, it is only a truth-seeking effort that will help bring these things out. Truth commissions were born in the 1980s in Latin America and some scholars argue that they worked because they were well suited to the specificity of military dictatorship: information was covered up, murder was covered up and that is why truth-telling was relevant and efficient as opposed, they say, to post-conflict situations where the truth has not been hidden. Is Gambia supporting this analysis? It all depends on the process used for truth-telling. Yes, in a dictatorship where there are lot of secrets, a truth-seeking arrangement will really help. But even in post-conflict, a truth-seeking process can help. The difficulty of getting the evidence is the crux of the matter. For dictatorships, it is more difficult to come out and gather the evidence. So, it is only a truth-seeking effort that will help bring these things out because of exchanges for amnesty and things like that. In post-conflict situations, most of the time the victor will determine what the evidence is and come up with some form of victors justice. Is there something you used to believe that you no longer believe? Yes: forgiveness is not reconciliation. You thought it was? I thought it was. I have seen people say I have forgiven them but true reconciliation is much deeper than that. It goes way beyond forgiving the person. It comes with accepting that this thing has happened [and] that one has to move forward. And at what level a truth commission can provide reconciliation? At that point when people feel that they can now let go, that they have now moved on beyond the ills of the past. At the point where they see their previous adversary and not see an enemy. Do you have evidence that this is what a truth commission can achieve? I think it is possible to achieve that. That is our aim. It is a hope that I think is attainable. Interviewed by Mustapha K. Darboe and Thierry Cruvellier, JusticeInfo.net. An Indian-origin student has been killed following an assault near a pub in Nottingham, a city the Midlands region of England. Nottinghamshire Police said a 20-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the murder investigation of Arjun Singh, also aged 20, who was attacked on Saturday evening and died in hospital on Sunday. "A team of detectives has been working tirelessly on the investigation and a man is now in custody being questioned on suspicion of murder, said Detective Inspector Richard Monk, of Nottinghamshire Police. "I would like to reiterate that the family of Arjun have expressed their wishes to retain their privacy at this incredibly difficult time. We still want to hear from witnesses, people with video footage and anyone with information about the incident, he said. Singh, a student at Nottingham Trent University, was assaulted near the Slug and Lettuce pub on Long Row in Nottingham. He was taken to the Queen's Medical Centre nearby but succumbed to his injuries a day later. His university said it is "shocked and saddened" by the death. "Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this difficult time. We are liaising with the police and will be offering support to students and staff who may be affected by this news," a Nottingham Trent University spokesperson said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / January 20, 2020 / Infinite Lithium Corp. ("ILI" or the "Company") (TSXV:ILI)(OTCQB:ARXRF) announces that further to its press release dated January 15th announcing a non-brokered private placement of up to 8.4 million units ("Units") at a price of $0.06 per Unit for aggregate gross proceeds of $504,000.00 that due to overwhelming demand it is arranging to increase the financing to up to 20 million units for aggregate gross proceeds of $1,200,000 (the "Offering"). Each Unit will be comprised of one common share ("Share") and one-half of one transferable Share purchase warrant of the Company ("Warrant"). Each full Warrant will entitle the Subscriber to purchase one Warrant Share for a 24-month period after the Closing Date at an exercise price of $0.10 per share. Proceeds from the financing will be used for drilling and prospecting on the Company's 3 newly acquired properties located in the Red Lake Mining District in Ontario, (see news releases dated December 2nd, 4th & 12th, 2019) as well as for general working capital and unallocated funds as per Tier 2 status requirement. Finders' fees may be payable on the private placement, subject to the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange. The offering is subject to TSX Venture Exchange acceptance. About Infinite Lithium Corp. Infinite Lithium is a junior mining exploration company focused on seeking and acquiring world-class mineral exploration projects globally for the benefit of its shareholders. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD "John Masters" John Masters, Director FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Telephone: 1-604-683-3995 Toll Free: 1-888-945-4770 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: Infinite Lithium Corp. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/573630/Infinite-Clarifies-and-Increases-Private-Placement-Financing Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-21 02:22:26|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ADEN, Yemen, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- At least two Yemeni soldiers were killed on Monday in an armed ambush that targeted a military convoy in Yemen's southeastern province of Hadramout, a security official told Xinhua. The local security said on condition of anonymity that "a convoy of the pro-government forces was ambushed by unknown gunmen while it was passing through Shibam district of Hadramout, leaving two soldiers killed." He added that the unknown assailants fled the area after conducting their attack that left around eight other soldiers injured. The targeted convoy included high-ranking military commanders of the first Regional Military Command that's loyal to Yemen's government, he added. Hours after the ambush, security forces moved to the area to track down the perpetrators, according to the Yemeni official. The government-controlled Hadramout and other areas in Yemen are witnessing growing activities of extremist organizations that take advantage of the ongoing conflict in the impoverished Arab country. Enditem A number of Iranian TV hosts and other public personalities have denounced the regime in the wake of Irans missile strike on a Ukrainian passenger jet that killed 176 people after the military mistook the jet for an enemy target. Apologies for lying to you for 13 years, state TV host of Good Morning Iran Gelareh Jabbari posted on Instagram last Monday. It was very hard for me to believe our people have been killed, forgive me for believing this late. The post, which was seen by NBC News, has since been deleted. Taraneh Alidoosti, one of Irans most popular actors and a star of the Oscar-winning 2016 movieA The Salesman, also criticized the regime in a post to her 5.8 million Instagram followers. We are not citizens, we are captives, millions of captives, Alidoosti wrote. That post has also been deleted. The Islamic Republic is facing the worst legitimacy crisis in its 40-year history, and the pressures are mounting from every angle, Afshin Shahi, associate professor of Middle East politics at Bradford University, England, told NBC. The gap between the state and society has widened to an extreme extent. Iran admitted to accidentally shooting down the plane after several days of official denials. U.S., Canadian and European intelligence had already indicated the plane was shot down in a missile strike. Several hours earlier, Iran launched 15 ballistic missiles at U.S. positions in Iraq, in retaliation for the U.S. killing of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. The Iranian military later said the strikes were not intended to kill U.S. troops. However, the Pentagon later acknowledged that 11 Americans were injured in the strikes, and were being treated for concussive symptoms. More from National Review It's never been easier to travel the world than it is today. The internet has made planning exotic overseas trips a total breeze. Intense competition between airlines means airfares stay low. Airbnb and VRBO have made lodging much more affordable. And the proliferation of travel media means wanderlusters are but a finger tap away from all the travel inspiration they can handle. While scoring that Instagram-ready Airbnb and finding the family-run, handmade-pasta restaurant certainly merit their respective research, travel planning should also include learning and understanding the laws of your destination because adventuring abroad can quickly turn sour if you run afoul of local customs and laws. Even the best-laid travel plans go awry. In his seminal travelogue, The Innocents Abroad, Mark Twain mused The gentle reader will never, never know what a consummate ass he can become, until he goes abroad. Shaheen Bagh has become a microcosm for the protests against CAA and NRC. The women leading the protests here have inspired many across the country to do the same. Women have been gathering outside Lucknows iconic Clock Tower to protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019, braving the cold winter, and peacefully registering their dissent. The number of protesters grew over the weekend. Twitter However, UP Police has also been accused of 'stealing' the protesters blankets, food and supplies during the protest. In one of the videos, a woman can be heard shouting Uttar Pradesh ki chor police hai, as police officials can be seen confiscating supplies. Videos of police snatching away blankets and other supplies from the protesters have been going viral on social media and soon, #KAMBALCHOR_UPPOLICE started trending on Twitter. #KAMBALCHOR_UPPOLICE police taking away quilt, utensils etc. in lukhnow at ghanta ghar during women's peaceful protest against #NRC, #CAA. Is this police unable to think before doing something against constitution or only follow government order. Shame shame Shahnoor khan (@Mehboobkhan542) January 19, 2020 @BJP4India koi aisa bhi kanoon le aiye ki protest ka adhikar bhi chin jae.#KAMBALCHOR_UPPOLICE #ShaheenBaghProtest Syed Aquib (@syedaquib804) January 19, 2020 Police in the independent state of Uttar Pradesh's capital Lucknow, took away blankets and water collected by volunteers from the protest sites to stop protests. #___ #KAMBALCHOR_UPPOLICE #shameonuppolice @ANINewsUP @Uppolice pic.twitter.com/mpTmCC26M6 Noushad Bakimar (@NoushadBakimar) January 19, 2020 Police in the independent state of Uttar Pradesh's capital Lucknow, took away blankets and water collected by volunteers from the protest sites to stop protests. #___ #KAMBALCHOR_UPPOLICE #shameonuppolice @ANINewsUP @Uppolice pic.twitter.com/mpTmCC26M6 Noushad Bakimar (@NoushadBakimar) January 19, 2020 Imagine a police force getting down to snatching your food to stop you from protesting! Just think about it once!!#___#CAA_NRC_Protests#___ #___#ShaheenBaghProtest pic.twitter.com/p47rLOLwOr ALOK| (@ALOKdelhi6) January 18, 2020 The police, on its part, issued a statement yesterday which read, At the clock tower in Lucknow, during an illegal protest, some people tried to pitch a tent and they were denied permission. Some groups were distributing blankets in the park and many people, who were not even a part of the protest, came to take the blankets. We had to disperse the crowd there. The blankets were seized after due process. Please don't spread rumours. The police action did not deter women, some of whom carried the protest till the morning. 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. Comoros President Azali Assoumani's party swept to victory in weekend parliamentary elections that were boycotted by the opposition, official results showed on Monday. The Convention for the Renewal of the Comoros (CRC) won 17 out of 24 seats legislative seats, while two other seats went to parties in the presidential coalition. A second round of voting will take place on February 23 to allocate the remaining five seats, the electoral commission said. Opposition parties stayed away from the contest in the Indian Ocean islands' national assembly after failing to obtain guarantees of a "transparent, free and democratic" election. Comoros has had a volatile political history since independence in 1975, enduring more than 20 attempted coups, four of which were successful. Azali himself initially came to power in a coup, then ruled between 1999 and 2006. He was re-elected in 2016 in a vote marred by violence and allegations of irregularities. In a statement the opposition described the weekend election as a "circus" and an "electoral masquerade", estimating a vote turnout of only about 10 percent, dismissing the electoral commission's declared estimate of 61.5 percent. "Comorans have again displayed their final rejection of the dictatorship regime by deserting the polling stations," the parties said. Azali oversaw a referendum in 2018 -- boycotted by the opposition -- that approved extending the presidential mandate from one five-year term to two. Azali secured a second consecutive term in last year's polls which critics alleged was rigged and witnesses said ballot boxes were stuffed. The president has denied the allegations, and regretted the opposition's absence in the weekend vote. A group of New Jersey Republicans with ties to President Donald Trump announced Monday theyre forming a new political committee that can take in unlimited individual and corporate donations. It also appears to be a sign that Republican State Party Chairman Doug Steinhardt is getting closer to launching a bid for the partys nomination for governor in 2021. The group, Lead Right New Jersey, says it will support lower taxes, cuts to government spending, and changes in the states business climate. Its formation was announced a week before Trump is scheduled to hold rally in Wildwood on Jan. 28. It also comes in advance of the 2020 elections, when Trump will lead the Republican ticket and the GOP will try to win back the three congressional districts that switched to the Democrats in 2018. And it comes as the states 2021 governors race is beginning to take shape (with Steinhardt being mentioned as one of a few possible Republican candidates). As a Section 527 group, the new PAC can take in donations of any size and spend them on so-called issue advertising, which can highlight voting records and positions as long as it does not endorse a specific candidate. Former White House political director Bill Stepien is helping to lead the group, along with state Sen. Michael Testa, R-Cumberland, who flipped a Democratic district last fall, one of the GOP state lawmakers who won seats last November. That was the district once represented by Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-2nd Dist., who was elected in 2018 as a Democrat and switched parties following the U.S. House vote to impeach Trump. Stepien is working on Van Drews campaign as well. Decades of liberal policies have put New Jersey at a crisis point and putting our state back on track is why I ran for the Senate in the first place, said Testa, who also is Cumberland County Republican chairman. Lead Right New Jersey will be part of the solution by supporting those who ascribe to core conservative principles: smaller government, less spending and lower taxes. Besides Stepien and Testa, directors of the group include former state Assemblywoman Donna Simon, R-Hunterdon; Pat Delle Cava, business manager of Local 102 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and a member of the national advisory board of Workers for Trump; and Lori Ciesla, treasurer of the Warren County Republican Party. Thats where Steinhardt comes in. Steinhardt is chair of the Warren County GOP and Ciesla is an ally. Plus, the groups name, Lead Right, is one of Steinhardts favorite sayings. And former Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno formed a similar group run by Stepien before she announced she was running for governor in 2017. Meanwhile, Lead Right was announced a day before former state Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli is set to become the first major Republican to announce hes joining the race for the GOP nod for governor the winner of which would likely to take on incumbent Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy. Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick, R-Union, also says hes strongly considering a run. Still, Stepien told NJ Advance Media that of course there is speculation regarding Chairman Steinhardts future, given his strong leadership of the state Republican Party." But any speculation regarding Dougs future is just that, Stepien added. I speak only for Lead Right, but I assume that if and when Chairman Steinhardt has something to say about the best way he thinks he can continue to serve the state, he will be clear about his intentions. Contributions to the group will be made public and filed periodically with the Internal Revenue Service. Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01. 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. For over one hundred years, Ritters True Value Hardware has been in business in downtown Mechanicsburg. Now, both the former and current owners of the store are ready to see it change hands, and hoping that it will remain in operation. MARY Doreen Quelch-Missick MBE, a former director of the TCI Human Rights Commission, has begun her role as the new president of the TCI Labour Tribunal. Her three year appointment was approved by Cabinet on December 18, 2019, and begun on January 1. In a press release on Tuesday (January 14) she said she was honoured to be given the opportunity to "once again serve the people of my country. "I aim to do my utmost best in upholding the mission, goals and objectives of the Labour Tribunal and look forward to discharging its statutory functions in accordance with the Employment Ordinance. "I seek to dispense justice fairly and expeditiously and look forward to working with the tribunal staff, members and assessors for whom, continue to work tirelessly to ensure that employees and employers receive a fair and equitable outcome. Quelch-Missick holds a Bachelors Degree in Professional Studies, Masters Degree in Business Administration, an LLB, a Post-Graduate Diploma Bar Vocational Course and is a qualified Registered Graduate Nurse. She has held numerous positions around the world including in the US Army, Grand Turk Hospital, Dade County, Office of Health Services, Hallmark Trust, Providenciales, Quelch-Missick and Associates, Providenciales, and the Turks and Caicos Islands Human Rights Commission to name a few. Her latest position was as change manager for the Ministry of Home Affairs, Transportation and Communication. Quelch-Missicks responsibilities have included serving as a councillor during the interim government, providing advice and support to the governor on legislative reviews of existing laws, drafting new laws, reviewed policies and regulations and making recommendations for amendments. She accompanied the governor to the UK and attended the 11th Overseas Territories Consultative Council Joint Ministerial Council during her service, and was a part of the constitution team to the UK for talks on the 2011 Constitution Order. The Constitution Order that gave rise to, among other notable provisions, the mixed system of 10 constituency seats and five at large seats which were eagerly embraced. She was tasked with the responsibility for setting up the Office of the Human Rights Commission and served as chairman and director. Under her direction and leadership, the commission became a model and was highly recognised for its outstanding outreach educational programmes. Because of its success, St Helena adopted the structure and operational format of the TCI commission. Most notable was her work on the OECS Family Law review, especially in the areas of domestic violence and support for the protection for children. She was an advocate for the victims of violence and was known to be at times "a lone wolf in the wilderness bringing to light some of the heinous nature of violence perpetrated against women, the statement said. Quelch-Missick created a live weekly television show Focus to highlight the societal ills plaguing the country and a quest for solutions. She worked with the former police commissioner Dave Ryder and other senior members of the police force to bring about the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Unit. This provided confidential support and advice to women traumatised by violence. She was awarded an MBE from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for her work in human rights and attended Buckingham Palace with her family to receive such an honour. Quelch-Missick continued on her quest to educate the public on the fundamental rights and freedoms and worked very closely with the former Labour Tribunal president. This saw joint visits throughout the Islands, conducting workshops to bring about an awareness of the employment laws and the rights of employees and employers in the private sectors, mainly the hotels and resorts. Hon. Vaden Williams, Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Labour and Employment Services with responsibility for the Labour Tribunal, welcomed Quelch-Missick to the role. "As you know the position has been vacant for some time and employees and employers have unsettled matters to resolve. "Mrs Missick has served the people of this county well in her previous capacities and I am sure that she will continue to serve the employees and employers with fairness giving her experience, expertise and talent. Flash At least two police officers in Honolulu, Hawaii, were killed in the morning of Jan. 19 in an apparent shooting, according to local law enforcement sources. The shooting happened near Diamond Head in Honolulu. The circumstances that led up to the shooting are unclear at this time, according to Hawaii News Now. One officer, a female, was taken to the Queen's Medical Center in extremely critical condition and later died. Another officer who had been reported to be in extremely critical condition has also died, according to law enforcement sources. Soon after the shooting incident was reported, the home believed to be the scene of the shooting caught fire and became fully engulfed in flames. Witnesses in the area said the fire has spread to at least four other nearby homes in the area, and Honolulu firefighters were staging nearby while waiting for police officials, who have control of the scene, to give the all-clear, according to Hawaii News Now. Several vehicles, including a marked Honolulu Police Department vehicle, were also on fire. The flames and thick smoke are visible for miles. 90 Day Fiance star Tania Maduro has not been winning any points with fans when it comes to her relationship with Syngin Colchester. Most recently, Tania Maduro returned from her trip to Costa Rica, and went to visit an astrologer with Syngin Colchester. During their visit, Maduro revealed some upsetting news that really got to Colchester. Fans were generally upset with Maduro for taking her 30-day trip to Costa Rica to begin with, among various other behaviors. Now, some fans are suggesting that Maduro has been gaslighting Colchester. Tania Maduro took a 30-day trip, left Syngin behind Syngin Colchester and Tania Maduro of 90 Day Fiance | syngin_colchester via Instagram Both Syngin Colchester and 90 Day Fiance fans alike were shocked when Tania Maduro revealed her plan to take a 30-day trip to Costa Rica. Colchester, from South Africa, had only 90 days on his visa to marry Maduro. Maduro decided 30 of those days were best spent studying pseudoscience in Costa Rica, leaving Syngin Colchester behind in a shed behind her mothers house. Colchester was upset, to say the least. At the time, he told Tania Maduro, Im literally around everything that is yours. Im all alone in the backwoods of America, you knowSo I am not at all looking forward to staying here by myself. I kind of feel lost and it sucks. While Maduro was gone, she argued with Colchester about calling home and communicating with him. She couldnt commit to calling him and letting him know when she was home after a night of partying. Tania Maduro told 90 Day Fiance producers, Syngin definitely is the clingiest man Ive ever been with. Tania Maduro says Syngin Colchester isnt her soulmate Syngin Colchester and Tania Maduro of 90 Day Fiance | syngin_colchester via Instagram Unfortunately, things didnt improve for the 90 Day Fiance couple when Tania Maduro returned from Costa Rica. She and Syngin Colchester decided to visit an astrologer and determine their compatibility. In case it wasnt yet apparent, Maduro is very interested in a variety of pseudosciences. The astrologer told them that they had great natural compatibility based on their stars, and asked them if they felt it was a soulmate situation. Colchester admitted that previously, he did not believe in soulmates. He said that meeting Tania Maduro changed that for him. However, Maduro was not on the same page. Maduro replied, I dont think I have that full soul mate feeling. She went on to add that her first love might have been her soulmate, not Colchester. Any angry Colchester said, I cant deal with this bullsh*t. Some fans think the 90 Day Fiance star is gaslighting Syngin Meanwhile, some 90 Day Fiance fans have been calling Tania Maduros behavior toxic, and have been suggesting that shes playing mind games with Syngin Colchester, possibly even gaslighting him. One Reddit user shared an image with examples of gaslighting phrases on it, and wrote, Hello Tania are you reading this? Common phrases included youre overreacting, youre upset over nothing, you must be confused again, and just calm down. One Reddit user commented, With such favorites as you need more attention than I can give and I will kick you out of the car right now and you can walk. What a treat. Another Redditor asked, in part, But how do we know that person is not right in some particular moments? Because shit like that can happen (remembering things in different way, not saying this and that etc.) and suddenly the one who is oppressed is the gaslighter. The original poster replied, I think generally everyone uses these terms at some point. But when I read this I immediately thought of Tania. She is honestly one of the most narcissistic people I have ever come across. Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday said Shiv Sena should clarify over Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan's statement that it had proposed to form a coalition government with Congress and NCP after the 2014 Maharashtra Assembly election to stop the BJP from coming to power in the state. Fadnavis, now Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, said Chavan's remarks were very surprising and revealed the "true face" of the Uddhav Thackeray-led party, which in November formed the government in the state along with Congress and NCP. "What Chavan has said is very surprising. Coming from someone of his stature, it has to be taken seriously. The disclosure has revealed the real face of Shiv Sena," Fadnavis told media in Delhi. "The Shiv Sena should come out with a clarification over Chavan's remarks," Fadnavis said. Chavan has said that after the 2014 Assembly polls, Shiv Sena and NCP had approached him to form a coalition government to stop the BJP. But the Congress had rejected the demand immediately, Chavan told PTI in an interview on Sunday. Even after the Assembly election in 2019, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi was not ready for a coalition with the Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena but she relented after long deliberations, Chavan has said. In November, the Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party and Congress formed a coalition government in Maharashtra under the leadership of Thackeray. Asked what made the Congress join hands with the ideologically opposite Sena, Chavan said, "A similar situation emerged in 2014 as well. Then too, Shiv Sena and NCP had approached me to form a coalition government to stop the BJP. I immediately rejected the offer then and said winning and losing is normal in In the past too, we lost elections and sat in the opposition." In 2014, BJP and Shiv Sena fought the Maharashtra polls without an alliance, so did Congress and NCP. After the elections, BJP ran the government but later Shiv Sena also joined it. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan.20 By Ilkin Seyfaddini Trend: The first meeting of the Legislative chamber of the Parliament of Uzbekistan, after an election, has started in Tashkent, Trend reports citing the Uzbek media. The meeting was attended by President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Chairman of the Central Election Commission Mirza-Ulugbek Abdusalamov opened the meeting. The Provisional Secretariat of the first meeting, the Counting Commission and the Temporary Group to monitor the use of electronic counting system were elected, and the agenda was approved. In accordance with the regulations of the Legislative Chamber of the Parliament, the Council of Representatives of Political Parties was established to elect the Speaker of the lower house. By the suggestion of the Council, the deputies elected by secret ballot the Speaker of the Legislative Chamber - Nurdinjon Ismailov. Deputies elected Deputy Akmal Saidov to the post of first Deputy Speaker of the Legislative chamber, and Vice Speakers Aktam Khaitov (head of the fraction of the Movement of Entrepreneurs and Business People of the Liberal Democratic Party of Uzbekistan), Alisher Kadyrov (Leader of the Milli Tiklanish Democratic Party of Uzbekistan), Narimon Umarov (Leader of the faction Social Democratic Party "Adolat" of Uzbekistan), Ulugbek Inoyatov (leader of the faction of the People's Democratic Party of Uzbekistan) and Boriy Alikhanov (the leader of the faction of the Ecological Party of Uzbekistan). You were elected deputies at a historically important time. You must be worthy of it every day, every minute, adopt laws for the people and contribute to the well-being of the population, the president said. [January 20, 2020] Continental's Finish Line for ELLs 2.0 Interactive eBooks now feature enhancements for a better user experience ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa., Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Continental, a leading Pennsylvania-based publisher of supplemental classroom materials, is proud to release enhancements for its Finish Line for ELLs 2.0 interactive eBooks, including integration with the single sign-on Clever platform. The eBooks prepare English language learners in grades 112 for English language proficiency assessments, specifically the ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 developed by the WIDA Consortium. "Continental is committed to providing cutting-edge technology to help teachers and students succeed," said Eric Beck, Continental president. "Students, especially ELLs, are often anxious about test taking because they don't know what to expect on test day, including the format and the types of questions they'll be asked. Our eBooks give ELLs an authentic test-taking experience so when test day arrives, they're prepared and ready to show what they know." Finish Line for ELLs 2.0 interactive eBooks are now compatible with Clever, a widely-used management platform for schools. Clever allows schools to bring all their digital resources into one secure portal, with a single sign-on for all users in the district. Other eBook enhancements include improved adio functions, faster loading times, and compatibility on all devices, including iPad using the app. Language lessons in the eBooks offer opportunities for listening, reading, writing, and speaking practice. Online answering includes multiple-choice, short and extended writing tasks, and oral response with a built-in recording to mimic the speaking portion of the test. Finish Line for ELLs 2.0 interactive eBooks also make teaching easier, with instant scoring for multiple-choice items, teacher management tools to score oral- and written-response questions, and reports to track student data and identify needs to drive instruction. The eBooks are an online version of Continental's popular Finish Line for ELLs 2.0 printed books. To learn more about Finish Line for ELLs 2.0 interactive eBooks, visit continentalpress.com/product/finish-line-for-ells-2-0-interactive-ebooks/. About Continental Continental is a leading educational publisher, providing K12 schools and educators with supplemental materials that advance student achievement in core academic curricula and inspire successful, life-long learning. Founded in 1937, Continental has expanded its offerings to include the areas of reading and language arts, math, social studies and science, state test prep and standards support, and English language learning. For more information, visit https://www.continentalpress.com/ WIDA is a trademark of the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/continentals-finish-line-for-ells-2-0-interactive-ebooks-now-feature-enhancements-for-a-better-user-experience-300989683.html SOURCE Continental [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] W itnesses have described the "horrific" aftermath of violence that saw three men stabbed to death in a residential street. A fight between groups of Sikh men in Ilford, east London on Sunday evening escalated into a fatal clash, according to police. Scaffolder Louis O'Donoghoe, 40, was watching TV when he heard screaming and shouting outside his house, in what he said sounded like a foreign language. "It was just chaos, absolute chaos. It was like something out of a movie, horrific," Mr O'Donoghoe, who is originally from Middlesbrough, said of the aftermath. Police and a sniffer dog at the scene in Seven Kings / PA He saw the ambulance service working on one person, and then realised there were another two bodies, at which point he went outside to see what was going on. "I could see it all: one (body) to the left, two at the bottom of the stairs. It was like a bad day in Bosnia. It was pretty horrific really. I've never seen anything like it to be honest. It's like something on a movie." He said his girlfriend was left "distraught" by what happened, and he had come home from work early on Monday to be with her. Police responded to reports of a disturbance in Elmstead Road in Seven Kings on Sunday at 7.38pm. Three men were pronounced dead at the scene and Metropolitan Police said they were believed to have been aged in their 20s or 30s. The suspects and victims were all known to each other / PA Two men, aged 29 and 39, have been arrested on suspicion of murder. Speaking at the scene on Monday, Chief Superintendent Stephen Clayman said the suspects and victims were all known to each other. "We believe the groups involved are members of the Sikh community," he said. He added in a later statement: "A fight has taken place which has escalated, resulting in three people being fatally attacked." He gave no further details on the deceased men as officers were still contacting their families. "It was a horrific scene for anyone to come across and my heart goes out to the families and those affected by it, because it is unprecedented to have something like this," he added. While the motive was still being investigated, police have ruled out terrorism, he said. A wide police cordon was in place in the area near Seven Kings railway station throughout the day as forensics officers and police dogs worked at the scene. A forensics tent was visible earlier on Monday near a stairway, which locals said leads to the railway station. The owner of Seven Kings Cars, opposite the station's main entrance, said a man with blood on his hands had approached him on Sunday evening asking for help. Nadeem Rana said: "I was shocked. He had blood on his hands and he said there were people in very poor condition." The man and a passenger who had been waiting for a taxi then went towards the scene, Mr Rana said. During a visit to the area, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan described the incident as "shocking, horrific and scary". Standing with Mr Clayman, he told reporters: "We've seen over the last few years they (police) are under-resourced and overstretched and they need our help to deal with the scourge of the increase in knife crime we've seen across our country, and London hasn't escaped that." Mr Khan met with local residents, some of whom complained of antisocial behaviour in the area, including drug-dealing, and they called for more police on the streets. A youth worker told Mr Khan 'East London needs more police officers' / PA Sukhbir Bassi, a member of the Singh Sabha Sikh temple, who works with young people told Mr Khan the city's east is "not safe". "We appreciate you coming down but in Parliament they need to listen. East London is not safe. We need more police officers," he said. There will be an increased police presence in the area in the coming days to provide reassurance to locals, Mr Clayman said. Formal identification and post-mortem examinations of the victims is yet to take place. Jas Athwal, leader of Redbridge Council, said he believed it was an isolated incident. "An incident like this is unheard of within the Sikh community here in Redbridge," he said. "We've got to look at the causes of why this happened and address those." He was critical of bloody footage shared on social media appearing to show the aftermath of the killings. "I think the first response should be 'What can we do to help?'. To put it on social media is not right." In 1927, Johannes Dyck escaped from the former Soviet Union with his wife and nine children. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/1/2020 (722 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. In 1927, Johannes Dyck escaped from the former Soviet Union with his wife and nine children. Exit visas were difficult to obtain, and Mennonite emigrants such as the Dycks were not allowed to take large sums of money with them. This was a problem for Dyck, who had been a prosperous farmer. So he devised an ingenious plan: he hid his money in a doll that belonged to his four-year-old daughter, Rena. At a train station at the border, guards strip-searched the family to make sure they werent leaving with money. They went through all their clothing and luggage, but found no money. They reluctantly let the family go. After coming to Canada, the Dycks settled in Saskatchewan, where they used the smuggled money to buy a farm and establish a new life. As for the doll, it ended up in the collection at the Mennonite Heritage Archives in Winnipeg a testimony to one familys escape. This is one of the stories told by Mennonite Heritage Archives archivist Conrad Stoesz in his new weekly radio series, Still Speaking. The goal of the show, which launched recently on the Golden West Broadcasting radio network, is to "tell the stories about the people, places and events preserved in our archives," he said. Through the segments, Stoesz hopes people will "learn about the past, and the important role of archives in society." He acknowledges its a bit of a stretch for him to be out in public via the programs. "Archivists tend to be reserved, even introverted, not comfortable promoting themselves," he said. "We enjoy more the process of collecting, preserving and researching. Were not good at telling our own story." But thats a problem, since archives increasingly need more public support to stay in operation, he said. "Its becoming more costly to operate archives with so much material coming in, plus the new technologies, digital preservation, and the new rules and standards to keep up with." These are all good things, "but they require more time, staff and money... the profession has not been good at promoting itself." Still Speaking will feature stories about how the Canadian Mennonite University archives came to own a copy of Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler, and a Mennonite immigrant from Europe who arrived in Chicago, learned English in a bar, then went on to be part of the Klondike Gold Rush. Ready, Pet, Go! Leesa Dahl looks at everything to do with our furry, fuzzy, feathered, fishy (and more!) pet friends. Arrives in your inbox each Monday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "Its not what people think of when they think of the usual way Mennonites came to North America," Stoesz said. The Mennonite Heritage Archives website will display artifacts Stoesz talks about in the programs and will offer the episodes online. "There are amazing stories in the archives," he said. "They can give us something to think about. Together, we can listen to people of the past who are still speaking." Still Speaking can be heard Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 9:20 a.m. on CFAM 950 (Altona), CJRB 1220 (Boissevain) and CHSM 1250 (Steinbach). Golden West operates 40 radio stations in Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta, including CHVN FM 95.1and CKCL FM 107.1 in Winnipeg. faith@freepress.mb.ca Businesspeople are not preparing properly for negotiations, according to a survey (Kirsty OConnor/PA) Nearly two in three negotiators have admitted to lying when trying to sell to other businesses, a survey has revealed. Sixty per cent of sellers said they had reneged on agreements during negotiations, while 46% of buyers claimed to have been lied to. Commercial negotiations are not for the faint-hearted and our study demonstrates just how prevalent cut-throat tactics are, said Richard Savage, director of Scotwork UK, which ran the survey. It found that a large share of executives do not prepare properly before going into meetings. The most common mistake is to pursue as much of what you can - typically money - in exchange for nothingRichard Savage, Scotwork UK Nearly one in three do not have a fallback plan in case anything goes wrong. Scotwork, which offers negotiation training, surveyed more than 5,000 executives in 31 countries. Swathes of executives in the highest echelons of business are striking deals worth millions of pounds without adequate preparation, it said. It comes after oil firm Lekoil last week revealed that it had been duped into meeting fake representatives of the Qatari sovereign wealth fund. The company said it had paid around 600,000 US dollars (460,000) to a company called Seawave to introduce it to the Qataris. It said it had hired a third party to look into Seawave, to see if it was a legitimate company. The Times on Friday said that the report into Seawave was written by Control Risks, a consultancy. Lekoil also hired law firm Norton Rose Fulbright to advise on the 184 million dollar (141 million) loan, which turned out not to exist, according to the paper. The Scotwork survey found that 37% of sellers said that their buyers had delivered veiled threats. Mr Savage said: This study lays bare the substantial skills gap in corporates around the world. The most common mistake is to pursue as much of what you can typically money in exchange for nothing. If companies fail to see the value of exchange, of trade, they are missing out in ways that far exceed pounds and pence. Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group Departs for Deployment Navy News Service Story Number: NNS200118-02 Release Date: 1/18/2020 12:11:00 PM From Carrier Strike Group 9 Public Affairs SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- The Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group (TRCSG) departed San Diego for a scheduled Indo-Pacific deployment, Jan. 17. More than 6,000 Sailors assigned to TRCSG ships and units will provide maritime security, maintain freedom of the seas in accordance with international law and customs, and operate with international partners and allies to promote regional stability and prosperity. "The U.S. Navy carrier strike group serves as the centerpiece of deterrence, providing our national command authority with flexible deterrent options and a visible forward presence," said Rear Adm. Stu Baker, commander, Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 9. "The Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group trained hard, performed well, and is now ready to execute whatever missions we are assigned." TRCSG consists of Carrier Strike Group 9, USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 11, the Ticonderoga class guided-missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill (CG 52), Destroyer Squadron 23, and the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Russell (DDG 59), USS Paul Hamilton (DDG 60), USS Pinckney (DDG 91), USS Kidd (DDG 100) and USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115). Theodore Roosevelt's embarked air wing consists of the "Tomcatters" of Strike Fighter Squadrons (VFA) 31, "Golden Warriors" of VFA-87, "Blue Diamonds" of VFA-146, "Black Knights" of VFA-154, "Liberty Bells" of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 115, "The Gray Wolves" of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 142, "Wolf Pack" of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 75, "Eight Ballers" of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 8 and "Providers" of Fleet Logistic Support Squadron (VRC) 30 Detachment 3. "I'm excited to lead this outstanding crew out on deployment," said Capt. Brett Crozier, Theodore Roosevelt's commanding officer. "Carrier Strike Groups bring unparalleled naval combat power to the fight. No other weapon system has the responsiveness, endurance, battlespace awareness, and command and control capabilities of a carrier and its embarked air wing." The TRCSG last deployed for a seven-month deployment supporting Operations Inherent Resolve and Freedom's Sentinel, as well as maritime security cooperation efforts in U.S. 5th and 7th Fleet areas of operations October 2017 to May 2018. The Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group is part of U.S. 3rd Fleet, which leads naval forces in the Pacific and provides the realistic, relevant training necessary for an effective global Navy. U.S. 3rd Fleet constantly coordinates with U.S. 7th Fleet to plan and execute missions based on their complementary strengths to promote ongoing peace, security, and stability throughout the entire Pacific theater of operations. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address New Delhi: National Security Adviser (NSA), Ajit Kumar Doval turns 75 today. For his contribution to national security, Doval as NSA was given a five-year extension and a Cabinet rank in the government. Known to be a hawkish thinker Doval has carried out multiple covert missions in his career as an Intelligence Bureau (IB) agent. He retired in January 2005 as the chief of Intelligence Bureau. After a few years in uniform, he had worked as an intelligence officer for over 33 years during which he had served in the Northeast, Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab. Ajit Doval, a 1968-batch IPS (retired) officer, known as one of the best operational brains within intelligence circles, was India's main negotiator with the hijackers of Indian Airlines plane IC-814 taken to Kandahar in 1999. These are the famous statements given by India's National Security Advisor Ajit Kumar Doval during his public appearances. India has a mentality to punch below its weight. We should not punch below our weight or above our weight, but improve our weight and punch proportionately. Do not overreact (on Kashmir unrest), it will pass off as they cannot sustain beyond a point. The supreme interest of the country has to be protected. The war is on till we are victorious. If you make a provocation, you are partly responsible. But if you are not able to exercise power, it is as good as not having it. You may do one Mumbai; you may lose Balochistan. Doval had played a key role during the Balakot air strike after the Pulwama terror attack and the cross-border surgical strike. He also drew praise for his role during the 73-day stand-off between India and China at Doklam situated at a tri-junction between India, China and Bhutan. He was awarded the Kirti Chakra in 1988 for conducting anti-insurgency operations in Mizoram and bringing Mizo insurgent leader Laldenga to the negotiating table by winning over six of his seven commanders. He had also clandestinely entered Myanmar and China to break the dominance of Mizo insurgent outfit. Known for his clear insight into and vision on Indian and global security issues, Doval has spoken extensively at home and abroad on strengthening the Indian security apparatus and forging closer cooperation among security forces globally. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. When Brian Bamrick began his Discovery Map business back in 1995, he made a tactical decision to be as hands-on with his business as possible. (TRAVPR.COM) MASSACHUSETTS - January 18th, 2020 - Cape May, NJ, Princeton, NJ, Long Beach Island, NJ, Lewes, DE, Rehoboth, DE, Millsboro, DE and Waitsfield, VT, Jan 18, 2020 -- When Brian Bamrick began his Discovery Map business back in 1995, he made a tactical decision to be as hands-on with his business as possible. From Day One, he handled sales, creative and distribution, all done with a positive attitude. This old school formula provided Bamrick with a pathway to success that recently saw him celebrate his 25th anniversary as a Discovery Map owner. Discovery Map International, Inc. is the leading provider of curated guides to top tourist attractions, cities and towns throughout North America. Bamrick is the owner and publisher of Discovery Map of Cape May, Discovery Map of Princeton, Discovery Map of Long Beach Island and Discovery Map of Lewes/Rehoboth. He began Discovery Map of Cape May in 1995. I remember quite well knocking on the doors of businesses just prior to the Super Bowl back in 1995, said Bamrick, a trained graphic designer, who owned a graphic design business prior to Discovery Map. While not everybody bought space, those initial visits laid the foundation for a number of relationships, many of those still going to this day. Shortly after starting Discovery Map of Cape May, Bamrick purchased Discovery Map of Princeton later in 1995. He then followed that up by starting Discovery Map of Long Beach Island in 1996. In 2009 purchased the Discovery Map of Lewes/ Rehoboth, an existing Discovery map established in 2000. Bamrick commuted between New Jersey and Delaware for six years before relocating to Millsboro, DE in 2015. One of the reasons I bought a Discovery Map franchise in the first place is I was a fan of the map. I remember very well the first one I picked up in Woodstock, Vermont, said Bamrick. So, after starting the Cape May map it was easy to see how a Discovery Map at other locations could be successful. Thats what led to me purchasing Princeton, LBI and eventually Lewes/Rehoboth. Bamrick credits Nancy, his wife of 41 years, with some of his success as Discovery Map owner. Shes been my biggest cheerleader, says Bamrick. Adds Bamrick, The best part of running a Discovery Map business has been making my own schedule. Even with running four successful maps, I can get done what needs to be done in about half the year or so. The rest of the year is spent vacationing and preparing for the upcoming year. Said Peter Hans, president of Discovery Map International, Brian represents the best of the best Discovery Map owners. Hes proof positive that you get out of your business what you put into it. And Brian literally puts all of himself into the business while hes doing it, which is why he can create a nice livelihood without working 365 days a year. Discovery Map has more than 130 maps across the U.S. and Canada. It is the charge of franchise owner to sell advertising space on the map and the online version of the map, available at discoverymap.com. The typical franchise owner will publish a printed map once or twice per year, depending on the initial print run and the popularity of the map. Full-time or part-time, Discovery Map franchise owners come from many walks of life. Some are corporate refugees or semi-retired individuals looking to build a business and fund their full retirement. Others include recent college grads, as well as mothers (and fathers) looking to build a business with hours around the kids school schedules. Forbes Magazine recently named Discovery Map one of the top 10 franchises to buy with an initial investment under $150,000. In 2018, it won the Top 50 Franchisee Satisfaction Award based on a survey conducted by FranchiseBusinessReview. For more information on the Discovery Map franchise opportunity, visit https://discoverymapfranchise.com/. About Discovery Map: Discovery Map International is the countrys leading provider of curated guides to top tourist destinations, cities and towns throughout North America. The distinctively colorful, hand-drawn maps are a favorite of travelers for navigating local dining, attractions, businesses, cultural experiences, ski destinations and even the best locations to take selfies. Discovery Maps can be found in local hotels, restaurants, shops, visitor information centers and other participating venues, and at discoverymap.com. Named by Forbes as one of the best franchises to buy in 2015, Discovery Maps International is headquartered in Waitsfield, VT, in the heart of the Green Mountains. Media Contact: Steven V. Dubin, PR Works sdubin@prworkzone.com 781-582-1061 ### Nearly 7,000 people have fled the region in western Niger where jihadist fighters killed 89 soldiers in a devastating attack earlier this month, the UN refugee agency said. But insecurity in the region is making it difficult for the UNHCR to bring them the help they need, the statement added. Following the attack at the town of Chinegodar, around 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the Malian border, "an estimated 7,000 civilians including 1,000 refugees have been forced to flee their homes in search of safety," the statement said. "We are receiving accounts of people being given an ultimatum by armed groups to leave the area, of civilians being targeted, kidnapped or killed, of properties being looted." Those who fled had to leave with little more than the clothes on their backs, UNHCR said. "They are in urgent need of food, water and shelter, as well as sanitation, protection and security," the statement added. "Insecurity in these areas severely hampers our ability to reach the affected population, those forced to flee and the communities hosting them," it said. "In Sahel, the protection of those forced to flee must be at the core of the response to this displacement crisis." Last week the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the January 9 attack on the army base, one their deadliest in the region. While the official death toll was 89, the jihadists claimed they killed more than 100 people. The authorities in Niger say their troops killed 77 of the attackers. In Niger, some 5,000 people fled to the nearby towns of Banibangou or Oualam, which are already hosting more than 7,000 Malian refugees, UNHCR said. Around 1,000 Nigerien refugees, including unaccompanied children, have crossed over into Mali at the border town of Anderaboukane in the Menaka region, receiving help from local people. According to UN figures, jihadist fighters killed more than 4,000 people across the Sahel region in 2019. There is growing concern from Libya's neighbours including Niger that they are suffering the fallout from the increasing instability there. African Union Chairman Moussa Faki is among those attending Sunday's Berlin talks on Libya as African countries seek a greater say in the peace process. AS THE country prepares for a general election, University of Limerick President Dr Des Fitzgerald has said there is a need to clearly hear from the political parties as to what will be done to make third level funding a national priority. Speaking to hundreds of students at the start of ULs Winter Conferring ceremonies this Monday, Dr Fitzgerald warned: The primary mission of higher education is to mobilise knowledge for the benefits of society and any further delay in addressing the challenges facing our universities puts at risk the quality of our higher education system a system that is already showing severe strain. Lets be honest our universities are good, but not good enough. To quote, we face a fate of competent inconsequence, an artful execution of not much, instead of the innovation and excellence that Irish universities are known for, he said in his speech at UL. Close to 1,800 students are graduating from 180 programmes across five ceremonies during Winter Conferring at University of Limerick this week. Citing a sharp fall for Irish universities in global education rankings, Dr Fitzgerald told the gathered audience of students and their families that this decline has corresponded with the fall in government support. A fall of 43% in fee income, a fall in support for fundamental research, the near abolition of capital investment - and underlying all of this, a devaluing of scholarship for its own sake," he said. Be clear, other countries are seizing the opportunities, such as Great Britain, which has committed to doubling its research budget in the years to come. With just 50% of funding to Irish universities now coming from the state compared with 90% 10 years ago, the deficit in funding has been filled by Irish universities and philanthropy," he continued. There are it has to be said key competing priorities for the state housing and health and the creation of six new Technical Universities in higher education. But the investment in the success of our universities, in learning, in research, in providing future generations with the principles and knowledge that will allow them to build their future is critical for individuals and for societal success. These are among the key issues as we take to the polls but before that, I hope that we will hear clearly from the political parties that they are making third-level funding a national priority, that they will invest in and not forget UL, barely 50 years of age. The Governments own Cassells Report, citing a crisis in the sector, called for investment in national ambition and identified the critical funding challenge facing Higher Education. Four years on, the crisis is just as great as the stark fact remains that core funding provided by the State is falling. The independent Oireachtas Parliamentary Budget Office recently described Higher Education as a cornerstone of the Irish Economy, but it is under significant financial pressure and with an unsustainable funding model. This is a national issue that must be addressed. Irelands talent and knowledge allow us to compete globally and our higher education system is the primary incubator for that talent. Irish universities have appealed to the next Government to commit to sustained investment in higher education until a longer-term funding model is agreed. Ultimately all this reflects the fundamental objective to provide the graduates here today with the principles and knowledge that will allow them to build their future. I believe that a degree from UL has equipped you for that future, for an ambitious and successful life, it has schooled you in critical thinking and in the values that will help guide you. For all of you, the opportunity and the responsibility is the same; live your best life. Be the best example you can be, Dr Fitzgerald told the graduating students. BEIRUT Security forces fired tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets in clashes Sunday with hundreds of anti-government protesters outside Lebanons Parliament, as violence continued to surge in a week of rioting. At least 114 people were injured in the protests, according to the Red Cross and the Lebanese Civil Defense teams, with 47 taken to hospitals for treatment. Most of the wounds were from rubber bullets, some in the face and upper body. Demonstrators threw rocks and other projectiles and even shot a stream of fire from ignited aerosol cans. Security forces responded with tear gas and water cannons before turning to rubber bullets to try to disperse the crowds. Army troops were deployed to the area briefly, and the violence stopped as protesters cheered the troops. But the army pulled out minutes later, and the clashes resumed with security forces assembled behind barricades. By late Sunday, security forces and army troops were deployed in large formations to the blocked streets. Amid a downpour of rain and the advance of security forces, protesters retreated and the situation calmed. Security forces reinforced metal barriers surrounding the Parliament building earlier in the day, after the worst night of violence since the unrest erupted several months ago. There were nine hours of street battles with security forces Saturday as some protesters tried to scale the barriers. Those clashes left at least 377 people injured, the Red Cross and the Lebanese Civil Defense said. More than 120 were treated in hospitals, including a protester with an eye injury, as well as members of the security forces. Lebanons Internal Security Forces said 142 of its members were injured, including seven officers, some with serious concussions. 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 clashes are taking place amid a rapidly worsening financial crisis and an ongoing impasse over the formation of a new government. Prime Minister Saad Hariri and the rest of the government resigned in late October. Prime Minister-designate Hassan Diab had been expected to announce a new 18-member Cabinet on Sunday after meeting with President Michel Aoun, but there was no announcement, signaling another delay among the fractious political leaders. Sarah El Deeb and Andrea Rosa are Associated Press writers. Sorry! This content is not available in your region A teenage boy who drank two cups of popular drink bubble tea was hospitalised after he failed to digest the starchy balls and they formed two hard lumps in his colon. The solid objects known as faecaliths or stones made of faeces measured two and three centimetres in size, according to a report from last Thursday by the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University, in Henan Province in Central China. Paediatric surgeon Zhang Haiyang, who treated the boy at the end of last year, said the boys bowel obstruction was more than likely caused by his love for bubble tea. The drink, which originated in Taiwan, is also known as pearl milk tea or boba. Pic shows: A X-ray showing Zhu Li's stomach filled with undigested tapioca balls. Source: AsiaWire/Australscope It typically contains dozens of starchy tapioca balls, which are notoriously hard to digest. Around 3am while I was on call, a 13-year-old boy was brought in with sudden abdominal pain, Doctor Zhang recalled. X-rays pointed to bowel obstruction. The teen was kept under observation overnight and an operation was scheduled the following day when his condition failed to improve. While inspecting his intestines, we discovered two solid objects, one larger and one smaller, Dr Zhang said. These two objects were causing his obstruction. According to the hospital, as the objects appeared relatively soft and could be crushed, surgeons opted against cutting the objects out of the boys colon. About two or three days after the surgery, he was able to pass them out with his stool, the doctor said. A second scan shows the boy's body as a person points out the bowel obstruction. Source: AsiaWire/Australscope While gathering further medical history, the young patient said he had had a cup of bubble tea about a week before his symptoms began. He didnt chew on the bubbles and swallowed them whole. He had another cup about three to four days after that, and on both occasions he didnt chew and only swallowed. Its therefore very likely that the tapioca pearls stuck together, causing his bowel obstruction. Bubble tea is a popular drink. Source: Getty Images The teenager suffered no long-term effects from the ordeal. In June 2019, a 14-year-old girl from Zhejiang Province in East China was found with undigested tapioca balls occupying her stomach and intestines. Story continues They were also the result of her favourite bubble tea drink and she was constipated for five days. Australscope 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. A person who can say I am wealthy in my friends may not fully understand either wealth or friendship. Or so we are asked to consider in Timon of Athens, Shakespeares split-personality comic-tragedy about money and misanthropy. It is the generous Timon who, uttering the line, soon learns how false it is; the instant he can no longer shower his chums with gifts, they drop him cold. The plainness of that plot is but one of the problems built into Timon, written around the time of King Lear with an assist from Thomas Middleton. There are many others, including the troubling fact that the play is simply more fun when Timon is lavish than when, having been bankrupted by his largess, he winds up a hermit rootling for turnips. Most productions cant help falling into the same unsatisfying pattern: dessert followed by vegetables. If that has made Timon, as some critics contend, the least loved play in the canon, it has also left it the ripest for reimagining. That seems to be the director Simon Godwins brief in staging the energetic and somewhat Frankensteined revival that opened on Sunday at the Polonsky Shakespeare Theater in Brooklyn. Reshuffling and montaging its scenes, adding live Greek-style music (by Michael Bruce), interpolating shards of at least four other Shakespeare plays and the entirety of Sonnet 53, he and Emily Burns, who together edited the text, attempt the dramaturgical paradox of making one unified work from the spare parts of many. Former lieutenant governor of Delhi Najeeb Jung on Monday questioned the Centre over not meeting the anti-CAA protesters and said erstwhile prime minister Manmohan Singh's government had met agitators when the Anna Hazare-led anti-corruption movement was going on. Addressing protesters at Jamia Millia Islamia's gate no. 7, he said the government will have to hold discussions with students as they will run the country tomorrow. Jamia's gate no. 7 has turned into a protest site after the police action against the university students on December 15 last year, with protesters sitting there 24x7. Jung, also the former Jamia vice chancellor, condemned the police action in the university, besides in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). "We still do not know who (all) were involved in it... Such incidents are very shameful for any democracy and the national capital," he said, referring to the January 5 violence on the JNU campus, when a masked mob entered the university and beat up students and teachers with rods and sledgehammers. Jung said the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) needs to be revamped and it should be made inclusive. "When the common man's agitation was going on, the Manmohan Singh-led government had met Arvind Kejriwal and his associates. "There is a revolution happening at every nook and corner... You (government) will have to discuss with these students. They will run the country," he said. Jung lauded students and "sisters of Shaheen Bagh" for continuing their agitation against the CAA, saying the protest is not by Muslims alone, but by the entire country. "This Act was brought to segregate us but it has united everyone... This is the time for sacrifice and there are chances that you might have to offer some sacrifices. "But promise me that this movement will go on," he said. In the middle of his speech, Jung read out the Preamble of the Constitution. He concluded his speech by singing the national anthem. 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, to escape religious persecution there will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship. It does not include Muslims. Those opposing the CAA contend that it discriminates on the basis of religion and violates the Constitution. They also allege that the CAA along with the NRC is intended to target the Muslim community in India. However, the central government has dismissed the allegations, maintaining that the law is intended to give citizenship to the persecuted people from the three neighbouring countries and not to take away citizenship from anyone. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Advertisement The ghostly remains of a First World War German shipwreck that ran aground in Cornwall more than a century ago are revealed at low tide after storms batter the coast. The sailing vessel, called the SV Carl, was being towed by the Royal Navy to be broken up for scrap when it got stuck on a reef in 1917. It was buried under the sand at Booby's Bay in Padstow more than a century ago but over heavy storms over Christmas removed enough sand to expose metal ribs from its 60ft steel hull. When it is exposed it is only visible at low tide 'for an hour or so' before the sand comes back and covers it over again. Scroll down for video A First World War German shipwreck has been uncovered by recent storms at a Cornish beach more than a century after it became stranded on a reef while being towed by the Royal Navy It is believed that the SV (Sailing Vessel) Carl, which was built in Maryport, Cumbria in 1893, and registered in Hamburg, was impounded at the start of the First World War in 1914, as it was a German ship in Cardiff docks Archive photo of the wrecked SV Carl when it was beached at Booby's Bay, Cornwall. There has even been speculation that that the ship was suspected of being an enemy minelayer The SV Carl was a three masted ship, with one of the masts now clearly exposed and still mostly in tact. Timbers are also visible during storms buried in tidal pools. It was built in Cumbria in 1893 and registered in Hamburg but was impounded in 1914 at the outbreak of the First World War. This was due to the fact it was a German registered ship in Cardiff docks. There has even been speculation that that the ship was suspected of being an enemy minelayer before it was impounded. During a fierce storm on October 7th 1917, the Carl broke free whilst being towed to London to be broken up for scrap, and grounded on a reef at Booby's Bay near Padstow There are large parts of the metal hull visible on the beach after being exposed by storms before Christmas During a 'fierce storm' on October 7th, 1917 the ship broke free whilst being towed to London to be broken up for scrap. When the Carl was declared a loss after breaking up on the rocks, the majority of the ship that could be easily taken away was salvaged. However, it wasnt long before the remains of the hull were covered in sand, hiding the majority of the wreck for most of the year. It was buried under the sand at Booby's Bay in Padstow more than a century ago but is often uncovered during winter storms, with some or all of it exposed Locals say it is often exposed in winter as the sand is washed away by storms, but the ship is quickly covered over again as the sand returns - sometimes within hours. These photos of the steel structure were captured when it became exposed before Christmas 2019 during a storm. In 2014 a major storm saw three foot of sand removed from the beach, exposing more of the wreck than usual. More than 100 years after running aground the metal ribs of the 60ft steel-hulled SV Carl began emerging from the sand just before Christmas 2019 Parts of the ship are exposed every year during storms, but locals say 2014 saw more of the ship exposed than in any previous year These latest photos show significant portions of the ship, including parts of the masts and its metal hull Locals say they see parts of it exposed during storms every year, but the amount exposed has been increased since 2014. In a letter sent to the Padstow Echo in 1966, Lieutenant Commander Langford of the Royal Navy, recalled his mothers eyewitness account of the SV Carl coming aground at Boobys Bay and the tugs that tried to refloat her. 'The Carl went aground on the outer reef. Two Admiralty tugs came from Devonport to try to refloat her', Lieutenant Langford wrote in his letter. Locals say it is often exposed in winter as the sand is washed away by storms, but the ship is quickly covered over again as the sand returns - sometimes within hours In a letter sent to the Padstow Echo in 1966, Lieutenant Commander Langford of the Royal Navy, recalled his mothers eyewitness account of the SV Carl coming aground at Boobys Bay and the tugs that tried to refloat he With a coastline stretching around 250 miles, it is estimated that there have been over 6,000 ships wrecked off the Cornish coast Archive photo of the wrecked SV Carl when it was beached at Booby's Bay, Cornwal 'They got her off the reef, but as soon as they had done so, the towing hawser on each tug parted, Carl went ahead out of control and grounded on the inner reef. 'She was there examined by salvage experts*who found no damage whatever to the hull. The Admiralty tugs therefore had another try to tow her off, but once more both ships towing harnesses parted. 'Carl broke her back and became a total loss. But for the unusual misfortune of both towing hawsers parting on two successive attempts Carl would in all probability have been salvaged.' With a coastline stretching around 250 miles, it is estimated that there have been over 6,000 ships wrecked off the Cornish coast. Piers Morgan has accused Prince Harry of having a 'brass neck' for claiming he had 'no choice' but to quit his royal duties and insisted: 'The Queen is always the biggest star of the royal family.' Today he railed against the Sussexes' decision to step down as he accused them of trying to have their cake and eat it by carving out a new role for themselves. It came after Harry last night broke his silence on Megxit during a private dinner for charity Sentebale, which he founded in 2006. The Duke of Sussex claimed that he and Meghan have no choice but to step down. But Piers said on Good Morning Britain today that Harry and Meghan had tried and failed to convince the Queen of their vision for the future. 'He wanted to call her bluff the queen took his progressive manifesto for the royals and she said no we're not having it. 'The Queen has turned round and gone, no, your'e not having your cake and eating it, you're all in or you're all out.' He added: 'The Queen is always the biggest star of the royal family.' It comes after Harry said last night that the royal couple had hoped to continue serving the Queen, the Commonwealth and his military associations, without any public funding. Insisting that the UK would always be his home, he maintained that his wife, Meghan, 'upholds the same values as I do' and was 'excited' and 'hopeful' about playing a full royal role after their wedding. But he said now 'there really was no other option' but to step back a decision which, he said, was 'not one I made lightly'. The duke paid a stirring tribute to his grandmother, calling her his 'commander-in-chief' and that he was 'incredibly grateful' to Her Majesty and the rest of his family for supporting him and Meghan. Harry paid a stirring tribute to his grandmother, calling her his 'commander-in-chief' and that he was 'incredibly grateful' to Her Majesty and the rest of his family for supporting him and Meghan Six counties saw their lifeline to help go down for several hours late Sunday and early today. According to Olmsted County dispatch officers, six Southeast Minnesota counties Olmsted, Wabasha, Dodge, Winona, Mower and Goodhue all saw a disruption to their 911 service beginning as early as 9 p.m. Sunday. All were back up by 3 a.m. today, according to dispatchers in those counties. "For us, it's fairly quick to realize we're down because we get so many 911 calls," said Capt. Mike Bromberg with the Olmsted County Sheriff's Office. "But for the smaller counties, they may just think it's a slow night." The Goodhue County dispatch office noted that the center could still take calls on its non-emergency number during the 911 outage. Furthermore, a countywide notification was sent to cell phones and landline phones alerting residents to the outage and the non-emergency number. Notifications were also sent via social media such as Facebook and Twitter in several counties. "When something like this happens, we try to get the word out," said Rochester Emergency Management Director Ken Jones. "We are limited by the number of people who are non-enrolled. It's necessary for people to opt in." ADVERTISEMENT According to Olmsted County dispatch, the 911 data is handled through Centurylink, and any information on the outage would need to come from a representative of that company. Centurylink customer service was unable to reach a representative who could talk about the outage. Its not that uncommon to see smartphone manufacturers diversifying their portfolios with sub-brands these days that later become independent off-shoots. Xiaomi has Redmi, Oppo did the same with Realme and now vivos iQOO sub-brand is looking to follow in the same footsteps by going independent in India. According to industry sources, iQOO will enter the Indian market by March as an independent entity, bringing its smartphone lineup outside of China for the first time. Up until now iQOO served as vivos gaming smartphone range with a focus on high-end performance at an affordable price point. As it stands, the brand currently has 6 devices in its portfolio with the most recent one being the iQOO Neo 855 Racing. Recently Xiaomi declared POCO will become an independent brand in India and with iQOOs upcoming entry the affordable flagship race is bound to get even more competitive. Via By Lidia Kelly and Stefica Nicol Bikes MELBOURNE/KANAGAROO ISLAND, Australia (Reuters) - The Australian government said on Sunday it will provide financial aid to the country's tourism sector that's been badly hit by long-lasting bushfires, as business owners fretted about cancellations that stretch into the months ahead. Although recent rains have brought some relief, damage to the industry from the fires has approached A$1 billion ($690 million) so far and may top A$4.5 billion by the end of the year, according to estimates from Australian tourism bodies. By Lidia Kelly and Stefica Nicol Bikes MELBOURNE/KANAGAROO ISLAND, Australia (Reuters) - The Australian government said on Sunday it will provide financial aid to the country's tourism sector that's been badly hit by long-lasting bushfires, as business owners fretted about cancellations that stretch into the months ahead. Although recent rains have brought some relief, damage to the industry from the fires has approached A$1 billion ($690 million) so far and may top A$4.5 billion by the end of the year, according to estimates from Australian tourism bodies. "People have stopped coming," said Tony Coppins, owner of Kangaroo Island Safari and Kangaroo Island Ocean Safari, adding that he had received cancellations for February and March. "They think the whole island is on fire and it's not, so we really need to send that message out that the island is still accessible." A fire earlier this month scorched more than 200,000 hectares (494,000 acres) on the island, located off the coast of South Australia, in blazes described as "hell on earth". The government said on Sunday it would channel $76 million ($52 million) in what it described as an initial push to help the country's A$152 billion tourism industry, which accounts for more than 3% of annual economic output. "International visitors are critical and especially critical in places like Kangaroo Island or tropical North Queensland and these are destinations that have relied upon a large part of their visitor market being international tourists and that's why we got to recover those markets as quickly as we can," said Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham. Birmingham said bookings from key international markets to Australia were down by between 30% and 40%. Domestic bookings across the country were down nearly 70%, Australian media reported. Rains have brought the number of fires burning across Australia's east and south coast to under 100 for the first time in weeks, easing a disaster that has scorched an area roughly one-third the size of Germany. Twenty nine people have been killed in the fires while millions of animals are also estimated to have perished. In Melbourne, fears receded that smoke from the fires would disrupt the Australian Open which starts on Monday as the city and parts of the bushfire-ravaged state of Victoria braced for heavy rains. "Victoria is about to see its wettest two-day period in many, many months," said Dean Narramore from the state's Bureau of Meteorology. More than 780,000 fans attended the two-week Australian Open last year, according to figures from the office of the state's premier, providing a major influx of cash for Victoria's economy. Following are some highlights of what is happening in the bushfire crisis: - About 80% of the Greater Blue Mountains that are on the World Heritage List of protected designations have been lost to the bushfires, Australian media reported. - There were 69 bushfires in New South Wales, nearly a third of them still to be contained, and 14 fires were burning in Victoria, with some big blazes in state's mountain region known for hiking. - Intense storms and heavy rains were expected across Australia's east and south coast on Sunday and Monday, with meteorologists warning of heavy flash flooding in Victoria. - The Southern Highlands in New South Wales re-opened to visitors after bushfires burnt through the region last year. ($1 = 1.4552 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Lidia Kelly; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Edwina Gibbs) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Plonk. Ham. Eton mess pav. Curry tots and craft wallop (aka beer). You can pick a menu by Brit expat chef Matt Wilkinson from a furlong. His brand is as distinct as that of Apple or Lululemon, only it's more like the CWA, Mrs Beeton and some football hooligans met at a boozer to rumble over what constitutes a "proper" pie. His love of old-school cooking techniques, the bounty of the garden and of dishes more intent on comforting than dazzling still whispers of his time at posh restaurants like Circa (in its prime) but is shoutier about his years captaining cafe Pope Joan, with its lush gardens, hearty offal-leaning breakfasts and summertime barbecue cookouts. Retired dairy cow kofta. Credit:Annika Kafcaloudis Did anyone expect to find Wilkinson becoming the Made Establishment's new poster chef at the former Brunswick East Hellenic Republic? Probably not. But opportunity knocked when the restaurant group decided to transition three of its four Hellenic restaurants (Kew, Williamstown, and the Lygon Street original). And it's no bad thing it did. What Brunswick East has lost in loukoumades, it has gained in an agenda that is very simpatico with this increasingly hot 'hood. Are there nose-to-tail ethical meats? You bet. They've always been Wilkinson's bag, and here there are koftas of retired dairy beef (which he's been banging on about for years) and a snackfricial offering of devilled hearts and livers on toast. But Crofter is even more evolved than this, relegating its woke proteins to the role of sides, letting "flora" dishes steal the show. The President of University of Limerick has called on political parties to make third-level funding a national priority and accused the outgoing government of cutting supports to the sector. Addressing students at the start of ULs Winter Conferring ceremonies, Dr Des Fitzgerald said: "Lets be honest, our universities are good, but not good enough." He said the primary mission of higher education is to mobilise knowledge for the benefits of society adding: "Any further delay in addressing the challenges facing our universities puts at risk the quality of our higher education system a system that is already showing severe strain. To quote, we face a fate of competent inconsequence, an artful execution of not much, instead of the innovation and excellence that Irish universities are known for. A sharp decline of Irish universities in the global rankings has corresponded with the fall in government support, Dr Fitzgerald said. He said there had been "a fall of 43% in fee income, a fall in support for fundamental research, the near abolition of capital investment - and underlying all of this, a devaluing of scholarship for its own sake. The UK, he said, is seizing the opportunities and is committed to doubling its research budget in the years to come whereas, according to Dr Fitzgerald, the Irish state has been diluting its commitments. Dr Fitzgerald said: With just 50% of funding to Irish universities now coming from the state compared with 90% 10 years ago, the deficit in funding has been filled by Irish universities and philanthropy. He said further government investment in the third-level sector was critical for societal success. Dr Fitzgerald said he hoped politicians who were looking to form the next government would reveal before then, their plans to invest in and not forget UL, barely 50 years of age. The Governments own Cassells Report, citing a crisis in the sector, called for investment in national ambition and identified the critical funding challenge facing Higher Education, he said. Four years on, the crisis is just as great as the stark fact remains that core funding provided by the State is falling. The independent Oireachtas Parliamentary Budget Office recently described Higher Education as a cornerstone of the Irish economy, but it is under significant financial pressure and with an unsustainable funding model. This is a national issue that must be addressed. Irelands talent and knowledge allow us to compete globally and our higher education system is the primary incubator for that talent, Dr Fitzgerald warned. Majority of Nigerians who participated in a PREMIUM TIMES poll have asked the federal government not to take sides in the crisis between the United States and Iran. Although most of the participants voted against the idea, a few others voted for Nigeria to take sides while some said they did not care whether or not Nigeria picks a side. The face-off between both countries which recently dominated headlines globally, caused tension not just in the countries but around the world. Poll Results The poll which lasted for seven days, had a total of 3,671 participants. The participants were asked a single question: Should Nigeria take a position in the US Iran face-off? Respondents were given the options of yes, no and I dont care. A total of 68.3 per cent of the respondents (2,509) voted against Nigeria taking a side, while 12.3 per cent (452 respondents) want the federal government to take a position. poll-usa iran About 19.3 per cent (710 respondents) said they do not care whether or not the country takes a side. Background The United States on January 8 conducted a military operation that killed an Iranian military chief, Qassem Soleimani. He was killed alongside Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the leader of Kataib Hezbollah, also called Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) in Iraq. The strike was sequel to protests at the United States Embassy in Baghdad a week earlier where protesters broke into the heavily guarded compound and set fires inside in anger over American airstrikes that killed 24 members of an Iranian-backed militia. In retaliation to the killing of the general, Iran launched ballistic missiles at two Iraqi bases which house U.S. troops. Although there were no casualties, U.S. military sources were quoted as saying troops were given enough warning to reach shelters before the missiles struck. Brewing war Iran called the killing of Mr Soleimani an act of war and state terrorism and vowed a response hence the retaliatory attack. This is even as the Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Zarif disclosed that Iran did not seek escalation or war. Over 50 people later died at a stampede where hundreds of thousands gathered for Mr Soleimanis funeral in Iran. Many countries called for the de-escalation of the violence and rhetoric between the U.S. and Iran following the assassination of Mr Soleimani. The US President, Donald Trump, also continued to talk tough as he accused Iran of being the leading sponsor of terrorism. He showed no remorse for the killing of Soleimani whom he said was responsible for some of the worst atrocities. Following the Iranian attack on the American bases, many expected the U.S. to retaliate, while others called for the de-escalation of the violence. Mr Trump later announced that the U.S. would not retaliate militarily but will impose additional economic sanctions on Iran. The president expressed his intent to negotiate with Iran to end terrorism in the middle east and beyond. Iran, however, sounded unperturbed by the sanctions with the Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, saying the economic sanctions against his country has made it an even stronger nation. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani [File: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo] More tension Hours after Iran fired at the American military bases, a Ukrainian plane crashed in Iran killing all 176 passengers on board including members of the crew. There was immediate suspicion that the plane was shot down but Iran quickly dismissed the claim, with a senior official describing it as a big lie on state television. Ukraine also initially dismissed reports that the plane was shot down, but later retracted after emerging evidence began showing high possibility of a missile attack. Days later, Iran admitted to firing a missile that brought down the passenger plane shortly after it took off from its main airport. The confession sparked another outrage, including in Iran. Hundreds of protesters have since held demonstrations in Tehran over the shooting of the plane. Advertisements How other nations reacted Many governments around the world have called for a return to diplomacy and considered plans to withdraw their citizens. According to Aljazeera, over 25 nations reacted to the crisis. They include Latvia, Russia, France, United Kingdome, United Arab Emirates, Poland, Japan, Canada, Australia and the Phillipines. Others are Pakistan, India, New Zealand, Spain, Israel, Norway, Italy, Syria, Slovenia, Turkey, Cyrus, among others. The United Nations has also reacted and called for peace. While the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres renewed his passionate appeal for peace, he said the world cannot afford a war in the Persian Gulf. France on the other hand, condemned the Iranian strikes targeting military bases that house US troops in Iraq. France would like to highlight again the importance of continuing the fight against the Islamic State , while respecting the sovereignty of Iraq, said a statement from the French Foreign Ministry. However, the closest reaction from Nigeria was from the police who placed the country on a nationwide red alert amidst claims that some elements within the country may be plotting to instigate crisis as part of the fallout of the killing of an Iranian military chief. A statement from the Force Headquarters said police chiefs were directed to ensure strategic deployments of both overt and covert police operatives to ensure adequate security and safety of citizens and foreigners especially diplomats and diplomatic missions domiciled in Nigeria, as well as the protection of critical national assets. What Nigeria stands to gain/lose Although there seems to be calm now, it is difficult to disregard the fact that crisis like this could affect Nigeria and Africa in general. Nigeria, Africas largest economy, stands to lose as well as gain from the crisis between the U.S and Iran. For instance, Nigeria being an oil-producing and exporting country, could benefit from an increase in oil price should there be a conflict between the U.S. and Iran. On the other hand, the face-off poses greater security challenges as there could be an increase in terrorism and attacks by religious fanatics. Nigeria has a high presence of Shiites, whose leadership has direct links to Iran. Although the Nigerian Shiites, especially members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), have repeatedly stated that they are a peaceful and law-abiding group, the Nigerian government has labelled the IMN a terrorist organisation. The IMN leader, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, has been in detention since 2015 when soldiers massacred over 300 members of his group for blocking a road in Kaduna State. MEMPHIS, Tenn., Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Brother (www.brother.com) is a 2020 Sponsor for the Wolf River Restoration Series and a Corporate Benefactor of the Wolf River Conservancy. Brother has contributed $25,000 for the protection and enhancement of the Wolf River and its watershed as part of the company's Corporate Social Responsibility program. Founded in 1985, the Wolf River Conservancy is a non-profit land trust that protects more than 17,000 acres along the Wolf River. It has helped establish a Greenway and wildlife corridor through Memphis, and its events bring the community together through service and education. Keith Cole, Executive Director of the Wolf River Conservancy stated, "At the Wolf River Conservancy, we appreciate that for a considerable time we have continued to earn the financial support of Brother International Corporation. Brother's increased commitment of support as our Presenting Sponsor for our newly-launched Wolf River Restoration Series is a great example of Brother's commitment to sustainability and protecting their local communities. We also appreciate the commitment that Brother provides to the Wolf River Conservancy through many hours of volunteer service for our projects." Brother will participate in a four-event restoration series that improves the Wolf River ecosystem and habitat, and educates the Memphis-area community with an interactive, and fun approach: This is the sixth year Brother has partnered with the Wolf River Conservancy, contributing nearly $60,000 to environmental restoration in the Memphis area, in addition to hundreds of volunteer hours. Brother prioritizes community service, with environmental conservation being a key focus area of its Corporate Social Responsibility program. The company supports its local communities throughout the U.S. with funding, product, and involvement through its strong culture of volunteerism. "Our motto is 'at your side' and that extends to our communities. We have a strong Corporate Social Responsibility program and service is in our DNA," said Don Cummins, President of Brother. "We are honored to support the Memphis community and look forward to stepping outside and rolling up our sleeves to help keep the Wolf River area beautiful and verdant." About Brother International Corporation Brother International Corporation has earned its reputation as a premier provider of home office and business products, home appliances for the sewing and crafting enthusiast as well as industrial solutions that revolutionize the way we live and work. Brother International Corporation is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Brother Industries Ltd. With worldwide sales exceeding $6 billion, this global manufacturer was started more than 100 years ago. Bridgewater, New Jersey is the corporate headquarters for Brother in the Americas. It has fully integrated sales, marketing services, manufacturing, research and development capabilities located in the U.S. In addition to its headquarters, Brother has facilities in California, Illinois and Tennessee, as well as subsidiaries in Canada, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Peru and Mexico. For more information, visit www.brother.com. Contact: Loren Waldron Title: Senior Manager, Corporate Communications Phone: 908-252-3330 Email: [email protected] SOURCE Brother International Corporation Related Links http://www.brother-usa.com Read more: WEF reports the biggest long-term risks to the global economy Click to enlarge image Brge Brende, president of the World Economic Forum, said: The political landscape is polarized, sea levels are rising and climate fires are burning. This is the year when world leaders must work with all sectors of society to repair and reinvigorate our systems of cooperation, not just for short-term benefit but for tackling our deep-rooted risks. This emphasis on cooperation was a central theme of the Global Risks Report which recognized economic confrontations and domestic political polarization as significant short-term risks in 2020. Speaking with Insurance Business following the launch of the report, deputy head of the Centre for Geopolitical and Regional Affairs, Mirek Dusek, highlighted how the team at the World Economic Forum had identified the unsettled geo-political and geo-economic landscape as the super risk which is the key to unlocking the findings of the report. This is a drag on our ability to effectively tackle some of the other risks environmental, technological and healthcare related that we write about, he said, and makes it harder to act with purpose given the more complicated economic and geopolitical environment. Dusek said that the drift from cooperation to competition and from consensus to confrontation which the World Economic Forum has been signposting as a serious global concern, does not appear to be fading. The Forum, he said, has highlighted the danger in waiting out this risk to see how it settles and whether or not the environment will go back to how it was. Weve warned that waiting for this snapback is something that could actually be quite dangerous, he said, because it could close windows for us to act, for example in the climate sector where the next decade is crucial. The ambition really needs to be upgraded for all of us and waiting it out is, therefore, not an option. Throughout the conference, the impact of shareholders, consumers and regulators on increasing the pressure on organizations to act on environmental issues was detailed and the business case for this action was effectively surmized by Brende who said: the cost of action is greatly outweighed by the cost of inaction. According to the report, the unsettled world in which this climate impact is occurring is a driver of this risk due to the increasing global view of both challenges and opportunities through a unilateral lens. It was stated that unless stakeholders adapt to todays epochal power-shift and geopolitical turbulence while still preparing for the future, time is going to run out to address some of the most pressing global challenges. These challenges are not limited to environmental issues but also include the sectors of healthcare and technology. Dusek outlined how, within healthcare, there is something of a blind spot around lingering risks. Vaccine hesitancy and drug resistance (particularly around antibiotics), he said, is actually managing to reverse some of our ability to fight infectious diseases and pandemics. This concern goes back to the unsettled world, he said, as he noted that, when speaking to professionals that deal with pandemics and epidemics, they are worried due to the reliance on self-reporting in an increasingly uncommunicative global environment. Technology is another area impacted by this risk, Dusek outlined. We see all these post-industrial revolution technologies which are reshaping industries, economies and societies at large but we dont seem to have the momentum necessary to really have agreed protocols to make sure there is a positive impact for society, he said. The risk of the unsettled world is where action is most required from businesses and policymakers, and Dusek noted the importance of looking at solutions to geopolitical and geo-economic conflicts. These are a significant factor on the health of societies and the political and socio-economic picture in different economies, he said. Looking at solutions, Dusek noted that though high diplomacy is perhaps best left to diplomats and foreign ministers, there is an opportunity for every business to think about how it acts within its society. This ties in to the World Economic Forums 50th Annual Meeting which is taking place in Davos shortly, which will address stakeholder capitalism and the importance of companies seriously considering their role as a societal actor, as well as in being a business actor. This, he said, is a good start for businesses looking to contribute to improving the foundations of the unstable and unsettled global environment. Black January or Bloody January as it is also called in Azerbaijan - marks 30 years on January 20. This date in the republic forever became the Day of National Sorrow. Then, under the tracks of tanks, hundreds of civilians of different nationalities: Azerbaijanis, Russians, Armenians, Jews, Tatars, were killed by automatic bursts fired by servicemen of the Soviet Army. Today we remember the innocent victims. It is unfortunate that materials appeared in the Russian media in which these tragic events are presented rather one-sidedly: purely in the light of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict because of the territorial affiliation of Nagorno-Karabakh, Polit.ru writes. The forerunner of the tragic events in Baku was the so-called Sumgait pogrom, which occurred two years earlier in February 1988. Since many call it the starting point of a new round of the Azerbaijani-Armenian conflict, it is worth telling in more detail about that tragedy. In the 1960s, the rapidly developing industrial Sumgait, located in the north of Baku, could well compete for the title of one of the most international cities of the Soviet Union. Representatives of up to 10 different nationalities studied in schools in the same class. The largest population groups of the city were Azerbaijanis, Russians, Armenians and Jews. An important episode around Nagorno-Karabakh (NKAO) served as a detonator of the conflict. This region with a predominantly Armenian population during the USSR was part of Azerbaijan on the basis of autonomy. On February 20, 1988, an extraordinary session of the Council of Peoples Deputies of the NKAR adopted a decision on a petition to the Supreme Councils of the Azerbaijan SSR and the Armenian SSR for the transfer of the NKAR from the Azerbaijan SSR to the Armenian SSR. At the same time, the session petitioned the Supreme Soviet of the USSR for a positive resolution of the issue. In Azerbaijan, of course, they were categorically against it. But not only there. On February 21, in a resolution of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, this demand was presented as accepted as a result of the actions of "extremists" and "nationalists." Nevertheless, in Karabakh itself, as well as in Armenia, mainly in the border areas where Azerbaijanis lived compactly, clashes on ethnic grounds occurred. In fact, from that moment, the mass expulsion of Azerbaijanis from Armenia and Armenians from Azerbaijan began. In the late Soviet era, the terrible word "refugee" was first spoken in Azerbaijan just in 1988, with the advent of escaping Azerbaijanis. The Karabakh conflict was just beginning, but Armenia has already begun to oppress the Azerbaijanis living there since ancient times. The persecution began. From 1988 to 1989, according to official statistics, 219,776 people moved to Azerbaijan from the neighboring republic. The refugees from Armenia received refugee status without any delay. It should be noted that approximately the same number of Armenians were forced to leave Azerbaijan. In the winter of 1988, people who called themselves refugees from Karabakh began to arrive in peaceful Sumgayit. The situation in the city began to heat up. The first Sumgayit rally on February 26 was relatively not crowded, the second, organized the next day, was attended by thousands of people, and many arrived on the square as directed by the heads of enterprises and institutions. Eyewitnesses claim that there were different slogans, including for the territorial integrity of the republic. However, some speakers (more on that below) tried to push for illegal actions. Unfortunately, it succeeded. On February 27 evening, the rally turned into violence, which lasted three days. According to official data from the USSR Prosecutor Generals Office, 26 citizens of Armenian and 6 citizens of Azerbaijani nationality were killed in the riots, more than a hundred people were injured. According to unofficial estimates, the number of deaths was in the hundreds. In addition, during the clean-up operation, injuries of varying severity were received by 276 troops. The All-Union Prosecutor's Office opened criminal proceedings in 80 episodes. 94 ordinary participants, mainly teenagers and youths, were brought to justice. Akhmed Akhmedov, was sentenced to death. According to investigative materials, the main organizer of the Sumgayit events was the thrice-convicted felon Eduard Grigoryan, an Armenian by nationality. The investigation revealed that he took an active part in the robberies and personally killed six Armenians. On the eve of the Sumgayit events, Grigoryan and his brothers maintained close contact with the Armenian emissaries from Nagorno-Karabakh. They compiled a list of addresses of Karabakh Armenians who do not want to recognize Armenian separatism and refuse to transfer money to their funds. On February 27, Grigoryan and K arrived at the square, introducing themselves as Azerbaijanis from Kafan (Armenian border region). Grigoryan made a speech in the square, in which he said that in the Kafan district, Armenians massively exterminate the Azerbaijani population, and urged the crowd to take revenge. He shouted: "I have a list of addresses of Armenians, I know where to go." Then he, with his gang of almost 100 people, went to these addresses for MGP legislator and former Deputy Chief Minister of Goa Sudin Dhavalikar on Monday alleged that "land mafia" operating in the state was responsible for the death of his former party colleague Prakash Naik. He sought immediate resignation of Panchayat Minister Mauvin Godinho, whose brother Wilson has been named in the First Information Report (FIR) filed by the police in connection with Naiks death. Dhavalikar also demanded a detailed inquiry into the activities of "land mafia" operating in Goa. Naik, who was in his late 50s, allegedly fatally shot himself on Friday in his home in Merces village near here, police had said. Naik, who had unsuccessfully contested the 2017 Assembly election from the St Cruz constituency on an MGP ticket, was a member of the local panchayat. Naik had later left the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP). Dhavalikar claimed Naik was a victim of land mafia. The former Deputy Chief Minister said, It is not a suicide, it is a murder. In his WhatsApp messages, Naik had clearly named people who were harassing and blackmailing him." The MGP MLA backed the opposition Congress's demand for Godinho's resignation. If Godinho does not resign from the cabinet on his own, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant should sack him, Dhavalikar said. "Two people (one of them Wilson Godinho) have been named in the FIR, but they have not been arrested by the police till now, the MGP leader said. The ex-Deputy Chief minister claimed land mafia members are increasingly taking over real estate in Goa and harassing those who refuse to part with their prized asset. Dhavalikar said the police should investigate the larger angle of land mafia in the death of Naik. "Just two people have been named (in the FIR), but there is a possibility that more people could have been involved, he said. Naik's last rites were performed on Monday. His family members had initially refused to take custody of the body after post-mortem, demanding the arrest of those named in the FIR, but later relented. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) GENEVA, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- For the sixth consecutive year, Firmenich, the world's largest privately-owned perfume and taste company, has been commended for its climate action, achieving a place on CDP's prestigious 'A List' for climate change. Confirming its position as a world leader in environmental management, Firmenich is ranked among the top 2% high-performing companies on the new "A List" for 2019, in recognition of its actions to cut emissions, mitigate climate risks and accelerate a low-carbon economy. "We are very proud to be on the new CDP A List, for the sixth year in a row," said Gilbert Ghostine, CEO Firmenich. "This is a testament to our inclusive capitalism business model, our colleagues' hard work to be a force for good everywhere we operate in the world, and our commitment to lead the charge against climate change." "Protecting and preserving our planet for generations to come is part of our DNA. Firmenich's excellent performance, year over year, echoes our team's unwavering pledge to the environment, commented Neil McFarlane, Firmenich Senior Vice President Global Quality, Health, Safety and Environment. Paul Simpson, CEO of CDP, said: "We congratulate Firmenich for once again making it on to CDP's A List, for its leadership in environmental performance and transparency. The A List companies are leading the market in corporate sustainability, tackling environmental risks and setting themselves up to thrive in tomorrow's economy." CDP's annual environmental disclosure and scoring process is widely recognized as the gold standard of corporate environmental transparency. In 2019, more than 525 investors with over US$ 96 trillion in assets, and 125 major purchasers with US$3.6 trillion in procurement spend, requested that companies disclose data on environmental impacts, risks and opportunities through CDP's platform and more than 8,400 companies responded. A detailed and independent methodology is used by CDP to assess these companies, allocating a score of A to D- based on the comprehensiveness of disclosure, awareness and management of environmental risks and demonstration of best practices associated with environmental leadership, such as setting ambitious and meaningful targets. Those that don't disclose or provide insufficient information are marked with an F. The full list of companies that made this year's CDP Climate Change A List is available here, along with other publicly available company scores: https://www.cdp.net/en/companies/companies-scores. Learn more about Firmenich's environmental goals and progress in its Performance and Sustainability Report 2019. Note to editors The full methodology and criteria for the Climate Change A List are available on CDP's website at: https://www.cdp.net/en/guidance/guidance-for-companies under 'CDP scoring methodologies 2019. About Firmenich Firmenich is the world's largest privately-owned perfume and taste company, founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1895. Driven by its purpose to create positive emotions to enhance wellbeing, naturally, Firmenich has designed many of the world's best-known perfumes and tastes, bringing delight to over four billion consumers every day. Renowned for its world-class research and creativity, as well as its leadership in sustainability, each year, Firmenich invests 10% of its turnover in R&D to understand and share the best that nature has to offer responsibly. Firmenich had an annual turnover of 3.9 billion Swiss Francs at end June 2019. More information about Firmenich is available at www.firmenich.com. About CDP CDP is a global non-profit that drives companies and governments to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, safeguard water resources and protect forests. Voted number one climate research provider by investors and working with institutional investors with assets of US$96 trillion, we leverage investor and buyer power to motivate companies to disclose and manage their environmental impacts. Over 8,400 companies with over 50% of global market capitalization disclosed environmental data through CDP in 2019. This is in addition to the over 920 cities, states and regions who disclosed, making CDP's platform one of the richest sources of information globally on how companies and governments are driving environmental change. CDP is a founding member of the We Mean Business Coalition. Visit https://cdp.net/en or follow us @CDP to find out more. SOURCE Firmenich Related Links https://www.firmenich.com Valet Parking LLC is a reputable valet parking company that has promoted an official brand-new website to present its services in the most adequate way. This valet parking company provides valet parking work in a sophisticated manner leaving the impression of top-professionalism and dedication to every valet parking work. Therefore, all present and future clients can browse through the novel website of this company to check all its valet parking A young woman who dreamed up her idea for a swimwear business when she was just 15 years old has revealed how she worked tirelessly on her range until she was able to make $1,000 in just one week. Brittney Kevric, 20, from Sydney, said she knew she wanted to design bikinis and swimsuits when she went to visit her family on the Kornati Islands off Croatia five years ago. 'I've always been into doing things myself, whether it was selling chicken eggs or homegrown fruit for extra money around the village,' Brittney told FEMAIL. 'Once I got home from the trip, I started to look into suppliers and samples. I called the brand Kornati Swim because of my love for the islands and started working on the brand at weekends - all while studying for the HSC.' A young woman who dreamed up her idea for a swimwear business (pictured) when she was just 15 years old has revealed how she worked tirelessly on her range until she was able to make $1,000 in just one week Brittney Kevric (pictured), 20, from Sydney, said she knew she wanted to design bikinis and swimsuits when she went to visit her family on the Kornati Islands off Croatia five years ago While she had to work extremely hard at first, saving up any money she earned from working extra jobs at a cafe at the weekend, Brittney said it was worth it when she launched Kornati in March 2018. 'I saved up $10,000 while studying for my exams and working various jobs,' she said. 'I used the money to buy the website domain name and the bulk stock of my first batch of bikinis. 'While we didn't see success straight away, I kept putting in all my effort to make the brand different to whatever else was on the market.' 'I've always been into doing things myself, whether it was selling chicken eggs or homegrown fruit for extra money around the village,' Brittney (right) told FEMAIL The holiday in Croatia prompted Brittney to look into stock and samples. She bought a domain name with the money she had saved up from working and studied for her HSC while creating Kornati Swim (pictured) Brittney said her label is different to many others in the saturated swimwear market: 'My swimwear brand is different in a few ways to others,' she said. 'We design bikinis to have a perfect fit for every different body type, rather than just the typical small model's body.' Brittney said her bikinis (pictured) are ethical and sustainable, because they are made from recycled plastic When it comes to how the day-to-day affairs run, the 20-year-old (pictured) said she is the 'only' person handling the business When it comes to how the day-to-day affairs run, the 20-year-old said she is the 'only' person handling the business. Whether she is adding products to the website or replying to social media posts, Brittney said many of her customers know her by name and 'they know everything is done by the same person'. 'The business has a family feel to it,' she said. 'I also aim to be ethical and sustainable. Our bikinis are made out of recycled plastic from the ocean.' After the latest launch of swimwear, Brittney said she is starting to see some major traction of her brand. She recently made $1,000 in one week from bikinis (pictured) After the latest launch of swimwear, Brittney said she is starting to see some major traction of her brand. 'We recently made $1,000 in one week,' she said. 'I also just got back from my first trip interstate, where we shot the new campaign in Perth.' Brittney explained that she is still working as a receptionist to help to fund Kornati, but has big dreams for its future: 'I feel passionately about making bikinis that aren't like what is out there,' she said. 'We use recycled fishing nets to help to save the pollution in the seas, and we also donate 10c of every bikini bought to help to clean the oceans.' To find out more about Kornati Swim, you can visit the website here. You can also follow the brand on Instagram here. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 20) The Interior Department on Monday ordered local government units in Batangas to strictly implement the policy barring people from returning to their homes near the Taal Volcano danger areas. This comes amid reports that residents have been granted window hours to enter the 14-kilometer danger zone to check on their belongings and feed their livestock and animals. We allowed LGUs to give window hours to [returning evacuees] but depending on the input of the Phivolcs (Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology), Interior Secrertary Eduardo Ano said in a media briefing Monday. Actually I would provide instructions to LGUs, yung mga nakapag-provide ng window hours, stop na yun (those that have provided window hours, stop it now), he added. Ano said the move was only done for humanitarian consideration. Hindi pwedeng araw-araw. Nagbigay lang tayo ng kaunting humanitarian consideration but this time we will be very strict. As I said, 'di natin alam kailan puputok yan, he added. [Translation: They cant do it every day. We just gave a little humanitarian consideration, but this time we will be very strict. As I said, we dont know when the volcano will erupt.] Interior Undersecretary Epimaco Densing echoed the sentiment, saying the department has already given the ban order to local disaster officials. Over 100,000 residents, including 26,000 families, have been evacuated since Taals stream-driven eruption on January 12. State scientists have warned residents within the 14-kilometer radius to stay away from the volcano as Alert Level 4 is still raised. Despite the lockdown, some residents have still attempted to return to check their properties and livestock. Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Joint Task Group Taal Commander Brig Gen Marceliano Teofilo said deployed troops only allowed residents to enter prohibited areas based on their judgment calls on the ground. It's just a matter of understanding human consideration, Teofilo told CNN Philippines The Source on Monday. We actually allow in the sense that we even accompany them just so to ensure that they are safe. Both the provinces of Batangas and Cavite were placed under state of calamity amid volcanologists warning that a possible hazardous explosive eruption of Taal may happen soon. CNN Philippines' Gleefer Jalea contributed to this report. If we discovered evidence of alien life, would we even realize it? Life on other planets could be so different from what we're used to that we might not recognize any biological signatures that it produces. Recent years have seen changes to our theories about what counts as a biosignature and which planets might be habitable , and further turnarounds are inevitable. But the best we can really do is interpret the data we have with our current best theory, not with some future idea we haven't had yet. This is a big issue for those involved in the search for extraterrestrial life. As Scott Gaudi of Nasa's Advisory Council has said : "One thing I am quite sure of, now having spent more than 20 years in this field of exoplanets expect the unexpected." But is it really possible to "expect the unexpected"? Plenty of breakthroughs happen by accident, from the discovery of penicillin to the discovery of the cosmic microwave background radiation left over from the Big Bang. These often reflect a degree of luck on behalf of the researchers involved. When it comes to alien life, is it enough for scientists to assume "we'll know it when we see it"? Many results seem to tell us that expecting the unexpected is extraordinarily difficult. " We often miss what we don't expect to see ," according to cognitive psychologist Daniel Simons, famous for his work on inattentional blindness . His experiments have shown how people can miss a gorilla banging its chest in front of their eyes. Similar experiments also show how blind we are to non-standard playing cards such as a black four of hearts. In the former case, we miss the gorilla if our attention is sufficiently occupied. In the latter, we miss the anomaly because we have strong prior expectations. There are also plenty of relevant examples in the history of science. Philosophers describe this sort of phenomenon as " theory-ladenness of observation ". What we notice depends, quite heavily sometimes, on our theories, concepts, background beliefs and prior expectations. Even more commonly, what we take to be significant can be biased in this way. For example, when scientists first found evidence of low amounts of ozone in the atmosphere above Antarctica, they initially dismissed it as bad data . With no prior theoretical reason to expect a hole, the scientists ruled it out in advance. Thankfully, they were minded to double check, and the discovery was made. More than 200,000 stars captured in one small section of the sky by NASA's TESS mission. (Image credit: NASA) Could a similar thing happen in the search for extraterrestrial life? Scientists studying planets in other solar systems (exoplanets) are overwhelmed by the abundance of possible observation targets competing for their attention. In the last 10 years scientists have identified more than 3,650 planets - more than one a day. And with missions such as NASA's TESS exoplanet hunter this trend will continue. Each and every new exoplanet is rich in physical and chemical complexity. It is all too easy to imagine a case where scientists do not double check a target that is flagged as "lacking significance", but whose great significance would be recognized on closer analysis or with a non-standard theoretical approach. However, we shouldn't exaggerate the theory-ladenness of observation. In the Muller-Lyer illusion, a line ending in arrowheads pointing outwards appears shorter than an equally long line with arrowheads pointing inwards. Yet even when we know for sure that the two lines are the same length, our perception is unaffected and the illusion remains . Similarly, a sharp-eyed scientist might notice something in her data that her theory tells her she should not be seeing. And if just one scientist sees something important, pretty soon every scientist in the field will know about it. History also shows that scientists are able to notice surprising phenomena, even biased scientists who have a pet theory that doesn't fit the phenomena. The 19th-century physicist David Brewster incorrectly believed that light is made up of particles traveling in a straight line. But this didn't affect his observations of numerous phenomena related to light, such as what's known as birefringence in bodies under stress. Sometimes observation is definitely not theory-laden, at least not in a way that seriously affects scientific discovery. We need to be open-minded Certainly, scientists can't proceed by just observing. Scientific observation needs to be directed somehow. But at the same time, if we are to "expect the unexpected", we can't allow theory to heavily influence what we observe, and what counts as significant. We need to remain open-minded, encouraging exploration of the phenomena in the style of Brewster and similar scholars of the past. Studying the universe largely unshackled from theory is not only a legitimate scientific endeavor it's a crucial one. The tendency to describe exploratory science disparagingly as "fishing expeditions" is likely to harm scientific progress. Under-explored areas need exploring, and we can't know in advance what we will find. In the search for extraterrestrial life, scientists must be thoroughly open-minded. And this means a certain amount of encouragement for non-mainstream ideas and techniques. Examples from past science ( including very recent ones) show that non-mainstream ideas can sometimes be strongly held back. Space agencies such as NASA must learn from such cases if they truly believe that, in the search for alien life, we should "expect the unexpected." Peter Vickers, Associate Professor in Philosophy of Science, Durham University This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights . Prince Harry has delivered an honest and open speech about his and his wife, Meghan Markle's decision to step back from the royal family and the candid speech revealed some key details about their surprise move. The Duke of Sussex addressed guests at a reception for his charity, Sentebale, and discussed the couples plans moving forward. Harrys words came just 24 hours after the Queen released a statement in which she confirmed he and Meghan would no longer be publicly funded or using their HRH titles. From how the couple's decision has impacted other royals, to how he really feels about the decision to step back, heres everything we learned from Harry's candid speech. It was mainly his decision to step back Following the shock announcement that the couple were choosing to relinquish their roles as senior royals, much of the narrative has involved rumours that Meghan was behind the decision. Indeed, even the fact that the move was quickly nicknamed Megxit suggested blame had been laid at Meghans door, but in his speech Harry attempted to set the record straight by claiming it was his choice. The decision that I have made for my wife and I to step back is not one I made lightly, he said. It was so many months of talks after so many years of challenges. And I know I haven't always got it right, but as far as this goes, there really was no other option. Harry's speech hinted it was his decision to step back rather than Meghan's [Photo: Getty] Harry feels sad to be stepping away from royal life Though his speech revealed it was Harrys choice for the couple to step down as senior royals, that doesnt mean he doesnt feel sad about leaving royal life behind. We both do everything we can to fly the flag and carry out our roles for this country with pride, Harry revealed. Once Meghan and I were married, we were excited, we were hopeful, and we were here to serve. For those reasons, it brings me great sadness that it has come to this. Story continues No doubt the Duke is looking forward to what he hopes will be a more private and peaceful family life, but it will also bring sadness about moving away from the only life hes ever known, particularly as he also revealed that the couple were left with no other option. READ MORE: Meghan Markle quietly carried out a second Vancouver women's charity visit There is some disappointment about their new roles Both in their original announcement and in the details they released on their new Sussex Royal website, Harry and Meghan said they would be taking up progressive new roles within the royal family and hoped to be financially independent. But following the statement that Buckingham Palace released on Saturday revealing the terms surrounding the couples move, it became apparent that there was a slight mismatch, which Harry touched on in his speech, hinting he didnt want to give up his duties and military roles. Our hope was to continue serving the Queen, the Commonwealth, and my military associations, but without public funding. Unfortunately, that wasn't possible. I've accepted this, knowing that it doesn't change who I am or how committed I am. The Duke went on to suggest he would continue his involvement in projects such as the Invictus Games: I will continue to be the same man who holds his country dear and dedicates his life to supporting the causes, charities and military communities that are so important to me. Over the weekend it was revealed that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle would be losing their royal highness titles under a new agreement with the Queen. They will also give up public funding and pay back the 2.4 million of taxpayer money that funding renovations on their home, Frogmore Cottage. Harry revealed the couple are still as in love as ever [Photo: Getty] Harrys love for his wife is just as strong Theres no doubt the last few months must have been tricky for the couple to navigate, but in his heartfelt speech Harry issued a sweet nod to his wife and what she means to him. After saying he appreciated the publics support since finding the love and happiness hed hoped for all his life and joking that the second son of Diana had finally got hitched, he went on to reiterate that Meghan shares the same values as he does. I also know you've come to know me well enough over all these years to trust that the woman I chose as my wife upholds the same values as I do, he said. And she does, and she's the same woman I fell in love with. READ MORE: Full list of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's current patronages The couple feel supported by other royals [Photo: Getty] The couple feel supported by other royals Despite speculation about feuding between Harry and his brother Prince William, which the pair have strenuously denied, the Duke made it clear the royal family are supportive of their decision to step back. I will always have the utmost respect for my grandmother, my commander in chief, and I am incredibly grateful to her and the rest of my family for the support they have shown Meghan and I over the last few months, Harry said. Their relationship with the media is a work in progress Theres no doubt the couple have a complicated relationship with the press, which seems to have intensified since the birth of their son, Archie last year. Harry has often referenced the media impact on his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales life and last year he issued an emotional statement statement addressing the treatment of him and his wife by certain media outlets in the British press. The couple are also in the process of suing The Mail On Sunday for publishing one of Meghans private letters to her father, Thomas Markle. But in his speech yesterday the Duke hinted that he hoped they could eventually find a way to work together. You've looked out for me for so long, but the media is a powerful force, and my hope is one day our collective support for each other can be more powerful because this is so much bigger than just us, he said. Archie has hit another first Let's end on something happy during what must have been a stressful 10 days for Harry, Meghan and the whole royal family. While most of the Duke of Sussexs speech focused on the couples decision to step back as senior royals, Harry also took the opportunity to reveal some sweet insight about baby Archie's latest milestone. It has also been a privilege to meet so many of you, and to feel your excitement for our son Archie, who saw snow for the first time the other day and thought it was bloody brilliant! he told guests at the event. Archie had accompanied his parents to Canada for their six-week break from royal duties, where it is believed he experienced his first snow. In a photo shared to the Sussex Royal account, little Archie can be seen snuggled up in his dad's arms, wearing a cute, hat to keep him warm. Aww! BISHKEK -- A Bishkek court has started a hearing into a libel lawsuit filed against RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, locally known as Azattyk, its correspondent Ali Toktakunov, and the news site Kloop by the former deputy chief of the customs service, Raimbek Matraimov, and his relatives, following an alleged corruption scandal exposed by the media outlets. The plaintiffs' lawsuit also targets another independent news website, 24.kg, which published a summary of the joint media investigation. The Sverdlov district court in Bishkek began hearing the case on January 20 and quickly adjourned it until January 29, after the plaintiffs' lawyers asked for more time for talks of a possible settlement, namely the publication of an official rebuttal refuting the findings of the joint investigation. Lawyers for RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service and Kloop have rejected such a move, but they offered the plaintiffs an opportunity to discuss the investigation on programs of the media outlets. A lawyer for 24.kg, meanwhile, said that his client was ready to discuss the settlement conditions with the plaintiffs. The lawsuit was filed by Matraimov, his brother, lawmaker Iskender Matraimov, Minovar Jumaeva, Uulkan Turgunova, and the Ismail Matraimov Public Foundation against Toktakunov and the media outlets, who, according to the plaintiffs, damaged their "honor, dignity, and business reputations." The court has said the plaintiffs are demanding 10 million soms ($143,150) from Toktakunov, 22.5 million soms ($323,100) from RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, 12.5 million soms ($179,000) from Kloop, and 15 million soms ($215,000) from 24.kg as compensation for the alleged damages. In November, the Kyrgyz Prosecutor-General's Office launched a probe to verify information revealed in the joint journalistic investigation. The report showed that a 37-year-old Uyghur businessman from China's northwestern region of Xinjiang, Aierken Saimaiti, secretly provided reporters with documents demonstrating how hundreds of millions of dollars were moved out of Kyrgyzstan, much of it via a business network led by Khabibula Abdukadyr, a secretive Chinese-born Uyghur with a Kazakh passport. The chief of Kyrgyzstan's financial police has said since then that the amount of cash illegally funneled out of the country is closer to $1 billion. The joint investigation also uncovered video footage showing Abdukadyr sitting in the second row at President Sooronbai Jeenbekov's inauguration in November 2017. The video shows Abdukadyr sitting next to the president's brother, Kyrgyz Ambassador to Ukraine Jusupbek Sharipov. Saimaiti, who was shot dead in Istanbul on November 10, alleged that former senior official Raimbek Matraimov, while serving as deputy customs chief, was instrumental in providing cover for the Abdukadyr network's cargo empire in the region. The investigation also found that Matraimov's wife, Turgunova, is a joint investor in a Dubai property development with a company controlled by Abdukadyr. Matraimov and his brother Iskender have denied all accusations of wrongdoing by the former customs official. Saimaiti told reporters prior to his death that, in order to protect himself, he had applied for Turkish citizenship and expected to receive it on November 14. He said he planned to turn over more financial documents to reporters after that. However, he was shot dead at a cafe in Istanbul. Turkish police have made several arrests in the case, though details of the suspects' motives and potential contacts remain murky. Turkish police have made no official statements on the case. The Kyrgyz Prosecutor-General's Office said on November 22 that it had launched a probe to verify information revealed in the joint investigation, specifically that "unknown persons repeatedly threatened [Saimaiti] with murder, which forced him to flee to the Republic of Turkey." Maracaibo: Venezuela's opposition leader Juan Guaido has defied a travel ban and crossed into Colombia to round up greater international support for regime change in Venezuela. Guaido, who is recognised by the United States and more than 50 countries as Venezuela's president, and his fellow opposition members are facing increased repression and Guaido's popularity at home is waning. So, under growing pressure to score even a minor victory against the government of President Nicolas Maduro, he has once again turned to diplomacy one of his strong suits to shore up support from allies abroad. "Now in Colombia," Guaido said on Twitter. "I assure you the return to our country will be full of good news." Taal Volcano's crater is pictured from a helicopter in Batangas, Philippines, January 17, 2020. (Photo : Office of Civil Defense/Handout via REUTERS) As the Philippines' Taal Volcano unrest entered its 2nd week, government volcanologists reiterated that evacuees are strongly advised to remain out of the danger zone as Alert Level 4 remains raised. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) underscored on Monday, January 20, that scientific records showing a risky eruption remain possible "in hours to days." Phivolcs Director Renato Solidum Jr, in a press briefing on Monday morning, stated they provide recommendations primarily based on what they monitor, and what the possible risks are. He underscored that management decisions are up to the local authorities of Batangas. Some citizens try to go back to their homes regardless of the risks; however, several cities in the area are on lockdown. As of 6 am (local time) Monday, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council stated that 104,377 people are staying in evacuation centers. At the same time, 68,755 others were displaced outside evacuation centers. Phivolcs said in its 8 am bulletin on Monday, that "constant" emission continues to release from Taal's main crater. "Activity in the main crater in the past 24 hours [released] steady steam emission, infrequent weak explosions which generated ash plumes 500 to 1,000 meters tall, and dispersed ash southwest of the main crater," the Phivolcs said. The sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission, meanwhile, was measured at an average of 4,353 tons every day. SO2 is a major gas component of magma, according to Phivolcs. According to USGS, sulfur is "launched from a volcano while magma is tremendously near the surface." Volcanic earthquakes also continue. Philippine Seismic Network, which covers the whole country; and the Taal Volcano Network, which incorporates small earthquakes undetected by the former, are being used by Phivolcs to detect volcanic eruptions. The Philippine Seismic Network has plotted 714 volcanic earthquakes as of 1 pm on January 12, the day the Taal unrest began. Of these, 176 were at magnitudes 1.2 to 4.1 and have been felt at Intensities I to V. At least 23 volcanic earthquakes plotted at magnitudes 1.2 to 3.8, with one felt at Intensity I from 5 am on Sunday, January 19, to 6 am on Monday. The Taal Volcano Network, on the other hand, recorded 673 volcanic earthquakes for the past 24 hours. "Such extreme seismic activity probably signifies non-stop magmatic intrusion below the Taal edifice, which may lead to further eruptive activity," Phivolcs said. Phivolcs burdened that there have to be "general evacuation" of Taal Volcano Island in addition to high-danger areas within a 14-kilometer radius from the principal crater and "alongside the Pansipit River Valley wherein fissuring has been observed." Fissures or cracks had appeared in the towns of Lemery, Agoncillo, Talisay, and San Nicolas in Batangas, which are all high-risk regions. Ground deformation is considered one of the signs that magma is rising in the volcano. Citing the weather forecast given by Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (Pag-Asa), Phivolcs said ash would be drifted to west and southwest of the main crater if the eruption plume remains below three kilometers. Ash will also go with the flow to elements of neighboring Cavite province if the eruption plume is 3 to 5 kilometers high. Phivolcs said ash would also be drifted over Metro Manila, Laguna, and some parts of Rizal and northern Quezon if the main eruption happens for the duration of the day and the eruption column exceeds 5 kilometers. So far, the cost of agricultural damage inside the place of Calabarzon is pegged at P3.06 billion. Ashfall destroyed numerous crops. SAN JUAN, P.R. The man streaming on Facebook Live looked straight into his cellphone camera and promised that the footage to come would be outrageous. Share what youre about to see, he urged his viewers. Moments later, he walked into a huge warehouse and revealed his discovery: cases of bottled water still encased in plastic. Pallets of new diapers, baby formula and wipes. Boxes of wrapped tarpaulins, portable stoves and propane gas. Unused emergency aid sat gathering dust in a government property in the city of Ponce, in southern Puerto Rico, as thousands of people prepared to spend their third week sleeping outside to stay safe as a swarm of earthquakes continued to assail the island. The water appeared to be expired, the man on the video said. But there were no signs of emergency workers or any effort to distribute the disaster supplies. The video, streamed on Saturday by Lorenzo Delgado Torres, who calls himself El Leon Fiscalizador, or the lion of accountability, immediately exploded on social media. Infuriated Puerto Ricans showed up at the 43,000-square-foot warehouse to demand an explanation, jeer at government officials and take some of the supplies. Someone called police officers, who closed off the street. France deploys radar system, aircraft carrier in Saudi Arabia Iran Press TV Saturday, 18 January 2020 9:07 AM France is beefing up its military presence in the Middle East, sending a radar system and an aircraft carrier to the region gripped by heightened tensions. French officials told Reuters Friday that the country had deployed a radar system as part of the Jaguar Task Force mission on the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia, but declined to provide further details. Speaking to the French military late Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron said in the Arabian Peninsula and the Persian Gulf, "where tensions are mounting, we have deployed in record time the Jaguar Task Force, which contributes to reassuring the Saudi kingdom." Macron also announced that France would deploy the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier to join the US-led coalition purportedly fighting the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group. "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," he said, referring to the French component of the US-led mission in the Middle East. "Once more our plane carrier will be the center for combined operations amongst several European countries," he added. Macron further noted that the nuclear-powered carrier would be escorted by a European squadron, including vessels from Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and Greece. French forces would remain in the alleged fight against Daesh, he said, warning that while the terror outfit no longer holds territory, "its menace remains, in another lurking, more insidious form." There are some 1,000 French troops in the region, with French warplanes operating as part of the US-led coalition. Saudi Arabia is one of the major clients of France, which is the world's third-biggest arms exporter. The kingdom is using French tanks, artillery and Caesar howitzers in its bloody war on Yemen. In September 2019, the UN said in a report that the US, Britain and France may be complicit in war crimes in Yemen by arming and providing intelligence and logistics support to the Saudi-led coalition that starves Yemenis as a war tactic. "The legality of arms transfers by France, the United Kingdom, the United States and other States remains questionable, and is the subject of various domestic court proceedings," the report read. In December 2019, the Houthi Ansarullah movement, which has been defending Yemen against the Saudi aggression, accused France of providing arms and logistics to the Riyadh-led coalition in addition to being complicit in war crimes in the impoverished state. Top Houthi official Mohamed al-Houthi said France had conducted three attacks on Sa'ada Province only in December 2019, killing and wounding a total of 89 Yemenis. He also complained that the French legal system was turning a blind eye to the fatal attacks. Saudi Arabia and a coalition of its vassal states launched the war on Yemen in March 2015 in an attempt to reinstall a Riyadh-backed former regime and eliminate the Houthis. The offensive, coupled with a naval blockade, has killed hundreds of thousands of people and plunged Yemen into the world's worst humanitarian crisis. On Friday, an American official said Saudi Arabia had paid the US approximately $500 million to begin to cover the cost of American troops operating in the country. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) is providing 50m in lower-cost funding to Irelands SME sector for the purchase new and used equipment, machinery and vehicles. The SBCI is providing the funding through specialist lender Capitalflow, a recently established non-bank finance provider and will act as on-lender of the 50m provided by the SBCI. The SBCI emerged from the financial crash when the German promotional bank Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau (KfW) helped finance the Irish SME sector. It was this agreement that led to the creation of the SBCI. Nick Ashmore, the Chief Executive at SBCI said the fund will help promote competition in the SME funding market and deliver on their objective in bringing cheaper and more accessible funds to Irish businesses. Ronan Horgan, CEO at Capitalflow said they established Capitalflow to become the leading specialist SME lender in the Irish market and since 2016 have advanced more than 450 million in facilities to a range of businesses across Ireland. This new 50 million facility with the SBCI is another milestone in our journey, as it allows us to build deep, long-lasting relationships with many new Irish SMEs, he said. Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe said the recent announcement is particularly noteworthy as SBCI is providing funding through a new partner to expand the distribution of credit. Expanding the distribution of credit will help SMEs to access the funds they need at the right time to enable them to grow their businesses, increase employment and ensure they are more resilient for the future. An entity qualifies as an independent Small Medium Enterprise if it has less than 250 employees and an annual turnover of less than 50m. She had earlier wowed audiences as she took to the runway for Ralph & Russo's Spring/Summer 2020 show. And Winnie Harlow was turning heads away from the catwalk too as she made a stylish arrival at her hotel Plaza Athenee in Paris, France on Monday. The Canadian beauty, 25, stunned in eye-catching faux snakeskin trousers and boots as she strutted back to her accomodation amid Haute Couture Fashion Week. Sensational: Winnie Harlow was turning heads away from the catwalk too as she made a stylish arrival at her hotel Plaza Athenee in Paris, France on Monday Winnie co-ordinated her form-fitting bottoms with a cream rollneck jumper, adding a pretty emerald and gold necklace. Wrapping up in the cool January weather, Winnie wore a long, cream coat over her outfit. Despite there being no sun present, the star played it cool as she donned a pair of brown sunglasses, finishing her look with gold hooped earrings. Her raven tresses were styled into a half-up, half-down do, while she let her natural beauty shine through with minimal make-up. Glam: The Canadian beauty, 25, stunned in eye-catching faux snakeskin trousers and boots as she strutted back to her accomodation amid Haute Couture Fashion Week Wild thing: Winnie co-ordinated her form-fitting bottoms with a cream rollneck jumper, adding a pretty emerald and gold necklace The catwalk Queen looked fierce and confident as she made her way inside following a busy day looking fabulous. Winnie rose to fame in 2014 competing on the 21st cycle of America's Next Top Model. She was discovered by the long-running show's host Tyra Banks, 46, on Instagram and finished sixth overall. At the age of four, she was diagnosed with the chronic skin condition vitiligo, characterised by depigmentation of patches of the skin. Baby it's cold outside: Wrapping up in the cool January weather, Winnie wore a long, cream coat over her outfit. She also carried her essentials in a perspex handbag with a pearl handle Winnie modelled in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in 2018 and has walked the runway in New York and London Fashion Week shows. She has become a public speaker about her experiences with vitiligo and also speaks out against bullying. During a recent episode of Success with Moira Forbes, the star said she's instead focusing on forging her own path. 'I try not to compare myself to anyone else. Its inspiring to see my girls in my industry doing the things that they're doing. But I have my own path that I have to walk and you just can't compare. In 2016, Winnie was named as one of BBC's 100 Women. The Walking Bible televangelist Jack Van Impe dies at 88 Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Televangelist Jack Van Impe, the host of the show "Jack Van Impe Presents," has died at the age of 88. Van Impes ministry, Jack Van Impe Ministries International, announced the news on its website. The beloved Dr. Jack Van Impe was welcomed into Heaven by His blessed Savior and Lord who he had so faithfully served in ministry for over 70 years, the statement reads. Please pray for his beloved wife and lifelong ministry partner Rexella and their families as they grieve this immense loss and for wisdom as she and the Board lead the ministry in the days ahead. According to Van Impes biography page, he led more than 8 million to faith in Christ over the duration of his 68-year ministry. At the height of its popularity in the mid-90s, his show reached 25,000 cities weekly and more than 150 countries. "Jack Van Impe Presents" aired its final episode this month. Van Impe and Rexella had been married since 1952. Their shows format featured the couple discussing how biblical fulfillment was reflected every day in world events and headlines. Each episode ended with a call for viewers to prepare for the end by accepting Christ as their Lord and Savior. Current international events reflect exactly the conditions and happenings predicted throughout the Bible for the last days of this age, he wrote. Remember that this special message has been given to reveal Gods truth, not conceal it; and to clarify Gods eternal purpose, not mystify it. Millions need to be alerted to the fact that Jesus is coming soon-perhaps today! Van Impes ministry was not without controversy: In the 1990s, he came under fire after saying he expected Christ to return between 2001 and 2012, warning Christians to be on the lookout for the Antichrist. He also propagated conspiracy theories about former President Barack Obama, suggesting he was a Muslim and part of a Muslim plot to infiltrate the United States. In 2011, he split from the Christian TV network TBN amid claims of censorship after the channel refused to air an episode in which Van Impe claimed that pastors Rick Warren and Robert Schuller were attempting to promote a new religion called Chrislam, a merger of Christianity and Islam. In addition to eschatology, Van Impe's ministry focused on Scripture memorization and evangelism. He had an impressive evangelistic ministry in large crusades and in partnership with well-known ministers including Billy Graham Sr., Charles Stanley, George Sweeting, and others. On Twitter, Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham, offered condolences to Van Impes wife and family. He was among a large number of young men who served in the early days with Youth for Christ. Dr. Van Impe became known as The Walking Bible because he memorized large portions of Scripture, inspiring young people to do the same, Graham tweeted. His life demonstrated the importance of laying up these words of Mine in your heart and in your soul (Deuteronomy. 11:18). May we all be inspired to do the same. Jack Van Impe Ministries has not named the cause of death. Funeral arrangements are being made. The elderly man is deep in conversation with Stephen Donnelly on the footpath of the Killarney Heights estate just outside Bray. They are out of earshot but it seems after the chat on a private matter the gentleman is positively disposed towards the local Fianna Fail TD who asks him expectantly: "Will you vote for me?" "Ah," the man says. "I think I'll vote for Simon. I didn't like the people outside his house." The reference to a protest outside Health Minister Simon Harris's house last April signals there is still plenty of goodwill and sympathy towards the youthful Fine Gael Cabinet member in five-seat Wicklow, where an intriguing constituency battle with the man who wants his job, Fianna Fail's health spokesman, is under way. Mr Donnelly is seeking re-election for a third time and under the third different banner. Mr Harris and junior agriculture minister Andrew Doyle expect to be re-elected. Likewise Fianna Fail's Pat Casey. Mr Donnelly and Sinn Fein's John Brady are said by some to be in trouble, with the Greens' Steven Matthews and Social Democrats' Jennifer Whitmore, plus Fine Gael veteran and former Renua TD Billy Timmins, all in the mix. Expand Close Doorstep challenge: Stephen Donnelly attempts to persuade voter Marguerite Deegan. Photo: Gerry Mooney / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Doorstep challenge: Stephen Donnelly attempts to persuade voter Marguerite Deegan. Photo: Gerry Mooney But on a chilly and dark evening Mr Donnelly is popular and health is the dominant issue, door after door, with no one particularly happy about the state of the current system. Mr Donnelly's stump speech involves a reference to his private sector experience where, he claims, his job was "fixing health systems". An elderly lady, who prefers that her name is not used, talks about her daughter who is a nurse and tells Mr Donnelly: "It's a pity she wasn't here, although she probably would have killed you." She laughs and says later: "Simon Harris - God help him. Had he any hope at all? It wasn't great when he took over. Can anyone do anything with it?" Mr Donnelly is diplomatic but firm: "I am not saying Simon's a bad guy. I know him, we went to the same school, he's not a bad guy. I am sure he gets up every day - but the results have been catastrophic." Mr Donnelly has been a TD for Wicklow for nearly a decade. But in each election he has run with different stripes. In 2011 he was an Independent, in 2016 he was a Social Democrat, and now he is running for the party he once said had no "coherent policies" and was part of a "Stale cartel". The issue does not come up on the doors as much as you might expect. Standing in his front porch, Adam Egan raises it immediately, prompting Mr Donnelly to launch into a well-rehearsed speech, insisting if you're "serious" about changing the system then "you've gotta join a political party". "So who?" he asks rhetorically. "Micheal Martin's a really decent guy. He has the potential to be a phenomenal Taoiseach." He name-checks Michael McGrath and Lisa Chambers. "I'll definitely give him a strong consideration," Mr Egan tells the Irish Independent afterwards. Someone who needs no convincing is Tom O'Doherty, a retail supplier who works in Rathnew and has just arrived home from work. "We need something different than we have at the moment. There's no point going around worried about the colour of socks or stuff like that, there's a country to be run," he says. He is annoyed at the "s**t they brought out a couple of weeks ago" - a reference to the now-postponed Royal Irish Constabulary commemoration. His vote for Fianna Fail is a dead cert. As we walk away, Mr Donnelly jokes: "That cost me 50, he's been waiting around the corner for 20 minutes." The TD moves at great pace around the estate but with no clear plan as to which doors he does and doesn't knock-on. It seems a little bit disorganised, although he insists there is a science to it. He also tends to linger at doorsteps. Holding her young daughter in her porch, Michelle Lawrence listens for nearly 10 minutes as Mr Donnelly lapses into wonkishness. "Did you ever read 'The Tipping Point' by Malcolm Gladwell?" he asks her at one point before continuing with a long soliloquy on all the problems with the health service. By the end of it Ms Lawrence is leaning against the wall, appearing eager to get inside as Mr Donnelly drones on about "managing money better" and "taking pressure off the system". Mr Harris does not come up much on this canvass, but when he does the feedback is scathing. At one front door, a mother of one is in tears, saying she had to wait seven years to get injections to ease her asthma and has to apply every year for a medical card. "He better not come to this door," she says of Mr Harris. "He seems to be doing everything apart from health." At another house, a man tells Mr Donnelly: "Get rid of that fella. I don't care how you do it." Mr Harris was unable to facilitate the Irish Independent to join him on a canvass last week. Despite a difficult start to the campaign and shock poll putting it 12 points behind Fianna Fail, several Fine Gael TDs said the feedback on the doors was not as negative as they had expected. "Based on what I am getting back I don't feel a huge sense of alarm," said one deputy. Another TD said: "The doors are not as hard as they were in 2016." Even Mr Donnelly doesn't believe Mr Harris will lose his seat - but he does hope to replace him in the Department of Health after this election. Bihar Police subordinate services commission (BPSSC) has rejected 276 applications of candidates. These 276 candidates had applied for more than one posts due to which their candidature has been cancelled. BPSSC has released a list mentioning the roll numbers of all the 276 candidates, on its official website at bpssc.bih.nic.in. BPSSC had conducted the preliminary exam on December 22, 2019. The recruitment drive is conducted against advertisement number 01/ 2019 for the posts of sub- inspector, sergeant, assistant superintendent jail (direct recruitment)and Assistant Superintendent Jail (Ex-Serviceman) in Home Department (Police) and Home Department (Jail) .There are a total of 2446 vacancies notified by BPSSC. Check official notification here Out of the total vacancies announced, 2,064 are for Police Sub Inspector, 215 are for Sergeant, 125 for Assistant Superintendent Jail (Direct Recruitment) and 42 for Assistant Superintendent Jail (ex-servicemen). Check the list of roll numbers whose application is cancelled SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Warren Buffett famously said "Our favorite holding period is forever," and it's good advice. Periodically reviewing your stocks is wise, but ultimately we're looking for companies whose shares we can buy and hold for the ultra-long term -- even as long as 50 years. Personally, 50 years pushes me well beyond retirement age. Then again, life expectancy for men in the U.S. increased 13% over the past 50 years, so maybe I should be planning for a longer retirement anyway. That's not the only thing that has changed over the last 50 years. During this time, personal computers entered nearly every household, the internet connected the world, and we all walk around holding smartphones with capabilities that would've stretched credulity even 15 years ago. Conceding that much can change in 50 years, I expect that United Rentals (NYSE:URI), Tyson Foods (NYSE:TSN), and Mastercard (NYSE:MA) will all still be alive and thriving a half-century from now. As long as we keep building stuff United Rentals isn't a household name, but maybe it should be. The equipment company makes the bulk of its revenue through rentals for both residential and nonresidential construction projects. But it also opportunistically sells aging equipment when market prices are favorable. While that might not sound like an earth-shattering business, the stock recently traded at about $160, from around $10 a share in January 2010, making it a top-10 stock over the past decade. There's reason to think it can continue beating the market from here. The equipment rental market is highly fragmented. United Rentals claims to be the largest equipment rental company in the country, but it only has 13% market share. That leaves plenty of room for growth via expansion and acquisitions. In the third quarter of 2019, 11% of the company's 15% rental revenue growth was attributable to the acquisitions of BlueLine Rental and BakerCorp. United Rentals uses strong free cash flow ($1.1 billion through three quarters in 2019) and debt to fund acquisitions like these. These two acquisitions alone cost the company nearly $3 billion. But it also repurchases a lot of its stock -- outstanding shares are down 7% year over year. Construction projects aren't ever going away. As long as renting equipment makes more sense than buying, I expect this company to be fine. Despite double-digit revenue and earnings growth, it only trades at 8 times forward earnings. These are all reasons I recently added it to my IRA. As long as we keep eating stuff Unlike United Rentals, Tyson Foods needs no introduction. The food titan has four business segments: beef, pork, chicken, and prepared foods like its Jimmy Dean brand. Excluding acquisitions and tax law changes, revenue and net income were essentially flat from 2018 to 2019. But the company is becoming a steady dividend player, raising it annually over the last five years. While the dividend yield is still under 2%, the payout ratio is only 27%, which means future annual increases are likely. One specific reason that now may be a great time to buy Tyson is the U.S. and China signing off on phase one of a trade deal. Under the deal, China agrees to purchase around $200 billion of U.S. goods. The deal includes $32 billion in agricultural goods over the next two years, with pork cited specifically. That's logical since China is struggling with its domestic pork production. Tyson already exports to China, meaning it could be a major beneficiary of the trade deal. Another reason to like this company long term is its willingness to experiment with new products, like plant-based meats. Hype for these protein alternatives has surged of late, and interest could retreat once the novelty fades. But if this is a legitimate long-term trend, Tyson is preparing to meet demand with its own line of plant-based chicken, pork, and beef alternatives. To be clear, it's not abandoning its legacy operations -- just adding new products to stay in front of eating trends. As long as we keep buying stuff The war on cash is real. We're increasingly moving away from cash, which is propelling digital payment network companies like Mastercard higher. According to the World Cash Report from G4S, a British multinational security services company, approximately 32% of payments in the U.S. were made with cash in 2018. But outside the U.S., cash usage is much higher. For example, the report estimates that in Europe, cash makes up 79% of all transactions by volume. That's particularly good news for Mastercard, since it already has a large international presence. In its third quarter 2019, international revenue accounted for 64% of Mastercard's total. In 50 years, many countries may be completely cashless. Governments certainly have incentive to do this, as it would provide a digital record of all transactions. And real-life examples show this shift can happen quickly. Consider that between 2016 and 2018, cashless transactions in Sweden grew 25% and now make up 80% of all transactions. Some believe the country could be completely cashless by 2023. The point is, as long as the world keeps going cashless, and commerce continues (both should be givens), then Mastercard should be one of the big winners. Through three quarters in 2019, Mastercard's revenue is up 12%, including 13% international growth. But I wouldn't be surprised if that growth accelerated. While not a big dividend payer (less than 1% yield), of the three companies discussed here, Mastercard is the one I'm most confident will be thriving 50 years from now. A former quarry operator has had a 60m debt write-off approved by the High Court - the largest ever under personal insolvency legislation. Enda Patrick Whelan's debts included 56.4m owed to Nama, most of which related to personal guarantees given to the former Anglo Irish Bank in respect of companies in the Whelan Group. Three of those companies are now in liquidation and one is in receivership. The court heard the businesses got into difficulty due to the collapse of the building industry in recent years and Mr Whelan owed money to a number of financial institutions. The 46-year-old will retain his family home in Ennis, Co Clare, valued at 230,000, under his personal insolvency arrangement (PIA). His creditors will receive a lump sum of 56,300 under the arrangement, devised by personal insolvency practitioner (PIP) Jim Stafford. This means creditors will get dividends ranging from just 0.01 cent to 1.37 cent in the euro. But counsel for the PIP, Keith Farry BL, told Mr Justice Mark Sanfey creditors would receive no return whatsoever if Mr Whelan went into bankruptcy. The court heard Mr Whelans household income was now 2,175 and, after reasonable living expenses were taken into account, he had no surplus to make any additional monthly payments to creditors. Nama had originally objected to the arrangement, but its counsel, Eithne Corry BL, said the objections were withdraw after some changes were made. These included the lengthening of the arrangement from three months to twelve. The court heard Mr Whelan owed Bank of Ireland just 4,685 on the mortgage on the family home he shares with his wife and young child. He will continue to make monthly mortgage payments of 716. However, Cabot Asset Management and Bank of Scotland (Ireland) had judgment mortgages valued at 1.4m each over the family home, while Everyday Finance was also owed 905,000. The judgment mortgages will now be deregistered under the terms of the PIA. In an affidavit, Mr Whelan said that if the PIA application had failed, he would have petitioned for bankruptcy. He said his liability to Nama did not relate to money he personally borrowed, but rather a personal guarantee he gave as an additional guarantee for the company borrowings. It was never envisaged that I would have a performing loan with Anglo Irish Bank Corporation Ltd nor were there repayment terms, he said. My financial difficulties arose mainly as a result of the collapse of various companies in respect of which I gave personal guarantees to various creditors, he said. The economic downturn and collapse of the building industry in recent years has resulted in the liquidation of these companies which left substantial borrowings for which I am personally liable. Mr Whelan said he became instantly insolvent when the guarantee was called in. The impact of having legacy debts hang over him for almost a decade had been considerable and including great stress and difficulty getting a proper nights sleep. In his affidavit, Mr Whelan said he had spent years engaging with creditors with no resolution. He said he was now self-employed and working three days while providing care for his elderly father and that the job prospects for a 46-year-old quarry machine operator in the mid-west were limited at present. SC restrains Tripura cops from acting on notice to Twitter against journalist's tweets on violence Who are the Bru refugees: The pact explained India oi-Briti Roy Barman Aizawl, Jan 20: The impasse over the Bru community comes to an end after 22 years as a quadripartite pact of MHA on January 16 was agreed among the State governments of Tripura, Mizoram and leaders of Bru community to rehabilitate 34,000 displaced Bru or Reang people in Tripura permanently. Bru tribals, who originated from Mizoram, have been living lives like refugees in Tripura since 1997 following ethnic clashes which forced them to flee to the neighbour. The agreement would allow them to live in either the state. Who are the Bru The Brus hail from Mizoram but ethnically they are distinct from the Mizos. The languages/dialects of the Brus, a predominantly Hindu tribe are said to be unintelligible for the Christian Mizos and Kukis who hold the majority in the state and share close linguistic and cultural ties. In Tripura, Brus are the most populous tribe after the Tripuris and mostly known as Reangs, and were almost 2 lakh in number during the 2011 Census. Why Bru fled to Tripura Being an ethnic and religious minority, the 'outsiders', Brus faced a horrific episode of violence in 1997 when thousands of Bru homes were burnt, and a number of them were killed and raped. The outbreak forced them to flee to safety in neighbouring Tripura. While having verbal spats with Mizos, an unknown Bru militant group that year kidnapped and murdered a Mizo forest department employee in the Dampa Tiger Reserve. The killing led to ethnic clashes between the tribes and Brus had to run to Tripura for their lives. At present, around 40,000 Brus living in four districts of Mizoram while about 34,000 Brus reside in relief camps in northern Tripura. The long stays led them to learn the state languages, Kokborok and Bangla and acquainted them very well with the state's socio-political ecology. What is in the Bru Agreement As per the agreement, all Brus currently living in temporary relief camps in Tripura will be settled in the state, if they want to stay on. The Bru refugees in Tripura will be given aid for their rehabilitation and would be included in the voter list of the state. The Centre has announced a special development project for the resettlement and Rs 600 crore fund for the development of the migrants. The Centre has sanctioned a package of Rs 600 crore for their settlement and Rs 150 lakh will be given to Tripura government for the land acquisition and their welfare. Home Minister Amit Shah informed media that Bru refugees will get a 40-by-30-ft plot along with a fixed deposit of Rs 4 lakh for two years, cash assistance of Rs 5,000 per month for two years and free ration. Shah declared that an amount of Rs 1.5 lakh will be provided to each family of them as aid to construct their own houses and that the amount will be disbursed under Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awaas Yojana (PMAY). Tripura scion royal Pradyot Deb Barman, one of the signatories, said he would donate 35 acres of land for the purpose. Amit Shah hailed the agreement as "historic" and thanked the Chief Ministers of Tripura and Mizoram, Pradyot Kishore Debbarma and social organisations for the resolution and said the state governments will work towards the development of Bru families. 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 Strides Pharma Science Ltd (Strides) on Monday said its arm has received an establishment inspection Report (EIR) from the US health regulator for its Florida facility in the US. Strides Pharma Inc received EIR from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for the inspection conducted at its unit it December last year. "Strides today announced that its step down subsidiary, Strides Pharma Inc. (SPI), has received an Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) from the USFDA for its facility in Riviera Beach, Florida, US," it said in a filing to the BSE. The facility is one of the very few manufacturing facilities in the US with a soft gel capsule (SGC) manufacturing suite for formulations with containment needs, it said. Strides has a portfolio of approved SGCs in the US and other regulated markets. "The inspection outcome will bolster the company's fast-growing SGC franchise in the US and will also help accelerate our foray into the private label opportunity with 'in market for market' products," the filing said. Strides will kickstart the site transfers of its existing SGC portfolio to the site with immediate effect. In the future, the company said, it plans to expand additional dosage format suites at the Florida facility, which will mirror the capabilities of its formulations facility in Singapore and will help the company to tap opportunities under various federal government procurement programmes, including procurements administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Shares of Strides Pharma Science were trading 0.96 per cent higher at Rs 390.50 apiece on the BSE in morning trade. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) SYDNEY, Jan. 20 (Peoples Daily Online) -- The Final Award of When Koala Meets Panda 2019 China-Australia Short Video Contest was revealed in Brisbane, Australia on January 15, 2020. With over 5 million views on China's social media platforms, the final award went to Michael Moryosef with his video Kungfu Kangaroo. The contest is hosted by the Consulate-General of The Peoples Republic of China In Brisbane and organized by Peoples Daily Online Australia. The event is supported by the China Cultural Centre in Sydney, China National Tourist Office in Sydney, Peoples TV, and Xiamen University. The partners include Brisbane City Council, Study Brisbane, Study Queensland, Australia-China Youth Association and so on. Kungfu Kangaroowon the final award (photo by Jiancong Ren) This contest, aiming to enhance the connections between China and Australia, invites Australian youths and Chinese international students to make videos expressing their understandings of the different cultures. From 1 August to 10 November 2019, almost 140 entries have been received on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The short videos record how participants have experienced, adapted to and embraced the cultural differences. Reviewed by a professional judging panel formed with Australian famous TV presenters, producers, and academics, 12 Outstanding Awards works and 4 Individual Awards works were selected in December 2019. Best Moment Award: Jonas in China-Chinese National Day by Jonas Groom http://v.people.cn/n1/2019/1213/c239891-31505680.html Best Experience Award: Big World, Little Puppets by Timothy Grubisic, Shiyao Huang and Yingshan Chen http://v.people.cn/n1/2019/1213/c239891-31505681.html Best Story Award: Kungfu Kangaroo by Michael Moryosef http://v.people.cn/n1/2019/1213/c239891-31505678.html Best Editing Award: Hello Australia by Huang Yanan http://v.people.cn/n1/2019/1213/c239891-31505679.html 2019 China-Australia Short Video Contest award ceremony (Photo by Laobing) These four Individual Awards videos were posted on the social media platforms in China and with nearly 5.3 million views, the entry Kungfu Kangaroo won the Most Popular in China Award. As Michael was unable to participate in the ceremony in Brisbane, his father Rami Moryosef received the award, given by Dr. Xu Jie, Consul-General of the Peoples Republic of China in Brisbane and the Honourable Chief Justice Catherine Holmes, Acting Governor of Queensland. Michael is currently almost graduated from a double Law and International Studies Degree from the University of New South Wales in Australia. He has been learning Mandarin for 18 months in Beijing. During this time, he has developed a fascination with the way in which China represents both an ancient culture and cutting-edge modernity. The Chinese WeChat application epitomizes this combination, he said. That is why he made this video sharing his experience with WeChat. Michael will be invited to China for a one-week cultural experience trip. I am absolutely thrilled to have been awarded this year's Most Popular Video. I cannot wait to return to China and continue to explore the land, eat the food, and make new friends along the way. Gov. Noem lauds state economy, but big legislative fights are coming Noems speech flowed between business and economic development, lifestyle issues and social issues that were united by their conservative themes. Spotlight: Rabbi Joshua Neely, Temple Israel, Winter Springs, Florida "The past is never dead. It's not even past."-William Faulkner "My passion is teaching," Rabbi Joshua Neely told me as we talked about why he chose his career path. "Becoming a rabbi for me seemed to be a logical choice. I've always been very inquisitive. Still am. At a young age, eight, nine years old, I was asking questions about life and Judaism. I've always been this way," Neely said. "Perhaps, my mother's questioning nature... led us to this point. In this regard, I'm very much like her," he shared, adding, "You may be surprised that my mother was raised in a nominally Christian environment." Neely's mother, Charlene Neely, began her spiritual journey at a young age. Seeking answers, she went to different places of worship with her friends, but when she went to a synagogue for the first time, she felt at home. In the late 1950s, at the age of 15, she began the process of conversion. She was active in Hadassah and visited and led trips to Israel. In 1967, when she was 21, she volunteered to go to Israel to help any way she could during the Six-Day War. "Israeli youth were conscripted into the military, so the Jewish volunteers from around the world filled the various jobs that were abandoned on the civilian side when the Israeli citizens were called to defend the Jewish State. I grew up seeing my Judaism and the State of Israel as precious gifts never to be taken for granted. They were not 'given' but chosen and defended passionately," Neely stated. When Neely was young, Charlene landed a job as the co-director of a Reform religious school. "Growing up, my brother and I spent a lot of time there because of her work. As I grew older, I had questions that I remember asking the Reform rabbi. I wasn't very satisfied with the answers I received, even at that young age. Some things just didn't make sense to me." Then when Neely was 15 Charlene became the executive director at a conservative school in San Diego. "When we entered this realm," Neely shared, "those questions I was still seeking answers too, were finally answered. Conservative Judaism made more sense to me. It was as if a light bulb went off, it clicked!" This began Neely's progression little by little toward a more observant and knowledgeable practice of Judaism, which took years to fully take on. During high school, he had an assignment to make a family tree. He and his mother drove to the National Archive in Los Angeles. Neely reminisced, "I still see her today, working on the microfiche machine in that basement of the National Archive in LA." As his mother researched the family's genealogy, she found things that opened her eyes. "There were patterns she saw, and obvious clues like many Jewish surnames and first names. This was the beginning of a quest to research and learn about our family's past. It was a pivotal moment in our lives." Charlene was persistent enough to go back 1,000 years. She found out that they were direct descendants of Rashi, the medieval French rabbi and author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud and the Tanakh. Neely's great-grandmother, Mary Teresa Gallegos, moved as an infant from San Marcial, New Mexico, to Los Angeles in 1923. She was a practicing Catholic, however, she had strange traditions-such as lighting candles on Friday evening, and extended family members never ate pork. One of the most startling findings was that 19 generations ago, their family was directly linked to Solomon ha-Levi, a rabbi who lived in Burgos, Spain, in the 14th century. This rabbi offered to convert to Catholicism, bartering the Jews in his town, and his family's Jewish souls to the Catholic Church. In return for the mass conversions, he was brought into the Catholic Church as a bishop. Neely said, "I guess he would be equivalent to an uncle, 19 generations removed. His decision trapped the rest of the family and countless others into living double lives. It pushed their Judaism underground, where it remained until we brought it back." Living in Japan Neely attended undergraduate school at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. He received his undergraduate degrees in philosophy and political science, which fed his life-long curiosity about how the world worked. He considered going into academia and went to graduate school at San Diego State University. He soon dropped out. "I was disillusioned when I saw that the more I advanced in my studies, the narrower the subject matter became. It seemed fewer and fewer people would care or be impacted by what I was doing." Like so many others, Neely had a tremendous amount of student debt and was looking for a way to pay it off while figuring out what his next step would be. "A friend of mine from college was living in Japan and told me about a job teaching English. It was a 'full immersion' school, which meant that once a student began, they could not speak Japanese. Imagine that I had to communicate to my students only in English. It was challenging." He moved to Tokyo, and worked for Nova, the largest language school in Japan at the time. "I worked at the Ginza branch, which is like the 5th Avenue of Tokyo. My average class was comprised of three to four students. Sessions were only 40 minutes and on an average day I had eight classes." This frantic schedule and changing students gave him many opportunities to hone his teaching abilities. After a trip to Israel while in college, Neely had begun wearing a kippah all the time. He wanted to project his pride in Judaism, not shying away from it. Because of this, he received a lot of questions from his Japanese students who had little exposure to or knowledge of Judaism. Most were curious about what the kippah was and why he wore it. This was followed by questions like, 'What is a Jew?' 'How could you be Jewish and an American?' 'Why did Hitler hate you?' He felt that he was responsible for answering to the best of his ability, but he knew that he was doing it for his own clarification as well. This was the impetus for him to dive in deeper, to understanding his faith. "We didn't have the Internet really back then, so most of my studies were from the few books I had brought or could buy in Tokyo." He met his wife, Penelope, in Japan. She had come from England and also was a teacher in the program. They hung out together with others in their circle of friends. "There was a point where we became more than friends. About a year after I had arrived in Japan, we fell in love." Penelope went through the conversion process in Tokyo. The Conservative rabbi at the JCC taught her and he performed the conversion ceremony at their mikveh. At the same time as he was considering marriage, Neely was also considering becoming a rabbi. "Japan had forced me to take full, personal responsibility for my Judaism. I couldn't rely on my family or a close synagogue to do the hard work for me. It also showed me just how much I loved teaching, especially about Judaism." He was accepted into the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in Los Angeles, which he said was perfect for him because after being away in Japan for four years he wanted to stay close to his family. While waiting to enroll for the next year's admissions, Neely and Penelope were married. He taught English in San Diego and Penelope worked for a local Jewish newspaper. Their first child, Hannah, was born while he was in his second year of rabbinic school. Ziegler was a five-year program and in the third year all students had to study in Israel. "I went to Machon Schechter in 2003-2004. It was a wonderful experience living in Israel and studying with Israelis as well as other Americans. Though being a new father in a new country was quite a handful." When he was ordained in 2006, he took a job in Baltimore, Maryland, working as an assistant rabbi in a large Conservative congregation. He was there for four years, then the country entered a recession and his position was eliminated. He interviewed for the rabbi's position at Temple Israel in Winter Springs, where he saw a unique opportunity. "It was an established synagogue recovering from an implosion. I met the people who were literally fighting to keep the congregation alive. I was impressed with their dedication and determination to pick themselves up and to will the congregation forward. Every year here has shown me that I had made the right choice." As co-director of the school and bar mitzvah trainer, he is very involved with the children at Temple Israel. "I love the idea of a Jewish school which has a vibrant program that brings together students from three different synagogues [Temple Israel, Temple Shir Shalom and Congregation Beth Am]. Working with the kids is amazing. Just like I was, they are always ready to ask the hard questions about things that matter." Temple Israel has a diverse congregation and one that continues to attract new members of all kind. They have a full set of learning opportunities for all ages and a strong conversion course. "Whenever I teach, work with the kids, welcome someone new, I think back to my ancestor 19 generations ago. He bartered our Judaism during the time of the Spanish Inquisition for his personal gain. Maybe he thought it was the only way to protect the people he cared about. Whatever his intentions, I'm proud to say, we're still here, 500 years later, growing stronger, standing tall and proud. My mother and I are a living example of how our past affects us even today. Our Jewish story continues as we're back in the land of Israel and my family is back on course. If you look carefully, every family has a story like this. The courageous decisions, the bad choices, the struggles and the successes-every family is a tapestry. The big question is what you will do with your thread?" The recent rescue of a trawler 20km north of Fanad Head in Co Donegal gave us a glimpse of the enormous seas that occasionally strike that part of the coast. The phenomenal bravery of Lough Swilly, Portrush and Arranmore RNLI volunteer crews saw all hands on the trawler saved. Inishbeg, lying 5km off shore, is one of a trio of islands overshadowed by the mighty Tory Island. Inishbofin is popular with holidaymakers and Inishdooey has the ruins of a monastery. Inishbeg is the most northerly of the three and is pretty inhospitable and uninhabited. Its neighbour Inishdooey had a small population of monks but no one could ever have lived on Inishbeg. It has no shelter and no fresh water. In a gale force wind it is not a good place to be. Inishdooey by comparison has low-lying areas that afford a modicum of shelter. Inishbeg is the proverbial cork in the sea. In addition to those conditions it has no obvious landing spot. No beach to pull your boat up on. And no pier to dock at. It is a pretty difficult island to land on by kayak but a few narrow channels afford an opportunity to the experienced paddler. Its rocky girdle is capped be a very pleasant carpet of grass and Michaelmas daisies with a sizeable pond. Inishbeg was the scene of an audacious rescue in December 1940 of a Dutch steamship, the Stolwijk, by the crew of the Arranmore lifeboat. The Stolwijk had been at sea when the Netherlands fell under Nazi occupation in July of that year and so stayed at sea as part of the contingent of the Dutch merchant fleet which was assisting the war effort. Sailing into a storm gale, at the head of a convoy of ships en route from Newfoundland to Liverpool, four of which were sunk by German U-boats, the Stolwijk was driven onto the rocks of Inishdooey when its rudder snapped sending it drifting fast towards the rocks. One if its escort ships, HMS Sabre, immediately came to its aid but itself nearly foundered. At 11.30pm the radio officer was washed overboard. The captain immediately put out a mayday signal. Fearing the worst, nine of the crew put to sea in a lifeboat but were unable to escape the mountainous seas and drowned. Six of these bodies were never recovered. The Arranmore lifeboat, the KTJS, put to sea in a hurricane at dawn 40km to the southeast and powered through 50m visibility to the rescue. It took the lifeboat five-and-half hours to reach the stricken vessel which was in the process of being dismembered by the indifferent sea. They anchored upwind of the Stolwijk and found 18 men huddled at the stern of the ship with waves breaking over them. They first retrieved four of the sailors by means of a breeches buoy fired onto the vessel which allowed the men cross on a rope chair to the lifeboat. That rope was then shredded on a metal plate of the ship and eventually replaced. Buffeted by strengthening winds and more exhausted by the minute, they fought the sea for another four hours and succeeded in rescuing the remaining 14 sailors and returned safely to Burtonport. For their astonishing bravery the crew were honoured by the RNLI and by Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands with coxswain John Boyle receiving the gold medal. The Stolwijk which sank beside the island in 1940. On a Facebook page dedicated to researching the whereabouts of relatives of the Stolwiijks crew a nephew of the second engineer Willem Castel wrote: He told that, when the ship was on the rocks, he did stay on the ship and did not jump into the sea because he could not swim. Luckily he was saved by the brave Irish sailors. Thank you so much that you saved my favourite uncle. A song by Arranmore publican Jerry Early entitled Ill Go was released on the 75th anniversary of the tragedy with the proceeds going towards the erection of a monument on Arranmore. How to to get there: Experienced kayakers can access Inishbeg from Magheroarty Beach, near Falcarragh, Co Donegal. Or the island can be seen from the Tory Island ferry. Other: alchetron.com/SS-Stolwijk; www.facebook.com/groups/440806279447957; www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jObv6QmpgU; rnli.org Maj. Gen. Esmail Qaani in an undated file photo. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP) Soleimanis Replacement Vows Manly Revenge The commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force, who replaced General Qassem Soleimani after a U.S. airstrike killed him, said that revenge for Soleimanis killing would be taken in a manly fashion. In the latest threat by Iran, Esmail Qaani told the force during the ceremony introducing him as Soleimanis replacement that America took out Soleimani in a cowardly way. But with Gods grace and through endeavors of freedom-seekers around the world who want vengeance over his blood, we will hit his enemy in a manly fashion, he said, Al Jazeera reported. Soleimani was hit with the airstrike in Baghdad overnight on Jan. 2. Irans Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei appointed Qaani less than 12 hours after Soleimani was killed. The orders for the [Quds] force remain exactly as they were during the leadership of martyr Soleimani, Khamenei said in a decree. I call on the members of the force to be present and cooperate with General Qaani and wish him divine prosperity, acceptance, and guidance. The force is part of the guard, which includes some 125,000 Iranians. A top aide to Soleimani who fought in the Iran-Iraq war and was an intelligence official in the corps, Qaani vowed revenge for Soleimanis killing at his funeral several days after being appointed his replacement. Iranians raise portraits of the newly-appointed head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Esmail Qaani during an anti-U.S. rally to protest the killings during a U.S. airstrike of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi paramilitary chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, in the capital Tehran on Jan. 4, 2020. (Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images) God the almighty has promised to get his revenge, and God is the main avenger. Certainly actions will be taken, Qaani said. U.S. military leaders said the strike against Soleimani was ordered in the wake of a series of attacks against the United States, including the killing of an American contractor and the breach of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. Iran retaliated by firing missiles at Iraqi bases hosting U.S. troops on Jan. 7. No troops were seriously harmed, though 11 troops were treated for symptoms of concussion. Trump appeared a day after the strikes, saying the United States would respond by imposing additional sanctions but wouldnt take further military action. Trump signaled he was ready for peace. To the people and leaders of Iran: We want you to have a future and a great futureone that you deserve, one of prosperity at home, and harmony with the nations of the world. The United States is ready to embrace peace with all who seek it, Trump said. Trump said that Iran appeared to be standing down from further attacks. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote on Twitter that the country had concluded proportionate measures in self-defense. Iran later came under pressure for shooting down a Ukrainian plane that had just taken off from Tehran. Several days after the Jan. 8 incident, which left all 176 people on board dead, authorities admitting to downing the plane. COLUMBIA Hundreds of South Carolinians and eight Democratic presidential candidates marched arm in arm Monday to the feet of the Statehouse steps to celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., seeking to reframe his struggles through the lens of modern politics. The annual King Day at the Dome, which began as a protest 20 years ago when the Confederate flag was still flying atop the Statehouse's copper-covered cupola, has since become something of a rite of passage for any Democratic contenders hoping to make their way to the White House. Given the large field of candidates and South Carolina's role as the first early-voting primary state with a sizable African American population, Monday's ceremonies offered a particularly crowded stage as the candidates clamored to lay claim to the mantle of racial justice. The day marked the first time since the S.C. Democratic Party convention and U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn's "world famous" fish fry over the summer that South Carolina had commanded such outsized attention in the political universe. With eyes now turning towards the first contests in Iowa and New Hampshire, Monday will also likely represent the last time the Palmetto State will dominate national political headlines until a Democratic debate broadcasts from Charleston a few days before the S.C. primary on Feb. 29. It has become such a crucial event that one candidate, former Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., even changed his earlier plans of spending the day in his hometown at the last minute to make it to at least a portion of the Columbia events. Though Buttigieg had to leave before getting an opportunity to address the crowds at the Statehouse, he did speak briefly at the Columbia Urban League's annual MLK Day breakfast attended by several other candidates in West Columbia before the march. Buttigieg told the Urban League he was "mindful that we gather in the state where your efforts brought down a banner of bigotry from the Statehouse and showed a beacon for the rest of the country, as well. "It gives us hope," Buttigieg said. Jaime Harrison, the Democrat challenging U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham this year, said the day was supposed to be less about politics and more about reflecting on King's approach. But with the Feb. 29 South Carolina Democratic presidential primary on the horizon, many of the candidates could not help but inject overtly political rhetoric into their brief speeches before the masses. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont argued that King's "revolutionary" style is often overlooked, and he called on renewing that approach to oppose voter suppression, militarism and wealth inequality. "He took on the entire political establishment, he took on the economic establishment and he fought racism every step of the way," Sanders said of King. "And our job is not just to remember the history of Dr. King, it is to absorb his revolutionary spirit and apply it today." Former Vice President Joe Biden directed his remarks specifically to Republican President Donald Trump, calling the 2020 election a "second inflection point" comparable to the civil rights movement King helped lead. "Hate never goes away, it only hides," Biden said. "If you give it oxygen, as Trump has done, it only comes back." Sign up for updates! Get the latest political news from The Post and Courier in your inbox. Email Sign Up! U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts said the fight that King led against racial and economic justice continues long after his passing, calling the current state of politics "a moment of crisis." "I come here this morning with a heart filled with hope because while there's a lot that's broken, we've still got our voices and we've still got our votes," Warren said. "And in a democracy, that means we decide what happens next." Billionaire businessman Tom Steyer, surrounded on stage by black staffers and supporters of his campaign, told the crowd that he supports paying reparations to the descendants of slaves and he believes systemic racism remains a pressing issue in America decades after King's death. "When you look at the policy issues that the presidential candidates are addressing, you can't look at any of those issues without realizing that there's an underlying point about race in every one," Steyer said, specifically noting criminal justice, education and environmental justice. Other contenders addressing the crowd much of whom stayed in place despite the frigid temperatures included U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick. Attendees offered conflicting views of the propriety of the candidates' focus on electoral politics at an event ostensibly intended to pay respects to a historical figure. Miriam Johnson, a longtime Elizabeth Warren fan, said she felt it was important for the candidates to come to King Day at the Dome because the two earliest states in the nominating calendar, Iowa and New Hampshire, are overwhelmingly white. "They really need to be in South Carolina. These people need to talk to black people," said Johnson. Jennifer Booker of Aiken said shed prefer the candidates not be there at all. Booker who brings young people to the Statehouse with the NAACP Youth Council, said she wants them to hear the message of Martin Luther King Jr. and what he stands for freedom and a united society not divided by wealth, poverty or color not these guys. "They should pick their own time to come, not piggyback on this," Booker said. "I dont want our youth to think its about politics." Booker said she hasnt decided who to vote for, adding the candidates "each have said good things." Colin Welch, on the other hand, said its important, "especially given todays political climate," to listen to the candidates. The Columbia resident remains undecided. I use this forum to help me make up my mind," he said. Earnest Jones of Columbia, who retired from the Army after 27 years, said hes been at every King Day, but he felt it particularly important to attend this year. "Were at a time where we need to vote," Jones said. "Our votes matter. Our voice matters. And this is needed because we need a drastic change right now." Advertisement Sam Faiers delighted her sister Billie when she surprised her with a trip to NYC for her 30th birthday last week. And as the girls and their mum Sue Wells have been getting stuck in, they have of course been detailing their holiday in forensic detail on social media - including their boozy brunch at Balthazar and a trip to Times Square. However it was not all fun and games during their holiday, after Sam, 29, came under fire with fans for wearing what appeared to be a real fur coat, with animal lovers swarming the comments to pen a series of scathing messages which the former TOWIE star appeared to go on to delete. Woo! Billie and Sam Faiers and their mum Sue Wells have been living it up in New York after Sam gifted her sister with the trip to mark her 30th birthday last week On Thursday, fans were wowed when Sam took to social media to reveal she had gifted Billie with a Louis Vuitton bag and a trip to New York alongside their mum as a 30th present. The ladies were living the life of luxury as they jetted away on Friday in First Class yet things got off to a rocky start when Billie lashed out a 'fun-sucking' member of BA staff, who claimed they were 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. Yet the ladies have since moved on from their travel woes and have been sharing all their snaps from their trips around the Big Apple - including carriage rides in Central Park and a trip to Times Square. Bad choice? However it was not all fun and games during their holiday, after Sam, 29, came under fire with fans for wearing what appeared to be a real fur coat, with animal lovers swarming the comments to pen a series of scathing messages which the former TOWIE star appeared to go on to delete. Are you fur real? She posed with Billie while wearing the coat in a different outfit - this time a Fendi ensemble When Sam shared a stunning snap from her trip to the iconic location, she posed in a cream ensemble with a Louis Vuitton handbag and a full length fur coat - which riled Instagram users. Stunner followers and animal rights activists, penned: 'That coat. Unfollowed. Deleting any negative posts... why? Shame on you wearing Mink. Only mink should wear mike!!!... I'm surprised she dare it out in public... Yes it is beautiful ON THE ANIMALS. Love a mink. On a mink.' MailOnline has contacted a representative for Sam for comment yet at the time of publication there was no confirmation if Sam's fur coat is real or faux. Obviously feeling wild, the ladies posted a number of their trip to iconic French brasserie Balthazar, where they were seen dancing, rocking out and having a laugh. Woo! The girls were frolicking during their swanky brunch where drinks appeared to be in full flow Having a giggle: Billie was dancing with a shark during the raucous brunch In a hilarious twist, Sam revealed they were in fact booked to return to the eatery but could not make it, seemingly from the excess of the previous day. They instead opted for hot dogs in the street. In Billie's plane rant after being silenced, she 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] 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. Uh oh: In a hilarious twist, Sam revealed they were in fact booked to enjoy brunch at Bagatelle but could not make it, seemingly from the excess of the previous day. They instead opted for hot dogs in the street Wheely good time: The girls kept cosy under a rug while they sat in the carriage Chilled: It was not all go however, as Sam was seen kicking back in the spa 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. 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. 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. Chic: Billie was kicking back while clad in designer garb - including a stunning Chanel bag 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 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 U S authorities have dropped charges brought against billionaire businessman Sir Philip Green for allegedly touching a Pilates instructor inappropriately. The Arcadia Group mogul was charged with four counts of misdemeanour assault in June last year. Katie Surridge told police in Arizona that Sir Philip spanked and grabbed her backside during classes in the Canyon Ranch luxury resort in Tucson in 2016 and 2018. Sir Philip, 67, could have faced up to 30 days' imprisonment on each charge or a fine of up to 500 US dollars (385) if the prosecution had gone ahead. The businessman always strongly denied the allegations and on Monday Arcadia said the charges have now been dismissed. In a statement, the company said: "At the request of the prosecution, the cases alleging assault against Sir Philip Green, due to be heard before The Consolidated Court of Arizona in and for The County of Pima on 20th February 2020, were dismissed by the Order of the Honourable Justice Vince Roberts on 17th January 2020. "These matters are now closed." The complainant, who is in her thirties, said in a police interview that the "creepy old man" had "vigorously" slapped her bottom up to 10 times in January 2016. She alleged that on a second occasion in January 2018, Sir Philip had placed his hand around her waist and grabbed her bottom. Sir Philip's retail empire - which includes brands such as Topshop, Topman and Dorothy Perkins - embarked upon a major restructuring process last year in a bid to cut costs. Its a big shift for him personally, and his use of the bully pulpit is a new dynamic in Democrats push to shore up voting laws in key states before its too late to make a difference for them in the midterms. Over the last one hundred years, the British Royal Family has generously provided the world with a parade of scandals more colorful and louder than the socks they wear with their kilts. But the Meghan and Harry rupture is fundamentally different from any previous crisis to befall the British monarchy. Prior to now, royal scandals have been cut from the same petticoats as any other public ignominies i.e., the chin-wagging that follows uncovering some form of immoral conduct. All the throngs of poorly hidden mistresses, caddish boyfriends, toe-sucking on yachts, assignations in the deer park while the horses wait patiently, even consorting with extremes of evildoing, such as found in the company of the late J. Epstein, arose from ordinary human weakness set against an extraordinary backdrop. They have constituted straightforward disgraces that can unfold only among people with a shared religious heritage and moral code. Those days are gone. The roadside bomb in the royal family named Meghan Markle exploded not because of immoral conduct in the conventional sense. Markle is the first duchess who hails from the American left-wing, post-Christian, anti-moral belief system that worships the journey of self-directed personal actualization. Her justification after only a few months of marriage for urging hubby away from his family? "It is not enough to survive, you have to thrive." Apparently, Harry's fulfilling his role as prince prevents her thriving. For Meghan, thriving entails doing what you want, no matter if it hurts others or depreciates the generosity that has been heaped upon you. Meghan Markle's psychology is affected by well managed narcissistic rage. Narcissists seek power in relationships as a substitute for the terrifying experience of offering self-sacrificing love. Markle has two sources of power over the royal family and the millions of people who love them. She has the ordinary power of a disgruntled daughter-in-law to hurt her in-laws by controlling access to their brother, son, and grandchildren. She also has the extraordinary power to blackmail the royal family with the indictment of racism! It is widely reported that Markle has been acceding to the idea that she has been mistreated due to racism and that the royals fear being called racist in a "tell-all" interview. The melodramatic flight of Meghan and Harry is being compared to the shattering abdication of King Edward VIII in 1937. The two cases bear no resemblance. King Edward VIII faced a moral dilemma that arose from a conflict with a religiously based code of behavior. He wanted to marry his mistress. That was not acceptable to the royal family and the Church of England, so he chose to abdicate, and that was the end of it. Meghan Markle moves in a world where "organized" religion (the kind that comes with a moral code at no extra charge) is disrespected. Markle may spend a Christianish day at a baptism, but she is not guided by the teachings of any church, save perhaps the church of Oprah, whose liturgy is "What works for me?" Meghan has followed the career of all power-seeking, disruptive daughters-in-law. She could have begun her campaign of alienating her husband from his family with vague and irremediable complaints about her dissatisfactions as soon as she joined the Firm. "They don't respect you. They don't appreciate me." Wobbly Prince Harry is only too happy to be led away from his family. Meghan and Harry possess a potent psychobiological weapon: the cry of racism. Harry drops hints of the dread allegation. Meghan, just as she has no loyalty to her own family, discreetly ignores that ludicrous speculation against the family she chose to join. Markle is the kind of self-promoter who frames her stratospheric privilege and luxuries into a stand upon conscience, proclaiming she will not live in the U.S. while the current president is in office. Much noise, no sacrifice. Meghan carries narcissistic rage against the father she perceives abandoned her and against her family of origin, whom she seems to despise. Harry carries the abiding trauma of helplessness to protect his mother. Meghan married an enormously rich global celebrity who is a vulnerable, emotionally unstable man, who, despite the tragic history, lived a highly protected life and whom she could control. Harry married the opposite of his mother: an older, divorced, hardened TV actress How brave she is, overcoming all she has suffered! who he unconsciously senses can protect herself, thereby saving him from re-experiencing traumatic helplessness. Thus, her weaponization against his family works psychologically for them both. But not as well for Harry. Meghan is an actress, part of a business that virtually requires self-serving narcissism. Harry was not expected to develop a career independent of his royal duties. Furthermore, he appears to be a "serve or suffer" person like his mother. He draws energy from directly serving others. It is sad to see a prince shilling for his wife to Disney. It is said that when two people marry they become as one. Harry may not know it, but that one is Meghan. It has been said that Harry is "stepping away" from royal duties because he has PTSD and is protecting his family from the tragedy that befell his mother. If so, there would have been no need for the couple to behave badly. Harry may discover that a fear-driven life is a thwarted existence. They ambushed and distressed a frail 97-year-old man and his 93-year-old wife as a power tactic. They could have quietly created another home in Canada. They could have skipped the public self-congratulatory remarks about financial independence, as if hustling recently bestowed royal titles constitutes independence. Meghan did not need to complain that nobody cared about her, or that the duchess gig wasn't working for her. Above all, they did not have to promote the unjustified slander against queen and country that Meghan has been mistreated due to racism. Meghan Markle enjoys absolute melanin immunity from criticism. Any challenge, however gentle, is racist! The duchess of York was publicly pulverized for her appearance for years on end, but she's white so it was OK. A critique of Meghan's nail polish is racism! Racism! is a justification for the elite globalist kleptocracy to loot their nation state, because that is where the money is. The E.U. didn't fix up Frogmore "Cottage" for Meghan and Harry; the British people did. Such super-rich transnational lifestylers cling to a patina of virtue in their lack of loyalty to homeland, because the British, like all white people, are racist! This hoax, the rebuff of royal duties, and alienation from his royal family are being baked into Archie's life narrative. Concerned about carbon footprints, Meghan announced that Archie will be an only child. (Enforcing this one-child-to-jet conviction means that she will have to buy another jet if she becomes pregnant again.) It seems that everything is being done to diminish Archie's one-in-a-billion birthright. But he will not be able to escape it for an hour of his life once he is old enough to know who he is. So let's plan a glorious adolescent rebellion for Archie. He announces to Mom and Dad, "You people are not working for me. I am not thriving." He finally goes home to stay. The king restores Archie's titles and then some. He "Etons up," plays polo, and gets the funny socks to wear with his kilt. Image: Matt Brown via Flickr. Veteran actor Dipankar Dey was on Monday night discharged from the hospital after his health condition improved, a senior doctor of the medical establishment said. "Mr Dey was discharged on Monday evening at 8:30 pm. He is expected to return for a review after a week as advised by his supervising physician," senior pulmonologist at the hospital said. The 75-year-old actor was hospitalised after he complained of severe breathing problems last Friday, a day after getting married to long-time live-in partner Dolon Roy. Dey, who has worked with a number of directors such as Satyajit Ray to Srijit Mukherjee, bagged the National Film Awards for Best Supporting actor in 1986 for his role in Aparna Sen-directed 'Parama'. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Kosovar President Hashim Thaci has mandated Albin Kurti, the leader of Kosovo's Self-Determination Movement (Vetevendosje), to form a government. Thaci's decision came shortly after Vetevendosje, the party that won the most votes in October parliamentary elections, sent a letter to the president on January 20 announcing that it has nominated Kurti for the post of prime minister. According to the constitution, the prime minister designate has 15 days to put together a government. Kurti's upstart Vetevendosje party emerged with a plurality of 26 percent in the October elections that upset entrenched allies of Thaci, a former Kosovo Liberation Army commander, but still won only 29 seats in the 120-seat legislature. Vetevendosje and the second-place finisher, center-right opposition Democratic League (LDK), which won 28 seats, have been negotiating for months to form a government. Talks reportedly stalled over government posts and a unified choice to defeat Thaci's likely reelection bid in 2021. Thaci and Kurti held talks on January 6, but the Vetevendosje chief then failed to propose a candidate to lead the government. Kosovo has been recognized by more than 110 states since declaring independence from Serbia in 2008, but continues to face diplomatic and institutional hurdles stemming from nonrecognition by Serbia, Russia, and a handful of European Union states. Talks on normalizing diplomatic relations with Serbia were derailed in 2018 by Pristina's imposition of 100-percent tariffs on Serbian goods in response to Belgrade's continued lobbying for countries to reverse their recognition of Kosovo. International hopes on restarting those talks -- potentially leading to UN recognition for Kosovo and clearing other obstacles -- appear pinned on the next government. Thaci said in November that dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade on normalizing ties should continue "without any conditionality." With additional reporting by AP and Reuters Ever since my first river cruise some years ago, I knew it was the way to go. The joy of checking into your cabin, unpacking your stuff once and moving from city to city without any hassle is hard to beat. I boarded the AmaMagna in Austria and knew straight away fun was to be had. Our fellow passengers had already been on board for a few days and were all in good spirits. One gentleman that I spoke to said he hadn't one criticism or complaint and would most definitely be coming back. Another couple were on their 53rd AmaWaterways trip. Co-founded in 2002 by Vienna-born Rudi Schreiner, Kristin Karst and Irish American Jimmy Murphy, AmaWaterways brings the luxury to river cruising. The AmaMagna was launched in 2019 and is twice the size of normal river cruise boats but still with only 196 passengers and 70 friendly and helpful crew. My suite was vast and opulent with a lovely balcony and a high comfy bed, ideal for kicking back and watching the stunning vistas. Basilicas, castles and vineyards line the Danube and the great thing about river cruising is that the boats are small enough to get in close to the city or town. This cruise commenced in Passau, Germany but we joined it in Spitz, a picturesque Austrian town known for its vineyard and castle. It's well worth getting out and about to explore. You can do your own thing or avail of one of the daily excursions provided by AmaWaterways. All abilities are catered for including biking trips for the most active. After my few days on board and all the food and wine consumed, I was realistically only fit for the slowest walking tours. If crawling had been an option, I'd have gone with it. We opted for the panoramic tour of Vienna. What a beautiful city. Around every corner there's a stunning edifice. The Hofburg Palace is huge. It began as a modest building but over the years has expanded into a lavish palace right up to when the Hapsburgs fell from power in 1918. The famous Lipizzner horses are bred at the stud farm at Piber, outside Vienna, but when they are four years old they are brought into the Spanish Riding School in the grounds of the Hofburg. There's so much to see. So many coffees and Sachertortes to linger over and so many concerts to choose from. We passed the house where Strauss was born and the Cafe Landtmann where Sigmund Freud liked to sit and sip. Austrians sit for hours over a coffee. Walk done and appetite whetted, it was back on board to dine. The food is sublime and the choice is vast. With a capacity of under 200 people, the choice of four different restaurants is way above the norm. The main restaurant has a choice of cold and hot starters and main courses celebrating the fare of the country we were passing through. Jimmy's Wine bar and restaurant, named after the cofounder Jimmy Murphy, who sadly passed away a few years ago, (his son is now senior vice president of sales) with its high tables is more of a family dining experience where I devoured the most divine prawn risotto ever. We indulged ourselves in the chef's table on one of the nights. Carrot and ginger soup, followed by skin grilled pike perch with citrus sauce, celery mash and Beluga lentil ragout, followed by rum raisin crumble and vanilla ice cream was all divine. Wines are paired with every course. Ursula, our waitress, who studied film in Oxford had impeccable English and was great fun. One of our gang chose to avail of the spa facilities in the Zen Wellness Studio and deemed it excellent at 60. I on the other hand chose to chill out with my glass of wine and book in the lounge, with the pianist gently lulling me into my own zen. For the more active, there are spinning classes and circuit training at no extra cost. There was a message on our newsletter asking people not to go jogging on deck before 8 in the morning. No chance of me breaking that rule. Video of the Day Budapest was our final destination and another Danube jewel. We took a tour up to Matthias Church. Located on top of Buda Castle Hill, it provides panoramic views of the city. It's a stunning neo-Gothic building filled with treasures. The Chain bridge connects the two original cities, Buda and Pest united into one city in 1873. Pest is bustling and colourful. 'Ruin' Bars have become the rage here in fairly recent times. Abandoned spaces have been converted into bars and the locals have been very creative in repurposing these spots. Second-hand furniture and home-made decorations make for a very quirky environment. Szimpla Kert was the first of these back in 2004 and they have taken off since. Every time I came back on board after a trip out, I felt I had returned home. Because the numbers on board aren't huge, there's a great sense of belonging and 'family'. When we boarded the boat originally, the captain exhorted us to watch the safety video in our suites. I did as I was told. Now the guy playing one of the guests was divine. A silver-haired fox. I played the video more than once. By the end of the trip I could have saved everyone in the unlikely event of an emergency. There was a woman with him in the video but when I questioned her validity as his wife, Robert, one of the staff members on board assured me she wasn't and was only an actress. I spent the rest of the trip hoping he'd turn up. Futile I know, but we can all dream. I imagine Robert has my face committed to memory. I'll be back on another AmaWaterways cruise for lots of reasons, not least to try to locate your man on the safety video. Getting there Expand Close Eleanor in Vienna / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Eleanor in Vienna * AmaMagna Danube Cruise from Budapest to Vilshofen. Depart August 16, 2020, from 2,545pp includes direct flight from Dublin-Budapest, return from Munich, 1 checked 20kg bag pp, return transfer, 7 nights twin share river-view stateroom on board AmaMagna. * Full board, wine, beer and soft drinks with lunch & dinner, daily cocktail hour, daily tours included. An early booking discount of 950pp is included in the above price, offer ends January 31. Subject to availability and change. * For details contact Sunway (01) 236 6800 or visit sunway.ie Hyderabad: For a moment, I thought, I am dead. Suddenly, I realised I could save several people from its (leopards) attack. These were the words of police constable A. Lakshmaiah, who survived a leopard attack at Shadnagar on Monday. The 36-year-old constable was among Shadnagar police personnel who rushed to the house of Manne Vijay Kumar at Patel Road in Shadnagar, on receiving an alert that a leopard had entered the house and was resting on the terrace. The police received the call at around 7.30 am, and a team under Shadnagar ACP V. Surender and inspector A. Sreedhar Kumar went to the house at Patel Road. The leopard was indeed resting on the terrace of the house and, in no time, reports spread in the locality and hundreds of people climbed to their terraces to see the leopard. When forest department officials shot tranquilliser darts at the leopard, it went wild and started pacing the terrace and then went downstairs. Lakshmaiah and another constable were busy getting the public to disperse when the leopard came suddenly from the rear and attacked Mr Lakshaimah. He suffered injuries to his left forearm and shoulder. The leopard then jumped from the building and became unconscious as the drug took effect. The injured constable was provided first aid and then shifted to Apollo Hospital in the city for better treatment and was put in the Intensive Care Unit for observation. Inspector Sreedhar Kumar, who spoke with Lakshmaiah after the attack, said, Lakshmaiah panicked. But he was brave and did not run away, as there were several people with him. The leopard clawed him on the forearm and bit him on the shoulder, just five inches above the heart. The injury is close to over one-and-a-half-inches deep. He is so lucky to have escaped the attack. Mr Kumar said Mr Lakshmaiah constable had told him, For a moment, I thought I am dead. Then suddenly, I realised I could save several people from its (leopards) attack. The injuries are small and nothing will happen. The 2009 batch police constable hails from Kucherkal in Mahbubnagar district. He lives with his wife and two children, aged 18 and 17 at Shadnagar. The doctors at Apollo Hospital said Lakshmaiah was brought in at around 1.30 pm, with lacerations on the left forearm and shoulder caused by an attack by a leopard. He is under observation, conscious and coherent. The Sound: Featuring Dizzy Duck and Friends: a delightful narrative that brings the sound of Dizzy and all his other friends as they collectively make music and learn new things. The Sound: Featuring Dizzy Duck and Friends is the creation of published author Michael Mike Casey, a promising childrens book writer who shares his wonderful stories through creating books for the youth. Casey writes, Make a joyful noise and be glad in it! Dizzy and the critters find that they can make a sound, so they get together to do that. After practicing, they realize that they are pretty good at it. To the children: be happy, be kind, and laugh oftenand make the sound! Dizzy and RePete are good buddies. They grew up together. Sorsey Swan is a very forward bird. She always is upfront; you know where she stands. Turk is a never-give-up steady and strong individual. He runs the race and never stops. Rashmo is a leader, in charge of the Barnyard and has a little stutter. But when he gets invited to join the sound he blossoms, stops stuttering, and becomes a friendly critter. Wise Ol Owl is just that: a very wise bird and natural organizer. Together they are the rock of the sound. So enjoy and learn to make a sound and be glad in it. Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Michael Mike Caseys new book is a fun and wonderful story that will bring delight to young kids and remind them as well to have an open mind, discover new things, and embrace happiness. View a synopsis of The Sound: Featuring Dizzy Duck and Friends on YouTube. Consumers can purchase The Sound: Featuring Dizzy Duck and Friends at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or inquiries about The Sound: Featuring Dizzy Duck and Friends, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919. SWARTZ CREEK, MI Swartz Creek is looking to spruce up three older, mostly unused properties with the states help. Swartz Creek City Manager Adam Zettel said the citys overall goal is to see more community-oriented spaces through redevelopment, such as coffee shops, restaurants, unique retailers and outdoor dining and gathering areas throughout the city. He hopes that the citys recent certification as a Redevelopment Ready Community by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation will get the ball rolling. Three sites have been identified -- The Elevator, Methodist Church and the Lovegrove Building. The three properties all have buildings that are desirable for reuse, Zettel said. Right now, reusing the Lovegrove Building is their highest priority because its a historic building downtown and is completely vacant. The Lovegrove Building, located in downtown Swartz Creek at 8053 Miller Road, is currently one story, but has the potential to add a second story, which could possibly be used for residential units, Zettel said. Another redevelopment site, The Elevator, is owned by longtime Swartz Creek residents David and Debbie Randall, whove wanted to turn the property into a community-oriented space for a long time. The Elevator, located at 5203 Morrish Road, is one of the citys original structures from 1877. The large warehouse-like building offers about 8,000 square feet of space across the lot from Elevator Square Businesses, which also has space available. The Randalls bought the property after opening Diesel Pros-Performance, located right across the street. They did a lot of rehabilitation and development on their property, Debbie Randall said. We had big dreams for that when we first purchased it but we dont have all the money to do it," said Debbie Randall. Our idea was to make (the Elevator building) into a restaurant and then all the buildings on the side It would be like a very small Frankenmuth. Right now, the building houses three businesses: Double K Auctions, Teresas Personalized Pet Care and The Dapper Dog Pet Salon & Day Spa. All of those businesses will stay there through redevelopment, Debbie Randall said. However, theres room for more businesses to be added, both in the Elevator building and the other building. Eventually youll be able to drive in there and it will be like a little boardwalk. We want to make it look (like an) old town but fresh, Debbie Randall said. Were just trying to bring business into the community ..." Ideally, theyd like to fix up the property and have a sort of town square area where the community could gather for Christmas tree lighting and other events, Debbie Randall said. Kevin and Kathy Welch, who own Double K Auctions, share her aspirations for seeing the property turn into a community-oriented space. They moved into the building in July 2019 from Flint mainly because it gave them the opportunity to expand, Kevin Welch said. So far theyve received a great response from the Swartz Creek community. Our phone hasnt stopped ringing pretty much since weve been here. It was a good move, Kevin Welch said. Since Kathy and Kevin Welch moved Double K Auctions into the building, the Randalls installed a new porch and ramp, new doors and repainted the entire building. The business outgrew the space almost right away, Kevin Welch said, so theyre renting the Elevator building as storage right now. Eventually, the couple has dreams about opening a flea market on the property during the summer and turning it into a Saturday destination for the community. We look at whats going on ... and there just isnt anything going on (in Swartz Creek), Kevin Welch said. You got all this space here that weve got and we want to use it the best we can. The third redevelopment site, located at 4484 Morrish Road, is the citys now-vacant original church. The Methodist Church still has its traditional stained-glass windows, parapet walls and a bell tower, and is currently owned by Family Worship Center. New certification will help The Redevelopment Ready Communities program evaluates communities and certifies the ones that prioritize transparency, predictability and efficiency into their economic development efforts. Swartz Creek has been working toward certification for three and a half years. During that process, the city received a comprehensive assessment that is meant to identify a communitys assets, Michelle Parkonnen, technical assistance program director at MEDC said. There is the potential for the community to request money to assist in the redevelopment for their priority property, Parkonnen said, but those funding opportunities vary depending on each situation. Right now, Zettel said the process is expected to result in a detailed renovation plan and financial performance analysis that can be promoted to buyers or developers who have an interest in the Lovegrove Building. The MEDC will also be very involved in marketing the property and working with those interested in it. The certification and support services through the state is a fantastic tool to help us, Zettel said. Certified communities work with MEDCs Redevelopment Services Team, a group of people with expertise in community planning, building design and construction, urban design, historic preservation, project management, redevelopment finance and incentives. The team works with the communities to create property information packages for each of their three redevelopment properties, which the city can then use as a marketing tool. The Swartz Creek property packages can be found here. A husband has been charged with murdering his wife after he drove himself to a police station 'covered in blood'. The woman, aged in her 20s, was found injured at a Balcatta home, in Perth, and died at Royal Perth Hospital on Saturday. Mohammad Ali Halimi, 25, is alleged to have led police to the body after showing up at Mirrabooka Police Station that afternoon. He was arrested and his vehicle was seized for forensic examination. Police have taped off the home and are conducting forensic testing after the husband led them to the body on Saturday afternoon Halimi faced Perth Magistrates Court on Monday where he appeared 'distressed and highly emotional'. The West Australian reported the man struggled to compose himself as he walked in the court room crying and moaning. The hearing lasted less than a minute and the case was adjourned until next month. According to Nine News, the woman was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery but was unable to be revived. The couple were of Middle Eastern descent and it's understood they were in an arranged marriage, according to the news outlet. Attendees in the Sunday Berlin Conference vowed to end support to conflicting sides in the Libyan crisis and stick to the UN arms embargo imposed on the North African country, host Angela Merkel said. We agreed that we want to respect that embargo on weapon and that it will be strictly respected, more than before, she said in a joint press conference with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, UN envoy to Libya Ghassan salame, and German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas. We have received commitments from all of the participants not to give any further support to these warring parties so that the UN arms embargo is respected and the truce holds, she added. Turkey according to the German Chancellor pledged not to send additional weaponry or ammunition to Libya during this process. Merkel added that Libyas warring parties agreed to designate members to a military commission with five members from each side as foreseen by the UN to monitor implementation of the cease-fire. Ghassan Salame named at the conference the members of the proposed 5+5 military committee to discuss further details and reach a permanent ceasefire as part of the security dialogue in Libya. The committee will convene next week, Merkel said. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on his part said that all participants agreed that there can be no military solution to the Libyan crisis despite the fact that some of them may have been part of the conflict. Guterres added that the participants in Berlin had all sent a message that the solution in Libya is peaceful and that they were all committed to this track and would not intervene in the conflict. The UN chief urged the parties to engage in good faith dialogue on political, economic and military issues in a Libyan-led and Libyan-owned inclusive process, which, he affirmed, will be supported by the UN. A meeting to discuss the economic reform necessary for the normal governance of Libya will take place in the next two to three weeks, he said. The German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said the goals set at the Berlin conference had been achieved and that the UN will now supervise the peace track in Libya starting February. Twelve countries, including world powers, as well as international and regional organizations gathered in Berlin to discuss solutions to the Libyan military conflict. General Khalifa Haftars forces have besieged the capital since April, and the fighting has been fuelled by increasing foreign interference. The Libyan National Army of Khalifa Haftar is supported by Egypt, the UAE, Russia and some other Middle Eastern States. The GNA, which is backed by the UN, has turned to Turkey for its protection. The GNA and Ankara signed in late November a maritime and security agreement, allowing Turkey to send forces and military equipment to back the GNA. Around 2,000 Syrian militiamen aligned with the Turkish government and a dozen of Turkish forces have already been deployed in Tripoli to help resist Haftars offensive. The GNA also has received support from Italy and Qatar, both invited to the Berlin conference. VANCOUVER - The federal government is spending $500,000 to lure investors to develop untapped mineral resources in Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 19/1/2020 (723 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. VANCOUVER - The federal government is spending $500,000 to lure investors to develop untapped mineral resources in Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Yukon MP Larry Bagnell announced the initiative in Vancouver on Sunday on behalf of Melanie Joly, minister of economic development and official languages. The Yukon Mining Alliance will use the funding to showcase the opportunities in the North at the annual Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada conference for the next three years. Bagnell says the conference is the largest of its kind with over 1,000 exhibitors and 25,000 attendees from around the world, and this year's event will take place in Toronto in March. He says the mining alliance will establish a key presence at the conference including a media centre, an all-day forum with information on the North and a networking event. It's part of the Invest Canada North initiative which aims to promote the territories as attractive investment destinations and create jobs for Indigenous and northern residents. "Mining investors from New York or London may not know about the strong Indigenous corporations we have in the North and all the assets they have to bring to projects. They may not know about the strong mining organizations we have," Bagnell says. 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. "They may not know about how open and welcoming the territorial premiers are ... and their governments are to mining. They may not know about the millions of acres of undeveloped mining potential they could invest in." Yukon Premier Sandy Silver says his territory is a top-tier mining destination with rich geological potential. "Yukon has an awful lot to offer investors," he says. "We are a geopolitically safe jurisdiction and our governments take pride in our work to forge strong, mutually respective partnerships with Yukon First Nations for the benefit of all Yukoners." Caroline Cochrane, Northwest Territories premier, adds the north is filled with minerals that "fuel the global green economy" such as lithium and cobalt, which are used in rechargeable batteries. "A lot of people say we should be closing down the mining sector but we can't. In fact, we need the mining sector." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 19, 2020. Eight European Union member states have given their support for a European-led maritime surveillance mission in the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic route for world oil supplies. Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, and Portugal backed the new force, they said in a "political statement" issued by France's Foreign Ministry on January 20. The move comes amid "rising insecurity and instability" in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz last year, the statement said, citing "multiple maritime and nonmaritime incidents." "This situation has been affecting the freedom of navigation and the security of European and non-European vessels and crews in the area for months. It has also been jeopardizing trade and energy supplies with potential worldwide economic consequences," it said. France, Denmark, Greece, and the Netherlands have already confirmed they will contribute to the so-called EMASOH mission, which is to be based at a French naval facility in the United Arab Emirates. Amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington and U.S. allies in the region, the United States in November launched its own operation alongside allies to protect shipping in the gulf. Ukrainian diplomats demand from British police to remove trident from antiterrorist guide with official apologies The Ukrainian Embassy in the UK requires the British police to exclude the trident depicted on the small coat of arms from the list of extremist symbols and apologize. "Placing the Trident/Tryzub, constitutional national symbol and Coat of Arms of Ukraine, in Extremism Guide produced by Terrorism Police for UK teachers and medical staff is beyond outrageous. No explanations acceptable," it said on Twitter on Sunday. "We demand Trident to be removed from Guide with official apologies," the diplomats added. The joint Sudanese-Libyan forces on Sunday sent back 107 illegal immigrants who were found in the desert areas of Sudan's Northern State bordering Libya, official SUNA news agency reported, Trend reports citing Xinhua. "The rescued illegal immigrants were found in a difficult condition during combined operations carried out by the Sudanese-Libyan joint forces in the desert of the border state," said Anwar Abdalla Nagodi, commander of the joint forces' Northern State sector. He said that the rescued illegal immigrants were provided with shelter, medical services and food, and transported to Dongola, the capital city of Northern State. He vowed that the joint Sudanese-Libyan forces would remain vigilant to fight illegal immigration and human trafficking. For more sessions than she cares to count, Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg has authored bills expanding the publics right to transparent government, by updating the so-called sunshine laws that require the custodians of public records to provide documents that detail government actions. New Jerseys Open Public Records Act (OPRA) hasnt been changed since 2002, and its flaws have become glaring in the Internet age. So Weinberg, who wants to give the public better access to records by creating a database for municipalities to store their documents, has pre-filed another OPRA reform bill for the new legislative session, and shes facing opposition from the people whose burden she is trying to ease. The bill is being opposed by the League of Municipalities, which has already encouraged 164 towns to adopt a resolution that opposes the legislation, and nothing can run more counter to the public interest. The Leagues chief objection is that the bill still allows the so-called fee-shift provision, which under current law compels a town or agency to pay for legal costs whenever a party wins an OPRA suit against a government entity. This is just common sense: The only reason our public records law is effective is because of mandatory fee-shifting. It gives requestors a chance to hire a competent lawyer to represent them on a contingency basis. Change the fee-shift, and people who can barely afford a $300 court filing fee, much less thousands for an attorney are left without any help. The League wants those fees to be at the discretion of a judge on a case-by-case basis. Needless to say, if that were to happen, nobody would ever file a request. And it would have chilling effect on journalism, because public records are its life blood. Attorney C.J. Griffin of Pashman Stein in Hackensack, an expert in public records law, put it this way: Remove the fee-shift, and it would absolutely gut OPRA. Agencies would be able to unlawfully deny requests, and know there's no consequence for doing so because very few lawsuits will ever be brought. Or, as Weinberg (D-Bergen) suggested in a recent op-ed, It would be the death of government transparency in New Jersey, and the League knows it. Her advice to the League is sound: These towns would be hit with fewer legal fees if they just stop defending indefensible lawsuits, she said. Her bill seeks to make things easier on the town clerk who is inundated with OPRA requests. Here is just one way: Towns would be allowed to charge additional fees so they can better deal with chronic nuisances (serial requesters) who harass them, or commercial entities who seek records for data mining. But information must flow, because open government is a cornerstone of a democracy. It enables citizens and the press to play a watchful role in our governance and embody the immutable truth that Justice Brandeis articulated more than a century ago: Sunlight is the best disinfectant. We need access to public records, and no price is too high for government transparency. Lets move the bill. Thank you CJ. Its certainly needed. The local bureaucracy is working overtime to prevent the updating of OPRA:OPMA https://t.co/5m4M4pGev6 Loretta Weinberg (@SenatorLorettaW) December 31, 2019 Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook. Ukrainian military orchestras popped up to perform in airports around the country to commemorate the brutal battle that destroyed the international airport near the eastern city of Donetsk. Ukraine officially marks January 20 as the Day of the Defenders of Donetsk Airport in memory of the fierce fighting between government forces and Russia-backed separatists from September 2014 until January 2015. US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Alice G. Wells delivered a letter from President Donald Trump to President Gotabhaya Rajapakse during a one-day trip to Sri Lanka last Wednesday. The letter, according to the media, emphasised the White Houses commitment and interest in furthering and deepening [its] partnership with the island nation. Wells held discussions with President Rajapakse and his brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse, as well as Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, Tamil National Alliance chiefs R. Sambandan and M. A. Sumanthiran, and civil society leaders. Wells was accompanied by Liza Curtis, the Senior Director for South and Central Asia on the US National Security Council and Aliana Teplitz, the US ambassador to Colombo. Significantly, Wells trippart of a nine-day South Asia tourfollowed Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yis two-day visit to Sri Lanka, which began last Monday. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was also in Colombo on Wednesday. Gotabhaya Rajapakse (AP Photo) These high-level visits underscore the increasing rivalry over influence in the Indian Ocean region, primarily between the US and India, Washingtons key ally in South Asia, on one hand, and China and Russia, on the other. Strategically-located, Sri Lanka straddles important Indian Ocean sea lanes. In its attempts to maintain world hegemony, the US is deepening its military buildup and trade war measures against China. Washingtons concerns over Sri Lanka have deepened with Rajapaskes election as president and his appointment of his brother, a former president, as prime minister. The US considers both men to be pro-China. While the US previously backed Mahinda Rajapakses anti-democratic government and its brutal war against the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Washington was hostile to Colombos close relations with China. In late 2014, Washington initiated a regime-change operation to remove Mahinda Rajapakse, who was ousted in the January 2015 elections and replaced by Maithripala Sirisena as a pro-US president. Wells told the media that she discussed with Gotabhaya Rajapakse a wider and safer Indo-Pacific region [and] other issues of mutual interest. The US wanted to strengthen ties by expanding cooperation on economy and trade, counter-terrorism, security, military-to-military engagements, transitional justice and human rights. These are code-words to justify the increasing build-up of US military forces across the region. According to media reports, Wells reiterated Washingtons opposition to Beijings influence in Sri Lanka. She voiced concerns about Chinese investments and denounced the Hambantota Port agreement as unsuccessful and an injustice to the Sri Lankan people. In 2018, Sirisenas government signed over Hambantota Port to a Chinese company in a 99-year lease as part of a deal to phase-out massive loans from Chinese banks for the facilitys construction. Wells message from Trump was clear. Washington will not tolerate any weakening of the military and political relations it built-up over four years under Sirisena. Wells praised increasing US-Sri Lanka military cooperation and hailed last years 18-ship US visit and the ever-closer integration of the Sri Lankan military into the US Pacific Command. Washington is pushing for a renewal of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) it secured with Sri Lanka in 1995, but with new provisions. The new clauses would permit American military bases and provide free access and immunity for all US forces operating in Sri Lanka. The Trump administration also wants Colombo to sign the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) agreement, a US foreign policy aid deal. During the recent presidential elections, Rajapakses Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna criticised the MCC and SOFA in an attempt to capitalise on popular anti-imperialist sentiment. But once Rajapakse took office, he established a special body to assess the MCCs merits and demerits. Wells thanked Rajapakse for setting up this review committee but asked for an early response to its findings. She said any concerns about the SOFA could be discussed after the Sri Lankan parliamentary elections, due to be held in about four months. The US, Wells warned, is Sri Lankas largest export market and this was a partnership beneficial to both the countries. She told the media that she discussed Colombos commitment to the UN Human Rights Council, the return of land seized during the war with the LTTE, the provision of information to relatives of missing individuals, and concerns by Tamils and other minorities and opposition parties over accountability. This is a thinly-veiled threat that numerous issues can be exploited to force Sri Lanka to toe the US line. The Obama administration cynically used human rights violations by Mahinda Rajapakses regime to pressure Colombo to distance itself from Beijing. A day earlier, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang had met with the Sri Lankan president, telling him that Beijings attitude toward Sri Lanka had always been consistent and that China would continue to be a reliable friend. As Sri Lankas strategic partner, China will continue to stand by Sri Lankas interests, Wang declared. We will not allow any outside influences to interfere with matters that are essentially internal concerns of Sri Lanka. Wang did not name the outside influences, but clearly was referring to the US and India, which are seeking to scuttle Colombos relations with China. The Sri Lankan government, which faces massive debt repayments and a deepening economic crisis, is seeking international financial assistance, particularly from China. President Rajapakse, who is due to visit China early next month, responded to Wangs remarks by declaring that he was an admirer of President Xi Jinping and followed his speeches and statements closely. Wang indicated that China would offer financial help, including the phasing-out of debt repayments, and meet with necessary parties that can help Sri Lanka in the areas of technology, tourism, infrastructure and other related fields. Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov met with Gunawardena, his counterpart, and voiced his readiness to strengthen relations with Sri Lanka. Lavrov said Russia would provide the Sri Lankan forces with all the weapons they need for security and wanted to boost annual bilateral tradecurrently $US400 millionto $700 million. Russia, which also faces aggressive US military encirclement, last year held joint military exercises with China and Iran. The three countries are targets in Washingtons over-arching military strategy to dominate the oil-rich Middle East and Eurasia. Amid these developments, India is engaged in strenuous efforts to keep Sri Lanka under its strategic dominance. Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar visited Sri Lanka three days after Rajapakses election, and Rajapakse then visited New Delhi to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Last week, Foreign Minister Gunawardena visited India to meet his counterpart and a business delegation. In early February, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse is scheduled to visit India at Modis invitation. Gotabhaya Rajapakse, who has rapidly elevated key military figures into his administration, demagogically claims that he will maintain a neutral foreign policy. But under conditions of intensifying great power rivalry, the whole Indian sub-continent is being sucked into a geopolitical maelstrom and the danger of a catastrophic war between the nuclear-armed US and China. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday said it is quite natural for the Kashmiri Pandits to expect the governments and society to understand their sufferings and take steps for their rehabilitation. He said it is the duty of the country as a whole and the Kashmiri people in particular to see that the "sons of the soil, who were driven out due to killings and terror instigated by India's neighbour, are provided safety and security upon their return." In a series of tweets, Naidu said it is the rightful demand of the Kashmiri Pundits and other displaced persons that they should be facilitated to return to their place of birth. "I feel that it is quite natural for the Kashmiri Pundits to expect the governments and society to understand their sufferings and take steps for their rehabilitation," he said. The displaced Kashmiri pandits across the world commemorated January 19 as holocaust day to mark the exodus of over 70,000 pandit families from the Valley due to killings and terror by Pakistan-sponsored terrorists in 1990. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Norman Harsono (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, January 20, 2020 Indonesia started 2020 with two important policies in the mining sector: the ban on nickel ore exports and the requirement that coal companies export coal using local ships. As the country is a top exporter of both commodities, the policies will have a significant impact on the global market. Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Ministry regulation No. 11/2019 bans nickel ore exports starting in January while Trade Ministry regulation No. 80/2018 requires coal exports to use Indonesian-owned ships starting in May. Both regulations were designed to create more business opportunities in Indonesia, but miners have raised concerns about the policies impacts on global commodity prices and supplies. 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 ROME - EU High Representative Josep Borrell is expected to present a proposal for an EU mission to safeguard a ceasefire in Libya. The mission would be under the UN and would be presented during the EU's External Affairs Council meeting in February. He is also expected to present a proposal to relaunch the mandate for Operation Sophia for the monitoring of an arms embargo, according to European diplomatic sources. However, the sources said that a true ceasefire is not in place and that it is only a truce since the parties in conflict - Tripoli's Fayez al-Serraj and the 'strongman of Cyrenaica' Khalifa Haftar - have not yet signed the Berlin Conference statement. On Libya there is also a clear position taken by Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who, in commenting on the outcome of the Berlin Conference, noting that ''since the UN is involved, it is not right that the EU intervene as coordinator of the process'' for peace in Libya. ''If the ceasefire that we asked for with Putin is complied with, a political process will begin'' in Libya, Erdogan added. ''Turkey's presence in Libya has raised hopes for peace. The steps that we took have led to balance in the process. We will continue to support a political process both on the ground and at the negotiating table. Turkey is the key for peace.'' German foreign minister Heiko Maas said that the EU is working on integrating the agreement on a ceasefire in one with a weapons embargo, and for this reason in early February another conference on the situation in Libya will be held at the level of foreign ministers. Maas added that the aim of the conference had been achieved but that it is only the starting point. Now, he added, a complete armistice and a political process paving the wave for lasting peace is needed. Italy's foreign minister, Luigi Di Maio, has said that if Operation Sophia were to be revived, ''it must be taken apart and reassembled in a different manner'' and that it ''must be a mission to prevent weapons from getting in'' to Libya, as well as ''to comply with the ceasefire in order to start a political process. And nothing else.'' CATSKILL Columbia Memorial Health is moving ahead with plans to develop a medical plaza off of Exit 21 of the Thruway. The hospital announced Monday it has reached an agreement on an option to purchase a four-acre parcel just west of the Thruway interchange in the town of Catskill. The agreement with the Greene County Industrial Development Agency will allow it to continue formalizing plans for "CMH Medical Plaza West" a project designed to bring new and expanded services to Greene County. Distressing images show the "malnourished and sick" animals in cages at Al-Qureshi Park in the country's capital city of Khartoum. (Getty) An online campaign to save a group of starving African lions from a zoo in Sudan has been started amid economic turmoil in the country preventing them from getting enough food. Distressing images show the "malnourished and sick" animals, so thin that their bones are visibly poking through their fur, in cages at Al-Qureshi Park in the country's capital city of Khartoum. According to reports, they have barely eaten in weeks, with the zoo's owners struggling to feed them, and some have lost around two-thirds of their body weight. According to reports, they have barely eaten in weeks, with the zoo's owners struggling to feed them, with some losing around two-thirds of their body weight. (Getty) Osman Salih, who launched the campaign, shared several harrowing pictures of the emaciated lions as he asked people and institutions concerned to help the animals. The campaign is now gaining momentum online, with the aim of moving the lions to a better location where they will be fed and looked after. Mr Salih wrote on Facebook: "I was shaken when I saw these lions at the park... their bones are protruding from the skin. I urge interested people and institutions to help them." He later updated his page with news that one, a female, had passed away. He wrote: "I regret to inform you that the sick female lion has died. The other female is getting better and the male is OK." Osman Salih, who launched the campaign shared several harrowing pictures of the emaciated lions as he asked people and institutions concerned to help the animals. (Getty) Speaking to the AFP news agency, a manager from Al-Qureshi Park said it is extremely difficult to feed the lions. The employee told the agency: "Food is not always available, so often we buy it from our own money to feed them." Moataz Mahmoud, one of the caretakers at the park, added: "They are suffering from severe illnesses. They are sick and appear to be malnourished." Mr Salih has since said that emergency responders have visited the park to offer medical assistance to the malnourished lions, and work is being done to find another home for them. Writing on Sunday, he added: "Today was a positive day at Qurashi Park. We had good meetings with the park administration and the wildlife police. "Lots of fresh meat was brought by several donors as well as two sheep. Supply of regular meat from factories and slaughter houses was also secured." Story continues "Managed to buy all required medical supplies for emergency care such as antibiotics, IV drip etc. "Best news of the day was the willingness of Four Paws International to send an emergency rescue to rehabilitate the animals not only at Qurashi zoo but other parks in Sudan as well as train staff at wildlife authority. "The wildlife authority has welcomed the idea and we will begin process tomorrow of their invitation and paperwork." After securing a win over Parma, Juventus' Cristiano Ronaldo expressed elation over the victory and said they have 'conquered three fundamental points'. "Today it was important to win, we knew it and we played a difficult game well. Parma is an excellent team and, for me, having helped the team win with two goals is very nice. In the final minutes they went up and put us in difficulty, and even though we suffered, we conquered three fundamental points," the club's official website quoted Ronaldo as saying. Juventus secured a 2-1 win over Parma on Monday in Serie A and Ronaldo scored both the goals. With this victory, Juventus consolidated their top spot on the Serie A table. The club has 51 points from 20 games while the second-placed club Inter Milan have 47 points. Despite the victory, the manager Maurizio Sarri feels that they did not play a clean game and they suffered in the end. "The team is growing, tonight we played a less clean game than usual, we have the responsibility not be so closed: we suffered in the last five minutes against a healthy and physical team like Parma," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) By Katie Wilkes, Communications Delegate, Bahamas What shapes the work we do? Surely, its what we learn from past disasters, the needs on the ground, and the impact of people affected. But perhaps more than anything, its the individual human touch brought by Red Cross responders that becomes the most essential. We all have a story behind why we do what we do. Two American Red Cross workers who spent months in the Bahamas in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian carried their history with them across borders. Emmanuel Saint Juste and Johnny Cesar Etienne remember the day both of their lives changed when an earthquake hit Haiti in 2010. They not only experienced extreme hardship, but eventually transformed heartache into action on the grounddeploying to another Caribbean nation almost a decade later. Feels like it happened yesterday Recalling the day the quake struck Haiti in January 2010, Johnny tells the story of a relative trapped in the rubble, unsure if she would make it out alive. I have never seen or heard anything like it in my life. And I just had this unexplained motivation to keep going, keep helping. And he did. In the aftermath, I witnessed the deep desperation of hundreds of victims in Tapis Rouge (Carrefour-Feuilles, Port-au-Prince), where there was one of the biggest Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in Haiti, Johnny says. At that time, I told myself that it would take years for those families to recover from their situation. Emmanuel describes, I was in Haiti visiting my father at that time of the earthquake, and from what I saw that day, I just wanted to help as many people as I could. But it didnt feel like enough. Then, I heard about the Red Cross, so I volunteered with them and quit my job in Florida so I could be there to support many of my fellow citizens. Now, he adds, It has been more than nine years since that time, and I always feels like it happened yesterday. Read more about the American Red Crosss workover the past 10 yearsin Haiti here >> Compassion in Action Fast forward ten years, and more than 9,000 families have received help from the global Red Cross network in the Bahamas, many of whom have been assisted by Johnny and Emmanuel directly. While English is the official language in the Bahamas, many people impacted by Hurricane Dorian hail from Haiti and speak Creole as their first language. In the weeks following Hurricane Dorians landfall, it quickly became clear that the Red Cross network could scale up relief efforts quickly by speaking the language of the families in needa key factor in any relief operation. So the American Red Cross offered to deploy Johnny and Emmanuel to the disaster zone to use their Creole skills. To date, the men have spent hundreds of hours speaking directly with families who need help. Oscar, an Abaco resident who had been separated from family and lost nearly everything in the storm, is one of them. Movement between islands and challenges in communication lines from the storm made it difficult for him to reach a Red Cross aid distribution site. Emmanuel made a special trip to Oscars home to deliver financial aid on a day that Oscar will always remember - his birthday. This makes it a pretty hard day to forget, says Oscar, grateful for the aid. From answering hotline calls in the middle of the night to meeting with people at a makeshift relief center, no task to bring comfort has become too difficult to handle. Motivation to Respond For many humanitarian relief workers, it can be hard to verbalize the reason we choose this vocation. Instead, its a feeling that compels us to answer the call for help again and again. I felt so great because not only was I helping, but I was part of a movement that was bigger than me where we shared the same views and goals, Emmanuel says. I choose to work with the Red Cross because of our fundamental beliefs, and ultimately to help people in need while they're going through a difficult time in their lives. Johnnys journey is also fueled by the people whose lives he has touched. In 2015, the Haiti delegation of the American Red Cross recruited me to join their team. And for me, that was the beginning of a beautiful and amazing journey with the Red Cross. He adds, I was already aware of the hope and life that the organization had brought back in the communities. It is when I got back to my Haitian community to see how people recovered and built back from the tragedy did I understand the value of generosity, solidarity and humanity. This journey has shaped my understanding of life and gives me a real precious reason to be able to serve. The level of trust brought by people like Johnny and Emmanuel is important when the Red Cross delivers humanitarian aid anywhere in the world. When we feel comfort, familiarity, and someone is able to look us in the eye, we feel understood. And that itself can propel us to move forward, one step at a time. The American Red Cross has deployed more than 40 relief workers like Johnny and Emmanuel to help survivors of Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas. Thanks to generous donors, the American Red Cross has been able to get millions of dollars in aid to people in need and the work is ongoing. Find out more at the Red Crosss 3-month Hurricane Dorian report. Covid-19, the deadly disease that began as a novel coronavirus causing pneumonia-like symptoms in central China, has now spread around the world and is having profound impacts on nearly every major economy. The outbreak began with a trickle of concerning reports from around the Chinese city of Wuhan in mid-December, before China finally informed the World Health Organisation of the disease on the last day of 2019. It appears to have had its origins in a seafood market in Wuhan. But it emerged at a time when many were travelling for the Lunar New Year, and Wuhan is a hugely popular hub for travel both within China and internationally. The disease was isolated for study on 7 January, and by 20 January the Chinese authorities confirmed what many experts already suspected that the virus spread easily from human to human. Since then, coronavirus cases have been confirmed in more than 150 countries and territories across the globe. Heres a breakdown of what we know about the disease, where it has spread and what you can do to help reduce your risk of catching it. The novel virus is one of a family of diseases known as coronaviruses, a group that causes respiratory infections. They are all zoonotic, meaning they have the potential to be transmitted between animals and humans. Covid-19 is the seventh of its kind that is known to infect humans, while there are several others circulating only in animals that have not yet infected humans. Other diseases to infect humans in this group range from the common cold and seasonal flu to SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome). SARS first infected people in southern China in late 2002 and spread to more than two dozen countries, killing nearly 800 people. The Chinese government initially tried to conceal the severity of the SARS epidemic, but its cover-up was exposed by a high-ranking physician. Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Show all 154 1 /154 Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Paramedics wearing personal protective equipment carry patient on a stretcher on to an ambulance in North Point district in Hong Kong, China Getty Images Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A medical worker wearing protective gear takes a rest as he waits for ambulances carrying patients infected with the COVID-19 coronavirus at an entrance of a hospital in Daegu, South Korea YONHAP/AFP via Getty Images Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A medical worker sprays disinfectant on an ambulance after carrying a patient infected with the COVID-19 coronavirus at a hospital in Daegu YONHAP/AFP via Getty Images Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus People wearing protective face masks shop at a supermarket in Casalpusterlengo, one the northern Italian towns placed under lockdown due to the new coronavirus outbreak EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A trolley bus is disinfected amid fears over the spread of the novel coronavirus in Pyongyang, North Korea REUTERS Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Workers wearing protective gear spray disinfectant as a precaution against the COVID-19 coronavirus in a local market in Daegu, South Korea AP Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A man wearing a protective facemask walks outside a nearly empty shopping mall at lunch time in Beijing AFP via Getty Images Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A man wearing protective facemask and gloves puts a drawing made by a girl living in the area asking residents to wear protective gear, next to a quarantine notice for people who have travelled and a notice asking people to register outside a residential compound in Beijing AFP via Getty Images Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A woman is taken into an ambulance amid a coronavirus outbreak in northern Italy REUTERS Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Ambulances and health workers are seen outside the Padua's hospital, northern Italy EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Passengers in coaches leave MoD Boscombe Down in Wiltshire after being repatriated to the UK from a cruise ship hit by the coronavirus in Yokohama, Japan and head to Arrowe Park Hospital on Merseyside PA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus People rest in a temporary hospital situated in the Tazihu Gymnasium in Wuhan EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Buddhist monks wearing protective face masks pray during a blessing ceremony for the people affected by the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, at a temple in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia REUTERS Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Medical workers wearing protective gears carry a patient infecting with a new coronavirus to a hospital in Chuncheon, South Korea AP Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Soldiers in hazmat suits sanitize cargo from a China Airlines plane at the Taoyuan International Airport in Taoyuan City, Taiwan EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Barricades are seen to block the entrance a the gate of a local mall in a nearly empty area in Beijing, China Getty Images Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A vendor wearing a protective facemask waits for customers at a shop in Beijing AFP via Getty Images Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus The body temperature of an Iraqi child returning from Iran is measured upon her arrival at the Najaf International Airport AFP via Getty Images Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Volunteers hand out free facemasks at a shopping district in Quezon city, Metro Manila, Philippines Getty Images Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Medical workers wearing protective gears carry a patient suspected of contracting the new coronavirus toward an ambulance at Daenam Hospital in Cheongdo, South Korea AP Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A worker disinfects a shop at a market in Shanghai AFP via Getty Images Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A restaurant worker wearing protective clothing as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus passing a bag of food to a customer on the street outside their restaurant in Beijing AFP via Getty Images Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A recovered patient is discharged from Leishenshan Hospital, the newly-built makeshift hospital for novel coronavirus patients, in Wuhan AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Volunteers in protective suits disinfect a factory with sanitising equipment in Huzhou, China China Daily via Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Medical workers in protective suits attend to a patient inside an isolated ward of Wuhan Red Cross Hospital Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A drone operated by the Suwon municipal government flies around Changyong Middle School spraying disinfectant, in Suwon, South Korea EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Workers transfer medical waste at Leishenshan Hospital AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A man wearing a protective mask rides a bicycle with his children in Guangzhou, China EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Volunteers in protective suits disinfect a railway station as the country is hit by an outbreak of the new coronavirus, in Changsha, Hunan province, China cnsphoto via Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A woman repatriated from Wuhan carries a child as she walks upon her arrival at the Van Don airport in Vietnam's Quang Ninh province AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Medical staff checking the body temperature of a patient who has displayed mild symptoms of the COVID-19 coronavirus, at an exhibition centre converted into a hospital in Wuhan AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A medical worker in protective suit transports oxygen tanks at Wuhan Red Cross Hospital Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Boys wearing protection masks, gloves and modified water bottles sit on a cart at the airport arrival terminal in Guangzhou EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Employees work on a production line manufacturing protective suits at a clothing factory in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province cnsphoto via Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Medical workers in protective suits move a patient at an isolated ward of a hospital in Caidian district following an outbreak of coronavirus in Wuhan China Daily via Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A worker in protective clothing, including face mask and gloves, carries a bucket as he works inside of The County Oak Medical Centre in Brighton, southern England, after it closed for "urgent operational health and safety reasons", following reports a member of staff was infected with the strain of the novel coronavirus AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Workers of the ecology and environment bureau collect samples from the sewage system of a hospital in Xinle, Hebei province China Daily via Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A man in protective clothing cleaning the County Oak Medical Centre GP practice The British government warned the outbreak of novel coronavirus was a "serious and imminent threat" and reported four new cases that brought the total recorded in the country to eight. Two hospitals The Royal Free and Guys and St Thomas', have both been designated as "isolation" facilities, with both currently housing Britons who have returned from Wuhan, the Chinese city at the centre of the outbreak PA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Medical staff transfer patients to the newly completed Huoshenshan temporary field Hospital in Wuhan. The global coronavirus death toll rose again with Hong Kong announcing its first death from the outbreak on 4 February EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Members of staff wait as coaches carrying Coronavirus evacuees arrive at Kents Hill Park Training and Conference Centre, in Milton Keynes, after being repatriated to the UK from the coronavirus-hit city of Wuhan PA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A crew member of the cruise ship Diamond Princess talks to a worker wearing protective gear standing near the vessel, where dozens of passengers were tested positive for coronavirus, at Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Doctors scan a patient's lungs at Huoshenshan temporary hospital built for patients diagnosed with coronavirus in Wuhan Xinhua News Agency/AP Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus People wearing protective suits walk from the Diamond Princess cruise ship, with around 3,600 people quarantined onboard due to fears of the new coronavirus, at the Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Indonesians who arrived from Wuhan are sprayed with antiseptic at Hang Nadim Airport in Batam. People evacuated from the Chinese city at the centre of a deadly virus outbreak, were transported to a quarantine zone on a remote island at the edge of the South China Sea, shortly after landing Indonesian Foreign Ministry via AP Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A woman wears a protective mask as she shops in a market in Beijing Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Medical staff members hugging each other in an isolation ward at a hospital in Zouping in China's easter Shandong province AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A portrait of Dr Li Wenliang is left at Li's hospital in Wuhan. He is regarded a whistleblower on the outbreak and died of the coronavirus which triggered wide-spread mourning on Chinese media Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Officers in protective gear enter the cruise ship Diamond Princess, where people tested positive for coronavirus, after the ship arrived at Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama, south of Tokyo Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Firefighters and personnel from the health ministry participate in a drill to prepare for the potential arrival of passengers infected with the coronavirus at the Viru Viru International Airport, in Santa Cruz, Bolivia Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Scientists are at work in the VirPath university laboratory as they try to find an effective treatment against the new Sars-like coronavirus AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Medical workers in protective suits attend to patients at the Wuhan International Conference and Exhibition Center, which has been converted into a makeshift hospital to receive patients with mild symptoms caused by the virus Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A girl wears a mask as a preventive measure against the coronavirus outbreak, in Bangkok, Thailand Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A man is transferred from the World Dream cruise ship to an ambulance at the Kai Tak cruise terminal in Hong Kong as health officials conduct inspections AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Workers from a disinfection service company enter Lotte Department Store in central Seoul, South Korea EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A man who arrived from Hubei province talks with police at a checkpoint at the Jiujiang Yangtze River Bridge Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A doctor holds a handheld digital thermometer near health officials preparing a health check for arriving passengers from China at Don Mueang Airport in Bangkok EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A resident walks across an empty track in Wuhan Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A scientific staff member works in a secure laboratory, researching the coronavirus, at the Pasteur Institute in Dakar AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Medical staff members preparing equipment to meet passengers of a military plane, which evacuated citizens of Russia and ex-Soviet countries from China's Wuhan province Vsluh.ru via Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Staff wearing protective suits as they prepare to disinfect a Vietnam Airlines plane at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi Vietnam Airlines/AFP/Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A South Korean person, who was evacuated from Wuhan, arrives at the National Medical Center after showing suspected symptoms of novel coronavirus, in Seoul EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Officers in protective gear escort a person (under the blue sheet) who was on board cruise ship Diamond Princess and was tested positive for coronavirus Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A doctor being disinfected by his colleague at a quarantine zone in Wuhan AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Buses carrying British nationals from the coronavirus-hit city of Wuhan, arrive at Arrowe Park Hospital in Merseyside Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Medical staff transfer patients in Wuhan EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Indonesian health officials conduct an exercise drill in transporting a patient requiring isolation at the Belawan port in Medan AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus The Pasteur Institute in Dakar, designated by the African Union as one of the two reference centres in Africa for the detection of the new coronavirus that appeared in China, is hosting experts from 15 countries on the continent this weekend to prepare them to deal with the disease AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A government worker disinfects a co-worker after visiting a quarantined woman's home in Qingdao EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus An aerial view of the deserted roads and bridges in Wuhan Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Medical workers hold a strike outside the Hospital Authority as they demand for Hong Kong to close its border with China to reduce the coronavirus spreading Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A person has their tempriture checked in Qingdao, China EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Ultrastructural morphology exhibited by coronaviruses. Note the spikes that adorn the outer surface of the virus, which impart the look of a corona surrounding the virion, when viewed electron microscopically Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/AFP Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Malaysian nationals being directed from a bus by health officials in protective suits as they arrived at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, after being evacuated from Wuhan Malaysia's Ministry of Health/AFP Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus People hoping to buy face masks crowd outside a medical supply shop that was raided by police for allegedly hoarding and overpricing the masks, as public fear over China's Wuhan Coronavirus grow in Manila, Philippines. The Philippine government has been heavily criticized after failing to immediately implement travel restrictions from China, the source of a deadly coronavirus that has now killed hundreds and infected thousands more Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Residents wearing masks and raincoats volunteer to take temperature of passengers following the outbreak of a new coronavirus at a bus stop at Tin Shui Wai, a border town in Hong Kong Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Italian citizens repatriated from Wuhan going though a health control zone after landing at the Mario De Bernardi military airport in Pratica di Mare, south of Rome, prior to be placed in quarantine Italian Defence Ministry/AFP Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Workers arrange beds in a 2,000-bed mobile hospital, set up in an exhibition center, in Wuhan EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A doctor checks conditions of occupants in a hotel accommodating isolated people in Wuhan EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Medical staff members wearing protective clothing to help stop the spread of a deadly virus which began in the city of Wuhan, arrive with a patient at the Wuhan Red Cross Hospital. The Chinese army deployed medical specialists to the epicentre of the spiralling viral outbreak that has killed and spread around the world AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A baby wearing a protective face mask is pushed by a woman as they arrive from Shenzhen to Hong Kong at Lo Wu MTR station AFP via Getty Images Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A health worker checks the temperature of a woman entering a subway station in Beijing Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A young child wears a protective mask and is covered in plastic while waiting to check in to a flight at Beijing Capital Airport The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday declared the coronavirus a public health emergency of international concern Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Ambulance crews arrive at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, as it prepares for a return flight from Wuhan, China. Eighty-three Britons and 27 foreign nationals who were trapped in Wuhan are being flown back to the UK Tom Maddick / SWNS Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A woman carries a baby wearing a protective mask as they exit the arrival hall at Hong Kong High Speed Rail Station Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Camp beds at a Medical Assessment Center set up at the airport in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany, on the eve of the arrival of German citizens evacuated from Wuhan AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Funeral parlour staff members in protective suits help a colleague with disinfection after they transferred a body at a hospital in Wuhan Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Muslims wearing masks pray for the victims of coronavirus at a mosque in Ahmedabad, India Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Medical officials waiting for people who wants to check the novel coronavirus at Myeongdong shopping district Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Children wear plastic bottles as makeshift homemade protection and protective masks while waiting to check in to a flight at Beijing Capital Airport Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A patient assisted by medical staff gets off an ambulance in Wuhan AFP/Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus People line up to buy face masks from a medical supply company in Nanning, southern China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Countries began evacuating their citizens from the Chinese city hardest-hit by a new virus that has now infected more people in China than were sickened in the country by SARS Chinatopix via AP Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Millions spent their normally festive Lunar New Year holiday under lockdown Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Children with face masks wash their hands before prayer at Erawan shrine in Bangkok. Thailand has detected eight Coronavirus cases so far AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus An Indonesian health officer points at the screen of a thermal scanner for passengers China confirmed that the deadly Wuhan coronavirus virus can be transmitted between humans AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Hospital workers wearing protective eyewear and masks examine an Indonesian student who returned from China in quarantine at a hospital in Banda Aceh AFP via Getty Images Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Ambulance staff dispose of an outfit at the hospital in Wuhan EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A person checks the temperature of a passenger to help stop the spread of a deadly virus as he arrives at the Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International airport in Palembang AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Nepali students, wearing face masks, attend a class at Matribhumi School in Bhaktapur, on the outskirts of Kathmandu AFP via Getty Images Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Medical staff at the Wuhan Red Cross Hospital AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Two Buddhist monks wear face masks while walking along a street in Yangon AFP via Getty Images Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Staff disinfecting a residential area in Ruichang, part of Jiujiang in China's central Jiangxi province AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Workers are seen at the construction site of a new hospital being built to treat patients from a deadly virus outbreak in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province on January 27, 2020. - China is rushing to build a new hospital in a staggering 10 days to treat patients at the epicentre of a deadly virus outbreak that has stricken thousands of people, state media reported on January 24. (Photo by Hector RETAMAL / AFP) (Photo by HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP via Getty Images) HECTOR RETAMAL AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Vapor blurs the goggles of an ambulance driver while they work, in Wuhan EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Workers producing facemasks at a factory in Yangzhou AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Medical staff getting on an ambulance in Wuhan AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A vendor of traditional masks wears a facial mask at his shop in Thamel EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus An airport official checks the temperature of a passenger upon his arrival at the Bacha Khan International Airport in Peshawar AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Medical staff members arrive with a patient at the Wuhan Red Cross Hospital AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus An ambulance driver talking with medical staff in Wuhan AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Wuhan Hygiene Emergency Response Team leave the closed Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market The new coronavirus appears to have its origins in a seafood market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, a popular transport hub AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Workers produce protective suits at a factory in Nantong AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Passengers scanned by thermal imaging for body temperature as they go through health measures and procedures after they landed at Rome's Fiumicino airport on a southern airlines flight from Wuhan Aeroporto Di Roma/AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A Thai royal guard wears a mask while on duty at the Grand Palace in Bangkok EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A man wearing a face mask rides a nearly empty subway train in Beijing AP Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Medical staff members at the Wuhan Red Cross Hospital AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A shopper wearing goggles with a face mask and gloves uses a self checkout machine at a supermarket in Wuhan AP Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Medical staff transfer patients to Jinyintan hospital EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Members of the Italian Red Cross putting on protective gear, getting ready to give health checks to passengers that landed at Rome's Fiumicino airport on a southern airlines flight from Wuhan Aeroporto Di Roma/AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A member of the Hong Kong government's Civil Aid Service gestures at the entrance to the Lady MacLehose Holiday Village which is being used as one of two quarantine centres for people who have been in close proximity with suspected cases of a SARS-type virus. Hong Kong will turn two holiday camps, including a former military barracks, into quarantine zones for people who may have come into contact with carriers of the Wuhan virus, officials announced AFP via Getty Images Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Medical staff wearing protective suits at the Zhongnan hospital in Wuhan STR/AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A Malaysia Health official checks passengers going through a thermal scanner upon their arrival at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Staff disinfecting Yingtan North Railway Station, China China banned trains and planes from leaving the major city at the centre of a virus outbreak on January 23, seeking to seal off its 11 million people to contain the contagious disease that has claimed lives and spread to other countries AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A passenger walks past a quarantine control station at Narita airport, Japan EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Patients queue up to seek treatment in Wuhan Tongji Hospital Fever Clinic, in Wuhan EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Quarantine workers spray disinfectant at Incheon International Airport, South Korea EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A member of staff checks the temperature of a guest entering the casino of the New Orient Landmark hotel in Macau, after it reported its first case of the new SARS-like virus AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Medical staff transfer patients to Jin Yintan hospital Little is known about the new disease which, if confirmed, would be only the seventh coronavirus known to science that can infect humans Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Members of the Three Gorges Medical Laboratory offering free masks to the public in Yichang, China AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Gabriel Leung, right, chair professor of public health medicine at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong, speaks about the extent of the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak in China AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Members of staff of the Wuhan Hygiene Emergency Response Team conducting searches on the closed Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A quarantine officer at Incheon International Airport, South Korea, uses an electronic thermometer to check the temperature of passengers arriving by plane from Wuhan The virus causes symptoms of viral pneumonia, and has already led to several deaths EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A screen shows cancelled flights at Tianhe airport in Wuhan AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Medical staff transfer patients to Jinyintan hospital EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Health officials hand out information about the current coronavirus at Kuala Lumpur International Airport AP Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A store owner argues with security guards as he attempts to enter the closed Huanan wholesale seafood market AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Workers producing facemasks at a factory in Handan, China's northern Hebei province AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Medical staff and security personnel stop patients' family members from being too close to the Jinyintan hospital Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus maya-goodfellowAn airport staff member uses a temperature gun to check people leaving Wuhan Tianhe International Airport AP Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A rescue worker walks past a notice about new coronavirus that has broken out in China Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Health officials wear face masks at an inspection site at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang AP Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Medical staff members carry a patient into the Jinyintan hospital AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A staff member checks body temperature of a child after a train from Wuhan arrived at Hangzhou Railway Station in Hangzhou AFP via Getty Images Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A quarantine station measures passenger body temperatures at Narita Airport JIJI PRESS/AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Passengers walk past a notice displayed near a quarantine control station at Narita airport EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Passengers walk past a poster alerting on coronavirus screening ahead upon their arrival at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus An employee sprays disinfectant on a train, as a precaution against coronavirus, at Suseo Station in Seoul EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Kazakh sanitary-epidemiological service worker uses a thermal scanner to detect travellers from China who may have symptoms possibly connected with the previously unknown coronavirus, at Almaty International Airport, Kazakhstan Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Pharmacist Liu Zhuzhen stands near a sign reading "face masks are sold out" at her pharmacy in Shanghai AP Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus The Wuhan Medical Treatment Center, EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A worker in a protective suit at the closed seafood market in Wuhan Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Passengers wear protective face masks at the departure hall of a high speed train station in Hong Kong AP Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A notice for passengers from Wuhan Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A man wears a mask while riding on mobike past the closed Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market Getty The current coronavirus outbreak has an average fatality rate of around 2 per cent, rising for people over 70 and dramatically falling in younger patients. That makes it less deadly to individuals who catch it than SARS (with a fatality rate of about 10 per cent) and MERS (about 35 per cent), but more deadly than most seasonal flu strains (which have fatality rates of around 0.1 per cent). Covid-19 does also appear to be more contagious than the flu. Each patient with the new coronavirus is estimated to infect an average of 2.2 people, according to a 28 February paper. That compares to a rate of infection of about 1.3 people in seasonal flu. What are the symptoms? The most common symptoms of Covid-19 are very similar to the flu fever, tiredness, and dry cough. Some less common symptoms include shortness of breath, tightness in the chest and other aches and pains, nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat or diarrhoea. In most people (around 80 per cent) these come on slowly and remain mild. In some patients, infection has been confirmed where they were exhibiting no symptoms at all an issue that has made containing the outbreak a lot harder. Older people are more likely to develop more serious symptoms, particularly those with underlying health conditions including high blood pressure, heart problems or diabetes. What should I do if I am worried I have coronavirus? Experts say that the best thing to do if you experience these symptoms is to do exactly what you would for the flu stay home, rest, and try not to pass it to others. The WHO says people with fever, cough and difficulty breathing should seek medical attention, and most countries impacted by the outbreak have introduced localised instructions for people who experience an onset of symptoms. People who have travelled to infection hotspots (more on those below) are also being urged to take extra precautions like self-isolating and informing their local health services, even if they dont have symptoms. The UK government has set up a specific portal for those who either have symptoms or have travelled to virus-affected places. It emphasises that people with coronavirus symptoms should only use the portal to contact NHS 111 if they "cannot cope". They should and not go to see their GP or local hospital, which risks transmitting the disease more widely. What about medicines? A vaccine? Garlic?? Scientists are working on a vaccine for coronavirus, but at present a safe, working solution is not expected to be developed for around 18 months. There are lots and lots of rumours being spread around about things you can take to protect yourself from or cure Covid-19 unfortunately, the WHO says there is no specific medicine that can do this. Patients are recommended to treat their symptoms as they would a bout of regular flu, while those with serious symptoms should seek professional medical care. Specifically, the WHO has busted the myths that coronavirus can be staved off with antibiotics, sesame oil, garlic, rinsing your nose with saline solution, pneumonia vaccines, or by spraying your body with alcohol or chlorine. Where has the virus spread? According to John Hopkins Universitys live dashboard on the outbreak (as of 20 March 2020), there are 163 countries and regions with confirmed Covid-19 cases. Globally, there are more than 247,000 cases, with more than 80,000 in mainland China. There have been more than 7,100 deaths around the world, 3,100 of these in Hubei province, China, where the outbreak started. Numbers of new cases in Hubei and China in general have been falling in recent weeks, while they have been rising in the rest of the world. Italy is by far the worst-affected European country, with an intense pocket of infections in the northern region of Lombardy. The country has more than 41,000 cases as a whole, and more than 3,400 deaths. The UK has more than 3,200 cases and 130 deaths, while the US has more than 10,000 cases and 150 deaths, mostly in Washington state. Iran has had a particularly high-profile struggle with the virus, with senior government officials getting infected. It has had almost 18,000 cases and at least 1,284 deaths. What have governments done about it? Around the world, major international conferences, business summits and other gatherings have been cancelled as preemptive measures to contain the virus, while the global aviation industry has taken a big hit as tourists have cancelled travel plans. China has taken the most extreme measures at a government level, quarantining whole cities comprising tens of millions of people in the worst-affected Hubei province. India has cancelled all visas for travellers from countries with large outbreaks, including Italy, Iran and South Korea, and said it will screen all international passengers arriving at its airports. Several virus-affected countries have suspended school classes, effectively until further notice, including China and Italy. And authorities around the world are urging citizens to avoid stockpiling of key items including face masks, hand sanitiser and medicines, as well as cracking down on companies suspected of doing so illegally. The WHO issued a statement saying that a global shortage of personal protective equipment face masks, gloves, goggles, gowns, aprons and so on was caused by rising demand, panic buying, hoarding and misuse and putting the lives of health workers at risk. We cant stop COVID-19 without protecting health workers first, said WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. This article was updated on 20 March 2020 A day after a clash broke out between BJP workers and police in Rajgarh, a delegation of the party is on its way to visit the area to take stock of the situation. The delegation includes Bansi Lal Gurjar, Usha Thakur and Jitu Jirati. In a video, Rajgarh Collector Nivedita was seen preventing BJP workers from holding a demonstration in support of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in Rajgarh on Sunday. An FIR has been registered for violation of Section 144 in Rjagarh. In total, 124 persons have been named in the FIR and 17 people have been arrested. Moreover, an FIR has been registered against two persons for hitting and pulling the hair of Rajgarh Deputy Collector Priya Verma during the demonstration. One of the accused has been arrested. On Sunday, there was a clash between police and BJP workers, who were carrying out a 'Tiranga rally' in support of the CAA, in Rajgarh. According to police, permission was not granted for the rally due to the imposition of Section 144 in the region. However, the BJP workers and local leaders carried out the rally without permission. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The UK government's plan to ditch alignment on EU rules will see some British firms locked out of EU markets after Brexit, Brussels has warned. Over the weekend the chancellor Sajid Javid indicated that the UK would put itself far from the orbit of European regulations in a departure from the strategy laid out by Theresa May "There will not be alignment, we will not be a rule-taker, we will not be in the single market and we will not be in the customs union and we will do this by the end of the year," Mr Javid told the Financial Times. But the comments have provoked a stern warning from the continent. Asked about the pledge European Commission said on Monday that any divergence would see UK firms given less market access in the upcoming trade deal. "We've made out position very clear, there is a link between moving away from EU regulation and the degree of access that's possible under the single market," the spokesperson spokesperson told reporters in Brussels on Monday Ireland's deputy prime minister Simon Coveney also weighed in, warning that there was "no way EU will ever sign up to a trade deal that allows tariff and quota free and frictionless access to UK goods if there isnt a Level Playing Field in terms of how theyre produced". He added: "I dont think anyone in UK should underestimate the strength of feeling." Trade talks are expected to begin in February after the UK has left the bloc. The European Commission has spent the last few weeks getting member states on the same page with as series of seminars in Brussels attended by diplomats. 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 The EU is particularly worried that a deregulated UK would undercut European products if it was given open access to EU markets. Theresa May had previously suggested the UK would sign up to some rules to secure access, but under Boris Johnson the UK has turned towards a more "basic" free trade agreement that would give less access. The UK however still says it wants zero tariffs and quotas on British goods entering the single market which Mr Coveney says will be dependent on signing up to a level playingfield. A new report says the world's wealthiest people control more money than 60% of the planet's population. That's according to charity Oxfam on Monday (20 January 2020). Their report comes ahead of the Davos Economic Forum, the yearly summit where the super-rich descend on a Swiss ski resort. It also estimates that unpaid care work by women adds at least $10.8 trillion a year in value to the world economy. That's three times more than the tech industry. Oxfam India CEO Amitabh Behar spoke to Reuters and singled out one case, a women named Buchu Devi in India who works up to 17 hours a day for her family. (SOUNDBITE)(English) OXFAM INDIA CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER (CEO), AMITABH BEHAR, SAYING: "On the one hand you see the billionaires who are all assembling at Davos with their personal planes, personal jets, super-rich lifestyles. And, on the other hand, this Buchu Devi (one poor overworked Indian woman's name) is not one person. I, in India encounter these women on a daily basis, and this is the story across the world. We need to change this, and certainly end this billionaire boom." Behar urged governments to make sure the rich pay their taxes and use the revenue for those in need. In just the last week, several protests around the world have hit on the gap between rich and poor. A civil rights group in Kenya marched through downtown Nairobi, holding signs that say "fight inequality" In France, strikes continued against President Emmanuel Macron's plans to reform the pension system. Thousands of miles away in Chile, demonstrators clashed with security forces after months of intense street protests over inequality and elitism. Upcoming political events in the Bay Area: WEDNESDAY Rick Wilson: Republican strategist and Daily Beast columnist on Saving America from Trump (and Democrats from Themselves). $30 for non-Commonwealth Club members, $10 for students. Noon, Marines Memorial Club, 10th Floor: Commandants Room, 609 Sutter St., San Francisco. More information is here. Path to blue: Strategies for progressive victories in the 2020 elections, presented by Lenore Goldman, consultant with groups including Indivisible, Sister District, Swing Left and East Bay Activist Alliance. Free. Noon, Impact Hub Oakland, 2323 Broadway, Fruitvale Room, Oakland. More information is here. Ian Haney Lopez: Author of Dog Whistle Politics and the new Merge Left: Fusing Race and Class, Winning Elections, and Saving America, in discussion with Saru Jayaraman. Benefit for KPFA-FM. $12 in advance, $15 at the door. 7:30 p.m., Kehilla Synagogue, 1300 Grand Ave., Piedmont. More information is here. THURSDAY Huffman town hall: North Bay Democratic Rep. Jared Huffman holds a town hall meeting for constituents. Noon, Petaluma Veterans Memorial Building, 1094 Petaluma Blvd. S, Petaluma. More information is here. Transgender district: A conversation with Janetta Johnson, Honey Mahogany and Aria Said, the activists behind San Franciscos Compton district, the nations first transgender cultural district. $5-$10, with a percentage of the proceeds donated to the cultural district. 6:30 p.m., Mannys, 3092 16th St., San Francisco. More information is here. Swalwell town hall: East Bay Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell holds a town hall meeting for constitutents. 7 p.m., Dublin High School student union, 8151 Village Parkway, Dublin. More information is here. FRIDAY Huffman town hall: North Bay Democratic Rep. Jared Huffman holds a town hall meeting for constituents. 4 p.m., San Rafael Community Center, 618 B St., San Rafael. More information is here. SATURDAY Iran protest: A rally against U.S. intervention in Iran, sponsored by ANSWER Coalition. Noon, Powell and Market streets, San Francisco. More information is here. Food justice: An event devoted to food sovereignty, an organizing concept to create a sustainable, culturally appropriate food supply for historically marginalized communities. Panel discussion with food justice advocates Laila El-Haddad, Reem Assil, and Shakira Simley, followed by a reception with Palestinian cuisine prepared by Reems. $35, $15 for students. 2 p.m., Museum of the African Diaspora, 685 Mission St., San Francisco. More information is here. Changing voting: A brief history of voting rights in America and a session with activists working on voter mobilization in 2020. $5. 3:30 p.m., Mannys, 3092 16th St., San Francisco. More information is here. SUNDAY Abortion Rights: Veteran abortion rights defender Nancy Reiko Kato analyzes the fight that led to abortion rights and discusses how to expand reproductive justice. Sponsored by Freedom Socialist Party. Brunch at 12:15 p.m. with $8 donation; meeting starts at 1 p.m. New Valencia Hall, 747 Polk St., San Francisco. JAN. 29 Politics and rationality: Two experts in the history of modern science and philosophy examine whether the intellectual history of the past few centuries help reinvigorate reasoned political and cultural debate. Featuring Jessica Riskin, Stanford history professor and Jean-Paul Gimon director of the France-Stanford Center for Interdisciplinary Studies; and Justin Smith, philosophy professor at the University of Paris 7. $25 for non-Commonwealth Club members, $10 for students. 7 p.m., Outdoor Art Club, 1 West Blithedale, Mill Valley. More information is here. JAN. 30 Trumps testing of America: Washington Post journalists Carol Lennig and Philip Rucker on covering the Trump administration. $35 for non-Commonwealth Club members, $10 for students. Noon, 110 Embarcadero, San Francisco. More information is here. Housing and local control: A UC Hastings symposium on state legislative efforts to restrict local control over housing decision. Features attorneys discussing the background and impact of these legislative efforts, and an academic panel covering the different dimensions of growth and housing in the state. Free. 2:30 p.m., 200 McAllister St., Alumni Reception Center, San Francisco. More information is here. Reimagining urban housing: David Sobel, CEO of San Francisco Housing Development Corp., on rethinking the real estate development and operations process to create more affordable homes. Free. 7:30 p.m., Mannys, 3092 16th St., San Francisco. More information is here. FEB. 4 Health and human capital in Russia: A discussion on the extent to which 15 years of Russian investment in improving its education and health care systems has paid off. Free. Noon, William J. Perry Conference Room, 616 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford University. More information is here. Guantanamo prison: Peter Jan Honigsberg, a law professor at the University of San Francisco and director of the Witness to Guantanamo Project, details the continued U.S. detention of suspected enemy combatants at its Guantanamo naval base in Cuba. Benefit for KPFA-FM. $12 in advance, $15 at the door. 7:30 p.m., Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St., Berkeley. More information is here. FEB. 5 Chronicle experts on 2020 elections: Chronicle Editor in Chief Audrey Cooper, columnists Heather Knight and Phil Matier, and senior political writer Joe Garofoli analyze the March 3 primary election. $15, $10 for subscribers. 6 p.m., Mannys, 3092 16th St., San Francisco. More information is here. FEB. 7 Watch party: For the Democratic presidential candidates debate. $10. 6 p.m., Mannys, 3092 16th St., San Francisco. More information is here. FEB. 9 Race and 2020 elections: A daylong workshop on race and the 2020 elections, hosted by the Catalyst Project and Bay Resistance. Sliding scale donation. 9 a.m., Oakstop17 1721 Broadway, No. 201, Oakland. More information is here. Spanish for activists: A session on canvassing among the Latinx community, sponsored by Democracy Action. Intended for intermediate and advanced Spanish speakers. Bring a laptop and phone. Free. 10:30 a.m., 80 Liberty Ship Way, Suite 20, Sausalito. More information is here. FEB. 10 Climate politics: A meetup on climate politics to plan for the March 3 California primary and other elections. Speakers include Susan Bolle of Democracy Action Marin and Susan Morgan of Indivisible Marin. 6 p.m., Good Earth Natural Foods, 201 Flamingo Road, Mill Valley. More information is here. FEB. 13 Responsible conservatism: Political analyst William Kristol on whether American conservatism has a future. Free. 7 p.m., Cubberley Auditorium, 485 Lasuen Mall, Stanford University. More information is here. FEB. 15 Rep. Pramila Jayapal: Washington state congresswoman and Congressional Progressive Caucus co-chair in conversation at the Commonwealth Club. $30 for nommembers, $10 for students. 1 p.m., 110 Embarcadero, San Francisco. More information is here. FEB. 19 Watch party: For the Democratic presidential debate, hosted by TechEquity Collaborative. Free. 5 p.m., Starline Social Club, 2236 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. More information is here. FEB. 20 Disinformation and democracy: A forum on the threats to democratic elections from digital disinformation. Panelists include Irina Raicu, director of internet ethics at Markkula Center; Alex Stamos, former chief security officer at Facebook and director of the Stanford Internet Observatory; and Subramaniam Vincent, director of journalism and media ethics at Markkula Center. $10. 6 p.m., Computer History Museum, 1401 North Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View. More information is here. Polarization and the Constitution: Is the Constitution part of the problem in political polarization rather than the solution, and if it is, what can we do about it? A conversation with Paul Pierson, political science professor at UC Berkeley. Free. 6:30 p.m., Salesforce Tower, 415 Mission St., San Francisco. More information is here. FEB. 22 Oscar Lopez Rivera: Puerto Rican independence activist, long imprisoned by the U.S. government for alleged connection to paramilitary actions, discusses his organizing activities as the island tries to recover from 2018 hurricanes. $15 in advance, $20 at the door. 5:30 p.m., La Pena Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. More information is here. FEB. 23 Oscar Lopez Rivera: Puerto Rican independence activist, long imprisoned by the U.S. government for alleged connection to paramilitary actions, discusses his organizing activities as the island tries to recover from 2018 hurricanes. $20. 1 p.m., Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, 2868 Mission St., San Francisco. More information is here. FEB. 26 W. Kamau Bell: Political comedian teams up with Mother Jones to talk about the 2020 election. $15. 7 p.m., Berkeley Repertory Theater, 2015 Addison St., Berkeley. More information is here. FEB. 27 E.J. Dionne Jr.: Washington Post columnist on how progressives and moderates can unite to win 2020 elections. $25 for non-Commonwealth Club members, $10 for students. Noon, 110 Embarcadero, San Francisco. More information is here. MARCH 4 Gender issues and political identity: Rose McDermott, international relations professor at Brown University, discusses gender issues and leaders emotional manipulation of political identity. $5. 7 p.m., 518 Valencia St., San Francisco. More information is here. MARCH 5 Rahm Emanuel: Former Chicago mayor and Barack Obama adviser on how mayors run the world. $40 for non-Commonwealth Club members, $15 for students. 6:30 p.m., 110 Embarcadero, San Francisco. More information is here. To list an event, please email Politics Editor Trapper Byrne at tbyrne@sfchronicle.com. The Japan Times reported that leaked information might include email exchanges with the Defense Ministry and the Nuclear Regulation Authority, as well as documents related to projects in collaboration with private firms such as utilities, railway operators, communications and car manufacturers. Mitsubishi Electric, however, said that no highly sensitive information related to defense, electricity or other infrastructure operations had been accessed. The company noted that last year it detected irregular activity on its devices in Japan. An internal investigation revealed that there was unauthorized access to the management section at its head office and elsewhere. Mitsubishi Electric suspected that a Chinese cybercrime group was responsible for the unauthorized access. No damage or negative effects have been confirmed following the attack; Mitsubishi Electric said that it took measures immediately after detecting the suspicious activity. A Myanmar-appointed panel concluded Monday that some soldiers likely committed war crimes against its Rohingya Muslim community but the military was not guilty of genocide, findings swiftly condemned by rights groups. The "Independent Commission Of Enquiry (ICOE)" released the results of its probe just ahead of a ruling Thursday by the UN's top court on whether to impose urgent measures to stop alleged ongoing genocide in It conceded some security personnel had used disproportionate force and committed war crimes and serious human rights violations, including the "killing of innocent villagers and destruction of their homes". But the crimes did not constitute genocide, the panel decided. "There is insufficient evidence to argue, much less conclude, that the crimes committed were undertaken with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical (sic), racial or religious group." Military operations from August 2017 forced about 740,000 Rohingya to flee over the border into sprawling camps in Bangladesh. Buddhist-majority has always maintained the crackdown by the armed forces, or Tatmadaw, was justified to root out Rohingya insurgents after a series of attacks left a dozen security personnel dead. But refugees carried consistent accounts of widespread murder, rape, torture and arson with them and have so far largely refused to return for fear of their safety. This is the furthest any investigation so far has gone in accepting atrocities occurred. But Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK) dismissed the findings as a "blatant PR exercise" to deflect attention from the Court of Justice's ruling. "Myanmar's deeply flawed investigation into human rights abuses in Rakhine State is another attempt to whitewash the Tatmadaw's brutal violence against the Rohingya," said spokesman Tun Khin. The report seems to scapegoat individual soldiers rather than place responsibility on the military command, said Phil Robertson from Human Rights Watch, calling for the immediate release of the full report. "The entire ICOE investigation, including its methodology and operations, has been far from transparent," he said. The commission comprises two local and two members, Filipino diplomat Rosario Manalo and former Japanese ambassador to the UN Kenzo Oshima. Myanmar's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi last month personally went to The Hague to argue her country was capable of investigating any allegations of abuse. She also warned the case, brought against Myanmar by West African nation The Gambia, could reignite the crisis. If the court rules in The Gambia's favour, this would be just the first step in a case likely to take years. Myanmar also faces other legal challenges over the Rohingya, including a probe by the Criminal Court -- a separate war crimes tribunal -- and a lawsuit in Argentina which notably alleges Suu Kyi's complicity. Over a fortnight after the violence on the JNU campus, the university's students union president Aishe Ghosh alleged on Monday that a student has been beaten up by ABVP members, a charge denied by the RSS-affiliated students' body. "An unfortunate incident of ragging against students of BA second year is being shown as a case of ABVP violence against the person accused of ragging," the ABVP claimed. According to sources, Raghib Akram, a resident of Narmada Hostel, was beaten up by some students. The reason was that he had reportedly not allowed them to eat at the Narmada Hostel mess on Sunday, as they were from a different hostel, the sources said. In a Facebook post, JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh wrote, "RISE IN RAGE ! 14 days have passed that JNU faced attack. Not a single arrest. But yes, see what's going on. Today, one of the student of the University was again beaten up by students affiliated to the ABVP. They entered his room in Narmada Hostel to beat him up." "This can't continue. The senior warden, proctor should immediately take action against these goon," she said in her post. However, the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) claimed that Akram was bullied some students in Narmada Hostel. The Left and National Students Union of India (NSUI) are not letting the university to function, it said. "An unfortunate incident of ragging against students of BA second year is being shown as a case of ABVP violence against the person accused of ragging, " they claimed. Akram has been accused of bullying some second year students in Narmada Hostel in the name of his friend who happens to be a mess secretary, they alleged. "But Left parties and NSUI are again busy maligning ABVP instead of addressing the real problem. A case of bullying and intimidating juniors in the name of authority and position has surfaced, and the Left instead of siding with victims of bullying are trying their best to prove them 'ABVP goons'," the RSS-affiliated students' body said. On January 5, masked persons had entered the varsity and attacked students and teachers. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) WEST PALM BEACH, FLA.U.S. President Donald Trump has quickly turned the U.S. drone killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani into a boast for the campaign trail, regaling supporters with tales of his role in the operation as he seeks to burnish his commander-in-chief credentials in an election year. At a campaign rally in Milwaukee last week and in a private event with Republican donors at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., this weekend, Trump has cast Maj. Gen. Soleimanis death this month as overdue justice for a man who denigrated the United States and used roadside explosives to kill and maim. In doing so, Trump has not bothered to vigorously defend the legal justification for the drone strike he ordered the administration has said Soleimani was planning imminent attacks on U.S. assets but has failed to put forward detailed evidence. Trump also seems to have abandoned his unfounded claim that up to four U.S. embassies were threatened after Defense Secretary Mark Esper and other top officials acknowledged they were not aware of such a threat. Rather, Trump has focused on placing himself at the centre of the action. In leaked audio from the GOP fundraiser, Trump described listening in the White House Situation Room to live updates from a U.S. official who counted down the seconds until the strike on Soleimani was carried out. Then, all of a sudden, boom, the president said. Other presidents have made the demise of high-profile national security threats a feature of their talking points for the campaign trail, including former president Barack Obama, who used the killing of al-Qaida mastermind Osama bin Laden to push back against Republicans who had called him feckless during his run for re-election in 2012. But Trumps focus on Soleimani, as well as the killing of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in a U.S. miliary raid in Syria this past fall, comes at a particularly fraught moment for a president who faces an impeachment trial in the Senate and has faced consistent criticism from Democrats, and some Republicans, for lacking the temperament to lead the country. Last month, former vice president Joe Biden, a leading Democratic presidential candidate, unveiled a campaign ad featuring a viral video of foreign leaders laughing while privately talking about Trump at a NATO gathering. A group of prominent GOP political strategists launched a major fundraising effort to help defeat him in crucial swing states in 2020. And a new book A Very Stable Genius, written by two Washington Post reporters has offered alarming details of Trump dressing down U.S. military leaders and his own national security aides as a bunch of dopes and babies during a private briefing at the Pentagon in 2017. By talking tough about the deaths of Soleimani and Baghdadi, Trump appeals to an electorate who likes to hear those sorts of things, said Bryan McGrath, a retired naval officer who helped organize one of two Never Trump letters signed by Republican national security experts in 2016. Most importantly, hes putting himself out there as a man of action, and I think that is appealing to his base. McGrath said he retains deep misgivings about Trumps leadership, but, he added: I like that Soleimani was taken out. Im not exactly sure about all the planning that went into it. But I wont hold that one against him. Since announcing Soleimanis death, Trump has touted the operation as a measure of his resolve, criticizing Obama and former president George W. Bush for having passed up chances to kill the Iranian general. Both of them reportedly were concerned that such an act would lead to a war. At his rally in Milwaukee on Tuesday, Trump spent much of the opening portion of his remarks boasting of his bold and decisive action to defend American lives and deliver American justice against the worlds No. 1 terrorist. Soleimani was the king of the roadside bombs, Trump said. Great percentages of people dont have legs right now and arms because of this son of a bitch, OK? He hammered Democrats who questioned the rationale for the strike and his overall Iran strategy, saying his political rivals should be outraged by Soleimanis evil crimes, not the decision to end his wretched life. As he did in his remarks at the private GOP fundraiser, Trump at the rally re-created a purported conversation he had with another unnamed official this one on the night that Iran responded to Soleimanis killing by launching a dozen ballistic missiles at Iraqi military bases that house U.S. troops. I said, How many killed? Nobody, sir. I said, How many hurt? They said, Nobody, sir. And I said, They just saved themselves $1 trillion and a lot of lives, Trump said, suggesting he would have escalated the conflict with additional sanctions and military strikes if U.S. personnel had been injured. Despite Trumps public statements that no Americans were wounded, at least eight U.S. troops suffered signs of concussions in the attack, officials said. Robert Spalding, a retired Air Force general who served on Trumps National Security Council, said the presidents use of Soleimanis death as a political cudgel is consistent with whats been done in the past. I dont see it as something outside the realm of what other people have done, he said. Does talking about things like that burnish his credentials as a military leader? Well, I think thats up to whoever is listening to it. Polls suggest Trump has not won over the public on his Iran strategy. According to an ABC News/Ipsos poll, 56 percent of the public disapprove of Trumps approach on Iran, compared to 43 percent who approve. And 52 percent feel less safe after the strike on Soleimani vs. 25 percent who feel safer, the poll found. A Reuters poll taken before Irans missile attack found that 71 percent of the public believe war with Iran is very or somewhat likely over the next few years. Just 51 percent held that view in May. Trump supporters have pointed to Irans public statements that it does not seek to further escalate the crisis as evidence that the president scored a tactical victory in taking out Tehrans top military strategist with minimal costs to U.S. personnel. But critics have noted that the confrontation led Iraqs government to temporarily suspend counter-terrorist operations against the Islamic State and vote to expel U.S. troops from the country, a demand Trump opposed this month. Last week, Douglas London, a retired CIA officer, wrote in Just Security, a national security journal, that he feared Trump was focusing on big-name celebrity targets instead of more strategic operations. Along with Soleimani, London cited bin Ladens son Hamza, who was killed this past summer in an operation in which the United States played a role. I am of the mind, knowing what a bad guy Soleimani was and the intelligence collection the U.S. is capable, that it was quite probable that we had the intelligence case to justify this kind of operation on Soleimani, said Ned Price, a former CIA officer who served as a spokesman for the National Security Council under Obama. What worries me is the prospect that President Trump undertook an operation with an eye more to the politics than to the strategic context. This, to me, sounds like a president who wants to look and act tough as he enters the election cycle. Read more about: Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has warned the government's promised budget surplus could evaporate due to the economic fallout from the nation's bushfire emergency. As the Business Council of Australia gave its blessing to the government running a budget deficit if that meant delivering much-needed assistance to communities and businesses, Mr Frydenberg said it was still unclear the economic damage caused by the fires. The government is promising a $5 billion surplus for the 2019-20 financial year, the first surplus since 2007-08. Australian Defence Force personnel assist the ABC to restore broadcasting services by clearing bushfire debris around a tower. In its mid-year budget update, released before fires ripped through much of southern NSW, parts of Victoria and South Australia, Mr Frydenberg was forced to downgrade expected surpluses over the next four years due in part to the impact of drought. It's official: Murray State becomes member of Missouri Valley Conference [January 20, 2020] TrendForce Strengthens the Knowledge Economy Through Technological Innovation as It Celebrates 20 Years of Continued Excellence Global market intelligence firm TrendForce is honored to announce its 20th anniversary in 2020. In addition to offering enterprise consultation services, TrendForce specializes in the comprehensive market analysis of the global technology sector. With over 20 years of industrial data and insights, TrendForce established Prophet, an AI solutions company, in 2017, growing its service areas to include the emerging digital transformation sector. For the past 20 years, TrendForce has been the leading generator of market information in Greater China's technology industry. Within the next 20 years, the company is looking to build upon its current core competencies and become the preeminent market intelligence provider and enterprise consultancy on the global stage. Founded in 2000, TrendForce acquired Topology Research Institute in 2015 in an effort to broaden the company's scope of service and research fields. TrendForce is now the gold standard in semiconductor, display panel, LED, green energy, and memory product research. At the same time, TrendForce has accumulated significant expertise in emerging technology industries including automotive technology, 5G network, Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence, among many others. TrendForce's team of more than 200 experts, based in Greater China, comprises the tech industry's best and brightest. Aside from providing clients with the latest, most accurate industrial data by staying up-to-date with the pulse of the global high-tech industry, the research team also offers data-driven consultation services through specialized research methodologies ad dedicated workgroups. As AI enters the mainstream, TrendForce has sought to continually expand its areas of service; this culminated in the creation of AI solutions provider Prophet in 2017. Prophet leverages TrendForce's 20 years of key industrial data, combined with its team of experts at the forefront of the tech industry, to help clients address pain points in enterprise AI application. TrendForce recognizes that the key to successful enterprise AI adoption, among other emerging technologies, hinges heavily on human resources. In this manner, the company's subsidiary, Topology Research Institute, draws expertise from three distinct sectors - industry, government, and academia. In 2019, TRI offered multidisciplinary courses in AI, semiconductor, 5G, and biomedicine with subsidies from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, designed to help professionals exploit the latest industrial trends and raise their competitiveness in the workplace. "Throughout the past 20 years in the tumultuous tech industry, with its many ups and downs, not only has TrendForce helped its clients maintain a leading position during market peaks, but more importantly, TrendForce also worked hard to deliver the most relevant and accurate information to see its clients through market downturns," says Kevin Lin, founder and CEO of TrendForce. "As the leading technology market insights brand in Greater China, we believe in the power of the knowledge economy. Through the latest trends and data, we empower our clients in every step of their decision-making process. In the future, we strive to continually integrate the newest technologies into our areas of expertise and keep our sights firmly on delivering more valuable data to our clients as our business ethos." For further details of this press release, along with TrendForce's 20th anniversary visual, please visit: https://press.trendforce.com/press/20200120-3328.html About TrendForce (www.trendforce.com) TrendForce is a global provider of market intelligence on the technology industries. Having served businesses for over a decade, the company has built up a strong membership base of 500,000 subscribers residing the technology and financial services sectors. TrendForce has established a reputation as an organization that offers insightful and accurate analysis of the technology industry through five major research divisions: DRAMeXchange, WitsView, LEDinside, EnergyTrend and Topology Research Institute. Founded in Taipei, Taiwan in 2000, TrendForce has extended its presence in China since 2004 with offices in Shenzhen and Beijing. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200120005101/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] A report has warned that anti-social behaviour in Inchicore could descend into the type of criminality that has plagued other parts of Dublin. It says what currently exists is not working. Prystaiko says the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been involved in preparing the president's trip. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko has said the details of the recent visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Oman will be made public "in due time." "As for the trip to Oman, it is obvious that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been involved in this. Our embassy, which is stationed there, has provided and is proving organizational assistance to this visit. I am aware of the interest that the journalistic community has in this. Both we and the administration [of the president] receives requests that we will address in due time. First of all, these requests are sent to the President's Office," he said at a press conference, according to an UNIAN correspondent. Read alsoZelensky cuts short Oman visit following Tehran crash news As UNIAN reported earlier, on January 5, the President's Office said Zelensky was in Oman, where he had scheduled top-level meetings. It was also noted Zelensky and his family had flown to Oman by regular flight and at their own expense. Westerly, RI (02891) Today Clear to partly cloudy. Low 8F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Clear to partly cloudy. Low 8F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Tsai Ing-wen was re-elected President of Taiwan with 57% of the vote. The KMT candidate got just 39%. The heavy handed tactics by China in Hong Kong were no doubt a big influence in this election. Turnout was 9% higher than in 2016. So the results of China trying to heavy Taiwan was to get the pro-independence President easily re-elected. Hopefully theyll learn their tactics are counter-productive. Well outside NZ universities anyway. Share this: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Reddit WhatsApp More Pinterest Print Tumblr Golwalkar, Hegdewar The petition argued: It has been made to appear as if that during the struggle for freedom, RSS took an Anti Muslim stance and the same had resulted in the partition of the country. The petitioner further claimed that RSS was not against any religion but was working towards the consolidation of the Hindu society. He demanded that the objectionable sentence from English as well as Tamil versions of the textbook be deleted. According to the petitioner, If such wrong messages are included in the textbook meant for school students, it will lower the image of the organisation in the minds of the young people and it is highly objectionable. "We have formed a team to inquire into the issue. The TN school education department will strike the controversial portion from Social Science book of Class 10". Unfortunately, even before finding the truth or falsehood of the statement in the text books by its own committee, the government of Tamil Nadu Hatred for Muslims an integral part of RSS vision of India The claim made in the above petition that RSS did not hate Muslims/Islam is not only fake but a white lie. RSS archives have abundant documents of pre-independence period, underlining the brazen and crude preaching of violence against Muslim citizens of India. It refused to treat them as part of Indian nation, in fact, declared the whole community as foreigners. It remains the most important plank of its attitude towards Muslims even afternoon independence. Hegdewar formed RSS as he was not satisfied with Gandhi's call for Hindu-Muslim Unity. RSS' official documents make it clear that Keshav Baliram Hedgewar was disillusioned with the Congress for the specific reason that it stood for unity between Hindus and Muslims: "It is clear that Gandhiji worked constantly with one eye on Hindu Muslim unityBut Doctorji sensed danger in that move. In fact, he did not even relish the newfangled slogan of Hindu Muslim Unity." [HV Seshadri (ed), 'Dr Hedgewar, the Epoch-Maker: A Biography', p 61] Hedgewar was never able to hide the fact that he distanced himself from the Congress for the reason that it believed in HinduMuslim unity. While returning from Central Province and Berar provincial Hindu Mahasabha session (presided over by Savarkar) in Akola, Maharashtra in 1937 when a prominent Congress leader asked him why he left Congress Hedgewars answer was, because Congress believes in HinduMuslim unity. [HV Pingle (ed), 'Smritikan: Param Pujiye Dr. Hedgewar Ke Jeewan Kee Vibhin Gahtnaon Ka Sankalan' (in Hindi, a collection of incidents in the life of Dr Hedgewar), Nagpur: RSS Prakashan Vibhag, 1962, p 93.] Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar (1906-73), the most prominent ideologue of the RSS who came to head the organization after Hedgewar not only glorified the cleansing of the Jews by Hitler in Germany but also demanded the same fate for the Indian Muslims. In his book We or Our Nationhood Defined (1939) which is a holy book for the RSS cadres, he declared: "The other Nation most in the eye of the world today is Germany. This Nation affords a very striking example German Race pride has now become the topic of the day. To keep up the purity of the race and its culture, Germany shocked the world by her purging the country of the Semitic races-the Jews. This writ petition was brought before Justice PD Audikesavalu who quickly directed the government counsel to obtain instructions on the issue by January 22, 2020, from the School Education Department, the Tamil Nadu Textbook and Educationally the Services Corporation (TNTESC) and the Director of State Council for Education Research and Training (SCERT). The government of Tamil Nadu's education department submitted before the High Court that:Unfortunately, even before finding the truth or falsehood of the statement in the text books by its own committee, the government of Tamil Nadu told Madras High Court that it would remove certain portions pertaining to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) from class 10 textbook.The claim made in the above petition that RSS did not hate Muslims/Islam is not only fake but a white lie. RSS archives have abundant documents of pre-independence period, underlining the brazen and crude preaching of violence against Muslim citizens of India. It refused to treat them as part of Indian nation, in fact, declared the whole community as foreigners. It remains the most important plank of its attitude towards Muslims even afternoon independence.Hegdewar formed RSS as he was not satisfied with Gandhi's call for Hindu-Muslim Unity. RSS' official documents make it clear that Keshav Baliram Hedgewar was disillusioned with the Congress for the specific reason that it stood for unity between Hindus and Muslims:[HV Seshadri (ed), 'Dr Hedgewar, the Epoch-Maker: A Biography', p 61]Hedgewar was never able to hide the fact that he distanced himself from the Congress for the reason that it believed in HinduMuslim unity. While returning from Central Province and Berar provincial Hindu Mahasabha session (presided over by Savarkar) in Akola, Maharashtra in 1937 when a prominent Congress leader asked him why he left Congress Hedgewars answer was, because Congress believes in HinduMuslim unity. [HV Pingle (ed), 'Smritikan: Param Pujiye Dr. Hedgewar Ke Jeewan Kee Vibhin Gahtnaon Ka Sankalan' (in Hindi, a collection of incidents in the life of Dr Hedgewar), Nagpur: RSS Prakashan Vibhag, 1962, p 93.]Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar (1906-73), the most prominent ideologue of the RSS who came to head the organization after Hedgewar not only glorified the cleansing of the Jews by Hitler in Germany but also demanded the same fate for the Indian Muslims. In his book We or Our Nationhood Defined (1939) which is a holy book for the RSS cadres, he declared: "Race pride at its highest has been manifested here. Germany has also shown how well-nigh impossible it is for races and cultures, having differences going to the root, to be assimilated into one united whole, a good lesson for us in Hindusthan [sic] to learn and profit by."[MS Golwalkar, 'We Or Our Nationhood Defined', Bharat Publications, Nagpur, 1939, pp 34-35.] While outlining the fundamental constituent elements of the Hindu Nation, Golwalkar raised a significant question: If, as is indisputably proved, Hindusthan, is the land of Hindus and is the terra firma for the Hindu nation alone to flourish upon, what is to be the fate of all those, who, today, happen to live upon the land, though not belonging to the Hindu Race, Religion or culture? [Ibid, p 45.] He answered to his own query in the following words: At the outset we must bear in mind that so far as nation is concerned, all those, who fall outside the five-fold limits of that idea, (Hindusthan, the Hindu Race, with its Hindu Religion, Hindu Culture and Hindu language) can have no place in the national life, unless they abandon their differences, adopt the religion, culture and language of the Nation and completely merge themselves in the National [Hindu] Race. [Ibid, p. 45] Demanding de-nationalization of Muslims and Christians who were described as 'Emigrants', Golwalkar declared: It is worth bearing well in mind how these old nations solve their minorities [sic] problem. They do not undertake to recognize any separate element in their polity. Emigrants have to get themselves naturally assimilated in the principal mass of the population, the National Race [Hindus], by adopting its culture and language and sharing in its aspirations, by losing all consciousness of their separate existence, forgetting their foreign origin. "If they do not do so, they live merely as outsiders, bound by all the codes and conventions of the Nation, at the sufferance of the Nation and deserving no special protection, far less any privilege or rights. There are only two courses open to the foreign elements, either to merge themselves in the national race and adopt its culture, or to live at its mercy so long as the national race may allow them to do so and to quit the country at the sweet will of the national race. That is the only sound view on the minorities problem. "That is the only logical and correct solution. That alone keeps the national life healthy and undisturbed. That alone keeps the nation safe from the danger of a cancer developing in its body politic, of the creation of a state within a state. [Ibid, p. 47.] Golwalkar as the most important ideologue of the RSS and Hindutva brand of politics forcefully argued for adopting the models of Hitler and Mussolini for getting rid of minorities from his kind of Hindu nation in the following words: "From this stand point, sanctioned by the experience of shrewd old nations, the foreign races in Hindusthan must either adopt the Hindu culture and language, must learn to respect and hold in reverence the Hindu religion, must entertain no idea but those of the glorification of the Hindu race and culture, i.e., of the Hindu nation and must lose their separate existence to merge in the Hindu race, or may stay in the country, wholly subordinated to the Hindu Nation, claiming nothing, deserving no privileges, far less any preferential treatment, not even citizens rights. "There is, at least should be, no other course for them to adopt. We are an old nation: let us deal as old nations ought to, and do deal, with the foreign races who have chosen to live in our country." [Ibid, pp 47-48] English organ of RSS since it's inception demanded exclusion of Muslims from Indian nationhood. RSS launched its English mouthpiece, "Organizer", on the eve of the independence of India, from Delhi. The perusal of its first few issues leaves no confusion about the intentions of the RSS. The maiden issue, dated July 3, 1947 carried a banner headline which read Glorious Hindu Rashtra. Echoing the view of the Muslim League in defence of the two-nation theory, the editorial condemned those who believed that Muslims were equal partners in this land of the Hindus, Hindusthan, and propagated the theory that Hindus and Muslims combined could only make a nation. Importantly, its issue on the very eve of independence, dated August 14, 1947, rejected the whole concept of a composite nation (under the editorial title Whither): "Let us no longer allow ourselves to be influenced by false notions of nationhood. Much of the mental confusion and the present and future troubles can be removed by the ready recognition of the simple fact that in Hindusthan only the Hindus form the nation and the national structure must be built on that safe and sound foundationthe nation itself must be built up of Hindus, on Hindu traditions, culture, ideas and aspirations." Golwalkar planned massacre of Muslims in Western UP on eve of Independence, claimed Rajeshwar Dayal, first state home secretary Golwalkar planned a massacre of Muslims in Western Uttar Pradesh on the eve of Independence. Rajeshwar Dayal, the first Home Secretary of UP after independence, recounts in his autobiography an incident which clearly exposes the sinister designs of Golwalkar, the then Supremo of the RSS to break the unity of the country just on the eve of Independence: I must record an episode of a very grave nature when the procrastination and indecision of the UP Cabinet led to dire consequences. When communal tension was still at fever pitch, the Deputy Inspector General of Police of the Western Range, a very seasoned and capable officer, BBL Jaitley, arrived at my house in great secrecy. [Ibid, p. 47.]Golwalkar as the most important ideologue of the RSS and Hindutva brand of politics forcefully argued for adopting the models of Hitler and Mussolini for getting rid of minorities from his kind of Hindu nation in the following words:[Ibid, pp 47-48]English organ of RSS since it's inception demanded exclusion of Muslims from Indian nationhood. RSS launched its English mouthpiece, "Organizer", on the eve of the independence of India, from Delhi. The perusal of its first few issues leaves no confusion about the intentions of the RSS. The maiden issue, dated July 3, 1947 carried a banner headline which read Glorious Hindu Rashtra.Echoing the view of the Muslim League in defence of the two-nation theory, the editorial condemned those who believed that Muslims were equal partners in this land of the Hindus, Hindusthan, and propagated the theory that Hindus and Muslims combined could only make a nation.Importantly, its issue on the very eve of independence, dated August 14, 1947, rejected the whole concept of a composite nation (under the editorial title Whither):Golwalkar planned a massacre of Muslims in Western Uttar Pradesh on the eve of Independence. Rajeshwar Dayal, the first Home Secretary of UP after independence, recounts in his autobiography an incident which clearly exposes the sinister designs of Golwalkar, the then Supremo of the RSS to break the unity of the country just on the eve of Independence: "He was accompanied by two of his officers who brought with them two large steel trunks securely locked. When the trunks were opened, they revealed incontrovertible evidence of a dastardly conspiracy to create a communal holocaust throughout the Western districts of the province. "The trunks were crammed with blueprints of great accuracy and professionalism of every town and village in that vast area, prominently marking out the Muslim localities and habitations. There were also detailed instructions regarding access to the various locations, and other matters which amply revealed the sinister purport. Greatly alarmed by those revelations, I immediately took the police party to the Premiers [chief ministers] house. There, in a closed room, Jaitley gave a full report of his discovery, backed by all the evidence contained in the steel trunks. Timely raids conducted on the premises of the RSS had brought the massive conspiracy to light. The whole plot had been concerted under the direction and supervision of the Supremo of the organization himself. Both Jaitley and I pressed for the immediate arrest of the prime accused, Shri Golwalkar, who was still in the area. Pantji [GB Pant] could not but accept the evidence of his eyes and ears and expressed deep concern. But instead of agreeing to the immediate arrest of the ringleader as we had hoped, and as Kidwai would have done, he asked for the matter to be placed for consideration by the Cabinet at its next meeting. It was no doubt a matter of political delicacy as the roots of the RSS had gone deep into the body politic. "There were also other political compulsions, as RSS sympathizers, both covert and overt, were to be found in the Congress Party itself and even in the Cabinet. It was no secret that the presiding officer of the Upper House, Atma Govind Kher, was himself an adherent and his sons were openly members of the RSS. At the Cabinet meeting there was the usual procrastination and much irrelevant talk. The fact that the police had unearthed a conspiracy which would have set the whole province in flames and that the officers concerned deserved warm commendation hardly seemed to figure in the discussion. "What ultimately emerged was that a letter should be issued to Shri Golwalkar pointing out the contents and nature of the evidence which had been gathered and demanding an explanation thereof. At my insistence, such a letter if it were to be sent, should be issued by the Premier himself to carry greater weight. Panditji asked me to prepare a draft, which I did in imitation of his own characteristic style. The letter was to be delivered forthwith and two police officers were assigned for the purpose. Golwalkar, however, had been tipped off and he was nowhere to be found in the area. He was tracked down southwards but he managed to elude the couriers in pursuit. This in fructuous chase continued from place to place and weeks passed. Came January 30, 1948 when the Mahatma, that supreme apostle of peace, fell to a bullet fired by an RSS fanatic. The tragic episode left me sick at heart. ['Rajeshwar Dayal, A Life of Our Times', Delhi: Orient Longmans, 1999, pp 9394.] Golwalkar described Indian Muslims as internal threat number one The Bible for the RSS cadres, "The Bunch of Thoughts", the compilation of the writings of MS Golwalkar, published after independence,116 has a long chapter entitled Internal Threats in which the Muslims and Christians are described as threats number one and two respectively. The Communists receive the honour of being Enemy Number 3. This chapter opens with the following statement: "It has been the tragic lesson of the history of many a country in the world that the hostile elements within the country pose a far greater menace to national security than aggressors from outside." [MS Golwalkar, 'Bunch of Thoughts', p 177.] While discussing the Muslims as hostile element number one he wrote: "Even to this day, there are so many who say, Now there is no Muslim problem at all. All those riotous elements that supported Pakistan have gone away once and for all. The remaining Muslims are devoted to our country. After all, they have no other place to go and they are bound to remain loyal "It would be suicidal to delude ourselves into believing that they have turned patriots overnight after the creation of Pakistan. On the contrary, the Muslim menace has increased a hundred fold by the creation of Pakistan, which has become a springboard for all their future aggressive designs on our country." [ Ibid, pp 177178.] Elaborating further on the Muslim enemy, Golwalkar arrived at the following conclusion: "Within the country, there are so many Muslim pockets, i.e., so many miniature Pakistans, where the general law of the land can be enforced only with certain modifications and the whims of the miscreants have to be given the final say. "This acceptance, indirect though it may be, implies a very dangerous theory fraught with possibilities of the destruction of our national life altogether. Such pockets have verily become the centres of a widespread network of pro-Pakistani elements in this landThe conclusion is that, in practically every place, there are Muslims who are in constant touch with Pakistan over the transmitter" [Ibid, p 185.] While deliberating on the Internal Threat number two, the Christians, he declared: "Their activities are not only irreligious, they are also anti-national...such is the role of the Christian gentlemen residing in our land today, out to demolish not only the religious and social fabric of our life but also to establish political domination in various pockets and if possible all over the land." [MS Golwalkar, 'Bunch of Thoughts', pp190, 193.] According to Golwalkar, conversion to Islam and Christianity turned the converts automatically into anti-nationals who were no longer true to their salt. Defining the attitude of the Hindu nation to Muslims and Christians, he declared: "They are born in this land, no doubt. But are they true to their salt? Are they grateful to this land which brought them up? Do they feel they are the children of this land and its traditions, and that to serve it is their great good fortune? Do they feel it a duty to serve her? No! Together with the change in their faiths, gone is the spirit of love and devotion for the nation. Nor does it end there. They have also developed a feeling of identification with the enemies of this land. They look to some foreign lands as their holy places." [MS Golwalkar, 'Bunch of Thoughts', p 125] Madras High Court must initiate a perjury proceedings against RSS With these shocking, toxic and venom spitting documents and actions contained in the RSS archives which tantamount to spreading hatred against the minorities, specially, against the largest minority of India, the justice demands that Honourable Madras High Court starts perjury proceeding against P Chandrasekaran, secretary of the Chennai chapter of RSS. --- *Formerly at Delhi University, Prof Islam's writings and video interviews/debates can be accessed here http://du-in.academia.edu/ShamsulIslam. Twitter: @shamsforjustice. Blog: http://shamsforpeace.blogspot.com/ This dossier is in continuation to my request to friends in Tamil Nadu that democratic-secular organizations/individuals must intervene in this case so that anti-national RSS fails to manipulate/use higher judiciary for hiding its toxic communal agenda. I have reproduced original RSS documents (except one by Rajeshwar Dayal ICS who was the first home secretary of UP after independence) for use in the court. The original documents can be provided on demand.The Madras High Court, presently, is seized of an interesting matter. RSS needs its help to hide its criminal attitude towards Indian Muslims such as calling for ethnic cleansing of Indian Muslims. According to a press report Chandrasekaran's intervention on behalf of the RSS is quite perplexing as RSS keeps its roster of membership closely guarded secret. According to the petitioner the above mentioned book under the title Hindu Communalism, Muslim Communalism and Indian Nationalism read: Bigwigs of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) have taken to the streets of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja to protest the apex court decision to annul the election of Emeka Ihedioha of the PDP, and declared Hope Uzodinma of the All Progressives Congress, APC, the winner of the March 9 2019, Imo Gubernatorial election. Read Also: Imo Verdict: Anambra PDP Gives SCourt 7 Days To Reverse Judgement The protest, which was attended by the national chairman of the party, Uche Secondus, Dino Melaye, and other chieftains of the opposition party, on Monday demanded that the Supreme Court reverse its judgement. The party had outright rejected the verdict of the apex court saying it is a miscarriage of justice. More to follow A group of 110 students from various government schools of Chenab region districts on Monday left for Tamil Nadu as part of a 'Samagra Shiksha' exchange programme. 'Samagra Shiksha' is an overarching programme of the Ministry of Human Resource Development for the school sector extending from pre-school to Class 12. The journey of high school and higher secondary level students from Doda, Ramban and Kishtwar districts was flagged off by Commissioner Secretary School Education, Hirdesh Kumar Singh, an official spokesperson said. "The programme aims to enable the students to explore and learn about new avenues and facilities of across the country," Singh said. He said such tours provide a platform to students to know more about their country, to familiarise them with culture and history of the nation. They also encourage them to make friends and interact with their counterparts across other states for a better exposure, he added. State Project Director 'Samagra Shiksha', Arun Manhas, interacted with the students and appreciated the efforts put in by teachers, who accompanied them in harsh weather conditions. Manhas told Singh that so far over 3,000 students have been sent to various parts of the country as part of the programme. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) 20 Jan Irene Wan recently expressed her sadness over the recent trend of boycotting films due to political differences. As reported on Mingpao, the actress who spoke to the media regarding the boycott that has impacted both Hong Kong and the mainland film industry, shared, "Whether you are from Hong Kong or Taiwan, everybody is Chinese. I hope that everybody can be one family, love each other, and have more exchanges when it comes to films." As a person who wants to see peace in both worlds, Irene stated that everybody should only focus on the positives. "I have been to many places. I feel that Hong Kong is a great place and that we are very lucky. Being your best is the most important thing," she added. On the other hand, Irene stated that she is lucky when it comes to her 2019 projects, especially the movie, "The Fallen". "The character I played in the movie may be my favourite in the past decade. It has a lot of potential and challenges. Many people praised my performance and gave me a lot of encouragement," she said. (Photo Source: Irene Wan Instagram) Former White House Chief Economic Advisor Gary Cohn said Sunday that President Trumps tariffs on steel and aluminum hurt the U.S. and did not help the administration in trade negotiations, either. I dont think the tariffs helped us get to any different outcome. I think it has hurt the U.S. Its totally hurt the United States, Cohn said on CBSs Face the Nation. Cohen stated in response to CBS host Margaret Brennans that he didnt believe the tariffs changed the U.S. progress on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement or trade negotiations with China. Cohn also acknowledged his differing stance on trade negotiations to Trump, saying that they agreed fundamentally on what the issue was but not how to solve it. Still, he denied that their disagreement on tariffs and trade were the only reason he left the administration in March of 2018. I left the administration for a variety of different reasons, Cohn said. .@Gary_D_Cohn on leaving the White House: "At the end of the day, he was going a different direction on some of the trade negotiations than I would have gone. I agreed fundamentally on what the issue was. I just didn't agree on how to solve the issue"https://t.co/rMEcA1JcCd pic.twitter.com/4nUO6FaLgr Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) January 19, 2020 The US economy is very strong, very solid. Employment growth is great but were missing a big component, Cohn said. Were missing the capital expenditures from companies in the United States. Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday appealed to her counterparts in the northeast and non-BJP states to study carefully the NPR form, its questions and criteria, before arriving at a decision on updating it. She also asserted that a resolution would soon be passed in the West Bengal Assembly against the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act. Dubbing the NPR exercise as a dangerous game, Banerjee said the form, which seeks birth details and residential proof of parents, was nothing but a precursor to NRC implementation. I will appeal to all chief ministers, governments including those in BJP-ruled northeast states - Tripura, Assam, Manipur and Arunachal - and the opposition party-ruled states to read the law properly and consider the clauses in the NPR form before arriving at a decision. I request them not to participate in this matter because the condition is very bad, she said. Banerjee also said that she came to know from the media that sections in the NPR form which seek birth details of parents were not mandatory. If the fields are not mandatory, why are they a part of the form? Efforts should be made to remove those questions. If they continue to exist on paper (form), those that do not enter birth details of parents might be automatically excluded. There is an apprehension... she claimed. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo contended that the West Bengal Assembly would adopt a resolution against the amended Citizenship Act in three to four days. We have earlier passed a resolution against NPR. Next, the Assembly will take up a resolution against the citizenship law withing three to four days, she insisted. Earlier this month, the TMC had prevented the passage of an anti-CAA resolution in the Assembly, even as the Congress and the CPI(M) pitched for it. The CM reasoned that the House had already adopted a resolution against a pan-India NRC in September last year, which, in turn, denounced according Indian citizenship to people on the basis of religion. Incidentally, Kerala and Punjab have passed a resolution against the citizenship law. The chief minister, after inaugurating the Uttarbanga Utsab in Siliguri, later in the day, said she would not be able to provide all details sought in the form. Earlier, I had thought that NPR was only a regular exercise for census update. But after looking at the columns, which sought date of birth and address of parents, I realised that I will not be able to provide them that information... I do not have them, she said. Justifying her decision of not participating in a meeting convened by the Centre on NPR, Banerjee said she was happy to be the only one to skip it. Many people, who had spoken on the matter (NPR update), went to participate in the meeting. I am the only one who did not go. At least one person protested. I would request you all to rethink... she said, reciting Rabindranath Tagores patriotic song Jodi Tor Dak Shune Keu Na Ase Tobe Ekla Cholo Re (If no one responds to your call, walk alone). They (Centre) have misguided you (participating CMs) by telling that the column to provide your parents details is not mandatory. If it was so, why dont you pass a resolution to withdraw those fields from the NPR form, she said. Apparently referring to the attacks on university campuses in several parts of the nation, she said, What is happening in the country at this juncture in not right. Students are our future. Banerjee, describing herself as the custodian of common people, iterated that NPR and NRC would not be implemented in West Bengal. Nobody will be able to snatch away our rights. This state is ours. Do not think we are there only when elections are around. I am the custodian of common people. I am not going to listen to them (Centre) unless the necessary changes are made in the NPR form, she added. New Delhi [India], Jan 20 (ANI): Asha Devi, mother of 2012 Delhi gang-rape victim, on Monday termed the petition by one of the convicts in the case as a tactic to delay the execution. The Supreme Court will today hear a Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by Pawan Kumar Gupta, one of the death row convicts in the gang-rape and murder case, claiming that he was a juvenile at the time of crime, and the Delhi High Court had ignored this fact during the proceedings in the case. Speaking to ANI, Asha Devi said, "It is just a tactic to delay the execution. His petition was canceled in 2013 by the Supreme Court. The review petition was also dismissed by the court. He's doing it just to waste time. All the convicts must be executed on February 1." The Delhi High Court had rejected the review petition of Pawan and he had challenged this before the apex court on January 17. Pawan's date of birth as per school record is October 8, 1996, but the Delhi High Court had ignored this, Pawan's lawyer, AP Singh claimed in the petition. A Delhi court 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. 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. (ANI) [L-R] Chairperson of the BoG Mr Andile Sangqu; outgoing board member Mr Royden Vice; Registrar, Dr Adele Moodly; Chairperson of Rhodes University Council, Mr Vuyo Kahla; Vice-Chancellor, Dr Sizwe Mabizela; and outgoing Chairperson, Mr Mike Spicer. Rhodes University recently hosted a special luncheon to honour four of its outgoing governors as Honourary Life Members, at Le Petit Manor in Franschhoek, Western Cape. The four distinguished honourees had all served as members of Rhodes Universitys Board of Governors (BoG) for many years. They included outgoing Chairperson, Mr Mike Spicer, and outgoing board members Mr Royden Vice, Mr Chris Rumble (in absentia) and Mr Andy Andrews (in absentia). Besides the outgoing governors family members, several Rhodes University representatives were in attendance including: Chairperson of Rhodes University Council, Mr Vuyo Kahla, Chairperson of the BoG Mr Andile Sangqu, Vice-Chancellor, Dr Sizwe Mabizela and Registrar, Dr Adele Moodly. It has indeed been a dream of a lifetime to have witnessed the extraordinary service of our honourees, said Mr Kahla. Even as we have rightly pursued the Universitys transformation agenda, the governors we honour today, along with their colleagues, have been particular in requiring that this transformation results in a university that is better and more excellent than the one we inherited. Mr Spicer started his journey at Rhodes University as a student in 1971, where he completed an MA in History. In 2009, he was elected to the Board of Governors and by 2012, he was serving as Chair. Mr Spicer thanked Rhodes University and members of the Board for having helped shape his experiences. He told the current Board: I will still be observing from the sidelines and hopefully participate from time to time as well. Mr Royden Vice, who started at Rhodes University in 1966 as a BCom student, joined the Board in 2005 and served as Chairman of the Finance Committee for his entire tenure. It is an honour to receive this award, as Rhodes University is very close to my heart, he said. My wish for the future is for this university to keep growing, maintaining its standards and that it lives up to a higher educational level than it has achieved in the past. And looking at the current leaders and committee members, I would say this is very doable. Rhodes University is in good hands and I look forward to reading about its ongoing success in future. Mr Sangqu presented each of the outgoing governors with a Dedication Award trophy in recognition of their outstanding contribution, commitment and dedication to the University. The work you did, you did it because of the love, passion, and resoluteness you have for education in general, and to Rhodes University in particular. You have truly embraced the spirit if Ubuntu, Mr Sangqu said. "We, as new members of the Board of Governors and Council, are honoured to be standing on the shoulders of visionary giants such as yourselves, he told the outgoing governors. You are indeed a tough act to follow, yet we are proud of what you have accomplished. A recap can be seen here: https://youtu.be/sYCkXfanbQw Source: Communications Please help us to raise funds so that we can give all our students a chance to access online teaching and learning. Covid-19 has disrupted our students' education. Don't let the digital divide put their future at risk. Visit www.ru.ac.za/rucoronavirusgateway to donate Another Rite Aid-turned-Walgreens drugstore and pharmacy is set to close - this one located at 8417 Oswego Road in Clay, east of Baldwinsville. Store employees confirmed the store will close Thursday. A Rite Aid store that remains a Rite Aid branded location at 113 Downer Street in the village of Baldwinsville is remaining open, said Christopher Savarese, a spokesman for Rite Aid. Another Rite Aid that was purchased by Walgreens at 300 W. Manlius St. in the village of East Syracuse scheduled to shut its doors on Feb. 25, with its pharmacy closing Feb. 10. In 2018, Walgreens completed its purchase of 1,932 Rite Aid stores, including several in Syracuse. One of those was the Rite Aid on South Salina Street, which had been in operation for more than 40 years and closed in October 2018. Walgreens officials said at the time the closings came after a review of its real estate. In 2019, Walgreens announced it was closing 200 more stores, but did not provide a list detailing which ones were slated to close. As of August 2019, Walgreens operated 9,277 drugstores, according to its website, including 632 in New York. Walgreens operates more than 20 stores in the Syracuse area. Three Walgreens stores closed in June 2019 - including one in ShoppingTown Mall, 1900 Grant Blvd. in Syracuse and 703 Old Liverpool Road in Salina. In the Syracuse area, four Rite Aid-branded stores are continuing to operate, according to Savarese. They are: Aaron Finch and Steve Smith will talk out their mid-wicket mix up over a beer after the Australian white-ball captain fumed when he was run out against India. A furious Finch blew up when he was run out for 19, as they both ended up at the same end of the Bangalore pitch in Sunday's series-deciding one-day international. Smith returned to make his ground after hitting the ball to backward point, while Finch was stranded and run out by half the pitch in Australia's seven-wicket loss. An angry Finch then yelled in Smith's direction as he left the ground, with Smith appearing to respond "I called no". The Irish opposition has accused Leo Varadkar of using his role as Taoiseach to make a party political attack on his his opponents. Fianna Fail asked the Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO) to investigate as the campaign heats up ahead of next months General Election. Mr Varadkar said Fine Gaels political opponents say they will tear up the contract for the National Broadband Plan aimed at overhauling the countrys network. Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin told broadcaster RTE it was inappropriate and wrong for Mr Varadkar to make what he said were political comments at an event organised by a state body. Fine Gael senator for Cork South Central, Jerry Buttimer, dismissed criticism of Mr Varadkar after his presentation of an award to Apple chief executive Tim Cook at an event in Cork. Tim Cook is presented the inaugural IDA Ireland Special Recognition Award by Leo Varadkar (Niall Carson/PA) Mr Buttimer said: Micheal Martins bizarre attack on the Taoiseach is designed solely to distract from the fact that his party doesnt even know itself where it stands on broadband. The only thing that is clear in relation to Fianna Fail and the National Broadband Plan is that it intends to rip it up if in power, depriving rural communities of high-speed internet. Or perhaps Micheal Martin has performed a U-turn, having been out on the doors and hearing how important the rollout of broadband is to the people of Cork South Central and beyond. Fine Gaels plan will extend broadband to 1.1 million who would otherwise be left behind under a Fianna Fail government. Micheal Martin (Brian Lawless/PA) Fine Gael has promised to introduce a pension transition payment for those who want to retire at 65, meaning they would not have to seek jobseekers allowance while waiting for the state pension. Proposed changes to the pension age are becoming a key issue in the election, with parties pledging to lower the age at which people become eligible to receive the state pension. Story continues The qualifying age in the Republic of Ireland is 66, having changed from 65 in 2014. The age is set to increase again, to 67 in 2021, and 68 in 2028. Fine Gael is proposing to introduce a transition pension or an early retirement pension for those who are contractually required to retire earlier. Police have found the gun believed to have been used in the fatal shooting of a 19-year-old student inside Bellaire High School last week, Bellaire police said. Lt. Greg Bartlett said Monday the weapon is in the possession of Bellaire Police Department, without elaborating. The remains of the 11 Ukrainian victims of the Flight 752 plane crash in Iran arrived in Kyiv on January 19. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and other senior Ukrainian officials were on hand to receive the flag-draped caskets at the airport. Iran's military said it had mistakenly shot down the passenger airliner after takeoff from Tehran on January 8. Nine Ukraine International Airlines crew members and two Ukrainian passengers were killed, along with 165 other people on the downed flight. Pension deals for early retirees, abolishing hospital charges for children, SSIA schemes for aspirant home-owners, and income tax breaks are among the sweeteners Fine Gael and Fianna Fail will unleash this week in their bid to win the general election. Fianna Fail will today outline a series of major investments in healthcare services, including the creation of 4,000 nursing posts. The Irish Examiner has learned that, in addition to creating the new posts, the party, if in government, will also seek to end the pay inequality for newer workers hired since 2011, at a cost of 20m. In a major policy announcement to be delivered by the partys health spokesman, Stephen Donnelly, Fianna Fail has promised to double the National Treatment Purchase Fund from 100m to 200m so nobody will wait more than six months for treatment. The party is also looking to create a new office for budget responsibility within the Department of Health in a bid to end major cost overruns such as the National Childrens Hospital. Fine Gael, reeling from a disastrous weekend opinion poll which placed them 12 points behind Fianna Fail, is to ditch its Brexit-laden approach of the first week of the campaign, focusing instead today on healthcare and new family supports. Simon Harris, the health minister, is to announce today that he intends abolishing hospital stay charges for children as part of a wider health briefing. The partys campaign director and finance minister, Paschal Donohoe, said there was no panic internally about the poll, saying he and his colleagues are very composed. Several Fine Gael ministers have called for a shift in the partys messaging, but all stopped short of describing the poll result as a crisis. We are just coming out of the first weekend of the campaign, one senior minister told the Irish Examiner. We expected we would be somewhat behind, given where we are in the political cycle. There is a long way to go. Leo Varadkar confirmed his partys intention to keep the retirement age for workers at 67, but said a transitionary pension will be introduced for those people forced by their companies to retire at 65. There are some anomalies that need to be fixed, he said, and one of those anomalies, in my view, is people who are required to retire before the age of 66, or even before the age of 67, and what we propose to do there is to bring in a transition pension or an early retirement pension, like existed in the past for those who are contractually required to retire earlier. Micheal Martin speaks to reporters outside RTE television studio in Dublin. (Aine McMahon/PA Wire) Mr Martin said that, if elected to government, he would seek to outlaw contracts that force people to retire at 65. If on the one hand the State is saying the pension age should go to 67, then having people for two years in a limbo situation is not sustainable and acceptable, he added. He said the party would review moving retirement to 67 on the basis that there needs to be what he called a level playing pitch. He said compulsory retirement at 65 needs to change and he would look for graduated retirement. Sinn Fein has said that, if in government, it would reverse the pension age increase back to 65. Mr Martin also confirmed his party would unveil a policy to bring back a Special Savings Incentive Allowance (SSIA) type scheme to help young people save up for deposits on housing. He said his government would provide 1 for each 3 saved up to 10,000. A similar SSIA scheme for the general population was operated between 2003 and 2007. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 23:25:09|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close BEIJING, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- A high-level expert team of China's National Health Commission Monday confirmed people-to-people transmission of a novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) and infection of medical staff. Zhong Nanshan, a renowned respiratory expert and head of the team, said two cases in Guangdong Province were confirmed to be people-to-people transmission. Zeng Guang, chief epidemiologist of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said the outbreak of the new coronavirus can be reversed if measures are taken now. OTTAWA COUNTY, MI Police identified Elena Young, 33, of Holland, and her daughter, Angelina Trevino, 16, as victims of a fatal crash Sunday, Jan. 19, on Douglas Avenue in Holland Township. Three others were injured. The teen was a student at West Ottawa High School. Ottawa County sheriffs deputies notified school officials of the loss before school started Monday, Jan. 20. A GoFundMe account has been set up for the family. This is a tragic accident, and we lost two family members at the same time, Rosemary Castro wrote on GoFundMe. Words cannot express the pain and grief (her husband, Lorice Young Jr) his mom is experiencing, and her parents. Both families are in need, I want to help as much as I am able. Prayerfully with Gods strength and support we will travel this journey and keep each other lifted up. The crash happened around 2:30 p.m. Sunday on Douglas Avenue near Adams Street. Young was driving a 2002 BMW sport-utility vehicle east on Douglas when she lost control of her vehicle on the slushy road. Her vehicle crossed the center line and was struck in the passenger side by an oncoming 2020 Nissan Rogue. The daughter was seated in the front-passenger seat. Both were taken to Holland Hospital before the girl was airlifted to Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital. Ottawa County sheriffs deputies continue to investigate but said road conditions appear the be a major factor in the crash. Police said excessive speed and use of alcohol or drugs do not appear to be factors. The names of those injured in the crash were not released. The driver of the Nissan, 44-year-old Holland woman, and her front-seat passenger, an 18-year-old male, were taken to Holland Hospital then transferred to Butterworth Hospital. Both were in serious condition. A 31-year-old Holland woman in another vehicle was also injured. She was driving a Jeep Cherokee behind the Nissan and could not avoid crashing into the Nissan, police said. She was in stable condition at Holland Hospital. Read more: Police identify shooting victim, 23 Train hits vehicle after driver gets stuck on tracks Grand Rapids kicks off Martin Luther King Jr. holiday celebration with worship event VANCOUVER - Lawyers for the Huawei executive wanted by the U.S. Justice Department for alleged fraud argued Monday that authorities should not send her to the United States because the allegations do not amount to crimes in Canada. The extradition hearing of Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou, whose detention by Canadian authorities at the behest of the United States 13 months ago has left Canada caught in a conflict between Washington and Beijing, opened Monday morning in a packed courtroom of the British Columbia Supreme Court. The Justice Department alleges that Meng, the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, committed bank and wire fraud by misleading HSBC about the company's relationship with a subsidiary, SkyCom, effectively tricking it into clearing more than $100 million in transactions that violated U.S. sanctions on Iran from 2010 to 2014. Under Canadian law, to "commit" Meng for extradition, the allegations must meet the test of "double criminality," meaning that the charges of which she is accused in the United States must also be considered crimes in Canada. Meng's legal team told Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes that the alleged misrepresentations do not amount to fraud, and that the case is really about the United States trying to enforce its sanctions against Iran - sanctions that did not exist in Canada at the time Canadian officials agreed to begin extradition. "The requesting state has cast this matter as a case of fraud against a bank," said Richard Peck, the Vancouver-based lawyer leading Meng's defense team. "In our respectful submission, this is an artifice. In reality, sanctions violations is the essence of the alleged misconduct." Canadian prosecutors have called that argument a "complete red herring." China has cast Meng's arrest as an effort to stunt the country's growth. Asked about the hearing in Beijing on Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said China's position was "consistent and clear." "The U.S. and Canada abused their bilateral extradition treaty and arbitrarily took compulsory measures against a Chinese citizen without cause," according to remarks posted on the foreign ministry's website. "This is entirely a serious political incident that grossly violates the legitimate rights and interests of the Chinese citizen. . . . "Once again we urge the Canadian side to take China's position and concerns seriously, release Ms. Meng and ensure her safe return to China at an early date." Meng attended the hearing Monday in a black dress with polka dots and black heels that showed off the GPS monitor adorning her ankle. She sat at a table with a translator. A standing-room-only crowd filled the large basement courtroom in downtown Vancouver for the long-anticipated hearing. At the heart of Meng's alleged deception is a 2013 meeting at a Hong Kong teahouse, where she delivered a PowerPoint presentation to the bank. According to the U.S. indictment, the presentation included "numerous misrepresentations" about Huawei's ownership and control of SkyCom, putting the bank at risk of financial harm and criminal liability. Had HSBC known about the alleged sanctions violations, U.S. authorities allege, it would have "reevaluated" its banking relationship with Huawei. Huawei and Meng deny the allegations. She is out on bail, living in the slightly larger of her two mansions here, where she says she has been passing the time reading and painting. As the hearing opened Monday, a spokesman for Huawei said it would be "inappropriate for us to give specific comments on the ongoing legal proceeding." "We trust in Canada's judicial system, which will prove Miss Meng's innocence," spokesman Benjamin Howes said in a video statement. "Huawei stands with Miss Meng in her pursuit of justice and freedom. We hope Miss Meng will be together with her family and colleagues and friends as soon as possible." If the judge finds that the double criminality test is not met, Meng will be freed, though prosecutors will have an opportunity to appeal. If the test is met, the process will advance to a second stage in June, when Meng's lawyers are expected to argue that the case against her is politically motivated. Meng has filed a separate lawsuit against the Canada Border Services Agency, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canadian government, alleging that her constitutional rights were breached when she was detained at Vancouver's airport in December 2018. The arrest of Huawei's "princess" has touched off a chain of events that has left Canada caught in the middle of a standoff between the United States and China. China arrested two Canadians, former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor, and charged them with stealing state secrets in a move widely viewed as retaliation. They are being held in cramped prisons and have not had access to a lawyer or their families. It also imposed restrictions on several Canadian agricultural imports. Canadian officials up to and including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have prevailed on the United States for help securing the release of "the two Michaels." U.S. officials up to and including President Trump have raised their detention with their Chinese counterparts, to no avail so far. Geng, the foreign ministry spokesman, said Monday that China and Canada "have stayed in touch." . , The Hill, , ... The Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador was hit by a massive Bomb Cyclone blizzard this weekend, leaving its capitol city buried under the heaviest snowfall ever recorded in its history. Rob Carroll, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, said St. John's had experienced a one-day snowfall Saturday of 76.2 centimeters, or 30 inches, breaking the previous record of 68.4 centimeters, 27 inches, on April 5, 1999. A storm system that had slammed the northeastern US earlier in the week with strong winds, snowfall and lake-effect squalls exploded into a 'bomb cyclone' on Friday after tracking into the Atlantic Ocean, AccuWeather reports. The storm then set its sights on portions of Atlantic Canada. Newfoundland's premier asked for the Canadian military's help as residents of the province's capital struggled to tunnel out from buried homes. Social media posts coming from St. John's reveal time lapse footage of cars and streets literally fading into white. Scroll down for video Bassem Elshahat posted a picture of his porch in St. John's at the start of the a 24-hour cycle An update of the images shows Elshahat's porch starting to disappear, as well as the street beyond Another update shows the street level starting to level out with the porch. No more steps are visible in the footage The street level in another update is higher than the porch, and cars are buried A later view from the porch reveals a surreal image of snow and nothing else but the faint glow of a street light in the distance Another update shows the snow now overtaking Elshahat's home in St. John's A bomb cyclone forms when air pressure drops 24 millibars or more in a 24-hour period. Premier Dwight Ball said he had asked for the federal government's assistance, including mobilizing the armed forces, after the blizzard battered eastern Newfoundland. Meanwhile, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Bay Roberts said search teams were looking for 26-year-old Joshua Wall, who remained missing after leaving his home in Roaches Line, a small community about 70 kilometers, or 44 miles, west of the capital, to walk to a friend's home. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Bay Roberts said search teams were looking for 26-year-old Joshua Wall, who remained missing after leaving his home in Roaches Line, a small community about 70 kilometers, or 44 miles, west of the capital, to walk to a friend's home St. John's Mayor Danny Breen said he has lived in the city most of his life and has never seen a storm of this magnitude. 'I've never seen the combination of the amount of snow, the rate of snowfall and the wind speed that we've had here over the past couple of days,' Breen said. Winds at the St. John's International Airport were recorded at between 120 and 157 kph, or 75 and 98 mph, at the height of the storm. Early Saturday morning when the snowplow came to clear his street, Breen said, he could hear the vehicle but he couldn't see it because there was so much snow. He said he is about 178 centimeters tall, or 5-foot-8, and 'the snow in front of my front step is over my head. I can't see either one of my cars in the driveway.' Intense snowfall brought St. John's and many other communities to a standstill Friday, then slowed overnight and ended in the capital Saturday morning. A vehicle has almost disappeared under a blanket of snow covering a street in St. John's Snow blocks the entrance to an apartment in St Johns, Newfoundland, Canada, after the heaviest snowfall ever recorded in the capitol buried the city this weekend A snowy street is pictured in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada Canadian Armed Forces Operations tweeted it was moving in to help in Newfoundland and Labrador, following an 'unprecedented winter storm'. Minister of Natural Resources Seamus O'Regan said the federal government was already working to deploy all available resources on the ground. O'Regan said the federal government was still working out exactly how the military would be able to help the city. St. John's and several nearby communities declared states of emergency late Friday morning that have remained in effect. Breen couldn't say when officials might lift the state of emergency order, which required businesses to close and all non-emergency vehicles to stay off streets. A dog is pictured struggling to cross the snow covered streets of St. John's as the blizzard was coming down A half buried car is parked in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador An image posted by Ryan Crocker on Facebook of a street buried under snow in St. John's 'The roads are impassable and that's it, there's nothing that can be done,' Andrew Piercey, a dispatcher with Jiffy Cabs in St. John's, said at midday. He described an exhausting walk through snowdrifts to get to work, spending more than an hour to travel about a mile. When he got to work, he realized there were no taxis to dispatch. Tribal groups loyal to General Khalifa Haftar have blocked oil exports from eastern Libyan ports and have also seized several oil fields in the south ahead of peace talks between Haftars LNA and the UN-recognized Government of National Accord. A Sunday report by the Wall Street Journal added a key pipeline to the list of blocked assets that will affect Libyas oil production adversely for at least a few days. The pipeline connects the largest field in Libya, Sharara, and neighboring El Feel, to the Zawiya export terminal. According to the Libya Observer the pipelines were more than one. In any case, Sharara and El Feel together produce a sizeable portion of Libyas total output, with Sharara alone capable of pumping 200,000 bpd. The Libyan National Oil Corporation declared force majeure on oil exports soon after the news of the seizures broke and warned the blockade could cost the country $55 million daily, the Libya Observer reported. The blockade will also cost Libya between 500,000 and 800,000 bpd in lost oil production, according to different reports. Before the blockade, Libya was pumping around 1.3 million bpd. Bloomberg quoted an unnamed source as saying production could drop as low as 72,000 bpd if the export halt extends and storage tanks get full. Related: Putins Powerplay Could Jeopardize The OPEC Deal Al Jazeera reports the terminals and the fields were seized on Friday as a challenge to the GNA, who Haftar has been fighting for several months now with the ultimate goal of removing the government from power and, according to him, unifying Libya. Haftar and his Libyan National Army is loyal to the rival government in the East. "Haftar's General Command and the Petroleum Facilities Guard of the Central and Eastern Regions have instructed the managements of Sirte Oil Company, Harouge Oil Operations, Waha Oil Company, Zueitina Oil Company and Arab Gulf Oil Company (AGOCO), subsidiaries of the National Oil Corporation, to stop oil exports from Brega, Ras Lanuf, Hariga, Zueitina, and Sidra ports," a statement by the company said as quoted by the Libyan news outlet. The peace talks between General Haftar and Fayez al-Serraj, the Prime Minister of the GNA, began yesterday in Berlin. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Representative image Iran said on Monday that it had not closed the "door to negotiations" in efforts to resolve a dispute over its nuclear agreement with world powers that has escalated steadily since the United States withdrew from the deal in 2018. Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said any further move by Tehran to scale back its commitments to the deal would depend on actions by other parties, after European states triggered a mechanism that could lead to the reimposition of U.N. sanctions. Iran has gradually stepped back from its obligations to the 2015 deal, under which Tehran secured sanctions relief in return for limiting its nuclear work, after Washington quit the agreement and then imposed stringent U.S. sanctions. Britain, France and Germany, also signatories to the pact, triggered a dispute mechanism this month, citing Iranian violations. This starts a diplomatic process that could lead to U.N. sanctions being reimposed. "Tehran still remains in the deal ... The European powers' claims about Iran violating the deal are unfounded," Mousavi told a weekly news conference in Tehran, saying that the "door to negotiations" had not been closed. "Whether Iran will further decrease its nuclear commitments will depend on other parties and whether Iran's interests are secured under the deal," Mousavi said. U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal and began a policy of "maximum pressure" on Iran, saying he wanted a new deal that would cover nuclear issues, Iran's ballistic missile programme and Iranian activities in the Middle East. Britain has said a "Trump deal" could replace the 2015 agreement and France has called for broad talks to end a crisis with the United States, which briefly erupted into tit-for-tat U.S.-Iranian military action this month. Mousavi repeated Iran's rejection of a "Trump deal". Iranian officials have said Trump could not be trusted, so such deal would not have any value. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), responding to a right to information request from a Maharashtra resident, has said that it does not have any information about a tukde-tukde gang. Saket Gokhale of Maharashtra had filed a string of questions about the tukde tukde gang that sought to ascertain if the term had been defined by the home ministry and what its response to this challenge was. The MHA also did not respond to queries of the Hindustan Times seeking clarification on the RTI response. Saket Gokhale filed the application on 26 December, the same day Home Minister Amit Shah told an event organised by the Delhi Development Authority in the national capital that it was time to punish the tukde tukde gang. ALSO WATCH | Congress led tukde-tukde gang behind CAA protests in Delhi: Amit Shah It is time to punish the tukde-tukde gang, which is responsible for the violence in the streets of the national capital with the help of the Congress party. The people of Delhi should punish them, Amit Shah had said. Tukde tukde gang is a colloquial term that has been used by leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party over the last five years to describe its detractors who the party alleges, have been working against the interest of the country. One of the earliest occasions when BJP leaders used the term was in 2016 after then JNU students union president Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested for allegedly raising slogans calling for independence of Kashmir from India. Kumar spent nearly three weeks in Tihar jail on a controversial sedition charge that was slapped at him. The BJP came up with the tukde tukde gang phase to target political parties and individuals who came out in support of Kanhaiya Kumar and has since then, hurled the charge at other detractors as well. Apart from seeking a definition of the tukde-tukde gang, Saket Gokhales request under the RTI Act also asked the Home Ministry to indicate it had drawn up a standard operating procedure (SoP) to identify the alleged gang. The RTI application also asked the home ministry to clarify whether the Union Home Ministers reference to this alleged tukde-tukde gang was based on specific briefings by the Ministry or other law enforcement agencies? Gokale also wanted the home ministry to clarify if it had drawn up a list of leaders and members of this gang that the home minister had referred to. Haveri (Karnataka) [India], Jan 20 (ANI): Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday said that the security of all the airports in the state has been increased after a suspicious bag containing explosives was found at Mangaluru airport. "Today morning, around 8:45 to 9:00 am, it was noticed in CCTV that some unknown person kept his backpack. As it was suspicious in nature, it was handed over to CISF and police. They inspected along with the bomb disposal squad. Harmful explosives were found," Bommai said in a statement. According to police, improvised explosive device (IED) recovered from a bag at Mangaluru airport was defused in an open field by the personnel of the bomb disposal squad. The state Home Minister said that Mangalore police commissioner has started an investigation into the matter. "We have increased the security of all the airports in the state, Bangalore, Hubli, Dharwad, Belagavi and Mangalore. Terrors are trying to do such heinous acts in the country for several years. But we have been preventing it with the help of our force," Bommai said. "Such suspicious incidents usually take place in and around January 26, to disturb the peace. Before Jan 26th, in the past seven years especially, some elements have been trying to disrupt law and order," he said. Bommai said that the perpetrators have targeted Mangaluru airport because it's a hub for commercial activities and because the property damage could have been severe here. "In the past, there have been several such attempts to destroy property and disturb communal harmony in the society... We will find out what materials were used for in this case and also bring the people behind this to book," he said. Pictures of the accused were also issued by the police. (ANI) The people that archivist David Carlson helps span a wide range of races and ethnicity, occupations and ages. They walk through the swinging, wooden half-door of his office at the Bexar County Spanish Archives in downtown San Antonio seeking answers about their heritage and sometimes just about local history. There was an instructor chasing down old maps for a construction class. A woman desperate for information about her mothers ancestors. A retired Air Force major curious about a mysterious overgrown lot in his Northeast Side neighborhood that no one seemed to claim. Carlson, 51, isnt at a loss for resources to aid them in their quests. He has access to more than a quarter million pages of printed and hand-written manuscripts dating back to the Spanish colonial era. He can go back for generations upon generations. With white-cotton gloved hands he pores over deeds yellowed by age and letters written with feather quills dipped in midnight black ink. He examines centuries-old parchments and stained maps bearing squiggly lines that symbolize old county roads. And if his intense research through physical documents, census records and digital files doesnt yield results, he counts on a network of expert academic sleuths hes developed over the years. About the author A 22-year veteran of the Air Force, Vincent T. Davis embarked on a second career as a journalist and found his calling. Observing and listening across San Antonio, he finds intriguing tales to tell about everyday people. He shares his stories with Express-News subscribers every Monday morning. See More Collapse With the popularity of genealogy and family research on the rise, his expertise is in high demand. I think things really took off like a shot because of the internet and the amount of material now being digitized and made available online, Carlson said. Carlson has helped hundreds of customers in the Texas Room located on the first floor of the archives building at 126 E. Nueva St. With help from assistant Liliana Villanueva, he shows visitors, in person or on the phone, the basics of how to search for answers. The son of a civilian who worked for the U.S. Department of Defense, his family traveled to his fathers duty assignments across the country and overseas. He adapted to new cultures, friends and languages, each stop offering the inquisitive child a new adventure. He cant pinpoint a eureka moment when he knew history would be his calling. But if there was a sign it was probably the first time he saw a pinata. And it wasnt in Mexico. It was the mid-1970s, and he was at a friends birthday party at Ramstein Air Base Germany. He recalls he was transfixed by the colorful crepe paper figure as the children whacked at it with a stick until it cracked open and torrents of candy spilled out. He had to learn more and went looking for the history of the cultural activity that he found occurs in several countries. He said the words of a colleague years later summed up his experience well: There is a fundamental excitement in discovery and thats something that history can bring to the table. He would go on to receive two bachelors degrees from the University of Washington: one in history and one in Latin American Studies. His studies took him to London, Cuba and Spain where he found people willing to assist him in his academic pursuits. By 2007, he had received a masters and doctorate in modern Latin American history at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill. He taught U.S. and Latin American history at the University of Texas-Pan American before former Bexar County Clerk Gerard Rickhoff hired him in San Antonio to work part time in 2011. A year later, he was brought on as full-time archivist at the office thats a repository for all cultures that helped shape San Antonio. Bexar County Clerk Lucy Adame-Clark calls Carlson the the guru of all history. Five years ago, his expertise helped verify the existence of a forgotten African American settlement. J. Michael Wright, a retired Air Force major, contacted him about an overgrown lot in his Northeast Side subdivision. There were rumors it had been a graveyard. Carlson and Wright scoured over deeds and maps that helped local historian Everett Fly verify the lot as the Hockley-Clay Cemetery founded by Jane Warren, a former slave. The trio learned that the descendants thought they owed back taxes on the property and let the land go, not knowing that cemeteries were exempt from tariffs. Its just a remarkable thing, Carlson said. To think that in the middle of this tract of suburban housing theres this fragment of lived experience that goes all the way back to the foundation of Texas. There are times when Carlson does more than just work with history; he lives it. Hes an Alamo reenactor, one of the people who recreate famed battles before crowds outside the Shrine of Texas. Hes a part of the New Orleans Greys, two companies of volunteers formed in 1835 who came to the defense of the Alamo. When skirmishes are scheduled, he strides forward in a period uniform he put together himself: chinos, a high-waisted roundabout jacket and 1820s forage cap with large visor, complete with a knapsack and musket. The outcome of the Texas Revolution never changes. Unlike the original combatants, however, these fallen actors rise after the battle as cannon smoke fades into the air, ready to repeat their confrontation for another audience. For Carlson, its one more way to make history come to life. vtdavis@express-news.net US troops stationed in Iraq carry out military operations After the US military killed Iran's Major General Qassem Soleimani, commander of IRGC's al-Quds Forces, in Iraq's capital city Baghdad, the tit-for-tat military operations between the US and Iran almost pushed Iraq to the verge of proxy wars. Although Baghdad demanded the US troops to leave as soon as possible, the US has refused to withdraw the troops and they may have more furious game on this issue in the time to come. The US has an ax to grind by stationing troops in Iraq. There are several reasons why the US military has been so adamant on staying in Iraq despite the host country repeatedly showing them the door. First, it's for the sake of saving face. The "official" reason why they killed Soleimani was that he has planned the killing of more than 600 American officers and soldiers stationed in Iraq in recent years and has long been committed to kick the US troops out of the country. After the killing, Iran strongly called on Iraq to drive out the US troops as soon as possible. If the US is pulled out of Iraq at this moment, it will, on the one hand, cause doubts about the "proper reason" for killing Soleimani and, on the other hand, be mocked as a "coward" by Iran. Therefore, it won't withdraw the troops from Iraq anytime soon. Second, the US needs to take the upcoming presidential election into account. The US media generally held that the Iraqi issue is one of the most important topics that wield influence over the recent four American presidential elections. In 2004, the Iraqi war ruined John Kerrys efforts to replace George Walker Bush as the Republicans slashed him for being too soft on national security issues. In the presidential campaigns of 2008 and 2016, both Obama and Trump attacked Hillary Clinton for her self-contradictory Iraqi policies. Now in the preliminaries for the 2020 United States presidential election, Republicans like Joe Biden once again used Trumps failed Iraqi policy as a weapon against the current president. Trump has been so tough on keeping the US troops in Iraq partly because he has to gain more chips for winning the re-election. Third, the US has to safeguard its strategic interests. Occupying a predominant position in America's networks of interests in the Middle East, Iraq is considered by the US as a place it cannot afford to lose because it is not only an important battlefield to curb Iran and Syria, but also the forefront in the international anti-terrorism campaign. US under huge pressure From all perspectives of views, we can conclude that the US-Iraq game on the withdrawal of American troops will keep fermenting for some time. The US will face pressure from two directions if it hopes to keep its troops there. On the one hand, Iraq will continue to push the American troops to leave. According to media reports, the assassination of Soleimani is like the "last straw" on US-Iraq relations that have been increasingly estranged in recent years. Next, Baghdad will possibly take more steps to "drive" the US troops out of its territory. In the meantime, countries like Iran and Russia will give a hand to Iraq. Baghdad and Tehran are discussing how to continue their bilateral trade without using US dollar, and Baghdad said Washingtons sanction against Iran doesnt comply with the international law, according to Dr. Sa'ad Javad Qandil, the Iraqi ambassador to Tehran. On the other hand, there are constant waves of criticism in the US as well. Both the American government and the Iraqi parliament estimated that the Iraqs national economy will certainly suffer a serious blow if the US imposes sanctions on Iraq for proposing the departure of the US troops. The new sanctions may force the Iraqi government to cave in, but will place the stationed American troops in the country in more severities. More importantly, ever since the US military invaded Iraq in 2003, arguments about the necessity of this war and the stationing of US troops have never stopped. Some in the US have been claiming that the role of the US troops in Iraq have deteriorated from the security defender of the Middle East to "chicken ribs" that are next to nothing in terms of its contribution to Americas national security, and it is advisable to withdraw the US troops at an early date. Do you have a point of view on hauling cost structure for farm gate milk? What about quality and volume premiums when it comes to your milk check? Lastly, do you have a preference of shipping to a dairy cooperative or selling directly to a processor as an independent farmer? These are some of the questions we will delve into as we look to gather and share dairy farmer opinions with milk buyers. To take our survey, go to Dairy Pricing Survey. More about the survey Prices dairy farmers receive for their milk are impacted by many market factors that have caused and will continue to create significant price volatility. Such price swings can lead to financial difficulties on the farm and for downstream handlers and processors. While minimum farm prices are determined through milk marketing orders, milk buyers can apply supplemental premiums. Generally, volume premiums help address scale economies in manufacturing and improve market power in negotiations with downstream agents. However, volume premiums also may incentivize farm expansion. During oversupply conditions, that expansion may be harmful to the industry. Historically, dairy farmers were incentivized through quality premiums to adopt best management practices. This is beneficial to processors as higher quality leads to higher yields and dairy products with a longer shelf life. However, the levels of quality at which premiums are offered and the size of the payments should reflect not only processing benefits, but also the ability (and cost) of producers to achieve them. Hauling costs have a wide range A relatively large deduct on the milk check revolves around the cost of assembly and hauling milk from farms to processing plants. Hauling costs can vary widely by farm depending on size, location (to other farms and plants), and the nature of the trucking fleet. How these costs are charged to farm suppliers by milk handlers is a lively debate and, at least for cooperatives, may include ideological perspectives of the nature of the farmer-owned business. Historically, dairy cooperatives were formed by farmers with relatively homogeneous or similar characteristics. As cooperatives operate and adapt through time, membership tends to become more heterogeneous or divergent in terms of farm size, age, service needs, and production methods. Understanding the value of ownership in a cooperative . . . including member responsibilities and voice in strategic direction . . . is an important element to long-term cooperative membership. That said, some farms may prefer not to have ownership control of the milk processing business and the responsibilities that go with it. A team of Cornell researchers is interested in learning more about the preferences of dairy farmers and their willingness to accept alternative premium payment programs, hauling charges, and handler business structures. The survey is available at https://tinyurl.com/DairyPriceSurvey. The results will be communicated broadly to the dairy industry and will serve as valuable guidance to dairy farmers and milk handlers when considering alternative pricing structures and their related market effects. Participating farmers have a chance to win one of five $100 VISA gift cards. Dont wait, the anticipated closing date of the survey is February 15, 2020. To comment, email your remarks to intel@hoards.com. (c) Hoard's Dairyman Intel 2020 January 20, 2020 Tejas Khoday The Budget for 2020 is just two weeks away. As usual, many big names have voiced their expectations from this annual exercise by the Union finance minister (FM). Economic growth has taken a beating over the past two years because of subdued demand, poor consumption trends, lower private investments and liquidity issues leading to a severe credit crunch. To counter the slowdown, the Narendra Modi government of late has taken a string of measures. Any revival is expected from FY21 onwards. When it comes to the stock market, the previous two years saw a split down the middle. While a few large caps ran the show, the broader market languished, affecting retail investors to the hilt. A few factors were at work. The imposition of LTCG (long-term capital gains tax) in Budget 2018 followed by other regulations -- reorganisation of mutual fund schemes, unexpected segregation of companies as part of the ASM (Additional Surveillance Measures) list, abruptly disallowing brokers from providing intraday leverage -- has upset all calculations of brokerages, fund managers, investors and traders alike. To be fair, some regulations were required, but the rest dampened the mood. These frequent disruptions came at a time when many listed companies suffered from credit crunch, poor business prospects and higher valuations, thus worsening an already shaky conditions. With many well-known large companies defaulting on their debt obligations, small and mid caps suffered from severe collateral damage. This resulted in erosion of investor interest in stocks other than the top 50 or a few select mutual fund schemes. Between November 2019 and January 2020, over nine weeks, the frontline Nifty scaled fresh highs 15 times. During the first two weeks of January, the stock market performance was broad-based and generated quite a bit of investor interest, especially in small and mid caps. It is imperative that the Budget 2020 carries forward this momentum and provides the right impetus for a wider involvement of market participants. A long-pending demand from the stakeholders is either a reduction or elimination of STT (Securities Transaction Tax) and CTT (Commodities Transaction Tax). The transaction costs in India are still too high, which act as a deterrent to participation. As STT mop-up is linked to the state of the stock market, any reduction or abolishment for a year or two can help improve trading volumes tremendously, and thus collections. Levies for investors cover a diverse bouquet of taxes, which include GST on brokerage, exchange transaction charges, clearing fees and the like. With the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) disallowing brokers from providing intraday leverage to traders, the impact cost has gone up. Another point to note is the non-uniform stamp duty levied across states. In addition, Long-Term Capital Gains (LTCG) tax kicked in since the Budget 2018. Removal of LTCG completely or making LTCG equal to zero after a 2-year holding period. Considerable reduction in STT/CTT to provide a boost to the trading community. Enforcing uniform stamp duty across all states, and reduce it by half for a meaningful impact. Exempting dividends from taxation up to a limit of at least Rs 2.5 lakh. To create positive vibes, the government, therefore, needs to go back to its quiver of SOPs (standard operating procedures) and weigh the following proposals. One or more of these proposals, if implemented, will have a positive rub-off on stocks, reduce transaction costs, increase participation and thereby boost tax collections. Though there are suggestions for a reduction in personal tax rates, which could also spur investment and consumer spending, it all depends on the quantum of cut the finance minister is willing to make this time, given the fact that a revamped Direct Tax Code (DTC) is in the offing. The Budget expectations are high and varied, with many sectors seeking support to bolster business and consumer confidence. On the other hand, the government is fiscally constrained, hemmed in by comparatively lower tax revenues. But the challenge to turn around the economy remains. In this scenario, we expect the finance minister to loosen the purse strings a little, at the cost of expanding the fiscal deficit by 0.3-0.5 percent, and lend a hand to all sections of the economy, including traders and investors. The path to $5 trillion economy by 2024 is shaken but not lost out. It is up to the FM and the Prime Minister to formulate and implement appropriate measures to put the economy back on track with all engines of economy firing on all cylinders. A high profile critic of Google, who accused the search engine of meddling in the 2016 election, has now suggested his wife's fatal car crash was not an accident. Robert Epstein, 66, said in July the internet giant's methods 'gave' millions of votes to Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential election. In December he announced that his wife, Misti Dawn Vaughn, 29, died after her truck spun out of control along a road in California and into the path of a tractor-trailer. On Sunday he tweeted: 'Last year, after I briefed a group of state AGs about #Google's power to rig elections, one of them said, "I think you're going to die in an accident in a few months." A few months later, my beautiful wife #Misti died a violent death. Makes you wonder.' Epstein had earlier tweeted on January 4: 'BTW, although losing Misti is devastating for me - there will never be another Misti in my life, after all - I AM STILL NOT SUICIDAL. Hear that, #Google? Hear that, #Hillary?' He had earlier dismissed the idea that '#Google or #Hillary had anything to do with Misti's death', but seems to have changed his mind in recent days. Epstein, a psychology professor at the American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology, concluded that Google's search methods 'gave' millions of votes to Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential election. 'I know the number of votes that shifted because I have conducted dozens of controlled experiments in the U.S. and other countries that measure precisely how opinions and votes shift when search results favor one candidate, cause, or company,' Robert Epstein testified Robert Epstein, shared in a heartbreaking tweet that his wife, Misti Dawn Vaughn, pictured, died after her vehicle spun out of control along a slipper road in California Epstein has now suggested his wife's fatal crash was not an accident in this tweet Sunday In July, Epstein outlined his claims under questioning by Sen Ted Cruz of Texas, who had at one time been President Donald Trump's chief primary challenger. 'I know the number of votes that shifted because I have conducted dozens of controlled experiments in the US and other countries that measure precisely how opinions and votes shift when search results favor one candidate, cause, or company,' Epstein testified. Epstein testified that Google's search techniques 'shifted at least 2.6 millions votes to Clinton'. Epstein said he analyzed 13,000 election-related searches from the campaign and that they were 'significantly biased in favor of Secretary Clinton'. He said he 'conducted dozens of controlled experiments that measure how opinions shift when search results are biased. 'I call this shift "SEME" the Search Engine Manipulation Effect,' he said. Epstein claims the search results have an 'subliminal' effect on voters that he calls 'online ephemeral experiences'. Clinton won the popular vote by nearly 3 million votes, so Epstein's theory gives the impression Google could have made the difference in the outcome. However, even without getting into whether it is possible for a search engine to change individual voter preferences, Epstein testified that as many as 15 million votes could be impacted in 2020. Epstein also claimed Google's 'Go Vote' display gave an 800,000 vote advantage to the Democratic Party. Epstein, pictured with Clinton, a psychology professor at the American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology, concluded that Google's search methods 'gave' millions of votes to Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential election In December Epstein announced that his wife, Misti Dawn Vaughn, 29, pictured, died after her truck spun out of control along a road in California and into the path of a tractor-trailer On January 4 he tweeted: 'I AM STILL NOT SUICIDAL. Hear that, Google? Hear that, Hillary?' Google has denied the allegations and said it never altered its search results as a some elected conservatives now claim. 'This researcher's inaccurate claim has been debunked since it was made in 2016. As we stated then, we have never re-ranked or altered search results to manipulate political sentiment,' Google said at the time. 'Our goal is to always provide people with access to high quality, relevant information for their queries, without regard to political viewpoint,' the company added. About a month after his testimony, Epstein shared an article that claimed he had been 'killed' by a Google Street View vehicle. 'And lots of you keep warning me that my life is in danger. I sure hope that isn't true. Anyway, I was already killed by a #Google Street View vehicle back in 2014!' Epstein wrote. The tweet was accompanied by a link to the Huffington Post article that claimed he died on July 19, 2014, after being struck by the vehicle while crossing Front Street in San Diego. 'My beautiful wife Misti, a published poet, succumbed last night to injuries sustained in a car accident,' her grieving husband wrote Misti, 29, lost control of her Ford Ranger along rain-slick on Interstate 15 in Escondido, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. When her truck spun out of control it crossed into the path of an oncoming big rig that was hauling two dump trailers, it was reported at the time On December 28 he shared in a heartbreaking tweet: 'My beautiful wife Misti, a published poet, succumbed last night to injuries sustained in a car accident. 'I was supposed to die in your arms some day, but a slippery road has ruined everything. You were not just my love, you were my greatest adventure.' Misti, 29, lost control of her Ford Ranger along rain-slick on Interstate 15 in Escondido, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. When her truck spun out of control it crossed into the path of an oncoming big rig that was hauling two dump trailers, it was reported at the time. California Highway Patrol spokesman Officer Mark Latulippe told the news outlet that the 50-year-old driver of the tractor-trailer was unable to avoid hitting the woman's truck and struck the passenger side of the pickup. Moments later, a 19-year-old woman who was driving a Toyota 4Runner was also unable to avoid the accident in front of her and struck the Ranger. The victim was treated at the scene for her injuries before being rushed to Palomar Medical Center. Both the big rig driver and the 19-year-old woman were uninjured. Drugs or alcohol were not initially believed to be factors in the crash and a police investigation was launched. DailyMail.com has contacted CHP for the latest. Three U.S. congresswomen took the stage in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art Saturday, applauding those who had gathered for the Womens March on Philadelphia and calling them to action to do even more. Hundreds of women marched along Benjamin Franklin Parkway Saturday, as they did three years ago in Philadelphia, in Washington and across the globe. U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-5 of Swarthmore tied the two together. Three years ago, women right here in the birthplace of our nation and everywhere around the country and around the world took to the streets to demand equality, opportunity, justice and demand to be heard, she said. We march forward because we refuse to go back. And, we never stopped. We marched and we run. U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-4 of Montgomery County, Pa., highlighted what change can occur over time and with action. From having no women in Congress to having four women in Congress, she said to rousing applause. And its not just here. In our Congress ,we have more women and greater diversity than ever before in the history of this country and it makes a difference in what we do and how we speak to each other and what we argue passionately for. She spoke of the passage in the U.S. House of the Paycheck Fairness Act, the expansion of parental leave, gun violence bills, such as the bill for background checks, and the Equal Rights Amendment, as well as the impeachment articles against President Donald Trump. Even with more than 400 bills having passed the House, Scanlon reminded the crowds work needs to continue, especially with the U.S. Senate failing to consider 278 bipartisan bills that she said sit on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnells desk. Obviously, our work is not done, Scanlon said. Your work is not done we still have work to do, we still have to work on the Senate. She urged women to pay attention and get involved, particularly in the coming year. 2020 is going to be a critical year for our democracy, Scanlon said. A hundred years ago women led the way to form a more perfect union. We organized to win the right to vote. I can think of no better way to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of womens suffrage than by having women lead the way to reclaim our government. So, everybody, keep marching, keep running, keep organizing and registering and fighting, and most of all keep voting. U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-6 of Chester County, recalled boarding a bus with family and friends three years ago to travel to Washington for the largest single day protest in the United States history. This country had just elected a new president and I and many other like me felt like we had really lost our way as a nation, she said. A lot has changed in those years. She herself stands as proof of that change, having answered a call to serve and change the course of history. We changed the face of Congress, Houlahan said. We changed the face of our state legislature, we changed the face of our local legislature, we changed the face of democracy. Before this election, Pennsylvania was the largest delegation in the country to have no women representation and now there are four of us. She said the march attendants were participating and stood for a multitude of reasons. Our march today like three years ago is about so much more than one single person or one single issue, Houlahan said. This march is as much about protest as it is about a testament to our power as women and to those who support us to act for the things that matter to us all. Its about a continuation of that original march and its about the peaceful marches that have happened before us. Its about a commitment to a country that represents everyone and does so with civility and decency. She implored all to lead by their light and by their example. Recalling the leadership of former civil rights leader and U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-5 of Georgeia, Houlahan said, Change and healing starts with us. Then, the congresswoman quoted Maya Angelou, saying, If one is lucky, a solitary fantasy can totally transform a million realities. She noted that there are a record number of women in the U.S. House of Representatives with more diversity than ever. Yet, she added, There is still work to be done. Chinese health officials in the central city of Wuhan confirmed 136 new cases of a new coronavirus a huge spike over the past three days. The Wuhan Municipal Health Commission says the total number of cases of the virus now exceeds 200, including two new cases in Beijing and one in Shenzhen in southern China. Most of the confirmed cases are described as mild, but three deaths have been reported. Doctors in Wuhan, China's seventh most populous city, have stepped up screening for suspected cases of pneumonia. They are urging people to be more conscious of their personal hygiene and to cover their mouths when they cough or sneeze. South Korean health officials said Monday they confirmed a case of the coronavirus in a 35-year-old woman who flew from Wuhan to Incheon. Thailand and Japan have also confirmed cases. On Friday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention started screening passengers arriving from Wuhan at three airports in three cities San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York. Airports in Japan, Thailand, South Korea and Singapore are also screening passengers. Passengers on a flight that arrived Saturday morning in San Francisco said they went through the screening and it was an easy procedure. Their temperature was taken and they filled out a form. Chinese and U.S. health officials are particularly concerned because many of the 1.4 billion Chinese citizens are expected to travel for the Lunar New Year holiday that starts Jan. 25, both inside China and beyond. A coronavirus is one of a large family of viruses that can cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to the deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. SARS, which also started in China, killed nearly 800 people globally during an outbreak 17 years ago. Chinese health experts know little about the new strain, dubbed 2019-nCoV, in Wuhan, especially how it is transmitted. They suspect the outbreak started in a Wuhan seafood market, which also sold other animals such as poultry, bats, marmots and wild game meat, but some patients say they were never there. Health officials are urging caution but say there is no reason to panic. The World Health Organization is not recommending against travel to China, and China's National Health Commission says the current outbreak is "preventable and controllable." According to the latest information received and WHO analysis, there is evidence of limited human-to-human transmission of the virus, the WHO tweeted Sunday. This is in line with experience with other respiratory illnesses and in particular with other coronavirus outbreaks. "While there is currently no clear evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission, we do not have enough evidence to evaluate the full extent of human-to-human transmission. This is one of the issues that @WHO is monitoring closely." Of the new cases announced this weekend, all involve adults ages 25 to 89. About half are male (78) and half are female (75), according Minnesota Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, which translated the Wuhan commission's statement. Of the 198 patients confirmed so far, 28 have recovered or been discharged. Of the 170 people still in the hospital, 126 have mild illness, 35 are listed as severe, and 9 are in critical condition. Three deaths have been now reported. Hospitalized patients in Wuhan are isolated at a designated facility. The number of close contacts under monitoring has risen from 763 to 817, and monitoring is still under way for 90. So far no related cases have been found in contacts. The Chinese government should and will let authorities in Hong Kong resolve the continued public protests that have beset the financial center, according to the chair of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX). Hong Kong has witnessed more than nine months of protests over a now suspended extradition bill that would have allowed people in the city to be sent to the mainland for trial. The public disorder has spread to consider other issues such as rampant property prices. The most recent rally on Sunday once again turned violent. Speaking to CNBC's Geoff Cutmore at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Monday, the chair of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Laura Cha, said she felt Beijing would resist from interfering. "I believe that it will, and it should. It is a local issue under one country, two systems," said Cha. For 10 years until 2018, Cha was a member of China's National People's Congress, acting as the Hong Kong deputy. The businesswoman added she believed that Hong Kong would soon be able to tackle the issues that have led to the unrest. - A forecast by FAO showed the swarms of locusts which have been invading the country are headed to Baringo and Turkana counties before entering Uganda - The UN's agency made its prediction based on the shift of wind patterns as the pests fly where they are carried by the wind - However, Kenya is still at risk of another invasion since its neighbouring countries are battling major invasions A forecast by the United Nation's (UN) Food and Agricultural Organisation ( FAO) has shown that swarms of locusts which have invaded various parts of the country are heading Northwest to Uganda. FAO said the pests will go to Baringo and Turkana counties before entering Uganda where some other swarms will go to Ethiopia which is already battling an invasion. READ ALSO: William Ruto's allies accuse government of intimidating leaders opposed to BBI UN said the locusts are headed to Northwest into Uganda. Photo: Getty Images. Source: Getty Images READ ALSO: Nakuru woman narrates painful struggle to walk out of abusive marriage According to Daily Nation, the UN's agency made its forecast based on its predictions of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) which indicates a shift in wind patterns in Kenya. George Ongamo, an official in Entomological Society of Kenya, said the zone will shift next month thus causing the winds to change their southern-bound course and shift to the west. "Desert locusts are poor fliers, meaning they can only fly while being carried by the wind. If direction changes after the meeting zone for the trade winds, the insects cannot fly against the wind despite the abundant vegetation elsewhere, Ongamo said. READ ALSO: Rais Uhuru kutua Uingereza kutafuta ufadhili wa Ajenda Nne Kuu za Maendeleo He, however, reiterated Kenya was not completely free of the voracious feeders since Kenya's neighbours were battling the locusts and a possibility of them entering the country from elsewhere was still possible. The desert locusts came into the country from Ethiopia and invaded Wajir and Garissa counties on December 28, 2019. They were later spotted in Meru county and also Kirinyaga. The pests are infamous for feeding in any green vegetation they come across. 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 Babu Owino shoots a DJ at B-Club : Kenyans react | Tuko TV Source: TUKO.co.ke And that will cause even more instability in the Middle East and beyond. After the assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani on January 3, many feared a major war would break out in the Middle East. Irans retaliation came quickly but it did not provoke a conflict. On January 8, two bases hosting US and coalition troops were hit by a barrage of missiles. Many perceived the attack as a sign of de-escalation as it did not result in human loss and the Iraqi authorities were warned about it in advance. Since then, Tehran has been sending contradictory signals about the countrys next move in this crisis. While Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif announced that the attacks concluded proportionate measures in self-defence, Esmail Qaani, the new commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), declared that Iran will hit its enemy in a manly fashion. On January 17, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei outlined the way forward for Iran. In a rare speech during Friday prayers in Tehran, he called the Quds Force, the fighters without border, declared that the European Union should not be trusted because of their track record and their support for Saddam during the Iran-Iraq War, and called on Iranians to put their collective efforts into strengthening themselves in every aspect. Khameneis speech signals that Iran will likely seek to avoid a full-scale war and adopt the following strategy: start advancing its nuclear capacity and seek to continue power projection abroad through the Quds Force and its regional allies. In the aftermath of the assassination, Iran announced that it was abandoning nuclear deal limits. On January 15, European countries triggered a dispute mechanism that can lead to the return of the United Nations sanctions on Iran. The Iranian authorities could respond by quitting the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which will pose a set of serious risks for the West and the Middle East. Apart from that, Iran could seek to escalate tensions in the region through its political and military allies. In its campaign to resist US presence in the region, Tehran has invested heavily in various armed groups. Over the past decade, under the leadership of Soleimani, the IRGC has mobilised and equipped tens of thousands of fighters in the region (mainly in Iraq and Syria). Groups such as Kataib Hezbollah, Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, Badr, Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, Kataib al-Imam Ali, Liwa Zeinabiyoun, Liwa Fatemiyoun, Quwat Imam al-Baqir, Liwa al-Sayyida Ruqayya, and Quwat al-Ridha have been receiving Iranian material support and strategic guidance. This is in addition to a strong alliance with Hezbollah in Lebanon and strategic engagement with the Houthis in Yemen. On January 7, the supreme leader ordered the allocation of an additional $220m budget for the Quds Force, part of which will probably be dedicated to strengthening these Iranian-backed armed groups. In the aftermath of the assassination of Soleimani, the IRGC threatened to attack the city of Haifa in Israel and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, in the event of an attack on Iranian soil. The risk of retaliatory attacks by Iranian proxies across the region will remain high. Iranian-backed militias are determined to fight US forces. Hezbollahs leader Hassan Nasrallah warned that US military bases, soldiers, officers, and warships will be targeted. Irans desire for revenge will also affect the region politically. In Syria, where Iran has had an uncomfortable partnership with Russia, the IRGC will likely seek to further entrench its presence. Russian attempts to curb Iranian military presence in response to US and Israeli calls may not be successful. In Yemen, Iran will also seek to secure its gains as an indispensable diplomatic stakeholder. In Iraq, Iran will continue to exert influence over internal political affairs, which will lead to further destabilisation as the country tries to cope with major political unrest. Already suffering from major divisions, Iraq will likely see cleavages between supporters and opponents of Iran deepen. On January 5, the Iraqi parliament passed a resolution obliging the government to work towards ending the presence of all foreign troops on Iraqi soil. The Kurdish and some of the Sunni members of the parliament did not attend the parliamentary session that approved this decision. Many Shia political and religious leaders are in favour of the departure of foreign forces, but the US military presence is an integral element of the Kurdistan Regional Governments (KRG) security, especially in the aftermath of the 2017 independence referendum. Thus the push to expel US troops will become another point of contention between Baghdad and Erbil. Soleimanis assassination also prompted calls for unity among Shia forces in Iraq which, until recently, were divided over the Iraqi protests. This means the demands by the protesters for political reform and desectarianisation of the political system are unlikely to be met. This will likely complicate the government formation efforts in coming months and could further exacerbate tensions between the various ethno-religious components of the country. In Lebanon, the fallout of Soleimanis killing is also likely to be felt. Hezbollah is the most important strategic asset of the Islamic republic in the region and therefore, it is likely to continue its financial support of the group. Like Iraq, Lebanon is experiencing social upheaval, with protesters demanding an overhaul of the political system. A stronger Hezbollah will likely be more assertive in its political negotiations with other forces within the country, especially as Saudi Arabia, the main backer of former Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, has indicated it does not wish to escalate against Iran. In the Gulf, the escalation in the US-Iran confrontation has caused much anxiety, especially as last year Saudi Arabia and the UAE witnessed Irans military capabilities with the drone strikes on Aramco and the attacks on tankers near the Strait of Hormuz. Fearing for their key oil sectors and economic stability, both Riyadh and Abu Dhabi have made it clear that they want to avoid any further escalation with Iran. After the assassination of Soleimani, Prince Khalid bin Salman, Saudi Arabias deputy defence minister, travelled to Washington and London to meet with political and defence officials to express the need for de-escalation. Saudi Arabia has reduced its air raids in Yemen and emphasised that the Houthis can assume a role in the future Yemeni government. Before his resignation in November, Iraqs Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi had taken the role of a mediator between Riyadh and Tehran, actively facilitating negotiations for a de-escalation between the two. Although, this has not been confirmed by either Saudi Arabia or Iran, it seems to be the only expected approach for the Saudi leaders in the coming months. The UAE also recently initiated negotiations with Tehran to re-establish diplomatic and possibly economic collaboration. The Emiratis have already started to scale back their military involvement in Yemen by pulling out their troops in the summer of 2019. In October, reports surfaced that Emirati officials visited Tehran to spearhead talks for normalisation and de-escalation, and that Abu Dhabi had released $700m in Iranian funds previously frozen due to the US sanctions. By contrast, Qatar has maintained good relations with Iran, which supported it during the blockade initiated by Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain. Doha has made long-standing efforts to act as a mediator and partner for its big neighbour. Just a day after Soleimanis assassination, Qatars Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani travelled to Tehran to seek to de-escalate tensions. A week later, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani also visited the Iranian capital and called for a dialogue. Despite efforts to mediate by Qatar and others in the region, more instability and confrontation is on the horizon. In his keynote speech at the last Doha Forum in December 2019, Irans Zarif said the Middle East was afflicted by a cognitive disorder which has caused countries to perceive security as a zero-sum game ensuring ones security by depriving ones neighbours of it and to pursue ever-growing weapons deals. The problem is that Irans overall strategy in the region does not really differ from this cognitive disorder. And the assassination of Soleimani has opened a new chapter in its confrontation with the West. A withdrawal from the nuclear deal will only deepen the crisis. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance. Pro-life wins and losses of 2019; whats on the agenda in 2020? Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Pro-life activists had much to celebrate in 2019 and are looking forward to what's ahead in 2020 as there could be huge developments on the abortion issue this year. We had progress on so many fronts in 2019 culturally, in statehouses, and in the courts, Catherine Glenn Foster, president of Americans United for Life, told The Christian Post in an interview. "Congress was tough, it's always tough. But they did what they could have to defund and they're doing everything that they can to fight back against infanticide, against the abandonment of born-alive children. Foster, president of the nations first and largest pro-life legal organization, spoke with CP to reflect on the gains the pro-life movement has seen over the last year. In 2019, the issue was once again the topic of much national media attention with several states passing bans on late-term abortion and speculation about whether the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to overturn or revise its historic 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade and later rulings providing the national right to abortion. When it comes to culture, we have seen a lot of shift and a lot of momentum building for life, Foster said. Younger generations are really into authenticity and transparency and fairness. They love human rights. When we get the advancing technology in medical science, we get ultrasounds. We can see the child in the womb and see it is not just a blob. We see children being born and surviving at younger and younger ages. The following pages highlight some of the pro-life movement's achievements and setbacks from 2019 as well as AUL's agenda goals for 2020. 1 2 3 Next 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 I am obsessed with tacos. Over the last few years, I have devoted myself to a singular, some would say impossible, quest -- to sample every taco in northwest Pasadena. Like Ahab chasing his white whale, I have pursued this mission with a single-minded ferocity. I have tasted tacos in humble carnicerias and massive supermarkets, in grungy liquor stores and all-night donut shops, in claustrophobic drive-throughs and cement driveways. In any given week, my neighborhood has about 30 different taco spots. My personal "Taco District" -- bounded by Washington Blvd. to the north, Lake Ave. to the east, the 210 to the south and Lincoln Blvd. to the west -- is a one-square-mile swath with Garfield Heights, my quaint micro-hood, planted in the middle. The area isn't large but even within these modest geographic limits, to savor and study the taco is a life's work. I intend to publish the fruits of my research, "The Northwest Pasadena Taco Survey," later this year. In the meantime, I invite LAist readers to savor the highlights. Assorted tacos at Maquina Taco in Pasadena. (Elina Shatkin/LAist) Maquina Taco Opened in November 2018, Maquina Taco has established itself as one of the most cutting-edge taquerias in town. Chef Greg Lukasiewicz, after tinkering with his taco concepts at a pop-up, partnered with a local fruit cart (it's now stationed outside Maquina when not parked at the Rose Bowl). The standard menu features traditional asada, pollo and al pastor as well as pork belly mole, duck, lamb and octopus but the ambitious and imaginative specials are where it's at. They might include elk and bacon, sweetbreads, venison, lobster, wild boar, chicken heart, jackfruit mole and chapulines (grasshoppers) marinated with dried chile then flash-fried to a light crisp. You can request any of these in a burrito or a bowl but if you do, you'll miss out on the fabulous blue corn tortillas from Kernel of Truth Organics. Tacos cost $3 to $9 and lines have grown longer since the Los Angeles Times gave the place a glowing review. Thankfully, an addition to the dining room has expanded the restaurant's capacity. If you have to wait, sip a watermelon agua fresca, enjoy the jazz piping through the speakers and bask in the afternoon sun warming the annex. 1274 N. Lake Ave., Pasadena. 626-365-1893. Credit cards accepted. No alcohol. Barbacoa tacos at Mi Rinconcita Azteca in Pasadena. (Frier McCollister for LAist) Mi Rinconcita Azteca If you're a fan of the namesake offerings at Highland Park's El Huarache Aztecas -- sandal-shaped slabs of fried masa topped with veggies, cheese and meat -- you can now find them in another spot. In 2017, members of the Rodriguez family opened Mi Rinconcita Azteca near Orange Grove Blvd. and Raymond Ave. In addition to huaraches, the small, vibrant corner shop features an expanded menu of barbacoa, moles and a daily desayuno (breakfast), all prepared in "estilo D.F." for fans of Mexico City's fare. The lamb barbacoa, served only on weekends, is a thing of beauty. Marinated in the secret family recipe and slow-roasted, it's sold by the pound and served with a traditional cup of rich consomme. Vegetarians can opt for squash blossoms and huitlacoche, the savory mushroom-like corn fungus. Credit for all this goes to Alfredo Rodriguez; his wife, Mariela; and their son, Greg, who imbue the place with a welcoming vibe. Your check might come with a hand-written post-it offering thanks and bestowing blessings upon you. 687 N. Raymond Ave., Pasadena. 626-535-9595. Credit cards accepted. No alcohol. Fish tacos at Los Primos in Pasadena. (Frier McCollister for LAist) Los Primos Located at Orange Grove Blvd. and Fair Oaks Ave., Los Primos specializes in large Ensenada-style fish and shrimp tacos -- battered and fried hunks of fish served on 6-inch tortillas heaped with shredded cabbage and drizzled with crema. (The Gobernador adds cheese and green pepper.) Choose basic cod ($5.25) or shrimp. If you want something less common, there's marlin. Although iceberg lettuce occasionally stands in for cabbage, the seafood is fresh and the batter fries to a light yet convincing crisp. Los Primos also offers street-style tacos with your choice of a dozen fillings including tripe, sesos (brains) and buche (the outer lining of a cow's stomach) for $1.75 apiece. The place gets busy at lunch but the dinner shift seems to elicit more attention from the chef. 951 N. Orange Grove Blvd., Pasadena. 626-304-0538. Credit cards accepted. No alcohol. A fish taco at Vero's Restaurant in Pasadena. (Frier McCollister for LAist) Vero's Restaurant A fixture on the corner of Lincoln Ave. and Orange Grove Blvd. for more than two decades, Vero's Restaurant is a shrine to Pancho Villa. The walls of the dimly lit dining room are festooned with images of the revolutionary hero alongside plaques explaining his legacy. As for their tacos, Vero's puts its best foot forward with conventional fillings such as carnitas, pollo and lengua ($1.75 each). Look for deals on Wednesdays, when you might score grilled or fried shrimp tacos that typically cost $2.50 for as low as $1. Portions are generous. The battered and fried filet in your fish taco will likely dwarf your tortillas and the crema drizzled on the iceberg lettuce is spiked with chili powder. Plus, fresh chips and salsa come with every order. 654 Lincoln Ave., Pasadena. 626-796-5459. Credit cards accepted. No alcohol. Carnitas tacos at La Estrella #1 in Pasadena. (Frier McCollister for LAist) La Estrella Like stars in the sky, we are blessed with many La Estrellas, all of which loosely belong to the same family. In fact, there are two on Garfield Ave. across from each other (the result of a divorce settlement). Some specialize in Baja-style fish tacos. Others offer a standard menu of tacos, burritos and quesadillas. Still others focus on soups and stews. Head to La Estrella #2 on Fair Oaks Ave for an OG taco -- two small corn or flour tortillas topped with your choice of eight fillings (al pastor, carnitas, asada, cabeza, buche, etc.) and finished with chopped white onions and cilantro -- that costs a mere $1.75. With its prime location just north of the 210 Freeway, this La Estrella is the busiest of the local three. A straight-up, no-nonsense taco stand, it stays open until 2 a.m. and has ample parking in back. There's no indoor seating but the patio has four small tables. In addition to the standard menu options, you might notice something called "fried guts," chopped innards of indeterminate provenance. If you've got 'em, get 'em. La Estrella #1: 320 E. Orange Grove Blvd., Pasadena. 626-304-2752. Cards accepted. No alcohol. La Estrella #2: 502 N. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena. 626-792-8559. Cards accepted. No alcohol. La Estrella Restaurant: 330 E. Orange Grove Blvd., Pasadena. 626-304-2613. Cards accepted. No alcohol. Quesa tacos at Vallarta Supermarkets in Pasadena. (Frier McCollister for LAist) Vallarta Supermarkets This location of growing grocery chain Vallarta Supermarkets supplanted a desultory Von's, expanding the space and giving it a much needed facelift. The only drawback is the manic parking lot. You may be familiar with the Vallarta brand but this location is exceptional. The only comparison is the enormous Whole Foods on Arroyo Parkway, a mile and a half south, except Vallarta has a larger and better selection of fresh produce and far lower prices. Enter at the north end of the store and you'll find yourself at a sushi bar and taqueria. (Tortillas are made in-house, in an impressive glassed-in tortilleria on the other side of the store.) In addition to the usual choices (asada, carnitas, al pastor, pollo, lengua, cabeza), which are all reliably tasty, Vallarta offers occasional variations. You might find tacos made with super-hot Ghost Pepper salsa or "quesa tacos," which have a layer of cheese lining the tortilla. Counter service can be slow but once you have your plate, make a pit stop at the generous salsa and condiment bar then head to the small dining area or the outdoor tables. As a bonus, you'll find an eclectic assortment of fresh ceviches, a juice bar, a fully appointed salad bar, a steam table of hot entrees and an assortment of housemade tamales. 655 N. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena. 626-204-6960 Credit cards accepted. Alcohol available for purchase. Assorted tacos at El Taquito Mexicano in Pasadena. (Frier McCollister for LAist) El Taquito Mexicano Reliable and unpretentious, El Taquito Mexicano serves straightforward tacos, burritos and quesadillas. Despite its name, they don't offer taquitos but they do make sopes, huaraches and nachos. At this small but popular spot, most of the action happens at the back counter where a long, glassed-in steam table allows you to watch as your taco is assembled. El Taquito Mexicano does a brisk weekday lunch business. Although the line sometimes stretches to the door, the service is swift and friendly. I prefer the chicken, carnitas and al pastor tacos but you have several options including cabeza and lengua. Served on paper plates, these small, street-style tacos cost $2 or less. 490 N. Lake Ave., Pasadena. 626-356-9411. Credit cards accepted. 4% discount for using cash. No alcohol. Street Vendors On Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, from approximately 6 to 10 p.m., an entrepreneurial chef sometimes slings tacos, burritos and burgers out of his driveway. The offerings vary from week to week but carne asada and grilled chicken are fixtures and the excellent tacos cost a mere $1. I've even seen a cactus paddle on the grill for nopales, if you're looking for a plant-based option. Still, most patrons of this bootleg operation come for the burger, which features a grilled and quartered hotdog piled onto the patty. Given its popularity (expect a wait) and presumed lack of permitting and inspection, I'm only going to say that the operation is near Orange Grove Blvd. mixmagic | iStock | Getty Images The European Union's overhaul of data privacy regulation is estimated to have generated 114 million euros ($126 million) in fines since it was introduced almost two years ago. Since its implementation in May 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) led to over 160,000 data breach notifications across Europe, according to research from multinational law firm DLA Piper. Ross McKean, a partner at DLA Piper specializing in cyber and data protection, said his firm's findings showed "we're still in the very early days" of enforcement. It's been roughly 20 months since the EU's new rules were introduced. "It's not a huge surprise that we're seeing a slow start to fines, but there's more to come," McKean told CNBC in an interview. The biggest fine under GDPR to date was a penalty dished out by the French data protection regulator. The CNIL fined Google 50 million euros last year for alleged infringements of GDPR. Those infringements were related to transparency and a lack of valid consent, rather than a data breach. Under GDPR, a company can be fined either 20 million euros or up to 4% of their annual revenues, whichever is the greater amount. The stakes are considerably high for companies like Google and Facebook, which handle a huge amount of data and make billions of dollars every year. Authorities have been looking into potential violations of the landmark EU law across the continent. Ireland's Data Protection Commission has multiple ongoing investigations into GDPR violations, probing a range of big tech companies from Facebook to Apple. Britain's Information Commissioner's Office last year announced notices of intent to impose fines on British Airways and Marriott International, collectively amounting to about 282 million, but DLA Piper points out that both penalties are yet to be finalized. The regulator also fined Facebook 500,000 ($651,000) over the Cambridge Analytica scandal, but that pertained to privacy violations that took place before GDPR was introduced. Cambridge Analytica, which once claimed to have run all the digital operations for President Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, found itself at the heart of a massive privacy headache for Facebook in 2018. The social network improperly shared the data of 87 million users with the now-infamous and defunct U.K. political consultancy. The Mahatma Gandhi Park in Almaty sounds like an appropriate place for peaceful demonstrations, but some argue the venue is more suited to relaxing away from the hustle and bustle of the city -- a secluded place where few would ever see rallies and protests calling for change. But the opposition appears stuck with Gandhi Park for now. Kazakh officials in the country's commercial capital chose the far away and obscure park as Almaty's second legal place to hold rallies or meetings in accordance an order from President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev for all of Kazakhstan's big cities to assign two such places for public meetings and demonstrations. But Gandhi Park is actually closer to the center than the first place that parliament designated as an area for rallies. That place is behind the Sary-Arqa cinema complex. As RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, known locally as Azattyq, reported, although Gandhi Park is closer to downtown, "it is removed from the two central squares [of Almaty] -- Republic Square and Astana Square -- by more than 5 kilometers." Adding to the frustration of activists was parliament's decision to bar the press from the January 17 session where they discussed the second venue's selection. Kazakh rights activist Erlan Kaliev called the second venue a "corral for rallies." Kaliev questioned why the authorities were designating sites at all and pointed out that state-sponsored events regularly take place on Almaty's central squares and other public areas and the protest rallies should be able to as well. And Kaliev noted that official permission was still required to conduct any meeting or public rally. Protests -- previously infrequent and rare in Kazakhstan -- have recently become almost a feature of life under Toqaev. The deaths of five children in Nur-Sultan -- then known as Astana -- in February sparked demonstrations. The parents of the five young girls were both working the night the fire broke out in their modest home. The tragedy raised questions about working conditions and social benefits for large families in Kazakhstan. For many years the authorities have encouraged large families to help populate the sparsely inhabited country but promises of state assistance have gone unfulfilled. Anger among citizens boiled over and then-President Nursultan Nazarbaev dismissed the government at the end of February, though key officials were simply reshuffled. Then, on March 19, Nazarbaev surprisingly resigned and handed over the title of president to longtime ally Toqaev. In becoming president, Toqaev vacated his position as chairman of the Senate. According to Kazakhstan's constitution, the chairman of the Senate takes over for the president if the latter is unable to perform the function of the presidency. The post of Senate chief was filled by Nazarbaev's daughter, Darigha. And one of Toqaev's first moves as president was to push through his own motion to rename the capital from Astana to Nur-Sultan, paying further homage to his patron, Nazarbaev. Many in Kazakhstan were unhappy with these changes, all made without any chance for people in the country to approve or disapprove them, and seen as further strengthening the former authoritarian leader, Nazarbaev, and his family. Additionally, oil workers in the generally impoverished western part of the country -- the part that provides the oil and natural-gas revenues to construct the fancy new buildings in Almaty and Nur-Sultan in the east -- have become more vocal in their demands for better pay and conditions since Toqaev became president. And the plight of ethnic Kazakhs in China's western Xinjiang region has become an issue in Kazakhstan since some of those Kazakhs crossed illegally into Kazakhstan and recounted their horror stories of incarceration and abuse that Kazakhs and other Muslim peoples are suffering in China. Many in Kazakhstan protesting Beijing's repression in Xinjiang are also angry at the Kazakh authorities, who have been reluctant to criticize China -- a major investor in Kazakhstan -- for these horrific policies. In fairness, it is worth noting that none of the handful of ethnic Kazakhs who illegally crossed from China into Kazakhstan have thus far been extradited back to China, despite pressure from Beijing. However, some ethnic Kazakhs from Xinjiang who moved and acquired citizenship in Kazakhstan remain in China's so-called reeducation camps after they were detained during visits to their former homeland. Though protests and demonstrations in Kazakhstan have been more frequent in the last year than they have been since the 1990s, the numbers of people involved remains in the hundreds and some protests involve only a single person. Toqaev said in early September that "If peaceful [protest] actions are not pursuing the goal of violating the law, disrupting social order, or the peace of citizens, then we need to go forward, in a manner prescribed by law, and grant permission to conduct [such demonstrations]." Toqaev added that there should be two places designated as meeting places in every major city. Almaty now has its two places, though they already appear unacceptable to some activists who feel they are being moved out of sight and out of mind. What Kazakhstan does not have yet are the promised amendments to the law on public meetings. The amendments have been officially proposed but parliament has not yet reviewed them. RFE/RL's Kazakh Service contributed to this report. The views expressed in this blog post do not necessarily reflect those of RFE/RL At the end of 2019 Malaysia received the first of four Malaysian designed but Chinese built OPVs (Offshore Patrol Vessels). These are somewhat different from the 1,800 ton corvette sized OPVs China usually exports. These 780 ton Keris class Littoral Mission Ships (LMS) are, like the much larger (at 3,000 ton) American LCS (Littoral Combat Ships) built to work with different modules. In the case of the LMS there is space on the ship to carry three standard shipping containers with equipment for one of three different tasks; Mine clearing, hydrography, and ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance). All three of these tasks will involve the use of several types of robotic vehicles. Mine clearing and hydrography use specialized AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicles) for searching or surveying the sea bottom. Hydrography uses AUVs that literally map the sea bottom as well as examine it to determine what that sea bottom is composed up. The hydrography mission would also include equipment for more accurately surveying shorelines and islands off the coast, as well as reefs and shoals which are close enough to the surface to be a danger to larger ships. The ISR module uses UAVs of various sizes that are able to land and take off from a small deck space in the rear of the ship. There is a crew of 45 plus additional accommodations for 30 or so module specialists as well as rescued or arrested people picked up. The first four LMS are 69 meter (226 foot) ships with a top speed of 44 kilometers an hour, an unrefueled range of 3,700 kilometers and endurance (food and water) of 15 days. LMS have a standard armament of 30mm autocannon RWS (remote weapons station) which can be operated from the bridge or a control station below deck. There are also several mounts for medium (7.62mm) or heavy (12.7mm) machine-guns. There are also assault rifles and other small arms and portable missiles for the crew. Nearly all the pirates still operating in Malaysian coastal waters are lightly armed fishermen using their own boats to rob stationary ships at night. Malaysian coastal waters include the Strait of Malacca. This is the busiest waterway in the world, with over 50,000 large ships moving through each year. Thats 120-150 a day. Lots of targets for pirates. The 800 kilometer long strait is between Malaysia and Indonesia and is 65 kilometers wide at its narrowest and depths are generally 27-37 meters (90-120 feet). The shallow and tricky waters in the strait force the big ships to go slow enough (under 30 kilometers an hour) for speed boats or even fishing boats to catch them in the dark. The slower speed is essential because if theres a collision, especially one involving a loaded oil tanker, the oil spill could be huge and a large ship sinking in the strait could block or throttle traffic for months. In times of particularly bad weather or heavy traffic, some ships will drop anchor outside the shipping channel and wait for better conditions. This makes the ships vulnerable to pirates and Malaysia, Indonesia and nearby Singapore all have coastal patrol forces assigned to protect Malacca traffic. The first four LMS ships cost $64 million each. Indonesia wants up to 18 of them and plans to build most of them in a local shipyard. Two of the first four were to be built in Indonesia but at the last minute, to save $33 million, it was decided that all four will be built in China. These four LMS will be in service by 2021. Malaysia has revised the LMS design to increase its length to 75 meters (245 feet), which increases displacement to nearly a thousand tons. The increased length would provide a flight deck large enough to handle a 10 ton (UH-60 type) helicopter as well as larger UAVs. Depending on how the first four 68 meter LSMs perform, the 75 meter design will be modified and adapted for the remaining 14 LMS ships with most of them built in Malaysia. ALBANY State leaders are not expected to take swift action in response to calls from some of their legislative colleagues and law enforcement officials for a repeal of New Yorks recently enacted criminal justice reforms. Some Democrats including Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins have acknowledged changes may be necessary, but they say not enough time has elapsed to determine whether any adjustments to the statutes should be made. The push for change is also largely coming from officials in Upstate communities, including many Democrats, underscoring the divided political dynamic between New York City and the rest of the state. Downstate legislators have been largely resolute in staying the course on the reforms while those in Upstate have already introduced legislation to address what they have identified as changes that need to be made, especially with the new provisions that give judges much less ability to set bail. Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy, D-Albany, said shes signed on to three separate bills that tackle concerns surrounding cases of domestic violence, sexual abuse and hate crimes. There are some Im shying away from because I do not want a blanket change to this historic reform, she said. I want to go after this very carefully to make sure were not recreating a historic problem where your wallet dictated the quality of justice. Without broad support among all legislators to make changes, lawmakers do not expect the amendments to be tackled piecemeal, but instead to be negotiated as part of the state budget due April 1. Many legislators gripe about New Yorks practice of sneaking policy matters into the state budget that may otherwise not get the support needed to pass. Other lawmakers fear Downstate legislators facing primaries from progressive candidates might stymie early discussions on changes to criminal justice reform, but Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie a Bronx Democrat who is a staunch supporter of the reforms bristled at the notion. Criminal justice reform has always been a signature issue for the Assembly Majority. I have spoken about reforming this system since becoming speaker. It is insulting to suggest that the motivation for criminal justice reform is any political campaign, Heastie said in an emailed statement Thursday. These critical reforms are long overdue. It is only Jan. 16. We are asking for patience from people as the legislation takes effect. Sen. James Tedisco, R-Glenville, said the state already is seeing the effect of the legislation and its not creating justice and safety for residents. Tedisco supports a full repeal of the legislation, and replacing it with provisions that would allow for cash bail for some low-level crimes that he contends are violent. He also wants to give judges discretion so they can weigh whether a defendant poses a danger to the public. There are so many unintended consequences with this. Its difficult to make justice exactly 100 percent perfect without discriminating against a whole group of people who are interested in living their lives free of violence, Tedisco said. Weve seen the evidence in 15 days. Are we waiting for people to die, because they are already dying. Some lawmakers have highlighted news reports of individuals being released under the new reforms who go on to commit other crimes, or are released after allegedly committing a crime that some feel is violent enough that they should be detained, including vehicular manslaughter. Tedisco also said any changes should not be slipped into the budget, but instead debated on the floor among lawmakers. Any reforms, any repeals, any adjustments should be debated on the floor of the New York State Assembly and Senate," Tedisco said. Advocates and lawmakers who fought hard for the reforms have called for patience and remarked that a repeal is premature and only serves to fear monger. Khalil Cumberbatch, chief strategist for New Yorkers United for Justice, said legislators should make decisions on any changes after analyzing statistics on the effectiveness of the reforms. These new, commonsense, in-the-mainstream laws are under a month old, and have largely been deemed failures by those with a political agenda before theyve even had a chance to be successful, Cumberbatch said during a news conference Wednesday. Their effect must be measured by lawmakers and law enforcement using data and not fear over the next several months. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. State lawmakers in the Capital Region say they began expressing concerns last year before the reforms took effect, and the New Year has only served to prove changes must be made. I have met with victims, with law enforcement and with district attorneys on the issues and concerns, Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner, D-Malta, said in an emailed statement Thursday. Based on their input, I have introduced several bills that, I believe, address the valid public safety concerns while still providing for equal justice under the law for both poor and rich. We have a few other bills in development and will be introducing those shortly. Assemblyman John McDonald, D-Cohoes, supports the intent of the reforms, but also said changes should be made. I would like to see some modifications sooner rather than later, he said. We also have to look at facts and not peoples emotional response. What has come out of it is that the general public has, fortunately, not had much exposure to the criminal justice system, so the shock value is through the roof. While New York City boroughs have a fairly robust pretrial system with the resources to go with it, funding in communities outside of the city are sporadic. The changes did not provide money for those services nor for training of staff to implement the changes. Proper funding for pretrial services for communities outside of New York City also must be budgeted, Fahy said. In New York City, by all accounts, they have a much better pretrial system. We need the technical corrections and we need to do a better job of funding pretrial services she said. We will be seeking funding to assist the courts and the probation and others where we need to beef up pretrial services. This story has been updated to provide clarity on Sen. James Tedisco's position on cash bail for some low-level offenses that he contends are violent. Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Chongqing Changan Automobile, FAW Group, Dongfeng Motor Corporation, China South Industries Group Corporation (CSGC) and Nanjing Jiangning Economic & Technical Development Company signed an agreement to jointly set up T3 technology platform company for intelligent new energy vehicles with a registered capital of 16 billion yuan ($2.3 billion), Changan Automobile announced recently. Among them, Changan Automobile invested 500 million yuan ($73 million) for a 3.125% stake in the business while CSGC provided 3.5 billion yuan ($510 million) to hold 21.875% shares. FAW, Dongfeng and Jiangning Economic & Technical Development Company invested 4 billion yuan ($583 million) to take 25% equity respectively. T3 platform focuses on the R&D in core technologies of intelligent NEV and relevant supporting services. According to the announcement, the platform aims to get technologies in the areas of electric platform and advanced chassis control, hydrogen fuel power, intelligent driving and central computing through both independent R&D and merger and acquisition. Changan Automobile indicated that new company will support the development of its next-generation intelligent NEV and create synergy with mobility high-tech companies where its shareholders have stake. Besides, in March 2019, the three parties forged partnership with Suning, Tencent, Alibaba and other enterprises to establish T3 mobility company sited in Jiangning, Nanjing. At present, the company expands its business to Nanjing, Wuhan, Chongqing, Hangzhou, Changchun and Guangzhou with the Changan Eado EV460 as main model (photo source: Changan Automobile). CIUDAD HIDALGO, Mexico Hundreds of Central American migrants waded across the Suchiate River into southern Mexico on Monday in a new test of U.S. President Donald Trumps Central America strategy to keep them away from the U.S. border. Some scuffled with national guardsmen on the riverbank while others slipped through Mexican lines and trudged off on a rural highway in small groups. Immigration authorities nabbed more there and chased others into the brush. Most, however, remained at the rivers edge or stood in its muddy waters trying to decide what to do next, after being blocked from crossing en masse over the border bridge leading to Ciudad Hidalgo. Mexicos president said he would give us work and an opportunity and look, said Esther Madrid, a Honduran vendor who left her six children in Honduras. Sitting on a rock among dozens of people who didnt know what to do next, she offered only one word when asked if she would consider returning to San Pedro Sula: Never. Mexicos strategy, developed after the first migrant caravan in late 2018, to break up the mass of people repeatedly and into increasingly smaller groups appeared to be working. Over the weekend, government officials convinced about 1,000 people they should enter legally over the border bridge. On Monday, migrants were detained at the river and along the highway. Those who continued could expect a gauntlet of highway checkpoints while trying to move north. After the river crossing Monday, Mexicos National Immigration Institute issued a statement saying that it would detain any migrants without legal status, hold them in detention centers and deport those who did not legalize their status. As feared, children suffered most in the clashes. On the Mexican riverbank an unconscious 14-year-old girl was carried away for medical attention. A guardsman said she had started convulsing in the commotion. Later along the highway, a mother sobbed after realizing her youngest daughter had been separated when migrants tried to escape authorities. Sauri Marubeny Ortega had been walking with her four daughters, ages 5 to 16. Another migrant who had been helping her by carrying the 5-year-old ran in another direction when the migrants scattered and she hadnt been able to locate them. When the federales cars began arriving, he ran off that way and I took off after him, she said. But when she saw an agent nab another daughter she didnt know who to help and lost sight of the youngest. I just beg the person who has her to leave her in a safe place and tell the police, the mother said as members of Mexicos migrant assistance force, Grupo Beta, loaded her and three of her girls into an ambulance. I dont want to leave here without my daughter. The migrants started the day on the bridge connecting Guatemala and Mexico, where they read aloud a letter asking Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador for permission to cross Mexico en route to the U.S. border. Mexican officials replied that free passage not be offered. They urged the migrants to enter legally, registering at the bridge and seeking protection and work permits if they wished to remain in Mexico. It was an offer many migrants viewed with suspicion. That sent the migrants down to the Suchiate where hundreds forded its shallow waters and soon faced guardsmen. On the Mexican side, migrants ran from side to side along the river bank, kicking up dust and looking for an opening in the ranks of National Guard troops sent to meet them. Guardsmen scrambled, too, trying to head off groups and detaining people where they could. There was pushing and shoving. Some guardsmen carried plastic riot shields that were hit by rocks thrown by migrants, and they occasionally zipped a rock back into the crowd. Others jogged to get into position with long staffs. Still others carried assault rifles. Many of migrants moved back to the rivers edge and a smaller number crossed back to Guatemala. You have two options: You go back to Guatemalan territory or you come with us, Mexican immigration agents said to migrants who crossed the river. They assured those who went with them that they would regularize their status, but few of the migrants believed them. Riot police with shields also appeared on the Guatemala side of river, raising questions about what options really remained for the migrants. While Mexicos government says the migrants are free to enter and could compete for jobs if they want to stay and work in practice, it has restricted such migrants to the southernmost states while their cases are processed by a sluggish bureaucracy. Those who do not request asylum or some protective status would likely be detained and deported. Trump has forced asylum seekers to remain in Mexico, or apply for protection in Central American countries, effectively removing one of the escape valves for previous caravans. Under threats of trade or other sanctions from the Trump administration, Mexico has stopped an earlier practice of allowing migrants to cross its territory unimpeded. The Guatemala government issued new data Monday showing that 4,000 migrants crossed into that country through the two primary crossings used by the migrants last week, and over the weekend nearly 1,700 entered Mexico at two crossings. It said 400 had been deported from Guatemala. After two caravans successfully reached the U.S. border in 2018 and early 2019, Mexico began cracking down, and by April 2019 raided the last attempt at a caravan, rounding up migrants as they walked down a highway. As this weeks caravan approached, Mexico sent soldiers to patrol its southern border and monitored the area with drones. Migrants sometimes travel via caravan because it provides safety in numbers and offers a chance for migrants too poor to pay smugglers. Amid the chaos of the crossing some found a warmer reception. We went into a house and the very kind woman told us to stay there, that they (auhtorities) had no right to enter and she gave us food, said Bryan Fernandez of Honduras. He said he didnt know what to do now though. If it gets ugly, we dont know which way to go. ___ Associated Press writer Maria Verza reported this story in Ciudad Hidalgo, Mexico, and AP writer Sonia Perez D. reported from Tecun Uman, Guatemala. 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. After J&K came under Governor's rule in June 2018, the development work gained speed and with the bifurcation of the erstwhile state into UTs, many central laws which were not applicable and depriving the people of their rights came into force Jammu: Describing Jammu and Kashmir as a "jewel" of the country, Union minister Piyush Goyal on 19 Januar said the Centre would come out with an industrial package for the Union Territory soon and expressed hope that it would attract large amounts of investment to the valley. He asserted that development work has gathered pace in Jammu and Kashmir, especially after 18 June 2018 when the erstwhile state came under Governor's rule. "I am very happy at the progress (of development) that I have seen on the ground and I am sure that in the days and months to come this process will continue relentlessly. We will soon come out with an industrial package and we hope to see large amounts of investment coming to Kashmir," he told reporters at the Jammu airport before returning to Delhi. Goyal was in Jammu as part a week-long public outreach programme initiated by the Centre to apprise people of the potential benefits of the revocation of Jammu and Kashmir's special status after nullification of Article 370 of the Constitution. He was part of the second batch of seven Union ministers who reached Jammu and addressed a series of public meetings and inaugurated various projects in different districts. Besides Goyal, other Union ministers who visited different parts of Jammu as part of the week-long outreach programme included Smriti Irani, Mahendra Nath Pandey, Arjun Ram Meghwal, V Muraleedharan, Anurag Thakur, Jitendra Singh, R K Singh and Ashwini Kumar Choubey. "What we have heard since our childhood that it is paradise on earth. It was paradise on earth and it will remain so as well. It is a jewel of the country and truly a paradise on earth and I am proud of Jammu and Kashmir," Goyal said. Article 370 was nullified in 5 August 2019 and the state was bifurcated into Union TerritoriesJammu and Kashmir, and Ladakhthat came into effect on 31 October. Goyal inaugurated a flood protection project, an indoor stadium and various roads completed under Prime Minister's Grameen Sadak Yojna, besides addressing a public gathering in Akhnoor on the outskirts of Jammu. "Jammu and Kashmir people have become the monitors of development and with their participation, it is reaching to the grass-roots level. The work on the railway bridge over the Chenab river, which was facing slow progress over the years, has gathered speed and for the first time the allocation of funds was utilised fully," he said. The minister said the prime minister gave his nod when more funds were demanded to speed up the work of the railway bridge which will link Katra and Banihal towns in Jammu and complete the railway track from Baramulla in north Kashmir to Kanyakumari. "After the completion of the railway line, the whole country will get connected. Anyone travelling from Kanyakumari to Kashmir can feel proud...the bridge is an engineering marvel and our engineers and workers are doing a great job by building the world largest bridge," he said, adding "we will continue the pace of work next year and are hopeful of connecting this vital 111-km railway track by December 2021". He said the Union ministers get encouraged when they visit this "sacred land". Expressing his desire to visit Kashmir to enjoy the beauty of the winter, Goyal said, "I request (Farooq) Khan sahib (advisor to Lt Governor G C Murmu who was sitting near him) to invite me to Kashmir. I am going to visit Kashmir." After Jammu and Kashmir came under Governor's rule in June 2018, the development work gained speed and with the bifurcation of the erstwhile state into UTs, many central laws which were not applicable and depriving the people of their rights came into force. Referring to various development projects that were completed after the fall of the erstwhile PDP-BJP government, he said many development projects which were left incomplete over the past many decades witnessed fast-paced work under the administration of Lt Governor. "I understand that people want improved services, impartiality in development works and high-speed development, accountable government and information about the work being done," he said. He said the situation in the Valley is normal and said "as many as 99 percent students took part in their exams without any problem, while tourism, shops and business is functioning normally. (Prepaid) Mobile phones also started functioning yesterday." Asked about the Opposition charge that the public outreach programme of the Centre is a "propaganda tour" and a move to divert attention of the people of the country from real issues, he said, "If there is any shortcoming in my statement, then it is a propaganda but if we are putting forward the reality before the nation, where the question of propaganda arises." Expressing displeasure over the accusation by Opposition leaders, he said does the Opposition mean to suggest that Kashmir did not deserve the attention that it is getting. "Is the Opposition unhappy that we have taken the development to every remote corner of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh? This is exactly the point that we were always harping that some sections of the political establishment did not want development to reach the remotest corners of Jammu and Kashmir, just like it did not want to reach in the Northeast. "In the last five years, we had the ability, each one of us would go to the northeast and the very presence of all of us helped generate so much enthusiasm that the entire landscape in the northeast is now transformed and we would wish to see the same transformation journey and progress and development in Kashmir," he said. America's chief diplomat for South Asia Alice Wells on Monday held talks with Pakistan's Interior Minister Brig (retd) Ijaz Shah during which the two sides discussed key bilateral and regional issues with main focus on the Afghan peace process. Wells arrived here on Sunday on a four-day trip after visiting India and Sri Lanka, according to officials of Foreign Office. Her key engagement was a detailed meeting with Interior Minister Shah where issues like illegal immigrants to US, registration of international non-governmental organization (INGOs) and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) were discussed, officials said. Wells in her discussion on the issue of the FATF appreciated Pakistan's efforts to comply with the regime of anti-money laundering watchdog. "It is heartening to see that Pakistan's government has made significant progress on these matters and that too in a short time," she said. The FATF in October decided to keep Pakistan on its 'Grey' list for failure to curb funnelling of funds to terror groups Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and others. If not removed off the list by April, Pakistan may move to a blacklist of countries that face severe economic sanctions, such as Iran. Pakistan has urged the US to support its bid to exit from the grey list of the FATF. Wells also said that the problem of illegal immigrants from Pakistan to the US was addressed by the two sides to a great extent. "We appreciate the Pakistan government's cooperation on the matter, she said. Shah said that a system was put in place to verify the documents of immigrants and identify them. He also informed the US diplomat about efforts to streamline the working of INGOs by allowing all genuine aid groups to get register and work in Pakistan. The US diplomat is also expected to hold talks with security and foreign policy officials about the Afghan reconciliation process which is going through a critical stage. Defence ties between the two sides are also to be discussed. Her visit came at the conclusion of Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Queshi's trip to US where he held talks with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, National Security Adviser Robert O' Brien, and Under Secretary of Defence John Rood. Officials said that her visit was planned well before Qureshi's trip which was prompted by the tensions between the US and Iran after the killing of a top Iranian general in an American drone strike in Iraq. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Central Criminal Court judge has commended the bravery of an Offaly woman in coming forward to report being sexually abused as a child over 45 years ago. John Moran (aged 66) was today jailed for six years for the rape and indecent assault of the woman, his second cousin, while she was aged between five and 11 years old. Moran, of Cannakill, Croghan, Co Offaly, pleaded guilty to sample charges of one count of rape and seven counts of indecent assault of the child in Croghan on dates between 1968 and 1974. He was aged between 14 and 21 years old at the time of his offending. The court heard the complainant, Ms Elizabeth Williams (nee Moran), wished to waive her right to anonymity in this case. In her victim impact report Ms Williams said she was so young at the time and the abuse happened so frequently that it was a normal part of everyday life for her. She said there had been a big family row after the abuse was discovered, but no action was taken, apart from Moran not being welcome in their home until after her father died. Ms Williams said she was never taken to a doctor or to the gardai. She described overhearing adults saying she was no good to anyone now and no one would want me. Anytime she tried to bring the subject up, she was told to forget about it. Ms Williams said she had been badly affected by the abuse in her adult life and has been distanced from her family. She described how she had considered ending her life. She made a complaint to gardai in 2016 and Moran was interviewed. Ms Williams said in her victim impact statement: This process has been a horrendous ordeal After all these years of being told to keep my mouth shut, the truth is finally coming out. Mr Justice Michael White said he wanted to pay tribute to Ms Williams and noted the horrific suffering she had endured during what should have been the best years of her childhood. He said he was always amazed at the courage of victims of long-term sexual abuse and noted the courage it took to come forward. Mr Justice White took into account the fact that Moran is now in ill health and that testimonials outlined he had lead a crime-free and blameless life since the abuse ended. He noted Moran was a good husband. He has no previous convictions. He said aggravating circumstances included the nature of the abuse and the length of time it continued, as well as the age of the victim and the impact on her. He noted in particular the innocence of the victim who knew nothing about sex at the time. Mr Justice White said it was a mitigating factor that Moran was a child himself for part of his offending but aggravating that it continued after he reached maturity. He acknowledged the guilty plea, noting a trial would have been very difficult with close family members giving evidence and that a plea was also an admission to full extent of his behaviour. The judge said the headline sentence in this case was 12 years but noted there were matters of substantial mitigation and imposed an eight-year sentence with the final two years suspended. PORTLAND, Oregon, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Advanced Tires Market by Material Type (Natural Rubber, Synthetic Rubber, Steel, Elastomers, and Others), Type (Pneumatic Tires, Run Flat Tires, Airless Tires, and Others), Technology (Chip Embedded Tires, Self-Inflating Tires, Multi Chamber Tires, All In One Tires, and Others), and Vehicle Type (Light Duty Vehicles, Heavy Duty Vehicle, Agricultural Tractors, Construction & Mining Equipment, and Industrial Equipment): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20202030." According to the report, the global advanced tires industry was estimated at $248.7 million in 2020 and is expected to hit $1.34 billion by 2030, registering a CAGR of 18.4% from 20202030. Drivers, restraints and opportunities- Surge in automobile production, and stringent regulations towards vehicular emission fuel the growth of the global advanced tires market. On the other hand, fluctuating price of raw material impedes the growth to certain extent. However, rising concern for fuel efficiency and safety is expected to usher in a plethora of opportunities for the key players in the industry. Download Report Sample: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/5587 The natural rubber segment to rule the roost till 2030- Based on material type, the natural rubber segment is expected to account for more than one-third of the global advanced tires market share in 2020, and would retain its dominance during 2020 to 2030. Features of natural rubber such as large stretch ratio, high resilience, crack resistance etc. have boosted the growth of the segment. The synthetic rubber segment, on the other hand, is projected to grow at the fastest CAGR of 20.4% by the end of 2030. Synthetic rubber is more resistant to oil, oxygen, certain chemicals, and lasts longer, which makes it the fastest growing segment. The pneumatic tires segment to dominate during the estimated period- Based on type, the pneumatic tires segment is anticipated to hold approximately one-third of the global advanced tires market revenue in 2020, and would lead the trail throughout the forecast period. The ability of pneumatic tires to get accustomed to the uneven terrain which allows smoother ride boosts the growth of the segment. Simultaneously, the run flat tires segment is predicted to showcase the fastest CAGR of 20.1% till 2030. The fact that run flat tires are more stable than conventional tires has made it the fastest growing segment. Asia-Pacific, followed by Europe and North America, to remain lucrative during the study period- Based on geography, the region across Asia-Pacific, followed by Europe and North America, is projected to generate the largest share, contributing to nearly two-fifths of the global advanced tires market. The same region would also cite the fastest CAGR of 19.7% by 2030. Rising population and surge in demand for automobiles make Asia-Pacific the largest and fastest growing segment. For purchase inquiry at: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/5587 Frontrunners in the industry- Continental AG Toyo Tire Corporation The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company Bridgestone Corporation THE YOKOHAMA RUBBER CO., LTD. RUBBER CO., LTD. Pirelli & C. S.p.A Hankook Tire & Technology Co., Ltd. Michelin Nokian Tyres plc Sumitomo Corporation Avenue Basic Plan | Library Access 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. Get more information: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/Avenue-Membership-details Similar Reports: Pakistan Rubber Tyre and Tube Market Consumption to Hit $2.77 Billion by 2025 Pneumatic Tire Market is Estimated to Generate $287.5 Billion by 2020 Automotive Tubeless Tire Market Projected to Grow at a CAGR of 6.2% by 2026 Air Brake System Market is Projected to Reach $6.6 Billion by 2026 Pre-book Offer 12% Discount: Green Tire Market Aircraft Tires Market About us: Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry. Contact 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 Traffic police officers caught a sleeper bus carrying twice as many people as its seats in the southern province of Dong Nai on Sunday. The officers who patrolled a National Highway 1A section passing through Bien Hoa City, the capital of Dong Nai, on Sunday evening pulled over a 40-seater sleeper bus heading for the north-central province of Nghe An from Ho Chi Minh City. A total of 82 people were found on board the packed vehicle. The driver, 40-year-old Nguyen Van Nghia, could not produce a drivers license or passenger transport contract upon request and was booked for the violations. A passenger bus packed with people is caught by traffic police officers in Dong Nai Province, Vietnam, January 19, 2020. Clip: B.A. / Tuoi Tre On the same evening, another group of traffic police officers in Dong Nai pulled over a 43-seater sleeper bus traveling from Ho Chi Minh City to the north-central province of Quang Tri for an inspection. The officers found a total of 77 people on the bus, which had been illegally remodeled to add extra sleeper seats. The vehicle was also carrying oversized pieces of luggage. The driver, 49-year-old Hoang Quynh, was booked for the violations and had his drivers license confiscated. Both drivers have been handed combined administrative fines of VND210 million (US$9,000), including VND70 million ($3,000) for Nghia and VND140 million for Quynh ($6,000), Dong Nai police said on Monday. The two vehicles were escorted to a bus terminal in Dong Nai where excess passengers were put on two other vehicles to continue their journey. A passenger bus packed with people is caught by traffic police officers in Dong Nai Province, Vietnam, January 19, 2020. Photo: B.A. / Tuoi Tre Around one week before and after Tet, or Lunar New Year, which will fall on January 25, is the peak traveling season in Vietnam. Planes and trains are often fully booked weeks in advance while overcrowding is a common issue on passenger buses during this period, as hundreds of thousands embark on a mass migration from big cities back to their hometowns for family reunions. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will hold a meeting on January 28 in Jaipur with students, youth and farmers, on Citizenship (Amendment) Act, unemployment and the present economic condition of the country. Last week, Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP-led government of suppressing the voice of youth and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should tell the youth why the economy has become a "disaster". Talking to the media after a meeting of opposition parties, Gandhi had asked the Prime Minister to visit any university without police and tell people what he was doing for the country. "Instead of addressing the problems of youth, Narendra Modi is trying to distract the nation and divide people. Voice of the youth is legitimate, it should not be suppressed, and the government should listen to it," he said. He alleged that the Prime Minister does "not have guts" to stand in front of students. "Narendra Modi should have the courage to tell youngsters why the Indian economy has become a disaster...He doesn't have guts to stand in front of students. I challenge him to go to any university stand there without police and tell people what he's going to do for this country," Gandhi said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Niamey: Recently about 7,000 people have fled to western Niger where ISIS militants killed 89 soldiers earlier this month. Giving this information, the UN refugee agency UNHCR has said that due to insecurity and fear in the region, the UNHCR, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, is finding it very difficult to help the people. According to information received from the sources, it has been learned that the statement issued by the UNHCR said that after the attack on the city of Chinegodar, about 20 kilometres from the Malian border, it included 1,000 refugees. About seven thousand citizens have been forced to flee their homes. It is also being said that terrorists are abducting people and their properties are being looted. Migrating people need food, water, shelter and security. Also Read: Big statement of Bhagwat, "Being an Indian not on the basis of religion" It will take almost 100 years for the burnt forests of Australia to recover This dangerous virus spreading rapidly in China, America on alert FB video reunites Bangladeshi man with family after 48 yrs An out-of-control bushfire that was deliberately lit has sparked a mass evacuation. An emergency warning is in place for residents in the Shire of Harvey, north of Bunbury in Western Australia, with a wild fire razing bushland around 15km north of Leschenault. The ABC reported that the fire started near the intersection of Wellesley Road North and Treasure Road. The blaze is moving in an north-easterly direction, with the emergency warning stating that homes and lives are in danger. An emergency warning is in place for residents in the Shire of Harvey with a wild fire razing bushland (pictured) around 15 kilometres north of Leschenault Thick smoke billowing up above from the blaze, which was reported as being lit deliberately The out-of-control blaze is moving quickly and has caused a mass evacuation in the Shire of Harvey 'A bushfire emergency warning has been issued for people in the vicinity of Ridgeview Way, Papalia Court and Plantation Outlook within the area bounded by Treasure Road, Wellesley Road North and Old Coast Road north of Kemerton in the Shire of Harvey,' the warning reads. 'You are in danger and need to act immediately to survive. There is a threat to lives and homes. 'The alert level for this fire has been upgraded due to an increase in fire behaviour. Homes in Papalia Court and Ridgeview Way will be under threat by fire within the next hour.' 'If the way is clear, leave now for a safer place. Do not wait and see, leaving at the last minute is deadly. The aggressive fire is heading in a north-easterly direction through the Shire of Harvey (pictured), with the emergency warning reading that homes and lives are in danger 'Close all doors and windows and turn off evaporative air conditioners, but keep water running through the system if possible. 'If you cannot leave, you need to get ready to shelter in your home. 'Go to a room in your home away from the fire front and make sure you can easily escape. 'Choose a room with two exits and water such as a kitchen or laundry.' The national death toll in the bushfire crisis has reached 29, after an elderly man died in hospital three weeks after being injured while defending his home in Cobargo, in south-east New South Wales, on New Year's Eve. An 84-year-old man has died three weeks after fires ravaged Cobargo (pictured), a tiny town in south-east NSW The main street of Cobargo was almost totally destroyed by the wild fires which raged through the town on December 30 and 31 The 84-year-old was rushed to South East Regional Hospital in Bega before being transferred to Concord Hospital, where he died in the early hours of Saturday morning. His pet dog Bella who bravely stuck beside the man as he defended his home - was also killed when fires hit. The man's passing brings the death toll to 21 deaths in NSW, five in Victoria and three in South Australia. Former NSW government spokesman Sandi Logan described the man as a 'true blue trooper'. The man's death is the third in the town, after Robert Salway (left), 63, and his son Patrick (right), 29, died trying to defend their home on December 30 'We've sadly lost another Cobargo bushfire victim following burns suffered in fires at his property,' Mr Logan posted on Twitter. 'His dog Bella perished as well. He died in a Sydney hospital following burns treatment. He was a true country boy, a true blue trooper.' A report is now being prepared for the coroner. The man's death is the third in Cobargo, after Robert Salway, 63, and his son Patrick, 29, died trying to defend their home on December 30. Pennsylvania State Police are searching for a Bucks County man they say assaulted a woman while the couples child was strapped into a car seat. The incident happened at 3:34 p.m. Christmas Eve when 39-year-old Nicholas Scott Donofrio of Quakertown arrived at the home of a 29-year-old woman from Lower Macungie Township. Donofrio was dropping off the pairs 3-year-old child, Pennsylvania State Police in Fogelsville said. They allegedly got into an argument; a news release by police did not specify what led to the dispute. As the woman was standing in the driveway attempting to unbuckle the child from the front passenger seat, Donofrio put the car in reverse, striking the woman with the inside car door panel, police said. The woman stumbled backward and fell into the roadway as Donofrio backed out of the driveway and drove away, according to police. Arrest warrants have been issued for Donofrio at the office of District Judge Michael J. Faulkner. Police are describing the incident as an assault by physical menace case. Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. Mary Rose Rutikanga View Photo Sonora, CA While she has worked in neighboring counties over recent years, the incoming Sonora City Administrator has lived in the community with her family since 2011. Mary Rose Rutikanga also grew up in Copperopolis and is a graduate of Bret Harte High School. In an interview with Clarke Broadcasting, she notes that she holds a Bachelors Degree in government from Cal State Sacramento and a Masters Degree in Public Administration from the Monterrey Institute of International Studies. As part of her graduate degree program, she spent time as a Peace Corps volunteer in Rwanda, serving two and a half years as a health and community development volunteer. In recent years she worked for Calaveras County as a Senior Administrative Analyst, right around the time of the Butte Fire, and most recently as the Deputy County Executive Officer in Merced. She adds, And I actually started my government career in Tuolumne County right out of undergraduate school working for the County Counsel, so it is kind of going full circle, starting in Tuolumne County and then ending up here with the City of Sonora. In regards to being the City Councils top finalist to replace former administrator Tim Miller, she says, Im thrilled and really excited for this opportunity. Sonora is our home, and it is a place that we love and choose to live. Im very excited to work with the city council on the issues affecting Sonora. Some of the bigger issues she cites are housing affordability and homelessness. She concludes, I also look forward to working with the city council to address their community economic development priorities as well as looking at the progression and completion of Vision Sonora. Rutikanga is expected to be appointed at Tuesdays 5pm City Council meeting. Her first day will be February 3rd. We reported earlier that her starting salary will be $130,000. Two of San Antonios transplant centers are national leaders in living organ donations, a result of the prevalence of kidney and liver disease in South Texas. Methodist Hospital | Specialty and Transplant (formerly Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital) performed 231 kidney transplants from living donors, the most of any transplant center in the U.S. last year. The hospital, which broke a national record it had previously set, completed an additional 146 kidney transplants using deceased donors, the most in Texas. Meanwhile, the transplant center at University Hospital has rapidly developed one of the largest living donation programs for liver transplants. With 40 liver transplants from live donors in 2019, University Transplant Center performed the second most procedures nationwide, behind the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, which notched 76. On ExpressNews.com: She wanted to give part of her liver to a friend. Instead, she donated it to a stranger. Last year, University also began doing paired exchanges by which donors who are not a match with their intended recipient instead donate to another person for liver transplants. These swaps are common for kidneys, but University is believed to be the first in the country to strike such an arrangement with liver donors. At Specialty and Transplant, Dr. Adam Bingaman, the medical director of the transplant program, said the numbers are indicative of innovation at both hospitals in the face of the immense need for organs in San Antonio and South Texas, where there are high rates of diabetes-related kidney disease and fatty liver disease. Folks here in San Antonio have said, you know what, we need to do as great a job as we can promoting living donation because we dont have enough deceased donor organs, Bingaman said. Representatives of both centers say they have increased living donations without compromising the safety of donors or recipients. Specialty and Transplant, which established its kidney transplant program in 1984 and has facilitated hundreds of paired and multiway exchanges over the past decade, has long been a leader in living kidney transplants. The hospital was able to expand its living kidney program in part by focusing on efficiency, Bingaman said. People who are interested in donating can register online and undergo evaluative testing where they live. On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio kidney disease experts appointed to statewide task force Live donors must pass rigorous health evaluations, Bingaman said. Its a requirement that can disqualify donations from family members of people in need of a transplant because often they, too, have health problems similar to the patients. That reality has led transplant doctors to encourage transplant candidates to look outside their families for potential matches. The program has also collaborated closely with local kidney disease specialists to perform pre-emptive kidney transplants done before a person has started dialysis, a treatment that comes with its own complications. That type of transplant improves patient outcomes, Bingaman said, and last year accounted for a third of the hospitals living kidney transplants. Universitys living liver program has gained prominence in the last few years. In 2017, the center performed just six live liver transplants, compared with 30 the next year. Staff at University have increased the numbers by testing a wider pool of potential donors and easing some requirements for initial evaluation, including considering those with higher body mass indexes who may otherwise be healthy. Nationally, the overall number of transplants also continues to grow. In 2019, 11,870 deceased donors and 7,397 living donors facilitated nearly 40,000 transplants across the U.S., according to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, a group that collects and maintains national data on organ donation. Deceased organ donation increased more than 10 percent from 2018 to 2019 and has jumped 38 percent since 2014. On ExpressNews.com: San Antonios University Hospital part of study to improve transplants But despite these increases, the supply of available organs hasnt kept pace with demand. Currently, there are more than 112,000 people in the U.S. awaiting a new organ. Every year, thousands of patients die before receiving a transplant. As a result, Methodist and University have put more emphasis on living donors. In addition to relieving some of the burden on the waiting lists, organs from living donors tend to last longer and can be transplanted more quickly, before the patient becomes even sicker. Jennifer Milton, chief administrative officer of University Transplant Center, said she hopes other hospitals can follow the lead of San Antonios transplant centers. Were still putting more people on the waiting list than were transplanting. We, unfortunately, dont see an end to it, Milton said. You have two great institutions, innovative leaders, who see that we just cant meet this growing need. Lauren Caruba covers health care and medicine in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | lcaruba@express-news.net | Twitter: @LaurenCaruba Jagat Prakash Nadda on Monday was elected unopposed as the BJP's national president, taking over the reins from Amit Shah whose tenure of five-and-a-half years saw the party turning into a formidable election-winning machinery despite occasional setbacks. The 59-year-old leader from Himachal Pradesh, seen as an affable and low-key politician, enjoys the trust of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the RSS -- the BJP's ideological mentor. Taking over at a time when the party, despite its unprecedented win in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, suffered setbacks, including below par performances in Haryana, where it had to join hands with JJP to form government, and Maharashtra besides losing Jharkhand, Nadda will have to work on the electoral strategy without causing too many disruptions to improve the BJP's performance. The Delhi assembly election is the first challenge for Nadda, who has been extensively touring the capital, where his party is locked in a tough fight with the Aam Aadmy Party. Bihar will also go for assembly elections by the year end. However, his big test would be the next year's assembly polls in West Bengal, a state where the BJP has never tasted power but has emerged as a strong challenger to Mamata Banerjee-headed TMC. Nadda's election as the 11th president of the BJP was announced by Radha Mohan Singh, incharge of the organisational election process. Nadda will have a three-year tenure. Modi later arrived at the party headquarters to felicitate the newly-elected president at a ceremony that was attended by members of the BJP parliamentary board, its highest decision-making body, and veterans like L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi. Wishing him a successful tenure, Modi said he was sure that the party will scale new heights during his presidency, while Describing Nadda as an old colleague, the Prime Minister said, when I handled the party organisation, he was looking after the Yuva Morcha. We travelled together on scooter. Asking the party leaders and workers to support Nadda, Modi said,"his leadership will give us new energy and inspiration." On his part, Shah asserted that the party will benefit from Nadda organizational skills and experience and will set new records. Earlier, Shah was joined by senior party leaders, including Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari, besides several functionaries from state units in filing nominations in support of Nadda. BJP chief ministers like Yogi Adityanath of Uttar Pradesh and Vijay Rupani of Gujarat were also at the party headquarters to endorse his bid. After the felicitation ceremony, Modi, Shah and Nadda besides other senior party leaders held a meeting with the chief ministers and deputy chief ministers of the BJP-ruled states. Nadda's elevation was on expected lines since his appointment as the BJP working president last June after Shah joined the Modi government as the home minister. The BJP has traditionally abided by the norm of 'one party one post'. BJP leaders hailed the appointment, expressing confidence that the party would achieve new successes under his leadership. Wishing Nadda a successful tenure, Rajnath Singh said: "I am confident the party will achieve new glory and success under his leadership. Known for his organisational experience Naddaji has always been an asset to the party." Gadkari said the elevation of Nadda, who started as a common party worker and rose through its ranks, shows that the BJP was an organisation of workers unlike parties run by dynasties. Nadda, considered an affable and accessible politician, enjoys good rapport with all top party leaders. He is seen as seasoned organisation man, who was associated with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) from his college days before joining the youth wing of the BJP and rising through its ranks. Nadda has also served as a minister in the BJP governments in Himachal Pradesh and at the Centre. He has also been in charge of his party's campaigns in a number of states, including in Uttar Pradesh during the 2019 Lok Sabha election. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) As Trumps Senate trial gets under way, Republicans see precedent set in Clinton trial as a model for proceedings. President Donald Trump is the third president in United States history to face an impeachment trial in the Senate, and only the second in the last 150 years. Former President Bill Clinton, the 42nd US president, was tried and acquitted by the Senate in 1999. Senate Republicans are now looking to Clintons case for guiding precedents for handling Trumps trial. Republicans who control the US Senate by a 53-47 majority over Democrats plan to use the impeachment trial of Clinton as the model for the trial Trump. In an extraordinarily controversial political episode, Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives in December 1998. He had been the subject of a four-year, wide-ranging investigation by Special Counsel Kenneth Starr, who will be a member of Trumps defence team in the upcoming Senate trial. Initially, Starr was commissioned to look into the president and First Lady Hillary Clintons involvement with a fraudulent land development in Arkansas while Clinton had been governor of the state. The inquiry expanded to cover, among other matters, the presidents conduct in a sexual harassment suit filed by Paula Jones, a former Arkansas state employee. The Saturday, February 13, 1999, editions of Newsday, Daily News, the New York Post and The New York Times feature the acquittal of President Clinton on their front pages [File: Ed Betz/AP Photo] During the investigation, Clinton lied under oath about having a sexual affair with a White House intern, Monica Lewinsky. Special Counsel Starr issued a 211-page report with a voluminous appendix of underlying evidence to Congress detailing Clintons affair with Lewinsky in October 1998. The House of Representatives, led by then-Speaker Newt Gingrich, quickly initiated an impeachment inquiry (A star in the Republican Party, Gingrich would soon resign from Congress amid Republican losses in the November 1998 election and a scandal of his own over an affair he was having with a congressional staff aide). The House voted on December 19, 1998, to approve two articles of impeachment against Clinton for perjury and obstruction of justice. Two other articles were defeated in the House. The day Clinton was impeached by the House was an electric moment in US history. Even as the House was debating the articles of impeachment against Clinton, then-Speaker Bob Livingston who had replaced Gingrich stunned his Republican colleagues by resigning, himself caught in past extramarital affairs. Meanwhile, the US had bombed Iraq for four days to punish Saddam Hussein for allegedly obstructing United Nations weapons inspectors. It was the heaviest US bombing of Iraq since the 1991 Gulf War presaged the US invasion in 2003. The trial The Senate trial began on January 7, 1999, with the ceremonial swearing-in of Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist and swearing-in of senators as jurors. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, a Republican, and Minority Leader Tom Daschle, a Democrat, negotiated an agreement for how the trial was to proceed. That agreement was supported by all 100 senators. At the time, Republicans who were the opposition to Clinton controlled a 55-45 majority in the Senate. That is the opposite of todays political alignment in which Democrats, Trumps opposition, are in the minority. Under the rules deal in the Clinton trial, the House had three days to present its case, the presidents defence team had three days for its rebuttal and there were two days of answers to written questions submitted by senators. The vote total, shown in this video image, of 55-45 shows the acquittal of President Clinton on the first article of impeachment that accused the president of perjury [File: APTN/AP Photo] Then, as now, there was a controversy regarding whether additional witnesses would be called. The Senate voted 56-44 to seek depositions from Lewinsky and two Clinton aides. House prosecutors questioned Lewinsky behind closed doors and video excerpts of her testimony were played during final summations. Deliberating in secret after rejecting a sunshine proposal to open the proceedings to public view, the Senate acquitted Clinton. Ten Republicans joined all 45 Democrats to reject the article of impeachment for perjury. The Senate split 50-50 on the question of obstruction of justice. Under the Constitution, a 67-vote majority would have been required to convict and remove Clinton, who finished his second four-year term and was succeeded by President George W Bush, a Republican, in 2001. Nearly three years after a triple-stabbing on a MAX train plunged Portland into mourning, the man accused in the attack is finally set to stand trial. Jeremy Christian fatally stabbed Ricky Best and Taliesin Namkai-Meche after witnesses said he was spouting profanities and racist and anti-Muslim invective at two African American teens, one of whom was wearing a hijab. A third man, Micah Fletcher, survived despite being stabbed in the neck. Jury selection begins Tuesday, followed by a trial expected to last five weeks. The Oregonian/OregonLives Aimee Green will be there for it all. On the latest episode of Beat Check with The Oregonian, Green outlines the arguments Christians attorneys could make in his defense despite an abundance of witnesses and video evidence. We also spoke about where this trial fits in recent history, why the jury pool is so vast and whether Christian will testify. Also on the podcast, The Oregonians Shane Dixon Kavanaugh talks about Christians troubled background and a past encounter with Fletcher. The Portland natives had met before the fateful day on the MAX, at a protest on 82nd Avenue. Heres the full episode: And heres a link to a one-year retrospective produced by Shane Dixon Kavanaugh and me, where we interviewed 11 people who were on the train May 26, 2017. You can get keep up with the trial by subscribing to our newsletter at oregonlive.com/newsletters. -- Andrew Theen; atheen@oregonian.com; 503-294-4026; @andrewtheen Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Dynafleetonline.com scored 41 Social Media Impact. Social Media Impact score is a measure of how much a site is popular on social networks. 2/5.0 Stars by Social Team This CoolSocial report was updated on 12 Jan 2015, 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 dynafleetonline homepage on Facebook + the total number of page likes (if dynafleetonline has a Facebook fan page). The total number of people who shared the dynafleetonline homepage on StumbleUpon. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared the dynafleetonline homepage on Twitter + the total number of dynafleetonline followers (if dynafleetonline has a Twitter account). The total number of people who shared the dynafleetonline homepage on Delicious. The total number of people who shared the dynafleetonline homepage on Google Plus by a google +1 button. Basic Information PAGE TITLE Dynafleet Online (Login Page) DESCRIPTION KEYWORDS OTHER KEYWORDS The URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address of the site. The title found in the head section of the homepage. The keywords meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. 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. Domain and Server DOCTYPE CHARSET AND LANGUAGE UTF-8 DETECTED LANGUAGE Italian Italian SERVER Apache-Coyote/1.1 (Servlet 2.5 JBoss-5.0/JBossWeb-2.1) OPERATIVE SYSTEM Linux Linux Represents HTML declared type (e.g.: XHTML 1.1, HTML 4.0, the new HTML 5.0) Character set and language of the site. Operative System running on the server. Type of server and offered services. The language of dynafleetonline.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 dynafleetonline.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 URL of the found Facebook page. The total number of people who tagged or talked about website Facebook page in the last 7-10 days. 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. The type of Facebook page. Facebook Timeline is the new layout of Facebook pages. Twitter account link TWITTER PAGE LINK NOT FOUND George Orwell's first wife wanted him to have sex with an old flame twice a year in order to 'keep him happy' in his 'long-suffering' life, new letters have revealed. A batch of around 30 letters have been discovered that chart conversations between Orwell and Brenda Salkeld. The letters, purchased by Orwell's son Richard Blair, will be given to an archive in London and biographers have now claimed that the contents could change the understanding of the British writer. The Animal Farm and 1984 author penned a note to Salkeld on the day after his first wedding and he continued to write to her until 1949, days before his second wedding. George Orwell (pictured above) was married twice and also penned letters to other women Orwell's first wife is claimed to have encouraged her husband to sleep with Brenda Salkeld (pictured above) He married Eileen O'Shaughnessy in 1936 and this lasted until 1945. He married his second wife Sonia Brownell in 1949, but died weeks later. According to the Times, one letter which was penned by Orwell four years after he married Eileen, stated that she understood his needs and wanted her husband to sleep with Salkeld. 'She wished I could sleep with you about twice a year, just to keep me happy', the letter read. The letters between the author and Salkeld show how he would use her to thrash out his ideas. Orwell married Eileen O'Shaughnessy (pictured above) in 1936 and they divorced in 1945 The revelation of this set of letters comes just months after letters between Orwell and Eleanor Jaques had surfaced. Mr Blair has since said that he has purchased all letters from the descendants of the recipients and that he will be donating them to University College London, which is home to the George Orwell Archive. He said it was clear the women had more influence on his father than it had previously been claimed and one letter revealed Orwell's humiliation at Brownell's initial rejection of him and that he only put up with it because he was 'long-suffering'. Earlier letters to Salkeld reveal his feelings towards her and he tells her that if she should take a love, he doesn't see why 'it shouldn't be me'. Orwell died in January 1950 and the correspondence had continued until the September before his death. He told her he would be married again, this time to Brownell and believed she would be 'astonished', due to his 'health being as it is'. Mr Blair added that the letters had been very personal and suggested that there had been 'physical contact from time to time'. He added that his father liked women with a 'strong opinion' and it was this that attracted him to them. A wild elephant appeared to make himself at home as he wandered around a five-star hotel knocking over furniture with his trunk. The elephant, named Natta Kota, has become a regular visitor at Jetwing Yala Hotel, Sri Lanka, and stays in the grounds. Twitter user Upili, who shared the clip, wrote on Twitter: Woke up to a text from my mom about how a wild elephant went into a Sri Lankan hotel and gently wandered around while poking stuff with his trunk. An elephant, known as Natta Kota, knocked over a lamp as he wandered around Jetwing Yala Hotel in Sri Lanka Footage shows the elephant standing at the stop of the stairs before slowly wandering through a lounge area. The wild animal, whose head is seen just skimming the ceiling, moves towards a set of lobby chairs. He then strolls through to another part of the five-star hotel. Natta then waves his trunk in the air and uses it to move a light and force it to crash on to the floor. Natta has become a regular visitor at the five-star hotel. He 'usually roams in the hotel premises' but this was the first time it entered inside the hotel, according to a staff member He moves through the reception area towards a set of sofas, in the clip. It remains unclear when the footage was taken He considers doing the same for another lamp but decides against it and wanders off. It remains unclear when the footage was taken. The clip has 2.5 million views and has raked in 153 likes. Social media users shared their wittiest responses to the video of the elephant strolling through the open-plan hotel. One viewer said: 'Now let's talk about the elephant in the room' Some viewers have taken to Twitter to share their witty responses to the bizarre incident. Silveira wrote: 'Now let's talk about the elephant in the room.' Meanwhile Christina Murphy was quick to defend the wild animal for knocking over the light. She said: 'Aw you know he felt bad about knocking that lamp over. It's ok Mr. Elephant, we know you didn't mean to.' In 2017 the hotel uploaded CCTV footage of the elephant paying a visit. Natta 'usually roams in the hotel premises' but this was the first time it entered the hotel, the hotel told Metro. They warned: Please note that though he is a regular visitor to our hotels, Natta Kota is still very much a wild elephant and we at Jetwing would have him remain as such. While it is exciting and memorable to encounter wild animals in and around our hotels, we humbly request that guests respect their space and maintain a healthy distance at all times. Please avoid feeding the animals and refrain from using flash photography. His 'calm demeanour has made him a delight to guests', a Jetwing spokesperson told TTG. A registered sex offender is now accused of being the 'Pillowcase Rapist', who used bedding to hide his face before raping more than 40 women in Florida in the 1980s. Robert Eugene Koehler, 60, was arrested on Saturday in Palm Bay, The Miami Herald reports. He already has a sexual battery conviction from 1991 in Palm Beach County. It is not known exactly what led to his arrest but a number of cold cases have been solved in recent years thanks to a breakthrough in DNA testing and genealogical data stored on ancestry websites. DailyMail.com has contacted Miami Dade police for clarification. Robert Eugene Koehler, 60, pictured, was arrested on Saturday in Palm Bay, police say. They suspect him of being the 'Pillowcase Rapist' who broke into homes in South Florida between May 1981 and February 1986, according to local reports From the description given by one36-year-old victim, a police artist created a drawing that was circulated throughout Coconut Grove, South Miami and Hollywood The 'Pillowcase Rapist' broke into homes in South Florida between May 1981 and February 1986. He hid his identity with pillowcases, towels or shirts before sexually assaulting at least 44 women. He had been thought to have been a white male with a size 10 1/2 shoe. Using a series of blood and semen tests, officials early on were able to identify the rapist as having type O blood with subgroupings common only to 1 percent of the population. But police failed to get any further with the investigation and it was shelved in 1987. One woman did see his face, it was reported at the time of his attack. She convinced him she couldn't see his face without her glasses and studied him during the rape, a knife at her throat. From the description given by the 36-year-old victim, a police artist created a drawing that was circulated throughout Coconut Grove, South Miami and Hollywood. Koehler already has a sexual battery conviction from 1991 in Palm Beach County Police at the time also commissioned sculptor Tony Lopez to fashion a detailed clay bust of one of the most hunted men in south Florida history. Since the first reported attack on a 24-year-old secretary in May 1981, the rapist attacked women, usually entering houses or apartments through unlocked doors or windows and using a knife to terrify them into submission. In each case the attacker sought to dominate his victims, tying them up, and sometimes using a pillowcase to blindfold them. In one incident the rapist attacked a frail, half-blind 82-year-old widow after breaking into her home. She awoke to see the rapist standing next to her bed, a pillowcase wrapped around his head with only his eyes showing. Following the rape, the outraged woman chased him out of the house. 'She literally tore a dish towel rack from the wall of her kitchen, Simmons said at the time of the 1986 break in. 'She chased him out the back door, swinging the metal fixture at him and shouting at him to get out of her house.' The rapist took the woman's wedding band in the attack and left a bizarre set of clues - a pair of women's red, bikini-style underwear, a cream-colored women's sleeveless undershirt, a navy blue leather purse with two crumpled department store bags inside, and an unidentified item of men's clothing. The ED has arrested NRI businessman C C Thampi in connection with its money laundering probe against Robert Vadra, the son-in-law of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, and absconding arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari for acquisition of alleged illegal assets abroad, officials said on Monday. Thampi is stated to be "controlling" a Dubai-based company Sky Light. In 2009, Bhandari's firm Santech FZE purchased a London asset from a private company, which was acquired by Sky Light. Vadra is alleged to have acquired this London-based asset, and few purported emails between him and Bhandari, regarding renovation of this flat, are part of the evidence in the case. The agency claims Thampi met Vadra through an aide of his mother-in-law and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, while the latter reportedly told the Enforcement Directorate that he only met him on board an Emirates flight some years ago. Thampi, during his earlier grilling session with the ED, claimed that Vadra had stayed at the Bryanston Square property in London. Vadra, in his statement made to the agency, denied Thampi's claim. The agency arrested Thampi on Friday under the provision of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after he was summoned in the case, they said. It is understood that his arrest and subsequent custodial grilling will unravel the "missing links" in the case where the ED has charged Vadra of acquiring illegal assets abroad in coordination with Bhandari. Thampi has been charged by the agency in the past in an alleged illegal hawala dealings and land purchase case in the country in 2017, in alleged contravention of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). It had also issued a FEMA show-cause notice to Thampi for alleged violation of foreign exchange laws to the tune of over Rs 1,000 crore in the purchase of vast tracts of land in Kerala. The firms that are being investigated by the ED, as part of the two FEMA show-cause notices issued against him, include Holiday City Centre Private Limited, Holiday Properties Private Limited and Holiday Bekal Resorts Private Limited. Agency sources had said the NRI businessman is also under the scanner for his reported dealings with some politicians and bureaucrats. The ED case against Vadra relates to allegations of money laundering in the purchase of a London-based property at 12, Bryanston Square worth 1.9 million GBP (British pounds), which is allegedly owned by him. The agency earlier told a court that it had received information about various new properties in London which belong to Vadra. These include two houses -- one worth 5 million GBP and the other valued at 4 million GBP, six other flats and more properties. Vadra had consistently denied these charges and has said he will cooperate in the probe. He had said he was being "hounded and harassed" to subserve political ends. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Los Angeles, Jan 20 : An Indian-American Professor has called fro actions against India's Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), saying it was not just about the Muslims but effected anyone who is attached to the country, the media reported. Anjali Arondekar, Director of the Center for South Asian Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz, was among the 300 signatories opposing the recent attack on the students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi, the implementation of CAA and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Speaking to to Indica news, Arondekar said the CAA and the JNU attack were "clearly connected", and the escalation of unhitched violence against students at the varsity "makes it even more pressing for us to link the two events together, which they obviously were". The professor added that the situation at JNU carries great weight for her precisely because of the threat it poses to the future of public education in South Asia, and in the world at large. "The unprecedented attack against students at JNU amplifies the concerns scholars have been expressing since the discriminatory citizenship registry efforts began in Assam," said Arondekar, who has a Ph.D., from the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A., from Cornell University When asked if this was a new India, Arondekar told Indica news: "No, not at all. This is not a new India. This is the India that has always been around, but the last 10 years of the rise of BJP has made it impossible for this India to shine." New organization of independent Business Units Strong revenue growth of +33% to 26.7 million driven by the partnership with Servier to develop LRRK2 and the organic expansion of the Service BU Operating revenue up 18% to 38.7 million and breakeven achieved one year ahead of the target date Strong cash position: 7 million compared to 6.8 million in 2018, excluding the 2018 research tax credit of 3.6 million not yet received Service and Biotech activities now separated in independent business units as of January 2020 Regulatory News: ONCODESIGN (Paris:ALONC) (ALONC FR0011766229), a biopharmaceutical group specialized in precision medicine, is reporting strong sales growth and is also announcing its expectation of 2019 positive net income and the implementation of a new organizational structure based around independent "Business Units" Service, Biotech and Artificial Intelligence. million Consolidated data unaudited 2019 2018 Change Service sales 20.9 19.1 +10% Partnership sales 5.8 1.0 +464% Total sales 26.7 20.1 +33% Operating grants and subsidies 7.9 7.9 +0% Research tax credit 3.2 3.6 -12% Other revenue and subsidies 0.9 1.2 -20% Other revenue and operating revenue 12.0 12.7 -5% Total operating revenue 38.7 32.8 +18% Cash (at December 31) 7.0 6.8 +3% Cash position including research tax credit 10.5 10.1 +5% "For the third consecutive year, our operating revenue reached another strong increase of 18%, to 38.7 million in 2019.We anticipate posting net income in positive territory, one year ahead of the target date.We are also reiterating our confidence in our ability to meet our 2020 objective of 40 million in sales, including 25-30 million in Service sales", commented Philippe Genne, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Oncodesign."This financial performance is a real feat of strength since we have in parallel successfully achieved our strategic objectives-selecting an initial drug candidate, the first-in-class RIPK2 kinase inhibitor, and inking a highly promising partnership with Servier to select a LRRK2 kinase inhibitor drug candidate for Parkinson disease.Lastly, we managed to keep a solid cash position while continuing to make hefty R&D investments, equivalent to 30% of our sales." Service sales: 20.9 million, reflecting organic growth of 10% This performance, reflecting another impressive increase in the organic contribution with a CAGR of 16% over the 2017-19 period, was supported by the strategic service agreements sealed with partners such as Galderma, Erytech Pharma, EISAI and Ipsen in oncology. The North American business (United States and Canada) recorded a 12% increase in its 2019 sales to 2.5 million. This advance illustrates the region's pivotal role for the Service business and justifies its expansion over the coming years. The group is working on new IDDS contracts that will soon be complemented by technologies brought in by business partners and the recruitment of specialized Business Developers to complete the existing team, particularly in North America. This new offer should help to accelerate the business as of the next financial year. Partnership sales: 5.8 million following the LRRK2 kinase inhibitor research agreement sealed with Servier The partnership with Servier began in March 2019 and already generated 5.8 million in sales over the year, consisting of a 3 million up-front payment received on signature and 2.8 million to cover the corresponding research costs. Following the completion of the Imakinib project, negotiations are underway with the new partner with a view to resuming clinical development of the mutated EGFR radiotracer this year. Under the agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), the development of the program based on the Nanocyclix platform continues internally. The MNK1/2 and ALK2 programs are still ongoing. Strong cash position at December 31, 2019 despite continuous R&D investments Cash available stood at 7 million at December 31, 2019 excluding the 2018 research tax credit. By comparison, cash available stood at 6.8 million at December 31, 2018 excluding the research tax credit. After factoring in the 3.6 million research tax credit payable in respect of 2018, cash available totaled 10.5 million at December 31, 2019.1 The Group maintains a good level of cash despite its sustained investments in R&D, which represent approximately 30% of sales. In addition, in late January 2020, Oncodesign's cash position will be strengthened by the final subsidy payment of 7.92 million due from GSK. Implementation of the new independent Business Unit organization Oncodesign reviewed its organization structure into independent Business Units owing to the growth in the Service business and the emergence of a more mature product portfolio, including drug candidates under proprietary and partnership programs. Previously, Oncodesign's organization was predicated on the integration of resources and skills along three axes of strategic innovation-Experimentation, Discovery and Etiology-forming the core pillars of its precision medicine platform. Through this approach the Group generated three types of income streams-Service, Partnership and Licensing-giving rise to a hybrid business model. The quality and the growth potential of each of the assets have prompted Oncodesign to introduce a new organizational structure with business units (BUs)-Service, Biotech. The aim of the new structure, which took effect from the beginning of 2020, is to make the Group's business activities clearer for its employees, customers, partners and investors. Each of the BUs has its own objectives and resources. In addition, like the Oncosnipe project launched three years ago, which helped to establish the Group's capacity for innovation by harnessing AI technologies, a third Artificial Intelligence BU will be set up during 2020 that aims to support the development of the "Drug Discovery" of the future. A senior executive is currently being hired to run it. To finalize this new organization, Oncodesign will expand into a new building in December 2020 housing both the management team and the Biotech and AI BUs. Work on the new premises began in November next to the Group's research facility in Dijon. "We are confident in the growth potential of each business unit, as we look to build on the various successes already achieved through the precision medicine platform, the Service business and research partnership and licensing programs", commented Philippe Genne, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Oncodesign. "Our new organization should allow us to move forward smoothly over the next five years and harness the full growth potential of each business while improving the understanding and increasing the agility of the group as a whole". Creation of two business units at the beginning of 2020 Oncodesign Biotech: This BU includes the therapeutic and diagnostic portfolio derived from Nanocyclix, aims to build on existing projects and partnerships and eventually to generate new ones with targets other than kinases. Oncodesign's Drug Discovery programs led to the establishment of a portfolio of internal and partnership projects around the proprietary Nanocyclix medicinal chemistry platform: the RIPK2 program for which an immuno-inflammation drug candidate was selected in late 2019 the LRRK2 program in Parkinson's disease in partnership with Servier and the program in partnership with BMS the MNK1/2 oncology program, and the TEP radiotracer in lung cancer for which Oncodesign is looking for a partner with which to commence a phase III trial. Oncodesign Biotech aims to have at least three products in clinical trials, including in oncology, by 2023. The objectives of the Biotech BU will be to bring drug candidates into the clinical phase in accordance with the business plan. A team of around ten program directors, experts in Drug Discovery and medicine development, joins the Biotech BU, which is led by Jan Hoflack, who remains the Group's CSO. The studies for these research programs will be carried out by the Service BU. Oncodesign Service: Over the past 25 years, Oncodesign Service has established itself as a credible force in the market for the preclinical assessment of therapeutic compounds. Oncodesign's Service activities have gained considerable traction, recording growth in excess of 60% over the past three years, with sales rising from 13.5 million in 2017 to 20.9 million in 2019 in an established market thanks to a portfolio of sustainable customers. The Service BU should help to pursue ambitious revenue growth, both organic and external, through the acquisition of contract research companies, while guaranteeing an EBITDA in line with the market average and without compromising on scientific excellence. As a result, Oncodesign is targeting Service revenues of 50 million with an EBITDA margin between 15 and 20% in 2023. Efforts will focus chiefly on the development of multi-year Drug Discovery Service Agreements (DDSAs) and Integrated Drug Discovery Services (IDDS) agreements. The Service BU, which will oversee the Dijon and Les Ulis research centers, as well as responsibility for equipment, lab teams and sales, representing around 200 people in all, will be led by Fabrice Viviani. About ONCODESIGN: www.oncodesign.com Founded 25 years ago by Dr. Philippe Genne, the Company's CEO and Chairman, Oncodesign is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to precision medicine. With its unique experience acquired by working with more than 800 clients, including the world's largest pharmaceutical companies, along with its comprehensive technological platform combining state-of-the-art medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, regulated bioanalysis, medical imaging and Artificial Intelligence, Oncodesign is able to predict and identify, at a very early stage, each molecule's therapeutic usefulness and potential to become an effective drug. Applied to kinase inhibitors, which represent a market estimated at over $46 billion in 2016 and accounting for almost 25% of the pharmaceutical industry's R&D expenditure, Oncodesign's technology has already enabled the targeting of several promising molecules with substantial therapeutic potential, in oncology and elsewhere, along with partnerships with pharmaceutical groups such as Bristol-Myers Squibb. Oncodesign is based in Dijon, France, in the heart of the town's university and hospital hub, and within the Paris-Saclay cluster. Oncodesign has 233 employees and subsidiaries in Canada and the USA. This press release contains certain forward looking statements and estimates concerning the Company's financial condition, operating results, strategy, projects and future performance and the markets in which it operates. Such forward-looking statements and estimates may be identified by words such as "anticipate," "believe," "can," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "is designed to," "may," "might," "plan," "potential," "predict," "objective," "should," or the negative of these and similar expressions. They incorporate all topics that are not historical facts. Forward looking statements, forecasts and estimates are based on management's current assumptions and assessment of risks, uncertainties and other factors, known and unknown, which were deemed to be reasonable at the time they were made but which may turn out to be incorrect. Events and outcomes are difficult to predict and depend on factors beyond the Company's control. Consequently, the actual results, financial condition, performances and/or achievements of the Company or of the industry may turn out to differ materially from the future results, performances or achievements expressed or implied by these statements, forecasts and estimates. Owing to these uncertainties, no representation is made as to the correctness or fairness of these forward-looking statements, forecasts and estimates. Furthermore, forward-looking statements, forecasts and estimates speak only as of the date on which they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any of them, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. 1 As a reminder, the RTC for a year is normally paid before the end of the following year. This year, the RTC for the year 2018 of Oncodesign in the amount of 3.6 million was not paid before 31.12.2019 due to the processing delays of the Regional Public Finance Department. It is due to be paid at the beginning of 2020. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200120005441/en/ Contacts: Oncodesign Philippe Genne Chairman and CEO Tel.: +33 (0)3 80 78 82 60 investisseurs@oncodesign.com NewCap Investor Relations Mathilde Bohin Louis-Victor Delouvrier Tel.: +33 (0)1 44 71 94 95 oncodesign@newcap.eu NewCap Media Relations Arthur Rouille Tel.: +33 (0)1 44 71 00 15 oncodesign@newcap.eu Now, it is time for the progressives to take over and put forward a new political alternative. On December 19, Donald Trump became the third president in US history to be impeached by the House of Representatives. Now, it is up to the Senate to conduct a fair trial. But Mitch McConnell, the majority leader of the Senate, has already announced that he will not be impartial. In fact, he has shown his contempt for the House vote for impeachment and sided with the defendant even before the trial has begun. It seems that Trump will escape removal from office because the Republican-controlled Senate will acquit him. The president is being impeached for manipulating foreign policy to benefit his domestic reelection prospects and blocking Congressional oversight. While these are certainly high crimes and misdemeanours, they represent an extremely truncated list of Trumps offences that is far too legalistic to shift most Americans, whose opinion of him has largely remained unchanged. In addition to the two narrow articles of impeachment, Democrats should have pushed for public scrutiny of Trumps dreadful policies: putting children in cages, waging undeclared wars, undermining democratic processes in other countries, cracking down on dissent, cutting and privatising essential services like healthcare and education, introducing tax breaks to the wealthy, and violating our treaty obligations on issues including trade, the environment, and migration. It is this picture of a disastrous presidency with or without the impeachment trial that the American people need to grasp. But the Democrats failed to turn the House impeachment proceeding into an x-ray of Trumps entire record, and now the Republicans will turn the Senate proceedings into a trial of Joe Biden, Hilary Clinton, and the Democratic Party. In other words, they will use the spectacle as fodder for Trumps reelection campaign. The Democrats should have done the same when they had the chance, but they did not, and for one reason: most of the things Trump has done, the mainstream Democrats did before. Before Trump, Democratic presidents mistreated immigrants, waged wars, undermined democracy abroad, cracked down on dissent, pursued austerity, privatised public services, and undercut multilateralism. They were less brazen, but the neoliberal upper echelon of the Democratic leadership has essentially agreed with Republicans on such policies since the 1990s. It is remarkable just how politically and morally tone-deaf both parties have been. Within two years of the Iraq invasion, a majority of the country wanted the troops home, yet both Republican and Democrat presidents continued the bloodshed. After the 2008-09 financial crisis, a majority of the country supported bailouts for homeowners instead of banks, but Republicans and Democrats preferred Wall Street over Main Street. Today, two-thirds of the country supports a higher minimum wage, but Republicans and Democrats have failed to raise the minimum wage since 2009. The American people have good instincts; they know what is good for them, for the country, and for the world. It is American politicians who have forgotten how to listen, if they ever knew. The problem is that failure to listen means our leaders do not change their behaviour. Republicans must face the classism, racism, xenophobia, and sexism of their leader. Democrats must face their own history. The impeachment trial in the Senate is our opportunity to hold both parties to account. Even if it becomes a travesty of a public trial without witnesses in the Senate, the media, citizens groups and progressive thinkers can hold hearings, teach-ins and use all means to create public awareness of the issues that matter to us ordinary citizens human rights in all areas including healthcare and education. Offensive as he is, Trump advances and represents a clear agenda, and the Senate Republicans will use the impeachment proceedings to remind everyone that the Democrats do not. Trump represents the interests of a narrow faction of the elite and pads his classism with racist, xenophobic, and sexist appeals. His opposite will be someone who represents the interests of poor and working people, and blends economic justice with anti-racist, anti-xenophobic, and feminist appeals. Therefore, the progressive Democrats must lead the way while there is still time and construct a larger narrative for the American public. They need to put forward a progressive agenda which will not stop with highlighting Trumps bad policies, but will present positive policies that will serve the common good. Chief among these policies has to be the complete elimination of discrimination in every sphere including discrimination against the nonwhite immigrants and undocumented workers. In addition, social and economic policies such as universal healthcare and better access to education for the disadvantaged need to be a central part of this progressive agenda. Our best hope is that the mainstream Democratic leaders will finally come to their senses and stop prevaricating in the name of sweet moderation. Failure to seize this opportunity means the victory of Trumps barbaric agenda. Of course, such an agenda can never be legitimate, but winning an election provides a veneer they put caged children in front of us and we failed to resist. But resist we must. Our leaders have so far failed to make clear what is at stake; the trial in the Senate is our opportunity to do so. Either we put Trumps entire agenda on trial, including Democrat antecedents and complicity, or we sink further into barbarity. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance. Ash Shorley, 32, is in hospital in Phuket after contracting a pneumonia-style bug while he was on holiday Koh Phi Phi island. (GoFundMe) A British tourist is feared to to be the first Western victim of the pneumonia-like coronavirus that originated in China. Ash Shorley, 32, is fighting for his life in a Phuket, Thailand hospital after the mystery bug infected both his lungs while he was on Koh Phi Phi island. Although doctors cannot confirm what the illness is, they have found that his symptoms are consistent with the Chinese coronavirus, according to The Sun. Mr Shorley, from Lancashire, was only one week into his travels around South East Asia when he was struck down with the virus on the 27 December. Surgeons reportedly had to drain two kilograms of fluid from the backpackers collapsed lungs. Shorley, from Lancashire, was only one week into his travels around South East Asia when he was struck down with the virus on the 27th December. (GoFundMe) His parents Chris and Julie Shorley, both 55, flew to Thailand to be at his bedside. Chris Shorley, of Thornton, Lancashire, told The Sun: He was two days from death. We are now waiting on tests. It is very serious. The publisher added: If he wasnt so fit and healthy before he wouldnt be with us now. They think he is the first Western victim of the Chinese flu, we are waiting on tests. Anyone travelling to Asia I would say to you, get a mask. Everyone here is wearing masks, there are people coughing everywhere. Its Chinese New Year so this flu is likely to be spreading. It is very serious. Travelers wear face masks as they walk outside of the Beijing Railway Station in Beijing after China reported a sharp rise in the number of people infected with a new coronavirus. (AP) A GoFundMe page has been launched by in a bid to raise money to keep Mr Shorleys parents by his side as he continues his fight. Some 136 new cases of the illness were found in the central China city of Wuhan, where the virus first emerged, bringing the total to 198, including three deaths. READ MORE FROM YAHOO NEWS Human-to-human transmission confirmed in China coronavirus WHO says new China coronavirus could spread, warns hospitals worldwide FACTBOX-New coronavirus outbreak spreads in China Japanese health officials have reported a case of the virus in their country after a 30-year-old Tokyo resident, who had just returned from a trip to Wuhan, presented with the symptoms of coronavirus infection. Story continues The outbreak has also spread to the Chinese capital Beijing, where two cases were recorded, and the southern city of Shenzhen, where there is one confirmed case. Zhong Nanshan, a prominent scientist who is leading a government-appointed expert panel on the outbreak, said in an interview on state-run television on Monday that the virus is capable of spreading from person to person. (Getty) Two cases have been reported in Thailand. Zhong Nanshan, a prominent scientist who is leading a Chinese government-appointed expert panel on the outbreak and was among the first researchers to identify the clinical existence of Sars, said in an interview on Monday that the virus is capable of spreading from person to person. His statement puts increased pressure on Beijing to contain the growing crisis, as China enters its busiest travel season of the year, Chinese New Year. The World Health Organisation has announced that it will hold an emergency meeting on Wednesday to ascertain whether the outbreak constitutes a public health emergency of international concern, and what recommendations should be made to manage it. Disability service providers say free university courses and better wages are needed alongside a national advertising blitz to double the size of the sector's workforce as part of the Morrison government's overhaul of the National Disability Insurance Scheme. National Disability Services chief executive David Moody said state and federal governments must do more to "actively promote" working in the sector, including targeting high school students, stay-at-home parents and workers displaced by declining industries. Disability service providers say more is needed to boost the industry's workforce. Credit:Izabela Habur Danielle Ballantine, chief executive of Your Side disability services, said the need to train and recruit disability support workers would become more urgent as the government moved to fix the trouble-plagued NDIS system in response to an independent review released on Monday. NDIS Minister Stuart Robert on Monday reaffirmed the government's commitment to a participant service guarantee setting rules and timelines for NDIS assessments by July 1, while releasing the review of the scheme by former finance department secretary David Tune. After Kerala, Punjab, Rajasthan may pass anti-CAA resolution India oi-Madhuri Adnal Jaipur, Jan 20: The Congress-ruled Rajasthan has decided to bring in a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act in the budget session of the state assembly beginning on January 24. Parliamentary affairs minister Shanti Dhariwal said the assembly session will begin on January 24. "The session is beginning on January 24 because a bill to extend reservation to SC and ST candidates in Lok Sabha and state assemblies for another 10 years have to be ratified before January 25," Dhariwal told reporters. He also said the government is mulling to introduce a resolution against the CAA in the assembly session. Indias internal matter says Bangladesh PM on NRC, citizenship law "The Congress is against the citizenship amendment act and therefore a resolution is likely to be introduced in the assembly," he said. Official sources said that the resolution is likely to be introduced on the very first day of the session. On Friday, MLA Wajib Ali, one of six MLAs who defected to ruling Congress from BSP last year, had forwarded a letter to the chief minister requesting him to bring a resolution against the CAA. "Protests against the CAA are being held across the country. The amended act is against the spirit of the Constitution and it is causing social unrest," Ali said. The opposition BJP alleged that the session was hurriedly convened and the government's move to bring the resolution will be strongly opposed. NEWS AT NOON, JANUARY 20th, 2020 "The session is convened hurriedly and it is the violation of rules and procedures. The government and chief minister do not take the assembly seriously," Deputy Leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore said. "We will oppose any such move of the government. No one, be it the chief minister or government or any party, is above the law," BJP state president and MLA Satish Poonia said. Kerala and Punjab have already passed the resolution to step up pressure on the Centre against the amended law, which sparked a series of protests and violence in different parts of the country. Not only about rights, but duties as well: CJI Bobde on citizenship law Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot too has repeatedly said the state will not implement CAA and NRC in the state. He has been vociferous against the controversial law and held a massive and peaceful rally in Jaipur against the CAA last month. On various occasions, the chief minister said his government will not implement CAA as well as NRC. "Citizenship amendment act cannot be implemented because it is not practical," Gehlot had said earlier. Albany U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer is urging the Federal Communications Commission to reverse course on plans to exclude New York state from participating in a new $20 billion program to subsidize broadband expansion in rural areas of the country that lack high-speed internet service. The FCC has argued it is only fair to pass over New York because the state has already been promised $170 million for Gov. Andrew Cuomo's $500 million New NY Broadband Program. The FCC considers the unique partnership with New York, hammered out in 2017, to be a model for other states to emulate. The FCC has given New York $55.4 million so far, including $16.2 million back in August. The state awards the money to small telecom companies that do business in rural areas of the state to help offset the high costs of wiring high-speed internet service to new customers in rural areas where homes can be spread out over long distances. For instance, a company called Armstrong Telecommunications was awarded $12 million through the New NY Broadband Program to wire 6,700 new customers in places like Allegany and Cattaraugus counties. Our partnership with New York is continuing to connect unserved rural areas of upstate New York, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said back in August. Closing the digital divide is the FCCs top priority, and Im proud that this partnership will help bring the opportunities that high-speed Internet offers upstate. The state has called the FCC partnership a "first of its kind federal and state collaboration." The partnership is funded through a previous FCC fund known as the Connect America Fund. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. However, Schumer and Gillibrand say the FCC should not stop there and should allow New York to tap into the $20 billion that is coming from a new pot of money called the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. The FCC board is scheduled to vote Jan. 30 on whether or not to approve the fund and its funding policies that would exclude New York state's participation. The federal government should be investing, not divesting, in upstate New York rural internet access," Schumer said in a statement. "Just because New York participates in certain federal rural broadband expansion programs certainly doesnt mean it should lose access to others. It makes absolutely no sense to punish New York for taking positive steps to address broadband access." Due to the federal holiday Monday, an FCC spokesperson could not be reached. But based on comments received by the FCC it does not appear there were many objections to New York being excluded. In fact Verizon, which has significant operations in New York, supported New York's exclusion saying the FCC should not duplicate what is already being done in the state with the FCC funding, saying it would be "wasteful." The United Nations said on Sunday that a missile attack on a government military camp in central Yemen which killed dozens of people could derail a fragile political process that aims to calm the almost five-year-old war. The attack on Saturday evening hit a mosque in the al-Estiqbal military training camp in Marib, a city held by the internationally-recognised government of President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, as people gathered for prayer, two medical sources and forces loyal to Hadi said. The blast was from a ballistic missile launched by Houthi fighters, the army said in a statement. It killed 79 people and wounded 81, it said. The state news agency, carrying a report on the foreign minister, said more than 100 had been killed. The attack "confirms without doubt that the Houthis have no desire for peace", Hadi said in a statement. The Houthi movement has not claimed responsibility. The United Nations envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, condemned this incident and other stepped-up air strikes, missile and ground attacks around the country. "The hardaearned progress that Yemen has made on de-escalation is very fragile. Such actions can derail this progress", Griffiths said, urging parties to direct their energies into politics and away from the battle front. Yemen has been mired in almost five years of conflict since the Iran-aligned Houthi movement ousted Hadi's government from power in the capital Sanaa in late 2014, prompting intervention in 2015 by a Saudi-led military coalition in a bid to restore his government. The United Nations has been trying to re-launch political negotiations to end the war and, separately, Riyadh has been holding informal talks with the Houthis since late September about de-escalation. This has seen violence decrease on a number of fronts in recent months. On Sunday a delegation of European Union ambassadors to Yemen was in Sanaa to call for better humanitarian access and an immediate end to the conflict. Hadi, who resides in Saudi Arabia, said the military should be on high alert after the assault. The Yemen war has killed more than 100,000 people and pushed millions to the brink of famine. The Indian Air Force on Monday commissioned a squadron of Sukhoi-30 MKI at the Air Force Station here, the first such base in south India for the high profile fighter jets, seen as a gamechanger in guarding the strategically important Indian Ocean Region (IOR). The 'Tigersharks' squadron of Sukhoi 30 MKI jets integrated with the BrahMos cruise missiles was inducted by Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat in the presence of top officials including Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria. The Su-30 MKI is a state-of-the-art all weather multi-role fighter aircraft capable of undertaking varied air defence, ground attack and maritime missions. A defence release said with the operationalisation of the 222 Squadron, the air defence capablilites of the IAF, particularly in the Southern Air Command area will be strengthened. "This would also provide protection to our island territories and sea lines of communication in the Indian Ocean Region. The IOR is increasingly gaining importance and the presence of a fighter squadron will provide security cover to all our strategic and vital assets in the region." The squadron that was inducted was raised at Ambala in 1969. During the IAF exercise Gagan Shakti-2018, the capabilities of this aircraft were amply demonstrated. Also, it showcased an extended air operational range with the help of air to air refuelling by the IL-78 flight refuelling aircraft. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hundreds of Yale University students surrounded Jonathan Holloway, sending a message they said he needed to hear. They encircled Holloway, then the first black dean of Yale College, chanting at him and accusing him of failing to improve the racial climate on campus, according to reports in November 2015 by the New York Times and Washington Post. How did Holloway respond, five years before he was expected to be named Rutgers Universitys incoming president? He stood and listened for hours, taking notes and at times appearing to hold back tears. It broke my heart," he told the New York Times days later. With Holloway, 52, expected to be approved Tuesday as Rutgers 21st president, the scene at Yale offers a glimpse into how he may lead the institution. Two decades younger than outgoing president Robert Barchi and the first black president in Rutgers history, Holloway has a chance to connect with students the way he did at Yale, where he ate lunch with them and was seen as a sounding board for concerns, according to reports. But unlike his time in New Haven, where Holloway had less power to change policy, the new Rutgers president will have no excuses if students dont see improvements, whether the issue is the campus racial climate or anything else. Holloway will be the first person of color to lead the university, following 20 white male presidents who oversaw it for 253 years. Students and faculty members had suggested the university make diversity a priority in the hiring process, saying Rutgers leadership should reflect the student body. I dont expect your faith that Ill do better," Holloway told Yale students in 2015, according to the Washington Post. "But I want you to know that Im going to try my damnedest. Tensions had boiled over at the Ivy League campus in the fall of 2015. First, a faculty member sent an email saying students should be allowed to wear Halloween costumes that others might find inappropriate or offensive. Then a black student said she was denied entrance to a white girls only party, an allegation the fraternity denied. The incidents pushed students over the edge at a university where just 11% of students were black, and the campus seemed unwelcoming to students of color. Holloway, who black students hoped would be a powerful ally, instead seemed disconnected and unaware of how upset students had become, they told him, according to the news reports. A historian specializing in African American studies, Holloway understood exactly why students were upset, he said then. Their pain was pain I recognize; I didnt need to have a translator to understand that, Holloway told the New York Times. Not only do I live life on this planet as a black man, I teach the civil rights era. Its what I do. Holloway left Yale in 2017 to become provost at Northwestern, and said his experience during the protest played no role in his departure. Even though the protests were profoundly uncomfortable and at times heartbreaking, Id rather be at a place where the students cared enough to speak up and take action, he wrote in an email, according to the New York Times. Adam Clark may be reached at adam_clark@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on twitter at @realAdamClark. 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. Advertisement Fleabag's Phoebe Waller-Bridge continued her Hollywood awards sweep on Sunday, winning Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. She's already taken home awards at the Emmys, Critics Choice Awards and Golden Globes but after previously getting bleeped for her X-rated remarks, this time she had a written speech. Meanwhile, it was third time lucky for the cast of The Crown who, after being nominated for best ensemble in a drama series in 2017 and 2018, finally won, beating out Game Of Thrones, Stranger Things and Big Little Lies. British sensations: Helena Bonham-Carter accepted an award for The Crown and Fleabag's Phoebe Waller-Bridge was a winner at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in LA on Sunday Taking the stage to accept her award, Waller-Bridge, 34, pulled out a piece of paper and referenced her X-rated remarks a week ago after winning at the Critics Choice Awards. 'I normally try and be spontaneous in my speeches but I don't trust myself not to be bleeped out again so I have written it down,' she said. The London-born actress, writer and producer said: 'The Fleabag team go home tomorrow, back to the UK. But I have to say, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for being so supporting of our show on these shores.' She appeared a little overcome with emotion as she tried to convey what it meant to have been feted so much by Hollywood. She went on: 'This whole thing really has been a dream, and if I wake up tomorrow and discover it's been just that, thank you. It's been a beautiful dream.' Fan faves: Phoebe, who dazzled in an Armani Prive look, attended the awards show with her 'hot priest' co-star Andrew Scott BFFs: Scott, 43, leapt to his feet when Waller-Bridge won best actress in a comedy series and gave her a huge heartfelt hug Kept it clean: 'I normally try and be spontaneous in my speeches but I don't trust myself not to be bleeped out again so I have written it down,' she said, referencing her X-rated remarks at last week's Critics Choice Awards Saying farewell: 'The Fleabag team go home tomorrow, back to the UK,' the London-born actress, writer and producer said. 'But I have to say, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for being so supporting of our show on these shores Touched: Waller-Bridge appeared a little overcome with emotion as she tried to convey what it meant to have been feted by Hollywood. 'This whole thing really has been a dream, and if I wake up tomorrow and discover it's been just that, thank you. It's been a beautiful dream' Netflix series The Crown replaced its lead actors in its third season, with Olivia Colman taking over from Claire Foy as Elizabeth II. Tobias Menzies took over from Matt Smith as Prince Philip and Helena Bonham Carter joined the show as Princess Margaret. Both Colman and Bonham Carter were nominated in the actress category - as was Killing Eve's Jodie Comer - but did not win individual awards. However, the royal show did not go home empty handed. Bonham Carter, 53, was in the audience at the Shrine Auditorium and took the stage to accept the outstanding ensemble in a drama series award which was presented by Waller-Bridge. Sang for her supper: Waller-Bridge did double duty as both a nominee for Fleabag and as a presenter, announcing the winner of the best ensemble cast in a drama series We did it: Bonham Carter couldn't contain her joy when Netflix series The Crown was announced as the winner over Game of Thrones, Big Little Lies and Stranger Things Winner: The Netflix royal drama was nominated in 2017 and 2018 and this year it finally won. The two British stars celebrated on stage with an embrace Trio: 'I'm sorry there's only three of us here. They're actually 239 in the cast,' Bonham Carter said, flanked by Erin Doherty and Josh O'Connor who play Princess Anne and Prince Charles 'Were all working tomorrow so were leaving in about five minutes,' the actress explained. 'Its the most fun job and Im amazed that we get a prize on top of the fun-ness,' she added New roles: The Crown replaced its lead actors in its third season, with Olivia Colman taking over from Claire Foy as Elizabeth II and Bonham Carter joining the show as Princess Margaret (pictured) Flanked by Erin Doherty and Josh O'Connor who play Princess Anne and Prince Charles, Bonham Carter explained why there weren't more actors from The Crown at the awards show. 'I'm sorry there's only three of us here,' she began. 'They're actually 239 in the cast.' 'Were all working tomorrow so were leaving in about five minutes,' she told the star-studded crowd. 'Its the most fun job and Im amazed that we get a prize on top of the fun-ness of doing it,' she added. 'Ive had the time of my life, I think we all have. It really is as good as it gets, this show.' Proud Brits: Waller-Bridge and Bonham Carter posed together backstage with their awards Too funny: They were clearly having a rip-roaring time In the spotlight: It was a big night for young stars O'Connor, 29, and Doherty, 27 He's hot: Fleabag's Scott was very popular with the Hollywood elite, receiving warm greetings from Elisabeth Moss, left, and Glenn Close, right Too much: Laura Dern got super excited about meeting Waller-Bridge Old friends: Bonham Carter got a big hug from Brad Pitt. The two starred together in the 1999 movie Fight Club SAG Awards 2020 Winners Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role Christian Bale - Ford v Ferrari Leonardo DiCaprio - Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Adam Driver - Marriage Story Taron Egerton - Rocketman Joaquin Phoenix - Joker - WINNER Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role Cynthia Erivo - Harriet Scarlett Johansson - Marriage Story Lupita Nyongo - Us Charlize Theron - Bombshell Renee Zellweger - Judy - WINNER Sweep: Renee has won the Golden Globe, Critics' Choice, and now the SAG Award for her role portraying Judy Garland Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role Jamie Foxx - Just Mercy Tom Hanks - A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood Al Pacino - The Irishman Joe Pesci - The Irishman Brad Pitt - Once Upon a Time in Hollywood - WINNER Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role Laura Dern - Marriage Story - WINNER Scarlett Johansson - Jojo Rabbit Nicole Kidman - Bombshell Jennifer Lopez - Hustlers Margot Robbie - Bombshell Blonde ambition: Laura Dern was recognized for her role as Nora the divorce lawyer in Marriage Story Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Bombshell - Lionsgate The Irishman - Netflix Jojo Rabbit - Fox Once Upon a Time in Hollywood - Sony Parasite - Neon - WINNER Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture Avengers: Endgame - WINNER Ford v Ferrari The Irishman Joker Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series Game of Thrones - WINNER GLOW Stranger Things The Walking Dead Watchmen Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries Mahershala Ali - True Detective Russell Crowe - The Loudest Voice Jared Harris - Chernobyl Jharrel Jerome - When They See Us Sam Rockwell - Fosse/Verdon - WINNER Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries Patricia Arquette - The Act Toni Collette - Unbelievable Joey King - The Act Emily Watson - Chernobyl Michelle Williams - Fosse/Verdon - WINNER Transcendent: Michelle Williams was honored for her role as Gwen Verdon Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series Sterling K. Brown - This Is Us Steve Carell - The Morning Show Billy Crudup - The Morning Show Peter Dinklage - Game of Thrones - WINNER David Harbour - Stranger Things Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series Jennifer Aniston - The Morning Show - WINNER Helena Bonham Carter - The Crown Olivia Colman - The Crown Jodie Comer - Killing Eve Elisabeth Moss - The Handmaids Tale Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series Alan Arkin - The Kominsky Method Michael Douglas - The Kominsky Method Bill Hader - Barry Andrew Scott - Fleabag Tony Shalhoub - The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel - WINNER Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series Christina Applegate - Dead to Me Alex Borstein - The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Rachel Brosnahan - The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Catherine OHara - Schitts Creek Phoebe Waller-Bridge - Fleabag - WINNER Hey Obama! Phoebe Waller-Bridge was recognized once again for her work on Fleabag Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Big Little Lies - HBO The Crown - Netflix - WINNER Game of Thrones - HBO The Handmaids Tale - Hulu Stranger Things - Netflix Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Barry - HBO Fleabag - Amazon The Kominsky Method - Netflix The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel - Amazon - WINNER Schitts Creek - CBC Television/Pop TV Advertisement Waller-Bridge's win for Fleabag was the only one for the comedy that had received a total of three nods. Andrew Scott lost out to Tony Shalhoub from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel in the supporting actor category and the Amazon Prime original also took home the honors for outstanding comedy series. Other British stars nominated for a SAG Award included Taron Egerton for Rocketman, who lost out to Joaquin Phoenix for Joker, and Jared Harris for Chernobyl, who lost to Sam Rockwell for Fosse/Verdon. Chernobyl's Emily Watson lost to Fosse/Verdon's Michelle Williams while Cynthia Erivo, nominated for Harriet, watched Renee Zellweger take home the trophy for Judy. Nominees: Other Brits nominated included Taron Egerton for Rocketman, who lost out to Joaquin Phoenix for Joker, and Jared Harris for Chernobyl, who lost to Sam Rockwell for Fosse/Verdon On the up: Cynthia Erivo was nominated for Harriet but Renee Zellweger took home the trophy for Judy The biggest shock of the night came when the final award of the evening was announced. The Korean movie Parasite won top prize of outstanding cast in a motion picture, the first foreign language film to do so. The Korean-speaking cast received a standing ovation from Hollywood's movers and shakers. Brad Pitt won supporting actor for Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood while Joaquin Phoenix took home a SAG Award for Joker. Renee Zellweger was a best actress winner for Judy and Laura Dern won supporting actress for Marriage Story. Peter Dinklage was recognized for his work in Game Of Thrones and Jennifer Aniston won for The Morning Show. The Screen Actors Guild honored Robert De Niro with a Lifetime Achievement Award during the live televised show. He was presented with the award by Leonardo DiCaprio with the pair set to star together for the first time in Martin Scorsese's next film Killers of the Flower Moon. Popular winners: Brad Pitt won supporting actor for Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood and Jennifer Aniston took home the SAG Award for her Apple TV+ series The Morning Show Best actress: Renee Zellweger was honored for her performance as Judy Garland in the biopic Judy Supporting role: Laura Dern won a trophy for Marriage Story On a roll: Joaquin Phoenix was named best actor in a movie for Joker Made history: The biggest shock of the night came when the Korean movie Parasite won top prize of outstanding cast in a motion picture, the first foreign language film to do so Grateful: Michelle Williams gave a heartfelt speech after winning the SAG Award for best TV actress for Fosse/Verdon Man of the hour: The Screen Actors Guild honored Robert De Niro with a Lifetime Achievement Award during the live televised show COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- More than one thousand families, educators, and community members will kick off National School Choice Week at the Parental Choice School Fair at the Space Foundation Headquarters and Discovery Center on Saturday, Jan. 25. From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., attendees will enjoy a one-of-a-kind opportunity to visit with representatives from a diverse array of schools in the El Paso County areaall in one room. Traditional public, public charter, and private schools will be represented at the fair, as well as homeschool associations and community organizations. Besides all types of school booths, the Parental Choice School Fair will feature a photo booth, face painting, free cookies and drinks, a series of door prizes, and other family-friendly fun. Students performances will take place throughout the fair, including performances of the official School Choice Week dance along with the Colorado Springs Switchback mascot! Families can learn more about this free event at parentschallenge.org. Attendees will also receive free admittance to the Space Foundation for the day. 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. "2020... The topic of school choice has created such a division in our country and the state of Colorado," said Deborah Hendrix, executive director of Parents Challenge. "Why would anyone be upset about parents making a decision regarding their child's education? Who should be making that decision if not the parents? Education is the great equalizer and all children should have access to the educational option their parents believe is best. This school fair gives parents an opportunity to gain knowledge about options in this community, as they make the most important decision for the greatest asset they have been given: their children." This event is sponsored by Parents Challenge, an organization committed to expanding educational opportunities for students and parents in the Pikes Peak region. The Space Foundation Center is located at 4425 Arrowswest Dr. 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/colorado. SOURCE National School Choice Week Related Links www.schoolchoiceweek.com Children born to mothers who both drank and smoked beyond the first trimester of pregnancy have a 12-fold increased risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) compared to those unexposed or only exposed in the first trimester of pregnancy, according to a new study supported by the National Institutes of Health. SIDS is the sudden, unexplained, death of an infant under one year of age. Many studies have shown that the risk of SIDS is increased by maternal smoking during pregnancy. Some studies have also found that prenatal alcohol exposure, particularly from heavy drinking during pregnancy, can increase SIDS risk. Now, the NIH-funded Safe Passage Study provides a look at how SIDS risk is influenced by the timing and amount of prenatal exposure to tobacco and alcohol. A report of the study appears in EclinicalMedicine, an online journal published by The Lancet. "Ours is the first large-scale prospective study to closely investigate the association between prenatal alcohol and tobacco exposure and the risk of SIDS," said first author Amy J. Elliott, Ph.D., of the Avera Health Center for Pediatric & Community Research in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. "Our findings suggest that combined exposures to alcohol and tobacco have a synergistic effect on SIDS risk, given that dual exposure was associated with substantially higher risk than either exposure alone." To conduct the study, a multi-center team of scientists from throughout the U.S. and in South Africa formed the Prenatal Alcohol in SIDS and Stillbirth (PASS) Network. From 2007 until 2015, PASS Network researchers followed the outcomes of nearly 12,000 pregnancies among women from two residential areas in Cape Town, South Africa; and five sites in the U.S., including two American Indian Reservations in South Dakota and North Dakota. The study sites were selected for their high rates of prenatal alcohol use and SIDS, and to include populations where the ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in SIDS remains understudied. The researchers determined one-year outcomes for about 94 percent of the pregnancies. They found that 66 infants died during that time, including 28 SIDS deaths and 38 deaths from known causes. In addition to the almost 12-fold increased SIDS risk from combined smoking and drinking beyond the first trimester of pregnancy, they determined that the risk of SIDS was increased five-fold in infants whose mothers reported they continued smoking beyond the first trimester, and four-fold in infants whose mothers reported they continued drinking beyond the first trimester. These risks were in comparison to infants who were either not exposed to tobacco or alcohol during gestation or whose mothers quit tobacco or alcohol use by the end of the first trimester. "The Safe Passage Study provides important new information about the role of dual exposures to prenatal smoking and drinking as risk factors for SIDS," said co-first author Hannah C. Kinney, M.D., of the Department of Pathology at Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard School of Medicine. "Our findings support the current recommendation of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Surgeon General, and the World Health Organization that women not drink or smoke during pregnancy, and emphasizes the significance of dual exposure, which provides the greatest risk for infant mortality." In a joint statement, the leaders of the NIH Institutes that provide primary funding for the Safe Passage Study said: "These findings provide still more evidence of the vital importance of the early prenatal environment to healthy postnatal outcomes. Insofar as many women quit drinking and smoking only after they learn that they are pregnant, this study argues strongly for screening for substance use early in pregnancy and intervening as soon as possible. It also calls for stronger public health messaging regarding the dangers of drinking and smoking during pregnancy, and among women who plan to become pregnant." ### George F. Koob, Ph.D., Director, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Diana W. Bianchi, M.D. Director, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders also supports the Safe Passage Study. Reference: Amy J. Elliott, Ph.D., Hannah C. Kinney, M.D., Kimberly A. Dukes, Ph.D., et al, for the PASS Network. Concurrent Prenatal Drinking and Smoking Increases Risk for SIDS: Safe Passage Study Report EclinicalMedicine Published online January 20, 2020. About the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA): The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health, is the primary U.S. agency for conducting and supporting research on the causes, consequences, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of alcohol use disorder. NIAAA also disseminates research findings to general, professional, and academic audiences. Additional alcohol research information and publications are available at http://www.niaaa.nih.gov. About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov. Chinas leader, Xi Jinping, said on Monday that the outbreak must be taken seriously and that every possible measure should be taken to contain it, according to the state broadcaster CCTV. Also on Monday, the authorities reported that new cases had been detected for the first time in Beijing, Shanghai and the southern province of Guangdong, all hundreds of miles from Wuhan. Cases have also been reported in Japan, South Korea and Thailand. In many of these cases, people infected with the virus had traveled to Wuhan. Here is what we know about the virus, where it has been found, how it is spreading and what precautions are being taken: The virus emerged in the city of Wuhan. The government of Wuhan first confirmed on Dec. 31 that hospitals in the city were treating dozens of patients for pneumonia with an unknown cause. Many of the cases were connected to the Huanan Seafood Market, which also sold live poultry and exotic animal meats. Considered a likely source of the virus, the market was closed and disinfected. The health commission in Wuhan said on Sunday that the illness had also appeared in people who had not been exposed to the market, raising the possibility that the virus could be present elsewhere in the city. For the first time Israel revealed actual numbers for airstrikes in Syria and Gaza. During 2019 there were 54 airstrikes against Syrian targets and 900 in Gaza. Israeli UAVs also spent 40,000 hours in the air during the year carrying out surveillance in Gaza and along the northern border. The airstrikes in Syria tended to be larger, involving more aircraft and weapons (missiles, smart bombs). In Gaza, an airstrike was usually one missile or smart bomb against a Hamas or Islamic Jihad facility in retaliation for a rocket, mortar and fire balloon attack against Israel. In the West Bank, Israeli soldiers and police made about 5,500 arrests, mainly for Islamic terrorist activity. Hamas has put a lot of effort into establishing terror operations in the West Bank but these arrests, often in cooperation with Palestinian police, have so far prevented that. In Gaza, fire balloon use resumed in the last week and Israel believes several Hamas factions are deliberately violating the ceasefire agreement because some factions refuse to accept any agreements with Israel. There is also the Iran factor. Iran is desperate to score some kind of victory over Israel and fire balloons are the best Hamas can muster at the moment. Inside Gaza, most people oppose any resumption of attacks and openly criticize the Hamas decision to side with Iran against Israel and Egypt. Hamas is desperate for cash and a foreign ally who can at least try to smuggle in weapons and other military equipment. Iran has stepped up but has not been able to help much so far. Israeli analysts are still translating and deciphering the thousands of documents on the Iranian nuclear program. The latest findings include notes written in 2002 describing what was needed to develop and build a nuclear warhead for use on ballistic missiles. There was a handwritten notation that was archived with other documents related to this effort. Since these documents were obtained in early 2018, many intelligence and nuclear weapons experts from foreign nations have been allowed to examine all the documents and the consensus continues to be that they are authentic and reveal details of the Iranian effort to develop nuclear weapons while keeping that effort a secret. Many Iranians believe Israel did indeed get these documents and that Mossad carried out a well planned and executed operation in January 2018 that took the material from a well-protected warehouse and hustled them out of Iran overnight to avoid getting caught. Israel spent months getting these documents authenticated while the news that the documents had been taken slowly went from rumor to reality in the three months between the documents that were taken and Israel announced it. Since then the Israelis have been releasing more and more of the documents, and details of the Mossad operation, including photos of the inside and outside of the warehouse while the Iranian government tries to depict all of this as another clever Israeli fabrication. But even inside Iran, enough details of the Mossad operation got into circulation to confirm, for most Iranians, that it was all true. Iran continues to call for the destruction of Israel. Syria was supposed to be a step in that direction. Instead, Syria has been a money pit where expensive efforts to bring in missiles and other weapons for use against Israel are regularly blown up by Israeli airstrikes. Iranian efforts have faltered a bit as anti-government protests grow in Iran and anti-Iran protests in Gaza, Lebanon and Iraq. All this opposition makes it more difficult to justify all the money spent in these places to destroy Israel. Sinia Stalemate In Egypt (Sinai), the war against ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) is stalemated because north Sinai has always been an unruly tribal frontier for the government. Until the arrival of better organized Islamic terrorists after 2000, the government could afford to ignore what happened up there. That began to change in 2005 when Hamas, a radical Moslem Brotherhood faction from Egypt, took over Gaza and turned it into a sanctuary for many of the Islamic terror groups including, by 2014, ISIL. Outside of Gaza there were the Bedouins, who have long supported armed opposition to the government. Despite that the Bedouins quickly developed an openly hostile attitude towards ISIL because ISIL tries to impose harsh Islamic lifestyle rules on the Bedouins. That is one thing you should not even attempt. The Bedouins forced ISIL to back down frequently because of all this. This did not drive ISIL out of the area because the Sinai Peninsula is a big place (60,000 square kilometers) with only about 600,000 people, mainly in a few urban areas. Lots of places to hideout. ISIL is also accused of killing popular clerics who support Islamic terrorism but not ISIL and planning to become the only Islamic terror group in Sinai (and eventually the world). The Egyptians found that the Islamic terrorism problem in Sinai got a lot worse once ISIL showed up. The Egyptians have mobilized several major operations to eliminate ISIL but all they have been able to do is contain it. Security force commanders report that the ongoing (since February 2018) counter-terror operations in Sinai have so far left nearly a thousand Islamic terrorists, along with a few local tribesmen, dead as well as over a hundred soldiers and police. Civilian deaths often occur when the troops call in airstrikes (F-16s and armed helicopters) or artillery fire. Independent estimates of losses, based on Internet chatter, media reports and some plausible paranoia, believe that from January 2014 to mid-2018 some 3,000 Islamic terrorists were killed in Sinai, along with 1,200 soldiers and police. No estimates of civilian losses were made. That would include losses among pro-government tribal militias and many cases where it was difficult to tell if dead civilians were the result of attacks on innocent or partisan (pro-ISIL or pro-government) civilians and who the attacker was. There is always some tribal feuding going on that kills civilians as well as deaths from criminal activity (bandits and smugglers). Egyptian security services are also notorious for simply kidnapping civilians, using violent interrogation methods and if the interrogation proves fatal, denying they ever had the victim in custody. This has occurred in Sinai but, of course, there are never any official stats on how often. In some cases, the disappearances are the result of Islamic terrorist or gangster activity or even a tribal feud. In Sinai, the government is believed responsible for nearly a hundred lethal disappearances. Egypt continues to avoid accurately reporting casualties in Sinai. Since early 2018 all the government reports are that so many Islamic terrorists and government forces were killed recently while deliberately not specifying precise time periods. This only applies to operations in Sinai, because that area, unlike most of Egypt, is thinly populated and has been effectively isolated from the rest of Egypt and the outside world in general. While this helps prevent the Sinai based ISIL and other Islamic terrorists from getting into the rest of Egypt, it also prevents journalists from getting in. There is still the Internet and travelers from Sinai. Thus it is known that the battle against Islamic terrorism continues and ISIL has been unable to launch more large-scale attacks. The security forces continue to carry out raids and Islamic terrorists are arrested and killed. But the exact extent of this activity is now unknown. This loss of accuracy in reporting was gradual and is now standard. At the start of 2018 ISIL in Sinai was thought to have 1,300 active members. There appear to be fewer of them now, but still at least a few hundred to nearly a thousand. The lower number is more likely based on the low level of ISIL activity. ISIL insists that both Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza are not competent and that if ISIL were running Gaza things would be different. Most Gazans agree that Islamic Jihad or ISIL rule would probably be worse than what Hamas provides. All three Islamic terror groups are disliked or hated by most Gazans. Hamas cannot attack Islamic Jihad too hard because both Hamas and Islamic Jihad depend on Iran for financial and military (weapons and advisors) support. Islamic Jihad is more dependent on Iranian support and anything it does is with Iranian permission or ordered by Iran. ISIL has been driven out of Gaza but is still active in northern Sinai. Egypt has responded by sealing off their border with Gaza and opening that border only when Hamas cooperates, which is not all that often. January 19, 2020: In the south (Gaza) more fire balloons were spotted coming from Gaza. None have caused any casualties or property damage yet. In northern Syria, near the Hmeimim (or Khmeimim), Russian airbase Syrian troops activated at least one battery of their new Russian S-300 air defense systems. It has taken nearly a year for the Syrian crews to be trained. Russia is believed to still have a veto over when the Syrian S-300s can be used. January 18, 2020: In the north (the Lebanon border), Israeli engineers began installing more seismic sensors that are part of a tunnel construction detection system that has already proved its worth on the Gaza border and a few times on the Lebanon border. The new sensor network is being expanded to more of the Lebanese border. January 17, 2020: In the south, near the Gaza border, at least four balloon bombs from Gaza have been found in the last three days. Israeli surveillance spotted Hamas men preparing balloon bombs for release in northern Gaza. An airstrike soon hit the location but caused no casualties. Large scale use of balloon attacks stopped in mid-2019 and it is unclear why it is starting up again. January 16, 2020: Israel has activated its second F-35I stealth fighter squadron. Israel currently has sixteen F-35Is with 34 more on the way. It is possible Israel will order another 25 or 50 of these aircraft if they continue to perform as they have so far. Details of what the F-35I can and cannot do in hostile airspace are rarely disclosed but the F-35I has apparently lived up to its reputation. January 15, 2020: In the south, Islamic Jihad fired four mortar shells into Israel. Iron Dome intercepted two of them while the other landed in an open area. Israel launched several airstrikes at Hamas and Islamic Jihad facilities in Gaza. The Gaza had been pretty quiet since last November when a ceasefire deal was worked out. In Egypt, about a hundred kilometers north of the Sudan border, the military opened its largest base on the Red Sea coast. The Barnis base covers 62 hectares (155 acres) and includes docks for ships as well as an airbase, hospital and hardened shelters for warplanes. The base will make it easier to monitor the Red Sea and patrol the Yemeni coast, where Iran-backed Shia rebels are threatening to disrupt Red Sea traffic. This traffic includes nearly 20,000 ships a year headed for the Suez Canal, which earns Egypt nearly $6 billion a year in transit fees. January 14, 2020: In Syria, Israeli airstrikes again hit the T4 airbase in Homs province, killing at least three pro-Iran soldiers and destroying a lot of structures and equipment. This airbase, in central Syria near Palmyra, has been hit by Israeli airstrikes several times in 2019 and many more times in earlier years. The T4 airbase is the largest in Syria and Iran is building new structures for storing weapons and housing personnel. This is where Iran moved its UAV operations in 2018 after its original UAV base in Syria was destroyed by an Israeli airstrike. In Egypt (Sinai), an Egyptian F-16 crashed in while on a training flight. The local ISIL groups quickly claimed to have shot the jet down and captured the pilot. That turned out to be untrue as the pilot died as a result of the crash and ISIL did not continue claiming to have brought down the jet and captured the pilot. January 13, 2020: Video from an Iranian university shows (in an above shot from a nearby building) how two large American and Israeli flags painted on pavement for students to insultingly walk over, The flags were now being avoided by students. The video showed the few Iranians who dared to walk on the flags were being visibly jeered and criticized by nearby students. In the past, the release of a video like this would bring prompt, and often fatal, retaliation. Not this time, or at least not yet. The IRGC (Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps) now has to take into account the amount of resistance they could encounter if they entered the campus to administer punishment. Students are fighting back if attacked. January 9, 2020: In eastern Syria (Deir Ezzor province), there was another Israeli airstrike against Iranian weapons being stored near the Al Bukamal crossing into Iraq. There were eight deaths, all of them pro-Iran militiamen. Senior officials from Egypt and Algeria met once more and affirmed that both nations opposed any foreign intervention in the Libyan civil war. This was directed at Turkey, which was now openly intervening in Libya. Egypt also wanted to establish good relations with the new Algerian president, who already had a good reputation in Europe and had been invited to visit Germany and Italy and discuss new economic and diplomatic efforts. Algeria has stayed out of the Libya fighting while Egypt has not. Thats because a lot more Libya based Islamic terrorists and weapons smugglers headed east (for Egypt) rather than west (into very Islamic terrorists unfriendly Algeria). The Egyptians backed the more popular, anti-Islamic terrorist government in Libya because that group was based in eastern Libya and had rebuilt the Libyan army (as the LNA or Libyan National Army) which sealed the eastern border with the help of Egypt and has since 2014 gained control over almost all of Libya. Only Tripoli, the traditional capital in the west) is controlled by the UN-backed GNA (government of national accord) which is not a government, national or able to establish any accord with anyone. The Turks back the GNA because the GNA approves of the Moslem Brotherhood and many other Islamic radical groups that Turkey approves of. The UN is unwilling to block the Turkish intervention and European nations are divided. January 3, 2020: In Iraq, IRGC general (and Quds Force commander) Soleimani was killed by an American Hellfire missile attack. Soleimani was also in charge of the Iranian military buildup in Syria. This was aimed at Israel, as was a similar mobilization in Lebanon (Hezbollah) and Iraq (a local Hezbollah Iran is trying to establish). It was later revealed that Israeli intel contributed to tracking and confirming the presence of Soleimani on an airliner flight from Damascus to Baghdad. Israel also believes the death of Qassem Soleimani is a big win for Israel in its effort to prevent an Iranian military buildup in Syria. The death of Soleimani added to the political division of the Palestinians, with Iran-backed Hamas mourning the loss of Soleimani while Fatah (which governs the West Bank and most Palestinians) saw Soleimani as an obstacle to a united Palestinian government and the man most responsible for the failure of the 2011 Arab Spring. Soleimani was the key to the survival of the Assad dictatorship in Syria. The Assads had long hosted many (at least 600,000) Palestinians in Syria and also provided sanctuary for senior Hamas leadership. This all changed after the 2011 uprising against the Assads. A lot of Palestinians were killed in Syria as the Syrian army began attacking the Yarmouk refugee camp outside Damascus. In 2011 Yarmouk (population 160,000) was the largest Palestinian community in Syria, holding about 30 percent of the Palestinians in Syria. Hamas got involved in the fighting between Palestinians loyal to the camp leadership (a Palestinian terrorist organization, which has long enjoyed the support of the Assads) and Palestinians who support the Syrian rebels. Hamas realized that if the rebels won, and during the first two years of the rebellion it looked like they would, Hamas would be driven out unless pro-rebel Palestinians took control of Palestinian refugee camps. These are not camps but rather separate towns or neighborhoods occupied and run by Palestinians. Hamas had long received support from the Assads. But under pressure from major donors (oil-rich Sunni Arabs) Hamas turned on the Iran-backed Assads. In early 2012 Hamas moved its headquarters out of Syria and openly denounced the Assads. Hamas apparently also told the Syrian Palestinians to oppose Assad if they wanted Hamas and other Arab states to persuade the new rebel government to allow loyal Palestinians to remain and avoid retribution. The 600,000 Palestinians in Syria were 1.7 percent of the Syrian population back then. By 2018 Yarmouk was largely empty of Palestinians, most having fled the constant air, artillery and ground attacks by the Assads. Far more Palestinians have been killed by the Assads in Syria since 2011 than died in Israel (including Gaza and West Bank). Most of the Palestinians killed in Israel were trying to kill Israelis. Arab journalists who are not Israeli citizens generally do not report the Palestinian situation in Syria unless they want to risk considerable backlash and risk of jail or worse. January 2, 2020: Turkey agreed to send troops to Libya to defend the pro-Islamic government. Egypt supports a rival government that now controls most of Libya including nearly all the oil facilities. Egypt is seeking allies to hale prevent Turkish troops from operating in Libya. December 26, 2019: Yemeni Shia rebel leaders met with the Iranian foreign minister in Oman to discuss the future of Iranian support for the Shia rebels. Iran continues to suffer economically from sanctions and has had to cut support for overseas operations in Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, Iraq and Yemen. While Gaza and Yemen are relatively low-cost for Iran, Yemen is considered particularly important because it puts an Iranian ally on the Saudi border and able to launch attacks on Saudi Arabia and the UAE whenever Iran needs it. Right now the radicals (IRGC leaders) in Iran are pushing for more violence against Gulf Arabs and American forces in Iraq. Attacks on Israel are much more difficult so IRGC wants to concentrate on the Americans and Arab states. A growing number of Shia rebel leaders are reluctant to go along with what Quds Force is demanding. Being on the Saudi border makes the Shia rebel home province vulnerable to Saudi attack and a growing number of Saudis support a major escalation involving more air and ground attacks on Shia rebels just across the border. December 25, 2019: In eastern Syria (Deir Ezzor province), there was another Israeli airstrike against Iranian weapons being stored near the Al Bukamal crossing into Iraq. There were five deaths, all of them pro-Iran militiamen. Around the same time, there were some explosions in nearby Deir Ezzor city (the provincial capital) that were attributed to another Israeli airstrike. December 22, 2019: In southern Syria, there was an explosion in a Damascus that killed three Iranian mercenaries. The Syrians attributed this to another Israeli airstrike. December 19, 2019: In Syria, Russian anti-aircraft weapons opened fire on an Israeli UAV that was flying along the Syrian border and strayed into Syrian airspace for about 90 seconds. The UAV was not hit. The first-ever summit aims at highlighting investment opportunities in Africa and fostering British investments in the continent Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson co-chaired the inaugural session of the UK-Africa Investment Summit 2020 that kicked off in London on Monday. Egypt is attending the summit in it's capacity as the president of the African Union. President El-Sisi addressed the summit affirming Africas willingness to cooperate with all partners including the UK. There are promising and diverse opportunities for Africas partners, El-Sisi said, adding that such opportunities make Africa one of the most important destinations for international business institutions like those in the UK. President El-Sisi cited four pillars of cooperation that are considered a priority for African countries. The first pillar is the implementation of infrastructure development projects in African Union countries, on top of which are the Cairo-Cape Town road, which will link the north of the continent to its south, as well as renewable energy and railway projects. The second pillar, according to El-Sisi is the activation of all the operational stages of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), as it will enhance intraregional trade, increase international competitiveness of the continent, and create an African market that attracts foreign investment. El-Sisi added that the third pillar is creating partnerships with the foreign and African private sector and resolving its obstacles, since it a catalyst for economic growth. The final pillar is empowering youth and women across the continent and providing them with job opportunities, he said. President El-Sisi stressed the importance of providing governmental guarantees to international companies to reassure investors and to encourage them to pump direct investments into Africa. El-Sisi stressed the importance of tackling the disparity in the trade balance by opening the UK market to African products, so that trade exchange becomes on a fairer basis. The UK-Africa Investment Summit 2020 aims at highlighting investment opportunities in Africa and fostering British investments in the continent. The summit is attended by heads of African states and governments, heads of international organisations, as well as officials from British and African companies. Search Keywords: Short link: The former director of a nonprofit housing organization in Monmouth County admitted she stole more than $449,000 from her employer over a more than six-year span. Debra Agresti, 57, of Long Branch, faces up to five years in state prison after pleading guilty Friday to one count of second-degree theft, the Monmouth County Prosecutors Office said in a statement. Agresti purchased gift cards with the Neptune-based Affordable Housing Alliances credit card, prosecutors said. She then created phony invoices that matched the amounts she spent on the gift cards and subsequently doctored invoices to reflect the purchase of office supplies. In all, she stole $449,014.22 between August 2012 and March 2019. Agresti was hired in by the Affordable Housing Alliance as an administrative assistant in 2007. She was later promoted to director. Her sentencing is scheduled for March 27. The alliance says it provides personal service to those needing housing and helps people become a responsible tenant or homeowner. It also provides help to first-time homeowners and assists in the application process to aid people seeking relief in paying gas or electric bills. 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. (CNN) A dentist in Anchorage, Alaska, has been convicted on dozens of charges after he was filmed extracting a patient's tooth as he stood on a hoverboard, according to the Alaska Department of Law. Seth Lookhart was convicted on 46 felony and misdemeanor counts in Anchorage Superior Court on Friday by Judge Michael Wolverton, who called the evidence presented by the state during a five-week bench trial "overwhelming," the Department of Law said in a news release. A lawsuit filed by the state in 2017 charged Lookhart with "unlawful dental acts," saying his patient care did not meet professional standards. Lookhart, the lawsuit said, "performed a dental extraction procedure on a sedated patient while riding a hoverboard," filmed the procedure and then sent it to several people. In at least one conversation, Lookhart joked that performing oral surgery on a hoverboard was a "new standard of care," the lawsuit said, citing phone records. Lookhart was also charged with medical assistance fraud for billing Medicaid for procedures that were either unnecessary or not properly justified and theft of $25,000 or more by diverting funds from Alaska Dental Arts, among dozens of others. The evidence indicated Lookhart "believed that he could get away with his fraud indefinitely, and that he believed his scheme was foolproof," Judge Wolverton said, according to the Department of Law's news release. That evidence "was often supported, and often in excruciating detail, by Lookhart's own texts, photos and videos." An attorney for Lookhart, who had pleaded not guilty on all counts, declined to comment Sunday. He's expected to be sentenced on April 30. 'It's crazy!' hoverboard patient said The Alaska Department of Law thanked several of Lookhart's former patients who testified during the trial, including the patient whose tooth was removed while Lookhart was filmed on the hoverboard. Veronica Wilhelm testified she did not consent to being filmed while sedated nor to having her tooth taken out while Lookhart was on the hoverboard, CNN affiliate KTUU reported last month. Wilhelm didn't even know about the video until she was contacted by investigators, she said. "I would've said 'hell no!' No, that's unprofessional," she testified, per KTUU. "It's crazy." Stockler apologized to Wilhelm in court on his client's behalf. "It's unacceptable and be assured that when I agreed to represent him I got in his face and told him what I thought about him for doing this," he said. According to KTUU, Wilhelm addressed Lookhart and told him she thought he "could've made better choices." Brad Pitt accepts the awards for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role for "Once Upon A Time In Hollywood" onstage during the 26th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at The Shrine Auditorium on January 19, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo | Getty Images/AFP) Los Angeles: Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston both took home awards at the 26th Screen Actors Guild on Sunday. Pitt is headed toward his first acting Academy Award for his supporting performance in ``Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood," and he added to his front-runner status with a win from the actors' guild. Along the way, his speeches have been full of one-liners, and he didn't disappoint Sunday at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. Pitt, who said he was nursing a flu, looked down at his award and said, ``I've got to add this to my Tinder profile.'' "Let's be honest, it was a difficult part. A guy who gets high, takes his shirt off and doesn't get on with his wife," joked Pitt. ``It was a big stretch.'' The audience laughed and clapped, including as the cameras captured Aniston, his ex-wife. Aniston later won an award of her own for best female actor in a drama series for the Apple TV Plus show ``The Morning Show.'' ``What!" she said upon reaching the stage. Aniston finished her speech with a shout-out to her ``Murder Mystery'' co-star Adam Sandler, whose performance in ``Uncut Gems'' has gone mostly unrewarded this season despite considerable acclaim. ``Your performance is extraordinary and your magic is real. I love you, buddy,'' said Aniston. Laura Dern also further established herself as the best supporting actress favorite for her performance in ``Marriage Story" with a win from the Screen Actors Guild. On her way to the stage, she hugged her father, Bruce Dern. Phoebe Waller-Bridge continued her awards sweep for ``Fleabag,'' a winner at the Emmys and the Golden Globes. Waller-Bridge added a SAG win for best female actor in a comedy series and took a moment to reflect on the show's parade of accolades. ``This whole thing really has been a dream, and if I wake up tomorrow and discover it was just that, then thank you,'' said Waller-Bridge. ``It's been the most beautiful dream.'' ``The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel'' also continued its streak, winning best comedy series ensemble for the second straight year, along with Tony Shalhoub taking home the statue for best male actor in a comedy series. But accepting the ensemble award, the show's shocked Alex Borstein said she had voted for ``Fleabag.'' ``Honestly this makes no sense,' said Borstein. ```Fleabag' is brilliant.''' Among the films vying for the screen actors' top honor, best ensemble, are Oscar heavyweights ``Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood'' and ``The Irishman.'' They are competing with ``Parasite'' (only the second foreign language nominee after ``Life Is Beautiful," which received a nod in 1999), ``Jojo Rabbit'' and ``Bombshell.'' Because actors make up the largest percentage of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, their picks are closely watched. But the last two years, the SAG ensemble winner has not gone on to win best picture: ``Black Panther'' last year and ``Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri'' in 2018. Two of this year's top best-picture contenders at the Oscars _ ``Joker,'' more of a one-man show; and ``1917,'' more acclaimed for its technical acumen _ weren't nominated for best ensemble. On Saturday, ``1917'' won top honors at the highly predictive Producers Guild Awards, solidifying its front-runner status. In 21 of the last 30 years, the PGA winner has lined up with the eventual best picture winner. Robert De Niro was given the guild's lifetime achievement award, an honor presented by Leonardo DiCaprio who, like De Niro, is a frequent leading man for Martin Scorsese. (The two co-star in Scorsese's upcoming ``Killers of the Flower Moon.'') A raucous standing ovation greeted the 76-year-old actor. De Niro, a fiery critic of Donald Trump, referenced the president in his remarks. ``There's right and there's wrong. And there's common sense and there's abuse of power. As a citizen, I have as much right as anybody _ an actor, an athlete, anybody else _ to voice my opinion,'' said De Niro. "And if I have a bigger voice because of my situation, I'm going to use it whenever I see a blatant abuse of power." Awards for stunt ensemble were announced ahead of the ceremony, with prizes going to Marvel's "Avengers: Endgame" and HBO's "Game of Thrones. Copyright 2020 Albuquerque Journal A new Made in New Mexico solar array will soon head to the moon on a NASA spacecraft care of the Air Force Research Laboratories Space Vehicles Directorate at Kirtland Air Force Base. Public and private satellites and space vehicles may also start carrying a new device to alert ground-based operators about hazardous radiation like solar storms before they can damage spacecraft, also care of the AFRL. Those technologies and more were developed in New Mexico in the last few years in partnership with private companies that are now marketing them to public and commercial entities for deployment in space. And a lot more is coming, thanks to the U.S. Department of Defenses strategic focus on modernizing its space-based systems and capabilities, plus efforts by Air Force space entities at Kirtland to tap private sector ingenuity to help rapidly design and build new innovative technologies. Multiple missions ahead for ROSA AFRL built the new made-for-space solar system, called the Roll-Out Solar Array, or ROSA, in partnership with California-based Deployable Space Systems and two private firms in Albuquerque: LoadPath LLC and SolAero Technologies. Its a flexible solar array that can be rolled up into a tiny, lightweight package on satellites and other vehicles for the trip to space. It then deploys in a rapid, spring-like action when the spacecraft reaches its target point, shooting out into a straight, sturdy, flat panel to power the vehicle. AFRL and DSS tested ROSA on the International Space Station in June 2017, and DSS is now marketing it to public and private customers. NASA announced in the fall that it will use ROSA to power an orbital vehicle around the moon as part of NASAs Gateway program, which aims to land women and men on the lunar surface by 2024, said Capt. Christopher Box, deputy manager for the Space Vehicles Directorates Integrated Structural System Program. The ISS flight experiment was a 100% success, Box said. Through that success and publications at space technology conferences, word got out that its a successful system with a flight heritage. NASA also plans to deploy ROSA on its Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART mission, which in October 2022 will ram a space vehicle into a moonlet rotating around an asteroid to alter the moonlets orbit as part of experimental efforts to protect Earth against asteroids in the future. And Maxar Technologies, in Palo Alto, California, also plans to use ROSA to power a new geostationary communications satellite. Radiation scouting device aids safety Separately, Applied Technology Associates in Albuquerque will begin marketing a new device for hazardous radiation detection around spacecraft. ATA helped design the technology, called the Compact Environmental Anomaly Sensor, and then licensed it to further develop it for use by public and private entities. AFRL built the device, which is about the size of a long shoebox, to provide better understanding of the environment around space vehicles to protect them against potential radiation-related damage, said Adrian Wheelock, program manager for the Space Vehicles Directorates Space Systems Survivability Program. Thats important to the Air Force as we go into contested space operations to be better poised to react, Wheelock said. The sensor will be able to respond when something goes wrong, giving what could be near-real-time awareness of environmental hazards. The sensor is currently deployed on a spacecraft that launched in June 2018, and ATA will now be the commercial vendor for it. They will make all future versions to make it a commercially available product, Wheelock said. NM awash in space expertise, funding New Mexico is front and center in building those products and many others because so much of the Air Forces space-related capability and expertise is based at Kirtland. Apart from the Space Vehicles Directorate, that includes the Space & Missiles Centers Advanced Systems and Development Directorate and the Space Rapid Capabilities Office. Hundreds of millions of new dollars have flowed into programs run by those Kirtland-based entities in recent years, and more is included in the fiscal year 2020 National Defense Authorization Ac, which the president just signed into law, said U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-NM. That act includes $63.3 million for the Rapid Capabilities office and the Air Forces Space Test and Rocket Systems Launch programs at Kirtland. Another $46 million will boost Air Force research and development of resilient space technology, satellite launch services and tactically responsive launches. Military, private partnerships key Approval of a new Space Force as the sixth branch of the U.S. military, to be housed under the Air Force, is the next major step in the DODs strategic focus on space. And it could mean more funding for New Mexico operations going forward. As the Space Force continues to organize and structure itself, it is critical that we do not look to reinvent the wheel, but rather ensure that we leverage existing organizations dedicated to keeping the U.S. at the forefront of space innovation for decades to come, Heinrich said in an email to the Journal. I will continue to advocate on behalf of those organizations, many of which are right here in New Mexico. Military partnerships with private industry are helping to build a thriving commercial space industry here, especially given the exponential growth in private investment in space technologies in recent years. Global space spending reached $417 billion in 2018, up from $339 billion in 2016, according to the nonprofit Space Foundation. And Bank of America Merrill Lynch projects $2.7 trillion in global space investment by 2045. The AFRL has spearheaded the efforts to partner with private firms in New Mexico. To facilitate that, it is working with the ABQid business accelerator run by CNM Ingenuity, which manages all commercial endeavors for Central New Mexico Community College. The AFRL and ABQid launched a new Hyperspace Challenge in 2019 to pair private firms with military specialists seeking help on space-related technologies. Participating companies work for three months to develop solutions to complex problems, culminating in a weeklong accelerator in Albuquerque with cash prizes for the best proposals. The event helps private firms win contracts with the military and other entities like NASA, said Matt Fetrow, director of AFRL NMs Tech Engagement Office. At the first challenge in fall 2019, six of the 10 participating companies later won contracts, and 14 companies participated in the latest event last November. New technologies will emerge to improve everything from launch, control and monitoring of satellites to cleaning up hazardous junk in space and monitoring for threats against spacecraft, Fetrow said. Its tremendously important as we launch constellations with thousands of satellites to ensure a safe, secure environment in space, and a lot of that is happening right here in New Mexico, Fetrow said. Theres robust activity underway on all those things. Video clips and photographs taken in and around a house party where a college student was fatally stabbed in Cork city last week are playing a key role in the extensive garda probe. The data is being analysed and cross-referenced with statements taken from more than a dozen people who attended the party on the Bandon Road last Thursday night where Cameron Blair, 20, was fatally injured. The investigation team is still trawling through hours of CCTV footage retrieved from several buildings in the Bandon Road and Barrack Street areas on the citys southside, as they build a detailed picture of events leading up to the fatal assault and the moments afterwards. Gardai have identified a group of people who were seen running from the scene in the minutes after the fatal assault. The photographs and video from in and around the house party have been helpful in identifying certain individuals, and the sequence of events. And while the results of certain forensic tests on a range of evidential material is awaited, a senior garda spokesman said he is satisfied that the investigation team is making good progress. But he dismissed weekend reports that a suspect may have fled the jurisdiction. We are following strong lines of inquiry, he said. It is understood that the probe is particularly focusing on a group of teenagers from the southside of the city, some of whom are juveniles. The detailed forensic tests of the scene had concluded by today but the garda spokesman declined to comment in detail on the outcome of an extensive fingertip search of dense and steep undergrowth off Connaught Avenue nearby which continued across the weekend. Cameron, from Ballinascarthy in West Cork, a second-year chemical engineering student at Cork Institute of Technology, was one of a group of college students who were attending a house party on the Bandon Road last Thursday night. It is understood that up to six teenagers gatecrashed the party and were asked to leave. While some left without incident, its understood that at least three tried to return. Mr Blair tried to act as a peacemaker at the door but he suffered a stab wound to the neck and collapsed on the street. The alarm was raised and paramedics were on the scene quickly. But despite the efforts of paramedics at the scene, and the efforts of the medics at Cork University Hospital later, Mr Blair was pronounced dead at the hospital. The Church of Ireland Bishop of Cork, Paul Colton, who confirmed Cameron in 2013, described his death in such violent circumstances as "every parent's worst nightmare". Cameron, a talented rugby player and athlete, is survived by his parents Noel and Cathy, and his brother Alan. Funeral arrangements have yet to the finalised. 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. Gardai have issued a warning in Cork regarding an ongoing phishing scam. Gardai in Fermoy got a report on Sunday from a person who had been contacted by a male caller calling from a French phone number. Posting on the Southern Region Garda page, the force wrote: The caller informed his intended victim that they had won 50,000 in a lottery and was looking for bank details to transfer the money. Wisely, no details were given and hanging up is the best response. According to gardai, the bottom line in relation to this scam is if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Offering advice to the public the Gardai said: If you receive a call from an unrecognised number do not feel obliged to answer. Some of these calls come from premium-rate numbers and youll end up paying a small fortune. In relation to variations of the phishing scam, gardai also warned people about missed calls made late at night, when you are asleep form a number that looks like an Irish landline or mobile. Ignore and block. Finally, in relation to random calls from Revenue, they said: The Revenue is not in the habit of calling us to give a rebate, so dont react to callers looking for bank details urgently. Theyll put pressure on victims to take urgent action, causing a bit of panic. Final advisories from the gardai include researching a company or agency that contacts you and also telling vulnerable family and friends to be cautious. Remember, your personal information is your property so be careful who you share it with. Easiest of all? Just hang up. Dont engage, dont try to waste their time. Top Spanish bouldering area Hoya Moros for sale 20.01.2020 by by Planetmountain Hoya Moros, one of Spains premier summer bouldering and climbing areas, is for sale and may be at risk of closure. The area is popular for trekking, trail running, mountain biking and ski mountaineering and a petition has been launched to safeguard the areas future. The spectacular summer bouldering area Hoya Moros in central Spain may be at risk of closure with the current private owners recently stating their intentions of wishing to sell the land. Located at an altitude of 2000 meters and lying about 3 hours west of Madrid, the area currently hosts over 1000 granite boulder problems up to 8C and numerous multi-pitch trad climbs up to 200m in height. Hoya Moros is appreciated not only by climbers though: it sits in the wild and uncontaminated mountainous region area known as Sierra de Candelario and is a popular destination for hiking, trail running, mountain biking and ski mountaineering. Although this biosphere reserve is inserted in the European Red Natura 2000 network of protected areas, local activists are concerned that should the area fall into private hands, then access would be forbidden. A petition has been launched to safeguard the areas future and climbers are asked to contribute by signing as soon as possible since a coalition representing the outdoor community will be meeting with the local government next week. Click here to sign the petition on change.org STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A suspect remains at large in the stabbing of a 26-year-old woman in Stapleton. The incident happened around 10 p.m. Sunday in the rear of 29 Warren St. at the Stapleton Houses, according to a spokesman for the NYPDs Deputy Commissioner of Public Information. The culprit used an unknown object to puncture the woman in the left hip, causing a laceration, according to a police spokesman. The suspect is described by police only as an unknown male who stands about 510 tall. Officers converged on the scene and the woman was transported to Richmond University Medical Center in West Brighton shortly afterward, according to an FDNY spokesman. For the first time ever, a mayor of Istanbul has issued a condolence note on the anniversary of the assassination of Istanbul Armenian journalist Hrant Dink. "Hrant Dink was a journalist full of peace in his heart and speech," Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu wrote on Twitter. He has gone in a very sad way for our country and history. When we hear Hrant's name, we feel that pain again. I honor his memory; let his soul be enlightened." On January 19, 2007, Hrant Dink was assassinated in front of the then editorial office of Agos Armenian newspaper he led. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, January 20, 2020 17:25 722 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20603e126 1 National KPK,PDI-P,bribery-case,KPU,Yasonna-Laoly,Law-and-Human-Rights-Ministry Free Contrary to what the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and the Law and Human Rights Ministry have claimed about the whereabouts of politician Harun Masiku, CCTV footage taken from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport appears to show that the politician, who is embroiled in graft allegations, returned to Indonesia on Jan. 7. Hes not in Indonesia, Minister Yasonna Laoly said on Jan 16 when answering journalists' questions about Harun's whereabouts. On Jan. 8, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) arrested General Elections Commission (KPU) commissioner Wahyu Setiawan. He has been accused of asking for Rp 900 million (US$65,948) in bribes in exchange for his approval for Harun, a politician with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), to fill the seat of a deceased politician, Nazarudin Kiemas, in the House of Representatives. Officials said Harun himself had yet to return home after he flew to Singapore on Jan. 6. However, based on investigations made by Tempo magazine, Harun in fact left Indonesia for Singapore on Jan. 6 but returned the next day. On Jan. 6, he departed on Garuda Indonesia flight GA 832, at 11:30 a.m. and landed in Singapore at 2:20 p.m. Singapore time. The following day on Jan. 7, he returned to Indonesia by Batik Air, landing at the airports Terminal 2F at 5:03 p.m. The CCTV footage, obtained by Tempo magazine, caught Harun wearing glasses, long-sleeved navy blue t-shirt, black trousers and black shoes making his way through the immigration gate and exiting the airport. He was carrying a laptop case and a shopping bag. Minutes later, further footage shows him leaving the airport in a Toyota Alphard Silver Bird taxi. Adding to that, Tempo also spoke to several witnesses who claimed to have met and talked to Harun after Jan. 7. One of them said they saw him in Thamrin Residence Apartments in Central Jakarta. I remember him. He once complained to us [apartment management] because he found some scratches on his car, the witness who works in the apartment said. They said Harun had been living there for a number of months. The KPK has named four people suspects in the case, including Wahyu and former Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) member Agustiani Tio Fridelina as alleged bribe recipients. Harun and a businessman named Saeful have been accused of being the bribe givers. They have been named suspects under the 2001 Corruption Law. (vla) Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday urged the Centre to remove bottlenecks in the export of guar gum, often used as a thickening agent in food production, besides opening a national level research centre in the state. Gehlot has written a letter to Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal specifying that Rajasthan is a major producer of guar gum but has seen its international market price fall sharply due to newer replacements in the industrial sector. The income of guar producing farmers in the state has come down and many have stopped its cultivation, he said in the letter. As a result, adequate research is needed to increase the farmers' income apart from widening the use of guar gum, the letter stated. The chief minister urged Goyal to formulate a plan for the research and development of guar gum and pointed out that the state government has also allotted land in Jodhpur district for this purpose. Gehlot said with the linking of trading guar gum to NCDEX, there is uncertainty in its trading on the exchange. Farmers producing guar do not get any benefit and it would be appropriate to take out the Guar Gum Refined Split from the exchange platform. National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Limited (NCDEX) is an online commodity exchange that provides a platform for market participants to trade in commodity derivatives. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In addition, the Persian Gulf monarchies that America sees as its containment front line are not united against Iran. Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates have been picking fights with Qatar, which has opened fissures among the Gulfs monarchies, divided the regions Sunnis and undermined Americas hope that they will unite against Shiite Iran. The Gulf Cooperation Council, which America helped create as a regional bulwark against Iran, now exists in name only. The council still holds fast to a Saudi-led blockade of Qatar, leaving Oman and Kuwait to see Saudi Arabia, rather than Iran, as the more urgent threat. For Qatar, Oman and Kuwait, Iran is a counterweight needed to protect them from Saudi heavy-handedness. The monarchies Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and the Emirates can offer America military bases, but as a recent drone attack on Saudi oil facilities made abundantly clear, the monarchies on their own are no match for Iran. Furthermore, the monarchies, worried about the cost of war to their economies, have started to hedge their bets. The U.A.E. has opened channels of communication with Iran in order to ease tensions. According to the prime minister of Iraq, Adel Abdul Mahdi, when Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, the head of the Quds Force in Irans Revolutionary Guards, was killed in Iraq by an American drone, he was carrying Irans response to a message Saudi Arabia had sent through Mr. Mahdi. The Arab monarchies will support American pressure on Iran, but they will also look to de-escalate their own tensions with Tehran puncturing holes in whatever containment Americans envision. Iran, too, is not the same challenge that American strategists grappled with during the heyday of containment. It is true that Irans revolutionary ideology now rings hollow at home, where Iranians are tired of repression, economic hardship and international isolation. That is why they embraced the 2015 nuclear deal as the beginning of the end of the old order. More recently, they have taken to the streets, demanding change. That may have convinced Washington that the Islamic republic is teetering, and that more pressure could topple it. Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday said that the security of all the airports in the state has been increased after a suspicious bag containing explosives was found at Mangaluru airport. "Today morning, around 8:45 to 9:00 am, it was noticed in CCTV that some unknown person kept his backpack. As it was suspicious in nature, it was handed over to CISF and police. They inspected along with the bomb disposal squad. Harmful explosives were found," Bommai said in a statement. According to police, improvised explosive device (IED) recovered from a bag at Mangaluru airport was defused in an open field by the personnel of the bomb disposal squad. The state Home Minister said that Mangalore police commissioner has started an investigation into the matter. "We have increased the security of all the airports in the state, Bangalore, Hubli, Dharwad, Belagavi and Mangalore. Terrors are trying to do such heinous acts in the country for several years. But we have been preventing it with the help of our force," Bommai said. "Such suspicious incidents usually take place in and around January 26, to disturb the peace. Before Jan 26th, in the past seven years especially, some elements have been trying to disrupt law and order," he said. Bommai said that the perpetrators have targeted Mangaluru airport because it's a hub for commercial activities and because the property damage could have been severe here. "In the past, there have been several such attempts to destroy property and disturb communal harmony in the society... We will find out what materials were used for in this case and also bring the people behind this to book," he said. Pictures of the accused were also issued by the police. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Canadian woman has spent most of her savings to help Australian wildlife impacted by the devastating bushfires. Recent university graduate, Kelsey Trimble, left Canada on January 12 for Australia to deliver donations and hand-made goods to organizations tending to injured wildlife. The 23-year-old announced her plans on Facebook after donating to Animal Rescue Craft Guild and being inspired by their work. The Animal Rescue Collectives Craft Guild is a public group on Facebook with over 230,000 members who are sewing, knitting and crafting much-needed items for affected animals. The donations and craft goods Kelsey Trimble trekked to Australia from Canada. Source: Facebook I recently joined this group and what they are doing for the wildlife in Australia is absolutely amazing. I already contributed through donations, but I also want to bring over some knitted items and/or fabrics for the centres working with these poor babies. If anyone is interested in making some knits, follow this page and go to the file section to get the guidelines for how to make everything and what fabrics to use, Ms Trimble wrote, saying she would happily bring over any donations and items from Canada. On January 12, Ms Trimble announced she had made it to Australia and had been able to gather a considerable amount of supplies. I am so so honoured to be bringing donations from over 20 people in Toronto, Canada, to Australia to help the wildlife during such a terrible time! Ms Trimble said. It was a team effort from all of us and with three checked humanitarian bags at 50lbs (22kgs) a bag, an impact will be made and animals will be helped. Ive never seen people come together like this before, absolutely amazing. Of the knitting goods, Ms Trimble brought over 85 nests, 12 bat wraps, 20 pouches, 69 pouch liners, 52 outer pouches, 22 hanging pouches and 2 beds. The recent university graduate is seen preparing for her flight to Australia. Source: Facebook She also travelled with more than $1,200 worth of medical supplies and other donations. Ms Trimble said she used most of her savings to get to Australia, forking out $1,700 on the plane ticket alone. She spent another $450 flying from Perth to Sydney, and another $400 on a rental car. There are so many people in Canada working together to help Australiawe all want to help and are all working together to make that happen from the other side of the world, she told News.com.au. New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday (January 20) announced that a resolution against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) would be passed in the state Assembly soon. The Trinamool supremo, who has strongly opposed the amended citizenship law, said that she would urge other states to pass such a resolution. The CPI(M) government in Kerala and the Congress government in Punjab have already passed a resolution demanding to scrap the contentious CAA. Meanwhile, the Congress government in Rajasthan has reportedly decided to move a resolution in the state Assembly against CAA in the Budget session beginning from January 24. Live TV Maharashtra's Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by Uddhav Thackeray is also planning to bring out such a resolution in the state assembly, news agency ANI has reported. Besides, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh also also considering to bring in resolution in the legislative assemblies against the enforcement of the CAA, senior Congress leader Ahmad Patel had said earlier. On January 22, Mamata is scheduled to take out a rally against the Citizenship Amendment Act, National Population Register and National Register of Citizens. She got married to her long-term partner in a secret ceremony in 2018. And it was wedding bells once again for Oscar-winning star Rachel Shenton as she shot a scene for the much anticipated reboot of All Creatures Great And Small on location in the Yorkshire Dales on Monday. The actress, 32, was wearing a wedding dress as she got to work as Helen Alderson - later Mrs Herriot - in the Channel 5 six-part remake, in which she stars alongside Nicolas Ralph as the famous vet and Callum Woodhouse as Tristan Farnon. Wedding bells: Oscar-winning star Rachel Shenton shot a scene for the much anticipated reboot of All Creatures Great And Small on location in the Yorkshire Dales on Monday The original All Creatures Great And Small ran from 1978-1990 and was based on vet and author James Herriot's memoirs. In the original show, James Herriot was played by Christopher Timothy for all seven seasons, which aired for 90 episodes. Rachel - who this time last year announced she had quietly married her former Hollyoaks co-star Chris Overton - sheltered in an old style car on location in the rural village. With her curled locks wrapped securely in a veil the actress covered up her dainty wedding dress in a coat between takes in Grassington near Skipton. Here comes the bride: The actress, 32, was wearing a wedding dress as she got to work as Helen Alderson - later Mrs Herriot - in the Channel 5 six-part remake Blushing bride: With her curled locks wrapped securely in a veil, the actress covered up her dainty wedding dress in a coat between takes on set in Grassington near Skipton Rachel took to Instagram on Monday to share a snap of herself in hair and make-up with the caption: 'Penultimate day'. In September, the Oscar-winner announced her casting in the series, which she was over the moon about. Alongside a snap of a TV clapper board, she wrote: 'So excited that I can finally say I'm working on ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL for @masterpiecepbs... It's Christmas again: Callum Woodhouse as Tristan (left) on set with former Coronation Street actress Mollie Winnard as Maggie and Nicholas Ralph as James Herriot 'I'm also excited that I can now freely spam your feed with pictures of various farm animals #dreamjob #imallabouttheanimals #1937 #yorkshire' Helen and now-husband Chris have celebrated a mammoth few years in their professional and private lives. They took home the Academy Award for Best Short Film (Live Action) for their production The Silent Child, before tying the knot later in 2018. End of filming? Rachel took to Instagram on Monday to share a snap of herself in hair and make-up with the caption: 'Penultimate day' Helen was played by Carol Drinkwater (seasons one to three) and Lynda Bellingham (seasons four to seven) while Siegfried Farnon was played by Robert Hardy and Tristan Farnon by Peter Davison. The series spun off from a film adaptation of the books in 1975, which starred Anthony Hopkins. This is the second time the show has been revived; its original three-season run ran from 1978-1980 and 1988-1990 saw four more seasons follow. It was announced this year that Channel 5 would be remaking it into a six-part series and will air later in 2020 to mark the 50th anniversary of Herriot's books, with a festive special at Christmas. Working with animals: The series which centres on a vet's life will feature many different animals bringing different challenges to the set - pictured Maggie holding a donkey Second time around: This is not the first time the show has been revived; its original three-season run ran from 1978-1980 and 1988-1990 saw four more seasons follow Back in time: A co-production with the American broadcaster PBS, the Channel 5 remake is set in 1937 as can be seen by the props and costumes A co-production with the American broadcaster PBS, The Channel 5 remake is set in 1937. Sebastian Cardwell, the digital channel controller at Channel 5, said: 'James Herriot has a special place in the heart of the public and the commission of this iconic drama series, against the stunning backdrop of the Yorkshire Dales, is set to bring joy to a new army of TV viewers. 'The original books affectionately captured a unique slice of British life. In challenging times we hope the charming and heartwarming stories of community and compassion will resonate with new audiences.' The reboot comes as Herriot's real-life son, Jim Wight, 76, locked horns with Sue Paterson, the new president of the British Small Animal Veterinary Association, who said his father's novels portray vets as people who can be called on anytime and paid with slices of cake. A cheeky kiss by the mistletoe: The original All Creatures Great And Small ran from 1978-1990 and was based on vet and author James Herriot's memoirs (played by Nicholas Ralph, centre) Approved: The reboot was given the green light by Herriot's real-life son, Jim Wight, 76, who agreed that the new series would be entertaining for the public Old school: A vintage bus parks on the streets of Grassington in the Yorkshire Dales She said: 'I think James Herriot is to blame because we're all supposed to love animals and work for nothing, but we all run businesses. 'All the Herriot stuff about a cat being ill and the owner cuts him a big slab of chocolate cake and he doesn't charge her - well, it's a hard business nowadays.' Jim told the Daily Express: 'I was very put out because it seemed so ridiculous. I was seething with anger, in fact. It is nonsensical to say he is out of date. 'You might equally say Winston Churchill is out of date. My father is an iconic and historic figure, and to compare veterinary practice in those days to now is completely unrealistic. Keep in character: The new series will 'preserve the rich spirit, tone and values of Herriot's iconic characters' say Channel 5. Mollie Winnard as Maggie and Nicholas Ralph as Herriot Eccentric sort: Samuel West as Siegfried Farnon who hires Herriot to work at his rural veterinary practice at Skeldale House 'He gave free treatment to a tiny portion of his clientele who were in genuine hardship; it was a charitable and Christian act. He started with no money at all. 'It is a different world, and you cannot compare the two. It is so unfair to blame that man for the woes of our profession today. 'Of course his scientific training may be dated, but his compassionate, careful and thorough approach is never going to be out of date.' Jim and his sister Rosie approved the 2020 reboot and said of it: 'The scripts are very interesting and the public will find them entertaining!' Something to say: Sebastian Cardwell, the digital channel controller at Channel 5, said: 'James Herriot has a special place in the heart of the public and the commission of this iconic drama' (Alliance News) - UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will call for the UK to be the "investment partner of choice" for Africa at a conference in London on Monday. The prime minister has said that he hopes the gathering will "generate new opportunities in Africa for businesses across the UK". Johnson will also state that the government will no longer provide any direct support for thermal coal mining or coal power plants overseas. The PM will say that the UK has "unique expertise and innovation in technology, clean growth, infrastructure and finance" which can feed the continent's demand for sustainable growth. The UK-Africa Investment Summit, hosted by the PM, will bring together 21 African countries with UK and African companies. The government said that deals worth billions of pounds will be announced at the gathering. At the summit, the prime minister will announce an end to UK support for thermal coal mining or coal power plants overseas, ending direct official development assistance, investment and export credit. The summit will be attended by African leaders such as President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt, President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, and President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria. South Africa's Minister of Finance Tito Mboweni will also attend, alongside Minister of International Relations & Cooperation Naledi Pandor and Minister of Trade & Industry Ebrahim Patel. South Africa's message at the summit will be that while the country faces challenges of weak economic growth and fiscal pressures, the country remains open for business as one of the best investment destinations in the world. South Africa will also highlight the efforts made to implement structural reforms to ignite economic growth; ease the cost of doing business; curb government debt; and stabilise state-owned enterprises. Government programmes will look at improving clean energy supplies and business opportunities for women and, it is hoped, will encourage billions of pounds of private sector investment in Africa. The programmes from the Department for International Development, totalling GBP370 million, include support for green energy, a GBP45 million programme helping young people a especially women a access the internet, develop digital skills and find jobs, and a GBP200 million programme to help build basic trade infrastructure in southern Africa. International Development Secretary Alok Sharma said: "Africa's economic potential is huge, with eight of the world's 15 fastest growing economies and a population set to double to over two billion by 2050. "We have much to offer African nations a UK aid is tackling climate change and supporting women entrepreneurs, our tech and digital expertise is helping Africa grow new industries and the City of London is channelling billions of private investment into Africa, boosting jobs and growth." The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will host a reception to mark the UK-Africa Investment Summit in Buckingham Palace on Monday. By Shaun Connolly, PA Political Correspondent source: PA Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. Australian nominees have left the 26th Screen Actors Guild Awards empty-handed. Laura Dern beat Margot Robbie and Nicole Kidman at Sunday's ceremony to take home the award for best supporting actress in a film. Kidman and Robbie were nominated for their performances in the biographical drama Bombshell, while Dern was nominated after playing a ruthless lawyer in Netflix's Marriage Story. Laura Dern arrives at the 26th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles. Credit:AP Dern's win means she has so far dominated the best supporting actress category during the Hollywood awards season and will head into next month's Oscars as the overwhelming favourite. Russell Crowe and Toni Collette also missed out on the awards for best actor and actress in a miniseries or television movie. However, it was a different story for South Koreans with Parasite snapping-up the award for best ensemble cast in a movie. The critically acclaimed thriller beat homegrown Hollywood films The Irishman and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (both with A-list cast members) and is in the running for best motion picture at this year's Oscars. Love Island newcomer Rebecca leaves her co-stars livid by making a move on Mike within minutes of entering the South African villa. The brunette, 21, is certainly set to ruffle feathers, dancing for the boys in a sexy swimsuit before planting a kiss on Leanne's partner Mike in a teaser clip for Monday night's episode. The girls are raging as they watch from the roof terrace while the former Miss Newcastle makes it clear which boy she's planning on getting to know better. Bold move: Love Island newcomer Rebecca will leave her co-stars livid by planting a kiss on Mike within minutes after entering the South African villa Rebecca is seen modelling a swimsuit underneath a Grecian goddess outfit, complete with gold arm bands. After the boys gather around the fire pit, Rebecca sashays over to Mike and kissing his cheek. The girls are left open-mouthed in shock, visibly outraged the newcomer would go for the former policeman. Mike and Leanne have proved themselves to be one of the strongest couples so far and are already firm fan favourites. Tease: The brunette, 21, is certainly set to ruffle feathers, dancing for the boys in a sexy swimsuit Pucker up! Rebecca was then seen planting a kiss on Leanne's partner Mike in a teaser clip for Monday night's episode Fuming: The girls, including Leanne (third right) are raging as they watch from the roof terrace Rebecca's explosive entrance was teased at the end of Sunday night's episode, where she made it clear she had her eye on Mike, Callum and Connagh. She's set to face stiff competition in her bid to land any one of the three men, as Callum was seen recoupling with outspoken Shaugnha on Friday. Meanwhile, fellow bombshell Connagh was responsible for one of the biggest shocks of the series thus far, when he opted to 'steal' Sophie from Connor during Friday night's dramatic recoupling. However, it would appear that Rebecca is up for the challenge, as she's not short on confidence, rating herself an '8.5 maybe nine' out of 10 in the looks department, while assuring that she's 'fun, loud, outgoing, fearless, and spontaneous'. Strutting her stuff: Rebecca is seen modelling a bikini underneath a Grecian goddess outfit, complete with gold arm bands Making her mark: Rebecca's appearance was teased on Sunday night's show, and she certainly doesn't disappoint when it comes to making an immediate impact in the villa Trouble in paradise: After the boys gather around the fire pit, Rebecca sashays over to Mike and kissing his cheek What the? The girls are left open-mouthed in shock, visibly outraged the newcomer would go for the former policeman The Geordie beauty appears keen on landing herself a man who also has a commanding presence, saying: 'I like a 'Jack the lad'. He's got to be the centre of attention easy to get along with, and someone who gets involved with the chat.' Rebecca, who has assured that she'll go 'as far as [she] needs to go' to land the man of her choice, has revealed that her turnoffs include men with long nails. As for her strategy with luring one of the men in the villa, she explained: 'I need to chat to them. I haven't seen enough of them to know how I'm going to approach it. 'I like funny guys, so I'm thinking making the guy laugh is a tick in the box. But no smooth moves, I'll just be myself.' Here comes trouble! Callum couldn't believe the scenes that were unfolding in front of his eyes Don't mess with the Fudge! Siannise couldn't hold back her anger as she saw bombshell Rebecca set her sights on taken Mike Taking the plunge: The Geordie beauty appears keen on landing herself a man who also has a commanding presence Hours before heading making her debut on the show, her Instagram account boasted almost 7,000 followers, who have been treated to a stream of glamorous snapshots from her travels, glitzy partying lifestyle and exploits as a beauty queen. She scooped the coveted crown as Miss Newcastle in June 2018, and took to Instagram to share a series of snapshots from the memorable moment. Sharing her thoughts soon afterwards, she wrote on Instagram: 'Such a proud little moment for my self! I am so overwhelmed that I managed to raise an incredible amount of 2000 for the Chronicle Sunshine Fund. 'Not only have I been awarded MISS CHARITY but also crowned MISS NEWCASTLE 2018. I am so pleased all of my hard work has paid off to help this amazing cause.' Bombshell: Rebecca's explosive entrance was teased at the end of Sunday night's episode, where she made it clear she had her eye on Mike, Callum and Connagh Beauty queen: The breathtaking brunette comes with some heavyweight credentials in the realm of attracting positive attention, as she was crowned Miss Newcastle 2018 A series of high-profile incidents involving social media have made the headlines in recent times. Former Sinn Fein MP Barry McElduff was reported to the PSNI after posting a video to Twitter in 2018 with a loaf of Kingsmill bread on his head on the anniversary of the IRA massacre. It later emerged that he would not face prosecution. Read More In 2018 the PSNI investigated reports that a group of people dressed as Ku Klux Klan members posed outside an Islamic prayer house. The images circulated on social media, including Facebook, and were investigated as a hate incident. Last year two teenagers were jailed after admitting involvement in a "vicious assault" on Bangor pier. A video of the attack was widely shared on Twitter at the time. Nineteen year olds Cora Campbell and William Boyd were ordered to spend half their 32-month sentences in custody and half on licence. A 17-year-old co-accused, who could not be identified due to her age, was ordered to complete 120 hours of community service. Last July an online troll who told DUP leader Arlene Foster to "kill herself" and racially abused Home Secretary Priti Patel has been jailed. Gerard Traynor (53), who lived in Oldham, was arrested after he posted a string of offensive insults online. And in November Matthew Burns (20), from Dundalk Road, Newtownhamilton, was sentenced to 100 hours of community service after sending death threats to high-profile politicians, including New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and London Mayor Sadiq Khan. More protests planned as demonstrators call for overhaul of political system, new prime minister and electoral laws. Baghdad, Iraq Protesters closed large roads in cities across Iraq on Sunday night, escalating their campaign for political change, as the clock ticked down the final hours to their deadline for the government to meet their demands for reform. In Najaf, demonstrators burned pictures of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and tore down posters of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis the former leader of Iraqs Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), or Hashd al-Shaabi, the umbrella grouping of Iraqs mostly Shia militias. More: On Baghdads Palestine Street, young men hurled Molotov cocktails onto the Mohammed al-Qassem highway overpass, as they attempted to block the road late into the night. For several hours the demonstrators goaded police, banging railings with sticks and metal poles, retreating only temporarily when security forces fired tear gas canisters towards them. A nearby garage forecourt functioned as a first aid centre, with volunteer medics treating protesters for exposure to tear gas with saline solution, before packing them off to the overpass once more. AFP news agency reported that 10 people had been injured in Sundays skirmishes. Roads were also blocked in al-Diwaniyah, Sumaria and Wasit. Road closures and demonstrations had been expected for Monday, by which time a deadline set by demonstrators in the city of Nasiriya, for a new prime minister and government to be announced, would have passed. The deadline and its demands announced last week were quickly adopted by protesters from across the country. The demands include a new electoral law, and a new prime minister to replace Adel Abdul Mahdi who, despite resigning two months ago, remains in office. More protests planned Anticipating its failure, many in Baghdad seemed unwilling to wait. We all know they arent going to meet it, the only way they take us seriously is if we cut the roads, and disrupt the city its our weapon, said Zaid Ali,19, who had travelled from Basra in the run-up to Mondays escalation. They have had their chance, they have had many chances 17 years of chances. There will be no extension, he added. Shia leader and militia leader Muqtada al-Sadr announced his support for escalations planned for Monday I hope they are committed to peace, not to harm the security of the people and to subject the country to a fierce civil war, read a statement posted on his Twitter feed. Anti-government protests have been going on in Iraq since early October with people occupying Baghdads Tahrir Square [File: Erin Trieb/Getty Images] Adding, I respect the governments decision if any to confront saboteurs and riots, but a distinction must be made between peaceful (protesters) and saboteurs. It came after Sadr called on his followers to take to the streets on Friday in a million man march. Many of the people in Baghdads Tahrir Square are deeply sceptical of Sadrs motives, fearing he may attempt to hijack the popular protest movement for his own gain. Sadr has nothing to do with us, we dont want him, we dont want his militia, he is a part of the problem, Hozam Hunaidi, 24, told Al Jazeera. I will die before I march behind his banner. I have been here for three months, sleeping in the cold, facing danger I did not do that for him, he added. He [Sadr] will try to wipe us off the map, if the Sadrists come to Tahrir, we will fight back, warned Hamoud Ali, 32. In a sign of what may be to come, Basra Governor Asaad Al Eidani said his security forces would not allow the suspension of regular working hours or the closure of schools as a result of protests. Further demonstrations are expected across the country from Monday, as demonstrators attempt to regain the initiative almost three weeks after the killings of al-Muhandis and Soleimani. Many worry that the demands of the thousands who have demonstrated since early October, might be forced off the political agenda in the wake of United States President Donald Trumps decision to assassinate the two military leaders. Students of the Cochin University of Science and Technology staged a protest in front of the administrative block of the university on Monday seeking action against two campus leaders of the SFI, alleging they made an attempt to kill a student. Police said three people have been booked in connection with the alleged attempt to kill the student at the campus gate near here on Sunday night. The injured student Asil Aboobacker has been admitted to a government medical college hospital. The fourth year instrumentation student suffered head injuries after he was allegedly attacked by the three using an iron rod. The assailants came in a car and allegedly hit the motorcycle in which Asil was sitting at the campus gate. When the student fell down, he was attacked using the rod, police said. The police have identified the assailants as Prejith Babu and Rahul--who are also CUSAT students. One person involved in the crime is yet to be identified, they said. According to the protesting students, Prejith Babu and Rahul are unit leaders of the Students Federation of India. Cases have been registered against the three under various sections of the Indian Penal Code including 308 (Attempt to commit culpable homicide). No arrests have been made, police said. A CUSAT official said the institute has ordered an inquiry into the incident. The students ended their agitation following assurances from CUSAT authorities that action would be taken against those students involved in the incident, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The parents of a young girl who spent a night lost in the Outback have thanked their trusty pet dog for keeping her company and 'never letting us down'. Matilda Moule was found by rescuers last Thursday almost 24 hours after wandering away from the remote Noreena Downs Station, in Western Australia's Pilbara region. The three-year-old had been walking her Jack Russell terrier Wolfy when rain caused by ex-Tropical Cyclone Blake hit, causing a creek to rise rapidly and leading both her and her dog trapped. Her parents Kate and Nathan soon raised the alarm, resulting in an enormous search that included the use of mining helicopters, police and SES specialists. In an emotional message, Matilda's mother thanked all the rescue workers who helped to find her little girl - but reserved special praise for their family dog. Scroll down for video Three-year-old Matilda Moule and her faithful pet Jack Russell (left) terrier Wolfy spent almost 24 hours lost in the Australian Outback. The girl wandered off from her family's million-acre homestead on Wednesday afternoon and was reunited with her family (above) on Thursday Matilda's parents Kate and Nathan have thanked their trusty pet Jack Russell terrier Wolfy (not pictured) for keeping her company and 'never letting us down' 'Wolfy I always said you were a good little dog and you never let us down,' Kate Poull posted. 'Thanks from the bottom of our heart little fella for being her protector and keeping her safe, you are very loyal and special.' Ms Paull also praised the man who spotted his daughter in the remote country from high in the sky, describing him as having 'the eyes of a hawk'. She admitted the last few days had been 'emotionally and mentally exhausting', with enormous rainfall from the ex-Tropical Cyclone continuing to cause headaches. Matilda's parents and grandmother, who lives with the family on the rural farm, were all smiles when reunited with their little girl last Thursday. The first thing Matilda had asked for when rescuers found her after 24 hours lost was 'a hug from mum'. The girl wandered off from her family's million-acre homestead, 70km from Nullagine in WA Officers combed through bushland (pictured) to find the toddler, who was missing for more than 24 hours Bravery beyond her years: Little Matilda survived 24 hours in the harsh Outback alone with her dog (right) after wandering off from her family's million-acre homestead And despite her pink dress being covered in mud the youngster was embraced by her parents, before being given a big glass of water. The three-year-old went missing in one of the most remote areas in the state, leading police to admit the situation was 'very concerning' before her dramatic rescue. The family station in the East Pilbara region has been running since 1983, and like much of Western Australia has suffered intense rain this week. Newman, 150km north of the station, recorded 143mm of rain in just 24 hours last Wednesday, causing flooding and road closures. Kim Massam, the WA Police superintendent who led the rescue operation, said it was a dream ending to every parent's worst nightmare. Three helicopters, nine police officers, eight SES personnel and seven horses were deployed to search for her '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,' Mr Massam 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.' Despite their horror ordeal, Matilda's mother said the youngster and her pet dog 'are going fine and still love each other'. WASHINGTONWatching political unrest explode across South America this fall, officials at the State Department noticed an eerily similar pattern in anti-government protests that otherwise had little in common. In Chile, nearly 10 per cent of all tweets supporting protests in late October originated with Twitter accounts that had a high certainty of being linked to Russia. In Bolivia, immediately after President Evo Morales resigned Nov. 10, the number of tweets associated with those type of accounts spiked to more than 1,000 a day, up from fewer than five. And in Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia and Chile over one 30-day period, Russia-linked accounts posted strikingly similar messages within 90 minutes of one another. State Department analysts concluded that an influence campaign was underway, the latest evidence of a global disinformation war that is more insidious and efficient than traditional propaganda of years past. The department routinely monitors Twitter traffic worldwide with an eye toward malign activities, like the proliferation of fake pages and user accounts or content that targets the public with divisive messages. A set of analyses was provided to The New York Times in response to questions about what the department had seen during and after the fall protests in South America. We are noting a thumb on the scales, said Kevin OReilly, the deputy assistant secretary of state overseeing issues in the Western Hemisphere. It has made the normal dispute resolutions of a democratic society more contentious and more difficult. The Russian effort in South America the details of which have not been previously reported appears aimed at stirring dissent in states that have demanded the resignation of President Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela, senior diplomats said. In Colombia, where Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is scheduled to visit this week, hundreds of thousands of protesters demonstrated in November against pension changes, corruption and rising violence. The protests have since ebbed, and in December, Colombias vice president, Marta Lucia Ramirez, accused Russia and its allies in Venezuela of fomenting protests through social network campaigns. In Ecuador, the interior minister, Maria Paula Romo, said an anti-government campaign that surfaced online during two weeks of protests in October over higher fuel prices appeared to come from Venezuela and Russia. Officials and experts said Russian influence campaigns on social media have disrupted elections in the U.S. and Europe, sowed anti-Western sentiment and false reporting in Africa, and inspired China and Iran to adopt similar tactics against protesters and political adversaries. The unrest in Latin America this fall cannot be attributed to any single factor, and it is unclear how effective the Russia-linked influence campaign on Twitter was. Demonstrators across the countries spanned the political spectrum, protesting government corruption and higher costs and demanding better services. State Department officials said the vast majority of protest-related posts on Twitter and other social media appeared to be legitimate. With the support of more than 50 other countries, the Trump administration has imposed bruising economic sanctions against Maduros government in Venezuela over the last year. The coalition is backing Juan Guaido, leader of the Venezuelan opposition, whom most of Latin America and the rest of the West views as the countrys legitimate president. But Maduros grip on the country appears as strong as ever, funded by what critics have described as illicit oil revenue from Russia and gold sales to Turkey. Russia is playing a geopolitical role in this hemisphere against what they consider its main enemy: the United States, said Carlos Vecchio, the Venezuelan envoy in Washington who is representing the opposition movement against Maduro. Its crucial that the international community understands that Russia has become an important ally to support Maduro, and we need to deal with this, Vecchio told reporters this month. Russias online influence campaigns in Latin America began to surface a decade ago, surging with new technology and the proliferation of social media. In particular, the Spanish-language arms of two news organizations in Russia have been accused of spreading disinformation, conspiracy theories and, in some cases, outright falsehoods to undermine liberal democratic policies, mostly in the West. One, the state-financed RT Espanol, said it reaches 18 million people every week across 10 countries in Latin America and has more than one billion views on YouTube. The other, the government-run Sputnik Mundo, began broadcasting in the last several years and is produced in part in Montevideo, Uruguay. Together, experts said, the companies have been the main source of information for Twitter bots and so-called troll accounts that have targeted Guaidos movement in Venezuela. Bret Schafer, a disinformation and media expert at the Alliance for Securing Democracy, an initiative of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, said some Twitter accounts spreading disinformation in Venezuela could be traced to the Internet Research Agency, the Russian troll factory that is run by loyalists to President Vladimir Putin and is accused of interfering in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign. The influence campaigns of Russian-linked Twitter accounts in South America are proxy elements to conquer the influence of the United States or the liberal democracies, said another expert, Javier Lesaca Esquiroz, a visiting scholar at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. At some point, we can say this is the continuation of the Cold War that never ended, Esquiroz said. The analyses provided by the State Department did not prove that the Twitter accounts that stoked the South American protests were direct conduits of the Russian government. Instead, they were described as likely linked to the Russian state through computer-generated or other data mining analyses that support other government conclusions that tie them to Moscow. A spokesman for the Russian Embassy in Washington, Nikolay Lakhonin, declined to comment Thursday, asking only for real evidence of a Russian-linked disinformation campaign in South America. In Chile, President Sebastian Pinera has said foreign actors helped incite a wave of protests and acts of vandalism that began in late October, plunging the country into a months-long crisis. But he did not blame a specific government or region. A foreign hand had worked to fuel the unrest online, disseminating false reports on social media during the early days of the upheaval, he said in a December interview with CNN en Espanol: Its an attack against the political system. The rate of posts by Russian-linked Twitter accounts during anti-government protests in Chile was 9 per cent higher than during the Democratic primary campaigns last year in the U.S. usually a topic of high interest, the State Department analyses found. The analyses showed that the Twitter accounts posted in Spanish and English, targeting the Chilean public and foreign audiences. A Twitter campaign of #chile, which was the fifth-most popular hashtag among 3,300 Russian-linked Twitter accounts from Oct. 23 to Oct. 29, the peak of the protests, was not even in the top 100 by late December, according to the State Department data. Pineras government commissioned its own report, which asserted that 31 per cent of social media posts during an intense period of the crisis were disseminated from outside Chile. Analysts said the Chilean public greeted the report with criticism and mockery, saying that it failed to offer convincing evidence that foreign actors played a leading role in inciting the protests. There hasnt been any proof that there was foreign meddling, said Marta Lagos, director of Latinobarometro, which studies public opinion across Latin America. Until now, they have yet to find any foreigner involved in criminal activity. In neighbouring Bolivia, the State Department analyses found that the most shared tweet among Russian-linked accounts in the 24 hours after Morales resignation was one by the former president himself denouncing a coup that he said had taken over. That tweet has since been deleted, but not before it was shared more than 85,000 times. The network of Russian-linked Twitter accounts usually generates fewer than five posts about Bolivia daily, the State Department analyses found. That surged to more than 1,000 tweets in the days immediately before and after Morales ceded to violent protests and accusations of fixed elections to keep himself in power. A Russian state energy company reportedly worked to bolster Morales campaign and attacked his opponents on social media months before the election Oct. 20. The influence campaign has outlasted the protests. One of the accounts being monitored by the State Department @FriendsofPutin criticized the Trump administrations continued pressure campaign against Maduros government in Venezuela in a Dec. 12 tweet. Unfortunately, Washington is not even thinking about abandoning their course for ousting the legitimate Venezuelan government, it said in English. The State Department analyses said the post was retweeted the same day by accounts like @RussianHeroe and @Putintrump, though those tweets no longer appear on the accounts. The State Department concluded that all three accounts most likely are Russian proxies or bots and trolls trying to amplify their message without being flagged as fake. This month, the State Departments special envoy for Venezuela issues, Elliott Abrams, told reporters in Washington that U.S. officials had perhaps underestimated the level of Russian and Cuban support that had helped Maduro remain in power. We think all the time about how to do better, Abrams said. Read more about: New Delhi: Indian-Americans will hold events in over three dozen cities and towns across the US to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Kashmiri Pandit exodus to recognise the resilience of the community. They will take out peaceful rallies, hold to candlelight vigil and public meetings to highlight the hardships faced by the Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley three decades ago. Events have been planned in New York, New Jersey, Silicon Valley, Chicago, Miami, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Detroit among others cities. This event is designed to present the truth, data and factual stories as well as current events and progress in restoration of peace in the Kashmir. Hundred of people are expected to participate, said Indian-Americans for Kashmir, which is organising the event in New Jersey. Thirty years ago, Kashmiri Hindus (known as Pandits) experienced unimaginable devastation in their ancestral homeland, said Hindu American Foundation, which has been organising the events in multiple cities. The Pakistan-sponsored insurgency and campaign of targeted killings, rape, threats, and destruction of property and religious sites spanned over many years. But events on January 19, 1990 reached a feverish pitch and culminated in mass panic and the forced displacement of 95 per cent of the Kashmiri Hindu population, it said. The campaign, according to former ambassador of Pakistan to the United States, Hussain Haqqani, was part of an orchestrated campaign by Islamist militant groups sponsored by Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence agency to create as Islamic state in Kashmir, it said. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. : The Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy government on Monday introduced a Bill in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly to give shape to its plan of having three capitals for the state, with the executive capital in Visakhapatnam, Legislative capital in Amaravati and judicial capital in Kurnool. The AP Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Bill, 2020, also provides for dividing the state into various zones and establishing zonal planning and development boards. The village and (municipal) ward secretariats system that the government brought in in October last year now gets statutory backing as it has been made part of the new Bill. Moving the Bill in the Assembly on the first day of the extended winter session, Finance and Legislative Affairs Minister Buggana Rajendranath said the government decided to enact a new legislation for decentralisation and inclusive development of all regions in the state for ensuring "balanced and inclusive growth" of AP. "Regional imbalances, absence of equitable growth have caused an acute sense of deprivation among various sections of the state population, leading to disturbances. "The logical solution would be to lay emphasis on distributed development and decentralised administration to ensure fruits of socio-economic progress are enjoyed equally by people of various regions," the minister said, quoting the recommendations of the High-Power Committee of ministers and bureaucrats, which formed the basis of the new legislation. The TDP members raised objection to the introduction of the Bill and stormed the Speakers podium. Amid the din, the government also moved another Bill to repeal the AP Capital Region Development Authority Act, 2014. The government said it intended to constitute a new Amaravati Metropolitan Region Development Area under the provisions of AP Metropolitan Region and Urban Development Authorities Act, 2016. The CRDA Act was enacted on December 22, 2014 for the development of the state capital post-bifurcation with a specific area demarcated as the capital region. Now that the YSR Congress government has decided to have three capitals for the state, the CRDA Act is proposed to be repealed. Earlier in the day, the Cabinet met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy and cleared the draft Bills. The Cabinet also approved the recommendations of the HPC on the capitals issue. But the government could face hurdles in getting the Bills cleared in the Legislative Council, which sits from tomorrow, as the ruling party does not have majority. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Today, we honor the memory of a visionary leader who changed American culture forever. As many people enjoy this long three-day weekend, take some time to really think about the leadership lessons and the legacy that King left behind. The larger-than-life leadership lessons that King gave the world are as important for entrepreneurs today as they were during his life. It's a great way to remember why the banks are really closed today. Leadership lesson one: You must have total commitment to your cause King was a visionary. He was a man who had a dream bigger than the times in which he lived. That is, after all, what real visionary leaders are all about. His "I Have A Dream" speech brought awareness and humanity to the national consciousness about civil rights in America. King's stance on political activism in a nonviolent way made him a natural leader and an inspirational figure. He led a social movement of equality during a time when he wasn't supported by most. In fact, he was threatened and despised by many. But he stayed committed to the vision he held. Sadly, his leadership and dream ultimately cost King his life. Related: Slideshow: Inspiring Words From the March on Washington Even when he knew his cause was unpopular and his life was in danger, King remained committed to his vision. He was arrested upwards of 25 times and assaulted at least four reported times. Are you bringing that kind of total commitment to your cause? I'm not saying you should get arrested, but are you bringing that level of intensity and dedication to your work? King also required his leadership team and followers to participate in nonviolent protest. He felt strongly that violence, even for their cause, was not just. How are you ensuring your values sync up with your actions? Leadership lesson two: Disrupting the status quo is essential for change King is honored and revered today, but he wasn't embraced by society during his short life. However, King knew that his dream of equality (even when equality was not popular) was more important than the status quo. His actions backed his vision, and he shook up the popular culture of the time. Sometimes doing things completely different is what's necessary for evolution and innovation. These paradigm shifts are crucial in every aspect of social, cultural and technological change. The same way of thinking always wields the same results. King never accepted that just because things were a certain way, it made them the right way. How can you shake up the status quo in your industry? How about in your corporate culture or business values? Be a leader and set the new standard by changing an outdated status quo in your life. Leadership lesson three: Have a dream... then communicate it and do it "I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation," King said as he began his address at the Washington Monument. Those were tall words for a leader to proclaim across an audience of over 250,000 people. But King had a dream, and he couldn't be silent about it. How effective is a dream if you aren't communicating it? Do you have a vision for your company? Is it prominently displayed somewhere your staff can easily see? And do you talk about how your actions, campaigns and products back up that vision? Dreaming without doing is for childhood. Real leaders have big dreams, take big steps to communicate them and then they go take big actions! King's actions made him one of the great leaders of the 20th century, Time magazine's "Man Of The Year" in 1963 and a Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1964. How do you plan to turn your dreaming into doing? Related: Daymond John of 'Shark Tank' on the No. 1 Thing Entrepreneurs Need Related: What Communicators Can Learn From Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream' Speech The Dangers of Overpromising and Under-Delivering Go From Unmotivated to Goal-Oriented With These Hacks Copyright 2020 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved Belgium's southern Wallonia region, which briefly blocked an EU-Canada trade deal in 2016, said Monday it was "totally opposed" to Europe's new trade pact negotiated with South America's Mercosur grouping. The head of government for the French-speaking region, Elio Di Rupo, told the broadcaster RTBF that, "in its current state", the agreement struck in principle mid-2019 after two decades of negotiations was a non-starter. "For the Walloon government, it's no," he said. The EU-Mercosur deal aims to allow free trade between Europe and four South American countries: agricultural giants Brazil and Argentina, and their smaller neighbours Paraguay and Uruguay. It is the biggest trade deal the European bloc has negotiated. But after the tentative agreement was struck in June, opposition has been voiced by European farming and environmental groups, and France threatened last year to block ratification because of alleged inaction by Brazil to curb fires ravaging the Amazon forest. Di Rupo, a Socialist former Belgian prime minister, said he feared the effects of the trade deal on farming in Wallonia. He also demanded Mercosur apply EU health standards. For the EU-Mercosur deal to come into being it needs to be ratified across the EU, including by the four regions that make up Belgium. In October 2016, Wallonia was the only entity to block the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the EU and Canada, for similar reasons. That triggered several days of crisis before the region finally ratified after amending the law on the treaty. Wallonia's parliament will in the next few days hold a vote calling on the regional government to formally declare its opposition to Belgium's national government. Other EU members, among the France, Ireland, Austria and Luxembourg, have also expressed reservations about the Mercosur deal. A cow at an agricultural fair in Wallonia, where farmers have expressed concern about the EU-Mercosur trade pact Michelle Dockery looked business chic as she got into work mode on Sunday to promote her anticipated new Apple TV+ drama. The British actress wowed in an effortlessly elegant ensemble at the 2020 Winter TCA Tour at The Langham Huntington, in Pasadena California. Speaking as part of the Apple TV + panel, Michelle promoted her upcoming drama Defending Jacob alongside Jaeden Martell, who plays her onscreen son, and director Morten Tyldum. Elegant: Michelle Dockery looked business chic on Sunday to promote her anticipated new Apple TV drama Defending Jacob alongside co-star Jaeden Martell Michelle opted for understated glam for her panel chat, tucking a loose white shirt into high-waisted black trousers and completing her look with nude heels. Michelle stars in Defending Jacob, alongside Marvel star Chris Evans. The actors plays the parents of suspected teen killer Jacob Barber, played by Jaeden. Based on the gripping 2012 New York Times best selling novel by William Landay, the drama follows Chris' character Andy Barber, an assistant district attorney who is investigating the murder of teen Ben Rifkin - a classmate of his son Jacob. Promotion: The British actress wowed in an effortlessly elegant ensemble at the 2020 Winter TCA Tour at The Langham Huntington, in Pasadena California (pictured with director Morten Tyldum) After searching Jacob's room, he discovers a knife that fits the description of the murderer's knife. He is left defending his son from the murder. It's been a busy period for Michelle, who is also appearing on the big screen in Guy Ritchie's ensemble caper The Gentlemen. Michelle recently spoke to PORTER magazine about an exciting time for female actors. Chic: Michelle opted for understated glam for her panel chat, tucking a loose white shirt into high-waisted black trousers 'I do feel I stepped into this industry at a time when things were really beginning to change, especially for women,' she explained. 'It's the golden age of television, where creators have the luxury of writing 10 hours as opposed to just two, so there's room to explore a character in greater depth. 'It's now becoming much more normal to start a job or to read a part and for me to have a dialogue with the creators if there are moments where its felt the female character is not involved, for example whereas I guess in the past, it would have felt like more of a fight.' Defending Jacob will air on Apple TV+ in April. Firefighters who were called to put out a blaze at a construction site in Queens, New York, overnight discovered the scorched body of a man with his hands tied behind his back. The incident took place at around 3.15am Monday when the FDNY received a report about a suspicious fire at 103-18 217th Street in the Queens Village section. After putting out the flames, firefighters found an unconscious man lying on the first floor of the building. Scroll down for video FDNY got a call overnight about a fire in the Queens Village section of Queens, which led to the discovery of a man's body The unnamed victim was found burned with his hands bound behind his back on the first floor of this building, which has been under construction since last summer Paramedics who responded to the house pronounced the victim dead at the scene. Officials say the man's hands were restrained behind his back and he sustained severe burns all over his body, reported ABC 7 NY. The Medical Examiner will perform an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death. The building where the grisly discovery was made used to house a deli and has been under construction since last summer, but neighbors said work at the site has been at a standstill for the last few weeks. The FDNY fire marshal is investigating the fire at 103-18 217th Street as suspicious 'This is shocking for this area,' next-door neighbor Autumn Bishop told PIX11. 'I'm scared, I'm scared.' NYPD crime scene investigators in white Hazmat suits spent the morning gathering evidence at the scene and photographing the property from all sides. So far, the victim has not been named and no arrests have been made. The FDNY fire marshal is investigating the fire as suspicious. 'Out of Line', an exhibition curated in New Delhi by Phnom Pehn-based Erin Gleeson, explores a nation's obsession with artists of 'national' repute. It closely examines its relevance in Cambodia, a country with a history of war, violence, and suppression of the arts. In the Indian art parlance, references to artists as 'masters' or 'pioneering' continue to enjoy wide currency, often implying a culture of exclusion against other artists from the so-called 'national canon'. But a new exhibition in the capital has interrogated this long-standing obsession with national artists that is, of course, not confined to India alone. The exhibition, recently mounted at Akar Prakar Contemporary, New Delhi, features works of 10 artists born in Cambodia, a country with a history of war, violence, and suppression of the arts. Curated by Phnom Penh-based Erin Gleeson, who is also a researcher of Southeast-Asian visual culture, the exhibition launches the national debate right in its title: 'Out of Line: Tracing Abstraction Within Contemporary Art in Cambodia'. In conversation with Firstpost, Gleeson talks about the dynamic elements at play in the exhibition, Khmer Rouge, and how history is veritably reflected in Cambodia's art. The exhibition's framework seeks to move away from dominant timelines (Western, for example) of art history, while pointing out that Cambodia has its own evolution of modern and contemporary art. In what way do artists in Out of Line interrogate those timelines? There are different treatments of time in this show. Firstly, there is the curatorial embrace of multiple modernisms that modernism happens at different times and looks at different ways per country or context. Scholarship on modern and contemporary art in Cambodia belongs largely to this century, so a lot of basics are being questioned. When was Cambodian modernism in art? When did 'the contemporary' happen? Was there a sudden shift, and is there a clear delineation between the two? The exhibition converses with such questions of when and how the modern and the contemporary occurred and overlapped, and what art looked like and performed in the Cambodian context. These questions, by nature and circumstance, coincide with the increasing movement to decolonise art history curators and art historians are interested in reconfiguring colonial notions of time and its narratives. Could you illustrate this with an example of any recent scholarship on Cambodian art and history? During 2000-06, research by San Phalla, Preap Chanmara, Ingrid Muan and Ly Daravuth and others of the Reyum Institute of Art and Culture brought us documentation of 600 Buddhist temples across Cambodia in their book, Wat Painting in Cambodia, which can be activated by existing research by Ashley Thompson and current research by Vera Mey. For example, to point us to the fact that temple walls from the early colonial 1900s to post-Independence 1960s are a primary visual expression of modernism. The exhibition might say, no, abstraction in Cambodia is not isolated to the look and timeframe of Western modernism, but it also doesnt define or isolate what abstraction is. Rather it brings together 10 artists, whose works have been named vernacularly as such by the artists themselves by their desire and intention to be differently legible. Cambodia's artists, art and its market suffered a great deal because of the death of a majority of its artists during the Khmer Rouge rule (1975-79). Was there a gap in art-making in Cambodia due to artists being either sent abroad to study art, or because they could not make much art, during the regime, that was outside of propaganda? How does the exhibition respond to this scenario? There have been so many major shifts in power and resulting ways of being an artist in and of 'Cambodia,' we cannot only start and end with the Khmer Rouge. If we think of the artists in the exhibition born between 1933-1990, every one of them was born into and touched by war. There was the unrest of colonisation when the territory was part of the French Protectorates Indochina (1887-1953), and within that the Franco-Thai War (1940-41) and Japanese occupation (1941-1945), then Cambodia as an independent nation (1954-1970), a US led-coup, bombing, and ensuing civil war (1970-1975), the genocide during Khmer Rouge rule (1975-1979) and the aftermath of ongoing conflict and refugee camps, Vietnams rule via Peoples Republic of Kampuchea (1979-1989), and many more overlapping conflicts and details I have not named. How did these periods affect the arts in Cambodia? The authoritarian nature of leadership resulted in sanctioning this or that kind of art and restricting others, whether explicitly or not. In general, there has been a reverence for the performing arts and artisanal practices that serve religious and political power, and belief. The late scholar Ingrid Muans research showed us that many artists worked for different regimes, thus shifted style and purpose. They might have trained under design professors, as part of the United States Information Service programs in the 1960s, then made propaganda posters for communist forces in the 1970s. After surviving the Khmer Rouge, they studied art in the former Soviet Bloc between the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, as part of a national effort to create leaders, after 90 per cent of artists were targeted and killed during the Khmer Rouge era. Many artists in the exhibition reject perpetuating iconographies drawn from Cambodian visual culture. What explains this opposition? The performing of narratives, choreographies, surface patterning, Hindu-Buddhist iconographies, et cetera, associated with the dominant ethnic identity Khmer, has been both a colonial and nationalising practice. For different reasons, many artists wish to engage with these histories some by interacting with them, and some altogether dismissing and seeking other languages. We see Tith Kanitha creating abstract sculptures with utilitarian metal wire, and Yim Malines amorphous patterning on refuse. Both of these womens practices are ways of processing their experiences of growing up in Cambodias culture, though their artworks purposely cannot be identified as such. Other artists, such as Than Sok, repurpose and reinvent traditional iconographies, in many cases so that we can consider their relevance today. Even though the exhibition traces forms of abstraction in Cambodian contemporary art, one of the most direct and powerful works in the exhibition is a video of Svay Sareth (b. 1972) eating rubber sandals at a village. Accompanying the video is a wall-based assemblage of black rubber sandals. What is the message behind his "absurd meal"? Svay Sareths video I, Svay Sareth, eat rubber sandals (2015) is in the gallery room, considering some examples of figurative abstraction. This self portrait is indeed direct abstraction here is not visual, rather belongs to a kind of figurative code in the moving image that developed in contemporary art practices in Cambodia after 2010, in which artists performed futile acts in potent surroundings as a means of critique, oftentimes political. In Sareths case, he gnaws on and spits out rubber sandals that are highly symbolic of communist histories. This meal is staged at an impoverished itinerant fishing village the artist finds comparable to the labour and refugee camps he survived for 17 years (1975-1992). From a political-artistic point of view, are there any specific works that influenced Sareths video? The work nods to two different works that Sareth notes as warnings against the capitalistic and consumer desire he sees depleting people, while developing his country a scene from Jorgen Leths '66 Scenes from America', in which Andy Warhol indifferently consumes fast-food burger, and the scene when Charlie Chaplin prepares his boot for dinner as things go bust in Gold Rush. He was introduced to Chaplins work in the refugee camps, and notes the power of futility and humour in hopeless times. The video is positioned in conversation with the other works in the figurative room, that is Nov Cheanicks obfuscation of identity in his portrait, Sitter, and Svay Ken and Sous Sodavys portraits of labourers. Out of Line - Tracing Abstraction Within Contemporary Art in Cambodia was on view at Akar Prakar Contemporary, New Delhi, from 16 November, 2019 - 11 January, 2020. Donald Trump has promoted a strange claim that the House of Representatives gave him less due process during the impeachment inquiry than the 9/11 attackers received. The US president embellished the quote from Fox News Mark Levin to also assert this is a corrupt process and added a false reaction from Republican senator Doug Collins, claiming he replied: Very much so! Mr Collins did nod to indicate his agreement, however his raised eyebrows suggested some shock at Mr Levins comparing the president to those responsible for the most infamous terror attack in American history. Mr Trump is currently on trial in the senate, accused of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. He is the third US president to be impeached. I dont believe this is ever happened before in American history, Mr Levin claimed. The president is denied due process. Im not talking about the Bill of Rights, Im talking about the due process past presidents have had basic Magna Carta-type due process that people are supposed to get. 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 gets less due process than the terrorists on 9/11 get. They get habeas corpus rights and all these other the president gets no rights, no consideration. The Republicans, no rights. You just told me you couldnt call a single witness. All of the 19 terrorists aboard planes died during the 9/11 attacks. Several others involved in planning the terror strike are serving life sentences or potentially facing the death penalty, with some suspects having been subjected to torture at Guantanamo Bay and CIA black sites. Several were detained for years without being formally charged. While Mr Trump and Republicans have not been able to call witnesses during the impeachment inquiry, they were able to cross-examine the witnesses that were called. The White House has also been able to block any of the documents and witnesses requested by Democrats, with Mr Trump notably saying he would use executive privilege to block former national security adviser John Boltons testimony. It is not the first strange claim Mr Trump has made about 9/11. The president has previously boasted that his building was the tallest in downtown Manhattan after the World Trade Centre was destroyed. He also claimed to have been a first responder despite also purporting to have seen thousands of Muslims celebrating the attack in New Jersey. On Sunday, loyal Trump defender Lindsey Graham claimed Mr Trumps biggest concern about the impeachment trial was that it posed a threat to the sanctity of the presidency. He thinks its a threat to the presidency, Mr Graham told Fox News. The one thing he talks to me constantly about is what does the next president do after this, if it is successful? He does not want to legitimise attack[s] on the presidency. Meanwhile, Mr Trump was addressing the American Farm Bureau in Austin on Sunday, where he continued to rage against impeachment proceedings. Were achieving what no administration has ever achieved before, Mr Trump claimed. And what do I get for it? I get impeached by these radical left lunatics. AUSTIN With voting set to begin in Texas in less than 30 days, Democratic presidential candidates may be increasing their campaign activity in the state , but President Donald Trump and his campaign are determined to not give them unfettered access to the Lone Star states voters. Democratic hopefuls Michael Bloomberg, Pete Buttigieg, and Joe Biden have all made recent campaign stops and have been staffing up in Texas, Trumps re-election camp is responding by upping their organizing efforts on the ground and making sure the President speaks directly to Texas voters. I am thrilled to be back in this incredible state of Texas, Trump said during a speech in Austin on Sunday . From what I understand those polls are all saying we are way higher than we were in 2016. Were doing good. Speaking to the American Farm Bureau Foundations annual convention, Trump touted new trade deals with Mexico and Canada to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement, plus progress in trade talks with China as evidence that the economy is booming and Democrats are a threat to it all if they win the White House. We did it, Trump said. Remember they were all saying youll never get NAFTA changed. We were stuck with one of the worst trade deals in history. Instead, Trump said the new USMCA will massively boost exports for farmers and ranchers. Trump said the USMCA and the new ground-breaking deal with China shows his administration doing things that no other administration has ever done before. And what do I get out of it? I get impeached, he said. Thats what I get. By these radical-left lunatics, I get impeached. But thats OK. The farmers are sticking with Trump. But it was more than just talk from Trump boosting his Texas campaign. On Saturday, just two days after former Vice Presdient Biden campaigned in Dallas and Houston, Trump volunteers assembled in 10 Texas cities for a massive early campaign outreach dry run. The campaign said tens of thousands of phone calls were made to reach out to their voters to make sure they are ready to not only vote but to spread Trumps message in their neighborhoods and with their families. This is the just precursor, said 54-year-old Houston resident Andy Valadez, donning his red Make American Great Again hat. Its only going to get a lot busier. Valadez was one of the dozens of volunteers phone banking and training other new volunteers at the Harris County Republican Party headquarters at an office complex just off Northwest Freeway. The Trump campaign called the push a national day of action to rev up what they are calling a neighborhood team model that aims to create a permanent presence on the ground in key communities for the whole year and not just wait until the final weeks before the November election. While Trump won Texas in 2016 over Democrat Hillary Clinton, his 52 percent victory was the tightest since 1996 for a Republican presidential candidate in Texas . A Democrat has not won Texas in a presidential election since Jimmy Carter in 1976. He still has Texas, Valadez said. But we have to engage our people. We need to up our game. But Democrats are getting more aggressive in Texas in their bid to knock off Trump. On Friday, Warren opened a Houston-campaign office - her third Texas outpost. Last weekend, it was Bloomberg traveling the state while his more than $200 million national advertising campaign helps continue to blanket Texas. Meanwhile on Thursday Biden had some of his most pointed jabs yet at Trump on the campaign trail, warning supporters at a Houston fundraiser that Trump is only going to get more erratic if hes allowed to remain in office. This president has done enormous damage, Biden said at a River Oaks home. Folks, weve got to turn this around quickly he still has another 9 or 10 months. God knows what can happen. Days earlier it was former New York Mayor Bloomberg in San Antonio saying he was the Democrat who in November can beat Donald Trump in November and took him to task for trying to close the nation to refugees and failing to address the nations gun violence epidemic. We are here to win this election and I am running to defeat Donald Trump, Bloomberg said in San Antonio. Buttigieg, the former South Bend Indiana mayor, stumped in Texas earlier in the month. The spike in Democratic activity in Texas comes as early voting in the Texas Presidential Primaries begin on Feb. 18. Election day is March 3, known as Super Tuesday when more than a dozen states will vote in the primaries. Texas is one of the biggest prizes on that day because it has 228 pledged delegates up for grabs. That is more delegates than early voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina combined. Its those delegate tallies that ultimately will determine who will be the Democratic nominee this summer. Trumps speech at the American Farm Bureau Foundations convention, showed how important the economic success during his administration will be a key selling point for voters. Since my election, the U.S. has gained 7 million jobs, Trump said. The unemployment rate is 3.5 percent - the lowest in 50 years. The unemployment of minorities is at all time historic lows. More Americans are working more than ever before. Given the audience, Trump focused heavily on progress in the nations agricultural economy. I hope you all remember that before I took office, American agriculture was being crushed by an onslaught of massive taxes, crippling regulations, burdensome federal mandatesand horrendous trade deals, he said. WASHINGTON The senator was livid. The president of his own party had gotten himself in so much trouble that he was now facing impeachment. And so when the phone rang one night after dinner and the senator picked up to find the White House on the line, he cursed the commander in chief. Youre a fool! the senator told the president. Youre a damn, damn, damn fool! The senators wife was aghast. Thats the president! she whispered in horror. That was 21 years ago. The president was Bill Clinton, and the senator was Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, who like other Democrats was furious at the position the leader of his party had put them in. Within a few months, Mr. Clinton would become the defendant in the first Senate impeachment trial in more than 130 years and Mr. Leahy one of the quasi-jurors charged with deciding whether he should be removed from office. That trial on allegations of perjury and obstruction of justice stemming from a sexual harassment lawsuit has taken on new meaning in recent days as the Senate once again gathers to consider charges of high crimes and misdemeanors against a president. The Clinton trial, the only time in anyones lifetime until now that an occupant of the White House has been judged by the Senate, serves as the template for how President Trump will be judged on accusations of abusing his office for political gain and obstructing Congress. Hubbard VFD Adds Brush Truck With Help Of Forest Service Grant Hubbard Volunteer Fire Department recently completed a fleet upgrade with the addition of a new brush truck thanks to a $179,400 cost-share grant through the Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance Program administered by Texas A&M Forest Service. We are pleased to replace an older 1990 truck with one that will be low maintenance and allows us to respond more safely with greater firefighting power, said Hubbard Volunteer Fire Department Secretary/Treasurer Wil Geltmeier. The truck has a remote-controlled front bumper monitor and sprayers, back-up camera, PA system and a two-way radio that will help communicate with those around the truck, he added. The new large brush truck has a 500-gallon water tank, foam capability and can draft water from a pool, creek or other water source. Texas A&M Forest Service is committed to protecting lives and property through the Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance Program, a cost-share program funded by Texas State Legislature and administered by Texas A&M Forest Service. This program provides funding to rural volunteer fire departments for the acquisition of firefighting vehicles, fire and rescue equipment, protective clothing, dry-hydrants, computer systems and firefighter training. For more information on programs offered by Texas A&M Forest Service, visit http://texasfd.com. Look for videos to be posted all day and evening at Brighteon.com . The simple truth is that its the gun owners who are the lawful, civil American citizens. Its the anti-gun lunatics who are engaged in actual fascism, censorship, lies, false flags and other nefarious acts that the Left routinely blames on their political opponents. The censorship of pro-America voices goes hand in hand with the CIA-run left-wing media running a psyop narrative today that claims militia leaders might cause violence at the event. Every media outlet from NBC News to CNN is calling all the peaceful demonstrators fascists and white nationalists. In truth, there are now tens of thousands of gun owners on the scene carrying guns right now without a single incident of violence. Its the most peaceful, heavily armed pro-Second Amendment rally that we can remember. At the same time, the telecommunications giants were shutting down live streaming of nearly everyone at the event , making sure that virtually no one could live broadcast streams without repeated interruptions. The live stream was taken down as Santilli was live streaming Alex Jones thanking American patriots for being peaceful but courageous as tens of thousands gathered in Richmond to call for Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam to resign. ( Natural News ) YouTube is now blocking pro-America live streams from the pro-2A rally in Richmond, Virginia. Pete Santillis live stream was just taken down moments ago, replaced with a warning message from YouTube that says, This video has been removed for violating YouTubes Community Guidelines. About the author: Mike Adams (aka the Health Ranger) is a best selling author (#1 best selling science book on Amazon.com called Food Forensics), an environmental scientist, a patent holder for a cesium radioactive isotope elimination invention, a multiple award winner for outstanding journalism, a science news publisher and influential commentator on topics ranging from science and medicine to culture and politics. Follow his videos, podcasts, websites and science projects at the links below. Mike Adams serves as the founding editor of NaturalNews.com and the lab science director of an internationally accredited (ISO 17025) analytical laboratory known as CWC Labs. There, he was awarded a Certificate of Excellence for achieving extremely high accuracy in the analysis of toxic elements in unknown water samples using ICP-MS instrumentation. Adams is also highly proficient in running liquid chromatography, ion chromatography and mass spectrometry time-of-flight analytical instrumentation. He has also achieved numerous laboratory breakthroughs in the programming of automated liquid handling robots for sample preparation and external standards prep. The U.S. patent office has awarded Mike Adams patent NO. US 9526751 B2 for the invention of Cesium Eliminator, a lifesaving invention that removes up to 95% of radioactive cesium from the human digestive tract. Adams has pledged to donate full patent licensing rights to any state or national government that needs to manufacture the product to save human lives in the aftermath of a nuclear accident, disaster, act of war or act of terrorism. He has also stockpiled 10,000 kg of raw material to manufacture Cesium Eliminator in a Texas warehouse, and plans to donate the finished product to help save lives in Texas when the next nuclear event occurs. No independent scientist in the world has done more research on the removal of radioactive elements from the human digestive tract. Adams is a person of color whose ancestors include Africans and American Indians. He is of Native American heritage, which he credits as inspiring his Health Ranger passion for protecting life and nature against the destruction caused by chemicals, heavy metals and other forms of pollution. Adams is the author of the worlds first book that published ICP-MS heavy metals analysis results for foods, dietary supplements, pet food, spices and fast food. The book is entitled Food Forensics and is published by BenBella Books. In his laboratory research, Adams has made numerous food safety breakthroughs such as revealing rice protein products imported from Asia to be contaminated with toxic heavy metals like lead, cadmium and tungsten. Adams was the first food science researcher to document high levels of tungsten in superfoods. He also discovered over 11 ppm lead in imported mangosteen powder, and led an industry-wide voluntary agreement to limit heavy metals in rice protein products. In addition to his lab work, Adams is also the (non-paid) executive director of the non-profit Consumer Wellness Center (CWC), an organization that redirects 100% of its donations receipts to grant programs that teach children and women how to grow their own food or vastly improve their nutrition. Through the non-profit CWC, Adams also launched Nutrition Rescue, a program that donates essential vitamins to people in need. Click here to see some of the CWC success stories. With a background in science and software technology, Adams is the original founder of the email newsletter technology company known as Arial Software. Using his technical experience combined with his love for natural health, Adams developed and deployed the content management system currently driving NaturalNews.com. He also engineered the high-level statistical algorithms that power SCIENCE.naturalnews.com, a massive research resource featuring over 10 million scientific studies. Adams is well known for his incredibly popular consumer activism video blowing the lid on fake blueberries used throughout the food supply. He has also exposed strange fibers found in Chicken McNuggets, fake academic credentials of so-called health gurus, dangerous detox products imported as battery acid and sold for oral consumption, fake acai berry scams, the California raw milk raids, the vaccine research fraud revealed by industry whistleblowers and many other topics. Adams has also helped defend the rights of home gardeners and protect the medical freedom rights of parents. Adams is widely recognized to have made a remarkable global impact on issues like GMOs, vaccines, nutrition therapies, human consciousness. In addition to his activism, Adams is an accomplished musician who has released over fifteen popular songs covering a variety of activism topics. Click here to read a more detailed bio on Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, at HealthRanger.com. Find more science, news, commentary and inventions from the Health Ranger at: Brighteon.com: Brighteon.com/channel/hrreport Diaspora: (uncensored social network) Share.NaturalNews.com GAB: GAB.com/healthranger Podcasts: HealthRangerReport.com Online store: HealthRangerStore.com #1 Bestselling Science Book Food Forensics: FoodForensics.com iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-health-ranger-report/id1063165791 SoundCloud: Soundcloud.com/healthranger Health Rangers science lab CWClabs.com Health Ranger bio HealthRanger.com TruthWiki.org Search engine: Webseed.com Bangladeshi soldiers inspect the scene of the 2001 bomb blast in Dhaka (AFP Photo/JEWEL SAMAD) A Bangladeshi court sentenced 10 Islamic militants to death Monday for the bombing at communist party rally two decades ago that killed five people. In January 2001 several bombs were detonated in Dhaka at a meeting of the Communist Party of Bangladesh, and police blamed the country's branch of the banned Harkat-ul-Jihad al Islami (HUJI) after an investigation lasting several years. The attack was one of several carried out by militant groups whose members were returning to Bangladesh from the Afghanistan conflict in the early 2000s. On Monday, Dhaka city public prosecutor Abdullah Abu told AFP that 10 HUJI members had been convicted and sentenced to death. "They carried out the bombing as part of their jihad to establish a militant government. They wanted to smear the image of the secular government and create anarchy," he said. Two communist party members accused of involvement were acquitted. Islamist groups have been targeting secular activists, moderate Muslims and religious minorities in Bangladesh since the 1990s. HUJI and Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) were the two most prominent outfits. Both were led by Afghan conflict veterans and were blamed for scores of deaths in bomb and grenade attacks. The top six JMB leaders were executed in 2007 after being found guilty of synchronised bomb attacks in August 2005. And HUJI chief Mufti Abdul Hannan and two associates were executed in April 2017 for orchestrating a 2004 attack on a Sufi shrine that killed three people and wounded the British high commissioner to Dhaka. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 09:31:29|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close GENEVA, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Challenges to world peace and security as well as the climate emergency can only be tackled through multilateralism, Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Secretary General Martin Chungong has said. In a recent interview with Xinhua, Chungong said he thinks countries can work together to jointly respond to the common challenges and that he is optimistic about this. Global problems demand global solutions, he noted. Global solutions are about everybody, every stakeholder, and the global issues, such as the sustainable development goals, the climate emergency and the effects of lack of development are "not just felt by a group of countries, but felt throughout," he said. Multilateralism is being challenged today and is not "functioning as efficiently as we would like it," said the IPU secretary general, noting it would be wrong to jeopardize it. "We should avoid throwing the baby out with the bathwater," he noted. "What is required is a reinvented form of multilateralism ... that is more agile and can actually examine in a very clear fashion the global challenges facing the international community and find solutions," Chungong said. "It is a multilateralism that needs to be more inclusive," he emphasized. In his opinion, what Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a speech delivered at the United Nations Office at Geneva in January 2017 about building a community with a shared future for mankind is inspiring and beneficial. "This was a ringing endorsement of the value of multilateralism and international cooperation and the very notion of shared prosperity, a shared future for mankind that goes to the core of multilateralism," said Chungong. "We have seen the achievements made by China when it comes to lifting people out of poverty, and this experience can be shared with the rest of the global community," he added. "This world belongs to every human being on this Earth. Whatever we do is to ensure that we move together, we enjoy together. We benefit from the fruits of our global efforts together, and no one should be left behind," he said. Founded in 1889, the IPU is one of the world's oldest multilateral organizations. Chungong said this year marks the 75th anniversary of the United Nations and called on IPU members to share their views on how the world should move forward with the help of multilateralism. 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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You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated sale of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website. Targeting Cookies We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated sale of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website. Prime Minister Scott Morrison insists there is no division within federal cabinet over his government's climate change policy following a public spat with a state Liberal environment minister over Australia's efforts to lower emissions. Mr Morrison slapped down NSW Environment Minister Matt Kean over his claims senior Coalition members were privately pushing for more ambitious emission reduction targets, saying he "doesn't know what he's talking about" and that most of the federal cabinet wouldn't know who he was. Pressure on the Morrison government will intensify on Tuesday when four of Australia's leading international aid groups join forces to issue a plea to address the climate crisis. Mr Morrison said his government was united over the challenge of the current bushfire crisis and "meeting and beating" the emission reduction targets it took to last year's election. But many of the people who cause problems are likely the ones who could benefit from a long-term city partnership with a mental health service provider. New Delhi: Terrorists on Monday attacked a CRPF camp in Jammu and Kashmirs Pulwama. The terrorists hurled a grenade at the CRPF camp in Newa village of Pulwama. More details about the casualties were yet to come. Following the attack, the security forces have launched a search operation in the area to nab the terrorists. The attack has come hours after three Hizbul terrorists were gunned down by security forces in Shopian following an encounter. One of the terrorists was identified as Adil Sheikh. He was also accused of looting weapons from the residence of then PDP MLA Azaj Mir in June 2018. On February 14, 2019, in one of the biggest terror attack in nearly two decades in Jammu and Kashmir, 42 CRPF personnel were killed in Pulwama on February 14, 2019. On February 8, a week before the attack, the Jammu and Kashmir police had reportedly sent an intelligence input to the CRPF, BSF, ITBP, SSB, Army and the Air Force warning of a possible IED attack. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Concerns have been raised over a significant rise in inbreeding levels in racehorse population over the last 45 years. New research by scientists at University College Dublin and equine science company Plusvital has established linked the increase in inbreeding to selection for favourable racing traits and the influence of popular sire lines 97pc of horses in the study traced to Northern Dancer, and 35pc and 55pc of European and Australian horses had Sadlers Wells and Danehill, respectively, in their pedigrees. Selection for popular sire lines reduces genetic diversity which can lead to inbreeding depression. The research, published this week in the peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports, analysed the genomes of over 10,000 thoroughbreds, the largest set of horses examined to date. UCD Professor in Equine Genomics, Emmeline Hill said in breeding has always been high in Thoroughbreds, but it is getting higher. "It is likely that, unchecked, inbreeding in the Thoroughbred will continue to increase in a market where there is high demand for particular sire lines. "The problem with inbreeding is that it can compromise overall population fertility and health," she warned. Unlike most managed animal production systems, there is no systematic, industry-mediated genomic selection or population management for the Thoroughbred. Pedigree is not powerful enough to help any more. Pedigree can be useful in highlighting broad trends in breeding practices, such as the predominance of certain sire lines leading to a high degree of relatedness. However, since "Thoroughbreds are now so closely related, there is no longer the resolution in a pedigree to accurately infer relatedness between individuals, said Professor Hill. Higher inbreeding is not associated with superior racing performance, and Professor Hill reiterated that the research should be seen as a positive for the industry. The purpose of this research is to provide information that, if harnessed in the appropriate way, could be beneficial to ensure the future sustainability of the breed. Over and above its OPEC+ deal quota with which it has only ever been marginally acquainted, at best Iraqs ambition to dramatically increase its oil production is now at a crucial point. Until only very recently, Iraq was rolling along, merrily breaking its previous and current OPEC+ production quota in producing oil in the 4.5-4.7 million barrels per day (bpd) range as and when it could. Its oil production targets of 6.2 million bpd by the end of 2020 and 9 million bpd by the end of 2023 looked relatively realistic in size, albeit with some slippage on timing, provided that planned infrastructure and field development projects continued to make progress. The recent events before and after the U.S. execution of Irans Major General Soleimani including the siege of the U.S. embassy in Baghdad and the attack on the U.S. Ain al-Assad military base in Iraq mean that all of this is now in real jeopardy. Before the negative impact of the recent events were felt, Iraq had been very successful in raising its crude oil production to the 4.5-4.7 million bpd level, despite the ongoing secessionist-related problems with the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan in the north as well, from an average of 2.07 million bpd from 1973 to 2017 (with a high of 4.83 million bpd in December 2016). Even this figure, though, represents only a small portion of what Iraq could achieve, given both its official level of oil reserves and what many believe to be the real level. Officially, Iraq has 143 billion barrels of crude oil reserves, with lifting costs on a par with Saudi Arabia, at US$1-2 per barrel (excluding capital expenditure). However, according to in-house Ministry of Oil (MoO) figures relayed to OilPrice.com by a senior source there, the country actually has at least 250 billion barrels, a level comparable to Saudi Arabias 260 billion-or-so barrels or whatever figure the Saudis dreamt up last night. The higher Iraqi figure is in line with a detailed study conducted in 1997 by an independent U.S. oil services and analytics company, Petrolog, which concluded that Iraqs undiscovered resources amounted to 215 billion barrels. This figure, though, did not include the parts of northern Iraq in the area controlled by the Kurdistan region or examination of the stratigraphic traps that are numerous in central and western regions of the country. The U.S. government knows the true figures, and this is one of the key reasons why it removed Saddam Hussein to ensure ongoing access to the reservoir, the Iraqi government source told OilPrice.com last week. Related: How Important Is The Suriname Oil Discovery? Funding was key to the realisation of these dramatic production increases of course, with the real figure required to achieve the initial leap to 5.7 million bpd estimated by the Iraq source to be in the order of US$36 billion against official MoO estimates of around US$7 billion. This, though, was not a problem up until very recently, with a surfeit of big-hitting suitors including the U.S. itself, Russia, and China ready to open their wallets. Indeed, as exclusively highlighted by OilPrice.com in recent months, China told the MoO that whatever is needed, China would fund it, according to the Iraq source. Iraqs stalwart Rumaila oil field is a prime example where even a relatively small investment can result in a significant increase in crude oil output. With an estimated 17 billion barrels in proven reserves the current output of around 1.2-1.3 million bpd is nowhere near its optimum production level. The original plan was for BP to add 100,000 bpd every year up to a total of 2.3-2.4 million bpd of production by the original 9 million bpd total target date of 2020. The only reason that it hasnt gone according to the original plan was that Rumaila like West Qurna has been one of the fields that the government has looked to when it needs to reduce overall country production, Richard Mallinson, head of Middle East analysis for Energy Aspects told OilPrice.com. This has happened to a degree with the OPEC+ deal and before that with the difficulties in paying IOCs [international oil companies] under the technical service contract [TSC] payment structure, he said. Mallinson added that this had resulted in BP being unwilling to make the extra investments needed in order to meet these incremental output increases, as it did not know whether it would be allowed to pump at these levels on a sustained basis. The same mix of politics and money, although multiplied in effect, is the reason why Kirkuk in the north of Iraq has seen little in the way of production increases for some considerable time and, together, Rumaila and Kirkuk have accounted for around 80% of Iraqs cumulative oil production to date. Related: Chinas Cheap Electric Vehicles Could Disrupt Global Markets For these two, and most other major fields in Iraq, the lack of progress on the Common Seawater Supply Facility (CSSF) that would treat seawater and transport it through pipelines to oil production facilities in order to boost reservoir pressures and increase output as part of the broader Southern Iraq Integrated Project has been critical. The CSSF was meant to have started in earnest by now but we are still nowhere near seeing construction start, Mallinson told OilPrice.com. Although some companies like ENI for the Zubair field have built their own mini-facilities, this requires a huge commitment and level of confidence that not every company on every site wants to make, he added. This has been worsened as well by the endemic corruption in the oil industry in the north and south of Iraq, which, aside from anything else, would open up any participating companies in the CSSF to reputational damage if they took part and if as happens frequently in Iraq a new government looked to score political points off their departing opponents. So risky has the present situation become in Iraq that it prompted the International Energy Agency (IEA) last week to specifically highlight that: Recent events have shown that Iraq is a potentially vulnerable supplier, just as its strategic importance has grown. This was particularly in reference to the relatively high amount of oil that Iraq now supplies to major global customers - China and India each receive about 1 million bpd of oil from Iraq and another 1 million bpd goes to various European countries but there is a longer-term threat as well. In the medium term, heightened security concerns might make it more difficult for Iraq to build production capacity,[...] In turn, this could make it more difficult to ensure there is sufficient spare production capacity to meet rising global demand in the second half of this decade, the IEA added. In particular, any and all efforts that Baghdad was making towards finally persuading the U.S.s ExxonMobil to make progress on the CSSF with or without Chinas CNPC or other state-owned vehicle are in jeopardy. According to the Iraq source, a high-level working committee from the MoO, in conjunction with senior representatives from the real power in Iraq firebrand cleric and ultra-nationalist, Moqtada al-Sadr had been close to finalising new draft proposals for ExxonMobil that offers a more balanced risk/reward matrix, especially with regard to eliminating unnecessary bureaucracy and therefore, corruption from the contract mix. This is by far the most important possible downside for Iraq to the heightened risk environment in the country as seen by IOCs currently working there, the source added. Yes, various companies have taken out some of their people and suspended some operations in Iraq [most notably, the U.S., China, and U.K.] but Iraq is never going to sustainably get and hold oil production through the 5 million barrels per day, never mind any higher, if it does not build the CSSF, its as simple as that, he concluded. By Simon Watkins for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Anti Narcotic cell of Haryana Police on Monday arrested two women from Daha Basti of Mangal colony in Karnal and seized over 24 Kilograms of ganja leaves from their possession. The accused have been identified as Chandramukhi alias Chandro and Chandni Devi alias Chanda, said police. Working on a tip-off, anti-narcotic cell conducted a raid in Daha Basti and arrested them. "Anti Narcotic Cell had got a tip-off about drug peddling, accordingly, a police team had conducted a raid in Daha Basti and nabbed the duo along with 24 kg 200-gram ganja leaves," Haryana Police spokesperson said. During interrogation, the arrested accused revealed that they had brought the seized consignment from Indira Colony of Delhi and planned to sell it in small quantities on higher prices. "Both the women also revealed the name of a man, Bittu involved in drug peddling. He will be behind bars very soon," he said. A case under Narcotics, Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act has been registered. . (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) FELTON, California, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The global Beer Market was priced at US$ 485.2 billion in 2014 and is expected to witness a substantial CAGR in the years to come. This could be attributed to the fact that consumers pertaining to the market are turning out to be increasingly experimental with regards to their consumption habits. In other words, they are hunting for novel beer styles and experiences. As such, demand for imported brands, premium brands, and craft beer is on the rise. The other factor driving the demand for premium products is the ever-increasing spending power of consumers. To address this demand, manufacturers are into development of novel premium products. The latest trend in this regard is call for alcohol-free beers. Market Trends: The beer market is seeing inclination of consumers toward black beer. This could be credited to shift toward craft beverages and expansion of breweries. Europe is estimated to be the biggest market on the count of black beer; thanks to penetration by Molson Coors Brewing Company and Anheuser-Busch InBev. Get Sample PDF and read more details about the "Beer Market" Report 2022. Regional Insights: North America holds the largest market share due to introduction of craft beer in the U.S. Millennials across the globe are the target audience to flavored beer. Along these lines, adoption and incorporation of new flavors is on the anvil. For instance AB InBev, in Apr 2018, did launch "Bud Light Orange" (an orange-flavored light) for capitalizing on flavored lagers' popularity. Europe comes in second with increasing number of craft breweries and microbreweries. Asia Pacific is expected to grow at the highest rate in the next 5-7 years due to economies like China and India witnessing a considerable consumption on the part of beer. Plus, disposable income of people herein has been rising at an alarming rate. This asks for adoption of high-quality and premium beers. At the same time, heavy taxation and availability of substitutes are likely to hamper the beer industry. Market Segmentation: The beer market is segmented by type of product, price, packaging, and geography. By product type, the market spans wheat, stout, lager (mainstream lager, premium lager), flavored, dark, mixes, ale, cider, non-alcoholic, and low alcohol. By price, the segmentation goes like standard, super premium, and premium. By packaging, the market says draught, canned, and bottled. By geography, the market states North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, MEA, and LATAM. Players: The other players contributing to the beer market include Beijing Yanjing Brewery, Carlsberg Group, Diageo PLC, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Squatters Pub, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., and Boston Beer Company. Browse 93 page research report with TOC on "Global Beer Market" at: https://www.millioninsights.com/industry-reports/beer-market Market Segment: Global Beer Product Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2012 - 2022) Light Beer Strong Beer Global Beer Production Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2012 - 2022) Macro Micro Global Beer Category Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2012 - 2022) Premium Super Premium Normal Global Beer Packaging Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2012 - 2022) Canned Bottled Draught Global Beer Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2012 - 2022) North America Europe Asia Pacific Latin America , Middle East & Africa (LAMEA) Browse reports of similar category available with Million Insights: About Million Insights: Million Insights, is a distributor of market research reports, published by premium publishers only. We have a comprehensive market place that will enable you to compare data points, before you make a purchase. Enabling informed buying, is our motto and we strive hard to ensure that our clients get to browse through multiple samples, prior to an investment. Service flexibility & the fastest response time are two pillars, on which our business model is founded. Our market research report store, includes in-depth reports, from across various industry verticals, such as healthcare, technology, chemicals, food & beverages, consumer goods, material science & automotive. Contact: Ryan Manuel Research Support Specialist, USA Million Insights Phone: +-408-610-2300 Toll Free: 1-866-831-4085 Email: sales@millioninsights.com Web: https://www.millioninsights.com/ Blog: https://millioninsights.blogspot.com/ SOURCE Million Insights Jan. 10 At 8:31 a.m. an officer was dispatched to a residence in the 2600 block of Albans in regard to a burglary that had already occurred. Upon arrival, it was discovered that an unknown person had made entry into a detached garage and proceeded to take items without consent. A report for burglary of a building was generated. At 11:24 a.m. an Officer was dispatched to the 2700 block of Bissonnet to speak with a complainant who stated that their temporary mobile office trailer was burglarized sometime between 6:30 p.m. Jan. 9 and 11 a.m. Jan. 10. A report for burglary of a building was generated. Jan. 11 At 5 p.m. an officer was dispatched to 3800 University, in regards to a report of a burglary of a building, which had already occurred. The victim stated an unknown person(s) entered a residence under construction, which was secured by a gate and lock and stole several sheets of plywood. Information was gathered and a report was generated. Jan. 12 At 12:32 p.m. an officer was dispatched to the station in regards to found property. A concerned citizen discovered a house key lying on the ground in the 3800 block of University. A report was generated. At 4:12 p.m. an officer was dispatched to the 6600 block of Brompton, in regards to a credit / debit card abuse call, which had already occurred. The victim stated an unknown person(s) stole her credit / debit card information and made several withdrawals at several banks. Information was gathered and a report was generated. Jan. 13 At 5 p.m. an officer was dispatched to the station to meet with a resident concerning a fraudulent loan account. The Officer met with the complainant obtaining required information. At 5:02 p.m. an officer was dispatched to the station in reference to a case of theft. The victim said an unknown person(s) skimmed a debit card associated to her joint bank account and withdrew funds at several ATM machines locally. A case of credit/debit card abuse was generated. At 10:55 p.m. an officer was flagged down in the 2600 block of Bissonnet in reference of a burglary of a motor vehicle. Unknown suspect(s) made forcible entry into the victims vehicle and removed several items without the owners effective consent. An offense for burglary of a motor vehicle was generated. Jan. 15 At 9:15 a.m. an officer was dispatched to the 2500 block of Cullen Blvd. to pick up a male subject that had outstanding warrants with the City of West University Place. The male subject (Donnie Meshane Davidson) was then transported and booked into the West University Place Jail without incident. At 8:35 p.m. an officer was dispatched to the 2600 block of Bissonnet to speak with a complainant in regards to a burglary of a motor vehicle that already occurred. The complainant stated that an unknown person burglarized their vehicle. A report for burglary of a motor vehicle was generated. Jan. 16 At 1:58 p.m. an officer was dispatched to 3800 University, in regards to a criminal mischief (damaged to private property) call, which had already occurred. The victim stated an unknown person(s) caused damages to the front bumper of his vehicle. Information was gathered and report was generated. On Tuesday, January 14, American Thinker put up an article entitled "An Introduction to Q." It was one of the site's most popular articles for several days. Since Tuesday, the American Thinker site and email account have been subject to several cyber-attacks. There's no way to tell whether the attacks are related to the post, but the timing is thought-provoking. For almost three years, there's been word on the internet streets about "QAnon." Wikipedia which is a great resource for uncontested information about historic events or people or such anodyne things as plant types, but a hard-Left domain for modern political information introduces QAnon in the darkest way possible: QAnon (/kjunn/) is a far-right conspiracy theory detailing a supposed secret plot by an alleged "deep state" against U.S. President Donald Trump and his supporters. The theory began with an October 2017 post on the anonymous imageboard 4chan by someone using the name Q, a presumably American individual that may have later grown to include multiple people, claiming to have access to classified information involving the Trump administration and its opponents in the United States. Q has falsely accused numerous liberal Hollywood actors, Democratic politicians, and high-ranking officials of engaging in an international child sex trafficking ring, and has claimed that Donald Trump feigned collusion with Russians in order to enlist Robert Mueller to join him in exposing the ring and preventing a coup d'etat by Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and George Soros. "Q" is a reference to the top-secret Q clearance. QAnon believers commonly tag their social media posts with the hashtag #WWG1WGA, signifying the motto "where we go one, we go all." (All hyperlinks stripped.) That sounds scary, icky, and definitely conspiratorial. Deborah Franklin, who wrote the American Thinker Q article, disagrees. In her article, she writes that there's good reason to believe that the Q phenomenon is not just a conspiracy theory by which confused, angry, and disaffected American conservatives try to explain why the Left has been successful in both politics and social policy. Franklin explains that Q's hints, especially the way they tie together certain events and actions, have allowed Q followers to be a step ahead of world events, whether foreign or domestic. This prescience, Q supporters believe, proves that Q's cryptic pronouncements are not random predictions but are, in fact, solid advance intelligence. Those who follow Q closely, says Franklin, believe that, rather than being a pajama-wearing loon playing head games from a suburban basement, Q is, in reality, a military intelligence operation. Its purpose is to help people understand the stories that Leftist media outlets reluctantly report with only minimal detail or biased spin. The editors at American Thinker are agnostic about Q. They realize it's perfectly easy to read the Q phenomenon either way. That is, QAnon can be nothing more than a fancy conspiracy theory. After all, the human mind is hardwired to find connections, even where none exists. Alternatively, it could, in fact, be an intelligence operation laying a trail of crumbs that promise people that things that currently worry them a transnational elite, a dishonest media establishment, and moral corruption in high places around the world are not here permanently. Instead, Q promises that there is a plan to deal with these problems, with Trump's government at the center of that plan. Ultimately, when looking at Q, it really can go either way. But here's an interesting coincidence: since January 14, the day American Thinker published Franklin's take on Q, the site has experienced several attempted hacks, something that's never happened before. On January 15, someone identified as from Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam tried to get into American Thinker's email account. At the same time, the first person from American Thinker who tried to sign into the account was then locked out of his computer because malware was trying to install itself. On January 17, another hacker attempted to get into the American Thinker email. Once again, thankfully, the system appeared to have foiled the attempt by shutting down before anything bad happened. On the same day, another editor at American Thinker watched a computer tied to that same email account abruptly die. On January 19, the email system again stopped working, rebuffing people's attempts to sign in. This time, the attempt came from the Persian Gulf. On January 20, the back-end of American Thinker was the subject of an attack, locking out the editors entirely. Fortunately, American Thinker has superb tech support, so the lockdown was quickly foiled. As mentioned above, the human mind is hardwired to find connections, even where none exists. While that ability can occasionally lead us to the wrong places, it exists so that we can organize the chaos that is the world around us, enabling people to locate food and shelter and distinguish friend from foe. This could just have been American Thinker's week to get hacked, or American Thinker might have put a target on its back. Nevertheless, just in case either Q is the real deal or Q's opponents are worried (or know) that Q is the real deal, American Thinker will continue to post occasionally about the Q phenomenon in order to keep readers informed about what's either a really cool military operation or a really persuasive, giant conspiracy hoax. Climate change should be addressed by Congress and the electorate, not the courts, a federal appeals panel ruled in ending a lawsuit brought on behalf of young people who sought to force the government to draw up a plan to phase out fossil fuel emissions. In a split decision Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco agreed the 21 young people who sued presented compelling evidence that climate change is bringing eve of destruction nearer, but said it was beyond its power to order a remedial plan. Any effective plan would necessarily require a host of complex policy decisions entrusted to the wisdom and discretion of the executive and legislative branches, the majority on the panel said. The novel litigation filed in 2015 during the Obama administration had survived longer than most experts expected. Arguing that the government hasnt done enough to protect future generations from global warming, the group of teens claimed theyve been deprived of their constitutional right to a livable climate. U.S. Circuit Court Judge Josephine L. Staton dissented, accusing her colleagues of throwing up their hands in the face of a calamity. It is as if an asteroid were barreling toward Earth and the government decided to shut down our only defenses, Staton wrote. Seeking to quash this suit, the government bluntly insists that it has the absolute and unreviewable power to destroy the nation. Philip Gregory, a lawyer representing the young people, said in a phone interview that his clients plan to immediately seek a rehearing before a full appeals court. Given the urgency of climate change, were going to get this matter before the full 9th Circuit as quickly as possible, he said. The majority and dissenting opinions both recognized his clients had submitted sufficient evidence to show injuries and that the federal government caused them, Gregory said. The only thing the majority found against us is that the federal courts can do nothing about a constitutional injury. The majority said that the court cant order, design, supervise or implement the teens proposed remedies, and that they lacked legal standing to sue under Article III of the Constitution, which sets out the powers of the judicial branch. As the court recognized, Article III of the Constitutions standing requirement is a vital limitation on the power of the federal courts, Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark of the Justice Departments Environment division said in a statement. This suit fell squarely outside the parameters of Article III. The ruling was also welcomed by the libertarian-leaning Competitive Enterprise Institute. The court correctly understood that a lawsuit aimed at imposing a national plan to eliminate fossil fuel emissions and reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide would push the court far beyond its constitutional powers, CEI General Counsel Sam Kazman said in a statement. It would require the court to substitute its judgment for that of Congress and the administration on an unprecedented scale. But Josh Galperin, who lectures on environmental law at the University of Pittsburgh, called the ruling disappointing, from both a climate policy perspective and a legal one. We need courts to be more imaginative, Galperin said. That doesnt mean taking extra-legal steps, but it does mean thinking very carefully about the role of courts rather than just throwing up their hands and saying this is not a problem for courts to resolve, let Congress deal with it. Supreme Court After both the Obama and Trump administrations failed to quash the case, the U.S. Supreme Court in November said the Justice Department could again ask the appeals court in San Francisco to block the trial. The Supreme Court in July rejected a similar request to halt the lawsuit as premature but hinted at skepticism, saying the breadth of the youths claim was striking. The case isnt about whether climate change is real, but whether the government should have taken stronger action to curb its impact. The teens argued the U.S. Constitution confers a right to a climate system capable of sustaining human life. The government calls that a previously unimagined constitutional right. The appellate judges, all appointed by President Barack Obama, agreed that the evidence left little doubt that climate change was occurring at an increasingly rapid pace and that the government had long understood the risk of fossil fuel use and increased carbon dioxide emissions. They also agreed that the governments contribution to climate change was not simply a result of inaction. However, the three judges were split on whether a federal court can resolve the plaintiffs claim that the government had deprived them of a substantive constitutional right to a climate system capable of sustaining human life. To reduce the global consequences of climate change would require far more than a declaration that the government has violated the constitution or ordering the government to stop permitting, authorizing and subsidizing fossil fuel use, the majority said. It would require a fundamental transformation of the energy system of the U.S. or even of the entire industrial world, the judges said, referring to the testimony of the plaintiffs own experts. 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, the majority said. The appeal is In re: USA v. USDC-ORE, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (San Francisco). The lower-court case is Juliana v. U.S.A., 15-cv-01517, U.S. District Court, District of Oregon (Eugene). Copyright 2022 Bloomberg. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Share prices of Cochin Shipyard, NHPC, NMDC and Power Grid Corporation have reacted positively on the back of inclusion in the Nifty CPSC (Central public sector enterprises) index. On the other hand, shares of Indian Oil Corporation and Power Finance Corporation declined post the exclusion from the index. NHPC, NMDC, Power Grid and Cochin Shipyard will be included in Nifty CPSE Index, while IOC and PFC will be excluded from Nifty CPSE Index. The Nifty CPSE Index revision will be effective from January 23. NIFTY CPSE is trading 1 percent lower at 1,918.25. NMDC touched a 52-week high of Rs 137.95, quoting at Rs 136.20, up Rs 6.55, or 5.05 percent. NHPC touched a 52-week high of Rs 29, trading at Rs 29, up Rs 4.80, or 19.83 percent. Power Grid Corporation of India was quoting at Rs 207.90, up Rs 10.50, or 5.32 percent. Cochin Shipyard touched a 52-week high of Rs 491.15, trading at Rs 479.95, up Rs 55.15, or 12.98 percent. Indian Oil Corporation touched a 52-week low of Rs 113.75, trading at Rs 116.80, down Rs 5.85, or 4.77 percent and Power Finance Corporation was quoting at Rs 114.75, down Rs 7.25, or 5.94 percent. Police reports: Nickerson fighting extradition The Butte woman who was charged in December with negligent homicide in the death of her five-month-old daughter in Butte remains in jail at the Franklin County Detention Center in Maine, and is fighting extradition to Butte. Audria Shannon Nickerson was arrested Dec. 14, in Strong, Maine. Butte police found the 30-year-old woman slumped over her infant daughter in her car near the Butte-Silver Bow Police Department on Sept. 25. The woman had methamphetamine in her system, according to law enforcement. Butte-Silver Bow Undersheriff George Skuletich said Nickerson will be returning to court in February, and by that time, officials here will have secured a governors warrant to return her to Butte. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 1 Sad 1 Angry 4 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. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 10:57:38|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KUNMING, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, has congratulated villagers of a village of the Wa ethnic group in southwest China's Yunnan Province for shaking off poverty. Xi made the remarks on Sunday during a visit to Simola Wa Village, Tengchong City, during an inspection tour to the province ahead of the Chinese New Year. Heres how different writers and leaders have wrestled with Martin Luther King Jr.s legacy, organized from oldest to most recent. The son of civil rights leader John Perkins, Spencer Perkins shares about the faithand racismthat shaped his childhood. Today, as in King's era, we are experts at depersonalizing our ideological opponents, viewing them more as oppositional labels than neighbors whom we are commanded to love. In our contemporary clash of values, perhaps the thing we are missing most is the capacity as Christians to dream large and imagine a culture informed by kingdom values of grace, reconciliation, and justice. 30 years after MLKs death, Christianity Todays March 2, 1998 issue examined what had and hadnt changed with regards to evangelicals and race. In this review of King Came Preaching: The Pulpit Power of Martin Luther King Jr. Richard Lischer writes, In his mature years [MLK] wrote no sustained theological reflections on love, justice, suffering, or reconciliation. What he did do was preach sermons. MLK got angry. That matters, writes Ed Gilbreath. After watching Selma in the midst of a season of high-profile police shootings, Hope Ferguson writes, For many years, African Americans have felt that those events were part of a painful but thankfully receding history. However, recent events have made many of us feel differently. My sister put it this way: We feel stripped of our illusions. Austin Channing Brown writes, The next time we are being MLK-ed, we could respond by giving context to a random quote thrown our way. We could offer a differing, lesse- known quote in response. We can extrapolate and postulate, for sure. (Ive certainly done all the above.) But dont hesitate to also acknowledge the real man, made of flesh and blood, who was murdered at the age of 39 because his leadership represented such a threat to the status quo. Marlena Graves writes, Funny how yesterday's Christian radical can become today's Christian saint. While cross-racial friendships and political alliances can create harmony on the surface, only conversations with and about the Bible can create reconciliation at the heart. They are far riskier and more challenging, but, done well, yield far more meaningful results. Dante Stewart writes, Any radical discipleship that is not undergirded with revolutionary love is an illusion. Revolutionary love for the Christian finds its root and fruit in the revolutionary love of Jesus. King wrote that every time I look at the cross I am reminded of the greatness of God and the redemptive power of Jesus Christ. Maj. Gen. (Retd.) Muhammad Saad Khattak has 35 years of an illustrious career in various assignments both inside and outside Pakistan. Pakistans new High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Major General (Retd.) Muhammad Saad Khattak presented his credentials to President of Sri Lanka, Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the President Office on January 20, 2020. During the audience with Sri Lankan President, High Commissioner conveyed best wishes of the President and Prime Minister of Pakistan to the President and people of Sri Lanka. He affirmed the desire to further strengthen fraternal ties between the two countries. The President warmly welcomed the High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and extended his best wishes for a successful term. Maj. Gen. (Retd.) Muhammad Saad Khattak has 35 years of an illustrious career in various assignments both inside and outside Pakistan. He is a graduate of French Army Junior Staff Course, Defense Intelligence Directors Course, UK, Command and Staff College Quetta, and National Defence University Islamabad. He possesses Masters Degrees in Political Science, War Studies and an M. Phil in International Relations. His employment in Balochistan and in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, FATA and Islamabad/Rawalpindi at senior positions provided him a unique insight into the effort against War on Terrorism. He also appears on national/international TV channels as a security expert in addition to writing articles for leading newspapers. [January 20, 2020] OjO Electric Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Gotcha Mobility /NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISEMMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES./ Parent company to be re-named Last Mile Holdings, with operating subsidiaries OjO Electric and Gotcha Mobility OXNARD, CA and VANCOUVER, Jan. 20, 2020 /CNW/ - January 20, 2020 OjO Electric Corp. (the "Company") (TSXV: OJO) is pleased to announce that, further to its news release dated November 19, 2019, it has now entered into a definitive Membership Interest Purchase Agreement (the "Purchase Agreement") to acquire 100% of the outstanding securities (the "Acquisition") of Gotcha Mobility, LLC ("Gotcha"). Re-Branding to "Last Mile Holdings" On closing of the Acquisition, the Company plans to change its name to "Last Mile Holdings Ltd.", and to change its trading symbol to "MILE", to better convey to investors the Company's roll-up strategy. OjO Electric and Gotcha Mobility, as well as any future acquisition targets, will operate as subsidiaries of MILE. Management anticipates the closing of the Acquisition and resumption of trading as "MILE" to occur in February 2020. The Acquisition Gotcha has been a micro-mobility leader for 10 years, starting with electric rideshare vehicles and pedal bikes, then expanding into e-bikes, e-scooters, and e-trikes. With a focus on university and small to mid-size municipalities, Gotcha has secured approximately 20,000 permits, 80% of which are exclusive. With 80 combined locations, the Acquisition positions MILE as the third largest micro-mobility company by location in North America, after Lime and Bird. The Acquisition provides a clear path to large-scale deployment of OjO's custom-engineered seated scooter, while expanding the combined company's product offerings to include pedal bikes, e-bikes, e-scooters, and e-trikes. The Acquisition and associated financing (described below) combines top tier management teams and gives MILE immediate access to existing, fully contracted permits to deploy a total fleet of 16,000 mobility units by year-end 2020 and 27,000 mobility units by year-end 2021. Pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, the Company will acquire all of the outstanding securities of Gotcha from the sole shareholder of Gotcha in consideration for the payment of US$5 million in cash, of which US$2.5 million is payable on closing of the Acquisition ("Closing") and US$2.5 million is payable five months from Closing, and in consideration for the issuance of US$7 million in shares of the Company, half of which are issuable on Closing at a deemed price per share equal to the issue price per share on the Company's concurrent financing, and half of which are issuable on the six month anniversary of Closig, provided certain conditions are satisfied as of that date, with the number of shares to be issued calculated using the five-day V-WAP of the Company's shares immediately prior to the issue date of such shares. Closing of the Acquisition is subject to standard conditions precedent for this type of transaction, including TSX Venture Exchange approval. In connection with the Acquisition, the Company will complete a concurrent non-brokered private placement of 27.5 million subscription receipts at a price of C$0.40 per subscription receipt for gross proceeds of C$11,000,000. The gross proceeds from the financing will be held in escrow pending closing of the Acquisition. On closing of the Acquisition, the escrow funds will be released and each subscription receipt will automatically convert into one unit of the Company, with each unit consisting of one limited voting share and one share purchase warrant, with each warrant exercisable for a period of three years at C$0.60 per share, subject to acceleration at the option of the Company if the limited voting shares of the Company trade above C$1.00 per share for ten consecutive trading days. The proceeds from the private placement will be used to close the Acquisition and for general working capital purposes. In connection with the private placement, the Company may pay finders fees of up to 8% cash and 8% finder's warrants to eligible persons. About OjO Electric OjO Electric is dedicated to providing safe, sustainable Light Electric Vehicle (LEV) mobility solutions in collaboration with municipal governments to reduce traffic congestion and carbon emissions. OjO's vision is to change rideshare for good by creating a sustainable mobility eco-system that connects people, cities, and businesses. OjO's platform is built with open APIs to allow for integration with partners and multi-modal transportation solutions. To find out more, please download the OjO mobile app or visit www.ojoelectric.com. About Gotcha Mobility Gotcha is an e-mobility company dedicated to providing innovative shared mobility products and technologies that get people out of single-occupancy cars and safely onto efficient, sustainable electric mobility products. The company operates e-bikes, e-scooters, and e-trikes as transportation solutions tailored to cities and universities across the U.S. Gotcha empowers communities to lead happier, more productive lives through the transformative power of affordable, accessible micro-transit. For more information, visit www.ridegotcha.com. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" under applicable Canadian securities legislation that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results, performance, prospects, and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to: OjO and OjO's business and prospects and the Company's objectives, goals or future plans; and the business, operations, and management of the Company. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based on a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: general business, economic and social uncertainties; litigation, legislative, environmental and other judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments; delay or failure to receive board, shareholder or regulatory approvals; those additional risks set out in the Company's public documents filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com; and other discussed in this news release. Accordingly, the forward-looking statements discussed in this release, may not occur and could differ materially as a result of these known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting the companies. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these statements, which only apply as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. Except where required by law, the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Reader Advisory Neither the TSX-V nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX-V) accepts responsibility of the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities under the Financing 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 or to U.S. Persons (as defined under the U.S. Securities Act) unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available. SOURCE OjO Electric Corp. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] ROME, N.Y. A pro-gun meeting will be held in Rome Monday night at the Dippin Donuts on Erie Boulevard. The Oneida County 2A Sanctuary group is organizing the event, which will begin at 6:00 p.m. Organizers say this is part of an drive to make Oneida County and its towns and villages safe havens for second amendment rights. The event coincides with pro-gun rallies across the country, including a large protest in Virginia against statewide gun control efforts. 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. Click here to read the full article. UPDATE, 3:40 PM ET: The first full day of the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump is likely to be taken up by important procedural questions likely to trigger hours of acrimonious debate. Shortly after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell released the text of proposed rules and parameters for the trial, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called it nothing short of a national disgrace. Democrats are objecting to a number of proposals, including a plan to give each side 24 hours of time to lay out their case. But that would take place over two days for each side meaning that the Senate (and viewers watching) are looking at 12-hour days that will spill over into the wee hours of the morning. Schumer said that the resolution stipulates that key facts be delivered in the wee hours of the night simply because he doesnt want the American public to hear from them. The McConnell resolution does spell out a time to vote on whether to subpoena witnesses and documents, but that would come after opening arguments from each side and after 16 hours set aside for written questions from senators. Schumer said that the rules dont even allow the simple, basic step of admitting the House record into evidence at the trial. Schumer said that he plans to propose a series of amendments for witnesses and documents on Tuesday. PREVIOUSLY: President Donald Trumps impeachment trial is historic, with the promise of moments of drama, maybe even surprise. In the minds of the D.C. press corps and punditry, its also an event with a likely outcome. The expectation is that Trump will be acquitted, what with 20 Republicans needed to join all Democrats and independents to remove the president from office. The uncertainty is in how the trial will play out a lingering question even at midday on Monday, less than 24 hours before it is scheduled to begin in earnest. When the Senate convenes at 1 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is expected to present a resolution that will set out procedures and put it up for a vote. Story continues Nancy Cordes, CBS News congressional correspondent, says that one thing to keep in mind is that, given the rarity of impeachment hearings, to a certain extent lawmaker are winging it. We assume there is some hard and fast procedure guiding this trial, she says. But this is only the third time it has happened. Another unknown is what impact the trial will have on the 2020 presidential race an event that makes this moment even more unusual. Some of us were here in 1999 for the Clinton impeachment trial, but we have never had an impeachment trial and an election at the same time, says Sam Feist, CNNs Washington bureau chief and senior vice president. It certainly will make for a fascinating and unpredictable few weeks. As of now, all of the broadcast and cable networks plan to cover the proceedings, preempting regular programming for what is likely to be at least this week and next. While the cable news channels and network streaming services are planning gavel-to-gavel coverage, whats undetermined is how long the broadcast networks will stay with the proceedings, particularly if they spill over into primetime. Perhaps most telling will be in the reactions of the senators themselves, particularly if some kind of event changes the prevailing sentiment. During the proceedings the Senators are to be seen but not heard, leaving it up to the news media to catch them as they enter and exit. New restrictions already are being placed on where journalists can stand and interview lawmakers, many of whom will be in the spotlight in a way they never have before. As Cordes notes, Senators are highly aware that they are making a decision that will be examined for posterity, and that they are taking on a role that is bigger than themselves in some ways. What will happen: The first order of business will be setting out the order of business as in a resolution for how the trial will proceed. That in and of itself could get contentious, as Democrats are seeking to call fact witnesses and obtain new documents. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has suggested that they would try to do that at the outset. He has four witnesses he would like to call, including former National Security Adviser John Bolton and acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, and he has not ruled out also calling Lev Parnas, the former associate of Rudy Giuliani. But expect Republicans to push back at the idea of committing to witnesses at the outset Tuesday. Rather, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is likely to point to the Clinton impeachment, when that decision was made after each side has laid out its case. Once a resolution on trial procedures is agreed to, each side will then lay out its case. Fox News Chad Pergram reported over the weekend that the rough plan is for 24 hours to be given to the House managers, led by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) to make their case, while the same amount of time would be given to the Trump team, led by White House Counsel Pat Cipollone and Trumps private attorney Jay Sekulow. Pergram reported that current plans are to squeeze in these arguments through the rest of the week meaning 12-hour days and stretching into Saturday. The impeachment managers, Cordes says, will likely break up their arguments, but still go into fairly granular detail about the evidence that they have gathered, Cordes says. Trumps legal team is urging the Senate to quickly dismiss the impeachment charges calling them a constitutional travesty so there could be an effort to try to dispose of the case quickly. What you will see: Yes, the trial will be televised, but not like a sporting event, the Oscars or even past joint sessions of Congress. Thats because the Senate, not independent news organizations, will control the cameras, limiting views to fixed positions in the chamber. If you are looking for tight reaction shots of certain senators as the trial is unfolding, dont count on it. The chamber itself will look different. As Pergram said on Fox News on Monday, What they have done for the impeachment managers is they have reconfigured the Senate floor more from a legislative assembly to a courtroom setting. Networks have requested to bring their own cameras into the chamber, but so far its been a no-go. C-SPAN, which is not a government entity but funded by the cable industry, also has not received an answer to its request. In a letter to McConnell last month, C-SPANs Susan Swain wrote that it has been common practice to allow private cameras to cover such things as the State of the Union address, and the historic nature of a Senate trial and the intense interest on the part of millions of Americans and the world argues for a similar approach in the Senate. As of now, it will be up to reporters, viewing from seats in the chamber above the central rostrum, to watch for reactions or other activities going on the Senate floor that the cameras do not capture. That vantage point also has its own set of restrictions no cameras, no laptops, no cell phones, no electronic devices at all are allowed. And there are also plans to screen reporters with metal detectors as they come and go from the chamber to their gallery workspace. Moreover, there could be moments when no cameras or media are allowed at all in the chamber. This is when the Senate would go into closed session, to debate some sort of procedure. That happened in the 1999 Clinton impeachment, when the Senate went into private time to discuss issues like whether witnesses would be called. Off the Senate floor, there could be some friction as reporters try to chase down senators coming and going from the proceedings. Already, the Standing Committee of Correspondents, a group of reporters which oversees credentialing to the press galleries, has indicated its displeasure over proposed restrictions where reporters can gather outside the chamber, essentially penning them off behind a velvet rope so they wont be able to chase down reluctant lawmakers. The Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press and dozens of news organizations raised objections to the policy last week, writing in a letter to Senate leaders that reporters must have the ability to respond quickly to rapid developments and need reasonable access to lawmakers who wish to speak to the press. The reported restrictions on the use of electronic devices and on the ability of reporters to question lawmakers as they move about the Capitol, as well as the additional security screening, will hinder reporting without an obvious benefit for Senate security. TV correspondents have been given a new stakeout spot on the first floor of the Senate side, giving them more of an historic backdrop to do their standups. Its actually a closer and somewhat more scenic location than their normal spot, in the rotunda of the nearby Rayburn Senate Office Building. We are able to report live on the first floor outside the Foreign Relations Committee room, Cordes says. So during the duration of the trial, we can run up and down from the Senate chamber to my live location. On the other hand, reporters who can normally stand outside the doors of the chamber will be penned off in one or more locations. That will restrict our ability to choose the senators we want to talk to. We hope that those rules will get adjusted somewhat. How it will be covered: All of the major broadcast networks are planning special reports with their star anchors, and cable news networks will have even more extensive coverage starting early on Tuesday morning. A big question is how long the major broadcast networks will stay with the proceedings. During the House impeachment hearings and the floor debate, the networks largely played it by ear, coming back and forth to coverage to try to time opportune moments. C-SPAN and Fox News Channel are among the network that plan gavel-to-gavel coverage, while other outlets are committing to at least providing uninterrupted coverage of the proceedings on their streaming platforms, like CBSN, ABC News Live and CNN Digital. CNN also is streaming online without the need to log in to a cable provider. PBS also will cover the proceedings, and plans to return to the proceedings after its nightly NewsHour broadcast going to the end of the day, which could come at 1 a.m. CNNs Feist says that while there are still some unknowns to how the trial will play out, they have gone back and looked at footage of the 1999 trial as a kind of blueprint for what may happen. When Chief Justice John Roberts was sworn in last week as presiding judge and then swore in the 100 senators, the proceedings played out word for word like it did 21 years ago, he says. In terms of that template it so far matches up, Feist says. That is the best we can do and work off of for now. What wont happen: Senators, all 100 of them, are not allowed to talk, tweet or text. On Thursday, when they were sworn in, they were warned by the Senate sergeant at arms, All persons are commanded to keep silent, on pain of imprisonment. Harsh. The lawmakers, like others in the chamber, will have to check their cell phones and other electronic devices at the door. Senators dont spend that much time typically on the Senate floor, Cordes notes. They come to vote, and they are allowed to chat away with fellow senators as the vote is going on. For them to be restricted from talking is not a normal situation. At a certain point in the trial, senators will likely get an opportunity to ask questions of each side, but if the 1999 trial is any guide, they likely will be written and read by Roberts. Whats next: A key question is whether impeachment lasts a couple of weeks or much longer. Even a trial that spills over into the first week of February will have a big impact. The Iowa caucuses are Feb. 3, and already the four senators who are running for president, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar and Michael Bennet, are being forced off the campaign trail. That is the heart of the challenge for us, because not only do we have to program for the trial, but we also have an election starting in Iowa, Feist says. We dont know if the trial will be a week long or five weeks long. Next week, CNN has planned a series of Des Moines town halls tied to the Iowa caucuses, but they are making plans to feature Sanders, Warren and Klobuchar from their D.C. studio, and take questions from an Iowa audience, Feist says. Theres also the possibility of an awkward moment on the night of Feb. 4, when Trump is scheduled to deliver the State of the Union address with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who signed the articles of impeachment, sitting right behind him. Its not unprecedented for an impeachment trial to take place as the president addresses a joint session of Congress: In 1999, Clinton delivered his State of the Union address as the trial was ongoing. Trump, though, is not Bill Clinton, and its hard to see him giving a speech with no mention of what is unfolding on the other side of the Capitol. More from Deadline Best of Deadline Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday declared that her government would pass a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) soon in the Assembly, as the Kerala and Punjab Assemblies have done. Describing the National Population Register (NPR) as a dangerous game, she also appealed to the Centre to pass a resolution for its withdrawal. The NPR is a very dangerous game because it is related to the NRC and the CAA. I will request the Central government to pass a resolution to withdraw it. We have also passed a resolution against the NPR four months ago. For the CAA, we will pass a resolution in three to four days, the Trinamul supremo said at Kolkata airport before leaving for a visit to North Bengal. She said the states which sent their representatives to a meeting by the Union home ministry on NPR in New Delhi on January 17 got brainwashed. Many of them spoke differently. But I found all of them attended the meeting. I did not go. I protested alone and kept my word, Banerjee said, while speaking At the inauguration of Uttar Bangla Utsob. She said, I ask all the north-eastern states ruled by the BJP and others, ruled by the rest of the Opposition parties to rethink on NPR before implementing it. All of you attended the meeting. You were convinced with nice words. Whoever wants to remain convinced by them, let him be but I will not. According to her, several conditions related to the NRC have been set in the NPR. I request all the states to see the law properly before taking any decision to start the process. I also request them not to participate in the matter because the conditions are very bad. There is a column in the NPR which says, give the birth certificates of your father and mother or their address. Though I have not gone through it, I have seen it the media, she alleged. Banerjee claimed, If it is not mandatory, why will it exist on paper? Those who will not provide their parents dates of birth they will be excluded. There is apprehension about it. I think this is a very dangerous trend. I will urge these states to see it. For all the turbulence of recent months, the enduring pulling power of the monarchy is undiminished as last nights glimpse of a future slimmed down House of Windsor made very clear. Here were the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge hosting their first state occasion at Buckingham Palace on behalf of the Queen, supported by the Princess Royal and the Earl and Countess of Wessex. Many years hence, a future King William and Queen Catherine will be greeting world leaders (some as yet unborn) to these very same rooms for an identical evening. Last nights reception for the UK-Africa Summit was a trial run and they sailed through it, even without the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to lend a hand. The Palace would not normally host a state occasion in January because the Queen does not normally return to London until February. However, she fully understood the potential of this summit. It is in no small part thanks to all the years she has spent nurturing her beloved Commonwealth that post-Brexit Britain has a dynamic new trading network ready and waiting across much of Africa. As President Buhari of Nigeria noted yesterday, Brexit could generate a jolt of vitality for the entire Commonwealth. So, given the importance of this summit to both her Government and her Commonwealth, the Queen had turned to the younger generations. Prince William, Duke of Cambridge (L) and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (R) talk with guests at a reception for heads of State and Government at Buckingham Palace in London on January 20 Rather than call upon the Prince of Wales, who is about to embark on an historic tour of Israel, she decided it was time for the Duke of Cambridge to have his name on a stiff Buckingham Palace state invitation for the first time. Supported by the indefatigable Princess Royal and the Earl and Countess of Wessex (celebrating her 55th birthday), the Cambridges welcomed all the heads of state personally before a team photo in the Throne Room. With the formalities complete, the royal team then circulated through the White, Blue and Green Drawing Rooms and the Picture Gallery, ensuring that they all reached as many of the 200 guests as possible while the Queens footmen served the Queens Bollinger champagne and the Prince of Waless official harpist plucked away in a corner. The Windsors are able to fly the flag at these events in a way that politicians cannot. Of course, it is down to ministers and officials to lead the serious business and horse-trading which determines whether trade summits like this are a success or not. Boris Johnson looks on as Prince William, Duke of Cambridge delivers a speech at a reception for heads of State and Government at Buckingham Palace But it is down to the Royal Family to lend charm, glamour and atmosphere. Will African delegates return home musing on the break-out seminar on catapult financing for the creative industries? Or will they go home talking of last nights speech by the Duke of Cambridge in which he talked of the restorative time he and his brother spent in Africa following the death of their mother and of going down on one knee in Kenya to propose to the slightly blushing Duchess at his side? Royalty adds a human dimension to statecraft. It is what we expect of our monarchy. It is just a pity that the Cambridges will be doing more and more of these events without the Sussexes in support. Earlier yesterday, Prince Harry was at the summit conference centre in Greenwich. The event had been in his diary long before this months declaration of independence. The Duke of Sussex with Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the UK-Africa Investment Summit Victoria, Canada: Meghan Markle enjoying a casual walk through a neighborhood park Besides, Harry has an enduring love for Africa and plans to spend a great deal of time there in future, privately promoting some of his patronages. When the Foreign Office had asked him to take part in yesterdays events, he had willingly agreed and so there he was, hosting bilateral meetings with the presidents of Malawi and Mozambique and with the prime minister of Morocco. Their Excellencies all appeared delighted to meet the man of the moment, even if Harry looked rather more contemplative. Here was precisely the sort of thing he will not be doing in future. There was also a private 20-minute chat with the host, Boris Johnson, who treated Harry to the sort of breezy informality he can look forward to as a future ex-royal. Instead of standing stiffly to attention and making small talk, as most politicians do in royal company, the PM scratched his belly, ruffled his hair and did an impression of an aeroplane. Life outside the royal compound is going to be so very different and not without its complications. For a start and as I noted on these pages yesterday even the new titles which the couple had chosen for themselves have now been deemed inappropriate. Palace aides have acknowledged that the couple cannot be Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex after all because this is a form of address for divorcees. For all its constraints, life as a future King and Queen must suddenly seem so much simpler for the Cambridges. Stormont Assembly members are set to reject the Governments Brexit withdrawal deal as they debate the EU exit for the first time since restoration. Just over a week after it was revived following a three-year political impasse, the devolved legislature in Belfast is debating whether to give legislative consent to the Brexit agreement. While members are likely to withhold consent, their decision will not affect the Governments plan to leave the EU at the end of the month. A Stormont official watches proceedings in the Northern Ireland Assembly Chamber on a television in the Great Hall at Stormont Buildings (Liam McBurney/PA) Traditional Unionist Voice leader Jim Allister failed in a bid to delay the Assembly debate on Brexit. He had wanted proceedings to be put back for a week to give MLAs the chance to table amendments. Despite the backing of the Ulster Unionists, Mr Allisters motion was voted down. First Minister Arlene Foster opened the debate, explaining that the motion had been brought on Monday as the last time available before the Brexit Bill goes to the House of Lords on Tuesday. The Democratic Unionist Party leader urged Prime Minister Boris Johnson to deliver on his promise of unfettered access to the Great Britain market and ensure that competitiveness is maintained. She said the Brexit deal poses significant challenges for Northern Ireland and called for MLAs to take a stand to show that the Assembly is back in business and will not be overruled by the Government. Ulster Unionist MLA Mike Nesbitt said he retained significant sympathy for Mr Allisters position, contending that MLAs were being forced to vote on a binary proposition which leaves us no actual choice. However, he said his party will support the motion. Alliance Party MLA Kellie Armstrong said there is no such thing as a good or sensible Brexit, but, accepting that it will happen at the end of the month, she added that it is time to stand up and protect Northern Ireland. Story continues "It's significant that the Assembly sends a clear message today that we reject Brexit" Joint First Minister @moneillsf speaking ahead of the debate in the Stormont chamber today. #RejectBrexit pic.twitter.com/5xhiFwoyNR Sinn Fein (@sinnfeinireland) January 20, 2020 Ahead of the debate, Sinn Fein Deputy First Minister Michelle ONeill said: Im fairly confident the Assembly will reject giving consent to Brexit which we all, in the main and in the majority, voted against. We are very conscious of the fact and we have repeatedly stated this that there is no good to come from Brexit it brings nothing, only jeopardy to our economy and to jobs, to future prospects, and I think that will be reflected in the debate we will have in Assembly chamber today. Ms ONeill noted that MSPs in Scotland had also rejected the Governments legislation and predicted that politicians in Wales would follow suit. Its significant that this Assembly sends a very firm message again that we reject Brexit, that we follow after Scotland has rejected Brexit, and I believe Wales will vote tomorrow to maybe also reject Brexit, she said. Ms ONeill said Brexit had irreversibly changed the debate on a united Ireland. The republican leader said the EU pledge which would see Northern Ireland regain EU membership in the event of unification was a key factor. That has changed the context of the conversation and I think there is a very positive conversation under way now which is irreversible, I think thats where the whole political debate is, she said. SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said the Government did not care about the people of Northern Ireland. Its important that this Assembly asserts its authority on behalf of the people of Northern Ireland, he said ahead of the debate. We have always said people here did not give consent for Brexit and its important that this Assembly withholds consent for Brexit. We know this British Government will ignore us but when they are ignoring us they are ignoring the people of Northern Ireland, people of Scotland and the representatives of the people of Wales. SDLP leader Colum Eastwood with party colleagues at Stormont (Liam McBurney/PA) That shows you what kind of Government is sitting now in London. They do not care about people here, they dont care about people in Scotland, and they are determined to go on with the madness that is this Brexit. Next week we will be dragged out of the European Union against our will, against the will of people here and people in Scotland. Thats why its important that were here, thats why its important that were rejecting it. Mr Eastwood said the UK was facing a cliff-edge at the end of the year, insisting it would be impossible to strike a trade deal with the EU before then. So we are faced with chaos at the beginning of 2021, he said. The U.S. Treasury Department permitted Chevron Corporation CVX to continue with its operations in Venezuela for three more months until April 22 despite U.S. sanctions on the country in crisis. This last major U.S. oil explorer with businesses in Venezuela is granted extensions along with leading oilfield service providers like Baker Hughes BKR, Halliburton HAL, Schlumberger SLB and Weatherford International Ltd. This is the fourth waiver from the Trump administration since sanctions were announced in Nov 2018. Even though Chevron has a long-standing presence in Venezuela, it incurred a loss of $104 million from its Venezuela operations during the first three quarters of 2019 and is feared to lose $2.7 billion worth of assets if required to leave the country. If the sanctions were not extended, Chevrons exit would follow close on the heels of various other U.S. entities that bade adieu to Venezuela. Venezuelan Oil Industry in Troubled Waters As we know that in early 2019, President Donald Trump had imposed sanctions on the state-run oil firm PDSVA in Venezuela in a bid to expel President Nicolas Maduro. As part of those U.S. sanctions, American companies are prohibited from conducting business with Venezuela's PDVSA. However, the United States granted six-month waivers to Chevron and major oilfield players including Halliburton, Schlumberger, Weatherford and Baker Hughes to conduct transactions with PDSVA. Years of mismanagement, underinvestment and alleged government corruption deteriorated Venezuelas energy industry. With the country on the verge of a political and economic collapse, oil output dwindled by more than 50% since 2016. In fact, Venezuelas oil production plunged to a 30-year low prior to the enforcement of U.S. sanctions. Restrictive financial sanctions imposed by the United States on the Maduro regime and periodic power blackouts throughout the country further strangulated this Latin American nations struggling energy sector. Story continues Chevrons Century-Old Liaison With Venezuela in Limbo Chevrons Venezuelan operations date back to 1920. The company currently owns 39% stake in a JV with PDVSA, which had produced 16,000 barrels of oil per day in the countrys Boscan Field in 2018. This U.S. energy giant also holds interests in three other onshore production JVs, two of which operate in Venezuela's Orinoco Belt. The company had previously warned of the challenging operating environment in Venezuela, which could increasingly disrupt businesses and induce volatility in financial results. While the Venezuelan business represents a very small portion of Chevrons extensive global portfolio, its departure from the country would have surely dented earnings. On Chevron's exit from the country, the Venezuelan government certainly had to nationalize its oil assets and the company would have to suffer write-downs. If the waivers lapsed and Chevron is forced to bow out, it may find it difficult to resume its relationship with the South American nation even if U.S.-Venezuela ties are on the mend despite the countrys crumbling energy infrastructure. Chevron Corporation Price Chevron Corporation Price Chevron Corporation price | Chevron Corporation Quote Wrapping Up If the waivers lapsed, it would have certainly triggered huge losses for Chevron, which spent billions on the Venezuelan business. The companys exit from the country would also make matters worse for Venezuela's energy sector, which is already on the brink of collapse under Maduro. Notably, Venezuela with the largest proved oil reserves in the world to its credit could offer substantial rewards to oil companies if Maduro steps down. Chevrons interest in the waiver extension signals the companys plans to play the long game in crisis-hit Venezuela. Even if Maduro retains his powers, the waiver expansion would allow the company to bet on a future payoff in a country boasting 303 billion barrels of proven crude reserves. On the contrary, if Maduros regime falls, the Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) entity will gain handsomely from the countrys widespread geologic resources, provided the waivers are lengthened. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Biggest Tech Breakthrough in a Generation Be among the early investors in the new type of device that experts say could impact society as much as the discovery of electricity. Current technology will soon be outdated and replaced by these new devices. In the process, its expected to create 22 million jobs and generate $12.3 trillion in activity. A select few stocks could skyrocket the most as rollout accelerates for this new tech. Early investors could see gains similar to buying Microsoft in the 1990s. Zacks just-released special report reveals 8 stocks to watch. The report is only available for a limited time. See 8 breakthrough stocks now>> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Baker Hughes Company (BKR) : Free Stock Analysis Report Halliburton Company (HAL) : Free Stock Analysis Report Schlumberger Limited (SLB) : Free Stock Analysis Report Chevron Corporation (CVX) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Key players in Yemen war condemn Saturdays terrorist attack that killed over 100 soldiers and blame it on Houthis. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, key players in a military coalition battling the Houthi rebels in war-torn Yemen, have condemned a missile attack that killed more than 100 Yemeni soldiers. Saturdays missile strike blamed on the Iran-aligned Houthis follows months of relative calm in the conflict between the rebels and Yemens internationally recognised government. Yemen government sources said the Houthis attacked a mosque during evening prayers in a military camp in the central province of Marib, about 120km (75 miles) east of the capital, Sanaa. Saudi Arabia strongly condemns the terrorist attack carried out by the Houthi militia, the kingdoms foreign ministry said in a statement on Monday. The assault reflects this terrorist militias disregard for sacred places and for Yemeni blood the statement said, adding that it also undermines the path to a political solution to the conflict. The UAE also condemned the criminal attack, saying it rejects all forms of violence that target security and stability. The death toll increased to 116 and is expected to rise, military and medical sources told AFP news agency on Monday. Early reports suggested 83 were killed and 148 injured. President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi said the attack confirms without [a] doubt that the Houthis have no desire for peace and denounced the group as a cheap Iranian tool in the region. The Houthis did not make any immediate claim of responsibility for the strike. Death tolls in Yemens grinding conflict are often disputed, but the high casualty in Marib represents one of the bloodiest single attacks since the war erupted in September 2014 when the rebels seized Sanaa, removing President Hadis internationally recognised government. In March 2015, Saudi Arabia and its allies militarily intervened in the conflict. Tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, have been killed and millions displaced in the war that has ravaged the country, triggering what the United Nations describes as the worlds worst humanitarian crisis. Both sides in Yemens war have been accused of war crimes and rampant human rights abuses. Saudi-led coalition air strikes and rebel shelling have drawn widespread international criticism for killing civilians and hitting non-military targets. Moroccan ambassador in Pakistan Mohammed Karmoune has said talks are underway between Pakistan and Morocco for promoting bilateral ties in diverse sectors n and soon an agreement will be signed between Gwadar port and Morocco port ISLAMABAD (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 20th January, 2020) Moroccan ambassador in Pakistan Mohammed Karmoune has said talks are underway between Pakistan and Morocco for promoting bilateral ties in diverse sectors n and soon an agreement will be signed between Gwadar port and Morocco port.In an exclusive interview with Daily Morning Mail, Moroccan ambassador to Pakistan said his country attaches significance to its relations with Morocco.He went on to say talks will take place between political leadership of the two countries in next month February, 2020.Although formal diplomatic ties between Pakistan and Morocco started in 1958, yet the relations were existing between the two countries at international level since 1952. Both the Muslim countries relations are rooted in shared faith and the process of consultations between ministry of religious affairs of two countries continue.Pakistan is member of Al-Qudas committee under king Mohammed v1. Therefore, the two countries are enjoying better relations.Responding to a question about trade ties, he said Moroccan embassy based in Pakistan has set up organization of traders from both the countries through which facilities are provided to traders so that the opportunities for trade could be scaled up. He stated that Morocco is rich with natural resources which abounds in raw oil, energy and other resources. Morocco imports textile, leather and other products from Pakistan. The talks are underway between the two countries to promote tourism. Morocco is skilled in solar and wind energy production and is one among the major countries producing solar and wind energy.He held Pakistan can overcome its energy shortage through solar energy. Morocco meets major part of its energy needs through solar and wind energy. Morocco can extend cooperation to Pakistan in this regard.To a question he said Pakistan and Morocco are cooperating with each other in the production of fertilizers. Morocco is located between two seas , therefore, people of Morocco capitalize on extensive facility of water.Pakistan and Morocco have cooperated with each at UN and international level and this cooperation will continue.Citing to current situation in middle East he said Iran and US should together sort out the matters. Pakistani authorities refused to let a top human rights lawyer leave the country, citing her "anti-state activities", she told AFP on Monday, in what appeared to be the latest example of an ongoing rights crackdown. Jalila Haider, who last year featured on a BBC list of 100 inspiring and influential women for her work defending women's rights in Pakistan, was briefly detained by immigration officials in Lahore as she tried to fly to Britain to attend a workshop on women's issues. They released her after several hours, she told AFP, but barred her from leaving the country, telling her that her name was on a no-fly list. "One of the immigration officials told me that my name was placed on the ECL (Exit Control List) as I am involved in anti-state activities. I have no idea what anti-state activities he was referring to," Haider told AFP. "I address the issues related to women, minorities, enforced disappearances and problems Balochistan is facing today," the 32-year-old said, adding that authorities confiscated her passport and national identification card. Pakistan has a history of enforced disappearances over the past decade -- mainly confined to conflict zones near the Afghanistan border or to restive southwestern Balochistan province, where Haider lives and works. The military routinely denies being involved, and criticism of the powerful security forces, including over such disappearances, is largely seen as a "red line" in the country. Pakistan's interior ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment by AFP. The incident fuelled fears around an ongoing crackdown on rights and freedom of speech in Pakistan. "Yet another #humanrightsdefender placed on Pakistan's *mysterious* no-fly list," tweeted Rabia Mehmood, a Pakistan researcher for Amnesty International. "@Advjalila is a fierce defender of the rights of the marginalized, her name must be immediately removed from the Exit Control List. #istandwithjalila". Haider's lawyer Asad Jamal, who said he was not allowed to meet her while she was being detained, called it "an act of harassment". In addition to her work on women's rights, Haider is a member of Pakistan's persecuted Hazara community, who are often targeted by sectarian militants in Pakistan and Afghanistan. In 2018 she went on a hunger strike demanding protection for the Hazara community. Mercy Grief group SPRINGFIELD - Mercy Medical Center, 299 Carew St. will hold a weekly grief support group for people who have experienced loss of a spouse, partner, family member or friend. All are welcome. The group meets every Monday from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. (excluding major holidays) in the Deliso Conference Center, O'Hare Room on the lower level. NAMI Connection Recovery Support Group AGAWAM - NAMI Western Massachusetts, the local organization of the National Alliance on mental illness, offers the following NAMI Connection Recovery Support Group Programs: Agawam, meets Thursdays 2:30 to 4 p.m., at NAMI Western Mass. office, 324A Springfield St. Call for more information, 413-786-9139. Easthampton, meets Mondays, 6 to 7:30 p.m., Easthampton Congregational Church, 112 Main St. Call Ellen for more information, 413-923-8481. The NAMI Connection is a recovery support group program that offers respect, understanding, encouragement and hope. NAMI Connection groups are free and confidential, held for 90 minutes, designed to connect, encourage, and support participants using a structured support group model, led by NAMI trained facilitators living in recovery themselves. Baystate Regional Cancer programs WARE - Baystate Regional Cancer Program at Baystate Mary Lane announces the 2019 Support group listing. Breast Cancer Support Group: open to all women with breast cancer regardless of stage of treatment. meetings are held the 4th Wednesdays of every month, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Circle of Angles, A Quilting Support Group for People Who have been touched by Cancer: meets twice monthly on Tuesdays of every month, 10 a.m. to noon. Expressive Writing Through Cancer: open to all cancer diagnoses. meetings are held the 3rd Wednesday of every month, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. General Cancer Support Group: open to all cancer diagnoses. Meetings are held the first Wednesday of the month, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Partners in Caregiving: an early evening support group for caregivers of people with cancer. Meetings are held the 2nd Tuesday of the month, 5 to 6:30 p.m. All meetings are held at Baystate Mary Lane, 85 South St. For more information, contact Camille St. Onge, LICSW, Oncology Social Worker at the Baystate Regional Cancer Program, 413-967-2245. Informational program for families struggling with the effects of substance use WEST SPRINGFIELD - AdCare offers a wide range of alcohol and drug treatment options from hospital level of care in Worcester to impatient residential treatment in North Kingstown, Rhode Island and outpatient and family services at offices throughout Massachusetts and Rhode Island. AdCare West Springfield Outpatient Family and Friends Informational Program meets on the second and fourth Wednesday of the month, 6 p.m. at 117 Park Ave. AdCares Family and Friends Informational and Support Programs are designed to educate loved ones about substance dependency and provide support for family members. Family groups are facilitated by knowledgeable and experienced professionals and are open to anyone concerned with substance use of a family member or friend. For more information or questions call 413-209-3124. Dementia/Alzheimers Spanish support group SPRINGFIELD - Baystate Brightwood Health Center host the Dementia/Alzheimers Spanish Support Group on the second and fourth Friday of the month from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. This dementia support group offers emotional, educational and social support in a non-judgemental setting. RSVP to Lea Stein or Liz Santos at 413-794-2815 or 413-302-4348. Baystate Brightwood Health Center is located at 380 Plainfield St. Registration open for spring 2020 EMT training at HCC HOLYOKE Registration is now open for Emergency Medical Technician training program for spring 2020 at Holyoke Community College. HCCs EMT Basic Course (EMT-B) begins January 28 and runs through June 2, 2020. The program consists of 13 weeks (170 plus hours) of in-class lectures and additional online study, training, field trips and workshops designed to prepare students for the state certification exam. The training takes place on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6-10 p.m. and select Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at HCCs Center for Health Education & Simulation, 404 Jarvis Ave., Holyoke. The course covers all aspects of emergency care including patient handling, extrication, and communication and makes extensive use of HCCs medical simulation labs. For more information or to register, contact Michele Cabral at (413) 552-2257 / mcabral@hcc.edu or go online at www.hcc.edu/workforce and click on Register. The new Board of Unitech Limited may access the real estate distress fund the Union Cabinet approved in November 2019 to finish incomplete apartments. The Supreme Court of India, on Monday, accepted the Centre's proposal to take over the management control of Unitech Limited. The government will appoint 10 directors on the company's board - they would be responsible for completing pending projects. This comes as encouraging news to a reported 12,000 homebuyers taken for a ride by the company's earlier management. The distress fund has received well over 100 applications thus far, of which four have been cleared recently. The 'Special Window' fund provides priority debt financing, particularly for middle-income housing. "The purpose is to not take over a company or its operations. The primary responsibility of the Board would be to complete the projects," Niranjan Hiranandani, Managing Director of Hiranandani Group and National President of industry body NAREDCO told Business Today. Hiranandani is one of the directors the Centre proposed for the new Board. "Two, as far as we are concerned, this is a public service. There is no other interest for me. I am not a paid director. We have to ensure that the maximum number of homebuyers get their houses quickly and fast," he added. The Supreme Court bench, led by Justice DY Chandrachud, also granted two-month moratorium to the new board of Unitech from any legal proceedings against the company's management. That would help avoid any distractions for the new Board. "We would study the feasibility of starting these projects. The Supreme Court has given 60 days to study and put up the feasibility," Hiranandani said. "We can work out part feasibility of the projects so that some of the work can take of immediately. We can even take access to stress funds, which has been approved," he added. The first Board meeting could be held before the end of this week, Hirandani hinted. The four projects cleared to access distress funds thus far could receive funding in the range of Rs 25 crore each. The government had stated that it would act as the sponsor and the total commitment to be infused would be up to Rs 10,000 crore. The fund will also bag investments from institutions such as LIC and SBI, which will expand the corpus to Rs 25,000 crore. The fund is set up as a Category-11 AIF (Alternate Investment Fund) debt fund registered with the market regulator Sebi; SBICAP Ventures Limited is the Investment Manager. Also Read: IMF lowers India's 2019 growth forecast to 4.8% from 6.1% Also Read: Unemployment rate rises to 7.5% during Sept-Dec; high among educated youth: CMIE Also Read: Tata Motors is confident EVs will sell; here's why Trump the pro-life president By Dr. Robert Owens Ever since the abomination of Roe v Wade unleashed a holocaust of death upon America those of us who value life have prayed for a leader who could and would do what they should. Back in 1973 when the Burger Court turned the Constitution on its head by discovering a constitutional right to kill the unborn then President Nixon didnt even make a public statement. Privately he said that in some instances abortion was necessary. Since then weve elected several presidents who said publicly that they were prolife: Reagan, George I, and George II. All three took some steps to restrict federal funding for abortion and made public statements condemning abortion and boosting the pro-life cause. All three gave taped addresses to the massive annual Right-to-life march in Washington filled with values and voters. Of course, since the slaughter of the innocents gained the federal stamp of approval weve had every Democrat candidate champion the freedom to choose death. And weve had two who made it to the White House: Clinton and Obama. Once there they both proudly opened the spigot from the Treasury to the abortion mills forcing all taxpayers to pour billions into the industrial scale elimination of generations of Americans. Then came Trump. Unlike other politicians who tell us what we want to hear and then forget what they said until they need our votes again, President Trump works daily to fulfill his campaign pledges. Many pro-life people worked hard to elect President Trump. That hard work has paid off for the pro-life movement and the unborn! Here are just some of the pro-life accomplishments of President Trump and his Administration. One vital pledge he continues to make a reality is his oft repeated pledge to only appoint pro-life Justices to the Supreme Court. So far, hes appointed Justices Neil Gorsuch and Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Both are constitutional originalists who believe in the sanctity of life. In addition, President Trump nominated another 180 pro-life federal judges on the Circuit and District courts. Thanks to the failure of President Obama to fill open seats and President Trumps untiring efforts to do his job this is more than any other President has done at this point in his first term. Another promise repeatedly made by other Republican presidents but only half-heartedly kept, President Trump follows through in a big way depriving the abortion industry of billions of dollars. This is Trumps three-pronged assault on the money the abortionists earn from their industrial scale destruction of life. First, the Donald signed legislation permitting states to defund Planned Parenthood of Title X family planning. Second, he issued an Executive Order giving states the option to withhold Medicaid and other federal money from organizations that perform abortions, including Planned Parenthood. And third, he also issued the Protect Life Rule which cuts Title X funding on the federal level of Planned Parenthood and the rest of the abortion industry. Reacting to the revelations of Project Veritas (undercover videos concerning the sale of body parts obtained from aborted infants by Planned Parenthood) President Trump changed federal funding rules regarding research. According to the new guidelines, federal funds can no longer support research using the body parts of children killed by abortion. Reversing the Obama Administrations pro-abortion policy, President Trump reinstated and expanded the Mexico City Policy. The Bush-era Mexico City Policy protected approximately $500 million in spending. The expanded Trump policy protects over $8.8 billion in federal overseas aide from funding abortion. He also took aim at one of the premier pro-abortion organizations in the world when he stopped funding for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). By these vigorous steps our president ensures that our tax dollars are not funding the abortion industry overseas across all global health spending, not just family planning dollars. Under Dr. Ben Carson the Trump Administrations Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) issued a rule requiring that insurers inform their customers whether the plan theyre buying covers abortion. President Trump created a new office in the HHS for Conscience and Religious Freedom. Now people who under Obamacare insurance regulations are forced to participate in abortion, can have their rights explained and protected more effectively. President Trump issued rules protecting employers from the Obamacare "HHS Mandate" that forced them to pay for abortion-inducing drugs in the health insurance plans they offer their employees. Starting with his choice of Mike Pence as his Vice-President Mr. Trump has appointed strong pro-life advocates across his administration. Most of the others dont make the headlines. However, theyre making and implementing policies and practices advancing the right to life of the unborn. President Trump continues the battle for life day-after-day. He consistently leads the way advocating that Congress pass such bills as the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. And he fights for the full removal of federal funding from Planned Parenthood across-the-board. And not only does President Trump battle for life in the swamp he encourages the movement as no American leader has since Ronaldus Magnus. At his packed rallies from sea-to-shining-sea the President encourages us all by speaking in plain terms about the abortion issue, rather than other so-called leaders who use vague abstractions and veiled group-speak so as not to upset their media critics too much. And time-after-time both the President and Vice-President attend and address pro-life events including the March for Life. They also host meetings and receptions for pro-life leaders in the White House and other high-profile locations. Long have we sought someone who would lead the pro-life movement toward our goal of ending the massacre of the unborn. I believe God does not judge societies by the sin that exist in them for the same sin lurks within all humans. I believe instead that God judges societies by the sins which they condone. God destroyed Judah because they sacrificed the children to the pagan god Moloch. Today millions of American children are sacrificed on the altar of convenience, self-will, and vanity. The blood of the innocent s cry out to God. If God does not judge us for the slaughter of the innocents it seems like He should offer an apology to Sodom and Gomorrah. But we who fear the Lord should not refrain for praying that Gods hand move against this terrible national sin. For though a thousand may fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand it shall not come near you. And the truth is that our Father has told us If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Dont despair. Instead rejoice for we finally have a president leading the way out of the darkness of infanticide and back to the light of life. So, keep the faith, keep the peace for we shall overcome, and why worry when you can pray. Dr. Robert Owens teaches History, Political Science, Global Studies, and Religion. He is the Historian of the Future @ http://drrobertowens.com 2019 Contact Dr. Owens drrobertowens@hotmail.com Follow Dr. Robert Owens on Facebook or Twitter @ Drrobertowens or visit Dr. Owens Amazon Page / Edited by Dr. Rosalie Owens Home Virginia is a preview of what gungrabbers would do nationally By Michael R Shannon A surprising development is occurring among staunch members of the left at the Washington Post and elsewhere. These woke scolds have come out strongly against sanctuary cities and counties. Before it was either silence or tacit approval for government sheltering a population that was in the shadows, which makes sense when you remember theyre running from the law. Sanctuary jurisdictions serve to protect a criminal class estimated to be 22 million strong at the expense of lawabiding citizens. And what an expense it is. These serial law breakers are responsible for the deaths of approximately 3,000 American citizens every year. Over the course of an average lifetime, the total cost to taxpayers for supporting people who have no right to be in our country is estimated by Center for Immigration Studies to be $746.3 billion. And even those figures dont include the cost to individual citizens of identity theft, property crime, lowered property values, assault, gang activity, crowded schools, packed emergency rooms and Press One for English. The WoePost referred to sanctuary movement as disturbing, reactionary, ugly, and dangerous. Sanctuaries were even compared to slavery which makes perfect sense when you recall the idea behind sanctuaries is to protect cheap, controllable labor for unscrupulous employers. WoePost columnist Petula Dvorak wrote sanctuary cities are populated by extremists. Virginia Delegate David Toscano compared sanctuaries to the Massive Resistance backlash that opposed public school integration. Only I need to clarify. The WoePost wasnt condemning sanctuaries that protect illegal aliens from richly deserved punishment. It was condemning the new 2nd Amendment sanctuaries protecting the constitutional rights of lawabiding citizens from undeserved collective punishment. Thats because the extralegal selective law enforcement the left uses to protect people who have no right to be here is out of bounds for citizens to use to protect rights granted them at the founding of the nation. And thats not the only contrast. Illegal alien sanctuaries are imposed on an electorate from the top down to protect a pool of future leftist voters. The 2nd Amendment sanctuary movement is a grassroots effort that petitioned elected officials to protect constitutional rights and the officials responded. Even the WoePost admits the movement has driven throngs of people to show up at boards of supervisors meetings. Their numbers are remarkable 400, 800, even 2,000 in attendance. As this is written over 110 Virginia counties, cities and towns have passed some form of 2nd Amendment sanctuary resolution that says that jurisdiction will not enforce or impose unconstitutional gun ownership restrictions on its residents. Gun Owners of America Senior Vice President Erich Pratt has one of the best explanations of the 2nd Amendment sanctuary movement, Sanctuary resolutions are important because they provide the best way for local officials to inform the newly elected General Assembly and the governor that if they rush forward to create new felony crimes to jail law-abiding Virginians just for exercising their most fundamental and natural right of self-defense then they cannot expect localities to enforce such unjust laws. Gun owners are right to be concerned. This isnt the anodyne common sense gun regulation that is so innocent during the campaign. Its always different after they win. Richmond is now controlled by the angry left. Gov. Ralph Coonman Northam has discussed requiring all owners of socalled assault rifles to register their weapons with the state. And he requested an increase in the prison budget to cover the increase in the operating cost of adult correctional facilities resulting from the enactment of gun grabbing laws. When gun confiscation speculation was running rampant in Richmond, US Rep. Don McEachin suggested the governor call out the National Guard to confiscate weapons. Del. Dan Helmer introduced a bill that would ban indoor shooting ranges in buildings with more than 50 employees. Ranges that survived would be required to keep an Orwellian log of each shooters name, address and phone number. Presumably so the state police could call ahead and have the owner pack his weapons for faster confiscation. Del. Mark Levines bill would confiscate any magazine that held more than 10 rounds of ammunition. Those who didnt turn their property over would be felons. And thats just the beginning. Theres nothing common sense about these precursors to confiscation, which is the end game for the left. These despicable people subvert the law to protect their protected class of illegal aliens and future Democrats while using the law as a club to punish gun owners who vote Republican. David French hit the nail on the head when he described the lefts gun fixation, All too often gun-control proposals operate as a form of collective punishment on the law-abiding while serving as barely a speed bump in the path of the criminal. Michael R. Shannon is a public relations and advertising consultant with corporate, government and political experience around the globe. He is a dynamic and entertaining keynote speaker. He can be reached at mandate.mmpr (at) gmail.com. He is also the author of Conservative Christian's Guidebook for Living in Secular Times (Now with added humor!). Home Armenia is a place to do business, and I want to see Armenia as a source of business development, Optym CEO Vic Keller said while he was addressing the representatives of Armenias vibrant IT community. Mr. Keller is a CEO of Optym - a company specialized in automation and optimization software for transportation and logistics companies in the airline, railroad, trucking and mining industries. The Armenian office of the company was founded in 2007 and now has around 75 employees. As mentioned by its CEO, Optym has big plans in Armenia and wants to develop leaders and create more leadership opportunities for the staff. Armenia should be a center of research, not outsourcing When sharing his path and expertise in running eleven companies, Mr. Keller said the secret of successful business is hidden in five Ps people, passion, process, purpose and positioning. The Armenian people is something that makes Armenia so attractive for doing business, he added. This is the reason people working at Optym believe that Armenia should not be perceived as a center of outsourcing. Armenia is not a country for outsourcing. Armenia must be perceived as a center of scientific potential, a hub where mathematical problems can be solved, Optym Armenia Executive Director Arthur Ghulyan told Armenian News- NEWS.am. In the past we were working on projects for customers, but now we are developing our own SaaS (software as a service) platforms for final customers. We are specialized in transportation, but our models and solutions can be used in various areas, including health, finances and other fields. The company plans to work in Armenia and in foreign markets since our country has good geographic location and good relations with both the Eurasian Economic Union and the European Union. We believe that Armenia is a great place for us not just to develop the products but also to grow business and to have business development capabilities that are stimulated through the Armenian economy as well. We are very excited about using all the resources that Armenia offers to serve the European countries that we would like to do business in, Vic Keller told NEWS.am. Optym is focused on education After building its staff through very fruitful internship programs, Optym Armenia decided to be more focused on education in order to grow its business. Optym Armenia employs 20-25 people who went through internship program, and this is a model that contributed to companys growth, Arthur Ghulyan explained. We consider cooperation with the Armenian universities, and we have already met with our High-Tech deputy minister and IT community. We are discussing the opportunities to get involved in education, he added. Companys CEO also believes that training and professionalism is the most important thing for your business. I based my business on training, he said during his speech. He assured that the company is going forward and would like to get more involved with some of the Armenian universities. We want to identify great talents. We want to create additional leadership opportunities for our staff, so that we can have succession strategy to make people move up and advance with Optym, Keller said. The first Americans to be counted in the 2020 census, which begins tomorrow, live in Toksook Bay, Alaska a community of 661 on the edge of the American expanse, AP reports. Catch up quick: The decennial U.S. census has started in rural Alaska, out of tradition and necessity, ever since the U.S. purchased the territory from Russia in 1867. Once the spring thaw hits, towns empty as residents scatter for traditional hunting and fishing grounds. The frozen ground that in January makes it easier to get around by March turns to marsh that's difficult to traverse. towns empty as residents scatter for traditional hunting and fishing grounds. The frozen ground that in January makes it easier to get around by March turns to marsh that's difficult to traverse. Mail service is spotty and internet connectivity unreliable, which makes door-to-door surveying important. What's next: The rest of the country, plus urban areas of Alaska such as Anchorage, will begin the census in mid-March. Go deeper: Census data projects shift in states' congressional power A businessman is seen holding out a stack of U.S. banknotes. The world's 2,153 billionaires have more wealth between them than a combined 4.6 billion people, new research has claimed. In a study published Monday, international charity Oxfam called on governments to implement policies that may help to reduce wealth inequality. The report comes as delegates gather in Davos, Switzerland, for the annual World Economic Forum conference. "If everyone were to sit on their wealth piled up in $100 bills, most of humanity would be sitting on the floor," its authors said. "A middle-class person in a rich country would be sitting at the height of a chair. The world's two richest men would be sitting in outer space." Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is currently the richest person in the world, according to Forbes, with a net worth of around $116.4 billion. The second wealthiest person on the planet is Bernard Arnault, a French billionaire who owns luxury goods group LVMH and has a net worth of $116 billion. Oxfam's report noted that someone who saved $10,000 a day since the construction of the Egyptian pyramids would still be 80% less wealthy than the world's five richest billionaires. With EU regulatory approval in the bag and US regulatory scrutiny expected to clear in the coming weeks, the 55bn AbbVie and Allergan merger should start in earnest in February or March. AbbVie, although headquartered in the US, has manufacturing sites in Cork and Sligo, while Allergan has its headquarters in Dublin and main manufacturing base in Westport. However, the newly merged company will have its headquarters in Chicago, adding to a trend, in recent years, of dilution of pharmaceutical company headquarters in Ireland. Both companies will face the arduous task of meshing into a single firm, with mandatory disposal of some units to comply with the EU regulatory approval. But that process could take some time to execute, with potentially serious consequences for the Irish manufacturing and research facilities, particularly for the smaller partner, Allergan. AbbVie, in an early announcement, stated that its post-merger strategy is to restructure Allergans cosmetic portfolio into a stand-alone cosmetics unit, to be called Allergan Aesthetics. Its treatments include frown-line smoothing, eyelash lengthening, and double-chin removal. This Botox business unit had shown lethargic growth in the recent past and AbbVie hopes the spin-off will address the fears of its negative impact on the rest of the business. The strategy would move the cosmetic-wrinkle treatment Botox product to the Allergan Aesthetics unit, while the higher-margin, speciality eye care Botox products would be merged with the existing AbbVie structure, which includes gastrointestinal disease and central nervous system products. This could be devastating for the Allergan facilities in Westport and Dublin, leaving them open to downsizing and eventual sell-off. Much will depend on where the Botox eye-product manufacturing facility is located. AbbVie is focused on squeezing cost reductions out of the merger and has stated that it expects to reap at least 1.76bn in annual cost-savings in the three years after the acquisition, in an effort to substantially pay down its cost-of-acquisition debts by the end of 2021. However, it is early days in the merger strategy and Allergans medical- aesthetics business, as a stand-alone unit with its own research-and-development team, may develop new products and expand. But that demerging, and the new unit set-up process, could take some time to execute and leave opportunities for competitors such as Evolus, maker of Botox competitor, Jeuveau, to disrupt the market leaders grip on the multi-billion cosmetics aesthetics market. There is also the potentially very damaging regulatory case in the US, where the International Trade Commission judge, last August, ordered Allergan to turn over details of its Irish Botox cosmetic manufacturing process to Evolus. The request has been robustly refuted, with strong legal justification for the protection of its trade secrets. The final arbitration decision is due over the coming months, which could give Evolus a significant technical advantage, or a substantial financial settlement. Either way, AbbVie, undoubtedly, have factored this scenario into their decision to separate out the Allergan Botox cosmetics division. AbbVie was spun off by US firm, Abbott Laboratories, in 2013, and has been on the acquisition trail ever since. It was blocked in a 48bn attempt to buy Shire pharmaceuticals in 2014, after Barack Obamas administration introduced rules to clamp down on overseas acquisitions driven by tax-avoidance. Shire, which was founded in Basingstoke, England, but headquartered in Ireland, was subsequently acquired by Japans biggest pharmaceutical company, Takeda, for 53bn last year, with a further loss of the headquarters advantage in Ireland. John Whelan is managing partner at Irish trade consultants, The Linkage-Partnership Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 14:40:59|Editor: Wang Yamei Video Player Close DHAKA, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- A Bangladeshi court on Monday sentenced 10 people to death, including ringleaders of a banned militant outfit over a bomb attack at a political rally of the Communist Party of Bangladesh in 2001 that killed at least five people. YEREVAN. A group of Armenias cattle farmers, who are protesting in front of the government the slaughterhouses, continue to keep Tigran Mets Avenue closed. A large number of police are overseeing the protest. One of the protesters said they will reopen the road if a government representative came to meet with them. "Solve this issue!" he said. Mr. Prime Minister, members of the government, please show a way [to resolve the matter]; the people should not be ignored. Send someone from the government so that the road is opened." These cattle farmers were protesting in front of the government building a few days ago, too, complaining about the conditions proposed by the countrys slaughterhouses. Spirited Away (Credit: Studio Ghibli) Fans of the magical world of revered Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli are about to get a wonderful gift for 2020. 21 of the studio's movies will be coming to Netflix, after the streaming platform signed an exclusive deal to show its films in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. It means that classics like Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro will be hitting screens to stream in the UK from February 1. Read more: Dolittle is getting panned Producer Toshio Suzuki at Studio Ghibli said, In this day and age, there are various great ways a film can reach audiences. Weve listened to our fans and have made the definitive decision to stream our film catalogue. We hope people around the world will discover the world of Studio Ghibli through this experience. My Neighbor Totoro (Credit: Studio Ghibli) The movies will be released on Netflix over three months, with the first wave including 1988's Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service from 1989. March 1 will see Oscar-winner Spirited Away from 2001, often named as one of the best animated movies of all time, and Oscar-nominated The Tale of The Princess Kaguya from 2013 among the second wave. Read more: Movies to re-watch immediately Then a third wave arrives on April 1, including Howl's Moving Castle, Ponyo, The Wind Rises and 2014's When Marnie Was There, the most recent movie from the studio. Co-founded by director and writer Hayao Miyazaki in 1985, the studio halted production in 2014, after Miyazaki announced his retirement. However, in 2017, Miyazaki announced he would be making another movie How Do You Live? - though its release date remains a mystery. Both countries cite historical aggression for their ongoing enmity, but there is no real justification for the hostility, beyond chest-beating, says Carl Bildt AFTER the killing of Irans General Qassem Soleimani, US president Donald Trump tweeted that he would bomb 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago). Some of these targets, he added, would be important to Iranian culture, and he was perhaps referring to Iranian national heritage sites. Trumps tweet suggests that his Iran policy is rooted deep in the past, as if actions today represent a belated response to wounds inflicted long ago. If so, his administration has something in common with the Iranian regime, which has long dwelled on the real and perceived wounds of bygone eras. After all, Iranians (and many others) point out, ad nauseam, that the US had a hand in the 1953 coup that deposed the democratically elected prime minister, Mohammad Mosaddegh, and installed the regime of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, which itself was toppled in the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Likewise, Iranians note, repeatedly, that the US assisted Saddam Hussein during Iraqs ruthless war against Iran in the 1980s. Listening to the litany of grievances on both sides, it is difficult to avoid the impression that both the US and Iran are hostages of history. Obsessed with the real or imagined injustices of the past, each finds it impossible to move forward. In Iran, the US is still the Great Satan, just as Iran remains the quintessential bete noire for many in the American foreign-policy establishment. Although there are real issues of contention between the two countries, the US-Iran conflict has long since broken the bounds of rationality. It persists because it serves domestic political interests in each country. Iranian hardliners benefit enormously from having such a visible enemy against which to mobilise. As tensions have escalated in recent years, their position has been strengthened. The regime has increasingly used the perceived US threat as a pretext to repress its own people, and to foment chaos across the region. For every voice in the US advocating regime change in Iran, there are Iranians seeking to defend the regime by any means necessary. Similarly, listening to some of the US pundit and political class, it sometimes sounds as if hostility toward Iran is a fundamental American value. Whether their goal is regime change or something else, most in the US foreign-policy establishment claim to want Iran to become a normal country. But do Saudi Arabia, Israel, Turkey, and other US regional allies count as normal countries? And what about the US itself? American exceptionalism dictates that it is anything but normal. A more rational, objective approach is still possible. It might not seem like it now, but there is ample room for bilateral co-operation. Irans leaders have long insisted that the purpose of their countrys nuclear programme is peaceful. But, given Irans past behaviour, there needs to be an intrusive system of international inspections before the world can have confidence in that claim. Picking up where the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action left off, and negotiating such a system, should not be seen as an impossible task. Moreover, both countries have a profound interest in maintaining stability in Iraq and Afghanistan. The US doesnt want these countries to become Iranian satellites, and the Iranians dont want them to serve as bases for aggression against Iran. These aims are not irreconcilable; in fact, proper diplomacy could achieve both sides primary objectives. The US and Iran also have a joint interest in developing a more robust security structure for the broader Gulf region. In recent months, Gulf countries have been calling for strategic de-escalation vis-a-vis Iran, with even Saudi Arabia expressing a desire for dialogue. There are some diplomatic initiatives already on the table, and negotiating a new regional agreement on ballistic missiles could serve as a good starting point for ongoing engagement. More broadly, a gradual de-escalation of the conflict between the US, Iran, and their respective allies and proxies, would allow for all parties to focus more on their own priorities for the future. Iran, Saudi Arabia, and many other countries in the region clearly need to liberalise their respective economic and political systems, not least by introducing more protections for human rights. But this is unlikely to happen in a climate of confrontation. The longer the conflict continues, the less chance these countries will have to pursue constructive long-term reforms. And as long as both the US and Iran remain prisoners of their histories, regional stability will be at risk. The sooner they can look to the future, instead of the past, the better it will be for everyone. There is plenty of common ground for fruitful cooperation. Someone needs to step onto it and show that it isnt mined. Carl Bildt is a former prime minister and foreign minister of Sweden. Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2020. 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 They might not yet speak in complete sentences, but 18-month-olds are savvy when it comes to deciding when and how to try. According to a study from Arizona State University, the University of Washington and University of Toronto that has implications for how people learn, infants do not try things at random or simply mimic what they see adults doing. Instead, they combine information from their own firsthand experience and the experiences of other people to decide whether to persist in trying to solve a problem. The study will be published in Nature Human Behaviour on January 20. "Persistence is important and plays a role in learning and life outcomes like school performance and emotional well-being," said Kelsey Lucca, assistant professor of psychology at ASU and first author on the paper. "But, it's not always a good idea to persist because effort is a limited resource, and deploying effort is metabolically costly, requiring time and energy. What truly drives learning is knowing when to try and what the best way to try is." Nevertheless, the infant persisted The research team devised an experiment that provided 18-month-old infants with social information and first-hand experience when solving a problem. Each of the 96 infants who participated in the experiment sat on their parent's lap at a table. Just out of reach on the table was a clear box with a toy inside. The box had a rope attached to it, and an experimenter seated at the table showed the infant how the rope could be pulled to bring the box, and the toy inside, within reach. The infants saw one of three scenarios: the experimenter easily move the box, the experimenter struggle but ultimately succeed in moving the box, or the experimenter fail to move the box. In the first scenario, the experimenter pulled the rope and easily moved the box across the table on the first try. In the second scenario, the experimenter tried pulling on the rope five times and succeeded on the fifth try. The final scenario was the same as the second, except the experimenter was unsuccessful at moving the box and gave up after the fifth attempt. Then it was the infants turn to try. Unbeknownst to the them, the experimenter had switched the box for one that was affixed to the table and impossible to move. The infants had three chances to move the box, and on each attempt the research team measured how much time they spent pulling the rope and how hard they pulled. The infants who saw the experimenter fail to move the box or easily succeed at moving it spent progressively less time trying to move the box with each attempt. Only the infants who watched the experimenter struggle but then succeed persisted in trying to move the box. These infants spent about the same amount of time on each attempt. "This finding suggests that the toddlers engaged in a sophisticated decision-making process, similar to how adults might create a list of pros and cons and use it to influence their choice," said Jessica Sommerville, professor of psychology at the University of Toronto and senior author on the paper. "The toddlers computed the utility, or usefulness, of trying to move the box by weighting the potential costs of what they had to lose - whether it was worth it keep pulling the rope - against what they had to gain in terms of the likelihood they could access the toy." How hard the infants pulled on the rope was also related to what they watched the experimenter demonstrate. The infants who saw the experimenter fail to move the box did not pull the rope as hard as the two other groups who saw the experimenter succeed in moving the box. The infants who saw the experimenter easily move the box pulled the rope the hardest, and the infants who saw the experimenter struggle and succeed ramped up how hard they pulled on the rope with each attempt, suggesting both these two groups were confident they would be able to move the box by increasing their effort. Infant inferences After the three impossible trials, the research team again switched the box, this time for one that could move. On these trials, all three groups of infants successfully moved the box and accessed the toy inside. The research team examined whether the infants showed help-seeking behaviors like pointing or reaching towards the box. The infants only sought help when they actually needed it, on the attempts when the box was affixed to the table and impossible to move. They did not ask for help on the trials when the box was moveable. The infants who saw the experimenter easily move the box requested help more than the other two groups, which indicates that the infants also only sought help when they knew it would be useful. "The infants who saw the experimenter easily move the box traded off trying for help seeking, suggesting that they realized the most adaptive strategy in that context was to get help from someone who can solve the problem," Lucca said. "The infants who saw the experimenter struggle but succeed needed the least amount of support to solve the task - suggesting that demonstrations of hard work and effort have carry over effects that impact infants' motivation in future tasks." The team also assessed whether the infants' facial expressions showed positive or negative emotions while they tried to move the box. The infants who saw the experimenter easily move the box showed the most frustration, because their expectations for what was supposed to happen did not match their experience. These infants also required the most prompting to try and move the box on the trials when it was moveable. "It seems intuitive that the experience of kids facing a challenge is inherently frustrating, but we found that the mismatch between expectations and experience is actually what is frustrating," Sommerville said. "Setting appropriate expectations for kids about difficulty and effort doesn't dissuade them, it lets them scale their expectations so when something is hard, they can choose to keep trying." ### Rachel Horton from the University of Washington also contributed to the study, which was supported by the Society of Research on Child Development and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. By Brian Pinnock, cybersecurity expert at Mimecast The realities of the negative impact of modern cyber threats arguably hit home for South Africans in 2019 more than any other year in memory. The country fell victim to several high-profile breaches, including a successful ransomware attack on City Powers systems. And in July this year, South Africa experienced the single longest cyberattack seen globally by the Mimecast Threat Centre, with an unknown attacker launching a wide-ranging campaign on our financial services sector over an eight-day period. Will 2020 hold more of the same, or will new and greater risks emerge? Based on our work helping companies around the world build greater cyber resilience, we expect to see the following play out in the world of cybersecurity in the year ahead. Moving from perimeter to pervasive email security The worlds number one business communication tool is also the most popular channel for attack by cybercriminals. And while email itself has remained fundamentally unchanged over the past ten, twenty years, email security has changed significantly. In October, Mimecast CEO, Peter Bauer, outlined how organisations have to move from perimeter email security to pervasive email security. Email perimeter security is focused on keeping data and users safe by protecting them against phishing, malware, impersonation attacks and data loss. Additional measures are in place to limit the impact of a compromised user on the broader network. However, as Bauer points out, organisations now have to consider threats that abuse trust outside of their own environments, and protect their brands and domains from being spoofed or hijacked by crooks who defraud their customers and partners. This requires organisations to take an offensive approach to cybersecurity and leverage solutions that have given them visibility outside of their purview. This enables them to hunt for and take action against threats where attackers present themselves fraudulently to customers using deception or impersonation. We believe 2020 is going to be the year where this becomes a vital component of any cyber resilience strategy, said Mimecast. A race for security maturity A significant amount of the cyberattacks launched on businesses and consumers are fairly simple and one-dimensional, but they are effective because so many organisations still have limited security maturity. This is unlikely to change in 2020. However, even in organisations with advanced security controls, most of those controls work independently of each other, leaving many vulnerable to more complex attacks. We expect to see an escalation in complex attacks using multiple attack vectors that span several security controls for example email security and web security. Attackers will take advantage of limited threat sharing, low levels of automated orchestration, and a lack of bilateral threat sharing between different security controls to pry open the defences of organisations with relatively mature cybersecurity. 5G widens scope for cyberattacks With the long-awaited spectrum allocation in progress, SAs mobile operators are keenly awaiting rollout of next-gen 5G infrastructure. 5G is widely expected to become a foundational element of how people consume media and is a cornerstone of so-called smart cities. However, it also provides cybercriminals with a welcome tool to gain access to higher volumes of valuable data. There will likely be an increase in the size and frequency of Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks, similar to the ones many of our local Internet Service Providers have experienced in recent months. Its also not unthinkable that well see a vast IoT botnet, comprised of a million devices, launch the biggest attack weve yet seen. Blurring the lines Cybercriminals have become very smart. Instead of targeting victims with a single email containing a malicious URL or attachment, they now target users on social media, email, and directly on their mobile device via SMS (SMishing) or voice (vishing). By constantly inundating users with sophisticated attacks, cybercriminals make it increasingly difficult to distinguish whats real and whats fake, leaving many vulnerable. Educating the vulnerable Unsurprisingly, the rising sophistication of cyberattacks has left many vulnerable to exploitation, especially less digitally-literate groups such as older generations. Expect to see renewed focus on educating consumers about safe online habits and to help them identify and avoid potentially risky behaviour. This wont be limited to banks and other service providers educating their customers. There will likely be increased investment in awareness training within organisations, to equip employees with the skills and knowledge to prevent risky behaviour. This is essential, considering the risks to businesses of malicious files moving from one infected user to the next. AI vs AI This year will see artificial intelligence being put to broad use for good and for bad. Organisations will start using advanced AI to help uncover trends and insights in their alerts, and to better orchestrate and refine their overall security landscape. They will need to closely monitor their AI tools effectiveness and accuracy and refine as needed. At the same time, attackers will use AI to do reconnaissance of target networks, identify vulnerabilities and develop better malware. Considering the amount of publicly available information on, for example, social media, attackers are also likely to use AI to find information that could be used for targeted phishing attacks. To find out more, visit the Mimecast website. Turkmenistan has launched a website of the International Conference Policy of Neutrality and its Importance in Ensuring International Peace, Security and Sustainable Development, which is scheduled for 11-12 December 2020 in Ashgabat. The official online resource of the upcoming high-level forum dedicated to the 25th anniversary of Turkmenistans neutrality has been developed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan. It is available in Turkmen, English and Russian languages, The www.neutrality.gov.tm website provides specifics about the international forum, its program of work, as well as general information about priorities of Turkmenistans foreign policy and development strategy. Interested stakeholders can apply for registration online through the website by filling out a registration form and receiving approval after processing of personal data. Other than a news feed, there is also a photo gallery presenting visual information on the events in the country's international life and an archive of publications. One can also open a personal webpage on the website and get feedback by means of electronic messages, questions, requests, recommendations and suggestions to the conference organizing committee. A suitable structure and modern design of the new website make browsing very easy and convenient. TURKMENISTAN.RU, 2022 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. TN local body polls on hold: Legal formalities to be completed in 4 months says SC UP Panchayat Election 2021: Seat reservation process to be decided afresh, says Official For how many more generations? SC on reservation Haryana Assembly ratifies bill to extend reservation to SC, ST for another 10 years India oi-PTI Chandigarh, Jan 20: The Haryana Assembly on Monday ratified a bill to extend reservation to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for another 10 years. On the opening day of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha session here, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar moved an official resolution in the House to ratify the Constitution (126th Amendment) Bill 2019 extending reservation for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities in Lok Sabha and state assemblies by another 10 years. The House unanimously passed the resolution. The reservation for SCs, STs given for the past 70 years in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, was due to end on January 25, 2020. Haryana: 12 of 12 candidates with criminal background won polls against those with clean background The Parliament recently passed a constitution amendment bill in this regard and it has to be ratified by at least 50 per cent of the assemblies before it becomes a law. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Monday, January 20, 2020, 14:26 [IST] Eastern Libyan Gov't Pledges to Fight Terrorism, Prevent Turkish Intervention Speaker Sputnik News 14:56 19.01.2020 CAIRO (Sputnik) - Libya's ongoing civil war will not end until terrorist and extremist groups in the country have been completely defeated and the Libyan people will not allow military intervention from Turkey or any other foreign power, Aguila Saleh, the speaker of Libya's eastern-based parliament, said. "The Libyan people will not compromise and will not allow Turkey or any other power to intervene in Libya's domestic affairs Our war against terrorism and extremism continues until all armed groups are expelled and the entire country of Libya has been liberated", Saleh said during a meeting with eastern Libyan tribal leaders, as quoted by the Libyan news portal Akhbar Libya. The speaker criticized the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), led by Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj for the failure to reach a deal. "It was not the Russian side that did not succeed, but instead the Government of National Accord and Turkey who failed to reach a final agreement", Saleh remarked, as quoted by the portal. The speaker also praised the role of Egypt, and the country's president Abdel Fattah Sisi, in seeking to resolve Libya's ongoing conflict. "Egypt and the Egyptian people take a constructive position and support the legitimate side in the Libyan conflict", Saleh stated, as quoted by the portal. Saleh has returned to Libya after being part of the Libyan National Army (LNA) delegation, alongside leader Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, that visited Moscow for peace talks on 13 January. A unit of Turkish special forces arrived in Tripoli on 17 January to ensure the safety of GNA officials, according to media reports. This comes a day after Erdogan reiterated that Turkish troops were heading to Libya to support the GNA. Libya has been torn apart between the two rival administrations since 2011, when its long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown and killed. The LNA currently controls the majority of territory in Libya's eastern regions, while the Tripoli-based GNA has a foothold in the country's west. On 19 January, representatives from a number of countries and organisations, including Russia, the US, Turkey, Egypt, European Union and United Nations meet in Berlin to find solutions to the conflict in the North African country. The Berlin conference follows the intra-Libyan talks in Moscow that took place last week, mediated by Russia and Turkey. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Filipino soldiers escort a group of fishermen freed by the Abu Sayyaf group in Jolo, on the southern island of Mindanao, Philippines, June 22, 2019. Troops killed five gunmen in weekend clashes as they stepped up search-and-rescue operations for Indonesian fishermen snatched by suspected Abu Sayyaf militants and taken to the southern Philippines, officials said. One marine was slightly injured and four militants killed during a dawn encounter Sunday in the Tawi-Tawi island group where five hostages were believed taken after they were seized in Malaysian waters in eastern Sabah, the military said. A fifth suspected militant was killed two days earlier after the military received an alert that gunmen were spotted transporting their captives into an area known as an Abu Sayyaf stronghold. Shortly after the militants speedboat was spotted on Friday, the military ordered an air raid. According to three witness accounts, it was the same speedboat they used in escaping after carrying out the abduction, said Maj. Arvin Encinas, regional military spokesman. There is a big possibility that they were the same group that was seen. Clearing operations were carried out after the air raid was ordered, and troops recovered parts of the destroyed speedboat and recovered the cadaver of one of the Abu Sayyaf gunmen, Encinas said. There was no sign of the hostages identified as Arsyad Dahlan, 41, Arizal Kastamiran, 29, La Baa, 32, Riswanto Hayano, 27, and Edi Lawalopo, 53. The militants took eight hostages on Thursday, but released three who reported the kidnapping. We were on alert right after the abductions were reported by the Malaysian government, Encinas said. Thats why we have intensified monitoring and maritime patrols based on the information that the speedboat utilized was seen. Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, commander of Western Mindanao Command, said troops from Marine Battalion Landing Team 6 and the 64th Marine Company clashed with about 10 gunmen on Sunday, killing four of them while the others were able to escape. The dead militants, members of Abu Sayyaf, were identified as Oyong Maulana, Datu Solon Maulana, Rashida Maulana, and Nhadz Omar by local officials. The troops recovered weapons along with mobile phones. Kidnappings The Abu Sayyaf has been involved in crimes including drug trafficking and kidnapping in the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia which share a common sea border, according to the general. The group has been blamed for a spate of kidnappings in recent years where Malaysian and Indonesian sailors and fishermen have been taken hostage. Suspects in previous kidnappings would demand ransom for their release. In September, three Indonesian fishermen were abducted from their boat off Sabahs east coast near the border with the Philippines. Last week, Philippine officials announced security forces rescued an one of the fisherman weeks after authorities said he was recaptured by Abu Sayyaf captors while two compatriots were rescued in southern Sulu province. ATLANTA - Statements from law enforcement officials and a Kentucky-based rapper are shedding more light on what led to a shooting that caused chaos outside one of Atlantas largest malls last week. The man shot by police on Saturday after refusing to drop his gun may have been trying to stop a robbery. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said an Atlanta Police officer responded to Lenox Square Mall at approximately 8:15 p.m. Saturday. The officer found Christian Edlin and another person not identified by name in a parking deck with firearms pointed at Antonio Williams, according to a statement from the bureau. Police said the suspect refused to drop his gun. The officer fired his gun and struck Edlin, the statement says, who was transported to a local hospital in serious but stable condition. Rapper 2KBABY from Louisville, Kentucky, says that he was with Edlin at the time, and Edlin was trying to stop a man who had robbed them. He was a victim of someone that asked to take a picture with him and then snatched his chain and they chased him, the rappers manager said in a statement to WXIA-TV. And when they got to him, asking for it back a cop came outside and just shot hitting his friend, the statement says. No officers were injured during the incident. Edlin, a 21-year-old from Louisville, Kentucky, was charged with aggravated assault and carrying a pistol without a license, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigations statement. Williams, a 23-year-old from Flint Michigan, was charged with robbery by snatching and giving a false name. Social media footage showed terrified shoppers scrambling for cover inside the mall. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says they are continuing to investigate. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Benny Mawel (The Jakarta Post) 300,000 Mon, January 20, 2020 18:09 722 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad206041c25 1 National Papua,military-base,tribes Free Four tribes in Keerom regency, Papua, have handed over 10 hectares of land to the Indonesian Military (TNI), paving the way for the construction of a new headquarters for the areas military command post (Korem). Aside from receiving financial compensation, the tribes also asked the military to prioritize their children in enlistment. The heads of the Keret Tafior, Kiryar, Kyawoy and Girbes tribes officially gave parts of their land in Yummua village, West Arso district, to the areas Korem commander, Col. Binsar P. Sianipar, during a ceremony on Jan. 16. Keerom Customary Council chairman Servo Tuamis said the tribes had agreed to give up the land last year but the necessary paperwork was only signed recently. The Keerom administration agreed to compensate Rp 2 billion (US$146,399) for the 10-ha land. As the tribes feel that the number is too small, they have demanded another form of compensation. As we were born here in Keerom, we demanded the military to enlist our children as their personnel. The council will give them recommendations on being enlisted in the military, Servo said. Read also: Military locate base of armed criminal group operating in Papua's Intan Jaya He claimed the military had agreed to grant the request, as long as the recommended people were healthy and did not consume any narcotics and alcoholic beverages. Korem commander Binsar appreciated the indigenous tribes for handing over their land to the force. We will take care of this land and use it for the residents of Keerom. We will help the regency to become an economic center, which will later improve residents welfare, he said as quoted by Antara news agency. Naome Kwambre, the daughter of the former Keerom Customary Council chairman, lambasted the handover. As part of the younger generation [of tribe members], I deplore the handover of the land because it should be our source of livelihood for generations to come, Naome said. (kuk) Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Story Highlights Job approval rating essentially unchanged from December Slim majority want their senators to vote against convicting Trump More want Trump removed from office than wanted Clinton out WASHINGTON, D.C. -- As the Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump begins, 44% of Americans approve of the job he is doing as president. Trump's approval rating has been steady in the past three polls -- between 43% and 45% -- slightly above the 39% to 41% ratings he received as the impeachment inquiry started in the fall. Trump's recent job approval ratings -- though below the historical average 53% for post-World War II presidents -- are among the highest of his presidency. His personal best is 46%, while he has averaged 40% job approval for his entire term. Currently, 88% of Republicans, 37% of independents and 10% of Democrats approve of the job Trump is doing. Public Leans Against Removing Trump From Office The Jan. 2-15 poll was conducted after the U.S. House voted to impeach Trump in December but before the Senate trial formally began last Thursday. The House has accused Trump of withholding congressionally approved foreign aid to Ukraine contingent on that country investigating a political rival of the president, and obstructing Congress in its investigation of the matter. Forty-six percent of Americans say they would like their senators to vote to convict Trump and remove him from office, while 51% want their senators to vote against conviction so Trump will remain as president. Like his approval rating, Trump's impeachment figures are also sharply divided along partisan lines. Ninety-three percent of Republicans are opposed to convicting Trump and 84% of Democrats favor doing so. Independents are evenly divided, with 49% in favor and 46% opposed. Americans' Preference for Senate Vote in Impeachment Trial of President Trump As you may know, the House has now impeached Donald Trump and the case will be sent to the Senate for trial. What do you want YOUR senators to do -- [vote in favor of convicting Trump and removing him from office (or) vote against convicting Trump so he will remain in office]? Convict/Remove Not Convict/Keep % % U.S. adults 46 51 Democrats 84 15 Independents 49 46 Republicans 7 93 Gallup, Jan. 2-15, 2020 Though public opinion currently tilts against removing Trump from office, more want to see the Senate remove him than wanted the same for Bill Clinton after he was impeached by the House in 1998. In several polls conducted in January and early February 1999, an average of 33% of Americans were in favor of the Senate convicting Clinton and removing him from office, while 63% were opposed. The president's own party is about as opposed to impeachment for Trump as the Democratic Party was for Clinton; but the opposition party and political independents are more strongly aligned against Trump than they were against Clinton. Seven percent of Republicans today, versus 8% of Democrats in 1999, wanted the Senate to remove a president of their own party. 65% of Republicans wanted Clinton removed, but 84% of Democrats want to see Trump ousted today. Thirty-two percent of independents wanted Clinton removed from office, compared with 49% wanting the same for Trump. Implications As was the case for Clinton, the impeachment of Trump has not had a noticeably negative effect on his popular support. In fact, for both presidents, impeachment had the opposite effect of increasing their public approval. Clinton registered a personal best 73% approval rating immediately after being impeached. Clinton's higher rating may also have been aided by U.S. airstrikes against Iraq that occurred at the same time as the House impeachment vote. Clinton's job approval ratings held in the mid- to high 60s as the Senate tried him on his impeachment charges in early 1999. Trump's job approval ratings are nowhere near as high as Clinton's were during his impeachment saga, but they are among the best Trump has registered as president. Both Clinton and Trump were impeached at a time when the U.S. economy was strong, but Trump is operating in a much more partisan environment than Clinton was. The polarization is holding Trump's job approval rating down, especially among Democrats but also independents. The greater correspondence between partisanship and views of the president also helps explain why more want Trump to be removed from office than wanted Clinton to be. View complete question responses and trends (PDF download). Learn more about how the Gallup Poll Social Series works. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Asip Hasani and Adrian Wail Akhlas (The Jakarta Post) Kediri/Jakarta Mon, January 20, 2020 11:51 722 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad206029f22 1 Business Airport,Kediri,East-Java,surabaya,Malang,Gudang-Garam,Transportation,air-travel,investment,Luhut-Binsar-Pandjaitan Free The groundbreaking of an airport in Kediri, East Java, that is funded by major cigarette producer Gudang Garam will begin in March at the latest, the East Java administration has announced. Gudang Garam, through its subsidiary Surya Dhoho Investama, will spend around Rp 10 trillion (US$732.4 million) to acquire more than 450 hectares of land for the airport, as well as for construction development. East Java Transportation Agency head Fatah Jasin said the airport would be the first in the country that was fully owned by a private firm, adding that the governments role in the airports operation would be limited. The groundbreaking ceremony will depend on whether [Gudang Garam] has acquired all the land, but it will be between February and March as the President will be there, Fatah told The Jakarta Post on Thursday. A resident looks at a torn-down mosque at Dusun Tanjung, Grogol village, Kediri regency, East Java, on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020. Dusun Tanjung, located in the development area of an upcoming airport to be developed by tobacco company Gudang Garam, has been emptied out by its residents since 2017 after the cigarette giant cleared the land for airport development. (JP/Asip Hasani) The Kediri airport, located around 20 kilometers from central Kediri, is on the governments list of national strategic projects even though it is being funded by the private sector and is expected to alleviate the overburdened Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, which is around a two-hour drive from Kediri. It is Indonesias second-largest city and a thriving economic hub. The Kediri airport is projected to finish construction three years from now and accommodate more than 10 million passengers. The first phase of construction will take a year, with a capacity of 1.5 million passengers. The airport will have a 3,000-meter runway to accommodate a wide range of aircraft, such as Boeing B777s and Airbus A350s, bigger than the nearby Abdulrachman Saleh airport in Malang. Gudang Garam has yet to acquire a portion of the land needed for construction but has garnered the support of local communities, Kediri Regent Abdullah Abu Bakar and the National Land Agency, said Fatah. Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister has even met with Muslim clerics at Lirboyo Islamic boarding school on Sept. 2, 2019, to gain their approval. Land acquisition for the Kediri airport is almost finished, Luhut told reporters on Thursday. We will need another ha to start the groundbreaking process but we will first compensate the previous landowners. Nyaman, a citizen of Grogol village in Grogol district, Kediri regency, East Java, tends to his cow on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020, within the site where a new airport will be developed by cigarette company Gudang Garam. Nyaman and other residents still keep their land around the area. (JP/Asip Hasani) The government has taken charge of the licensing process and later, the daily operations of the airport through state-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura I, Luhut added. East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa told the Post in December 2019 that Kediri airport would bring about a significant impact on the economic development in several regencies in East Java such as Blitar, Tulungagung, Trenggalek, Nganjuk and Ponorogo. In East Java, the economic gap is not only between cities and rural villages but also between the north and south, she said. The airports development is in line with local administrations priorities to build ring-roads circling Mount Wilis, which is surrounded by several regencies in the southern part of East Java, Khofifah added. The idea to build a new airport was first voiced by East Java Deputy Governor Emil Dardak to help boost tourism and agriculture in the southern part of East Java, with several regencies interested in hosting the airport before Gudang Garam decided on Kediri. by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, January 20, 2020 Google made searching and finding answers to health-related questions on its search engine easier. Then along came wearables, and along with Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, International Business Machines (IBM) and others, tech companies moved into health data. Some healthcare companies have begun to push back, based on a lack of rules. Data has become the gold key to services and some hospitals are granting big tech access to train their algorithms in hopes of finding cures for cancer and other major diseases. Amazon, Microsoft, IBM and Google have access to identifiable patient information under separate deals to crunch millions of health records, reports one media outlet. Hospitals are massive containers of patient data, reports The Wall Street Journal, citing Lisa Bari, a consultant and former lead for health information technology for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Innovation Center. advertisement advertisement Bari told the WSJ that hospitals can share patient data as long as they follow federal privacy laws. These laws have limited consumer protections and that the data belongs to whoever has it. Not all hospitals and tech companies said they share personally identifiable information to develop cures. But they can if they choose. For example, there is an agreement between IBM and Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston to develop artificial intelligence. The Mayo Clinic also said Google has access to more records than first disclosed earlier this month. After announcing its intentions to acquire Fitbit in November 2019, Google revealed a partnership with Ascension, a U.S. healthcare chain of 2,600 hospitals and doctors' offices, on a project to collect, analyze and share the personal healthcare information of millions of people across 21 states. Healthcare providers began to make an individuals personal data available to them from their mobile phones and desktop computers years ago. For example, Christiana Care Health System in February 2019 began supporting Health Records on iPhones in an effort to combine data from hospitals, clinics and the Apple Health app to make it easy for patients to see their medical records from multiple providers whenever they choose. Data storage also comes into play. Epic Systems, a privately held healthcare software company and the maker of MyChart, reportedly said it will stop any further integration with Google Cloud and instead focus on Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure, citing insufficient interest from customers in Google and criticism from privacy advocates about its work with Ascension. Data sharing could be further extended. A proposed rule by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services could further erode privacy and open access to media records, at least for the individual -- and perhaps for tech companies that could use the data to personalize marketing and advertising messages for their advertisers. Last summer, a group of women mobbed Kazakh journalists at a human rights conference in Almaty, hitting them and breaking their cameras. One of the women, Akzhol Akhmetova, was later spotted working at a municipal office and also appeared to assist local officials, prompting locals to label her a "titushka" -- a plainclothes provocateur. In an interview with RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, Akhmetova denied any government connections. Most of the Democrats seeking their partys presidential nomination gather for a Martin Luther King Jr Day prayer service (Meg Kinnard/AP) Democratic presidential contenders celebrated Martin Luther King Jrs legacy at a Baptist church and linked arms with each other and civil rights leaders in a march of tens of thousands to the South Carolina Statehouse. At Zion Baptist Church before the march, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren engaged in the handshake that did not happen in the frosty aftermath of the last debate. This is the handshake, presidential contender Tulsi Gabbard said as Mr Sanders and Ms Warren reached across her to shake hands in the front row. They and rival Amy Klobuchar attended the service before they joined Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg and other contenders in the march to the Statehouse. Expand Close Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren shake hands watched by Tulsi Gabbard (Meg Kinnard/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren shake hands watched by Tulsi Gabbard (Meg Kinnard/AP) In last weeks debate, Ms Warren and Mr Sanders clashed in an exchange over what was said during a private conversation about a womans chances of becoming president. Mr Sanders extended his hand afterward, and Ms Warren pulled back. Now, in the closing days before the first votes are cast in the 2020 Democratic presidential contest, the partys leading hopefuls are splitting their time between the critical early-voting states of South Carolina and Iowa at events celebrating Dr King. The march brought together more candidates than engaged in the last two debates. Beginning today in church for King Day at Zion Baptist Church in SC. Faith is needed at this juncture in our nations history. We must, in Kings words, be drum majors for justice. We reflect on his life and pay tribute to his enduring legacy of progress by continuing his work. Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) January 20, 2020 They arrived at the Statehouse as Dr Kings I have a dream speech played over loudspeakers. While Iowa and New Hampshire Democrats vote first for their nominee, South Carolinas first-in-the-South primary is a crucial proving ground for a candidates mettle with black voters. The states showcase holiday celebration, Columbias King Day at the Dome, is a notable event for Democratic politicians. Today we honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and his fight for social, racial, and economic justice. We honor his struggles and triumphs. We honor his courage and his vision. Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) January 20, 2020 Sanders spokesman Michael Wukela said the King event in South Carolina was about respect pure and simple, noting that racial inequality in areas including criminal justice and poverty highlights the relevance of commemorating a civil rights icon here. If you cant stand shoulder to shoulder with people who face these challenges every day yet still manage to embrace a vision of hope and grace, then you dont deserve their respect, much less their vote, he said. Expand Close Vice President Mike Pence takes a tour of the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel, where Rev. Martin Luther King Jr was fatally shot on April 4, 1968, in Memphis (Joe Rondone/The Commercial Appeal/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Vice President Mike Pence takes a tour of the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel, where Rev. Martin Luther King Jr was fatally shot on April 4, 1968, in Memphis (Joe Rondone/The Commercial Appeal/AP) King Day at the Dome began in 2000 as a reaction to state politicians decision that year to keep the Confederate battle flag flying from the Statehouses copper-covered cupola, a place of prominence that drew opposition. Tens of thousands of people marched through the centre of Columbia from the prayer service to the Statehouse. Politicians eventually agreed to a compromise that moved the flag to a flagpole, albeit one prominently situated in front of the building. The deal also recognised Martin Luther King Jr Day in the state and created Confederate Memorial Day. In 2015, following the racist massacre of nine Bible study participants at a historic black church in Charleston, politicians voted to remove the flag from the grounds. In years past many Democratic presidential hopefuls have made their way to the north-facing facade of the Statehouse, including John Edwards, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Expand Close Democratic presidential hopefuls Joe Biden and Amy Klobuchar (Meg Kinnard/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Democratic presidential hopefuls Joe Biden and Amy Klobuchar (Meg Kinnard/AP) Last year, Mr Sanders and Senator Cory Booker, who has dropped out of the 2020 race, attended. Many of the candidates in the wide field planned to travel to Des Moines, Iowa, on Monday for the Brown and Black Forum, recognised as one of the nations oldest minority-focused presidential candidate events of its kind. Traditionally a debate, the event in recent years has been more of a one-on-one candidate forum. Former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg, who is not competing in the early-voting states but has put some of his multimillion-dollar ad spending there plans to join a King Day parade in Little Rock, Arkansas. Tech businessman Andrew Yang is in the midst of a 17-day bus tour of Iowa and plans to remain there. Large African herbivores have helped to repair their environment Nature A century ago, Pennsylvania stood almost entirely stripped of trees Pittsburgh City Paper Huge dust storms in Australia hit central New South Wales Guardian. Next, locusts. Followed by bankers and private equity. BlackRock gets praise for coal divestment. What it really needs is regulation Ann Pettifor, Guardian (UserFriendly). As opposed to dismemberment? The $119 Billion Sea Wall That Could Defend New York or Not NYT U.S. appeals court tosses childrens climate lawsuit Science. For more on Juliana v. United States, see NC (2019, 2017, 2015). The index providers are quietly building up enormous powers FT. The new gatekeepers of capital. Important. How An Exotic Investment Product Sold In Korea Could Create Havoc In The U.S. Options Market Bloomberg Ready, steady, review: Five questions for the ECB Reuters Syraqistan China? India Why Modis Thugs Attacked My University Project Syndicate Assessing the sustainability of post-Green Revolution cereals in India PNAS. In India, diversifying crop production to include more coarse cereals, such as millets and sorghum, can make food supply more nutritious, reduce resource demand and greenhouse gas emissions, and enhance climate resilience without reducing calorie production or requiring more land. Impeachment New Cold War Hyper Over Russian Hypersonics Consortium News Trump Transition 2020 Puerto Rico Guillotine Watch Class Warfare Shell tackle any voiceover just not Scar: Moment Prince Harry tells Lion King director Jon Favreau his wife is available for work as Meghan jokes Thats really why were here to pitch! Daily Mail (J-LS). Antidote du jour (via): Bonus antidote: woke up to a text from my mom about how a wild elephant went into a Sri Lankan hotel and gently wandered around while poking stuff with his trunk pic.twitter.com/C2biQT8C30 Upuli (@upidaisy) January 19, 2020 Festival of large herbivores! See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here. By Ilya Zhegulev and Sergiy Karazy KIEV (Reuters) - The bodies of the 11 Ukrainian citizens who died when a passenger plane was accidentally shot down by Iran this month were brought back to Ukraine on Sunday in a solemn ceremony at Kiev airport. All 176 on board the Ukraine International Airlines flight from Tehran to Kiev were killed when the Boeing 737-800 was shot down on Jan. 8, at a time when Iran was on high alert for a U.S. attack. Most of those on board were Iranians or dual nationals. Canada had 57 citizens on board. Nine of the Ukrainian citizens were crew members. "Today at Boryspil Airport the bereaved families and the whole nation have an opportunity to pay their respects to the Ukrainian crew and passengers of #PS752 who are now home," Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko wrote on Twitter. "Deeply grateful for the messages of condolence & solidarity that we have received from around the world." With President Volodymyr Zelenskiy looking on, coffins draped in the Ukrainian flag were carried one by one from a Ukrainian military plane to waiting hearses at the airport. Soldiers held up flags to represent the different nationalities of those who died. Relatives came to the airport carrying bunches of flowers. Airline staff, some in tears, were waiting on the tarmac. Some knelt down as the coffins passed them. Iran is trying to analyze the plane's black boxes, the state IRNA news agency reported on Sunday, denying a report on Saturday that a decision had been taken to send the plane's recorders to Ukraine. The plane disaster sparked unrest in Iran and added to international pressure on the country as it grapples with a longrunning dispute with the United States over its nuclear program and its influence in the region that briefly erupted into open conflict this month. (Writing by Matthias Williams; Editing by Frances Kerry) Fifty skeletons dating back more than 2,000 years uncovered in Somerset may belong to native Britons enslaved by the invading Roman Empire. Initial reports claimed the bodies were high-ranking members of society, but it is now believed they were the unpaid labourers working for the rich and powerful. Each grave contained a single body, with both adults and children buried at the site, and many were buried wearing hobnail boots, researchers believe. The remains were discovered by construction workers building a school. Scroll down for video Fifty skeletons (pictured) dating back more than 2,000 years uncovered in Somerset may belong to native Britons enslaved by the invading Roman Empire. Initial reports claim the bodies were high-ranking members of society but this is now disputed An exact date of the skeletons is unknown as they studies are still ongoing but early estimates date the remains as potentially as old as 43AD - the date of the Roman invasion of Britain The new school will be built on the site of the old King Ina Junior and Infants'. 'This site is a significant discovery - the most comprehensive modern excavation of a Roman cemetery in Somerset,' said archaeologist Steve Membery from South West Heritage Trust, which has overseen the excavations. 'The application of technology including aerial drones and techniques such as isotope and ancient DNA analysis offers major opportunities for insights into the lives of the Roman population of Somerton. 'The individuals were evidently of some status in native society. 'The burials also show early adoption of Roman burial practices such as offerings alongside traditionally Iron Age characteristics.' In a separate statement provided to LiveScience, he revealed the high-ranking native people may have been taken into slavery by the Romans. 'They are most likely household servants, agricultural workers, and many may have technically been slaves,' Mr Membery said. 'So, this is a rare opportunity to study a sample of a community.' The burials included both adults and children with a smattering of valuables in the graves, including pottery and brooches. Burials included adults and children with a smattering of valuables in the graves,including pottery and brooches. Each grave contained a single body, with both adults and children buried at the site, and many were buried wearing hobnail boots, researchers claim The excavations also unveiled other Roman relics besides the bodies, including traces of Iron Age round houses, field systems and a Roman building (pictured) Somerset County Councillor Faye Purbrick, Cabinet Member for Education and Transformation, said: 'The findings are both exciting and extraordinary providing us with valuable insight into Somerset's early history' The form of the burials was unusual and sheds lights on the transition between Iron Age and Roman society. An exact date of the skeletons is unknown as the studies are ongoing but early estimates date the remains as potentially as old as 43AD. The graves were dug into the bedrock and lined with stone curbs to create a coffin-like structure and sealed with flat slabs. The excavations also unveiled other Roman relics besides the bodies, including traces of Iron Age round houses, field systems and a Roman building. Work on the new 420-pupil school had to be delayed while experts from Wessex Archaeology dug the site - and unearthed the discoveries. Construction is set to resume following a short archaeological hiatus this month. Somerset County Councillor Faye Purbrick, Cabinet Member for Education and Transformation, said: 'The findings are both exciting and extraordinary providing us with valuable insight into Somerset's early history. 'We will be able to understand so much more about the lives of Roman people in Somerton thanks to these discoveries. The site archaeology has been carefully gathered for further scientific analysis and full findings on both the skeletons and the artefacts in the graves will be published in due course, the archaeologists say Work on the new 420-pupil school had to be delayed while experts from Wessex Archaeology dug the site - and unearthed the discoveries 'Our team have a great track record of delivering fantastic new schools and while we'd always prefer any delay to be avoided I think that the students, parents and teachers will understand in this instance, given the scale and importance of the archaeological finds here. 'The children have already had an opportunity to visit the site hopefully inspiring some future archaeologists and I'm sure they will be excited to continue to learn more about this very special site.' The site archaeology has been carefully gathered for further scientific analysis. A full report of the findings will be published in due course, according to the people who dug up the site. The graves were dug into the bedrock and lined with stone curbs to create a coffin-like structure and sealed with flat slabs and many contained other items, including pottery (pictured) Police believe Glasgow drove a car from which Jamie Townes, a passenger, fired shots that resulted in the death of Jennings. Police believe Townes shot Jennings because he believed she stole his car. Glasgow has been involved in several community movements since being released from prison. He was convicted on drug charges in the late 1980s. Upon his release, he founded The Ordinary People Society, a community and homeless ministry in Dothan. He has advocated for the restoration of voting rights for ex-felons and helped start Moma Tinas Mission House in Dothan, along with his mother. Glasgow has referred to himself as Kenny Sharpton Glasgow on several occasions and is believed to be the half brother of the Rev. Al Sharpton, founder of the National Action Network. Under Alabama law, murder committed by or through the use of a deadly weapon while the victim is in a vehicle is considered a capital crime. A person convicted of a capital crime is eligible for life in prison without parole or the death penalty. Also, under Alabamas complicity statute, a person believed to have aided or abetted a crime is equally liable for the underlying crime. Get Breaking News Alerts Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. (Newser) Law enforcement agencies in Virginia are planning a "strong presence" Monday as gun rights advocates are set to converge upon the state's capital of Richmond to protest proposed gun control measures. The rally is happening amid a governor-issued state of emergency barring weapons from Capitol grounds through Tuesday evening. "They are not coming to peacefully protest, they are coming to intimidate and to cause harm," Gov. Ralph Northam warned at a Wednesday presser of possible attackers from hate groups and militias he said he'd received intel on, per ABC News. On Thursday, the arrest of three suspected white supremacists believed to be headed to the rally caused tensions to spike further, followed by a tweet Friday from President Trump some say added fuel to the fire: "Your 2nd Amendment is under very serious attack in the Great Commonwealth of Virginia." story continues below ABC notes some gun rights advocates are angry that Virginia lawmakers have suggested a ban on assault rifles and other gun-control measures. "People are looking at this and saying, 'This is a canary in the coal mine. If they're coming after rights in Virginia, then they'll be coming for ours as well," Philip Van Cleave, head of the Virginia Citizens Defense League that's organizing the rally, tells Reuters. Van Cleave has decried any violence at the rally but asked militia members to come armed for "security." Some militia leaders fear a "lone wolf" could cause issues. "This thing has enormous potential to go bad," one notes. An anti-fascist activist begged counterprotesters to stay away, per Fox News. Meanwhile, the Virginia House GOP leader warned away "any group that comes to Richmond to spread white supremacist garbage, or any other form of hate, violence, or civil unrest." (Read more Virginia stories.) A theme park has forced a 220lb pig to bungee jump from a 223-foot-tall tower in a promotional stunt that sparked nationwide outrage and was labelled 'disgusting' by animal welfare activists. Footage taken on Saturday at the tourist attraction in Chongqing shows the animal whining in desperation as it was bound to a wooden stick and carried by two workers up the structure. A separate clip then captures workers dragging the pig which was clearly terrified to the edge of the bungee platform, attaching it to a safety harness before pushing it down. Workers at Meixin Red Wine Town in China carry the pig to the bungee tower on Saturday Workers then attach a blue cape to the pig and drag it towards the platform for the jump The pig can be heard screaming repeatedly as it plunged down the tower while being attached to a rope and a blue cape. The park has apologised to the public amid the controversy. A spokesperson told local media that the pig had been sent to a slaughterhouse, insisting that it was well. The controversial incident, branded as 'golden pig bungee jumping', was held by Meixin Red Wine Town in the district of Fuling to celebrate the opening of its bungee tower on the same day. The amusement park also claimed that it wanted to use the performance to celebrate the upcoming Lunar New Year. But the business faced waves of criticism from the public and animal welfare groups after videos of the event became trending on Chinese social media platforms. The pig weighed around 75 kilograms (165 pounds) and was carried up the bungee tower by six workers, according to state-run newspaper Global Times. It was taken into a lift to be transported to the top of the tower, accompanied by workers, the report said. The bungee tower measures 68 metres (223 feet) in height and is erected over a pond. The pig dangles in midair while being attached to a rope after it was pushed down the tower Workers prepare to put a safety harness on the pig before pushing it down the platform Many users of Weibo, the Chinese equivalent to Twitter, accused the park of animal abuse. One typical comment said: 'I cannot understand how such act which involves animal abuse can be funny.' Another user wrote: 'The pig's screams are heart-rending.' Animal charity PETA called the stunt 'disgusting' and 'cruelty to animals to its worst'. In a statement to MailOnline, PETA Vice President of International Campaigns Jason Baker said: 'A bungee jump is a scary experience even for consenting humans - just imagine the outright terror of being forcibly strung up by your legs and thrown from a high platform. 'That's the treatment that this pig received, all for a cheap laugh. Well, guess what? No one's laughing. 'Pigs experience pain and fear, just as we do, and this kind of disgusting PR stunt should be illegal.' Workers at the park denied accusations of animal cruelty, claiming that the bungee jump was just 'an experiment', they told Beijing News. The incident in Chongqing has sparked an outcry among web users and animal activists The park has apologised, but insisted the pig was well and had been sent to a slaughterhouse The park yesterday apologised to the public for their treatment of the pig. In a statement on its official account on Weibo, the park said: 'We sincerely accept the criticism and advice given by many web users and hereby extend our sincere apology to web users and all communities of the society.' The park vowed to strengthen its management in publicity. There is currently no law to protect animal welfare or prevent cruelty towards animals in China. Mr Baker said the incident should be a 'wake-up call' to the Chinese policymakers who are yet to pass relevant law. He said: 'The theme park deserves every shred of the backlash it's receiving online, and the Chinese public's angry response should be a wake-up call to China's policymakers that they must implement animal protection laws immediately.' Another animal charity, Humane Society International, agreed. The group's spokesperson, Wendy Higgins, told MailOnline: 'Causing animals fear or suffering for a commercially motivated publicity stunt is truly vulgar. 'Unfortunately this kind of exploitation is not uncommon in China, symptomatic of a system that provides no legal protection for animals and no legal incentive to respect them as sentient beings and consider their welfare or feelings. 'The outrage online to this incident is indicative of how out of step this cruelty is with the growing concern for animal protection among Chinese citizens, and it really is time that policy makers in China caught up with that sentiment.' An update on the project was given at this months Municipal District meeting which was held on Monday, January 20 at Aras Chill Dara. Kildare County Council senior engineer John Coppinger told members that the works will start this year. "We are on track with the project going to construction," he said. "We are going to secure the site and there is a section that is still owned by Irish Rail. We hope people will co-operate as we have to stop pedestrians from using this section of the road. This may cause trouble but we have to control the site to build on it. We cannot allow people to use the area once works begin." The 35m project was initially planned for 2020 however lengthy delays including preparatory construction works and archaeological testing as well as compulsory purchase orders meant that the new road will not be finished before 2022. Members welcomed the news that the project was on track for construction. PARIS - France's president is taking on the role of salesman in chief for his strike-battered country. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/1/2020 (722 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. FILE - In this Jan.10, 2020 file photo, French President Emmanuel Macron attends the Citizens' Convention for Climate held at the French 'Conseil economique, social et environnemental' in Paris. French President Emmanuel Macron tried Tuesday Jan. 14, 2020 to calm nationwide tensions and salvage support for his overhaul of the country's retirement system, as France faced day 41 of crippling strikes. (Yoan Valat, Pool via AP, File) PARIS - France's president is taking on the role of salesman in chief for his strike-battered country. Emmanuel Macron used the splendor of the Palace of Versailles to woo international business leaders on Monday, insisting that his reforms are attracting investors despite six weeks of crippling protests and walkouts over his plan to overhaul the retirement system. Driving home the message that the eurozone's second-largest economy remains open for business, Macron's government announced a 2 billion-euro ($2.2 billion) contract for the French shipyard of Saint-Nazaire on the Atlantic coast. It will build two cruise ships for the company MSC, representing some 2,400 jobs over three years. MSC confirmed plans to build other ships in France for another 4 billion euros ($4.4 billion). Good news doesn't arrive out of nowhere. It comes because we are implementing reforms, because our country is moving, mobilizing, Macron said. "I know that our heads are being filled with bad news and that we're led to believe that everything is going to explode. But it's not true." French President Emmanuel Macron shakes hands with an employee as he visits the plant of British-Swedish pharmaceutical group Astrazeneca in Dunkirk, northern France, Monday, Jan. 20, 2020. French President Emmanuel Macron is hosting 180 international business leaders later today at the Palace of Versailles in a bid to promote France's economic attractiveness despite over six weeks of crippling strikes over his government's planned pension changes.(Denis Charlet/Pool Photo via AP) Macron delivered those comments to workers at a plant of British-Swedish pharmaceuticals company Astrazeneca in the northern town of Dunkirk, one of his stops on a frenetic day of efforts to convince investors to choose France. Astrazeneca announced $500 million in new investments over the next 5 years. Later, in Versailles, Macron hosted 180 international business leaders, including top executives from Google, Netflix, Coca-Cola, Toyota, Samsung and General Electric. Many executives were stopping en route to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Coca-Cola said it would invest 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) over the next 5 years in France, including in its Dunkirk plant. Japanese automaker Toyota said last week it will build a new car model at its plant in Valenciennes, northern France, which represents 400 jobs and 100 million euros ($110 million) in investments. France has become the most attractive country for industrial investments and research and development investments in Europe, Finance minister Bruno Le Maire told French news broadcaster LCI. "We are attractive for innovation." Le Maire acknowledged that Britains planned departure of the European Union, which prompted some companies to move some of their business to an EU country, has given a boost to investments in France. Of course we play on every economic opportunity, he said. American bank JP Morgan said it had bought new offices in central Paris, with space to house about 450 employees, to get better access to the EU market after Brexit. 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. Macron was elected in 2017 on a pro-European, pro-business platform and argued that France must become more globally competitive. He has started cutting taxes on business revenue and passed laws to make it easier to hire and fire workers and make it harder to get unemployment benefits. For such policies, Macron has faced strikes and protests by French workers. The yellow vest economic justice movement erupted in November 2018 and included street demonstrations for months over the cost of living and perceived social injustices. In recent weeks, the president's plan to overhaul the pension system has prompted major transport strikes. Macron says his plan to unite over 40 different retirement systems into one will be fairer for all French workers. People who have special retirement deals are objecting to the changes, and a wide variety of workers are against any moves to raise the full retirement age from 62. Train traffic was close to normal on Monday and the Paris metro was only slightly disrupted after a major union on Saturday called to suspend the strikes. The government says labour measures have started producing results and are creating more jobs. France's unemployment rate has decreased this year to its lowest level in a decade, but at 8.6% it still remains among the highest in the European Union. The World Economic Forum in its 2019 global competitiveness report - an assessment of the competitive landscape of 141 economies - rated France at the 15, up from 22 in 2017. Pharma firm Zydus on Monday said it has entered into a licensing pact with China Medical System Holdings Ltd (CMS) for the development and commercialisation of Desidustat, an innovative candidate, in Greater China. The agreement is for Desidustat, a novel oral HIF-PH inhibitor for the treatment of anemia in patients with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) not-on-dialysis and for the treatment of anemia CKD patients on dialysis in Greater China, Zydus said in a statement. "Under the license agreement, CMS will pay Zydus an initial upfront payment, regulatory milestones, sales milestones and royalties on net sales of the product," it added. Zydus however did not provide any financial details of the agreement and said: "The commercial terms of the license agreement are confidential." CMS will be responsible for development, registration and commercialisation of Desidustat in Greater China, it added. The licensing agreement with CMS will facilitate the development and commercialisation of Desidustat in Greater China, and make this innovative candidate available to millions of CKD patients living with anemia," Zydus Group Chairman Pankaj R Patel said. CKD is a serious medical condition which is an unmet healthcare need involving gradual loss of functioning of kidneys eventually leading to kidney failure, Zydus said. Shares of Cadila Healthcare, the listed entity of the group, closed at Rs 267.25 on BSE, down 0.69 per cent from the previous close. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Johnsons global Britain sets sights on Africa It was conceived as a coming-out party for Global Britain a signal of new trading ambitions as the UK sails free of the EU and takes advantage of commercial opportunity further afield. In the event, Mondays first UK-Africa summit in London finds prime minister Boris Johnsons government still in Brexit limbo, constrained by protracted divorce proceedings with Brussels and uncertainty over the extent to which the UK will remain aligned with Europe. African officials are nonetheless intrigued as to how Britain will set out its pitch after a decade in which the former colonial power has been slow to adapt to the continents rapidly changing fortunes. FT British foreign aid to coal and coal-fired power plants will end Daily Telegraph Comment: Africa must not squander this golden chance for an investment boom David Malpass, Daily Telegraph >Today: Theo Clarke MP in Comment: Investing in Africa will be key to achieving a Global Britain as he announces that British troops could be sent to Libya Boris Johnson has revealed Britain could help peace keep in Libya if a lasting ceasefire in the bitter civil war is struck. The PM made the offer as he joined 11 other world leaders at an emergency summit in Berlin to try to halt a new massacre in the North African country. While there, Mr Johnson also warned Russian leader Vladmir Putin that relations will remain frozen while his country remains a threat. The talks were called by German Chancellor Angela Merkel in a bid to strike a peace deal and halt the war-torn nations capital being overrun by Russian-backed rebel leader General Khalifa Haftar But No10 officials insisted the effort would be lead by stabilisation teams from the Foreign Office and the number of UK troops would be low. The Sun >Yesterday: Video: WATCH: Sharma says that more scrutiny is needed over aid spending and warns Putin there will be no thaw in relations Boris Johnson has warned Vladimir Putin there will be no thaw in the countries relations in the wake of the chemical attack in Salisbury. In his first face-to-face meeting with the Russian President, he told him there would no normalisation in relations until Russia ended the destabilising activity that threatens the UK and our allies and undermines the safety of our citizens and our collective security. In what was described as a terse meeting, a Downing Street spokesman said the Prime Minister was clear there had been no change in the UKs position on Salisbury. It was a reckless use of chemical weapon, a brazen attempt to murder innocent people on UK soil and an attack that must not be repeated, said Mr Johnson. Daily Telegraph Johnson urged to publish report on Russian meddling in Britain The Guardian Russian President grandstands after changing constitution Daily Mail More: Crackdown on US diplomats dangerous driving The Times Defence meeting called off after divisions over strategy Boris Johnson cancelled a National Security Council meeting at short notice last week after disagreement at the heart of government over the scope of a major defence review, intended to shape Britains priorities until 2030. One senior defence official said the NSC meeting was shelved because of tensions between the Cabinet Office and Downing Street over the direction the defence review was taking. The official cited particular concerns over the papers focus on how Britain could use soft power to boost the UKs global presence after Brexit, neglecting conventional military forces Dominic Cummings, Mr Johnsons chief adviser, has pushed for a shift in defence strategy focused on the use of advanced technology, drones and artificial intelligence, but officials said that he was not behind the cancellation of the meeting. FT Clash with business looms over Patels plans to curb low-skilled immigration New restrictions on low-skilled migrants coming to Britain would be introduced at the end of this year under plans being drawn up by ministers. The reforms would come into effect when the Brexit transition period ends in December, two years earlier than had been planned previously and scrapping a temporary extension of existing rules that was promised by Theresa May amid pressure from business groups. Priti Patel, the home secretary, is expected to present the proposals to the cabinet this week. However, the changes risk bringing Boris Johnson into conflict with groups such as the CBI, which has said that companies need at least two years to adapt to any new immigration system. The Times Johnson prepares to drop pledge to delay restrictions FT Plan to be in place by the end of 2020 Daily Express and to kick in when the transition period ends Daily Mail >Yesterday: Johnny Leavesley in Comment: What Johnson should do to help boost business Report warns that HS2 bill could hit 106 billion The cost of Britains new HS2 high-speed rail project could rise to as much as 106bn, according to an official government review which gives only lukewarm backing to the project. The review, seen by the Financial Times, says there is considerable risk that the schemes price will rise as much as 20 per cent beyond the 81-88bn range set out in a report by the current HS2 chairman Allan Cook last September. The review led by Doug Oakervee, a former chairman of HS2, also recommends that work on phase 2b of the project from the West Midlands to Manchester and Leeds be paused for six months for a study into whether it could comprise a mix of conventional and high speed lines instead. FT Trade 1) Brussels alarmed by Javids plans to diverge The UKs pledge to diverge from EU rules after Brexit has provoked alarm in Brussels, with officials warning of an economically damaging split at the end of this year. European diplomats and trade experts spent the weekend trying to make sense of comments made by Sajid Javid, UK chancellor, in an interview with the Financial Times on Friday. He urged businesses to adjust to a future where Britain no longer adhered to EU rules and regulations. The main conclusion for the real economy is: prepare for the worst. Anything agreed will be a bonus, one EU official said. A European diplomat warned that the kind of loose relationship outlined by Mr Javid would cause economic damage. FT Business must be prepared, warns the Chancellor The Sun Ministers re-open no-deal planning Daily Express >Yesterday: Video: WATCH: Cleverly says that bonging Big Ben on Brexit Day is not the focus of the Government Trade 2) Fox calls for trade deals with individual US states Britain should negotiate trade deals with individual US states as a backstop while Boris Johnson tries to seal a post-Brexit free trade agreement with America, a former trade secretary will say on Monday. Liam Fox will point out that four US states California, Texas, Florida and New York would be members of the G20 if they were independent nations, and that many deals could be struck with states, rather than the US as a whole. While tariffs on goods can only be negotiated by Washington, deals on services, which account for the majority of Britains transatlantic trade, can be sealed on a state level, unlocking billions of pounds of business for the UK economy. Dr Fox will tell a conference in Geneva that free trade agreements are not the only mechanism to generate huge volumes of business between countries such as the UK and the US. Daily Telegraph White House accuses Johnson of dragging his feet over deal The Sun Peers attack absurd plans to move them to York Boris Johnsons plan to move the House of Lords to York shows complete contempt for the constitution, peers have warned. The Government is considering permanently relocating the second chamber to the North, with the Prime Minister ordering detailed work on the practicalities of a move. Lord Forsyth of Drumlean described the relocation as a completely ridiculous idea that would cost a fortune and claimed it could only have come from someone who has no clue about how Parliament operates. I can only assume this is the first fruit of the weirdos that Dominic Cummings said he wanted to recruit to No 10, the former Scottish Secretary said. He pointed to the practicalities of governing with ministers based at different ends of the country and the vital role Lords play in scrutinising Government bills. Daily Telegraph Even Brown thinks moving the Lords would be a PR gesture The Times Idea would cost billions, say critics The Sun Comment: A great idea, lets send the MPs as well Simon Jenkins, The Guardian Editorial: Plans whiff of gimmickry Daily Telegraph >Yesterday: ToryDiary: The Queens Speech in York, Cummings-style Andrew Rawnsley: Pleasing Johnsons new friends in the North will be a challenge His new friends from the north speak in different accents to their more southerly colleagues. They often think differently as well. And they represent areas of the country with needs and concerns that have been alien to the Tory party over many decades. Neil OBrien, the Conservative MP for Harborough, points out that Tories represented just 14 seats in the most deprived half of England in 2001. Now Conservative MPs sit for 116 of them. This could give them a lot of clout if they get organised. There are signs that they are. More than 120 Tory MPs have signed up to the Blue Collar Conservatism caucus that will have its first meeting tomorrow evening. The Guardian >Today: Local Government: Building the Blue Wall: Walsall North Liberal Democrats election failure was Corbyns fault, says Davey The acting Liberal Democrat leader, Ed Davey, has claimed the toxicity of Jeremy Corbyn was a big factor in the Lib Dems poor performance in last months general election, saying voters backed the Tories rather than risk a hard left government. Davey was defeated by Jo Swinson in last years Lib Dem leadership contest and is expected to stand again after Swinson lost her East Dunbartonshire seat and resigned. He conceded that his party didnt fight a great election, but said the Lib Dems had also been hit by voters fears about giving Corbyns Labour the keys to Downing Street His party had hoped to make significant gains in Conservative-held remain constituencies but in the event gained only a couple St Albans and Richmond Park. The Guardian Long-Bailey criticises Corbyns decision to elevate Bercow Jeremy Corbyns plan to elevate former speaker John Bercow to the House of Lords has been dealt a blow by his favoured successor Rebecca Long-Bailey. The Labour leadership candidate indicated she did not support the decision, with a spokesperson saying she was instead in favour of abolishing the second chamber and replacing it with a democratically elected Senate outside of London. Mr Bercow was accused of bullying by former staffers while in office and became the first holder of his role in 230 years not to be offered a peerage upon resigning last year. The House of Lords Appointments Commission, which vets nominees, is still able to intervene and sources suggested that Mr Bercows elevation may yet be blocked. Daily Telegraph His pick of Murphy for the peerage also comes under fire The Times >Yesterday: Video: WATCH: What I do know is shes currently being investigated by the EHRC. Allin-Khan on Murphy. as she struggles to win trades union support Rebecca Long Baileys leadership campaign suffered a blow last night after a trade union that twice backed Jeremy Corbyn suggested that it could support another candidate. Mick Whelan, the general secretary of Aslef, the train drivers union, said he was not sure yet when asked who his union would recommend. The union will meet the five contenders over the next few days before making its choice. Ms Long Bailey, 40, has been accused of being the continuity Corbyn candidate but has struggled to secure the backing of his supporters. Last week it was reported that one of Ms Long Baileys rivals, Lisa Nandy, had impressed Len McCluskey, the leader of the powerful Unite union. The Times She brands the press racist over treatment of the Sussexes Daily Mail More: Phillips vows to stop acting statesmanlike The Guardian Actors union at war over Fox The Times Comment: Hustings are a bad way to decide whod be a good leader Jess Phillips, The Guardian Surprisingly, Im feeling sympathy for Corbyns acolyte Dominic Lawson, Daily Mail >Yesterday: Video: WATCH: Phillips Im definitely open to different models around decriminalisation. Champion calls for police to be investigated over child abuse The MP for a town at the centre of a sex abuse scandal criticised a police force yesterday for being unable to identify an officer who investigated a complaint by a child victim. Sarah Champion, the Labour MP for Rotherham, also called for dramatic changes at South Yorkshire police after an investigation by the official police watchdog. Ms Champion said she found it difficult to believe that a police officer mentioned in the report by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) could not be identified. The report, which comes after a five-year investigation, said that police had failed to protect the complainant, exposing her to abuse. It added that an officer whose identity has not been revealed had said that the force ignored the sexual abuse of girls by Pakistani gangs because it was afraid of increasing racial tensions. The Times Those responsible must be named and shamed, says MP Daily Mail SNP politician calls for wildcat referendum Nicola Sturgeon should claim the victory of a wildcat independence referendum even if the majority of voters and political parties boycott it, a former SNP minister has suggested. Alex Neil MSP, the former health minister, called for a consultative referendum on whether Scotland remains part of the Union if it can be legally approved without permission from the UK government. Last week Prime Minister Boris Johnson refused Ms Sturgeons request for a second referendum, telling the House of Commons that the SNP needs to change the record. The rebuttal was followed by suggestions that Scottish Parliament could bring another vote legally without Mr Johnsons permission, with top lawyer Aidan ONeil QC saying there were good arguments to be made for holding a referendum without UK government approval. Daily Telegraph Varadkar trails in first Irish polls Leo Varadkars ruling Fine Gael party look to be set for an Irish election wipeout after an opinion poll revealed a 12-point gap behind opposition contenders Fianna Fail. The Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Leo Varadkar admitted there was now a real risk, a real danger of Fine Gael losing power to Fianna Fail, with a senior Fine Gael campaign source admitting the planned strikes by secondary teachers and childcare workers in the days leading up to the election on February 8 could further imperil the partys chances of securing a historic third term. A Behaviour and Attitudes poll for The Sunday Times put Fianna Fail on 32 percent and Fine Gael on 20 percent. Daily Express Prince Harry breaks silence on royal split The Duke of Sussex has described his great sadness over his split from the Royal Family but said he had no other option. In his first personal comments about his decision to step back from public life, the Duke expressed disappointment with the conclusions reached about his future. He revealed he had hoped to continue serving the Queen, the commonwealth, and his military associations without public funding, but added: Unfortunately, that wasnt possible. The heartfelt speech was delivered at a private dinner for Sentebale, the charity he co-founded in 2006, in London, barely 24 hours after Buckingham Palace announced that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were to give up their HRH titles and would no longer formally represent the 93-year-old monarch. Daily Telegraph He may need to cash in some investments to meet new bills The Times >Yesterday: ToryDiary: The Sussexes out. Not half in and half out. The Queen acts swiftly and effectively. News in Brief: Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 22:43:04|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close ISLAMABAD, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan will attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, from Jan. 21 to 23, the Foreign Ministry of Pakistan announced on Monday. Khan is making the visit at the invitation of Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the WEF, the ministry said in a statement. The thematic focus of this year's meeting is on "Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World." Two key highlights of the visit include the prime minister's "Keynote Address" at the WEF special session, and his interaction at the "Pakistan Strategy Dialogue" with chief executive officers and corporate leaders, the statement said. On the sidelines, Khan will hold bilateral meetings with several world leaders including U.S. President Donald Trump. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the WEF. In keeping with the significance of this milestone, political leaders, business executives, heads of international organizations and civil society representatives will deliberate on contemporary economic, geopolitical, social and environmental issues, according to the statement. UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres said the first meeting of the military committee on Libya would be convened in Geneva in the coming days. Guterres also said he was very worried that several oil ports and an oilfield had been shut down in Libya. "We are very worried with the fact that several ports, several harbors from where oil is exported, were closed," he said. The UN secretary-general noted that one very important oil field also stopped production. According to him, "part of a more comprehensive solution will have to be an effective reform of the National Oil Company, transparency established." "We hope that it would be possible to establish normality," Guterres concluded. T he first Stalking Protection order was handed down by a judge just 11 hours after the new measure was introduced. Sussex Police was the first force to use the new powers, which became available to officers at midnight on Monday. Stalking Protection Orders allow courts in the UK and Wales to stop suspects from contacting victims and lasts indefinitely. They can also force suspects to seek professional help. A 22-year-old man was given the first SPO at Brighton Magistrates Court just after 11am on Monday. The order was handed down at Brighton Magistrates Court (file photo) / Lewis Whyld/PA Archive The man was accused of stalking a woman in her early 20s online. He did not contest the SPO, which he was given, even though he has not been charged as the investigation continues. The reported victim lived elsewhere in the country. The details of the SPO state it prohibits him from; contacting the woman directly or indirectly, by whatever means; sharing or posting any photograph of her on the internet, social media or in any public place; sharing or posting any photograph of her to any other individual. Detective Chief Inspector David Springett of the force's Public Protection Command, said: "This new resource will really help us to protect victims. "The new Orders, which we will seek from Magistrates, are an important development in helping us to better protect victims or anyone connected with them, in stalking cases. "Subjects can be made to undertake offender rehabilitation courses or mental health assessments. They can also be required to stay away from specific areas and from contact with named people." Campaigners and victims welcomed the news, but warned orders would only be effective if action was taken quickly and many still did not understand the dangers of stalking. Clive Ruggles, of the Alice Ruggles Trust, described the orders as a powerful new tool, but said it was critical there was no delay in arresting perpetrators who breach them. He added: Any other response may well escalate the risk to the victim. Professor Jane Monckton-Smith, who specialises in researching homicide, stalking and coercive control at the University of Gloucestershire, said: I think the orders could be really useful if they are used correctly. She added that the courts need to take the measures seriously as, stalkers by their nature are obsessive and will keep going and going until they are stopped. The left has got a lot to answer for for its smear campaign against President Trump, who warned of corruption in Puerto Rico aid in the wake of 2017's Hurricane Maria, and then responsibly refused to hand over billions to thieves. Democrats and their media allies attempted to "Katrina" Trump on the delivery of aid, painting him as a racist meanie, all in the interest of creating a "narrative," that would politically profit themselves off Puerto Ricans' suffering, even the aid that did get to Puerto Rico left Puerto Ricans with nothing. Here's what was going on all along: Holy Cow... That's some major $$$ in that warehouse. Food, diapers, propane, propane grills, water, batteries, emergency radios, etc. etc. Major emergency gear. Hundreds of pallets of emergency supplies. WOW ! >https://t.co/fBqPL47fzi p> TheLastRefuge (@TheLastRefuge2) So Trump was right after all!!! As usual. Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vazquez Garced fires emergency director after aid is found sitting in warehouse. >https://t.co/bek950y4Ct p> Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) The discovery comes on the heels of an earthquake in which Puerto Rico's locals, desperate to get help yet again, broke into a warehouse full of undelivered hurricane supplies they should have gotten years ago and didn't. Trump signed a $92-billion aid package; delivered at least $15 billion, which goes a long way in Puerto Rico; and then demanded some accountability in order to release the rest of it. Most Americans, after all, have no problem shelling out for Puerto Rico provided the money goes to what it's intended to go to. Private profit from leftist cronies stealing the aid isn't that. A leftist official has since been fired, signaling incompetence and mismanagement, if not corruption. Those would be from the same leftist commonwealth officials who stood there in front of the TV cameras and denounced Trump as stingy and racist, while lefties on the mainland clapped. It should have been obvious enough, back in July, when locals demanded (and got) the resignation of their Clinton-linked governor who let the aid sit in warehouses, whom I wrote about here. Trump sent aid swiftly and was angry that it sat on the docks as Puerto Rican leftist pols postured for the press. Remember how San Juan's leftist mayor cried all those crocodile tears against Trump as the press fawned and Democrats claimed her as their own? Yet Trump said the aid was there, and it generally just went to waste, all because Puerto Rican officials with weird ties to the Clinton machine, by the way couldn't lay off the corruption for just a few weeks. And yet the corruption just keeps rolling out and out, as this latest incident demonstrates. What, pray tell, would be the purpose of keeping aid from hungry, thirsty, and unroofed people in hideous weather with shambles all around, other than to maybe sneakily sell it in some black-market deal and walk off with the money? The warehouse break-in and the firing of the official in charge of aid signal that a racket was going on...and now it's there for all to see, just as Trump said it would be. Yet the press was curiously incurious. Look at how bad the reporting was back in 2017. This 2017 Reuters report began with a dishonest characterization of President Trump's refusal to hand billions over to thieves: WASHINGTON (Reuters) A new package of U.S. disaster assistance sailed through the House of Representatives on Thursday, despite President Donald Trump expressing impatience with having to devote federal resources for hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico's recovery. The report on the Reuters site is still juxtaposed against a picture of a huge fallen tree, rather than a warehouse full of undelivered aid, falsely claiming Trump was somehow impatient with having to "devote" aid to hurricane recovery. That's just a hint of how dishonest it all was. Now it's more obvious than ever that Trump was against funding corruption on a Hugo Chavez scale by handing out crony largesse to leftists in their accustomed style. It's not only Hugo Chavez stuff; it's also Democrat stuff, so redolent of House Biden and other Democrat pocket-lining ventures. Trump was right all along about the thievery, and he said so. Reuters was incurious about that, though, because it had a "narrative" to deliver. As a result, it got scooped by a mob. Jennifer Aniston used one of the greatest moments in her career to honor her friend and often-collaborator Adam Sandler. And the 53-year-old actor has responded to that sweet call out in an equally as cute way. Jennifer Aniston earned a shock win in the Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series category at the SAG Awards on Sunday night and ended her speech by shedding light on Sandler's snub. 'I love you, buddy': Jennifer Aniston earned a shock win in the Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama series category at the SAG Awards on Sunday night and ended her speech by shedding light on Adam Sandler's snub 'Her just being the best': The 53-year-old actor quickly responded to his pal as he took to Twitter The Billy Madison star did not earn a nomination at the event nor did he an Academy Award earlier this week despite his performance in Uncut Gems receiving critical acclaim. The 50-year-old actress concluded her speech by saying: 'Your performance is extraordinary and your magic is real. I love you, buddy.' Adam quickly responded to his pal as he took to Twitter to write: 'Congrats to the great Jen Aniston for her SAG award and her just being the best.' This is how he wins: The Billy Madison star did not earn a nomination at the event nor did he an Academy Award earlier this week despite his performance in Uncut Gems receiving critical acclaim Aniston was recognized for her work on The Morning Show as she seemed very surprised while addressing the star-studded audience at the 26th annual event held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The former star of Friends faced heavy competition in the category as she triumphed over the likes of: Helena Bonham Carter (The Crown), Olivia Colman (The Crown), Jodie Comer (Killing Eve), and Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaids Tale). The Aniston-Sandler partnership has been successful as their film Murder Mystery earned the most streams on Netflix last year. Released in June, the 97 minute movie broke the streaming service's three-day viewership record and went on to claim 73 million viewers within the first four weeks. Fruitful: The Aniston-Sandler partnership has been successful as their film Murder Mystery earned the most streams on Netflix last year., with 73 million people tuning in within the first four weeks of the title's release TOP 10 MOST POPULAR NETFLIX RELEASES OF 2019 Most watched title Views (in millions)* 1. Murder Mystery 73 million 2. Stranger Things 64 million 3. 6 underground N/A 4. The Incredibles 2 N/A 5. The Irishman N/A 6. The Witcher N/A 7. Triple Frontier 52 million 8. Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile N/A 9. The Umbrella Academy 45 million 10. The Highwaymen 40 million *Ranking based on the number of households watching at least two minutes of the show during its first 28 days on Netflix in 2019 But the streaming service, which boasts more than 158 million subscribers around the world, only selectively releases viewership figures for programming it considers a hit, and the numbers are not verified by a third party. It has always been secretive about its viewing figures and has still not released the actual viewership stats, only its own rankings. Stranger Things came in second, followed by the Michael Bay action movie 6 Underground, according to Netlfix. The animated movie Incredibles 2 and Martin Scorsese's gangster film The Irishman took the fourth and fifth spots, respectively. Netflix stated via Twitter on Monday that the lists were ranked based on accounts that chose to watch just two minutes or more of a title during its first 28 days. Shows that have not yet been out for 28 days were calculated on projected figures. The two had previously starred in 2011 romantic comedy Just Go With it which was also a huge success earning $103million domestically and totaled $215 million worldwide. Counterprotesters were urged by their leaders to avoid the rally. The Moms (who) Demand Action the group that worked hard to help flip the states legislature from red to blue didnt show up with their shirts and signs. The families of people killed in massacres avoided the scene. The rowdies who like to clash with everyone Netflixed and chilled. Two men were killed and another two injured Saturday in a shooting in South Houston, authorities say. The two dead men, who have not been identified, were found in front of a home in the 700 block of Virginia. The two injured men were transported to a hospital, one in unknown condition and the other critical. Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages on Monday appointed Melvin Tan as its new chief financial officer, who will also be part of its senior leadership team reporting to chief executive Christina Ruggiero. Tan, a graduate from the University of Sheffield in England, with an honours degree in accounting and financial management, joined the Coca-Cola system in 2010 after spending a decade with and He was the financial controller of Coca-Cola's bottling investment group in Singapore and Malaysia wherein he was instrumental in the scaling up and growth of greenfield operation in Malaysia, implementation of various strategic restructuring initiatives and establishment of robust financial support and governance system to support the growth agenda of the business. Announcing the appointment, Ruggiero said, Tan brings in the best practices of the global Coca-Cola system, along with his strong background in accounting and financial management. As one of largest in the country, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages manufactures/bottles and sells, some of the leading beverages like Minute Maid, Maaza, SmartWater, Kinley, Thums Up, Sprite, Coca-Cola, Limca, Fanta and Georgia, among others. It controls a network of 3,900 distributors, 2,50,000 farmers, 7,000 suppliers and over 2.5 million retail outlets across 493 districts in 25 states. Its 18 factories manufacture 60 products in nine different categories. This weekend, Paris mass transit workers voted to end the unlimited strike begun December 5 on most of the Paris Autonomous Transport Authority (RATP) network. Only lines 5, 13 and B are still on strike. Participation in the strike at the French National Railways (SNCF) is also falling, and while workers are determined to continue a struggle against President Emmanuel Macrons pension cuts, it seems the longest strike in France since the May 1968 general strike is drawing to a close. RATP workers told the WSWS two principal factors determined the decision to return to work. First, there was no clear perspective for a struggle after they were isolated by the trade unions in other industries (ports, refinery and auto), which refused to carry out open-ended strike action. Moreover, after six weeks of strike action, and as the unions are about to launch four months of further negotiations with Macron on his pension cuts, strikers were under intense financial pressure due to the pitifully low levels of strike pay handed out by the unions. Protests and one-day strike actions are set to continue, but it is time to draw political lessons from the initial struggle. How could Macron resist with public opinion overwhelmingly against him and, moreover, with strikes and protests against social inequality spreading internationally? The rail strikes in France over recent months developed alongside strike action by tens of millions of Indian workers, strikes by US auto workers and copper miners, and mass protests in Algeria, Lebanon, Iraq and across much of Latin America. Macron, however, could rely on the close collaboration of the union bureaucracies, which had negotiated the pension cuts with him. The first attempt by the working class to overcome the resistance of the trade unionsbut in a struggle limited to the national stage and controlled by the same trade unions whose opposition they were trying to smashdid not suffice to overcome all the political obstacles facing the workers. Sylvie, a RATP employee, said: It is not willingly that we are returning to work. We were hoping the public schoolteachers would join us, the refineries, the major corporations. But ultimately we had the impression that we were alone. She added, We would have liked to strike for six months, if we could. But financially we could not, otherwise we would have. She added that the Stalinist General Confederation of Labor (CGT) paid RATP strikers a total of 250,000that is 20 per striker over a six-week strike. On the other hand, the total budget of the French union federations, financed overwhelmingly by the state and the employers' federations with which they negotiate austerity, is around 4 billion. These budgets do not serve to wage the class struggle, but to strangle it. Thierry, another RATP driver, said: The unions want to set the tone, but the workers want something else. Asked about the role of the unions, he criticized the CGT and its leader Philippe Martinez: We dont want to follow Martinez. He says we will meet again only in February. Thierry added that according to the legal definition of a trade union, which states that it must have as its objective the definition of the rights, as well as the material and moral interests of workers, the French unions in fact have not been unions for many years. Franck, a RATP train driver, said of the unions: They ultimately managed to do what we did not want them to do. For example, during the two weeks of Christmas vacations, we told them we wanted no truce in the struggle. But before Christmas they announced that the next national protest would be January 9. Then we wanted them to start campaigning for a general strike, even if we know it is not so simple in the private sector. I worked as a temp there. I know that if you strike there, you get replaced. But we did not get support from other industries. RATP workers stressed their determination to return later to the struggle, and they know public opinion overwhelmingly supports them. After a six-week strike, two-thirds of the population still backs the transport strike, and a new national protest is called for January 24. However, it is also evident from the statements of the principal union bureaucracies that they are seeking to stop indefinite strikes and return to one-day actions that are more directly subordinated to them. According to the National Union of Autonomous Unions' (UNSA) RATP branch, After 45 days of strike action, most of the strike meetings of the rail network decided to reorient the unlimited movement as of Monday and engage in other forms of action. This will allow us to ultimately wage, as French women and men, this struggle. The UNSA called in conformity with the will of strike meetings on the rail network to continue and engage, women and men together in cross-industry mobilizations. Union bureaucrats shaken by the working class offensive against Macron have seized on any pretext to push strikers back to work. According to RATP workers, officials attending strike meetings attacked strikers who entered the headquarters of the pro-Macron French Democratic Labor Confederation (CFDT) on January 17 to criticize violence and call for moderation. In a Le Parisien interview, Martinez denounced these strikers, who were protesting the CFDTs support for the cuts. Such excesses will never be a legitimate mode of expression in a democracy. Exchange elevates debate, but violence degrades it, Martinez said. We mostly disagree with him, said one RATP worker. For now, there is no proof that the strikers who entered CFDT offices acted violently. One of them, Anasse Kazib, denied accusations from CFDT Secretary Laurent Berger that they entered using violence. Kazib told Berger this accusation does not surprise me from you, a king of lying. But tough luck: we filmed everything and there was neither verbal nor physical violence, though one of your officials tore a strikers jacket and another pushed a female striker. The end of indefinite strike action does not mark the end of a struggle. Many groups of yellow vest protesters and strikers are determined to continue, and anger in the working class against Macron in France, and against the capitalist system internationally, continues to grow. However, workers can place no confidence at all in the unions assurances to strikers that they can return to work confident that the unions will continue to wage a struggle. The rank and file imposed the December 5 unlimited strike on the unions, which feared totally losing control after several wildcat actions at the SNCF rail system in the fall. Returning to militant action against Macrons pension cuts and drawing broader layers of the working class into the struggle will depend on workers taking action independently of the trade unions. This struggle has confirmed the warnings made by the Parti de legalite socialiste (PES), based on the historical experience of the working class with the trade unions. Tied to the government and planning to negotiate cuts with Macronwith whom there is nothing to negotiatethey strangled the struggle. The way forward for the workers is to build their strike meetings as committees of action, independent of the unions, to draw support from broader layers of the working class, in France and internationally, for a political struggle to bring down Macron. By Express News Service BHUBANESWAR: Engagement of bouncers at the Congress Bhavan on Friday during an interaction meeting with district office-bearers fails to die down with more leaders coming out openly to disapprove it. Targeting president of the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) Niranjan Patnaik for the incident, secretary of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) Sarat Rout said if he was unaware of the presence of the bouncers, an inquiry should have been ordered. Stating that such an incident had never happened in the history of Congress in Odisha, Rout said a committee of senior leaders should be constituted to probe the matter. Rout said the incident should be taken seriously as it happened in the presence of a general secretary of the All India Congress Committee (AICC). Who had engaged the bouncers and who allowed them into the Congress Bhavan should be found out, he said and added that if the OPCC president knows who brought the bouncers, then an FIR should be filed against that person. Stating that the OPCC president is responsible for whatever happens inside the Congress Bhavan in his presence, Rout said no leader or worker will support the presence of the bouncers inside the party office. Maybe either the BJD or BJP had sent these bouncers to Congress Bhavan. If any Congress leader is behind the incident, action must be taken against him, he said. The incident took place when the Student Congress activists were denied entry into the party office by a group of bouncers. Protesting the incident, the activists had staged a dharna in front of Congress Bhawan. Apart from Rout, two senior party leaders Suresh Routray and Tara Prasad Bahinipati had also condemned the incident. However, the OPCC president had dismissed the allegations as baseless. What the papers say January 20 (PA) The reason Harry had to go, a cervical cancer screening upgrade and disclosures about Africas richest woman feature in Mondays headlines. The Daily Mail starts a 15 page royal crisis special with a lead saying Harry and Meghan hope to make a fortune by setting up a film and TV company, while the Daily Mirror, leads with Harry: Were so sad it has come to this. Mondays Daily Mirror: Harry: Were so sad it has come to this #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/q0nnk43Nzz Helena Wilkinson (@BBCHelena) January 19, 2020 Very similar pictures of Harry leaving a charity event in London are used in The Daily Telegraph and The Times. The Telegraph reports that the duke had no choice, while the Times says there are concerns from senior royals over commercial deals that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex could strike. Mondays Daily Telegraph: Harry: I had no choice but to go #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/FIKdtN3V83 Helena Wilkinson (@BBCHelena) January 20, 2020 Mondays Times: Royal fears over deals the Sussexes could strike #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/JTb6laggM6 Helena Wilkinson (@BBCHelena) January 19, 2020 The Daily Express front page reports that an emotional Prince Harry has admitted he and Meghan are sad they can no longer represent the Queen, while The Sun front page says William and Harry have ended their two-year feud after holding secret peace talks to save their family. Metro, meanwhile, features a page one guide to who is out and in among the royals. Tomorrow's front page: 'William and Harry have ended their two-year feud after holding secret peace talks' https://t.co/mtGfuQkIwj pic.twitter.com/3f6KLjXvI9 The Sun (@TheSun) January 19, 2020 The Guardian reports that Africas richest woman, Isabel dos Santos of Angola, the oil-rich nation her father ruled for four decades, has long denied that her estimated 2.2 billion US dollar (1.7 billion) fortune is the result of nepotism or corruption. The Independent leads with a story saying one in seven becomes a drug addict in prison and that inmates are now twice as likely to develop a substance abuse problem. Mondays Independent: One in seven becomes drug addict in prison #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/9PWpDaPUbH Helena Wilkinson (@BBCHelena) January 19, 2020 The i front page reports that a new cervical cancer screening procedure will save thousands of lives and could hasten the eventual eradication of the disease. Chancellor Sajid Javids non-alignment vow has sparked alarm from the EU and businesses, according to the Financial Times. Mondays Financial Times: Javids non-alignment vow sparks alarm from Brussels and business #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/QHL6CQ3LCj Helena Wilkinson (@BBCHelena) January 19, 2020 And the Daily Star reports that musician Stormzy has been slammed by a former murder detective for calling his past life of crime normal'. Deon Lendore's journey to the top has been nothing short of inspirational. Apart from his ex (Alliance News) - Oilfield services firm Star Phoenix Group Ltd on Monday said it has signed an agreement with Thesolia Ltd, which will see the investor take a 20% stake in company. Star Phoenix will issue 23.6 million shares to Thesolia at 2.21 pence each, raising GBP520,000. As part of the subscription agreement, Thesolia will have the right to appoint two non-executive directors to Star Phoenix's board. Star Phoenix shares closed 10% higher at 2.20 pence each in London on Monday. By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. Excited James Norton fans have added to calls for the actor to be the next James Bond after his 'exceptional' performance in last night's episode of The Trial of Christine Keeler. The British star, 34, gave an emotional turn as disgraced osteopath Stephen Ward in the moments before he overdosed on sleeping pills after a damning day in court. The gripping scene, which saw Norton break down before falling unconscious while writing a number of letters, moved fans to tears and led to fresh calls for the actor to replace Daniel Craig as 007. Excited James Norton fans have added to calls for the actor to be the next James Bond after his 'exceptional' performance in last night's episode of The Trial of Christine Keeler. Norton gave a devastating turn as Stephen Ward in the moments before he overdosed, pictured The gripping scene, which saw Norton break down before falling unconscious while writing a number of letters, moved fans to tears and led to fresh calls for the actor to be the next 007 One tweeted: 'James Norton is a fantatsic actor. Did you see him in Happy Valley? gripping drama. Pretty sure he will be the new James Bond. #007.' Another wrote: 'So much pathos. Can't wait to see James Norton as the next James Bond.' Another added: 'James Norton is a wonderful actor. He has such presence. He was first class as Stephen Ward in The trial of Christine Keeler. He is tipped to be the next James Bond.' It comes amid reports over the weekend that Norton is almost certain to take over the reigns of the franchise after the release of No Time To Die, which will be Craig's last. Fans praised Norton's convincing performance as Ward and said it boosted his chances of being the next Bond. It comes amid fresh reports that the actor will take up the mantle The Sun claims bookmaker Ladbrokes has suspended betting on the star being the next to take up the mantle. Amid frenzied speculation about who will be the next to play Bond, with stars including Richard Madden and Idris Elba being linked with the role, a source told the publication both sides were trying 'to get a deal signed off'. Norton, who also appeared in Granchester and McMafia, has certainly had the opportunity to show off his acting chops in The Trial of Christine Keeler, which retells the story of the Porfumo affair. Last night's episode saw Ward stand trial in what was hailed the 'trial of the decade'. He was forced to listen as his character was torn apart and left in shreds on the courtroom floor Once back in his London flat Ward broke down, with Norton entirely convincing in his role as a man beyond hope. Shortly afterwards he decided to write letters to friends and the authorities Last night's episode saw Ward stand trial in what was hailed the 'trial of the decade'. He was charged with several counts of living off immoral earnings and of procuring. Both Christine Keeler (Sophie Cookson) and Mandy Rice-Davies (Ellie Bamber) gave statements against Ward that led them to appear for the prosecution, which exposes them to the full force of screaming and morally outraged crowds outside the court. Ward had trusted his friends in high places would come forward in support of his character, but they abandon him in his time of need. Norton delivered a stunning performance as Ward was forced to listen while his character and life was torn to shreds and left in tatters on the courtroom floor. He decided to take his own life after deciding it was 'all too much to bear'. There are three hospitals with 50 or more patients waiting for beds, according to the INMO. In their daily TrolleyWatch figures, they say there are 521 patients are being treated on trolleys at hospitals across the country. Three terrorists were gunned down by security forces after an encounter in Wachi village of Shopian district in south Kashmir on Monday (January 20). Sources told Zee Media that a cordon and search operation was launched by a joint team of Indian Army's 55 Rashtriya Rifles and Special Group of Jammu and Kashmir police on Monday morning after credible inputs were received about the presence of terrorists in Wachi village. During the operation by security forces, the three terrorists, who were hiding in a residential house, opened fire on security personnel which led to the encounter. The terrorists belonged to Hizbul Mujahideen and were involved in several terror attacks. Live TV One of the killed terrorists identified as Adil Sheikh belonged to Zainapora village in Shopian. He was responsible for looting eight weapons from the residence of former PDP MLA Ajaj Mir in Jawahar Nagar in Srinagar on September 29, 2018. The second terrorist was identified as Waseem Wani, a resident of Urpora village in Shopian district, while, the identity of the third militant is still unknown. By Agustinus Beo Da Costa and Maikel Jefriando JAKARTA (Reuters) - Several thousand Indonesian workers held a rally on Monday outside parliament to protest against planned changes to labor laws as part of government reforms aimed at creating jobs and boosting investment in Southeast Asia's biggest economy. The so-called "omnibus" bills the government wants parliament to pass aim to replace dozens of overlapping laws seen as obstacles to investment, and to streamline businesses permits and relax labor laws. With economic growth having been stuck at about 5% for several years, President Joko Widodo has said the new legislation is vital and wants parliament to pass a job creation bill within 100 days of submission. "This (the law) will be bad for our kids," said Suwondo, a 41-year-old pharmaceutical worker who attended the peaceful rally alongside other chanting workers. Current labor laws, passed in 2003, include some of the most generous severance pay rules in the world. Investors have cited them as a hindrance in hiring staff. The government has pledged to consult unions, and full details of the draft bill have not yet been released though unions have already slammed it as pro-business. Ellena Ekarahendy, head of the media and creative workers' union, said ahead of the protests that the changes could increase the risk of mass firings. Susiwijono Moegiarso, an official at the Coordinating Ministry of Economic Affairs, said on Friday a new social safety net would be put in place for fired workers so they are paid for six months, alongside existing compensation rules. According to material on the bill released on Friday, the government will require minimum wages to take into account economic conditions of different regions. The bill will also simplify permit processes covering 15 sectors including manufacturing, agriculture, energy and mining, as well as environmental permits and construction, the material showed. Story continues The government will remove a "negative investment list" that restricts foreign ownership in some areas, though it will continue to set limits in certain industries, an official said. David Sumual, chief economist at Indonesia's Bank Central Asia, said passing the omnibus law was "a litmus test" for President Widodo, who is supported by parties controlling about 75 percent of the seats in parliament. Helmi Arman, an analyst at Citi, said in a note that to ensure a boost to lagging foreign direct investment "there must also be deregulation to ease non-tariff measures such as import restrictions and local-content requirements." Muhammad Rusdi of the Confederation of Indonesian Workers' Union (KSPI) warned at the weekend that he would not rule out the possibility of workers going on strike over the bill. But Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, deputy speaker of parliament, pledged full consultation once the bill was submitted. "The bill belongs to workers, business people, and all of us," he told reporters. (Additional reporting by Tabita Diela; Writing by Stanley Widianto; Editing by Ed Davies and Gerry Doyle) Senior BJP leader Jagat Prakash Nadda on Monday was elected the 11th national president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) unopposed. Nadda's election took place in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and several other senior BJP leaders. Many Union ministers and chief ministers of BJP-ruled states, had filed nominations in support of Nadda at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi. Nadda enjoys good support of Rashtriya Swaymsevak Sangh (RSS) and he has risen in the party through his hard work and commitment towards BJP's ideology. He has long been a member of the BJP parliamentary board, the highest decision-making body of the BJP. Live TV Nadda's elevation to the post of working president in 2019 had sent a clear message that the veteran leader from Himachal Pradesh was the top choice of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah. BJP has always elected its president with consensus and without any contest and this is one of the prime reason why Nadda was elected unopposed to the coveted position. In July 2019, Nadda was appointed as BJP's working president after the inclusion of Shah in PM Narendra Modi's cabinet. The immediate challenge that Nadda has to tackle is the Delhi Assembly election on February 8, where the BJP and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are engaged in a tough fight. This will be followed by the year-end Bihar election. His biggest challenge will, however, be the West Bengal assembly election of 2021 where the BJP has never won. But the party emerged a strong contender to the Mamata Banerjee-headed Trinamool Congress (TMC) following its good show in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. Nadda's election will end Shah's tenure of over five-and-a-half years during which he helped the BJP become a force to reckon with. Shah played a major role in BJP's super show in the two consecutive Lok Sabha elections under the leadership of PM Modi. It may be recalled that Nadda was in-charge of the BJP's election campaign in Uttar Pradesh before the 2019 Lok Sabha election. He played an important role in helping the BJP win 62 out of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh despite a tough challenge from the alliance of the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party. The 59-year-old BJP leader takes the esteemed position bringing with him an experience of several decades. Born and raised in Bihar, Nadda's roots lie in Himachal Pradesh. The senior BJP leader has always been politically correct and his jibes on the opposition have never triggered any unseemly controversy. He was first elected to the Himachal Pradesh Assembly in 1993 and re-elected in 1998. During his first term, he served as the leader of his party in the assembly from 1994-98. He was the Minister of Health and Family Welfare and Parliamentary Affairs during his second term, from 1998. After a span of almost a decade, Nadda was again elected for another term in the 2007 election. After Prem Kumar Dhumal formed a government, he inducted Nadda as minister of Forest, Environment, Science and Technology, from 2008-10. In 2012, he didn't seek re-election to the assembly but instead got elected to Rajya Sabha. In 2014, during a cabinet reshuffle, he was made health minister by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Nadda is the former Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, a member of Rajya Sabha from Himachal Pradesh and Parliamentary Board Secretary of the BJP. In Person Suu Kyi Economic Adviser: National Interest Must Come First When Deciding Large Chinese Investments in Myanmar Sean Turnell, an economic adviser to Myanmar State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, gives a talk on Problems, Progress, and Possibilities of Myanmar's Economy 2018 at the Novotel hotel in 2018. / Htet Wai / The Irrawaddy YANGONChinese President Xi Jinping made a two-day visit to Naypyitaw, the capital of Myanmar, last week. During his visit, Myanmar and China signed a total of 33 memorandums of understanding (MOUs), agreements, exchange letters and protocols, including two agreements for the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone (SEZ) deep seaport project, which will boost Chinas presence in the Indian Ocean. The majority of the agreements relate to Chinas ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), calling for cooperation in sectors including infrastructure mega-project development, railways, industrial and power projects, trade, investment and human resources, among others. The Irrawaddy spoke to Dr. Sean Turnell, Special Economic Consultant to the Myanmar State Counselor and director of research at the Myanmar Development Institute (MDI), about his views on Xis trip, especially how the agreements will shape the two countries future relations, the Myanmar governments cautious approach to Chinese investment, Naypyitaws strategic vision regarding Chinese projects, and whether Myanmar and China have agreed on a new resolution regarding the controversial Myitsone Dam project. Nan Lwin: Myanmar and China signed a total of 33 agreements during Chinese President Xis visit to Myanmar. How will these agreements shape future China-Myanmar relations? Turnell: These agreements are all in critical areas, and some involve potentially very large infrastructure investments. How they shape future relations will depend upon how they are actually implemented. Executed badly, and they could damage Myanmars political economy in all sorts of ways, predictablesuch as high debt loadsand otherwise. As usual, both the angel and devil will be in the detail of how they are implemented, and what happens on the ground. Nan Lwin: What did China gain from Xis trip? And Myanmar? Turnell: For China it would seem to be a reaffirmation of what it perceives as a healthy relationship between itself and a country with a lot to offer itas a market, a source of critical resources, and as a strategically important territory. For Myanmar, the gain is probably mostly the demonstration effect that it has a powerful partner in trade and investmentthat Myanmar has options. Of course, given the outcome of the talks, and the way in which Myanmar stood firm in its conviction that all infrastructure projects must meet its own financial, environmental and social criteria, collectively applied under the governments Project Bank mechanism, the trip was another useful reminder that Myanmar is not a country that can be taken for granted. Nan Lwin: Looking carefully at the MOUs and agreements, the two concerning the Kyaukphyu SEZ were the only ones related to a major BRI project that were signed during Xis trip. The rest of the backbone projects like New Yangon City, Muse-Mandalay railway, Ruili-Muse Border Economic Cooperation zones, power projects, local cooperation, and other projects are still at the nonbinding stage. Does this mean the Myanmar government is taking a cautious approach toward Chinese investment? Turnell: Yesand as it should for any large-scale infrastructure projects with large financial, environmental, social, human rights, and other complexities. As noted earlier, strict procedures have been constructed for such projects and it is not just appropriate, but highly prudent, that such backbone schemes of the type you mentioned are properly assessed before they are approved. As we know, past Myanmar governments signed off on a great many agreements without such considerations, to great and lingering costs to the country. Myitsone, which I know we will discuss in more detail shortly, is just one example of this. Its long past time for the national interest to be the prime consideration in deciding on large-scale investments in Myanmar. Nan Lwin: Talking about Kyaukphyu, the Myanmar government has already successfully avoided a debt trap and renegotiated the shareholding ratio. The major concerns have been resolved. But there is concern that the project could eventually be used for Chinese military access. Do you think Myanmar needs to worry about that? Turnell: Myanmar could scarcely be more importantly located in terms of geopolitics, and clearly Kyaukphyu allows access to sea lanes that are strategically vital to many countries, including China. Accordingly, Myanmar should indeed take into account the security and military dimensions of projects as strategically critical as this one. Moreover, I am sure that it does. Nan Lwin: China has planned strategically for its projects in Myanmar. Myanmar also fits into Chinas strategic vision to achieve a presence in the Indian Ocean. Does the Myanmar government have a clear strategic vision when it comes to Chinese projects? Turnell: I am an economist and so I should leave my prognostications to the economic front perhaps. That caveat noted, Chinese projects are approached, via the Project Bank and other procedures, in the context of the broadest consideration of Myanmars national interest, including the strategic. Nan Lwin: Experts say China has a clear vision of what it wants from Myanmar. Does Myanmar have a clear vision of what we want from China? Turnell: Myanmars economic team has a very clear vision, I think, of the countrys economic interests, and how these are reflected in the relationship with China. China will surely always be Myanmars most significant economic partner. The largest source of investment, the largest market for Myanmars exports, the biggest supplier of Myanmars imports. The worlds most populous country and second-largest economy cannot but dominate the economies around it. So, how to avoid being overwhelmed, how to make sure that Myanmar has other optionsother sources of investments, other markets, other suppliers? The answer to these questionsas it is to so much in the realm of economics and financeis diversification. Myanmar should seek the best outcomes it can get, in the broadest sensethat is, cognisant of human rights, environmental concerns, social and cultural impactas well as economic and social returns, from China, as it should from all its other economic partners. Enlightened self-interestthe universal and time-honored objective of all effective sovereign governmentsshould always be front and center. Nan Lwin: Why did Xi Jinping choose to visit Myanmar as his first foreign trip for 2020? Anything more than celebrating the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations? Turnell: Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. It would seem on the face of things that the broad relationship, as viewed through the lens of this anniversary, may indeed have been the main focus of Beijing. Nan Lwin: What message does his trip send to the other powerful players in the regionKorea, Japan and othersand beyond, especially the West? Turnell: Hopefully nothing except that Myanmar is open for mutually beneficial economic relations with all countries. Of course, one mustnt be naive, and so I am sure that some will interpret the trip as a signal that Myanmar has a powerful friend and backer, and a possible backstop against punitive economic measures of other nations. All being well, however, it will not be interpreted this way. Myanmar cannot achieve transformational economic growth of the sort that would advantage ALL its people via its relationship with China alone. Myanmar needs good relations with all countries, especially those in which human capabilities have achieved their highest potential thus far. China is a communist, one-party state without a free press, the rule of law, or critical freedoms. Men and women do not live by bread alone. Nan Lwin: Experts have said that China-Myanmar relations will be closer than ever if even half the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) projects actually get off the ground, and that these will bring the two countries closer together economically and socially. They say it is unavoidable that we will have to lean toward China. What is your opinion on this? Turnell: As noted earlier, geography, wealth, and power disparities will surely always place China in the box seat with respect to influence in Myanmar. The CMEC projects, if mutually beneficial, will draw the countries closer together. Of course, badly conceived, exploitatively financed, or favoring one side only, and they would damage the relationship. This is why, in the interests of all parties, it is critical to get these projects rightand that means that justice is served in the selection and implementation of such projects in all dimensions. Nan Lwin: Myanmar State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi told the Chinese president that it is very important that the CMEC projects are in line with the prioritized strategic national development plans of the two countries, and that measures are taken to prevent environmental degradation, and that they contribute to the development of the social life of the people. I think that it sends a strong message. But the question is whether the Myanmar Sustainable Development Plan (MSDP) is comprehensive enough. What is your view? Turnell: I think the MSDP is comprehensive enoughthe key thing is to ensure that it is properly applied. Once again, this will require Myanmars government to be clear-eyed and to act in the best interests of all of its peoples. So far, it seems to me, Myanmars current government has been among the most successful in the world in meeting the challenge that constructing a mutually beneficial relationship with China entails. Looking around the region, around the world, its difficult to find a developing country that has better avoided the traps that the less adroit have been prone to. Nan Lwin: Many speculated that a final decision on the Myitsone Dam would be made during Xis trip. So far, the Myanmar government has not revealed any details about this. Do you think Myanmar and China agreed on a new resolution for Myitsone during the trip? Turnell: Myitsone I think is a project of another time and place. Its hard to see how it makes any sense for anyone in 2020. Proposed and accepted at a time when Myanmars governments were desperate, short of cash, friends and imagination, and facing a China with severe energy shortagesnow the context is dramatically changed. China now has surplus energy, and a different interlocutor in the form of a Myanmar government with democratic legitimacy in large part, and many other options. For Myanmar, the costs of Myitsone, the environmental damage, the displacement of people, the sheer affront of the project to what the country now seeks to stand for, must surely render it redundant. You may also like these stories: South Korean President Enhances Bilateral Economic Ties with Myanmar Myanmars 10 Key Economic Moments of 2019 By Jiri Skacel VEJPRTY, Czech Republic (Reuters) - A fire in a home for people with disabilities killed eight people and injured 30 in northwest Czech Republic early on Sunday, fire and state officials said. The blaze occurred in a home where mostly men with mental and other disabilities lived, in Vejprty about 130 km (80 miles) northwest of Prague. It was the second deadliest blaze in the country's three-decade post-communist history. In 2010, a fire in an abandoned building often used by homeless people in Prague killed nine people. A hotel fire in the capital in 1995 killed eight. The fire at the Vejprty home started in one room before spreading to three, Michal Zavoral, commanding officer of the region's fire services, told state broadcaster Czech Television. He said the eight died from smoke inhalation. Police said the home had 35 residents. One police officer was among those injured. Four people were seriously injured, said Vejprty Mayor Jitka Gavdunova. "It is, for our city, a great tragedy because clients of the home... are part of our city," she said, adding that there were fire detectors in the home but not in the area where the fire started, she said. The cause of the fire was not yet known. Prime Minister Andrej Babis travelled to the site and promised help with the investigation, calling the fire a "huge tragedy". The blaze was reported just before 5 a.m. (0400 GMT). Firefighters were on the scene within 10 minutes and were able to keep the fire from spreading. Poor weather prevented helicopters from being able to help transport injured people. Vejprty is on the country's northwest border with Germany and German rescue units took part in the operation, officials said. (Reporting by Jiri Skacel and Jason Hovet; Editing by Frances Kerry) The government, on January 20, appointed new heads for Bank of Baroda, Bank of India and Canara Bank. According to a Mint report, Lingam Venkat Prabhakar will be the MD and CEO of Canara Bank, while Atanu Kumar Das will head Bank of India as MD and CEO. Sanjiv Chadha has been appointed as MD and CEO of Bank of Baroda. The trio will head their respective banks for a three-year period. Chadha will take step into the shoes of PS Jayakumar, whose term ended in October 2019. He former was deputy managing director at State Bank of India where he headed Capital Markets. Prabhakar will take the place of RA Sankara Narayanan, whose tenure ends this month. Prabhakar was previously the executive director of Punjab National Bank. Das was previously the ED at Bank of India and has now been elevated to the post of MD and CEO. The post has been vacant since July 2019. On August 30, 2019, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced the merger of Canara Bank with Syndicate Bank. The government merged some major banks in the country to "create next-generation banks". A 23-year-old Honduran mother and her two sick daughters are scheduled to be deported to Guatemala as soon as officials can get medical clearance, despite fears for their health. The decision has been slammed by advocates, who accused the government of turning a blind eye to the health of the children, ages 1 and 6, who have both been hospitalized in recent days in South Texas Rio Grande Valley. Supporters also said that the three had been kidnapped during their journey to the United States. Lawyers from ProBar, an advocacy group that helps asylum seekers, filed a lawsuit last week in the U.S. District Court in McAllen, Texas. The lawyers accused the government of pushing forward with a plan currently being challenged in court to send planeloads of families to different countries so that they can seek asylum elsewhere, court documents showed. Both children and could be placed on a plane with their mother as early as Tuesday if they are medically cleared to travel. The woman's 26-year-old husband, who has been in the United States for over a year, begged government immigration officials to reconsider his family's pending removal. According to CBS News, his wife and their daughters abandoned their home in September after a local gang allegedly extorted her in exchange for protection for her grocery store. CBS declined to name the family. The U.S. government is planning on deporting a 23-year-old Honduran mother and her two sick daughters, including her one-year-old (pictured center in image obtained by CBS News), to Guatemala as soon as Tuesday if they are medically cleared to travel The U.S. Customs and Border Protection temporary facility near the Donna International Bridge in Donna, Texas, where the Honduran mother and her two children were held when they unlawfully crossed the Mexico-United States border (file image) They mother and her daughters finally made it to the Mexico-United States border in December but not before they were kidnapped in their first try at entering the U.S. The abductors demanded a ransom of $200 per each person, but they ultimately freed them. 'If they return my family to Honduras, I'm expecting the worst. My daughters and my wife could be harmed,' the father said. 'And Guatemala is almost the same or worse because they don't know anyone there.' 'The mother is desperate. She thought her baby was going to die,' said Dr. Amy Cohen, a doctor who monitors the governments compliance with a landmark court settlement governing how migrant children are treated known as the Flores agreement. 'Whenever the baby coughs, her whole body shakes,' Cohen said. 'The 6-year-old looked exhausted. Everyone looked malnourished.' According to Cohen, the family says both children were healthy when they unlawfully crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in December 30. A lawsuit filed by the family says they were taken first to the U.S. Border Patrol's processing center in McAllen, Texas, a former warehouse where migrants are held in large fenced-in pens, then to a complex of tents built at the port city of Donna, where they were held for several days longer than the Border Patrols own 72-hour limit to detain people. The lawsuit blames the children's illnesses on inadequate medical care and the food served at the Donna tents, which they describe as burritos twice a day and a sandwich at night. The one-year-old has diarrhea and a fever, while the six-year-old was diagnosed with the flu, an illness that caused the death of a 16-year-old Guatemalan Carlos Gregorio Hernandez Vasquez held in Border Patrol custody in May 2019. At least six migrant children have died since December 2018 after being taken into custody by CBP agents. Lawyers for the mother and her two children have asked a federal judge in South Texas to order the government not to deport them. Their lawsuit alleges that after the mother said she feared returning to Honduras - where she says gangs demanded monthly payments or they would kill her and her children - she 'was instructed that she could either return to Honduras or be sent to Guatemala and had to decide immediately.' 'She was not given an opportunity to explain why she feared being sent to Guatemala, where she has no family or contacts and would have difficulty providing for herself and her children,' the lawsuit says. In its response, the government said the infant would be monitored by the hospital for a few more days to ensure she can be deported. It also argued that the judge had no authority to prevent the familys deportation because higher courts have recognized that the Attorney Generals office can decide on its own if and when to deport someone. It was unclear when the judge would rule. U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday. 'She's very bad emotionally. I know her. She's a very happy person. I'm also a very happy man,' the woman's husband said. 'But with this situation I don't cry, because I'm ashamed, but when I'm alone in my bed, I tear up looking at photos of them and us together in Honduras. This would break anyone's heart.' President Donald Trump's administration struck a deal last year with the Guatemalan government to take in asylum-seekers from Honduras and El Salvador, and has since said it will send Mexicans to Guatemala as well. The U.S. has also announced similar deals with Honduras and El Salvador. As of earlier this month, about 100 Hondurans and Salvadorans had been sent to Guatemala. Experts on the Northern Triangle say those countries can't be expected to take in asylum seekers when many of their own citizens are fleeing. The American Civil Liberties Union and other legal groups sued last Wednesday to try to prevent the agreements from being enforced. Carlos Gregorio Hernandez Vasquez died of the flu while in custody at a Border Patrol station on May 20, 2019. At least six children have died since December 2018 while in CBP custody Erwin Ardon, a native of Honduras, became the first migrant deported to Guatemala under the controversial plan the United States with the Guatemalan government since last year to take in asylum-seekers from Honduras and El Salvador as well as Mexico. He opted to return to Honduras instead In November, 23-year-old farmer Erwin Ardon, a native of Honduras, became the first migrant deported to Guatemala under the controversial plan. He was offered asylum there but instead chose to return home. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security says the deals, known as asylum cooperative agreements, 'will allow migrants to seek protection within the region.' The agreements are a key part of Trump's larger immigration crackdown, including programs forcing migrants to wait weeks or months to request asylum or to remain in Mexico to wait for immigration court dates. As a result, thousands of migrants are living in squalid tent cities just across the U.S.-Mexico border. Tens of thousands of people annually flee El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras - collectively forming Central America's 'Northern Triangle' - due to endemic violence, poverty, and political and religious persecution. Illegal crossings plummeted across the border after the Trump administration made more asylum-seekers wait in Mexico for hearings in U.S. court. The drop has been most striking on the western Arizona border, a pancake-flat desert with a vast canal system from the Colorado River that turns bone-dry soil into fields of melons and wheat and orchards of dates and lemons. Arrests in the Border Patrol's Yuma sector nearly hit 14,000 in May, when the policy to make asylum-seekers wait in Mexico took effect there. By October, they fell 94%, to less than 800, and have stayed there since, making Yuma the second-slowest of the agency's nine sectors on the Mexican border, just ahead of the perennially quiet Big Bend sector in Texas. Caught on camera: Man chases dangerous driver after 911 puts him on hold Sam Gill says he had a knot in his stomach as he watched a driver in front of him barrelling down a busy road in Mississauga, Ont., weaving in and out of oncoming traffic, jumping a curb and hitting a snowbank so hard the impact knocked his headlight off, though that didn't stop him. When Gill dialled 911 for help, he was put on hold. Just before 8 p.m. on a Sunday last month, Gill spotted the other motorist "driving erratically can't stay in his lanes, can't maintain control of the vehicle." "Every second that passed, I'm thinking, 'Oh my god, somebody is going to die," he said. Canadians make an estimated nine million calls to 911 every year, taking for granted that someone will answer, says Holly Barkwell, the Canadian region director of the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), an international organization that works to improve 911 service. "Unfortunately, that is not the case everywhere across Canada," she says. In reality, Barkwell says, the 911 system might not work as expected because it's fragmented, underfunded and operating on technology that's over 50 years old. "It's been ignored too long. It's an issue of public safety." There are no mandatory standards in Canada, but voluntary standards set by NENA in 2006 say 90 per cent of 911 calls should be answered within 10 seconds, and 95 per cent within 20 seconds. But because there is no national oversight on 911 service, there's no way to tell how Canada measures up. In Gill's case, he was on hold for almost six minutes (his phone was hands-free) while he chased the dangerous driver honking and flashing his lights, trying to warn others to steer clear. "At this point I'm saying to myself if [911] doesn't answer, should I push him off the road? I might hurt him in the process, but I might save his life and potentially the lives of others," he said. Peel Regional Police, which runs the 911 service in Gill's area, says it was swamped with double the usual number of calls at the time, adding it had a "record number" of calls in 2019, though an exact number wasn't available. Story continues Susan Goodspeed/CBC By the time an operator answered and police arrived, the driver had crashed into another snowbank and passed out behind the wheel, with his vehicle still in drive, Gill said. He says an officer told him the man was drunk. Peel Regional Police wouldn't confirm that with Go Public. Similarly, Helena Shepherd-Snider couldn't reach 911 when her husband had a heart attack in 2016. Instead, she got a recorded message saying the number was not in service, and to dial zero for the operator. Yvon Theriault/CBC Initially, she says the operator refused to call for her, telling Shepherd-Snider she should do it herself. "It felt like a double whammy. [I was thinking] where else can I go? What can I do? Time was of the essence," she said. After about 15 minutes, she convinced the operator to call 911. She credits fast-working paramedics for saving her husband's life. When the dust settled, Shepherd-Snider discovered everyone on her block about half a kilometre outside Sudbury, Ont. had 911 service except the last four houses including hers. Troy Fleece/The Canadian Press Depending on where you live, 911 is run by municipalities, the police or the province, while telecom companies are responsible for supplying the network needed to connect the calls an example of how the system is fragmented, according to Barkwell. When Shepherd-Snider called Bell and the municipality, she says they "passed the buck" neither correcting the issue. Instead, Bell cut off 911 service to her neighbours. ] The company tells Go Public that their block is outside Sudbury's service boundaries and that Shepherd-Snider's neighbours "had been erroneously provided with 911." The city says those houses are a provincial responsibility and have separate emergency numbers for ambulance, fire and police. Shepherd-Snider had no idea. The shortcomings of the 911 system were flagged back in a 2013 CRTC report and, says Barkwell, haven't changed. The report found: A wide gap between Canadians' expectations and the reality of the 911 system. No mandatory standards for 911 services. Inconsistent funding. No federal oversight. Some outlying communities have no access to 911. Some call centres in urban areas are overwhelmed and don't have the funding to fix the issue. One of the biggest problems, according to Barkwell, is that 911 services still use old analog technology, which makes it difficult to locate people using mobile phones. She says mobile apps have a better chance of locating someone than 911. "The biggest question I get from people often is how come Uber can find me and how come Domino's Pizza can find me but 911 can't find me?" Barkwell said. Skype A number of recent deaths have highlighted other problems with 911 services, and how they co-ordinate with emergency personnel. B.C. is promising changes to its 911 system after a woman bled to death after waiting 35 minutes for an ambulance in Vancouver in 2018. An ambulance was dispatched promptly, but attendants were unable to reach her because the doors and an elevator in her building were locked, and firefighters were called in too late. In Ontario, the deaths of four people in two separate incidents led to dozens of recommendations from the provincial coroner, and to a bill meant to address problems with 911. Mathieu Gregoire/CBC "People have lost their lives and people will continue to lose their lives," said France Gelinas, the NDP MPP, who last year put forward Bill 75, which is currently before the social policy committee. Gelinas says she doesn't believe the Tory government will pass the bill, however, and, when asked by Go Public, the provincial Ministry of Health wouldn't say. Spokesperson David Jensen said the government has established a task force to look at the problems with the system, including the coroner's recommendations. Ontario does not have legislation to govern delivery of 911 service or to provide secure funding for it. Certain provinces, including Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec do. In March, the CRTC introduced a plan to modernize 911 networks in Canada. As part of that plan, telecoms must upgrade from analog technology to digital by June 30, 2023. It's a good start, says Barkwell, but doesn't address the many other problems like inconsistent or inadequate funding. In the meantime, after his experience with the dangerous driver in Mississauga, Sam Gill says he worries what might happen to his family or others if there is another emergency. "We've lost our faith and that's not a good feeling," he said. Submit your story ideas Go Public is an investigative news segment on CBC-TV, radio and the web. We tell your stories, shed light on wrongdoing, and hold the powers that be accountable. If you have a story in the public interest, or if you're an insider with information, contact GoPublic@cbc.ca with your name, contact information and a brief summary. All emails are confidential until you decide to Go Public. "By combining Google Cloud's technology with Lufthansa Group's operational expertise, we are driving the digitization of our operation even further," said Dr. Detlef Kayser, Member of the Executive Board of the Lufthansa Group. "This will enable us to identify possible flight irregularities even earlier and implement countermeasures at an early stage." Lufthansa Group's new operations platform will simultaneously consider a number of factors of a stable operation-- aircraft rotation, aircraft maintenance, crew assignment and more--and provide recommendations to improve passenger punctuality, on-time flights and flight plan adherence in case of disruptions, such as weather events or delays due to airspace congestion. To support Lufthansa Group in designing and implementing the platform, an onsite Google Cloud team will work hand-in-hand with operations- and IT-experts from Lufthansa Group. "Through this collaboration, we have a significant opportunity to revolutionize the future of airline operations," said Thomas Kurian, CEO for Google Cloud. "We're bringing the best of Lufthansa Group and Google Cloud together to solve airlines' biggest challenges and positively impact the travel experience of the more than 145 million passengers that fly annually with them." The Lufthansa Group is the world's largest aviation group in terms of revenue as well as the market leader in Europe's airline sector. In 2018, the Lufthansa Group generated sales of around 35.8 billion Euro. Lufthansa Group welcomed more than 145 million passengers and employs more than 135,000 personnel (2019). Lufthansa Group airlines serve around 270 destinations in 105 countries (during winter 2019-2020). Useful links: Google Cloud AI & Machine Learning Solutions About Google Cloud Google Cloud provides organizations with leading infrastructure, platform capabilities and industry solutions, along with expertise, to reinvent their business with data-powered innovation on modern computing infrastructure. We deliver enterprise-grade cloud solutions that leverage Google's cutting-edge technology to help companies operate more efficiently, modernize for growth and innovate for the future. Customers in more than 150 countries turn to Google Cloud as their trusted partner to solve their most critical business problems. SOURCE Google Cloud Related Links https://cloud.google.com ARLINGTON, Texas Police in Arlington said Sunday that a woman wanted in the fatal Jan. 11 stabbing of a man has been arrested in Louisiana. An Arlington police news release said Leah Franklin, 31, was arrested Saturday by U.S. marshals in Shreveport, Louisiana, on a murder warrant in the death of Antonio Merle. Texas court records do not show that Franklin, who is jailed pending extradition, has been formally charged and Caddo Parish, Louisiana, jail records do not list an attorney who could speak on her behalf. Police sais Merle was found with stab wounds about 2:45 a.m. on Jan. 11 and died later at a hospital. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said that Indias new citizenship law that aims to fast-track citizenship to persecuted religious minorities of Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan was "not necessary". In an interview to an Emirati newspaper, Hasina also maintained that the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens are India's internal affairs. We dont understand why (the Indian government) did it. It was not necessary, the PM said in the interview at Abu Dhabi. "Bangladesh has always maintained that the CAA and NRC are internal matters of India. The Government of India, on their part, has also repeatedly maintained that the NRC is an internal exercise of India and Prime Minister Modi has in person assured me of the same during my visit to New Delhi in October 2019, Sheikh Hasina said. READ | Bangladeshi National Held In Chhattisgarh's Kabirdham Kawardha CAA's connection to Bangladesh This is the first such statement the PM has made since India passed the CAA on December 11. Under the law those Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Jains and Parsis who fled persecution in Bangladesh and settled in India before 2015 are allowed Indian citizenship. The NRC is a proposed exercise that Home Minister Amit Shah has repeatedly claimed would be the next move to build a pan-India register of Indian citizens and identify illegal immigrants. READ | WB Cattle Smuggler, Others Have Investments In Dubai And Bangladesh: ED A lot of immigration from Bangladesh, and erstwhile East Pakistan, has happened since the time of Independence of countries in the subcontinent from British imperial rule. Over the past few decades, predominantly Hindu Bengalis have fled Bangladesh into India claiming discrimination and religious persecution in the Muslim-majority nation. There are concerns in Dhaka that once NRC identifies illegal immigrants, New Delhi might push to repatriate them to their home country, something India has assured isn't on the cards. READ | Bangladesh: Submerged Island In Monsoons Now Ready To House 100,000 Rohingyas No reverse migration from India Sheikh Hasina also said that there has been no recorded reverse migration from India. "No, there is no reverse migration from India. But within India, people are facing many problems," she said. "(Still), it is an internal affair," Hasina added. READ | European Clothing Brand Group For Safety Leaving Bangladesh (Photo courtesy: AP) DAVOS, Switzerland The last time President Trump arrived at the World Economic Forums annual meeting, his trip was treated with deep skepticism, if not disdain, by the business and political leaders who gather once a year in this ski town in the Swiss Alps. It was 2018 and even with his newly enacted tax cuts, his populist, antiglobalist rhetoric and Twitter outbursts were more than enough to make the events collection of plutocrats uneasy. This time is likely to be different. With the stock market at record highs, two trade deals announced and the possibility that Mr. Trump may be in office for another four years, there is an increasing sense that he will be accepted, if not embraced (although some attendees may roll their eyes behind his back) when he arrives on Tuesday, even as he faces an impeachment trial. As anathema as it may be to some participants, Mr. Trump may be the new Davos Man. The Davos forum, marking its 50th year, has always sought to foster a sense of multilateral unity. But Mr. Trump, along with his counterpart in Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, is seemingly moving the world into a tariff based, decoupled universe, based on bilateral negotiations and diplomacy by tweet. To the surprise of many Davos regulars, the economic results have yet to prove as disastrous as they expected and, at least in the short term, have seemingly proven to be quite positive. (The long-term effects, of course, are still unknown.) ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Charter and private school students in the Albuquerque area will bring their school spirit to a high-energy celebration of education on Monday, Jan. 27. New Mexico's largest event during School Choice Week, the celebration will include a student showcase at the Albuquerque Convention Center, followed by a march to and rally at Civic Plaza. More than 500 are expected to attend the free event, which is open to the public. The student showcase will kick off at 11 a.m. at the Albuquerque Convention Center's Ballroom C with a welcome by Matt Pahl, executive director of Public Charter Schools of New Mexico. The showcase will feature student speakers, music and dance performances, including a world-famous Flamenco group. At 12:45 p.m., attendees will participate in a celebratory march to Civic Plaza, where students will lead the crowd in a fun "flash mob" performance of the National School Choice Week dance. The Albuquerque showcase and rally 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. "In New Mexico, every student and family should have equitable choice for their education," said Kelly Callahan, director of school quality and support at Public Charter Schools of New Mexico. "Having the freedom of choice allows families to choose from many high-quality school options regardless of socioeconomic status or background. The goal of this year's National School Choice Week event is to spotlight educational options for New Mexico students and to celebrate student success stories." This event is organized by the Public Charter Schools of New Mexico, the primary entity that supports and advocates for charter schools in the Land of Enchantment. The Albuquerque Convention Center is located at 2nd Civic Plaza NW. The Civic Plaza is located at 401 2nd St. NW. 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/new-mexico. SOURCE National School Choice Week Related Links www.schoolchoiceweek.com Strides Pharma Science announced that its step down subsidiary, Strides Pharma Inc. (SPI), has received an Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) from the USFDA for its facility in Riviera Beach, Florida, US. The EIR was issued as an outcome of the USFDA's inspection of the facility in December 2019. This facility is one of the very few manufacturing facilities in the US with a soft gel capsule(SGC) manufacturing suite for formulations with containment needs. Strides is one of the global leaders in Rx SGC with a vast portfolio of approved SGCs in the US and other regulated markets. The inspection outcome will bolster the company's fast-growing SGC franchise in the US and will also help accelerate our foray into the private label opportunity with in market for market products. Strides will kickstart the site transfers of its existing SGC portfolio to the site with immediate effect In the future, Strides plans to expand additional dosage format suites at the Florida facility, which will mirror the capabilities of its formulations facility in Singapore and will help the company to tap opportunities under various federal government procurement programs, including procurements administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former Nigerian Vice-president Atiku Abubakar has thrown his support for complementary policing efforts such as the Western Nigeria Security Network, with code-name Amotekun, set up by the six governors in the region. Atiku Abubakar supports Community, State and Zonal Police to complement Federal Police to deal with insecurity in the country. It has never been this bad to the extent of threatening the unity of the country, he said in a statement by his media adviser, Paul Ibe. The time is ripe to seriously confront the reality of insecurity in the country by addressing the urgency of introducing state police, zonal police and community policing to complement the efforts of the current federal police. It is obvious that current levels of insecurity in the country are giving rise to major initiatives such as Amotekun and the issue need not be controversial in the first place, he said. Full statement below As enshrined in the Nigerian constitution, the primary responsibility of government, at any level, is the protection of lives and property of the citizen. In carrying out this function, the state employs different layers of measures to ensure effective and efficient policing. It is without doubt that in the past decade particularly, the current policing administration in our dear country had been stretched to its limits and it is obvious that the reality of our domestic security upheaval will demand of us to recalibrate our police systems. In the First Republic, before we gravitated too much to the center, policing was done federally with each native authority and region having some mechanisms to deal with little upsets that were the security concerns of those times. In the present day Nigeria, there is hardly any state of the federation that does not contend with some type of security challenges. Because our security challenges are diverse in forms and impacts, it is thus incumbent that centrally controlled police architecture cannot exclusively deal with those challenges. Consequently, there is need for the creation of additional policing structures in the country to address the rapidly growing challenges of insecurity and crime. The time is ripe to seriously confront the reality of insecurity in the country by addressing the urgency of introducing state police, zonal police and community policing to complement the efforts of the current federal police. It is obvious that current levels of insecurity in the country are giving rise to major initiatives such as Amotekun and the issue need not be controversial in the first place. The police are likely to be more effective if they constantly operate in the same local community or local government because such closeness might create a bond with the local people, thereby enabling community cooperation and participation that would engender proactive outcomes in crime prevention. Nigeria is a vast country facing enormous security challenges and, therefore, there is the urgent need to create more security structures at the local levels to reduce the burden on the federal police. The issue of security shouldnt be politicised and monopolised in the face of our current alarming security challenges characterised by the fear of even travelling on our highways by the citizens who might be intercepted by kidnappers and taken hostage for ransom. Local policing shouldnt be mistaken for an effort to hijack the role of the federal police or a competition with the federal government. The obvious inadequacies of the federal police to effectively deal with these rapidly growing security challenges make local policing not only desirable, but also necessary. The police are more likely to be effective in areas where they are well known and trusted by the local communities who in turn are willing to share information about known criminals and criminal activities, thereby foiling those crimes before they are even carried out. It is a given perception that when people have a role in their own security, they are going to help to defeat the criminal in their tracks and that the more they are involved, the more likely they would perceive the police as their friends. In the envisage new order, states and local governments shouldnt be reduced to peripheral players in policing and security matters. When local police structures are closest to the grassroots, emergency response will be more effective than the current unwieldy chain of command that renders local government chairmen ineffective when their people are under attacks. As a matter of fact, it is refusing to adopt new ways of doing things that poses a threat to the unity of the country. Therefore, Atiku Abubakar supports Community, State and Zonal Police to complement Federal Police to deal with insecurity in the country. It has never been this bad to the extent of threatening the unity of the country. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates Gun rights advocates hold signs during a rally inside the no-gun zone in front of the Virginia State Capitol building in Richmond, Virginia, U.S. January 20, 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Drake More than 22,000 armed gun-rights activists peacefully filled the streets around Virginia's capitol building on Monday to protest gun-control legislation making its way through the newly Democratic-controlled state legislature. Despite fears that neo-Nazis or other extremists would piggyback on the Richmond rally to stoke unrest like the violence at a 2017 demonstration by white nationalists in Charlottesville that killed a counter-protester, the Capitol Police reported just one arrest, a 21-year-old woman taken into custody for wearing a bandana over her face after twice being warned that masks were not allowed. Chants of "USA! USA! USA!" and others praising President Donald Trump reverberated as men and women carrying handguns and rifles squeezed into the streets around the Virginia state capitol, standing shoulder-to-shoulder for three blocks in all directions. There was a heavy security presence after Governor Ralph Northam banned carrying weapons onto the capitol grounds and the FBI earlier last week arrested three alleged neo-Nazis who it said intended to use the event to spark a race war. Expand Close A gun rights advocate holds a sign during a rally on the grounds of the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond, Virginia, U.S., January 20, 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Drake / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A gun rights advocate holds a sign during a rally on the grounds of the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond, Virginia, U.S., January 20, 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Drake But by 1 pm in Virginia, nearly all rally-goers had left the area, with volunteers picking up trash left behind. The Capitol Police estimated the crowd at 22,000 people. Activists at the rally organized by the Virginia Citizens Defense League argued that Virginia was trying to infringe on their right to bear arms, which is protected by the Second Amendment of the US Constitution. "What's going on here, if not stopped, will spread to other states," said Teri Horne, who had traveled to Virginia from her home in Texas with her Smith & Wesson rifle and .40-caliber handgun. "They will come for our guns in other states if we don't stop them in Virginia." Northam, a Democrat, has vowed to push through new gun control laws and is backing a package of eight bills, including universal background checks, a "red flag" law, a ban on assault-style rifles and a limit of one handgun-a-month purchase. It does not call for confiscating guns currently legally owned. It is not his first attempt. He called a special legislative session last year after the massacre of 12 people in Virginia Beach, but the Republicans who then controlled the legislature ended that meeting without a vote. State Democratic leaders and activists believe that move contributed to the November victories that gave them control of both chambers. Expand Close A activist holds up a sign supporting gun rights for women during a rally inside the no-gun zone in front of the Virginia State Capitol building in Richmond, Virginia, U.S. January 20, 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Drake / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A activist holds up a sign supporting gun rights for women during a rally inside the no-gun zone in front of the Virginia State Capitol building in Richmond, Virginia, U.S. January 20, 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Drake A group of 13 student activists from March For Our Lives, a gun-control group, slept inside the capitol building on Sunday night ahead of impromptu meetings with lawmakers to encourage them to pass the legislation. "A lot of the protesters outside have a really extreme reading of the Second Amendment," Eve Levenson, a 20-year-old political science student at George Washington University, said in a telephone interview. "What we're fighting for is common-sense laws that are proven to work and are already effective in other states." Many in the crowds dressed in camouflage or tactical gear. Some browsed vendors' pro-gun T-shirts and other merchandise, much of it carrying slogans supporting Trump, who has sharply criticized the gun-control proposals. The president weighed in again on the Virginia situation on Monday. "The Democrat Party in the Great Commonwealth of Virginia are working hard to take away your 2nd Amendment rights," Trump wrote on Twitter. "This is just the beginning. Don't let it happen, VOTE REPUBLICAN in 2020!" People across the United States were focused on the Virginia gun issue, said Philip Van Cleave, leader of the Virginia Citizens Defense League. "They don't want us to fail in stopping this," Van Cleave said on Sunday. "We've gotten huge donations from other states." "The Virginia election last November was an indictment of guns, and it was not an outlier," said Christian Heyne, who leads legislative efforts at the gun violence prevention group Brady. "Virginia candidates flipped things on their head when they won because of the gun issue, not despite it." The state's gun owners responded with a movement to create "sanctuary cities" for gun rights, with local government bodies in nearly all 95 counties passing declarations not to enforce new gun laws. Grayson County Sheriff Richard Vaughan, who is from a sanctuary county, held aloft a banner supporting the Second Amendment on a street in front of the capitol. "Some of these bills being proposed are just unconstitutional and we will not enforce them," Vaughan said. "As a sheriff I am the last line of defense between law-abiding gun owners and the politicians who want to take away their rights." The sanctuary idea has quickly spread across the United States, with over 200 local governments in 16 states passing such measures. Former Russian Prime Minister Medvedev Says to Remain Chair of United Russia Ruling Party Sputnik News 13:04 19.01.2020(updated 13:26 19.01.2020) On 15 January, Dmitry Medvedev unexpectedly resigned hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced sweeping changes to the Constitution and a revamped approach to managing the country's economy. Former Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has said his new post of deputy chair of the Security Council will not prevent him from remaining the chairman of the governing party United Russia. "Speaking about the new job, being a deputy in this position does not prevent one from political activities, including party leadership. I remain the chair of the party United Russia. This is our leading political force, this is our governing party", Medvedev told Channel One in an interview. The statement comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree introducing the post of Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council and appointed Medvedev to this post. Earlier this week, Medvedev announced that his government was resigning. Putin accepted his resignation but asked his cabinet to stay on in a caretaker capacity. President Vladimir Putin's nominee Mikhail Mishustin, a former tax service chief, was confirmed as prime minister by the lower house of parliament on 16 January. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Speaking on this achievement, Howden said: I am proud that this has always been a place for entrepreneurial talent who want to grow careers and build businesses. We continue to attract the very best. On a bank reported basis, including 12 months pro forma effect of acquisitions, Hyperion closed its financial year with strong performances across all business units, breaking the 725 million (around US$941 million) revenue barrier, which is an increase of 17%. The group has an adjusted consolidated EBITDA of 211 million (around $273.9 million), which is an increase of 16%, and now has over 5,000 employees in 38 territories, handling US$7 billion of premium on behalf of its clients. Hyperions international broking business, which will be operating as Howden from October 01, 2020, continued its rapid expansion through investments across a number of jurisdictions in the last financial year, including Belgium, Colombia, France, Malaysia, Norway, Tanzania, Thailand, Spain and the UK, and strengthened its presence in each market. DUAL, Hyperions underwriting business is currently the largest international MGA, writing over US$1 billion GWP from 36 offices across 16 countries. The MGA provides its carriers with access to speciality market cover through over 6,500 broker partners and on behalf of more than 60 carriers globally. Commenting on the results issued today, Howden said: Staying true to our founding principles and joining with culturally-aligned people and businesses has allowed us to deliver results for our clients in the long term. And we are only just getting started. For Immediate Release Chicago, IL January 20, 2020 Today, Zacks Investment Ideas feature highlights Features: Tesla TSLA, Boeing BA, Virgin Galactic SPCE, Northrop Grumman NOC and Amazon AMZN. Virgin Galactic (SPCE) Takes Off Before SpaceX or Blue Origin When I was a kid, I wanted to be an astronaut. I watched every NASA launch and clipped every newspaper article I could find about space shuttle flights and astronomy discoveries. Clearly, Elon Musk achieved my dreams and then some. Did you know he founded SpaceX in 2002, before Tesla? Yep, Tesla was actually founded by two auto engineers in 2003 and Musk, through his early series A investment, earned founder status and took over quickly. SpaceX was the first private company able to compete on NASA's playground and it still astounds me that Boeing didn't plan to be first in some key areas of space rocketry. That is the power of a visionary disruptor like Musk. Among the top "firsts by SpaceX" are (1) launch a liquid-fueled rocket into orbit with the Falcon 1 in 2008; (2) launch, orbit, and successfully recover a spacecraft with Dragon in 2010; and (3) send a cargo flight to the International Space Station (ISS). I took this list from the new book by SpaceX mission manager Andrew Rader. In 2019 he published Beyond The Known: How Exploration Created the Modern World and Will Take Us to the Stars. Here's what he wrote on page 248... "With its ability to make regular supply flights to the Space Station and return, SpaceX's Dragon capsule offers the only means of returning science cargo to Earth. As of January 2019, SpaceX has flown more than sixty successful launches and soon plans to fly astronauts under a NASA commercial crew contract." Rader goes on to talk about the significance of the Falcon reusable rocket family which also marks a series of firsts (listed here courtesy of Wikipedia): the first propulsive landing for an orbital rocket (Falcon 9 in 2015), the first reuse of an orbital rocket (Falcon 9 in 2017), and the first private company to launch an object into orbit around the sun (Falcon Heavy's payload of a Tesla Roadster in 2018). Story continues Instead of one booster of nine engines like Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy uses three boosters for twenty-seven total. In the video that accompanies this article, I address the question of whether and when SpaceX will become a publicly-traded company that you and I can invest in. Who Can Compete with SpaceX? Speaking of space companies the average Joe or Sue can invest in, the video opens discussing Richard Branson's foray into aerospace with his newly public Virgin Galactic. This venture is nearly as thrilling Musk's because of Branson's focus on eventual passenger travel to the ISS and beyond -- and his alternative method for getting a spaceship safely airborne and out of Earth's gravity and atmosphere, the biggest challenges in space rocketry. Branson's innovation was an air-launched suborbital "spaceplane" (like the NASA Shuttle) that is hauled to an altitude of about 50,000 feet by a large carrier airplane and released. The spaceship then fires its rocket motor to catapult it to at least 50 miles above Earth, high enough for passengers to see the curvature of the planet. Of course he didn't come up with these space-age ideas and designs all by himself. From Wikipedia... The Spaceship Company (TSC) is a British/American spacecraft manufacturing company that was founded by Burt Rutan and Richard Branson in mid-2005 and was jointly owned by Virgin Group (70%) and Scaled Composites (30%) until 2012 when Virgin Galactic became the sole owner. TSC was formed to own the technology created by Scaled for Virgin Galactic's Virgin SpaceShip program. This includes developments on the care-free reentry system and cantilevered-hybrid rocket motor, licensed from Paul Allen and Burt Rutan's Mojave Aerospace. The company is manufacturing Virgin Galactic's spacecraft and will sell spacecraft to other buyers. The suborbital launch system offered will include the SpaceShipTwo spacecraft and the White Knight Two carrier aircraft. From Weird Planes to White Knights So this story is also exciting for me personally because of another fascination of my childhood: the experimental aircraft designs of the maverick Rutan brothers. Since my dad and older brothers were professional and aerobatic pilots, we often ventured to the annual Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Fly-In at Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The Rutans designed these radical airplanes with engines in the back that used the propeller to push the craft. They also featured a flight control surface in front of the fuselage called a canard. And two models, the VariEze and Long-EZ, were sold as homebuilt kits! Every time I saw one on the front of the flying magazines, I was captivated by its out-of-this-world look. The Rutan boys also designed and flew the Voyager aircraft that traversed non-stop around the globe in 1986 without refueling, in 9 days. Actually it was Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager who piloted that record flight, while Burt Rutan was the main designer. But I didn't make the connection between those "spaceships" of my youth and Richard Branson until my oldest brother Rory and I were talking about Musk's SpaceX technologies over the holidays. That's when he told me that Virgin Galactic's designs came from Scaled Composites, which is now owned by Northrop Grumman. Burt Rutan started Scaled Composites in 1982 and after several changes of ownership -- Beech Aircraft used Rutan designs for the Beechcraft Starship, a twin-turboprop business aircraft that was not commercially successful -- Rutan gathered new investors to launch SpaceShipOne, an experimental air-launched rocket-powered aircraft with sub-orbital spaceflight capability at speeds of up to 900 meters per second (3,000 feet/sec), using a hybrid rocket motor. Rutan's ideas about the project began as early as 1994 but he didn't begin working full-time on it until 2001. By beautiful coincidence (or clever mission planning) the vehicle first achieved supersonic flight on December 17, 2003 -- the one-hundredth anniversary of the Wright brothers' historic first powered flight. SpaceShipOne completed the first crewed private spaceflight in 2004. That same year, it won the $10 million Ansari X Prize and was immediately retired from active service. Its mother ship was named "White Knight." Both craft were developed and flown by Mojave Aerospace Ventures, which was a joint venture between Scaled Composites and Paul Allen, who provided funding of approximately $25 million. The WhiteKnight "Stratolaunch System" employs aircraft with the world's largest wingspan and twin fuselages, and the first model held SpaceShipOne in a piggyback configuration on top of the wing spar between them. The WhiteKnightTwo models carry SpaceShipTwo passenger rockets under their twin fuselages. WhiteKnightTwo is a custom-built, four-engine, dual-fuselage jet aircraft, designed to carry SpaceShipTwo up to an altitude of 50,000 feet. You can see a great clip of the "drop and launch" on the Virgin Galactic website. What About Jeff Bezos and Blue Origin? In the video attached to this article, I couldn't resist showing off the latest handy work of the Amazon founder's space company, Blue Origin. Did anyone really think that Bezos was going to let Musk have all the fun in successfully designing reusable rocket technology for space travel? New Shepard is a vertical-takeoff, vertical-landing (VTVL), human-rated rocket that is being developed by Blue Origin as a commercial system for suborbital space cargo, travel and tourism. The rocket borrows its name from the first American astronaut in space, Alan Shepard, one of the original NASA Mercury Seven astronauts, who ascended to space on a suborbital trajectory similar to New Shepard's designs and objectives. Prototype engine and vehicle flights began in 2006, while full-scale engine development started in the early 2010s and was complete by 2015. Uncrewed flight testing of the complete New Shepard vehicle (propulsion module and space capsule) began in 2015. On December 11, 2019 the Blue Origin team launched their 12th flight for the New Shepard system without a crew but with a capsule full of payloads from over a dozen commercial, scientific, NASA research, and educational projects. This mission also marked their 100th customer, with everything from university medical research to small business materials testing. Of 12 launches, they have re-used the same booster rocket at least 5 times, twice. They also have 12 successful crew capsule landings and 3 successful escape tests as they prepare for eventual crewed flight. With veteran reusable boosters, NS-12 successfully reached over 350K feet (~66 miles) above Earth. And, from mission control in the West Texas desert, they accomplished their 12th powered vertical landing with the rocket. Blue Origin folks will also be quick to tell you that their rockets are ascending to true outer space, defined as at least 100 kilometers (62 miles) above Earth. The video clip of that mission is a blast to watch because they equip the viewing screen with not only live altitude and speed readings but a vertical tracker and "key" to mission checkpoints, like the separation of capsule and booster and the apogee (peak altitude after engines are turned off, and thus a speed of zero MPH). And then on the way down, we get to see and understand the functions of various fins, stabilizers and drag brakes before final touchdown. The descent and landing are simply amazing, especially with the commentary guide from Blue Origin team members Ariane Cornell and Caitlin Dietrich. The payload capsule lands later in the desert with the help of 3 parachutes and retro-rockets for a soft touchdown. Here's what I texted my brother Rory after I saw it the first time in late December... "Jeff Bezos Blue Origin. Amazing video capture here w altitude and speed. Goes to 350K feet, and comes back just under 1K MPH for reentry. Hits atmosphere under 300K ft and accelerated to 2,500 MPH. Drag fins slow down before drag brake rocket. Sonic boom at 6K feet and 400 MPH!" But I actually got that last part wrong. Upon another viewing this week, I hear that the sonic boom "crack" doesn't occur until just above 2,000 feet and 350 MPH. I don't know what the two smaller "snaps" were at 6K feet, but guessing they had something to do with the drag brakes that really slow the ship down fast. The homepage of BlueOrigin.com currently has the 50-minute launch video from Dec 11 and it includes all the "pre-game" stuff before the countdown, including payload customer visits, snapshots of BO facilities in Texas and Alabama, the obligatory "holds" in the countdown sequence, and a slice of Jeff's recent keynote where he explains that Earth has become small compared to the size of humanity and that we need to think long-term about our future in the stars... "Blue's vision is a future where millions of people are living and working in space. In order to preserve Earth, our home, for our grandchildrens grandchildren, we must go to space to tap its unlimited resources and energy. If we can lower the cost of access to space with reusable launch vehicles, we can all enable this dynamic future for humanity." Galactic MVP (Mission, Vision, Purpose) Not only do I want you to check out the New Shepard launch and reentry/landing, I highly recommend visiting the websites for SpaceX and Virgin Galactic where their homepages have some stunning visuals of their spacecraft in action. As you might imagine, any space program will have its share of failures and tragedies. My generation remembers where they were on January 28, 1986 when the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, killing all seven crew members, including a civilian school teacher. On October 31, 2014, during a test flight, the first SpaceShipTwo VSS Enterprise broke up in flight and crashed in the Mojave desert. A preliminary investigation suggested that the craft's descent device deployed too early. One pilot was killed and the other was treated for a serious shoulder injury after parachuting from the stricken spacecraft. Richard Branson has stated that Virgin Galactic was in the best position in the world to provide rocket-powered, point-to-point 3,000 mph air travel on Earth. And while he suggested in October 2017 that he could travel to space aboard SpaceShipTwo within six months, it was not until December 2018 that VSS Unity achieved the project's first suborbital space flight, reaching an altitude of 51 miles, officially entering outer space by US standards. But Richard's long-range commitment to safe, reliable and affordable spaceflight is as clear as Elon's and Jeff's. The homepage of VirginGalactic.com has their Purpose, Mission, and Vision statements that will likely endure beyond many other risk-inherent launches. As George Whitesides, CEO of Virgin Galactic and The Spaceship Company, has said... "Space is not only important for the future of transportation, it's important for the future of imagination." Kevin Cook is a Senior Stock Strategist for Zacks Investment Research where he runs the TAZR Trader and Healthcare Innovators portfolios. 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 >> Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ZacksResearch Join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ZacksInvestmentResearch Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates. Media Contact Zacks Investment Research 800-767-3771 ext. 9339 support@zacks.com https://www.zacks.com Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss.This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) : Free Stock Analysis Report The Boeing Company (BA) : Free Stock Analysis Report Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC) : Free Stock Analysis Report Tesla, Inc. (TSLA) : Free Stock Analysis Report Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (SPCE) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research January 8, 2020 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada The Honourable Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today issued the following statement: I was deeply shocked and saddened to learn that, according to preliminary reports, at least 63 Canadians were among the 176 people who were killed when Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 crashed after takeoff yesterday near Tehran, Iran. As more information becomes available, including regarding dual citizens, this number could change. I would like to extend my deepest condolences to those who lost loved ones in this tragic event, including citizens of a number of other countries. The situation remains extremely fluid. I have been in touch with my Ukrainian counterpart, and will continue to speak to all relevant authorities. The Government of Canada is committed to working closely with international partners regarding any possible investigation. We will continue to keep Canadians informed as the situation evolves. Friends and relatives in Canada seeking information about Canadian citizens believed to be on board Flight PS752 should contact Global Affairs Canadas Emergency Watch and Response Centre. You can do so by calling 613-996-8885 or 1-800-387-3124 (toll-free) or by sending an email to sos@international.gc.ca. The Embassy of Canada to Turkey in Ankara has consular responsibility for Iran as there are no resident Government of Canada offices in Iran. Canadian citizens in Iran requiring consular assistance should contact the Canadian embassy in Ankara at +90 312 409 2700 or Global Affairs Canadas Emergency Watch and Response Centre at +1 613 996 8885. Canadians requiring consular assistance in Ukraine should contact the Embassy of Canada in Kyiv by calling 380 (44) 590-3100 or by sending an email to KYIV-Consular@international.gc.ca. New Delhi: The Third Edition of Pariksha Pe Charcha was held at Talkatora Stadium, New Delhi where PM Modi interacted with Students from Class 9 to Class 12 who are going to appear for the Board Exams 2020. The interactive session was on dealing with exam stress that often becomes the roadblock for students in their way to success. Addressing the questions of students who are going to appear for the upcoming class 10 and class 12 board exams 2020, Narendra Modi advised them to stay motivated, and instilled a sense of belief and confidence amongst all. Pariksha Pe Charcha 2020: Important Points to Note Here are the key takeaways from Pariksha Pe Charcha 2020 Session that will not only inspire but also help students take productive actions to ace the class 10 and class 12 board exams: Fear is not good for Grades Yes, that might seem to be a dialogue from the famous movie 3 Idiots, but thats what it is. While answering to one of the questions on How to Overcome Failure and Fear, the PM cited the example of India Vs Australia Kolkata Test Match where India was able to pull off a magical win from the jaws of defeat. When everything was looking bleak in that test match and the Indian Team was at the verged of defeat, the partnership of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman helped the team get a Victory. He said, failure is not the end of the road as there are so many things to learn from failure. Its only failure that shows the way to success. He advised students to stay optimistic and motivated. Marks matter to an extent While addressing the question on marks in board exams, PM Modi made it clear that Marks is not everything in life. Marks are important but that doesnt mean one should get completely dejected if she/he is unable to good grades in the exam. He said that one should work hard and honestly for his dreams, however at the same time should be prepared to face the outcomes with positive intent. Importance of Focus, Concentration and Dedication Prime Minister, Narendra Modi made a very important point while talking on how to maintain focus. He said that while preparing for exams dont think too much about the goals and dreams. PM Modi went on saying that students generally have the tendency to think what if their dreams of becoming engineers and doctors are not fulfilled and in the process they somehow start losing concentration. He said, students must not think too much about their dreams, goals and results while studying as that will keep their mind calm and provide more room for concentration. Judicious use of Technology When one of the students asked the PM about the role of technology in life and studies, he laid strong emphasis on judicious use of technology. Technology comes with its own advantages and disadvantages. One must use the most of the technology to learn something and grow in life rather than wasting time. However, he asked students to stay away from gadgets, smartphones or any form of technology for at-least an hour every day. PM Modi also advised students to use that time in interacting with family, friends and peers. The Difference between Pursue and Pressure PM Modi said parents should understand the difference between pursue and pressure. He explained the scenario with a wonderful example of a toddler crawling on the floor. He said when a toddler crawls and falls multiple times in the process to walk, does his/her mother beat him/her or helps the kid to pursue? Similarly, when a student fails in exam, it is the duty of his/her parents to motivate him/her rather than putting unnecessary pressure. How to Choose the Perfect Career Answering one important and common question on how to choose a career, he said students should be aware of their key skills and aptitude, and maintain notes accordingly. The other important points he made while answering to the questions of students at Pariksha Pe Charcha, he said that students should be aware of their fundamental rights and duties. Further, he said there should be a balance between extracurricular activities and academic studies. Gardai in Laois are appealing for the public's help to find a missing 27-year-old man. Helbijs Lejins was last seen at his home at Laurel Drive, Portlaoise, last Thursday. Haiti - Politic : Journalist Delva ironizes at his colleagues who contest the end of their mandate In an open letter Journalist Joseph Guyler C. Delva is very critical and ironic about the actions of 7 of his former fellow senators from the 2nd Senate tier : Jean Marie Junior Salomon (OPL), Dieupie Cherubin (KID), Ronald Lareche (VERITE), Nenel Cassy (FANMI LAVALAS) and Youri Latortue (AAA) https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-29766-haiti-politic-youri-latortue-challenges-jovenel-moise.html Jean Renel Senatus (LIDE), and Dieudonne Luma Etienne (PHTK), who contest the decision of President Jovenel Moise to have put an end to their mandate hhttps://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-29760-haiti-flash-the-senators-react.html and who have filed a complaint with the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP). Open letter from Joseph Guyler C. Delva : "It is sad to see former parliamentarians, visibly struck by a frenzied fad of power, going so far as to embrace idiocy to defend a mandate which had no merit in view of the balance sheet dragged by 50th legislature, now obsolete. This desperate endeavor on the part of 7 deposed senators, with the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP), to try to save a mandate that they themselves drowned in the unfathomable depths of their intransigence, is doomed to failure. Knowledge of the dispute between these former legislators and President Jovenel Moise unfortunately comes from an authority created by the amended 1987 constitution, but never put in place by the competent authorities. It is the Constitutional Council. The Senator Senatus invoked the exclusive status of the CEP as litigation of all the disputes raised during the organization of the elections and the application of the electoral law, but it is within the framework of the course of the process and the formalities to be completed with a view to taking the oath and taking office of elected officials, in particular. While the present case concerns parliamentarians whose term has expired, at least according to the interpretation of President Jovenel Moise of the constitution and the text that governed the organization of the poll in question. The CEP or an ordinary court does not have jurisdiction to hear such a case which arises against the background of a constitutional dispute. In the worst case, the President could have been tried by the High Court of Justice if he had been charged with the crime of high treason (violation of the constitution). Formality impossible, since there is currently no legislature in office. Faced with this state of affairs, the decision of the Head of State to note the lapse of the 50th legislature, rightly or wrongly, will prevail. And it was the downfall of many of these whining senators who, to a large extent, offered Jovenel Moise the opportunity to lead by decree, and this could be avoided. Gentlemen, stop making fun of yourself! You'd better find a political agreement with Mr. Moise or make yourself forgotten, if only for a short time. Because you, political protagonists of all stripes, have plunged the country into absolute shit. What would be the interest of the Republic in the dishonor and unworthiness that you personify. Joseph Guyler C. Delva." Furthermore, after their complaint to the CEP, the protesting senators say they want to multiply actions to reverse this decision and return to Parliament. So on Friday, several of these senators met Hellen La Lime, the head of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) to explain their position. They also intend to file a complaint with the Organization of American States (OAS) and Caricom to denounce what they describe as "violation of democratic principles". Concerning the measures contained in the memorandum of the Director General of Immigration and Emigration concerning the strengthening of the control of personalities traveling with an official or diplomatic passport https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-29785-haiti-flash-reinforced-surveillance-for-the-trips-of-holders-of-official-or-diplomatic-passports.html , Senator Senatus has declared that he will file a lawsuit to preserve his rights and have access to the Parliament, https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-29768-haiti-politic-senators-blocked-election-of-a-new-bureau.html still considering themselves as a Senator in office, despite the announcement Presidential who says otherwise. See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-29768-haiti-politic-senators-blocked-election-of-a-new-bureau.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-29766-haiti-politic-youri-latortue-challenges-jovenel-moise.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-29760-haiti-flash-the-senators-react.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-29785-haiti-flash-reinforced-surveillance-for-the-trips-of-holders-of-official-or-diplomatic-passports.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-29717-haiti-flash-for-the-presidency-20-senators-should-leave-their-seats-on-january-13.html HL/ HaitiLibre A lesbian British mother who went on the run with her two children and tried to cross the Channel with them in a rubber dinghy was today given a six-month prison sentence suspended for a year. Lauren Etchells, 33, was also fined 500 for lying to immigration officials and ordered to pay 1600 court costs after being convicted of child neglect at an earlier hearing in St Helier, Jersey. Her parents Brian and Angela, who faced the same child neglect charges, were given an identical sentence and fine. Lauren Etchells, 33, was also fined 500 for lying to immigration officials and ordered to pay 1600 court costs Angela and Brian Etchells arrive at Jersey Magistrates' Court in St Helier, Jersey, for their sentencing for child neglect Lauren Etchells, left, and Tasha Brown are pictured together above in June 2015 Etchells did not speak during the sentencing at St Helier Magistrates court but her legal team indicated they would immediately appeal the conviction. It means she will stay in Jersey for the forseable future as any return to the UK would lead to her arrest on child abduction charges filed by her ex-wife in Canada. Etchells was convicted of two charges of causing risk of harm to her children. She earlier admitted immigration offences of providing false information when she beached her dinghy on a Jersey beach. After years in Spain, she was arrested in July after making the Channel crossing in a 13ft inflatable dinghy (pictured) with her children and her parents The former teacher had been on the run for three years after fleeing Canada following the end of her relationship with Tasha Brown. She fled with her daughter Kaydance, now aged four, and her one-year old son from a sperm donor who became her boyfriend. Ideological differences have come up between the Shiv Sena and the Congress over Hindutva icon Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, popularly known as 'Veer' Savarkar. There have been constant exchanges of barbs between the leaders of both parties. The Sena and the Congress - running a coalition government in Maharashtra with Sharad Pawars Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) - disagree over conferring the Bharat Ratna on Savarkar. The latest exchange of arguments sparked with Sena leader Sanjay Rauts demand that those opposing Bharat Ratna award for Savarkar should be made to spend two days in the Andaman Cellular Jail, the erstwhile colonial prison, where the freedom fighter had been lodged during his incarceration. Within hours of the statement, the Congress hit back with its state spokesperson Sachin Sawant tweeting, "Savarkar was different before 1911. Congress is against his post-1923 ideology." Maharashtra PWD minister and senior Congress leader Ashok Chavan sought to know whether Raut's statement was the official stand of the Sena. Somebody's personal comments cannot be the stand of the government and there is no need to give a reaction to this, said Chavan. Earlier in January, Sena and Congress locked horns over a booklet which claimed that Savarkar and Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse had been in a physical relationship. The Hindi booklet titled Veer Savarkar, Kitne 'Veer'? was distributed at a camp of Congress- affiliated Seva Dal in Madhya Pradesh. In his reaction over the booklet, Raut said, Veer Savarkar was a great man and will remain a great man. A section keeps talking against him. This shows the dirt in their mind. Besides on Savarkar, Raut also stoked a controversy with his claim that former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi used to come to meet Karim Lala, a yesteryear don in Mumbai. "When Haji Mastan used to come to 'Mantralaya', the entire 'Mantralaya' would come down to see him. Indira Gandhi used to come to meet Karim Lala in Pydhonie (in south Mumbai)," claimed Raut. Rauts comment was slammed by Mumbai Congress leader Milind Deora who said that Indira was a true patriot and urged Raut to withdraw his "ill-informed statement. Raut withdrew his statement eventually. "If someone feels my statement hurt Indira Gandhi's image, or someone's feelings, I take it back," he said. The United States has confirmed its first case of a mystery virus, which has emerged in China, with 291 confirmed cases and nearly 2,000 more anticipated. Officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began screening passengers for symptoms at New York City's Kennedy airport and the Los Angeles and San Francisco airports. On Tuesday, afternoon they announced that an infected traveller arrived in Seattle on a flight from China. Screenings questions were implemented at Canadian airports in an effort to limit the transmission of the virus in Canada. The Public Health Agency of Canada says additional measures will include messaging on arrivals screens at the Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver international airports reminding travellers from Wuhan to inform a border service officer if they are experiencing flu-like symptoms. There will also be an additional health screening question added to electronic kiosks. While the majority of cases of the coronavirus called so because the virus resembles a crown have been found in the city of Wuhan, a number of cases have also been confirmed in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. Six people have died from the respiratory illness, which has also been reported in Japan, South Korea Thailand and the United States. Heres what Canadians should know about this new virus. Systems are in place to target outbreaks Eleanor Fish is a professor in the department of Immunology at the University of Toronto. She says that when SARS hit Canada in the early 2000s, it was contained and shut down in the hospitals. This experience has prompted the countrys health system to put a plan in place for any type of outbreak. People should be reassured that this isnt going to be a flu pandemic, she tells Yahoo Canada. Its highly unlikely. Hospitals are prepared for respiratory outbreaks...systems are in place to isolate people immediately. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious diseases specialist at Toronto General Hospital, published a peer-review paper on the exportation of this novel coronavirus from Wuhan before cases had been reported outside the country. The study looked at travel patterns, both direct and indirect, through commercial airlines from Wuhan to different places in the world. Story continues A graphic rendering of a coronoavirus. (Getty) We found the greatest risk for disease exportation from Wuhan was mostly for larger, urban centres within Asia, he says. Places like Bangkok, Tokyo, Seoul and Hong Kong. Since the piece was published, theres been confirmation of cases in some of these cities. He also affirms that Canadians shouldnt be anxious about the spread of this illness. Bogoch says health officials in Canada are receiving many messages from national, provincial and local public health authorities with information like when to suspect cases, how to obtain appropriate samples for testing and how to isolate patients who are suspected to have the coronavirus. Theres increasing information to health care providers on how to manage potential cases of this, he says. What is the virus emerging in China? The coronavirus that is spreading through China is a SARS-like virus. The belief amongst health officials is that its likely being spread through human-to-human transmission. However, it might be transmitted by other species. In China, the density of the population in proximity to animals is very high. If it is a cross-species jump, those kinds of things are unlikely to happen in Canada, because urban folks dont live too close to pigs, Fish says. Theyre highly likely to happen in countries where people live in close proximity to open markets. There isnt a vaccine for this virus There isnt an antiviral or vaccine to target the current coronavirus thats spreading through China. So if someone were to turn up in a Canadian hospital with symptoms, they would receive supportive care to target respiratory issues, like getting put on nasal prongs to oxygenate the blood. The virus itself causes an inflammatory response so the best thing to do is target the virus so you dont get all that sequela from that virus infection, says Fish. When targeted by a virus infection, the bodys immune system produces something called interferon. Many viruses, including coronaviruses, encode in their genomes factors that block the interferon response. So when SARS spread to Toronto, doctors treated patients with interferon, which resulted in positive outcomes. Fish hopes that the same protocol will be put in place if the current virus spreads internationally. If there are severely ill hospitalized patients, why arent we thinking about interferon again, she says. Be aware if travelling to China Canadians who are travelling to China should be acutely aware of the regions where the coronavirus is being reported. It would also be useful to inform the Canadian embassy if youll be travelling to affected regions, so that if something were to happen, they will know how to reach you. Finally, be aware of symptoms. These include fever, coughing, shortness of breath and a feeling of tightness in the chest. There are processes in place and plans that have been developed as a consequence of SARS, says Fish. I think were well prepared. Should there be an outbreak, this would kick into gear. With files from The Canadian Press Larijani calls on EU to observe justice dealing with JCPOA IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Tehran, Jan 19, IRNA -- Iran's Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani on Sunday deplored the negative stance taken by the three European countries, calling on them to observe justice in dealing with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. If Europe for any reason follows unjust behavior to invoke Article 37 of the JCPOA, Iran will then take a serious action towards its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, Larijani said in a statement to the formal session of the parliament this morning. Censuring the decision of three European countries- France, Germany and Britain- to invoke a dispute settlement mechanism envisaged by the context of the JCPOA, Larijani said their decision is regrettable. A European minister declared clearly that the US has threatened Europe to raise EU car imports tariffs if they refuse to trigger the dispute settlement mechanism, Larijani said. The problem is not in Iran's conduct of the JCPOA, it is the US fault, the speaker said, adding that Iran does not threaten anyone and it has compromised for a long time since the US withdrawal in 2018 while Europe has only issued political statements over the past two years. The United States withdrew unilaterally from the JCPOA between Iran and the world powers- US, UK, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany- in May, 2018 and reinstated sanctions lifted by the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231. As Larijani stressed, Iran will take reciprocal measure towards what the Europeans do. 1483**1416 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The Crabb Family will be releasing their brand new album via Daywind Records, 20/20. The iconic family group will see their new album in stores and on online on February 28th. The new album is preceded by the single 'I See Revival," the family's first single in eight years. The single and the album, 20 /20, produced by Jason Crabb and Scott Godsey, prove that there is nothing like the Crabb Family songs and sounds. They are in a league of their own and have not lost a single step since retiring from full-time performing as a group. This new projects marks the return of The Crabb Family to their longtime label home, Daywind Records, with a refreshed and renewed vision to impact the future with great gospel music! In early 2020, the Crabb Family will hit the road on a national tour to promote this new project. The 2020 Vision Tour will journey through Louisiana, Texas, California, Arizon, Oklahoma, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia, Florida, South Carolina and North Carolina. Daywind president, Ed Leonard, was effusive in his praise for the new music, "I have never seen Jason and the family work as hard as they did on this record. With their amazing career filled with achievements from Dove Awards to Grammy recognition to international appearances, that says it all." Tracklist: 1. I See Revival 2. Stones 3. Mountaintop for Me 4. Walk on Water 5. My King is Known by Love 6. The Altar Still Calls 7. Never Been 8. Keep Me 9. If God Is For Me 10. Sister Play that Tamborine Tags : the crabb family the crabb family new album Daywind Records the crabb family 20/20 the crabb family 20/20 tour Daywind Records Jason Crabb The New York Times editorial board endorsed the two leading female candidates for the Democratic Partys presidential nomination on Sunday, throwing its support behind Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. The boards decision to back not one but two candidates is a significant break with convention, one that it says is meant to address the realist and radical models being presented to voters by the 2020 Democratic field. While arguing that President Trump must be defeated, the board does not take a position on the best path forward for Democrats, writing that both approaches warrant serious consideration. (The editorial board is separate from the New York Times newsroom.) The two female senators have released some of the most detailed policy plans of the candidates remaining in the primary campaign, prompting the board to praise each one as the standard-bearer for her wing of the party. There will be those dissatisfied that this page is not throwing its weight behind a single candidate, favoring centrists or progressives, the board writes. But its a fight the party itself has been itching to have since Hillary Clintons defeat in 2016, and one that should be played out in the public arena and in the privacy of the voting booth. This story originally appeared on KCRA. MANTECA, Calif. A Manteca school bus driver was put on administrative leave after parents say their children experienced a scary ride home. Parents said the children experienced a frightening ordeal Thursday afternoon and called them from the school bus crying and afraid. They became concerned when their children were late coming home from school. The students on the bus said the driver was going in circles and driving erratically. "When she made a U-turn, she just hooked it right in the middle of the intersection and went right over the curb," said mother Leticia Maravilla. Her 7-year-old daughter Sophia was one of many students at New Haven Elementary School who were on the bus that was late dropping them off. When it was 30 minutes late, Maravilla called both the school and the school district and was told to be patient. Sophia told her mom the bus driver was driving erratically -- even climbing curbs. "My daughter was telling (the driver), 'I don't feel good. I have a headache.' And she told my daughter, 'Does it look like I care? You're not even supposed to be talking to me,'" Maravilla said. Veronica Ornellas was waiting for her two sons to get off the school bus when her 12-year-old son David called her. "He was saying that we're still at the school, and that's when we were like, 'What do you mean you're still at the school? It's 40 minutes after school is over,'" Ornellas recalled. David told Ornellas that the bus driver was refusing to drive any of the kids home. "She was just on her phone the whole time," said 12-year-old David Ornellas. "She was just totally ignoring us. We were like, 'Why is the bus not moving?' And, she was just sitting there -- 45 minutes later, she finally moves." Ornellas said she could hear kids screaming and crying in the background. "I'm worried, concerned," Ornellas said. "What is going through her mind? Why isn't my child home? Is she losing it? Is she going to crash? I don't know." The Manteca Unified School District said the bus driver notified them of a problem with the students' behavior during the route. Officials released the following statement Friday: "Student safety is our number one priority. Yesterday, during a route from school to home, an operator communicated student behavior was interfering with school bus safety. The operator was asked by the director of transportation to locate a safe stopping point in order to allow the transfer of students safely to another bus." The parents said their children were taken back to the school, where they ended up driving there to pick them up. A spokesperson for the school district said officials are currently looking at video footage from on board the bus to determine exactly what happened and whether the proper protocols were followed. The bus driver has been put on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of their investigation. Lapan Erapu was very much offended with my argument that Ngugi wa Thiong'o stopped writing works of literature with Weep Not Child and the River Between .This was during an after-noon session which was held to discuss the perspectives on Ngugi as one of the conference topics discoursed on during The 3rd Eastern Africa Cultural and Literary Studies Conference held in August 2015 at Makerere University. Lapan Erapu defended his position on Ngugi's literary relevance by asking me then to clarify what Ngugi has been doing since 1975, the year in which the River Between was written.I told him that Ngugi has only been writting marxist pamphletes backed up with socialist phrasemongering. The panelists and the house were all not comfortable with my position. Lapan Erapu went a head to finish his presentation with extensive reading to the house about circumcision of Muthoni, a sub-story from the River Between.Erapu read the story while very moody , his moodiness was made more conspicuous by a coincidence that he was in very old and eshabilly T-shirt, long trouser, and slippers that he had put on for the conference that day. Professor Busolo and C J Odhiambo of Moi University had something objective to say about Ngugi, but the feelings of Nationalim made them to remain mum, they also didn't want to upset their fellow workmates ; Dr Ndogo and Dr Mbogo that were also in the house, the last two were overtly in personalty worship of Ngugi. However, Alois Kwitonda of Makerere University borrowed critical culture from French Literature to concede that it is true Ngugi has not been honest, objective and orginal in his literary venturing. The fact is that Lapan Erapu was either only sympathetic or self-congratulatory in his deification of Ngugi as a writer of literary works .Resaon for professor Erapu's sentimentality can possibly range from post-colonial psychology, regional consciousness, age-mate psychology and former-colleague-syndrome. Otherwise any honest analysis will give us nothing else but deliberate misuse of Kenya's history and social structure as the main forte in Ngugi's writtings. These facts became bare and a public reality during the last month, the month of February 2019 when Ngugi was on a literary tour in Kenya, gallivanting around and gadabouting to popularise The Perfect Nine his last book about Nine women that never got married but still gave birth to the gigkuyu people, Ngugi also preached his usual gospel of writting in gigkuyu as well as praising his four children as the only popular up-coming writers from Kenya and the Eastern Africa region. I am among the people that attended Ngugi's recent Public lecture at St Paul University in Limuru. I was sitting in the gallery, the room was full. People had come from all range of human diversities to attend the lecture.Dr Joyce Nyairo was the facilitator of the event.Thus, it was not a gikuyu traditional meeting but a Pan-humanist cultural and literary event.But to the disappointement of us all that were present Ngugi chose to speak in gikuyu, sing loudly in giguyu and dance raucously in gikuyu. Why Ngugi chose to neglect his audience is what I cannot understand.The only people that understood what Ngugi was singing are a handfull of old gikuyu men probably circumcised in 1950's , perhaps with gigkuyu old women of the same age range . The youths that were at the function did not understand Ngugi, one youth whispered to me a question in kiswahili wanting to know if Ngugi is a sangoma or an afro-cinema clown.I kept mum, I did not answer the inguistive youth. Ngugi failled to apreciate the fact that Limuru University is only forty minutes drive from Nairobi, and hence Limuru is a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-racial, multi-conscious, multi-gender,multi-cultural and multi-class society operating in Kiswahili, Shengi and English as the main languages of communication, but not in gikuyu which is only a village dialect used mostly in the far away heart of the rural areas of Mount Kenya communities.This type of intentional insensitivity to the nature of composition and cultural structure of modern African society as presented in Kenya is deliberate conspiracy against Pan-Africanism which only renders Ngugi a true Mcguffin of modern African literature. During the same funcion Ngugi mentioned in scanty English that he was detained by the governement of Kenya for his community theatre movement.But he did not manage to say that he was detained and imprisoned by Jomo Kenyatta.In his facial expresssions Ngugi was implying that it was Daniel Moi the then Vice President that was a a dictator but not Jomo Kenyatta that was the then President.Ngugi is not honest in communicating such out-right falsehood to the un-suspecting youths of Kenya. Importantly,Ngugi is not the only person that was detained at Kamiti by the colonial, Jomo Kenyatta and other subseguent governements in Kenya . The historical list of those that were once detained at Kamiti by different governements in Kenya include Martin Shikuku, Elijah Masinde, Arap Manyei, Joash Walumoli, Markhan Singh, Raila Odinga, Wafula Buke, Abdallatif Abdalla (the poet) and many others.Thus Ngugi should not be presenting the history of detention in Kenya as if it was all about him .More critical is the fact that it was only Abdallatif Abdalla that was detained for literary work in his poem Kenya Twaendapi ?( which way foward kenya ?).Ngugi was not detained because of literature, he was suspected to be knowing something about possibility of armed underground movement against the governement of the day.Ngugi has only been using literature as a scape-goat through which he can justify himself before the public eyes, but eyes of reason have obviously refused . In a recent interview with Julius Sigei of the Nairobi Saturday Nation Ngugi was asked to comment about the current state of writting in East Africa.Unfortunately Ngugi upset many of his readers when he said in his answer that there are no writers in East Africa, because he has not seen any young person writting in mother tongue from East Africa. He only mentioned his children to be the most famous young writers from the region. However, the paradox here is that Ngugi's children are Mukoma, Nducu, Wanjiru and Tee, they all write in English but not in mother tongue. Ngugi's children-writers are not studied anywhere in colleges and universities in East Africa. I believe that it is very obective to dismiss Ngugi as a victim of dynastic thoughts and selfish syndrome for declining from mentioning young writers from East Africa. Factually, the East African regions is now a potpouri of polished young writers ranging from Shailja Patel the poet, Jenniffer Nasumbiga Makumbi the author of Kintu, Gorret Kyomundu the author of Waiting, Peter Kagai the poet , Ken Walibora the author of Siku Njema , Makena Ojerika the author of Fanta black Currant, Sitawa Namwalie the poet , Lutomia Namatsi the poet , Godwin Siundu the literary essayist ,Alexei Teyeisie the queer writer , Henry Ole Kulet the author of Blossoms of the Savanah, Wekhomba Gubende the political satirist ,Pius Khisa the poet ,Abanea Ndago the novelist and literary essayist, Siboe Makokha the literary realist ,Grace Musilla the anti-afro-politanist , Pamela Muhando the poet and scholar, Joseph Situma the author of the Gift of the Night , Tony Mochama the literary bolekeja and a plethora of other young and gifted writers from Tanzania, Somalia, Southern Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi , Mauritius and Erhiopia. I mean the writers and artists in the station of Lupita Nyong'o. It was too selfish for Ngugi to tell Julius Sigei that he is only aware of Meja Mwangi as a writer from Kenya for sheer number of Novels written by Mwangi.This was somewhat tribalistic.Mwangi and Ngugi are both gikuyu.Ngugi has all the memory resources to remember other writers in the age-grade of Meja Mwangi. For example, David Maillu is in the age grade of Mwangi. Maillu is known all over the world.University of Bayereuth and the University of Melbourne have honoured Maillu with Docotorate degree in literature.Professor Evan Mwangi and Professor Tom Odhiambo did their Phd reserach on David Maillu's Broken Drum.But Ngugi pretends he is not aware of any good writer from Kenya. He is wrong.This is my question to Ngugi-which books are you using when teaching African literature at Irvine ? Are you only using the books of your four children? have you already forgotten Keoraptse Kgotsile the poet who helped you to get American exile ? what about your colleagues at the University of Nairobi-Chris Wanjala, P' Bitek, Mphalele and Kofi Omotso? Karl Marx categorized socialism into prosaic socialism , utopian socialism and scietinfic socialism. During the last century Ngugi used to profess some socialism. I believe, he belongs to the second category of socialism.He is a utopian socialist.My clasification of Ngugi as a utopian socialist gets a justification in Ngugi's persistent arguement that Mau Mau was a revolutionary movement. Ngugi is wrong. Mau Mau was an armed insurrection demanding the British to return land to the Gikuyu.Ngugi has often refused to mention other movements that substantially fought for freedom in Kenya . Markan Singh's and Tom Mboya's Trade Unionism, Oginga Odinga's scientific communism, and Elijah Masinde's Dini ya Msambwa( religious freedom) were more revolutionary in structure than the Mau Mau that was only focussed on the gikuyu getting land from the British. When Launching his book Christmas in Lodwar (2014) at the Lodwar Museum that also huses the vestiges of the colonial prison in which Jomo Kenyatta, Paul Ngei and Ochieng Oneko were detained , Taban Lo Liyong averred that Paul Ngei was a true freedom fighter, Just as Oneko was a very disciplined and very honest communist.But Jomo Kenyatta was wayward, connish and evidently a saleout.Liyong also observed that it was only Jomo Kenyatta that used to have sugar in his porridge, that it was only Jomo Kenyatta that accessed contrabanded beer from the white prison warders. The facts observed above by Taban Lo Liyong are some basic indicators of Jomo Kenyatta being what others did not know.Jomo Kenyatta was also the leader of Mau Mau.An organization headed by a leader with such a character of petty opportunism cannot be a revolutionary organization.Ngugi was supposed to tell us this five decades ago. There are clique of people from Kenya in the likes Ng'ang'a Mbugua, the author of Different Colours, who are ever blaming the Nobel Prize committee for not giving Ngugi a literature Nobel Prize.Unfortunaltey, these same people have never guestioned the originality of Ngugi's writtings. Such people are supposed to study the works of the past literature Nobel laureates, they would have come to a discovery that un-blemished originality is the key attribute of the past literature Nobel laureates.Ngugi is never original.For example, Weep Not a Child is a line borrowed from the poem by Whalt Witman, A Grain of Wheat is a biblical statement, Petals of Blood is an over-daptation of God's Bits of Wood, Wizard of the Crow is an over-adaptation of Midnight's Children, Globalectics is a mirror image of Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed but in Fanonian syntax. And also Nigerian Scholars sometimes argue with tongues in their cheeks that Mubenz a story in Ngugi's Secret Lives look exactly like Achebe's No Longer at Ease.Thus, it is not too early to argue by pointong out that such extent of intellectual laziness nourishing itself on the aged sinews of utopian marxism can not make Ngugi to get Nobel recognition for literature Prize. It is not dangerous for an African to write in European languages like English and French the way Ngugi has been ringing an alarm .History of literature is full of success Writers that wrote in forein Languages.The likes of Paul the writers of epistles in the Bible,Joseph Conrad, Frantz Kafka, Oscar Wilde, William Butler Yeats, Alex Haley, Beecher Stowe, Ayn Rand, Vladimir Nabokov and many others did not write in their mother tongue. But still literary criticism has never blamed them for their choice of langauge.This logic of extensions permits one to argue that a young Kenyan writer writting in English is not endagered whatsoever, furthermore English is now an African langauge.This does not mean that I am not for African literature in indigenous languages.I do enjoy reading poems, plays, novels and essays in Kiswahili.Kiswahili is the only indegenous East African language we have to apreciate and invest in.All other dialects like gikuyu, luganda , luhyia etc are just priminitve inconveniences we can do without.Any intellectualized move against Kiswahili is an open impeachement against African dignity inherent in the Pan-African Philosophy. Thus,let Ngugi and his followers embrace Kiswahili , it is the true indigenous langauge of the people of Eastern Africa. Alexander Opicho writes from- Lodwar, Kneya - [email protected] A retired couple from Sydneys south-west are celebrating their new multi-millionaire fortune after walking around with their winning Lotto ticket for a week. The couple won the Oz Lotto draw on January 14, taking home $5,209,329.11. A second division one winning ticket was snapped up by a grandmother. The couple said they had only just checked the winning numbers. Weve won five million dollars? the shocked couple said on Monday when speaking with NSW Lotteries. We only check our tickets once a week. We had no idea wed been walking around with this winning ticket in our wallet, they said. The couple purchased the ticket from a news agency in Narellan. Source: Facebook/Narellan NewspowerGo & Office Supplies The pair said they will seriously think about what theyre going to spend the money on once they calm down. I guess theres plenty we can do with our prize! Our options are pretty much endless, they said. The winning ticket was purchased at a Narellan news agency. Employee Dee Appleton said the win was a great way to start 2020. Its so exciting to unite these winners with their prize and its great that this amazing prize has gone to our local customers, she said. Its an incredible prize and were just so happy for them. The couple from Sydney found out they had won $5.2 million after almost a week since the winning numbers were announced. Source: The Lott Its been great to kick off the year selling this winning entry and we hope its the beginning of many more for our customers. When it was announced a winning ticket had been purchased at the store, owner David Thomsen said he was expecting a flurry of people to check their tickets to see if they had won. Weve sold multiple division one winning entries over the past 36 years, but the feeling never gets old! Mr Thomsen said. The other division one winner was revealed to be a grandmother from the Sunshine Coast who purchased her winning ticket from Melton Lotto & TSG in Victoria while on holiday. A woman holidaying in Victoria didn't expect to pick up a winning lotto ticket. Source: The Lott She said she did not expect to go on a trip and come back a multi-millionaire. I just dont think I am absorbing the news that I am a multi-millionaire. I think Ill be in shock for weeks! she said on January 16, two days after the winners were announced. Story continues 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. Andhra Pradesh finance minister Buggana Rajendranath on Monday introduced the Andhra Pradesh De-centralisation and Development of all Regions Bill 2020 in the House during the Special Session of the state Assembly. State Minister of Municipal Administration and Urban Development, Botsa Satyanarayana introduced the Andhra Pradesh CRDA Repeal Bill in the house. TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu held a protest near the state assembly against the proposal of three capitals. They demanded Amaravati to be retained as the sole capital for Andhra Pradesh. He along with TDP MLAs walked into the assembly and sat on the steps in front of the assembly. Later he and TDP MLAs entered into the house. Earlier, the Andhra Pradesh Cabinet approved four bills to be placed in the house. The cabinet meeting was presided over by the Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. The bills are said to be on Decentralisation of AP development, repealing of AP CRDA act, benefits related to Amaravati region farmers, converting all Andhra Pradesh govt schools into English medium into separate identities. The cabinet also gave nod to the recommendations of the high power committee on AP all-round development and decentralization of governance. The three-day special session of Andhra Pradesh assembly began amid tight security while section 144, which prohibits assembly of four or more people in the area, was imposed in some parts of Vijayawada and Guntur to facilitate smooth functioning of the State Assembly proceedings and movement of public representatives. The Committee proposed Visakhapatnam as the executive capital and Kurnool the judicial capital while retaining Amaravati as the legislative capital. Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Monday said he is reviewing the progress of 16 power projects in the state. He said that a number of projects have been stuck due to different reasons such as land acquisition, delay in the submission of detailed project reports (DPRs) and laying of transmission lines. "We have been holding a number of review meetings to ensure that these projects move forward. This is not something that will happen overnight or in a day but we are trying to do whatever we can," Sangma told reporters. The chief minister admitted that there were delays in the Kynshi Stage I project due to land acquisition. He, however, said that the government is working to resolve the matter, while the issue of uranium deposit has led to complications in the Kynshi Stage II project. He also informed that many other steps have been taken to ensure that the overall power scenario improves in the state. Sangma said efforts are also being made to ensure that renewable energy is used in different government offices. "We have installed solar panels and currently we are producing around 50 kilowatt a day and once net metering takes place, the power will go back into the grid. This is a system we want to put in place at all the government offices, including the secretariat," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) PR-Inside.com: 2020-01-20 12:30:21 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 963 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / January 20, 2020 / Mawson Resources Limited ("Mawson") or (the "Company") (TSX:MAW) (Frankfurt:MXR) (PINKSHEETS: MWSNF) announces assay results from the first two diamond drill holes reported from the 15,000 metre 2020 winter drill program at the Company's 100% owned Rajapalot Project in Northern Finland.Resource expansion drilling commenced late in 2019 and after a Christmas and New Year break, restarted on January 09, 2020 with five diamond drill rigs focused at Palokas, South Palokas and Raja prospects. Seven drill holes have been completed totaling 1865 metres.The drill program aims to infill and extend the Palokas, South Palokas and Raja resource areas (Figure 1) delivering the data for an updated resource estimate at the end of Q2-Q3 2020;Highlights:At the South Palokas prospect, drill hole PAL0204 intersected 9.0 metres @ 6.3 g/t gold from 93.7 metres (Tables 1-3, Figures 1-2):PAL0204 extends mineralization at a significantly higher grade than the adjacent blocks 25 metres northeast of the inferred South Palokas resource published in December 2018;At the Palokas prospect, drill hole PAL0205 intersected 4.5 metres @ 4.5 g/t gold from 101.0 metres:PAL0205 is located 60 metres southwest of earlier high-grade intersections (PAL0027 6.8 metres @ 14.7 g/t gold from 34.4 metres);Cobalt and multi-element assays remain pending;Drilling continues with two drill rigs at each of Palokas and South Palokas prospects and one at Raja prospect.Mr. Hudson, Chairman and CEO, states, "With both drill holes extending the Palokas and South Palokas resource areas, this is a solid start to our winter drilling. It is a testament to the increased geological understanding of the controls on Rajapalot mineralization that we are obtaining high-grade intersections at the start of the program which will further aid drill targeting the high-grade gold mineralization to depth. We welcome all to Mawson's Core Shack at AME Roundup 2020 from 22nd to 23rd January, to discuss our work programs and view representative samples of drill core, including these new results. Drill results will continue to be reported over the next four months as the planned 15,000 metre drill program continues." A plan view of the completed drill holes and the locations of drill hole targeting for this program are shown in Figure 1. A long section including Palokas and South Palokas is shown in Figure 2, with the locations of PAL0204 and PAL0205. Tables 1-3 include all relevant collar and assay information. Assuming a predominant stratabound control, the true thickness of the mineralized interval is interpreted to be approximately 90% of the sampled thickness. Cobalt data will be provided when multi-element assays are reported by the laboratory. Intersections are reported with a lower-cut of 0.5g/t gold over 1 metre lower cut. No upper cut-off was applied.The hosts rocks to the gold and cobalt mineralization comprise sulphides (pyrrhotite>>pyrite) with biotite-muscovite-chlorite schists at South Palokas and Mg-Fe amphibole-biotite-chlorite rocks at Palokas. Veining and fracture fill minerals include pyrrhotite, magnetite and magnetite-pyrrhotite (+/- quartz, tourmaline). Retrograde chlorite after biotite, generations of secondary muscovite ("sericite") and vein-controlled chlorite+/- tourmaline and magnetite are also present. Preliminary hand-held XRF analysis confirms the presence of associated scheelite and molybdenite, the former visible under UV light as tiny veinlets and disseminations. The minerals associated with the gold are clearly post-metamorphic, reduced, and most likely driven by hydrothermal fluids from nearby granitoid intrusions. Chlorite and fine muscovite are regarded as the lowest temperature silicate minerals with gold, structurally controlled in apparent spatial association with quartz and/or K-feldspar veins. Altered rocks enclosing the mineralized package contain locally abundant talc and tourmaline.Downhole electro-magnetic ("DHEM") surveys on drill holes in the deep Palokas area have also been completed over the last week to target down-plunge sulphidic mineralization and mise-a-la-masse surveys to confirm cross-hole and continuity to surface of mineralization are ongoing.Technical and Environmental BackgroundFive diamond drill rigs from the Arctic Drilling Company OY ("ADC") and Kati OY ("Kati") all with water recirculation and drill cuttings collection systems are used in the drill program. Core diameter is NQ2 (50.7 mm). Core recoveries are excellent and average close to 100% in fresh rock. After photographing and logging in Mawson's Rovaniemi facilities, core intervals averaging 1 metre for mineralized samples and 2 metres for barren samples are cut in half at the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) core facilities in Rovaniemi, Finland. The remaining half core is retained for verification and reference purposes. Analytical samples are transported by commercial transport from site to the CRS Minlab Oy facility in Kempele, Finland. Samples were prepared and analyzed for gold using the PAL1000 technique which involves grinding the sample in steel pots with abrasive media in the presence of cyanide, followed by measuring the gold in solution with flame AAS equipment. The QA/QC program of Mawson consists of the systematic insertion of certified standards of known gold content, duplicate samples by quartering the core, and blanks the within interpreted mineralized rock. In addition, CRS inserts blanks and standards into the analytical process.The qualified person for Mawson's Finnish projects, Dr. Nick Cook, President for Mawson and a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining Metallurgy has reviewed and verified the contents of this release.NI 43-101 Technical Report:On December 19, 2018, Mawson filed an independent National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report (the "NI 43-101 Technical Report") on the Mineral Resource Estimate for the Raja and Palokas Prospects, at the 100% owned Rajapalot Project in Finland, (the "NI 43-101 Technical Report"), in support of the Company's news release dated December 17, 2018. The NI 43-101 Technical Report was authorized by Mr. Rod Webster of AMC Consultants Pty Ltd ("AMC") of Melbourne, Australia, and Dr. Kurt Simon Forrester of Arn Perspective of Surrey, England. Each of Mr. Webster and Dr. Forrester are independent "qualified persons" as defined by National Instrument 43-101. The NI 43-101 Technical Repo RJD leader and former deputy chief minister of Bihar Tejashwi Prasad Yadav is leading from Raghopur constituency against the BJPs Satish Kumar. Tejashwi Yadav-led Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) will contest four Assembly seats in Delhi in alliance with the Indian National Congress. Voting in all 70 seats of the Delhi Assembly will happen on February 8. Counting of votes will happen on February 11. RJD had initially demanded 10 percent seats in Delhi from the Congress. However, it was finally decided that the party would contest on four constituencies -- Burari, Kirari, Palam and Uttamnagar, senior RJD leader and Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha said. "We have a list of 39-40 candidates for the four seats and our SWOT analysis is going on. We will announce our candidates on Monday," he said. The last day for filing of nomination papers for the Delhi polls is January 21. RJD, banking on presence of a sizeable number of Purvanchali voters in Delhi, would hope to open its account in the national capital with the help of its senior alliance partner. "We will give a good fight on all the four seats we are contesting," Jha said. Delhi Congress unit chief Subhash Chopra said the alliance will help the Congress in its efforts of challenging the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and exuded confidence that his party would form government in Delhi. The Congress, which ruled the city for three consecutive terms from 1998 to 2013, will for the first time go in the Assembly polls in Delhi in alliance with another party. Taking a dig at the AAP and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for "not being vocal" against the CAA and NRC, he said, "We are not opposed to Kejriwal but we do not appreciate his silence on fundamental issues that are currently being talked about." RJD had presence in Delhi and it contested elections. Out of the four seats it has got in the pre-poll alliance, the party had earlier unsuccessfully contested in Kirari, Burari and Palam seats. As a member of United Progressive Alliance (UPA), RJD contested recent Jharkhand Assembly polls along with Hemant Sorens Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Congress and bagged one seat. (With inputs from PTI) Air Serbia will be adding frequencies to several cities in the former Yugoslavia this coming summer season, with Ljubljana, Zagreb and Skopje to see extra flights while the Croatian market will have the most capacity overall. The Serbian carrier will maintain the additional frequencies it introduced to Ljubljana following the collapse of Adria Airways in late September, with the carrier to run seventeen weekly flights between the Serbian and Slovenian capitals, up from twelve for the majority of the 2019 summer season. Operations will be increased to Zagreb as well, with services to operate thirteen times per week, up from eleven. Furthermore, frequencies to Skopje will grow from nine per week last summer to thirteen weekly rotations this year. Sarajevo will also see extra capacity starting June 20 with one of the seven weekly flights to Bosnia and Herzegovina's capital to operate with the ninety-seat Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft instead of the 68-seat ATR72 turboprop Seasonal flights to Rijeka, Dubrovnik, Split, Zadar and Pula in Croatia will all resume in 2020 with the same number of flights, however, services to Rijeka will commence over a month ahead of the rest, in late April. Air Serbia will be offering over 170.000 seats between Belgrade and its Croatian destinations next summer season. In December, the airline said it was extremely positive, at least for us and our region, that 2020 will be great. It added, We are planning an 18% increase in seats and we will announce ten new destinations. Further afield, the carrier will increase frequencies to Barcelona, Larnaca, Madrid, Tirana and Prague. The Serbian Minister for Finance, Sinisa Mali, who in the past served as the Chairman of the airlines Supervisory Board, previously said, Our goal is to eventually fly twice daily to all cities in the region but before we do that we need to connect the last city in the former Yugoslavia that we do not fly to yet - Pristina. A political and public opinion polling agency, which is said to be close to Serbias ruling party, recently started conducting a survey to gage public opinion on the resumption of flights between Belgrade and Pristina. The Serbian government formed a task force for the "normalisation of air travel in the Balkans" in 2017 with its main objective being the resumption of services between the two cities, however, no concrete results have been achieved since. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Ukraine is working over the issue of possible introduction of the double-citizenship so that the Ukrainian diaspora in the United States, for instance, could freely return to Ukraine. "The US is our strategic partner, and we are very grateful for the support we get as they came to us at a difficult time. Our youth has a very positive attitude toward the US, and we hope that more of our young people will be able to get a great education at American universities, which are among the best in the world. We are happy for people to go and gather experience, but we also want our diaspora in the US to be free to return, so we are working on a double-citizenship reform," he said in an interview with the ezine Newsweek. Germany Hosts Crucial Summit In Bid To End Libyan Fighting, Prevent 'New Syria' By RFE/RL January 19, 2020 Representatives of more than 10 countries, including Turkey, the United States, and Russia, are gathering in Berlin on January 19 in an attempt to end the conflict in Libya and prevent what some fear could result in another Syria-like refugee crisis. Chancellor Angela Merkel is hosting the presidents of Turkey, France, and Russia and other world leaders under the UN-backed meeting to convince outside powers to stop fueling the conflict with troops, arms, or financial support. Organizers of the Berlin talks have expressed hopes that the parties will emerge with a firmer cease-fire and commitments to avoid stoking conflict in the oil-rich North African state of around 7 million people. The leaders of Libya's UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli and rebel leader Khalifa Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA), based in the city of Tobruk, were also expected to attend. GNA head Fayez al-Serraj reportedly cast doubt on Haftar's agenda just hours before the meeting, telling the German dpa news agency on January 19 that "long experience makes us doubt the intentions, seriousness, and commitment of the other side, whom everyone knows seeks powers at any price." On his way to the meeting, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged other leaders not to "sacrifice" hopes for a cease-fire there "to the ambitions of the merchants of blood and chaos." The GNA is supported by NATO-member Turkey and its ally Qatar. Turkey and Russia have both been criticized by UN and Western officials who say their efforts to arm their allies have led to an intensification of the violence. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is attending for the United States, and China, Britain, Italy, Egypt, Algeria, and the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) were all expected to have representatives at the summit. A draft communique circulating early on January 19 urged rival sides to refrain from hostilities against oil infrastructure, agencies reported as senior officials from countries backing the warring parties converged in the German capital. The communique was among the topics up for discussion. Tribesmen loyal to Haftar have reportedly blocked off all oil ports in eastern Libya. The draft communique reportedly described Tripoli-based state oil company NOC as the only legitimate entity that can sell Libyan oil. A cease-fire had been scheduled to enter into force on January 12, but it has been shaky at best. And Haftar left talks last week in Moscow without signing a cease-fire deal proposed by Moscow and Ankara. Shaky Cease-Fire Libya has been plagued with violence and unrest since a NATO-backed campaign ousted longtime dictator Muammar Qaddafi in 2011. There are international fears that further conflict could spark another flood of refugees from the region similar to the Syrian exodus amid an ongoing war there. UN experts and diplomats say Russian military contractors in recent months have deployed alongside Haftar's LNA, which has also received air support from the U.A.E. and backing from Jordan and Egypt. Moscow denies direct military involvement. Erdogan announced earlier this month that he had dispatched Turkish military elements to Libya to ensure stability for the GNA. The United Nations, European Union, and Arab League are also participating in the Berlin summit. A U.S. official traveling with Pompeo told reporters in Berlin that Libya's conflict is increasingly becoming like Syria, where a multiyear civil war has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions, with many fleeing to Europe to create an immigration crisis. "I think it's so complex and the heels are so far dug in that I would have moderate expectations as we go into this," the official said on the eve of the summit. At the meeting, Germany and the UN will push rival Libyan camps fighting over the capital, Tripoli, to agree to a truce and monitoring mechanism as first steps toward peace, diplomats and a draft communique said. With reporting by Reuters, AP, dpa, and AFP Source: 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 ANSONIA The life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. was marked Monday at Macedonia Baptist Church, as more than 150 people, including local and state officials, packed the church and for more than two hours, sang together, prayed together and joined hands in celebration of the inspirational Baptist minister and civil rights leader. The uplifting event was organized by the church and the Ansonia Branch No. 2000 of the NAACP. A hopeful message of helping neighbors, learning how to love and not hate, putting service above self and coming together as a community to fight injustice, along with so many other beliefs King held so dear, resounded throughout the churchs walls. In todays world, where the country is seemingly divided by political views, speakers during Mondays tribute encouraged all to rise above the hate and tumultuous times, and reflect on Kings words that you only need a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love, to continue to push forward his dream of equality and justice for all. Dr. King strove to bring everyone together and to put service before self, said state Sen. George Logan, R-Ansonia. His dream will never die. State House Majority Leader Themis Klarides, R-Derby, said growing up in a large Greek family, surrounded by love, she didnt see the world in black and white where people were defined by the color of their skin. It wasnt until college that Klarides realized the injustices people fight every day, because of their skin color, and that motivated her. I fight all day, every day, Klarides said. Its in my genes. I go to sleep fired up and I wake up fired up. People say they see me on TV and I say, who was I fighting with? When we (politicians) fight with each other, thats OK, because we are passionate about what were fighting for. But we should never fight because of the color of our skin or what religion we believe in. Rev. King fought for what he believed in and that wasnt the popular thing to do back then. But he did it because he believed it. And I ask everyone here to embrace one of his quotes: I have decided to stick with love hate is too great a burden to bear. Mayor David Cassetti encouraged all those in power, with the ability to persuade in front of large audiences, to help fight the forces of evil. Whatever your role is in this world, use your power to do good, he said. Church pastor the Rev. Alfred L. Smith Jr. said Ansonia has come a long way in honoring Kings legacy, especially in having a bronze bust of King the second in the state grace the front lawn of City Hall, and dedicated last year. The fundraising effort for the bust over the last couple of years found the community coming to achieve something great. Its an example of what we can accomplish together, black or white, Smith said. Keeping alive Kings legacy and inspiring future generations to carry his message forward is something Superintendent of Schools Joseph DiBacco is out in front of. DiBacco made an announcement, to uproarious applause from the crowd, that all Ansonia High School students going forward will graduate having earned an MLK community service credit. That is how we will help to make a great mans legacy live on, DiBacco said. Following the program, many attendees walked across the nearby Maple Street Bridge in a silent march to City Hall to pay homage and their respects at Kings memorial. jean.sos@snet.net Navy Will Name A Future Ford Class Aircraft Carrier After WWII Hero Doris Miller Navy News Service Story Number: NNS200119-01 Release Date: 1/19/2020 9:26:00 AM From Acting Secretary of the Navy Public Affairs WASHINGTON (NNS) -- Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas B. Modly will name a future Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier in honor of World War II hero Ship's Cook Third Class Doris Miller during a ceremony in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Jan. 20. The announcement will be made at a Martin Luther King Jr. Day ceremony, highlighting the contributions of African Americans to the greatest generation. This will be the second ship named in honor of Miller, and the first aircraft carrier ever named for an African American. This will also be the first aircraft carrier to be named in honor of a Sailor for actions while serving in the enlisted ranks. "In selecting this name, we honor the contributions of all our enlisted ranks, past and present, men and women, of every race, religion and background," said Modly. "Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. observed, 'Everybody can be great - because anybody can serve'. No one understands the importance and true meaning of service than those who have volunteered to put the needs of others above themselves." On Dec. 7, 1941, Miller was collecting laundry on the battleship West Virginia (BB-48), when the attack from Japanese forces commenced. When the alarm for general quarters sounded he headed for his battle station, an anti-aircraft battery magazine, only to discover that torpedo damage had wrecked it. Miller was ordered to the ship's bridge to aid the mortally wounded commanding officer, and subsequently manned a .50 caliber Browning anti-aircraft machine gun until he ran out of ammunition. Miller then helped move many other injured Sailors as the ship was ordered abandoned due to her own fires and flaming oil floating down from the destroyed Arizona (BB-33). West Virginia lost 150 of its 1,500 person crew. Miller's actions during the attack earned him a commendation from then Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox and the Navy Cross, which was presented to him personally by Adm. Chester Nimitz, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet at the time. Nimitz stated: this marks the first time in this conflict that such high tribute has been made in the Pacific Fleet to a member of his race and I'm sure the future will see others similarly honored for brave acts. "Doris Miller stood for everything that is good about our nation, and his story deserves to be remembered and repeated wherever our people continue the watch today," said Modly. In 1943, Miller died aboard USS Liscome Bay (CVE 56) when the ship was hit by a torpedo and sank off Butaritari Atoll in the Gilbert Islands. The future USS Doris Miller and other Ford-class carriers will be the premier forward asset for crisis response and humanitarian relief, and early decisive striking power in a major combat operations. The aircraft carrier and the carrier strike group will provide forward presence, rapid response, endurance on station, and multi-mission capability throughout its 50-year service life. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Surge in demand of fish protein in pharmaceutical and cosmetics industry, rise in demand for organic animal feed, and increase in demand for fish protein in the poultry feed industry are the major factors propelling the growth of the global fish protein market PORTLAND, Oregon, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Fish Protein Market by Type (Fish Protein Concentrate (FPC), Fish Protein Hydrolysate (FPH), and Fish Protein Isolate (FPI)) and Application (Animal Feed, Pharmaceuticals, and Cosmetic): Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20192026." According to the report, the global fish proteins industry was estimated at $3.19 billion in 2019 and is expected to hit $4.20 billion by 2026, registering a CAGR of 4.0% from 2019 to 2026. Drivers, restraints, and opportunities- Rise in demand of fish protein in pharmaceutical and cosmetics industry, increase in demand for organic animal feed due to growing awareness about toxic effects of chemical based animal feed products, and surge in demand for fish protein in the poultry feed industry drive the growth of the global fish protein market. On the other hand, high cost of fish protein, and low direct intake of fish-based protein impedes the growth to certain extent. However, rise in adoption of Fish Protein Hydrolyzed (FPH) collagen in nutritional cosmetics have created a number of opportunities for the key players in the industry. Request Sample Report at: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/6280 The Fish Protein Concentrate (FPC) segment to retain its dominance by 2026- Based on type, the Fish Protein Concentrate (FPC) segment accounted for more than half of the global fish protein market share in 2019, and is expected to dominate throughout the forecast period. This is attributed to rise in health awareness of fish protein and surge in demand of fish meal as poultry feed. On the other hand, the Fish Protein Hydrolysate (FPH) segment is anticipated to grow at the fastest CAGR of 4.9% by 2026. This is due to upsurge in demand for fish protein in cosmetic industry. The animal feed segment to maintain the lion's share during the study period- Based on application, the animal feed segment contributed to nearly three-fourths of the global fish protein market revenue in 2019, and is anticipated to rule the roost during 20192026. This is attributed to the health benefits of fish protein in animal feed. On the other hand, the pharmaceutical segment, would showcase the fastest CAGR of 5.3% till 2026. The rise in demand of fish protein for wide range of pharmaceutical products and its uses in various medical applications, such as treatment of patients suffering from malnutrition, specific disorders of absorption, digestion, amino acid metabolism, and burns drives the growth of the segment. Europe, followed by North America held the major share in 2019- Based on geography, Europe held the highest share in 2019, generating more than one-third of the global fish protein market. This is attributed to increasing the application of fish protein in animal feed as well as cosmetic industry. On the other hand, North America held the second largest share in 2019, contributing to more than one-fourth of the total market share. Simultaneously, the region across Asia-Pacific would cite the fastest CAGR of 5.6% during the estimated period. This is due to the rise in awareness of fish meal as poultry feed. For Purchase Enquiry at: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/6280 Key market players- Aroma NZ Bevenovo Co Apelsa Guadalajara Mukka Seafood Industries BioOregon Protein Limited Qingdao Future Group Nutrifish New Alliance Dye Chem Pvt. Ltd Scanbio Marine Group Taian Health Chemical Co., Ltd 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 Reports: Fish Farming Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2018-2025 Textured Soy Protein Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2019-2026 Fish Powder Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2019-2026 Fish Processing 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: David Correa 5933 NE Win Sivers Drive #205, Portland, OR 97220 United States USA/Canada (Toll Free): +1-800-792-5285, +1-503-894-6022, +1-503-446-1141 UK: +44-845-528-1300 Hong Kong: +852-301-84916 India (Pune): +91-20-66346060 Fax: +1(855)550-5975 help@alliedmarketresearch.com Web: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com Life Science Market: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/reports-store/life-sciences Follow Us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/allied-market-research SOURCE Allied Market Research Oregon child care regulators imposed first-of-their-kind restrictions Thursday on a Hillsboro day care where an infant died Jan. 6. The Office of Child Care found a serious danger to the health and safety of children and ordered Mrs. Williams Childcare, operated by Jeannette Williams, to stop caring for children younger than 2. Regulators also ordered the 24/7 provider to watch over children who are asleep at all times and to increase staffing beyond the baseline required by law. The order describes the emergency license restrictions as a reasonable precaution to protect children in the care of the facility. State lawmakers approved a bill last year that gave the Office of Childcare the authority to impose emergency conditions. The measure was requested by Gov. Kate Brown. The restrictions imposed on Mrs. Williams Childcare are the first handed down under the new law, spokeswoman Melanie Mesaros said. Regulators investigating the infants death found a serious violation of safe-sleep rules after learning the baby was put to sleep in a play yard with a stuffed animal attached to a pacifier, the order said. Only a pacifier can be in a crib where an infant is sleeping. The investigation into the exact cause of the 3-month-olds death continues as police await final autopsy results, Hillsboro Police spokesman Sgt. Eric Bunday said Friday. The child care remained closed for nearly two weeks after the baby died. Williams told regulators she planned to start caring for children again starting Saturday, according to the emergency order. An Office of Childcare official signed off on the new restrictions two days before the day care was set to reopen. In the past, regulators could only move to suspend a providers license. Officials said they needed more enforcement tools to make sure day cares are operating safely. Williams was first licensed to care for children in 2014. The license allows her in-home day care to take in as many as 16 children at a time. The new restrictions include placing all children to sleep in the homes family room. Thats a change from past practice at Mrs. Williams Childcare, according to policies posted to its website. The policies say children usually sleep overnight in a separate bedroom. Mrs. Williams Childcare must also always have one more caregiver on staff than required by state rule. The new law gives Williams the right to request an administrative hearing about the emergency restrictions placed on her license, which will remain in effect until additional information becomes available that necessitates a reevaluation. Before the law took effect, state regulators often asked or forced providers to shut down in the immediate aftermath of a childs death. The suspensions sometimes became permanent. At least two of the four licensed day cares where infants died in 2017 and 2018 never reopened. No children died at a licensed Oregon day care in 2019. -- Molly Young myoung@oregonian.com Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Read more: Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-21 02:15:25|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close CHICAGO, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Two people were killed and at least 15 others injured after a shooting late night Sunday outside a bar in Kansas City, U.S. state of Missouri, according to police. A man started firing into a line of people waiting to get inside the 9ine Ultra Lounge bar about 11:30 p.m. in the 4800 block of Noland Road, said David Jackson, a Kansas City Police Department spokesman. Police said on Monday that they believed a security guard shot and killed the suspect. A woman was also shot and killed, but her relation to the suspect is unknown. As of Monday morning, the number of injured was at least 15, including three people who were listed in critical condition, Jackson said. It was unclear if all 15 people suffered gunshot wounds. "My thoughts are with the families and friends of those whose lives were lost or impacted by last night's mass shooting. Thankful security appears to have kept the situation from being even worse," Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said on Twitter. The police didn't release the identities of the people killed. They are investigating the motive for the shooting. Former owner Paul Brooks (left) is seen with new owners Adrian and Natalie Harvey A KIDS club which supports more than 500 families has been saved from closure at the 11th hour after new owners stepped in. Wickersley Kids Club was set to close in three weeks after manager Paul Brooks announced his retirement at the start of the month due to uncertainty around the clubs base. But last Saturday, Mr Brooks agreed a new deal with Rawmarsh-based childcare provider Pops Outdoor Adventure, who will continue to run the club from the former Surestart building within the grounds of Flanderwell Primary School for the next 12 months. Mr Brooks (61), who set up the Ofsted-rated good club 16 years ago, said he was overjoyed new providers had been found. I can retire and go on holiday to Vietnam with a big smile on my face, he said. And spend more time with my four grandchildren. Mr Brooks thanked Rotherham Councils head of early years and childcare services, Aileen Chambers, for her intervention and help finding new owners. The takeover has seen all seven fulltime and two part-time jobs saved, securing the provision which provides wrap-around childcare for 530 families, including breakfast and holiday clubs. In November, Mr Brooks was given 12 months notice that the lease would not be renewed by Flanderwell Primary School, which is part of the Diocese of Sheffield Academies Trust (DSAT). He said it would have been verging on the impossible for him to find another premises suitable for 60 to 80 children and so he had made the sad decision to take early retirement. Executive headteacher Alison Adair said the club had rented the space from Flanderwell Primary School for over five years, with the lease agreement being renewed annually. Explaining why notice was served in November, she said: Flanderwell Primary School has grown rapidly in the last few years, with over 100 new pupils joining the school since our outstanding Ofsted inspection in 2018, and, as a result, space is now limited. This year, we have not been able to run the pre-school provision that we have always provided for our families because we have no spare classrooms, which has led us to review our use of the space currently being rented by the club. Ms Adair said the school was very pleased new club owners had been found after Mr Brooks decision to retire, adding: The school will continue to offer the use of our school premises to the club until December 2020, which will allow time for the new owners to find a suitable venue to let. This arrangement will be reviewed after this time and we hope that, with the right management, both the school and club could continue to share the space. We are particularly delighted as we are confident that the new owners will provide outstanding provision, plan exciting activities for the children and we feel that they will work well with us as a school. Pops Outdoor Adventure is run by husband and wife team Adrian and Natalie Harvey, who will continue to negotiate the lease with the school. The Flanderwell centre, not far from their home in Wickersley, is their second permanent base after their Rosehill Park HQ. Mr Harvey said: Our remit of getting children outdoors will bring a lot to the kids club and enhance their service, creating a great experience. The daughter of Angola's ex-president became Africa's richest woman after allegedly syphoning hundreds of millions of pounds of public money into offshore accounts. Isabel dos Santos, who was educated in Kent and London, is said to have got access to deals involving diamonds, oil and telecoms when her father was president. The claims come one month after Angola's prosecutors froze the bank accounts and assets owned by Ms dos Santos, 46, and her Congolese husband Sindika Dokolo, 47. Isabel Dos Santos, 46, with her Congolese husband Sindika Dokolo, 47, in Cannes in May 2014 Isabel dos Santos, pictured between Nicole Sherzinger and Paris Hilton in Cannes in May 2018 Ms dos Santos with Amber Heard (left) and Cara Delevingne (right) at Cannes in May 2014 The couple allegedly steered payments of more than $1billion (800,000) from state companies Sonangol and Sodiam to firms in which they held stakes. One example cited by BBC News claimed that as she left Sonangol, she approved $58million (45million) of payments to Dubai consultants Matter Business Solutions. She claimed no financial interest in Matter, but among the 700,000 leaked papers are documents showing it was run by her business manager and owned by a friend. However, the King's College graduate has denied wrongdoing, saying her fortune is 'built on my character, my intelligence, education, capacity for work, perseverance'. Now Angolan prosecutors vow to use 'all possible' means to bring back Isabel dos Santos, who is accused of using her father's backing to plunder state funds from the oil-rich but impoverished southern African country and - with the help of Western consulting firms - move the money offshore. She stopped living in Angola after her authoritarian father Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who ruled the country for nearly 40 years, stepped down in 2017 for his anointed successor Joao Lourenco. She now spends her time between London and Dubai. 'We will use all possible means and activate international mechanisms to bring Isabel dos Santos back to the country,' prosecutor general Helder Pitra Gros told public radio. 'We have asked for international support from Portugal, Dubai and other countries,' he added. Ms dos Santos, who owns a 13million home in Kensington, West London, has 190,000 Instagram followers and is regularly photographed with celebrities. This graphic shows some of Isabel dos Santos's business interests and assets around the world Ms dos Santos with Lindsay Lohan and Harvey Weinstein at a party in Sardinia in August 2016 Among the stars she has been seen with are Lindsay Lohan, Rita Ora, Nicole Scherzinger, Paris Hilton, Amber Heard, Cara Delevingne and Harvey Weinstein. Ms dos Santos, who has a fortune worth 1.9billion, attended Cobham Hall girls' boarding school in Kent and studied electrical engineering at King's College. The claims will be aired in a Panorama investigation on BBC One at 8.30pm tonight, following a probe by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. The New York-based group revealed the 'Panama Papers' tax haven scandal in 2016, and its latest series zeroing in on Ms dos Santos is called 'Luanda Leaks'. A team of 120 reporters in 20 countries looked at the finances of Ms dos Santos, the daughter of ex-president Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who served from 1979 to 2017. Ms dos Santos has a 13million home in Kensington, West London, and went to King's College Ms dos Santos owns a 40million superyacht called Hayken, seen in Miami in October 2016 Ms dos Santos has posed with a host of celebrities, including Rita Ora in Cannes in May 2017 Former Angolan president Jose Eduardo dos Santos is pictured in Luanda in August 2012 But Ms dos Santos took to Twitter to refute the claims, launching a barrage of around 30 tweets in Portuguese and English, and accusing journalists of telling 'lies' The ICIJ team said it found a 'broken international regulatory system that allows professional services firms to serve the powerful with almost no questions asked'. It claimed 'an army of Western financial firms, lawyers, accountants, government officials and management companies' helped her hide assets from tax authorities. But Ms dos Santos took to Twitter to refute the claims, launching a barrage of around 30 tweets in Portuguese and English, and accusing journalists of telling 'lies'. 'My fortune is built on my character, my intelligence, education, capacity for work, perseverance,' she wrote. She also blasted 'the racism and prejudice' of SIC-Expresso, a Portuguese TV station and newspaper, and member of the ICIJ, 'that recall the colonial era when an African could never be considered equal to a European'. Prince Harry meets current Angolan president Joao Lourenco in Luanda in September 2019 Harry walks through a minefield in Dirico, Angola, during a visit to the country last September Ms dos Santos's lawyer dismissed the ICIJ findings as a 'highly coordinated attack' orchestrated by Angola's current rulers. How Jose Eduardo dos Santos ruled with an iron fist for 38 years Jose Eduardo dos Santos ruled the oil-rich southern African country of Angola with an iron fist for 38 years. Top positions were awarded to his cronies and wealth accumulated in the hands of a select few during this time. His time in charge was also widely associated with authoritarianism, corruption and nepotism. He left a legacy of poverty and nepotism after stepping down in 2017 from the top job in a country still recovering from a 1975-2002 civil war. Last month, prosecutors froze the bank accounts and holdings owned by his daughter Isabel and her husband. But Mr dos Santos's children claim they have been unfairly targeted by an anti-graft campaign by their father's successor President Joao Lourenco. His son Jose Filomeno went on trial last month for allegedly embezzling $500million (385million) from Angola's sovereign fund, which he oversaw from 2013 to 2018. Nicknamed 'Zenu', he faces up to 12 years in jail if found guilty. Meanwhile, Zenu's half-sister Welwitschia was suspended from Angola's parliament in October for absenteeism and 'unjust enrichment'. Advertisement Ms dos Santos herself told BBC Africa the file dump was part of a 'witch hunt' meant to discredit her and her father. The ICIJ investigation said Western consulting firms were 'apparently ignoring red flags' while helping her stash away public assets. 'Regulators around the globe have virtually ignored the key role Western professionals play in maintaining an offshore industry that drives money laundering and drains trillions from public coffers,' the report said. Its document trove included redacted letters allegedly showing how consultants sought out ways to open non-transparent bank accounts. One confidential document allegedly drafted by consultants in September 2015 outlined a complex scheme for the oil company to move its money offshore. The former president's daughter headed Angola's national oil company Sonangol. Forbes magazine last year estimated her net worth at $2.2billion (1.7billion). The businesswoman is often called 'The Princess' by Angolans, while an investigation by Forbes in 2013 tagged her 'the richest woman in Africa.' Her father's successor Joao Lourenco forced her out of the oil company after becoming president in 2017. Ms dos Santos said on Wednesday that she would consider running for president in the next election in 2022. Tom Burgis, who has written extensively about Angola in his 2015 book The Looting Machine, told MailOnline: 'Angola is a country of great riches, full of oil and diamonds, whose people are almost all dirt poor. Floodwaters are seen around houses in the Vila Nova neighbourhood of Luanda on January 10 Children sit and stand at the Boa Vista slum in the outskirts of Luanda in August 2012 'That's because its wealth is creamed off by a tiny ruling class of which Isabel dos Santos is a prominent member. And we should not forget the crucial role that major western companies play in the looting of Angola. 'They have been happy to do business with a deeply corrupt regime to ensure their own profits, mainly from Angola's oil. Meanwhile, those brave Angolans who try to stand up to the regime can expect imprisonment or worse. 'What the Luanda Leaks show is that the regime's attempts to use financial subterfuge to keep its self-enrichment secret may finally be unravelling. 'But Isabel dos Santos is not the only one who has benefitted. Many others deserve similar scrutiny.' Panorama: 'The Corrupt Billionaire' will air on BBC One at 8.30pm tonight Moscow commends the results of the international conference on Libya in Berlin as a major step towards settlement in that country, Russian presidents press secretary Dmitry Peskov said. When asked about the Kremlins assessment of the Berlin conferences results, Peskov said, "Positive." According to him, a very important step has been made towards eventual settlement in Libya. "Settlement efforts will be continued "based on this first step" under the United Nations auspices," TASS cited the Kremlin spokesman as saying. Berlin hosted a high-level international conference on Libyan settlement on January 19, with Russia, the U.S., Turkey, Egypt and other countries, as well as the EU and the UN taking part. Smoke billowing from a fire at Kapi'Olani park where a ongoing shooting incident occurred in Honolulu (Reuters) - Two Hawaii police officers were fatally shot on Sunday by a man who authorities believe later died in his home after he set it on fire in a quiet neighborhood not far from Oahu's busy Waikiki Beach, officials and local media said. "Our entire state mourns the loss of two Honolulu police officers killed in the line of duty this morning," Hawaii Governor David Ige said in a statement. Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell called the shootings "an unprecedented tragedy" for the state. A third officer was injured in the incident in which the spreading fire destroyed several houses in an affluent area near the base of Diamond Head, a volcanic mountain at the southern tip of the island, KITV News reported. Michelle Yu, a Honolulu police spokeswoman, declined to comment on the incident, but said by telephone that a press briefing was being planned. A representative for the Honolulu field office of the FBI did not immediately reply to a telephone message seeking information. The incident started on Sunday morning when officers arrived at the home of a man identified as Jerry Hanel, 69, after he stabbed his "landlord," a woman, who was trying to evict him, Hawaii News Now said, citing unidentified police sources. The officers were met with gunfire and the suspect then set fire to the home, which spread to other houses, Hawaii News Now reported. Police believe Hanel died when the house went up in flames, it said. Pictures posted by local media showed smoke coming from several houses in the neighborhood. (Reporting by Peter Szekely in New York; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Peter Cooney) BEIJING, Jan. 13, 2020 (Xinhua) -- A doll lies on the field where a farmhouse was burnt by bushfires near Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, Nov. 10, 2019. TO GO WITH XINHUA HEADLINES OF JAN. 13, 2020. (Xinhua/Bai Xuefei/IANS) Image Source: IANS News Canberra, Jan 20 : The Australian government on Monday announced a support package for small businesses affected by the raging bushfires. rime Minister Scott Morrison, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Michaelia Cash, Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business announced the "comprehensive suite of measures to immediately support impacted small businesses", reports Xinhua news agency. The support package includes low-interest loans of up to A$500,000 ($343,751) to businesses that lost significant assets in fires that have devastated much of the country since last September. Businesses and organizations damaged by fires will also be eligible to receive grants of up to A$50,000 ($34,375) tax-free. "This comprehensive package will make it easier for those who have suffered direct fire damage, or have been indirectly economically impacted following the bushfires, to get back on their feet," Morrison, Frydenberg and Cash said in a joint statement. The government will spend A$3.5 million ($2.4 million) to establish a Small Business Bushfire Financial Support Line, which will be tasked with ensuring that relief is delivered where it is needed most. The support package was announced after the government consulted with business leaders, including Peter Strong, chief executive of the Council of Small Business Organizations. Since September 2019, the blazes have killed 29 people, destroyed more than 80,000 square km, an area larger than Ireland or Panama, charring more than 2,000 houses. Up to 1 billion animals, mainly mammals, birds and reptiles, are estimated to have been affected by the devastating fires, according to Australian ecologists. Did you know you can save your preferences across all your digital devices and platforms simply by creating a profile? Would you like to get started? Yes, I'd like to register/log in Not right now No, never ask again The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday trimmed its 2020 global growth forecasts a revision it credits mostly to a sharper-than-expected slowdown in India, and, in certain cases, intensifying social unrest. On a more optimistic note, the international crisis lender says overall risks are less tilted to the downside compared to October, thanks to tentative signs that a slowdown in manufacturing activity is bottoming out, a shift by central banks to lower borrowing costs (which is growth-boosting) and sporadic favorable news on negotiations to resolve the trade war between the United States and China. The IMF said global growth would reach 3.3 percent in 2020, compared to 2.9 percent in 2019, which was the slowest pace since the financial crisis a decade ago. Estimates for both years were cut by 0.1 percentage point from forecasts made in October. Growth will improve slightly to 3.4 percent in 2021, but that estimate, too, was cut by 0.2 percentage point from October, said the Washington-based international crisis lender. The reductions reflect the IMFs reassessment of economic prospects for a number of major emerging markets, notably India, where domestic demand has slowed more sharply than expected amid a contraction of credit and stress in the shadow banking sector. The IMF also said it marked down growth forecasts for Chile due to social unrest and for Mexico, due to a continued weakness in investment. The Fund said that an easing of tensions between the US and China, which had stunted economic growth in 2019, had boosted market sentiment, amid tentative signs that trade and manufacturing activity were bottoming out. These early signs of stabilization could persist and eventually reinforce the link between still-resilient consumer spending and improved business spending, the IMF said. The fund has cited uncertainty over tariffs and its negative effects on business investment as the biggest factor in limiting growth. However, few signs of turning points are yet visible in global macroeconomic data, the Fund added. US-Iran tensions The Funds cautious outlook assumes that there are no additional flare-ups in US-China trade tensions, and that the United Kingdom executes an orderly exit from the European Union at the end of January. The IMF upgraded Chinas 2020 growth forecast by 0.2 percentage point to 6.0 percent because the phase one trade deal between Washington and Beijing included a partial tariff reduction and cancelled levies on Chinese consumer goods that had been scheduled for December. These tariffs had been built into the IMFs previous forecasts. But the Fund did not give a boost to its US growth forecast despite Chinas pledges to increase purchases of US goods and services by $200bn over two years. Instead, the IMF said 2020 US growth would be 0.1 percentage point lower than forecast in October, at 2.0 percent because of the fading stimulus effects from US President Donald Trumps 2017 tax cuts and the Federal Reserves monetary easing. Eurozone growth also was marked down 0.1 percentage point from October, to 1.3 percent for 2020, largely due to a manufacturing contraction in Germany and decelerating domestic demand in Spain. India saw a sharp, 1.2 percentage point cut to its 2020 growth forecast to 5.8 percent, the IMFs biggest markdown for any emerging market, because of the domestic credit crunch. Monetary and fiscal stimulus is expected to lift Indias growth rate back to 6.5 percent in 2021, although this is still 0.9 percentage point lower than forecast in October. Other emerging markets saw forecast downgrades, the IMF said, including Chile, which has been hit by social unrest. Mexico is predicted to grow just 1.0 percent in 2020, down from 1.3 percent forecast in October. Although downside risks had diminished in the wake of the US-China trade deal, the IMF said they were still considerable. Rising geopolitical tensions, notably between the United States and Iran, could disrupt global oil supply, hurt sentiment and weaken already tentative business investment, the IMF said. Moreover, intensifying social unrest across many countries reflecting in some cases, the erosion of trust in established institutions and lack of representation in governance structures could disrupt activity, complicate reform efforts and weaken sentiment, dragging growth lower than projected. The CPI(M) and the Congress in Bengal on Monday welcomed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's decision to table a resolution in the Assembly against the citizenship law, and said they were thankful that the ruling dispensation realised the necessity of the move. The BJP, however, maintained that such resolution against the law was "unconstitutional". Banerjee, before leaving for her north Bengal tour, said her government would pass a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). "We have already passed a resolution against NPR three to four months ago. As for CAA, we will adopt a resolution within three to four days," the CM said. Abdul Mannan, the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, said his party had been pitching for the resolution for a while now. "She (Mamata) is now repeating whatever we had said in the past. Better late than never.... Glad that she realized the necessity to pass this resolution. We welcome her decision," the Congress leader said. Earlier this month, the TMC had prevented the passage of an anti-CAA resolution in the Assembly, drawing criticism from the Congress and the CPI(M). The CM reasoned that the House had already adopted a resolution against a pan-India NRC in September last year, which, in turn, denounced according citizenship to people on the basis of religion. Incidentally, Kerala and Punjab have passed a resolution against the citizenship law. CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty said he would keep his fingers crossed as the CM often went back on her words. "The CM says one thing in the morning and absolutely the opposite in the evening. So, unless the resolution sees the light of the day, it is difficult to say anything. Last time, we had followed all parliamentary norms to move the resolution against the CAA," Chakraborty said. Criticising Banerjee over her decision, the saffron party said the resolution, if tabled, would be an illegal and unconstitutional move. "You cannot bring a resolution against a law (CAA). You cannot table a resolution only because you have majority in the Assembly. If the state government is planning to do so, it will be unconstitutional and illegal," BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Lucknow, Jan 20 (IANS) The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) have arrested an ISI agent for Varanasi. The accused had taken photos of army installations and was sending them to Pakistan. He had also done a recce of CRPF installations. ATS officials said that the accused Rashid had confessed that he had received training in Pakistan twice. NEW YORK, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Europe Cleanroom Technology Market by Product (Consumables [Safety {Gloves, Apparel}, Cleaning {Wipes, Disinfectants, Vacuum Systems}], Equipment [Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning {HVAC} Systems, Fan Filter Units {FFUs}, High-Efficiency Particulate Air {HEPA} Filters, Laminar Air Flow Systems & Biosafety Cabinets, Air Diffusers & Showers]), by Construction (Standard, Hardwall, Softwall, Pass-Through), by End User (Pharmaceutical Industry, Biotechnology Industry, Medical Devices Industry), By Geography (Germany, France, U.K., Italy, Spain, Turkey, Switzerland, Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, Norway) - Market Size, Share, Development, Growth, and Demand Forecast, 2013-2023 Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05731257/?utm_source=PRN The European cleanroom technology market is forecasted to generate $1,701.8 million revenue by 2023, the market is mainly driven by increasing number of conferences, seminars, and events for cleanroom technology, growing infectious diseases, and increasing healthcare expenditure in the region. The different types of products available in the European cleanroom technology market are cleanroom consumables and equipment. The market for cleanroom consumables is expected to observe faster growth, witnessing a CAGR of more than 7.0% during the forecast period. The growth is mainly driven by the increasing adoption of these products to maintain aseptic environment in various industries, such as pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical devices; hospitals; and research laboratories. On the basis of construction, the European cleanroom technology market is categorized into standard, hardwall, softwall, and pass-through cleanrooms. Hardwall cleanrooms is expected to be the fastest growing category in this market, exhibiting a CAGR of more than 7.5% during the forecast period. This growth is mainly due to increasing research and development (R&D) of pharmaceuticals in the region, which involves the use of hardwall cleanrooms, specifically designed for research activities. Among the various end users, pharmaceutical industry is expected to register the fastest growth in the European cleanroom technology market, during the forecast period, mainly due to increasing investment in pharmaceutical research activities. According to the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), the pharmaceutical industry in the region invested $41,822.4 million (35,000 million) in R&D in 2016, which in turn boosted the market for cleanroom consumables and equipment in the region. The cleanroom technology market in France is expected to witness notable growth during the forecast period. This can be attributed to the improving healthcare infrastructure, presence of market players offering cleanroom technology solutions, increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, and rising initiatives by healthcare organizations for the use of cleanroom consumables and equipment in the country. Growing pharmaceutical and medical devices industries are also propelling the growth of the French cleanroom technology market. According to the MedTech Europe, France was the second largest medical devices market in Europe in 2015, which further increased the production of different types of medical devices. Thus, growing healthcare industry is expected to boost the demand for cleanroom consumables and equipment in the French market in the coming years. Pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical devices industries generate huge demand for cleanroom technology products. Various pharmaceutical and biotechnology products, such as vaccines, injections, biologics, and ointments, need to be prepared in an environment that is free from microbes and particulates. Cleanroom offers suitable environmental conditions by lowering the level of pollutants, such as dust, chemical vapors, microbes, and aerosol particles. According to the EFPIA, pharmaceutical production worth $337,825 (250,000) million was reported in Europe, in 2016. Increasing production and research activities in pharmaceutical industry are expected to boost the market demand for cleanroom technology to provide aseptic areas for the manufacturing and development of pharmaceutical products. With the increasing demand of cleanroom technology products from the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical devices industries, market players are coming up with new products and constructing cleanrooms with advanced cleanroom consumables and equipment. For instance, German-based players, such as ZIEHL-ABEGG SE, decontam GmbH, and FlaktGroup Holding GmbH are developing new and innovative cleanroom consumables and equipment to meet the growing demand in the European cleanroom technology market. Some of the other players in the European cleanroom technology industry include M+W Group GmbH, Ardmac Ltd., Alpiq Holding Ltd., cleanroom.de GmbH, OCTANORM-Vertriebs-GmbH, MonMouth Scientific Ltd., Cleanroom Systems Belgium, Parteco Srl, Mach-Aire Ltd., E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Taikisha Ltd., and Illinois Tool Works Inc. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05731257/?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 Its on the Lao-language sign for the new Crowne Plaza hotel in the Laotian capital, Vientiane. And at the KindyRoo day care in an upscale part of town. Its reappeared in some Lao-language grammar books to pronounce words such as radar, where the R sound in Lao is rendered as raw or roh with a slight roll. And its how 32-year-old Ladda Bella can pronounce the R in Harry Potter with ease. Over the weekend, over 20,000 Christians from around the world gathered at the Jordan River to be baptized. According to CBN, the pilgrims commemorated the Feast of the Epiphany, which is a day that Orthodox Christians and Catholics remember when the three Magi visited baby Jesus. The Jordan River is believed to be the site where John the Baptist baptized Jesus, as well as where the Israelites crossed over into the Promised Land and where Elijah ascended to heaven. The annual pilgrimage started in January when five Christian denominations held baptismal ceremonies at the River. Coptic and Armenian Christians will continue with other events later this month. Israel has embraced the Christian community trekking through their country to honor their faith. The Civil Administration put much effort in order to prepare for these important ceremonies as part of its program to preserve freedom of religion and worship for all Christian denominations, said Jericho District Coordination and Liaison Administration head Lieutenant Colonel Eran Gross. Thanks to the ceremonies, we see a marked rise in tourism alongside a boost to the economy, for which I am thankful. On this occasion, I would like to wish all members of the Christian community happy holidays. For those who cannot travel to the Jordan, Christians dunk themselves into freezing rivers all over the country, including in Russia. According to the Moscow Times, stations were set up for believers and non-believers to go under the icy waters. Israel also challenged Christians and Jews alike to maintain peace. Just like anti-Jewish prejudice is not Christian, anti-Christian prejudice is not Jewish, said Israeli President Reuven Rivlin. We must recommit ourselves to countering all acts of hatred, incitement and violence, between religious communities in Jerusalem and the Holy Land. Sadly, again this year, Christians were killed in the Middle East, simply for keeping their faith. Jerusalem must serve as a model for peace and harmony between religions. Pilgrims were warned to stay away from the Land of the Monasteries, a 250-acre area near the baptismal site, while they were visiting. The site is home to landmines leftover from the Six-Day War, but the country is actively working to remove the mines and hopes to clear them all by the end of the year. Already the number of Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land is increasing each year, said Rivlin. Just this year, close to 900,000 pilgrims visited the Land of Monasteries. We are working hard to complete the development of the entire area by the end of 2020. Photo courtesy: Getty Images/Lior Mizrahi/Stringer Mikaela Mathews is a freelance writer and editor based in Dallas, TX. She was the editor of a local magazine and a contributing writer for the Galveston Daily News and Spirit Magazine. SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vazquez fired the heads of Puerto Ricos housing and family departments in the latest fallout over the discovery of a warehouse filled with emergency supplies dating from Hurricane Maria. The removal of Housing Secretary Fernando Gil and Department of Family Secretary Glorimar Andujar on Sunday came a day after the governor fired the director of Puerto Ricos emergency management agency, Carlos Acevedo. Vazquez fired him hours after a Facebook video showed angry people breaking into the warehouse in an area where thousands have been in shelters since a recent earthquake. There have been actions by government officials that have been completely unacceptable, the governor said. Vazquez said she decided on the additional firings after meeting with leaders of her administration and officials were unable to provide information she requested about other collection and distribution centers. They werent able to personally tell me specifically where these centers were located, what they contained and whether an inventory was completed, she said. Anger erupted in Puerto Rico on Saturday after an online blogger posted a live video of the warehouse in the southern coastal city of Ponce filled with water bottles, cots, baby food and other basic supplies that had apparently been sitting there since Hurricane Maria battered the U.S. territory in September 2017. A group of people broke into the warehouse and began distributing supplies to those affected by the recent 6.4 magnitude quake that killed one person and caused damage across Puerto Ricos southern region. More than 7,000 people remain in shelters as strong aftershocks continue. Ponce Mayor Maria Melendez said she was outraged, noting that she and other mayors were trying to find basic supplies since the quake. I spent several days requesting cots and water, she said. They sent me to Cabo Rojo for the cots and to San Juan for the water. If I had known that those supplies were there, I would have demanded that they be taken out immediately. Danica Coto is an Associated Press writer. Jaipur, Jan 20 : For Sunita, it could be termed as call of the rural India, which motivated her to quit her plush job with a shipping company in Dubai, the UAE, and return to Rajasthan, her home state, and contest the panchayat elections. She is contesting local polls in the Nangal village, which comes under the Sikar district. After staying in Dubai for a decade, she returned to her husband's village with a craving to develop it. She wants to work for regular power and water supply and create ample employment opportunities for women. Quality education for girls also figures on her to-do list. While her husband still works in Dubai, her in-laws live in Sikar. Stating that none of my family members, either from her parents' or in-laws' side are in politics, Sunita said, "While working in Dubai, I saw that people work hard to grow their country. Hence, I am here to work for my area." The local polls are being held in four phases in Rajasthan. While the first phase was on January 18, the second phase will take place on January 22, in which Sunita is contesting. A gunman has opened fire outside a US nightclub, killing at least one person and injuring 15, according to local media reports. Police were called to a shooting around 11.30pm in Kansas City in Missouri, ABC News have said. The suspect fired into a queue of people waiting to get into a bar, according to a police spokesperson, who said the motive remains unclear. Police said they found a woman and a man dead in the car park following a chaotic scene. An armed security guard is believed to have stopped the gunman, who is believed to be one of the dead, according to police. Texas mass shooting: Two killed in attack at homecoming party Show all 10 1 /10 Texas mass shooting: Two killed in attack at homecoming party Texas mass shooting: Two killed in attack at homecoming party Two people have been killed and at least a dozen injured in a mass shooting at a university homecoming party in Texas EPA Texas mass shooting: Two killed in attack at homecoming party Hundreds of students were gathered at The Party Venue in Greenville, near Dallas, to celebrate the start of a new term at Texas A&M Commerce College EPA Texas mass shooting: Two killed in attack at homecoming party Halloween masks litter the ground at the scene where the deadly shooting took place AP Texas mass shooting: Two killed in attack at homecoming party With 750 people in the building, someone with a semi-automatic rifle opened fire The Dallas Morning News via AP Texas mass shooting: Two killed in attack at homecoming party Deputies were already at the scene due to a parking complaint when they heard gunshots coming from the back of the building, chief deputy of Hunt County Sheriffs Department, Buddy Oxford, told reporters The Dallas Morning News via AP Texas mass shooting: Two killed in attack at homecoming party A single shoe and a costume hat rest on the ground AP Texas mass shooting: Two killed in attack at homecoming party Officials work at the crime scene The Dallas Morning News via AP Texas mass shooting: Two killed in attack at homecoming party Bodies are removed from the Party Venue EPA Texas mass shooting: Two killed in attack at homecoming party Officials work a crime scene The Dallas Morning News via AP Texas mass shooting: Two killed in attack at homecoming party Chief Deputy Buddy Oxford of the Hunt County Sheriff's Department addresses members of the media The Dallas Morning News via AP No police officers fired any shots in this incident, the spokesperson told local media. He said three victims remain in critical condition following the attack. A Kansas City Police spokesperson said there have been no reports of any arrests. Local station KSHB-TV said people were shot outside the bar 9ine Ultra Lounge. A Facebook post on the club's page advertised Sunday night's "Sold Out Sundays" event, which appeared to be a celebration of the Kansas City Chiefs, who beat the Tennessee Titans on Sunday to advance to the Super Bowl. "It is hard to stand here and talk about this tragedy on really one of the best days Kansas City has had in a long time," Jean Peters Baker, the county prosecutor, told reporters. Additional reporting by Associated Press Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Christian business leaders often wonder how best to manage in a way that glorifies God. Those bold enough to lead businesses these days face immense challenges. Millennials make new demands compared to their parents and grandparents. Global business, artificial intelligence and robots all shift jobs away from our friends and neighbors. Data security, privacy, diversity and equality present ethical challenges for which no one really knows the answer. Senior executive salaries have grown far faster than the typical worker, creating a historic earnings gap. Each of these challenges call on Christians to lead their organizations in a way that reflects their faith. Alas, both Christian and non-Christian business leaders have too often turned a blind eye to unethical behavior in order to further the financial goals of their organizations. Too many business leaders have signaled to the world that winning on the business battlefield is separate from faithful service to God. Every Christian leader is challenged to balance faith and business. In some respects, leaders of non-profit organizations face even greater faith challenges than those in for-profit companies, as they balance the needs of many different stakeholders, such as beneficiaries, donors, funding agencies, the local community, and the environment. Christian business leaders know they need to do more than make ethical decisions or follow the law; every non-Christian business school teaches that. But not all understand that Christian business leadership requires more than making money to put in the offering plate. God does not need our money; he needs us to run our businesses as service to Him. Marion Wade, a Christian Business Leader who Lived his Faith Marion Wade is one example of a Christian businessman who built and ran a business to serve Jesus. Wade grew up in a broken home and after several false starts decided to launch a small business with a friend in 1929. He wrote about the experience in a book, The Lord is My Counsel. From the first day, the company was destined to offer a special example of Christian leadership. The name we chose almost evolved by itself. As individuals and as a company, we were working for the Lord we were servants of the Master. The word ServiceMaster struck us all as perfect in every area. Decades later, his little company has grown to 7,000 locations with 46,000 employees and includes several well-known brands including Terminix and Merry Maids. By any measure it is a commercial success. But that is only half the story. In his book, Wade described a tension he faced every day. The head of any corporation big or small has the responsibility of conducting his business along lines that will keep his employees working and keep his stockholders happy. But this is not his first responsibility. His first responsibility is to conduct his business along lines that will be pleasing to the Lord. And he must do so not because of any rewards he hopes to receive but because, for a Christian, there is no other way. Wades struggle to lead his business seems to reflect Solomons conclusion in Ecclesiastes 2:24-26: A person can do nothing better than find satisfaction in their own toil To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. Business (and personal) success comes from working to please God. This is not the name it and claim it gospel. Instead, the Christian defines success as serving God. While profit might be included as part of that success, is not the definition of success. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:31, Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Paul does not suggest that we fallen Christians will always get it right. Rather, he admonishes us to lead businesses for the purpose of glorifying God. Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 2:9: Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. Paul worked not for personal glory (though that came), and not merely to fund his preaching (though that happened), but as a form of worship and service. His work was a method of glorifying God, just as his teaching, healing and writing. How Executives Balance Faith and Work Laura Nash taught business at Harvard Business School and Boston University. She researched the question of Christian leadership by interviewing sixty-five U.S. senior business executives who identified themselves and evangelical Christians. She identified three different ways they described how they balance faith and leadership: The Generalist Claims there is no unique difficultly in making business decisions as a Christian. Thinks I am a Christian even if my business acts in a manner that might seem inappropriate. As a Christian, I am forgiven, not perfect. The Justifier Believes his business or material success demonstrate that he must be exhibiting the right balance between faith-based and business-driven considerations. Thinks God is blessing my ardent pursuit of business success, so God is obviously pleased with the way I conduct business. The Seeker Acknowledges that business and Christian ethics do at times conflict and seeks wisdom and courage to make potentially unpopular decisions. Thinks, I have hard choices in front of me, so I must pray and consult with other Christians so that I consistently place Gods honor first. Nash was most impressed by Seekers. In talking with them, she found that they regularly balance seven tensions as they strive to work as Christians in business leadership: 1. The love of God and the pursuit of profit 2. Love and the competitive drive 3. Peoples needs and profit obligations 4. Humility and the ego of success 5. Family and work 6. Charity and wealth 7. Faithful witness and the secular city In her discussions with these successful business leaders, Nash heard Seekers recognizing when a balance is called for, and seeking to serve God in the situation. How Exceptional Business Leaders Can Lead as a Way of Glorifying God Reflecting on the example of Marion Wade and Nashs research, it seems great Christian business leaders manage to glorify God through the decisions they make. Christian leaders develop for themselves guiding principles that help them face the challenges posed by business. They: 1. Acknowledge God. The people around a Christian business leader know that she does her daily work to glorify God. She works as if her real customer (or employee) were Jesusjust as Marion Wade served God by cleaning floors in the best way he could. The Christian leader does not merely earn profits to later put in the offering plateshe understands that here work is an offering, and so relates to others in the course of her work as if she is relating to God. 2. Pray for competitors. Jesus told us to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (Matt 5:44). We can apply this command to the competitive business world, as well: Jesus would have us pray for those who seek to destroy our business. A Christian leader wants to succeed in her endeavors, but also prays that God would bless her enemies as well. She prays that God be glorified, not merely that she adds to the bottom line. 3. Watch for opportunities to seek Gods guidance. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8). Satan is always looking for ways to trip up the business leader. A Christian leader learns to watch for decisions that reflect one of Nashs seven tensions, and she learns to pray and seek biblical guidance in those cases. 4. Serve. Great business leaders serve rather than lord their authority over others, just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve (Matt 20, 28). Jack Welsh is one of the most celebrated business leaders of our time. Though not a Christian, he famously drew his organization chart with the customer at the top, then front-line employeesand finally the CEO at the bottom. Even a non-Christian understands that great leaders serve, not dictate to their people. While servant leader is not unique to being a Christian, it is way of thinking that will help a Christian businessperson make the right decision that serves the kingdom of God. Jesus Wants Christians to Revolutionize Business Take some liberty with me, expanding on what we know of Paul to imagine the sort of business he might have run. Can you imagine Paul making sloppy tents? We know he was a man who introduced himself as the best of the besta pharisee among pharisees. He delivered some of the most eloquent and effective sermons of all time and wrote some of the most widely-read literature ever published. It is unfathomable Paul would make tents that were anything less than great. He was likely a great personnel manager, too, caring for his tentmaking co-workers, just as he did for Timothy in his church work. For Paul, making tents was more than providing for his physical needs. For Paul, tentmaking was an aspect of his ministry, a testimony of his dedication to Jesus. Jesus wants every Christian business leader to serve like Paul, Solomon or Marion Wade. He wants leaders who make business decisions, interact with competitors, follow government regulations and lead their employees as a method of glorifying Him. He will give commercial success to some and not to others. Whatever commercial success He allows, Jesus wants leaders to work as if He were their Chairman of the Board. He wants them to serve customers and manage employees as if serving the Lord Himself. Jesus lays out a principle in the story in Matthew 24, when the King explained to those who received an inheritance, for I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. For, the king said, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. When great Christian managers treat their employees with respect, Jesus counts it as serving Him. Coming back to the opening question, why is Christian leadership important to business? The answer is straightforward. Imagine a business community in which Christian executives, middle managers and front-line workers strive to worship God through their daily work. Businesses run for Gods glory would not always make the right decisions, but God would be glorified when leaders who face challenges acknowledge Him, pray and seek His guidance, and turn the situation into a service opportunity. Business is where Christian ministry happens best. Christians spend a few hours a week in church (and non-Christians maybe an hour at Easter.) If Christians want to be part of Jesus revolution, then they need to implement that revolution where people spend their waking hoursat work. Christian business leaders could be more influential in the world than ministerswhen they learn to lead as if every decision is a chance to glorify God. Ministry at church is like salt in the shaker. Salt needs to be on the food; ministry needs to happen in the business world. How can that vision become reality? By developing a business major, Sattler College has taken up the opportunity and responsibility to helpby raising up a revolutionary force of leaders-in-training who practice serving God through their decisions. Saturday saw a violent police crackdown on weekly yellow vest marches in Paris, after French President Emmanuel Macron was booed and confronted by protesters Friday night on one of his rare public appearances, at the Bouffes du nord theater in the capital. Coming amid ongoing mass strikes against Macrons pension cuts, the events underscored that Frances president of the rich is widely hated by workers and youth. After news emerged on social media that Macron had been sighted at the theater, crowds gathered outside the Bouffes du nord chanting Macron resign and All together, general strike. Protesters also sought to enter the theater and confront Macron, who was watching a play together with his wife Brigitte and a large security detail. Inter-industry march for a general strike The Elysee presidential palace initially sought to mislead the public and downplay the incident, claiming that the president ignored the protest and watched the play through to the end. However, it later confirmed press reports that the presidential couple had to be placed in security for several minutes when dozens of protesters managed to enter the theater via the stage. Large detachments of CRS riot police surrounded the theater and Macron fled the area under chants of Macron resign from the crowd. Macrons staff issued a statement to BFM-TV, declaring: The President will continue going to the theater with his spouse as he is used to doing. He will continue to protect freedom of expression and creation by artists threatened by political violence. In fact, the incident showed that Macron is so deeply hated that he cannot show his face in public anywhere without provoking major protests. When yellow vest protests broke out in 2018, he was so terrified of popular anger at his arrogance and austerity agenda that a helicopter was kept on 24-hour stand-by to evacuate him, in case he fell into the hands of the French people. Despite the governments repeated claims the yellow vest crisis is behind it, it remains evident that Macron is now more deeply unpopular than before. A section of the protest As for the Elysees claim that Macron works to protect freedom of expression, it is belied by the endless stream of attacks on basic democratic rights and acts of bloody police brutality that his government is unleashing on workers and youth protesting his policies. News of Macrons arrival at the theater had circulated on several social media accounts, including one of independent Franco-Algerian journalist Taha Bouhafs, who tweeted: Im now at the Bouffes du nord theater (metro La Chapelle), three rows behind the president of the Republic. Militants are in the area and calling everyone to come in support. Something is being prepared, the evening will probably be eventful. Riot police kettle Yellow Vests near the Gare de Lyon After Macrons ignominious flight from the theater, police proceeded to arrest Bouhafs on charges of participating in a grouping formed with a view to committing violence or damages and organizing an undeclared protest. They kept Bouhafs under preventive arrest ( garde a vue ) for the evening. Not only is the arrest of a journalist for reporting the presidents presence an extraordinary attack on democratic rights, but the charge confirms that just reporting Macrons presence is enough to produce outrage and spontaneous protests in Paris. The police-state machine responded the next day, organizing a massive police presence and brutally cracking down on the 62nd weekly protest of the yellow vests in Paris. From the beginning of the march, the several thousand yellow vests were entirely surrounded by large detachments of heavily-armed riot police and dozens of police vans in front of and behind the marchers. Even in well-to-do areas of northwestern Paris, however, residents could be seen coming to the windows to applaud the protesters as they passed by. Firefighters douse flaming motorcycles and construction equipment Patrick, a retired nurse on the Paris yellow vest march, told the WSWS he was protesting because we have to struggle against this quote-unquote president, because I think he is really disintegrating. He will plunge France into bloodshed. The one piece of advice that I would give him is to leave immediately with his head high, because otherwise he will leave later with his tail between his legs. Patrick said he thought the unions had lost control of the class struggle, despite calling a transport strike last December after over a year of yellow vest protests. He said, The workers broke out of the trade union straitjacket, and the unions are trying to take back control of the movement for now. But I think they have gotten around to it a bit too late. Patrick Thierry, a striking Paris transit worker, criticized police violence against the yellow vests, saying: There are certain parallels between the police of the [Nazi-collaborationist] Vichy regime, the police of [1960s ex-Vichy collaborationist official Maurice] Papon and Macrons police. This violence against the French people is unacceptable. The problem is that they have accepted the unacceptable. Now it is time to wake up and stop police from mutilating people just because they are protesting. We have a constitutional right to protest. Speaking on how to deal with this problem, Thierry stressed the importance of the international resurgence of the class struggles across the Middle East and Latin America, and beyond: In fact, there is an international movement that is beginning, but it is not yet organized. We see things are moving all around the world, but what we dont have is a world organization, and that we are missing. I did not know for instance about the class struggles you raised in the United States. Thierry Violent clashes broke out between riot police and the yellow vest protesters shortly before the march reached its destination, the Gare de Lyon train station. Police had suddenly halted the march, trapping protesters on Rue de Lyon and bringing up water cannon while refusing to allow protesters to leave. Clashes erupted, with police firing volleys of tear gas and rubber bullets into the crowd, while some yellow vests responded by throwing pieces of pavement, broken glass and construction equipment they had set afire at the riot police units. Police authorities subsequently felt compelled to announce a pro forma investigation amid outrage of widely circulated videos of the police assault, including one where a policeman savagely beats a protester who is lying motionless on the street, his head covered in blood. At least sixty protesters were arrested as clashes continued late into the evening throughout the area around the station, after groups of yellow vests managed to force their way out of the police blockade, chanting Revolution and Macron resign. [January 20, 2020] ArcTern Ventures Continues to Attract Leading Investors Securing $200 million in Commitments Investor commitment signals growing support for breakthrough technologies solving climate change issues as cleantech begins to disrupt virtually every industry TORONTO, Jan. 20, 2020 /CNW/ - ArcTern Ventures, a Toronto-based venture capital firm investing globally in breakthrough clean technology companies addressing climate change and sustainability, announced today that they have secured $200 million in commitments for its Fund II, including over $45 million from foreign investors. "We continue to see strong interest and demand from institutional investors and family offices in North America and Europe for ArcTern's planet-positive investment strategy," noted Murray McCaig, managing partner at ArcTern. New major investors include Nysno (a Norwegian fund), Investissement Quebec, and the federal government Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative that closed out the fund with a $10 million commitment. They join existing investors OMERS, Equinor, TD Bank Group, Suncor, BDC, a leading Canadian pension fund, family offices in North America and Europe, and others. "We evaluated a number of North American venture funds investing in climate and sustainability technologies," outlined Siri Kalvig, CEO at Nysn Climate Investments. "We had a great connection with the ArcTern team and felt they have developed a strong understanding of how to drive value creation in this space combining deep technology focus with a hands-on approach and financial rigour. We are also excited about their presence in Norway, which we believe will be a strong hub to identify the best deals in Europe." Today's announcement confirms ArcTern Fund II as the largest cleantech venture fund in Canada and among the leading cleantech venture funds in the world. ArcTern's managing partners, Murray McCaig and Tom Rand, co-ounded ArcTern Ventures in 2012 with the view that the accelerating global transition to a greener economy was inevitable, bringing significant investment opportunity as it disrupts virtually all industries. "We are proud to support ArcTern Ventures with its growth," stated Guy LeBlanc, President and CEO of Investissement Quebec. "Not only will this partnership allow us to showcase the cleantech industry's know-how and capacity for innovation in Quebec and abroad, it's yet another way in which the Corporation is promoting the shift to a green, low-carbon economy. In 2020, it has become abundantly clear that businesses turning to green, innovative technologies are the ones that will stand out from the competition and get a head start in developing their business." ArcTern analysis shows a multi-trillion-dollar opportunity within the cleantech industry, particularly in cleantech innovation, and strong potential to generate both outsized financial returns and a positive environmental impact. "By securing $200 million from national and international investors, ArcTern will be able to invest in innovative, scaling companies in Canada's cleantech sector. Canadian cleantech companies are global leaders working to have positive environmental impacts, and our strategies are positioning them to export these benefits to the rest of the world." The Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade "The global cleantech sector is growing and innovating at such a rapid pace that it's providing more investment opportunities than we ever thought possible only a few years ago," explained McCaig. Rand, a leading global climate solution advocate, added that "Cleantech investing is a team sport, which is why we are excited to have united such a powerful and forward-thinking group of investor partners. Our leadership, coupled with their capital commitments, expertise and global connections will help drive the growth of our investee companies with the goal of transforming them into global market leaders." About ArcTern Ventures ArcTern Ventures is a Toronto-based venture capital firm investing globally in breakthrough clean technology growth companies addressing climate change and sustainability. ArcTern was founded by Murray McCaig and Tom Rand around the belief that the accelerating transition to a greener economy will disrupt all industries and present a multi-trillion dollar opportunity for both outsized financial returns and positive environmental impact. For more information, please visit www.arcternventures.com. About Nysn Climate Investments Nysn Climate Investments is a Norwegian state-owned venture fund based in Stavanger that invests in companies and funds with profitable and smart solutions to climate change. Nysn Climate Investments was established in 2017 and is owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry & Fisheries. For more information see www.nysnoinvest.no/en About Investissement Quebec Investissement Quebec's mission is to promote the growth of investment in Quebec, thereby contributing to economic development and job creation in all regions. The Corporation provides companies with a full range of financial solutions, including loans, loan guarantees and equity investment, to support them at all stages of their development. In addition, it is responsible for the administration of tax measures and the prospecting of foreign investments. About Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative (VCCI) is a $450 million Federal government program backed by the Government of Canada to strengthen the local venture capital ecosystem and help Canadian companies scale. VCCI Stream 1 invested in large funds-of-funds that will support Canadian VC fund managers, while VCCI Stream 2 invested in emerging and diverse managers, underserved regions and sectors, and alternative fund structures. VCCI Stream 3 invested in VC funds investing primarily in clean technology firms. Read more: http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/061.nsf/eng/h_03052.html SOURCE ArcTern Ventures [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Prime Minister Narendra Modi exhorted the students of the country to learn from failure to become successful in life. At the third edition of Pariksha pe Charcha - Prime Ministers interaction with students ahead of their exams - he gave the analogy of the unsuccessful launch of Chandrayaan 2, Indias moon mission, last year. Some people advised me against going to Chandrayaan mission launch saying there is no surety, what if it fails? I said that is precisely why I should go there. Even I was disturbed by the failure of Chandrayaan 2, but then I went to talk to the scientists and motivated them. I expressed my feelings and praised their hard work and about nations dreams. The mood changed, not just there, but across the country, PM Modi said. Watch: PM Modi cites Chandrayaan, 2001 Eden test at Pariksha pe Charcha What happened after that, you all know. Sometimes you can learn from failure, he added. He also talked about the 2001 India vs Australia match at Kolkata. Citing the example of Anil Kumble, who was injured during the match but still played and won the match, he said that it depends on us how we deal with the troubles. He also gave examples of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. Our team was facing setbacks and the mood wasnt great. But, we can never forget how Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman turned the match around. This is power of positive thinking and motivation, PM Modi said. The programme has been organised by the government as stress-buster for the students, where PM Modi is sharing tips to perform under pressure. Around 2,000 students from all over the country are participating in the programme; 1,050 have been selected through short essays on five topics. The programme is being moderated by two students. - Doreen Wangare left Kenya in search of greener pastures in November 2019 - The mother of two had complained about the cold in the Middle East country - A brother to the deceased said she was allergic to cold and would get complications whenever affected - She was the family breadwinner and would come to their rescue every time they were in need A family in Kakamega county is mourning the death of their daughter in the Middle East country of Qatar. Thirty-six-year-old Dorine Wangare was confirmed dead on Tuesday, January 14, in what the family believes were mysterious circumstances. READ ALSO: Pastor Ng'ang'a hilariously leads congregants in vigorous dance meant to kick away devil Doreen Wangare left Kenya in search of greener pastures in November 2019 Photo: The Standard Source: UGC READ ALSO: Chris Kirubi advises fans against rushing into marriage, says they'll get wrong partners According to The Standard, Doreen had been on phone with her mother and brother back home just moments before her death. She had two young children, a son 14 and daughter eight, in Form Two and Class Eight respectively. READ ALSO: Betty Kyallo's Somali guy finally spotted during mini vacay at Nakuru resort She was the family's breadwinner and would come to their rescue every time they needed her Photo: Standard Source: UGC READ ALSO: Wajue kupe wanaoifyonza na kuiua sekta ya elimu nchini "She had inquired about school fees for her children and any other items needed in order to budget for them. The news came as a shock," mother to the deceased, Mable Masitsa, said. Doreen's brother, Reinhard Mwangi, said her sister had been complaining about the cold weather as she was allergic to such severe conditions. "I talked to my sister late into the night, She said it was too cold and had been forced to dress suitably. I also told her to stay indoors and that was the last time we spoke," said Mwangi. It is reported that a friend of hers said she opted to use a charcoal burner in her room where she was to be discovered dead come Wednesday, January 15. Dorine was positive about the job which she knew would help her support the two children and larger family back home. She was the family breadwinner and would come to our rescue every time we were locked out due to rent arrears. We do not have anywhere to run for help," added the mother. The family is hoping for assistance from the government to get the body airlifted from Qatar to Kisumu. It will be easy for us to make arrangements on how the body will get home (from Kisumu), even though we face a dilemma on where to bury her," Mwangi added. The late Dorine's excitement at finally landing a chance to help her family back home has been short-lived. She had spent a couple of months in the Middle East country after leaving Kenya in November 2019. This was the second time that Doreen had been outside the country in search of greener pastures. The mother of two had earlier spent four years in Saudi Arabia where she was tortured by her employer leading to her return home. 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. Babu Owino shoots a DJ at B-Club : Kenyans react | Tuko TV Source: TUKO.co.ke The first weekend of the campaign was always likely to turn on an opinion poll in a Sunday newspaper and sure enough, thats exactly what happened. The poll from The Sunday Times dropped a bombshell when it was published late on Saturday night. If it was to be believed, it had Fianna Fail in a 12-point lead over Fine Gael and, were it to be replicated on polling day, not only would we have a change of government, it would mark the end of the Leo Varadkar project. While senior Fine Gael figures would quietly concede that they are starting from behind, mutterings abound regarding the call to concentrate on Brexit so heavily in the opening days. Campaign manager Paschal Donohoe said: And we are simply making the case that, without a healthy economy, we cant make progress on the issues that matter to many. We are arguing that we have made progress in housing and health. We acknowledge its not enough and we want to do more. The reality, from a Fine Gael perspective, is that it has failed to sell Varadkar as a Taoiseach of only two years standing. Fianna Fail has succeeded, along with the rest of the opposition, in cementing the idea that Fine Gael is nine years in office. Another theme beginning to emerge is that Varadkar, as leader, is not connecting with voters. At times he can be painfully shy, and has struggled to appear able to interact and relate to voters on the canvass. I am a real person too, he quipped when meeting a member of the public outside Croke Park who said she had only seem him on the television. Donohoe had to bat away questions yesterday about whether he would have to bench his own leader from the campaign. Micheal Martin, the Fianna Fail leader, was cautious to read too much into the numbers, having treated many polls, good and bad, with similar enough disdain since taking over as leader. He had good reason for many years, as they regularly made grim reading for him, but the real tests (2014 and 2019 local elections and the 2016 general election) have been happier occasions. The significance of one poll can always be overstated and, certainly, the Fine Gael figure appears surprisingly after where they were in December. It is significant, also, that the poll was conducted before the election had been formally called and in the midst of the RIC controversy. But the narrative has been established. Fianna Fail is in the driving seat but there are many twists and turns in a campaign. Martin, more than most, knows what looks certain on weekend one of the campaign can slip away from you in an instant. Of significant interest was the release of the Dublin data from the poll: Fine Gael at 31% support in the capital, almost double the 16% for Fianna Fail. This is significant and Martin was right to say that the battles within constituencies across the country will decide who wins and who loses, as opposed to bold national figures. After the first few days of opening shots and the campaign dominated by justice issues, this week will see the beginning of specific policy launches. Fianna Fail will reveal its housing policy tomorrow; it includes a controversial SSIA-type scheme for aspirant homeowners. Donohoe, as finance minister, did a quick tot-up of Fianna Fails promises and said its figures simply dont add up. Expect plenty more of that kind of talk. Only 18 days left to go. Fight fires with facts not fake science By Paul Driessen & Duggan Flanakin We are all born ignorant, Benjamin Franklin once said, but one must work very hard to remain stupid. Greens are incensed over suggestions that anything but fossil fuels and climate change might be turning green California and Australian ecosystems into black wastelands, incinerating wildlife, destroying homes and killing people. The notion that they and their policies might be a major factor in these fires gets them so hot under the collar that they could ignite another inferno. But the facts are there for all to see. PG&E certainly failed to maintain, upgrade and repair its transmission lines and towers, leading to sparks that caused multiple fiery cataclysms. However, California now has over 129 million dead trees in its forests and a long history of refusing to thin them out, clear brush or permit others to do so. Fuel levels in Aussie forest, brush and grasslands areas have likewise climbed to near-historic levels in recent years. The total area burned in New South Wales and Victoria is now approaching the area burnt in Victoria back in 1851, Australian scientist Dr. Jennifer Marohasy notes. 2020 summer temperatures in Australia may get as hot as they did back in 1938-1939. US climatologist Dr. Roy Spencer agrees. In both California and Australia, people bemoan the loss of eucalyptus trees in fires. But many dont want them removed or even thinned out. They dont know (or wont accept the fact) that fallen eucalypt leaves and bark create vast expanses of flammable material, while their spicy-smelling oil is highly flammable. A spark can ignite an explosive firestorm in air laden with gasoline-like vapors, followed by horrific crown fires among the trees and ground fires in the dead leaves and bark. Rainy winters in both places cause rapid, lush plant growth that is aided by rising levels of atmospheric plant-fertilizing carbon dioxide. Long, hot, dry summers or prolonged droughts can follow, drying out the trees, brush and grass, and setting the stage for catastrophic wildfires. Environmentalists, politicians, regulators and judges say removing trees and brush will damage habitats. But when the inevitable conflagrations hit, habitats are cremated and obliterated, down to soil organisms and organic matter. Subsequent downpours and snowmelts wash the remaining soil away. What habitats? Some recent fires could be called historic or unprecedented especially if monster fires of a century or more ago are left out of the calculation; or if conflagrations elsewhere are not included. Few people know about the Great Peshtigo, Wisconsin Fire of October 8, 1871, even though it killed 1,200-2,500 people, many of them turned into little piles of ash. The Peshtigo debacle was overshadowed by another big fire that day: the Great Chicago Fire, which burned 98% less land and killed far fewer people. Yet another fact demolishes the all-too-typical claim that recent Australian fires are due to manmade climate change. Many (perhaps most) of those fires were caused by humans some accidentally, but many deliberately. More than 180 alleged arsonists have been arrested since the start of the 2020 bushfire season, with 29 blazes deliberately lit in part of southeast New South Wales in just three months! At least two dozen people have died in Australias fires, along with thousands of sheep and cattle, over 2,000 koala bears, and several hundred million other animals. US wildfires have likewise exacted horrific death tolls. A few years ago, Duggan hosted a benefit concert for the families of the Fallen Nineteen, the 19 City of Prescott firefighters who died battling the 2013 lightning-ignited Yarnell Hill Fire in Arizona. Now, the Washington Free Beacon reports, a media outlet affiliated with ISIS has been instructing the group's radical adherents to set forest fires in the United States and Europe to cause mass ecological disasters, according to posts on an internet forum dedicated to the terror group. The Middle East Media Research Institute has flagged four posters published in the pro-ISIS Quraysh media outlet. The first said (English translation): Oh monotheists [followers of ISIS], ignite fires in the forests and fields, and we are addressing especially those who live in Europe and America, for the fires are painful to them. The fourth poster got more specific: Ignite fires in the forests of America, France, Britain and Germany, for they are painful to them." Might some ISIS follower have viewed Australia as equally deserving of ecotage? A recent report by Pulitzer Prize winning Los Angeles Times reporter Bettina Boxall may make greens even hotter under the collar: Human-caused ignitions spark Californias worst wildfires but get little state focus, the headline reads. Her key point is damning: It doesnt matter how dry the vegetation, how fierce the winds or how high the temperature; if there is no ignition, there is no wildfire. Noting that the 2019 California fire season was far less deadly than that in 2018, when the notorious Camp Fire destroyed the town of Paradise and killed 86 people, Ms. Boxall attributes the comparatively mind 2019 fire season to actions PG&E took to shut down power to many Californians, often for days. She quotes Stanford University researcher Michael Wara, who testified before a Congressional committee that Pacific Gas & Electrics inspections of wind damage to its lines and equipment made it clear that, without preventive shutdowns, we would have had a significant number of utility-caused fires in 2019. Boxall found that all of Californias 20 most destructive wildfires were human-related, with half due to power line or electrical problems. She also noted that a study of US records from 1992 to 2012 found that human activity (power lines, carelessness and arson) was responsible for 84% of wildfires and 44% of acreage burned nationwide. Thats the ignition factor. Two other factors are equally important. Even if there is ignition, if there is insufficient fuel, there will still be no wildfire at least not monstrous, deadly conflagrations. Thin the forests, remove dead trees, control brush and grass levels, especially in dry seasons and arid regions. Its basic, intelligent land management; the Boy Scout motto: Be prepared. Preparation also means maintaining fire breaks and access roads into forest, brush and grass lands; building and maintaining sufficient escape routes and warning systems, and making people aware of them; ensuring that each family and community has an escape plan; and having enough trucks, airplanes, helicopters, other equipment and personnel to respond to average fires and worst-case scenarios. It means educating children and adults about how to prevent fires, put them out, and get out of their path. (California public schools offer multiple courses on climate change. Cool California lists even more. But as long as politicians and even industry leaders keep spreading the false gospel of climate change as the principal cause of wildfires, the need for personal and political responsibility will be ignored.) Third, actual response to a fire means ensuring the political, social, financial and institutional support to get sufficient personnel, equipment and water to a fire before it turns into an uncontrollable inferno. Do all that, and the recovery phase rebuilding homes, businesses, habitats, wildlife numbers and shattered human lives will be far less extensive, costly and traumatic. Difficult recoveries will also be minimized by not wasting scarce time and money on fashionable, politically correct, woke issues like how many fire fighters are of a specific ethnic or sexual identity group. People and animals in the path of a roaring inferno care only that first responders are prepared, equipped and on time. So should politicians. Every one of these vital matters is within our power to control if we can muster the political willpower to take appropriate action. None of them involves climate change. It doesnt matter if Earths or Californias or Australias average annual or summer temperature is 0.1 or even 1.0 degrees warmer. Or that a drought is a day, month or year longer than X. Or whether the climate and weather fluctuations are driven by human or natural forces. Or that America, Australia, Britain, China, India or Indonesia is not doing enough to curb fossil fuel use and carbon dioxide emissions. Climate change did not cause 129 million trees to die in California or prevent the state and feds from removing the dead trees, thinning the forests, and clearing overgrown brush and grass. Ditto for Australia. We must play the hand we have been dealt. That means acting responsibly and intelligently to prevent and respond to wildfires under whatever climate, drought, diseased and dead trees, or other conditions exist, wherever and whenever we live. Ben Franklin would be proud of us. Paul Driessen is senior policy analyst for the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow and author of books and articles on energy, climate, environmental and human rights issues. Duggan Flanakin is CFACTs director of policy research. Home A manhunt was under way last night for a major Drogheda feud criminal, who is also a main suspect for the gruesome murder of Keane Mulready-Woods (17), after a warrant was issued for his arrest. Specialist gardai closely watched Dublin Airport and Dublin Port yesterday amid fears the 24-year-old - a leading member on one side of the bloody feud - was planning to flee to England. In a special bulletin, officers have been warned the thug is "dangerous" and armed gardai are required to deal with him. The arrest warrant - issued on Thursday of last week - was not linked to last week's savage abduction, murder and dismemberment of the Drogheda teenager. Conditions The warrant alleged that the mobster has breached strict High Court bail conditions on multiple occasions since December. He is facing serious charges in relation to an incident which happened in Drogheda last year. He has been cleared in various courts of a number of other serious charges. The warrant states the murder suspect has failed to sign on at a Garda station on a number of occasions in December and this month. Expand Close Keane Mulready-Woods / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Keane Mulready-Woods It is also alleged he has not been constantly staying at an address in Drogheda which he is obliged to do as part of his bail conditions. "Gardai hope to execute the arrest warrant with the intention of bringing the suspect off the streets and into prison," a source told the Irish Independent. "If this happens it will ease tensions in the Co Louth town - there is a very tense, strange atmosphere in Drogheda at the moment." Sources say the 24-year-old criminal has been "driving a lot of the hatred" in the feud. He is the main target for the rival Maguire faction and suspected of being the man recorded goading and abusing paralysed Owen Maguire last year in a recorded phone call. In the call, which was video recorded and shared on social media, Maguire - who is confined to a wheelchair after being shot by the rival gang in July 2018 - is ridiculed about his paralysis. The rival mobster goads him by asking: "Do you want to go for a walk and sort this out?" Expand Close Keane Mulready-Woods / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Keane Mulready-Woods It comes as it emerged that a slagging match over a pair of flip-flops between a recently released criminal and a Coolock teen might have been the trigger for the brutal murder and dismemberment of Keane Mulready-Woods. A Dublin criminal in his 30s, who was released from jail just weeks ago and is also a main suspect for the murder, was recently attacked and filmed on a Dublin street after coming out of a gym. Video of the incident was shared widely on social media. Selfie Later, the Coolock man suspected of carrying out the assault posted a selfie in a pair of black and white flip-flops which are believed to have been taken from the criminal's gym bag. Investigators say tensions have been growing since the incident and sources say the criminal and his associates were furious at how he was ridiculed publicly by the young Coolock man. Expand Close Gruesome: Forensic officers examine a holdall containing the severed limbs of 17-year-old Keane Mulready-Woods in Moatview in Coolock last week. Photo: Collins / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Gruesome: Forensic officers examine a holdall containing the severed limbs of 17-year-old Keane Mulready-Woods in Moatview in Coolock last week. Photo: Collins In a gruesome turn of events a pair of flip-flops were found in the bag containing the limbs of the teenager last Monday. Meanwhile, Bishop Michael Router has said he is not afraid to stand up for the ordinary people of Drogheda whose lives are being destroyed by "ruthless" drugs gangs who have "a stranglehold" on communities in the town. The Auxiliary Bishop of Armagh said that while there is a risk involved in speaking out against violent criminals, people need to come together if the scourge of violent crime is to be defeated. Speaking to the Irish Independent at Our Lady of Lourdes parish in Drogheda, Dr Router said: "Sometimes you just have to make a stand and say what maybe others can't say and take that risk on behalf of other people. "I would hope that the message is getting out there that all the priests working in the town are willing and open to people using them as the vehicle for getting information through to the gardai." Malaysia is refusing to turn into the world's dumping ground amid growing disposal needs, the AP reports. What's happening: The nation has returned more than 150 shipping containers of plastic garbage to 13 mostly rich countries since the third quarter of last year. Hauls of plastic waste have been rerouted to Southeast Asia since China issued a ban on importing plastic trash in 2018. "Of the 150 containers, 43 were returned to France, 42 to the United Kingdom, 17 to the United States, 11 to Canada and 10 to Spain," AP notes. The rest were returned to Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Lithuania, Portugal, Singapore and Sri Lanka, Malysia's environment minister Yeo Bee Yin said. Yeo said Malaysia is in talks with the U.S. to return another 60 containers this year. Canada, Japan, the U.K. and Belgium all also have outstanding containers that are being held at Malaysian ports. If people want to see us as the rubbish dump of the world, you dream on, Yeo added. Go deeper: By Express News Service BENGALURU: Adagur H Vishwanath, the former JDS president who had helped the chief rebel Ramesh Jarkiholi in bringing together all 17 MLAs to topple the previous coalition government, is not very pleased that the cabinet expansion is constantly getting delayed. When asked what will happen if the government does not honour its commitment to induct the rebels, as it has already been about seven months since this government has come to power, told The New Indian Express, nodona yenaguthe antha (we will see what will happen). When asked about the rumours floating regarding the chances the Congress (with 68 MLAs, and the JDS, with 34 MLAs) still has of coming to power, provided the 17 rebels support them again, Vishwanath said that nothing can be confirmed, repeating his let us see stance. ALSO READ | CM off to Davos, 11 MLAs wait for cabinet gets longer Talking about the delay in cabinet expansion, Vishwanath said that as there was a process to be followed, as well as the bypolls, the delay is fine. He said that he will speak to the other 16 rebels, as they had collectively acted to bring down the coalition government. I will speak to them and will arrange a meeting. Let us see how long they will delay the cabinet expansion, he said. It may be recalled that the former rebels have held at least three meetings, where they decided to stay united come what may. One source even explained that the rebels were planning a pilgrimage together to seek divine intervention. ALSO READ | Rebels will be rewarded in next two days: Eshwarappa We are not asking for anything extraordinary, we are only asking them to keep up their commitment and what they promised us. If it was not for the 17 MLAs who resigned, how could this government have come to power? he asked, adding, The ball is in their court. In the past few weeks, the rebels have expressed their frustration over the delay in inducting them as ministers in Chief Minister B S Yediyurappas cabinet. They said that this commitment was made to them even before they rebelled. Vishwanath, who contested from Hunsur assembly segment, lost to Congress nominee H P Manjunath. Meanwhile, Union Minister for Petroleum and Chemicals D V Sadananda Gowda said that CM Yediyurappa will decide about cabinet expansion once he returns from Davos. "He is in Davos along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and will think about expanding the cabinet after he returns," Gowda said. The Enforcement Directorate has arrested NRI businessman C C Thampi in a money laundering probe related to properties in London allegedly linked to Congress President Sonia Gandhis son-in-law Robert Vadra, two officials said on Monday. Thampis arrest comes at a time when ED is seeking cancellation of Vadras anticipatory bail, granted on April 1 last year, in the Delhi High Court. An ED officer who asked not to be named said Thampi was summoned to Delhi and arrested on Friday. The investigation was first launched after arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari was raided by the Income Tax department in April 2016 during which documents pertaining to a property, 12, Ellorton House, Bryanston Square in London worth 1.9 million pounds were recovered. ED has claimed that the property belongs to Vadra and that Thampi, Dubai based controller of Sky Lite Investments FZE and owner of Holiday Group, played a crucial role in acquiring it. ED claims that Bhandari, who fled to the UK via Nepal in December 2016 after the NDA government booked him under the officials secrets act, Thampi and Vadra devised a scheme of money laundering by way of transferring the proceeds of crimes multiple times from one individual to other. Vadra said: Its a free for all in this countrytruth has no place. Witch-hunt continues for almost a decade. Another decade more and we will be referring to what happened in 2010, 2011, 2012 and on and on. From the complaint filed under the Black Money Act, it was noticed that $ 4.9 million was received on June 13, 2008 in undisclosed bank accounts of a company Santech International FZE Dubai (company owned by Bhandari). A company Sky Lite Investment, which conducted no business, was floated in April 2009 by Thampi for the purpose of acquiring immovable assets, ED claimed in its remand paper submitted in the court. Interestingly, Sky Lite Investment has a similar name to Skylight Hospitality Pvt Ltd , which Robert Vadra owns in India and which has been under investigation in multiple cases including those concerning land deals in Gurugram and Bikaner. Bhandari identified a villa D-44 at Palm Jumeriah Dubai -- to be purchased through Sky Lite for 8.8 million Dirhams in November 2009. The transaction didnt materialize but the fact remains that this transaction about property to be purchased in the name of Sky Lite of Thampi was monitored by Bhandari as the draft MoU for purchase was sent by the buyers to Bhandari and not to Sky Lite Investment FZE, ED added. Then, Bhandari purchased London mansion through his British Virgin Islands based company Vortex Management Holdings. In June 2010, the property was bought by Thampi through Sky Lite. ED suspects that this property at Bryanston Sqaure was acquired through pay-offs in a petroleum deal during UPA government in 2009. In 2011, the name of Sky Lite was changed to Mayfair Investment FZE in an attempt to remove possibility of finding any links between name of companies of Vadra in India and in UAE by investigating agencies according to ED. Interestingly, Thampi transferred 100% shares of the company to his nephew, Geever Vadakkthelu Cheru in 2011, who works as a driver in the UAE and is illiterate, without any monetary consideration, ED said Thampi, during questioning last April, failed to explain why Bhandari was monitoring purchase of properties by his companies and why the company was given to somebody else without any monetary consideration, said a second ED officer. Thampi knowingly assisted Bhandari and Vadra in laundering proceeds of crime, he added. Thampis lawyer could not be reached for comment. Five other properties in London, 26, Wellington Road, St Johns Wood; 25, Saratoga Road, Clapton; 42, Upper Brook Street; a property on Edgware Road; and Flat Number 6, Grosvenor Hill Road, Bourdon Street are also under the EDs scanner. Last year, ED asked its UK counterpart to share details of ownership and financial transactions related to these properties. TORONTO, Jan. 20, 2020 - Crystal Peak Minerals Inc. (Crystal Peak or the Company) (TSXV: CPM, OTCQX: CPMMF) is pleased to announce that, further to its news release dated January 10, 2020, it has closed its previously announced loan transaction with EMR Capital Investment (No. 5B) Pte. Ltd., an affiliate of EMR Capital Resources Fund 1, LP (EMR), to invest US$13,124,421.69 in the Company to continue development of the Sevier Playa Project through 2020 (the Loan). US$2,000,000 of the Loan will be used by Crystal Peak for bridge engineering, project rescoping studies, pursuing project funding, environmental permitting, and for other general working capital purposes. The remaining portion of the Loan has been used to repay the existing US$10,000,000 convertible loan agreement with EMR, which matured on January 19, 2020, plus accrued interest in the amount of US$1,124,421.69. The Loan accrues interest at a rate of 12% per annum and matures in 12 months. The principal amount of the Loan, in whole or in part, is convertible into common shares of the Company at the option of the holder at a price of C$0.055 per common share. All securities issued pursuant to the Loan are subject to a four-month-and-one-day hold period from today. About Crystal Peak Minerals Inc. Crystal Peak is focused on the production of premium-priced specialty fertilizers such as Sulfate of Potash (SOP). The Company controls mineral leases on more than 124,000 acres on the Sevier Playa in Millard County, Utah. In August 2019, Crystal Peak received the Record of Decision from the U.S. Department of the Interior for its Sevier Playa Project, which grants federal permission to construct and operate. With a brine mineral resource known to contain potassium, magnesium, sulfate, and other beneficial minerals, Crystal Peak is targeting the production of specialty fertilizers and associated products through the use of a low-cost brine extraction and solar evaporation process. SOP and other specialty fertilizers are used in the production of high value, chloride-sensitive crops such as tree nuts, fruits, and vegetables. For further information, please contact: Woods Silleroy Corporate Secretary (801) 485-0223 woods@crystalpeakminerals.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Information This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to the use of proceeds from the Loan, the permitting and construction of the Project, the targeting of the development and production of specialty fertilizers and associated minerals, including SOP, through the use of a cost-effective solar evaporation process; and Crystal Peaks future business. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as plans, is expected, expects or does not expect, budget, scheduled, estimates, forecasts, intends, anticipates or does not anticipate, believes, or variations of such words and phrases; or terms that state that certain actions, events, or results may, could, would, might, or will be taken, could occur, or be achieved. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the information is made, and is based on, a number of assumptions and is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, including but not limited to the timing of obtaining the necessary permits to proceed with the Project, that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Crystal Peak to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Although Crystal Peak has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Crystal Peak does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. CNN and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Democrat from Massachusetts, with powerful establishment support, combined to stage a provocation this week aimed at slowing down or derailing the campaign of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders for the Democratic Party presidential nomination. Through CNN, the Massachusetts senators camp first alleged that Sanders told her in December 2018 a woman could not win a presidential election, an allegation Sanders strenuously refuted. At the Democratic debate on Tuesday night, CNNs moderator acted as though the claim was an indisputable reality, leading to a post-debate encounter between Warren and Sanders, which the network just happened to record and circulate widely. This is a political stink bomb, borrowed from the #MeToo playbook, typical of American politics in its putrefaction. Unsubstantiated allegations are turned into facts, these facts become the basis for blackening reputations and damaging careers and shifting politics continuously to the right. Anyone who denies the allegations is a sexist who refuses to believe women. The Democratic establishment is fearful of Sanders, not so much for his nationalist-reformist program and populist demagogy, but for what his confused but growing support portends: the movement to the left by wide layers of the American population. The US ruling elite seems convinced, like some wretched, self-deluded potentate of old, that if it can simply stamp out the unpleasant noise, the rising tide of disaffection will dissipate. CNNs operation began Monday when it posted a bombshell article by M.J. Lee with the headline, Bernie Sanders told Elizabeth Warren in private 2018 meeting that a woman cant win, sources say. The article animatedly begins, The stakes were high when Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren met at Warrens apartment in Washington, DC, one evening in December 2018. Among other things, the CNN piece reported, the pair discussed how to best take on President Donald Trump, and Warren laid out two main reasons she believed she would be a strong candidate: She could make a robust argument about the economy and earn broad support from female voters. Sanders responded that he did not believe a woman could win. Lee continues, The description of that meeting is based on the accounts of four people: two people Warren spoke with directly soon after the encounter, and two people familiar with the meeting. In reality, the story is based on the account of one individual with a considerable interest in cutting into Sanders support, i.e., Elizabeth Warren. As the New York Times primly noted, Ms. Warren and Mr. Sanders were the only people in the room. The absurd CNN article goes on, After publication of this story, Warren herself backed up this account of the meeting, saying in part in a statement Monday, I thought a woman could win; he disagreed. In other words, Warren backed up what could only have been her own account insofar as she was the only person there besides Sanders! After a pro forma insertion of Sanders categorical denial that he ever made such a statement, in which he reasonably observed, Do I believe a woman can win in 2020? Of course! After all, Hillary Clinton beat Donald Trump by 3 million votes in 2016, Lee plowed right ahead as though his comments were not worth responding to. She carries on, The conversation also illustrates the skepticism among not only American voters but also senior Democratic officials that the country is ready to elect a woman as president and, further, The revelation that Sanders expressed skepticism that Warren could win the presidency because she is a woman is particularly noteworthy now, given that Warren is the lone female candidate at the top of the Democratic field. This is one of the ways in which the sexual misconduct witch-hunt has poisoned American politics, although by no means the only one. Warrens claims about a private encounter simply must be believed. During the Democratic candidates debate itself Tuesday night, moderator Abby Phillips addressed Sanders in the following manner: Lets now turn to an issue thats come up in the last 48 hours [because Warren and CNN generated it]. Sen. Sanders, CNN reported yesterday thatand Sen. Sanders, Sen. Warren confirmed in a statement, that in 2018 you told her that you did not believe that a woman could win the election. Why did you say that? (emphasis added). Senator Elizabeth Warren, second from left, and fellow candidates businessman Tom Steyer, left, former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders, right, during the Democratic presidential primary debate hosted by CNN in Iowa last week. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) Sanders denied once again that he had said any such thing. Phillips persisted, Sen. Sanders, I do want to be clear here, youre saying that you never told Sen. Warren that a woman could not win the election? Sanders confirmed that. Insultingly, Phillips immediately turned to Warren and continued, Sen. Warren, what did you think when Sen. Sanders told you a woman could not win the election? This was all clearly prepared ahead of time, a deliberate effort to embarrass Sanders and portray him as a liar and a male chauvinist. Following the debate, Warren had the audacity to confront the Vermont senator, refuse to shake his hand and assert, I think you called me a liar on national TV. When Sanders seemed startled by her remark, she repeated it. CNN managed to capture the sound and preserve it for widespread distribution. The WSWS gives no support to Sanders, a phony socialist whose efforts are aimed at channeling working-class anger at social inequality, poverty and war back into the big business Democratic Party. He is only the latest in a long line of figures in American political history devoted to maintaining the Democrats stranglehold over popular opposition and blocking the development of a broad-based socialist movement. Nonetheless, the CNN-Warren dirty tricks operation is an obvious hatchet job and an attack from the right. Accordingly, the New York Times and other major outlets have been gloating and attempting to make something out of it since Tuesday night. The obvious purpose is to raise serious questions about Sanders and dampen support for him, among women especially. It should be recalled that in 2016 Sanders led Hillary Clinton among young women by 30 percentage points. Michelle Cottle, a member of the Times editorial board (in Why Questions on Women Candidates Strike a Nerve, January 15), asserted that the issue raised by the Warren-Sanders clash was not about Mr. Sanders and Ms. Warren. Not really. And Ms. Warren was right to try to shift the focus to the bigger pictureeven if some critics will sneer that shes playing the gender card. Cottles bigger picture, it turned out, primarily involved smearing Sanders. The present controversy, she went on, has resurfaced some of Mr. Sanderss past women troubles. His 2016 campaign faced multiple accusations of sexual harassment, pay inequities and other gender-based mistreatment. Asked early last year if he knew about the complaints, Mr. Sanderss reaction was both defensive and dismissive: I was a little bit busy running around the country. After Cottle attempted to convince her readers, on the basis of dubious numbers, that Americans were perhaps too backward to elect a female president, she continued, again, taking as good coin Warrens allegations, This less-than-inspiring dataalong with from-the-trail anecdotes about the gender-based voter anxiety that Ms. Warren and Ms. [Amy] Klobuchar have been facinghelp explain why Mr. Sanderss alleged remarks struck such a nerve. Women candidates and their supporters arent simply outraged that he could be so wrong. Theyre worried that he might be right. The remarks he denies making have nonetheless outraged Cottle and others. The Times more and more openly expresses fears about a possible Sanders nomination. Op-ed columnist David Leonhardt headlined his January 14 piece, President Bernie Sanders, and commented, Sanders has a real shot of winning the Democratic nomination. Only a couple of months after he suffered a mild heart attack, that counts as a surprise. Leonhardt downplays Sanders socialist credentials, observing that while he [Sanders] would probably fail to accomplish his grandest goals (again, like Medicare for all), he would also move the country in a positive direction. He might even move it to closer to a center-left ideal than a more moderate candidate like Biden would. On Thursday, right-wing Times columnist David Brooks argued pathetically against the existence of class war in The Bernie Sanders Fallacy. He ridiculed what he described as Bernie Sanderss class-war Theyism: The billionaires have rigged the economy to benefit themselves and impoverish everyone else. According to Brooks, Sanders is a Bolshevik who believes that Capitalism is a system of exploitation in which capitalist power completely dominates worker power. Accusing Sanders of embracing such an ABC socialist proposition is all nonsense, but it reveals something about what keeps pundits like Brooks up at night. The Times is determined, as the WSWS has noted more than once, to exclude anything from the 2020 election campaign that might arouse or encourage the outrage of workers and young people. The past year of global mass protest has only deepened and strengthened that determination. The Times, CNN and other elements of the media and political establishment, and behind them powerful financial-corporate interests, dont want Sanders and they dont necessarily want Warren either, who engaged in certain loose talk about taxing the billionaires, before retreating in fright. They want a campaign dominated by race, gender and sexual orientationnot class and not social inequality. The #MeToo-style attack on Sanders reflects both the style and the right-wing concerns of these social layers. In 1990, Marita Conlon-McKenna's first novel for children Under the Hawthorn Tree was an immediate success. Set during the devastation of the Great Famine, it is the deeply moving story of three young siblings who, desperate to avoid the workhouse when tragedy strikes the family, make their way across Ireland in search of unknown relatives. It went on to be a multi-award winner and the first in a 'Children of the Famine' series. With her new adult novel The Hungry Road, Conlon-McKenna returns to the subject of the famine, its impact on individuals and families, and the devastating toll it took on communities. A tragedy that took an estimated one million lives and saw the emigration of over a million, it is a pivotal point in Ireland's past, and one which she has researched meticulously from contemporary accounts at home and abroad. While the worst years of the Famine (1845-1849) are its primary focus, The Hungry Road sensibly opens and closes with a wider lens, giving valuable context to the powerful human stories. Conlon-McKenna begins in Skibbereen in September 1843, on the day of Daniel O'Connell's Monster Repeal Meeting: "From every field and farm, lane and street, village and townland in West Cork, the people came." There is a sense of energy, an expectation that freedom is merely a hands-grasp away, as, "O'Connell's voice carried loud and clear across the field, filling the spectators' parched hearts with the hope of change". Yet what comes instead is the blight, stealthily destroying crops and livelihoods overnight. In a time when information travelled person to person, fear and confusion are soon rampant. Skibbereen (which hosted the State's first public national Famine commemoration event in 2009) was one of the worst affected areas in Ireland. By December 1846, its voluntary soup kitchen was feeding up to 1,500 people daily. From an estimated population of 105,000 in the 1840s, at least 28,000 died, and a further 8,000 emigrated. Inspired by real people, Conlon-McKenna focuses on a number of individuals: Mary Sullivan, a talented seamstress who lives with her tenant farmer husband and young family; Dr Dan Donovan, the hard-working medical officer to the Skibbereen Union whose heroic efforts must have saved hundreds of men, women and children; and compassionate local priest, Fr John Fitzpatrick. It is perhaps the complication of using real lives to create fiction, that in seeking to be true to the facts of their actions, one can be hesitant to speculate on their complex thoughts, their secret hearts. Conlon-McKenna has assembled an excellent cast of characters, who act and react to each other and their situations, though we get very little of their internal unspoken lives, their desires and dreams and confusions: her characters' speech generally mirrors their thinking. The agony of the departing emigrant is clear: "She ran her eyes over the broken and battered cottage Soon they would be gone from it and rain and wind, weeds and wildlife would claim it. She was heartbroken at the thought of the children never playing in the surrounding fields again." Her vivid depictions of the landscape and its relationship with the people who make a living from it, allow the land to become another character. It is the provider that becomes the enemy: "The hunger had stalked and starved the land." Myriad small, moving details help to illustrate the enormity of the tragedy: starving animals digging up putrid bodies from shallow graves; bereaved parents spending their last shilling on a coffin for a dead child rather than food for their surviving children; once-friendly neighbours reduced to stealing from each other. The 'hungry road' of the title is that leading to the soup kitchen. However, in tracing her characters' lives, Conlon-McKenna illustrates many different paths. For some, the road led to starvation and death. For others it became the way to a life in Liverpool or New York; a search for brave new beginnings and fresh hopes. Sushmitha Ramakrishnan By Express News Service CHENNAI: Faculty of private engineering colleges affiliated to Anna University have demanded that the varsity refund tax funds deducted in their remuneration for various examination duties. They claim that most engineering faculty do not earn enough to fall under taxable slab. A circular dated November 26 announced, As per the procedure in force, 10 per cent of the renumeration as income tax from the faculty members and remitted into the COEs TAN No. CHE*******D for income tax, the circular said. The circular concerns about 15,000 exam evaluators across the State. This had caused unrest among faculty members as most of them made less than Rs10,000 from examination evaluation and claimed their income levels did not qualify for taxation. While varsity officials had clarified to Express in December that they will not deduct if a faculty does not fall under the taxable slab, funds were deducted from remuneration of most. Some faculty members from Anna University had submitted a declaration to the Controller of Examination with their income status and we have not deducted for those who do not fall under the tax slab, said a senior source from the varsity adding that they have not discussed refunding at this point. Private college faculty do not earn enough income to fall under the taxable slab. It is not fair for colleges to deduct tax from us, said KM Karthik, president of All India Private Engineering College Employees Union.The examination paper evaluation for November 2019 engineering exams started on November 28. Teachers, who evaluate these papers roughly earn between Rs1,200 and 1,400 a day. Most of them engage in evaluation for about 5-8 days and earning between Rs5,000-8,000. It is impossible for 15,000 faculty members from across the State to individually submit a declaration to the controllers office in Chennai. The varsity neither announced any format to submit a declaration nor asked faculty if they fall under tax slab, said Karthik. However, It is unclear at this point if Form 16 A will be issued to employees from private engineering colleges who are being taxed, as they are not direct employees of the university. We are unsure if we can claim reimbursement from I-T Department, said Karthik. Not in taxable slab Private college faculty do not earn enough income to fall under the taxable slab, said KM Karthik, president of All India Private Engineering College Employees Union President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell huddled privately in the Oval Office this month to discuss a judicial nominee. But the president, seething over the stain of impeachment, had something else on his mind: he wanted to know how the GOP could short-circuit his trial. During the Jan. 8 session, Trump rejected the House charges against him - abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, calling it a shoddy case that would never hold up in court. He urged McConnell, R-Ky., to use his power to end the trial before it began. McConnell cautioned Trump, as he had many times before: Such a vote to dismiss the charges would fail in the Senate, he flatly told the president, prompting embarrassing headlines. In addition, it would split Senate Republicans at the outset of Trump's impeachment trial - which will probably be among the most challenging times of his presidency. "Better to be unified than divided," McConnell said, according to two people with knowledge of the exchange who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak frankly. The warning underscores the advisory role McConnell has been playing to Trump as he seeks to protect his fragile Senate majority and his own reelection this year while ensuring a smooth acquittal of the president. Although the men are polar opposites - and initially had a rocky and somewhat awkward relationship - the president has come to view McConnell as an asset and reliable counselor, deferring to him on impeachment strategy, even at times against his own no-holds-barred instincts. When the president last fall criticized Senate Republicans who chided his behavior toward Ukraine, it was McConnell who encouraged Trump to engage with those members to win their confidence, rather than striking back. When the president pushed to use his impeachment trial to target potential presidential rival Joe Biden, it was McConnell who persuaded him to embrace a no-witness strategy preferred by the majority leader and many rank-and-file senators. "I think the president's learned over time to trust his advice," said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, a McConnell ally. The next few weeks will test that relationship, particularly because the men have opposing views of what the trial should be. McConnell and his more moderate GOP senators facing difficult reelection bids want the trial to be serious - a markedly different tone than the reality-TV-star-turned-president who prefers a brawl. It remains to be seen whether Trump goes with his gut, as he likes to do, or listens to the advice of the longtime Republican leader. The account of the interactions between Trump and McConnell is based on interviews with a dozen senators, Senate aides and White House officials close to McConnell or the president, some who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations. The first test may come soon after the trial begins in earnest Tuesday, when one of Trump's allies could push for a motion to dismiss the case despite McConnell's advice. Just five days after meeting with the majority leader, Trump took to Twitter to continue advocating for such a move, writing that "many believe that by the Senate giving credence to a trial . . . rather than an outright dismissal, it gives the partisan Democrat Witch Hunt credibility that it otherwise does not have." Officials familiar with the White House strategy say no final decision has been made, warning that it will probably be a last-minute call. Continued consideration of the move comes as McConnell warned last week that there is "little or no sentiment" in the GOP caucus to dismiss the charges, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Sunday that such a motion is "dead for practical purposes." But Sen. David Perdue. R-Ga., said he "very well might" move to hold a vote to dismiss the charges, even at the outset, and even if it fails. "That sends a message," Perdue said. "One . . . that this is an illegitimate process that's being handed to us, and if we accept it the way we're accepting it now, it's a bad historic precedent." The political odd couple of Trump and McConnell has proved intriguing since the New Yorker captured the GOP presidential nomination in 2016. While the malleable Trump, a former Democrat, shoots from the hip and often overshares on social media, the lifelong conservative and guarded McConnell says little, calculating his moves and keeping his own leadership team guessing. Trump is immensely popular with the GOP base, wielding his Twitter account like a megaphone that fires up Republican voters across the country. McConnell, by contrast, was booed at the 2016 Republican National Convention because of his longtime inside-the-Beltway status - though that was well before he helped Trump fulfill some of his campaign promises, endearing him to the president's allies. McConnell's staff isn't sure whether the majority leader has ever tweeted, but people close to the president and the senator say their mutual respect was borne out of three years of success in remaking the federal courts and securing a tax overhaul in December 2017 - after Trump blamed McConnell for the failure of the GOP to repeal the 2010 Affordable Care Act. McConnell, who blocked former President Barack Obama's nominee to the Supreme Court in 2016, has changed Senate rules to speed confirmation of 187 of Trump's judicial nominees, including two conservatives to the Supreme Court. In a November White House ceremony on judicial appointments, Trump praised McConnell: "Generations from now, Americans will know that Mitch McConnell helped save the constitutional rule of law in America. It's true. It's for a long time." McConnell's stature in Trump's eyes only grew when McConnell refused to give up on one of those high court nominees, Brett Kavanaugh. In the middle of the confirmation process, California professor Christine Blasey Ford accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when the two were teenagers. During the high-profile Senate hearing with Ford, the president phoned McConnell and asked whether he needed to withdraw the Kavanaugh nomination. McConnell encouraged him not to do it. The Senate narrowly confirmed Kavanaugh to a lifetime seat on the Supreme Court. Those close with the president say he heeds McConnell's advice in part because he has learned lessons from ignoring him - at least twice. In the fall of 2017, McConnell told the president that the GOP needed him to ensure then-Sen. Luther Strange, R-Ala., defeated primary challenger Roy Moore in the special election to fill then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions' seat. But while Trump stumped for Strange, he tacitly allowed his former strategist Steve Bannon to work on Moore's behalf, undercutting McConnell's work - according to two people familiar with what occurred. Moore won the Republican nomination but faced allegations of sexual misconduct with teenage girls in the 1970s. While McConnell and the Senate GOP apparatus immediately shunned Moore, Trump ended up supporting him by arguing that the Senate seat needed to stay in GOP hands - although Republicans ultimately lost to Democrat Doug Jones. The lessons continued into 2018, when Trump threatened to shut down the government to secure money for his U.S.-Mexico border wall. McConnell warned the president that he would not be successful and would take a hit in the polls, but Trump sided with conservatives and shuttered the government before the holidays. The president relented 35 days later without money for the wall he demanded - as McConnell predicted - and ultimately resorted to an emergency declaration to reroute federal funds for the border barrier that he had repeatedly promised Mexico would finance. As the impeachment trial has neared, the men have been in more frequent contact, sometimes talking several times a day. And often times, Trump has listened to McConnell's counsel - at least so far. McConnell, for example, was the one who told the White House in September that the president should release the transcript of his July phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, a conversation at the heart of the impeachment case. And while Trump considered adding a slate of ardent House GOP defenders to his legal team for the Senate trial - including Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio and John Ratcliffe of Texas - McConnell counseled against it. Trump's legal team announced Friday did not include the GOP lawmakers, although they may play a broader role in defending him publicly, away from the Senate chamber. McConnell said last month he was working in "total coordination" with the White House on impeachment, drawing criticism from Democrats. "I think it would be unrealistic to expect that there's not going to be communication between the president's party's representatives in the Senate and his White House," said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. But "I think McConnell's level of coordination and his unapologetic advertising of it has been extraordinary and problematic." But McConnell, who has given repeated floor speeches slamming the House impeachment process, remains unaffected by such criticism - and is intent on leading an impeachment trial that is as politically painless as possible for Trump and the Republicans. "I think President Trump, who came with a great skepticism about anybody who had been here, has developed a real appreciation for Senator McConnell's political skills and inside-player skills in terms of what it takes to make the legislative process work," said Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo. "It's turned into a pretty good partnership." Flash Eight people were killed and 30 others injured in a fire at a home for the disabled in the northwestern Czech Republic on Sunday morning, local media reported. The fire, which broke out in the early morning in the small town of Vejprty which borders with Germany, has already been extinguished, said local authorities. At the time of the fire, 35 patients aged 18 and up were housed in the building. "Four people have moderate to severe injuries, one of which had to be connected to an artificial respirator. Another 26 people suffered minor injuries or were injured, but they were taken to hospitals for follow-up examinations," said Prokop Volenik,spokesperson of the Emergency Medical Service of the Usti Region. None of the workers of the home are among the dead or wounded and one policeman was slightly wounded from smoke inhalation, he added. Deputy Mayor of Vejprty Josef Kadle is also one of the hospitalized victims, after he entered the building to try to help. Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis visited the place after the fire. He confirmed the details of the incident to reporters, saying that such incidents need to be prevented in the future. According to him, the government will cooperate with the Usti Region to resolve the situation. "It's a huge tragedy," he added. The fire was reported to emergency services at 4:49 a.m. local time, said Commander-in-Chief of the Fire Brigade of the Usti Region Michal Zavoral. The fire apparently started in one room and then spread to three other rooms in the home before firefighters arrived to escort victims out of the building, he added. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Waterford resident Randy Maloney is seeking to unseat Oakland Countys longest tenured elected official. He has filed to run as a Democrat for Oakland County Sheriff, a position Michael Bouchard, a Republican, has held since 1999. Bouchard announced his re-election bid last fall after reports swirled for months that he may run for county executive. When reached by phone Monday, Maloney said he would not provide comment for this story. In 2016, Bouchard defeated challenger Craig Covey, the former mayor of Ferndale, with 59 percent of the vote to Coveys 41 percent. That same year, he was named Sheriff of the Year by the National Sheriffs Association. Bouchard, who served eight years as a state senator, was appointed to the position in 1999 following the untimely death of Sheriff John F. Nichols in December 1998. He has been re-elected to the position four times (2004, 2008, 2012, 2016), defeating his general election opponents by an average of 19 percentage points. Last year, he was named a Master Sheriff by the Michigan Sheriffs Association in recognition of his 33 years of service. He has served as president, and currently serves as vice president of government affairs, for the Major County Sheriffs Association. When Ukrainian Airlines flight 752 was shot out of the sky this month, and all 176 people on board perished, my social media feeds initially carried on as if everything were quite normal. Despite the awful tragedy, there were the usual jokes, the squabbling, the self-promotion. It felt eerie, strange, surreal, as if all that death didn't matter. It's not that I am unaware of this tendency online. It is loosely part of what scholars refer to as context collapse: the flattening of a whole variety of audiences and ways of speaking into one, unified stream. In this case, it seems people I saw online felt this disaster was just another awful thing happening in a faraway land, and thus carried on with their day. I've seen it happen hundreds of times before. But as a Canadian, the disaster felt particularly painful; 57 people on board were Canadian citizens, and a full 138 of the passengers were supposed to be on their way to Toronto via a connecting flight. That flight still arrived at Toronto's Pearson International Airport. It was full of empty seats. There is much to consider about the tragedy: why Iranian airspace was still open in a moment of chaos, whether American action was a precipitating factor, and how or if any sort of closure might be achieved. But another question to emerge is whether or not experiencing such awful news through the lens of social media can somehow numb or inure us to it that in flattening all that is happening into a single experience, social media leaves us struggling to distinguish between the ordinary, the sad, and the truly awful. Of course, trying to judge or control reactions to tragedy is, at best, a fool's errand. In grief, some cry and some make jokes, and that is what it is to be human; social media simply exposes us to that inevitable fact. So to ask whether or not people are responding appropriately to a disastrous event is always going to involve a bit of guesswork, or even projection. Story continues We can, however, at least pay attention to what has changed. Writer and digital technology critic Nicholas Carr recently wrote on the topic of how we judge importance on social media. Building on the idea of context collapse, Carr instead puts forward the idea of content collapse: what he defines as "the tendency of social media to blur traditional distinctions among once distinct types of information distinctions of form, register, sense, and importance." In part, content collapse is a result of the aesthetics of social media: Everything looks the same and even has the same sort of tone. Perhaps this is why social media is so often home to hyperbolic language everything is perfect, the best, the greatest of all time. You need superlatives to break through the sameness. This does perhaps alter how we experience the wide variety of life. Suddenly, everything is at the sped-up, high-pitch tone of Twitter. Canada unfortunately had another such incident with the Air India disaster in 1985. Still Canada's deadliest terrorist attack, it occurred when Khalistani extremists blew up Air India flight 182, killing 329 people. The attack stands out in Canadian history for a number of reasons, but not least because the muted response and botched investigation seemed clearly inflected by racism by a sense that the people on board weren't really Canadians. A similar narrative began to emerge after the flight 752 disaster. Most of the people on board were of Iranian descent, and it was hard not to wonder whether that fact played a part in the strange response. Some op-eds used the tragedy to make points about military power that felt unseemly, others felt the need to remind Canadians that the victims were their fellow countrymen and women. But things did eventually feel slightly different. After an initial period of silence, official channels city mayors, the prime minister, the mainstream media started to talk about the tragedy as a national one. A successful restaurateur with a history of philanthropy started a fund to help the victims' families. The country mobilized if belatedly. Perhaps that, too, is an effect of social media: the ability to get the word out, to change how we think about things. If social media's kaleidoscopic cacophony has the ability to fracture a sense of shared narrative, then it also has the capacity to push things into it, sway it. It's an odd dichotomy and I'm not sure what to make of it; it certainly seems to resist labeling social media with any sort of neat demarcation between "good" and "bad." But something is still troubling nonetheless if not the flattening of world events, then our ability to hold on to their gravity, their depth of awfulness. Hundreds of people in the victims' families around the world had their lives torn apart by what appears to have been an error in a tense geopolitical moment, and the tragedy was quickly eclipsed by all the other news happening right now. Social media seems to have accelerated how we experience loss made us process and feel it all at lightning speed, and perhaps without actually truly reflecting or grieving. I mean, who even has the time? We are not without solutions, though. As users, we can also do what little we can to inject some sense of continuity or duration into our feeds: to keep what we believe should be remembered top of mind. It would be a start. And perhaps it's just wishful thinking that something can be done to quiet the noise of social media. But trying is better than letting things stay the same. Right now, even the gravest of tragedy feels like sand, slipping through our fingers, and our ability to feel is falling away. 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 Senators can only drink water or milk during the impeachment trial Trump's approval rating is on pace to be the lowest ever among independents, Gallup poll shows One of the biggest crime waves in America isn't what you think it is Planned Parenthood launches $45 million campaign for 2020: 'Matter of life and death' Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment The political fundraising arm of the nations largest abortion provider will spend $45 million in the 2020 elections as it pushes back against what many conservatives are calling the most pro-life administration in history. Planned Parenthoods Super PAC, Planned Parenthood Votes, has launched an effort called We Decided 2020 to oppose anti-abortion politicians who the organization says are undermining access to reproductive health care. The campaign represents the largest financial electoral effort in Super PACs history. We decide who our leaders are. We decide our future, the website for the campaign reads. At the ballot box this year, we not out-of-touch politicians decide what we do with our own bodies. In an exclusive interview with CBS News, Planned Parenthood Votes Executive Director Jenny Lawson said that in 2020 the stakes have never been higher for abortion rights. "[The Trump Administration] has managed to undo so much over the last three years," Lawson was quoted as saying. "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." Lawson told the left-leaning mainstream news outlet that the money will be spent on the 2020 presidential election and federal and state legislative races. The effort comes as the Trump administration has enacted various policies intended to restrict government funding for organizations that provide abortions. My life is at stake in the next election, a female speaker says in a promotional video for the campaign. She was followed by another speaker who declared: Its a matter of life and death to have access to quality health care. That health care, they say, includes access to safe and legal abortion. After the Trump administration issued a rule last year banning organizations that receive money from the federal Title X family planning program from performing or referring patients for abortion, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America ended its participation in the $286 million funding program. The president has also appointed at least 187 federal judges and two Supreme Court justices. Some progressives are concerned that the high court could be poised to overturn key rulings bolstering abortion rights in the United States as it takes on its first abortion case this year since the appointment of two justices by president Trump. Also, there was an increase in pro-life legislation passed by states in 2019 aimed at restricting abortion past certain points of pregnancy. According to Americans United for Life, 46 states introduced some sort of pro-life legislation and 22 states passed them. In 2020, more states are considering bans on late-term abortion, such as South Carolina where there is pressure building to pass a bill that would ban most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. The Planned Parenthood Votes campaign includes several featured campaigns focusing on Red-to-Pink candidates. These candidates are in seats that are crucial to flipping the Senate (and keeping our pro-reproductive health care majority in the House), the website reads. Planned Parenthood Votes highlights six key senatorial races on its website. Those include the challenges against Republican Sens. Martha McSally in Arizona, Cory Gardner in Colorado, and Thom Tillis in North Carolina. The other three are in support of Democrat incumbents Tina Smith of Minnesota, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, and Gary Peters of Michigan. The organization also stressed the importance of New Mexicos open Senate seat and its support for Rep. Ben Ray Lujan. The website also highlights nine key House races. While Planned Parenthood Votes stands in clear opposition to Trump, Lawson told CBS News that the organization is comfortable with "every major Democratic candidate." "The Democratic candidates collectively have the boldest reproductive rights policies we've ever seen," Lawson was quoted as saying. "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." Planned Parenthood Votes We Decide 2020 campaign follows Planned Parenthoods endorsement of Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton against Donald Trump in the 2016 election. It was the first presidential endorsement in Planned Parenthood Action Funds history. Pro-life lobbying organizations such as Susan B. Anthony List and its partner Women Speak Out PAC have reached millions of people in grassroots efforts to promote the administrations pro-life policies. The organizations vowed last year to work to re-elect Trump. Students for Life of America, the nations largest youth pro-life organization, offered its thoughts on the Planned Parenthood Votes announcement on Twitter. Planned Parenthood invests $45 million in electing pro-abortion Democrats. Those Democrats then funnel $616 million a year in taxpayer funding to Planned Parenthood, the Students for Life tweet reads. Sounds like a quid pro quo. Iowa Republican state Sen. Randy Feenstra, who is challenging controversial Republican Congressman Steve King for his House seat, said in a tweet that Planned Parenthood Voices multimillion-dollar political expenditure is all the more reason why he supports stripping Planned Parenthood of its tax funding. If Planned Parenthood has $45 million to spend on elections, all the more reason I'm proud of my vote to defund them, Feenstra wrote. Planned Parenthood recently released its annual report, showing that it conducted 345,672 abortions procedures in the fiscal year 2018, a 4 percent increase from the year before. On top of receiving $616.8 million in tax funding for fiscal year 2018, Planned Parenthood reported unrestricted net assets of $2.2 billion. That is an increase from the $802 million in the fiscal year 2017. Leading Christian conservative advocacy group Family Research Council suggested that Planned Parenthood should use its net assets if it continues to lose federal funding. "It is a sad day in our country when an organization can publicly announce their earnings from taking innocent human life, FRC Director of Life, Culture, and Women's Advocacy, Patrina Mosley, said in a statement. As Planned Parenthood's profit increased, so did their abortions. They aborted 1,768 babies for every single day in the fiscal year 2018. It's inexplicable that a company as scandal-ridden as Planned Parenthood obtains nearly forty percent of their total revenue from the American taxpayer. NEW YORK, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Soda Ash Market 2020-2024 The analyst the soda ash market, and it is poised to grow by USD 8.46 million MT during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of 3% during the forecast period. Our reports on soda ash market provides a holistic analysis, market size and forecast, trends, growth drivers, and challenges, as well as vendor analysis covering around 25 vendors. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05840312/?utm_source=PRN The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current global market scenario, latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment. The market is driven by growing applications of glass market. In addition, the emerging middle-class population is anticipated to boost the growth of the soda ash market as well. Market Segmentation This soda ash market is segmented as below: End-users Glass Chemicals Detergents Others Geographic segmentation North America APAC Europe South America and MEA Key Trends for soda ash market growth This study identifies emerging middle-class population as the prime reasons driving the soda ash market growth during the next few years. Prominent vendors in soda ash market We provide a detailed analysis of around 25 vendors operating in the soda ash market, including some of the vendors such as CIECH SA, Ciner Resources LP, Genesis Energy LP, Hubei Yihua Chemical Industry Co. Ltd., NIRMA Ltd., Shandong Haihua Group Co. Ltd., Sisecam Group, Solvay SA, Tangshan Sanyou Chemical Co. Ltd., and Tata Chemicals Ltd. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05840312/?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 L eading economists issued their strongest warning yet today over the threat of climate change triggering weather-related natural disasters in more and more countries. At a meeting of world leaders in Davos, Switzerland, the International Monetary Fund urged nations to urgently co-operate to fight global warming. The Washington-based economic experts warned that if current trends continue it could inflict even bigger losses across more countries. They highlighted bushfires and drought in Australia, hurricanes in the Caribbean, floods in eastern Africa, and drought in southern Africa. IMF chief economist Gita Gopinath said: Countries need to co-operate on multiple fronts to lift growth and spread prosperity They must adopt strategies to limit the rise in global temperatures and the severe consequences of weather-related natural disasters. US president Donald Trump, who has been accused of ignoring the risks from global warming, is due to address the gathering of 3,000 political, economic, cultural and other leaders tomorrow. Just hours later, Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg will open a debate on how to avert a climate apocalypse. Greta Thunberg will open a debate on how to avert a climate apocalypse / AFP via Getty Images Activists from Extinction Rebellion will also speak at the gathering. Claims that climate change is not behind the recent increase in extreme weather were dismissed by the IMF. Climate change, the driver of the increased frequency and intensity of weather-related disasters, already endangers health and economic outcomes, and not only in the directly affected regions, it said in its updated world economic outlook. It could pose challenges to other areas that may not yet feel the direct effects, including by contributing to cross-border migration or financial stress (for instance, in the insurance sector). A continuation of the trends could inflict even bigger losses across more countries, it added, referring to damage to economies and health. Britain has taken a lead, with a legal commitment to net zero emissions by 2050. But other countries including the US and China, which is heavily dependent on coal-fired power stations, have been accused of failing to do enough. The IMF report, published as the UK prepares to host the COP26 climate change summit this year, said the approach to curbing greenhouse gases should ensure appropriate burden-sharing across and within borders. Harris recently said his appearance and ethnicity have been a source of his criticism in South Korea. (Photo Credit: Twitter/@USAmbROK) New Delhi: The US ambassador to South Korea has some unusual explanations for the harsh criticism hes faced in his host country. His mustache, maybe? Or a Japanese ancestry that raises unpleasant reminders of Japans former colonial domination of Korea? Many South Koreans, however, have a more straight-forward explanation for Harry Harris' struggle to win hearts and minds in Seoul, and it's got more to do with an outspoken manner that they see as undiplomatic and rude. Since arriving in Seoul in July 2018, Harris, a retired navy admiral born to a Japanese mother and an American navy officer, has been the focus of keen attention because of his military and ethnic background. The 63-year-old former US Pacific Command chief has sometimes drawn criticism from those who take issue with his manner when dealing with South Koreans. His mustache has become the subject of ribbing online, with jokes made about how it resembles those of Japanese colonial masters, who brutally occupied the Korean Peninsula from 1910-45. But there is more serious concern that the discord could widen a growing rift in Seouls relations with Washington at a time when diplomacy with rival North Korea seem in danger of imploding. Harris recently said his appearance and ethnicity have been a source of his criticism in South Korea. "My mustache, for some reason, has become a point of some fascination here," Harris told a group of foreign reporters in Seoul last week. "I have been criticised in the media here, especially in social media, because of my ethnic background, because I am a Japanese-American." It's not the first time a US ambassador in South Korea has been in the news for things other than diplomacy. In 2015, former Ambassador Mark Lippert was slashed in the face and arm by an anti-American activist. But unlike Lippert, Harris has repeatedly irked many South Koreans since President Donald Trump sent him here. After meeting Harris in November, Lee Hye-hoon, then chairwoman of the South Korean parliament's intelligence committee, said that the ambassador repeated about 20 times Trump's calls for Seoul to drastically increase its financial contribution to US troop deployment in the South. In recent months, four students were arrested after they broke into Harris' Seoul residence during an anti-US rally. A mock mustache was plucked from his picture at another demonstration. Harris said his mustache has nothing to do with his Japanese background and that he started growing it only to mark the start of his career as a diplomat. "To those people, I say that you are cherry-picking history," Harris said, adding that some Korean independence fighters also had a mustache. Harris said he understands the historical animosity that exists between Japan and South Korea. "But Im not the Japanese-American ambassador to Korea," he said. "I'm the American ambassador to Korea." Kevin Gray, a professor of International Relations at the University of Sussex in the UK, tweeted Friday that "Koreans" reaction to Harris' mustache is vastly exaggerated." He said what did rile South Koreans was Harris' "imperialistic manner" and efforts to "undermine" South Korean President Moon Jae-in and "dictate" South Korean government policy. A Monday editorial from the Korea Times said that the point is not his mustache. "South Koreans would not have cared that much about his mustache if he was a 'normal' ambassador," the editorial said. Most surveys show a majority of South Koreans support the US military presence in South Korea as deterrence against potential North Korean aggression, but there is a small but determined anti-US network. South Korean media have often compared Harris with his popular predecessor Lippert. Images of Lippert bleeding after the 2015 knife attack shocked many South Koreans and triggered an outpouring of public sympathy. The attack during a breakfast forum left deep gashes on Lippert's face and arm and required five days of hospitalization. While leaving a Seoul hospital, Lippert inspired many by saying in Korean - "The ground hardens after rain. Lets go together." When asked by reporters about Moon saying he may push for individual tourism to North Korea because it won't violate US-led international sanctions, Harris stressed the need for South Korea to consult with the United States. Those comments added to criticism of Harris, with ruling party lawmaker Song Young-gil comparing him to a Japanese governor general. Harris troubles may also be linked to growing unease between South Korea and the United States. The US desire to enforce tough sanctions on North Korea doesn't fit with the dovish Moons push to get sanction exemptions and restart joint rapprochement projects with North Korea. Trump's demands for a large increase in Seoul's payment for the US military deployment prompted many South Koreans to question whether the United States is still a trustworthy ally. "Rather than address the sources of these frustrations, some South Koreans have directed their ire at an American admiral-turned-diplomat of Japanese heritage," said Leif-Eric Easley, associate professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul. "Unfortunately, Seoul faces political and diplomatic decisions that are much tougher than opting for a clean shave." For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Only five out of 36 Union ministers will be visiting Kashmir as part of the Centre's outreach programme in the newly-created Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. According to officials, the ministers visiting the Valley over the next four days are Telecommunications minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, HRD minister Ramesh Pokhriyal, Minority Affairs minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, minister of state for Defence Shripad Naik and minister of state for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy. Naqvi will kick-start the valley leg of the outreach programme on Tuesday where he will lay the foundation stone for a high school in the Dara area on the outskirts of Srinagar. He will also lay the foundation stone for the water conservation project at Sarband in the Harwan area of the city. Reddy will begin his two-day programme of interactions in Ganderbal district on Wednesday, while Prasad will be stationed in Baramulla district for two days starting Thursday. According to the officials, only eight meetings are scheduled to be held in Kashmir over the next four days, while over 50 such meetings and programmes are scheduled in the Jammu division. None of the ministers will be visiting any of the four militancy-infested south Kashmir districts of Pulwama, Shopian, Anantnag and Kulgam. The districts of Budgam, Kupwara and Bandipora have also not been included in the itinerary of the visiting ministers. The aim of the visits by ministers is to make people aware of the "positive impact" of abrogation of Article 370, which granted erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir the special status, and share "development initiatives taken by the government" with them, the officials said. The Pennsylvania Auto Show rolls into the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg Jan. 23 through 26. Hours are 1-9 p.m. Thursday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $8 online and $10 on site for adults (13-61), $6 for seniors (62 and older) and active military. Kids ages 12 and younger accompanied by a guardian are free. And yes, there is a $10 parking fee. You can find more information at www.autoshowharrisburg.com or call 717-910-4090. On display will be more than 600 cars and trucks, SUVs, motorcycles and powersport bikes, ATVs, boats and RVs. Visitors can get check out cars and trucks -- new and used. In addition to perusing new 2020 models, there will be a Certified Pre-Owned Showcase. Car lovers are encouraged to pop the hood, check out the engine, and quiz the experts. In addition, there will be special giveaways sponsored by Hotel Hershey, Susans Treasures, and The Foundation for Enhancing Communities Fund for Women and Girls. And dont be afraid to bring along the little ones: There will be activities for the kids on Saturday and Sunday, sponsored by Harrisburg Automotive Trade Association. Mini electric vehicles allow kids to experience their own test drive right at the show. There also will be inflatable bounce houses, face painting, activities and game trucks. New this year at the Pennsylvania Auto Show will be beer and wine tasting, Friday evening at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex, Harrisburg. (Pixabay) Subaru will be hosting puppy and dog adoptions as a part of their Subaru Loves Pets Campaign. Help support Harrisburg Humane Society, Furry Friends, Speranza, and Castaway Critters. New this year will be a Beer and Wine Garden, from 5-9 p.m. Friday, where guests can sample or purchase wine by the glass and pints from breweries in the Small Arena. While sipping, listen to live music and check out a few cars. Receive a wristband with a $5 ticket -- this is in addition to regular show admission. Dont forget to bring your ID to the show. To see who is pouring, visit www.sarabozich.com. This post has been updated on Jan. 22 due to new information received from the presenter of the Pennsylvania Auto Show. 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. Read more entertainment news: Saudi Arabia and the UAE, key players in a military coalition battling the Huthi rebels in war-torn Yemen, condemned Monday a missile attack that killed more than 100 Yemeni soldiers. Saturday's missile strike blamed on the Iran-backed Huthis follows months of relative calm in the conflict between the rebels and Yemen's internationally recognised government. Government military sources said Saturday that the Huthis attacked a mosque during evening prayers in a military camp in the central province of Marib -- about 170 kilometres (105 miles) east of the capital Sanaa. "Saudi Arabia strongly condemns the terrorist attack carried out by the Huthi militia," the kingdom's foreign ministry said in a statement. The assault "reflects this terrorist militia's disregard for sacred places and... for Yemeni blood". The United Arab Emirates also condemned the "criminal" attack, saying that it "rejects all forms of violence that target security and stability". The death toll increased to 116 and is expected to rise, military and medical sources told AFP on Monday. Early reports suggested 83 were killed and 148 injured. Death tolls in Yemen's grinding conflict are often disputed, but the huge casualty list in Marib represents one of the bloodiest single attacks since the war erupted in 2014 when the rebels seized the capital Sanaa. The Huthis did not make any immediate claim of responsibility for the strike. Tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, have been killed and millions displaced in the war that has ravaged the country, triggering what the United Nations describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Saudi Arabia and its allies intervened in the conflict to back the government against the Huthis in March 2015, shortly after the rebels seized control of Sanaa. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A single mother-of-two given 12 months to live after being diagnosed with breast cancer is on the verge of losing her home after failing to make a mortgage repayment - and is desperately fundraising to support her family. Lauren Maddock, 26, from Malvern, is undergoing treatment to give her a seven per cent change of extending her life - despite being 'terrified' of chemotherapy after watching her older sister endure it when she was six years old. She's also had to drop out of university, where she was working towards an agriculture degree, and is now surviving on her 9,000 student loan and battling to keep her home after failing to pay her mortgage on time. Lauren's close friend Dean Austin, whom she has known all her life, has set up a GoFundMe page to help her cover her costs and afford days out with her children to make precious memories. Lauren Maddock, 26, from Malvern, who was given 12 months to live after being diagnosed with breast cancer, is on the verge of losing her home after failing to make a mortgage repayment Single mother-of-three Lauren, pictured with her two children Penny and Arthur, is undergoing treatment to give her a seven per cent change of extending her life - despite being 'terrified' of chemotherapy after watching her older sister endure it when she was six years old The mother-of-two began feeling fatigued in late 2018, but put her symptoms down to going through a divorce, having split from her husband that October, and looking after daughter Penny, six, and son Arthur, three, while studying. In January last year she discovered a pea-sized lump in her right breast, but doctors initially dismissed it as nothing to worry about. She also suffered from persistent tonsillitis and began to break out with vitiligo - an auto immune disease that causes the loss of skin colour in patches. Lauren was tested for rheumatoid arthritis, after complaining of joint pain in her elbows and pins and needles in the mornings, and returned to the doctor in September due to another bout of tonsillitis. While there she asked for the lump in her breast to be re-examined, and this time she was referred for a scan and biopsy. In January last year Lauren discovered a pea-sized lump in her right breast, but doctors initially dismissed it as nothing to worry about Lauren has already faced a cancer battle in her family as a child. Pictured left, Lauren; pictured centre: her sister Abby, and right: Vicki, age eight, two years after her diagnosis. Also pictured is her godmother Debbie, Lauren's mum (who shaved off her hair when Vicki lost hers) and her great grandmother Wrox On November 12 at Kidderminster Hospital she was dealt the devastating blow she had triple negative invasive ductal carcinoma cancer - with a life expectancy of just 12 months. 'For those next few days I was hyper,' she told FEMAIL. 'My mum came over and we told immediate family and friends, while more tests were run. 'It's been a whopper of a journey just to get to chemotherapy to be honest.' Lauren is also a carrier of the BRCA1 gene, and part of her treatment involves a double mastectomy. On November 12, at Kidderminster Hospital, Lauren was dealt the devastating blow she had triple negative invasive ductal carcinoma cancer - with a life expectancy of just 12 months Lauren, pictured with her sister Vicki, is determined to use her sibling's survival story to inspire her own 'Chemotherapy is giving me a seven per cent chance of increasing my life expectancy over 15 years,' she said. 'When I was first told that figure, I really wasn't up for going through chemo at all. I know how ill it makes you, I've seen my sister go through it at the age of six. I'm scared of it. 'But I have to try it - I'm a mother and I need to increase my chances in any way I can. 'Cancer is torture. It's making me sad, but it's also making me prepare for our future and I won't let it rob another day from me.' Lauren's treatment plan consists of six rounds of chemotherapy, followed by a double mastectomy, radiotherapy, reconstruction surgery and a hysterectomy. Lauren's treatment plan consists of six rounds of chemotherapy, followed by a double mastectomy, radiotherapy, reconstruction surgery and a hysterectomy. She's going through it all to spend more time with her children 'The children do know that Mummy has cancer, but they are reassured that I will get better and I am positive about it,' she said. 'We used a book called "Mummy's lump" given to us by the specialist breast team. They both have such kind natures - I'm hoping this could plant seeds and we might have two doctors or vets on our hands!' The prospect of treatment is all the more harrowing for Lauren after watching her sister Vicki battle Ewing's sarcoma - a rare type of cancer that mostly occurs in young people and affects bones or the tissue around bones. Her elder sibling was just six at the time and given a six month prognosis - but her survival against the odds has given Lauren the hope and determination to do the same. Proud mother Lauren hopes her experience and the kindness shown to her by healthcare professionals will inspire her children to become doctors or vets 'She is now 30, happily married with two children, embracing military life,' Lauren said. 'My mum has had a really tough time; I have a six-year-old now and it breaks my heart to imagine what my mum went through, as well as my big sister.' Lauren is currently the full-time carer of her children, who see their father fortnightly at weekends. While Penny goes to school, Arthur spends 15 hours a week in childcare, as her family live several hours away in Wales. 'Financially it's been a struggle, we went from having an income of 50,000 to my 9,000 student loan with child maintenance,' she explained. 'I have managed very well with the children. I just haven't met the mortgage repayment. I'm working with our lenders, who have given me a 30 day break, and my solicitor to resolve it. Lauren is currently the full-time carer of her children, who see their father fortnightly at weekends 'I love being a mum and we love spending days out in the great outdoors. I will slow down now a little I'm sure as I need to rest but I will endeavour to fight as hard as I can for as long as I can! I want to be a grandma!' Lauren's friend Dean and his brothers have organised a sponsored bike ride from her childhood home in Westbury, Shropshire to Aberystwyth next month in an effort to raise funds. 'I am surrounded, and I mean surrounded by love,' Lauren said. 'If love could cure, I'd be skydiving in New Zealand right now, watching my babies run along the beach. 'Our neighbourhood is so special, the kind who share vegetable patch goodies and call in for cuppas.' 'It broke my heart to tell Dean the news about the cancer because I knew it would hit him hard. But he's taken it and turned into the most amazing event to help support us three and I'm just so overwhelmed.' To donate to Lauren's cause, visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/supporting-lauren Ericsson ERIC recently announced plans that it will establish a new R&D center in France to boost 5G momentum in Europe. The site, expected to employ up to 300 employees in a progressive ramp-up starting early 2020, will initially focus on 5G software development and security. This, in turn, will benefit the global 5G ecosystem while bolstering Ericssons relationship with French customers. The company, however, did not disclose the amount of investment for this project. Ericssons ongoing activities include investing in R&D to safeguard a leading product portfolio and cost leadership; increase investments in automation and serviceability driving down costs; and selectively gain market shares based on technology and cost competitiveness. The company currently employs 15,000 engineers in Europe, which equates to 60% of its total R&D staff members. It has 18 R&D sites in Europe including Finland, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Spain and Sweden. In December 2019, Ericsson communicated that it has inked an agreement for credit facility with the Nordic Investment Bank for $150 million. Apart from reinforcing its balance sheet, the loan was granted to support the companys R&D investments in 5G technology during 2020-2022. The Swedish telecom gear maker is leading the 5G race in Europe. Its Mobility Report, issued in November 2019, anticipates global 5G subscriptions to exceed 2.6 billion within the next six years on the back of a rapidly evolving ecosystem. The report states that 5G will cover up to 65% of the worlds population by the end of 2025, and handle 45% of global mobile data traffic. Average monthly data-traffic-per-smartphone is expected to rise from 7.2 GB to 24 GB by the end of 2025, supported by consumer behavior like virtual reality streaming. Further, growth in 5G subscription is likely to be substantially faster than that of LTE. The fastest uptake is expected to be in North America with 74% of projected 5G mobile subscriptions by the end of 2025. North East Asia is projected to follow at 56%, with Europe at 55%. In October 2019, Ericsson completed the acquisition of Kathreins antenna and filter business to expand its Radio System portfolio with new products and capabilities. The company has been executing its strategy and is on track to achieve its 2020 financial targets. It is working with communication service providers to modernize their network infrastructure, while capitalizing several opportunities. In September 2019, Ericsson completed a SEK 500 million investment at its factory in Tallinn, Estonia, to transform it into a 5G manufacturing facility. Shares of Ericsson have added 25.5% compared with 17.3% growth recorded by the industry in the past two years. The stock is currently trading with a forward P/E of 16.61X. Story continues Ericsson currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Investors who are looking for solid profits in 2020 may consider some better-ranked stocks in the broader industry. These include Sogou Inc. SOGO, Paylocity Holding Corporation PCTY and Chegg, Inc. CHGG. While Sogou and Paylocity sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Chegg carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Sogou has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 20.2%. Paylocity topped earnings estimates in the trailing four quarters, the surprise being 18.9%, on average. Chegg surpassed earnings estimates in the trailing four quarters, the beat being 49.4%, on average. Biggest Tech Breakthrough in a Generation Be among the early investors in the new type of device that experts say could impact society as much as the discovery of electricity. Current technology will soon be outdated and replaced by these new devices. In the process, its expected to create 22 million jobs and generate $12.3 trillion in activity. A select few stocks could skyrocket the most as rollout accelerates for this new tech. Early investors could see gains similar to buying Microsoft in the 1990s. Zacks just-released special report reveals 8 stocks to watch. The report is only available for a limited time. See 8 breakthrough stocks now>> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Paylocity Holding Corporation (PCTY) : Free Stock Analysis Report Chegg, Inc. (CHGG) : Free Stock Analysis Report Ericsson (ERIC) : Free Stock Analysis Report Sogou Inc. Sponsored ADR (SOGO) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Russia and Serbia signed a deal on one battery made up of six Pantsir-S1 missile systems and will have it delivered this year, a source in the defence cooperation sector said. "The deal for one battery was signed last year. The work on it is underway and will be completed in 2020," Sputnik cited the source as saying. Earlier, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced that Belgrade had ordered the Pantsir systems on October 24, 2019. Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Martin Luther King will forever be known for what he did to help heal the racial divide in America. And while that is one of the greatest feats in American history, to saddle him with that moniker may well be short of his truest contribution. For all of us, especially Christians, Martin Luther Kings life was a modern-day torch that shone brightly on our Lords message to his people. Which one? In John 4, when Jesus lovingly speaks to a Samaritan woman a member of the most despised people in the region and asks for water with the intention of touching and drinking from her clay pitcher, he was sending a message. In Luke 19, when Jesus dines at the house of Zacchaeus, a reviled traitor who collected taxes from Jews for Rome, he was sending a message. In Matthew 8, when Jesus reaches out and touches the lepers shoulder, an unthinkable act toward a group banished to the outskirts of town, he was sending a message. Jesus was saying to each of us, Get uncomfortable with division wherever you see it. He wasnt saying, To those of you who are uncomfortable with division, get to work. He was delivering this doctrine: If you are in me, healing all division is your journey now. Dr. King was deeply disturbed by the division he saw on the streets of America, but the institutionalized division seemed to gnaw at him most. The black and white bathrooms, water fountains, hotels, and the like, was governmental sanctioning of activities that form in the darkest part of the human soul. We as a country had said yes to our own hate. Yes, to separation. Yes to racism. And Dr. King did a very Christian thing. He grew increasingly uncomfortable with it, and would not sit idly by and let it be someone elses problem. In the process, he changed America and the world. We are all better for it. With this faith, Dr. King said in his iconic 1963 speech in front of the Washington Monument, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. In every race conversation, its us versus them. Culture will force us to pick one of two options. But there is actually a third option. We must honor what we all have in common. Instead of focusing on what is different, we should honor what we have in common, which is, that we were all made in the image of God. And the image of God that is in each one of us is not inferior or superior to anyone else. We must pray that God will grant us eyes to see where divisions exist, that we grow in discomfort with it, and have a sense of urgency to step in and love. Jesus way and must be ours. On Martin Luther Kings birthday, among all his historic accomplishments, let us see him as someone who shone a great beacon light on the division between our Lords intention for our lives and how we actually live. For the chance that we might follow Jesus prescription for our lives more closely, we should all be eternally grateful. After six full days of travel, Martin Luther King Jr. had finally arrived. He was met with wreaths of flowers and driven to a luxury hotel near the India Gate. He undoubtedly had jet lag, but before he could sleep it off, a news conference was set up in the lobby. "To other countries I may go as a tourist, but to India I come as a pilgrim," he told the two dozen reporters gathered there on Feb. 10, 1959. They peppered him with questions. Was it true interracial marriage was illegal in the American South? Could nonviolent protest work in colonized Africa? Was he a vegetarian? The Montgomery bus boycott three years earlier had been closely watched in Indian newspapers, particularly since King, as the young leader of the boycott, espoused the teachings of Indian leader Mohandas K. Gandhi. Now, he would be spending a month in India to learn more and pay homage to his hero. King first learned about Gandhi as a seminary student in 1949, just a year after Gandhi had been assassinated. He soon wrote about Gandhi in his schoolwork as a person who "greatly reveal(s) the working of the Spirit of God." Six years later, after the arrest of Rosa Parks, King led the 381-day boycott that would make him famous. Of the nonviolent direct action technique, he said, "Christ showed us the way, and Gandhi in India showed it could work." King had always hoped to visit India, but the civil rights movement kept him too busy for years. Finally, in 1959, a trip was organized and co-sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee and the Gandhi National Memorial Fund. His wife, Coretta Scott King, and biographer Lawrence D. Reddick joined him on the trip. Everywhere they went, they were treated as honored guests, King later remembered. They had to turn down hundreds of invitations but still had a jam-packed schedule throughout their stays in New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. One of their first stops was to the samadhi, or cremation site, of Gandhi's remains. King and his party laid a wreath of flowers; according to one observer, King was "deeply moved" and knelt to pray for a long time. He met with India's prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and vice president, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, who had been close associates of Gandhi's during India's struggle for independence. Later, in her memoir, Coretta King said her husband compared it to "meeting George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison in a single day." King met with many of Gandhi's friends and family, who gave him their blessing to continue spreading Gandhian teachings. He visited Buddhist and Hindu temples and with leaders of movements to redistribute land and eradicate the caste system. He also gave lectures at several universities. In Mumbai, he had a particularly spirited discussion with African students who challenged him on whether nonviolence could be effective in the struggle against colonialism in Africa, according to the Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University. "They felt that non-violent resistance could only work in a situation where the resisters had a potential ally in the conscious of the opponent," King later said. "They, like many other students, tended to confuse passive resistance with non-resistance." Coretta joined King at many of these talks, and "the Indian people love to listen to the Negro spirituals," King wrote later in Ebony magazine. "Therefore, Coretta ended up singing as much as I lectured." While in Mumbai, King was also invited to stay at Gandhi's private residence. He wrote in the guestbook, "To have the opportunity of sleeping in the house where Gandhiji slept is an experience that I will never forget." (Adding "-ji" to a name signifies reverence.) Toward the end of the trip, one of his guides observed "both the Kings (especially King himself) are JUST PLAIN EXHAUSTED." King gave a final news conference and radio address on March 9, the night before their departure, telling listeners he was leaving India "more convinced than ever before that the method of nonviolent resistance is the most potent weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for justice and human dignity." King had another news conference when he arrived back in New York City a few days later, but it doesn't appear to have been well attended; neither The Washington Post nor the New York Times mentioned it. Four days later, he returned to the pulpit for a Palm Sunday service. He preached to his congregants about Gandhi's life and martyrdom, comparing him to Jesus and Abraham Lincoln. He told them - six years before the march from Selma to Montgomery - about the Salt March in 1930, when Gandhi led millions on a 218-mile nonviolent protest of an unjust law. Hundreds were beaten by British authorities and more than 60,000 arrested, but, "the British Empire knew, then, that this little man had mobilized the people of India to the point that they could never defeat them," King said. Jesus once said he had other sheep who "were not of this fold," King reminded the congregants, before concluding, "It is one of the strange ironies of the modern world that the greatest Christian of the 20th century was not a member of the Christian church." The long commute to Dublin and other areas for people living in Laois to commute to work must be brought to an end, said Sean Fleming TD. There are 12,000 people commuting out of the county every day to go to work and this causes major difficulties for the people spending four hours a day in traffic and less time at home with their families, he said. That is why two years ago I arranged for the first ever joint visit to Laois of the Chief Executives of both the IDA and Enterprise Ireland. At that meeting we also had Laois County Council and the local Employment Office present. At long last some initial progress is now being made with some new job announcements in Co. Laois over the last year. Deputy Fleming said it was important to build on this and make sure that Laois is targeted for inward investment to create employment in the county and also to support homegrown industry. There will always be people who have to travel to work outside the county but 12,000 commuters leaving Laois every day is far too many. This figure needs to be reduced and thereby make Laois a more sustainable county for people to live in and rear their families, said Deputy Fleming. The conviction of Ghislaine Maxwell on five of six charges of recruiting and grooming teenage girls for sexual encounters with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein is not and should not be the end of the story. While Maxwell has been held accountable for her actions, the men who engaged in th Cara Townsend gets a lot of praise for restoring the architectural integrity of a century-old church in Bend. Former members of the Alliance Tabernacle now stop in front of the white-clapboard structure and marvel. For half of its existence, the old churchs distinctive Dutch roofline topped by a pop-up with windows was concealed under an industrial over roof. Even the stone steps leading to the front door and vestibule were taken away to make the church look modern. One older Bend resident was in tears after the exterior of the building was restored, says Townsend. She said she thought she would never see the church of her youth again. The 1923 wooden building, constructed by volunteers from the congregation, had been modified in the 1970s and used by the Salvation Army and then as a Montessori school. Today, its a vacation rental where visitors sleep under the original exposed wood beams of the vaulted hall, linger over breakfast at a long, white island counter and link a cellphone into a stereo system to play music where choir voices once sang out. Most of the old churchs 2,500 square feet of space is devoted to the sanctuary. Photo by Amy Castano provided by Lavabelles Vacation Rentals. This place has a lot of history and were piecing it together, says Townsend, who bought the historic church in 2014, then started the two-year restoration project within the Old Town Historic District, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. She read a blog by a woman who grew up in the Alliance Churchs parsonage and in October, a pastor serving the congregation there in the 1970s and early 1980s showed Townsend photographs of the building before its dramatic alteration. He also lived in the Craftsman Bungalow parsonage next door, which Townsend bought in 2001 as her home. Today, the former pastors home is also for rent and available through Townsends Lavabelles Vacation Rentals. She owns other vacation rentals around the block. Thats not unusual in Bend. A study released in November found that the city on the Deschutes River has 1,658 Airbnb listings per 50,000 people, which ranks it as the fourth most saturated vacation rental market among more than 750 U.S. cities, according to IPX1031, an investment property exchange service. Leading the list were three Florida cities: Miami Beach; Kissimme, near the Walt Disney World Resort; and Sarasota, on the Gulf Coast. The converted church on Lava Road is close to McMenamins Old St. Francis Schools pub, brewery, theater and classrooms-turned-hotel rooms. The McMenamin brothers rescued the 1936 Catholic schoolhouse as they have other once unloved properties -- including Portlands 1911 Crystal Hotel and 1914 Crystal Ballroom -- and filled it with vintage furnishings and local art. McMenamins provides tons of inspiration to everyone, says Townsend. Sleeping lofts are accessed by a spiral staircase. Photo provided by Lavabelles Vacation Rentals. Photo by Amy Castano provided by Lavabelles Vacation Rentals. The former church sleeps eight people and costs $400 a night through Vrbo with a three-night minimum. There are two master suites on opposite sides of the former sanctuary, plus another bedroom and bathroom accessed by floating stairs as well as two sleeping lofts, reached by a spiral staircase, with beds and convertible sofas. An apartment in the churchs daylight basement with a private exit can also be rented for four additional guests. Most of the old churchs 2,500 square feet of space is devoted to the sanctuary. Planks of maple cover the unchanged footprint. The kitchen area has modern cherry cabinets, Caesarstone counters and high-end appliances, and the long dining table can seat a dozen people. Designer Erik Koslow of Bend Design Group worked with Townsend on the interiors layout and decor. 1923 Alliance Tabernacle Church in Old Town Bend (seen here after 1970s modifications that have recently been reversed) is now a vacation rental owned by Cara Townsend of Lavabelles Vacation Rentals. Photo provided by Ron Taber Under the direction of the citys Landmarks Commission, Townsend had the over roof removed to reveal the original monitor-style central windows and make the exterior look as it did long ago. She also had decades of black soot cleared from the ceiling beams. There were many challenging aspects of the project, says Townsend. --Janet Eastman | 503-294-4072 jeastman@oregonian.com | @janeteastman Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories My life-long work of performance art is to somehow maintain my original passport: notwithstanding the life and opportunities of a techno-nomad. I used to have a proper passport from the "Socialist Federation Republic of Yugoslavia," and a fine, diplomatic one, too. At the time that was the most-desired passport in the black market, requiring the fewest travel-visas from any other country. It was a diplomatic passport from a buffer-state, a Cold War cushion-country between the East and West, between the imperial walls of USSR and USA . Today my travel document is a Serbian passport, one of the worst passports in the whole world, from a small post-war country in transition to nowhere, hoping to make its way among the power-players of the Russian Federation, the European Union, and expansive China, the militant Turks, and other small, rival Balkan states that used to be our fellow-citizens. Marshal Tito had a tradition for living that way, but Tito was a shrewd and talented victor of war, and maybe our world was simpler then. Serbia is an ancient place but a rather new country, so people often don't know what to make of my passport. Recently a guy who holds a Serbian passport won the Nobel Prize for Literature. Of course Peter Handke isn't "really Serbian," but I was born in Yugoslavia, so I'm not all that Serbian either. People admire this "Nobel Prize," they think it must be a noble prize fit for noblemen, even though Alfred Nobel was an arms trafficker and an emigre. So who is the noblest Nobel-winning writer of Serbia is it Ivo Andric, the Yugoslav writer and diplomat who won the prize for Yugoslavia in 1963, or is it Peter Handke? To be fair, Ivo Andric never wanted to be "Serbian," while Peter Handke deliberately took Serbian citizenship during the Serbian darkest hours of the Milosevic regime. Handke's mother was from Slovenia, so Handke had a lot of polemical ideas about the situation, although, whenever Handke wrote about subjects other than Serbia, Handke was a good novelist of genuine Nobel caliber. Handke's Nobel Prize acceptance speech was simply unearthly about his Slavic mom and his childhood days, stuffed with songs and fables: very poetic. It shouldn't hurt my feelings if Serbia is seen as a nation of literary excellence. Once I was in the USA on a fancy USA writer's grant, and with my sanctioned Serbian passport, I couldn't even enter an American library. Peter Handke's Austria was no paradise for us Serbs, either. In the nineties of last century I was the token Serb in Vienna during annual general meeting of the PEN International Congress. No litterati wanted to sit with me at my morally diseased Serbian table, although, like a lot of people who show up at PEN, I was a literary dissident risking my life against a violent government. I still remember one elderly couple from Vienna who approached my table and dared to talk to a Serbian woman about the weather. At the end of that evening they quietly told me: If ever you need a shelter, you have a home with us here, because we know what it is like to live within a Nazi country. We were children of Austrian Nazis who cheered for Hitler before they were killed in Allied bombings. These wise people were the Ebners, and Peter Ebner was a career engineer who became a writer on religion. I knew people who fled Serbia and became Austrian. They went through the necessary ritual: passing exams, swearing in front of a judge, renouncing other loyalties, their victory condition being a different ticket in the lottery of history, a roulette where people like me don't even count anyway: mere women, nomad chattel, without a mother language or a fatherland. So why bother to change countries and passports? On the contrary, I prefer to stay in my original state of semi-legality and semi-visibility, and watch countries wash over me. My legal address, on my passport, is on street in Belgrade close to the national parliament. The same street-address: five different national passports. It's been a process of my-life-without-me taking place on some national level. As for the street, and the building, what if it falls to fire, flood, bombing or earthquake, or they change the street-names? Or maybe I'll be subjected to travel restrictions, have my passport confiscated, and have to live there all the time. How can I outsmart the chaos: well, I don't even try. I have been a refugee several times in my life, legally, or invisibly, or even impossibly, but I am still alive and kicking, and still travelling just like bastard children used to be considered non-people, now it's stateless people who are shunned and clandestine. In Estonia I once held in my hands their "e-residency" card: a political fiction of being commercially Estonian without being Estonian. How many flags does a modern woman really need for a safe and fulfilling life? Probably five flags, at least, and maybe even more, if tomorrow's unnatural climate disasters burn and drown one favorite city after another. Serbs rather imagine that the nation might join the European Union some day, especially now that the United Kingdom has left it, and looks ready to split up as an ethnic island Yugoslavia. Unlike the British, we don't fuss about what color the passports are, since we've had so many. People with passports come to visit us in Serbia, too. Somehow Peter Ebner, Peter Handke and I have all shared the same space-time, despite nazis, ethnic cleansing, bombs, dissidents, publishers Years ago. I met Handke in Belgrade during his controversial public stay as a Milosevic regime apologist. He struck me as erudite, knowledgeable and kindly, drinking in Serbian quantities while endlessly quoting obscure poets. Peter Ebner came to Belgrade too, to pursue his religious researches about Prince Eugene of Savoy, a Christian military crusader against the Ottoman menace, in the pay of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Peter Ebner toured a few old battlefields, but preferred to sample the fine wine of the monks in the Orthodox monasteries. These two Austrian writers had one great commonalty: a respect amounting to holy awe for the long-suffering Serbs in their endless historic defeats and lamentations. Poetry came pretty easily to my forefathers in Herzegovina, a pre-literate region of rocks and shepherds where everybody quoted proverbs, metaphors, and poetic hyperbole just to get through the day. Why should I sit bolt upright at midnight, drinking beer and wondering about Handke's Nobel Prize? He's only 77, still a mere youngster who might overcome his political radicalism! Is this prize too political or too apolitical? What about nomads without national literary background, mother land, or homeland, or even a mantelpiece on which to put the noble award. Is that too political or not enough political? I'm not the first woman writer who wonders and all I have to do is look across the English Channel to see that I won't be the last, either. As Virginia Wolf said long time ago: "As a woman I have no country. As a woman I want no country. As a woman, my country is the whole world." YEREVAN, JANUARY 20, ARMENPRESS. Speaker of Parliament of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan on January 20 received head of the parliamentary friendship group of Chamber of Deputies of the Congress of Mexico with Armenia Adolfo Torres Ramirez, the Armenian Parliament told Armenpress. Welcoming the guest in Armenia the Speaker of Parliament expressed confidence that his visit and meetings here will contribute to further developing the relations between the two countries. The Speaker said the geographical distance between Armenia and Mexico cannot hinder to further intensify the relations. Ararat Mirzoyan expressed hope that the joint works of the parliamentary friendship groups will help to make the contacts between the Armenian and Mexican parliaments more effective both at the bilateral and inter-parliamentary platforms. The officials also talked about the recognition of the Armenian Genocide and the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. The Armenian Speaker of Parliament expressed hope that the Parliament of Mexico will join the list of those parliaments that have recognized the Armenian Genocide based on the principle of historical justice. He also stated that Armenia is expecting from its international partners a balanced position on the NK conflict. Adolfo Torres Ramirez thanked for the reception and informed that actions are being taken for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide, as well as promised to make efforts to make visible the current situation in the Republic of Artsakh. He said the resolution of the issue is peace. He invited Speaker Mirzoyan to Mexico. I think that the visit of the President of the Mexican Chamber of Deputies to Armenia and your mutual visit to Mexico will record a historically new stage for the development of relations, Adolfo Torres Ramirez said. In response Speaker Mirzoyan said he will host his Mexican counterpart in Armenia with pleasure and will also visit Mexico. He expressed readiness to assist in joint initiatives. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan Moroccos King Mohammed VI held a phone conversation with the Tunisian president Kais Saied, a statement from the Royal cabinet said on January 16. King Mohammed VI and Tunisian President Kais Saied have renewed their determination to strengthen diplomatic relations between Rabat and Tunis. According to the statement , the phone call, was an opportunity to recall the strong historical relations between the two brotherly Maghreb countries and to agree and exchange of visits, soon, between the two heads of state. Morocco and Tunisia maintain positive diplomatic relations. In October 2019, a delegation of Moroccan officials flew to Tunis to participate in the inauguration ceremony of the new Tunisian president. In a statement to the press, the Speaker of the House of Representatives at the Moroccan Parliament said, with a delegation composed of representatives of the Moroccan nation, it is an extremely strong message that we will transmit the message of respect and fraternity that the King has always shown towards the Tunisian leaders since independence and of course towards the newly elected president. The MP emphasized the depth of the long-standing relations between the two countries. The president is the second freely-elected president after late Beji Caid Essebsi. The Tunisian president won the election with more than 70%, beating out the other candidate, Nabil Karaoui, by more than 40 points. The world is at the start of a new decade, full of possibilities but also challenges. The accelerated urbanisation trend comes along with complex environmental issues. Global green architecture trends are forcing developing countries like Vietnam to find new and suitable solutions to keep up with the world. As an enterprise with sustainability as one of its major business principles, AkzoNobel has developed a wide range of sustainable paint products to meet customers needs. They have also implemented meaningful projects to innovate the country, such as the AkzoNobel Cares initiative. Lighthouses in Vietnam were revitalised thanks to protective premium exterior paints from AkzoNobel Promoting sustainable cities In the last few decades, there has been a significant acceleration in urbanisation, with the number of city dwellers growing day by day. It is estimated that 70 per cent of the world population will be living in urban centres by 2050. Vietnam currently has 828 cities. The rate of the countrys urbanisation has increased rapidly, reaching 38 per cent in 2018. For a company whose products paints and coatings are essential for urban buildings and infrastructure, AkzoNobel has an interest in keeping urbanisation balanced and sustainable. Besides setting up a green standard for paint products in Vietnam, the company continuously introduces high-quality and eco-friendly products to the market. Advanced technologies that are in high esteem for their sustainable benefits such as KeepCoolTM, TimeResistTM, and Dual-TechTM are currently inherent to almost all brands in the AkzoNobel portfolio. These technologies are contributing tremendously to energy savings, which is a key element in building smart cities. For example, KeepCoolTM technology can create striking colours while significantly increasing the amount of infrared radiation reflected by building facades. The result is that the surface can be kept five degrees cooler than without this technology, leading to a potential 10-15 per cent in energy savings for the building. This technology is an effective solution to solve the problem of energy consumption for buildings in smart cities. Technologies are undoubtedly impressive tools, yet we still need a clear pathway to reach a sustainable future. That is why last year, AkzoNobel continued and extended its series of events and activities to promote smart cities, urban heritage preservation, and green architecture. Pamela Phua, general director of AkzoNobel Paints Vietnam, said, We always do our best to support the country, starting by developing our cities in a sustainable way. Through our projects and activities, we have been improving, regenerating, and energising urban communities across the world on a daily basis. We use our products and expertise to help cities deliver a stronger sense of community purpose, pride, and happiness. In March and April of 2019, the company stirred up the architectural and urban developer community with an international seminar on the theme of Urban Heritage Preservation. At the event, more than 450 heritage experts discussed the requirements for preservation in modern society, as well as new approaches to ensure the balance of heritage preservation and economic growth by using foreign experiences in specific cases. Moreover, the companys efforts were also illustrated by its participation at the third Smart City Summit 2019 in the central city of Danang, where participants shared their experience with industrial coatings and introduced their latest advanced solutions for future smart cities. In addition, AkzoNobel also took a key role in events about smart facades, and organised a talk show about key development trends. Forging sustainable communities Along with the strong focus on cities, AkzoNobel also supplies paint as a way of adding colour to every part of our country, including for schools, streets, and iconic landmarks. In 2019, AkzoNobel accomplished a project under the Lighthouse Protection Campaign featuring the Vung Tau lighthouse the most beautiful and oldest lighthouse in Vietnam. The project began in December 2018 and was completed the following month. After being repainted with one of the most premium exterior paints, the Dulux Weathershield, the Vung Tau lighthouse is expected to maintain its performance for many more years and resist the harshest weather conditions. Under AkzoNobel Cares, repainting projects continued to embellish ordinary streets and villages with colourful murals, conveying meaningful messages about sustainability. The new looks of Canh Duong Village in the central province of Quang Binh and the Linh Truong embankment in the central province of Thanh Hoa are also attracting tourists, which is an instrument to improve local peoples living standards. On the other hand, the company also accompanied students in the Green Summer programme to repaint walls and draw paintings to renew 60 urban alleys and old apartment buildings with more than 3,000 litres of paint. Maintaining the inner force AkzoNobel wants to be sustainable not only by delivering suitable products and building the companys business but also by working towards a sustainable economy and community for everyone. We already have sustainable products and services, and co-operate with other sectors to raise awareness about these issues. However, we think the key is in the young generation who will lead our economy in the coming years, Phua stated at the opening ceremony of Orange ASEAN Factory 2019, a programme initiated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. Following that, AkzoNobel decided to accompany Orange ASEAN Factory in the first edition in Vietnam with a hope to seeding sustainable thinking in the young generation and developing them both in knowledge and skills. During this programme, AkzoNobels key leaders provided participants with a tour of its factory in the southern province of Binh Duong, sharing the companys process and experience through initiatives about sustainability. Regarding the seeding effort, AkzoNobel is also a major sponsor who helps look for potential talents and build capacity for Vietnams construction industry by offering annual scholarships to architecture students throughout the country. Former Love Island stars Rosie Williams and Tyne-Lexy Clarson have revealed they've each been offered thousands of pounds for sex via their Instagram accounts. Tyne-Lexy, 22, and Rosie, 28, who rose to fame after appearing on the hit ITV2 show in 2017 and 2018, respectively, have spoken out about being offered as much as six figures as countless men trawl the image-sharing app for women. Speaking on the Victoria Derbyshire show, Rosie shared that she was offered an eye-watering 100,000 a year, plus clothing and accessories, should she agree to become the companion of a man based in Dubai. Indecent proposal: Love Island stars Rosie Williams, left, and Tyne-Lexy Clarson, right, have revealed they've each been offered thousands of pounds for sex via their Instagram accounts However, the reality star, whose follower count on Instagram recently edged past the 840,000 mark, insists that she's never been tempted by the large amounts of cash on the table and has no intention of ever partaking. But, she admits, it's the one aspect of increased media prominence that budding reality stars are never prepared for, thanks to the lack of conversation around it. She said: 'You're warned about trolling, you're warned that your life will change dramatically, but you're never warned that you could get bought by men. Offer: Speaking on the Victoria Derbyshire show, Rosie shared that she was offered 100,000 a year, plus clothing and accessories, to become the companion of a man based in Dubai 'We either aren't in a position where we need to do it so we don't speak about it, or we've done it and we're too ashamed.' Tyne-Lexy, who says she was just 19 when she first received a proposal of 20,000 to have dinner and drinks with a man, uses stronger wording to describe the affair. 'It's high-end prostitution it's just scary to think if they've messaged me, they've probably sent it to thousands of pretty girls on Instagram,' said the blonde beauty, who boasts more than 420,000 followers on Instagram. After her stint on Love Island came to an end, Tyne-Lexy revealed that she was contacted by her agency offering to pay her 50,000 to spend five nights in Dubai. Refusing to cash in: Tyne-Lexy revealed that she was just 19 when she first received a proposal of 20,000 to have dinner and drinks with a man Included in the offer was the requirement to sign a non-disclosure agreement, ensuring that all details surrounding her trip would remain confidential. And while she rejected the offer, Tyne-Lexy believes there are a number of young influencers with huge popularity on Instagram who may be tempted, due in large part to the pressures of portraying an opulent lifestyle. 'It's a lot of money for some people, it's life-changing amounts of money,' she said. Their revealing interviews come a day after former Geordie Shore star Charlotte Crosby defended the role of social media influencers during her current stint on Australia's version of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!. Love Island: After her stint on Love Island came to an end in 2017, Tyne-Lexy revealed that she was contacted by her agency offering to pay her 50,000 to spend five nights in Dubai Back in the day: Rosie, pictured with Megan Barton Hanson, appeared on Love Island in 2018 Getting into a heated debate with comedian Nikki Osborne, Charlotte, 29, insisted that influencers are crucial to brands and businesses. The topic arose when campmate Billy Brownless said 'a lot of girls' want to become influencers. 'You don't need any talent,' Nikki responded, causing Charlotte to jump to their defence. 'You do, you need a lot of talent to be a good influencer, 100 per cent,' she stated. 'Not anyone can just be an influencer. It's not an easy job. It's not an easy job.' High life: After appearing on Love Island, Tyne-Lexy has amassed thousands of followers on Instagram and often attends exclusive events. Pictured with Danielle Lloyd in October In a piece to camera, Nikki became flustered and said she regretted her comment. 'I literally threw myself under the bus there,' the blonde, who has nearly 23,000 followers on Instagram said, raising her hands dramatically. Charlotte, who boasts 7.1million followers on Instagram, went on to herald the benefits of influencers. 'For brands and businesses, influencers are so important,' she said. 'You don't even understand.' Federal Bank on Monday posted a 32 per cent growth in its December quarter net profit to Rs 440 crore, helped by a reduction in provisions for bad assets. The bank said its credit provisions were lower for October-December because of standard asset provisioning done in the previous quarter on account of exposure to Reliance Home Finance and Dewan Housing Finance. A payback received from the state-run carrier Air-India for the overall exposure of Rs 280 crore also helped reduce the asset quality stress. The overall provisions were Rs 160.86 crore as against Rs 190 crore in the year-ago period, its managing director and chief executive Shyam Srinivasan told reporters. Total income improved to Rs 3,738.22 crore in the quarter as against Rs 3,299.96 crore in the year-ago period. Gross non-performing assets (NPAs) declined to 2.99 per cent of the total advances during the quarter, compared with 3.14 per cent at the end of the third quarter of 2018-19. Net NPAs of the bank also fell to 1.63 per cent of the total assets in October-December 2019 as against 1.72 per cent a year ago. The bank posted a 7 per cent growth in the core net interest income at Rs 1,155 crore, on a 13 per cent loan growth and net interest margins remaining flat at 3 per cent. Srinivasan explained that the NIM was lower because of the higher fresh slippages of Rs 593 crore as against Rs 526 crore in the year-ago period, and exuded confidence of taking the gap to 3.06 per cent for the last quarter. The overall slippages included Rs 283 crore from the two non-bank lenders, for which the bank had set aside Rs 170 crore in standard asset provisions last quarter itself. Srinivasan said there is not a single exposure of over Rs 100 crore on its stressed asset watchlist and added that the amount of overall stress is also at its lowest in recent times at 1.59 per cent of the book as against a peak of 4 per cent in late 2016. Its exposure to the stressed NBFC sector is 14 per cent of the book and is stable at that levels, he said, adding that names in the list are well performing borrowers which the bank would like to keep. Its overall capital adequacy stood at 13.64 per cent, and Srinivasan said that the bank may plan to raise money in the second half of next fiscal. The bank burns up to 0.40 per cent of buffers per quarter and the internal trigger to go for a capital raising is 12 per cent, he said, pointing out that it had last raised money in June 2017. The bank scrip gained 2.35 per cent to close at Rs 93.80 apiece on BSE, as against a 0.99 per cent correction on benchmark index Sensex. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Deadly attack by a female bomber in the village of Kaiga-Kindjiria was blamed on the armed group, Boko Haram. Nine civilians died in western Chad after a female suicide bomber detonated explosives in an area targeted in the past by the Boko Haram armed group, officials said on Monday. Chad is one of the countries struggling with attacks that have spilled over from Nigerias decades-long rebel violence. The attack took place overnight on Sunday in the village of Kaiga-Kindjiria. A suicide bomber blew herself up yesterday in Kaiga-Kindjiria killing nine people, two women and seven men, an army source said. The death toll was confirmed by Chadian army spokesman Colonel Azem Bermandoa. It is Boko Haram, there is no doubt, he said. Kaiga-Kindjiria, a village of about 7,000 people, is located near the vast Lake Chad region where fighters hide out among islets and marshlands to launch attacks on Cameroon, Chad, Nigeria and Niger. Band together In August, a suicide bomber killed five civilians and a soldier in the same village. Assailants also killed four Chadian villagers and kidnapped four women near Lake Chad earlier this month. Boko Haram began in Nigeria but its attacks have spread to neighbouring countries. A faction affiliated with the ISIL (ISIS) armed group, ISWAP, is particularly active around Lake Chad. The suicide attack in western Chad came as French Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly visited the capital Ndjamena, where she met her Chadian counterpart on Monday. Countries in the region have banded together to fight Boko Haram and ISWAP with support from civilian defence committees. In early January, 1,200 Chadian troops deployed as part of the regional force in Nigeria, returned to Chad to be redeployed around the lake, where attacks have multiplied in recent months. The conflict in northeast Nigeria has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced about two million from their homes. The rebels have splintered into rival factions with one group loyal to long-time Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau and the other pledging allegiance to ISIL. Russian counterparts who reside in Ukraine must unite in a "powerful pro-Russian movement", Andrey Kozenko said Kozenko Andrei, Russian MP strana.ua Andrei Kozenko, the lawmaker of Russia's State Duma from the annexed Crimea claimed that the areas of temporarily occupied Donbas are "special subjects" of the Russian Federation. The video with his comment is published on the Union TV company's YouTube channel, Strana.ua reports. "We're publicly saying that Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics are today special subjects of the Russian Federation", he stated. Apart from that, he said that Russian counterparts who reside in Ukraine must unite in a "powerful pro-Russian movement". Earlier this month, the Russian Interior Ministry reported that in 2019, 196,000 residents of temporarily occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions received Russian passports under the simplified procedure. At that, 232 appeals were declined. New Delhi: In a major backing for New Delhi, Moscow has said that it never favoured Kashmir being brought to the United Nations for any discussion. Responding to questions at a press conference in Delhi, Russian Envoy to India, Nikolai Kudashev said, "As far as the discussions at the United Nations Security Council are concerned... we have never been in favour of bringing this issue to the United Nation's agenda because this is strictly a bilateral matter for India and Pakistan to discuss on the basis of Shimla and Lahore. Not much to discuss under the aegis of united nations security council" Live TV The comments come days after China, at the behest of Pakistan, raised Kashmir at a closed-door informal meet at the United Nations Security Council. The meet saw no takers and ended without any outcome. On the visit of foreign envoys to the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir earlier this month, Kudashev said, he doesn't "feels the reason to travel" as "Kashmir is India's internal matter and belongs to your constitutional space". Explaining,"Those who believe that it is an issue..and doubt Indian polices in Kashmir, can travel", which can be seen as a dig at US envoy, who was part of the 15 foreign envoys visit. Russian mission has confirmed to WION, that it won't be requesting Indian govt to be part of any future foreign envoys visit. The visit that happened in early January was at the request of various missions, according to Indian government sources. Asked, if the Indian govt invites for a visit, the Russian envoy said, "if you invite me... I will go as a friend". The Australian Government Department of Health is aware of the cases of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) from the region of Wuhan in China, and watching developments very closely. The situation warrants close attention and an evidence-based response and there is no cause for alarm in Australia. Australia has well established mechanisms to respond to ill travelers at points of entry. Under Australian legislation airlines must report passengers on board showing signs of an infectious disease, including fever, sweats or chills. Planes reporting ill travelers are met on arrival by biosecurity officers who make an assessment and take necessary actions, such as isolation and referral to hospital where required. The World Health Organization position does not currently recommend any travel advisory for China, or additional measures at airports beyond our established mechanisms. The Department of Health is aware that new cases have recently been identified, after a period of a week where no new cases had been identified. Whilst there is no clear evidence of human to human transmission, the recent cases, several days after the closure of the fish market that was initially identified as the likely source, raises direct transmission as a possibility. Importantly, however, there have been no reported cases of infection in the several hundred health care workers who have been exposed to the patients in China. All confirmed cases have so far been people who have been in Wuhan, or visited Wuhan. Whilst there have been two deaths, one was a person with significant other medical conditions. Wuhan Tianhe international airport will commence exit screening of passengers. The World Health Organization is closely monitoring the situation and in regular contact with Chinese authorities to provide support required. The Department of Health is also in contact with the World Health Organization. The Department of Health works in partnership with State and Territory Chief Health Officers, to ensure that we continue an evidence based response in Australia. The Chief Health Officers will be meeting early this week to further discuss the recent developments with this virus. Australia has processes in place to enhance border measures in relation to a communicable disease, if required, working through our established Health Protection system. A pneumonia outbreak in central China widened after authorities in Wuhan began screening for the new SARS-like virus, with the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) saying there are now signs of limited human-to-human spread. Health officials in Wuhan reported 136 cases at the weekend, taking to 198 the number of people in the city known to have been infected with the newly identified coronavirus. At least two people have died. Cases have also been reported in Japan, Thailand and the southern Chinese province of Guangdong. The CDC began screening passengers arriving from Wuhan at three US airports late Friday. It's a precaution against what Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC's National Centre for Immunisation and Respiratory Diseases, said was both a "low" risk to the general public and "serious" given its unpredictable and fluid nature. The Australian government's chief medical officer Brendan Murphy told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age on Sunday there was "no cause for alarm in Australia". A bomb disposal squad on Monday safely detonated an explosive device that was found in an unattended bag by Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) at the Mangaluru International airport, police said. The explosive device was detonated at a nearby open ground. CCTV footage released by authorities indicated that a man who had come in an autorickshaw is believed to have left the bag. WATCH | Mangaluru: Explosive device parts found at airport, defused; suspect on cam Mangaluru city police commissioner P S Harsha had said that moment a red flag was raised on the unidentified bag, proper protocols were immediately followed and the bag was shifted to an isolation bay. Subsequently the bomb disposal squad arrived and took the bag away and later safely detonated it. An FIR has been registered under sections of Explosive Substance Act and Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. Three teams have been formed for identification and apprehension of the accused, Harsha said, according to ANI. Mangaluru Airport Director V V Rao said there was no impact on flight operations. Meanwhile, Karnataka Home Minister Basvraj Bommai has asked for a special investigation team to look into the whole affair and identify who is behind it. Speaking to reporters in Haveri, Bommai said Preliminary report based on CCTV footage indicates that an unidentified man is seen to have left the bag. We will thoroughly investigate the whole matter. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Apple CEO Tim Cook described Ireland as the company's "second home" as he received IDA Irelands inaugural Special Recognition Award from Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. He received the award at a ceremony that was attended by 1,000 people consisting of of invited guests drawn from IDA client companies, key stakeholders, business people as well as some Apple and IDA Ireland employees. "Ireland has been a second home for Apple for forty years and this honor is even more special for us because it recognizes the contributions of our incredible team here who work tirelessly to serve our customers around the country, and around the world," Mr Cook said. "I believe deeply that our most important work together is still ahead of us, and Im grateful to the people of Ireland for their commitment to openness, to innovation and to the cooperation that will make possible the next generation of world-changing ideas. Mr Varadkar described how the tech giant has grown in Ireland, particularly in Cork, over the years. Only four years after it was founded, Apple opened a factory in Hollyhill in Cork, employing 60 people," he recalled. Today Apple is Corks largest employer with 6,000 people of over 100 different nationalities and is a global operation. Mr Cook becomes the first person to receive this honour, which will become an annual award to highlight to importance of foreign direct investment in Ireland. CEO of IDA Ireland Martin Shanahan explained: We are introducing this annual Special Recognition Award as we believe it is important that we celebrate the huge contribution our 1500+ FDI companies have made to Ireland." Last November, the government was been accused of misusing data protection rules and of deception in refusing to name lawyers paid over 7m to fight the EU's illegal state aid Apple tax case against Ireland. TORRINGTON Maureen Mo Hubert, the longtime executive director of Friendly Hands Food Bank Inc., died on Sunday, according to the organization. We are deeply saddened to say that Maureen Hubert, our Executive Director, has passed. We are all mourning, but do want to reassure our clients we will be open tomorrow as this is what Mo would have wanted. We thank everyone for youre thoughts and prayers as we go transition through this difficult time, the organization said in a Facebook post said. Hubert was the executive director of Friendly Hands Food Bank, which is located at 50 King St. in Torrington, for nearly 30 years. The food bank has been in dire financial straits in recent years, with Hubert describing its financial problems as extreme. Even so, community donations kept Friendly Hands running. The organization is funded entirely by grants, fundraisers and donations. In addition to supplying food to those who need it throughout the year, Friendly Hands held large donation drives during the holidays. In 2019, the non-profit gave away 400 Thanksgiving meals to families in need as well as meals and toys on Christmas. Deirdre Houlihan DiCara, executive director of FISH/Friends in Service to Humanity of Northwestern Connecticut, Inc., called Hubert dedicated. Mo dedicated her life to serving the hungry of our NWCT corner, addressing the needs of families facing life crisis, she said. On Sunday, Torrington Mayor Elinor Carbone posted a message on Facebook to remember Hubert. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Maureen Mo Hubert, she wrote. Thank you Mo for leaving a legacy of kindness and caring for your community to model. Your generous heart will be remembered forever. Jessica Scarfo, who has worked with Hubert for the last two years at Friendly Hands, wanted people to know that the food bank is open and running. Id love to stress that fact, she said. Mo made arrangements, and the food bank will continue. We are here for the community. Scarfo said Friendly Hands motto is always, Were here to help. Mo didnt care who you were, if you needed help, she was going to help you, she said. I came into Friendly Hands part-time at first, and I was interested in the work, and wanted to learn and share about the things we did here. Mo took me under her wing and taught me everything she could. Scarfo described her friend as tough. Scarfo said while Hubert had a very thick skin, she also was one of the most generous people I know. An example of that generosity, Scarfo said, was making sure people were able to take care of themselves and their loved ones, including their pets. Hubert also started a backpack back-to-school drive for needy children, to be sure they had supplies to start the new school year. Many years ago she started getting donations of dog and cat food, to make sure people didnt sacrifice food for themselves to have food for their pets, Scarfo said. She got donations for everything. Huberts husband George predeceased her, Scarfo said. She has two sisters, a brother, nieces and nephews, and was very close to her family. Her brother Billy works here at Friendly Hands, she said. The food banks commitment to those in need is always exemplified during the holidays, but it works with people all year, Scarfo said. We do a lot at Friendly Hands, and it was because of Mo, she said. People should know about all the things we do here. Find out what we offer were here to help. Friendly Hands can be reached by phone at 860-482-3338. While reports last year on insect decline calling the situation an insect apocalypse have been widely criticised for their methods, Dr Chrissie Painting from the University of Waikato, along with 70 other researchers from 21 countries, says that there is still some considerable cause for concern. The group has joined together and released an international paper, setting out a roadmap of immediate actions to be taken and research required to investigate the evidence of insect population declines, and solutions to reverse any declines. For most insects we dont know what is going on in terms of their populations, but there is some evidence of decline which is what led to this paper and call to action, aiming to remove the issues now and move towards new solutions while further research is conducted, says Chrissie, an insect behavioural ecologist. The evidence so far shows that insect species are suffering from multiple human-induced stress factors including habitat loss and fragmentation, pollution, invasive species, climate change and overharvesting. Some of the immediate no-regret solutions put forward include reducing light, water and noise pollution, phasing out pesticide use and replace that with ecological measures, enhancing restoration and conservation programmes and educating for awareness among the general world population. Chrissie provided a Southern Hemisphere voice to the paper, along with some of her colleagues in Christchurch and Australia, as the paper was predominantly authored by scientists from the Northern Hemisphere. This was important, as insect research and knowledge is at quite different stages between New Zealand and European countries. In Europe, the majority of insect species are described and have names, whereas in New Zealand we have an estimated 20,000 species, with only half of those having scientific names. This means we face bigger challenges, as we are still learning what species we have here, what their role in the ecosystem is and how human-induced environmental changes are affecting those species." The German government is currently leading the way in insect conservation, committing funds to the tune of $167 million to combat and reverse declining insect numbers, and the paper recognises this approach as a good example for other governments. While it would seem that entomologists here should be aiming to rectify the number of species without names in New Zealand, Chrissie explains its not that simple. There are two big challenges with naming our insects, one being that naming and describing species is a specialist job (taxonomy), and it isnt as valued as it used to be, and the second being the scale of the task. Chrissie works on insect and spider behaviour, especially around mating systems of species such as the New Zealand giraffe weevil that was the subject of her PhD. Im fascinated by insect diversity, and what evolutionary pressures lead to differences between each insect. My group has recently begun working on Dolomedes fishing spiders of which New Zealand has four species. Overseas, these spiders have rather extreme mating habits, as after sex the males heart stops and the female spider eats him, so Im looking to see whether we see similar behaviours in our New Zealand species. These investigations help us to understand the evolution of extreme mating strategies in animals. After getting involved with this international paper, Im interested in using behaviour to solve some of the conservation issues identified, and I intend to start working on insect species that might be a bit more at risk and threatened." The paper highlights the need for this type of research so we know more about our insect populations, to better protect them and ensure their longevity. However, in the meantime the scientists suggest we should listen to the current evidence and remove the stress factors now. 'Green Swan': Bankers warn of climate change risks Zurich, Jan 20 (AFP) Jan 20, 2020 Climate change could end up destabilising the entire global financial system, economists from the Switzerland-based Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and the French central bank said in a report Monday. With economic damage and uninsured losses, climate risks could generate a "green swan", they warned -- a reference to the concept of an unpredictable and devastating "black swan" event developed by philosopher Nassim Nicholas Taleb. "The increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events could trigger non-linear and irreversible financial losses," Francois Villeroy de Galhau, governor of France's central bank, said in the report. The report said that central banks, which aim to preserve financial system stability, can help by developing the analytical tools to measure climate risks or by investing some of their monetary reserves in "green bonds". Green bonds finance projects with environmental criteria and are the most common vehicles for green finance. But there is "no silver bullet", said Luiz Awazu Pereira da Silva, deputy general manager of the BIS, which is often referred to as the central bank of central banks. The authors of the report said banks on their own could not reduce the financial risks, calling on governments, the private sector and civil society to coordinate efforts. The BIS in September created a new fund to make it easier for central banks to invest in green bonds. But current shaky global market conditions mean the take-up of green bonds has been relatively low even though the yields can be just as high as regular bonds. A controversial Northeast Side toll road designed to provide relief for congested Interstate 35 is all but dead after the Cibolo City Council unanimously approved ending an agreement with the roads developer. The letter of termination came about because the Cibolo Turnpike Corp. was not able to clearly demonstrate that they had achieved financial closing per the terms of the development agreement, City Manager Robert Herrera said. The Schertz City Council and Guadalupe County already had rejected the Cibolo Parkway Project in no uncertain terms, saying it didnt seem that the road could deliver what it promised. On ExpressNews.com: Toll road project losing countys support At a meeting last week, the Cibolo City Council met in a lengthy executive session to discuss the letter of termination and the project, emerging from the session to cast a vote in support of ending the agreement with the corporation, which is headed by John Crew, majority owner and chairman of the board of directors. Weve been talking (with Crew) all the way through this, giving him every opportunity to fulfill their duties, and they fell short in every aspect, Mayor Stosh Boyle said. They didnt hold up their end of the bargain. In response to the citys termination of the agreement, the corporation filed suit against the city. Crew and his attorneys have claimed that its the city that hasnt met its obligations under the agreement. As you are aware, the agreement imposes on the city an obligation of full cooperation, Crew wrote in a letter sent in October. The citys delays in cooperating and failures to cooperate with CTLP do not comport with the citys contractual obligations. The project began in 2015, envisioned as a 7-mile, four-lane toll road to be built for $125 million. It was seen as a much needed way to help relieve congestion on I-35 near FM 1103 and along FM 1103, which is used to get off and on I-35 by nearly a dozen Cibolo subdivisions and neighborhoods. The proposed road would have stretched 7 miles to the south, from FM 1103 at Weil near Steele High School to Interstate10, which is being widened to three lanes in both directions. The idea was to funnel traffic away from I-35 and onto I-10 for traffic headed south into San Antonio. Express Briefing: Get the morning headlines in your inbox Crew told city officials that a toll of $2 to $2.50 for motorists traveling the entire 7 miles would eventually be enough to pay off the highway. The city agreed to a feasibility study on the project; the study was completed in 2017. But at a public hearing Jan. 9, 2018, project officials reported that by their own updated traffic estimates, the originally proposed four-lane divided highway was no longer a viable option. At that meeting, Sumeet Kishnani, a senior associate with Stantec Engineering Services, said the study projected that only about 800 to 900 motorists per hour would use the road instead of the thousands that had been expected. He said a road with one lane in each direction could accommodate about 2,000 vehicles per hour. Were less than half of that, Kishnani said, which suggests that a one-lane facility in each direction would be sufficient. Crew said at that public hearing that the project would be reduced to a two-lane undivided highway but that the cost would remain at $125 million. That did not sit well with several council members or with the Guadalupe County Commissioners Court, which in 2017 had voted to support Cibolo in the project. In January 2019, the Commissioners Court formally pulled its support for the toll road, citing a lack of transparency in talks with property owners along the proposed route. The county also asked the Metropolitan Planning Organization to drop the road from its short- and long-range funding plans. The Schertz City Council had voted to oppose the initial project, which included a 1.5-mile stretch through Schertz city limits, as early as April 2017. Schertz continued to maintain staunch opposition, as it appeared that Cibolo might try to get state officials to help force Schertz to participate. But there are signs that icy relations between the two cities over transportation issues are thawing. A joint meeting of the Schertz and Cibolo city councils is set for Jan. 30 to discuss an unspecified transportation projection. jflinn@express-news.net Oprah Winfrey has dropped out as an executive producer on a documentary that delves into sexual misconduct allegations against Russell Simmons but not because he pressured her, she says. The media mogul, 65, spoke to The New York Times in an interview published Friday in which she alleged Simmons, 62, tried to convince her to back out of the film, named On The Record, as an executive producer. Winfrey ultimately did pull out of the film, citing creative differences between herself and the filmmakers. He did reach out multiple times and attempted to pressure me, Winfrey said. I told him directly in a phone call that I will not be pressured either into, or out of, backing this film. She added, I am only going to do what I believe to be the right thing. In a statement obtained by PEOPLE, Simmons rep Thomasina Perkins-Washington said, If defending himself against terrible accusations is considered intimidation then there would be no justice. Witnesses and family members were intimidated for expressing their views against these allegations. She added written accounts and sworn testimony depicted Simmons as incapable of being violent toward women with whom he had ongoing highly visible romantic relationships from nearly 40 years back. Oprah Winfrey; Russell Simmons | Vera Anderson/WireImage; Stephen Lovekin/Getty In his own statement, Simmons said, I have issued countless detailed denials of the false accusations against me, including pages of sworn witness testimony including family members, clergy, journalists and mutual friends who were present at every stage. These denials have been validated by my passing 9 prosecution-grade lie detector tests. I have also provided sworn statements and pointed out fatal flaws and inconsistencies in written accounts, some published in their own books, to reputable media organizations which have acted responsibly. I have admitted to being a massively unconscious playboy which today is appropriately titled womanizer. Continuing to live my life honorably as an open book for decades, devoid of any kind of violence against anyone, as has been documented and examined in detail worldwide since the very early days of hip hop, which is my lifes testimony and work, Simmons continued. What I wont do is engage in a shoot-out of attacks and counter-attacks. The social change from todays activism is more important to the world my daughters will inherit than any dirt from false accusations from nearly 40 years ago. Story continues My life as an entrepreneur, yogi and fighter for new and diverse voices, as well as the faith placed in my work by millions around the world, has been a force for good and will continue to be as long as Im able to serve the communities I love and cherish. RELATED: Oprah Winfrey Pulls Out as Producer of Russell Simmons #MeToo Documentary The Times reported Winfrey sought the counsel of her friend and filmmaker Ava DuVernay, who critiqued the documentary. DuVernay, 47, told the newspaper Winfrey was going to face fallout no matter what her decision turned out to be. Shes got Simmons on one side pressuring her, and then shes got a film on the other side that she doesnt agree with, DuVernay said. So if she walks away from the film she seems like shes caving to Simmons, and if she stays with the film then shes putting her name on something that she feels doesnt quite hit the mark. Winfrey was an executive producer of the Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering directed documentary which was intended to air on Apple TV+ after its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival later this week. The film follows former music executive Drew Dixon who previously accused Simmons of aggressive sexual harassment in a 2017 interview with the Times. Simmons has vehemently denied all allegations against him. Winfrey announced her decision to pull back in a statement obtained by PEOPLE earlier this month. I have decided that I will no longer be executive producer on The Untitled Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering Documentary and it will not air on Apple TV+, Winfrey said. First and foremost, I want it to be known that I unequivocally believe and support the women Their stories deserve to be told and heard. In my opinion, there is more work to be done on the film to illuminate the full scope of what the victims endured and it has become clear that the filmmakers and I are not aligned in that creative vision, Winfrey continued. Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering are talented filmmakers. I have great respect for their mission but given the filmmakers desire to premiere the film at the Sundance Film Festival before I believe it is complete, I feel its best to step aside. RELATED: 18 Women Accuse Music Producer Russell Simmons of Sexual Misconduct Everything Theyve Said She added, I will be working with Times Up to support the victims and those impacted by the abuse and sexual harassment. In a statement obtained by PEOPLE, Dick and Ziering said, Revealing hard truths is never easy, and the women in our documentary are all showing extraordinary strength and courage by raising their voices to address sexual abuse in the music industry. While we are disappointed that Oprah Winfrey is no longer an Executive Producer on the project, we are gratified that Winfrey has unequivocally said she believes and supports the survivors in the film. They continued, The #MeToo experiences of Black women deserve to be heard, especially against powerful men, so we will continue with our plans to bring the film to The Sundance Film Festival. This film more than two years in the making, will be our eighth to premiere at Sundance. The film is a beacon of hope for voices that have long been suppressed, and an inspiration for anyone wanting to regain their personal power, they added. Simmons previously reached out to Winfrey on Instagram in December, asking her to reconsider her involvement in the documentary. He also denied allegations that he had forced himself on women in his post, writing, In closing, I am guilty of exploiting, supporting, and making the soundtrack for a grossly unequal society, but i have never been violent or forced myself on anyone. Still I am here to help support a necessary shift in power and consciousness. Let us get to work on uplifting humanity and put this moment and old narrative behind us. On The Record premieres at the Sundance Film Festival on Saturday. PHILADELPHIA The American Red Cross is facing a national blood crisis its worst blood shortage in more than a decade. Dangerously low blood supply levels are posing a concerning risk to patient care and forcing doctors to make difficult decisions about who receives blood transfusions and who will need to wait until more products become [] All-Ireland medal winner Aidan Fogarty has opened up for the first time about the calling off of his wedding only a month before he and his teenage sweetheart were due to walk down the aisle. Speaking about what he called "a very lonely and heart-breaking time", he said the experience has made him stronger but has also made him see the pressure Irish society places on young people to meet life's traditional milestones. Explaining how the pair dated for over a decade when the questions began, he said: "I think, looking back, we got engaged because of the pressure from society really." He added: "I think society puts a lot of pressure on you to get married, have a kid and a house by the age of 30 or 32, and if you are not in that scenario you are nearly 'failing' at life, which is absolute rubbish," he said. "I am talking now as if I am a guru," he said, "but I have had the experience." The couple were living together when they called the wedding off. "Everything was booked. We were at home in Johnstown and we had been very 'off' with each other and the two of us sat down and told each other we weren't happy. We had a big conversation and we came to the agreement that we had grown apart and made the decision to call it off." Of the immediate aftermath he said: "I told my sister first... I am getting emotional," he continued, "... and she started crying because she was best friends with [my former fiancee] as well. She just couldn't believe it. The two of us just said nothing and cried." On the reasons behind the decision, Fogarty said he and his ex-fiancee felt they were becoming more like friends. Looking back now he says, society often expects people to tick off 'boxes' as life goes on. On the narrative they would hear broaching their 30s, he says "from a female perspective" it's "Mary is after getting engaged, Sheila is after getting engaged, there is Maura having a baby..." while he added "Even the lads [would joke] 'have you fallen over on one knee yet?'" Video of the Day To other young people feeling similar pressure to choose 'the one' he says: "The most important thing is to be happy in yourself, to have confidence in yourself and to know exactly what you want. If it takes 10, 20 or 30 years - it doesn't matter. I was very immature, I didn't know what I wanted - all I wanted to do was hurl and enjoy myself and I did enjoy myself and I would have no regrets. If I was back there again I would do the exact same thing but, what I would do differently, is that I would work on myself and develop myself a lot more." After the break-up he was lonely. "I started going to coffee shops and doing a lot of things on my own and that was so difficult because I was in a relationship for 14 years and played hurling with 30 guys for years and everything was done with someone." Now he has learned to find peace in his own company. "If you can sit down and be happy on your own then you are doing something right. Those kind of people are the strongest people out there because they are the ones who don't get into a relationship just for the sake of it." He built his own confidence by chance after meeting a local priest, Brother Damien Brennan, with the view of improving as a hurler. "I went to him thinking he was going to run me for 50 laps and give me 200 push ups a day - and it was that as well - but it turned out to be more of a psychological help and he became my mentor. "He took me at face value, he didn't judge me, I could tell him anything and he accepted me for who I was and that was the best starting point for me because I was always looking over my shoulder- looking for approval." On the day when his mentor died last September, Fogarty had the call to appear on Dancing With The Stars. "I am not a religious man but I feel it was no coincidence that they rang that day. He was always challenging me and telling me to take risks and to get myself out there." Without Brother Brennan, he wouldn't have eight All-Ireland medals. "I wouldn't have retired in 2010, I wouldn't be on DWTS now, doing radio programmes or talking to you today. He was my best friend as well as my mentor - an incredibly powerful man." 'Dancing With The Stars' is on tonight at 6.30pm on RTE One Bridge projects have come under scrutiny in recent years by Maryland State Board of Education members who have raised concerns about standards, consistency and monitoring. Thousands of Maryland students have received diplomas as a result of bridge projects, which the state has described as an alternate pathway that can be particularly useful to students with disabilities, English-language learners and those who experience anxiety or do not perform well on traditional tests. A survivor of the cult ceremony that killed seven people in Panama recounted how she was blindfolded, beaten with a Bible and knocked unconscious while her nine-year-old daughter was decapitated. Dina Blanco, 24, attended the meeting of 'the New Light of God' where a pregnant woman, five of her children and a neighbor were killed in a religious ritual in a jungle community in El Terron, Panama last Monday. Authorities said cult members used Bibles, cudgels and machetes to hit the congregants, who were forced to strip and walk across glowing embers in the ceremony. Blanco's account suggests the 14 surviving participants were helpless, bound, unconscious or sightless much of the time, so the full truth about what happened in the bizarre ceremony may only come out at the trials of nine villagers charged with killing their neighbors. She said from her hospital bed in the nearest city, Santiago, that she had gone to previous prayer meetings at the improvised church in a long wooden shed before. But this time, the tone had changed, and she didn't go willingly. The cult, which had operated in the village for about three months, changed after a member had a vision, telling the lay preachers they had been 'anointed' to exterminate unbelievers. Dina Blanco show injuries on her back during an interview at Luis Fabrega Hospital in Santiago, Panama, Sunday, January 19, 2020 Blanco said a neighbor, Olivia, came to call her to the meeting of 'the New Light of God' sect on January 13, saying she would have to come 'whether you like it or not.' So she went - along with her nine-year-old epileptic daughter, her 15-year-old son, and her father. Her father and her son managed to escape. Blanco and her daughter, Ines, were not so lucky. When they arrived, they were told not to open their eyes, and to grab each others' hands and pray; the worshipers felt they were physically in the presence of the Lord. 'I felt something hit my head, and then I don't what happened to me. I dropped to my knees,' said Blanco. Authorities say cult members used Bibles, cudgels and machetes to hit the congregants. Blanco still bears a broad bruise across her forehead from whatever hit her. Residents gather at a school in the jungle community of El Terron, Panama, Friday, January 17, 2020. A pregnant woman, five of her children and a neighbor where round on up by about 10 lay preachers at the remote hamlet on Jan. 13 and tortured, beaten, burned and hacked with machetes to make them 'repent their sins', authorities said A boy of the Ngabe Bugle indigenous group sits at his home in the community of El Terron, Panama, January 17, 2020. A pregnant woman, five of her children and a neighbor where round up by about 10 lay preachers at the hamlet on Monday and tortured, beaten, burned and hacked with machetes to make them 'repent their sins', authorities said 'When I came to, they kept telling me not to open my eyes,' she recalled. 'I heard drums, an accordion, screams, crying. I was tied up.' Authorities say some of the congregants had been forced to strip, and walk across glowing embers. But the worst was yet to come. Late that night or in the early morning hours of the 14th, a sect member approached and told her that her daughter Ines had died. 'The birds of the fields shall dispose of her body,' the voice said. In fact, Ines, like Blanco's pregnant neighbor and five of her children, had been murdered during the ritual - some say decapitated - and their naked bodies slung into hammocks and dumped in a freshly-dug common grave in the village cemetery. Nine of the 10 lay preachers detained last week have been charged with murder and kidnapping. Shoes are abandoned on a mud puddle outside the improvised temple where a pregnant woman, five of her children and a neighbor were killed in a religious ritual in a jungle community in El Terron, Panama, Friday, January 17, 2020 A man paddles along the Calobebora river near the community of El Terron, Panama, Friday, January 17, 2020 Bibles still lay open and musical instruments lay scattered over the weekend in the shed where the killings took place. Indigenous leader Evangelisto Santo has said that during the ceremony, 'People were dancing and singing and nobody paid attention because we knew that they were in the presence of God.' But for Blanco, God was not among those present. 'For me, it was hate that was there,' she said. El Terron is nestled in the jungle of the indigenous Ngabe Bugle enclave on Panamas Caribbean coast, and it is largely cut off from the outside world. Its 300 residents must walk hours along steep and muddy narrow roads to hail boats that can transport them along a river to other villages that have electricity, telephones, health clinics and a police presence. In the city of Santiago, Blanco must still undergo scans to rule out internal injuries; she has bruises on her abdomen, back and hands from the beatings. But her what hurts most is in her heart. 'She was a disabled girl,' she said of Ines. 'I spent a lot of time on her, I bought her pills to treat her illness that cost $3,' a huge amount for impoverished farmers in Panama's poorest region. 'Now I won't have her at home anymore,' Blanco said. 'That is the greatest pain that I have.' In a rain-affected match, Sydney Sixers defeated Melbourne Stars by 21 runs in the ongoing Big Bash League (BBL) after the Duckworth-Lewis method came into play here on Monday. The match was reduced to a 14-over a side game after rain played a spoilsport. Sydney sixers made 143 runs in 14 overs but the target was revised to 147. Chasing 147, Marcus Stoinis and Hilton Cartwright kicked off the Stars' run chase well as the duo scored 35 runs in three overs. However, Sixers struck as Ben Dwarshuis dismissed Cartwright in the fourth over, reducing the side to 35/1. Stoinis looked in good touch and kept smashing bowlers out of the park. Nic Maddinson joined Stoinis at the crease and both partnered for 49 runs between them. Dwarshuis came back into the attack and broke the partnership as he removed Maddinson (16). Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell took the Stars' score past 100 run mark. In the 12th over Melbourne Stars suffered a big blow as Tom Curran dismissed well-settled Stoinis (62). Nick Larkin arrived at the crease, as Stars needed 38 runs in the last 14 balls. The side lost the momentum in the final and were bundled out on 125 overs after dismissals of Larkin (3) and Maxwell (12). Earlier after being put in to bat first, Sixers had a bad start as they lost Daniel Hughes (14) and Josh Philippe (10) in the fifth over. However, James Vince and Moises Henriques stabilized Sixers' innings. The duo put on a 114 runs partnership for the third wicket. Daniel Worrall dismissed Henriques on 72 runs in the 14th over, reducing the Sixers to 140-4. Vince and Tom Curran took the side to a score of 143 runs. Vince played a fine knock and remained not out on 41 runs. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Russian actress fined about $500 for drug possession RIA Novosti, Yekaterina Chesnokova 16:44 20/01/2020 MOSCOW, January 20 (RAPSI) - Moscows Preobrazhensky District Court on Monday fined actress Natalya Bochkareva 30,000 rubles (about $500) as part of a case over illegal drug possession, RAPSI reports from the courtroom. The case also granted an investigators motion to close the case. According to the investigator, Bochkareva pleaded guilty in full and following that regularly transferred money to a charity fund created to help children with disabilities. Earlier, investigators filed a motion seeking for the case termination and imposition of a fine on the actress. In late 2019, the Interior Ministry reported that the road traffic police stopped the womans car in September and found a bag with 0.69 grams of cocaine. Fifteen months after he abruptly abandoned plans to impose a carbon tax, Brian Pallister is poised to reopen talks with Ottawa on the contentious issue. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/1/2020 (722 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Fifteen months after he abruptly abandoned plans to impose a carbon tax, Brian Pallister is poised to reopen talks with Ottawa on the contentious issue. The premier announced his government's intention to revisit the matter with the federal government following a half-hour meeting on Monday with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at a downtown Winnipeg hotel. "I would think it's fair to say that there's going to be a dialogue between the province and the federal government in respect of our made-in-Manitoba green plan," Pallister said. "That dialogue will include a carbon price of some kind, and we'll have that discussion in the not-too-distant future." Manitoba had once proposed levying a $25-a-tonne carbon tax, but it dropped the idea more than a year ago after it failed to receive federal assurances that it wouldn't be forced to increase the levy in the future. The federal carbon tax, currently set at $20 per tonne, is to increase to $30 per tonne this year and rise to $50 a tonne by 2022. If Ottawa were to approve a new Manitoba plan to combat climate change, the province could gain control over how carbon tax revenues are spent. Currently, the feds rebate most of what they collect from the levy to Canadians when they file their income tax. Manitoba is one of four provinces to have a national carbon tax imposed upon them because it has refused to create one that meets federal standards. Pallister wouldn't say whether Manitoba was prepared to budge much from its previously announced green plan. He said he still prefers that any carbon tax be flat and not escalate. "The dialogue will move forward and we'll see where it goes from there," he said. "We're going to advance our plan again and see where the dialogue goes." Pallister said he wants Ottawa to acknowledge past and current green initiatives in Manitoba, including the province's substantial investments in hydroelectric power and its elimination of coal-fired electricity-producing plants. "We've invested more than any other province... in hydro (on a per capita basis)," he told reporters. Earlier on Monday, federal Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson appeared unenthusiastic about crediting Manitoba for past measures. "We have to be forward-looking with climate change," he said following an announcement in Winnipeg. "At the end of the day, the challenge that we are facing is one of the emissions that exist today. We need to ... have plans as to how we're going to reduce the emissions that exist today." The premier met with Trudeau on the second day of a three-day federal cabinet retreat in the Manitoba capital. The PM also met for about 30 minutes with Mayor Brian Bowman. Bowman said the two discussed Winnipeg's methamphetamine problem, public safety issues and the $1.8 billion in required upgrades to the North End sewage treatment plant. The mayor said he would push for greater collaboration among all levels of government in combating illicit drugs and crime. "The more that we can co-ordinate all of our investments and actions -- when it relates to public safety as well as dealing with the root causes of crime -- (the more) we're going to get better results," he said. Pallister said the province has already taken steps to address climate change that go beyond what it promised when it announced its green plan in October 2017. He said he would make an announcement Tuesday in Brandon that will build on the province's green record. Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister speaks to media while meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the Liberal Cabinet Retreat at the Fairmont Hotel in Winnipeg. (Mike Sudoma / The Canadian Press) 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. NDP Leader Wab Kinew accused Pallister of flip flopping on the carbon tax "more times than a pickerel on a dock." "He was for it, he was against it; now it's back on again. Who knows what we'll hear tomorrow on the subject?" he said. Kinew said if the province were to gain control of the tax from the federal government, it should assure Manitobans that revenues would be spent on green initiatives and to help them "adapt to the affordability challenge." During last summer's election campaign, the Manitoba NDP proposed using revenues from a carbon tax to lower Manitobans' hydro bills. with files from Canadian Press larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca Flash First batch of Cuban governors and deputy governors since 1959 were elected on Saturday in order to "economically and socially contribute" to national development, according to the Cuban constitution. "All the proposals by Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel were endorsed by municipal delegates across the country," Alina Balseiro, head of the Cuban National Electoral Council told reporters at a news conference. Earlier on Friday, Diaz-Canel called for special attention to the creation of new government structures, as part of the effort to enhance people's power. The position of governor has been added to the new constitution approved in February, 2019, some six decades after it was removed from the governmental system of the island country following the victory of the Cuban Revolution. "Governors are fundamental to strengthening local power as they are accountable for 15 provinces' executive and managerial performances," said Lissete Perez, senior professor with the School of Law at the University of Havana. A new structure of People's Power National Assembly at the local level will increase government control, supervision and citizen participation in the decision-making process, she said. The Cuban constitution says provincial governments are "meant to economically and socially contribute to the territory's development and facilitate coordination between state structures and municipalities." Teresa Lara, economic analyst at the Enterprise for Knowledge Management and Technology, said these changes would involve not only decentralization of government, but also that of economic activity. She said that new authorities will have the opportunity to better bolster urban and rural development amid increasing U.S. blockade against the island under the current U.S. administration. "It is a move on the right track for governors are called on to have more control over resources and state budget than presidents of former Provincial Assemblies of People's Power," she added. Governors and deputy governors will serve for a five-year term after inauguration ceremonies to take place on Feb. 8 prior to constituting provincial councils. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has attended a ceremony to commemorate Ukrainian "cyborgs" who died during the heroic defense of Donetsk International Airport, according to an Ukrinform correspondent. The event was also attended by the families of fallen servicemen, the leadership of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, representatives of the public, servicemen of the Kyiv garrison, cadets and lyceum students of military educational establishments of the Ukrainian capital. On January 16, Ukraine marked Day of Remembrance of Donetsk Airport Defenders. The defense of the airport lasted 242 days - from May 26, 2014 to January 22, 2015, and ended after the old and new airport terminals were completely destroyed. The Ukrainian defenders were called "cyborgs" for their resilience and persistence. They became a symbol of courage and devotion to the ideals of a free and independent Ukraine. During this period, special forces of the 3rd separate regiment, fighters of the 79th, 80th, 81st, 95th separate airmobile brigades and the 93d separate mechanized brigade, the 57th separate mechanized infantry brigade, the 90th separate airborne battalion and the 74th separate reconnaissance battalion, fighters of the Dnipro-1 regiment, the Volunteer Ukrainian Corps and others were fighting in Donetsk International Airport and the village of Pisky in the Donetsk region. During January 18-21, 2015, 58 "cyborgs" were killed after the invaders blasted the airport terminal. On January 21, the decision was approved to withdraw Ukrainian soldiers from the new terminal which was completely destroyed and unsuitable for defense. More than 200 Ukrainian soldiers were killed and over 500 were injured in the battle for the Donetsk airport. Many of them received state awards, including posthumously. op Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-21 02:49:29|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close MOGADISHU, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Somali and U.S. security forces said Monday they killed three al-Shabab militants when they conducted an airstrike on Sunday near Bangeeni in the southern region. The U.S. Africa Command which oversees American troops on the African continent said no civilians were injured or killed as a result of this airstrike which was carried out by Somali special forces. William Gayler, director of operation, U.S. Africa Command, said the latest airstrike targeted al-Shabab fighters who posed a direct, immediate and significant threat to partner forces. "Al-Shabab consists of terrorists and criminals who seek to export hate and violence more broadly. We remain committed to supporting our Somali partners and the security progress we are building together in the region," Gayler said in a statement. Southern and central regions of Somalia have become the battleground of clashes between government forces and al-Shabab extremists after the militants were driven out from the capital Mogadishu in August 2011 by the Somali army and African Union forces. 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 extremists have recently increased their attacks, especially in Mogadishu targeting hotels and other public places. Enditem JACKSON, MI A man who broke into multiple Jackson County homes has pleaded guilty to eight charges. Gregory Schulz, 32, pleaded guilty before Jackson Circuit Judge John McBain on Friday, Jan. 17, to four felony counts of second-degree home invasion and one felony count each of receiving and concealing a firearm, breaking and entering a building with intent, larceny of a firearm and possession of a firearm by a felon. In mid-2018, the Jackson County Sheriffs Office investigated five home invasions, Undersheriff Chris Kuhl said. Spring Arbor Township Police and Michigan State Police also investigated incidents with similar characteristics, Kuhl said. There were no witnesses and little information in most of the invasions, Kuhl said. But detectives found stolen items that had been pawned, he said. Clinton County Sheriffs Office detectives had information about a suspect who had committed crimes in their county, and the description matched with the person who pawned items, Kuhl said. Jackson Detective Thomas Freeman worked with Clinton County and recovered some of the stolen items, Kuhl said. Schulz is in prison in Michigan for 17 criminal incidents in Clinton County, two in Eaton County and one in Ionia County. He is scheduled to be sentenced in Jackson County on April 1, according to court records. Schulzs earliest release date from the Michigan Department of Corrections is Sept. 18, 2033, according to MDOC records. READ MORE JACKSON NEWS: 2 women robbed at gunpoint in Jackson, police say Bring foam cannon, video games to the party with help from Jackson business Volunteers needed for homeless count day in Jackson Jackson College president elected to national education board President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump walk across the South Lawn toward Marine One at the White House on Jan. 17, 2020. The Trump family is headed to Mar-a-Lago for the weekend. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Guide to the Trump Impeachment Trial in the Senate The impeachment trial of President Donald Trump will start on Jan. 21, as all 100 U.S. senators gather in Washington to vote on initial trial guidelines. Senators will hear from Trumps legal team and House impeachment managers as soon as Jan. 21, before submitting written questions to both sides. According to the Republican majority, the matter of whether to call witnesses will be decided after both sides present their cases and the questions are answered. Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives on Dec. 18, 2019, without a single Republican vote. The two articles of impeachment charge him with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The Judge Chief Justice John Roberts, who will preside over the trial, was sworn in on Jan. 16. Roberts, 64, was nominated to the Supreme Court in 2005 by President George W. Bush. He was directly confirmed to be chief justice following the death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist. Unlike other trials, if Roberts does make a ruling, 51 senators can vote to overrule him. 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 on Jan. 16, 2020, in this image from video. (Senate Television via AP) 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 on Jan. 16, 2020, in this image from video. (Senate Television via AP) The Jury The Senate will hear the arguments for and against removing Trump from office. It holds enormous power during the proceedings, having the ability to dismiss the charges or acquit Trump with a simple majority vote, or to convict the president, removing him from office, with a 67-vote supermajority. Senators are expected to be in attendance at all times during the proceedings and arent allowed to have phones or other electronics during the trial. They also arent allowed to speak during the proceedings. Since the Republicans hold a 5347 majority (including two independents who caucus with the Democrats) in the chamber, its widely considered unlikely that Trump will be convicted. Witnesses More than a dozen witnesses testified during the House impeachment inquiry. A majority vote is required to call witnesses during the Senate trial. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has said the matter of witnesses wont be included in the vote on initial trial guidelines, citing Senate rules set out in President Bill Clintons 1999 impeachment trial. If witnesses are called, Democrats are seeking the testimony of four witnesses, including former national security adviser John Bolton and acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney. Republicans have said they want to hear from former Vice President and current presidential hopeful Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden. The senators themselves, in their roles as jurors, will have the opportunity to submit questions in writing. Under the rules, senators may even be called as witnesses in the trial. Prosecutors and the Defense Seven representatives were chosen to present the Houses case against Trump, including House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.). House managers, led by Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee Adam Schiff (2nd R) and Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Jerry Nadler (R) walk to the Senate on Jan. 16, 2020, to deliver the Articles of Impeachment against President Donald Trump, at the Capitol in Washington. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images) In a normal courtroom proceeding, prosecutors arent aligned with a political party. In this case, all seven House impeachment managers are Democrats. Trumps team includes Harvard Law School professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz, White House counsel Pat Cipollone, and former independent counsel Ken Starr. White House counsel Pat Cipollone exits the U.S. Capitol after meeting with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in Washington on Dec. 12, 2019. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, former federal prosecutor Robert Ray, and Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow are also on the team. The Arguments Democrats say Trump abused his office by asking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to look into possible corruption by the Bidens, noting that Joe Biden is a Democratic presidential contender. Theyve sought to connect a hold placed on congressionally approved military aid to Ukraine to the request, arguing that Trump was using it to pressure Ukraine. The president withheld hundreds of millions of dollars of military aid to an ally at war with Russia, withheld a White House meeting that the president of Ukraine desperately sought to establish with his country and with his adversary the support of the United States, in order to coerce Ukraine into helping him cheat in the next election, Schiff said on Jan. 19 during an appearance on ABCs This Week. Democrats also say Trump blocked Congress from investigating the allegations against him by declining to allow some current and former advisers to testify to the House. Trumps team says he cant be removed for abuse of power, saying the prosecution needs proof of an actual crime. Abuse of power alone, and history has shown this, similar to also obstruction of Congress, those types of articles of impeachment have been tried on for size before, but they have not fared well, Ray said on Jan. 19 in an appearance on Fox News Sunday Morning Futures. Trump, who will be in Davos, Switzerland, for the 2020 World Economic Forum during part of the trial, has repeatedly said he didnt do anything wrong and that House Democrats are playing politics. They didnt want John Bolton and others in the House. They were in too much of a rush. Now they want them all in the Senate. Not supposed to be that way! he said on Twitter on Jan. 20. Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the students not to be slaves of technology. Amid the growing usage of smartphones by the children, he said that children should spend an hour a day without using any gadget. We should not be slaves of technology but we should know how to use it well. Children should spend an hour a day when they dont use any gadget, the Prime Minister said while interacting with students during the third edition of Pariksha Pe Charcha. One room in our homes should be technology free, whoever enters will not carry any gadgets, he added. The programme has been organised by the government as stress-buster for the students, where PM Modi is sharing tips to perform well under pressure. Around 2,000 students from all over the country are participating in the programme; 1,050 have been selected through short essays on five topics. The programme is being moderated by two students. As he began his interaction, PM Modi said he wants this to be without any filter - a terminology often used on platforms to denote unedited posts and candid conversations. We start our conversation. Todays trend is #withoutfilter. We will have talk like you (students) talk to your friends. We will talk in a light environment, the Prime Minister said during the event at Talkatora stadium in New Delhi. He said that the Pariksha Pe Charcha event is the closest to his heart, more than any other programmes he has attended. The first edition of Prime Ministers Interaction Programme with school and college students Pariksha Pe Charcha 1.0 was held at Talkatora Stadium on February 16, 2018. by Zachary Hanshew | Pacers Correspondent | Sun, Jan 19th 11:57pm EST Malcolm Brogdon furnished 22 points (8-17 FG, 2-4 3Pt, 4-4 FT), eight assists and three rebounds across 36 minutes in the Pacers 115-107 win over the Nuggets on Sunday. Fantasy Impact: Brogdon played big minutes in Sunday's win, as he scored at least 21 points for the third time in four games since returning from an extended absence. In that span, the Virginia product has averaged 19.0 points, 8.3 dimes and 5.0 boards. The imminent return of Victor Oladipo isn't the harbinger of Brogdon's fantasy demise, as the two should be able to co-exist in Indiana's offense. (Newser) It has been nearly three weeks since 16-year-old Selena Bell, aka Selena Not Afraid, went missing. The Native American teen disappeared at a rest stop in rural Montana, and searches by police and volunteers have been fruitless. As the hunt continues, Selena's disappearance is calling attention to the larger issue of missing and murdered Native American women, particularly in Montana. Coverage: Disappearance: Selena was last seen Jan. 1 at a rest stop on I-90 between Billings and Hardin, reports NBC News. She'd been in a van with five others returning to Hardin from a New Year's Eve party, but the details after that get a little murky. The van reportedly was having mechanical trouble, and police say the driver left Selena and another girl behind and called a relative to pick them up. When the relative arrived, the other girl said Selena had walked into a field. She hasn't been seen since. story continues below Investigation: The FBI and the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs have joined state and local agencies in the investigation, and Sen. Jon Tester last week asked for more resources and updates, reports the Billings Gazette. The Big Horn County Sheriff's Office is the lead local agency on the case, though police aren't saying much about their focus. The FBI and the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs have joined state and local agencies in the investigation, and Sen. Jon Tester last week asked for more resources and updates, reports the Billings Gazette. The Big Horn County Sheriff's Office is the lead local agency on the case, though police aren't saying much about their focus. Bigger picture: Selena is the 28th Native American female to go missing in Big Horn County in recent memory, say local activists, per the New York Times. It speaks to a national problem in the indigenous community, and one that's particularly pronounced in Montana. Native Americans make up 6.7% of the state's population but account for 26% of missing persons, the AP reported last year. The Times notes it's only been in the last few years that social media and grassroots organizing have forced the issue into the national spotlight. Selena is the 28th Native American female to go missing in Big Horn County in recent memory, say local activists, per the New York Times. It speaks to a national problem in the indigenous community, and one that's particularly pronounced in Montana. Native Americans make up 6.7% of the state's population but account for 26% of missing persons, the AP reported last year. The Times notes it's only been in the last few years that social media and grassroots organizing have forced the issue into the national spotlight. Undercounted? Last year, more than 5,500 indigenous women were reported missing to the FBI, though advocates say the issue still isn't fully reflected in national stats. Some victims are misclassified as Hispanic or Asian or "are lost in a jurisdictional maze over which state, federal, or tribal law enforcement agency bears responsibility for investigating," per the Times. Last year, more than 5,500 indigenous women were reported missing to the FBI, though advocates say the issue still isn't fully reflected in national stats. Some victims are misclassified as Hispanic or Asian or "are lost in a jurisdictional maze over which state, federal, or tribal law enforcement agency bears responsibility for investigating," per the Times. Selena's family: "We believe she was taken," an aunt tells Heavy.com. "She did not get out and run." Specifically, the family thinks someone in a passing car abducted her. Selena is a member of the Crow and Nakota nations, and her family is familiar with tragedy: Her brother was killed by police officers in Billings, a sister was fatally struck by a car, and another sister committed suicide at age 11. "We believe she was taken," an aunt tells Heavy.com. "She did not get out and run." Specifically, the family thinks someone in a passing car abducted her. Selena is a member of the Crow and Nakota nations, and her family is familiar with tragedy: Her brother was killed by police officers in Billings, a sister was fatally struck by a car, and another sister committed suicide at age 11. Crowdfunding: A GoFundMe page is raising money to help in the search for her. (Read more missing woman stories.) Main opposition Liberty Korea Party Chairman Hwang Kyo-ahn, third from left, stands without having his hands together during an event at Eunhae Temple in Yeongcheon, North Gyeongsang Province, May 12, 2019, Buddha's Birthday. Yonhap By Kim Rahn The main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) sent beef jerky to Buddhist leaders as Seollal presents but retrieved them later saying there was a mistake in delivery. According to the party and the Jogye Order, Monday, presents offered under LKP Chairman Hwang Kyo-ahn's name were delivered to the headquarters of the nation's largest Buddhist group last Friday ahead of the Seollal, or Lunar New Year holiday. The presents, presumed to have been purchased at department stores, were beef jerky sets. The recipients were embarrassed at the presents. One of the key Buddhist teachings suggests avoiding the consumption of meat out of respect for all sentient beings. Learning about the beef jerky delivery, the party sent staff to the Jogye headquarters later in the day and took back the presents. "The jerky was supposed to have been sent to other groups, and Hwang prepared other presents for the Buddhists," an LKP official said. "The jerky was delivered by mistake. We collected them, and apologized to the Jogye officials." Regarding the row, Hwang himself also apologized, Monday. "I heard there was a mistake in delivery, and I'll thoroughly investigate why and how it happened," he told reporters after a party meeting at the National Assembly. It was not the first time for Hwang, a devout Christian, to cause a stir involving the Buddhists and bringing down criticism on himself for his "biased viewpoints" on religion. In May last year during a Buddha's Birthday event at Eunhae Temple in Yeongcheon, North Gyeongsang Province, Hwang did not bow a courtesy in the religion while other political figures participating in the event did so regardless of their personal beliefs. The Jogye Order expressed "deep regret" toward Hwang at the time in a statement. With criticism mounting from the Buddhist organization, he then apologized, saying, "I had insufficient understanding of other religions. I apologize." Liquid Telecom has released a statement in which it announced plans to launch a wholesale 5G network in South Africa in early 2020. Liquid Telecom is to launch the first 5G wholesale roaming service in South Africa, said the company. Available from early 2020 in all major South African cities, this latest fifth-generation of mobile Internet connectivity will enable wholesale operators to create innovative, ultra-fast, and scalable digital services for their customers. Strive Masiyiwa, Chairman of Liquid Telecom, said mobile network operators and ISPs will have open access to the 5G mobile network. Liquid Telecom will use its 3.5GHz spectrum to build the 5G network, he added. Liquid Telecom is one of several companies in South Africa that has spectrum suitable for 5G and previously said it has big plans to use this spectrum. Competing with Rain Rain, which has a commercial 5G offering available to consumers in certain parts of the country, was the first big 5G mover in the local space. It plans to expand its network substantially this year, CEO Willem Roos previously told MyBroadband allowing it to offer improved coverage and capacity. The goal of this expansion is to compete directly with fibre operators in SA. Our initial 5G network of 250 sites already passes 500,000 households. Thats almost an equal size to the two largest fibre network operators in the country, said Rain. Rain aims to launch 450 more sites in 2020, taking its total number of 5G sites to 700. BEIJING The head of a Chinese government expert team said Monday that human-to-human transmission has been confirmed in an outbreak of a new coronavirus, a development that raises the possibility that it could spread more quickly and widely. Team leader Zhong Nanshan, a respiratory expert, said two people in Guangdong province in southern China caught the virus from family members, state media said. Some medical workers have also tested positive for the virus, the English-language China Daily newspaper reported. The late-night announcement capped a day in which authorities announced a sharp uptick in the number of confirmed cases to more than 200, and Chinas leader called on the government to take every possible step to combat the outbreak. The recent outbreak of novel coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan and other places must be taken seriously, President Xi Jinping said in his first public statement on the crisis. Party committees, governments and relevant departments at all levels should put peoples lives and health first. Xis remarks were reported by state broadcaster CCTV on its main 7 p.m. news broadcast. In Geneva, the World Health Organization announced it would convene an Emergency Committee meeting on Wednesday to determine whether the outbreak warrants being declared a global health crisis. Such declarations are typically made for epidemics of severe diseases that threaten to cross borders and require an internationally coordinated response. Previous global emergencies have been declared for crises including the ongoing Ebola outbreak in Congo, the emergence of Zika virus in the Americas in 2016 and the West Africa Ebola outbreak in 2014. The spread of the viral pneumonia comes as the country enters its busiest travel period, when millions board trains and planes for the Lunar New Year holidays. The outbreak is believed to have started late last month among people connected to a seafood market in Wuhan, a city in central China. Wuhan health authorities said Monday an additional 136 cases have been confirmed in the city, raising the total to 198. Three have died. Other Chinese cities also confirmed cases for the first time. Five people in Beijing and 14 in Guangdong have been diagnosed with the new coronavirus, CCTV reported Monday evening. Seven suspected cases have been found in other parts of the country, including in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces in the southwest and in Shanghai. Zhong said the two people in Guangdong had not been to Wuhan but fell ill after family members had returned from the city, the China Daily said. The outbreak has put other countries on alert as millions of Chinese travel for Lunar New Year. Authorities in Thailand and in Japan have identified three cases, all involving recent travel from China. South Korea reported its first case Monday, when a 35-year-old Chinese woman from Wuhan tested positive for the new coronavirus one day after arriving at Seouls Incheon airport. The woman has been isolated at a state-run hospital in Incheon city, just west of Seoul, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement. At least a half-dozen countries in Asia and three U.S. airports have started screening incoming airline passengers from central China. Videos posted online show people in protective suits checking one-by-one the temperatures of plane passengers arriving in Macao from Wuhan. A man surnamed Yang who works for the Macao Health Bureau confirmed over the phone that such checks are taking place in the southern Chinese region. Canadas Chief Medical officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, said signs will be placed at airports in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver in the coming days. Electronic kiosks at Customs will ask people if they have traveled to areas where coronavirus is and if they have flu like symptoms. The Chinese lunar year is coming so out of abundance precaution thats why we are putting out additional information for travelers, Tam said. Many of the initial cases of the coronavirus were linked to a seafood market in Wuhan, which was closed as authorities investigated. Since hundreds of people who came into close contact with diagnosed patients have not gotten sick, the municipal health commission maintains that the virus is not easily transmitted between humans. However, the source of the new type of coronavirus has not been found, we do not fully understand how the virus is transmitted, and changes in the virus still need to be closely monitored, Chinas National Health Commission said in a statement Sunday. Coronaviruses cause diseases ranging from the common cold to SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome. SARS first infected people in southern China in late 2002 and spread to more than two dozen countries, killing nearly 800. The Chinese government initially tried to conceal the severity of the SARS epidemic, but its cover-up was exposed by a high-ranking physician. In the early days of SARS, reports were delayed and covered up, said an editorial in the nationalistic Global Times. That kind of thing must not happen again in China. We have made great strides in medicine, social affairs management and public opinion since 2003, the editorial said. Xi instructed government departments Monday to promptly release information on the virus and deepen international cooperation. China has notified and maintained close communication with the World Health Organization and other relevant countries and regions, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a regular news briefing. Wuhan has also adopted measures to control the flow of people leaving the city, Geng said. Initial symptoms of the novel coronavirus include fever, cough, tightness of the chest and shortness of breath, and those seriously ill developed pneumonia. On the Weibo social media platform, which is widely used in China, people posted prevention advice such as wearing masks and washing hands. Some people said they had canceled their travel plans and were staying home for Lunar New Year. ___ Associated Press researcher Yu Bing in Beijing, writer Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul, South Korea, and writer Rob Gillies in Toronto contributed to this report. Advertisement Dr.Martin Luther King Jr.'s daughter spoke out against white supremacy, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement's treatment of children and other social inequalities during a speech on Monday. Dr. Bernice A. King, the youngest daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., delivered a powerful speech at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, that insisted that one day of focusing on her father's teachings 'were not enough.' 'In these times of increased political and ideological polarization, catastrophic environmental threats and injustice, continual racial hatred and discrimination - a day on is not enough,' she said. 'In the face of widening income and wealth gaps, out of control police officers who have no regard for the value of black lives, a day on is not enough.' 'When we have an injustice system that incarcerates an unprecedented number of poor, black and brown people, finding them guilty before they are even tried in a court of law, and subjecting them to disparate sentencing, a day on is not enough.' Dr. Bernice A. King (center), the youngest daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., delivered the 'Call to Commemoration' during the MLK Holiday Commemorative Service on Monday at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia Instead, she urged community members to honor her father's principals not was a single day on, but a 'life on.' King said: 'A life on encompasses a commitment not just to service but to systemic change as well. A life on necessitates more than feeding those who are hungry; we must also wipe out poverty.' 'A life on compels us to do more than just have racial dialogues and forums, it also compels us to do the hard work of eradicating white privilege and racism.' While speaking about living 'life on,' King addressed a number of social issues, like gun violence, food deserts, economic inequality, housing discrimination and militarism. 'We must act now, before it's too late, because we are teetering on the edge of losing our collective soul, and our opportunity to build the beloved community,' she said, as attendees applauded and attentively stirred at her passionate oration. King: 'When we have an injustice system that incarcerates an unprecedented number of poor, black and brown people, finding them guilty before they are even tried in a court of law, and subjecting them to disparate sentencing, a day on is not enough' Martin Luther King III (center), accompanied by his daughter Yolanda (right) and wife Arndrea Waters King (left) , placed a wreath at the base of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial during the 9th Annual Wreath Laying and Day of Reflection and Reconciliation in Washington, D.C., on Monday People gathered at the Martin Luther King Jr. annual commemorative service at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta stand up and clap in agreement Rev. Raphael Warnock, who spoke during the event During a particularly fervent moment, King drew parallels between the four young girls killed in the 1963 16th street baptist church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, to the conditions placed upon black Americans and immigrants encounter today. 'Those four girls are still speaking today. Tamir rice is speaking along with them. Atatiana Jefferson is speaking along with them today. Trayvon Martin is speaking along with them. Botham Jean is speaking along with them. Mike Brown is speaking with them,' according to 11 Alive. 'The immigrant, asylum-seeking children who died while in the custody of the United States government are speaking along with the four little girls from Birmingham.' Finally, she implored those listening to commit to bettering our nation to allow future generations to flourish. 'And on today, they are saying to us that a day on is not enough to redeem the soul of America from the damning realities and effects of white supremacy...We must commit to a life on so we will not continue to sacrifice our future generations on the alter of our self-indulgence, our greed, our Indecisiveness, our indifference and what my father called our sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity,' King asserted. Two men stand near the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial during the 9th Annual Wreath Laying and Day of Reflection and Reconciliation on Monday morning During the The King Center's Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Commemorative Service, Rev. Raphael G. Warnock and Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler honored the activist in speeches Christine King Farris (pictured), sister of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. attends 2020 Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Service at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta on Monday Virginia Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax speaks during the 9th Annual Wreath Laying and Day of Reflection and Reconciliation In Washington D.C., community leaders, residents and family members of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., gathered at his memorial on Monday morning. The annual wreath laying was began with a prayer - led by Rev. Dr. Grainger Browning Jr., pastor of Ebenezer A.M.E. Church in Fort Washington, Maryland, and songs of worship from the choir, WTOP reports. Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax spoke at the event, as well, saying: 'We as a people triumphed over obstacles that no one else has, and we will do it again and again.' Martin Luther King III: 'If we can master today MLK Day a day of committed public service and love for one another, than we can master a week, a month, a year, and a lifetime. 'We all came in different ships, but were all in the same boat now,' he added. Martin Luther King III, along with his wife Arndrea Waters King and daughter Yolanda Renee King, laid down a wreath during the ceremony. King's son honored his father in a tweet earlier in the day. 'If we can master today MLK Day a day of committed public service and love for one another, than we can master a week, a month, a year, and a lifetime. I look forward to seeing what you all do today. #MLKDay The family also attended the Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade where they walked down Martin Luther King Jr Ave SE with other marchers. Yolanda Renee King (left), Arndrea Waters King (center) and Martin Luther King III (right) walk along Martin Luther King Jr Ave SE during a parade in Washington D.C. Activists and people fighting for change with 'Jobs Not War' signs march along with the Martin Luther King Jr., parade Young girls in a local marching band perform a routine during the Martin Luther King Jr. parade Activists, citizens and local marching bands all participated in the annual walk. Further up the East Coast, several Democratic presidential hopefuls attended a Martin Luther King Jr., commemorative service at Zion Baptist Church in Columbia, South Carolina. The line up included: Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Tulsi Gabbard and Amy Klobuchar, as well as others. Ahead of the six block march, Sanders and Warren shook hands after prickly interactions during the last Democratic Debate. 'This is THE handshake', Gabbard said as the handshake took place. This latest exchange comes after allegations that Sanders said women could not successfully run for presidency. Pictured: Presidential candidates (left to right) Bernie Sanders (left), Tulsi Gabbard, Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg (back) Warren (left) and Sanders (right) linked arms during a march from Zion Baptist Church to the State House during a rendition of We Shall Overcome Democratic candidates (left to right) Tulsi Gabbard, Joe Biden, Amy Klobuchar, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders march together to the State House on Monday in South Carolina Pete Buttigieg (left) and Democratic candidate Tom Steyer (right) also marched to the State House with several supporters During a rendition of We Shall Overcome during the march, Sanders and Warren linked arms for a brief period in what appeared to be an attempt at reconciliation. Lisa Ray Clarkson, a retired teacher at the march, told the New York Times: 'That means they have gotten over their differences and the Democratic Party is reuniting.' Sanders later gave a speech to an enthusiastic crowd, reminding people of the Dr. Martin Luther King's legacy and the courage he displayed throughout his life. He also spoke out against Trump. 'If we do not allow Trump and his friends to divide us up by the color of our skin, or where we were born, or our sexual orientation or religion, if we stand together there is nothing we cannot accomplish in the fight for racial justice, social justice,' Sanders said. Warren: 'Today we honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and his fight for social, racial, and economic justice. We honor his struggles and triumphs. We honor his courage and his vision' Sanders: 'Dr. King put his life on the line, time and time again, in the struggle for racial, economic and social justice. Let us do more than honor and remember Dr. King. Let us be faithful to his revolutionary spirit and his call for a radical revolution of values"' The other candidates followed suit, addressing the crowd with their own orations and calls to action. Warren said: 'The next chapter that will be an America where health care is a basic human right, that will be an America where safe and affordable housing is available and no one sleeps on the street, that will be an America where people trying to get an education will not be crushed by student loan debt.' Klobuchar recalled Dr. King's comments that 'all tied in a single garment of destiny what affects one directly affects all indirectly' and condemned the growing hate in the United States. 'It coarsens our civic life. You can see it in the senseless racist shooting of worshipers in Charleston, you can see it in that rabbis home and stabbing, you see it in that bombing of the mosque in Minnesota, you see it at the riot in Charlottesville,' she said. 'And no, there are not many sides to blame, Mr. President, when one side is the Ku Klux Klan. There is only one side, and that is the American side. That is it. That is all.' Before the march, other Buttigieg, Tom Steyer and former Gov. Deval Patrick shared their commitment to continuing Dr. King's legacy, for which voting out Trump is a crucial step. Democratic presidential contenders Pete Buttigieg (left), Tom Steyer (left) Steyer's wife Kat Taylor (right) and Deval Patrick (far right) link arms during a Martin Luther King Jr. march 'My campaign revolves around the image of the first day that the sun comes up over South Carolina and our country and Donald Trump is no longer the president of the United States,' Buttigieg said. 'I raise the image of that sunrise because it will bring forth the burning question Dr. King posed in the summer of 1967: Where do we go from here? Because on that day our country will be even more polarized and torn up than it is now.' Steyer said: 'Every political issue that I see in the United States of America has a subtext thats race. It may be awkward. It may be uncomfortable, but we have to have that conversation. I believe that out of narrative comes policy.' Patrick, the only black candidate currently in the field took a different approach to breakfast attendees. 'If we are really going to deliver a future for our children and grandchildren consistent with the values of equality, opportunity and fair play, to which Dr. King and the Urban League served as examples, then were going to have to start rejecting false choices,' Patrick said. 'Prosperity and justice can live alongside each other,' he said. The notion that you have to hate business to be a social justice warrior or hate police to believe black lives matter are ridiculous.' U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar joined hundreds of guests at the 30th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Breakfast at The Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Monday St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, seen listening to speakers, also attended the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Breakfast Barack Obama: 'Every so often, I re-read Dr. Kings Letter from a Birmingham Jail. While some of the injustices may have changed, his poetic brilliance, moral clarity, and tests of conscience still reverberate today' In Minnesota, more than 2,400 people gathered at The Armory in Minneapolis for the 30th annual MLK Holiday Breakfast to honor Dr. King. Former Attorney General Eric Holder, the first African American to serve in the position, was a keynote speaker who engage audiences during this year's theme, Rise Up. U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter and several other officials attended the ceremony. Although not publicly seen at any MLK Day events, former president Barack Obama revealed he often reads the Birmingham Jail letter. 'Every so often, I re-read Dr. Kings Letter from a Birmingham Jail. While some of the injustices may have changed, his poetic brilliance, moral clarity, and tests of conscience still reverberate today,' he wrote on Twitter. The Birmingham Jail letter was written on April 16, 1963, while Dr. King was imprisoned. It defends the strategy of nonviolent resistance against racism and racial inequality. Both Sanders and Warren celebrated Dr. King on Twitter as well. 'Today we honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and his fight for social, racial, and economic justice. We honor his struggles and triumphs. We honor his courage and his vision,' Warren said. Sanders wrote: 'Dr. King put his life on the line, time and time again, in the struggle for racial, economic and social justice. Let us do more than honor and remember Dr. King. Let us be faithful to his revolutionary spirit and his call for a 'radical revolution of values.' Two men have been arrested after three men were stabbed to death in east London. Police said a fight broke out between two groups from the Sikh community armed with knives in Seven Kings, Ilford, on Sunday evening. Forensics officers at the scene in Seven Kings, Ilford, after a multiple stabbing. (PA) All three men were pronounced dead at the scene. Two men, aged 29 and 39, have been arrested on suspicion of murder, the Metropolitan Police said. Police said the victims of the latest knife crime attack in London are believed to be aged in their 20s or 30s. Officers were called to Elmstead Road at about 7.40pm on Sunday. A forensics officer moves medical bags at the scene in Seven Kings, Ilford, east London, where three people died after being stabbed on Sunday (Picture: PA) A police officer at the scene on Elmstead Road in Seven Kings, Ilford, east London. (PA) A police van at a cordon on Seven Kings High Road. (PA) Speaking at the scene on Monday, Chief Superintendent Stephen Clayman said the suspects and the victims were all known to each other. "We believe the groups involved are members of the Sikh community," he said. "A fight has taken place which has escalated, resulting in three people being fatally attacked." Officers are still contacting members of the dead men's families, he said. Detective Chief Superintendent Stephen Clayman speaks to the media in Seven Kings. (PA) Police at the scene in Seven Kings. (PA) "It was a horrific scene for anyone to come across and my heart goes out to the families and those affected by it because it is unprecedented to have something like this," he said. While police are still investigating a motive, they have ruled out terrorism, he said. A police cordon was in place outside Seven Kings railway station on Monday morning. Scaffolder Louis O'Donoghoe, 40, was watching snooker on television when he heard screaming and shouting outside his house, in what he said sounded like a foreign language. "It was just chaos, absolute chaos. It was like something out of a movie, horrific," Mr O'Donoghoe, who is originally from Middlesbrough, said of the aftermath. He saw the ambulance service working on one person, and then realised there were another two bodies, at which point he went outside to see what was going on. "I could see it all, one (body) to the left, two at the bottom of the stairs. It was like a bad day in Bosnia. It was pretty horrific really. I've never seen anything like it to be honest. It's like something on a movie." Story continues Read more GCHQ claims Huawei 5G deal like 'letting fox loose in a chicken coop' Harry Dunn death: PM vows to discuss 'driving habits' of US personnel with Mike Pompeo Here's why Canada is a savvy choice for Harry and Meghan's new home The owner of Seven Kings Cars opposite the station said a man with blood on his hands had approached him on Sunday evening asking for help after three people had been badly injured. Nadeem Rana told the PA news agency: "I was shocked. He had blood on his hands and he said there were people in very poor condition." The man and a passenger who had been waiting for a taxi made off towards the scene to help, Mr Rana said. He said he was shocked to hear the men had died. "It's shocking, a feeling of insecurity to be honest," he said. Police and forensics officers at the scene in Seven Kings, Ilford, after the multiple stabbing on Sunday night. (PA) (PA) Local resident Lauren Marshall said she and other neighbours had gone out into Elmstead Road when they saw flashing police lights on Sunday night. "By the time I came out, the road was blocked and there were police everywhere. It was manic. Everyone was coming out of their houses," the 26-year-old paralegal told PA. "I've lived here my whole life and nothing like this has ever happened. It was a shock." Jas Athwal, leader of Redbridge Council, said he believes knives were used in the bloody killings and that it was an isolated incident. "An incident like this is unheard of within the Sikh community here in Redbridge," he said. "I think tragically there are at least three families who are going to be in mourning and this is going to last a lifetime for the people left behind. "We've got to look at the causes of why this happened and address those." The London Ambulance Service said they had a report of a stabbing outside of Seven Kings station. A spokesman said: "We sent a number of resources including three ambulances, three medics in response cars, two critical care paramedics, two incident response officers and our hazardous areas response team. We also dispatched London's Air Ambulance. "Sadly, despite the efforts of medics, three males were pronounced dead at the scene." Extra police enforcement powers have been authorised for the whole of Redbridge borough until 8am tomorrow. Please contact the police on 101 or contact @CrimestoppersUK anonymously if you have any information. Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) January 19, 2020 London mayor Sadiq Khan tweeted that extra police enforcement powers have been authorised for the whole of Redbridge borough until Monday at 8am. Formal identification of the victims has yet to take place, and post-mortem examinations have also yet to be arranged. So far in 2020 there have been six murders in the capital. Last year there were 149, a rise from 133 in 2018, despite a drop nationally. PARISHVILLE, N.Y. -- A North Country man died Sunday morning in a snowmobile accident in St. Lawrence County, according to sheriffs deputies. Dennis I. Binan, 49, of Massena, was pronounced dead at the scene by Coroner June Wood, reported northcountrynow.com. The accident took place on Jones Road, an unplowed, seasonal road. Binan appears to have hit "a group of rocks and remained on his sled as it came to a rest, deputies said. The investigation is ongoing. There is no indication at this point that alcohol was involved. Sheriffs deputies were assisted by State Police and Parishville Fire and Rescue. This is the third snowmobile death this winter season. Two others were reported in early December when a Delaware County man went through the ice of a frozen pond and an Orange County man slid, hit a tree and was ejected from his sled. Last winter, New York had 21 snowmobile fatalities, the most of any state in the country. Following last winter, the New York State Snowmobile Association announced 10 recommendations the group felt would make the sport safer in this state. At this point, state lawmakers and officials have not acted on any of them. The popular winter recreational activity has gotten off to a slow start this season due to warm temperatures and lack of snow. MORE: Upstate NY snowmobiler dies after sled goes through ice on pond Police committed, but say tougher NY snowmobile laws needed to make sport safer NY snowmobilers: Online trail status map offers cool features tech2 News Staff Sundar Pichai, who now heads both Google and Alphabet, has called for regulations for Artificial Intelligence (AI). In an op-ed published in the UK's Financial Times, Pichai wrote that artificial intelligence needs to be regulated. He believes that companies cannot just build the technology and let market forces decide how it will be used. "Now there is no question in my mind that artificial intelligence needs to be regulated. It is too important not to. The only question is how to approach it," Pichai wrote in his piece. He further wrote that history is full of examples of how technologys virtues arent guaranteed. He gave the example of an internal combustion engine, which both enabled travel and increased occurrences of accidents. Suggesting how the guidelines could be, Pichai said: "Good regulatory frameworks will consider safety, explainability, fairness, and accountability to ensure we develop the right tools in the right ways. Sensible regulation must also take a proportionate approach, balancing potential harms, especially in high-risk areas, with social opportunities. AI has the potential to improve billions of lives, and the biggest risk may be failing to do so. By ensuring it is developed responsibly in a way that benefits everyone, we can inspire future generations to believe in the power of technology as much as I do." Google Health and Alphabet Verily are actively working on AI-assisted medical devices, whereas Waymo is already operating its AI commercial ride service. Goa minister Mauvin Godinhos brother Wilson on Monday moved an anticipatory bail plea in the district court here after he was named in the FIR filed in connection with the alleged suicide of a former MGP leader. Wilson Godinho has been named in the FIR filed in connection with the death of former MGP leader leader Prakash Naik, who allegedly shot himself on Friday at his residence in Merces village near here. Wilson Godinho, a businessman, has been booked by the Old Goa police for abetment of suicide, a charge which attracts up to 10 years in jail on conviction. Naik had named Wilson Godinho and another man, identified only as Tahir, in WhatsApp messages sent by him to various groups on the messaging platform before taking the extreme step, the police have said. The former MGP (Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party) leader, who was on his late 50s, had accused the duo of harassment and blackmail, they have said. "I sympathise with his family... a fair investigation should be done in the case. I have filed my anticipatory bail application," Wilson Godinho said outside the court. Naik had unsuccessfully contested the 2017 assembly election on an MGP ticket from the St Cruz constituency in North Goa. Wilson Godinho on Monday filed an anticipatory bail application before the district judge in Panaji. The petition came up before the judge who posted it for arguments on Tuesday, a senior police officer, who is part of the investigating team, told PTI. Wilson Godinho is the elder brother of Mauvin Godinho, a senior minister who holds panchayat and transport portfolios in the Pramod Sawant-led BJP government. Naik, in his messages, had claimed Wilson Godinho and Tahir were harassing and blackmailing him over financial matters due to which he ended his life, the police have said. Naik's family members have demanded immediate arrest of both the accused. Meanwhile, hundreds of people on Monday participated in the last rites of Naik performed at his native village near here. Naik, who had later left the MGP, was a member of the Merces village panchayat. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Supreme Court on Monday sought response from the Uttar Pradesh government on a PIL filed by Allahabad Heritage Society challenging the decision to change the rename the city of Allahabad to Prayagraj. The Supreme Court on Monday sought a response from the Uttar Pradesh government on a PIL filed by Allahabad Heritage Society challenging the decision to change the rename the city of Allahabad to Prayagraj, reported PTI. A bench comprising Chief Justice SA Bobde and justices BR Gavai and Surya Kant issued notice to the state. On 1 January, 2019, a fortnight ahead of the 'Kumbh Mela', the Centre had approved the renaming of Allahabad as Prayagraj as sought by the Uttar Pradesh government. In October 2018, the Yogi Adityanath-led government had officially renamed the historic city of Allahabad as Prayagraj. The decision was taken by the state cabinet, presided over by the chief minister. Called Prayag before the Mughals came in, Allahabad got its name from 16th Century Mughal emperor Akbar who renamed it after founding a fort near the confluence of the Ganga and the Yamuna, known as Sangam. He named the fort and its neighbourhood Ilahabad. Later, Akbar's grandson Shah Jahan renamed the entire city as Allahabad. But the area near the Sangam, site of the Kumbh Mela, continues to be called Prayag. The governor and the Centre have both given their approval and the Uttar Pradesh government plans to roll out the changes ahead of 2019 Kumbh Mela. Defending its move, the Uttar Pradesh government had said that the renaming was a "long-standing demand" of the people. In an official statement, the government said that there was a delusion that the city was always called Allahabad. The Congress had opposed the move then, claiming the name change would affect the history in which Allahabad has played a significant role since the days of Independence. Congress spokesperson Onkar Singh had said that the region where Kumbh is held is already called Prayagraj and if the government is so eager, they can make it a separate city, but the name of Allahabad should not be changed. With inputs from PTI SPRINGFIELD Sen. Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, was elected as the 39th president of the Illinois Senate on Sunday after hours of behind-the-scenes negotiations. The race had been weeks in the making, and by the time the closed-door negotiations began Sunday shortly after 11 a.m., the field of candidates was down to two Harmon, who has served in the chamber since 2003, and Sen. Kimberly Lightford, a Maywood Democrat and the majority leader, who has served in the Senate since 1998. The negotiations took place in the Senate presidents office, which was then occupied by John Cullerton, who relinquished the gavel Sunday prior to the vote on Harmon. The doors to that office were locked to the public and media. Harmon succeeds Cullerton, a Chicago Democrat who surprised his colleagues in November by announcing his plans to step down. He resigned his Senate seat shortly after Harmon was sworn in. Harmon reportedly held a 22-17 lead after the first blind ballot, with two senators calling in their votes via phone. Midway through the second round of negotiations, Sen. Emil Jones III, a Chicago Democrat whose father was the previous Senate president before Cullerton, spoke briefly with reporters about the intensity of the negotiations. I don't want to say hard feelings, but strong emotions, he said of tension among Democrats. The stakes are high, so emotions are running. The race appeared to divide the Senate Black Caucus. Jones, who is African-American, said he backed Harmon in the race. But Lightford, also an African-American, was vying to become the first woman elected Senate president. I did vote for him (Harmon) on the first round, Jones said. Going back and forth, sitting down with both candidates, I had to make a decision for my district. I want to best represent my district and I picked which person I want to help me represent my district. Democrats emerged from their closed-door caucus shortly before 5 p.m. with a deal that Lightford would concede the race and support Harmon, but that she would also stay on as majority leader. After the caucus meeting, the full Senate convened for the formal vote. Don and I have neighboring districts, and we have since 2002, Lightford said in a speech nominating Harmon. So weve been neighbors in the western suburbs and on the west side of Chicago. Weve been neighbors in our district offices, Senate offices, weve been neighbors here on the Senate floor. I cant think of anyone else who would do a wonderful job of leading our caucus, and I look forward to working with him in unity. The vote went 37-12 in Harmons favor. Two of the Senates 40 Democrats were absent from the chamber and Cullerton abstained. Harmon and Minority Leader Bill Brady, R-Bloomington, voted for each other as Republicans ceremoniously nominated Brady for the post. In a two-minute media availability after the vote, Harmon said he expects unity from Democrats after the long race between he and Lightford. You know, were Democrats, we fight with each other, but we always seem to come together and rally around the important issues for working families of Illinois, he said. I have no doubt that there will be work involved, but we will be able to do that successfully and move forward as a very united caucus. Harmon, 53, was born and raised in Oak Park. During the 2019 session, he was the principal sponsor in the Senate of the proposed constitutional amendment to overhaul the states income tax system, which will appear on the November general election ballot. Earlier, he pushed for legislation to require gun dealers to be licensed by the state and to expand early childhood education programs. He has also been an advocate for voting rights and clean energy initiatives. A staunch advocate for working families, Don was instrumental in shepherding the most sweeping and consequential legislative agenda through the state Senate this past year, Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who presided over the floor vote, said in a statement following Harmons election. Harmon takes over leadership of the Senate at a time when some Democratic lawmakers are being targeted by a sprawling federal investigation. Former Sen. Martin Sandoval, D-Chicago, was forced to step down last year after federal authorities executed a search warrant on his Statehouse office. In addition, Sen. Tom Cullerton, D-Villa Park, was indicted last year on federal charges alleging that he was on a ghost payroll of a Chicago labor union, being paid while doing little or no work. He continues to hold office and has said he intends to serve when lawmakers convene the 2020 session later this month. Harmon acknowledged the ethical cloud hanging over the General Assembly. In his first speech after being sworn in, he quoted the late President John F. Kennedy, saying: No responsibility of government is more fundamental than the responsibility of maintaining the highest standard of ethical behavior for those who conduct the public business. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Through the ''#ArthShastri'' campaign, the ministry would explain several economic terms through interesting animated videos to help common man and students understand budget exercise in a simple way, an official said. New Delhi: In its effort to demystify the Budget for common man, the Finance Ministry will start a social media campaign from 22 January. Through the ''#ArthShastri'' campaign, the ministry would explain several economic terms through interesting animated videos to help common man and students understand budget exercise in a simple way, an official said. The ministry also undertook this exercise before the Budget last year as well, the official added. "Curious student Arth unpacks his box of questions in Prof Shastris class. Lets see how Dr Shastri tackles his difficult questions with her sharp insight. Tune into this space to join the classes starting 22nd January @ 11am. #ArthShastri," pinned tweet of the ministry said. The ministry has also launched another campaign on Budget promises and delivery with tag ''#HamaraBharosa''. This campaign on promises and delivery, which has also been launched in 12 major regional languages, started with the health sector, unmanned level crossing and Housing for All. Under the series, the Finance Ministry on Sunday issue details on National Infrastructure Pipeline on its twitter handle. Both campaigns will continue till 29 January, the official said. The Budget for 2020-21 are expected to be presented on 1 February. Follow full coverage of Union Budget 2020-21 here Andhra Pradesh Industries Minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy on Monday said that Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) Repeal Bill 2020, will pave the way for "development and empowerment" of all regions. "Idea behind 3 capitals is to make sure that governance is decentralized...We need to make sure that all regions enjoy the equal status of development, empowerment and governance. We are going to deliver governance at people's doorstep," Reddy told ANI here. Reddy further attacked Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief Chandrababu Naidu, accusing him of cheating farmers of the Amaravati region. "It is Chandrababu Naidu who cheated farmers of the Amaravati region. He lied to the farmers. He took lands from them but developed nothing for them. Further, his government indulged in insider trading and grabbed farmers' lands through benamis," he said. Repealing of the CRDA act will actually benefit Amaravati farmers, the Minister assured. "Jagan government doubled the benefits to Amaravati farmers, and the tenure of benefits is extended from 10 years to 15 years," he said. Earlier today, the ruling YSRCP workers performed 'Ksheera Abhishekam' on Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy's photograph for approving three capitals for the state in Visakhapatnam. In the assembly, Andhra Pradesh finance minister Buggana Rajendranath introduced the Andhra Pradesh Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of all Region Bill 2020. Andhra Pradesh municipal administration and urban development minister Botsa Satyanarayana had introduced the Andhra Pradesh CRDA Repeal Bill 2020 which was passed by the house. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) 20.01.2020 LISTEN Some 24 of the finest police officers of Ghana, half of them women, were on Monday, January 20, awarded well-deserved UN medals. The officers were decorated for their selfless service for the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and the people of South Sudan, in the name of peace. The perfectly gender-balanced contingent is partaking in a variety of tasks - including but not limited to patrolling, community policing, protection of civilians and capacity building of their South Sudanese colleagues in Juba and seven UNMISS field offices across the country. Ghana has contributed a total of 5,248 police officers, 878 of whom have been women, to UN peacekeeping missions on four continents since 1960. Eight of these men and women have, over the years, lost their lives in the line of duty. Since the establishment of UNMISS in 2011, 224 of them have served in South Sudan. Myjoyonline.com President Donald Trumps legal team asserted that he did absolutely nothing wrong, calling the impeachment case against him flimsy and a dangerous perversion of the constitution. The brief from Mr Trumps lawyers, filed ahead of arguments expected later this week in the Senate impeachment trial, offered the most detailed glimpse of the lines of defence they intend to use against Democratic efforts to convict the president and oust him from office over his dealings with Ukraine. It is meant as a counter to a brief filed two days ago by House Democrats that summarised weeks of evidence from more than a dozen witnesses in laying out the impeachment case. The 110-page filing from the White House shifted the tone toward a more legal response but still hinged on Mr Trumps assertion he did nothing wrong and did not commit a crime even though impeachment does not depend on a material violation of law but rather on the more vague definition of other high crimes and misdemeanours as established in the Constitution. It says the two articles of impeachment brought against the president, abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, do not amount to impeachment offences. All of that is a dangerous perversion of the Constitution that the Senate should swiftly and roundly condemnDonald Trump's legal team It asserts that the impeachment inquiry centred on Mr Trumps request that Ukraines president open an investigation into Democratic rival Joe Biden was never about finding the truth. Instead, House Democrats were determined from the outset to find some way any way to corrupt the extraordinary power of impeachment for use as a political tool to overturn the result of the 2016 election and to interfere in the 2020 election, Mr Trumps legal team wrote. All of that is a dangerous perversion of the constitution that the Senate should swiftly and roundly condemn. The prosecution team of House managers was expected to spend another day on Capitol Hill preparing for the trial, which will be under heavy security. Ahead of the filing, House prosecutors arrived on Capitol Hill to tour the Senate chamber. Opening arguments are expected within days following a debate over rules. The White House brief argues that the articles of impeachment passed by the House are structurally deficient because they charge multiple acts, creating a menu of options as possible grounds for conviction. Expand Close President Donald Trump (Susan Walsh/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp President Donald Trump (Susan Walsh/AP) The Trump team claims that the Constitution requires that senators agree on the specific basis for conviction and that there is no way to ensure that the senators agree on which acts are worthy of removal. Senior administration officials argued that similar imprecision in the articles applied to the multi-part article of impeachment for perjury in the Bill Clinton impeachment trial. They accused Democrats of diluting the standards for impeachment, an argument that echoed the case made Sunday by one of Trumps lawyers, Alan Dershowitz, who contended on a series of talk shows that impeachable offences must be criminal-like conduct. That assertion has been rejected by scholars, and Representative Adam Schiff, the Democratic chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, called it an absurdist position. Wellwishers turned out in droves for the funeral of a Second World War veteran after his British Legion friends spread the word that he was petrified he would be laid to rest alone. Donald Puttock had no close family and worried about what would happen when he died. The 93-year-old Normandy veteran received a full military procession on Friday in Surrey and more than 200 people turned up to honour his sacrifice for his country. There were so many present that 100 people had to stand outside the chapel as Don's life was celebrated. Donald Puttock (pictured above) was worried that no-one would turn up to his funeral Members of the Royal British Legion (pictured above) put out a call for people to attend the funeral in Surrey Guests include ex-servicemen and a representative from the police as well as many serving officers A group of men are pictured above leading the funeral car to the church in Surrey on Friday A volunteer bugler played the Last Post while representatives from the local council turned up in full ceremonial chains. Mourners were also handed poppies to place on his coffin - draped in a Union Jack and covered in his wartime medals, including the Legion of Honour, France's highest ceremonial medal. Members of the West Sussex branch put out an appeal on January 8 asking people to attend and hundreds of locals turned out to say a final farewell to Don. The Second World War veteran, who lived in Horsham, served in the 12th Battalion of the King's Royal Rifle Corps and died on December 7. Don's medals were laid on top of his coffin. He was given a full military procession to honour his life A wellwisher is seen standing next to Don's coffin which was covered in poppies and a Union Jack flag Don had served in France, Germany, Tripoli and Palestine. Pictured above is the order of service He had been a member of the RBL since 1948 but had expressed his concern that as he had no family there would be no-one to mourn him or organise his funeral. The Normandy veteran landed in France a few days after the D-Day landings and went on to serve in France, Germany, Tripoli and Palestine. Branch chairman Nigel Caplin explained how the branch decided to give him a full ceremonial funeral, with help from one of his neighbours. Mr Caplin said: 'We were very keen for him to have a proper veteran's funeral as a Normandy veteran. The legion along with one of his neighbours have come together and organised his funeral. Don needn't have worried about his funeral as over 200 people turned up to lay him to rest A woman is seen at the end of the alter saying goodbye to don as flag bearers stand 'He calmed down a lot once he knew the legion was going to be running the funeral. 'It was an open invitation to anybody who would like to support one of the last WWII Veterans and a chance for people to give back to someone who has given so much for his country.' Don was called up in November 1943 aged 17-and-a-half. He completed his basic training at Fulford Barracks before serving in Normandy, France. During the conflict he drove American half-tracks, which Nigel said Don 'spent quite a lot of time being shot at in.' People lined up outside the church in Surrey to welcome the funeral car that was carrying Don's body Servicemen were pictured carrying the coffin into the church on Friday and a man stood at the door with poppies He added: 'Hanover was his last stop in Germany. Then he was sent off to Palestine for a couple of years.' During his army service Don was awarded the Legion d'Honneur, the highest French order of merit for military and civil merits. Following his demob he joined pharma company Ciba-Geigy as an engineer, where he stayed for 45 years. His wife of 63 years died last year and Don had lived alone supported by his neighbours. To commemorate his life, several standard bearers from the Royal British Legion attended the funeral and a volunteer played the Last Post. Hundreds of locals also turned out to pay their respects at the service on Friday, held at the Surrey and Sussex Crematorium in Crawley. Many wellwishers took to Facebook to confirm their attendance with many paying tribute to Don Even people from Warnham Nature Reserve, where Don loved walking, turned up. People who saw the Horsham RBL's post on Facebook said the funeral was incredibly moving. Linda Lade said: 'Wonderful. Brought a tear to my eye and a lump in my throat.' Kitty Granger said: 'Well done to the British Legion & all who rallied round to give this hero his deserved send off. May he rest in peace knowing he was appreciated.' Angie Dymond said: 'It was so heartwarming to see so many people in attendance. A moving service and a fitting 'thank you' to Don.' Roger Gray added: 'The Royal British Legion orchestrated Dons funeral and did a superb job and I think Don would have been pleasantly surprised at the number of people attending. 'Lots of ex-servicemen and a representative from the police, many serving army officers, a dignitary from the council (complete with chain of office) and even a couple of bikers in their colours from the British Legion chapter. 'The chapel was full so I stood outside with another 80 to 100 people listening to the service and the bugler playing the last post bringing a lump in my throat. 'I didn't know Don but today I learned about him - he served our country well and did us proud and it was good to see that has not been forgotten. RIP.' Viv Roberts said: 'I was fortunate to be in the chapel for the service, I did not know Don but felt he should be remembered for what he and countless others did for our country. 'It was very moving to see so many people there and felt sorry for those that couldn't get into the chapel and hear the service. 'It was a lovely gesture for each of us to be given a poppy to lay on top of the coffin after the service, I was a bit choked to do this and to see the Legion d'honour medal.' Sharon Bloomfield added: 'It was an incredible celebration of a remarkable man who is very much missed. Really proud to be British today and I know Don would have been so grateful to everyone who came xx' Alex FitzPatrick said: 'Goosebumps - people really are wonderful when it's most needed. Rest easy sir.' The public-use facilities and ponds adjacent to the Pearl River Turnaround off Interstate 59 have closed for repairs until the summer, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The facilities are part of the Bogue Chitto National Wildlife Refuge. The boardwalk at the site was damaged during floods in 2016 and a contract has been awarded to replace it. The area is expected to reopen in July. Rebecca Larkins, a supervisory park ranger for Fish and Wildlife, said the scheduled work will not delay the popular youth fishing rodeo, which is held at the Pearl River Turnaround ponds each June. For information on the closure, contact deputy project leader Pon Dixson at (985) 285-3613 or pon_dixson@fws.gov. Slidell Heritage Foundation's charity application deadline imminent The Jan. 24 deadline is quickly approaching for charities to apply to be a beneficiary of the 2020 Slidell Heritage Festival. The 23rd annual festival, which is July 4 in Slidell's Heritage Park, is a joint effort of the two Slidell Rotary clubs, the city of Slidell, The Times Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate and the St. Tammany Farmer. The groups are co-sponsoring the event to celebrate the nations birthday and provide funds for charities in the Slidell area. Applicants can find the Non-Profit Support Application form online at slidellheritagefest.org, and the applications must be received by the Slidell Heritage Foundation either by email to Sharron Newton at snewton0959@earthlink.net or must be postmarked by Jan. 24 and mailed to P.O. Box 3176, Slidell, LA 70459. To be eligible, the nonprofit must be a recognized charity, although it does not have to be registered as a 501(c)3 tax-exempt entity. The selection committee will consider each charitys need and the purpose for each request. Selected charities will be asked to support the festival, both before it takes place and by giving significant volunteer hours on the day of the event. The amount of support the charity lends to the preparation of the event and volunteers on the day of the event will influence the amount of award to the charity. Last year, the festival raised about $38,000 that was distributed to the Boy Scouts of America Cypress District, Slidell Police Association, One Way Love, Our Friends Closet, Epworth Project, Friends of the Slidell Police Department and Camp Nora. For information, contact Trey Brownfield at (985) 630-1104. LPB again looking for Young Heroes St. Tammany top stories in your inbox A weekly guide to the biggest news in St. Tammany. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up The deadline for entries nominating students to the Louisiana Young Heroes in 2020 program is March 16, according to the Louisiana Public Broadcasting group, sponsor of the program now in its 25th year. Each Young Hero nominee should be "an exceptional young person who has excelled in academics, given significantly of themselves through public service, overcome adversity, exhibited extraordinary heroism, or inspired others through their deeds and strength of character." Nominees must be also Louisiana students in grades nine through 12, enrolled in an academic institution or home-school program and cannot be older than 18. Nominations and supporting materials should be submitted through the online form at lpb.org/heroes. Previous winners are not eligible. Winners will be announced on LPBs weekly news and public affairs program "Louisiana: The State Were In" on the Louisiana Young Heroes Facebook page and at lpb.org/heroes. The Young Heroes will be treated to a day of activities in April on Louisiana Young Heroes Day that will include breakfast at LPBs studios and a luncheon in their honor where they will receive special awards and recognition. For information about the Louisiana Young Heroes program or to submit a nomination, visit lpb.org/heroes, email heroes@lpb.org or call Katherine Scherer at (800) 272-8161, ext. 4274, or (225) 767-4274. St. Tammany retired teachers' group hosts legislative update The next meeting of the St. Tammany Retired School Employees Association will take place Thursday at the Treen Center in Mandeville and will include the annual legislative update. Members attending will hear from Dana Vicknair, director of the Teachers Retirement System of Louisiana, and Rodney Watson, executive director of the Louisiana Retired Teachers Association. The two will share information about the health of the retirement system, the goals of the retired teachers' group in the next legislative session and discuss any proposals of concern to members. The meeting begins with a social time at 9:30 a.m.; the presentation will follow at 10 a.m. I-10 lane closures continue Interstate 10 lane closures in the Slidell area are expected to continue nightly through Feb. 1 from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m., weather permitting, as crews pour concrete for a new median cable barrier. During this period, inside lanes of both eastbound and westbound I-10 between the I-10/I-12/I-59 interchange and the I-10 twin spans will close, leaving two lanes of traffic open at all times. There will be no vehicle restrictions, and emergency vehicles will have access on I-10. Motorists may encounter slight delays during this time. A while ago The Wall Street Journal ran a piece on the problem of curbside congestion and efforts by cities to ameliorate the problem. The article caught my eye because curbside congestion -- lack of space for vehicles, particularly delivery and waiting ride-sharing vehicles to stop, which then translates into an epidemic of double parking -- is something that I would have thought of as merely a bad condition to endure rather than something that government might do something about. So I spoke with Scott Calvert, author of the article, and he put me in touch with two government officials who actually work on curbside congestion, so I could talk with them about what they do. One was Kate Fillin-Yeh, a Kennedy School masters graduate who is a staffer for the National Association of City Transportation Officials, and the other was Chris Osgood, a Harvard Business School grad who had worked for former Boston Mayor Thomas Menino on management improvements in the city and is now runs the streets department in Boston. It turns out that curbside congestion is getting worse because of the e-commerce-driven explosion in the last decade of local deliveries by package delivery companies, and the increased number of ride-sharing vehicles seeking to pick people up. There are a bunch of traditional approaches to reducing demand for curbside spaces and hence congestion. These involve increasing the prices charged for on-street parking, limiting the amount of time a vehicle may be parked, and increasing fines for parking violations. Studies of such changes show a clear impact on the number of parked vehicles. Studies of space use also show, not surprisingly, that cars parked on streets near popular stores often can do their business pretty quickly and dont need to be parked as long, prompting the idea that in these areas the maximum time a vehicle may be parked should be decreased. There are also a number of innovative curbside management approaches that have been tried in Europe and piloted in a few jurisdictions in the U.S. These include using small e-cargo bikes for deliveries rather than trucks, an app that allows trucks to locate open parking spaces, shifting some deliveries to night time, and consolidating packages so a single delivery firm can make deliveries for several companies. What some cities are doing about curbside congestion is another example of something I have blogged about twice in the past year -- what I have dubbed bureaucracies as learning organizations -- in posts discussing how runway managers at airports can reduce airplane-threatening bird incursions and how highway engineers developed various techniques to reduce head-on collisions. Thinking about this general phenomenon in the context of curbside congestion, I asked both Fillin-Yeh and Osgood how they came to think of this phenomenon as something government might do something about rather than simply a woe to be lived with. It turned out that for each of them, asking what possible solutions might be was simply part of their job. Coming up with ideas for improvements is what they do! That is an essential element of bureaucracies as learning organizations. I saw that for the California highway engineers in the 1950s and for the airport officials seeking ways to deal with bird collisions on runways. I see it here as well. And there are other common features of. these three cases. The problems are low-visibility. The changes are incremental. And the organizational style is very systematic and deliberate. Officials try out different suggestions through pilots until they find one or more that work, rather than rolling out ideas immediately. They gather evidence of whether an intervention is successful or not. Although piloting and evaluating pilots was part of what I saw in the two earlier examples I wrote about, this feature of bureaucracies as learning organizations was especially prominent in the discussions I had on curbside congestion. Both my sources fluently discussed examples of actual formal evaluations of pilots -- whether they be for increased parking violation fines or consolidating deliveries -- on congestion. Dedicated bike lanes started as a pilot in one jurisdiction, and when studies showed bike lanes noticeably reduced congestion and traffic fatalities, the innovation spread. Both my sources noted that the proliferation of data about city traffic in recent years, which is also now available much sooner, has aided gathering evidence about which innovations work. Theres a lot of talking these days about evidence-based government. But getting evidence to play a major role in more high visibility and contentious policy areas is a challenge. People often ignore evidence that contradicts their views. However, note how in the world of bureaucracies as learning organizations, evidence is central to the bureaucratic style. There was one difference between curbside pollution and the other two examples I wrote about earlier. In the highway and airport runway examples I wrote about earlier, the work I described was being done inside one organization. As my sources both spontaneously noted, an important part of curbside congestion work involves different organizations in the same policy space talking with each other, sharing ideas and experiences. This is more like the CIO Council than an agency working by itself. But such situations where people talk with colleagues in other organizations working in the same area are an important part of how everyday changes happen in the government and thus definitely part of the world of bureaucracies as learning organizations. I cant help but thinking that, in the highway and airport runway examples, and here with curbside congestion, there is a lot of low-visibility improvement and change going on that few in the public appreciate at all. My conversations with Fillin-Yeh and Osgood left me with a good feeling. How often, in areas where few of us think about government and just assume we must bear our problems, there are civil servants quietly working away to make our lives better. Supreme Court to review Trump's religious exemptions to Obamacare mandate Little Sisters of the Poor will return to Washington to defend religious convictions Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment The Little Sisters of the Poor will head back to the U.S. Supreme Court as the justices review a federal appellate court decision striking down a Trump administration rule giving religious organizations the ability to opt-out of an Affordable Care Act mandate that requires employers to cover birth control and abortifacients. The Supreme Court announced Friday that it will hear two challenges dealing with the Trump administrations measures that make it easier for employers with moral objections to obtain exemptions in health care plans. The court will deal with Trump v. Pennsylvania and Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter andPaul Home v. Pennsylvania. The Little Sisters of the Poor is an order of Catholic nuns who care for the elderly. The organization had previously gone before the Supreme Court in its effort to win an exemption from the Department of Health and Human Services mandate, which the nuns said forced them to violate Catholic teachings against abortion. In 2016, the Supreme Court vacated two lower court rulings against the organization. Under the Trump administration, the federal government stopped fighting the legal battle and the HSS enacted rules, making it easier for nonprofit and for-profit companies (except publicly traded companies) to request an exemption from the mandate. The Little Sisters of the Poor and its attorneys with the legal nonprofit Becket will have to argue again that such a requirement violates the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. A lawsuit was filed by the Commonwealth in 2017 against the mandate. Last July, the Third Circuit ruled in favor of Pennsylvania. It is disappointing to think that as we enter a new decade we must still defend our ministry in court, Mother Loraine Marie Maguire said in a statement. We are grateful the Supreme Court has decided to weigh in, and hopeful that the Justices will reinforce their previous decision and allow us to focus on our lifelong work of serving the elderly poor once and for all. Becket President Mark Rienzi said in a statement that Pennsylvania needs to give it a rest. Why is Pennsylvania still trying to fight tired and unnecessary culture wars that were settled years ago? Rienzi asked. There are plenty of ways to provide people with contraceptives without forcing Catholic nuns to participate. It's too bad that the Supreme Court is being forced by Pennsylvania to deal with this issue again, but at least the court can now bring this litigation to a permanent end. Other states have also sued to stop the HHS rules making it easier to gain exemptions to the contraception mandate. Other courts, such as the Ninth Circuit, have also ruled against the Trump administrations exemption rule. Religious freedom groups and legal experts are hoping that the Supreme Court will provide a clear answer on the issue. The Supreme Court of the United States needs to protect once and for all the Little Sisters of the Poor and people of all faiths from government-forced violations of their religious beliefs, Stephanie Taub, a senior counsel with the religious freedom law nonprofit First Liberty Institute, said in a statement. We are confident the Justices will again respect the religious liberty of all religious nonprofits and reverse the Third Circuits dangerous decision. The Supreme Court also ruled in favor of the Christian-owned craft store chain Hobby Lobby in 2014 when it challenged the Obamacare contraception mandate. The court ruled 5-4 that Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Woods Specialties could refuse to provide coverage of certain abortifacients basis of a religious objection. Iran is planning one last step in its gradual draw-down from complying with the nuclear deal, raising the possibility that its close to announcing a complete withdrawal from the embattled international accord. In addition to the five-stage reduction of its commitment that Iran has already announced, its now working on the final measure that will have more effective consequences, Abbas Mousavi, Foreign Ministry spokesman, told a news conference in Tehran on Monday. Iran has been gradually reducing its compliance with the 2015 accord, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, since US President Donald Trump abandoned it and began reimposing -- and then increasing -- sanctions on the countrys economy. Earlier this month, Iran announced its no longer observing limits on uranium enrichment or research and development activities, but insisted it was still working within the parameters of the deal and would continue cooperating with United Nations nuclear inspectors. President Hassan Rouhani last week said all the steps could still be reversed as soon as Europe was able to commit to the agreement and take concrete steps allowing Iran to sell oil. In a move that has worsened tensions with Tehran, the UK, France and Germany said last week they would trigger the deals dispute resolution mechanism, which could eventually mean the matter being referred to the UN Security Council. Mousavi said the move lacks legal value and that an empty-handed EU is unlikely to risk a major escalation in its standoff with Iran by involving the UNs top decision-making group. Days before European nations turned up pressure on the Islamic Republic, the US and Iran came to the brink of war after Trump ordered the killing of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. As Iranian forces launched retaliatory attacks on US facilities in the Middle East, they accidentally shot down a Ukrainian airliner over Tehran, triggering protests against the regime. Britain has also infuriated Irans government by proposing that the current accord be replaced with a Trump deal. Mousavi said that while Iran remains open to talks with the EU on the future of the agreement, the Islamic Republic wont agree to any proposals from either the bloc or the US for an alternative to the existing deal. AVON LAKE, Ohio -- Halloween in Avon Lake has become a time to take a tour through Lake Shore Cemetery. In recent years, locally known historian Sherry Spenzer has led these walks and provided fascinating information on some of the many inhabitants of the cemetery. Spenzer has now written a book about the cemetery and has filled it with captivating stories. She recently regaled an audience at Westlake Porter Public Library with a generous sampling of some of the people who contributed to the early days of Avon Lake. Spenzer began researching Avon Lake history while helping her young son with an elementary school project. The bug apparently struck her intensely, as she began to collect the history of the city and has many files to prove it. All proceeds from her book, Spenzer said, will go to Heritage Avon Lake (HAL), an organization collectively known as Avon Lakes historical society. To appreciate the history of the cemetery that Spenzer shares, its helpful to take a quick look at Avon Lakes early days. According to historical accounts, the area was first settled in the 1600s by Native American tribes. During the early 1700s, the growing community on the shore was occupied by the French, only to be driven out by the English mid-century and by the new United States government in the latter part of the century. What is Lake Road today was an important trail for pioneers traveling east to west, although it is said it was used more at the time by the British than by the settlers. In the early 1800s, the Avon Lake area was part of what was called the Western Reserve, an area set aside by Connecticut for its settlers. Noah Davis is listed as the first lakeshore dweller in 1812, and Wilbur Cahoon, who knew Davis, moved further south to the French Creek area, which offered drier land for farming and is now a part of Avon. In 1818, due to new boundaries being drawn, Avon Lake was a part of Dover Township, along with what became Bay Village and Westlake. Adam Miller settled in the lakeshore area, and his family has been a part of Avon Lake history ever since. Lumber mills and ship building became important trades of the time. In 1822, Avon Township (which included Avon) became part of the new Lorain County. In 1915, a part of Avon Township separated to form Avon Lake Township. It wasnt until 1960 that Avon Lake became a city. The people of Avon Lake in the mid-1800s worked hard and died hard. Typhus was a particular killer at the time, as was scarlet fever and whooping cough. Spenzer tells stories of them all. In her book, readers can learn the story of two bodies that washed up on the beach, the stories of the ships that wrecked along the shore and the men who never returned from the Civil War. Feel the struggles of the families in the early times and understand why some present-day roads, like Jaycox and Moore, now bear those names. Did you know? Tony Tomanek, president of HAL, had a great-grandfather who held a vital position within the community in its early years. Spenzer is a true storyteller. Her flowing talk was intriguing and illuminating, clearly arising from her many years of research. The book is well worth reading, both for its enthralling stories and as a donation to HAL. Spenzers book is published by Arcadia Publishing. Part of their tagline is, Learn more about the near-forgotten history about your hometown Near forgotten? Not so in Avon Lake, as long as Sherry Spenzer is around. Read more from the Sun Sentinel. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who handed over the presidentship of the BJP to Jagat Prakash Nadda on Monday, said that under his successors leadership the party will become stronger and expand further. Today, Naddaji takes over as the 11th president of the BJP and will lead us. I congratulate him on behalf of all the BJP workers and from the bottom of my heart, Shah said at the felicitation function for Nadda at BJP headquarters in New Delhi. Naddaji has become our national president. We are ready to take the BJP to new heights under his leadership, he added. Nadda was elected unopposed as the BJP national president. His candidature was endorsed by top party brass in the nomination process. I wouldve made mistakes during my tenure as national president but I say with pride that every party worker, including PM Modi, blessed me with and helped me in my functioning, Shah said. He also said that the BJP is the ony democratic party in the country. Other parties have lost their democratic character. They always choose party chief and chief ministerial candidate from among the family members. BJP is the only party which does not follow this. The BJP stands apart in India because it does not believe in casteism or nepotism, Shah said. Shah, who handed the reins to Nadda, urged all the BJP workers to help their new party chief in strengthening the BJP. There are a few states where we are yet to attain electoral success and reach every booth. I call upon every worker to be ready to work under the leadership of PM Modi and Nadda Ji and achieve more, Shah said. Nadda was appointed as the BJPs working president in June last year. Belonging to a Brahmin family from Himachal Pradesh, it was in Bihar where Nadda got his initial lessons in politics as a student leader of the ABVP. Naddas father N L Nadda was an academic who also became a vice chancellor of the Patna University. In his biodata on the website of Rajya Sabha of which he is a member, Nadda says he was inspired by the JP Movement to join the Chhatra Sangharsh Samiti and then associated with the ABVP and BJPs youth wing Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha, which he also went on to head. Nadda mentions that he was detained for 45 days for leading a campaign for upgrading schools. Not born into a political family, Nadda married into one. His wife Mallika Nadda is the daughter of a former Jabalpur Member of Parliament Jayshree Banerjee. Interestingly, while Nadda went on to take up politics like his mother-in-law, his wife like his father has pursued academics. Amid anti-CAA and Register of India (NRC) row across the country, West Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh on Sunday said that 50 lakh Muslim infiltrators will be identified and chased out of the country if needed. Addressing a rally in the North 24 Parganas district, he said, "50 lakh Muslim infiltrators will be identified, if needed they will be chased out of the country." Cornering West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for opposing Citizenship Amendment law and NRC, he said, "Firstly, the names of Muslim infiltrators will be removed from voters' list then didi (in reference to Mamata Banerjee) cannot appease anyone." He said there will be a reduction in the number of votes to Banerjee in the 2021 state assembly elections following the process of removing infiltrators' names from the voters' list. "Once this is done didi's votes will be reduced and in the coming elections, we will get 200 seats, she will not even get 50 seats," he said. Launching an attack on the opposition parties for nationwide anti-CAA and NRC protests, he said, "their hearts bleed for infiltrators". Ghosh had, last week, sparked controversy by threatening to shoot down those who damaged public property and accused Banerjee of not taking action as "they are her voters". He later doubled down on his remark by stating that such people "will never be spared". Several protests were held across West Bengal, many of which turned violent and caused damage to public property. 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.) Alhaji Baba Kamara 20.01.2020 LISTEN Alhaji Baba Kamara, the former security advisor to former President John Dramani Mahama has slapped a GHC 2 million suit on Whatsup News, an e-Newspaper. In the suit filed on January 15, 2020 at the Accra High Court, Mr Kamara is asking for the amount because he claims the publication had disseminated a story that impugned negatively on his reputation. The suit followed a January 13, 2020 publication in the Whatsup News headlined: Power, Mistrust and Betrayal at Jubilee House-Why Kan-Dapaah Was Stripped. The publication while referring to the scandalous leaked sexting tape of the current Minister of National Security, Albert Kan-Dapaah, made reference to Mr Kamara's friendship with the embattled Mr. Kan-Dapaah. In the publication, Whatsup News claimed that Baba Kamara had fallen out with Mr. Mahama and that there were reports that he deliberately diverted security resources that would have helped the NDC win the 2016 general elections. However, upon critical analysis of the story after publication, Whatsup News management realised it made a semantic mistake by using the word deliberately in referencing the reported act of diverting security resources of the NDC. Immediately, on January 14, 2020, Whatsup News quickly retracted that portion and apologised profusely to Mr Kamara. Despite the above, Mr Kamara sued the publishers of the Whatsup News, including Amicus Media, a company only engaged in advising Whatsup News on marketing opportunities in Ghana, saying they have damaged his reputation with his vast global network of contacts and businesses. The plaintiff says that on 13th January 2020, he received calls and messages from friends and family members that there was a publication circulating on social media platforms cornering and about the plaintiff, read the suit delivered by Mr Kamara to the agent offices of Whatsup New on January 20, 2020. The suit went on to state that the said article had been replicated on the worldwide web and social media platforms and has been read over, reviewed and discussed by the general public. In Mr Kamara's opinion as expressed in the suit, the sentence that referenced him in the Whatsup News publication was meant to be interpreted as him being a traitor to his former boss and a thief who had embezzled security resources belonging to the NDC, hence causing the party to lose the 2016 elections. The words contained in the publication were calculated to cause hatred, disparage and/or ridicule the plaintiff's hard-earned reputation in Ghana and the world, as well as his work and that of his family in the minds of right-thinking members of Ghana and the international community as a whole, Baba Kamara wrote in his suit. However, in response to the suit, the Editor-in-Chief of Whatsup News, David Tamakloe said: Even though Whatsup News is traditionally unconventional, it is still subject to the usual errors and mistakes that conventional media publications encounter. And to demonstrate that we meant no mischief whatsoever, we quickly retracted the damaging sentence and apologised even without Baba Kamara contacting us. However, if Baba Kamara insists on going to court, we would have no choice than to oblige him. We are speaking to our lawyers and we shall prepare to meet him in court with all other materials and information that will help us defend ourselves, Mr. Tamakloe stated. Daily Guide Chief Minister V Narayanasamy on Monday said that the territorial administration would spare no efforts to protect Tamil language and it would never accept imposition of Hindi. Unveiling the statue of the Tamil saint and poet Thiruvalluvar (the author of Tamil treatise Tirukkural) on the premises of the Puducherry Thamizh Sangam, he said this was made clear at the All India Education Ministers conference convened by the Centre recently to discuss the New Education Policy. Puducherry Education minister R Kamalakannan, who attended the meeting, made it clear that the Puducherry administration was committed to two-language formula. "We would spare no steps to protect Tamil while adopting English as the link language," he said. Narayanasamy said the education minister had made it clear that the Puducherry government would never budge from its stand to protect Tamil. He said the Puducherry government would never accept imposition of Hindi. Education minister R Kamalakannan intervened to tell the chief minister that "none from Tamil Nadu had participated in the meeting convened by the HRD Ministry to discuss the New Education Policy recently". Office bearers of the Thamizh Sangam, Health minister Malladi Krishna Rao, Revenue minister M O H F Shah Jahan and delegates of various Tamil outfits were among those present. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) All of the above were scheduled to join the majority leader and Sen. Rick Scott for three keep the Senate red fundraisers in Scotts home state of Florida on Tuesday but the events had to be postponed because of the start of the Senate trial. Significantly, moderate Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who has said she is open to calling witnesses after each sides opening arguments, was slated to join. Editorial Greetings Comrades! My name is Franc Stregone, and I am the new Editor-in-Chief of The Workers Weekly Guardian. Firstly, I want to thank Tom Pearson, who served as Editor-in-Chief for ten years. Tom taught me the ins-and-outs and made this transition as seamless as possible. I am excited to lead the partys paper by making it reflective of party life, the working class, and international solidarity. 2020 is an exciting year for our party because it marks 100 years of the communist movement in Australia. The Communist Party of Australia (CPA) will be hosting several events to mark the occasion, and the Guardian will also contribute to this special year. For this year, the Guardian we will have a spread that will celebrate Australian communist history and thought. Every week, we will present articles from the archives. The choice to do this was made so that all comrades can see how their paper dealt with historical events and issues. Alongside those articles will be another, highlighting the great contributions that Australian communists have made to Marxist-Leninist theory. We will be presenting the theoretical articles under monthly themes. This month is about Indigenous struggle. The choice of this months theme should be obvious to all comrades; at the end of this week is Australia Day. The CPA, and the communist movement in Australia more generally, has from very early in its existence been acutely aware of the struggles of the Indigenous population in Australia. As Editor-in-Chief, I want to highlight how the communist movement has understood that struggle and why it thought it was important to address. To start this month off, we have a draft proposal for the CPAs adoption on Indigenous rights. Throughout the 1920s delegates from the Communist Party of Australia were sent to Moscow to participate in the Communist International (Comintern) conference developed by the Soviet Union. The CPA was encouraged by Comintern to use their document Theses on National and Colonial Questions developed by Lenin and to apply it to specific Australian conditions. This draft program published in 1931 is a product of both Cominterns theory on national liberation and the CPAs direct involvement in Aboriginal communities and their struggles. We also have two articles, one on Australia Day, another on Equality for First Nations people. While the Change the Date discourse was not mainstream in the early half of the twentieth century, the former article reflects how the CPA was always critical of the narrative spun by the bourgeois press about Australia. The latter highlights the history of brutality towards the Indigenous population by the state and calls for a just restoration of their rights. It was published one day after Australia Day, which showcases how the rights of Australias most marginalised voice was still in the forefront of the minds of Australian communists while the rest of the country was celebrating the colonisation of this land. In continuing to acknowledge the sovereignty of the Indigenous peoples, we at the Guardian have corrected an oversight. In our masthead, we stated that We acknowledge the Sovereignty of Australias First Nations Peoples this is a contradiction. Why? Because by referencing Australia it invalidates the acknowledgement of sovereignty as it contextualises the existence of First Nations sovereignty within the colonial-settler project of Australia. By making this correction we believe that the CPA will be in line with how Acknowledgement of Country is done at the commencement of events, where Australia is not mentioned but the sovereignty of the Indigenous community is. Thus, from this issue onwards our masthead will read We acknowledge the Sovereignty of the First Nations Peoples. This is a small gesture but one I hope that shows that we are still concerned with Indigenous struggle, that we will always listen, and fight with our First Nations brothers and sisters. [January 20, 2020] Aegon Life Insurance Company Partners with Saksoft to Accelerate Digital Transformation PUNE, India, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Saksoft Limited is proud to announce that it has been chosen as the 'digital transformation partner' by Aegon Life Insurance. This partnership will help Aegon Life Insurance to build their digital prowess by leveraging Saksoft solutions. Speaking about the partnership, Aditya Krishna, Chairman and Managing Director, Saksoft Limited, said, "Saksoft's core strength is in helping customers with their Digital Transformation aspirations. I am proud that Aegon Life has chosen us as their preferred Technology Partner in India. With the combination of our technology competency, and strong team of experts based across our centres we are confident that this synergy will flourish and we will achieve our objectives through mutual respect and sharing. We will deliver our best to Aegon Life for them to achieve their vision and goals." "We are able to build our presence in Pune and in this journey Saksoft has helped us in making this happen. We have now ODC setup in Baner, Pune. And with this partnership, we could leverage the broad range of technology solution capabilities that Saksoft has offered us from their niche group companies. Looking forward to grow thisODC in Pune and mark our presence apart from Mumbai," said Douglas Kennedy, CTO - Aegon Life Insurance Company. About Saksoft Limited: Saksoft Limited is a leading player in providing digital transformation solutions to help businesses stay relevant in a highly connected, rapidly evolving world. Saksoft is a niche technology specialist that provides a comprehensive suite of business transformation, information management, application development and testing services. Saksoft helps their clients level the playing field by helping them transform their business spaces. Saksoft is headquartered in Chennai (India), and has 14 offices across the USA, Europe and Asia employing over 1100+ people. For more information, please visit www.saksoft.com Safe Harbor Statement: Statements in this document relating to future status, events, or circumstances, including but not limited to statements about plans and objectives, the progress and results of research and development, potential project characteristics, project potential and target dates for project related issues are forward-looking statements based on estimates and the anticipated effects of future events on current and developing circumstances. Such statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties and are not necessarily predictive of future results. Actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements. The company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual results changed assumptions or other factors. Media contact: Mr. Niraj Kumar Ganeriwal Chief Financial Officer - Saksoft Limited [email protected] www.saksoft.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Watching political unrest explode across South America this fall, officials at the State Department noticed an eerily similar pattern in anti-government protests that otherwise had little in common Washington: Watching political unrest explode across South America this fall, officials at the State Department noticed an eerily similar pattern in anti-government protests that otherwise had little in common. In Chile, nearly 10 percent of all tweets supporting protests in late October originated with Twitter accounts that had a high certainty of being linked to Russia. In Bolivia, immediately after former president Evo Morales resigned on 10 November last year, the number of tweets associated with those type of accounts spiked to more than 1,000 a day, up from fewer than five. And in Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia and Chile over one 30-day period, Russia-linked accounts posted strikingly similar messages within 90 minutes of one another. State Department analysts concluded that an influence campaign was underway, the latest evidence of a global disinformation war that is more insidious and efficient than traditional propaganda of years past. The department routinely monitors Twitter traffic worldwide with an eye toward malign activities, like the proliferation of fake pages and user accounts or content that targets the public with divisive messages. A set of analyses was provided to The New York Times in response to questions about what the department had seen during and after the fall protests in South America. We are noting a thumb on the scales, said Kevin OReilly, the deputy assistant secretary of state overseeing issues in the Western Hemisphere. It has made the normal dispute resolutions of a democratic society more contentious and more difficult. The Russian effort in South America the details of which have not been previously reported appears aimed at stirring dissent in states that have demanded the resignation of former president Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela, senior diplomats said. In Colombia, where Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is scheduled to visit this week, hundreds of thousands of protesters demonstrated in November against pension changes, corruption and rising violence. The protests have since ebbed, and in December, Colombias vice president, Marta Lucia Ramirez, accused Russia and its allies in Venezuela of fomenting protests through social network campaigns. In Ecuador, the interior minister, Maria Paula Romo, said an anti-government campaign that surfaced online during two weeks of protests in October over higher fuel prices appeared to come from Venezuela and Russia. Officials and experts said Russian influence campaigns on social media have disrupted elections in the US and Europe, sowed anti-Western sentiment and false reporting in Africa, and inspired China and Iran to adopt similar tactics against protesters and political adversaries. The unrest in Latin America this fall cannot be attributed to any single factor, and it is unclear how effective the Russia-linked influence campaign on Twitter was. Demonstrators across the countries spanned the political spectrum, protesting government corruption and higher costs and demanding better services. State Department officials said the vast majority of protest-related posts on Twitter and other social media appeared to be legitimate. With the support of more than 50 other countries, the Trump administration has imposed bruising economic sanctions against Maduros government in Venezuela over the last year. The coalition is backing Juan Guaido, leader of the Venezuelan opposition, whom most of Latin America and the rest of the West views as the countrys legitimate president. But Maduros grip on the country appears as strong as ever, funded by what critics have described as illicit oil revenue from Russia and gold sales to Turkey. Russia is playing a geopolitical role in this hemisphere against what they consider its main enemy: the United States, said Carlos Vecchio, the Venezuelan envoy in Washington who is representing the Opposition movement against Maduro. Its crucial that the international community understands that Russia has become an important ally to support Maduro, and we need to deal with this, Vecchio told reporters this month. Russias online influence campaigns in Latin America began to surface a decade ago, surging with new technology and the proliferation of social media. In particular, the Spanish-language arms of two news organisations in Russia have been accused of spreading disinformation, conspiracy theories and, in some cases, outright falsehoods to undermine liberal democratic policies, mostly in the West. One, the state-financed RT Espanol, said it reaches 18 million people every week across 10 countries in Latin America and has more than a billion views on YouTube. The other, the government-run Sputnik Mundo, began broadcasting in the last several years and is produced in part in Montevideo, Uruguay. Together, experts said, the companies have been the main source of information for Twitter bots and so-called troll accounts that have targeted Guaidos movement in Venezuela. Bret Schafer, a disinformation and media expert at the Alliance for Securing Democracy, an initiative of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, said some Twitter accounts spreading disinformation in Venezuela could be traced to the Internet Research Agency, the Russian troll factory that is run by loyalists to President Vladimir Putin and is accused of interfering in the 2016 US presidential campaign. The influence campaigns of Russian-linked Twitter accounts in South America are proxy elements to conquer the influence of the United States or the liberal democracies, said another expert, Javier Lesaca Esquiroz, a visiting scholar at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. At some point, we can say this is the continuation of the Cold War that never ended, Esquiroz said. The analyses provided by the State Department did not prove that the Twitter accounts that stoked the South American protests were direct conduits of the Russian government. Instead, they were described as likely linked to the Russian state through computer-generated or other data mining analyses that support other government conclusions that tie them to Moscow. A spokesman for the Russian Embassy in Washington, Nikolay Lakhonin, declined to comment Thursday, asking only for real evidence of a Russian-linked disinformation campaign in South America. In Chile, President Sebastian Pinera has said foreign actors helped incite a wave of protests and acts of vandalism that began in late October, plunging the country into a months-long crisis. But he did not blame a specific government or region. A foreign hand had worked to fuel the unrest online, disseminating false reports on social media during the early days of the upheaval, he said in a December interview with CNN en Espanol: Its an attack against the political system. The rate of posts by Russian-linked Twitter accounts during anti-government protests in Chile was nine percent higher than during the Democratic primary campaigns last year in the US usually a topic of high interest, the State Department analyses found. The analyses showed that the Twitter accounts posted in Spanish and English, targeting the Chilean public and foreign audiences. A Twitter campaign of #chile, which was the fifth-most popular hashtag among 3,300 Russian-linked Twitter accounts from 23 to 29 October, the peak of the protests, was not even in the top 100 by late December, according to the State Department data. Pineras government commissioned its own report, which asserted that 31 percent of social media posts during an intense period of the crisis were disseminated from outside Chile. Analysts said the Chilean public greeted the report with criticism and mockery, saying that it failed to offer convincing evidence that foreign actors played a leading role in inciting the protests. There hasnt been any proof that there was foreign meddling, said Marta Lagos, director of Latinobarometro, which studies public opinion across Latin America. Until now, they have yet to find any foreigner involved in criminal activity. In neighbouring Bolivia, the State Department analyses found that the most shared tweet among Russian-linked accounts in the 24 hours after Morales resignation was one by the former president himself denouncing a coup that he said had taken over. That tweet has since been deleted, but not before it was shared more than 85,000 times. The network of Russian-linked Twitter accounts usually generates fewer than five posts about Bolivia daily, the State Department analyses found. That surged to more than 1,000 tweets in the days immediately before and after Morales ceded to violent protests and accusations of fixed elections to keep himself in power. A Russian state energy company reportedly worked to bolster Morales campaign and attacked his opponents on social media months before the election on 20 October last year. The influence campaign has outlasted the protests. One of the accounts being monitored by the State Department @FriendsofPutin criticised the Trump administrations continued pressure campaign against Maduros government in Venezuela in a 12 December tweet. Unfortunately, Washington is not even thinking about abandoning their course for ousting the legitimate Venezuelan government, it said in English. The State Department analyses said the post was retweeted the same day by accounts like @RussianHeroe and @Putintrump, though those tweets no longer appear on the accounts. The State Department concluded that all three accounts most likely are Russian proxies or bots and trolls trying to amplify their message without being flagged as fake. This month, the State Departments special envoy for Venezuela issues, Elliott Abrams, told reporters in Washington that US officials had perhaps underestimated the level of Russian and Cuban support that had helped Maduro remain in power. We think all the time about how to do better, Abrams said. Lara Jakes c.2020 The New York Times Company Michael Bloomberg is willing to spend up to $2 billion to defeat President Trump, Wall Street sources have claimed. The eighth richest man in America has long resented Trump and Bloomberg's contempt only grew after 2016 when he backed Hillary Clinton's failed campaign. Bloomberg, according to the Fox Business report, will also throw the two billion behind whichever Democrat faces Trump in November should he fail to win the nomination. The former New York mayor - worth an estimated $53 billion versus Trump's $10 billion - has recently bought a Super Bowl commercial slot for $10 million. Michael Bloomberg has long resented Trump and his contempt only grew after 2016 (pictured: the eighth richest man in America speaks during a service at the Vernon Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Tulsa on Sunday) In a sign that he will do anything in his power to stop Trump, Bloomberg's 60 second slot will deliberately target the President, rather than promote Bloomberg's credentials, during the big game. 'The biggest point is getting under Trump's skin,' Bloomberg campaign spokesman Michael Frazier told The New York Times. 'We have the means to raise a national campaign unlike any other candidate.' On Sunday, the day before MLK Day, Bloomberg was visiting the site of a race massacre nearly 100 years ago that left hundreds dead and the city's thriving African American community in rubble. The former New York City mayor spoke out against an American history of race-based economic inequality from slavery to segregation to redlining, and outlined an proposal aimed at increasing the number of black-owned homes and businesses. The plan includes a $70 billion investment in the nation's most disadvantaged neighborhoods. 'For black Americans, there was nothing that white landowners, businesses, banks, and politicians might not take: Their wages and their homes, their businesses and their wealth, their votes and their power, and even their lives,' Bloomberg said during a speech to several hundred people at the Greenwood Cultural Center, which houses artifacts and other memorabilia from the 1921 Tulsa race massacre. Bloomberg described the initiative as a 'plan for righting what I think are historic wrongs and creating opportunity and wealth in black communities.' President Donald Trump speaks at the American Farm Bureau Federation's Annual Convention and Trade Show in Austin, Texas, January 19 The plan offers incentives for investment in undeserved communities, increases support for black-owned banks and ties federal housing money to progress in reducing segregation. It would require bias training for police, teachers and federal contractors, and address voter disenfranchisement practices such as ID requirements, poll purging and gerrymandering. 'As someone who has been very lucky in life, I often say my story would only have been possible in America, and I think that's true,' Bloomberg said. 'But I also know that my story would have turned out very differently if I had been black, and that more black Americans of my generation would have ended up with far more wealth, had they been white.' Bloomberg also pledged to back a commission to study whether black Americans should receive reparations for slavery. Bloomberg faced some criticism in November for visiting a black church in Brooklyn just days before launching his presidential bid, when he apologized for his longstanding support of the controversial 'stop-and-frisk' police strategy he embraced as mayor that disproportionately impacted people of color. The visit to Oklahoma, a Super Tuesday state whose primary is March 3, keeps with Bloomberg's strategy of skipping early voting states such as Iowa and New Hampshire and focusing on delegate-rich Texas, California and others. Democratic Presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg, left, greets the Rev. Robert Turner, right, during a service at the Vernon Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Tulsa Danyelle Solomon, vice president for race and ethnicity policy at the Center for American Progress Action Fund, said she was glad to see Bloomberg give the speech in Tulsa and show his awareness of how racism has had an impact over time, and was pleased that he announced policies specifically targeted at black communities. But while 'he hit some of the key points that need to be talked about,' she said, 'the devil is in the details.' Theodore Johnson, who studies race, politics and policy as as senior fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice, said Bloomberg's pitch of calling for economic justice wasn't a new one, but that his record of business success could make people more inclined to listen. 'Because he's so successful ... that when he talks about economic programming for black America, he actually knows what he's talking about,' Johnson said. But Johnson said black voters would be watching to see what else he did, or if it appeared that Sunday's event would be a one-time speech. In the massacre, white mobs killed an estimated 300 black residents and injured 800 more. About 8,000 residents were left homeless after firebombs, including some dropped from airplanes, destroyed movie theaters, churches and hotels and decimated the economic and cultural mecca that had become known as Black Wall Street. The black community rebuilt in the decade that followed, but urban renewal programs in the 1950s and 1960s wiped out much of that progress, and the city remains largely segregated. Democratic Presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg, right, speaks during a service at the Vernon Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Tulsa, Okla., Sunday, 'Although it's been nearly 100 years since the massacre took place, we are still dealing with issues of racism and inequality in our city,' said Mechelle Brown, program coordinator at the center. 'I think our community, especially, is dealing with the historical trauma to that has been passed down from generation to generation, specifically as it relates to the history of the massacre. 'Those feelings of fear, anger, bitterness, resentment have been passed down.' In the past year, several presidential candidates visited the Greenwood district, including former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. It was the first time that Brown could recall any major presidential candidate visiting the area. O'Rourke and Booker have seen quit the 2020 race. While those campaign stops are undoubtedly an attempt by Democratic candidates to reach black voters, a critically important segment of the party's electorate, they also present an opportunity for residents to meet the candidates firsthand, said Judy Eason McIntyre, who represented the district in the state Legislature for a decade. 'Yes, some will say it's pandering, but I'm not one of those,' McIntyre said. 'It allows people to get to know them up close. It also maybe generates some excitement and knowledge about getting out to vote.' Although Sunday's visit was Bloomberg's first campaign stop in Oklahoma, Bloomberg Philanthropies last year granted a $1 million grant to the city to commission temporary works of art accessible to the public. At present, the basic customs duty on ferro-nickel and stainless steel scrap is 2.5 percent. New Delhi: Ahead of the Budget 2020, stainless steel players have sought some curative measures like removal of import duty on key raw materials ferro-nickel and stainless steel scrap. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to present the Union Budget for FY2020-21 on February 1. In order to augment domestic manufacturing, the Indian Stainless Steel Development Association (ISSDA) said it has recommended some curative measures to the government ahead of the budget. In a representation submitted to the finance ministry, the body has sought nil duty on import of key raw materials like ferronickel and stainless-steel scrap, it said. "Ferro-nickel and stainless steel scrap are key raw materials which are not available in the country and must necessarily be imported," it said. At present, the basic customs duty on ferro-nickel and stainless steel scrap is 2.5 percent. Removal of duty on ferronickel and stainless steel scrap is a long-standing demand and the Ministry of Steel has also at times batted for zero duty on these items. The stainless steel industry meets the bulk of its nickel requirements through ferro-nickel and stainless steel scrap route. "The non-availability of ferronickel within the country makes it necessary for domestic stainless steel producers to import this ferro alloy. This is because India is deficient in nickel ore and therefore there is no production on ferronickel within the country. The bulk of the ferro-nickel procurement is from non-FTA countries. Even within the FTA countries, the nil rate of duty is applicable only to imports from ASEAN countries. Further, FTA partner countries like Japan and Korea are themselves net importers of ferro-nickel given their substantial stainless steel manufacturing capacities. Reduction of basic customs duty (BCD) on ferronickel will not harm any domestic industry," said. For stainless steel scrap, it said, its availability in the country is extremely limited and the bulk of the stainless steel scrap requirement has to be compulsorily imported. Almost 75 percent of the stainless steel scrap requirement in the country has to be met through imports. Stainless steel, owing to its corrosion-resistant characteristic and high strength, has an extremely long life spanat least 30 yearsas compared to any other substitute material. Most of the growth in stainless steel consumption, the ISSDA said, in the country has come about in the last 10-12 years. It also pointed out that "major stainless steel producing countries like China, Korea, Japan, the EU and USA have zero import duties on stainless steel scrap. From ASEAN and FTA (Japan, Korea) countries while the stainless steel flat products are coming at zero duty, the most essential raw material stainless steel attracts 2.5 percent duty." ISSDA President K K Pahuja, said, It is necessary to boost domestic manufacturing by reducing high input costs. Despite the brimming global trade challenges, he said, India continues to be the second-largest producer and consumer of stainless steel. The demand for stainless steel in India is growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8-9 percent across an array of applications. However, Indian per capita consumption of stainless steel is 2.5 kg against the world average of 6 kg. "Moreover, the capacity utilization of the Indian stainless steel manufacturers is stagnant at 60-70 percent as cheap imports engulf a significant market share. Further, high input costs reduce the competitiveness of domestic players globally. We urge the government to not see the duty on raw materials as a revenue source, rather consider the larger vision of higher manufacturing growth resulting in job creation," he said. Follow full coverage of Union Budget 2020-21 here The worlds oil and gas companies will undergo annual reviews by the International Energy Agency to assess how theyre doing on climate change and clean energy issues. Driving the news: The group released a report on Sunday showing that oil and gas producers, including those owned by governments, spend on average just 1% of their total capital expenditure outside oil and gas. What theyre saying: IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol told Axios in an interview that the group, a Paris-based intergovernmental research organization, is creating a verifiable process to assess what companies are doing to reduce emissions and invest in areas outside of oil and gas. Such a process is necessary, he said, to assure critics and "to get companies a social license to operate so that they are part of the solution. It wasnt immediately clear which specific companies IEA would review and how the process would work, but this report includes all international oil and gas companies and most big state-owned ones. The big picture: Some of the world's biggest oil and gas companies are slowly beginning to invest in renewable energy and other technologies to addressing climate change. The industry is facing increasing pressure from investors, politicians and activists to be more transparent about the problem and diversify their business models. We believe that the oil and gas industry in general faces the critical challenge of matching their short-term profits with their long-term license to operate. We see that no oil and gas company will be unaffected by the clean energy transition: from demand side, from supply side, whatever it is. Fatih Birol Whats next: Birol says companies should push for policies in governments that would help provide certainty around the transition to cleaner energy sources, which he and most other experts describe as inevitable. The uncertainty is around how long and how fast itll be. I think they should not wait for only the government signals because sooner or later I believe the imperatives of climate change will push them to reduce their emissions, Birol said. In the U.S., oil companies are slowly beginning to actively lobby for a price on carbon emissions, but its so far not moving the needle. Lawmakers and companies dont seem to be making it a top priority among a crowded domestic agenda of issues, including ongoing trade concerns. Go deeper: Big oil teeters between ally and enemy in climate fight CPI(M) leader Mohammed Salim on Monday accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of having entered into a tacit understanding with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, even as he questioned her real intentions behind the anti-CAA agitations. Salim said the prime minister could not visit Assam on two occasions owing to the anti-CAA protests, but was welcomed to Kolkata by its mayor Firhad Hakim. Addressing a rally at the Shahid Minar ground here, Salim also questioned Banerjee's meeting with Modi at the Raj Bhavan, which she had described as courtsey. "If the Trinamool Congress is so much against CAA, why were some of its MPs not present in the Lok Sabha during voting on the important Citizenship Amendment Bill," he asked. Salim said that while a resolution was passed in the Kerala Assembly demanding scrapping of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the West Bengal chief minister refused to do so after Leader of Opposition Abdul Mannan and CPI(M) leader in the Assembly Sujan Chakraborty proposed a similar resolution in the House here. The Trinamool Congress supremo earlier in the day said that the West Bengal Assembly would adopt a resolution against the amended Citizenship Act in three-four days. Salim said that attempts are being made by the BJP to divide people on religious, linguistic and caste lines so as to put the issues of unemployment, rising prices of commodities and civil liberties in the back burner. "Anti-NRC protests in the country and the state have created fear not only among Modi and Shah, but also Mamata Banerjee," he claimed, holding that it has now become a nationwide movement, irrespective of the political divide. The CPI(M) leader alleged that the TMC supremo would not allow other parties to hold rallies and meetings against CAA, NPR and NRC in the state. "Modi and Mamata are students of the same teacher, which is L K Advani," the CPI(M) Politburo member alleged. Taking on BJP state president Dilip Ghosh, who is known for his off the cuff remarks, Salim said that the saffron party leader has been insulting the psyche and culture of Bengal through his speeches. He alleged that it is the quality of those in power in West Bengal that has given Ghosh the audacity to utter such words. Addressing the meeting, CPI(M)'s state secretary Surjya Kanta Mishra urged the TMC government to file a petition before the Supreme Court challenging the CAA, like the Kerala government has done. "I would like her government to file a case," he said. Reacting to Banerjee's assertion that a resolution would be passed in the Assembly against the contentious CAA, Mishra quipped that he will "thank" her after the resolution is actually placed before the House. Mishra said that the CPI(M) will hold 5,000 public meetings across the state against the CAA, NPR and the proposed nationwide NRC on the Republic Day for upholding the Constitution, which was adopted on January 26. A coffin carried by some party workers to the meeting with slogans written on it against Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, was given a symbolic burial in front of the stage from where Left leaders addressed the gathering. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) When world leaders congregate in the Swiss ski resort town of Davos later this month to discuss a more cohesive and sustainable world, the stigma around mental health will also be a key area of deliberation and one of the persons spearheading this topic would be actress Deepika Padukone. At the same place, Isha Foundation Founder Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev will hold morning meditation sessions on the art of paying attention in the present moment intentionally and non-judgmentally. On the other hand, more than 100 business and political leaders from India would deliberate on matters of geo-political and economic importance along with hundreds of other leaders from across the globe during the World Economic Forum's 50th Annual Meeting, starting on January 21. The top global leaders expected at the five-day jamboree of the rich and powerful of the world include US President Donald Trump, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, as also presidents/PMs from Afghanistan, Ireland, Finland, Brazil, Iraq, Singapore and the host country Switzerland, among several others. From India, two union ministers Piyush Goyal and Mansukh Mandaviya as well as three chief ministers -- Amarinder Singh, Kamal Nath and B S Yeddyurappa -- are expected to participate in the prestigious WEF summit. There would be a special session on India, as also one on the Indian Ocean Region, among several bilateral and multi-lateral meetings by Indian leaders. While there is no official confirmation about Trump, he as well as his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin are widely expected to visit after skipping the event last year. However, reports have suggested that Chinese premier Xi Jinping and UK's Boris Johnson may give the event a miss. Those having confirmed their presence include Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani, Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin, Hong Kong SAR CEO Carrie Lam, Iraq President Barham Salih, Norway's Prime Minister Erna Solberg, Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsein Loong and Swiss President Ueli Maurer. There are a number of other heads of state from various countries also who have confirmed their presence for this annual congregation of the rich and powerful from across the world which is expected to be a much bigger affair this time because it would be World Economic Forum's 50th anniversary. The Geneva-based WEF has selected ''Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World'' as the theme for its 2020 annual meeting, which will bring together 3,000 global leaders. The WEF has said the 2020 meeting aims to give a concrete meaning to "stakeholder capitalism", assist governments and international institutions in tracking progress towards the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals, and facilitate discussions on technology and trade governance. Those who are registered from India include industry leaders Gautam Adani, Mukesh Ambani, Rahul and Sanjiv Bajaj, Kumar Mangalam Birla, N Chandrasekaran of Tata Group, Sajjan Jindal, Uday Kotak, Rajnish Kumar of SBI, Anand Mahindra, Sunil and Rajan Mittal, Ravi Ruia, Pawan Munjal, Nandan Nilekani and Salil Parekh of Infosys, C Vijayakumar of HCL Tech, Ajay Piramal, Rishad Premji, Ajay Singh and Pirojsha Godrej. Film star Deepika Padukone is registered as founder of Live Love Laugh Foundation, which aims to reduce the stigma, spread awareness and change the way people look at mental health. She will also get the prestigious Crystal Award on the first day of the summit. The foundation has been instrumental in creating a platform where people seek help for themselves or their loved ones, find comprehensive knowledge, connect with professionals and find comfort knowing that they are not alone in their battle with issues specifically stress, anxiety and depression. Among others from the Indian film industry, Shahrukh Khan and Karan Johar have been in Davos for the WEF annual meetings in the recent years. Among the public figures from India, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will visit again and joined by Mansukh Mandaviya, minister of state (independent charge) of shipping and minister of state for chemicals and fertilizers. Among chief ministers, Madhya Pradesh's Kamal Nath would be visiting Davos again, while Punjab's Amarinder Singh and Karnataka's Yeddyurappa are also slated to attend this WEF annual meeting. Besides, former union minister Suresh Prabhu, Finance Commission Chairman N K Singh and Telangana Minister K T Rama Rao would also be in Davos. Among global business leaders, Michael Dell of Dell, James Dimon of JP Morgan, Deloitte's Punit Renjen, IBM's Ginni Rometty, Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg, Nokia's Rajiv Suri and UBS' Axel Weber are expected to participate. WEF Founder and Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab has said people are revolting against the economic ''elites'' they believe have betrayed them, and the efforts to keep global warming limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius are falling dangerously short. "With the world at such critical crossroads, this year we must develop a ''Davos Manifesto 2020'' to reimagine the purpose and scorecards for companies and governments. It is what the World Economic Forum was founded for 50 years ago, and it is what we want to contribute to for the next 50 years," Schwab said. The forum's first meeting in 1971 was established to further the idea put forward by Professor Schwab that business should serve all stakeholders - customers, employees, communities, as well as shareholders. It was reaffirmed in 1973 in the ''Davos Manifesto'', a document that has shaped the work of the WEF ever since. In a major update, this year's annual meeting will see the publication of a universal ''ESG scorecard'' (for environmental, social and governance parameters) by the WEF's International Business Council, which is currently chaired by Brian Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America. Reality TV World is now available on the all-new Google News app and website. Click here to visit our Google News page, and then click FOLLOW to add us as a news source! Advertisement Princess Diana's work with Barnados has been recreated by The Crown as the award-winning Netflix drama filmed scenes for series four at London's famous Savoy Hotel last week. Emma Corrin, the unknown actress cast by creator Peter Morgan as the Princess of Wales, dazzled as she shot scenes outside the London landmark. The production took over the entrance to the Savoy for a night shoot, to film a scene set at the Barnado's Champion Children Awards, with Emma, 24, looking the spitting image of Diana in a floral print gown. Spitting image: Princess Diana's work with Barnados has been recreated by The Crown as the award-winning Netflix drama filmed scenes for series four at London's famous Savoy Hotel last week, with Emma Corrin playing the Princess of Wales The young actress wore a wig styled into the princess' famous bouffant look she sported during the eighties. She teamed the hairdo with a one-sleeved pastel print dress with a drop waist, a replica of a design from Diana's favourite designer, Catherine Walker. Emma perfectly captured Diana's signature coy smile and her body language as the cameras rolled, while the royal, who served as president of the Barnado's charity from 1984 to 1996, was also seen giving a regal wave to extras who played a huge throng of paparazzi. Cameras flashed as the actress emerged from a car outside the Savoy, with Emma filmed making her glamorous entrance to the hotel. Regal wave: The production took over the entrance to the Savoy for a night shoot, to film a scene set at the Barnado's Champion Children Awards, with Emma, 24, looking the spitting image of Diana in a floral print gown Uncanny: The young actress wore a wig styled into the princess' famour bouffant look she sported during the eighties (Diana pictured right at the Savoy Hotel in 1988) It was a rare sighting of Emma on set, with the actress only seen a handful of times since filming for series four began last autumn. She has previously been sighted shooting in Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey, recreating Diana and Prince Charles' 1983 trip to Australia, alongside co-star Josh O'Connor. Spain has stood in for Australia, with the actors seen in October recreating the married couple's visit to Sydney Harbour Bridge during Diana's first overseas trip. Playing the part: Emma mastered Diana's famous coy smile and body language (Diana pictured right at the Barnados Champion of Children Awards in 1988) Huge production: Vintage cars and crowds of extras playing paprazzi filled the entrance top the London landmark hotel Making her entrance: Emma wore a one-sleeved pastel print dress with a drop waist, a replica of a design from Diana's favourite designer, Catherine Walker Royal welcome: The actress captured Diana perfectly as the cameras rolled on location Emma's casting was announced in April 2019, with The Crown's creator Peter Morgan calling her 'a brilliant talent who immediately captivated us when she came in for the part of Diana Spencer.' 'As well as having the innocence and beauty of a young Diana, she also has, in abundance, the range and complexity to portray an extraordinary woman who went from anonymous teenager to becoming the most iconic woman of her generation.' The previously unknown actress was born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, and lives with her family in Sevenoaks, including younger brothers Richard, 20, and Charles, 17. Action: Emma's casting was announced in April 2019 with the actress only seen on set a handful of times since filming began last autumn Lights, camera, action: The actors playing paparazzi held vintage cameras as every last period detail was considered on set Mother Juliette works as a speech and language therapist while her father Christopher is a businessman. Emma recently graduated from Cambridge University, studying education with English and drama at St John's College. Previously she went to the Woldingham School in Surrey, a private Catholic boarding and day school where fees cost around 36,000 a year. In a statement responding to the news, the actress said: 'I have been glued to the show and to think I'm joining this incredibly talented acting family is surreal. Princess Diana was an icon and her effect on the world remains profound and inspiring. 'To explore her through Peter's writing is the most exceptional opportunity and I will strive to do her justice.' Ambassador: The Crown recreated one of Diana's many charity events with Barnados, for which she served as President VIP: Cameras flashed as the actress emerged from a car outside the Savoy, with Emma filmed making her glamorous entrance to the hotel Here she comes: The photographers surrounded the car as Emma was driven up to the hotel entrance Getting the scoop: Extras dressed in eighties costumes stood behind a red rope as the cameras rolled Taking over: The cast and crew commandeered the world famous hotel for the night shoot So far Emma has appeared in a handful of small acting roles, including an episode of the 1960s detective drama Grantchester, and the film Misbehaviour. It's thought The Crown series four will pick up in 1977 and run through to 1990 during which time the pair met, married, and had their sons Prince William and Prince Harry. Josh O'Connor has already been seen in the role of Prince Charles, with series three following his romance and heartbreak with Camilla Shand, played by Emerald Fennell. Speaking to The Wrap in November, Josh praised his new onscreen love interest Emma, gushing: I obviously wont go into exactly what were doing, but were shooting Season 4 at the moment and Emmas doing an extraordinary job. Role of a lifetime: Emma's casting was announced in April 2019, with The Crown's creator Peter Morgan calling her ' a brilliant talent who immediately captivated us when she came in for the part of Diana Spencer' 'Captivating:: Showrunner Morgan has praised the young actress 'as having the innocence and beauty of a young Diana' Long shoot: The cast and crew have been hard at work on series four since October, shooting around the UK and in Spain Starring role: Emma is the latest recruit to an all-star cast with Olivia Colman and Helena Bonham Carter already starring in the royal family drama Her time: It's thought series four will pick up where series three left off in 1977 and follow Charles and Diana's courtship and marriage All eyes on her: The fourth series will likely span at least a decade, meaning the unravelling of Charles and Diana's marriage will be shown In the spotlight: Emma will have to portray Diana's public persona as well as tackle challenging scenes inside her marriage I think what will be interesting is that, you know, ultimately, we know so much about the Charles and Diana relationship, he added. We specifically know a lot about Dianas side of things, we also know an awful lot about Charles side of things. I think what will be interesting is how Peter navigates both sides of things and tells that story from what we know. Diana married Charles in 1981, and the couple welcomed sons William and Harry in the following years. After separating in 1991, the couple divorced in 1997, but Diana remained a much loved member of the Royal Family, thanks to her significant humanitarian work in the UK and abroad. Extras: No expense has been spared for critically acclaimed Netflix hit, with dozens of glam extras recruited for the night shoot Playing the paps: Diana's dealings with public scrutiny and the press will no doubt be a key plot point Her big break: So far Emma has appeared in a handful of small acting roles, including an episode of the 1960s detective drama Grantchester, and the film Misbehaviour Background: The previously unknown actress was born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, and lives with her family in Sevenoaks, including younger brothers Richard, 20, and Charles, 17 Landed the part: Emma won the role after an advert was placed for the coveted part, with Peter Morgan revealing he was instantly impressed with the unknown talent Winning smile: Emma looked completely at ease on set, perfectly capturing the world-famous royal Huge shoes to fill: The Crown has picked up a string of awards, with the cast most recently winning uhe Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series on Sunday night Marriage: Josh O'Connor has already been seen in the role of Prince Charles, with series three following his romance and heartbreak with Camilla Shand The country came to a standstill on August 31st 1997, when Diana was killed in car accident in France. She was 36 years old. Returning alongside Josh for another series of the Netflix hit are Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth, Tobias Menzie as the Duke of Edinburgh, Helena Bonham Carter as Princess Margaret and Erin Doherty as Princess Anne. The show picked up another award on Sunday evening, as Helena, Josh and Erin accepted the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series on behalf of the cast. In the acceptance speech Helena revealed the trio had dashed over to Los Angeles for the awards, but would be back on set on Monday to resume filming. The Crown series four will be available on Netflix later this year. Monarch: Olivia Colman resumes her role as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in the fourth series Old face: Helena Bonham Carter plays Princess Margaret for the third and fourth series, taking over the role from Vanessa Kirby File Photo: Philippine soldiers walking along a highway as they return to camp at the village of Bongkaong, Patikul town, Sulu province on the southern island of Mindanao. (Photo: STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images) MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippine military on Sunday said it has launched search and rescue operations for five Indonesian fishermen kidnapped by militants belonging to the Islamic State-linked Abu Sayyaf group in Malaysian waters last week. Eight Indonesians were abducted in Sabah on Thursday. Three were released, while the remaining five were probably brought by their captors to the southern Philippine province of Sulu, said Lieutenant General Cirilito Sobejana, chief of the military's Western Mindanao Command. Sulu is Abu Sayyaf's stronghold. Sobejana disclosed the abduction a day after soldiers clashed with Abu Sayyaf members in Sulare island in Parang town, in Sulu, killing one militant and destroying a speed boat believed to have been used in the kidnapping. Sobejana said Malaysian authorities had immediately coordinated with the Philippine military after the abduction. Indonesia's foreign ministry said it also has coordinated with the Philippine government and was still waiting for official information about the incident. The speed boat was positively identified by the three Indonesian fishermen who have been freed as the one used in the abduction staged by six militants, Sobejana said. "The likelihood they are in Sulare island or Parang, Sulu is very high," he said. Abu Sayyaf, which has its roots in separatism, is notorious for banditry and piracy, including beheading some captives if no ransom is paid. (Reporting by Enrico dela Cruz; additional reporting by by Tabita Diela in Jakarta; editing by) Australia's government aims to boost investment from India to develop its remote north, seen as a front door to lucrative Asian markets, amid concerns that tighter regulatory oversight and diplomatic tensions with Beijing will curb Chinese spending. While much of the foreign spending in the region has come from China in recent years, Australia's Minister for Northern Australia, Matt Canavan, acknowledged in a newspaper interview on Monday that Canberra's relationship with Beijing has changed, intensifying the pressure to diversify infrastructure ties. "It is a more volatile environment and a totally different playing field than what we had five years ago," Canavan told The Australian newspaper, in comments confirmed by government officials contacted by Reuters. "India and Southeast Asia will account for more of the growth in demand for Australian resource commodities than any other region, including China." Australia's relationship with China has been strained in recent years amid Canberra's allegations that Beijing is meddling in its domestic affairs. In September, Reuters reported Australian intelligence had found China was responsible for a cyber-attack on the national parliament and three largest political parties earlier this year. China's foreign ministry denied involvement in any hacking attacks and said the internet was full of theories that were hard to trace. India is Canberra's fourth-largest trading partner, worth A$29.1 billion ($20.02 billion) in 2018, though New Delhi is a relatively small investor into Australia, government data shows. Some Indian investment has been controversial, most notably Adani Enterprises' planned coal mine in outback Australia. First acquired by Adani in 2010, the project is slated to produce 8-10 million tonnes of thermal coal a year and cost up to $1.5 billion, but has been mired in court battles and opposition from green groups. French English Paris, January 20, 2020 Atos, a global leader in digital transformation, has been commended for its climate action this year, achieving a place on global environmental impact non-profit CDP's prestigious A List for climate change, based on the companys climate reporting in 2019. Atos was recognized for its actions to cut emissions, mitigate climate risks and develop the low-carbon economy, based on the data submitted by the company through CDPs 2019 climate change questionnaire. Atos is one of a small number of high-performing companies out of thousands that were scored. CDPs annual environmental disclosure and scoring process is widely recognized as the gold standard of corporate environmental transparency. A detailed and independent methodology is used by CDP to assess these companies, allocating a score of A to D- based on the comprehensiveness of disclosure, awareness and management of environmental risks and demonstration of best practices associated with environmental leadership, such as setting ambitious and meaningful targets. Elie Girard, CEO of Atos, said Atos is recognized by CDP for the seventh year running for its effort to combat climate change. This recognition reflects our active engagement towards carbon neutral IT. We believe that as a global leader in digital transformation, our role is also to help our customers to better assess the impact of IT systems on climate, and deploy digital solutions powering a low carbon economy. Paul Simpson, CEO of CDP, said: Congratulations to the companies that achieved a position on CDPs A List this year, for leading in environmental performance and transparency. The scale of the business risks from the climate emergency, deforestation and water insecurity are vast as are the opportunities from addressing them and its clear the private sector has a vital role to play at this critical time. The A List companies are leading the market in corporate sustainability, tackling environmental risks and setting themselves up to thrive in tomorrows economy. In 2019, Atos was also recognized as Industry leader by other sustainability ratings companies such as EcoVadis and the DJSI (Dow Jones Sustainability Index). The Climate Change A List is published by CDP each year, alongside the A Lists for leadership on protecting forests and water security. The full list of companies that made this years CDP Climate Change A List is available here, along with other publicly available company scores: https://www.cdp.net/en/companies/companies-scores Note to editors The full methodology and criteria for the Climate Change A List are available on CDPs website at: https://www.cdp.net/en/guidance/guidance-for-companies under CDP scoring methodologies 2019. **** About Atos Atos is a global leader in digital transformation with over 110,000 employees in 73 countries and annual revenue of over 11 billion. European number one in Cloud, Cybersecurity and High-Performance Computing, the Group provides end-to-end Orchestrated Hybrid Cloud, Big Data, Business Applications and Digital Workplace solutions. The group is the Worldwide Information Technology Partner for the Olympic & Paralympic Games and operates under the brands Atos, Atos Syntel, and Unify. Atos is a SE (Societas Europaea), listed on the CAC40 Paris stock index. The purpose of Atos is to help design the future of the information technology space. Its expertise and services support the development of knowledge, education as well as multicultural and pluralistic approaches to research that contribute to scientific and technological excellence. Across the world, the group enables its customers, employees and collaborators, and members of societies at large to live, work and develop sustainably and confidently in the information technology space. Press contact: Sylvie Raybaud sylvie.raybaud@atos.net - +33 6 95 91 96 71 - @Sylvie_Raybaud About CDP CDP is a global non-profit that drives companies and governments to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, safeguard water resources and protect forests. Voted number one climate research provider by investors and working with institutional investors with assets of US$96 trillion, we leverage investor and buyer power to motivate companies to disclose and manage their environmental impacts. Over 8,400 companies with over 50% of global market capitalization disclosed environmental data through CDP in 2019. This is in addition to the over 920 cities, states and regions who disclosed, making CDPs platform one of the richest sources of information globally on how companies and governments are driving environmental change. CDP is a founding member of the We Mean Business Coalition. Visit https://cdp.net/en or follow us @CDP to find out more. Attachment By Tim Hepher DUBLIN, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Brazilian planemaker Embraer is in the advanced stages of studying the launch of a new turboprop aircraft to be developed through a venture it is planning with Boeing, subject to corporate approvals, a top executive said on Monday. The aircraft would be in the same size range or even larger than the 70-seat ATR-72, a Franco-Italian aircraft that currently dominates the market, Embraer Commercial Aviation Chief Executive John Slattery told Reuters. "It sits in our target market, which we have always been clear is below 150 seats, and will have natural adjacency to the E2 offering," he said, referring to the company's family of 80-120-seat regional jets. "The business case is going well." Embraer agreed in 2018 to fold its commercial aircraft activities into a venture to be controlled by Boeing. The deal has won approval from several regulators but the European Union is continuing to evaluate the deal's impact on competition. Slattery said Embraer would not go ahead with the project on a standalone basis because of the cost estimated at billions of dollars and other priorities. But he stressed there was no connection between the turboprop study and talks with regulators over the rest of Embraer's commercial airplane activities. "The amount of balance sheet required for a new state-of-the-art commercial aircraft is of an order of magnitude that we simply dont have the appetite for, outside of the joint-venture environment," Slattery said, adding, "No JV, no TP". He added he did not expect any such hurdle to arise because Embraer remains confident the Boeing deal will be approved on its merits, citing the support of several purchasing airlines. Embraer is also in "meaningful" discussions with engine makers General Electric, Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney Canada about an engine for the new plane. Analysts say turboprops are more efficient than jetliners over short distances, especially when oil prices are high. Airlines have used them to serve isolated communities that would not otherwise have air service in countries like Indonesia. ATR, co-owned by Airbus and Italy's Leonardo , controls about four fifths of the market, with the rest addressed by the De Havilland Canada DHC-8. China is also targeting the turboprop market with its future Xian MA700. (Reporting by Tim Hepher; editing by Mark Potter) - MTN has disclosed its intentions to compensate its customers - This comes after the Consumer Rights Protection Agency insisted on a form of conpensation - MTN says efforts are underway to ensure that all concerns of customers are addressed -Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in Telecommunications giant MTN has disclosed its intentions to soon compensate its customers for the data challenges they experienced last week. The telecom company is responding to constants calls for compensation from the Consumer Rights Protection Agency. The Corporate Services Executive at MTN, Sam Koranteng, speaking to Citi Business News said that efforts were underway to ensure that all concerns of customers are addressed. READ ALSO: University of Ghana test their own version of VAR What is it is that, at MTN, when our subscribers have gone through some discomfort and challenges with the service, we make it a point to compensate them. As we are back and running on our normal routine, we are internally having that discussion and very soon we would come out with an inconvenience package for our subscribers. I am sure we should be coming out with something for our subscribers soon, he said. MTN subscribers in Ghana and other Africa countries form Thursday, January 16, 2020, experienced fluctuations in their internet connections and network generally. The telco responded and explained to customers what the problem was. MTN Ghana blamed the disruptions on an undersea fiber cable cut. READ ALSO: Fact check: We have not lost Qwikloan data to undersea fibre cut - MTN Ghana In a circular sent to shareholders and other stakeholders on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE), the company said the hitches were caused by double undersea fibre optic cable cut in Europe. It explained that the cut on the West Africa Cable System (WACS) had also affected other operators and customers in West Africa but assured that it was working to resolve the situation. But the company says Ghana now has been fully connected to the internet and also expressed appreciation to subscribers for their patience while apologising for the inconvenience caused. Meanwhile, some MTN subscribers also confirmed on social media that they now have access to uninterrupted data service. READ ALSO: We have restored internet services fully - MTN Ghana Have national and human interest issues to discuss? 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 Employees of the power department on Monday took out a candle march here to protest against police for failing to nab the accused in the murder case of a junior engineer. Junior engineer Pradeep Kumar (35) was shot dead around 9.30 pm on Thursday last in the Jamuna Paar area when he was returning from Panigaon power sub-station, police had said. We are taking the candle march against the failure of police to nab the culprit in the murder case, zonal secretary of the employees' union, Ansul Sharma, said. The employees are also demanding a compensation of Rs 1 crore to Kumar's family and shaheed (martyr) status for him since he was killed during duty hours, another union leader Sachin Dwivedi said. Sharma said they will continue their strike till the demands are met. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) By Alastair Crooke January 20, 2020 " Information Clearing House " - On the 17 September 1656, Oliver Cromwell, a Protestant Puritan, who had won a civil war, and had the English king beheaded in public, railed against Englands enemies. There was, he told Parliament that day, an axis of evil abroad in the world. And this axis led by Catholic Spain was, at root, the problem of a people that had placed themselves at the service of evil. This evil, and the servitude that it beget, was the evil of a religion Catholicism that refused the English peoples desire for simple liberties: [an evil] that put men under restraint under which there was no freedom and under which, there could be no liberty of individual consciousness. That was how the English protestant leader saw Catholic Spain in 1656. And it is very close to how key orientations in the U.S. sees Iran today: The evil of religion of Shiism subjecting (they believe) Iranians to repression, and to serfdom. In Europe, this ideological struggle against the evil of an imposed religious community (the Holy Roman Axis, then) brought Europe to near-Armageddon, with the worst affected parts of Europe seeing their population decimated by up to 60% during the conflict. Is this faction in the U.S. now intent on invoking a new, near-Armageddon on this occasion, in the Middle East in order, like Cromwell, to destroy the religious community known as the Shia Resistance Axis, seen to stretch across the region, in order to preserve the Jewish peoples desire for simple liberties? Of course, todays leaders of this ideological faction are no longer Puritan Protestants (though the Christian Evangelicals are at one with Cromwells Old Testament literalism and prophesy). No, its lead ideologues are the neo-conservatives, who have leveraged Karl Poppers hugely influential The Open Society and its Enemies a seminal treatise, which to a large extent, has shaped how many Americans imagine their world. Poppers was history understood as a series of attempts, by the forces of reaction, to smother an open society with the weapons of traditional religion and traditional culture: Marx and Russia were cast as the archetypal reactionary threat to open societies. This construct was taken up by Reagan, and re-connected to the Christian apocalyptic tradition (hence the neo-conservative coalition with Evangelists yearning for Redemption, and with liberal interventionists, yearning for a secular millenarianism). All concur that Iran is reactionary, and furthermore, the posit, poses a grave threat to Israels self-proclaimed open society. The point here is that there is little point in arguing with these people that Iran poses no threat to the U.S. (which is obvious) for the project is ideological through and through. It has to be understood by these lights. Poppers purpose was to propose that only liberal globalism would bring about a growing measure of humane and enlightened life and a free and open society period. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter All this is but the outer Matryoshka a suitable public rhetoric, a painted image that can be used to encase the secret, inner dolls. Eli Lake, writing in Bloomberg, however, gives away the next doll: Since President Donald Trump ordered the drone strike that killed [Soleimani justified in terms of deterrence, and allegedly halting an attack] a handful of Trumps advisers, however, [espied another] strategic benefit to killing Soleimani: Call it regime disruption The case for disruption is outlined in a series of unclassified memos sent to [John Bolton]in May and June 2019 their author, David Wurmser, is a longtime adviser to Bolton who then served as a consultant to the National Security Council. Wurmser argues that Iran is in the midst of a legitimacy crisis. Its leadership, he writes, is divided between camps that seek an apocalyptic return of the Hidden Imam, and those that favour of the preservation of the Islamic Republic. All the while, many Iranians have grown disgusted with the regimes incompetence and corruption. Wurmsers crucial insight [is that] were unexpected, rule-changing actions taken against Iran, it would confuse the regime. It would need to scramble, he writes. Such a U.S. attack would rattle the delicate internal balance of forces and the control over them upon which the regime depends for stability and survival. Such a moment of confusion, Wurmser writes, will create momentary paralysis and the perception among the Iranian public that its leaders are weak. Wurmsers memos show that the Trump administration has been debating the blow against Soleimani since the current crisis began, some seven months ago After Iran downed a U.S. drone [in June], Wurmser advised Bolton that the U.S. response should be overt and designed to send a message that the U.S. holds the Iranian regime, not the Iranian people, responsible. This could even involve something as a targeted strike on someone like Soleimani or his top deputies, Wurmser wrote in a June 22 memo. In these memos, Wurmser is careful to counsel against a ground invasion of Iran. He says the U.S. response does not need to be boots on the ground (in fact, it should not be). Rather, he stresses that the U.S. response should be calibrated to exacerbate the regimes domestic legitimacy crisis. So there it is David Wurmser is the doll within: no military invasion, but just a strategy to blow apart the Iranian Republic. Wurmser, Eli Lake reveals, has quietly been advising Bolton and the Trump Administration all along. This was the neo-con, who in 1996, compiled Coping with Crumbling States (which flowed on from the infamous Clean Break policy strategy paper, written for Netanyahu, as a blueprint for destructing Israels enemies). Both these papers advocated the overthrow of the Secular-Arab nationalist states excoriated both as crumbling relics of the evil USSR (using Popperian language, of course) and inherently hostile to Israel (the real message). Well (big surprise), Wurmser has now been at work as the author of how to implode and destroy Iran. And his insight? A targeted strike on someone like Soleimani; split the Iranian leadership into warring factions; cut an open wound into the flesh of Irans domestic legitimacy; put a finger into that open wound, and twist it; disrupt and pretend that the U.S. sides with the Iranian people, against its government. Eli Lake seems, in his Bloomberg piece, to think that the Wurmser strategy has worked. Really? The problem here is that narratives in Washington are so far apart from the reality that exists on the ground they simply do not touch at any point. Millions attended Soleimanis cortege. His killing gave a renewed cohesion to Iran. Little more than a dribble have protested. Now let us unpack the next doll: Trump bought into Wurmsers play, albeit, with Trump subsequently admitting that he did the assassination under intense pressure from Republican Senators. Maybe he believed the patently absurd narrative that Iranians would be dancing in the street at Soleimanis killing. In any event, Trump is not known, exactly, for admitting his mistakes. Rather, when something is portrayed as his error, the President adopts the full salesman persona: trying to convince his base that the murder was no error, but a great strategic success They like us, Trump claimed of protestors in Iran. Tom Luongo has observed: Trumps impeachment trial in the Senate begins next week, and its clear that this will not be a walk in the park for the President. Anyone dismissing this because the Republicans hold the Senate, simply do not understand why this impeachment exists in the first place. It is [occurring because it offers] the ultimate form of leverage over a President whose desire to end the wars in the Middle East is anathema to the entrenched powers in the D.C. Swamp. Ah, so here we arrive at another inner Matryoshka. This is Luongos point: Impeachment was the leverage to drive open a wedge between Republican neo-conservatives in the Senate and Trump. And now the Pelosi pressure on Republican Senators is escalating. The Establishment threw cold water over Trumps assertion of imminent attack, as justification for murdering Soleimani, and Trump responds by painting himself further into a corner on Iran by going the full salesman monte. On the campaign trail, the President goes way over-the-top, calling Soleimani a son of a b-, who killed thousands and furthermore was responsible for every U.S. veteran who lost a limb in Iraq. And he then conjures up a fantasy picture of protesters pouring onto the streets of Tehran, tearing down images of Soleimani, and screaming abuse at the Iranian leadership. It is nonsense. There are no mass protests (there have been a few hundred students protesting at one main Tehran University). But Trump has dived in pretty deep, now threatening the Euro-Three signatories to the JCPOA, that unless they brand Iran as having defaulted on JCPOA at the UNSC disputes mechanism, he will slap an eye-watering 25% tariff on their automobiles. So, how will Trump avoid plunging in even deeper to conflict if and when Americans die in Iraq or Syria at the hands of militia and when Pompeo or Lindsay Graham will claim, baldly, Irans proxies did it? Sending emollient faxes to the Swiss to pass to Tehran will not do. Tehran will not read them, or believe them, even if they did. It all reeks of stage-management; a set up: a very clever stage-management, designed to end with the U.S. crossing Irans red line, by striking at a target within Iranian territory. Here, finally, we arrive at the innermost doll. Cui bono? Some Senators who never liked Trump, and would prefer Pence as President; the Democrats, who would prefer to run their candidate against Pence in November, rather than Trump. But also, as someone who once worked with Wurmser observed tartly: when you hear that name (Wurmser), immediately you think Netanyahu, his intimate associate. Matryoshka herself? The first stage of an extradition hearing for Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou started in a Vancouver courtroom Monday, a case that has infuriated Beijing, caused a diplomatic uproar between China and Canada and complicated high-stakes trade talks between China and the United States. Wanzou is accused of using a Hong Kong shell company to sell equipment to Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions. She allegedly committed fraud by misleading the HSBC bank about the company's business dealings in Iran. Canada's arrest of chief financial officer Wanzhou, the daughter of Huawei's legendary founder, in late 2018 at America's request enraged Beijing to the point it detained two Canadians in apparent retaliation. Her lawyers called the fraud charges a 'facade' for the US trying to force Canada to impose the same sanctions it does on Iran. Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou is shown getting into her car to make her way towards her extradition hearing in Vancouver on Monday. She wore a pair of $995 Manolo Blahnik pumps which showed off her ankle monitor for court Meng was in high spirits despite the somber occasion. She smiled and waved at photographers before getting into her vehicle The financial executive has been on house arrest. She still has to wear her ankle monitor Huawei represents China's progress in becoming a technological power and has been a subject of U.S. security concerns for years. Beijing views Meng's case as an attempt to contain China's rise. 'Our government has been clear. We are a rule of law country and we honor our extradition treaty commitments,' Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said at a cabinet retreat in Manitoba. 'It is what we need to do and what we will do.' China's foreign ministry complained Monday the United States and Canada were violating Meng's rights and called for her release. 'It is completely a serious political incident,' said a ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang. He urged Canada to 'correct mistakes with concrete actions, release Ms. Meng Wanzhou and let her return safely as soon as possible.' Meng, who is free on bail and living in one of the two Vancouver mansions she owns, sat next to her lawyers wearing a black dress with white polka dots. She earlier waved at reporters as she arrived at court. Meng denies the allegations. Her defense team says comments by President Donald Trump suggest the case against her is politically motivated. 'We trust in Canada's judicial system, which will prove Ms. Meng's innocence,' Huawei said in a statement as the proceedings began. Protesters outside her home on Monday used the opportunity to share their grievances with China Canadian supporters of the Chinese executive turned out at the courthouse to condemn the proceedings and demand that she be freed There was a snaking line of people wishing to attend the hearing in the public gallery A court artist's sketch of the Huawei heiress in court on Monday Meng was detained in December 2018 in Vancouver as she was changing flights - on the same day that Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met for trade talks. Prosecutors have stressed that Meng's case is separate from the wider China-U.S. trade dispute, but Trump undercut that message weeks after her arrest when he said he would consider intervening in the case if it would help forge a trade deal with Beijing. China and the U.S. reached a 'Phase 1' trade agreement last week, but most analysts say any meaningful resolution of the main U.S. allegation - that Beijing uses predatory tactics in its drive to supplant America's technological supremacy - could require years of contentious talks. Trump had raised the possibility of using Huawei's fate as a bargaining chip in the trade talks, but the deal announced Wednesday didn't mention the company. Huawei is the biggest global supplier of network gear for cellphone and internet companies. Washington is pressuring other countries to limit use of its technology, warning they could be opening themselves up to surveillance and theft. James Lewis at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies said the U.S. wanted to send a message with Meng's arrest. There is good evidence that Huawei willfully violated sanctions, he said. 'The message that you are no longer invulnerable has been sent to Chinese executives,' Lewis said. 'No one has held China accountable. They steal technology, they violate their WTO commitments and the old line is, 'Oh, they are a developing economy, who cares.' When you are the second-largest economy in the world you can't do that anymore.' Wanzhou is helped out of her car at the courthouse on Monday morning Wanzhou was still in high spirits as she left the courthouse for a lunch break The initial stage of Meng's extradition hearing will focus on whether Meng's alleged crimes are crimes both in the United States and Canada. Her lawyers filed a a motion Friday arguing that Meng's case is really about U.S. sanctions against Iran, not a fraud case. Canada does not have similar sanctions on Iran. 'This extradition has every appearance of the United States seeking to enlist Canada to enforce the very sanctions we have repudiated,' Meng's lawyer Richard Peck said in court. The second phase, scheduled for June, will consider defense allegations that Canada Border Services, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the FBI violated her rights while collecting evidence before she was actually arrested. The extradition case could take years to resolve if there are appeals. Nearly 90 percent of those arrested in Canada on extradition requests from the U.S. were surrendered to U.S. authorities between 2008 and 2018. In apparent retaliation for Meng's arrest, China detained former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and Canadian entrepreneur Michael Spavor. The two men have been denied access to lawyers and family and are being held in prison cells where the lights are kept on 24-hours-a-day. China has also placed restrictions on various Canadian exports to China, including canola oil seed and meat. Last January, China also handed a death sentence to a convicted Canadian drug smuggler in a sudden retrial. 'That's mafia-style pressure,' Lewis said. Shortly after her arrest, China detained two Canadians on suspicion of spying. A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking directions to the police to ensure smooth traffic flow on Delhi's Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch which is closed for over a month due to anti Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests. The Delhi High Court on January 14 did not order forthwith removal of traffic restrictions, the plea said, adding the HC had said that no direction can be issued by it on how to handle an agitation or the place of protest and the traffic as it depended on ground reality and wisdom of police. The high court had asked the police to look into the issue while also keeping in mind that law and order is maintained, it said. Lawyer-activist Amit Sahni has filed a special leave petition in the apex court seeking supervision of the situation in Shaheen Bagh, where several women are sitting on an indefinite protest, by a retired Supreme Court judge or a sitting judge of the Delhi High Court in order to circumvent any violence. Sahni in his plea said that protests in Shaheen Bagh has inspired similar demonstrations in other cities and to allow it to continue would set a wrong precedent. "No one can be permitted to occupy a public road for any reason whatsoever under pretext of peaceful protest and that too for indefinite period to make others suffer for the same. "The protests at public road cannot be permitted to continue as the same would set a wrong precedent and the same has inspired Shaheen Bagh-style protests in Prayagraj, Gaya, Nagpur, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Lucknow and Kota," the plea said. The petitioner also said that businessmen has been suffering huge losses as shops in the vicinity of the protest site are "bound or compelled" to remain closed due to the protests. The Kalindi Kunj stretch is quite crucial as it connects Delhi, Faridabad in Haryana and Noida in Uttar Pradesh. Commuters who use these roads are forced to take alternative routes -- Delhi-Noida-Delhi (DND) Expressway and Ashram -- which is causing hours of traffic jams and wastage of time and fuel, the plea stated. "The protestors have been using loudspeakers, as per reports, thus 'unrestricted holding of public meetings', processions, demonstrations, etc. has caused obstruction to traffic and disturbance of public tranquillity. It is not known that for how long this road would remain closed and no protestors can occupy the road indefinitely. "The situation is extremely sensitive as there is huge business loss to the businessmen, who are having shops in the vicinity but are bound/compelled to close their shops due to the alarming situation," the petition said. The high court, on January 10, had refused to entertain an application, in the form of letter, seeking directions for removal of demonstrators protesting the CAA at Shaheen Bagh here in order to clear road blockages that are causing traffic congestions at the DND route. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Robert Brasillach, thirty-five-year-old French poet and author, was condemned to death by the Special Court of Justice in Paris yesterday for treason and intelligence with the enemy. He was the fourth outstanding writer to be given the death sentence for treason, Georges Suarez, Paul Chack and Henri Beraud having preceded him. Suarez and Chack were shot, while Beraud was reprieved by General de Gaulle. Brasillach, who was editor of the collaborationist weekly Je suis partout, in which he published violent attacks against America, Britain and General de Gaulle, wrote one vitriolic article insulting President and Mrs. Roosevelt. The main charge against him was that he was released from a war prisoners camp in Germany against a promise to help the Germans with his writings. Brasillach held his head high during the trial, saying that he did not regret his friendly attitude towards the Germans, and that it was Frances interest to collaborate with her continental neighbor. He accused America of egotism and spoke with contempt of the Atlantic Charter, citing Poland and Greece as proofs of its failure. When the judge pronounced sentence, he said: That is an honor for me. Someone in the courtroom shouted assassins at the judge and jurors, and was seized by the guards. The New York Herald, European Edition, Jan. 20, 1945 Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. San Francisco, 20 January 2020: The Report Antifungal Drugs Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Drug Class (Azoles, Echinocandins, Polyenes, Allyamines), By Indication (Dermatophytosis, Aspergillosis, Candidiasis), and Segment Forecasts, 2018 - 2025 The global antifungal drugs market size is expected to reach USD 12.7 billion by 2025, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc., progressing at a CAGR of 1.5% during the forecast period. Increasing incidence of fungal infections worldwide is the key factor stoking the growth of the market. In addition, rise in adoption of immunosuppressive and antineoplastic agents, prosthetic devices and grafts, and broad-spectrum antibiotics has resulted in increased incidence of fungal infections in recent years. According to statistics published by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention in 2017, it has been estimated that every year, nearly 220,000 new individuals are affected by cryptococcal meningitis, which is a brain infection and has resulted in 181,000 deaths per year around the world. Most of the deaths were reported in sub-Saharan Africa, due to high prevalence of HIV/AIDS. This indicates the potential demand for antifungal drugs due to high prevalence of mycological infections around the globe. As aged people are more prone to infectious diseases and chronic conditions, including HIV and cancer, rise in geriatric population worldwide is likely to stir up the demand for antifungals to treat opportunistic fungal infections. The demand for fungistatic agents is estimated to remain strong through 2025 due to mounting cases of fungal infections that are difficult to diagnose, yielding high mortality and morbidity rates. Access Research Report of Antifungal Drugs Market @ www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/antifungal-drugs-market Further key findings from the study suggest: Several types of fungicidal preparations, such as creams, sprays, tablets, & injections, are available. Increasing adoption of these products is anticipated to drive the market during the forecast period The echinocandins segment is anticipated to exhibit lucrative growth owing to their cell wall-specific fungicidal property coupled with their broad-spectrum activity against Aspergillusand Candida species without cross-resistance risks The candidiasis indication segment is expected to witness the fastest CAGR over the forecast period due to increasing drug resistance of the Candida species to Azoles North America held the largest market share in 2017. The growth of the market can be attributed to higher awareness levels pertaining to treatment of fungal infection and presence of a large target population Asia pacific is projected to register the fastest growth during the forecast period due to improving healthcare facilities coupled with rising government initiatives to create awareness of infectious diseases among the population Companies are focusing on development of effective therapeutic agents for treatment of systemic fungal infections in immune-compromised patients Numerous ongoing public-private partnership agreements in the pharmaceutical industry for development of novel therapeutics is poised to provide the market with lucrative growth opportunities. For instance, Astellas Pharma partnered with Vical Incorporated for the development of VL-2397, an antifungal drug for the treatment of pulmonary aspergillus. Browse more reports of this category by Grand View Research at: www.grandviewresearch.com/industry/pharmaceuticals Grand View Research has segmented the global antifungal drugs market by drug class, indication, and region: Antifungal Drug Class Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025) Azoles Voriconazole (Vfend) Posaconazole (Noxafil) Clotrimazole (Canesten) Isavuconazole (CRESEMBA) Others Echinocandins Caspofungin (Cancidas) Micafungin (Mycamine/ Funguard) Others Polyenes Amphotericin (AmBisome) Others Allylamines Terbinafine (Lamisil) Others Others Antifungal Drugs Indication Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025) Dermatophytosis Aspergillosis Candidiasis Invasive Candidiasis Vulvovaginal Candidiasis (VVC) Mouth/Throat/Esophageal Candidiasis Other Candida Infections Others Antifungal Drugs Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025) North America Europe Asia Pacific Latin America Middle East and Africa Access Press Release of Antifungal Drugs Market @ www.grandviewresearch.com/press-release/global-antifungal-drugs-market About Grand View Research Grand View Research, Inc. is a U.S. based market research and consulting company, registered in the State of California and headquartered in San Francisco. The company provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. To help clients make informed business decisions, we offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across a range of industries, from technology to chemicals, materials and healthcare. For More Information: www.grandviewresearch.com Update 11:05 a.m. Monday, Jan. 20. The shooting that left two men dead and five injured at a River Walk bar Sunday evening was "not a random" incident, according to San Antonio Police. The two who were killed were identified Monday as 20-year-old Robert Jay Martinez III and 25-year-old Alejandro Robles by the Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office. Police said the five other people injured were transported to a local hospital and are expected to survive from the injuries they suffered during the shooting at Ventura San Antonio, a bar located at 1011 Avenue B just north of downtown. The oldest victim was a 46-year-old woman while the other four were males between the ages of 16 and 19, according to police. There was an altercation between a group of individuals, Police Chief William McManus said Sunday night about the incident. One person, at least, pulled out a gun and started shooting. Officials said homicide detectives believe that at least one of the victims knew the suspect. Police have not provided information on the gunman. The medical examiner's office indicates Martinez's birthday as April 7, 1999. His age was previously reported as 21. The investigation is on-going. Original story 10:40 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 19 An argument at a River Walk bar just north of downtown ended with two people dead and five injured early Sunday night. The gunman was still at large as of 10 p.m. I saw a bullet fly toward the musician that was playing, said Jacob Flores, who was at Ventura San Antonio, 1011 Avenue B, when gunfire broke out about 8 p.m. My life flashed before my eyes. A 21-year-old man died inside the bar, while another person was critically injured and died at a local hospital, Police Chief William McManus said. There was an altercation between a group of individuals, McManus said. One person, at least, pulled out a gun and started shooting. Police dont know the ages of the other victims. All the victims were patrons at the bar, and no employees were hurt, officials said. No description of the shooter was immediately released. Im confident that we will identify the individual and have that person in custody sooner rather than later, McManus said at the scene. Flores, 17 and a musician, said there was chaos after the gunshots erupted. He estimated that there were about 25 or 30 people in the bar at the time. As soon as everyone heard the shots, everyone bolted out, he said. Ventura, which opened nearly four years ago, offers cocktails and live indie rock in a hip area just west of Broadway bordered by the San Antonio Museum of Art to the north and the historic VFW Post 76 to the south. Sundays night event, billed as Living the Dream, featured numerous live bands. On Twitter, Musician Ruz, who had been scheduled to perform at 10 p.m., had invited fans to come to the club. About 9:30 p.m., however, he posted: My prayers go to whoever was hurt at Ventura. ashley.mcbride@express-news.net New Delhi, Jan 20 : Recipient of Indias second-highest civilian honour, the Padma Vibhushan, Indian classical vocalist Pandit Jasraj is a force to reckon with in the countrys music space. The artiste extradonaire even has a minor planet named after him in 2019. As the doyen stands on the cusp of turning 90 next week, he speaks of the student in him, which is the constant might that keeps him hungry to learn. After over 80 years in music, he doesn't feel that his relationship with music is "of only this lifetime". "In different stages of life, one plays different roles - early in life, you are only learning, later you are practicing hard, after which you start performing a lot, and then comes a stage where you are imparting your knowledge. I feel fortunate that all these stages in my life have remained constant and evolving. For instance, while I teach, I am learning a lot. Every individual has something to give (to) another. The student in me has always been a constant and active part of my musical journey and has kept me always hungry to learn," Pandit Jasraj told IANSlife in an interview. A rich career behind him, with his performances of classical and semi-classical vocals becoming albums and film soundtracks, he feels fortunate to belong to a generation which has and continues to witness exciting times in classical music. Born in 1930, the exponent has seen the evolution from pre-Independence era, from Maharajas as the biggest patrons of classical music to the 1950s and 1960s when All India Radio was pivotal in shaping one's career. Then came recording labels, followed by music tours worldwide, which took musicians like himself to varied audiences who found this music soulful and attractive. While recalling, Pandit Jasraj also mentions the rise of mass media in India with the growth of television. He feels the present state is one rife with social media and digital "which has brought music lovers much closer to their favourite musicians." Does he still feel the zeal to do more? "When I am on stage to perform, I am equally nervous and excited to create something new, as I was probably for the very first time," the vocalist shares. While he spends time travelling across the world, for concerts as well as teaching music, he has kept pace with how the classical music space has really grown in India and globally. "At any given time, there are so many musicians traveling and performing across the world. The patronage of corporates today has played a huge role in promoting the classical arts. "The audiences have grown manifold in numbers - the following has increased from only serious connoisseurs, to masses who attend concerts in large numbers for the simple love of Music. I find the future brighter than ever before," Pandit Jasraj says. As the evolution continues to turn digital, he shares his optimistic outlook on music's rendezvous with technology. "I have always thought that technology brings the world closer. In fact when I am travelling, I use technology myself to teach Swar (19), my grand-nephew, regularly. There is so much good young talent out there, and I feel that Classical Music has a great future with these talented youngsters. I think technology or the digital only plays a role to bridge the gaps across geographies and cultures." Last year, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) had named the planet 2006 VP32 (number -300128) in the name of the doyen as 'Panditjasraj'.With this minor planet named after Pandit Jasraj, who is the first-ever Indian musician to get this honour, it is also a recognition of his valuable contributions to the arts and the society. Asked about the news, he shared: "This was a big surprise for me, I wasn't aware that planets could be named after humans! When I got to know of this, I was humbled beyond words. I was told that the 'Panditjasraj' planet is situated between Mars and Jupiter, and since Jupiter is considered to be Guru, I felt that my Gurus willed it and later when I started to understand the enormity of this honour, I felt like dedicating this to Indian classical musicians and music lovers." Pandit Jasraj turns 90 on January 28, 2020. (Siddhi Jain can be contacted at siddhi.j@ians.in) An FIR has been registered against Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Shirsat and Aurangabad Deputy Mayor Rajendra Janjal after a former corporator alleged that they thrashed him for submitting bid for a road tender, an official said on Monday. Former Shiv Sena corporator Sushil Khedkar earlier alleged that Shirsat, the MLA from Aurangabad West seat, and Janjal, who is also from the Sena, along with other workers hit him on Saturday over the tender issue. "An offence has been registered in the case," Assistant Commissioner of Police Hanumant Bhapkar told PTI. Shirsat and Janjal have been charged under Indian Penal Code Sections 323, 324 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), 506 (criminal intimidation), 143 (unlawful assembly), 147, 148 and 149 (rioting), another police official said. Khedkar on Saturday alleged that Shirsat had been putting pressure on him since a long time over the road work tender in Satara area of Aurangabad. "The MLA told me not to submit a bid for the tender which is worth Rs 2.25 crore, but I did. Deputy Mayor Rajendra Janjal also beat me up along with Shirsat. I had to get admitted in a government hospital," Khedkar claimed and later approached Vedant Nagar police station to file a case. Shirsat and Janjal have denied the allegations and claimed that Khedkar was beaten up by party workers. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Almost half the areas approved for native logging in East Gippsland have been burnt, with Premier Daniel Andrews bracing for what he says will be a significant impact on the forestry industry. The devastation wrought by the recent bushfires came just months after the Labor government announced native logging would be completely banned in 2030, and the cutting of old-growth forest would end immediately. The fires are a fresh blow to the industry, still reeling from the government's decision to ban native logging by 2030. Credit:Peter Hannam Mr Andrews said 40 per cent of coupes areas approved for logging as part of VicForests timber release plan in East Gippsland were destroyed by the fires that have so far burnt more than 1.4 million hectares across Victoria. So theres going to be a significant impact ... theres going to be big impacts on the forestry industry, Mr Andrews said on Monday morning. Its said to be the worlds oldest profession. But photographer Charlotte Schmitz found a new way to portray it. When she was 18, Schmitz was studying in Machala, Ecuador, and there she heard about La Puente, the areas largest brothel. A family business for 45 years, the establishment employs more than 150 women who, noted the British Journal of Photography recently, are paid $10 per client. A decade later, Schmitz returned to Machala as a fine-art photographer and, noted BJP, immersed herself into the world of the brothel, befriending regulars and employees alike for a project she called La Puente. The work dazzling Polaroid images made in collaboration with the sex workers was later chosen as winner of the 2019 FotoEvidence W Award, given to a woman photographer for a personal project, and it has now been collected in a book. Schmitz gave the women full agency over their images: they posed how they wanted, and had the option to anonymize or embellish their images using nail polish, noted BJP. The bright and colorful work "shows how the women want to be seen, noted Schmitz. The book also features Schmitzs rather sobering diary entries, added BJP. Collaborative, inclusive, and impartial, La Puente is an antidote to both the stereotypical and sympathetic visual narratives that surround what is probably the most stigmatized line of work, notes the British Journal of Photography. You came and saw us as women, as mothers, as sisters, one of the sex workers told Schmitz. At the beginning, it was not my motive to challenge how sex workers are commonly portrayed, Schmitz told BJP. In the past few years I have adopted a participatory approach to my work, which naturally invites the people I photograph to create their own narratives. It creates space for a nuanced, human and relatable depth to individuals, and challenges stereotyping. Im interested in questioning how to minimize the unbalanced structure within the photographic process, so it was important for me to create work which shows how the women want to be seen, not how they are already seen, she continued. Im tired of photography that objectifies sex workers and people in vulnerable situations, or which mistreat ethical guidelines in photojournalism; photographing minors without concealing their identity, for instance. There is often a power structure between the photographer and the people involved, and photographers often tell the story from their own perspective, but not their peoples. Nail varnish was initially used to embellish the images as a means of providing anonymity to the women in the photographs. The varnish quickly developed into a creative instrument, notes FotoEvidence a way for the women to beautify the world within the brothel. Much later I understood how well the nail polish and its symbolism for femininity worked with this project, Schmitz told the British Journal of Photography. I have been using nail polish ever since, even for the photos I take of myself. For me it is a great material, to paint, to cover, to enhance. Each book cover is painted by the photographer with nail polish, notes FotoEvidence. Titles and names on the cover are Charlotte Schmitz personal handwriting, connecting to her notes handwritten in La Puente. For me, Schmitz told the British Journal of Photography, the book design and editing reflects the feeling of being in La Puente. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 17:27:19|Editor: mingmei Video Player Close BEIRUT, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Secretary General of Lebanese Red Cross Georges Kettaneh announced on Monday that the number of injured people reached 140 during Sunday's clashes between protesters and riot police, local media reported. Kettaneh said that 40 of the wounded people were transported to nearby hospitals while the rest were treated on the ground, according to Elnashra, an online independent newspaper. The wounded people included protesters and security forces, he added. Heavy clashes started in Lebanon on Saturday due to the failure of the ruling political class to adopt quick measures to save the economic and financial deteriorating prevailing in the country which caused 169 injured, according to the Lebanese Red Cross. Nationwide protests that started in Lebanon on Oct. 17, 2019 had succeeded to topple the government of Saad Hariri and the appointment of Hassan Diab as new PM. A strong earthquake hit Chinas northwest Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region on Sunday, followed by aftershocks. The U.S Geological Survey (USGS) reported that a magnitude of 6.0 earthquake hit the east-northeast of Arzak in western China near the Kyrgyzstan border at 1:27 p.m. (UTC) at a depth of 6.8 miles. The strong tremor was followed by two other quakes at 2:23 p.m. and 2:55 p.m., both with magnitudes of 4.9 at depths of 6 miles, according to the USGS. The Star reported the earthquakes magnitude as 6.4 at a depth of 10miles followed by at least eight aftershocks. Three people were reported to be injured, one in critical condition. Residents of the region told Xinhua news that they ran out to the street from their home after feeling the quake, the outlet reported. Nine passenger trains came to a halt, and railway staff has been dispatched for facility checkout, China.org reported. Earthquakes in Xinjiang are fairly common. According to USGS, the region has experienced 13 other M6+ earthquakes over the past 50 years. Half a dozen earthquakes of M6.0-6.4 have occurred close to Sundays quakes. In March 1996, a magnitude of 6.3 hit the northwest, destroying 15,000 houses and causing 24 fatalities. In August 1998, 3,600 homes were destroyed, and three fatalities occurred due to an M6.4 earthquake to the south of the region. In February 2003, 6.3 magnitude earthquakes to the south caused 260 fatalities, 70,000 collapsed buildings. The deadliest earthquake was an M7.7 earthquake in August 1902, hitting the northwest region. At least 500 people were reported dead. The region near the quakes epicenter is sparsely populated mountain and desert territory. But because many buildings are built from mud bricks or cinder block masonry, significant damage may be likely, USGS wrote in its initial reporting. LONDON, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- This independent 173-page report guarantees you will remain better informed than your competitors. With 137 tables and figures examining the Land Seismic Equipment & Acquisition market space, the report gives you a direct, detailed breakdown of the market. PLUS, Capital expenditure by equipment and region, as well as in-depth analysis of leading companies in the Land Seismic Equipment & Acquisition market for the 2020-2030 period, that will keep your knowledge that one step ahead of your rivals. Do you know: How is the land seismic equipment & acquisition market evolving? What is driving and restraining the land seismic equipment & acquisition market dynamics? How will each technology in equipment & acquisition market submarket segment grow over the forecast period and how much sales will these submarkets account for in 2030? How will market shares of each the land seismic equipment & acquisition submarket develop from 2020-2030? Which individual technologies will prevail and how will these shifts be responded to? Which land seismic equipment & acquisition submarket will be the main driver of the overall market from 2020-2030? How will political and regulatory factors influence regional the land seismic equipment & acquisition market and submarkets? Will leading national the land seismic equipment & acquisition market broadly follow macroeconomic dynamics, or will individual country sectors outperform the rest of the economy? How will market shares of the national markets change by 2030 and which nation will lead the market in 2030? Who are the leading players and what are their prospects over the forecast period? Visiongain's forecasts indicate that the global Land Seismic Equipment & Acquisition Market reached an accumulative capital expenditure (CAPEX) of $2,405.3mn in 2019. Through extensive research and discussions with experts in the industry, Visiongain has identified a series of market trends that will impact the Land Seismic Equipment & Acquisition Market over the coming decade. Do not miss an opportunity to remain informed of key market dynamics and investment opportunities. 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To request sample pages from this report please contact Sara Peerun at [email protected] or refer to our website: https://www.visiongain.com/report/land-seismic-equipment-acquisition-market-forecast-2020-2030/#download_sampe_div Five Reasons Why You Must Order and Read This Report Today: 1) The report provides forecasts for the Land Seismic Equipment & Acquisition market by Equipment, for the period 2020-2030 Sensors submarket 2020-2030 Sources submarket 2020-2030 Cable Based Acquisition Systems submarket 2020-2030 Wireless Acquisition Systems submarket 2020-2030 Other Equipment submarket 2020-2030 2) The report also forecasts and analyses the Land Seismic Equipment & Acquisition market by Region from 2020-2030 North America United States CAPEX 2020-2030 Canada CAPEX 2020-2030 Mexico CAPEX 2020-2030 Asia Pacific China CAPEX 2020-2030 Japan CAPEX 2020-2030 India CAPEX 2020-2030 ASEAN CAPEX 2020-2030 Australia CAPEX 2020-2030 Rest of Asia Pacific CAPEX 2020-2030 Middle East GCC CAPEX 2020-2030 Iran CAPEX 2020-2030 Rest of the Middle East CAPEX 2020-2030 Russia/CIS CAPEX 2020-2030 Africa South Africa CAPEX 2020-2030 Nigeria CAPEX 2020-2030 Rest of the Africa CAPEX 2020-2030 South America Brazil CAPEX 2020-2030 Venezuela CAPEX 2020-2030 Argentina CAPEX 2020-2030 Rest of South America CAPEX 2020-2030 Europe UK CAPEX 2020-2030 Italy CAPEX 2020-2030 Spain CAPEX 2020-2030 Germany CAPEX 2020-2030 Norway CAPEX 2020-2030 Rest of Europe CAPEX 2020-2030 3) The report reveals the Drivers and Restraints in the Land Seismic Equipment & Acquisition market 4) The report includes PESTEL Analysis affecting the Land Seismic Equipment & Acquisition market 5) The report provides detailed profiles of the leading companies operating within the Land Seismic Equipment & Acquisition market: SA Exploration Terraseis CGG Group and Sercel Terrex Seismic WesternGeco Mitcham Industries International Seismic Co. (iSeis) ION Geophysical Corporation Geometrics Geospace Technologies Sinopec Group Dawson International Corporation Alphageo (India) Limited To request a report overview of this report please contact Sara Peerun at [email protected] or refer to our website: https://www.visiongain.com/report/land-seismic-equipment-acquisition-market-forecast-2020-2030/ Did you know that we also offer a report add-on service? Email [email protected] to discuss any customized research needs you may have. Companies covered in the report include: 3D Oil Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Exploration (ADCO) Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) Acoustic Geophysical Services (AGS) Advent Oilfield Services Allegro Funds Group Alphageo India Limited Apache Arabian Geophysical & Surveying (ARGAS) ARGAS ARM Geophysics Asia Oilfield Services Limited (ASIAN) AutoSeis Baker Hughes Baoding Longet Equipment Co., Ltd. Bay Geophysical BGP Inc. Breckenridge Geophysical CAMAC Energy Inc. CGG Chaparral Energy Chesapeake Energy Corporation Chevron China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) Dawson Geophysical Co Denbury Resources DownUnder Geosolutions Empresa Colombiana de Gas (Ecogas) ERHC Energy Inc. ExxonMobil Fairfield Nodal Fasken Gazprom Neft GEO EAST Co. Geokinetics Geometrics Geopartners Ltd. Geospace Technologies Geotec Spa Global Geophysical Services Gold Oil Peru SAC GSS Hydrocarb Energy Corp (HECC) INOVA Technologies International Seismic Co. (iSeis) ION Geophysical Corporation (ION) ION Integrated Seismic Solutions Kinder Morgan KrisEnergy LINC Energy LoneStar Geophysical Surveys (LSGS) Lukoil Metgasco Mitcham Industries Monarch Geophysical Services NIS Naftagas Oilfield Services NovaSPAN Occidental Petroleum Oil & Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) OPACBARATA Panamerican Geophysical PASI srl Technologies Pertamina Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS) Polaris Limited Repsol-YPF REXIMseis Ltd RichTerra Corporation Royal Dutch Shell SAExploration Saudi Aramco Schlumberger SDP Services Ltd Seismic Exchange, Inc. Seismic Source Co. Sercel Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum Group Sinopec Sound Energy PLC Southwest Energy Statoil Swala Energy Limited Tanzanian Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) Terraseis Terrex Seismic Tesla Exploration Limited TGS TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Co. ASA Total Tullow Oil Viking Seismic Services WesternGeco WirelessSEISMIC XTO Energy Other Organisations Mentioned in This Report Alberta Geological Survey Argentine Government China's Ministry of Land and Resources Chinese Government European Union (EU) Mexican Government Ministry of Water Resources National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) SKSPMIGAS UK Government UK Oil & Gas Authority (OGA) United States Geological Survey (USGS) US Energy Information Administration (EIA) To see a report overview please e-mail Sara Peerun on [email protected] Related reports: Onshore Oil & Gas Pipelines Market Report 2019-2029 Natural Gas Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking) Market Report 2019-2029 Marine Seismic Equipment & Acquisition Market Forecast 2019-2029 EOR Yearbook 2019: The Ultimate Guide to Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) Deepwater Drilling Market Report 2018-2028 Multi-Well Drilling Market Forecast 2017-2027 SOURCE Visiongain A court here in Maharashtra has awarded seven years' rigorous imprisonment to a 32-year-old man for raping a woman on the pretext of marriage. District Judge G P Shirsat, in his order on Thursday, also imposed a fine of Rs 35,000 on the accused, Navinkumar Premshankar Tiwari, while pronouncing him guilty under Indian Penal Code Section 376 (rape) and provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The judge ordered that out of the total fine amount, Rs 30,000 be given as compensation to the 30-year-old victim, who belongs to a Scheduled Caste. The accused's parents, Premshankar Tiwari (56) and Sunayana Tiwari (50), who were also tried in the case, were acquitted after the court gave them benefit of doubt. Additional Public Prosecutor Rekha Hiwrale told the court that the accused, a resident of Khopoli in neighbouring Raigad district, and the victim worked together since 2008 in a catering firm at Kurla in Mumbai where they became friends and got into a relationship. The accused promised to marry the woman following which both of them started living together in a rented room in Diva area of Thane. However, they later separated and returned to the homes of their respective parents. During the time they were together, the accused raped the woman on several occasions on the pretext of marriage, the prosecution said, adding that he also took Rs 95,000 and items like gold jewellery and mobile phone from the victim. On March 8, 2014, the accused called the victim to his house in Khopoli where his parents were present. The three abused the woman over her caste and beat her, Hiwrale said. The accused also refused to marry the woman following which she filed a police complaint. In his order, the judge said the prosecution has proved the charges against Navinkumar Tiwari beyond reasonable doubts and "he needs to be convicted". "The accused gave assurance of marriage to the victim as well as her parents, he then established physical relations with her and also grabbed her money. But, he later refused to marry her on the ground that she belonged to a Scheduled Caste," the judge observed. "The facts and circumstances clearly show that the accused gave false assurance of marriage to the victim and continuously exploited her only for satisfaction of sex and lust," he said in the order. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Dorset farmer has been fined for failing to comply with a planning enforcement notice within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Willow Farm is located between Beaminster and Stoke Abbott and is in a protected area of countryside that falls within the Dorset AONB. Owner Thomas Gibbs was first served notice by planning enforcement officers as far back as April 2008 after discovering he had built an unauthorised dwelling on the site. The enforcement notice required the 69-year-old to cease the residential use of the land and to demolish and remove the structure. But Mr Gibbs appealed the notice which resulted in temporary permission for the dwelling being granted on the condition it would be removed by February 2012. Sometime before February 2012, the landowner then went on to build a further unauthorised barn-like structure which was deemed harmful to the AONB. He applied for planning permission to retain the dwelling and barn but this was refused in September 2012. A second enforcement notice was issued requiring residential use on the land to cease and the demolition and removal of the unauthorised buildings by June 2014. A further appeal by Mr Gibbs was rejected and the second notice came back into effect requiring to him to comply by 23 January 2015. He did not comply, and a follow up investigation by planning enforcement officers in 2017 found that the dwelling continued to be occupied in spite of the enforcement notice. Further inspections took place in 2018 and 2019, by which time the offending had continued for over four years. Following a court summons being served in April 2019 significant steps were taken by Mr Gibbs to comply with the enforcement notice. Demolition of the dwelling has yet to take place however, because a bat roost had become established in the roof space of the building. A licence has been granted by Natural England to allow the demolition to take place in a way that ensures the protection of the bats. This work is now expected to take place in the spring. Mr Gibbs pleaded guilty at Weymouth Magistrates Court on 5 August 2019 to an offence contrary to Section 179 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. Sentencing took place on 13 January 2020 after being adjourned twice to enable the landowner to comply with the enforcement notice. He was fined 1000 and ordered to pay the full amount of Dorset Councils prosecution costs in the sum of 1,480. In addition a victim surcharge of 100 was ordered to be paid. Mr Gibbs was told by the sentencing court that he could be prosecuted by Dorset Council again if he did not demolish the building as promised. Cabinet member for planning, Cllr David Walsh said: We have a duty to protect land which is part of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. This case in particular shows how we use court proceedings as a last resort and where possible we will try to work with landowners to ensure planning law is respected and complied with. That said, we will not allow the integrity of the planning system to be undermined. We will take appropriate action to ensure that Mr Gibbs does not allow the demolition of the building to drift and delay. Russian presidents special envoy for the Middle East and African countries and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov has doubts that the leaders of Libyas conflicting parties, Prime Minister of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) Fayez al-Sarraj and Libyan National Army (LNA) Commander Khalifa Haftar, will have a bilateral contact in Berlin. "It depends on them. I dont know," he said when asked about a possibility of such a meeting. The diplomat said he "has doubts they will speak to each other." "Well, the refused to speak with one another in Moscow and we acted as a go-between," he recalled. "It was, as they used to say, shuttle diplomacy," TASS cited Bogdanov as saying. The Ukrainian leader says he would never have sought the presidency without having the peaceful settlement in Donbas as a goal. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he thinks his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin understands that Ukraine is a big, independent country. Answering a question from The Times of Israel whether Putin still thinks that 'Ukraine is not a country,' Zelensky said: "I don't know what he's thinking about. He didn't tell me. I think he understands my attitude: Ukraine is an independent country. We are a big country, the biggest in Europe. I think he understands. What he thinks about it? That's in his head." According to Zelensky, a format was constructed for a dialogue with Putin. "With the president of the Russian Federation, today, our dialog has started. We had a number of phone calls. We constructed a format for our dialogue that resulted in some sensitive decisions. We have returned our prisoners, our ships. After three years without meetings, we managed to agree on the Normandy Format. After that, there was a second exchange of prisoners the biggest such exchange," Zelensky said in an interview for the publication. The Ukrainian president said he would never have sought the presidency without having the peaceful settlement in Donbas as a goal. Read alsoDonbas war escalation: One Ukraine soldier killed, ten wounded on Jan 18 Describing the current situation in eastern Ukraine, he said: "I can see the progress, because the number of exchanges of fire is significantly reduced. But it is still present." As UNIAN reported earlier, one Ukrainian soldier was killed in action, another 10 were wounded in action in Donbas on January 18 as Russia-led forces had mounted six attacks on Joint Forces positions on that day. From 00:00 to 18:00 Kyiv time on January 19, enemy troops violated the ceasefire eight times. They used proscribed weapons, namely 122mm artillery systems and 120mm mortars. No Ukrainian army casualties were reported over that period. Car manufacturing giants Honda and Mitsubishi have issued an urgent recall of 42,000 cars due to airbags which could rupture during a crash. Honda Accord, Honda Legend and CR-V utility vehicles dated between 1998 and 2000 are affected - with owners told to contact the manufacturer immediately. Honda said if one of the recalled Takata NADI 5-AT airbags is deployed in an accident, they may rupture under excessive pressure with lethal results. Car manufacturing giants Honda and Mitsubishi have issued an urgent recall of 42,000 cars - including Honda Accords between 1998-2000 (model from that time period pictured) 'If this happens metal fragments could possibly shoot out straight through the airbag cushion towards the vehicle occupants causing serious injury or fatality,' the recall notice said. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said there was also a risk the airbags could under-inflate. The Mitsubishi models affected are the Lancer, Mirage, Pajero, Express and Starwagon models dated between 1997 and 2000. Honda and Mitsubishi said they have offered to buy back vehicles at market price and value respectively in the voluntary recall. They will also arrange transport alternatives for the owner in the meantime. The recall is the final relating to the airbags - which has affected 78,000 vehicles. Honda said if one of the recalled Takata NADI 5-AT airbags is deployed in an accident, they may rupture under excessive pressure with lethal results (stock image) Eight manufacturers have issued recalls, which have also included BMW, Audi, Ford, Mazda, Suzuki and Toyota. 'These Takata NADI 5-AT airbags may kill or injure vehicle occupants if they misdeploy in an accident,' ACCC chair Rod Sims said. 'Two drivers have already died in Australia after their Takata NADI 5-AT airbags ruptured and propelled metal parts into the car interior.' Owners are urged to check if their vehicle is affected by visiting the Product Safety Australia website. U.S. Senate's Taiwan Caucus congratulates Tsai on reelection ROC Central News Agency 01/18/2020 10:01 PM Washington, Jan. 18 (CNA) Members of the Taiwan Caucus in the United States Senate on Friday sent a congratulatory letter to President Tsai Ing-wen () on her reelection to a second term in the Jan. 11 presidential election. "As longstanding friends of Taiwan, we write to congratulate you on your reelection as President of Taiwan," the senators said. They also wished Tsai continued success in promoting Taiwan's democracy "at the heart of a free and open Indo-Pacific region." "We also congratulate the people of Taiwan, whose determination and resilience made another free election in Taiwan possible," they wrote. The senators said Taiwan is a critical economic and security partner for the U.S., and that they look forward to working with Tsai and her government to advance mutual interests. Meanwhile, the senators also expressed condolences over the Black Hawk helicopter crash in Taiwan earlier this month, which killed eight officers, including Chief of the General Staff Shen Yi-ming (). The letter was signed by the 22 senators of the Taiwan Caucus, including James Inhofe, Robert Menendez and Charles Grassley. According to Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), some 79 members of the U.S. Congress have sent congratulatory messages to President Tsai since her landslide election victory on Jan. 11. (By Chiang Chin-yeh, Chen Yun-yu and Ko Lin) Enditem/pc NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The Countess of Wessex, who is celebrating her 55th birthday today, cut a stylish figure as she arrived at the UK-Africa investment summit at Buckingham Palace this evening. Sophie, who is spending her special day serving the Queen, 93, looked elegant in a 2,530 Alaia jacquard-knit midi dress, which has already sold out on Net-A-Porter. The mother-of-two, who enjoys a particularly close relationship with her mother-in-law, joined her husband Prince Edward, 55, The Princess Royal, 69, and hosts the Duke, 37, and Duchess of Cambridge, 38, for the occasion. She paired the bold dress, which featured scallop sleeve and hemline detail, with gold velvet heels and accessorised with a delicate gold watch and long necklace. Lady in red! Sophie Wessex, who is 55 today, celebrated her birthday by attending the UK-Africa investment summit, hosted by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, at Buckingham Palace today The Countess of Wessex paired her bright gown, which features scallop detail, with stylish gold velvet heels. Pictured, with husband the Earl of Wessex Sophie, who is married to the Queen's youngest son, kept her makeup natural, adding a touch of blusher, layer of mascara and a nude lipstick. She wore her blonde hair gently scraped back in a half-up, half-down style, and looked in high spirits as she continued her birthday celebrations. Meanwhile, her husband looked dapper in a full black suit, which he paired with a white shirt and blue tie. The UK-Africa Investment Summit, hosted by the UK Government, aims to bring together Heads of State and Government and senior representatives from African countries, key multilateral agencies and high-profile UK and African businesses. Sophie (pictured) wore her blonde hair loosely scraped up in a half-up, half-down style, and accessorised with a long necklace and dainty watch The Countess of Wessex could be seen engaging in conversation as she arrived at Buckingham Palace for the UK-Africa investment summit The Summit will demonstrate the strength of the relationship between the UK and Africa, showcase and promote the breadth and quality of investment opportunities across Africa. It will also highlight the UKs commitment to supporting economic development in Africa, including through the creation of jobs and new partnerships. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will formally receive the Heads of State and Government and their partners. This will be followed by a group photograph of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, The Earl and Countess of Wessex, and The Princess Royal with the Heads of State and Government. Their Royal Highnesses will then join a reception in the State Rooms of Buckingham Palace where The Duke of Cambridge will make a short speech. In an erratic statement, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Sushil Modi questioned the protesters of Shaheen Bagh for not raising their voices against the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the valley three decades ago. 30 years in exile, displaced Kashmiri Pandits across the world commemorated Jan. 19 as holocaust day. They demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should settle the community living as refugees in their own country for the past 30 years at one place in the Valley. In a show of support for Kashmiri Pandits, Sushil Modi took on the agitators of Shaheen Bagh, who have been protesting against the Modi-led government and the amended Citizenship Act (CAA.) In a tweet, the Bihar Dy CM said, "Why Shaheen Bagh never raised their voice when religious minorities were forced to flee Kashmir 30 yrs ago?" [sic] However, netizens trolled Sushil Modi over his comment, for taking on Shaheen Bagh. Earlier in July 2019, while talking in the Rajya Sabha, Home Minister Amit Shah had stated that the central government is committed to bringing Kashmiri Pandits and Sufis back to the Valley. However, almost six month after the abrogation of Article 370, there have been no reports of Kashmiri Pandits returning back to their homeland. READ| Why has no govt helped us?: Kashmiri Pandits mark 30 yrs since exodus with strong protest Shaheen Bagh protests On Sunday, Shaheen Bagh protests expressed solidarity with the displaced Kashmiri Pandits, who were forced to leave the valley amid the soaring militancy. To mark the exodus, the protesters invited two prominent Kashmiri Pandits to speak on the occasion. Four Kashmiri Pandits also joined the demonstration running for over a month and demanded the formation of a special investigation team (SIT) to ensure justice to those killed in the valley. Kashmiri pandits consider safety and security as the biggest hurdle in their return to their roots in the Valley. The displaced Kashmiri pandits across the world commemorated January 19 as holocaust day, when over 70 thousand pandit families numbering over 3.5 lakh were forced out of the Valley due to killings and terror by Pakistan sponsored terrorists in 1990. The event this year was held against the backdrop of the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and the Citizenship Amendment Act. The UPA-1 government had offered a rehabilitation package for KPs that proposed Rs 7.5 lakh to every Kashmiri Pandit family willing to return to the Valley. The Kashmiri pandits say their return to the Kashmir Valley is linked to employment, as the youths willing to return need to have a source of livelihood. In July 2019, BJP had planned to build camps to resettle the Hindus in the Kashmir valley. READ| BJP leader and Netaji's nephew Chandra Bose wants Muslims included in CAA READ| Alok Kumar: 'Urban Naxals providing "intellectual support" to Shaheen Bagh protestors' (With PTI inputs) Proposed legislation could render moot a recently remanded lawsuit filed against Charlottesvilles commonwealths attorney by skill machine to circuit court manufacturers. Last month, the manufacturers, who are plaintiffs in a suit against city Commonwealths Attorney Joe Platania, requested the lawsuit be remanded to the circuit court and filed an amended complaint that removed federal issues. The amended complaint relies on arguments based in Virginia code and the state constitution instead. Initially, the manufacturers alleged that Platania had violated their constitutional rights when he determined that the machines violate state gambling law. Queen of Virginia, POM of Virginia and Miele Manufacturing sued Platania in Charlottesville Circuit Court in June. The lawsuit was then moved to the Western District of Virginia U.S. District Court, which has jurisdiction over civil actions arising under the Constitution. Now, the plaintiffs say Platania only violated the state constitution when he questioned skill machines legality. Counsel for Platania did not oppose the motion but did file a motion to dismiss, arguing that Platania has prosecutorial immunity. No hearings have been set since the lawsuit was remanded but several pieces of legislation currently under consideration by the General Assembly could render the lawsuit moot. Skill machines have been in Virginia for about three years, and Charlottesville is the first locality to officially question them. Despite the statewide proliferation of the machines, their legality in Virginia has not been settled. The skill machines bear many visual and practical similarities to slot machines, which are illegal in Virginia, but the plaintiffs claim the machines are legal because winning is not based entirely on chance. This skill factor allows the machines to fit within the narrow state gambling code, they argue. However, HB 881 from Del. David Bulova, D-Fairfax, and SB908 from Sen. Tommy Norment, R-Williamsburg, seek to include skill machine games within the legal definitions of both gambling and illegal gambling. Such devices are no less gambling devices if they indicate beforehand the definite result of one or more operations but not all the operations, the identical bills read. Nor are they any less a gambling device because, apart from their use or adaptability as such, they may also sell or deliver something of value on a basis other than chance. Representatives for Queen of Virginia could not be reached by press deadline. Both bills have been assigned to subcommittee and are scheduled to be discussed in the coming weeks. On the flip side are HB 903 and SB 960, proposed by Del. Mark Sickles, D-Alexandria, and Sen. Frank Ruff, R-Clarksville, respectively. These bills appear to address concerns the Virginia Lottery has expressed about the machines in recent months by seeking to authorize regulation of skill machines by the Virginia Lottery Board. These bills come after, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Virginia Lottery Director Kevin Hall told legislators in September that the agency expects to lose about $140 million a year in sales revenue and $40 million in annual profit because of competition from Queen of Virginia and other skill machine companies that are installing their machines in businesses that in many cases also sell lottery tickets. Queen of Virginia officials say they also are alarmed by the trend, which they blame on an estimated 4,800 allegedly illegal gaming machines in businesses across the state. HB 903 and SB 960 also seek to impose a 10% tax on all gross profits generated from the play of skill games. The bills also would establish a Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund to provide counseling and other support services for compulsive and problem gamblers, develop problem gambling treatment and prevention programs, and provide grants to support organizations that provide assistance to compulsive gamblers. 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. New Delhi, Jan 20 : Commerce Ministry's proposal to cut the quota for purchasing liquor at duty-free shops to one bottle has left private airport operators in a tizzy. A senior official of a private airport said that the proposal, if accepted by the Finance Ministry, would also hit newcomers such as Zurich Airport International and Adani Enterprises. While Zurich has bagged the contract to build the Greater Noida airport, Adani has successfully won the right to upgrade and manage six international airports, including Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Jaipur. "Both Adani and Zurich have won the bids promising to share highest revenue share per passenger. If the quota for purchasing liquor is halved, then their maths will go wrong," the executive said. He added that the proposal would also affect investor sentiment at a time when the Airports Authority of India (AAI) is planning to bid out six more airports on public private partnership (PPP). Satyan Nayar, Secretary General at Association of Private Airport Operators (APAO) said that the proposed move to slash liquor purchase quota would result in substantially affecting the non-aeronautical revenue of airport firms. "This will necessitate increase in landing and parking charges by the airport regulator. As a result, the cost of operations for airlines will go up. The airlines would pass on this cost to passengers. So, airport operators, airlines and passengers will be affected," Nayar said. As per an estimate, liquor accounts for 60-65 per cent of total sales at duty-free shops at international airports. Mumbai and Delhi airports would see the maximum impact of this as earnings from duty-free shops contribute significantly to their total non-aeronautical revenues. "Decision to reduce entitlement to one liquor bottle will impact duty-free sales significantly without any major forex saving,a said Kapil Kaul, CEO (South Asia) of Sydney-based Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA). Kaul further said that this will impact airport bids - recently awarded six airports and the proposed six airports. Seeking to bring liquor allowance at par with countries like Thailand, Singapore and Dubai, APAO had earlier proposed to double its limit to four litres per person for purchase from a duty free shop at Indian airports. In its proposal for Budget 2020-21, Association of Private Airport Operators (APAO) had said that sizable business at duty free operations in South East Asia/Middle East region is through tourists that originate in India. "Liquor allowance given in India is not at a par with liquor allowance in neighbouring countries/Asia Pacific countries," airports body APAO wrote to the government. Dozens Killed in Houthi Attack on Yemeni Army Barracks - Reports Sputnik News 22:19 18.01.2020(updated 23:52 18.01.2020) Yemen has been locked for years in an armed conflict between government forces led by President-in-exile Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and the armed Houthi opposition faction. Despite a peace accord signed in Stockholm in 2018, tensions have reportedly been escalating in recent months. The Yemeni Houthis pounded a military training base in the Yemeni city of Marib on Saturday with missiles, killing at least 30 servicemen, according to Saudi media. According to a local military source, the attack killed 24 soldiers and injured 20 others. "Twenty-four soldiers died, 20 were injured in a missile attack on the barracks for draftees in the al-Milah area in the northwest of the Marib province. The missile was presumably ballistic", the source said. The Houthis have not claimed responsibility or confirmed the allegation. Earlier this month, the Houthis reportedly launched a ballistic missile at a Saudi-led coalition military base located in the southern province of Dhalea, killing 10 soldiers. The Saudi-led coalition has been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis, at Hadi's request, since March 2015. The conflict in Yemen, the poorest nation in the Middle East, has been described by the United Nations as the world's worst ongoing humanitarian crisis, with nearly 80 percent of the population of 24-million currently in need of aid and protection. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Richmond: Thousands of armed gun-rights activists filled the streets around Virginia's capitol building on Monday to protest a package of gun-control legislation making its way through the newly Democratic-controlled state legislature. The Richmond rally maintained a festival atmosphere amid heavy security after Governor Ralph Northam banned carrying weapons onto the capitol grounds, anxious to avoid a replay of the violence at a 2017 demonstration by white nationalists in Charlottesville that killed a counter-protester. Gun-rights supporters pack the hill on Capitol Square as speakers talk in Richmond, Virginia. Credit:AP That order was sparked by fears that members of white nationalist and militia groups planned to attend the rally, which organisers the Virginia Citizens Defence League planned as a peaceful show of political power. The FBI earlier in the week arrested three alleged neo-Nazis who it said intended to use the event to spark a race war. Activists at the rally argued that Virginia was trying to infringe on their right to bear arms, which is protected by the Second Amendment of the US Constitution. Press Release January 19, 2020 Pangilinan to DoF: Extend cash assistance, interest-free emergency loans to Taal victims MANILA - As Taal Volcano remains restive, Sen. Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan on Sunday urged the Secretary Carlos Dominguez and the Department of Finance to formulate a comprehensive inter-agency fund assistance program for affected residents around the volcano. "This program may include several forms of assistance like outright cash assistance, moratorium on amortization, etc.," said Pangilinan, who participated in a relief operation in Alfonso, Cavite Saturday. To assist those affected, government financial institutions such as Pag-IBIG, GSIS, and SSS can extend financial assistance to its members and/or interest-free emergency calamity loans, with deferment of loan payments for at least six months, he said. "Malaking tulong kung magkakaroon ulit ang Pag-IBIG, GSIS, at SSS ng moratorium sa lahat ng outstanding loans para sa pinaka-nasalantang mga miyembro nila. Magagamit ang ipambabayad sa mga utang para itayo ulit ang mga bahay nila at iba pang kagyat na pangangailangan," he added. "Malaking ginhawa ito, lalong-lalo na sa mga retired na at tumatanggap ng pension," he said. Pangilinan said that as in the aftermath of the 1991 Pinatubo eruption and the 2013 super-typhoon Yolanda, the entire government can help: The Department of Social Work and Development (DSWD) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) can relaunch its cash-for-work program; The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) can give affected college students a one-time educational assistance of P5,000; The Department of Education (DepEd) can offer teachers and non-teaching staff in eruption-devastated areas loan assistance; The Civil Service Commission can allow government workers to avail of emergency leave; The Department of Health (DoH) and DSWD can provide food assistance as well as psycho-social trauma management workshops; The housing agencies, together with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), can work on temporary housing for the displaced. "Pag sama-sama tayong magtutulungan, mas madali tayong makakaahon sa kalamidad," Pangilinan said. The Arab Organisation for Industrialisation (AOI) CEO Abdel-Moneim Al-Toras discussed in Cairo on Monday means to boost cooperation in technology and co-industrialisation with the Ambassador of Belarus Sergei Terentiev. According to the AOI's statement on the meeting, Al-Toras and Terentiev discussed means to boost cooperation including trainings and exchanging visits to know the abilities and needs of the AOI. They also tackled the possible localisation of technology and co-manufacturing in the defence and civilian industries, such as railways and passengers cars. The two officials also discussed upgrading the AOI's Railway Equipment Factory for the manufacturing of trucks and agricultural tractors. Ambassador Terentiev said Belarus was looking forward to cooperate with the AOI in transferring technology and training to achieve a long-term partnership. He also stated that the co-production between Belarusian companies and AOI will be displayed at the exhibit planned to be held on the sidelines of the Egyptian-Belarusian business council during the visit of the Belarusian president to Cairo in February. Search Keywords: Short link: The New York Times editorial board endorsed U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren for president, citing the Massachusetts Democrats serious approach to policymaking," the publication announced Sunday. The Timess editorial board broke from tradition by throwing its support behind a second presidential candidate, Sen. Amy Klobuchar. The Minnesota Democrat is viewed as one of the moderate voices in the partys crowded presidential primary field, while Warren is considered to be more progressive. Voters will face three divergent visions for the future in the 2020 presidential election, according to the editorial board: a conservative vision embodied by incumbent President Donald Trump as well as two paths outlined by Democrats, one more radical and one more centrist. The Times said both the liberal and the realist models warrant consideration. There will be those dissatisfied that this page is not throwing its weight behind a single candidate, favoring centrists or progressives. But its a fight the party itself has been itching to have since Mrs. Clintons defeat in 2016, the editorial board wrote. Ms. Klobuchar and Ms. Warren right now are the Democrats best equipped to lead that debate. May the best woman win. The editorial board, which spent more than a dozen hours talking with the 2020 candidates, has endorsed presidential contenders since 1860. This year, the board met with nine of the leading candidates for the Democratic nomination in December. The Times cited in its endorsement of Warren her commitment to major government reform, fluency in foreign policy and ability as a progressive candidate to appeal to more moderate Democrats. The Massachusetts senator also worked as an advisor in the Obama administration, where she is credited for helping create the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The Times said in its interview with Warren, the candidate demonstrated sophisticated understanding of the different levers of power in an administration, particularly in the use of regulation in areas such as trade, antitrust and environmental policy. The Oklahoma native was one of the earliest major candidates to enter the 2020 race. She made a name for herself by rolling out dozens of policy plans on everything from criminal justice reform to eliminating student loan debt. Her calls for big, structural change and combating government corruption have become cornerstones of her campaign. Senator Warren is a gifted storyteller, the editorial board wrote. "She speaks elegantly of how the economic system is rigged against all but the wealthiest Americans, and of our chance to rewrite the rules of power in our country.' " Warren will face several roadblocks if elected president, including a conservative federal judiciary, legislative trench warfare in Congress and unifying a polarized public. American capitalism is responsible for its share of sins. But Ms. Warren often casts the net far too wide, placing the blame for a host of maladies from climate change to gun violence at the feet of the business community when the onus is on society as a whole, the editorial board wrote. The country needs a more unifying path. The Massachusetts senator, who comes from a middle-class family and was a longtime Republican, often speaks about her economic struggles as a child while on the campaign trail. She can appeal to Republicans and independents with her background, according to the editorial board. The senator talks more about bringing together Democrats, Republicans and independents behind her proposals, often leaning on anecdotes about her conservative brothers to do so. Ms. Warren has the power and conviction and credibility to make the case especially given her past as a Republican but she needs to draw on practicality and patience as much as her down-and-dirty critique of the system, the Times wrote. Warrens campaign reported a decline in fundraising in late December. She also recently sparred with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, another presidential primary frontrunner whose views largely fall in line with her own, after Warren alleged Sanders said in a private meeting two years ago that a woman could not win the presidency in 2020. Sanders is currently leading the race in Iowa, with Warren, former Vice President Joe Biden and South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg close behind, according to a recently release Des Moines Register poll. Ms. Warrens path to the nomination is challenging, but not hard to envision, the Times wrote. The four front-runners are bunched together both in national polls and surveys in states holding the first votes, so small shifts in voter sentiment can have an outsize influence this early in the campaign. Kangana Ranaut is currently busy with the promotions of her upcoming film Panga, in which she plays a mother to school-going boy. The actor has, however, made it clear that she doesnt feel compelled to be a wife or a mother right now. Talking about her views on marriage, she told Mumbai Mirror in an interview, Im at a phase when Im just beginning to enjoy my life. If someone can add to it, Im fine, but if, as a woman, I am expected to ensure hes emotionally stable, enhance his spiritual growth, be lucky and bring him financial windfalls and take on the responsibility of a home, children and family, then, Im not up for that. At the moment, I have no time for people who come with any kind of baggage. The actor confessed being happy with what she have a blooming career, her new production company, her nephew Prithviraj and her family and made it clear that she can wait to think about starting a family. The world is respectful; theres a lot to do and give. And for the first time, I can think about myself. Let me be a little self-centered and enjoy what I have earned. I dont have the time and energy to invest in another family. That can come later, she said. Recalling how she left home at the age of 15 to be an independent woman, she said, Today, fortunately for me, Ive got my family back. But I know that somewhere success had a huge role to play in the reconciliation. Had I not made it in films, I might have lost out on both my family and my dream, and that would have been devastating. Also read: Tanhaji box office day 10: Ajay Devgns film collects Rs 166 cr, to become his second Rs 200 cr film soon Kangana is playing the role of Kabaddi player Jaya Nigam in Panga. It stars Richa Chadha as her mentor, Neena Gupta as her mother and Jassie Gill as her husband in the film. It is set to hit theatres on January 24, alongside Varun Dhawan and Shraddha Kapoors Street Dancer 3D. Follow @htshowbiz for more Jammu and Kashmir will get at least 25 projects worth an estimated cost of Rs 25,000 crore by March 2021, said Union minister Piyush Goyal Jammu and Kashmir will get at least 25 projects worth an estimated cost of Rs 25,000 crore by March 2021, The Times of India reported Union Minister Piyush Goyal as saying on Sunday. He also described Jammu and Kashmir as a "jewel" of the country and said the Centre would come out with an industrial package for the Union Territory soon and expressed hope that it would attract large amounts of investment to the Valley. Goyal was in Jammu as part a week-long public outreach programme initiated by the Centre to apprise people of the potential benefits of the revocation of Jammu and Kashmir's special status after the nullification of Article 370 of the Constitution. Article 370 was abrogated on 5 August, 2019 and the state was bifurcated into Union Territories, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, that came into effect on 31 October. The Minister for Railways and Commerce also announced that Kashmir would be linked with the rest of the country by train by December next year. He asserted that development work has gathered pace in Jammu and Kashmir, especially after 18 June 2018 when the erstwhile state came under Governor's Rule. He also said by March 2021, 25 projects would be completed at an estimated cost of Rs 25,000 crore in Jammu and Kashmir. "I am very happy at the progress (of development) that I have seen on the ground and I am sure that in the days and months to come this process will continue relentlessly. We will soon come out with an industrial package and we hope to see large amounts of investment coming to Kashmir," he told reporters at the Jammu airport before returning to Delhi. He was part of the second batch of seven Union ministers who reached Jammu and addressed a series of public meetings and inaugurated various projects in different districts. Besides Goyal, other Union ministers who visited different parts of Jammu as part of the week-long outreach programme included Smriti Irani, Mahendra Nath Pandey, Arjun Ram Meghwal, V Muraleedharan, Anurag Thakur, Jitendra Singh, RK Singh and Ashwini Kumar Choubey. Goyal inaugurated a flood protection project, an indoor stadium and various roads completed under Prime Minister's Grameen Sadak Yojna, besides addressing a public gathering in Akhnoor on the outskirts of Jammu. "Jammu and Kashmir people have become the monitors of development and with their participation, it is reaching to the grass-roots level. The work on the railway bridge over Chenab river, which was facing slow progress over the years, has gathered speed and for the first time the allocation of funds was utilised fully," he said. The minister said the prime minister gave his nod when more funds were demanded to speed up the work of the railway bridge which will link Katra and Banihal towns in Jammu and complete the railway track from Baramulla in north Kashmir to Kanyakumari. "After the completion of the railway line, the whole country will get connected. Anyone travelling from Kanyakumari to Kashmir can feel proud...the bridge is an engineering marvel and our engineers and workers are doing a great job by building the world largest bridge," he said, adding "we will continue the pace of work next year and are hopeful of connecting this vital 111-km railway track by December 2021". He said the union ministers get encouraged when they visit this "sacred land". Referring to various development projects that were completed after the fall of the erstwhile PDP-BJP government, he said many development projects which were left incomplete over the past many decades witnessed fast-paced work under the administration of a lieutenant-governor. "I understand that people want improved services, impartiality in development works and high-speed development, accountable government and information about the work being done," he said. "In the past five years, we had the ability, each one of us would go to the northeast and the very presence of all of us helped generate so much enthusiasm that the entire landscape in the North East is now transformed and we would wish to see the same transformation journey and progress and development in Kashmir," he said. With inputs from PTI PAP soldiers are pitching a tent for the affected people in quake-stricken Kashgar.(Photo from people.cn) URUMQI, Jan. 20 -- A 6.4-magnitude earthquake hit Jiashi County in Kashgar Prefecture in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region at 9:27 p.m. on Jan.19, causing building damages and human injuries. After the earthquake, troops of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) and the Peoples Armed Police (PAP), as well as the militia forces rushed to the quake-hit Kashgar for disaster rescue and relief. The Jiashi Squadron assigned to the PAP Kashgar Detachment is the closest troop unit to the epicenter. Service members of the Jiashi Squadron were first dispatched to the severely affected Xikeerkule Town in Jiashi County with rescue tools and medical equipment. At the same time, the PAP Xinjiang Contingent sent professional rescue teams from Kashgar to the quake-stricken area for rescue. At 11:00 p.m., various rescue teams from the PLA and the PAP arrived at the epicenter of the quake and immediately carried out on-site investigation and life searching. As of press time, rescue forces from all sides are continuing to conduct house-to-house research and rescue, treat the injured people, clean up collapsed houses, and evacuate the affected people. Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) arrested an alleged ISI agent identified as Mohd Rashid from Varanasi on Monday (January 20). The UP ATS arrested Rashid after receiving specific input from Military Intelligence unit that the accused was involved in passing on information to his handlers in Pakistan. Rashid belongs to Chandoli and he has travelled at least twice to Pakistan. Sources said that Rashid used to capture photos and videos of security installations and other important places on his mobile phone before sending them to his handlers in Pakistan's ISI. The ISI agent used to get money and gifts in lieu of sending photographs and videos. A case has been registered against him, the UP ATS said in a statement. Police has seized a mobile phone containing some sensitive information from Rashid, who has been booked under Section 123 (concealing with intent to facilitate design to wage war) of Indian Penal Code (IPC). The UP ATS said that Rashid will be quizzed about how many places he has visited and captured videos and photos and how much money/gift he has received from his ISI handlers. What are the locations and camps whose photos Ahmad has sent, and how many other people are associated with him will be investigated, it added. French President Emmanuel Macron to Make Third Official Trip to Morocco Frances President Emmanuel Macron is expected s to visit Morocco on February 12, at the invitation of King Mohammed VI. During the two-day visit, Mohammed VI and representatives of the public and legislative powers will conduct a series of talks with Macron. The expected visit will be President Macrons third official trip to Morocco since his election in May 2017. Following his inauguration as president, Macron paid a visit to Morocco on his first official trip out of Europe. In November 2018, the French president came to Morocco for the second time to launch the High-Speed Train (LGV) along with King Mohammed VI. During the launch ceremony, the sovereign and Frances president traveled from Tangier to Rabat onboard the LGV, also known as Al-Boraq. They also had lunch on the LGV. Morocco and France maintain long-standing relations and cooperate in several areas including politics, economy, military, and security. French companies are also widely present in Morocco, with 800 companies specialized in sectors including telecommunications, aeronautics, and automobile. France also supports Morocco in its fight to ensure its territorial integrity and considers Moroccos proposal, the Autonomy Plan, as the only solution to put an end to the Western Sahara conflict. New York Air National Guard Brig. Gen. Shawn A. Clouthier, of Coxsackie, former commander of the 109th Airlift Wing, Scotia, has received his second Legion of Merit Medal and a New York State Conspicuous Service Medal in recognition of his exemplary 38 years of service in the Air National Guard before retirement. Clouthier, assistant adjutant general of the New York Air National Guard, was honored at his retirement testimony at the New York National Guard Headquarters in Latham. His wife, Janice, received a Certificate of Appreciation for supporting his military career. Clouthier earned his commission through the Academy of Military Science at McGhee-Tyson Air National Guard base in 1982. He was assigned to the 139th Tactical Airlift Squadron of the 109th Airlift Wing at Stratton Air National Guard Base in Scotia. In 1993 Clouthier became a LC-130 navigator, advancing to positions of instructor and evaluator by 1999. He also served as 109th Maintenance Group and 109th Operations Group commander in August 2011. He took command of 109th Airlift Wing in 2012. He is a master navigator with more than 7,000 flying hours. Clouthier earned an associate's degree in applied science from Herkimer County Community College and a bachelor of general studies degree from the State University of New York Regents College. He is also a graduate of the Air War College. Clouthier also has earned two Meritorious Service Medals, an Air Medal with four bronze oak leaf clusters, an Aerial Achievement Medal with three bronze oak leaf clusters, an Air Force Commendation Medal, an Air Force Achievement Medal, an Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with one silver oak leaf cluster, a Combat Readiness Medal with 14 leaf clusters, and a Humanitarian Service Medal. Soldiers mobilized More than 650 New York Army National Guard soldiers have bid farewell to their families at three separate ceremonies in Loudonville, Rochester and Staten Island. Two hundred soldiers who are assigned to the headquarters of the 42nd Infantry Division, which is based in Troy, will deploy to the United States Central Command area of operations later this year. The division's commander, Maj. Gen. Steven Ferrari, will assume command over Task Force Spartan. Task Force Spartan is a multi-component organization, made up of active Army and National Guard units and rounded out by Army Reserve support units. The task force maintains U.S. military presence in Southwest Asia. Units in the task force support Operation Spartan Shield with capabilities such as aviation, logistics, force protection and information management. The division headquarters and the task force will facilitate activities such as key leader engagements, joint exercises, conferences, humanitarian assistance and disaster response planning. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. The 42nd soldiers will initially conduct training at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pa., and then move to Fort Hood, Texas, for additional predeployment training. The soldiers will be gone for a year, spending about 10 months in the Central Command area, which includes the Middle East. Aiding military travelers The Capt. John J. McKenna IV Military Courtesy Room at Albany International Airport in Colonie has received a sizeable donation. Todd Helfrich, president and CEO of The Eastern Contractors Association, presented a $1,000 donation to John J. McKenna III, father of Marine Reserve Capt. John McKenna IV, a state trooper who was killed in the Iraq war. The room, which opened in 2010, provides a comfortable setting for traveling military and their families to rest and seek assistance as they await their flights. To date, more than 40,000 members of the military have used the room. Refreshments, snacks, and a welcoming atmosphere are offered to all who visit the room. The room is outfitted with TV, DVD, video games, telephones and internet access to enable guests to view and send email. News of your troops and units can be sent to Duty Calls, Terry Brown, Times Union, Box 15000, Albany, NY 12212 or brownt@timesunion.com. King Mohammed VI visited on Wednesday in the old medina of Essaouira, Bayt Dakira, a spiritual and patrimonial space for the preservation and enhancement of the Judeo-Moroccan heritage. This historical, cultural and spiritual site is home, after restoration work, to the Slat Attia Synagogue, the Bayt Dakira house of memory and history and the Haim and Celia Zafrani International Research Center on the history of relations between Judaism and Islam. On this occasion, the cantor Michel Abittan performed religious songs, before the Chief Rabbi of Casablanca, Joseph Israel, pronounced a blessing for King Mohammed VI, may God preserve him. Subsequently, the King advisor, president of the Essaouira-Mogador Association, Andre Azoulay, delivered an address before the sovereign in which he affirmed that the his visit seals the rebirth of the city of Essaouira, which has always been turned towards the rest of the world, noting that 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. 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 film 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 on the history of Relations between Judaism and Islam, which constitutes a space for exchange between researchers from different horizons and a platform for sharing, transmission and resistance to amnesia. At the end of the visit, the King, Commander of the Faithful, was greeted by 27 personalities from the Moroccan Jewish community and the world. On Thursday, January 16, the Russian Duma (parliament) unanimously confirmed President Vladimir Putins nominee for prime minister, Mikhail Mishustin. Mishutin was nominated by Putin a day earlier, hours after the entire Russian government resigned following the presidents state of the nation address. In his annual address, Putin announced he is seeking changes to the countrys constitution. In Thursdays vote, 383 deputies voted for Mishustin and 41 abstained. No one voted against the candidate. In contrast, during the balloting for former Prime Minister Dimitri Medvedev in 2018 there were 56 no votes. The same was true for Vladimir Putin in 2008. Mishustin is set to announce a new cabinet by Tuesday. In an interview with Russian state television, Medvedev stated that he and his government had resigned because such enormous tasks were outlined for the renewal of the political system that the president, in order to undertake all of these decisions, has to be entirely free in order to discuss and undertake them, without [being disturbed by] any other factors. In his address to the Duma, Mishustin emphasized that his governments primary goal would be to realize the program of social justice that had been laid down by Putin in his state of the nation address last Wednesday. Under conditions of staggering social inequality, Putin made a number of social promises, including the introduction of free hot meals for elementary school children and an increase in the number of kindergarten spots. These measures are window-dressing for what will be an intensified assault on the living standards of the working class. Putin and sections of the Russian oligarchy regard Mishustin as better equipped than former Prime Minister Medvedev to carry out massive attacks on the working class. He is also seen as a figure who can facilitate a closing of ranks in the ruling class. Medvedev was often described as a weakling and a lame duck in the Russian and international press. The business daily Vedomosti, the Russian equivalent of the Wall Street Journal, praised Mishustin as an efficient manager who stands above different political and business groupings and works well with the so-called siloviki, a term which encompasses the police, secret services, the military and paramilitary structures of the Interior Ministry. Other outlets and leading politicians have issued similar praise for Mishustin, whose name, up until Wednesday, was virtually unknown in the general population. Alexei Kudrin, one of Putins closest and most long-standing allies, fully endorsed Mishustin, stating that he understands better [than Medvedev] the situation in business circles, he can balance the interests of business and the state. Kudrin and his think tank, the Center for Strategic Studies, effectively authored the widely hated pension reform of 2018, which raised the retirement age for men and women by five years in 2019, robbing millions virtually overnight of substantial portions of their pensions. Kudrin and Mishustin have worked together since at least 1998. From 2008 to 2010 Mishustin was the president of the investment company UFG Asset Management. From 2010 to 2017, he headed the Federal Tax Service, leading efforts to centralize and digitize the taxation system and cutting the number of annual tax audits of business by the agency by seven times: from 75,500 in 2011 to 10,900 in 2018. Immediately after his confirmation as prime minister, Mishustin declared that he would not roll back the pension reform or consider lowering the income tax for poor people. Real incomes for the vast majority of Russians, above all those with low earnings, have declined for five years in a row. The government has simultaneously enacted dramatic cuts in healthcare and education. The price for food items has increased, on average, 50-80 percent between 2015 and 2019. One in eight Russians now officially live in extreme poverty, that is on less than $150 a month. Meanwhile, Russias oligarchs increased their personal wealth by 21 percent in 2019 alone. With the Mishustin government and the constitutional changes proposed by Putin, the oligarchy is responding above all to the international resurgence of the class struggle as well as the escalation of the imperialist war drive. They represent an escalation of authoritarian rule and an attempt to create the basis for a closing of ranks by the oligarchy against the working class. While the concrete significance of several of the constitutional changes that Putin proposed remain unclear, some of the proposals are aimed at better suppressing and mediating growing divisions within the ruling class, especially between Moscow and the regional elites. Putin demanded that regional prosecutors be appointed by the Federal Council, and not, as is currently the case, through consultation with regional parliaments. We cannot have some kind of home-bred legality in this or that region, Putin stressed. At the same time, he called for a strengthening of the role of the State Council, which he currently heads, and of regional governors within the Council. The State Council was created in 2000 in an effort to bring the regional governors under much tighter control from Moscow. In his speech to the parliament, Mishustin repeated several times that his government would put a strong emphasis on close collaboration with the regions. Since the dissolution of the USSR by the Stalinist bureaucracy in 1991 and the restoration of capitalism, there have been significant separatist and regionalist tendencies within the ruling class and sections of the upper middle class. The Russian Federation encompasses 85 regions. While the richest oil producing regions and Moscow have a GDP that is close or even higher than that of the US, the GDP of many others is on the level of countries like Honduras. Regionalist tendencies were pronounced in the 1990s as aspiring oligarchs and regional elites vied for the control over the resources of the former Soviet Union. In 1997, about half of the 44,000 laws passed by regional authorities did not conform to federal law. The curtailment of the power of regional elites and authorities and their subordination to Moscow was a priority for Putin since the start of his first presidency in 2000. In recent years, tensions between Moscow and regional elites have increased again. Putin has fired and replaced dozens of regional governors within the past three years. With the full support of Washington, the liberal opposition has been deliberately encouraging regionalist and separatist sentiments among local elites and sections of the upper middle class. Other constitutional changes proposed by Putin in his recent address aim to further whip up Russian nationalism. They represent a direct attack on the democratic rights of the working class. The Kremlin wishes to ban dual citizenship for all those holding or running for office on a regional or a federal level. In addition, it seeks to raise the minimum residency requirement for presidential candidates from 10 to 25 years. Such laws can and will not only be used against members of the right-wing liberal opposition, but any opponent of the government. Emboldened by these proposals, the far-right Orthodox group Sorok Sorokov launched a barely veiled anti-Semitic campaign against Ivan Urgant, a popular talk show host who holds Russian and Israeli citizenship, last Wednesday. The group demands that Urgant be deprived of his Russian citizenship for allegedly offending Christian values because of jokes about Jesus Christ in a show from January 7. They advocate a general ban on dual citizenship. Dear Annie: About a year and a half ago, I met a woman whom I liked very much. She moved in with me after about six months. After living together some time, I've come to see that our relationship is impossible and I would like her to move out. The problem is that she has nowhere to go. She has one daughter, whom she was living with when I met her, but the daughter is in the process of moving. Other than her, she has no one. Her only income is Social Security, and that is $1,000 a month. She is a good woman, but impossible to live with. She doesn't love me, and I feel used. I have always felt sorry for her, but I can't go on in this loveless relationship. She is 72, and I am 73. I can't put her out on the street, but I'm not sure where to turn or what to do. I am willing to give her some money to help her move, but I am not sure where she could go. I have been good to her and helped her as much as I can. Do you have any idea of how I can get out of this dilemma? -- Time to Go Dear Time to Go: This woman made it through 70 years of her life without you. Have a little faith that she'll figure out how to carry on. Let her know as cordially as possible that this relationship is no longer working, and you'll need for her to move out. Give her a deadline that you think is fair, whether that's two weeks or a month or some other amount. (It rather depends on how much stuff she needs to pack up.) But be firm on the deadline -- and don't delay in breaking the news. Your heart is in the right place, to be sure, but you aren't doing either of you any favors by staying in this relationship out of pity. Dear Annie: As an attorney, I was appalled and repelled to read "Not A Hugger's" letter and how this man continues to stalk the women at his church for hugs. My husband (a retired cop) was appalled, too. He seems to feel entitled to do this for whatever reason, even in the face of her refusals and even to the point of waiting for her till she exits the church and interrupting her prayers. She has been extremely tolerant of this behavior while trying to avoid it. What he is doing is stalking, harassing and assaulting the women, and it should be stopped. This is abuse, and the abuser is very clever in doing this at a church to make it look innocent. It could even be a form of bullying. The legal definition of assault is an "unwanted touching." That is what this man is doing. Perhaps she should tell him he is assaulting her and get a warrant for his arrest to get the point home (an extreme measure but possibly effective). I'm surprised that the priest has not stepped in to alter the situation. Or her husband. Or perhaps the women of the parish could do this as a group to stop this offensive and abusive behavior. That's my two cents worth. -- Concerned Attorney Dear Concerned Attorney: I'm always grateful to have my readers enriched with some expert advice, and I thank you for offering yours. I'm printing your letter to give "Not a Hugger" some added confidence: Even if it doesn't get to this point, knowing that you've legal ground to stand on can help you find firmer footing in standing up for yourself. "Ask Me Anything: A Year of Advice From Dear Annie" is out now! Annie Lane's debut book -- featuring favorite columns on love, friendship, family and etiquette -- is available as a paperback and e-book. Visit http://www.creatorspublishing.com for more information. Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie@creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2020 CREATORS.COM Read more advice: Ask Amy: Separated soulmates are eager to connect Dear Annie: Looking to hop off the hamster wheel Dear Abby: Children cut off stepmother with dads power of attorney BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 20 By Elnur Baghishov - Trend: Iran will leave the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) if Europeans insist on their unjustifiable behavior or refer the nuclear issue to the UN Security Council, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said, Trend reports via IRNA. Zarif noted that Iran is following up the late decision by European states to trigger the Dispute Resolution Mechanism in the context of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, a.k.a. nuclear deal), adding that Tehran officially started the discussion on the mechanism on May 8, 2018 when the US withdrew from the deal. The minister underlined that Iran sent three letters dated May 10, August 26 and November 2018 to the then EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, announcing in the latter that Iran had officially triggered and ended the dispute resolution mechanism and thus would begin reducing its commitments to the JCPOA. However, Iran gave a seven-month opportunity to the EU before the country began reducing its commitments in May 8, 2019 which had operational effects two months later, Zarif added. The minister stressed that all the steps are reversible if the European parties to the JCPOA restore their obligations under the deal. On Jan. 14, 2020, the UK, France and Germany issued a statement regarding Iran's suspension of its obligations within JCPOA and announced that they launched a process to resolve nuclear disputes. If problems are not solved in this process, the matter will be discussed at the UN Security Councils meeting. In January 2016, JCPOA was launched between Iran and the P5+1 group (US, Russia, China, UK, France and Germany) in connection with Iran's nuclear program. In May 2018, the US announced its withdrawal from the deal and imposed sanctions against Iran in November of the same year. In order to preserve the agreements reached as part of the JCPOA, the European signatories of the deal stated in January 2019 that a financial mechanism for maintaining trade with Iran called INSTEX was formed. On May 8, 2019, Iran announced that it had ceased fulfilling its commitments regarding the sale of over 300 kilograms of uranium, as stated in the deal, basing its decision on the other signatories having not fulfilled their obligations. On July 7, Iran announced that it will not be fulfilling its commitments regarding the enrichment of uranium at 3.67 percent and the reconstruction of the Arak Heavy Water Reactor Facility as stated in the deal. On Sept. 5, Iran announced that it will enrich uranium using next-generation centrifuges and will not mix it with the enriched uranium residues as part of the third step of reducing commitments in JCPOA. On Nov. 5, 2019, Iran announced that it took the fourth step in connection with reducing its commitments to the nuclear agreement. So, uranium gas is being pumped to the centrifuges at the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant. Iran took the last fifth step in reducing the number of its commitments within JCPOA. Iran no longer faces any restrictions on its nuclear program. GARFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio Police say a woman who was last seen just before Christmas has been found and is safe. Police said Alexandra Tobias, 30, was located in Dayton, Ohio. A missing persons report was filed Sunday because she last made contact with someone on Dec. 23, according to police. If youd like to comment on this post, please visit the cleveland.com crime and courts comments section. More crime-related content on cleveland.com: Cleveland police release description of person who fired into van, killing man Three people, including two teens, shot in Clevelands South Collinwood neighborhood, police say Cleveland police find 1-year-old, 3-year-old sons last seen with mother Cleveland police searching for missing 12-year-old girl Pair indicted in OfferUp robbery plot-turned shooting that killed Egyptian immigrant in Cleveland Photo: Contributed Yeti Farm is whipping up a new series of digital shorts with a renowned chef. The Kelowna media company is partnering with Chopped Canada chef Pierre Lamielle on the pre-school series Munchy, Munchy, which will be based on Lamielles The Munchy Munchy Cookbook for Kids along with Alice Eats: A Wonderland Cookbook and Kitchen Scraps: A Humorous Illustrated Cookbook. It will consist of 12 one-minute pieces that will explore the cool, fun and quirky attributes of food. I am very excited to partner with Yeti Farm on these digital shorts to bring to life the amazing cast of characters in the Munchy Munchy bunch, and for kids and families to learn all about cooking and eating tasty food, Lamielle said in a press release. Yeti Farm will be working with Daniel Ingram to create original songs for the series. Our goal is to constantly be thinking ahead and at the forefront of new and innovative ways to launch and leverage brands with digital audiences, Yeti CEO Ashley Ramsay said. We are so excited to be partnering with Pierre, who is a passionate culinary visionary and artist. Tehran, Jan 21 : Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will not attend the 2020 World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland this week, Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi has announced. Talking to reporters at his weekly press conference on Monday, Mousavi said Zarif was scheduled to attend the Davos meeting, but "they abruptly changed the schedule despite the primary planning and the official invitation". Therefore, Zarif will not participate in the forum in Davos, Xinhua news agency quoted the spokesman as saying. Earlier, Western media had reported that Zarif was no longer on the list of nearly 3,000 people due at the event, which is being held under the banner "Stakeholders for a Sustainable and Cohesive World". DOWNERS GROVE, Ill., Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The president and CEO of CompTIA, the leading technology industry association, will join other executives on January 23 for a discussion on some of the technology trends that will shape the business landscape in 2020. The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce's Technology Council will host "Tech Outlook 2020: Trends to Watch" at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, January 23, at the offices of DLA Piper LLP (US), 444 W. Lake Street, Suite 900. The event is open to the public. Todd Thibodeaux, president and CEO of CompTIA, will moderate the evening's discussion. Other scheduled speakers include Greg Grossman, partner with the global law firm DLA Piper; Jeff Raimo, senior director, business operations, and Shobhit Jain, head of innovation Business Operations for HERE Technologies, developer of a location data and technology platform; and Anne C. Doligale, senior vice president, Signature Bank. The group will discuss four trends identified in CompTIA's "IT Industry Outlook 2020" report. Hype Meets Reality with Emerging Technology Artificial Intelligence Eats the World The Internet of Things Continues to Redefine IT Architecture Deep Fakes and 5G Exacerbate the Data Management Challenge To register for the event or for more information visit https://www.chicagolandchamber.org/Events/EventDetails.aspx?MeetingId=33fcb750-8b22-ea11-80de-000d3a0ee4ed. About CompTIA The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is a leading voice and advocate for the $5.2 trillion global information technology ecosystem; and the more than 50 million industry and tech professionals who design, implement, manage, and safeguard the technology that powers the world's economy. Through education, training, certifications, advocacy, philanthropy, and market research, CompTIA is the hub for advancing the tech industry and its workforce. Visit www.comptia.org to learn more. Contact: Steven Ostrowski CompTIA 630-678-8468 [email protected] SOURCE CompTIA Related Links https://www.comptia.org Jamie Foxx has revealed his divorced parents live with him in the same home. The actor, 52, said during an appearance on The Graham Norton Show on Friday night that his mother Louise and father Darrell split up 25 years ago, but they have all lived in the same Los Angeles property together for the past 12 years. To make matters slightly more awkward, Darrell, is still bringing dates back to the family house. Family ties: Jamie Foxx has revealed his divorced parents live with him in the same home during an appearance on The Graham Norton Show on Friday 'Now that poses a problem,' Jamie told host Graham while explaining the set up. 'They've been divorced for 25 years and 12 years ago I sent my mom tickets and said "If you ever want to come for Christmas...". 'She finally accepted and we had a good Christmas and New Year came. Her birthday is on New Year's Day so we partied for her birthday and then all of a sudden it was February. 'I said, "Hang on a minute are you trying to tell us something?" She said "oh I'm just trying to hang out". Now she's been living with us for 12 years.' Bachelor: The actor, 52, said that his mother Louise and father Darrell (pictured, right) split up 25 years ago, but they have lived in the same property together for the past 12 years Jamie was born to Darrell Bishop and Louise Dixon in Texas but was abandoned when he was seven months old. The Django Unchained star was later adopted and raised by Mark Talley and Esther Marie, who have both since died. Jamie reconnected with his birth parents 20 years ago when his dad got out of prison and dad Darrell has lived with him for two decades. He added: 'They live under the same roof and what's crazy is that dad still dates, so she'll go on his side of the house just to see who's there. And she'll say "Oh this is what we're doing, is it?" House guest: The star (pictured with Louise in 2007) continued: 'They've been divorced for 25 years and 12 years ago I sent my mom tickets and said 'if you ever want to come for Christmas' 'Then I'll get a knock on the door from him telling me "Can you tell her to stay on her side of the house? I've got company". 'I'll say, "Now, parents..." But it's a weirdly fun household.' Jamie was on the chat show with Michael B Jordan, his co-star in legal drama Just Mercy, which deals with the case of a black man wrongfully imprisoned for the 1986 murder of a white woman. Speaking about the project, Jamie said: '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 couldnt 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.' Rocker Jackson Browne once sung about Lawyers in Love, but never like this: A public defender in Allegheny County is accused of stabbing her fiance, who is a fellow public defender. The Associated Press cites a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Elizabeth LaForgia, 31, has been charged in the stabbing in Avalon, Pa. Police there say she stabbed her fiance and fellow public defender George Saba with a 12-inch kitchen knife -- and kicked him in the crotch. The incident followed a night of drinking last week, police said. Police said Saba called 911 after 11 p.m. Tuesday, and they found Saba with a forearm cut and blood on his clothes, blood on a knife and blood on the floor of the dining and living rooms. He declined medical treatment. Meanwhile LaForgias defense attorney Brent McCune told the Post-Gazette that she was defending herself in the case and noted that alcohol was involved in the incident. Saba declined comment, the paper said. The Allegheny County human resources department told the newspaper the pairs employment status as public defenders is now being reviewed. READ MORE: Heartfelt Sympathy: Pa. university in mourning for student hit, killed by bus Man accused of indecent exposure for urinating outside Pa. high school Pa. man guilty of 9th DUI learns his fate Fingernail clipper becomes fatal weapon as wife stabs husband: cops Baby-faced fugitive nabbed after breaking out of Pa. sheriff deputys car Suspect, age 41, sought in rape of 13-year-old Pa. girl: state cops 2 babysitting teen girls behind video of vaping 2-year-old: cops Pa. brothers die within hours of each other of broken heart Pa. man broke infants legs while changing diapers: cops Photo: Netflix Ncuti Gatwa has spent all day running around New York promoting the second season of his hit Netflix show, Sex Education. Now its dinnertime, and hes ready to unwind. But before he can enjoy his food, the 27-year-old Londoner needs to announce something: I have not slept, he says, grinning. Because I have just been obsessed with this thing: I just downloaded Co-Star and the Pattern. For the uninitiated, these two horoscope apps hide out on every other 20-somethings phone. Co-Star gives in-depth birth charts and insightful horoscopes; the Pattern is infamous for doling out harsh predictions and warnings. I wouldnt say its mean, but its so precisely accurate. It words what youve been feeling, deep down inside, in the most succinct way, explains Gatwa, who is a Libra. Were very indecisive. Were real diplomats, like were always searching for balance. Were the scales. In person, hes also immediately gregarious. Theres no small talk, no awkward introductions: He launches into stories, occasionally clapping to punctuate his sentences and throwing his head back to release a laugh thats positively full-bodied. This is how to ease me in an interview, he says with a sly smile, savoring every bite of a Thai moo sarong, a thin, crispy noodle wrapped around a pork meatball. Gatwas life changed last year when Sex Ed premiered on Netflix and became a surprise breakout hit. The show is anchored by Asa Butterfield and Gillian Andersons mother-son duo of sex therapists Anderson plays an actual therapist, while Butterfield is a shy high-schooler improbably offering pleasure-centered sex advice to his classmates. But Gatwas best-friend character, Eric, has all the personality. We had no idea, making it, how it was gonna take off, Gatwa says. We thought it might make a little bit of a dip in the ocean, then maybe by season two, people would be like, Oh, whats that show that Gillian Andersons in? A lot of teen dramas are about about horny, thoughtful teens, but Sex Education shows them as clumsy, eager, unsure, trying to figure out sex and desire and pleasure in their own lives. Its sweetly relatable, a show all about the Is this how I should feel? and the Are we doing this right? of early sexual experiences. A lot of our sex education at school is so biological. It was so just the birds and the bees, says Gatwa, who went to secondary school in Scotland. Theres a whole emotional side to it. I love that were in a show that opens up conversations. During production, Gatwa grew close to the shows cast and crew, especially Butterfield (his next and last appointment today is a massage with his co-star). He compares filming the second season to coming back to school after a holiday break, even though, for the first month of production, he didnt shoot many scenes with his bestie. It didnt feel like I was filming Sex Ed, he said, unless I have Asa beside me my Otis, my baby O-cake. But Eric is such a fan favorite precisely because hes not just a best friend. I love that I get to play a black character whos not a stereotype, who is not afraid to be vulnerable, who comes from a loving home situation, Gatwa says. I know it sounds stupid, but for me, these tiny, little glimpses into peoples lives matter. Reviews of Sex Educations first season praised Eric as a full, vivid character that goes beyond the black-best-friend trope. He doesnt show up to punctuate the end of Otiss sentences. He goes to class, dresses up in drag, kisses boys, and lives his own life. [The writers] were not afraid to shy away from his African heritage, Gatwa adds. They werent afraid to come and ask me what its like to grow up in an African household. Gatwa was born in Rwanda, grew up in Scotland, and lives in London now. As a child, he was a loudmouth with a performative streak. At home, I was very traditional, studied, made sure I brought home those As and Bs, made sure I went to Bible study, he says. Outside of that, oh, I was such a little chav! (Chav, he clarifies, is slang for smart-ass.) He graduated from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in 2013 and spent his preSex Ed years trying to do theater. Six months before he booked the show his first big project he was couch surfing and looking for odd jobs to make rent. And then my life changed, he says. I was able to pay my bills! Lets put it like that. I was able to pay my bills and then some. His first splurge with all that Netflix money was a Gucci fanny pack. (It usually runs about $800.) That was so obnoxious, he laughs, half-embarrassed. It was red and just said Gucci on it. I do love that fanny pack. Lately, the Pattern has been telling Gatwa what hes been feeling at this stage of his life and career. There are new friends coming into his life, new opportunities, new tangents. [The app has] been talking about how Im going through a change in my life and I need to realize what the change is and allow myself to be present in the moment, he says. I have a tendency to not be grounded, to not deal with whats going on, but I need to do that because theres a big shift happening. And thats really how I feel! (CNN) Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, expressed "great sadness" Sunday evening in his first public statement since Buckingham Palace announced he and his wife, Meghan, would give up their royal titles and would not represent the Queen as working members of the royal family. "The decision that I have made for my wife and I to step back is not one I made lightly," Harry said in a speech at a charity event in London. "It was so many months of talks after so many years of challenges. And I know I haven't always gotten it right, but as far as this goes, there really was no other option." "Our hope was to continue serving the Queen, the commonwealth, and my military associations, but without public funding," he said. "Unfortunately, that wasn't possible." Earlier in this month, the couple announced they would step back from their roles as senior members of the royal family, split their time between the United Kingdom and North America and work toward becoming financially independent. Under the agreement announced Saturday, Harry and Meghan will also pay back 2.4 million pounds (about $3 million) of British taxpayers' money used to renovate their home, Frogmore Cottage. "I've accepted this, knowing that it doesn't change who I am or how committed I am," Harry said of his family's future on Sunday. "But I hope that helps you understand what it had come to, that I would step my family back from all I have ever known, to take a step forward into what I hope can be a more peaceful life." "I was born into this life," he said, "and it is a great honor to serve my country and the Queen." This story was first published on CNN.com, "Prince Harry expresses 'great sadness' following news he and Meghan are no longer working members of royal family." A MAN is to appear at Limerick District Court, in connection with a Tipperary burglary and assault, after he was arrested as he was about to board a flight at Dublin Airport on Sunday morning. On December 23, two men entered a house in Woodview Close and assaulted the occupant, aged in his 30s, who sustained a number of cuts and bruises. Another man was assaulted with a suspected hammeroutside a house in Yewston Estate in Nenagh, and was later treated at University Hospital Limerick. On the morning of the 19th January, 2020 an operation was put in place by Garda from Nenagh with the assistance of Immigration Gardai at Dublin Airport. As a result, a man in his 20s was arrested as he was about to check in to board a flight. He was brought to Nenagh Garda Station and detained under Section 4 Criminal Justice Act, 1984. He has since been charged and is due to appear before Limerick District Court this afternoon. He is due to appear before Limerick District Court this Monday afternoon. A live robotic surgery simulation featuring the worlds only handheld robotics system for knee surgery will be performed by BMI Healthcare on the ABHI UK Pavilion at Arab Health 2020. Developed by British medical equipment manufacturer Smith & Nephew, The NAVIO Surgical System is designed to help surgeons perform knee replacement surgery with a high level of accuracy and increased precision. NAVIO works in conjunction with the surgeons hands to achieve the precise positioning of the knee implant based on each patients unique anatomy. This added level of accuracy helps to improve function, feel and potential longevity delivering greater hope for the patient. The unique system is built to provide robotic assistance through an advanced computer programme that relays precise information about a patients knee to a robotics-assisted handpiece used by the surgeon. By collecting patient-specific information, boundaries are established for the robotics-assisted handpiece so the surgeon can remove the damaged surfaces of the patients knee, balance their joint, and position the implant with great precision. The ground-breaking procedure offers greater outcomes and a bespoke, advanced technique for patients requiring total knee replacement including those in the Middle East, where knee problems tend to be common due to praying which involves prolonged periods of kneeling and several postures that require deep flexion of the knee and hip. Matt Bartlett, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at BMI Healthcare, who will be carrying out the procedure said: The NAVIO surgical system is at the cutting edge of robotics-assisted surgery. BMI are early adopters of the pioneering technology and we are excited to demonstrate how it has been meticulously designed to help surgeons improve patient outcomes in total and partial knee arthroplasty. Studies have shown that robotic joint surgery has a number of benefits for patients allowing a more customised, individually-tailored approach and quicker recovery. The NAVIO Surgical System promises the next evolutionary step in this field offering greater efficiency and usability; and an advancement in the way orthopaedic surgeons perform knee replacement. BMI Healthcare have been pioneers in the surgical simulation on the ABHI stand at Arab Health since 2014. Each year they have presented many physicians performing surgical simulations across a broad spectrum of disciplines with a particular focus on cardiology, orthopaedics and bariatrics. Scott Feldman, International Director at BMI Healthcare, said: BMI Healthcare has worked closely with the ABHI for many years to deliver marketing programmes that showcase our offering at Arab Health, one of the largest events of its kind in the world. Each year they help us bring together world class British expertise and equipment, enabling our surgeons to demonstrate complex skillsets via simulator to targeted, global audiences in the superbly organised UK Pavilion. Bartlett will be delivering a keynote presentation Robotics in total knee replacement at the 16th Orthopaedics Conference taking place at 11:45 on Monday, January 27, 2020. His surgery simulation Navio Assisted Total Knee Replacement will take place January 27, 2020 at 13:45 on the ABHI stand (Hall 2, stand H2.G30). Arab Health takes place from January 27 to 30, 2020 at the Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai, UAE. Throughout the show, ABHI and the UK Pavilion will be located in Hall 2. -- Tradearabia News Service Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah Fattah El-Sisi discussed on Monday in London means to boost cooperation with leaders of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Mauritius. The discussions were held on the sidelines of the UK-Africa Investment summit, the Egyptian presidency said. President El-Sisi met with his Congolese counterpart, President Felix Tshisekedi, in London where he expressed how much Egypt was keen to coordinate cooperation efforts between the two countries. Egypt is ready to provide all possible support and assistance to the DR Congo, El-Sisi stressed. He also praised stances taken by the Congo in support of Egypt on the Nile water issue, stressing that Egypt will spare no effort to support the Congolese people on the political and developmental levels. Tshisekedi voiced his country's keenness on boosting relations with Egypt in different developmental fields. He also lauded El-Sisi's efforts to reinforce joint African action and maintain Congo's stability during Egypt's presidency of the African Union. Meanwhile, El-Sisi stressed In his meeting with the Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jugnauth that Egypt is keen on boosting relations with Mauritius in the fields of trade exchange and building skills, the Egyptian presidency said. Jugnauth valued his country's relations with Egypt, stressing his keenness on boosting such relations in different fields. He also thanked Egypt for its supportive stances with his country at regional and international forums as current president of the African Union. Search Keywords: Short link: Nine civilians died in western Chad after a female suicide bomber detonated her explosives in an area targeted in the past by jihadist group Boko Haram, the army and officials said on Monday. Chad is one of the countries struggling with the jihadist violence that has spilled over from Nigeria's decades-long Islamist insurgency. The attack took place overnight Sunday in the village of Kaiga Kindjiria. "A suicide bomber blew herself up yesterday in Kaiga Kindjiria, killing nine people, two women and seven men," an army source said. The toll was confirmed by Chadian army spokesman Colonel Azem Bermandoa. "It is Boko Haram, There is no doubt," the spokesman said. Kaiga-Kindjiria, a village of about 7,000 people, is located near the vast Lake Chad region where militants hide out among islets and marshlands to launch attacks on Cameroon, Chad, Nigeria and Niger. Map of Chad locating the village of Kaiga Kindjiria where civilians were killed by a suicide bomber.. By (AFP) In August, a suicide bomber killed five civilians and a soldier in the same village. Militants also killed four Chadian villagers and kidnapped four women near Lake Chad earlier this month. Boko Haram began in Nigeria but its attacks have spread to neighbouring countries. A faction affiliated with the Islamic State group, ISWAP, is particularly active around Lake Chad. The suicide attack in western Chad came as French Minister of the Armed Forces, Florence Parly visited the Chad capital N'Djamena, where she met her Chadian counterpart on Monday morning. Countries in the region have banded together to fight Boko Haram and ISWAP with support from civilian defence committees In early January, 1,200 Chadian troops, deployed as part of the regional force in Nigeria, returned to Chad to be redeployed around the Lake, where attacks have multiplied in recent months. The jihadist conflict in northeast Nigeria has killed 35,000 people and displaced around two million from their homes as well as spilling over its borders. The jihadists have splintered into rival factions, with one group loyal to long-time Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau and the other pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group. Ma Li, female, former deputy editor-in-chief of Chinas government mouthpiece Peoples Daily, was recently accused of corruption, taking bribes and homewrecking. These photos, showing Ma and Zhou's father in different places, were found in Zhou's father's WeChat account. (Courtesy of Mr. Zhou) Former Propaganda Official in China Accused of Bribery Crimes Ma Li, a propaganda official in China, was recently accused of corruption, taking bribes, and homewrecking. Mr. Zhou, Mas illegitimate son, reported her activities to the authorities. When he received threats after refusing to withdraw his accusations, he decided to expose the case in Chinese media outside the country. Ma, 65, was the former deputy editor-in-chief of Peoples Daily, the official newspaper of the communist regime. She joined the paper in 1996. She was married to a writer, who died in 2013. She became the deputy editor-in-chief and member of the twelfth National Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 2006. She took office as president of China Internet Development Foundation (CIDF), a government-approved charity, in August 2015. Ma had an affair with Zhous father. Mr. Zhou, who spoke to the Chinese-language Epoch Times on condition of anonymity on Jan. 10, revealed that Ma and his father served in the same army unit during the 1970s and thus knew each other for a long time. His father is currently the president of a music association in a city in Shandong Province. According to Zhou, Ma is considered a minister-level official who lives in one of the Beijing residential complexes for top Chinese leaders. She caused my father to divorce my mother, Zhou said. Moreover, in January 2018, when my father was in Beijing, Ma asked me to go to Beijing and meet with them. Using intimidation and inducement, she asked me to facilitate my parents break-up. Ma promised that she would arrange a job for Zhou in Beijing, if he agreed to cooperate. Zhous mother was also intimidated by Ma. Fearing that Ma could harm her son, she agreed to a divorce in March 2018. Corruption Allegations Ma used the CIDF for her own benefit, Zhou wrote in his letter reporting Mas illicit activities to the authorities. Zhou said his father was offered positions at several companies related to Ma, including the CIDF and Shenzhen Ausa Pharmed Co. Ltd, where he is paid without performing any real tasks. For instance, his father went to Antarctica with Ma to participate in a forum, bearing the title of a CIDF editor during the trip, Zhou said. Ma lives a luxurious life, according to Zhou, who has video footage showing Ma frequently visiting luxury clubs. A meal at these clubs costs over 20,000 yuan ($2,915), but her income is only around 20,000 yuan. This is certainly suspicious, Zhou said. Can you imagine how she carries herself like a high-status official? When we dined together, from entering the gate to taking off her coat, her secretary waited on her like a maid in ancient times. During the meal, her chauffeur, a senior, stood by her and tended to her needs from beginning to the end. She once attended a conference in Inner Mongolia. During meal time, there was just one table seating Ma and some others, yet the host set up an entire stage for them to be entertained. Zhou said Ma has a large number of high-end gifts in her residence, such as, Cordyceps sinensis (an herbal tonic) and rare birds nests. One small box of Cordyceps sinensis costs thousands of yuan. Ma has several cartons in her stash. She regularly accepts bribes in the form of gift cards, some valued at 500,000 yuan ($72,903), a few worth 2 million yuan ($291,580). Zhou also learned that a company boss surnamed Xu bought Ma a Volvo S90. Pressured to Withdraw the Accusations After Zhou reported Ma to Chinese authorities, he received threats from several parties, including Mas secretary Hai Yangyang, an internet high-tech company, and a company in Xiamen, he revealed. Ma dares to do these evil deeds because she can control the media, Zhou said. The current general manager of Peoples Daily video division is her former secretary. Her parents were communist officials, and she has a close relationship with several ministers, including the number one figure in Chinas Internet censorship. People from the internet high-tech company that threatened Zhou also offered him money to withdraw the accusations. They said they could pay me 500,000 yuan ($72,982), or up to 2 million yuan ($291,928), if I agreed to go to Hangzhou and sign a confidential agreement with them. They also said it is very easy to make a person disappear from this world. According to Zhou, Ma called and threatened him directly. I have prepared a statement in case I die. In it I say, There ought to be justice in everything in the world, and what I ask for is justice. The Chinese-language Epoch Times called and texted Mas secretary Hai Yangyang several times to seek Mas comments, but has not received a response by press time. Epoch Times reporter Li Xinan contributed to this report. At least six persons, including a woman, have been arrested with 1.5 kg heroin in Mizoram's Champai town, which lies near the India-Myanmar border, officials said on Monday. The accused persons were arrested on Sunday night and heroin worth Rs 36 lakh in the local market seized from their possession, Excise and Narcotics department spokesperson Peter Zohmingthanga said. He said the drugs were seized from a car after it was intercepted in Ruantlang area in the town. Four of the accused are from Champhai's Zotlang area while two others are from Dartetui village, he said. The accused have been booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A husband and wife who defrauded their church out of almost 200,000 have been jailed for a total of nearly five years. Gillian Rainford, 62, abused her position as church treasurer in Bournemouth, Dorset, to siphon off the funds that had been bequeathed by a loyal parishioner. She transferred the funds into her own bank account and that of her husband Gregory Rainford, 66, who helped her conceal the ill-gotten gains. Gregory and Gillian Rainford defrauded their church in Bournemouth out of nearly 200,000 The money should have been spent on urgent church repairs but Rainford 'frittered' it all away over a two-year period. She blew thousands of pounds on online gambling and gave both her grown-up children a windfall of 20,000 each. The couple also bought two cars with it. Their criminal activity was exposed when Gillian Rainford was replaced as treasurer of Charminster Spiritualist Church. A dozen members of the church committee attended Bournemouth Crown Court to see Rainford jailed for three years and two months and her husband for 19 months. After the sentencing last Friday, church chairwoman Jackie Gunningham described the outcome as an 'empty victory'. She said the couple's actions had caused huge damage to the cash-strapped church which is in desperate need of repairs. Charminster Spiritualist Church chairman Jackie Gunningham (centre) outside Bournemouth Crown Court last Friday with fellow church members The theft occurred after the small church received a huge windfall of 222,000 left by late member Vera Lawrence in 2012. But instead of allocating the funds to repairing the leaky church roof, Rainford moved it into her personal account and spent it with her husband. Simon Shannon, prosecuting, said: 'The sum of 192,000 was fraudulently obtained by Gillian for the joint benefit of her and her husband and children. 'They converted the money into goods, services and cash for their joint benefit. She was not reelected as treasurer as there were concerns among committee members over the accounts. They did an investigation and alerted the police to their findings.' Gillian Rainford, 62, of Bournemouth, Dorset, pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position The theft lasted from April 2014 and April 2016 and the Rainfords, from Bournemouth, were arrested the following month. Gillian Rainford had been president and treasurer of the century-old church, which has 50 members, since 2008. Thomas Bushnell, mitigating for her, said his client felt 'shame and guilt'. He said: 'She didn't become president and treasurer in order to commit fraud. 'A small spiritualist church could never have expected to receive such a large donation. This was an opportunistic crime, albeit it dragged out over a period of time. 'She is consumed by shame and guilt for what she had done. She recognises she abused her position and can't say sorry enough.' Justin Gow, mitigating for Gregory Rainford, said: 'He is full of remorse and so apologetic and embarrassed about what has happened. 'They didn't spend the money on wild parties or exotic holidays. They have lost everything.' Gillian Rainford pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position while her husband admitted concealing, disguising or transferring criminal property. Sentencing, Judge Robert Pawson said: 'In 2012, 222,000 was bequeathed to the church and you (Mrs Rainford) were made aware of it and said you'd deal with it. 'You were the treasurer so you were in a position of ultimate trust and responsibility. Rainford stole 192,000 from the Charminster Spiritualist Church in Bournemouth (above) 'Over the course of two years you frittered away 192,000 of church money that went into your and your husband's account. 'It's a tragic case because not only has the church lost a huge sum of money, you have lost everything as well. 'The only appropriate punishment (for both of you) would be immediate custody.' Jackie Gunningham, chairman of Charminster Spiritualist Church, said: 'We're pleased they've got a custodial sentence but it is an empty victory as we can't recover the money and people's lives have been ruined. 'This was an abuse of trust and they stabbed us in the back. It has been very hard to deal with. The church desperately needed the funds which were bequeathed. 'It would have made a huge difference with repairs. They have jeopardised the future of this church.' Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 20) Dozens of businesses in Tagaytay have resumed operations a week into the eruption of Taal Volcano. But the Interior Department on Monday said the business permits of these establishments may be canceled for violating a national order. Interior Undersecretay Epimaco Densing said they issued a specific memorandum order to Tagaytay Mayor Agnes Tolentino to stop commercial establishments from operating while Alert Level 4 remains over Taal. He said the mayor can cancel their business permits. If the businesses refuse to comply, the DILG will step in with the police. "On our side sa DILG, we can send the Philippine National Police to close them down to ensure they follow the orders of no commercial operations at least within the 14 kilometer danger zone," Densing said in a briefing. Nearly 50 restaurants, 14 malls and parks, and eight hotels opened over the weekend after the Tagaytay City government with the approval of Mayor Tolentino gave hotels and establishments the go signal to go back in business. Related: Tagaytay's SkyRanch reopens, other tourist sites still being cleared of ash The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology on Friday also said the Tagaytay Ridge, despite being inside Taal's 14-kilometer danger zone, is not considered a high-risk area due to its elevation. But Densing said the operational businesses in Tagaytay clearly defied the DILG memo. "These businessmen or commercial establishments really did not follow the order... Umaaray talaga ang mga negosyante doon (The businessmen are complaining) and we understand. But safety first before profit," he said. Alert Level 4 remains in effect in Taal, indicating a potential hazardous eruption. Thousands of residents within the 14-kilometer radius of the volcano have been ordered to flee their homes and move to evacuation centers given the looming threat of a deadly explosion. Solon tells Tagaytay LGU to defy order Cavite Rep. Bambol Tolentino confirmed Mayor Tolentino his wife received the DILG memo, but insisted it's still the discretion of the local government. He said he'd recommend not following the order to stop business operations while the volcano is on alert. "Nakalimutan natin yung autonomy ng city ng local government code, city mayor pa rin ang masusunod... Sa ngayon hindi muna namin susundin. I would advice them na huwag muna sundin," he told CNN Philippines. [Translation: They seem to forget there is autonomy under the local government code. The decision is up to the city mayor. For now we will not follow the DILG order. I'll advise them not to follow it.] Tolentino said Tagaytay City would be safe in the event a hazardous eruption happens. "Definitely kasama sa 14-kilometer radius if you will use compass and geomap, but practically hindi naman ganun. Sasakay ba ng bus 'yung lava paakyat pa ng Tagaytay?" he said. [Translation: Tagaytay is within the 14km radius, but practically [reallly] that's not the case. Can the lava travel up to Tagaytay?] 'Up to local officials to decide' Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano said Monday afternoon that 199 barangays covered by forced evacuation must stay closed including businesses that operate there, but clarified that some areas in Tagaytay are not covered by this order. "There are areas in Tagaytay that are located on the edges of the 14-km radius but they are declared safe because of its higher ridge altitude. We will leave it to the LGU to decide whether to allow the establishments to open," Ano said in a text message. Phivolcs warned anyone within Taal Volcano's 14-kilometer danger zone will "definitely" die if Taal has a explosive eruption. RELATED: Phivolcs: Hazardous eruption will 'definitely' kill anyone in Taal danger zone A day after two women officials in Madhya Pradesh's Rajgarh district took on BJP workers during a pro-Citizenship Amendment Act protest, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh tweeted praising their valour. In videos which went viral on social media on Sunday, Collector Nidhi Nivedita is seen slapping a man and additional collector Priya Verma taking on some men who were part of the crowd. The rally was organised by the BJP in Biaora town on Sunday despite prohibitory orders in place in the district since Saturday night, with officials claiming the party had refused to call it off despite pleas from the administration. "BJP goondaism in Madhya Pradesh has come to the fore. Women collector and her deputy were beaten, hair pulled. We take pride in the two women officer's valour," Singh tweeted on Monday. Earlier in the day, senior BJP leader and former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the BJP will move court if a case is not registered against Nivedita. Both Nivedita and Verma have defended their conduct. "I did not slap him despite the fact that we are empowered to dismiss an unlawful assembly by physical force. I reacted only when he abused me," Nivedita said on Monday. Verma had said on Sunday, sometime after the incident, that she took on the protesters after one of them pulled her hair and another kicked her in the waist. "Prohibitory orders under section 144 of the CrPC are in place in the district. While we were doing our duty, a crowd came from the other side and misbehaved with us," Verma had said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday appealed to her counterparts in the northeast and non-BJP states to take a note of the "clauses" mentioned in the NPR form, before participating in the exercise to update the register. Dubbing the NPR exercise as "a dangerous game", Banerjee said the form, which seeks birth details of parents, could be nothing but a precursor to NRC implementation. "I will appeal to all chief ministers, governments including those in BJP-ruled northeast states -- Tripura, Assam, Manipur and Arunachal -- and the opposition party-ruled states to read the law properly and consider the clauses in the NPR form before arriving at a decision. "I request them not to participate in this matter because the condition is very bad," the chief minister said. The TMC boss asserted that the West Bengal Assembly would soon pass a resolution against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. Banerjee also said that she came to know from the media that fields which seek birth details of parents in the NPR form were not mandatory. "If the fields are not mandatory, why are they a part of the form? Efforts should be made to remove those questions. "If they continue to exist on paper (form), those that do not enter birth details of parents might be automatically excluded. There is an apprehension..." she claimed, before leaving for Siliguri. The CM is scheduled to lead anti-citizenship law rallies in north Bengal over the next four days. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) He is set to reprise his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in a new TV series for Disney+. And Ewan McGregor ensured all eyes were on him as he turned up to breakfast joint Jon and Vinny's in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles in a $120,000 vintage Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II on Thursday morning. The Hollywood star, 48, wore a pair of turned-up white trousers with a black pullover and dark trainers as he stepped out of his stunning 1960s motor. Hot wheels! Ewan McGregor ensured all eyes were on him as he turned up to breakfast joint Jon and Vinny's in Brentwood in a $120,000 vintage Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II on Thursday He kept his slicked-back locks in check as he crossed the road, looking more rock star than film actor. After grabbing breakfast at the Italian eatery, his made a quick trip back to his car to feed the parking meter some change. Ewan, who is also known for his love of motorcycles, is believed to use the vintage Rolls, worth around $123,000, to take his daughters to school. The actor confirmed last year that he is set to reprise his role as Star Wars saga role of Obi-Wan Kenobi on Disney+ TV series, reportedly titled Kenobi: A Star Wars Story. Casual: The Hollywood star, 48, wore a pair of turned-up white trousers with a black pullover and dark trainers as he stepped out of his stunning 1960s motor In October, Ewan admitted it was hard having to lie about his planned role for the four years the show spent in development. Talking to Howie Mandel, who covered for Ellen DeGeneres on her chat show on Tuesday, he explained: 'It's awkward.' Ewan continued: 'The studio and the franchises, they want to keep everything totally secret, of course which I understand but as the person being asked over and over and over again, "Would you do it again?" Return: The star confirmed that he is set to reprise his role as Star Wars saga role of Obi-Wan Kenobi on Disney+ TV series, reportedly titled Kenobi: A Star Wars Story (pictured in 1999) 'And I'm already talking to them about it but I can't say that I am. So for four years I was saying, "Well I'd be happy to do it again! I'm just waiting for the call." But all the while, it was embarrassing! Lying!' The series - which will consist of six hour-long episodes - will air on Disney+ with production beginning in summer 2020. It was finally confirmed by Lucasfilm at the Disney D23 Expo in August, after rumours being denied for a long time. : The Left government in Kerala on Monday decided to inform the Centre that it would not cooperate with any official procedures regarding the updation of the National Population Register (NPR). The decision in this regard was taken at a special cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan here. The government also decided to inform the Registrar General and Census Commissioner under the Union Home Ministry it was unable to cooperate with anything with regard to the updation of the NPR. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prisoners have volunteered to cook meals for firefighters who are battling out-of=-control blazes across Australia. Inmates from the Alexander Maconochie Centre in the Australian Capital Territory are serving food to brave volunteers. The meals consist of lunch and dinner packs which include lasagne, roast beef and vegetables and sweets such as pastries for dessert. Inmate Paul Blundell (pictured left) is one of the prisoners who are helping to prepare meals for firefighters battling bushfires in and around the ACT and NSW regions Inmate Paul Blundell spoke with SBS News and said despite being prisoners many in the jail had been 'touched' by the scenes of bushfire ravaging their country. 'Firefighters have died, wildlife has been injured, it touches everyone. If you can't go out there and literally help yourself. We try and do what we can, the best way we can,' he said. He told the publication the meal preparation gave inmates a sense of purpose in knowing they are helping in any small way. 'Were here because we did the wrong thing, so were trying to do the right thing,' he said. The work of the inmates has not gone unnoticed and ACT Minister for Corrections Shane Rattenbury said it was encouraging seeing inmates wanting to 'do their part'. 'It's been great that the detainees here have got together, identified this opportunity and got involved by making the meals and making them available to the flight crews,' she said. Prisoners were also given permission to make cash donations to bushfire appeals which Mr Blundell said 'most of the boys' had already done, giving what they could. When asked how long they intended on preparing meals for firefighters Mr Blundell said so long as they battled blazes the prisoners were 'happy to help'. As of Monday there were still 90 fires burning across New South Wales, however according to data from the NSW RFS all fires are classified as 'advice'. Amaravati: The YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government on Monday (January 20) called a special session of Andhra Pradesh assembly to pass a resolution for decentralisation of the state capital. The opposition parties, including Communist Party of India and Telugu Desam Party, will oppose the idea of three capitals with its `Chalo Assembly` call against it. In view of the `Chalo Assembly` programme, the Jagan Mohan government has deployed heavy police force in Amravati to maintain peace and law and order. Section 144 Code of Criminal Procedure and Section 30 of Andhra Pradesh Police Act are already in force in Amaravati region. The state government has made heavy security arrangements at Prakasam Barrage in Vijawada, besides imposing Section 144 of CrPc in Vijaywada and Guntur areas to facilitate smooth functioning of the Assembly and movement of public representatives. Live TV Former Andhra Pradesh CM and TDP Chief N Chandrababu Naidu has condemned the house arrest of party leaders and Amaravati JAC leaders saying "Suppression of public voice is undemocratic and against the constitution. Even during the Emergency, it was much better." Ahead of special session of the state assembly for setting up three state capitals, YSRCP MLA AR Reddy told ANI "Decentralization of the state's capital is very important for us. N Chandrababu Naidu did not full any promises he had made." Andhra Pradesh Chief Whip Gadikota S Reddy, however, said, "I'm in favour of recommendations of Boston ConsultingGroup and Sivaraman Committee. 5 crore people are waiting to see if the committee's recommendations will get approved or not." A special route has been prepared for state Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy to reach Assembly from his residence. At first, the cabinet meeting will be held at 9 am, the Business Advisory Committee meeting will be held at 10 am and the Assembly session will start at 11 am. The Assembly session was specially held to discuss the three capital proposal put forward by Andhra Chief Minister. The TDP has been vocal in opposing the idea of three capitals of the state and has actively participated in the agitation against the issue. Several protests had erupted in the state, 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. Notably, villages that fall in the way to the state assembly will also be guarded by the police personnel. (With Agency Inputs) Vodafone in New Zealand is setting a great trend by allowing its employees to leave early on the last day of the working week. Vodafone has now announced that its employees can go home early on Friday afternoons to spend some quality time with family and friends. According to international media reports, Vodafone has announced that the employees can go home from 2pm on Fridays and the offer will last until the end of February. Read: Google Reportedly Working To Bring Official Steam Support To Chrome OS New Zealand work flexibility An internal memo issued by the company said that they hope the employees would make the most of the extra time they would be getting until February. The memo also warned that employees should be working a little extra so they don't fall behind on their work front. Vodafone is not the first company in the region to allow its employees flexible working hours, there are many such companies in Oceania to do so. Read: Rouhani Says 'Iran Working To Prevent Military Confrontation' Amid Tensions With US VERSA, a media agency in Melbourne made a decision two years ago to allow its employees to switch to a four-day working week, every week. According to the company, the employees are delivering extraordinary results and are not displaying fatigue. VERSA managing director Jonny Clow while talking to the media said they decided to close down their office on Wednesday because that fits well with everyone to get some family time, sport or sleep into their week rather than doing it all at the same time into the weekend. Read: Congress Working Committee Likely To Meet Saturday To Discuss Students' Protests, Violence In JNU Jonny said that they have seen some serious waves in their revenue and job retention due to the flexibility in workdays. According to Jonny, approaching business like two small weeks creates a whole new model that allows employees to take advantage of the recharged energy and get going when they come back on Friday. Employees at VERSA are showing signs of higher productivity because of the new roster, Jonny added. Read: Turkey Working For De-escalation, Says 'in Touch With US, Iran' Copyright 2020 Albuquerque Journal The New Mexico Spaceport is preparing to go viral this year as Virgin Galactic gears up for liftoff in southern New Mexico. Sir Richard Branson is widely expected to board the first commercial passenger rocket to shoot into suborbit sometime in 2020 in an event that could capture global attention as the turning point that marks the dawn of commercial space travel. Rocket flights with paying passengers will soon follow, potentially kicking up an unprecedented groundswell of spectator tourism and worldwide media attention that the spaceport and local industry leaders want to be ready for. To prepare, the New Mexico Spaceport Authority is seeking $57 million in capital outlay this year for infrastructure projects it considers critical, beginning with $25 million for a welcoming center and visitor access control installations. In addition, its seeking $20 million for space vehicle and payload processing centers for companies operating at the spaceports horizontal and vertical launch areas to do on-site assembly of rockets and the microgravity experiments placed in them. It also wants $10 million for the first phase of a new taxiway in the horizontal launch area to run parallel to the current 12,000-foot runway, and it wants $2 million for a modern IT control center for all communications infrastructure at the spaceport. Separately, the Governors Office is requesting a $3.6 million annual appropriation from the general fund for spaceport operations, up from $1 million this fiscal year, in part to ramp up spaceport staff in FY2021. Those are tall orders for this years legislative session, especially because the state has already invested $220 million to build the spaceport, plus $25 million in capital outlay in the past two years for other infrastructure projects. But spaceport leaders and supporters say the new projects are critical as New Mexico moves to the forefront of the worlds emerging commercial space industry. Bransons coming spaceflight and the passenger launches soon to follow offer a historic opportunity for New Mexico to rocket into global stardom as one of the key leaders in the new space age, said Dale Dekker of architecture firm Dekker/Perich/Sabatini. Dekker co-founded Ambassadors for Spaceport America, a group that now unites about 400 local professionals, businesspeople and enthusiasts to promote the spaceport and New Mexicos budding commercial space industry. VMS Eve is parked on the runway of the Spaceport America, near Upham. We believe that investments in the spaceport will pay off this year with a global event that New Mexico has really never experienced before, Dekker told the Journal. When Richard Branson boards the first rocket, it will attract national and global attention, offering an opportunity for New Mexico to show off all its space-related assets. We believe it will be seen by billions, earning the state media attention equivalent to the Super Bowl or the Olympics. Spaceport America must be prepared to host hundreds, if not thousands, of tourists, as well as new firms that may want to locate at the facility, both to provide goods and services to Virgin Galactic and other companies operating at the spaceport, and to conduct their own space-related activities there, said Spaceport America CEO Dan Hicks. The welcoming center and visitor access control are particularly critical. After Branson flies, there will be Virgin Galactic flights every other week, or every third week, and people will come out to see it in big crowds, Hicks said. We need a visitor welcoming center to accommodate and control crowds of spectators a place where they can look off in the distance to watch flights take off. The $20 million welcoming center would include site security headquarters, educational exhibits, viewing and resting areas, tour arrangements, conference rooms, visitor traffic control, food preparation and an auditorium, Hicks said. Another $5 million would pay for visitor access control, with a secure alternative entrance to the spaceport for all commercial and professional vehicles. Even with funding, welcoming facilities wont be ready in time for the first rocket flights expected this year, so the spaceport is working with Virgin Galactic on temporary accommodations for visitors, including everything from circus tents and portable toilets to sound systems, tables and chairs. Vehicle and payload processing facilities are also considered a high priority to allow Virgin Galactic and other current and future companies operating in the vertical launch area to manage microgravity experiments. Alongside Virgins passenger rockets, suborbital payload flights, and eventually orbital satellite launches, are a key part of the spaceports activities. A half-dozen companies are already working on those things at the vertical launch area, including regular suborbital flights by UP Aerospace for NASA and commercial customers. One company, SpinLaunch, is building a $7 million, 10,000-square-foot test facility there for a new centrifuge technology that will rapidly spin satellite-carrying rockets around on the ground until reaching hypersonic speeds to literally fling them into space. As Virgin Galactic lifts off, the Spaceport expects a wave of interest from more space-related companies exploring operations there. The spaceport has signed nondisclosure agreements with nearly 50 companies that are considering operations in New Mexico, Hicks said. And while Virgin Galactic draws attention to the state, an explosion in commercial space activities nationally and internationally is also generating industry-wide hype as the world gears up to launch and manage tens of thousands of satellites in low Earth orbits for global communications in a hyperconnected world. Many companies are coming to New Mexico, largely because much of the U.S. Department of Defenses effort to modernize its space-related infrastructure is based at Kirtland Air Force Base. One new organization, New Space NM, is now working to unite all the states space-related entities and individuals in a collaborative association to support and build the industry here. Theres a lot going on thats providing huge opportunities, New Space NM founder and CEO Casey DeRaad told the Albuquerque Economic Forum in December. Theres a lot of new innovation and exploration happening here, including space travel from our own spaceport. We think New Mexico can be the leader in this new space age. Another statewide initiative, the Space Valley Summit, launched this month to unite New Mexicos three research universities with federal and state entities to share expertise and collaborate on space-related projects. The spaceport itself is actively recruiting industry. Its identified about 140 satellite-related companies and will target many for recruitment. Were assessing which ones to focus on, Hicks said. We wont go after everyone. Well focus on those that seem like the best fit for New Mexico. The spaceports capital outlay requests could face pushback in this years legislative session, but Hicks hopes to at least get some critical funding this year, and possibly more next year. With a new age of human spaceflight approaching liftoff, New Mexico needs to capitalize on emerging opportunities, Hicks said. Apart from Virgin Galactic, Jeff Bezos company Blue Origin plans into launch its first paying passengers to space this year on its New Shepard rocket, and both SpaceX and Boeing are gearing up for their first NASA-sponsored human flights to the International Space Station. Theyre all scheduled to attempt liftoff in 2020, and its driving huge excitement in the space industry, Hicks said. The Spaceport and Virgin Galactic can leverage all that momentum to build activities in our state. The Indian Air Force is raising a new squadron of Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jets at the Thanjavur air force station in Tamil Nadu on Monday, a development that will boost the IAFs capabilities in peninsular India and help keep an eye on the Indian Ocean Region where Chinese footprint is growing at a swift pace. The Sukhois will be equipped with the air version of the BrahMos cruise missile. The No. 222 squadron, nicknamed Tiger Sharks, is being raised with six Su-30 fighter jets and it will have its full complement of 18 warplanes by the year-end. Here are eight things you should know about the Su-30s. 1. The IAF has contracted 272 Su-30 MKI fighter planes out of which nearly 260 have been delivered. The remaining 12 jets will be delivered by the end of 2020. 2. The first 50 jets came in ready from Russia; the remaining were being built under licence by the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. 3. The IAF inducted its first Su-30 fighter at the Lohegaon air base in Pune in June 1997. A total of 12 Su-30 jets have crashed since the fighter jets were inducted. The IAF is likely to place an order for 12 more jets to make up for the losses. 4. Indias Su-30 fleet has been plagued by engine troubles. The Russian-origin fighters have had a history of engine failures or engine-related problems. 5. In the past, the Su-30 fleet has battled poor serviceability, standing at barely 60%. Simply put, only 60 of 100 fighter planes were mission-ready at any given time. 6. India successfully launched the worlds fastest supersonic cruise missile, BrahMos, from a specially-modified Su-30 warplane for the first time against a target in the Bay of Bengal in November 2017. The BrahMos missile, an Indo-Russian joint venture, has a range of 290 km. 7. At least two Su-30 squadrons consisting of 18 planes each are likely to be equipped with the 2.5-tonne missile that flies at nearly three times the speed of sound. 8. The BrahMos missile is the heaviest weapon to be deployed on the Su-30. The missiles land and naval variants 500kg heavier than the air launched version are already in service. BrahMos is now capable of being launched from land, sea and air, completing the tactical cruise missile triad for India. YEREVAN, JANUARY 20, ARMENPRESS. The initiative of lifting visa requirements between Armenia and China is very important as it will contribute to both developing tourism and boosting entrepreneurship, Mekhak Apresyan Chairman of the Armenian Tourism Federation, told a press conference in Armenpress. This step firstly shows the high level of relations, mutual respect and trust between the two countries. This is a necessary step both from economic, cultural and tourism perspectives. The citizens of the two countries can freely travel to Armenia-China and vice versa without any documentary procedures, Mekhak Apresyan said. Representative of the Armenian Guides Guild Lusine Vardanyan said before the abolishment of visa regime, there was an obvious increase in visits of Chinese tourists to Armenia. According to the data of the Statistical Service, 8430 Chinese citizens visited Armenia in 2018, but in 2019 their number was nearly 14500. Tourists coming from China to Armenia are mainly retired people. They prefer the classic option of tourism, that is the visit to historical-cultural sites, churches and museums. They taste with pleasure numerous types of dishes of the Armenian cuisine, enjoy the Armenian wine, brandy, take photos as much as possible. As a tour guide who directly works with the Chinese tourists I can confidently state that they leave Armenia impressed, she said. Vardanyan said the Chinese tourists choose Armenia as they are searching for new destinations which are known with their historical-cultural sites, beautiful places and delicious cuisine. As a flow of tourists from China is expected to Armenia following the abolishment of the visa regime, there is a need for increasing the number of guides speaking in Chinese. The speakers informed that active work will be done soon on this path. The Armenian Guides Guild and the Armenian Tourism Federation are going to work jointly. On January 19 the agreement on abolishing visa regime between Armenia and China entered into force. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaros pledge to open up the Amazon to mining companies was tantamount to genocide, indigenous leaders said Friday at a meeting to oppose the governments environmental policies. Hundreds of elders gathered this week at Pairacu, deep in the rainforest, to form a united front against Bolsonaros environmental policies, which have seen deforestation in the jungle nearly double since the Brazilian leader came to power a year ago. Our aim was to join forces and denounce the fact that the Brazilian governments political policy of genocide, ethnocide and ecocide is under way, the group said in a draft manifesto drawn up at the end of the summit. We do not accept mining on our lands, loggers, illegal fishermen or hydroelectricity. We are opposed to anything that destroys the forest, the text said. They also said that government threats and hate speech had encouraged violence against Amazon communities and demanded punishment for the murder of indigenous leaders. At least eight indigenous leaders were killed last year. Brazils leading indigenous chief, Raoni Metuktire, said Thursday he would personally travel to the capital Brasilia to present the meetings demands to Congress. Over there, Im going to ask Bolsonaro why he speaks so badly about the indigenous peoples, said the 89-year-old leader of the Kayapo tribe. Rebecca Long-Bailey came under fire from hard-Left activists today after pledging to take action to fight anti-Semitism in the Labour Party. Furious Corbynistas lashed out at the shadow business secretary because she joined other candidates in backing a serious of pledges organised by the Board of Deputies of British Jews (BOD). More than 3,500 have signed an open letter to Ms Long-Bailey, the choice of Mr Corbyn and his top team to succeed her, denouncing the BOD as a 'pro-Israel organisation'. The letter, being circulated online, shows the struggle any new party leader will have in scouring anti-Semitism from its ranks. It urges Ms Long-Bailey to pull her support for the BOD plan, saying: 'The Board of Deputies (BoD) is not the representative body for the majority of Jews in Britain, many of whom are very critical of the actions of the state of Israel - unlike the BoD. 'The BoD is a pro-Israel organisation... we believe that the BoD's ''10 Pledges'' are an outrageous political interference by an organisation that is overtly hostile to today's Labour Party and everything it stands for.' Furious Corbynistas lashed out at the shadow business secretary because she joined other candidates in backing a serious of pledges organised by the Board of Deputies of British Jews (BOD). It has been signed by regular Jeremy Corbyn supporters including Jackie Walker - expelled by Labour for misconduct after an inquiry into anti-Semitism - and comic Alexei Sayle, who are both Jewish. Labour membership 'surges by 100,000 as moderates flood party' Labour's membership has grown by more than 100,000 since the party's devastating general election loss, sparking hard-left fears that a moderate surge could scupper Rebecca Long-Bailey's chances of victory. Would-be members of the Labour Party have until 5pm today to join up if they want to be eligible to vote in the battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn. The five remaining candidates in the race are now scrambling to persuade their supporters to sign up to boost their hopes of securing the top job. But the initial numbers, revealed to the Huffington Post website by a party insider, are likely to make for grim reading for Ms Long-Bailey with many of the people joining thought to be moderates who left the party under Mr Corbyn's leadership. The shadow business secretary has the backing of the current Labour leadership and is viewed as the 'continuity Corbyn' candidate - a label she has rejected. Moderate candidates believe a huge increase in membership could play in their favour and torpedo Ms Long-Bailey's campaign. All five candidates - Ms Long-Bailey, Sir Keir Starmer, Lisa Nandy, Emily Thornberry and Jess Phillips - are now locked in a battle to make it onto the final ballot of party members. Advertisement It has been organised by fringe group Labour Against the Witchhunt, which believes claims of anti-Semitism in Labour are politically motivated smears. The BOD's pledges were launched last week, including swiftly settling all outstanding investigations and making Labour's disciplinary process independent of the party. President Marie van der Zyl said: 'We will be frank. 'The relationship between Labour and the Jewish community, once rock solid, has been all but destroyed. 'Rebuilding will take more than mild expressions of regret. It will take a firm public commitment to agree to a specific course of action. 'Our Ten Pledges identify the key points we believe Labour needs to sign up to in order to begin healing its relationship with our community. 'All of these points, in one form or another, have previously been put to Jeremy Corbyn and his leadership team. Regrettably, action on any of these issues was limited at best, non-existent at worst.' While all five leadership candidates have signed up to support them, two candidates for the deputy position has refused to - Richard Burgon and Dawn Butler. At a weekend hustings in Liverpool, Mr Burgon said: 'I will support the leader in fighting anti-Semitism in our party and fighting anti-Semitism in society. 'I do believe, obviously, in working with the Board of Deputies in the fight against anti-Semitism. I have not signed and won't be signing the 10 pledges however, because of some concerns I have. While all five leadership candidates have signed up to support them, two candidates for the deputy position has refused to - Richard Burgon (left) and Dawn Butler (second from right) 'Firstly, I'm concerned about outsourcing our complaints procedure and how that would work in practice, so I think that needs clarfiying. 'But secondly I want to work with the Board of Deputies and all Jewish organisations against discrimination. 'I'm concerned that the minorities within a minority, whether it be LGBT Jewish people, black Jewish people, Jewish people who are religious minority within that minority, their voices need to be heard as well. We need to listen and act with the whole Jewish community.' Iranian, US, British Communists issue joint statement on Mideast war danger The following is the text of a statement issued jointly on 8th January 2020, by the Tudeh Party of Iran, the Communist Party USA, and the Communist Party of Britain. It was issued in the wake of the US assassination of Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani in Iraq and the launching of retaliatory missile strikes by Iran at US-occupied bases in Iraq. It predates information that was later revealed concerning Irans unintentional downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 on the same day in the midst of the escalation. The assassination on Friday, 3rd January 2020 in Baghdad, Iraq of Qasem Soleimani, the Commander of Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) extra-territorial Quds Force and Abu Mahdi al-Mohandis, head of Iraqs Kataib Hezbollah, together with several other Iranian, Iraqi, and Lebanese nationals on the order of US President Donald Trump is a clear violation of both Iraqi national sovereignty and international law. Our parties condemn it unreservedly. We also condemn the subsequent threats of Trump against Iran, threatening to strike 52 sites in that country, including cultural sites. Furthermore, we view the Iranian regimes threat to hit US personnel and interests in the region as a dangerous and irresponsible position that serves only to escalate tension. The missile strikes on US bases in Iraq on Wednesday, 8th January, by the IRGC clearly heightened tension and threatened to bring about an all-out war with USA. It is clear that these bellicose moves have the potential to transform Iraq once again into a regional and international battlefield and immerse a swathe of countries in yet another bloodbath. Our parties urgently caution that this reckless brinkmanship is relentlessly pushing the US and its allies, including Britain, Israel and Saudi Arabia, together with Iran and its regional supporters, closer to the point of no return, greatly increasing the danger of all-out war in the Middle East and even of catastrophic global confrontation. We condemn the fanning of the flames of conflict by the mass media of the US, Britain, and Iran, whose jingoistic lies and distortions seek to justify unprovoked aggression and win popular support for escalation and war. We note that the execution of the assassination plan was carefully and cynically timed by the US president to distract public attention away from domestic problems his impeachment for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress and major social issues in the forthcoming US 2020 elections. His action undermines the constitution of the US and shows that he will stop at absolutely nothing in his ruthless pursuit of both US hegemony and personal power. The assassination and its aftermath are taking place in an environment in which tensions have been deliberately stoked for more than two decades. The present tinder box is a concoction fuelled by the adventurous policies of US imperialism including harsh sanctions against Iran, withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and continuing military presence in Iraq together with the interventionist policies and actions of the Iranian theocratic regime, particularly its Quds Force, across the region. At the same time, the sectarian-religious divisions adopted by successive Iraqi governments over the past sixteen years have damaged that countrys national sovereignty. Every effort must therefore be made to defuse tension, prevent an escalation of the current crisis, and avoid another disastrous direct or proxy military conflict in the region. To this end, all foreign interventions in Iraq and Iran must be stopped. None of the protagonists should be allowed to drive the region into a bloody war, which will serve only the interests of the most reactionary and right-wing forces in the region and beyond and line the pockets of shareholders of the vast military-industrial complexes of the world. Even the threat of war further hurts the popular movements against corruption and mismanagement and for freedom and social justice in Iran, Iraq, and other neighbouring countries. These have already been met with brutal and violent suppression. All-out war will rain death and destruction on millions of innocent people and quash their long struggle for basic rights and the possibility of determining a future of their own choosing. It is only in peace that the ordinary working people of countries such as Iran and Iraq can continue this struggle. Our parties call on the United Nations, its agencies, and the international community to help find peaceful approaches to resolve the current issues in the region. We appeal to the peace movement across the world to mobilize public opinion against war and pressure jingoistic, pro-war governments and forces into retreat, while there is still time. US imperialism and the Iranian dictatorship are disarmed and toothless without them. Finally, we commit ourselves to and call for the widest solidarity with the working class and people of Iran and Iraq in their difficult struggle through the dark days and months ahead. A peaceful solution is possible. Together, and only together, we can deliver it. Communist Party of Britain Tudeh Party of Iran Communist Party USA Peoples World A long-simmering conflict between the National Security Agency and the House Intelligence Committee broke into the open on Sunday when the committees chairman, Representative Adam B. Schiff, accused the agency of withholding critical intelligence from his panel, including some that might be useful in the impeachment trial of President Trump. Since last fall, the committee has been quietly seeking documents and intercepts that the National Security Agency gathered in Ukraine. But Mr. Schiff, a California Democrat and former prosecutor who is one of the managers of the impeachment trial, took the fight public, saying that the intelligence community is beginning to withhold documents from Congress on the issue of Ukraine. The N.S.A. in particular is withholding what are potentially relevant documents to our oversight responsibilities on Ukraine, but also withholding documents potentially relevant that the senators might want to see during the trial, he said on ABCs This Week. That is deeply concerning. And there are signs that the C.I.A. may be on the same tragic course. Administration officials disputed Mr. Schiffs accusations, saying the intelligence agencies were nonpartisan and were providing information to their congressional overseers. But a statement they issued avoided mentioning specifics. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Washington, United States Mon, January 20, 2020 12:44 722 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20602e588 2 World New-York-Times,endorsement,Democratic-party,presidential-nomination,US,Elizabeth-Warren,Amy-Klobuchar Free The New York Times on Sunday endorsed Senators Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren for the Democratic presidential nomination, its first time choosing two candidates. The liberal newspaper's pick comes just a few weeks before the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 3 which officially begins the presidential primary season. The Times described Massachusetts senator Warren as the "radical" and Minnesota senator Klobuchar as the "realist" choice. "An essential debate is underway between two visions that may define the future of the [Democratic] party and perhaps the nation," the editorial board wrote. "Some in the party view President Trump as an aberration and believe that a return to a more sensible America is possible. Then there are those who believe that President Trump was the product of political and economic systems so rotten that they must be replaced." "Both the radical and the realist models warrant serious consideration," the board said. "That's why we're endorsing the most effective candidates for each approach. They are Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar." Warren has consistently polled at third place, behind former vice president Joe Biden and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders Warren's fellow progressive. She surged during the summer but has seen her support slide since October. But The Times called her the new "standard-bearer for the Democratic left," praising her plans for structural and social reform. "Ms. Warren's path to the nomination is challenging, but not hard to envision," the board said. For Klobuchar, who is more moderate, The Times said her "lengthy tenure in the Senate and bipartisan credentials would make her a deal maker [a real one] and uniter for the wings of the party and perhaps the nation." "May the best woman win," The Times concluded. For the first time, The Times detailed its decision-making process on its television show "The Weekly". The episode shows the editorial board's interviews with nine leading Democratic presidential hopefuls. In addition to Warren and Klobuchar, The Times spoke with Biden, Sanders, billionaire activist Tom Steyer, entrepreneur Andrew Yang, South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg, former Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick and New Jersey senator Cory Booker, who dropped out of the race in December. The interviews were conducted on the record. In addition to showing video clips of the interviews in the "Weekly" episode, the Times Opinion section also published interview transcripts. (ANSA) - Milan, January 20 - A smog emergency has abated in northern Italy, sources said Monday. The level of dangerous PM10 fine particles has dropped below alert levels in Milan, Turin, Cremona, Pavia and Mantua. Anti-smog car bans have ended in these and other northern cities. In Turin, in particular, the particles have been swept away by rain and wind. Diesel cars will start circulating again there from Tuesday, sources said. Environment Minister Sergio Costa said the government had enough resources for fighting smog. "The funds are there, and they are structural," he said. He said that the "whole of the Po basin is continuing to suffer". In Milan, to fight smog, Mayor Beppe Sala has announced a ban on smoking at bus and tram stops. He said that in 10 years' time smoking would only be allowed in private residences. photo: Turin Ukraine is urging Iran to return the black-box flight recorders of a Ukrainian passenger plane shot down by the Iranian forces earlier this month. Foreign Minister Vadym Prystayko made the call on January 20 as the Iranian minister of roads and urban development was visiting Kyiv to discuss the tragedy. Mohammad Eslami's "main task is to apologize and acknowledge what happened," Prystayko told reporters. "We hope that we can go a little further than just political discussions and discuss practical problems. Among them in particular is the return of the black boxes," he added. The Kyiv-bound Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 crashed shortly after taking off from Tehran on January 8, killing all 176 people on board. Most of the victims were Iranian and Canadian citizens. Three days later, Tehran said the plane was shot down "unintentionally" by an antiaircraft missile during a spike in tensions with the United States. Last week, Afghanistan, Britain, Canada, Ukraine, and Sweden -- countries whose nationals were killed in the crash -- issued a joint statement calling for a "thorough, independent, and transparent" investigation. And on January 19, Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne reiterated Ottawa's request that Tehran hand over the black boxes to France or Ukraine "as quickly as possible." However, the Iranian official leading the investigation into the crash appeared to backtrack on plans to send the flight recorders abroad for analysis. Iranian media quoted Hassan Rezaeifar as saying the country might send the black boxes abroad, adding, "But as of yet, we have made no decision." "At first they stated that they were handing them over, then the same person stated that they were not handing them over," Prystayko said. "This created some misunderstanding in Ukraine and we were starting to be asked: 'Are they being handed over or not?'" During his meeting with Eslami, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that "in the matter of clarifying the circumstances of the tragedy, the Iranian party had complied with most arrangements," according to Ukraine's presidency. A statement said Iranian experts were expected to assess Ukraine's technical ability to decode the black boxes. "I promised the families and relatives of the victims, I promised the people of Ukraine that the truth will be established. We must know what happened," it quoted Zelenskiy as telling the Iranian minister. The coffins of the 11 Ukrainian citizens killed in the plane crash, including nine crew members, arrived in Kyiv on January 19. With reporting by Reuters and AFP A police official was injured during a clash between members of rival parties after panchayat polls in Rajasthan's Jhalawar district, police said on Monday. SHO Ajit Meghwanshi of Manoharthana police station had gone to Khatekhedi village on information of some dispute when members of one side pelted stones at him. He received head injuries and was admitted to a hospital, deputy SP Durgaram Chaudhary said. 36 persons have been arrested under Section 151 of CrPC (arrest to prevent commission of cognisable offences) and five for attacking the SHO, he added. The dispute was related to panchayat elections and one of the candidates, who lost the election, and his supporters were creating ruckus in the village. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 13:00:49|Editor: ZD Video Player Close SYDNEY, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Scientists tracking shark movements along Australia's Great Barrier Reef have been left stunned on Monday, after it was revealed that one of the predators traveled over 4000km to Papua New Guinea. Studying the creatures in order to get a better understanding of their habitat, researchers at James Cook University's Biopixel Oceans Foundation have tagged a total of 16 tiger sharks in the research program, as well as a handful of other species. Although tiger sharks are known to swim a long way north, the team were baffled to find that one of the animals -- a 2.5 meter tiger shark named Zuza, first tracked 15 months ago -- had journeyed all the way to Port Moresby. "We are very excited to follow Zuza's movements," Biopixel researcher Richard Fitzpatrick told the Cairns Post. "(But) we don't yet have enough data to draw conclusions." "That's why continuing this research is important. We need to understand sharks' behaviour, so we can better manage interactions in their environment." With the cutting edge technology expected to provide new and vital information about how to protect the near-threatened species, Fitzpatrick said the tracking process can often be arduous. "Satellite tagging is difficult, because we only get a signal when the shark's dorsal fin is out of the water," he said. "Also, in this part of the world, satellites are only overhead for about 30 percent of the time." A 13-year-old tribal boy was killed and another person injured on Monday when a hand grenade they had collected from a CISF firing range exploded, police said. The incident took place in Barwaha town when the duo was trying to take out metal pieces from the unexploded hand grenade for selling them in scrap market, they said. The boy, Mohit Bheel, died instantly, while one Gudda (25) suffered serious injuries, Barwaha Sub-Divisional Officer of Police Shailendra Singh Shrivastava said. Gudda was rushed to a hospital in Indore, he said. The duo had collected the hand grenade from the firing range of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) located in a forested area of Barwaha, some 100km from the district headquarters, he said. The two were trying to open the explosive in a field for metal when it exploded, the police added. People residing near the firing range often enter the premises to pick up used ammunition and sell them in the local scrap market to eke out a living, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Australian officials announced that a secret operation by specialist firefighters had saved the world's last remaining "dinosaur trees" from wildfires that razed forests in the land down under. David Crust, director of the National Parks and Wildlife Service, reported that firefighters winched from helicopters to reach the cluster of less than 200 Wollemi Pines in a remote canyon in the Blue Mountains a week before massive wildlife bore down. The firefighters set up an irrigation system to keep the dinosaur trees moist and pumped water daily from the gorge as the blaze that had burned out of control for months. Firefighting planes strategically attacked the fire with fire retardant to slow down its progress. Firefighters also tapped a river to moisten the soil and slow the approach of a potential fire as water-bomber planes and air tankers encircled the Wollemi National Park. In a report by Los Angeles Times, Crust told Australian Broadcasting Corp. that the planes helped to slow the intensity of the fire as it approached the region. "The Wollemi Pine is essential, and the reality that that is the best place in the world in which they exist and that they exist in such small numbers is significant," he added. The Wollemi Pine had only been seen in its fossilized form and was perceived long extinct before the station was discovered in 1994. The Wollemi's survival is among the few positive stories to emerge from the unprecedented wildlife crisis in Australia. New South Wales country Environment Minister Matt Kean stated the operation had saved the stand, even though some plant life had been saved. "These pines outlived the dinosaurs, so we realized we needed to do the whole lot we should to store them while we saw the fire coming near," Kean stated. The exact place of the trees remains carefully guarded mysteriously to help authorities defend the bushes. The Wollemi's survival is one of the few great tales to emerge from the unparalleled wildlife crisis in southeast Australia. Steve McLoughlin, an Australian curator, and professor at the Swedish Royal Museum of Natural History told The Post that there were many more. The Wollemia Nobilis turned into common throughout Australia from more than a hundred million years in the past to about 60 million years ago. But because the continent dried out while drifting north, approximately 30 million years in the past, the trees started to disappear. The trees were so sparse that for much of the latest history, scientists lengthy believed the "dinosaur tree" was extinct and lived only inside the fossil record. Even after that discovery over decades ago, there are just three tiny groves of the "dinosaur tree." Scientists and authorities officers have stored the location of the stand a mystery to keep away from contamination. The recent Australian bushfires have claimed at the least 28 lives because September, destroyed more than 2,600 homes and razed greater than 10.3 million hectares (25.5 million acres), affecting most in New South Wales. The region burned is larger than the U.S. state of Indiana. But the fire risk has dwindled through the rain this week in several areas. The first fresh flowers of regrowth have already surfaced in some blacked forests following the storm. Speaking skeptically about the liberality of Federal Law 41- On Precious Metals and Precious Stones (hereinafter referred to as Law 41-) enacted on 03.03.1998 with respect to the circulation of precious stones, I allowed some simplification in my previous articles without going into the smaller details of the legal regulation governing this industry branch. In fact, the main prohibitive role in this regulation was played not by Law 41- itself, but by-laws adopted on its basis and with a purpose to further develop it. This simplification did not have much significance, because the effect was still integral in nature. But when the regulatory guillotine came into the scene, it became clear that this project is a unique window of opportunity for eliminating the entire regulatory overlay, which makes the conditions for real work on the market of precious metals and precious stones entirely improper, however using for this the relatively decent legislative industry norms. So, it becomes all the more urgent to raise these nuances now, when the Ministry of Finance of Russia itself proposes to add the by-laws that actually block the normal retail circulation of precious stones in the Russian market to the list of decrees, which cease to be in force. To assess the prospects for the future, let us turn to the history of how the legal norms governing the circulation of precious stones in Russia were transformed, for which we will look at the text of the very first edition of Law 41-. Law 41- introduced progressive standards for its time endowing those engaged in mining precious stones with the right to sell them to any legal entities and individuals (Paragraph 5 of Article 20 Disposal of mined and produced precious metals and precious stones). In 1998, Russia witnessed the emergence of many new commodity exchanges, which were popping up like mushrooms after the rain - the country's economy was moving to market rails. Therefore, it is not surprising that at that time many thought of a coming boom in establishing exchanges dealing with precious metals and precious stones. Moreover, the provision of the possibility to sell any product through the exchange was considered not as a duty, but as a liberal right stipulated not by a state order, but by a free market, and this looked good then. Thus, the first edition of Law 41- contained Article 3, Exchanges of precious metals and precious stones later recognized as redundant, which among other things stipulated the right to sell sorted uncultivated precious stones and "certified processed precious stones" on such exchanges. Another liberal feature of the upcoming free circulation of precious stones in 1998 was the seeming possibility of their pre-sale certification. The fact is that by this time both ordinary citizens and Russian officials have already managed to travel a bit around the world, including the countries of Southeast Asia, where they were able to observe mass retail trade in rubies and sapphires packed in boxes with accompanying pieces of paper bearing the name of certificates. In fact, all these certificates were not certificates at all, but simple expert opinions, not even always from gemological laboratories. That is, in fact they were just a sellers description accompanying a stone. But these pieces of paper generated an additional appeal to such stones and the illusion of customer protection, so it was decided to broadcast such a practice on the Russian market. And this measure was considered at that time as unconditional protection of buyers interests and rights, and not at all as restrictions. It should be noted that in the very first edition of Law 41-, the protection of buyers interests was treated as having important significance, if not the utmost significance within the entire newly created regulatory base of the Russian market for precious metals and precious stones. Thus, Article 13 of Law 41- described the essence of federal assay supervision as follows: 1. The federal assay supervision is carried out in order to protect the rights of consumers buying jewelry and other household goods made of precious metals and precious stones and the rights of manufacturers producing these goods from unfair competition, as well as in order to protect the interests of the state. Interestingly, the latest version of Law 41-, in which this fundamental norm for the existence of federal-state assay supervision was still present, was its version No. 12 of 05/02/2015. After that, the norm protecting the interests and rights of buyers in Law 41- was eliminated by the adopted Federal Law dated 02.05.2015 No. 111- (both laws have the same adoption date). Probably, this norm was liquidated as morally obsolete, as the supervision should take care of other things... It is curious that Revision No. 12 of Law 41- was valid for only four and a half months, until October 30, 2015. So, you can guess how difficult the discussion about renewing Law 41- was. Turning back to the problem of gemstone certification, we have to note that this norm introduced in the first edition of Law 41- was precisely meant to create and develop a retail market for gemstones in Russia. Moreover, the law did not introduce any prohibitions - it was understood that certificates, being a purely market-based tool providing guarantees of authenticity, will simply allow the gem exchanges to more successfully sell processed gemstones to both individuals and legal entities. And unprocessed gems at the same exchanges were supposed to be sold, again to individuals and legal entities, but only on one condition such gems were to pass sorting. What is more important - it did not follow from the law that selling precious stones to individuals and legal entities is possible only on the stock exchange. It was viewed otherwise it was also possible to sell them on the stock exchange! Under the conditions stated above. In pursuance of the norms laid down in Law 41-, the Russian Federation Government issued Decree No. 372 on April 5, 1999, On certification of precious metals, precious stones, and products from them and the Rules for the sale of certain types of goods approved by Decree No. 55 of the Russian Federation Government on January 19, 1998, included new paragraphs, 61 to 66. And it is here, at the level of by-laws, we see the emergence of restrictions on the circulation of precious stones. Firstly, the list of precious stones subject to certification in the Russian Federation, approved by Decree No. 372, indicated not the cases of their circulation that were prescribed in Law 41-. While Law 41- stated that the processed gemstones intended for transactions on the exchange by legal entities and individuals are subject to certification, Decree No. 372 of April 5, 1999, said that the certification procedure was meant for faceted gemstones if sold to individuals in retail trade. Obviously, this is a very distorted interpretation of the law. The law said that certificates are to be used (and this was not mandatory) for transactions through the exchange, not through retail outlets. It was evident that these restrictions were not stipulated for by Law 41-. Secondly, the same conditions for the retail sale of precious stones (contrary to the provisions of the current Law 41-) were established in the "Rules for the sale of certain types of goods ..." introduced by Resolution No. 55. Paragraph 61 of the Rules for Retail Trade in force at the time of adoption of Law 41- said, The sale of faceted natural precious stones (diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires and alexandrites) shall be carried out only if there is a certificate for each stone or set of stones sold. In all fairness, we should note that the launch of precious stones in retail trade was an innovation in itself and the authorities had difficulty imagining how to do this. The Rules for the sale of certain types of goods ... were introduced on February 12, 1998 by a resolution of January 19, 1998, i.e. even before the adoption of the very first edition of Law 41-. And these rules were based on the norms previously set by Decree of the Russian Federation Government No. 684 of June 15, 1994, On approval of the rules for the sale of products made of precious metals and precious stones, in which the retail sale of precious stones not set in jewelry was not provided for at all. In addition, Law 41- immediately provided for the possibility of a protracted preparation: final Article No. 32 of the law prescribed that before organizing and starting work on the exchanges of precious metals and precious stones provided for in Article 3 of this Federal Law, transactions with precious metals and precious stones will be carried out in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation. The legislators did not forget about the lag for the introduction of certification. In the same Article 32 of the law, they wrote: The certification established by Article 14 of this Federal Law will be introduced after certification centers are organized and after they receive the relevant licenses. However, the justification of the restrictions imposed by the Russian Federation Government on the retail sale of precious stones not provided for by Law 41- came from another law, which was at that time in force, Law No. 3615-1 of October 9, 1992 - On Currency Regulation and Currency Control. According to Article 1, the law viewed as hard currency natural gems - diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires and alexandrites in raw and processed form, as well as pearls, with the exception of jewelry and other household products from these stones and scrap of such products. Under paragraph 2 of Article 3 of this law, the procedure for transactions with natural precious stones and pearls in the Russian Federation was established by the Government of the Russian Federation. Which, in fact, gave rise to a legal conflict - Law 41- did not introduce the restrictions on the retail sale of precious stones, but using the right to regulate transactions with natural precious stones given to the Government of the Russian Federation by another law - on foreign exchange regulation - the Government introduced such restrictions in the form of a requirement for certificates to be issued for processed stones if they are sold through retail outlets. And in fact, this eliminated any possibility of selling rough stones in retail - simply by not providing such a legal opportunity. However, on June 10, 2004, Law on Currency Regulation No. 3615-1 dated October 9, 1992, lost its force, but at the same time another Federal Law On Currency Regulation and Currency Control, No. 173- dated December 10, 2003 was enacted, in which precious stones were removed from the list of foreign exchange equivalents. Thus, strictly observing the legal technique, both of the aforementioned resolutions of the Russian Federation Government establishing the requirements for certification of precious stones sold in retail trade should have been adjusted to the requirements of the current version of Law 41- by June 10, 2004, i.e. by the time the new law on currency regulation and currency control came into force, which no longer gave the right to the Government to establish the procedure for transactions with precious stones, but this was not done then. Later, the norms of Law 41- and the mentioned by-laws governing the turnover of precious stones in the retail market were repeatedly adjusted. The most revolutionary change in the retail trade dealing with precious stones (after the abolition of their foreign exchange status) was... the abolition of their mandatory certification! The fact is that on December 27, 2002, the legislators adopted Federal Law No. 184- "On Technical Regulation," which abolished Law No. 5151-1 "On Certification of Products and Services" of June 10, 1993 making it impossible to establish certification centers for precious stones, which had not begun by that time, but were provided for by Law 41- as mandatory for the release of precious stones into retail trade. At the same time, the Unified List of Products Subject to Obligatory Certification stipulated by Article 25 of the new law did not include gems under Code 7103. True, the law does not prohibit the introduction of a voluntary certification system, but this is not at all what is stipulated by the norms of the Rules for the sale of certain types of goods..." Such voluntary certification systems can be created and registered as many as you like, and nothing prevents the creation of such voluntary certification systems for gems, according to which a precious stone recognized within one of the registered certification systems suddenly turns out to be non-precious within another certification system. Not to mention the likely inconsistency in the description of gemstones characteristics in different certification systems. So, the piece of paper that is applied today to a diamond or emerald in retail sale cannot in any way be considered the certificate that was originally envisioned as a permit document for retail. These years saw some changes in the Rules for the sale of certain types of goods... regarding the rules for the turnover of processed precious stones. Decree of the Russian Federation Government No. 81 issued on February 6, 2002 reduced the list of faceted precious stones, the retail sale of which is possible only if they have a certificate, to emeralds and diamonds: The sale of polished diamonds made from natural rough diamonds and polished emeralds will be carried out only with a certificate for each stone or set (lot) of stones sold. And this norm is still valid today, although no one knows what a certificate for the mentioned stones is and who should issue it and on the basis of which certification system. But, occasionally selling such stones in retail, home-made "certificates" are issued. But it is not clear what has now become with the retail sale of faceted alexandrites, rubies and sapphires - has it been completely banned, or, conversely, has become completely free? Apparently, the issue has been left to law enforcement officers. This is up to them to decide... It should be noted that over the past years Law 41- itself experienced transformations. Interestingly, it was remaining liberal enough regarding the turnover of precious stones. For example, its Article 22 acquired Clause 4, where the restriction on the circulation of precious stones is prescribed in principle: Transactions with precious stones, the classification characteristics of which are not defined, with the exception of the agreements specified in the second paragraph of this clause, are not permitted. But this norm does not prevent the normal, civilized circulation of precious stones, even in the retail market, and does not require any mythical certificates. With the adoption of Federal Law No. 184- On Technical Regulation, Article 14 Certification of Precious Metals, Precious Stones and Products from them in Law 41- changed its name for Confirmation of Conformity of Precious Metals, Precious Stones and Products from them. With the traditional indication that before the enactment of technical regulations, the list of precious metals, precious stones and products thereof subject to mandatory confirmation of compliance will be determined by the Government of the Russian Federation. The section "Exchanges of Precious Metals and Precious Stones" has disappeared from Law 41- due to their actual irrelevance. However, Article 32 of this federal law said that before the organization of exchanges trading in precious metals and precious stones provided for by Article 3 (which has lost its force!), transactions with precious metals and precious stones will be carried out in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation." Bottom line As a result, we have a unique opportunity for New Russia, within the framework of the regulatory guillotine, to demolish by-laws that impede the free retail circulation of faceted gemstones and possibly to give green light to the circulation of unprocessed gemstones, the classification characteristics of which have been determined, that is to materials for mineralogical collections of individuals. However, there is a real danger that all or any of the norms contained in by-laws will flow into Law 41- itself, including the norm requiring to have something called a certificate for the retail sale of precious stones. But there is hope that this situation is understood by the Ministry of Finance of Russia. Vladimir Zboikov for Rough & Polished Rasheida Quinn gets support from family and friends for her murdered son, Demitrius Moore, last Monday on the 3100 block of North Rosewood Street. Moore, 15, was shot and killed the day before. Read more I have a dream and its that on Monday, the federal holiday honoring the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., nobody gets shot or stabbed. Not another young black man. Not another battered woman caught up in a domestic nightmare. And certainly not another innocent child. Designated in 1994 as a national day of service, the holiday is supposed to be used as a day on, not a day off. In other words, youre not supposed to just hang around the house. The goal is to get involved in service projects, which is noble. However, this year, I would like to suggest that another component be added to the annual recognition, and its that it also be observed as a day of peace. Think about what that might mean. For one day, the gunfire that rings out so regularly in battle-scarred neighborhoods would be silenced. Disputes that otherwise might lead to gun battles would be put on hold. It would be so quiet on the night of Jan. 20 that local media outlets would have nothing but good news to report the following day. It sounds far-fetched, especially given Philadelphias surging homicide rate. Already, the city is on track to have an even bloodier year than 2019. The previous weekend, during a single 48-hour period, seven people were killed and 12 others wounded by gunfire, including an 18-month-old boy who was grazed by a bullet. READ MORE: They shot my baby: Teen among dead as 7 killed, 12 shot in violent weekend in Philadelphia Whats happening in the streets here and elsewhere is symptomatic of the ills that King spent his too-short life pushing back against: the triple evils of poverty, racism, and militarism. The gun violence does not happen absent of the structural inequality, said Chad Dion Lassiter, executive director of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission. I asked him how King would have addressed gun violence. King would be concerned, for sure, but he would work toward addressing the economic injustice that creates the despair, said Lassiter. He would not cast blame, but he would speak to the conditions that create the social misery. In other words, he would see beyond skin color and go at the root cause of violence. So much of what bedevils the black community globally, especially in America, is around opportunity, the Rev. Marshall Mitchell of Salem Baptist Church pointed out. Opportunity creates hope. Preparation creates confidence. We are now 40 years into a brand of leadership that has not created opportunities for many other than the sons and daughters of the black connected and elite. Little energy and real grit has been directed toward chronically poor blacks. Is it any wonder that they are left to self-destruction in the shadows of Philadelphias immense, rising wealth. READ MORE: The government isnt going to save us, so we have to take control of our streets and save ourselves | Jenice Armstrong Three black mayors and dozens of elected officials later, hundreds of millions of dollars in church construction, and we are still at a formative stage in so many ways, Mitchell added. Is it any wonder that self-hatred is manifesting itself in an orgy of black violence? Violence, hopefully, that can be paused for one day. Its a start. And its possible. I know Im just a newspaper columnist with an idea. But years ago, I was a Howard University student who demonstrated outside the U.S. Capitol for a day that would be set aside in honor of King. I dont remember how many years I went. I do recall being cold and bopping along to Stevie Wonders Happy Birthday, which hed written in honor of King. At the time, what we were agitating for seemed like a pipe dream. Then, in 1983, President Ronald Reagan reluctantly signed the bill into law, making the commemoration a federal holiday. We had won. If Kings life taught us anything, its that a lot can happen if you only dream. So, on Monday, put the guns down. Its a small thing to do in memory of a man who did so much. The harsh winter spell this year and the associated deaths of more than 100 people are just one of a series of events having a spillover effect on many aspects of life. The year 2020 marks the beginning of a decade witnessing the onset of many changes that will bring focus to the connection between climate change and national security. The harsh winter spell this year and the associated deaths of more than 100 people are just one of a series of events having a spillover effect on many aspects of life. Fires, floods and drought, here or in other parts of the world, are a clear indication of the scale and scope of the challenges that we face. Climate change is a living, dynamic and evolving threat that cannot be ignored. To be effective, every development policy and political decision must factor in the science of climate change and project its cyclical, repetitive and multifaceted impacts on social and economic indicators. So far there is no indication that global temperature increase will be contained within one degree Celsius by 2050. The commitments made in the Paris Agreement are not legally binding; the accord, therefore, cannot be relied on as the international instrument for ensuring compliance. It appears that each country will have to deal with the climate crisis using local resources, capacities and technologies to build adaptive resilience. The internal and external threats of climate conflicts on national security are inseparable. If left unmanaged both will create chaos and instability. Internal peace and stability depend on social harmony and economic opportunity; however, both have come under extreme stress as effects of climate change shrink the resource base against rising demand. In Pakistans context, a burgeoning population and widening gap in wealth distribution act as a threat multiplier. The decrease in per capita water availability, unsuitable cropping patterns, poor gender parity, high population growth rate and underdeveloped human capital make it difficult for the state to respond to the impacts of these exponential threat multipliers. Climate hot spots, drought, desertification, floods, disease, increased frequency of natural disasters and subsequent mass movement of people in search of livelihoods are already contributing to societal strife, pitting vested interest groups against each other as they compete for resources, leading to violent conflicts and lawlessness. The perils to national security emanate from different sectors, situations and circumstances, and therefore, cannot be addressed without a holistic approach. Specific attention must be paid to game-changing elements such as foreign policy, governance model, population growth rate, gender parity and quality of human resource. Recent political and social events in many parts of the world have shown us that exclusive narratives are gaining traction, putting countries and not humanity, first. This poses a moral dilemma to rights-based approaches in finding fair solutions to these challenges. On the other hand, hybrid warfare and invasion, and the proverbial destruction of perceived enemies, without engaging in direct military combat, are and will continue to be on the rise. National security will, therefore, have to be built on the pillars of multi-disciplinary actions that take into account the significance of climate change and its impacts on socioeconomic and political developments at the global and national level. National security by definition means protecting the interests and well-being of all the people living within the geographical boundaries of a country. However, with the rapidity and complexity of changes occurring as a result of global warming, it is no longer an option to presume that security is limited to external aggression or it is the exclusive domain of the military establishment and the law-enforcement agencies. Harmonised societies with good governance, strong institutions and a proven track record in service delivery will be better placed to cope with the impact of climate conflicts on national security. In the present climatic and security threats posed to Pakistan, people are the first line of defence. In order to secure the interests of the nation it is vital to secure the needs of the people. An empowered, intelligent and rational populace with robust social and economic indicators is the best investment in national security. By arrangement with Dawn MIDDLETOWN Retired Middletown Police Chief Lynn Baldoni is looking at doorways and other architectural features with a new perspective: through a camera lens. The character of the doors and entrances is much different from what you see now. Theyre different theyre unique in many ways, she said, with different architectural styles: archways, awnings, windows. Some of the coolest shots are in older sections of town. When you put the decorations on, it really makes it stand out, or pop, she said. Since mid-December, Baldoni, an amateur photographer who retired from the citys force in 2009, has shared on Facebook a growing album of Connecticut doors decorated for the holidays, garnering widespread interest, she said. She relies on her Olympus micro four-thirds, because its lighter and easier to carry around, compared to older cameras. The personality of homeowners and verve for the holiday season shine through in these photographs, which show a range of Connecticuts house and public entryways in Middletown, Durham, Middlefield, East Haddam, Guilford, Newington, Old Wethersfield, Wallingford, Hartford and Watertown. The Wadsworth Mansion in Middletown was an interesting subject. I find it inviting. You can see the reflection of the pine trees you can almost see right through, Baldoni said. Her interest lies in what catches my eye, said Baldoni, also coordinator of Warm the Children for the Middletown Kiwanis Club. The initiative pairs members and other donors with families in need of winter clothing. Given the robust reaction on social media, shes mulling the idea of printing cards and selling them, with all proceeds going to Warm the Children. One friend even suggested she photograph doors during all four seasons, an idea that intrigues Baldoni. Shes mostly drawn to old and abandoned stuff. One outing involved a visit to a massive junkyard. Its just acres of old cars that have been abandoned, sitting there, rotting, Baldoni explained. Since retiring, shes attended a number of classes at colleges, artistic organizations and programs through adult education, including the West Hartford Art League, Farmington Valley Arts Center, and Tunxis Community College in Farmington, where she earned a noncredit certificate in photography. Baldoni has photographed the Old Lyman homestead in Middlefield, houses on Guilfords Main Street, 2 Wrastlin Cats coffee shop and Gillette Castle in East Haddam, Asylum Hill Congregational church in Hartford, the Wethersfield Grange, as well as many locations throughout Middletown: the Inn at Middletown, Middlesex County Historical Society, First Church, and the old firehouse on Hubbard Street. Shes also taken photography trips to ghost towns in Nevada last year, as well as to an abandoned warehouse in Waterbury, which she visited early one morning to capture its facade in interesting light. You cant access any of them, but, from the street, I got a couple really nice shots. For the most part, theyre vacant. One of them had a tree growing out of the window, Baldoni said. Shes particularly loves the doors of old churches and other historical buildings. The character of the doors and entrances is much different from what you see now. Theyre different theyre unique in many ways, said Baldoni, who is also drawn to archways, awnings and windows. Some of the coolest shots are in older sections of town. When you put the decorations on, it really makes it stand out or pop, she said. Always mindful of not disturbing the occupants, Baldoni takes her photos from the sidewalk or, a few times, from her car window. Baldoni, who has taken a bit of artist license with the shots, has employed apps such as Snapseed, colorizing and upping the contrast, adding filters and effects. In a few cases, shes changed the hue of a door to amp up its visual appeal. I have a blast, she said. To view project photos, visit Lynn Baldoni Photography on Facebook. As the determined and reverberating sound of Martin Luther King Jrs final speech echoed from the back of a car stereo in Mobile Monday afternoon, about 200 hundred people readied themselves for a march through the Port City. The famous speech, given on April 3, 1968, one day before the civil rights leader was assassinated, called for unity and nonviolent protest, while challenging the United States to live up to its ideals. More than 50 years later, those principles had not been forgotten as the marchers made the 1.6 mile walk from Bishop State Community College to Lyons Park. Its a very special day, said Levi Wright Jr., who said he used to walk in similar marches with his father. Its not just MLK day, its a day for family, for love and to celebrate the legacy of the older generations who fought for our rights, and to ensure the younger people never forget. 19 Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2020 Despite it being one of the colder days to hit Mobile this winter, with temperatures in the low 40s, attendees of all ages and races seemed in good spirits. Minister Eugene Crawford, who has been marching for civil rights for 50 years, led the people in a rousing rendition of This Little Light of Mine, a 1920s gospel song that later became an anthem of peaceful protest during the civil rights era. Marchers also sang Stevie Wonders Happy Birthday single, a song that popularized the campaign to have Martin Luther King Jr. Day made a national holiday. That was granted in Nov. 1983 by Republican President Ronald Reagan. Chief of Mobile Police Lawrence Battiste walked with the marchers, as did Mobile Councilman C.J. Small. MLK was for one human kind, he was for all of us, said Small. And its more important than ever with the census coming that we recognize that we are all one people that should not be divided, and recognize the sacrifices MLK made for us. Wanda Lewis, a local Mobilian, said that MLKs legacy was more important than ever as dangerous international and religious divisions were becoming greater. We live in a violent and dangerous world, said Lewis. Its more important than ever to listen to his words of love and acceptance if were going to become a more peaceful people and avoid more overseas wars based on hatred of religion." Canada's Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry Navdeep Bains speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada December 6, 2019. REUTERS/Blair Gable Some telecom experts welcome the federal governments campaign promise to reduce cell phone bills by 25 per cent, but caution that clear wording should be used when deciding how its measured. Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development said Wednesday that carriers have to go above and beyond the price reductions they have made since 2016, and clarified that the reduction target will be measured from the time he received his mandate letter after the 2019 federal election. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he would cut cell phone bills during the last election, but the party has not provided further details. John Lawford, executive director and general counsel of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, told Yahoo Finance Canada he was pleased with the way the promise is being handled. Lawford said that setting a 25 per cent target was smart because it puts pressure on carriers like Rogers, Telus, Bell, and Shaw. However, he said in order for the government to mandate price cuts, they need to explain to carriers how they will measure a price reduction. That could be as simple as creating a service basket, which telecom providers use to differentiate the prices of different services. There can be several levels within a service basket that include different price rates for usage of a service, and the features and performance of that service. For example, Lawford said, the annual standard for the price-per-gigabyte should be adjusted based on consumer usage and statistics on what the norm is at the time. In telecom, we expect productivity to improve. With every passing year these guys should be producing better quality each year with no price increase, Lawford said. If I [bought] a one-gigabyte plan two years ago, and then today, I buy a one-gigabyte plan well... its going to be cheaper. I would normally get a five-gigabyte plan now because I would have upgraded to that amount. Anthony Lacavera, former Wind Mobile owner and founder of Globalive Capital said the intention to further reduce prices is good, but he also expressed concern about the target. Story continues You cant just say, were going to take 25 per cent off of wireless pricing, because what youre going to do if you really did that, and you enforced it, is you would be cutting so deeply into the incumbent revenues that they would slow down the 5G rollout. According to the CRTCs Communications Monitoring Report, mobile prices dropped 35 per cent from 2016 to 2018. In June 2019, Rogers was also the first to roll out new unlimited cellphone plan rates starting at $75. Bell and Telus followed shortly after. Dwayne Winseck, director of the Canadian Media Concentration Research Project, told Yahoo Finance Canada that the best way to accomplish a 25 per cent reduction in costs to consumers would be to create a proper service basket that is clear to understand. Winseck recommended comparing Canadian rates with those of providers in other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. The OECD is comprised of 36 countries that collaborate on global issues at national, regional and local levels. Canada is a member. OpenMedias Rodrigo Samayoa applauded the ministers clarification and said that the only way price reductions will happen is if there is more competition in the country. He expects that it would come from Mobile Virtual Network Operators, wholesale service providers that offer services at cheaper rates. We need to introduce MVNOs and other mechanisms immediately, he said, adding that the consumer advocacy group is pleased with what the minister has said, but now it depends on what actions the government takes. A hearing on MVNOs will take place in February, during which the CRTC will review whether or not mandating MVNOs is an option to foster competition. With files from the Canadian Press SANAA, Yemen - The death toll from a missile attack by Yemens Houthi rebels on a military camp climbed to at least 111 troops, a Yemeni army spokesman said Monday, making it one of the deadliest rebel assaults since the beginning of the countrys bloody civil war. Ballistic missiles smashed into a mosque in the training camp in the central province of Marib over the weekend, wounding at least 68 other troops, said Abdu Abdullah Magli, spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces. The oil-rich province of Marib is about 115 kilometres (70 miles) east of the Houthi-controlled capital, Sanaa. The attack came amid a barrage of assaults by Saudi-backed government forces on rebel targets east of the capital. Saudi Arabias foreign ministry on Monday condemned the attack, saying it would deliberately undermine the path to a political solution in the Yemeni conflict, according the kingdoms official news agency. The U.S. ambassador to Yemen, Christopher Henzel, also condemned the attack. He urged in a tweet Monday all parties to de-escalate military activities immediately and to work together on a political solution. In recent months, Saudi Arabia started backchannel negotiations with the Houthis in the neighbouring country of Oman, after the rebels claimed an attack on Saudi oil infrastructure that threatened global oil supplies. The United States blamed the attack on Iran, which denied involvement. Also Monday, a top Yemeni military official survived an attempted assassination in the eastern Hadramawt province, according to a military statement. The statement said armed men attacked the convoy of an infantry unit commander, Brig. Yahia Abu Ouja, in the Wadi Ser area. It said that the assault killed two troops including a colonel, and wounded five others. In recent years, government forces have clashed with the Hadramawt Elite, a Yemeni security unit trained and equipped by the the United Arab Emirates. The force has attempted to wrest control of the area from the government side. The UAE has been a crucial partner in the Saudi-led coalition. In the southern Dhale province, a separatist commander was also killed in an attack while he was heading the southern port city of Aden, security officials said. Yemens civil war erupted in 2014 when the Iran-backed Shiite Houthi rebels seized Sanaa, and much of the countrys north, ousting the internationally recognized government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. The Saudi-led coalition launched its campaign in 2015 to drive out the Houthis and restore the government of Hadi. The grinding war in the Arab worlds poorest country has killed more than 10,000 people, displaced over 3 million and pushed the country to the brink of famine. Both sides in Yemens war have been accused of war crimes and rampant human rights abuses. Saudi-led coalition air strikes and rebel shelling have drawn widespread international criticism for killing civilians and hitting non-military targets. ____ Magdy reported from Cairo. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibadan zonal office, has arrested 89 suspected internet fraudsters at the popular Club 360 located on the Akala Expressway, Oluyole Extension in Ibadan, Oyo State. According to the acting Head, Media and Publicity and spokesperson of the EFCC, Tony Orilade, in a statement issued on Monday, said Club 360, is notorious for harbouring internet fraudsters on that axis of Ibadan. Orilade alleged that the commission had been monitoring activities at the club in recent time with a surveillance team. In preparation for the late-night operation, officers of the commission had carried out series of discreet surveillance on the nature of activities going on in the nightclub which, according to intelligence, was notorious for harboring suspected internet fraudsters. The raid also led to the confiscation of scores of vehicles, laptops, sophisticated phones and other items, the statement partly reads. Orilade stated that the 89 suspects have been undergoing further interrogation at the EFCC facility in Ibadan. EFCC Arrests 89 Yahoo-Boys in Ibadan Night Club The EFCC Ibadan zonal office, at the weekend, arrested 89 suspected internet fraudsters at the popular Club 360 located on the Akala Expressway, Oluyole Extension in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.#SayNoToCorruption pic.twitter.com/kEHj4lmEQJ EFCC Nigeria (@officialEFCC) January 20, 2020 Meanwhile, Kanyi Daily had reported that the EFCC is planning to rehabilitate young people who are engaged in Internet fraud, popularly known as Yahoo Yahoo boys. The Acting Chairman of EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, who disclosed this said the agency is planning to rehabilitate those arrested for engaging in internet fraud because they can be useful for the anti-graft agency in the future. She's been an actress and model since the late '90s, but on Sunday night she attended the SAG Awards as one half of a high-powered couple. Molly Sims was on hand at the ritzy awards event with her producer husband, Scott Stuber, who is the head of original films at Netflix. Sims, 46, shined in a hot pink Rasario maxi gown that boasted over-sized puffed sleeves, a high neck and a seam down the front. Priceless in pink: Molly Sims was on hand at the ritzy SAG Awards at The Shrine Auditorium on Sunday in Los Angeles in a hot pink maxi gown Molly's blond hair was parted at the middle, and worn up in a loose bun in the back. She carried a metal box clutch, and sported minimal diamond jewelry by Anita Ko on her ears and fingers. Her husband Scott, who co-produced the Emmy-nominated fantasy series The Umbrella Academy for Netflix, wore a dark blue suit with black lapels and a thick necktie. Power couple: Molly attended with her producer husband Scott Stuber, who is the head of original films at Netflix Attention-getting: Molly's floor-length dress boasted over-sized puffed sleeves and seaming down the front, with a high neck The pair, who've been married since 2011, share three children: Grey Douglas, three, Scarlett May, four, and Brooks Alan, seven. As a model, Molly has graced the pages of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, and was the face of Covergirl cosmetics. And on the acting front, she played Delinda Deline in the soapy NBC drama Las Vegas for all five seasons, from 2003 to 2008. A different killer look: Last week, Sims attended the 25th Annual Critics' Choice Awards in Santa Monica in this ravishing sheer and black lace number Up next for Sims is the crime comedy Ride Or Die, about a spin instructor dealing with a murder. As for Stuber, his next production credit is the upcoming Tyrese Gibson action thriller Desert Eagle. The film follows two border patrol agents' investigation of a drug cartel. An Indian tourist accused of kissing a toddler twice on the lips at an aquarium told the boy's parents he was 'sorry' immediately afterwards. Nikhil Bhatia, 29, allegedly kissed a two-year-old boy who was being pushed in a pram by his parents at the Sea Life Aquarium in Darling Harbour, Sydney at 5pm on Sunday. Bhatia had travelled to Australia from India just a week earlier. An Indian tourist accused of kissing a toddler twice on the lips at an aquarium told the boy's parents he was 'sorry' immediately afterwards (stock image) He appeared at Central Local Court via audio link from Surry Hills police station on Monday, news.com.au reported. The court heard that Bhatia allegedly knelt down in front of the boy after touching his head and his hands. 'He then lowered himself down and using the arms of the child drew himself in before kissing him twice on the lips,' a police prosecutor said. Bhatia was pushed away from the child by his father, the court heard. 'Once the child's parents intervened the accused reacted by saying ''I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry'',' the police prosecutor said. Bhatia blamed the kiss on a 'cultural difference' - but the police prosecutor argued he received 'gratification'. Bhatia has been charged with intentionally sexually touching a child under 10 years of age. He faces 16 years in prison, but plans to plead not guilty. He remains in custody due to Magistrate Robert Williams finding him to be a flight risk. Bhatia's lawyer Sharon Ramsden said his offending wasn't at the extreme end of the scale as he did not touch the child's genitals. He will return to court on February 4. Returning home to be with your family for Tet (Lunar New Year) is a wonderful feeling, but not all Vietnamese people working and studying overseas can come back for the festive season. A party to celebrate Lunar New Year 2020 was celebrated at the Vietnamese Embassy in the Republic of Korea. VNA/VNS Photo Huu Tuyen Although overseas Vietnamese labourers don't have many days off during the traditional Vietnamese new year holiday, they have their own ways to celebrate Tet. Nguyen Thanh Tu, from central Thanh Hoa Province, works for an automobile company in Busan, South Korea and said he would spend three days off celebrating New Year's Eve with other Vietnamese workers, making traditional Vietnamese food and visiting his friends around the city. It will be the third holiday he has welcomed Tet away from home. Besides chung cake, Vietnamese sausages and peach blossom sent from Vietnam, we also prepare boiled chicken, sticky rice, cake and fruits to perform ritual offerings to our ancestors on New Year's Eve, he told Nong Thon Ngay Nay (Countryside Today) newspaper. On New Year's Eve when I call my family in Vietnam, I always can't help but burst into tears. There are currently nearly 150,000 Vietnamese people living in South Korea. The Vietnamese embassy in South Korea every year holds a Tet party for the Vietnamese community. There are more than 371,000 Vietnamese people living in Japan, most of whom are labourers and post-graduate students. To Thien Menh, who works for Nissan in Japan, has welcomed Tet far from home eight times. Last year and this year he has been lucky to welcome the new year with his wife and children. Welcoming Tet with my wife and children, I feel less homesick. My family will visit our friends and travel to some places in Japan for this years holiday, he said. The Vietnamese community in Japan has prepared for Tet since the beginning of November. As well as post-graduates, a lot of Vietnamese families will welcome Tet far from home. Menh's company alone has about 400 staff living in three separate dorms. Due to the distance between dorms, all of the staff can not gather in one place. Every year the three dorms choose one day to celebrate New Year together through an online livestream. We hope that Tet far away from home will be full of warmth and joy. More importantly, we want our children to understand the meaning of the homelands traditional new year although they were not born in Vietnam, Menh said. Menh and his friends still retain Tet practices such as preparing New Year Eves offerings, xong at (first footing) and hai loc (picking luck or snapping off a peach blossom branch from a tree on the grounds for the family shrine). Vu Truong Giang, a representative of Japan-Europe-Southeast Asia Division of Overseas Labour Management Department, Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said labourers working overseas suffer many difficulties. Although they have good and high-paid jobs, most of them lack affection, especially during the new year holiday. There are hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese labourers working overseas in 40 countries and territories. Businesses which send Vietnamese overseas every year present gifts to labourers welcoming Tet far from home. Le Nhat Tan, deputy director of LOD Labour Export Company, said the firm sends chung cakes, candy and Vietnamese sausages to overseas labourers. The new labourers from Vietnam send the presents to the labourers living far from home for years. For those who are luckier to return home, the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs holds the Homeland Spring festival, an annual gathering of Vietnamese living across the world, on January 18 in Hanoi and Bac Ninh. VNS Da Nang welcomes overseas Vietnamese home for Tet Authorities of the central city of Da Nang held a gathering on January 17 with overseas Vietnamese (OVs) who returned to the homeland to welcome the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival. More unsettled weather is set to grip the Middle East this week after several storms have battered the region in recent weeks. The first of two storms to impact the area this week has dampened locations from the Mediterranean coast to Iraq on Monday and Tuesday. This slow-moving system will continue to bring wet weather to the region on Wednesday. The steadiest rainfall is expected from northern Israel and Lebanon into southern Syria and central Iraq. Downpours are possible in Baghdad. Rain will also spread into the lower elevations of western Iran with snow falling in the mountains. In the higher terrain of Lebanon, Syria and Israel, snow accumulations can be expected. On the southern side of this storm, showers may briefly dampen southern Jordan, far northern Saudi Arabia and Kuwait into Wednesday. This storm will then push into eastern Iran with rain and high-elevation snowfall on Thursday. CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP A second storm will race southward from Turkey into the Middle East late Thursday into Friday, bringing soaking rain and high-elevation snow to Syria, Lebanon and Israel on Thursday night through Friday morning. The storm will then lash Jordan, Iraq and northwest Iran on Friday with impacts continuing into Friday night in Iraq and Iran. Local downpours and high-elevation snowfall may result in travel impacts across the region, before drier weather builds across the Middle East this weekend. Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios. He's hard at work co-hosting the new series of Britain's Got Talent alongside Declan Donnelly. And Ant McPartlin put on an animated display as he, and his fellow co-host departed the show's auditions which were held at the Palladium in London on Sunday. The TV presenter, 44, looked casually chic in a black longline coat, which he wore over a red-and-blue plaid shirt. Heading out: Ant McPartlin put on an animated display as he departed the BGT auditions, which were held in London on Sunday, with Declan Donnelly Ant completed his look by wearing a pair of loose black jeans, while he stepped out in smart brown lace-up shoes. Meanwhile, Dec opted for comfort over style as he wore a quilted jacket over a simple black T-shirt, denim jeans and smart shoes. Earlier in the day, Ant and Dec were seen beside Britain's Got Talent's judges Simon Cowell, Alesha Dixon, David Walliams and Amanda Holden. Ant's outing comes amid claims he is set to hand over 31m to his ex-wife Lisa Armstrong in their divorce settlement, including their 5m former home in West London, after an 'eight-hour negotiation'. Together: Ant and Dec were seen leaving the venue together after their co-hosting duties Comfy: Ant completed his look by wearing a pair of loose black jeans, while he stepped out in smart brown lace-up shoes Casual: Ant completed his look by wearing a pair of loose black jeans, while he stepped out in smart brown lace-up shoes Simple yet stylish: Meanwhile, Dec opted for comfort over style as he wore a quilted jacket over a simple black T-Shirt, denim jeans and smart shoes Ant's ex Lisa was said to have been the 'peacemaker' during a recent eight-hour long discussion about her divorce from the TV star, reports The Sun. The make-up artist, 43, is said to have moved talks forward from a date at the end of January to last Tuesday so that a divorce deal could be made. Speaking about the chat, a source said: 'It was civil, nice and pleasant throughout and by the end of it all they can now move forward with their lives. 'She was certainly the peacemaker but there was willingness on both sides to press ahead and move on. Back to normal: Earlier in the day, Ant showed off a very different look as he wore his hair matted down with a fringe, but was back to his signature quiff after the show Ready to go: Dec carried a designer shoulder bag as he headed out for the night Delighted: Dec couldn't help but smile as he left the venue with his close pal They added: 'It's a massive relief for Ant and Dec as it's been hanging over both of them for such a long time.' Ant's representative declined to comment to Mailonline. Lisa's representative has been approached for comment. It comes after Ant allegedly agreed to give his ex 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. Claim: Their outing comes as Ant's ex Lisa Armstrong was said to have been the 'peacemaker' during a recent eight-hour long discussion about her divorce from the TV star Agreement: Ant is allegedly set to hand over 31m to his ex-wife in their divorce settlement, including their 5m former home in West London, after an 'eight-hour negotiation' 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. '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 contacted representatives for Ant and Lisa for comment. Making progress: Lisa, 43, is said to have been the 'peacemaker' during an eight-hour long discussion about her and Ant's divorce Taxi! Also spotted leaving the auditions were the BGT judges, including Simon Cowell who flashed his signature peace sign as he headed out of the theatre Slimmed down: The music mogul continued to display his newly svelte physique as he bid farewell to another day of auditions Relaxed: Simon continued to sport his typically casual ensemble after reuniting with the judging panel for the new series Also spotted leaving the auditions were the BGT judges, including Simon Cowell who flashed his signature peace sign as he headed out of the theatre. The music mogul continued to display his newly svelte physique as he bid farewell to another day of auditions. Simon continued to sport his typically casual ensemble after reuniting with the judging panel for the new series. Suited and booted: David Walliams also continued to look dapper as he headed out of the theatre in the capital Soon-to-air: It came as another day of auditions came to a close, and they are expected to air sometime in April Perfection: Alesha Dixon also continued to display her glamorous black ensemble with chunky gold jewellery as he headed out of the London venue David Walliams also continued to look dapper as he headed out of the theatre in the capital. Alesha Dixon also continued to display her glamorous black ensemble with chunky gold jewellery as he headed out of the London venue. The singer kept her dark tresses slicked back in a high ponytail as she headed home after another day of filming. If you often find yourself facing the consequences of impulsive decisions, you may pin the blame on a number of different factors. Perhaps you have a hard time regaining self-control. Maybe your willpower is not as strong as it once was. Knowing how to delay gratification, deny urges, and resist cravings can lead to more success in the long run, and reduce guilt and regret. And, as Emma Young writes for the British Psychological Society, "being able to forego a reward now in favor of gaining something better later is known to be important in determining all kinds of desirable outcomes in life, including greater educational attainment, social functioning and health." But what if you make impulsive decisions not because of weak willpower or self-control? What if the culprit is...your own immune system? A new study published in Scientific Reports indicates that there may be existing biological systems shifting your priorities and decision-making. More specifically, the study provides evidence that raised levels of inflammation in your body can actually skew your judgment towards rewards more advantageous in the present. Researchers at the Texas Christian University asked 159 healthy college students to complete two behavioral assessments, an impulsiveness scale, and an instant gratification inventory. Participants also reported their levels of smoking, physical activity, sleep quality, consumption of alcohol, and other variables that relate to inflammation levels or instant gratification. Researchers checked blood samples as well for proteins that indicate great inflammation. The results? Researchers found that participants with higher inflammation levels tended to have an impulsive style of decision-making. Plus, in order to isolate any effects of inflammation from before the study on decision-making, the students were instructed to avoid inflammation-causing behaviors (smoking, drinking alcohol, etc.) 48 hours before participating. There is more work to be done to solidify this link between undesirable behaviors and propensity to inflammation, but what scientists do know is that as your immune system responds to infection or injury, your desire for immediately available resources--good or bad--will be enhanced. Gardai in Dublin have been carrying out checkpoints as part of an investigation into a shooting in Kilbarrack just over a week ago. A man in his 30s was injured after being hit in the arms and legs at St Berach's Place on Sunday, January 12. Chandigarh (Haryana) [India], Jan 20 (ANI): Haryana Assembly on Monday ratified the 126th Constitutional Amendment Bill, passed by the Parliament in December last year. Earlier, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra and Bihar Assemblies had ratified the Bill, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha by Union Minister of Law and Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad on December 9, 2019. The Bill amends provisions related to reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs). The Constitution provides for reservation of seats for SCs and STs and representation of the Anglo-Indian community by nomination in Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies of states. This has been provided for a period of 70 years since the enactment of the Constitution and will expire on January 25, 2020. The Bill seeks to extend the reservation for SCs and STs by another 10 years till January 25, 2030. (ANI) The nation is marking the legacy of the Rev Martin Luther King Jr with tributes Monday recalling his past struggles for racial equality, observing the federal holiday named for him against the backdrop of a presidential election year. In an early tribute to King, Vice President Mike Pence spoke Sunday in Memphis, Tennessee, at a church service in which he recalled the challenges and accomplishments of the slain civil rights leader. Before the service, Pence toured the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, where King was fatally shot on April 4, 1968, while standing on a balcony. "I'm here to pay a debt of honor and respect to a man who from walking the dirt roads of the Deep South, to speaking to hundreds of thousands on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, touched the hearts of the American people and led the civil rights movement to triumph over Jim Crow," Pence said Sunday at the Holy City Church of God in Christ. Pence spoke about King's religion and how he "challenged the conscience of a nation to live up to our highest ideals by speaking to our common foundation of faith". Acknowledging the nation's divisions, Pence said that if Americans rededicate themselves to the ideals that King advanced while striving to open opportunities for everyone, "we'll see our way through these divided times and we'll do our part in our time to form a more perfect union". As a presidential election looms this fall, divisions rankle, according to recent opinion polls. Among black Americans, more than 80% said last year that President Donald Trump's actions in office have made things worse for people like them, while only 4 per cent said they thought Trump's actions have been good for African Americans in general. That's according to a poll conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The same poll found about two-thirds of Americans overall disapproves of how Trump handles race relations. Trump is seeking to woo black voters, knowing he is unlikely to win them over en masse but hoping for more black support in critical swing states later this year. His campaign has stepped up outreach efforts, including to African Americans and Latinos, marking a departure from 2016 when Trump's volunteer "National Diversity Coalition" struggled to make an impact. The campaign already has spent more than USD 1 million on black outreach, including radio, print and online advertising in dozens of markets, the campaign has said. In King's hometown of Atlanta, Monday's commemorations could draw attention to the continuing leadership role of the clergy in African American thought and politics. The Rev Howard-John Wesley, senior pastor of Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia, will be the keynote speaker at a service Monday at organized by the Martin Luther King, Jr Center for Nonviolent Social Change. It will be held in the sanctuary of Ebenezer Baptist Church, which King and his father both led. Wesley has argued that Christ should be remembered as a political radical and that Christians should challenge injustices of the established political and social order. King's economic and antiwar activism can sometimes be bleached out of celebrations of the holiday, he has said. Wesley has been on sabbatical in recent months from the pulpit at his church, which has grown rapidly under his leadership. US Sen. Kelly Loeffler, a Georgia Republican appointed earlier this month by Gov Brian Kemp, planned to attend the Ebenezer Baptist Church event. Ebenezer Baptist is now pastored by the Rev. Raphael Warnock, one of several Democrats who could challenge Loeffler in a November special election. Monday's planned gathering is one of a series of events honoring King's legacy, including a Saturday night gala in Atlanta hosted by the King Center and a series of service projects organized by community groups. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Candidate of Law, deputy Gevorg Petrosyan will represent the Prosperous Armenia faction of the National Assembly in the specialized commission for constitutional reforms. This is what secretary of the faction Arman Abovyan told reporters today. Upon the decision of the Prime Minister of Armenia, a 15-member commission for constitutional reforms will be set up and will ex-officio include the justice minister and the Representative of Armenia before the European Court of Human Rights, the Ombudsman, as well as a representative of the General Assembly of Judges, six lawyer-scholars, two representatives of non-governmental organizations and a representative of each faction of the National Assembly. Bright Armenia faction has already informed that deputy, Candidate of Law, Associate Professor Taron Simonyan will be representing the faction. KALKASKA (AP) -- A school district in northern Michigan will pay its superintendent, a former Midland educator, while he's on leave after prosecutors dropped felony charges against him and filed misdemeanors. Terry Starr is accused of sending anonymous letters to Elk Rapids school officials in 2018, accusing a principal of sexual assault against a student years earlier. No assault occurred. Starr denies the allegations. Starr worked at various schools in the Midland Public Schools district, including as a teacher at Siebert Elementary, Central Middle School and at Plymouth Elementary. He was also principal at Chippewassee Elementary for six years before he left in 2000 for a position in Elk Rapids. Felony charges were dismissed on Jan. 8 during jury selection in Antrim County court and replaced by misdemeanors. The case against Starr surfaced after he was hired as Kalkaska's superintendent. The school board voted Tuesday to keep him on leave but pay him as a sign of support. The Traverse City Record-Eagle said he had been suspended without pay last spring. "Just hang on a little bit longer," said Craig Mosher, a supporter whose children attended Elk Rapids schools when Starr worked there. "Because when this guy comes back as superintendent, he is going to do positive things for your school district, for your students -- things that you will be cheering about years from now." Starr's next court date is Feb. 5. The Midland Daily News contributed to this report. The premiere ceremony. (Photo/People's Daily Online) San Francisco, Jan. 20 (Peoples Daily Online) --The People's Daily Online West USA held the premiere of a short documentary series on the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, and launched the "Reading China from Multiple Cities and One Book" event at the San Francisco Public library in the US on Jan. 18, 2020. The documentary series took six months to shoot and involved travelling over more than 9,900 miles from the East to the West Coast of the United States. The 10 interviewees are witnesses to, and builders of, China-US relations over the past 40 years. The interviewees include Christopher Nixon Cox, an American lawyer based in New York, who is the son of Tricia Nixon Cox and Edward F. Cox and grandson of President Richard Nixon and First Lady Pat Nixon; Neil Mallon Bush, who is the fourth of six children of former President George H. W. Bush and brother of George W. Bush, the 43rd President of the United States; Stephen A. Orlins, President of the National Committee on United States-China Relations since 2005; and Charles Thomas Fingar, a professor at Stanford University. Wang Donghua, Consul General of the Peoples Republic of China to San Francisco, who attended the premiere, said, "It is very meaningful for us to hold an event like this, which will help us review the development of China-US relations, summarize the experience and lessons of China-US cooperation, and think about ways for the two major countries to live in peace and resolve their differences." He said the event was a good entry point and focused on how to read China. At present, China-U.S. relations are facing unprecedented difficulties, and one important reason is the lack of mutual understanding. "There are far more Chinese who know America than Americans who know China. It shows how important it is to have events like today." Florence Fang, a Chinese-American businesswoman and publisher who was also one of the subjects of the documentary, expressed congratulations for the success of the short documentary series at the premiere, and hopes the two countries can make more contributions to China-US relations in the future. Michael Lambert, the City Librarian at San Francisco Public Library, said at the premiere that, as one of the subjects of the documentary, "Vision and a conviction will take China-US relations forward," adding that he believed that vision and conviction will promote understanding and goodwill between our peoples. "Culture is the best way for human beings to understand and communicate," said Lambert. The head of People's Daily Online West USA, Deng Wei, said that through real records and reflections on history, mutual trust can be enhanced, and exchanges between the two countries will be expanded. After watching this documentary, I believe you will come to the same conclusion as me: the future of China-US relations is still bright, Wang Donghua said. At the end of the ceremony, People's Daily Online West USA donated a batch of English books on Chinese traditional culture to the San Francisco Library. Young dancers participate in the International Association of Blacks in Dance ballet audition for women of color at Philadelphia's Rock School for Dance Education. Read more For 49 ballerinas of color, Philadelphia was the place to be seen by some of the top companies and schools in the country and world Sunday afternoon. It was the last of five auditions as the International Association of Blacks in Dance wrapped up its conference in Philadelphia. The aim was to get the dancers jobs in ballet companies, which have not always been accepting of non-white swans or sylphs. Some younger dancers were hoping for scholarships to prestigious schools. Other auditions throughout the weekend were held for younger students, men, and modern dancers. But opportunities are rarest for ballerinas of color, which is ironic because the most famous ballet dancer in the United States is African American: Misty Copeland, principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre. As the 49 hopefuls, ages 15 to 19, took to the barre at the Rock School for Dance Education on South Broad Street at Washington Avenue, some wore traditional pink tights and pointe shoes. Others were dressed in tights and shoes in a shade of brown chosen to match their skin, which has become increasingly common. They stood where another very famous dancer trained for many years, Michaela DePrince, a soloist at the Dutch National Ballet, who was born in Sierra Leone and grew up in Cherry Hill. This was their chance to be seen by about 20 people who might give them jobs, including Angel Corella, artistic director of the Pennsylvania Ballet; Jonathan Stafford, who leads both New York City Ballet and its School of American Ballet; and leaders from Pacific Northwest Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, San Francisco Ballet, Charlotte Ballet. During the initial exercises, it was hard for some of the judges to see all of the dancers at once. The adjudicators crowded one end of the room on folding chairs, taking notes on laptops or handouts with the dancers names and numbers. Depending on location, one might see only 10 or so dancers initially. Most of them looked good, although there was occasional confusion as to the timing of the steps given to them by the teacher, Karen Brown. Big breath in! called Rasta Thomas, who leads all IABD auditions. Thomas has visited Philadelphia with his Bad Boys of Dance, which also performed on Americas Got Talent and So You Think You Can Dance. In the center exercises, there was a bigger difference in the quality of dancers. As they divided into lines and moved across the floor, it was easier to see everyone. In many cases, the younger dancers were the stronger ones. A turn combination was a big dividing factor between those likely to get jobs and scholarships and others who needed more training at home. I am looking for proficiency in technique and the same qualities as our company dancers, including people who thrive under pressure," said Kiyon Ross, the director of company operations at Pacific Northwest Ballet and a former dancer with the company. He was looking for students to attend the PNB schools summer intensive who might someday be able to join the company. The biggest drama of the afternoon came in a jumping exercise, when one of the better dancers took a long leap and landed with an audible snap. She spent the rest of the time sitting to the side with ice on her ankle. Thomas showed them a jazzy combination. Ladies, show us your personalities, he called. Dont be afraid to dance. One of the best dancers at the audition also had an ankle injury. Kaeli Ware, 19, is a student at the Rock School, and its director, Bojan Spassoff said last week that he didnt expect her to feel well enough to attend the audition. Her fouette turns were among the few clean ones in the room and she was able to stretch her leg high above her shoulder. She is popular on Instagram and has been on Dance Moms and So You Think You Can Dance. Corella said he is interested in a variety of looks. Theres beauty in all types of bodies. If not, I never would have made it as a dancer, he said, as he is shorter than most men in ballet. Three dancers came to the studio to audition earlier in the week. He has a limited number of contracts, but he was interested in seeing the talent. I have a sister who is black, Corella said. Shell come to see Pennsylvania Ballet and ask where are all the black dancers?" Chinas Workforce Demographic on the Decline as Population Set to Shrink News Analysis Chinas working population is declining as its general population is set to peak six years earlier than the official forecast of 2029, according to National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data. The China Academy of Social Sciences published its latest report, Green Book of Population and Labor, which forecasts that Chinas population would reach 1.44 billion by 2029 and then begin an extended period of unstoppable decline. But Chinas birthrate fell to 10.48 per 1,000 people in 2019 from 10.94 per 1,000 in 2018, the lowest birthrate since the founding of the Chinese Communist Party in 1949. The extraordinary 4.2 percent decline confirms that Chinas population will peak by about 2023, according to Complete Intelligence. Chinas four-decade expansion to become the second-largest economy in the world was driven by a combination of population and urbanization growth that more than doubled its working-age populationpeople between the ages of 16 and 59to a peak of 941 million in 2011. But Chinas working-age population has shrunk in each of the next seven consecutive years to 897 million in 2018, according to NBS. Chinas birth decline is linked to its one-child policy, which encouraged up to 100 million male-preference sex-selection abortions resulting in a maternity cliff of childbearing womenaged 15 to 49that will fall from 346 million in 2018 to 318 million in 2023. China should have stopped the policy 28 years ago. Now, its too late, Yi Fuxian, a senior scientist at the University of Wisconsin and longtime critic of Chinas family-planning policies, told The Guardian in 2019. He expects that over a third of Chinas people will be 60 or older by 2050, dramatically increasing the Communist Partys burden to fund guaranteed health care and pension benefits. George Friedmans visionary 2009 book, The Next 100 Years, forecast that by the 2020s, a combination of U.S. trade sanctions and a working-age population boom turning to bust would intensify into a historic Chinese economic and national power crisis. Friedman pointed out that children as young as 6 in a rural farm community can start economically contributing to family income by performing simple agricultural and workshop labor tasks. The larger the number of rural family children, the greater the family income and the higher the parental confidence of being taken care of in old age. But with China on the path toward maturity as a 65 percent urbanized industrial society, Friedman forecast that the perceived economic value of having children for family income would evaporate as urban parents would be forced to subsidize children into their mid-20s. Friedman predicted that as Chinas working-age population contracts during the transitional period before the older generations die off, a relatively small number of workers will have to support a very large group of retirees with expanding life expectancies. In addition, debts incurred by the older generation would be left to the smaller, younger generation to pay off. Friedman warned that a contracting population would also shrink Chinas ability to fund and deploy a large and competitive military. Friedmans Geopolitical Futures Forecast for 2020 predicts that China will struggle to maintain economic stability and that neither resolution of the trade war nor financial reforms will restore Chinas economic power. To distract from recession and a weakening banking system, Friedman expects China to increase internal repression of elites and externally become more militarily assertive in the South and East China seas. A Canadian court on Monday began hearing the case of a senior executive who is fighting extradition to the United States, and whose arrest in Vancouver led to a breakdown in Canada-China relations. Meng Wanzhou, the company's chief financial officer and eldest daughter of its founder Ren Zhengfei, is wanted by US authorities for alleged fraud. Wearing a black dress with polka dots, Meng made no comment on entering British Columbia Supreme Court in the west coast city, where the hearing began just after 1800 GMT. In order to secure her freedom, the "princess of Huawei" must convince a Canadian judge that the US charges -- linked to alleged violations of US sanctions on Iran -- would not stand up in Canada and are politically motivated. The US 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 Tehran. "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. China's foreign ministry on Monday maintained that Meng's extradition case was a "grave political incident," and urged Ottawa to release the executive. "The US and Canada are abusing their bilateral extradition treaty," said foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang at a regular press briefing in Beijing. The Justice Department will say in arguing for her extradition that the US accusations against Meng would be considered a crime in Canada if they had occurred there. This is a key test known as double criminality. Her lawyers, however, will counter that 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 arrest during a stopover of her Hong Kong-to-Mexico flight in December 2018 put the 47-year-old at the center of the US and China's battle over the technology giant's growing global reach. It also stuck Canada in the middle of a trade row between the world's two largest economies, resulting in the arrests of two Canadians and restrictions on its agricultural shipments to China. China's "arbitrary detentions," according to Ottawa, of former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor on espionage suspicions, nine days after Meng was taken into custody, have been widely interpreted as retribution by Beijing aimed at pressuring Canada to free Meng. 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. The hearing is scheduled to last five days. But if the US accusations are found to also be a crime in Canada, it will proceed to a next phase in June, when defense arguments that authorities conspired to nab Meng as part of a "covert criminal investigation" would be heard. According to court documents, allegedly controlled the operations of Skycom in Iran. Its staff used Huawei email accounts and security badges, and its bank accounts were controlled by Huawei, the Crown said. But Meng told HSBC executives in a presentation in 2013 that Huawei no longer owned Skycom and that she had resigned from Skycom's board. From 2010 to 2014, HSBC and its American subsidiary cleared more than US$100 million worth of transactions related to Skycom through the US. Ren Zhengfei has suggested that the case is part of a US plot to crush Huawei, which it sees as a security risk. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who'd hoped when he came to power in 2015 to deepen Canada's economic ties with China, prevailed on the US for help. He told broadcaster TVA last month that he urged US President Donald Trump not to finalize a trade deal with China "that doesn't settle the question of and the two Canadians." Trump still went ahead and signed a "phase one" trade deal with China last week. Former Canadian prime minister Jean Chretien and his ex-deputy John Manley, meanwhile, have urged Trudeau to simply release Meng in a "prisoner swap" for Spavor and Kovrig, in order to normalize relations with China. That, however, risks legitimizing Beijing's "hostage diplomacy" tactics, according to leading extradition experts consulted by AFP. [January 20, 2020] Akolade Announces That the Annual Social Media WA Summit returns to Perth in February 2020 SYDNEY, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Akolade, a multifaceted media, events and information company, is pleased to announce that the annual Social Media WA Summit is returning to Perth on the 19th to 21st February 2020. Happening at the Novotel Perth Langley, this event brings together key leaders in the social media and communications space. Conference passes are now available at https://secure.akolade.co/registration/event?eventcode=MKT37OR20 With powerful keynote presentations and panel discussions from Australia's leadingsocial media professionals, this summit will address the most significant challenges being faced today and uncover the knowledge, strategies and technology needed to improve the impact and value of social media efforts and maximise stakeholder engagement. This year's speakers are social media professionals from top organisations, including: Chad Parizman , Head of Social Media and Digital Communications, Pfizer USA , Head of Social Media and Digital Communications, Pfizer Tia Jarvis , Team Leader - Digital Customer and Communications, City of Sterling , Team Leader Digital Customer and Communications, City of Sterling Jarrod Cardy , Content and Social Media Lead, Telstra , Content and Social Media Lead, Telstra Divisha Gupta, Head of Social Media, NBN Co. Robert Kerry , Digital Marketing Lead, Western Power , Digital Marketing Lead, Western Power Plus platform updates from representatives from Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat Over 20+ industry leaders will be sharing their insights on a wide variety of topics including developing an audience-centric approach to content development and strategy, selling social up the value chain to gain buy-in for resources, measuring social media strategies and increase ROI, and humanising content to better engage with audiences. The Social Media WA Summit will help attendees: Create quality content and generate strong engagement with minimal resources Enhance the customer journey at every step Define the future technological landscape and prepare for it beforehand Learn more about the event by visiting https://akolade.com.au/events/2nd-annual-social-media-wa-summit-2020/ For additional information, please contact: Trish Deluria [email protected] +61-2-7200-2105 Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20200120/2696579-1 SOURCE Akolade [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The situation above is most nearly similar to which one of the following situations with respect to the relationship between the declared intent of a government practice and a circumstance relevant to it? Certain governments subsidize certain basic agricultural products in order to guarantee an adequate domestic production of them. But subsidies encourage more intensive farming, which eventually leads to soil exhaustion and drastically reduced yields.(A) Certain governments subsidize theaters in order to attract foreign tourists. But tourists rarely choose a destination for the theatrical performances it has to offer.(B) Certain governments restrict imports in order to keep domestic producers in business. But, since domestic producers do not have to face the full force of foreign competition, some domestic producers are able to earn inordinately high profits.(C) Certain governments build strong armed forces in order to forestall armed conflict, but in order to maintain the sort of discipline and morale that keeps armed forces strong, those forces must be used in actual combat periodically.(D) Certain governments reduce taxes on business in order to stimulate private investment. But any investment is to some extent a gamble, and new business ventures are not always as successful as their owners hoped.(E) Certain governments pass traffic laws in order to make travel safer. But the population-driven growth in volumes of traffic often has the effect of making travel less safe despite the passage of new traffic laws. Will the Indian government be allowed by its own Supreme Court to offer a last-minute reprieve to operators due to pay the equivalent of billions in dollars in outstanding fees by this Thursday? It seems that Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Tata Teleservices, hit with a ruling to pay adjusted gross revenue (AGR)-based dues by 23 January, certainly hope so. The hardest hit are Vodafone Idea, which must pay around $4 billion and Bharti Airtel, which has to deal with a $3 billion penalty. According to Indian press reports, all three plan to ask the Supreme Court to allow them to negotiate with government a suitable timeframe to make the payments. The success or otherwise of this attempt to gain more time could become clear as early as Tuesday when the petition, filed on Monday, should receive an urgent hearing. The fees are based on a 24 October Supreme Court verdict extending the definition of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) on which licence fees and spectrum usage charges (SUC) are to be paid. This follows recent news that Vodafone Idea is already setting aside some of its finances nearly $400 million to deal with the fees. Last week, it reportedly set aside part of the proceeds of an INR250 billion (about $3.5 billion) rights issue for the amount it is required to pay the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) in licence fees and spectrum usage charges by 23 January. In a statement, Vodafone Idea said that a recent moratorium on spectrum payment had led to the change in allotment of issue proceeds. This delay, it seems, has enabled the company to direct at least some of the moneys earmarked for deferred payment liabilities towards spectrum payments to support payment of the adjusted Supreme Court fees demand. How the government will respond is unclear. While the government has insisted it can only act as directed by the Supreme Court, the distinct possibility that a three-player private sector market could be reduced to two players may give it pause. Certainly the stock market seems to think so. Shares of Vodafone Idea jumped 13 per cent on Monday; the market seems to think that some sort of government intervention that will allow the company more time to repay its dues is now likely. Is the market right? Certainly, a Vodafone Idea exit would not do much to encourage investment in India; the collapse of a major employer could be bad news too. So government might look favourably on a new payment timetable. However, it is not clear whether an extension alone would be enough if the sum owed cannot be reduced. OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Albania's Prime Minister and Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Edi Rama, plans to make a trip to eastern Ukraine on January 21 to familiarize himself with the security and humanitarian situation in the conflict zone. Rama said this at a joint briefing with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko in Kyiv on Monday, January 20, according to an Ukrinform correspondent. "I very much hope the weather will allow us to complete this visit with travel tomorrow to eastern Ukraine, where I want to see firsthand the security and humanitarian situation in the conflict-affected areas, and the practical impact of the SMM on the ground," Rama said. He added that he shares Prystaiko's position on the need to strengthen the OSCE mission, primarily through a proper budget and the expansion of its role by increasing resources and enhancing technical capacity. op Prime Minister Narendra Modi is interacting with students, teachers and parents in the third edition of Pariksha Pe Charcha at Talkatora Stadium in New Delhi. A total of 2,000 students and teachers are part of the event; 1,050 students were selected through an essay competition. The students who will get to ask questions to the Prime Minister have been short-listed on the basis of essays submitted by them on five subjects - Gratitude is Great, Your Future Depends on Your Aspirations, Examining Exams, Our Duties, Your Take, and Balance is Beneficial. It is always a delight to connect with Indias youth. Their energy and vibrancy are unparalleled. Today we would talk about numerous subjects relating to exams and even life beyond exams., PM Modi tweeted on Monday. To make this programme more student-centric, students will moderate the one-hour long program of Prime Minister. This year, four Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) schools students will conduct the programme, a government release said. A senior official said the ministry received around 2.6 lakh entries from students for the event this year. Last year, it was around 1.4 lakh entries. PM Modi took 10 questions in the 2018 edition of Pariksha Pe Charcha and 16 in last years. This years event was initially scheduled for January 16 but was rescheduled due to festivals across the country. S amantha Markle has hit out at her half-sister Meghan, accusing her of ripping through the Royal Family like a tornado and of using them to achieve fame and fortune. Writing in The Sun, Ms Markle issued a scathing analysis of the Duchess of Sussexs motivations, saying she had sown discord among her inlaws in pursuit of international notoriety. In her comment piece, she refuted Prince Harrys claim that he and his wife had taken the historic decision to step back from royal duties to secure a more peaceful life for themselves. Nothing about their actions so far suggest they truly desire a private life out the limelight, she wrote. They have paraded themselves on the red carpet, tried to make deals with Disney, and become pals with the Clooneys and other A-list stars. Their objective is fame and fortune to be Hollywood. Prince Harry Says There Is 'No Other Option' But To Stand Down Ms Markle said the couples decision to retreat from royal life so soon after their fairytale wedding had done great harm. "Meghan knew the social requirements of joining the Royal Family. She should have asked herself if she was willing and able to behave in accordance with the expectations, she wrote. Personally, I dont believe she ever expected to fit in with the strict structures and traditions of the Windsor household, she later added. "The Queen, at 93, shouldnt have had to face the stress of seeing her family torn apart. Samantha Markle praised the Queen for 'building bridges' / AP She went on to reject claims of racism against her sister, saying: Her decision to leave is nothing to do with the behaviour of the royals, or race. Supporters who claim a racist element forced Meghan out are frustrated their hoped-for fairytale princess didnt work out. Ms Markle not only criticised the duchesss treatment of the royals, but also of their father Thomas. Describing him as an incredible dad, she said Meghan had stood back and watched the media taunt and torture him, rather than defend him as a true humanitarian would. Meghan's Dad says the Sussex's have 'cheapened' the royal family Her words come after Mr Markle spoke out against his younger daughter and son-in-law, accusing them of destroying the monarchy and turning it into Walmart with a crown on. The elder Ms Markle said in her comment piece that while she once loved her sister, she did not like the person she has become. I am worried that Meghan and Harry will never find true happiness, she added. They could not find contentment with the Royal Family, will they be able to find it away from them? It comes after Harry broke his silence on the royal crisis on Sunday evening, saying that it was "with great sadness" he and Meghan were standing down from the royal family but there was "no other option". The Duke of Sussex said he and Meghan had hoped to continue serving the Queen, the Commonwealth and his military associations, without any public funding, but this was not possible. mySteinbach.ca reported that the estimated payout for 2019 is over $5 million, for about 1,500 claims. Those producers who filed a claim will each receive an additional $40 for each tonne below their select Hay or Basic Hay Insurance coverage. We recognize it has been a difficult harvest for many farmers in Manitoba, explained Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau. The Hay Disaster Benefit is one of the ways our government is supporting farmers to protect their businesses against weather-related risks, such as this forage shortfall. Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development Minister Blaine Pedersen added that all producers enrolled in either the Select Hay Insurance and Basic Hay Insurance programs are eligible for the HDB. The federal government pays 60% of the HDBs premiums, while the remaining 40% comes from the province of Manitoba under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership. Express News Service 'Woh dekho, sakbo loot raha hai (See that fellow, hes fleecing everyone),' giggles a cocky young lad, nudging his friend. Both were busy polishing off their bowls of steaming chicken broth, their bodies pressed against the cart given the crowd around, everyone wide awake at 11:00 pm, snug in their woollens and leather. The guilty party in question was a jhandawala (flag-seller) a middle-aged man with tiny tricolour flags painted on his face, tricolour broaches on his shirt, accessorised by a long tricolour scarf. A glaring mascot for his wares paper tricolour flags spread on a chaadar (bedsheet). Flag toh paanch rupaiye mein milta hai, yeh toh dus mein bech raha hai (You get these at Rs 5, hes selling at Rs 10), the lad tells me, before prodding the vendor, who just sold his stock of boiled eggs, for another helping. The broth is nourishing, thick, topped with powered spices, coriander and a dollop of butter, the right succor in the cold at just Rs 15. Hoping to be coddled in warmth and high-fashion are a few men trying out voguish winter coats, sweaters, jackets, waistcoats at the stall in front. At price points Rs 600, Rs 700 and Rs 1,300, these appear extremely reasonable. READ OPINION: Citizenship Act vis-a-vis Constitution and international law While turning around, I almost collide into a handcart selling chubby guavas (Rs 40 for a kg). Nearby, carts laden with pineapples, berries, chikkus, groundnuts, are priced similarly. From the multiple handis attached to his cycle, another vendor rustles up tangy, bhel at Rs 20 and Rs 30. Catch a frothy coffee (Rs 20), first passed under a steam machine with sci-fi valves before a liberal sprinkling of choco powder. Lurking in the shadows, are the cigarette and gutka sellers. Welcome to Shaheen Baghs Kalindi Kunj road. Visuals streaming from this anti-CAA-NPR- NRC protest zone usually show these Jhansi ki Ranis (with their kids) seated here, unwavered by the biting cold. Their men and the volunteers stand around the tented venue, and oversee security and the distribution of free food by well-wishers, and have set up the secular chai stall and medical camp. Now, this venue has prompted Shaheen Baghs at Prayagraj (Allahabad), Gaya (Bihar), Park Circus (Kolkata) and Konark Indrayu Mall (Pune). It has also prompted a slew of vendors who potter at the peripheries of this dharna, extending all the way down the road beyond the crossover bridge. India, after all, has a legacy of small-time go-betweens, the Mr Fix-its who thrive on jugaad. These experts in crowd psychology recognise that where people gather, needs do arise. ALSO READ: Commuter files case against anti-CAA protesters at Shaheen Bagh for threatening to 'kill' him Theyve figured that those protesting will find it difficult to meet daily needs, the protests consuming all their time. Especially since the overlooking malls have been shut since the protests here picked up momentum, the shuttered branded stores are only used for their corridors to babysit children of the protestors and indulge them in art activities. These vendors, who have slipped onto the main road from the adjacent local market and surrounding areas, are also aware that people who have shown up here in support are bound to feel their stomachs rumble at some point and opt for their cheaper eats, as it is not easy to always find free biryani here. Spurring this mela of sorts, are announcements of children getting lost in the crowd with anxious parents waiting at the stage area to sightings of urchins pickpocketing. Not to mention that there are ample opportunities for selfie-takers either waving a huge tricolour, posing at replicas of the India Gate, map of India or better, inside an installation of a mock detention centre under the bridge While the vendors refuse to give their identity, given they dont have the permit to hawk here, they staunchly claim their allegiance to the anti- CAA movement. Like this vendor in his late 50s, carting his almost empty soup handi way home with his teenage son. He said his wife and children are at the protests, and hes heading to complete the mounting household chores, happy and willing to do so. ALSO READ: Pune 'Shaheen Bagh in Kondhwa' anti-CAA protest enters ninth day At the beginning of the bylane that turns into the protest, an attar seller Amaan has set up a table with his eponymous tiny perfume bottles, priced Rs 100 onwards. He had stopped doing business for a month to attend the protests, par rent kaun bharega [but who will pay my rent]? He then whips out a printout, claiming it is the Assam NRC document that lists his family members Matlab, hum safe hai (Means we are safe) except that of his fufaji (uncle). So, hell continue to protest here (with his wares in tow) as he strongly feels NRC was not just an Assam-experiment. Also, with these stalls throughout the road, the public has explored more areas on this stretch to form own mini-groups and protest. Like a group encircles a young man on whose shoulders sits a boy, screaming, Jor se bolo! Azaadi! Arre zor se bolo! Azaadi! Strolling further, four people are sitting on the footpath, balancing lit candles on their open palms, with posters, Hum Bhi Dekhenge, Kisi Ke Baap Ka Hindustan Thodi Hai at their feet. Close by, a young man performs spoken word poetry, reading from his phone. Volunteers flit in-between at regular intervals, picking up the trash. Groups of three, each with one acrylic paint bottle in orange, white and green, engage in a body painting exercise drawing the tiranga on you. Even better is the makeshift Fatima Sheikh- Savitri Bai Library started by a History grad from Aligarh University, Mohammad Asif, as an ode to the Indian social reformers. Asif has pooled in over a 100 Hindi, Urdu and English books; from Mein Kampf, Ghalib to Dalit literature. Youre invited to read a book in this tent that holds a mini-shrine for Rohith Vemula, in a bid to educate yourself and protest. Women can issue books for 24 hours, and if all goes well, I will make the library permanent. While this atmosphere of protest profiteers and seemingly gallivanters can disappoint, thats not entirely the case. Malaysias trade minister is open to meeting his Indian counterpart at the World Economic Forum gathering this week, his ministry said on Monday, after New Delhi said no such encounter was possible amid a spat over palm oil supplies, Trend reports citing Reuters. It was the second time in the last four days Malaysia expressed the possibility of such a meeting in Davos, during a standoff between a major supplier and buyer of palm oil caused by Malaysias criticism of Indian policies. Malaysias Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) reiterated that Indias trade ministry first sent a request on Dec. 24 - before India placed curbs on imports of refined palm oil - for a bilateral meeting between the two ministers in Davos. In the spirit of economic partnership between our two nations, Malaysia has made every effort to accommodate the official request by India, but due to the busy schedule of both ministers, a mutually agreeable time has not been reached at the time of this statement, MITI said. In the absence of a formal meeting, it is common for interested parties to meet informally and exchange views on the sidelines. It said MITI minister Darell Leiking has expressed his openness to such discussion with his Indian counterpart Piyush Goyal, mainly regarding Indias participation in the trade bloc Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. An Indian trade ministry official, speaking on behalf of the ministry, told Reuters on Sunday that Goyal would not meet Leiking in Davos because of his tight schedule. No other meeting was scheduled between them, he said. Hindu-majority India has been agitated by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad last month speaking out against a new citizenship law which critics say discriminate against Muslims. Mahathir had angered New Delhi last year too when he accused India of invading and occupying Kashmir, a Muslim-majority disputed region also claimed by Pakistan. Malaysia, a Muslim-majority nation, is the second biggest producer and exporter of palm oil and Indias restrictions on the refined variety of the commodity imposed on Jan. 8 have been seen as a retaliation for Mahathirs words. Mahathir, the worlds oldest premier at 94, told a small group of reporters including from Reuters on Monday that Indias new citizenship law was grossly unfair. But he said his nation of 32 million people was too small to take retaliatory action against India following its palm curbs. Since the restrictions, thousands of tonnes of refined palm oil have been delayed or got stuck at various Indian ports, multiple sources told Reuters. On January 15, the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would have turned 91-years-old. King was assassinated in April 1968 at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, Tennesse. His death left millions heartbroken but the groundwork he did in the Civil Rights Movement would leave a lasting legacy. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 1964 | Reg Lancaster/Express/Getty Images The road to making Martin Luther King, Jr. Day an official federal holiday was long and fraught and didnt take place until nearly 20 years after the idea was introduced to Congress. Kings supporters fought for the well-deserved honor. We celebrate him today by doing acts of service in our respective communities. For those whose service projects end early, here are five films that you can enjoy in recognition of Kings work. The Long Walk Home (1990) Source: YouTube Future E.G.O.T. winner, Whoopi Goldberg, stars as Odessa Carter the maid of a well-to-do white family in Birmingham, Alabama. Carter joins the fight for Civil Rights by choosing to walk miles to and from work to support the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955. Initially, her boss, Miriam Thompson (Sissy Spacek), doesnt understand her plight but she drives Carter to and from work a few days a week to ensure she gets to work on time. Thompson eventually supports the movement in its entirety and shows her support by carpooling other black workers. As Thompsons empathy grows, she receives grief from the white community, including her husband. Four Little Girls (1997) Source: YouTube This powerful Spike Lee-directed documentary chronicles the devastating aftermath of the 1963 church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama that left four young African-American girls dead. Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley were killed at the 16th Street Baptist Church as they were changing into their choir robes on a Sunday morning. The killings sparked the push for Civil Rights legislation and brought outrage over horrible acts as such inspired by racism in the South. The documentary features first-hand accounts from parents, friends, and living relatives of each of the four girls. Also explored are the subsequent trials of the men responsible for the bombing who the community fought to be held accountable. The Help (2011) Source: YouTube Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer do a superb job as two black maids who work in the South during the intense Civil Rights era. Despite the unfair conditions and threats of punishment, both women bravely decide to detail their lives to a young white writer who is penning an expose on the Jim Crow South. Emma Stone plays the writer, who audiences discover was raised by a black maid, which drives her need to change the inequality in her town. Spencer won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance. The Butler (2013) Source: YouTube Based on a true story, Forest Whitaker stars as Cecil Gaines, a native of the deep south who migrates to Washington, D.C. and finds work as a White House butler. He works there for 34 years and severs several presidential administrations with varying viewpoints. One of Gaines sons (David Oyelowo) becomes active in the Civil Rights Movement and grows distant with his father, whom he begins to resent for what he views as a passive personality. His commitment to his job also causes contention between him and his wife, played by Oprah Winfrey. Selma (2014) Source: YouTube David Oyelowo returns for another Civil Rights infused project in the Ava DuVernay directed period piece, Selma. Oyelowo stars as Martin Luther King Jr. as he leads in the fight for African-American suffrage. Despite violent opposition and the hesitation of President Lyndon Johnsons administration to make black voting legal, King and his followers pressed forward on an unprecedented non-violent march from Selma to Montgomery. Their efforts resulted in President Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Selma was critically acclaimed and won both a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for Best Song from the motion picture soundtrack for its lead song Glory, which featured John Legend and Common. Enjoy this service day and make it count as MLK Jr. would want! [January 20, 2020] CRUS co-hosted the Journalism Award "Human with Climate change 2019" and Workshop "Enhance public communication toward climate change crisis" HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In an effort to enhance public communication ability, Center for Urban Regional And Urban Studies (CRUS), Vietnam Sub-Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Climate change (SIHYMECC), Ho Chi Minh Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment (HANE) and PR Newswire co-hosted a journalism award and workshop on utilizing press to draw attention of the public to environment issues. "Continuous and precise communication decides how the society esponse and react to climate change. The better the writers and journalists are equipped with latest industrial knowledge via close connection and exchange with professionals and colleges, the more efficient the dissemination is," addressed Ms Van Thi Minh Hoa, Vice-President of HANE at the opening ceremony. Since first launched in October 2019, journalism contest "Human with Climate change 2019" has received 60 reports under online writing and TV documenting form. The juries have selected 10 remarkable reports to celebrate their work in documenting climate change impacts and solutions. To make the best use of media communication, co-hosters agreed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding to further spread the words around within the country and cross border. Mr Pham Thanh Long, Director of SIHYMECC appraised the cooperation as an international press distributor joined movement to bring Vietnam story to the world. "Technical scientific research could be delivered in a much digestible way thanks to the hard work of environment journalists. We need to encourage the coverage of such writings to increase the voluntary of people to address environment issues." "PR Newswire has a desire to tell the world what and how Vietnam people and government are dealing with climate change, one of the most urgent phenomena in the world. It is expected to diversify communication channels while boosting social awareness of climate crisis and hopefully call for more direct action," added Mr Vincent Vu, Media Relations Manager of PR Newswire. Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20200120/2696536-1 SOURCE CRUS [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Christiana Figueres, Founding Partner, Global Optimism, on Centre Stage during day two of Web Summit 2019 at the Altice Arena in Lisbon, Portugal. DAVOS, Switzerland The architect of the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement told CNBC on Monday that it cannot be easy for President Donald Trump to justify his approach to the climate crisis both to himself and citizens of the world. Speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in the Swiss Alpine town of Davos, Christiana Figures, former United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) said Monday: "I always wonder: How can he face himself?" "How can he face his children and his grandchildren? How can he face citizens of the United States and of the world? I don't understand how he can do that." Figueres' comments come as policymakers and business leaders arrive in Switzerland for the WEF's four-day annual conference, with those in attendance scheduled to focus on the intensifying climate crisis. The event, which is often criticized for being out of touch with the real world, has said it aims to assist governments and international institutions in tracking progress toward the Paris Agreement and the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. It follows the hottest year on record for the world's oceans, the second-hottest year for global average temperatures and wildfires from the U.S. to the Amazon to Australia. It shouldnt be easy to confuse the the bright lights of Atlantic City and a remote 12,900-plus acre wildlife management area in the Pinelands nearly 70 miles away. But the Jackson Police Department says it just keeps happening and theyve figured out the popular Waze navigation app is to blame. Jackson police have gotten about 10 calls for cars that become disabled on unpaved, sandy roads near Success Lake in the Colliers Mills Wildlife Management Area. The drivers had all used an advertisement for the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa pinned in the Waze app that directs drivers into a heavily-forested area in the sprawling Pinelands. One of our officers started asking drivers what route theyve been following and they all said the same thing, said Lt. Christopher Parise said. The stranded drivers calls for help have all come in the last three days and it got to the point where the Jackson police decided to post a warning on the departments Facebook page. The Ocean County Sheriffs Department shared it as well. Recently the Jackson Police Department has seen a tremendous increase in disabled motor vehicles in the Colliers Mills Wildlife Area, Parise wrote in the Facebook post. Many are from the north New Jersey or New York area. While the address on the ad correctly lists 1 Borgata Way in Atlantic City for the popular hotel-casino, the location pinned within the ad is erroneous. The directions take drivers to a remote stretch of woods along the north end of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. Its possible that other drivers who made the same mistake called AAA to be towed so police wouldnt be aware of those incidents, Parise added. Jackson police notified Waze of the error but hadnt heard back as of Monday morning. Waze couldnt immediately be reached by NJ Advance Media. Colliers Mills Wildlife Management Area is about 12,910 acres and straddles the border of Plumsted and Jackson. 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. According to the Geriatric Mental Health Foundation, the fear of being alone is the greatest source of anxiety for aging seniors. Through a program called You Are Not Alone, the Fort Bend County Sheriffs Office is working to assuage that fear for seniors in the county. Seniors in the You Are Not Alone (YANA) program, receive assistance from volunteers from the Citizens Police Academy. The volunteers regularly check in on the seniors with phone calls and personal visits. It's a program that is really focused on just reaching out to seniors who may be alone or may be living in isolation, Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls explained. Nehls added that sometimes, volunteers will even help with small tasks that might be difficult or even dangerous for the senior. There may be a light bulb that needs to be changed, or maybe (the senior) has a difficult time taking out the trash, he said. Were not there to clean house, but we do what we can to try to help people. The program is as much about emotional support for the seniors as it is about assisting them. There are times, believe it or not, that the YANA volunteer is the only person that they'll come in contact with for that entire week, he said. YANA works in tandem with other charities like Meals on Wheels to address the comprehensive needs of the seniors in the program. We reached out to Meals on Wheels and said, Hey, if you deliver the meal, and you notice that (the senior) seems to be all by themselves or is just lonely, bring it to our attention, Nehls explained. The response from the senior community has been overwhelmingly positive, Nehls said. Our list continues to grow. The more awareness that's out there, the more volunteers we need. Theres no shortage of seniors who feel alone, he explained. The sheriffs office is currently seeking more volunteers. Volunteers must be graduates of the Citizens Police Academy. Nehls first heard about the program from a sheriffs office in San Diego, Calif. Nehls reached out to the office and asked if Fort Bend County could implement the same program. They were happy to share the program with us, Nehls recalled. So we sent our program director and some of our staff out there to learn from volunteers. The YANA program in Fort Bend County is the first of its kind in Texas. My attitude is that if there are other things that are being done across this country or other ideas with sheriff's offices, I have no problem taking those ideas and bringing them here, especially when they're successful, he said. For Nehls, the essence of the program simply comes down to establishing a connection between the volunteer and the senior to help the senior know that someone in the community cares about them. It comes down to forming that bond and having a conversation with someone, he said. Because in the end, thats what matters most. To enroll as a senior in the YANA program or to volunteer, call (281) 341-9262. claire.goodman@chron.com The ruling Congress, however, did not take kindly to her suggestion. Bhopal: Chhattisgarh governor Anusuya Uike on Monday stirred a political row when she suggested renaming Nehru Yuva Kendra after Swami Vivekanand. She was addressing the district youth conference here. Ms Uike justified her view saying that Swami Vivekanand was an inspiration for the youth of India and hence it would be most appropriate to rechristen Nehru Yuva Kendra after the great spiritual leader. Nehru was a great leader and first Prime Minister of India. But, Swami Vivekanand was the inspiration of the youth of India and hence, I would suggest that Nehru Yuva Kendra should be renamed as Vivekanand Yuva Kendra, she said. The ruling Congress, however, did not take kindly to her suggestion. There is an attempt to destroy legacy of Jawaharlal Nehru by rechristening all institutions and projects named after him. But, legacy of a legend never dies, spokesman of Congress here said. Opposition BJP however supported Ms Uike on the issue. Swami Vivekanand is not only an inspiration for youth of India but also for young generation across the world, the BJP spokesman here said. Two more high-frequency bus services should be added to Brisbane's public transport network to fill gaps for residents of eastern and northern suburbs, the Greens say. Alongside the existing Blue and Maroon CityGliders, which run through the heart of the CBD and out to the western suburbs respectively, the Greens want additional east-west and north-south services. Brisbane's Blue CityGlider operates as a high-frequency service. Credit:Lucy Stone Greens councillor Jonathan Sri (The Gabba) said the 24-hour high-frequency services were "the best way to reduce congestion and ensure people can get home at all times of the day and night". CityGliders operate at intervals of between five and 15 minutes, 18 hours a day from Sunday to Thursday and 24-hours a day on Friday and Saturday. A CAMPAIGNER has successfully lobbied for fares on a morning train service between Henley and London to be reduced. Great Western Railway and TfL Rail, which operate on the main line from Twyford to Paddington, have agreed to reclassify the latters 9.28am service from Twyford as off-peak, even though it departs two minutes before the 9.30am cut-off. Neil Gunnell, of the pressure group Henley Trains, convinced the companies it would be unfair to charge it as a peak service because it arrives in the capital after 10am, which until recently was how off-peak hours were defined. Commuters have already lost GWRs 9.29am fast service from Twyford to Paddington, which arrived at 10.08am, under a timetable shake-up. If the 9.28am service, which arrives at 10.17am and stops at other stations en route, had remained a peak service, those wishing to travel off-peak would instead have had to wait for the 9.51am train, which arrives at Paddington at 10.32am. The situation would also have unfairly favoured commuters in Reading, who can board off-peak fast services after 9.30am which arrive in London sooner. Mr Gunnell, whose request was supported by Henley town councillor Will Hamilton, also asked for TfL Rails 9.09am train and GWRs 9.15am to be reclassed as off-peak but was told this wouldnt be possible. However, he said the 9.28am service was most important as this connects with a branch line train departing from Henley at 9.11am. He said: Were really pleased that they made this allowance as without it, the first off-peak train wouldnt have arrived until halfway to lunchtime. It would have been a double-whammy after losing the 9.29am fast train. Weve always been able to have a constructive conversation with GWR and are thankful for their help. Off-peak times have changed to match the contactless payment system used by TfL Rail, which now serves the Thames Valley main line as part of Crossrail. The route, called the Elizabeth Line, will eventually run through the capital and out into Essex and Kent. When purchased on the day, an off-peak return ticket from Twyford to London costs about 23 whereas a peak ticket costs almost 40. Tens of thousands of people poured into Pittman-Sullivan Park under a brilliant blue sky Monday afternoon as San Antonios 33rd Martin Luther King Jr. March neared the end of its nearly 3-mile route. Clap your hands for the marchers the marchers are arriving, an announcer shouted out, energizing those waiting at the packed East Side park. Touch someone next to you and say, We will fight and we will win! Gospel singers joyously rang out Glory, glory, hallelujah! as images of King flashed on the big screen behind them. One photograph depicted the civil rights leader in front of a crowd in Washington, D.C., during his famous, I Have a Dream speech. Another showed his mug shot. More than 100,000 people turned out for the event, which is much more than a march. Its a giant community fair with people from all races and creeds turning out to honor the late civil rights leaders legacy and to promote their respective causes. Girl Scouts selling cookies lined the streets along the route of the march, which began at 10 a.m. in front of Martin Luther King Jr. Academy at 3501 MLK Jr. Drive, and headed west on MLK Jr. Drive, to the park at 1101 Iowa. School and military groups, sororities and fraternities, corporations and nonprofits, countless individuals all turned out for Mondays event. Civic and community organizations set up tables and tents along the way and at the park to provide information about their services. Supporters of Democratic presidential candidates held signs and wore shirts advertising their choices. One bright red Make America Great Again cap was spotted in the crowd. Volunteers and part-timers were registering new voters. On ExpressNews.com: Cold, clear weather greets 2019 MLK March participants This is a perfect opportunity to get people of all races and nationalities, said Margie Griffin, who has participated in the march for at least 20 years, but was at the park this time to register people to vote. There are so many that Ive run into that are not registered. If this can bring all these people out, that says everything, the singer added. That means Martin Luther King really did leave something behind. As the marchers came into the park, elected officials and other leaders took turns with inspirational messages. Mayor Ron Nirenberg, Councilwoman Jada Andrews-Sullivan, U.S. Reps. Will Hurd, R-Helotes, and Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, called on San Antonians to fight against hate, stand for equality and protect societys most vulnerable residents. In a fiery keynote speech, Rev. John R. Adolph, of Beaumonts Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, challenged the audience to take stands against drug use and unintended pregnancy and to strengthen family bonds. The most important thing worth fighting for, he said, are the communitys children. If we keep fighting and we keep praying and we keep pushing, he said, everything is going to be all right. Military bearing Dressed in a smart 1800s blue uniform with a bright yellow scarf at his neck, sharply creased pants tucked into shiny black boots, Buffalo soldier reenactor Michael Young walked in the march along with fellow reenactors. Young said hes continuing Kings legacy by helping to educate people about the role of African Americans in the military. Part of that history has not been taught and we want to make sure that story is told, said Young, 54, who was born in Memphis and was a child when King was assassinated on a hotel balcony there. He remembers taking a bus across town in the 1970s as Memphis schools were integrated. Not everyone who participates in the annual march walks the route. Gloria and Isaac Gomez have taken it upon themselves to be the unofficial greeters near the start of the march. They have set up at the bus stop at Lone Oak and MLK Jr. Drive for the past 25 years, calling out a loud and cheery Good Morning! to all who pass by. Its their way of honoring King. The couple yell good tidings to marchers, first responders and dignitaries. They consider their hearty salutations a wake-up call for the early-morning risers in the crowd, some of whom arrive early for the 8 a.m. worship service that takes place before the march begins at 10 a.m. To the Gomezes, its all about manners and common courtesy. Were supposed to be united as brothers and sisters, said Gloria Gomez, 64. We just love people. Andrea Jackson, 50, who has accompanied the couple the past three years, was there on behalf of her mother, Annie Jackson, who was unable to attend Mondays event. Standing with her friend, retired Air Force Msgt. Hazel Wong, under the bus stops awning, Jackson joined in with the Gomezes to welcome the crowds. Marchers held up a sea of signs as they passed the greeters perch, smiling back. A toddler sitting on his fathers shoulders gripped a poster that proclaimed, Love for All, waving as they passed by. Dozens of people carried the free Nourishing a Nation posters that artist Cruz Ortiz created for the San Antonio Food Bank. He was handing them out, almost as fast as he could print them, at a table near the staging mark at MLK Academy. At one point, Gloria Gomez yelled out a greeting to San Antonio Police Chief William McManus as he and other dignitaries walked past. The police chief strode across the street and shook all of the greeters hands, much to their delight. A personal stand Earlier, the quartet had greeted Rachel Sherman, 51, who came alone to the march. She had awakened at 5 a.m. in her Northwest Side home to get to the event on time. Wearing a blue African print head wrap, the proud woman stepped with a sense of purpose as she came down the sidewalk to join the march. Sherman was thankful to be able to take part in honoring Kings sacrifice for the nation. He made a way for us to be free to ride in the front of the bus, back of the bus, do whatever we need to do, Sherman said. Thats why its important for me to come out and participate. That sentiment echoed from street preachers and ordained ministers who shouted scriptures through microphones along the route, following Kings lead. The pastor of Trinity Missionary Baptist Church, Rev. Ronnie Thomas, preached to the crowd from his wood-grain pulpit, which had been carried outside to the sidewalk. Thank you for marching today, his voice boomed out, backed by the stirring harmonies of six congregation members. God bless you! Elected officials and other community leaders werent just at the end of the march at the park, many of them were at the MLK Academy in the brisk early morning hours, rousing the crowd before the march started. When you see injustice in the world, whether its children being separated at the border, school lunches being stopped focus on whatever injustices you dont agree with and do something about it, state Sen. Jose Menendez, D-San Antonio, urged to applause. When the march got underway, blue, red and yellow lights flashed from emergency vehicles ahead of the front row of marchers, who were linked arm in arm. Helicopters hovered overhead. Along the way, the scent of cooking meat and grey smoke billowed from grills of longtime residents who held barbecues and gatherings that lasted long after the march ended. There were numerous seniors who, for many years now, have taken up positions in chairs on curbs holding uplifting signs and posters to show their support for Kings legacy and to encourage the marchers. In the end, we remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends, read a sign held by a woman in the driveway of the Mt. Zion Sheltering Arms. Johnny Neal Jr., 67, held a sign with a quotation from King: Peace is more precious than diamonds or silver or gold. Many members of this contingent of elders know firsthand the sting of being denied access to equal housing and education. Yet there wasnt a trace of bitterness on their faces as they waved and cheered on the procession of marchers. Kings voice carried loudly from stereo speakers set on porches and sidewalks along the route. Many of those marching were there because they find King inspiring. Solange Iriarte said she has been involved in political activism since she organized protests against dictator Augusto Pinochet in her native Chile. Pinochet took power in 1973 after a military coup toppled a democratically elected government. Pinochet ruled the country until 1990. He died in 2006. Since moving to San Antonio 10 years ago, Iriarte has made it a goal to bring her daughter to the King celebration. Monday, she was representing Moms Demand Action, an organization supporting gun control. Im teaching my daughter to be a citizen and participate and help the community, Iriarte said. Thats the only way San Antonio will get better. One of the more rewarding aspects of the annual march for Iriarte is seeing people she knows. That makes me feel like Im in a good community and gives me hope people are getting involved, she said. A time for family The march is a family affair for many. Parents pulled wagons and pushed strollers with infants and toddlers. Giggling pre-teens took selfies, enjoying the day off from school. Carmen Grimes, 17, joined her dad, the first time she had participated in several years. A senior at John Jay Science and Engineering Academy, Grimes enjoyed seeing schools, companies and organizations united in celebrating Kings legacy. I am graduating this year, and I wanted one last chance to be part of the San Antonio community, she said. This is a very important part of my life. Her great-grandfather marched with King, said Carmens father, David Grimes. Attending the march with one of his three daughters is a family tradition, he said. A lot of us in this crowd are on the same page when it comes to Dr. Kings dream, and we need to help everyone else see that dream, he said. Across the way, James Simms, 61, clad in jeans, a black leather jacket and cowboy boots took in the sight of the event that originated in 1968 with the late Rev. Raymond R.A. Callies. On ExpressNews.com: East Side leader, Mayor Henry Cisneros set stage for possibly largest MLK march in nation Simms has watched the march from his pebbled driveway near the park since the days when the road was called Nebraska Street. This is where Id rather be, he said, sitting on a black wire cart, his eyes shaded by the brim of his white cowboy hat. Being among thousands of people marching in remembrance of the slain civil rights leader was an honor said Taylor Devillier, 19, who walked with members of Laurel Street Church of Christ. Too commercial? She said it was great to see everyone out being happy, but she wasnt thrilled to see some of what she considered commercial and frivolous activities at the event. They werent having fun when they marched, Devillier said of the original civil rights marches in the 1960s. Outside of St. Philips College, members of Sikh Dharamsal marked their seventh year attending the march. A member played a drum beat that set a pace for many members as they strode up the crest of the road and last leg of the walk. G. P. Singh and Harvinder Singh said the event was about loving each other and not hate. This is where San Antonio comes to show the amount of love, diversity and acceptance thats all visible in this town, Harvinder Singh said. Especially on this day. One of the last to join the march Monday morning was Maria Williams, who brought along several nieces, grand-nieces and grandchildren, determined to make it all the way to Pittman-Sullivan Park, even though they were starting off nearly an hour after the first marchers had left. Williams has been participating in the San Antonio March since it began more than 30 years ago and said its important to her to pass down Kings message to younger family members. We talk about some of the things MLK did for us, getting us better educational opportunities, employment opportunities and economic opportunities, Williams said. Were still fighting, and I hope it brings them a sense of legacy and honor. Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Chery Holding and the Chinese Internet giant Baidu agreed on Jan. 14 to step up their cooperation in various fields like intelligent driving, sharing of overseas market resources and Internet marketing business. Baidu will augment the AI technology empowerment to Chery so as to help the latter maintain a high-speed growth, while Chery Holding is to comprehensively strengthen resource investment in the cooperative projects with Baidu, according to the consensus reached at the meeting held among Chery Holding's chairman Yin Tongyue, Baidu's chairman and CEO Robin Li, and both parties' directors of intelligent driving and Internet marketing units. To be specific, two companies will jointly develop the next-generation smart cockpit that satisfies the needs of Chery's consumers. Besides, they will enable Baidu's Xiaodu in-car OS to power more Chery's models following the vehicles under the premium brand EXEED. Adequately leveraging the abundant resources and experience in plurilingual voice- and semantic-related technologies, Baidu plans to customize technical schemes for Chery in a bid to help the auto group make inroads into such mature auto markets as Europe and America, while successfully remained No.1 among Chinese indigenous PV brands in terms of annual exports. Meanwhile, Chery Holding will share its overseas market resources with Baidu, and assist Baidu with consolidation and improvement in the influence to global auto industry by wielding Chery's strengths of engineering R&D, manufacturing and sales channels. As for the Internet marketing business, Chery's marketing system will be fully integrated with Baidu's Mobile Ecosystem Group's heavy buyer sales unit for the joint development of a marketing chain based on Baidu's content ecosystem. Chery Holding is one of core partners of Baidu's Apollo open source autonomous driving platform. Two parties inked a strategic cooperation agreement as early as April 2017. At the CES 2018, Chery offered the world the first glimpse of an ARRIZO 5 car equipped with Baidu Apollo's autonomous driving technologies (photo source: Chery Holding's WeChat account). One of the best economic empowerment and job intervention programs introduced by the ruling NPP government to tackle graduate unemployment is the Nation Builders Corps (NABCO). As it stands, the NABCO initiative remains the best tool for economic empowerment presenting a ready-market skill for job acquisition by unemployed graduates. It is in this vein that Dr. Anyars Ibrahim, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is calling for a more enhanced and well strengthened NABCO brand to boost the chances of trainee beneficiaries who exit their terms of training. Dr. Ibrahim Anyars has further admonished NABCO trainees to eschew all tendencies that will bring the name of the organization into disrepute and make the programme unattractive to employers and investors. Dr Ibrahim was speaking during a capacity building training programme held in Wa for the 2,805 beneficiaries of the programme in the Upper West Region. If you are a NABCO trainee and you dont go to work or you like absenting yourself from work among others, what you are telling employers is that when they see NABCO on your CV they should not take you serious, he said. In this case, you are not only damaging yourself but also the brand of the organization, he said, stressing that the programme was focused on building a competent workforce for the country. Dr Ibrahim said for a 36-month programme, they thought it wise to now focus on the exit plan for trainees such that they would be empowered to exit and pursue their own career paths. He said the government was investing about GH70 million on a monthly basis to empower these unemployed youth for the job market or for them to become entrepreneurs themselves. He said through the programme, the government is not only retraining unemployed youth to contribute to the development of their own local communities but also boosting the local economy through the payment of allowances. Mr Amidu Chinnia Issahaku, the Deputy Upper West Regional Minister, said unemployment is a security threat to the nation, hence governments decision to create short term measures to contain the situation while it worked to expand the economy for more permanent jobs to be created. He commended the CEO of NABCO for putting in place a proper exit plan for the trainees and appealed to them to take the training serious such that they could exit and become self- dependent without becoming a liability to the nation. Mr Issahaku said the government is determined to make the private sector the engine of growth because it is impossible for government alone to employ all citizens as it was in every part of the world. Mr Umar Nuhu, the Regional NABCO Coordinator, said NABCO was a learn and work scheme and urged trainees to take their learning serious so that they could fit easily into the job market after exiting. Master Michael Kogo, a NABCO Trainee in the Nadowli-Kaleo District, said he was almost at the verge of migrating to the south when the programme was introduced, adding that he was now saving money to continue his education after exiting the programme. Khadijah Korica, another trainee, said since joining the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) through NABCO she has learnt and contributed a lot to the organization meeting its revenue targets and expressed the hope that she would be maintained at the end of the programme. She expressed gratitude to the government for introducing the programme which has saved beneficiaries from the numerous family and societal pressures. ---Ghana News Agency To the annoyance of some shareholders, Guangdong Adway Construction (Group) Holdings (HKG:6189) shares are down a considerable 33% in the last month. Given the 66% drop over the last year, some shareholders might be worried that they have become bagholders. What is a bagholder? It is a shareholder who has suffered a bad loss, but continues to hold indefinitely, without questioning their reasons for holding, even as the losses grow greater. Assuming nothing else has changed, a lower share price makes a stock more attractive to potential buyers. While the market sentiment towards a stock is very changeable, in the long run, the share price will tend to move in the same direction as earnings per share. So, on certain occasions, long term focussed investors try to take advantage of pessimistic expectations to buy shares at a better price. Perhaps the simplest way to get a read on investors' expectations of a business is to look at its Price to Earnings Ratio (PE Ratio). A high P/E implies that investors have high expectations of what a company can achieve compared to a company with a low P/E ratio. See our latest analysis for Guangdong Adway Construction (Group) Holdings How Does Guangdong Adway Construction (Group) Holdings's P/E Ratio Compare To Its Peers? We can tell from its P/E ratio of 3.72 that sentiment around Guangdong Adway Construction (Group) Holdings isn't particularly high. The image below shows that Guangdong Adway Construction (Group) Holdings has a lower P/E than the average (9.9) P/E for companies in the construction industry. SEHK:6189 Price Estimation Relative to Market, January 20th 2020 This suggests that market participants think Guangdong Adway Construction (Group) Holdings will underperform other companies in its industry. Many investors like to buy stocks when the market is pessimistic about their prospects. You should delve deeper. I like to check if company insiders have been buying or selling. How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios Companies that shrink earnings per share quickly will rapidly decrease the 'E' in the equation. Therefore, even if you pay a low multiple of earnings now, that multiple will become higher in the future. Then, a higher P/E might scare off shareholders, pushing the share price down. Story continues Guangdong Adway Construction (Group) Holdings saw earnings per share improve by -9.5% last year. And earnings per share have improved by 9.3% annually, over the last five years. But earnings per share are down 1.6% per year over the last three years. Remember: P/E Ratios Don't Consider The Balance Sheet Don't forget that the P/E ratio considers market capitalization. That means it doesn't take debt or cash into account. The exact same company would hypothetically deserve a higher P/E ratio if it had a strong balance sheet, than if it had a weak one with lots of debt, because a cashed up company can spend on growth. While growth expenditure doesn't always pay off, the point is that it is a good option to have; but one that the P/E ratio ignores. Guangdong Adway Construction (Group) Holdings's Balance Sheet Net debt is 50% of Guangdong Adway Construction (Group) Holdings's market cap. While it's worth keeping this in mind, it isn't a worry. The Bottom Line On Guangdong Adway Construction (Group) Holdings's P/E Ratio Guangdong Adway Construction (Group) Holdings trades on a P/E ratio of 3.7, which is below the HK market average of 10.6. EPS grew over the last twelve months, and debt levels are quite reasonable. The P/E ratio implies the market is cautious about longer term prospects. Given Guangdong Adway Construction (Group) Holdings's P/E ratio has declined from 5.5 to 3.7 in the last month, we know for sure that the market is more worried about the business today, than it was back then. For those who prefer to invest with the flow of momentum, that might be a bad sign, but for deep value investors this stock might justify some research. Investors have an opportunity when market expectations about a stock are wrong. As value investor Benjamin Graham famously said, 'In the short run, the market is a voting machine but in the long run, it is a weighing machine. Although we don't have analyst forecasts you might want to assess this data-rich visualization of earnings, revenue and cash flow. Of course you might be able to find a better stock than Guangdong Adway Construction (Group) Holdings. 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. Dignitaries take time out for a photo during the "Economic Outlook 2020" seminar hosted by the Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KGCCI) at the Millennium Seoul Hilton in central Seoul, Jan. 16. From left are KGCCI Chairman Kim Hyo-joon, Financial News Media Group Director Song Kyung-jin, Korea University professor Shin Kwan-ho, Robert Bosch Korea President Frank Schaefers, Korea Development Institute (KDI) Director and Vice President Lee Tae-suk, KDI Executive Director Ahn Sang-hoon, Deputy Head of Mission Peter Winkler at the German Embassy in Korea and KGCCI President and CEO Barbara Zollmann. / KGCCI By Yi Whan-woo The Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KGCCI) hosted a seminar last week to discuss this year's economic outlook in Korea and share insights. The biannual seminar, titled "Economic Outlook 2020," drew more than 100 guests to the Millennium Seoul Hilton, Jan. 16. Among the dignitaries were KGCCI President and CEO Barbara Zollmann, KGCCI Chairman Kim Hyo-Joon, Deputy Head of Mission Peter Winkler at the German Embassy in Korea, Minister for SMEs and Startups Park Young-sun, Korea Technology and Information Promotion Agency for SMEs (TIPA) President Choi Chul-an, Korea Institute of Startup and Entrepreneurship Development (KISED) President Kim Kwang-Hyon and President Cho Hong-rae of INNOBIZ, an association under the SMEs ministry. "This Korean-German business agreement is very meaningful as it provides a foundation for cooperation between SMEs and startups of both countries to achieve practical and concrete results," Minister Park said in her keynote speech. She noted that Germany is a manufacturing powerhouse that has quickly adapted to the Fourth Industrial Revolution while Korea has become the fifth-largest producer of digital data with a 5G infrastructure. "The future will therefore be bright if the two countries collaborate," she said. The KGCCI signed a memorandum of understanding with TIPA, KISED and INNOBIZ to extend cooperation in three areas industrial materials, parts and equipment, "smart manufacturing" and startups. The seminar was mainly divided into two parts. The first consisted of lectures from Winkler and Korea Development Institute (KDI) Executive Director Ahn Sang-hoon; the second was a panel discussion. Winkler, who is also head of the economics department at the German embassy, said Germany and Korea are "trusted partners with common values and shared interests" amid unprecedented challenges in the multilateral trade order. "2020 offers good opportunities to further deepen our cooperation in future-oriented areas such as energy, digitization and the Fourth Industrial Revolution," he said. According to Ahn's assessment, in 2019 the global economy was its weakest since the global financial crisis, mainly due to the slowdown in trade and investment. "For export-led economies faced with disruptive technological and social changes, the road to enhanced productivity growth will be long and turbulent," he noted. Under the topic "How to tackle the demographic challenge in Korea?" the panel discussion invited Korea University professor Shin Kwan-ho, Robert Bosch Korea President Frank Schaefers, Director and Vice President Lee Tae-suk at KDI's department of public finance and social policy. Moderated by Financial News Media Group Director Song Kyung-jin, the three guests discussed that demographic change will have an increasing impact on the economy regarding resources and productivity, but at the same time entails new business opportunities. Shin explained that while the negative effects of population aging on economic growth operated through several channels, the most important channel was lower productivity growth, not lower labor supply. Schaefers said demographic change indicated that "today we live in a healthier, wealthier and safer world than generations before us" and that such change posed great business opportunities for the business world. To address fiscal demand pressures due to demographic change, Shin noted the government must "proactively resolve conflicts of interest through transparent and fair allocation of public resources." Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is understood to have a 'kill switch' primed to rapidly dismiss the articles of impeachment as soon as some evidence has been offered. This will act as safety should the Democrats attempt to extend the impeachment trial, as some Republicans have warned the additional witnesses could. Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley told Axios: 'I am familiar with the resolution as it stood a day or two ago. My understanding is that the resolution will give the president's team the option to either move to judgment or to move to dismiss at a meaningful time.' He added that he would be 'very, very surprised' if the final organizing resolution did not include the option to dismiss and said he might not even vote for it if it did not. Scroll down for video Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is understood to have a 'kill switch' primed to rapidly dismiss the articles of impeachment as soon as some evidence has been offered (pictured: on Capitol Hill last week) Hawley later added on Twitter: 'Trump deserves the right during Senate trial to ask for a verdict or move to dismiss - otherwise trial will become endless circus run by Adam Schiff.' On Sunday, Ted Cruz told Fox News that the trial could run for 'six to eight weeks' if the Senate decides on calling further witnesses, a central demand of Democrat Senators. However, McConnell has already signaled he and other senior members are not keen on a vote to dismiss and neither is Trump's team pushing for such a step, which could backfire terribly. Trump's defense team said Sunday that the charges about his conduct towards Ukraine were invalid, adopting a position rejected by Democrats as 'nonsense.' The White House is pushing an 'absurdist position,' said Schiff, the lead Democratic prosecutor of the impeachment case. 'That's the argument I suppose you have to make if the facts are so dead set against you.' Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley revealed that it was his understanding McConnell would have an option to dismiss and said he might not even vote for a resolution without one President Donald Trump speaks at the American Farm Bureau Federation's convention on Sunday The trial resumes on Tuesday with what could be a fight over the ground rules. By then, both sides will have submitted briefs and four Democratic presidential candidates will have been forced back to Washington from the early nominating states to join every other senator in silence, sans phones, on the Senate floor. What they're likely to hear in this extraordinary setting is the House Democrats' impeachment articles that charge Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress over his pressure on Ukraine for political help. From the White House, the senator-jurors are expected to hear that Trump committed no crime, the impeachment articles are invalid and he's the victim of Democrats who want to overturn his election. 'Criminal-like conduct is required,' said Alan Dershowitz, a constitutional lawyer on Trump's defense team. Dershowitz said he will be making the same argument to the Senate and if it prevails, there will be 'no need' to pursue the witness testimony or documents that Democrats are demanding. But the 'no crime, no impeachment' approach has been roundly dismissed by scholars and Democrats, who were fresh off a trial brief that called Trump's behavior the 'worst nightmare' of the country's founders. In their view, the standard of 'high crimes and misdemeanors' is vague and open-ended in the Constitution and meant to encompass abuses of power that aren't necessarily illegal. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., another impeachment prosecutor, called it 'arrant nonsense' and said evidence of Trump's misconduct is overwhelming. The back-and-forth came as all concerned agitated for the Senate to get on with the third impeachment trial in the nation's history. Behind the scenes. the seven House managers were shoring up which prosecutor will handle which parts of the case and doing a walk-through of the Senate. No senators were more eager to get going than the four Democratic presidential candidates facing the prospect of being marooned in the Senate ahead of kickoff nominating votes in Iowa and New Hampshire. 'I'd rather be here,' said Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders on New Hampshire Public Radio while campaigning Sunday in Concord. During the trial, Sanders and other senators are required to sit for perhaps six grueling hours of proceedings daily - except Sundays, per Senate rules - in pursuit of the 'impartial justice' they pledged to pursue. But there was scant evidence that anyone's mind was really open about whether Trump earned vindication or ouster. Mystery, however, abounded over the trial's ground rules. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., shed no light on how the proceedings will follow - and differ from - the precedent of President Bill Clinton's impeachment trial in 1999. 'The president deserves a fair trial. The American people deserve a fair trial. So let's have that fair trial,' said Democratic Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado, one of the seven impeachment prosecutors. But what's fair is as vigorously disputed as the basic question of whether Trump's pressure on Ukraine to help him politically merits a Senate conviction and removal from office. The stakes are enormous, with historic influence on the fate of Trump's presidency, the 2020 presidential and congressional elections and the future of any presidential impeachments. Whatever happens in the Senate, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has said, Trump will 'be impeached forever.' Members of Trump's team countered that if they win a vindication for Trump, it means 'there will be an acquittal forever as well,' Trump attorney Robert Ray said Sunday. 'That is the task ahead.' For all of the suspense over the trial's structure and nature, some clues on what's to come sharpened on Sunday. The president's lawyers bore down on the suggestion that House impeachment is invalid unless the accused violated U.S. law. Dershowitz's argument, backed up by Ray, refers to an 1868 speech by Benjamin Curtis, who after serving as a Supreme Court justice acted as the chief lawyer for Andrew Johnson at his Senate impeachment trial. Johnson was ultimately acquitted by the Senate. 'The core of the impeachment parameters allege that crimes have been committed, treason, bribery, and things like that, in other words, other high crimes and misdemeanors,' Ray said Sunday. Republicans have long signaled the strategy, which has, in turn, been disputed by other scholars. 'Rubbish,' said Frank Bowman, a University of Missouri law professor and author of his own book about the history of impeachment for the Trump era. 'It's comically bad. Dershowitz either knows better or should,' said Bowman, who said he had been Dershowitz's student as a law professor at Harvard. Even as he made the case for Trump's acquittal, Dershowitz on Sunday distanced himself from the rest of Trump's defense team and said he would merely speak about the Constitution at the trial. He refused to endorse the strategy pursued by other members of that team or defend Trump's conduct and said he didn't sign onto the White House left brief filed Saturday, which called impeachment a 'brazen' attempt to overturn the 2016 election. 'I'm a liberal Democrat ... I'm here as a constitutional lawyer,' Dershowitz said. 'I'm here to lend my expertise on that issue and that issue alone.' Democrats, meanwhile, are pushing for witnesses and documents that weren't part of the House proceedings. A few Republicans said they want to know more before deciding. It's relevant because new information from Lev Parnas, an indicted associate of Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, is being incorporated in the House case. At the same time, Senate Democrats want to call John Bolton, the former national security adviser, among other potential eyewitnesses, after the White House blocked officials from appearing in the House. With Republicans controlling the Senate 53-47, they can set the trial rules - or any four Republicans could join with Democrats to change course. Police outside a house in Honolulu where two officers were reported to have been shot: AP Two police officers have been shot and killed in Hawaii and the FBI have been called in to help find the shooter, according to officials. The officers were apparently shot at a home near Diamond Head in the Waikiki neighbourhood of Honolulu, according to Hawaii News Now. At some point the house was set on fire and a plume of smoke could be seen from miles away. There were reports that at least four neighbouring houses had also caught fire. The Star Advertiser said 50 firefighters were at the scene trying to put out the blaze. It said live ammunition in the suspects house was exploding and that the flames had caused overhead electric wires to collapse. The FBI was called in to search for the attacker. Reports suggested that a female police officer had died at the Queens Medical Centre after being taken there in a critical condition. One witness told Hawaii News Now that they had seen police officers performing CPR on one of the victims at the scene. Dozens of officers, including the Honolulu police chief Susan Ballard, were said to have arrived at the hospital. David Ige, Hawaiis governor, said in a statement: Our entire state mourns the loss of two Honolulu Police officers killed in the line of duty this morning. As we express our condolences to their families, friends and colleagues, let us also come together to help and support those who have been forever changed by this tragedy. Kym Pine, a city council member, said in a Facebook post: My prayers and thoughts are with the families of the Honolulu Police Department officers who were killed and all who were injured during the Diamond Head incident today my heart aches for all who are involved. Kirk Caldwell, Honolulus mayor, tweeted: I would like to express my deepest condolences to the family and friends of the two officers as well as the entire Honolulu Police Department. This is an unprecedented tragedy for not only the City and County of Honolulu but the entire state of Hawaii. Our office is in communication with the Honolulu Police Department as more details about the circumstances around this horrific event come to light. Our hearts go out to the first responders who are on the scene as this event unfolds. In what could be a sign of the fast-improving ecosystem of Odishas Chilika lake, Indias largest brackish water lagoon, endangered Irrawaddy Dolphins are now populating newer areas of the 1165 sq km water body, Odisha wildlife officials said. Chilika is the single largest habitat of the slow-swimming dolphins in the world that got their names from Irrawaddy river in Myanmar where they were first sighted. These dolphins, measuring anywhere between 6 and 9 feet, have a bulging forehead, short beak, and 12-19 teeth on each side of both jaws. They are categorised as Schedule-I animal under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. In the annual dolphin census conducted by state wildlife official and wildlife researchers on Sunday, at least 146 Irrawaddy Dolphins were sighted. The direct sighting of 146 dolphins proves that the aquatic mammals are colonising new areas in central and southern parts of the lake where they were not seen before. The dolphins were earlier seen only in Satpada area, but now they are being seen in areas near Kalijai and Rambha. Removal of obstructions like prawn gherries (netted enclosures in the lake for cultivation of shrimps) in the lake may have helped. There are tell-tale signs of the dolphins migrating from Satpada side to other areas. Once they get bigger area, then the population may increase in next couple of years, said Sushanta Nanda, chief executive officer of Chilika Development Authority. CDA officials said the estimated population of the dolphins in the lake would be anywhere between 133 and 172. The hydrophone monitoring carried out round the year in Chilika showed that the highest number of dolphins (20-25) was around Rajhans, followed by the Magarmukh and Malatikuda areas. As dolphins use echolocation to navigate through the turbid waters, scientists use hydrophones to locate their presence. Though around six varieties of dolphins are found in Indias rivers, lakes and around coastline, wildlife researchers say so far there is certainty about the numbers of Gangetic river dolphins and Irrawaddy dolphins only. No proper survey of other dolphins have been done so far. By sheer numbers, the Gangetic river dolphins would be the highest with number ranging between 3300 and 3500. The Gangetic river dolphins are freshwater species that are found in the Sundarban river system and Brahmaputra rivers. On the other hand, the Irrawaddy Dolphins are found mostly in brackish water zones and that too in Chilika, said Dr Ravindra Sinha, vice chancellor of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, and Indias foremost expert on dolphins. Sinha agreed that the increased sightings of dolphins was a good sign of the lakes improved ecosystem. In early 2000, when the lakes salinity had gone down due to closing of the mouth, the number of Irrawaddy dolphins were much less than 100, he said. Wildlife officials said freeing a large part of the lake from the net enclosures had not just led to migration of dolphins to newer areas, but was also reflected in increased congregation of migratory birds in the lake this year. Earlier this month, at least 11 lakh birds belonging to 184 species were counted in the lake, an all-time high. Conservationists, however, said the sightings of dolphins in newer areas may not mean anything for the mammals considering they way tourists were hounding them out for a better view. Lets get this clear. The dolphins in the lake are under stress due to motorboats with their propellers churning the water enough to disturb them. At least 50 per cent of the dolphins in the lake are being chased around by visitors who want to photograph. The boats would encircle a school of dolphin causing them unimaginable stress. How would they breed under these stressful conditions, asked Mohanty, Odishas noted wildlife conservationist. Mohanty said the lake authorities should not allow boats that travel at more than 3 km per hour. The dolphins have the first priority over the lake and not the tourists, said Mohanty. Paul Hollywood's estranged wife Alex has declared that she's ready to forge her own path to success, after helping her ex rise to TV stardom. The 56-year-old cookery writer whose marriage to Bake Off star Paul crumbled in 2017, four years after his affair with Marcela Valladolid insists she played an instrumental role in his rise to fame, and now hopes to achieve the same for herself. She told OK!: 'When Paul and I first came back from Cyprus [where they met], we literally had 1,000 and a suitcase. We worked hard together and as a result of that, Paul got The Great British Bake Off and did really well. Time to shine: Paul Hollywood's estranged wife Alex has declared that she's ready to forge her own path to success, after helping her ex rise to TV stardom. Pictured in January 2015 'Through hard graft from both of us, he got to the point where he was so big with Bake Off and now it's my time to shine. I'm not saying I don't wish him well, I really hope that he will find happiness.' Alex, who shares 18-year-old son Joshua with Paul, 53, says she has moved on from her marriage but she's ruling out romance until their divorce is finalised. When asked if she's dated since the split, she responded: 'I'm not properly divorced yet so I want to get that over with first... I have divorce fatigue. I just want it over with so I can reassess how I'm going to live my life and find out who I want to be.' Waiting: The cookery writer, who shares 18-year-old son Joshua with Paul, 53, says she has moved on from her marriage but she's ruling out romance until their divorce is finalised Paul and Alex's marriage came close to ending in 2013, when it was revealed that he'd had an affair with his The American Baking Competition co-star Marcela, 42. He told The Mirror in July of that year 'Its my fault. I am very sad about what has happened. I do feel very sad about it and what it brought on the family.' However, Alex took him back three months later for the sake of their son, only for the pair to announce in November 2017 that things were officially coming to an end. Announcing the end of their union, the pair said in a statement: 'It is with sadness that we have decided to separate. Affair: Her marriage to Bake Off star Paul crumbled in 2017, four years after his affair with The American Baking Competition co-star Marcela Valladolid 'Our focus continues to be the happiness of our son, and we would ask the press and public to allow us privacy as a family during this very difficult time.' That same year, Kent barmaid Summer Monteys-Fulham, 24, sparked headlines when she revealed that she'd embarked on a romantic relationship with Paul. Her revelation sparked outrage from Alex, who filed for divorce on the grounds of adultery soon afterwards, with sources saying she believed he'd been having an affair with Summer before their split. Their romance attracted an avalanche of headlines as Paul treated Summer to countless lavish gifts and even purchased a 1million house in Kent for them to share back in February of last year. Cooking up a success: TV personality Paul has found huge success with the Great British Bake Off and is now estimated to be worth 10million However, things came crashing down in the summer, when Paul asked Summer to sign a non-disclosure agreement drafted up by his lawyers, which she refused to do. She also recently revealed that she is taking her former flame to court for 4,000 over her two horse shelters, built at his 800,000 Kent farmhouse last year. Summer claimed she'd been left with 'no alternative' but to take legal action against the Bake Off judge four months after they ended their two-year relationship. She told MailOnline: 'All I have ever wanted was to get back what is rightfully mine - stuff I bought with my own savings... he's punishing my horses with his spite.' Ex factor: The same year his split from his wife was revealed, Paul embarked on a romance with former barmaid Summer Monteys-Fullam. Their relationship ended over the summer The social media influencer purchased the first stable when she moved her horses to his Grade II listed home in January, and built the second in March for her mare who was pregnant. 'I'm incredibly disappointed that I've had to choose this course of action against Paul', she said. 'Dealing with Paul is a nightmare - everything is done through his lawyers.' Paul, who is estimated to be worth 10million, appears to have found love over a pint once again, as he recently confirmed he is dating the landlady of his local pub. The TV judge has repeatedly denied that he was enjoying a romance with Melissa Spalding, 36, since their friendship was revealed in August after his split from former barmaid Summer. Love: It was recently confirmed that he is now enjoying a romance with Melissa Spalding, 36 However, after the couple spent Christmas Day at the Chequers Inn in Smarden, Kent, a spokesman for Paul said: 'They are very happily together.' It is now understood that they are on a mini-break. A source close to the couple said: Melissa was pulling pints and cleaning tables on Christmas Day so they didnt get to spend much time together, but they are away now. In November, the pair were spotted holding hands by the pool at the five-star Annabelle hotel in Paphos, Cyprus, where he also met and married his estranged wife Alex. Onlookers saw them looking 'very happy together'. The Foreign Ministry of Ukraine has required removing image of Trident (Tryzub) Ukrainian National Coat of Arms from the UK Counter Extremism Police Guide distributed by the British law enforcement agencies. "We are looking forward to an official comment from the British Foreign Office and the Police. We assume it will be released soon. In case the discussed fact is confirmed, we demand that Ukrainian state symbols are removed from the handbook," reads a comment of Ukraine's Foreign Ministry posted on its website on Monday. The National Coat of Arms of Ukraine originates in the Kyivan Rus times and is one of the symbols of unity of Ukrainians. It is widely used by the Ukrainian public authorities and common Ukrainians alike. "Any attempt to link the Coat of Arms of Ukraine to extremism offends millions of Ukrainians at home and abroad," the ministry said. Previously, the Ukrainian Embassy in the UK required the British police to exclude the trident depicted on the small coat of arms from the list of extremist symbols and to apologize. As with any major negotiation, the devil is in the detail. And the more that we study the new template for 21st century reluctant royalty, the more issues that arise from heraldry to trademarks and some very odd new titles. The Queen has certainly kept to her side of the bargain, having said last week that she wanted to resolve the future of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex 'in days'. This has been serious royal reform conducted at record speed. The Queen has certainly kept to her side of the bargain, having said last week that she wanted to resolve the future of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex 'in days' Uppermost in the Queen's mind, I understand, were two previous members of the family whose drawn-out unhappiness backfired badly on the monarchy itself. The first was Princess Margaret, whose hopes of marrying her late father's divorced equerry, Peter Townsend, were put on hold for two years until she no longer required the Queen's permission (by which time, she was having second thoughts anyway). The second was the Princess of Wales, who spent three years inside the royal fold while separated from the Prince before finally seeking a divorce. In both cases, the Queen let things drag on and on in the hope of some sort of happy resolution. In both cases, it merely prolonged the agony for everyone. This time, the Queen has decided to apply a different strategy: speed and pragmatism with a return ticket included, just in case things do not go to plan. There has been a lot of talk about 'winners' and 'losers' from last week's Sandringham summit, as the Palace pointedly refuses to call it ('it was a family meeting,' says a spokesman). Sporting analogies rather miss the point since both sides can claim to have won, yet no one is feeling remotely triumphal. The Sussexes have secured the new existence they yearned for, though certainly not on the terms they had envisaged. They had hoped to create a hybrid arrangement, mixing official duties with private commercial work. However, as this paper has made clear in recent days, any aspiration to be half-in/half-out could never work. In her statement Her Majesty The Queen praised how Meghan had swiftly become part of the family and thanked the couple for the work they had done The Sussexes will pay back 2.3million of taxpayers' money spent on renovating Frogmore Cottage (pictured) in Berkshire The couple will now be post-royal rather than semi-royal. In the process, they have also quashed one of the regular charges thrown at them, namely the use of public money. Having agreed to repay the 2.3million of Sovereign Grant spent on the refurbishment of Frogmore Cottage, they are in the clear. For her part, the Queen has deftly reasserted her authority at the age of 93 and averted a family schism. Even so, it has been a painful process for a worried grandmother. And she is acutely aware this is not an issue that can now be put to one side. Rather, this is just the start. For as one set of negotiations is resolved, a whole new chapter of awkward and perhaps insoluble dilemmas now opens up. For now, the answer to most of these questions is 'wait and see'. By sensibly announcing a 'review' of the Sussexes' arrangements after 12 months, both sides have bought themselves some breathing space. Nothing is final, for now. The public may want answers sooner than that, however. Take the question of how we should refer to the couple. A royal spokesman has said, once the new arrangements take effect in 'the spring', they will be known as 'Harry, Duke of Sussex' and 'Meghan, Duchess of Sussex'. When I put this to a distinguished authority on protocol yesterday, he replied with astonishment: 'What? So, they are already divorcing?' For the only people who put a Christian name before a title are either divorced wives or widows of hereditary peers. They do so, by tradition, to distinguish themselves from the current holder of the same title. (It was for this reason that, say, the Countess Spencer became Raine, Countess Spencer on the death of her husband, the last Earl Spencer. We can surely expect to see a rebranding and relaunch of 'sussexroyal.com' in the near future, although it is going to cost the couple a small fortune as they apply for new trademarks for every aspect of their fledgling empire That way, there could be no confusion with the wife of the new Earl Spencer who was automatically the new Countess Spencer). So, 'Meghan, Duchess of Sussex' would only be correct if Meghan was either widowed or divorced. As for 'Harry, Duke of Sussex', no such male title has ever existed. Some might dismiss this as arcane stuff for pedants and Downton Abbey addicts. However, the whole point of protocol and etiquette is that people want to know the rules. At every royal event I have ever attended, the most frequent questions from the guests are: 'How do I bow/curtsey?' and 'What should I call them?' So what should we call a couple who will no longer call themselves 'HRH' but will, nonetheless, retain the style of 'HRH'? For their royal status is, in effect, mothballed rather than abolished. They will both remain 'HRH' on their passports and in official documents. Again, this might seem a minor point. But try telling that to the host who is just about to introduce Harry or Meghan at some gala event. They can hardly begin with the usual: 'Your Royal Highness, Ladies and Gentlemen' Nor would it be correct to say 'Your Grace' the form of address for an 'ordinary' duke. A Palace adviser admits there is, as yet, no definitive answer but suggests using plain 'Sir' or 'Ma'am'. As for bowing or curtseying, the official advice is: 'Don't'. But if some people do, Harry and Meghan are not going to complain. Money-wise, there is a serious problem at the heart of their new, independent operation: Sussex Royal. They have spent months establishing it as a charitable, corporate and digital entity. But the name is, surely, a non-starter. If you are not going to trade on your royal connections and they have forsworn not to then you simply cannot create a new brand for yourself with 'royal' in the title. We can surely expect to see a rebranding and relaunch of 'sussexroyal.com' in the near future, although it is going to cost the couple a small fortune as they apply for new trademarks for every aspect of their fledgling empire. I even see trouble ahead with something as simple as their stationery. They will want to keep their cypher their initials entwined under what looks like a crown which appears on everything. But some people will argue that this is another example of trading on their royal status. This is not true, since the 'crown' in question is actually a coronet, a heraldic device which applies to all members of the peerage. In other words, hundreds of peers do the same. However, to a wider world with little time for such niceties, it may just look like another example of trading on royal links. All these are issues which will keep officials inside all the royal households busy for months. None of this, I suspect, will weigh as heavily on the Duke's mind as the loss of his military patronages. He was immensely honoured to be appointed Captain-General of the Royal Marines, in particular, and his loyalty to the wider family of the Armed Forces has been exemplary. But he must relinquish the ceremonial role. One close to him acknowledges that occasions like Remembrance Sunday will 'hit particularly hard'. For there seems little chance of Harry being invited to line up behind his father at the Cenotaph to lay a wreath. He will, of course, be welcome to join the Queen and other members of the family on the balcony overlooking Whitehall but for such a dedicated ex-Army officer it may feel too much like a demotion. I would not be surprised to see him attending other commemorations on his own. However, it is significant that none of his current stable of military organisations will look for a replacement during the 12-month review of the new arrangements. Read between the lines and the Queen has kept as many bridges open, in case of a change of plan. He remains a passionate president of the Queen's Commonwealth Trust with Meghan as vice-president. Meghan is also patron of one of the Association of Commonwealth Universities. Spread across all 53 member states of the 'family of nations', these are charities which can be promoted and supported just as easily, whether the patron happens to be in Windsor, Ontario, or Windsor, Berkshire. I fully expect to see Harry and possibly Meghan, too alongside the Queen at the annual Commonwealth Day service in Westminster Abbey in March. It is an event packed with charities from all over the Commonwealth. It is also an occasion which, in future, may act as a bridge between the Sussexes and the rest of the family. Harry does, of course, have unfinished business before his new 'independent life' can start. Today, he will hold a series of bilateral meetings with the presidents of Malawi and Mozambique plus the prime minister of Morocco. The Government's UK-Africa Summit is kicking off in London and Foreign Office ministers are keen to play the royal card as much as possible. Before the events of recent days, Prince Harry had agreed to welcome some of the heads of state. Later on, all 21 African delegations plus spouses will head for Buckingham Palace where the Duke of Cambridge will host a special summit reception. It is not only the first big Palace bash of the year. It will also be the first time the Queen has asked Prince William to host a major state occasion inside royal HQ, another stepping stone in the long preparation for the top job that will one day be his destiny. Prince Harry will not be at his brother's party. I am told that it is simply down to a 'diary clash'. No doubt, he would once have made a point of being on hand to help his brother with a big event like this. In the present circumstances, of course, it would eclipse the entire summit if he did show up. Today will be another reminder of just what the monarchy and the UK are about to lose. For the Duke himself, it will be a reminder of the position he is about to abandon. Canada may have its appeal but no one is going to ask him to spend a day schmoozing with heads of state as Harry will this afternoon. There are so many pitfalls ahead, so much to be regretted. Just as well, then, that the wise Queen has left so many doors ajar. A brave newsagency owner has recalled how he fought off two youths during an attempted robbery on his early morning paper run. Mark Yates, 53, had just begun delivering newspapers in Townsville in north Queensland early Sunday morning when he was confronted by two youths, who allegedly tried to steal his wallet from his back pocket. That's when The Strand Newsagency owner's previous karate training from 30 years ago as a brown belt kicked in. Mark Yates (pictured) told Daily Mail Australia the ordeal could have been much worse 'I was walking back to my car after delivering papers to the back entrance of a cafe when I was confronted by two youths trying to get my wallet,' Mr Yates told Daily Mail Australia on Monday. 'I punched one offender twice and broke his nose on the second go. I think they realised they got more than what they bargained for.' 'The other guy then punched me in the side of the head.' Mark Yates (pictured) was allegedly attacked by two youths on his paper run early Sunday Mr Yates was left shaken and suffered bruising to his knuckles and left side of his face in the alleged attack. He was taken to hospital before being later discharged. Mr Yates spent a day at home recovering on the strict orders of his wife Joan and is grateful for the many years of martial arts training came in handy. 'That training is something you never forget,' he said. 'I have no regrets about what I did. You've got to stand up for yourself.' The Strand Newsgency (pictured) owner has recalled Sunday morning's terrifying ordeal Unknown to his alleged attackers, Mark Yates has had years of karate training as a brown belt The youths fled empty handed. Mr Yates usually keeps his car running while doing his paper run but when he stopped on Sunday, had thankfully locked his brand new Kia Seltos, which he's had for just three weeks. 'It could have been much worse,' he told Daily Mail Australia. 'It was just lucky that neither of them were armed with a weapon.' Mr Yates plans to return to work on Monday afternoon, where he has been inundated with messages from well-wishers. The Townsville newsagent has since returned to work since his frightening ordeal The alleged assault occurred around 4.15am on Sunday in the Townsville suburb of North Ward. No arrests have been made but police investigations are ongoing. The two youths are described as of Aboriginal appearance, slim build and were wearing dark coloured clothing. Mr Yates had this plea for his alleged attackers. 'I hope they take stock of everything and grow up by taking some responsibility,' he said. The High Kings play Landmark Central, Carrick-on-Shannon this Saturday, January 2 5 at 7pm. In the mid to late 2000s, Ireland needed a group like The High Kings. The heyday of ballad groups like The Clancy Brothers and The Dubliners was a distant memory for generations of music fans, and to have another bunch of Irish lads taking up the baton and continuing the tradition was great news to thousands of fans worldwide. The four immediately clicked as a creative unit as well as friends, and they sensed something special was taking place. With the stamp of approval from the likes of Christy Moore and Ronnie Drew, The High Kings had achieved what many had thought impossible: they were moving the Irish ballad tradition into the here and now, carrying along with them the steadfast older fans while simultaneously bringing it to a new audience. Forget about the drama of the British Royals and grab this chance to experience the Irish royals in The Landmark this Saturday night. Show starts at 7pm. Tickets are 33.50 (at the Landmark or from Ticketmaster.ie). Also this month comedian Conal Gallen brings The Joker to The Landmark on Friday, January 31. With a career spanning over 30 years, Conals shows are renowned for their mighty craic, great songs and rib-tickling jokes. Who doesn't want a night of laughter in January?! Tickets 25 available from hotel reception (071) 96 22 222. Also read: Fianna Fail leader in Leitrim today It has been almost 15 years since Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles got married, and their relationships continues to get stronger despite the test of time. Interestingly, however, their relationship could have ended early. However, the Prince of Wales proved how much he loves the Duchess of Cornwall after he defied what the royal family wanted. Rekindling Romance Prince Charles and Camilla announced their relationship in 1999, which was two years after Princess Diana's tragic death in Paris. Because of the incident, Camilla struggled in winning the approval of the Queen, citizens and royal watchers as Prince Charles' new partner. Prince Chalres being the heir to the throne made it even harder for Camilla to get Queen Elizabeth II's nod. Meanwhile, according to Tom Bower's biography "Rebel Prince: The Power, Passion, and Defiance of Prince Charles," Her Majesty offered nothing but disapproval that she even reportedly called Camilla "that wicked woman" and showed so much displeasure towards her. In pursuit of breaking the foundation between the two, Queen Elizabeth II reportedly sent someone to do the job for her -- but ultimately failed in the end. The Queen's Last-Ditch Effort Penny Junor, who authored the 2018 book "The Duchess: Camilla Parker Bowles and the Love Affair that Rocked the Crown," revealed how Queen Elizabeth II went against all odds by sending one person to Prince Charles' office. Sir Michael Peat, the Keeper of the Privy Purse, Treasurer to the Queen, and Receiver General of the Duchy of Lancaster, received an instruction from the Queen to cut off the connection between his son and Camilla. "Queen Elizabeth offered nothing but disapproval towards their relationship," Junor stated before adding that the Queen worried so much since the Prince of Wales is the first in the line to the British throne. However, the plan ultimately came to waste after Peat realized that what the royal family wanted to do with Prince Charles and Camilla was an impossible dream to achieve, simply because the Prince refused to give up Camilla. In the end, he turned into an ally and became the "loudest, fiercest advocate" of their marriage. As he continued to be one of the most-trusted staff of the Prince of Wales, he later on got the position of Principal Private Secretary to the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall before he retired. "The Prince of Wales really is the most curious character. In his usual way, he was dithering," Junor described the future head of the monarchy. "On the one hand, he had stood his ground against his parents, the media, and the voice of the nation in making Camilla non-negotiable." Why Their Marriage Got Delayed Prince Charles and Camilla had to wait for six years before they get married. While the approval of the royal family was undoubtedly a big deal, the real reason why they delayed their marriage was mainly because of the "sensitivity towards" Prince William and Prince Harry. As excerpted in the 2005 book "The Firm" by Penny Junor, a royal biographer, Prince Charles and Camilla did not want to force Prince William and Prince Harry to meet and accept a stepmother wholeheartedly before they had fully grown up. They also took note of the sudden death of Princess Diana, which affected the two princes emotionally and mentally. Nonetheless, as time went by, the two grew up and became old enough to understand what their father wanted. On April 9, 2005, Prince Charles and Camilla finally tied a knot at Windsor Guildhall. They also had a service at St. George's Chapel to receive a special marital blessing. They had to do another event since, at the time of their engagement, the Church of England could not support second marriages if a spouse was still living (which was the case of Camilla's ex, Andrew Parker Bowles). WiseGuyReports.Com Publish a New Market Research Report On Ocular Drug Delivery 2020 Global Market Outlook,Research,Trends and Forecast to 2024. Ocular Drug Delivery Market 2020 Description: This report is the amalgamation of the insights gained by expert analysts after conducting in-depth research into the Ocular Drug Delivery industry. An overview of the industry, in general, is included in the report to provide the reader with information about all aspects of the product/service in the Ocular Drug Delivery market. The report provides insight into the absolute definitions of the product/service and the segregation into different types prevalent in the market. The various manufacturing processes that are involved in making the different types of the product/service based on the applications by the end-user are included in the report. The forecast period for the report is 2020 to 2025 and the base year for conducting comparisons in 2019. Historical data available are studied to gain perspective on the changing trends of the market. Get a Sample Report @ https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/4811333-global-ocular-drug-delivery-market-report-2020 For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.com Major Key Players Included are:- OCULAR THERAPEUTIX, INC Alimera Sciences Allergan, Plc EyeGate Pharma Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc Envisia Therapeutics Clearside Biomedical Graybug Vision Inc Taiwan Liposome Company Santen Pharmaceutical Market Dynamics The report gives a note to the various factors impacting the fast-paced expansion of the Ocular Drug Delivery industry. The global reach of the product/service has provided a widespread increase in manufacturers in the Ocular Drug Delivery market. The regional segmentation into North America, Europe, China, Japan, India, and Southeast Asia is impacted by various macroeconomic factors such as rapid growth in population, demographics in population, environmental factors, and governmental initiatives. Market trends change depending on the behaviour of the mentioned factors. Drivers & Constraints The report makes a study out of the various aspects that affect the growth of the Ocular Drug Delivery industry regarding the sales volume, pricing, and prevalent market trends. One of the significant driving forces behind the success and growth of the product/service is assessing the potential of unknown growth factors revealed in the report. The readers gain a critical understanding of the Ocular Drug Delivery industry on going through the various factors impacting and constraining growth. SWOT analysis which studies the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats prevalent in the Ocular Drug Delivery industry have been included in the report. Key Players Analysis The report provides details regarding the key players involved in the market. The competitive landscape drawn by the top tier is researched to get a conclusion on the impact of building unique portfolios and processes has on the market. Geographical and governmental factors play a critical role in the industrys growth. Competition in the industry affects the market share of each player in the industry. For the new players in the Ocular Drug Delivery industry, this report provides insight into the internal workings and processes of established stalwarts that made them a huge success. Enquiry About Report @ https://www.wiseguyreports.com/enquiry/4811333-global-ocular-drug-delivery-market-report-2020 Table of Contents Major Key Points Section 1 Ocular Drug Delivery Product Definition Section 2 Global Ocular Drug Delivery Market Manufacturer Share and Market Overview Section 3 Manufacturer Ocular Drug Delivery Business Introduction Section 4 Global Ocular Drug Delivery Market Segmentation (Region Level) Section 5 Global Ocular Drug Delivery Market Segmentation (Product Type Level) Section 6 Global Ocular Drug Delivery Market Segmentation (Industry Level) Section 7 Global Ocular Drug Delivery Market Segmentation (Channel Level) Section 8 Ocular Drug Delivery Market Forecast 2019-2024 Section 9 Ocular Drug Delivery Segmentation Product Type Continued. CONTACT US: NORAH TRENT Partner Relations & Marketing Manager sales@wiseguyreports.com www.wiseguyreports.com Ph: +1-646-845-9349 (US) Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (UK) ABOUT US: Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories. Labour's membership has grown by more than 100,000 since the party's devastating general election loss, sparking hard-left fears that a moderate surge could scupper Rebecca Long-Bailey's chances of victory. Would-be members of the Labour Party have until 5pm today to join up if they want to be eligible to vote in the battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn. The five remaining candidates in the race are now scrambling to persuade their supporters to sign up to boost their hopes of securing the top job. The five candidates in the Labour leadership race took part in their first hustings event in Liverpool on Saturday But the initial numbers, revealed to the Huffington Post website by a party insider, are likely to make for grim reading for Ms Long-Bailey with many of the people joining thought to be moderates who left the party under Mr Corbyn's leadership. The shadow business secretary has the backing of the current Labour leadership and is viewed as the 'continuity Corbyn' candidate - a label she has rejected. Moderate candidates believe a huge increase in membership could play in their favour and torpedo Ms Long-Bailey's campaign. All five candidates - Ms Long-Bailey, Sir Keir Starmer, Lisa Nandy, Emily Thornberry and Jess Phillips - are now locked in a battle to make it onto the final ballot of party members. To do so they must win the nominations of 33 local constituency parties or three Labour affiliates, including at least two trade unions. Ms Long-Bailey and Sir Keir are widely expected to make it into the final stage of the contest. But the three other candidates are facing an uphill battle amid fears the two front runners will secure the majority of the available union and constituency Labour party support. Those candidates which do secure the required support will then be put to a ballot of party members between February 21 and April 2. The winner of the contest is due to be announced at a special event on April 4. A surge in new Labour members is believed to be bad news for Rebecca Long-Bailey's hopes of victory. The shadow business secretary is pictured on Liverpool on Saturday Would-be members have until 5pm today to join the Labour Party in order to be eligible to vote in the leadership contest The first hustings of the leadership contest was held in Liverpool on Saturday as the candidates exchanged fire. Ms Phillips said the event was 'awful' as she also revealed she believes she is unlikely to win the contest. Writing for The Guardian, she said: 'I was awful because I was trying to hit a million different lines and messages in 40 seconds. Some were my lines, some were other peoples, and it fell flat.' She added: 'Ready for some more honesty? The likelihood that anyone but Keir Starmer or Rebecca Long-Bailey is going to win is, well, pretty low.' Hassan Rouhani is seen as the kinder face of the Iranian regime. Even he feels free to taunt Europe. Credit:Office of the Iranian Presidency The influence of the tariff threat on the European decision to trigger a dispute mechanism in the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran is hard to know. They met earlier such bluster by Trump with warnings of their own: Only a few months ago, the European Union's trade commissioner was pledging retaliation against any US tariffs on automobiles. But while the Europeans certainly didn't deserve to be blackmailed by Washington, their invertebrate response to blackmail by Tehran dilutes sympathy for their predicament. Threatening Germany, France and Britain with a tariff on automobile exports to the US is the diplomatic equivalent of a nuclear option - the more egregious for being invoked against close allies. If the administration of President Donald Trump did indeed try to bully Europe into doing the right thing on Iran's dangerous brinkmanship, this reflects poorly on both sides. Sadly, the Europeans have not been so dauntless in the face of intimidation by the Islamic Republic. From the moment last May when Iran announced it would no longer abide by the enrichment limits in the nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the Europeans have tended to cut Tehran some slack, when stern warnings were warranted. This accommodation encouraged the regime to progressively discard the JCPOA's restrictions, while the leaders in Berlin, Paris and London wrung their hands. The Europeans seem to have persuaded themselves that Iran's actions were a natural, perhaps even justifiable, reaction to Trump's unilateral withdrawal from the nuclear deal the previous year. In their anxiety to keep the deal alive, and give their companies access to business deals worth hundreds of billions of dollars, the Europeans lost sight of the JCPOA's purpose: to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear threat. The possibility of action was renewed when Iran stepped up enrichment, but Europe used the letter of the deal as an excuse to do nothing even as its spirit was being flouted. Their reward from the regime in Tehran has been only scorn. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has derided Europe's efforts to salvage the JCPOA, dismissing them as a "joke," and warning his countrymen to "give up all hope" that these would amount to anything. Tehran knows it can count on European timorousness in the face of its truculence. Notice that the Iranians rarely chastise - much less taunt - China and Russia, the JCPOA's other signatories, for failing to keep their end of the bargain. Tehran was expecting the EU to find another excuse for inaction two weeks ago, when the regime announced it was suspending limits on uranium enrichment and removing all curbs on the number of centrifuges required to induce a fission chain reaction. Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], Jan 20 (ANI): After Maharashtra Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray put his weight behind round the clock opening of malls and multiplexes located in gated complexes on pilot basis, State Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Monday asserted that "concept of nightlife" is difficult to implement all across Mumbai. He said that Cabinet will take a final call on the issue. "The concept of nightlife is not for all the areas in Mumbai. But yes we can think about it in some specific areas where tourists visit malls and other compounds," said Deshmukh. "It is difficult to allow the concept of nightlife all over Mumbai. So, on Wednesday we have a Cabinet meeting and we will discuss this and the decision will be announced on the same day," he added. Thackeray told media persons here on Friday that "Malls, multiplexes, shops, and eateries to operate 24x7 in gated communities of Mumbai on an experimental basis. It will be implemented from January 26" The decision was taken in a meeting with BMC and police officials. As decided by the Maharashtra government, these establishments will remain open round the clock in Fort and Kala Ghoda in South Mumbai and Bandra Kurla Complex in the west. He said that the move would help in generating employment and revenue to the state government. (ANI) British charity Oxfam has released a report ahead of the World Economic Forums meeting in Davos this week claiming that global economic inequality is out of control. The Time to Care report says that the wealthiest 1% of the worlds population have more than twice the wealth of the rest of the 6.9 billion on earth. In 2019 the worlds 2,153 billionaires had more wealth than 4.6 billion people, 60% of worlds population. Todays extreme wealth is also founded on sexism, the report notes. Our economic system was built by rich and powerful men, who continue to make the rules and reap the lions share of the benefit. Oxfam puts the monetary value of unpaid care work, carried out by women aged 15 and over at some $10.8tn (8.3tn) a year. Demonstrators take part in a global protest campaigning against inequality in Nairobi, Kenya, ahead of the Davos World Economic Forum. Photo: Baz Ratner/Reuters This great divide is based on a flawed and sexist economic system, the report says. At the bottom of the economy, women and girls, especially women and girls living in poverty and from marginalized groups, are putting in 12.5 billion hours every day of care work for free, and countless more for poverty wages. Worldwide, it says, men own 50% more wealth than women, and dominate in terms of political and economic power. READ MORE: World's elite head to Switzerland for Davos Climate change a key discussion topic for the thousands of wealthy executives gathered in Davos this week is already placing a bigger burden on women, Oxfam says. Based on a report by Care, Denmark, Oxfam says by 2025 an estimated 2.4 billion people will be living in areas without enough water, meaning women and girls will be forced to walk further and further to find it. Oxfam uses the Credit Suisse Global Wealth report as the basis for its calculations on global inequality, but admits that collecting figures on wealth is very difficult due the poor quality of much of the data. The charitys wealth and inequality report has been criticised in the past for exaggerating the scale of the issue and for its methodology which is based on net wealth calculations and excluded income. Story continues Strongman leaders Oxfam singled out some global leaders whose policies it says are causing the gap between the poor and the wealthy to widen. Strongman leaders like President Trump in the US, and President Bolsonaro in Brazil, are exemplars of this trend, Oxfam says. They are offering policies like tax cuts for billionaires, obstructing measures to tackle climate emergency, or turbo-charging racism, sexism, and hatred of minorities. It called on governments to act now to build a human economy that is feminist and values what truly matters to society rather than fuelling an endless pursuit of profit and wealth. (Alliance News) - Rock drilling products manufacturer Mincon Group PLC said Monday it has acquired Finnish firm Lehti Group Oy for EUR8.0 million in cash. Mincon Group will pay EUR7 million on the completion date of the acquisition, with a further EUR500,000 in April and the final EUR500,000 in April 2021. Lethi has been a former manufacturing partner of Mincon Nordic, allowing the unit to win several infrastructure projects in the North America, Scandinavia, Asia and Russia. For 2019, Lethi is expected to report EUR2.2 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, on a turnover of EUR13 million. "This acquisition means that Mincon Nordic enters 2020 with the momentum provided by the contracts which we successfully won in 2019 and with superb reference sites for Mincon geotechnical products manufactured by Lehti. We believe this acquisition will leave Mincon well placed to further expand in the attractive geotechnical market worldwide," said Chief Executive Joe Purcell. Shares in Mincon - which is based in Shannon, Ireland - were untraded in London, last quoted at 87.5 pence on Monday. By Dayo Laniyan; dayolaniyan@alliancenews.com Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. Egypt's Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat said on Monday she wants to bolster Egypt's partnership with the UK's Development Finance Institution (DFI), CDC Group. Al-Mashat made her remarks during a meeting with the CEO of CDC Group Nick O'Donohoe and the group's Managing Director for Africa Tenbite Ermiason on the sidelines of the UK-Africa Investment Summit 2020 in London. Highlighting the DFI's role in funding Aswan's Benban solar power project and other educational projects in Egypt, Al-Mashat said she is keen to further mutual cooperation to achieve the ministry's vision, which seeks to boost multilateral partnerships with international development partners and economic policymakers. The minister reviewed with the two officials means of promoting the group's investments in various sectors, including renewable energy, healthcare and infrastructure. She noted that the group has financed up to 20 Egyptian companies since 2013, creating over 9,000 direct job opportunities. Meanwhile, the group leaders applauded the economic and fiscal reforms in Egypt, voicing their intention to expand the institution's activities in Egypt in parallel with opening the group's office in Cairo by mid-2020. Egypt's Ambassador in London Tarek Adel and Ambassador of the UK in Cairo Geoffrey Adams attended the meeting along with Director of the Middle East and North Africa at the British Department for International Development Mark Bryson Richardson. Search Keywords: Short link: Addressing a press conference in Srinagar, J&K DGP Dilbagh Singh said the three militants Waseem Ahmad Wani, Adil Sheikh and Jehangir were involved in the killing of four civilians and four policemen. Srinagar, Jan 20 (IANS) Three militants of the proscribed terrorist outfit Hizbul Mujahideen were gunned down by security forces in an encounter in Shopian district on Monday, Jammu and Kashmir police and Army said. Earlier, the Army said in a statement: "Three terrorists eliminated in joint operation. Affiliated to proscribed terrorist outfit Hizbul Mujahideen. Weapons and war like stores recovered. Other details being ascertained." DGP Singh said Wani was associated with Hizbul Mujahideen since 2017 and had 19 FIRs filed against him. "He was involved in the killing of four policemen and four civilians," the DGP said. Singh said Wani was involved in the killing of Gowhar Dar, Nadeem Manzoor, Ilyas Khan and Zahid Khan. "The elimination of this group will remove fear from the minds of the people," he said. The DGP said Sheikh had deserted the police force with seven AK 47 rifles and a pistol in September 2018 from the official residence of former PDP MLA Ajaz Ahmad Dar at Jawahar Nagar in Srinagar. He said a series of anti terror operations have commenced with the onset of 2020. Singh added that the killing of the three militants follows the killing of Hizbul commander Hamad Khan with two of his accomplices last week. Before that the police had arrested another Hizbul militant and busted a Jaish-e-Muhammad module in Srinagar and recovered explosives, arms and a suicide vest. The information provided by arrested Hizbul Mujahideen commander Naveed Babu and his accomplice who were being transported to Jammu by suspended DSP Davinder Singh last week had helped plan operations against militants. Singh said it helped in busting the hideout in Tral in Pulwama. He said Davinder's case has been transferred to the NIA and it won't be appropriate for him to reveal any information about it. zi/sdr/bg Today Alahmadi, a Stagg High School alum and 2018 graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago, is on his way to fine-tuning those gifts as a Rhodes Scholar representing Saudi Arabia, with an eye toward becoming a doctor who will help reduce health disparities. He spent part of his earlier life in Hickory Hills with his family, but he said he was excited to be representing Saudi Arabia, his home country, and where his parents now live. 25 years ago: Nuclear war scare caused by Norwegian rocket Black Brant XII rocket On January 25, 1995, the Russian military mistook a Black Brant XII rocketlaunched by a team of Norwegian and US scientists to research the northern lights over Svalbardas an incoming Trident missile launched as a high-altitude nuclear attack by the US Navy. It was the first time a Russian leader used the nuclear briefcase in a real alert. The rocket was launched from the Andya Rocket Range on the northwest coast of Norway, carrying equipment to study the aurora borealis. It traveled on the same trajectory that US intercontinental nuclear missiles would take on their way to Moscow. The alarm sirens sounded in a Russian radar center, where technicians reported a US missile attack. Russian President Boris Yeltsin called up generals and military advisers and the nuclear briefcase, the Cheget, was brought out. He had less than ten minutes to decide whether or not the Russian military would retaliate. I have indeed used yesterday for the first time my little black case with a button that is always with me, Yeltsin told the press the following day, after narrowly averting a nuclear disaster. I immediately contacted the Defense Ministry and all the military commanders that I require and we were following the path of this missile from beginning to end. Spiegel Online noted years later that Yeltsin at that time probably left the Russian nuclear missiles in their silos because relations between Russia and the United States in 1995 were relatively trusting. The scientists conducting the study had launched over 600 rockets since 1962, but the Black Brant XII was larger than previous rockets and more resembled an American ballistic missile. A month prior, the team instructed the Norwegian Foreign Ministry to notify neighboring countries of their experiment. The message apparently never reached officials in the Russian Federation. Radar crews from the Russian Missile Attack Warning System (MAWS) were also uninformed and reported it as a potential incoming nuclear missile. Peter Pry, a former CIA official, wrote that while there had been other false alarms in the nuclear age, none went as far as the Norwegian rocket incident, the single most dangerous moment of the nuclear missile age. 50 years ago: First Quarter Storm protests in Philippines Ferdinand Marcos On January 26, 1970, thousands of youth, students, and workers protested the State of the Union address delivered by President Ferdinand Marcos. The protesters gathered outside of the Philippine Congress where Marcos was giving his speech. The demonstration, demanding a new constitutional convention, marked the start of months of protests in the Philippines that would become known as the First Quarter Storm. The central issue for the protesters was inequality. The Philippines working masses suffered deep poverty and low wages. In the years prior to the demonstration the government had taken on large debts to imperialist countries, the United States in particular. The debt encouraged additional austerity measures that only worsened the conditions for workers and heightened the political crisis. The re-election of Marcos in 1969 was widely viewed as corrupt and the election results illegitimate. In response, the National Union of Students called for the January 26 demonstration to dispute the results and call for a new constitutional convention so elections could be held outside the influence of Marcos and his Nacionalista Party. Masses of youth were moving sharply to the left. Membership in the Communist Party-affiliated youth group Kabataang Makabayan (KM) had grown sharply in the late 1960s. KM played a leading role in the organization and leadership of the First Quarter Storm demonstrations. When Marcos emerged from the Congress building after giving his speech, the protests erupted into fights with police. The police charged the crowd, beating students with clubs. The protesters fought back against police for several hours but eventually were dispersed. Mass outrage over the attack on the protesters culminated in another protest on January 30 outside the presidents residence at Malacanang Palace. This demonstration, larger than the first, saw 50,000 protesters surround the palace. At one point, demonstrators attempted to enter the Malacanang grounds but were fired upon by the guards. Four students were killed and hundreds more were wounded. Protests would continue regularly until March, with numbers reaching into the hundreds of thousands. Succumbing to illusions sowed by the Stalinists, they dissipated after elections for a constitutional convention were organized for 1971. Marcos supported the new convention believing he could use it to strengthen his legitimacy. However, in the event, the convention lost credibility after it was exposed that several delegates were taking bribes from Marcos. Fearing further demonstrations and possible revolution, Marcos declared martial law in September of 1972, further cracking down on protests and banning all opposition political parties. He would then rule the Philippines as a dictator until 1981 when the police state measures were lifted. 75 years ago: Hitlers regime in crisis Adolph Hitler This week in January 1945, the Nazi regime of Adolf Hitler suffered a series of military defeats which brought into stark focus the prospect of an imminent Allied invasion of Germany. The Third Reich, fearful of mounting social and political opposition and rumblings of discontent within the military, reorganized a number of army commands in a desperate bid to prevent the final collapse of the regime. On January 20, there began a mass military and civilian evacuation of East Prussia, encompassing sections of modern-day Poland and Lithuania. The move was a response to sweeping Soviet advances in the East Prussian Offensive. It came little over a week after the Soviet Red Armys capture of Warsaw, the capital of Poland, and the seizure of other strategically crucial towns and cities from which the Soviet forces would launch further advances. Underscoring the historic crisis of the Nazi regime, East Prussia had been under German control dating back to the unification of the country in 1871 and following its defeat in the First World War. The evacuation included Operation Hannibal, a plan to remove tens of thousands of German military personnel from the region by sea. It was accompanied by a mass exodus of German citizens, whose retreat behind Nazi lines became increasingly chaotic. According to some estimates, between January and March 1945, some two million people, out of a population of less than 2.7 million, fled East Prussia. Over the course of the week, German troops suffered major defeats in the Ardennes region, in Poland, and elsewhere on the Eastern front. Hitlers personal military headquarters on the Eastern Front, dubbed the Wolfs Lair, was abandoned and blown up by German troops less than 48 hours before Soviet troops arrived at the site. Hitler responded to the crisis by issuing an order for every commanding officer from division level upward to notify him of any planned movements so that he could overrule them. The unprecedented order, reflecting fears of a breakdown in military discipline, followed the surrender of Warsaw in violation of Hitlers designation of it as a fortress city that was to be defended at all costs. The decision also reflected ongoing concerns that Germanys series of defeats would provoke rebellions and coup attempts. In July 1944, Hitler had narrowly survived an assassination attempt that was part of a plot to overthrow his regime by a group of high-ranking generals. The unsuccessful coup had been followed by waves of repression directed against anyone within the German state apparatus suspected of posing a threat to the regime. On January 24, Hitler appointed Heinrich Himmler commander of the newly formed Army Group Vistula, responsible for defending Berlin from the advance of Soviet armies along the Vistula River. Himmler was appointed despite his lack of military experience, because he was viewed as a trusted Hitler loyalist. 100 years ago: Turkish nationalist forces attack French occupation troops Mustafa Kemal Ataturk On January 21, 1920, Kemal Ataturks Turkish National Forces attacked the French-occupied city of Maras in south-central Turkey. French authorities summoned local leaders to a meeting and accused them of collaboration with nationalists who had been sabotaging French supply lines into the city. As the meeting dispersed, a Turkish police chief fired his revolver as the pre-arranged signal for nationalists inside the city to begin an uprising. The French garrison, numbering about 2,000 men, consisting primarily of Algerian and Armenian troops, soon came under attack from both inside and outside of the city, which had been surrounded by nationalist forces. When French reinforcements broke into the city on February 7, they brought with them orders for a general evacuation. By February 11, the troops withdrew along with thousands of Armenian civilians, many of whom died on the retreat. When Turkish nationalist forces entered the city, they set fire to Armenian houses and churches and shot civilians. As many as 12,000 Armenians were killed by nationalists, with the participation of some Turkish and Kurdish villagers. The battle marked the start of what is known as the Turkish War of Independence. The Ottoman Empire, one of the Central Powers, along with Germany and Austria-Hungary, was broken up by Allied imperialists in the aftermath of its defeat in 1918. The largely Arab-populated Ottoman provinces in the Middle East, including areas that are now Jordan, Iraq, Palestine, Israel and Syria, were handed off to Britain and France, according to the secret Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1917. The French and British also occupied key cities in Turkey itself beginning in 1918 and sought to posture as defenders of minority Greeks and Armenians. Greece, allied with the imperialists, sought territorial advantages as well. Turkish nationalists under Ataturk began a guerilla war against the imperialist powers. The fighting ultimately became a conventional war that pushed out the French and British. The war resulted in a major population exchange by Turkey and Greece in 1923 and established the Republic of Turkey later that year. Former Tulane University historian Bill C. Malone is the first to say that its likely anyone trying to direct a documentary series like Ken Burns recent and widely acclaimed exploration of country music would exclude a few artists. Everybody would have done it differently, Malone says from his home in Madison, Wisconsin. I think [Burns] did a great job. There are people like Doc Watson and Merle Travis I would have liked to see included. [Travis] is one of most influential guitar players of all time. There would have been no Chet Atkins without Merle. While its easy to second guess such a massive project, Malone is entitled. The series is based on his authoritative history Country Music USA, originally published in 1968 and updated several times. Malone taught classes about Southern music and culture for 25 years at Tulane. He returns to New Orleans this week to talk about country music with Gwen Thompkins, host of NPRs Music Inside Out, retired Tulane jazz archivist Bruce Raeburn (a student of Malones), historian Patrick Maney and musician Pat Flory. Malone and Flory also will perform at the event at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23, at the New Orleans Jazz Museum. Malone has been ensconced in country music his entire life. His mother sang in their home in Lindale, Texas, and Malone began to sing and play guitar as a hobby. While a student at the University of Texas (UT) at Austin, he performed a couple of times a week at a north Austin bar called Threadgills, at the same time as UT student Janis Joplin was singing with a folk group called the Waller Creek Boys, Malone says. In Country Music USA, Malone looks at the development of country music from its rise in the 1920s as a popular genre on radio and records. Early on, it went by many names hillbilly music being one of the most common terms. People had been singing ballads and gospel songs and performing in string bands long, long before that, but they had few means of making their music known, Malone says. Each record label used different names for it: songs from Dixie, old time music. Columbia described it as old familiar tunes in the 1920s. In Burns Country Music, Dwight Yoakam explains his use of the term. Dwight said he was proud to be called a hillbilly, Malone says. He used that term to describe his music when he was beginning to develop. People said, 'You cant use that word. Its not respectable. Yoakam said, Well I grew up with those people. Were proud of our working-class roots. We dont mind it being called hillbilly. I feel the same way. Though it is associated with cowboy imagery and boots, cowboy hats and jeans, country music developed in the South, from lower Appalachia to Texas Hill Country. The first people who made phonograph recordings in the 1920s, the first people performing on radio stations, the people who made music and took it on tour, they were almost exclusively Southern, Malone says. People who made the most distinctive contributions were Southern. Jimmie Rodgers from Mississippi, Gene Autry from eastern Texas, the Carter Family from Virginia, Hank Williams from Alabama. They made the biggest contribution and their styles have been handed down. Country music drew heavily from blues, Malone says, but its mostly had a small presence in New Orleans. During the 1970s, Malone and Flory lead a band called the Hill Country Ramblers, which performed at Gurleys Bar in Gretna, the Maple Leaf Bar and at festivals in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Currently, Malone and his wife perform together weekly in Madison, and he hosts a country music show on the local public radio station. I build my shows around themes, Malone says. Cowboy music, truck driving, prison, cheating, drinking. I think I have done every theme under the sun. During the beginning of year, I do a country music primer on the basic styles. This is what honky tonk sounds like, Western swing, country pop, brother duets. Vernon, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 20, 2020) - At the request of IIROC, True Leaf Brands Inc. (CSE: MJ) (OTCQX: TRLFF) (FSE: TLA) ("True Leaf" or the "Company"), would like to clarify the Company is at full disclosure and there are no material changes which are generating recent activity. The Company believes this activity can be traced to a mistaken reference to True Leaf and its trading symbol in a U.S.-based news story. About True Leaf True Leaf Cannabis Inc., a subsidiary of True Leaf Brands Inc., owns True Leaf Campus, an 18,000 square foot facility located on a 40-acre site zoned for the cultivation, processing and sale of cannabis in Lumby, British Columbia. True Leaf Pet Inc., also a subsidiary of True Leaf Brands Inc., is a global pet care company focused on selling plant-based wellness products that improve the quality of life of companion animals. The Company is guided by their mission to "Return the Love" which was inspired by the unconditional love that pets give us every day. www.trueleaf.com Media Contact: Paul Sullivan Director, Public Relations Paul@trueleaf.com O: 604-685-4742 M: 604-603-7358 Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements and management may make additional forward-looking statements in response to your questions. Such written and oral disclosures are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and True Leaf hereby claims such safe harbour protection for all forward-looking statements. True Leaf believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions; however, True Leaf's actual results and performance and the value of its securities could differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements due to the impact of many factors summarized in the "Risk Factors" section of True Leaf's Offering Circular Form 1-A filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Canadian securities regulatory authorities and other discussions of risk factors contained in True Leaf's periodic filings or supplements to the offering circular. True Leaf's Offering Circular Form 1-A can be found at ir.trueleaf.com. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. True Leaf undertakes no obligation to update or revise any such information for any reason after the date of this presentation unless required by law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/51626 The Kingdom of Morocco expressed, on Saturday, its deep astonishment at its exclusion from the Berlin conference on Libya, scheduled for January 19. A statement by the ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates stresses that the Kingdom of Morocco has always been at the forefront of international efforts to resolve the Libyan crisis, noting that Rabat played a decisive role in the conclusion of the Skhirat agreements, which are, to date, the only political framework supported by the Security Council and accepted by all Libyan parties for the resolution of the crisis in this brotherly Maghreb country. The Kingdom of Morocco understands neither the criteria nor the motivations behind the choice of countries participating in this meeting, the same source adds, noting that the host country of this conference, which is far from the region and the complexities of the Libyan crisis, cannot transform it into an instrument for the promotion of its national interests. The Kingdom of Morocco, for its part, will continue its commitment alongside the Libyan brothers and the countries sincerely interested and concerned, in order to contribute to a solution to the Libyan crisis, the statement concludes. David Dushman was north of Auschwitz when his Red Army commander was ordered to the camp. At 96 years old - He is one of the few remaining soldiers who freed the camp. (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) AUSCHWITZ DEATH CAMP LIBERATOR, DAVID DUSHMAN, SAYING: "When we arrived we saw the fence and these unfortunate people, we broke through the fence with our tanks. We gave food to the prisoners and continued. The 1st Ukrainian Front looked after the rest." (SOUNDBITE) (German) AUSCHWITZ DEATH CAMP LIBERATOR, DAVID DUSHMAN, SAYING: "They (the prisoners) were standing there, all of them in (prisoner) uniforms, only eyes, only eyes, very narrow - that was very terrible, very terrible. And I hope, that this will never (happen) again in life." More than a million men, women and children lost their lives in Auschwitz. Built by the Nazis in occupied Poland, Auschwitz was custom made for extermination. But it was much later that David Dushman understood the truth about where he had been. (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) AUSCHWITZ DEATH CAMP LIBERATOR, DAVID DUSHMAN, SAYING: "We didn't know that Auschwitz existed. In Russian it's called "Osventsim" We didn't know (about it). When saw it. When I was in Germany for the first time, I watched a German movie, about Buchenwald, that was really terrible. We didn't know that. What did we see? We were in tanks, what could we see?" A Jew himself - Dushman was no stranger to adversity (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) AUSCHWITZ DEATH CAMP LIBERATOR, DAVID DUSHMAN, SAYING: "I frequently wasn't allowed abroad because I had two stigmas. Firstly, I was Jewish, secondly, I was a son of an Enemy of the people. My father, who was one of the first recipients of the Order of the Red Banner during the war, during the Revolution, he was repressed and in 1938 and sent to a (labour) camp." Dushman was one of only 69 men in his 12,000-strong column of tanks to survive the war, he was so badly injured that he had to have part of one lung removed. But that didn't hold him back from becoming a professional fencer. He later became a member of the Olympic fencing team in Munich. Where he has lived since 1996. Dushman may have forged a new life but three quarters of a century later- what he saw remains with him. Most of his Red Army comrades however, are all gone. New Delhi: Ahead of the assembly election in Delhi, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has forged an alliance with Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) and Ramvilas Paswan-led LJP with an offer of a couple of seats each to them. According to latest updates, the party has given two seats to JD(U) and one to LJP. While JD(U) will contest from Burari and Sangam Vihar assembly constituencies, LJP will fight the poll from Simapuri seat. BJP already has Akali Dal as an ally and is expected to spare at least four seats for it, the same number it gave in the 2015 assembly election. According to the agreement formed between the two parties, one SAD candidate will fight the poll on BJP symbol. SAD leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa is a BJP MLA in Delhi. According to sources, Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar is expected to campaign in the national capital. Live TV On Friday, BJP had announced a list of 57 candidates for the Delhi election. According to reports, the party is most likely to give most of the remaining 13 seats to alliance partners. Although, an official confirmation on the same remains awaited from the party. Notably, the party has also not announced its candidates from New Delhi seat from where Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is re-contesting. Also Read: BJP releases its first list of 57 candidates for Delhi assembly election ANI quoted a source saying earlier that BJP is also in talks with the Dushyant Chautala-led Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) on some of the pending seats. They said one round of talks have been held between Chautala and the BJP leadership and the second round of talks was expected to be held on January 17-18. It is learnt that JJP has staked the claim on 10-12 Jat dominated seats but the BJP has offered the party 2 seats with four of its candidates to fight on the BJP symbol. The JJP is yet to take a call on offer made by the BJP. Earlier on January 17, the BJP released its first list of 57 candidates for the Delhi assembly election, which included sitting as well as former MLAs. Former AAP leader Kapil Mishra, who joined BJP last year, will contest from Model Town in north Delhi. The party candidates include Jai Prakash from Sadar Bazar, Suman Kumar Gupta from Chandani Chowk, Ashish Sood from Janakpuri, Sanjay Singh from Vikaspuri, Vijay Pandit from Palam, IS Bakshi from Jangpura, Anil Sharma from RK Puram, Arvind Kumar from Deoli, Shikha Rai from Tughlakabad, Vijay Bhagat from Rithala, Anil Jha from Kirari and Rekha Gupta from Shalimar Bagh. On the other hand, the ruling party AAP has announced its candidates for all 70 seats. Congress is contesting the election in an alliance with Lalu Yadav-led Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). The grand old party will contest on 66 seats while the RJD, which was demanding at least seven seats, will fight on four seats. The voting for 70-member Delhi assembly will be held in a single phase on February 8 and the counting of votes will take place on February 11. The BJP faces a tough battle in Delhi where it has been out of power for over two decades. In the 2015 election, the party could win only three seats with the ruling AAP scoring a landslide victory with 67 seats. Restraint marked Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinas response in an interview last week to Dubais Gulf News daily to a question on this countrys Citizenship (Amendment) Act, but the fact that she chose to address the issue, rather than side-step it, points to uncertain times in our neighbourhood diplomacy. This can only affect us negatively in the wider world. Answering questions, Ms Hasina noted that the CAA and the related NRC were an internal matter of India. But she wondered why India had chosen to go that route. She thought the exercise was unnecessary and was causing problems within India. She couldnt have put across her concerns in more tellingly. The Bangladesh leader recalled PM Narendra Modis assurances to her that the NRC had no bearing on Bangladesh. It is now clear those assurances were not meant seriously, as the enactment of the CAA with which the NRC (and the NPR) are intrinsically tied shows. Bangladesh has emerged as Indias most consequential neighbour and friend in South Asia, in the economic sphere and politically. Wounding the self-pride of a regionally rising country which India helped create is a stunning own-goal. Its ripples are apt to be felt across South Asia, and are likely to embolden many of our smaller neighbours in no longer concealing their criticism of us and to more openly court China, perceiving rightly that Indias capabilities and potential to help them, or to restrain them, had lessened. A range of New Delhis policies over the past three years, in the economic and political arena, cannot but have created any other impression. In Bangladesh, the CAA and the nationwide protests against it within India already lasting more than a month could also give leverage to the pro-Pakistan extremist and religious parties which had been pushed on the backfoot through Ms Hasinas secular policies and perceived pro-India outlook. In South Asia, can we have a hostile Bangladesh, in addition to an openly hostile Pakistan, a just about friendly Nepal, a Sri Lanka that would like others to cut India to size, an Afghanistan which has so far kept its cool on the CAA question but is known to resent the measure? The amendment to our citizenship law, aside from making a marked departure from the basic premise of our Constitution, offers instant citizenship to non-Muslims from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan if they seek it on grounds of religious persecution in those countries. In other words, the present establishment in New Delhi accuses those countries of practicing religious persecution of its minorities which is a well-defined and codified concept in international protocols without offering a shred of proof, and relying instead on stray incidents to extract propaganda mileage in the domestic sphere. Alas, the external affairs ministry has been made to play a dubious role in drumming up this aspect. Only slightly farther afield in Asia, Malaysias PM Mahathir Mohamed, a stalwart in his own right, has publicly criticised India on the recent developments in Kashmir and on the CAA question, pointedly noting that we had departed from our secular polity. We have sought to punish Malaysia by cutting imports from it. But whose image stands dented is clear to see. India badly needs a course-correction. According to the Peruvian ambassador, this makes sense given that the supreme goal of his actions and decisions was to contribute to global peace. understanding how exceptional he is and what he did for Peru, as well as for international peace during his two terms When asked about Perez de Cuellar's importance for Peruvian diplomacy, he emphasized the need forunderstanding how exceptional he is and what he did for Peru, as well as for international peace during his two terms as UN Secretary-General . "(...) We must feel proud that a Peruvian has reached high levels of international prestige," he highlighted. Wagner affirmed that Perez de Cuellar has achieved the highest rank within the international organization. He went on to say that the Peruvian Diplomatic Academy named after him would celebrate its 64th anniversary, and there is no doubt that Perez de Cuellar's legacy is crucial for the new diplomats. "Without a doubt, Perez de Cuellar is a fundamental role model and inspiration for all diplomats. This is a teaching of life and source of inspiration on how we must fulfill the mission that the State has entrusted to us," he added. Wagner's remarks were made in an interview with El Peruano official gazette. Perez de Cuellar Javier Perez de Cuellar served as UN Secretary General from January 1982 to December 1991, replacing Kurt Waldheim. During the transition Government of former Peruvian President Valentin Paniagua (November 22, 2000 July 28, 2001), he served as Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs. A career diplomat, he has served as Ambassador of Peru to the disappeared Soviet Union, France, Poland, and Switzerland. (END) DOP/RMB/MVB World leaders committed Sunday to ending all foreign meddling in Libya's war and to uphold a weapons embargo at a Berlin summit, as part of a broader plan to end the spiralling conflict. The presidents of Russia, Turkey and France were among global chiefs signing up to the plan to stop interfering in the war -- be it through weapons, troops or financing. But the talks failed to deliver "serious dialogue" between the warring parties -- strongman Khalifa Haftar and the head of Tripoli's UN-recognised government Fayez al-Sarraj -- or to get both sides to sign up to a permanent truce. "We have a very disparate situation in Libya, where ensuring that a ceasefire is immediately respected is simply not easy to guarantee," said summit host Chancellor Angela Merkel. "But I hope that through today's conference, we have a chance the truce will hold further." Fears are growing that Libya could become the theatre of a proxy war fought by several international powers. By Mahmud TURKIA (AFP) Libya has been torn by fighting between rival armed factions since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising killed dictator Moamer Kadhafi. Most recently, Sarraj's troops in Tripoli have been under attack since April from Haftar's forces. Clashes have killed more than 280 civilians and 2,000 fighters and displaced tens of thousands, until a fragile ceasefire backed by both Ankara and Moscow was put in place on January 12. Although Sarraj's government is recognised by the UN, powerful players have broken away to stand behind Haftar -- turning a domestic conflict into what some have described as a proxy war in which international powers jostle to secure their own interests. International alarm grew in recent weeks after Turkey ordered in troops to shore up Sarraj's government. 'Small step' forward For UN chief Antonio Guterres, the Libya conflict had spiralled to dangerous proportions in the last days. "Until now we have an escalation of the Libya conflict with some foreign interference. Now we are facing the risk of a true regional escalation. And that risk was averted in Berlin," he noted, adding that world powers have made "a strong commitment to stop" the perilous spiral. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov pointed to some positive takeaways from the Berlin pow-wow, but said the summit failed to launch necessary talks between Sarraj and Haftar. The presidents of Russia, Turkey and France were among global chiefs at the talks held under UN auspices. By Murat CETINMUHURDAR (TURKISH PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE/AFP) "It is clear that we have not yet succeeded in launching a serious and stable dialogue between them," Lavrov told reporters after the Berlin conference, where Haftar and Sarraj did not meet face to face. Nevertheless, the Libyan parties had taken "a small step" forward, Lavrov added. Pro-Haftar forces had upped the ante on the eve of the talks by blocking oil exports at Libya's key ports, crippling the country's main income source in protest at Turkey's decision to send troops to shore up Sarraj's Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA). Ahead of the talks, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lashed out at Haftar, saying he needed to drop his "hostile attitude" if Libya is to have any chance at winning peace. Vested interests The flaring oil crisis underlined the devastating impact of foreign influence in the conflict, in which Sarraj's GNA is backed by Turkey and Qatar while Haftar has the support of Russia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Russia has been accused of sending in mercenaries to help Haftar as Moscow seeks to extend its influence in the region -- allegations it denies. The key players in the Libyan conflict. By Jonathan WALTER (AFP) For Turkey, the fall of Sarraj's GNA could jeopardise a maritime boundary agreement the parties signed. It gives Ankara extensive rights over the eastern Mediterranean where the recent discovery of undersea gas reserves has triggered a scramble by littoral states. Erdogan has repeatedly urged Europe to stand united behind Sarraj's government, warning that Tripoli's fall could allow jihadist groups like the Islamic State or Al-Qaeda to regroup. He has also cautioned that further unrest could prompt a new wave of migrants to head for Europe. Amid the latest apparent ceasefire violation in which GNA forces on Sunday accused Haftar's militia of opening fire on them in southern Tripoli, Sarraj issued a plea for international "protection troops" if Haftar keeps up his offensive. The call echoed a similar suggestion by the EU's chief diplomat Josep Borrell, who stressed that monitors must be present to check that any ceasefire and weapons embargo are respected. With the idea gathering pace, Britain and Italy had voiced readiness to help. But as Guterres noted, that discussion remains premature. "First, we need to have a ceasefire -- we cannot monitor something that doesn't exist." Aaron Bloom is not your typical renter. Since renting a duplex in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, in 2012, he has worn the hats of architect, carpenter, general contractor and even landlord, when he decided to sublet the lower floor. He gut renovated the space and made it his own. But when his lease came up for renewal last year, he was reminded that he was, ultimately, just a renter. When Mr. Bloom found the apartment on Craigslist, the five-bedroom didnt have much to recommend it. A corner unit in a three-story brick building, it was worse than a tenement, he said, with dropped ceilings that were collapsing from years of water leaks, severely sloping floors and ancient windows that let in drafts. The rent, at $3,500 a month, was about market rate. But Mr. Bloom, a woodworker and former professional clown, saw an unusual opportunity for a renter: the ability to completely remake a space. He had just moved back to New York from the West Coast, where he had almost opened a shared shop space, he said, and I was itching to get a hands-on project going. A friend who was a semiretired contractor told him that the renovation would take about three months and could serve as a calling card for the carpentry and contracting business they were planning to start together. Mr. Bloom negotiated a six-and-a-half-year lease with the landlord, with 2 percent annual increases. In exchange, he agreed to foot the bill for a major overhaul, turning the duplex into two apartments, paying for all utilities and shouldering other responsibilities, including replacing and maintaining the buildings mechanicals. Credit: CC0 Public Domain On a tucked-away South Shore beach, there once were cool shallows to swim and buried shells to dig up. For those living feet away, there was the sound of the water, the constant, gentle splash on sand. Then the lake began to rise. With each inch came nearly 790 billion gallons of water. The beach disappeared. Its music changed. "Once upon a time, you could stand on the deck out there and see fish. It was so clear and the water was low," said Charlotte Mitchell, who has lived in a nearby condo building for four decades. "Not now." Since 2013, the lake has risen nearly 6 feet, going from a record low to near-record high levels last summer. On Saturday, waves nearing 20 feet pummeled an already drowning shoreline. A 3-foot wave can pack the power of a small car. A 20-foot wave? Maybe a freight train. As scientists predict more extreme weather fueled by climate change, Chicago is trying to keep its lakefront intact. Powerful storms in recent years have punched holes in a large-scale shoreline project that was authorized more than two decades ago and is nearly complete. Other parts of the lakefront that fall outside the projectlike some areas in Rogers Park and South Shoreare vulnerable. And some of the emergency work undertaken in the past two months failed to withstand last weekend's storm. Long-term solutionsdependent on more studies, additional funding and a complicated bureaucratic danceare uncertain. Meanwhile, beaches have been consumed. A South Side portion of the Lakefront Trail was shut down after a storm on Veterans Day and isn't expected to reopen until spring. At one community meeting about erosion, a science teacher stood at the microphone and called the situation a "five-alarm fire." During last weekend's storm that closed portions of South Shore Drive, water surged above the retaining wall near the garage of Mitchell's home, sending up towering spouts exploded by the wind. Mitchell's husband, John Hayes, who remembered cars floating in the garage after a monster 1987 storm, said Saturday's storm was "in a different category altogether." "The sound, the sound was so loud," Mitchell said. "With the waves crashing up against the terrace." Last year, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers received 31 requests for technical assistance relating to shoreline protection by July, with 29 alone coming from the Chicago Park Districtan increase that Army Corps Outreach Manager David Bucaro called "unprecedented." In recent months, beaches were filled with boulders. More than 5,000 feet of jersey barriers and 1,000 feet of sandbags were installed along the shore to protect roadways from flooding. The Chicago Department of Transportation is evaluating the impacts of the storm at Morgan Shoal from 48th to 50th streets and working with the Army Corps to install boulders, according to spokesman Michael Claffey. The work is expected to begin in the coming months. "In the meantime, the City will continue to monitor and assess the situation to implement proactive measures and respond appropriately in the event of extreme weather," Claffey said in an email. On a freezing afternoon in late December, heaps of lopsided stone and poking rebar slouched against the city's skyline. That stretch, a sunken graveyard, is what more of the shoreline would look like without the protections implemented in the last two decades, Bucaro said. "The amount of erosion and, really, failure of that existing revetment is pretty profound," Bucaro said, referring to the protective structure. "And if we wouldn't have implemented this project, that would be pervasive up and down the shoreline. It would be in really, really tough shape." Three unprotected North Side beaches experienced severe damage following two fall storms. Emergency work estimated at $3 million was completed at Juneway and Howard beaches, with Rogers Beach almost completed. After last weekend's storm, Juneway looked largely the same as it did on a mild afternoon in early December. The horizon glowed above the murky water and boulders were piled up where the beach used to be. The triangular Quantum Dee sculpture stood upright. But additional protections are now planned for Rogers and Howard beaches, where the shoreline was hammered again. Like Juneway, these beaches will now be replaced with rock, and work is expected to be completed in February. "Standing at Rogers was like standing in a wind tunnel. It was just a constant, howling gale," said Alderman Maria Hadden. "It was a different type of storm," Hadden said. "Different direction. Different waves. Areas that hadn't been as impacted before were severely impacted." Tom Elliott had one of his first dates with his fiancee at Rogers Beach, and they later rented a nearby unit. Now they're reconsidering whether they should try to buy in the buildingat a time when the lake is rising and first-floor residents have put up materials like plexiglass and plywood to keep windows from breaking and water from coming in. "And it just makes you wonder if this is climate change literally knocking at our back doortelling us this is a serious issue, you should pay attention to what's going on in the world," Elliott said. "Or if this is more of an ebb and flow that happens over a period of time." Some shoreline protections, revetments of stone blocks and wooden posts constructed a century ago, eventually collapsed and rotted. Areas bolstered with steel sheeting fared better, but most of the shoreline was built with the fatal mix that failed to account for Lake Michigan's fluctuations. Without the walls, The Chicago Tribune reported in the years leading up to the large-scale protection project, 20 feet of land could disappear each year. As lake levels rose to record highs in the mid-1980s and the revetments failed, the Tribune reported on studies from the Army Corps in January 1987 warning that within the decade, Chicago could lose parts of Lake Shore Drive, first to flooding and then erosion. A month later a storm with 14-foot waves shut down parts of the expressway. "A foot of water in a bathtub isn't much," Mike Royko wrote. "But in a giant lake, it's more than enough to float all the world's rubber ducks." In the following decade, the Army Corps tested more than a dozen models, simulating harrowing storms like one from February 1979 with oceanlike waves. Revetments with steel sheet piles were eventually chosen as a solution that was more access-friendly and visually appealing than rubble mounds. Meanwhile, the shoreline struggled. "It looks terrible," a chief planner in the Army Corps' Chicago office told the Tribune in 1993 about the South Side's Burnham Park, one of the hardest hit locations. "The North Side is falling apart, but the South Side has already failed." In 1996, Congress authorized the Chicago Shoreline Protection Project and three years later, the federal and local partnership began work across more than 9 miles of the lakefront to protect Lake Shore Drive from flooding and the shoreline from erosion. The protection project was expected to be completed in less than 10 years, the Tribune reported, and came with a price tag of $300 million. The Army Corps finished the federal share of the project in 2014 but two decades later, Morgan Shoal and Promontory Point are still incomplete. Morgan Shoal is one of the longest reaches in the project and is costly, officials said, while Promontory Point encountered opposition from the community over the revetment's design. The entire project's cost has risen to $536 million, but officials estimate its annual benefits at $194 million. Now there's a push for a study that reevaluates the shoreline, backed by local and federal agencies, along with congressional representatives, which could potentially bring aid to unprotected areas including the Rogers Park beaches and South Side locations like La Rabida Children's Hospital. U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, a Chicago Democrat, who convened a recent community meeting to provide information and address concerns about erosion, is among the officials advocating for the studyand for renewed attention on some South Side locations he said were not prioritized. Hadden agreed. "We need to make sure that we've got an equitable plan as we move forward in this next assessment," the alderman said, "... not solely weighted on North Side, or even, in this case, central downtown communities, which is kind of what happened last time." They'll find out next month if funding will be approved. If the study is funded this year, the best-case scenario is that construction would start in four to five years, the Army Corps' Bucaro said. "We're doing the best we can with what we've been given," Bucaro said. "We have been seeking to do this study for at least six years now. And when the lake levels were low, there was no interest in doing preemptive planning to address these issues." Human activity is changing the planet's climate faster than at any time in modern civilization, heralding costly and, in some cases, life-threatening consequences, scientists concluded in a comprehensive 2018 report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. For every 1 degree of warming, the atmosphere can hold 4% more water vapor that can turn into precipitation. As the planet warms and additional moisture sticks in the air, we could see more frequent and stronger storms. "They're coming more often and when they arrive, they're huge," said Guy Meadows, professor of sustainable marine engineering at the Great Lakes Research Center at Michigan Technological University. Storms raise lake levels and allow towering waves to hit farther up on the beach, causing erosion. As sand clears out, the lake bed deepens, allowing for even taller waves, continuing the cycle. For areas already hit by erosion, it's a one-two punch. "You're talking about enormous forces," Meadows saidlike Saturday's waves and surges that cracked trees, dislodged asphalt and upended sediment. "Even if you're getting hit by a 3-foot wave," Meadows said, "It's the equivalent of getting hit by a Volkswagen." In addition, hardened shorelines, like those in Chicago, can decrease the dissipation of bigger waves. When waves hit a structure like a sea wall, they bounce back, creating higher energy. The worst storms typically come in the fall and winter seasons, Meadows said. "I think we're going to see much more variability in the next few decades," Meadows said. "So what can you do about it? You just need to be prepared for big rainstorms, big floods, big shoreline erosion, big waves. Followed by episodes where all the equipment you bought last year sits in the barn and you wait for it to happen again." The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration expects Lake Michigan levels to remain high over the next several months and to potentially break monthly records in January and February. Lake levels fluctuate on multiple scales, but climate change could be contributing to more pronounced variations, according to University of Michigan associate professor Drew Gronewold. Global effects on precipitation are almost impossible to predict a year out, Gronewold said. But as temperatures and precipitation increase annually, "the oscillations between water levels and extremes are likely to change in ways that we haven't seen before," Gronewold said. He pointed to the more than 4-foot swing from 2013 to 2016, one of the highest rates of water level rise during a three-year period ever for Lake Michigan. Above-average precipitation was the dominant factor in the increase, but below-average evaporation was also a factorwhich can be caused by the freezing of the lake from a polar vortex. "Does it make a difference to a community or to a planning group or to someone putting in infrastructure if you hit high water conditions every 10 to 15 years, or if you hit them every two to five years?" Gronewold said. "At what point does it become too frequent for people to tolerate?" The Park District is sharing drone footage of the shoreline with other agencies to verify what residents and workers are seeing on the ground. "No one agency can really tackle this on our own," said Heather Gleason, the Park District's director of planning and development. "So we need to partner up with everyone." The footage, collected over sunny summer days and expected to be shared at future community meetings, shows the general stability of newer revetmentsand what's happened to those that are unguarded. The city's Transportation Department is also working with the Park District and the Army Corps to assess the impacts of last weekend's storm and determine how the existing shoreline protection plans need to be adjusted, said Claffey, the department spokesman. There is also the Great Lakes Coastal Resiliency Study, which would look at future variability and design parameters to use going forward across all the Great Lakes, also backed by the Army Corps, but it has yet to be federally funded. "We recognize that variability is going to be a challenge going forward, and we want to get ahead of it," Bucaro said. Even if a new study is approved, residents like Charlotte Mitchell who live on swaths of private property in South Shore and Rogers Park have been told they're largely on their own. Their condo boards are hiring engineers and beginning permit processes and have been given contact information for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Joyce Brown, a resident in Mitchell's building, showed up at a recent community meeting exasperated. She was frustrated with the lack of answers on how the board could raise the retaining wall to prevent flooding, and felt that the South Side was being neglected. "I left that meeting more concerned than when I walked through the door," Brown said. "It might be a little easier for me to pack up and move, but not for everybody in this building. We've got a lot of seniors who are retired now, bought their condos years ago." Juanita Irizarry, of Friends of the Parks, which has advocated for a public lakefront, said there's 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 people's 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. Bucaro said the Army Corps' mission has always been to address public infrastructure and federal funds can only be spent on public property. If residents want to place material below the ordinary high-water mark, it requires a permit from the corps. But there will be expedited permitting for affected residents. But some residents worry time is running out. At Richard Carthew's Rogers Park condo, sandbag barriers and a fence were wiped out by Saturday's storm. Waves crashed over the retaining wall, washed up on to the terrace and filled the garage, soaking multiple cars. "The driveway acted like a giant bathtub," he said. Carthew said there's an irony to private property owners having to work through the Army Corps if they want to place something in the water. "They have the authority to control the water, even if it's privately owned, but they're no longer taking responsibility for protection of that shoreline," he said. The building's management is now in talks with engineering firms to find a solution, Carthew said, but the building's proximity to a public beachwhich they can't touchposes a challenge. Carthew worried any potential permits could get held up with red tape. But his larger fear came true Saturday"That we're going to have one heck of a bad storm and it's going to cause great damage. And, really, there's very little we can do about it." Explore further Great Lakes water level slump over, future unclear 2020 Chicago Tribune Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Maryna Kudzianiuk was the nicest person Alex Bedlitsky has ever met. Bedlitsky knew the 49-year-old mother his entire life. His mom and Kudzianiuk were best friends for 40 years, he said. I spent a lot of time with her, Bedlitsky, 26, who lives in California, told toronto.com. She was like a second mother to me. Bedlitsky received the terrible news last week from Kudzianiuks 28-year-old daughter Kristina that her mom was dead. The cause of death initially seemed to be fire-related. But Toronto police announced last week that Kudzianiuk was the citys third murder victim of the year. A fire broke out shortly after 3 a.m. on Jan. 13 in an 18th-floor Scarborough apartment unit at 25 Bay Mills Blvd., near Sheppard Avenue East and Warden Avenue. Firefighters found the unit fully engulfed and extinguished the fire but found Kudzianiuk suffering from serious injuries. She was taken to hospital where she later died. An autopsy conducted Jan. 14 determined her death was the result of a murder. She didnt have any enemies. She didnt have any lovers who could do that. She was the nicest person I knew, really, Bedlitsky said of the woman he referred to as an aunt due to their close relationship. People always say that, but I really put meaning to this word. I havent seen a person more sincere, open and kind. Bedlitsky is in shock, as are Kudzianiuks family and friends, he said. Kudzianiuk was visiting Bedlitskys mom in New York a week before the murder. He also saw Kudzianiuk a month ago when they were both in New York. Bedlitsky said he had no idea who would hurt Kudzianiuk because she was the most loving and caring person Ive ever met in my life. She was always helpful to anyone who was in need, he added. Bedlitsky told toronto.com a GoFundMe campaign has been started to cover the funeral costs, as the family has struggled financially. The GoFundMe page describes Kudzianiuk as a loving mother and an incredibly supportive friend. She was always quick to help anyone in need without any expectation of a reward, the campaign message reads. As of Monday morning, the campaign has raised more than $12,500, with a goal of $20,000. Toronto polices homicide squad is handling the investigation. No suspects have been identified and no arrests made. Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-7400, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-8477 or online at 222tips.com Facebook apologized after erroneously translating the name of Chinese president Xi Jinping to Mr Sh*thole for some users. Reuters The error couldn't have occurred at a worse time -- the wrong translation of Chinese President's name happened on the official Facebook page of Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, in a post that spoke about her meeting with Mr Xi Jinping during his state visit to Myanmar. The error occurred when readers tried to translate the original Burmese language post into English using Facebook's in-line translation feature. "Mr Sh*thole, President of China arrives at 4PM," a translated statement said. "President of China, Mr Sh*thole, signed a guest record of the house of representatives," it continued, according to an Al Jazeera report. "We fixed a technical issue that caused incorrect translations from Burmese to English on Facebook. This should not have happened and we are taking steps to ensure it doesn't happen again. We sincerely apologize for the offense this has caused," said the social network in a statement of which Mark Zuckerberg is the CEO. According to Facebook, the system didn't have President Xi's name in its Burmese database, so it ended up guessing at the translation of the word. If you try to translate "xi" or "shi" to Burmese it does produce the word "sh*thole". reuters No one knows exactly how long the issue lasted on Facebook but Google's translation function did not show the same error. There's a very good chance that President Xi Jinping's embarrassing name translation wasn't visible to Chinese citizens back on mainland China, as Facebook is blocked in mainland China. But it's visible in Hong Kong and Chinese companies do have a presence on it. So, the election campaign's opening days had a lot of political pulling and dragging. This week we can't promise the horsing around will stop - but we will see some content on policies. It will remain a gut struggle between Leo Varadkar and Micheal Martin for the anchor tenancy of Government Buildings. But the vote on Saturday, February 8, will see all of the parties - and conceivably many of the Independents - having a potential role. Many of us are already speculating about potential Cabinet seats for the Green Party and/or Labour. Both Fine Gael and Fianna Fail tell us that Sinn Fein is a "political untouchable" - even though Mary Lou McDonald has suggested that it would consider a government role. Don't depend on that injunction being set in stone. Dail arithmetic will tell us much more about it once the dust settles on the counts and any recounts on February 9 and 10. Both Fine Gael and Fianna Fail can have this draft speech as a standby absolutely free of charge. A Gaelic version will also be posted on my own website later. It goes like this: "Yes, I know I repeatedly said we would never have any truck with Sinn Fein in government - and I meant it. But the voters have given us this configuration and effectively told us to get on with government based upon it. We would be failing in our duties if we did otherwise." To put that another way, Sinn Fein is pretty much everyone's least favourite government collaborator. But in life one's favourite option does not always come up - and the least likely outcome of this election is another general election just weeks later. It might take a long time - and last time it took 70 days - but our politicians will make do with what they have. Speaking on Raidio na Gaeltachta's 'Adhmhaidin' programme last Friday morning, Donegal Fianna Fail TD Pat 'The Cope' Gallagher said his own view was that Sinn Fein and his party could share government. That already conflicts with his party leader's mantra on the subject. On that same programme his constituency colleague Pearse Doherty, of Sinn Fein, said many within Fianna Fail shared the same view. Time and Dail numbers will reveal all in precisely three weeks' time. Sinn Fein may well lose seats on February 8. Some observers predict it could drop anything up to half a dozen compared with last time out in February 2016. But where this one lands also depends on how all the others do. Yesterday's 'Sunday Times'/Behaviour and Attitudes opinion poll landed with a thud on all the political parties. Its findings did not encourage anyone so there was much resorting to "the only poll that counts comes on February 8". It was not in fact the first poll of the election campaign as the field work was done before Taoiseach Leo Varadkar named the date. But it jolted Fine Gael because it suggested its support had declined significantly, leaving it trailing Fianna Fail by a 12-point gap and on 20pc. Fianna Fail was up 5pc to 32pc; Sinn Fein was up one point to 19pc; the Green Party up one to 7pc; and Labour down two points to 4pc. On RTE radio, Micheal Martin told presenter Justin McCarthy that he had disregarded polls the last time and would do so again this time round. Other activists in Fianna Fail were talking down the findings for the very good reason that it might sow complacency at the wrong time in a campaign. They saw it as inimical to their efforts to get people to pound the canvass beat for their candidates. But there will be other opinion polls in the coming days and weeks and all sides, irrespective of what they say publicly, will be eating them for clues as to how they are doing, and what changes in messaging they should undertake. The Labour Party will, like Fine Gael, be hoping that this opinion poll is something of an outlier and not in line with trends. If it is on 4pc, the chances of it making small gains, as many observers believe possible, will be seriously dented. Watch for some serious sibling rivalry between the Green Party and Labour. The Green Party strategists believe they can be competitive in as many as 20 constituencies, though nobody is suggesting they will win 20 seats. On a good day they will have at least half a dozen - doubling their current numbers. But they could even go into double digits if the ball bounced right. Eamon Ryan could end up being Tanaiste, assuming he can get over the obligation of convincing two-thirds of his membership to back the idea of joining a coalition. Labour would be rather miffed at the prospect of playing third rather than second fiddle in any coalition. The prospect of a 'second coming' for the Green Party is interesting. The former communications minister says he still has the full box-set of the British political television satire 'Yes Minister', given to him by his secretary general in 2007. "It's still required viewing and it tells a lot about the minister's job of finding his or her way through the civil service," he said recently. But before all of that comes the serious business of campaigning in an election canvass which has yet to heat up. There is a certain quiet confidence about Fianna Fail as we enter the first full week of campaigning. Unsurprisingly, it seems pleased that Fine Gael had a bad first few days. A rash of crime horrors does not help the "party of law and order" and the Taoiseach's gaffe about the tragic incident involving the homeless man on the Grand Canal in Dublin was deeply unhelpful. Fine Gael's strategy relies on fortitude and standing its ground, playing up the healthy economy and Brexit. All parties will need moral courage. This month may go down in history as the one in which Donald Trump was impeached. Or it may be remembered as the week in which actress and hawker of New-Age wares Gwyneth Paltrow released a candle entitled: "This Smells Like My Vagina." In the first rough draft of history stakes, they currently appear neck and neck, Paltrow's burning bush possibly having the edge. GP, as she likes to be referred to by her acolytes, also announced Goop at Sea (what next? Goop on Ice?), a cruising version of her sell-out wellness weekends, promising not only an audience with Paltrow herself, but "cutting-edge doctors, practitioners and thought leaders", plus sundry "goopy perks", as part of life on the ocean wave. Gwyneth Paltrow, a dab hand at monetising our nether regions. Credit:AP And on Friday, her new Netflix series, The Goop Lab, premieres, billed as "a curiosity-driven exploration of boundary-pushing wellness topics". The advertisements for this show our heroine clad in plush pink, standing inside a series of labial shapes with the exhortation: "Reach new depths." One might rather say, "sink to new lows", but this is precisely the reaction GP is cashing in on, and laughing all the way to the bank. The candle is already sold out thus a collectors' item although readers can avail themselves of a waiting list at shop.goop.com. Arome de Paltrow does not come cheap: on sale for $US75 ($109), plus postage and packaging, it promises "a funny, gorgeous, sexy and beautifully unexpected scent ... made with geranium, citrusy bergamot, and cedar absolutes juxtaposed with Damask rose and ambrette seed to put us in mind of fantasy, seduction and a sophisticated warmth." Iran said on January 20 it will consider withdrawing from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) if a dispute over its atomic programme goes before the UN Security Council. Britain, France and Germany launched a process last week charging Iran with failing to observe the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal, a move that could eventually see the Security Council reimpose international sanctions on the country. Iran has accused the three EU member states of inaction over sanctions the United States reimposed on it after unilaterally withdrawing from the landmark accord in 2018. The European move "has no legal basis" and if they take further measures "Iran's withdrawal from the NPT will be considered," Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was quoted as saying by the Iranian parliament's website. The landmark 2015 deal reached with Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States gave Iran relief from sanctions in return for curbs on its nuclear programme. Since the US pullout, Iran has progressively rolled back its commitments to the accord -- the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action -- in retaliation. It has hit out at the three European nations that remain party to the JCPOA for failing to live up to their promises to ease the impact of US sanctions on its oil-based economy. "If the Europeans return to the commitments, Iran will also stop reducing its commitments, but if the Europeans continue as they have been... we have different options," said Zarif. The foreign minister said Iran's President Hassan Rouhani had warned former EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini about such consequences in three letters sent in 2018. "It was stated in the president's letter that if this issue is referred to the Security Council, Iran's withdrawal from the NPT will be discussed but before that we can consider other (options)," he said. European officials have made it clear that the decision to trigger the dispute resolution mechanism was made in a bid to bring Iran back into compliance and save the accord. But Iran's foreign ministry on Monday warned more measures could be taken in retaliation for the European move. "If these talks continue, Iran is formulating a final and even more effective" measure regarding the nuclear deal, spokesman Abbas Mousavi told a news conference in Tehran. Asked by reporters to elaborate, Mousavi said it would be a "serious" measure, but he gave no further details. "Different options are on the table for Iran that will be announced if a consensus is reached" by its leaders, he said. Iran has stressed the steps it has taken to roll back the nuclear deal can be reversed if its interests are realised. In a massive embarrassment for Pakistan, Imran Ismail- the governor of Pakistans Sindh province referred to the occupied areas of Jammu and Kashmir as Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on January 19. Ismail wrote this on Twitter while posting an article with reference to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khans willingness to conduct a plebiscite or a referendum in PoK. Officially, Pakistan has never admitted to illegally occupying parts of J&K and calls it Azad Kashmir. After considerable outrage on social media in Pakistan, Ismail- who is also a senior leader of Khans PTI party deleted his tweet. Read: Rattled By Gen. Naravane's PoK Remark, Pakistan Army Reviews Security Situation Along LoC 'Pakistan is ready for a referendum or a plebiscite' Speaking with Ines Pohl, the Editor-in-Chief of Deutsche Welle in the previous week, Imran Khan stated that he wanted the people of Kashmir to have a say in their future. Moreover, he claimed that Pakistan was ready for a referendum or a plebiscite in PoK as well. Khan was responding to a question on giving a choice to the people of PoK Read: SHOCKING: Pakistan Army Beheads One, Kill Another And Injures 3 Civilians Along LoC Imran Khan stated, Let the people of Kashmir decide what they want. Pakistan is ready for a referendum or a plebiscite. Let them decide whether they want to remain with Pakistan or to be independent. Read: Imran Khan's Govt Approves Amendment To Pakistan Army Act In An Emergency Meeting General Naravane's declaration on PoK Pakistan's multiple reactions on PoK assume significance in the wake of COAS General Naravane addressing the annual news briefing of the Indian Army on January 11. He stated that the Parliament had passed a resolution declaring that the entire J&K including PoK belonged to India. He stressed that appropriate action to retrieve the occupied areas could be undertaken after receiving requisite orders. The COAS remarked, "There is a parliamentary resolution that entire J&K is part of India. If Parliament wants it, then, that area (PoK) also should belong to us. When we get orders to that effect, we'll take appropriate action. He added, "Everyone in Jammu and Kashmir, be it on LoC or hinterland, is doing a tremendous job. We have the full support of people. We are grateful to local police and administration who support us. They don't have a harsh word to say about the Army." Read: 'Naya' Pakistan: 15-yr-old Hindu Girl Abducted, Converted To Islam In Sindh's Jacobabad DETROIT To commemorate the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Nicholas Thomas and more than 100 other volunteers will board up vacant houses, install school safety signs and make other improvements to a Detroit neighborhood. Their mission is to celebrate Kings legacy by being good neighbors and helping lift up a primarily black school in one of the poorer areas of the city. As Thomas fans out across the neighborhood with hammer and nails, Kings legacy of peace and racial and social justice will be foremost in his mind. But at the same time, hes struggling to come to grips with the deep racial divisions roiling the nation under President Donald Trump. Dr. King wanted unity. We have Trump separating immigrants ... the wall, said the 19-year-old Thomas who is black. As the nation marks the holiday honoring King, the mood surrounding it is overshadowed by deteriorating race relations in an election season that has seen one candidate of color after another quit the 2020 presidential race. Two black candidates U.S. Sens. Kamala Harris and Cory Booker and the lone candidate of Hispanic ancestry, former Housing Secretary Julian Castro, have dropped out of the Democratic race for the White House. Gov. John Bel Edwards said he wants to push teacher pay to the regional average over the next four years, but education groups aligned with the governor say it needs to happen much quicker. Leaders of the Louisiana Association of Educators and the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, longtime allies of Edwards, as well as the Associated Professional Educators of Louisiana say teacher pay needs to rise faster than the governor's timetable. "We're confident we'll be able to work with Gov. Edwards and the Legislature to secure additional pay increases this year for all Louisiana teachers and school support professionals so they make on par with their colleagues in surrounding states," Tia Mills, president of the Louisiana Association of Educators, said in a statement. Federation President Larry Carter made the same point. "It is important to be competitive now, not later," he said. Teachers in Louisiana trail the regional average by $1,819, according to the latest tally. Pay here averaged $50,359 per year compared with $52,178 in the 16 states monitored by the Southern Regional Education Board. Louisiana's biggest teacher shortage? Black men are a rarity in public schools While African-Americans make up about half of the students in Louisiana's public schools, only 5% of teachers are black men. Louisiana ranks 11th. Average pay nationally is $60,642. The figures are from 2017-18, the latest available for comparison purposes. Edwards pushed through a $1,000 teacher pay raise last year, the first of its kind in a decade. However, average pay in other states has risen, too. Texas boosted teacher salaries by up to $9,000. Lawmakers in Florida boosted pay by $2,000 and Georgia raised salaries by $3,000, according to the regional board. +3 Latest hurdle for Louisiana teacher pay raises? Other states raising regional average Gov. John Bel Edwards' plan to boost teacher pay to the regional average is facing headwinds before the legislative debate even begins on April 8. The governor, who has long said it would take several years to reach the regional average, reiterated that view in his inaugural address on Jan. 13. "So over the next four years, we're going to continue increasing classroom funding and give educators additional pay raises that will get them at least to the Southern regional average," he said. Some allies of the governor said privately they were surprised by the timetable and that 2020 should be the target. Others said faster action is needed so that Louisiana is no longer among the lowest in the nation for teacher pay. "We feel the same as everyone else," Carter said. "We want it to happen more quickly than four years." The state has about 50,000 public school teachers. Why pay for new teachers in Louisiana stacks up better than for veteran teachers While public school teachers may get their first substantive pay hike in six years, low salaries are not a glaring issue for new teachers. 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 Last year's increase was seen in part as a way to answer the sort of teacher pay complaints that sparked walkouts in other states in 2018, including Oklahoma, West Virginia and Arizona. A 2018 survey among Federation members showed that 60% favored a statewide walkout or strike in order to get a "significant" pay raise. How much was not specified. "We got at least a bump, but it certainly wasn't enough," Carter said of the $1,000 increase. The 2020 regular session begins March 9 and ends June 1. Edwards will spell out his budget priorities ahead of the opening of the session. Keith Courville, executive director of the Associated Professional Educators of Louisiana, noted his group backed $3,000 teacher pay raises last year. "We should have reached the average last year," Courville said. "We had the money to do more than a $1,000 raise." During a meeting last year of a key education advisory board, Courville made a motion for $3,000 teacher pay increases. Representatives of the two teachers unions on the same panel then abstained amid complaints that the proposal was unrealistic. "Teachers need the money," Courville said last week. "They needed it yesterday." Any teacher pay raise depends in part on the state's financial outlook. Also, Edwards has said repeatedly that early childhood education is his top education priority in the second term for new state dollars. Early childhood education gaining steam politically 'like apple pie and the Fourth of July' After years of fits and starts, 2020 may be the year for a major breakthrough in state aid for early childhood education. Higher education advocates and others will be pressing for funding hikes as well, especially after state aid for colleges and universities was sliced by nearly 50% over 10 years. Another unknown is how well Democrat Edwards works with a GOP-controlled Legislature, which has more Republican members than it did during the governors' first term. The Senate has a new president Sen. Page Cortez, R-Lafayette and the House has a new speaker Rep. Clay Schexnayder, R-Gonzales. Sen. Cleo Fields, D-Baton Rouge, will be chairman of the Senate Education Committee. The new chair of the House Education Committee has not been announced. Carter said teacher pay raises should be a priority. "One of the things we certainly talked about in the past year is that we believe that to be competitive in our state we have to pay teachers and school employees at least what the Southern average is," he said. "Too many of our young men and women are leaving this state to get that pay," Carter said. 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 The amount of unpaid property taxes that oil and gas companies owe Alberta rural municipalities has more than doubled over the last year, a trend some are calling a tax revolt. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/1/2020 (722 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A pumpjack works at a well head on an oil and gas installation near Cremona, Alta., Saturday, Oct. 29, 2016. Alberta's rural municipalities say the amount of unpaid property taxes they're owed by oil and gas companies has more than doubled over the past year.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh The amount of unpaid property taxes that oil and gas companies owe Alberta rural municipalities has more than doubled over the last year, a trend some are calling a tax revolt. Rural Municipalities Alberta said Monday that a survey of its members shows that they are owed a total of $173 million a 114 per cent increase since a similar survey was done last spring. "If Albertas property tax system is not amended to prevent oil and gas companies from refusing to pay property taxes, many rural municipalities will struggle to remain viable," association president Al Kemmere said in a release. Kemmere explained that municipalities want the province to change the rules so they can force companies to make good on tax debts. Property taxes on energy facilities are controlled by the province, not the local community. "A lot of the oil and gas is doing their fair part as citizens, but we need legislation to force others to pay much like everybody else has to pay," said Kemmere. In Ponoka County, south of Edmonton, Reeve Paul McLauchlin estimates his municipality is owed about $2.6 million out of a total municipal budget of $27 million. "It creates operational constraints, our ability to provide community services. We have non-profits asking for assistance. We say 'no' more and more." Industry says the way taxes are assessed is driving companies out of business. Properties are assessed by the provincial government, which evaluates them on replacement cost and not on market value, said Ben Brunnen, vice-president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. "We defend the need for the province to take a look at how assessment works and have it reflective of the market," he said. "A lot of these unpaid taxes are coming in jurisdictions where you've got assets that are older and not as productive or economic. The choice for these types of assets is to shut (them) in or find a way to reduce costs." Those shut-in wells often end up abandoned and unreclaimed after a bankruptcy, said Brunnen, who suggested some municipalities are going to have to accept less oil and gas revenue. The Alberta Court of Appeal ruled last year that municipalities are unsecured creditors, which puts them at the back of the line for tax debt collection after a bankruptcy. "Oilpatch property taxes are now voluntary," suggested Regan Boychuk, a researcher with the Alberta Liabilities Disclosure Project, which works to understand the impact of old energy infrastructure. McLauchlin, also an oilpatch consultant, said about 40 per cent of unpaid taxes are from severely distressed companies in an industry hard and widely hit by lower resource prices. The rest of the shortfall is from companies that continue to operate but don't pay. "My personal opinion is that this is a tax revolt," McLauchlin said. "They are using this as a lever to decrease their assessment and change those costs." Some of that has already occurred. Last year, Alberta's United Conservative government implemented legislation allowing municipalities to cut taxes on certain kinds of wells by up to about one-third. 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. The province initially reimbursed municipalities for the cuts. But the municipalities say that program has ended and they've been left to absorb the loss. Boychuk said mill rates on wells and other facilities haven't changed in years. Oil and gas reserves, however, have declined. "What industry is really saying is that they've depleted their wells so far they can't cover operating costs. The wells are done and whatever wealth remains needs to be directed to cleanup rather than looted any further before bankruptcy." The number of wells under care of the Orphan Well Association, an industry-funded group that cleans up abandoned wells, stands at 3,400 an increase of 300 since last January. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 20, 2020 Follow Bob Weber on Twitter at @row1960 The Haryana Assembly in a special session on Monday paid tributes to former Union minister I D Swami, veteran Congress leader Shamsher Singh Surjewala, senior journalist and former BJP MP Ashwini Kumar Chopra among others from the state who passed away. While Surjewala, father of senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala, passed away on January 20, others passed away recently. The House also condoled the deaths of security forces hailing from the state, who had laid down their lives while on duty. Tributes were paid to those who passed away between the end of the previous session and the beginning of the current session. Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, who is also the Leader of the House, paid tribute to the departed souls and read out the obituary resolutions. Leader of Opposition and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda also read obituary resolutions on behalf of his party and paid tributes to the departed souls. Paying tributes to Swami, the chief minister said the country has lost a seasoned parliamentarian and an able administrator. Both Khattar and Hooda described Surjewala, a former Haryana minister who breathed his last at Delhi's AIIMS at 87 following a prolonged illness, as an able and experienced leader. Paying his tributes, Hooda said, Surjewala was a five-time MLA and one time Rajya Sabha member. He was president of Haryana Krishak Samaj. He made great contribution for the Congress party. He served as Haryana Congress president and also served as Leader of Opposition and a CLP leader. His contribution for social causes was great. In his death, the country has lost an experienced politician, Hooda added. Honouring Chopra, who died at 63 last week following prolonged illness, Khattar said the senior journalist was a committed social worker and had great love for sports. In his death, the country has lost an able parliamentarian, he added. Hooda said Chopra came from a prominent family of freedom fighters. He was a fine human being and a dear friend. He was an able parliamentarian, the chief minister said. The special session had been convened to ratify the Constitution (126th Amendment) Bill 2019 extending reservation for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities in Lok Sabha and state assemblies by another 10 years. The House unanimously passed the resolution and it was later adjourned sine die by Speaker Gian Chand Gupta. Earlier, the sitting began with Haryana Governor Satyadeo Narain Arya making a brief address to the members. While extending New Year greetings to the members, the governor informed the House that since it was a special session to ratify the Constitution amendment Bill, he would deliver the full address during the Assembly's budget session, which was likely to be held next month. Earlier, as per the schedule circulated by the Haryana Vidhan Sabha Secretariat, a copy of the governor's address was to be tabled in the Assembly, which was not tabled in light of the changed schedule. In an informal chat with reporters later outside the Assembly, the Speaker said the governor will deliver a detailed address to the members on the inaugural day of the budget session. Gupta said the decision was taken by the Business Advisory Committee of the House shortly before the session commenced. Notably, the special session was earlier scheduled to be held for two days with a discussion on the governor's address but some members felt that they will not be getting enough time to take part in the discussion due to the short duration of the special session. Gupta also told reporters that a two-day training programme will be held in the Assembly hall of the Vidhan Sabha on Tuesday and Wednesday. Chief Minister Khattar will inaugurate the two-day training programme of MLAs. This training programme is not part of the special session and the House has been adjourned sine die on Monday, he said. On the concluding day of the programme, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will address the members, he informed. Personnel from the Lok Sabha secretariat will also come to give training to the MLAs pertaining to parliamentary procedures as 44 of the total 90 are first-time members, he pointed out. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Rescuers in northwestern Nepal were impeded by fresh snowfall as they continued searching the Annapurna mountain region for seven missing trekkers on Monday, January 20. Tourism department official Mira Acharya told Reuters that bad weather, heavy snow and continuous avalanches had caused officials to temporarily call off the search, which was expected to continue once the harsh weather improved. The trekkers described by local media as four Koreans and two Nepali nationals went missing after an avalanche occurred near their base camp on Friday, January 17. Four missing Chinese tourists were found alive on Sunday, the Himalayan Times reported. This footage was shared by Captain Ananda Thapa, a pilot with Simrik Air, one of the companies assisting the search and rescue efforts. It shows a Simrik Air helicopter in the skies above the Annapurna region as well as climbers traversing the snow. Credit: Capt Ananda Thapa/Simrik Air via Storyful that I take typicity into consideration. Typicity - in French, typicite - is a combination of varietal and, to some extent, regional correctness. For example, how much does a Merlot taste like a typical Merlot? How much does it taste like a Washington Merlot? After receiving a comment questioning whether this should considered when evaluating wines, I thought I would expound more on the topic. dramatically Image by Richard Duval I recently noted when I posted aboutThere are four main cases where I see typicity coming into play when evaluating wine. In the first, a wine is a prototype for the variety in question in the region. That is to say, it checks all of the boxes for what that variety most typically smells and tastes like in Washington, along with its associated structure. The second case is where a wine is atypical for the variety, but these atypical characteristics do not impact its overall quality. The third case is where a wines atypical character affects its quality. The final case is where there really is no reference point, rendering typicity more or less meaningless. Ill explore each of these in turn.To me, a good example of the first case, where a wine is a prototype for a variety, is the 2017Walla Walla Valley Merlot that I recently sampled. From the first sniff, the wine sings of Washington Merlot. You smell it and think, This has to be Merlot. You taste it and think, It has to be from Washington. In fact, this wine was part of the inspiration for the(and on an unrelated, note, 2017 is looking to be the best Merlot vintage in Washington since 2012).What makes this wine so prototypic? It is vibrantly red fruited, along with plentiful amounts of cocoa aromas and flavors, both often hallmarks of Merlot in Washington in my experience. It also bears our states signature acid and tannin structure for this variety, with Washington Merlot often bringing more tannic heft. In short, this wine is a prototype for the variety in the state. This is to the wines benefit.In contrast, from the 2016 vintage, I have had several varietally labeled Merlots that I rated highly but noted that they drank a bit more like a Cabernet Sauvignon or Bordeaux-style blend because of a prominent herbal influence on the aromas and flavors. This herbal note is not uncommon in Merlots from this vintage due to the cool finish and larger crop in 2016. It is, however, uncommon from Washington more generally and also uncommon for the variety elsewhere.In these cases, the scores were not impacted, but the tasting note was. I made mention of the herbal qualities being a bit atypical for Merlot. If a consumer is purchasing that bottle of wine, I want them to understand that, yes the wine is high quality, but wont drink like a typical Washington Merlot if thats what theyre looking for.Ive had other Merlots from the 2016 vintage that, because of the cool temperatures and larger crop, veered very far into the green, such that they bore little if any resemblance to the variety that was on the label. These were very far outside what I would expect or what a consumer would expect from a Merlot. This was to the detriment of the wine. In these cases, both scores and tasting notes were affected.Heres where I believe the discussion of typicity gets more interesting. Would I feel differently about the wines above if it were a variety that tends to have a bit more greenness, like Cabernet Sauvignon or even more so say Cabernet Franc or Carmenere?It is possible. Perhaps in the latter cases, the score would have been impacted a bit less, as strong herbal qualities can be more expected in those varieties. In the former case, I would have removed mention in the tasting note of the atypical nature.This is not to say, however, that the score would go upif the variety were different. A wine isnt going to be 85 points because its a green Merlot and suddenly be 90 points because its Carmenere. But the score might go up a couple points, as significant herbal influences are more within the realm of expectation for a variety like Carmenere, depending on the other aspects of the wine.What about when there is no reference point for a wine? The idea of typicity obviously gets more difficult the further away you get from varieties that are common in Washington or elsewhere in the world. In fact, one can get so far away that the concept becomes meaningless.Washington produces over 80 varieties. There are a number being produced that lack reference points inside the state and in some cases even outside the state, such as when a variety is typically used as a blending component but here is being made as a varietal wine. This is part of the enjoyment and challenge of reviewing wines in this area.When thats the case, I revert to evaluating the wines by evaluating the aromas and flavors as well as factors like overall balance, complexity, depth, intensity, finish, and length. At its most basic without any point of reference it can be, How enjoyable is this wine as a red/white wine?Bottom line, the more data points I have in terms of typicity, the more meaningful those data points can be. The less data, the less significant it is.For example, Ive tasted thousands of Washington Cabernet Sauvignons over the years as well as a great number of Cabernets from around the world. I might still taste one that is completely unlike anything Ive tasted from Washington or elsewhere, or at least notably different. If this were the case, I would at the very least mention this distinctiveness in the tasting note.Conversely, I will be tasting my first varietal Clairette Blanche from Washington later this year. This wine currently lacks a reference point in the state, and I will simply be evaluating it as a white, or in this case sparkling, wine.Will all subsequent Washington Clairette Blanches be evaluated against that wine as a standard? No. But tasting the wine, I will start to build a mental database that might at some point become meaningful. Or not!Reference points only become interesting once a standard is established, not necessarily by an individual wine but by a group of wines. But they are not always established.For example, while I have a sense of Tempranillo from certain regions of the world, Washington, in my mind, has yet to establish a clear identity with this variety, though some quality examples do exist. Instead, the variety is notable for its considerable range in the state (with clone no doubt playing a factor in this too). Perhaps that changes at some point, but at this point, typicity bears little impact when reviewing Tempranillo in Washington for me.How does the concept of terroir or regional correctness tie in to typicity? Wines should ideally taste like where they come from. But typically on any wine there is both a varietal influence and a growing region influence. Ideally both are apparent.For example, a Merlot tastes like Merlot but also tastes specifically like a Washington Merlot. In rare instances, like, for example, the Rocks District in Walla Walla Valley, the growing region can even trump variety or at least be in front of the variety. And thats fine. I wouldnt ding a Grenache for tasting more like the Rocks District in some respects more than it does Washington or world Grenache. In fact those distinctive qualities can be part of what make it so interesting and compelling in my opinion.In the case of Tempranillo I gave above, am I dinging all Washington Tempranillo because it doesnt taste like Rioja? No. It shouldnt! But Im not clear yet on what exactly Washington Tempranillo does taste like, so typicity doesnt play as much of a role. I will also note that, of course certain varieties, such as Syrah, have more range associated with their presentation than other varieties.So how important is typicity when evaluating wines? Overall, it is just a piece of information in the equation. Sometimes it can become an important factor, and other times it can have no bearing at all. After Andhra Pradesh Cabinet gave nod to three capital proposal, students paid obeisance to Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and offered milk to his photo at the Andhra University here. The members of YSR Congress Party also celebrated the government's decision to shift the excutive capital to Visakhapatanam. The students and other supporters of Reddy took out a bike rally from YSRCP office to Sampath Vinayaka Temple in the city and staged demonstrations, hailing the Chief Minister and his Cabinet. Besides students, members of various youth associations, Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Regional Development Authority(VMRDA) Chairman Dronamraju Srinivas, District YSRCP president Vamsi Krishna and others rallied supporting the government's decision. VMRDA Chairman Srinivas said: "North Andhra people welcomed Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy's three capital decision. Decentralize development is more important. After Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam is the only cosmopolitan city in Telugu states. Opposition leaders are provoking the farmers, but the Chief Minister will do justice to the farmers of the Amaravati. Meanwhile, YSRCP workers cut a cake and held 'Ksheera Abhishekam' on the picture of Reddy in Srikakulam district. Dharmana Padmapriya, party leader and minister Dharmana Krishna Das's wife led the celebrations in the district. Prior to that, the cadre held a rally in the city and garlanded the statue of late YS Rajasekhar Reddy. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The anti-CAA protest at Shaheen Bagh, led by Muslim women, has become a symbol, a pan-India template which has been replicated in other parts of the country Daljit Singh, a retired teacher, has come all the way from Assam's Tinsukia to Delhis Shaheen Bagh to express his solidarity with the women protesters. Singh, whose grandfather settled in Assam almost seven decades ago, is extremely concerned about the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Population Register (NPR) and National Register for Citizens (NRC). After all, his wife's name was missing from the final NRC list after the exercise was conducted in Assam. The names of my son, my daughter and myself were on the NRC list, but not my wife. She couldnt produce evidence about when her grandfather voted, because during anti-Sikh riots in Delhi, many important documents got destroyed. This has now reduced us to outsider status in Assam the state where both my father and I were born, and have lived all our lives, Singh lamented. Singh isn't alone. Many from across the country, from Punjab farmers to youths and professionals from Kerala and Maharashtra have come to Shaheen Bagh to express their solidarity with the protesters. Shaheen Bagh has become a symbol, a pan-India template which has been replicated in other parts of the country, even to the extent that some protest sites like in Kanpur have been rechristened Shaheen Bagh. Whether its Park Circus in Kolkata or Iqbal Maidan in Bhopal the template remains the same a non-violent protest against CAA-NPR-NRC issue. Many have even begun drawing similarities with Tahrir Square in the heart of Cairo, which became a hub of revolution that unseated the then Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak in February 2011. The square became a symbolic home of the movement, with a prominent role in the countrys history of change and tumult. However, unlike Shaheen Bagh, the protest at Tahrir Square was violent and a large number of people lost their lives. Shaheen Bagh has turned somewhat similar to Tahrir Square a symbol of protest movement. This protest is not only about Muslims, but also about citizens from other communities who are affected due to CAA and NRC, Mohammed Ahmad Kazmi, senior journalist and editor-in-chief of Media Star World told Firstpost Women on forefront Shaheen Bagh came into prominence due to the presence of a large number of women protesters of various age groups. In fact, the movement is led by Muslim women, who are being supported by women from other communities as well. But why have women taken the lead? The answer, Singh said, lies in his experience with the NRC. Traditionally, in India, its largely men who take care of documents. But in the case of NRC or CAA, women too have to prove their identity through legacy documents. Hence the fear among women, remarked Singh. The women protesters at Shaheen Bagh have invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to have a discussion on CAA-NPR-NRC over Chai Pe Charcha and they have written messages on postcards to the PM asking him to provide clarity on the issue. Were domiciled citizens of this place. Many of us have been living for three generations, social activist Shaheen Kausar told Firstpost. But through this NRC and CAA, the attempt is to prove us illegal immigrants like it happened in Assam. After the NRC process, 19 lakh people weren't included on the list. We may die, but well continue to stand firm. Its the women whore at the receiving end. Let some senior representative of the government come here and listen to the issues bothering us. The protest wont end unless the government gives us in writing that no harm would be done to us after the CAA-NPR-NRC process, she added. Various shades of protest Unlike regular protests at Jantar Mantar or Ramlila Maidan the popular destinations in the National Capital the protest movement at Shaheen Bagh on the highway that connects Delhi with Noida has different shades. Besides high-decibel sloganeering from 'Bharat mata ki jai to 'inquilab zindabad' and speeches, Shaheen Bagh has channelised the protest in multiple forms by people from various age groups and background. While slogans like azaadi and reject CAA-NPR-NRC are visible on one side, on the other there are posters displaying the Sanskrit phrase vasudhaiva kutumbakam (The world is one family). Except National Flag, no other flag of any hue or any political party is visible. From Jasola-Shaheen Bagh Metro station to protest site, a series of festoons of Tiranga have been put up along the one-km stretch of road. People can be seen buying national flags, badges and bands bearing national symbol from vendors. At one end of the protest site, children can be seen making sketches, painting small canvases and writing slogans for posters with a lot of enthusiasm, even at the end of the day. Students from Visva-Bharati and Jadavpur universities have prepared a 35-feet tall steel map at the centre of the site and on both sides of the map, slogans like we the people of India have been etched. Every afternoon Mohd Salahuddin, a 70-year old from Gopalganj in Bihar, visits Shaheen Bagh and reads Munshi Premchands novels by sitting in a corner till 11 pm. I have been coming here since 15 December. This CAA and NRC will end our rights as citizens of India, and it should be uprooted. In Bihar, anti-CAA movement has become big, he remarked. Three youths from Noida Aban, Athar and Aqib have formed a group and sing rap at the protest site, narrating the difficulties people have been facing. : A replica of a metal detention camp erected at the site has been drawing a lot of visitors and people are taking photographs by posing inside the cell. Many women visiting Shaheen Bagh asked whether people who fail to qualify in the CAA-NRC list would be put inside the detention cell. Many look worried. Medical camps have been set up, where doctors and medical students are extending services for free. Like many others, Im also worried about the consequences of the CAA-NPR-NRC, said Aisha, a fourth-year medical student from Aligarh. Whats the hidden agenda behind this? Is it to takeaway citizenship of Muslims? Even to procure legal documents, corruption which has become an integral part of our system, will take place. Government must clarify the situation. Gurdwaras, local bodies and residents of Shaheen Bagh, both Muslims and Hindus, are providing free meals every day to protesters through contributions. We the people of India has become an anthem for protesters, who read aloud the Preamble to the Constitution every day. A platform of solidarity Over the past 36 days, Shaheen Bagh has emerged as a platform of freedom of expression for dissenting voices to air their grievances and express solidarity. Bollywood actors and Sikh farmers have shared the stage, the backdrop of which bears the photos of stalwarts such as Mahatma Gandhi, Sarojini Naidu, BR Ambedkar, Abul Kalam Azad, Ram Prasad Bismil, Bhagat Singh, Asfaqullah Khan and Subash Chandra Bose. Hundreds of Sikh farmers from Punjab came here on 15 January to express solidarity and extend their support to the protesters, said Mohd Bundu Malik, a local resident and trader.. They organised Langar (community kitchen) here to provide meals to protesters. Shaheen Bagh has provided a platform for people from all walks of life to protest against CAA and NRC. There are a lot of Muslims who dont have proper documents, but have been living here for decades. Now all of them are worried they might be sent to detention centres, as happened in Assam. Irrespective of how things play out, Shaheen Bagh formerly a lesser known address of Delhi has found its place in Indias mass movement. The Sunday gathering that saw nearly 5,000 people turn out attests to the fact. One more student from Bengals Visva Bharati was arrested from Jharkhand on Sunday in connection with the violence on campus that left two students injured on the night of January 15. Two students were arrested earlier. Authorities at the states only central university have moved the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) for security on the campus at Santiniketan in Birbhum district. The Prime Minister is the chancellor of Visva Bharati which was set up by Rabindranath Tagore. The third student to be arrested is Sulabh Karmakar, who studies history. Earlier, two students, Achintya Bagdi and Saber Ali were arrested. On January 15, a fortnight after Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students were attacked allegedly by members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), at least two supporters of the Students Federation of India (SFI) were allegedly beaten up by ABVP members inside the Visva Bharati campus. On January 8, Left-wing students gheraoed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta at Visva Bharati when he was invited to speak at a seminar on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. The students demanded the resignation of Bidyut Chakrabarty, the vice chancellor. The authorities have formed a three-member committee, headed by a former chief justice of the Calcutta high court, to probe both incidents. The committee will submit its report within a month. Pope warns against antisemitism, populism Receives Simon Wiesenthal delegation ahead of Shoah Memory Day (ANSAmed) - VATICAN CITY, JANUARY 20 - Pope Francis on Monday warned against antisemitism and populism in an audience with a delegation from the Simon Wiesenthal Center. The pope recalled his visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, and condemned antisemitism in every form. The pope described "an increase in selfishness and indifference" in many parts of the world. "This creates a fertile ground for the forms of factionalism and populism we see around us, where hatred quickly springs up", he said. We need to address the cause of the problem by committing ourselves to "tilling the soil in which hatred grows and sowing peace instead", said Pope Francis. "For it is through integration and seeking to understand others that we more effectively protect ourselves". This means reintegrating those who are marginalized, reaching out to those far away, and assisting those who are victims of intolerance and discrimination, said the Pope. Pope Francis concluded with a prayer to "make the earth a better place by sowing seeds of peace". We need to put the "rich spiritual patrimony that Jews and Christians possess" at the service of others, he said. "Not to take the path of distance and exclusion, but that of proximity and inclusion; not to force solutions, but to initiate ways of drawing closer together". "If we do not do this", asked Pope Francis, "then who will?" In welcoming the delegation from the Wiesenthal Centre, the pope noted how it actively "seeks to combat all forms of antisemitism, racism and hatred towards minorities". The Simon Wiesenthal Centre has maintained contacts with the Holy See for decades, said the Pope, "in a shared desire to make the world a better place in respect for human dignity. This dignity is due to every person in equal measure, regardless of his or her ethnic origin, religion or social status", he added. The Pope said: "It is essential to teach tolerance, mutual understanding and freedom of religion, and the promotion of peace within society". 27 January will mark the seventy-fifth anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Pope Francis recalled visiting the camp in 2016, "to reflect and to pray in silence". "In our world, with its whirlwind of activity, we find it hard to pause, to look within and to listen in silence to the plea of suffering humanity", he said. The Pope reflected on how our consumerist society squanders words: "how many unhelpful words are spoken, how much time is wasted in arguing, accusing, shouting insults, without a real concern for what we say. Silence, on the other hand, helps to keep memory alive. If we lose our memory, we destroy our future", he added. "May the anniversary of the unspeakable cruelty that humanity learned of seventy-five years ago serve as a summons to pause, to be still and to remember", said Pope Francis. "We need to do this, lest we become indifferent".(ANSAmed). Thousands of war criminals had been freed from Bangladeshs prisons and allowed to come out from hideouts and rehabilitated, taking them up comfortable posts in every sphere of the country by those arrant and artful rulers. by Anwar A. Khan We know war crimes are crimes that are so serious that they affect both the local and international communities as a whole. They include war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. It is well knownthat the crime of genocide is characterised by the specific intent to destroy in whole or in part a national, ethnic, racial or so-called religious group by killing its members or by other means: causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; or forcibly transferring children of the group to another group. If we look back, we find the International Crimes Tribunal-2 on February 2 in 2014 indicted Syed Mohammad Qaisar, a former state minister of the Gen HM Ershad regime of Bangladesh on 16 charges. The same tribunal on December 23 in 2014 awarded death penalty to Qaisar on 16 charges including committing crimes against humanity, raping and launching genocide in Habiganj area, Sylhet in Bangladesh during the countrys Liberation War by forming an anti-liberation ill-famedgroup named Qaisar Group. Later, Qaisar filed an appeal with the Appellate Division seeking acquittal of the charges in which he has been convicted and sentenced. The Supreme Court (SC) then upheld the death penalty on 14 January 2020 to war criminal Qaisar for his crimes against humanity during the Bangladeshs War of Independence in 1971. About five decennia, the tears of families of victims of 1971 of Qaisers locality war ran down all day and night. We are also in the know of justice for the remaining war criminals - where the crimes have been committed offers distinct advantages, such as, access to evidence and greater visibility of the process. Of course, prosecuting those responsible for atrocities of the war is a long drawn one. Qaisar has been prosecuted and it is fairly done to send him finally to death. The Bangladesh ICC prosecutes crimes against humanity, which are serious violations committed as part of a large-scale attack against civilian population in huge numbers in 1971. War crimes which are grave breaches of humanity and Geneva conventions in the context of armed conflict and include, for instance, the killing or torture of persons, such as, civilians or prisoners of war; intentionally directing attacks against hospitals, historic monuments, or buildings dedicated to religion, education, art, science or charitable purposes. And everything happened during Bangladeshs birth in 1971. As a long standing independent political observer, the writer of this piece reiterates the importance of redoubling our efforts to ensure the continued expansion of our endeavours that cooperate to fight against impunity and to protect the victims of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes ... The U.S. and its vassal states grant admission to individuals fleeing wars, genocide, ethnic cleansing and various other forms of persecution have often view the United States and its client states as a safe haven. Upon entry, the vast majority of these people choose to remain here permanently and, ultimately, gain citizenship through the naturalisation process. Some of Bangladeshs war criminals have also found a safe Heaven in those countries. Unfortunately, individuals who have perpetrated significant abuses against others in their home countries seek entry to other countries to evade prosecution and punishment. Frequently, these individuals hide among those they once persecuted, falsely claiming to be victims of abuse. They may be former officials of regimes that are or were potentially hostile to our nation and its interests, making them not only human-rights violators, but also national security threats. Bangladesh is not and must not a safe Heaven for these life-threatening individuals. Those accused war criminals of 1971 cannot escape justice by hiding in Bangladesh and elsewhere the world. Those overseas countries should commit to keeping Bangladesh safe by ensuring the secure removal of aliens with known ties to human rights violations. The boastful Human Rights Organisations Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have barefacedly chosen to remain unsounded against those rogue nations which have given shelter to the war criminals of Bangladesh and other countries in their states under the drape of human rights. People should help ICC prosecution team to identify, locate, investigate, prosecute and assist in removing torturers and war criminals from Bangladesh. That message resounded loudly this week as Bangladeshs Appellate Division of Supreme Court announced the death sentence to a most spoilt war criminal like Syed Mohammad Qaisar. Why go after them now, 49 years after the Bangladeshs Liberation War? Because it was not always possible to do so in the past. After a long trial, Quader Molla was found guilty of war crimes on many grounds and finally, he was executed on 12 December 2013, the first person to be put to death for events in 1971. This set a legal precedent for interpreting evidence more broadly than before. War criminal Mollas hanging to death was a game-changer because it allows for the prosecution of people who would otherwise not have been prosecuted. Until the prosecution team of Bangladeshs ICC exposed Qaisar like war criminal, he was living a luxuriant life. Evidence has come to light about his role in the mass murder of the residents of Habiganj area, Sylhet in Bangladesh. Even though most of those war criminals are now in their late 70s or 80s or 90s,their age is no reason to stop seeking justice. Our quest must be to bring 1971 war criminals to justice Don't look at these people and say they look frail and weak. Think of someone who at the height of his powers devoted his energies to murdering men, women, and children promiscuously. The passage of time in no way diminishes the guilt of the killers. Old age should not provide protection. The fact that they have reached an elderly age does not turn them into righteous gentiles. Holocaust historian and Emory University professor Deborah Lipstadt agrees that there is no time limit. "Just because they did this a long time ago doesn't mean they should be exonerated," said Lipstadt, author of such books as Denying the Holocaust and The Eichmann Trial. "If someone raped children decades ago and we found that person now in his 70s or 80s or 90s, you would still say they should be tried. The victims deserve to have the perpetrators brought to justice. And society needs to know that you don't get a free pass. The accompanying Cyrillic graffiti reads, "There is no retreat from here," a stark warning for anyone hoping we might relinquish control to punish the war criminals of 1971 war of Bangladesh with Pakistan. War criminal Qaisar or every other war criminal can be nicknamed like the Nazi war criminals as Angel of Death. Qaisars path was littered with corpses. The very fact of the ICCs continued existence is a testament to the gravity and extent of 1971 war crimes, a reminder of just how much is threatened by the rise of reactionary and communalistic forces like Jamaat-e-Islami and its so many killing outfits under different pseudo names both in Bangladesh and abroad under the patronage of military dictators Gen Zia, Gen Ershad, a woman politician of a large political party and their confederates of afield countries. These satanic characters who once cemented the 1971 like Holocaust in the public imagination are now veritably debunked to the public in general, especially to the new generation of people in Bangladesh. Thousands of war criminals had been freed from Bangladeshs prisons and allowed to come out from hideouts and rehabilitated, taking them up comfortable posts in every sphere of the country by those arrant and artful rulers. We want to take the past into our own hands. At the same time, however, new trials are gradually opening up the publics eyes to the enormity of the crimes that had been committed by those sub-humans.Starting in 2009, a series of landmark cases changed everything. Until and unless, the last war criminal is executed, the ICC should not terminate their stately work to give some comfort to the families of victims. The point of the work is not always to put someone in front of a judge, but also being able to close an archive and say, Okay, now we know. Its for future generations to know what actually happed on three million of people and the fate of three hundred thousand of our mothers and sisters during our exalted Liberation War to found Bangladesh in 1971. Even if we dont get a lot of perpetrators now, its important both for the survivours and their relatives, and for Bangladesh society as well, I think thats why, all of us are here to try to do what is possible today even after about five decades. The ghoulish members of Jamaat-e-Islami and other so-called Islamist political parties did not expect to be held accountable for their sins, so they did not bother concealing their identities upon arriving in open politics deliberately created by those rough-cutmilitary rulers and their mango-twigs. There is no reason to let them all go untouched. The court verdicts so far announced and after execution of six war criminals, the former psychic trauma of the victims transforms into a memorial upshot for them. Still, it is all maybe for nothing because of the huge number of war criminals we know that, but the point now is to say we are leaving nothing out.There are still documents which havent been put together, there are still matches that can be found. The ICC trials convey the impression that all skepticism has quickly swept away in the fervor to nab those perpetrators. After the military takeover in 1975 in Bangladesh, we began to worry about how quickly the Bangladesh world seemed to be forgetting about the Nazi like Holocaust of 1971. The trial would now change those attitudes by showing young generation of Bangladesh how the victims were misled up to the last moment and how when it was clear to the victims that death is waiting for the war criminals, like with the Warsaw Ghetto, they fought to the last man in an incredibly courageous manner. We hope the survivours would be able to tell their emotional stories in gruesome details. The highest courts verdict offers some more hope of justice to victims of war crimes committed by Qaisar. We all celebrate the verdict in Bangladesh as a victory against a yawl war criminal. -The End The writer is an independent political observer based in Dhaka, Bangladesh who writes on politics, political and human-centered figures, current and international affairs. Cardston, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - January 20, 2020) - American Creek Resources Ltd. (TSXV: AMK) (the "Company" or "American Creek") is pleased to announce that it has entered into a property purchase agreement pursuant to which it will acquire the precious and base mineral undersurface rights relating to 45 Crown Grant claims commonly referred to as the "Glacier Creek Claims" located in the Stewart area, British Columbia, from a subsidiary of Strikepoint Gold Inc. (TSXV:SKP)("Strikepoint"). In consideration for the Glacier Creek Claims, the Company will pay Strikepoint $50,000, issue 3,000,000 common shares to Strikepoint, and grant Strikepoint a 0.5% NSR royalty over the Glacier Creek Claims which NSR royalty may be purchased by the Company at any time for $500,000 cash. The Glacier Creek Crown Grant claim package consists of claims that overlap a portion of the Company's present Dunwell property as well as extending beyond the current Dunwell property boundaries. The net effect being a significant expansion of the Dunwell project and associated mineral rights. Darren Blaney, President & CEO of the Company stated: "We are very pleased to be able to acquire this package of Crown Grants as it makes sense to amalgamate the claims into one property. This acquisition expands our Dunwell property considerably and provides for increased exploration potential as work is done in the immediate area hosting the historic Dunwell Mine as well as in the surrounding region. We believe that the Dunwell Mine and the multiple bonanza grade gold and silver showings within several kilometers of the mine are all related geologically and are part of a large underlying system". Completion of this acquisition is conditional upon, among other things, receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, including approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. Any shares issued pursuant to this transaction will be subject to a 4 month hold period pursuant to applicable securities laws. About American Creek American Creek is a Canadian junior mineral exploration company with a strong portfolio of gold and silver properties in British Columbia. Three of those properties are located in the prolific "Golden Triangle"; the Treaty Creek and Electrum joint venture projects with Tudor Gold/Walter Storm as well as the 100% owned past producing Dunwell Mine. A major drill program was conducted in 2019 at Treaty Creek by JV partner and operator Tudor Gold. The focus of the program was on the Goldstorm zone where drilling has produced very wide intercepts of gold including a 780 meter intercept of 0.683 g/t gold including a higher grade upper portion of 1.095 g/t over 370.5 meters. The Treaty Creek Project is a Joint Venture with Tudor Gold owning 60% and acting as operator. American Creek and Teuton Resources each have 20% interests in the project. American Creek and Teuton are both fully carried until such time as a Production Notice is issued, at which time they are required to contribute their respective 20% share of development costs. Until such time, Tudor is required to fund all exploration and development costs while both American Creek and Teuton have "free rides". A drill program was also recently concluded on the 100% owned Dunwell Mine property located near Stewart. Assay results are pending. The Corporation also holds the Gold Hill, Austruck-Bonanza, Ample Goldmax, Silver Side, and Glitter King properties located in other prospective areas of the province. For further information please contact Kelvin Burton at: Phone: 403 752-4040 or Email: info@americancreek.com. Information relating to the Company 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. This news release contains forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Readers should not place undue importance on forward-looking information and should not rely upon this information as of any other date. Actual results could differ materially because of factors discussed in the Company's management discussion and analysis filed with applicable Canadian securities regulators, which can be found under the Company's profile on www.sedar.com. The Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/51642 New Delhi, Jan 20 : Congress leader Salman Khurshid on Monday took to social media to share his views on the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and said that though people are talking about New India but we are witnessing the rebirth of India and 2020 is the year of the rebirth of secularism and liberalism. In a Facebook post, Khurshid wrote: "By all standards and past precedents the CAA-NRC-NPR protests across the country are unique. Whilst years of experience and characteristic style of hardened youth protesters is conspicuous, there is a fresh dimension of women and little children adding to the visual impact and quality of the protests." He said that essentially it is a movement for the Constitution, of the Constitution and by the spirit of the Constitution; all denominational and political factions flags have vacated space for the Tricolour. He said that the resolutions passed by some of the state governments cannot override the Amendments passed by the Parliament but by no chance it means that the opposition to the CAA is being diluted. India is a federal structure of governance, therefore, strong contrary opinion of the state must not be ignored and the differences between the Central government appointed Governors and the state governments must be handled in a proper spirit of mutual respect. As several states have moved the Supreme Court over the CAA, Khurshid said: "Of course the Supreme Court judgment will be the last word till a future Parliament chooses to reverse the changes that have been made. Democracy prevails over all decisions except those constitutional provisions that the Supreme Court has said is beyond the reach of transitory political majorities. It remains to be seen if the arguments at the Bar will persuade the Court that non-discrimination on grounds inter alia of religion for purposes of citizenship is such a basic feature of our constitution. This decision will have to be taken knowing that it would mean life or death in terms of a person's most basic character from which all other descriptions flow_citizenship of the country." At the end of his post, the Congress leader wrote: "Be that as it may, 2020 is the year of rebirth of secularism, liberalism, nationalism, constitutionalism, equality, dignity, freedom, justice. While people spoke of new India, we are witness to the rebirth of India, celebrating time tested principles of nationhood even as it embraces emergent modernity and the opportunity it offers to succeeding generations of Indians. An ancient civilisation has also proclaimed that it is young and gender just." A human skeleton was found close to the tracks near Central Railway's Reay Road station on Monday afternoon, police said. The skeleton seem to be two to three months old and it would be sent for analysis to ascertain whether it is that of a man or woman which would help in further identification, senior inspector Gangadhar Sonawane of Wadala police station said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 20-year-old man was held from Bihar for allegedly creating a fake website of UltraTech Cement Limited and duping people, Mumbai police said on Monday. Rohit Kumar Balram Prasad was arrested from Nalanda in Bihar by a team from MIDC police station in the metropolis on Wednesday after an official of UltraTech Cement filed a complaint here, said an official. "Prasad had made a website that resembled the official one of cement firm UltraTech. He would take orders from customers who thought they were dealing with the company. After the customers paid up, he would stop communication," said the official. "The accused was using the company trademark as well. We are likely to arrest more people in the case. Prasad was brought to Mumbai on transit remand from Bihar," said Zone X Deputy Commissioner Ankit Goyal. He said the accused has been charged under sections 482 (using false property mark), 483 (counterfeiting a property mark used by another), 419 (cheating by personation) among others of the IPC and the Information Technology Act. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) After receiving the award for the best performance by a male actor in a leading role for his character in 'Joker' at SAG Awards, actor Joaquin Phoenix on Sunday honoured late actor Heath Ledger. At the award ceremony, Phoenix honoured the late actor with a heartfelt shout out. Ledger originally portrayed the famous role of the comic book villain in 'The Dark Knight' which won him several accolades and appreciations including a Golden Globe, an SAG Award and an Academy Award. Phoenix too won Golden Globe and SAG awards for his portrayal of the character. He has also received an Oscar nomination. "Really, I'm standing here on the shoulders of my favorite actor, Heath Ledger," CNN quoted Phoenix as saying during the speech. Ledger passed away at an age of 28 in 2008 due to an accidental overdose. Further in his thanking speech, Phoenix termed Adam Driver's performance in divorce saga 'Marriage Story' as "devastating" and also applauded Taron Egerton for his role in 'Rocketman'. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/20/2020 -- Smart Cities Market attempts to explain as well as understand the buying pattern to help companies design a marketing strategy that can attract more buyers. The approach empowers stakeholders to target audience more accurately and reap highest profits. The product research carried out during the study of the Smart Cities Market for the forecast period, 2018 to 2025 aims at helping product owners tweak their products or services according to the taste customers. Apart from this, the report also enables business owners to measure buyers' reaction to identify if they are looking for alternatives or variation. Get Sample Of The Report : https://www.marketgrowthinsight.com/sample/38822 Major Key Players: AT&T Inc., Cisco Systems Inc., Ericsson, General Electric, Hitachi Ltd., Honeywell International Inc., Microsoft Corporation, Oracle Corporation, Schneider Electric SE, and others. Adoption of smart cities solutions, rapid urbanization, and demand for better quality of life are the key factors that drive the growth of the global smart cities market. The main purpose of the smart cities mission is to drive economic growth and to improve the quality of life of individuals by empowering local area development and harnessing technology, particularly the technology which leads to smart outcomes. Therefore, it has been estimated that cities which will deploy smart mobility applications are expected to reduce commuting time by 15-20% by 2025, which shows the benefits of smart cities applications and motivates the governments to adopt it. The study on Smart Cities Market assesses the key drivers more extensively to help companies and individuals develop or tweak prototypes of a new product or service that is intended for the industry in the coming years. Most importantly, the study tries to understand why customers prefer certain products or services over others. Besides, a great emphasis is laid on the products that are innovated based on the lifestyle of the consumers. Most importantly, the report documents the dramatic shift in the lifestyle that has influenced the past buying habits of the customers. Smart Cities Key Market Segments: By Functional Area Smart Governance & Smart Education Smart Energy Smart Infrastructure Smart Mobility Smart Healthcare Smart Building Others Inquiry Before Buying : https://www.marketgrowthinsight.com/inquiry/38822 The research also takes into account the cultural upbringing impact on the buying decisions. The data relevant to various marketing challenges such as problems in different operational areas; customer behaviour; product price and sales and physical distribution forms an important part of the report. The systematic approach carried out during the research offers insights into the probable sales volume in the Smart Cities Market for the forecast period, 2018 to 2025. The study blends in the best of primary and secondary research methodologies to provide a clear objective regarding competitive landscape. Some Of The TOC point are : CHAPTER 4: SMART CITIES MARKET BY FUNCTIONAL AREA: 4.1. Overview 4.2. Smart Governance and Smart Education 4.2.1. Key market trends, growth factors and opportunities 4.2.2. Market size and forecast by region 4.2.3. Market analysis by country 4.3. Smart Energy 4.3.1. Key market trends, growth factors and opportunities 4.3.2. Market analysis by country 4.4. Smart Infrastructure 4.4.1. Key market trends, growth factors and opportunities 4.4.2. Market size and forecast by region 4.4.3. Market analysis by country 4.5. Smart Mobility 4.5.1. Key market trends, growth factors and opportunities 4.5.2. Market size and forecast by region 4.5.3. Market analysis by country 4.6. Smart Healthcare 4.6.1. Key market trends, growth factors and opportunities 4.6.2. Market size and forecast by region 4.6.3. Market analysis by country 4.7. Smart Building 4.7.1. Key market trends, growth factors and opportunities 4.7.2. Market size and forecast by region 4.7.3. Market analysis by country View Full Report : https://www.marketgrowthinsight.com/38822/smart-cities-market The research on the Smart Cities Market not only evaluates the sales volume generated by major vendors, but also offers an estimate of the market share. The market intelligence market report further ascertains the distribution techniques best suited to a product or service offered by the manufacturers operating in the Smart Cities Market for the forecast period, 2018 to 2025. The audience is looking to gather data on customers buying a product or service; buying motives and their feedback about a particular product will find the report useful. Other aspects such as strengths, weaknesses and competition are extensively dealt with during the research. - How are the manufacturers operating in the Smart Cities Market plan to adjust their production according to the status of demand during the forecast period, 2018 to 2025? - How are prominent leaders planning to secure economies in the distribution of their products? - What are the defects in the existing products and what corrective measures should the product owners take to improve the product? - How can companies explore new uses for their existing and new products or services, and thereby increasing the demands in the Smart Cities Market? - What will be the market share over the estimated period? - What are the general conditions prevailing in the Smart Cities Market ? Increasing demand for smart city solutions supported by government initiatives, rising need to manage limited natural resources in a better way, increasing urban population, and growing focus on environmental sustainability are the major factors that fuel the growth of the global smart cities market. However, data security and privacy concerns associated with smart devices are some of the major factors that hamper the growth of the global market. Furthermore, the factor such as emergence of AI in smart cities the market is expected to provide lucrative opportunities for smart cities market growth in the coming years About Market Growth Insight: Market Growth Insight is a one stop solution for market research reports in various business categories. We are serving 100+ clients with 10000+ diverse industry reports and our reports are developed to simplify strategic decision making, on the basis of comprehensive and in-depth significant information, established through wide ranging analysis and latest industry trends. We are striving to provide the best customer friendly services and appropriate business information to accomplish your ideas. Contact 2nd Floor, Manikchand Ikon, B-Wing, Dhole Patil Road, Sangamwadi, Pune 411 001, Maharashtra,India. +1 347 767 5477 (US) +44 131 463 4161 (UK) + 91 8956 049 020 (IN) Email: Sales@marketgrowthinsight.com Website- https://www.marketgrowthinsight.com Follow Us:- LinkedIn | Twitter | Google+ | Facebook INDIANAPOLIS, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Watermark Residential, a wholly owned affiliate of Thompson Thrift and one of the nation's leading multifamily developers, announced today the closing of Watermark 3G Multifamily Development Fund II, which successfully met its $105 million funding limit. The fund is a joint venture between Watermark Residential and Irvine, Calif.-based 3G Capital Advisors LLC. "We appreciate the support and confidence our investment partners have placed in us," said Paul Thrift, president and chief executive officer of Thompson Thrift and Watermark Residential. "Our success in this equity raise is a testament to the strength or our entire team and a long track record of delivering high quality projects that result in impressive returns to our investors. In just over four months, we secured commitments that met our goal of $105 million that will fund the required equity for six of our planned 2020 multifamily development projects." Christopher Hilbert, chief executive officer of 3G Capital Advisors, added, "Completing our equity raise so quickly is a testament to Watermark's well-deserved reputation for developing high-quality apartment communities." Watermark will close on the first of six projects in Huntsville, Ala., later this month. The other five Class A multifamily communities included in the fund are located in Arizona, Colorado, Michigan and Missouri and are slated to close by year end 2020. "We are excited to get to work on bringing these communities to market," added Carrie Thrift LaFay, vice president of corporate development. "Each of these planned developments are strategically located in high growth markets where demand for quality multifamily homes far exceed the supply." Since 2010, Watermark Residential has constructed more than 40 projects totaling in excess of 11,000 multifamily apartment homes. The company has consistently focused on developments in areas experiencing rapid job growth, increased rental demand and barriers to new supply. About Watermark Residential A wholly owned affiliate of Thompson Thrift, Watermark Residential is a national leader in the development, construction, and management of upscale multifamily communities. Since its founding in 2008, Watermark has become a nationally recognized multifamily development and residential management company. Watermark communities epitomize the company's commitment to quality and value, while exhibiting meticulous attention to detail. The company has developed more than 11,000 units across 11 states. With deep knowledge of each market entered and a methodical vision, Watermark is proud to develop communities that offer residents luxurious, convenient lifestyle. For more information, please visit www.watermarkapartments.com. About Thompson Thrift Real Estate Company Thompson Thrift is an integrated full-service real estate company with offices in Indianapolis and Terre Haute, IN, Houston, TX, Phoenix, AZ and Charlotte, NC. Thompson Thrift is engaged in all aspects of acquisition, development, construction, leasing, and management of quality multifamily, mixed-use, retail, and office projects across the country. We're passionate about our customer's success and strive to ensure our projects not only meet the needs of our customers but also the communities we serve. About 3G Capital Advisors, LLC 3G Capital Advisors, LLC is an innovative, boutique advisory firm focused on the intersection of financial services and real estate investing. The firm specializes in advising organizations on the most recent investment products and strategies and creating custom programs that help its clients address the complexities of the market today. 3G Capital Advisors, LLC provides strategic advisory services, product development and real estate advisory services. For more information, visit www.3gcapitaladvisors.com. Contact: Jennifer Franklin Damon Elder Spotlight Marketing Communications Spotlight Marketing Communications 949.427.1385 949.427.1377 [email protected] [email protected] SOURCE Watermark Residential Related Links http://www.watermarkapartments.com A thin ephemeral waterfall in Yosemite National Park that's barely noticed by many visitors to the popular Yosemite Valley becomes the California park's star attraction each February. Horsetail Fall over the eastern edge of El Capitan can glow golden or orange at sunset from mid- to late-February when its water is flowing and skies are clear. Illumination from the setting sun causes this phenomenon, what's become known as the firefall. For older visitors, it can be reminiscent of another grand nightly spectacle of the same name that ended in 1968: The pushing of burning coals over Glacier Point into Yosemite Valley below. "Horsetail Fall is an amazing natural phenomenon if you see it under the right circumstances: when there's enough water, when the light's right," photographer Michael Frye said in an episode of "Yosemite Nature Notes." "This thin ribbon of water just glowing neon orange with the cliff in the shade behind it so it just seems like it has its own sort of light, that there's nothing else creating it." Yosemite officials warned that "even some haze or minor cloudiness can greatly diminish or eliminate the effect." The New York Times has endorsed Senator Elizabeth Warren (pictured December 2019) as its "radical" pick for the Democratic presidential nominee and Senator Amy Klobuchar as its "realist" one (AFP Photo/JUSTIN SULLIVAN) Washington (AFP) - The New York Times on Sunday endorsed Senators Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren for the Democratic presidential nomination, its first time choosing two candidates. The liberal newspaper's pick comes just a few weeks before the Iowa caucuses on February 3 which officially begins the presidential primary season. The Times described Massachusetts senator Warren as the "radical" and Minnesota senator Klobuchar as the "realist" choice. "An essential debate is underway between two visions that may define the future of the (Democratic) party and perhaps the nation," the editorial board wrote. "Some in the party view President Trump as an aberration and believe that a return to a more sensible America is possible. Then there are those who believe that President Trump was the product of political and economic systems so rotten that they must be replaced." "Both the radical and the realist models warrant serious consideration," the board said. "That's why we're endorsing the most effective candidates for each approach. They are Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar." Warren has consistently polled at third place, behind former vice president Joe Biden and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders -- Warren's fellow progressive. She surged during the summer but has seen her support slide since October. But The Times called her the new "standard-bearer for the Democratic left," praising her plans for structural and social reform. "Ms. Warren's path to the nomination is challenging, but not hard to envision," the board said. For Klobuchar, who is more moderate, The Times said her "lengthy tenure in the Senate and bipartisan credentials would make her a deal maker (a real one) and uniter for the wings of the party -- and perhaps the nation." "May the best woman win," The Times concluded. For the first time, The Times detailed its decision-making process on its television show "The Weekly". Story continues The episode shows the editorial board's interviews with nine leading Democratic presidential hopefuls. In addition to Warren and Klobuchar, The Times spoke with Biden, Sanders, billionaire activist Tom Steyer, entrepreneur Andrew Yang, former South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg, former Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick and New Jersey senator Cory Booker, who dropped out of the race January 13. The interviews were conducted on the record. In addition to showing video clips of the interviews in the "Weekly" episode, the Times Opinion section also published interview transcripts. NEW YORK, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Ascorbic Acid Market 2020-2024 The analyst the ascorbic acid market, and it is poised to grow by USD 2.09 bn during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of 3%% during the forecast period. Our reports on the ascorbic acid market provide a holistic analysis, market size and forecast, trends, growth drivers, and challenges, as well as vendor analysis covering around 25 vendors. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05840305/?utm_source=PRN The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current global market scenario, latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment. reference among the millennial population is anticipated to boost the growth of the ascorbic acid market as well. Market Segmentation This ascorbic acid market is segmented as below: Distribution Channel Online Offline Geographic segmentation APAC Europe North America South America EMEA Key Trends for ascorbic acid market growth This study identifies preference among the millennial population as the prime reasons driving the ascorbic acid market growth during the next few years. Prominent vendors in ascorbic acid market We provide a detailed analysis of around 25 vendors operating in the ascorbic acid market, including some of the vendors such as LUXOTTICA GROUP, Safilo Group, Essilor, LVMH, and MAUI JIM. The study was conducted using an objective combination of primary and secondary information including inputs from key participants in the industry. The report contains a comprehensive market and vendor landscape in addition to an analysis of the key vendors. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05840305/?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 Getting a few members of the Senate to agree to hold an actual trial is simply a discussion about respect for our Constitution. The challenge is combating the corruption of the Senate leadership. Ms. Collinss comments about the audacious behavior of Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) were tepid at best. And now her reaction to the new information from Lev Parnas the Jan. 16 front-page article Impeachment case heads to Senate quoted her as saying, Doesnt that suggest that the House did an incomplete job, then? is truly astounding. She is too soft, too uncommitted, too willing to shift the blame. And she is too beholden to Mr. McConnells campaign funds. Low Expectations for Central Banks Meetings this Week. All Eyes of BoE Next Week There are six central bank meetings scheduled for this week but none are expected to bring much action. The bank of England meeting next week is the one to watch and the markets are already pricing in a 70% chance of a rate cut. However, with plenty data out this week, the probabilities could shift again and help lift GBP. The start of the new week has plenty market movement despite being light on data releases and with US markets closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Global stocks are sliding slightly, with gold moving in the opposite direction with a 0.2% gain. Currencies seem to be continuing on from last weeks strong dollar theme with GBPUSD making a notable 0.3% drop. But the big mover of the day comes from oil, which gapped higher on Sunday open and gained nearly 3% before reversing all the way back again to currently sit around last weeks closing price. Unusually, this volatility was not sparked by Iran or the US but by separate incidents in Libya and Iraq that will both hinder supply. Heres Danske Bank with a round-up, In Libya, the ongoing civil war led to ports and pipelines being blocked and forced the national oil company to declare 'force', which is set to take some 400,000 barrels per day off the market. In Iraq, the repercussions from the recent Iran-US confrontation remain pertinent, but over the weekend worker discontent led to the closure of one of Iraq's large oilfields, Al Ahdab, while another, Badra, was at risk of closure. Both issues are likely to be resolved fairly quickly which is why the early gains faded so fast. Oil prices still look to be in a steep decline following the blow off rally on US-Iran tensions which sucked in weak longs and is now forcing them to cover at large losses. Where the decline will stop is anyones guess but the major support from 2019 is way down at $50 in WTI and this is still 13% lower from current price. Pound Sterling Catalysts With little market moving news due out on Monday and with last weeks trade deal putting some sort of resolution to the main market driver of recent years, there could be a lull as the market searches for the next catalyst. This week will see a flurry of central bank activity but unless something surprising happens they are unlikely to cause much price movement. In Asia, Bank Indonesia, Bank Negara Malaysia and the Bank of Japan will all hold meetings but none are expected to change policy. The Bank of Canada, Norges Bank and the European Central Bank also meet and are all widely expected to stay unchanged. The meeting to watch and the one with the most potential for activity is the Bank of England rate decision meeting due to be held next week. Markets have already been reacting to expectations for a rate cut and this can be seen in the way GBP has fallen in recent weeks. A cut is already 70% priced in, but with some more data still to be released this week, has the market been too hasty? ING point out that the risks are skewed to the upside, Both November UK labour data (Tuesday) and January PMIs (Friday) will be closely watched this week after a stream of disappointing UK data last week. A downside surprise or data which shows no improvement would likely cement the market expectations of a Bank of England rate cut this month. However, the market is already pencilling in a January rate cut with a 70% probability. This suggests that negative GBP reaction following potentially softer UK data may be limited. If anything, the risks are skewed to more pronounced GBP upside (than downside) this week should we see a rebound in PMIs - which would reverse the imminent monetary policy easing expectations. GBP is weaker on Monday and EUR/GBP is 0.22% higher, but this could change quickly on Tuesday as employment data is due for release. Update: WHYY will move primetime programming scheduled to air between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. to Y2 on Tuesday and Wednesday due to Senate coverage, a network spokesperson said. After more than 13,000 interviews and 40 years on the air at WHYY, Fresh Air host Terry Gross is among the most recognizable figures in American radio. But back in 1973, she was a soon-to-be-fired English teacher at a public school in Buffalo, N.Y. I was literally fired in six weeks, Gross says in an forthcoming appearance on PBSs Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. For not being able to keep control of the class, or even keep them in the class. Gross recounts her experience as part of an episode set to air Tuesday at 8 p.m. on PBS. The show, which details its guests histories, is in the midst of its sixth season. Gross episode will also feature segments with comedian Marc Maron (who interviewed Gross back in 2015), and actor Jeff Goldblum. The Fresh Air host has previously discussed her firing from Genesee Humboldt Junior High. In a profile from the State University of New York at Buffalo, from which Gross graduated in 1972 with a bachelors degree in English (and later a Master of Education in communications), she said she was astonished by how swiftly I had failed at my profession. By 1975, however, Gross had began her career at WHYY in Philly as host of Fresh Air. The program went national about a decade later, and now reaches about 6 million listeners weekly via 650 NPR stations. I like being in situations where people want to be there, and Im not very good at telling people, you know, sit down, or get in there, Gross says on Finding Your Roots. Im not that person, and when I was 21, I was super not that person. kali9/iStock(SAN ANTONIO, Texas) -- Two people are dead and five injured after a person opened fire "indiscriminately" at a San Antonio bar Sunday night. The San Antonio Police Department responded to a shooting at a bar called Ventura, steps from the San Antonio River, at 8 p.m. local time. An altercation appears to have broken out between customers when one person pulled out a gun and began shooting, Police Chief William McManus said at a press conference Sunday night. In total, seven people were shot. A 21-year-old man died inside the club, while a second person in critical condition was later pronounced dead. Five people are currently being treated at area hospitals. Their conditions are unclear at this moment, police said. All of the victims appear to be patrons, McManus said. No employees of the bar were shot. No one is in custody, he said. "We're working on that. I'm confident that we will identify the individual and have that person in custody sooner than later," McManus said. Copyright 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. Head of Moroccan Government Saad Eddine El Othmani said Monday in London that Morocco will work to strengthen ties between Africa and the United Kingdom after Brexit. El Otmani made the remarks after a meeting with UK peer Boris Johnson on the sidelines of UK-Africa Investment Summit 2020 organized by the British government to foster partnerships with African countries as UK is leaving the EU on Jan.31. In a statement to reporters, El Othmani said that thanks to its privileged relations with various African countries, geostrategic position, its cultural ties and socio-economic presence in Africa, Morocco has adopted a clear and long-term vision for the continent, insisting that the future of Africa should be in the hands of Africans. He also stressed the importance of the UK-Africa Investment Summit 2020, as a venue enabling the African continent to have more visibility on its ties with the UK after breaking away from the European bloc. Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita who is also taking part in the Summit said after talks with his British peer Dominic Raab that Morocco has become a key player in promoting investments in Africa thanks to the royal policy carried out in the continent over the past fifteen years. Morocco is today an active player in the conception and implementation of African emergence and has a natural calling to play a role of a link between African countries and Europe, banking on its history, geographical position and knowledge of European and African partners, he noted. UK- Africa investment summit 2020, attended by 16 African leaders, as well as investors and businessmen, laid the foundations for new partnerships between the UK and African nations based on trade, investment, shared values and mutual interest. During the event, the UK announced new initiatives and funding which will strengthen the joint trading relationship, support African countries in their ambition to transform their economies, launch a major new partnership with the city of London, turbo-charge infrastructure financing, and enable Africas clean energy potential. Gardai have charged one of two men arrested in relation to eight burglaries at businesses in Limerick and Tipperary last week. He is due to appear before Limerick District Court this morning at 10.30am. The second man was released without charge last night and a file will be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions. Gardai investigating the burglaries also seized two vehicles. All of the burglaries occurred in Limerick and Tipperary during the early hours of Wednesday morning. As part of these investigations, an operation was put in place by detective gardai from Henry Street garda station with the assistance of the Armed Support Unit in the Western region and gardai from Tipperary, Limerick and Galway, said a garda spokesperson. As part of the operation, three houses were searched this Saturday morning in County. Galway. During the operation, two men, aged in their 20s, were arrested. They were brought to Henry Street and Roxboro Road garda stations in Limerick where they are currently detained under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act, 2007. Some of Colorado Springs' darkest secrets are being aired across the world. TV show "Homicide Hunter: Joe Kenda" takes viewers inside the city's most shocking and brutal homicides during the '70s, '80s and '90s to uncover the killers. Kenda narrates the investigations, drawing on his 20-year career with the Colorado Springs Police Department. As a lieutenant, Kenda's specialty was catching killers. Over his career, he solved 356 of 387 murders, boasting a 92 percent solve rate. His unscripted narration tells viewers how. "Reality is actually more interesting than fiction, and it's often more bizarre," Kenda said. Get this newsletter in your inbox Monday-Friday by signing up at subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters. Top stories for Monday, Jan. 20 MAX TRAIN STABBING: Oregons busiest courthouse is gearing up for arguably its most-watched case in modern history: the trial of Jeremy Christian, accused of murder for stabbing two strangers on a packed MAX train. Weve launched a Jeremy Christian trial newsletter that will track key events and takeaways in the trial of the man accused in the 2017 MAX stabbings. Sign up for free to get it in your inbox. Hear courts reporter Aimee Green explain what to expect in the trial on this weeks episode of the Beat Check with The Oregonian podcast. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY: Today the nation commemorates slain civil rights leader the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Heres your guide to where to celebrate, whats open and whats closed. FLEEING JUSTICE: The FBI believes Saudi government almost certainly helps its citizens escape prosecution in US for serious crimes, according to a newly declassified document. HOSPITAL IN CRISIS: Portlands psychiatric ER claims its hemorrhaging money and is seeking more financial support as mentally ill patients wait days for rooms to open up. CLIMATE SUIT: A federal appeals court dismissed a climate change lawsuit brought by 21 youths against the government. LANDMARK LOST: Shirleys Tippy Canoe, a famous Troutdale restaurant, burned to the ground early Friday. WORKED HER WAY UP: Terica Buckner started working at a venerable Southeast Portland auto shop in high school. Now she owns it. OLD SCHOOLS: Portland Public Schools is preparing to pitch a $1.4 billion construction bond to voters that, among other things, would remake three of the citys high schools. Heres what that might look like. TRANSPORTATION PACKAGE: Metros $7 billion transportation package is taking shape. Heres what you need to know about the proposal expected to be sent to voters in November. Snap of the day Mark Graves/Staff WHOS A GOOD DOG: The Rose City Classic Dog Show, one of the biggest and longest-running dog shows in the Pacific Northwest, was held this weekend at the Portland Expo Center. This pup fetched an award. (Mark Graves/Staff) More news Oregon marijuana sales 420% stronger along Idaho border Kate Brown names judge to Oregon Court of Appeals seat she previously awarded her own lawyer without any competition Portland police trained officers to use knives as deadly weapons until DOJ, city consultant balked Rose Quarter freeway decision should wait until March, transportation commission chair says Intel plans layoffs in data center group New date set for Portland Commissioner Nick Fish public memorial Vacation getaways: 10 glamorous historic mansions and homes for rent Find more at oregonlive.com Weather and traffic Mostly cloudy. High 51, low 43. Get the latest forecast at oregonlive.com/weather Stay up to date on traffic conditions at oregonlive.com/commuting Advice Ask Amy: Old found love letters could end up being a new family treasure Dear Abby: Couples move to warmer state has adult kids asking when you coming home? Dear Annie: To replace our family dog, should I adopt or shop? 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 1649: King Charles I of England went on trial, accused of high treason (he was found guilty and executed by months end).In 1939: Friends of Chamber Music, the oldest continuously operating chamber music series in Oregon, has its first concert on January 20, featuring the Curtis String Quartet of Philadelphia.In 2001: George Walker Bush became Americas 43rd president after one of the most turbulent elections in U.S. history. Best friends who quit their corporate jobs and sold their homes to finance a new business making and selling organic lubricants have told how their pioneering products have 'reinvented' the sex industry. As former management consultants in the pharmaceutical sector, Susi Lennox, 74, and Sarah Brooks, 59, both of Petersfield, Hampshire, were 'acutely aware' of the mounting pressure on women 'in the bedroom' after Viagra became available to treat erectile dysfunction in the late 1990s. So, in 2003 the businesswomen quit their high-flying jobs to concoct a 'strictly organic' lubricant that would improve 'sexual intimacy' for women - spending three years experimenting with ingredients before finally launching The YES range of products in 2006. Fast-forward 13 years and the products have proved so successful that they are now on sale in 96 countries across the world, including Taiwan, Japan and Australia, and are stocked in high-street heavyweights, including Sainsburys, Superdrug, and Holland & Barrett, as well as being available on request in all pharmacies. Sarah Brooks, 59, and Susi Lennox, 74, both of Petersfield, Hampshire, quit their jobs and sold their homes to create an organic lubricant loved by women all around the world. Pictured: Sarah, left and Susi, right, with their products Susi, who is a widow with three daughters, said: 'We wanted to create an organic lube that was naturally made and was respectful to women and the planet. 'And we wanted to make sure it was better for women in all stages - before, during and after sex. 'Better before because the packaging wasn't salacious, and women wouldn't feel embarrassed to pop it into their shopping trolleys or leave it on their bedside cabinets. 'Better during because it was high-performing, long lasting, felt very natural and had no side effects. 'And better afterwards because the natural ingredients meant it was safe to leave on after. 'All silicone oil-based lubricants stick to the body like cling film and we wanted to make a product that could be left on while lovers just rolled over and went to sleep. The two best-friends wanted to improve women's sex lives around the world, and their organic option was so pure, it struck a chord with women who've had gone, or were going through cancer treatments 'We spent three years developing the product, then launched with a water-based and oil-based organic lubricant in 2006.' Sarah, a divorcee, believes one of the key reasons for their success was making a 'U-turn' shortly after launching. 'After we launched, we started receiving product feedback,' Sarah explained. 'We got amazing feedback like, "You've saved my marriage," and, "You've turned the clock back on my sex life." 'But medical professionals started getting in touch, too. One said, "Do you know what you've created? I don't think you realise". 'Our ingredients were so pure, they were safe for women having cancer treatment to use. 'Cancer treatment can repress oestrogen levels in women, and one of the lesser- publicised side effects is that women can lose moisture in their vagina. Susi and Sarah (pictured) proud themselves on the product, which is now sold in 96 countries around the globe 'Lots of products can be unsuitable to use when a woman is experiencing these symptoms but ours was fine.' Sarah, who has a chemistry degree, also discovered their lubricant was a hit with women during the menopause. She continued: 'When women go through the menopause, they can experience vaginal dryness. In some cases, it can be painful to even sit down, and you can feel as though you're being ripped apart. 'After using our products, some customers messaged saying, "Thank you, I can finally sit down in comfort again." 'We soon realised that we'd actually created something with noticeable health benefits, so we swivelled from concentrating on pleasure products to sexual wellness products instead.' Their success in this area meant that in 2014 their YES water-based lubricant was added to the NHS drug tariff, meaning GPs and healthcare workers could prescribe it to patients. After meeting in 1987, the friends decided to embark on their adventure in 2003, with the product hitting the shelves in 2006 Now feeling fully justified in claiming they have "transformed" the industry with their innovative products, the duo believe it was their experience working in the pharmaceutical field that sparked their ground-breaking business idea. 'We both worked in the pharmaceutical industry before this, and I actually consulted to Pfizer, the company that created Viagra,' said Sarah. 'Viagra sparked a sexual revolution but, while many men celebrated the joy of a renewed sex drive, I understand some ended up leaving their wives for younger women. 'Men could do things they hadn't been able to do in years and older women physically couldn't keep up. 'We both witnessed this happening, so we wanted to create a product that helped with sexual intimacy for women, too.' The best-friends (pictured) knew their bond was strong enough to make the business work and went all in, scooting off to Bali for a six-week trip were they cane up with the 'essence' of their business Sarah also says their friendship has helped them to find success. 'I met Susi in 1987 when she interviewed me for a diversity study,' she said. 'I was really sad when the interview came to an end, because wed really hit it off and built such a good rapport. 'From there we became firm friends. We worked together and partied together. 'We had a similar sense of humour and outlook on the world and we just got on really well.' And when they both quit their corporate jobs in 2003, they decided to embark on a business venture together. Susi said: 'We were both vary aware of the constraints that come with working in a large corporate environment and wanted to work for ourselves. 'And we wanted to create a business where our values could flourish.' Both single at the time, they took a six-week trip to the north coast of Bali, in Indonesia, to cultivate their business idea. Susi and Sarah believed in their lubricant so much, they sold their homes after producing the prototype 'Sarah had been to Bali many times before. I'd never been, but it didn't take much convincing for me to go,' Susi said. 'Bali is like a little piece of paradise its beautiful and a safe place to go to think outside the box. 'It was the perfect place to really reflect on what business we wanted to create.' As well as 'drinking Bali dry of gin,' they made some important business decisions on the trip. 'We had such a fun time, wed do yoga most mornings, swim a lot and then dance in the evenings,' Susi recalled. 'But by the end of the trip wed worked out what we wanted the business spirit to be and that our mission was to change the world from the inside. 'We'd also worked out that our relationship was robust enough and our values similar enough to make the venture a success. The dynamic duo could not believe how popular their product grew, and hope the health-conscious push will see their business thriving for even longer 'The business plan and numbers were worked out when we were back in the UK, but in Bali we decided on the essence of the business.' Next came choosing a brand name. 'We wanted a powerful name,' Susi said. 'We decided on the name "Yes", but someone had already nabbed the URL and the same for the company name. 'So our brand is "Yes," but our company is called "The Yes Yes company" and our website is "Yes, Yes, Yes".' After developing a prototype, Susi and Sarah were so convinced their idea would be a hit that they decided to sell their homes, so they could fund the venture. 'Wed tested our prototype against other products already on the market and we knew it was so much better,' Sarah said. 'Its expensive to launch a completely new product without any funding, and because neither of us had any track-record of being an entrepreneur we weren't going to attract any investment. 'Still, we were so confident our product would work, that when we decided to sell our homes to get some cash to back the business it didn't really feel like a risk. 'Instead of being homeowners we became tenants and it was a great experience. 'You dont realise the joys of not having to mow the lawn or worry about the roof falling off until you dont have to anymore - it's a lot less hassle to rent.' Despite already investing a lot of time and money in developing their business strategy, the friends did not launch officially until 2006, as they wanted to ensure their product was perfect. 'It took us around three and a half years to launch because what we were doing was completely new and pioneering,' Sarah said. 'We had to make sure it worked and was completely organic, and because wed used a new chemistry to create it, we had to get a patent. 'When we finally launched, I think we were both filled with relief and excitement.' Now, 13 years on, the dynamic duo are still in awe of how successful their business has become. 'If youd told me ten years ago, wed be where we are today, Id have said, "Ha, ha, dont be silly, well never get that big." But we have,' Susi said. Cancer treatments and vaginal dryness Vaginal dryness and irritation is one of a range of unwanted side effects of cancer treatment. It is experienced by many women and can make day-to-day life uncomfortable. Vaginal dryness and discomfort is a menopausal sympton. It can particularly affect your sexual feelings and desire and make sexual interactions painful. Many of the treatments for vaginal dryness can be prescribed by a doctor, bought in a chemist or ordered online, and it is good to consult with a GP, as all bodies are different. Lubricants help prevent friction and pain during sex and intimacy and can also be used at other times to relieve dryness and discomfort. Source: Breastcancernow.org Advertisement 'In the last 18 months sexual wellness has become much more of a thing. 'People are much more concerned about what ingredients are in the products theyre using, so our business will hopefully just keep growing.' Meanwhile, Susi and Sarah still have a special place in their hearts for the paradise island of Bali. 'I think the magic of Bali is still very much in the business, as we still hold the same vision, we created all those years ago,' Sarah said. 'Weve never fallen out and weve managed to weather the storms together. I'm sure it's because we took those six weeks out to make sure we could work in solidarity with each other. 'We decided in Bali our mission was to, "Change the world from the inside," and judging by the feedback we get weve done just that.' Susi feels their high standards have also helped propel them to success. She said: 'In a way, weve reinvented the category, because we didnt compromise on the product. It looks and feels elegant and it works phenomenally well we raised the bar. 'Other businesses have tried and failed to launch similar things, but they've not worked simply because they don't care about the product. 'You need to be truly invested in a product to make it a success.' To find out more visit www.yesyesyes.org. A high school student found a distant exoplanet that orbits two stars on the 3rd day of his internship at NASA. Wolf Cukier made his discovery last summer at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland during his first assignment. Cukier was using NASA's alien-hunting space telescope TESS when he noticed the planet orbiting a pair of stars more than 1,300 light-years from Earth, which had been named TOI 1338b. TOI 1338b is NASA's first binary planet discovery. It is almost seven times larger than the Earth - somewhere between the size of Saturn and Neptune. The goal of TESS is to hunt for planets outside of the Earth's solar system. Cukier was checking out information for whatever the volunteers had flagged as an overshadowing binary. He first thought it was a stellar eclipse, but it turned out to be a planet. TOI 1338 is a gas planet that orbits 2 celebrities that have to do with 1,300 light-years far from our sunlight in the constellation Pictor. The exoplanet is TESS's first world that orbits two stars. According to NASA, circumbinary planets such as the one Cukier found are not new, but they are rare. The discovered planet lies in the Pictor constellation and the lone planet orbits the pair of stars every 93 to 95 days. Being a die-hard Star Wars fan, Cukier said that the planet is somewhat like one from the fictional sci-fi series. He said he discovered a planet with two stars which it orbits around, much like Luke's homeworld, Tatooine, from Star Wars. The planet is the only planet in the TOI 1338 system and is unlikely to be livable. One star is about 10 percent bigger than our Sun, while the other star is cooler, dimmer and only one-third the Sun's mass. TESS seeks for dips in the brightness of stars. A star growing dim could result from an exoplanet passing between the star and the instrument. It takes a photograph of a single patch of sky every 30 minutes over 27 days. Then these are queued to the TESS citizen science website where people can flag possible planet candidates. However, information from Cukier's system doesn't show periodic patterns, making it more complicated for TESS algorithms to understand. The two stars do not have similar sizes - the larger one is 10% bigger than our sun while the other is a dimmer red dwarf. Thus, blips in the sun-size star's brightness could have been caused by the dwarf star passing in front of it. Cukier was tasked with aesthetically analyzing prospective transportations in the TESS information, as well as understood that when it involved TOI 1338 b's excellent moms and dads, the timing was incorrect for the illumination dips to be triggered by the smaller-sized celebrity coming on front of the larger celebrity. TESS will study TOI 1338 b just up until November 2023, when the tilt of its orbit around the celebrities stops it from obstructing their light. RELATED ARTICLE: New Planet and Planet Formation: Young Gassy Giant Has Methane and Water Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 20) A Transportation department group studying the viability of motorcycle taxis admitted that the decision to cut the pilot run short was influenced by a stay order on restrictions during the test period. Speaking to CNN Philippines' Busina Balita Monday, Robert Suansing, member of the technical working group, said, "Yung pagpapatigil, yung pagteterminate ng pilot run ay bunsod na rin ng aksyon na ginawa ng Angkas na idenimanda kami. So what is there to move, ano, kung ganyan din lang, 'di iterminate na natin yung pilot program." [Translation: The stoppage, the termination of the pilot run was brought about the Ankas filing a suit against us. So what is there to move, if they want to do that, then let's just terminate the program.] The restrictions include limiting the number of units per participant in the test run, namely Angkas, Joy Ride and Move It, covering Metro Manila and Cebu. Suansing said the termination of the pilot run stays for now. "At this point, the technical working group is saying that, as per sinabi ng aming chairman, terminated na yung program... Kaninang umaga during the press conference na nangyari doon sa Senado, sinabi ni Chairman (Antonio) Guardiola na terminated na yung pilot program and giving notice, seven days, na...sa lahat na terminated na 'yan...at mag-umpisa na ulit manghuli ang mga kinauukulan dahil nga illegal 'yan," said Suansing [Translation: "At this point, the technical working group is saying that, as per our chairman, the program is terminated... At this morning's press conference in the Senate, Chairman Guardiola said the pilot program was terminated and we're giving seven days notice... apprehensions will begin because that is illegal.] Meanwhile, Senator Bong Go said the move ending the pilot run of motorcycle taxi operations has been shelved. In a chance interview with reporters on Monday, Go said there will be no apprehension pending a report from the technical working group. Go said Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade and Land Transportation and Franchising Board Chairman Martin Delgra have agreed to his appeal. He added that he will also forward the recommendation to President Rodrigo Duterte. Gardiola, chairman of the technocal workiing group, earlier told the media that they will have to terminate the test run and declare ride-hailing firms Angkas, JoyRide and Move It as "illegal," as they have not gathered sufficient data on their safety despite the three-month extension given to conduct the study. He told the Senate public services committee that despite the recommendation report that they sent to the Senate, they have not reached any conclusion to their working data. A similar version of the report was supposed to be sent to the House transportation committee a week from now. "Tinitigil po namin yung programa kasi hindi po kami makagalaw. Marami pong legal impediments along the way. Yung pagrerequire po namin ng guidelines, hindi po sinusunod ng Angkas," Gardiola told Senator Grace Poe, who chairs the hearing. [Translation: We are stopping the program because we cannot move. There are so many legal impediments along the way. Angkas alone does not follow the guidelines that we have been requiring.] The "impediments" cited in the report include numerous social media statements supposedly "disparaging" the TWG, and the staging of rally and petitions of Angkas against the decision of the TWG to impose a cap on their ridership. It also previously appealed for JoyRide and Move It to be excluded from the pilot run. Inability to get data not a reason to stop test-run The Senate panel, however, was not convinced by Gardiola's claims. For one, Poe noted that the Congress cannot be pressured into passing a measure just because of the technical working group's "inability to get data." "So, ikakansela niyo dahil ayaw niyong gawin ang trabaho ninyo, ganoon ba 'yon? Papaano ngayon niyan iligal silang lahat? Anong klaseng batas ang gagawin namin kung di susuportahan ng tamang pag-aaral?" Poe said. [Translation: So, you want to cancel the study because you do not want to do your job, is that it? How will that be if all of them are illegal now? What kind of measure will we make if you cannot support the conduct of a thorough study?] Even Civil Service Commission Aileen Lizada, former LTFRB member, noted that there is no reason for the TWG to stop their study, citing the struggles of the agency, when it imposed orders and penalties on ride-hailing firms Grab and Uber in the past. "With Grab and Uber we had a lot of birthing pains. We had a lot of difficulty getting data from Grab and Uber but we did not give up because we thought of the riding public and I would like to encourage the technical working group to proceed," Lizada said. The Inter-agency TWG first conducted its study from June to December 2019. This was extended to three more months until March this year. Poe also came to the defense of motorcycle-taxis, saying that their operations should continue amid the continuing malfunctions of the metropolitan's public trains. "It's not necessarily the safest, but it's something that we need at this time because we need alternative modes [of transportation] when even our MRTs (Metro Railway Transit) are not fully operational at a hundred percent," Poe said. She even urged the private sector to file cases against the termination of the study. In a statement later in the afternoon, the TWG said that they are considering all sentiments raised in the Senate. It said that it will further discuss the matter and a report will then be submitted to Tugade for further developments. Citing Tugade, DOTr Director for Communications Goddess Libiran said that the extension must take place in an atmosphere that is "not filled with cases" and disagreements with the firms. "Another meeting shall likewise be conducted on Friday with stakeholders, resource persons, and the three motorcycle providers participating in the study, to iron out the specifics," the statement read. In Suansing's interview with Busina Balita, he admitted there was data available. Congress has yet to amend Republic Act 4136, or the Land Transportation and Traffic Code, which bars two-wheeled vehicles from being used as public transportation. Over 39,000 riders in Metro Manila and Cebu will lose their jobs should the ban take effect. Angkas bikers earlier filed a petition against the new LTFRB guidelines on the motorcycle pilot run, which the company said will leave 17,000 of its 27,000 bikers unemployed. The (TWG) said it imposed the cap since two new apps JoyRide and Move It also sought to provide motorcycle ride-hailing services. An order from the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 223 dated January 9, granted the petition of DBDOYC Inc. the company behind motorcycle ride-hailing app Angkas for a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the decision of transport officials to limit the number of motorcycle taxi riders to 30,000 in Metro Manila and 9,000 in Cebu. CNN Philippines' Joyce Ilas, Glee Jalea, Melissa Luz Lopez, and Pia Garcia contributed to this report. Expo Centre Sharjah recently participated in the Matka Nordic Travel Fair 2020 held from January 15 to 19 in Helsinki, Finland. A high-level delegation led by Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) took part in the event, during which it signed a cooperation agreement with Messukeskus Helsinki, Expo and Convention Centre. The agreement aims to exchange expertise and knowledge and share best practices applied by both sides in the field of exhibition and conference industry. Saif Mohammed Al Midfa, CEO of Expo Centre Sharjah, headed the centres delegation to the biggest tourism event in Northern Europe. Expo Centre affirmed that its participation in the fair is meant to promote Sharjahs business tourism and introduce some of the top economic, cultural and tourism events organised in the emirate throughout the year. Several meetings have been held between Expo Centre Sharjah and other participating international bodies on the side-lines of the fair, where they discussed the possibility of hosting and organising events in Sharjah, which has become a global destination for major conferences. Expo Centre Sharjah has been very keen to introduce Matka Nordic Travel Fair exhibitors to key conferences, exhibitions and other events to be hosted in 2020, including the 16th International Education Show that will kick off on January 22 and attract more than 120 academic institutions from around the world, said Al Midfa. He stressed that the centres participation comes in line with its strategic plan 2018-2022, which aims to draw further events to Sharjah, thanks to being a leading global hub for significant conferences and fairs. Our participation in the fair was very successful and fruitful. We have held several expanded meetings with prestigious international bodies and institutions, during which we discussed ways to deepen our cooperation and coordination and the possibility of striking new strategic partnership. We briefed them on the latest developments, facilities and diverse services offered by the centre Al Midfa underlined. On the fruits of the meetings, Al Midfa said: We have signed a cooperation agreement with one of the largest exhibition centres in Helsinki. Under this deal, we will boost our cooperation to serve our common strategic goals. We will launch innovative bilateral projects and initiatives that would further develop the exhibition industry. We will also exchange research, studies and data carried out by each party. We will also discuss the possibility of organising, marketing and promoting joint events." Speaking on the partnerships with government bodies, Al Midfa added: Our strategic partnership with SCTDA and other government entities is intended to further support the emirates development goals, enhance its global presence and promote its tourism and cultural sector worldwide." The biggest tourism event in Northern Europe presents a vivid paradise of travel options to the general public. It is a perfect platform to meet with experts working in travel and tourism fields. Every year, it brings together representatives of international airports and tourism companies, being an opportunity to exchange expertise and learn about the best practices on the latest trends and developments in the travel and tourism sector worldwide. - TradeArabia News Service LOS ANGELES, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Alcohol Justice is reporting that hundreds of L.A. residents attended a Los Angeles Drug and Alcohol Policy Alliance (L.A.DAPA) press conference Friday, January 17, 2020 at Los Angeles City Hall to express their disappointment that Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee Chair Marqueece Harris-Dawson will not take action that would protect communities from alcohol-related harms. The community is demanding the Alcohol Restricted Use Subdistrict (ARUS) Motion be placed on the agenda at the PLUM Committee. ARUS would allow residents to decide whether more alcohol-related businesses (bars, nightclubs, liquor stores) should open up in high crime areas, near neighborhoods already oversaturated with bars and/or liquor stores, or near churches, parks or schools. Chair Member Marqueece Harris-Dawson abruptly shut down any further movement on ARUS, which had been languishing in his committee since 2017. Public health advocates expected that a feasibility study would be the next action. Since ARUS was introduced nearly three years ago, activists and advocates rallied, protested and testified to emphasize how ARUS would benefit areas oversaturated with alcohol businesses. Health and safety advocates held meetings with individual Council Members and none of them expressed any reservations about agreeing to a feasibility study. The council file on ARUS (17-0117) contains more than 300 letters and petitions from Neighborhood Councils, non-profits and community organizations pleading with Council to take action on ARUS. The latest letter of support was filed just two months ago (11/11/19). But Harris-Dawson said no further actions would be allowed on this issue, which means the motion expires on January 31. This decision is disappointing and shocking, in light of new data from the National Institutes of Health showing that nearly 1 million people in the U.S. died of alcohol related causes in the last 20 years due to increased alcohol consumption. Alcohol problems also affect entire communities, as described in new Alcohol Outlet Factsheets developed by independent research firm Harder and Company. The Factsheets, released last October, reveal that all 15 City Council Districts have areas where alcohol density exceeds California Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) guidelines by 300 percent or more. Additionally, the Alcohol Outlet Factsheets show correlations between alcohol density and crime. Council District 4 had the biggest alcohol density, with a whopping 70% of census tracts that exceed ABC guidelines. Of that 70%, 46% have above average crime rates. Conversely, 87% of census tracts in CD4 that met ABC guidelines have at or below average crime rates. Loren Bustillo is a resident of Koreatown, which is part of District 4. "I see the damage that alcohol has caused in my community, since I have seen people intoxicated in public areas around liquor stores," stated Loren Bustillo, resident of Koreatown (Council District 4). "The behavior of these people increases crime, violence and theft, causing more damage to families. Alcohol makes the community feel insecure." Miriam Castro lives in Council District 1 (Pico-Union/Westlake) where 42% of the area exceeds ABC guidelines. "On many occasions when I walk to buy necessities for my home, I have had to evade intoxicated people in order to avoid being attacked. The same goes for young people leaving schools, and families who walk to their homes. ARUS (17-0117) is important to the communities and me because it protects my neighborhood and community from alcohol-related incidents. It will help us regain control of the well-being and security of our community," Castro added. Even teenagers see the need for action to prevent additional liquor stores in areas where there are already significant numbers of alcohol businesses. "I live next to a liquor store and I see a lot of homeless people around drinking," said 14-year-old Anthony who attends the Variety Boys and Girls Club after school program in Boyle Heights. Anthony and 200 of his peers signed petitions demanding action on ARUS by the City Council. With ARUS still a long way from implementation, public health and safety advocates are only asking for a feasibility study at this point. "Even after numerous news releases, meetings, research presented and substantial community support, no action has been taken," said Brenda Villanueva, Co-Chair of the L.A. Drug and Alcohol Policy Alliance (L.A.DAPA). "We are asking that ARUS be agendized by the PLUM Committee to open up the needed discussion of mitigating alcohol density in the neighborhoods of Los Angeles." Despite the research linking crime to high alcohol density throughout Los Angeles, at least 500 alcohol licenses are currently waiting for approval. According to the California Business Code, alcohol licenses should be limited based on a ratio of population per census tract in order to protect public health and safety. Read More: Links to Alcohol Fact Sheets: https://bit.ly/367bZBK CONTACT: Jorge Castillo 213 840-3336 Michael Scippa 415 548-0492 SOURCE Alcohol Justice Related Links http://www.AlcoholJustice.org LONDON (Reuters) - Meghan Markle's estranged father, Thomas Markle, accused his daughter of "cheapening" the British royal family in part of an interview released a day after Buckingham Palace said Prince Harry and his wife would no longer be working members of the monarchy. The palace announced on Saturday that the couple would no longer use their "Royal Highness" titles and would pay their own way in life. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the whole country wished them "the very best" with the new arrangement. "As I said before ... I was sure that the royal family, which has been around a very long time, will find a way forward," Johnson told Sky News in Germany, where he was attending a summit on Libya. The monarchy was thrown into turmoil earlier this month when Harry and his American former actress wife announced that they wanted to reduce their official duties and spend more time in North America. Saturday's announcement from the palace followed discussions in recent days between Queen Elizabeth, her family and officials over how this would work in practice for Harry, 35, and Meghan, 38. Thomas Markle told Channel 5 news in a documentary that he believed Meghan was tossing away "every girl's dream". "It's disappointing because she actually got every girl's dream. Every young girl wants to become a princess and she got that and now she's tossing that away, for, it looks like she's tossing that away for money," he said. The interview was filmed after the couple's announcement that they would step back as senior members of the royal family. Channel 5 released part of the interview on Sunday and said the full documentary would air "in the coming weeks". 'LOST SOULS' Thomas Markle described the royal family as "one of the greatest long-living institutions ever", saying that when Meghan married Harry in May 2018 they took an obligation "to be part of the royals and to represent the royals". "This is like one of the greatest long-living institutions ever," he said. "They are destroying it, they are cheapening it, they're making it shabby ... They are turning it into a Walmart with a crown of it now. It is something that is ridiculous, they shouldn't be doing this." Story continues Thomas Markle and his daughter have been estranged since her marriage to Harry. Earlier this month, the Mail on Sunday newspaper submitted its defence to court action by Meghan over the publication of a private letter she sent to her father. Thomas Markle said he did not expect Meghan to get in contact. "I can't see her reaching out to me, especially now ... or Harry for that matter, but I think both of them are turning into lost souls at this point," he said. "I don't know what they're looking for. I don't think they know what they are looking for." (Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Frances Kerry) CLEVELAND, Ohio A man was shot to death early Monday in the citys Buckeye-Shaker Square neighborhood, according to Cleveland police and EMS. The shooting happened about 9 a.m. Monday on East 130th Street, north of Buckeye Road. The man was shot in the face, according to police. He was taken to University Hospitals, where he died. Cleveland police blocked East 130th Street outside one of several apartment buildings on the street. Homicide detectives are investigating the case. Police have not released additional information on the shooting, including the mans name or age, or if any arrests have been made. To comment on this story, please visit our crime and courts comments page. Read more from cleveland.com: Three people, including two teens, shot in Clevelands South Collinwood neighborhood, police say Pair indicted in OfferUp robbery plot-turned shooting that killed Egyptian immigrant in Cleveland Man dies from gunshot in the leg in Clevelands Fairfax neighborhood Attempted carjacking in Cleveland started with fender-bender, ended with someone shooting something A British mother convicted of putting her two children at risk of harm after sailing them in a dingy in the Channel has been spared jail. Teacher Lauren Etchells, 34, had fled Canada with her children after going on the run from her ex-partner Tasha Brown. She fled to Europe with her then new partner Marco van der Merwe, who had been a sperm donor for her second child. They reportedly later split up. Etchells was on the run for three years and her travels took her to England, France, the Netherlands, the Middle East and possibly to Spain and Portugal, police said. She was finally caught after washing up in a 13ft-long inflatable dingy in Jersey with her parents after crossing from France in July 2019, despite them trying to deceive immigration staff. In December, Etchells was convicted at Jersey Magistrates' Court of two charges of exposing a child to risk of harm. Her parents, Brian Etchells and Angela Hardy, both 68, were convicted of two charges of aiding and abetting exposing a child to risk of harm. All three had pleaded guilty to making a false representation under immigration law. On Monday, they were each given six-month prison sentences, suspended for 12 months, and fined 500. They must also pay costs of 1,600 between them. Assistant magistrate Peter Harris said: "Together they were using Jersey in an attempt to avoid compliance with a Canadian court order." He acknowledged the efforts made to reduce the risk of harm to the children, and that no harm was actually sustained. But he added: "The waters around Jersey can be very dangerous. Both children were exposed to a risk of harm." Prosecutor Simon Crowder told the court how all three had initially claimed they had come to Jersey from France "with the intention of having lunch". Sarah Dale, defending Lauren Etchells, said: "Miss Etchells believed that she and also her parents had taken all relevant precautions to ensure the safety of the children during the crossing. "Miss Etchells's children are the greatest importance in her life and whatever her motive for making that crossing, she was adamant that she would not do anything at all that she felt put them at risk or endangered them." Lucknow, Jan 20 : The Bahujan Samaj Party is rapidly losing its leaders to its one-time ally, the Samajwadi Party. Former BSP minister Ram Prasad Chaudhary, former MP Arvind Chaudhary, former MLAs Doodh Ram, Rajendra Chaudhary and Nandu Chaudhary were among those who joined the Samajwadi Party on Monday, along with a number of zila panchayat members. Two days ago, senior BSP leader C.L. Verma had joined the SP. "I gave so much time to the BSP and even contested the Lok Sabha polls. But one fine day I was told that I am being ousted from the party without being giving a reason. On the other hand, we think it is the SP that will now protect the interests of Dalits and Backward Castes and that is why people are coming from BSP to join SP," he said. Explaining the shift from BSP to SP, Ram Prasad Chaudhary said, "Mayawati has deviated from the path of Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram. There is no concern left for the poor and the party cadres." Samajwadi Parry president Akhilesh Yadav welcomed the BSP leaders and said that this was an indication of changing weather in politics. "The BJP has betrayed farmers. Uttar Pradesh has become number one in crime and atrocities on women and children have gone up. We gave laptops and BJP has given toilets. The BJP has destroyed the economy with demonetization. They are doing it again with CAA and NRC," he said. Akhilesh said that the joining of so many leaders proved that people are yearning for a change now. Political experts, meanwhile, feel that it is BSP's lack of initiative of issues like Article 370, CAA and NRC that is positioning the SP as the main opposition against the ruling BJP in Uttar Pradesh. "Mayawati has not shown any aggression in taking on the BJP, in fact, she is seen to be soft towards the ruling party. Those who like the BJP are moving from BSP to BJP while others are going to SP," said a senior journalist. The Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party had joined hands on the eve of the Lok Sabha elections last year but Mayawati snapped the alliance after the general elections, alleging the SP did not transfer its votes to BSP. The BSP had won ten seats in the Lok Sabha while SP had to remain content with five seats. Britains Prince Harry has said "there really was no other option" for him and his wife Meghan to step back from being a senior royal even as he expressed "great sadness" for them being stripped of their royal titles. In his first public comments after the royal split, the Duke of Sussex on Sunday said, when he and Meghan were married they were "excited", "hopeful" and "were here to serve", the BBC reported. "For those reasons, it brings me great sadness that it has come to this," Harry said at a fund-raising event here for Sentebale, a charity which he co-founded to help children living with HIV in Africa. "Our hope was to continue serving the Queen, the Commonwealth, and my military associations, but without public funding. Unfortunately, that wasn't possible. I've accepted this, knowing that it doesn't change who I am or how committed I am," he said. He gave an extraordinary speech at Sentebale event, a charity where he started humanitarian work.. Hats off to you, #PrinceHarry pic.twitter.com/ll7uZ35JaI Beng (@benglevy1969) January 20, 2020 Harry, 35, and Meghan, 38, have signed up to a formal exit deal from the royal family, which will see them forsake their His and Her Royal Highness (HRH) titles and will no longer receive UK taxpayers' funding for their duties, the Buckingham Palace said in a statement on Saturday night. The deal, which comes into effect by spring in a few weeks' time, means the couple will no longer be representing the Queen in an official capacity. Harry said "there really was no other option" for him and Meghan to step back from being a senior royal and they have taken "a leap of faith" in doing so. "We are taking a leap of faith...thank you for giving me the courage to take this next step," he said. However, the prince said he wanted to make it clear that he and Meghan were "not walking away", the CNN reported. Prince Harry arrives at UK-Africa Investment Summit in London today. He has several bilateral meetings today. #SussexRoyal pic.twitter.com/LZuNhvEr1l Sussex Nation (@SussexNation) January 20, 2020 "I was born into this life and it is a great honour to serve my country and the Queen," he said. "The UK is my home and a place that I love, that will never change," Harry added. The UK royal crisis began on January 8 when Harry and Meghan's announced quitting their front-line roles to focus on the "next chapter", stunning the monarchy and drawing sharp criticism from the British media which has been reporting of a widening rift within the Royal family. In an extraordinary statement released on the night of January 8, the couple announced plans to step back from their current roles and split their time between the UK and North America with their son Archie. On January 13, after face-to-face talks with her grandson and senior members of the royal family, Queen Elizabeth II agreed to offer Harry and Meghan a "period of transition" during which the couple can divide their time between the UK and Canada. Three things about this powerful statement by Prince Harry. He really hates the media. He talks about his decision not our decision. And he says that he wanted more than anything to stop taking public money, and that forced him to give up royal duties, because for some... pic.twitter.com/HI2dYQQ9rS Robert Peston (@Peston) January 19, 2020 On Saturday last week, the Buckingham Palace in a statement said, "The Sussexes will not use their HRH titles as they are no longer working members of the royal family." The Queen said the agreement was a "constructive and supportive" way forward for her grandson and his family. "Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much-loved members of my family," the 93-year-old monarch's personal statement read. "I recognise the challenges they have experienced as a result of intense scrutiny over the last two years and support their wish for a more independent life," she says, thanking the couple for their work for UK and across the Commonwealth. I also know you have come to know me well enough over all these years to trust that the woman I chose as my wife upholds the same value as I do. And, she does, she is the same woman I fell in love with. -Prince Harry The way this man loves and supports Meghan...A husband. pic.twitter.com/9Ur2iEOj6Z TV Fanatic (@Khaleesi_Hodan) January 19, 2020 In a special message for Meghan, she said: "I am... particularly proud of how Meghan has so quickly become one of the family. It is my whole family's hope that today's agreement allows them to start building a happy and peaceful new life". The palace confirmed that the couple were required to withdraw from royal duties, including official military appointments. The Duchess of Sussex's father, Thomas Markle, has branded Harry and Meghan's decision to split from the royal family 'disappointing' and 'embarrassing', and described their new status as 'like Walmart, with a crown on'https://t.co/Hq4YVCb5KU pic.twitter.com/g9zrzYOFvX ITV News (@itvnews) January 19, 2020 "While they can no longer formally represent the Queen, the Sussexes have made clear that everything they do will continue to uphold the values of Her Majesty," the palace said. It added that the pair would continue to maintain their private patronages and associations. The couple intend to repay 2.4 million pounds of UK taxpayer money for the refurbishment of Frogmore Cottage, which will remain their UK family home as they split their time between Britain and Canada. Prince Harry: The decision I have made for my wife and Ipic.twitter.com/16uIZpuBFi TV Fanatic (@Khaleesi_Hodan) January 19, 2020 The palace has declined to comment on security arrangements and who would foot that bill for the couple in future, an issue that has been at the centre of much of the debate since they announced their decision to step back as senior royals earlier this month. Harry and Meghan have issued their own update on their official Sussex Royal website, which has been updated to remove references to the HRH titles on the opening page. I dont know why everyone keeps saying Meghan Markle is a clout-chasing, gold digger Its not like she was a C-level actress that entrapped a Prince with a kid, split the Royal Family, used Harry to get her a Disney movie role, and made him leave the UK so she can pursue acting Rogan OHandley (@DC_Draino) January 14, 2020 "We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages. "This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity," the statement on their website reads. Here are some options that await Prince Harry and Meghan after royal split https://t.co/iacqgegX1M pic.twitter.com/j6cl39gFwE The Morning Show (@morningshowca) January 19, 2020 Meghan is already in Canada with the couple's eight-month-old son Archie and some reports indicate she may fly back briefly for some pending royal engagements until the new agreement formally kicks in on an unspecified date in spring - which begins towards the end of March in the UK. Why exactly has #MeghanMarkle's company moved it's HQ to Delaware ahead of the #royalsplit in Spring?https://t.co/1gN2At4q84 pic.twitter.com/8vCCH5FrAv Daily Express (@Daily_Express) January 19, 2020 Really!! so Megan has so much power, that she can split a strong family such as the Royals apart..pathetic... pic.twitter.com/Wv2wu5X7no chez (@chezann911) January 18, 2020 Meanwhile, Prince Harry will continue to perform royal duties until that time, which includes at a summit for African leaders in London on Monday. U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow issued the following statement on U.S. Senate passage of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade agreement U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow issued the following statement on U.S. Senate passage of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade agreement: The American travel community is among the industries that praise Senate passage of the USMCA, and the good news it portends for trade agreements with other critical international partners. Travel is the No. 1 U.S. services export and No. 2 export overall, accounting for a $69 billion trade surplus in 2018and Canada and Mexico are by far our two largest travel source markets. Healthy and robust trade relationships enable our industry to keep creating prosperity in every corner of the U.S., and our analysis shows that the USMCA will enable our industry to generate 15,000 new jobs and $1.7 billion in new travel-related spending. We look forward to working with the administration and Congress on other crucial pacts, such as with Japan, the UK, and the EU. Daily News Delivery Join your colleagues and stay up to date on the latest Travel industry news and trends. Subscribe 2022 Travel Industry Wire A final decision on the proposal for allowing malls, multiplexes and shops to remain open round-the-clock in Mumbai will be taken in the cabinet meeting on January 22 after deliberating the pressure it will put on the Mumbai Police, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh has said. Maharashtra Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray had earlier said shops, malls and eateries in non-residential areas of Mumbai will have the option of remaining open 24x7 from January 26 under the nightlife project, although it will not be made compulsory. Aaditya, son of Chief Minister and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, is said to be the prime mover behind this project. However, Deshmukh said the issue will come up for deliberations in the January 22 cabinet meeting. We have to see how much the city police will be burdened if shops, eateries and malls are kept open through the night. After detailed deliberations, a decision will be taken, Deshmukh told reporters. The state Home Minister also tweeted about the move, Aditya Thackreyji's Nightlife proposal could be served better and implemented soon if it is limited to certain places like BKC, Lower Parel, Marine Drive and few other areas. He said the proposal can be implemented soon for the restaurants and other establishments located in malls and on mill lands. Meanwhile, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) responded to demands for allowing nightlife in Pune. The Guardian Minister of Pune district said the state government might explore the possibility of allowing nightlife in Pune only after trying such a proposal in Mumbai. "I have read news reports about (the demand for allowing) nightlife in Pune. The life in Mumbai is different which never sleeps," he told reporters. Stating that people of Pune might be having different views on such a plan, he added that "we have some important works to do than this proposal". (With inputs from PTI) Throughout her life, Baker insisted on the importance of grass-roots leadership. Strong people dont need a strong leader, she declared, warning activists to eschew messiahs and saviors and build local leaders by the thousands. Martin didnt make the movement, she said. Rather, the movement made Martin. She did not mean this to be a disparaging assessment but a hopeful one. The strength and determination of ordinary people and the power of the organizations they build together are the locus of the power that fuels change, power that is bigger than any one individual, no matter how charismatic or committed. And she knew that individuals were vulnerable. Two of her friends, the N.A.A.C.P. organizers Harriette and Harry Moore, were blown up in their home on Christmas Day 1951 by the Ku Klux Klan. And King would later be tragically assassinated. Ella Baker was not interested in elite strategy sessions or flowery oratory. She was about the hard, unglamorous work of building relationships, mobilizing communities, developing campaigns and creating new organizers. She was a mentor to Representative John Lewis of Georgia; Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Ture); Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton of Washington, D.C.; Marian Wright Edelman, the president emeritus of the Childrens Defense Fund; Joyce Ladner, the former president of Howard University; and the social activist Julian Bond. One of her closest political proteges was Bob Moses, the Algebra Project founder and a MacArthur Genius Award recipient. Her legacy runs deep. I hesitate to speculate what activists from earlier eras, like Ella Baker, who died in 1986, might do or say today. Still, I am pretty confident that if she were with us in 2020, Baker would be on the side of the growing racial and social justice movements that are decentralized and engaged in mass direct action tactics: the climate justice movement, the immigration rights and antiwar movements, the Poor Peoples Campaign, and the groups that comprise The Rising Majority coalition; all of them doing work that foregrounds the interests and voices of members of the most long-suffering and marginalized sectors of our society. Ella Baker has many political heirs today, people who carry on in the defiant spirit of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. They are the young people who make up the grass-roots of the Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren presidential campaigns, full of zeal, passion and determination to forge a new kind of national politics; the freshmen congresswomen known as the squad, who are working within the Democratic Party but not on the condition of silence or unprincipled compliance; and the activists in groups like the Working Families Party and the Justice Democrats supporting outsider progressive candidates in local elections from Philadelphia to Chicago. When, in 1964, the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party challenged the Democratic Party leadership to act on the values they professed, the elites in the party turned a deaf ear. The partys base of black working class people and their fellow white and Latino supporters who attended the Atlantic City convention were manipulated, spied upon and lied to in order to undermine their power. Many of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Partys original inside supporters caved under pressure from the top. In July, the Democratic Party will host its 2020 convention in Milwaukee, and Ella Bakers fighting spirit will be very present. Hopefully, this time it will be the forward looking progressives rather than the play it safe centrists who win the day and make Ella Baker proud. Supreme Court judge Justice R F Nariman Monday recused himself from hearing a plea of fugitive businessman against a Karnataka High Court directing him to pay Rs 3,101 crore to a consortium of banks. A bench of Justices Nariman and S Ravindra Bhat observed that Mallya has not deposited a single penny to the banks so far. Justice Nariman however refused to hear the matter and directed that it be listed before another bench of the apex court. Senior advocate S Guru Krishna Kumar, appearing for Mallya, said at the outset that other petitions filed by him were coming up for consideration before another bench. "Let the matter be listed before a Bench of which one of us (Justice RF Nariman) is not a Member," the bench said in its order. Mallya challenged Karnataka High Court orders, of October 5, 2018 and September 13, 2019, before the apex court. The orders had upheld the decision of the Debts Recovery Appellate Tribunal (DRAT), Bangalore to deposit Rs 3,101 crore as a precondition to hearing his appeal against a (DRT) order. The DRT Bangalore had on January 19, 2017 directed Mallya to pay Rs 6,203 crore with interest to a consortium of banks led by State Bank of India, who had lent money for now defunct Mallya challenged the order before the DRAT in 2018, which dismissed the appeal for want of appearance and non-compliance of objections. He again moved DRAT and filed an application seeking restoration of his appeal. The DRAT, on March 28, 2018, directed Mallya to deposit Rs 3,101 crore on or before April 25, 2018 and observed that in case of failure in compliance, the appeal will be liable to be dismissed automatically. Mallya then challenged the March 28, 2018 order before the High Court, which dismissed his appeal on October 5, 2018 and subsequently he knocked the door of apex court. The cattle farmers in Armenias Shirak Province are also dissatisfied with the government's decision on mandatory slaughtering of animals in slaughterhouses. Residents of Bagravan community are currently protesting, and they have blocked the Bagravan-Haykadzor road in protest. Several hundred cattle farmers are now rallying outside the government building in Yerevan to protest the aforesaid decision, and they are demanding that it be reconsidered. Cattle farmers were protesting in front of the government building a few days ago, too, complaining about the conditions proposed by the countrys slaughterhouses. After seven months of street protests against Beijings assault on these liberties, Hong Kong is colour-coded and bitterly divided. The yellow economy refers to the hue of umbrellas once used to defend demonstrators against pepper spray and streams of tear gas. That is in contrast to blue businesses, which support the police. Hong Kong: The tapioca pearls at Fred Lius bubble teahouse are springy and fresh, just like the fish balls at Elaine Laus noodle shop. But that is not the only reason customers flock to these eateries in Hong Kongs bustling Causeway Bay shopping district. Both are members of the so-called yellow economy, shops that openly support the democracy movement remaking Hong Kong as it strives to protect the freedoms differentiating the territory from the rest of China. After seven months of street protests against Beijings assault on these liberties, Hong Kong is colour-coded and bitterly divided. The yellow economy refers to the hue of umbrellas once used to defend demonstrators against pepper spray and streams of tear gas. That is in contrast to blue businesses, which support the police. Families and businesses have cleaved, sometimes forcefully, between those who believe Beijing must be compelled to carry out promised reforms and those who worry that the democracy crusade is destroying Hong Kongs reputation as a stable financial capital. A middle ground between the blue and yellow factions barely exists. Im yellow, but my parents are blue, said Lau, the fish ball noodle seller. A lot of families are like that. Luckily, I control 90 percent of the restaurant, she added, as diners slurped down bowls of soup. So I can do what I want here. Both Laus noodle shop and Lius teahouse are plastered with Post-it notes of encouragement for pro-democracy forces, mimicking the Lennon Wall in Prague where messages of dissent proliferated under Soviet domination. Maps and apps showing businesses perceived leanings help guide customers their way. We want to show the Chinese Communist Party that Hong Kong people can be economically self-sufficient through the yellow economic circle, Liu said. We want to put pressure on blue shops to close. Devoid of natural resources and crowded onto limited land, Hong Kong has flourished because of its people, mostly entrepreneurial immigrants who left China for better prospects in the former British colony. Hong Kong residents advanced up the economic ladder, as sweatshop laborers rose to become bosses with factories on the mainland and even real estate or shipping tycoons. Today, the territory, which was returned to Chinese rule in 1997, ranks behind only New York and London as a nexus of global finance. Yet months of unrest, along with the trade war between the US and China, have battered Hong Kongs economy, which entered recession last year. In the central business district, police officers fired live bullets and arrested unarmed schoolgirls. On university campuses, students lobbed firebombs with homemade catapults. Tear gas has been unleashed in all but two of Hong Kongs 18 districts. On Sunday the violence flared again as two police officers were beaten when officials tried to halt a pro-democracy rally in the Central district. Tourists from mainland China, a vital source of income for local businesses, have stayed away because of the turmoil. Retail sales have plummeted. Small-business owners, whose operations make up the bulk of Hong Kongs enterprises, are bearing the brunt of the downturn, even as they contend with some of the highest rents in the world. Economic analysts fear for the citys future. A deterioration of the sociopolitical situation and delays in addressing structural challenges of insufficient housing supply and high income inequality could further weaken economic activity and negatively affect the citys competitiveness in the long term, the International Monetary Fund warned last month. Amanda Leungs family has sold dried seafood for three generations. In recent years, mainland visitors concerned about the safety of the domestic food supply have been some of her biggest customers, she said. They bought fish maw and mollusks, abalone and sea cucumber. They have stopped coming, she said. Still, Leung said she understood the frustrations that have kept the protest movement going, from peaceful marches of more than a million people demonstrating against a now-withdrawn extradition bill to the passions of a hard core of brick-throwing youth. China should leave Hong Kong alone, she said. We can do business our own way. As tempers have flared, businesses on both sides of the color divide have been attacked. Down the street from Lius tea shop, vandals lobbed red paint at a food stall known as a yellow establishment, while a nearby snack food store considered to be pro-Beijing was damaged. The battle has gone online, too. Ken Leung helped create WhatsGap, a popular app in Hong Kong that maps businesses that are considered yellow, helping them draw customers. This month Google removed the app from its online store, saying it violated its policies related to sensitive events, but critics said the company might have been acting to placate China. Apple pulled a similar service from its app offerings last year. The divide in Hong Kong society has only increased, not lessened, Ken Leung said. But in November, pro-democracy candidates won a landslide victory in district council elections, the first time that Hong Kong voters had a chance to express their positions on the protests since this movement began. The yellow economy was backed up by the ballot box. Theres a perception that Hong Kong businesspeople are not sympathetic to the protests, but look at the silent majority that spoke in large peaceful marches or in the district council elections, said Todd Darling, an American restaurateur who has lived in Hong Kong for 16 years. As the protests gathered force last year, Rocky Siu watched as an orderly column of demonstrators, miles long, marched past one of his ramen restaurants. When the police cracked down, he opened his doors, offering half-price bowls of noodles and free saline solution to wash the tear gas from protesters eyes. Im losing money, but thats not the point, he said. We have to support our young people. Sius father was born in China and came to Hong Kong to seek a better life. But he owns a jewellery factory on the mainland and is, as Siu puts it, deep blue. I tell him I dont understand. You escaped China but now youre supporting them, Siu said. To me, its not yellow or blue. Its black and white, right and wrong. Hannah Beech c.2020 The New York Times Company New Delhi: Hundreds of AAP supporters on Monday gathered in Central Delhi to take part in Arvind Kejriwal's mega roadshow which was to be followed by him filing his nomination but was postponed till Tuesday owing to the delay in the rally. "I love you", a visibly moved Kejriwal called out to his supporters as they walked with him from Valmiki Mandir near RK Ashram Marg metro station to the Hanuman Mandir near Connaught Place traversing around 2.2 kilometres in over two hours and dancing to the tunes of the party's anthem - 'Acche Beete Paanch Saal, Lage Raho Kejriwal'. The 'Walk With Kejriwal' roadshow was to be followed by the Delhi CM going to Jamnagar House to file his nomination papers, but owing to the delay in the rally, he was unable to reach the SDM office in time. Kejriwal said the nomination will now be filed on Tuesday, which is also the last day for the filing of nomination for the February 8 polls in Delhi. Before joining the mega road show, Kejriwal sought the blessings of his parents at his residence. His entire family, including his wife, two children and parents reached the Valmiki Mandir at noon from where the AAP leader commenced his roadshow, ahead of filing his nomination from the New Delhi constituency. Sharing the significance of the Valmiki Mandir, Kejriwal tweeted in the morning, "AAP has begun many chapters of its journey from the historic Valmiki Mandir in New Delhi. In 2013, we had raised the broom (as our election symbol) for the first time to clean up our politics. Today, once again, I will take the blessings of Lord Valmiki and file my nomination." Flanked by his deputy in the Delhi government, Manish Sisodia and AAP MP Sanjay Singh, Kejriwal started moving in his yellow-coloured open jeep towards Connaught Place through the Panchkuian Marg. The rally proceeded into the Inner Circle of CP and then on to Baba Kharak Singh Marg where the rally came to a halt at Hanuman Mandir. Addressing the huge gathering of supporters, Kejriwal said, "I am touched by this overwhelming support that I am witnessing today. I love you. We have worked really hard in these five years to improve the lives of the people of Delhi. We have tried to improve the lives of all sections of people, including children, elders and women in Delhi". "We have worked with sheer honesty in the last five years, and today marks the beginning of gearing up for the next five years," he said. "I prayed to Lord Shiva early morning, sought the blessings of Lord Valmiki at Valmiki Mandir, and visited Hanuman Mandir just now to pray to Lord Hanuman that the next five years should be equally fulfilling like the previous five years," he said. He hoped that the people are happy with the development of Delhi in the last five years. "The last five years have passed very well and I am sure the next five will also be as good for Delhi. I hope that you will bless us in the same way as you blessed us five years back," he said. He further said he was to file his nomination on Monday but he got delayed due to the roadshow. "I had to file my nomination today but I could not because the nomination office closes at 3 pm and I was late. I was repeatedly told to come off (vehicle) and travel to the nomination office, but how could I go? I could not leave behind the outpouring love and support from my people. We are ending the roadshow here. I will go along with my family and file my nomination on Tuesday," said Kejriwal. Thanking all the people who joined him for the road show, he said, only 20 days are left for the elections and I want you all to go from door-to-door to urge people to vote for the AAP in the upcoming elections. Hundreds of supporters participating in the road show were dancing to the tune of Acche Beete Paanch Saal - Lage Raho Kejriwal (the last five years went well-keep going Kejriwal) and to the beat of drums. When Kejriwal's convoy arrived, people shook hands and welcomed him. The roadshow came ahead of assembly elections in Delhi on February 8. (with PTI inputs) New Delhi, Jan 20 : The 'Lets Save Delhi' campaign has slammed the move to redevelop the Central Vista which it says will take the heritage, tourist destination and the people's bond with India Gate along with its lawns, Rajpath and Parliament House away. Gaurav Gambhir, Advocate, 'Lets Save Delhi' said this in a letter to the Commssioner-cum-Secretary, Delhi Development Authority (DDA) on the suggestions invited from the general public on the proposed redevelopment. "The area encompassing Central Vista i.e. India Gate along with its lawns, Rajpath and Parliament House is not merely a Bureaucratic and Governmental District but a National Heritage, a major Tourist Destination and most importantly the People's bond and association with the Republic, which will be taken away with redevelopment of Central Vista", he said. Gambhir said the plan demonstrates an autocratic machinery and condemned it for environment violations. "Additionally, the proposed plan clearly depicts the autocratic machinery rather than inclusive, progressive and democratic approach. Also, the modifications should be prima facie condemned merely on environmental violations", he added. The proposal has also been slammed for violating the statutory laws, constitutional guidance and the Supreme Court verdict. "Moreover, the modifications for the proposals proposed violate the Constitutional Guidance, Statutory laws, Hon'ble Supreme Court's verdict (Law of the Land) and also the principal Document i.e. existing Master Plan", he added. The letter has also slammed the expansion of physical infrastructure for government offices which is not socially and legally acceptable. Gambhir has argued that when technology is the way forward, for whom will these additional buildings cater. Several government documents suggest that government employment is downsizing. He also mentioned the sustainability of the existing infrastructure, which implies that when existing office buildings are architecturally sound and fit for use, their demolition will lead to unnecessary dust and pollution. This would also be a wastage of public funds and certainly a wasteful outflow for an economy going downhill, he added. Further, the proposal is in contradiction of the "Minimum Government and Maximum Governance" policy of the Central Government, Gambhir said. "It is suggested that the DDA itself shall test these proposed modifications on the precedents of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India and Hon'ble Delhi High Court which has time and again commented on the arbitrary functioning of DDA and emphatically remarked to DDA counsel "this Dadagiri has to stop", he said in the letter. The Lakeshore is on SeniorAdvisor.com's 2020 Best of Assisted Living List. At The Lakeshore we have a caring staff, and our community is filled with warm, friendly residents who take an interest in each other. Here, we provide a blend of respectful and compassionate care with plenty of social activities and beautiful water views. The Lakeshore, an Era Living retirement community, is proud to be on SeniorAdvisor.coms 2020 Best of Assisted Living List. Winners who made the list represent the top one-percent of retirement communities on SeniorAdvisor.com, the largest ratings and reviews site for senior care and services in the U.S. and Canada. The Lakeshore offers independent and assisted living services in 158 studio, one, and two bedroom apartment homes. Residents and family members who reviewed The Lakeshore cite several reasons for high marks, including: Excellent staff Welcoming resident population Newly remodeled apartment homes and common spaces Views of Lake Washington Access to neighborhood conveniences and cultural events in Seattle The annual SeniorAdvisor.com Best of Senior Living Awards tabulates more than 240,000 family created reviews to find the highest quality care providers for this honor. Of the nearly 45,000 communities currently listed on SeniorAdvisor.com, about 600 were recognized with this prestigious award. The Lakeshore is one of only two winners in Seattle. Finding a retirement community where your loved one can receive the care they need, and be welcomed into a vibrant social group, can be a challenge, says The Lakeshore Executive Director Lindsey Pelland. At The Lakeshore we have a caring staff, and our community is filled with warm, friendly residents who take an interest in each other. Here, we provide a blend of respectful and compassionate care with plenty of social activities and beautiful water views. The Lakeshore is located at 11448 Rainier Ave South, in Seattle. The Lakeshore offers residents a vibrant lifestyle with an array of amenities, rich programming, and flexible living options, including both independent and assisted living. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 15:41:05|Editor: mingmei Video Player Close KATHMANDU, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Investment Board Nepal (IBN) has announced that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a consortium between Power Construction Corporation of China and Nepal's Hydroelectricity Investment and Development Company Limited to develop the 756 MW Tamor Storage Hydroelectricity Project in eastern Nepal. The Nepal-China joint venture (JV) company was selected to develop the project during the Nepal Investment Summit held here in March last year. Hydroelectricity Investment and Development Company is Nepal's state-owned company. The IBN facilitates the large scale domestic and foreign investments in Nepal. "As per the MoU, the Nepal-China JV company will submit the Detailed Feasibility Study Report to IBN in 24 months from Sunday," the IBN announced in a social media post on Sunday. IBN's spokesperson Balaram Rijyal told Xinhua on Sunday that after the JV company completes the Detailed Feasibility Study, it would be allowed to develop the project. "The Detailed Feasibility Study will determine the estimated cost of developing this project," said Rijyal. IBN officials said they believed the project is one of the most attractive projects available at the moment. The project will cover three districts of eastern Nepal -- Taplejung, Terhathum and Panchthar of Province 1. The Himalayan country which is rich in water resources, is seeking to attract domestic and foreign investment in the hydropower sector as it aims not only at domestic consumption but also at exporting power to other regional countries. Nepal has established cross-border transmission lines with India, and is also working to develop cross-border power line with China. China was the largest foreign direct investment source to Nepal in the past four years, according to Nepal's Department of Industry. Dozens of volunteers spent all day pulling garbage out of the Delaware River. What they wound up with was, well, pretty gross. The Clean Communities River Cleanup covered an 18-mile stretch downstream of Easton from Frenchtown to West Amwell. The volunteers netted 48 bags of trash and 11 bags of recyclables. Heres a partial inventory of the haul: Fifteen tires A 50-gallon barrel A suit and a pair of shoes Four metal pipes Two 20-foot sections of sewer pipe An assortment of inner tubes and flotation devices Four bags of scrap metal You have to wonder in this day and age how people can just discard items along or in the river, said Hunterdon County Freeholder Susan Soloway in a news release. The cleanup was in September but reported to the Hunterdon County Board of Freeholders on Dec. 17, according to a news release issued Jan. 16. More than 100 volunteers participated, the release says. The program is supported by a grant from the New Jersey Clean Communities Coalition. It coincides with the International Coastal Cleanup, and is held in coordination with Delaware Township, the DNR Canal and West Amwell Township. You can register for the 2020 cleanup or other events on the Hunterdon County Health Department website. The Clean Communities River Cleanup on Sept. 21, 2019, sent volunteers from Frenchtown to West Amwell in Hunterdon County to pull trash out of the Delaware River.Courtesy Hunterdon County The Clean Communities River Cleanup on Sept. 21, 2019, sent volunteers from Frenchtown to West Amwell in Hunterdon County to pull trash out of the Delaware River.Courtesy Hunterdon County Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook. The U.S. State Department on Friday said it has "a lot of confidence" in Ambassador to Korea Harry Harris, who had been slammed by politicians here for saying any inter-Korean business projects need U.S. approval. State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus told VOA, "The ambassador serves at the pleasure of the secretary and the president [and] our secretary has a lot of confidence in our ambassador." "We're thankful and grateful for the ongoing important relationship that our two governments have, and we will continue to work together on incredibly important and sensitive issues like this one," she added. Ortagus insisted the U.S. respects the sovereignty of foreign countries and voiced confidence that South Korea will make the "best decision" when it comes to improving cross-border relations. She added the U.S. and South Korea will continue to "cooperate." Harris on Thursday warned South Korea should run a plan to revive individual tourism to North Korea through a joint working group to "avoid a misunderstanding later that could trigger sanctions." A spokesman for the Unification Ministry declined to comment directly but said any policy vis-a-vis North Korea "falls under our sovereignty." President Moon Jae-in had mooted the plan in his New Year's address, and Harris' remarks irked some lawmakers here. A Cheong Wa Dae official said it is "inappropriate" for an ambassador to make such remarks to the president of the host nation. "The issue of [inter-Korean] cooperation is a matter for our government to decide, although Seoul is always in close consultation with Washington," he added. Sul Hoon, a four-term lawmaker of the ruling Minjoo Party, expressed "grave regret" over the ambassador's remarks. "Such comments, like interference in domestic affairs, are not helpful to the alliance relationship," Sul said in a meeting last week. NEWTOWN BOROUGH >> The Newtown Borough Council welcomes the new year with three new members of council and a new borough mayor. District Court Judge Mick Petrucci was on hand on January 3 to administer the oath of office to the towns new mayor, Republican John Burke, who replaces longtime mayor Charles Corky Swartz who decided not to run for... An Iraqi man and a British woman have been arrested for allegedly smuggling migrants from Belgium into the UK. The 29-year-old man, who is suspected of being at the head of the international trafficking network, was arrested with the woman, 36, at a property in Bramber Court, Cippenham, early this morning on January 20. The pair, who allegedly smuggled migrants into the country inside the back of HGV vehicles, are now being detained by the National Crime Agency (NCA) in Slough on a European Arrest Warrant. The man, 29, who is suspected of being at the head of the international trafficking network, and the woman, 36, were arrested at a property in Bramber Court, Cippenham on January 20 The two people, who were seen being led by officers away from the property in Cippenham, are now facing extradition proceedings. They are set to appear before Westminster Magistrates later today. Following their arrests, the NCA reported that another two people had been detained by the Dutch authorities as part of the same investigation into the smuggling network. NCA head of organised immigration crime operations, Steve Reynolds, said the criminal networks involved in the smuggling of migrants were 'ruthless' and exploiting the desperation of those fleeing their country. The pair allegedly smuggled migrants into the UK inside the back of HGV vehicles and are now being detained by the National Crime Agency (NCA) He said: 'The criminal networks involved in people smuggling are ruthless, treating migrants as a commodity to be profited from and exploiting their desperation. 'Working with our European partners we are determined to do all we can to disrupt and dismantle these networks the arrest today are an example of that in action.' By Express News Service HYDERABAD: Curtains will come down on the high voltage campaign for municipal elections in the State at 5 pm on Monday. However, for Karimnagar Municipal Corporation, the campaigning will continue till 5 pm on January 22 because the schedule for this civic body was announced two days late. The main contestants - TRS, Congress, BJP and the AIMIM - tore into the Telangana hinterland with a no-holds barred campaign in support of their candidates which at times degenerated into personal vilification. As far as TRS is concerned, it is quite confident of winning a lions share of the urban local bodies (ULBs). ALSO READ| Municipal Act may be a game changer for TRS ahead of Telangana civic polls "We are confident of winning a majority. People will vote for development," party working president KT Rama Rao has stated repeatedly. Though KTR campaigned mainly in Sircilla, his home constituency, he has constantly maintained a watch on what is happening elsewhere. Using the campaign vehicles specially designed for TRS, candidates and ministers hit the roads in the towns, seeking the support of voters. The TRS candidates in 77 wards and three AIMIM contestants in various ULBs were declared elected unanimously after the expiry of time for withdrawal of the nominations. TRS working president KT Rama Rao held a series of meetings with party leaders at Telangana Bhavan. For one such meeting, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao too turned up and explained to the MLAs and ministers how important elections to the local bodies are for the ruling party. ALSO READ| January 22 declared as holiday for areas going to civic polls in Telangana Rama Rao was so confident of winning a majority of the ULBs that he had no hesitation to say that the results would be a referendum on him as Municipal Administration Minister. At the ground level, all ministers launched a publicity blitzkrieg lambasting the BJP and Congress at every given opportunity. In constituencies where there are no ministers, MLAs led the charge and in constituencies where there are no MLAs, constituency in-charges are shouldering the responsibility of steering the party to victory. The BJP, which wants to prove that it is a force to reckon with, after its humiliating defeat in Huzurnagar Assembly by-election, has left nothing to chance during its campaigning tours. BJP State unit president K Laxman has taken it as a challenge to make sure that his party would make a dent in the TRS fortress that would be noticeable to all. He has been touring all over Telangana taking KCR and his party to task, sometimes whipping up passions on CAA and NRC, and sometimes telling people that if any development took place in towns, it was with the funds released by the Centre. ALSO READ| Telangana municipal polls: BJP manifesto focuses on home tax policy Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy also hit the road in Telangana addressing whistle-stop meetings and explaining how the BJP government at the Centre was showing interest on Telangana to develop its urban infrastructure. The BJP MPs - Soyam Bapu Rao, D Arvind and B Sanjay Kumar campaigned in their respective Lok Sabha constituencies whipping up passions to consolidate the Hindu vote bank in their partys favour. The Congress too did not lag behind. TPCC chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy, CLP leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, working presidents A Revanth Reddy and Ponnam Prabhakar toured extensively in their areas and elicited the support of the voters for the Congress nominees in the wards. The AIMIM, though it is a TRS ally, does not have any poll pact with it and its candidates are contesting on their own. Party president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi visited Muslim dominated areas and sought support from them. He raised the issue of the CAA and NRC and appealed to them to read the BJPs game plan, while saying that the only way to defeat the BJP was to support the AIMIM. The bot introduces you to some interesting characters. Take the Floridian white man in his 40s who recently sprouted onto our feed. He says hes conservative, but doesnt feel like he fits with either party. He thinks women should always have the right to choose when to have an abortion, is pro-Obamacare, and wants the federal minimum wage to be $12 an hour. But curiously enough, hes a Trump voter. Why? Well, he opposes the Clean Air Act might he have a job in a fossil fuel industry and feel threatened by Democrats quick embrace of radical environmental policy in light of climate change? Of course, its not possible to know through a survey. But just by getting a peek at a voter beyond his one ballot can inspire a much more humble reading of the electorates behavior. You dont need to look much further than the latest far-left-leaning Democratic debate to see how uniform policy preferences have become in our two-party system. The candidates reluctance to reject purity tests, as well as their attempts to avoid getting ratioed by their loud online base, often leads them to well-intentioned yet hard-line rhetoric and stances that are unrepresentative of even many Democratic voters. As that partys primary rages on this year, we may need reminders of people like the 59-year-old white woman from Massachusetts we came across who voted for Hillary Clinton three years ago but is a self-described conservative who doesnt think women should always have a right to an abortion. Could a zinger at a town hall that puts down pro-life arguments earn a candidate plaudits online and on MSNBC, but make others like her feel ignored or vilified? Even for the unwaveringly pro-choice, its a politically handy question to keep in mind. Whether youre a cooking novice or consider yourself something of a professional home chef, the secret to success is a good knife. Necessary for even the most basic of meals, a sharp knife is the tool that can elevate a sub-par meal into a restaurant-worthy one. To see which knives are worth investing in for all of your dicing, chopping and filleting needs, we asked top chefs for their recommendations. While most chefs will agree that a few good knives are important to have on hand, if you are looking to invest in just one, these are some of the best on the market. Chefs knives are one of the most versatile knives to have, which is why many chefs recommend them as a worthy first investment. The multi-purpose knives are generally large and feature a blade that curves upward and ends in a narrow point. For me, the best kitchen knife for the home cook would have to be a 13in chefs knife, Darren Pettigrew of Valerie told us, adding: A good chefs knife, like the chef, is a multitasker. A good chef's knife is designed to handle multiple jobs, chopping, slicing, dicing, filleting - it does it all. For the job, he highly recommends Mac chef's knives. Its a light-weight, Japanese design which makes it a great investment for any enthusiastic home cook, he said. While prices for a good chefs knife can reach the thousands, investing in a chefs knife from Korin, a Japanese brand, is also a good option if you are looking for an affordable and reliable version. I usually buy my knives at Korin in New York City, Guillaume Thivet, executive chef of Mister French NYC told us. In my opinion, it is one of the best places for chefs knives. I have been using Japanese knives for 20 years, the edge and sharpness are on point to execute a perfect cuisine. They are precise and flexible, which helps manipulate delicate food and heavy duty work. John DeLucie, chef partner of Lumaca NYC also recommends the brand. I love knives by Korin in Tribeca - theyre so sharp and accurate he told us, adding that They require love and dedication, but whats worthwhile in life that doesnt? If you are looking for knives that are both inexpensive and reliable, Krishnapal Negi, head chef of 1947 London, recommends Victorinox knives. They are like my best friends in the kitchen, he told us. Theyre light as a feather and give a great performance. And as any chef knows we have to have knives that are easy to sharpen because we are constantly sharpening our knives over and over! According to Negi, Victorinox knives are super easy in that sense and they last basically forever. Matthew Whitfield, head chef at The Montagu Arms, also recommends the brand. I think for a basic everyday use knife, a Victorinox chefs knife is good and reliable to use, he said. For chefs looking to splurge, Oliver Marlowe, owner and chef director of The Hunters Moon, recommends this knife, which are hand-crafted in the town of Takefu, Japan, by the Takamura family. My favourite by a stretch is the Takamura Gyuto 210mm chefs knife by Kin, Marlowe told us. Its on the expensive side but is a huge cut above any other knife Ive used, is incredibly sharp and will last forever. The knife features 32 layers of hot forged Damascus steel and a handle made of mixed Pakkawood, according to the website. A chefs knife may be the most versatile in your inventory, but when it comes to certain tasks such as de-boning meat, a boning knife is your best option. Honesuki boning knives are useful for removing bones (MTC Kitchen) Boning knives are used for removing the bones from poultry, meat and fish and feature a narrow blade and a sharp point. For the task, some top chefs such as Guillaume Gillian, executive chef at Bokan 37, rely on Honesuki boning knives, which translates to bone lover in Japanese. The best knife for me is the Honesuki boning knife, Gillian said. They are really different to Western knives as they are not flexible at all and much heavier to work with. It cuts through meat effortlessly but its also great for filleting a fish or cutting vegetables. The blade is really strong, hard and easy to sharpen as well, which is helpful after boning meat. Masamoto sashimi knife: from $336, Hitachiya USA If youre looking for a knife designed for slicing fish, neither a chefs knife nor a boning knife will do the job successfully. Rather, youll need a sashimi knife, which features a long, thin blade designed for the task. Sashimi knives are for thinly slicing fish (Hitachiya USA) According to Nobu Matsuhisa, restaurateur, chef and founder of Nobu, who likes to emphasise the importance of Japanese ingredients and tools in his work, the best sashimi knives are Japanese-made. His preference is for sashimi knives from Masamoto, the leading sushi chef knife maker in Japan for more than 150 years. Like chefs knives, petty knives are also known for being extremely versatile in the kitchen. These small knives are typically used for delicate knife work including peeling, shaping and slicing fruits and vegetables and chopping herbs. Acknowledging that the best knife is one which feels the most comfortable to use for the job in hand, Alistair Craig, head chef at Careys Manor Hotel & SenSpa told us that his favourite is a handmade petty knife from Joel Black Knives. It is a good size for cutting ingredients in your hands or on chopping boards, he explained. IndyBest product reviews are unbiased, independent advice you can trust. On some occasions, we earn revenue if you click the links and buy the products, but we never allow this to bias our coverage. The reviews are compiled through a mix of expert opinion and real-world testing. For whatever reason, the examination results of last years Grade VII and Junior Certificate (JC) pupils have somewhat connived to thrust the countrys education into the spotlight, if not on the national agenda, with plans afoot to review and reform the education system. That, if you ask me, is long overdue and ought to have been undertaken some years ago if anyone was concerned with the development trajectory of this nation for the quantum leap into the future. Alongside the reformist agenda was the announcement that the publication of results for both Grade VII and JC would stop henceforth. It also emerged that a decision had also been taken and implemented to cease making English Language a compulsory passing subject, a decision that impacted positively on the pass rate. Had the latter decision not been implemented there is likelihood that the results would have been a disaster, perhaps the worst ever. This, therefore, begs the question if this decision was not motivated by a need to project a positive picture. Removal In all instances - the cessation of publication of results, removal of English Language as a compulsory passing subject and the review and reformation of the education system - the decision-making has been, as always, top-down to the exclusion of the stakeholders parents, teachers, pupils and the nation at large. This is not surprising since it is in keeping with the oppressive regime ushered in by the infamous 1973 Decree, which outlawed human rights and thus emaSwati from thinking and expressing their thoughts freely either through speech or the written word. The constitutional order ushered in 2005 has apparently not changed this status quo with the people remaining silent and fearful recipients of decisions, even ruinous ones, taken from above. Interrogate Let us, for starters, interrogate the decision to drop English as a compulsory passing subject. This may have been taken on the political altar since it is expedient to sever, once and for all, any ties of the kingdoms colonial legacy. But was the net effect of this on the quality of our education system considered? This question ought to be the automatic question lingering in the minds of concerned citizens. Could the fear of ventilating on matters that directly affect the future of children of emaSwati, and by extension this nation, that much overwhelming the nation is remaining silent for fear of offending those charged with leading this country? While it may be in vogue for former British colonies to remove remaining vestiges of their colonial history, such decisions cannot be taken flippantly just because it is politically correct and fashionable to do so. Such decisions must be taken in context to a countrys attributes and its developmental trajectory. For example, big countries such as the Peoples Republic of China have such global influence coupled to massive population numbers to influence international relations by marketing their language, Mandarin, to the world as the medium of interaction. Can tiny Eswatini do the same? The answer is a big no because this country is insignificant with no influence whatsoever on global affairs since it is wholly dependent. There are other considerations not least the fact that many emaSwati children go to external tertiary institutions for one reason or the other, where invariably the medium of instruction is English. There ought to have been extensive national consultations on this matter before, as is usual, it was shoved down the throats of emaSwati. Perhaps this matter of the English Language should not have been treated in isolation of the mooted review and reformation of the education system. This would have afforded an opportunity for extensive interrogation of the possible and potential benefits or weaknesses in taking this direction while at the same time measuring these against specific strategic interests and interventions for win-win scenarios without compromising the quality of the education system. But since the review and reformation of the education system is still pending, the English Language issue can still be revisited. As I see it, also worth inclusion and considering in the review and reformation of the education system is the decision of no longer publishing Grade VII and JC results. Such arbitrary decision-making without consulting, especially stakeholders, ought to be banished from public life. Indeed there is a strong case for reviewing and reforming the education system, an exercise that should not exclude teachers and those colleges or universities charged with preparing them for the onerous task of imparting knowledge to emaSwati children. What we need is a system that teaches children how to think and generate knowledge and not what to think, to paraphrase Margaret Mead. Much has happened in the area of teaching methodologies infusing child psychology the lack of and inherent weaknesses therein could deliver devastating outcomes and ruin many a future while also compromising national development imperatives. Consequently, tertiary institutions ought to form part of the reformation agenda to ensure that they do not remain glorified high schools but are equal to the task of preparing the liSwati child with the ability to generate and not merely consume knowledge as is the case right now. At this juncture it is perhaps premature to even think let alone venture into the realm of robotics tutorial. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) on Monday contrasted the annual gun rights rally in Richmond, Va. with the riots after the death of Baltimore resident Freddie Gray and protests following the killing of Eric Garner by New York police. When we go out and march for the dignityof the lives of people like Freddie Gray and Eric Garner, the whole place is surrounded by police in riot gear without a gun in sight [among protesters], Ocasio-Cortez said at a Monday event. And here are all of these people [in Richmond], flying Confederate flags with semiautomatic weapons, and there are almost no police officers at that protest. Following the death of Freddie Gray in the back of a police van in Baltimore in 2015, the city saw riots so extensive that Governor Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency, while national-guard units deployed to quell the violence. While the officers who arrested Gray were initially charged with murder, all charges were eventually dropped by the prosecution. During the Second Amendment rally in Richmond, Va. officers arrested one person for covering her face in public, which is banned under Virginia law. The individual was later released, and the rally continued without violence. On Thursday theA New York Times reported that three suspected white nationalists had been arrested, with investigators alleging the three would try to ignite violence at the rally. Governor Ralph Northam, who has voiced support for more restrictive gun laws, declared a state of emergency in response to the threat. More from National Review Did life arrive in an ancient comet impact? (Getty) Did the building blocks of life on Earth arrive in an ancient comet impact, with chemicals inside a hurtling comet making life on our planet possible? This theory gained new support this week as a study showed that comets may be covered in ammonium salts, containing nitrogen, a building block for life. Previous measurements of comets, such as when the European comet mission Giotto flew past Halleys comet three decades ago, found a surprising lack of nitrogen. READ MORE But new measurements of dust from the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko from the European Space Agencys Rosetta space probe suggest that nitrogen may be present in the form of salts. Less than a month before the end of the Rosetta mission, the probe was a mile above the surface of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimen as it flew through a dust cloud from the comet. Kathrin Altwegg, of the University of Bern, said: This dust almost destroyed our instrument and confused Rosettas position control. Thanks to the flight through the dust cloud, it was possible to detect substances which normally remain in the cold environment of the comet on the dust particles and therefore cannot be measured. Altwegg said: We came up with the idea that the incidence of ammonia in the ROSINA [Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis] data could potentially be traced back to the occurrence of ammonium salts. The surface of the 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet (Photo ESA via Getty Images) As a salt, ammonia has a much higher evaporation temperature than ice and is therefore mostly present in the form of a solid in the cold environment of a comet. It has not been possible to measure these solids either through remote sensing with telescopes or on the spot until now. The ammonium salts discovered include several astro-biologically relevant molecules which may result in the development of urea, amino acids, adenine and nucleotides. Story continues Altwegg said: This is definitely a further indication that comet impacts may be linked with the emergence of life on Earth. The ROSINA team has found traces of five different ammonium salts: ammonium chloride, ammonium cyanide, ammonium cyanate, ammonium formate and ammonium acetate, said the teams chemist, and co-author of the study, Dr. Nora Hanni. Until now, the apparent absence of nitrogen on comets was a mystery. Our study now shows that it is very probable that nitrogen is present on comets, namely in the form of ammonium salts. The Shiv Sena has made it clear that it was not aware of any such proposal. Mumbai: Former chief minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis on Monday said that Shiv Sena should clarify on Congress leader Prithviraj Chavans statement that the Uddhav Thackeray-led party had proposed to form a coalition government with Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) after the 2014 Vidhan Sabha polls to stop the BJP from coming to power in the state. The Shiv Sena has made it clear that it was not aware of any such proposal. Mr Chavan had kicked up a political storm in the state on Sunday by claiming that Shiv Sena had made a proposal to form the government in Maharashtra in alliance with the Congress and NCP way back in 2014. Mr Fadnavis, now Leader of Opposition in the Vidhan Sabha, said Mr Chavans remarks were very surprising and revealed the true face of his former ally. What Chavan has said is very surprising. Coming from someone of his stature, it has to be taken seriously. The disclosure has revealed the real face of the Shiv Sena. The Shiv Sena should come out with a clarification, he said in Delhi. However, senior Sena leader Anil Parab said that he was unaware of any such proposal. It is not known who gave Prithviraj Chavan the proposal and when? The names of those who were present for the negotiations while giving the proposal should be disclosed. Only Mr Chavan can give more details, he said. Senior NCP leader Nawab Malik too said that there was no such proposal from the Shiv Sena. The Shiv Sena might have spoken with Prithviraj Chavan, but there were never such talks with the NCP. The Congress is a different party and it might have received a proposal, he said. Mr Chavan had said that even after the 2019 Assembly election, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi was not ready for a coalition with the Shiv Sena, but she eventually relented after long deliberations. WASHINGTON The Trump administration is about to distribute billions of dollars to coastal states mainly in the South to help steel them against natural disasters worsened by climate change. But states that qualify must first explain why they need the money. That has triggered linguistic acrobatics as some conservative states submit lengthy, detailed proposals on how they will use the money, while mostly not mentioning climate change. A 306-page draft proposal from Texas doesnt use the terms climate change or global warming, nor does South Carolinas proposal. Instead, Texas refers to changing coastal conditions and South Carolina talks about the destabilizing effects and unpredictability of being hit by three major storms in four years, while being barely missed by three other hurricanes. Louisiana, a state taking some of the most aggressive steps in the nation to prepare for climate change, does include the phrase climate change in its proposal in one place, an appendix on the final page. The city of Richmond, Va., is bracing for potential violence another Charlottesville, in the worst-case scenario as thousands are expected to converge on the state capitol Monday to protest gun restriction legislation. Why it matters: On a day that is meant to celebrate what would have been the 91st birthday of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., the nation is grappling with emboldened white nationalist groups and racial tension. Surveys show a majority of Americans believe race relations are getting worse under President Trump. Driving the news: Virginia state officials are on edge after learning that militia groups, including some extremists with white supremacist views, were planning a violent attack on Monday, an annual lobbying day for the public to express views at the state capitol. The event is expected to go on but under tight security, with an emergency weapons ban in place. On Thursday, the FBI arrested three men planning to attend the Richmond rally who have ties to The Base, an anarchist white supremacist group whose aim is to create a white "ethno-state," the New York Times reports. Gov. Ralph Northam (D) called a state of emergency last week out of concern for public safety, citing intelligence of threats of violence and "extremist rhetoric" similar to Charlottesville. The FAA has instituted a ban on airspace over the capitol out of concern for aerial threats, including weaponized drones, the Washington Post reports. Organizers of the 2017 "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville say they plan to attend Richmond's event Monday, per the Post. By the numbers: Most black Americans say the president is a racist, according to a Washington Post/Ipsos survey. Nearly two-thirds of black Americans say it's a bad time to be black in America. Just 2 in 10 black Americans say most white Americans appreciate what discrimination black Americans face. What they're saying: [The president] has taken hatred against people of color, in general, from the closet to the front porch, said one black American, interviewed by the Washington Post. But, but, but: Is the president really responsible for rising racial tension? A majority of Americans say he is, according to a survey last year by non-partisan Pew Research Center. But the diverging views between blacks and whites and Democrats and Republicans make it seem as though they are living in different versions of America. A strong majority of blacks (73%), Hispanics (69%) and Asians (65%) say Trump has made race relations worse, compared with about half of whites (49%), according to the Pew Research Center survey released in April 2019. Majorities of blacks and Hispanics say that people are more likely to express racist or racially insensitive views since Trump was elected. More than 8 out of 10 Democrats say the president has made race relations worse; just 1% say hes improved relations. More than a third of Republicans say Trump has made progress toward improving race relations. Just 20% say hes made it worse. Flashback: In 1965, a majority of Americans supported the Civil Rights Act and sided with protesters in Selma, Ala., but even then support was far from unanimous. After the brutal beatings of civil rights leaders and protesters in Selma, nearly all black Americans said they supported the protesters, but just 46% of white Americans did, according to a Harris poll at the time. Go deeper: Hate crimes reach 16-year high, according to FBI report A t least nine people were killed when a footbridge over a river in Indonesia collapsed over the weekend, officials have said. The bridge, on the island of Sumatra, broke on Sunday while it was packed with people, and several fell into the flooded river below and drowned by the strong currents. A 14-year-old boy is still missing and feared dead. Reports suggest a crowd of around 30 people, mostly teenage students, were gathered on the bridge and it could have fallen under the weight. The young people are believed to have just returned from a tour at a nearby hydropower plant and stopped on the footbridge to take photos of the extreme flow of the river. The death toll has risen to nine since the bridge collapsed on Sunday / AP Seventeen people were rescued from the site, in the province of Bengkulu, where the country's disaster mitigation agency has launched a rescue effort. Disaster agency spokesman, Agus Wibowo, said: "They were watching the floods in the river below and then the bridge snapped, so they fell into the overflowing river. "Since last night, the regional disaster mitigation agency, the military, the police, related organisations, and volunteers had been searching for the missing." Regional disaster official Ujang Syafiri the bridge was mostly used by farmers living nearby and added: "It was apparently (beyond) its capacity. Some teens even had rocked the bridge while joking." He said about 20 survivors were rescued, many of them with minor injuries. Photos released by the agency showed rescuers using an inflatable boat while they searched for victims near the broken bridge and villagers using bamboo and clothes to carry a body. Seasonal rains in recent weeks have caused severe flooding and landslides in Indonesia. Many of the nation's nearly 270 million people live in mountainous areas prone to landslides or plains close to rivers that flood regularly. The archipelago of 17,000 islands also has frequent seismic and volcanic activity. Being a soldier comes with its set of sacrifices, compromises and unpredictability. A soldier does not have a day-to-day calendar of events marked out. Our jawans are at one place one day and thousands of miles away the next. We know that north India is experiencing one of the coldest winters after a long time. Hill stations are covered in snow that has affected day to day life and tourists have been advised not to visit as roads leading to these places are all blocked by snow. This commutation problem cost a soldier his special day. AP A jawan was stranded in Kashmir because of heavy rainfall as a consequence to which he missed his own wedding. Suneel, from Mandi in Himachal Pradesh had his wedding on Thursday. The baraat procession was scheduled to leave for the Daled village of Ladbhadol in Mandi, the wait was only for Suneel. However, Suneel could not reach. Reportedly, the soldiers leave for the wedding were from January 1 but because of weather conditions in Kashmir that lasted over two weeks he was stranded there. Representative Image/Happy Wedding Suneel explained his situation to both families, thankfully the next day the weather cleared a little and he reached Srinagar from where he was scheduled to fly to Himachal Pradesh. The official Twitter account of Chinar Corps shared details about Suneel's unfortunate wedding miss. #LifeWillWaitThatsAPromise #IndianArmy Jawan misses wedding after #Kashmir Valley gets snowed in. Don't worry life will wait. #NationFirstAlways The bride's family agrees to a new date. Just another day in the life of a soldier.@adgpi @NorthernComd_IA @easterncomd pic.twitter.com/G1b1u5bCi6 Chinar Corps - Indian Army (@ChinarcorpsIA) January 18, 2020 Don't worry life will wait. #NationFirstAlways The bride's family agrees to a new date. Just another day in the life of a soldier, the tweet read. Another day for the wedding ceremony will be fixed now. HomeSmart International "Thanks to our groundbreaking and hard-working team, many of whom are fellow 2020 Newsmakers, HomeSmart has impacted the industry and changed what it means to be a 100% model. We will continue to raise the bar on tech while providing the utmost customer service to our agents, brokers and consumers." Several HomeSmart International representatives made RISMedias 2020 Real Estate NewsMakers list for dedicating their careers to creating a better real estate process, working tirelessly for consumers and the greater good of homeownership. "It is humbling to be included on such a prestigious list for another year," said HomeSmart CEO and Founder Matt Widdows. "Thanks to our groundbreaking and hard-working team, many of whom are fellow 2020 Newsmakers, HomeSmart has impacted the industry and changed what it means to be a 100% model. We will continue to raise the bar on tech while providing the utmost customer service to our agents, brokers and consumers." Widdows was recognized for developing cutting-edge systems and proprietary technology that enables franchisees and agents to spend more time focusing on clients and profitability. In 2019, HomeSmart rolled out the rewrite of its proprietary RealSmart Broker and RealSmart Agent platforms. Bryan Brooks, the senior vice president of franchise sales at HomeSmart International, spearheaded the companys domestic and international franchise growth, which includes mergers, acquisitions, roll-ins and conversion opportunities. In 2019, the HomeSmart brand grew by more than 35 new franchises across six new states with two acquisitions that added more than 1,500 agents to the company. "I am honored to be included in such an exclusive group of real estate leaders," said Brooks. "HomeSmart is fortunate to be represented by so many on this list, which is a testament to how much we've grown and pushed the boundaries of the real estate industry in the past year. Randy Rector, CEO and owner of the HomeSmart Evergreen Realty franchise made the list for his creative business choices operating seven Orange County and Inland Empire offices in California. Rector said his business decisions are an example of the type of entrepreneurial thinking todays market requires in order to provide more opportunities for agents and consumers. RISMedia also highlighted Todd Sumney, chief industry officer, for his leadership in building the companys brand, driving marketing, continuity and the adoption of HomeSmart tools and resources. He speaks to HomeSmart brokers and sales associates across the country about leveraging the power of the brand and teaches continuing education and marketing essentials at industry events. In 2019, Sumney helped numerous agents dramatically increase their transaction count. It brings me great pleasure when agents come back for my classes time and time again leaving motivated to do what they need to do to grow their businesses, said Sumney. I am truly passionate about serving and helping others. Another HomeSmart International team member was recognized for fighting for causes in her community. Vivi Gloriod, the owner and founder of Team Vivi in Denver, hosted a Casino Night fundraiser in 2019 to raise money for students and teachers in the Denver Public School System. We chose Denver Public Schools as our charity to raise money for the students and the teachers, said Gloriod. I have had many clients that are educators and I know how hard they work for our youth. In celebration of RISMedias 2020 Real Estate Newsmakers, more than 300 are expected to convene at an honorary reception and dinner on May 13 in Washington, D.C. HomeSmart International Founded in 2000, HomeSmart International quickly became the fastest-growing real estate brokerage firm in Arizona. HomeSmart International is ranked in the top 5 real estate brokerages in the United States and the number one brokerage firm in the Phoenix and Colorado markets. From its international franchising headquarters based in Scottsdale, HomeSmart International offers franchisees efficiency and innovation coupled with the systems and technologies necessary to succeed in today's evolving real estate industry. Today, the brand has 190 offices and nearly 18,000 agents nationwide. For more information on HomeSmart International and its franchise opportunities, visit homesmart.com. Follow HomeSmart International on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/homesmartfranchise and on Twitter and Instagram @HomeSmartIntl. ### Mr. Guaido was to meet with the Colombian president, Ivan Duque, who welcomed him with his own tweet on Sunday, and with Mike Pompeo, the United States secretary of state, who is visiting Bogota ahead of a trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Mr. Guaido is also bound for Davos. After years in which President Maduro used repression and electoral machinations to stay in power, despite a crippling recession that left many without enough to eat or adequate medical care, Mr. Guaido, the head of the countrys National Assembly, challenged his leadership. About a year ago, pronouncing the most recent presidential election a fraud, he declared himself interim president and called for new elections. President Trump endorsed the opposition leader just minutes after that declaration, and he has remained one of Mr. Guaidos strongest international supporters. He followed up his initial recognition with a series of punishing economic sanctions aimed at Mr. Maduro and his government in an attempt to force him to cede power. But as Mr. Guaidos campaign to take power waned over the past year, Washington eased the pressure on Mr. Maduro and turned its attention to the Middle East. That allowed Mr. Maduro to adapt to sanctions, stabilize exports and consolidate political power. In a sign of the governments growing confidence, this month Mr. Maduro moved to take over the oppositions last stronghold, the National Assembly. The government tried to block opposition lawmakers, including Mr. Guaido, from entering the building, and it installed in their place a rival congressional leadership made up of defectors from the opposition. Most Western and Latin American countries considered the move illegal. Kansas Labor Secretary Delia Garcia said Thursday that the state is better prepared to respond to layoffs stemming from the grounding of the troubled Boeing 737 Max than it was during the Great Recession, when it had to borrow money to prop up its unemployment insurance trust fund. That fund now has about $1 billion in it money that could be tapped now for things such as its shared work program that helps pay worker salaries to keep them on the job. The state is working closely with Spirit and other Kansas companies in the supply chain that supply parts and labor for the 737 Max, she said. We took a hit, Garcia said of the Great Recession. We've been through this before and we are resilient and we got out of it ... Right now we are talking one industry, and then it was much larger. I think we are more prepared than we were then. Spirit AeroSystems announced last week it planned to lay off off 2,800 workers and since then at least 10 Kansas companies have inquired about that program. Labor officials had no details yet on the number of jobs that might be covered by the shared work program. They declined to identify interested companies that have contacted them, citing the program's confidentiality. But Garcia said the shared work program, which lasts 26 weeks, avoids layoffs and is a huge asset to the state. The program allows an employer to divide the available work among a specified group of affected employees in lieu of a layoff. Employees to receive a portion of their unemployment insurance benefits while working reduced hours. Garcia also cited some of the other resources the state is making available to affected workers, including a mobile workforce center that the state is unveiling next week. Spirit AeroSystems is the largest employer in Wichita, which bills itself as the "Air Capital of the World" due to a heavy concentration of aerospace manufacturers. More than 40 aerospace companies, most of them in and around Wichita, provide parts and services for the production of the 737 Max. The 737 Max was grounded worldwide in March after crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia killed 346 people. Story continues Garcia's visit to the Workforce Center in Wichita comes a day after local government and community leaders announced the formation of a task force comprised of 14 organizations for what officials are dubbing the Air Capital Commitment to coordinate services and resources available to affected companies and workers. We are in this together. We are a community coming together to make sure we face these troubles side by side, Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple said. This is not a situation where people who are impacted need to feel that they are in this alone. Aerospace employment in Kansas peaked in 2008, followed by a continual decline until 2017, according to the Center for Economic Development and Business Research at Wichita State University. Kansas then had a big ramp-up in aerospace jobs in 2018 and 2019. The layoffs at Spirit, planned to begin Jan. 22, means Wichita has lost that employment growth in the industry and is now back at its 2017 bottom. This is not good news, but we have experienced real economic downturns in far more numbers of people losing their jobs," Sedgwick County Commission Chairman Pete Meitzner said. "This is not our fault, the Max is not our fault. But we are suffering economically from it. Increasingly intense wildfires are burning forests across Australia and the western United States. They are fueling concern among locals and health professionals about the long-term health effects of smoke exposure. Kelsey Nortons home in Paradise, California, was destroyed by a powerful wildfire last year. The flames came first. Then came smoke-- from the surrounding forest and from the thousands of homes that burned. A thick cloud of smoke surrounded parts of the area for weeks. It left Norton struggling to breathe. Next came sickness. Norton, a 30-year-old nurse, has dealt with respiratory infections that reduce her strength. Work has become difficult. She worries about future health problems she may have. I dont want to have cancer in my 50s because I inhaled smoke in my 30s, Norton told the Associated Press. The immediate effects of the November 2018 fire that tore through Paradise are well known. But little is known about the long-term effect of intense smoke exposure. The risks are far-reaching. Climate change is making some parts of the world drier. Drier environments are more likely to experience fires. The fires send up smoke clouds that can travel thousands of kilometers, affecting millions of people. Australia Hundreds of fires are currently burning across Australia. They began burning in September. Smoke from the fires has spread across more than 20 million square kilometers. The United Nations weather agency and the Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service reported the smoke has moved across the Pacific Ocean, reaching South America. The fires in Australia have destroyed more than 2,000 homes and killed at least 26 people. Officials have ordered several evacuations in New South Wales and the neighboring state of Victoria. Both states also issued hazardous air quality warnings for affected areas. Officials said people with health problems should consider moving somewhere else until the smoke clears. Health risks Every year, an estimated 20,000 people die sooner than expected in the United States because of continuous wildfire smoke exposure. Scientists expect that number to double in the next 100 years. The California National Primate Research Center is carrying out one of the few long-term health studies on wildfire smoke exposure. They are studying the effects the smoke can have on monkeys. For the study, they looked at the lungs of 50 rhesus monkeys. The monkeys were living in outdoor pens year-round. In 2008, they were exposed to a long period of wildfire smoke. The monkeys were babies at the time. They went on to develop lungs 20 percent smaller than another group of monkeys born a year later, researchers found. The centers associate director of research, Lisa Miller, said of the study, Its the closest animal model to replicate what happens with kids. Studies of wildland firefighters also offer a look at the risks of smoke inhalation. Wildland firefighters are trained especially to fight wildfires. These studies have shown notably higher rates of lung cancer and death from heart disease among the firefighters, said Michael Kleinman. He researches the health effects of air pollution and is a professor of environmental toxicology at the University of California, Irvine. Firefighters get hit with smoke much more often and at much higher levels. But Kleinman said a small increase in illnesses could be expected among people who have been exposed to wildfire smoke across California and the West. The cycle of sickness Kelsey Norton remembers fleeing Paradise with her boyfriend. It was the morning of November 8, 2018. She said the smoke was so thick it was like midnight. A few days later, she went back to work at a hospital in Chico, about 24 kilometers from Paradise. But smoke from the still-burning wildfire had made it inside the hospital itself. There was not enough face protection to go around. So, Norton says, she went without any protection for several days. At first, she felt just a little out of breath, But two weeks later, she developed a respiratory infection. Her body temperature was high and she had severe congestion. When she finally got better, she got sick again. And then again. She has had eight or nine respiratory infections in the past year. She said, I just want to break this cycle of sickness. Norton is one of about 9,000 people taking part in a study on smoke exposure in Paradise and other California communities. The work is led by researchers at the University of California, Davis. The researchers plan to study the long-term health of a small number of those 9,000 people in the coming years. They are also working with the primate center to see if the effects seen in the young monkeys are at all similar to those seen in young humans. Burning building materials The wildfires in Australia and the western U.S. have burned thousands of homes and other structures -- not just wood from trees. This adds to the health risks, experts say. Building materials and household items made from petroleum-based plastics burn hotter and generate smoke that is more poisonous. Nicholas Kenyon is a researcher involved in the effort. He said identifying the health effects of smoke is increasingly urgent. Weve got the population affected right now, but this is going to be the entire West, Kenyon said. Nobodys been really inhaling this kind of stuff from structures until now. I'm Caty Weaver. And I'm Pete Musto. Pete Musto adapted it for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story exposure n. the fact or condition of being affected by something or experiencing something respiratory adj. of or relating to breathing or the organs of the body that are used in breathing inhale(d) v. to breathe in evacuation(s) n. the act of forcing someone to leave a dangerous place hazardous adj. involving risk or danger pen(s) n. a small enclosed area for animals replicate v. to repeat or copy something exactly toxicology n. the study of poisonous chemicals and drugs and how a person or other living thing reacts to them congestion n. the condition of having ones respiratory system blocked with fluid such as blood or mucus cycle n. a repeating series of events or actions Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 17:09:18|Editor: mingmei Video Player Close TASHKENT, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Uzbekistan's newly-formed parliament elected Nurdinjon Ismailov as Speaker of the Legislative Chamber of Oliy Majlis of the country in its first session on Monday following the December elections. Ismailov has become head of the Legislative Chamber for the second time. He was elected to the post for the first time in 2015. The 150-seat new parliament also elected deputy speakers during the meeting in which President Shavkat Mirziyoyev took part and greeted the newly-elected deputies. Mirziyoyev expressed his confidence that the new parliament will do its best to serve the nation and boost the country's economy. Uzbekistan's Senate, the upper chamber of the parliament, is expected also on Monday to hold its first session following the election of the Senate members earlier this month. Prince Ned Nwoko Foundation has pledged its commitment to fight the malaria disease in Nigeria and in several affected countries across the Africa continent. The Founder and President of the organization, Hon. Prince Ned Nwoko reiterated his emphatic commitment to manage the problem while speaking during an interview with Africa biggest Television Channel, SABC Africa. During the Prime Time Network Programme with Prince Ned Nwoko on SABC Africa, anchored by Veteran TV Pressenter Peter Ndoro, the President and founder of Prince Ned Nwoko Foundation noted that the malaria scourge had killed and affected more people in Africa than any other disease in history. He stated that the need for vaccines was priority and unnegotiable in the war against the killer parasite. Speaking in South Africa, the Billionaire Businessman and Philanthropist, Hon. Ned Nwoko noted that 500,000 people die annually from malaria and also expressed worries on why there wasn't a vaccines for the malaria parasite like other illness of it kind. In that regards, he told SABC Africa that Prince Ned Nwoko Foundation will be more efforts especially in the area of funding researches in five university across Africa with the view to discover vaccines that can immediately put an end to the malaria problem in Africa. He noted that in the next 3years there should be results from the findings and researches. He also noted that the fumigation of our environment can also go a long way with assisting provisional solutions to malaria eradication in Africa. While challenging the perceptions as regards the assumed negative effect of fumigating our enviroment, Hon. Ned noted that his Organization has ensured that the fumigation process remains healthy in all consideration. Launches EU-funded demining project in Muhamalai Ambassador of the Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Sri Lanka, H.E. Denis Chaibi, visited the Northern Province from 15 to 17 January 2020. EU Ambassador Denis Chaibi in Muhamalai with HALO Sri Lanka representatives Ambassador Chaibi launched an EU-funded demining project implemented by HALO Sri Lanka during a visit to the Muhamalai minefield on 17 January 2020. The EUR 2.5 million grant will support mine clearance in Muhamalai, Sri Lanka's densest and one of the largest and most complex minefields in the world, as well as training of mine clearance personnel. HALO Sri Lanka will train and deploy 22 demining teams with the support of the EU. He extended this thought in other speeches, pointing out that not only did the government give the land to these white people, it also used government money to start land-grant colleges to teach them how to farm, sent out county agents to further their expertise, offered low-interest loans so that they could mechanize and instituted a system of subsidies for them, and these became the very people telling the black man he ought to lift himself by his own boot straps. Disgraced TV icon Bill Cosby invoked the memory of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Monday, the federal holiday in Kings honor. Posted Cosbys official social media accounts, the 82-year-old comic says he is continuing Kings work while serving a three- to 10-year sentence for sexual assault in Pennsylvanias SCI Phoenix prison. His message Monday afternoon read: Martin said, Use Me GOD. show me how to take who I am, who I want to be, and what I can do, and use it for a purpose greater than myself. The Revolution is not only in the home, but here in this gated community (SCI Phoenix). Thank you, Martin, for your strength, your courage and your purpose. Cosby, or his social media team working outside the prison, punctuated his post with the hashtags : #youcanimprisonmybodybutnotmymind, #MLKLIVESFOREVER, #GODUSEMEFORYOURGOOD, #REVOLUTIONSTARTSINTHEHOME, #FARFROMFINISHED, #FREEBILLCOSBY Cosby was convicted of three counts of aggravated indecent assault for drugging and assaulting a woman. He is serving three to 10 years and is currently incarcerated at a 3,830-bed facility in Collegeville, Pennsylvania . Its not the first time Cosby spoken of King from prison. Last year, Cosby likened himself to King and called himself a political prisoner. More than 50 women have accused Cosby of sexual abuse and he faced a number of civil lawsuits in addition to the criminal trail. Suits brought by seven women were in the federal court here in Springfield. Cosbys insurer settled those cases in April 2019. Cosby and his wife, Camille, have a home near the Franklin County village of Shelburne Falls. A picture taken on August 16, 2008 shows an Iranian flag fluttering in front of Iran's Safir Omid rocket, which is capable of carrying a satellite into orbit.(Vahidreza Alai/AFP via Getty Images) Iran Planning Launch of Two Satellites: Official Iran is preparing to launch two newly constructed satellites that have passed pre-launch tests, its Telecommunications Minister announced on Jan. 19. Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi said on Sunday that the launch of the 200-pound Zafar satellites is an important research step. He added that they would soon be transported to Irans space center; however, he did not detail a scheduled launch date. ! #_ https://t.co/jKSeIzlnCo MJ Azari Jahromi (@azarijahromi) January 19, 2020 The Zafar 1 and 2 satellites, which have been designed by Iranian scientists, have successfully passed their tests, and their launch process will commence soon, Jahromi wrote. Two versions of Zafar have been built by young Iranian scientists, both of which are technologically superior to those we had built before. The satellites, which were developed locally, were handed over by the Iran University of Science and Technology to the Iranian Space Agency, the Financial Tribune reported. Each of the satellites is understood to be equipped with four high-resolution color cameras, which the nations mostly state-run media say will monitor and transmit data on natural resources as well as agricultural and environmental developments. The satellites reportedly each have a lifespan of 18 months, and if the launch is successful, they will orbit the earth at an altitude of 530 kilometers, according to Mehr News Agency. The news comes amid continuous warnings from the United States following concerns that the long-range ballistic technology used to put satellites into orbit could also be used to launch nuclear warheads. Iran has repeatedly denied the United States accusation that such activity is a cover for ballistic missile development, and said its satellite program, like its nuclear activities, is peaceful and aimed at scientific research and other civilian applications. The nations defense ministry directs Tehrans space program. The upcoming launch follows multiple failed attempts by Iran to launch satellites into orbit early last year. The nation last attempted a launch at Imam Khomeini Space Center in northern Iran on Aug. 29 last year. However, it exploded on its launch pad, reportedly due to technical issues. A plume of black smoke could be seen rising from the launch pad in satellite imagery published by the Planet Labs Inc. Iran also tried and failed to put two satellites into orbit in January and February last year. However, malfunctions meant they did not reach escape velocity. At the time, United States officials raised concerns the planned launches would violate the United Nations Security Council resolution that calls on Iran to cease all activity related to nuclear-capable ballistic missiles. The United States will not stand by and watch the Iranian regimes destructive policies place international stability and security at risk, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement before the planned launches last year. We advise the regime to reconsider these provocative launches and cease all activities related to ballistic missiles in order to avoid deeper economic and diplomatic isolation. The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. : Hardening his stand, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Monday rejected the Left front government's explanation over moving the Supreme Court against CAA without informing him and said it was 'unlawful'. "No explanation can satisfy me", the Governor told reporters here this evening, a day after making it clear that he would not remain a "mute spectator" as he sought a report from the Pinarayi Vijayan government. Khan's strongly-worded reaction came hours after state Chief Secretary Tom Jose met him at the Raj Bhavan and explained the grounds under which the state government filed a suit in the Supreme Court against the Centre. The Chief Secretary, in the brief meeting, was also understood to have informed the Governor that the government had not willfully violated any rules, sources said. However, hours later, the Governor, who was on his way to Ayodhya, told reporters at the airport that no explanation of theirs (government) can satisfy him as what they did was "unlawful" and "not legally correct". "My view is that approval is needed. They have gone to the Supreme Court without informing me. That is unlawful act... not legally correct. So their no explanation can satisfy me," he said. However, Khan maintained that the matter was neither a "clash of egos nor any personal differences." In a democracy, individuals are bestowed with brief authority, he said, adding "that authority does not give the license to anybody to violate the law or the rules". Khan had said that as per Rule of Business Sec 34 (2) sub section 5, the state government should inform the Governor on matters affecting relations between the state and the Centre. Though the opposition Congress has criticized the Governor for holding press meets and airing his opinion in public, the BJP in the state extended him complete support. However, giving a surprise to political circles, veteran saffron party leader and the lone BJP MLA in the state assembly, O Rajagopal, on Monday criticised the Governor, saying that he should show some "restraint". "It is not proper for the Governor and the government make public statements. Differences of opinion should be resolved in private," he told reporters here. Khan's stand had drawn the ire of the ruling front with CPI(M) mouthpiece Deshabhimani slamming him for making "political statements" and alleging he was "threatening" the state in a "tough language". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) James Mollison, the inaugural director of the National Gallery of Australia and a former director of the National Gallery of Victoria, was a man with an unfailingly sharp eye and not just for art. He once said to me, A good museum director is house proud, recalls art academic Chris McAuliffe of the ANU. He said that as he pointed to the dust on the skirting boards in an art museum I was then running. But he meant much more than mere housekeeping, I think. He meant that a good museum director steers every element of the organisation, however incidental, towards the grand vision. James Mollison, foreground, in 2003, with then director of the NGA, Brian Kennedy. Credit:Andrew Campbell But, McAuliffe adds, he did mean actual housekeeping too. He told me that if I hadn't had the skirting boards cleaned by next week, he'd bring his own broom and do it for me. Mollison, who died at age 88 on the weekend, was described by NGV director Tony Ellwood on Monday as an incredibly visionary leader. He took creative risks ahead of his time in the display and interpretation of art introducing many new ideas, people and key acquisitions [to the NGV, under his directorship from 1989-95], including major contemporary works. Alice Wells arrived in Islamabad ISLAMABAD: Alice Wells, Chief US diplomat for South Asian affairs, arrived in Islamabad on Sunday on a four-day visit, just ahead of the possible peace deal between the US and Afghan Taliban. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Alice Wells flew from New Delhi, where she held talks with senior Indian officials on a range of issues. Wells, according to the Foreign Office spokesperson, is scheduled to have a series of meetings with Foreign, Interior and Finance Ministry officials. She will also meet security authorities. The nature of her engagements in Islamabad suggests that the agenda is wide-ranging, covering bilateral issues to regional tensions. The focus, nevertheless, will be on the imminent peace deal between Afghan Taliban and the US. The Taliban recently indicated that the insurgent group would reduce the level of violence leading to the signing of peace deal. Importantly, the news of truce by Taliban was first shared by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in Washington, where he had busy time engaging with senior Trump administration officials as well as US Congressmen. If the deal is signed by the end of this month, there is a possibility of high-level visit from the US to Islamabad in order to acknowledge Pakistans efforts. Ambassador Wells is expected to discuss the possible high-profile visit with her Pakistani interlocutors. The other key issue that would figure prominently during her talks with Pakistani officials is the current tensions between Islamabad and New Delhi and the situation in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ&K). Given that she was in New Delhi before embarking on a tour to Pakistan, Ambassador Wells will likely share her perspective with Pakistan on the issue. She recently expressed concerns over the continued communications blackout and detention of political leaders by India in the occupied valley. Pakistan in return for its efforts for facilitating Afghan peace deal wants the US to play a greater role to persuade India to desist from repressive policies in the disputed territory. Just hours before she landed in the capital, Prime Minister Imran Khan warned that Pakistan could not remain an inactive observer if India continued its ceasefire fire violations across the Line of Control (LoC). He also feared that India could carry out false flag operation. The timing of his statement appears to suggest that he wanted to send a message to the US about the gravity of the situation. The US, after initial offer of mediation by President Trump, has largely maintained a stated position that Kashmir is a bilateral dispute between Pakistan and India. It is unlikely that the US will change this stance as Trump is expected to undertake a maiden visit to India next month. A pair of local organizations are getting a funding boost from the federal government to help them co-ordinate in the fight against climate change. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/1/2020 (722 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A pair of local organizations are getting a funding boost from the federal government to help them co-ordinate in the fight against climate change. The Assiniboine Park Conservancy and Eco-West Canada are among the latest beneficiaries of the federal Climate Action Fund, receiving $100,000 each. Minister of Environment and Climate Change Jonathan Wilkinson announced the grants in Winnipeg Monday alongside Dan Vandal, the minister of Northern Affairs. The conservancy will use the money to collaborate with high schools across the province in climate-action planning and to fund a trip for about 20 students to Churchill in February. Eco-West plans on spending its new funds on risk mitigation training for Prairie municipalities. The Climate Action Fund provides up to $3 million annually to combat what Vandal called "the defining issue of our time." Wilkinson called climate change an urgent matter. "We know we dont have a lot of time to act," he said. Asked whether $3 million per year is enough to adequately support grassroots climate action, Wilkinson described the federal governments overall climate plan, which includes roughly $60 billion in green economic commitments over a decade, starting in 2016. "Its $60 to $70 billion and we all know thats the beginning," he said. "Thats the down payment on the work that we are going to have to do as we look to achieving a net-zero society in 2050." Wilkinson, along with the rest of the federal ministers, was in the city as part of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's three-day cabinet retreat. Trudeau met with Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister Monday, and the province's potential carbon tax was a key topic. The Tory politician had previously proposed a tax which fell below the federal benchmark, and was rejected by Ottawa. After the meeting, Pallister told reporters the province deserved credit for the work it had done to reduce carbon emissions. 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've put billions of dollars at risk to green up the environment, and we deserve respect for that," he said. Wilkinson rebuffed the suggestion of a provincial credit for prior carbon-reduction efforts, saying, "At the end of the day, the challenges that we are facing is of the emissions that exist today." "We need to prepare to take account of those emissions and our plan as to how we're going to reduce emissions that exist today on a go-forward basis, so I'm much more interested in conversations about how we're going to do that and how we look forward," he added. The federal government is not yet accepting applications for its next round of climate action funding. Last year, the deadline was in May. ben.waldman@freepress.mb.ca with files from The Canadian Press New Delhi, Jan 20 : The total movable assets of Delhi Cabinet Minister Satyendra Jain, who filed his nomination papers for the February 8 Assembly polls from the Shakur Basti Assembly seat, here on Monday, has declined by over Rs 35 lakh in the five years. While filing his nomination papers in 2015, Jain had claimed Rs 62,31,299 movable assets, which has come down to Rs 26,51,469 in 2020. However, moveable assets of his wife have increased by over Rs 62 lakh. Poonam Jain, a housewife, had Rs 86,39,242 movable assets in 2015, which has increased to Rs 1,49,00,175. The self-acquired immovable assets have remained roughly the same for both Jain and his wife, since 2015. The total movable assets of one of her daughter, a 'dependent', have also doubled in five years. Shreya Jain had Rs 15,01,714 movable assets in 2015, which increased to Rs 31,10,583 in 2020. The Minister, his wife and daughter Shreya continue to have the same amount of gold holding 100 gramme, 250 gramme and 200 gramme, respectively, as in 2015. However, the value of their gold holding, included in the movable assets, has increased by 50 per cent in five years. The family owns two cars as in 2015. The Minister, contesting from the Shakur Basti Assembly seat, has Rs 74,28,470 liabilities, as per his 2020 affidavit. It was Rs 1,17,05,000 in 2015. He has taken loans from wife (Rs 24.53 lakh), daughter (Rs 19.75 lakh), one Kanshi Ram (Rs 5 lakh) and Parker and Co (Rs 25 lakh) as of January 2020. His 2015 affidavit had the same names under the loans and due section. However, the amount was higher in 2015. The Minister, who holds numerous portfolios, has mentioned two cases in his 2020 affidavit, which was "nil" in 2015. A female Kashmiri photojournalist describes the challenges and advantages of covering the story of her homeland. I was born and raised in Srinagars old town, where I would often watch street clashes play out between Indian security forces and Kashmiri protesters. The photographers who came to cover the protests in my neighbourhood were always men. Whenever I saw them, I imagined myself like them, taking pictures of the scenes before us. I think all my pictures reflect day-to-day life in my homeland. In a conflict zone like ours, every picture in its own way, even in this beautiful Himalayan landscape, describes the tragedy of Kashmir. Masrat Zahra, photojournalist An armed rebellion broke out against Indian rule in Kashmir in the early 1990s. Photojournalists have played an essential role in documenting the bloodshed and rights violations that followed. Over the past three decades, journalism in Kashmir has emerged as one of the strongest institutions challenging the Indian government, with Kashmiri journalists working relentlessly to keep the story alive. But it was not an easy choice for me to become a photojournalist. I was raised in a conservative Muslim family. My father is a truck driver and my mother a homemaker. My parents wanted me to pursue a university degree that would lead to a government job. But I defied their wishes and instead went to journalism school. Four years after I became a photojournalist, my parents now support what I do. But photojournalism is still not considered an acceptable career choice for women in Kashmir, where society expects us to stay at home or work in jobs with office hours. Kashmir through the eyes of its women Being a female photographer in the field can be frustrating at times. People stare at me because they are not used to seeing a woman with a camera. I was once harassed on social media and called a mukhbir, or an informer of the Indian army, after people saw a picture of me covering a gunfight. They simply could not understand why a woman would be photographing this because they had not seen it before. There are other risks as well. Apart from being exposed to the dangers of conflict, journalists have been openly beaten, intimidated and attacked. But what drove me and still does to become a journalist was wanting to show womens perspectives, and to explore my own, too. The stories and perspectives of women have largely been ignored and buried in the Kashmiri and international media. They have hardly been spoken about their losses, their resilience. I wanted to document the untold stories of women and to talk to them. I knew women in my neighbourhood wanted to speak. They were suffering, but would hide their faces and feel uncomfortable opening up to male journalists. A rebels funeral Taken last year, this picture makes me think of the immense and silent suffering of those who have lost loved ones in this conflict. It was stormy in the early hours of May 24, 2019, when I set out with other journalists to cover the funeral of prominent rebel commander Zakir Musa. For Kashmiris, the civil engineering student-turned-militant was a popular face of Kashmirs new generation of rebels. He was the founder of Ansar Ghazwat-Ul-Hind, a rebel outfit that had pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda. We had to get to Noorpora, a village in south Kashmirs Tral district, about 30km away. I was prepared to ride there on my motorbike, but fortunately, a fellow journalist offered me a ride. The night was foggy and full of police patrols and security checkpoints. The armed forces had sealed off all entry points to the village and journalists were not allowed through. We changed routes often to evade security. When we arrived, we walked the final 3km in the rain through the crowd heading to the funeral. The road to the house where the rebel was killed was a sea of mud. Puffs of smoke rose from the burned remains of the cement structure. Thousands of people had gathered around it. Some men told me to leave. They would not allow me inside. She doesnt have manners, I heard them whispering. What is she doing here among the men? I am used to these words by now. They do not affect me. The empty bed I found another way in. When Musas body reached the funeral ground, I was in an attic, preparing for high-angle shots and standing on the edge of the roof. The noise from the slogan-shouting crowd seemed to shake my camera, but I was able to take some pictures of the body before it was taken away to be buried. The bodies of Kashmiris killed by the Indian armed forces are not taken to the graveyard in a closed coffin. Masrat Zahra, photojournalist Then, before I put my camera away, I peeped into the viewfinder and saw the empty bed where the rebels body had been. I took this picture. For me, the empty bed had a different story to tell, far more haunting than the story it told with a dead body on it. It was the void the frequent killings of fighters and ordinary women and men leave behind in their families. The bodies of Kashmiris killed by the Indian armed forces are not taken to the graveyard in a closed coffin. They are considered heroes or martyrs and are often carried out on metal beds or stretchers taken from the hospitals where families have gone to identify them so everyone can see them. This picture makes me think of how these beds carry the bodies of young men, women, children, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers before they are gone forever. I think about families coming to kiss them for the last time on those beds. These beds share a connection of death and grief. Although there are largely men in this picture, I imagine the women a mother, sister, wife or daughter, looking at the bed a loved one once slept in, and the loneliness and emptiness this brings. I think of their pain. Lives lost I think all my pictures reflect day-to-day life in my homeland. In a conflict zone like ours, every picture in its own way, even in this beautiful Himalayan landscape, describes the tragedy of Kashmir. Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict, most of them civilians. This picture also reminds me of my very first news assignment in August 2017. I had to meet the family of Firdous Ahmad Khan, a labourer killed in a gunfight in the southern Kashmiri district of Pulwama. I was worried that his family would not speak to me, or that security forces would stop me. I was afraid of failing to tell the story. But when I met Firdous widow Ruksana, then 25 and soon to give birth to their second child, she hugged me and cried and told me about the pain of losing her husband. She was burdened and desperate to speak, and could open up to another woman. While her story made me extremely sad, I felt a responsibility to tell it. I watched Ruksanas two-year-old daughter embracing her father on a metal bed, kissing and touching his face for the last time before he was separated from them forever and another empty bedframe returned to the hospital. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance. Sanditon Episode 3 Season 1 Episode 3 Editors Rating 4 stars * * * * Previous Next Photo: PBS When I said Sanditon is like an Austenian Game of Thrones, I was MOSTLY joking, but it turns out thats exactly what it is. Lady Denhams fortune is the Iron Throne, and her impoverished relations will fight each other to the death for it. Or at the very least, cuttingly name a parasitic worm after each other. (I am 98 percent sure that parasite is a leech, but we strive for nothing if not accuracy in this recap, and the word leech was never spoken.) As someone who didnt watch Game of Thrones but read the first three books before giving up due to a certain authors refusal to finish the series, is there a parallel for a character losing it over someone whos only very grumpy and rude to them? Its Tormund and Brienne, isnt it? Right, so we left Tormund-Charlotte having just witnessed a very naked Sidney Parker in the roaring surf of Sanditon. Now shes thirsting after his portrait, and when she tells Mrs. Parker she went down to the beach the other day and Mrs. Parker asks anything impressive catch your eye?, she has a FLASHBACK, but one we havent seen before. Okay, look: I am very gay and marrying a woman this year, and I still backtracked and paused when Charlotte flashes to Sidney coming out of the water looking extremely ripped. Its all very impressive. The main points of this episode are: Charlotte and Sidney reach a flirting stage. Clara reveals she is in fact terrifying and therefore I love her. Georgiana has a Secret Romance. Lord Babington wants nothing more than for Esther to step on him. Then something about how Tom Parker is afraid of going broke and is not taking care of his workers (until later he does). Also there is a SHOWER. The main things I cared about were Clara, Esther, and the historical veracity of the shower. In this episode, the dark hints about Claras past come forward in a compelling but omg-what-are-you kind of way. Esther is trying to get her kicked out of Lady Denhams to ensure her own and Sir Edwards place in the will. Clara knows this is happening, so when newcomer Dr. Fuchss hydrotherapeutic shower bath is offered up for volunteers, she gets in, presses her arm against the copper boiler, and gets extremely badly burned without making a single sound. You know. Like terrifying people do. As an invalid, her place in the household is again assured, and Esther visits her and offers to read aloud. As a side note for those with the same brain as mine, what shes reading is John Polidoris The Vampyre, which is a HILARIOUS choice. This wasnt published until 1819, but Im sure the show creators couldnt resist, and I do not fault them for it. Or maybe Austen was setting her story a couple years in the future; we dont know. Polidori is famously known as Byrons physician, and his short story The Vampyre is based on an idea by Byron written during the famous stay at the Swiss villa where Mary Shelley wrote the initial story of Frankenstein. Polidori appears with Byron and Shelley in a very fun episode of Drunk History. Anyway, okay, so Claras like, Lady Denhams gone so you can drop the act. Esther DIGS HER FINGERS INTO THE EXTREMELY BAD BURN. Clara says you have no idea what I endured before I came here and you have no idea what Im prepared to do to ensure I stay. OMG. Clara. Clara is my favorite. CLARAAAAA. CLARA WAS A DARK HORSE. I watched this scene multiple times. Clara continues: So you would do well to crawl away. And take your poor silly brother with you. If you dont want me to ruin him. Esthers like, youre gonna mess up, and I will be WAITING. What a great show. But back to the shower. Whats up with it? Why is it there in Regency England? I saw some harrumphing on the internet about a shower being out of place in a period drama, so I am here to say there was an English Regency Shower hanging around circa 1810, and were later than that, so there we are. This shower is truth in television. Dr. Fuchs, the expert in hydrotherapy, seems like a kind man who is good at his job. Sorry you wandered into the incestuous shitstorm soap opera that is Sanditon, doctor. Either start being very rude to people youre in love with, or come up with some shady backstory or money troubles; otherwise there is no place here for you. Sanditon: When Youre Here, Youre Definitely Avoiding Problems from Somewhere Else. We know Charlotte isnt going to end up with Young Stringer, because hes handsome and ambitious and polite and respects her talent. Nope, she is definitely going to wind up with the guy who says I must admit, I should never have expected you to be so capable. Sidney admits dismissing her as a woman and because he thought she was frivolous. He does say forgive me, so I guess thats fine, but then Charlotte says she is equally guilty of dismissing him?? He asks what he has done to deserve such condemnation. ARE YOU KIDDING ME, BRO? WHAT. Maybe EVERY single interaction youve had with her, including just now when you negged her for responding extremely well to a crisis? Im worried the screenwriters arent getting that the reason we love Pride and Prejudices Mr. Darcy and North and Souths Mr. Thornton isnt their stiffness/rudeness with their eventual love interest, but because that happens basically once and then the power is entirely in the hands of the love interest while their stoic gentlemen pine from afar. Im waiting to see if the balance of power shifts in Charlottes favor, or if Sidney will remain someone who begrudgingly sees some shred of worth in this woman he keeps looking annoyed to run into. Questions For Next Time Will Lord Babington get stepped on by Esther, and will he immediately marry her for it? Who is Georgianas handsome locket man? Is there going to be a Red Wedding in Sanditon, and how surprised should we act when we find out it was definitely orchestrated by Clara? Regulator obliges Ukrainian banks to disclose full cost of consumer loans 15:20, 20.01.20 2132 Banks shall include in the cost of consumer loans the insurance and tax payments, mandatory state pension insurance fees, as well as those for services rendered by notaries, state registrars, and appraisers. Dacre Montgomery became a global star thanks to his role as school bully Billy Hargrove in Netflix series Stranger Things. And on Sunday, the 24-year-old actor looked every inch the Hollywood heartthrob as he arrived at the SAG Awards in Los Angeles. Wearing a dapper white tuxedo, Dacre was joined on the red carpet by his stunning girlfriend, Australian model and student Liv Pollock. Scroll down for video Hot couple! Dacre Montgomery, who is known for his role as school bully Billy Hargrove in Stranger Things, arrived at the SAG Awards in LA on Sunday with his girlfriend, Liv Pollock The couple, who both hail from Perth, have been dating since March 2018. While Dacre stood out in his all-white suit, it was his 20-year-old girlfriend who really turned heads. Liv proudly flaunted her toned and tanned legs in a backless thigh-split dress which featured a pink snakeskin print. Thigh's the limit! Dacre's girlfriend, 20-year-old model and student Liv Pollock, turned heads in her flirty frock as she cuddled up to the handsome actor on the red carpet In April 2018, Liv told the Daily Telegraph that she and Dacre had met through 'mutual contacts from work' in Perth, but their romance didn't blossom until they had connected on social media. 'It grew from there,' she said. 'We are both also really passionate about design - I'm studying architecture and Dacre has studied interior design so we were drawn to each other through our mutual love of design.' Their relationship eventually became serious enough that she took a gap year from university to move to Atlanta, where Dacre was filming. Meanwhile, Dacre was also wearing a small red cross pin on his suit, showing his support for the Australian Red Cross amid the ongoing bushfire crisis. Showing his support: Meanwhile, Dacre was also wearing a small red cross pin on his suit, showing his support for the Australian Red Cross amid the ongoing bushfire crisis The actor has set up a GoFundMe page to support bushfire relief efforts, which he hopes will reach $500,000. As of Sunday, he had reached $371,000. Dacre's breakout role was as school bully Billy Hargrove in Netflix's Stranger Things. He joined the cast in season two, but enjoyed a larger and more pivotal role in the third season. His upcoming projects include The Broken Heart Gallery, a film which is being produced by Selena Gomez. Hit: Dacre joined the cast of Stranger Things in season two, but enjoyed a larger and more pivotal role in the third season. Pictured on the show as Billy Hargrove Donald Trump has raged about the alleged unfairness of the impeachment process confronting him, as his lawyers have urged the Senate to swiftly reject the charges. Less than a day before the upper chamber of congress convenes for only the third time in history to consider impeachment charges against a president, Mr Trump blasted Democrats for having overseen a process he said was skewed against him. Cryin Chuck Schumer is now asking for fairness, when he and the Democrat house members worked together to make sure I got ZERO fairness in the house, he tweeted. So, what else is new? The presidents comments on Twitter came as his lawyers urged senators to reject the two articles of impeachment that were approved by the House of Representatives, and sent up for trial one of abuse of power, and one of obstruction of justice. In a 110-page document filed before a noon deadline, his lawyers claimed the president had done nothing wrong, that the case against him involved a twisting of the constitution, and that it was part of a broader illegitimate partisan effort to take him down by Democrats. Later, the Republican leader in the Senate Mitch McConnell, proposed a condensed, two-day calendar for each side to give opening arguments. It also pushed off any votes on witnesses until later in the process, rather than up front, as Democrats demanded. 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 case against Mr Trump was triggered after revelations emerged last autumn from a member of the US intelligence community that the president had on a 25 July phone call with the leader of Ukraine, improperly asked him to launch an anti-corruption probe into Democrat Joe Biden and his son, Hunter. The former vice president is among a handful of Democrats vying to take on Mr Trump later this year. It was alleged that in exchange for Kievs launching of such a probe, the White House would invite the newly elected Volodymyr Zelensky to Washington DC, and lift the freeze on around $400m in military aid that had been assigned by congress to help Ukraine bolster its defences against Russia, amid long-running hostilities. Donald Trump may discuss hacking of firm at heart of Ukraine scandal with Putin, Kellyanne Conway says After the House voted almost strictly on party lines to approve the two articles the lower chamber voted 230-197 on abuse of power, and 229-198 on obstruction of congress the drama was expected to move swiftly to the Senate, where Republicans hold a majority and the president would expect to be acquitted. But in a sharp display of political manoeuvring, house speaker Nancy Pelosi delayed sending the articles to the Senate, claiming Republican leader Mitch McConnell had made clear he would not permit a fair trial, and dismissed efforts by Democrats to call witnesses. Even at this stage, many of the details of how the process will play out remain unclear, and late on Monday, Democrats assigned by Ms Pelosi to oversee the prosecution of the case against Mr Trump, were still in discussions with Republicans in the Senate. Before senators from either side make any progress in making the case against the president or seeking to dismiss it, the Senate will have to vote on a resolution to govern the hearings. Late on Monday, Mr McConnell proposed a condensed, two-day calendar for each side to give opening arguments, and sought to claim witnesses would only be permitted if there was a separate vote. Democrats termed his proposal a cover-up. Republicans control the chamber 53 47, so Mr McConnell can expect considerable leverage in setting the terms. In recent days, he and other party lawyers from both sides have been studying the way the Senate handled the 1999 case against Bill Clinton. On that occasion, when Democrats controlled the chamber, a total of three witnesses, including former White House intern Monica Lewinsky, gave video depositions, excerpts of which were played. No live witness testimony was permitted in the chamber. The Senate could vote for witnesses with just a simple majority. As a result, Democrats could need to persuade just four Republican senators they are targeting the likes of Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski to hear from them. On Monday, The New York Times pointed out Mr Trumps legal team did not deny he pressured Ukraine to announce investigations into Mr Biden. Yet they claimed he had the authority to conduct relations with other countries as he wished. After Mr Trumps lawyers filed their legal brief, Democrats in the House responded. They wrote: President Trump maintains that the Senate cannot remove him even if the house proves every claim in the articles of impeachment. That is a chilling assertion. It is also dead wrong. South Korea reported on Monday its first confirmed case of a new coronavirus that has broken out in China, South Koreas Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said, Trend with reference to Reuters reports. The patient is a 35-year-old Chinese woman and resident of Wuhan, China who flew from Wuhan to Incheon international airport on Sunday, KCDC said in a statement. She was isolated on entering South Korea with symptoms including high fever. The confirmed patient was identified in the quarantine phase and there is no community exposure. Those that have come in contact, including passengers and aircraft crew, are currently being investigated, KCDC said. It did not give details of the womans flight. More than 200 people have been confirmed as suffering from the new virus that broke out in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, including two in Thailand and one in Japan, while three people have died, stoking concerns about its spread. The patient told South Korean authorities she felt symptoms such as fever, chills and muscle pain on Saturday, and had received a cold prescription at a hospital in Wuhan, the KCDC said. The KCDC raised its infection alert level from attention to caution following the first confirmed case of the virus and will expand monitoring. South Korean city and provincial governments will operate an emergency quarantine system around the clock, including during the Lunar New Year holiday which begins later this week. YEREVAN. A group of Armenias cattle farmers, who are protestingin front of the governmentthe countrys slaughterhouses, have reopened Tigran Mets Avenue at the behest of police. Police officers have formed a human wall outside the government building. The demonstrators demand a meeting with a government representative. Their number exceeds several hundred. According to them, such protests are also being held in the provinces, particularly in Talin town of Aragatsotn Province. These cattle farmers were protesting in front of the government building a few days ago, too, complaining about the conditions proposed by the countrys slaughterhouses. Disclaimer: Please note that the views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SpoilerTV. 2019 has been an interesting - and very good - year for film despite getting off to a slow start, and given that we're now approaching the end of January 2020 (which usually gives me enough time to catch up on some of the films that I missed out on when they aired theatrically earlier in the year), I thought it would be a good idea to put together a list of my favourite films of 2019. Before we get this list underway I can't stress this enough: this is entirely a personal list that is reflective of my tastes and my tastes in film alone, and just because your favourite film missed out on this list doesn't mean that I don't think it's good, it's just that I've only got space for 25 movies and loved these 25 movies so, so much. I also haven't seen every 2019 release - although I did watch over 100 films that were released last year, but there's the odd few, like I Lost My Body, Missing Link, Dolemite is My Name, Beanpole, Harriet, Richard Jewell, Bait, Long Shot, Frozen 2, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood & Judy to name a few big films that I didn't get around to watching in time before making this list but will do my best to watch when I can and remedy that. 25. ROCKETMAN I wasn't expecting, which on the surface looked to be another by the numbers musical biopic to be as good as it was. This is in no small part due to the brilliant performance of Taron Egerton, who like many on this list, was robbed at an Oscar nomination, as he really comes to life as Elton John in a career best role after the two worked together on. It's a musical fantasy that takes creative risks with the biopic formula and proves that you can have a musical film that is more than just an greatest hits compilation, injecting some heart and emotion into a movie that absolutely earns all its big, epic musical numbers, making them all the more rewarding because of it, be they's rapturous end-credits recreation of the classic music video or's epic, seamless transition between two Elton Johns - transforming Kit Connor into Taron Egerton when he steps out on our screen as a teenager about to begin his rock and roll adventure. Based on the energy that Dexter Fletcher brings to this project I can't wait to see what he does next. If you thought you were done with the biopic genre -will be the one that you'll want to make an exception for.Quentin Tarantino's most mature and experienced film of his career to date,is one that I've seen a few times now and have liked it more every time I've revisited. Granted, it's not without its issues with in particular the Bruce Lee treatment being almost unforgivable an the pacing could be better in parts, but the film nails the atmosphere and setting of the 1960s time period and does justice to Sharon Tate, remembering her for how she lived not how she died. Performances by Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt make the most out of the chemistry that both actors share playing electric characters as a culture battle plays out across the film - between the dying days of a Hollywood that they are clinging to and the arrival of a new generation of young stars that look set to replace them. It's hard to pinpoint a scene from this one that stands out as a clear favourite and that says something about how good this movie is. Is it the tensest moment of the film when Brad Pitt's character Cliff Booth arrives at Spahn Ranch, occupied by the Manson Family cult? Or is it the divisively shocking and bloody of a final act that follows a memorable sequence set to The Rolling Stones', where cinematographer Robert Richardson is at his very best? There's just too many to pick from - but in a movie where for the first time Tarantino brings real, human people to life before our eyes, a standout would be both Rick Dalton and Cliff Booth bonding over Dalton's 'big FBI moment', that's one of the film's quieter scenes which does an excellent job at showing the unbreakable bond that both characters share, something that's so important to the film working as well as it does.Olivia Wilde's directorial debut is one of the decade's finest comedies (and certainly the best studio comedy of the decade), taking two Straight A teenagers and putting them through four years worth of partying that they missed out on whilst studying into one night that will be one of the most entertaining, wild and unexpected of their lives. Kaitlyn Dever needs no introduction for fans ofbut she shows how much talent she has here, sharing completely authentic chemistry with the equally talented Beanie Feldstein. This film feels like the definitive modern high school movie for the ages, and I was in love with it long before thereference provided by a scene-stealing Billie Lourd, the stunning extended party sequence towards its insanely satisfying climax, and its memorable graduation speech that won't be easy to forget.2019 is the year for horror directors delivering excellent sophomore efforts to their feature-length debuts and Robert Eggers is no different to any of the other directors on this list, remarkably talented and not afraid of pushing boundaries in favour of creating one of the most unique cinematic experiences of the last few years. Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe play lighthouse keepers stranded on an island forced to survive without contact with the outside world as a power struggle develops between the two men. Entirely removed but not unrecognisable from, Eggers' debut,is a bleak, inhospitable film shot entirely in black and white that will haunt your nightmares, The influences of films like Stanley Kubrick'scan be felt in this psychological thriller, as like many on this list, it's not a crowd-pleaser or an easy film to like - but I wouldn't have it any other way.Alma Har'el's breakout debut is one of the best and most personal films of the year for writer and actor Shia LaBeouf, who is entirely unrecognisable from his days of running through explosions underneath the battles of giant, CGI'd Transformers taking place around him. LaBeouf delivers the best performance of his career to date as a father of a child star who is trying to mend their broken relationship, with his characters' son played at two different ages by both Noah Jupe and Lucas Hedges. We see the emotional toll that the father as had on the boy's life, with Har'el showing audiences a side of Hollywood that not many will have encountered before, entirely removed from the glitz and the glamour. The performances from the entire cast are both tender and emotional, and FKA Twigs fans will appreciate a supporting role in this inventive, soul-destroying film that pulls all the punches possible.Robert Pattinson has been cast as the next Batman and his transformation into one of the best actors currently working is complete with, a masterful space odyssey about convicts sent into the unknown with no chance of survival. It's a suicide mission to explore a black hole in the near future, and the film's bizarre storytelling centres on the loneliness of space travel and the weird encounters that come with it. Pattinson's Monte must look after his baby daughter against all odds, and with compelling performances from both Juliette Binoche and Mia Goth in particular,looked majestic on the big screen and more than delivered on its ambitious, unusual premise that is quite unlike any other space story of the past few years. Director Claire Denis has built a career out of exploring the unconventional, and this may be her most unconventional film yet.Lorene Scafaria is one of the many breakout directors of the year that the Academy completely overlooked, and it's a crying shame to see that Jennifer Lopez' performance in a supporting role didn't earn her what would have been a much deserved awards nod either, especially given that it's her best since starring in the Steven Soderbergh classicsees Scafaria take the audience on a ride-or-die story that follows a group of strippers who try to get revenge on their Wall Street clients following a massive stock market crash that shaped the American economy and saw them get away without any consequences whatsoever. Echoing the look and feel of an early Martin Scorsese movie if it was made in the mid-2000s, this film comes with some pitch-perfect needle drops that are executed perfectly (not even including a cameo from the very real Usher). As scene-stealing as Lopez is it's also important not to overlook Constance Wu's performance as Destiny, in this electric, exciting film that's full of non-stop fun. It's rare that you get a film that rocks as hard as, and I can't praise it enough.Jordan Peele's revolutionary debutproved to be a real game-changer in the horror genre and deserved its best picture nomination. It's a shame to see that so farhas been completely overlooked by awards bodies as it more than lives up to the expectations that audiences had going into Peele's sophomore effort. Making use of an ingenious concept about doppelgangers to tell a gripping horror story that's not without its brilliant usage of pitch-black humour (remember when an N.W.A. needle drop kicks in during the home invasion sequence?),shows that Peele is here to stay, in no small part due to just how good Lupita Nyong'o's performance is in her two roles, unforgettable in both, lifting the film to all new heights. Michael Abels' score further enhances the mood laid down by Peele to devastating effect, and if you ever find yourself putting this one lower and lower down your best of the year lists as time goes by, you need to revisit it to see just how well it holds up, because it most certainly does.Sam Mendes has always been a bit hit and miss for me even outside of the James Bond franchise, I lovedbut hatedand wasn't a huge fan ofwhich has not held up well at all. Thankfully,more than delivered on all the hype with its audaciously beautiful cinematography from the legendary Roger Deakins to truly craft something special. It may be a gimmick film and there is no getting around that, but the fact thatis a good gimmick movie cannot be denied, using the one take shot editing style that films likeand(actually filmed in one take) have utilised before to create an unforgettable experience. If there was ever a film to be seen on the big screen,was it - breathtaking from the first scene to the last, complete with breakout performances by the talented George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman. The supporting cast are excellent too and don't let their star names overshadow the plot, with Richard Madden making a memorable impression in his only scene.Brad Pitt's solo odyssey into space may be one of the more divisive picks on this list but I adored it, James Gray's masterpiece feels like a Terrence Malick film in all the right ways, pushing the main character to the limit in the search of his father. It's a slow burn of a film that explores the relationship between father and son, and provides a more introspective character study than a sci-fi epic that many might have been expecting. It makes a good companion piece with Damien Chazelle's, unjustly finding its brilliant cinematography snubbed at every turn, with regular Christopher Nolan collaborator Hoyte van Hoytema really capturing the emptiness of deep space, allowing Pitt's character Roy McBride feeling more and more alone the further he leaves Earth behind. The score, as expected from Max Richter, is nothing short of majestic, andas a result despite its otherworldy setting feels like one of the most human films of the year, a near-perfect accomplishment from the director ofThe Safdie Brothers have given us a breakout hit in 2017 with the Robert Pattinson-starringand have returned again with one of the most stressful movies of the year, a pure nevre-wracking experience that hits you like a punch to the gut. Adam Sandler delivers one of his best performances of his career and arguably his best ifdid not exist, making audiences care for a truly despicable con artist who we should by all rights hate. It's part of Sandler's charm that this film works as well as it does, with the Safdie Brothers crafting a memorable atmosphere that echoes the films of Martin Scorsese and captures the same atmosphere of 1970s New York even in its present day setting. Julia Fox, Lakeith Stanfield & Idina Menzel all flesh out the cast with peformances that will leave you breathless, unable to tear your eyes away from the screen by the time the film is over, wrapped up in Sandler's chaotic energy and wanting his character Howard Ratner to land that big score that he's always searching for. You won't soon forget Daniel Lopatin's psychedelic score in a hurry either, as it's simply a masterclass, feeling like something straight out ofAdam Driver puts in one of the best performances of the year but that shouldn't come as any surprise to anyone who's up to date with his filmography, or at the very least seen a lot of his films; he's arguably the best actor of the 2010s and this performance only confirms that, as his character Charlie is caught in the middle of a divorce with Scarlett Johansson's Nicole. It's a film that has a fantastic performance from the entire cast involved: Johansson is great, Merritt Wever steals the show with just one major scene, and the battle of lawyers where Ray Liotta and Laura Dern go head to head in a courtroom is one for the ages. Noah Baumbach injects humour, heartbreak and energy intothat completely sells the film's exploration of two flawed, imperfect characters, and seeing Randy Newman deliver an excellent score outside of thefranchise is just a delight.Terrence Malick has always been a divisive filmmaker but his recent efforts likeandhave been even more divisive than his previous work, avante-garde experiments with little in the way of straightforward narrative storyline. As good as those two films were it's refreshing to see Malick return to a more narrative approach with, a film that tells the story of a farmer and his wife living in Austria during the days of World War 2, and the quiet resistance of one man who refused to fight for the Nazi Regime. It's sombre, harrowing and tough to watch, coming in at almost three hours long,provides a character study of those who fought against the Germans through small acts of non conformity, even if it makes them pariahs among their own people. Malick adds a touch of delicateness to it found in few other filmmakers' works, rich and rewarding in all the best possible ways, and August Diehl and Valerie Pachner both add human touches to a never ending story of despair, set against a beautiful backdrop of nature that Malick always delivers on.2019 should be regarded, if anything, as the year of Claire Mathon, whose cinematography is a work of art. Playing an instrumental role in helpinglook as good as it is, Mathon also makes Mati Diop'struly stand out among the crowd of Netflix originals with unforgettable results, offering a look at migration using a ghost story as a backdrop to the film's main storyline that explores the doomed romance between Ada and Souleiman, showcasing how they fell in love before Souleiman leaves the country by sea in search of a better future. It's a heartfelt tale that sees both Mame Bineta Sane & Ibrahima Traore give performances to be reckoned with, and is one of those films that is best watched without knowing anything about it whatsoever - I didn't watch a trailer or even read a review going in, with the results being all the more rewarding because of that.Giving Anna Seghers's novel a fresh coat of paint,opts for an interesting twist that makes it feel more timely with every passing day - keeping its World War 2 plot about a character trying to escape Nazi occupied France in search of a better life but moving the timeline forward to present day Marsielle under an occupied regime, Christian Petzold's film is simply unforgettable. It looks and feels perfect, taking clear influence from the likes of Jean-Pierre Melville, my all-time favourite director, so there was a no-brainier that I was going to love it. Its picturesque cinematography is jaw-dropping thanks to the commanding brilliance of Hans Fromm. The love story that develops between a man posing as a dead author and a woman searching for her missing husband could not be more emotional, with excellent performances by Franz Rogowski and Paula Beer in particular that elevate the film to greater heights. If anything this film could double as a ghost story, a film about a man out of time, where even the protagonists where clothing from an older generation and mobile phones are scarcely seen. Pivotal, generational and essential viewing, it's sad that this film has swept under the radar of many.I waited until today to finally getting around to watching this movie and I'm really glad I watched it before publishing the list, it's one of the most visually astounding films that I've ever seen, and one of the boldest. Bi Gan's film feels so clearly inspired by the likes of Wong Kar-Wai and David Lynch'smaking it a perfect experience for fans of both, planting the movie so hardly in the noir genre yet finding a clever way to subvert the audiences' tropes and expectations to give an experience unlike anything seen before. Starting off with a simple hook of a man named Luo Hongwu returning to his hometown Kaili in search of the woman whom he loved, the film gives way to become a mystery wrapped with in an enigma that there are no clear answers to, exploring the mind of a man and his memories. Few directors have the audacity to put their titlecard at the 70 minute mark of a film, but that's something that Gan relishes in doing so, before following it up with an even riskier move - unleashing a breathtaking one-take sequence that stays with us to the end of the film that will never be forgotten.One of the films on this list that earns the "every frame is a painting" comparisons on this list is the truly beautiful. Spanish director Pedro Almodovar delivers a remarkably poignant, powerful film about a director coming to terms with the life that he's lived, his lovers, his mother and his actors that he worked with over the course of his career. Taking audiences from a small village in Valencia to the bustling heart of Madrid,contains three sensational performances. There are memorable supporting roles for Asier Etxandia and Leonardo Sbaraglia but it's Antonio Banderas who puts in the best performance of 2019 to date, captivating audiences' attention. The scenes where Salvador Mallo reunites with both Federico Delgado to reminisce about the past as a ruly youth are heartbreaking, and Asier Etxeandia shows that he deserves your consideration for best supporting actor with a powerful, committed mini-performance of a one-man play that rivals that depicted in. And that ending is up there with one of the most bittersweet of the entire year.is one of the best debut films of the year. It's a masterclass exploration of a class of cultures, blending comedy with tragedy in a way like few other directors have managed this year. Lulu Wang's unique film allows Awkwafina to shine (earning a Golden Globes nomination in the process) as an independent Chinese-American woman who returns to her family's home in China when her beloved grandmother is given a terminal diagnosis, but that's where the real plot kicks in: Billi has to struggle with her family's decision to keep her grandma in the dark about the illness that she's really going through, including participating in a fake wedding that leads to some outright hilarious results but not before hitting you with a roller-coaster of emotions. Zhao Shuzhen puts in a memorable performance in a supporting role as Billi's grandmother that brings extra depth and heart to a film already full of it.A Rian Johnson whodunit. Agatha Christie updated for the 21st Century in an achingly on point way that feels like a direct response to critics of Johnson's career best work thus so far,proves that there is still fresh life to be had in murder mysteries by injecting plenty of fun into the script that keeps the audience on edge at every turn. Daniel Craig's bizarre but hilarious Benoit Blanc leads the way as a modern Colombo or Poriot, called upon to investigate a murder of a family matriarch and thrust into a world of backstabbing, treachery and murder. Every member of the Thromberry household could be a suspect, and with a fortune on the line, the knives are more than ready to come out again. The cast, full of big names that include Chris Evans, Ana De Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson and Toni Collette, are so clearly having fun as they inject passion and warmth to a film that is a surefire bet to be an instant crowdpleaser, one of those rare movies that's more entertaining with a larger audience.Alejandro Landes'has been compared to the likes ofandand it matches the same intensity of Francis Ford Coppola's Vietnam War epic, focusing on eight child soldiers (with names like Rambo, Boom Boom, Lady and Wolf) stranded on a mountain top protecting a hostage and a conscripted milk cow, things go awry when the cow dies and a hostage escapes, sending any plans that they had for the foreseeable future into immediate chaos. It's raw, gritty and visceral, so intense I had to watch it twice at the cinema to fully let it sink in, lead by a completely transformative performance by Moises Arias. This film is an excellent case study into the true horrors of war and will leave you unable to forget it after watching it for the first time. Jasper Wolf's cinematography is jaw dropping and Mica Levi delivers what might just be my favourite score of the year, creating a hauntingly hypnotic experience.Gerta Gerwig's energetic, fun and lively follow up tois an adaption of the classic novel by Mary Lou Alcott that is such an easy viewing it should be a crime. You'll be taken on an emotional rollercoaster throughout the film that immerses you in the lives of four March siblings growing up in the middle of the American Civil War, finding yourself completely invested in the characters from the word go thanks to performances by actors who deserve to be in consideration for awards. Saoirse Ronan puts in the best performance of her career to date as aspiring writer Jo, whilst Florence Pugh manages to steal every scene as her sister Amy, and Emma Watson, Laura Dern, Timothee Chalamet and Elizabeth Scanlen all impress. Alexandre Desplat's score is creative and helps make this film feel unlike any period drama that's quite gone before it. I laughed, I came close to crying, and it's one of those films that I saw this year that had me leaving the cinema needing to see it again.Joe Talbot's inspiring debut is a love letter to the city of San Francisco that argues that you can't hate a place until you loved it. It's a passionate defence of the city that brings it to life before our eyes through to lifelong friends, one of whom will stop at nothing to reclaim his childhood home. Both Jimmie Fails and Jonathan Majors put in compelling turns with a believable and authentic friendship that is put to the test over the course of the film, with both characters finding themselves in a city that is starting to leave them behind. Poetically illustrated from start to finish, Adam Newport-Berra's cinematography is something to be marvelled at and Emile Mosseri's score is unforgettable, creating a perfect backing track for audiences to fully immerse themselves in the lives of the characters.Martin Scorsese's swan song to the gangster genre that he shaped almost entirely by himself almost feels like an end of an era. It's not his last movie, he's already started working on his next one, but it feels like a goodbye to a genre that he's spent his whole life working on. Focusing on Frank Sheeran, a real-life mobster, the film looks at the underbelly of the mob with an ambitious and riveting attention to detail, boasting a brilliant performance from a de-aged Robert DeNiro. Much of the attention will be on the supporting performances as both Al Pacino and Joe Pesci put in unforgettable performances from start to finish, with Pacino's loud and commanding Jimmy Hoffa acting as a nice counterpart to Pesci's quiet and sombre Russell Bufalino. It's one of the legendary director's best films in years, as regardless of its length, it's something that is worth every bit of an undertaking. Netflix may not be making a profit back on the budget that they spent to de-age Robert DeNiro and givethe authenticity that it needed to work, but I'm glad that they put this thing out into the world for all to see, and gave it a theatrical release date so that those who wanted to see it on the big screen like myself could.The reviews weren't kidding about how good this film was, it more than lived up to the hype allowing for one of the best cinematic experiences of 2019. It's an eat-the-rich, anti-capitalist film that commands the audience to think beyond just its tightly woven, cleverly planned screenplay about a poor family who take advantage of their son's new job as an English tutor to a child of a rich family to infiltrate the household. It's tense when it needs to be but also brilliantly funny, complete with clever set design (this film gets the award for best house 2019) that feels real and lived-in. Bong Joon-Ho's breathtaking direction is unparalleled, with the film's ensemble proving to be one of the best of the year: Song Kang-Ho and Park So-dam are among the standouts in a movie where everyone is at the top of their game. That flood sequence at a crucial turning point in the film feels special, it's one of the most finely crafted sequences in cinema for not just of the year but of the decade. I can't wait to watch it again.Celine Sciamma's romantic period drama set in Brittany at the end of the eighteenth century lives up to all the hype. It's a rewarding crowd-pleaser of a film set against the backdrop of a desolate island in the middle of nowhere, beautifully directed with another stellar effort from cinematographer Claire Mathon where every frame looks like a painting. The lead performances by Noemie Merlant & Adele Haenel are flawless, as both play a painter and a bride-to-be who develop strong feelings for one another sharing clear, intimate chemistry. It's tender, intoxicating and damn near as perfect as any film could get this year, showcasing the ups and downs of their relationship. Sciamma has a way of captivating the audience's attention from the word go with one of the finest films of the 2010s, following up on her masterpieces that wereand, that are every bit as worth a watch as this. Instant classic is a term that gets thrown around all too often but it absolutely applies here.I thought I'd end it with the films that didn't quite make the list as I had to have a cut-off point somewhere, but are every bit worth seeking out if you can, in a purely unranked order. On his last visit to Houston, in October 1967, Martin Luther King Jr. drew more than 4,000 people to the Sam Houston Coliseum. Audience members walked past Klansmen protesting on the street and they scrambled for exits after smoke bombs sent acrid fumes through the air conditioning vents. They watched performances by Aretha Franklin and Harry Belafonte, and heard King decry the evils of the Vietnam War. They witnessed history. Six months later, King would be dead the victim of an assassins bullet. Today, the Coliseum is gone, razed in 1999 to make space for the Hobby Center and the final Houston appearance by the Nobel Prize-winning civil rights leader has been left to the frailties of collective memory, its record fading and incomplete. That must change. It is past time for African-American history so long overlooked and undervalued to be conserved and commemorated, for us to pay tribute to the locations and events that have played pivotal roles in our area. That is the impetus behind Harris County Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis efforts to honor four lynching victims with markers provided through the Alabama-based Equal Justice Initiative. The location of the memorial, in Quebedeaux Park, near the downtown Houston courthouse complex, will highlight the due process denied to the victims. It is also the driving force behind Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgos proposal to create a commission to preserve African-American culture and heritage and protect historically black cemeteries, churches and neighborhoods threatened by gentrification. We want to make sure we dont lose the significance of African-American historical sites and overlook that place in our history, Ellis told the editorial board. Knowing our full history makes us stronger. How can we seek to repair the wounds of slavery and segregation without acknowledging the stories of those who suffered under those systems? Around the country, there is a growing awareness that we must restore the missing pieces of our history. From the toppling of confederate statues to debates over textbooks, long-accepted narratives are being scrutinized with new eyes. In Montgomery, Ala., the Equal Justice Initiatives National Memorial for Peace and Justice documents nearly 4,400 racially motivated killings in the period between the Civil War and World War II. At Monticello, Thomas Jeffersons Virginia estate, new exhibits focus on Sally Hemings, the enslaved woman who bore Jeffersons children, and the lives of the other enslaved people at the plantation. In Boston and Kentucky, African-American heritage trails educate visitors on the lives and histories of black Americans in those communities. The United States Civil Rights Trail spans 15 states and more than 100 locations central to the fight for equal rights. Not only is there a need for such memorials, there is a hunger. A 2018 Pew article noted that African-American cultural sites are seeing a boost in visitors, even as museum attendance overall has dropped. We should pay heed. The Houston region has a bounty of African-American historical sites that must be preserved before it is too late: Independence Heights, the first black city in Texas, and Freedmens Town, the Fourth Ward community founded by formerly enslaved people. Pleasant Green-Culbertson, Olivewood and Evergreen cemeteries. The Freedom Colonies established by formerly enslaved people, such as Barrett Station, an unincorporated community east of the San Jacinto River. The remnants of brutal sugar plantations where slaves and those in the convict-leasing program were forced to labor. Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, where the Rev. Jack Yates once preached and where vaulted ceilings and hand-carved pews serve as testaments to freedom. The spot where King gave his last speech in Houston. On this day, set aside to honor the civil rights icon who would have turned 91 on Jan. 15, lets honor his legacy by supporting the efforts of community activists and elected leaders to protect our communitys African-American heritage. We cant march into the future until we reconcile ourselves with the past. 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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 How Reinier became a star watching videos of Zidane Real Madrid Shown clips by his father Reinier Jesus will play under his idol at Real Madrid whenever he's in the first-team squad. The Brazilian teenager completed his move from Flamengo on Monday and has previously spoke about his admiration for Zinedine Zidane. "My idol, my reference, is Zidane," Reinier told Globoesporte at the age of 15. "I never watched him play, but my dad always put videos of him on his phone and he would tell me that he was the best. "I tried to learn from him, copy his plays. If I'm one percent as good as he was, I'll be fine." Reinier, who is originally from Brasilia, doesn't lack personality. He was dreaming of the perfect debut he could make with Flamengo. "I imagine myself making my professional debut at the Maracana, in Flamengo vs Vasco de Gama, with the stadium completely full," he said in his first interview. "I imagine myself coming on with 10 minutes to go and scoring a goal and making an assist." Real Madrid have spent 30 million euros on Reinier, who has often been compared to Kaka for his style of play. Kim Kardashian West is often seen as a reality star who doesnt carry much weight in the real world. However, Kardashian West has been working hard behind the scenes to bring awareness to causes she cares about specifically, prison reform. Kardashian West recently announced a new documentary, which follows her journey of working to reconfigure the prison system. And it has shed her in a completely new light. Kim Kardashian West | Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for The Girls Lounge Kim Kardashian West has never been regarded as someone who could change the world Kardashian West has been a reality star since 2007, but it doesnt mean shes been held in high regard in society. Many people suggest the Kardashians are famous for nothing and that they contribute very little to society. However, Kardashian West has been working hard to change the way people see her and to make a difference in the world. Shes recently become very involved with prison reform, and shes even taken law classes to become more informed. View this post on Instagram Cabo A post shared by Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian) on Jan 15, 2020 at 8:51pm PST People often dont take Kim Kardashian West seriously. She made headlines for working hard to free Alice Johnson When Kardashian West heard about Alice Johnson, she knew she wanted to change the system. Johnson was involved in a cocaine trafficking organization back in the 1990s, and a judge sentenced her to life in prison for the crime. However, it was a first time, nonviolent offense, suggesting that Johnsons sentencing was completely unfair. When Kardashian West heard about Johnsons situation, she headed to the White House to make things right. After explaining Johnsons case to President Donald Trump, he granted her clemency, and Johnson was released. Johnson is featured in Kardashian Wests new documentary. Kim went to war for me, Johnson says in the trailer. But Kardashian West doesnt want her work to stop there. Kardashian is releasing a new documentary, which sheds light on what shes trying to do For years, Kardashian West has been seen by many as someone who brings nothing to the table, but shes now making it known that she wants to make a difference in peoples lives. Kardashian West recently posted a trailer for her new documentary, Kim Kardashian West: The Justice Project where she discussed the mass incarceration problem in the United States. The trailer appears to highlight the stories of several criminals who believe they have been wrongly imprisoned, and Kardashian West seems to want to shed light on their cases to spark a bigger conversation about prison reform. The documentary shows the work Kardashian West hopes to do to help the criminal justice system, but it also shows that she is much more than just a pretty face and wants to use her platform to do good in the world. Shes reportedly going to law school to follow in her fathers footsteps Kardashian West has been taking law classes with the hope of becoming even more knowledgeable in the field shes working in. Her father, Robert Kardashian, was a prominent lawyer before his passing in 2003. In between launching beauty, fragrance, and shapewear lines, Kardashian West is studying to become as informed as possible with whats happening in the nations prisons. And its clear that shes doing her part to spread the word. Kim Kardashian West: The Justice Project airs Sunday, April 5 at 7 p.m. on Oxygen. A brawl at a River Walk bar just north of downtown ended with two people dead and five injured early Sunday night. The gunman was still at large as of 10 p.m. I saw a bullet fly toward the musician that was playing, said Jacob Flores, who was at Ventura San Antonio, 1011 Avenue B, when gunfire broke out about 8 p.m. My life flashed before my eyes. A 21-year-old man died inside the bar, while another person was critically injured and died at a local hospital, Police Chief William McManus said. There was an altercation between a group of individuals, McManus said. One person, at least, pulled out a gun and started shooting. Police dont know the ages of the other victims. All the victims were patrons at the bar, and no employees were hurt, officials said. No description of the shooter was immediately released. Im confident that we will identify the individual and have that person in custody sooner rather than later, McManus said at the scene. Flores, 17 and a musician, said there was chaos after the gunshots erupted. He estimated that there were about 25 or 30 people in the bar at the time. As soon as everyone heard the shots, everyone bolted out, he said. Ventura, which opened nearly four years ago, offers live indie rock in a hip area just west of Broadway bordered by the San Antonio Museum of Art to the north and the historic VFW Post 76 to the south. Sundays night event, billed as Living the Dream, featured numerous live bands. On Twitter, Musician Ruz, who had been scheduled to perform at 10 p.m., had invited fans to come to the club. About 9:30 p.m., however, he posted: My prayers go to whoever was hurt at Ventura. ashley.mcbride@express-news.net Fianna Fail is seeking an investigation by the States ethic watchdog into Fine Gaels use of State funding and Government events during the election campaign. The partys public expenditure spokesperson Barry Cowen said he plans to write to the Standards in Public Office Commission (Sipo) to request an immediate investigation into an event involving Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Apple chief executive Tim Cook. Mr Cowen said the Taoiseach used the event, which was organised by Irish Development Authority (IDA), to directly attack Fianna Fail and his other political opponents. Today we have seen Fine Gael abuse the separation between State and political party activities, Mr Cowen said. The Taoiseach used his appearance at an IDA event this morning to make party-political comments in a highly inappropriate attempt to score points for his party, he added. At the event Mr Cook was given an award noting the 40th anniversary of Apple setting up their business in Ireland. Expand Close Apple CEO Tim Cook is presented with the inaugural IDA Ireland Special Recognition Award by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar (Niall Carson/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Apple CEO Tim Cook is presented with the inaugural IDA Ireland Special Recognition Award by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar (Niall Carson/PA) Speaking in the National Concert Hall, Mr Varadkar criticised his opponents who say they will tear up the National Broadband Plan. Dont believe them, theyre not going to do that and theyre not going to get in anyway so it doesnt matter, he added. Speaking after the event, the Taoiseach said there was a real and serious risk of Fianna Fail running the next government and he said this would end in tears. We all know every single time Fianna Fail gets into office, twice in my lifetime alone, within a few years they wrecked the economy, he said. And we know what that leads to; it leads to unemployment, it leads to forced emigration, it leads to people losing their homes, it leads to major cutbacks in investment in areas like health and housing, for example, he added Mr Cowen said there was a worrying pattern of Fine Gael using state funding for their own political ends. It comes after what appears to be a significant increase in advertising, branded by the government and paid for by the taxpayer, in a bid to win over voters, he said. Fianna Fail will be writing to the Standards in Public Office Commission to request an investigation into these matters, he added. Yesterday, Fianna Fail deputy leader Dara Calleary criticised the placement of an advertisement by The Government of Ireland on the front page of a Sunday newspaper noting the increase in the minimum wage. Unfortunately Fine Gael hasnt learned from its mistakes and now its back splashing taxpayers cash on more advertising in a cynical attempt to win over people, Mr Calleary said. In the run-up to the Senate impeachment trial of President Trump, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Republican jurors proclaimed that they had already made up their minds about Trumps innocence, floated the idea of dismissing the case without a trial, and resisted the presentation of evidence from live and new witnesses. From the presidents viewpoint, if all this really happened, his acquittal would be even more of a foregone conclusion in the Republican-controlled Senate. But what about the rights of the other party to this proceeding? In only the third presidential impeachment, the charges are expressly brought by the House in the name of itself and the people of the United States of America against Donald J. Trump, President of the United States of America. The fact that the people all American citizens represented by their directly elected federal legislators serving in the Peoples House are preferring the charges is particularly momentous. These are the same We the People of the United States who gave birth to the Constitution that President Trump is accused of subverting. The impeachment charges are being prosecuted by seven managers on behalf of the House of Representatives exercising its exclusive authority pursuant to Article I, Section 2, Clause 5 of the U.S. Constitution. Impeachment by the House of Representatives has historically been analogized to a criminal indictment by a grand jury. Pursuant to Article I, Section 2, clauses 6 and 7, the Senate, acting liked a petit jury, has the sole power to try impeachments. The House has a solemn constitutional responsibility to bring to light what it deems to be corrupt conduct by the chief executive constituting high crimes and misdemeanors. While then-Rep. Gerald Ford famously said in 1970 that an impeachable offense is whatever a majority of the House of Representatives considers (it) to be at a given moment in history, articles of impeachment have historically alleged acts constituting abuse of official power. In exercising its constitutional authority, the House is functioning as guardian of democracy. Republican Rep. Henry Hyde, chief House manager in President Clintons impeachment trial in 1999, observed: The founding fathers gave the House of Representatives one function when it comes to cleansing the office of the presidency and that is impeachment. The Senate rules governing this impeachment trial afford the president many of the procedural due process rights protecting ordinary criminal defendants. Among other things, the 26 codified rules, customs, and practices for assuring a fair trial include requiring notice of and basis for the charges, fair and impartial jurors, the right to counsel, a full opportunity to offer a defense, the right to know the evidence presented against him, the ability to cross-examine adverse witnesses either in a deposition or at the trial, and a decision based only on the evidence presented. Much like a criminal court trial judge, Chief Justice John G. Roberts will preside over the Senate impeachment proceedings. But what about the peoples rights? Are their surrogates, the House managers prosecuting their case, entitled to the same modicum of procedural fairness afforded to the president? How else can they meet their heavy burden of persuading at least 67 senators (53 of whom are Republicans) that the president should be removed if they do not have the right to present evidence, to call witnesses, and to have the case determined by fair and impartial jurors. The deck seems stacked against the people. Republic Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina took an oath to be a fair and impartial juror, despite having vituperatively expressed disdain for the charges and wanting to end this crap as quickly as possible. Likewise, Majority Leader McConnell took the same oath after defiantly proclaiming last month: I am not an impartial juror ... at all. While House Speaker Nancy Pelosi shrewdly sat on the impeachment charges for a month, a likely star witness former National Security Adviser John Bolton agreed to testify if subpoenaed, and other apparently incriminating evidence is emerging almost daily. Yet McConnell has voiced opposition to calling either any witnesses at all or only those who testified in the House impeachment hearings. Evidence is the mothers milk of justice. The people are entitled to fair and impartial justice every bit as much as an impeached president. The looming battle over the way the impeachment trial proceeds is a litmus test for the Senates commitment to the rule of law. As history teaches us, a show trial is not a fair trial. In this case, however, it is the rights of the peopleand not the accused that are being sacrificed at the altar of partisan politics. Pierce ODonnell is a trial lawyer with Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger LLP in Los Angeles. During the Watergate impeachment proceedings, he was a law clerk to Justice Byron R. White, has written articles and lectured on constitutional law, and is the author of In Time of War: Hitlers Terrorist Attack on America. A week into the first ever winter Love Island and there's one question on everyone's lips: how are we going to watch six weeks of this s***? Because, even accounting for the normal first-week jitters, this series really is scraping the barrel of acceptable television. I struggled for a few nights, trying to work out what was wrong, what had changed - wondering whether it was in fact me that was different now. But it's not, I'm still just a girl sitting in front of a TV, asking it to show me shaven 20-year-olds rubbing up against each other and shouting things. I think the problem is this: winter Love Island is a bit boring. We are yet to see any distinct personalities: there is no one to hate, and no one to love. They are all simultaneously too innocent, and too long in the tooth from coming of age in the era of Love Island. Love Island became what it is through unholy collaboration between producers and contestants - for years, contestants have been meaning-makers, crafting the distinct language of the villa, its unwritten rules, its code of honour. This series, the format feels calcified. It has yet to offer any kind of novelty, it's complacent: a week in, and we don't even have a catch-phrase yet. There hasn't been a single viral meme. These contestants are not co-creators, they are willing pawns. Last week, the crew was hit by a terrible vomiting bug and the villa was ''quarantined''. And to be fair, the maddening pace of this purgatorial series is indicative of a production team not quite firing on all cylinders. It begs the question: if no one was there to encourage the slicked housemates to ''pull'' each other ''for a chat'', would the poor kids just walk around like shiny zombies, snogging the first thing they bumped into like an early noughties screen saver? The biggest story so far was Ollie, a Cornish heir who left after only three days (the English aristocracy know a sinking ship when they see one) because he was still in love with ex. Viewers theorised that he was pulled out because of the vitriolic abuse he was receiving from the public after photos of him posing with dead big game and a rifle were published. This attracted hundreds of official complaints and thousands of furious tweets pouring scorn on Ollie's privileged entitlement: it's unclear why the British voting public are pretending to dislike blonde, braying, blood-thirsty posh boys. Ollie may well find more success in the Conservative Party. ******* Video of the Day Someone please stop us. Please, for our own good: stop the millennials. Spotify has launched a playlist-generator for pets, and we're in raptures. The algorithm just needs a little information about your pet to produce the perfect playlist for its personality: you rate your dog (or cat, hamster, bird or iguana) on a scale of relaxed to energetic, shy to friendly, apathetic to curious and Spotify will know whether or not Rover is bored by Lewis Capaldi. Spotify knows that its USP isn't music - all the streaming services have music - it has to be silly viral nonsense, like the incredibly successful and deeply irritating ''Spotify wrapped'', which offered slick ready-to-share Instagram story-friendly stats on users' individual listening histories over the years last month, appealing to our generational narcissism. Spotify for dogs appeals that other great millennial weakness, absurdity. Stay tuned for their next venture for cats: 10 straight hours of the sound of human weeping. ******* Sinead Burke was undoubtedly Ireland's most successful export last year - from the Met Ball's red carpet, to the pages of Vogue, Sinead has almost single handedly put accessibility in fashion on the general public's radar. Now Dunnes has designed a range of clothes for children with additional needs - there's higher soft waistbands for little bodies in wheelchairs, there's jackets and shirts with adhesive closures for little less coordinated hands, there's joggers with poppers so that parents don't have to lift their older children to dress them; there's cute dresses that offer easy access to PEGs for kids who are tube-fed. These clothes offer dignity, independence and value for money for kids and their families - and they're perfect for typical kids too. Because, as we'll tell you until we're blue in the face, making things better for disabled people makes it better for everyone - your child might not be in a wheelchair, but they probably hate itchy care labels, or can't manage zips. Dunnes isn't doing us disableds a favour; accessible fashion is just good business. That doesn't mean I'm not allowing myself a moment of pride: between Sinead and Dunnes, Ireland could lead the way in holistic, kind, and cool accessibility. This is what happens when political correctness goes mad. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 20) President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday once again called out the rampant drug problem in Cebu, and vowed to go after police officials supposedly involved in the thriving illegal drug trade. Speaking before a predominantly Cebuano crowd during a Sinulog Festival event, Duterte particularly lashed out at Talisay City which he described as under a state of unrest" due to the number of crimes in the area. Kani bang droga, kusog ngari sa Cebu. Gae ko ninyo gamay. Ang droga, kusog kaayo sa Cebu. Ang kanang Talisay, wala na na'y pahuway. Naa ang tanan dihang kabuang, Duterte said. [Translation: The illegal drug trade is thriving here in Cebu. Just give me a little more time. The illegal drug trade is thriving here. Talisay is in a state of unrest. All kinds of crimes are there.) The chief executive, who also tagged top police officials in the illegal trade, warned cops to cut their drug links or else face punishment. Hasta inyong mga deputy, mga direktor, naa sa --- naa sa droga. Mao tong daghang gipangpatay ngari niadtong mga chief of police nga yawa naa sa droga. Giingnan ta mo ayaw. Ayaw kay madisgrasya gyud mo, he added. [Translation: Even your deputies and directors are part of the illegal drug trade. That is why there were chiefs of police who were involved in drugs were killed here. I warned you to stop. Do not do it because something bad would happen to you.] Duterte in August 2018 also called out the Talisay police and personnel of Cebus regional Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency for their supposed involvement in illegal drugs. The President has also repeatedly tagged former Daanbantayan, Cebu Mayor Vicente Loot in the illegal drug trade, claiming the retired police officer has been a drug protector. READ: Unwarranted accusation? Palace says Duterte not serious with Loot, Roxas ambush claim The Supreme Court on Monday declared that Senator Bala Mohammed of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is duly elected governor of Bauchi... The Supreme Court on Monday declared that Senator Bala Mohammed of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is duly elected governor of Bauchi State.Details later Washington (AFP) - President Donald Trump's legal team presented Saturday its line of defense for his upcoming impeachment trial, a process they dismissed as unconstitutional and "dangerous." It was the first time the team presented its arguments, modeled on those put forward since December by Trump and his fellow Republicans. White House counsel Pat Cipollone will be lead lawyer, backed by Trump's personal attorney Jay Sekulow. They will be joined by Ken Starr, who was at the center of Bill Clinton's impeachment in the 1990s, and celebrity lawyer Alan Dershowitz. In an initial response to the president's being charged, written by Cipollone and Sekulow, the defense said that the articles of impeachment -- passed by the majority-Democrat House of Representatives -- "are a dangerous attack on the right of the American people to freely choose their president." "This is a brazen and unlawful attempt to overturn the results of the 2016 election and interfere with the 2020 election," the team said in a statement. Trump has been impeached on charges that he abused his office to try and force Ukraine into digging up dirt on leading Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden by withholding $400 million in military aid and a White House meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart President Volodymyr Zelensky. He was also impeached for allegedly obstructing Congress. "The articles of impeachment are constitutionally invalid on their face. They fail to allege any crime or violation of law whatsoever," the defense team said. In a call with reporters earlier Saturday, a source close to Trump's legal team said the articles violate the Constitution because they are "the product of invalid proceedings that flagrantly denied the president any due process rights." The impeachment process risks doing "lasting damage to our structure of government," the source said. The sources added that Trump had met with Zelensky at the UN in September and that the military aid had been released, proving there was no quid pro quo with Kiev -- although by that point, a whistleblower within the administration had already triggered the impeachment proceedings. Story continues The House managers, or prosecutors in the impeachment trial, filed their official brief on Saturday, in which they said that Trump's conduct "is the Framers' worst nightmare," referring to the authors of the US Constitution. "The case against the President of the United States is simple, the facts are indisputable, and the evidence is overwhelming," the managers said in a joint statement after filing the brief. "President Trump abused the power of his office to solicit foreign interference in our elections for his own personal political gain, thereby jeopardizing our national security, the integrity of our elections, and our democracy." Could it be the most widely read scientific article of all time? That question is difficult to answer because science and engineering publications do not typically share reader statistics. What we can say for sure, though, is that 15 years later: on the physics of high-rise building collapses the five-page feature in the August 2016 issue of the European Physical Societys Europhysics News by Dr. Steven Jones, Dr. Robert Korol, engineer Tony Szamboti, and AE911Truths Ted Walter has been read, and continues to be read, by a massive number of people. This past September, according to the metrics on EurophysicsNews.org, the article surpassed a remarkable one million views since being published three years earlier. More than half of those views have come since the end of 2016, with the article racking up at least 10,000 downloads per month for 36 straight months after first going viral in September 2016. The articles soaring popularity should come as no surprise. It authoritatively lays waste to the official account of the World Trade Centers destruction the most blatant and consequential scientific fraud ever perpetrated on the world. It is also one of the few times that a reputable scientific organization has had the courage and integrity to provide a forum for the issue. Three and a half years after its publication, we at AE911Truth strongly encourage advocates of 9/11 Truth to continue using this landmark article as a tool for raising awareness. Go to 15 years later: on the physics of high-rise building collapses. A veteran New Jersey police officer who'd recently become a father killed himself behind the wheel after crashing into two parked cars. Roselle Park police patrolman Edward Nortrup, 39, shot and killed himself inside his mangled SUV in Matawan on Sunday while firefighters were preparing to get him out of the wreck. The Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office wrote in a press release that Nortrup was driving along Broad Street at around noon when he appeared to have lost control of his black Nissan SUV and smashed into the cars. Rest in peace: Off-duty Roselle Park police patrolman Edward Nortrup shot and killed himself inside his wrecked SUV in Matawan, New Jersey, on Sunday Nortrup appeared to have lost control and crashed into two parks cars on Broad Street at noon Nortrup's black Nissan is seen been hauled away from the scene after he shot himself in the head inside as first responders were getting tools to extract him His SUV then partially rolled over before coming to a stop, reported Patch.com. As first responders on the scene left Nortrup's vehicle to go get tools needed to free him, the prosecutor said the officer got a hold of a firearm and shot himself in the head. It remains unclear at this time what might have driven the 13-year veteran and married father-of-one to commit suicide. The Roselle Park Police Department released a statement on its Facebook page on Monday mourning Nortrup's untimely death. Edward Nortrup and his wife Esmeira are pictured at their wedding in 2016 Nortrup is survived by his wife of four years and their 15-month-old daughter, Evelyn (right) 'Patrolman Nortrup was a co-worker, friend and a brother,' the post read. 'Always willing to help others, Patrolman Nortrup was a well-respected member of the law-enforcement community, and will be sorely missed.' A 2007 graduate of the John H. Stamler Police Academy, Nortrup served in the Detective Bureau and had been a member of the Union County Emergency Response Team. When Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in 2017, Nortrup was deployed to the island to help with relief efforts. Esmeira Paulino, the wife of Edward Nortrup, is pictured with their 15-month-old daughter Evelyn According to the description of a GoFundMe campaign launched by the Roselle Park Police Benevolent Association Local 27, where Nortrup served as executive board member and treasurer, the officer leaves behind his wife and their 15-month-old daughter, Evelyn. 'For those fortunate enough to have known or worked with Officer Nortrup will remember him fondly as a caring, compassionate and kindhearted person,' the page read. All the proceeds from the online fundraiser will go to Nortrup's baby daughter. For confidential support call the National Suicide Prevention Line on 1-800-273-8255 KPMG, a leading audit, tax and advisory firm, is sponsoring MEET ICT & BITEX 2020, a leading ICT event in Bahrain taking place from March 24 to 26 at the Gulf Convention Centre. The event is being held under the patronage of Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed, Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications. KPMG has been providing businesses across all sectors a suite of locally supported audit, tax and advisory services. Over the years, the company has strengthened their capabilities considerably, cultivated lasting trust and relationships across the business ecosystem, while staying true to their strategic direction and the vision to make a real difference. KPMGs managing partner Jamal Fakhro commented on the 10th edition of the prestigious event: In the past years, this event has allowed many organizations and individuals to align their objectives to promote and secure a positive digital economy. The financial services sector in Bahrain has an unprecedented opportunity in todays connected global marketplace but they also face key challenges with the increasing regulations and technology disruption. We also work closely with the national government, to help raise service delivery efficiencies and revenues, while enhancing the quality of public services. As the boundaries between public and private sectors become more fluid, new solutions - and new risks - are emerging. KPMG helps turn challenges into opportunities by working with clients across the public sector, including the Technology sector amongst others, Fakhro added. Ubaydli Ubaydli, chairman of BTECH stated: Supporting initiatives like MEET ICT & BITEX aims to increase the contribution of technology companies in the private and public sector, as well as encourage them to further improve the rendering of their services and innovations. We are pleased to have KPMG as our Bronze Sponsor for the event. The digital economy is taking shape and undermining conventional notions about how businesses are structured; how firms interact; and how consumers obtain services, information, and goods, which is why, we should take the rightful measure in understanding and securing the future of Bahrains economy. It has been our passion of contributing to the ICT industry in Bahrain. More so, to understand the current situation of our economy and how Digital Transformation has had an impact on it. We know that the sponsorship and alliance with KPMG will help us accomplish a positive change to our society, he added. TradeArabia News Service The hotly contested South Kildare constituency is gearing up to be a fascinating battle with confirmation today that well-known school principal, Anita Mhic Gib, is entering the race. The Kilcullen resident who is principal of Gaelscoil Nas an Riogh has been selected by Aontu, Irelands newest political party, led by Deputy Peadar Toibin. She is married to Portarlington man Maurice Mac Gib. The fledgeling party ran two candidates in Kildare for the local elections and Anita Mhic Gib says she believes she can build on that, saying there is a growing resentment amongst people at the wanton waste and lack of accountability that will be the lasting legacy of this Government." I have been actively involved in Politics for over 20 years and I believe that this area and this country is being mismanaged so badly, that I just have to stand up and try and be a voice for people who feel totally disenfranchised. Aontu polled very respectably in the local elections in Kildare last May, for a party that was then just months in existence. "There is a huge appetite for change; people want to be heard and ordinary hard-working people in our constituency are tired and frustrated by the runaway train that is health, housing, education, crime; this Government has haemorrhaged public money and the worst thing is that nobody is being held to account. If ordinary working people made such a spectacular mess of their jobs they would be fired." Kildare has a farming crisis, it has a housing crisis, it has huge waiting times for services for children with special needs, it has an early years sector crisis; everywhere you turn there is a crisis." Fine Gael was traditionally the party for Farmers in our area but FG has turned its back on them. We have unelected planners who are responsible for Kildare and Laois having some of the strictest planning laws in the country. It seems our two largest parties have been working hard over the years to set us up for the biggest housing crisis we have ever had. Over 7,300 families are on the social housing list in Kildare with 1,500 in Laois." Vulture funds are being allowed to buy distressed mortgages and have refused to come before the Dail Finance Committee. Kildare has one of the longest waiting times for children to see an occupational therapist or speech therapist in the country. "The assessment of need service list, which helps identify children with disabilities, and the interventions which are required is long that parents have brought the HSE to court in order to force them( HSE) to provide the assessments that children are entitled to under the law. "Early intervention is so important and I know the huge struggle parents face in obtaining services and support. I have always been a strong advocate for all children on a national level, ensuring that all the children of the nation are cherished equally. Labhroidh me go laidir ar son paisti na tire seo." I am working at the chalk face so to speak and I know that this electoral area is one of the worst affected by the new school building scandal. After years of inadequate school buildings, communities were delighted with new schools only to find that they were structurally unsafe and had serious defections in fire safety, resulting in urgent and costly remedial works. This mismanagement has cost millions which would have been better directed at paying school secretaries a proper wage, removing the two-tier Teacher pay scale or investing in special education. Kildare South have massive potential for growth but Government policy has directed investment to Dublin, ignoring our area. While inward investment is very important it should co-exist with good supports for indigenous industry. We badly need new industry in Monasterevin and Athy, and promote vibrant communities instead of emptying these towns every day as workers face the long commute to Dublin. With just 11 Gardai in the Kildare Drugs Unit and the Laois Offaly Unit being cut to three recently the scourge of drugs continues unabated in this area. Many communities find themselves with a part-time Garda station and an even rarer Garda on the beat." Somebody has to shout stop and I promise if elected to be a loyal and loud voice for the people of South Kildare." Esmail Qaani says the US killed his predecessor in a cowardly way as he promised to hit back in a manly fashion. The newly appointed commander of Irans elite Quds Force said the United States killed his predecessor, Qassem Soleimani, in a cowardly way and promised to hit his enemy in a manly fashion. Esmail Qaani made the remarks on Monday at an introduction ceremony held for him by top Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders to mark the formal beginning of his tenure. They (US) hit him (Soleimani) in a cowardly way, but with Gods grace and through endeavours of freedom-seekers around the world who want vengeance over his blood, we will hit his enemy in a manly fashion, he said. Soleimanis assassination in a US air strike in Baghdad on January 3 pushed the US and Iran to the brink of war, but fears of an all-out conflict eased when retaliatory Iranian attacks against US targets in Iraq on January 8 concluded without any fatalities. Irans Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei has since called for the expulsion of all US troops from the Middle East. IRGC The Quds Force is part of the 125,000-strong IRGC, a paramilitary organisation that answers only to Khamenei. IRGC oversees Irans ballistic missile programme, has its naval forces shadow the US Navy in the Gulf, and includes an all-volunteer Basij force. Under Soleimani, the Quds Force helped boost Iranian influence across the Middle East by building up a vast network of proxies. 200113203551686 In Syria, the unit played a key role in shoring up support for embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad after the country descended into war in 2011. It also armed and trained militias that helped defeat the armed group ISIL (ISIS) in both Syria and Iraq. Khamenei, while announcing Qaanis appointment on January 3, said the Quds Forces new chief was among the most prominent IRGC commanders during the 1980-1988 war between Iran and Iraq, adding the unit under the veteran soldier will follow an identical strategy to that pursued by Soleimani. At the slain commanders funeral days later, Qaani, 62, pledged to continue on his predecessors path with the same force, saying his assassination will be reciprocated in several steps by removing the US from the region. Qaanis tenure Born in the late 1950s in the city of Mashhad in northeast Iran, Qaani joined the IRGC in 1980, a few months before Iraqi forces invaded western Iran, triggering a bloody eight-year war that killed about one million people. Soon after the war, Qaani was appointed as deputy chief of the IRGCs ground forces. Although it is unclear when Qaani joined the Quds Force, Irans state news agency IRNA said he was appointed as the units deputy in 1997, the same year that Soleimani was named its commander. With a clear division of labour and maintaining geographically distinct spheres of influence, Soleimani and Qaani together played a strategic role in expanding Irans influence in neighbouring nations. In the few public statements Qaani has made, he slammed the United States and Israel and said in a 2017 article that US President Donald Trumps threats against Iran will damage America. In 2012, the US sanctioned Qaani citing his role in financial disbursements to the Quds Forces elements in Africa and other terrorist groups. He claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), however, failed to stop the movement with the police. Congress parliamentary party leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Choudhury on Sunday blamed the Narendra Modi government for the promulgation of the National Security Act (NSA) in Delhi. At Berhmapore in Murshidabad he alleged, With the help of this draconial law, the central go-vernment is trying hard to strangulate the spontenous students movement in various parts of the captial against the Citiz-enship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC). The MP pointed out that not only the students of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Jamia Milia Islamia, Aligarh Muslim University and Delhi University have been organising protests against the CAA and NRC but the teachers and common people have also joined them at the demonstration at Saheen Bagh. He claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), however, failed to stop the movement with the police and so it has resorted to the NSA for suppression. Burma Thousands of Myanmar Workers Demand Higher Minimum Wage Thousands of factory workers gathered and marched in Hlaing Tharyar Township on Sunday to call for higher wages. / Htet Wai / The Irrawaddy YANGONMore than 5,000 workers marched on Sunday in Hlaing Tharyar Township, where Yangons biggest industrial zone is located, to call for higher wages ahead of an upcoming amendment to Myanmars minimum wage law. Under the 2013 Minimum Wage Law, the National Committee for Designating Minimum Wage has to amend the minimum wage at least every two years, with the next wage adjustment planned for May. Labor protesters told The Irrawaddy on Sunday that the current minimum wage of 4,800 kyats (US$3.26) cannot cover the cost of living. Ma Tin Tin Wai, chair of the Running Tex Garment Factory Union, a member of the Confederation of Garment Factory Unions, said that workers have to pay around 70,000 kyats per month for a small dormitory room, though their base wage is only 144,000 per month. Workers used to earn around 200,000 kyats per month for overtime work. We are not going to force them to increase the minimum wage. But the current wage cant cover expenses for any worker who has a family, said Ma Tin Tin Wai. Myan Mode Garment Factory Union worker Ko Maung Moe said the workers are not demanding a specific figure for the minimum wage, but merely want it to be sufficient to provide a living for workers and their families. Due to legislative delays after the 2013 law was passed, the Myanmar government first set the minimum wage for an 8-hour work day at 3,600 kyats in 2015, though labor groups called for the government to set it at 5,600 kyats. In 2018, workers again voiced concerns, saying that they needed a daily wage of at least 6,600 kyats to cover the cost of living but in May 2018, the government increased the minimum wage to only 4,800 kyats. Worker representative U Tun Wai, from the Yangon Regional Committee for Designating Minimum Wages, told The Irrawaddy that regional and state wage committees are now starting observation projects to determine their proposals for minimum wages. The regional and state committees will then submit their proposed wages to the national committee at the end of February. He added that the daily cost of living for workers from Yangon Region can be up to 8,000 kyats per day, according to the Yangon regional committees observations. U Myo Aung, vice president of the National Committee for Designating Minimum Wages and permanent secretary of the Labor Ministry, said the regional and state committees have been asked to conduct their observations and submit their proposed minimum wages as quickly as possible. U Myo Aung said that while workers are calling for higher wages, employer representatives on the wage setting committees have expressed opposition. After the minimum wage adjustment in 2018, the number of Myanmar workers going abroad increased dramatically, from 150,000 departures in 2017 to 230,000 in 2018 and 327,000 in 2019, according to data from the Labor Ministry. Most migrant workers from Myanmar go to Thailand, where workers are paid 308 baht (US$10.14) to 330 baht per 8-hour shift, according to the countrys minimum wage laws. The second most popular destination is Malaysia, where migrant workers are paid 1,100 ringgits (US$270.95) per month. You may also like these stories Migrant Workers Demand Full Labor Rights in Northern Thailand Proposed New Minimum Wage Between 4,000 to 4,800 Kyats a Day Migrant Workers Demand Full Labor Rights in Northern Thailand Comoros President Azali Assoumani's party swept to victory in weekend parliamentary elections that were boycotted by the opposition, official results showed on Monday. The Convention for the Renewal of the Comoros (CRC) won 17 out of 24 seats legislative seats, while two other seats went to parties in the presidential coalition. A second round of voting will take place on February 23 to allocate the remaining five seats, the electoral commission said. Opposition parties stayed away from the contest in the Indian Ocean islands' national assembly after failing to obtain guarantees of a "transparent, free and democratic" election. In a statement the opposition described the weekend election as a "circus" and an "electoral masquerade", estimating a vote turnout of only about 10 percent, dismissing the electoral commission's declared estimate of 61.5 percent. "Comorans have again displayed their final rejection of the dictatorship regime by deserting the polling stations," the parties said. Azali oversaw a referendum in 2018 -- boycotted by the opposition -- that approved extending the presidential mandate from one five-year term to two. Azali secured a second consecutive term in last year's polls which critics alleged was rigged and witnesses said ballot boxes were stuffed. The president has denied the allegations, and regretted the opposition's absence in the weekend vote. Search Keywords: Short link: Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 23:15:08|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close LONDON, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Regional cooperation and exchanges constitute an important pillar for China-Britain relations and a solid basis for their friendship, Chinese Ambassador to Britain Liu Xiaoming said Monday. Delivering message on the launch reception and one-month countdown of the Fifth China-UK Regional Leaders' Summit, the ambassador said he hopes the summit will create new opportunities through matching the development strategies of the two countries. The summit could serve as a bridge between Chinese and British governments and businesses and bring their complementary strengths together, so as to achieve more fruitful outcomes, he noted. Slated for Feb. 17 to 19 in Birmingham, the summit will bring together hundreds of representatives from local governments, businesses and universities of the two countries to match development strategies, explore cooperation and seek common development. Meanwhile, the ambassador said the summit offers an opportunity for deepening China-Britain friendship and mutual trust. Official data from China shows that close to 200,000 Chinese students are studying in Britain. Mutual visits between the two sides reached two million last year, setting a new record. Every week, 168 flights operate between the two countries, with the number still increasing. "This summit could serve as an opportunity for China and the UK to work together to give new vitality to the cultural and people-to-people exchanges between our two countries and contribute to building closer bond between our peoples," said the ambassador. He further called on the two sides to take the summit as an opportunity to address global challenges. "The international landscape is experiencing profound adjustment. Unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise. As major players of global influence, China and the UK shoulder important responsibilities," said Liu. "This summit could encourage local governments and businesses of our two countries to stand up for free trade, support multilateralism and oppose protectionism in the spirit of openness and inclusiveness," he said, "together we can take the lead in the pursuit of win-win cooperation." As the first regional cooperation mechanism between the two countries, the summit had been held in London, Shanghai, Belfast and Dalian since the first in 2016. Manila (CNN Philippines Life) If laughter is a social glue that brings people together, what is it about Filipino-American comedian Jo Koys comedy that makes him so popular across oceans and time zones? I understand why Fil-Ams would love him. He speaks from experience, sharing memories growing up with his Filipino mom a first generation immigrant in America and touches on the hilarity of her Filipino-ness, from her hard accent to her embarrassing lunches (and Cool Whip container lunch boxes), to the one language she seems to speak: yell. Theres a certain kind of pleasure derived from seeing your difference magnified and caricaturized, in seeing the quirks of your own family existing pretty much everywhere. I get that, but Ive been breaking my head trying to figure out why Jo Koy is also such a hit back home. I called my mom, who watched the live taping of his new Netflix special in Solaire over the weekend, to ask her what she liked about his show. His stories are just very typically Pinoy, she told me in a tone that made me feel like what she really wanted to say was Its not that deep, bro! But as she told me more about the new special, I felt like I began to understand Jo Koy, or at least his appeal, a little bit more. I wouldnt consider myself a fan I watched his last special, Comin In Hot, recently, and while I found it enjoyable enough, it wasnt exactly brand new stuff either. His brand of Pilipino humor has been covered by everyone from Rex Navarrette to YouTubers like Mikey Bustos and Christine Gambito, to Filipino and Fil-Am TikTok-ers. And dont even get me started on his bits about how men and women are different. Photo by JL JAVIER As it turns out, his new Netflix special is a departure from the old standard of a cut-to-cut edit of a comedians hour-long set, and instead intersperses footage filmed here in the Philippines during his brief stay. Get ready for Netflix. What I shot here is amazing, Jo Koy tells CNN Philippines senior correspondent Pia Hontiveros in an interview. I brought Filipino comics that lived in America that have never been here [like] Joey Guila and Andrew Lopez and I also got some Filipino dancers from here to open up the show along with another professional dancer from the States. And I also brought a Filipino producer, and I brought him here to work with another producer in the Philippines. So it's kind of this meeting of cultures and appreciating where we're from and bringing it back to the Philippines and representing our culture and our people, our food, and shining light on it, he adds. It's gonna be beautiful when it gets on Netflix. The world is finally going to see how much fun it is to be here in the Philippines. Jo Koys appeal, to me at least, isnt that hes a subversive and provocative comic. In fact, he makes it a point to remind people that among the dozen or so genres of comedy out there, he likes to stick to his pocket. I like to talk about my family. I like to talk about me, my son, my mom. That's my pocket. So, if I'm gonna offend anyone, it'll be mostly me, he says. But in doing so, and in sharing the stage with other Filipino talents in his upcoming special, I like to think that Jo Koys strength lies in making us feel seen and understood. And in an era of #OscarsSoWhite and the push for diversity and representation in Hollywood, its exciting to see where he takes us. Photo by JL JAVIER Of course, theres much to be said about the reductiveness of his takes. How much more can be said about forgetful uncles and our moms obsession with Vicks VapoRub? It would also be irresponsible not to deliberate on why Filipinos take pride in validation from recognition in the United States anyway and how this plays into our need to decolonize from the US. And what does it even mean to be proud to be Pinoy! in the context of seeing ourselves and our culture on American television when most of what we see are stereotypes? If laughter is a social glue that brings people together, I think aside from asking why we find humor in the things and people that we do, it would also be good to ask ourselves why Filipinos cherish humor so much too. Though he wasnt really seeking to answer that question, in discussing how he ended up becoming a comic, Jo Koy unwittingly answered it anyway. When you don't have much, you use what you do have, he says. So if you don't have money or whatever it is, well, then you use the talents or the resources you have with you. Trump warns Iranian supreme leader to be 'very careful with his words' Global Times Source:CGTN Published: 2020/1/18 20:06:47 US 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" in a rare public address. In his first Friday prayers sermon for eight years, Khamenei threw his support behind the elite Revolutionary Guards after their belated admission that they had accidentally downed an airliner triggered days of street protests. "The villainous US government repeatedly says that they are standing by the Iranian people. They lie," Khamenei said in a tweet on Friday. "If you are standing with the Iranian people, it is only to stab them in the heart with their venomous daggers." In another Twitter post on Friday evening, Trump sent out a message to Iranian citizens, including a riff on his 2016 campaign slogan, "Make America Great Again." "The noble people of Iran - who love America - deserve 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!" 'They don't want war' Pakistan's foreign minister, who has shuttled between Washington and Tehran in the course of a week, voiced confidence on Friday that Iran was seeking to lower tensions. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi discussed Iran and Afghanistan's peace process on Friday with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, five days after seeing Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. While stopping short of saying that he was transmitting any message, Qureshi said he understood that the Iranians "did not want to escalate things." "They don't want war, they don't want further bloodshed," Qureshi told reporters in Washington. The Iranians "highlighted the issues, the differences, they have had with other important countries in the region," he said, adding "They said they are willing to engage at any level and in any format." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Bahrain Real Estate Investment Company (Edamah) has renewed its strategic partnership of the Gulf Property Show. Edamah, the real estate arm of Bahrains sovereign wealth fund, will be showcasing its latest marquee developments in the kingdom. The Gulf Property Show is held under the patronage of HRH Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the Prime Minister of Bahrain, from April 14 to 16 at the Bahrain International Exhibition Centre. Edamahs CEO, Amin Al Arrayed, commented: We are delighted to be participating in Gulf Property Show 2020, one of the Kingdom of Bahrains leading real estate events, which provides the ideal platform to network with key industry players as well as showcase Edamahs latest projects and developments to attendees and prospective investors. He continued: During the show, Edamah will be exhibiting key projects in its growing real estate portfolio, including the Saada Waterfront development, Bilaj Al Jazayer and the multi-storey Salmaniya Carpark development, which comes in line with Edamahs strategy to develop new projects and modernise existing ones in a sustainable and comprehensive manner to meet the needs of citizens in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The Saada project, which brings the sea back to Muharraq, is marketed as a fully accessible public waterfront development with shaded terraces and commercial outlets enhanced by convenient parking. The projects construction is now complete with approximately 50% of commercial units leased. Edamah is also transforming one of Bahrains oldest landmarks, Bilaj Al Jazayer, into a prime destination, in order to create a wholesome public space that is safe for the community to enjoy. Jubran Abdulrahman, HCE managing director, commenting on Edamahs participation at Gulf Property Show, said: We are honoured to have the support of Edamah as a strategic partner. They are a key driver in ensuring that Bahrains developments are in alignment with the 2030 vision, by developing and enhancing Bahrains real estate potential while contributing to elevating the facilities that improve the daily lives of citizens within the kingdom. This practical contribution can be seen in the new The Terminal car park in Adliya as well as the Salmaniya Carpark Development which is launching this year. This welcome project will relieve the congestion around the medical complex by providing 600 parking slots for both staff and visitors. The show also carries the strategic organisational support of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority of Bahrain (RERA), Survey and Land Regulatory Bureau (SLRB), Urban Planning and Development Authority of Bahrain, Tamkeen, Bahrain Property Developers Association (BaPDA) and the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism. TradeArabia News Service Two LED screens worth 35,000 were stolen from the Government Primary School in Rania village in Ludhiana on Sunday. A first information report (FIR) under Sections 457 (lurking house-trespass by night, or house-breaking by night, in order to commit any offence punishable with imprisonment) and 380 (theft in any building, tent or vessel, which building, tent or vessel is used as a human dwelling, or used for the custody of property) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered at the Dehlon police station. Thieves entered the rooms through the windows and stole two LED screens from were installed two months back in two classrooms to teach e-content to 179 students enrolled in the school. Teachers were taking classes on rotation using the LED screens as the final exams are due after a month, head teacher Paramjit Kaur. While one screen was donated to the school by a villager, Kaur said she got the other installed by paying 15,000 from her own pocket. Significantly, two LED screens, an LPG cylinder, a music system, and two computers have been stolen from the school in the past two years. Kaur said primary schools are an easy target for thieves as no security guards or have been hired by the authorities. Schools on target Last year, several thefts were reported from various schools in the district. LPG cylinders were stolen from Government Primary School, Jarkhar, and Government Primary School, Bool, in July 2019. In November, an LED screen was stolen from Government Primary School, Sangowal, after which the school authorities installed CCTV cameras. Further, in August, gas bhattis used to prepare midday meals were stolen from Government Senior Secondary School, Nurpur Bet Russian raids kill 7 civilians in northwest Syria: monitor Beirut, Jan 20 (AFP) Jan 20, 2020 At least seven civilians, including five children, were killed Monday in air strikes on northwest Syria by regime ally Russia despite a truce declared by Moscow, a war monitor said. The raids hit several villages held by jihadists and rebels in the western countryside of Aleppo province, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Three girls were killed in the village of Kfar Taal while four civilians, including two other children, died in separate strikes that hit other villages in the area, said the Britain-based monitor. Idlib and parts of Aleppo, Hama and Latakia provinces, are dominated by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a group dominated by Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate. The northwestern region has come under mounting bombardment in recent weeks that displaced tens of thousands of people. A ceasefire arranged by Syrian regime ally Russia and rebel backer Turkey this month was supposed to protect the area from further attacks. But the Damascus government last week pressed a deadly offensive, reaching within seven kilometres of a key town in southern Idlib it seeks to capture from jihadists. Russian and regime warplanes also continued to pummel the area, killing scores of civilians, according to the Observatory which relies on a network of sources inside Syria for its reports. On Thursday, Russia denied launching any combat operations in the region since the start of a ceasefire which it said took effect on January 9, a date disputed by Turkey which says the truce began on Sunday. The Syrian government, which now controls more than 70 percent of the country, has vowed to take back Idlib, which is home to some three million people. Syria's war has killed more than 380,000 people and displaced more than half the country's population since starting in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests. Berlin conference commits to cease-fire in Libya World leaders agreed to uphold a weapons embargo at a Berlin summit, as part of a broader plan to end the Libyan conflict. The Libya peace conference in Berlin agreed on new steps to support the cease-fire and observe the weapons embargo, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday. A FIVE-MEMBER-COMMISSION WILL BE FOUNDED Speaking at a press conference at the end of the conference that brought together world powers and regional actors, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Merkel said all the participants agreed that there could be no military solution to the Libyan conflict. We reached an agreement on a comprehensive plan, she said, adding that they also agreed on new measures to strictly observe the arms embargo. Merkel said the warring parties also agreed to designate members to a military commission with five members from each side as foreseen by the UN to monitor implementation of the cease-fire. Libyas internationally recognized government in Tripoli had been under attack by Haftar since last April, claiming the lives of more than 1,000 people. Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Haftars main supporters, have been heavily criticized by Libyas legitimate government for fueling the conflict. Ahead of the conference, Erdogan, a key leader at the meeting, reaffirmed Turkey's strong support for Libyas internationally recognized government. He also slammed Egypt, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia for supporting Haftars forces, which, he said, seek to carry out a coup in the country. Pakistan has urged the US to support its bid to exit from the grey list of the FATF ahead of a key meeting of the international terror financing watchdog in Beijing in which it will scrutinise Islamabad's efforts to adopt stricter laws against terror financing and money laundering. A Pakistani delegation arrived in Beijing on Sunday for the three-day face-to-face talks with the Financial Action Task Force Working Group that would start on January 21. The briefing will go over whether Pakistan has complied with an earlier agenda presented to it by the Paris-based financial task force, The reported. The Pakistani delegation is being led by Minister for Economic Affairs Division Hammad Azhar and comprises representatives of National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta), the foreign ministry, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), among others. The FATF in October decided to keep Pakistan on its 'Grey' list for failure to curb funnelling of funds to terror groups LeT, JeM and others. If not removed off the list by April, Pakistan may move to a blacklist of countries that face severe economic sanctions, such as Iran. Pakistan has submitted a 650-page review report to the FATF on January 8. The report was submitted in response to 150 questions raised by the FATF regarding new Pakistani policies on money laundering. The report outlined the steps taken by Pakistan between October 2019 to January 2020 to implement the group's recommendations. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi at a media briefing in Washington on Friday said that Pakistan hoped the US would back its efforts to get it off the list at the FATF's Beijing meeting, the Dawn newspaper reported. This meeting is very important for us as it leads to a plenary meeting in Paris in April where the world body will decide whether Pakistan remains on the list or is taken off, he said. Qureshi concluded his three-day visit to the US on Friday after a series of meetings with key US lawmakers and officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien. The foreign minister spent the week touring Iran, Saudi Arabia and the US on a diplomatic mission meant to defuse tensions between Washington and Tehran. At his briefing, Qureshi also urged the US to review its travel advisories for Pakistan and encourage investments in the country. US travel advisories still present Pakistan as a country Americans should avoid travelling because of terrorism threats. Asked why the FATF's Beijing meeting was important, Qureshi said that decisions taken in China's capital would also impact the Force's Paris plenary, which would decide whether Pakistan stayed in or was taken off the grey list. We want our American friends to tell us what's their policy, he said. You share with us what measures you have taken or intend to. The minister acknowledged that removal from the FATF list could not happen overnight, but said that the US could enhance its engagements with Pakistan while waiting for the removal. Qureshi noted that in his meetings with Prime Minister Imran Khan last year, US President Donald Trump had said that he wanted to see Pakistan off the FATF grey list. So, we expect US officials to work for it now. The foreign minister said Islamabad had taken several concrete steps to meet FATF demands and the time had come for the US to fulfil President Trump's pledge. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A special session of Andhra Pradesh assembly will begin on Monday amid tight security as a decision is likely to be taken on decentralisation of the state capital, Amaravati. While the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government is likely to pass a resolution for decentralisation of the state capital, the opposition parties will oppose the idea of three capitals with its 'Chalo Assembly' call to protest against it. The Communist Party of India and Telugu Desam Party will participate in 'Chalo Assembly' demonstration. In view of the 'Chalo Assembly' programme, the state government is deploying heavy police force in Amravati to maintain peace and law and order. Section 144 Code of Criminal Procedure and Section 30 of Andhra Pradesh Police Act are already in force in Amaravati region. Villages that fall in the way to Assembly will be totally guarded by the police personnel. A special route has been prepared for state Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy to reach Assembly from his residence. At first, the cabinet meeting will be held at 9 am, the Business Advisory Committee meeting will be held at 10 am and the Assembly session will start at 11 am. The Assembly session was specially held to discuss the three capital proposal put forward by Andhra Chief Minister.The TDP has been vocal in opposing the idea of three capitals of the state and has actively participated in the agitation against the issue.Several protests had erupted in the state, 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.) Brussels could make the UK wait until March to formally begin post-Brexit trade talks. The European Commission said today that the bloc must first agree to a negotiating mandate and that can only happen after Britain leaves on January 31. The EU's timeline is likely to anger and frustrate Boris Johnson who wants trade talks to start quickly and to be concluded by the end of 2020. European Commission spokesman Eric Mamer was asked today when negotiations are likely to begin and he replied: 'The commission can adopt its proposal for the negotiation directives only once the UK has actually withdrawn from the EU. The European Commission today said the EU may not be ready to negotiate with the UK on the terms of the future relationship until March 'But then there is still an institutional process for these to be adopted by the (European) Council. 'This we know will take some time, which is why we have said we will start negotiations as quickly as we can, but it will certainly not be before the end of February, beginning of March. 'This is not a slowing down or speeding up of the process. This is simply the nature of the institutional process and the consultations that need to take place before the negotiation directives can be formally adopted.' The UK will leave the EU at 11pm on January 31, entering into a standstill transition period until the end of the year. Britain and the bloc will then use the transition period to hammer out the terms of their future relationship. Mr Johnson is adamant that the transition period will not be extended in any circumstances but Brussels believes there is insufficient time to get everything done by December. The fact that the EU may not be ready to sit down and negotiate until March will therefore likely spark accusations of time wasting from Brexiteers. Meanwhile, the European Commission also reiterated that the UK will have to accept less access to the single market if it carries out its threat of diverging from EU-made rules after Brexit. The Commission's timeline for trade talks is likely to frustrate Boris Johnson, pictured attending the UK Africa Investment Summit in London today, because the PM wants a trade deal with the bloc to be agreed quickly and certainly before the end of 2020 Chancellor Sajid Javid told businesses over the weekend that they would need to 'adjust' to no longer being aligned with European trade stipulations. Mr Mamer said: 'We have had this conversation a number of times and we have made our position very clear. 'There is a link between moving away from EU regulations and the degree of access that is possible into the single market. 'That position has not changed. I think both sides have expressed their positions very clearly and, hence, I have nothing to add to the comments that were made this weekend.' France's finance minister said Monday that "very difficult" negotiations with Washington to settle a dispute over a tax on multinational tech giants were "far from being a done deal" as a self-imposed deadline loomed. "We are willing to take steps towards the -- we have proposed a few," Bruno Le Maire told the LCI broadcaster. And while he was still hopeful of a deal by Wednesday, the minister said: "I do not hide the fact that it is very difficult, it is one of the most difficult negotiations that I have conducted, it is far from being a done deal." On January 7, Paris and Washington set a two-week deadline to end a row over a French tax on giants such as Google, Apple, Facebook, Netflix and Amazon that was met with a US threat of sky-high retaliatory duties on $2.4 billion of French products from wines cheese to leather handbags. The negotiating deadline coincided with a scheduled meeting on the topic at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos from Tuesday to Friday this week. The US sanctions "would be a terrible blow for French viticulture," said Le Maire, adding he had spent most of the weekend in negotiations and was due to meet US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin again on Monday evening. The minister said would "certainly not" give in to pressure to reduce to "nearly nothing" the three-percent tax imposed on multinational tech giants' turnover from January 1 last year, pending the adoption of an international tax regime under the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). "What I am trying to make our American friends understand is that the fight is not between and the or between Europe and the United States, the fight is to put in place a fair tax on digital activities," insisted Le Maire. After blocking the tech tax talks at the for several years, Washington relaunched them last year only to make proposals in December which France rejected before going ahead with its tax. After creating immense buzz around the upcoming flick 'Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan', actor Ayushmann Khurrana on Monday unveiled a new poster of the comedy film and announced the time of the trailer launch. The 'Bala' actor shared the poster on Twitter and wrote, "Kartik ka pyaar ho kar rahega Aman! Trailer out today at1.33pm!#ShubhMangalZyadaSaavdhan" Apart from Ayushmann, the poster features some significant actors from the flick including Neena Gupta, Jitendra Kumar, Gajraj Rao, Manvi Gagroo and others. The poster of the movie which is based on the concept of homosexuality has Jitendra Kumar dressed like a groom and Ayushmaan sitting on his lap posing for the camera. Meanwhile, other family members, all in not-so happy-faces, are trying to drag Ayushmaan to their side. The 35-year-old actor also let his followers know of the trailer release of the movie in the shared poster which is scheduled for Monday at 1:33 pm. Helmed by Hitesh Kewalya and produced by Bhushan Kumar, the film is the second installment of the much-acclaimed 'Shubh Mangal Saavdhan' film which was released in 2017. The film that is aimed at delivering a social message by narrating the journey of love for same-sex couples in a light-hearted manner is set to release on February 21. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) YEREVAN, JANUARY 20, ARMENPRESS. The Customs Service of Armenia has vowed harsh response to attempts by repatriates to abuse the envisaged privileges, State Revenue Committee Deputy Chairperson Shushanik Nersisyan said at a news conference. For instance, recently an elderly woman an 80 year old grandmother was returning to Armenia from Georgia to resettle and was bringing a 2019 Bentley with her, according to the papers. She had authorized two young men to deal with the procedures. Let me say that we will strictly response to those trying to abuse the privileges. We are maximally supporting everyone willing to return to Armenia, if they arent trying to deceive us, Nersisyan said. A bill envisaging new customs duty privileges has been introduced in Armenia. If passed, the new law will enable Armenians in the Diaspora (regardless of citizenship) to be exempt from customs duties and taxes for personal belongings upon entering the country in the event of arriving for permanent residence. The law will cover those who havent lived in Armenia for at least three years and will exempt duties and taxes for equipment, clothing, furniture, and even one vehicle per person (owned for at least 6 months). Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan PR-Inside.com: 2020-01-20 12:15:17 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 824 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 KINGSTON, ON / ACCESSWIRE / January 20, 2020 / Delta Resources Limited ("Delta") (DLTA:TSX-V) is pleased to announce that it has signed a Letter of Intent ("LOI") with Yorkton Ventures Inc. ("Yorkton") for the sale of its interest in the Bellechasse-Timmins property (the "Property") and associated claims in southeastern Quebec for $1,700,000 subject to a 60 day due diligence period (the "Due Diligence Period").The agreement is subject to Yorkton completing a legal, technical and environmental due diligence on the Property. If the due diligence is not satisfactory to Yorkton at its sole discretion, they shall have the right to terminate the LOI.Proposed Terms of the Agreement:To acquire a 100% interest in the Property, Yorkton will:Make a $100,000 cash payment within 10 days of signing of a definitive agreement,Make a $250,000 cash payment within 90 days after signing of a definitive agreement,Make a $350,000 cash payment within 180 days after signing of a definitive agreement,Make a $450,000 cash payment within 270 days after signing of a definitive agreementMake a $550,000 cash payment within 360 days after signing of a definitive agreementYorkton will also commit to paying Delta a gold royalty of I% NSR on any and all commercial production of gold. Yorkton may re-purchase 0.5% of the NSR for $1 Million at anytime.The parties agree to negotiate, in good faith, a formal agreement with respect to the transaction (the "Definitive Agreement"), together with such other documentation as is normally entered into in commercial transactions of this nature.The LOI and the transaction are subject to:(i) Satisfactory completion of the due diligence on the Property by the Purchasers;(ii) All required corporate and regulatory approvals having been obtained; and(iii) Execution of the Definitive Agreement.About Delta Resources LimitedDelta Resources Limited is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on growing shareholder value through the acquisition of high-potential gold and base-metal projects in Canada, exploring these projects with state-of-the-art methods, and potentially developing these projects into mines.On October 3rd, 2019, Delta announced the acquisition of the Eureka Gold Discovery in the Thunder Bay area and on October 16th, 2019, the acquisition of the Delta-2 Property which hosts the R-14 Gold Prospect in the Chibougamau Mining District of Quebec.Delta also owns a 100% interest in the Bellechasse-Timmins gold deposit in southeastern Quebec, Canada which contains a 43-101 gold resource of 171,000 ounces at an average grade of 1.83 g/t gold in the indicated category and an additional 95,000 ounces at an average grade of 1.36 g/t gold in the inferred category (SGS Canada Inc., Bellechasse-Timmins Property Resource Estimate, Southeastern Quebec, August 1, 2012).The company's focus is currently to build a strong portfolio of mineral exploration properties with a high potential for economic discoveries in Canada while evaluating the long-term potential of its 100% owned Bellechasse-Timmins gold deposit in southeastern Quebec.ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DELTA RESOURCES LIMITED.Andre C. TessierPresident, CEO and DirectorWe seek safe harbor. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The TSX Venture Exchange has not approved nor disapproved of the information contained herein.For Further Information:Delta Resources LimitedFrank Candido, ChairmanTel : 514-969-5530fcandido@ deltaresources.ca orAndre Tessier, CEO and PresidentTel: 613-328-1581atessier@ deltaresources.ca Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking InformationSome statements contained in this news release are " "forward looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Forward looking information include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the use of proceeds of the non-brokered private placement and payment of the debt settlements. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", "believes" or variations of such words and phrases (including negative or grammatical variations) or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative connotation thereof. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking information is inherently uncertain and involves risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause actual facts to differ materially. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting the Company will be those anticipated by management. The forward-looking information contained in this press release constitutes management's current estimates, as of the date of this press release, with respect to the matters covered thereby. We expect that these estimates will change as new information is received. While we may elect to update these estimates at any time, we do not undertake to update any estimate at any particular time or in response to any particular event.SOURCE: Delta Resources Limited As prepared for delivery Opening Your Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am delighted to be here today with a group of global thought leaders of today -- and tomorrow. May you live in interesting times is said to be the English translation of a Chinese curse -- the argument is that life is better in the peace and tranquillity of uninteresting times rather than in interesting ones, full of trouble. It is true that we live in an extraordinary time of political, technological and social change. Tipping points We are at a social tipping point. Here in France, whose capital city lends its name to the international climate agreement, the gilets jaunes took to the streets initially at least to protest a planned rise in the tax on diesel and petrol. Indeed, demonstrations across the world have marked the end of one decade and the start of this new decade. At their heart is a sense that economic growth has left many people worse off even if, in most countries, the headline GDP figures suggest that countries are much wealthier. We rightly talk about the need for systemic change but often the drivers of change can come down to a movement -- or even just one person. In the span of just 12 months, Greta Thunberg went from a lone climate protestor on the steps of Stockholms parliament building to a global climate activist powerhouse. At just 16 years of age, Thunberg had mobilized a climate strike that drew more than four million protestors around the world in a single day. The Power of One can be seen in its purest form. And when it comes to climate change and biodiversity loss, there is no doubt that we are at a scientific tipping point, which has been dubbed by one scientist as the drumbeat of the Anthropocene. The ten years to end of 2019 are the warmest decade on record while 2019 was the second hottest year on record. When it comes to the natural world, the IPBES Global Assessment has highlighted that one million plant and animal species are now on the verge of extinction, many within decades -- that number includes 40 per cent of all amphibian species, 33 per cent of corals, and around 10 per cent of insects. And there are signs that we are moving towards an economic tipping point, where, increasingly, those managing large economies claim that the current discipline of economics is no longer fit for purpose, that the take-make-use-lose industrial model has depleted resources and dumped waste into the environment, while traditional economic thinking and theories are increasingly deficient in explaining the workings of todays data economy. The former French President, Nicolas Sarkozy created a commission to explore alternative economic models, headed by Nobel laureates Joseph Stiglitz and Amartya Sen. Their 2010 report recommended a shift in economic emphasis from the production of goods to a broader measure of overall well-being that would include measures for categories such as health, education, security, and sustainability. The objective of the Kingdom of Bhutan, for instance, where I visited last year, is to grow not the Gross National Product, but Gross National Happiness. And a recent survey of CEOs found that 90 per cent believe sustainability is important to their companies business success. And some behavioural economists now believe that the entire premise of classical economics that people will always act in their own self-interest -- is wrong. And, perhaps, we are approaching a political tipping point. Scotlands declaration of a climate emergency in April last year sparked more than 1,200 jurisdictions to follow suit in just eight months. The European Parliament did the same in Strasbourg last November. But are political leaders really ready to listen to the diverse voice of youth, of indigenous peoples, of rural farmers all of whom disproportionately bear the climate burden? If the Madrid climate conference is any indicator, the answer is a resounding no. While 500,000 people protested in the streets it was perhaps symbolic that hundreds of young protestors were ejected from the Climate Conference in Madrid as governments largely failed to make any progress during the longest climate conference ever. Madrid reminded me just how hard social change can be, because it is often about shifting the balance of power between those who have little or none, and those who have much. It is no wonder that climate negotiations are frequently derailed. While talk of tipping points suggests that transformational change is tantalizingly close, therefore, change is not inevitable. In this vital year for nature and climate, where the world will consider a new global biodiversity framework for the next decade, and governments will have a last-ditch chance to construct meaningful rules for the Paris Agreement before it takes effect in 2021, we must be deliberate in pushing past these tipping points where people take a lead role until a new system is the new norm. There is a logical path that can take us from here to there, and that is what I would like to speak about with you today. I will outline the path to change -- and how people are, in fact, leading the transformational change we need. I see five important steps ahead. First, we need a global plan , and we have it: the 2030 Agenda with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals. They serve as a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all, addressing the new and the stubborn challenges we face, including around the multiple dimensions of poverty, a new generation of inequalities, around climate action and the loss of nature, around preventing conflict and building a world that is just and fair. This global plan is inspiring others just as it was intended to do. An example is the new European Green Deal recently adopted by the European Commission, which calls for Europe to become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050 -- while simultaneously creating measures for a just transition for those employed in the fossil fuel industry and those impacted by the transition. Right now, for example, UNDP is helping half of the countries and territories in the world 97 in total -- to make the Goals relevant to their development plans at home, because they are the blueprint for a multilateral Green New Deal -- one that catalyses green circular economies and jobs, while rapidly phasing out subsidies, incentives and investments that accelerate our planetary emergency. Second, we must tackle the financial drivers that underpin climate change and biodiversity loss We can do this through fair market pricing. If current trends continue -- the price of renewable energy will be at parity with fossil fuels within just 1-2 years. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 20 Trend: UK Ambassador to Azerbaijan James Sharp has issued a message in connection with the 30th anniversary of the January 20 tragedy, Trend reports Jan. 20. Sharp expressed deep condolences to the Azerbaijani people in connection with the tragedy. Today is the 30th anniversary of Black January, the January 20 tragedy, the memory of the victims of which is honored by the Azerbaijani people, reads the message. January 20 martyrs played a special role in restoring Azerbaijans independence. On behalf of the UK government and on my own behalf, I express deep condolences to the Azerbaijani people and families of martyrs. The memory of the victims of this tragedy will always live in our hearts. January 20 is a day that went down in history of Azerbaijan's fight for independence and territorial integrity. On January 20, 1990, the Soviet army forces entered Baku to suppress the masses protesting the USSR-supported Armenian aggression based on territorial claims against Azerbaijan. The result was an unprecedented tragedy for Azerbaijan. As a result, 147 people were killed, 744 were injured and 841 were illegally arrested after Soviet troops entered Baku. The Soviet troops also destroyed 200 apartments and houses, as well as private and public property. Despite that many years have passed since those bloody days, Azerbaijanis remember the dreadful night that took many innocent lives and mark the anniversary of the January 20 tragedy every year. January 20 is immortalized in the memory of Azerbaijani nation as a Day of the Nationwide Sorrow. Update: On Monday night, a federal judge in McAllen, Texas, denied a request to halt the deportation of the Honduran mother and her two children. The family was sent to Guatemala on Tuesday, according to a lawyer familiar with the case and the children's father. In Guatemala, they will be required to choose between seeking refuge there or returning to Honduras. Read the original story below. New York Lawyers and advocates are mobilizing to try to stop U.S. immigration officials from deporting a young Honduran mother and her two sick children to Guatemala, where the Trump administration has sent dozens of asylum-seekers in recent weeks as part of a controversial deal with the Central American country. The 23-year-old migrant mother and her two daughters a 6-year-old and 18-month-old baby were apprehended at the U.S. border in Texas in December and are slated to be sent to Guatemala on Tuesday, according to court records. The family's lawyers say the two girls, who have been sick and were recently hospitalized, are in no condition to be deported to Guatemala. A group of lawyers, led by attorneys from the group ProBAR, which provides legal assistance to asylum-seekers, sued the government last week in U.S. District Court in McAllen, Texas. They asked the court to block officials from sending the family to Guatemala and to order Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to release them so the children can continue further medical treatment at a local shelter. But the government said in a filing that it still plans to move forward with its plans to send the family to Guatemala on Tuesday, or whenever the mother and children have received medical clearance to travel. screen-shot-2020-01-20-at-10-04-01-am.png The government says the three family members are set to be deported on Tuesday, or when cleared for travel by a doctor. U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas The 1-year-old girl has been undergoing treatment at a hospital near McAllen, but the government said she is expected to be released soon. The mother and the 6-year-old, the government said, do "not appear" to be "suffering from medical conditions that would prevent their removal" to Guatemala. Story continues But the family's lawyers disagree with this assessment and argue that continued detention and potential deportation are "inadvisable and dangerous" because of the children's health. The 6-year-old has been diagnosed with the flu, and the infant has a fever and diarrhea, which the lawyers say stems from "inadequate" food and "unsanitary" living conditions while in CBP custody. The woman's husband and the children's father, who has been in the U.S. for more than a year, is pleading with the government not to deport his family. "If they return my family to Honduras, I'm expecting the worst. My daughters and my wife could be harmed," the 26-year-old father told CBS News in Spanish. "And Guatemala is almost the same or worse because they don't know anyone there." CBS News is not disclosing the names of the family members since they are subject to ongoing immigration proceedings. The three are identified by initials in court filings. CBP did not respond to a series of questions about the family's case, including whether the family is still going to be processed for removal to Guatemala on Tuesday. If the family is deported to Guatemala, it will join 209 asylum-seekers from Honduras and El Salvador including more than 50 children who have been sent there by the U.S. under an "Asylum Cooperative Agreement" with the Guatemalan government. Those subject to the agreement are denied access to America's asylum system at the U.S.-Mexico border and required to choose between seeking refuge in Guatemala or returning home. The deal has elicited strong criticism from advocates, who point to Guatemala's skeletal asylum system and the fact that hundreds of thousands of Guatemalan families have trekked north to the U.S. southern border in the past two years, many of them fleeing endemic violence and extreme poverty. Last week, the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups filed a lawsuit to try to block the administration from enforcing the agreement with Guatemala, as well as similar deals the U.S. forged with Honduras and El Salvador. "This would break anyone's heart" img-6157.jpg The 1-year-old girl receiving medical treatment, with an IV in her arm. The mother fled Honduras with her daughters in September 2019 after a gang demanded that she pay a "protection fee" for her small grocery store, according to her husband. He said the gang made several threats. The mother and her children reached the U.S.-Mexico border in late December. During their first attempt to cross, they were kidnapped by an unknown group, the father said, noting that those who kidnapped his family asked him to pay $200 per person. After pleas from the mother, the family was ultimately released, the father said. Two days later, a day before New Year's Eve, the three again tried to cross the border and presented themselves to Border Patrol agents. They were then sent to the CBP facility in Donna, Texas, where officials detain migrants who the government intends to send to Guatemala or who are deemed ineligible for asylum under a sweeping restriction allowed by the Supreme Court. Despite expressing fear of persecution, the mother was not referred for a so-called "credible fear" interview, the first test migrants must pass to pursue asylum claims in the U.S. Instead, the family was given what their attorneys called a "Hobbesian choice." "[Officials] presented the mother with a Hobbesian choice: return to Honduras from which she fled with her children in fear for their lives or be sent to Guatemala where she has no family, friends, contacts or job prospects and where she and her children likely will suffer from the same violence that compelled them to leave Honduras," a filing by the family's lawyers reads. The father said his wife described the same occurrence over a phone call this week. "Those were the only options," he added. "They were not given an option to ask for asylum here in the U.S." Fearing a return to "known threats" in Honduras, the mother chose to be sent to Guatemala, the family's lawyers said. The government said the mother then underwent a so-called "threshold screening" with an asylum officer who determined she was not exempt from the U.S.-Guatemala deal. Like other migrants subject to this policy, the mother did not have access to counsel before or during the secreeing. One of the family's lawyers said she tried to talk to her clients at the CBP facility in Donna, but was denied entry. In their lawsuit, the lawyers also said the family's continued detention, which has now reached more than 20 days, violates requirements set forth by the Flores Agreement, a court settlement that governs the care of children in U.S. immigration custody. The agreement mandates the government to release children from custody as expeditiously as possible and to detain them in the least restrictive settings as possible. The government in its legal filing denied that the family's continued detention violates the Flores Agreement. The children's father said the family's detention and imminent deportation to Guatemala has taken an emotional toll on his wife. "She's very bad emotionally. I know her. She's a very happy person. I'm also a very happy man," he said. "But with this situation I don't cry, because I'm ashamed, but when I'm alone in my bed, I tear up looking at photos of them and us together in Honduras. This would break anyone's heart." Planned Parenthood acting CEO speaks out on abortion in Davos Legal analysis of opening day of impeachment trial Democrats to make case for Trump's removal on day 2 of trial Some forty members of staff from a university in London, Ontario, Canada, have asked that their institution issue an apology for screening a pro-life movie on campus. King's University College has come under fire for showing the movie Unplanned, which tells the powerful story of Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood clinic director turned widely influential pro-life activist. On Wednesday, professors from across a variety of academic disciplines sent a letter to Principal David Malloy complaining that the screening had caused furor and fear" among the school community. "The public endorsement of an anti-abortion stance at King's University College by the Director of Campus Ministry is of great concern to the viability of our institution as we work to recruit and maintain excellent students, staff and faculty," the letter read in part, according to CBC. Protesters gathered outside the university during a screening of the film last week, many of them holding up posters containing slogans such as "Trust Women" and "I am a woman not a womb." Reverend Michael Bechard, Director of the Office of Campus Ministry, told the outlet that they chose to show the film because it is really consistent with our general ethic of life at King's. Many faculty members disagreed and urged Malloy to assure that the screening event was not congruent with the school's policy on how to engage with controversial issues. Malloy responded to the letter on Wednesday, expressing sorrow over the way it has made people feel. I regret that people in our community have experienced anxiety, stress and frustration as a function of this event, he said. As Principal, I take responsibility for this and will strive to create a more open format for future events. The Principal added that there was some confusion generated in the media between where King's stands and where Campus Ministry stands on issues such as abortion, before qualifying that "the presentation of the film and the belief of life beginning at conception is the stance of Campus Ministry and not of King's as a whole ... King's does not have a position on abortion." Kings describes itself as a Catholic, liberal arts university college and dates back to 1954. Photo courtesy: Pureflix Will Maule is a British journalist who has spent the past several years working as a digital news editor. Since earning a degree in international relations and politics, Will has developed a particular interest in covering ethical issues, human rights and global religious persecution. Will's work has been featured in various outlets including The Spectator, Faithwire, CBN News, Spiked, The Federalist and Christian Headlines. Follow him on Twitter at @WillAMaule. There are five Indian-Americans currently serving in the United States (US) Congress the largest number ever. They are normally a reliable advocate for Indias positions. Thats the good news. The bad news is their support for India is eroding. This is due to Indias actions in Kashmir, the enactment of the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), and fear that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) is being expanded. The five Indian Americans are all Democrats. They are: Raja Krishnamoorthy, Pramila Jayapal, Ro Khanna and Ami Bera who serve in the House of Representatives, and Kamala Harris who serves in the US Senate. When Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the US, the only one who participated in his wildly successful Howdy Modi rally in Houston was Krishnamoorthy. One of the reasons the other Indian-American lawmakers stayed away was the presence of President Donald Trump, a Republican, whose name is toxic among their partys base. Another more significant factor most probably was Indias security crackdown and communication blockade in Jammu and Kashmir, which is unpopular among progressives and liberal Democrats. Sharing a platform with Modi, barely seven weeks after New Delhis controversial action in the troubled Valley, would have been seen as an implicit endorsement by these lawmakers of his governments Kashmir policy. These Indian-American legislators have not stood by in silence. They have also been outspoken critics of those policies with which they disapprove. In a tweet in September, Khanna, the Congressman representing Californias Silicon Valley, strongly denounced Hindutva ideology, saying that it is the duty of every American politician of Hindu faith to stand for pluralism, reject Hindutva, and speak for equal rights for Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhist and Christians. In an address at the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC, in December, commemorating the 60th anniversary of President Dwight Eisenhowers visit to India, Bera, the longest-serving Indian-American Congressman, reminded New Delhi that India was founded on the value of being a secular democracy and holding on to that identity is incredibly important and the strength of any democracy is protecting the rights of the minority. The most vocal critic over the past five months has been Jayapal, the first Indian-American woman to get elected to the US House of Representatives. She introduced a resolution in December, urging India to end the restrictions on communications and mass detentions in Jammu and Kashmir and preserve religious freedom for all residents. It appears that it is Jayapals criticism that has annoyed India the most. Last month, external affairs minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, cancelled a scheduled meeting with members of the influential House Foreign Affairs Committee because of the Congresswomans presence. Prior to Jaishankars snub, Indian-American supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) tried to launch a grassroots campaign against the Congresswoman for her anti-India stands. Similarly, Khanna was also at the receiving end of BJP supporters ire for his strong denunciation of the Hindutva. But those efforts are unlikely to succeed as their two districts are heavily Democratic, and the two lawmakers stand is a strong reflection of the positions of their constituents. Jayapal represents Washingtons 7th congressional district, one of the most liberal districts in the United States. Khanna was re-elected from Californias 17th district, which is also heavily Democratic. Its not just the elected representatives, a number of Indian-American academics teaching in US universities have also voiced strong opposition to the CAA and the Kashmir crackdown. The ranks of critics include the newly announced Nobel laureate, Abhijit Banerjee, and a number of influential professors from some of Americas elite universities. Though they have cheer-led most of Modis policies, his Indian-American backers have also not come out in support in large numbers since Howdy Modi. Even when they have demonstrated, they lacked the intensity and conviction of the anti-CAA protesters, who rallied against the law in Washington, New York City, San Francisco and other US cities. Given this, and the criticism of India in the US Press and by civil and human rights groups, it is important for India to keep a channel of communication open with congressional critics, even if they come from within the Indian-American community. They are looked to by their colleagues in the Congress to explain what is going on in India and asked for their opinions. A government that prides itself on taking the diaspora diplomacy to new heights should not treat those who disagree as enemies of India. Those in the Indian-American congressional delegation are Indias natural friends and allies. They deserve to be treated with dignity and respect even when there are disagreements about policies. If they are not, the consequences could be not only the loss of their support but that of the entire US Congress. That support is pivotal to US-India relations. It should not be sacrificed in the present because of the enormous future costs. Frank F Islam is an entrepreneur, civic leader, and thought leader based in Washington, DC The views are expressed are personal A police officer shot in the direction of a vehicle, injuring a 76-year-old man in the leg on Friday night. A 76-year-old man was wounded by a police officer after refusing to submit to a blood alcohol test in Kortenberg on Friday. The Louvain prosecutor's office has opened an enquiry following the incident. Police were carrying out alcohol checks on Chaussee de Louvain in Kortenberg on Friday evening when the motorist in question approached without slowing down. He refused to stop and ignored the warnings given, continuing through the police envoy. An officer opened fire on the vehicle in response, injuring the man in the leg. Sarah Callewaert, spokesperson for the prosecutor's office, said the man's injuries were minor. The septuagenarian claimed he had not seen the police warnings. His licence was revoked for 15 days and an investigation will follow to determine whether he is still fit to drive. The man was allegedly not intoxicated at the time of the events. The officer responsible for the shooting is also due to be investigated. A case has been registered against Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Shirsat and Aurangabad Deputy Mayor Rajendra Janjal for allegedly assaulting a former corporator here. The former corporator of Sushil Khedkar, also of Shiv Sena, claimed that he was beaten up by party workers for submitting the tender for a road contract. On receiving the complaint from Khedkar, a case was registered against six including MLA Shirsat, Rajendra Janjal at Vedantnagar Police Station on Sunday. "The MLA told me not to submit the the tender but still I did. They even asked me to withdraw. Later, the discussion went violent and they thrashed me. I immediately went to Police Commissioner Chiranjeev Prasad to file a complaint," said Khedkar. Shirsat denied the allegations, saying that Khedkar was beaten up by other party workers. "We had definitely called him to the office for discussion but he was beaten up by other party workers and not by me," said Shirsat. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Timothy Liljegren will return to the AHL. (Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images) It appears as if two members of the Toronto Maple Leafs will not be allowed to enjoy the upcoming bye week. Roughly one hour after the final whistle blew to solidify their dismal 6-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night, the Maple Leafs announced that they have assigned forward Adam Brooks and defenceman Timothy Liljegren to the Toronto Marlies. The @MapleLeafs have loaned forward Adam Brooks and defenceman Timothy Liljegren to the @TorontoMarlies (AHL). #LeafsForever Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) January 19, 2020 Not to worry, though. This demotion is likely temporary, pending any returns from injury. Both Brooks and Liljegren are prospects, the kind which need to refine their skills through constant doses of tangible game action. Why let them take an entire week off when both players could simply head back down to the Marlies and continue their development there? Its not as if they have to travel far to do so. Not to mention, the pair of rookies are expected to slot right back into the roles they held prior to their respective call ups. In Brooks case, he was blossoming into the Marlies No.1 centre while logging heavy minutes on both the power play and penalty kill, while Liljegren was leading the team in scoring and shutting down opposing top lines on a nightly basis. A return to featured duty is likely to do them some good. The Marlies are set to play a total of four games between now and the Leafs next contest on January 27th. If Jake Muzzin and Trevor Moore still havent recovered from their respective ailments, theres a good chance youll see Liljegren and Brooks back up on the big club in time to face Nashville. Story continues Enter the NHL Yahoo Cup contest More Leafs coverage at Yahoo Sports LONDON (Reuters) - Prosecutors in the United States have dropped a case against British retailer Philip Green that had alleged assault, his Arcadia company said on Monday, citing court documents. Last May Green, 67, was charged with four counts of misdemeanour assault in the United States after an Arizona pilates instructor accused him of repeatedly touching her inappropriately. The billionaire chairman of Arcadia, which owns Topshop, was accused of spanking the instructor and grabbing her buttocks at the Canyon Ranch resort in Tucson, Arizona in 2016 and 2018, according to the Pima County Attorney's Office. At the time Green denied the allegations and on Monday Arcadia said the cases have been dropped. "At the request of the prosecution the cases alleging assault against Sir Philip Green, due to be heard before The Consolidated Court of Arizona in and for The County of Pima on 20th February 2020, were dismissed by the Order of the Honourable Justice Vince Roberts on 17th January 2020," Arcadia said in a statement. "These matters are now closed," it added. Last year Green staved off a collapse of his retail group when creditors approved a restructuring plan. (Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Susan Fenton) Mumbai: Maharashtra minister Rajesh Tope on Sunday said that 6,500 Health Wellness Centres will be set up in the state by the end of March this year. He said that all the sub-centres, primary health centres and public primary health centres will be converted into Health Wellness Centers (Arogyavardhini Kendra) step by step for taking the preventive and persuasive health services to the common people in the state. The Maharashtra governments emphasis is on strengthening the primary health facilities. As many as 6,500 health wellness centers will be established in the state by the end of March, the Health Minister told reporters. Tope said that degree holders from Ayurveda, Unani and nursing streams will be appointed as community health officers at these centres. Female health servants, multi-purpose health service providers and accredited social health activist (ASHA) workers will be deployed for strengthening the health services at the wellness centers. He added that that those selected as community health officers will undergo a training for six months. Things are heating up between Charlotte Crosby and Ryan Gallagher on I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! Australia. And during Monday's episode, the former Geordie Shore star, 29, said that her relationship with Ryan, 31, was more than just a 'jungle romance'. 'I've been searching for someone like Ryan [my] whole life, who would literally just idolise you... I've never felt loved. Ryan shows love,' she confessed. 'I've never felt loved before': I'm a Celebrity's Charlotte Crosby (pictured) confessed on Monday that her relationship with Ryan Gallagher was more than just a 'jungle romance' The pair shared their first passionate kiss in the jungle on Sunday's episode, and had previously been caught sneaking into each other's beds. Speaking to campmate Tanya Hennessy, Charlotte said: 'He's so thoughtful and he remembers everything. And that's the qualities I want in a husband.' The MTV star added that she wasn't looking for someone to 'provide' for her, but instead someone who can make her feel safe, protected and loved. Things are heating up! The pair shared their first passionate kiss in the jungle on Sunday's episode, and had previously been caught sneaking into each other's beds Charlotte, who has been in several high-profile relationships in the past, then shocked her co-star by admitting: 'I've never had that. Never. I never felt loved.' Her exes include Joshua Ritchie, Gary 'Gaz' Beadle, Stephen Bear and Ash Harrison. After this, she started giggling like a schoolgirl while describing her future with Ryan after filming ends in South Africa. Tanya asked if Charlotte had told Ryan how she felt, but she said she hadn't yet. Bombshell: Charlotte, who has been in several high-profile relationships in the past, admitted that she has 'never felt loved' before. Pictured with her most recent ex, Joshua Ritchie Charlotte went on to say that her romance with Ryan feels like 'it was meant to be', because he's exactly her type and they are 'both at these perfect points in our life'. It comes after she told the former Married At First Sight star last week that she 'wasn't ready' for a new relationship. But it seems she was just testing Ryan, because she looked stunned when he agreed. I'm a Celebrity continues Tuesday at 7:30pm on Channel 10 Iraqi forces arrest obese Daesh mufti in Mosul Iran Press TV Saturday, 18 January 2020 9:56 AM Iraqi forces have arrested an overweight Daesh 'mufti' in the city of Mosul who advocated enslaving, raping, torturing and ethnic cleansing. The 560-pound (254kgs) Abu Abdul Bari, also known as Shifa al-Nima, was taken into custody on the back of a pick-up truck because he was too heavy to be put in a police car, Iraqi security officials said in a statement on Thursday. Bari, a preacher known for "provocative speeches against the security forces" is considered one of the top leaders of the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group. He issued religious decrees or fatwas ordering the execution of scholars and clerics who refused to pledge allegiance to Daesh when the terror group occupied Mosul in 2014. Bari also ordered the destruction of Mosul's cultural heritage, specifically the ancient Mosque of Prophet Jonah, which sparked outrage and condemnation in the Islamic world The mosque had been built over the reputed burial site of the biblical prophet revered by Jews, Christians and Muslims who know him as Nabi Yunis. Photos of the Daesh leader being captured and taken away in a truck have been widely circulated online. Maajid Nawaz, founder of the London-based anti-extremism think tank Quilliam Foundation also shared images of Bari's arrest. "He was so overweight, maybe from remaining sedentary in his hiding place, that he had to be taken by police in the back of a pick-up truck," he wrote on Facebook. "Most religious justifications provided to ISIS (Daesh) for enslaving, raping, torturing, ethnic cleansing and massacring Iraqis, Syrians and others are from this paltry beast who can't even stand on his own two legs," he wrote, adding that the images of his arrest would strike the terror group a psychological blow. Daesh began a terror campaign in Iraq in 2014, overrunning vast swathes in lightning attacks. Former Iraqi prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, declared the end of military operations against Daesh in the Arab country on December 9, 2017. On July 10 that year, he had formally declared victory over Daesh in Mosul, which served as the terrorists' main urban stronghold in Iraq. In the run-up to Mosul's liberation, Iraqi army soldiers and voluntary fighters from the pro-government Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) better known by the Arabic name Hashd al-Sha'abi had made sweeping gains against Daesh. Iraqi forces took control of eastern Mosul in January 2017 after 100 days of fighting. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Press Release January 20, 2020 Privilege Speech of Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph G. Recto BANGON BATANGAS! Mr. President, my dear colleagues: Sabi nila ang Bulkang Taal daw ay ang puso - at pusod - ng Batangas. And that umbilical cord has not been cut off. No other force, nature or nurture, has shaped Batangas history more than this "riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma," or make that inside a magma. It has altered our landscape. What man can put together, Taal can put asunder. The present location of Tanauan is its 3rd. Where Bauan is today, is actually its 3rd. And Lipa is on its 5th settlement. Now it can be told: Batanguenos pioneered the Build Back Better scheme. Eruptions change the color of the landscape temporarily, but permanently, they can alter the contours of the land. Kung hindi kinain ng lawa, tinabunan ng abo. One bustling town, Sala, was never seen again. Taal also defined the Batangueno character. From it we probably got our volcanic temper, a tongue as sharp as a balisong forged in volcanic silica, and the art of keeping a romance as hot as a red lava. Living constantly in the line of fire has made us resilient, adaptive, innovative, fatalistic. And brave. We have no windmills to tilt, but in Taal, we have a more formidable fates and foe to tempt. This dwarf volcano makes all our enemies Lilliputian. So we fought the Spanish, one ray of the sun in our flag honors our forebears, from Mabini who was the brains of the revolution, to the thousands who shed blood for freedom. When the Americans came, it became Ground Zero of resistance that what they did in Vietnam half a century later was first tried in the towns that ring Taal. It was also opposition country during Martial Law. Pero kapag nag-alburuto si Taal, walang matapang na Batangueno. So when Taal began acting up two Sundays ago, Batanguenos living in its shadows read the signs and knew what to do. They self-evacuated. Living in the mouth of the beast have made them the best early warning device. And they fled, in minutes, thousands of them, on boats, without a single loss of life. Batangueno chivalry made sure that women, elderly and children boarded first. Batangueno hospitality made sure that not one of the hundreds of tourists on the island will be hurt. Batangueno men launched the flotilla of boats as if they were veterans of Dunkirk. (The boats would return later to rescue the animals left behind, to redeem the tearful promise of "I shall return" that was whispered to them by their humans.) Maliit man daw ang Taal, ang abo naman nito ay nakakapuwing. And so it did. Its January 12 eruption was short by Taal standards, a burp, when compared to its 1754 cataclysmic behavior, when it vomited ash and lava for almost 7 months. Yet it was able to displace 500,000 people, at least 104,377 of whom are in 408 evacuation centers in four provinces, turned 11 towns into no-go zones, halted activity in the Tagaytay ridge which is the most visited tourist area in the Philippines. The fallout extended further, and upward. Metro Manila schools and offices closed for days and shut down NAIA and Clark, marooning hundreds of thousands of passengers in 643 flights cancelled. Farms whose soil was made rich by past volcanic eruption took a beating as well. And so are the waters from which the best tasting tawilis, maliputo, tilapia and bangus are farmed and fished. The DA pegged an initial estimate of three billion peso bill in crops and animals were lost. Even the bean counters in government was able to tally the P1.35 billion lost to Kapeng Barako farms by Taal's toxic brew. This toll of misery and Taal is not having a blast yet. Because still buried in its bowels is the force of hundreds of Hiroshimas. The resilience of the Batanguenos and their fellow classmates in the revolution and neighbors around Taal - the people of Cavite and Laguna - in the face of the eruptions have been romanticized in viral memes, witty poems, and moving songs that only Batanguenos could weave together. So are the continuing heartfelt response of Filipinos from Batanes to Tawi-Tawi, the Red Cross and from every time zone in the world. They are so earnest and endless, this human pipeline of help, that they have left many macho Batangas men to tears. This compassion is as thick as Taal's ashfall. And what makes them truly human is that most of donations poured in anonymously, and we know that kindness without credit is the most sublime. Mula po sa kaibuturan ng aming puso, maraming, maraming salamat po. But citizen resilience should not stand as a substitute for government response. Whatever the disaster is, the toughness of survivors does not excuse government from showing total care. I will later describe the hows of possible government response, but let me first tell you the whys. The electricity we use in this building was most probably dispatched from Batangas. Base plants in the province supply half of Luzon's power supply. Some of the steel bars and sheets and cement being used by the construction around us originated from Batangas, too. Most of the cars in showrooms that dot our neighbourhood rolled off from Batangas port. And so are visitors from MIMAROPA shopping in the malls nearby. Speaking of vehicles, many of their parts, together with many export items, are made in the manufacturing corridor in the Batangas gateway. The tilapia and bangus grilled in the riverside row of eateries a stone's throw from here probably came from Taal Lake. So are the pineapple in the hotel buffet tables, the coffee beans that baristas brew. The Filipiniana store balikbayans love to visit in our neighboring mall showcases Batangas made products whose names begin with B - balisong, burdang Taal, bagoong, barakong kape, buko pie. Near it are travel shops that package tours to another B which dot Batangas - beaches - because its coastline is abundant in Vitamin Sea. Ano man ang type n'yo sa pagkaluto ng itlog n'yo - poached, fried or scrambled - ang itlog na yan ay t'yak galing Batangas. And for smokers who cough up taxes and for alcohol-proof drinkers who leave a hefty tip to the BIR whenever they order their favorite drink, many of these sin products are also made in Batangas But Batangas is just one cog in the economic powershouse that is CaLaBarZon, the highest GDP contributor, next to Metro Manila. The provinces affected by Taal eruption - Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Quezon is some sort of a mini-European Union, four provinces linked by commerce. A Batangueno may live in Batangas, works in Laguna, and shops in Cavite. Or a Cavite family has business in Batangas but sends their kid to college in Laguna. Or a Laguna family has a farm in Batangas and a small business in Cavite. So while a factory in Laguna may remain unscathed by volcanic ash, it is as if it was dealt a direct blow if many of its Batangueno employees cannot report for work because their homes have been affected by the eruption. The same is true with Tagaytay establishments, as many of their workers are residents of the lakeshore towns below. The reality is factories are not like driverless-cars that can navigate on their own, and orders are not taken by robots in restaurants. When the workforce is displaced, the workplace is, too. Kung Batangueno ka, malamang may kamag-anak ka sa Cavite, Laguna at Quezon. Na sila ngayong kumukupkop sa mga daang libong bakwit. At gusto kong espesyal na pasalamatan ang mga taga-Laguna, taga-Quezon at mga Kabitenyo. For this is true: Many evacuees have been taken in by private homes in Cavite, Laguna and Quezon. This makes the radius of the desolation - and help - wider. In plotting the coordinates of assistance, including the other provinces is a must. May kasabihan ito sa Batangas: Ang sakit ng kalingkingan, dama ng buong katawan. Harinawa'y tapos na ang pag-alburuto ni Taal. Sapagkat ang kirot nito ay dama ng buong sambayanan. 'Ika nga ng isang liham ng isang ka-Batang na nagsusumamo kay Taal : Kamusta na ga, ikaw ga e galit pa din? Kalma na ikaw, nasisira na ang iyong ganda pag ikaw e gay-an. Tahan na. Nang kami'y makabangon na. At nang ikaw e bumalik na ulet sa iyong ganda. Pero kahit mag The End pa ang pyrotechnic show ni Taal, malaking trabaho ang ating kinahaharap. The hard work is after the dust has settled. Houses to be rebuilt, schools to be repaired, streets to be cleaned and those with cracks to be replaced, animal farms to be restocked, orchards to be rehabilitated, livelihood to be resurrected, interrupted business to be started again. And if there are areas that need to be placed under prolonged danger zone, the hard work of resettling their residents, not to mere dumping grounds of Taal refuse, but to places where they can earn a living. The latter is important because the benchmark of resettlement is that displaced people must not be deprived of dignity. Taal's waking up is a wake up call for all us. Protocols have to be dusted up, from how NAIA can cope with a shutdown, to the need for more evacuation facilities in a region crammed with people, in a country prone to calamity. The people affected by this calamity deserve help for they have religiously amortized their volcanic eruption insurance over the years through the taxes they pay from their business, trade and jobs. Also chipping in are remittances from Batangueno workers abroad, from Japan to Jamaica, from Italy to Iceland, from UAE to USA. Those who speak with "ala eh" accent form the biggest subset of the Filipino Diaspora. Until Taal quiets down, the final cost of relief, rehabilitation, reconstruction cannot be tallied yet. But that does not immobilize us from identifying and readying the sources of assistance. And luckily the 2020 national budget is a raft of aid that can be tapped. To name a few: There is the Calamity Fund. There are other funds in the budget which can be frontloaded so that their use will not only help in rebuilding lives, livelihood and infrastructure, but generate local jobs and stimulate the local economy as well. The best form of relief does not come in grocery bags, but in fund infusion that will give work to the people. The Batangueno people are ready with their sweat equity. For example, while the fishermen of Taal are thankful for the donation of canned sardines, what they actually look forward to is the normalcy to fish for freshwater sardines called tawilis. It is also time for government to accelerate and advance the grant of welfare assistance - from 4Ps, senior pension, sustainable livelihood program, shelter assistance, supplementary feeding program, protective services for individuals in difficult circumstances, etc. Kung ano ang para sa buong taon, pwedeng ibigay na rin. There are off-budget items that can be tapped as well. Yung bilyun-bilyong travel tax na matagal nang binuro, i-ayuda sa mga nasa industriya ng turismo sa Taal at palibot nito, at unahin ang mga nasa laylayan ng lawa, yung mga bangkero, mga may-ari ng kabayo sa isla. Isa pang binagoong na pondo which can be tapped for Taal rehabilitation is the MVUC fund which stands at P46.25 billion. I have also filed a bill today, for consideration of the administration, establishing the Taal Reconstruction Commission so that rehabilitation is done in an organized, programmed, predictable, transparent, inter-agency manner, with the robust participation of local governments, civil society and the private sector. Why do we have to prepare early? Because we do not wait for our neighbor's house to be on fire before we post bidding notices for a water hose. I also believe, based on our history, that it is only through a chartered, one-stop-shop, government body that the rehabilitation of a devastated land can be successful. If many of our calamity areas are dotted with the carcasses of failed, delayed and unneeded projects, it is because the approach in rebuilding has been scattered and sporadic. Sa mahabang kasaysayan nito, maraming unos ang dinanas at nalampasan ng Batangueno. Ang pagsabog ng Taal ay bahagi lamang ng mga pagsubok. Kung gaano kasigurado ang pagdating ng trahedya, ganun din ang aming pagbangon. Itaga n'yo sa bato: Babangon ang Batangas. Ang nakakataba lang ng puso at nakakapawi ng lungkot, ay anumang hirap ang pinapasan namin ngayon, napapagaan sa pagdating ng tulong ng aming mga kababayan. Halos buong sambayanan ang umaalalay sa amin. Pinawi ny'o ang aming uhaw, binigyan n'yo kami ng saplot, nilatagan ng mahihigaan, ipinagluto ng pagkain, binigyan ng gamot, pati aming mga hayop inaruga nyo. Binuksan ang inyong mga bahay at inilikas kami sa ligtas na lugar. Kung gaano kakapal ang abo, ganun din ang kwento ng tapang at dalamhati na aming naramdaman. Sumuong kayo sa panganib, hindi alintana ang pagod, makapiling lang kami sa aming oras ng pangangailangan. Wala na kaming masasabi kundi maraming, maraming, maraming salamat po. Bilang pagtatapos, let me share with you some questions the evacuees ask of me, lalo na doon sa mga bayang sobrang naapektuhan ng Taal. Sabi nila, "Sir, pagkatapos nito ano na? Paano na kami? Wala na kaming babalikang bahay at kabuhayan. Lahat ng pinaghirapan at pinundar namin, naglahong parang bula." Back to zero daw sila. Sagot ko, "Huwag kayong mag-alala. Hindi namin kayo pababayaan." Tulad ko, alam kong hindi n'yo rin sila pababayaan. Thank you, Mr. President. The talks aimed to review the cooperation between the two ministries in 2029 and signed a new cooperation plan for 2020. During the talks, the two ministers affirmed that the cooperation in 2019 reached positive outcomes, importantly contributing to ensuring security and order between the two nations in general and in each country in particular. They reviewed cooperation and efforts of the two sides in ensuring security and combating transnational crimes, especially drug and human trafficking, and hi-tech crimes, for peace and cooperation in the region. The ministers pledged to forge closer cooperation at international bilateral and multilateral forums, and join hands to defeat all plots of hostile forces against the relations between the two countries. Sar Kheng congratulated Vietnam on undertaking its roles as the ASEAN Chair 2020 and a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the 2020-2021 tenure, and the two-way trade turnover reaching US$5 billion. Additionally, the two sides set directions for cooperation between the Vietnamese police and interior offices of Cambodias border provinces in such fields as delegation exchange, training, and medical examination and treatment. Lam and Sar Kheng signed a cooperation plan between the two ministries in 2020. The Vietnamese official took the occasion to hand over the Friendship Order of Vietnam to the Cambodian Ministry of Interior, and its ten individuals for their contributions to promoting the bilateral relations between Vietnam and Cambodia. Paul Giarra, defense analyst and think tank specialist, attended Shen Yun Performing Arts in Fairfax, Virginia, at the George Mason University Center for the Arts, Jan. 19, 2020. (NTD Television) FAIRFAX, Virg.Some of the brightest minds in America have come from distant shores, seeking freedom, safety, and the ability to pursue their dreams. Many artists who founded Shen Yun Performing Arts are among them. They escaped persecution in communist China and established themselves in New York before forming seven touring groups that bring traditional Chinese culture to audiences around the world. Today, in Fairfax, Virginia, one think tanks defense analyst recognized the important spiritual practice that Shen Yun artists abide by, one that is unfortunately persecuted in China today: Falun Dafa. I think Shen Yun is wonderful. My wife has seen it three times and this is my first time. The dancing is of course magnificent. Its a real treat to see the traditional Chinese dance, which we dont know much about here, said Paul Giarra, who works as a strategic planner and security analyst at a firm in Virginia and attended the afternoon performance at the George Mason University Center for the Arts on Jan. 19, 2020. Giarra said he was aware of Falun Dafa and glad to see the dance story included in the program about the repression of that expression of religious freedom in China. I was a little surprised at how explicit it was. I thought its going to be more subtle. But Im glad it was explicit, Giarra said. Falun Dafa is an ancient meditation practice that teaches truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance and incorporates energy-strengthening exercises. It is one of many world traditions that looks to the divine for artistic inspiration. The website explains: Today, Shen Yuns artistsdancers, musicians, choreographers, composers, and the entire teamfollow this noble tradition. For them, this spiritual connection is motivation for striving to excel, is the heart behind each movement of the dancer and each note of the musician. It is why audiences can feel there is something different about Shen Yun. Their source of inspiration, rooted in traditional Chinese culture, is the spiritual discipline known as Falun Dafa. In a Shen Yun performance, 20 or so vignettes depict a wide variety of stories from different places, cultures and times throughout Chinese history. Giarra felt the values were clear about what Shen Yun encourages in the world: Freedom of religion, freedom of expression, self-determination, freedom of choice, rule of law, not rule of Party, he said. About the combination of Eastern and Western instruments its great and I think thats what we all should strive for, he said, referring to Shen Yuns unique live orchestra. Traditional Chinese culture, believed to be divinely inspired, carries on the legend of a Creator who will one day return to earth for the good of all mankind. Such scenes are incorporated on stage in Shen Yuns dances. Im going to Catholic Mass right after the show. So I like those themes a lot, Giarra said, adding that he feels its important to support everyones freedom of expression. If Giarra were to describe Shen Yun to a friend or peer, he said he would call it, a magnificent spectacle with an important message concerning the situation in China. Ill take home a warm memory of the dancers and the orchestra, and a reminder of whats going on in China. With reporting by NTD Television and Brett Featherstone. The Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time and has covered audience reactions since the companys inception in 2006. Ahead of approaching the Supreme Court in the wake of the Punjab assembly passing a resolution against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday called on Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi here. Singh arrived at the residence of Sonia Gandhi along with Punjab in-charge Asha Kumari and state unit chief Sunil Jakhar. The meeting lasted for over half an hour. According to party sources, the chief minister shared his plans of approaching the Supreme Court over the CAA. The Punjab assembly passed the resolution against the CAA last week, days after the Kerala government also passed a resolution against the Act in the assembly. Kerala was the first state to approach the Supreme Court over the CAA. The party source said that the issues of Congress Rajya Sabha member Partap Singh Bajwas tirade against the chief minister and the cabinet expansion were also discussed. Daily Beast Photo Illustration President Trump may notice more leaves and fewer fronds as he rides through West Palm Beach to and from Mar-a-Lago this weekend. The immediate cause is a pair of 2018 city ordinances, Sections 94-442 and 94-443, that mandate a minimum concentration of shade trees while limiting palms in all open spaces. The impetus behind the arboreal regulations is a larger concern, one that should be foremost at all levels of government, city, state and federal. The concern is climate change, and Trump's continued blind denial of scientific fact for the sake of corporate profit is an abrogation of duty that dwarfs whatever he did regarding Ukraine to get impeached. He doesn't even fiddle while Australia burns and climate change becomes climate derangement. Washingtons Under Water, Its 90 in Alaska, and Trumps Talking Environmental Leadership The city of West Palm Beach not only recognizes the danger, but is also doing whatever a small municipality can to counter it. Rethinking paradise, today, tomorrow, together, the citys sustainability slogan goes. That includes mandating the planting of shade trees, which have a cooling effect not imparted by palms. A shade tree can absorb more than 90 times the carbon a palm can. We are the ultimate tree huggers, says Penni Redford, resilience and climate change manager at the Mayor's Office of Sustainability, City of West Palm Beach, a title for which there is no equivalent in the Trump administration. Under Redfords direction, the city is on track to give away 10,000 shade trees over the next decade. The city is also installing special sidewalks that have underlying structures allowing a tree to extend its roots into an underlying layer of what she calls real soil good dirt. The regulations governing the citys open areas say one shade tree must be planted every 1,000 square feet around single dwellings and duplexes. A minimum of 75 percent of the trees in parking lots have to bear leaves, not fronds and most be spaced so way to provide maximum shade for vehicles. Story continues At the same time, the city has been seeking to make the streets more pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly. Weve been treating to get people out of the cars, on bikes and walking, Redford told The Daily Beast. Back in 2016, the city inventoried its greenhouse gas emissions and established a multifaceted plan to reduce it to net zero by 2050. The city has in the meantime been saving millions of gallons of water with a conservation plan that includesyes, Donaldreduced shower flow and high efficiency toilets. Does your property qualify for a free toilet? a city online flyer asks. The need for it all only became more apparent at the end of 2019, as the wettest September there in 125 years was followed by the warmest December on record. Things are a little topsy-turvy and weve got to pay attention to that, Redford told The Daily Beast. Meanwhile, overnight temperatures in the city have risen an average of five degrees in the past decade. Some of that is believed to be due to heat absorbed by sun-baked expanses during the day and may be offset by an increasing number of shade trees. But such matters seem to be of no concern to our president, who has called climate change a hoax concocted by China. And he need not worry about seeing a dwindling number of fronds once he crosses the Intercoastal Waterway from West Palm Beach to Palm Beach and his new official home address, Mar-a-Lago. Speed Read: The Government Climate Change Report Trump Will Hate The Town of Palm Beach did for a time consider requiring a certain number of shade trees, perhaps one every 5,000 square feet, with a maximum of eight, whatever the size of the open space. But even that modest requirement was nixed. Staff has reviewed the topic of shade trees and has researched how other upscale south Florida municipalities address shade trees in their development code, the town reported in December of 2018. For the communities that do require shade trees, the intent is to bolster a communitys tree canopy and to limit the number of palm trees per property. Staff believes that the Town has a very healthy canopy condition, well in excess of the requirements of the studied municipalities, and that the limiting of a propertys palm trees in not in the interest of the community. Even so, the town did commission a Technical Review of Proposed Coastal Management Program in 2013 that found certain considerations apply to Palm Beach as a whole, including sea-level rise and climate change planning and adaptations. Since significant portions of the Island are presently vulnerable to storm damage and flooding, and rates of sea level rise are expected to increase in the future, the Town should initiate a planning process for adaptation to coastal climate change, the study found. The planning seems to involve pumping sand and maybe building a sea wall or two. But this richer-than-rich town is too busy luxuriating in paradise to rethink it. And its most talked about resident is a self-imagined Caesar who makes Nero look proactive and responsible. Whatever Trump did with Ukraine, he continues to place the whole planet at risk. 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. Demonstrators in the capital and several southern cities blockade major roads as anti-government rallies intensify. Five protesters were killed on Monday in three Iraqi cities as demonstrators across the country ramped up pressure on the government to implement long-awaited reforms. Two protesters were killed by live ammunition in capital city Baghdad, two others were killed the northeastern city of Baqubah and one more was killed in the southern city of Karbala, said medical and security sources. The Iraqi government did not confirm the deaths. Al Jazeeras Osama Bin Javaid, reporting from the Baghdad demonstration, said activists took video showing seriously wounded protesters being carried away after the fierce clashes. The violence came as security forces tried to clear roads in Iraqs capital after hundreds of protesters took to the streets to express their anger at the embattled governments slow pace of reforms. Demonstrators a week ago gave the government until Monday to act on their demands, which include the holding of a snap poll under a new electoral law, the appointment of an independent prime minister and the prosecution of officials suspected of corruption. The UN envoy to Iraq urged Iraqi political elites to resume pushing for reforms and for protests to remain peaceful. Any steps taken so far to address the peoples concerns will remain hollow if they are not completed, said Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert in a statement issued by the UN. Violent suppression of peaceful protesters is intolerable and must be avoided at all costs. Starting Sunday and continuing on Monday, young demonstrators in Baghdad and the south began sealing off highways and bridges with burning tyres. We blocked the road to demand our rights the rights of young people to get a job, said one of the protesters in the capital, who asked to remain anonymous. We demand the central government go to early elections and the nomination of a new independent prime minister. If that doesnt happen, we will escalate and block all the highways and centres of the city. Live rounds, tear gas Another demonstrator decried the violent tactics used by security forces to disperse the crowds. For months no one has listened to our demands. They are killing us. Its just bloodshed, protester Hassan Ali told Al Jazeera. Three-wheeled taxis rescued tear gas victims and brought them to makeshift hospitals near the demonstrations. Medics at the scene treated dozens of people who suffered from the effects of tear gas. Jamal, a medic in Baghdad, told Al Jazeera: We went to Tayaran Square in Baghdad. People wanted me to help them, I was also attacked by tear gas. I fell down as the security forces were using tear gas and live ammunition. A statement from the Baghdad Operations Command said 14 officers were wounded by a group of rock-throwing inciters of violence while trying to secure the entrance to Tahrir Square, the epicentre of the protest movement. Despite these actions, our forces continued to exercise restraint and follow up on the security duties assigned to them, it said. A security official said at least nine arrests were made after the National Security Council authorised security forces to detain demonstrators blocking main thoroughfares and roundabouts. 200120090426671 Protests also broke out in southern Iraq, including in the cities of Nasiriya, Karbala and Amara, where demonstrators burned tyres and blocked roads. In the southern city of Nasiriya, protesters blocked the highway linking the city to the southern oil-rich province of Basra. At least six protesters were wounded when an unknown gunman fired at them from a speeding car, a medical official said. Decisive moment The call for action by protest organisers came amid fears that spiralling regional tensions in the wake of top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimanis assassination by the United States in early January would put an end to the momentum of their months-long movement. The uprising began on October 1 when thousands of Iraqis took to the streets to decry rampant government corruption, poor public services, and a scarcity of jobs. Protesters are also demanding an end to Iraqs quota-based political system, introduced after the US-led invasion in 2003. Hundreds of people have been killed since the protests first erupted, with rights groups accusing security forces of using excessive force against the demonstrators. They should stop shooting and aiming, who are they and who we are? Both sides are Iraqis. So why are you killing your brothers? said one woman who did not give her name. Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi resigned nearly two months ago, but political parties so far have failed to agree on a successor and he has continued to run the government as a caretaker. Demonstrators have publicly rejected the names circulating as possible replacements and are furious that other sweeping reform measures have not been implemented. Why do politicians prefer to have their favourites as key police officials in their electorates? Is it to cover up their tracks; for better policing or having the electorate under their thumb? by Gamini Weerakoon Actor and politician, One Shot Ranjan Ramanayake, truly lives to the words of William Shakespeare All the worlds a stage Last week, he pushed out the high and mighty setting Lanka on a paradisiacal course from the front pages and prime time TV, despite having shot himself in the foot. And he did it with aplomb. Arrested on being taken out of his residence by the police, he did not go into standard gestures of arrested politicos exhibiting their manacles to photographers. Instead, he hugged lovingly a cop in the posse that has come to arrest him. It is quite unusual for a Sri Lankan police officer trying to arrest a criminal to be embraced in a loving manner. And, according to a news report, the officer has been questioned by the authorities on why he did not resist One Shots advances! Poor officer! In our opinion, One Shot should be invited by the police to give lectures on improving police-public relations. We are not focusing on the alleged offences for which One Shot was taken in interfering with the judiciary but on his showmanship during the week during which he was tried and condemned by politicians even Ranjans own UNP some in the media and the prissy law-and-order types who found his unorthodox behaviour unacceptable. But he did warm the cockles of the hearts of those observers bored by daily reports of bitter acrimony that pervades our political scene. One Shot was no doubt on centre stage but having shot off from the lip and aimed pot shots at many others, had shot himself in his foot. He was formally arrested and charged for interfering with the judiciary by no means a laughing matter. We will refrain from commenting on the legal proceedings regarding the offence which One Shot is charged with. However, since his arrest he has been put on trial in the media and by some media institutions, politicians and also vigilantes of public morality, law and order for interfering with the police in attempts to subvert the course of justice. This columnist has not heard or read about the alleged recorded conversations of One Shot with some members of the judiciary and police top brass which is the point at issue but we find this hullabaloo over the allegation of political interference of police officials by One Shot somewhat bizarre. Certainly such interference is taboo and cannot be condoned. But arent politicians interfering with the police not only in matters of lesser significance but serious crimes such as murder, a fact of Sri Lankan life? There are plenty of such cases that were taken to courts and are being heard now. In this context these questions are relevant. Why do politicians prefer to have their favourites as key police officials in their electorates? Is it to cover up their tracks; for better policing or having the electorate under their thumb? Isnt the practice of acceding to requests of politicians to have key police posts in their electorates filled with those of their choice, tacit approval of political interference? An MP is expected to play many roles in his electorate including that of a guardian angel of voters although often he is an absentee Guardian Angel. When a poor hapless voter falls foul of the police, he goes to his MP to help resolve the issue although such help may not be forthcoming, particularly so if he belongs to the rival political camp. The social barriers that earlier kept out the judiciary and even the officer cadres of the armed forces and police away from the masses, no longer exist because there is today a good mixture of all classes in the professions and institutions who are speaking in the same language their mother tongue. Yet, members of these professions and institutions are expected to function as their predecessors did 40 to 50 years ago keeping away from the hoi polloi. But we have had peoples governments since the mid-fifties and peoples representatives have crept into every nook and corner. Thus, is there a way telling One Shot with his king-sized ego and conviction that the world is at his feet that he cant bulldoze his way through? We have not had access to the recorded telephone calls allegedly made by One Shot and recorded by him. Some of these calls are said to have gone viral in the social media which this columnist has not seen. The recordings seized by the police, the police claim, are with them and they have not been released to any source. There are reports of a fairy tale discovery by a well-meaning three-wheeler driver. He is reported to have found in the back seat the hard disk containing the recordings made by One Shot. He said he had handed it over to the police. The identity of the Three-wheeler driver had not been established at the time of writing these comments. How did these alleged recordings of One Shot get into the Social media? Did One Shot for inexplicable reasons release them himself many of One Shots actions being inexplicable. Was One Shots motive sinister, aimed to destroy the new government as alleged? Or was it an international conspiracy against the Pohottuwa government as claimed by a monk? An international conspiracy against the Pohottuwa is a convenient substitute when reasonable explanation is not possible. Some have alleged that this was an attempt to smear the image of the Criminal Investigations Department that had the cleanest record of all police departments. These pundits were apparently not born or were infants during the days of the Dodampe Mudalalis case. Dodampe Mudalali and another Corporal Tilekewardene died after falling from the CIDs Fourth Floor while being interrogated over an alleged Lavatory Coup. All these factors and much more not recorded here would make an excellent thriller of a story for actor One Shot Ranjan Ramanayake to make a film. We end this chapter of One Shot, the actor and politician with a quote from Donna Brazzie, an American political strategist, campaign manager, Member of the Democratic Party, Political Analyst for CNN and former contributor to Fox News. Acting and politics both involve fooling the people. People like being fooled by actors. They probably like being fooled by politicians, even more. A skilful actor will make you think. But a skilful politician will never have to make you think. Researchers from Cisco Talos discovered a new Trojan named JhoneRAT that was used in targeted attacks against entities in the Middle East. A new Trojan named JhoneRAT appeared in the threat landscape, it is selectively attacking targets in the Middle East by checking keyboard layouts. The malware targets a very specific set of Arabic-speaking countries, including Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Oman, Yemen, Syria, UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Lebanon. Today, Cisco Talos is unveiling the details of a new RAT we have identified were calling JhoneRAT. This new RAT is dropped to the victims via malicious Microsoft Office documents. reads the analysis published by Cisco Talos. The dropper, along with the Python RAT, attempts to gather information on the victims machine and then uses multiple cloud services: Google Drive, Twitter, ImgBB and Google Forms. The experts discovered that the RAT is distributed via weaponized Office documents, it leverages multiple cloud services (i.e. Google Drive, Twitter, ImgBB and Google Forms) to avoid detection. The JhoneRAT is written in Python, it attempts to download additional payloads and upload the information gathered during the reconnaissance phase. Talos researchers identified three weaponized Microsoft Office documents that download and load an additional document containing a Macro. The first document named Urgent.docx is dated back November 2019. The second document named fb.docx is dated January and claims to contain data on a Facebook information leak. The third document found in the mid-January pretends to be from a legitimate United Arab Emirate organization. The additional Office documents loaded and executed by the JhoneRAT are hosted through Google Drive in the attempt to avoid URL blacklisting. JhoneRAT is dropped through Google Drive, which hosts images with a base64-encoded binary appended at the end. Once the images are loaded onto a target machine will deploy the Trojan that harvests information from the victims machine (i.e. OS, disk serial numbers, the antivirus, and more). The malware used Twitter as C2 while exfiltrates information, it checks a public Twitter feed every 10 seconds. When communicating with its command-and-control server (C2) in order to exfiltrate information, it checks for comments every 10 seconds. This RAT uses three different cloud services to perform all its command and control (C2) activities. It checks for new commands in the tweets from the handle @jhone87438316 (suspended by Twitter) every 10 seconds using the BeautifulSoup HTML parser to identify new tweets. continues the analysis. These commands can be issued to a specific victim based on the UID generated on each target (by using the disk serial and contextual information such as the hostname, the antivirus and the OS) or to all of them. Experts pointed out that stolen data are exfiltrated through cloud providers, for example, screenshots are uploaded to ImgBB, while commands are executed with output sent to Forms. The malware download binaries disguised has a picture from the Google Drive and execute them. The attacker put a couple of tricks in place to avoid execution on virtual machines (sandbox). The first trick is the check of the serial number of the disk. The actor used the same technique in the macro and in the JhoneRAT. By default, most of the virtual machines do not have a serial number on the disk. continues the analysis. The attacker used a second trick to avoid analysis of the Python code. The actor used the same trick that FireEye in the Flare-On 6: Challenge 7: They removed the header of the Python bytecode. According to the experts, the campaign is still ongoing, even if the Twitter account is suspended, attackers can easily create new accounts and use them in the same way. This campaign shows a threat actor interested in specific Middle Eastern and Arabic-speaking countries. It also shows us an actor that puts effort in opsec by only using cloud providers. concludes the report. The malicious documents, the droppers and the RAT itself are developed around cloud providers. Additionally the attackers implemented anti-VM (and sandbox) and anti-analysis tricks to hide the malicious activities to the analyst. The analysis published by Talos contains additional technical details, including Indicators of Compromise. Pierluigi Paganini Haiti - News : Zapping... Drug trafficking in Kenskoff On the night from Saturday to Sunday the National Police of Haiti (PNH) accompanied by a justice of the peace, arrested during a search in Dumusseau (commune of Kenskoff) 2 individuals Bruno Cherubin (29) and Samuel Cherubin (25) charged with drug trafficking. The police seized, among other things during the search, several 5.56-caliber ammunitions, two mobile phones and several plastic bags containing a substance comparable to marijuana. Pre-carnival celebrations 1 dead For the first Sunday of the pre-carnival festivities, the Port-au-Prince Civil Protection unit reported the death of a person fatally injured following a gunshot attack by an individual for unknown reasons. The attacker was neutralized and arrested by agents of the National Police of Haiti. In addition, the order of the parade was : Chawolen, Fanfan then CashCash. See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/article-29797-haiti-carnaval-2020-debut-des-activites-pre-carnavalesques.html Arms trafficking : Larco auditioned again The alleged firearms trafficker, the businessman Arby Frantz Larco, arrested on December 24, 2019 : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-29607-haiti-flash-dismantling-of-a-large-network-of-weapons-and-ammunition.html was heard on January 16 in the presence of its lawyer, Me Patrick Laurent, by the investigating judge Berge O. Surprised. The hearing lasted approximately three hours. See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-29651-haiti-flash-a-list-of-buyers-seized-from-the-arms-trafficker-larco.html PNH : Balance of the operation at Croix-des-Bouquets Chief Inspector Gary Desrosiers, Deputy spokesperson for the Haitian National Police (PNH), gave a summary report of the major police operation on January 15 in Croix-des-Bouquets, on the territory of the "Lanmo san jou" gang : 9 stolen vehicles, a 9 mm caliber pistol belonging to the PNH, 25 stolen mobile phones were seized. There were exchanges of fire but no arrests were recorded. Preparations for the Cap-Haitien Carnival Saturday, January 18, an important meeting was held at the premises of the Committee of the 350th between the members of the Carnival Committee and other actors, in order to finalize the artistic plan for the Carnival 350 years of the city of Cap-Haitien which will unfold around the theme "Okap se fyete m, se fyete w , se fyete tout Aysyen". Towards elections to the Port-au-Prince bar The General Assembly of lawyers of the Port-au-Prince bar is convened on Friday 17 and 24 January to the Court of Cassation to examine the organization of elections for the new Batonnier, informed the outgoing Batonnier Me Stanley Gaston "The political turbulence forced the actors to postpone the sine die the holding of the elections; the current climate is calmer, more conducive to the organization of these elections" announcing "unofficially" that 7 candidates would be in the running for the batonat. HL/ HaitiLibre The leadership of the Ghana Trainee Teachers (GhaTT) has welcomed the decision by former President John Dramani Mahama to abolish the licensure examination for teachers if elected as President in the 2020 polls. We appreciate President Mahamas declaration on the cancellation of the Licensure as a huge relief to Trainee Teachers in Ghana, and pray his office to consider restoring automatic postings of teachers when re-elected, GhaTT had said in a statement signed by president of the union Mutawakil Ibn Nahsrulla The lincensure examination, which the trainee teachers have argued frustrate the processes leading to their employment was initiated by the Akufo-Addo government to enable qualified teachers acquire a professional license to ply their trade and also improve the state of teaching in the country. In February 2019, out of the 28,757 teachers who wrote the maiden examination, 21,297, representing 74 percent, passed, while 7,472 failed. The results of 26 candidates were also withheld pending investigations into alleged examination malpractices, while 12 teachers had their entire results cancelled. While many institutions and teachers continued to describe the exercise as unnecessary, the outcome of the exams got social media blazing, with most Ghanaians lauding the exercise. But acknowledging the support by the former President in a recent Facebook live post, the GhaTT said an examination which could lead to some teachers not being posted is not in their best interest, hence their appreciation to the former president for his stance. ---Myjoyonline.com MTVs The Challenge has been on TV for over two decades, and weve seen certain stars of the show compete for the big money season after season. One of the most successful Challenge competitors to date is Cara Maria Sorbello. While she didnt win during her first season, shes been back on the show throughout the last 10 years making a name for herself as a physical and mental threat. Along with her gameplay, Sorbello is also known for her relationships with other competitors. Shes currently dating fellow contestant Paulie Calafiore, though fans suspect their relationship may be on the rocks. And now, it appears Sorbello may be planning on moving out of her current home state, which also may mean shell be leaving Calafiore behind. Cara Maria Sorbello initially moved to Montana for ex-boyfriend Abram Boise Cara Maria Sorbello attends MTVs The Challenge: Rivals II final episode and reunion party | Mike Coppola/Getty Images Long before Calafiore was in the picture, fans may remember when Sorbello was with intimidating contestant Abram Boise. They began dating back in 2010 after the Cutthroat season, and they appeared to be the perfect couple, as they were both strong, misfit personalities in the house. Unfortunately, there was a lot of tension in their relationship from the start. Sorbello kissed another contestant during 2016s Battle of the Bloodlines. And during this time, Sorbello even told her cousin, I just dont want to be with him anymore. I was gonna leave him when I got home from this. Weve broken up so many times. Its just an unhealthy relationship. Despite their ups and downs, these two were still crazy about each other for years. And Heavy reports Sorbello even moved to Montana to be with Boise and work with horses, which is one of her major passions in life. Current boyfriend Paulie Calafiore moved to Montana to be with Sorbello Boise may be out of Sorbellos life, but now, shes all-in with Paulie Calafiore. However, their relationship had a rocky start. While they connected during Final Reckoning, Calafiore was found to have had a girlfriend at the time. According to the other woman, Danielle Maltby, Calafiore was making all kinds of promises to her behind Sorbellos back. I want to vomit because it makes me so sick to think that someone can sit there and spout out these professions of love to me and then hang up the phone and go and f*** someone else, Us Weekly notes Maltby said. Despite a brief breakup, Calafiore managed to redeem himself, and Sorbello stuck by his side. And this eventually led to Calafiore moving to Montana. Back in May 2019, Calafiore told People, Im happy to say that well be getting a place together in the near future. Weve definitely been through hell and back in and out of The Challenge both times around and its only a testament to the connection we have that we have only grown stronger and closer together through everything. Sorbello hinted on Instagram she may be ready to move Were not sure exactly whats going on with Sorbello and Calafiore these days, as they both appear to be changing their Instagram content to be less about their personal lives and more about their brand. But Sorbello may have just hinted that shes ready to move away from Montana, and this makes us wonder where her relationship with Calafiore stands. She captioned an Instagram post added on Jan. 19, Where would you suggest is a good place to live and why? Im getting antsy out here in Montana. A fan in the comments asked about Sorbellos horse, Garnett, in this situation, too. With Garnetts age and laminitis, Would she be able to handle a long distance trailer ride? They questioned. And Sorbello answered honestly. The star wrote back, garnett comes first. If shes not doin well i wont go anywhere. I take care of her where she is. If she is good enough to handle a trailer ride i will take her. But she comes before anything. Im just kinda feelin out a new spot. Sorbello mentions her horse in a few other comments, too. But she doesnt mention if Calafiore will be moving along with her, which is making us wonder if theyre ready to go their separate ways. No matter what, fans are confused, as many thought Sorbello recently designed and moved into a new home in Montana and wouldnt be leaving for a long time. Well have to wait and see what shes really planning for the future! Check out Showbiz Cheat Sheet on Facebook! Clear skies before dawn are usually a beautiful thing to see, but for a large stretch of Michigan overnight and this morning, that lack of cloud cover sent temperatures dropping like an icy rock. The National Weather Service office in Gaylord today reported that temperatures dropped to -17 degrees in Grayling and Roscommon around 7 a.m. this morning. Indian River dipped to -14 degrees, while Drummond Island in the eastern Upper Peninsula had a reading of -10 degrees. Compared to those and others, Harbors Springs clocked in at a balmy zero degrees. This deep freeze affected just part of the state, mostly in areas away from Lake Michigan where the clouds were able to clear out for an extended period overnight and the effects of the cold, dry Arctic air mass moving into the area could really be felt, the NWS said. Farther south and along the Lakeshore, temperatures remained in the high teens and 20s early today. As these dry, cold conditions stay locked in place, there will be a cold night ahead for some areas. Detroits NWS office is cautioning people that temperatures on the southeast side of the state could bottom out in the single digits tonight. You can see that forecast graphic below, along with a roundup of this mornings chilly temps. After this weekends snow, its nice to enjoy the drier conditions. Just remember to layer up if youre headed outside. A look at how low temperatures dropped across Northern Lower Michigan and some U.P. spots this morning. High pressure will continue to expand east of the Rocky Mountains today locking in a cold and air mass across the Great... Posted by US National Weather Service Detroit / Pontiac Michigan on Monday, January 20, 2020 READ MORE: Last two weeks of January wont feel like the deepest part of winter Lansing, Detroit, Flint, Marquette set daily snowfall records in weekend storm Touted to be a "story of resilience in the face of insurmountable odds", Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Shikara: The Untold Story Of Kashmiri Pandits addresses the issue of ethnic cleasing and riots that took place in Kashmir in the year 1989. The film chronicles the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from Kashmir on the night of 19 January 1990 through the story of Shiv Kumar Dhar (essayed by Aadil Khan) and Shanti Dhar (essayed by Sadia). Twitter To mark the 30th anniversary of the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley, filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra held a special screening of his upcoming movie Shikara: The Untold Story Of Kashmiri Pandits for Kashmiri Pandits on Sunday (18 January) in New Delhi. Twitter The screening of about 30 minutes was attended by 30 Kashmiri Pandits, that included refugees from Jagti migrant camp from Jammu. Some of them have also worked in the movie. Twitter Vidhu Vinod Chopra who has not only directed but edited and produced the movie as well, said that the film is close to his heart. He has made this film for his mother. "It took me 11 years to make this film. I could have made three Munna Bhai films and two 3 Idiots in this duration. People ask me, why this film? And my answer is that it's not just a film. I have made this film for my mother who died before she could return to her home in Kashmir," he was quoted as saying. Twitter Vidhu Vinod Chopra is still waiting to hear "we are sorry" from the people of the nation for not doing anything after the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits in 1990. He wants people to remember that "the only thing to hate is hate". "It has been 30 years and nothing has been done yet. Koi shor nahi macha (There was no clamour about this)," the director said, referring to a dialogue from the film's clip wherein one person mentions that he is confident that there will be 'shor' in the Parliament about the exodus. "My hope is that ab toh shor macha do," he added. "I want people to go online and just write 'Sorry to all the Kashmiri Pandits' as we didn't do anything. Sorry to all of you who continue to live in refugee camps even after 30 years of the exodus. This is my only hope. We are still waiting to hear awe are sorry, Kashmiri Pandits'," said an emotional Vidhu Vinod. The movie is slated to release on Feb 7. DERBY For 30 years, Boy Scout Troop 3 has been preparing and delivering submarine sandwiches that always score big with Super Bowl Sunday fans. And with the big game coming up Feb. 2, Troop 3 and Venture Crew 33 Scouts are taking orders until Jan. 29 for its famous foot-long and five-foot party-size subs. The subs are made fresh to order and will be delivered anywhere in the lower Naugatuck Valley towns of Ansonia, Derby, Oxford, Seymour and Shelton by 2 p.m. on Super Bowl Sunday, according to Scoutmaster Randy Ritter. Ritter said the Scouts, their leaders and their parents are gearing up for another successful sub sale. Last year, Scouts sold more than 225 foot-long subs and 12 double-wide five-footers, raising nearly $2,000. Ritter said the first year of the sub-raiser, proceeds helped send Scouts to the United Kingdom and Ireland, and this years proceeds will help toward another trip across the pond to London and the sister city of Derby, England. While abroad, Scouts will attend the Peak International Encampment, joining 5,000 Scouts from throughout Europe, which takes place every five years at the Chatsworth estate of the duke and duchess of Devonshire. Ritter said the Scouts first attended in 2015, and have since been invited back by the Derby, England, Scout troops with whom they share an exchange program. Sub sale proceeds also help send Scouts to summer camp at the Edmund D. Strang Reservation in Goshen. Foot-long subs are $7.50 and five-foot, double-wide subs (equivalent to 10-foot subs) are $70, and can be ordered by calling 203-732-0343, or via the flyer on the troops Facebook page. It takes the entire troop to slice and dice the ingredients and to build the subs to order in an assembly-line fashion, Ritter said. Then, the Scouts home-deliver the subs they sell. We even sell the party subs to businesses who want to have something for their employees working during the Super Bowl. Troop 3 Senior Patrol Leader Andrew Kluk, 17, of Shelton has been making the subs since he was 10, and is the second generation of his family to participate in the sub-raiser. His father, Troop 3 Committee Chairman Rob Kluk, was one of the Scouts who made the subs at the first sub sale and went on the trip to England in 1990. Andrew said his favorite part about making the subs is at the end of the busy day when all the Scouts get a half-sub as a reward for their efforts. Ritter looks forward to the annual event. I enjoy leading the sub-building effort each year because it helps teach teamwork and planning to our Scouts, and it also gets all the troop families involved in the effort, Ritter said. Troop 3 has a special connection to the Super Bowl, as the late Super Bowl I and II champion Green Bay Packers captain Bob Skoronski was a longtime member and supporter of Troop 3. For that reason, Im rooting for the Packers. jean.sos@snet.net Haftar violates ceasefire truce following Berlin summit Participants in Berlin conference on Libya had called for the demobilization of all Libyan armed groups on Sunday. Militias loyal to Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar launched a mortar attack Sunday, violating a cease-fire following a conference on Libya in Berlin. A RANDOM MORTAR ATTACK Sounds of explosions were heard in the capital Tripoli after the Berlin summit, which was held with the aim of establishing a lasting cease-fire and initiating a political process in Libya. Abdul-Malik Al-Madani, spokesman for the Burkan Al-Ghadab (Volcano of Rage) Operation by Libyas UN-recognized government, told Anadolu Agency that the militias violated the cease-fire by launching a random mortar attack on the Salah al-Din region south of Tripoli. While warring parties in Libya and the international community gathered in Berlin, Haftars forces also launched mortar attacks on Al Halatat during the day. Periodic gunfire was heard south of the Libyan capital and black smoke could be seen rising. SAGINAW, MI -- A 20-year-old woman was shot and killed late Sunday afternoon on Saginaws southeast side. Officers with the Saginaw Police Department responded shortly before 6 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 19 to the 300 block of Webber Street for a report of a shooting. Police located Lakeisha Lanasha Harris whod suffered a gunshot wound. Harris was transported via ambulance to a local hospital. She was later pronounced deceased. The Major Crimes Unit, consisting of Saginaw Police and Michigan State Police detectives, are investigating the incident as a homicide. Its the first homicide in the city in 2020. Anyone with information about the fatal shooting is asked to call the Saginaw Police Department at 989-759-1761. She was front row in his fashion show looking androgynous chic in a blazer. But Vicky McClure made time for an outfit change before heading to Paul Smith's 50th anniversary celebratory dinner at Le Trianon, Paris on Sunday evening. The Line of Duty star, 36, donned an all red ensemble with a scarlet biker jacket over a shirt dress of the same colour that featured a long pleated skirt. Biker chic: Vicky McClure made time for an outfit change before heading to Paul Smith's 50th anniversary celebratory dinner at Le Trianon, Paris on Sunday evening She paired the edgy look with boots in a deeper shade of maroon. Her cropped blonde locks were kept in the same style as earlier, parted to one side and worn loose. She remained fresh faced sporting a natural glow and a barely-there-makeup-palette. Editor-in-Chief of Vogue, Anna Wintour, 70, looked sensational in a green floor length gown that was adorned with a burst of pattern and purple floral detail. Bold: The Line of Duty star, 36, donned an all red ensemble with a scarlet biker jacket over a shirt dress of the same colour that featured a long pleated skirt Natural beauty: Her cropped blonde locks were kept in the same style as earlier, parted to one side and worn loose She cosied up to screen star - and former rumoured love interest - Bill Nighy, 70. The pair were romantically linked five years ago. The Love Actually actor looked dapper in a grey suit with a navy scarf draped over his torso. The man himself, Sir Paul Smith, wore a classic navy suit and crisp white shirt. Cosy: Editor-in-Chief of Vogue, Anna Wintour, 70, looked sensational in a green floor length gown that was adorned with a burst of pattern and purple floral detail Pals: She cosied up to screen star - and former rumoured love interest - Bill Nighy, 70 Gorgeous: The pair were romantically linked five years ago. The Love Actually actor looked dapper in a grey suit with a navy scarf draped over his torso He posed for a photo with a photo with Sir Ian McKellen, 80, who cut an edgy figure in a check suit paired with turquoise socks for a pop of colour. Also there was actor Mark Strong, 56, who wore a flat cap and green jumper. His gorgeous wife Liza Marshall donned a teal leopard print dress for the occasion. Susan Sarandon, 73, also looked fabulous in a red suit. She embraced her petite stature in a pair of white patent shoes and wore her auburn tresses loose. Edgy: Sir Ian McKellen, 80, cut an edgy figure in a check suit paired with turquoise socks for a pop of colour. Suited and booted: Susan Sarandon, 73, also looked fabulous in a red suit. She embraced her petite stature in a pair of white patent shoes and wore her auburn tresses loose Catching up: Susan looked elegant as ever as she had a laugh with friend Bill and Sir Ian Strike a pose: She wore a bold red lip to match her playful look Man of the hour: The intimate dinner was a celebration of 50 years of Paul Smith Legend: The man himself, Sir Paul Smith wore a classic navy suit and crisp white shirt Stunning: He also posed for a pic with fellow fashion icon Anna Wintour The Devil Wears Prada actor Stanley Tucci, 59, looked effortlessly cool in his grey check suit and green tie. Game of Thrones actors Joe Dempsie, 32, and Jacob Anderson, 29, remained in their polo neck and suit combos. Joe looked stylish with his gold and black suit while Jacob gave an edgier feel with a green polo neck. Dapper lads: Game of Thrones actors Joe Dempsie, 32, and Jacob Anderson, 29, remained in their polo neck and suit combos Why so serious: Joe looked stylish with his gold and black suit while Jacob gave an edgier feel with a green polo neck Group shot: The lads posed for a photo with fellow Brit and silver screen star Vicky Niall Horan wore a pin striped suit for the intimate evening dinner paired with a simple navy t-shirt. Vicky, meanwhile, is gearing up for the return of Line of Duty series six, where she plays DI Kate Fleming. Late last year, the media personality revealed she threw up in co-star Adrian Dunbar's flat during filming for the last edition of the hit show. Cool dude: Niall Horan wore a pin striped suit for the intimate evening dinner paired with a simple navy t-shirt Vicky said while on location in Belfast to make season five of the hit police drama, she didn't feel too great and had to make a quick getaway. When she ran into Adrian, who plays Ted Hastings in the show, in the lift he told her 'you look green' and called their bosses to let them know she wasn't coming in. The TV and film star revealed the story while speaking at a Red Smart Women Week event in London on Thursday. She told the audience at a Red Smart Women Week event: 'Last series I was so ill and Adrian, who lives next door, saw me in the lift and he said "you look green". I ran into his flat and threw up. He rang and said she can't come to set!' Oh so chic: The Devil Wears Prada actor Stanley Tucci, 59, looked effortlessly cool in his grey check suit and green tie The speciality of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is to run its proceedings democratically, asserted Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, adding that his government is here to serve the nation for a long time. The PM was speaking during the felicitation program of newly-elected BJP national president JP Nadda at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi. "It has been BJP's speciality to run its proceedings democratically. We're not here for a short while, we're here to serve mother India for a long time. BJP has widened its reach under Shri Amit Shah's tenure as National President of the party," said PM Modi. Live TV He said that under the leadership of Nadda, the party will move forward with its core values. The PM cautioned that the "BJP may face more difficulty in the future and we must be ready". "I'm sure that under the leadership of JP Nadda party will move forward with its core values. The BJP may face more difficulty in the future and we must be ready. According to the needs and desires of the nation, moulding the workers and taking India ahead is our target," said PM Modi. The PM also said, "Nadda Ji's leadership will give us new energy, hope, and inspiration. We must ensure that he is successful. Whatever he asks for, we must deliver. As a party worker, we must walk with our core values in the journey ahead with love for our motherland." Taking a jibe at the Opposition, PM Modi asserted that those who were rejected by the public in elections have been left with very few weapons, one of them is to spread 'misinformation'. "There are people who dislike the principles which guide us. Our problems aren't because we're doing something wrong, it's because people of this country are blessing us. Those rejected by the public in elections are left with very few weapons, one of them is-spread 'misinformation'," added PM Modi. He also said, "I am confident that under his leadership, the party will go ahead by abiding its basic principles and ideologies. We will have to face more challenges than what we faced as a political party in the opposition. He is an old friend. A party worker walks ahead with the duties given to him and shoulders his responsibilities to the best of his abilities. I have seen him doing that very well." PM Modi also added, "From the beginning itself, the party has had the tendency to expand horizontally with the vertical development of the workers - the workers of the party develop and the party expands." Attorney Mitch Peters has filed as a Democratic candidate for Porter County Circuit Court judge. The filing sets up a general election battle against Republican Mary DeBoer, who was appointed to the seat a couple months ago by the governor. "As a lawyer for over 35 years, I have become increasingly aware of the needs of people and the issues we face in a complex society," Peters said in a prepared statement. "As a criminal lawyer and public defender, I have realized that in excess of 90% of the crime is related to substance abuse, to the point where the system and community is at times overwhelmed." "The fact that Circuit Court oversees the Juvenile Court and the Juvenile Drug Court provides the opportunity to address these issues at an age where substantial and lasting change can make a difference in the lives of our children and the future of our community," he said. Peters said he also has extensive civil law experience. Someone from the Poor Peoples Campaign called, disturbed that presidential candidates havent pushed hard enough for a debate on poverty. I responded by rattling off the sources of disagreement between the left and center candidates, such as single-payer health coverage and free college tuition. I was missing the point. You can get so caught up in the minutiae that you lose sight of the big picture. Which is that more than 50 years after Martin Luther King Jr. spearheaded the first Poor Peoples Campaign, nobodys really talking about poverty anymore. Candidates talk about protecting the middle class, but only a few address the nearly 140 million Americans (more than 43% of the population) who cant cover basic living expenses. The incomes of the top 1% of Iowans grew by 125% between 1979 and 2012, while those of the bottom 99% saw a 15% increase, according to the PPC, a national movement organized by religious and civil rights leaders and poor people. It has issued a Poor Peoples Moral Budget that identifies a potential $350 billion in savings from annual military cuts and $886 billion in additional annual revenue from taxing the wealthy, corporations and Wall Street. As the cost of rent has skyrocketed, government anti-poverty programs have been slashed. Monthly benefits under Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, an income-support program, have declined steadily and are now at or below two-thirds of the federal poverty level (less than $26,000 a year for a family of four). By one estimate, it helps only 23% of poor families with children. And the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently adopted regulations to deny food stamps (now called SNAP) to nearly 700,000 Americans by tightening work requirements for adults without children. Some of the worst changes are in how communities have resegregated by race and class and how poor people are depicted as a drain on society. U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said SNAP was becoming a way of life for too many Americans. Yet as Rev. William Barber II, a pastor and co-chair of the national Poor Peoples Campaign, pointed out, When banks fail, politicians come together and say they are too big to fail and find billions to lift them up. But when 140 million people struggle and fail under the weight of poverty and low wealth, Republicans tend to racialize poverty, Democrats tend to run from poverty and only talk about middle class, and neither deal fully with policies to address the reality of poverty. Barber cites a 2011 Columbia University public health study showing 250,000 deaths in 2000 were linked to poverty-related causes such as low education and poor social support. The lingering legacy of slavery, and consignment to live in polluted areas, drink contaminated water or work at unsafe jobs all have health effects. Yet when seven people die from vaping, noted Barber, thats considered a national crisis. Its hard work being poor, said John Campbell of Des Moines, a black man of 63 who works at Bridgestone Firestone and is active in the steel workers union. Raised in poverty by a single mother of four who died of lung cancer in her 40s, Campbell enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserves and later in the Army from 1973 to 1978 to escape his battles with drugs and alcohol. He went on to have sustained employment and an education through union programs. But recently, hes been out on disability, living on $300 a week. He had to refinance his house to pay the $3,000 deductible for the first of two knee replacement surgeries. Campbell was one of several Iowans involved with the PPC who shared their own experiences with poverty. Eileen Sambos, a white woman in her 40s, suffers from narcolepsy, needs hearing aids and cant drive. She has worked at the same national retail chain in Ames, Iowa, for nearly 23 years, but now cant get more hours than one day a week. She lives with her mother, a retired custodian, in Ames, where she says rents are too high. Each has been evicted three times for inability to pay, and their current place has no light fixtures in the kitchen or living room, and mold in the bathroom. These battles sometimes leave her stressed and depressed. And she wondered: Whenever theres a shooting, they say the person is mentally challenged. Maybe its because they cant afford treatment. The Rev. Jessica Petersen of Newton, Iowa, is a pastor at her church and one of three PPC chairs in Iowa. She grew up in a low-income household and said her mother had to struggle between working and caring for her younger sister, who had seizures. Thats because Jessicas mother, who recently overcame homelessness, couldnt afford quality child care. A United Way study found it costs $1,031 a month to have one infant and one preschooler in a licensed, accredited child care center. Jessicas sister works full time cleaning a hotel for less than $10 an hour, and is on public health care. But Petersen says no dentist in Newton will accept that for preventive dental care, so she has to drive her sister close to two hours to Des Moines and back. Working with the Institute for Policy Studies, the Kairos Center and an organization called Repairers of the Breach, the PPC compiled data on every state. It found that 1.1 million Iowans (35%) are poor or low-income, including 317,000 children. But Iowa spent at least $642 million during the past five years in public subsidies for corporations. It identified links between cuts in federal housing assistance since the 1970s and rising homelessness. And it showed how the annual military budget of $668 billion dwarfs the $190 billion allocated for education, jobs, housing and other basics. Student debt stands at $1.34 trillion. Since the 60s and 70s weve virtually erased poverty from public discourse, Barber said in a phone interview. So the 400 wealthiest people have quietly amassed more than the bottom 204 million combined. This campaign isnt interested in piecemeal policy proposals. It wants Americans to connect the dots between a half-century of wars that havent made us safer and the 140 million Americans who cant make ends meet. Rekha Basu is a columnist for the Des Moines Register. Readers may send her email at rbasu@dmreg.com. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 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. Samsung's filings have revealed plans for setting up smartphone display manufacturing plant in India, just in time for the Phased Manufacturing Programme to go into effect A new report has revealed Samsungs plans to invest $500 million in a display manufacturing facility in India. The information was part of the companys filing to local regulators earlier this month. Samsung already has a massive manufacturing facility in Noida for manufacturing smartphones and the new facility will be setup on the same land. Samsung is currently the majority manufacturer of AMOLED panels in smartphones, supplying the component to Apple and many others and has often had struggled with meeting demands. With a new display manufacturing facility in India, Samsung should be able to greatly increase its output. However, that is not the only benefit that Samsung is set to gain. The Indian Government had implemented the Phased Manufacturing Programme (PMP) back in 2016, with the goal of encouraging smartphone companies to wholly manufacture their devices in India. Given that most companies would have to setup infrastructure to meet the goals, the government had broken the target up into yearly milestones, with each milestone corresponding to specific components. For example, by 2017, the government expected OEMs to start manufacturing chargers, batteries and wires headsets, locally. The incentive for OEMs was the obvious reduction in taxes and duties, as the government increased the taxation on said components once the milestone was passed. According to PMP, OEMs are expected to manufacture display assemblies within India, failing which, the import of such components would attract a 10 percent duty and a 1 percent surcharge. Given that the display costs anywhere between 25-30 percent of the smartphone itself, importing display assemblies would lead to significant reduction in profits. The story gets more interesting when we factor in the fact that the PMP was originally scheduled to take effect in March 2020, giving companies time till 31 March 2020 to set up their display assembly plants. However, in January 2019, the Government decided to move the timetable up by 2 months, which led to severe backlash from Samsung. At the time, Samsung had declared that if the Government did not go back to the originally decided timeline for PMP, the company would be forced to scale back its smartphone manufacturing operations in India, and completely stop the manufacturing of its flagship devices. Devices manufactured by Samsung in India are not only sold here, but also exported to various other countries. Now it appears that Samsung is finally readying to setup its domestic display manufacturing operations, well within the time-frame set forth in the original Phased Manufacturing Programme. What will be interesting to see is whether the indigenously manufactured displays will be used by other OEMs manufacturing smartphones in India and how it will impact the overall costs of not just production, but also end-consumer cost. The French foreign ministry said Monday that eight European Union nations had given their "political support" for a new naval patrol to help avoid potential conflicts in the Strait of Hormuz, the strategically critical entry to the Gulf. Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands and Portugal backed the new force, whose mission headquarters will be based in Abu Dhabi. A Dutch frigate is expected to launch the patrol rotations by the end of February, a French army official told AFP on condition of anonymity. The move comes amid escalating tensions in the region, especially between Iran and the United States, that have sparked attacks on tankers and other conflicts in a crucial zone for oil shipping. Iran is also backing Huthi rebels in Yemen who are locked in a years-long battle with a coalition force led by Saudi Arabia, which has led to ship seizures by Huthi fighters. "For months this situation has jeopardised freedom of navigation and the security of both European and foreign ships and crews," the ministry said in a statement. The Hormuz strait is considered especially vulnerable since it is only 50 kilometres (31 miles) wide and relatively shallow, with a maximum depth of 60 metres (200 feet). The EU initiative also underscores the bloc's goal of acting separately from the US, which launched its own operation alongside allies last November to protect shipping in Gulf waters. France and its European allies are hoping to distance themselves from US President Donald Trump in order to save the landmark 2015 deal curtailing Tehran's nuclear programme. Trump abandoned the accord in 2018 and imposed economic sanctions against Iran, rekindling a smouldering conflict that led to strikes on cargo ships as well as Saudi Arabian oil facilities. France, Denmark, Greece and the Netherlands have already confirmed they will contribute to the patrols, which will be based in the United Arab Emirates, and "new commitments" are expected in the coming days, the ministry said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Press Release 20 January 2020 Surbung Airport Set to Open in Chin State, Myanmar in May 2020 Advertisements The Surbung Airport in Falam Township is set to open in Chin State, Myanmar, in late May 2020. The construction commenced in 2015 and was originally planned to be completed in 2022. The MMK37 billion project will be the region's first airport and will link Chin to seven other states in Myanmar. Upon completion, it is expected to boost tourism in the state which is home to the heart-shaped Rih Lake and Nat Ma Taung National Park. Located at the northern Chin of Falam, the airport will sit on the Surbung mountain range, featuring an 1,830-metre long and 30-metre wide runway to handle ATR-72 aircraft. Moving forward, the Chin State government also has plans to build smaller airports in Tiddim, Tonzang, Falam and Hakha townships. Currently, Myanmar has three international airports and 58 domestic ones, of which only 31 are currently in operation. Vietjet Expands Asia Flight Network Vietnam-based low-cost airline, VietJet Air ("Vietjet") will be launching seven new routes as it expands its international flight network. The new routes will include flights from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang to Nagoya's Chubu Centrair International Airport, and Hanoi to Fukuoka and Kagoshima. The new flights will increase Vietjet's routes between Vietnam and Japan to ten. Vietjet's press release states that the operation will commence in 2020. In addition, Vietjet will also commence its first two international services connecting Can Tho, the hub city of the Mekong Delta region, to Taipei in Taiwan and Seoul in South Korea. The Can Tho - Taipei route operates four return flights per week starting from 12 January 2020, and the Can Tho - Seoul route operates three return flights per week effective 16 January 2020. Vietjet currently operates seven domestic routes and two international routes from Can Tho International Airport. Overall, Vietjet presently serves 17 domestic destinations and 23 international destinations. IHG Announces Strategic Partnership with AWC Thailand-based integrated lifestyle real-estate group, Asset World Corporate ("AWC"), has reached an agreement to a strategic partnership with UK-based InterContinental Hotels Group ("IHG") to manage over 1,200 hotel rooms across Thailand. The first hotel under this agreement will be the conversion of the 371-key Imperial Mae Ping Hotel in Chiang Mai into a 306-key InterContinental Chiang Mai Mae Ping with an investment of THB3 billion. The hotel is slated to open in 2021 with full operations by 2022. AWC currently own 16 hotels with 4,869 rooms and has partnered with six international hotel chains to open 27 hotels with 8,506 rooms by 2024 under a five-year strategic plan. With IHG, AWC will further study other potential areas in Bangkok such as Charoen Krung, Chinatown, Bang Na, and the Chao Phraya River area. Hotel Management Japan Established Joint Venture with Topotels Hotels & Resorts Japan-based hotel operator, Hotel Management Japan Company Limited ("HMJ"), has announced the establishment of P.T. HMJ International Indonesia ("HMJII") through a joint venture between its sister company, HMJ International Company Limited ("HMJI"), and Indonesia-based Topotels Hotels & Resorts ("Topotels") on 6 January 2020. The new partnership seeks to provide opportunities for HMJ group to expand outside of Japan and pursue the group's goal of becoming an international hotel chain. The joint venture has a growing pipeline of eight hotels with approximately 750 rooms in Indonesia. HMJI and HMJ currently operates 20 hotels throughout Japan with nearly 6,000 hotel rooms, and expects to open four new hotels in 2021. HMJ is also planning to open their latest brand hotel - Amoda, a 4-star hotel in Jakarta, in 2022. Topotels' portfolio includes 19 hotels with approximately 3,600 rooms in Indonesia and Malaysia under hotel brands including Odua, Ayola, and Renotel. European Union Minister for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell reportedly said on January 20 that the EU will be discussing all ways to uphold a formal ceasefire in Libya. However, he further added that any peace settlement will need real EU support to make it hold as a ceasefire requires someone to take care of it, monitor it and manage it. Libya has been torn by fighting between rival armed factions since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising killed leader Muammar Gaddafi and recently a fragile ceasefire backed by both Turkey and Russia was put into place. The comments by Borrell comes after the European foreign ministers held discussions in Brussels and a day after international leaders agreed at a summit in Berlin to uphold a UN arms embargo and end military support for the country's warring factions. Participants in Sunday's Berlin conference on Libya, in a joint statement, called for the demobilisation of all Libyan armed groups. The participants have also called for restoring the monopoly of the state for the legitimate use of force. "We call for a comprehensive process of demobilisation and disarmament of armed groups and militias in Libya and the subsequent integration of suitable personnel into civilian, security and military state institutions, on an individual basis and based on a census of armed groups personnel and professional vetting. We call upon the United Nations to assist this process," the document's article 12 reads. READ: EU FMs On Libya Ahead Of Meeting In Brussels UN to facilitate ceasefire negotiations The summit called for external factors to refrain from intervening in Libya's domestic matters. The participants urged the United Nations to broker the ceasefire negotiations between the conflicting sides and also asked the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to impose sanctions against those who violate the ceasefire. READ: Berlin Summit: Participants Calls For Demobilisation Of Armed Groups In Libya "We call upon the United Nations to facilitate ceasefire negotiations between the parties, including through the immediate establishment of technical committees to monitor and verify the implementation of the ceasefire," the document reads, adding, "We call upon the UNSC to impose appropriate sanctions on those who are found to be in violation of the ceasefire arrangements and on the Member States to enforce these". Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, head of Libya's UN-recognized Government of National Accord and his rival military commander of Libyan national Army, Khalifa Haftar attended the UN-backed gathering in the German capital to carve out a political process in the war-torn North African country. (With ANI inputs) READ: Johnson, Putin Meet On Libya Conference Sidelines READ: Leaders Arrive For International Meeting On Libya By Jason Lange (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg on Sunday pledged to narrow the wealth gap between black and white Americans by boosting black ownership of homes and businesses and investing in poor neighborhoods. Bloomberg, a late entry to the Democratic nomination contest, is rising in public opinion polls as he uses his vast personal fortune to spend heavily on advertising nationwide. But the billionaire former mayor of New York trails frontrunners Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren nationally and among African Americans, who make up about a quarter of Democratic voters in the contest to take on Republican President Donald Trump in the November election By Jason Lange (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg on Sunday pledged to narrow the wealth gap between black and white Americans by boosting black ownership of homes and businesses and investing in poor neighborhoods. Bloomberg, a late entry to the Democratic nomination contest, is rising in public opinion polls as he uses his vast personal fortune to spend heavily on advertising nationwide. But the billionaire former mayor of New York trails frontrunners Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren nationally and among African Americans, who make up about a quarter of Democratic voters in the contest to take on Republican President Donald Trump in the November election. In prepared remarks for a speech in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the day before a holiday honoring slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., Bloomberg said his plans would help one million black Americans become homeowners over 10 years, while also boosting the number of black-owned businesses. He pledged a $70 billion program to fight poverty in 100 disadvantaged neighborhoods. "You don't reverse hundreds of years of theft and exploitation only with modern-day attempts to legislate equal rights," he said. The United States stands out among developed countries for its large wealth gaps and its relatively recent history of pervasive slavery, which underpinned its southern economy until 1865. According to researchers at the Federal Reserve https://www.clevelandfed.org/newsroom-and-events/publications/economic-commentary/2019-economic-commentaries/ec-201903-what-is-behind-the-persistence-of-the-racial-wealth-gap.aspx#D2, white American households on average had over six times the wealth of black households in 2016, a gap largely constant since 1962 despite legal efforts to ban discrimination. The Bloomberg campaign said his plan would help blacks with mortgage downpayment assistance and he pledged to fight discrimination with bias training for police, teachers and federal contractors. Bloomberg has faced criticism in black communities over his support of a controversial policing policy that ensnared disproportionate numbers of blacks and Latinos when he was New York's mayor. The former Republican apologized for the policy days before announcing his candidacy in November. He is not campaigning in the first four states to vote in the nomination process, including Iowa on Feb. 3, and hopes to make up ground on the "Super Tuesday" March 3 contests that include racially diverse Texas, California and North Carolina. A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted Jan. 15-16 showed 9% of Democrats and independents backed Bloomberg in the nomination contest, up from 5% in early December. He trailed Sanders, who led with 20%, Biden who had 19% and Warren who had 12%. Biden has the most African American support with 23%, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling in the month through mid-January, compared to 17% for Sanders, 9% for Warren and 7% for Bloomberg. (Reporting by Jason Lange in Washington; Editing by Andrea Ricci) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. The Ukrainian side expects additional efforts from the OSCE, Ukraine's top diplomat says. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko says Ukraine has addressed the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) with a proposal to strengthen financial support for the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine. "We have made a formal proposal and request to continue the mission's activities, as well as to boost opportunities, human resources, and finances to make the mission more effective than in previous years," Prystaiko said at a joint press conference in Kyiv with the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Albania's Prime Minister and Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Edi Rama. Read alsoOSCE names conditions for holding elections in occupied Donbas "We have discussed with [Albania's] Prime Minister Rama how the OSCE cooperation should be built. The Ukrainian side expects additional efforts from the OSCE, first of all, from the SMM," Prystaiko added. Turkey deploys more militants from Syria to Libya to help protect Tripoli-based GNA: Report Iran Press TV Saturday, 18 January 2020 4:35 PM Roughly 2,000 members of Turkish-backed Takfiri terrorist groups in Syria have reportedly arrived in Libya to fight on the battlefields in support of the embattled Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA). Informed sources, requesting anonymity, told Syria's official news agency SANA that more than 1,700 Turkey's proxies, who have been accused of war crimes and human rights abuses while fighting on behalf of Ankara in northern Syria, had recently reached the North African country to come to the aid of Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj in the face of a months-long campaign by his rival, renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar. The sources added that Turkish forces continue to recruit Takfiri militants in the Kurdish-populated city of Afrin and other areas in northern Syria to send them to Libya. British daily newspaper The Guardian reported on Wednesday that some 650 fighters from Turkish-backed militant outfits in Syria are in Libya already, and a further 1,350 crossed to Turkey in January to support the Tripoli government. Media reports said that Turkey had begun sending militants from Syria to the North African country after Libya's GNA and Ankara signed security and maritime agreements back in late November last year on paving the way for the Turkish troop deployment. Libya's eastern-based parliament later voted unanimously against the deals. The accords drew the ire of Mediterranean countries, including Greece and Cyprus, which are seeking to exploit energy resources in the area. On Saturday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged the European Union to support his country's deployment of troops to Libya in support of the GNA, if the 28-member bloc seeks to end conflict in the North African country. "It would be a mistake of historic proportions to leave Libya at the mercy of a warlord. Keeping in mind that Europe is less interested in providing military support to Libya, the obvious choice is to work with Turkey, which has already promised military assistance," Erdogan said in remarks in a column published on the Politico website. He added, "We will train Libya's security forces and help them combat terrorism, human trafficking and other serious threats against international security." The Turkish leader then warned Europe about new threats if it fails to back Libya's "legitimate" government, stating that Takfiri militant groups such as Daesh and al-Qaeda "will find a fertile ground to get back on their feet." 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 historical and social ties with Libya, asserting that Haftar would have taken over the entire nation if Ankara had not intervened. "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 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. 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. Earlier this month, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Libyan peace talks would be held in Berlin on January 19, adding that Libya's warring parties would need to play a major role to help find a solution. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UPDATE: Woman to be arraigned in Granby homicide ______ GRANBY Authorities are investigating an unattended death at a Pleasant Street home. Northwestern District Attorneys office spokeswoman Mary Carey told Western Mass News the body of a male was found inside the home Sunday afternoon. The identity of the victim has not been released. The death is being investigated by state troopers attached to the district attorneys office and Granby police. Western Mass News is television partner to The Republican and MassLive.com. This is a developing story. Additional information will be posted as soon as it is available. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's plans hit a hurdle Monday when Parliament's upper chamber told the government to give citizens living in the UK physical proof of their right to remain after the country leaves the bloc. The House of Lords voted by 270-229 to amend the government bill that paves the way for Britain's departure from the EU on Jan 31 the first of three votes that went against the government. The amendment says EU citizens living in Britain should be given a document confirming their right of residence. At present EU nationals can register online to confirm their settled status, but receive no physical proof. Liberal Democrat peer Jonny Oates said the lack of a hard document could leave EU residents "severely disadvantaged" in dealings with landlords and other officials. The House of Lords is debating the government's Withdrawal Agreement Bill, which sets the terms of Britain's departure from the 28-nation EU. It must be passed by both houses of Parliament before Jan 31 if the UK is to leave the EU on schedule and become the first nation ever to quit the bloc. As well as the vote on EU citizens'rights, the Lords voted for two amendments intended to restrict government powers to ignore European court judgments after without consulting UK courts first. Monday's defeats won't stop the bill becoming law, because the House of Commons has already approved it, and the elected lower chamber can overturn decisions by the Lords. But it means it must return to the Commons later this week rather than automatically becoming law once it's passed by the Lords on Tuesday. Britain voted narrowly to leave the EU in a 2016 referendum, but as the years went on UK lawmakers repeatedly defeated attempts by both Johnson and predecessor Theresa May to secure backing for their blueprints. That changed when Johnson's Conservatives won a strong majority in a parliamentary election last month, giving the government the ability to override the objections of opposition parties. The European Parliament also must approve the Brexit divorce deal with Britain before Jan 31. A vote is expected next week. Despite Johnson's repeated promise to get Brexit done on Jan 31, the departure will only mark the start of the first stage of the country's EU exit. Britain and the EU will then launch into negotiations on their future ties, racing to strike new relationships for trade, security and a host of other areas by the end of 2020. Advertisement More than 20,000 people converged in the streets of Richmond, Virginia, on Monday to protest their right to bear arms in the face of swingeing state gun control laws set to be enacted later this year. They started arriving before dawn army veterans, stay-at-home-moms, attorneys, welders, democrats, republicans united under banners defending the second amendment and, they believe, a constitution under attack. And many of them came with their guns: AR-15s, long-guns and handguns. Governor Ralph Northam had issued a ban on a list of weapons including guns on Capitol Grounds but though the official rally was confined to a steel pen in the grounds sloping up to Virginia State Capitol, there were more people outside that perimeter and outside the scope of the ban. Security was tight and visible hundreds of cops on the streets and in the grounds, screening lanes at the only entrance to the park, the rest of which had been fenced off. Officials say 7,000 actually entered the rally site and another 15,000 remained in the streets. On Monday morning, President Trump fanned the flames of the already simmering tensions by tweeting: 'The Democrat Party in the Great Commonwealth of Virginia are working hard to take away your 2nd Amendment rights. 'This is just the beginning. Dont let it happen, VOTE REPUBLICAN in 2020!' Scroll down for video A protester lets off a smoke bomb at the end of the rally on Monday. There were no reports of violence despite fears that the rally would descend into chaos Demonstrators hold hands as they stand outside the rally proudly wearing their rifles, helmets and bullet proof vests Protesters inside the Capitol Square wave flags and chant 'USA' while waiting for speakers. The weapons were all kept outside Armed gun rights advocates line up outside Capitol Square in Richmond, Virginia, on Monday ahead of a rally organized by The Virginia Citizens Defense League. Tens of thousands are expected to attend the event and it is stoking fears of violence Protester Brandon Lewis, who traveled from Buffalo, New York, proudly carrying a Barrett M82 rifle which can be used by the military to shoot down planes at Monday's rally. The recoil-operated, semi-automatic anti-materiel sniper system is used in the military and was also a favorite weapon of the IRA. He said he brought such a large weapon 'because he can' There is an enormous police presence at the rally and all event attendees are being screened before they can enter the site - they will not be allowed to take their weapons into the protest area but many brought theirs and held them proudly as they stood on the outskirts of it Protesters chanted 'we will not comply' as they flooded the streets of Richmond, Virginia, on Monday Only one person was arrested at Monday's protest - 21-year-old Mikaela E. Beschler, 21, of Richmond. She was arrested for not removing her face mask - which had been banned - despite being warned by police to three times. Local sheriffs say they will not even enforce the changes if Northam makes them. Sheriff Scott Jenkins of Culpeper County said over the weekend: 'I'm not saying that I will not enforce duly enacted laws, but I'm not saying that I will.' At Monday's rally, Sheriff Richard Vaughan of Grayson County said: 'If the bills go through as proposed, they will not be enforced; they're unconstitutional.' Its just rhetoric,one observed. What are those fences going to do against bullets? What difference does it make if the rifle is over here or in there? Social media posts had told of convoys and militias traveling across states to Virginia to support their brothers and sisters and they came in their hundreds. Trump tweeted in the afternoon after the rally had finished The official rally, organized by pro-gun advocacy group, The Virginia Citizens Defense League, was slated to start at 8am and end at noon. It is an annual part of Lobby Day just one event among others as citizens are given the chance to come to the Capitol and lobby on a variety of issues. Trump tweeted on Monday morning to encourage the protesters But this year gun control has eclipsed all others and outside Capitol walls brigades assembled. Some distinguished their own soldiers from others with armbands made from yellow caution tape. By 9.30 they had assembled in columns on East 9th Street to the east of the Capitol. Heavily armed and in military uniform they had, they said, traveled from out of state. One who spoke to DailyMail.com described himself simply as former military and a concerned citizen. He said, I deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq. I bled repeatedly for this country. Pro gun supporters barbecued in the 25F temperatures at the rally on Monday afternoon A vendor selling t-shirts which read 'God, Guns & Trump' and 'Impeach This' with images of the president sticking his middle finger up makes his way through the rally A pro gun supporter covers his face with a camouflage balaclava while toting his rifle at Monday's protest Participants gather at the Virginia State Capitol grounds during a gun rights rally to protest proposed gun control laws on Monday, January 20, 2020 in Richmond, Virginia Participants gather at the Virginia State Capitol grounds during a gun rights rally to protest proposed gun control laws Participants gather at the Virginia State Capitol grounds during a gun rights rally to protest proposed gun control laws Virginia State Police Officers stand in front of the State Capitol as protesters flood through the checkpoints Inside the square, protesters held signs up and chanted. They were not allowed to bring their weapons in Two armed militia who declined to be named stand guard outside the protest with their weapons There are thousands of people bearing arms at the protest which has sparked fears that it may descend into violence Armed militia who declined to be named stand outside Capitol Square with their weapons Senator Amanda Chase was among those in attendance. A protester carrying a sign which reads in part 'Gays for the 2nd amendment' Sheriff Richard Vaughan of Grayson County said: 'If the bills go through as proposed, they will not be enforced; they're unconstitutional.' 'Im here to defend it again. 'Were here to be the crowd the governor sees when he looks out of his window. These men were not there to give their names. They were there to make a stand; a show of force, should it be needed. We want to do things the peaceful way, one protester said. And thats what this is but its not the only way.' The issue was contentious enough in this, General Robert E Lees home state, before President Trump tweeted on Friday afternoon: Your 2nd Amendment is under very serious attack in the Great Commonwealth of Virginia. Thats what happens when you vote for Democrats, they will take your guns away. Republicans will win Virginia in 2020. Thank you Dems! The governor declared a state of emergency last week and the Federal Aviation Administration issued a temporary flight restriction making it illegal to fly planes or drones above the city on Monday. EXCLUSIVE - INFO WARS HOST ALEX JONES SAYS GOVERNOR TRIED TO INCITE A RIOT Alex Jones has slammed security measures at the Richmond pro-gun rally calling them a recipe for disaster and described it as a miracle that no-one was injured in the event which drew tens of thousands to the citys Capitol. Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com he said, To have one entry point and one exit and put them in the same locationany security expert would tell you thats a recipe for disaster. Its a miracle that nothing happened and thats because it was conservatives and patriots. InfoWars host Alex Jones delivers supportive remarks to protesters at the rally on Monday morning Asked if he believed the Governor Ralph Northam had deliberately set out to heighten the chance of stampede, the controversial radio-show host was adamant, Absolutely. He added, If this had been a leftist thing or a Mecca something would have happened. Jones arrived in the Virginian town Sunday night ahead of the rally that he claimed was one of the best Ive ever been at. He went onto accuse the governor of overseeing security measures that made for an extremely dangerous situation by closing off all but one access point to the Capitol grounds. He said, Northam predicted death and destruction and it didnt happen. Jones popped up through the sunroof of an armored tank he and his team had brought with them. He accused Virginia's Democrat Governor, Ralph Northam, of inciting a civil war with his plans for gun control reform After driving through the town with his megaphone, Jones joined protesters on the ground Advertisement For Michelle Smelkinson, there with husband Ron and nineteen-year-old son Reagan (named after the president) the reasons for being there seemed self-evident. She said, Our governor is a monster and wants to turn us into New York and thats not going to happen in Virginia. Were not killing babies and we wont have our guns taken away. The Chesapeake family had dressed in Colonial uniforms that drew good-humored comments and praise. We dressed like this because were patriots, traditionalists, defenders of our constitutional rights. John, from Massachusetts, hadnt intended to go until the state of emergency was declared. That was the trigger for him. He said, Im here to stand with my fellow Americans. Theyre trying to do here what theyve already done to my state. Its amazing to be here surrounded by so many people carrying. Its awesome. A police officer searches a man before allowing him to enter the protest site on Monday morning. The frigid temperatures plunged to 25F Members of an armed militia group stand outside the protest site next to Richmond police officers and Virginia State Police officer A protester with an M82 rifle stands in front of an enormous flag which reads 'Come and Take It' - a taunt to Democrats seeking to impose tighter gun laws in the state Masked gun rights activists carrying flags and signs at the rally on Monday Gun rights activists chant during the rally on Monday and film the action on their cell phones Brad Slaybaugh, (left), a dog trainer and founder of the Virginia Rising Pro-Gun Group, stands in front of the State Capital during the Lobby Day pro-gun rally and Christopher Davies (right), another pro-gun protester Ron Smelkinson (right) with his son Reagan (middle) and wife Michelle (left) John (left) who had traveled from Massachusetts and 18-year-old Eli, right, protest at the rally with flags Registered Democrat Dave (left) - a former Marine and pro gun advocate - and his friend Phil (right) at the rally. They declined to give their full names Samson, a military veteran, joins protesters at the rally. He declined to give his full name Timothy Hatley holds a photograph of Virginia Governor Ralph Northam in a photo of a man dressed in a KKK outfit with the words 'the man behind the sheet wants your guns'. Northam admitted that he is in the image - that was taken in his 1984 yearbook - but he has never admitted which man he is Protester who brought M82 rifle that the IRA used to use to Richmond rally Brandon Lewis from Buffalo, NY, said told The Virginia Mercury: 'This is kind of the first big movement for our times recently, so I thought it was important to be a part of it. ' He said he brought such an enormous weapon because it was the 'point' of 'open carry'. 'Its kind of the point of open carry. 'To show you can. It shows the government its not above us.' The weapons can be bought online and in stores for around $8,000. They are a US military weapon that the IRA smuggled into Ireland in the 1980s and used in some of their attacks. Between 1992 and 1997, its snipers killed five soldiers and a constable using the weapons. Advertisement Video courtesy Washington Examiner Former soldier Samson, who made the 8 hours trip to Virginia with John, said, Its refreshing to be surrounded by so many supporters. We brought first aid kits just in case. You prepare for the worst in these situations but hope for the best. We dont want trouble. This is a peaceful thing were just defending what is a human right. Stay at home mom, Kim Orndorff, from Winchester, Virginia lined up at 4am to stand up for the second amendment. The blonde-haired lawyer by trade and other of three stood with her AR.15 across her chest. She said, I just think its insane that we could be suddenly criminals for something that is in our constitution the right to bear arms. Im a peaceful person, Im law abiding. I havent even had a speeding ticket! Fluorescent orange stickers proclaimed, Guns Save Lives, from the hundreds of jackets on which they were stuck. Sporadic chants of, USA! USA! broke out among the crowds. One enterprising vendor had set up a stand selling Trump pins, hats and T-shirts. Dont be a Democrat. Get Yourself a Trump Hat! he chanted. Brad Slaybaugh, a working dog trainer from Colonial Heights, had given up a day of shooting ducks to be at the Capitol today. According to Slaybaugh, The next challenge is to keep this passion going and turn it into votes. What were standing up for here is the American ideal and too many people have forgotten what that is. Slaybaugh established a facebook group Virginia Rising just ten weeks ago designed to promote and defend the constitution as he sees it. One hundred and ten thousands people have already signed up to register their support. Virginian marine veteran Dave, said of his reason for being there today, I put my life on the line for this country for nine years. Im a democrat and a lifelong NRA member. Its a damn horrible thing to put your life on the line for your country and come back home and have your politicians betray you and stab you in the back. Many of the gun rights activists toted their rifles on their shoulders and some wore bullet proof vests to the event A protester carrying a sign which reads 'No Gun Grab! Grab her by the p***y. Trump 2020' and wearing a 'Guns Save Lives' sticker. The quote is a reference to the infamous remark Trump made in 2005 during an interview which resurfaced ahead of the 2016 election Another man being screened before entering Capitol Square. Virginia Governor Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency ahead of the event A protester wearing a badge reading 'Guns Save Lives' recites the pledge of allegiance on Monday along with hundreds of others as they arrive ahead of the Richmond rally Mother of activist killed by at Charlottesville says Virginia Democrats are going TOO FAR Heather Heyer was killed in the 2017 protest Susan Bro, president and chairman of the Heather Heyer Foundation, which she co-founded in the wake of her daughter's violent death during the Unite the Right march three year ago, spoke out as thousands of gun-rights activists - many toting firearms - rallied at the Virginia Capitol on Monday, protesting plans by the states Democratic leadership to pass sweeping gun-control legislation. Virginia Democrats are backing an assault weapons ban, along with bills limiting handgun purchases to once a month, implementing universal background checks on gun purchases, allowing localities to ban guns in public buildings, parks and other areas, and a 'red flag' bill that would allow authorities to temporarily take guns away from anyone deemed to be dangerous to themselves or others. 'I grew up with guns,' Bro told CNN, as USA Today reported. 'I believe in common sense gun measures, but not extreme measures.' Susan Bro (left), the mother of slain Charlottesville counterprotester Heather Heyer (right), says she is a gun owner and opposes some of the gun control measures that have been proposed by Virginia Democrats Bro noted that while she believes some of the gun restrictions under consideration are 'a bit extreme,' other parts of the legislation are sound. On the eve of Monday's pro-gun rally in the Virginia state capital, Bro urged anyone planning to resort to violence to 'stay the hell away from Richmond,' as she told The Independent. She also cautioned peaceful protesters seeking to come out and have their voices heard to be aware that there might be 'foolish people' in the crowd bent on stirring up hate. Bro's daughter, 32-year-old paralegal Heather Heyer, was among hundreds of counterprotesters demonstrating against white nationalists in Charlottesville in August 2017 when James Alex Fields Jr drove his car into the group, killing Heyer and injuring dozens of others. Advertisement Both pro gun activists and anti-fascist demonstrators are expected to attend Monday's event which will officially kick off at 11. Virginia Governor Ralph Northam has declared a state of emergency and has banned weapons in the capitol but many brought theirs anyway. They will have to lose them before being screened at the actual protest site. A long list of weapons has been banned but pocket knives are allowed inside so long as they measure less than three inches. Snaking lines had already formed at the capitol by sunrise but the scene remains peaceful. Frigid temperatures of 25F may also reduce the crowd size. Some of the protesters have traveled from out of state to attend the event, whereas others - such as the Virginia Citizens Defense League - are passionately local. Philip Van Cleave, leader of the league, said: 'People are looking at this and saying, "This is a canary in the coal mine. 'If they're coming after rights in Virginia, then they'll be coming for ours as well." They don't want us to fail in stopping this. We've gotten huge donations from other states.' Van Cleave has rejected calls for violence, but he has urged tens of thousands of armed militia leaders from across the United States to be in Richmond's streets to provide security for his group. A spokesman for the Capitol police said Van Cleave had worked closely with law enforcement officers on rally plans. High-profile national militia figures gathered for a meeting on Sunday near Richmond said they wanted Monday's event to be peaceful, but feared the worst, with most saying any 'lone wolf' could unleash bitter fighting with a single shot. 'The buildup is probably one of the most intense I've seen,' said Tammy Lee, a right-wing Internet personality from Oklahoma, who was a figurehead in Charlottesville. Christian Yingling, head of the Pennsylvania Light Foot Militia and a leader at the Charlottesville Unite the Right rally, said none of his men would carry long guns and they wanted to avoid skirmishes, but forecast they would come. 'With somewhere between 50,000 and 100,000 people possibly coming out, this thing has enormous potential to go bad,' he said. Northam, a Democrat, has vowed to push through new gun control laws. He is backing a package of eight bills, including universal background checks, a 'red flag' law, a ban on assault rifles and a limit of one handgun-a-month purchase. The state's gun owners responded with a movement to create 'sanctuary cities' for gun rights, with local government bodies passing declarations not to enforce new gun laws. Since the November election, nearly all of Virginia's 95 counties have some form of 'sanctuary', a term first used by localities opposed to harsh treatment of illegal immigrants. A protester stands outside Capitol Square with his rifle while protesters without guns stand inside and listen to speakers A protester wearing a bandanna to cover his face and with a plastic face mask strapped to his front attends the rally Protesters marching at the rally on Sunday make gestures as they chant 'USA' A protester carrying depicting a hung head and an accompanying sign reading 'this always to tyrants' A young teenager stand with adults bearing rifles at the rally in Richmond, Virginia, on Monday morning More protesters and their guns which they wore strapped over bulletproof vests at the rally on Monday A protester in camouflage wearing a rifle and a 'Guns Saves Lives' badge at Monday's rally A protester with a GoPro on his head totes a rifle and a badge saying 'Tread on Them' Protesters carried flags and signs which threatened they would not comply with gun reform posed by Democrat lawmakers A protester with a rifle slung on his shoulder mingles with others who had also brought their weapons before the rally Some stood on the sidelines of the event. Militia groups have been in contact with the police department to promise to work together to make sure the event remains peaceful White supremacists to anti-government groups: Who's expected at Virginia's gun rally Virginia Citizens Defense League The Virginia Citizens Defense League, an influential grassroots gun-rights organization with a long record in the state, has been the leading force behind Monday's rally. Each year on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday the group holds a lobby day, typically attended by several hundred gun enthusiasts who rally and meet with lawmakers to discuss legislation. But this year's event is expected to draw an enormous crowd. The VCDL has donated over $200,000 to state lawmakers since 2002, records show. The group has emphasized the rally is intended to be peaceful and urged members not to bring long guns, saying they would be a 'distraction.' 'The eyes of the nation and the world are on Virginia and VCDL right now and we must show them that gun owners are not the problem,' the group wrote in a recent email to its members. The group's president, Philip Van Cleave, has been in the national spotlight before. In 2018, Van Cleave was duped into participating in Sacha Baron Cohen's ambush chat show, where he advocated for arming children. Gun Owners of America The influential pro-gun group Gun Owners of America describes itself as the only 'no-compromise' gun lobby in Washington and enjoys a loyal following. Founded in 1975 by a California state lawmaker, Gun Owners of America joined the VCDL to seek an injunction against enforcement of Gov. Ralph Northam's executive order banning guns from the Capitol Square. The state Supreme Court upheld the ban late Friday. On its website, the group has urged its members to attend Monday's rally. Meanwhile, the National Rifle Association, the country's best known gun-rights organization, has distanced itself from Monday's rally and instead held a lobby day last week. Hundreds of people attended the event, where the NRA handed out unloaded 30-round gun magazines. A spokeswoman for the group headquartered in northern Virginia said the magazines were meant as a 'morale booster' for the NRA members who showed up to urge lawmakers to reject the gun control measures proposed by Northam and Democratic lawmakers. Oath Keepers Former U.S. Army paratrooper Stewart Rhodes formed The Oath Keepers in 2009, and the group has become one of the nations largest anti-government organizations, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. In 2014, Oath Keeper members joined an armed standoff between federal officials and Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy over grazing rights on government land. Later that year and in 2015, members patrolled the streets of Ferguson, Missouri, amid protests over the police killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown. They wore camouflage body armor and openly carried rifles. The group urged its members in a post on its website to attend Monday's rally and said it was sending trainers to Virginia to organize and train 'armed posses and militia.' 'It is NOT just about one day at a rally. Its about organizing and training up Virginians in each town and county to make their Second Amendment Sanctuary Counties truly strong, united, and capable of actually defending their lives, liberty, and property,' the group's website says. Three Percenter Movement The Three Percenters are a loosely organized movement that formed in 2008, according to the Anti-Defamation League, the Jewish civil rights organization that tracks extremist groups. On its website, the right-wing group says it isnt an anti-government militia but 'we will defend ourselves when necessary.' The Three Percenters derives its name from the belief that just 3% of the colonists rose up to fight the British. They have vowed to resist any government that infringes on the U.S. Constitution. The Oregon Three Percenters joined an armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon in 2016. Dozens of people occupied the remote refuge for more than a month to protest federal control of Western lands. The group also took part in a violent right-wing rally in Portland last year. White supremacists J.J. MacNab, a fellow at the Program on Extremism at George Washington University, said she didn't expect large numbers of white supremacists. But MacNab said she thinks those who do attend will try to capitalize on the large expected crowd for a moment in the limelight. 'It's going to be a big event - they want to be part of it. Theyre desperate to do Charlottesville 2.0,' she said, referring to the 2017 rally that descended into violence. Last week, authorities arrested at least seven men they linked to a violent white supremacist group known as The Base. Three of the men were planning to attend the rally in Richmond, according to an official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss an active investigation. Advertisement A protester carrying an anti-Democrat sign holds it up to be read at the rally in Richmond, Virginia Protesters outside the Capitol building. It was fenced off over the weekend in anticipation of Monday's crowds The idea has quickly spread across the United States, with over 200 local governments in 16 states passing such measures. Despite the pushback, proponents of stronger gun laws say they are clearly winning the argument with the public, based on who got voted into office, and blame the tension on gun supporters. 'We're in this situation because the gun lobby has been pushing their message that we're going to take all guns away - they've been fanning this fire for years,' said Michelle Sandler, a Virginia state leader for Moms Demand Action, the grassroots arm of Everytown for Gun Safety. It is not Northam's first bid to tighten state gun laws. He called a special legislative session last summer after the massacre of 12 people in Virginia Beach, but the Republicans who then controlled it refused to vote on his proposals By Trend President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and first lady Mehriban Aliyeva have paid tribute to the victims of the 20 January tragedy on the National Mourning Day. President Ilham Aliyev laid a wreath at the "Eternal Flame" memorial. The Defense Ministrys military orchestra played the national anthem of Azerbaijan. Among those in attendance at the commemorative ceremony were Prime Minister Ali Asadov, Parliament Speaker Ogtay Asadov, head of the Presidential Administration Samir Nuriyev, state and government officials, heads of religious communities, ambassadors of foreign countries to Azerbaijan, and representatives of international organizations. Alfa Romeo's 2020 car has passed the FIA crash tests on the second attempt. Just before Christmas, we reported that the Swiss team's 2020 chassis had been "completely destroyed" whilst trying to clear the mandatory tests at the CSI facility near Milan. It emerges that Toro Rosso, to be renamed Alpha Tauri this year, has also just passed the crash tests, as required for a chassis to be homologated by the FIA. Alfa Romeo driver Antonio Giovinazzi says he is determined to improve in 2020. "I still need to improve in some aspects," the Italian told Corriere dello Sport. "I learned a lot in the first year but I am sure that in the second season I will be much more ready in Melbourne than I was in 2019." Giovinazzi says he is expecting the midfield to be closely contested this season. "I think the cars will be quite similar, especially in the centre of the group we will all be very close again," he said. "So it will be a difficult season, but we will work hard and try to get the best out of our car." The Handmaid's Tale star Yvonne Strahovski turned heads when she stepped out for the Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday. The 37-year-old Australian actress showed off her slender frame in a floor-length white dress, which hugged her figure. The simple-but-elegant dress featured an off-the-shoulders neckline, with twist detailing at the bust, and a cut-out panel on her stomach. Elegant: Yvonne Strahovski looked every inch the glamorous Hollywood star when she stepped out for the Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday She accessorised simply with a stunning diamond necklace, and a matching ring and earrings. Her long blonde hair was pulled back in a chic bun at the back of her head, and she opted for natural-looking makeup. Yvonne was nominated alongside her co-stars in The Handmaid's Tale for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. All tied up: Her long blonde hair was pulled back in a chic bun at the back of her head, and she opted for natural-looking makeup Dress to impress: The 37-year-old Australian actress showed off her slender frame in a floor-length white dress, which hugged her figure However, they lost the award to the cast of The Crown, who took out the prize. Still, it didn't put a dampener on her mood, with the star laughing as she posed for photos at the awards show. After spotting something off-camera, the Sydney-born actress pointed and laughed. Funny girl: Despite losing to The Crown, it didn't put a dampener on her mood, with the star laughing as she posed for photos at the awards show Cracking up: After spotting something off-camera, the Sydney-born actress pointed and laughed Recognition: Yvonne was nominated alongside her co-stars in The Handmaid's Tale for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Yvonne has developed quite the fan base in recent years for her role as Serena Joy in the dystopian series. And in an interview with Vogue Australia in July 2018, she confessed she had never even read the critically acclaimed novel before accepting her role in the series. But she said the opportunity to play Serena was too good an opportunity to turn down. Diamonds are a girl's best friend: She accessorised simply with a stunning diamond necklace, and a matching ring and earrings Newcomer: In an interview with Vogue Australia in July 2018, she confessed she had never even read the critically acclaimed novel before accepting her role in the series 'I found her quite mesmerising, because I didn't have all the answers to her and didn't have her backstory [back then],' she confessed. 'So, to me, all that loneliness, bitterness and emotional instability were the first things I noticed about this character, and I loved the complexity of her and the rest of the characters.' And she admitted the show's dark themes often take a toll on everybody on set. 'I found her quite mesmerising, because I didn't have all the answers to her and didn't have her backstory [back then],' she told Vogue Australia of her character in The Handsmaid's Tale. Pictured with co-star Joseph Fiennes 'We're faced with these incredibly demanding, horrible themes and scenes...' she added. 'There have been some moments when I've even noticed crew members audibly uncomfortable while we've been in a half-a**ed rehearsal, not even doing it properly. 'We're really pushing it, and you can feel it on set. It's definitely a show where we throw it out there and it's confronting, and it's meant to be confronting.' 'We're faced with these incredibly demanding, horrible themes and scenes...' she told Vogue Australia of The Handsmaid's Tale PR-Inside.com: 2020-01-20 08:35:27 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 543 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 Eyeplus Online Co., Ltd. has recently added the list of attractive vacancies for job seekers in different industries at its big online platform - Tim Viec.HANOI, VIETNAM / ACCESSWIRE / January 20, 2020 / Tim Viec, one of the biggest job portals for quick job search and recruitment, states that it has recently updated the new options in its job listings. It has expanded the roots as the trusted "job board" with the complete array of recruitment and job seeking solutions. Tim Viec provides pertinent profiles to companies and relevant jobs to candidates across different geographies, industry domains, qualification status, and experience levels. 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It is equipped with a list of about 39,061 candidates, 4,843 employers, 6,940 applications, and 4,759 jobs.Contact Details:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Timviec.com.vn19 Twitter: https://twitter.com/Tuyendungviecl1 Scoop: https://www.scoop.it/u/tuyen-dung-viec-lam Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUPGScS_hGmJV5plKpJ9Oow Medium: https://medium.com/@tuyendungvieclam Contact Info:Name: David KingEmail: Send EmailOrganization: EYEPLUS ONLINE Co., LTDAddress: 5th Floor, Ngoi Sao building, Duong Dinh Nghe, Cau Giay, HanoiPhone: +84 981 448 766Website: https://timviec.com.vn/ Video URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1ZDmYArxrU SOURCE: Tim Viec by Royani Lim An event organized by the Catholic Press Association highlights the value of the impact of the media on society. High government officials and members of the Episcopal Conference were present. Catholics "are Indonesian citizens, called to spread the truth and the good news". The fake news phenomenon and the risk related to hate speech. Jakarta (AsiaNews) - To maintain unity and security in Indonesia the contribution of the media is fundamental. Communications professionals must be animated by goodwill and dedication, against fake news and hate speech" said the head of the Indonesian Eradication Commission (KPK) Kiki Barhuli, addressing Catholic journalists. They were gathered for the occasion by the Catholic Press Association. Indonesia, explained the official during the event, "is a strategic nation, the most populous Muslim nation in the world. We are strongly called to behave prudently when we use modern means of communication and to avoid spreading false news or information destined to generate hatred ". The president of the Association, AM Putut Prabantoro, tells AsiaNews: "We are Indonesian citizens and journalists: we must maintain relationships with everyone, even with the high figures of the government, so that we can have the necessary confirmations for our work". Rosarita Niken Widiastuti, Secretary General of the Ministry of Communications was also present: There are more and more cases of fake news in the panorama of our information. Sometimes they are artfully created, for political reasons. " Between October 2018 and December 2019, he added, "we have had more than 4,000 cases of fake news, spread for political purposes. The peak was recorded in April 2019, on the occasion of the presidential elections ". The Executive Secretary of the Lay Commission of the Indonesian Bishops' Conference, Fr. Paolo Siswantoko Pr, underlined the added value of being Catholic in journalism: "We are called to spread the truth and the good news". (Mathias Hariyadi collaborated) Almost half of all Australian workers think they are being underpaid when in reality their salaries are in line with colleagues and years of stagnant wages growth are to blame for low incomes. A staggering 43 per cent of office workers feel they are not being paid enough, according to research by recruitment agency Robert Half. That's an increase of six percent from two years ago but the researchers said most people were mistaken for feeling underpaid with stagnant wages growth instead resulting in low wages across the board. Only two percent of workers thought they were being paid more than they should be getting, the research said. A welder hard at work. Wages growth has stagnated since 2012 because of years of record high levels of immigration bringing in more workers to compete for jobs Robert Half Asia Pacific senior managing director David Jones said people were often disgruntled as they had not checked to see what other people in similar roles were earning. 'More often than not, while most workers would like to be paid more, they are not actually being underpaid compared to their peers,' he said. Mr Jones said the market was highly dependent on supply and demand. 'While some sectors have experienced an oversupply of skilled labour which has contributed to stagnant wage growth in recent years, Australia currently faces a two-speed job market driven by an ongoing skills gap for highly specialised positions,' he said. Reserve Bank of Australia figures from November showing both the average (mean) and median wages growth fell below 3 percent from 2012 onwards and is not going to rise Recruitment firm Hays said in its latest salary guide that 41 percent of employees who plan to look for a new job are motivated to move by pay - and more than half of all workers say a pay rise is their number one priority this year. Hays Australia Managing Director Nick Deligiannis said workers should first use a salary guide to better understand how their salary compares to the broader market. 'A high demand for skills doesnt necessarily translate to increasing salary levels if this demand is tempered by a high supply of the skills sought,' he said. Mr Deligiannis said the technology sector had outpaced other industries over recent years. Indeed Hiring Lab economist Callam Pickering said wages growth in every Australian industry is below its decade average, except for healthcare. Mr Pickering said there was hope for professional services where there was stronger demand for highly skilled workers, and in mining. Indeed's job-seeker website salary finder revealed on Monday that some of the highest average salaries advertised were for professors at $191,655 and associate dentists at $186,421. Administrative officers averaged $62,657 and chefs just $57,084. Economist Leith Van Onselen, who has worked for Treasury and Goldman Sachs, said historically large immigration levels had been depressing wages growth with labour supply. 'High immigration levels means there are more people competing for work. That, in turn, means there is less need for employers to offer higher pay to attract workers,' he told Daily Mail Australia on Monday. 43 percent of office workers feel they are not paid enough while 41 percent of people moving jobs are doing it to try for more pay. More than half said their top priority this year is better pay 'When you add 200,000-plus migrants to the Australian economy every year, most with work rights, then it represents a massive rolling labour supply shock which must be absorbed.' Mr Van Onselen said a recent paper by Melbourne University Professor Peter McDonald had found about three quarters of Australia's employment growth from 2011 to 2016 was attributed to immigration. 'The strong reported jobs growth in Australia has been offset by more people coming here. This helps to explain the low wage growth.' Mr Van Onselen said some industries had become heavily reliant on migrant workers to perform low-skilled work for below-award rates, undercutting local workers and putting downward pressure on wage growth. Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Deputy Governor Guy Debelle said wages growth has declined noticeably for the past eight years, starting in 2012. 'Lower wage rises have become the new normal,' he said in a speech in November. 'We expect wages growth to remain largely unchanged at its current level over the next couple of years.' Thiruvaiyuru, where composer-saint Tyagaraja lived, is an annual pilgrimage for Carnatic musicians, eminent and unknown, young and old, points out V Ramnarayan. IMAGE: The Aiyarappar temple in Thiruvaiyuru. Photograph: Kind courtesy Jamstechs/Wikimedia Commons The Kaveri flows/lapping or in spate/like the melodies (of him)/that plead or gush/at Rama's feet/Here lies Tyagaraja/Valmiki of music/in the land of the five rivers/in a prayer beyond life/in a prayer beyond music. These words from a verse by Purasu Balakrishnan reflect the ecstatic joy experienced by musicians and audiences alike during the annual Tyagaraja Aradhana at Thiruvaiyaru on the banks of the Kaveri in the Thanjavur delta region of Tamil Nadu. The occasion commemorates bard-saint Tyagaraja (1767-1847), widely regarded as primus inter pares among the Trinity of vaggeyakaras or composers (Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Sastri, his contemporaries, being the other two). All three were both born in the temple town of Tiruvarur, not far from Thiruvaiyaru where Tyagaraja lived, and sang of his ishta devata, Rama, while pioneering the development of a sophisticated art form that has come to be known as classical Carnatic music. The anniversary is observed in January, on Bahula Panchami day, January 15 this year. IMAGE: A painting of Tyagaraja from the Jaganmohan palace in Mysuru. Photograph: Kind courtesy Wikimedia Commons It is a marvel of syncreticism that Tyagaraja, whose parents migrated from Telugu country, has been revered by succeeding generations of Tamil-speaking music aficionados. Also significant is the fact that his samadhi is preserved immaculately thanks to the devotion and munificence of Bangalore Nagaratnamma, a woman of devadasi descent, something that warring upper caste factions did not or could not accomplish. Supported through the decades by the family of the late Congressman G K Moopanar, the festival is a pilgrimage for Carnatic musicians young and old, men and women, vocalists and instrumentalists, who congregate in a spirit of surrender -- to their gods, to their music and, above all, to Tyagaraja. A highlight of the Aradhana is the traditional unchavrutti, a procession of bare-chested vidwans and sari-clad women around the samadhi. Each of them then performs Tyagaraja's kritis without improvisation or embellishment, all eventually coming together in a majestic climax of a choral rendering of the composer's pancharatna (five gems) kritis in the ragas Nattai, Gowlai, Arabhi, Varali and Sri. Over the years, the homage has acquired elements of razzmatazz, a televised spectacle marred by garish backdrops and banners and hoardings, even protests by groups affiliated to political parties alleging anti-Tamil or casteist machinations on the part of the organisers. The Festival of Sacred Music presented by the Prakriti Foundation, a month or so after the Aradhana, is held at beautiful, tastefully decorated venues like the Diwanwada palace and the Panchanadeeswara temple, and is not limited in scope by Tyagaja's compositions or even Carnatic music. My own favourite Thiruvaiyaru experience was to travel there by road from Chennai to attend the 24-hour-long akhandam of Tyagaraja songs on Maha Shivaratri (on February 21 this year). It culminates in a stirring finale of ritual at dawn followed by the distribution of delicious prasadam at the humble Tyagaraja temple some distance from the samadhi, on the banks of the Kaveri. This is a mercifully low-key affair, and is still beautifully devout in the way the musicians pay obeisance to Tyagaraja. The unchavrutti proceeds from Tyagaraja's little home -- with an internal wall partitioning it between him and his brother Jalpesa -- to the temple, where the musicians make their offerings to the saint all night long, never repeating a song, thanks to the eagle-eyed attention of the trio of Ramanathan, Viswanathan and Gopal and their unobtrusive team of volunteers. Sitting on the cool sands of the riverbank and listening to song after song through the night was magical. My friends and connoisseurs, Ramanathan (a son of past master Ramnad Krishnan), Jayaraman and Raja, had been trying to persuade me for years to join them on this journey. I finally succumbed in February 2018, travelling in a luxurious SUV, listening to some other-worldly singing by the late Krishnan all the way. We took an inland route and not the scenic East Coast Road, which then allows you to visit some magnificent temples including the Brihadisvara and Gangaikondacholapuram temples at the tailend of your journey. My e-mail friend William Jackson, American biographer of Tyagaraja and other great South Indian saint-composers, has written a delightful description of his journey by train, first to Chidambaram, home to the famous Nataraja temple, and on to Thiruvaiyaru, back in the 1980s, accompanied by T Sankaran, music scholar and station director in All India Radio, and cousin of celebrated dancer T Balasaraswati. Sankaran was a fund of stories that expanded and illuminated the enquiring mind of the young American student of music and theology. Every sight and sound was an eye-opener to him. The pinnacle was the sight of Sankaran's veshti fluttering in the wind from a bus window after they had both bathed in the Kaveri. What a serene image from the past! Climate Activists multiply in response to fires Tens of thousands of angry citizens gathered in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, Perth, and Adelaide on Friday, January 10, demanding the sacking of Prime Minister Scott Morrison for his poor response to the bushfire crisis, as well as demanding adequate funding for the firefighters, and climate action from the government. Anti-imperialist activists in Australia were further enraged when learning of the governments decision to send the HMAS Toowoomba (Royal Australian Navy) to the Middle East rather than directing resources to help fight fires at home. Communist Party of Australia (CPA) members participated in the protests with placards such as Fund Firies, Not War and Fight Fires, Not Iran. In Brisbane, a range of other political groups, environmental and social movements, as well as individuals, attended the rallies with a range of demands but unified in need for climate action. A significant portion of the crowd raised their hands when asked if this was their first rally ever. Artie Priddie, a participant of the Sydney rally from Woodside, SA, a town which lost 87 homes, commented that most protesters were amazing, but was disappointed by those who took it as an opportunity to drink, get stoned, dress up, and grab as much attention as humanly possible. Priddie questioned Extinction Rebellions (XR) strange culty dance moves and criticised the insensitivity towards those who have lost their lives, homes and livelihoods. The rallies were organised by Uni Students for Climate Justice lead by several members of the Trotskyist group, Socialist Alternative. In Brisbane, Priya De spoke on behalf of the organisers and addressed the main issues, as well as the connection between the military and climate change. She continued by pointing out that Anthony Albanese and the Labor Party also supported the coal mining industry, so it was not just a change of government that was needed, but a whole system change. Priya finished her address by talking about struggles in the name of socialism around the world but unfortunately lobbed the pro-imperialist Hong Kong rioters into the mix. The undialectical view of the genuine workers and indigenous struggles, lumped in with false flag operations condemning China, has been an issue at odds with the CPA and some Trotskyist groups in Australia. The next speaker at the Brisbane rally was Michael Clifford from the Queensland Council of Unions. He talked about the need for workers to join their union and organise as a powerful way to demand climate action. Importantly, he also made the point that workers in fossil fuel industries need to be re-trained into other work if they are to join the climate justice movement. An address from Jonathan Sri, Greens councillor for the Gabba, followed and he suggested that, if Australian mining companies were charged just $1 from each tonne of coal and $1 from each tonne of liquified natural gas, they could raise $1 billion in three years to fund climate action. He also spoke of working-class people in other parts of the world who have suffered greatly due to climate change events, such as the flooding in Jakarta, Indonesia. He finished with a spoken word poem in which he suggested in jest that those who install air conditioners for the wealthy should go on strike and refuse to provide them with comfort from the rising temperatures. Sri, one of the more progressive anti-capitalist thought leaders of the Queensland Greens, also mentioned that the struggle against climate change is inextricably linked to the struggle against colonialism. A speaker from an XR subgroup, Grey Power, also spoke about Queensland as a police state, referring to the cracking down of peaceful protests organised by XR throughout the year. The final speaker was a former school striker who energised the crowd by talking about the power of young people in the movement. Protesters then filled the streets, stopping traffic by marching, demanding climate action, and the sacking of Scotty from Marketing. Uni Students for Climate Action plan to continue the protests weekly and have other events planned to have the demands met. The Independent and Peaceful Australia Network (IPAN) will also be hosting events around Australia on Saturday, January 25, as part of a global day of protest against the potential war on Iran, with Invasion Day rallies the following day. Golden Isles brokerage leader announces winners of their 2019 annual awards. Each year, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hodnett Cooper Real Estate recognizes agents that have demonstrated outstanding listing and sales performance, a positive attitude, devoted work ethic and a positive impact on the community. The following agents were recently awarded for their 2019 accomplishments: Erin Vaughn Top Producing Agent of the Year Erin Vaughn was honored with the Top Producing Agent of the Year Award. This award recognizes the exceptional level of accomplishment for the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hodnett Cooper agent with the highest sales volume for the year. Erin finished 2019 with over $13 million in total sales volume and over 70 transaction sides. Pat Cooper, President and Broker of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hodnett Cooper Real Estate stated, Erin had an outstanding year; we are so happy to have her as a member of our family and are so proud of her accomplishments, year after year. She works so hard for her clients. Jennifer Hatcher Open Heart & Hands Award Jennifer Hatcher was the recipient of the Open Heart & Hands Award for 2019. She was nominated by her peers for her numerous charitable efforts and positive community impact. Jen donates a significant amount of time and effort to several organizations in the community. She volunteers with Keep Golden Isles Beautiful (and started their New Years Day beach cleanup program three years ago), she also volunteers with One Hundred Miles, assists with various food drives in the community, and more. Jen loves being a part of the Golden Isles and her efforts to keep it clean are impressive. She is passionate about conservation efforts and keeps us informed of how we can help. We should all strive to be a little bit more like Jen and dedicate our time and effort to a worthy cause with the same pride that she does. Ken Haynes Rising Star Award The Rising Star Award recognizes an agent that has joined the real estate industry within the last 24 months who has demonstrated dedication, a positive attitude and has had an exceptionally outstanding listing and sales performance. REALTOR, Ken Haynes was the recipient of this award. Ken has achieved over $5 million in sales during his first two years as a real estate agent. He is active in the local community and is enthusiastically engaged in the real estate industry. Pat Cooper shared, I am so pleased to present this award to Ken. He has launched an incredible real estate career with us and we just love his positive attitude. We are incredibly proud of these agents for their outstanding achievements in 2019. I cant wait to see what 2020 holds for them, says Pat Cooper. About Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hodnett Cooper Real Estate Hodnett Cooper Real Estate is a family-owned and operated company with four offices throughout the Golden Isles offering a full range of real estate services including real estate sales, residential rentals, property management and commercial sales. The brokerage is the premier real estate company in southeast coastal Georgia with a professional and diverse team of agents. Visit http://www.BHHSHodnettCooper.com. About Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, based in Irvine, CA, is a brand-new real estate brokerage network built for a new era in residential real estate. The network, among the few organizations entrusted to use the world-renowned Berkshire Hathaway name, brings to the real estate market a definitive mark of trust, integrity, stability and longevity. About HSF Affiliates LLC Irvine, CA-based HSF Affiliates LLC operates Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, Prudential Real Estate and Real Living Real Estate franchise networks. The company is a joint venture of which HomeServices of America, Inc., the nations second-largest, full-service residential brokerage firm, is a majority owner. HomeServices of America is an affiliate of world-renowned Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Contact: Catherine Maybank (912) 638-5450 catherine@hcrega.com Any disciplinary action against gardai implicated in allegations of systematic licencing law abuses made by a garda whistleblower could take years. The Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission (Gsoc) is investigating the claims by the Munster-based officer to see if there was any criminality involved. The whistleblower claims: Publicans were able to serve after hours without either having an exemption for opening late or a licence to even sell alcohol; A survey of pubs, restaurants, and hotels selling alcohol in his area found that just over 20% of them were trading without any licences; The garda records system Pulse was misused, with records about publicans were incorrectly inputted he claims deliberately to make it difficult for other gardai to find their full Pulse record. If any evidence is found to suggest serving or retired members of the force acted criminally, then a file will be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions. However, it could take more than a year for the DPP to decide whether or not officers should be prosecuted. And even if the DPP decides nobody should be prosecuted, the officers could then face disciplinary action. However, Gsoc would have to investigate to see whether or not there are any grounds for disciplinary action. It cannot look at both at the same time and has to conclude its criminal investigation before examining non-criminal aspects of the case. The garda whistleblower went on sick leave after he blew the whistle on what he claims were licensing law abuses as well as abuses of Pulse by colleagues. The serving garda, who is on sick leave, claims he asked Garda Commissioner Drew Harris to be let go. However, he has instead been asked to wait until after the completion of an ongoing (GSOC) investigation. Im expected to live through a financial punishment beating, to live on nothing until what I have accounted for is proved true, the whistleblower said in his latest online post. China struggles in new diplomatic role, trying to return Rohingya to Myanmar FILE PHOTO:Chinese President Xi and Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San in Naypyitaw By Poppy McPherson, Ruma Paul and Shoon Naing YANGON (Reuters) - In a muddy field in western Myanmar, hundreds of Chinese shipping containers fitted with single narrow windows stand in neat lines, empty of the refugees they were designed to host. China sent the grey boxes two years ago as quick and cheap housing for some of the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who fled Myanmar for Bangladesh during a military-led crackdown in 2017 that the United Nations said was conducted with genocidal intent. The empty containers near the town of Maungdaw in Rakhine state, reflect months of failed efforts to entice the Rohingya to return to Myanmar despite a diplomatic drive by neighbour and close ally China. In a sharp departure from its official policy of non-interference in other countries' affairs, China has positioned itself as the key mediator in resolving the protracted crisis. But like the Indonesian and United Nations envoys who previously sought to mediate, China is finding the business of diplomacy tough going, with few signs that the crisis will soon be resolved. The main sticking-point is a disagreement over whether the refugees will be safe in Myanmar. Myanmar says it has created safe conditions for the Rohingyas' return, but Bangladesh and the United Nations say that fighting in Rakhine and a lack of human rights guarantees make a return for the refugees dangerous. The Rohingya say they will not go back without guarantees of rights now denied to them, including citizenship and freedom of movement. Over the past two years, Chinese officials have brokered three meetings between leaders of the two countries, made multiple visits to the sprawling refugee camps housing the Rohingya in Bangladesh, hired cattle trucks to bring returnees home and even offered cash inducements, all to little avail. Still, China says it has made progress, even if only a few hundred Rohingya have returned home so far. The issue received fresh attention when President Xi Jinping visited Myanmar on Friday for a two-day state visit. Story continues In a subsequent joint statement by the neighbours, China reaffirmed its willingness to continue to mediate, while Myanmar thanked China for "its understanding of the Rakhine problem, its difficulty and complications". The visit's main focus was China's massive infrastructure projects, including a controversial hydropower dam and a deep-sea port in Rakhine, that make Myanmar a vital link in Xi's flagship Belt and Road Initiative to expand trade ties globally. The two countries signed dozens of deals covering trade and infrastructure, with Myanmar agreeing to speed up implementation. Western Myanmar, with its location between booming India and Southeast Asia, is strategically important to Beijing, offering China's landlocked western provinces potential port access to the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal. "We have facilitated and hosted three foreign minister meetings between China, Myanmar, and Bangladesh to work for an early repatriation," Luo Zhaohui, China's vice foreign minister told a Jan. 10 news conference ahead of Xi's trip. "Our efforts have paid off." But Bangladesh officials, Western diplomats in Yangon, and security analysts say China is mainly concerned with shoring up its key interests in Rakhine. In talks with the Bangladesh government, Chinese officials emphasise the importance of developing the state rather than resolving human rights issues, said a Bangladesh official familiar with the discussions. "China wants to resolve the crisis," said another Bangladesh official. "At least, they want to start repatriation as early as possible. But they are not doing enough to oblige Myanmar to create a conducive environment for them to return." U.N. officials and diplomats in Yangon also say China's efforts to broker a quick solution ignore the human rights concerns. "Their approach is wildly simplistic," said one Yangon-based diplomat. "What we hear is China has been pushing Myanmar and Bangladesh to just get it done. What does that mean when the conditions aren't there?" China's foreign ministry said Tuesday that "positive progress" was made in the meetings it had brokered between Bangladeshi and Myanmar leaders, two of them attended by high-ranking UN officials. In a statement, it called the meetings "hard-won positive developments" that should be supported by the international community. Responding to questions from Reuters, Myanmar defended the Chinese efforts. Ko Ko Naing, an official of Myanmar's social welfare ministry, said China had been "helping continuously", citing its development efforts in Rakhine. "The lack of development is more important than social cohesion," he said. "We are doing many investments there. The roads are better." UNCERTAIN RETURN While more than 730,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh in 2017, hundreds of thousands are still in Myanmar, confined to camps and villages where they are denied access to healthcare and education. Fresh fighting between government troops and an ethnic armed group comprised mostly of majority Rakhine Buddhists has also displaced tens of thousands of people. Despite the concerns over the security situation in Rakhine, China's position is that Myanmar is ready to take back the refugees. It is also advocating resolving the issue through talks between Myanmar and Bangladesh, and minimizing the role of parties such as the United Nations, which runs the refugee camps, officials of both countries told Reuters. China has presented its diplomatic work in Myanmar and Bangladesh as humanitarian, but analysts and diplomats in Yangon say those efforts have broader geopolitical aims. "I'd say that China is not involved in the Rohingya crisis for humanitarian reasons, but for political and economic considerations," said Yun Sun, co-director of the East Asia program at the Stimson Centre in Washington. "China would like to be the new peacemaker in the region," she said, adding that it wanted to show how its approach to resolving the crisis could succeed where Western powers had failed. "It's a competition for leadership." Nowkhim, a refugee leader in Kutapalong, one of the camps in Bangladesh, said the general perception among the Rohingya was that China was merely pressing Myanmar's official line and was unwilling to push it to accept their demands. A video from a meeting between refugee leaders and Chinese diplomats, seen by Reuters, shows a Chinese official saying the Rohingya should drop demands such as the right to be recognised as an ethnic group in Myanmar. Myanmar's position is that the Rohingya are Muslim migrants from the Indian sub-continent and not one of the country's ethnic groups which would technically grant them citizenship. "They are not willing to solve our problem easily," said Nowkhim. "They are just showing the world that 'we meet with Rohingya'." FAILED EFFORTS Beijing's last major effort to kickstart repatriation was in August after Myanmar compiled a list of 3,000 Rohingya approved for return. But that effort failed after hundreds of the refugees on the list went into hiding to avoid being sent back. Standing in one of the refugee camps in Bangladesh at the time, a Chinese diplomat said that someone needed to make the first move to send the Rohingya back. Myanmar officials waited on the other side of the border, but not a single refugee volunteered to return. Only about 400 refugees have since returned separately, Myanmar says. Rohingya leaders say most of the returnees have close ties to the Myanmar government. Myanmar has also rebuffed some of China's efforts, last year rejecting a proposal for refugees to visit Rakhine to assess conditions. A local businessman tasked with assembling the donated containers said he saw little point in continuing with his work. "People haven't stayed in the houses for two years," said the businessman, who sought anonymity. "I will stop building this year," he added. "The situation has not changed, right?" (Reporting by Poppy McPherson and Ruma Paul. Additional reporting by Shoon Naing, Sam Aung Moon and Simon Lewis in Yangon and Cate Cadell in Beijing. Writing by Poppy McPherson; Editing by Philip McClellan.) michael barbaro How are you? sydney harper Good, how are you? Good morning. michael barbaro Its not too cold out. sydney harper I know its michael barbaro So its a little before 9 a.m. Were just outside the U.S. Capitol. sydney harper Were here. michael barbaro To meet with staff of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and to talk to him about this moment in impeachment. And what its like to be the leader of the party out of power in the middle of the Senate trial of Donald Trump. chuck schumer Hi. michael barbaro Senator. chuck schumer How are you? michael barbaro Im good. Good morning. chuck schumer Pleasure. Thanks for coming down. How do you want to do this? michael barbaro Do you mind if we just like chuck schumer Whatever you want to do. michael barbaro Do you want to do this? Well do across from each other? chuck schumer Thats fine. Whatever you want. And if you dont mind, I put my feet up. For my old basketball knees. michael barbaro So Senator, it is Tuesday morning. chuck schumer Yes. michael barbaro Over the weekend, as Im sure you know, my colleagues reported that John Bolton, former national security adviser, is about to publish a book in which he directly corroborates the central accusation in the impeachment inquiry. That President Trump conditioned the military aid to Ukraine on the countrys willingness to furnish information on his political rivals chuck schumer Right. michael barbaro including Joe Biden. Meantime, youre heading into day three of listening to the presidents defense lawyers make their case to the Senate in this trial. So in an impeachment trial, where it is more or less seen 100% clear that Republican colleagues of yours in the Senate would acquit the president, this seems like a pretty unexpected and damning development. Maybe even the most unexpected and damning development today. So does this change anything? chuck schumer I think it does some. Look, we have been saying all along, what we want is the truth. And that means, as Americans realize in any trial, you have facts. And the facts are determined by witnesses and documents. michael barbaro Mm-hm. chuck schumer So our goal, we thought originally we would be able to negotiate with Mitch McConnell to have witnesses and documents. It seemed so logical. And what happened was, he went on Sean Hannity about a month ago and said hes taking his total cues from Donald Trump. michael barbaro Mm-hm. chuck schumer Donald Trump is not interested in the truth. Hes not interested in facts. And so we figured, how do we get at the truth? We looked at the four witnesses, who had the eyewitness view of the actual charge. Why was the aid withheld and who did it? michael barbaro Mm-hm. chuck schumer We asked for them and the contemporaneous four sets of documents surrounding them. michael barbaro One of them was John Bolton. chuck schumer One of them was John Bolton. And for a month, we have been sort of relentless, focusing on getting witnesses and getting documents. michael barbaro Mm-hm. chuck schumer Because we believe the American people they may be very polarized when it comes to whether to acquit or convict but how could people resist witnesses and documents? Now, the American people, after we pushed and pushed and pushed this message just about every day michael barbaro Witnesses, witnesses, witnesses. chuck schumer witnesses, witnesses, witnesses, documents, documents, documents are on our side. Thats rare. michael barbaro But only two senators have publicly said chuck schumer Thats rare. michael barbaro that they are on your side. chuck schumer Right, but the Republican senators know that their constituencies want witnesses and documents. Now on the other side, of course, is Trump. He will strong arm them. He will be nasty. He will be vindictive. And thats, I think, one of the things thats held them back. Thats what makes it so hard. But Bolton is far and away the most major revelation. michael barbaro Well lets circle back to Bolton. chuck schumer O.K. michael barbaro What does that development with Bolton mean for you? Because Im guessing that youre getting at the fact that the power of the voters, that that might start to change the balance. chuck schumer And we saw yesterday, because the Bolton revelation was so devastating. And let me tell you the contrast. When Sekulow got up yesterday morning michael barbaro One of the presidents lawyers. chuck schumer after the revelation about Bolton was published in The New York Times, he said there are four mainstays to our case. And the third is there are no eyewitnesses to the account that the House managers had put forward. And there obviously is at least a newspaper report that there is one. It cries out, so why dont you bring him forward and testify? And a number of Republicans, who had been silent until then, said maybe we need witnesses and documents. michael barbaro Mm-hm. chuck schumer So do I think this is a done deal? Far from it. But do I think we have a chance now to get witnesses and documents? Yes. michael barbaro Senator, how are you talking to these Republican senators, these colleagues of yours? chuck schumer Yes. michael barbaro Im starting to imagine the conversations. Maybe youre poking your head into the gym. Maybe its chuck schumer How did you know that? That is where we do a lot of discussing. michael barbaro I know you have a morning routine. chuck schumer Yes. michael barbaro So help me understand. Youre standing next to the elliptical. Mitt Romneys on it. chuck schumer Well Im not going to any individual. I have conversations with Republicans, but I dont talk about them publicly. But I would say this. For maybe a good chunk of the Republicans, appealing to their higher instincts their better angels as Abraham Lincoln used to call it is meaningless. Because there arent too many better angels around, there. But for a good number of Republicans, certainly more than four considerably more than four the idea that this is historic, the idea that this is so important to the nation, and the idea that we are a nation founded on truth. That the founding fathers believed that the truth would prevail and right would prevail, and history is upon them, and theyll be remembered for this vote long after theyve left the Senate, has some effect. michael barbaro So wait, are you making a moral case? chuck schumer Yeah, Im making a case michael barbaro Or not? chuck schumer that truth should matter. This does not apply to every Republican, this better angels argument. But it applies to some. And those are the ones I try to talk to. michael barbaro And to the others do you make a more pragmatic, practical case? chuck schumer To the others? Look, we only need four. And we know there are about 25 well never get. So youve got to focus on the people you can possibly get. michael barbaro And that leaves you a pool of roughly? chuck schumer Well look, there are about 12 Republicans who have never said we shouldnt have witnesses and documents. They make other arguments. Theyre mad about this, Jerry Nadler said that. But they have not made an argument that there shouldnt be witnesses and documents. But look, is it an uphill fight? Yes. Are we making progress? Yes. michael barbaro So without naming names I understand why you dont want to do that can you give me a little bit of a sense of how this conversation tends to go with the people who seem open to this? And what do they say to you? chuck schumer Well, they listen. And I think they know you know, when Adam Schiff said on the floor in that closing argument michael barbaro Mm-hm. chuck schumer Republicans eyes were riveted on Schiff. You know, when you hear the argument that you dont like to hear, youll put your head down, youll look this way, youll chat with your neighbor. But in Schiffs both closing moments, their eyes were riveted on him. michael barbaro Sounds like you were watching their eyes, their heads and their eyes. chuck schumer Oh yes, I do. I do. I watch that. And he said, You know were right. I think many of them know were right, but are afraid of the consequences. And our best recourse are two things. Truth and the publics on our side for witnesses and documents. If we had started out at the beginning and simply tried to get Republicans to vote to convict, we wouldnt have gotten anywhere. But the strategy that we used which I think is the right strategy ethically, morally, but also substantively is witnesses and documents are much harder to resist. And then well let the chips fall where they may, as Ive said. And I said that to my Republican colleagues. Thats one thing I tell them all the time. I dont know what these witnesses will say. I dont know what these documents will reveal. michael barbaro It could go against you. chuck schumer Yes, it could be exculpatory of Trump. But we have an obligation to the Constitution, to the country, to what America has always stood for, to get the facts, get the truth. michael barbaro Do you accept the possibility that for many of the Republicans who are off the table, who cannot be convinced, that the reason they cant be convinced is because they think they are going with their better angels, because they just dont think this is an impeachable offense? chuck schumer Look, theyve made that argument. And Dershowitz tried to make it last night. michael barbaro Youre referring to one of the presidents lawyers. chuck schumer Yes. To me, its hard to say this should not be something where removal is justified, that Trump wanted to cut off the aid to get investigations of Biden and of the 2016 elections. But some of them may think that, yes. michael barbaro So lets say for a moment that you get this scenario that youre pursuing. You get four Republicans to vote to hear witnesses, including John Bolton. chuck schumer Yes. michael barbaro Which would mean that his testimony would be given in the Senate. It would be admissible in the trial. chuck schumer Under oath. michael barbaro And this would be testimony not heard in the House. It would be brand new evidence. As you said, Dershowitz is making this argument that the presidents behavior, the central charge in this trial, is not behavior that rises to the level of impeachment. chuck schumer Mm-hm. Mm-hm. michael barbaro If the presidents lawyers dont really dispute the basic facts of the case, and then Bolton comes and bolsters those facts, whats to be gained from his testimony? chuck schumer We shall see. There may be some Republicans who feel that this is serious enough to merit removal from office. But if everyone agrees with these facts, right, an acquittal isnt gonna mean much. Because most Americans would feel, I think, that cutting off aid, threatening a foreign country where our national security is at stake if our elections are subject to foreign interference, thats a When I was in high school, you read the Constitution and all that. And one of the things the founding fathers were most afraid of was foreign interference in our elections. Its in the Federalist Papers and elsewhere. And when I read it then, back in the 60s, I said, What! Thats not gonna happen. Well as usual, the founding fathers were a lot smarter than all of us. Its serious stuff. michael barbaro So even if you get these four senators to come along with you chuck schumer Yes. michael barbaro it sounds like what youre saying is this is still about American sentiment, voter sentiment. Its not that you think that if you hear from Bolton, suddenly that might lead 20 senators to vote chuck schumer Look. michael barbaro to convict the president. Its that if Bolton testifies, you think it will only strengthen Americans belief that something bad and wrong has occurred here. chuck schumer Yes. Yes, I agree with that. But Id make another point. Things keep coming out. New revelations keep coming out. And you never know whats gonna happen. Is it an uphill fight when you have the power of Trump and the fear of Trump among the Republican senators and the fear of the Trump hard-core constituency? Absolutely. But do we have a moral obligation to make the fight as strong as we can? Yes. Thats what motivates me. Getting at the truth. And somehow, in ways that go beyond my knowledge, it usually ends up creating the right result. But who knows when and who knows how? michael barbaro I still struggle to see the political incentive for these Republicans to allow for a witness. Because chuck schumer Theyre gonna have to. michael barbaro theyre in the political bind that you have described very well here. chuck schumer Yes. michael barbaro And allowing witnesses only seems to make the public case against the president worse. chuck schumer except michael barbaro But they wont vote him out of office, so shouldnt they just not allow Bolton to testify? chuck schumer Well they may. Thats why this is a difficult argument. But when they dont allow witnesses, their constituencies know they stood with Trump to go against fairness and with a cover-up. michael barbaro But its a little bit of a snarl, because he has told chuck schumer Twenty years, three divorces and six children have passed since their beautiful, black- and-white wedding photograph. So when Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt embraced warmly at the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday night, it was a very big deal indeed. They were older, wiser, had been delivered more than their fair share of public knocks over the years, but when their eyes locked it was as if time had stood still. We were back to the good old days of Brad and Jen, Hollywood darlings and sweethearts. A love story without an ending. For the army of hopeless romantics on 'Team Jen', this was the reunion which made their day, their week, their month or even their year. Reunion: The couple pictured together at the SAG awards for the first time since their 2005 split 'Brad and Jen: This is not a drill!' yelled one fan on Twitter. Actress Jamie Lynn Spears, Britney's sister, wrote on Instagram: 'We will be telling our grandkids about this. That's how important this is.' Indeed, in recent weeks it has been confidently asserted that Brad and Jennifer have remarried on a beach or plan to adopt a Mexican orphan. Sadly, none of these is true. However, speculation has grown ever shriller since Brad and Angelina Jolie split in September 2016, and Aniston and actor Justin Theroux announced the end of their marriage in February 2018. And it can't be denied that these supremely eligible A-listers are now single, and are seeing each other albeit only socially. Married bliss: A joyful Jennifer and Brad after tying the knot in 2000 Pitt, still one of the most handsome men in Hollywood, was among the guests celebrating Jennifer's 50th birthday at the Sunset Tower Hotel in Los Angeles last February. More recently, he attended her annual Christmas party, and was one of the last to leave. At the Golden Globes earlier this month she was seen clapping rather adoringly during his acceptance speech. They hung out at length at a private party afterwards. And now, finally, comes a reunion in public complete with hand-holding, delighted smiles and what seems to be a flirty eye-lock. Cue mayhem! One well-placed source says it was no accident: 'The timing is absolutely right and both of them are happy to spark off the idea that they might get back together as it's a great poke in the eye for their exes. 'But more than that, you can see from the look on his face that he is in love with her. He's always been a softie and a serial monogamist.' Fancy seeing you: Jennifer looks thrilled to see Brad One friend says that 'nothing can be ruled out'. But another reveals that Brad is heartbreak! currently dating other women. However, if he and Aniston reconnect, it would be the twist to end all twists in the blockbuster story of their romance. And writing the script, it turns out, is Jennifer Aniston herself. For the story behind the Brad and Jen reunion is one of superlative forgiveness and graciousness on her side. Devastated as she was after being publicly dumped 15 years ago, she recently loaned him her team of stylists to see him through awards season. She also offered to go to court as a character witness for Brad when he was being 'killed' in his divorce from Angelina Jolie two years ago. Up close: Brad's loving gaze mirrors Jennifer's delight But back to Sunday night in Los Angeles. On the way to the SAG awards, Pitt, 56, was asked about his ex-wife and said, with a relaxed smile: 'I'll run into Jen she's a good friend, yeah.' He delighted her when delivering a speech after being named Best Supporting Actor for Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. 'Let's be honest. It was a difficult part. A guy who gets high, takes his shirt off and doesn't get on with his wife. It was a big stretch.' This rather bold swipe at former wife Jolie brought the house down, and made the first Mrs Pitt beam from her seat in the auditorium. Later in the evening, while backstage, Brad paused in front of a monitor to watch Jennifer take to the stage to win Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor for her role in The Morning Show. His reaction? A smile and: 'Wow!' Soon afterwards, he had the chance to congratulate her in person, grasping her hand as she touched his lapel. After the ceremony, they both attended the Netflix party. The pair were introduced by their respective agents in 1998 and married in a clifftop Malibu ceremony two years later. They hired a 40-member gospel choir and splurged 50,000 on fireworks. What, everyone thought, could possibly go wrong? Enter Angelina Jolie. Brad met Angelina in 2004 when they co-starred in the crime thriller Mr & Mrs Smith. Shortly afterwards he and Jen announced they were splitting up, but insisted that it had nothing to do with Angelina. Nevertheless, Brad and Jolie became a couple soon afterwards, leaving Jen heartbroken. Pitt embraces his ex-wife Jennifer while holding his award Sunday at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles She wept in front of interviewers and declared: 'I'm a human being having a human experience in front of the whole world.' Nonetheless, she was by far more popular in Hollywood than the twice-divorced Jolie, who arrived in the public eye trailing stories of drug abuse and wearing vials of blood. The public bought 'Team Jen' and 'Team Ange' T-shirts, but there was no contest in Tinseltown. Pitt and Jolie withdrew from Hollywood, buying a mansion in France and raising six children, three of whom are adopted. Far from being consumed by bitterness, Aniston seemed to look better every year (workouts, facials, fabulous hair). In 2015, she married actor Justin Theroux at their Bel Air home. After nine years together, Brad and Angie finally tied the knot in 2014, but separated just two years later when it was sensationally alleged that a 'drunk' Brad had got physical with eldest son Maddox during a confrontation aboard a private jet. Both the FBI and social services investigated, and Brad was exonerated. Yet that was not the end of it. Devotion: Jennifer watches adoringly as Brad makes his acceptance speech at the awards on Sunday Four years of vicious fighting over everything from money to the children and their divorce has still not been finalised. Brad, who admitted to having had problems with alcohol, is now sober and is being supported by a large group of friends. Crucially, these include some in Jennifer's circle, notably actresses Laura Dern and Courteney Cox. A source said: 'Brad has always had access to Jen's inner circle, via Laura and Courteney. Even during those years when they weren't speaking, there was a sort of indirect contact; they could check in on each other. 'The relationship between them thawed particularly after her divorce from Justin. Brad has now stopped denying that the marriage was wrecked by Angelina Jolie. 'Of course, he knows that Angelina will be made as mad as a snake by the pictures. Both of them can see that the story is that Jen has 'won' and that the public will go crazy and they are both in a place where they can actually enjoy the attention. Transfixed: Brad looks on backstage as Jennifer accepts her award 'The timing is great as they are both going through this awards season on the crest of a wave.' They were reported to have renewed contact by text in 2017 and to be on warm terms by the end of the year. Now she has introduced him to her stylists, Nina and Clare Hollworth. He is under her wing again and the industry is welcoming him back after his somewhat fallow Angelina period. 'He's an intelligent man, he's sober now, and he can laugh at himself,' I'm told. Meanwhile, Jennifer has never been more in demand or, shimmering in an ivory vintage Dior gown on Sunday, more gorgeous. Professionally, she is on a high thanks to The Morning Show, a project for Apple TV which she originated with her friend, Reese Witherspoon, and for which she is being paid 15.5 million a season.She told the New York Times: 'I'm entering into what I feel is one of the most creatively fulfilling periods of my life. I've been doing this for 30 years and I feel like it's just about to really bloom.' Last year she joined Instagram and immediately broke the record for getting a million followers in the shortest amount of time. She credits her girlfriends and her dogs with making her happy, saying: 'I've had more fun post-40 than I can remember from a work point of view, a physical point of view, a psychotherapeutic point of view.' Doing it her way, with grace and good humour, she has proved that nice girls can finish first after all. But, crucially, will we see a re-run of Brad And Jen, The Love Story? Never say never... Its been 12 years since Dubai World, parent company of Jafza International, said it was considering Orangeburg County for a $600-700 million logistics, manufacturing and distribution center. While the company purchased land in the Santee area, the project never materialized as planned following the global economic recession that started in December 2007. But county officials say there is movement once again at the 1,322-acre South Carolina Gateway Industrial Park, formerly JAFZA Magna Park. "They are reengaging the project with various folks working on the engineering side of things," Orangeburg County Development Commission Executive Director Gregg Robinson said. There is a new marketing schedule and unveiling. We are truly bringing the world to Orangeburg, South Carolina, he said. DP World Americas, formerly Jafza USA, a subsidiary of Dubai World, is currently in the design phase of the project. It plans to construct two concrete pads at the site to prepare it for industrial development. Orangeburg County Engineer John McLauchlin said the two pads will be about 5.5 acres and 2.7 acres in size. They have a targeted construction date in the second quarter of 2020. The 5.5-acre pad will sit on a 24-acre site. The 2.7-acre pad will be built on a 22-acre site. "As of now, there is a potential for both pad sites to have speculative buildings, built upon DPW approval," McLauchlin said. But the project's details and plans are subject to change and have been revised numerous times. The Orangeburg County Development Commission is marketing the property heavily on its website. According to an OCDC flyer, about 806 acres of the site are developable. Land at the site is valued at $18,000 to $30,000 an acre, according to the OCDC flyer. The site has power through Tri-County Electric Cooperative, natural gas from Dominion, water from the Lake Marion Regional Water System, sewer service from Orangeburg County/Santee, telecommunications through Verizon and Frontier and fire protection from the Santee Fire Service and Orangeburg County Fire Service. The site also has access to CSX rail. The property is also certified by the S.C. Department of Commerce, meaning that substantial wetlands, environmental, geotechnical and archaeological studies have been performed. McLauchlin said the site has had some interest from manufacturing and warehousing/distribution companies in the automotive, wood products, agribusiness and distribution logistics sectors. "The OCDC is actively showing the industrial park to prospective companies," he said, noting the county is very much still bullish about the property. "Through the years, the county has financially invested in this property in the way of roadway and water infrastructure and is currently planning and designing for an extension of wastewater infrastructure onto the site, he said. The property received a boost in the spring of 2017 with the opening of the new Exit 97 and U.S. 301 Extension interchange from S.C. Highway 6 to Interstate 95. The stretch of roadway is also known as the U.S. 301/S.C. Highway 6 Connector. The $45 million dollar project formed the eastern anchor of South Carolinas Global Logistics Triangle. The Global Logistics Triangle is the name Orangeburg County uses to market the area bordered by I-26, I-95 and U.S. 301. McLauchlin said the absence of a developed interchange and adequate roadway infrastructure on and off of I-95 and U.S. 301 was the most challenging aspect of attracting business to the site. "This roadway infrastructure has been completed with the construction of the I-95 and U.S. 6 connector improvements," McLauchlin said. "On-site wastewater service is the second challenge that we are underway with now." The property is also home to the $1.2 million, 16,000-square-foot Santee Enterprise Center completed in 2011. The building has housed a number of small industries employing a few dozen at any given time. Since the construction in 2011, the facility has been leased to an automotive training facility and most recently, a custom pipe fabrication company (Ameripipe Supply). Ameripipe's lease runs through 2021. Contact the writer: gzaleski@timesanddemocrat.com or 803-533-5551. Check out Zaleski on Twitter at @ZaleskiTD. 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. Lucknow, Jan 20 : Resentment is brewing against the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh, especially among the BJP's own legislators, sources said. "It began shortly after he was sworn in, when Yogi Adityanath told officers that they need not work under pressure from MLAs. Since that day, the bureaucracy has gone berserk. The officers do not listen to elected representatives and we have no answers for the people who come to us with their grievances. We thought things would improve, but the situation seems to be going from bad to worse," said a BJP MLA from eastern UP. He said that while Yogi Adityanath was doing well as chief minister, the bureaucracy was bent upon undoing it. According to sources, party legislators have tried to communicate their grievances to the Chief Minister on several occasions, but there has been no redress. With officers refusing to pay attention to MLAs and corruption at the police station level increasing in spite of the Chief Minister's zero tolerance policy, the anger among legislators welled up to such a level last month that about 100 MLAs staged a sit-in in the state assembly on December 17. The protest was initiated by Nand Kishore Gurjar, BJP MLA from Loni in Ghaziabad, who said that the Chief Minister's "zero tolerance policy against corruption" was being mocked by corrupt officials in his constituency. The Ghaziabad officials reacted by releasing the crime history of the legislator who is booked in 12 cases. Sources claim that the revolt-like situation was actually fueled by a lobby within the UP BJP that does not like Yogi Adityanath, who is a stickler for discipline and honesty. After this protest, the Chief Minister assured the MLAs that their problems would be addressed but a few days later when nothing changed visibly, Hardoi MLA Shyam Prakash posted a suggestion on social media that a "union" of legislators was the need of the hour. Prakash had targeted the UP government and state officials, claiming that more than "95 per cent" of the officials were corrupt. Harshvardhan Bajpai, the MLA from Allahabad North, termed the protest as "unity against corruption". Kaushal Kishore, BJP MP from the Mohanlalganj Lok Sabha seat, has also made serious allegations against the Lucknow Police. Recently, he slammed the police out for its 'negative' attitude and said that criminals were 'out of control'. "Murder and loot are going on unabated," he stated. BJP MLA from Tindwari, Brajesh Prajapati, was apparently so aggrieved by the denial of 'proper' treatment by officials in his home district Banda that he wrote a letter to CM Adityanath complaining against the superintendent of police. "If this continues, many of us will not be in a position to get re-elected in 2022. The situation at the ground level is worrisome but the chief minister is shown only what the officials want him to see. An example of this was when the chief minister went on a surprise inspection of shelter homes in Lucknow. As soon as he returned, the blankets given to the homeless were taken away. The inmates had been threatened with dire consequences if they made any complaints before the chief minister. When the matter was reported by the media, an FIR was lodged but no action has been taken yet," said a legislator. Another MLA was more candid when he said, "Article 370, CAA, NRC and Triple Talaq are good issues for debates on television, but when you go to contest elections, it is the smaller issues that decide your fate. The government is not responding to such issues and some officials even try to block our accessibility to the chief minister." Leader of Opposition and senior SP MLA Ram Govind Chaudhary said that resentment was growing alarmingly among BJP MLAs. "The BJP legislators tell us that we are better off in the opposition because we can, at least, raise our voices in the Assembly. They admit that they are not in a position to face their own voters because no work is being done. The Chief Minister should start addressing the problems of his own legislators," he said. Meanwhile, sources said that BJP Organization Secretary Sunil Bansal and state president Swatantra Dev Singh would soon be meeting party legislators on a regular basis to resolve issues. BJP's state spokesperson Manoj Mishra, however, denied reports of resentment among MLAs and termed the reports as a "figment of media's imagination". "The party and the government are working in perfect coordination and there is absolutely no resentment. Some statements are being twisted out of context by the media," he said. (Bloomberg) -- Toshiba Machine Co.s shares soared after the company said Japans best-known activist investor, Yoshiaki Murakami, plans a tender offer. The stock jumped as much as 19% to 3,700 yen in Tokyo on Monday, the biggest intraday gain since October 2008. Toshiba Machine said late on Friday that it first learned of the possible bid from Murakami vehicle Office Support on Jan. 10 and expects the tender offer to begin tomorrow. The announcement came just hours after Toshiba Machine confirmed it had agreed to sell its stake in NuFlare Technology Inc. to Toshiba Corp., even though Hoya Corp. had offered to pay a higher price for the shares. Its not clear whether Murakami is seeking to disrupt or derail the NuFlare deal, which was seen as a snub to minority shareholders. Toshiba was already NuFlares largest stakeholder with 52.4% when it started the buyout. Toshiba Machine said it will book about 10 billion yen ($91 million) from the sale. Murakami-san is looking for a combination of near- and medium-term actions which would lift the value of the shares, said Travis Lundy, a special-situations analyst who writes for Smartkarma. It is shaping up to be a hostile bid, but we still do not know terms. Toshiba Machine said in a statement it needs 60 days to consider the offer and that it is prepared to issue new shares if Murakami proceeds with his tender before that. It said Murakamis vehicle owned 11.49% and didnt disclose details of the bid. Office Support, which launched a Japanese language website the day of the release, declined to comment when reached by telephone. An activist investor has them in his sights, that should raise expectations for improvements in governance, said Naruhiko Takatsuji, a senior analyst at Ichiyoshi Research Institute. You could expect more pressure for shareholder returns, whether as a share buyback or higher dividend rate. Last month, Minami Aoyama Fudosan, another fund linked to Murakami, reported it had a stake in NuFlare, a provider of equipment used to make computer chips, and said it may give advice or make proposals to management. Murakami is considered one of the pioneers in Japans battle for shareholder rights and he put forward the first hostile takeover bid by an investor in the country. In 2007 he was convicted for insider trading and sentenced to two years in prison, which was suspended on appeal. Story continues About a quarter of Toshiba Machines 44-page statement on Friday was dedicated to detailing Murakamis previous deals. The company said his track record shows a history of disposing of shares at a profit and could go counter to managements mission of increasing enterprise value. One takeover defense that Toshiba Machine could undertake would be to launch its own tender for its own shares at a premium to the price that Murakami launches at, Lundy said. If Murakamis tender fails, he would agree to sell to Toshiba Machine. It would return cash and get him out. (Updates with Toshiba Machines response fifth paragraph) --With assistance from Kazu Hirano. To contact the reporter on this story: Pavel Alpeyev in Tokyo at palpeyev@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Edwin Chan at echan273@bloomberg.net, Peter Elstrom 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. ORANGE The towns longtime, beloved Fire Marshal Tim Smith died Sunday in a motor vehicle accident on the way home to Prospect from a fire call, officials have confirmed. Orange Police Chief Bob Gagne said he and the department are, shocked and deeply saddened, by the tragic loss of Smith. Tim was a dedicated father and consummate professional. He was loved by friends and family and he was well-respected by public safety professionals in the fire, law enforcement, emergency medical and emergency management services, Gagne said. We grieve his passing and our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this difficult time. Smith, 56, is the father of two daughters. Flags in town flew at half staff Monday at the towns firehouses and on the Green, and black bunting was draped across the top of the main firehouse on the Boston Post Road. Smiths body was escorted past the town's main firehouse Monday to Cody-White Funeral Home by state and Orange police. Fire Chief Vaughn Dumas and Deputy Fire Marshal James Vincent rode in the procession as firefighters, the auxiliary, and First Selectman Jim Zeoli saluted their friend and colleague. Smiths uniform was there as well. Tim was one of my closest friends. ... He was in my wedding and vice versa, said retired former Assistant Police Chief Anthony Cuozzo Sr. He was the consummate professional and a true gentleman. Truly dedicated to his daughters, his friends and his career. Our familys heart is broken for his truly untimely passing. The crash happened in Woodbridge Sunday at about 4:47 p.m. on Litchfield Turnpike (Route 69) south of Downs Road, according to a press release from the Woodbridge Police Department. Woodbridge police Monday confirmed Smith was the driver. The release states the crash involved a single vehicle and the operator was the sole occupant. The Connecticut State Police Accident Reconstruction Unit is assisting with the investigation. Tim Smith assumed the role of fire marshal in 1989, after the retirement of George Smith (no relation), who had served the town for 44 years as a firefighter and 28 as fire marshal. Tim Smith previously had served as deputy fire marshal. During his years of service to the town, Tim Smith investigated many house and business fires, including several major cases such as the 1994 deaths of two teens in a house fire on Riverdale Road and the 1996 fire that caused serious damage to a barn at a historic farm. Zeoli said he and Smith, who was a good person, a lot of fun, had been friends for 45 years. Its a devastating, shocking loss, a surprise to all, said Zeoli. Words cant express the devastation we feel from the loss. Former first selectman and current Board of Selectmen member Mitch Goldblatt said Smith was one of the nicest people youd ever want to meet. He always had a smile and always a positive attitude. Goldblatt said he knew Smith on many levels: as fire marshal, as a town employee, and a wonderful dad to his daughters, Hannah and Alexa, both students at UConn. Smith shined in all his roles, but nothing was of more importance than his role as a dad, said Goldblatt, whose daughter is close friends with Smiths daughter Alexa. They were the loves of his life, Goldblatt said, saying Smith never missed one of their field hockey games. Theyve got quite a memory (of him). Its sad that it was cut so short they should have had many more, he said. Goldblatt said Smith was a handy guy, who took great pride in his role as fire marshal. Its unfathomable. Hes been so long in that role, its hard to believe this is the way his role would end, Goldblatt said. West Haven Fire Department, Allingtown district acting chief and Fire Marshal Mike Esposito, who also is a member of the Orange Volunteer Fire Department, interacted with Smith in several roles. Esposito, who had Monday off for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, was reached at the office, saying he went in anyway because he was having a tough time processing Smiths death. Esposito said he keeps thinking about how he had just seen Smith at the Orange fire it turned out to be a small kitchen fire and a couple of hours later the accident happened. I was with him the afternoon its a lot to take in, Esposito said. Its a big loss or the community too young. Esposito said that as a fire marshal in a neighboring town, Smith was always willing to answer questions and was cooperative with West Haven when they came up against difficulties. Woodbridge Fire Chief Sean Rowland said Sunday the day of the crash was a rough day for his department, which responded to the scene. Weve been working with Timmy for over 20 years. Super nice guy, he would take his shirt off his back for you, Rowland said. He was funny and a great guy overall. Rowland said Smith had vast knowledge, which he was always willing to share with fire service in other communities and excelled in teaching, including many classes where he taught Woodbridge firefighters, including about hazmat and other topics. As news of the tragedy spread on Facebook, condolences and prayers for Smiths family and friends poured into comments sections. Retired West Haven Police Chief Ronald Quagliani, currently chief public safety officer at University of New Haven wrote on Facebook that he worked on various projects with Smith when he was with the police department. So sad to hear this awful news, Quagliani wrote. One thing was always a certain with Tim; he was always willing to lend a hand to those that needed it, Quagliani wrote. Just by talking to Tim and seeing his smile you knew right away he loved what he did - serving the people of Orange or as he told me having, The best job in the world. Other comments on various Facebook sites included many users noting what a loss Smiths death is for the town of Orange and fire services, how much he will be missed, how much he was loved and that news of the accident was heartbreaking and devastating. [January 20, 2020] Latin Leap and Decacorn Team Up to Connect Asia and Latin America MEDELLIN, Colombia, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Decacorn Capital and Latin Leap VC Studio team up to connect the dots between Asia and Latin America, enabling disruptive tech startups and their resourceful founders to navigate uncharted waters and discover blue oceans. Leveraging on their network of experienced entrepreneurs and ecosystem partners, Decacorn and Latin Leap VC strive to provide a soft landing in their home turf in Singapore and Colombia as gateways for their curated portfolio of sector-agnostic tech scale-ups who seek to look beyond their own shores to solve some of humanity's biggest problems. According to Abhijit Banerjee, Managing Director at Decacorn, "teaming up with Latin Leap enables us to provide portfolio companies an additional angle to untapped markets in Latin America." And Stefan Krautwald, General Partner of Latin Leap, adds, "Through the partnership with Decacorn, we are accessing a curated group of companies ripe to enter the Latin markets and create sustainable impact on society." Decacorn Capital Brief Profile Decacorn is a Singapore domiciled, cross-border venture capital initiative, licensed by Singapore's financial regulator and central bank, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). The Singapore Sovereign VC investment initiative under the SG Equity program has appointed Decacorn as one of the few select co-investment managers, enitling it to a leverage play of $7 from the sovereign corpus for every $3 invested by Decacorn in tech startups, subject to certain terms. Decacorn invests in game-changing, technology-driven businesses led by resourceful entrepreneurs building globally relevant businesses that are solving a big problem or creating true delight. Latin Leap Brief Profile Latin Leap is a Venture Capital Studio (VC Studio) being established to create a unique impact investment platform to soft-land purpose-driven tech companies in Latin America and provide access of international scale-ups to deploy in Latin America. The VC Studio intends to support the Latin American entrepreneurship ecosystem with global human and financial commitment, and contribute to quality education by fostering knowledge-intensive businesses in the region The Need: Latin America is the most economically unequal region of the world. A fixed mindset is the root cause of Latin American economic inequality, leaving growth opportunities on the table, even though, the region has an enormous potential of 649M middle-class, mobile-minded inhabitants. The main pursuits of the Latin Leap VC Studio are: 1. Impact Investment: The investment sweet spot is on purpose-driven companies with proven product market fits from any tech-hub in the world. The initial investment focus country is Singapore, as a result of the strong ecosystem relationships on the market. Latin Leap is an agnostic fund but tends to target Edtech, Fintech, Proptech, Healthtech and Mobility verticals. 2. Soft-landing: Latin Leap is scheduled to operate with the efficiencies of tech-based companies, offering preferred access to experienced Venture Partners (business owners, CEOs, Senior Execs) as gatekeepers, and access to Corporate Partnerships in Financial, Retail, Health, Insurance, Telco, Media and other sectors. Info: [email protected] Related Images latin-leap.png Latin Leap Connecting Asia and LATAM View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/latin-leap-and-decacorn-team-up-to-connect-asia-and-latin-america-300989331.html SOURCE Latin Leap [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Since 2008, 1,493 people have lost their lives in fatal accidents on the Mumbai-Pune expressway, according to data shared by the non-government organisation SaveLife Foundation. In 2019, 86 people were killed in 67 fatal accidents that were reported on the 94.6 km corridor that connects the two cities. Founder of SaveLife Foundation Piyush Tewari said, Of the 86 fatalities in 2019, nearly 50% are attributable to rear-ending collisions and in nearly all cases occupants in the rear-seat were found to be without a seatbelt, as in actor Shabana Azmis case. SaveLife Foundation works towards reducing preventable road crash deaths on the expressway and hopes to bring the number close to zero by 2021. According to SaveLife Foundation, 151 people were killed in accidents on the expressway in 2016; 105 in 2017; and 110 in 2018. Last year, 86 people were killed in accidents. However, data compiled by the Highway Safety Patrol found 35 people had died in accidents on the expressway in 2019, with the stretch between Amrutanjan bridge in Lonavla and the Kiwale exit witnessing the most number of crashes. The expressway used to suffer a particularly high rate of crashes about three times more traffic fatalities per kilometre than the national average, Tewari said, adding that the number of reported deaths has since reduced since 2016 owing to various interventions. Tewari said interventions like installing a traffic management system, additional police staff for night-time patrols (which is when majority of the fatal crashes occur) and fatigue-testing for drivers were essential. Road safety expert Yogesh Ambe said, In India, drivers are not trained for roads like the expressway. The speed limits are not followed and most drivers do not know how to control the car when they are speeding. We need more awareness programmes for drivers. In the toll plazas, flyers could be distributed mentioning the dos and donts of driving on the expressway. He also said the spots were the most accidents occur should be studied. Ajay Govale, another road safety expert, said authorities should look at more engineering interventions. Apart from raising awareness among drivers, people should follow rules. People sitting in the rear seats must also wear seatbelts, which is hardly followed as there is no fear for law, Govale said. Dr Chandrakant Pulkundwar, joint managing director, Maharashtra state road development corporation (MSRDC) said, Along with SaveLife foundation, we have fixed more than 2,500 engineering issues on the highway. We have regular meetings with the highway traffic police to monitor and analyse the issues. The state road corporation has built and is maintaining the expressway. Azmi met with an accident on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway last week when the car she was in, rear-ended into a truck. Both vehicles were moving on the Pune-bound lane. Azmi and her driver sustained injuries. The state road corporation has built and is maintaining the expressway. Azmi met with an accident on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway last week when the car she was in, rear-ended into a truck. Both vehicles were moving on the Pune-bound lane. Azmi and her driver sustained injuries. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON On the third Monday of each January, Americans honor the memory of the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King, a Baptist minister from the southern state of Alabama, was a leader in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, advocating social change through non-violent means. On January 15th, he would have celebrated his ninety first birthday. Believing that "change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle," Dr. King organized and participated in mass-action boycotts, sit-ins, peaceful marches and other non-violent acts of civil disobedience. Dr. King once stated that "an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law." And so, activists sometimes deliberately, but peacefully and respectfully, broke laws aimed at segregating the white citizenry from the non-white, thus hoping to bring attention to the inherent unfairness of such legislation. Thus, when a black seamstress named Rosa Parks broke the law in Montgomery, Alabama, by refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger, and subsequently was jailed for her transgression, her plight generated national attention and increasing sympathy for her cause across the country. Dr. Kings, and the Civil Rights Movements greatest achievement came in 1964, with the passage of the Civil Rights Act which outlawed segregation in public places, as well as employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, gender or national origin. The Civil Rights Act spawned the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which forbids racial discrimination in voting, and the 1968 Fair Housing Act, which prohibits discrimination in housing and financing for the purchase of a home, based on race and national origin. Dr. King was thirty nine years old when he died by an assassin's bullet on April 4th, 1968. But his legacy lives on. In the fullness of time, all segregationist laws were repealed, and discrimination is a legally punishable and punished offence. Dr. King's life is well summed up in his own words: "The quality, not the longevity, of one's life is what is important." Evening Standard Commuters are set to face further travel chaos in the New Year after the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) voted for a six-month strike from January 7. The RMT action will see its members conduct a walk-out on the Victoria and Central lines from 8.30pm on Friday until 8am on Saturday, and from 8.30pm on Saturday until 8am on Sunday. Set to be the longest strike in London Underground history, it will take place from Friday January 7 and continue each weekend until June. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressed the hope that the oil ports in Libya will reopen thanks to an international conference in Berlin, TASS reported. According to him, the United States there in Libya has interests in the fight against terrorism. He noted there are serious opportunities in the energy sector in Libya and they hope the obstruction of the sending of oil from the country will end as a result of these talks. Pompeo also noted that progress had been made in terms of introducing a ceasefire at a meeting in Berlin. According to him, success was achieved in the compliance issue with the embargo on arms supplies to the Arab country. The conference on Libya, which was held on Sunday in the German capital, was attended by the presidents of Russia, Turkey and France, the UK PM Boris Johnson, the UN Secretary General, the US Secretary of State, representatives of Algeria, Egypt, China and the UAE. While Libyan National Army commander Fayez al-Sarraj, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, also arrived in Berlin. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 14:32:58|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close NEW DELHI, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- At least seven people died and one seriously injured in a road mishap in India's western state of Rajasthan early on Monday, confirmed a state government source. The collision between a truck and a car took place in the state's Churu district in the wee hours of Monday. All the dead and the lone injured were traveling in the ill-fated car, and belonged to a village in Fatehpur town of the state. State Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot expressed sadness at the loss of human lives. "Deeply saddened to know of a road accident in which seven people have lost lives at Salasar Fatehpur Road in Salasar area, Churu district. My heart goes out to their families. May they find strength. Prayers for speedy recovery of those injured," he tweeted this morning. The cause of the accident could not be known yet. North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho has been replaced, Seoul-based NK News reported yesterday. Ris replacement has not been identified but Pyongyang is set to reveal his successor about next Thursday, the report said, citing unnamed sources. South Koreas unification ministry, which is in charge of North Korea affairs, has said that any change in Ris status should be assessed cautiously. Born in 1956, Ri is the son of Ri Myong Je, former deputy director of the Organization and Guidance Department (OGD), a shadowy body within the ruling Workers Party that oversees the appointment of management positions within the state, according to the South Korean unification ministry. His father was also an editor at the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the state media body that publishes Pyongyangs propaganda statements. A fluent English speaker who studied at Pyongyangs prestigious University of Foreign Languages, Ri has for years held a number of high-level posts dealing with the West. From 2003 to 2007, he was North Koreas ambassador in London and served as vice foreign minister, representing North Korea at six-party talks on North Koreas nuclear program. Ri did not attend the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations in September. He had attended the high-level meeting in New York for three years from 2016 to 2018. Scanning electron micrograph of human T lymphocyte or T cell. Credit: NIAID/NIH For most patients, melanoma begins with a small, pigmented spot on their skin that they notice starts to change. Many primary melanomas can be cured by having this lesion removed, but melanoma can also recur and spread; an analysis of the removed lesion can offer some information on the likelihood that the cancer will come back. Today, lesions are analyzed in much the same way that they were 100 years ago. Despite advances in molecular diagnostics for other forms of cancer, analysis of a skin cancer lesion is surprisingly simplistic. The lesion's thicknesspatients with thinner melanomas tend to do betterand microscopic features, such as ulcerations, are considered, and a T stage of 1 through 4 is assigned. In a paper published in Nature Cancer, investigators from Brigham and Women's Hospital, in collaboration with international colleagues, present a new, quantitative technique that leverages DNA sequencing to make more sophisticated and accurate predictions about which primary melanomas are likely to recur and spread. "As recently as 10 years ago the outlook for metastatic melanoma was dismal, but we now have treatments to offer patients with metastatic disease and may also be able to apply these treatments when primary disease hasn't metastasized," said corresponding author Thomas Kupper, MD, chair of the Department of Dermatology at the Brigham. "Because of the advent of these new immunotherapy treatments, it's important to have a clear idea of which patients are likely to progress so that we can tailor treatment accordingly." Immune checkpoint inhibitors, which can reawaken T cells to mount an immune response against cancer cells, have radically changed outcomes and options available to patients whose skin cancer has spread. In some patients, they can elicit dramatic responses, including long-term remission, essentially curing a patient. But identifying patients at greatest risk for disease progression has remained an unmet need. To address this, Kupper and colleagues sought to determine if certain measurable features of T cells could predict recurrence in patients whose primary melanoma had been removed and were free of disease. T1 melanomas (<1mm) rarely metastasize, so they studied T2 (1-2mm), T3 (2-4mm) and T4 (>4mm) primary melanomas. The research team faced a unique hurdle in acquiring enough samples to conduct a robust study. Unlike most tumors, which are removed by a surgeon at a hospital, skin lesions can be removed in private practices and ambulatory clinics, which means that specimens are not concentrated in hospital settings. In addition, specimens must be kept for several years after removal, delaying their availability for research studies. To collect enough samples, investigators from the Brigham collaborated with colleagues at the Melanoma Institute of Australia and the Zealand University Hospital in Denmark to share resources. The current analysis includes more than 300 samples from patients across these sites. The team compared samples from patients whose primary melanoma progressed to metastatic disease to patients whose primary melanoma did not. They used high-throughput DNA sequencing, performed by Adaptive Biotechnologies, to analyze the T cell repertoire of the tumors. The investigators found that of all variables identified, the T-cell fraction (TCFr; or proportion of cells in the lesion that were T cells) was a powerful, independent predictor of which patients would progress. Even for patients whose lesion thickness (T) was the same, TCFr was able to predict which patients were more likely to have metastatic disease. Patients with a TCFr of lower than 20 percent were more at risk of disease progression than patients with a TCFr of higher than 20 percent. For example, for patients with T3 melanoma (2-4mm thickness), five years after having their primary lesion removed, 51 percent of those with lower TCFr experienced recurrence, compared to 24 percent with higher TCFr. The test used in this work is commercially available for research use only and is not currently yet available in the clinic. The authors also note that the current study is retrospective, looking at samples from patients whose outcomes are already known. Prospective studies of patients whose outcomes are not yet known will be needed to further validate the test. If brought to the clinic, Kupper and colleagues envision that the test could strengthen current prediction models and improve patient care. "This is a simple, elegant test. It's quantitative rather than subjective, and it may be able to add value to predictions about disease progression," said Kupper. "In the future, such a test could help us tailor treatment; patients with high TCFr may further benefit from checkpoint inhibitor therapy, while low TCFr patients may need additional intervention." Explore further Overall survival worse with multiple primary melanomas More information: Molecular analysis of primary melanoma T cells identifies patients at risk for metastatic recurrence, Nature Cancer (2020). nature.com/articles/s43018-019-0019-5 Journal information: Nature Cancer Molecular analysis of primary melanoma T cells identifies patients at risk for metastatic recurrence,(2020). DOI: 10.1038/s43018-019-0019-5 RICHMOND, Va.Virginias state capital was braced for violence on Monday as thousands of gun-rights activists crowded the grounds of the legislature building and the streets around it. But though many protesters outside the metal detectors and fences of the State House lawn wore body armour and carried assault weapons, no shots were fired, no arrests were made, and no violence of any kind had erupted as the protest dispersed in the early afternoon. The event was expected to draw white supremacists and militia groups, leading many to fear a repeat of the racist Charlottesville rally in 2017 that ended in a womans death, but if they were present, none made themselves evident. Instead, some protesters accused gun-control advocate Gov. Ralph Northam of racism, invoking a blackface photo of him that surfaced last year. The protest Monday, planned to oppose the gun-control plans of the newly elected Democratic majority in Virginia, took place on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday that commemorates the life of the Black civil rights leader who was assassinated in 1968. In the run up to Monday, Northam declared a state of emergency, banning the carrying of guns and other weapons on capital grounds, citing what he called credible threats of violence by white nationalist and out-of-state militia groups. In the week leading up to the event, six alleged white nationalist terrorists were arrested including one Canadian who was being ushered out of the armed forces after his ties to racist groups became known after reports said they planned to attend and possibly cause violence at the event. President Donald Trump did not allow the threats of violence to stop him from offering support to the rally, tweeting on Friday night, Your 2nd amendment is under very serious attack in the great Commonwealth of Virginia. Thats what happens when you vote for Democrats, they will take your guns away. Republicans will win Virginia in 2020. Thank you Dems! Virginia Republicans, briefed on the apparent threats to public safety, took a different approach, bluntly condemning anyone planning violence at the event. State Republican leader Todd Gilbert issued a statement on the weekend saying, in part, Any group that comes to Richmond to spread white supremacist garbage, or any other form of hate, violence, or civil unrest isnt welcome here. Thousands of law-abiding Virginians simply want to have their voices heard at the seat of government. Speeches at the event promised to defend the second amendment and vote for Trump and against Democrats, and invoked Martin Luther King Jr.s denied application for a gun permit to insist gun ownership rights are civil rights. Protesters wearing bright orange Guns save lives stickers chanted We will not comply throughout the day. Rather than violent, the event seemed quiet, almost placid, despite the heavily armed crowds on the perimeter and a large police presence that included helicopters hovering above the crowds throughout the day. Protester Dan Helm from Fauquier County, Virginia, says in his experience there are few crowds more orderly than second amendment activists. Were here to let the legislative body know that the laws theyre trying to pass are not what the Virginia commonwealth is interested in. We need less going after gun rights and more enforcing the laws we already have and going after the criminal element. In elections held in November, Democrats took control of all three branches of Virginias government, partly on the promise of stricter gun-control laws after a mass shooting in May 2019. In response, gun advocates sounded the alarm, and more than 100 cities in the state have declared themselves Second Amendment Sanctuary cities. Though organizers of the rally have said they planned for a peaceful protest, there were reports in advance it was being seen as a rallying point for racists. Late last week, the district attorneys office in the neighbouring State of Maryland announced that the FBI had arrested three men, including Canadian Patrik Jordan Mathews, on weapons and drug charges, alleging they are members and recruiters for the white supremacist group The Base. Mathews disappeared in August amid accusations he is a neo-Nazi. At the time, according to The Canadian Press, Mathews was a combat engineer with the 38 Canadian Brigade Group in Winnipeg, though the military said then it was investigating his alleged links to The Base and fast-tracking his request to be released from the Canadian Armed Forces. Three more alleged members of The Base were also arrested last week in Georgia on charges of conspiracy to commit murder and participating in a criminal street gang. Gov. Northam said last week that hate groups and militias from across the country were coming with violence in mind. They are not coming to peacefully protest. They are coming to intimidate and to cause harm. SOU Information Filter by Category All Company Announcement - General Additional Listing AIM Admission AIM Notice Base Rate Change Block Listing Interim Review Capital Reorganisation Change of Name Conversion of Securities Drilling/Production Report Final Announcement Released Geographical Distribution Intention to Float Issue of Debt Issue of Equity Joint Venture Net Asset Value Portfolio Update Price Monitoring Extension Product Launch Publication of a Prospectus Publication of Final Terms Research Update Restoration Rights Issue Stabilisation Notice Statement Suspension Tender Offer Trading Statement Treasury Stock All Mergers, Acquisitions and Disposals Acquisition Merger Form 8 (DD) Form 8 (OPD) Form 8.3 Form 8.5 (EPT/NON-RI) Form 8.5 (EPT/RI) Form 8.6 Rule 2.9 Announcement Offer By Offer For Offer Update All Results and Trading Reports 1st Quarter Results 3rd Quarter Results AGM Statement Annual Report Final Results Half-year Report Notice of Results Result of AGM Result of EGM Result of Equity Issue Result of General Meeting Result of Tender Offer Syndicate Results All Dividends Dividend Declaration Dividend Currency Election All Executive Changes Directorate Change Change of Adviser Change of Registered Office All Directors' Dealings Director/PDMR Shareholding All Advance Notice of Results Notice of AGM Notice of GM Notice of EGM Notice of Results All Non-Regulatory News All Transaction in Own Shares All Holding(s) in Company Total Voting Rights Notification of Major Holdings Former Maharashtra minister and Shiv Sena leader Arjun Khoktar has regretted not contesting the April 2019 Lok Sabha polls from Jalna against BJP MP Raosaheb Danve and apologised to the people of the constituency for his decision. Khotkar also accused the BJP, the Sena's former ally, of "ditching" him during the October 2019 assembly polls, which he said, resulted in his defeat from the Jalna seat. The Shiv Sena and the BJP had fought the last year's Lok Sabha and also assembly polls in the state as allies. Their alliance collapsed in November last year following differences over sharing of power post polls. He was speaking on Sunday at a programme organised at Bhokardan near here to felicitate NCP leader Rajesh Tope for his induction into the state cabinet. The Sena is now an ally of the NCP and the Congress and heads the ruling coalition. Iapologise to you (the people of Jalna) that I did not contest the (Lok Sabha) elections (against Danve, the sitting BJP MP)," the Sena leader told the gathering. Later, talking to reporters, Khotkaraccused Danve, Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, of "deceiving" him during the assembly polls. Khotkar claimed Danvehad asked BJP activists to work against him, which resulted in Congress candidate Kailash Gorantyal winning the election from the Jalna assembly seat. The Sena leader said thoughDanve had participated in election campaign in support ofhim, it was only for public consumption and in reality, the BJP MP and his supporters had clandestinely worked against him (Khotkar). The ex-Sena minister claimedhe had worked honestly for Danve during the campaign for the April Lok Sabha polls, but the latter did not do the same for him during the assembly elections held six months later. Khotkar and Danve, both natives of Jalna district in North Maharashtra, are considered rivals in local Before the Lok Sabha elections, Khotkar had declared he would contest against Danve, a former state BJP chief. However, after several meetings of BJP and Sena leaderswith Khotkar, including the then Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, he decided not to enter the poll fray and instead declared his support for Danve, who won. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) As a South African-based investment and holding company that manages a portfolio of retail chains, Pepkor deals with a lot of data. The company made the move to Google Cloud because they needed to democratise all of this information and break down the data silos that existed across their various business entities, says Michael Yolland, the brands digital transformation officer. The SPAR Group, a South Africabased food retailer, has embraced cloud to streamline their IT operations and enhance their digital transformation efforts. Using Microsoft Office 365 and Azure, the retail brand has reduced physical servers by a third and decreased system setup time from hours to just minutes, according to Robbi Laurenson, a digital architect at Microsoft. The second largest retailer in the pan-African space, Makro, has embraced cloud to improve their marketing and advertising efforts. By importing store purchase data into Google Cloud and using store sales management analytics, Makro has uncovered a wealth of information about online-to-offline behaviour. These insights are then used to assess the effectiveness of their digital advertising and to discover if these investments are driving sales. If anything, these examples indicate just how strong the South African appetite for cloud is and how many different applications there are for this technology, says Mark Walker, associate VP for sub-Saharan Africa at IDC. And the entire market is getting involved be it SMEs, larger enterprises and, of course, retailers. Cloud adoption in South Africa is certainly on the up, agrees Leonie McManus, an IT analytics consultant for McManus Consulting. As vendors like Amazon Web Services, Huawei and Microsoft make their play for South African customers, the pieces are falling in place for local businesses of all sizes and across a range of industries to capitalise on cloud technologies. CIO.com chatted to retail IT leaders and cloud vendors to find out why theyre leveraging cloud as an essential, and valuable, business tool. Using cloud for improved insights If Daniel Acton, regional tech lead for cloud at Google South Africa, had a penny for every time someone spoke to him about having a single-view of the customer, hed be a very rich man. This concept is on everyones radars because no one is really getting it right, he explains. I know this because when I visit online retailers, quite frankly, the recommendations suck. This is a wasted opportunity when you consider that the point of a recommendation is to tap into a customers purchase history in an attempt to offer useful/relevant suggestions and, ultimately, encourage consumers to make an additional purchase. But its not all bad. There are some innovative e-commerce players out there who are using artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud to get recommendations right, says Acton. For example, recommendations on the fly move beyond a customers purchase or search history to suggest products that might enhance their recent purchases; for example, suggesting a surround sound system to enhance and complement the TV the customer purchased the previous week. When retail CIOs move to cloud, all of the data they have about their customer sits in one place, which means that it can be more easily accessible by everyone across the retail business to make better decisions, says Acton. Crucially, public cloud providers provide the compute power necessary for machine learning a subset of AI embracing methods and algorithms, such as neural networks that let computer systems better their performance as they ingest more data. This allows retailers to use the infrastructure they need and scale as they grow, avoiding huge upfront costs. Just as important, cloud providers are increasingly adding machine learning programming tools and AI-based analytics to their offerings, essentially providing AI-as-a-service for retailers. Retailers offer enhanced customer experiences Customer experiences have become the new currency for retailers and physical stores are the destinations for these experiences, notes Ravindra Prabhala, global head of consumer industries at SAP. So how does cloud factor into the equation? For Prabhala, smart CIOs are using cloud technology to enhance their in-store and online retail experience so that they can guarantee that customers are satisfied no matter what channel they are using. As noted above, cloud enables retail CIOs to merge their in-store experience data with their operations/sales data to deliver improved insights about their customers. Improved insight can lead to an enhanced experience for the customer. For example, customers may arrive in a store and receive messages with special offers based on the products theyve recently searched for online, Prabhala explains. Cloud helps embrace change One thing is certain: retailers are no strangers to change, asserts Microsofts Laurenson. From fashion trends and product innovations to seasonable foods, its an industry that is almost defined by change. The retail world is highly competitive and it is the savvy CIOs who will leverage emergent cloud technologies to deliver insights to the business that optimise how they interact with their customers, what products they offer, as well as streamlining their supply chain and broader business processes. With cloud, retailers are transforming across all aspects of the value chain, says Googles Acton. This presents a wide range of opportunities for retailers to automate manual processes, spot customer trends, personalise offerings and centralise insights. However, its not only about the technology. While speaking at a recent SAP Future of Retail event, Prabhala was challenged by an audience member to address his concern that cloud and automation can actually alienate internal users because the need for this technology implies that the humans working in stores are incapable and unintelligent. But Prabhala explained that the CIOs message should not be about technology being more intelligent than people, but about improving efficiency, reducing waste and saving time. With this potential stumbling block in mind, Pepkors Yolland stresses that any retail CIO embarking on a cloud journey must be sure to take their people along for the ride. People are used to working in a certain way. They are comfortable with the existing solutions and approaches they know. Successful CIOs will take the time to show people the value of what is possible with cloud and how cloud optimisation can improve their daily activities. If you think that cloud only empowers IT teams to do its job better, youre missing the point, concludes Acton. In fact, cloud, and the transformation it brings, allows the business to innovate for the future and rethink what is possible. Taiwanese expat, Thai wife caught with 160kg of corals at Koh Kaew house PHUKET: A 55-year-old Taiwanese expat and his Thai wife have been charged under the new Wildlife Preservation and Protection Act after they were found in possession of 160 kilograms of corals at a lobster farm at their house in Koh Kaew. marineanimalsenvironmentnatural-resourcescrime By Tanyaluk Sakoot Monday 20 January 2020, 05:36PM The lobster drums at Mr Sheng-Mou Thous house in Koh Kaew contained 160kg of corals. Photo: DMCR The lobster drums at Mr Sheng-Mou Thous house in Koh Kaew contained 160kg of corals. Photo: DMCR The lobster drums at Mr Sheng-Mou Thous house in Koh Kaew contained 160kg of corals. Photo: DMCR The lobster drums at Mr Sheng-Mou Thous house in Koh Kaew contained 160kg of corals. Photo: DMCR Prajuap Mokarana, Head of Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) Marine Protection Division responsible for Phuket and Phang Nga, told The Phuket News that the charges follow his office receiving a tip-off at about 10am yesterday (Jan 19), telling his officers that a man was carrying corals in large buckets at a beach near Cape Panwa. We arrived at the scene and saw Mr Sheng-Mou Thou, 55, holding a bucket containing live corals. He saw us and told us in in Thai that he was releasing corals back to nature, Mr Prajuap said. However, we found another two buckets containing live corals in his vehicle, he added. We invited Mr Sheng to be questioned at our office, where he admitted that he had corals at his house in Koh Kaew. We took Mr Sheng to Phuket City Police Station to file a formal complaint for illegal possession of corals under the Wildlife Preservation and Protection Act 2019, Mr Prajuap explained. Mr Sheng then led our officers and police to his house, where we found 10 large drums with live lobsters in them, but also containing about 160kg of all different types of corals, including mushroom corals, boulder corals and staghorn corals. Mr Sheng said that having the corals in the drums with the lobsters was good for the lobsters, Mr Prajuap noted. Mr Sheng, and his wife Wirawan Thou, 52, who lives in the house with him, now both face charges under the new Wildlife Preservation and Protection Act 2019, Mr Prajuap explained. The new act brings harsher penalties, Mr Pajuap pointed out. The previous maximum sentence under the old law was up to four years in jail or a fine of up to B40,000, or both. But under the new law the maximum penalty is to up to five years imprisonment or a fine of up to B500,000, or both, he said. Phuket City Police have nearly nearly completed their investigation. They will submit the case to the Public Prosecutor tomorrow (Jan 21), Mr Prajuap told The Phuket News. We look forward to the suspects being punished at the discretion of the court, he added. A wealthy charity boss has been found stabbed to death in his burning brownstone in Brooklyn. The body of L. Antonion Litman, founder of children's charity Virginia's House of Hope, was discovered by firefighters when they were called to a fire at the four-story brownstone on Adelphi Street near Dekalb Avenue, police said. The fire broke out in the basement of Litman's Fort Greene block at around 3.20 am on Martin Luther King Day. After tackling the blaze, the charity boss, believed to be in his 50s, was found face down in the lobby with multiple stab wounds to his neck and body, sources said. The body of L. Antonion Litman (pictured), founder of children's charity Virginia's House of Hope, was discovered by firefighters on Monday morning when they were called to a fire at the four-story brownstone on Adelphi Street near Dekalb Avenue, police said The charity boss (left), believed to be in his 50s, was found face down in the lobby with multiple stab wounds to his neck and body, sources said The suspicious death came as a spare of fatal fires swept New York on Monday morning. Three fatal fires broke out during a 30-minute window, with police sources saying that one of the other victims may have also been the victim of a homicide before the blaze was set. In Queens, emergency services found the body of a man face down with his hands tied behind his back after putting out a fire in a home under construction at about 3:15 am. This followed the death of an 85-year-old man when a fire broke out in an apartment building in the Bronx at around 2.45 am. This death does not appear to be suspicious. Shocked neighbors told NY Daily News that Litman was well known in the area for his generosity and had personally just bought every child on the block a hoverboard for Christmas. One neighbor called Joe said that this could attract 'unsavory characters'. 'If you needed something he would give it to you and I think sometimes unsavory characters knew it as well,' he said. Neighbor Jayce Bartock described Litman through tears as 'super generous' and 'very wealthy'. 'He was like the mayor of the block,' added Nellie Hermann, who lives two doors down from Litman's block. Firefighters were called to reports of a blaze at 3.20 am on Monday morning at the four-story brownstone on Adelphi Street near Dekalb Avenue (pictured) Litman set up Virginia's House of Hope in 2006 with the aim of improvng the quality of life for children by helping disadvantaged families throughout New York City and the surrounding regions. Since being founded it has distributed school supplies, food, clothing and educational toys to over 10,000 families, the charity's website states. Litman, who was also on the board of the State University of New York's Maritime Museum, had made his fortune in shipping. FDNY fire marshals are investigating the cause of the fire and the city medical examiner is seeking to determine the cause of death. Shocked neighbors said that Litman (pictured in middle) was well known in the area for his generosity and had personally just bought every child on the block a hoverboard for Christmas. However one neighbor said this could attract 'unsavory characters' , We're sorry, this article is not currently available Leaders and members of the Peoples Democratic Party held a protest on Monday in Abuja to denounce the recent Supreme Court judgement that sacked one of its governors, Emeka Ihedioha of Imo State. The protest was led by the partys national chairman, Uche Secondus, and other members of the national working committee. Also present at the protest was the partys 2019 vice presidential candidate and former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi. Members of the party in Imo, Taraba, Abia, Yobe and Ogun states had on Sunday also held protests urging the apex court to reverse itself and declare Mr Ihedioha the winner. In Owerri, the Imo State capital, protesters blocked major streets to show their rejection of the ruling. READ ALSO: On Monday, the PDP protesters, all in black attires, began the procession from the partys campaign headquarters, Legacy House, in Maitama district of Abuja. They are to march to the three arms zone where the Supreme Court is located. Injustice The Supreme Court on Tuesday nullified Mr Ihediohas win and declared Hope Uzodinma of the All Progressive Congress (APC) as the winner of the March 9 governorship election in the state. Mr Uzodinma originally came fourth in the election, behind Uche Nwosu of the Action Alliance and Ifeanyi Ararume of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA). The seven-member panel of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice Tanko Muhammad gave the unanimous decision on Tuesday in Abuja. The PDP chairman, Uche Secondus, had announced on Friday during the partys emergency National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting that the party would embark on a protest. He said the aim of the protest would be to impress on Nigerians that injustice had been done to the party. According to him, the declaration of Hope Uzodinma of the ruling APC as the Imo State governor is a miscarriage of justice. A former one-term state Assemblyman named in two federal search warrants related to a corruption investigation in Orange, once collected more than $21,000 in campaign funds for a race he never ran. And what happened with the money is unclear, records show. An NJ Advance Media review of campaign finance records show Willis Edwards III, who still owes Orange taxpayers $268,000 in backpay he earned while serving in an illegal position as the citys deputy business administrator, created an election fund more than 10 years ago in a bid for East Orange mayor. But Edwards never ran in the June 2009 primary or any other East Orange race, county clerk records show. He never held public office after his short stint as Assemblyman in 2002-2003. Its unknown what happened to the thousands of dollars in his campaign coffers. No expenditure reports were filed, as is required by law. Attempts to reach Edwards through his attorneys or by phone were unsuccessful. Anybody that starts filing reports has to close them out and show where all the money is, said Joseph Donohue, Deputy Director of the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, the state arm monitoring campaign finance. Nothing in our system shows that this specific account was ever finalized." Its not unusual for candidates seeking office to drop out of the race even before they are certified to run, but every campaign fund must file reports on on where money is spent to ensure it is being used appropriately. Donohue said even if someone files a complaint about Edwards account now, theres not much they can do. A campaign funds treasurer or deputy treasurer only has to keep records for four years, according to a candidate compliance manual. The money was also kept in an account at the now-defunct Washington Mutual bank, so authorities couldnt subpoena those records, either. The treasurer and deputy treasurer for the Election Fund for Willis Edwards III for Mayor said they didnt recall being part of any fundraising campaign. Though their signatures are on the documents, both said they do not remember signing any paperwork. I wasnt involved in any of that, Wallace Truesdale, who is listed as the funds treasurer, told NJ Advance Media. He said he remembered Edwards was planning on running for mayor but does not recall helping with any fundraising activities. Truesdale said he had not spoken to Edwards recently. I dont remember any fundraising activities, Dr. Karma Warren, who is married to Orange Mayor Dwayne Warren, said, adding that she didnt recognize her handwriting or signature on the forms. I dont remember that at all. Nor have I seen that document in my life. Edwards, who filed for bankruptcy in 2013, was appointed Oranges deputy business administrator by Mayor Warren, a Democrat, in 2012, a move never approved by the City Council, and one that two courts have ruled was illegal. Edwards attorney appealed the matter to the state Supreme Court, which declined to take the case. Edwards was among more than a dozen people named in the FBIs search warrants of the Orange public library and City Hall in 2016 and 2017 related to the agencys investigation of theft, fraud, extortion, and misuse of government funds. No one has been publicly indicted in the investigation. Tyshammie Cooper, an Essex County Freeholder identified as someone of interest to investigators in the federal probe in 2018, according to documents obtained by NJ Advance Media, donated $1,000 to Edwards campaign. She did not respond to a request for comment. Other donors to Edwards campaign include Mayor Warren, who gave $1,100. Mayor Warren does not recall whether or not he made a contribution to Mr. Edwards East Orange mayoral campaign - 12 years ago - before he was elected mayor of Orange in 2012, Keith Royster, a Warren spokesman, told NJ Advance Media. Before his election and as a public official, Mayor Warren has been supportive of many individuals who want to participate in our democratic process - but he obviously cant be held responsible for what individuals do with their campaign donations. Also listed on one of the documents as chairman: Kiburi Tucker, the son of Assemblywoman Cleopatra Tucker, who was recently released from federal prison on fraud charges. Tucker, a friend of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, is serving out the rest of his sentence at a re-entry program, a prison spokesman confirmed. Tucker could not be reached for comment and his attorney did not respond to questions. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. COPYRIGHT NOTE: Please DON'T reproduce stuff from these pages WITHOUT PERMISSION. And if you do, please give us credit ( brianmay.com) !! and a LIVE link. ` Cheers ! Bri - Also applies to FOREIGN LANGUAGE sites, ' NOT ' for FACEBOOK or SOCIAL MEDIA As always, the opinions expressed in these pages are purely and personally those of myself, Brian; they are not the official views of Queen, or of any other organisation or individual. 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. Bloomberg's brokered Demo convention gambit By Mark Alexander If not for Iowa's distinction as holder of the nation's first primary on 3 February, the latest Demo debate in Des Moines wouldn't matter much. Iowa's 3.1 million residents put it 30th in population, and the Hawkeye State suffers from the undue influence of leftists from nearby Chicago, who treat the eastern part of the state like a dude-ranch suburb. The Iowa primary is actually composed of secret closed caucuses promising a prize of 49 delegates, of which 41 are pledged, so all eyes are on Iowa until its caucuses conclude. Last week was the seventh dull debate, but the first of the election year. It was hosted by the Democrat Party's public-relations firm, CNN. Participants included frontrunners Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Pete Buttigieg, along with outliers Amy Klobuchar and billionaire leftist Tom Steyer. That's a large field of candidates given how close we are to voting in Iowa and New Hampshire, and it reflects both the lack of unity and strength within the Democrat Party. It's now a uniformly white field of candidates after New Jersey Sen. Cory "Spartacus" Booker dropped out except, of course, for "Honest Injun" Warren, who has been certified 1/1024th Cherokee or some other indigenous flavor. Noticeably absent from the "oh so important" Iowa Demo debate was Michael Bloomberg, the mega-billionaire former nanny-state New York City mayor whose political platform is laughably focused on his abjectly hypocritical concern for "income inequality" and his dangerous gun-confiscation agenda. In order to qualify for the debate, candidates had to first demonstrate broad-based funding support from 225,000 unique donors (at least 1,000 of whom had to be from each of 20 states). Second, they had to meet popular political polling thresholds. Bloomberg made the polling thresholds (5th place at 5.8%), but he's intentionally not soliciting individual donations. However, his ad buys now total more than $200 million, almost as much as the rest of the Democrat field's combined $222 million effectively doubling their collective strategy to defeat Donald Trump. Fact is, Bloomberg had no intention of being on the debate stage with his fellow leftists, because that is not his objective. The stage podium Bloomberg wants is the big one at the Demo convention in July, where he is betting that it will be tough for any of the candidates to win a majority of the party's delegates. That will enable him to broker a path not for his own nomination but more likely for his preferred candidate. That brokering will take place behind the scenes. And given Bloomberg's $52 billion net worth, he will have an outsized influence on which candidate ultimately wins the nomination. After the convention he has vowed to spend hundreds of millions more on advertising to defeat Trump. Sidebar: This is yet another example of why I believe a candidate should not be able to make limitless donations to their own campaign or on behalf of others (buy the office). They should be subject to the same limits imposed on every other American $2,800 in a primary and general election. Who, then, will win Bloomberg's convention favor and affection? Biden's views align most closely to those of Bloomberg, and he is the "establishment candidate." Thus, he is biding his time as the mainstream Demo favorite, pacing his campaign accordingly and benefiting from a mainstream media that seems shockingly disinterested in the fact that Biden is virtually non compos mentis. On the other hand, Bernie Sanders is surging in the polls, and the 78-year-old Vermont socialist is leading in Iowa and California, while tied for the top post in Nevada and New Hampshire. Notably, he's also surging in fundraising, having raised more than $34 million last quarter, compared to Buttigieg's $25 million, Biden's $23 million, and Warren's $21 million. As I warned a year ago, "Take Sanders's 2020 Campaign Seriously and Literally." Democrat Party poobahs are certainly taking him seriously, and they're concerned about a repeat of 2016, when Hillary Clinton and the DNC conspired to sandbag Sanders in order to secure the nomination for her. The end result of their malfeasance was, of course, a shocking Electoral College victory for Donald Trump and the sudden onset of Trump Derangement Syndrome. The "Sanders Surge" is thus creating a lot of heartburn for the Demos, who know that his nomination could be "an epic nightmare for them." I believe Bloomberg is positioning himself as an insurance policy against Sanders's nomination. Warren is doing her best to move Sanders out of the way, and their dustup will benefit Biden. Moreover, in the RealClearPolitics polling average (the poll to watch), Biden has a substantial national lead over Sanders (27% to 19%) and has marginal leads over Sanders in both Iowa and New Hampshire. But regardless of whether Biden, Sanders, or Warren win the nomination, Bloomberg is and will remain a looming threat to American Liberty. I profiled the threat he and his club of wealthy leftists pose to Liberty in a column two years ago: "The Archenemies of Liberty Soros, Steyer, Bezos, and Bloomberg," noting that this megalomaniac has "an insatiable narcissistic quest for power, including centralized government power." Typical of rich leftists, he does not want to play by the rules, just dictate the rules for others. Whomever Bloomberg and his sidekick Tom Steyer back at the convention, that nominee will be beholden to them and most certainly will comply with their wishes. We call this arrangement a "quid pro quo." And on that note, the Demos' "urgent" articles of impeachment, which were held hostage by Nancy Pelosi for more than a month, are on the way over to the Senate this week. Some are suggesting that Pelosi's delay was intended to help Biden's candidacy, because now Sanders and Warren will be distracted by their obligatory attendance at the Senate impeachment trial just ahead of the early primaries. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said: "This is the dirty little secret that nobody is talking about, why the speaker held these papers. ... This benefits Joe Biden. This harms Sanders, who ... will be stuck in a [Senate] chair" instead of out campaigning. Shades of the 2016 Sanders sandbagging... In response, Pelosi's deputy chief of staff declared, "Impeachment has nothing to do with politics or the presidential race." Seriously, that is the best reply he could script. (Big Lie playbook rules: When trying to deflect from the truth, always leave the denial to a cutout at least two steps removed from the originator of the lie!) Moving forward, Bloomberg will also be noticeably absent from the unending flood of upcoming Demo debates: 7 February in New Hampshire, 19 February in Nevada, and 25 February in South Carolina. Again, he'd rather buy ads than engage in debates. Finally, while I'm neither a gambler nor a prognosticating political pretender, if I was, I would suggest you keep your eye on this potential combo ticket: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. I know, crazy, right? I think Biden will be Bloomberg's water boy, and he'll have to go younger and non-white in order to abide by his party's obsessions with race and identity. Booker would be another option, but I suspect Biden's advisers will insist he go female, and Harris is that default. Of course, in the unlikely event that Bernie survives the slings and arrows of the DNC, he could choose metrosexual Beto O'Rourke, who can pass as both female and Mexican. Mark Alexander is the executive editor of the Patriot Post. Taliban Hopes For Afghan Peace Deal By End Of January By RFE/RL January 18, 2020 A spokesman for the Taliban has told a Pakistani newspaper that the militant group is hoping to reach an Afghan peace deal with U.S negotiators by the end of January. The comments by Suhail Shaheen on January 18 to the Dawn newspaper come after negotiators from the Taliban and the United States met for two days of talks in Qatar. Shaheen said in a post on Twitter on January 17 that the meetings on January 16 and 17 had been "useful." He said the discussions had focused on the signing of a joint agreement and a related ceremony without elaborating. The U.S. team, led by Zalmay Khalilzad, has not spoken publicly about the negotiations. But Reuters quoted two sources as saying the Taliban was ready to agree to a 10-day truce with U.S. forces, as well as a reduction in violence with Afghan forces and talks with Afghan officials if a deal is reached. Shaheen on January 18 said Taliban militants were ready to scale back militant attacks ahead of the anticipated signing of the deal with U.S. negotiators. "We have agreed to scale down military operations in days leading up to the signing of the peace agreement with the United States," Shaheen told Dawn. 'A Matter Of Days' He added that the Taliban was "optimistic" a deal with Washington could be signed before the end of the month and that the reduction in fighting across the country would also include the targeting of Afghan forces. "It's now a matter of days," said the spokesman. 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 America's 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 ceasefire was the only way to achieve a 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 a cease-fire," Sediq Sediqqi 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 AFP and Reuters Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/taliban-hopes-for-peace- deal-by-end-of-january/30384285.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 If most things revolve around the economy, the latest row over the birthplace of the highly revered mystic, Saibaba of Shirdi, has its roots in the same. Earlier this week, a fresh war of words broke out after the Maharashtra government agreed to allocate Rs 100 crore for the development of Pathari town in Parbhani district of Marathwada, about 250 kilometres from Shirdi in Ahmednagar district. Pathari is perceived by many as Saibabas birthplace, although there are no credible records, say historians. The contentious reference to Pathri by the state government as the birthplace of Saibaba was opposed by the Shirdi Saibaba temple trust and the locals who protested with an indefinite bandh on Sunday. The bandh was called off late Sunday evening ahead of a scheduled meeting on Monday with Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. This isnt the first time that a controversy has erupted over this popular saints birthplace. In 2005, a Shirdi resident had moved a local court to have a public event around Saibaba cancelled. More recently, President Ram Nath Kovinds pursuit of a development project at Pathri with the previous state government evoked opposition from locals in Shirdi. This pilgrim town with a population of 40,000 is one of the richest religious destinations in India with the Saibaba temple at the centre of its overall economic growth. Located in Ahmednagar district, this town in Maharashtra attracts hundreds, if not thousands of devotees on any given day. It has single-handedly contributed to Shirdis financial growth and the locals have been the biggest beneficiaries. Although Shirdis Saibaba temple trust is controlled by the state, the circulation of money in the hands of the residents here, thanks to the constant flow of devotees from the northern and southern parts of the country, has made the locals prosperous. The opposition to Pathris proposed development by the state government needs to be viewed in this context. Pathari is a small town in the backward Parbhani district of Marathwada, about 250 km from Shirdi. It is shorn of basic facilities and the locals have been demanding the development of their town as Saibabas birthplace and therefore, a prominent pilgrim centre. Their hope is that the latest announcement by the state government will boost spiritual tourism here. The people of Shirdi fear they will lose out on tourism if Pathri is developed, said Nationalist Congress Partys Legislative Council member, Babajani Durrani, also a trustee of Pathris Saibaba temple trust. Tourism has contributed immensely to Shirdis overall growth with the town getting an airport, rail connectivity, financial institutions, hotels and other infrastructure. Once developed, Pathri could emerge as a competitor to Shirdi and develop on similar lines, something that worries Shirdi locals, says Durrani. Historians say there is no credible record about Saibabas birthplace. All that we know based on books written on Saibaba is that the saint appeared in Shirdi and decided to make this town his karma bhoomi (the centre of his humanitarian work), said Shirdis Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA and former minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil. Even as Patil rejected local economic interests as the reason for Shirdis opposition to Pathari, the fact is that theres politics also at play. Most of those opposed to the Thackeray governments decision to develop Pathari are from the Shiv Senas former ally BJP. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON [January 20, 2020] Pyxus' Indirect Subsidiary FIGR Expands Cannabis Product Line MORRISVILLE, N.C., Jan. 20, 2020 /CNW/ -- Pyxus International, Inc. (NYSE: PYX), a global value-added agricultural company, is pleased to announce that its wholly-owned indirect subsidiary Figr Brands, Inc. has launched a line of THC vape products in the Canadian marketplace. The line includes a vaping device and pods designed exclusively for the device. The launch of the product line follows the phase two implementation of Canada's recreational cannabis legalization process, frequently referenced as Cannabis 2.0. "The Canadian government's green light for derivative cannabis products, including vape, presents the opportunity for Figr to progress its product diversification in order to meet the growing demand for high-quality, adult-use cannabis products," said Pyxus President, CEO and Chairman Pieter Sikkel. "The launch of Figr's new products is particularly timely, as the company continues to expand its footprint across Canada." The production of Figr's vape pods is tracked from seed-to-sale by SENTRI?, Pyxus' proprietary track-and-trace platform. Data collected in the platform documents the product's supply chain journey, and can be shared with the consumer, helping to elevate transparency and ensure quality. Figr's THC vape products will be available fo sale through e-commerce channels and select Canadian retail locations, initially launching in Ontario followed by additional provinces as regulation and distribution permits. About Pyxus International Inc. Pyxus International Inc. (NYSE:PYX) is a global agricultural company with more than 145 years' experience delivering value-added products and services to businesses and customers. Driven by a united purposeto transform people's lives, so that together we can grow a better worldPyxus International, its subsidiaries and affiliates, are trusted providers of responsibly sourced, independently verified, sustainable and traceable products and ingredients. For more information, visit www.pyxus.com. About Figr Brands, Inc. Figr is a vertically integrated legal cannabis company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, that operates under one sole purpose: to put character into everything it does. Figr cannabis is sourced from the company's two licensed subsidiaries located in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, and Simcoe, Ontario. Figr is a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Pyxus International, Inc. (NYSE: PYX). For more information, visit www.figr.com. About SENTRI? SENTRI is a traceability platform that combines technology, people and processes to provide insight into a product's source-to-market journey. SENTRI is a proprietary tool designed and maintained by Pyxus International, Inc. (NYSE: PYX), a global agricultural company with more than 145 years of experience delivering value-added products and services to businesses and customers. View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pyxus-indirect-subsidiary-figr-expands-cannabis-product-line-300989347.html SOURCE Pyxus International, Inc. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 20) Schools in Cavite are ready to accommodate students displaced by the Taal Volcano eruption, the provincial governor said Monday. I've given instructions already that children in evacuation areas be absorbed into the school system during this time, Cavite Governor Jonvic Remulla told CNN Philippines The Source. We are open to accommodating anyone, he added. Remulla said a school identification card would suffice, and students need not present other documentation such as transcripts, especially if these were left at home. The Education Department previously said the January 12 eruption has affected over 2.4 million students. Three days after the eruption, Education Secretary Leonor Briones signed a memorandum directing public schools to accept displaced students from Calabarzon. The memorandum directs educational institutions to accept emergency transferees even with the unavailability or insufficiency of required transfer credentials. The departments Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Service Director Roni Co said officials are thinking of deploying teachers to affected communities and evacuation centers. Pwede tayong mag-deploy ng mga teachers natin doon kung kinakailangan po, Co told CNN Philippines Newsroom Ngayon. [Translation: We can deploy teachers there if needed.] Yun pong mga libro, meron na tayong naibaba na mga libro sa iba't ibang divisions na pwedeng ma-pull para maibigay sa mga batang nailikas, she added. [Translation: For the books, we have pulled out materials from different divisions that can be given to the displaced children.] As of Sunday evening, around 42,000 individuals are stayin in Cavite's evacuation centers, Remulla said. MARQUETTE, MICH. There are only a couple chances each year to witness this photogenic U.P. phenomenon. Every January and November, right around the 20th of the month, the sun moves into the perfect position to rise from the Lake Superior horizon while framed by Marquettes historic Lower Harbor Ore Dock. The event has been nicknamed Orehenge, and its such a spectacle that it usually draws a small crowd. Some locals even schedule it on their calendars. Theres always a few days in a row where the angles are just right to produce this little Michigan miracle and right now is the right time. Unfortunately for the 25 or so people who showed up at the ore dock this morning, todays sunrise was obscured by a cloud bank. But Marquette native Bugsy Sailor, who became a self-made sunrise expert after photographing every single sunrise of 2019, says theres a chance tomorrow, January 21st, might deliver. When the clouds cooperate, its a spectacular scene. And when they dont? Its still a great excuse to get outside, Sailor says. If this is what gets people out in the morning, then Im all for it, said Sailor, who has brought coffee and hot chocolate for the sunrise-seekers on some previous Orehenge mornings. Its a fun thing to take delight in, and a cool thing to see. Constructed during the early 20th-century heyday of the Upper Peninsula mining boom, the Lower Harbor Ore Dock is a striking and often-photographed landmark along Marquettes Lake Superior shoreline. On the blog for his company, U.P. Supply Co., Sailor said 8 a.m. is the best time to get to the ore dock to catch the sunrise, which right now is around 8:26 a.m. In January youll likely have to climb a snowbank to see it, but its worth it, he said. Its such an iconic thing in Marquette, he said. This ore dock is something thats photographed every day, all year round, by everybody coming to town. The fact that the sun does actually shine all the way through twice a year its pretty cool. RELATED: This U.P. photographer has photographed every single sunrise of 2019 The sun peeks through the perfect frame of Marquette's historic Lower Harbor Ore Dock. Photo by Bugsy Sailor, Upper Peninsula Supply Co. Poppy cultivation has increased manifold in Arunachal Pradesh, prompting the state government to take multi-pronged approaches to tackle the menace, a senior official said. The state government's multi-disciplinary coordination committee headed by Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar has decided to form anti-drug squads up to the village level while destruction of poppy crops has also increased, Oli Koyu, state nodal officer of Narcotics Cell said. Over 4,000 acres of poppy crops were destroyed in the state in 2018-19 while the corresponding numbers in 2017-18 and 2016-17 were 5,000 and 2,500 acres respectively, he said, quoting Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) reports. He said over 3,000 acres of poppy crops were destroyed in Namsai district alone in 2017-18. NCB data says that less than 400 acres of poppy crops were destroyed in the state in 2012-13 while the number shot up to 1,222 acres in 2013-14 and 1,067 acres in 2014-15. It says that of 2,530 acres of poppy crops destroyed across the country in 2014-15, Arunachal Pradesh accounts for more than 40 per cent. Koyu said Chowkham and Wakro circles in Namsai district, Hayuliang, Hawai and Chaglagam in Anjaw; Pongsao and Laju in Tirap and Wakka and Pongsa in Longding district were the most affected by poppy cultivation. He said the district anti-drug squads will be headed by the deputy superintendents of police and will comprise an executive magistrate, a narcotic and excise inspector, a forest range officer, horticulture and agriculture officers and police personnel. Speaking about nexus of the drug trade with insurgency, Koyu recalled how his vehicle was surrounded by armed militants who shot rounds in the air while he was on the way to destroy poppy crops in Laju circle in Tirap district in 2017. Koyu said Tirap district Deputy Commissioner P N Thungon and security forces had rescued him then. He said that insurgent groups are also involved in the sale of drugs to fund their activities. Arunachal Pradesh shares border with Myanmar which is part of the golden triangle of opium and heroin production with Laos and Thailand. The state government has taken a zero-tolerance approach with drug abusers and is also mooting alternative crops for poppy growers in nine of the worst-affected districts, Koyu said. After learning that several teachers have become drug addicts, the chief secretary has directed the education secretary to evolve a comprehensive action plan to free all institutes from drug menace, he said. Five detoxification centres would be upgraded to full-fledged rehabilitation centres and a meeting would be held in this regard soon, Koyu added. Cultivation, sale and consumption of opium are offences under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Security at Kyiv synagogues is not as tough as abroad since Jews are not in danger in Ukraine, says the president. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has stressed the lowest level of antisemitism in Ukraine among European countries. "We have very interesting statistical information that will be very interesting for Israel. There is a published Pew Research Center poll from 2018 that assessed the level of antisemitism in Europe. And the lowest level of antisemitism was in Ukraine," he said in an interview with The Times of Israel. Zelensky drew attention to the fact that security at Kyiv synagogues is not as tough as in other places since Jews are not in danger in Ukraine. "And you know that I have Jewish blood. And I'm president," he said. Read alsoAntisemitism accusations by Israel "groundless" MFA Ukraine "Nobody cares. Nobody asks me about it. Of course, in Ukraine, like everywhere in the world, now and in the past, there is some percent of people who don't see anyone else except their nation. The same happened during the Second World War, and during the occupation by fascist Germany of Ukraine. The same kind of complicated attitude was demonstrated to Jewish people during Soviet times. We all know this. But right now we also know perfectly well that the lowest level of antisemitism is in Ukraine," the president said. "We are very proud of the fact that we have such a low level of antisemitism such a low level of antisemitism in independent Ukraine, which started its life in 1991," Zelensky said, adding that there is a certain share of "radical people" but it is "very small". "And that is why I'm not afraid [of any resistance to our Holocaust memorial plans]," Zelensky added. By Delana Isles THE TCI Government has a legal obligation to consider more than 200 Belongership applications from 2016 to 2019, whether or not the ordinance is repealed, the premier has stated. Her message came after amendments to the Turks and Caicos Islander Status Ordinance, which validated applications from 2018 and 2019, were debated furiously in the House of Assembly. The amendment bill sparked massive controversy in the House on January 6 with many members joining the call for the principal ordinance to be repealed and reviewed. The heated debate went on for hours, following which the bill was passed with nine Government members voting yes, one not voting, all seven Opposition members voting no, and the two governors appointed members voting yes. Now four years worth of applications, including those from 2016 and 2017 which have not yet been assessed, are waiting for review by the Turks and Caicos Islander Status Commission. But this cannot take place immediately, as two Opposition appointed members have still not accepted their roles with the commission, bringing the matter to a stalemate. Legal obligation to review In her wrap up of the bill, Premier Sharlene Cartwright Robinson observed that the House appeared to be losing its way with the bill and confusing the populace as a result. "I see some members of the House are confused about it, but I think the people of the House are more confused about what this amendment bill says. She stated that the Opposition members are so adamant in their arguments on the bill for the ordinance to be repealed, yet the document before the House is not one that can legally give effect to what they are calling for. "I cant understand how something so simple could become so blurred. We have put in place a piece of legislation in 2016, we did not appoint the commission but we accepted applications in 2016, we accepted applications in 2017 in 2018 and 2019, what will a repeal do to applications that have been accepted? Nothing. "We cant go back, we have a legal obligation, the PNP Government accepted it, we came in and we accepted it, so there is a legal obligation. Repeal, it wont do away with applications in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. She said it is time the members on the Opposition get that fact straight and stop confusing the country. "We can repeal it tomorrow, but we still have to deal with the applications, so tell the people the truth. The premier then addressed her previous objections to the ordinance, which many of the members pointed out. "In 2015, the former Government in which the leader of the Opposition is a former minister of finance passed the bill called the TCI Status Commission, the bill became law, but nothing was in place to give it its full effect. She stated that even though the commission was not set up, the obligation to consider applications did not disappear. "The Government legally cannot refuse to consider these applications because it still is law and it was law when we received the applications. Thats the bottom line. The commissions work Late last year, the PNP called for the resignation of their members, who were appointed by the PNP leader in September. Those members are Ricardo Donhue Gardiner and Selvyn Hawkins. The Weekly News can confirm that neither has accepted the appointments approved by Governor Nigel Dakin, as such a quorum does not exist, which essentially means that the commission is not fully constituted and cannot meet. This development means that even though the amendments were passed and all is set for the applications to be considered, the Government cannot move forward with the commissions work without the Oppositions appointees. The other members of the commission are Paul Harvey as chairman, Patrease Thomas and Barbara Hamilton, the latter two being Government appointed members. The final member of the commission is Attorney General Rhondalee Braithwaite-Knowles or a representative from her office. Sakera Cook was appointed secretary to the body. All of the members were confirmed by the governor. The commission is mandated by law to review - after the first day of January each year - applications for the grant of Islander status, make recommendations to the governor for the grant of Islander status, which recommendation shall be made in writing not later than October 31 of each year; and make recommendations for revocation of Islander status to the governor. The body falls under the scope of the Ministry of Immigration, Citizenship, Labour and Employment Services. The commission will oversee a system whereby Turks and Caicos Islander status is granted to people who are not native, other than by marriage. Across Ontario, the shadow of the Progressive Conservative governments massive education cuts loomed over the start of the school year. Students are already being forced to forge an education in the midst of reckless cuts. And although the repercussions will inevitably bring harm to those currently employed by the education system, the fallout will ultimately be felt by Ontarios students. The PC government wished to save money on the education file and recklessly followed the easiest path they could forge: increasing class sizes, reducing the number of teachers and cutting funding in a range of areas. All from a premier who dropped out of college. Its clear that these cuts are an injustice across the board, but how are these cuts going to harm students? First off, with over 10,000 teachers being let go over a five-year period, class sizes will grow dramatically, with many holding up to 40 students, despite Fords promise that not one teacher would lose their job and that class sizes would only increase from 22 to 28 students. With class sizes rising, its inevitable that teachers will give less attention and support to each individual. Many teachers will be forced to teach stacked classes, resulting in students receiving less structured teaching time and being forced to comprehend a compressed curriculum. Cuts are also being made to Learning Opportunities Grants, making it more likely student success will dwindle. With fewer teachers, many elective courses, ranging from the arts to STEM are being cancelled. This will be especially dreadful for senior students who have established career pathways and are being forced to take courses that dont correlate with their interests simply to fill up their timetable. Another issue is the requirement students complete two online courses in order to graduate, inevitably leaving countless students behind. Students who arent motivated, who dont have parental support, and who dont have access to adequate devices or the internet will struggle. Not to mention 95 per cent of students feel mandatory e-learning is a bad idea. Finally, as teachers begin to take necessary job action, another array of issues open up. Under work-to-rule, extracurriculars and extra help programs will be cancelled. Everyday a one-day strike takes place, a day of instruction is lost. As exams inch closer for secondary school students, the stakes rise. Both Premier Ford and Education Minister Lecce continue to make announcement after announcement in attempts to persuade the public that all is well on Ontarios education file. This couldnt be further from the truth. Under the Progressive Conservative government, Ontarios once renowned education system is being degraded. The cuts will force students to forge an education from the ruins of what once was. This in turn will lead to dwindling graduation rates, which will lessen the quality of life for Ontarians in the long term. Railway engineering has come a long way from Richard Trevithicks first steam locomotive to todays high speed Maglev trains. Throughout this long history spanning more than two hundred years, engineers have come up with all sorts of ideas. Some of these were groundbreaking. Others were implausible and wacky. William Bruntons Mechanical Traveller or Steam Horse falls into the second category. William Brunton was born in 1777 at Lochwinnoch, in Scotland. His father had a watch and clock making shop where he had his first training as a mechanic. At the age of 13, he started work as a fitter at New Lanark Cotton Mills on the River Clyde, but six years later, he migrated south and found employment under the steam pioneer James Watt at the Boulton & Watt Soho Foundry in Birmingham. By 1802 he had risen to superintendent of the engine department. In 1808, Brunton joined the Butterley Works of Benjamin Outram and William Jessop in Derbyshire to manage its expanding engine factory. He made acquaintances with many distinguished engineers of the time, such as John Rennie and Thomas Telford. In 1813, while at Butterley, Brunton designed a very ingenious walking locomotive called Mechanical Traveller or Steam Horse for use on the company's mining conveyor at Crich. The locomotive had four wheels that ran on rails, and was driven by a pair of mechanical legs that gripped the rails at the rear of the engine to push it forward the same way a man would push a cart uphill. Although a locomotive with two walking legs looked ridiculous, the idea had merit. Brunton thought that iron wheels running on iron rails wouldn't generate enough traction needed to haul heavy loads at the limestone quarry at Crich, where the gradient was 1 in 50. The legs were added to overcome this. The prototype worked well for two years at Butterley, pulling limestone blocks at three miles an hour. Burton built a second and larger Steam Horse for the Newbottle colliery, where it worked against a gradient of 1 in 36 all through the winter of 1814. Brunton's machine, however, never got beyond the experimental state. In 1815, during a demonstration in Philadelphia, County Durham, England, the boiler blew up, killing and wounding several of the bystanders. This was the first recorded boiler explosion in history and the first railway accident causing major loss of life. The horrific accident put a pall on the enthusiasm for the Steam Horse, and Brunton moved on to concentrate on other engineering ideas. Bruntons name is not well known, but he did make many important contribution to engineering. Brunton played a large part in the adoption of steam in navigation. He made some of the first engines used on the Humber and the Trent, and some of the earliest on the Mersey, including those for the vessel which first plied on the Liverpool ferries in 1814. He fitted out the Sir Francis Drake at Plymouth in 1824, the first steamer that ever took a man-of-war in tow. In the course of his career, Brunton took out nine patents in all. His calciner was in widespread use in the Cornish tin mining industry and in the silver mines of Mexico. His fan regulator was also one of his most valuable invention. As the 2016 presidential election demonstrates, U.S. election systems from the voting machines themselves to internet-connected electronic pollbooks (e-pollbooks) are vulnerable to cyberattacks, including from foreign governments seeking to undermine the integrity of our democracy. Connecticut recently found that e-pollbooks are not completely secure and could be vulnerable to cyberattacks that disenfranchise voters. Ahead of the 2020 presidential election, it is essential that Connecticut make these results widely known, so other state and local governments can take necessary precautions. Earlier this year, Connecticut Secretary of State Denise Merrill chose not to give funding she already had received for e-pollbooks to local jurisdictions after the University of Connecticuts Center for Voting Technology Research (VoTeR Center) reviewed proposals from three vendors and found that none of them was sufficiently secure. This development is remarkable not only in light of the nationwide trend towards adopting e-pollbooks, but it also reflects a complete reversal by Merrill, who secured funding for the e-pollbooks in 2015 because she initially thought they would be more accurate and less work than paper pollbooks. Merrill is now concerned that election officials have acquired the technology too quickly and that there has not been a sufficient consideration of the risks and benefits of e-pollbooks. There are no national security standards for e-pollbooks, so security practices vary across states, and most states do not have university partnerships like Connecticut to help conduct intensive certification and testing of their voting equipment, including their e-pollbooks. Connecticut needs to proactively share its electronic pollbook test certification protocols and as much of its e-pollbook testing results as possible with the public, election officials in other states and federal agencies that assist with election security. This will help ensure that jurisdictions using and considering the purchase of e-pollbooks can better secure them ahead of the 2020 elections. In January 2014, the Presidential Commission on Election Administration strongly recommended that jurisdictions transition from paper poll books printed versions of voters rolls, often organized alphabetically or by address to e-pollbooks, citing a number of benefits. These included the ability to more quickly and accurately locate a voters information, confirm the voters registration status and provide the voter a proper ballot. Unfortunately, the PCEA focused relatively little on the potential costs associated with e-pollbooks, including questions about their security and reliability. During the 2016 presidential election, for example, e-pollbook malfunctions caused long lines and confusion in Durham County, N.C. The company that provided the e-pollbooks was the same one that then-special Counsel Robert Mueller said Russian government operatives breached in 2016, though there is no evidence the two incidents were linked. In the 2018 midterm elections, Johnson County, Ind.s e-pollbooks performed very slowly, in large part because the vendor in charge of maintaining the poll books did not provide enough internet bandwidth for the e-pollbooks on Election Day. An investigation by Indianas Voting System Technical Oversight Program found that the e-pollbook problems seriously disrupted the voting process in Johnson County, Ind. and may also have impacted voter confidence. Despite these challenges, an increasing number of election jurisdictions have decided to purchase them for their benefits and take steps to mitigate their risks. As NYUs Brennan Center for Justice noted, there are a number of steps elections officials can and are taking to counter cybersecurity risks to their e-pollbooks, including limiting connectivity to wireless networks as much as possible and using encrypted communications between pollbooks. Many election officials are also taking actions to ensure they can recover quickly from a successful e-pollbook attack. Some jurisdictions have paper pollbooks ready to use in case the e-pollbooks malfunction, while others have provisional ballots for voters to use in case the backup paper pollbooks contain errors or are unavailable. Connecticut has extensive expertise in conducting certification and testing of voting equipment. The secretary of the states office partners with the VoTeR Center to assist with technical reviews, testing and research on the voting equipment certification process and the development of standards to protect the equipments integrity. As Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden noted in a November 19 letter to Merrill, If the University of Connecticuts evaluations were troubling enough to prevent you from recommending electronic poll books for your state, it is essential that officials in other states can review these reports so they can assess the risks posed by insecure electronic poll books to their own elections. If Merrill has additional information that justifies a different approach to evaluating the security of electronic poll books, it is incumbent on her to share it, starting with the test results from the three vendors and a copy of the states test protocols. The integrity of our 2020 elections could depend on it. David Levine is an elections integrity fellow for the Alliance for Securing Democracy. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 20 By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend: Turkeys export of chemical products to Turkmenistan increased by 36.1 percent from January through December 2019 compared to the same period of 2018, and amounted to $131.6 million, Turkeys Ministry of Trade told Trend on Jan. 20. In December 2019, Turkeys export of chemical products to Turkmenistan increased by 50.1 percent compared to December 2018, and reached $9.6 million, a source in the ministry said. Export of chemistry products from Turkey increased by 18 percent in 2019 compared to 2018, amounting to $26 billion or to 11.4 percent of countrys total export. Turkeys export of chemical products increased by 20.5 percent in December 2019 compared to the same month of 2018, reaching $1.8 billion or to 11.8 percent countrys total export. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu AN 88-year-old woman is approaching the 80-hour mark as she waits for a bed on a trolley in the emergency department (ED) in University Hospital Galway. The elderly woman was brought to the ED of the hospital on Thursday evening, January 16, at approximately 9.30pm by ambulance. As of Monday afternoon, the woman has been admitted but is still waiting to be assigned a bed and is approaching the 80th hour of her wait. Speaking on Joe Duffys Liveline on RTE Radio One, the womans daughter Anna explained how they were told that the hospital was chock-a-block. My mum is 88 and in frail health. Were here as of now, as of this moment, still, she said. We were seen fairly quickly and assessed and all that, and admitted a while afterwards, but were admitted with no bed. There were no beds in the hospital. We were told the hospital was chock-a-block, there were no beds. Anna said that her mother has no privacy on the trolley and has been sleeping very poorly, as its very noisy on the trolley. When we came in first [the trolley] was in beside the door. There are no cubicles or youre separated by curtains and mostly there arent many curtains, so youre right beside the person next to you, and youre listening to their diagnosis and listening to doctors talking to them. Its one big chaotic melting point where nobody has a voice and nobody is seen, just chaotic, she added. Her elderly mother has been in and out of hospital a good few times over the last several years and Anna said that there is no possibility she can go home. I feel that this situation is a violation of human rights, said Anna. Theyve mentioned a bed earlier on today now but it still hasnt surfaced. She described the chaotic conditions at the ED. Its wedged in there, its completely packed out, theres no room, its unsafe, its unhealthy, she said. Its just very chaotic. There is no privacy there, mostly youre just beside the person next to you and theres no separating curtain theres no cubicle, you could be up at the door. Anna said that she is a jaded carer and has taken turns with her extended family members in caring for her mother since she entered the hospital last Thursday night. In a statement to Independent.ie, Galway University Hospital said that it regrets that any patient, especially older patients should have to wait for admission to a hospital ward. We have specific staff assigned to care for patients who are in the ED awaiting a hospital bed on a ward; the patients continue to receive care from these staff until they can safely transfer to the appropriate hospital ward for their on-going care, the statement reads. It added that it is seeing high volumes of patients at the ED. The hospital is currently seeing high volumes of patients presenting to the ED, particularly medical patients, who need to be admitted for ongoing care and treatment. We apologise for the distress and inconvenience caused to patients and their families who are currently experiencing long wait times, the statement concludes. In a statement, the Department of Health said that upholding patient dignity and respect values "is very important" to the department and that it is "seeking specific details on the case raised". "The Department of Health is engaging extensively with the HSE to identify mitigating actions to bring down trolley numbers and waiting times in the ED and has requested a number of actions for Galway University Hospital, which is experiencing significant difficulties over the last number of weeks," the statement read. It added that winter funding is being used to "relieve demand for ED services, support discharge and other initiatives to help hospitals deal with the challenges associated with Winter." "Specifically, the funding will support access to the Fair Deal scheme and the availability of home care, transitional care, aids and appliances and other local actions to both facilitate timely hospital discharge and reduce congestion in EDs over the winter period," the statement added. "In addition, the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) has agreed to support the funding of additional beds for three months over the winter period. This initiative will support the commitment by the HSE and the Department of Health to alleviate winter pressures." The criminal police unit under the Ministry of Public Security on Sunday launched a criminal investigation against a woman for running a prostitution ring implicating many university students in Hanoi. Tran Thi Binh, 34, who hails from the northern province of Ninh Binh, worked at a nail salon in neighboring Thanh Hoa Province and often agreed to have sex with her customers for money. With contacts of all her past sex clients, Binh began to work as a pimp, connecting sex buyers and good-looking students at universities and colleges in Hanoi who needed money. To mitigate risks, Binh only took calls from her saved contacts and would only do business with new clients through recommendations. In late December 2019, Binh brokered sex between three prostitutes and customers in Hanoi for the price of VND8 million (US$350) each. Each prostitute was paid VND5 million ($215) while Binh pocketed the remaining VND9 million ($405). The three pairs were having sex at a hotel in Hanoi on December 29 when police officers raided the establishment and caught them red-handed. According to investigators, Binh is divorced and owes about VND1 billion ($43,000) to several people due to her past gambling activities. The case has been handed over to Hanoi police for an expanded investigation. Pimping is a criminal offense in Vietnam punishable by between six months and 15 years in prison. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! 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. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 22:01:58|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- China's Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) on Monday called for effective protection of juvenile victims' lawful rights and interests in handling crimes. The SPP required prosecuting authorities to avoid improper or repeated inquiries, which may lead to secondary injury to juvenile victims. Local-level prosecuting organs should provide "one-stop" inquiry and case-handling services for juveniles in all prefecture-level cities to reduce secondary injury by the end of 2020, it said. Procuratorates should improve their capabilities to perform their duties and put the legal protection into effect, said the SPP. TAGAYTAY, Philippines Government authorities will no longer allow villagers to return to a crater-studded island where an erupting volcano lies, warning that living there would be like having a gun pointed at you. Taal volcano has simmered with smaller ash ejections in recent days after erupting on Jan. 12 with a huge plume of steam and ash that drifted northward and reached Manila, the capital, about 40 miles away. While the volcano remains dangerous, with large numbers of local villagers encamped in emergency shelters, officials have begun discussing post-eruption recovery. Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano said officials in Batangas province, where the volcano is located, have been asked to look for a safer housing area for about 6,000 families that used to live in four villages and worked mostly as tourist guides, farmers and fish pen operators on Volcano Island. The new housing site should be at least 10 miles away from the restive volcano to be safe, he said. They lived on the volcano itself with 47 craters. Thats really dangerous. Its like having a gun pointed at you, Renato Solidum, the head of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, told the Associated Press. The island has long been declared by the government as a national park thats off-limits to permanent villages. The governments volcano-monitoring agency has separately declared the island a permanent danger zone, but impoverished villagers have lived and worked there for decades. We have to enforce these regulations once and for all because their lives are at stake, Ano said Sunday, adding that closely regulated tourism work could eventually be allowed on the island without letting residents live there permanently. 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. President Rodrigo Duterte has approved a recommendation for the island to be turned into a no mans land, but he has yet to issue formal guidelines. After an initial visit last week, Duterte plans to return to hard-hit Batangas province on Monday to check conditions of displaced villagers, Ano said. Although its one of the worlds smallest volcanoes, the 1,020-foot-high Taal is the second most-active of 24 restive Philippine volcanoes. The volcanology agency has placed Taal and outlying cities and towns at alert level 4, the second-highest warning, indicating a more dangerous explosive eruption is possible within hours or days. Aaron Favila and Jim Gomez are Associated Press writers. OTTAWACanadas ambassador to China, Dominic Barton, will be among the first witnesses to testify before a new special parliamentary committee created to examine Canadas fraught relationship with China. The committee held its first meeting Monday, largely a planning session, and MPs from all parties agreed it was essential to hear from Barton, despite some minor differences of opinion on the timing. Eventually, they agreed he would testify before Feb. 7. Conservatives are pushing for an earlier appearance because Barton will be in Houston next Tuesday. Barton was a high-powered business consultant who was named in September to Canadas top diplomatic post in Beijing to help repair Canadas shredded diplomatic and economic relations with China. Opposition parties have flexed their collective muscles to push for answers from the new Liberal minority government as the Chinese imprisonment of two Canadians by the Peoples Republic enters its second year. The committee is the result of a Conservative motion passed in December that was supported by opposition parties in the minority Parliament. Conservative deputy leader Leona Alleslev said Barton told her in an email that he is ready and willing to testify. She said it was important that he testify first because he could help the committee understand the governments strategy towards China. Its such a critical witness, she told the committee. Alleslev said Barton could help the committee understand what the lay of the land is from Canadas man on the ground, as they say. Liberal MP Rob Oliphant, the parliamentary secretary to the minister of foreign affairs, said government MPs on the committee realize the importance of Barton testifying, but he initially suggested that a briefing from officials at Global Affairs Canada would better set the table for MPs. We will operate in good faith, he told reporters before the meeting. We have Canadian lives at stake, and were going to take that very seriously. Thirteen months ago, China detained two Canadian citizens, Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, who remain imprisoned without access to lawyers or their families. The move has been widely seen as retaliation for Canadas arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou at the behest of the United States, which wants to extradite her on fraud charges related to U.S. sanctions against Iran. The motion that created the committee authorized it to order Barton, as well as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne and Public Safety Minister Bill Blair to appear as witnesses from time to time as the committee sees fit. Conservative foreign affairs critic Erin OToole said in December the committee will work to address Canadas current diplomatic dispute with China and help develop a specialized approach to easing the bilateral challenges between the two nations. The all-party Canada-China relations committee convened Monday afternoon to deal mainly with a series of procedural issues, and the subject of Bartons testimony took up a good portion of the discussion. The meeting coincided with start of Mengs extradition hearing in Vancouver. Earlier Monday, Chinas Foreign Ministry reiterated its call for Canada to release Meng. The U.S. and Canada abused their bilateral extradition treaty and arbitrarily took compulsory measures against a Chinese citizen without cause, said spokesman Geng Shuang, according to translated remarks on his ministrys website. This is entirely a serious political incident that grossly violates the legitimate rights and interests of the Chinese citizen. Meng is free on bail and living in one of her two multimillion-dollar homes in Vancouver. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said Monday that the well-being and release of Kovrig and Spavor is a clear priority for the Liberal government. That is at the heart of all the work we are doing and rightly so, she said in Winnipeg, where she was attending the Liberal cabinet retreat. Freeland also defended the Liberal governments handling of the Meng case. Our government has been clear that we are a rule of law country and that we honour our extradition treaty commitments, she said. That is what we need to do and that is what we will do. Read more about: (Bloomberg) -- Alphabet Inc.s chief executive officer urged the U.S. and European Union to coordinate regulatory approaches on artificial intelligence, calling their alignment critical. In a rare public speech in Brussels at an event hosted by European economic think tank Bruegel on Monday, Sundar Pichai, who is also CEO of Google, said there is no question in my mind that artificial intelligence needs to be regulated, but that we dont have to start from scratch with entirely new rules in some cases. The comments come weeks before the EU is set to unveil its plans to legislate the technology, which could include new legally binding requirements for AI developers in high-risk sectors, such as healthcare and transport, according to an early draft obtained by Bloomberg. The new rules could require companies to be transparent about how they build their systems. While in Brussels, Pichai is also due to meet with Margrethe Vestager, the competition chief responsible for more than 8 billion euros ($8.9 billion) of antitrust fines levied against Google. In addition to competition, she now also oversees the blocs digital policies, including the plans to legislate AI.Alphabet has battled intense regulatory pressure in Europe for years. The search giant is challenging the EUs multi-billion-dollar antitrust fines and has sought to fight off copyright and other forms of platform regulation emanating from Brussels in recent years.The Google chief cautiously welcomed plans for rules that take a proportionate approach, balancing potential harms with social opportunities.Facial recognition technology and so-called deep fakes-- or manipulated audio and video clips -- are two areas where AI could be used destructively, and companies have a responsibility to get this right, Pichai said. He said Google has released open datasets to help researchers build better tools to detect fakes and that it has chosen not to offer general-purpose facial recognition application programming interfaces. Story continues Pichai touted the companys recent developments in AI, including a Google Health algorithm that can spot breast cancer more accurately than doctors and other research for accurately predicting the weather as well as advancements by its self-driving car unit, Waymo. The Google chief said existing rules like Europes privacy legislation GDPR and regulation for medical devices like AI-assisted heart monitors would serve as strong foundations for governing AI in some areas, but that for self-driving cars, governments would need to establish regulations.But Google has also come under intense criticism over how it handles users privacy with some of its AI projects. Google faces a U.S. federal inquiry after the Wall Street Journal in November reported how it collects the health-care data from millions of Americans to design new AI software. Its also facing scrutiny over the methods it uses for training algorithms that run Google Assistant. To contact the reporter on this story: Natalia Drozdiak in Brussels at ndrozdiak1@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Giles Turner at gturner35@bloomberg.net, Amy Thomson 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. Reach key decision makers with sales-ready leads that shorten your sales process. Move the needle by delivering funnel qualified leads to your sales team. Learn more Apples Intelligent Tracking Prevention feature has made it difficult for online advertisers to use cookies to target Safari users based on their browsing habits, according to The Information, which cited data from The Rubicon Project. Third-party cookies serve as the foundation for almost all advertising use cases, noted Jordan Mitchell, head of consumer privacy, identity and data at the IAB Tech Lab. The blocking negatively affects the ability for brands to target audiences, and therefore the revenue earned by website properties, he told the E-Commerce Times. I think much of what were seeing is specifically focused on advertising retargeting and clamping down on the bad actors who are leveraging tracking techniques to execute more bad spray-and-pray tactics pretending to be personalization, suggested Constellation Research Principal Analyst Liz Miller. Serving me an ad that shows me the shoes I bought yesterday now, for a lower price, doesnt enhance the customer experience or foster trust and loyalty among customers, but it sure moves targeted ad units, she told the E-Commerce Times. The Scourge of Advertisers Safari users tend to be more affluent, and thus more attractive to users. Safari claimed nearly 53 percent of the mobile browser market in the U.S. last month, while Google Chromes share was about 40 percent. Only about 9 percent of iPhone Safari users allowed outside companies to track their activity on the Web, versus 79 percent of Google Chrome browser users, Nativo told The Information. Blocking tracking cookies has sent ad prices on Safari falling by more than 60 percent. Meanwhile, the cost of ads on the Google Chrome browser has risen slightly. However, Apple is not alone in blocking tracking cookies. Firefoxs Enhanced Tracking Protection blocks third-party cookies by default. Microsoft announced it will do the same with its Edge browser; and Google will add cookie blocking controls to its Chrome browser. This news of more hurdles and roadblocks to profit and margin isnt good for ad agencies, media firms and publishers, Constellations Miller remarked. Ad units are shrinking while ad costs are increasing by as much as 6 percent, so everything could start costing more. A D V E R T I S E M E N T That said, focusing on first-party data the data gleaned after getting permission from consumers is becoming more and more important to both advertisers and pubishers, observed Constellation Research Principal Analyst Nicole France. Apple, FireFox, and Microsoft have all figured out that their browser users expect to have better data privacy and protection, she told the E-Commerce Times. Successful businesses are starting to come to the same conclusion. Alternatives to Cookie Tracking Personalization will remain a key issue for both advertisers and the ad industry. Members of the Association of National Advertisers selected personalization as the ANA 2019 marketing word of the year. However, marketers should use caution with their personalization strategies and tactics because they might not be well received by consumers, advised the ANA, and because some believe that more personalization does not necessarily provide a better experience. Advertisers are turning from tracking cookies to contextual advertising and other technologies. Large-scale blocking of cookies, without a privacy-forward alternative for the industry, further undermines consumer privacy and results in unintended consequences, the IAB Tech Labs Mitchell cautioned. For example, its encouraged misdirected innovation around more opaque tracking techniques such as fingerprinting, which cannot be detected or controlled by the consumer, or used in ways that preserve and respect their privacy choices, he pointed out. Browser fingerprinting tracks Web browsers by the configuration and settings information they offer websites, creating profiles of consumers based on various factors. It is difficult to detect and thwart. If advertisers move to platforms such as Facebook, Google or Amazon, consumer privacy could take a huge hit. Amazon, Facebook and other platforms collect their own internal data from their customers, regardless of browser, so consumers might end up surrendering more of their online privacy than they might think, noted Keri Rhodes, marketing director at Etailz. A D V E R T I S E M E N T Amazon has seen explosive growth in its ad revenue over the last few years, she told the E-Commerce Times. More companies are taking their own search engine marketing knowledge and moving over to Amazon and Walmart through these companies software solutions. Tokens May Be the New Key The drive to limit tracking is accelerating marketing and advertising towards an alternative of tokenized networks where consumers are given more control over their data and what is shared in exchange for transparent value, Constellations Miller said. Such networks are blockchain-based, and create a trusted connection between advertiser, publisher and user. The IAB Tech Lab has issued a Proposal for Enhanced Accountability, which suggests the use of an encrypted, revocable token for ad delivery that builds consumer privacy into the fabric of the ad ecosystem. We are calling for collaboration across industries to rethink the HTTP cookie as the only technical mechanism available for storing and respecting consumer privacy settings, Mitchell said. Part of getting personalization right means understanding when, where and how to advertise in a way thats useful rather than invasive, France remarked. Thats where thoughtful advertisers and publishers can take the lead. WARNING DISTRESSING CONTENT: A theme park has sparked international outrage after it forced a pig dressed in a cape to bungee jump from a 68-metre tower. Footage of the disturbing stunt at the resort in Chongqing, China, was widely condemned across Chinese social media. The clip shows the pig tied to a metal pole being carried by two men to the top of a tower before being pushed off. The bungee stunt involving a pig has provoked outrage in China and across the world. Source: Pear Video The animal can be heard squealing as it bounced up and down several times before becoming still. Laughter and cheers could be heard from the crowd. The widespread criticism on Chinese sites such as Weibo reflects the growing importance of animal rights among the countrys people. The furore has since prompted the theme park to issue an apology. "We sincerely accept netizens' criticism and advice and apologise to the public," it said. "We will improve [our] marketing of the tourist site to provide tourists with better services." The publicity event which organisers called the golden pig bungee jump was held to celebrate the opening of the theme park's bungee attraction. The pig was very "calm" as it was pulled back up, a cameraman working for the theme park told state news website Global Times. "A pig bungee jumping is odd and attracts tourists and local residents to our site," he said. Incident a wake-up call for China Animal protection organisation Peta condemned the incident, branding it "animal cruelty at its worst". "Pigs experience pain and fear in the same ways that we do, and this disgusting PR stunt should be illegal, Jason Baker, Peta senior vice-president of international campaigns, told the BBC. "The Chinese public's angry response should be a wake-up call to China's policy-makers to implement animal protection laws immediately." According to local reports the animal, which weighed 75kg, was sent to a slaughterhouse afterwards. with AOL 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. Hospitals across the United States are said to have granted Microsoft, Amazon and IBM access to sensitive identifiable medical records. The tech giants are each working with medical centers in Washington, Massachusetts and Minnesota, The Wall Street Journal reports. But the breadth of access was not made immediately clear as the contracts were signed, according to the paper, although there is no suggestion of legal wrongdoing. And it means information from millions of identifiable records could be handed over available as part of the deals to crunch the data. Microsoft is said to be building cancer algorithms with the help of data from Providence Health & Services, which is based Renton, Washington In Boston a deal between IBM and Brigham and Womens Hospital allows the medical center to share data for particular requests, although they are yet to do so Federal privacy laws do allow hospitals to share patient data. Consultant Lisa Bari said: 'Hospitals are massive containers of patient data. The data belongs to whoever has it.' Microsoft is said to be building cancer algorithms with the help of data from Providence Health & Services, which is based Renton, Washington. The doctors notes they are using are said to still contain information which can identify patients. In Boston a deal between IBM and Brigham and Womens Hospital allows the medical center to share data for particular requests, although they are yet to do so. And in Seattle Amazon Web Services have access to individual patient information at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. DailyMail.com has contacted each of the health services and tech giants connected. Microsoft executive Peter Lee said in December the data is still in Providences control. A spokesman for Providence said their actions were 'not intended to mislead'. In a statement to the DailyMail.com they said: 'At Providence, we take data privacy and security with the utmost seriousness. Patients entrust us with their lives and also with their personal health information. 'We view this as a sacred compact and are deeply committed to upholding that trust, especially as health care moves into the digital age.' IBM said: 'Responsible data stewardship is core to our mission.' Brigham and Womens Hospital have not commented publicly on the tech giant's ability to look at identifiable information. Amazon Web Services say that any data protected under federal privacy laws is not used. The US has seen a rise in the percentage of hospitals using electronic health records It comes in the wake of Google's Project Nightingale, alongside leading healthcare company Ascension, to gather millions of Americans' health data without them knowing it. The two companies announced the collaboration in a press release where they revealed that Ascension's data will move onto Google's Cloud platform. Google will now have access to patients' test results, diagnoses and hospitalizations to give them a full digital health history. Neither doctors nor the patients in the 21 states where it will be used had been told about it. The practice is legal under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 which allows hospitals to share patients' medical data with business partners on the condition that it is used to 'help the entity carry out its healthcare functions.' But a whistleblower said that the lack of transparency made many members of the team working on the project uneasy and could put the healthcare data of millions at risk 'Two simple questions kept hounding me: did patients know about the transfer of their data to the tech giant? Should they be informed and given a chance to opt in or out?' the whistleblower wrote. 'The answer to the first question quickly became apparent: no. The answer to the second I became increasingly convinced about: yes. Put the two together, and how could I say nothing?' the person continued. The person said that about 150 Google employees and 100 Ascension staff collaborated on Project Nightingale, transferring the personal data of more than 50 million Americans to Google. 'Id like to hope that the result of my raising the lid on this issue will be open debate leading to concrete change,' the person wrote. 'Transfers of healthcare data to big tech companies need to be shared with the public and made fully transparent, with monitoring by an independent watchdog.' The whistleblower also insisted: 'Patients must have the right to opt in or out.' A spokesman for Providence said their actions were 'not intended to mislead' Google is also said to have a deal with the Mayo clinic in Rochester, Minnesota Google is also said to have a deal with the Mayo clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Mayo spokesman said: 'It was not our intention to mislead the public.' Data-team member Lois Krahn said: 'We are a tremendously cautious and conservative organization.' Head of Google Health Dr. David Feinberg said: 'We didnt hide it.' The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act does not leave patients with 'much control', one ethics professor has said. Hospitals do not have to warn users of deals if it can be argued the records are needed for treatment, payment or surgery. The teacher. (PA Images) A British woman who went on the run with her and her wifes child for three years before being found on a dinghy in Jersey has been spared jail. The teacher, 34, originally from South Shields, took the then-19-month-old girl out of Canada in 2016 with her new male partner and their child and fled the country. Reporting restrictions prevent any outlet publishing in Jersey from including details that identify the child. The woman had separated from her Canadian wife in 2015 and the daughter lived with her while custody proceedings took place. Police in Canada said a court ordered her to surrender the daughters British passport and prevent her for applying for a Canadian one. The mum and daughter are known to have travelled to England, France, the Netherlands, the Middle East and possibly to Spain and Portugal, police said, despite Interpol issuing a red notice. She was caught after arriving in Jersey with her parents in a 13ft inflatable dinghy despite attempting to deceive immigration staff. The teacher's parents. (PA Images) Prosecutor Simon Crowder told the court that all three had tried to claim they were visiting Jersey to have lunch. The three appeared in Jersey Magistrates Court for sentencing today, having pleaded guilty to making a false representation under immigration law. The British teacher was convicted of two charges of exposing a child to risk of harm after a four-day trial at the court in December. Her parents were convicted of two charges of aiding and abetting exposing a child to risk of harm. They were each given six-month prison sentences, suspended for 12 months, and fined 500. They must also pay costs of 1,600 between them. Assistant magistrate Peter Harris said: These were rather unique circumstances which are unlikely to be repeated. Together they were using Jersey in an attempt to avoid compliance with a Canadian court order. He acknowledged the efforts made to reduce the risk of harm to the children, and that no harm was actually sustained. Story continues But he added: The waters around Jersey can be very dangerous. Both children were exposed to a risk of harm. St Catherine's Breakwater, close to where the teacher, her parents and her daughter arrived in Jersey in July 2019. (PA Images) Sarah Dale, defending the teacher, said: As you heard throughout the trial, [she] believed that she and also her parents had taken all relevant precautions to ensure the safety of the children during the crossing. [Her] children are the greatest importance in her life and whatever her motive for making that crossing, she was adamant that she would not do anything at all that she felt put them at risk or endangered them. The court heard that all three defendants were of previous good character. Rui Tremoceiro, defending the parents, said: They are good, hardworking, law-abiding people, people who have abided over several months by every condition imposed by this court, which included severe curtailment of their liberty for several months. Speaking last year, the estranged Canadian wife of the teacher, who is also a parent of the girl, said: We came in this together united and I just cannot understand why you felt the need to do this. And it wasn't just to me, that's the thing, it's not just about me. The tsunami effect of this is incomprehensible. A lawyer for the Canadian said last year that a judge in British Columbia had declared the daughter a habitual resident of Canada. But the Canadian said her attempt at getting her daughter back is complicated. Strictly speaking I may not fall within the definition of parent in Jersey, even though I am a legal parent and guardian of [the girl] here in Canada, she said last year. UK PM raises visas in pitch for post-Brexit trade with Africa London, Jan 20 (AFP) Jan 20, 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson told African leaders Monday that Britain would be more open to migrants from their continent after Brexit as he hosted a summit intended to boost trading ties. He also promised an end to direct UK state investment in thermal coal mining or coal power plants overseas, saying London would focus on supporting a switch to low-carbon energy sources. Johnson was speaking at the start of the first UK-Africa Investment Summit in London, a clear pitch for business less than two weeks before Britain leaves the European Union. He told leaders including presidents Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt and Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya that he wanted to make Britain their "investment partner of choice". After highlighting all that Britain has to offer, he said Brexit would mean an end to preferential treatment for EU migrants. "Our (immigration) system is becoming fairer and more equal between all our global friends and partners, treating people the same, wherever they come from," he said. "By putting people before passports we will be able to attract the best talent from around the world, wherever they may be." Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari, who also attended the summit, said Brexit offered an opportunity for increased free trade across the Commonwealth -- and said visas were a key issue. "While many in the African diaspora enjoy considerable benefits from life in the West, they do not always feel at the heart of the community," he wrote in an article for The Times on Monday. "A renewed sense that there are ties that bind us through the Commonwealth, and a concerted effort to grow those links through trade, could act as a spur to encourage togetherness and the certainty of belonging." - Breathe the same air - Johnson, whose country hosts the next UN climate change summit in Glasgow later this year, also announced a shift in investment strategy to help combat global warming. Sub-Saharan African faces a number of environmental challenges, particularly the effects of climate change, water and air pollution, desertification, deforestation and over-fishing. On fossil fuels, Johnson said: "There's no point in the UK reducing the amount of coal we burn, if we then trundle over to Africa and line our pockets by encouraging African states to use more of it, is there?" "We all breathe the same air, we live beneath the same sky. We all suffer when carbon emissions rise and the planet warns." He added: "Not another penny of UK taxpayers money will be directly invested in digging up coal or burning it for electricity. "Instead, we're going to focus on supporting the transition to lower and zero carbon alternatives." The British government's export agency reports providing pound2 billion ($2.6 billion) in financing for UK company exports to Africa in the past two years. The agency says it now wants to "increase its risk appetite" in Egypt and the emerging economies in Nigeria and Rwanda. The UK government said the London summit will see British and African firms announce commercial deals worth pound6.5 billion. It did not spell out whether these were all firm commitments or included memorandums of understanding that do not always result in actual deals. Britain will leave the EU on January 31, although ties will remain the same for 11 months while the two sides thrash out a new trading relationship. The UK has said it will be leaving the bloc's single market and customs union. Johnson wants the freedom to strike trade deals with other countries, even at the expense of some of its producers facing trade tariffs and quotas as a result. The first night train to set off for Belgium in 16 years departed from Vienna Sunday, carrying Austrian and European politicians who hope the new route can set an example as the continent tries to meet its climate targets. The carriages of the "OBB Nightjet" pulled out of Vienna's main station punctually at 8:38 pm to the strains of a live band playing the EU anthem "Ode to Joy", the slogan #loveyourplanet emblazoned along their sides. Scheduled to arrive in Brussels at 10:55 am on Monday, the rail journey emits less than a tenth of the CO2 per passenger than the equivalent flight. Austrian state railway company OeBB has for several years been a pioneer in the revival of night trains, and OeBB board chairman Andreas Matthae said he was "proud" of the new route. Joining a clutch of Austrian MEPs was Martin Selmayr, previously the powerful chief of staff to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and now the EU's representative in Vienna. For British holidaymaker Daniel, 35, the train was the clear choice -- not for environmental reasons but for comfort. "No airport routine, it's nice and easy... it's relaxing," he told AFP. Liesbet Vandebroek, who lives in Austria but works for the tourism authority of Belgium's Flanders region, said it was important for her to make the frequent journey to Brussels with "as small a footprint as possible" but also waxed lyrical about the romance of the night train. "As a student I travelled everywhere with the night train, it's so leisurely... and very nostalgic," said Vandebroek. The Vienna to Brussels service will initially run on Sundays and Wednesdays. The return leg will run on Mondays and Thursdays with a portion splitting off to serve Munich and Innsbruck. In October OeBB said that bookings on its night trains were up 11 percent year-on-year. With prices for non-sleeper seats as low as 19 euros ($21), it says its services are competitive with low-cost airlines -- although sleeper berths can cost considerably more. OeBB operates, either alone or in partnership, 27 night trains with another new service to Amsterdam scheduled to start in December. At the end of 2016 OeBB bought the night trains of the state rail operator in neighbouring Germany, Deutsche Bahn, which Matthae admitted was seen as risky at the time. Austria's new Green Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler said that that decision had been vindicated and that the new route was in line with the Austrian government's ambition to make the country carbon neutral by 2040. "There is no other city in the European Union that has so many night trains departing from Vienna, and the network can be expanded further," Gewessler said. Watermelons with calligraphic texts beautifully engraved on their peel are selling like hot cakes in Hanoi as residents are willing to pay up to VND700,000 (US$30) for a pair of the fruit, traditionally used as offerings during Lunar New Year festivals. With less than a week away from the 2020 Lunar New Year, which will fall on January 25, shops in the Vietnamese capital are already selling their seasonal 'special' - calligraphic watermelons. The decorative fruits are made by engraving regular watermelons, the rounder in shape the better, with calligraphy implying meaningful wishes for the Lunar New Year. Commonly used words include Chuc mung nam moi (Happy New Year) and Phuc - Loc - Tho (Prosperity - Status - Longevity), the three attributes of a good life in Vietnamese belief. The job [of engraving watermelons] requires meticulousness and skill, said Hoa, a shop owner at the Hang Luoc flower market in Hoan Kiem District. It can take an experienced craftsman 3-4 hours to finish one engraving depending on the design's complexity. Calligraphic watermelons are sold at the Hang Luoc flower market in Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi. Photo: Mai Thuong / Tuoi Tre At Hang Luoc, such calligraphic watermelons are selling for VND400,000-700,000 ($17-30) a pair. Meanwhile, watermelons with decorative texts hand-painted or printed on them are a cheaper option, fetching VND300,000 ($13) a pair on average. Watermelons are often offered in pairs to ancestors and deities during Tet in Vietnam. The fruit is sometimes featured in the Vietnamese mam ngu qua (five-fruit tray) votive offering, signifying hope for a good and prosperous new year. Calligraphic watermelons are sold at the Hang Luoc flower market in Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi. Photo: Mai Thuong / Tuoi Tre Calligraphic watermelons are sold at the Hang Luoc flower market in Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi. Photo: Mai Thuong / Tuoi Tre Calligraphic grapefruits are sold at the Hang Luoc flower market in Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi. Photo: Mai Thuong / Tuoi Tre Calligraphic grapefruits are sold at the Hang Luoc flower market in Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi. Photo: Mai Thuong / Tuoi Tre Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Britain's Prince Harry talks to Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson during the UK-Africa Investment Summit in London, Britain January 20, 2020. Stefan Rousseau/Pool via REUTERS Britain's Duke of Sussex has met Boris Johnson and other world leaders attending the UK-Africa Investment Summit just hours after saying he had "no other option" but to step back from royal life. Harry carried out what is likely to be one of his few remaining official engagements before the Sussexes take a "leap of faith" and leave the monarchy for a new life in Canada, with the freedom to take on commercial ventures. Looking relaxed and wearing a suit, shirt and tie the duke arrived at London's Docklands where Mr Johnson was hosting the global event. The British Prime Minister and the duke had an informal "catch-up" chat, meeting for 20 minutes one-to-one without any aides present. Expand Close Harry, Duke of Sussex, meets Saadeddine Othmani, Prime Minister of Morocco during the UK-Africa Investment Summit at the Intercontinental Hotel London. PA Photo. Picture date: Monday January 20, 2020. See PA story POLITICS Johnson. Photo credit should read: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Harry, Duke of Sussex, meets Saadeddine Othmani, Prime Minister of Morocco during the UK-Africa Investment Summit at the Intercontinental Hotel London. PA Photo. Picture date: Monday January 20, 2020. See PA story POLITICS Johnson. Photo credit should read: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire Harry gave an emotional speech on Sunday night where he told the "truth" about leaving royal duties behind in a bid for a "more peaceful life" for his family. His comments came after Buckingham Palace released the outcome of talks between the Queen, Prince of Wales, Duke of Cambridge and Harry over the future role of the Sussexes. Harry and Meghan had wanted to remain as working royals, although not prominent members, and drop their public funding so they could become financially independent - a dual role many commentators said was fraught with problems. But in a statement issued on Saturday after royal family talks concluded, the Sussexes announced they will stop carrying out royal duties from the spring, no longer use HRH and will repay the taxpayers' millions spent on their Berkshire home. Critics have accused the couple of turning their backs on the monarchy in order to enjoy the freedom that being able to take on commercial ventures brings. During the talks, all options were on the table and the Evening Standard has reported the Queen had the choice of stripping Harry of his dukedom and using one of his lesser titles. The newspaper quoted a source as saying it was "seriously considered" but another source told the PA news agency this was "categorically untrue". The discussions to resolve the crisis between officials and members of the royal family were described as "extremely friendly and constructive" when they ended. In a speech at a private event for his charity Sentebale on Sunday night in London, Harry told invited guests: "What I want to make clear is we're not walking away, and we certainly aren't walking away from you. "Our hope was to continue serving the Queen, the Commonwealth, and my military associations, but without public funding. Unfortunately, that wasn't possible. "I've accepted this, knowing that it doesn't change who I am or how committed I am. "But I hope that helps you understand what it had to come to, that I would step my family back from all I have ever known, to take a step forward into what I hope can be a more peaceful life." The duke was not officially attending the summit but was holding audiences - one-to-one meetings - with a number of foreign leaders at the request of the UK Government. Harry sat down to talks with Saad-Eddine El Othmani, prime minister of Morocco, Peter Mutharika, president of Malawi and Filipe Nyusi, president of Mozambique. Speaking last week before the outcome of the royal talks were known, Mr Johnson said he was "absolutely confident" the royal family could resolve the crisis. Mr Johnson told BBC Breakfast: "My view on this is very straightforward: I am a massive fan - like most of our viewers - of the Queen and the royal family as a fantastic asset for our country. "I'm absolutely confident that they are going to sort this out." It is likely the Government asked Harry to meet the world leaders because he has a keen interest in the continent and the royal family employ what is known as "soft diplomacy" to help strengthen Britain's ties with her allies. But in a few months the duke will no longer be representing the UK in an official capacity and events like the UK-Africa Investment Summit will only be open to him as a guest. Questions have been raised about how Harry and Meghan will continue with their "Sussex Royal" brand when they cease being working royals. This issue and other questions - including funding for the couple and their son Archie's protection - have yet to be resolved. A 'technology free' room in homes, extra-curricular activities chosen on the basis of interest not glamour and realising that exams are not everything were some of the tips Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday offered students getting ready for exams. Reaching out to students across the country through the third edition of the 'Pariksha Pe Charcha' programme at the Talkatora Stadium in New Delhi, the prime minister also told them not to get demotivated by temporary setbacks. Modi, who used examples from cricket, the Chandrayaan 2 mission and his own experiences, spoke on a range of issues, including exam stress and time management. He sought to speak to them in their own language and said his conversations with them will be hashtag without filter. In the event, telecast and streamed live, Modi said everyone should keep abreast of the latest technology but stressed that it should not be allowed to govern lives. "Technological trends are changing quickly. It is essential to stay updated with these trends. Fear of technology is not good. Technology is a friend. Mere knowledge of technology isn't enough. Its application is as important," he said. Modi also asked students not to become slaves of technology. "We should have the strength to keep technology under our control and ensure it does not waste our time. One room in our homes should be technology free. "Whoever enters will not carry any gadgets," he said. The prime minister appealed to students to not be demotivated if they face temporary setbacks and take failures in their stride. SEE: PM Modi at Pariksha Pe Charcha "We can add enthusiasm to every aspect of life. A temporary setback doesn't mean success is not waiting. In fact, a setback may mean the best is yet to come. Motivation, demotivation are very common. Everyone goes through these feelings," he said. "In this regard, I can never forget my visit to ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) during Chandrayaan and the time spent with our hardworking scientists. I was told I shouldn't attend Chandrayaan landing as there was no guarantee of success but I needed to be there," he added, recalling the failed landing of the Chandrayaan-2 mission's Vikram lander. The prime minister also asked students to remember the India-Australia test series in 2001 to emphasise his message about positive thinking. "Our cricket team was facing setbacks. The mood was not very good. But in those moments can we ever forget what Rahul Dravid and V V S Laxman did? They turned the match around. Similarly, who can forget Anil Kumble bowling with an injury? This is the power of motivation and positive thinking," he said. The prime minister asked students to spend their spare time with the elderly. "Good marks in exams are not everything. We have to come out of the thinking that exams are everything," Modi said. The prime minister also highlighted the importance of taking on extra-curricular activities and said there is a growing tendency among parents to push their children into activities considered glamorous. "Parents should take time out to find out what their children want to do instead of pushing them into activities that are considered glamorous which they can discuss in their conversations with their friends. What is not good is when the passion of children becomes fashion statements for parents. Extra-curricular activities needn't be glamour driven. Let each child pursue what he or she likes," he said. "Not pursuing co-curricular activities can make a person like a robot. Yes, this will require better time management. Today, the opportunities are many and I hope youngsters make use of them." Asserting that children should be "pursued not pressured into studies," he recommended that students read his book "Exam Warriors" to get over the stress of appearing for exams. "The way ahead lies in pursuing, not pressurising children. Inspire children to do things that bring out their inner potential," he said. He urged students to be confident about their own preparation. "Do not enter the exam hall with any sort of pressure. Do not worry about what the others are doing. Have faith in yourself and focus on what you've prepared," he said. About 2,000 students and teachers attended the event. Of these, 1,050 students were selected through an essay competition. Students who got to ask questions to the prime minister were short-listed on the basis of essays submitted on five subjects -- Gratitude is Great, Your Future Depends on Your Aspirations, Examining Exams, Our Duties, Your Take, and Balance is Beneficial. MMD Receiving a Notice of Allowance for U.S Patent related to Cosmetic Injection System The Board of Directors of Milestone Medical Inc. (WAR: MMD, the Company, the Issuer), today announced that Milestone Scientific, Inc., (NYSE: MLSS), the majority shareholder and licensor of Milestone Medical Inc., has received a Notice of Allowance from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for a U.S. patent regarding a new application for its technology in which claims were allowed for a Computer Controlled Drug Infusion Device for cosmetic use. The allowed claims relate to a novel cosmetic injection instrument for the delivery of botulinum toxin, such as Botox and Dysport. The CompuFlo system with DPS Dynamic Pressure Sensing (DPS) Technology provides an objective tool that can consistently reduce pain perception, accurately maintain a precise unit dose of botulinum toxin and allows the graphic recording of unit doses for each patient, while allowing the clinician to generate a precise record for future use. Additionally, the patented hand piece design provides for greater tactile feel for precise needle manipulation and placement. The system is optimized for a faster, more precise and virtually painless experience for the patient while providing clinicians with an important graphic recording of the procedure. The Board of Directors of the Company is pleased to receive the Notice of Allowance related to the cosmetic injection system, as this expands the intellectual property into an exciting new application. Based on the Issuers previous feasibility study of plastic surgeons and cosmetic dermatologists, the Company recognized the professions interest in a new cosmetic injection system that would allow the delivery of precise dosage and address the need for a unique graphic record. With this patent in hand, The Board of Directors of the Company looks forward to advancing the commercial roll-out of the cosmetic injection instrument in the U.S., which has the potential to significantly impact the safety and administration of botulinum toxin. The market opportunity for the cosmetic instrument includes over 8.4 million botulinum toxin injections delivered annually in the U.S. alone. By IANS NEW DELHI: Ahead of approaching the Supreme Court in the wake of the Punjab Assembly passing a resolution against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday called on Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi here. Singh arrived at the residence of Sonia Gandhi along with Punjab in-charge Asha Kumari and state unit chief Sunil Jakhar. The meeting lasted for over half an hour. According to party sources, the Chief Minister shared his plans of approaching the Supreme Court over the CAA. The Punjab Assembly passed the resolution against the CAA last week, days after the Kerala government also passed a resolution against the Act in the Assembly. Kerala was the first state to approach the Supreme Court over the CAA. The party source said that the issues of Congress Rajya Sabha member Partap Singh Bajwa's tirade against the Chief Minister and the Cabinet expansion were also discussed. LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Sig Sauer gave a live-fire tour of its new .338 Norma Magnum machine gun -- a lightweight weapon that U.S. Special Operation Command recently selected for evaluation. The Sig MG 338 general-purpose machine gun weighs just over 21 pounds and fires at a rate of 600 rounds per minute, delivering potent .338 Norma Magnum rounds out to ranges of 1,500 meters. The Army and Marine Corps-issue M240 machine gun in 7.62 x 51mm NATO can weigh up to 27 pounds, and has an effective range out to approximately 800 meters. "Our impetus is we wanted to provide one machine gun that could do both jobs," Sig Sauer's Jason St. John said Sunday at Sig's pre-SHOT Show 2020 range day. "So, the .338 Norma Magnum, when you compare it to 7.62mm -- 7.62 has an effective range of 800-plus meters and .338 Norma Magnum is going to have 1,500-plus meters. So you have twice the distance and a system that is about four pounds lighter than what we currently have." The new machine gun has come a long way from the prototype that Sig unveiled at SHOT Show last year. Earlier this month, Sig delivered 10 MG 338 machine guns, .338 Norma Magnum ammunition and its proprietary suppressors to U.S. Special Operations Command for evaluation, St. John said. Related: Sig Sauer Live-Fires its Hard-Hitting New Ultra-Light Machine Gun The MG 338 features a short-stroke gas piston system and a proprietary recoil mitigation system which radically reduces the felt recoil of the larger .338 round, St. John said. It features a collapsible AR-style buttstock that folds and locks into position for more compact transport. The MG 338 also comes with an AR-style pistol grip and selector switch which can be set to full-automatic and semi-automatic. "This machine gun has the capability to shoot in full-auto and semi-auto; the primary purpose for that is if you wanted to have 800, 1,200 and 1,500-meter ... more accurate fire, you could fire one shot at a time," St. John said. The MG 338 features ambidextrous controls as well as a switchable feed tray and charging handle that can be alternated to either side depending on operator preference. Instead of a traditional flip-up design, the feed-tray cover flips open to the side, so it doesn't interfere with optics and other accessories mounted in front of the feed tray. "I can also load this whether the feed tray is open or the feed tray is closed," St. John said. The belted ammunition features a clip-on "spoon" designed to make it easier to push the belt into the feed tray when the cover is closed. St. John demonstrated by pushing two rounds into the weapon -- "I go one click, two clicks and I am loaded ... it's a one-hand operation," he said. "I can also load it traditionally, setting the rounds on the feed tray and close the feed tray cover." A box-style, 50-round magazine mounts to the underside of the weapon by pushing the special adapter up into the magazine well until it clicks. The MG 338 also features a free-floating barrel with a quick-release latch to change barrels to control overheating. Many of the features of the MG 338 were designed into the automatic rifle prototype that Sig submitted as part of its entry into the Army's Next Generation Squad Weapon competition. "There is a lot of shared technology; this machine gun was first built three years ago, and we used lessons learned and design features from this one into our Next Gen Squad Weapon," St. John said. -- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com. Read More: Bullpup or Belt-Fed? Prototypes for Army's Next-Gen Squad Weapons Finally Revealed A woman wearing a mask walks past a quarantine notice about the outbreak of coronavirus in Wuhan, China at an arrival hall of Haneda airport in Tokyo, Japan, January 20, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon China reported Monday a sharp rise in the number of people infected with a new coronavirus, including the first cases in the capital. The outbreak of viral pneumonia started in the central city of Wuhan. Authorities and media reports said the total number of infected people has topped 200. Wuhan authorities said a third person had died in their city. Authorities in Shenzhen in southern China reported one case, and Chinese state media said Beijing had reported two cases. Wuhan authorities said they had found 136 new cases, bringing the total in the city to 198. This file photo taken on January 18, 2020 shows medical staff members carrying a patient into the Jinyintan hospital, where patients infected by a mysterious SARS-like virus are being treated, in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province. - A mysterious SARS-like virus has spread around China including to Beijing authorities said on January 20, 2020, fuelling fears of a major outbreak as millions begin travelling for the Lunar New Year in humanity's biggest migration. (Photo by STR / AFP) One of the many odd things about the New York Timess 1619 Project on slavery is that Martin Luther King Jr is barely mentioned (ditto Frederick Douglass). This omission may not be accidental, since both Douglass and King found sources for the remedy of slavery inside the American founding that todays left wishes to repudiate completely. It will be a curious thing to see whether and how the 1619 Project appears in any of todays observances of MLKs birthday (or whether, in the fullness of time, there will be a push to rename MLK Day for someone or something else). The most unexpected thing to come out of the 1619 Project is that the most vigorous attack on it has come from the left, specifically the World Socialists, who have featured several prominent American historians shredding the project. Weve mentioned some of this before, but the World Socialist Web Site just now has a new interview up with Clayborne Carson, a black historian at Stanford who is the director of Stanfords Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute. Carson was chosen by Coretta Scott King to oversee the publication of The Papers of Martin Luther King. Carson was also one of the principal historical advisers for the PBS series about the civil rights movement, Eyes on the Prize. If you read the entire interview it is clear Carson is very liberal, but also retains the same perspective of King and Douglass about how to think about the American Founding, and its indispensable role in making slavery a central political problem for the first time in human history. Although he is measured in his criticism, it is clear Carson doesnt think much of the premises of the 1619 Project. Here are some highlights from the long interview: Q: Id like to ask you something that weve been asking all the historians with whom weve been speaking. And that is whether or not you were approached by the authors of the 1619 Project as it was being prepared or prior to its publication? Carson: No, no I wasnt, which is strange because if you go to our website, we have a lot of educational materials for schools. So, I wasnt approached as a historian, but Im also an educator engaged in on-line teaching, trying, as much as possible, to get free material in the hands of students. I would have loved to work with theNew York Times, with all of their clout and resources, to make a change in terms of how American history is taught in the schools. I just think that part of the problem of this whole project is that they did not really approach this as a collaborative activity involving historians, educators, and journalists. It seems quite obvious that the number of people involved in the actual process was quite limited. Q: It also seems that it was written to a preconceived determination, and that historians who might have a somewhat different take were avoided. Its also not clear to whom they did speak. The editor-in-chief, Jake Silverstein, in his reply to the five historians, said that they spoke to a group of African American scholars, but they didnt say who was in that group. Carson: Yes, and that was a little bit strange. You know if I were called in to have a meeting at theNew York Timesand they told me theyd like to do this project to make people more aware of the deep roots of African American history within American history and the importance of 1619, I would have said fine, that sounds wonderful, how can I help? I can understand, however, why some scholars would be reluctant because of the work that should go into something like this. I was very much involved in Eyes on the Prize, for example. Q: Right, you were the senior academic advisor for Eyes on the Prize? Carson: I was one of four. That was a three-year commitment. We met regularly for three years to produce that series. There was a lot of research, the selection of whom to interview. We had what we called the school and at every stage the filmmakers would come in with footage, and we would critique it: Well, why didnt you interview this person? Why didnt you ask that question? It was an interactive process for three years to get that on the air. On 1619, Im just not sure on a lot of the factual background of this, and maybe youre trying to figure that out, too. . . A lot of their focus seems to be the founding of the United States as a nation. The way I would look at that, is that at that time, for a variety of reasons, you have a predominant group, white men, beginning to articulate a human rights ideal. We can study why that happened when it happened. It had to do with the Enlightenment, the spread of literacy, the rise of working class movements. All of these factors led people to start talking in terms of human rights. It was both an intellectual movement from the top down and a freedom struggle from the bottom up. People begin to speak in terms of rights: that, I, we, have rights that other people should respect. The emergence of that is important. And it does affect African Americans. We know that from Benjamin Banneker and lot of other black people who realized that white people were talking about rights and said, well we have rights too. Thats an important development in history, and an approach to history that doesnt say we should privilege only the rights talk of white people. Theres always a dialogue between that and oppressed people. You have to tell the story from the top down, that intellectuals began to articulate the notion of rights. But simultaneously, non-elites are doing thatworking class people, black people, colonized people. . . Q: I think one of the things that is missing in the lead essay by Nikole Hannah-Jones is any appreciation of the power of the contradiction that was introduced in 1776 with the proclamation of human equality, and also the impact of the Revolution itself. I thought in our interview with Gordon Wood he took that question up very effectively, pointing out that slavery became very conspicuous as a result of the Revolution. Also disregarded is the Afro-Caribbean historian Eric Williams, who analyzed the impact of the American Revolution on the demise of slavery. Instead the Revolution is presented as a conspiracy to perpetuate slavery. Carson: Yes, and its wonderful to concentrate on that contradiction because that to me explains Frederick Douglass, it explains King. What all of these people were united on was to expose that contradictionand we should always keep exposing itthe contradiction between the self-image of the United States as a free and democratic country and the reality that its not. If you are a black leader, your job is to expose that contradiction. If you go through a list of all the great orations in African American history, nearly all of them focus on that. They want to expose that and use that contradiction. Q: Im glad you mentioned Douglass and King. Richard Carwardine, in our interview with him, said that he was struck by the absence of Douglass, whose name does not appear in the lead essay or anywhere else. The same is true of King, whose name appears only once in a photo caption. The Civil Rights movement is barely mentioned. Black Power and Malcolm X are absent. The list of whats left out is astonishingno A. Phillip Randolph, no Harlem Renaissance. But I wanted to ask you about the absence of King, and any significant attention to the civil rights movement, and what you make of that. . . Carson: I think thats the saddest part of this, that the response of the New York Times is simply to defend their project. Rather than to say, we welcome the critique, lets work with you to see what we can do. Obviously, this would have been better done a year ago, two years ago, but its never too late. And particularly if the purpose of this is to have an impact on the way young people are educated. Im very concerned about that. Budget document printing to start today with 'halwa' ceremony Loading the player... Budget document printing to start today with 'halwa' ceremony at North Block The countdown to Union Budget 2020 will officially kick off on Monday as printing of Budget documents begins. The process will begin with the traditional 'halwa' ceremony at the North Block, which will be attended by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and other finance ministry officials. Richest 1% sitting on 4 times the wealth held by 95 crore Indians: Oxfam report The top 1 per cent of Indians holds over 4 times the amount of wealth held by 953 million people (95.3 crore) or the bottom 70 per cent of the population in the country, revealed a new report from Oxfam ahead of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland. Oxfam's report, 'Time to Care', shows how "sexist economies" are fuelling the inequality crisis-enabling wealthy elite to accumulate vast fortunes at the expense of ordinary people. Budget 2020: Finance Ministry to launch social media campaign on budgetary terms In its effort to demystify the budget for common man, the Finance Ministry will start a social media campaign from January 22. Through the '#ArthShastri' campaign, the ministry would explain several economic terms through interesting animated videos to help common man and students understand budget exercise in a simple way. JP Nadda likely to succeed Amit Shah as next BJP President today BJP working president J P Nadda appears set to be elected as its next national president on January 20, succeeding Amit Shah, with the party on Friday announcing the schedule for election to its top organisational post. Air India unions to demand VRS package in Monday meeting with Aviation Minister Air India trade unions are likely to demand a VRS package at their second meeting with Minister of State for Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri in New Delhi on Monday. The minister is set to meet over a dozen Air India unions, including unrecognised ones, on Monday for the second time in a month over the airline's privatisation plans. Kia Motors plans to achieve full capacity utilisation with new models South Korean automaker Kia Motors plans to keep rolling out new models at regular intervals in India as it aims to fully utilise its current installed production capacity of 3 lakh units by March 2022, a senior company official said. The company, which has got to a flying start in the country with its first product Seltos, aims to bring in two more models this year. 'No dearth of money, will spend Rs 5 lakh crore on infrastructure,' says Nitin Gadkari Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Sunday said his ministry planned to spend Rs 5 lakh crore on infrastructure development this year. "In the last five years, I have awarded contracts worth Rs 17 lakh crore. This year, I'm planning to touch Rs 5 lakh crore mark in spending on infrastructure development," Gadkari said. "I want to tell you there is no dearth of money," he told the gathering. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 20:44:48|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close CANBERRA, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Lorena Granados could always recall the day when they lost almost everything in the bushfire. Returning to the Mogo town in southeast Australia a fortnight after the disaster, she said in a trembling voice: "That is a real disaster." Granados and her partner were from Chile. They had been living in Mogo for 17 years. "We owned a leather business," she said. The fire began raging in Batemans Bay at the end of last year. But Granados, who decided to defend her home and shop, was among the last to escape. "A friend rang me at 5 o'clock in the morning (of Dec. 31)," she told Xinhua. "It was the friend who saved our lives." When the bushfire came, the pair were with their 12-year-old son. "We held the fire with the hoses until we couldn't breathe," she said. "We ran for our lives." They had some preparation: filling the car with some photo albums, food and clothes. "Then we lost everything, everything: our machines, our tools, our furniture ... " she said, fighting back tears. She showed Xinhua a video footage she took while escaping, in which she shouted "hurry up". Fire was engulfing houses hundreds of meters away and the sky was orange like inferno. Apart from the son, the pair have two daughters. Now they are staying with one of them. "But we don't have permanent base," said Granados. After the fire, the two adults received from governments 1,000 Australian dollars (about 686.7 U.S. dollars) each, while the boy was given 400 dollars. "We need finance to rebuild our house," Granados said. She was back at the weekend to look for something useful in the debris. Luckily, her partner, Gaspar Roman, managed to find Granados's ring. They hugged in excitement. They also recovered a mug, which they wanted to take back as a souvenir. Their house is not alone. Mogo is a small heritage town about 150 kilometers away from Australian capital Canberra, with a population of about 300. A report by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation said that dozens of houses were lost. Next door to Granados's leather shop was a book store, which was only recognizable by the charred sign. Bushfires have been burning in Australia for three months now, so far killing at least 28 people and destroying some 2,000 homes. Over 10.7 million hectares of land have been scorched across the continent. The Australian government has announced last Wednesday an additional 58 million Australian dollars (39.9 million U.S. dollars) in support funding for bushfire-affected communities. The funding would make more food vouchers, support services and financial assistance available to Australians affected by the ongoing crisis. Families in bushfire-hit towns who are eligible for the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment will also receive an extra 400 Australian dollars for each child. In recent days, rains have brought relief to some of the fire zones in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. Canberra was even hit by hailstorm on Monday. However, Victoria's Premier Daniel Andrews said the fire season is "far from over." An unnamed firefighter Xinhua met in Mogo said they were still trying to put out the fire. He said the mission was difficult. "We are currently in dry condition here in Australia," he said. "The temperature is really high, and the forest is really dry." Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg has made a $70billion campaign pledge named after the neighborhood destroyed during the 1921 Tulsa race massacre in a bid to tackle racial economic inequality in America. Bloomberg made a pitch to African American voters the day before the national holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr during a visit to the Greenwood district, the site of the massacre. The former New York City mayor spoke out against an American history of race-based economic inequality from slavery to segregation to redlining, and outlined a proposal aimed at increasing the number of black-owned homes and businesses. Bloomberg's plan includes a $70billion investment in the nation's most disadvantaged neighborhoods. 'For black Americans, there was nothing that white landowners, businesses, banks, and politicians might not take: Their wages and their homes, their businesses and their wealth, their votes and their power, and even their lives,' Bloomberg said during a speech to several hundred people at the Greenwood Cultural Center, which houses artifacts and other memorabilia from the race massacre. Michael Bloomberg (pictured Sunday in Tulsa) has pledged a $70billion plan named after the neighborhood destroyed during the 1921 Tulsa race massacre in a bid to tackle racial economic inequality in America Bloomberg made a pitch to African American voters the day before the national holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr during a visit to the Greenwood district, the site of the massacre. Black smoke billows from the fires during the race riot of 1921 in Tulsa, Oklahoma White mobs killed an estimated 300 black residents and injured 800 more. About 8,000 were left homeless after firebombs, destroyed movie theaters, churches and hotels and decimated the economic and cultural mecca that had become known as Black Wall Street (pictured) Bloomberg described the initiative as a 'plan for righting what I think are historic wrongs and creating opportunity and wealth in black communities'. The plan offers incentives for investment in underserved communities, increases support for black-owned banks and ties federal housing money to progress in reducing segregation. It would require bias training for police, teachers and federal contractors, and address voter disenfranchisement practices such as ID requirements, poll purging and gerrymandering. 'As someone who has been very lucky in life, I often say my story would only have been possible in America, and I think that's true,' Bloomberg said. 'But I also know that my story would have turned out very differently if I had been black, and that more black Americans of my generation would have ended up with far more wealth, had they been white.' Bloomberg also pledged to back a commission to study whether black Americans should receive reparations for slavery. Bloomberg described the initiative as a 'plan for righting what I think are historic wrongs and creating opportunity and wealth in black communities' The billionaire faced some criticism in November for visiting a black church in Brooklyn just days before launching his presidential bid, when he apologized for his longstanding support of the controversial 'stop-and-frisk' police strategy he embraced as mayor that disproportionately impacted people of color. The visit to Oklahoma, a Super Tuesday state whose primary is March 3, keeps with Bloomberg's strategy of skipping early voting states such as Iowa and New Hampshire and focusing on delegate-rich Texas, California and others. Danyelle Solomon, vice president for race and ethnicity policy at the Center for American Progress Action Fund, said she was glad to see Bloomberg give the speech in Tulsa and show his awareness of how racism has had an impact over time, and was pleased that he announced policies specifically targeted at black communities. But while 'he hit some of the key points that need to be talked about,' she said, 'the devil is in the details'. Theodore Johnson, who studies race, politics and policy as as senior fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice, said Bloomberg's pitch of calling for economic justice wasn't a new one, but that his record of business success could make people more inclined to listen. 'Because he's so successful ... that when he talks about economic programming for black America, he actually knows what he's talking about,' Johnson said. But Johnson said black voters would be watching to see what else he did, or if it appeared that Sunday's event would be a one-time speech. In the massacre, white mobs killed an estimated 300 black residents and injured 800 more. About 8,000 residents were left homeless after firebombs, including some dropped from airplanes, destroyed movie theaters, churches and hotels and decimated the economic and cultural mecca that had become known as Black Wall Street. The black community rebuilt in the decade that followed, but urban renewal programs in the 1950s and 1960s wiped out much of that progress, and the city remains largely segregated. THE 1921 TULSA RACE RIOT: AN ATTACK ON GREENWOOD After World War I, Tulsa was recognized for its affluent African-American community known as the Greenwood District. The community was often referred to as the 'Black Wall Street' because of its thriving businesses and residential area. But in June 1921, the community was nearly destroyed during the Tulsa Race Riot. The events leading up to the riot began on May 30, 1921, when a young black man named Dick Rowland was riding in the elevator with a woman named Sarah Page. The details of what followed vary from person to person and it's unclear what actually happened. During the Tulsa Riot, 35 city blocks were completely destroyed and more than 800 people were treated for injuries. Historians believe as many as 300 people may have died in the riot Little Africa on Fire is the description given this photo of the Tulsa Race riot, June 1, 1917. The proper name of the African American section of town was Greenwood A group of National Guard Troops, carrying rifles with bayonets attached, escort unarmed African American men to the detention center at Convention Hall, after the Tulsa Race Massacre, Tulsa, Oklahoma, June 1921 Rowland was arrested the next day by Tulsa police. Subsequently, a report in the Tulsa Tribune dated May 31, 1921, started a confrontation between black and white armed men at the courthouse. This started a confrontation between black and white armed men at the courthouse, with the white men demanding that Rowland be lynched while the black men tried to protect him. During a struggle between two men in the mobs over a gun, shots were fired and a white man was shot, causing the the African-American group to retreat to the Greenwood District. In the early morning hours of June 1, 1921, Greenwood was looted and burned by an estimated 10,000 white rioters, who flooded into the streets shooting residents. Planes also reportedly dropped incendiary bombs on the area. Many of the white mob had recently returned from World War I and trained in the use of firearms, are are said to have shot Black Americans on sight. In addition, more than 1,400 homes and businesses were destroyed, and nearly 10,000 people were left homeless. For two days starting on May 31 1921, an white mob estimated to be 10,000-strong destroyed Tulsa's Black Greenwood district, known as Black Wall Street, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 300 people and injuring 800 more The riots lasted for two days, and Governor Robertson declared martial law, and National Guard troops were called in to Tulsa. During the riot, 35 city blocks were completely destroyed. Historians believe as many as 300 people may have died in the riot - mostly Black Americans -and more than 800 people were treated for injuries. Bodies were buried in mass graves while families of those who were killed in the riots were held in prison under martial law according to Scott Ellsworth, a University of Michigan historian, in December. The families of the deceased were never told whether their loved ones died in the massacre, or where they were buried, and no funerals were held. Until the 1990s, the massacre was rarely mentioned in history books, and in 2001, the Race Riot Commission was organized to review the details of the deadly riot. Source: Tulsa History.org In this 1921 image provided by the Library of Congress, smoke billows over Tulsa, Oklahoma. The killing of hundreds of people in a prosperous black business district in 1921 was referred to as the Tulsa race riot but it has since been relabeled as a 'massacre' Advertisement 'Although it's been nearly 100 years since the massacre took place, we are still dealing with issues of racism and inequality in our city,' said Mechelle Brown, program coordinator at the center. 'I think our community, especially, is dealing with the historical trauma to that has been passed down from generation to generation, specifically as it relates to the history of the massacre. 'Those feelings of fear, anger, bitterness, resentment have been passed down.' In the past year, several presidential candidates visited the Greenwood district, including former Texas Rep Beto O'Rourke, New Jersey Sen Cory Booker and Massachusetts Sen Elizabeth Warren. It was the first time that Brown could recall any major presidential candidate visiting the area. O'Rourke and Booker have seen quit the 2020 race. While those campaign stops are undoubtedly an attempt by Democratic candidates to reach black voters, a critically important segment of the party's electorate, they also present an opportunity for residents to meet the candidates firsthand, said Judy Eason McIntyre, who represented the district in the state Legislature for a decade. 'Yes, some will say its pandering, but Im not one of those,' McIntyre said. 'It allows people to get to know them up close. It also maybe generates some excitement and knowledge about getting out to vote.' Although Sunday's visit was Bloomberg's first campaign stop in Oklahoma, Bloomberg Philanthropies last year granted a $1million grant to the city to commission temporary works of art accessible to the public. New Delhi: Shiv Sena MP Sadashiv Lokhande Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday met residents of temple town Shirdi and withdrew his statement where he declared Saibaba's birthplace as Pathri. However, there was no official confirmation for the same. Shiv Sena leader Kamlakar Kothe, however, said Thackeray has assured that the Pathri village will not be termed as Saibaba's birthplace. "Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has accepted our demands. People of Shirdi are satisfied with what he said. He has assured us that no new dispute will be created and we are ending the matter," news agency ANI quoted Kothe as saying, after a representative of the Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust met Thackeray earlier in the day. On Sunday, devotees in Shirdi staged a protest against Thackeray over his decision to develop Pathri in Parbhani as a religious centre terming it the birthplace of Saibaba. The indefinite 'bandh' was later called off later in view of the meeting called by Thackeray in Mumbai to discuss the issue. After the meeting, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar held a detailed discussion with Sai Baba Trust representatives. "The controversy over the birthplace of Saibaba has been resolved in the meeting with the Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray," Lokhande told news agency PTI. On January 9, the Maharashtra cabinet held a review meeting of the development works in Parbhani district. In the meeting, Thackeray had announced that Pathri, considered as the birthplace of Saibaba would be developed as a site for religious tourism. Thackeray also announced a grant of Rs 100 crore to Pathri. Lokhande said Thackeray asked the Shirdi temple representatives if they have an issue with the allocation of Rs 100 crore for the development of Pathri to which they said their opposition was only to the declaration of Pathri as Saibaba's birthplace and not for any development initiative. A century after Saibaba died, a heated debate has begun in Maharashtra on the spiritual figures birthplace, with some claiming it is Pathri in Parbhani district and other saying it was Shirdi in Ahmednagar district. Saibaba is equally revered by Hindus and Muslims. Locals of Shirdi, located 250 km away from Mumbai, observed a one-day bandh on Sunday, with shops and businesses in a majority of the villages remaining shut. Those in Shirdi had also called for an indefinite bandh in the temple town from Sunday midnight but it was called off by evening on the assurance of a meeting with Thackeray. Lokhande said Shirdi residents were not against development of any place (Pathri). After the meeting, BJP MLA Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil told reporters that the outcome of the meeting with the chief minister was satisfactory and hence they have decided to call off the agitation. (With PTI inputs) The politics of representation in India, at this moment, is undergoing a change. The simple idea of a dominant, almost suffocating big party on the one hand and a multiplicity of smaller parties that are almost invariably perceived in their relationship to the ruling behemoth, on the other, is definitely over. In the present, there is what feels like a build-up of seismic pressures that will transform the familiar and so comfortable, ersatz multiparty system into one where different parties are compelled to be responsive to the mature and full political consciousness that has come out on the streets, occupying parks, roads, gateways and prominent locations to represent, above all else, themselves. Plurality versus polarised is the emerging politics. The old politics of big fish and smaller fry, of one fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish is ending. In its place, Say! What a lot of fish there are Some are old. And some are new, with apologies to Dr Seuss, are filling the gaps that the outdated binary model never could. From the grassroots or rather the streets, parks, prominent locations, steps and plazas, there are people and voices representing themselves, their legacies, their aspirations and so creating an insistent demand on the political establishment that implies a vast organism coming to life, fully mature in its political consciousness, even though it lacks experience and is not, as yet, stable. It has both autonomy and agency. The time is near when earlier orthodoxies of mobilisation, for recognition of small and smaller groups by political parties or creating new political parties to further empower and represent the heterogeneity of identities that were packaged as diversity will need to come to terms with the metamorphosis underway. Citizenship as a basic identity has had the effect of bringing the politics down to earth. The politicisation of the mass, not the dispersed masses, has been abrupt and transformative. The political establishment is trying to catch up with what is happening across India, in what the Uttar Pradesh police seems to think is an insubstantial insurrection against Section 144 imposed on the Ghantaghar area in Lucknow. The rigidities of old style alliances and coalition in which every constituent member acted and spoke in identical ways is crumbling. Even within parties, there seems to be a variety of tactical moves that are confusing when scrutinised under the old rules of political analysis. The Trinamool Congress was the first to consistently oppose and protest against the Citizenship Amendment, then Bill, now Act. It was also the first to consistently oppose and protest against the Bharatiya Janata Party and its government at the Centres vow to unroll verification across India of the horrendously expensive and verifiably flawed National Register of Citizens process. The West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee declared that she would not allow the National Population Register process to be conducted in the state. She walked miles and miles in different parts of West Bengal to mobilise support for her position and to challenge the BJP; Amit Shah-Narendra Modi on the one hand and the local gasconader, Dilip Ghosh, on t he other. Mamata Banerjee pointed to the link between NPR and NCR and CAA and opposed all three. She has not budged from her stand that these processes will not be allowed implementation in West Bengal. Yet, she did not attend the all-party meeting called by Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi on January 13. Nor for that matter did the Shiv Sena, or the DMK, or BSP. Each of these parties cited different reasons for staying away. Instead of branding the absence as betrayal, the parties that did attend the meeting conceded that each of these parties was as committed to opposing the CAA-NRC-NPR as themselves. The maturing of political reaction is an intriguing change, because it implies a deeper bonding and overall confidence between Opposition, that is parties against the BJP parties and a better coordination. Nor has Ms Banerjee passed a special resolution in the West Bengal state Assembly rejecting CAA-NRC and NPR, unlike Kerala and Punjab. Her reasons for not doing so are not clear, which has created room for speculation about her intentions, fuelled by her meeting in Kolkata with the Prime Minister during his recent visit and her earlier meetings in New Delhi with Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. Yet, the Trinamool Congress was among the first to file a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of CAA, describing it as: This blatant discrimination put into legislation by the amended act is not only unconstitutional but also inhumane and opposed to the very idea of our nation. The command and control style of pre-December 2019 Indian politics that was hypersensitive to tactical shifts and dodges is perceptibly changing, reshaping both the internal dynamics of parties and the external public-facing responses. Political parties are being pushed to change and adjust by the seismic pressures of peoples protests. These pop-up and then settled-in protests Shaheen Bagh, Gateway of India, Park Circus, Masoor Ali Khan Park, Doranda Urs Park are different, so different that India has never seen anything like this before. The plurality of these protests are not organised or engineered by political parties mobilising rented crowds; these are manifestations of rising seismic pressure. The full-throated slogans in womens voices no longer subdued or modestly modulated is also markedly different. The future of political parties will depend on their response dialogue rather than diatribe to the seismic pressure on CAA-NRC-NPR or any other or many other issues that galvanise the masses to gather in protest. The unorganised mobilisations and solidarities indicate that younger people students and the working population are dismantling the old order of things, of parties and establishments leading and controlling the masses. The old order is being by passed by a plural and politically conscious population that is not confined to the poor, the vulnerable and the marginalised. It is a mobilisation cutting across class, caste, religion, education, privilege and location. In the crowd, it is impossible to tell who has only urban roots and who has rural roots. The usual divisions and categorisations seem to be dissolving in the celebration of plurality. The writer is a senior journalist in Kolkata India has made an advance payment of Swiss Franc 44,55,445 (about Rs 33 crore) as its contribution to the WTO for 2020, an official said. The payment was made in December last year. The World Trade organisation (WTO) derives most of the income for its annual budget from contributions by its member countries. These contributions are based on a formula that takes into account each member's share of international trade. Miscellaneous income mainly consists of contributions from observer countries, income from sale of publications and rental of meeting rooms. "India has made its advance payment of its WTO contribution. It was CHF 44,55,445 for 2020. It was paid in December 2019 itself for 2020. India is one of the few countries who pay their dues well on time," the official said. The WTO also manages a number of trust funds, which have been contributed by members. These are used in support of special activities for technical cooperation and training meant to enable least-developed and developing countries make better use of the WTO and draw greater benefit from the multilateral trading system. Geneva-based WTO is a global trade rule making body. It has 164 members. India is its member since January 1, 1995. Can a drunken driving conviction in Pennsylvania trigger a lifelong federal ban on possessing a gun? Under certain circumstances, yes, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit has decided. The court majority reached that precedential decision in an opinion by Judge Patty Shwartz in the case of Raymond Holloway Jr. Holloway, a Pottstown resident, filed suit in 2017, claiming a 12-year-old DUI conviction in Cumberland County was wrongly preventing him from buying guns for self-protection. The case hinged on the fact that Holloway was convicted in 2005 of DUI at the highest rate, meaning his blood-alcohol level when he was pulled over exceeded 0.16 percent. That means his blood-alcohol level was at least twice the legal limit. That was the second time Holloway had been charged with DUI. A 2003 charge was wiped from his record when he entered the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program in Montgomery County, Shwartz noted. In the 2005 Cumberland County case, Holloway pleaded guilty and spent 90 days behind bars. Most importantly for his gun ownership argument, the conviction was a first-degree misdemeanor under Pennsylvania law that carries a maximum possible maximum jail term of 5 years. When Holloway tried to buy guns in 2016, he was told that federal law barred him from possessing firearms because his 2005 DUI conviction constituted a serious crime. Under federal statutes, a serious crime that triggers a firearms prohibition is defined as an offense that carries a potential state prison sentence of at least 2 years, Shwartz noted. Holloway first challenged his gun ban in U.S. Middle District Court. He won at that level when Chief Judge Christopher C. Conner overturned it. The U.S attorney generals office, the federal Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives and the FBI then appealed to the circuit court. In overturning Conners ruling, Shwartz stated that, Drunken driving is a dangerous and often deadly crime. She noted that more people are killed by drunken drivers than are murdered in the U.S. every year. So, Shwartz and Judge Julio M. Fuentes found Holloways conviction rises to a level of seriousness that calls a federal gun ban into play All three branches of the federal government agree that DUIs are dangerous, and those who present a danger may be disarmed, Shwartz wrote. The dissenting opinion was filed by Judge D. Michael Fisher, who insisted Holloway should not have been stripped of his Second Amendment right to bear arms. There is no doubt that DUI is a significant offense, Fisher found, but he questioned whether it meets the legal definition of seriousness in the Holloway dispute. He noted Holloway received only a 3-month prison term for his 2005 DUI, not the maximum 5-year sentence the law allowed. The sentencing judge imposed the lightest penalty that the law allowed, Fisher wrote. There is a major problem with fairness as well, he contended. Because some other states and the District of Columbia dont grade or punish Holloways offense the same way as Pennsylvania, some people convicted of an identical crime in another state would not be subject to federal gun possession prohibitions, Fisher noted. That, he found, means the federal statute is actually underinclusive in that it doesnt affect all identical offenders equally. Congress has drawn no distinction between different types of conduct the same behavior may activate (the federal gun ban) or not based merely on where that behavior occurred, he wrote. The result, Fisher concluded, is that the feds are curtailing the constitutional rights of some and not others for the exact same conduct. Basing the federal gun ban penalty on the varying punishments imposed under the differing state laws simply isnt fair, he argued. If Congress wants to bar all individuals convicted of a second DUI offense with a BAC above 0.16 percent of owning a firearm, then it must do so through the ordinary channels of democratic lawmaking, Fisher wrote. At least then all persons constitutional right will be treated equally. Matt Canavan, Australian Minister for Resources and Northern Australia, speaks during an interview with Reuters in Tokyo By Colin Packham SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's government aims to boost investment from India to develop its remote north, seen as a front door to lucrative Asian markets, amid concerns that tighter regulatory oversight and diplomatic tensions with Beijing will curb Chinese spending. While much of the foreign spending in the region has come from China in recent years, Australia's Minister for Northern Australia, Matt Canavan, acknowledged in a newspaper interview on Monday that Canberra's relationship with Beijing has changed, intensifying the pressure to diversify infrastructure ties. "It is a more volatile environment and a totally different playing field than what we had five years ago," Canavan told The Australian newspaper, in comments confirmed by government officials contacted by Reuters. "India and Southeast Asia will account for more of the growth in demand for Australian resource commodities than any other region, including China." Australia's relationship with China has been strained in recent years amid Canberra's allegations that Beijing is meddling in its domestic affairs. In September, Reuters reported Australian intelligence had found China was responsible for a cyber-attack on the national parliament and three largest political parties earlier this year. China's foreign ministry denied involvement in any hacking attacks and said the internet was full of theories that were hard to trace. India is Canberra's fourth-largest trading partner, worth A$29.1 billion ($20.02 billion) in 2018, though New Delhi is a relatively small investor into Australia, government data shows. Some Indian investment has been controversial, most notably Adani Enterprises' planned coal mine in outback Australia. First acquired by Adani in 2010, the project is slated to produce 8-10 million tonnes of thermal coal a year and cost up to $1.5 billion, but has been mired in court battles and opposition from green groups. (Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell) 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. Ivanka Siolkowsky walks around the bedroom in Anne Zimmermans bright Toronto condo looking for a place to perform the ritual. As Zimmerman follows behind her, Siolkowsky walks past the bed to a wall of windows overlooking the city. Im feeling this is a good space for it, she says. Both women sit down on the floor, close their eyes and sit in silence for 30 seconds. OK, Siolkowsky says. If youre ready, Im ready. The women get up, walk into Zimmermans closet, remove all of the clothes from the hangers (minus Zimmermans boyfriends things) and put them on the bed. Thus begins what Siolkowsky calls the Spark joy test the act of separating that which sparks joy from that which doesnt. If this scenario sounds familiar, youve probably already seen a version of it on TV, specifically on the hit Netflix show Tidying up with Marie Kondo. If so, you know the drill: Japanese tidying maven Marie Kondo enters a home full of things human beings have a habit of hording (tangled computer chords, heaps of old clothes) and with techniques far gentler than those usually applied on reality TV, she teaches her charges how to tidy up, or to put it her way, how to discard stuff that no longer sparks joy. (Kondos clients literally thank their old junk, out loud, before they get rid of it.) But what fans of the Netflix show may not know is that there are Kondo devotees who precede it. These arent mere fans of the tidying star but specially trained KonMari consultants professional organizers who go out into the world and, for a fee, help their clients declutter their homes. Toronto boasts a handful of these consultants. Ivanka Siolkowsky is arguably the highest profile among them. The KonMari website itself lists Siolkowsky as a Certified Master of the KonMari method, a title earned by completing 1,500 tidying hours with clients, and assisting at least two clients in the completion of a tidying festival, an elaborate way of saying organizing session. (A full session with Siolkowsky, from messy beginning to orderly end, goes for roughly $700). Like other KonMari consultants, Siolkowsky pays an annual fee to use the KonMari brand and list her professional organizing business, The Tidy Moose, on Kondos website. Her work has taken her to Nashville and Barbados (foreign clients sometimes fly her in to declutter their homes) and into the studios of various TV networks. But wherever she goes and whatever the income bracket of her clientele, she hopes to achieve the same end: purging her clients of things they dont need, and instilling in them an appreciation for the things they choose to keep. In Zimmermans condo, Siolkowsky now tells her client to sort the mess of clothing on the bed into three piles: Yes, no and maybe, the last to be dealt with later. This isnt typical KonMari protocol: On the show, Marie Kondo doesnt allow clients to have a maybe pile. But Siolkowsky does, because she knows they get stuck sorting through the contents of their life. The first item Zimmerman gets stuck on is a graphic T-shirt. This one I feel bad about because I got it from my mom, she says. The gift is in the giving, Siolkowsky says. Zimmerman nods, and puts the T-shirt into the no pile. Further items that get the heave are a pyjama top Zimmermans boyfriend hates, an old blazer and a black skirt. Then another garment trips her up: this one a T-shirt that reads Bride Tribe. I dont wear it but it was from my best friends wedding, Zimmerman says. The wedding is done, Siolkowsky says. Not having it doesnt mean the wedding didnt happen. Its not going to eliminate your memories. Into the no pile the T-shirt goes. After an hour a lot more bare floor is visible in Zimmermans formerly cluttered closet. Siolkowsky is busy colour-coding her clients blouses when Zimmerman notes that nothing shes thrown away so far was expensive. Siolkowsky isnt surprised. Her clients are often amazed at how much clothing they have and how much they have to throw away. Does she feel her work disrupts their patterns of consumption? I like to think so, she says. The KonMari method certainly helped Siolkowsky disrupt her own pattern of consumption. She was an elementary school teacher in her past life, with a really tidy classroom. Then in June of 2016, a friend, as a joke gift, gave her Kondos book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. Siolkowsky took it seriously. Two months later she was on an airplane to New York City, where she paid about $2,000 to train at an official KonMari conference to become a consultant. Her studies included folding techniques (t-shirts folded into neat little packages that can stand upright in a drawer) and, of course, the famous spark joy philosophy. For me, it (KonMari) was my first step on a path to minimalism, she says. I did the spark joy test and the things that sparked joy for me were the things I already had. Once an emotional shopper, Siolkowsky became a staunch environmentalist. Professionally she started making sure every piece of discarded client clothing found its way into a donation bin (even donating excess hangers to university dormitories). Privately she stopped purchasing anything but necessities. (When it comes to gifts over the holidays, she doesnt buy material things for family members. She buys them experiences instead: tickets to a Raptors game, for example.) Her method seemed in line with the general approbation Tidying Up with Marie Kondo received when it first aired on Netflix. Here was a celebrity pushing mindfulness over material consumerism and in America no less! And then came the store. In late 2019, Kondo launched The Shop at KonMari, an online store featuring her own line of personal spark joy items, such as an $86 candle, a $96 ladle and a $180 cheese knife. The store did not spark joy in the general public. The Queen of Decluttering Would Like to Sell You Some Things is how The Cut summed up Kondos new venture. A column by Vinay Menon in this newspaper ran with the headline: Marie Kondos new store proves she only wants to declutter your wallet. Siolkowsky isnt so harsh. But she doesnt endorse the store either. Every consultant, we have our own pieces that we bring to the table. And my pieces are minimalism and environmentalism. I encourage clients to address their pattern of consumption at the source. So for me personally, I wont be encouraging people to go to her store and buy things. Zimmerman is appreciative of Siolkowskys environmentalism, but has her eye on a different prize. I love that its something she does, she says. But Id lie if I said thats why I picked her. Why did she pick her? Because by the end of the day Zimmermans closet will be newly spacious and immaculate, and she will shed every item from her maybe pile. Siolkowsky will donate it all. Marie Kondo may be putting more stuff into the world. But at least one of her consultants is redistributing it. The student becomes the master. Hong Kong police seized a pistol and more than 90 rounds of ammunition while arresting one member of a radical anti-government group during a raid on a public housing flat in Sha Tin on Friday morning, according to police. The arrest followed the seizure of 362 rounds of ammunition for an AR-15 assault rifle, 150 9mm bullets for handguns, and 99 detonation cords as well as an assortment of gun parts contained in 10 parcels airmailed from the United States to a local logistics company between January 8 and 10. Force insiders said initial investigation showed that the P80 handgun and 92 bullets seized from the suspects home on Friday had also been hidden in parcels airmailed from the United States. The morning arrest was one of a series of raids that took place across the city, the result of a one-month investigation into the group, which were mounted by officers from the organised crime and triad bureau, according to a source. Intelligence indicates the gang is also in possession of an AR-15 assault rifle, the source said. We are now raiding a number of targeted locations and searching for other members of the group. Officers first swooped into action at about 8.30am on Friday, when a 27-year-old man left his public housing flat in Kwong Yuen Estate in Sha Tin. Police discovered the handgun and ammunition in his bedroom. Forty seven of the 92 bullets found were already loaded inside seven ammunition magazines. We believe parts of the handgun were airmailed into the city to avoid detection, and then assembled here, another source said. He said police were investigating when and where the weapon was intended to be used and whether police officers were the targets. Senior superintendent Steve Li Kwai-wah of the Organised Crime and Triad Bureau said: We have evidence to show the role of the suspect was to collect the parcels, assemble the guns and send them to radical members of his group. Story continues He said intelligence indicated that suspects radical group had been plotting to use explosives and firearms against police officers in anti-government protests in December. According to police, the investigation was continuing and further arrests were possible. The seizure of firearms marks the fourth such action in the past six weeks in the city. On December 22, police arrested an 18-year-old man and seized a P80 pistol and an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle the same model that was used in the 2017 Las Vegas shooting along with 211 rounds of ammunitions in Tai Po. Earlier the same month, police seized two pistols and 138 rounds of ammunition in two separate cases. The suspect is a repairman who lives in the flat with his parents. Police arrested the man for possession of firearms without a licence an offence carrying a maximum penalty of 14 years in jail. He was being held for questioning at the police headquarters in Wan Chai. Hong Kong has been gripped by nearly seven months of anti-government demonstrations sparked by the now-withdrawn extradition bill that have often descended into chaos and violent clashes between protesters and police. This article Handgun and ammo seized, man arrested as Hong Kong police raid radical anti-government group first appeared on South China Morning Post For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2020. Monday, January 20th, 2020 (10:20 am) - Score 1,435 The new Infrastructure Commission for Scotland (ICS) has this morning published a blueprint for their proposed 30-year infrastructure strategy, which among other things calls on the Scottish Government (SG) to ensure the delivery of a full fibre (FTTP) broadband ISP network to cover all of the country 2027. At present around 94.5% of Scotland can already access a fixed superfast broadband (24Mbps+) connection, while 50% have access to ultrafast (100Mbps+) speeds (mostly via Virgin Medias platform) and gigabit-capable full fibre networks cover around 8% (here). As for mobile (mobile broadband) networks, indoor 4G coverage is about 79% from all operators but this drops to just 42% for geographic coverage from all operators (here). The SG is already working to improve all of this, such as through their somewhat slow to deliver 25m 4G Infill Programme (here), as well as the new 10 year 100% relief on business rates for new fibre infrastructure (here) and their delay stricken 600m R100 programme that aims to get as close as possible to 100% coverage of superfast broadband (here). The R100 roll-out originally expected to complete by the end of 2021, although the SG has since confirmed that it wont finish until 2023. The good news is that many of the remaining rural areas will be covered by a full fibre service from Openreach (BT) via this project, but the bad news is that the schemes largest North LOT (i.e. the Highlands and Islands, Angus, Aberdeen and Dundee) has been stalled by a legal challenge from Gigaclear. On top of all that we now have the first report from the new ICS, which very generally sets out 23 specific recommendations for the Scottish Government to consider. Several of these are directly related to broadband and mobile infrastructure, which weve highlighted below. ICS Recommendations Related to Broadband and Mobile 17. Building on the findings of the recent UK National Infrastructure Commission review of Energy and Telecoms regulation, the Scottish and UK Governments should immediately commit to work together to develop by 2021, an appropriately devolved regulatory and pricing framework that enables energy and telecoms infrastructure investment to be planned and delivered to meet the future needs of Scotland. 19. In conjunction with the regulatory reforms highlighted in 17, the Scottish Government should provide the leadership required to ensure the delivery of a full fibre network for Scotland by 2027 to enable the transition to 5G across the whole of Scotland. 20. To ensure Scotlands place in the world and increase its international presence and connectivity resilience, the Scottish Government should prioritise support for an indigenous data centre market and investment in direct international fibre optic cables. 21. From 2020, the Scottish Government should consider the future data requirements and data potential for all new publicly funded infrastructure as well as the potential for the use of digital services associated with the assets. We should clarify, since its not completely clear above, that the document does say the 2027 date is indeed for covering the whole of Scotland with full fibre. Such a date is extremely challenging, particularly given the on-going delays with R100 (may not be resolved for awhile), but on the other hand R100 is at a much more advanced stage than the UK Governments new 5bn gigabit scheme (it may be 2021 before that comes out of the oven). Ian Russell, Chair of the ICS, said: While infrastructure investment remains a vital factor in supporting the economy and acting as an enabler to deliver effective public services, future infrastructure decisions should be based on their ability to clearly demonstrate their contribution to an inclusive,net zero carbon economy. We do not underestimate the nature and scale of the challenges facing future infrastructure decisions and recognise difficult decisions will need to be made. This will require bold and determined leadership from the Scottish Government. However, this is not just a challenge for the public sector. Critically it is a call to everyone who plans, builds, invests in, owns, operates, regulates and, as importantly, uses Scotlands infrastructure. If we can all embrace and build on the recommendations set out in this Report, we can go a long way to turning an infrastructure vision for an inclusive,net zero carbon economy into a reality. An Openreach spokesperson said: Having worked closely with the Commission we welcome the report, which is ambitious for Scotland and sets out a long term vision for a truly smart and sustainable nation. We look forward to considering in detail what it means for Openreach and our vital role in delivering the network and engineering skills the country will need. We will continue to engage with the Commission as its work progresses. At this stage the first report is somewhat aspirational and lacking in detail, since it mostly focuses on the why and the what of infrastructure, rather than the how. The next Phase 2 report will look at the latter issue and that should be published a little bit later into 2020 (we think summer time). Hopefully the next report makes some solid recommendations on the implementation side but in the meantime you can read todays Phase 1 report here. UPDATE 5:24pm A comment from Cityfibre. Then-Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden attend an NCAA basketball game between Georgetown University and Duke University in Washington on Jan. 30, 2010. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters) Nadler: Democrats Wont Negotiate Hunter Biden Testimony in Exchange for Other Witnesses Democrats wont negotiate calling former Vice President Joe Bidens son Hunter Biden during the Senate impeachment trial in exchange for other witnesses, House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) said. Nadler, 72, is one of the House impeachment managers. In any trial, all relevant witnesses must be heard. Whether youre accused of robbing a bank,testimony that I saw him rob the bank or he was somewhere else, he couldnt have robbed the bank, is admissible. Its not negotiable whether you have witnesses. And this whole controversy about whether there should be witnesses is justis really a question of, does the Senate want to have a fair trial or do theyor are they part of the cover up of the President? Nadler said during a Sunday appearance on CBS Face the Nation. Im saying that Hunter Biden has no knowledge of the accusations against the president, he said after being questioned by host Margaret Brennan. Theyre asking for Hunter Biden is just more of a smear of Hunter Biden that the President is trying to get the Ukraine to do, Nadler added. House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) speaks at a press conference to announce the House impeachment managers in the trial of President Donald Trump in Washington on Jan. 15, 2020. (Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images) President Donald Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a July 2019 phone call to look into accusations of corruption surrounding the Bidens, which prompted Democrats to claim the president was asking a foreign country to probe a political rival. Joe Biden, a Democratic presidential contender, said in 2018 that while in office in 2016, he pressured Ukraine to oust a prosecutor who was probing his sons employer, Ukraine-based Burisma Holdings. Law professor Jonathan Turley, who testified during the impeachment inquiry, has said that Hunter Biden would be a relevant defense witness in a conventional trial. Bidens testimony would have bearing on a key question in an abuse-of-power trial. Trump insists that he raised the issue of Hunter Bidens relationship with a Ukrainian energy firm to the Ukrainian president as part of an overall concern he had about ongoing corruption in that country, he wrote in a recent op-ed. If that contract with the son of a former vice president could be shown to be a corrupt scheme to advance the interests of a foreign company or country, it might be Trumps best defense. The Senate is expected to vote on Tuesday on starting the trial without addressing the matter of witnesses, based on precedent set in the 1999 impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton. The initial vote doesnt preclude calling witnesses later in the process, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has said. One leading Republican said this month that hed force a vote on calling Hunter Biden to the witness stand in the Senate impeachment trial if his colleagues support Democrat calls for former national security adviser John Bolton to testify. Another, a potential swing vote, said she wants to hear from both sides before deciding on witnesses. Former National Security Adviser John Bolton speaks in a file photograph. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times) Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he wants Bolton, acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney; senior adviser to Mulvaney, Robert Blair; and Michael Duffey, associate director for national security at the Office of Management and Budget, to testify. Republicans have mentioned calling the person who filed a complaint against Trump over the call with Zelensky along with the Bidens. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) noted during an appearance on Face the Nation that there were 17 witnesses that gave testimony during the House impeachment inquiry. All of that will be available to the impeachment managers to present their case to the Senate. And then after they are through, then if the senators, fifty-one senators, want to hear more then we can vote to subpoena those witnesses, he said. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 20 By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend: Kazakhstan has completely prohibited export of live cattle and small cattle of all age and gender groups, Trend reports with reference to Kazakhstans Ministry of Agriculture. Kazakhstan has exported 156,000 heads of cattle in 2019 most of which accounted for Uzbekistan. During the same year 264,000 sheep were exported, the majority of which once again accounted for Uzbekistan. This export of livestock for processing and resale created the basis for speculative price increases for meat products. In addition, this led to a decrease of loading of Kazakh meat processing ventures and feedlots, which were loaded by less than a half of their actual capacities in 2019. The main reason for the load decrease was deficit of raw materials which was due to the high volume of livestock export, the ministry said. Due to the fact that the State Development program of agro-industrial complex till 2021 obliges the ministry to increase export volume of processed meat goods by 2.5 times, the ministry has to take measures against the current situation, the ministry said. Introduction of such measures will allow to increase the number of cattle animals in Kazakhstan in the near future, load local meat processing ventures with quality raw materials, as well as increase manufacturing and export of processed meat products, the ministry said. Agro-industrial complex of Kazakhstan plays a key role in countrys economy. Its development will balance sustainable development of the country, will increase labor productivity and will provide increase in living standard of the main part of population. State Development program of agro-industrial complex till 2021 is being implemented currently. The program provides for implementation of 10 tasks, and ensuring the availability of sales markets and export development, and the development of rural areas are among it. Country's agro-industrial complex was set a goal to radically increase of labor productivity and growth of processed agricultural products exports at least 2.5 times. All this will provide key conditions for the development of the agro-industrial sector. --- Follow the author on twitter: @nargiz_sadikh City of Toronto planning staff have been told to oppose downtown homeowners who want approval to build parking pads on the basis they need access to a charger for an electric vehicle. Lynda Macdonald, the citys director of community planning, sent the directive after a Jan. 13 Star story about a Parkdale man who won his appeal of a parking pad denial by arguing he planned to buy a Tesla and Toronto is officially encouraging electric vehicle (EV) adoption an apparent first. In (Toronto-East York) we will not be supporting a parking pad that is otherwise unsupportable just because it is to accommodate an electric vehicle, Macdonald wrote in the email obtained by the Star. Applications for such pads have long been banned in downtown wards over environmental concerns the removal of trees and concerns that hard pads increase stormwater runoff and the amount of sewage that can flow into Lake Ontario when the citys sewer system gets overwhelmed. Macdonald acknowledges to her planners what many, including some city councillors, are saying Toronto has been too slow to reconcile the coming wave of EVs with the fact that many residents in houses and highrises dont have driveways or garages where they can charge a vehicle. I realize that the city has not moved as quickly as we could to accommodate charging stations on streets, Macdonald wrote, but front yard parking that displaces soft landscaping, may take space that could accommodate a tree and exacerbates storm water runoff is not a positive step in addressing climate change charging station or not. Last year Gregory Pechersky of Springhurst Avenue failed to convince the citys committee of adjustment to let him install a front-yard parking pad. The committee upheld the moratorium, in line with advice from city staff and local Councillor Gord Perks. Pechersky, a Tesla fan, appealed to the citys Toronto Local Appeal Body (TLAB) which, in a late December ruling, looked more favourably on his plea to be able to cover part of his yard with a permeable surface, without any tree removal, so he can park and charge an EV there. TLAB member Ted Yao ruled the application highlights a legislative and policy gap between the citys opposition to parking pads and its initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change by, in part, trying to get Torontonians into EVs. A new staff-proposed EV strategy for Toronto going to city council this month urges boosting the adoption rate of EV usage from 0.6 per cent now to 5 per cent by 2025 and 100 per cent by 2050. It notes access to charging stations as a serious barrier, especially for driveway orphans. Council in 2017 instructed city staff and Toronto Hydro to launch a pilot project to install public charges in a handful of neighbourhoods for people with on-street parking. None have been installed. City staff say some chargers will finally be installed this year. Saying city regulations have not caught up to climate change imperatives, Yao approved Pecherskys requested variance from zoning rules, adding it met required criteria minor in nature, desirable and appropriate use of the site, and in keeping with the general intent and purpose of the zoning bylaw and the citys official plan. City officials did not attend the appeal. Perks (Ward 4 Parkdale-High Park) told the Star: Because this is a brand new instance I didnt catch it, and take action to have a city planner and lawyer at TLAB to argue against an EV charger as justification to override the moratorium. Perks said he recently got council direction for city staff to oppose a similar appeal going to TLAB. That will be my practice going forward, said the councillor, noting that once a pad is approved the city has no way to enforce what kind of vehicle is parked upon it. Perks, a former Greenpeace campaigner, is working on a way to plug the loophole that let EV charging access become grounds for a parking pad, adding hes not convinced EVs are the best way to fight climate change. No one has shown me the (research) that its better to spend public money getting people into electric cars rather than buying everyone a bicycle and giving them a free transit pass, he said. In an email to the Star, Macdonald said the message she was sending planning staff with her email was good planning needs to come first. This issue should not be defined by looking at it from the perspective of one issue superseding another this is not about electric vehicles versus stormwater management. I believe we need to look at the big picture and make smart policy decisions based on good data and solid research. City planning is committed to working with the public, continuing to grow our understanding of the issues and moving forward to build a more resilient city, she added. One of Perkss colleagues, Brad Bradford in Ward 19 Beaches-East York, has some residents in East York with a parking pad moratorium and others in The Beach without one. He wants council to harmonize rules so all of them can apply for pads but be eligible only if they install hardware to allow EV charging. RELATED STORIES GTA Plans to buy a Tesla help Parkdale homeowner win parking spot battle. Now the city is worried about the precedent I want your next vehicle to be an EV, said Bradford, who worked for the city as a planner before he was elected in 2018. The city has done a pretty poor job of getting us ready for this change, were way behind. We have a disconnect between our policy objectives and our regulations. We need pragmatic, practical solutions so we can ensure permeable paving and other requirements, and give people a practical path to compliance otherwise theyre going to circumvent the process by going to TLAB and then we lose control. Sean Galbraith, who owns an urban planning firm and was not involved in the Pechersky case, predicted EVs will figure larger in city zoning rules and decisions. If youre going to require parking, you need to at least have the capacity to make them electric-charging to future-proof them, I think that will be extremely common, Galbraith said. The question for Toronto is how it grapples with its legacy neighbourhoods where you have a real push and pull between conflicting interests. In general terms we want electric charging and the infrastructure, but we also want to minimize front-yard parking. How will on-street parking (chargers) work if its shared, how will we handle streets where no on-street parking is allowed? These arent easy issues to adapt whole neighbourhoods to. David Rider is the Stars City Hall bureau chief and a reporter covering city hall and municipal politics. Follow him on Twitter: @dmrider Prince Harry and Boris Johnson talking at the UK-Africa Investment Summit - Getty Images Europe The Duke of Sussex and Boris Johnson have had an informal "catch-up" chat behind closed doors just hours after Prince Harry said he had "no other option" but to step back from royal life. Prince Harry carried out what is likely to be one of his few remaining official engagements before the Sussexes take a "leap of faith" and leave the monarchy for a new life in Canada. He and the Prime Minister met for 20 minutes one-to-one without any aides present at the UK-Africa Investment Summit. Looking relaxed and wearing a suit, shirt and tie, the duke arrived at London's Docklands where Mr Johnson was hosting the global event on Monday. The Duke of Sussex delivered a speech on Sunday night where he told the "truth" about leaving royal duties behind in a bid for a "more peaceful life" for his family. Boris Johnson meanwhile set out his post-Brexit trade pitch to African leaders with his vision to put "people before passports" in an immigration system overhaul. The Prime Minister was tempting premiers from across the continent with the UK's financial and education systems as he opened his investment summit in London's Docklands on Monday. He also announced an end to UK support for thermal coal mining or coal power plants overseas in a bid to use trade to tackle the climate crisis. With the EU departure coming on January 31, Mr Johnson was pledging to be a partner "through thick and thin" with African nations as he eyes fresh trade deals across the globe. And - at the summit also attended by the Duke of Sussex - the PM made a pitch for improved business links from his proposed Australian-style immigration system. "Change is coming and our system is becoming fairer and more equal between all our global friends and partners, treating people the same, wherever they come from," he told the UK-Africa Investment Summit. Story continues "By putting people before passports, we will be able to attract the best talent from around the world, wherever they may be." Mr Johnson gave current partnership examples of Nigerian street lights being stocked with low-emission diodes from Dorset, and Angolan families tucking into chicken from Northern Ireland. "We want to build a new future as a global free-trading nation, that's what we will be embarking on on January 31," he said. "But I want to intensify and expand that trade in ways that go far beyond what we sell you or you sell us. "I've just told President (Yoweri) Museveni of Uganda that his beef cattle will have an honoured place on the tables of post-Brexit Britain." Mr Johnson also spoke of the climate crisis and fight to save biodiversity by ending direct official development assistance, investment and export credit as part of his coal plan. "There's no point in the UK reducing the amount of coal we burn if we then trundle over to Africa and line our pockets by encouraging African states to use more of it," he said. "To put it simply not another penny of UK taxpayers' money will be directly invested in digging up coal or burning it for electricity." Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, speaks with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson as they attend the UK-Africa Investment Summit Credit: Getty Mr Johnson was meeting presidents from Rwanda, Ghana and Nigeria at the summit, and was due to have talks with the premiers of Egypt and Kenya at Downing Street on Tuesday. The Duke of Sussex's attendance comes after he said there was "no other option" but for him and wife Meghan to stand down from the royal family. It emerged the couple had wanted to remain as working royals, although not prominent members, and drop their public funding so they could become financially independent - a dual role many commentators said was fraught with problems. But in a statement issued on Saturday after Royal Family talks concluded, the Sussexes announced they will stop carrying out royal duties from the spring, no longer use HRH and will repay the taxpayers' millions spent on their Berkshire home. Critics have accused the couple of turning their backs on the monarchy in order to enjoy the freedom that being able to take on commercial ventures brings. In a speech at a private event for his charity Sentebale on Sunday night in London, Harry told invited guests: "What I want to make clear is we're not walking away, and we certainly aren't walking away from you. "Our hope was to continue serving the Queen, the Commonwealth, and my military associations, but without public funding. Unfortunately, that wasn't possible. "I've accepted this, knowing that it doesn't change who I am or how committed I am. "But I hope that helps you understand what it had to come to, that I would step my family back from all I have ever known, to take a step forward into what I hope can be a more peaceful life." The duke was not officially attending the summit but was holding audiences - one-to-one meetings - with a number of foreign leaders at the request of the UK Government. Harry sat down to talks with Saad-Eddine El Othmani, prime minister of Morocco, Peter Mutharika, president of Malawi and Filipe Nyusi, president of Mozambique. A paedophile couple jailed for 26 years plotted to make their friend's five-year-old son their next victim after molesting five young girls in a bid to spice up their sex life. Keeli Burlingham, 33, and Peter Taylor, also 33, would sexually assault youngsters and send pictures and videos of the abuse to each other over WhatsApp. The pair, of Dukinfield, Greater Manchester, began their sick campaign of abuse after he asked her to dress as a schoolgirl as part of a sexual role play. On one occasion cafe worker Burlingham took pictures of herself molesting a young girl and sent them to her auto electrician boyfriend while he was on a USA road trip to celebrate his birthday. Another saw Taylor taking pictures of an 11-year-old girl getting undressed in a swimming pool changing room and touching her over her bikini bottoms. The couple, who blamed being in a 'low ebb' after their marriages broke down', also planned to have sex with a five-year-old they knew. Keeli Burlingham, 33, and Peter Taylor, also 33, (pictured together) would sexually assault youngsters and send pictures and videos of the abuse to each other over WhatsApp The pair (mugshots pictured), of Dukinfield, Greater Manchester, began their sick campaign of abuse after he asked her to dress as a schoolgirl as part of a sexual role play They were arrested after downloading 5,035 lurid pictures of youngsters off the internet including 1044 in the most serious category A images. The pair were both convicted of arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence, sexual assault of a child under 13, taking and making indecent photographs of a child and encouraging the commission of sex offences. Burlingham was also convicted of assault and distributing indecent photographs. Taylor was handed 15 years in prison, while Burlingham was ordered to serve 11. Both were ordered to sign the Sex Offender Register and be subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for life. Prosecutors said Taylor, who worked for a car dealership in Merseyside, was the 'prime mover' - manipulating Burlingham into carrying out the vile acts. At Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester, the five year old boy's mother condemned Burlingham as she and Taylor were convicted of a string of sex offences. The five-year-old boy's mother told the court: 'I was there for Keeli and she was there for me. 'I felt she was my friend and yet she has committed the ultimate betrayal, I found it hard to understand that she could do something like that. 'I could understand if she wanted to harm me but she wanted to target the most important person in my life, my son. 'I see her as two people - the previous friend and a monster. I struggle to trust anyone now. On one occasion cafe worker Burlingham (pictured) took pictures of herself molesting a young girl ans sent them to her auto electrician boyfriend while he was on a USA road trip to celebrate his birthday Taylor is pictured on his birthday road trip in the USA 'To me both of them have hurt me too much but it was the betrayal from Keeli that hurts the most. 'I didn't understand what hatred was before this but I understand now. I have never been so angry in my life I don't think I can get over this or let this lie. 'The only solace I have is that they are in prison and my child and other children are now safe.' The court heard the pair met on a dating website in 2016 after both breaking up with their respective spouses. Prosecutor Michael Scholes said: 'Throughout their relationship they downloaded indecent images of children for their personal sexual gratification. They (pictured together) were arrested after downloading 5,035 lurid pictures of youngsters off the internet including 1044 in the most serious category A images 'Taylor is a man who obtains sexual gratification from downloading such images it is obvious he was the prime mover although it is clear from the chat logs we all had the dubious pleasure of having to consider that Keeli Burlingham obtained sexual stimulation from viewing those too.' He said Burlingham and Taylor were babysitting a three-year-old girl when she began molesting her at his behest and used a mobile phone to film the assaults. A second girl aged 11 known to the pair was targeted after Taylor became 'obsessed' with her. The prosecutor said: 'The chat logs make it clear that Taylor became sexually obsessed with the girl and the logs demonstrate he manipulated Keeli to assist in his desire to obtain images of her without her knowledge using a camera or photographic device. 'Chat logs disclosed that on at least one occasion images including still and moving images were obtained of the child. 'As the police were to discover many months after the event Taylor boasted of having sexually assaulted the girl without her knowledge - an assault which occurred while he touched her over her bikini bottoms when she was at a swimming pool. Burlingham was also convicted of assault and distributing indecent photographs 'The chat logs demonstrated an obsession and desire for Taylor to sexually abuse the child and have intercourse with her. 'In fact the defendants planned for that event and there was messaging of a similar nature discussing sexual activity with other friends of the girl. 'This related to a sleepover, a sinister aspect is these messages included references to giving children sleeping tablets - it referred to children plural.' 'On one occasions Taylor was on a 'road trip' in August 2017 to celebrate his birthday in the USA. 'Whilst he was in the US Keeli was staying with a friend over a period of several days. 'But whilst he was in the US it was clear from the chat logs that he pestered and manipulated Burlingham to obtain indecent images of the friend's daughter. 'Keeli Burlingham was taking care of the girl whilst her mother was at work. She sexually assaulted her and took a number of images of the assault. 'It is clear Taylor was seeking to manipulate Keeli Burlingham to do his bidding the assault was encouraged by him in his messages sent from the US. 'The images of the assault were sent immediately to Taylor in the US by Burlingham. 'They also planned to obtain access to a boy for the purposes of engaging in sexual activity with him. Fortunately, the sexual ambitions never went beyond the planning stage.' The pair were both convicted of arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence, sexual assault of a child under 13, taking and making indecent photographs of a child and encouraging the commission of sex offences Taylor was arrested in April 2019 and admitted downloading indecent images. He claimed he was seeking help and he had 'seen the error of his ways' although prosecutors said he was 'deceiving police in relation to the true picture' in the hope further investigation would not be pursued. In mitigation Taylor's lawyer Howard Bernstein said: 'He hadn't accessed images of children before the relationship commenced - this is something that developed and eventually he says the interest in children and role play followed. 'He accepts that very base and unsatisfactory sexual practices took place that then channelled themselves into obtaining sexual images of children and having sexual interest in children. 'He accepts Keeli Burlingham was vulnerable due to a failed relationship but he also found himself in a low position following the break down of an eight year marriage and he was at a very low ebb. 'The two of them were in a similar position of having had low self esteem, of having had relationship break downs that they found themselves in. 'While it is accepted that he is the prime mover there were issues that suggest perhaps he isn't somebody who has deliberately targeted somebody to manipulate them at the outset.' Defending Burlingham, Nicola Gatto said: 'She was a very ordinary girl leading a very ordinary life. 'If she had not met Mr Taylor this young woman wouldn't have come to the attention of the courts. 'She realises she played her part and doesn't seek to pass all the blame onto Mr Taylor but there is a degree of vulnerability about her. There was a certain degree of persistence on the part of Mr Taylor. 'She's somebody who is desperate to please having had only three serious relationships in her adult life. 'Her sexual preferences were entirely normal and initially when matters first commenced Mr Taylor was very keen on sexual role play and wanted her to assume the identity of a school age girl. This developed into the offences she has pleaded guilty to. 'Prior to meeting this defendant she had never harboured any sexual fantasy about children. 'She has developed an emotionally dependent position with Taylor maybe linked to the break down of her marriage. 'She was vulnerable to emotional pressure placed on her and playing on her desire to please. 'She has demonstrated remorse, victim awareness and victim empathy and she describes her actions as despicable. 'She was engaged in a toxic relationship with a partner was manipulative and frequently spoke to her in an unpleasant manner. He wanted her to do his bidding.' Sentencing Judge Mark Savill said: 'You Burlingham were living an entirely unremarkable existence with a failed marriage and suffering from a degree of depression and low self esteem. Taylor you appeared to be a respectable member of the community. However you were concealing a dark secret - a revolting sexual attraction to young children of both sexes that was lying dormant prior to you meeting Burlingham. 'As your relationship progressed role play began as Taylor requested Burlingham fulfil the role of a schoolgirl. 'I have no doubt that that served to heighten both your sexual enjoyment. What two individuals get up to in the privacy of their own homes isn't usually a matter for these courts but these matters spiralled out of control and you both embarked on far more serious, sinister criminal behaviour. 'The evidence I heard was base and vile and I recall the upset and concern shown by the jury during the trial. 'You Taylor encouraged these acts you were manipulative of Burlingham, you Burlingham while pathetically keen to attain his affections nevertheless went along willingly and enthusiastically not only to satisfy him but also yourself. 'The actions of both of you were outrageous and abhorrent and involved the most precious members of our society - its children. 'While most of the children are never likely to appreciate what was done to them I have in mind their parents who will have to deal with and suppress these events throughout their life.' Carrie-Anne Taitt, a 30-year-old mother-of-two, was diagnosed with incurable cervical cancer - more than a year after doctors gave her the all clear A 30-year-old mother-of-two was diagnosed with incurable cervical cancer - more than a year after doctors told her there was nothing to worry about. Primary-school teacher Carrie-Anne Taitt was advised by a midwife to have a smear test after a nodule was found on her cervix following the birth of her daughter Millie in February 2017. Weeks later she received a letter stating the results were negative, but Mrs Taitt, from Barnwood, Gloucester, went on to experience months of bleeding. After concerns were then raised during an examination, she was referred to a specialist. In May 2018 doctors confirmed she had cancer. Despite intensive treatment Mrs Taitt was told in January 2019 that the cancer was incurable. Mrs Taitt was advised by a midwife to have a smear test after a nodule was found on her cervix following the birth of her daughter Millie (left) in February 2017 but she was told the results were negative. Pictured: Mrs Taitt with her daughter Millie, son Leo and husband Michael What is cervical cancer and at what age are women called for a smear test? Cervical cancer affects the lining of the lower part of womb. The most common symptom is unusual bleeding, such as between periods, during sex or after the menopause, but other signs can include: Pain during sex Vaginal discharge that smells Pain in the pelvis Causes can include: Age - more than half of sufferers are under 45 HPV infection - which affects most people at some point in their lives Smoking - responsible for 21 per cent of cases Contraceptive pill - linked to 10 per cent of cases Having children Family history of cervical or other types of cancer, like vagina For women under 25, you'll be asked to do a smear test - also called a cervical cancer screening - up to six months before you turn 25. For women under 25, you'll be asked to do a smear test - also called a cervical cancer screening - up to six months before you turn 25. For women between 25 and 49 years old, a test every three years is recommended. Between 50 and 64, every 5 years is recommended. For women over the age of 65, smear tests are only required if one of the last three tests came back abnormal. Source: Cancer Research UK and NHS.UK Advertisement Mrs Taitt, who also has a six-year-old son Leo and lives with gym manager husband Michael, 33, is now urging women to seek second opinions. She said: 'My diagnosis came at a time when I couldn't wait to get started in teaching. Nothing can prepare for when you are told you have cancer. 'It turned our lives upside down. 'My diagnosis and gruelling treatment regime has had a massive impact on us as a family. 'I spent both my 29th and 30th birthdays in hospital and had to miss Leo's birthday last year for the same reason. 'I spent nearly seven weeks in hospital last year and I didn't get to see my children during this time which was heart-breaking. 'I slept an awful lot during this time and feel that I have missed out on important milestones in my children's lives. 'I know Millie is too young to understand what is happening, but Leo knows I'm unwell and he does get anxious when I'm in hospital. 'Despite my cancer, I'm determined to make a difference in any way that I can and doing these talks has given me a real sense of purpose. 'It has been nice to call on my training with these talks and I hope they are providing some real food for thought for young people on the issue of cervical cancer. 'The importance of this issue cannot be overstated and I want to do everything I can to spread the message when it comes to both screening and the symptoms.' The mother-of-two was six weeks away from completing her training to become a primary school teacher when she first received her cancer diagnosis. Mrs Taitt, who also has a six-year-old son Leo and lives with gym manager husband Michael (right), 33, is now urging women to seek second opinions. She managed to qualify despite gruelling chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment. Mrs Taitt has now instructed solicitors Irwin Mitchell to examine the care and support she received in relation to her diagnosis. Christopher Hurlston, who is representing Mrs Taitt, said: 'Carrie-Anne's story is sadly yet another devastating reminder of how cancer can affect people of all ages. 'She has a number of concerns about the care she received which we are investigating. The mother-of-two was six weeks away from completing her training to become a primary school teacher when she first received her cancer diagnosis. Mrs Taitt with her husband Michael 'Despite this and the uncertain future she faces, Carrie-Anne continues to show tremendous courage in her battle against the disease and her determination to help others is hugely inspirational. 'Through our work we often see the devastating impact that cervical cancer can have. 'It is vital that women are aware of the symptoms and take part in the screening programme. 'We are determined to support Carrie-Anne in any way we can and believe that her efforts will make a difference to many young lives. She is doing some truly amazing work.' Angola : la fille de l'ex-president Dos Santos accusee de corruption massive La milliardaire Isabel dos Santos, fille de l'ex-president angolais deja sous le coup d'une enquete judiciaire dans son pays, est accusee d'avoir "siphonne les caisses du pays", dans une enquete du Consortium international des journalistes d'investigation (ICIJ), publiee dimanche 19 janvier. Un tissu de "mensonges", selon elle.Les 36 medias internationaux membres du consortium, parmi lesquels la BBC, le New York Times et Le Monde, ont mobilise 120 journalistes dans une vingtaine de pays pour exploiter une fuite de 715 000 documents et reveler "comment une armee de societes financieres occidentales, d'avocats, de comptables, de fonctionnaires et de societes de gestion ont aide" cette femme de 46 ans "a cacher des avoirs aux autorites fiscales".Les "Luanda Leaks", du nom de la capitale de l'Angola, ont pu voir le jour grace a une fuite de donnees orchestree par un ou des anonymes depuis la societe de gestion financiere d'Isabel dos Santos basee au Portugal, "probablement issues d'un piratage informatique", selon Le Monde.Celle qu'on surnomme la "princesse de Luanda" etait deja dans le radar de la justice de nombreux pays. L'enquete de l'ICIJ l'accable en revelant des details inedits sur les montages financiers utilises, ainsi que le nom des societes qui l'y ont aidee et les montants en jeu.La fille de Jose Eduardo dos Santos, qui dirigea l'Angola d'une main de fer pendant trente-huit ans (1979-2017), avait vu en decembre ses comptes bancaires et ses actifs dans des entreprises angolaises geles.La justice angolaise la soupconne d'avoir detourne, avec son epoux danois d'origine congolaise Sindika Dokolo, plus d'un milliard de dollars des comptes des entreprises publiques Sonangol (petrole) et Endiama (diamant) pour nourrir ses propres affaires. Isabel dos Santos avait ete nommee en 2016 par son pere a la tete de la societe Sonangol.Grace a ce que Le Monde decrit comme une "nebuleuse composee de 400 societes identifiees dans 41 pays", Isabel Dos Santos avait mis en place un veritable "schema d'accaparement des richesses publiques".L'enquete de l'ICIJ revele entre autres que des societes de conseil occidentales, telles que PwC et Boston Consulting Group, ont "apparemment ignore les signaux d'alarme", en aidant la "princesse de Luanda" a cacher des biens publics. L'investigation s'appuie sur des lettres censurees qui montrent comment de grands noms chez les consultants, tels que Boston Consulting ou KPMG, ont cherche a lui ouvrir des comptes bancaires non transparents.Debut janvier, la justice portugaise a elle aussi annonce l'ouverture d'une enquete sur la femme d'affaires, qui detient des interets dans de nombreuses entreprises du pays, pour blanchiment d'argent public. "Monaco a fait de meme recemment pour les memes motifs", selon Le Monde.Celle qui est consideree par le magazine americain Forbes comme la femme la plus riche d'Afrique a elle-meme denonce aupres de BBC Afrique une "chasse aux sorcieres", destinee a les discrediter, elle et son pere.Elle a egalement replique, via une trentaine de tweets en portugais et en anglais. Dans le premier, elle lance : "Ma fortune est nee de mon caractere, mon intelligence, education, capacite de travail, perseverance. Je continue aujourd'hui (dimanche) a voir avec tristesse le racisme et les prejuges de SIC-Expresso (la television et l'hebdomadaire portugais membres de l'ICIJ, NDLR), qui rappelle l'ere des colonies dans laquelle aucun Africain ne valait un Europeen".Elle s'attaque ensuite dans le detail au recit publie par les deux journalistes de ces medias en les accusant nommement de "mensonges" sur certains points de sa gestion a la tete de la Sonangol.Isabel dos Santos estime aussi qu'il s'agit d'"informations qu'ont fait fuiter les services secrets angolais pour manipuler l'ICIJ, au profit d'un agenda politique des autorites angolaises".Son avocat a egalement refute les accusations de l'ICIJ, denoncant aupres du journal britannique The Guardian une "attaque parfaitement coordonnee" par le dirigeant actuel de l'Angola, Joao Lourenco, qui s'est lance dans une spectaculaire lutte anticorruption. Measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) are highly contagious infectious diseases that have historically resulted in significant deaths. For example, an estimated 2.6 million deaths were caused by measles in 1980 alone. However, an effective vaccination against measles, mumps, and rubella exists and has been administered more than 500 million times in more than 100 countries around the world since 2001. As a result, places with high vaccination coverage have significantly lower rates of the three diseases. The MMR vaccine is administered to young children, with the first dose usually given at 9 to 15 months of age. The second dose can be administered anywhere from 15 months to 6 years of age. After two doses, nearly 97% of vaccinated individuals are effectively protected against the diseases. The United States (US) was one of the first countries to be declared free of measles, which occurred in 2000. However, with increasing globalization, the risk of the diseases still exist, and it is important that the vaccine coverage remains high. Vaccination coverage in US states is discussed below. MMR Vaccination Coverage in Four US States New York City New York City is the most populous city in the US. As a result, an outbreak in the megacity would pose serious and wide-ranging risks to the health and well-being of the masses. The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) is the agency responsible for ensuring the administration of MMR vaccines throughout the state. The agency is responsible for ensuring all New York residents have access to vaccines, as well as for maintaining accurate immunization records. The total MMR vaccination coverage in New York was 92.5% according to a survey conducted in 2017. California California is the most populous US state, and it also has one of the most highly-rated healthcare systems in the country. The total MMR vaccination coverage in California is 92.9%. The California Department for Health is a department of the State of Californias Health and Human Services Agency and takes proactive measures to educate the public about MMR and other important vaccinations. Missouri The Missouri Department of Health is the agency responsible for ensuring access to vaccination and immunization service in the state. While high compared to most parts of the world, Missouri's vaccination coverage is statistically the lowest among US states at only 85.8%. A possible reason for this rate of coverage is the state's low population density, which makes it challenging for health workers to reach populations living in remote areas. Massachusetts Massachusetts has the highest rate of vaccinations of all US states at 98.3%. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Bureau of Infectious Disease and Laboratory Sciences is the dedicated agency for administering vaccinations and disseminating information about the diseases. It is widely recognized as one of the most effective bureaus to ensure the elimination of MMR within the state. Is the United States Free of Measles? The United States was among the first countries in the world to be declared free of measles as early as the year 2000. Still, the MMR vaccination coverage varies widely across the 50 states, with coverage ranging from 85.8% in Missouri to almost 98.3% in Massachusetts. These rates are among the highest when compared to the rest of the world, but concentrated efforts to improve these percentages continue to date. As a first-time author, Shari Decter Hirst had an extremely busy 2019, during which she managed to pump out five volumes in her Bootleggers Chronicles book series about 1920s Philadelphia. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 14/1/2020 (728 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. As a first-time author, Shari Decter Hirst had an extremely busy 2019, during which she managed to pump out five volumes in her "Bootleggers Chronicles" book series about 1920s Philadelphia. The former Brandon mayor, who served in office from 2010 to 2014, is showing no signs of slowing down with her writing. Earlier this month, Decter Hirst told the Sun shes planning on publishing another series this spring about the seedy underbelly of Prohibition-era United States, except this time shes moving the action to the Florida Everglades. Former Brandon mayor Shari Decter Hirst poses with a copy of her book "Innocence Lost" at the Brandon Public Library last year. (Submitted) Decter Hirst recently told the Sun that this new trilogy, dubbed "The Rum Runners Chronicles," follows recently widowed Edith Duffy as she tries to establish a speakeasy in a small town located just outside Miami. But when this strong-willed woman starts a lucrative rum-running operation she attracts the attention of indignant locals who attempt to destroy her. Just like her previous series, Decter Hirst thought it was important to put in hours and hours of historical research to make sure this new story was as authentic as possible. "I wanted to capture all of the vibrancy and energy of the 20s," she said. "So much was changing, especially for women, and it wasnt just the clothes they wore and how they talked it was access to education and the ability to own property and just that sense of independence." However, Decter Hirst admitted that this research portion proved to be a lot trickier than last time, since a lot of the reporting on rum-running in Florida at that time was soaked in sensationalism. The cover of "Gathering Storm," the first book in Shari Decter Hirst's new trilogy called "The Rum Runners' Chronicles." (Submitted) "People were intrigued by the romance of being a pirate and it was hard to get facts," she said. "So sometimes you had to read between the lines of star-struck adventurers to get the reality of what was actually happening." On a personal level, Decter Hirst said putting this new series together has been extremely gratifying, since she notices that the writing and editing process is a lot easier compared to last year. Part of this newfound confidence is due to her support network, which includes vigorous beta readers and editors who regularly point her in the right direction when it comes to grammar and story structure. "Theres this romantic idea that the writer is a lone figure sitting in front of a typewriter in an attic somewhere," she said. "But I have a really good team around me and that is as important as the plot of the story thats in my head." That being said, Decter Hirst mentions that your own individual writing process is still crucial and can either make or break an authors productivity. "I always start with an outline so that I know how the series is going to end, as well as each book," she said. "By the time I sit down and start writing Ive got a good solid story laid out and then its just a matter of putting words in the mouths of my characters." For anyone who is looking to follow in her footsteps, Decter Hirst said the most important thing a prospective self-published author can do is simply start writing and get that first draft out of their system. While that initial effort will always turn out very rough, it will serve as a valuable roadmap for future success. "And the second draft is always a lot different, as you refine it and begin to clear away a lot of the rumble to find the real story," Decter Hirst said. The first entry in "The Rum Runners Chronicles," titled "Gathering Storm," is set to be released sometime in March. The following sequels, "Storm Surge" and "Eye of the Storm," should be published in April and May, respectively. In the meantime, Decter Hirst cant think of a better time to debut her new series about Prohibition now that the roaring 20s have finally made their return in the new year. "I think that society is ready for some of that excitement and glamour again, so well see what happens," she said. Decter Hirsts other written works can be ordered on Amazon or purchased locally at Super Thrifty Pharmacy, Lady of the Lake or Coles in Shoppers Mall. Hirst writes under the pen name of Sherilyn Decter. kdarbyson@brandonsun.com Twitter: @KyleDarbyson DES MOINES Elizabeth Warren hit Joe Biden for his past stances on changing Social Security and expressed solidarity with Bernie Sanders on the issue as the two liberal senators seek to move past their recent feud. Bernie Sanders and I established the Expand Social Security Caucus in the Senate , Warren said in a quick interview as she hopped into her car outside a candidate forum in Iowa. As a senator, Joe Biden had a very different position on Social Security, and I think everyone's records on Social Security are important in this election. Warrens comments come as Sanders has been relentlessly bashing Biden for his past openness to freezing cost-of-living spikes or raising the retirement age as part of larger bipartisan deals proposals that Sanders opposed during his time in Congress . Warren linking arms with Sanders on the issue also comes after long-simmering tensions between the two exploded into the open this week. The campaigns have been trying to move on from the conflict which climaxed Tuesday night when each accused the other of calling them a liar on the stage immediately following the debate and are largely not responding to media questions about the rift. The Social Security issue provides a potential opportunity for a liberal tag-team against Biden as both senators have long fought to expand the program and have rolled out plans on the campaign trail. Bidens proposal on the campaign trail now calls for expanding Social Security but that is a shift from his days in the Senate when he and other moderate Democrats were open to reforms that would have cut the program in order to help balance the budget. The Biden campaign declined to comment. The Sanders campaign said it had nothing to add to the senators previous comments. Sanders and top campaign aides have been aggressively trying to draw that contrast in recent days. "I think anyone who looks at the vice president's record understands that time after time after time, Joe has talked about the need to cut Social Security," Sanders said. Campaign Manager Faiz Shakir was more pointed, issuing a statement that Biden "should be honest with voters and stop trying to doctor his own public record of consistently and repeatedly trying to cut Social Security." Story continues Biden initially resisted responding to the attacks until Saturday when he accused Sanders campaign of pushing a doctored video of him talking about supporting Paul Ryans Social Security cuts. In a recent email, the Sanders campaign did say that Biden lauded Paul Ryan for proposing cuts to Social Security and Medicare a claim which PolitiFact labeled false. There is no evidence, however, that the Sanders campaign altered any video. In an email to supporters Sunday, the Biden campaign said the Sanders campaign was pushing around a deceptively edited video. Sanders tried to argue Sunday that the 2018 video was distracting from the larger disagreement between the two that stretched decades in Congress. I think there was a focus on one particular video, Sanders told The Washington Post . We should have the whole context. Warrens comments come hours after she seemed to shy away from a fight with Biden, merely pointing to her own plan to increase monthly payments by $200 and telling reporters I think everyones record on Social Security is important. Those comments are in line with her usual strategy of not directly criticizing other Democrats but her brief interview this afternoon suggests she may change it up on the issue which she has highlighted in television ads in Iowa . Just before she got in a van with campaign aides Sunday, she added: I'm clear where I am on this, and I think everyone's records should be examined. Holly Otterbein contributed to this report The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Monday proposed to award 138 crore contract to a private firm for the reconstruction of approach roads to Delisle bridge (excluding the land that falls under the Railways) at Lower Parel. According to BMC officials, the estimated cost of reconstruction of approach road is 138 crore. The bridge will be 85-metre long. We have given 18 months to the contractor, excluding the monsoon. The work is expected to be completed by 2022, the BMC official said. BMC has decided to appoint M/S.GHV (India) Private Limited and proposal regarding same will be tabled in the standing committee meeting to be held on Wednesday. Letter of acceptance for reconstruction of approach roads of the bridge would be issued after approval of the standing committee and work is likely to begin soon. The reconstruction work will be jointly taken up by the Western Railway (WR) and the BMC. The WR has already demolished part of the bridge and will reconstruct the bridge in the railway portion above the tracks and the BMC will take over rest of the work, including that of approach roads. Delisle bridge is a major link connecting Lower Parel, Worli and Prabhadevi to the west to Currey Road, Lalbaug and Byculla to the east. Before razing the bridge built in 1921, the railway had shut it for all kinds of traffic from July 24, 2018. The decision to rebuild the bridge was taken after it was declared unsafe in an audit conducted by the Indian Institute of Technology. . The Trump Administration announced a proposed rule on Friday that would roll-back Obama-era school lunch regulations, allowing more flexibilities in the amount and types of fruits and vegetables served during lunch. The announcement was made on former First Lady Michelle Obamas birthday, a coincidence not lost on critics. The roll backs also expand schools abilities to offer a la carte entrees for purchase, worrying some nutritionists that kids might opt for less healthy foods such as pizza and fries. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) announced that the rule changes are an answer to complaints of food waste and help to simplify meal patterns. 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. We listened and now were getting to work, said U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue in a public statement. Our proposed changes empower schools to give their very best to our children nationwide and have the potential to benefit nearly 100,000 schools and institutions that feed 30 million children each school day through USDAs school meal programs. The rules will increase flexibility in vegetable subgroups and allow schools to reduce the amount of fruits servings at breakfast. The proposed rules will be published on Jan. 23 and subject to a public comments period for 60 days before becoming finalized. This is not about politics; this is about serving children well, said a USDA spokesperson in a statement to TIME. These rules are a direct response to what has been shared with us by those who look these children in the eye every day, building on their feedback to introduce effective next steps that will ensure children get the nutrition they need to be successful. Story continues The agency also cited a recent USDA study on school nutrition and meal costs that found 21% of the calories available in school lunches were wasted. Critics of the proposed rule changes say the flexibility in vegetable subgroups could mean more potatoes in place nutrient-rich veggies, more sugary items for breakfast in place of fruit and could mean students purchase fattier or unhealthy a la carte items more frequently. If anything, the science of the past few years suggests that we need even more fruits and vegetables at each meal, and the less processed the better, Nancy Roman, president of Partnership for a Healthier America, told The Washington Post. Its not just what is on the plate, but how it is prepared. And particularly young children need more exposure to unprocessed, easy-to-eat, fruits, vegetables and greens. The USDA spokesperson tells TIME it did not intentionally announce this proposed rule on Michelle Obamas birthday. The USDA also shared some clarification on points of criticism. In a public statement, the agency said the proposal would continue to require every vegetable subgroup to be served and the amount of dark green vegetables that must be served each week did not change. It would, however, change the serving sizes for some subgroups to make them consistent, provide more flexibility to operators, and reduce waste. It added that the sale of a la carte items such as pizza and burgers would not be allowed all five school days. Michelle Obamas Hunger-Free Kids Act was passed by Congress in 2010 with the intention of reducing childhood obesity. According to the USDA, kids ate 16% more vegetables and 23% more fruit at lunch after the act was passed. Dozens of demonstrators were reportedly wounded in Baghdad and other cities on January 20 during anti-government protests in Iraq as the clashes with security forces who were trying to clear blocked roads resumed. According to international media reports, many protesters also threw petrol bombs and stones at police who in return responded with tear gas and stun grenades. Hundreds of protester in southern Iraq reportedly also burned tyres and blocked main roads in several cities, including Nassiriya, Kerbala, and Amara. The mass protests which has gripped Iraq since October has left approximately 450 people dead. The demonstrators have been demanding an overhaul of political system they see as profoundly corrupt and as keeping most Iraqis in poverty. According to earlier reports, two protesters on Friday were even killed. Last week as well riot police had reportedly fired tear gas and hurled petrol bombs to disperse the crowd on the important Sinak Bridge after demonstrators attempted to breach cement barriers previously erected by security forces that caused casualties, according to the activists and medical and security officials. READ: Iraqi Protesters Burn Tires To Block Main Roads READ: Iraqi SWAT Team Arrests Obese ISIS Leader 'Jabba The Jihadi', Hauls Him To Prison In Truck Unrest in Iraq Iraq has been rocked with protests since October 1 which also led to the resignation of Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi. After the rallies on the street, the protests have turned violent in the recent days against the widespread corruption and a political system which is seen as beholden to neighbouring Iran. Pro-Iranian factions have touted current Higher Education Minister Qusay al-Suhail for the post of Prime Minister but were opposed by President Barham Saleh. It the same pro-Iranian fractions who are supporting Assaad al-Aidani, the governor of Basra which is also unpopular among the demonstrators. The protesters reportedly chanted in the streets with 'we don't want Assaad the Iranian'. The protestors have expressed desire for a technocratic premier who has had no involvement in the political system set up after the US-led invasion that toppled the dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003. READ: 2 Iraqi Protesters Killed, More Than 20 Injured In Baghdad: Officials READ: Iraqis Worry US-Iran Tensions Are Eclipsing Their Protests (With inputs from Agencies) The Supreme Court Monday refused to grant interim stay on the 2018 Electoral Bonds Scheme, meant for funding political parties, ahead of the Delhi Assembly polls. The top court however sought response of the Centre and the Election Commission within two weeks on the interim application filed by an NGO, 'Association for Democratic Reforms', for staying the scheme. "Two weeks' time is granted to the respondents (Centre and the EC) to file counter affidavits. List thereafter," said the bench comprising Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant. Lawyer Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the NGO, alleged that the scheme is a means for channelising unaccounted black money in favour of the ruling party and sought interim stay on it on the ground that it would be misused ahead of Delhi assembly polls. "A stay was not given by this court before. So we may not do it now", the bench said, adding that it would hear the plea after two weeks. Bhushan argued that alarming facts have come to light about the scheme, which was meant only for Lok Sabha polls. "This scheme has been illegally restarted before the assembly elections. Thousands of crores of rupees of illegal funds and bribes will come to the pockets of the ruling party." Bhushan also referred to a document of the RBI while seeking stay of the scheme. Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the EC, said all these arguments have already been advanced earlier and sought four week to reply to the plea of the NGO against the scheme. The government has opened sale of electoral bonds for 10 days for the Delhi Assembly election. The government had notified the Electoral Bond Scheme on January 2, 2018. As per provisions of the scheme, electoral bonds may be purchased by a person, who is a citizen of India or incorporated or established in India. An individual can buy electoral bonds, either singly or jointly with other individuals. Only political parties registered under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 and which secured not less than 1 per cent of votes polled in the last general election to the House of the People or the Legislative Assembly of the State, are eligible to receive electoral bonds. As per the notification, electoral bonds shall be encashed by an eligible political party only through a bank account with an authorised bank. In November last year, the NGO had filed in the interim plea, in the pending PIL, seeking a stay on the implementation of Electoral Bond Scheme, 2018,. It had said that the scheme has opened the floodgates of unlimited corporate donations to political parties and anonymous financing by Indian as well as foreign companies and it can have serious repercussions on democracy in the country. It had said that certain amendments made in Finance Act, 2017 and earlier Finance Act, 2016, both passed as money bills, have opened doors to unlimited political donations, even from foreign companies and thereby legitimising electoral corruption at a huge scale, while at the same time ensuring complete non-transparency in political funding. "The Finance Act of 2017 had introduced the use of electoral bonds which is exempt from disclosure under the Representation of Peoples Act, 1951, opening doors to unchecked, unknown funding to political parties. "The said amendments have also removed the existing cap of 7.5 per cent of net profit in the last three years on campaign donations by companies and have legalised anonymous donations," the NGO had said. It had said the use of electoral bonds for political donations is a cause for concern because these bonds are in the nature of bearer bonds and the identity of the donor is kept anonymous. "It is only the general citizens who will not know who is donating to which party. Thus, electoral bonds increase the anonymity of political donations," it had said. The ADR said that it has already filed a PIL on the issue of corruption and subversion of democracy through illicit and foreign funding of political parties and lack of transparency in the accounts of all political parties. "The petitioners sought directions from this Court to strike down certain amendments made through Finance Act, 2017 and earlier Finance Act, 2016, both passed as money bills, and which have opened doors to unlimited political donations, even from foreign companies and thereby legitimizing electoral corruption at a huge scale, while at the same time ensuring complete non-transparency in political funding," it had said. It had added that the scheme has a major negative implication on transparency in political funding and are in violation of citizens' right to information, a fundamental right. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) by Marian Demir Thousands of people shouted slogans, placed red roses, and prayed at the exact site and time of his assassination. Nothing is known about his killer. A memorial ceremony was held at his grave and a Mass was held in his memory. Istanbul (AsiaNews) Thousands of people gathered yesterday in front of the former office of the Agos newspaper to remember the journalist Hrant Dink, editor of the newspaper, who was murdered on 19 January 2007 at the exact place and time. People chanted various slogans: We are all Hrant, Justice for Hrant, and, with the governments failure to find his murderer in mind, It is not late to be ashamed. The ceremony ws set for 3 pm, but people began arrving an hour earlier carrying placards, banners and red roses to place at the site where the Armenian journalist fell. Hrant Dink, convicted in 2005 for writing about the Armenian genocide, was shot four times by a young man, aged 18-19. From the outset, the attack was seen as an attempt to prevent Turkey from joining Europe. Over time, Hrant became a symbol of the fight against fascism and the obscurantism of the Turkish government. Other murder victims were also commemorated at the rally in Istanbuls Sisli district, all unsolved cases, such as Tahir Elci, head of the Diyarbakr Bar Association, killed in 2015, and Cuneyt Cebenoyan, who died in a strange car accident last summer. Since Hrant Dink fought to ensure that Turkey respected its minorities, Selahattin Demirtas, co-chair of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Peoples Party (HDP), currently in prison, was also mentioned. The rally was preceded at noon by a gathering at Hrant Dinks grave in the Balkl Armenian cemetery and a memorial Mass at the Surp Asdvadzadzin Church near Bakrkoy. ADEN (Reuters) - The United Nations said on Sunday that a missile attack on a government military camp in central Yemen which killed dozens of people could derail a fragile political process that aims to calm the almost five-year-old war. The attack on Saturday evening hit a mosque in the al-Estiqbal military training camp in Marib, a city held by the internationally-recognised government of President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, as people gathered for prayer, two medical sources and forces loyal to Hadi said. The blast was from a ballistic missile launched by Houthi fighters, the army said in a statement. It killed 79 people and wounded 81, it said. The state news agency, carrying a report on the foreign minister, said more than 100 had been killed. The attack "confirms without doubt that the Houthis have no desire for peace", Hadi said in a statement. The Houthi movement has not claimed responsibility. The United Nations envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, condemned this incident and other stepped-up air strikes, missile and ground attacks around the country. "The hardearned progress that Yemen has made on de-escalation is very fragile. Such actions can derail this progress", Griffiths said, urging parties to direct their energies into politics and away from the battle front. Yemen has been mired in almost five years of conflict since the Iran-aligned Houthi movement ousted Hadi's government from power in the capital Sanaa in late 2014, prompting intervention in 2015 by a Saudi-led military coalition in a bid to restore his government. The United Nations has been trying to re-launch political negotiations to end the war and, separately, Riyadh has been holding informal talks with the Houthis since late September about de-escalation. This has seen violence decrease on a number of fronts in recent months. On Sunday a delegation of European Union ambassadors to Yemen was in Sanaa to call for better humanitarian access and an immediate end to the conflict. Story continues Hadi, who resides in Saudi Arabia, said the military should be on high alert after the assault. The Yemen war has killed more than 100,000 people and pushed millions to the brink of famine. (Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari; Additional reporting by Asma Alsharif and Nafisa Eltahir; Writing by Lisa Barrington; Editing by Angus MacSwan) BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 20 Trend: President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and first lady Mehriban Aliyeva have paid tribute to the victims of the 20 January tragedy on the National Mourning Day. President Ilham Aliyev laid a wreath at the "Eternal Flame" memorial. The Defense Ministrys military orchestra played the national anthem of Azerbaijan. Among those in attendance at the commemorative ceremony were Prime Minister Ali Asadov, Parliament Speaker Ogtay Asadov, head of the Presidential Administration Samir Nuriyev, state and government officials, heads of religious communities, ambassadors of foreign countries to Azerbaijan, and representatives of international organizations. The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Monday forfeited the DGP's commendation medal and certificate given to suspended DSP Davinder Singh, who has been arrested for helping terrorists travel out of J&K, five days after he lost his Sher-e-Kashmir Police Medal for Gallantry. An order issued by the Director General of Police Dilbag Singh announced the forfeiture of DGP's commendation medal and certificate which was awarded the now disgraced officer on December 31, 1998. "Consequent upon the arrest of Davinder Singh, Dy SP on January 11, while trying to assist terrorists to travel outside J&K and recovery of arms and ammunition, which amounts to disloyalty and conduct that has brought the force into disrepute, the DGP commendation medal along with certificate awarded to him on December 31, 1998 is hereby forfeited," the order read. On January 15, the Jammu and Kashmir administration forfeited the Sher-e-Kashmir Police Medal for Gallantry awarded to Davinder Singh in 2018. Police had arrested Singh at Mir Bazar in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district along with Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists Naveed Baba and Altaf, besides a lawyer who was operating as an overground worker for terror outfits. Searches were carried out at Singh''s residence in Srinagar, right next to the Army's XV corps headquarters at Badami Bagh cantonment, where he had sheltered Naveed, Altaf and a new joinee in the banned terror outfit, leading to the recovery of two pistols, an AK rifle and a large quantity of ammunition. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) By Bahk Eun-ji Trauma surgeon Lee Guk-jong, 51, will step down from his post as head of the regional trauma center at Ajou University Hospital, amid an escalating conflict with the hospital director, media reports said Monday. Lee Guk-jong, head of Ajou Trauma Center /Yonhap According to a local daily newspaper, Lee said he plans to resign from the position as trauma center head, and will only remain as a professor at Ajou University College of Medicine. "I will step down from the post as head of the center as soon as I return to the hospital next month. I will also not be involved in the operation of the trauma center anymore," Lee was quoted as saying by the newspaper Lee returned to the country Jan. 15, after participating in naval maritime training as an honorary lieutenant last month, and plans to return to work Feb.1. His decision comes after a recent conflict between Lee and high-ranking hospital officials, including Yoo Hee-seok, a director. Last week, a recording of a conversation between Lee and Yoo was leaked by MBC. In the leaked recording, Yoo was heard referring to Lee using expletives, and called him "subhuman." Lee admitted that the abusive remarks were directed at him, and the conversation was mainly about the lack of hospital investments into the emergency department at the hospital. As a public uproar against Yoo intensified, he was accused by a civic group of dereliction of duty and business obstruction. A group of professors at Ajou University College of Medicine also demanded the resignation of Yoo for verbal abuse and bullying in the workplace. Considering the influence and symbolic significance of the trauma surgeon on the establishment of the center's system as well as his treatment of severe trauma patients, Lee's intention to resign from the center is expected to have a huge impact. Lee has been pointing out that Ajou University Hospital had been misusing government subsidies and allocating sickbeds between general wards and the trauma center, but this is the first time he expressed his intention to resign. Chung Kyung-won, chief of the surgery department at Ajou is being mentioned as Lee's possible successor. A car bomb exploding outside the court house on Bishop Street in Londonderry in January (PSNI/PA) The grandmother of a teenage girl who walked past Londonderry's courthouse seconds before a bomb exploded has said she's angry nobody has been brought to justice for the attack. Shelly McAleer's granddaughter was filmed on CCTV walking along Bishop Street with friends shortly before the car bomb exploded outside the courthouse on January 19 2019. Police received a warning shortly before the explosion, with a group calling itself "the IRA" later accepting responsibility . Read More Days after the bombing, the PSNI released CCTV footage that showed the group of young people. including Mrs McAleer's granddaughter, passing the car shortly before it exploded in the city centre street. Officers described it as a miracle and sheer luck no one was harmed. A number of men arrested in connection with the incident were later released without charge. Mrs McAleer expressed her anger that nobody has been brought to justice over the incident. "She was going with friends in mixed company, it wasn't just Catholics or all Protestants, they were all mixed and they would never have questioned religion, but they were going to one of the friend's house," she told BBC Radio Foyle. "It was bad timing on their part. They missed the explosions by seconds, literally be seconds." Expand Close The aftermath of a bomb attack outside Derry Courthouse. Credit: Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The aftermath of a bomb attack outside Derry Courthouse. Credit: Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press Mrs McAleer described watching the CCTV footage of her granddaughter walking past shortly before the explosion as "awful". "A complete nightmare, but thank God we are the other side where we can say she's safe, it could have went the other way. It could have been the last moments of her life," she said. The Derry grandmother said the attack should not just be forgotten about. "It just sort of went into the background, as if it never happened. I'd like to think that would be nipped in the head, that we're not going down that road. It was awful, just awful, but its disappeared, but we still have to remember that was in recent times," Mrs McAleer said. Mrs McAleer's comments were echoed by Jenni Doherty who runs Little Acorns Bookstore near Bishop Street. She was in the shop on the night the bomb exploded. She said that the bomb caused her to drop what she was holding, although she didn't immediately realise the extent of the blast. Expand Close Aftermath of the car bomb in Londonderry in January Lorcan Doherty / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Aftermath of the car bomb in Londonderry in January "There was an almighty bang and at first, you know, I recognised the sound, but I couldn't place what it was, it was like when you smell something and you know it, but you can't place from where," Mrs Doherty explained. "It was only when my phone started going crazy with texts that I was aware that something had happened. I thought 'oh my god', between where I work and where I live is a three minute walk, if I'd left three minutes prior to when I tried to leave I don't want to think what could have been. "I live up near the courthouse and I think 'could something happen again?' I wish there was someone brought to justice. I'm sure there's people who know who's responsible or who put those up to it and I keep thinking of those teenagers walking up the street, that could have been six, seven funerals." MELBOURNE, Australia, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Victoria's most popular travel destinations for North American travelers are open, safe and continuing to welcome visitors. The bushfires affecting Victoria, Australia, are limited to two of the state's twenty-one tourism regions, East Gippsland and High Country - located over 100 miles from Melbourne. While travelers are advised not to visit these areas until further notice, many key destinations are open and need the support of international visitors more than ever. "While some parts of the state are experiencing challenging conditions, many regional destinations have not been impacted and are welcoming visitors. This includes Ballarat, The Great Ocean Road, Phillip Island, the Mornington Peninsula, Yarra Valley, the Grampians, Daylesford, Geelong and the Bellarine Peninsula, the Murray region and West and South Gippsland, including Wilsons Promontory," said Brendan McClements, Chief Executive Officer, Visit Victoria in a statement issued on January 8, 2020. "In the weeks and months to come, our priority will be to ensure communities, visitors and tourism operators who have been affected by the bushfires are supported, as well as continuing to support other regions which have not been impacted." Victoria's capital city, Melbourne, remains open for business, welcoming visitors to experience its eclectic bars and restaurants, world class shopping and dynamic arts and culture scene ranging from the street art-filled laneways and renowned National Gallery of Victoria to a vibrant roster of live music performances - the city is home to the most music venues per capita in the world. Many of Victoria's other emblematic tourism hubs also remain unaffected and continue to offer visitors incredible tourism experiences. From the stunning coastal views along one of Victoria's most scenic drives, the Great Ocean Road Touring Route home to surf capital Torquay, the iconic 12 Apostles, and historic fishing village Port Fairy to over 200 cellar doors in Victoria's world-class wine regions Yarra Valley, and Pinot Coast. Travelers seeking to support the Australian bushfire recovery efforts have many avenues to get involved. Donations can be made to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal as well as the Bushfire Emergency Wildlife Fund organized by Zoos Victoria to raise much-needed funds for emergency veterinary care and scientific intervention (such as exploring supplementary feeding for the animals who have survived, but whose habitats have been destroyed by the bushfires). One of the most powerful and unexpected ways to make a true impact, however, is to continue to visit. For the most up-to-date bushfire information, travelers are encouraged to visit the following site http://emergency.vic.gov.au/respond/. For additional bushfire safety tips, visit Victoria Bushfire Updates, Tourism Australia Bushfire Safety Tips and for air quality updates in Victoria visit Environment Protection Authority Victoria . About Visit Victoria Visit Victoria is the principal tourism and events company for Victoria, Australia. The organization is dedicated to growing Victoria's visitor economy by marketing to visitors from within the state, across Australia and around the world, and attracting sporting, cultural and business events for the state's world-class events calendar. For more information, please visit: www.visitvictoria.com Media Contact: The Brandman Agency T. 323-944-0064 [email protected] SOURCE Visit Victoria Related Links http://www.visitvictoria.com Peter Dinklage is taking home a Screen Actors Guild Award after seven nominations for best actor. Dinklage, 50, a Morristown native who grew up in Mendham, wins the honor for playing Tyrion Lannister in Game of Thrones. The actor has received six nominations in the male actor in a drama series category for playing Tyrion, but this is his first win. Dinklage was first nominated for outstanding performance by a male actor in a leading role at the 2004 SAG Awards for his performance in the New Jersey-set film The Station Agent. In his acceptance speech, Dinklage thanked the people of Northern Ireland, where Game of Thrones filmed. He also thanked his wife, Erica Schmidt. Dinklage said that over his nine years filming the series, she lived in a place far away from home but made it home because we were together. Dinklage has been nominated alongside the cast of Game of Thrones for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series seven times, starting with the 2012 SAG Awards. He was first nominated for his performance as Tyrion at the 2014 SAG Awards. Dinklage has won four Emmys for playing the Game of Thrones character, his most recent in September, when he became the winningest actor in Emmys history in the supporting actor category. At the same ceremony, Game of Thrones won its fourth Emmy for best drama series. The cast of Game of Thrones was nominated at the SAG Awards this year for ensemble in a drama series, but lost to The Crown." The HBO series, which finished its eighth and final season in May, is based on the A Song of Ice and Fire series of books from Bayonnes George R.R. Martin, an executive producer of the show. In 2018, Dinklage also shared in a SAG ensemble win as part of the film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. 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. Democratic presidential candidates New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio (LR), Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), former housing secretary Julian Castro, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, and former Maryland congressman John Delaney take part in the first night of the Democratic presidential debate in Miami, Florida on June 26, 2019. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images) 1 Year and 7 Debates: The 3 Reasons the Democrat Race Remains Undecided Commentary The Democratic nomination race started within days after the 2018 Midterms. Since then, a year has passed, two dozen have declared their candidacy, and there have been seven debatesand yet there is no clarity as to who will be the nominee. The reasons why are simple and dont bode well for the Democrats going forward. Reason #3. It is so easy to run for President. In the internet/mass media age, running for president has become rather easy. As a result, a crowded field has become the norm for the out party in presidential years. In the old days, the year 2000 lets say, running for president took political name ID, connections, and lots of money. The number of viable candidates, therefore, were generally quite few. When Bush 43 had raised the now quaint number of $100 million by January of 2000, he had nearly cornered the Republican primary market. In 2016, by contrast, the Republicans had more than 15 candidates run. In this cycle, a bevy of relative unknowns and many undeserving figures declared for the Democrat nomination. Take the candidacy of Beto ORourke. He was a 2016 sensation because technology permitted him to fundraise around the country in ways that far outsized his resume. When he reached the national level, he came back down to earth quickly and dropped out. Mayor Pete Buttigieg is 2020s Democrat shooting star. He has run a very successful campaign, including raising enormous amounts of moneyeven though few think he can win the nomination. That is quite the feat for a man whose claims to fame include garnering 8,515 votes to be reelected Mayor of South Bend, Indiana. That is not a typohe received just 8,515 votesand now is running for President and raising nearly $25 million a quarter. It turns out, however, that crowded fieldstwo dozen candidateswithout a consensus candidate (See reason 2 below), lend themselves to drawn out primary seasons the likes of which the Democrats are now experiencing. Reason #2. There is no consensus Democrat candidate. In 2016, the Democrats did not have a crowded field of contenders. The open presidential seat attracted over 15 fairly prominent Republicans to the race. The Democrat race, on the other hand, quickly narrowed down to two candidates: Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. For most Democrats, especially the Democrat Establishment, Hillary Clinton was the consensus candidate. Bernie Sanders, only identifies as a Democrat when he runs for President. Otherwise, he is a socialist masquerading as an Independent. With that profile, Sanders is never going to be a favorite of Establishment Democrats. By many means, and many times unfair means, the Democrats and the Democrat National Committee made sure that their consensus candidate got the nomination over the socialist interloper Bernie Sanders in 2016. All of which leads to Reason #1 and Reason #1 is also why the Democrats currently do not have a consensus candidate. Reason #1. The Democrat party is deeply divided. Who speaks for todays Democrat Party? What are its core principles? Is there a single such spokesperson or set of principles? There answer, of course, is no. The Democrats are far more divided than the Republicans. Consider this: the huge government/socialist wing of the Democrat Party, comprised of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, has over 35 percent of the support of the Democrat Party. Currently, Sanders leads Warren. If Warren would drop out, Sanders would be not only the clear leader in the Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and California pollshe would also be the clear leader of the national Democrat polls. The crowded field (See Reason #3 above), however, splits the vote of that wing of the party. Even so, it is more than likely that by the end of March, that wing of the party will have the most delegates. The Lefts Media, the Democrat Establishment, and the big Democrat donors, however, want nothing to do with either Sanders or Warren let alone Sanders backers in the form of the Squad (AOC et al.). Some have gone so far to say they will sit out the race if either Sanders or Warren is the nominee. Importantly, rather than seriously dim their prospects, the supporters of especially Sanders, view the lack of affection from the Establishment as a badge of honor. That spurs them on. Of course, the Establishments default candidate is Joe Biden. He is, according to them, electable. However, he has raised half as much money as Sanders, and Biden rallies remain rather small. Amidst that division, a niche candidate like Mayor Pete Buttigieg also has done well. The sum total of it all is that there are various camps with the Democrat party and they are not playing well together. The far Left/socialist group wants nothing to do with Biden. The Establishment and moderates want nothing to do with Warren and Sanders. So divided are the Democrat voters that significant enough numbers of voters, in either Democrat camp, could sit out the election against Trump. That, of course, spells big trouble for the Democrat nominee and the Democrats Congressional and Senate candidates. Dont despair however! There are three more Democrat debates to go and maybe even a brokered convention. In other words, stay tuned because, for the Democrats in 2020, primary voting may not decide anything at all. Thomas Del Beccaro is an acclaimed author, speaker, Fox News, Fox Business, and Epoch Times opinion writer and the former chairman of the California Republican Party. He is the author of the historical perspectives The Divided Era and The New Conservative Paradigm. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Read what is in the news today: Society -- Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Sunday offered incense and paid tribute to late Party and state leaders when visiting their private residencies in Ho Chi Minh City on the occasion of the traditional Tet, or Lunar New Year, festival, which will fall on January 25. -- A new military culture campus and a statue of 18th-century Vietnamese Emperor Quang Trung were inaugurated at the Army Officer Training College 2, also known as Nguyen Hue University, in the southern province of Dong Nai on Sunday. -- The Government Inspectorate has proposed that the prime minister give directions for the Hanoi administration to strictly follow a previous conclusion of an inspection of nine violating projects by La Vong JSC and its subsidiaries in the capital city and submit a report by April 4. -- Traffic jams of up to ten kilometers long were observed on most roads linking Ho Chi Minh City and provinces in the Mekong Delta region as of Sunday evening as many citizens embarked on a mass migration back to their hometowns for the week-long spring break. -- The criminal police unit under the Ministry of Public Security on Sunday launched a criminal investigation against Tran Thi Binh, 34, for running a prostitution ring implicating many university students in the north-central province of Thanh Hoa. -- The Hai Van Tunnel that connects the central cities of Da Nang and Hue will be open 24/7 between January 20 and 29, instead of being closed off for one hour every day for cleaning, to avoid holding up traffic during the peak travel season. Business -- A US$1.2 billion polypropylene plant and underground liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) storage project developed by South Koreas Hyosung Vina Co., Ltd in the southern coastal province of Ba Ria - Vung Tau received its first shipment of 4,000 metric tons of ethylene, which is used in the production of polypropylene, on Sunday, as the plant is expected to enter operation next month. Sports -- Dang Anh Tuan, the head coach of Vietnams star swimmer Nguyen Thi Anh Vien, handed in his resignation on Sunday after a former model had taken to social media the day previous to accuse him of owing her $10,000. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Washington (AFP) - US President Donald Trump will meet his Iraqi counterpart and the head of the European Union executive body during his visit to Davos in Switzerland this week, the White House said Monday. The meeting with President Barham Saleh will be the first between Trump and Iraqi officials since tensions erupted over the US killing of a top Iranian general and a senior pro-Iranian Iraqi commander in Baghdad. After calls in Iraq for the expulsion of thousands of US troops stationed there, Trump responded by threatening sanctions aimed at wrecking the country's economy. Trump, who arrives in Davos for the annual World Economic Forum get-together on Tuesday and leaves Wednesday, will also meet with European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen, the White House said. Their talks will come just after France and the United States agreed to extend negotiations on avoiding what could be a punishing trans-Atlantic trade war. Trump is also due to meet with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, Simonetta Sommaruga, the president of the Swiss Confederation, and Kurdish leader Nechirvan Barzani. The meetings will take place on the sidelines of the Davos conference, which this year is focusing heavily on climate emergency and social inequality. A Mt. Pleasant man faces multiple felony charges of stealing the identity of a Florida woman and using it to purchase iPhones from a Mt. Pleasant retailer, while the store employee faces multiple felony charges as his accomplice. Momodu Ramon Daramy, 20, and Frederick Donell Hicks, 23, were charged Wednesday on one count each of conspiracy to commit identity theft, a five-year/$35,000 felony; identity theft, a five-year/$25,000 felony; obtain/possess/transfer personal identifying information with intent to commit a crime, a five-year/$25,000 felony; larceny of between $1,000-$20,000, a five-year, $10,000 felony; and using a computer to commit a crime, a seven-year/$5,000 felony. Daramy was additionally charged with assaulting/resisting/obstructing a police officer, a two-year/$2,000 felony, and operating with a suspended/revoked/denied license, a 93-day/$500 misdemeanor. Daramy is accused of having gone to the Sprint store, 5655 Pickard Road in Union Township, where he asked Hicks, who was working, to conduct out-of-state credit checks. One of the accounts was for a woman who lives in Palm Spring, Florida. Daramy offered to pay Hicks money to add two additional lines He then used the Florida womans account to purchase two iPhone 11s for $1,153. Court records say that internal security footage showed Hicks charging the two phones and giving them to Daramy. Daramy is accused of telling Hicks that he would send in a second man to make another purchase. Hicks turned the man away, according to court records. Daramy texted Hicks and said he wanted to purchase another two iPhones and a tablet on the account, and paid Hicks $100 via a cash app, court records say. A Sprint internal investigator flagged the activity as suspicious and contacted local law enforcement. Two officers from the Saginaw Chippewa Tribal police department took the call about seven different credit checks. When they contacted the Florida woman whose name was used, she told officers that shes never been to Michigan. They went to Daramys apartment and asked him if he drove to the store. At first, Daramy told them he had, then changed his story and then refused to talk to them. One of the officers told Daramy that he was going to be arrested and to put his hands behind his back, according to court records. Daramy refused and began to scuffle with officers. It ended when officers rolled him onto his front and cuffed him. One of the officers was cut on the finger. Both men are scheduled for preliminary exams on Jan. 30. READ MORE: Amid election fever for the new presidential candidate for the Irish Farmers Association (IFA), the Shinrone IFA branch took it upon themselves to arrange a Tractor Run in their local community. In association with Sunrise Vintage Tractor Group, the event took place on Sunday, December 29, 2019 beginning at Shinrone Community Centre in the heart of south Offaly. The route took over 150 tractors on an hour drive around the surrounding countryside, with one of the highlights being a stop in Mount St. Josephs Abbey. It was a spectacular site to see so many tractors both modern and vintage with the backdrop of the Abbey in the frame. The event itself, which was sponsored by Corrib Oil, Centra Shinrone, The Castle Bar Shinrone, and many more local sponsors went off without a hitch. The funds raised which amounted to almost 6,000.00 were donated to Embrace FARM the Farm Accident Support Network. Established in 2014 by Brian and Norma Rohan following the death of Brians father, Liam, on their family farm in 2012. The network helps families through the loss or serious injury from a farm accident. With their annual ecumenical remembrance service being held on the last Sunday of June each year, this is their main event to remember hundreds of lives lost on Irish farms over the years. On average there is 20 deaths on farms in Ireland annually and these statistics dont seem to be changing. The cheque was handed over on the evening to Embrace FARMS chairperson Brian Rohan by Dan Cleary, Chairperson of Shinrone IFA and Tim Cullinan, forthcoming president of IFA from January 27, 2020 onwards. Embrace FARM wishes to thank everyone involved in this tremendous event, it is a true signature of rural and urban communities coming together to support worthy causes. Pictured here are members of Shinrone IFA and Sunrise Vintage Club who were to the forefront in helping the fundraising venture. Dan Cleary, Shinrone IFA chairman and special guest Tim Cullinan IFA President, presents the proceeds of 5724.16 to Brian Rohan, founder and chairman of Embrace Farm Dubai Customs will host a series of high-level panel discussions during the 5th World Customs Organisation (WCO) Global AEO (Authorised Economic Operator) Conference in Dubai. Set to be held from March 10 to 12, 2020 at the Festival Arena, the conference, which is taking place in the Middle East for the first time, will be hosted by Dubai Customs in cooperation with the World Customs Organisation (WCO) and the Federal Customs Authority. The event will feature key sessions and round table discussions covering timely topics, including customs work and the development of a global customs system. The panel discussions are scheduled to be staged on the first day of the exciting three-day event, which is being organised to provide an international platform for sharing of ideas and exploring opportunities required to take the flagship AEO programme to the next level. The AEO programme is instrumental in the creation of international standards for customs procedures and clearances for trading companies. It also helps promote better customs security systems and smoother trade facilitation among its members. One of the panel discussions will focus on the important role of customs, government agencies, and inter-governmental institutions involved in international trade and supply chain security in the success of the AEO programme. Ahmed Mahboob Musabih, Director General of Dubai Customs, said: During one of the panel discussions, the speakers will discuss and highlight the best practices and experiences to reinforce coordination. We need to establish a strong partnership among relevant authorities to ensure effective and efficient response to supply chain security challenges. Through our robust cooperation, we can also streamline processes by avoiding duplication of requirements and inspections and guarantee secure movements of goods in a manner that facilitates trade. Another panel discussion during the 2020 edition of the conference will focus on extending the scope of AEO programs to e-commerce operators, who include owners of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and individual sellers. Dubai Customs has been doubling its efforts to reinforce the UAEs positioning as a global leader in customs, trade, and logistics. The upcoming Expo 2020 Dubai will show the world the citys capabilities in this regard. Our commitment is also in line with Dubai Silk Road Strategy to achieve the vision of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai towards promoting Dubais strategic position on the global trade map as a leading maritime, air and logistics hub for international trade flows. Much is in store for all participants in the global conference as top industry leaders will grace the event to share their expertise about key topics of relevance to global trade supply chain, Musabih said. According to Dubai Customs Director General, by making the AEO programmes available to MSMEs and other e-commerce stakeholders and intermediaries, they can fully benefit from opportunities available in cross-border e-commerce activities. He said the move will also benefit e-commerce companies in the UAE that are seeking to penetrate the global market and take advantage of the growth prospects on the international stage. He added: In the United Arab Emirates and Dubai particularly, we continue to draw praises not only for our advanced trade policy and safe investment environment but also for our innovative customs system. These achievements are aligned with Dubai Customs long-term development strategy and in response to the directives of the UAE leadership towards getting ready for the next 50 years to ensure sustainable development and wellbeing for future generations. The conference will be an opportunity for us to showcase how we are supporting mutually beneficial global partnerships through innovations as a critical part of strengthening the local customs system. The conference is also seen to drive the global customs sector as well as strategically contribute to the fulfilment of Sustainable Development Goals 2030. Dubai Customs said preparations for the WCO Global AEO conference are now in full swing in the emirate, which is one of the regions leading trading hubs that is renowned for its major role in global trade activities. The World Customs Organisation represents 183 Customs administrations across the globe who are key decision makers in their respective countries in terms of building a stable, safe, transparent and predictable business environment. The WCO provides a platform for discussing issues related to various areas of the customs business such as harmonised system, rules of origin, customs valuation, law enforcement, facilitation, and capacity building.-- Tradearabia News Service Published on 2020/01/20 | Source Actor Kim Min-kyu is rapidly becoming a heartthrob thanks to his role as a king in TV Chosun's series "Queen: Love and War". Advertisement Set in the Chosun Dynasty, the period drama depicts the conspiracies and palace intrigues that take place amid the selection of a new queen. Kim has been capturing viewers' hearts with his portrait of a young king reminiscent of the charismatic one played by Kim Soo-hyun in the megahit series "The Sun and the Moon" in 2012, as well as the gentle monarch played by Park Bo-gum in another successful series, "Moonlight Drawn by Clouds" in 2016. Kim Soo-hyun and Park cemented their status as rising stars through those period dramas. "Queen: Love and War" is the first period drama for Kim, who made his acting debut in 2013. It is a demanding role, requiring him to control his tone and breathing as he delivers his lines. "During the first meeting, the director told me that I was better at things he'd not expected, but he was disappointed in things he'd anticipated [I would do well], such as evoking romantic feelings", Kim said. However, as if to prove the director wrong, with the series now half over, Kim has increasingly made viewers' hearts flutter. "My previous characters have been mostly teenagers or somewhat childish or immature. I hope to get more chances to bring out and show other sides of me", Kim said. ___________ "Queen: Love and War" is directed by Kim Jung-min-XII, written by Choi Soo-mi, and features Jin Se-yeon, Kim Min-kyu, Do Sang-woo, Lee Yeol-eum, Lee Si-eon, Uhm Hyo-sup. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2019/12/15~Now airing, Sun 21:50 on TV Chosun. Former Rajasthan chief minister Jagannath Pahadia has been asked to vacate his official bungalow while former chief minister Vasundhara Raje will get to retain her bungalow in her capacity as MLA, advocate general Mahendra Singhvi told the high court on Monday. Singhvi appeared before a bench of Justice Sabina and Justice NS Daddha during hearing of a contempt petition filed by Milap Chand Dandia. Dandia welcomed the decision. I had argued that ex-CMs should not be given facilities. If Raje retains the bungalow in her capacity as MLA then that is fine. Singhvi told the court that former CM Pahadia has been asked to vacate his official bungalow within 15 days. He said the government is considering allotting Raje her present bungalow, 13 Civil Lines, in her capacity as a senior MLA. He also told the court that the staff and other facilities given to Raje have been withdrawn by the government. Dandia had filed a petition in the Rajasthan high court in May 2017 challenging facilities given to ex-CMs. In its order on Dandias petition, the high court ruled in September 2019 that the amendment passed by the government was unconstitutional and former CMs should vacate their bungalows. Instead of implementing the high court order, the Congress government challenged the decision in the Supreme Court which dismissed the petition earlier this month. Dandia had later filed a contempt petition in the high court against the government as it did not implement the high court order of September 2019. In 2017, when Vasundhara Raje was the chief minister, her government had amended the Rajasthan Ministers Salaries (Amendment) Act, 1956, entitling former CMs a free government residence, a vehicle, telephone and a staff of 9 members including one personal secretary, one personal assistant or stenographer, one driver, one grade 1 clerk, two informatics assistant, and three class 4 employees. Raje resides in a Type I bungalow in the posh Civil Lines area of Jaipur. Jagannath Pahadia, who was chief minister from June 1980 to July 1981 has also been allotted the same type of bungalow. Type I bungalows are usually allotted to ministers. During her last tenure from 2013 to 2018, Raje had not moved to the officials CM residence 3, Civil Lines but chose to stay in her 13, Civil Lines Bungalow. Before vacating her office in 2018, Raje had re-allotted the 13, Civil Lines bungalow in her name. At least two men were arrested after a stabbing incident in London, the UK, in which three people were stabbed to death. The London Police has said that the incident, that took place on Sunday at 7.38 pm on Elmstead Road in Seven Kings, was because of a clash between Sikh people, as reported by the Guardian. Though the police have negated the angle of terrorism, an investigation is currently going on. Speaking on Monday, the Chief Superintendent of Police Stephen Clayman said that those arrested and the victims knew each other. We believe the groups involved are members of the Sikh community, the Guardian quoted him. All three victims were aged in their 20s and 30s. Live TV This is unheard of here in terms of people from the Sikh community involved in this kind of horrific crime, the Guardian quoted the leader of Redbridge Council, Jas Athwal as saying. The Guardian quoted the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, as saying, Im in touch with senior Met police officers and local representatives after a serious incident in Redbridge, where three men have lost their lives. My thoughts are with their families and the local community at this dreadful time. Sam Tarry, Ilford South Labour MP, had tweeted on Sunday, Heartbroken to find out that three people have been stabbed in Seven Kings, Ilford, tonight. In a separate post, he said: Knife crime is a crisis engulfing our capital, bringing heartache, misery and fear to so many. The police, local authorities, schools, youth and mental health services desperately need the funding and support restoring. No ifs, no buts, no excuses. A manhunt is under way for a major Co Louth feud criminal, who is also a main suspect in the gruesome murder of Keane Mulready-Woods (17), after a warrant was issued for his arrest. Specialist gardai closely watched Dublin Airport and Dublin Port yesterday amid fears the 24-year-old criminal - a leading member on one side of the bloody feud - was planning to flee to England. In a special bulletin officers have been warned that the thug is "dangerous" and armed gardai are required to deal with him. The arrest warrant - issued on Thursday of last week - is not linked to last week's savage abduction, murder and dismemberment of the Drogheda teenager. The warrant alleged that the mobster has breached strict Dublin High Court bail conditions on multiple occasions since December. He is facing serious charges in relation to an incident which happened in Drogheda last year and has previously been cleared in various courts of a number of other serious charges against him. The warrant states that the murder suspect has failed to sign on at a Garda station on a number of occasions in December and this month. It is also alleged that he has not been constantly staying at an address in Drogheda which he is obliged to do as part of his bail conditions. "Gardai hope to execute the arrest warrant with the intention of bringing the suspect off the streets and into prison," a source said. "If this happens it will ease tensions in the Co Louth town - there is a very tense, strange atmosphere in Drogheda at the moment." Sources say the 24-year-old criminal has been "driving a lot of the hatred" in the feud. TWO lanes in Newcastle West, which are currently in private ownership, could shortly be taken in charge by Limerick City and County Council. The two lanes are Brewery Lane, connecting Market Yard and Maiden St, and Nashs Lane, alongside the Bank of Ireland, which connects the Square to the Demesne. Ger OConnor, the councils senior executive engineer for the Newcastle West Municipal District, said the council will begin the process of taking them in charge next week. Advertisements will be placed in local newspapers, Mr OConnor said and will mark the beginning of a four-week long period of public display. Members of the public will then have a further two weeks in which to make submissions. This will bring us up to the end of February, Mr OConnor told local councillors last week. He will then report back to councillors on the matter at the March meeting of the Newcastle West Municipal District. This is fantastic news, Cllr Michael Collins said. Is it our intention to keep Nashs Lane as a vehicular access, Cllr John Sheahan asked. At the moment, he added, it was absolutely lethal and he pointed out that the bricks in the paving were all loose. It is a good job there is no civil unrest in Newcastle West, he said. Otherwise people would be ready-armed with bricks from Nashs Lane. If the lane is taken in charge, Mr OConnor said, it would be the councils intention to remove the paving. But he said there could be a difficulty about making it a pedestrian only lane. The difficulty is there is private car parking at the rear, he said. However, he hoped they could find a solution to that. Indian-Americans, wearing "phirans" and the tricolour headgears, held several events in different parts of the US, including in front of the White House, to mark the 30th anniversary of the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley, recognising the resilience and noble spirit of the community. In over three dozen cities and towns across the country, Indian-Americans held peaceful rallies, candlelight vigils and public meetings to highlight the ordeal of Kashmiri Pandits. Events were held in cities of New York, New Jersey, Boston, Miami, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Detroit, Houston, Sacramento, San Jose, Concord, Milpitas, Naperville and Edison. Kashmiri Pandits wore "phirans" and women sported "tiranga" (Indian flag) headgears during rallies across the country. They held placards, candles and the Indian flag during the various events. A large number of members of the Kashmiri Pandit community from in and around Washington DC area gathered in front of the White House on Sunday to highlight their ordeal following their displacement from Kashmir. The event was organised by Kashmiri Overseas Association (KOA). The night of January 19, 1990 is the one that no Kashmiri Pandit survivor who lived through the ordeal wishes to recall because of haunting bad memories. And this is a day that no Kashmiri Pandit expatriate will ever forget, eminent Kashmiri-American Vijay Sazwal said. We left to save our elders, our children, the honour of our women and perhaps ourselves. The Kashmiri Pandits, the indigenous Kashmiris have still not been able to return to their ancestral land three decades later. Kashmiri Pandits have a feeling of being disowned, dispossessed and uprooted, said Shakun Malik, who also took part in the event. Swapna Raina, who was also part of the event, said that in 1989-90, more than 350,000 Kashmiri Hindus (known as Pandits), including her and her family had to leave their ancestral homeland. Braving sub zero temperature, the Kashmiri Hindu Community of Chicago held a candlelight vigil at Naperville City Hall and sang national anthems of both the US and India. In Silicon Valley, over 200 Kashmiris and other Indian supporters gathered to talk about the ordeal of the Kashmiri Pandits and their contribution to the Indian ethos. A short documentary on the Kashmiri Pandit exodus was also screened. The participants also paid homage to the victims in Kashmir, including the soldiers who lost their lives. There is a myth that 350,000 Kashmiri Pandits left Kashmir of their own in 1990. First and foremost, they did not leave the valley, as has been incorrectly elucidated; they were forced to leave by Islamist terrorists, some within and mostly from Pakistan," Jeevan Zutshi, founder of Association of Indo Americans (AIA), said. Thirty years ago, Kashmiri Pandits experienced "unimaginable devastation," Hindu-American Foundation, which organized the events in multiple cities, said. The Pakistan-sponsored insurgency and campaign of targeted killings, rape, threats, and destruction of properties and religious sites spanned over many years. But events on January 19, 1990 reached a fevered pitch and culminated in mass panic and the forced displacement of 95 per cent of the Kashmiri Hindu population, it said. In Houston, Kashmiri Pandits volunteered at the Houston Food Bank and donated major food supplies to the needy. They also held a candle light vigil, organised by Hindu American Foundation and Indo-American Kashmiri Forum, attended by various elected officials, including Congressman Pete Olson, US Representative for 22nd congressional district of Texas. "30 years ago, today thousands of Hindus were forced to flee the Kashmir Valley, exiled from their homes and torn from their families. It was an honour to speak at the #KashmirExodusDay candlelight vigil in #TX22 tonight we will keep their memory alive!" Olson tweeted. The protestors also demanded setting up of a probe commission and to punish those responsible for the exodus. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Isabel dos Santos, daughter of Angola's ex president is a British-educated billionaire businesswoman, who now faces allegations of plundering the public purse and funneling the money abroad. Just under a decade ago, she became Africa's richest woman after Forbes magazine named her the continent's first female billionaire in 2013. In a trove of 715,000 files dubbed the "Luanda Leaks" released at the weekend, the eldest daughter of former president Jose Eduardo dos Santos, Isabel is accused of syphoning state funds from the oil-rich, but impoverished country into offshore assets. The award winning New York-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), alleged the international system has allowed powerful individuals like her, to move assets around the world, without questions. Since her father left office in 2017, her investments in Angola and former colonial ruler Portugal, worth about $3 billion, according to Forbes magazine -- are now the subject of scrutiny. Nicknamed "the princess", she is accused of amassing her vast fortune thanks to the backing of her authoritarian father who ruled the country for nearly 40 years from 1979. The 46-year-old dos Santos has vehemently denied the allegations and accused President Joao Lourenco, her father's successor in Luanda, of a political witchhunt. Her holdings in Angola include private banks, telecoms firm Unitel, a supermarket chain, a cement company and cable television. In Portugal she owns seven percent of the oil and gas giant Galp Energia, and has major bank stakes there. She also has a controlling share of a Portuguese cable TV and telecom firm. However she puts her personal success down to driving ambition, saying she has always kept a clear divide between her business career and her father's position. "My fortune is built on my character, my intelligence, education, capacity for work, perseverance," she wrote on Twitter on Sunday night. She further tweeted that the ICIJ report was based on "many fake documents and false information" describing it as a "coordinated political attack" led by the Angolan government. Angola's prosecutors last month froze the bank accounts and assets she and her Congolese husband Sindika Dokolo own, a move she described as a groundless political vendetta. - 'Coordinated political attack' - Born in Baku, Azerbaijan in 1973 where her father met her mother while studying, her family returned to Angola soon afterwards. She said she had an ordinary childhood, walking to school -- and selling chicken eggs for profit -- even after her father became president in 1979 as the country descended into a long and bloody civil war. When her parents separated, she moved with her mother to London, attending an elite private school and then taking a mechanical and electrical engineering degree at King's College. She said she lived in basic student accommodation in London, and worked so hard that she had little time to party, especially with parents that she remembers being "very demanding". In 1992 she moved to Angola after her father secured a brief civil war truce with the rebel UNITA movement. Her first business venture was three years later when she opened Miami Beach restaurant in the capital Luanda, aged just 24. Today she is married to art collector and businessman Dokolo who is from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, and they have three children. Until recently, she rarely gave media interviews and made only occasional appearances in public. But lately she has availed herself to several media houses as she seeks to defend herself against the corruption allegations. Before her father stepped down, she was viewed as his possible successor. She emerged as a serious presidential candidate in June 2016 when she was appointed head of the state oil firm Sonangol, the prime generator of Angola's wealth. But the new president forced her out of the job within months of coming to power. Recently she told the Portuguese state broadcaster Radio e Televisao de Portugal (RTP) that she would consider running for president in the next election in 2022. She left Luanda shortly after she was deposed from Sonangol and now moves regularly between Lisbon and London. New Delhi: Petrol and diesel prices witnessed downward trend for fifth consecutive day on Monday, January 20. The rates came down by up to 20 paise across major cities of the country. According to the Indian Oil website, the petrol rates are Rs 74.98 per litre in Delhi, Rs 80.58 per litre in Mumbai, Rs 77.58 per litre in Kolkata, and Rs 77.89 per litre in Chennai, respectively. On the other hand, the diesel prices in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai remained at Rs 68.26, Rs 71.57, Rs 70.62, and Rs 72.13 per litre, respectively. In Noida, petrol is retailing at Rs 76.23 a litre, while diesel price is Rs 68.53 a litre. The price of petrol in Gurugram is Rs 74.43 a litre while diesel was selling at Rs 67.20 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. Freshwater worked with the families of the victims in the days and years that followed and said other victim/witness organizations from across the region rallied around the countys group. Retired Appomattox County Deputy Todd Craft also remembered where he was when he got the call: at a barbershop where he rushed from his chair as soon as he found out. He spoke before the Our Lady of Peace prayer service this month. Craft said he received calls from the counties of Amherst, Bedford and Campbell and the city of Lynchburg, as well as Virginia State Police. They all said the same thing: What do you need? They were there in solidarity with us, because they know we would have done the same for them, Craft said. I saw the solidarity then, and Im seeing it tonight. Appomattox County Sheriff Donald Simpson, who was lead investigator of the case in 2010, said the case changed his perspective on his career and life forever. The man killed in a shooting early Saturday on Interstate 80 has been identified as a New York City resident. Louis Perez, 27, was driving westbound in a Honda Civic around 12:15 a.m. Saturday when an unknown vehicle drove alongside his car near milepost 64.4 in Lodi and fired several shots into the car, the New Jersey State Police said. The gunfire hit Perez and a male passenger in the vehicle. Perez was pronounced dead at the scene. The passenger was taken to an area hospital where he was listed in stable condition. No arrests have been made. State police and Bergen County Prosecutors Office detectives are investigating the shooting. Officials are asking anyone with information about the shooting to contact State Police Detective Sgt. Joe Brogan at 201-247-0321 or 609-610-3816. Chris Franklin can be reached at cfranklin@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @cfranklinnews or on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Teacher Shuto Mikas teaching method often combines topics or specific situations so students can apply her lessons in reality. (Photo:VNA) It is a job she graduated and mastered in. It has provided her opportunities to teach her mother language to many foreigners at universities, Japanese schools, enterprises, teacher training classes and international exchange associations in Japan, especially in her hometown Himeji city, for more than 17 years. It has also brought her to live and teach as a volunteer teacher in Vietnam, where she has fallen in love with a Vietnamese instrument called the dan bau (monochord) and the traditional costume ao dai (long dress). Shutos first experience of Vietnam came from stories told by Vietnamese friends she met when she was a part-time teacher at a Japanese school in Japan. One time I was chatting with two Vietnamese sisters who told me stories about Vietnam, about the sorrow and aftermath of the war as well as peoples efforts to get over it, Shuto said. These stories really struck me, as I have never experienced war, she said. After becoming a Japanese teacher, Shuto met many foreigners, particularly Vietnamese people. I taught Japanese to many expatriates, so I always saw their optimistic attitude. I admire how they can live so passionately in a country that is not their homeland, Shuto said. I really wanted to try teaching Japanese overseas to meet more people, so I decided to teach in Vietnam, she said. When Shuto found out about the Japan International Cooperation Agency's (JICA) Senior Volunteers program that offered the opportunity to come to Vietnam, she knew it was time to make her dream come true. She was selected to become a volunteer Japanese teacher at the Da Nang University of Foreign Language Studies in October 2018. Every day, she co-lectures with a Vietnamese teacher and helps younger teachers with her teaching methods and expertise. "This is my first time volunteering abroad, but fortunately, I am teaching at a university where there aren't many differences from what I've done in the past, she said. Shuto said she was inspired by her Vietnamese students, who have a reputation for their diligence and hard work. They all want to learn Japanese so they can become proficient, she said. Shuto said that every day in Vietnam was full of new and unexpected things stemming from lessons with students, conversations with colleagues, and meetings with strangers. Tran Ngoc Phuong Linh, a second-year student, has been learning Japanese with Shuto for a year. Sensei is meticulous about every small detail so that students can understand them thoroughly, Linh said, adding that Shutos teaching methods were often combined with specific situations so they could be applied in the real world. It is interesting learning with her as she tells us a lot about the life and culture in Japan. She always incorporates stories about Japan in her lectures to help us understand, she said. Linh said Shutos classes had motivated her and her classmates with a love for Japan, with a curiosity for learning and understanding. She even integrates Vietnamese culture in the Japanese lessons, she said. Shuto expects that her students who graduate from the university would be able to find work at Japanese businesses or use Japanese at work. I think the students can act as a bridge between Vietnamese and Japanese people, she said, adding that she wanted her students not only to learn the language but also the Japanese culture and way of thinking. I hope they will not only translate literally into Japanese but also convey the Japanese culture, customs and way of thinking. I also want them to be able to impart the Vietnamese culture and way of thinking to Japanese people, she said. For the past 18 months, Shuto has also been learning Vietnamese. I sometimes try to say something in Vietnamese but accidentally pronounce another word, so I cannot convey what I really want to say, she said. Learning Vietnamese helps me understand the students' struggles when they try to learn a new language, she said. Shuto said that before coming to Vietnam, she was hoping to learn a Vietnamese musical instrument so that after returning to Japan, she could play it for Vietnamese people living in Himeji. When I arrived here, I attended a concert of traditional music and was fascinated by the dan bau (monochord), she said, adding that she found the artist playing the instrument so beautiful. The monochord may only have one string, but the sound is brilliant and unique. When I hear the sound of the monochord, there is something deep in the soul that is hard to describe, she said. At weekends, Shuto attends a class to practise the monochord with the hope of mastering it so she will be able to play it to Japanese and Vietnamese people when she returns to Japan. The Japanese teacher also loves wearing the traditional Vietnamese ao dai. Her favourite is a dress emblazoned with lotus flowers. She said she loved Vietnamese lotus flowers because they rose from muddy swamps and bloomed beautifully. Just looking at a lotus flower, I can see a whole philosophy in it. Moreover, the lotus is a symbol of Vietnam. It represents the Vietnamese people who never give up," Shuto said. And thats what I really love about Vietnam and its people, she added./. Facebook has come under fire for giving third parties access to user data. A senior Amazon.com Inc. executive used a conference in Munich to challenge Facebook Inc.s record in protecting users privacy. If you dont pay for the product, you are the product, Werner Vogels, Amazons chief technology officer told Nick Clegg, Facebooks vice president for global affairs and communications, at the Digital Life Design conference on Monday. Standing in the audience, Vogels who introduced himself as working for a small bookshop asked Clegg how Facebook could claim to protect users if many werent aware of how their data is being used. I think there are things Facebook could do, to make its relationship with users more explicit, Clegg responded. Unlike you, I believe an advertising business model where the user doesnt have to pay is a very ingenious and good thing. Both companies have come under scrutiny for violating users privacy. Speakers using Amazons Alexa virtual-assistant collected audio snippets from users and played them to employees hired to help train its voice-recognition software, Bloomberg has reported. Amazon has said that it takes privacy seriously and that select employees listen to only a very small fraction of Alexa requests to improve the service. Facebook has come under fire for giving third-parties access to user data, particularly in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Last year, it agreed to pay a record $5 billion fine to the Federal Trade Commission to settle an investigation stemming from that controversy, where an outside researcher collected personal data on tens of millions of Facebook users without their consent and then sold that data to a consultancy working with Donald Trumps presidential campaign. Tonic water maker Fevertree Drinks has announced that annual revenue growth is set to fall 10 per cent below its expectations. As a result, shares in the company plunged over 20 percent in morning trading on Monday. Fevertree had said that 2019 revenue was expected to be 260.5million, up from 237.4million in 2018 as the firm expected increases driven by strong demand for mixers in the United States and continental Europe. Fevertree has expanded rapidly following the demand for high-end gin Sales in the past year were helped by launching a range of low-calorie mixers and limited-edition variants of its products, such as clementine tonic and cucumber tonic. The company has been targeting growth in the United States, the largest importer of British gin, and said it would be investing further in the brand through 2020 by conducting a number of trials with customers. Fevertree added this investment is expected to result in a one-off impact on net revenue growth in 2020 and it was revising its growth forecasts for the business to low double digit for the year ahead. In a statement, the company said: 'The wider retail environment in the UK experienced a challenging Christmas with the mixer category not immune from the weak consumer confidence and corresponding slowdown in spending.' Fevertree's market valuation to 2.3billion makes it the sixth-biggest company listed on London's junior market AIM. Its shares have risen more than eleven-fold increase since the company was listed in 2014. The firm has grown rapidly as sales of high-end gin have surged. Fevertree also expanded its portfolio of drinks to include Sicilian lemonade, ginger ale and Madagascan vanilla cola. The drinks firm is a strong competitor to Coca-Cola's Schweppes and is the tonic water market leader in Britain. Fevertree Drinks, which brands its products as 'Fever-Tree', is named after the colloquial term for the cinchona tree, the bark of which produces tonic water ingredient quinine, said it expects challenges in Britain to remain in the first half of 2020, hurt by low consumer confidence. Britain sends more gin around the world than it does beef or beer, with gin sales overseas worth 28 per cent more than beer sales in 2018, the Wine and Spirit Trade Association says. Joe Healey of The Share Centre commented: 'This is yet another update highlighting a difficult 2019 in markets. Brexit uncertainty has lagged consumer spending which as expected has had a knock-on effect on luxury items such as Fevertree tonics. It's likely these conditions are here to remain particularly in the first half of 2020 so there are no signs of this slowdown dissipating in the shorter term. 'Despite this uncertainty, the company remain in a promising position with a solid balance sheet allowing them to invest in high-potential international markets. With the trend towards premium spirits continuing to grow on a worldwide basis the company's outlook may not be as dull as the share price investors have made it seem,' he continued. 'The question will be how far Fevertree can maintain penetration into these markets and whether or not they can adapt to the economic conditions in the UK to return to growth over 2020.' Russias President Vladimir Putin has submitted to Parliament a package of constitutional amendments widely seen as an attempt to secure his grip on power well after his current term ends in 2024. Mr Putin first presented the proposed changes in his state-of-the-nation address on Wednesday, arguing they are intended to bolster the role of Parliament and strengthen democracy. Kremlin critics have argued that they are intended to allow his rule for life. The Kremlin-controlled lower house, the State Duma, confirmed on Monday that it has received a draft bill on constitutional proposals from the Kremlin. Meeting with permanent Security Council members: outcome of Libya conference, socioeconomic development of the Russian Federation https://t.co/zkYmWBBFxL pic.twitter.com/t9vIoIZb35 President of Russia (@KremlinRussia_E) January 20, 2020 The politicians will fast-track the document, putting it for discussion at Thursdays meeting. Mr Putin, 67, has been in power for more than 20 years, 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, Mr Putin must step down as president when his current term ends. Observers say that the proposed changes could allow Mr Putin to stay in charge by shifting into the position of head of the State Council or moving into the prime ministers seat after increasing the powers of Parliament and the Cabinet and trimming presidential authority. Mr Putins amendments include a proposal to give the constitution a clear priority over international law, a tweak seen as a reflection of the Kremlins irritation over the European Court of Human Rights rulings that held Russia responsible for human rights violations. Expand Close Russian President Vladimir Putin (Mikhail Klimentyev/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Russian President Vladimir Putin (Mikhail Klimentyev/AP) Another suggested amendment says that top government officials are not allowed to have foreign citizenship or residence permits. Parallel to politicians, a working group created by Mr Putin will also consider the proposed changes before they are put to the vote. Mr Putin said that the constitutional changes need to be approved by the entire nation, but it was not immediately clear how such a vote would be organised. Along with amending the constitution, Mr Putin last week also fired prime minister Dmitry Medvedev, who had the job for eight years, and named tax chief Mikhail Mishustin to succeed him. The Russian leader is yet to appoint the new Cabinet. The URL has been copied to your clipboard The code has been copied to your clipboard. On the third Monday of each January, Americans honor the memory of the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King was a leader in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, advocating social change through non-violent means. By Express News Service THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has once again urged the opposition to join the government for putting up a joint fight against the CAA and NRC. He was addressing a public meeting here after the conclusion of the three-day central committee meeting of the party. He said that every party had their own power and when combined it would become a big power. ALSO READ | Kerala won't implement 'whims and fancies' of RSS, says CM Pinarayi Vijayan We may have disputes on different topics. But this issue is different. This is the countrys common issue. We can unite for this, he said. The CM reiterated that the enumeration as part of the census operations in the state will not have the questionnaire on NPR. You should not have any concern. You are living in the strongest fort. The state government is with you, he said. The chief minister said the country was witnessing unprecedented protests against the CAA and the NPR. Around 8,000 eminent personalities from across the world have condemned the central government. The country is being isolated in the international arena. ALSO READ | NRC will render many Muslims infiltrators in India: Pinarayi Pinarayi said certain people had reservations when the state said that CAA will not be implemented here. All laws should be in consonance with the Constitution. Others will not survive. The state government is not bound to implement the RSS agenda, he said. Not just Muslims, poor people of all communities will be affected by the NPR as is evident from the Assam experience. Lakhs of poor people were rendered of citizenship, Pinarayi said. CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury said the CAA was part of the BJP agenda. The BJP does not accept the Constitution or Indias culture. A court in Delhi convicted on Monday 19 people, including key accused Brajesh Thakur, in a one-and-half-year-old case of sexual and physical assault on underage girls at a shelter home in Bihars Muzaffarpur, delivering its judgment in the scandal that sparked countrywide outrage and led to the ouster of a state minister. Thakur, whose non-governmental organisation (NGO) owned the shelter home, and four others, including Dilip Kumar Verma, a former chairperson of the states Child Welfare Committee (CWC), were found guilty of aggravated sexual assault under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, criminal conspiracy, rape and gang rape, among other offences. One person was acquitted by additional sessions judge Saurabh Kulshreshtha, who said arguments on the sentencing of the 19 convicts 11 men and eight women will be heard on January 28. Five former employees of the shelter home, two former members of the child welfare panel and two officials of the Bihar social welfare department are among those convicted. The maximum sentence that can be handed to Thakur is life imprisonment for the remainder of his life, according to legal experts. The amendment to the POCSO Act, which introduced death penalty for sexually abusing minors below 12 years in 2019, will not be applicable because the case dates back to 2018, said advocate Prabhsahay Kaur. The shelter home came under the spotlight after the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) submitted an audit report to the Bihar governments social welfare department in April 2018, highlighting the alleged sexual assault on minor inmates there. Thakur, who ran the NGO Sewa Sankalp Evam Vikas Samiti, and seven others were arrested on June 3, 2018. In July that year, the Bihar government recommended an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which filed its charge sheet by the end of 2018 and named 21 people. One of them is absconding. According to public prosecutors, the court in Delhis Saket, which heard the case on the Supreme Courts directions, examined 69 prosecution witnesses and 20 defence witnesses during the trial. The judge also held the convicts guilty of different offences from abetment to criminal conspiracy to causing hurt, and relevant sections of the POCSO and Juvenile Justice Acts. Rosy Rani, the former additional director of the district child protection unit under the social welfare department, Bihar government, was found guilty of not reporting the offence. As the judge pronounced his order around 2pm, many of the convicts and their family members broke down in the packed courtroom. I have not committed such shameful acts on the girls. You are sending me to jail for these acts. I will commit suicide inside the jail, Ravi Roushan, a former member of the Child Welfare Committee said, alleging that the probe was not carried out properly. The judge asked his counsel to console him. You can approach the higher court against this judgment. It is your right, the court said. Thakurs counsel, Pramod Kumar Dubey, said he would appeal. Advocate Gyanendra Mishra, who represented Verma, too, said he would challenge the order. Soon after the scandal came to light, 44 inmates of the shelter home were shifted to other such facilities in Patna, Mokama and Madhubani. Their statements alleged rampant sexual abuse and raised suspicion of possible murders. In its charge sheet, CBI said some employees of the shelter home coerced children to wear skimpy clothes and made them dance to dirty songs. Before the assault, children were administered injections that would make them fall unconscious, the agency said. Amid nationwide outrage, the Supreme Court took note of the case, and ordered in October 2018 that Thakur be shifted to a jail in Patiala so that he could not influence the probe. In February 2019, the top court ordered that the trial be shifted from Patna to the POCSO court in Delhi. In a political fallout of the scandal, Manju Verma, then Bihar social welfare minister and a former leader of the states ruling Janata Dal (United), resigned from her post on August 8, 2018, after it emerged that her husband, Chandrashekar Verma, had links with Thakur. CBI officials dug up a cremation site close to the shelter home on October 4, 2018, and found parts of human skeleton. Last May, the agency told the Supreme Court that Thakur and his associates were suspected to have killed 11 girls. Earlier this month, it told the top court that 35 girls believed to have been murdered were found to be alive, and that the agency had not been able to find any evidence regarding the alleged murders in the shelter home. A political war of words broke out in Bihar soon after the verdict. Former chief minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Rabri Devi said the government led by Nitish Kumar owed an apology to the shelter home girls. The tears of the helpless girls will not go waste, she said. Opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav alleged that Thakur was a disciple of CM Kumar. ...Why was [then minister] Manju Verma ousted? What happened to the other NGO officials..., he tweeted in Hindi. Senior JD(U) leader and minister Neeraj Kumar rejected the allegations, and said: The government ordered social audit of shelter homes across the state. It lodged an FIR and asked for a CBI inquiry...It also asked for the court-monitored inquiry into the case. Senior Congress leader Prem Chandra Mishra said the courts verdict was a victory of truth. However, justice to the victim would not be complete until all persons, who extended patronage to the kingpin, and those in power who indulged in a cover-up...are penalised, he said. Bharatiya Janata Partys Prem Kumar, who is the agriculture minister, said the verdict had sent out a strong signal that people involved in such kind of crime will not be spared. CAIRO Talks on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam continue to disappoint despite ongoing mediation by the US government and the World Bank. Foreign and water ministers for Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan met last week in Washington in the presence of US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and World Bank President David Malpass. When the three-day meeting ended Jan. 15, participants decided to include six points in a potential comprehensive agreement on the rules for filling and operating the dam. But no agreement was reached on any of the contentious issues that have foiled the technical negotiation rounds during the past two months. Overall, disagreements over the $4 billion dam have been ongoing for nine years. Cairo fears the dam project on the Nile River threatens Egypt's water supply and will harm the environment. According to the joint statement issued by the US Treasury after the meeting, the ministers agreed on the six points, but acknowledged the issues all are subject to a final agreement. The points include filling of the dam in stages and during the wet season. The third point reads, The initial filling stage of the dam will provide for the rapid achievement of a level of 595 meters [1,952 feet] above sea level and the early generation of electricity, while providing appropriate mitigation measures for Egypt and Sudan in case of severe droughts during this stage. The ministers agreed to meet again Jan. 28 and 29 in Washington to supposedly finalize the comprehensive agreement. There will be technical and legal discussions in the interim period, the joint statement said. In the first official Egyptian reaction to the outcomes of the Washington meeting, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said in an interview with MENA news agency that Egypt was cautiously optimistic about reaching a critical point regarding the dam. He said the six points don't represent a consensus on specific issues, but rather "an attempt to review various important issues. An official with the Egyptian delegation to the United States said on condition of anonymity, There is still disagreement over fundamental technical matters related to the natural flow of the river, and the quantities of water released during the successive stages of filling and long-term operation. There is also no agreement on measures to deal with drought and prolonged periods of drought. These measures were subject to a long debate at the technical consultations. The official said, Technical assistance provided by the US consists of solutions and proposals to converge views without imposing any conditions on Egypt or others." He added, Egypt appreciates these efforts. This would safeguard our minimum demand that the filling and operation of the dam do not cause severe damage to Egyptian water security. The official said reaching a comprehensive agreement is not a political race that the concerned parties seek to win, saying, Egypt will not allow any points that harm its interests in the Nile waters to be approved. Meanwhile, observers of the course of the negotiations remain skeptical because the meeting failed to tackle several technical issues that have always been the subject of disagreement between Egypt and Ethiopia. Khaled Abu Zeid, secretary-general of the Egyptian Water Partnership, told Al-Monitor, The outcomes of the Washington meeting represent a general overview of the points that may be included in the comprehensive agreement on the rules for filling and operation" of the dam. He went on, Some of the points in the joint statement require the examination of technical details. This is especially true in relation to ... long-term operation, standards related to water release and measures to mitigate the effects of drought and prolonged periods of drought. According to the second point covered in Washington, filling will take place during the wet season, generally from July to August. It's better that filling takes place during the high rainy season, which is the period mentioned in the meetings joint statement," Abu Zeid said. He added, A clear agreement must be reached on the mechanism of water and electricity compensation when any damage occurs during any of the filling or operating stages, especially during drought periods. He added, Operation shall take place according to rules that guarantee the release of the annual discharge of the Blue Nile throughout the months of the year after repeated annual filling during the flood months. He warned that storing water from one year to another at high levels could increase evaporation losses and water leakage, not to mention the cumulative effect of those losses, saying, This may cause an accumulated decrease in the volume of water released from the dam to the two downstream countries. For Rawia Tawfiq, a political science professor at Cairo University, the Washington meeting made no progress on the main points of contention between Egypt and Ethiopia regarding filling and operating the dam. The only advantage is that it succeeded in reducing previous tension between the two countries, she told Al-Monitor. The failure of the water ministers and technical delegations from the three countries to reach agreement during the four technical meetings that ended Jan. 9 in Addis Ababa had stirred tension. Ethiopian Foreign Minister Sileshi Bekele issued a statement that day accusing the Egyptian negotiating delegation of not showing any intention to reach an agreement. He lashed out at Egypt for insisting on having its entire proposal included in any agreement on the filling of the dam and its operation. He said Egypt's proposal stipulates filling the dam over 12 to 21 years and requires Ethiopia to compensate for the cumulative deficit of water it uses during the filling period. But for Ethiopia, the concept of cumulative deficit does not exist as the country plans to apply drought mitigation strategies at all filling stages. Egypt responded the next day with a strongly worded statement from its Foreign Ministry describing the Ethiopian statement as containing misleading and unacceptable information. Egypt slammed the four ministerial meetings for failing to achieve tangible progress due to Ethiopia's intransigence and intention to impose the policy of a fait accompli and extend its control on the Nile. Tawfiq also said the Washington meeting did not achieve real progress. Loose terms were used. No decisive position was taken and no specific obligation was imposed on any of the parties," she said. She said Shoukrys statement after the Washington meeting pointed to the possibility of resorting to a different mediator should the US and World Bank attempts fail. Pointing to political instability in Ethiopia and the competition expected in next year's elections, Tawfiq said Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed faces great challenges, making it difficult for Ethiopia to make concessions regarding the dam. Thus, hopes rest with US efforts to resolve the dam issue between Egypt and Ethiopia, which threatens peace and security in the Horn of Africa and the Middle East. The assistance the United States may offer during the Jan. 28 meeting could be decisive. Philippines launches 3 programmes aiming to entice millennials to go into farming With present-day farmers aging and their sons spurning farming as their means of livelihood, the Philippines has launched three programmes that seek to entice millennials to venture into the agricultural business. Millennials generally refer to persons born between the early 1980s and late 1990s to early 2000s. One of the programmes has been funded with 500 million pesos (US$982,684), which will be used to give PHP500,000 ($983) start-up grants to young individuals with "good [agribusiness] ideas", reported the Manila Bulletin. Recipients of the grants will be mentored by both state and private universities, as well as established agribusiness practitioners. Another is the Youth Agrineurship Loan programme, which lends individuals aged 18 to 30 PHP500,000 to establish a business. The loan comes with zero interest and is payable in five years. The concept is "do business now, pay later", Agriculture Secretary William Dar explained. In the third programme, called Micro and Small Entrepreneurship Loan Programme, millennials already involved in micro and small entrepreneurship farming are given the chance to scale up their business with a PHP15-million zero-interest loan from the Department of Agriculture. Dar said PHP2.5 billion ($49.1 million) has been allotted for the three programmes, which he said will be implemented this year. He added that even those with no experience or educational attainment can enroll in these programmes. Only a business plan, "passion and interest" are required of those who wish to avail themselves of the grants and loans, Dar said. The U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt left its home port of San Diego on Friday and headed to the West Pacific and South China Sea where the USS Ronald Reagan is already deployed. The Roosevelt is affiliated with the 3rd U.S. Fleet that controls the area from the East Pacific and the U.S. west coast and was previously deployed in waters near the Korean Peninsula between late 2017 and early 2018 to pressure North Korea. It joined the Reagan and USS Nimitz in U.S.-South Korea joint drills in the East Sea in November 2017 and sailed with the 7th Fleet, which patrols the West Pacific and East and South China Sea. The Pittsburgh Quarterly Restaurant Review Board recognizes outstanding restaurants and chefs, publishing the top 20 annually in The List. Diverse board members are chosen for their interest and knowledge of food and fine dining. Each is anonymous, ensuring no special treatment during restaurant visitsbut in the coming reviews, each has picked an icon from the array above, and that icon will accompany their reviews so you can follow each board member via his or her icon. Throughout the year, they dine out frequently, sharing their experiences with other members via mini-reviewsbrief, off-the-cuff impressions not meant to be definitive or comprehensive. And now we share them with you! Legume Legume remains steady despite the recent change in chef. The menu is much the same and the execution of the food is as good as ever. For starters we had the bluefish pate, the mixed green salad and the turnip and apple soup. All were delicious, especially the unique soup, although the mixed green salad was basic and not particularly inventive. Our mains were the duck leg confit and the dry aged rib eye, and they were both well-prepared and full of flavor. Desserts were the highlight; luscious chocolate cake with homemade cream and panna cotta with concord grape sauce. Below: Legumes chocolate cake with homemade cream Service was excellent. I did find the menu itself a little stale. I realize that they want to offer items with a modest cost (such as monkfish, coho salmon). However, these dishes dont have wide appeal. I am wondering how much they vary the menu these days. One thing I have always loved about Legume was the interesting variety. Now I find the menu has more of a static feel. When we arrived, the music was inappropriately loud and the selection (rap) was not appropriate to the venue. They changed the music and lowered the volume as the restaurant became full. Thank goodness. The bathroom is in need of a refresh. It was not clean. Fish Nor Fowl Dinner for four at Fish nor Fowl on Saturday evening. Made reservations for 8:30 p.m. and our table was ready upon arrival. On the phone, we recommended a table upstairs, which weve found is much more cozy, inviting and private. Since the restaurant was not overly crowded, we stopped at the bar before heading to our table. The bar was crowded and the service was VERY slow. On a positive note, the atmosphere of the upstairs bar is very cool and trendy with a glass wall overlooking the main dining room. Once we got our drinks, we headed to our table. The table was neatly set and our chairs had white fur throws on them. This little touch added to the warm and cozy ambiance. Our waitress was knowledgeable and prompt and arrived at our table with a carafe of water. She provided us with an overview of the menu, the drinks and the silverware, which was tightly wrapped in a suede tool belt. We ordered the charred broccoli and the calamari for the table while we finished our drinks from the bar. Both dishes were amazing. The broccoli was steamed with just the right amount of crunch and was placed in a bed of creamy smoked goat cheese. The calamari was fried with saffron espelette aioli, charred fennel and orange. This dish was also very good, with unique flavors and aromas. For our main dishes, we ordered two spaghetti alla chitarra (a light pasta with melted leeks, truffle butter, AND freshly shaved truffles), the pappardelle (a creamy red sauce with pork cheek and fresh basil) and the cacio e pepe (a very simple but flavorful dish with just the right amount of spiciness). We asked for the pasta to be prepared al dente. The waitress warned us that since all of their pasta is homemade, it may be difficult to attain al dente. The cacio e pepe and the pappardelle pasta was cooked perfectly, while the spaghetti alla chitarra was cooked too long (we are picky pasta people). We also ordered a bottle of the Montepulciano and the Cabernet. Both wines were very rich and smooth. Overall, the dinner was above expectation and a great Saturday evening. One complaint that I had, and it seems to be a common trend at Italian restaurants in Pittsburgh, is that there were many spelling and grammatical mistakes on the menu when using Italian. Im not sure if these restaurants are using Google Translate for their menus, but they need to step up their game! Alla Famiglia Friday Night Date Night at 6:30 p.m. Still one of my favorite restaurants. A large quantity of food, with great service. Appetizers: Meatball gigantebig, flavorful, cheese good stuff. Calamari and shrimpa little oily, but the oregano flavor gave it a really good blend. Mussels diavalohubby said he prefers Point Brugge because he prefers white sauce, but it was good. Entrees: Black grouperperfectly seasoned, flavorful not flaky, best fish Ive had all year. Bone in rib eyeperfectly seasoned and tender. Pasta with vodka saucewhy order pasta when this comes with the entree? Sauce is light and I wanted to eat the whole bowl, but I was so full from the appetizers. Dessert: Cheesecakeyummy, the crust is to die for. Not too creamy, melts in your mouth. Especially with the whipped cream. Elvy Coravan poses for a portrait as she works to clear volcanic ash from the eruption of the Taal volcano, from the roof of her house in Buso Buso on January 19, 2020. - Residents of Buso Buso are allowed past police and military checkpoints for certain hours each morning to check on their homes and make repairs, before returning to evacuation centres in the surrounding areas. The small fishing village is one of the closest and hardest hit villages in the vicinity of the volcano. (Photo | AFP) Tagaytay, Philippines: The Philippine government will no longer allow people to live on the crater-studded island that's home to the erupting Taal volcano, with officials warning that living there would be ``like having a gun pointed at you." The simmering volcano has ejected smaller ash plumes for days after a gigantic eruption Jan. 12 sent ash drifting north over Manila, the capital, about 65 kilometers (40 miles) away. While a larger, explosive eruption is still possible and tens of thousands of evacuees remain in emergency shelters, officials have begun discussing post-eruption recovery. Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano said officials in Batangas province, where the volcano is located, have been asked to look for a safer housing area, at least 3 hectares (7 acres) in size, for about 6,000 families that used to live in four villages and worked mostly as tourist guides, farmers and fish pen operators on Volcano Island. The new housing site should be at least 17 kilometers (10 miles) away from the restive volcano to be safe, he said. The island was long ago designated a national park that''s off-limits to permanent villages. The government's volcano-monitoring agency has separately declared the island a permanent danger zone, but still, impoverished villagers have lived and worked there for decades. ``We have to enforce these regulations once and for all because their lives are at stake,'' Ano said Sunday, adding that closely regulated tourism work could eventually be allowed on the island without letting residents live there permanently. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has approved a recommendation for the island to be turned into a ``no man's land,'' but he has yet to issue formal guidelines. After an initial visit last week, Duterte plans to return to hard-hit Batangas province on Monday to check conditions of displaced villagers, Ano said. The 311-meter (1,020-foot) -high Taal is the second most-active of 24 restive Philippine volcanoes. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology has placed Taal at alert level 4, the second-highest warning, indicating a more dangerous explosive eruption is possible within hours or days due to continuous earthquakes, emissions of volcanic gases, and other signs that magma is rising. ``They lived on the volcano itself with 47 craters. That's really dangerous. It's like having a gun pointed at you,'' Renato Solidum, the head of the volcanology institute, told The Associated Press. Health officials say hundreds of people have been treated for ash-related breathing problems, but no deaths have been directly blamed on the eruption. Ash and volcanic debris have damaged homes near the crater, and the pressure of the magma underground has cracked roads and earth nearby. Taal left more than 200 people dead in a powerful 1965 eruption, then again exploded in 1977. Government advisories about Taal's renewed restiveness as early as March last year helped local officials prepare and evacuate thousands of villagers rapidly from Volcano Island hours before the volcano erupted thunderously. Lucia Amen, a 45-year-old mother of six, said she started packing up clothes in bags in November after hearing from her children that their teachers were warning that the volcano was acting up again. When the volcano erupted, she said she was ready with her family and rapidly moved out of Laurel town, which lies near Volcano Island. Amen wept quietly Sunday while attending Mass in an evacuation center in Tagaytay city in Cavite province, saying she was worried about her children as the eruption dragged on. A senator from Batangas, Ralph Recto, has recommended the creation of a commission to oversee the recovery of the volcano-devastated region. It would be similar to a government body that was established after Mount Pinatubo's 1991 eruption north of Manila. A long-dormant volcano, Pinatubo, blew its top in one of the biggest volcanic eruptions of the 20th century, killing hundreds of people and devastating the Philippines' main rice-producing region. The Philippines lies along the Pacific "Ring of Fire,'' a string of faults around the ocean basin where many of the world's earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur. ___ Gomez reported from Manila. Associated Press journalist Joeal Calupitan in Tagaytay contributed to this report. BROOKHAVEN Two Chester residents have been arrested for a pair of burglaries that took place earlier this month, according to a release from Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer. Christopher Jimenez, 18, and an unnamed 15-year-old accomplice have been charged with burglary, criminal trespass, theft, receiving stolen property, possessing an instrument of crime and related conspiracy counts. Many of the stolen items were recovered and were or will be returned to the rightful owners, said Brookhaven Police Chief Matthew Kurten. This investigation is ongoing in an attempt to recover all proceeds and bring all perpetrators to justice, if our investigation reveals that others exist. The burglaries at two unoccupied properties took place during the evening hours on Jan. 11 and Jan. 14 in the area of Susan Lane and Edgewood Avenue. Both defendants were apprehended Jan. 15 following the joint investigative efforts of the Brookhaven Police Department and Delaware County Criminal Investigation Division. This is a perfect example of how the close and effective coordination between my offices Criminal Investigation Division and local police departments leads to increased public safety, said Stollsteimer. The Delco D.A. and the Brookhaven Police Department remind anyone who observes suspicious activity call to 911 immediately and provide the most specific and accurate details possible to assist law enforcement agencies investigating the call for service. Jimenez was preliminarily arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Georgia L. Stone and remanded to the county prison in lieu of $100,000 cash bail. A preliminary hearing is set for Thursday. The Haryana Assembly on Monday ratified a bill to extend reservation to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for another 10 years. On the opening day of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha session here, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar moved an official resolution in the House to ratify the Constitution (126th Amendment) Bill 2019 extending reservation for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities in Lok Sabha and state assemblies by another 10 years. The House unanimously passed the resolution. The reservation for SCs, STs given for the past 70 years in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, was due to end on January 25, 2020. The Parliament recently passed a constitution amendment bill in this regard and it has to be ratified by at least 50 per cent of the assemblies before it becomes a law. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) SpaceX CEO Elon Musk stated this past weekend that the company is planning on launching humans into space for the first time in just a few months. As reported by CNBC on Sunday, Elon Musk's SpaceX will be launching its first crewed mission sometime during Q2 of 2020. The news came from Musk himself when speaking to the press after the company completed a successful test run -- a "picture perfect" run according to Musk -- of the Crew Dragon vessel's in-flight abort system. The founder and CEO of SpaceX said that the inaugural launch of astronauts, a mission called Demo-2, will likely take place sometime between April and June of this year; two NASA crew members will be sent to the International Space Station for a few days. According to Musk, the rocket and spacecraft needed for the trip are already being built in Florida with completion slated for late February or March. As NASA's Space Shuttle program shut down nearly 10 years ago, with astronaut transport to the ISS currently being facilitated by Russia as a result, SpaceX could potentially return that capability to US. When speaking about the matter, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine stated that, "This is a great opportunity for us to once again lead. And this time, when we lead, we're doing it differently than we've ever done it before: NASA is going to be a customer." The organization will be paying SpaceX approximately $55 million for every astronaut that gets sent to the ISS. In the meantime, Musk had no comments on when SpaceX will be able to fly private customers into space; however, the company will be welcoming international partners who are looking to travel out to the final frontier. BAGHDAD Iraqi security forces fired tear gas and live rounds during clashes with antigovernment protesters overnight and on Monday in Baghdad, killing three and wounding dozens of demonstrators, officials said. The clashes prompted authorities to close key streets leading to the Iraqi capitals center. The violence is the latest since protests in Iraq reignited last week after a brief lull amid soaring tensions between Washington and Tehran following a U.S. drone strike that killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad earlier this month. Antigovernment protests have similarly resumed in Lebanon after a brief hiatus, entering a new, violent phase as anger against a worsening economic crisis and politicians inaction mounts. Hundreds of people were injured over the weekend as security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets in clashes in Beirut. In Baghdad, the tear gas and live rounds were fired near Sinak Bridge and Tayaran Square, officials said. A gunshot killed one protester, and a second died after being struck in the head by a tear gas canister, medical officials said. A third later succumbed to his injuries, the officials said. A statement from the Baghdad Operations Command said 14 officers were wounded by a group of rock-throwing protesters. The uprising began on Oct. 1 when Iraqis took to the streets to decry government corruption, poor public services and a scarcity of jobs. Protesters are demanding an end to Iraqs sectarian political system, alongside early elections and the stepping aside of its ruling elite. Qassem Abdul-Zahra and Samya Kullab are Associated Press writers. While several organizations applauded the U.S. Senates passage of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), New Yorks Senate delegation cited climate change concerns in their no votes on the measure. The House of Representatives passed the resolution adopting the USMCA, a renegotiated version of the North American Free Trade Agreement, last month. In a statement, North Country Chamber of Commerce President/CEO Garry Douglas said nothing is more important to the North Countrys economy than its growing partnership with Canada. Full Congressional approval of USMCA both preserves and enhances that partnership, bringing needed stability and predictability to cross-border commerce and investment of all kinds. Not good enough Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, both Democrats who represent New York State, were two of just 10 senators who voted against adopting the USMCA on Thursday. In a statement released two days before the vote, Gillibrand said the USMCA might be slightly better than NAFTA, but argued that was not good enough. Bad trade deals, including NAFTA, hollowed out upstate New Yorks manufacturing industry. I dont believe this agreement will reverse this trend or help the generations of New Yorkers who lost good jobs. Gillibrand also said the agreement is a missed opportunity to address threats from climate change. It fails to close loopholes for corporate polluters or set binding, enforceable standards to protect clean air and water. Handouts In a statement Thursday, Schumer said the USMCA does have good labor provisions, but that it does not address climate change, the greatest threat facing the planet. Instead of advancing global climate security by outlining binding and enforceable climate commitments from all three countries, the Trump administration provides significant incentives for manufacturers to move their business and their jobs from the U.S. to Mexico, where clean air and clean water regulations are much weaker, Schumer said. Meanwhile, the Trump administration also included handouts for the oil and gas industry, such as lifting tariffs on tar sands, and refused to include any mention of the climate crisis in the agreement. When it comes to climate change, the agreement still contains many of the same flaws of the original NAFTA, which I voted against. Schumer commended the officials who made important improvements to USMCA with regard to workers rights, and said he fought to make sure New Yorks dairy producers would benefit from it. But on the greatest issue facing our planet, addressing the climate crisis, the USMCA falls far too short. New York State GOP Chair Nick Langworthy said in a statement that the senators had voted to hurt the people they were supposed to represent, calling their no votes a slap in the face to the New Yorkers who stand to benefit from the deal. New Yorkers should never forget this dereliction of duty. Duty-free essential Stefaniks predecessor, Plattsburgh attorney Bill Owens, told the Press-Republican he would have voted in favor of the USMCA, were he in Schumer or Gillibrands position. The key from my perspective is the stability and the essential aspects of NAFTA that are going to stay in place and will continue to foster trade between, obviously the U.S. and Canada, but in particular our area as well. The continuation of zero-tariff treatment on goods exchanged between the three countries included in the USMCA was essential, Owens said. If you started applying duties at the U.S.-Canada and the U.S.-Mexican borders, you would alter trade dramatically, including the supply chain activity fostered by the lack of tariffs. Owens thinks that, without the policy, far fewer Canadian companies would create subsidiaries in the area. It would be a much different economic environment. It would not be as healthy. More competitive According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, under the USMCA, U.S. dairy farmers will be more competitive in Canada, which agreed to eliminate Class 6 and 7 milk pricing programs that allowed their farmers to undersell U.S. producers. Additionally, U.S. poultry producers will have expanded access to Canadas poultry and egg markets, the USDA said. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said the Senates vote was great news for the countrys farmers and ranchers. With Congressional consideration now complete, our farmers and ranchers are eager to see the president sign this legislation and begin reaping the benefits of this critical agreement. Agribusiness Agribusiness organizations offered much praise for the deals passage. The northeastern agricultural industry, particularly the dairy industry, will benefit from a more balanced trading relationship with Canada and Mexico, Northeast Agribusiness and Feed Alliance President John Clark said in a statement. New York Farm Bureau President David Fisher said nearly half of the states agricultural exports go to Mexico and Canada, providing vital market opportunities that will remain open thanks to USMCA. The certainty that this agreement provides to farmers, Fisher continued, plus the potential for expected growth for our dairy farms, are reasons to commend lawmakers for getting the job done in a strong bipartisan fashion. Love 1 Funny 3 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The European countries, signatories to the deal, have tried to salvage the agreement since President Donald Trump pulled out in 2018 and imposed a series of economic sanctions on Iran, kick-starting the current high tensions. They said on Tuesday that they still hoped to preserve the deal, but Rouhani, at a government meeting, accused the Europeans of siding with the United States and urged them to uphold the deal. The uproar after the arrest of Jammu and Kashmir DSP Davinder Singh feels all too familiar. The same furore erupted when a senior customs official was arrested after the Mumbai blast. This raises the question What was the intelligence machinery doing? Are there other people too who are corrupting our systems? This question will be forgotten until the next such incident takes place. These crucial issues just get lost, instead of being addressed with the seriousness they require. Unfortunately, this lackadaisical tendency seems to suit our system, and so we lurch from disaster to disaster. Singhs case is all the more embarrassing because he was deputed at a very sensitive anti-hijacking unit at Srinagar airport. Although his own record may have been doubtful, Afzal Guru, who was hanged in the case of the attack on the Parliament, had made serious allegations against him. Guru had filed a written complaint that Singh had arrested him illegally and had tortured him. It was Singh who had pressured him to take one of the terrorists involved in Parliament attack to Delhi and provide him shelter. Before this, Singh was accused of misuse of his position and extortion. Had he been put under watch at that time, many untoward incidents perhaps might have been averted. We need to pay attention to this. The areas affected by terrorism and separatism have their own particular characteristics. There, it is not democracy but a guncracy that rules, and some people with authority tend to become trigger-happy and lose their way. Singh is just a small cog in the wheel. Let me give you an example. In the early 1990s, a journalist colleague and I travelled for nearly two weeks in the troubled areas of Assam, Nagaland and Manipur. I wanted to know how our security forces deal with those who threaten the Indian nation-State with the gun. The then director-general of the CRPF knew me, and he was courteous enough to ring up the then inspector general of Manipur-Nagaland, and tell him about me. When we landed in Imphal, a deputy commandant-level officer welcomed and received us on the runway. As part of the CRPF convoy, we reached his group centre. Despite a reputation for being tough, the inspector general (IG) was very warm and friendly, and instead of arranging a rest house for us, he provided us an entire flat adjacent to his residence. He had also called one of his commandants. It was a coincidence that he belonged to a tribe from Manipur called the Meiteis. While moving around with him, we were surprised quite a few times. The first surprise was when we visited a chowki under him. As soon as we reached there, rum with warm water was served. It was 2.30 pm and I looked askance at him. But he had already lifted his glass and was saying cheers! I started wondering: This man is posted here in the crucial and reputed post of the field commander and all the security forces under him are on high alert. In spite of all this, he seemed to think it was fine to drink on the job in the daytime! When we returned, we raised this issue with the DG. He said the soldiers and officers, posted in such battlegrounds, have to be given a little freedom. When your opponent is willing to do anything to undermine you, you have to be on your guard. And this is not possible within the limitations of rules and regulations. He said, You people are young. But when I joined the CRPF in the 60s, the scenario was very different. When we reached a village while patrolling on foot, the village-heads used to welcome us and gift us chickens as a token of respect. They were willing to do everything to please us. Times are not the same, sadly. He looked crestfallen and sad that kinder times were now gone. I started admiring the courage with which the officers and soldiers lived that difficult life, but we came across yet another surprise. After a few days, I read in the newspapers that an IG, along with some senior officials of the narcotics department, has been arrested on charges of smuggling cannabis. The same commandants and the rum drinker were among those who had been arrested. The sort of guncracy leads to an arrogance and confidence among not just the terrorists and separatists but also the security forces Let us go back to Singhs affairs. Our political leaders are arguing over Hindu-Muslim and Hindustan-Pakistan, instead of holding serious discussions on this person who has been charged with such serious crimes. It is these people who have to take measures to prevent such life-threatening events, instead of which we are busy wasting our time with foolish debates. They should not forget that when a brave soldier deviates from his path, its not just due to personal reasons alone, but because of lapses in the whole machinery. Shashi Shekhar is the editor-in-chief, Hindustan The views expressed are personal The idea of setting up a wealth tax to target the richest Americans has created a lot of debate in the United States. President Donald Trump calls it socialism. But Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders have expressed support for the idea. Both senators are seeking the Democratic Partys presidential nomination. And many Americans seem to agree with calls for a wealth tax. A new survey found that nearly two-thirds of those questioned said the very rich should pay more. Researchers questioned over 4,400 people. Nearly 64 percent agreed with the statement that the very rich should contribute an extra share of their total wealth each year to support public programs. Support for the idea among people who identified themselves as Democrats was strong, at 77 percent. A majority of those allied with Trumps Republican Party, 53 percent, also agreed with the idea. A wealth tax is based on how much money an individual has as well as shares of stock, bonds and other investments, including land. It is separate from an income tax, which taxes wages, as well as interest and dividends from investments. In the Reuters/Ipsos poll, people were asked if the very rich should be allowed to keep the money they have, even if that means increasing inequality. More than half of those questioned, 54 percent of people, disagreed with that statement. Rich people have a right to (spend) their moneyworldwide cruises or whatever, said Esin Zimmerman of Madison, Minnesota. She is a lifelong member of the Republican party who wants higher taxes for the wealthy. That money could be used in other ways that help people, she noted. Zimmerman said she would support a wealth tax that would help pay for government programs for former armed forces members, or help single parents with young children. The poll results may show how the economic changes of the past 20 years, from globalization to the financial crisis, have shaped ideas about economic policy. Another poll showed that worries about the rich paying too little decreased through the 1990s and early 2000s when the country was doing well economically. But since the crisis years of 2007 to 2009, worries about uncontrolled wealth have risen from 55 percent to more than 60 percent. The Reuters/Ipsos poll results show there may be an even stronger support for a yearly tax on total wealth, not just income. Senators Warren and Sanders have spoken up for the idea as a way to help pay for large social programs. They also believe it is a way to end the continued rise in the amount of wealth held by the richest Americans. The poll also points to changing ideas about keeping what you earn. That idea got a lot of criticism. About 35 percent of Republicans disagreed with the statement, as did 71 percent of Democrats. About 56 percent of Republicans agreed that the very rich should keep what they earn without considering inequality. Reporters working for Reuters contacted some of the Republicans who answered questions. They said they did not think a wealth tax conflicted with their party beliefs or their support for President Trump. Kathy Herron is a Republican who lives in Santa Rosa, California. She said she supports Trump for his policies on illegal immigration. She believes he should support higher taxes on rich Americans. We are taxed from one end to the other, and it just seems the rich dont pay their share, she said. Im Susan Shand. The Reuters News Agency reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story survey n. a public opinion study; questioning people to understand societies changing opinions stock n. a share of the value of a company which can be bought, sold, or traded as an investment bond n. a document in which a government or company promises to pay back an amount of money that it has borrowed and to pay interest for the borrowed money cruise n. traveling by ship for pleasure globalization n. the process of connecting businesses and technology around the world On Saturday, Sept 26th as a part of the 2nd Dayton Funk Symposium held at the University of Dayton, The Funk Music Hall of Fame & Exhibition Center will induct its first class of inductees into The Funk Music Hall of Fame James Brown, George Clinton & the Parliament Funkadelic and The Ohio Players. As pioneers of a musical genre which came to life during the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements, these artists created a cultural form of expression that allowed Black musicians to speak freely about African American social and cultural life. Brown, Clinton and The Ohio Players are Funk pioneers who attributed to the birthing of the different forms of the Funk genre such as P-Funk, Jazz-Funk, Fusion Funk and Electro Funk just to name a few. Today we celebrate those who brought it to life by forever remembering their wonderful legacies as our first inductees. James Brown, The Godfather of Soul, can also be called the Founding Father of Funk. His famous song, Say it Loud, Im Black and Im Proud! was an anthem that placed Funk music as part of the cause to advance Black pride and empowerment. Brown is not only known for his contributions to social change, he is also noted for creating the then funky new sound called On the One! the defining beat of Funk music that distinguishes it from other genres. He will always be remembered as the musician who developed this signature groove emphasizing the downbeat. His unique style remains recognizable in the music of countless musicians who have adopted his Funky sound. His songs, Say it Loud, Im Black and Im Proud and Soul Power caused Funk and Soul music to become deeply connected to the issues surrounding urban black communities and racial injustice. All in all, his lyrics instilled confidence, pride and awareness among Black Americans. George Clinton & Parliament-Funkadelic Funkadelic is the visionary leader of a large collection of musician groups including, Parliament & Funkadelic, Brides of Funkenstein, and Parlet. Also, he opened the door for Bootsy Collins Bootsys Rubberband. Clinton created the cultural art form known as P-Funk which included many kinds of expressions including a fashion revolution, distinctive album cover art, and cartoon characters. Who can forget Clintons Parliament-Funkadelic outfits that made Funk the ultimate psychedelic experience. His musical contributions prompted many R&B acts to adopt Funky types of dress sampling not only his music but his eccentric funky style. P-Funk is James Browns sound with an outer space underwater out of this world touch that leaves dancers with two fingers up and a thumb on the side on the dance floor. Last but not least, we choose to recognize our own The Ohio Players, Dayton Ohio from (Westbound Records to Mercury Records). All of the bands from this city and surrounding areas Faze-O, Lakeside, Sun, Heatwave, Dayton, Platypus, Slave, Roger and Zapp and many, many others drew inspiration from the success of The Ohio Players. They were Daytons first band to reach gold and platinum status with worldwide album sales. This pioneering band bridged Funk with jazz, and rhythm and blues. Its horns, chords, high-pitched harmonies and iconic lead voices, solidified the Funk sound. Amazing artist like Junie Morrisons voice on Pain, and Funky Worm as well as Sugarfoots Owl Gerl exemplify the sweet sounds of Funk! Please join The Funk Music Hall of Fame & Exhibition Center, by welcoming these phenomenal artists as their first inductees. Stay tuned for details on the Induction ceremony. Scheduled to arrive in Brussels at 10:55 am on Monday, the rail journey from Vienna emits less than a tenth of the CO2 per passenger than the equivalent flight The first night train to set off for Belgium in 16 years departed from Vienna Sunday, carrying Austrian and European politicians who hope the new route can set an example as the continent tries to meet its climate targets. The carriages of the "OBB Nightjet" pulled out of Vienna's main station punctually at 8:38 pm to the strains of a live band playing the EU anthem "Ode to Joy", the slogan #loveyourplanet emblazoned along their sides. Scheduled to arrive in Brussels at 10:55 am on Monday, the rail journey emits less than a tenth of the CO2 per passenger than the equivalent flight. Austrian state railway company OeBB has for several years been a pioneer in the revival of night trains, and OeBB board chairman Andreas Matthae said he was "proud" of the new route. Joining a clutch of Austrian MEPs was Martin Selmayr, previously the powerful chief of staff to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and now the EU's representative in Vienna. For British holidaymaker Daniel, 35, the train was the clear choicenot for environmental reasons but for comfort. "No airport routine, it's nice and easy... it's relaxing," he told AFP. Liesbet Vandebroek, who lives in Austria but works for the tourism authority of Belgium's Flanders region, said it was important for her to make the frequent journey to Brussels with "as small a footprint as possible" but also waxed lyrical about the romance of the night train. "As a student I travelled everywhere with the night train, it's so leisurely... and very nostalgic," said Vandebroek. The Vienna to Brussels service will initially run on Sundays and Wednesdays. The return leg will run on Mondays and Thursdays with a portion splitting off to serve Munich and Innsbruck. In October OeBB said that bookings on its night trains were up 11 percent year-on-year. With prices for non-sleeper seats as low as 19 euros ($21), it says its services are competitive with low-cost airlinesalthough sleeper berths can cost considerably more. OeBB operates, either alone or in partnership, 27 night trains with another new service to Amsterdam scheduled to start in December. At the end of 2016 OeBB bought the night trains of the state rail operator in neighbouring Germany, Deutsche Bahn, which Matthae admitted was seen as risky at the time. Austria's new Green Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler said that that decision had been vindicated and that the new route was in line with the Austrian government's ambition to make the country carbon neutral by 2040. "There is no other city in the European Union that has so many night trains departing from Vienna, and the network can be expanded further," Gewessler said. Explore further Austrian railways say night train bookings on increase 2020 AFP Sexual abuses in varying forms at almost all shelter homes in Bihar: Report Muzaffarpur Shelter Home case: Brajesh Thakur, 18 others convicted; sentencing on Jan 28 at 11 am India oi-Madhuri Adnal New Delhi, Jan 20: Delhi Court on Monday convicted 19 accused including Brajesh Thakur in Muzaffarpur Shelter Home case. The apex court found Thakur guilty of gang rape and aggravated penetrative sexual assault. Court to hear arguments on sentence on January 28 at 11 am. The order was pronounced by Additional Sessions Judge Dr Saurabh Kulshreshtha. The case pertains to the rape and sexual abuse of inmates of a shelter home in Muzaffarpur. The NGO, Seva Sankalp Evam Vikas Samiti, which ran the shelter home was owned by Thakur. Prior to that, in November, it had deferred the verdict by a month as 20 accused, who are currently lodged in Tihar central jail, could not be brought to court premises due to the lawyers' strike in all six district courts in the national capital. The court on March 20, 2018, had framed charges against the accused, including Thakur, for offences of criminal conspiracy to commit rape and penetrative sexual assault against minors. The accused included eight females and 12 males. 23-year-old Muzaffarpur woman set on fire after failed rape bid, dies at Patna hospital The court had held the trial for the offences of rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, drugging of minors and criminal intimidation among other charges. Key accused Thakur and employees of his shelter home, as well as officials in the Bihar department of social welfare, were charged with criminal conspiracy, neglect of duty and failure to report the assault on the girls. The charges also included offence of cruelty to child under their authority, punishable under the Juvenile Justice Act. All the accused, who appeared before the court, pleaded innocence and claimed trial. The offences entail a maximum punishment of life imprisonment. The court had reserved order on September 30 after final arguments by the CBI counsel and 20 accused in the case in which former Bihar Social Welfare Minister and then JD(U) leader Manju Verma also faced flak as allegations surfaced that Thakur had links with her husband. She had resigned from her post on August 8, 2018. The CBI had told a special court that there was enough evidence against all the accused in the case. However, those accused have claimed that the CBI had not conducted a "fair investigation" into the case, which has been registered under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and entails life imprisonment as the maximum punishment. Additional Sessions Judge Kulshreshtha, during the in-camera trial, concluded the arguments in the case which had begun on February 25 last year. The case was transferred on February 7 from a local court in Muzaffarpur in Bihar to a POCSO court at Saket district court complex in Delhi on the Supreme Court's directions. Ex-inmate of Muzaffarpur shelter home raped: NCW, NHRC shoot notices to Bihar DGP, other officials During the trial, counsel for the CBI told the court that the statements of minor girls, who were allegedly sexually assaulted, point to the fact that there was enough evidence against all the accused and they should be convicted. The matter had come to light after the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) submitted a report to the Bihar government on May 26, 2018, highlighting the alleged sexual abuse of minor girls in the shelter home for the first time. On May 29, 2018, the state government shifted the girls from the shelter home to other protection homes. An FIR was lodged against the 11 accused in the case on May 31, 2018. The top court on August 2 had taken cognisance of the alleged sexual assaults of about 30 minor girls in Muzaffarpur's shelter home and transferred the probe to the CBI on November 28. Cuban special event Members of the DX Group of Cuba will celebrating the 15th anniversary of a Mexican homologous organization and the founding of the DXXE Group. The DX Group of Cuba will activate the special event station T40DXXE between January 20-31st. Activity will be on CW, SSB and FT8 on various HF bands with the best propagation when the operators have free time as it allows. Whoever manages to contact the station on at least three bands, regardless of mode, will receive a special certificate in digital format. The DXXE Group encourages radio activity during inter-national competitions, expeditions, island activations, as well as experimentation with new technologies applied to radio communications. On the other hand, it grants the "DXXE Diploma" to those who demonstrate having contacted at least three members of the group. The DXXE brings together renowned Mexican operators and others from the countries in the Americas, Europe and Asia. There will be other celebrations for this anniversary as well as other special event stations from South America, Mexico, Spain, Canary Islands and France being added throughout the year. For more details and QSL route, see QRZ.com. Please see also: Mexican special event Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank) CEO Bang Moon-kyu speaks during a New Year's press conference held at the Korea Federation of Banks in central Seoul, Monday. / Courtesy of Eximbank By Kim Bo-eun Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank) CEO Bang Moon-kyu said Monday the state-run lender will allocate 12 trillion won ($10 billion) for overseas infrastructure projects this year. This is an increase of 41 percent from the 8.5 trillion won allocated last year. "This year we will focus on supporting high value investment and development projects for Korean companies," Bang said in a New Year's press conference held at the Korea Federation of Banks in central Seoul. "We will find projects that local firms can take part in, centering on new development projects such as smart cities and airports," he said. Bang said the bank will focus on large scale projects in countries in the ASEAN region as well as in North Asia, according to the government's New Northern Policy. Eximbank will finance projects in 10 countries this year, including Indonesia, Vietnam, India, Russia, Uzbekistan and Myanmar. The lender has designated target sectors for each country, such as transport and water resources for Indonesia, transport for Vietnam, city development infrastructure for India and the petrochemical industry for Uzbekistan. Bang said the bank will boost total loans to 69.3 trillion won this year, which is up 16 percent from 60 trillion won last year. The CEO said Eximbank will focus on "increasing financing for innovative businesses and the materials, parts and equipment industry to recover exports, which drives Korea's economy." The lender plans to extend more loans for firms in the materials, parts and equipment industry to 20 trillion won, from 19 trillion won last year. This is part of the government's drive to strengthen the sector to reduce the influence of trade restrictions, after Japan curbed exports of key resources materials last year. Eximbank will also increase the scale of its economic development cooperation fund to 1.18 trillion won this year, from 1.05 trillion won last year. The lender plans to focus the funds on ICT-based infrastructure in key countries in South and North Asia. Establishing a base for financing projects with North Korea will also be an important task for this year, Bang said. The lender is seeking to strengthen research on strategies and policies on economic cooperation with North Korea. This Jan. 17, 2020, photo, shows the closed Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China. China reported Monday, Jan. 20 a sharp rise in the number of people affected in a pneumonia outbreak caused by a new coronoavirus, including the first cases in the capital. (Kyodo News via AP) China reported Monday a sharp rise in the number of people infected with a new coronavirus, including the first cases in the capital. The outbreak coincides with the country's busiest travel period, as millions board trains and planes for the Lunar New Year holidays. Health authorities in the central city of Wuhan, where the viral pneumonia appears to have originated, said an additional 136 cases have been confirmed in the city, which now has a total of 198 infected patients. As of the weekend, a third patient had died, bringing the death toll to three. Two individuals in Beijing and one in the southern city of Shenzhen have also been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus, health commissions in the respective cities said Monday. The three people had visited Wuhan. The outbreak has put other countries on alert as millions of Chinese travel for Lunar New Year. Authorities in Thailand and in Japan have already identified at least three cases, all involving recent travel from China. South Korea reported its first case Monday, when a 35-year-old Chinese woman from Wuhan tested positive for the new coronavirus one day after arriving at Seoul's Incheon airport. The woman has been isolated at a state-run hospital in Incheon city, just west of Seoul, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement. At least a half-dozen countries in Asia and three U.S. airports have started screening incoming airline passengers from central China. Many of the initial cases had connections to a seafood market in Wuhan, which was closed for an investigation. As hundreds of people who came into close contact with diagnosed patients were not infected themselves, the municipal health commission maintains that the virus is not easily transmitted between humans, though it has not ruled out limited human-to-human transmission. China's National Health Commission said experts have judged the current outbreak to be "preventable and controllable." "However, the source of the new type of coronavirus has not been found, we do not fully understand how the virus is transmitted, and changes in the virus still need to be closely monitored," the commission said in a Sunday statement. Coronaviruses cause diseases ranging from the common cold to SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome. SARS first infected people in southern China in late 2002 and spread to more than two dozen countries, killing nearly 800. The Chinese government initially tried to conceal the severity of the SARS epidemic, but its cover-up was exposed by a high-ranking physician. "In the early days of SARS, reports were delayed and covered up," said an editorial in the nationalistic Global Times. "That kind of thing must not happen again in China." "We have made great strides in medicine, social affairs management and public opinion since 2003," the editorial said. The virus causing the current outbreak is different from those previously identified, Chinese scientists said earlier this month. Initial symptoms of the novel coronavirus include fever, cough, tightness of the chest and shortness of breath. On the Weibo social media platform, which is widely used in China, people posted prevention advice such as wearing masks and washing hands. State broadcaster CCTV recommended staying warm, increasing physical activity, eating lightly and avoiding crowded places. Some people said they had cancelled their travel plans and were staying home for Lunar New Year. Explore further China reports 2nd death from virus behind pneumonia outbreak 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Video footage of a large fishing cat walking down a deserted lane in Konnagar, a municipal town in Hooghly district less than 25 km from Kolkata, created panic among residents who mistook it for a leopard. The fear was triggered by an incident reported in the first week of January in Bankura and Jhargram district where multiple pugmarks of a tigress and her cub were spotted by the forest department. Later, more pugmarks were found at Ghatsila in Jharkhand. The footage of the fishing cat, the state animal of West Bengal, was captured by a close circuit television camera installed in a house at Kanaigram in Konnagar. Fishing cats are listed as vulnerable species in the International Union for Conservation of Natures (IUCN) Red List. The Dankuni wetlands, located less than 10 km away from the spot where the cat was spotted, is a fishing cat habitat. We have examined the footage. It is a fishing cat and not a leopard. Fishing cats do not harm humans, said Ravi Kant Sinha, chief wildlife warden of West Bengal. Over the past few days local people claimed to have seen parts of carcasses of birds, dogs and cats. They had been carrying sticks while leaving home at night or early morning. Some people in adjacent villages said they could hear loud roars at night. The footage shows the cat walking past a parked mini-truck. If we compare its size with that of the trucks tyres, we can easily conclude that it is not a leopard. The animal had stripes on its back and not spots, which makes it a fishing cat, said Biswajit Roy Chowdhury, a member of the state wildlife advisory body. Forest officials went to the spot to collect pugmarks. It seems to be a fishing cat, said Rajib Banerjee, state forest minister. A 10,000 reward has been offered for information on the first anniversary of the brutal shotgun murder of Wayne Boylan in Co Down. The father of one was enjoying a night with friends at a house in Lower Dromore Road in Warrenpoint when two masked killers burst into the house with a shotgun and shot him. A 21-year-old woman, who was also in the house, was struck in the face and neck by pellets from the blast. Police now believe a dark coloured vehicle was used by the murderers and police are hoping to trace the movements of the car on the day of the murder. Detective Chief Inspector Eamonn Corrigan said: Did you see this car in or around the Lower Dromore Road or the dual carriageway between Newry and Warrenpoint at around 7.30pm? "We know that after the murder this vehicle went towards Warrenpoint and entered Duke Street. Where did it go after this and who was in the vehicle? Detective Chief Inspector Corrigan added: Everyone is now back to work after the Christmas festivities, having spent precious time with family and friends. On Christmas day Waynes young son didnt have that luxury. "His father wasnt there to share the day with him or see him opening his presents. No-one, especially children, should have to live with the legacy of having a loved one gunned down in cold blood. Waynes young son and family continue to live with the pain of his murder and the young woman who was injured on that fateful evening will endure the horror of what she witnessed for the rest of her life. We want to give them answers and justice, and they deserve to see Waynes killers behind bars. The charity Crimestoppers has offered 10,000 to anyone who gives information leading to the successful prosecution of the perpetrators of the murder. DCI Corrigan said: Today I would appeal to anyone who has information about this murder and who has not already come forward to please speak with my officers. Your information could be that vital piece we need to bring the perpetrators before the courts. If you do not want to speak with a police officer you can call the independent charity Crimestoppers and speak to them anonymously on 0800 555 111. They guarantee 100% anonymity to everyone who contacts them and have always kept that promise. Susan Brew, regional manager for Northern Ireland at the charity Crimestoppers, said: You may well know who was responsible and want to do the right thing but feel unable to speak directly to the authorities. "Our charity is here for you. All you need to do is make a simple anonymous phone call to our Contact Centre on 0800 555 111 or use our anonymous online form at Crimestoppers-uk.org. You pass on what you know and well do the rest whilst guaranteeing you stay 100% anonymous. Always. To be eligible for the reward of up to 10,000, information must not be passed to police but given to the charity Crimestoppers via Crimestoppers-uk.org or by calling their Contact Centre on 0800 555 111. Davos: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa with Minister Jagadish Shetter in Davos during World Economic Forum at Switzerland Jan 20, 2020. (Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News Davos: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa with Minister Jagadish Shetter in Davos during World Economic Forum at Switzerland Jan 20, 2020. (Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News Davos: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa with Minister Jagadish Shetter in Davos during World Economic Forum at Switzerland Jan 20, 2020. (Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News Davos: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa with Minister Jagadish Shetter in Davos during World Economic Forum at Switzerland Jan 20, 2020. (Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News Davos/Bengaluru, Jan 20 : Karnataka would soon set up a centre for Internet of ethical things in partnership with the World Economic Forum (WEF), an official said on Monday. "Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa agreed to set up the centre at the behest of WEF in Bengaluru for ensuring a level-playing field for global investors and industrialists," said the official in an e-mail to IANS from Davos in Switzerland A 10-member delegation from the southern state is participating in the 50th WEF at Davos in Switzerland as part of the Indian delegation led by Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and others. By signing an agreement with WEF Managing Director Morat Sonmez for setting up the centre, Karnataka became the first state in the country to offer a competitive environment for investors. "The agreement was signed by Yediyurappa the chief minister and Sonmez on the margins of the Karnataka Pavilion inauguration at the 4-day world's premier economic summit," state additional secretary P. Ravikumar said in the statement. Interacting with the state delegation, Sonmez told the chief minster that global investors were worried about the ethical practices in business, as governments the world over had failed to realise the need for having a centre for Internet of ethical things. "If the Karnataka government is serious to do business with global investors, it should first set up the centre in partnership with the WEF," asserted Sonmez. Sonmez was surprised by the prompt response of the chief minister to set up the centre, which would create a favourable climate for global investors to start their operations. "This centre will keep a check on the misuse of artificial intelligence," Sonmez noted. Inaugurating the state pavilion at the Forum venue later, Yediyurappa assured global investors of providing ease of business for starting their business in any sector. "We look forward to engage with CXOs to invest in Karnataka, especially in strategic research that can help the state becoming a major player in global agenda," said Yediyurappa on the occasion. "As a leading industrial state in India, we can make Karnataka a major player on the global agenda for the growth of industries," added Yediyurappa. State Industries Minister Jagadish Shettar, chief secretary T.M. Vijaybhasker and state industries secretary Ramana Reddy were among the delegates from the state present at the event. WEF's India and Asia regional agenda head Viraj Mehta was also present on the occasion. Viraj Mehta head regional agenda -India and Asia was also present on the occasion. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, January 20 2020 Human rights activists have condemned Attorney General ST Burhanuddin for saying that the Semanggi tragedies that claimed at least 29 lives were not gross human rights violations, which they see as another step back from the governments commitment to solve past human rights abuses. Human right activist Maria Catarina Sumarsih, who is also the mother of one of the victims, said Burhanuddin's statement was like the latest version of an old song, which has again revealed the governments ignorance and lack of will in solving the cases. "Attorneys general are trying to escape their responsibilities as the investigators of human rights violations as usual. It keeps happening so it seems like the country allows impunity," she told The Jakarta Post, referring to past holders of the same post who also made excuses for not bringing justice to the victims. 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 @theMarket: Fed Stimulus Continues to Pump the Markets When asked, the members of the Federal Reserve Board continue to argue that the almost $500 million they have pumped into the overnight repurchase market since September is not quantitative easing. The stock market disagrees. "Not QE" is the term most often used by the Street in describing this fairly hefty expansion of the central bank's balance sheet. Because the purchases that the Fed is making are categorized as debt instruments that mature in 12 months or less, they escape the hard and fast definition of what the Fed labels as quantitative easing. QE is the purchase of longer-dated maturities of debt instruments, so the Fed is technically correct. However, traders are folks who like things simple. Over the past decade or so, when the Fed expanded its balance sheet (bought bonds) the stock market climbed. As far as the Street is concerned, it has happened again starting in September, and so far, there is no end in sight. There are various explanations (none proven) for exactly why the Fed is making these purchases. Officially, the Fed argues the entire exercise is simply technical in nature. The Fed explained that for various reasons quarterly tax payments, bonuses, etc. corporations need more cash to make ends meet, but this trend will soon fade. The problem is they have been saying that for over four months. Others worry that some big bank is in trouble, or that this is a new strategy by the central bank to ensure a soft landing in the economy by graduating over time from purchasing short dated debt to full-fledged QE purchases of longer majorities somewhere down the road. I ask myself what could the Fed be worrying about that the market doesn't see quite yet? It is fairly obvious to most economists that the manufacturing sector in this country is in recession. We are also in our third quarter of falling industrial production. The good news is that the manufacturing sector represents less than 8.5 percent of overall jobs and less than 10 percent of the economy. So far, none of the woes in that area has spread to the overall economy. There is a chance that if the downturn in manufacturing persists, it might at some point start to impact consumer spending, which is the locomotive that drives the U.S. economy. However, there is no evidence of that as of yet. In the meantime, the stock market continues to make record highs. And as long as the Fed keeps the spigot in the "on" position, the stock market's cup should continue to runneth over. The signing of the Phase One China trade deal also cheered investors this week. The vast majority of Wall Streeters have not been fooled by the hours-long signing and celebration of the event by the administration. The deal, if one can call it that, is a win for China and not the United States. The fact that the really difficult issues remain and will not be resolved until after the election (if ever) reduces the upside from this event. About the best that can be said for the deal is that it does reduce tensions somewhat going forward. It also gives the president a chance to claim another success (no matter how lame) among his followers. Following is the chronology of events in the Muzaffarpur shelter home case in which a Delhi court Monday convicted Brajesh Thakur and 18 others for physically and sexually assaulting several minor girls: - Feb 2018: TISS submits audit report highlighting incidents of sexual assaults on minor girls in Muzaffarpur shelter home to Bihar's Social Welfare department. - May 26: TISS report forwarded to Director of Bihar's Social Welfare department. - May 29: Bihar government shifts girls from shelter home to other protection homes. - May 31: SIT formed to investigate; FIR lodged against 11 accused including Brajesh Thakur. - Jun 14: Bihar's Women and Child Development ministry seals Muzaffarpur shelter home, rescues 46 minor girls. - Aug 1: Bihar Governor Satya Pal Malik writes to Chief Justice of Patna High court, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad to monitor shelter homes across the state, suggests formation of fast-track courts for immediate disposal of sexual abuse cases. - Aug 2: SC takes cognisance; seeks responses from both central and Bihar governments. - Aug 5: Bihar Governor Satyapal Malik suspends six Assistant Director of State Welfare Department for negligence in duty and delay in taking action after TISS report. - Aug 7: SC asks print, electronic, social media not to publish in any form pics of victims of sexual abuse. - Aug 8: Minister of Social Welfare in Bihar Manju Verma resigns in wake of scandal. - Sep 20: SC says no blanket ban on media reporting in the Muzaffarpur shelter home case. - Oct 4: CBI informs SC they recovered skeleton of girl from shelter home. - Nov 28: SC transfers 16 Bihar shelter home abuse cases to CBI. - Feb 7, 2019: SC orders case be transferred from Bihar to POCSO court at Saket district court complex. - Feb 25: Trial starts in district court. - Mar 2: CBI tells court several victims testified against Brajesh Thakur. - Mar 6: Bihar Child Welfare Committee (CWC) claims not enough evidence against them. - Mar 30: Trial court frames charges against 21 accused. - May 3: 11 girls allegedly murdered by Brajesh Thakur, others, CBI tells SC. - May 6: SC directs CBI to complete probe on alleged murders by June 3. - Jun 3: SC grants 3 months time to CBI to complete probe. - Sep 12: SC allows 8 girls to reunite with families; asks Bihar to give assistance. - Sep 30: Trial court reserves order. - Nov 14: Judgement deferred due to lawyers' strike here. - Dec 12: Judgement again deferred as the judge who had conducted the trial was on leave. - Jan 8, 2020: No evidence of children's murder in Muzaffarpur shelter home case, CBI tells SC. - Jan 20: Court convicts Thakur and 18 others, fixes Jan 28 for arguments on quantum of sentence. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Turtle nest found on Phukets Sai Kaew Beach PHUKET: Officers this morning erected a fence around another recently laid turtle nest found on Phuket, this one at Sai Kaew Beach on Phukets northwestern tip. The nest was confirmed by officers from Sirinath Marine National Park this morning (Jan 20). animalsmarineenvironmentnatural-resources By Tanyaluk Sakoot Monday 20 January 2020, 04:38PM Experts confirmed at least eight eggs in the nest, but stopped digging to make sure the nest was not disturbed any further. Photo: DMCR Experts confirmed at least eight eggs in the nest, but stopped digging to make sure the nest was not disturbed any further. Photo: DMCR Experts confirmed at least eight eggs in the nest, but stopped digging to make sure the nest was not disturbed any further. Photo: DMCR Chief Prarop Plangngarn, Chief of the Phuket Marine National Park Operations Center 2, based at Sirinath Marine National Park, told The Phuket News that a turtle patrol found turtle tracks in the sand at about 7pm last night. The officers, from the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR), followed the tracks to where they stopped on the beach, where the officers believed the turtle laid eggs, Mr Prarop explained. Instead of attempting to excavate the nest in the dark, officers were stationed to watch over the nest site all through the night. Experts arrived early this morning and began digging, and confirmed that the site was indeed a turtle nest, he added. The officers this morning confirmed at least eight eggs in the nest, but ceased digging at about 80cm deep to make sure they did not disturb the nest further. We decided to leave the eggs there and we set up a fence to protect them, Mr Prarop said. Mr Prarop did not estimate how many eggs may have been in the Sai Kaew nest. Sea turtles usually lay clutches ranging from 50 to more than 100 eggs at a time. According to the tracks found, the mother measured some 150cm across. By the size of the tracks, this turtle was not the same one that laid eggs on Nai Thon Beach [on Jan 10], Mr Prarop said. The decision to leave the eggs in the nest on the beach came at the behest of Kongkiat Kittiwatanawong, Chief of the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC), Mr Prarop explained. By the time we found the nest, the eggs had already been there about three to four days. They had already started to develop, Mr Kongkiat told The Phuket News. I advised the team to leave the nest untouched and let the turtles hatch undisturbed over there. If the team moved the eggs, it could have adversely affected them, he added. The nest is now protected by a fence around it, and the there are officers from Sirinath National Park and the PMBC assigned to watch of it for the next 56 days or so, until the eggs hatch, Dr Kongkiat said. The same decision to leave turtle eggs in place on the beach was made for another turtle nest found on Bor Dan Beach in Thai Muang, Phang Nga, north of Phuket, yesterday (Jan 19). The Bor Dan nest found yesterday marked the sixth nest found in the area since the first turtle was spotted laying eggs at Thai Muang on Nov 17. The first of those eggs hatched on Thai Muang Beach at 8:30pm on Saturday, with a host of people looking on. Of the 55 eggs laid, 30 hatched, with 24 making it to the sea, and the remaining six being too weak and taken into care. (See DMCR report here.) The nest on Sai Kaew beach marked the second turtle nest found on a Phuket beach in a matter of weeks. After years of turtles not being spotted laying eggs on any beaches along Phukets west coast, a large leather back returned to lay eggs on Nai Thon Beach on Jan 10. (See story here.) This is the most confirmed turtle nests we have seen in the past seven years, Dr Kongkiat said. Dr Kongkiat also praised the efforts by local people and the officers at Sirinat National Park. Thank you to everyone for all their hard work to find ways to protect turtle nests, especially Chief Prarop, who works hard behind the scenes, Mr Kongkiat said. Additional Reporting by Eakkapop Thongtub Just one in four of the British delegates heading to Davos this week are female, in what campaigners have called a 'pathetic' show of diversity from the business community. Of the 269 British leaders who will travel to the World Economic Forum's four-day annual meeting of the global elite in the Swiss ski resort, 73 are women. They include Fidelity International's boss Anne Richards, the chief executive of Glaxosmithkline Emma Walmsley, and the Confederation of British Industry's Carolyn Fairbairn. Only 73 out of the 269 British leaders going to Davos are women Overall, the ratio of women to men at this year's Davos summit although low at 24 per cent is much better than the FTSE 100. The government-backed Hampton-Alexander Review, published at the end of last year, found that just six Footsie firms had female chief executives. And while representation of women in the boardrooms of FTSE 350 companies had improved there were only two boards made entirely of men, and 43 which include just one woman there was still some way to go to reach the 2020 goal of 33 per cent of leadership positions occupied by women. This year's WEF meeting, which will focus on sustainability and climate change, is boasting a roster of female speakers such as environmentalist Greta Thunberg, president of the European Central bank Christine Lagarde, and German chancellor Angela Merkel. Ann Cairns, co-chairman of the 30pc Club campaigning for more women in senior positions, and executive vice chairman of Mastercard, said: 'I believe companies would benefit hugely from including more senior women in their delegation. 'Especially when the big issues of the day include climate change and gender balance and when there's no doubt that women will be impacted by climate change in a disproportionate way all over the world.' Glaxosmithkline's chief executive Emma Walmsley is one of the women going to Davos Some sessions during the conference will specifically address gender diversity, including one on how empowering women can allow them to address poverty, one on how increasing access to trade could allow more women to contribute to labour markets, and one on ending sexual harassment in the workplace. Denise Wilson, chief executive of the Hampton-Alexander Review, said: 'In this 50th anniversary year of Davos, it is a mark of progress that the number of prominent women speakers continues to increase. However, it is disappointing that the gender balance of attendees remains heavily skewed in favour of men. 'Companies need to examine their processes for selecting attendees and make sure senior women are offered an equal opportunity to join an important debate.' WEF has pledged to at least double the number of women attending Davos over the next decade. Oliver Cann, head of strategic communications at WEF, said: 'Davos is one of the most diverse summits in the world, however there is still much more to be done when it comes to closing the gender gap in leadership. A tourist has her photo taken with a street performer dressed as a bullfighter at Plaza Mayor square in Madrid MADRID (Reuters) - The number of international visitors to Spain hit an all-time high of 83.7 million in 2019 in a seventh straight year of records, Industry and Tourism Minister Reyes Maroto said on Monday, adding that she was optimistic about 2020. Tourist arrivals rose 1 percent last year from a year earlier, Maroto told a news conference. Spain is the world's second-most visited country after France and tourism is crucial for the domestic economy, making up nearly 12% of gross domestic product. "We address 2020 with optimism, because we have a strong and consolidated sector, capable of tackling the challenges ahead of us," she said, without providing any specific forecast. Last year, more visitors coming from Asia and the United States offset a decline of travelers from Britain and Germany, who traditionally have been the core of the Spanish tourism. Maroto said trying to lure visitors from new countries will be one of the ministry's main priorities along with working to have visitors all year long and not only during the summer high season. (Reporting by Emma Pinedo and Inti Landauro; Editing Andrei Khalip and Toby Chopra) Slamming Kerala government for moving Supreme Court against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) without his approval, Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Monday said that no explanation from the state government can satisfy him. "I wouldn't like to discuss what transpired between Kerala Chief Secretary Tom Jose and me. They have moved Supreme Court without informing me. That's an unlawful act. My view is that approval is needed. No explanation can satisfy me," Khan told reporters. He added, "It is neither clash of ego nor any personal difference. My request is, as citizens of a country where we have democracy and rule of law, our duty is to abide by constitution and law." Khan, further said, "Even citizens are entitled to authority and the authority doesn't give license to anybody to violate law or rules. Therefore, it is not to be projected as differences between me and the government." "The Assembly frames its own rules. It says that according to rule 119, the Assembly shall not discuss any matter which is not a concern of the state government. So you are violating rules and laws which you have yourself framed. Don't try to use constitutional institutions and authority to violate the letter and spirit of the document that has given you the authority," the Governor added. Commenting on CPM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury's statement on abolishing the Office of the Governor, Khan said: "it only proves one point that he has not been able to find fault with what I am saying. He is asking to abolish the office that there will be no one to oversee whether rules are being followed constitutionally or not." After a resolution was passed in the State Assembly seeking withdrawal of the CAA, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan led government has approached the apex court against the Act 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. The Kerala Governor had earlier said that the Citizenship law has to be implemented as there is no other option and the states have to implement it under Article 254. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A weight loss doctor who claimed to be a spiritual healer sexually assaulted a receptionist, 41, who he claimed he could help get pregnant after she spend 15 years trying for a baby. Stephanie Chambers, who's bravely waived her right to anonymity, had been desperate to start a family with her partner of two decades and undergone gruelling fertility treatments but nothing had worked. So when Dr. Behrouz Alidoost, a trusted colleague at the National Slimming Clinic, offered her a healing session he promised might help her have a baby she jumped at the chance. Alidoost (left, outside Newcastle Crown Court) pulled down the underwear of Stephanie Chambers (right) and sexually assaulted her after claiming he could help her conceive But instead of treating her serial sex pest Alidoost, who has now been jailed for offences against Stephanie and two other victims, told her she had a blockage in her womb and subjected her to a sickening ordeal. Stephanie, 41, of Southhampton, said: 'Alidoost was someone who had worked for my company for a long time. 'I had no reason not to trust him. I was talking to him about my fertility problems and he said he was a spiritual healer and could help. I had always been interested in holistic therapy and saw no reason not to agree. 'Once we had finished work for the day we went into a room and I lay down on a treatment bed. At first he put his hands above my body and said he was wafting away bad energy. He told me I had a blockage in my womb. 'But then he asked me questions about my sex life, put his hands in my knickers and sexually assaulted me. 'I just froze. I was thinking of all the things I might do to get out of there but my body wasn't working. Aldisoot (pictured, left, after his arrest) has been jailed for two years for his assault on Stephanie Chambers (right) and two others 'At first I tried to block it from my mind, but a few days later I realised how serious it was and told senior management.' Alidoost, from north London, was reported to the General Medical Council in 2016 and struck off after a misconduct hearing in Manchester. He has now been jailed for two years at Newcastle Crown Court after two other victims came forward to police. Stephanie had been contacted by an officer who asked her about her case, and she made the brave decision to press charges. She added: 'I was so glad when I was called by the police. I told them I had been thinking about reporting him for a while, and I wanted him to be brought to justice for what he had done to me and other women. 'When I discovered I wasn't the only victim, I felt bad for them, but also a sense of relief as part of me had felt I was to blame. Knowing there were other victims made me realise this was not the case. 'I am speaking out because I want women to know this kind of behaviour is wrong, it is illegal and should be reported to the police. 'While he was treating me he was asking me questions about my sex life but also my health and even my mum, who had died some years before. I was thinking, maybe this is normal. But it wasn't normal at all. He was doing it for his own sexual gratification.' After the assault Stephanie's relationship with her partner of 20 years irreparably broke down and they split up. Desperate not to lose her home after everything she'd been through she bought him out with the help of her brother, but was left financially worse off. She also lost so much weight her friends and family thought she was ill. But she says she is determined not to let the attack define her, has moved on with her life and now has a new partner. The court heard how Alidoost, who pleaded guilty to six charges of sexual assault, told Stephanie she had an angry womb, asked her to give him a massage in return and then hugged her and 'nuzzled' into her neck as she was leaving the room. Anothony Dunne, prosecuting, said: 'She felt, unexpectedly, the defendant pulling her underwear down, without asking permission first. 'She, at that point, didn't know what to think. She said she felt uncomfortable. She didn't know what to do. He tried to reassure her, saying, 'it's okay, it's okay'.' Mr Dunne said Alidoost then started asking invasive questions about her sex life. Sentencing, Judge Penny Moreland told Alidoost: 'You were, until you pleaded guilty, a man of good character, as one would expect from someone who was a licensed medical practitioner but it was that very status that allowed you to commit these offences. 'The appropriate punishment for your offending can only be achieved by immediate custody.' Alidoost was also ordered to sign the sex offenders register and abide by the terms of a sexual harm prevention order, which prevents him offering alternative therapies unless authorised by the General Medical Council, for ten years. His barrister Gavin Doig had told the court: 'He is showing some understanding of his fault and acknowledges the distress and shock caused to his victims by his behaviour.' M ost of the year, Davos is a smart ski town in the Swiss Alps, two hours from Zurich. But for four days in late January it hosts the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum and in the process, becomes the centre of the business, political and non-profit world. This congress of power and influence was founded in 1971 by Klaus Schwab, a German academic, who claims to have originated the idea of stakeholder capitalism which is the notion that companies have a duty to do more than just make money for shareholders. Schwab has degrees from Harvard, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich and the University of Fribourg. He is also a former member of the UN High-Level Advisory Board on Sustainable Development, and despite attacks from critics, who argue the summit is elitist and out of touch remains evangelical about its role in changing the world. Elites have always existed, he told The New York Times this weekend. We bring together people of influence, and we hope that they use their influence in a positive way. The WEF employs 700 people to organise Davos and several other international meetings, as well as manage digital platforms encouraging public-private cooperation. It is a non-profit organisation based in Geneva, and claims to engage the foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. Certainly, the summit remains the social event of the year for the global economic and political elite, where agendas are set, messages honed and deals struck far from the public gaze. It attracts presidents, prime ministers, CEOs, entrepreneurs and all their hangers-on. More than 500 of the Swiss police and armys finest patrol the resort to keep it free of protesters. The top names have schedules which resemble speed dating through the day and night, culminating in the notorious nightcaps late-night parties organised in hotel bars and mountain chalets. Its a rare occasion for the most powerful people in the world to fraternise without scrutiny and be their bad selves after dark. Donald and Melania Trump / SplashNews.com Think Tony Blair riding a funicular with Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Christine Lagarde, the head of the European Central Bank, to get to a party with George Clooney and several Russian oligarchs. Movers and shakers So, whos going this year? While the business and tech crowd attends regularly, politicians can be wary of seeming too elitist. Barack Obama never went to Davos, but Donald Trump will be back for his second visit. Despite his reputation as a populist, Trump found the business crowd sympathetic when he went in 2018. Hell be accompanied by his daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner. Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump / AP Other big draws will be Greta Thunberg, the 17-year-old Swedish climate activist; Ren Zhengfei, the founder of telecoms firm Huawei; Sanna Marin of Finland, at 34 the worlds youngest serving prime minister; Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook; and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Greta Thunberg / Getty Images Going green This years summit takes place against the backdrop of Trumps impeachment trial, tensions with Iran, the Australian bushfires and the techlash. Previous years have been dominated by the emergence of a particular country, such as Russia, India or China, or on-going issues such as Brexit. The Russians used to throw parties staffed by unusually attractive female translators, but they have gone quiet recently. This year, the environment and the so-called decoupling of economic growth and emissions will be top of the agenda. Larry Fink, the CEO of BlackRock, the worlds largest money management firm, has refused a coal-fired jet to fly into the conference, and last week warned that climate risk is financial risk. How can economies grow without hurting the planet? Global taxation and crypto-currencies are likely to be major issues. Sheryl Sandberg / Getty Images Davos is also where the bandwagon of corporate blather gets loaded up and sent off down the track towards the rest of us. The official theme is slippery: Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World. Into that mould, leaders can fit almost any subject they want. The sub-themes are Healthy Futures, How to Save the Planet, Better Business, Beyond Geopolitics, Tech for Good, Society and Future of Work, and Fairer Economies. To mark its 50th birthday, the WEF has refreshed its manifesto, to argue that companies should pay their fair share of taxes, show zero tolerance for corruption, uphold human rights throughout their global supply chains, and advocate for a competitive level playing field. Ren Zhengfei / AFP/Getty Images But its not all business. Attendees will really want to talk about Harry and Meghans defection, and how Carlos Ghosn the former CEO of Renault-Nissan escaped Japan for Beirut by hiding in a musical instruments box. High fliers Davos is up a mountain, and the higher you are on it, the higher your status. The truly elite stay in chalets in the clouds. The peons stay in the valley. In between is the town itself. The national delegations, and the merely powerful, stay in hotels here, notably The Belvedere. Heres where youll also find the Congress Centre, the hub of the summit. Sanna Marin / AFP via Getty Images There are strict levels of access, or circles of hell, all rendered visible by the colour of your badge. White with a hologram shows you are at the top level. Grey is for your partner. Orange is for press. Purple is for technicians. Green is for those accompanying heads of state. The seriously elite will have spent the weekend in St Moritz at the wedding celebrations of Stavros Niarchos, the shipping heir, and Dasha Zhukova, Roman Abramovichs ex. The dress code is business attire under a fur-lined parka, rubber-soled boots, and a Zurich Insurance woollen bobble hat. Flygskam and other criticisms Who has a problem with it? Anyone who prefers their ruling class to be accountable. Writer Anand Giridharadas launched the hashtag #CancelDavos and wrote: Davos is a family reunion of the global tippy-tops, who have pulled off a coup: rigging nations to monopolise the fruits of progress for themselves then benefiting when demagogues goad stiffed publics not to punch up, at them, but down, at the most vulnerable. Environmentalists attack the hypocrisy of people arriving at a mountain resort on private jets to express their concern for the environment. Last year, Prince William interviewed Sir David Attenborough at Davos, as the private jet traffic around Davos hit new heights. This year the WEF is trying to get ahead of the flight shaming by promising the summit will be carbon neutral. There will be more electric vehicles, local food and plenty of non-meat options. The main conference centre has been fitted with solar panels, geothermal heating and carpets made from end-of-life fishing nets. Does any of it matter? Chances are that over the next year, youll hear a word or phrase repeated by politicians. Or your boss will focus on some issue you never thought they cared about. Or youll feel some tremor in your industry. And the origins will have been a Davos nightcap. CHEBOYGAN COUNTY, MI A man is now in jail after allegedly stabbing his wife in a vehicle and then chasing her outside as she attempted to flee. The 38-year-old Topinabee man then allegedly fled police in a vehicle while drunk, according to Michigan State Police at the Gaylord post. The victim underwent emergency surgery at a nearby hospital and is expected to make a full recovery, police said. The alleged felonious assault occurred in a vehicle in Tuscarora Township near Indian River on Saturday evening, Jan. 18, police said. The husband allegedly stabbed his wife during the assault. She was then able to get free and run from the vehicle. However, the man allegedly chased her and continued the assault using the knife. He then fled the scene in the vehicle, police said. An MSP trooper then responded to the area and located the fleeing suspects vehicle shortly after midnight on Straits Highway, police said. The trooper attempted a traffic stop but the suspect fled, initiating a pursuit. The northbound suspect vehicle turned onto Topinabee Mail Route Road and continued until reaching Mullet Burt Road, where police had laid stop sticks, a tire deflation device, police said. The suspect was able to avoid the stop sticks and turn right to continue east on Mullet Burt Road. He then turned left to travel north on South Extension Road. The pursuit continued to the intersection of South Extension and Riggsville roads, where the trooper performed the precision immobilization technique, police said. The troopers PIT block caused the suspect driver to lose control of his vehicle and go into a ditch. The suspect was taken into custody. The suspect is lodged at Cheboygan County Jail. He faces charges of fleeing and eluding, and operating while intoxicated third offense. Additional charges are being sought in the assault. Tuscaroa Township Police began the initial investigation into the assault. Mackinaw City Police Department assisted in the chase and laid the stop sticks. Cheboygan County Sheriffs Office assisted in the pursuit and arrest of the suspect. READ MORE: Police, survivors debunk human trafficking kidnapping myths High school student, 18, charged with murder of 17-year-old girlfriend Woman, 20, fatally shot in Saginaw 2 women robbed at gunpoint in Jackson, police say As an existing print subscriber it is easy to get FREE access to all our online content. When you click get started below it will walk you through creating an online account to attach your print subscription number to. After your account is created it will ask you to either add a subscription for online access or click on the print subscriber button. Click the print subscriber button header and it will open a dropdown, now click on get started. The page will reload and you will be prompted to enter an account number and a zip code. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO USE THE NUMBER OFF OF THE MOST RECENT ISSUE OR ANYTHING AFTER JANUARY 28, 2019 TO GAIN ACCESS! OLD ACCOUNT NUMBERS WILL NOT WORK The account number and zip code are easily available on your most recent issue of the High Plains Journal or Midwest Ag Journal in the address fields as is shown here. Sometimes the account number has extra zero's in front of it, just ignore those. Gardai in Cork have launched an investigation after a man was attacked in his home, doused in petrol and set alight in the early hours of this morning. The man, a father of three, is understood to be in critical condition in Cork University Hospital. Political advisers working for local councillors will have their duties, employment and remuneration strictly regulated under reforms under consideration by the state government. But the local government sector has raised multiple concerns about the proposed changes in submissions to Parliament's Economics and Governance Committee, where the bill is under consideration. Brisbane deputy mayor Krista Adams says the proposed changes would be political and unfair. Credit:Tammy Law If passed through Parliament, the new legislation would require councillor advisers to be appointed by full resolution of council and would employ advisers as council staff under contracts with different disciplinary measures. Their full remuneration would be published annually, and advisers would also be subject to heavy penalties for misusing information of up to two years' imprisonment. Hundreds of Central Americans from a new migrant caravan tried to enter Mexico by force Monday by crossing the river that divides the country from Guatemala, prompting the National Guard to fire tear gas, an AFP correspondent said. The Central Americans, from the so-called "2020 Caravan" of around 3,500 undocumented migrants, gathered on the Guatemalan side of the Suchiate River at dawn, demanding to be allowed to continue their journey to the United States. When migration authorities did not respond, they began fording the river, as Mexican troops fired tear gas in an attempt to force them back. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Donald Trump speaking at the American Farm Bureau Federation Annual Convention and Trade Show in Austin, Texas, on 19 January 2020: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters The day before his impeachment trial is set to begin, Donald Trump's lawyers are urging the Senate reject the charges against him and are calling the hearings an "illegitimate partisan effort to take him down" by Democrats. Meanwhile, the prosecution team from the House has filed a stern reply to the president's legal team, following their response to a summons request calling the impeachment articles "constitutionally invalid." House managers replied, calling the president's assertion that he can't be removed from the presidency "chilling" and "dead wrong". House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff, who is on that prosecution team, has warned that the CIA and National Security Agency could be holding on to further key evidence regarding the Ukraine scandal that led to the president's impeachment, ahead of the commencement of the Senate trial on Tuesday. The results of a CNN poll, released the day before the trial begins, revealed that 51 per cent of Americans support the president's removal, and nearly 70 per cent want witness testimony. Lawyers preparing to defend Mr Trump took to the talk show circuit on Sunday to argue that he cannot be removed from office on abuse of power grounds, a position dismissed as absurdist and arrant nonsense by Mr Schiff and fellow leading Democrat Jerrold Nadler, who together have helped build the case against him. Meanwhile, as Mr Trump prepared to leave for Switzerland to participate in the World Economic Forum, the White House had no scheduled events to recognise Martin Luther King Jr's memorial and birthday, breaking once more from previous administration's tradition of service and volunteering to honour the civil rights leader. The president instead voiced his support for thousands of gun rights advocates carrying weapons in Virginia in protest of upcoming gun control legislation, while White House advisor Kellyanne Conway argued that Dr King would not support impeachment, which she said has "dragged Americans through the process" of considering the president's removal from office. On Twitter over the weekend, President Trump continued to attack 2020 candidate Michael Bloomberg, revealed a surprise appreciation for Hollywood Golden Age star Cary Grant and tweeted an astonishing claim from Fox News host Mark Levin that: In the House, the president got less due process than the 9/11 terrorists. Follow coverage as it happened: Read more Trump likens himself to Martin Luther King Jr in tweet Trump's impeachment memorandum was a warning to Republicans Thousands attend major gun rights rally in Virginia- follow live I'm the 'teacher of the year' who took a knee at LSU Trump rages at impeachment as his lawyers demand swift acquittal REUTERS If you love The Daily Beasts royal coverage, then we hope youll enjoy The Royalist, a members-only series for Beast Inside. Become a member to get The Royalist in your inbox every Sunday. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will no longer use their HRH titles, and will repay the 2.4 million of public money ($3.1 million) that was spent on their Windsor home, Frogmore Cottage, Buckingham Palace announced Saturday. The terms of Harry and Meghans exit from their royal roles will also include the couple not receiving any public funds for royal duties. They will still be known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, but will officially no longer be working members of the royal family, the Palace said. The couple will now be known as Harry, The Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex. Queens Shock as Harry and Meghan Quit Senior Royal Rolesand Prepare for North America Move The funding for their security arrangements remains unclear, as does the level of their funding from Harry's father, Prince Charles, via the Duchy of Cornwall. Also unclear is whether Harry and Meghan intend to operate under the commercial auspices of Sussex Royalas per their new websitegiven they are no longer working members of the royal family. It is understood they intend to spend most of their time in North America, not the U.K. The terms and conditions of the couples exit take effect in the spring. A statement issued by Buckingham Palace read: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are grateful to Her Majesty and the Royal Family for their ongoing support as they embark on the next chapter of their lives. As agreed in this new arrangement, they understand that they are required to step back from Royal duties, including official military appointments. They will no longer receive public funds for Royal duties. With The Queens blessing, the Sussexes will continue to maintain their private patronages and associations. While they can no longer formally represent The Queen, the Sussexes have made clear that everything they do will continue to uphold the values of Her Majesty. Story continues The Sussexes will not use their HRH titles as they are no longer working members of the Royal Family. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have shared their wish to repay Sovereign Grant expenditure for the refurbishment of Frogmore Cottage, which will remain their UK family home. Buckingham Palace does not comment on the details of security arrangements. There are well established independent processes to determine the need for publicly-funded security. This new model will take effect in the Spring of 2020. In a personal statement, the queen said: Following many months of conversations and more recent discussions, I am pleased that together we have found a constructive and supportive way forward for my grandson and his family. Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved members of my family. I recognize the challenges they have experienced as a result of intense scrutiny over the last two years and support their wish for a more independent life. I want to thank them for all their dedicated work across this country, the Commonwealth and beyond, and am particularly proud of how Meghan has so quickly become one of the family. It is my whole familys hope that todays agreement allows them to start building a happy and peaceful new life. 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. WICEN radio hams feature on BBC World Service Gareth Mitchell M7GJM presents the popular BBC World Service show Digital Planet. The Jan 14 edition features an item on the radio amateurs providing emergency communications during Australia's bush fires The BBC description says "An app is helping Australians stay safe during the Bush fires. Fires Near Me was created by the New South Wales Rural Fire Service and we hear how it works from journalist Corinne Podger. Also the WICEN HAM Radio operators who are providing emergency communications when mobile masts and internet connections are disrupted and measuring air quality using low power networks." Download the MP3 podcast of the show at https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3csy67g WICEN https://wicen.org.au/ In 2019 Gareth M7GJM did the Essex Ham free online Foundation training course, details of the course are at https://www.essexham.co.uk/train/foundation-online/ Niamey, Niger (PANA) - The National Union of Teacher-Researchers and Researchers in Higher Education (SNECS) on Monday began a one-month strike to demand the settlement of all statutory rights of Teacher-Researchers and Researchers of Niger's public universities outstanding since 2016 Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 22:47:05|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close SOFIA, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Bulgaria's opposition parties on Monday filed the fourth no-confidence motion against the coalition government of the center-right GERB party and the nationalist United Patriots that has been in power since May 2017. The parliamentary group of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) filed the motion citing the government's "failure in environmental and water policy." "Half a million Bulgarians currently live in places with water restrictions, and there is a serious risk that this number will increase," the party's leader, Korneliya Ninova, told reporters. Ninova, whose party holds 79 seats in the 240-seat parliament, said that the air in Bulgaria is among the dirtiest in Europe, and the country has become a dumping ground for garbage coming from other countries. According to the parliament's rules, the motion must be discussed no earlier than three days and not later than seven days after the receipt of the proposal, and voted no earlier than 24 hours after the closure of the debate. To be passed, the motion must be supported by more than half of the legislators. BSP filed the previous three no-confidence motions against the coalition government in January, June and October 2018, citing the government's alleged inability to cope with corruption, security and healthcare issues, respectively. These three motions were unsuccessful, as were all other no-confidence motions filed in Bulgaria over the last 30 years. Hundreds of anti-government demonstrators faced tear gas and police water cannons in Beirut last night as they continued to call for political and economic reforms. For the second night running, hundreds of people were wounded in clashes as protests turned into riots. One chant heard from demonstrators in the city's centre was "peaceful no longer". Bystanders reported police firing tear gas into a crowd, and a witness near the city's parliament saw people in adjacent buildings throwing rocks on to demonstrators below. Yesterday's clashes capped the most violent stretch yet in three months of widespread protests against Lebanon's ruling elite and its mismanagement of the country's finances. A total of 377 people were injured on Saturday night, with 120 hospitalised. Another 34 people were detained. Early yesterday, Lebanon's public prosecutor ordered the release of all detainees. Large numbers said they were beaten by police as they were taken into custody. The strong-armed response by security forces has elicited international condemnation. "There was no justification for the brutal use of force unleashed by Lebanon's riot police against largely peaceful demonstrators in downtown Beirut," said Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "Riot police showed a blatant disregard for their human rights obligations, instead launching tear gas canisters at protesters' heads, firing rubber bullets in their eyes and attacking people at hospitals and a mosque." National religious authorities also weighed in, with the top Sunni fatwa office criticising the clashes and saying a major downtown mosque had offered care to protesters seeking refuge. The country's banking system is at the heart of protesters' grievances. As I dutifully did every morning, I listened to my overnight voicemails. My boss was saying something like this: Stop what youre doing and get yourself to the Isle of Arran, and dont dilly-dally! Huh? Id recently returned from an ill-fated trip to the Hopi Tribe in Arizona and I was a bit touchy on the subject of oddball assignments. Still, a boss is a boss is a boss, just like a rose is a rose is a rose, so I grabbed my trusty World Atlas and found the Aran Islands, right there in Galway Bay on the west coast of Ireland. They make Aran Isle sweaters there, as you probably know. I picked up the phone, called my travel agent, and asked how one got from Pittsburgh to the Aran Islands without dilly-dallying. In the midst of this conversation I noticed that my secretary, Jennie, was waving her arms frantically at me and mouthing something. Not being a lip-reader, I put my travel agent on hold and said, Now what? It turns out, said Jennie, that therere two Isles of Aran. Let me call you back, I told the long-suffering travel agent, and looked at where Jennie was pointing on the atlas. Sure enough, there was another Isle of Arrantwo Rsthis one located in the Firth of Clyde on the other side of Ireland, close to Scotland. It eventually turned out that it was, in fact, this second Isle of Arranthe one where they dont make sweatersthat was the right one. I booked my trip and called my boss to tell her what day I would arrive on Arran. Her briefing to me about this assignment was, in its entirety, as follows: There was a woman on Arran I needed to see, namely, The Lady Jean Fforde, who owned the island. I was to treat Lady Jean with all due respect because she was the daughter of the Duke of Montrose and the granddaughter of the Duke of Hamilton. There was some emergency on Arran. My job was to sort it out, get to the bottom of it, and fix it. And dont dilly-dally. I dutifully flew from Pittsburgh to New York, from New York to London, and from London to Glasgow. I rented a car and drove southwest (on the wrong side of the road) to the small village of Ardrossan, from where one could get a ferry to Arran. That is, one could get a ferry to Arran if one had arrived in time for it, which I didnt. So I spent the night in the Scottish version of a Motel 6. The next day I stood on the dock, staring out at the North Sea and listening to my heart sink. I get seasick very easily, and a strong gale was blowing out there on the Firth of Clyde. The ferry, coming down from Glasgow, was bobbing like a cork. This was going to be a very, very bad crossing. People who get seasick learn to take measures. One of these is to place yourself in the exact center of the boat in all dimensions, because thats where the least movement will be. On this particular ferry, the center was on the third deck down, exactly amidships. Down there, there was a bench against the wall, there was a bunch of very old-fashioned farm equipment, there were sacks of what seemed to be oats, and there were two sheep. And me. Since there were no other people around I decided to lie down on the bench, thinking that perhaps I could take a nap and thereby die painlessly of motion-sickness in my sleep. I must have nodded off, because when the ferry hit the dock at Arran an hour later I nearly fell off the bench. I climbed off the ferry looking very green and feeling like I wanted to die. I glanced around dully for Lady Jeans son, Charles Fforde, who had promised to meet me. Sure enough, there he was, waving gaily to me across the dock. Unfortunately, Charles wasnt meeting me with a smooth-riding limousine. No, he had decided to give me a taste of local color, so he was driving a two-wheeled ox cart, looking like the sort of thing they drove Marie Antoinette to the guillotine in. I climbed reluctantly aboard and off we went, rocking this way and that, rolling that way and this, until my face was the color of Kermit the Frog. We reached Lady Jeans home, called Strabane (pronounced straw-BAHN) and I climbed out of the cart and waved goodbye to Charles, who was heading for the stable. I walked unsteadily down the front path toward the door, taking deep breaths to avoid upchucking. Suddenly the door exploded open and Lady Jean burst forth, arms spread wide in greeting. No one had bothered to tell me that Lady Jean was over six feet tall and built like a refrigerator. She had donned her official robes in my honorLady Jean sat in the House of Lordsso that, altogether, it appeared to me that I was being attacked by a human giantess. As though all of this werent bad enough, Lady Jean was followed out the door by the most loathsome odor I had ever encountered. And that was the last strawI threw up all over the robes of the House of Lords. The Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District has voted to join an endangered species lawsuit that will be filed to halt the construction of a $2 billion natural gas pipeline through portions of the Texas Hill Country. The district is the latest to support the legal action against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Houston pipeline company Kinder Morgan. With Kinder Morgan's planned Permian Highway Pipeline routed through part of the district's territory in Hays County, opponents fear that the project will harm the Edwards Aquifer and endangered and threatened species that depend on its waters such as the Texas blind salamander, Barton Springs salamander, Austin Blind salamander, San Marcos salamander, fountain darter, Comal Springs dryopid beetle and the Comal Springs riffle beetle. Ensuring the endangered aquatic species of the aquifer continue to thrive ensures the water resource will remain viable for the people that depend on it, BSEACD Board Vice President Craig Smith said in a statement. Legal Battle: Lawsuit looms over Kinder Morgan pipeline, Edwards Aquifer species Designed to move 2.1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day from the Permian Basin of West Texas to the Katy Hub near Houston, the proposed route takes the 42-inch pipeline through the picturesque Texas Hill Country, where the project faces stiff opposition. Kinder Morgan declined to comment but has maintained that the pipeline route was carefully chosen to affect the fewest number of landowners. The company said it held several public meetings before moving forward with the project. Under Texas state law, pipelines require an easement that must be kept clear. Kinder Morgan designed the proposed pipeline route to include a 600-foot-wide corridor that allows for some flexibility and adjustments. The company contends the pipeline would generate nearly $1 billion annually to state and county governments and unlock production bottlenecks in the Permian Basin allowing leaseholders to earn more than $2 billion in annual royalties for landowners, school districts and counties. Fuel Fix: Get daily energy news headlines in your inbox Construction has already started on the western end of the project but the pipeline still lacks U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permits for parts of the route through the Texas Hill Country. Opponents have threatened to file the endangered species lawsuit, if permits are issued. Led by the Texas Real Estate Advocacy and Defense Coalition, or TREAD Coalition, another group of opponents sued Kinder Morgan, the Railroad Commission of Texas and five agency executives on state constitutional grounds in April 2019 but a state district judge ruled in favor of the pipeline project. Read the latest oil and gas news from HoustonChronicle.com NEW YORK, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Infrared Sensors market worldwide is projected to grow by US$451.2 Million, driven by a compounded growth of 10.7%. Uncooled Infrared Sensors, one of the segments analyzed and sized in this study, displays the potential to grow at over 9.5%. The shifting dynamics supporting this growth makes it critical for businesses in this space to keep abreast of the changing pulse of the market. Poised to reach over US$697.7 Million by the year 2025, Uncooled Infrared Sensors will bring in healthy gains adding significant momentum to global growth. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05798892/?utm_source=PRN - Representing the developed world, the United States will maintain a 9.5% growth momentum. Within Europe, which continues to remain an important element in the world economy, Germany will add over US$17.9 Million to the region's size and clout in the next 5 to 6 years. Over US$15.1 Million worth of projected demand in the region will come from Rest of Europe markets. In Japan, Uncooled Infrared Sensors will reach a market size of US$39.3 Million by the close of the analysis period. As the world's second largest economy and the new game changer in global markets, China exhibits the potential to grow at 13.7% over the next couple of years and add approximately US$105.9 Million in terms of addressable opportunity for the picking by aspiring businesses and their astute leaders. Presented in visually rich graphics are these and many more need-to-know quantitative data important in ensuring quality of strategy decisions, be it entry into new markets or allocation of resources within a portfolio. Several macroeconomic factors and internal market forces will shape growth and development of demand patterns in emerging countries in Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East. All research viewpoints presented are based on validated engagements from influencers in the market, whose opinions supersede all other research methodologies. - Competitors identified in this market include, among others, DRS Technologies, Inc.; Excelitas Technologies Corporation; FLIR Systems, Inc.; General Dynamics Mission Systems, Inc.; Hamamatsu Photonics KK; L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc.; MicroStrategy, Inc.; Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.; Nippon Avionics Co., Ltd.; Omron Corporation; Raytheon Company; Sofradir Group; Testo SE & Co. KGaA; Texas Instruments, Inc. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05798892/?utm_source=PRN I. METHODOLOGY II. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. MARKET OVERVIEW Global Competitor Market Shares Infrared Sensors Competitor Market Share Scenario Worldwide (in %): 2019 & 2025 2. FOCUS ON SELECT PLAYERS 3. MARKET TRENDS & DRIVERS 4. GLOBAL MARKET PERSPECTIVE Table 1: Infrared Sensors Global Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Thousand by Region/Country: 2018-2025 Table 2: Infrared Sensors Global Retrospective Market Scenario in US$ Thousand by Region/Country: 2009-2017 Table 3: Infrared Sensors Market Share Shift across Key Geographies Worldwide: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 4: Uncooled Infrared Sensors (Segment) World Market by Region/Country in US$ Thousand: 2018 to 2025 Table 5: Uncooled Infrared Sensors (Segment) Historic Market Analysis by Region/Country in US$ Thousand: 2009 to 2017 Table 6: Uncooled Infrared Sensors (Segment) Market Share Breakdown of Worldwide Sales by Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 7: Cooled Infrared Sensors (Segment) Potential Growth Markets Worldwide in US$ Thousand: 2018 to 2025 Table 8: Cooled Infrared Sensors (Segment) Historic Market Perspective by Region/Country in US$ Thousand: 2009 to 2017 Table 9: Cooled Infrared Sensors (Segment) Market Sales Breakdown by Region/Country in Percentage: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 10: Commercial (End-Use) Global Market Estimates & Forecasts in US$ Thousand by Region/Country: 2018-2025 Table 11: Commercial (End-Use) Retrospective Demand Analysis in US$ Thousand by Region/Country: 2009-2017 Table 12: Commercial (End-Use) Market Share Breakdown by Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 13: Automotive (End-Use) Demand Potential Worldwide in US$ Thousand by Region/Country: 2018-2025 Table 14: Automotive (End-Use) Historic Sales Analysis in US$ Thousand by Region/Country: 2009-2017 Table 15: Automotive (End-Use) Share Breakdown Review by Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 16: Healthcare (End-Use) Worldwide Latent Demand Forecasts in US$ Thousand by Region/Country: 2018-2025 Table 17: Healthcare (End-Use) Global Historic Analysis in US$ Thousand by Region/Country: 2009-2017 Table 18: Healthcare (End-Use) Distribution of Global Sales by Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 19: Other End-Uses (End-Use) Sales Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Thousand by Region/Country for the Years 2018 through 2025 Table 20: Other End-Uses (End-Use) Analysis of Historic Sales in US$ Thousand by Region/Country for the Years 2009 to 2017 Table 21: Other End-Uses (End-Use) Global Market Share Distribution by Region/Country for 2009, 2019, and 2025 III. MARKET ANALYSIS GEOGRAPHIC MARKET ANALYSIS UNITED STATES Market Facts & Figures US Infrared Sensors Market Share (in %) by Company: 2019 & 2025 Table 22: United States Infrared Sensors Market Estimates and Projections in US$ Thousand by Segment: 2018 to 2025 Table 23: Infrared Sensors Market in the United States by Segment: A Historic Review in US$ Thousand for 2009-2017 Table 24: United States Infrared Sensors Market Share Breakdown by Segment: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 25: United States Infrared Sensors Latent Demand Forecasts in US$ Thousand by End-Use: 2018 to 2025 Table 26: Infrared Sensors Historic Demand Patterns in the United States by End-Use in US$ Thousand for 2009-2017 Table 27: Infrared Sensors Market Share Breakdown in the United States by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 CANADA Table 28: Canadian Infrared Sensors Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Thousand by Segment: 2018 to 2025 Table 29: Canadian Infrared Sensors Historic Market Review by Segment in US$ Thousand: 2009-2017 Table 30: Infrared Sensors Market in Canada: Percentage Share Breakdown of Sales by Segment for 2009, 2019, and 2025 Table 31: Canadian Infrared Sensors Market Quantitative Demand Analysis in US$ Thousand by End-Use: 2018 to 2025 Table 32: Infrared Sensors Market in Canada: Summarization of Historic Demand Patterns in US$ Thousand by End-Use for 2009-2017 Table 33: Canadian Infrared Sensors Market Share Analysis by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 JAPAN Table 34: Japanese Market for Infrared Sensors: Annual Sales Estimates and Projections in US$ Thousand by Segment for the Period 2018-2025 Table 35: Infrared Sensors Market in Japan: Historic Sales Analysis in US$ Thousand by Segment for the Period 2009-2017 Table 36: Japanese Infrared Sensors Market Share Analysis by Segment: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 37: Japanese Demand Estimates and Forecasts for Infrared Sensors in US$ Thousand by End-Use: 2018 to 2025 Table 38: Japanese Infrared Sensors Market in US$ Thousand by End-Use: 2009-2017 Table 39: Infrared Sensors Market Share Shift in Japan by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 CHINA Table 40: Chinese Infrared Sensors Market Growth Prospects in US$ Thousand by Segment for the Period 2018-2025 Table 41: Infrared Sensors Historic Market Analysis in China in US$ Thousand by Segment: 2009-2017 Table 42: Chinese Infrared Sensors Market by Segment: Percentage Breakdown of Sales for 2009, 2019, and 2025 Table 43: Chinese Demand for Infrared Sensors in US$ Thousand by End-Use: 2018 to 2025 Table 44: Infrared Sensors Market Review in China in US$ Thousand by End-Use: 2009-2017 Table 45: Chinese Infrared Sensors Market Share Breakdown by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 EUROPE Market Facts & Figures European Infrared Sensors Market: Competitor Market Share Scenario (in %) for 2019 & 2025 Table 46: European Infrared Sensors Market Demand Scenario in US$ Thousand by Region/Country: 2018-2025 Table 47: Infrared Sensors Market in Europe: A Historic Market Perspective in US$ Thousand by Region/Country for the Period 2009-2017 Table 48: European Infrared Sensors Market Share Shift by Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 49: European Infrared Sensors Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Thousand by Segment: 2018-2025 Table 50: Infrared Sensors Market in Europe in US$ Thousand by Segment: A Historic Review for the Period 2009-2017 Table 51: European Infrared Sensors Market Share Breakdown by Segment: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 52: European Infrared Sensors Addressable Market Opportunity in US$ Thousand by End-Use: 2018-2025 Table 53: Infrared Sensors Market in Europe: Summarization of Historic Demand in US$ Thousand by End-Use for the Period 2009-2017 Table 54: European Infrared Sensors Market Share Analysis by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 FRANCE Table 55: Infrared Sensors Market in France by Segment: Estimates and Projections in US$ Thousand for the Period 2018-2025 Table 56: French Infrared Sensors Historic Market Scenario in US$ Thousand by Segment: 2009-2017 Table 57: French Infrared Sensors Market Share Analysis by Segment: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 58: Infrared Sensors Quantitative Demand Analysis in France in US$ Thousand by End-Use: 2018-2025 Table 59: French Infrared Sensors Historic Market Review in US$ Thousand by End-Use: 2009-2017 Table 60: French Infrared Sensors Market Share Analysis: A 17-Year Perspective by End-Use for 2009, 2019, and 2025 GERMANY Table 61: Infrared Sensors Market in Germany: Recent Past, Current and Future Analysis in US$ Thousand by Segment for the Period 2018-2025 Table 62: German Infrared Sensors Historic Market Analysis in US$ Thousand by Segment: 2009-2017 Table 63: German Infrared Sensors Market Share Breakdown by Segment: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 64: Infrared Sensors Market in Germany: Annual Sales Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Thousand by End-Use for the Period 2018-2025 Table 65: German Infrared Sensors Market in Retrospect in US$ Thousand by End-Use: 2009-2017 Table 66: Infrared Sensors Market Share Distribution in Germany by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 ITALY Table 67: Italian Infrared Sensors Market Growth Prospects in US$ Thousand by Segment for the Period 2018-2025 Table 68: Infrared Sensors Historic Market Analysis in Italy in US$ Thousand by Segment: 2009-2017 Table 69: Italian Infrared Sensors Market by Segment: Percentage Breakdown of Sales for 2009, 2019, and 2025 Table 70: Italian Demand for Infrared Sensors in US$ Thousand by End-Use: 2018 to 2025 Table 71: Infrared Sensors Market Review in Italy in US$ Thousand by End-Use: 2009-2017 Table 72: Italian Infrared Sensors Market Share Breakdown by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 UNITED KINGDOM Table 73: United Kingdom Market for Infrared Sensors: Annual Sales Estimates and Projections in US$ Thousand by Segment for the Period 2018-2025 Table 74: Infrared Sensors Market in the United Kingdom: Historic Sales Analysis in US$ Thousand by Segment for the Period 2009-2017 Table 75: United Kingdom Infrared Sensors Market Share Analysis by Segment: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 76: United Kingdom Demand Estimates and Forecasts for Infrared Sensors in US$ Thousand by End-Use: 2018 to 2025 Table 77: United Kingdom Infrared Sensors Market in US$ Thousand by End-Use: 2009-2017 Table 78: Infrared Sensors Market Share Shift in the United Kingdom by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 SPAIN Table 79: Spanish Infrared Sensors Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Thousand by Segment: 2018 to 2025 Table 80: Spanish Infrared Sensors Historic Market Review by Segment in US$ Thousand: 2009-2017 Table 81: Infrared Sensors Market in Spain: Percentage Share Breakdown of Sales by Segment for 2009, 2019, and 2025 Table 82: Spanish Infrared Sensors Market Quantitative Demand Analysis in US$ Thousand by End-Use: 2018 to 2025 Table 83: Infrared Sensors Market in Spain: Summarization of Historic Demand Patterns in US$ Thousand by End-Use for 2009-2017 Table 84: Spanish Infrared Sensors Market Share Analysis by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 RUSSIA Table 85: Russian Infrared Sensors Market Estimates and Projections in US$ Thousand by Segment: 2018 to 2025 Table 86: Infrared Sensors Market in Russia by Segment: A Historic Review in US$ Thousand for 2009-2017 Table 87: Russian Infrared Sensors Market Share Breakdown by Segment: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 88: Russian Infrared Sensors Latent Demand Forecasts in US$ Thousand by End-Use: 2018 to 2025 Table 89: Infrared Sensors Historic Demand Patterns in Russia by End-Use in US$ Thousand for 2009-2017 Table 90: Infrared Sensors Market Share Breakdown in Russia by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 REST OF EUROPE Table 91: Rest of Europe Infrared Sensors Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Thousand by Segment: 2018-2025 Table 92: Infrared Sensors Market in Rest of Europe in US$ Thousand by Segment: A Historic Review for the Period 2009-2017 Table 93: Rest of Europe Infrared Sensors Market Share Breakdown by Segment: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 94: Rest of Europe Infrared Sensors Addressable Market Opportunity in US$ Thousand by End-Use: 2018-2025 Table 95: Infrared Sensors Market in Rest of Europe: Summarization of Historic Demand in US$ Thousand by End-Use for the Period 2009-2017 Table 96: Rest of Europe Infrared Sensors Market Share Analysis by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 ASIA-PACIFIC Table 97: Asia-Pacific Infrared Sensors Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Thousand by Region/Country: 2018-2025 Table 98: Infrared Sensors Market in Asia-Pacific: Historic Market Analysis in US$ Thousand by Region/Country for the Period 2009-2017 Table 99: Asia-Pacific Infrared Sensors Market Share Analysis by Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 100: Infrared Sensors Market in Asia-Pacific by Segment: Estimates and Projections in US$ Thousand for the Period 2018-2025 Table 101: Asia-Pacific Infrared Sensors Historic Market Scenario in US$ Thousand by Segment: 2009-2017 Table 102: Asia-Pacific Infrared Sensors Market Share Analysis by Segment: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 103: Infrared Sensors Quantitative Demand Analysis in Asia-Pacific in US$ Thousand by End-Use: 2018-2025 Table 104: Asia-Pacific Infrared Sensors Historic Market Review in US$ Thousand by End-Use: 2009-2017 Table 105: Asia-Pacific Infrared Sensors Market Share Analysis: A 17-Year Perspective by End-Use for 2009, 2019, and 2025 AUSTRALIA Table 106: Infrared Sensors Market in Australia: Recent Past, Current and Future Analysis in US$ Thousand by Segment for the Period 2018-2025 Table 107: Australian Infrared Sensors Historic Market Analysis in US$ Thousand by Segment: 2009-2017 Table 108: Australian Infrared Sensors Market Share Breakdown by Segment: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 109: Infrared Sensors Market in Australia: Annual Sales Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Thousand by End-Use for the Period 2018-2025 Table 110: Australian Infrared Sensors Market in Retrospect in US$ Thousand by End-Use: 2009-2017 Table 111: Infrared Sensors Market Share Distribution in Australia by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 INDIA Table 112: Indian Infrared Sensors Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Thousand by Segment: 2018 to 2025 Table 113: Indian Infrared Sensors Historic Market Review by Segment in US$ Thousand: 2009-2017 Table 114: Infrared Sensors Market in India: Percentage Share Breakdown of Sales by Segment for 2009, 2019, and 2025 Table 115: Indian Infrared Sensors Market Quantitative Demand Analysis in US$ Thousand by End-Use: 2018 to 2025 Table 116: Infrared Sensors Market in India: Summarization of Historic Demand Patterns in US$ Thousand by End-Use for 2009-2017 Table 117: Indian Infrared Sensors Market Share Analysis by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 SOUTH KOREA Table 118: Infrared Sensors Market in South Korea: Recent Past, Current and Future Analysis in US$ Thousand by Segment for the Period 2018-2025 Table 119: South Korean Infrared Sensors Historic Market Analysis in US$ Thousand by Segment: 2009-2017 Table 120: Infrared Sensors Market Share Distribution in South Korea by Segment: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 121: Infrared Sensors Market in South Korea: Recent Past, Current and Future Analysis in US$ Thousand by End-Use for the Period 2018-2025 Table 122: South Korean Infrared Sensors Historic Market Analysis in US$ Thousand by End-Use: 2009-2017 Table 123: Infrared Sensors Market Share Distribution in South Korea by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 REST OF ASIA-PACIFIC Table 124: Rest of Asia-Pacific Market for Infrared Sensors: Annual Sales Estimates and Projections in US$ Thousand by Segment for the Period 2018-2025 Table 125: Infrared Sensors Market in Rest of Asia-Pacific: Historic Sales Analysis in US$ Thousand by Segment for the Period 2009-2017 Table 126: Rest of Asia-Pacific Infrared Sensors Market Share Analysis by Segment: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 127: Rest of Asia-Pacific Demand Estimates and Forecasts for Infrared Sensors in US$ Thousand by End-Use: 2018 to 2025 Table 128: Rest of Asia-Pacific Infrared Sensors Market in US$ Thousand by End-Use: 2009-2017 Table 129: Infrared Sensors Market Share Shift in Rest of Asia-Pacific by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 LATIN AMERICA Table 130: Latin American Infrared Sensors Market Trends by Region/Country in US$ Thousand: 2018-2025 Table 131: Infrared Sensors Market in Latin America in US$ Thousand by Region/Country: A Historic Perspective for the Period 2009-2017 Table 132: Latin American Infrared Sensors Market Percentage Breakdown of Sales by Region/Country: 2009, 2019, and 2025 Table 133: Latin American Infrared Sensors Market Growth Prospects in US$ Thousand by Segment for the Period 2018-2025 Table 134: Infrared Sensors Historic Market Analysis in Latin America in US$ Thousand by Segment: 2009-2017 Table 135: Latin American Infrared Sensors Market by Segment: Percentage Breakdown of Sales for 2009, 2019, and 2025 Table 136: Latin American Demand for Infrared Sensors in US$ Thousand by End-Use: 2018 to 2025 Table 137: Infrared Sensors Market Review in Latin America in US$ Thousand by End-Use: 2009-2017 Table 138: Latin American Infrared Sensors Market Share Breakdown by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 ARGENTINA Table 139: Argentinean Infrared Sensors Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Thousand by Segment: 2018-2025 Table 140: Infrared Sensors Market in Argentina in US$ Thousand by Segment: A Historic Review for the Period 2009-2017 Table 141: Argentinean Infrared Sensors Market Share Breakdown by Segment: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 142: Argentinean Infrared Sensors Addressable Market Opportunity in US$ Thousand by End-Use: 2018-2025 Table 143: Infrared Sensors Market in Argentina: Summarization of Historic Demand in US$ Thousand by End-Use for the Period 2009-2017 Table 144: Argentinean Infrared Sensors Market Share Analysis by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 BRAZIL Table 145: Infrared Sensors Market in Brazil by Segment: Estimates and Projections in US$ Thousand for the Period 2018-2025 Table 146: Brazilian Infrared Sensors Historic Market Scenario in US$ Thousand by Segment: 2009-2017 Table 147: Brazilian Infrared Sensors Market Share Analysis by Segment: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 148: Infrared Sensors Quantitative Demand Analysis in Brazil in US$ Thousand by End-Use: 2018-2025 Table 149: Brazilian Infrared Sensors Historic Market Review in US$ Thousand by End-Use: 2009-2017 Table 150: Brazilian Infrared Sensors Market Share Analysis: A 17-Year Perspective by End-Use for 2009, 2019, and 2025 MEXICO Table 151: Infrared Sensors Market in Mexico: Recent Past, Current and Future Analysis in US$ Thousand by Segment for the Period 2018-2025 Table 152: Mexican Infrared Sensors Historic Market Analysis in US$ Thousand by Segment: 2009-2017 Table 153: Mexican Infrared Sensors Market Share Breakdown by Segment: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 154: Infrared Sensors Market in Mexico: Annual Sales Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Thousand by End-Use for the Period 2018-2025 Table 155: Mexican Infrared Sensors Market in Retrospect in US$ Thousand by End-Use: 2009-2017 Table 156: Infrared Sensors Market Share Distribution in Mexico by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 REST OF LATIN AMERICA Table 157: Rest of Latin America Infrared Sensors Market Estimates and Projections in US$ Thousand by Segment: 2018 to 2025 Table 158: Infrared Sensors Market in Rest of Latin America by Segment: A Historic Review in US$ Thousand for 2009-2017 Table 159: Rest of Latin America Infrared Sensors Market Share Breakdown by Segment: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 160: Rest of Latin America Infrared Sensors Latent Demand Forecasts in US$ Thousand by End-Use: 2018 to 2025 Table 161: Infrared Sensors Historic Demand Patterns in Rest of Latin America by End-Use in US$ Thousand for 2009-2017 Table 162: Infrared Sensors Market Share Breakdown in Rest of Latin America by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 MIDDLE EAST Table 163: The Middle East Infrared Sensors Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Thousand by Region/Country: 2018-2025 Table 164: Infrared Sensors Market in the Middle East by Region/Country in US$ Thousand: 2009-2017 Table 165: The Middle East Infrared Sensors Market Share Breakdown by Region/Country: 2009, 2019, and 2025 Table 166: The Middle East Infrared Sensors Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Thousand by Segment: 2018 to 2025 Table 167: The Middle East Infrared Sensors Historic Market by Segment in US$ Thousand: 2009-2017 Table 168: Infrared Sensors Market in the Middle East: Percentage Share Breakdown of Sales by Segment for 2009, 2019, and 2025 Table 169: The Middle East Infrared Sensors Market Quantitative Demand Analysis in US$ Thousand by End-Use: 2018 to 2025 Table 170: Infrared Sensors Market in the Middle East: Summarization of Historic Demand Patterns in US$ Thousand by End-Use for 2009-2017 Table 171: The Middle East Infrared Sensors Market Share Analysis by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 IRAN Table 172: Iranian Market for Infrared Sensors: Annual Sales Estimates and Projections in US$ Thousand by Segment for the Period 2018-2025 Table 173: Infrared Sensors Market in Iran: Historic Sales Analysis in US$ Thousand by Segment for the Period 2009-2017 Table 174: Iranian Infrared Sensors Market Share Analysis by Segment: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 175: Iranian Demand Estimates and Forecasts for Infrared Sensors in US$ Thousand by End-Use: 2018 to 2025 Table 176: Iranian Infrared Sensors Market in US$ Thousand by End-Use: 2009-2017 Table 177: Infrared Sensors Market Share Shift in Iran by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 ISRAEL Table 178: Israeli Infrared Sensors Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Thousand by Segment: 2018-2025 Table 179: Infrared Sensors Market in Israel in US$ Thousand by Segment: A Historic Review for the Period 2009-2017 Table 180: Israeli Infrared Sensors Market Share Breakdown by Segment: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 181: Israeli Infrared Sensors Addressable Market Opportunity in US$ Thousand by End-Use: 2018-2025 Table 182: Infrared Sensors Market in Israel: Summarization of Historic Demand in US$ Thousand by End-Use for the Period 2009-2017 Table 183: Israeli Infrared Sensors Market Share Analysis by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 SAUDI ARABIA Table 184: Saudi Arabian Infrared Sensors Market Growth Prospects in US$ Thousand by Segment for the Period 2018-2025 Table 185: Infrared Sensors Historic Market Analysis in Saudi Arabia in US$ Thousand by Segment: 2009-2017 Table 186: Saudi Arabian Infrared Sensors Market by Segment: Percentage Breakdown of Sales for 2009, 2019, and 2025 Table 187: Saudi Arabian Demand for Infrared Sensors in US$ Thousand by End-Use: 2018 to 2025 Table 188: Infrared Sensors Market Review in Saudi Arabia in US$ Thousand by End-Use: 2009-2017 Table 189: Saudi Arabian Infrared Sensors Market Share Breakdown by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Table 190: Infrared Sensors Market in the United Arab Emirates: Recent Past, Current and Future Analysis in US$ Thousand by Segment for the Period 2018-2025 Table 191: United Arab Emirates Infrared Sensors Historic Market Analysis in US$ Thousand by Segment: 2009-2017 Table 192: Infrared Sensors Market Share Distribution in United Arab Emirates by Segment: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 193: Infrared Sensors Market in the United Arab Emirates: Recent Past, Current and Future Analysis in US$ Thousand by End-Use for the Period 2018-2025 Table 194: United Arab Emirates Infrared Sensors Historic Market Analysis in US$ Thousand by End-Use: 2009-2017 Table 195: Infrared Sensors Market Share Distribution in United Arab Emirates by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 REST OF MIDDLE EAST Table 196: Infrared Sensors Market in Rest of Middle East: Recent Past, Current and Future Analysis in US$ Thousand by Segment for the Period 2018-2025 Table 197: Rest of Middle East Infrared Sensors Historic Market Analysis in US$ Thousand by Segment: 2009-2017 Table 198: Rest of Middle East Infrared Sensors Market Share Breakdown by Segment: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 199: Infrared Sensors Market in Rest of Middle East: Annual Sales Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Thousand by End-Use for the Period 2018-2025 Table 200: Rest of Middle East Infrared Sensors Market in Retrospect in US$ Thousand by End-Use: 2009-2017 Table 201: Infrared Sensors Market Share Distribution in Rest of Middle East by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 AFRICA Table 202: African Infrared Sensors Market Estimates and Projections in US$ Thousand by Segment: 2018 to 2025 Table 203: Infrared Sensors Market in Africa by Segment: A Historic Review in US$ Thousand for 2009-2017 Table 204: African Infrared Sensors Market Share Breakdown by Segment: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 205: African Infrared Sensors Latent Demand Forecasts in US$ Thousand by End-Use: 2018 to 2025 Table 206: Infrared Sensors Historic Demand Patterns in Africa by End-Use in US$ Thousand for 2009-2017 Table 207: Infrared Sensors Market Share Breakdown in Africa by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 IV. COMPETITION DRS TECHNOLOGIES EXCELITAS TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION FLIR SYSTEMS GENERAL DYNAMICS MISSION SYSTEMS HAMAMATSU PHOTONICS KK L-3 COMMUNICATIONS HOLDINGS, INC. MICROSTRATEGY MURATA MANUFACTURING NIPPON AVIONICS OMRON CORPORATION RAYTHEON COMPANY SOFRADIR GROUP TESTO SE & CO. KGAA TEXAS INSTRUMENTS V. CURATED RESEARCH Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05798892/?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 Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Chief Minister may have made New Delhi and Education Minister Manish Sisodia, Patparganj the VIP constituencies, but the fight to watch out for in this Assembly elections will be Model Town. Former Minister and Kejriwal critic will take on two-time sitting legislator Akhilesh Pati Tripathi. Mishra, who co-founded the Youth for Justice -- an action group that led protests across Delhi during the Jessica Lal murder trial and later became part of the AAP, has been nominated by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Water Resource Minister in the Kejriwal cabinet, Mishra had accused him and Satyendra Jain of corruption. From being a vocal critic of the Prime Minister, Mishra became Narendra Modi's ardent fan and also campaigned for candidates in the 2019 polls that got him disqualified. In August 2019, when Mishra joined the BJP, Delhi party chief Manoj Tiwari said he would "serve Delhi by following the policies of Modi and the philosophy of Deen Dayal Upadhyay and Syama Prasad Mookerjee." Model Town, a relatively small constituency with 1,67,679 voters, is an affluent neighbourhood near Delhi University and is often referred to be the preferred location for the "traditional rich" of Delhi. Hudson Lines, Old Gupta Colony, Kalyan Vihar, Vijay Nagar, Gujranwala Town, Guru Tegh Bahadur Nagar and Delhi University surround the area. AAP's Tripathi has been winning the seat with respectable margins. In 2015, he had almost double the vote garnered by BJP's Vivek Garg. While much of Delhi seems to be cheering for the AAP, according to poll trackers, Tripathi is facing anti-incumbency in this seat and his public profile has taken a beating since riding the Kejriwal wave to the Assembly in 2015. He has been accused of taking bribe for getting the government jobs. Last year, he was taken into custody for failing to comply with court summons and warrants in a 2013 rioting case. For Mishra, this is not just about a seat but a platform to target someone whom he adored, but the friendship fell apart after doing social activism and politics together. Of the issues, many voters allege that Tripathi failed to address the water crisis, a predominant issue in this area. Thus, when Tripathi launches his campaign with the slogan "Acche bite 5 saal", he may find it tough to convince voters. Mishra too may not find it easy in this battle of egos for both the and the AAP. Model Town is also set to witness a high voltage campaign as top and AAP leaders are likely to descend upon the constituency in the coming days. Serena Williams and Roger Federer avoided chaos caused by rain at the Australian Open on Monday as heavy downpours forced organisers to postpone a swathe of matches on the first day. After a build-up disrupted by smoke from deadly wildfires, a prolonged rain storm struck in mid-afternoon, sending thousands of spectators scurrying for cover. While play continued at the three stadiums with retractable roofs, 17 of the 64 scheduled matches were postponed, ensuring a big backlog for Tuesday. Wet conditions are unusual for the Australian Open, which is more used to extreme heat and was plagued by smog from bushfires during qualifying, when players suffered coughing fits and breathing problems. Air quality was rated 'good' as the first round started on Monday but about four hours later play was suspended on outside courts when the heavens opened in Melbourne. World number three Federer was briefly hauled off court while the roof was closed on Rod Laver Arena before returning to complete a routine 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 victory over American Steve Johnson. Williams, on the hunt for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title, won the first set against Anastasia Potapova in just 19 minutes as she cruised to a 6-0, 6-3 win in less than an hour. "I feel like I can still improve and get better throughout this tournament, for sure. This is a good stepping stone for right now," Williams said. However, Williams' elder sister Venus was ousted in stunning fashion by 15-year-old Coco Gauff, who won 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 in a repeat of her first-round upset at Wimbledon last year. "I believe I can beat anyone, but I think that's almost every player's mentality," said the American teenager. "The ones who are the great ones, they don't really fear anyone." - Shapovalov racquet row - ==========================Defending champion Naomi Osaka was done well before the downpour as she dismissed Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-4 in 80 minutes, smashing one powerful serve that broke a net fastening. "It was really tough for me trying to control my nerves," said Osaka. "It's tough to play someone you've never played before in the first round of a Grand Slam." In the evening session on the covered centre court, Australian world number one Ashleigh Barty recovered strongly from a set down to beat Lesia Tsurenko 5-7, 6-1, 6-1. In the men's draw, Greek sixth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, who beat Federer en route to last year's semis, crushed Salvatore Caruso 6-0, 6-2, 6-3. Player anger over smog dominated the final days before the tournament, which is taking place after bushfires ravaged large parts of Australia, destroying thousands of homes and killing 29 people. Slovenia's Dalila Jakupovic was forced to retire from her qualifier after a coughing fit, while Britain's Liam Broady claimed "multiple" players needed asthma medication. Federer was one of the players who criticised a lack of communication from tournament officials, who were forced to suspend practice and delay some qualifying matches last week. Tournament officials are closely monitoring pollution and will halt play and close the three main stadiums' roofs if particulate matter suspended in the air hits PM2.5 200. In other results, Canadian 13th seed Denis Shapovalov argued furiously with the umpire over a code violation for throwing his racquet as he lost in four sets to Marton Fucsovics. Croatian 25th seed Borna Coric was another early casualty as he went down in three sets to experienced American Sam Querrey. But former champion Caroline Wozniacki, playing her last tournament before retiring, safely reached the second round as she beat Kristie Ahn 6-1, 6-3. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Washington, Jan 20 : After NASA and SpaceX successfully completed a launch escape demonstration of the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket, Elon Musk said that his aerospace company aims to send NASA astronauts to space between April and June this year. This was the final major flight test of the spacecraft before it begins carrying astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) under NASA's Commercial Crew Programme, the US space agency said in a statement on Sunday. With this test now complete, the next big flight of the Crew Dragon will have people on board: NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley. "We're highly confident that the hardware will be ready in Q1, most likely at the end of February but no later than March. And we think it appears probable that the first crewed launch would occur in the second quarter," said Musk after the successful uncrewed test of its Crew Dragon capsule's in-flight launch escape capabilities. Musk said that if all goes well, the first crewed flight on the Crew Dragon could take place in the second quarter of this year. "This critical flight test puts us on the cusp of returning the capability to launch astronauts in American spacecraft on American rockets from American soil," said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. "We are thrilled with the progress NASA's Commercial Crew Programme is making and look forward to the next milestone for Crew Dragon." As part of the test on Sunday, SpaceX configured Crew Dragon to trigger a launch escape about 1.5 minutes after liftoff. All major functions were executed, including separation, engine firings, parachute deployment and landing. Crew Dragon splashed down at 10:38 am just off the Florida coast in the Atlantic Ocean. "As far as we can tell thus far, it's a picture perfect mission. It went as well as one can possibly expect," said Musk. "This is a reflection of the dedication and hard work of the SpaceX and NASA teams to achieve this goal. Obviously, I'm super fired up. This is great." Prior to the flight test, teams completed launch day procedures for the first crewed flight test, from suit-up to launch pad operations. The joint teams now will begin the full data reviews that need to be completed prior to NASA astronauts flying the system during SpaceX's Demo-2 mission. "The past few days have been an incredible experience for us," said astronaut Doug Hurley. "Today, we watched the demonstration of a system that we hope to never use, but can save lives if we ever do. It took a lot of work between NASA and SpaceX to get to this point, and we can't wait to take a ride to the space station soon," he said in the NASA statement. The longest continuous transport strike in French history has exasperated Paris commuters and robbed businesses of vital foot traffic. But while many deplore the impact on their lives and livelihoods, for some the stoppage has been a boon. "For us taxis it's been good," 55-year-old Jean-Robert Philippe, an independent driver, told AFP of a strike that began on December 5, with transport only gradually returning to normal. He said his daily pickups had been double the usual for a month of December -- often quiet for taxis as Parisians leave town for their family holidays. As train and metro transport in the capital came to a near standstill for weeks on end, Paris' streets exploded into a cacophony of bells and car horns as pedestrians and cyclists engaged in a mad jostle for space with electric scooters, motorbikes, cars and buses. - Scooters zoom ahead - Transport company Lime reported a 75 percent rise in electric scooter rentals in Paris over the strike period, with as many as 120,000 users on days of mass protest when rail transport was especially disrupted. There were about 4,000 new Lime users daily on average, it said, with a high of 8,000 first-timers on the first day of the strike. Cityscoot, which rents out electric versions of the traditional seated scooter or moped, said rentals grew 150 percent in December compared with a year earlier, and new subscriptions rose by 400 percent. The strike saw taxis, legally prohibited from hiking prices, booked out sometimes days in advance as Uber fares rose in line with demand and rental agencies ran low on cars. - Car-pooling to the rescue - Filling part of the void were car-pooling apps such as Karos, which told AFP it had 100,000 new subscribers in December, "which is eight to 10 times as many as a usual (non-strike) month." To try and ease commuters' pain, the transport authority of the greater Paris Ile-de-France region increased a subsidy for car-pool drivers, allowing commuters -- if they were lucky enough to find an available driver -- a free return trip daily within an 80-kilometre (50-mile) limit. For longer distances, buses tried to fill some of the void left by thousands of cancelled trains. The Flixbus low-cost carrier said it had provided about a quarter more buses than usual over December to "help hundreds of thousands of people... get around and spend the holidays with their loved ones." It transported more than a million passengers in December, nearly double the number a year earlier, the company said. - Deliveroo lunches - Many have opted simply to walk to work, though the commuting time more than doubled for some. Yves Benchimol, co-founder of exercise tracker WeWard told AFP that an analysis of 500,000 users of its mobile App in major French cities revealed that "on average, an individual walked 11.3 percent more since the strike started". All the better for burning those calories: as the transport chaos marooned workers, leaving many to telecommute, meal delivery company Deliveroo said it took 20 percent more lunch orders in Paris in December -- 25 percent including the suburbs. In one of these, Aulnay-sous-Bois to the capital's northeast, baker Lofti Baushih had few complaints. Sales tripled on the first day of the strike as locals who normally spend their daylight hours far away in the city took the day off or worked from home, popping in to buy his bread and pastries. "We worked like crazy," he said with a happy smile from behind the till. As Parisians have walked and cycled more, with many potential health benefits, there has also been a boost for pollution-blocking face masks: French manufacturer R-Pur said it had seen a rise of 30 percent in sales. - Virtual doctors' visits - Another industry helped by the strike was telemedicine. With doctors and patients both facing transport constraints, startup company Medadom, which created an App for online consultations, said the number of users grew by 50 percent since the strike started, with a record 320 consultations on a single day. "Patients often indicate that they could not find an available doctor or were unable to get to their doctor as a result of the transport paralysis," cofounder Nathaniel Bern told AFP. Walking has been the most convenient option for many, even if has meant a doubling or more of their daily commute Transport company Lime reported a 75 percent rise in electric scooter rentals in Paris over the strike period, with as many as 120,000 users on days of mass protest when rail transport was especially disrupted During the weeks-long strike, Paris' streets exploded into a cacophony of bells and car horns as pedestrians and cyclists jostled for space with electric scooters, motorbikes, cars and buses Heavy clashes broke out on Saturday between police and riot police in Beirut, Lebanon. According to Lebanon's local media, clashes broke out when protesters attempted to break barricades set up by the police. According to reports, the clashes resulted in at least 220 injuries. The protestors tried to get access to the roads leading to the Parliament's headquarters. Peaceful protests turn violent Local media reported that protestors threw stones and tree branches at the deployed security forces while the riot police used water cannons and tear gas on protesters. Protests have rocked Lebanon since October 17 last year. The protesters are demanding that Lebanon adopt a technocrat government of independent ministers that would finally be able to implement meaningful reform and fight against widespread and prevalent corruption. FINAL UPDATE: 18 ambulances, 80 EMTs and 6 dispatchers from the LRC responded to the protests in downtown Beirut. Over 80 victims have been transported to nearby hospitals and over 140 injured were treated at the scene. LRC teams are still on standby and ready to respond. pic.twitter.com/p1OG7WFqwl Lebanese Red Cross (@RedCrossLebanon) January 18, 2020 Lebanon's Interior Minister Raya El-Hassan tweeted about the incident and claimed that it was absolutely unacceptable for protesters to attack security forces in the manner that they did. She added that while she respects the right to protest she does not condone it evolving into a blatant attack on security forces. Read: Lebanon To Release Protesters Detained After Night Of Riots Read: Lebanon: Massive Protests Turn Violent, President Calls On Army To Intervene In Beirut Security forces also asked peaceful protesters to remain away from the sight of the confrontation, they also released several photos of injured policemen in the aftermath of the confrontation. Protestors released On Sunday, Lebanon's public prosecutor ordered the release of more than 30 people detained the previous evening, according to the National State Newsagency, in the worst day of violence since protests erupted three months ago. The public prosecutor said all 34 arrested are to be released, except those other pending cases. (With Inputs from AP) Read: Lawyer Of Ex-Nissan Chief Appears Before Lebanon Prosecutors Read: Carlos Ghosn's Escape To Lebanon Extremely Regrettable: Nissan The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have hit 11 million followers on Instagram, but look likely to be overtaken by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who are just behind them with 10.9 million fans. Prince Harry, 35, and Meghan Markle, 38, who run Sussex Royal, have seen their following skyrocket since announcing their retreat from the public eye last week. The couple, who will be splitting their time between Canada and Windsor Castle after they stepped down as senior royals, are now just 100,000 followers behind Prince William, 37, and Kate Middleton, 38. This is despite the Cambridges' account Kensington Royal being around for much longer, while the Sussexes only started their account last April. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (seen in Bradford this month) have hit 11 million followers on Instagram, but look likey to be overtaken by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex The Cambridges have just hit 11 million followers with their Kensington Royal account - but Harry and Meghan are only just behind them The Kensington Royal account gets an average of 300,000 likes for their posts, with statement posts including Kate Middleton's birthday racking up 1.2 million likes. Meanwhile Sussex Royal gets a similar average, but their recent post announcing they would be stepping down garnered almost 2 million likes from supportive fans. While William and Kate's account follows just under 100 people, Harry and Meghan follow new accounts each month to highlight charitable causes. Prince Harry, 35, and Meghan Markle, 38, who run Sussex Royal, have seen their following skyrocket since announcing their retreat from the public eye last week Harry and Meghan, who will be splitting their time between Canada and Windsor Castle after they stepped down as senior royals, are now just 100,000 followers behind Prince William, 37, and Kate Middleton, 38 On Sunday night the Duke of Sussex has said he is 'taking a leap of faith' in stepping back from his life as a member of the royal family, but 'there really was no other option'. Harry gave an emotional speech, where he told the 'truth' about leaving royal duties behind in a bid for a 'more peaceful life' for his family. The duke has attended his first public event since the announcement was released on Saturday that said from the spring, the duke and duchess will stop using HRH, spend the majority of their time living in Canada, and pay back the taxpayers' money spent renovating their Frogmore home. Harry was spotted arriving at the UK-Africa Investment Summit in London, where he held a number of private meetings, and was photographed shaking hands with the prime minister of Morocco Saad-Eddine El Othmani. Doria, 63, who lives in LA, is thought to have spent part of the couple's six week break in Vancouver over the Christmas period with the family, and reportedly described grandson Archie, eight months, (seen last September in South Africa) as 'the cutest' On Sunday night the Duke of Sussex has said he is 'taking a leap of faith' in stepping back from his life as a member of the royal family, but 'there really was no other option' In a speech at a private event for his charity Sentebale on Sunday night, Harry told invited guests: 'What I want to make clear is we're not walking away, and we certainly aren't walking away from you. 'Our hope was to continue serving the Queen, the Commonwealth, and my military associations, but without public funding. Unfortunately, that wasn't possible. 'I've accepted this, knowing that it doesn't change who I am or how committed I am. 'But I hope that helps you understand what it had to come to, that I would step my family back from all I have ever known, to take a step forward into what I hope can be a more peaceful life.' Earning money while being a member of the royal family appears to have been the crux of the discussions Harry held with the Queen, Prince of Wales and Duke of Cambridge about the future role of he and his wife. Britain's Prince Harry expressed "great sadness" on Sunday at the way he and his wife Meghan had to give up their royal titles as part of a separation settlement with the Queen. "It brings me great sadness that it has come to this," Harry said in his first remarks on Saturday's historic agreement, made during a public address and posted on the couple's Instagram account. "Our hope was to continue serving the Queen, the commonwealth, and my military associations, but without public funding. Unfortunately, that wasn't possible," he told supporters of his Africa-based charity for youngsters with HIV at an event in London. The settlement stripped Harry and Meghan of public funding and required them to repay 2.4 million pounds (USD 3.1 million) of taxpayer's money spent on renovating their Frogmore Cottage home near Windsor Castle. Harry was also forced to give up the military titles and patronages he was awarded after serving two tours in Afghanistan with the British Army. But Harry said he felt "utmost respect" for Queen Elizabeth II. "It has been our privilege to serve you, and we will continue to lead a life of service." "I will always have the utmost respect for my grandmother, my commander in chief, and I am incredibly grateful to her and the rest of my family, for the support they have shown Meghan and I over the last few months." He also hinted at some trepidation at starting a new life away from his royal home. He and Meghan will spend some time in Canada before deciding whether to move to the United States or another country. "We are taking a leap of faith -- thank you for giving me the courage to take this next step," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) FREDERICK, Md., Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Legal & General America (LGA) has raised $940,000 through its Annual Charitable Giving Campaign. A portion of the funds raised will be donated to Student Homelessness Initiative Partnership (SHIP) of Frederick County, as well as hundreds of others chosen by LGA employees. The campaign kicked off on Oct. 21, 2019, and ran through Nov. 8, 2019. As part of its annual campaign, LGA employees raised $470,000 with the help of local community members. Employees were able to pledge to a charity of their choice, while in-house fundraising events benefited SHIP. LGA matched the amount raised by employees bringing the total to $940,000. "Our employees' commitment to charities of their choice and the Frederick County community is absolutely astounding. Our Frederick office is home to approximately 600 employees, on-site and remote, who are responsible for raising nearly half a million dollars in just a few weeks," said President & CEO of LGA's Insurance Division Mark Holweger. "We are excited to support such a deserving charity like SHIP." In school year 2018-19, homeless students were found in 61 out of the 66 schools in the Frederick County School System (FCPS). This issue cuts across all grades, all ethnicities and the numbers continue to grow each school year. The Frederick County community came together in late 2013 after learning that there are literally hundreds of children within FCPS that are encountering homelessness each year. SHIP has taken the initiative as a community and has partnered with individuals, organizations, human service agencies, businesses, and government to advocate and provide for these forgotten and often-overlooked children. "At the conclusion of school year 2018-19, there were 853 students enrolled in FCPS schools who had experienced homelessness sometime during that school year. What's most worrying is the significant increase in unaccompanied homeless youth, those no longer under the direct care of a parent or legal guardian," said Executive Director of SHIP Ed Hinde. "With the funds raised through the efforts of LGA employees, SHIP is able to provide food, clothing, shelter and counseling services for these children. We are eternally grateful." About Legal & General America Legal & General America (LGA) is part of the worldwide Legal & General Group. For over 70 years, the Legal & General America companies have been in the business of providing financial protection through life insurance for American families. The Legal & General America companies are Banner Life Insurance Company and William Penn Life Insurance Company of New York. With more than $58 billion in new coverage issued in 2018, LGA is ranked in the top ten of U.S. life insurers and ended 2018 with in excess of $734 billion of coverage in force with 1.3 million U.S. customers. LGA shares Legal & General's independent financial strength ratings: A+ Superior from A. M. Best and AA- Very Strong from Standard and Poor's and Fitch. For more information, please visit www.lgamerica.com. SOURCE Legal & General America (LGA) Related Links https://www.lgamerica.com Trot Insider has been informed that Ontario Standardbred horseman Walter Wayne Elford passed away peacefully at Matthews House Hospice Alliston, Ont. on Thursday, January 16, 2020 at the age of 77. Wayne is the beloved husband of Darlene Elford (nee: Arnott). Loving father of Karen Elford and Krista Elford (Gary). Devoted and loving grandfather of Jessie, and Reese. Predeceased by his brother Gary Elford (Linda). Sadly missed by his furry friend Finn and all of his horses. Forever in the hearts of his extended family, dear friends, and 5th Line Neighbours. Wayne was born In Etobicoke, Ont. and worked at the Goodyear plant before joining the Etobicoke Fire Fighters Association in 1967. Wayne, who lived in the city until he got married, purchased his 10-acre Tottenham farm in 1974. Wayne retired in 2000 as District Chief of New Toronto Fire. He resided in Tottenham until his passing, and Darlene still owns the farm to this day. Throughout the years, Wayne trained and even dabbled as a driver with Standardbred racehorses alongside his father, Walter Curly Elford, and eventually his daughter, Krista. The majority of Waynes training and driving stats were produced in 1980s, and most came at B tracks in the province, although some starts were at Woodbine, as well. The Elfords farm features a small track in the back where family members have been able to jog and train their horses until they were almost ready for the track, then ship to the racetracks for schooling and qualifying. The first horse that Wayne bought himself was Carmelcorn Bye Bye in 1981, and he later bought Golden Sham and raced him until he was 14 years of age. Wayne preferred the mares, of which Tara Van, Waterside Classy and Ballroom Lady were a few of his favourites. Ballroom Lady was honoured as claimer of the year in the last year that Orangeville Raceway was operating. The Elfords still have Lady, who is 32 years young at this point. Arrangements have been entrusted to Rod Abrams Funeral Home. Cremation has taken place and a Celebration of Waynes Life will be held in the springtime at a day and time yet to be determined. Please check back at www.RodAbramsFuneralHome.com as details become available. For those whom wish to do so, donations, can be made to the Matthews House Hospice in Alliston or the Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society (OSAS). Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Wayne Elford. A thoughtful young girl has decided to throw a firefighter-themed birthday and asked guests to donate to bushfire victims instead of giving her presents. During Matilda Ward's fourth birthday party next month, guests will be required to dress as her idols - members of the Rural Fire Service. The passionate three-year-old, from Newcastle, was upset after seeing the devastation the bushfires had caused to wildlife. She decided on her party theme after meeting Kevin, from the Queensland RFS, and hearing how he had helped the koalas. During Matilda Ward's (Pictured) fourth birthday party next month, guests will be required to dress as her idols - members of the Rural Fire Service Matilda was with her parents Steve and Amina, waiting to board their plane home after holidaying in Surfers Paradise, when she struck up a conversation with the fireman. 'Matilda was saying the bushfires were making her sad, we had been to Australia Zoo and she'd seen the koalas recovering there,' Ms Ward told Daily Mail Australia. 'She's very sensitive when it comes to animals, and it stuck in her head.' Ms Ward said the fireman had heard how the small girl was upset and offered her his RFS hat. Matilda then raced off to write her new friend a letter, thanking him for saving the koalas. She then announced she wanted her birthday party to be firefighter themed and invited the Queensland crew to join her. Matilda has also requested they raise money for those who have been affected by the bushfires. Her initial goal was just a humble $3. Her mother then started a GoFundMe page, raising the stakes to $300, which they surpassed in just 48 hours. The passionate three-year-old, from Newcastle, decided on her party theme after meeting Kevin, from the Queensland RFS (pictured giving Kevin a card to say thank you for saving Koalas) The fireman heard how the small girl was upset about the bushfires and offered her his RFS hat (pictured) The family is now hoping to raise $1,000, which will go to the NSW Rural Fire Service. 'She's pretty adamant no one is allowed to give her presents, ''thats not fair of the koalas'' she says.' The bold and passionate little girl has always had a soft spot for animals, Ms Ward said. Her interest in the bushfires came after seeing the injured animals at Australia Zoo. While it was confronting, Ms Ward said her daughter still wanted to see more and understand more about what was happening. Brad Pitt made a comment on Sunday at the SAG awards about how 'doesn't get on with his wife' just like his character from Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood. But the actor and his ex-wife Angelina Jolie seem to be doing well enough to make more wine together. The duo - who co-parent six children together - will be coming out with a rose champagne from their winery Chateau Miraval int he south of France. Still working together: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie will be coming out with a rose champagne from Miraval, according to UsWeekly; seen in 2015 Their past: They already come out with a rose, left, and another called Studio According to UsWeekly, the champagne will be out in a few months. The timing is interesting as he seems to be getting closer and closer to his other ex wife, Jennifer Aniston. The two have said they are friends again, and they have been shoved together during the awards season. On Sunday they were seen holding hands briefly and giving each other kisses as they both won - him for Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood and she for The Morning Show. In his speech he seemed to reference his tough personal life. Stunning: Pitt and Jolie bought the chateaux and vineyard in 2008 for a reported $67 million, which as well as 35 rooms, consists of a spa, hot tub and an indoor pool The way they were: The couple with their six children Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Knox, and Vivienne arrive at Haneda International Airport in 2011 With mama: Jolie often brings her kids to events like she did here in October for the London premiere of Maleficent: Mistress of Evil 'Let's be honest it was a difficult part,' he said of playing stuntman Cliff Booth. 'A guy who gets high, takes his shirt off and doesn't get on with his wife. It's a big stretch, it's big.' He has not been photographed in public with Jolie since they split in 2016. Their last red carpet together was November 2015. But they still work together on their French wines. The couple already have a Miraval Cotes de Provence Rose from Miraval. And they released a new rose called The Studio as well. Deja vu: The timing is interesting as he seems to be getting closer and closer to his other ex wife, Jennifer Aniston A hug too: The two have said they are friends again, and they have been shoved together during the awards season. On Sunday they were seen holding hands briefly and giving each other kisses as they both won - him for Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood and she for The Morning Show Pitt and Jolie bought the chateaux and vineyard in 2008 for a reported $67 million, which as well as 35 rooms, consists of a spa, hot tub and an indoor pool. They wed at the chateaux in 2014, in a private affair with their six children attending - including Maddox, 17, Pax, 15, Zahara, 14, Shiloh, 12, and 10-year-old Knox and Vivienne. The family also holidayed there for several years. One of their last hurrahs: Here they are hand in hand in 2004 in Cannes, France The power couple sold the first vintage wine from the vineyard, Cotes de Provence rose, in 2012, which sold out in just five hours. When they split, Pitt and Jolie decided to keep the vineyard for their children. The new wine is a dry rose and has fresh summer fruits taste to it, with hints of redcurrants, nectarines and ripe raspberries. The the name for the new rose takes inspiration from a music recording studio installed on the Provence estate by previous owner, and jazz musician, Jacques Loussier. Several high-profile bands, including Pink Floyd and AC/DC, have recorded there since. Mashreq, one of the leading financial institutions in the UAE, has appointed Tarek El Nahas as its new head of International Banking Group. El Nahas spent 25 years at Citibank, most recently as the head of Corporate and Investment Banking for North Africa, Egypt and Levant, managing teams across 6 countries in the Mena region. He has a BA in economics and political science from the American University in Cairo and an MSc in economics from the London School of Economics. Ahmed Abdelaal, CEO, Mashreq Bank, said: I am delighted to welcome Tarek to the Mashreq family. Our legacy has been built upon a commitment to developing our leadership capabilities and as we look to grow our international presence Tareks experience will be invaluable. Tarek will take over from Jan-Willem Sudmann later this month. Jan played a pivotal role in the success of Mashreqs international banking story for the last 4 years. We wish Jan good luck and gratitude for his service to Mashreq. Tarek El Nahas added: I am excited to be joining Mashreq. Mashreq is recognized for innovation and service excellence and with my regional experience, I look forward to collaborating closely with my new colleagues to enhance the banks customer experience and creating further inroads to the international business group for Mashreq. TradeArabia News Service By PTI GUWAHATI: Assam minister Jogen Mohan was shown black flags in Sivasagar district on Sunday by AASU activists protesting against Citizenship (Amendment) Act, a day after he was sworn in. The incident happened when the minister was going to his constituency - Mahmara. The actvists also shouted slogans against him. "Jogen Mohan go back", "We don't accept CAA" and "BJP go back" were some of the slogans the agitators shouted while waving black flags at the new minister. Jogen Mohan on Saturday was sworn in as minister of state with independent charge was given the portfolios of revenue and disaster management, PWD (assisting the cabinet minister). Dozens of members of the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) showed black flags while Mohan's convoy passed through Gaurisagar area of Sivasagar district. On January 15, the day of 'Bhogali Bihu', Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal was shown black flags by AASU activists in Dibrugarh district while he was on his way to his hometown Chabua to celebrate Bihu with his family members. Sonowal, on New Year's day, was shown black flags by AASU and Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chhatra Parishad at several places between Nalbari and Barpeta when he was travelling to Barpeta district. JP Nadda takes over at a time when the BJP is witnessing vigorous challenge from a united Opposition in Assembly elections amid signs that it needs to rejig its electoral strategy New Delhi: Soft-spoken, affable and low-key, the newly elected BJP president Jagat Prakash Nadda is a quintessential organisation man who is expected to consolidate the rapid gains the party has made under his predecessor Amit Shah. He takes over at a time when the BJP is witnessing vigorous challenge from a united Opposition in Assembly elections amid signs that it needs to rejig its electoral strategy following a string of losses in state polls. If a relatively inexperienced Shah in 2014 was seen as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's handpicked man to shake up the saffron organisation by easing out veterans and infusing young blood to galvanise party cadres and fuel its expansion drive, Nadda is considered a seasoned hand who will build on these gains without causing too many disruptions. His immediate challenge is the 8 February Delhi Assembly polls where the BJP is locked in a tough fight with Aam Aadmi Party, followed by year-end elections in Bihar. However, his big test would be the next year's Assembly polls in West Bengal, a state where the BJP has never tasted power but has emerged as a strong challenger to Mamata Banerjee-headed Trinamool Congress (TMC). Despite its overwhelming win in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP has suffered several defeats in state polls since 2018 and its governments have been unable to come to power, except in Haryana where it had to join hands with JJP to form government. The 59-year-old Nadda, who holds a degree in law, brings decades of experience during which he served at key party posts, headed its election campaign in a host of states from Bihar to Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra and Punjab among others and also worked as a minister in BJP governments in his home state of Himachal Pradesh. He was also a Cabinet minister in the first Modi government. The Brahmin leader is considered within the party an epitome of political correctness with his manners unfailingly polite in public and his attacks on rivals never triggering any unseemly controversy. However, party insiders say Nadda can be very firm in his handling of organisational affairs and electoral challenges but makes it a point to not make any public fuss about them. He is also a man of detail as party leaders recall that he spent months in Uttar Pradesh, a state he was made incharge of during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, meeting every religious leader of consequence and holding long meetings with party leaders and allies to take on the formidable challenge posed by the SP-BSP alliance. Nadda hails from Himachal Pradesh but was born and raised in Bihar where his father was a professor in Patna University. He joined the ABVP, the RSS' student wing, there and was active in the anti-Emergency stir headed, his colleagues say. On his return to his home state, he was elected as student union president of the Himachal University. He became president of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, the BJP's youth wing, in 1991. Incidentally, Shah was also a BJYM office bearer that time. It was a sign of the trust he always had of the party leadership that he became the leader of the Opposition in Himachal in 1993 after being elected an MLA for the first time. When the BJP stormed to power in 1998 in the state, he became a minister. He was a minister again in 2010 when he resigned to become the party's national general secretary when Nitin Gadkari was its president. He enjoyed warm relations with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the latter was for long incharge of the party's affairs in Himachal. Nadda was elected to Rajya Sabha in 2012 and made a member of the party's parliamentary board in 2014 when Shah took over as its president. His steady rise through the organisation continued when Modi and Shah chose him to be its working president last year. The proscribed terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen is on the verge of being completely wiped out in south Kashmir asserted Jammu and Kashmir DGP Dilbag Singh on Monday. Singh also said that the year 2020 started with several successful operations. The DGP also said that a total of three terrorists, including HM commander Wasim Ahmed Wani, were neutralised in Shopian district. Active since 2017, Wani had 19 FIRs against him and was also involved in the killing of four civilians and cops each. The second terrorist was Adil Sheikh and the third was identified as Jahangir. Live TV The three terrorists were gunned down by security forces after an encounter in Wachi village of Shopian district. A cordon and search operation was launched by a joint team of Indian Army's 55 Rashtriya Rifles and Special Group of Jammu and Kashmir police in the morning after credible inputs were received about the presence of terrorists in Wachi village. During the operation by security forces, the three terrorists, who were hiding in a residential house, opened fire on security personnel which led to the encounter. Sheikh belonged to Zainapora village in Shopian. He was responsible for looting eight weapons from the residence of former PDP MLA Ajaj Mir in Jawahar Nagar in Srinagar on September 29, 2018. The second terrorist was identified as Waseem Wani, a resident of Urpora village in Shopian district, while, the identity of the third militant is still unknown. Speaking on former Jammu and Kashmir DSP Devinder Singh, he said that the case has been transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), adding that it will not be right for him to make a comment on it. "Some findings have come out, they are before the NIA. His custody is being given to the investigating agency. It is being investigated in the right direction," he said. On reports that Devinder Singh's visit to Bangladesh, the DGP said, "It has come to our knowledge that his daughters studied in Bangladesh. It is being investigated if his visits were only restricted to that angle." The Delhi Police has busted a husband-wife gang in southeast Delhi's Kalkaji area for allegedly cheating people on the pretext of providing domestic help, officials said on Monday. The accused have been identified as Gaurav Mandal (24) and his wife Sita (22), residents of Tughlakbad village, they said. Mandal has opened a fake placement agency, Greater Kailash Maid Service, through which he used to send his wife Sita as a maid by charging hefty commission. Sita used to flee after collecting the commission amount, a senior officer police said. On Saturday, a woman lodged a complaint that she hired a domestic help from Greater Kailash Maid Service and the maid ran away after collecting the commission amount of Rs 33,000. "She alleged that around 2.40 pm, one Chandu came to her house with Sita and produced her as help. Chandu took Rs 33,000 from her as commission. Around 7 pm, the help left the house of the complainant without her knowledge. The complainant checked the agency and fund that no such maid service agency was found there," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Chinmoy Biswal said. During investigation, the police apprehended the accused persons from Tughlakabad, he said. Interrogation revealed that they came to Delhi and started working as labourers and maids in south Delhi. Later, they came in contact with a maid providing agency who used to cheat the house owners, the DCP said. Later, the couple started duping people on the pretext of supplying domestic help through their own fake placement agency. Sita used to go as help in houses and collect commissions and disappear from there. Sometimes, she used to steal valuables from the houses also, Biswal said. One phone and Rs 17,500 were recovered from the duo, the officer added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Edison, NJ -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/20/2020 -- The report firstly introduced the Li Ion Battery For Laptop Market basics: definitions, classifications, applications and market overview; product specifications; manufacturing processes; cost structures, raw materials and so on. Then it analyzed the world main region market conditions, including the product price, profit, capacity, production, supply, demand and market growth rate and forecast etc. Companies Profiled in this report includes: LG Chem, Panasonic, Samsung SDI, Sony, Amperex Technology, BYD Get the inside scoop of the Sample report @: https://www.htfmarketreport.com/sample-report/2439337-global-li-ion-battery-for-laptop-market-1 The research study gives a complete list of all the leading players working in the Global Li Ion Battery For Laptop Market. Moreover, the financial status, company profiles, business strategies and policies, along with latest expansions in the worldwide market have been mentioned in the research study. Research objectives - To study and analyze the Global Li Ion Battery For Laptop Market size by key regions/countries, product type and application, history data from 2014 to 2018, and forecast to 2026. - To understand the structure of Li Ion Battery For Laptop Market by identifying its various sub segments. - Focuses on the key Global Li Ion Battery For Laptop Market players, to define, describe and analyze the value, market share, market competition landscape, SWOT analysis and development plans in next few years. - To analyze the Li Ion Battery For Laptop Market with respect to individual growth trends, future prospects, and their contribution to the total market. - To share detailed information about the key factors influencing the growth of the market (growth potential, opportunities, drivers, industry-specific challenges and risks). - To project the size of Li Ion Battery For Laptop Market, with respect to key regions, type [Type I, Type II, Type III] and applications [Outdoor & Indoor]. - To analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches and acquisitions in the market. Read Detailed Index of full Research Study at @ https://www.htfmarketreport.com/reports/2439337-global-li-ion-battery-for-laptop-market-1 In this report you will also find additional deals into key geographical segments of Global Li Ion Battery For Laptop Market and deliver details about their current and former share. Ongoing trends, upcoming Challenges, future better regional investments and many other influencing factors have been considered and presented. The regions North America, South America, Asia & Pacific, Europe & MEA (Middle East and Africa) have been studied in depth to gain better market penetration and assure exact analysis. Top manufacturers have been given prime importance to make sure their strategies are understood and their position in this particular market can be elucidated. Acquire Single User PDF license of this research report @ https://www.htfmarketreport.com/buy-now?format=1&report=2439337 In the end, the report includes Global Li Ion Battery For Laptop Market new project SWOT analysis, investment feasibility analysis, investment return analysis, and development analysis. The report also presents a round-up of vulnerabilities which companies operating in the market must avoid in order to enjoy sustainable growth through the course of the forecast period. Thanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia (China, India, Japan etc) or Oceania [Australia and New Zealand]. Fundamentals of Table of Content: 1 Report Overview 1.1 Study Scope 1.2 Key Market Segments 1.3 Players Covered 1.4 Market Analysis by Type 1.5 Market by Application 1.6 Study Objectives 1.7 Years Considered 2 Global Growth Trends 2.1 Global Li Ion Battery For Laptop Market Size 2.2 Li Ion Battery For Laptop Growth Trends by Regions 2.3 Industry Trends 3 Market Share by Key Players 3.1 Global Li Ion Battery For Laptop Market Size by Manufacturers 3.2 Global Li Ion Battery For Laptop Key Players Head office and Area Served 3.3 Key Players Product/Solution/Service 3.4 Enter barriers in Li Ion Battery For Laptop Market 3.5 Mergers, Acquisitions, Expansion Plans 4 Li Ion Battery For Laptop Market by Product 4.1 Global Li Ion Battery For Laptop Sales by Product 4.2 Global Li Ion Battery For Laptop Revenue by Product 4.3 Global Li Ion Battery For Laptop Price by Product 5 Li Ion Battery For Laptop Market by End User 5.1 Overview 5.2 Li Ion Battery For Laptop by End User About HTF Market Report HTF Market Report is a wholly owned brand of HTF market Intelligence Consulting Private Limited. HTF Market Report global research and market intelligence consulting organization is uniquely positioned to not only identify growth opportunities but to also empower and inspire you to create visionary growth strategies for futures, enabled by our extraordinary depth and breadth of thought leadership, research, tools, events and experience that assist you for making goals into a reality. Our understanding of the interplay between industry convergence, Mega Trends, technologies and market trends provides our clients with new business models and expansion opportunities. We are focused on identifying the "Accurate Forecast" in every industry we cover so our clients can reap the benefits of being early market entrants and can accomplish their "Goals & Objectives". Fire breaks out behind clothes shop in Phuket Town PHUKET: Police and firefighters have yet to determine what started a fire that broke out behind a clothes store shophouse on Yaowarat Rd in Phuket Town yesterday (Jan 19). By Eakkapop Thongtub Monday 20 January 2020, 12:02PM The fire broke out behind the clothes store NIM on Yaowarat Rd in Phuket Town. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub A friend of the shopowner said that she heard an explosion and went to check to see what had happened. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub A friend of the shopowner said that she heard an explosion and went to check to see what had happened. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub A friend of the shopowner said that she heard an explosion and went to check to see what had happened. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub Firefighters were call to the scene at about 1:20pm yesterday (Jan 19). Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub Phuket Municipality Fire Department was notified of the fire at 1:20pm, reported Capt Suwit Yodwan of the Phuket City Police. Firefighters soon arrived at the shophouse, home to the clothes store called NIM, with three water trucks and took only 15 minutes to douse the fire. A chair and a water tank were damaged, but there were no injuries from the fire, reported Capt Suwit. Clothes shop owner Rungthiwaporn Khajonchai told police that the shop was closed when the fire broke out. A female friend who lived nearby reported the fire, and called Ms Rungthiwaporn to come to the store, Capt Suwit said. The friend told police that she had heard an explosion and went to see what had caused it. When she looked behind the shophouse she saw the fire already underway, he added. Capt Suwit noted that police were still working on identifying what had caused the fire. Sikorskys Black Hawk Replacement Demo Gets up to 100 Knots Sikorskys Black Hawk demonstration replacement has reached over 100 knots in a test flight, as it prepares to go head to head with rival Bell in a final two-year contest to make the Armys next-generation, 250-knot flying machine. Bell already got their demonstration tilt-rotor machine, the V-280, up to 300 knots last year, well ahead of the final competitive process which starts in the spring of this year. Both are competing for the FLRAA (Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft) program, which is one of 31 modernization programs to refit the Army ready for great power competition with China and Russia. With twice the speed and three times the range of the current 40-year-old Black Hawk, the Armys tough future requirement means starting with a clean design sheet. The Armys modernization plans are split into six key priorities. At number three is Future Vertical Lift (helicopters and their more modern incarnations). FLRAA is one of the two main parts of the Armys Future Vertical Lift (FVL) program, which aims to field the aircraft by 2030. Sikorsky released footage of the SB1-Defiant at the test center in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Jan. 17. The Sikorsky-Boeing #SB1-Defiantcontinues to expand its flight envelope through sorties each week, executing the mission elements required for Future Vertical Lift, most recently exceeding 100 knots and performing maneuvers at 30 degrees angle of bank, said the company in a statement. Bells V-280 already had 150 hours of flight time under its belt and had reached 300 knots of true airspeed at the end of last year, before it performed a successful demonstration of autonomous flight at the end of December. Like the Defiant, Bells offering also looks little like a conventional helicopter, building on the tilt-rotor platform of the V-22 Osprey, which has already been in service with the Marine Corps for several years. A U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey tiltrotor military aircraft performs air maneuvers at the Sakhir Airbase during the 2018 Bahrain International Airshow. (STR/AFP via Getty Images) Conventional helicopter design bumps up against a natural speed barrier that limits them typically to around 150 knotssomething called retreating blade stall. This means that as the aircraft moves faster, the side of the rotor spinning forward gets more and more lift, and the other side (the retreating side) gets less and less lift. The Defiant solves this by having two rotors, spinning in opposite directions, canceling out the lopsided lift. The Valor 280 essentially switches into a propellor plane mid-flight, by tilting its rotors forward. The big benefits of a tilt-rotor configuration are that you have a wing, Valors chief engineer Paul Wilson previously told The Epoch Times. Wing-born flight is highly efficient in terms of speed and range. That range and speed are essential for the Armys vision. The Valor V-280 flies in this handout image (Bell) Like everything else in the Army modernization plan, the FLRAA and the broader Vertical Lift program are cogs in a military machine that must first drill out the anti-aircraft safe thrown up in recent years by Russia and China. Once that is disintegrated, the new FLRAA aircraft, capable of carrying at least 12 soldiers, come into play. The requirements for longer range and speedthree times that of its predecessorare needed because of the distance created by the long reach of adversaries defense systems. Once we penetrate and then disintegrate that air defense system, think about a fleet of vertical lift aircraft that can come through there at 280 knots or more, and deliver a battalions-worth of soldiers on the objective to really exploit that window that we open up, James Thomson, deputy director of the Armys Future Vertical Lift team, previously told the Epoch Times. Officials in the Guatemalan municipality of Tecun Uman calculated that some 2,500 people are currently at the Casa de Migrante and in special camps set up to house them, although others were resting on the Rodolfo Robles Bridge linking Guatemala with the Mexican state of Chiapas. Mexico City, Jan 20 (IANS) Members of a migrant caravan from Honduras which was expected to enter Mexico from Guatemala, have announced a delay in their border crossing until Monday as they anticipated additional migrants, bringing the total number to between 5,000 and 8,000. "We're asking Mexico to support us. We're coming peacefully, we're not going to fight, we're calm because in our country we can't stand the hunger any longer, the lack of work, the government. It's a lot of corruption. We have to emigrate," a caravan member told Efe news on Sunday. The migrant was resting along with his companions on the border bridge, where calm and regular traffic passage has prevailed after the altercation on Saturday, when the Mexican National Guard restricted bridge access and fired tear gas at dozens of Central Americans who tried to literally shove their way through to Mexican territory. After that, during the day, 821 Hondurans, 38 Guatemalans, 19 Salvadorans and three Nicaraguans crossed the bridge into Chiapas, Guatemala's National Immigration Institute reported. On January 15, thousands of Honduran migrants set out for the border with Guatemala as part of a caravan heading toward the US after the group was convened via social media. The phenomenon recalls what happened in October 2018, when several caravans of thousands of Central American migrants entered Mexico fleeing poverty and violence in their homelands with the aim of getting to the US, thus sparking tensions between Mexico City and Washington. The US and Mexico reached an agreement in June 2019 whereby the Donald Trump administration withdrew its threat to impose tariffs on Mexican products in exchange for Mexico City's deployment of its newly-created National Guard on its border with Guatemala to halt the illegal migrant flow. ksk/ The Libya National Oil Corporation (NOC) has declared a force majeure after the Libyan National Army (LNA), led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, reportedly blocked key oil export routes at a number of ports, Trend reports citing Sputnik. A spokesperson for the NOC on Sunday warned that Libya's oil output would experience a drastic slump within few days if LNA forces continue to impede transportation routes for oil facilities. The production of crude could be cut to just 72,000 barrels per day (bpd), the spokesperson forecast, cited by Reuters, Libya has reportedly been producing some 1.2 million bpd of oil in recent months, and almost all fields located in the area are controlled by the LNA. According to the company, Haftar ordered oil ports and fields blockaded ahead of an international peace summit on Libya in Berlin. The NOC has condemned the move and slammed Haftar's maneuvers as "setting fire to your own house. "Shutting down oil exports and production will have far-reaching and predictable consequences. If the shutdown is prolonged, we face collapse of the exchange rate, a huge and unsustainable increase in the national deficit, the departure of foreign contractors, and the loss of future production, which may take years to restore. The main beneficiaries of this act will be other oil-producing states, and the harm will be entirely to Libyans. This is like setting fire to your own house, the NOC said in the statement. The United Nations earlier expressed its concern for the closure of oil fields in Libya. Russia's acting foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, said Sunday that the final document agreed at the Berlin conference on Libya contains a clause stating that all Libyan people are entitled to the country's energy resources. NEW YORK, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Asia-Pacific's employee monitoring solution market is expected to grow from US$ 237.01 Mn in 2018 to US$ 491.94 Mn by the year 2027. This represents a CAGR of 8.6% from the year 2018 to 2027. The employee monitoring solution market is driven by factors such as growing awareness about insider threat, and versatile benefits offered by EMS. However, privacy concerns and stringent rules regarding employee monitoring are the major factors that might slow down the growth of the employee monitoring solution market. Employee monitoring solutions empower enterprises to track employees and gather other information to drive productivity and ensure security. The employee monitoring solutions provide various features such as activity analysis, smart rules and alerts, live views, monitoring keystroke logging, and file transfer tracking, among others. In the current market scenario, customers are becoming price-sensitive and are the focus on the timely delivery of products and services. Thus, to improve productivity and gain better visibility of the organization, companies are adopting employee monitoring solutions. Also, the employee monitoring solutions enables the managers to give the employees with effective feedback, as the manager can provide real tangible examples and area of improvement. The versatile benefits offered by these solutions are the primary factor driving the growth of the employee monitoring solution market. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05828353/?utm_source=PRN According to an American Management Association survey, about 80% of significant companies monitor employees' use of e-mail, Internet, or phone. Therefore, a strong focus of the companies towards the adoption of employee monitoring solutions to drive efficiency and reduce the operational cost is expected to drive the growth of the employee monitoring solution market. In today's technology-driven ecosystem, SMEs face the challenge of deploying a better resource than their established competitors.This is mainly due to the limited finance and the small number of the team for every department. SMEs presume technology adoption as a costly affair.However, technologies such as employee monitoring solutions help hassle-free and better functioning of organizations and are therefore widely adopted by SMEs. Therefore, to gain better visibility into their organizations, improve productivity, and achieve better operational procedures, SMEs are internationally adopting employee monitoring solutions. The growing adoption of employee monitoring solutions by SMEs is creating an opportunity for the players operating in the employee monitoring solution market to gain a strong customer base. The Asia-Pacific employee monitoring solution market by industry vertical is segmented into the BFSI, government, IT & telecom, manufacturing, retail, and others.The manufacturing sector has had a long association with IT solutions and systems, and business strategies are enabled through IT infrastructure to minimize the latency between supply chain on one side and market initiatives on the other. There is a strong focus toward gaining more flexibility to cater to the ever-changing customer demands.The overall goal is to reduce fixed costs and achieve better operational practices. There is an increased demand to achieve greater flexibility to address the ever-changing demands of customers.Also, the companies associated with this sector are shifting their focus toward maintaining high portability by improving productivity and reducing the operational cost. This factor is driving the revenue generation of the employee monitoring solution market across the manufacturing sector. The overall employee monitoring solution market size has been derived using both primary and secondary sources.The research process begins with exhaustive secondary research using internal and external sources to obtain qualitative and quantitative information related to the Asia-Pacific employee monitoring solution market. It also provides an overview and forecast for the Asia-Pacific employee monitoring solution market based on all the segmentation provided with respect to the Asia-Pacific region.Also, primary interviews were conducted with industry participants and commentators to validate data and analysis. The participants who typically take part in such a process include industry experts such as VPs, business development managers, market intelligence managers, and national sales managers, and external consultants such as valuation experts, research analysts, and key opinion leaders specializing in the Asia-Pacific employee monitoring solution industry. Some of the players present in Asia-Pacific employee monitoring solution market are Ekran Systems, Inc., EmpMonitor, Fairtrack, iMonitor Software, Intego, Pilixo, SentryPC, StaffCop, Teramind, Inc., and Veriato among others. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05828353/?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 Immigration and Customs Enforcement has issued a list of nine 'fugitive' illegal immigrants they say have been 'released in New York communities' as part of the controversial city sanctuary policy. The federal authority also named six more who may also be freed, whose charges include murder and child rape, despite their deportation requests. Henry Lucero, a senior U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official said: 'Dangerous criminals are being released every single day in New York.' It comes after acting ICE director, Matthew Albence, told a news conference in Manhattan on Friday that city leaders had blood on their hands after the death of 92-year-old Queens woman Maria Fuertas. ICE officials said the city had released the woman's alleged attacker, Reeaz Khan, 21, on earlier assault charges rather than turn him over for deportation. Khan was charged with murder January 10 and remains in custody. 'It is this city's sanctuary policies that are the sole reason this criminal was allowed to roam the streets freely and end an innocent woman's life,' Albence said, adding: 'It's unbelievable that I have to come here and plead with the city of New York to cooperate with us to help keep this city safe.' ICE issued a list of nine 'fugitive' illegal immigrants they say have been 'released in NYC' ICE named six more who may also be freed, whose charges include murder and child rape Sanctuary cities limit cooperation with U.S. immigration authorities. They do not honor deportation 'detainers' or provide any details about defendants going in and out of local custody. Albence said ICE filed 7,526 detainers in New York City for convictions including more than 200, murders, 500 robberies, over 1,000 sexual offenses. He said 10 were honored. He added: 'Those who politicize this issue want you to believe that you have to choose between being an immigrant-friendly city and one that cooperates with ICE. 'Again that is simply false. The only immigrants protected by such policies are those committing violence and dangerous offenses, often in the same communities these politicians are purporting to protect.' Some of those included on the 'released' list are Nigerian Mina Thankgod Ibulubo, who was arrested over an assault, Mexican Juan Estrada-Barajas for an attempted robbery and El Salvadoran Jose Lopez Calderon for third degree assault. Khan is one of six mentioned on ICE's 'In Custody' list, released on Friday. He is also part of four 'immigration subpoenas' issued to the city for information about inmates wanted for deportation. Others on the 'In Custody' list include Mexicans Jesus Rodriguez and Alberto Hernandez Najera. Rodriguez is charged with first degree rape; Najera with sexually assaulting a child under 13. Grisly murder that escalated conflict over New York City's sanctuary policies Reeaz Khan, 21, walked free without bail on assault and gun charges in late November, six weeks before he was arrested again and charged in the murder of Maria Fuertes in Queens. ICE released a statement excoriating the city for not cooperating with federal immigration enforcement, saying the murder could have been prevented if its agents had been allowed in November to take custody of Khan, a Guyanese national who is present in the U.S. illegally. The savage murder unfolded on the streets of the Richmond Hills neighborhood after midnight on January 6. Fuertes was discovered lying 'incoherent' on a street near her home in Queens around 2am on Monday, with a broken spine, rib fractures and bruising on her chest and neck. The much-loved local - whom neighbors referred to as 'grandma' - later died in a hospital. Investigators believe Khan approached Fuertes from behind while she was walking home from a deli where she went to buy cat food late at night. Advertisement Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration said Saturday the city would review the subpoenas. He said on Twitter this week that the city has passed 'common-sense laws about immigration enforcement that have driven crime to record lows.' 'New York City will not change the policies that have made us the safest big city in America,' spokeswoman Freddi Goldstein said in an email. 'We are the safest big city in America because of our policies, not in spite of them,' he added. Goldstein said in an email Saturday that 'the Trump administration's attempt to exploit this tragedy are absolutely shameful.' De Blasio has accused ICE of employing 'scare tactics' and spreading lies. He said on Twitter this week that the city has passed 'common-sense laws about immigration enforcement that have driven crime to record lows.' The development comes days after ICE sent similar subpoenas to the city of Denver, a move that reflected the agency's mounting frustration with jurisdictions that do not honor deportation 'detainers' or provide any details about defendants going in and out of local custody. The subpoenas sent to New York seek information about four inmates - including a man wanted for homicide in El Salvador - who were recently released despite immigration officials requesting the city turn them over for deportation. New York City police say they didn't receive a detainer request for Khan, though ICE insists it was sent. Either way, the city would not have turned him over under the terms of New York's local ordinance governing how police work with immigration officials. City officials in Denver said they would not comply with the requests, saying the subpoenas could be 'viewed as an effort to intimidate officers into help enforcing civil immigration law.' 'The documents appear to be a request for information related to alleged violations of civil immigration law,' Chad Sublet, Senior Counsel to the Department of Safety in Denver, wrote in a letter to ICE officials. But Lucero, ICE's acting deputy executive associate director for enforcement and removal operations, said the agency may consult with federal prosecutors to obtain a court order compelling the city's compliance. 'A judge can hold them in contempt,' he said. Investigators believe Khan, pictured on security footage, approached Fuertes from behind while she was walking home from a deli where she went to buy cat food late at night Maria Fuertes, 92, right, died this week after being attacked walking home in Queens Police say Guyanese migrant Reeaz Khan, 21, left center, sexually assaulted her and strangled her Matthew Albence, right, the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, speaks during a news conference, Friday. The country's top immigration official blamed the 'sanctuary policies' of New York City for the sexual assault and killing of a 92-year-old woman Meanwhile, ICE is considering expanding its use of immigration subpoenas in other sanctuary jurisdictions. 'Like any law enforcement agency, we are used to modifying our tactics as criminals shift their strategies,' Lucero said in a statement. 'But it's disheartening that we must change our practices and jump through so many hoops with partners who are restricted by sanctuary laws passed by politicians with a dangerous agenda.' There was no immediate response when DailyMail.com called ICE for additional comment on Monday. The additional money sounds like a good idea. But why would the federal government send hundreds of workers to California? Is there a shortage of qualified workers? Is this something that California has requested? Where will they be housed? What is the cost of housing federal workers temporarily in an area of the country where exorbitant housing costs contribute to homelessness? Even as Congress-ruled states like Madhya Pradesh and Chhattishgarh are set to pass a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), following the footsteps of Punjab, senior Congress leader, and former Haryana CM, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, on Monday (January 20) opined that a state cannot deny the implementation of the CAA. Bhupinder Singh Hooda told ANI, "Once a law or Act is passed by Parliament, I think that the constitutional view is that, any state cant and should not say no but this has to be legally examined." Live TV Earlier, senior Congress leader and former Union Law Minister Kapil Sibal said that a state cannot deny the implementation of the CAA when it is already passed by Parliament. He, however, added that state assembly is empowered with the constitutional right to pass a resolution and ask the central government to withdraw the CAA. If the Supreme Court passes a verdict declaring the CAA as constitutional, it will become problematic for the state to oppose its implementation, Sibal has added. Another senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel on Sunday, however, said that the party would bring a resolution against the CAA in Congress-ruled states. Patel said, "After Punjab, we are thinking about bringing a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act in states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh. It would be a clear message to the central government to reconsider the Act." He also clarified that though the CAA has been passed by Parliament, respective states have the right to disagree with the Centre which cannot force any state to implement the "unconstitutional" law until the issue is resolved in the apex court. Notably, Rajasthan is likely to bring a resolution against the implementation of the CAA in the assembly on January 24, on its first day of the budget session. A general election candidate has described a social media post mocking his name as racist. John Uwhumiakpor is running as a People Before Profit candidate in the Dublin Fingal constituency. A Facebook post showing a photograph of the Nigerian-born candidate's poster has gone viral with the caption: "Another Wifi password looking for votes up in Balbriggan." This is Racist. Fingal People Before Profit candidate reacts to viral of his poster Another WiFi code looking for votes up in Balbriggan. @NewstalkFM @BreakfastNT #GE2020 Henry on the Hustings. Exclusive pic.twitter.com/3BXT73wCHg Henry McKean (@HenryMcKean) January 20, 2020 "It is my surname - it was a name that my dad used when he was alive," said Mr Uwhumiakpor. "I don't see any reason why someone's identity should be used to attack them - that is not good." HousingAnywhere, a Rotterdam, The Netherlands-based housing platform, acquired Studenten WG, a Hanover, Germany-based classifieds website. The amount of the deal was not disclosed. With the acquisition, HousingAnywhere, which has an existing leadership position in cities like Berlin, Vienna, and Rotterdam, will immediately gain market share in an array of German cities. Following it, both tenants and landlords advertising on Studenten-WG will be directed to the HousingAnywhere platform, where they will be granted access to the its portfolio and all of its technological solutions to finding accommodation or tenants. Founded in 2000 as a student project by Sebastian Stadtlich and Thomas Winkler, Studenten-WG has since become a among German students searching for accommodation in Germany and Austria. Today, the platform boasts more than 20,000 active advertisements and three million users. Led by Djordy Seelmann, CEO, HousingAnywhere is a large rental accommodation platform for young professionals and international students boasting over 50,000 active advertisements and over 8 million users in over 60 countries. The rental platform allows tenants to interact directly with landlords and enter into medium-term rental agreements. More than 150 partner universities recommend their students to use the platform. The startup employs 100 people. FinSMEs 20/01/2020 A famous soap opera actress met Monday with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro to talk about becoming culture secretary, replacing a man fired over a speech that appeared to quote Adolf Hitler's propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels. "We are engaged," actress Regina Duarte, 72, said after meeting with Bolsonaro, according to a statement issued by his office. It said Duarte will travel to the capital Brasilia Wednesday to tour the culture secretariat complex. "We had an excellent conversation about the future of culture in Brazil. We began a 'commitment' that might bear fruit for the country," Bolsonaro tweeted later. Local news organizations said Duarte will in fact be named culture secretary. Duarte has starred in many Brazilian soap operas over the course of a TV career spanning five decades. After the meeting with the president, local media said Duarte had asked for a trial period as secretary of culture. After taking power a year ago, Bolsonaro downgraded the culture ministry to a secretariat that was part of the Citizenship Ministry, and later transferred it to be under the Tourism Ministry. Duarte would be the fourth person under Bolsonaro to hold the job. It became available Friday after the man who held it, Roberto Alvim, was fired over a speech in which he appeared to quote Adolf Hitler's propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels. "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." Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-21 02:47:28|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close MOSCOW, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Moscow hopes that Iran will not withdraw from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted as saying Monday. "We warn the Iranian side against reckless steps in terms of maintaining the obligations of the Islamic Republic under the NPT," RIA Novosti news agency quoted Ryabkov as saying. "We talk about this openly and consider this treaty to be key to global security, especially taking into account the alarming processes that are developing in general in the area of arms control and non-proliferation," Ryabkov said. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Monday that the Islamic republic will abandon the NPT Treaty if the nuclear case of the country is sent to the UN Security Council, which might lead to new sanctions against Iran. Russia cautions "hotheads in Europe" that may have the illusion that moving the whole issue to the UN Security Council will help resolve the problem, Ryabkov said. Such a step may have devastating consequences, he said, adding that "currently there is a crucial moment and everyone should be careful and balanced in their actions." The NPT Treaty, regarded as the cornerstone of the global nuclear non-proliferation regime, entered into force in 1968 and was extended by its parties indefinitely from 1995. A total of 191 countries have joined the treaty. Twitter Facebook has removed a series of apparently coordinated posts defending Robert Hyde, a Republican candidate for congress who has been implicated in the Ukraine scandal that led to Donald Trump being impeached. Last week Lev Parnas, a business associate of Mr Trumps personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, said Mr Hyde had claimed to be carrying out surveillance on the then US ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch. Ms Yovanovitch was abruptly recalled from her post after apparently getting in the way of a secret scheme by Mr Giuliani, Mr Parnas and others to pressure the Ukrainian president into announcing investigations into Mr Trumps Democratic rivals. Mr Hyde, a former US Marine, has denied that he was keeping Ms Yovanovitch under surveillance ahead of her recall, saying his texts were just a joke. A series of posts defending Mr Hyde has now been removed from Facebook after doubts emerged about whether they came from Trump supporters from around the country as claimed, the Wall Street Journal reported. In a statement to the paper, Facebook said: When we find networks of Pages misleading people by concealing who controls them, we require those owners to show additional information. In this case, the necessary disclosure was not made, so per our policy, the Pages have been removed. The pages had previously hosted a series of comments backing Mr Hydes run for a congressional seat in Connecticut. Mr Hyde denied being behind the pages in November when they were first highlighted by Buzzfeed. Last month Mr Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives for abuse of power over the Ukraine plot, in which he apparently withheld military aid and a White House invitation until Kiev announced the investigations. He is also accused of obstruction for ordering staff not to give evidence and refusing to hand over relevant documents. This week the Senate will begin a trial of Mr Trump which in theory could see him removed from power, although this is unlikely since the upper chamber is controlled by his fellow Republicans. Story continues The president insists he has done nothing wrong and that the impeachment proceedings are a Democratic ploy to stop him winning re-election in November. Mr Parnas said he did not believe Mr Hyde was keeping Ms Yovanovitch under surveillance, saying he thought he was boasting and adding that he did not believe he had ever seen him sober. However, Ukraine said last week that it was launching an investigation into the claims. Facebook has faced criticism for refusing to commit to fact-checking political ads. Read more Trumps legal team brands impeachment charges against him unlawful Trump must be removed from office to safeguard 2020 election Boris Johnson orders Trump trade talks to begin the day after Brexit Lev Parnas texted Trumps donors about his Ukraine efforts and Biden US faces 'civil war if Dems dont embrace Trump voters, says Maher He rose through the ranks from the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the RSS, from where he has managed to build inroads from university to the state politics. Former environment, health and law minister from Himachal Pradesh, which has just four of the Lok Sabha's 543 seats, Nadda has tried to carve out his own space in national politics with his low profile and astute organisational skills, believe his party leaders. Nadda has been active on the national political scene since 2010 when he was picked by then BJP chief Nitin Gadkari to join his new team. He was made the party's national general secretary. Born on December 2, 1960, Nadda did his graduation from Patna and holds a post-graduate degree in political science and Bachelor of Legislative Law (LL.B) from Himachal Pradesh University in Shimla. Starting his political career as a student leader of the ABVP in 1978, Nadda had also worked both with Gadkari and Shah even in the party's youth wing -- the Bharatiya Yuva Morcha -- from 1991 to 1994. His wife Mallika Nadda, who teaches history at the Himachal Pradesh University and is currently posted in university's campus in Delhi, was an ABVP activist too, and its national general secretary from 1988 to 1999. In the previous BJP government (2007-12) in the state, Nadda was forced to resign as Forest Minister in 2010 owing to differences between him and then chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2012. Nadda won his first Assembly election from Bilaspur (Sadar) in Himachal in 1993. In 1998, he again won from that seat and became the state Health Minister. He lost the Assembly elections in 2003, but again won in 2007 and was appointed the Forest Minister in the Himachal Pradesh. Nadda, as a forest minister, was the brain behind opening forest police stations to check forest crimes, launching community-driven plantation, setting up forest ponds and the massive plantation of deodars to boost the depleting green cover of the 'Queen of Hills', as Shimla was fondly called by the British. A close confidant of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Nadda was among those who were mentioned as likely aspirants to the BJP top post after Rajnath Singh was inducted into the Central government as the Home Minister in 2014. Later, Nadda was inducted into the union cabinet in its first expansion in 2014 as the Health Minister. Hailing Nadda's appointment, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur told IANS it is a proud moment that a leader belonging to a small state in the national politics is today the leader of the country's biggest national party. His father N.L. Nadda, who was a Vice-Chancellor of the Ranchi University, resides in Bilaspur town. (Vishal Gulati can be reached at vishal.g@ians.in) Jonathan Ananda By Express News Service The rich have become richer, and the poor have become poorer; and the vessel of the State is driven between the Scylla and Charybdis of anarchy and despotism, lamented Percy Bysshe Shelley almost exactly two centuries ago. That little has changed over the decades was more recently illustrated with empirical data by French economist Thomas Piketty in his 2013 book Capital in the Twenty-First Century. On Monday, rights advocacy organisation Oxfam released a report warning that the growing gap between rich and poor is undermining the fight against poverty, damaging our economies and fuelling public anger across the globe. The document throws up some mind-boggling numbers. In India for instance, the richest one per cent saw their wealth grow a whopping 39 per cent last year. The bottom 50 per cent, however, saw wealth grow a measly 3 per cent. The richest one per cent also own more than four times the wealth held by the bottom 70 per cent. Billionaires last year also added Rs 2,200 crore a day to their money chests, while the 13.6 crore Indians who make up the poorest 10 percent of the country have continued to remain indebted since 2004. And Indias wealthy already enjoy sway over most of the countrys resources. The combined total wealth of the countrys 63 billionaires is higher than the total Union Budget of India for the fiscal year 2018-19, which stood at Rs 24,42,200 crore. The trend is global. During the year, the worlds billionaires added $2.5 billion a day to their bank accounts while the poorest 3.8 billion people saw their wealth decline by 11 per cent. Growing wealth inequality has ramifications for the world and India both, the authors of the report note. "It is morally outrageous that a few wealthy individuals are amassing a growing share of Indias wealth while the poor are struggling to eat their next meal or pay for their childs medicines. If this obscene inequality between the top 1 per cent and the rest of India continues, then it will lead to a complete collapse of the social and democratic structure of this country, said Amitabh Behar, CEO, Oxfam India. The poor live shorter lives The unhindered accumulation of wealth in the hands of a few has significant implications for those who are trapped in economic stagnation. According to the report, being poor actually means losing a substantial chunk of your expected lifespan. In most countries both developed and developing having money is a passport to better health and a longer life, while being poor all too often means more sickness and an earlier grave, the reports authors say, pointing out that in India, a so-called low-caste woman can expect to live almost 15 years less than a so-called upper-caste woman. While the richest parts of Sao Paulo, Brazil, have a life expectancy of 79 years, in the poorest areas, the figure is just 54 years. In Nepal, a child from a poor family is three times more likely to die before they are five than a child from a rich family. The need to spend for healthcare can itself push millions into crippling poverty, according to Oxfam, which says that each year, 100 million people are forced into extreme poverty and 800 million more face severe financial difficulties due to the need to pay for healthcare. This number is increasing. The fastest increase is in Africa, where two-thirds of countries still charge user fees for all levels of care. India is home to the largest number of people pushed into poverty by health expenses; paying for medicines is the chief cause. Medical bills are also one of the leading causes of personal bankruptcy in the US, the authors noted. The size of your bank account should not dictate how many years your children spend in school, or how long you live yet this is the reality in too many countries across the globe. While corporations and the super-rich enjoy low tax bills, millions of girls are denied a decent education and women are dying for lack of maternity care, said Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of Oxfam International. Gender plays a part While the yawning gap in opportunity between the poor and the wealthy is easier to spot, more difficult to understand is the very real gender gap. Credit Suisse has this year estimated womens share of global wealth at 40 per cent, but with very significant differences regionally and for different groups of women. For example: In Africa and in countries like India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, women account for somewhere between 2030 per cent of wealth. In the US, unmarried white men own 100 times more wealth than unmarried Hispanic women, noted Oxfam. The organisation also says that when public services are neglected, poor women and girls suffer most. Girls are pulled out of school first when the money isnt available to pay fees, and women clock up hours of unpaid work, it pointed out. In fact, if all the unpaid care work done by women across the globe was done by a single company it would have an annual turnover of $10 trillion 43 times that of Apple, the worlds biggest company. Even cutting taxes on the wealth predominantly benefits men, Oxfam said, because men own 50 per cent more wealth than women globally. Government action key to addressing problem The reports authors note that governments have so far contributed to the problem and government action is needed to address it. For instance, globally, tax rates for the wealthy in rich countries fell from 62 per cent in 1970 to just 38 per cent in 2013. The average rate in poor countries is just 28 per cent. Economic inequality plagued by caste, class, gender and religion needs to be tackled on a war-footing. The government must now deliver real change by ensuring that the super-rich and corporations pay their fair share of tax and invest this money to strengthen public healthcare and education. Governments can build a brighter future for everyone not just a privileged few, said Behar. Worker shovels coal in a supply truck at a yard on the outskirts of Ahmedabad By Sudarshan Varadhan and Gaurav Dogra NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's thermal coal imports have dropped for three months running, their longest sustained fall in over two years, as an economic slowdown stifles demand from key industrial consumers. The slowing in imports reflects wider weakness in the Indian economy, projected to expand by just 5% in 2019/2020 fiscal year, the lowest pace in 11 years. "A demand downfall across sectors has had a downward cascading effect on everything including coal imports," said Puneet Gupta, founder of online coal marketplace Coalshastra. Imports of thermal coal - used mainly for electricity generation - fell 10.7% to 15.62 million tonnes in October. But imports for the 10 months to October were 12.6% higher at 163.86 million tonnes, according to data from the Ministry of Coal. India has embarked on liberalisation of its coal industry, promising to open up mining to private companies. But progress has been slow, meaning imports kept growing until August, after which the economic slowdown deepened and hit seaborne coal trade. India's coking coal imports https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/13/1270/1256/India's%20coking%20coal%20imports.jpg Worker strikes and the heaviest monsoon in 25 years were behind five straight months of production decline at state-run Coal India which produces over four-fifths of the country's coal. Indian coal-fired utilities, which account for over three-quarters of overall consumption, boosted imports of thermal coal by nearly a third during the first 10 months of 2019. The Mundra plant run by Adani Power accounted for the lion's share of the increase, with imports almost doubling to 14.7 million tonnes, or over a quarter of all thermal coal imports by Indian utilities in the Jan-Oct period. India's thermal coal imports https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/13/1271/1257/India's%20thermal%20coal%20imports.jpg Indian imports of thermal coal from South Africa grew by a third to 25.36 million tonnes in the April-Oct period, displacing imports from Indonesia and the United States as South Africa offered cheaper prices for better-burning high calorific value coal, traders said. Story continues Imports of coking coal - used in steelmaking - also fell during the months of August, September and October. Coking coal imports were little changed at 42.28 tonnes during the 10 months to October. India's monthly coal imports https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/13/1275/1261/India's%20monthly%20coal%20imports.jpg (Reporting by Sudarshan Varadhan, editing by Katya Golubkova and Mark Trevelyan) Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, visited southwest China's Yunnan Province Sunday on an inspection tour ahead of Chinese New Year. Xi went to a village of the Wa ethnic group in Qingshui Township of the city of Tengchong Sunday afternoon to learn about poverty alleviation efforts and extend his Chinese New Year's greetings to the villagers. He also visited the old town of Heshun, a gateway on the ancient Southern Silk Road that linked China's Sichuan and Yunnan with Myanmar and India, to learn about exchanges, historical and cultural inheritance, as well as ecological and environmental protection along the trade route. The farmers on Monday held a protest rally here after Andhra Pradesh government gave nod to the recommendations of the High Power Committee on setting up three capitals in the state. A huge number of farmers and women from Thulluru, Mandadam, Malkapuram, Ainavolu, Sakhamuru villages marched towards the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly. The police tried to stop the agitators when they tried to trespass the police barricade, however, the protestors surrounded the Assembly complex and some even tried to reach the main gate. The police resorted to lathi-charge after the angry protestors reportedly pelted stones at the police personnel. Subsequently, few got injured in the fray. The protest came after Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government on Monday approved the High Power Committee report on three capital during a Cabinet meeting. The Cabinet, which was chaired by Chief Minister Reddy, approved the idea of three capitals -- Visakhapatnam as executive capital, Kurnool as judicial capital, and Amaravati as legislative capital. Based on the recommendations of the report, other key issues like decentralization of development, concerns of farmers, employee issues, insider trading of Amaravati lands and Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) amendment were discussed during the meeting, said an official release. In addition to the decentralization and CRDA Amendment Bills, the state government has also agreed for offering better packages to the farmers of the Amaravati region. The meeting decided to increase the ex gratia being paid to the farmers of the capital region from Rs 2,500 per month to Rs 5,000 per month. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Los Angeles: Socialite Paris Hilton is planning to set up her own production company. Hilton said that she is "definitely" considering her own television production company, reports deadline.com. She was speaking after her Winter TCA press tour panel to promote "This Is Paris", the YouTube original documentary that takes a look at her life. Hilton has had a number of executive producer credits in the past. She executive produced Netflix's 2018 social media documentary "The American Meme" and "Paris Hilton's My New BFF". She has also served as an executive producer on feature films like "The Hottie & The Nottie" and "Pledge This". Hilton said that she is going to continue to expand her brand and empire all around the world. She said: "I have 19 product brands, I just released my 25th fragrance, we have three more in the works. I just shot two music videos last week that are coming out in the next few months, I'm going on tour, playing at Tomorrowland again as a DJ." "I have my own real estate properties so I'm following in my family's footsteps and also tech, I have apps and other tech ventures and virtual reality world and writing another book and acting. I think I need some clones." An online campaign launched on Facebook on January 18 helped save five malnourished and sick African lions at a park in Sudan's Khartoum. Osman Salih launched '#SudanAnimalRescue' on Facebook on being shaken after seeing the lions in the cages of Khartoum's Al-Qureshi park did not get enough food and medicine for several weeks. Salih further urged people and institutions to help the animals. The Park officials and medics reportedly said that the conditions of the lions have degraded over the past few weeks. According to Salih, they contacted the park administration who indicated that wildlife police are responsible for the animals and their care. He also wrote on Facebook that park holds the police responsible because the income of the park for a month is not enough to feed lions for more than seven days. In further updates, he even gave detailed improvements in some lions through medicines and care. Read - Tanzania To Relocate 36 Serengeti Lions Following Attacks On People, Cattle In a seperate post on Facebook, Salih wrote, The park holds the wildlife police directly responsible for the deteriorating condition of the lions, and stated that the income of the park for a month is not enough to feed one lion for a week. While Sudan is in the middle of the wildlife crisis, the park officials and vets said that some lions have lost almost two-thirds of their body weight. A manager at the park, Essamelddine Hajjar reportedly said that food is not available so often that the officials but it from their own money to feed the animals. On January 19, residents, volunteers, and journalists visited the park to see the animals after their photographs went viral on social media. Read - Australia To Lose Billions In Tourism Sector Amid Bushfire Crisis Africa lions are 'vulnerable' African lions have been classified as a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as their population reportedly died 43 per cent between 1993 and 2014. Currently, only 20,000 are alive in the country. According to accounts of visitors, the international media reports said one of the five lions was tied with a rope and was fed fluids through drip as it recovered from dehydration. Furthermore, chunks of rotten meat covered in flies lay scattered near the cages. A park official reportedly said that the overall condition of the park in the capital is also affecting the animals' health. One of the caretakers at the park said the lions are suffering from severe illnesses and they appear to be malnourished. Read - Disease That Killed Millions Of Pigs In China Poses Threat On Global Level Read - In A Rare Video, 5 Mountain Lions Spotted Roaming Together In California (With agency inputs) One of the engines of Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752, a Boeing 737-800 plane that crashed after taking off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini airport on Jan. 8, 2020. (Iran Press/Handout via Reuters) Ukraine Demands Iran Hand Over Black Boxes From Plane Iran Shot Down Ukraine wants Iran to hand over black boxes from the plane that was shot down by Iranian forces on Jan. 8 near Tehran. Ukraines Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko told reporters that he would bring up the issue when meeting in Kiev with Mohammad Eslami, Irans minister of roads and urban development. Eslami was there to officially apologize for Iran shooting down the plane, killing 176 people, Prystaiko said. His main task is to apologize officially and acknowledge what happened. We hope that we can go a little further than just political discussions and discuss practical problems. Among them in particular is the return of the black boxes, Prystaiko said. Unfortunately, at first they stated that they were handing [the black boxes] over, then the same person stated that they were not handing them over. This created some misunderstanding in Ukraine and we were starting to be asked: are they being handed over or not? We are trying to explain that according to the agreements, the Convention on International Civil Aviation, it is not simply a right, but an obligation of a country where a catastrophe happened to start an investigation, he added. If there are no technical facilities, this country is obliged to invite other countries to assist. We, as a country which suffered the most in this disaster, demand that black boxes should be handed over. In the end, the boxes belong to us because they belong to the Ukrainian company. Flowers and candles are placed in front of portraits of the flight crew members of the Ukrainian 737-800 plane shot down by the Iranian military on the outskirts of Tehran, at a memorial inside Borispil international airport outside Kyiv, Ukraine, on Jan. 11, 2020. (Efrem Lukatsky/AP Photo) Prystaiko said on Jan. 17 that Iran was ready to hand over the black boxes but Iran later said it has no plans to hand them over. The flight recorders from the Ukrainian Boeing are in Iranian hands and we have no plans to send them out, Hassan Rezaeifar, who is leading the Iranian probe into the situation, told state-run IRNA. We are trying to read the black boxes here in Iran. Otherwise, our options are Ukraine and France, but no decision has been taken so far to send them to another country, he added. His comments, reported Sunday, came one day after he told the semi-official Tasnim agency that it wasnt possible to process the information from the boxes in Iran. Rezaeifar told the outlet that the boxes would be sent to Kiev, where American, French, and Canadian experts could help analyze the information. Most of those on the plane were Iranians or Canadians. There were also citizens of the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, Afghanistan, and Ukraine among the dead. Irans military admitted, several days after denying the plane was downed, that it indeed shot down the aircraft. The military said it was a mistake. Reuters contributed to this report. A 28-year-old Union City man has been charged with sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl, authorities said. William Romero was arrested on Friday by members of the Hudson County Prosecutors Office Special Victims Unit, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said. Romero was charged with second-degree sexual assault, first-degree endangering the welfare of a child, third-degree endangering the welfare of a child and fourth-degree criminal sexual contact. The sexual assault occurred in a residential building on 21st Street in Union City on or about Dec. 1, and was first reported to the Union City Police Department on Jan. 8, Suarez said. Romero, who authorities say knows the victim, was arrested following an investigation by the prosecutors office SVU and the Union City Police Department. The prosecutors office tweeted on Saturday that an arrest had been made. Romero was taken to Hudson County jail in Kearny and is being held until his pretrial detention hearing on Thursday. At that hearing a judge will decide if Romero is free pending trial or will be held throughout prosecution. Soft-spoken, affable and low-key, the newly elected BJP president Jagat Prasad Nadda is a quintessential organisation man who is expected to consolidate the rapid gains the party has made under his predecessor Amit Shah. Jagat Prasad Nadda took over as the new Bharatiya Janata Party president at the party headquarters in Delhi. Senior party leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, LK Advani, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union minister Nitin Gadkari, were present at the felicitation event. Nadda was elected unopposed as the BJP's national president on Monday, taking over the reins from Amit Shah whose tenure of five-and-a-half years saw the party turning into a formidable election-winning machinery despite occasional setbacks. While Modi exuded confidence that BJP will scale new heights under Nadda's leadership, Shah congratulated Nadda on rising through the ranks, saying that BJP was the only party which does not function on casteism, or nepotism. Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Senior leaders LK Advani, Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari and others at felicitation programme of BJP National President Jagat Prakash Nadda. pic.twitter.com/SwnszbDEne ANI (@ANI) January 20, 2020 The prime minister also praised Nadda and said, "Nadda ji is a dedicated and disciplined karyakarta (worker) who has worked for years to strengthen the party at the grassroots. His affable nature is also known to all. I am confident that under his leadership, party will go ahead by abiding its basic principles and ideologies. We will have to face more challenges than what we faced as a political party in the Opposition." The prime minister also hit out at the Opposition parties, accusing them of spreading misinformation about the party and its leaders."There are people who dislike the principles which guide us," he said and added, "Those rejected by public in elections are left with very few weapons, one of them is spreading 'misinformation'." PM: There are people who dislike the principles which guide us.Our problems aren't because we're doing something wrong,it's because people of this country are blessing us. Those rejected by public in elections are left with very few weapons, one of them is-spread 'misinformation' pic.twitter.com/AUvImE1yrm ANI (@ANI) January 20, 2020 Without naming his rivals, Modi also targeted the "echo system" backing them, and said it has always been against the BJP. Asserting that despite attempts by the Opposition to spread confusion and lies, people's faith in the BJP and his government have remained "unshaken", he said the party returned to power with a bigger mandate in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls despite its rivals fighting with their full strength. Modi also praised former party president Shah for his contribution, describing him as an "outstanding karyakarta". Shah congratulated Nadda, who he said had started his career and risen through the ranks to be elected unopposed as the party president. Before the event began, Shah was joined by senior party leaders, including Rajnath and Gadkari, besides several functionaries from state units in filing nominations in support of Nadda. BJP chief ministers like Yogi Adityanath of Uttar Pradesh and Vijay Rupani of Gujarat were also at the party headquarters to endorse his bid. Delhi Elections next big challenge for Nadda Nadda's elevation was on expected lines since his appointment as the BJP working president last June after Shah joined the Modi government as the home minister. The BJP has traditionally abided by the norm of 'one party one post'. BJP leaders hailed the appointment, expressing confidence that the party would achieve new successes under his leadership. Nadda, who hails from Himachal Pradesh, started out as a student worker of the ABVP. He went out to several important positions ranging from organisational posts at the district, state and national level; to ministerial positions at the state and central level. Nadda was appointed as the working president of the BJP in June 2019, after he led the party to victory in Uttar Pradesh in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections . The 59-year-old leader is seen as an affable and low-key politician who enjoys the trust of Modi and the RSS the BJP's ideological mentor. He is largely expected to continue with the course it took under Shah with Modi laying out the broader agenda. He takes over at a time when the BJP is witnessing vigorous challenge from a united opposition in assembly elections amid signs that it needs to rejig its electoral strategy following a string of losses in state polls. If a relatively inexperienced Shah in 2014 was seen as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's handpicked man to shake up the saffron organisation by easing out veterans and infusing young blood to galvanise party cadres and fuel its expansion drive, Nadda is considered a seasoned hand who will build on these gains without causing too many disruptions. His immediate challenge is the February 8 Delhi Assembly polls where the BJP is locked in a tough fight with Aam Aadmy Party, followed by year-end elections in Bihar. The change in guard comes weeks ahead of the Assembly elections in Delhi, where the party is looking to oust the Aam Aadmi Party. The Delhi Assembly election is the first challenge for Nadda, who has been touring the capital extensively. BJP leader Radha Mohan Singh, who was the incharge of the organisational election process, made the announcement of Nadda's election as the party's 11th president after he emerged as the only nominee in the fray. Under Nadda, BJP will scale new heights: Amit Shah Shah, from whom Nadda took over the reigns, praised BJP for being the only party which promotes workers on the basis of "sheer quality and love for motherland". "The BJP stands apart in India because it does not function on casteism or nepotism. If you look at other parties, every party is family-based and is promoting their own people," the Home minister said. Shah said that he was confident of Nadda's leadership. "Nadda ji has become our national president. We are ready to take the BJP to new heights under his leadership." "There are a few states where we are yet to attain electoral success and reach every booth. I call upon every worker to be ready to work under the leadership of the prime minister and Nadda and achieve more," Shah further added. Nadda thanked Modi and his party colleagues for handing him the responsibility of leading "the world's biggest party". "I thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi for believing in me and also thank the state units for electing me unopposed," he said. "A worker like me coming from a village and becoming the national president is the specialty of the BJP," said Nadda. Newly elected BJP President #JPNadda : A simple worker like me, who didn't have a political background, who hails from a remote place in Himachal Pradesh - if someone like me is being given this responsibility then it is the speciality of BJP and it is possible only in BJP. pic.twitter.com/wV5VO78Xen ANI (@ANI) January 20, 2020 "Today, we are the world's largest party that is in power in India. We have the highest number of MPs and MLAs in the country. But we are not going to stop at this. There are some states left and we will make sure we reach to them as well," he said. Nadda was elected unopposed as the BJP's national president on Monday, taking over the reins from Shah whose tenure of five-and-a-half years saw the party turning into a formidable election-winning machinery despite occasional setbacks. With inputs from agencies TAMPA, Florida, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- EC-Council, the leading global information security certification body, has recently launched Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) Master credential to address the rising demand for performance-based training & certification for ethical hackers. "We are committed to using innovative and new approaches to train cyber experts to prevent cybercrimes and to promote a safer and secure cyber environment. CEH Master uses a new methodology to prepare the students for real-world jobs. It will sharpen the skills of the students who want to address the challenge of preventing cybercrime," says Mr Jay Bavisi, Founder and CEO of EC-Council Group. This new initiative is in keeping with EC-Council's commitment to align the curriculum with the demand of the industry. CEH Master prepares the candidate for actual challenges by evaluating their capability against problems from the real-world. This unique approach allows the candidates to hone his/her skills and abilities by working on actual real world challenges. With the next exam, security professionals are required to demonstrate the understanding of attack vectors by performing network scanning to identify live and vulnerable machines in a network, performing operating system banner grabbing, system hacking, steganography, steganalysis attacks, enumeration and even cover tracks. They must also conduct a variety of web server and web application attacks including directory traversal, parameter tampering, XSS, perform SQL injection attacks and different types of cryptography attacks as part of a rigorous 6 hour online and proctored exam. To become a CEH Master, a candidate must successfully pass the CEH exam and demonstrate competency in managing real world hacking challenges via the CEH (Practical) Exam. This demands the prospective ethical hacker to discover and exploit real-time vulnerabilities while auditing the systems set up by EC-Council in the cloud, thus enhancing the challenge and better preparing them for the job. About EC-Council: Founded in 2001, EC-Council, an ANSI 17024 accredited organization, employs over 400 people with 10 offices worldwide in USA, UK, Malaysia, Singapore, India & Indonesia. Trusted by 7 of the Fortune 10, 47 of the Fortune 100, the Department of Defense, Intelligence Community, NATO, and over 2000 of the best Universities, Colleges, & Training Companies, EC-Council programs have proliferated through over 140 Countries and have set the bar in Cyber Security Education. SOURCE EC-Council A Delhi court Monday convicted Brajesh Thakur and 18 others for sexual and physical assault on several girls in a Muzaffarpur shelter home. Additional Sessions Judge Saurabh Kulshreshtha convicted Thakur for aggravated sexual assault under POCSO Act and gang rape. The shelter home was run by Thakur, former MLA of Bihar People's Party (BPP). The court acquitted one of the accused, who included 12 men and eight women. It fixed January 28 for arguments on quantum of sentence. The court had on March 30, 2019, framed charges against the accused, including Thakur, for offences of criminal conspiracy to commit rape and penetrative sexual assault against minors. It had held trial for the offences of rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, drugging of minors, criminal intimidation among other charges. Thakur and employees of his shelter home, as well as Bihar department of social welfare officials were charged with criminal conspiracy, neglect of duty and failure to report assault on the girls. The charges also included offence of cruelty to child under their authority, punishable under the Juvenile Justice Act. The court had reserved order on September 30, 2019 after final arguments by the CBI counsel and 20 accused in the case in which former Bihar Social Welfare Minister and the then JD(U) leader Manju Verma also faced flak as allegations surfaced that Thakur had links with her husband. She had resigned from her post on August 8, 2018. The case was transferred on February 7, 2019 from a local court in Muzaffarpur in Bihar to a POCSO court at Saket district court complex in Delhi on the Supreme Court's directions. The matter had come to light after the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) submitted a report to the Bihar government on May 26, 2018, highlighting the alleged sexual abuse of minor girls in the shelter home for the first time. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The future amendments will contribute to repatriation. This is what deputy of the My Step Alliance Sisak Gabrielyan told reporters as he presented his legislative initiative to exempt citizens repatriating to Armenia from paying a customs duty for their personal items today. According to him, the existing regulations cause problems for them when they return to Armenia, and he is proposing to create conditions for those who havent lived in Armenia for more than six months and are considered non-permanent residents because of that. They can bring a car registered in their name, as well as personal items. The car has to have been registered in the name of the particular person at least six months before the application is submitted. This is also part of the requirements of the Eurasian Economic Union, he stated. In her turn, Vice-Chairperson of the State Revenue Committee of Armenia Shushanik Nersisyan clarified that people can benefit from this only once in their lifetime and added that if an Armenian has never been a citizen of Armenia and has never been registered in the country, but has lived in Armenia for a while and has submitted an application, a privilege will also be granted to the particular person. According to the deputy, the legislative initiative will have been revised by the end of the month, after which it will be considered by ministers, the specific parliamentary committee and then it will be considered during the plenary session of the National Assembly. T witter users have called for a police investigation after a man said he would laugh and laugh over the death of Laurence Fox. The man, identified only as Chris L wrote: You know what would be hilarious? If someone walked up to Laurence Fox and unloaded a couple shotgun shots into his face. Ending his racist, miserable existence. Id just laugh and laugh The Lewis star and father-of-three shared the threatening post, commenting simply: Im not sure Chris is a very nice man. His fans were quick to express their horror, with one writing This Chris L should be arrested for this. Absolutely shocking thing to post." Others tagged Met Polices official Twitter page, with one writing: Laurence that man's tweet is a death threat - please take this to the police. You need to report this not just to Twitter but to the police. @metpoliceuk. Scotland Yard told the Standard they had received no formal complaints over the incident. Question Time Audience Member Clashes With Actor Laurence Fox The perceived threat came as the academic who was branded racist by Mr Fox during Thursdays debate revealed she had suffered a stream of online abuse. Mixed-race university lecturer Rachel Boyle said she had received a barrage of hate messages via Twitter and email, mainly from people who seem to hold alt right views. But, she added, despite the hostility she stood by her comments and remained proud of them. The fall-out came after Mr Fox refuted Ms Boyles claims that Meghan Markle had been victim of a racist media backlash. The actor said such suggestions were getting boring, prompting Ms Boyle to brand him a white privileged male. He responded by calling her racist. He has since launched a string of sarcastic and acerbic attacks on so-called political correctness, even giving his Twitter bio a sarcastic spin by calling himself Wokey McWokeface. Speaking to Talk Radio on Monday, Mr Fox said he was not expecting people to kick off over his comments while criticising "wokeists" of hypocricy. He told host Julia Hartley-Brewer: The wokeists, I think, are fundamentally a racist bunch. They see colour everywhere. Identity politics is extremely racist as well. He said he often gets it in the neck for being a posh boy actor who is part of a famous acting dynasty, which includes his film star father James. The bag was removed from the airport and the IED was defused by local police by controlled explosion. (Photo | Wikipedia)) Mangaluru: An unattended bag containing a suspicious IED-like object was recovered at the Mangaluru airport on Monday triggering alarm ahead of the Republic Day, officials said. They said a bag was found near a ticket counter at the departure terminal of the facility at about 8:45 AM after which Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and police personnel cordoned off the area. CISF DIG (operations) Anil Pandey told PTI in Delhi that, the object resembled "a low intensity improvised explosive device (IED) with some silver coloured explosive." "However, the IED was not charged or to say had a trigger mechanism," Pandey added. Another senior CISF official added that the explosive could be cracker powder. The bag was later removed from the airport and the IED was defused by local police by controlled explosion. Passenger services at the airport were unaffected. Earlier, Mangaluru Police Commissioner P S Harsha also rushed to the airport along with a police team. "The CISF had found a suspicious bag, handled it as per the safety protocols and quickly informed the police control room. We have placed the bag in the isolation bay as per the safety protocol," Harsha later said in a video message. According to some reports, two persons had come in an autorickshaw and placed the bag there. Police said they are verifying the CCTV footage. Security has been alerted at all airports in the country in run up to the Republic Day celebrations in the country on January 26. Using an innovative automated warehousing system designed to increase storage capacity and reduce labour costs, Monaghan startup Moffett Automated Storage has just completed its first international project in Dubai. Founder Sam Moffett said they are the first Irish company to design a warehouse automation solution and are now planning to develop global sales starting with the US, Benelux, and Scandinavia. The future for moving pallets in warehouses is in automation, said Mr Moffett, who hopes to emulate his father Robert Moffett who co-founded Combilift, a Monaghan-based manufacturer of multidirectional forklifts which now sells to 85 companies globally. While working at Combilift, Sam Moffett observed the rise of automation in warehousing where it is used to optimise the use of space and to reduce labour requirements. I saw a window of opportunity for a new company which could create an efficient automated warehousing system, he said. Using family funding, he set up Moffett Automated Storage (MAS) company in late 2017. Taking on a design engineer and an automation engineer, the company set to work on developing a new system, building its first customer system for a third-party logistics company in Dublin in early 2019. Used for food storage, this system holds 3,500 pallet spaces and provides a 66% storage density increase, said Mr Moffett, explaining that the MAS Automated Storage and Retrieval System uses four directional shuttles for efficient pallet handling. According to Mr Moffett, this system can significantly reduce warehouse labour costs. It can, for example, be used in a warehouse with a staff of 15 to reduce the staff number to just three, he said. Setting out to compete against German and Italian automated storage solution companies in the international market, Mr Moffett says the MAS system has a competitive edge because of its flexibility and scalability, and the fact that it can be used to retrofit existing warehouses as well as to fit out new ones. With the completion of this first successful project last year, MAS began to target both third-party logistic companies operating distribution hubs, and also manufacturing companies with large-scale operations. It can be used for fast-moving consumer goods as well as food, said Mr Moffett. MASs first international project involved building a system for a three-storey 30m-metre high building with a throughput of 85 pallets per hours. It had to be designed to withstand the extreme heat in Dubai, working in temperature above 50 degrees, and installation was challenging. Mr Moffett says that there is not yet a high level of automated storage in Ireland, but that these type of systems are now widely used by in the US and Nordic countries by large organisations operating huge facilities. It is a multi-billion euro industry in which he sees vast opportunities for MAS. Currently employing a staff of 11 at its premises in Clontibret, the company has been supported by Enterprise Ireland, which has provided assistance in developing exports. With Enterprise Ireland assistance we are now working on several new projects. We are in discussions with manufacturers and third-party logistics companies in both the US and Benelux and, by the end of 2020, expect to have installed our system in three or four systems in these markets. As part of its plans to grow the business, Mr Moffett expects to hire an additional eight staff by the end of the year. We will also be working on creating brand awareness for the company, working through dealerships and advertising on social media. Ant McPartlin's ex Lisa Armstrong arrived at her barrister's office for an eight hour discussion over her 31m divorce deal on Tuesday. A 'peacemaker' during the extensive negotiations, the make-up artist, 43, reportedly brought forward the meeting with her legal team, after returning from holiday in Mexico. During the lengthy chat - where the details of their split are believed to have been decided - Lisa would have made 64,583 a minute, reports The Sun. 'Peacemaker': Ant McPartlin's ex Lisa Armstrong pictured arriving at her barrister's office in London on Tuesday for an eight hour discussion over her 31m divorce deal, after the legal meeting was 'moved forward' Intended to take place on a date at the end of January the talks were moved to last Tuesday to speed through a divorce deal. In pictures obtained by the publication Lisa was seen walking into a building in London, believed to be her lawyer's office, while wearing a brown coat. Lisa appeared to be in good spirits as she arrived at 10.30am and it is claimed she didn't step out again until 6.30pm. Productive meeting: Lisa was seen walking into a building in London, believed to be her lawyer's office, while wearing a brown coat on Tuesday Speaking about the chat, a source said: 'It was civil, nice and pleasant throughout and by the end of it all they can now move forward with their lives. 'She was certainly the peacemaker but there was willingness on both sides to press ahead and move on. They added: 'It's a massive relief for Ant and Dec as it's been hanging over both of them for such a long time.' Lengthy battle: The star's ex wore large sunglasses as she entered the building where she spent eight hours discussing the details of her divorce Court? The news comes two months after friends of the pair told The Mail On Sunday that despite efforts by Ant to keep their split low-key, Lisa still wanted her day in court Get it settled: Lisa appeared to be in good spirits as she arrived at 10.30am and it is claimed she didn't step out again until 6.30pm Ant's representative declined to comment to Mailonline. Lisa's representative has been approached for comment. MailOnline has contacted Ant and Lisa's representatives for comment. It has previously been reported that Ant is set to hand over 31m to his ex-wife in the settlement, including their 5million former marital home in West London. No sign of Ant: The I'm A Celebrity host was not believed to be present but was reported to be 'delighted' the case has come to an end as he can 'move on' Acrimonious split: The couple announced their split two years ago but have not made a divorce deal until now Who keeps what? The Sun has also claimed that Lisa will keep the pair's 5 million former marital home in West London and the exes will share custody of their beloved pet Labrador, Hurley 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. However, as the news broke on Tuesday, Lisa took to Twitter to deny the claims, posting: 'Nope a load of nonsense AGAIN....' 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! Making progress: Lisa Armstrong, 43, is said to have been the 'peacemaker' during an eight-hour long discussion about her and Ant McPartlin's divorce in London on Tuesday Split: The couple (pictured in 2015) announced they were divorcing in January 2018 and their union legally came to an end during a 30-second hearing in October that year 'You deserve it! Terrible treatment of you since you found out when we did! And with a so called friend! Its heartbreaking behaviour'. Lisa also made her feelings clear on Saturday after liking a tweet which branded her ex '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'. Back to work: Ant was seen filming for the upcoming series of Britain's Got Talent on Saturday as auditions kicked off in London 'Moving forward': A source claimed that although Lisa was the 'peacemaker' during the chat, 'there was willingness on both sides to press ahead and move on' (Lisa is pictured) Denial: Lisa previously denied reports the couple have finally reached a divorce settlement on Twitter, calling it a 'load of old nonsense' Not happy: The make-up artist also took to Twitter on Saturday to like a tweet suggesting that her ex was 's****y and spineless' 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 Ant is set to hand over 31m to his ex, including their 5m former marital home in West London (pictured with his girlfriend Anne-Marie Corbett) Happier times: The I'm A Celebrity host is said to be 'delighted' the case has come to an end as he can 'move on', two years after announcing their split (pictured with Lisa in 2015) It 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: 'It's all about her now. 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, beamed during the outing as she walked around the common with their pet pooches. 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. A bizarre video shows two road rage motorists rolling around in a rain-soaked street as passers-by tried to separate them. The two men - one of whom is in a leg lock - are seen lying in the road while they attempt to exchange blows. A woman, thought to be the partner of one of the men involved in the fight, is joined by members of the public who arrive to try to break up the scrapping pair. The fight took place on Thursday in Wandsworth, south London, and is thought to have started after the driver of a 4x4 tried to take pictures of the couple's car number plate. The two men - one of whom is in a leg lock - are seen lying in the road while they attempt to exchange blows in Clapham Junction, south London The incident ended when police arrived and the driver of the 4x4 made off, according to witnesses. The video was posted to twitter by a man who wishes to remain anonymous last night saying: 'Just your standard evening in Clapham Junction.' The clip shows two men rolling around on the wet road. One man wearing a beige jumper has his legs wrapped around the man who is believed to be the 4x4 driver. The man started punching the 4x4 driver. A woman thought to be the man's partner, is heard screaming and tries to split the pair up. The men stay locked together as they both jostle to out manoeuvre one another. The woman then tries to intervene, and grabs her partner's arms. A woman, thought to be the partner of one of the men involved in the fight, is joined by members of the public who arrive to try to break up the scrapping pair Stunned commuters stop to peer their heads out of the window of their cars while passers-by come to try and reason with the angered men. Rain continues to pour down on both men who are still fighting on the ground. The woman then briefly walks away from the fight appearing to give up on them both. The 4x4 driver is then seen holding on to the other man's hand before the video cuts out. Photographs taken shortly after the incident show two police vans and a police car at the scene. The resident who filmed the incident from his flat today said the man in the blue 4x4 ran away from his vehicle after the fight. The men stay locked together as they both jostle to out manoeuvre one another. The woman then tries to intervene, and grabs her partner's arms He said: 'It was road rage I believe. I heard the shouting from the lounge so I went to the window to check. 'The man in the blue 4x4 was shouting and abusing the couple in the red car. He was trying to take photos of the red car's number plate when the man said something to him. 'Then they ended up having a fight. 'The woman was screaming at him saying it was all his fault and just to leave them alone but the guy wasn't really having it. 'Once it got broken up, the man from the blue car proceeded to abandon the car and march off down the road. 'I often see road rage incidents but none that ever escalate to a physical fight.' He said the police arrived and sent out a search party to look for the brawler while the couple were questioned. He added: 'The police arrived and sent out a search team for the individual, but I'm not sure they found him. 'The two police vans and one police car that turned up seemed a bit excessive. The couple got questioned and then were free to go.' When asked if the man came back for his vehicle the resident said: 'It wasn't there this morning.' A spokeswoman for the Met said: 'Police were called at 20:04hrs on Thursday 16 January to reports of an altercation on Lavender Hill, Wandsworth. 'Officers spoke to those believed to be involved. Neither wished to proceed with any allegation.' Hyderabad: Allegations have surfaced that the Karkhana police have kept a 21-year-old person in their custody illegally for more than four days, without sending him to judicial custody. Police have been circumventing the procedures laid down by law in producing the accused before a magistrate, family members claimed on Monday in the city. E. Danaiha, a traumatised 45-year-old father of the accused, and a farmer by profession, who lives in Ramancha village under the Siddipet district told Deccan Chronicle, I got to know that police took my son on Thursday evening. I rushed to the city and the police station to see my son. On Friday morning, at around 9 am, I reached Karkhana police station. Throughout the day, I kept trying to meet my son, in vain. I waited till 4 pm at the police station to see him. I also tried to meet the inspector to find out details of why he was arrested. I couldnt meet my son as he was in police custody. I tried to meet the inspector of police over the issue but he didnt give me time to meet him. The father of the 21-year-old youth illegally detained at Karkhana police left for their village as they had no money to stay in the city. On Sunday, when this reporter contacted P. Madhukar Swamy, inspector, Karkana police, he confirmed that the accused was sent to judicial custody a day before (on Saturday itself). However, when this reporter went to the police station the next day (on Monday) at around 1.10 pm, the accused was still in police custody. When the DC reporter asked to meet the inspector, he was directed to other police staff, because the inspector was busy in a meeting. When the reporter went inside a room, four policemen were sitting in the room. When asked about Anil, the illegally detained accused, the policemen replied that they dont know about him. Suddenly, a person who was sitting on a bench in the room raised his hand to show our reporter that he was the accused, E. Anil. When he tried to talk to the reporter, the policemen asked the reporter to leave the room and speak to the inspector, as he knew all the details. This reporter took a picture of the accused at police station while he was still in police custody as proof of the illegal detention. Further, going into case details, Anil, a 21-year-old, had married a minor a year ago, the police officer claimed. According to the family of the accused, the girl was a major and had reportedly eloped with the accused in March last year. Later, she married him of her volition and stayed with him for nearly a year. On the occasion of Sankranti, the accused, along with his wife, perhaps a minor, came to the city. Subsequently, the allegedly minor girl went to her parental home in Nacharam. A day after, the girls father approached the Karkhana police, alleging that his daughter had been kidnapped, forced to marry him and had been physically abused. During the course of time, police got to know that the girl was a minor and the marriage didnt happen as per the Hindu Act, and concluded that the alleged marriage was void. Following which, the accused was booked under the POCSO Act, besides a rape and kidnap case. When this reporter contacted A. Vinod Kumar, assistant commissioner of police, Mahankali police, he said, We have arrested the accused in a rape case and sent him to judicial custody. We refrained from giving more details as the investigation is underway. When asked about the illegal detention, he disconnected the call. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has flagged the potential call-in of a 96-megalitre water extraction licence in the state's drought-declared Southern Downs one week after a nearby town began trucking in its drinking water. Southern Downs Regional Council assessed a submission from Joyful View Garden Real Estate Development Resort Co for water extraction at Elbow Valley - known as Cherrabah Resort - in mid-December, from an aquifer below. The Premier's comments come one week after Stanthorpe began trucking drinking water. Pictured are the dry conditions in nearby Girraween National Park. Credit:Tony Moore The application sought "approval to establish a water extraction and distribution facility within the north-eastern portion of the Cherrabah property at Elbow Valley", with water to be collected on-site and trucked to the Gold Coast for bottling. The property owners, Joyful View, own a water licence granted by the state government's Natural Resources Department for an entitlement of 96 megalitres a year, which had been reviewed in 2010 and given a 100-year extension to 2111. HCSO A woman is accused of gunning down her estranged husband after he came to their northwest Harris County home in his girlfriends car, according to authorities. Carolyn Court, 68, was charged Sunday in the shooting death of her husband, Ray Court, 66, at their home in the 4100 block of Barons Bridge Drive. According to prosecutors, the shooting happened without provocation around 11 a.m. when he arrived to pick up some belongings. Headed by Sundar Pichai, Google is one of the most valued companies in the world. But, they do not let it go to their heads as their slogan is simple, "Don't be evil". Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai on January 20 emphasised the need for regulation of artificial intelligence and urged regulators to take "proportionate approach" when drafting rules. Pichai, while speaking at the event hosted by European think-tank Bruegel, said that there is a need to balance the "potential harms with social opportunities" that the technology offers, as per a report by news agency AP. He added that the need to regulate AI is an obvious one, however what needs to be the focus at the moment is how best to approach the same. One of the concerns pertaining to AI that he pointed out was its role in connection with facial recognition technology. Pichai said that while the technology can be put to use in the search of missing people, it can very well be used for "nefarious reasons". The Alphabet CEO's statement comes at a time when governments across the world are looking at the ways to regulate AI and putting limitations to its use in various areas. Sundar Pichai reportedly made the speech ahead of his scheduled meeting on the same day with the European Union (EU) competition regulator Margrethe Vestager. As per a report by Mint quoting Bloomberg, the EU is set to reveal a new set of rules governing AI and its use across various potentially high-risk sectors. Royal officials have no idea yet how Harry and Meghan will pay back the 2.4million spent by taxpayers on refurbishing Frogmore Cottage. As part of their exit package, the couple have offered to refund the cost of building work at their UK family home paid for by the Sovereign Grant, money given by the Government to the Queen. When they announced their plan to step down as senior royals, the Sussexes said they wanted to keep the five-bedroom house on the Windsor estate so they would have a family home in the UK. But after the outcry over the huge sum paid by the public for a home the couple will now barely live in, royal officials agreed with Harry and Meghan they would repay the cash. The Windsor property in the grounds of Frogmore House had a makeover at taxpayer expense However, officials could not confirm yesterday how this would be done or how long it would take, saying: The mechanism by which they pay the money has yet to be worked out. It is thought Prince Charles will continue to fund his son for at least a year, either via the Duchy of Cornwall or from his personal investments. Crucially, no public funds will be used. But sources were unable to confirm whether the bank of dad would bail the couple out. This will all be sat down and discussed in due course, a source said. As part of their exit package, Harry and Meghan have offered to refund the cost of building work at their UK family home paid for by the Sovereign Grant, money given by the Government to the Queen It is also unclear what rent Harry and Meghan will pay on the property. Officials say the couple will pay the Crown Estate, which oversees the property, an undisclosed figure in order to keep it as their family home. They dismissed claims this would be a nominal peppercorn rent, saying a fair commercial rate would be agreed. This could be anything from 5,000 to 30,000 a month. Frogmore, a Grade II-listed property, was converted from five apartments, needing significant structural work paid through the Sovereign Grant. Fixtures and fittings were paid for by Harry and Meghan, and Charles helped to finance the project. T hree men have died after a triple stabbing in north east London, Met Police have said. Officers were called to Elmstead Road in Seven Kings, Ilford, just after 7.30pm on Sunday to reports that three men, aged in their 20s and 30s, had been stabbed. All three men were pronounced dead at the scene. Officers are working to inform their next of kin. There have been no arrests. Officers said there is some disruption to traffic in the area as a crime scene remains in place. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said extra police enforcement powers have been authorised for the borough of Redbridge until 8am on Monday following the attack. He wrote: Im in touch with senior Met police officers and local representatives after a serious incident in Redbridge tonight, where three men have lost their lives. My thoughts are with their families and the local community at this dreadful time. Extra police enforcement powers have been authorised for the whole of Redbridge borough until 8am tomorrow. Chief Superintendent Steve Clayman, Commander of the Mets East Area BCU said: While enquiries into this tragic incident are at an early stage, this is likely to be a triple homicide investigation. I must retain an open mind as to any motive as we are in the early stages of establishing the full circumstances. SANTA ANA, Calif., Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Join families, community members, and school leaders at the Santa Ana Zoo for a school fair jam-packed with family-friendly fun on Saturday, Jan. 25. The 2-5 p.m. celebration will spread awareness about all K-12 education options and include school and community resource tables, free tacos, face-painting, raffles, games, and free books for the first 50 attendees. The fair will feature a student-lead recitation of the U.S. National Anthem at 2:45 p.m., followed by the official National School Choice Week dance. Taekwondo and ballet performances will take place throughout the event, as well as parent remarks about their school choice experiences. Representatives from more than 30 schools, organizations, state and local elected officials, and businesses will be in attendance. The Santa Ana Zoo is located at 1801 E. Chestnut Ave. Whether families are choosing their child's first school or want to find a new or different school for their child, they can learn more and RSVP for the event at californiaschoolfair.splashthat.com. 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. "Parents want access to a quality public K-12 education for their children," said Cecilia Iglesias, executive director of education and community relations at the California Policy Center. "The Parent Union is excited to bring awareness to the school choice options during the National School Choice Week celebration." This event is hosted by The Parent Union and the California Policy Center. 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/california. SOURCE National School Choice Week Related Links www.schoolchoiceweek.com The Zacks Coal industry comprises companies that are involved in the discovery and mining of coal. Depending on the deposit, coal is mined by either opencast or underground method. Coal is valued for its energy content and used worldwide to generate electricity, and in steel and cement manufacturing. However, the importance of coal and the coal industry has declined in the United States over the past few years, with natural gas and renewable sources creating more downside pressure. Lets take a look at the industrys three major themes: U.S. coal companies are continuously losing ground, as natural gas and renewable energy are being preferred over coal for energy needs. The shift in loyalty is primarily due to concerns about increase in emission and the effects of pollution on human growth and development. Availability of cheap shale gas in the United States, technological advancement and incentives on usage of renewable energy continue to cut down the popularity of coal as a source of energy. The latest report from U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts 2020 coal consumption in the United States to fall to 531 million short tons (MMst), indicating an 11% decline from the 2019 levels of 596 MMst. Coal consumption is estimated to further drop to 513 MMst in 2021. Amid declining domestic consumption, coal exports have been aiding U.S. miners to gain some lost ground. Despite stable coal shipment to India, Japan and South Korea, EIA estimates overall U.S. coal exports to drop by 11% year over year in 2020 to 83 MMst. Higher usage of cheap natural gas supplied from Russia is expected to lead to the decline in usage of coal in European countries. In addition, rising coal exports from Indonesia and Australia, and proximity to Southeast Asian countries (high coal demand zone) are hurting U.S. shipments. The Trump administration clearly has a pro-coal stance, with the Environmental Protection Agency coming up with an Affordable Clean Energy proposal to replace the stringent Clean Power Plan. Trump also decided to exit the Paris Climate Agreement to promote usage of coal and revive the industry. Employment in the coal industry remained steady in the last two years. However, the ongoing decline in coal exports and domestic consumption will adversely impact the prospects of coal companies operating in the United States. Story continues Zacks Industry Rank Indicates Weak Prospects The Zacks Coal industry is a 14 stock group within the broader Zacks Oil and Energy sector. The industry currently carries a Zacks Industry Rank #214, which places it at the bottom 16% of more than 250 Zacks industries. The groups Zacks Industry Rank, which is basically the average of the Zacks Rank of all the member stocks, indicates bleak performance in the near term. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperforms the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1. The industrys position in the bottom 16% of the Zacks-ranked industries is a result of negative earnings outlook for the constituent companies in aggregate. Looking at the aggregate earnings estimate revisions, it appears that analysts are gradually losing confidence in this groups earnings growth potential. Since March 2019, the industrys earnings estimate for the current year has gone down by nearly 320%. Before we present a few coal stocks that you may want to consider, lets take a look at the industrys recent stock-market performance and valuation picture. Industry Lags S&P 500 & Sector The Zacks Coal industry has underperformed the Zacks S&P 500 composite and the Zacks Oil and Gas sector over the last 12 months. The stocks in the coal industry have collectively declined 47.3% compared with the Zacks Oil-Energy sectors decrease of 7.7%. In contrast, the Zacks S&P 500 composite has gained 23.8%. One Year Price Performance Coal Industrys Current Valuation Since coal companies have a lot of debt on their balance sheet, it makes sense to value them based on the EV/EBITDA (Enterprise Value/ Earnings before Interest Tax Depreciation and Amortization) ratio. The industry is currently trading at trailing 12-month EV/EBITDA of 4.21X compared with the Zacks S&P 500 composites 12.38X and the sectors 5.03X. Over the past five years, the industry has traded as high as 6.08X, as low as 2.88X and at the median of 4.21X. Enterprise Value-to EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) Ratio vs S&P 500 Enterprise Value-to EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) Ratio vs Sector To Sum Up Coal companies continue to face hardship and have already seen their share of difficulties, with dropping demand, rising competition from other energy sources and increasing emission awareness over the past few years. At present, higher volumes of coal are produced from mines with minimum human intervention, which can have a negative impact on job growth in the industry. The change in policy by the current U.S. administration is assisting coal-fired plants and creating demand for the commodity but the expected drop in U.S. coal exports is likely to create more challenges for the industry. Amid such difficulties, coal companies are trying to reduce operating costs, idle high cost mines, produce more low cost mines and enter into collaborations to remain competitive. At present, among the coal stocks under our coverage, only Yanzhou Coal Mining Company Limited (YZCAY) and Hallador Energy Company (HNRG) hold a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), while most of the others carry a Zacks Rank#3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy)stocks here. Zoucheng, China-based Yanzhou Coal Mining Company Limited has lost 2.3% in the last 12 months and currently has a dividend yield is 7.85%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2020 has moved up by 34.5% to $2.49 in the last 90 days. Price & Consensus: YZCAY Denver, CO-based Hallador Energy Company has lost 53.2% in the last 12 months and its current dividend yield is 6.4%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2020 has moved up by 46.7% to 22 cents in the last 90 days. Price & Consensus: HNRG Brookwood, AL-based Warrior Met Coal (HCC) currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 and has lost 13.55% in the last 12 months. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2020 has moved up by 9.2% to $3.56 in the last 60 days. Price & Consensus: HCC Canonsburg, PA-based CONSOL Energy Inc. (CEIX) currently has a Zacks Rank#3 and has lost 23.3% in the last three months. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2020 has moved up by 17.2% to $2.59 in last 60 days. Price & Consensus: CEIX Biggest Tech Breakthrough in a Generation Be among the early investors in the new type of device that experts say could impact society as much as the discovery of electricity. Current technology will soon be outdated and replaced by these new devices. In the process, its expected to create 22 million jobs and generate $12.3 trillion in activity. A select few stocks could skyrocket the most as rollout accelerates for this new tech. Early investors could see gains similar to buying Microsoft in the 1990s. Zacks just-released special report reveals 8 stocks to watch. The report is only available for a limited time. See 8 breakthrough stocks now>> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Yanzhou Coal Mining Company Limited (YZCAY) : Free Stock Analysis Report Hallador Energy Company (HNRG) : Free Stock Analysis Report Warrior Met Coal Inc. (HCC) : Free Stock Analysis Report Consol Energy Inc. (CEIX) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Representative SN Ia spectra from the sample showing low, medium, and high SNRs (progressing downward). Credit: Stahl et al., 2020. The Berkeley Supernova Ia Program (BSNIP) has released a dataset containing over 600 spectra of 242 Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia). The new data release, available for astronomers worldwide, was presented in a paper published January 9 on the arXiv pre-print repository. Type Ia supernovae can be found in binary systems in which one of the stars is a white dwarf. They are important for the scientific community as they offer essential clues into evolution of stars and galaxies. BSNIP is a large-scale project aimed at studying properties of SNe Ia at low redshift (below 0.05), based on optical spectroscopic and photometric observations. As part of the program, astronomers try to observe as many SNe Ia as possible, concentrating on frequent spectral coverage of peculiar objects. In a recently published paper, a team of researchers led by Benjamin Stahl of University of California, Berkeley, describes the latests dataset from BSNIP. The new release delivered a wealth of data collected by the Shane 3-meter telescope at Lick Observatory and the Keck-I 10-meter telescope at the W. M. Keck Observatory, between 2009 and 2018. The new catalog complements previous BSNIP data releases. "In this paper, we present 637 optical spectra collected by the Berkeley Supernova Ia Program using the Kast double spectrograph at Lick Observatory and LRIS at the W. M. Keck Observatory between 2009 and 2018. Careful observation and processing techniques perfected over the last 20+ years are employed to prepare the spectra in a manner that is (i) self-consistent and (ii) consistent with earlier BSNIP spectral data releases (S12a)," the scientists wrote in the paper. The initial sample contains 637 spectra of 247 objects. However, after analysis of the data, the final set includes 626 spectra of 242 objects unambiguously classied as SNe Ia. Of the full set of spectra, 546 were published for the rst time. The largest number of spectra, 20, was obtained for SN 2016coj. For SN 2011fe, 17 spectra are available, while SN 2009ig and SN 2017erp have 16 spectra each. Nine other objects have more than 10 spectra presented, while 109 objects out of the whole sample are covered by at least two spectra. In general, an average of 2.6 spectra for one supernova was calculated for the dataset. Moreover, 79 SNe from the sample that have a light-curve-determined time of maximum brightness, the astronomers found a median (rest-frame) phase of the rst spectrum of 1.1 days. The spectrum with the earliest phase, 17.2 days, belongs to SN 2011fe, while the spectrum with the latest phase is assigned to SN 2013dy. A median redshift for the full sample was calculated to be 0.0208. The researchers have analyzed their dataset, studying the early-time and late-time properties of the objects. In particular, they measured the expansion velocities, pseudo-equivalent widths, and uxes at the boundaries of nine absorption-feature complexes. Summing up the results, the authors of the paper noted that taking into account all the BSNIP releases, the whole dataset now contains nearly 2,000 optical spectra. They encourage other astronomers to further investigate this data. Explore further Study sheds more light on the properties of a Type Ia supernova discovered very young More information: Berkeley Supernova Ia Program: Data Release of 637 Spectra from 247 Type Ia Supernovae, arXiv:2001.03235 [astro-ph.SR] Berkeley Supernova Ia Program: Data Release of 637 Spectra from 247 Type Ia Supernovae, arXiv:2001.03235 [astro-ph.SR] arxiv.org/abs/2001.03235 2020 Science X Network A gun rights activist with a "Guns Save Lives" sticker talks with a policeman outside the Virginia State Capitol grounds before a Monday rally by gun rights advocates and militia members in Richmond, Virginia. Photo: REUTERS/Jonathan Drake The Republican leader in Virginia has told groups planning to spread "white supremacist garbage" at a pro-gun rally today to stay away, with thousands due to descend on the state capital. Todd Gilbert joined Ralph Northam, the Democrat governor, to plead for peace as fears grew violence could erupt with far-right militias joining pro-gun activists in a march on the seat of government in Richmond. The rally has been called to protest against sweeping gun-control measures proposed by Mr Northam's administration. "Lobby Day is a time for people to peacefully assemble and petition their government. It is not a place for hate and violence," Mr Gilbert said. "Any group that comes to Richmond to spread white supremacist garbage, or any other form of hate, violence, or civil unrest isn't welcome here." The display of unity came against a backdrop of rising tension since the arrest of several members of The Base, a neo-Nazi group, last week. Fearing the rally could become a repetition of the riot in Charlottesville in 2017, in which one person died, Mr Northam declared a state of emergency. Leaders of 'Unite the Right' groups, such as the Pennsylvania Light Foot Militia, which was present at Charlottesville, said they were planning to go to Richmond. HELSINKI, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- ICEYE announced today the launch of its global Dark Vessel Detection solution for governmental maritime security customers. The unique solution combines synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) satellite data from ICEYE, and automatic identification system (AIS) data from vessels. Dark Vessel Detection is used as a source of actionable information for governments monitoring their Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ), day and night, and even through cloud cover. "Dark Vessel Detection offered by ICEYE is built for governments around the world for improving the maritime safety of their regions," said Steve Young, Vice President, Business Development and Sales, ICEYE. "This unique solution enables authorities to take action based on reliable information. Data users can improve their enforcement activities against illegal transshipments of goods, help them in addressing illegal fishing, and assist in curbing drug and human trafficking." Vessels engaged in illegal activities can choose to turn off their AIS transponders to avoid detection from authorities. ICEYE's Dark Vessel Detection service's core is built on the company's own radar imaging satellite constellation data, which provides a reliable source of information at all times of the day and in all weather conditions. ICEYE's customers have access to both location information and radar satellite images of all detectable vessels - even when they do not have their AIS transponders turned on. Interactive Demo: Dark Vessel Detection See how detecting dark vessels enables authorities to react to emerging situations "Together with our partners, ICEYE has developed a unique dark vessel detection capability for solving far-reaching maritime safety issues," said Pekka Laurila, Chief Strategy Officer and Co-founder, ICEYE. "Our roadmap to achieve near-real time delivery capabilities for dark vessel data, on a global basis, is very short. With the introduction of our current standardized data format, actionable information is available already today." Access example data, and learn more: Dark Vessel Detection solution for Maritime Security from ICEYE. About ICEYE: ICEYE is building and operating its own commercial constellation of radar imaging satellites, with SAR data already available to customers. ICEYE empowers others to make better decisions in governmental and commercial industries by providing access to timely and reliable SAR satellite imagery. The company is tackling the current crucial lack of actionable information with world-first aerospace capabilities and a New Space approach. ICEYE's radar satellite imaging service, designed to deliver coverage every few hours, both day and night, helps clients resolve challenges in sectors such as maritime, disaster management, insurance, and finance. For more information, please visit: www.iceye.com SOURCE ICEYE Related Links http://www.iceye.com On Saturday morning, I watched students from a local school celebrate Martin Luther King Day. The parade was long, and the message was just right. As I observed the young people walk by, I couldn't help but think of what the late Dr. King would say about the state of African-Americans today. I recalled watching a documentary last week about one of the biggest moments of the 20th century: the March in Washington, plus the wonderful "I have a dream" speech. The best part was Reverend King's words: 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. I have a dream today. It was a great message and wonderful rhetoric. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial (National Park Service photo). Where are we many years later? We've made a lot of progress, from electing a black man to the White House to many more examples. Do you think Reverend King would have believed that? We've also made progress in education and business. Just look around. Overall, lots of progress, but there are many serious problems in the inner cities, from crime to the breakdown of the family to lousy public schools and the political monopoly of the Democrat Party. The other big problem is that the civil rights leadership is no longer about correcting past mistakes, but rather exploiting grievances and calling everybody a racist. In other words, these so-called civil rights leaders, such as Reverend Sharpton, keep themselves relevant by banging the drums of racism. For example, check out this article by Noah Berlatsky: "Trump voters motivated by racism may be violating the Constitution. Can they be stopped?" Despite very low unemployment, 8 in 10 Black Americans View Trump As 'A Racist,' Poll Finds! How is that possible? Meanwhile, the black Democrats running most of our inner cities are not addressing the needs of their citizens, from crime to lousy public schools. What would Dr. King say today? We will never know, but it's hard to think he'd be happy with what we are watching. PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter. Like clockwork, Julia Mejias phone would blow up at the start of each school year with texts and calls from immigrant parents wondering if their childrens buses were running late. Especially during the beginning of the school year, when the buses are either late or dont show up and their kids dont go home, the fear that ICE has picked up their kids is real, said Mejia, who met those parents after founding her nonprofit, the Collaborative Parent Leadership Action Network. Now as a Boston city councilor, Mejia filed an order requesting a public hearing on sanctuary spaces, following reports that Boston Public Schools made more than 100 student incident reports available to a database thats accessible to ICE, or Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The public hearing could lay the foundation for a proposal that could challenge what constitutes a modern-day immigration sanctuary. Mejia said shes open to designated sanctuary spaces in not only schools, but also libraries and youth centers. But first, she added, she wants to solicit feedback from locals, ranging from undocumented parents who have confided in her to city leaders and even federal immigration officials who would likely oppose any sanctuary proposal. My own thinking my first hearing was going to be about public hearings, but you have to respond to what the need is and what is happening, Mejia told MassLive in an interview after introducing her public hearing order. So we quickly wanted to address the issue, especially because its so near and dear to my lived experience. .@juliaforboston has the floor. She talks about her familys immigration story, community organizing and civic participation. We cant participate if we dont know how or are afraid to do so, she said, before going into stats about Bostons foreign-born population. pic.twitter.com/btv7ZvKmSj Steph Solis (@stephmsolis) January 15, 2020 During former President Barack Obamas second term, ICE implemented policies to prioritize detaining convicted felons and gang members over undocumented immigrants with no criminal records and who have family ties. Under President Donald Trump, ICE has rolled back those priorities and now instructs agents to deport all immigrants without legal status, regardless of their circumstances. ICEs policies label schools, places of worship and hospitals as sensitive locations that agents should avoid. Still, stories have circulated of parents or children being detained en route to these places. In Texas, an 11-year-old girl with cerebral palsy was detained while passing through a Border Patrol checkpoint on her way to the hospital for emergency gall bladder surgery. In New Jersey, ICE agents detained two Indonesian Christians dropping off their kids at school and nearly arrested another father before he claimed sanctuary in a church. Federal immigration authorities do not consider other public spaces, such as libraries and community centers, to be sensitive locations." A native of the Dominican Republic, Mejia grew up as a green card holder in Boston. She eventually learned her mother was undocumented. Now she serves on the Boston City Council as the bodys first Afro-Latina immigrant to hold the position. Mejia said shes not only relying on her personal experience but on input shes received from immigrant families, educators and attorneys she has met through CPLAN. She has since stepped down from leading the nonprofit and serves on its advisory board. My organization became the one-stop-shop for parents, all the things that they were scared about, Mejia said, whether it came to calling the school about bus delays to filling out paperwork that might give up identifying information about their country of origin. ICE Boston does not comment on local proposals, but they have opposed sanctuary policies in the past. Marco Charles, acting field director of ICE Bostons Enforcement and Removal Operations, previously told MassLive that the agency sees sanctuary policies as a detriment to public safety. Its only common sense that ICE be able to take custody of criminal aliens in a secure environment such as a jail, instead of sending officers out to attempt the often dangerous task of arresting criminal aliens in residential communities, Charles wrote. Charles said sanctuary policies increase the likelihood of agents encountering and detaining other undocumented immigrants they run into during operations. In jurisdictions where local authorities choose to willingly release criminal offenders back onto the community rather than to ICE custody, the agency has no choice but to send ICE officers into those communities to arrest those individuals that could have been taken into custody at local jails." U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Enforcement and Removal Operations officers arrested 19 people in several Massachusetts counties over the weekend. Officials said they targeted immigrants with drug charges or convictions. The impetus for Mejias order for a public hearing was the announcement earlier this month that Boston Public Schools had shared 135 student incident reports with the Boston Regional Intelligence Center, an information-sharing network that ICE agents can access. Boston Public Schools officials updated the departments policy on how school police officers share school safety reports with other law enforcement agencies, including BRIC. The policy directs school officers not to share School Safety Reports with any outside agencies, including BRIC, except when the Boston Police Department School Unit investigates possible criminal activity. Talia Barrales, an immigration attorney in Boston who has worked with Mejia, said she has represented parents whose children were detained by ICE agents because of a school incident that never led to an arrest or formal police report. Barrales did not say how many cases her firm has represented involving student incident reports, but noted that parents often did not know the school had ever written a student incident report. They dont understand how their child, having never been arrested or committed a crime, are in ICE custody, Barrales said. Its really hard. Its really difficult for us as attorneys to try to explain to them these documents. Boston Public Schools did not immediately respond to a request for comment about whether or how parents are notified about student incident reports. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, who said previously that the schools dont collaborate with ICE, pushed back against criticism of the practice of sharing student incident reports with the BRIC. Boston Public Schools is not passing information to ICE on status and immigration. We dont do that. Thats not what we do," Walsh told reporters after his State of the City address. "Were not immigration police. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh addresses reporters Tuesday night after delivering the 2020 State of the City address. Walsh announced major investments in education and housing. Janelle Dempsey, an attorney at Lawyers for Civil Rights, said she applauds Mejias hearing order. Everyone has the right to feel safe at school, and BPS should not be facilitating a school-to-deportation pipeline by sharing student information that can be accessed by ICE, Dempsey said. Councilor Mejias call for a hearing will help continue to shine a spotlight on this troubling issue and demonstrate the need for BPS to stop all entanglement with ICE immediately. Mejia said she still plans to order a public hearing on public hearings, but that her first priority is addressing the concerns of ICE activity in schools and other spaces around Boston. What would sanctuary spaces look like in Boston? Mejia said she hasnt committed to a vision for a drafted ordinance. She said she hopes to draw parents, regardless of immigration status, educators and local officials to the public hearing to discuss the idea. I think its going to be a process thats going to help restore the trust and help build relationships, and then we can hold each other accountable to that, she said. Im really looking forward to the process. Mejia said she also wants to solicit feedback from federal immigration officials, possibly through a working session with local law enforcement. But she doesnt plan to acquiesce to their requests to avoid sanctuary policies. This is a local issue, and I think that people who live in the city of Boston could decide for ourselves what a sanctuary safe space looks like," she said. This is an opportunity for us to have some autonomy. By PTI WASHINGTON: Indian-Americans, wearing "phirans" and the tricolour headgears, held several events in different parts of the US, including in front of the White House, to mark the 30th anniversary of the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley, recognising the resilience and noble spirit of the community. In over three dozen cities and towns across the country, Indian-Americans held peaceful rallies, candlelight vigils and public meetings to highlight the ordeal of Kashmiri Pandits. Events were held in cities of New York, New Jersey, Boston, Miami, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Detroit, Houston, Sacramento, San Jose, Concord, Milpitas, Naperville and Edison. Kashmiri Pandits wore "phirans" and women sported "tiranga" (Indian flag) headgears during rallies across the country. Commemorating 30 years of exile of the Kashmiri Pandit community from Kashmir - candlelight vigil organized by @HinduAmerican @IAKForg and Hindus of Greater Houston at @SLTownSquare, on the steps of City Hall. #IHeartKashmir #KashmirExodusDay #KashmirExodus1990 pic.twitter.com/VpybeINw1t Rishi Bhutada (@rishi_bhutada) January 20, 2020 They held placards, candles and the Indian flag during the various events. A large number of members of the Kashmiri Pandit community from in and around Washington DC area gathered in front of the White House on Sunday to highlight their ordeal following their displacement from Kashmir. The event was organised by Kashmiri Overseas Association (KOA). "The night of January 19, 1990 is the one that no Kashmiri Pandit survivor who lived through the ordeal wishes to recall because of haunting bad memories. And this is a day that no Kashmiri Pandit expatriate will ever forget,"eminent Kashmiri-American Vijay Sazwal said. "We left to save our elders, our children, the honour of our women and perhaps ourselves. The Kashmiri Pandits, the indigenous Kashmiris have still not been able to return to their ancestral land three decades later. Kashmiri Pandits have a feeling of being disowned, dispossessed and uprooted," said Shakun Malik, who also took part in the event. Swapna Raina, who was also part of the event, said that in 1989-90, more than 350,000 Kashmiri Hindus (known as Pandits), including her and her family had to leave their ancestral homeland. Braving sub-zero temperature, the Kashmiri Hindu Community of Chicago held a candlelight vigil at Naperville City Hall and sang national anthems of both the US and India. In Silicon Valley, over 200 Kashmiris and other Indian supporters gathered to talk about the ordeal of the Kashmiri Pandits and their contribution to the Indian ethos. A short documentary on the Kashmiri Pandit exodus was also screened. The participants also paid homage to the victims in Kashmir, including the soldiers who lost their lives. "There is a myth that 350,000 Kashmiri Pandits left Kashmir of their own in 1990. First and foremost, they did not leave the valley, as has been incorrectly elucidated; they were forced to leave by Islamist terrorists, some within and mostly from Pakistan," Jeevan Zutshi, founder of Association of Indo Americans (AIA), said. Thirty years ago, Kashmiri Pandits experienced "unimaginable devastation," Hindu-American Foundation, which organized the events in multiple cities, said. "The Pakistan-sponsored insurgency and campaign of targeted killings, rape, threats, and destruction of properties and religious sites spanned over many years. But events on January 19, 1990 reached a fevered pitch and culminated in mass panic and the forced displacement of 95 per cent of the Kashmiri Hindu population," it said. In Houston, Kashmiri Pandits volunteered at the Houston Food Bank and donated major food supplies to the needy. They also held a candlelight vigil, organised by Hindu American Foundation and Indo-American Kashmiri Forum, attended by various elected officials, including Congressman Pete Olson, US Representative for 22nd congressional district of Texas. 30 years ago today thousands of Hindus were forced to flee the Kashmir Valley, exiled from their homes and torn from their families. It was an honor to speak at the #KashmirExodusDay candlelight vigil in #TX22 tonight we will keep their memory alive! pic.twitter.com/gf6UNCR93a Rep. Pete Olson (@RepPeteOlson) January 20, 2020 "30 years ago, today thousands of Hindus were forced to flee the Kashmir Valley, exiled from their homes and torn from their families. It was an honour to speak at the #KashmirExodusDay candlelight vigil in #TX22 tonight - we will keep their memory alive!" Olson tweeted. The protestors also demanded setting up of a probe commission and to punish those responsible for the exodus. tech2 News Staff With Republic Day ahead of sale, both Amazon and Flipkart are hosting sales with discounts on various products. Amazon's Great Indian Festival sale began on 19 January and will go in till 22 January. Flipkart's sale, called The Republic Days sale 2020, also started on 19 January and will be on till 22 January. During the sale, Flipkart is offering 10 percent instant discount to ICICI Bank credit card holders and Kotak Bank debit and credit card users. Here are the best deals on smartphones during the sale: Apple iPhone XS During the Flipkart sale, the 64 GB variant of iPhone XS is selling at Rs 49,999. You can also get an additional discount of up to Rs 14,050 on exchange. Xiaomi Redmi K20 Down from its launch price of Rs 22,999, the Xiaomi Redmi K20 is selling at Rs 19,999 during the sale. That's a discount of 13 percent. Google Pixel 3a, Pixel 3a XL The Pixel series from 2018 is also available at a good discount. The Google Pixel 3a 64GB variant is down to Rs 27,999 from Rs 39,999. On exchange, you can get up to Rs 14,000 off in addition to the discount. On the other hand, Google Pixel 3a XL's (review) 64GB model is down to Rs 32,999 during the sale. Black Shark 2 If you are looking for a gaming smartphone, Black Shark 2 (review) is selling at a 34 percent discount at Rs 29,999. The smartphone was originally launched at Rs 45,999. Asus 6Z Down from Rs 35,999, last year's Asus 6Z (review) is available at Rs 27,999 during The Republic Days sale 2020 on Flipkart. The discount is for the 6GB RAM and 64GB storage variant of the smartphone. Flipkart is also offering an instant discount worth up to Rs 14,050 on exchange Vivo Z1 Pro Vivo's 2019 smartphone Vivo Z1 Pro is available at Rs 12,990, down from Rs 15,990. On exchange, you can also get an additional discount of up to Rs 10,750 on the purchase of the smartphone. KONA, Hawaii An all-female crew of analog astronauts have "returned to Earth," completing a two-week mission in a mock Mars habitat on the big island of Hawaii. Six scientists entered the HI-SEAS habitat (the name is short for Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation) an analog Mars base for human researchers that sits on a remote slope of the Mauna Loa volcano on Jan. 4. On Saturday (Jan. 18), at about 4 p.m. local time (9 p.m. EST/0200 GMT ), they emerged from the habitat through an airlock, completing the simulation. This mission, known as Sensoria I, is the first all-female mission at HI-SEAS and the first mission to take place as part of the Sensoria project , a larger initiative that will include a series of missions that will be female-led and female-majority, J.J. Hastings, a bioengineer, the commander of Sensoria I and the CEO of Analogs LLC, a company that is backing the project, told Space.com. "While future Sensoria missions will welcome male researchers as well, we believe that women need to be placed at the center of our shared vision for space exploration, that women need to be given a platform for professional development, opportunities for research and training," Hastings told Space.com as the mission began. While a first for HI-SEAS, the mission is not the first all-woman Mars analog mission. That title belongs the Mars Society's Mars Desert Research Station in Utah in 2005 and 2006. Related: Life on Mars: Inside The HI-SEAS Isolation Habitat (Gallery) The first all-woman crew of the HI-SEAS mock Mars habitat poses for a group photo after completing Sensoria I, a two-week space mission simulation. (Image credit: HI-SEAS/Sensoria 1) Leaving "Mars" Exiting the HI-SEAS habitat after two weeks on "Mars," was "a bit surreal, actually," Hastings told Space.com after completing the mission. Though we'd barely gone 100 kilometers away from where we are right now, it feels like a completely different world." The successful completion of the first Sensoria mission will help inform the future of the program and future Sensoria missions, Hastings said. "What I find extraordinary is, as opposed to maybe a group of individuals who come in to endure two weeks together and move on, we've grown that much closer, which to me gives strength to the rationale behind the Sensoria program to really bring incredibly talented, intelligent, extraordinary professionals in the space sector together to form even grander plans together," she added. A main aim of the program is to connect and uplift women in the space sector to create and support their professional development. As Hastings explained to Space.com, the mission wasnt just an opportunity for these six researchers to accomplish important research tasks, it also enabled them to connect and "leave with grander visions of how to work together and really transform the space sector." Related: One-Year Mock Mars Crew 'Returns to Earth': HI-SEAS Photos The Sensoria crew jumps for joy before entering the mock Martian habitat on Jan. 4, 2020. The crew will stay in the habitat until Jan. 18, 2020. (Image credit: SENSORIA Program) "Martian research" For the past two weeks, these six researchers (Hastings, Erin Bonilla, Adriana Blachowicz, Makiah Eustice, Sian Proctor and Maraia Hoffman) have been swabbing Martian surfaces and performing genetic sequencing on-site, fermenting foods, exploring new technologies, illustrating, developing new non-verbal methods of communication, working on sustainable hydrogels, exploring what critical self-reflection means in a space analog environment and so much more. The six researchers come from a variety of backgrounds. They both brought a wide range of different research projects and investigations into the lab and worked together on each others studies, helping each other to swab different surfaces, test out "Martian foods" and more. Sensoria in the future The Sensoria project, in addition to explicitly including and supporting women with these analog missions, also aims to include and lift up young women through educational programs and collaborations. Sensoria has partnered with Sally Ride Science, an education nonprofit that works to support young women in science, and a group of undergraduate women who communicated with the Sensoria I crew from the commercial space company Blue Origin. Immediately following the Sensoria I crew's exit from the habitat, a new crew of researchers from the European Space Agency entered the habitat for a new analog mission. CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the Sensoria HI-SEAS mission was the first all-woman Mars analog mission. It is the first all-female mission by the HI-SEAS program. The first all-female mock Mars missions were performed by the Mars Society's Mars Desert Research Station in Utah in 2005 and 2006. Follow Chelsea Gohd on Twitter @chelsea_gohd . Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook . A police chase turned fatal on Monday morning in Berkeley, police said. Around 10:30 a.m., Berkeley police say University of California police attempted to pull over a driver on Sixth Street and University Avenue. According to Berkeley police spokesman Byron White, the driver refused to stop and sped off, striking a person on the sidewalk in the process. White told Berkeleyside that the traffic stop was initiated by a UCPD officer who heard a "female passenger screaming for help" from the suspect's vehicle. Police did not provide more details on the identity of the deceased individual. The suspect's vehicle, a charcoal gray, four-door Nissan sedan, was last seen getting onto I-80, which has an onramp a few blocks away from Sixth and University. The Berkeley Police Department had a fatal accidental investigation team and members of its homicide unit on the scene, and the public was being asked to stay away from the area. At 7:20 p.m., BPD announced that all roads were once again open. Anyone who witnessed the crash or has video of the incident is asked to contact Berkeley police at 510-981-5900. Fully armored SUV's or other such vehicles Increased number of armored escort vehicles and personnel Possible use of helicopters to routinely move key people around More firepower in those escort vehicles, beyond handguns and rifles Altering routes to and from homes and places where they work More security on the itineraries of important commanders I am showing my age by remembering the assassination attempt that occurred on four-star Gen. Kroesen when he was the Commander of all U.S. Army units in Europe. I remember the day vividly--because I saw him later that day."General Kroesen was injured in Heidelberg on September 15, 1981, when his armoured Mercedes was targeted with an RPG-7 anti-tank rocket. Responsibility for the attack was claimed by the "Kommando Gudrun Ensslin" of the Red Army Faction (aka Baader-Meinhof Gang). More information on the attack:Terrorists fired an antitank grenade and gunshots today into the automobile of the United States Army's European commander, Gen. Frederick J. Kroesen, but the assassination attempt failed.The general and his wife received only minor cuts when the grenade,fired from a wooded hillside in an elaborately planned ambush, exploded in the trunk of their car, partly shattering its rear window. At least eight gunshots were aimed at the armor-plated automobile and an accompanying military police vehicle, but none penetrated the passenger compartments.The assassination attempt was made as the general drove to work at the United States Army's European headquarters here. It was the fourth attack on American personnel and installations in West Germany in the last three weeks and the 10th this year.The office of the West German Federal Prosecutor said today's ambush, involving extremely skilled preparations and a Soviet-made grenade launcher, was in all likelihood the work of the Red Army faction, the name given by Andreas Baader and Ulrike Meinhoff to their left-wing terrorist group. Miss Meinhoff commited suicide in her prison cell in 1976; Mr. Baader did the same in 1977."For my civilian readers, General Kroesen was the top General in Europe at the time. Protection for him included being in an armored car and having a military escort of Military Police. This happened at the time of a major field training exercise called Reforger that was ongoing at the time. I recall military units from the United States, Germany and Canada participated. These exercises were held in the actual German countryside, not on some military installation. My unit's role was serving as a large control center for monitoring the exercise. My individual position was briefing officer for people who wanted to have a situation update on the entire exercise.General Kroesen was scheduled to stop by that day to get a briefing. Then we heard of the attack and did not know if he would be coming or not. He did show up, with a bunch of other general officers. Because of the rocket attack and the shattering of the rear window he had visible cuts on the back of his neck that were likely caused by shattered glass. He was lucky to be alive!I think he kept up with his schedule to show that he and the United States would not be intimidated. I have to say that he did seem a "bit distracted" and not all that interested in the briefing itself--which would be understandable.Now, back to today, 2020. Because of the US attack and killing of the Iranian General Qassim Soleimani I expect that all the personal force protection steps have been rachetted up considerably for general officers deployed outside of the United States. This might include:I'm wondering what, if anything, they are doing for general officers for major commands here in the U.S.? Some of the above is virtually certain for the Joint Chiefs of Staff Commanders. Others? I'm not too sure. They would be wise to be taking some additional precautions.Last story, I recall a commander for the 2nd Armored Brigade, Erlangen Germany, which was a full colonel, personally carried a loaded weapon when commuting from his home to his headquarters. That was in the 1980-82 time frame. Effective Storytelling For Musicians While some artists seem to gifted with a naturally compelling backstory, any band or artist can usually craft of compelling narrative surrounding their origin if they play their cards right. Here we look at how. Guest post by Cortney Harding of Spotify For Artists How to stand out from the crowd by zeroing in on the unique aspects of who you are. Cortney Harding, former music editor at Billboard, shares advice that was part of the curriculum of her Writing About Popular Music class in the Clive Davis program at NYUs Tisch School of the Arts. Despite the glamorous antics portrayed in Almost Famous, being a music journalist today is less about partying and more about staring at a never-ending stream of emails from bands and publicists, all asking writers to spotlight their band but essentially saying the same thing. Meanwhile, publications are shuttering, the click-grabbing headlines seem to be mostly ephemeral, and it can seem impossible for you to stand out from the crowd. Ask any journalist, and theyll tell you that just having some good songs isnt enough; you need a story, something to draw readers in and help them relate to you. A handful of artists have amazing backstoriesMaggie Rogers, for instance, was discovered by Pharrell Williams when he dropped by one of her performance classes at NYU; Jewel grew up without electricity in Alaska before being discovered while living in a van in San Diego. But no matter how conventional your life has seemed so far, everyone has a compelling story somewhere, and here are some tips to help identify and tell it. Examine everything Open a document on your laptop or get a pen and paper and start making notes about your life story. Theres a decent chance that many of the things that seem ho-hum to you would be fascinating to someone else. Did you grow up somewhere remote or quirky? How did you discover music and start playing? Who taught you to play? Did you have any big, formative experiences, either positive or negative? Also, think about your current lifewhat do you do besides making music? Marni Wandner, a publicist at The Syndicate, often starts artist engagements with a questionnaire that she describes as a job interview meets a dating profile. She says shes on the lookout to discover an artists passions, and often asks them to think about what their friends and family would say about them as a starting point. And Rachel Rossen of Tell All Your Friends PR suggests that if an artist feels stuck in this stage, it can be helpful to get a friend to interview them to tease out more talking points. Dont box yourself In If your story is coming too easily, make sure its not something that will limit you in the future. This can be an issue for artists connected to more famous people, either as family members or collaboratorswhile being the child of a famous person might get you in the door initially, no one will want to write that story about you over and over again (and you will probably find that eventually you want to get out of that shadow). Rossen suggests that artists refresh their stories for each album, to reflect their personal and artistic evolution. If your personal story isnt evolving, many outlets are less likely to cover it because they could be telling new stories as opposed to rehashing old ones. Think outside the box Refer back to your notes about your life and think about alternative avenues for coveragesure, everyone would love to be prominently featured on the biggest blogs or podcasts or news outlets, but getting that kind of attention doesnt come immediately for most. Lots of niche publications, however, would be thrilled to cover an interesting new artist, so take your love for yoga or shelter animals, connect it to your narrative as an artist, and start reaching out to publications in that space. Rossen cautions against stretching too hard, however. If you work in animal rescue and write songs about your pet, absolutely pitch that, she says. But if you just have a cat and thats it, thats not going to be an interesting or useful angle to play up. Write your own headlines If youre stuck, spend some time looking at the publications youre targeting and read all the headlines and photo captions. Note that very few of them will have headlines like Good Band Releases Good Album; rather, there will be a reference to something interesting about the artist and how it relates to the music (a recent one from Rolling Stone: Coldplay Get Admirably Real on the Organically Expansive Everyday Life). Once youve devoured several of these, start brainstorming your own. Think of this as an elevator pitchsomething quick and pithy that emphasizes how different you are, and ideally ties it to the music you are creating. It might take a few rounds and some feedback, but its a quick way to narrow down your story fast. Then start using it with every pitch email and press release. Be authentic If there are parts of your past that youd be uncomfortable revealing, even if they would make a great story, its not worth using them. Youre ideally going to give a lot of interviews about this, so if its traumatic, tough, or sensitive in some other way, be kind to yourself and mind your needs for privacy. You cant force a great story; it has to develop naturally and be something that you want to tell over and over, and do it from the heart. And obviously, dont lieyoull just get busted and end your career before it even begins. Coming up with a compelling story to build pitches and campaigns around is no easy feat, but its absolutely crucial if you want any type of media coverage. But by examining your life, consulting friends, and creating something that feels authentic, youll be well positioned to draw in new potential fansand to nurture the attention of people who already love your music. Cortney Harding Share on: ONTARIO, Calif., Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Broco Tactical is exhibiting the newest in their line of forced entry and rescue and repair products for law enforcement, military and first responders at SHOT Show 2020, January 21-24, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Broco will be in Booth #20430 at the Sands Expo Center, Level 2. On display will be the new full size, multi-function, stand-alone Broco Breacher Training Door, the Gapper Electric Hydraulic Spreader and the new and improved, patent pending, Easylight 2 Cutting Rods. The Gapper Backpacked Hydraulic Spreader Broco Breacher Training Door The Broco Breacher Training Door is the most versatile training door on the market today and is designed for breacher training using rams, pry bars, hydraulic tools, cutting saws, ballistics and explosive strip charges. It is constructed of T1 heat treated steel, is 1" thick on the working edge like a real door, and can be used freestanding or within other breacher training configurations. "Breaching is an integral segment of our forced entry market," said Richard Ferry, president of Broco Rankin. "This new door is designed to meet the training needs of our law enforcement, military and first responder customers that rely on Broco products." The Gapper is Broco's new backpacked electric hydraulic power pack with a CF-3 (Crow's Foot) spreader. It is compact, lightweight, and provides spreading force of 3000 psi. The Gapper allows one operator to work faster, quieter, and easily when forcing open metal doors and security gates. The Gapper opens all types of inward and outward opening doors. Also on display at the SHOT Show will be the new and improved Broco Easylight 2 Cutting Rods which can be ignited from a 9V battery, mechanical sparker or open flame. Rod ignition is even faster under the new patent pending design. Easylight 2s are 24" long and 3/8" diameter and come in boxes of 25. Because Easylight 2 is a Broco cutting rod, it yields unequaled performance in burn time, length of cut per rod, evenness of burn and minimal smoke. Easylight 2s are the newest component in the world renowned Broco Exothermic Cutting Torch System. For more information about these Broco Tactical products, and any Broco Rankin products, please call 909.483.3222 or 800.845.7259, visit www.broco-rankin.com, or contact Margaret McCallister at [email protected]. Broco Tactical is part of the Broco Rankin family of companies based in Ontario, California. In addition to tactical and forced entry products, Broco, Inc. designs and manufactures underwater cutting and welding equipment, and industrial exothermic cutting and welding systems. Rankin Hardfacing, PMA Protective Metal Alloys, and Chamberlain Security are part of Rankin Industries which designs and manufactures buildup, hardfacing and specialty nickel alloy products. Most products are available through a global distributor network. SOURCE Broco Rankin Related Links https://www.broco-rankin.com/ The apex court bench, headed by Justice R Banumathi, said the Delhi High Court 'rightly rejected' Gupta's claim of being a juvenile at the time of the offence. The Supreme Court on Monday rejected the juvenility plea of 2012 gangrape convict Pawan Kumar Gupta. The apex court bench, headed by Justice R Banumathi, said the Delhi High Court "rightly rejected" Gupta's claim of being a juvenile at the time of the offence. Advocate AP Singh, appearing for the death row convict Pawan Kumar Gupta, earlier accused the State of concealing his client's juvenility from the court. As per Live Law, Singh said that as per Gupta's school leaving certificate, his date of birth is 8 October, 1996, which means he was a minor at the time of the offence. He added that this document was obtained in February 2017, after his client had been convicted and that none of the courts, including trial court and high court, ever considered his documents. He alleged that there is a "big conspiracy" to conceal Gupta's age, to which Bhushan stated that Singh's questions regarding his age were brought up before this court and decided during proceedings, as per Live Law. "Can you be allowed now to bring up same issue based on new evidence?" the justice asked. Bar & Bench reported that Banumathi stated that this question was considered during the July 2018 judgment and also considered by the Delhi High Court later. "This is not the first time this issue has been raised. You have raised this plea before the trial court, which was rejected in 2013. Even the high court and the Supreme Court have rejected this plea earlier. If this was the first time you were raising the issue, it may have been different," Justice Banumathi said. "One of the accused was, in fact, tried as a juvenile. Your plea was rejected." Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Delhi Police, said that Gupta's claim of juvenility was considered at each and every judicial forum and it will be a travesty of justice if the convict is allowed to raise the claim of juvenility repeatedly and at this point of time. He said the convict was 19 years old at the time of offence and there is a certified copy of his birth certificate as well as a school leaving certificate which was taken on record by each and every judicial forum. With inputs from PTI The last time Donald Trump appeared at the World Economic Forum at Davos in Switzerland his aggressive comments on trade presaged the start of the damaging trade war with China. He is scheduled to deliver the opening address at this weeks forum, raising the prospect that he will again use the opportunity to foreshadow yet another trade confrontation. Fresh from his "momentous" trade deal with China more of an indefinite pause than a conclusion to that dispute and with his address on Tuesday roughly coinciding with the opening of his impeachment trial in the US Senate, Trump is likely to reprise the mix of triumphalism and threats that studded his 2018 appearance. Security personnel stand on a rooftop for a briefing ahead of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Europeans are waiting to see if Donald Trump reprises his role as 'Tariff Man'. Credit:Bloomberg Trump and his trade representative, Robert Lighthizer, are scheduled to meet the new European Commission president, Ursula Von Der Leyen and European Union trade commissioner Phil Hogan on the sidelines of the forum mid-week. There are tensions in the trade relationship between the US and the EU that have been simmering ever since Trump was elected on his "America First" platform. The mother of a baby boy left in a blistering hot car while she allegedly played bingo at the pub has gone into hiding amid concerns for her safety. Kaija Millar, 32, from Gladstone Park, has been charged with negligently causing serious injury and reckless conduct endangering the life of baby Easton. The 14-month old remains in a critical but stable condition in Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital. Steve Millar has revealed his son Easton has just a 50 per cent chance of survival after he was allegedly left in the car outside a pub in Point Cook, Victoria Kaija Millar, 32, (pictured, left) is accused of leaving 14-month-old Easton (right) in her car and abandoning him while she went to play bingo Millar will appear at the Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Thursday to face charges that she left her baby in a hot vehicle Easton's father Steve Millar broke his silence last weekend, revealing he had cut himself off from the child's mother as she prepares to face court over the shocking allegations. The young mum has been forced to remove herself from social media amid a tidal wave of abuse from across the nation and abroad. Millar's face went viral upon being outed as Easton's mum on Friday and has been shared across the globe. Sources have told Daily Mail Australia security staff at Melbourne Magistrates' Court will be on on the lookout for trouble when Millar fronts up on Thursday. Victoria Police could also deploy additional resources to the court should prosecutors express specific fears. Daily Mail Australia can also reveal Millar was already in trouble with the law when she allegedly left her baby outside a Point Cook pokie venue last week. Millar will front Kyneton Magistrates' Court next month on multiple charges, including obtaining property by deception and dealing in the proceeds of crime. The revelations follow claims Millar had been struggling with a gambling addiction, which she had kept secret from those closest to her, including the child's father. Mr Millar said his son had just a 50 per cent chance of survival. Speaking to the Herald Sun newspaper Mr Millar said he was 'heartbroken and devastated'. 'It's still touch and go at the moment it's 50-50 whether he'll pull through,' he said. 'He has shown a few signs to me, when I'm talking to him you can see his mouth trying to move.' He said his parents and both his brothers had been accompanying him to the hospital daily as he holds a bedside vigil for the youngster. Police in Victoria claim Easton was left to swelter in his mum's Holden Barina as temperatures reached 33C outside. He was found unresponsive about 3pm on Wednesday in the locked car, which was parked outside the Brook Hotel in Point Cook, west of Melbourne. A shocked family friend told the Sunday Herald Sun that Millar frequently visited the pub to play bingo. A neighbour of the family has said they had spoken to Mr Millar and he was a 'shell of a man'. 'I just can't comprehend it. This is like a lightning bolt out of the blue it's shocked everybody really,' he told The Advertiser. 'It's a real shame because he's just the average run-of-the-mill tradie that just goes and does his job'. Experts said the temperature in a car on a 29C day or hotter can hit 44C within just 10 minutes, with the child likely to suffer heatstroke. Baby Easton (pictured, left) was found unresponsive and in a critical condition. Police allege his mother Kaija Millar (right) left him in the car Kaija Millar (pictured) has been charged. Her baby, Easton, is fighting for his life in hospital What happens to children left in hot cars? Children's bodies heat up three-to-five times faster than adults do The younger the child, the more vulnerable they are On a 29C day, temperatures inside a car can reach 44C in just ten minutes This can cause 'serious injury' and brain damage After 20 minutes, the temperature reaches a fatal 60.2C, which could kill Winding down the windows or parking in the shade will do little as it doesn't affect the car's core temperature Advertisement It is understood a bystander performed CPR on the child until paramedics arrived. Witnesses said the mother was inconsolable as efforts were made to save her son. The incident comes less than a month after the state government launched its Never Leave Kids in Cars campaign. Last month, paramedics revealed they were called eight times to children being left locked in hot cars across Victoria as temperatures hit a scorching 40C. Upon launching the campaign, Victorian health minister Jenny Mikakos said more than 30 Victorians a week mainly babies and toddlers were having to be rescued from vehicles. On Thursday, Ms Mikakos said almost 1,500 children were left in vehicles in Victoria in the first 11 months of last year. Kaija Millar (pictured) is due to appear in court on January 23. Easton is being cared for by his father, sources say Speaking to Daily Mail Australia in November, Dr Dilip Dhupelia, the president of the Australian Medical Association's Queensland branch, had a dramatic warning for parents: 'It is never OK to leave a child in the car.' 'Some people have this false sense of protection - 'it's only 10 minutes, I'll leave the window open four or five centimetres',' Dr Dhupelia said. 'It doesn't stop the temperature rising.' The doctor said the mercury can rise so fast in just 10 minutes in the car, that heatstroke and seizures can occur. Heatstroke is where children's bodies fail to properly regulate their temperature and can occur rapidly after their body temperature passes 40 degrees. 'A child can become dizzy, it can become confused, it can become very agitated,' Dr Dhupelia said. Their organs then begin to shut down. 'Then they have seizures, and the seizures can lead to a loss of consciousness and death. Study: A 2008 Ambulance Victoria experiment found temperatures inside a car on a 29 degree day, doubled from 20C to 44C in ten minutes - which could cause 'serious injury' Pawan Kumar Gupta, one of the four men convicted in the 2012 Delhi gangrape, need not be treated as a minor, the Supreme Court ruled on Monday, dismissing a petition filed by the death row convict to stop his execution on February 1 at 6 am. A bench led by Justice R Banumathi had taken up Pawan Guptas special leave petition against his hanging earlier this morning. Gupta had contended that he was a juvenile on 16 December 2012 when a 23-year-old paramedic on her way home was gang-raped and killed by six people. But the bench declined to re-open this aspect of the case at this stage again. Also Watch l Who is she to question me?: Delhi gang rape victims mother on Jaisings pardon urge In its verdict, the Supreme Court ruled that the accused were entitled to raise the point about their age at any point under Juvenile Justice Act. But this plea could not be brought up again and again. The bench noted that Pawan Gupta had already contended that he was juvenile back in 2012 during proceedings in the trial court, the high court and later the Supreme Court and this point was dismissed. During the arguments earlier, Guptas lawyer AP Singh had accused the police of concealing the records about his age. Pawans date of birth is October 8, 1996. These records were concealed by the Delhi Police, it is a big conspiracy, said AP Singh and produced Pawan Guptas school certificates to back his claim. The bench, however, did not take the certificates at its face value, pointing out that the certificates had been issued in 2017, years after Gupta had been convicted in the case. The issue regarding Pawans age was raised before Supreme Court in the review petition and dismissed. Can you keep raising new plea on the ground that new facts have come to light? said Justice Ashok Bhushan. One of the six people arrested for the 2012 gang-rape and murder of the paramedic had been let off after three years in custody because he was a minor. Four accused - Pawan (25), Vinay Sharma (26), Mukesh Kumar (32) and Akshay Kumar Singh (31) - were convicted and sentenced to death in a trial that was completed within just a year of the gruesome crime. The sixth, Ram Singh, allegedly committed suicide at Tihar jail a few months before the trial court delivered its guilty verdict. The 23-year-old womans mother said Pawan Kumar Guptas appeal in the Supreme Court had been another delaying tactic by the convicts to delay hanging. Just like theyre delaying it one after other, they must be hanged one by one so that they understand what it means to toy with the law, she said, according to news agency ANI. Ted Cruz Andrew Harnik/AP In a Fox News interview Sunday morning, Ted Cruz said Democrats were "terrified" of hearing testimony from Hunter Biden. Whether witnesses appear in the Senate trial has been a point of tension among Democrats and Republicans following last month's House vote to impeach President Trump, though some Republicans have said they want witnesses to appear. Cruz has called for a rule of reciprocity if witnesses are allowed, meaning the defense could call a witness for every witness called by the prosecution. Four Senate Republicans need to join Democrats in order to allow witnesses in the impeachment trial. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, said Sunday that Democrats were "terrified" of hearing testimony from Hunter Biden, the son of former Vice President Joe Biden, as part of President Donald Trump's impending impeachment trial in the Senate. Cruz made the comments on an appearance on Fox News' Mario Bartiromo "Sunday Morning Futures," The Hill reported. The 2016 Republican presidential candidate told Bartiromo that rules of reciprocity should apply in the impeachment trial, meaning if the prosecution gets to call a new witness, the defense should get to call one, too. "If the prosecution gets a witness, the defense gets a witness," Cruz said. "If the prosecution gets two, the defense gets two. If the prosecution gets to call John Bolton, the prosecution gets to call Hunter Biden. The Democrats are terrified about seeing a witness like Hunter Biden testify because they don't want to hear evidence of actual corruption." Cruz first proposed the reciprocity rule on January 14, according to Fox News. The idea garnered support from several Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The president's son, Donald Trump Jr., also shared his support for the Cruz proposal. Story continues Cruz said that Democrats had blocked "blocked all those witnesses in the House," but said should Democrats continue their push to allow witnesses as part of the Senate trial, they will not be able to block them from testifying in the Senate phase of the process, which will determine whether the presidents actions with Ukraine warrant his removal from office. Democrats and Republicans have clashed over whether to allow new witnesses to be interviewed by the Senate as part of the president's impeachment trial. Lindsay Graham, a Republican from South Carolina and the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has also said that the rules of reciprocity should apply in the impeachment trial, The Hill said. In an unprecedented and risky move, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had waited weeks following the House's December 18 decision to impeach the president to send the articles of impeachment to the Senate to trigger the trial. Pelosi waited amid disagreements over how to conduct the trial following Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's and other Republican Senator's implication that the Senate trial would be conducted in tandem with the White House. Comments from Republicans like Graham, who in December said he was not expecting to act as a "fair juror" in the Senate trial, further influenced Pelosi to hold the articles. The House passed a resolution to send the articles to the Senate last week on January 15 after she said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, had compromised and said the Senate would determine whether to allow witnesses in the trial. While Republicans viewed this as a loss for Pelosi and Democrats, a timeline of events shows that Pelosi's decision to hold off on sending the articles might have paid off for the House speaker. According to a report from The New York Times, Senate Democrats only need to convince four Republican senators to allow them to subpoena witnesses in the impeachment trial. Sens. Mitt Romney of Utah, Susan Collins of Maine, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska have already said they might be open to witnesses in the trial, meaning Democrats need to find just one more Republican senator. Read more: The US is entering an era in which impeaching the president will be routine Trump reportedly picked his impeachment defense team based on how well he thinks they can perform on TV The White House called the Democrats' impeachment case against Trump a 'dangerous attack' in its first formal response Trump's defense team in his Senate impeachment trial will include Alan Dershowitz and Ken Starr Read the original article on Business Insider The mother of Heather Heyer, the activist who was run down and killed during the Charlottesville race rally in 2017, has revealed she is a long-time gun owner and believes Virginia Democrats are going too far with their firearms restrictions. Susan Bro spoke out as thousands of gun-rights activists - many carrying weapons - rallied in Richmond, Virginia, on Monday to protest plans by the states Democratic leadership to pass sweeping gun-control legislation. 'I grew up with guns,' Bro told CNN on Monday. 'I believe in common sense gun measures, but not extreme measures. And I think that those need to be discussed. I think people need to be able to talk to their representatives.' Bro noted that while she believes some of the gun restrictions under consideration are 'a bit extreme,' other parts of the legislation are sound. She also slammed Donald Trump for using the moment to 'push politics' following tweets saying voters need to back Republicans in 2020 to protect their gun rights, and claimed the president 'could care less about the Second Amendment.' Bro's daughter, 32-year-old paralegal Heather Heyer, was among hundreds demonstrating against white nationalists in Charlottesville in August 2017 when James Alex Fields Jr drove his car into the group, killing Heyer and injuring dozens of others. Scroll down for video Susan Bro (left), the mother of slain Charlottesville counterprotester Heather Heyer (right), says she is a gun owner and opposes some of the gun control measures that have been proposed by Virginia Democrats Bro appeared on CNN's New Day before the beginning of the rally in Richmond to share her thoughts Fields, an avowed white supremacist from Ohio, was sentenced to a life in prison in June 2019 after pleading guilty to federal hate crime charges. Virginia Democrats are backing an assault weapons ban, along with bills limiting handgun purchases to once a month and background checks on gun purchases. The new laws would also allow local authorities to ban guns in public buildings, parks and other areas. A proposed 'red flag' bill would allow authorities to temporarily take guns away from anyone deemed to be dangerous to themselves or others. On the eve of Monday's pro-gun rally in the Virginia state capital, Bro urged anyone planning to resort to violence to 'stay the hell away from Richmond,' as she told The Independent. A gun rights rally is underway today in Richmond, Virginia, amid threats of violence, according to the FBI. Susan Bro, whose daughter Heather Heyer was killed in Charlottesville, says she hopes "sanity reigns today."https://t.co/X7tVv40MQy pic.twitter.com/CNY10KbYkr New Day (@NewDay) January 20, 2020 Gun-rights supporters gather for a rally outside the Virginia state capitol in Richmond, Virginia, on Monday, which also attracted militia members, white supremacists, and other far-right extremists Thousands of gun rights advocates attend a rally organized by the Virginia Citizens Defense League on Capitol Square near the state capital building to protest proposed sweeping gun control laws, including limiting handgun purchase to one per month She also cautioned peaceful protesters seeking to come out and have their voices heard to be aware that there might be 'foolish people' in the crowd bent on stirring up hate. 'Im talking about people who are gun owners who have been pushing others to really foam at the mouth about the laws in Virginia and what the Democrats might do even before the list came out. I think the list is a bit extreme, Bro added. 'There are some good common-sense gun laws, though, that are on that list. I hope sanity reigns today.' As of Monday afternoon, there were no reports of violence or arrests during the rally in Richmond. Authorities in Richmond said 22,000 people showed up, and were surrounded by a heavy police presence. The tight security in Virginia's state capitol was law enforcement looking to avoid a repeat of the deadly violence that was seen in Charlottesville three years ago. The size of the rally and the expected participation of white supremacists and fringe right-wing militia groups prompted Governor Ralph Northam to declare a state of emergency, but the event concluded without incident around noon. Heyer was killed in August 2017 when avowed white supremacist James Alex Fields Jr drove his car into a crowd of counterprotesters during a Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville. The car Fields was driving when he killed Heyer is pictured above James Alex Fields Jr (pictured left and right) pleaded guilty to hate crime charges and was handed a life sentence last June Bro also slammed Donald Trump for using the moment to 'push politics' in response to his tweet saying voters need to back Republicans in 2020 to protect their gun rights, and claimed the president 'could care less about the Second Amendment.' The Richmond protesters, who were mostly white and male, came out in the thousands despite the chilly temperature to send a message to legislators.' 'The government doesnt run us, we run the government,' said Kem Regik, a 20-year-old private security officer from northern Virginia who brought a white flag with a picture of a rifle captioned, 'Come and take it.' The rally coincides with the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, which is typically a chance for everyday citizens to use a day off work to lobby their legislators. However, the threat of violence largely kept other groups away from Virginia's Capitol, including gun control groups that hold an annual vigil for victims of gun violence. B oris Johnson got his new year off to a flying start as he attended the UK-Africa Investment Summit. The Duke of Sussex and Mr Johnson are understood to have met in private on the margins of the summit, in a room upstairs at the event in Londons Docklands. It is understood no aides were present from either side. The sixth in line to the throne shared an animated conversation with Prime Minister. Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits the Pavegen stand, a company that converts footsteps into energy / PA Mr Johnson told those at the meeting in Greenwich, southeast London, that he was hoping post-Brexit Britain would be a big trading partner with Africa. He then took to the floor of the Intercontinental Hotel London for some action-snaps. Speaking of his plans for the future, the PM said: We want to build a new future as a global free-trading nation, thats what we will be embarking on on January 31." He added: But I want to intensify and expand that trade in ways that go far beyond what we sell you or you sell us. Ive just told President (Yoweri) Museveni of Uganda that his beef cattle will have an honoured place on the tables of post-Brexit Britain. The PM was meeting presidents from Rwanda, Ghana and Nigeria at the summit, and was due to have talks with the premiers of Egypt and Kenya at Downing Street on Tuesday. Somalia has invited Turkey to carry out offshore oil exploration works in the territorial waters of the African country, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday, as reported by broadcaster NTV. Turkey has an offer from Somalia, which says that Ankara can conduct oil exploration the way it has agreed to do with Libya in the eastern Mediterranean, Erdogan said. Therefore, there will be steps that we will take in our operations there, NTV quoted the Turkish president as saying, as carried by Reuters. Turkey has been giving aid to Somalia since 2011, following a famine in the African country, as Ankara aims to increase its influence in and around the Horn of Africa where Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are also vying for influence. Somalia is not an oil producer, but seismic studies have shown that there could be a lot of oil and gas resources in its offshore. Earlier this month, Somalias Parliament passed a new petroleum law, paving the way for completing the regulatory framework for oil and gas exploration in the African country. Somalia hopes the new law and the revenue sharing framework will attract oil majors to exploring for oil in its waters. A possible joint exploration deal between Turkey and Somalia would come after an agreement between Turkey and Libya from late last year, which enraged Turkeys Mediterranean neighbors, Greece and Cyprus. Turkey signed at the end of last year a maritime agreement with Libyas UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) to set up an exclusive economic zone from Turkeys southern coast to Libyas northeast shores. The deal, also aimed at sharing resources, drew harsh criticism from Greece and Cyprus who fear a resource grab from Turkey in the Mediterranean. Earlier this month, Erdogan said that Turkey and Libya could use the services of international companies for their joint oil and gas exploration plans in the Mediterranean. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Many investors are still learning about the various metrics that can be useful when analysing a stock. This article is for those who would like to learn about Return On Equity (ROE). To keep the lesson grounded in practicality, we'll use ROE to better understand Medicon Hellas S.A. (ATH:MEDIC). Medicon Hellas has a ROE of 4.1%, based on the last twelve months. One way to conceptualize this, is that for each 1 of shareholders' equity it has, the company made 0.04 in profit. View our latest analysis for Medicon Hellas How Do You Calculate ROE? The formula for return on equity is: Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) Shareholders' Equity Or for Medicon Hellas: 4.1% = 444k 11m (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2019.) Most readers would understand what net profit is, but its worth explaining the concept of shareholders equity. It is all earnings retained by the company, plus any capital paid in by shareholders. Shareholders' equity can be calculated by subtracting the total liabilities of the company from the total assets of the company. What Does Return On Equity Mean? Return on Equity measures a company's profitability against the profit it has kept for the business (plus any capital injections). The 'return' is the yearly profit. 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 it can be interesting to compare the ROE of different companies. Does Medicon Hellas Have A Good Return On Equity? By comparing a company's ROE with its industry average, we can get a quick measure of how good it is. Importantly, this is far from a perfect measure, because companies differ significantly within the same industry classification. As is clear from the image below, Medicon Hellas has a lower ROE than the average (12%) in the Medical Equipment industry. ATSE:MEDIC Past Revenue and Net Income, January 20th 2020 That's not what we like to see. We'd prefer see an ROE above the industry average, but it might not matter if the company is undervalued. Nonetheless, it could be useful to double-check if insiders have sold shares recently. Story continues How Does Debt Impact ROE? Virtually all companies need money to invest in the business, to grow profits. That cash can come from retained earnings, issuing new shares (equity), or debt. In the case of the first and second options, the ROE will reflect this use of cash, for growth. In the latter case, the debt required for growth will boost returns, but will not impact the shareholders' equity. In this manner the use of debt will boost ROE, even though the core economics of the business stay the same. Combining Medicon Hellas's Debt And Its 4.1% Return On Equity Medicon Hellas clearly uses a significant amount of debt to boost returns, as it has a debt to equity ratio of 1.27. Its ROE isn't too bad, but it would probably be very disappointing if the company had to stop using debt. Debt does bring extra risk, so it's only really worthwhile when a company generates some decent returns from it. The Key Takeaway Return on equity is a useful indicator of the ability of a business to generate profits and return them to shareholders. A company that can achieve a high return on equity without debt could be considered a high quality business. If two companies have the same ROE, then I would generally prefer the one with less debt. Having said that, while ROE is a useful indicator of business quality, you'll have to look at a whole range of factors to determine the right price to buy a stock. It is important to consider other factors, such as future profit growth -- and how much investment is required going forward. So I think it may be worth checking this free this detailed graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow. Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies. 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. (Alliance News) - Renewi PLC on Monday said it remains confident that its full-year results will be in line with expectations as it published an update on its performance. The waste-to-products business also said it has applied for a secondary Euronext Amsterdam listing effective from January 30. It said will not place any new shares in connection with its application for a secondary listing on Euronext and will remain listed on the premium segment of the official list in London. Renewi said that for the period starting October 1 to January 20, the business performed in line with expectations. The hazardous waste division traded slightly above expectations following the lift of the ban on thermally treated soil by regulators in the Netherlands. As a result, it expects its Afvalstoffen Terminal Moerdijk hazardous waste treatment plant to resume production as local permits for the use of the treated soil are granted, and as demand and capacity increase for its new secondary building materials using the treated soil. Renewi was formed from the reverse takeover of Dutch firm Van Gansewinkel Groep by by the UK's Shanks Group in 2017. The company said its mono-streams and municipal divisions performed in line with expectations. Renewi said its commercial division traded in line with expectations as it reported lower volumes of construction & demolition waste. It also said it has continued to increase prices to waste producers to address low recyclate prices. Additionally, it said the AEB incinerator in Amsterdam has returned to full operation and all outstanding claims have been settled, resulting in a reversal of the EUR3 million provision taken at the half-year stage. In January 2018, Renewi extended its partnership with Dutch energy-from-waste firm AEB by signing an 10-year offtake contract to supply refuse-derived fuel to AEBas Amsterdam facility. Renewi added that Brexit and the new Dutch tax on the import of burnable waste have had an impact on its contract with East London Waste Authority. The company said that these developments will result in it recording a EUR25.5 million one-off charge in its annual results with EUR10 million going to impair assets and EUR15.5 million as an onerous contract provision that will be incurred over the next four years. "These events will increase the off-take costs of our ELWA contract by over EUR5 million per annum until new outlets can be found. The impact of Brexit following the transition period is also expected to add up to EUR1 million per annum in haulage and tariff costs. Looking ahead, the Renewi said it remains confident it will deliver trading results for the full financial year ending March 31 in line with expectations. Renewi shares were trading 4.6% lower at 34.95 pence each on Monday morning in London. By Ife Taiwo; ifetaiwo@alliancenews.com Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. Search for four South Korean trekkers, three Nepali guides continues days after avalanche hits Mount Annapurna trail. Special army and government rescue personnel have intensified their search for four South Korean trekkers and their three Nepali guides who went missing after an avalanche swept a popular trekking route in Nepals mountains. All other trekkers who were in the area where the avalanche swept the Mount Annapurna trekking trail about 150km (90 miles) northwest of the capital Kathmandu on Friday have been safely rescued and flown to safer areas, Department of Tourism official Mira Acharya said. The avalanche hit part of the Mount Annapurna circuit trekking route after heavy snowfall earlier in the week. By Friday, snow was neck-deep and several avalanches had occurred, a veteran climber who was rescued by helicopter said. We had crossed the area just three hours before the big avalanche hit the area, which has a few rest stops and lodges, Phurba Ongel Sherpa told The Associated Press news agency on Monday. On the way back, he said he saw the area from the helicopter where the avalanche had hit and it was blanketed with snow. 191030192231955 There is no way that anyone buried in that pile could have survived, said Sherpa, who has conquered Mount Everest nine times. More avalanches, heavy snow and poor visibility hampered the search on Sunday, officials said. Relatives of the missing Koreans arrived in Kathmandu alongside several officials sent by Seoul to help with the emergency rescue efforts, Ang Dorjee Sherpa of the Korean Alpine Federation told AFP news agency on Sunday. The missing group was near the Annapurna base camp around 3,230 metres (10,600 feet) above sea level when the avalanche struck. In this photo taken on Saturday, trekkers are rescued by a helicopter a day after the avalanche hit Mount Annapurna trail [Phurba Ongel Sherpa/AP] Helicopters and drones Rescuers were working with Korean officials to deploy drones in the search on Monday, said Dilip Gurung of the tourism management committee in Chhomrong, which lies on the trekking route. It is difficult for people to go. We will try to fly drones to help find something, Gurung said. On Saturday, four rescue helicopters evacuated 200 people, including 140 foreigner hikers, stranded around Annapurna and other nearby mountains after the incident, police officials said. Tek Gurung, a guesthouse owner aiding the search operation, said more than two metres of snow (6.6 feet) had fallen on the trekking trails and it was extremely difficult to search the snow-covered area on foot. Six of the missing were part of the same expedition, while one Nepali porter was escorting a different group. The four foreigners two men and two women were part of an 11-member team of South Korean nationals. Others have safely descended. Education officials in Seoul said they were part of a team of volunteer teachers working with children in Nepal. Mount Annapurna is the worlds tenth-highest mountain at 8,091 metres (26,545 feet). Its base camp is known for its spectacular beauty and thousands of trekkers go there every year. The incident comes as the annual trekking season in Nepal, home to eight of the worlds 14 highest mountains including Mount Everest, is drawing to a close. CARACAS (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department on Saturday granted permission for Chevron Corp, the last major U.S. CARACAS (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department on Saturday granted permission for Chevron Corp, the last major U.S. oil company operating in Venezuela, to continue working in the country until April 22. The United States last year imposed sanctions that barred imports of Venezuelan oil and transactions made in U.S. dollars with Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA. The move was designed to starve the country of oil dollars and oust President Nicolas Maduro. The restrictions cut Venezuelas oil exports by 32% last year, but Maduro has remained in power, supported by PDVSA and the country's military. Chevron and oilfield service firms Baker Hughes Co, Halliburton Co, Schlumberger NV, and Weatherford International have regularly received permission to remain in the country. The four oilfield service firms have largely ceased operations there. The extension was a win for some Trump administration officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who see value in keeping the company in Venezuela, which has the world's largest reserves of oil. Chevron has been in Venezuela for nearly 100 years and has kept about 300 direct employees there through years of turmoil. The company's Venezuelan oil and gas production has been falling and was about 32,000 barrels per day during the most recent quarter for which figures were available. A Chevron spokesman declined comment. Representatives for Baker Hughes, Halliburton and Schlumberger were not immediately available to comment. The company posted a $104 million loss on its Venezuela operations for the nine months ended Sept. 30. It would lose about $2.7 billion in assets if required to leave the country, Chevron has said. A 1 million-barrel cargo of Venezuelan crude consigned to Chevron was scheduled to load this month at Venezuelas Jose port, according to internal PDVSA documents seen by Reuters. The operation does not violate sanctions and proceeds from the oil export are used by a joint venture to cover maintenance costs, Chevron said. The Treasury Department said the license extension does not authorize transactions related to shipments of diluents, which Venezuela needs to thin its heavy oil for processing. The Treasury also on Saturday issued a license allowing transactions related to PDVSA's 2020 bond, which is backed by shares in U.S. refiner Citgo Petroleum Corp. That license begins on April 22, replacing a previous license that last year had authorized transactions from Jan 22. (Reporting by Angus Berwick in Caracas; Additional reporting by Timothy Gardner in Washington and Marianna Parraga in Mexico City; Editing by Gary McWilliams and Matthew Lewis) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Veteran Congress leader Shamsher Singh Surjewala passed away in Delhi on Monday following a prolonged illness. He was 87 and was cremated later in the day. Surjewala, father of party leader Randeep Surjewala, breathed his last at the AIIMS hospital in New Delhi this morning, where he was admitted for a few days, family sources said. His body was taken from AIIMS to Narwana in Haryana where his cremation was held. The funeral pyre was lit by his son. Besides Randeep Surjewala, Shamsher is survived by his wife and two daughters. Former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Haryana Congress president Kumari Selja, former union minister Chaudhary Birender Singh, former MP Deepender Singh Hooda and several Congress MLAs from Haryana and Punjab were present at the cremation. Shamsher Singh Surjewala was a five-time MLA and one-time Rajya Sabha MP from Haryana. He was also the former president of the Haryana Congress and a four-time minister. He was president of the Haryana Krishak Samaj and the All India Kisan Congress and fought for the rights of farmers. Congress president Sonia Gandhi said his passing away was a profound loss for the party. In her condolence letter to Vidya, the wife of Surjewala, Gandhi said the departed leader's legacy will continue to guide those dedicated to serving their communities. "This is a profound loss for the Congress party," Gandhi said in her letter. She said that in his illustrious career, Surjewala donned several mantles, both as part of the ruling dispensation and as a leader of the opposition in Haryana. His dedication towards the people and the Congress party remained undiminished even in the face of great adversity, she said. "Under his leadership, the Congress party built a formidable organisation in Haryana. He also remained a dedicated champion of farmer's rights and spearheaded several notable movements. Few leaders have left such a lasting impression on those who were fortunate enough to have known him. His legacy will continue to guide us and inspire those dedicated to serving their communities," she said in her letter. "My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family in this difficult time. With my heartfelt condolences," she added in her letter. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi visited AIIMS and met Randeep Surjewala to convey his condolences on Monday morning. "In the passing of Shri Shamsher Singh Surjewala, we have lost a popular & respected Congressman who worked tirelessly in the service of India's farmers & the development of Haryana. My condolences to his family & friends. Om Shanti," Gandhi tweeted. Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said he was saddened by the passing of Shamsher Singh Surjewala. "My thoughts & prayers are with the family in this hour of grief," he tweeted. The Haryana Assembly also paid tributes to the veteran Congress leader. Both Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Hooda described S S Surjewala as an able and experienced leader. Bhupinder Singh Hooda said he was saddened by the "My tribute to the departed soul. May God give peace to his soul and strength to the family to bear this grief," he said. "Deeply pained at the demise of former Haryana Congress chief, former Rajya Sabha MP and former Haryana minister Shamsher Singh Surjewala," Kumari Selja said. "His passing away is a big loss and it will be difficult to fill the void. The state has lost an able politician, an icon of development and a great public servant," she said. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath have also condoled his demise. "Saddened to hear about passing away of Sh. Shamsher Singh Surjewala ji, prominent Congress leader from Haryana and father of Sh @rssurjewala ji. My heartfelt condolences to entire family and his supporters. May his soul Rest in Peace.," Gehlot said on Twitter. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Dublin, Jan. 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "The Agri-Business Sector in Zambia 2019" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. This report covers the agri-business sector in Zambia, with comprehensive information on the size and state of the sector, production figures, investment and government actions in the sector, trade regulations and barriers to entry. The report contains profiles of 39 companies operating in the Zambian agri-business sector, including Zambeef Products, the largest vertically integrated food retailer, which uses more than 16,000ha each year to produce irrigated and rain-fed crops such as maize, wheat and soya beans, Mount Meru Millers Zambia, which has a 20% share of the edible oil market, Zambia Sugar, which produces more than 90% of the country's sugar. The report also contains profiles of a number of cotton companies including Parrogate Ginneries, China-Africa Cotton Zambia, Grafax Cotton Zambia and Alliance Ginneries, and tea companies such as Zaffico Tea, which announced plans to increase production. The Agri-Business Sector in Zambia The agricultural sector contributed only 6.7% to Zambia's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2017, but it is the most important to the country from a socio-economic point of view, employing almost 54% of the labour force in 2018. Zambia's economy grew by an estimated 3.5% in 2018, but the economy is vulnerable to variations in the copper price, and to drought, and economic growth was mostly due to growth in the services and mining sectors that offset a contraction in the agricultural sector as a result of low rainfall. Tough Environment Challenges facing Zambia's agri-business sector are the increasing cost of inputs such as electricity, fuel and wages, and competition from illegally imported edible oil. Zambia`s agriculture is predominantly rain-fed, making the sector highly dependent on weather patterns, although there are abundant surface and sub-surface water resources. Most of the irrigated land is found on commercial farms. Other challenges faced by the sector include limited mechanisation and restricted access to credit by smallholder farmers in particular. Story continues Commercial Farming Large commercial farms, although they comprise a small percentage of the total number of farms, play an important role in the sector, as they account for most of the output of sugar cane, tobacco, wheat, potatoes, and soya beans. The most widely grown crops are maize, groundnuts (peanuts), sweet potatoes, cassava, rice and mixed beans. Other important crops are soya beans, sunflower, wheat, sorghum, millet and various vegetables and fruits. Challenges faced by the horticultural sector include informal markets that are uncompetitive, not regulated and non-transparent, inconsistencies in supply that cause high price volatility and large post-harvest losses, insufficient cold chain infrastructure, and disorganised marketing systems. Key Topics Covered 1. INTRODUCTION 2. COUNTRY INFORMATION 2.1. Geographic Position 3. DESCRIPTION OF THE INDUSTRY 3.1. Industry Value Chain 4. SIZE OF THE INDUSTRY 5. STATE OF THE INDUSTRY 5.1. Local 5.1.1. Trade 5.1.2. Corporate Actions 5.1.3. Regulations 5.2. Continental 5.3. International 6. INFLUENCING FACTORS 6.1. Government Support 6.2. Economic Environment 6.3. Technology, Research & Development (R&D) and Innovation 6.4. Environmental Concerns 6.5. Labour 6.6. Imports of Edible Oils 7. COMPETITION 7.1. Barriers to Entry 8. SWOT ANALYSIS 9. OUTLOOK 10. INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS 11. REFERENCES 11.1. Publications 11.2. Websites COMPANY PROFILES Afgri Operations (Pty) Ltd Africa Feeds Ltd (Zambia) Alliance Ginneries Ltd Amatheon Agri Zambia Ltd Amigo Foods Ltd Antelope Wholesale Merchants Ltd Cargill Zambia (2009) Ltd Cbl Agri Zambia Ltd China-Africa Cotton Zambia Ltd Consolidated Farming Ltd Gourock Zambia Ltd Grafax Cotton Zambia Ltd Kalomo Grain Marketing Ltd Khal Amazi Ltd Monsanto South Africa (Pty) Ltd Mount Meru Millers Zambia Ltd Mri Seed Zambia Ltd Munali Coffee Ltd National Milling Corporation Ltd Northern Coffee Corporation Ltd Nutri Feeds (Pty) Ltd Nwk Agri-Services Ltd Omg Group Holdings Ltd Pannar Seed (Zambia) Ltd Parrogate Ginneries Ltd Regitech Soya Processing Industries Ltd Seed Co Zambia International Ltd Simba Milling Ltd Speciality Foods (Zambia) Ltd Star Milling Ltd Superior Milling Company Ltd Unified Chemicals Zambia Ltd Yatu Foods Ltd York Farm Ltd Zaffico Tea Company Ltd Zamanita Ltd Zambeef Products Plc Zambia Sugar Plc Zampalm Ltd For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/1r2yuh Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research. CONTACT: ResearchAndMarkets.com Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 Author Pedro Colaco is the CEO and President of GuestCentric Systems, which he Co-Founded in October 2006. He boasts a proven track record of driving successful product development, marketing, sales and channel management efforts in the global market. Prior to his current role, he was Vice President of Product Management and Marketing at Corvil, a software start-up funded by Apax Partners and Cisco Systems. During his tenure at Corvil he built a global Product Management and Marketing organization to support a sales team of over 60 professionals focused on the financial industry in New York City and London. Pedro is a multi-lingual advisor and thought leader across the international travel tech landscape, speaking five languages and having lived in four countries throughout his career. More about Pedro Colaco By ANI SRINAGAR: Director General of Police (DGP), Jammu and Kashmir, Dilbag Singh on Monday said that the Bangladesh visits of DSP Davinder Singh, who was arrested with Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists a few days back, is being investigated. "It has come to our knowledge that his (Davinder's) daughters studied in Bangladesh. It is being investigated if his visits were only restricted to that angle," Singh said at a press conference here. He, however, further added that it would not be appropriate for him to comment on a case that has been transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). "That case has been transferred to NIA, it will not be right for me to make a comment on it. Some findings have come out, they are before NIA. His custody is being given to the investigating agency. It is being investigated in the right direction," said Singh. The NIA has registered a case and begun investigations in connection with the arrest of Davinder Singh after it was instructed by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on January 16. Meanwhile, Dilbag Singh revealed the identities of the terrorists killed in an encounter in Shopian today. "Today in Shopian we neutralized 3 terrorists. One of them, their commander Wasim Ahmed Wani was active since 2017 and was on a top position in Hizbul Mujahideen. He had 19 FIRs against him and was also involved in the killing of 4 civilians and 4 cops," he said. "The second was Adil Sheikh and the third is being identified as Jahangir," he added. Victims of the scam had responded to e-mails purportedly sent by their colleagues or employers, instructing them to buy iTunes or Google Play cards for work-related reasons such as gifts to clients. (PHOTO: Getty Images) SINGAPORE Since January last year, at least $987,000 has been lost to a form of e-mail scam involving the purchase of iTunes or Google Play cards. The figure was revealed in a police news release on Monday (20 January) that warned members of the public about a variant of the Business E-mail Compromise scam. Victims of the scam had responded to e-mails purportedly sent by their colleagues or employers, instructing them to buy iTunes or Google Play cards for work-related reasons such as gifts to clients. The victims were then instructed to send over the cards redemption codes. In past cases of Business E-mail Compromise scams, scammers have impersonated as CEOs, business partners, suppliers and employees of companies to request victims to transfer funds to specified accounts, claiming that the money was for business partners or salaries of other employees, said the police. Unknown to the victims, these were accounts that were controlled by scammers. Police noted that scammers have been known to use hacked or spoofed e-mail accounts, or familiar-looking e-mail addresses to deceive their victims. In some instances, they would also enclose copies of the bankbook bearing the names of employees in such e-mails to make the requests seem authentic, said the police, adding that this would lead victims to transfer money to the new bank account. Victims would find out that they had fallen prey to a scam only when their supplier or employee informed them that they did not receive the money or when they noticed discrepancies in the given e-mail address. Police included in their release examples of how spoofed e-mail addresses can resemble genuine ones (as seen below): Genuine e-mail address Spoofed e-mail address 123@gmail.com l23@gmail.com abc@deshipping.com abc@deshpping.com lisa@faber.com.cn lisa@faber-cn.com Staying vigilant Businesses can adopt the following preventive measures to minimise their chances of being scammed: Story continues Be wary of new or sudden changes in payment instructions or bank accounts. When in doubt give the e-mail sender a call using a known phone number and not one provided in a suspicious e-mail. Take efforts to educate your employees on this scam, especially those who handle fund transfers. Prevent your e-mail account from being hacked by using strong passwords, changing them regularly, and enabling Two-Factor Authentication (2FA). Consider using free e-mail authentication tools to help detect fraudulent e-mails. Install anti-virus, anti-spyware/malware programs and firewall your computer. Also, update your operating system when new patches are made available. More Singapore stories: Woman who duped then-WDA of over $160,000 in fake training claims jailed Singaporeans must welcome new citizens, not allow others to exploit tensions and divide us: Heng Swee Keat COMMENT: GE 2020 is dress rehearsal for Tan Cheng Bock's party Man on trial for scalding son to death once strangled pregnant sister, court heard We often see insiders buying up shares in companies that perform well over the long term. On the other hand, we'd be remiss not to mention that insider sales have been known to precede tough periods for a business. So before you buy or sell Eurasia Mining Plc (LON:EUA), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling. Do Insider Transactions Matter? It's quite normal to see company insiders, such as board members, trading in company stock, from time to time. However, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market. We don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions. But logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. As Peter Lynch said, 'insiders might sell their shares for any number of reasons, but they buy them for only one: they think the price will rise. View our latest analysis for Eurasia Mining Eurasia Mining Insider Transactions Over The Last Year Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Non-Executive Director Dmitry Suschov for UK50k worth of shares, at about UK0.005 per share. We do like to see buying, but this purchase was made at well below the current price of UK0.039. While it does suggest insiders consider the stock undervalued at lower prices, this transaction doesn't tell us much about what they think of current prices. Eurasia Mining insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. The average buy price was around UK0.0029. It is certainly positive to see that insiders have invested their own money in the company. But we must note that the investments were made at well below today's share price. You can see the insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction! AIM:EUA Recent Insider Trading, January 20th 2020 Eurasia Mining 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. Story continues 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. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Insiders own 13% of Eurasia Mining shares, worth about UK13m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment. So What Do The Eurasia Mining Insider Transactions Indicate? It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Eurasia Mining shares in the last quarter. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. Insiders own shares in Eurasia Mining and we see no evidence to suggest they are worried about the future. Along with insider transactions, I recommend checking if Eurasia Mining is growing revenue. This free chart of historic revenue and earnings should make that easy. 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. She has been hot on the promotional trail for her latest movie, Bombshell. And Margot Robbie looked every inch the Hollywood siren as she arrived at the 26th SAG Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday. The Australian actress, 29, who received a nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role, wore a stunning ensemble by Chanel. Check her out! Margot Robbie stunned in a plaid two-piece gown by Chanel as she arrived at the SAG Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday The Hollywood star kept things conservative in the halterneck, floor-length number. Margot was dressed by stylist Kate Young in a look straight from Chanel's Cruise 2019/20 Collection runway show. As an ambassador for Chanel, Margot has worn the brand's dramatic couture gowns to the Oscars and Cannes Film Festival in the past. Margot's gown was actually a two-piece set, estimated to be worth more than $18,500. Hollywood glamour: Margot was dressed by stylist Kate Young in a look straight from Chanel's Cruise 2019/20 Collection runway show Glitz and glam! Margot accessorised with two Chanel necklaces, worth a combined $5,000 Natural beauty: She went for an understated makeup palette, consisting of defined brows, nude lipstick and luminous foundation Hi there! The media personality appeared in great spirits as she greeted onlookers at the event Warm greetings: The blonde beauty blew kisses at fans as she headed into the ceremony hall Nominee: Margot has been nominated in her category alongside Laura Dern (Marriage Story), Scarlett Johansson (Jojo Rabbit), Nicole Kidman (Bombshell) and Jennifer Lopez (Hustlers) Her matching blue plaid top and skirt alone comes to $11,500, while her lambskin belt is worth $1,680. She accessorised with two Chanel necklaces, worth a combined $5,000. Meanwhile, Margot went for an understated makeup palette, consisting of defined brows, nude lipstick and luminous foundation. Margot has been nominated in her category alongside Laura Dern (Marriage Story), Scarlett Johansson (Jojo Rabbit), Nicole Kidman (Bombshell) and Jennifer Lopez (Hustlers). Giddy: The screen star couldn't contain her giggles as she caught up with Sony Pictures' Thomas Rothman (R) and a pal A-listers: Margot posed for a cosy snap with Once Upon a Time in Hollywood co-star Julia Butters, 10 (L), before sharing a hug with actress Allison Janney (R) Co-stars: The thespian warmly embraced Brad Pitt, who also starred in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Listening in: She squatted to the ground as she engaged in a chat with fellow Australian actress Nicole Kidman Margot plays Kayla Pospisil, a victim of workplace sexual harassment, in Bombshell, which is about the downfall of Fox News chairman Roger Aisles. Earlier this month, Margot missed out on a Golden Globe Award in the same category, losing to Laura Dern for her role in Marriage Story. Margot has also been nominated for an Oscar for her performance in Bombshell. Nearly 1 in 3 girls worldwide never attended school - UNICEF In Italy, 20% less resources for eduction for poor children (ANSAmed) - ROME, JANUARY 20 - A new study by UNICEF revealed that nearly one in three adolescent girls in the world's poorest families have never attended school. The study, titled 'Addressing the learning crisis: an urgent need to better finance education for the poorest children', was conducted in 42 countries with available data, including Italy. It said 44% of girls and 34% of boys belonging to 20% of the poorest families never attended school or left elementary school. The study was launched on the occasion of the meeting of education ministers at the Education World Forum and in light of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum. Francesco Samengo, president of UNICEF Italia, said less than 20% of public resources for education are dedicated to children from the poorest families, and more than 20% are dedicated to the richest families. "Educational poverty conditions the entire life of children and adolescents," Samengo said. "Investing in the quality of education means facing the root causes of poverty, with enormous benefits for the entire country," he said.(ANSAmed). Lieutenant General Zakaria Sheikh Ibrahim, Chief of General Staff of the Djibouti Armed Forces, awards Independence Day Medal to the PLA medical personnel stationed at the Support Base of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) in Djibouti. /Photo by Modern Navy By Su Zhihong and Tan Longlong DIBOUTI, January 20 --Ten medical personnel stationed at the Support Base of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in Djibouti were bestowed Independence Day Medal signed by Ismail Omar Guelleh, President of the Republic of Djibouti, at an awarding ceremony held at an Artillery Regiment of the Djiboutian Army on the morning of January 16, local time. Key members of the Djibouti military and troops of the PLA Support Base in Djibouti attended the ceremony held according to the national second-class honor protocol. The Independence Day Medal of the Republic of Djibouti was inaugurated on June 27, 1978 when the country became independent. It is the highest honor awarded by Djibouti to its citizens and international friends, used to be awarded to no more than three persons at a time. However, this time ten Chinese service members were conferred at the same time by Lt. General Zakaria Sheikh Ibrahim, Chief of General Staff of the Djibouti Armed Forces. This marks the first time in history both in terms of the number of medals conferred and the scale of etiquette. The picture shows the Independence Day Medals bestowed by the Republic of Djibouti. /Photo by Modern Navy After the awarding ceremony, Lt. General Zakaria delivered a speech, saying: Since the opening of the PLAs Support Base in Djibouti, it has actively engaged in humanitarian relief operations including public welfare in assisting impoverished students, medical assistance, as well as rescue and disaster relief, bringing about genuine help to the Djiboutian people and fully demonstrating China's responsibility as a major country. He also extended his sincere congratulations and gratitude to the ten Chinese medical personnel who have successfully completed their tasks and are about to return to China as a shift. Lieutenant General Zakaria awards the Independence Day Medal to the PLA medical personnel at the PLAs Support Base in Djibouti. /Photo by Modern Navy According to reports, since its establishment, the base has helped the Djiboutian side carry out various common surgery operations. Chinese military doctors were sent to the General Hospital of Djibouti for over 100 times, giving instructions to more than 200 Djiboutian medical personnel, and guiding more than 40 cases of surgery, including two breakthroughs of bronchoscopic extraction of esophageal foreign bodies and transbronchial needle aspiration operation in Djibouti. Lieutenant General Zakaria (C), Chief of General Staff of the Djibouti Armed Forces, poses for a group photo with the Chinese Independence Day Medal winners. /Photo by Modern Navy In December 2019, the base launched the Operation Bright Eyes, a special medical service operation in cooperation with the Djibouti Ministry of Health, which has brought light to 103 local cataract patients for free. This move has received wide attention and high acclaim from the Djiboutian side, and paid off politically, diplomatically, militarily and socially. President Donald Trump on Sunday hailed the trade deal signed last week with China for dramatically improving relations with Beijing, saying it was "much better" than he expected. The "phase one" deal marks a truce in the two countries' trade war after nearly two years of tensions. But with tariffs still in place on two-thirds of more than USD 500 billion worth of imports from China, US consumers and businesses will be left to foot the bill. "This is an incredible success for our entire country," Trump said Sunday evening at a rally in Austin, Texas. He was speaking to a convention of the American Farm Bureau Federation. "I think China's gonna go all out to prove that the agreement that was signed is a good agreement. It's much bigger and much better than I ever thought we'd get," he said. Trump also praised a new chapter in relations with Beijing, calling it "the best relationship that we've ever had with China in many, many years." "China respects us now," Trump said. "They didn't respect us. They couldn't believe they were getting away with what they were getting away with." The US and China signed "phase one" of their trade deal on Wednesday, bringing relief to stock markets after prolonged trade friction. The deal is also a boon for Trump as he faces an impeachment trial in the Senate this week, followed by a tough re-election fight. The agreement includes pledges from China to beef up purchases of US agricultural goods and other exports for two years, provides some protections for US technology, and new enforcement mechanisms that allow Washington to quickly impose penalties that Beijing cannot respond to. Chinese state-run newspapers hailed the signing of the "hard-fought agreement", but warned that it would "not take much to banjax the deal" and bring tensions to a head again. The most difficult issues remain to be dealt with in "phase two" negotiations, including China's massive subsidies for state industry. And elements of the deal the administration has touted as achievements effectively take the relationship between the two powers back to where it was before Trump took office. Additionally, a senior administration official told reporters on January 16 that China has not made any specific commitments to cut tariffs it has imposed on US goods in retaliation. Trump has repeatedly touted the trade pact as a win for American farmers, who were hit hard by the tariff war. Soybean exports to China plunged to USD 3 billion from more than USD 12 billion in 2017 and the Trump administration paid out USD 28 billion in aid to farmers in the past two years. Richmond, Va. State officials and U.S. hate-monitoring groups are warning about the potential for violence ahead of a gun-rights rally in Virginia that's expected to draw a mix of militias, firearms advocates and white supremacists to Richmond. Citing credible threats of violence, Gov. Ralph Northam declared a temporary state of emergency days ahead of Monday's rally, banning all weapons, including guns, from Capitol Square. A look at some of the groups involved: Virginia Citizens Defense League The Virginia Citizens Defense League, an influential grassroots gun-rights organization with a long record in the state, has been the leading force behind Monday's rally. Each year on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday the group holds a lobby day, typically attended by several hundred gun enthusiasts who rally and meet with lawmakers to discuss legislation. But this year's event is expected to draw an enormous crowd. The VCDL has donated over $200,000 to state lawmakers since 2002, records show. The group has emphasized that the rally is intended to be peaceful and urged members not to bring long guns, saying they would be a "distraction." "The eyes of the nation and the world are on Virginia and VCDL right now and we must show them that gun owners are not the problem," the group wrote in a recent email to its members. Gun Owners of America The influential pro-gun group Gun Owners of America describes itself as the only "no-compromise" gun lobby in Washington and enjoys a loyal following. Founded in 1975 by a California state lawmaker, Gun Owners of America joined the VCDL to seek an injunction against enforcement of Northam's executive order banning guns from the Capitol Square. The state Supreme Court upheld the ban late Friday. On its website, the group has urged its members to attend Monday's rally. Meanwhile, the National Rifle Association, the country's best known gun-rights organization, has distanced itself from Monday's rally and instead held a lobby day last week. Oath Keepers Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Former U.S. Army paratrooper Stewart Rhodes formed The Oath Keepers in 2009, and the group has become one of the nation's largest anti-government organizations, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. In 2014, Oath Keeper members joined in an armed standoff between federal officials and Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy over grazing rights on government land. Three Percenter Movement The Three Percenters are a loosely organized movement that formed in 2008, according to the Anti-Defamation League, the Jewish civil rights organization that tracks extremist groups. On its website, the right-wing group says it isn't an anti-government militia but "we will defend ourselves when necessary." The Three Percenters derives their name from the belief that just 3 percent of the colonists rose up to fight the British. They have vowed to resist any government that infringes on the U.S. Constitution. White supremacists Last week, authorities arrested at least seven men they linked to a violent white supremacist group known as The Base. Three of the men were planning to attend the rally in Richmond, according to an official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss an active investigation. A restricted airspace and round-the-clock surveillance through radars, drones and fighter jets have made this Swiss ski resort town into a virtual fortress with all rich and powerful from across the world expected here to attend the WEF's 50th annual meeting. While the summit will discuss ways to ensure a "cohesive and sustainable world", the presence of top world leaders including US President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel means that the security has to be top-notch and the Swiss government, in coordination with the organisers, is not leaving any corner unattended by deploying up to 5,000 army men and scores of policemen and private security guards. Beginning last week itself, the Air Force of Switzerland has stepped up surveillance of the airspace through radars, ready-to-use fighter jets and ground-based air defence to ensure security in the airspace above Davos. As the rich and powerful from across the globe assemble this week in this Swiss ski resort town to discuss ways to ensure a 'cohesive and sustainable world', over 100 CEOs as also multiple union ministers and chief ministers from India would also be present alongside filmstar Deepika Padukone, talking about mental health and other issues, and Sadhguru holding morning meditation sessions. US President Donald Trump, Britain's Prince Charles, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Afghanistan's Ashraf Ghani and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan would be among the world leaders attending the five-day 50th annual meeting of WEF, beginning Monday. The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020, taking place on January 20-24, will focus on establishing stakeholder capitalism as a way of addressing the world's greatest challenges, from societal divisions created by income inequality and political polarization to the climate crisis we face today, the Geneva-based International organisation for public-private partnership has said. The forum's first meeting in 1971 was established to further the idea put forward by Professor Schwab that business should serve all stakeholders - customers, employees, communities, as well as shareholders. The event in Davos will be covered by some 500 journalists from across the world. According to the Swiss government, the WEF meeting is one of the most important economic and socio-political events in the world, as underlined by the Swiss Federal Council, the government of the Canton of Graubunden and Davos Communal Council. The government said hosting this forum for exchanging views and seeking solutions to world problems is in line with Switzerland's longstanding tradition of serving as a host country for international conferences and gatherings. The fact that leading representatives from the worlds of business, politics, science and culture gather in Davos offers Switzerland the possibility to cultivate relations with a great many influential figures in a special setting. A great many jobs in Davos depend on the economic benefits of conferences and other events, and the people of Davos have repeatedly expressed their support for hosting the WEF in a number of popular votes. The additional costs to the public authorities for security at the WEF Annual Meeting 2020 are estimated to amount to around CHF 9 million, which would be split between the funding partners, including one-fourth by the WEF and the rest by the local and national administrations. In the event of exceptional incidents such as terrorist attacks, assassination attempts, major threats or clear indications that such acts may be carried out, the federal government will meet 80 per cent of any additional costs, while the remaining 20 per cent will be met by the Canton of Graubunden and the WEF. The WEF pays CHF 2.25 million of the annual security costs incurred by the Annual Meeting. The deployment of the armed forces in support is funded through the government budget. In previous years, the deployment of the armed forces has cost around CHF 32 million per meeting. In the financial year from July 2017 to June 2018, the WEF reported a turnover of CHF 326 million and a surplus of CHF 1.7 million, which is paid into its capital. In 2017, the WEF annual meeting generated an estimated turnover of around CHF 94 million throughout Switzerland. About CHF 60 million of this benefited the commune of Davos. A number of agencies from the Swiss Confederation, the canton and the commune of Davos work together with the WEF. The Graubunden cantonal police and its partners ensure the security of visitors to the WEF Annual Meeting, the local population and guests. In light of terrorist attacks in Europe in recent years and the ongoing activities of jihadist groups and organisations, the terror threat in many European countries remains elevated or high. "Robust security precautions with a high, visible police presence, intensive reconnaissance and police checks are necessary in 2020 to ensure that the WEF Annual Meeting passes off safely," according to the Swiss government. All cantons in Switzerland participate in the inter-cantonal police operation to maintain security and protect people and property. The Federal Assembly has also authorised the deployment of up to 5,000 armed forces personnel in 20192021 for civil support duties to assist the Canton of Graubunden. For heads of state or government and serving government members, the Federal Security Service will order special protective measures if necessary. These, along with the general security plans, are carried out by the cantonal police and its partners. Besides, security restrictions have been imposed on the airspace over Davos to safeguard air sovereignty. Civilian aircraft may continue to fly through the restricted airspace on a limited basis provided they have been registered and identified. Authorisation is given by the air force. The Swiss authorities said they also consider the WEF meeting to be a place of open dialogue where critical debate on issues such as globalisation and the development of the world economy should be possible. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Nguyen Thai Hai Van She will oversee business planning and operations across all of Grabs businesses in Vietnam, continuing to drive the growth of ride-hailing, on-demand food delivery, logistics, and fintech across the country. Van joined Grab Vietnam in November after a successful 17-year career at Unilever Vietnam. She is also co-chair of the Vietnam Mobile Marketing Association. Russell Cohen, head of regional operations of Grab said, It has been in our long-term leadership planning to appoint a Vietnamese head to lead the country. I am delighted to have found Van who shares Grabs passion to use technology to elevate the quality of life for all Vietnamese people. I believe her deep understanding of local conditions and users needs will drive closer collaboration with the government and business stakeholders towards fulfilling our Grab For Good mission in Vietnam. Jerry Lim, the former country head, will return home to a Singapore-based role as regional head of customer experience. He said, Besides having sharp business acumen, Van is someone who leads with her heart. She has been leading discussions on outserving consumers, driver-partners, and merchant-partners. With her Vietnamese roots, I believe she will be able to build stronger hyperlocal partnerships that will bring about even greater social good for all, said. With Grabs recently announced $500 million more investment into Vietnam over the next five years, Van will tap and invest in new opportunities emerging from fintech, mobility, and logistics, in order to bring greater value and innovation for Grabs customers and partners. I am honoured to have worked with a team of spirited and resilient Vietnamese Grab talents who are truly committed to making a positive social impact on fellow Vietnameses lives, said Van. It became evident to me that growing Grab is about the livelihoods of millions of Vietnamese people. All these encounters inspire me to do more. I look forward to collaborating with the government and business partners to serve even more Vietnamese and leave no one behind in todays digital economy, she said. An ambitious water theme park, modelled on SeaWorld in the United States and which was first proposed in 2009, may not come up in Sindhudurg district. The state tourism department, in February, is planning to invite an expression of interest (EoI) from private players to choose an alternative location in Maharashtra. The project that was proposed on a 350-acre plot in Sindhudurg district faced land acquisition hurdles and was as good as shelved, officials said. Tourism department officials said the new approach has been forced as locals at the proposed site were not willing to part with the land despite scaling down the area from 1,390 to 350 acres. When asked about his departments plan on a fresh location, state tourism minister Aaditya Thackeray confirmed the move and said, Yes, but it is not yet fully finalised. The project required lot of foreign direct investment. Rather than deciding a location, which was like putting the cart before the horse, we are now planning to invite private players to choose a location, said a senior tourism department official. The government will then check land availability at the preferred location and take the project forward, he added. The multi-crore project was to come up in the villages of Tondavali and Vayangani in the Konkan regionabout 470km from Mumbai. The project was proposed by the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) government in 2009, and it was the pet project of former Congress leader Narayan Rane, who hails from the district. It was envisaged as a water-theme amusement park with an oceanarium, tourist resorts and underwater tunnels exhibiting marine life. The former Congress-NCP government had also prepared a feasibility report for the project. The previous Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led state government, which scaled down the project, tried to win over locals by hiking the compensation to landowners up to 3.75 times the existing rates. However, it failed to acquire land and subsequently put the project in cold storage in 2018. Rane, who holds sway in the region, is now with the BJP, while his son, Nilesh is the local MLA from Kankavali. The Ranes are unlikely to back the project in the region to avoid the credit of the project to go with the Shiv Sena-led Maharashtra Vikas Agahdi government. The new state government led by the Sena is keen on reviving the project as it would boost tourism and help generate employment in the state. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON F resh Brexit trade talks could be delayed until March, Brussels has said. The European Commission said it would "take some time" for the bloc to agree its position. The timeline set by the European Union could add to pressure for an extension to the negotiating period but Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been adamant that a deal will be reached by the end of December. European Commission spokesman Eric Mamer said the process of agreeing the EU's position could only begin after Brexit, meaning trade talks could begin as late as in March. Brexit: 11 days until Britain is scheduled to leave the EU "This, we know, will take some time, which is why we have said we will start negotiations as quickly as we can, but it will certainly not be before the end of February, beginning of March," he said. "This is not a slowing down or speeding up of the process. "This is simply the nature of the institutional process and the consultations that need to take place before the negotiation directives can be formally adopted." Boris Johnson wants a deal by the end of 2020 / REUTERS Talks between the UK and US could begin before negotiations with Brussels. Both the UK and US say "extensive preparations" have been made, though no timetable has been set. Donald Trump has repeatedly spoken of his desire to reach an agreement with Mr Johnson, and the timing of the US presidential election means that a deal in the summer of 2020 could be his goal. The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "We are free to begin discussions with countries around the world from February 1. We are ready to begin discussions with the EU from February 1. "The EU have various processes to go through before they are ready to sit down and have those discussions with us." The UK remains committed to agreeing a deal with Brussels by the end of the year. Speaking to BBC Breakfast's Dan Walker last week, the Prime Minister said it was "enormously likely, epically likely" that a trade deal will be reached. But the EU repeated its warning that the UK's plans to diverge from the Brussels rulebook would limit access to the bloc's markets. The new European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, warned earlier this month that it would be "impossible" to reach a comprehensive trade deal by the end of 2020. Mr Mamer added: "There is a link between moving away from EU regulations and the degree of access that is possible into the single market." The Prime Minister's spokesman said the new situation would mean "it will be the UK which determines its own rules and laws". by Sumon Corraya More than 400 youth attended the 35th National Youth Day. One student from Rajshahi said that she understands that her life is a gift from God. It is to serve others, not myself. University vice rector was quite impressed by the meeting. For her, young Christians can grow through higher education. She told young people If you want to reach the highest positions in administration, you must prepare yourself by studying. Chattogram (AsiaNews) The 35th National Youth Day attracted some 400 young people from across Bangladesh. The event was held on 15-18 January at the Mariam Ashram in Diang, Diocese of Chattogram. Its theme was Young man, I tell you, arise!. (Luke 7:14) Milisha Anna Gomes, 21, from the Diocese of Rajshahi, was one of them. Thanks to the experience, she now realises that her life is a gift of God to serve the Church and society in Bangladesh. This role is right for us, Milisha said. I think, Jesus Christ calls the youth of today to awake. We are too concerned with worldly matters. We dont pray, we dont spend time with parents and friends. [Instead,] Our inner self must arise. I am grateful to the organisers who enabled me to understand this. Now the young woman is committed to developing herself to "serve the Church and society. I understand that my life is a gift from God. It is to serve others, not myself. I would like to work in public administration so that I can serve people of all faiths. She is not alone in the feeling of awakening. Rumon Tirke, a 20-year-old university student from the Diocese of Dinajpur, sees himself as a new man. At the meeting, I learnt many things about marriage and consecrated life, the Bible and the Christian faith, he said. Speakers encouraged us to be more active in the Church. They made us feel part of the Christian community. Now it is up to us to do our best for the Church as God's people. Shireen Akhter, vice rector of the University of Chittagong, was the guest of honour. "I was really impressed with how it was organised, she said admiringly. Young Christians can learn a lot. In Bangladesh, the Christian community is tiny, but its contribution is great, she explained. I want to tell young Christians to grow through higher education. If you want to reach the highest positions in administration, you must prepare yourself by studying. Bishop Lawrence Subrato Howlader of Barisal chairs the Episcopal Commission for Youth (ECY). In his view, Young people want to stay awake, not sleep; they want to enjoy new friendships. But They can also do outstanding work with older people. I urge them to be ready to serve. They are the present and future of the Church. We taught the values of the Catholic Church and the Bible, said ECY secretary Brother Ujjal Placed Pereira. The gathering was both a celebration and a pilgrimage. Young people came from all over the country: they prayed, they sang, they danced together. They spoke of God. We hope that this years programme will be fruitful to them. It will not be possible to compel churches or individual ministers in Northern Ireland to provide same-sex marriage, under proposals published by the British Government for consultation. The ceremony has been legalised and from this month couples were able to register to marry, meaning the first ceremonies will take place in February. For couples who are already married, their status is now legally recognised. Those who are already in a civil partnership were initially unable to convert it to a marriage. If a church wishes to offer weddings to same-sex couples of faith, then the law should not get in the wayPatrick Corrigan The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) has begun a consultation on changing civil partnerships to marriage and the role of churches. Many of the proposals are drawn from existing practice in England, Scotland or Wales. It said: It will not be possible to compel any person to be registered by the registrar general as empowered to solemnise same-sex religious marriages; apply for a temporary authorisation to solemnise one or more same-sex religious marriages. It will not be possible to compel an officiant to solemnise marriages of same-sex couples, where the reason for the officiant not wishing to solemnise the marriage is because it is a marriage of a same-sex couple. Same-sex marriage campaigners have called for the law in Northern Ireland to be updated to allow weddings in churches and for the conversion of civil partnerships to marriages. The NIO document added: It will not be possible to compel religious bodies (or persons acting on their behalf or under their auspices) to apply to the registrar general for a member to be registered as empowered to solemnise same-sex marriages in Northern Ireland; give consent to same-sex marriage; or provide, arrange, facilitate or participate in, or be present at the solemnisation of a same-sex marriage. Individuals will be bound by the decisions of governing authorities of churches on whether to permit same-sex ceremonies under the consultation. NIO consultation on same-sex religious marriage & civil partnership conversion now LIVE. We want this introduced ASAP. Freedom of religion is an important human right. Law should protect it for all, whether they support or oppose equal marriage. LINK: https://t.co/Si4ayxmFtH pic.twitter.com/x5JlRWJJ59 Patrick Corrigan (@PatrickCorrigan) January 20, 2020 The Rev Chris Hudson minister of All Souls Church in Belfast, and a member of the Non-Subscribing Church of Ireland says his counterparts in the rest of the UK and the Republic of Ireland can already officiate same-sex weddings and he wants the same freedom of religion in Northern Ireland. There should be legally protected freedom of religion for those churches who want to offer weddings to same-sex couples, as well as to those who do not wish to provide this service to their LGBT+ believers. In Northern Ireland, that is a legal right which is currently denied to churches, ministers like me and same-sex couples of faith, who want to conduct their wedding in a religious setting. The Government must address this clear inequality without further delay. Patrick Corrigan, Northern Ireland director at Amnesty International, said freedom of religion is an important human right. He added: If a church wishes to offer weddings to same-sex couples of faith, then the law should not get in the way. Equally, those churches which do not wish to offer such weddings should face no compulsion to do so that should simply be a matter for internal debate and decision within the particular faith. Authorities say theyve arrested a man accused of using meth before driving head-on into a state police sergeants vehicle in October. Dwight David Weir, 55, is facing vehicular homicide and lesser charges in the wreck, which killed his passenger, Mark Marquez. In a news release on Sunday, New Mexico State Police said that Sgt. Nathan Searle was headed north on Unser near Mariposa in Rio Rancho when a Ford SUV crossed into his lane and hit his vehicle. Searle suffered broken bones, Weir was airlifted to a hospital and treated, and Marquez, 52, was pronounced dead at the scene. State police say Weir admitted taking methamphetamine before driving, and officers found drugs in his SUV. He is facing five charges and was arrested without incident around 9:20 a.m. Sunday near Isleta. Ten people, part of a scam group masquerading as the police to steal money from Vietnamese, are held at a police station in Quang Nam Province, central Vietnam. Photo courtesy of the HCMC Police Newspaper. Two Malaysians are among 10 people detained last week for involvement in a Taiwanese-directed scam cheating Vietnamese citizens of VND500 billion ($21.5 million). Malaysians Long Boon Leng, 29, and Lim Kean Kew, 24; Cao Ngoc Nhi, 22 and Do Thi Dong, 27, who reside in Cambodia; and six other Vietnamese were detained last week, police in the central province of Quang Nam said Sunday. The case first broke when five residents of Quang Nam reported that callers posing as the police had cheated them of VND7 billion ($302,000). The Malaysians were instructed by ringleaders in Taiwan to buy personal info of Vietnamese citizens, although how they did this was not revealed. The information was used by the gang to call Vietnamese citizens using fake numbers. They threatened the Vietnamese with various ploys, telling them that they owed money to the banks, were suspected of involvement in money laundering cases or have had their personal information leaked. The victims were told to create bank accounts and provide all the information to the gang. They were told that the accounts were to meet investigation fees and that the money would be returned to them if they were found innocent. Such scamming methods are not new in Vietnam and several such instances have been reported in recent years. Police said the ring had the personal bank information of around 100,000 Vietnamese citizens, including names, phone numbers and addresses. Leng was determined to be the ringleader who, under instructions from Taiwan, operated with the Vietnamese locals in running the scam. Dozens of phones, laptops, ATM cards, storage devices and other documents have been seized by the police. Based on the number of retrieved bank cards, the group has scammed over VND500 billion in Vietnam alone. The ring is being investigated further. Nasa Hataoka and Gaby Lopez remained locked in battle for the LPGA Tournament of Champions as darkness halted the playoff after five holes. South Korean superstar Park In-bee, seeking a 20th career title, was eliminated at the third playoff hole when her tee shot at the difficult par-three 18th at Four Seasons Orlando bounced near the cup and into the water on Sunday. Unable to do better than bogey she bowed out as both Hataoka and Lopez made par -- part of a run of five straight pars for each in the sudden-death decider, all at 18. Mexico's Lopez capped her final round with the only birdie of the weekend at 18, the last of five birdies in her five-under 66 for 13-under 271. Japan's Hataoka was the first in the clubhouse on 13-under, firing four birdies and one bogey in her three-under par 68. Park had started the day with a two-shot lead, but that evaporated with bogeys at the second and third and two more birdies the rest of the way weren't enough. Park remains in search of her first victory since the Founders Cup in Phoenix, Arizona in March of 2018. "Eighteen got me yesterday and today," said Park, who bogeyed the hole on Friday. "Today's round itself was a little bit disappointing," she added. "I didn't hit many shots close or make a lot of putts." However, she said the week offered some encouraging signs as she tries to climb the world rankings and make the South Korean Olympic team, hoping for a chance to go to Tokyo and defend the gold medal she won at the 2016 Rio Games. Lopez is seeking a second career title to go with the 2018 Blue Bay trophy she claimed in China, while Hataoka, who turned 21 last week, is in search of her fourth crown. The light was already fading when they played the fourth playoff hole, where Hataoka putted from off the green to two feet on the way to par and Lopez two-putted. - 'a different experience' - ============================With lights from the hospitality area trained at the hole, the players landed their tee shots on the green within feet of each other and both two-putted for par. Fans were chanting "One more hole" as Lopez and Hataoka talked it over with a rules official and elected to return on Monday morning to decide things. "It's really hard to read the greens, so we just finished," Hataoka said. She admitted she was "a little bit nervous" as she opened her first career playoff, although she landed safely in the middle of the green on the way to a par. "As you go one by one, my nerves kind of died down," said Hataoka, who said she would try to get a good meal and some solid rest in preparation for Monday. Lopez said she was just going to savor the moment -- no matter how long it lasts or what the outcome. "This opportunity is exactly what I'm working for every single day of my life," she said. "It's kind of a different experience, but I'm just happy to be able to have a chance for (Monday). (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BERLIN Serbia and Kosovo agreed on Monday to restore flights between their capitals for the first time in more than two decades, in a step toward reconciliation brokered by the United States at a time when the European Union is urging the two Balkan countries to resume talks. The deal will open passenger and cargo flights between Belgrade and Pristina by the German-owned carrier Eurowings. It came after months of intense shuttle diplomacy by Richard Grenell, the United States ambassador to Germany, who was named special envoy for Serbia-Kosovo relations by President Trump last year. Mr. Grenell said the key to reaching the agreement signed on Monday was ignoring the longstanding political conflicts between the two countries and focusing instead on the potential for economic ties. What we heard from the business community in Kosovo and from the business community in Serbia is we want a more normalized commerce structure and we need a flight, Mr. Grenell said. Its the reason why we went after trying to figure out how do we make a direct flight for the first time in a generation. At just a time when the world holds its collective breath over risk of a World War over the US assassination of Irans leading general and other provocations, Israel has chosen to sign a natural gas pipeline deal with Greece and Cyprus that is the equivalent of tossing a loaded hand grenade into the hyper-tense region . Until some months ago it was doubtful whether Israels long-touted EastMed gas pipeline deal with Cyprus and Greece would see the light of day. Despite being backed by the US and the EU as an alternative to Russian gas, the EastMed as it is known, is dubious on many grounds, not the least its high cost compared with alternatives. The January 2 signing by the governments of Israel, Greece and Cyprus is directly connected to provocative moves by Turkeys Erdogan to conspire with Libya to illegally declare almost all of the Eastern Mediterranean waters to be a Turkish and now Libyan Exclusive Economic Zone. If Mideast tensions were not already at the breaking point, the Israeli move throws a huge monkey wrench into the regions troubled geopolitics. As recently as December, 2019 the Israeli companies involved in their offshore Leviathan gas field were openly discussing further options for export of the gas following an export agreement with Egypt and Jordan. The EastMed pipeline was not mentioned in Israeli media. What has changed the situation was the announcement by Turkeys President Erdogan that he was sending Turkish troops to defend the Tripoli UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli of Fayez al Sarraj, on their request, to counter the forces of General Khalifa Haftars Libyan National Army (LNA). Libya has the potential to become a major new explosion point in the rapidly-deteriorating Middle East terrain. Haftar is backed by Russia, Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and yes, France, and secretly since 2017 by Israel. Since April 2019 Haftar has been moving to take Tripoli from his stronghold in the oil-rich east. The GNA in Tripoli in turn is backed by Turkey, Qatar and Italy. The EU is desperately trying to mediate a truce between the GNA and Haftar after Putin failed some days ago. The Mediterranean energy clashes As Cyprus has discovered rich offshore fields of natural gas in addition to those of Israel at Leviathan, Turkey, who so far lacks its own major gas resources, began to aggressively interfere in Cyprus offshore waters. On January 1, 2020 Turkey and Russia opened the Black Sea Russian TurkStream with first deliveries of gas to EU member Bulgaria. On December 11, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu hinted that Ankara could use its military to prevent gas drilling in waters off Cyprus that it now claims. No one can do this kind of work without our permission, he said. Since early 2019 Turkish ships have entered Cyprus exclusive waters claiming rights to drill. In December 2019, the Turkish navy intercepted Bat Galim, an Israeli ship in Cypriot waters and forced it to move out of the area. The ship was of the Israeli Oceanographic and Limnological Research Institution, doing research in Cypruss territorial waters in coordination with Cypriot officials. The US State Department warned Turkey to back off and the EU imposed sanctions on Turkish persons, to little effect so far. Turkeys recent interest in Libya is directly related to blocking Cyprus gas exploration and declaring vast Turkish offshore space legal for its drilling ships. On November 27, 2019 Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a bilateral agreement on maritime boundaries in the southeastern Mediterranean. It would redraw existing recognized sea boundaries to give Libya exclusive rights for some 39,000 square kilometers of maritime waters belonging to Greece. The new joint zone of Tripoli-Turkey runs directly between the both countries and completely ignores the fact it violates Greek waters off Crete. Conveniently, it would cut directly across the planned Israel-Cyprus-Greece EastMed pipeline route. Without Turkeys approval, Turkey has suggested the Greek EastMed pipeline would be a non-starter. The ongoing war between Haftar and Tripolis GNA becomes even more complex, as Israel is also backing Haftar who now controls Benghazi and much of Tobruk along the Mediterranean coastline. Since 2017 the Israeli military have secretly been supporting Haftar in his attempt to gain control of Libya. The EastMed Project The just signed agreement between Israel, Greece and Cyprus is more fantasy than reality at this point. It calls for a hugely expensive $7 billion 1,900 km (1,180 mile) subsea pipeline, the longest and deepest gas pipeline in the world, that should initially bring up to 10 billion cubic meters of gas a year from Israeli and Cypriot waters to Crete and then on to the Greek mainland and ultimately to Italy. That would amount to roughly 4% of total EU gas consumption, far less than Russias present 39% share, let alone Gazproms increased share once NordStream 2 and TurkStream are fully completed in the coming months. TurkStream, where the first of two pipelines opened on January 1, 2020, will supply a total of more than 31 bcm, with half available for the EU gas market and NordStream2 will add another 55 bcm annually to the EU gas market. It has been ten years since gas was discovered at Israels Leviathan. The first gas deliveries only began early this month to Egypt and to Jordan leaving 80% available for export following numerous delays. However prospects of finding finance for the huge project are grim at best. The EU, while greeting a rival to Russian gas, has made clear it has no money for the project. Greece financing is hardly possible after the 2010 Greek crisis and Cyprus is similarly depleted after its 2013 banking crisis. According to a statement from the Israeli Finance Ministry it will be financed by private companies and institutional lenders. To find private financing for such a politically risky undertaking at a time of growing risk aversion in finance is dubious. With a current glut of gas on the world market and the increasing availability of LNG sources it is not at all clear that a politically risky Israeli EastMed undersea pipeline makes economic sense. Notably, Greek state television channel ERT refers to the EastMed project as a protective shield against Turkish provocations. That makes clear Greece sees it as a response to the recent rapprochement between Turkey and the government in Libya and Erdogans announcement he is sending troops to support the GNA in Tripoli to make pressure against Haftar. Were Haftar to ultimately take Tripoli, clearly the Turkish-Libya bilateral agreement on maritime boundaries would be repealed. As if the conflict was not already messy enough, the Greek government just announced that it is willing to send Greek troops in order to monitor the ceasefire between the Libyan National Army (LNA) and the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA). The offer was put forward after Greek Foreign Minister Dendias met with LNA leader General Khalifa Haftar. This potentially pits NATO member Greece against NATO member Turkey in the widening geopolitical power plays over control of Eastern Mediterranean and other gas flows to the EU. And the prospect of a revived Iran-Iraq-Syria gas pipeline has not even entered the calculus. The EastMed gas pipeline of Israel, far from being a positive energy alternative, is rather a geopolitical intervention into an already conflicted region adding new levels of tension that only increase prospects for military escalation on all sides. Image Credit: Adam Hegazy337259 - Map of the EastMed proposed pipeline - License: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license with conditions https://bit.ly/2R8NCiY 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 Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-21 02:09:25|Editor: mingmei Video Player Close Guests taste food at the Walking Reunion Dinner in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Jan. 20, 2020. (Photo by Chong Voon Chung/Xinhua) KUALA LUMPUR, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- Guests at the Walking Reunion Dinner on Chinese Lunar New Year's Eve were treated to an array of delicious food on Monday night, as part of fostering closer people-to-people relationships between China and Malaysia. Jointly organized by the Chinese Embassy in Malaysia, China's Lanzhou city government, and Western Mahua Group and the World Federation of Chinese Catering Industry, the cozy dinner reception saw some 80 guests comprising Malaysian government officials, business people and others gather in the spirit of good food. Among those present were Malaysian Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, with Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia Bai Tian warmly hosting all those present and explaining the significance of the dinner. "Chinese New Year is the grandest and most important festival to celebrate in Chinese culture. Especially during the Chinese New Year's Eve, all family members, no matter how far they are, will come back home and get-together with their family members and loved ones, for the reunion dinner," said Bai. "It's a feast of unity and celebration. Having everyone in the family to sit next to one another at one table, sharing the food, sharing the joy of togetherness, sharing the love of family. It is also an important occasion to bid goodbye to the past and welcome a brand-new year together," he said. All the dishes served were prepared according to halal requirements to cater to the Malaysian guests, while their quality and variety were a match for other Chinese cuisine which is well known for its diversity and huge variation of styles. Prepared by 10 Chinese chefs, who were flown in especially for the feast, the event is considered as one of the highlights of the China-Malaysia Year of Culture and Tourism 2020. Speaker of the lower house of Malaysia's parliament Mohamad Ariff bin Md Yusof said the opportunity to sit down and share a meal with friends was something he cherished, all the more being able to try out new food. Malaysian government's special envoy to China Tan Kok Wai singled out the fried stone moroko with safflower as his favourite but also commended the Lanzhou beef noodles which were hand prepared in front of guests. "China is huge and diverse and that is reflected in the array of food that different provinces have. We are lucky to get a sample of what the country has to offer but remember this is also a small selection. "And for the Chinese it is not just the taste, but the presentation as well," he said. Malaysia-China Friendship Association President Abdul Majid Ahmad Khan said he appreciated the effort by the organizers in bringing together people from both countries together for the event, giving him an opportunity to try Chinese halal cuisine. "I really enjoyed the duo-flavored dumplings and the cherry flavoured mutton. That was something new to me but the atmosphere is very conducive to new experiences. I hope we will leave this dinner with a closer bond," he said. COLUMBIA, S.C. Several Democratic presidential candidates briefly put aside their recent sparring on Monday and marched arm in arm through the streets of South Carolinas capital to honor the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whom they later invoked in speeches about Americas past and future that were rich with election-year overtones. As the six-block march began from the Zion Baptist Church to the State House, where a Confederate flag once flew over the dome, Senator Bernie Sanders looped an arm through Senator Elizabeth Warrens elbow, as the two joined other candidates in singing We Shall Overcome for part of the trip. Representative Tulsi Gabbard and Senator Amy Klobuchar each locked elbows with former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. as well. The sight of Mr. Sanders and Ms. Warren shoulder to shoulder after a week in which they argued over their recollections of a private conversation about whether a woman could win the presidency delighted Lisa Ray Clarkson, a retired teacher from Norfolk, Va., who was at the march. That means they have gotten over their differences and the Democratic Party is reuniting, Ms. Clarkson said as she walked alongside the procession to the State House, where several thousand people converged. Boris Johnson pledged to overhaul Britain's immigration system to make it 'fairer and more equal' today as he wooed African leaders to boost post-Brexit trade. The Prime Minister pledged to put 'people before passports' - a reference to preferential status currently given to EU citizens - as he hosted premiers from across the continent in London. With the EU departure coming on January 31, Mr Johnson pledged to be a partner 'through thick and thin' with African nations as he eyed fresh trade deals across the globe. And the PM made a pitch for improved business links from his proposed Australian-style immigration system. He told the UK-Africa Investment Summit: 'Our immigration system, I know it's an issue that people have raised with me in the past. 'But change is coming and our system is becoming fairer and more equal as between all our global friends and partners. The Prime Minister pledged to put 'people before passports' - a reference to preferential status currently given to EU citizens - as he hosted premiers from across Africa in London With the EU departure coming on January 31, Mr Johnson was pledging to be a partner 'through thick and thin' with African nations as he eyes fresh trade deals across the globe 'Treating people the same regardless, wherever they come from and by putting people before passports, we will be able to attract the best talent from around the world, wherever they may be. ' Mr Johnson gave current partnership examples of Nigerian street lights being stocked with low-emission diodes from Dorset, and Angolan families tucking into chicken from Northern Ireland. 'We want to build a new future as a global free-trading nation, that's what we will be embarking on on January 31,' he said. 'But I want to intensify and expand that trade in ways that go far beyond what we sell you or you sell us. 'I've just told President (Yoweri) Museveni of Uganda that his beef cattle will have an honoured place on the tables of post-Brexit Britain.' Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson met the president of Rwanda Paul Kagame at the event in London today But - in an unwelcome eve-of-summit development for organisers - leaked documents exposed by media outlets including the BBC and the Guardian alleged that Africa's richest woman amassed her fortune by corruption and exploiting her nation. Isabel dos Santos was forced to deny allegations that she got access to lucrative deals involving land, diamonds, oil and telecoms when her father was president of Angola. Mr Johnson also spoke of the climate crisis and fight to save biodiversity by ending direct official development assistance, investment and export credit as part of his coal plan. 'There's no point in the UK reducing the amount of coal we burn if we then trundle over to Africa and line our pockets by encouraging African states to use more of it,' he said. 'To put it simply not another penny of UK taxpayers' money will be directly invested in digging up coal or burning it for electricity.' The PM was meeting presidents from Rwanda, Ghana and Nigeria at the summit, and was due to have talks with the premiers of Egypt and Kenya at Downing Street on Tuesday. Image courtesy of the World Economic Forum / Ciaran McCrickard (Kitco News) - Sputtering momentum in the global economy could see a turn in fortunes if nations adopt policies that promote social mobility, according to a new study from the World Economic Forum. A report published Monday said that ahead of the WEF s international conference in Davos Switzerland, promoting social mobility could reduce the widening gap in income inequality and boost economic growth by 5% over the next 10 years. The report comes on the same day that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) downgraded its growth forecasts for 2020. The IMF said that it sees global growth rising 3.3% this year, compared to 2.9% it forecasted in 2019, the lowest pace of growth in a decade. The key findings in the inaugural report show that only a handful of counties are fostering conditions to promote social mobility. The key findings of the WEF s Global Social Mobility Index show that children who are born into less affluent families typically experience greater hurdles to success compare to their more affluently born counterparts. A common theme in the report is that few economies have adequate conditions to foster social mobility. As a consequence, inequality has become entrenched and is likely to worsen amidst an era of technological change and efforts towards a green transition, the report said. The report notes that four areas most countries underperform are fair wages, social protection, working conditions and lifelong learning. The social and economic consequences of inequality are profound and far-reaching: a growing sense of unfairness, precarity, perceived loss of identity and dignity, weakening social fabric, eroding trust in institutions, disenchantment with political processes, and an erosion of the social contract. The response by business and government must include a concerted effort to create new pathways to socioeconomic mobility, ensuring everyone has fair opportunities for success, said Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum. The top countries embracing social mobility policies include Denmark, Norway, Finland, Sweden and Iceland. Among the Group of 7 nations, Germany is at the top, with a global ranking of 11. Canada comes in third with an overall ranking of 14 and the U.S. is sixth with a global ranking of 27. However, the WEF said that the U.S. economy would see some of the biggest benefits if it supported social mobility initiatives. China which is ranked 45 globally would see the biggest economic benefits, the report said. The report noted that government and businesses have to work together to develop policies to promote social mobility. The Report recommended that government s play the role of equalizer to re-balance wealth concentration. Meanwhile, businesses need to provide vocational education for their employees and pay fair wages to eliminate gender pay gaps. Looking purely at a business case, companies increasingly realize that they face equal risks from system challenges, including inequality. By helping to make societies more equitable, consumer bases grow, operating environments become more stable and there is greater trust between customers and stakeholders, the report said. By Express News Service ALAPPUZHA: If you feel the country has been reeling under some sort of a tension in recent months, then Kerala has a perfect piece of positive news for you. Cheravally Muslim Jamaath Committee, Kayamkulam, on Sunday set a communal harmony model with a Hindu boy and girl tying the nuptial note on the premises of a mosque.Sarath Sasi of Krishnapuram and Anju Ashok of Cheravally tied the knot as per rituals led by Hindu priests. READ | 'Example of unity': Pinarayi Vijayan extends wishes after mosque hosts Hindu wedding in Kerala The Jamaath committee supported the wedding by donating `2 lakh and 10 sovereigns of gold to the bride. More than 1,000 guests, from both Hindu and Muslim communities, witnessed the wedding and they were served vegetarian feast.Cheravally Muslim Jamaath Committee secretary Najmudheen Alummoottil said: Anju had lost her father two years ago. The family couldnt find the money needed for the wedding and Anjus mother sought the masjid committees help. She gave a letter which I presented before the Jamaath Committee. We decided to provide all help to the family and host the marriage, he said.Bindu Ashok, mother of Anju, said the family is thankful to the Jamaath Committee. She has been living in a rented house with her three children. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan termed the wedding, an example of unity from Kerala. Congratulations to the newlyweds, families, mosque authorities and people of Cheravally, Pinarayi said in a tweet. SEATTLE Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson is challenging the lavish personal spending of bankrupt anti-tax activist and candidate for governor Tim Eyman, saying Eymans assets must be preserved so he can pay his debts to the state. Eyman's been spending an average of nearly $24,000 a month over the past year, The Seattle Times reported, citing his bankruptcy filings. At the same time, the state is seeking more than $3 million from Eyman, including $230,000 in contempt-of-court sanctions for failing to cooperate with Ferguson's campaign-finance case against him. Hes doing what Tim Eyman does best avoid accountability, Ferguson said in an emailed statement. He knows he will have to pay a large financial penalty for his conduct, so hes inappropriately spending down his estate to get out of paying. Eyman's expenses include legal fees, a vacation to Orlando, rent on a Bellevue condo, $4,000 a month in unspecified business spending and at least $2,400 to buy 97 Starbucks gift cards during a 10-month span. He gets a $79 haircut every few weeks, his bankruptcy filings show, and he eats out a lot. The first month after filing for bankruptcy, he ate out on 20 days. Last February, he made 74 restaurant purchases. Last month, Eyman reported meals at three separate restaurants to celebrate his birthday at Daniels Broiler, The Cheesecake Factory and Pogacha. In June he spent nearly $300 going to the movies eight times, in addition to $450 spent on cable, streaming services and Apple store purchases. The family spending is draining the bankruptcy estate and must be severely reduced, Ferguson, a Democrat, wrote in bankruptcy court filings. Eyman's personal, business and legal expenses are paid through donations from his supporters. Bob Ferguson wants to destroy me because of my political success fighting for taxpayers he is demanding more money than Ill ever have, Eyman said in an emailed statement. Bob Ferguson is doing everything possible to drive up my legal costs so that I run out of money in the hope of forcing me to give up. Ferguson is suing Eyman in Thurston County Superior Court, charging that hes a serial violator of Washington campaign-finance law who has spent years laundering political donations, accepting kickbacks and taking campaign donations for personal use. That case, which dates to 2012, is set for trial July 13, just days before voters receive their primary ballots. Eyman says the legal fees and potential fines from that case drove him to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in federal court in 2018. The state has been trying to ensure it gets paid for the fines Eyman has already accrued, as well as ones that will pile on top if a judge finds hes broken the law in the campaign-finance case. Ferguson is also seeking to have Eyman barred for life from managing or directing the finances of any political committee. Eyman has been an initiative activist for two decades. His latest initiative victory, Initiative 976, which cuts car tabs to a flat $30, will force lawmakers to overhaul the state transportation budget if it stands. A judge has so far blocked it from taking effect, finding it is likely unconstitutional. -- The Associated Press 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. Talking point: change from below Czechs who protested over climate change and corruption are facing a prime minister who keeps saying no. The question for them is: now what? In those liminal days between Christmas and Hogmanay, I spent some time in the central European capital of Prague. The Czech Republic is a country that Ive come to be fascinated by. The gorgeous streets of Prague are a dream to walk through on a December day, in contrast to the summer, when the city explodes into a scene of overtourism beyond even an Edinburgh residents worst nightmare. This year, galleries and museums were dedicated to marking the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, when peaceful protesting led to the collapse of communism and the election of the dissident Vaclav Havel to the presidency. While the streets may have been quiet after Christmas, only weeks before there had been scenes of protest unseen in scale since the revolution. What do the protestors want? In broad terms, the people are concerned with corruption and climate change. Its all been organised by a group called Million Moments for Democracy, started by two students in Prague who shared a petition calling on the prime minister to resign, for reasons which may sound all too familiar. Andrej Babis became PM in 2017, leading a new movement that was neither left nor right. For his social media campaigning, hostility towards journalists and scepticism on climate change not to mention his vast wealth he quickly became known internationally as the Czech Donald Trump. Babis business dealings have landed him in trouble. He has been subject to investigations into tax fraud as well as a European Commission conflict of interest probe into the EU agricultural subsidy scheme and his farming empire. In a campaign focused on Babis, 1,200,00 people have taken part in rallies, over half a million signed the petition and a Czech broadsheet newspaper made the two founding students its people of the year for 2019. Theyve electrified people in a way that is comparable with Extinction Rebellion. But the prime minister maintains he wont go. I met one of the movements organisers, Janek Pinos, who told me that they needed a change of tack if the movement is to be sustained and bring about any change. Babis said this very famous line, Pinos told me. [He said] I will never, never, never resign. Anything can happen, I will never resign. He is like a middle-Asian dictator like this. So, the question dogging the movement now is: whats next? We must change more from demonstrations to proactive work, Pinos said. Czech journalists keep asking to Pinos annoyance if they plan to launch a rival political party. We built a civil society movement. We follow Havels ideas that there should be a strong civil society, and only on this grassroots movement can a good democracy grow, Pinos said. Its so sad that only 30 years after the revolution which was built on this movement, it looks like political thinkers in this country have forgotten this idea. Instead, the movement has always advocated for small, simple actions, such as subscribing to trustworthy media, engaging in political conversations and doing volunteer community work. "These are moments that, when added together, have the power to change the atmosphere in our country for the better," their website reads. On 7 January, they held a press conference announcing a new strategy, which goes further in that direction. Plans involve moving decision making away from Prague and hosting public debates in each of the 12 Czech regions. They call it "Million Moments 3.0" and described their primary aim now as being "the victory of democratic/non populistic parties in general elections in autumn 2021". "While the 1.0 approach was only/mainly about strong protest demands for Babiss resignation, and the 2.0 asked people more for making their own positive 'whiles' daily small actions for democracy, the 3.0. includes all previous strategies and has the highest political challenge" their statement set out. We will go closer to peoples real lives and highlight regional problems and solutions for the local elections in autumn 2020, they said. As Pinos told me, days before the announcement was made: Its a lack of imagination that there can be a political life beyond political parties. Rather than accept defeat at the top, the Czechs now hope that before the next election, they can change things from below. In France, where fashion is considered part of the patrimony and first ladies have been front-row regulars (and supermodels), the government has long treated the industry with kid gloves. Then, in 2017, Brune Poirson arrived. In the beginning, everybody thought I was crazy, said Ms. Poirson, who is officially one of three secretaries of state to the minister for the ecological and inclusive transition and, unofficially, Frances de facto minister for fashion. Both a champion of the industry and its rare critic, Ms. Poirson, 37, is playing a role in negotiations regarding President Trumps threats to impose tariffs on handbags and other luxury goods, also known as the handbag war. Last year, she also spearheaded wide-ranging legislation that included banning brands from destroying an estimated 630 million euros (or $700 million) of unsold goods annually, a common practice in the industry. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has said France would be the first to formally adopt this measure. When youre a young woman in government or in general, in life and you decide to tackle a topic like fashion, everybody goes after you, she said in an interview. Its almost the end of your reputation. If I were really a politician, I would have taken nuclear energy or something. But I think there is more to do in the field of fashion. I know we need to do something about it. WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump signed a trade deal with China on Jan. 15, proclaiming it a landmark rebalancing of an economic relationship that had cost the United States millions of good-paying factory jobs. The deal reflected the president's distinctive reshaping of American trade policy, relying on government dictates rather than market forces and establishing a direct enforcement system outside the World Trade Organization. The 86-page agreement, which comes after a protracted standoff between the two nations, commits China to buy an extra $200 billion in American products over the next two years. Under a novel enforcement mechanism, the two sides have agreed to resolve any disputes through a process of direct consultations that will be backstopped by the threat of new import tariffs. The president took a victory lap for the deal - the most consequential achievement to date from his "America First" policy - by presiding over a loosely organized, 75-minute White House ceremony. ADVERTISEMENT "Today we take a momentous step, one that has never been taken before with China, towards a future of fair and reciprocal trade," Trump said. "It just doesn't get any better than this." With Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and three other senior Chinese officials standing by his side, the president complained that China had taken advantage of the United States on trade for years. "It was pillage," Trump said. Trump's China bargain is the most concrete expression of his enthusiasm for "managed trade," which relies on government fiat to guarantee key results. His approach, also evident in deals with South Korea, Mexico and Canada, is a striking departure from generations of U.S. trade gospel. The deal faces widespread skepticism about China's ability to meet ambitious targets for buying $200 billion in American products over the next two years, as well as prospects for resolving compliance disputes. Robert Lighthizer, the president's chief trade negotiator, said the deal contained important new Chinese commitments to protect American intellectual property, halt coercive technology transfers and refrain from using currency devaluation as a trade weapon. The agreement, which does not require congressional approval, also leaves unaddressed major U.S. concerns about the impact of Chinese industrial subsidies on world markets. Those issues will be tackled in a second phase of negotiations expected to begin in several weeks, according to Lighthizer. ADVERTISEMENT Myron Brilliant, executive vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said "it's a first step. But it's an important and necessary step toward a broader goal." Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., criticized the deal, saying it failed to reduce the Chinese government's economic role. "The stunning lack of substance and long-term reform achieved will harm American workers and industry," he said. The accord calms but does not end the erosion in U.S.-China relations. The Trump administration is developing new export control regulations aimed at limiting flows of sophisticated technology to China. U.S. officials also are more closely scrutinizing potential Chinese investments in the United States and the activities of visiting Chinese students and scientists. Trump seemed at ease amid a standing-room-only audience in the East Room before he signed the agreement, putting on a performance of political improvisation. Along with an all-Republican lineup of Senate and House members, the audience included dozens of chief executives from manufacturers such as Boeing and Honeywell and Wall Street financiers from Citibank, JPMorgan Chase and Citadel, a prominent hedge fund. No representatives of organized labor attended. "There were a lot of Wall Street guys and big cheerleaders for outsourcing jobs to China," said Scott Paul of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, a union-backed group that has supported the president's approach. "I didn't see many working-class folks in that room." At the signing, Liu read a letter from Chinese President Xi Jinping, who said the deal reflects "mutual respect" between the two countries. ADVERTISEMENT In the first year of the deal, China has agreed to buy an additional $76.7 billion in U.S. goods and services. That would represent a 41% jump compared with the $187.5 billion it spent on American exports in 2017, according to the office of the U.S. trade representative. The Chinese have agreed to dollar targets for services as well as for farm goods, energy products and manufactured goods. New sales for American farmers alone are expected to near $40 billion in the first year, up from $24 billion. The administration is not making public all details of the agreed-upon Chinese purchases, to avoid triggering sudden commodity price increases, but it did list specific targets for 23 product categories in 2020 and 2021. The performance of Apple's AirPods Pro appears to have got worse, according to users. While the sound has got better on the premium earphones, the noise cancelling has become worse, a variety of users have complained. And many are blaming a recent firmware update that appears to have changed the way the earphones perform. Noise cancelling is one of the key features of the AirPods Pro, when compared to the older wireless earphones. Apple introduced them with fanfare about the way they would allow people to focus on their music and podcasts while on the train, for instance. Reviewers agreed that the noise cancelling is effective, and that they kept the sound out despite their small size. 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 now a host of Reddit users have complained that the noise cancelling is now less effective, and that more sound is getting through. Review site RTINGS tested the earphones in the wake of the controversy, and said that it found the noise cancelling was keeping less sound out. While the performance of the audio was improved, they appeared to have got worse at keeping noise out, the site said. Various users have suggested that was the result of a firmware update, which changed how the wireless earphones perform. AirPods updates happen automatically: there is no way of stopping them, nothing to indicate when they do happen, and no way of rolling them back once they have. You can check whether your AirPods have been updated relatively easily. That is done by connecting your AirPods to your phone, heading to the Settings app, clicking "General" and then "About". That menu should include the name of your AirPods, and clicking that will give you a host of information about them, including the firmware number. The latest version is known as "2C54", and is the one that is said to have brought the problems. But some say they even started with the "2B588" update. By Ronald L. Rice All Blacks dont think alike. Most legislators speak for themselves. Vaccines can and do conjure trauma and fear. Income level does not equal race. Thats a sampling of my mental punctuations as I read articles on New Jerseys vaccination legislation from media outlets across the state. As chair of the New Jersey Legislative Black Caucus, I am dismayed by some of the reporting and posts. But it wasnt until I saw a caucus member singled out in an incendiary headline about Black lawmakers putting children in harms way that I was compelled to speak out. Its hard to accept that this still needs clarification on what would have been Martin Luther King Jr.'s 91st birthday, but just because people share the same skin tone, ethnicity or any other common unifier, they do not all hold the same views on any particular issue. When it comes to New Jerseys legislation on vaccinations (S2173), Black legislators hold different opinions just as white, Latinos and other lawmakers do, and we vote in accordance with our constituents. We research, debate and use our best judgement, but ultimately, we are embedded in the communities that have chosen us to be their voice. We each bring our varied knowledge and expertise into office and, other than our common goal for social and economic justice and equality, we dont vote as a block simply because we are all people of color. That said, make no mistake: when the situation demands, as when civil rights are threatened, we are interlocked, solid and cemented in our cause. Further, having been a senator for the last 34 years, I can say with certainty that its a very rare colleague who allows words to be put in his or her mouth. I have worked extensively with Senate President Steve Sweeney for years, and whether we agree or disagree, Ive never witnessed him hiding behind a front man to express his views on any issue. The idea of Sweeney or his camp using Senator Declan OScanlon as his messenger is contrary to my experience with both of these men. Each is more than capable of standing on their own two feet and clearly stating their positions. When it comes to vaccinations, readers should be aware of the heightened sensitivity of some New Jersey citizens who are repelled by the idea of being told what immunization shots they, or their children, are required to receive. Some Black voters, in particular, know how people of color in America have been experimented on mercilessly for inhumane medical research. As a Black person, I am very much aware of horrors such as the Tuskegee Institute Syphilis Study, that are hard for any decent person to stomach. As late as 1970, while deployed in Vietnam, my fellow Marines and I were ordered to undergo unnecessary dental work and procedures that were completely unwarranted. We were never told that the medics were just trainees needing practice, and were drilling holes in our teeth although there were no cavities. Nor were we warned that some of us would be left with serious gum problems as a result of other oral experiments. Another reason for some people, and particularly people of color, to be concerned are the cases where pharmaceutical companies have engaged in marketing practices that cause exposure to harm. On behalf of the New Jersey Legislative Black Caucus, I first wrote to Johnson & Johnsons CEO on April 15, 2019 to begin to try to clarify the corporations marketing culture and strategies toward Black female consumers, in light of the baby powder lawsuits. The caucus intends to continue that dialog until all issues are resolved. As disregard for the dignity and integrity of people of color continues on many levels, its no wonder some segments of New Jerseys Black community are resistant and suspicious when medical and pharmaceutical professionals dictate their health and wellness. Finally, I want to point out that this public discussion about vaccination exemptions and private schools should not be misframed as a racial argument. The issue is about class and socioeconomic status. Only more affluent families can afford private schools where vaccine exemption is permitted. As Assemblyman Holley has already voiced, New Jersey has so very much to be proud of, coming off a robust legislative session that saw so many victories for social justice, inclusion and fairness. Indeed, Dr. King must be smiling from the mountaintop. Were he here today, he might pause to remind some of us, Science deals mainly with facts; religion deals mainly with values. The two are not rivals." In his spirit, lets inject a good dose of open-mindedness into the debate and arrive at the understanding necessary for wise and fair legislation. State Sen. Ronald L. Rice has represented the 28th Legislative District in the New Jersey State Senate since 1986. The Star-Ledger/NJ.com encourages submissions of opinion. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow us on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and on Facebook at NJ.com Opinion. Get the latest news updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. HONOLULU (AP) A Hawaii man with a history of run-ins with police and neighbors was facing eviction when he stabbed his landlord and killed two officers before the house he and two women were believed to be in burned, authorities and neighbors said Sunday. Police responding to a call for help found a woman who had been stabbed in the leg and resident Jaroslav Jerry Hanel, in his 60s, opened fire, killing Officers Tiffany Enriquez, a seven-year veteran, and Kaulike Kalama, a nine-year veteran, Honolulu Police Chief Susan Ballard said. Police suspect he and two women were inside the house when it caught fire, and Ballard said it could take days for authorities to process evidence and recover any remains. The fire spread to several other residences, destroying seven homes and leaving multiple others with fire or smoke damage, according to Honolulu fire officials. The homeowner, Lois Cain, had recently sought to have Hanel evicted, court records showed. A neighbor told The Associated Press she saw Cain being loaded into an ambulance with knife wounds. Cains condition was not immediately confirmed, nor was the suspects. Ballard said Hanel did not have any gun permits. The normally peaceful neighborhood where shots were fired is at the far end of the Waikiki Beach between the Honolulu Zoo and the famed Diamond Head State Monument, a volcanic crater that looms above Honolulu and is popular with tourists and hikers. A regional park is also nearby. Ian Felix, a Honolulu resident and combat veteran with medical training, told the AP he happened to be walking by when he saw a woman lying on the ground with a pool of blood coming from her leg. He applied pressure until the first police officer arrived and put a tourniquet on it, Felix said. Moments later two more officers arrived, and Felix said he then heard two gunshots. He and the officer picked up the wounded woman and carried her into a neighbors garage across the street, he said. Neighbors described Hanel as mentally disturbed. Defendant does NOT have a Rental Agreement to occupy the premises and Defendant has no ownership interest in said premises, read a complaint for eviction that Cain filed last week in court. Despite repeated demands, Defendant has failed and refused to vacate the premises. Attorney Jonathan Burge has represented Hanel since 2015 in various disputes with neighbors, including temporary restraining orders that three obtained against him. Hanel, a native of the Czech Republic who used Czech interpreters in court, faced a hearing next week on a charge of misusing 911 services, Burge said Sunday. Burge said he never knew Hanel to be violent, but that hes kind of a quirky guy and had problems. Hanel believed the government was watching him and tapping his phone, Burge said. Maybe thats what set him off, he said of the eviction. Hanel lived for free at the home in exchange for handyman work, Burge said. Cain was supportive of him in his disputes with the neighbors, Burge said, but their relationship had soured lately because Hanels dog had died and Cain wouldnt let him get a new one. Nearby resident Dolores Sandvold said she heard screaming and gunshots and saw Cain being carried to an ambulance. Kailua resident John Farmer said the fire spread to his sisters nearby house, which burned down. He said the resident has been described as paranoid and threatening. Officials across the state began releasing statements mourning the lost lives, with Gov. David Ige saying, Our entire state mourns the loss of two Honolulu Police officers killed in the line of duty this morning. Police closed several streets nearby and asked the public to avoid the area. Honolulu City Councilmember Tommy Waters, who represents East Honolulu and is the chairman of the City Council Public Safety Committee, said he was heartbroken by the attack. I am disturbed by the initial reports that the gunman was a troubled individual who terrorized the Diamond Head neighborhood where this tragedy unfolded," Waters said. It's back. A decade after Hydro-Quebec's plan to buy NB Power collapsed, the giant utility next door is once again turning its ambitious gaze toward New Brunswick's energy grid. Its commitment to help refurbish the Mactaquac dam near Fredericton, and to sell more electricity to New Brunswick, grabbed the most attention earlier this month. But a third deal, a promise to look at building new transmission links, is the real breakthrough for the Quebec utility, analysts say. Hydro-Quebec has more electricity than residents of that province can use. It built four new large dams over the last 11 years, leaving it with an unexpected supply of excess electricity it must sell to avoid the dams becoming white elephants. "We have both new supply of electricity, and the demand in Quebec for the last 10 years mostly remained stable," says Pierre-Olivier Pineau, the research chair in energy sector management at HEC Montreal, a graduate-level business university. "There's a lot of water in Hydro-Quebec's reservoirs." Going to America? New Brunswick represents a convenient nearby buyer for that cheap, clean electricity, but also a potential path to even larger, more lucrative markets. NB Power has two transmission connections to Maine it already uses to sell power into New England, and there's enough room on those lines to carry more electricity, from here or from Quebec, than is being exported now. For Jack Keir, the former Liberal energy minister who promoted the 2009 sale agreement to a reluctant public, the same logic underlying that deal is driving the new negotiations. "I believed in 2009 when we started looking at it, as I do today, [that] it's the right thing to do that we get our electricity as cheaply as we can, and that New Brunswick is located in the perfect spot to feed all of Atlantic Canada and the northeastern United States," he said. Alan White/CBC "I applaud the Higgs government for looking at it." Story continues NB Power and Hydro-Quebec announced three agreements on Jan. 10. The Quebec utility will advise NB Power on how to refurbish the Mactaquac Dam and sell New Brunswick 47 terawatts of electricity between now and 2040, extending an existing supply deal. A terawatt is one trillion watts. The third agreement, to explore the new transmission links, opens new paths for Quebec's surplus electricity to the Maritimes and beyond, according to Hydro-Quebec CEO Eric Martel. "We have some surplus, we have some capability, and together with this interconnection, we will definitely offer more opportunity to the Maritimes but also to the U.S. market," he said. Acquiring New Brunswick's transmission links to New England were widely seen as Hydro-Quebec's primary strategic goal when it tried to buy NB Power 10 years ago. Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams accused Quebec of trying to block his province's future electricity exports from the proposed Muskrat Falls dam to the U.S. Quebec was seeking "energy control of the entire Maritime provinces" and "attempting to strand Newfoundland and Labrador," he said at the time. The sale agreement fell apart, but a decade later, Hydro-Quebec's push for more export sales is more urgent than ever. High supply, stagnant demand Three of the massive dams have gone into service in the past five years. A fourth begins operating next year. They were approved when energy prices were high and demand within Quebec was expected to grow. But prices are down and demand in the province has flatlined. "We've plateaued," Martel told the Financial Post in 2018. "This is putting a lot of pressure on our financials." The solution: more exports. "At this point Hydro-Quebec is pursuing export projects in all directions, to Ontario, to New York, to New England and all the Atlantic provinces," Pineau said. Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press "They know that maybe not all the contracts will work, so they try to develop as much as they can." The U.S. northeast is the biggest potential market. Politicians and regulators don't want energy that emits carbon dioxide. A bill in the Massachusetts legislature would require 100 per cent renewable power in the state by 2045. But getting more Quebec electricity there has not been straightforward. Maxime Bertrand/Radio-Canada A proposed Hydro-Quebec transmission link through New Hampshire called the Northern Pass was blocked by state regulators over concern towers and cables would cross the White Mountains National Forest. In Maine, another route called Clean Energy Connect will be put to voters in a referendum in November. Pineau isn't convinced these obstacles to the New England market are Hydro-Quebec's main reason for cozying up to New Brunswick again. He said it's more likely driven by the business opportunity to export more power here and to Nova Scotia, which has four coal-fired plants. Defending dead deals But Keir believes the strategic ambition that drove Hydro-Quebec's attempt to buy NB Power 10 years ago is at work again now. "We're a straight line for them down to New England," Keir said. Keir still defends that sale agreement, arguing New Brunswick would have acquired more benefits from it than what's on the table now: the elimination of $5 billion in NB Power debt; the cost of refurbishing Mactaquac taken on by Hydro-Quebec, and power rates reduced for industry and frozen for residents. That wasn't enough to win over New Brunswickers, who mostly opposed the sale. At this point Hydro-Quebec is pursuing export projects in all directions, to Ontario, to New York, to New England and all the Atlantic provinces. - Pierre-Olivier Pineau This time, Hydro-Quebec's incursion hasn't stirred nearly the same emotions. "Because we've already been through this once, it's somewhat less shocking the second time, and frankly, let's be honest here: they're not selling anything, so folks aren't as passionate," Keir said. "Back then folks really believed we were giving up our sovereignty and a huge asset that we had. It was very difficult to convince folks otherwise. Now that's not even an argument coming into play here." There have been other major shifts since a decade ago, the largest being climate change emerging as a major policy priority. The green dimension Ottawa has new regulations to limit carbon emissions and "we have to comply," said Louise Comeau, director of the Environment and Sustainable Development Research Centre at the University of New Brunswick. The Quebec-New Brunswick deal could be a forerunner of a broader plan to integrate five provincial grids, allowing hydro dams in Quebec and Labrador to displace coal and fuel oil as a source of electricity generation, she said. "Why don't we work together on a plan, a complete plan to serve 100 per cent of clean energy to all our provinces?" Quebec Premier Francois Legault said last week. While New Brunswick is looking to sign an equivalency agreement with Ottawa that would allow NB Power's Belledune power plant to continue using some coal past a 2030 federal phase-out, Premier Blaine Higgs raised the possibility the plant could close. Keir said the discussion about Belledune is more muted than it was in 2009, a sign of climate change becoming a bigger concern. Jim Cole/The Associated Press "There was a lot of screaming about that at the time and now I don't hear so much, because now everybody I guess believes this is real and it's going to have to close down," he said. Another change is the role of Newfoundland and Labrador. Back then, Muskrat Falls was just a dream and then-premier Danny Williams was adamant that Hydro-Quebec could not be allowed to block its future export route to New England. Now, the Labrador dam is set to go online, "so they're in the market like Quebec is," Keir said. "So it's important for Newfoundland now to have that capacity to go somewhere. Back then it wasn't." CBC And to get that electricity to the U.S., "the best path is through Quebec and New Brunswick," NB Power CEO Gaetan Thomas said at the Mactaquac news conference. Ottawa's climate plan includes funding for exactly the kind of new regional transmission links Hydro-Quebec and NB Power want to build, making such projects more affordable. "They've been pushing the Atlantic provinces to collaborate," Comeau said. "This conversation represents a conversation the federal government's been very interested in encouraging." Pineau said with four small Atlantic provinces with their own grids, and Quebec next door, co-operation is the best way to build an efficient, zero-emission regional system. "There are a lot of significant gains to be made, especially in a context where we want to have more clean energy." Questions remain There are still major questions about all the potential integration. Keir points out Quebec would have to bid to use any new transmission line capacity in New Brunswick. "It can't just be given to Quebec unless they change that legislation." Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press Comeau said it's important for New Brunswick to keep generating its own power, including more solar and wind power, with Hydro-Quebec acting as more of a backstop. "We need to watch that balance between how much we're relying on external sources of energy and our domestic supply," she said. But with Hydro-Quebec's supply agreement with NB Power expiring in 2040, and the Churchill Falls contract with Quebec ending a year later, "we can see an opening here for an opportunity not just regionally in Canada but within the New England system," she said. "A regional, a truly regional, New England-and-Atlantic system I suspect will likely emerge." T he 22 richest men in the world have more wealth than 325 million women in Africa, a report by Oxfam has found. The Time to Care report says that the gap is worsened by the global economys failure to reward women who provide care for children and the elderly, for little or no pay. It comes as Boris Johnson hosts the UK-Africa Investment Summit in London on Monday, which will bring together 21 African countries with UK and African companies. The report was also published ahead of the World Economic Forum on Wednesday, when some of the worlds most wealthy and influential people descend on Davos in Switzerland. Oxfam said the findings illustrate how inequality continues to be at crisis levels with wealth valued over work and the contribution of women under-rewarded. Women and girls are putting in 12.5 billion hours of unpaid care work every day / AFP via Getty Images The worlds 2,153 billionaires had more wealth than 4.6 billion people in 2019, researchers found, while the worlds 22 richest men own more wealth than 325 million women in Africa. Oxfam compared the Forbes 2019 Billionaires List to the total wealth of all African women aged 20 and over, including all women, not just the poorest 50 per cent. The charity said women and girls were putting in 12.5 billion hours of unpaid care work every day, such as looking after children and the elderly, which contributes 10.8 trillion dollars a year to the global economy. This is more than three times the size of the global tech industry, Oxfam said. Some 42 per cent of women of working age cannot get jobs because of unpaid care responsibilities, compared to just six per cent of men. Billionaires' wealth v women's wealth / Press Association Images The charity is urging governments to crack down on tax loopholes and get the richest one per cent to pay extra taxes. It also calls for investments in water and sanitation, electricity, childcare and public healthcare, which they say could save African women significant time. Oxfam found that improved water sources in parts of Zimbabwe could save women up to four hours of work a day. Danny Sriskandarajah, Oxfam GB chief executive, said the findings of the report show that the economy is just plain sexist. When 22 men have more wealth than all the women in Africa combined, its clear that our economy is just plain sexist, Mr Sriskandarajah said. One way that our upside-down economic system deepens inequality is by chronically undervaluing care work usually done by women, who are often left little time to get an education, earn a decent living or have a say in how our societies are run, and are therefore trapped in poverty. China on Monday reported a third death and more than 160 new cases of the novel Coronavirus including the first cases from Beijing, Shanghai and several provinces including Guangdong, Sichuan and Zhejiang, confirming fears that the previously unknown virus had spread across the country. The total number of confirmed cases of the infection until Monday evening was 217; at least seven more suspected cases were reported from different parts of China. A Chinese woman was hospitalised with the Coronavirus in South Koreas Seoul on Monday after disembarking from a flight from the city of Wuhan in central China where the virus is said to have originated. The patient is a 35-year-old woman from Wuhan but did not visit the seafood market in the city, which has been connected majority of the cases. The numbers are set to rise, experts said with a WHO official reiterating the possibility and danger of human-to-human transmission. It is clear that there is at least some human-to-human transmission from the the evidence we have, but we dont have clear evidence that shows the virus has acquired the capacity to transmit among humans easily, said Takeshi Kasai, the WHOs regional director for the western pacific, in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Monday. We need more information to analyse that. Taking note of the situation, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday that the country will curb the spread of an outbreak of pneumonia caused by a new coronavirus, state television reported. Peoples lives and health should be given top priority and the spread of the outbreak should be resolutely curbed, it quoted Xi as saying. The surge in numbers announced by the Chinese health authorities comes days after an analysis by UK scientists said more than 1700 could actually be infected with the novel coronavirus. The third death was also reported from Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, and a university city with a population nearly 11 million and thousands foreign including Indian students. The city has reported 198 cases so far. The spread of the virus has sparked fears of a wider outbreak as the travel rush for the upcoming Chinese New Year (CNY) holidays peaks this week. More than three billion trips are expected to be made during a 40-day rush for the CNY holidays. As of 6 pm, at least five cases of the disease have been reported in Beijing, two in Shanghai, and as many as 14 in the southern province of Guangdong. The virus has spread to east, southeast, south and southwestern China from central China. Seven suspected cases were reported from several provinces including the southwestern Sichuan and Shandong in eastern China. Five new cases of the infection have been reported from the eastern province of Zhejiang. Since January 17, 5 cases of patients with respiratory symptoms such as fever have been found in Wenzhou, Zhoushan, Taizhou, and Hangzhou of Zhejiang province, all of whom have been isolated and treated in designated hospitals and are in stable conditions, the Zhejiang health authorities said in a statement, carried in state media, adding that their close contacts have been put under medical observation. Chinas National Health Commission (NHC) said Sunday that the pneumonia originating in Wuhan caused by a new type of coronavirus was preventable and controllable. Chinese observers, according to state media, noted although the source and transmission route of the epidemic was not yet fully understood, the government has proposed many preventative measures and Chinas notification mechanism for epidemic prevention and control has greatly improved especially since the 2003 SARS outbreak. Cases of the virus have been confirmed in Japan and Thailand. According to Chinese state media, at least 90 suspected cases have been reported in Hong Kong, while Singapore and Vietnam have also discovered suspected cases. Chinese health authorities said last week 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 CNY holidays could be passed through human contact but the risk of person-to-person transmission is low. HONG KONG, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- HGC Global Communications Limited (HGC), a fully-fledged fixed-line operator and ICT service provider with extensive local and international network coverage, services and infrastructure, today announced the deployment of HGC International Marketplace with Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) on its flagship data center, BDx. As well as enabling the near zero-touch availability of data center services on the centralized marketplace, this underlines HGC's continuing expansion of its global data center connectivity footprint. HGC International Marketplace, which enables the interoperability among different segments of carriers, enterprises and developers, among others, is a dynamic development of HGC. HGC is making its NaaS marketplace available to all BDx data centers operating an on-net infrastructure connectivity between the individual data centers, and hence instantaneously enriching the BDx service portfolio and coverage. Leveraging HGC's robust global Layer-2 network connection managed by the Software-Defined Networking (SDN) architecture and centralized controller OpenKilda, this will enable BDx customers to connect to any of the data centers on-demand and more efficiently on the single-pane International Marketplace with a centralized view of the entire network as it scales. In addition, through HGC, data center customers can continuously reach different global public cloud services such as AWS, Alibaba Cloud, Tencent Cloud, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, as well as international Internet Exchanges like AMS-IX, LINX, DE-CIX, to meet the needs of ISPs and global OTTs. HGC, as in industry-leading global carrier with an extensive fiber network connecting with hundreds of world-class telecom operators, is dedicated to enriching current infrastructure services in Asia, in particular the capabilities in the emerging ASEAN and IndoChina markets. Moreover, with digital communication technology advancing at an exponential pace, HGC also strives to improve the customers' user experience, adding one-stop digital empowerment ICT platform "HGC Smart Digital Ecosystem" on top, which rides on HGC's solid network infrastructure base, one-stop end-to-end ICT and digital solutions, professional managed services, and far-reaching global connectivity. Cliff Tam, Vice President, Global Data Strategy of HGC's International Business, said: "SDN, which runs in a programmable and on-demand model, is the future of IT networking. It truly accelerates business transformation by enhancing business agility and providing intelligent analytics in the new digital marketplace. HGC built the emerging architecture platform supported by OPENFLOW protocol to eliminate network control from proprietary devices based on a vendor neutrality approach. With the proliferating attainability and compatibility, it is HGC's strategy to focus on seamlessly connecting all major carriers with this open platform. We will continue to invite more over-the-top (OTT) players and communication service providers (CSPs) to enrich our SDN marketplace, expand our business portfolio together, and achieve win-win collaborations in the telco ecosystem, as well as further strengthening our leading business-enabler position in the market." BDx serves as a carrier-neutral content exchange platform for both local and global businesses, offers disaster recovery, cloud, and network services, and continues to expand its data center footprint worldwide. Sujit Panda, CTIO of BDx, said: "We aim to provide a platform where our customers can have a borderless unified view and management of IT workloads and resources, and provide the customers the unique ability to delineate their applications from the complexity of the underlying infrastructure in a secure manner." Contact us to learn more: [email protected] About HGC Global Communications Limited HGC Global Communications Limited (HGC) is a leading Hong Kong and international fixed-line operator. The company owns an extensive network and infrastructure in Hong Kong and overseas and provides a broad range of advanced telecommunications and ICT services. Headquartered in Hong Kong and operating 22 overseas offices on five continents, it provides telecom infrastructure service to other operators and serves as a service provider to corporate and households. The company provides full-fledged telecom, data centre services, ICT solutions and broadband services for local, overseas, corporate and mass markets. HGC owns and operates an extensive fibre-optic network, five cross-border telecom routes integrated into tier-one telecom operators in mainland China and connects with hundreds of world-class international telecom operators. HGC is one of Hong Kong's largest Wi-Fi service providers, running over 29,000 Wi-Fi hotspots in Hong Kong. The company is committed to further investing and enriching its current infrastructure and adding the latest technologies and solutions. HGC is a portfolio company of I Squared Capital, an independent global infrastructure investment manager focusing on energy, utilities and transport in North America, Europe and selected fast-growing economies. To learn more, please visit HGC's website at: www.hgc.com.hk SOURCE HGC Global Communications Limited (HGC) Related Links http://www.hgc.com.hk By PTI THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Hardening his stand, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Monday rejected the Left front government's explanation over moving the Supreme Court against CAA without informing him and said it was 'unlawful'. "No explanation can satisfy me", the Governor told reporters here this evening, a day after making it clear that he would not remain a "mute spectator" as he sought a report from the Pinarayi Vijayan government. Khan's strongly-worded reaction came hours after state Chief Secretary Tom Jose met him at the Raj Bhavan and explained the grounds under which the state government filed a suit in the Supreme Court against the Centre. The Chief Secretary, in the brief meeting, was also understood to have informed the Governor that the government had not willfully violated any rules, sources said. However, hours later, the Governor, who was on his way to Ayodhya, told reporters at the airport that no explanation of theirs (government) can satisfy him as what they did was "unlawful" and "not legally correct". "My view is that approval is needed. They have gone to the Supreme Court without informing me. That is an unlawful act not legally correct. So their no explanation can satisfy me," he said. However, Khan maintained that the matter was neither a "clash of egos nor any personal differences." In a democracy, individuals are bestowed with brief authority, he said, adding "that authority does not give the license to anybody to violate the law or the rules". Khan had said that as per Rule of Business Sec 34 (2) sub section 5, the state government should inform the Governor on matters affecting relations between the state and the Centre. Though the opposition Congress has criticized the Governor for holding press meets and airing his opinion in public, the BJP in the state extended him complete support. However, giving a surprise to political circles, veteran saffron party leader and the lone BJP MLA in the state assembly, O Rajagopal, on Monday criticised the Governor, saying that he should show some "restraint". "It is not proper for the Governor and the government make public statements. Differences of opinion should be resolved in private," he told reporters here. Khan's stand had drawn the ire of the ruling front with CPI(M) mouthpiece Deshabhimani slamming him for making "political statements" and alleging he was "threatening" the state in a "tough language". President Trumps legal team on Monday will call on the Senate to swiftly reject the articles of impeachment against him, accusing his Democratic political opponents of conducting a brazenly political and rigged process. The Senate should speedily reject these articles of impeachment and acquit the president, reads the 110-page trial brief. All that House Democrats have succeeded in proving is that the President did absolutely nothing wrong. The trial brief also accuses House Democrats of focus-group testing various charges for weeks before settling on the charges of the two impeachment articles, obstruction of Congress and abuse of power. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday formally signed the two articles of impeachment that the House approved largely along party lines against Trump before sending them over to the Senate for a trial. The trial is set to begin in the upper chamber on Tuesday, when senators will debate a resolution on the rules of the trial and afterwards begin opening arguments. The brief from the presidents legal team does not deny that Trump attempted to pressure Ukraine into publicly announcing an investigation into Trumps rival 2020 contender Joe Biden, but the filing does argue that the president has the prerogative to address corruption concerns with Ukraine as he sees fit. Democrats have accused Trump of withholding military aid from Ukraine until the country pledged to investigate allegations that Biden used his position as vice president to help a Ukrainian gas company avoid a corruption probe soon after his son, Hunter Biden, was appointed to its board of directors. Trumps legal team calls the impeachment articles a dangerous perversion of the Constitution and argues that abuse of power is not an impeachable offense unless it involves a specific crime. The 110-page brief is scheduled for filing at noon on Monday. More from National Review Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Monday dismissed suggestions that there was a change in his stance on the amended Citizenship Act, saying it is "unconstitutional", he is arguing against it in the Supreme Court and state assembly resolutions on the law are valid. His remarks came after he had said that there was no way a state can deny the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) when it has already been passed by Parliament. Sibal had, however, later asserted that every state assembly has the constitutional right to pass a resolution and seek the amended Citizenship Act's withdrawal, but if the law is declared constitutional by the Supreme Court then it will be problematic to oppose it. "Have always maintained CAA is unconstitutional. In Kerala on 18th at a public meeting said CAA should be thrown into the Arabian Sea. Posted my speech on Twitter. Please check. Arguing for invalidity in Supreme Court. Said Assembly resolutions valid. Stop spreading lies!" he said in a tweet. "On 18th at UDF's maha-rally (over 2lakh attended) exposed the 9 lies of government on CAA. At rally said CAA should be thrown into the Arabian Sea. Speech on YouTube. Said Assembly resolutions valid. Arguing against CAA in SC. So no change of stand; no clarification," Sibal said in another tweet. Amid a debate over the implementation of the amended Citizenship Act, the Congress on Sunday had said states have the right to challenge the Centre and cannot be "forced" to implement the "unconstitutional law" till the petition over it in the Supreme Court is decided. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Known as Clo to most of my friends, I've just turned 43 and am a kind, caring, social creature who believes that smiling, a positive attitude and a little bit of charm will get you through most things in life. When it came to having babies, I was never somebody who dreamt of having kids, and counted down the days until it happened. Rather, I always knew I didn't not want to have kids. In my early late twenties/early thirties, my priorities were definitely to enjoy myself. I was a late bloomer in terms of self-confidence and it was at this time that I really began to enjoy the person that I was. Working in PR really supported this, as it's very social and my day job involved working on music festivals; it was quite the dream. In my mid to late-thirties, I really wanted to meet my 'one', and I was in a relationship where I started to feel that this might be it, we might have a family. It was at this stage that I started to think about my lifestyle and working life in a different way. I had been working for myself for five years, running a small PR company which - being in the height of the recession - could be quite precarious, and made the decision to look for something more secure. I moved to the corporate side of the tracks and started working client side at Vodafone Ireland, where security was key, work-life balance was a pleasure and market leading maternity benefits were the icing on the cake. While my working life flourished, the relationship came to a natural end and I suppose it was during the years that followed where the thoughts of meeting 'the one' and starting my own family life were ever present. While over the next few years I dated, enjoyed life, and started and ended a couple of relationships, I didn't meet somebody that I wanted to spend my life with. At the same time, my want for a baby and awareness of my age infinitely grew. While I still was open to and hopeful of meeting someone, I started to think about potentially 'going it alone' and started to put things into place to support this. I had been renting and living in gorgeous, big houses which I sublet and houseshared for almost 10 years. I made the decision to live on my own in a space that could accommodate a baby and bought a two-bed house in Dublin 12. It was a stepping stone to my pending suburban life. Happy that I was in a good place, life continued, open to meeting someone, comforted by the fact that if I didn't, I was set up to do it myself. Then, 18 months ago, I was having a delightful time on a beach in Croatia when I received a routine call from my doctor on recent blood tests. All were fine with a slight pause on my phosphorus levels that were low, followed by a comment that this didn't matter as I wasn't trying to have a baby. I corrected her, saying that while I wasn't trying right now, I was planning to in the next 12 to 18 months, either with somebody or on my own. Thankfully the doctor's manner was lovely because it cushioned her very straight-up initial response, which was that if I wanted to have a baby, I would really want to set that in motion now. She explained (rightly so) that even if I began the process then and there, the likelihood was that it would take a minimum of a year to happen, if not more. If I was to hold off as intended, my chances of success would be depleted and I would be 45 by the time I had my baby if it did happen, and to think about how that would impact my life. It was a very sober conversation accompanied by a lot of tears on my part, but I made the decision that day looking out at the beautiful ocean to just go for it. It was a very bitter-sweet, scary moment. Yes, I was joyous and relieved that I was finally just going to go for it, but sad that you're accepting that you're not going to fall in love and make a baby with that person - for me, that was definitely a grieving process that I had to go through. Over the next four months, I underwent tests at my local doctor and in St James's Hospital, and these tests were sent to a specialist. At this stage, I was told I was in pretty good shape for baby making, which actually shocked me because of my age, and was referred for one more internal X-ray before being directed to a fertility clinic. It was December by the time my first appointment at the fertility clinic actually took place, and I was chomping at the bit to get started, but still a little bit terrified. The main things that played on my mind were: would I manage on my own? Wouldn't I be terribly lonely and isolated and in turn resent my decision? Could I cope financially? I appreciate these are standard fears for many women regardless of single or married status, but the fear was real nonetheless. This first appointment was without a doubt the lowest part of the whole process. I was told the harsh realities around the chances of success for somebody of my age, eggs, hormones levels was 2pc for IUI (intrauterine insemination), up to 5pc for follically assisted IUI and only 7pc for IVF (in vitro fertilisation). I cried more in that consultation office and the weeks over Christmas than I could remember for a long time. The self-loathing was the worst, berating myself for leaving it so long, or not meeting somebody. The feeling of pure and utter despair. I wallowed over Christmas, but I also started to formulate a plan. I took myself off to a bootcamp in the UK for a week over the new year period and spent the week working out and getting physically and mentally strong. There were also a few tears shed for very different reasons during that week, as I achieved a number of personal goals, proving to myself that I was strong and I was capable of a lot more than I gave myself credit for. I came home buoyed and full of confidence with a plan of action. I returned to clinic and told them I would like to proceed with two rounds of follically assisted IUI and, if that didn't work, I intended to go abroad for double donor IVF (when both donor egg and donor sperm are used to create an embryo) because the chances of that working were greatly increased compared to regular IVF, and it was a similar price. I was comfortable with this approach as I was giving myself a year to throw everything at this, and thought it was the most sensible approach to spending the funds available and time. I would give IUI a couple of chances using my own eggs, and if that didn't work, I would go straight to the option with the highest percentage chance of working. So that was it. In March, I ordered my donor sperm selected from Cryo International Sperm bank in Denmark and began my treatment in April. This involved taking one injection for seven days to grow the follicle, adding a second injection to the mix for the following seven days to prevent ovulation, and a final trigger injection to start the ovulation process 36 hours before the insemination. You are monitored with internal scans over this time to see how the follicles are growing and to make sure they are not overstimulated. The clinic is looking for one to maximum two follicles of the right size before proceeding. I started this process twice without completing the treatment; the first time it was cancelled because I confused my injections and took the wrong one at the wrong time and had to abandon it for that month; the second time because my follicles collapsed just days before the planned insemination for no known reason. This was the second hardest time in the process, with also a lot of tears. It was almost a year since I had made the decision in Croatia to start everything and to stop literally hours before the procedure was just gut-wrenching. It was at this stage that I decided to take a break from it all. I was going to a friend's wedding in the following weeks and wanted to really enjoy it, and then went to a couple of festivals and had a ball. It was a long road and I was now more aware that I had no idea how long it would actually be, and I wanted to have recent joyous memories to get me through what might be some hard a challenging months ahead. It was two days after the festival Love Sensation that I started my third round of treatment, this time to completion. And against all the odds, it worked first time. I waited a full 16 days to do the test, starting to believe it might have worked after day 12 when I compared the little cramps that I was experiencing to that description of feeling on an embryo catching to the side uterus, which would be normal on this day should it have been successful. I woke up at 2.30am, went to the bathroom and made myself go back to sleep. I woke up again at 4.30am, did the test, cried tears of joy at the word pregnant, and set a picture of it to my nearest and dearest, waiting for everybody to wake up! The word I would use to describe this moment and every moment since then (amidst the usual fears of the first weeks of pregnancy) is content. And this is the happiest and luckiest that I have ever felt. My family, friends and colleagues (also great friends) have just been phenomenal throughout this whole experience. I firmly believe that alongside the beauty of science and medicine, holistic healing, acupuncture and positive visulisation all played their part in making this happen. Positivity, support and love emanated from everybody around me and I believe played its part in making my dream of a baby a reality. New Delhi, Jan 20 : O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) Vice Chancellor, Professor (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar, will be speaking in three separate sessions at this year's World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland from January 21-24. He is the only Vice-Chancellor from India invited to speak at Davos this year. As part of the Caspian Week-WEF sessions, Kumar will speak in two panels. The first panel discussion 'Education & Leadership for Sustainable World' will focus on educational leadership, sustainability, inclusive development, institutional cultural change and pedagogies of sustainability. The second panel discussion is on the theme: 'The Role of Global Universities in Promoting Sustainable Futures', where the key points of discussion will include: "What specific role can global universities play in advancing the cause of sustainable development?"; and "What ought to be the focus of universities as they assume a leadership role in educating the youth of the world and preparing them for the future?". Kumar has also been invited to speak at the Times Higher Education (THE) Exclusive Davos Breakfast Debate on 'What is the power of place'. He is the only Vice Chancellor from India to be invited to speak at Davos, and JGU is the only university from India to be included in this global round table. The debate is aimed at interrogating the point of 'place' for universities in a hyper-connected, globalising world. The panel will examine where global universities are from, and where they are going, and question the role of governments and industry in potentially re-balancing the world's educational resources to where they are needed most. At Davos, JGU will also be signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Zurich, Switzerland for mutual cooperation in higher education and research. PR-Inside.com: 2020-01-20 15:00:40 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 1043 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / January 20, 2020 / PJX Resources Inc. ("PJX") (TSXV:PJX) is pleased to announce that vein hosted high-grade gold mineralization, with a weighted average of up to 25.07 grams per tonne (g/t) over 2.1 metres (m) true width, was intersected by drilling on the David Gold Zone on the Gold Shear Property near Cranbrook, British Columbia, Canada."Gold mineralization appears to be associated with an intrusive source," states Mr. John Keating, President and CEO of PJX Resources. "Intrusive related gold mineralizing systems can have significant lateral and vertical extent. Drilling also indicates that the shear system hosting the gold continues to depth and that the gold mineralization within the shear appears to occur in a zone that plunges to the north. This important information will help guide the next phase of drilling planned for this summer. Geophysics suggests that there may be additional parallel gold zones not yet drilled on strike and at depth. Drilling will also be carried out this winter to test the New Massive Sulphide (zinc, copper, lead, silver) zone discovered last year on PJX's Vine Property." Highlights of the 2019 Exploration ProgramSix of the 9 holes drilled to test the David Gold Zone intersected high-grade gold mineralization.Gold occurs within a north trending, west dipping shear zone called the David Shear.Multiple phases of quartz veining occur within and adjacent to the main shear. The main shear is anomalous in gold, in the 100s of ppb and varies in thickness from 1.2 to 4.5 metres true width. (see drill results table https://pjxresources.com/gs_drill_results.jpg) High-grade gold mineralization up-to 54,765 ppb (54.76 g/t) appears to occur as a zone in the main shear and varies in thickness from of 0.5 to 1.0 metre true width.High grade gold mineralization can be traced from surface down the shear for 100 metres. (see cross section https://pjxresources.com/gs_cross_section.jpg) The shear continues to depth but with only anomalous gold. The relative locations of high-grade gold mineralization at surface (up to 193.9 g/t gold) and in the drill holes suggests that the David gold zone plunges to the north within the David shear. The down plunge potential is planned to be tested during the next phase of drilling.Seven of 12 grab samples taken at surface from the David Gold Zone returned gold grades of over 68 g/t with the highest being 193.9 g/t gold. (see plan map https://pjxresources.com/gs_map.jpg) Eleven visible gold grains were identified in the surface rock sample that assayed 193.9 g/t gold. Visible gold was not identified in the other samples.Visible gold was not identified in the drill core. The nugget effect of having visible gold supports the potential for additional high-grade gold mineralization that has not been encountered by the current round of drilling.Next StepsIn early 2019, PJX received a 5-year permit from the BC government to drill and trench the David Gold Zone and other targets on both the Gold Shear and adjacent Eddy Properties. In the fall of 2019, PJX undertook it's first drilling program described above.The next phase of drilling on the Gold Shear Property will target the potential for high-grade gold mineralization down plunge to the north on the David Gold Zone, and the potential for parallel high-grade gold zones at depth and on strike of the David Shear.Potential for Additional Gold ZonesGeophysical Target at depthSome high-grade gold mineralization (196.69 g/t gold) intersected by historical drilling in 1990, on the David Gold Zone occurs with very fine grained black (sooty looking) weakly conductive sulphides.Similar sulphide mineralization was encountered, but only in minor amounts, in some of PJX's drill holes. Higher concentrations of gold occurred with this type of sulphide mineralization.Geophysics has identified a large geophysical target area at depth that could be associated with weakly conductive sulphides. Parts of this target dip to the north, similar to the suggested plunge of the David Gold zone.Hole GS-19-06 was drilled to test part of this target at depth. The hole intersected the David shear, but the hole deviated and did not drill deep enough to test the upper part of the geophysical target. Additional drilling is required to test this target.West Shear TargetProspecting has identified a second shear to the west of the shear hosting the David Gold Zone.Hole GS-19-06 was the only hole drilled to test the West Shear. The hole intersected the shear where it crosses a gabbro rock unit that is not favourable for hosting gold. The shear had anomalous gold up to 600 ppb.Sediments are favourable for hosting gold at the David Zone. This rock type is at depth below the gabbro at the West Shear.Additional drilling is required to test the west shear where it cuts through the sediments below the gabbro. The gabbro may act as an aquitard that could dam-up gold bearing fluids flowing along the shear and cause the gold to deposit or concentrate in the sediments. Aquitards influence gold deposit formation in Nevada and elsewhere.Geological InformationGold mineralization occurs with quartz veining and flooding in quartz-carbonate and/or sericite altered sediments (quartzite and argillite).Sample analyses indicate that there is a near perfect correlation of gold with tellurium (0.97 correlation coefficient). There is a moderate to strong correlation of gold with mercury (0.52) and cadmium (0.72). Lead, zinc, and silver have weak to moderate correlations with gold of about 0.4 correlation coefficient. Mercury's correlation is based on only a few samples that had greater than the detection limit concentrations.Minerals aquamarine (beryl) and potassium feldspar are present in some quartz veins with or without gold mineralization.Sample analyses and mineral assemblages support the potential for an intrusive source for fluids that carried and deposited the gold mineralization.The cadmium, zinc, lead and silver correlation may also relate to a potential host rock that is favourable for extracting and concentrating the gold from the intrusive mineralizing fluids. The shear zone and quartz veins are hosted in Aldridge formation rocks that also host the Sullivan zinc, lead, cadmium, silver deposit.David Gold Zone BackgroundAccording to B.C. Ministry of Energy Mines and Petroleum Minfile data, gold was first discovered in 1990 when an exposure of gold-mineralized quartz veining within a she London: The International Monetary Fund says the Australian drought and bushfire catastrophe could help trigger a sharper than expected fall in global economic growth, as world leaders are warned they need to show more "political will" on curbing greenhouse gas emissions. Australia's devastating summer blazes have captured the attention of the political and social elite who have gathered at the Swiss ski resort of Davos for the World Economic Forum, with fresh fears that climate change poses a serious risk to the economy. In a sign of how closely Australia is linked to the issue of climate change, some environmental activist protesters dressed as koalas. The IMF's latest outlook suggests the global economy will grow by 2.9 per cent in 2020 - a 0.1 percentage point reduction from its earlier prediction. Boris Johnson is tonight engulfed by the worst crisis of his premiership over the Downing Street party scandal. On a day when his future as Prime Minister was being openly questioned, Tory MPs broke ranks to demand he urgently address claims of a lockdown-busting gathering in the No 10 garden. Mr Johnson failed to appear before the cameras or make any public comment yesterday - despite explosive allegations that he and his wife attended the event at a time when all parties were illegal. No 10 also refused to deny he had been at the 'bring your own booze' bash on May 20, 2020. The Prime Minister is expected to make a statement at the start of PMQs tomorrow in a bid to quell mounting anger from the public and his own party. Today he faced a ferocious backlash from families who were prevented by lockdown rules from saying a proper farewell to loved ones. As support drained away, senior Tory figures put the PM on notice, warning that his survival in No 10 depended on addressing the 'utterly despicable' allegations and restoring trust in his Government. Several warned he would have to resign if wrongdoing was proved, while others suggested he could soon face a confidence vote from mutinous backbenchers. Those close to Dominic Cummings, the ex-aide who has waged a determined campaign against his former boss, were said to be claiming Mr Johnson had only a 20 per cent chance of political survival. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, January 20, 2020 11:12 722 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad206027bda 1 Business digital-application,Indonesia,Alibaba-Cloud,training,Binus-University,prasetiya-mulya,Google,Amazon Free Alibaba Cloud Indonesia has joined other global technology giants in providing training in cloud technology and services to lecturers, entrepreneurs and students to create more information technology (IT) experts in the country. The subsidiary of Chinese tech giant Alibaba Group is partnering with a start-up incubator, two universities, IT providers to offer a training program related to cloud technology and services to help provide the growing demand for tech-savvy workers in the digital economy. "People are keen to learn. They just probably do not know where they can find the latest and cutting-edge technology. That is where we come in," Alibaba Cloud Indonesia head Leon Chen said at Alibaba Cloud Day Indonesia on Thursday. The Digital Talent Empowerment Program will provide workshops on cloud services to over 60 lecturers at Bina Nusantara University and Prasetya Mulya Business School. The lecturers are expected to transfer their knowledge to at least 2,000 students at both universities. Partnering with start-up incubator BLOCK71, information and technology providers Trinocate and Inovasi Informatika, the project will also provide training for 2,000 developers to help them create products and solutions related to cloud services. Alibaba Cloud Indonesia joins its American counterparts Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google in providing such training programs. AWS, in collaboration with the government, launched in July a training and certification program offered both online and in a traditional classroom. Google provides similar workshops in the form of three-day, online learning sessions. Since its Indonesian debut in March 2018, Alibaba Cloud Indonesia has catered to at least 1,000 professionals by building their cloud-services skills in a separate project. The company's Indonesian branch, operating two data centers, is part of a network of 61 data centers in Asia-Pacific, Middle East, Western Europe and North America. "More and more businesses in Indonesia are using cloud services to support their growth," Leon said in a statement. "With our technology, skills and experience, we hope we can help grow more talents with the knowledge of cloud services and data intelligence to meet the need for digital transformation among Indonesian businesses." The country's market for cloud services is estimated to reach US$1.2 billion in value in 2022, rising from $172 million in 2016, according to a report by market research firm Frost & Sullivan. The countrys digital economy sector is expected to grow up to $130 billion by 2025, according to a study by Google, Singaporean investment company Temasek and management consulting firm Bain & Company. In 2019, the sector was estimated to grow by 48 percent to $40 billion from $27 billion in 2018. As the tech-heavy sector continues to grow, around 120 million workers in the world's 12 largest economies, including Indonesia, need to take part in reskilling programs in the next three years to avoid being displaced by automation, according to IBM's Institute for Business Value. A lack of skilled workers in the labor force is a challenge in expanding the digital economy, said Center of Reform on Economics researcher Yusuf Rendy. As of February, out of 129.3 million workers, 58 percent or 75 million were junior high school graduates or below, Statistics Indonesia (BPS) data shows. The country's digital economy in general, therefore, would benefit from training programs such as those provided by Alibaba, AWS and Google, Yusuf said. "However, these training programs are limited [in scope]," he told The Jakarta Post. "It will be more effective if, for example, those tech companies team up with the government to develop digital talents for small and medium enterprises." (dfr) "If this trend continues, Iran will take this effective step," Press TV quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi as saying at a press conference. Tehran, Jan 20 (IANS) Iran on Monday Iran said it could take a "final and more effective" step concerning its nuclear deal if the other parties remain in default of their contractual obligations towards Tehran. Since May 2019, Iran has been gradually reducing its commitments to the 2015 agreement, which is officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The countermeasures came in response to the US' withdrawal from the deal last year, its resumption of anti-Iranian sanctions, and refusal by Washington-aligned deal partners -- the UK, France, and Germany -- to guarantee Iran's business interests under the JCPOA after the sanctions returned. As part of the retaliatory steps, Iran stopped recognizing the limits set by the deal on the level of its enrichment activities and the volume of its heavy water reservoir. On January 5, however, the country said it would no longer observe any operational limitations on its nuclear industry, whether concerning the capacity and level of uranium enrichment, the volume of stockpiled uranium or research and development. The decision came two days after an American drone attack killed Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad. Mousavi on Monday said so far the countermeasures that have been taken by the Islamic Republic have been meant "to strike a balance" between the quality of Iran's commitment to the JCPOA and the way others honour the accord. Amid their continued violation of the JCPOA, the European trio even decided to formally trigger a dispute settlement mechanism featured in the deal that saw them accusing Iran of flouting the agreement. Mousavi said, though, that despite the "betrayal" perpetrated by some European states, "the door to negotiation with them has not been closed yet", adding" "The ball is in their court." ksk/ Donald Trump has linked his achievements on the anniversary of being sworn in as president with Martin Luther King Jrs birthday, as the he boasted of low unemployment among black Americans. On Twitter, the US president wrote: It was exactly three years ago today, January 20, 2017, that I was sworn into office. So appropriate that today is also MLK jr DAY. African-American Unemployment is the LOWEST in the history of our Country, by far. Also, best Poverty, Youth, and Employment numbers, ever. Great! Asked how Mr Trump is celebrating this years nationwide memorial recognising the murdered civil rights leader, White House adviser Kellyanne Conway said the president agrees with many of the things Dr King stood for, including unity and equality. Then she pivoted to the presidents upcoming impeachment trial in the Senate, saying: Hes not the one trying to tear the country apart. Ms Conway said Dr Kings vision did not include Americans dragged through the process where the president is not going to be removed from office. 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 administration listed no public events celebrating Dr King on Monday. The president issued a proclamation on 17 January in advance of the federal holiday, writing that the administration works each day to ensure that all Americans have every opportunity to realise a better life for themselves and their families regardless of race, class, gender, or any other barriers that have arbitrarily stood in their way. Mr Trump and Mike Pence, the vice president, did visit Dr Kings memorial marker in Washington DC. This year, his campaigns Twitter account posted a photograph showing Mr Trump walking through the memorial a photo taken at last years wreath-laying ceremony to honour the life of Dr King, but it did not disclose that the image was from last year. His campaign account also juxtaposed images of Dr King with footage of the president appearing with black Americans as part of a fundraising video. Mr Trump largely spent the day in Washington in 2019 because of a government shutdown that effectively grounded the first family. In 2018, he was in Palm Beach, Florida. He spent this weekend in Florida and Texas, where he addressed the American Farm Bureau Federation. Ms Conway said she spent the morning reading some of the lesser-known passages by Dr King and said that she appreciates that we as a nation respect him by giving him his own day. This morning, the White House issued a message on Twitter, saying the president will pause to honour the incredible life and accomplishments of Dr King, who was assassinated on 4 April 1968 at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, where he was addressing striking sanitation workers amid preparations for a Poor Peoples Campaign. Minutes later, the president wrote his support for a Lobby Day rally in which thousands of gun rights activists including far-right militia members gathered in Virginia to protest gun control legislation in the state. The president accused Democrats of working hard to take away Second Amendment rights. This is just the beginning. Dont let it happen, VOTE REPUBLICAN in 2020! The trial opened in Paris on Monday of Mourad Fares, who is accused of running a group of jihadists as well as recruiting people to fight in Syria and financing terrorism. Its thought the 35-year-old from Thonon-les-bains in eastern France was involved in several recruitment networks and he is linked to the departure for Syria of ten young people from Strasbourg in 2013. Mourad Fares, is suspected of organizing meetings in Paris, Strasbourg and Lyon, and using social networks to actively encourage people to head for Syria In July 2013, after receiving several bank transfers, he himself set off for Syria with 3 others. Once in Syria, he joined Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, the group which later changed its name to Islamic State. He was allegedly given training in the use of arms but claims he never engaged in combat and was instead involved in surveillance. Fares left Syria of his own accord and was arrested in Turkey in August 2014. He was handed over to France in September 2014 and has been in prison since. France has been Europe's biggest exporter of jihadists to Syria and Iraq... some 2,000 went between 2012 and 2018. Photo: The Canadian Press Meng Wanzhou A defence lawyer says fraud allegations against Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou are a "facade" and the charges are really about the United States attempting to enforce its sanctions against Iran. A court hearing began Monday in Vancouver over the American request to extradite Meng on allegations she lied to HSBC about a Huawei subsidiary's business in Iran, putting the bank at risk of violating U.S. sanctions. At issue at this week's hearing is the legal test of double criminality, meaning if the conduct she's accused of would also be a crime in Canada then Meng should be extradited to face the accusations. Her lawyer, Richard Peck, told a British Columbia Supreme Court judge that it's a fiction that America has any interest in policing a foreign citizen or foreign bank, but it does have an interest in enforcing its sanctions. Peck says the sanctions are the basis of the alleged fraud, since the bank wouldn't have faced any economic risk if the penalties didn't exist, and he notes Canada has refused to impose similar sanctions against Iran. Lawyers for the attorney general have argued in court documents that Meng's alleged misrepresentations put HSBC at risk of economic loss and are sufficient to make a case of fraud in Canada. Peck disputed this argument by posing a question to the judge. "Would we be here in the absence of U.S. sanctions law?" he asked. "In our respectful submission, the response is No." A decision to extradite Meng would undermine the double criminality rule and the values it protects, including the liberty of the person sought and Canada's autonomy as a sovereign state, he said. The start of the extradition hearing drew a large crowd of members of the public, supporters of Meng and international media. A courtroom with a capacity of 150 people quickly filled and an overflow room was set up. Meng, who's free on bail and living in one of her two multimillion-dollar homes in Vancouver, denies the allegations. She wore a black polka dot dress and took notes in court with the help of a Mandarin interpreter. Her husband, Liu Xiaozong, listened in the courtroom gallery. The case has severely strained relations between Canada and China. Beijing has detained two Canadians and restricted some imports including canola, moves that are widely seen as retaliation. A spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry said Monday that the United States and Canada abused their bilateral extradition treaty and arbitrarily took compulsory measures against a Chinese citizen without cause. "This is entirely a serious political incident that grossly violates the legitimate rights and interests of the Chinese citizen," said Geng Shuang, urging Canada to release Meng. If the judge decides the legal test of double criminality has not been met, Meng will be free to leave Canada, though she'll still have to stay out of America to avoid the charges. If the judge finds there is double criminality, the hearing will proceed to a second phase. That phase, scheduled for June, will consider defence allegations that Meng's rights were violated during her arrest in December 2018 at Vancouver's airport. Consumer electronics major Samsung is investing Rs 3,500 crore to set up a smartphone display manufacturing unit in Noida. Samsung India Electronics, the Indian unit of South Korean electronics giant, has transferred a land parcel of around 64,905 sq metres to Samsung Display, for a consideration of Rs 92.20 crore at its Noida plant, UP in two installments, according to the regulatory filings before the Registrar of Companies (RoC). Besides, Samsung India Electronics has also granted a loan of Rs 3,500 crore to Samsung Display Noida (SDN) for a period of three years, according to documents sources by business intelligence platform Paper.vc. "The parent entity of Samsung Noida Display Pvt Ltd Viz Samsung Display Company Ltd, korea has provided the coprorate guarantee equivalent to the loan amount to the company," the filing stated. The draft corporate guarantee is to be issued by Samsung Display Co Ltd, korea, in favour of the company, it added. Samsung Display Noida, a group entity of the company, which has been incorporated "with the principal business of manufacturing, assembling, processing and sales of displays (including their parts, components and accessories) for all types and sizes of electronic devices". E-mails sent to Samsung India did not elicit a response. To establish a manufacturing unit, it had approached Samsung India Electronics for transfer of land parcel. Eungkyo Seo, wholetime director of the company is also a director of SDN, it added. In the Indian handset market Samsung India competes with the likes of Xiaomi, OnePlus and LG in India. Samsung India Electronics' consolidated net profit fell over 58 per cent to Rs 1,540.5 crore in 2018-19, according to a regulatory filing. The firm had posted a net profit of Rs 3,712.8 crore in the financial year 2017-18. However, the company total income rose 20 per cent to Rs 73,085.9 crore in FY19 from Rs 61,065.6 crore in the previous fiscal, as per the documents filed by the company to the Registrar of Companies (RoC). (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Police have seized archives as part of their investigation into the 1974 Guildford pub bombings and may destroy some of them, it has been claimed. The records at Surrey History Centre were gathered by retired officers and deposited by former Chief Superintendent Bob Bartlett. Correspondence seen by the BBC said one file, dated 1967-74, which covers the year of the bombs, had information on wanted people but "will be destroyed" on retention. The Guildford Four - Paul Hill, Gerry Conlon, Paddy Armstrong and Carole Richardson - were sentenced to life imprisonment in 1975 after they were falsely convicted of the IRA bombing of pubs in Surrey that left five dead. They had their convictions overturned in 1989. Last year Surrey Coroner Richard Travers said core issues of how, when and where the four young soldiers and one civilian died had not been sufficiently established in public proceedings, following a campaign by families of victims, survivors, and those wrongfully imprisoned to resume the inquest hearings. Lawyers who are representing the family of bombing victim Ann Hamilton and survivor Yvonne Tagg in the resumed inquest said that if files were being retained, closed or marked for destruction, it raised "serious concerns". Correspondence given to the BBC said police "entered the Surrey History Centre to recover any Guildford bombings related material because there is to be an inquest". Surrey Police said no papers had been destroyed, adding that files "will be audited against the relevant legal guidelines and, where possible, returned to the history centre". The U.S. Navy will be naming a future Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier after an African American hero during the second world war, according to a news release issued on the morning of Sunday, Jan. 19, by the U.S. Navy. As indicated by the news release, the announcement will be made by Thomas B. Modly, the Acting Secretary of the Navy Public Affairs, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day during the ceremony in Hawaii on Monday, Jan. 20. In addition, the ceremony will also be focusing on addressing the contributions that other African Americans have made. This will be the second ship named in honor of Miller, and the first aircraft carrier ever named for an African American. This will also be the first aircraft carrier to be named in honor of a Sailor for actions while serving in the enlisted ranks In selecting this name, we honor the contributions of all our enlisted ranks, past and present, men and women, of every race, religion, and background, Modly said, according to the news release. Doris Miller stood for everything that is good about our nation, and his story deserves to be remembered and repeated wherever our people continue the watch today, said Modly. Miller enlisted in the military from Sept. 16, 1939, and served until he died on Nov. 25, 1944 (when he was officially presumed dead), according to the historical naval profiles. During this time, he started as a Mess Attendant and worked his way to being promoted to Cook, third class. Miller served on three different shipsthe USS Pyro, the USS West Virginia, and the USS Nevada. He was on the USS West Virginia when Pearl Harbor was attacked, according to Millers profile. On Dec. 7, 1941, Miller was collecting laundry on the battleship West Virginia (BB-48), when the attack from Japanese forces commenced. When the alarm for general quarters sounded he headed for his battle station, an anti-aircraft battery magazine, only to discover that torpedo damage had wrecked it. Miller was ordered to the ships bridge to aid the mortally wounded commanding officer and subsequently manned a .50 caliber Browning anti-aircraft machine gun until he ran out of ammunition. Miller then helped move many other injured Sailors as the ship was ordered abandoned due to her own fires and flaming oil floating from destroyed Arizona (BB-33). West Virginia lost 150 of its 1,500 person crew, the news release stated. It was for these heroic actions that Miller received a commendation from Frank Knox, the then Secretary of the Navy. Admiral Chester Nimitz, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet at that time, presented Miller with the Navy Cross. During his time of service, Miller also awarded the Purple Heart Medal, the American Defense Service Medal, Fleet Clasp, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal, according to his profile. TORONTO - TekSavvy Solutions Inc. is appealing to Canadian consumers for support in a politically charged battle between Canada's independent internet service providers and the big phone and cable companies. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/1/2020 (722 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. The TekSavvy Solutions Inc. logo is seen in this undated handout photo. TekSavvy Solutions Inc. has launched a new advertising campaign to ask for the public's support for a politically charged battle that Canada's independent internet services providers are waging with the big phone and cable companies. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, TekSavvy Solutions Inc.*MANDATORY CREDIT* TORONTO - TekSavvy Solutions Inc. is appealing to Canadian consumers for support in a politically charged battle between Canada's independent internet service providers and the big phone and cable companies. Bell, Rogers and Canada's other major phone and cable companies asked the federal cabinet in November to overrule a 2019 regulatory decision that slashes how much they can charge independent ISPs like TekSavvy. The industry giants argued the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission overstepped its authority in August by cutting wholesale capacity rates by up to 43 per cent and chopping access rates up to 77 per cent. Canada's small and mid-sized ISPs collectively serve about one million households using infrastructure they either own or rent. TekSavvy vice-president Janet Lo said Monday that the Chatham-based company Canada's largest independent ISP has launched a campaign to urge the public and politicians to support the CRTC. The campaign will include billboards, transit ads, radio advertising and social media, she added. An ad included in a TekSavvy press release asks, "Tired of being gouged?", and urges consumers to "speak up." "We're just trying to raise general awareness, to make sure all Canadians know that they can have their voices heard and talk to their MPs if this issue is important to them," Lo said in an interview from Ottawa. The cabinet has set Feb. 14 as the deadline for receiving comments on the issue but, as of Monday, no submissions had been made to the government website where they'll be posted for the public TekSavvy says it has set up the website Paylesstoconnect.ca to make it easier for consumers to forward their comments to individual members of Parliament. Among other things, one of the key issues in dispute is whether the CRTC or the carriers themselves are the most qualified to calculate how much it costs the big providers to provide wholesale infrastructure. The big carriers argue that the CRTC's review process which took more than three years to complete was seriously flawed and will undermine confidence required for them to risk billions of dollars to build high-quality networks. Ready, Pet, Go! Leesa Dahl looks at everything to do with our furry, fuzzy, feathered, fishy (and more!) pet friends. Arrives in your inbox each Monday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. A joint submission on behalf of cable companies said, for instance, that the CRTC's wholesale rates applicable to Rogers will cover the costs of connecting only about 250 node segments even though there were 11,500 node segments being used in 2016 when the interim rates were set and thousands more today. "That number continues to grow, given that ... nodes have to be added to maintain quality of service as internet usage increases; and ... annual usage in Canada has increased dramatically in recent years, with no end in sight," the cable companies' submission says. TekSavvy argues that the big carriers are attempting to use the CRTC, courts and cabinet to "game the system with impunity" by using inflated wholesale costs that cripple their smaller rivals. Lo said that the CRTC's 2019 decision includes an 11-page summary of reasons for the regulator's adjustments of the costing methodologies proposed by the telecom companies and alleged that they are "simply trying to inflate the wholesale rates, and therefore the retail rates that all Canadians pay for internet services." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 20, 2020. Companies in this story: (TSX:BCE, TSX:RCI.B, TSX:T, TSX:SJR.B, TSX:QBR.B) Lesotho Prime Minister Thomas Thabane announced his intention to resign, the South African Broadcasting Corporation reported. A spokesperson for the ruling party All Basotho Convention (ABC) said Mr Thabane will officially announce his resignation to the cabinet on Tuesday January 21. No reason has been given for Mr Thabanes decision, although the party had last week asked him to resign after court documents made him a person of interest in the 2017 murder of his estranged wife Lipolelo Thabane. The estranged wife of Thabane has been shot dead two days before his inauguration. Lipolelo Thabane, 58, was travelling home with a friend when both women were shot by an unknown assailant, according to Police. His current wife Maesaiah Thabane is wanted by police for questioning over the murder. An arrest warrant has been issued for the first lady but she has gone missing. The women were involved in a legal battle over who should be first lady. The courts ruled in favor of Lipolelo Thabane. 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 worlds poorest countries and has one of Africas highest levels of HIV/AIDS prevalence, according to Reuters. The audience can feel Susan Bernstein's passion as she starts her presentation. She is there to share the knowledge she has gained throughout her life. A lifelong educator, Bernstein loves to tell stories. She continues the tradition of the early Jews sharing history in both the written word and the voices of all that came before her. Bernstein is the lesson she teaches, as she lives her life by the examples she shares. Besides a strong Judaic background, Bernstein also has a strong musical background. She developed her love of music in 4th grade, continuing to a degree in music education and then to post graduate study at Hebrew University in Ethno-Musicology. She was a radio announcer for a classical music station in Dallas and wrote western classical music programs for an Israeli radio station. She is self-taught in guitar, which she plays regularly. Bernstein says sharing her music strikes a beautiful chord. The Jewish Pavilion is lucky to have Bernstein as a program director who shares her many talents with the seniors in long-term care. Bernstein took over from Emily Newman when she retired and then expanded her reach when Judy Appleton retired. Bernstein plans programs, holiday festivities and conducts Sabbath services at assisted-living communities from Sanford to Winter Park. As she plays her guitar, each resident connects to the music that warms their hearts. When Bernstein was asked what she would like to see in her future with the Jewish Pavilion, her answer was, "more volunteers to help the program directors give the seniors their Jewish connection. Envision yourself as a senior living in long-term care. How would you feel?" Described as soft-spoken, rolls with the punches, easy going and compassionate, Bernstein shares all of those qualities with the seniors she serves through the Jewish Pavilion. She loves the relationship with the employees of the communities she visits because they encourage the Jewish connection. Make Bernstein happy and volunteer to help seniors in elder-care communities. Call the Jewish Pavilion at 407-687-9363 or sign up online at http://www.jewishpavilion.org. The Fauquier Times is honored to serve as your community companion. To say thank you, we are excited to offer 4 weeks FREE Digital & Print access to all subscribers new and returning alike. We are dedicated to continuing providing reliable, high quality journalism. This is possible with the trust and support of our subscribers in the community we are proud to serve. As the new year arrived, news headlines celebrated the fact Oslo, Norway, had just become the first city to ban cars from its downtown. The notion of banning cars sounds extreme, but they didnt just throw up concrete barriers on New Years Eve and walk away. It was a natural progression in a decades-long journey for the Nordic city. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/1/2020 (722 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Opinion As the new year arrived, news headlines celebrated the fact Oslo, Norway, had just become the first city to ban cars from its downtown. The notion of banning cars sounds extreme, but they didnt just throw up concrete barriers on New Years Eve and walk away. It was a natural progression in a decades-long journey for the Nordic city. Comparing a Canadian city such as Winnipeg to one in Europe is always met with skepticism, but theres an interesting parallel to be found between the decisions made a generation ago in two cities of similar size, leading to one that would ban cars and one that continues to ban pedestrians from parts of their respective city centres today. Oslo is a much older city, but it had a similar population to Winnipeg when cars came on the scene in the 1920s. By the 1970s, both were experiencing the effects of the vehicle age, seeing an exodus of population from central neighbourhoods and high growth in new suburbs on the edges of the city. Each had lost about 25 per cent of its population density over 20 years and both downtown cores were struggling. Surprisingly, by 1970, the mature neighbourhoods of Oslo and Winnipeg (ones with grid streets and elm trees) had similar population densities of about 5,000 people per square kilometre, and similar overall populations of about 200,000. Car ownership was growing, the cities were expanding, inner neighbourhoods were decaying, traffic congestion was increasing and public transit use was declining. Each city responded to this in a completely different way. In 1972, Unicity was established and Winnipeg amalgamated with its outer suburbs. With this shift in power, urban expansion accelerated outward and density continued to decline. Since that time, Winnipegs built area has grown almost three times faster than its population. Car ownership and traffic congestion has exploded, with almost 15,000 more cars added to the citys roads every year. The citys sprawling growth has meant imbalanced tax revenues, an infrastructure deficit of $7 billion, crumbling roads and reduced services. Oslo did it differently. In 1976, the first of a series of master plans centred on a "compact city" strategy was introduced. The forests surrounding Oslo were established as a hard "green belt" called the Marka border. It was forbidden for any development to occur in this area, pushing all new growth into the existing urban footprint. In 1993, a green spaces land-use plan was implemented to protect and enhance parks and green space as an amenity to attract residents and maintain quality of life as the city densified. The compact-city strategy has worked. Demand for living in central neighbourhoods has exploded, with their population growing by 50 per cent since 2005. Most comparable neighbourhoods in Oslo are today twice as dense as their Winnipeg counterparts. Higher residential density meant other modes of transportation could be more effective. Public transit became the backbone of the compact-city model. Concentrating development around transit nodes became a tool to target growth to specific areas of the city. Oslo today has more than 80 streetcars, five lines of an LRT, which goes underground in the downtown, and an extensive bus fleet. Today, 89 per cent of the city lives within 300 metres of a transit stop, resulting in public-transit use increasing by 60 per cent since 2005, and now growing by five per cent per year. Transit accommodates nearly 370 million passengers annually in Oslo. In Winnipeg, the only Canadian city to have lower ridership today than it did 20 years ago, Transit carries about 50 million. Interestingly, before streetcars were removed in 1955, that number was over 100 million, in a city with about half the population. 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. To further improve the livability of central neighbourhoods and promote more walking trips, Oslo committed to building safer streets for pedestrians, adopting the Vision Zero strategy. Residential speed limits were lowered to 30 km/h, streets and intersections were narrowed, speed humps and raised crosswalks were built, and car-free areas around schools, called Heart Zones, were established. In 2019, Oslo became the first major city to have zero pedestrian or cyclist fatalities on its streets. Winnipeg had 15. Oslo has also recently started concentrating on increasing bike use, traditionally not a popular mode of transport due to its very hilly terrain. It recently built 60 kilometres of bike lanes and is adding 10 more per year. Grants of $1,200 are provided to anyone wanting an electric-assist bike, and an extensive bike-rental system has been developed. After building the infrastructure, in only a few short years, eight per cent of the population now commutes by bike (four per cent in winter), four times the rate in Winnipeg. The plan is to get that number to 20 per cent by 2030. An added bonus is that traffic growth in Oslos mature neighbourhoods is four times lower than in outlying car suburbs. After a 40-year commitment to the goals of a compact-city plan, increasing public transit use, walking and biking, Oslo took the next logical step and essentially made its downtown a car-free zone, something unthinkable in cities such as Winnipeg that have made different choices over that time. The lesson in this tale of two cities is that the decisions we make today create the city our children will live in tomorrow. Brent Bellamy is creative director at Number Ten Architectural Group. Charlize Theron was a knockout as always when she arrived at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday. The 44-year-old talent bared her sculpted midriff in a sparkling silver sleeveless crop top as she pulled her best smoldering stare for the shutterbugs. Sweeping her signature blonde hair tightly back, she flashed a bit of leg in a high-waisted black floor-length skirt that had a long slit up the front. Aglow: Charlize Theron was a knockout as ever when she arrived at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday Charlize added an extra splash of dazzle to the ensemble with jewelry including earrings, a bracelet and an assortment of rings. Balancing on black platform stilettos, she rounded off the look with a matching clutch, belt and nail polish for her latest red carpet look. Charlize could be glimpsed mingling on the red carpet with Brad Pitt, whom she was the subject of romance rumors with during awards season last year. When you got it: The 44-year-old bared her sculpted midriff in a sparkling silver sleeveless crop top as she pulled her best smoldering stare for the shutterbugs Dropping hints: Sweeping her signature blonde hair tightly back, she flashed a bit of leg in a high-waisted black floor-length skirt that had a long slit up the front In October while promoting her new movie Bombshell on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Charlize denied the conjecture that she and Brad were ever an item. Fellow guest Nicole Kidman said: 'I did not date Brad,' to which Charlize vamped that 'I apparently did. I had an entire relationship that I didn't even know about.' Charlize and Nicole co-star respectively as Megyn Kelly and Gretchen Carlson in Bombshell, a movie about the Roger Ailes sex scandals. There he is: Charlize could be glimpsed mingling on the red carpet with Brad Pitt, whom she was the subject of romance rumors with during awards season last year Both thespians were nominated for Screen Actors Guild Awards for Bombshell - Charlize as a leading actress and Nicole in the supporting category. Nicole lost her prize to her Big Little Lies co-star Laura Dern, who won for her performance as a high-powered divorce lawyer in Marriage Story. Sunday night's red carpet also featured Brad's first ex-wife Jennifer Aniston, whom he infamously left for Angelina Jolie in 2005. Denied: In October while promoting her new movie Bombshell on The Ellen DeGeneres Show , Charlize denied the conjecture that she and Brad were ever an item Norway's coalition government is close to collapse after the anti-immigrant party propping it up said it will pull out over an Islamic State (IS) bride's repatriation from Syria. The Progress Party's leader, who is also Norway's finance minister, will resign from the government and remove her party from the four-party coalition, robbing the prime minister of her parliamentary majority. Siv Jensen made good on her threat to leave the government after a 29-year-old Norwegian-Pakistani woman arrived in Norway on Saturday with her son, five, and daughter, three. She is believed to have travelled to Syria in 2013 and married a Norwegian-Chilean IS fighter called Bastian Vasquez, who is believed to have died, before she married another fighter. "I brought us into government, and I'm now bringing the party out," Ms Jensen told a news conference on Monday afternoon. The decision to bring the IS bride back to Norway, accompanied by police, was made on "humanitarian grounds" over fears one of her children is seriously ill, minister of foreign affairs Ine Eriksen Soreide said. The mother, who has not been named, was arrested on arrival for "participation in a terrorist organisation" and taken with her children to hospital. But the Progress Party, Norway's third largest, believe she used her child to get her out of the Al Hol camp in northeastern Syria where she has been held since March 2019 with thousands of other women and children. The mother had refused to let the sick child travel alone to Norway. "Many believe she used her child as a shield to come back to Norway," said Ms Jensen. "There are many in Norway who are displeased by this, not just in the Progress Party." She said she did not feel her party was consulted in the woman's repatriation decision and she faced pressure from local Progress Party leaders to take a stand and pull the party out of the delicate coalition. Story continues Her party had offered to help the children but does not want to provide any government assistance for adults seeking to return home after joining Islamist groups abroad or marrying foreign fighters. Despite losing her majority, prime minister Erna Solberg, head of the Conservative Party and nicknamed Iron Erna after Margaret Thatcher, is expected to remain in office as head of a minority coalition. Speaking ahead of the Progress Party's decision to pull out, the prime minister said: "A majority in the government believed that the concern for the child was paramount." A court hearing to determine the condition and length of the woman's custody is happening on Monday. Under Norwegian law she faces up to six years in prison for participating in a terrorist organisation. Ms Solberg's Conservatives entered into a coalition with the Progress Party as a minority government in 2013 before the Liberal Party joined them in 2018 and the Christian Democratic Party joined in 2019. The government risked collapse in 2018 after opposition parties said they would not support a no-confidence motion in then-justice minister Sylvi Listhaug who accused the the centre-left Labour opposition party of believing "terrorists' rights are more important than the nation's security". Labour and its youth organisation were the main targets of Anders Breivik, who killed 77 people with a bomb in Oslo and a shooting attack on a youth camp on the island of Utoya in 2011. The justice minister resigned, averting the government's collapse. In a strange way, the annual commemoration of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. stirs unease in me. I fear it is steadily enfeebling the power of the contradictions in our society that he forced us to face. The holiday seems in danger of becoming a festive celebration that flattens Kings prophetic witness under the weight of parades, platitudinous politicians and ubiquitous renditions of his eloquent I Have a Dream speech at the Lincoln Memorial but not recited in the national protest context in which he delivered it. A proper commemoration is good and necessary, but rarely is there mention that, when King was assassinated, his popularity was on the wane because he had turned against the Vietnam War and raised his voice against structural poverty in America. Few recall that King was murdered while supporting a bitter sanitation workers strike in Memphis. He had connected poverty and economic oppression with racism, and vice versa. We know King would call us to respond to Gov. Greg Abbotts cruel decision to bar refugees from Texas. He also would assail the countrys entrenched school segregation and inferior education for minority kids. Nor would anyone doubt his take on the injustice of our criminal justice system and role of racism in police enforcement. He would be pressing against the ever-tightening web of minority voter suppression. King would challenge, in terms of ethics, the use of drones to kill our enemies and the disproportionate tax funds spent on armaments. He would compel us to deal with the 450 years of social and moral damage of slavery and its aftermath. And he would protest imprisoning immigrant children, breaking up families and rendering the asylum process a farce at our southern border. The list is long and seemingly intractable but only as long as we allow it to be. King was clear that complaining about injustice is not enough. The best way to honor him is to organize around those issues we know he would take to task. We should use his holiday as a time to examine our national conscience and then get to work for another year. King surely would be vehement with those Christian leaders who act as apologists for the current misdirection of our national government. His critique surely would be more forceful than his Letter from a Birmingham Jail to local clergy who told him to accept that change occurs slowly. Last May, I joined a civil rights pilgrimage to Alabama. My career as a civil rights lawyer was set in motion by the civil rights movement of the 1960s, and visiting places where people organizing for justice were met with fierce and violent oppression, even death, in the not-so-distant past was profoundly moving. Equally poignant was the spirituality, love and adherence to nonviolence of the people who helped guide us on the pilgrimage, some of whom were personal witnesses to, and even victims of, that eras violence against African Americans. I sat in Kings study at his small Montgomery house and wondered at his bravery. I was feet from where he had his midnight crisis and considered leaving town after daily telephone death threats. His personal spirituality finally brought him peace that night and resignation to do his work regardless of personal consequence. If we share Kings dream of a society that promotes an ethic of love, justice and humanity in all its spheres, then Martin Luther King Jr. Day should be when we stop, take stock and then move out of our comfort zone to do our part in that work. James C. Harrington is a longtime human rights lawyer and founder of the Texas Civil Rights Project. 576th AMXS leverages robotic paint stripping technology on A-10 Lightning II By Todd Cromar, 75th Air Base Wing Public Affairs / Published January 18, 2020 HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah (AFNS) -- Robotic media blasting used to strip paint from fighter aircraft such as the F-16 Fighting Falcon has been around at Hill Air Force Base for more than three decades. Now, the technology is being used for the first time to remove paint from the A-10 Thunderbolt II. The 576th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron is upgrading its traditional manual media blast paint removal process by using new-generation robots to strip the paint from A-10s that come to the base for depot overhaul and maintenance. All aircraft require regular exterior maintenance to protect their metal surfaces from corrosion due to moisture and the harsh environments in which they continually operate. The process is expected to reduce the man-hours it takes to strip paint from the aircraft and increase safety by removing employees from the blasting atmosphere, resulting in measurable time and costs savings. "There are going to be across-the-board improvements including a dramatic reduction in exposure to a Hexavalent Chromium dust environment. This is perhaps the greatest benefit to the robotic system," said Tim Randolph, 576th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron director. "Savings will also be seen with reduced operating time and less power consumption, as well as reduced costs in material. We really haven't found a downside to this system." James Gill, Corrosion Control flight chief for the 576th AMXS, said while the traditional manual media blast process is effective, it's labor intensive, requiring teams of workers at least three full days to complete. The new paint-removal process is accomplished by two robots, each with four hose attachments that move independently along both sides of the aircraft. In addition, the time to strip an A-10 is decreased from three days to 9-12 hours. "Compared to the manual paint-stripping method, the robots use half the amount of blast media at half of the air pressure, while removing an extremely precise thickness, uniformly, across the entire aircraft surface," Gill said. "This translates into a process that is less stressful on the aircraft skins and saves money in media cost, while creating only half the waste stream." In addition to the robotics process, a new laser-burn process is currently being tested and used on F-16s with proven success. However, the squadron is still maturing the process, and hopes to apply this process to the A-10s in the future. By using new robotic technology, the squadron is expanding its capacity by adding capability. Randolph said each of three processes have different capabilities and inherent limitations, but combined together, can reduce the total time an aircraft spends in depot maintenance and helps return it to the warfighter faster. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address CLEVELAND, Ohio A Cleveland man is the fourth suspect charged in an attack and carjacking at a gas station in the citys Stockyards neighborhood. Three 18-year-old boys and a 12-year-old boy have been charged in the Dec. 21 carjacking at a Liberty Gas on Clark Avenue at West 51st Street. Detectives have arrested the first three suspects charged in the case, court records say. The fourth suspect, Matthew Tucker, is charged with aggravated robbery. The 18-year-old man is not in custody, but a warrant was issued Friday for his arrest. The four attacked a 60-year-old man and stole his 2008 Buick Century about 8:30 p.m. Dec. 21, according to a court records. The man suffered minor injuries. The man went into the gas station to buy cigarettes. He returned to his car just as a group of four robbers approached. The robbers pushed and punched the man until he fell to the ground. They kept punching him as one of the robbers said give me your key, a police report says. The robbers drove away in the mans Buick and a silver Toyota Corolla, the police report says. Court records do not indicate whether the Buick has been recovered. Xavier D. James Jr., 18; Xavier Caraballo, 18; and a 12-year-old boy have also been charged in the case. James and Caraballo were each charged Dec. 31 with aggravated robbery. Detectives arrested both men last week, according to court records. A Cleveland Municipal Court judge set James bond at $100,000 and Caraballos bond at $50,000 during their first court appearances. Both men remain in custody at the Cuyahoga County Jail, court records say. The 12-year-old boy was charged Jan. 10 in Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court with aggravated robbery, robbery, grand theft and assault, court records say. A juvenile court judge remanded him to the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Detention Center after his first court appearance. To comment on this story, visit Mondays crime and courts comments page. Read more crime stories: 12-year-old boy is third charged in carjacking outside Cleveland gas station, records say Mayfield doctor agrees to cooperate with feds in probe into neurological drugs marketing Fender-bender led to shooting that injured three, including two teens, Cleveland police say Man who died was shot in the face in Clevelands Buckeye-Shaker Square neighborhood Man held customer at gunpoint during Lake County gas station robbery, sheriffs office says The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday dismissed the Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case convict Pawan Kumar Gupta claiming that he was a juvenile at the time of crime--December 16, 2012. He also said that this fact was not taken into account by Delhi High Court during the proceedings in the case. The apex court did not find any fresh ground in the matter and so dismissed the plea. Reacting to this, Nirbhaya's mother Asha Devi said, "Their tactic to delay hanging has been rejected. I'll be satisfied only when they're hanged on February 1. Just like they're delaying it one after other, they must be hanged one by one so that they understand what it means to toy with law." LIVE TV Live TV ////////////// It is to be noted that Pawan had filed the same plea in the Delhi HC too but it was rejected by the court. On January 17, Pawan had approached the apex court challenging the high court order in this case. Pawan`s lawyer A P Singh has claimed in the petition that his client's date of birth as per school record is October 8, 1996, but this fact was ignored by Delhi High Court. The SLP will be heard by a three-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Justice R Banumathi and Justices Ashok Bhushan and AS Bopanna. Meanwhile, a fresh death warrant has been issued by the Patiala House Court on January 17 for the hanging of four 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, Asha Devi on Friday had 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 had told Zee News. She has alleged foul play in the case and that the execution of four convicts was deliberately being delayed. Four convicts, Vinay, Akshay, Pawan and Mukesh were convicted and sentenced to death for raping the 23-year-old victim in a moving bus in the national capital on the intervening night of December 16-17, 2012. The United States Treasury Department granted Chevron another three-month sanction waiver to continue operating in Venezuela, Reuters reported Sunday, with the expiry date of this latest extension set for April 22. The Treasury Department has been granting Chevron three-month extensions of its sanction waiver for a while now, with the one it announced last October reportedly being a topic of heated discussion in the Trump administration in light of Washingtons attempts to stifle all oil revenues going into the coffers of the Maduro government. Some, however, notably Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, argued that the presence of a U.S. company in Venezuela would help to quicken the recovery of its oil industry whenand ifthe government changes. Chevron operates a joint venture with Venezuelas PDVSA in the country that is home to the worlds most abundant oil resources. Petroboscan, the joint venture, produced around 200,000 bpd as of October, with Chevrons share of this at 34,000 bpd. The U.S. supermajor holds a 30-percent stake in the venture. Reuters noted that Chevron reported losses of $104 million related to its business in Venezuela for the first nine months of the year. Yet if the Treasury Department stops granting it sanction waivers, Chevron would have to leave the country, which would cost it $2.7 billion in assets. Chevron is a constructive presence in Venezuela, where we have been part of the local communities for nearly a century, a spokesman for the company told Reuters. We remain focused on our base business operations and supporting the more than 8,800 people who work with us and their families. Our operations continue in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. Besides Chevron, four oilfield services companies have been granted sanction waivers to continue doing business in Venezuela. However, Schlumberger, Baker Hughes, Halliburton and Weatherford have wound down their operations there to virtually nothing. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: New Delhi, Jan 20 : Twitterati reacted after Rights group Oxfam on Monday released the study 'Time to Care' in Davos ahead of the 50th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum. In the report, Oxfam said the combined total wealth of 63 Indian billionaires is higher than the total Union Budget of India for the fiscal year 2018-19 which was at Rs 24,42,200 crore. The report also stated that the India's top 1 per cent of the population holds over four times the amount of wealth held by 953 million people or the bottom 70 per cent of the population. Once this news came out, social media has been abuzz with reactions. A user on the micro-blogging site Twitter wrote: "The only way to #fightinequality is for people to stand up & participate in democracy. The world's richest 2,153 people control more wealth than the world's poorest 4.6 billion combined according to #Oxfam." Another post read, "I wonder what is rich people gonna do with all the money." "If every rich person starts donating 10% of his money to poor than one day there will be no poor remain at least in india. Rich wants to become more rich that led to the situation that poor became more poor...." wrote another user. A Tweeple remarked, "1% richest Indians have more wealth than 70% of the country's population. Very shocking. Women being the least benefited in terms of wealth and earnings." The Assam governments ambitious aim to transform Guwahati into an international air travel hub in the Northeast region has suffered another setback on Monday with Nok Air, a low-cost Thai airline, temporarily suspending its Guwahati-Bangkok flights. The Guwahati-Bangkok flight was the only international flight that originated from the city. Last year, SpiceJet had suspended its Guwahati-Dhaka service after two months of operation. Nok Air, which is a subsidiary of Thai Airways, had started its Guwahati-Bangkok service with much fanfare on September 21 last year with two flights connecting both cities every week. We would like to inform you that we are temporarily suspending our flights from 20th January 2020 to 11th April 2020. We plan to resume operations from 12th April 2020, the airline said in statements on their social media platforms. We highly regret for the inconvenience caused due to cancellations, we would process a full refund to all our passengers who have booked between this period, it added. Nok Airs decision follows Indian budget carrier SpiceJets move to suspend its Guwahati-Dhaka operations in September last year barely three months after starting the service. Started in July last year, SpiceJets flights connecting Northeasts biggest city to Bangladeshs capital were operating daily initially, but had to be brought down to twice a week due to low response. Suspension of international flights by two airlines in such a short period is not good news. But we hope that they will resume soon and plans to connect Guwahati to other international destinations will go ahead as planned, said a senior bureaucrat on condition of anonymity. The Guwahati-Dhaka service was part of the Centres International Air Connectivity Scheme (IACS) or international UDAN (Ude Desh ke Aam Nagarik) scheme, which aimed to connect Indias smaller cities to key foreign destinations in the neighbourhood. The government has plans to start Guwahati-Kathmandu and Guwahati-Mandalay flights this year. The response from airlines to operate these routes would be known once tenders floated for the two sectors are opened at the end of next month. At present, Bhutans Druk Air is the only airline which operates an international flight via Guwahati. The airline connects Paro to Singapore with a 40 minutes layover in Guwahati. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON ABOUT THE AUTHOR Utpal Parashar Utpal is an assistant editor based in Guwahati. He covers all eight states of North-East and was previously based in Kathmandu, Dehradun and Delhi with Hindustan Times . ...view detail In October 2019, anti-government protests erupted in Iraq over the deteriorating economic conditions and corruption. Below is a timeline of the events. 1 October 2019:Mass rallies begin in Iraq's streets. 3 October 2019:Thousands of protesters clash with riot police, leaving 28 dead. Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi declares a curfew in Baghdad. 4 October 2019:Ten more protesters are killed, raising the death toll to 53, according to Iraqi medical and security officials. 1 November 2019:Thousands of protesters gather in central Baghdad to call for the downfall of the political elite. 6 November 2019:Clashes take place in Karbala, leaving two dead, a protester and a medic told AP. 9 November 2019:Three bridges are cleared of anti-government protesters by the Iraqi security forces, using tear gas and stun grenades, according to AP. 8 December 2019: Bloody attacks occur overnight in Baghdads central plaza, leaving 25 people dead and more than 130 wounded, according to AP. 16 December 2019: A teenager is killed and hung from a traffic pole in central Baghdad. Security officials announce the 16-year-old was wanted by the police. 28 December 2019:According to the Iraqi parliaments human rights committee, at least 490 protesters have been killed in Baghdad since the beginning of protests. 19 January 2020:Anti-government protests resume in the capital, as Iraqi protesters demonstrate for new elections, a new voting law, and a new prime minister, according to AFP. 20 January 2020: Protesters clash with security forces, leaving two police officers dead and 14 protesters wounded. According to Saudi state-owned Al-Arabiya, the three candidates for prime minister are intelligence chief Mustafa Al Kadhimi, communications minister Mohamed Tawfiq Allawi, and ex-planning minister and presidential adviser Ali Youssef Shokry. According to statistics published by AFP, since the beginning of protests in Iraq on 1 October 2019, nearly 460 people were killed and over 25,000 wounded in the largest anti-government movement ever in Iraq. Search Keywords: Short link: PR-Inside.com: 2020-01-20 08:18:56 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 785 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 LONDON / ACCESSWIRE / January 20, 2020 / Anglo Pacific Group PLC ("Anglo Pacific", the "Company" or the "Group") (LSE: APF, TSX: APY) issues the following trading update for the period 1 October 2019 to 17 January 2020, which includes certain information for the year ended 31 December 2019. The Company expects to release its full year results on 25 March 2020. Unless otherwise stated, all unaudited financial information is for the quarter or year ended 31 December 2019.Portfolio Contribution Historym201920182017201620152014Total portfolio contribution157-5949.342.419.88.93.5Highlights20% increase in portfolio contribution in 2019 to 57-59m from 49.3m in 2018 - another record year for Anglo PacificSignificant volume increases at Kestrel, as targeted by the operator at the beginning of 2019, delivered increasing Kestrel portfolio contributionStrong contribution from LIORC in the period, with total dividends for 2019 received of C$4.00 per share, representing an implied yield of ~16%, the Group's second largest source of revenue in 2019Maiden royalty receipts of ~1.0m received from Mantos CopperNoticeable sales volume increases at Narrabri despite softer thermal coal prices in H2 19EVBC continues to provide the Group with stable revenue aided by continued plant optimisation and a higher gold price in H2 2019Revenue from Four Mile and the Denison financing arrangement was in line with expectations, but weakness in the vanadium price resulted in lower revenue from Maracas MenchenNet debt at the end of 2019 of 28.9m, following 62.5m of investment and 14.4m of dividend payments - the Group continues to operate well within its debt capacity limits with operating leverage of ~0.6x and further liquidity availableTotal dividend for 2019 will be at least 9p (2018: 8p) of which 4.875p has already been paid or declaredWith anticipated volume growth to come from the portfolio, along with a full year of contribution from Mantos and the additional LIORC acquired in H2 19 we look forward to what should be another year of growth in 20201 Total portfolio contribution includes royalty income, cashflows from Denison/McClean Lake and other royalty financial instruments accounted for in accordance with IFRS 9, for example El Valle Boinas-CarlesJulian Treger, Chief Executive Officer of the Company, commented:"We are pleased to report yet another record year of income for Anglo Pacific, the second year in a row in which we have done so. Including the cash received from the Denison financing arrangement, total portfolio contribution for the year is expected to be 57-59m, which represents growth of ~20% on the 49.3m generated in 2018.Our income benefitted mainly from volume increases in the year, somewhat offset by the softening in commodity prices, particularly coal and vanadium, during H2 2019. We anticipate further volume growth to come in 2020, with increases expected at Kestrel, Narrabri and Maracas.The strong levels of cash generated in 2019 enabled us to use our balance sheet to acquire 62.5m (US$75m) in income generating royalties. In the same period, we paid out 14.4m (US$18.5m) in dividends. Our balance sheet remains in a very strong position and we continue to operate with appropriately conservative levels of operational leverage.It is likely that the extractive industry will face further headwinds in 2020 and accessing capital will be more difficult. This should create opportunities for Anglo Pacific, and we will prioritise those commodities essential to deliver the technology required to achieve environmental and climate change targets in the years ahead." For further information:Anglo Pacific Group PLCJulian Treger - Chief Executive OfficerKevin Flynn - Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary+44 (0) 20 3435 7400Website:Berenberg+44 (0) 20 3207 7800Matthew Armitt / Jennifer Wyllie / Detlir EleziPeel Hunt LLP+44 (0) 20 7418 8900Ross Allister / James BavisterRBC Capital Markets+44 (0) 20 7653 4000Farid Dadashev / Marcus Jackson / Jamil MiahCapital Market Communications Limited (Camarco)+44 (0) 20 3757 4997Gordon Poole / Owen Roberts / James CrothersNotes to EditorsAbout Anglo PacificAnglo Pacific Group PLC is a global natural resources royalty and streaming company. The Company's strategy is to develop a leading international diversified royalty and streaming company with a portfolio centred on base metals and bulk materials, focusing on accelerating income growth through acquiring royalties on projects that are currently cash flow generating or are expected to be within the next 24 months, as well as investment in earlier stage royalties. It is a continuing policy of the Company to pay a substantial portion of these royalties to shareholders as dividends.Cautionary statement on forward-looking statements and related informationCertain statements in this announcement, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements based on certain assumptions and reflect the Group's expectations and views of future events. Forward-looking statements (which include the phrase 'forward-looking information' within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation) are provided for the purposes of assisting the reader in understanding the Group's financial position and results of operations as at and for the periods ended on cer American actor Peter Dinklage was adjudged the winner of Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series at SAG Awards, and during his acceptance speech thanked all those who were responsible for the success of 'Game of Thrones'. Keeping his acceptance speech short and sweet the actor said looking at the trophy, "Hello. Oh, my... I think he was on Game of Thrones." "I would like to thank the people of Northern Ireland, who put up with us for nine years," he added. SAG Awards even posted a clip of Peter's acceptance speech on their Instagram account. "Dinklage receives his first individual Actor for the final season of Game of Thrones and in his sixth nomination as Tyrion Lannister #sagawards," read the caption of the post. In the clip, Peter praised the entire team of the show and said: "I would also like to thank everyone at table nine and ten and beyond cause we put up with each other for nine years." The actor concluded the acceptance speech by thanking his wife, Erica Schmidt. "Finally and most importantly, I would like to thank my wife, who put up with me for more than nine years, but lived in a place far away from home, but made it home cause we were together," said Peter. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) FILE PHOTO: Boeing 737 Max aircraft are seen parked outside the company's production facility in Renton By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Boeing Co is in talks with banks about borrowing $10 billion or more amid rising costs for the U.S. planemaker after two crashes involving its 737 MAX jetliner, a source told Reuters on Monday. CNBC first reported the news on Monday, citing sources that Boeing has so far secured at least $6 billion from banks and is talking to other lenders for more contributions. A source confirmed the talks to Reuters, but it was still not clear how much Boeing would seek to raise and whether it would pursue the selling of new bonds. One key issue for Boeing is flexibility since it is not clear how long the 737 MAX will remain grounded. Boeing declined to comment. Reuters reported on Friday that the Federal Aviation Administration is now unlikely to approve the planes return until March, but that could take until April or longer. Boeing confirmed on Monday that it temporary halted production of the 737 MAX in Washington State in recent days. The company had said in December it would halt production at some point this month. "MAX production has now been temporarily suspended inside the 737 factory. The Renton site remains open as our teams focus their work on several quality initiatives," Boeing said, referring to its facility in Renton, Washington. Boeing does not get paid until it delivers the planes it manufactures. The company has estimated the costs of the 737 MAX grounding at more than $9 billion to date, and is expected to disclose significant additional costs during its fourth-quarter earnings release on Jan. 29. Boeing faces rising costs from halting production of the plane this month, compensating airlines for lost flights and assisting its supply chain. Analysts estimate that Boeing has been losing around $1 billion a month because of the grounding. It reported an almost $3 billion negative free cash flow in the third quarter. Boeing also reported its worst annual net orders in decades last week, along with its lowest numbers for plane deliveries in 11 years. Story continues On Friday, Boeing said it was addressing a new 737 MAX software issue discovered in Iowa during a technical review of the proposed update for the plane. Last week, American Airlines Group Inc and Southwest Airlines Co both said they would extend cancellations of 737 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 737 MAX. (Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington and Ayanti Bera in Bengaluru, Editing by Franklin Paul and Paul Simao) Biden tells black Baptist leaders: Trump is fanning the flames of hate Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Democrat presidential hopeful and former Vice President Joe Biden told hundreds of black church leaders that President Donald Trump is fanning the flames of hatred in the United States. The 77-year-old, who served as vice president for the nation's first black president Barack Obama, gave a keynote address at the National Baptist Conventions winter meetings in Arlington, Texas, on Thursday. NBC is the largest predominantly black Christian denomination in the U.S. While Biden did not mention anything about Trumps impeachment trial, he did accuse Trump of emboldening hate groups in the U.S. If I have learned anything during a time of Donald Trump being president is this: hate never goes away. It just hides, Biden said. When leaders give it oxygen as Trump has done, it comes roaring back. Since his election in 2016, Trump has been accused by the political left of emboldening white nationalist and anti-immigrant rhetoric in the U.S. Biden said that white supremacists used to operate in the shadows. But now, he contends, they feel emboldened to spread their hatred openly. David Duke [former grand wizard of the Klu Klux Klan] said, Thats why we voted for Donald Trump, Biden said. Because he said he was going to take our country back. Biden claimed that with Trump as president, the countrys core values, standing in the world and democracy are at risk. Thats why we have to restore the soul of the nation, Biden said. Thats why I am here with you. Biden assured, however, that sometimes progress runs fastest when were at our lowest point. Sometimes its those who fan the flames of hate that end up drawing forth the next great wave of progress, Biden said. Biden said he believes that were in one of those moments as he hears the voices of intolerance singing the chorus of hate, exclusion, and denial. From the bottom of my heart, I believe were in one of those moments with president Donald Trump, Biden said. Biden vowed to work to unite the nation if he were elected president. With Donald Trumps poisonous and divisive politics, we now have a tremendous opportunity because Americans have been awakened to how bad things are, Biden said. Trump campaign spokesperson Samantha Cotten slammed Biden in a statement shared with KTVT CBS 11. Whether its touting extreme policies like destroying the oil and gas industry, which employs millions of hardworking Texans, or his misguided criminal justice agenda, its clear Joe Biden is out-of-touch with Texas, Cotten said. Meanwhile, President Trump is delivering on his promises by passing landmark criminal justice reforms and securing record low unemployment rates that benefit the African American community. A Real Clear Politics average of national polling shows Biden as the frontrunner in the Democratic primary election as of Friday. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren are second and third, respectively. Last year, Biden was criticized by former 2020 Democrat hopeful California Sen. Kamala Harris during a televised debate over his own record on racial issues and past relationships with segregationist senators. Harris accused Biden of opposing desegregation busing in public schools. However, Biden disputed that claim. What I opposed is busing ordered by the Department of Education, Biden said in return. I have supported the [Equal Rights Amendment] from the beginning. Im the guy that extended the Voting Rights Act for 25 years, Biden continued. [W]e got to the place where we got 98 out of 98 votes in the United States Senate doing it. Ive also argued very strongly that we, in fact, deal with the notion of denying people access to the ballot box. This is not the first time Biden has accused a Republican opponent of racism. In 2012, Biden told a group of African American supporters in Danville, Virginia, that presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney would "put you all back in chains." Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Monday interact with students, teachers, and parents during his 'Pariksha Pe Charcha 2020' programme. The third edition of Prime Minister's interaction programme with school students 'Pariksha Pe Charcha 2020' will be held at Talkatora Stadium in New Delhi at 11 am.During the programme, Prime Minister Modi will answer the questions and interact with selected students about how they can beat examination stress. Around 2,000 students are participating from all over India in the programme."The HRD Ministry in partnership with MyGov launched a 'short essay' competition on five different themes for students of classes 9 to 12 for the programme, a government press release said. Among all the students attending the event, 1,050 students have been selected through an essay competition."To make this programme more student-centric, first-time students will moderate the one-hour long program of Prime Minister. This year, four Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) schools students will conduct the programme," it read. (ANI) "A lot of excitement and enthusiasm is being seen among the students, teachers and parents to not only participate in the unique event but also to receive valuable tips from the Prime Minister who is keen to ensure that the students take exams in a relaxed atmosphere and do not come under stress, to ensure better results in the long run," it added. The first edition of Prime Minister's Interaction Programme with school and college students 'Pariksha Pe Charcha 1.0' was held at Talkatora Stadium on February 16, 2018. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Gang violence in Oceansides Eastside neighborhood that was beaten back years ago, in part by residents determined to take back their streets, has returned in recent months, threatening the progress the largely Latino community has made in improving the area. A 15-year-old girl was killed in September at the neighborhoods signature park, one of three slayings in Eastside since June. The murders have sounded the alarm in the community prompting neighborhood leaders, law enforcement and city officials to renew efforts to prevent future violence. Weve been down this road before, said Randall Godinet, former director of the Boys and Girls Club of Oceanside and one of many people worried that the neighborhood could plunge back into its dark past. We can do it again. Advertisement Gang violence plagued Oceanside in the 1990s, especially the Eastside neighborhood. Godinet said there were two dozen murders in the city in 1995 until community leaders brought rival gangs together for a truce. The Sept. 3 shooting death of 15-year-old Annebell Flores at Balderrama Park has stoked old fears. Two suspected gang members, Daniel Ramos and Elias Ramos, were arrested charged last week in her murder and both have pleaded not guilty. Though the slaying has shaken the neighborhood, police and residents agree that crime is not nearly as dire as it was 25 years ago We belong to this community and weve seen some great strides. Do we have work to do? Yes, we have work to do, said police Capt. Tom Aguigui said. But I know that, being here almost 29 years, were moving in the right direction. Joining in the call for action is Robert Espinoza, Annebells grandfather. He made an emotional plea for help to the City Council on Wednesday night, just hours after attending the arraignment of the two defendants. We need programs for these kids who are 13, 14 years old. You guys have the power to do that, said Espinoza, whose family made Oceanside their home 41 years ago after he left the U.S. Marines. These communities should have funding for programs available. I come to you as a grandfather and father asking for change and solutions, he said. Espinoza has become involved in a community group called Save Our Streets that was formed to prevent violence nearly a decade ago, after Oceanside Police Officer Dan Bessant was shot to death by teenage gang members. The group is led by Wayne Godinet, Randalls brother and a longtime community advocate, who said attendance at Save Our Streets meetings have increased since September, galvanized by Annebells death. About two dozen people attended a recent meeting at the Joe Balderrama Recreation Center including council members Esther Sanchez and Jack Feller, the citys Neighborhood Services Director Margery Pierce, former Mayor Terry Johnson and members of Annebells family. Ive never heard or felt the response that weve been getting now, Wayne Godinet said. Its an outcry. Its a plea and its at the point now that there needs to be a response Superficial rhetoric is not going to work. One of the main pleas from the community was a need for more after-school programs in the neighborhood and longer hours at the recreation center, which is open weekdays 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Some of the centers programs were cut and city staff was laid off during the Great Recession, and only recently has the city started boosting funding for neighborhood programs. Activists say if the recreation center had been open a little later, perhaps the girls death could have been prevented. Police were called to the park around 2:30 a.m. Sept. 3 and found Annebell mortally wounded near the playground. She died before she could be taken to the hospital. If we close our centers down at 5 or 6 oclock in the evening, then whos serving those kids? Randall Godinet asked. If our doors were open and she could walk in one of those doors and she could meet with somebody or talk to somebody or just sit there, one person could have made a difference that day. Earlier this year, the City Council designated nearly $200,000 in its budget for afterschool and gang prevention programs, including $75,000 for Project Reach in Libby Lake, $60,000 for Project Reach in Eastside and $60,000 for North County Lifeline in Crown Heights. Advocates say those programs are a good start but they can only serve a limited number of children. They would like to see partnerships between volunteer groups and the city to serve more children. Pierce, the citys neighborhood services director, said shes willing to consider those proposals but they need to be fleshed out. Im not afraid to push things forward but we need to have something concrete, Piece said. I need to understand what Im talking about. Who, what, when and how? Wayne Godinet said there has been something of a disconnect between the community and City Hall, particularly since Concha Hernandez Greene, a longtime community advocate, became ill and died two years ago. She was part of a neighborhood coalition that organized marches and cleanup efforts in the 1990s aimed at reclaiming Balderrama Park, which was then overrun with gangs, drug pushers and prostitutes. Greene, whose own son was murdered in 1996, understood the neighborhood and knew how to get attention from police and city officials. Concha was a dominant physical force and a voice, Wayne Godinet said. She had no problem coming out to scold the homeboys. She was loud and proud. Someone like her is way missing. What we need is people that understand the plight of young boys and girls as they get peer pressure and start finding their identity. He said the group is trying to fill that void by bringing voices from the community, including members of the Flores family, together with city and police officials to make things happen. That seems to be paying off. Annebells mother said during the Save Our Streets meeting that she wanted to install a memorial for her daughter, perhaps a bench, at Balderrama Park. Pierce said the department would support the idea if the family submits a proposal. edward.sifuentes@sduniontribune.com @EdwardSifuentes President Nana Akufo-Addo will sign a 40m agreement with British Prime Minister Boris John this week. Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in According to UKs High Commissioner to Ghana, Iain Walker, the money from UK to Ghana will be used to contract a new terminal as part of the renovation and upgrade of the Kumasi Airport. He noted that, the facility will be disbursed aft the UK-Africa summit, currently ongoing in London. READ ALSO: Akufo-Addo inaugurates committee to investigate depreciation of the Ghana Cedi Iain Walker, in an interview with Joy Fm said the agreement will ensure and position Ghanas second biggest city, Kumasi as a trade destination in Africa. "We have invested in two things particularly the airport extension which means a lot of planes could land there and also we will be announcing at this summit the building of the new terminal at Kumasi, UKs High Commissioner to Ghana said. President Akufo-Addo left Ghana on Friday, January 17 to attend the UK-Africa Investment Summit being held in London, in the United Kingdom. The summit is bringing together businesses, governments and international institutions to showcase and promote the breadth and quality of investment opportunities across Africa. READ ALSO: 7 promises John Mahama has made to Ghanaians so far Ghanas President will on Tuesday, January 21 give 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. YEN.com.gh earlier reported that there were rumors on social media and some news platforms that telecommunications giant, MTN Ghana has lost data and records of its Qwikloan services. The claim alleged that following the telcos undersea fibre cut which disrupted the internet service of the network for over 48 hours, all record on MTNs Qwikloan has also been lost. But YEN.com.gh checks indicate that the story making rounds about MTNs Qwikloan service was meant to be satirical, as the article was carried out by a satirical website. Have national and human interest issues to discuss? 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 Michigan's 49th governor stopped by Saginaw Valley State University on Friday to give a crowded Curtiss Hall banquet room of the region's entrepreneurs and decision-makers a sneak peek at her upcoming "State of the State" address. Hosted by the Great Lakes Bay Economic Club, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer spoke at the luncheon about the progress she's made as governor over the past year, and her plans moving forward into 2020. Whitmer said she plans to focus on three primary areas of interest going forward: improving Michigan's educational programs, closing the skills gap and fulfilling her long-held promise of fixing the state's "d*mn" roads. "In Michigan, we're known for the assembly line, and the birthplace of the auto industry, and creating the middle class in this country -- this is a remarkable state with a rich history of taking action to solve problems," Whitmer said. "And yet, while we are known for these incredible feats, we've become known also for some of our failures -- the worst roads in the country; a state where our students are falling behind because we have not invested in the wraparound services our kids need in education; where fewer and fewer people are staying in the incredible profession of teaching. Our young people are looking elsewhere for opportunity when they graduate, because of decades of inaction on the fundamentals." Whitmer emphasized the effort she will put forth to "triage" Michigan's failing roads throughout the coming year. "For me, impatience is a virtue, and time is wasting," Whitmer said. "I'm going to use every tool in my toolbox to start fixing the d*mn roads now -- we cannot afford to wait any longer." Whiter also stressed the importance of securing resources needed to pay teachers, upgrade technology and reduce class sizes. "(Schools) need leaders who are going to prioritize the education of our children, and I'm going to stay laser-focused on that as we head into this next budget," Whitmer said. Whitmer opened her time on stage honoring former Chemical Bank president and CEO Alan Ott, who died Jan. 14. Known to many as "Mr. Midland" due to his philanthropic efforts, Whitmer called Ott a "great Michigander" who left a mark on his community. "(Ott's death) is a terrible loss -- my condolences to the family and to the community," Whitmer said. Whitmer is scheduled to give her annual "State of the State" address from the Michigan State Capitol at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 29. In a bid to attract investment to the new Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, Lieutenant Governor Girish Chandra Murmu on Monday told the business community that the abrogation of erstwhile state's special status has removed all "artificial barriers" which will help make it an "economic paradise" for investors. The Jammu and Kashmir administration organised a first of its kind pre-summit investors' meet here, inviting investments from across the world by highlighting the untapped potential of the union territory. Speaking at the event, Murmu said, "We intend to take a leap forward in making Jammu and Kashmir an economic paradise for investors and I would like to invite you all to take the lead in setting up your enterprises in the union territory." He spoke about the situation that prevailed before the state was converted into a union territory and said investments were flowing into the state but the previous governments were not able to catch up with the investments. "The former state was lagging behind", he said. He said many apprehensions have been expressed about the situation after August 5, the day when the Centre revoked provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution and bifurcated the state into two union territories. He said he was sure that they would be able to meet expectations as many issues were sorted after the re-processing of the constitutional system, which includes single window clearance system and number of investor friendly policies. After addressing the domicile issue and keeping the local employment in mind, all the "artificial barriers" created in the past because of the special status have been removed and now all the laws enacted by the central government are applicable to the UT as well, the lieutenant governor said. He asked investors to come and see the change for themselves saying "seeing is believing" and there are no restrictions anywhere. The situation is "abnormal for militants only now", he said. The event, which was a curtain-raiser to the three-day Global Investors' Summit to be held in Srinagar and Jammu this year, showcased policy and regulatory environment, investment opportunities in 14 focus sectors to boost manufacturing and employment generation in the region. Murmu said that the Global Investors' Meet -- with the theme of 'explore, invest and grow' -- is a platform that will bring together senior entrepreneurs, leaders from corporate sector across the country, senior policy makers, development agencies, investors from across the world and local businessmen. "Today's Pre-Summit Investors' Interaction has been organised to deliberate with you all on desired initiatives for creating an investor-friendly ecosystem and make you interested in Jammu and Kashmir," Murmu said. Murmu, who is a retired IAS officer from Gujarat cadre, said the summit was inspired from the prime minister's vision of holding a similar meet during his tenure as chief minister of Gujarat. Minister of State Prime Minister's Office Jitendra Singh congratulated the UT administration for taking such an initiative "at the right time and right place". Singh said the prime minister's involvement in the region "is leading to a lot of development in various sectors". He also alleged that many corrupt practices were being followed by the past regime and spoke about the special focus now on the development of Jammu and Kashmir and the way the union territory benefitted by the policies of the central government. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary B V R Subrahmanyam said, "Jammu and Kashmir is little known about the places except what we have seen in the films, it is quite different what we know. J-K is not a backward place but it has the brightest and skilled people. I have read in a book that people in J-K don't die from the disease but from the old age." The chief secretary added that the J-K administration is re-engineering all the processes and policies to break age-old barriers and creating a progressive ecosystem for investors. "Easy availability of land through land bank and smooth clearances with dedicated teams to attend to investors will be the priority of the administration. It is one of the most beautiful and pollution-free places to work," he said. More than 350 delegates from various sectors and leading organisations participated in the event which held over 45 Business to Government meetings took place. The aim of the upcoming Global Investors' Summit 2020 is to exhibit the different investment opportunities available in the newly formed UT in different sectors including Tourism, Film Tourism, Horticulture and Post Harvest Management, Agro and Food Processing, Mulberry production for silk, Health and Pharmaceutical, Manufacturing, IT/ ITes, Renewable Energy, Infrastructure and Real Estate, Handloom and Handicraft and Education, said Kewal Kumar Sharma, Advisor to the LG. Currently, the administration is developing two IT parks, ICD in Samba and have identified industrial land bank of over 6,000 acres across 20 districts to develop Industrial Parks. Also, the J-K government has removed the toll barrier to enable seamless inward and outward movement of raw materials and goods. The event was organised by Jammu and Kashmir Trade Promotion Organization (JKTPO), a nodal agency for J-K Government along with Media Partner PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) as the National Partner and Ernst & Young as the knowledge partner. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) On Jan. 3, 2020, as their motorcade was exiting the Baghdad Airport, Major General Qasem Soleimani, the leader of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, along with other high ranking members of the IRGC were killed by an American drone missile attack. Also killed in the attack was Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy chairman of one of Iraqs notorious non-state militias, the Popular Mobilization Forces, a group controlled and armed by Iran. Not unexpectedly, the left has been in an uproar, calling the attack and resulting fatalities a reckless action, an escalation of the already high tensions between Iran and the United States, and unlawful under international law. Iran has for decades described its overall foreign policy as Death to America; Death to Israel and buttressed that policy pronouncement by regularly threatening to incinerate Tel Aviv and all of Israel. To make their point Iran embosses these words on its missiles. Iran has made it quite clear, the goal is not just to defeat an army; it is to destroy a people. Of course, all of the leading candidates seeking the Democrat Party nomination for president have joined in to condemn President Trumps decision to hunt down and kill this notorious military leader Part of the criticism has been based on the fact that he was a military officer representing a sovereign government; and that his status under the Geneva conventions at the time of his demise was that he was not engaged in actual conventional combat, a circumstance that would permit killing as a non-culpable act of war. General Soleimani had been, prior to his death at the hands of the U.S. military, the leading Iranian military official formulating and guiding Irans strategic foreign policy for the past two decades. This was and continues to be a policy of creating, training, financially and logistically supporting with billions of dollars in cash and advanced weaponry, non-Iranian terrorist organizations who operate as non-state militias under his ultimate command. Irans aggressive policy of sponsored terrorist attacks by its proxies has not been based on any economic or social grievance or security threat perpetrated by its victims against the regime in Teheran. The policy is based and guided by an Islamic religious fanaticism and ideology to destroy and eliminate the Jewish people and the State of Israel as a first step in establishing its brand of Islam throughout the Levant and ultimately throughout the world. This conflict with Western society (and with rival branches of Islam who similarly and unfortunately share an ideology of infidelism) cannot be settled by negotiation or diplomacy because peace and stability can only be achieved when all branches of Islam, as Christianity did centuries before, shed their dream of world conquest and hegemony in favor of mutual respect for religious beliefs and cultural practices other than their own. While the late general and his entourage were not engaged in actual combat at the time of their deaths, the entire thrust of their enterprise was and continues to be infliction of maximum death and destruction to the civilian population of Israel and U.S. interests. They were not engaged in preparing for attacks on military targets; they were engaged in terrorism, which is not protected by the Geneva conventions. The U.S. claim that their elimination was necessary to thwart imminent unconventional attacks against U.S. and allied interests through their proxies, was and is a matter of self-defense against criminal aggression and crimes against humanity. Given Irans increasingly provocative attacks on civilian targets in Israel from Syria through Hezbollah, from Gaza through Islamic Jihad and Hamas, direct attacks on Saudi Arabia oil refineries, and other marine targets in the Persian Gulf, the killing of these individuals was a necessary and legitimate exercise of military power. Do not be fooled by their military uniforms. General Soleimani and the other fatalities were not soldiers; they were terrorists. If you wish to comment or respond you can reach me at melpearlman322@gmail.com. Please do so in a rational, thoughtful, respectful and civil manner. Mel Pearlman holds B.S. & M.S. degrees in physics as well as a J.D. degree and initially came to Florida in 1966 to work on the Gemini and Apollo space programs. He has practiced law in Central Florida since 1972. He has served as president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando; was a charter board member, first vice president and pro-bono legal counsel of the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Central Florida, as well as holding many other community leadership positions. Naidu, who arrived at Venkatachalam in Nellore district by a special train, interacted with the Telugu scholars, litterateurs and experts in the Telugu language during a luncheon meeting here.During the interaction, the Vice President said that India's classical languages represent knowledge and wisdom of ancient thinkers, scientists, poets, sages, doctors, philosophers, and rulers."If we don't preserve and sustain this link, we lose a very precious key to treasure house we have all inherited," he said.He expressed concern that more than 40 languages or dialects in India are considered endangered and are believed to be heading towards extinction as only a few thousand people speak them.An official release said Naidu's discussions with scholars centred around the promotion of classical Telugu language and development of the 'Center of Excellence for Studies in Classical Telugu' (CESCT).CESCT was set up under the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), Mysore after Telugu was recognised as a classical language in 2008. The release said Tamil was the first language in India to be accorded the classical language status in 2004.Subsequently, the Centre for Excellence of Classical Tamil, which was functioning in the campus of the Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysore, was shifted to Chennai on the request from the Tamil Nadu government in 2008.The institute is now known as the Central Institute of Classical Tamil (CICT).The Vice President had visited CICT, Chennai, on Sunday to acquaint himself with the functioning and various projects undertaken by the Institute for preservation and promotion of Tamil language.Sanskrit, Kannada, Malayalam and Odia are the other languages that have been declared as classical languages.Following a demand to shift the Centre of Excellence for Studies in Classical Telugu from Mysuru, the Vice President had suggested shifting the CESCT to then unified Andhra Pradesh some years ago.Subsequently, the Central government wrote to the combined Andhra Pradesh government in this regard.Following the bifurcation of the state of Andhra Pradesh, Naidu urged the Central government to shift CESCT to either of the Telugu speaking states. Later, the Union government decided to locate CESCT in Nellore.The release said that even as the modalities are being worked out for a new campus for the institute in Nellore, Deepa Venkat, daughter of the Vice President and managing trustee of Swarna Bharat Trust, has offered to house the institute for 3-4 years free of cost in the premises of the trust in Nellore.It said that on suggestions of the Vice President, the Union Human Resource Development Ministry has organised a two-day workshop on 'Development of Center of Excellence for Studies in classical Telugu' at Swarna Bharat Trust, Nellore.The release said that various scholars and experts of Telugu classical language are participating in the workshop, which will discuss the preparation of a roadmap on preservation, propagation, and promotion of classical Telugu so that the richness of the language could be taken to a greater height.The Vice President also witnessed 'BhuvanaVijayam', an artistic rendering of the best of Telugu classical poetry at Swarna Bharat Trust (ANI). Facebook has reportedly shelved the controversial decision of introducing ads in WhatsApp. According to the Wall Street Journal, the social media giant recently disbanded the team that was working to integrate ads into WhatsApps Status page. The teams work has also been deleted from WhatsApps code. In November 2018, Facebook unveiled plans to monetize WhatsApp by infusing ads on the Status page. That decision wasnt liked by WhatsApp founders Jan Koum and Brian Acton and was a big factor in them leaving the company, WSJ says. In a blog post in 2012, they called ads insults to your intelligence and said they wanted to make something that wasnt just another ad clearinghouse. Advertisement Back in 2016, the founders changed WhatsApps terms of service to explicitly forbid displaying ads in the app. They even complicated any future efforts to do so. The two surely tried their best to protect users privacy and interests but were eventually overruled by their new superiors at Menlo Park in California. While Koum left Facebook just a few months before the company announced its plans of putting ads in Status, Acton left a year earlier, after the Cambridge Analytica scandal blew up. The duo left behind a combined $1.3 billion in deferred compensation. Advertisement I sold my users privacy to a larger benefit, said Acton in an interview with Forbes in 2018. I made a choice and a compromise. And I live with that every day. Facebook, however, undeterred by any of this, continued with the plans and announced a 2020 launch last year. It now abandoning the plans has caught many by surprise. Ads in WhatsApp still a possibility in future Founded in 2009, WhatsApp initially charged a download fee and subscription fees of $0.99. Facebook acquired the service for a whopping $22 billion in 2014 and made it free soon after. The company likely always had plans to monetize it. Advertisement Though Whatsapp today is the most downloaded app in the world and has more than 1.5 billion people users globally, it has yet to pay financial dividends. Facebook, on the other hand, generates the majority of its revenues from advertising. Ads accounted for about 98 percent of its revenue in the third quarter last year. No wonder the company wants to show adverts in WhatsApp too. Facebook may have shelved the plans for now, but ads in WhatsApp Status still remain a possibility in the future. The efforts are now on ice, the WSJ report says. The company is currently working on to add more money-making features to WhatsApp for business users. Iran said Monday its Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will skip this week's World Economic Forum after organisers changed the event he had been planning to take part in. The annual summit, which kicks off in the Swiss resort of Davos on Tuesday, has been overshadowed by escalating tensions between Iran and its arch foe the United States. Zarif had been scheduled to attend the gathering after receiving a personal invitation, his ministry said. "They changed the original programme they had for him, the programme that had been agreed upon, and came up with something else," said spokesman Abbas Mousavi. "Either way, this trip unfortunately will not happen," he told a conference in Tehran. The annual gathering of global movers and shakers in the Swiss Alps begins on Tuesday and lasts four days. But Zarif's absence removes any chance of a showdown with US President Donald Trump. Tehran and Washington have been sworn enemies since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, but tensions have worsened since 2018 when Trump withdrew from the so-called Iran nuclear deal. The two countries appeared to be on the brink of war after a US drone strike killed one of the Islamic republic's top military commanders, Qasem Soleimani, on January 3. Iran hit back five days later by firing missiles at US troops stationed in neighbouring Iraq. Hours later, when it had been braced for US retaliation, Iran's armed forces accidentally downed a Ukrainian airliner, killing all 176 people on board. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) "Serving in the military changes you. The shades and degrees of change vary for everyone, but no one is ever the same as... TDP leaders put under house arrest ahead of AP cabinet meet on capital issue on Friday TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu, 17 MLAs taken in police custody India oi-PTI Amaravati, Jan 21: Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N Chandrababu Naidu and at least 17 MLAs of his party were taken in police custody late on Monday as they tried to conduct a foot march from the state assembly to nearby Mandadam village in violation of prohibitory orders. TDP leaders started off on the march after staging a sit-in near the assembly main entrance following the suspension of 17 MLAs from the House for the day. They were protesting the AP 'Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Bill, 2020,' that was passed by the assembly, enabling the establishment of three capitals for the state. The TDP leaders were taken to the Mangalagiri police station. NEWS AT NOON, JANUARY 21st, 2020 Meanwhile, tensions prevailed at the Jana Sena Party headquarters at Mangalagiri as police prevented its president Pawan Kalyan from proceeding to the Amaravati region to speak to protesters fighting for the retention of only one capital for the state. DIG Kanti Rana Tata and other senior police officials reached the Sena office and blocked the exit of Kalyan and political affairs committee chairman Nadendla Manohar, resulting in an argument. Andhra Pradesh Assembly passes the 3 capital resolution Bill 2020 Kalyan asked how could police impose restrictions within his own office. Scores of Sena workers gathered outside the office even as a large posse of police was posted to thwart Kalyan and other leaders' plans. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, January 21, 2020, 1:15 [IST] U K defence giant BAE Systems clinched its biggest takeover in more than a decade on Monday with a $2.2 billion (1.7 billion) swoop to buy two hi-tech military GPS tracking companies in America. The FTSE 100 firm will pay $1.9 billion to buy the military GPS tracking system arms of Collins Aerospace, which makes devices to help guide bombs, artillery and rockets to their targets. It will also pay $275 million for the radio arm of Raytheon, used by military pilots to communicate securely in the air. The two units were put up for sale following the $120 billion merger between Collins-owner United Technologies and Raytheon last year. The duo had to sell divisions to get the deal past regulators. BAE chief executive Charles Woodburn said the situation was a golden opportunity to buy two good businesses. He said improved UK political clarity was one reason for making the move now. The two units, which employ around 775 people, will be merged into BAEs Electronic Systems division. Here are the biggest headlines in the world today. Harry and Meghan are giving up royal titles and state funding. Heres what that means Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, will give up their royal titles and eschew some state funding in a deal brokered to end a crisis that broke out after the couple announced they would step back from the royal family. The impeachment trial isnt the only legal problem Trump faces. Many questions loom about his finances The impeachment of President Donald Trump is center stage, but when the last vote in the Senate trial is cast, it wont mark an end to the investigations looming over the President and his company, the Trump Organization. 79 soldiers killed by Iran-backed rebels in Yemen At least 79 Yemeni soldiers attending prayers at a mosque were killed and 130 others injured in ballistic missile and drone attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, Saudi state-run al-Ekhbariya Television reported Sunday. Pompeo expresses outrage over Americans pointless death in meeting with Egyptian President Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Egypts President he was outraged over the pointless and tragic death of Moustafa Kassem, an American citizen detained in the country, the State Department said Sunday. Puerto Rico emergency director fired after residents discover warehouse full of Hurricane Maria supplies Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vazquez Garced fired the islands emergency manager, hours after a warehouse filled with supplies was discovered. Conor McGregor wins in first UFC match in 15 months Irish mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor was victorious in his first UFC match in over 15 months, with a technical knockout win over American opponent Donald Cowboy Cerrone in Las Vegas, Nevada. JFKs grandson slams Pences interpretation of Profiles in Courage President John F. Kennedys grandson Jack Schlossberg said Saturday that Vice President Mike Pences recent op-ed is a total perversion of JFKs legacy and the meaning of courage. A British grocery chain poked fun at Beyonces new Ivy Park x Adidas line, which looks a lot like its uniforms Beyonces Ivy Park x Adidas line dropped this week, creating an online frenzy as fans raced to stock up on the goodies. But Queen Beys new line are the same colors of British supermarket chain, Sainsburys. Which means the outfits from Beyonces line look kind of like Sainsburys uniforms. Country wishes Harry and Meghan well Johnson Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the whole country will want to wish the Duke and Duchess of Sussex well for the future as they give up royal duties. It came as the Queen went to church near Sandringham in her first public appearance since it was announced the couple were giving up their HRH titles. Mandela would be unhappy with 2020 South Africa It was the moment I realised wow my great-granddad was Nelson Mandela! Pumla Mandela is recalling the day, in 2013, when she read a poem at her great-grandfathers memorial service. The former South African president is for most of the world a symbol of triumph over oppression. Where Australias smoke goes to die Smoke from Australias megafires has already traveled tens of thousands of miles around Earth. It circles the globe in roughly a week, said Manvendra Dubey, who researches air pollution and wildfire smoke at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Hundreds of blazes in Alaska, the Amazon, and the Arctic circle have also huffed thick plumes of smoke into the atmosphere over the past six months. Apple is testing a feature to let iPhone 11 owners totally turn off location tracking Apple raised eyebrows in the tech world late in 2019 with some small privacy problems in the new iPhone 11 line, but it looks like the issue will be fixed in the near future. The latest beta for iOS 13.3.1 features a new toggle in the system settings to turn off Ultra Wideband features. Instagram noticed you never hit the IGTV button, so its going away Back in 2018, Instagram launched its longform video brand IGTV. Were less than a month into 2020 and maybe the most prominent way to access IGTV is going away. TechCrunch reported Saturday that Instagram would remove the IGTV button that appears at the top right corner of users home screens in the main Instagram app. A facial recognition company dug up billions of photos from Facebook and beyond A Facebook photo from the end of college could come back to haunt you. A New York Times deep-dive into a facial recognition AI tool sold to law enforcement agencies uncovered that the company has amassed more than three billion images. Libya will face 'catastrophe' if oil blockade continues - Tripoli premier Fayez Mustafa al-Sarraj, Libya's internationally recognised Prime Minister, is pictured during an interview, in Berlin By Ulf Laessing and Nadeen Ebrahim BERLIN (Reuters) - Libya will face a "catastrophic situation" unless foreign powers put pressure on eastern-based commander Khalifa Haftar to lift a blockade of oilfields that has cut output to almost zero, the country's internationally recognised premier said on Monday. Since Friday, Haftar's forces have closed Libya's major oil ports in a power play as European and Arab powers and the United States were meeting with his supporters in Berlin to push him to halt a campaign to capture the capital Tripoli. Tripoli-based Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj told Reuters he rejects eastern demands to link a reopening of oil ports to a new distribution of oil revenues among Libyans, saying such income was in any case meant to benefit the entire country. "The situation will be catastrophic should it stay like this," Serraj said in an interview in Berlin. "I hope foreign countries will follow the issue," he said when asked whether he wanted them to lean on Haftar to lift the blockade of Libya's Mediterranean oil export terminals. Much of Libya's oil wealth is located in the east of the sprawling North African state but revenues are channelled through Tripoli-based state oil firm NOC, which says it serves the whole country and stays out of its factional conflicts. Haftar's parallel administration has repeatedly sought to export oil while bypassing the NOC but has been thwarted by a United Nations ban, diplomats say. The NOC sends oil and gas revenues, Libya's economic lifeline, to the Tripoli-based central bank, which mainly works with Serraj's government though it also funds some public salaries, fuel and other services in the Haftar-controlled east. A document sent to oil traders and seen by Reuters on Monday said that the NOC had declared force majeure - a waiver on contractual obligations - on crude loadings from the Sharara and El Feel oilfields in Libya's southwest. Story continues At least nine oil tankers had been due to load in the coming days from the ports now under force majeure, according to a local shipping source. The NOC had previously declared force majeure for oil ports on Libya's northeast coast. Libya has lacked a stable central authority since strongman Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown by NATO-backed rebels in 2011. For more than five years, it has had two rival governments, in the east and the west, with streets controlled by armed groups. RESPECT FOR CEASEFIRE In the interview, Serraj also said his government would respect the summit's decision to turn a tentative truce into a permanent ceasefire in Tripoli and open intra-Libyan talks to end conflict as part of a U.N.-led plan. But he ruled out meeting Haftar again. In Berlin Serraj and Haftar conferred with world leaders but not meet each other. "For me it's clear....We will not sit down again with the other side," Serraj said, adding that the question of peacemaking should not be limited to a meeting of two leaders. Serraj and Haftar, once a senior army general under Gaddafi, last met in Abu Dhabi in February 2019 where they failed to reach a power-sharing agreement, after which Haftar launched his offensive on Tripoli. Sunday's Berlin summit convened the main foreign supporters of Libya's warring sides. Haftar enjoys the support of the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Russian mercenaries and some African troops, while Serraj is backed by Turkey. The summit yielded a commitment to shore up Libya's ramshackle truce arrangement but the gathering was overshadowed by Haftar's oil blockades. The European Union's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said on Monday the EU would discuss all ways to uphold a formal ceasefire in Libya but any peace settlement will need real support from the bloc to make it stick. [nL8N29P1K9] Under the Berlin deal, a joint committee will be formed, made up of five military men from each side, and convene in Geneva in about a week to discuss the mechanics of a viable ceasefire to pave the way for a resumption of peace diplomacy. "Unfortunately the (Haftar-led) attackers have continued to violate a truce and haven't signed it anyway," said Serraj, referring to a meeting in Moscow last week where Haftar refused to endorse a ceasefire scheme. Serraj put his signature on it. "We look forward to the committee meeting," Serraj said. Many are sceptical about any ceasefire's prospects due to a lack of mutual trust and a massive deployment of Haftar's forces into the northwest in their bid to take Tripoli. Turkish support for Tripoli's effort to repel Haftar has seen the fighting, which has displaced more than 150,000 civilians, take on the trappings of a proxy war. (Reporting by Ulf Laessing and Nadeen Ebrahim in Berlin with additional reporting by Julia Payne and Ahmad Ghaddar in London; Editing by Mark Heinrich) Minneapolis, MN, Jan. 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Room & Board, the modern American-made retailer of furniture and home decor, today announced a collaboration with Cambria, the nations leading provider of American-made natural quartz surfaces. The two Minnesota-based brands, both with a reputation for timeless design, American craftsmanship, and a commitment to sustainability, service and innovation, debuted the Pren Collection, a versatile series of tables, desks and storage cabinets, this month. Were thrilled to bring together two iconic Midwestern brands, said Gene Wilson, Room & Board Director of Vendor Management and Merchandising. Because of our shared values, this partnership felt like a seamless alignment. Cambrias signature design capabilities pair perfectly with our modern style and together well raise the bar on livable luxury. The initial assortment, suitable for both residential and commercial environments, will consist of: dining/conference tables that can also easily work as desks for the home or office, coffee tables, console tables, and dining and bar cabinets. The expertly crafted series is available with domestically sourced walnut or white oak wood bases and one-centimeter Cambria quartz pieces in three iconic designs: Brittanicca, Brittanicca Gold, and Mersey. Blending form and function, the natural quartz surfaces are finished with modern rounded corners, which mirror the form of each piece and offer a nonabsorbent, scratch and stain resistant, maintenance-free top surface that is backed by the Cambria Full Lifetime Warranty. All Cambria tops are also GREENGUARD GOLD and NSF/ANSI 51-certified, Health Product Declaration Collaborative (HPD) v2.1 listed, Kosher certified, a Declare program participant, and part of the Mindful MATERIALS product certification library. This is a classic pairing of like-minded brands joining together to achieve something beautiful, lasting and highly adaptable, said Mackenzie Weldon, VP of Corporate Partnerships for Cambria. We look forward to working with such a reputable and forward-thinking brand to reach new audiences and bring Cambria to the marketplace in new and innovative ways. The collection is now available online through Room & Board and through Room & Board Business Interiors beginning February 4, 2020, and available at all 16 Room & Board retail locations in mid-January. Pricing starts at $2,999 for a Pren Coffee Table and goes up to $5,899 for the Pren Desks and Conference Tables. For more information on Room & Board and Cambria please visit RoomandBoard.com and CambriaUSA.com. PRESS KIT # # # About Room & Board Room & Board is an independent, privately held retailer of modern furniture and home decor. Founded and based in Minneapolis, the company has 16 stores across the country and a strong online presence. Their steadfast focus on quality, value, and service since 1980 has built their reputation as one of the most respected furniture retailers in the country. Through Business Interiors (BI), the brand merges residential style with commercial capabilities and specialized services for businesses, designers and architects. www.roomandboard.com. Facebook Pinterest Instagram BI Instagram About Cambria Cambria is the nations leading producer of American-made natural quartz surfaces. As a stain resistant, nonabsorbent natural stone surface, Cambria is strong, safe, maintenance free, and easy to care for. Headquartered in Le Sueur, Minnesota, Cambria is sold through an exclusive network of premium, independent specialty retail and trade partners that can be identified at CambriaUSA.com. #MyCambria Facebook Twitter Pinterest Instagram Houzz YouTube LinkedIn Attachments The body of an Asian worker who went missing during the heavy showers in Ras Al Khaimah was recovered from Oman, according to the Ras Al Khaimah Police. The police, in collaboration with the search and rescue teams in Oman, have managed to find the Asian worker's body six days after he went missing. According to Major-General Ali Abdullah bin Alwan Al Nuaimi, General Commander of the RAK Police, the worker drowned in the flash flood in a valley on January 11. Teams from the RAK police, search and rescue force, armed forces, air wing section, K9 squad and ambulance searched for the man for six days. "The body was found stuck in the rocks of the Ghamdha beach in Oman," he added. Brigadier Dr Mohammad Saeed Al Humaidi, director-general of Central Operations, RAK police, and chairman of the Search and Rescue Team, said the body was found on Thursday afternoon. "The Central Operations Room of the RAK Police was alerted by the Oman Police that they found the body stuck between the rocks of the Ghamdha beach," he added. The police went to the reported area accompanied by the sponsor of the worker to verify his identity. "The sponsor identified the body, which was shifted to the morgue. Our search and rescue teams had surveyed the entire area but could not locate him," he pointed out. "The strong current must have pushed the body out of the dam to the beach," added Brig Al Humaidi. This resource is no longer available This resource is no longer available. Return to previous page. Enterprises looking for a way to modernize legacy AS/400 workloads now have a new option: Move them onto Google Cloud Platform. Google wont host your old AS/400 for you, but it is renting time on IBM Power Systems servers, the AS/400s architectural successors. Its announcement follows a similar one from Microsoft in September. At the same time, Google is introducing a Premium Support plan to maintain high-availability services, making the GCP more attractive to CIOs averse to down-time. IBM introduced its AS/400 midrange computers in 1988, shipping over half a million units over the next decade. They were succeeded by the iSeries server and later the Power Systems range, while the operating system they ran, OS/400, has been replaced by IBM i. Todays systems can and sometimes do still run much of the same software. Vormittag Associates Inc. (VAI), a developer of enterprise management software in Ronkonkoma, N.Y., still targets the platform and is one of the companies, along with its customers, that stands to benefit from Googles and Microsofts moves. Its software now runs on IBM i but it goes back to the heritage of System i and iSeries, and way back to the AS/400 days, says VAIs CIO Kevin Beasley. Now Google hosts IBM i, IBM hosts it, Microsoft hosts it. Back when we started there werent many places that you could actually find IBM i hosted. Thousands of other companies are still running systems built on the old AS/400 architecture, according to all400s.com, a website that tracks job offerings for IT workers with AS/400 skills, prompting the cloud giants to look for ways to serve these businesses. Microsoft introduced IBM Power9 instances to its Azure cloud last Fall with the help of another Seattle company, Skytap. Google began quietly offering access to IBM Power Systems servers running AIX, IBMs own flavor of Unix, around the same time. This week Google took the wraps off a fuller offering, now also able to run Linux on IBM Power and the successor to the AS/400, IBM i. Among the applications that run on IBM i are SAP, Oracle and IBMs own DB2 database. Putting these into the cloud will allow enterprises to link them with more modern technologies. In Googles case, that means giving legacy apps private API access to other Google Cloud resources, and allocating private IP addresses to each Power Systems logical partition, all on the same bill as other cloud services. Alongside the Power Systems servers, Google is also introducing a premium 24/7 support plan with 15-minute response time and a cloud API for integration with an enterprises own IT support system, for any cloud customer willing to pay the price. Pricing starts at $150,000 per year, plus a percentage of spend on the services supported. Updated 5:00 p.m. on Feb. 4, 2020 As of Tuesday, Canada had five confirmed novel coronavirus cases. Heres everything you need to know about 2019-nCoV that was first reported from Wuhan, China, on Dec. 31, 2019: What are the symptoms? Fever, cough, sore throat, pneumonia and generally feeling unwell. If the infection travels to your lungs, you could have trouble breathing. How does the illness spread? Primarily through close contact with another individual, in particular through coughing and sneezing on somebody else who is within a range of about one to two metres from that person. Chinas health minister Ma Xiaowei said earlier that an infected person can spread the coronavirus to others before experiencing symptoms. But some scientists say they still do not know whether a person is infectious during the incubation period. Should I start wearing a mask? Canadian health officials say that wearing surgical masks during everyday life has little use in protecting against coronavirus, despite being effective in hospital settings. Early data on the new form of virus suggests masks wont be especially effective, and some say that repeatedly touching and adjusting the masks with unwashed hands could do more harm than good. When did it begin? The first cases were reported near the end of December and are linked to people who worked at, or visited, a seafood market, since closed, in Wuhan, China, a city of 11 million people. Experts suspect that the virus was first transmitted from wild animals, and that it may be mutating. Mutations can make it deadlier and/or more contagious. Who has died? An examination of the information provided by the Chinese government about the deaths show a disease that has so far largely killed older men, many with underlying health problems. What countries have seen cases? The overwhelming majority of cases have been in China, but the illness has spread countries including Hong Kong, Canada, U.S., Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Macau, Australia, Malaysia, France, Germany, Finland, Taiwan, Cambodia, Nepal, Philippines, United Arab Emirates, India and Sri Lanka. What is Canada doing? The risk to Canadians remains low, officials say. Travellers are asked additional health-screening questions at airports to help identify those who may have visited Wuhan, China, the epicentre of the outbreak. Travellers will either be asked at an electronic kiosk or directly by a border services officer. Passengers arriving in Canada who visited Wuhan will be subjected to closer screening. Anyone found to have flu-like symptoms will undergo further checks by the health agency. What do we know about the new coronavirus? Dr. David Williams, Ontarios chief medical officer of health, said the novel noronavirus (2019-nCoV) comes from the same family that can lead to the common cold, and caused the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), about 17 years ago that killed at least 774 people worldwide, including 44 in Canada. Dr. Allison McGeer, director of infection control at Mount Sinai Hospital, told the Star that its a new virus that cause infections in different animals, as well as humans. We still dont know where its coming from or how easily its transmitted from human to human, she said. Previous severe outbreaks of human coronaviruses include SARS back in 2002-03, and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) in 2012-17. Coronaviruses are known for their ability to change and evolve, she said. McGeer said you can only tell what virus it is by doing lab tests. She added that the infections that people get from coronaviruses are indistinguishable from the kind of infections you get from other viruses. Is this new outbreak similar to SARS in 2003? Early signs point to SARS being more deadly in 2003, but that the new coronavirus appears to be more contagious, given that this outbreak is spreading faster. What has Canada learned from the SARS outbreak? SARS caused a crisis in Toronto back in the early 2000s due to the sheer number of people infected with the disease (in Canada, there were 438 probable or suspected cases, resulting in 44 deaths, mostly in the GTA). McGeer noted that the primary problem with the SARS virus was that it was mostly transmitted when people were very ill in hospitals, and so, if people werent diagnosed as having SARS, then human-to-human transmission was more common. RELATED STORIES Canada Six questions scientists are scrambling to answer about the coronavirus Since then, she noted that a lot of work has been done to prevent transmission in hospitals. Has that made a difference to how, how prepared we are for emerging infectious disease and new outbreaks? Yes, absolutely, McGeer said. However, she added that it is a general truth in Canada that we have underfunded and under-resourced public health departments. So are we well prepared to deal with public health crises? No. How will we manage it? Bit hard to tell. Whats a global health emergency? The World Health Organization declared last week that the outbreak sparked by the new coronavirus is a global emergency after the number of cases spiked more than tenfold in a week. The UN health agency defines a global emergency as an extraordinary event that constitutes a risk to other countries and requires a co-ordinated international response. A declaration of a global emergency typically brings greater financial and other resources, but may also prompt nervous governments to restrict travel and trade to affected countries. The announcement also imposes more disease-reporting requirements on countries. Some useful terms to know: Epidemic: The occurrence of more cases of disease than expected, spreading throughout a population and location over a period of time, according to Harvards medical dictionary. Pandemic: Similar to epidemic, the outbreak of a disease that affects a region, country or continent. Epidemiology: Deals with the control of disease in a population. With files from Ilya Banares, David Venn, Patrick Ho and Star wire services Read more about: The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Uttar Pradesh Government after hearing a plea challenging the validity of changing the name of Allahabad to Prayagraj. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government had in 2018 formally rechristened the name of Allahabad as Prayagraj. The decision to rename the city was made at a Cabinet meeting and came into effect immediately, UP Health Minister Siddharth Nath Singh had said at that time. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressed US 'outrage' in a meeting Sunday with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi over the death of an American national imprisoned in Egypt since 2013. Mustafa Kassem, a 54-year-old Egyptian-American who suffered from diabetes and heart problems, died January 13 after a hunger strike in which he ceased drinking fluids for four days before his death. Pompeo, who met with the Egyptian president in Berlin on the sidelines of an international conference on Libya, 'expressed outrage over the pointless and tragic death of detained US citizen Mustafa Kassem in Egypt,' State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (left) expressed US 'outrage' in a meeting Sunday with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (right) over the death of an American imprisoned in Egypt since 2013 Pompeo had raised Kassem's case with the Egyptian authorities before his death in custody, and the top US diplomat for the Middle East, David Schenker, has denounced it as 'needless, tragic and avoidable'. Kassem, who had emigrated to the United States and was a naturalized US citizen, was arrested in the summer of 2013 while in Cairo on a home visit in what his lawyers described as a vast dragnet during the violent dispersal of an Islamist sit-in that killed hundreds of people. He had gone out to change money when soldiers asked for his papers only to beat and arrest him after he presented his US passport, according to lawyers representing his family. He was sentenced in 2018 to 15 years in prison for allegedly taking part in anti-government demonstrations, but his lawyers said no evidence was presented against him personally during a mass trial that also included 700 other accused. Kassem maintained his innocence throughout his detention and started a hunger strike last year in protest. Washington had recently stepped up its remonstrations with the Egyptian government, despite the regular displays of friendship between President Donald Trump and his Egyptian counterpart. Mustafa Kassem (pictured), a 54-year-old Egyptian-American who suffered from diabetes and heart problems, died January 13 after a hunger strike in which he ceased drinking fluids for four days before his death The death of the auto parts dealer from Long Island, New York prompted an outcry from human rights groups, as well as accusations of medical negligence in Egypt's prisons. Activists and foreign affairs experts have called for the Trump administration to penalize its staunch Middle Eastern ally by slashing millions of dollars in security assistance. The US grants $1.2billion in annual military aid to Egypt. Pompeo expressed concern about freedom of the press and human rights in Egypt, in response to a series of arrests of journalists, intellectuals and activists following a rare outbreak of demonstrations against general-turned-president el-Sissi. El-Sisi came to power in the summer of 2013 and has overseen a sweeping crackdown on dissent, jailing thousands. 1917, is one of the best war-films released in 2019 across the globe and on 17 Jan, 2020 in India, that is sweeping the award season this year. But the reason why 1917 is so unique is that the film design makes the viewer believe that everything was shot in one single cut. Set in April 1917, the film takes place during the first World War. Germans have retreated back from the French territory mysteriously and without warning, later, it's found out that it's a trap set by the Germans. The British Battalion of 1600 men set to attack the Germans on the Hindenburg Line the next morning could potentially lose their lives in this trap. The film follows the mission of two soldiers Dean-Charles Chapman as Lance Corporal Blake and George MacKay as Lance Corporal Schofield who are asked to deliver the message to the battalion and further asking them to stand down. The pair has to cross the vast "no man's land" filled with the debris of dead soldiers and scavengers feasting on these bodies. DreamWorks Pictures This anti-war film doesn't follow the generic format of the war-genre with a redemptive arc for the protagonist. Instead, the film focuses on making this mission an experiential one. You'll feel like following the two soldiers. Directed and co-written by Sam Mendes, the film features Mark Strong, Andrew Scott, Richard Madden, Claire Duburcq, Colin Firth and Benedict Cumberbatch among others in pivotal roles. With stunning visuals and exceptional narrative, the film has historical roots but is certainly not based on a true story. Here are seven real-life historical connections with the film that make the narrative even more compelling. DreamWorks Pictures 1. Sam Mendes's grandfather, Alfred H. Mendes served as a soldier in World War 1 for the British army on the Western Front and was sent on a mission in which he had to traverse across the no man's land. However, the plotline in this film is largely inspired by his experience and the characters are fictional. The mission was written by the scriptwriters and most events are fabricated versions of the real-life event. The narrative to save a soldier's brother and his entire battalion is an incredible tale but it's important to note that the story is necessarily not a true one. DreamWorks Pictures 2. It's true that the Germans obliterated everything in their wake, that could potentially be used by the Allies while retreating, creating a vast no man's land. Roads, bridges, and water pipes were all destroyed in case the Allies moved forwards. Instead, booby-traps and barbed wire were set up which is represented in the extremely authentic set design in 1917. Its partly based on real-life events. DreamWorks Pictures 3. In real life, Mendes's grandfather was given the Military Medal after volunteering to locate soldiers during the Battle of Passchendaele. This instance inspired the discussion between the two soldiers in the film about the honour of a military medal. McKay's character had received one and claimed it as a "piece of tin" that he traded for wine when he was thirsty. While Chapman's character held it as a symbol of pride and was rather excited to receive one. DreamWorks Pictures 4. During the war, these trenches went on for miles of complicated twists and turns. The trenches on the Western Front were a pivotal feature of WWI and were created with as much accuracy as possible in the film. They hired a British Army veteran, Paul Biddiss, to act as a technical adviser to make these trenches in the film look as authentic as possible. The crew had dug about 2,500 feet of trenches by the end of it. DreamWorks Pictures 5. In the timeline that this movie is set up, in real time, the First Battle of Passchendaele (or the Third Battle of Ypres) was underway. The battle that occurs in the film is heavily modeled on the Battle of Poelcappelle, which took place during the previously mentioned battles. This battle too was based on misleading information, much like it was in the movie. During this battle, the Allies thought they had an advance, but in reality, they did not. DreamWorks Pictures 6. The background characters in the film are seen passing time by performing certain actions that were actually done by soldiers as they 'waited' for the battle to take place. Army Veteran, Paul Biddiss lent his expertise in assigning them tasks or leisure activities possible at the front. These included using candles to kill lice, filling sandbags, or even playing chess with buttons. DreamWorks Pictures 7. 6 April, 1917, the date the film is set is based on the events that took place on 5 April. During the war, the Germans moved their troops to the Hindenburg Line along the Aisne River. The dispute between the Allies seeing it as a 'retreat' and the Germans seeking resources and a better location was actually based on real events. Besides, 6 April was the date that the Americans entered the war. Source: SCREENRANT A Chinese tourist with no known friends or family in Australia has been missing for nearly a month. Ling Yaping, 45, who had recently arrived in Australia for holidays, was last seen at her tour group hotel on December 23. Chinese tourist Ling Yaping has been missing since December 23. Her belongings were left behind in the Melbourne hotel room. Police called for public assistance on January 6 to help find her, but she remains missing. Davinder Singhs multiple Bangladesh visits come under NIA scanner India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Jan 20: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) will probe Jammu and Kashmir DSP Davinder Singh's links to the ISI. Under the scanner are his two visits to Bangladesh in 2019. His daughters are studying in Bangladesh, but the NIA would look into further details of his visit to the country. The investigation agency would question him about those visits in a bid to find out if he had met with any ISI handler. We find it suspicious that he had sent his daughters to Bangladesh to study. There is no bar on sending children to Bangladesh to study, but looking at the nature of this particular case, we find the need to probe further, a source in the agency tells OneIndia. Let him go, dont probe him: A mysterious undertaking signed by Davinder Singh Meanwhile, the NIA would also look into a 2005 case in which a terrorist arrested by the Delhi police had spoken about Singh. The Delhi police had arrested seven terrorists including Haji Ghulam Dar in 2005. He had spoken about his link with Singh. An undertaking was found on him which stated that he keeps pistols with him and it is requested that security forces must not stop him and he should be allowed to go without any probe. The undertaking was signed by Singh. Meanwhile, the NIA will question DSP Davinder Singh at New Delhi. The NIA had taken over the case against Singh and three Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists. The investigation agency re-registered the case originally filed by the Jammu and Kashmir police based on the instructions of the Ministry of Home Affairs. Singh is alleged to have brought Naveed Babu, Mir Irfan and Rafi Rather from Shopian to Srinagar on Friday evening. On Saturday, they set out to Jammu, from where they were planning on going to New Delhi. However before he could leave, the police arrested him sources familiar with the developments confirmed to OneIndia. NEWS AT NOON, JANUARY 20th, 2020 Singh during his interrogation claimed that he was ferrying the Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists to facilitate their surrender. Davinder Singh to be questioned in Delhi: NIA sources Officials investigating him say that he had made this made claim during interrogation, but we are investigating the same further. Interrogators say that he has denied the charges against him. He says that he was facilitating a big catch, but there are several inconsistencies in his statements, the officer also said. However, sources also said that Singh was helping the terrorists cross the Banihal tunnel in lieu of money. The source also said that an amount of over Rs 10 lakh was agreed upon. Singh, however, denied the charge during interrogation. The source, however, added that Singh was not being truthful and he had no authorisation to organise a surrender. Prince Harry has said he and his wife Meghan Markle had "really no other option" but to step back as senior royals after "many years of challenges", even as he expressed "great sadness" after being stripped of their royal titles. In his first personal statement on Sunday night after a formal split from the royal family was finalised by Queen Elizabeth II over the weekend, the 35-year-old Duke of Sussex said when he and his American actress wife were married they were "excited" and "hopeful". He spoke of his "great sadness" at a decision which he said was not taken lightly and that the UK would always be his home even as the couple divide their time between Canada and Britain. "The decision that I have made for my wife and I to step back, is not one I made lightly," the Prince said in a speech at a dinner event for charity Sentebale, co-founded by him in 2006 to support those affected by HIV in Lesotho and Botswana in southern Africa. "It was so many months of talks after so many years of challenges. And I know I haven't always got it right, but as far as this goes, there really was no other option. What I want to make clear is we're not walking away, and we certainly aren't walking away from you," he said. In a visibly heartfelt message, he said he wanted to share "the truth" about the revelations of the last few weeks, insisting that he was still the same old Harry they have known "but with a clearer perspective". The speech came a day after the Buckingham Palace announced that the couple will be forsaking their His and Her Royal Highness titles and no longer receive any share of the Sovereign Grant, or the UK taxpayer funding allocated to senior royals. It followed weeks of talks after Harry and Meghan, 38, had announced plans earlier this month to step back from the royal frontline and spend more time in North America. "I was born into this life, and it is a great honour to serve my country and the Queen...It has been our privilege to serve you, and we will continue to lead a life of service," Harry said. Striking a personal tone, the Prince told the gathering: "The UK is my home and a place that I love. That will never change. "I have grown up feeling support from so many of you, and I watched as you welcomed Meghan with open arms as you saw me find the love and happiness that I had hoped for all my life. I also know you've come to know me well enough over all these years to trust that the woman I chose as my wife upholds the same values as I do. "We both do everything we can to fly the flag and carry out our roles for this country with pride. Once Meghan and I were married, we were excited, we were hopeful, and we were here to serve. For those reasons, it brings me great sadness that it has come to this," he added. Explaining how it had not been possible to continue serving his grandmother, the 93-year-old Queen, in any official capacity without public funding, Harry said he had to accept that reality but it did not change his commitment to his royal duty. "Our hope was to continue serving the Queen, the Commonwealth, and my military associations, but without public funding. Unfortunately, that wasn't possible. I've accepted this, knowing that it doesn't change who I am or how committed I am," he said. "But I hope that helps you understand what it had to come to, that I would step my family back from all I have ever known, to take a step forward into what I hope can be a more peaceful life," the Prince added. Referring to the tragic death of his mother Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997 in a car crash in Paris, he added: "When I lost my mum 23 years ago, you took me under your wing. You've looked out for me for so long, but the media is a powerful force, and my hope is one day our collective support for each other can be more powerful because this is so much bigger than just us." Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, is already in Vancouver Island in Canada with the couple's eight-month-old son Archie and Harry is expected to join them soon. Meanwhile, Harry will continue with his pending royal duties in the UK until the new agreement struck with the palace kicks in from spring towards the end of March and the couple begin their new financially independent roles. The couple intend to repay 2.4 million pounds of UK taxpayer money for the refurbishment of Frogmore Cottage, which will remain their UK family home as they split their time between Britain and Canada. The palace has declined to comment on security arrangements and who would foot that bill for the couple in future, an issue that has been at the centre of much of the debate since they announced their decision to step back as senior royals earlier this month. Harry and Meghan have issued their own update on their official Sussex Royal website, which has been updated to remove references to the HRH titles on the opening page. "We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages. "This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity," the statement on their website reads. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Far From Home unveils the first gameplay teaser for their sci-fi, action-survival game coming to Steam Early Access in 2022 and later to consoles. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Paris Mon, January 20, 2020 07:01 723 48be62e941b44f04afae568c322c0505 2 Books France,LGBT,Book,Paris Free France's oldest LGBT bookshop is being pushed out of Paris's trendy gay district due to skyrocketing rents fanned by gentrification, tourism and top brands which have opened outlets there. "Les Mots a la Bouche" has been a landmark in the Marais, one of the most sought after areas in the French capital, since it opened in the early 1980s. Les Mots a La Bouche, Top LGBTQ Bookshop in Paris, Forced Out by Rising Rents https://t.co/fP70l0Uc14 pic.twitter.com/9frYb5jJ0c Towleroad (@tlrd) January 18, 2020 But the landlord now wants the rent to be hiked by four times -- in keeping with the market rate -- and the bookshop will have to relocated after more than 36 years, Nicolas Wanstok, who works at the bookshop, told AFP. Read also: Paris says tourist buses no longer welcome in city center Les Mots a la Bouche is a historic bookshop, Paris's deputy mayor for culture Christophe Girard, told AFP. "We are very attached to it and our aim is to save it. We are continuing to seek options." Several historic establishments in the Marais, which was also the city's traditional Jewish quarter, have been push out by sky-high rents. Topics : France LGBT Book Paris 'Stop Brexit' protester Steve Bray was heckled by a group in the street before being tripped up as he chased one man down. Mr Bray is known for standing in shot of live-television broadcasts outside the Houses of Parliament while brandishing his anti-Brexit placards. Police were called following reports of verbal abuse and assault against Mr Bray in Westminster, London, on Saturday. 'Stop Brexit' protester Steve Bray was heckled by Brexiteers in the street before being tripped up as he chased one man down in Westminster, London, on Saturday Shocking footage shows Mr Bray being heckled before one man grabs his hat and runs off. Mr Bray quickly runs after him - still clutching his placard - to cries of 'Steven is taking him, look'. A man standing along the pavement then puts his foot out to trip Mr Bray who is sent crashing to the floor. Shocking footage shows Mr Bray being heckled before one man grabs his hat and runs off (left). Mr Bray quickly runs after him - still clutching his placard - to cries of 'Steven is taking him, look' (right) Mr Bray swiftly chases him. But a man standing along the pavement then puts his foot out to trip Mr Bray who is sent crashing to the floor Mr Bray's cardboard megaphone, which fell from his hands as he ran, is then stamped on by the thugs. The person filming the attack laughs loudly as a scuffle between the men ensues. The video was uploaded to YouTube on Saturday by the account 'Buska Patriot' with the title: 'Steve Bray tripped up.' Mr Bray's cardboard megaphone, which fell from his hands as he ran, is then stamped on by the thugs A Met Police spokesman said: 'Police were called at around 2.50pm on Saturday January 18 to reports of an assault on Horse Guards Road, Westminster. 'A man and a woman, both in their 50s, reported they had been verbally abused by a number of men as they walked down the road. One of the suspects then assaulted the male. 'Neither required medical assistance. 'The suspects had left the area prior to police arrival; no arrests have been made.' Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Adrian Wail Akhlas (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, January 21 2020 The governments plan to establish its own sovereign wealth fund has raised questions regarding the source of funding, as well as how the fund is managed to ensure it does not suffer the same fate as Malaysias 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). The funds establishment will be regulated in the anticipated omnibus bill on job creation, which is currently being drafted by the government. A presentation shared by the Office of the Coordinating Economic Minister on the omnibus bill revealed that the funds establishment was aimed at managing and allocating a sum of funding and/or state assets. The funds assets will be in the form of state capital injection, assets/business development returns, state-owned enterprise assets, grants and other defined sources. 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 Appointment 20 January 2020 To lead IHG's business in Saudi Arabia, Bastien Blanc has been appointed as Managing Director, KSA and Bahrain effective 1st March 2020. In his current role with IHG, Bastien is responsible for leading the operations across IHG's portfolio of hotels in the Middle East and Africa, including KSA. In his new role, Bastien will be responsible for driving both growth and performance for IHG in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. With extensive experience of working in KSA, Bastien has been deeply ingrained into the market. He has also been leading IHG's Saudization efforts which he will continue to drive further in his new role. Bastien will continue to report to Pascal Gauvin, Managing Director, IMEA, IHG. While not a mind-blowing move, it is good to see that the MGM China Holdings Limited (HKG:2282) share price has gained 21% in the last three months. But over the last half decade, the stock has not performed well. You would have done a lot better buying an index fund, since the stock has dropped 18% in that half decade. View our latest analysis for MGM China Holdings In his essay The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville Warren Buffett described how share prices do not always rationally reflect the value of a business. One imperfect but simple way to consider how the market perception of a company has shifted is to compare the change in the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price movement. Looking back five years, both MGM China Holdings's share price and EPS declined; the latter at a rate of 25% per year. This fall in the EPS is worse than the 3.8% compound annual share price fall. So investors might expect EPS to bounce back -- or they may have previously foreseen the EPS decline. The company's earnings per share (over time) is depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers). SEHK:2282 Past and Future Earnings, January 20th 2020 Dive deeper into MGM China Holdings's key metrics by checking this interactive graph of MGM China Holdings's earnings, revenue and cash flow. 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. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. In the case of MGM China Holdings, it has a TSR of -6.4% for the last 5 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return. A Different Perspective Story continues MGM China Holdings provided a TSR of 8.3% over the last twelve months. But that was short of the market average. On the bright side, that's still a gain, and it is certainly better than the yearly loss of about 1.3% endured over half a decade. It could well be that the business is stabilizing. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for MGM China Holdings you should be aware of, and 1 of them can't be ignored. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket. 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. YEREVAN. One of the cattle farmers, who are protestingin front of Armenias government buildingthe countrys slaughterhouses, invited the head of the Food Safety Inspectorate for a debate. Also, the demonstrators called on the cattle farmers in the provinces to gather outside the government building every day at 11am until the matter was resolved. A large number of policemen are overseeing the protest, which has several hundred participants. Cattle farmers were protesting in front of the government building a few days ago, too, complaining about the conditions proposed by the countrys slaughterhouses. Baoding | Photo: John K./Yelp On Jan. 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 Charlotte, based on Yelp ratings and our own methodology. Happy Lunar New Year! 1. Baoding Photo: joanna p./Yelp Topping the list is Baoding. Located at 4722 Sharon Road, Suite F, in Beverly Woods, the Chinese spot is the highest-rated Chinese restaurant in Charlotte, boasting four stars out of 194 reviews on Yelp. 2. Taipei Express Photo: john k./Yelp Next up is Taipei Express, situated at 731 Providence Road. With four stars out of 107 reviews on Yelp, the Chinese spot has proven to be a local favorite. 3. China Palace Photo: laura m./Yelp China Palace, located at 9211 N. Tryon St., Suite #11, is another top choice, with Yelpers giving the Chinese spot four stars out of 98 reviews. 4. Best Wok Photo: john k./Yelp Best Wok, a Chinese spot, is another go-to, with four stars out of 85 Yelp reviews. Head over to 1717 Sardis Road North to see for yourself. 5. Jade Dragon Photo: john k./Yelp Check out Jade Dragon, which has earned four stars out of 72 reviews on Yelp. You can find the Chinese spot at 7741 Colony Road, Suite A4. 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. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 20:44:48|Editor: mingmei Video Player Close WENCHANG, Hainan, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- A core module prototype of China's space station and a prototype of China's new-generation manned spacecraft arrived at the launch site in south China's Hainan Province after a week of ocean and rail transport, the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) announced Monday. The core module will take part in joint rehearsals with the Long March-5B carrier rocket at the Wenchang Space Launch Center while the new manned spacecraft will be launched by the rocket's maiden flight in the first half of this year. This means the building of China's space station in space will begin soon, the CMSEO said. The core module, named Tianhe (harmony of the heavens), will function as the command and control center of the space station. It is 16.6 meters long with a diameter of 4.2 meters and a takeoff weight of 22.5 tonnes. As the largest spacecraft ever developed by China, Tianhe will accommodate three astronauts and serve as a space laboratory to carry out scientific research and technological verifications, the CMSEO said. The new-generation manned spacecraft is 8.8 meters long and has a takeoff weight of 21.6 tonnes. It will be used for transporting crew to the space station and to conduct China's future manned lunar missions. China is scheduled to complete the construction of the space station around 2022. The Long March-5B rocket is scheduled to arrive at the launch site in early February, the CMSEO said. North Andhra Pradesh has remained backward for last several decades "due to neglect of those in power" and 85 per cent of jobs should be given to the youth, former UPSC member KS Chalam said on Monday. He was speaking at a meeting organized by intellectuals here. The intellectuals unanimously resolved to support the proposal of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy to make Visakhapatnam as the executive capital of the state. They also celebrated the Andhra Pradesh cabinet's decision. Former vice-chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Kakinada (JNTU-K) Allam Appa Rao said Vizag was a readymade strategic location for the capital. "A large pool of talent is available in the city and has good rail, road and air transport network." Amid ongoing protests in Andhra Pradesh over the three-capital proposal, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government on Monday approved the high-power committee report at a cabinet meeting. The cabinet approved the idea of three capitals -- Visakhapatnam as executive capital, Kurnool as judicial capital, and Amaravati as legislative capital. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New York, US (PANA) - A new report from the UN childrens fund (UNICEF) shows that one-third of adolescent girls from the poorest households have never been to school, and spending on education is heavily skewed towards wealthier households A new listing on the TENAA regulatory website indicates that the OEM Vivo intends to reboot its Nex 3 flagship with a new version. It has an SoC with a different max clock to that of the phone's original Snapdragon 855+ processor. This upcoming device also has dual-mode 5G and a new red color. 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 Vivo released the Nex 3 last year as a flagship with the unique point of a "waterfall screen": a display with an extra curve to its long edges. It is powered by the Snapdragon 855+ chipset and 8GB of RAM. However, a new device approved by the Chinese telecomms authority TENAA suggests that the OEM is about to refresh this phone with a new 5G variant. The phone - the Vivo V1950A - as depicted in this new listing does look exactly like the Nex 3, with its watchface-inspired camera module. It also has the exact same specs as the pre-existing phone, down to its 6.89-inch FHD+ screen. However, it also has a different SoC, as suggested by the clock-speed specified. This new version's processor is described as running at 2.84GHz, whereas the 855+ is associated with 2.96GHz. This means it could be the Snapdragon 855 - or, alternatively, the Snapdragon 865. It also has standalone- and nonstandalone 5G, which suggests it has an appropriate modem. To date, this apparent 2020 Nex 3 does not have a launch date or pricing information. Einige F-Droid-Mitwirkende waren auf dem 36c3 im vergangenen Dezember. Da es ein gigantischer Treffpunkt fur so viele miteinander verwandter Projekte ist, geben wir hier einen kleinen Bericht uber die Aktivitaten von F-Droid dort ab. Wir hatten ein Entwicklertreffen und ein von @Bubu geleitetes Anwendertreffen. Beim Entwicklertreffen kam es zum Austausch zwischen ungefahr 10 Entwicklern, die an Schlusselprojekten freier Software wie Replicant, K-9, Nextcloud, microG, Conversations, AntennaPod und anderen beteiligt sind. Ein groer Fortschritt ist, dass die Updates der CCC-App ein bisschen fruher starteten und der Aktualisierungsvorgang durch f-droid.org sehr viel reibungsloser verlief. Es gab keine Beschwerden uber ein veraltetes Repo von f-droid.org, so wie im letzten Jahr. Es gab Diskussionen mit Replicant, wie mit Apps zu verfahren sei, die nicht 100% DFSG freie Software sind, z. B. mit Apps, die mit NonFreeAdd, NonFreeDep oder NonFreeAssets gekennzeichnet sind. Replicant strebt eine vollstandige Zertifizierung durch die Free Software Foundation an, somit verfolgen sie einen strengeren Standard als dies derzeit F-Droid tut. So ist zum Beispiel jede App, die den Anwender zur Installation proprietarer Software anleitet ein No-Go fur Replicant. Wir planen, diese Diskussion im Hinblick darauf fortzusetzen, wie Anti-Features von F-Droid- und Replicant-Mitwirkenden verstanden werden. Man konnte sich auch auf einige neue Ideen einigen und wartet hauptsachlich auf jemanden, der sie umsetzt. Zum Beispiel einen Anti-Feature-Filter im Client mit dem ROM, das Vorgaben festlegen kann. Kontaktiert uns im Forum, in Issue Trackern und/oder im Chat, wenn ihr Interesse habt. Wir erhielten Feedback daruber, dass das Beziehen von Apps uber F-Droid immer noch ziemlich unintuitiv und schlecht dokumentiert ist. Ein Nutzer bot an, sich daran zu beteiligen. @Bubu verteilte fast 5000 F-Droid-Aufkleber uber die Sticker-Tauschboxen des Kongress und indem er sie an interessierte Gruppen (Matrix, Nextcloud, FSFE) weitergab. Auch auf den Treffen mit Fairphone und microG gab es einige ahnliche Diskussionen . Sowohl Anwender als auch Entwickler beklagten sich uber die Suchfunktion in der F-Droid-App. Entwickler weil ihre Apps an funfter Stelle angezeigt werden, wenn man den genauen Namen eingibt. Anwender aus demselben Grund und zusatzlich weil es sehr viel einfacher sein konnte, Apps in einer bestimmten Rubrik zu finden, wie E-Mail-Programme usw. Wir sprachen mit Leuten von FOSSASIA daruber, wie mehr asiatische Android-Entwickler dazu bewegt werden konnen, sich an F-Droid zu beteiligen. Wir sprachen mit einigen Leuten der FSFE aus Berlin uber free your android-Workshops und die Organisation eines F-Droid-Anwendertreffens in Berlin. Wir diskutierten uber split APKs, einschlielich daruber, wie Google Signierschlussel handhabt und ob sie alle Entwickler dazu auffordern, ihre Apps wegen der Groe aufzuteilen. Ein weiteres Thema war der Support der Anwender und ob es Gemeinsamkeiten zwischen App-Entwicklern und F-Droid gibt. Es gab einige Ideen zu einem Zusammenschluss, wie einen Hilfe-Button in F-Droid. Ein paar unmagebliche Varianten dieser Idee werden in #157: browse section of website should also provide links to F-Droid resources und #36: Use Discourse for comments beschrieben. Nach dem Kongress traf sich @Bubu mit einigen Mitarbeitern von Timeless/Repeatr. Sie machten sich daran, eine gebrauchsfertige F-Droid-Build-Umgebung im Timeless-Stack hinzubekommen. Es kam zu einigen grundlegenden Fortschritten hinsichtlich eines kleinen Android-App-Builds. Sie haben das Potential zu einer vernunftigeren Version von Docker zum Build von Dingen zu gelangen, sobald sie weiter ausgebaut werden. Beispielsweise konnten wir Timeless dazu nutzen, einen Container zu bauen, der alle buildserver-Anforderungen besitzt. Das ware wartungsarmer als Build-Dateien von Docker. Die Container rootfs konnen mit Docker wiederverwendet werden, um App-Builds mit dem F-Droid-Stack zu wiederholen. Courteney Cox approved of her Friends co-star Jennifer Aniston warmly reuniting with her ex-husband Brad Pitt and even alluded to them 'still loving each other'. The actress, 50, and the Snatch actor, 55, who divorced in 2005, smiled coyly as they affectionately greeted each other backstage at the Shrine Auditorium during the 26th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday. Scream actress Courteney, 55, has been avidly liking a series of posts about her pals' reunion including a tweet about the duo loving each other. Cute: Courteney Cox (L) approved of her Friends co-star Jennifer Aniston (R) warmly reuniting with her ex-husband Brad Pitt during the SAG Awards in LA on Sunday (pictured January 12) Courteney has also liked a number of sweet posts on proceeded to 'like' all four posts about Jen and Brad's handsy rendezvous on the popular Instagram account, Comments by Celebs. She knows a thing or two about rekindling romance, having split with her own fiance Johnny McDaid for six months back in 2015. The Scream alum remained friends with Pitt, who guest-starred in an episode titled 'The One with the Rumor' of their sitcom back in 2001. The Oklahoma-born heartthrob and the Valley Girl both took home trophies during Sunday's ceremony for their respective work in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Apple TV+ series Morning Show. Telling: She liked a tweet about the duo 'loving each other' Divorced in 2005: The 50-year-old actress (R) and the 56-year-old actor (L) smiled coyly as they affectionately greeted each other backstage at the Shrine Auditorium Rooting for them: 55-year-old Courteney proceeded to 'like' all four posts about Jen and Brad's handsy rendezvous on the popular Instagram account, Comments by Celebs 'I can see clearly now!' Cox knows a thing or two about rekindling romance, having split with her own fiance Johnny McDaid for six months back in 2015 (pictured December 31) Pals: The Scream alum always (controversially) remained friends with Pitt (L), who guest-starred in an episode titled 'The One with the Rumor' of their NBC sitcom back in 2001 'Let's be honest, it was a difficult part,' the Oscar-winning producer said during his best supporting actor acceptance speech. 'The guy who gets high, takes his shirt off and doesn't get on with his wife. It's a big stretch. Big.' Brad and Jen - who met in 1998 - ended their five-year marriage shortly after he wrapped production on the romantic spy comedy Mr. & Mrs. Smith with Angelina Jolie. Despite finalizing their divorce on April 12, Wine Spectator reported Pitt and the 44-year-old Oscar-winning actress are releasing a new rose from the French winery where they lived and wed, Chateau Miraval. Congrats! The Oklahoma-born heartthrob and the Valley Girl both took home trophies during Sunday's ceremony for their respective work in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Apple TV+ series Morning Show The Oscar-winning producer said during his speech: 'Let's be honest, it was a difficult part. The guy who gets high, takes his shirt off and doesn't get on with his wife. It's a big stretch. Big' On-set affair: Brad and Jen - who met in 1998 - ended their five-year marriage shortly after he wrapped production on the romantic spy comedy Mr. & Mrs. Smith with Angelina Jolie The couple formerly known as Brangelina also share custody of their six children Maddox, 18; Pax, 16; Zahara, 15; Shiloh, 13; and twins Knox & Vivienne, 11. For his role as stuntman Cliff Booth, the Ad Astra action star next competes for the best supporting actor trophy at the 92nd Academy Awards, which air February 9 on ABC. Brad (born William) goes head-to-head against A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood's Tom Hanks, The Two Popes' Anthony Hopkins, as well as The Irishman duo Al Pacino and Joe Pesci. Thirsty? Despite finalizing their divorce on April 12, Wine Spectator reported Pitt and the 44-year-old Oscar-winning actress are releasing a new rose from the French winery where they lived and wed, Chateau Miraval Allen Windfield Ellis, 81, of Waldorf, MD passed away at University of MD Charles Regional Hospital, La Plata, MD on January 17, 2020. Born on June 15, 1938 in Laurel, MD he was the son of the late Clarence Weckesser and the late Ruth Allen Weckesser. Allen proudly joined the Air Force at age 17 and served his country as a Firefighter until his honorable discharge in June, 1959. He met his beloved wife, Margaret C. Piazza in 1965. Allen and Margaret were married in June 1967 and they began their family, going on to raise one daughter. Together they celebrated 44 years of marriage before Margaret's passing in 2011. He continued his journey as a firefighter and supported his family working for the Prince George's County Fire Department, both the Hillside and Seat Pleasant Departments. He was so dedicated to serving his community, that he was also a volunteer firefighter. Allen's firefighting career spanned 22 years until his retirement in 1976. Allen was not one to ask for accolades but his heroic profession showered him with praise. Community was important to him, but making sure everyone went home to their families at the end of the shift was everything. With hands of steel and a soft heart, Allen gave his all to those suffering unfortunate circumstances. Allen was a die-hard Washington Redskins fan and never missed a game. Whether he cheered from the stands, or his couch he rooted for his beloved Skins no matter what their record showed. He also loved watching Law and Order which brought the detective out in him! A true Marylander, he thoroughly enjoyed picking and eating Southern Maryland blue crabs. He never turned down the opportunity to get elbow deep in the "old bay" crustaceans. Allen was a lifetime member of the Loyal Order of Moose Lodge, Clinton, MD and was very involved with their Men's Dinners. Allen is survived by his children, Deborah Ellis-Jones (Phyllis), Christie Nixon, Allen W. Ellis, Jr. and David Ellis; his brothers, Billy Weckesser and Rodney Weckesser, his sisters Ina Belcher and Melody Sweeney, his beloved grandson Jonathan Bartholomew (Jaclyn) and granddaughter Stacey Thacker. He is preceded in death by his wife, his parents, one brother Sonny Ellis and one sister Reola Dove. Allen's family will receive visitors for a Life Celebration on Wednesday, January 22, 2020 from 5pm to 8pm at Brinsfield Funeral Home & Crematory, P.A., 30195 Three Notch Road, Charlotte Hall, MD 20622. Firemen's Prayers will begin at 7pm, with Elaine Huttenloch, Chaplain of Prince Georges County Fire Department officiating. A Funeral Service will be held Thursday, January 23, 2020 at 11am, also at Brinsfield Funeral Home. Interment will immediately follow at Resurrection Cemetery, 8000 Woodyard Road, Clinton, MD 20735 where Allen will be laid to rest with his beloved wife. Arrangements by the Brinsfield Funeral Home & Crematory, P.A., Charlotte Hall, MD BUTTE COUNTY, Calif. A Chico Native came back to his stomping grounds to take part in 2nd Annual Butte County Restaurant Week. Butte County Restaurant week is running from January 19th through January 22nd. The theme for this year is perfect pairings. Action News Now had guest Troy Johnson, Food Network Judge, and Jason Colabove, Head chef and owner of Crush restaurant, talk about what you can look forward to during this years restaurant week. RELATED: 2nd annual Butte County restaurant week' kicks off Friday Most of you may know, Troy Johnson, as the judge on Food Networks show Guys Grocery Game and alumni from CSUC. But this week, Johnson will be indulging in delicious food at 25 different restaurants in Butte County. The great thing about restaurant week is that you get to try different foods at different restaurants, Johnson said. Johnson said after coming back from 22 years, there is a huge difference in how much the food has changed and evolved. After the fires a year and a half ago, the restaurants and the people who work their butt off in the restaurants are the people who really show up first, Johnson said. The main reason Johnson said he came back to Chico was to help support the restaurants that started to grow back again. I will be eating my way through 25 different restaurants all over Oroville, Johnson said. Crush restaurant will be putting together perfect pairings for Johnson on Tuesday, January 21st. Colabove created the perfect entree at Crush for Restaurant Week. There are two items, Grilled Italian Seabass and a Shortrib Stroganoff, on the menu being featured that would be paired perfectly with a glass of wine for $25. Restaurant week ends this Sunday, Jan. 26. Johnson will be taking over the "@explorebuttecounty" Instagram account until January 22nd. To judge the restaurants and enter for $200 gift certificate, CLICK HERE. The Egyptian FM said that the three countries will meet in Washington soon to discuss technical and legal issues for a final, comprehensive agreement Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry affirmed that the statement signed after the last round of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) negotiations in Washington does not constitute a new agreement on its own. Shoukry said that the negotiations defined the conceptual frameworks for an agreement, the positions that must be addressed, and various elements related to the issues of concern to the three parties. In an interview with MENA news agency in Washington, Shoukry said that the United States' mediation contributed to reaching common ground on the general framework agreement on the GERD. Following the three days of negotiations in Washington between the foreign and irrigation ministers of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan, Shoukry said that Egypt is "cautiously optimistic" about reaching a decisive point regarding the GERD. The Egyptian FM affirmed that another date for negotiations has been decided by the three countries on 28 and 29 January to discuss the technical and legal consultations linked to the final comprehensive version of the agreement. "The three countries have slated a date to reach an agreement after the next meeting in Washington within a timeframe that is not so long," Shoukry asserted. "We hope this will be the end. Egypt always deals in good faith and with a high level of understanding for other parties, but we consider this a vital issue that must be dealt with sincerity and precision in order to protect the interests of the Egyptian people and also the people of Sudan and Ethiopia," Shoukry said. The minister also affirmed that if a final agreement is not reached, then the articles of the Declaration of Principleswill remain in effect, and that the article on conflict resolution will certainly be activated. The final agreement on the Declaration of Principles between Egypt, Ethiopia And Sudan includes a mechanism for settling disputes, including consultation, negotiation, mediation and conciliation, all of which are tools stipulated by international law to settle any disputes that may arise over the interpretation or application of some provisions of the agreement. "I am optimistic that the sponsorship and participation of the United States and the World Bank in the preparatory period during the next two weeks will help finalise an agreement," Shoukry said. The Egyptian FM affirmed that US President Donald Trump attaches special significance to reaching an agreement and that he appreciates the importance of maintaining water security for both Egypt and Sudan as Nile basin countries, as well as what the dam might represent for Ethiopia's development. Shoukry said he expects President Trump will attend the signing of the final agreement. Shoukry pointed out that the Renaissance Dam negotiations had certainly taken a long time. "It was expected that an agreement would be reached on several past occasions, especially since Egypt had affirmed its keenness to see Ethiopia receive the full benefits of the dam in terms of development and electricity generation, while considering Egypt's water rights and ensuring the flow of water to both Egypt and Sudan," Shoukry said. The minister added that the most recent meetings held in the capitals of three countries, as well as the meeting in Washington, have contributed to reaching common ground on the general framework of the agreement. Shoukry explained that the consultations that spanned five years have created common understanding of the points of view of the involved parties. "We were hoping that things would happen faster to reach a final agreement in implementation of the principles agreement," Shoukry said. "But we are keen on not missing opportunities and maintaining relations between the three countries because there are many areas that we should take advantage of," the Egyptian foreign minister added. Shoukry pointed out that the idea of resorting to a mediator other than the US was not raised by neither the three parties nor the sponsoring parties during the Washington negotiations. Last Sunday, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed called on South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa to intervene in Ethiopia's dispute with Egypt in the dam issue. Following talks in the capital Pretoria, Abiy said he had requested Ramaphosa "mediate between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan" on the matter. "The consultations in Washington focused on the substantive issues related to the technical issues of filling and operating the dam and the needs of the two downstream countries Egypt, Sudan," Shoukry said. "Consequently, there was no mediation or sponsorship offered by any other party," he affirmed. Search Keywords: Short link: A Delhi court on Monday witnessed high drama after pronouncement of judgment in the case of physical and sexual assault of several girls in a shelter home in Bihar's Muzaffarpur, when one of the convicts threatened to commit suicide inside jail. Just as Additional Sessions Judge Saurabh Kulshrestha convicted key accused and local politician Brajesh Thakur and 18 others in the case, convict Ravi Roshan, the former child protection officer Muzaffarpur, broke down inside the courtroom. "I have not done any of the crimes told by you. I have not committed such shameful acts on the girls. You are sending me to jail for these acts. I will commit suicide inside the jail," he told the judge. The judge asked his counsel to console him. "Where is his counsel? I request the investigating officer and the jail authorities to please take him out," the judge said, adding, "You can approach the higher court against this judgment. It is your right." He was held guilty by the court for the offences of aggravated penetrative sexual assault under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, criminal conspiracy, rape, gang rape, causing hurt, abetment to rape under the Indian Penal Code, and section 75 (cruelty to children) of the Juvenile Justice Act. Just when Ravi Roshan threatened to end his life, some of the female convicts also started crying, to which the judge sternly directed the investigating officer and the jail authorities to take them out of the courtroom. "Please take them out. I don't want all the convicts to now start crying one by one," said the judge. All the 19 accused were taken out of the courtroom. Their counsel told them they will challenge the verdict in the higher court. The case was transferred in February 2019, from a local court in Muzaffarpur to a POCSO court at Saket district court complex in Delhi on the apex court's directions. The matter had come to light on May 26, 2018 after Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) submitted a report to the Bihar government highlighting the alleged sexual abuse of minor girls in the shelter home for the first time. The report had been submitted to the Bihar Social Welfare Department by TISS in February that year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) 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. Australia's bushfires and other climate change effects are devastating the habitats of critically endangered species and driving the native platypus towards extinction, according to surveys highlighting the country's vulnerability to rising temperatures. The unprecedented blazes that have swept through an area the size of Portugal have claimed 29 lives but also tested Australia's rich and often unique wildlife, with experts warning up to one billion creatures may have perished in the inferno. Even animals that survive the flames may take years to recover and experts have cautioned it is too early to assess the damage on the habitats of already endangered species. The government's initial efforts to chart the impact showed the blazes had affected the habitats of 32 species defined as critically endangered -- those which face an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. These were mainly plant species, but the habitats of frogs, turtles and three types of birds were also hit, according to the preliminary list published on Monday by the Department of the Environment and Energy. The survey showed 49 species had seen more than 80 percent of their known or likely habitat damaged in the fire zones. For a further 65 species, at least half of their habitat was affected. But Sally Box, the Threatened Species Commissioner at the department, warned it was still too early to offer a definitive assessment. "Some species are more vulnerable to fire than others and some areas were more severely burnt than others, so further analysis will be needed before we can fully assess the impact of the fires on the ground," she said. Officials have warned that the effect of the fires, which have already burned for months, will be crippling for farmers, with the livestock toll exceeding 100,000 across Australia and the future difficult to predict. Agronomist Daniel Pledge from Kangaroo Island off the coast of Adelaide in southern Australia has warned that the impact will stretch beyond the immediate agony of losing livestock to the flames. In what he described to AFP as a "snowball effect", farmers will need to buy extra feed, re-seed burned paddocks and -- perhaps most worryingly -- the stress will make animals less likely to conceive, the expert said. - 'Dinosaur trees' - Farmers have already been battered by a prolonged drought, which is also pushing the unique platypus population towards becoming extinct, according to another study published on Monday. The platypus, known for its duck-like bill, is already classed as "near threatened" and has vanished from up to 40 percent of its historical range on Australia's east coast due to drought, land clearing, pollution and dams. But scientists from the University of New South Wales' Centre for Ecosystem Science said damage to river systems caused by years of little rainfall and high temperatures had worsened prospects for the animal. Platypus numbers could fall up to 66 percent over the next 50 years. If projections about the accelerating rate of climate change are taken into account, this could rise to 73 percent. The experts said there was an "urgent need" for a national risk assessment to decide whether to downgrade the platypus to "vulnerable" status and chart conservation steps to "minimise any risk of extinction". In a rare piece of good news for Australia's charred landscape, it emerged last week that a secret operation by specialist firefighters had saved a group of prehistoric "dinosaur trees" from oblivion. The Wollemi Pine, which grows up to 40 metres (130 feet) high, is believed to have existed since the Jurassic Period 200 million years ago but fewer than 200 remain. As the fires approached, air tankers dropped fire retardant in a ring around the trees and firefighters were winched down to set up an irrigation system to protect the pines from encroaching flames. Some of the trees were charred, but the unique grove survived. "It's just been a phenomenal success story," said Matt Kean, environment minister for New South Wales state. burs-ric/sah/dm/axn/qan Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulates newly-elected BJP national president J.P. Nadda, after the latter was elected as the new chief of the BJP unit unopposed, at BJP headquarters in New Delhi on Monday. Veteran party leader L.K. Advani (2nd Left), defence minister Rajnath Singh (Left) and Union home minister Amit Shah (right) are also seen. (Photo: PTI) New Delhi: The BJP on Monday got its 11th national president in senior leader and former Union minister J.P. Nadda, whose leadership Prime Minister Narendra Modi said will give the organisation new energy, hope, and inspiration. As the new BJP president, Nadda thanked the organisation and the cadre and asserted that he will work day and night along with all the party workers to take the party to new heights. Congratulating Nadda, who succeed Amit Shah during whose tenure the BJP scaled glorious heights, Prime Minister Modi recalled how the BJPs foundation was built on sangathan aur sangarsh (organisation and hardship) and used the occasion to enthuse the party cadre and blamed the Opposition for the widespread anti-CAA protests. Though the PM did not name anyone, he slammed the Opposition parties and the ecosystem supporting them and asserted that despite attempts to spread confusion and lies, peoples faith in the BJP and his government have remains unshaken. Modi said the Oppositions problem is not that the BJP was making any mistake but that people continue to bless it. Ours is not some temporary party or political arrangement... Inspired by our ideals, we have been working for years and we will keep working in the years to come. There are some people who dislike the very principles which guide us. That is why, there are attempts to create problems. For them, the problem is that the people of India are with us. These are the same people rejected by the people of India. Those rejected by the people have limited means but one of them is to spread falsehoods. They have a full eco-system for that. BJP cadre have always drawn their strength from the people of India. We do not need to seek validation from an eco-system that will never accept us, said Modi and added that the party will face more challenges in the coming days than what it did while in the Opposition and asked BJP workers to reach out to the public more actively. After being elected unanimously as the new BJP president, Nadda said the BJPs target will be to come to power in the states where the party has not yet registered electoral success. He claimed that not only is the BJP different in its principles, but the results of those principles are different as well. Hundreds of BJP workers and supporters, many of whom had come from Naddas family home state, Himachal Pradesh, had gathered at the BJP headquarters. Many folk dancers from the hill state were also seen performing outside the party office to congratulate the new BJP president. Thanking the BJP leadership and the cadre for his nomination, Nadda said, Today we are the worlds largest party that is in power in India. We have the highest number of MPs and MLAs in the country. We are not going to stop at this. There are some states left and we have set our aim there. We will make sure we reach to them as well. Earlier, the Prime Minister Modi recalled how he and Nadda used to travel together on scooter when Modi was in-charge of the state and described the new party president as an old colleague. Modi also said that Nadda is as much from Bihar, where he was born, as he is from Himachal Pradesh, his familys native state, and both the states are feeling proud that he is leading the BJP. Earlier, Union home minister Amit Shah said the BJP stands apart in India because it does not function on casteism or nepotism. If you look at other parties, every party is family-based and is promoting their own people. Only BJP promotes every worker based on sheer quality and love for motherland, said Shah. Other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi, J.P. Nadda and Amit Shah, party veterans L.K. Advani and M.M. Joshi, Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari and Thawarchand Gehlot, general secretary (organisation) B.L. Santosh, former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan were also present on the dais. Former Union minister and in-charge of the organisational election process, Radha Mohan Singh was also present. Soft-spoken, affable and low-key, the newly elected BJP president is a quintessential organisation man who is expected to consolidate the rapid gains the party has made under his predecessor Amit Shah. He takes over at a time when the BJP is witnessing vigorous challenge from a united opposition in Assembly elections amid signs that it needs to rejig its electoral strategy following a string of losses in state polls. SEOUL, South Korea Shin Kyuk-ho, who built a chewing-gum business into the hugely successful Lotte Group in South Korea and Japan, only to see his sons squabble over the corporate empire, died on Sunday in Seoul. He was 98. The company, South Koreas fifth-largest business conglomerate, announced the death. Mr. Shin was the last of the rags-to-riches founders of South Koreas major family-run conglomerates, or chaebol, and his death represented the end of an era for many South Koreans. Charismatic chaebol tycoons like Mr. Shin were credited with engineering the dramatic industrialization that transformed the country into one of Asias leading economies after the destruction of the Korean War in the 1950s. Like other chaebol founders, Mr. Shins beginnings were humble. He was born in a rural village in Ulsan, in the southeast of what is now South Korea, in 1921, when the country was still languishing under Japans colonial rule. He was the eldest son in a family with 10 children. The young Mr. Shin had a literary bent, and yearned to become a novelist. He was raising pigs in his village after graduating from an agricultural high school when he decided to stow away in a ship to Japan in 1941 to pursue a literary career there. Nollywood actress Oma Nnadi has taken to social media to advise parents to be careful with what they feed their kids with. This came after she bought a baby yoghurt to feed her child only to discover a disgusting substance inside the yoghurt. Read Also: Do Not Let Anyone Kill You In Name Of Love Iheoma Nnadi Advises Sharing photos, Oma wrote; So I didnt bother buying baby yogurt from the states since we have them in my dear country . This is what I saw today when I opened one to feed my girl, this is what I found. even with the fact its not expired ooooo. waohh dear Nigeria. @nafdac_ng Do your jobs before kids eat poison in this country please .. imagine a good looking of this yogurt, fed to your child , what it will develop to in her system. pathetic. please share and continue to tag nafdac for the safety of our children in this country. A warning notice about China coronavirus, a pneumonia-like illness, at the entrance to the emergency room at Incheon Medical Center, west of Seoul, Monday. /Yonhap By Bahk Eun-ji The first case of China coronavirus has been confirmed in Korea amid growing concerns that the disease will spread here, according to the health authorities, Monday. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said a Chinese woman, who lives in Wuhan, the capital of China's central Hubei Province, where the virus appears to have originated, tested positive for the virus when she arrived at Incheon International Airport from the city, Jan. 20. The woman showed symptoms of the illness, including high fever and respiratory problems, the KCDC said. Following confirmation of the case, the disease control center said it had elevated its alert level by one notch and ordered the local authorities to strengthen monitoring of the illness. "The patient was identified in the quarantine stage so there was no exposure to the community," the KCDC said in a statement. "Passengers and aircraft crew, who came in to contact with her, have been notified and will be actively monitored by their local public health center." Jammu and Kashmirs Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbagh Singh has backed Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Bipin Rawats idea of starting a programme for counter-radicalisation of youth in the union territory. Asked if there is a need for de-radicalisation centres in Kashmir, Singh said such camps would help those who have gone astray. If any such facility comes up in Kashmir that will be a good sign, it should happen. Itll definitely help people, especially those who have gone astray, Singh said according to ANI. If some sensible kind of arrangement is made where good people from the civil society and experts who deal with the subject and relevant aspects of religion and other things... I think that will be a good development. That kind of things should be welcomed, the police chief said. Also Watch: Owaisi hits out at Gen Rawat over his deradicalisation statement At the Raisinha Dialogue last week, General Rawat had said that young boys and girls are being radicalized in Kashmir but they could still be isolated from radicalisation in a gradual manner and that sources of radicalisation need to be found out and treated. While the government has not commented on General Rawats remark, Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, CPI (M) leader in Kashmir asked the Centre on Saturday to come clear on the de-radicalisation camps operating in India and alleged that they were illegal and unconstitutional. On Saturday, the Centre launched an outreach programme in Jammu and Kashmir, deputing 36 Union ministers to visit various places to spread awareness about central schemes after the government scrapped Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and it bifurcated into two union territories on August 5, 2019. The outreach programme will last till January 23. Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, said he had always been ready lose the public money that supported his lavish lifestyle but admitted it pained him to have to give up the military titles and patronages he was awarded after serving two tours in Afghanistan with the British Army. (Photo | AFP) London: Britains Prince Harry expressed great sadness on Sunday at he and his wife Meghan being stripped of their royal titles as part of a historic separation settlement with the Queen. But he said he saw no other way out but to give up his royal role in search of a more peaceful life with his American former actress wife and baby son Archie. It brings me great sadness that it has come to this, Harry told supporters of his Africa-based charity in London. His emotional first remarks since the separation were aimed at calming a crisis that has shaken the very foundations of Britains ancient monarchy. Harry also confessed to some trepidation at taking the momentous step of resigning from daily duties and charting a new life abroad. He said he had always been ready lose the public money that supported his lavish lifestyle but admitted it pained him to have to give up the military titles and patronages he was awarded after serving two tours in Afghanistan with the British Army. He read from prepared remarks and appeared tense as he sought understanding from a nation that has had a soft spot for him since his childhoodand which now appeared confused by his decision to leave his royal life behind. We are taking a leap of faiththank you for giving me the courage to take this next step, he said. The Megxit crisis began on January 8 when the couples plans to seek a progressive new role in North America were announced without Queen Elizabeth IIs royal assent. I know I havent always gotten it right, but as far as this goes, there really was no other option, Harry said. Absolutely unprecedented The couple lost their right to be called his and her royal highness (HRH) -- much as Harrys late mother Princess Diana did when she divorced Prince Charles in another family drama that upset the Queen in 1996. They further agreed to repay 2.4 million ($3.1 million) of taxpayers money spent on renovating their Frogmore Cottage home near Windsor Castle. No royal has ever paid back money, former royal press secretary Dickie Arbiter wrote in The Sun on Sunday. It is absolutely unprecedented. But Arbiter said it was the loss of the HRH royal highness abbreviation that really made Palace history. Even when Edward VIII abdicated (in 1936) he dropped from being His Majesty The King to HRH the Duke of Windsor, he said. Lost souls Few know what Meghana global star with a huge social media following and A-list celebrity friends such as Oprah Winfrey and the Obamasthinks of the British brouhaha about ancient acronyms. The 38-year-old frankly admitted on UK television in October that she really tried to adopt this British sensibility of a stiff upper lip. But she admitted sadly: Thats not the point of life. Harry has also talked about still being haunted by his mothers death in a 1997 car crash involving a chasing pack of paparazzi. He and Meghan filed a series of lawsuits against UK media outlets in Octobera step that outraged the tabloids and renewed debates about the royals role in public life. One of these involved a UK paper that published fragments of a private letter Meghan had sent her estranged father Thomas Markle after her Windsor wedding to Harry in May 2018. Thomas told Britains Channel 5 over the weekend that he found Meghans decision to quit the royals embarrassing. I think both of them are turning into lost souls, her father said. The Queen isnt sure The expensive lawsuits and the possibility that they might have to start paying for their top-notch security detail raise the immediate question of how they will make ends meet. The Daily Telegraph reported on Monday that Prince Charles would probably continue paying his son some money from his private income for the next year. Harry has undisclosed millions of pounds in savings and Meghan has enjoyed a lucrative acting career. She is now also thinking of starting her own line of health and wellness products. The Sunday Times asked a royal aide if Harry and Meghan will be able to cash in on the Sussex Royal brand they trademarked in December. That is still one of the areas being worked through, the royal aide told the paper. That translates as: The Queen isnt at all sure, The Sunday Times wrote. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announces new sanctions on Iran, at the White House in Washington, on Jan. 10, 2020. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images) Pompeo: American Diplomatic Staffer Dies Following Boating Accident in Colombia Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday confirmed an American staffer from the U.S. Mission in Colombia died after a boating accident. To my entire State Department team, Susan and I are with you in your grief, Pompeo told reporters in Bogota, the countrys capital. You have my word the Department will do everything in our power to comfort and support those who have suffered from this devastating loss. The top U.S. diplomat said the accident occurred Saturday and said other American personnel were involved. They suffered modest injuries, he said, adding that one was airlifted back to the United States for medical care. The worker who died was not identified by Pompeo, who added that his next of kin was notified. We appreciate the Colombian Governments continued search-and-rescue operation in search of the missing American employee, the Department of State told CNN. Other government personnel, some assigned to Colombia and others visiting, were rescued from the capsized boat, some sustaining moderate injuries, the spokesperson said. We express our gratitude to the private citizens and Colombian military for rescuing the employees. Colombian President Ivan Duque said the Navy, Coast Guard, and other agencies are involved in the search effort. Pompeo also said he is looking forward to meeting with Venezuelan interim president Guan Guaido and repeated his call for the removal of dictator Nicolas Maduro. The world must continue to support the Venezuelan peoples efforts to restore their democracy and put an end to Maduros tyranny, which harms millions of Venezuelans, and has an impact on Colombia, and indeed, the entire region, Pompeo said in Bogota. Guaido wrote on social media that he traveled to Colombia and met with President Duque. Virginia residents braced for a possible repeat of the deadly violence that resulted at the 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, which left a woman dead and 28 injured, as a gun rally was planned in the state's capitol on Monday -- the same day as the Martin Luther King holiday. The rally is being held in protest of gun control measures that have been drawn up by the state's newly Democrat-controlled legislature. In anticipation of it, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency. 'Your 2nd Amendment is under very serious attack in the Great Commonwealth of Virginia,' President Donald Trump tweeted on Friday. 'Thats what happens when you vote for Democrats, they will take your guns away. Republicans will win Virginia in 2020. Thank you Dems!' In response to the concerns, several militia leaders with large followings on social media who attended that Charlottesville rally said they were coming purely to show their support for those opposed to the state's new, more restrictive gun laws. Police stand guard near an entrance to the Virginia State Capitol grounds before a Monday rally by gun rights advocates and militia members in Richmond on Sunday 'Your 2nd Amendment is under very serious attack in the Great Commonwealth of Virginia,' President Donald Trump tweeted on Friday. 'Thats what happens when you vote for Democrats, they will take your guns away. Republicans will win Virginia in 2020. Thank you Dems!' A list of prohibited items is posted at the entrance to the capitol grounds on the even of the gun rights rally to be held onb Monday, which is also the Martin Luther King holiday A sign warns visitors not to enter the Virginia State Capitol building with their firearms as security ramps up before a Monday rally by gun rights advocates and militia members 'If you think that we're a threat coming into your city, then you don't know who we are, you don't understand what we're about,' said Joshua Shoaff, who has over 542,000 Facebook followers and goes by the pseudonym Ace Baker. 'We're not anarchists - we believe in government.' Other leaders of well-known militias also vowed they were not seeking confrontations in Richmond. But police warned that among those they know to be attending are known neo-Nazis and other groups who may seek to hijack the gun-rights gathering. Authorities say they are expecting several thousand people and are trying to keep the event from becoming violent. Virginia Governor Ralph Northam this week temporarily banned all weapons from the area around the Capitol ahead of the demonstration. Todd Gilbert, the Republican leader in Virginia's House of Delegates, said in a statement on Saturday that violence was not welcome during Monday's rally. A visitor holds up a sign urging kindness while she is photographed on the steps of the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond before Monday's rally by gun rights advocates and militia members Joshua Shoaff, who has over 542,000 Facebook followers and goes by the pseudonym Ace Baker, said in response to concerns, 'If you think that we're a threat coming into your city, then you don't know who we are, you don't understand what we're about' Gun rights advocates and militia members attend a pre-rally dinner in Richmond on Sunday Gun rights advocates and militia members pray at a pre-rally dinner in Richmond on Sunday 'Any group that comes to Richmond to spread white supremacist garbage, or any other form of hate, violence, or civil unrest isn't welcome here,' he said. 'While we and our Democratic colleagues may have differences, we are all Virginians and we will stand united in opposition to any threats of violence or civil unrest from any quarter.' Virginia Governor Ralph Northam this week temporarily banned all weapons from the area around the Capitol ahead of the demonstration Monday's rally is being organized by the Virginia Citizens Defense League, a pro-gun rights group that annually comes out in force to lobby Virginia's legislature to not pass any new gun laws. The group is working closely with police, according to law enforcement officials, in an effort to pull off a smooth event - but they have called for tens of thousands of armed citizens to come to the event, hiking tensions. President Donald Trump backed the rally organizers in a Twitter post on Friday in which he said the U.S. Constitution was under attack by recent gun control measures in Virginia, a state that Hilary Clinton won in 2016 and where Democrats took full control of the state legislature for the first time in a generation in November. A gun rights activist with a 'Guns Save Lives' sticker talks with a policeman outside the Virginia State Capitol grounds before a Monday rally by gun rights advocates and militia members. Groups coming are working closely with police, according to law enforcement officials Thomas Speciale, who is preparing to run in the upcoming Republican primary for a U.S. Senate seat, wears a 'Guns Save Lives' hat in front of the Virginia State Capitol building before a Monday rally by gun rights advocates and militia members 'Your 2nd Amendment is under very serious attack in the Great Commonwealth of Virginia,' Trump wrote in the post, referring to the amendment in the Bill of Rights that gives Americans the right to keep and bear firearms. 'That's what happens when you vote for Democrats, they will take your guns away.' Trump's tweets in support of the rally also came as he lashed out at billionaire Mike Bloomberg, who's entered the 2020 presidential race, for criticizing a former FBI agent-turned-volunteer security guard who took down the gunman in a fatal church shooting in Texas in December. In a tweet late on Sunday, Trump said Bloomberg was against the Second Amendment and referred to his opponent in the presidential contest as 'Mini Mike Bloomberg'. In a tweet late on Sunday, Trump said Bloomberg was against the Second Amendment and referred to his opponent in the presidential contest as 'Mini Mike Bloomberg' 'Now Mini Mike Bloomberg is critical of Jack Wilson, who saved perhaps hundreds of people in a Church because he was carrying a gun, and knew how to use it. Jack quickly killed the shooter, who was beginning a rampage. Mini is against the 2nd A. His ads are Fake, just like him!' Trump tweeted. The Virginia Senate late on Thursday passed bills to require background checks on all firearms sales, limit handgun purchases to one a month, and restore local governments' right to ban weapons from public buildings and other venues. Both Virginia legislative houses are also expected to pass 'red flag' laws that would allow courts and local law enforcement to remove guns from people deemed a risk to communities, among other measures. Facebook is learning first-hand about the limitations of modern translation technology. The social media firm has apologized after people discovered that that translating Chinese President Xi Jinping's name from Burmese to English led to him being called "Mr. Shithole" -- no, we're not kidding. The company blamed a "technical issue" for the flaw. It didn't have Xi Jinping's name in its Burmese database and made a wild stab at the translation, where it clearly fell apart. Other words starting with "xi" or "shi" also led to "shithole" translations. The company added that it was working to "fix this as quickly as possible." Google's translation engine didn't have a similar problem. It's hard not to laugh a little at the slip-up, especially when Xi Jinping is known to be sensitive to ridicule. However, Facebook's Burmese translation flaws have also highlighted the company's problems addressing the anti-Muslim violence in Myanmar. In one case, a post calling for genocide was interpreted as "I shouldn't have a rainbow in Myanmar." More accurate translations can not only avoid embarassment, but help document and defend against horrible acts. During a ceremony that was held on Tuesday, January 15, 2019, Turkey has donated armored vehicles and security equipment to Albanian police rapid response teams. The Police forces of Albania have taken delivery of armored vehicles and security equipment from Turkey. (Picture source Anadolu News Agency) According to Turkish media, six armored vehicles and 10 Land Rover vehicles were donated to the Albanian Police. There are also clothes, helmets, shields and a series of other types of equipment that will be used by Albanian special forces. In addition to vehicles, Turkey also donated gas masks, various protective equipment, bulletproof vests, and other equipment to be used especially by rapid response teams. According to our first analysis of the picture released on the Anadolu News Agency, the vehicles delivered to the Albanian Police seems to be the ISV, Internal Security Vehicles in water cannon variant manufactured by the Turkish Company Otokar. The Water Cannon Variant has a cab for the driver and the operator made of armor steel at the front with the water cannon equipment located behind it. The vehicle is fitted with an auxiliary engine located at the rear to drive the water pump that powers the system. The tanks, auxiliary engine and the rest of the system components are encapsulated under a high-hardness steel shell providing protection against thrown objects. The Land Rover is a 4x4 tactical vehicle specially designed to be used in off-road conditions. The Cargo variant delivered to the Albanian Police has a crew cabin at the front and cargo area at the rear. China Will Dominate Blockchain Blockchain is entering a pivotal year in 2020, a period that will decide not just the future of crypto currency, but blockchain and the very idea of decentralisation. Chinas national blockchain network has taken another step forward in the global technology race. President Xi Jinping called on his country to seize the opportunity in order to become a leader in blockchain technology as it tries also to be an artificial intelligence (AI) leading developer. Chinas nationwide blockchain network, the Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN), will launch in April 2020, six months after it was tested. Backed by Chinese government policy think tank the State Information Center (SIC), the ambitious project aims to provide a trusted and scalable infrastructure for supporting new blockchain projects as well as the development of smart cities and the digital economy. As blockchain reaches a scaling watershed, theres one key differentiation that the world will come to acknowledge, one that enthusiasts are likely already very familiar with, the difference between Bitcoin, Ethereum and other decentralising technologies. Bitcoins ascension to digital gold has been astounding, and has signaled the beginning of a whole new techno-economic era. But digital gold is just that, a beginning. China is also viewing the Potential for Global Economic Recession Economic uncertainty has been looming over the globe for years. Its not so much a matter of if, but when the house of cards tumbles with major worldwide implications. Europe will likely be the first to hit recession. One look at the five biggest economies in the region and its clear. Germanys Deutschebank is on life support. The United Kingdom has been eating itself with Brexit for years. France is in a state of constant protest. The Spanish and Italian economies are drowning. The European Union is by now only nominally a union, and growing divisions will leave many nations especially vulnerable. Now Blockchain is Chinas state policy for a step ahead Tang Sisi, deputy head of the Smart City Development Research Center of the Chinas State Information Center (SIC), announced the news at the China Urban Regulation Innovation Forum in early January, Chinese finance-focused publication Sina Finance reported on Jan. 7. According to the executive, the BSN will be officially launched for commercial operation in April after the network was first released for internal beta testing in October 2019. The BSN network is an interregional public infrastructure network that was jointly developed by the SIC, major Chinas state-run telecom China Mobile and the Chinese government-supported payment card network China UnionPay, among others. China to further strengthen blockchain adoption with the project During the internal testing period between October 2019 and March 2020, the BSN network is reportedly set to involve a total of 400 enterprises and 600 developers, Sina says. First piloted in the city of Hangzhou, the capital of east China's Zhejiang province, the BSN specifically intends to reduce technical and economic costs associated with developing blockchain adoption. As the Chinese government has been gradually improving its blockchain adoption and expertise, the establishment of a new national grade blockchain network is apparently an important milestone in its approach. Token Post: Coin Telegraph: Money.com You Might Also Read: Using Blockchain Helps Secure Data Against Attacks: China Dominates Global Investment In AI: DAVOS A parade of billionaires, CEOs, world leaders and hangers-on has now arrived in Davos, Switzerland, bearing skis, packed schedules and deep concerns about the global economy. PwC's annual Global CEO survey 1,581 CEOs across 83 territories was conducted in the fall and released tonight as the World Economic Forum opened. It makes for some pretty alarming reading. The big picture: 53% of CEOs expect global economic growth to decline in 2020, up from 29% in 2019 and just 5% in 2018. Their views of their own companies prospects were the bleakest since 2009. That sentiment was spread across all regions, though CEOs in the Asia-Pacific are most optimistic and North American CEOs least so. What theyre worried about: CEOs in the Asia-Pacific view trade conflicts as the top threat to their organizations bottom lines, while geopolitical uncertainty is the top concern in the Middle East, populism ranks first in Latin America, policy uncertainty in Africa and cyber threats in North America. as the top threat to their organizations bottom lines, while is the top concern in the Middle East, ranks first in Latin America, in Africa and in North America. Over-regulation is the biggest concern among CEOs in Europe, and also finishes top in the global average. What theyre doing about it: Trade conflicts didnt even register as a top 10 concern until last year, but are now top-of-mind, particularly in China. Chinese CEOs who are extremely concerned about trade conflicts are far more likely to say theyre shifting production to alternative territories than a year ago (44% then, 63% now). Among "extremely concerned" U.S. CEOs, 50% are adjusting supply chains but just 23% are moving production, while 34% aren't making any changes at all (compared to 5% in China). Worth noting: Chinese CEOs now list Australia, not the U.S., as the most important country for their growth prospects. What they foresee: CEOs around the world expect massive changes for big tech. By 2022, most anticipate more regulations (71%), including on social media, the break-up of dominant firms (63%), and compensation of individual users for their data (51%). While companies are eager to stress their climate consciousness while in Davos, just 24% of CEOs are extremely concerned about climate change. In China, though, the percentage of CEOs who see new opportunities for their companies through climate change initiatives has jumped from 2% in 2010 to 47% now far higher than in Germany (20%) or the U.S. (15%). Who's coming to Davos 15,000 total attendees (3,000 of them with official invitations) including 100 billionaires and 53 heads of state or government, per Politico. Climate will dominate the official agenda. I eavesdropped on a few attendees tonight discussing whom they most wanted to see, and Greta Thunberg was the consensus pick. Soon after, placard-waving climate protesters chanted their way through the streets Several panels will also be dedicated to inequality and human rights. Between the lines: The irony of the uber-rich and super-powerful arriving by private jet to discuss these topics in a proudly exclusive setting (there are at least 10 tiers of access badge) is lost on no one. But the sheer concentration of power and wealth in one Alpine town makes Davos, now in its 50th year, a hard-to-match destination for deal-making and consensus-building. Trump in town Davos opened this evening on the third anniversary of President Trump's inauguration, and on the eve of impeachment proceedings that will likely be watched more closely than his speech on Tuesday morning. The big picture: Trumps America First populism and climate skepticism are anathema to the Davos set, but his tax cuts and economic record are not. Two candidates who scare many CEOs more than Trump Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are among the top contenders in the Iowa caucuses, which begin two weeks from today. Kellyanne Conway told reporters ahead of Trumps trip that he planned to take on the perils of socialism right there in Davos, while heralding his NAFTA replacement deal and partial trade agreement with China. Trump's Davos dance card: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan Iraqi President Barham Salih Kurdistan Regional Government President Nechirvan Barzani Swiss President Simonetta Sommaruga World Economic Forum Founder Klaus Schwab Also heading to Davos: Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who is defying a travel ban and may struggle to re-enter Venezuela. Two trained spaniels have found seven koalas alive in an Australian forest that was affected by wildfires. The area of forest at Maryvale on Queenslands Southern Downs is being searched by springer spaniels Taz and Missy, who are trained to sniff out koala excrement. During the first morning at the Maryvale property, Taz located fresh koala excrement, which led to the team finding a koala with her infant. Olivia Woosnam, a koala conservation ecologist, said: The joey was out of the pouch and independent. They were in the same tree and they were moving around and seemed okay, we did a visual check of them and weve got no immediate concern for their safety. The team searched more than 10km of forest on the first day, finding another adult male and adult female. Staff in a nearby building are leaving out watering stations for the koalas. Ms Woosnam said: There isnt much leaf and therefore not much moisture at all, so theyd be getting thirsty. Dr Stuart Blanch, senior manager of land clearing and restoration, for WWF Australia, said: Finding seven koalas alive amid the destruction in just two days is an encouraging start. Its great to see that some koalas are surviving the fires and they can recolonise the forest as it regrows. The team explained that there is lush new leaf emerging in the forest, and evidence found that koalas are feeding on the new growth. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a plea by death row convict Pawan Kumar Gupta who claimed that he was a minor when the gangrape and murder of a 23-year-old paramedical student inside a moving bus occurred on December 16, 2012. A bench of Justice R. Banumathi, Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice A.S. Bopanna said that a plea which has been earlier given up (by Pawan) could not be resurrected. It was referring to the order of the trial court, the Delhi High Court and the top court during the hearing of Pawans plea seeking the reconsideration of May 5, 2017. Noting that this was not the first time that Pawan Gupta has raised the plea of juvenility, the Supreme Court referred to the earlier orders passed by different courts and said said, In our view, the learned single judge of the Delhi High Court rightly dismissed the revision petition. We do not find any ground warranting interference with the impugned order. The court referred to the orders passed by the Metropolitan Magistrate on January 10, 2013, March 13, 2014, judgment of the High Court and the July 9, 2018 order passed by the Supreme Court, rejecting the plea of Pawan being juvenile at the time when the horrific offence was committed. Pawan had moved the top court against Delhi High Court verdict rejecting his plea that he was juvenile at the time the crime was committed. Pawan Gupta had raised the issue of his being juvenile when the paramedical student was gang-raped by the four, including Mukesh, Akshay Kumar Singh and Vinay Sharma. Appearing for Pawan Gupta, advocate A.P. Singh told the court that based on the school record Pawan was born on October 8, 1996, and was juvenile on the day the crime was committed. Pawan had studied at Gyatri Bal Sansakar Shala in Uttar Pradesh and the school record including admission register and the certificate issued by the school show that his date of birth is October 8, 1995, Singh told the court that same was verified by Delhi Police including by the deputy commissioner of police. He referred to three earlier judgments of the top court to back his argument that proof of an accused being a juvenile at the time of an offence was committed could be produced at any stage or point of time even after the pronouncement of verdict including plea for its reconsideration. Appearing for Delhi police, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta while not disputing that the issue that an accused in a crime was a juvenile when an offence was committed could be raised at any time but not repeatedly. He took the court through the record of the case contending that the issue Pawan was raising now has been agitated on past occasions. The Solicitor General said that it would be travesty of justice if Pawan was allowed to raise this issue at this stage of the case. Two police officers were shot dead in the Diamond Head area of Honolulu, Hawaii, on Sunday. A huge fire has also broken out in the neighbourhood, Russia Today tweeted. "I would like to express my deepest condolences to the family and friends of the two officers as well as the entire Honolulu Police Department," Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell tweeted. "This is an unprecedented tragedy for not only the City and County of Honolulu but the entire state of Hawaii," he posted. The officers killed were responding to a report of assault when they confronted by a man wielding a firearm. The suspect then opened fire and struck both officers. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) ROME - The commission for Italy's participation in Expo 2020 Dubai is joining in the celebration of the 100th anniversary of Federico Fellini's birth. In honour of the most well-known director in Italian history, the Italian Commissioner's logo appears on social media with a scarf and hat in the style of the filmmaker from Rimini. Starting on October 20, during the six months of Expo 2020 Dubai, the Italy Pavilion will celebrate the greatness of Italian cinema and its protagonists, including the master of "La Dolce Vita" and "8 1/2". In a statement, the Italian Commission said the "Innovation Hub" that Italy will bring to Expo 2020 will have dedicated spaces, big and small events for adults and children, and educational opportunities to showcase professions in the visual arts, thereby promoting production and jobs in the sector. Winbak Farm of Ontario has announced the details of an upcoming stallion showcase and open house at the farm. The event has been scheduled for February 9 and will be taking place from 12:00 - 3:00 p.m. and the stallion showcase in particular will be from 2:00 - 2:30 p.m. Potential breeders are encouraged to come to the farm and meet the 11 stallions that Winbak Farm will be standing in 2020. Winbak Farm is introducing four new stallions, Jimmy Freight, McWicked, Stag Party and The Bank. Event attendees will also be able to meet and visit proven sires of stakes winners including Archangel, Artspeak, Betterthancheddar, Bettors Delight, My MVP, Royal Mattjesty and Shadow Play. Fans will also have a chance to visit Angus Hall and wish him a happy retirement. The event will be a great opportunity to gain insight on the stallions including breeding contracts and syndicate information. The guest emcee will be Ken Middleton, who is well known for his race calling. Monique Vag, who is an important member of the Woodbine Mohawk Park broadcast team, will be the guest host. There will be industry related interviews with owners, trainers and drivers. There will be special giveaways and raffles throughout the day. Drinks and snacks will be available. Winbak Farm of Ontario is located at 14709 Hurontario St, Inglewood, Ontario L7C 2E2. Any questions should be directed to Pat Woods, Winbak Farm of Ontario manager, at [email protected] or call him at 905-838-2145. (Winbak Farm of Ontario) NORWALK A suspicious fire at a Connecticut Avenue barbershop just a few weeks before its grand opening is now being investigated by police as arson. Lt. Tom Mattera, commander of the Norwalk Police Detective Bureau, said Monday his unit is now leading the investigation into a December fire that destroyed the inside of the building at 108 Connecticut Ave. The initial investigation leads us to believe that this fire did not start on its own, Mattera said. Fire Marshal Broderick Sawyer confirmed the city fire department passed the investigation to police, though he said marshals will still collaborate on the case with detectives and the State Fire Marshals Office. Sawyer declined to comment further on the case due to the ongoing investigation. No one was injured in the fire, which occurred around 1 a.m. on Dec. 29. Foul play had been suspected in the case as soon as the day after the blaze, according to Fire Inspector Dale Roos, who oversaw the early stages of the probe. The building, a one-story, former liquor store, was in the final stages of renovation as a barbershop. While Roos said the building is believed to be structurally sound, its interior and everything that had been inside were a complete loss. Manish Patel, who owns the building, could not be reached Monday for comment. Patel said last month that everything was in order and his new tenant was expected to soon open the business. Victor Santiago, who was expected to open the barbershop, also could not be reached on Monday. The building is owned by a limited liability company controlled by the Patel family. They bought the building in 2005 for $420,000 and ran Norwalk Wine & Spirits there before moving the package store a short distance up Connecticut Avenue where it remains in business today. The barbershop building was last appraised for about $500,000 and was listed in July for sale for $750,000. By Express News Service VISAKHAPATNAM: With the decision on the three-capital proposal barely a few hours away, rallies and meetings were organised across the district on Sunday. A rally, led by Tourism Minister Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao alias Avanthi, was taken out at Tagarapuvalsa. Addressing the rally, the minister said that backward north Andhra region would develop by leaps and bounds with the executive capital in Vizag. Keen to ensure equitable development of all 13 districts, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy made the right proposal, he pointed out. The minister said that the state government fulfilled most of the election promises within five months after coming to power, the minister said, adding five lakh house pattas will be given to poor people by Ugadi. Candlelight rallies were organised at Vedulla Narava and Duvvada in 57th ward in Gajuwaka to thank the Chief Minister for initiating development of north Andhra by making Visakhapatnam as executive capital. Meanwhile, a round table, organised by various trade unions, felt development was possible only with decentralisation of administration. Dravidian University former vice chancellor KS Chalam said the government should take steps to ensure economic upliftment of fishermen, tribals and slum dwellers. The speakers said that about 75 per vcent reservation of jobs generated in the region should be given to local people. Meanwhile, TDP workers staged a demonstration at Gandhi statue near Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation office in support of capital at Amaravati and to make Visakhapatnam only as the financial capital. TDP leaders under house arrest SRIKAKULAM: Reacting to the call of Amaravati protection committee to besiege the Assembly on Monday, leaders of TDP and other opposition parties were planning to leave for Amaravati on Sunday. To prevent them from going to Amaravati on Monday, the police arrested several leaders at their houses as part of preventive arrests. Former government whip Kuna Ravi Kumar, Patapatnam former MLA Kalamata Venkata Ramana and other leaders have been rounded up on Sunday. Michigan defense attorneys who deal with driving under the influence (DUI) cases say their phones are ringing off the hook. The calls are from clients wondering whether their drunk driving cases might be affected by a bombshell announcement made last week by the Michigan State Police. The agency says it has halted the use of 203 breathalyzer machines, and its accusing the contractor involved of possible fraud. MSP has opened its own criminal investigation into Intoximeters Inc., which calibrates the states DataMaster breathalyzer machines. It cited performance-related issues that might point to wider issues with the way the devices were serviced. Now many agencies have to use blood draws instead of breathalyzers as the machines are investigated. Which means more time and resources being devoted to individual drunk driving traffic stops. The issue could go all the way back to the beginning of MSPs $1.3 million dollar yearly contract with Intoximeters, which was signed in late 2018. Listen to Roth and Nehers conversation on the DataMaster debate above. But several defense attorneys say Michigan State Police should not be in charge of any investigation into the matter, and are accusing MSP of a conflict of interest as they investigate one of their own contractors. The attorneys are calling for an independent investigation into the matter. Farmington Hills-based defense attorney Michael Komorn specializes in DUI and cannabis cases. He says an independent investigation would also help with the question of what happens to the countless DUI cases that might be affected by this. If we have a full investigation by an independent body, maybe they would make a recommendation, says Komorn. That is a better way of going about it where an independent body identifies those who have been harmed, if people have been harmed, and they put forth a remedy of some kind, some redress for people versus some finding thats in question. Neil Rockind agrees. Hes a Bloomfield Hills-based attorney who specialized in DUI cases. I would never allow one of my children to conduct an investigation into whether he or she did something wrong in my house, says Rockind. The idea that were even having a conversation about whether its appropriate to have the Michigan State Police conduct a criminal investigation of its own breath testing program and its own contractors is sort of ludicrous. Independence is the hallmark of our ability to have confidence in any given result, says East Lansing-based defense attorney Mike Nichols. He points to bills in the state Legislature that call for a forensic science commission as a possible vehicle for an independent investigation. We could easily add to those bills a panel to conduct such an investigation, and quite frankly take a look at rewriting our entire statutory scheme and the administrative rules for conducting, implementing, and reporting chemical tests in the state of Michigan. Each attorney connects this situation with larger, longstanding debates about the independence and reliability of forensic scientists in the Michigan State Police Crime Lab. They say the lab is subject to undue pressure from law enforcement and prosecutors to deliver results that bolster their cases. A former crime lab director has said for years that he himself faced this kind of pressure during his tenure from 2010-2012. This has led for calls over many years to separate the crime lab and its scientists from MSP. When asked for comment, MSP spokesperson Shanon Banner sent an email with the following statement: We are committed to conducting a thorough and complete investigation and if we find criminal acts occurred, we will pursue criminal charges against those responsible. We will also aggressively pursue any remediation available to the department, including possible legal action, in order to recoup costs borne by the state as a result of this issue. For more reading on the issue: Michigan State Police question reliability of breathalyzer machines Michigan State Police breathalyzer probe finds issues with 52 drunken driving cases Michigans suspected drunk drivers face blood draws during breathalyzer fraud investigation Thunder Bay, January 20, 2020 - White Metal Resources Corp. (TSXV: WHM) ("White Metal" or the "Company") announces that it has granted natural resources investor RZJ Capital Management LLC ("RZJ") a three month extension of time in regards to the previously announced binding Letter of Agreement ("LOA") with respect to certain licenses that comprise the Dorwit Copper-Silver Property (the "Property"), located in Namibia. Under the LOA, RZJ has the right to purchase 70% of White Metal's 100% owned private Namibian company Aloe 237 which holds title to Exclusive Prospecting Licences (EPL 7028, 7029 and 7030), comprising the Property (see Company news release dated October 16, 2019). The partners, RZJ and White Metal, will work towards the signing of a definitive agreement in the near future. About the DorWit Copper-Silver Property Exclusive Prospecting Licences 7028, 7029, and 7030 (DorWit Property), are located about 150 km east of capital city of Windhoek, Namibia and cover about 65 km of prospective stratigraphy in the Kalahari Copper Belt which extends eastward into Botswana where several major copper deposits occur and are being financed at present (e.g., Cupric Canyon Capital news release dated February 25, 2019). Six historical copper deposits occur within these three licences along with other zones with anomalous copper in historical drill core intercepts which the Company believes can be expanded upon through future exploration (see Company news release dated June 18, 2019). New Chief Financial Officer In addition, the Company announces the resignation of Matt Witiluk as CFO and thanks him for his service and contributions to the Company and wishes him well in his future endeavours. The Company is pleased to announce the appointment of CFO Nikolaos (Nick) S. Tsimidis. Nick is an entrepreneur and a specialist in the financial aspects of real estate investments. He graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Toronto in 1987. Upon graduation, he spent 6 years at KPMG in the audit department providing services to a variety of clients. In September 1993, Nick left KPMG to set up his own chartered accounting firm, focusing on tax and financial planning. Nick is the CFO and the Principal Broker for Union Capital Management Inc. (a mortgage broker) and the CFO of Haven Property Development Inc. (a real estate development firm operating in the Greater Toronto Area). He has been intimately involved with mortgage origination and real estate development projects. Nick is also the chief financial officer and a director of Metals Creek Resources Corp. (TSXV: MEK) and Bold Stroke Ventures (TSX: BSV.P) a capital pool corporation. Technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Dr. Scott Jobin-Bevans (P.Geo.), Vice President Exploration and a Director of White Metal, who is a Qualified Person under the definitions established by the National Instrument 43-101. About White Metal Resources Corp (TSXV: WHM): White Metal Resources Corp. is a junior exploration company exploring in Canada. For more information please visit the Company's website at www.whitemetalres.com. On behalf of the Board of Directors of White Metal Resources Corp. "Michael Stares" Michael Stares President & CEO, Director Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. For further information contact: Michael Stares 684 Squier Street Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, P7B 4A8 Phone: (807) 628-7836 Fax: (807) 475-7200 To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/51648 As many as 68 students from the Government Veterinary College, Rampura Phul, Bathinda, staged a protest at Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU), Ludhiana, against the latters decision to shift them to Khalsa College in Amritsar. The university authorities have cited a recent order of the Punjab and Haryana high court to be the reason behind the move, but the students, who were admitted after alleged controversial counselling held late evening on September 30 last year, are up in arms against the exorbitant fee being charged at the Amritsar college. One of the protesters, Jatin, said, Our college is a government-run institution with nominal annual fee of 2 lakh and hostel fee 10,000 for the veterinary course, whereas Khalsa College, which is run by a trust, is charging 5 lakh as annual fee and 50,00 as hostel charges. It is unfair on the part of university to reshuffle the students mid way. The students demanded that the universitys decision should be rolled back. The protesters said they will launch a strike till their demands were met. The situation turned tense when the protesters holding placards, squatted in front of the vehicles of GADVASU officials in an attempt to block their passage. The students said the university authorities had warned them of disciplinary action and expulsion if they do not agree to the decision. Manpreet Singh, another protester, said, The university authorities had conducted the counselling at the eleventh hour. We got admission as per the legal process. We sympathise with the students of Khalsa College who had challenged the counselling in the high court. But what is our fault? Another student, Muskan Modgil, said, Many students, who had even got admission in Khalsa College did not opt for the institute due to the exorbitant fees. A majority of the girl students studying in Rampura Phul college hail from the neighbouring towns of Muktsar, Malout and Moga. Amritsar is far for us. And to top it all, the university is telling us to shift in the middle of the session and arrange the remaining funds. It is totally unjust. Varsitys stand GADVASU registrar Sushil Prabhakar said the students from Khalsa College had approached the high court stating that the admissions were done on a short notice. The high court has directed us to accommodate the students by conducting internal shuffling. We are just following the orders of the court according to which some students of Khalsa College will be shifted to Rampura Phul, and vice-versa. Some students, who are against the move, were protesting, said Prabhakar. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has publicly rebuked NSW Environment Minister Matt Kean after he claimed conservative federal frontbenchers were among a "widespread" group of Liberals wanting stronger policies on climate change. In a series of media appearances on Monday morning, Mr Morrison rejected the claims as a "beat-up" and said most federal ministers "wouldn't even know who Matt Kean was". Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Credit:AAP "Matt Kean doesn't know what he's talking about. He doesn't know what's going on in the federal cabinet. Most of the federal cabinet wouldn't even know who Matt Kean was, Mr Morrison told ABC radio. In a separate interview on the Nine Network, the Prime Minister said no cabinet members had approached him with their concerns. A tanker truck skidded off the road and crashed into a tree on Monday morning between Asselborn and Emeschbach. The accident occurred shortly before 1am, on the N12 as the truck was travelling towards Emeschbach. Although the driver escaped without injury, the crash caused much damage and the road was closed on Monday morning to allow for clean up. The incident was dealt with by Wincrange fire services. CIS Wentger CIS Wentger CIS Wentger CIS Wentger CIS Wentger CIS Wentger CIS Wentger CIS Wentger The photos published on this site are subject to copyright and may not be copied, modified, or sold without the prior permission of the owner of the site in question. Elsewhere, one person suffered injuries as two vehicles collided on Route de Treves in Findel, at 9.30pm on Sunday. Sandweiler fire fighters and a Luxembourg City ambulance were called to the incident. Roeserbann fire fighters were also deployed overnight as smoke was reported to be coming from the forest in Kockelscheuer on Route de Luxembourg. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Binan, Philippines Mon, January 20, 2020 10:09 723 48be62e941b44f04afae568c322c22a1 2 Environment Philippines,Volcano,bricks,pollution,environment,Binan Free Ash spewed by a Philippine volcano is being mixed with plastic waste to make bricks in an inventive response to the country's persistent problems of pollution and frequent natural disasters. The Taal volcano burst into life nearly a week ago, sending towering dust columns into the sky and leaving nearby Binan city coated in fine grey powder. Environment officials did not just clean up the mess but decided to combine the ash with sand, cement and discarded plastic to form about 5,000 bricks per day for local building projects. Read also: Philippines Taal volcano erupts, Indonesians told to exercise vigilance "Instead of just piling up the ashfall somewhere, we are able to turn it into something useful. And it includes plastics, too," said city environmental officer Rodelio Lee. The Philippines faces a waste crisis, with a report last year saying it uses a "shocking" amount of single-use plastic, including nearly 60 billion throwaway sachets per year. It is also plagued by some 20 major storms annually and regular, powerful earthquakes which together kill hundreds of people each year. Due to its position on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" zone of seismic activity, it also has periodic volcanic eruptions. Taal's jets of lava and 15-kilometer (nine-mile) walls of ash have sent more than 70,000 people into evacuation centers and prompted warnings that a far bigger eruption could happen at any time. With volcanic ash and plastic both in plentiful supply, the officials in Binan see their project as a silver lining. "During these times, our creativity becomes apparent," said the mayor of Binan, Arman Dimaguila. Topics : Philippines Volcano bricks pollution environment Binan Ex-Economy Minister Arce and ex-Foreign Minister Choquehuanca to each run for president and vice president. Former Bolivian President Evo Morales on Sunday named a former economy minister and former foreign minister as his partys respective candidates for president and vice president in Bolivias upcoming elections. Speaking at a news conference in Argentina, Morales announced Luis Arce as the Movement to Socialism (MAS) presidential candidate and David Choquehuanca as his running mate for the May 3 election. Morales named the candidates after meeting with senior MAS party officials in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires, where Morales has been living since accepting asylum. The choice of candidates, observers say, reflects the direction MAS is taking, after months of political turmoil in the South American country following the disputed October 20 elections. Arce is targeting the middle classes that the MAS has alienated, and Choquehuanca is targeting the indigenous working class organisations that support MAS in the highlands, said Jorge Derpic, assistant professor in Sociology, Latin American and Caribbean Studies at the University of Georgia. And thats significant, Derpic said. When Morales won his first election in 2006, he ushered in a new era for South Americas poorest country. The economy experienced unprecedented growth and poverty rates were slashed, especially among indigenous communities. But Morales, who led Bolivia for 14 years, also alienated many Bolivians, especially middle-class voters by insisting on running for a fourth term in office, in defiance of a 2016 referendum against extending term limits. Allegations of corruption and mismanagement also dogged his time in office. Nuestra dupla: Luis Arce y David Choquehuanca es una combinacion del conocimiento cientifico y el conocimiento originario milenario, la unidad del campo y de la ciudad, del cuerpo y del alma. Tenemos un proyecto politico de liberacion que ha demostrado que otra Bolivia es posible pic.twitter.com/fhURZf3rPn Evo Morales Ayma (@evoespueblo) January 19, 2020 Translation: Our duo: Luis Arce and David Choquehuanca is a combination of scientific knowledge and indigenous knowledge, the unity of the countryside and the city, of the body and the soul. We have a political liberation project that has proven that a different Bolivia is possible. Morales resigned in November after a disputed fourth-term victory sparked outrage and an audit by the Organization of American States (OAS) found serious irregularities in the vote count. He says he was the victim of an orchestrated coup. He is barred from running for president. MAS is now hoping to maintain their popularity in the countrys long-held stronghold regions, including the highlands, rural Potosi, in the central valleys and the city of Cochabamba. But the party is also looking to appeal to voters among the middle class. The MAS may be able to win the election with these two candidates, Derpic said. Arce, 56, served as finance minister under Morales. A well-respected economist educated in the United Kingdom, he is credited with presiding over economic policies that brought on unprecedented boom to the Andean nation. Choquehuanca, 58, who served as foreign minister under Morales for more than 10 years, was born in Bolivias highlands. He is also well-respected and is considered a moderate. He is a veteran indigenous rights advocate. It will be difficult for the MAS to gain the support of the entire middle class, said Raul Penaranda, a journalist and political analyst based in Bolivia. But Arce is an option who will appeal to a sector which the MAS has lost over the past decade, Penaranda said. Former Bolivian Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca attends an ALBA-TCP alliance meeting in Caracas, Venezuela [FIle: Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters] Penaranda adds that Choquehuanca, will help maintain support among indigenous groups. Its an intelligent electoral decision, Penaranda told Al Jazeera. According to Bolivias electoral rules, the ticket for the May election must be formally submitted to the electoral tribunal by February 3. MAS is expected to hold an official naming ceremony on January 22. In an opinion poll, published on January 2, Bolivians were asked to choose their preferred candidate. Twenty percent of those polled chose a MAS candidate. About 15.6 percent said interim President Jeanine Anez was their preferred candidate, while Carlos Mesa, the runner-up in the October vote, received 13.8 percent support. Luis Fernando Camacho, a right-wing civic leader from the eastern city of Santa Cruz who emerged from obscurity to become a symbol of the opposition against Morales during weeks of unrest, only received 7 percent support. The right-wing leader, who often invokes biblical references, became one of the most vocal voices demanding Morales resignation and has said he will run for president. Anez, a 52-year-old conservative, became interim president amid a power vacuum following Morales resignation. She has said she has no plans to run for president, but has called on opposition political parties to unite to defeat MAS. Divisions within MAS There are signs of disagreements within the MAS party, however. In January, Morales retracted his call for the organisation of militias after his comments sparked an outcry by the interim government. Last week, MAS officials told Reuters news agency the ticket would include Andronico Rodriguez, a young coca farmer, who was close with the former president. Luis Fernando Camacho speaks to supporters from a police car in La Paz, Bolivia [Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters] With Morales managing the campaign from his exile in Argentina, often creating tensions, analysts say there is a danger that the party could fracture and face challenges in May. The vast electorate is not going to vote for the MAS and is not going to vote for anybody named by the MAS party, said Eduardo Gamarra, professor of political science in the Department of Politics and International Relations at Florida International University. They want a change and the change is probably favouring Luis Fernando Camacho he is going to be the beneficiary of this, Gamarra added. She was a senior in anthropology and a working research assistant at the University of Pittsburgh with her whole future in front of her. But an as-yet-unexplained incident involving a city bus around noon Saturday ended everything for Barbara Como at the tender age of 20. As KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh writes, Como was walking near Fifth Avenue at DeSoto Street at the University of Pittsburghs campus Saturday when she was struck and killed by a Port Authority bus. A multiple-agency investigation into the fatality is continuing. Meanwhile, the university is in mourning, with officials issuing the following statement: The Pitt community is deeply saddened by the tragic death of Barbara Como of Chester Springs, Pa., a senior anthropology student and research assistant with the Learning Research and Development Center, and resident of Lothrop Hall. As the Pitt community mourns the loss of one of our students, we send our heartfelt sympathy to her family and friends. Como hailed from Chester Springs, Pa. She was rushed to nearby UPMC Presbyterian Hospital to no avail. TribLive in Pittsburgh reports Como would have turned 21 next month and planned to graduate this spring with degrees in psychology and anthropology. As a research assistant with the Learning Research and Development Center, Como was working on how people learn whether a certain medicine is working and how they learn whether they are sensitive to certain foods, the website writes, adding: Como had taken a leadership role in recruiting participants for the studies. READ MORE: Pa. public defender accused of stabbing her fiance, also a public defender Man accused of indecent exposure for urinating outside Pa. high school Pa. man guilty of 9th DUI learns his fate Fingernail clipper becomes fatal weapon as wife stabs husband: cops Baby-faced fugitive nabbed after breaking out of Pa. sheriff deputys car Suspect, age 41, sought in rape of 13-year-old Pa. girl: state cops 2 babysitting teen girls behind video of vaping 2-year-old: cops Pa. brothers die within hours of each other of broken heart Pa. man broke infants legs while changing diapers: cops Idaho Department of Correction director Josh Tewalts budget presentation to the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on Tuesday went resoundingly well among the committee members. Tewalt hit all the right notes with talk of reform, reducing recidivism, and trying new methods and strategies to reduce the prison population and bend the curve in incarceration rates. But one point of his budget looks like it might hit a snag: money that the state pays to counties to house state prisoners in county jails. Under the current formula, the state pays $55 per day for each inmate for the first seven days and $75 per day for every day thereafter. A single daily flat rate is the way to go, Tewalt said. IDOC is proposing a single daily rate of $60 for fiscal year 2021 and $65 for fiscal year 2022. Sheriffs want it to be at the highest level, and I want it at the lowest level, Tewalt said, so his proposal splits the baby. Tewalt said it would yield a cost saving in his budget of roughly $1.5 million. One group that isnt happy with that proposal is Ada County, which is already embroiled in a legal dispute with the state over state prisoners being housed in the Ada County Jail. Ada County sheriff: Its a terrible plan A lot of people have been asking me what I think about the Idaho Department of Corrections proposal to reduce the funding IDOC pays Ada County and the other counties in Idaho to place their inmates in our county jails, Ada County Sheriff Steve Bartlett posted on Facebook Thursday. Let me be blunt. Its a terrible plan. Ada County houses 1,063 inmates in the jail today, close to the jails capacity of 1,116, according to Ada County Sheriffs Office spokesman Patrick Orr. Of those 1,063, 395 are state inmates in one way or another, or more than 35% of the total population. The state and Ada County already are fighting over these inmates. In a guest opinion in the Idaho Statesman in December, Bartlett detailed the countys position in calling for a judge to enforce a decades-old court order that requires IDOC to remove inmates from the Ada County Jail within seven days of learning that they belong in state custody. The court put a similar order in place in Kootenai County, requiring IDOC to remove its inmates within 14 days. Orr said that the county agrees with moving to a flat fee, but it should be closer to the average daily cost per inmate here at the Ada County Jail, which for fiscal 2019 was $102.86. Seventy-five dollars per inmate per day is not enough, Orr wrote in an email to me. Reducing that to $60 is outrageous. So we would lose a massive amount of money under what was discussed (Tuesday) and IDOC knows it. They dont pay enough now, and their proposal is to pay less. It is a classic tax shift. Senator questions tax shift State Sen. Abby Lee, R-Fruitland, who sits on the budget committee and heard Tewalts presentation, echoed those concerns. As Im thinking about your proposal to kind of split the baby, it feels like a move backwards rather than really pushing the department to add more to the budget to really address these issues, Lee said to Tewalt during the committee meeting. As Im hearing from my sheriffs, were paying, my local property taxpayers are paying these costs. Tewalt said plans to add beds in state and to send about 500 more prisoners out of state will help alleviate the burden on county jails. I understand the counties and their responsibility to the county property tax owners, but its equally hard for me to justify to the state income taxpayers that were going to pay up to $75 a day for a bed that doesnt provide the service that we would normally provide in a state-supported institution. Canyon County sheriff not happy, either Canyon County isnt on board, either. Canyon County spokesman Joe Decker emailed me a statement from Sheriff Kieran Donahue. This is just another example of the State and IDOC passing the buck to county taxpayers who are already struggling with rising property taxes, the statement reads. We as Sheriffs lobbied the legislature for years to finally get the daily rate increased to $75 per day, which still doesnt come close to covering the daily cost to counties for housing inmates. The sheriffs statement says a conservative average cost estimate to house an inmate in Canyon County is $89. If this proposal were to move forward, it would reduce our IDOC reimbursements by approximately 15% per year, according to the statement. That loss of revenue would have to be made up elsewhere, likely in the form of increased property taxes. In short, this proposal is nothing more than an insult to county taxpayers and county sheriffs across the state. The Idaho Sheriffs Association put together numbers based on reporting from 29 of the 36 county jails and showed the average cost of housing inmates to be $99.61 per day. The math is simple, according to a statement Friday from the Idaho Sheriffs Association. The average daily cost for housing a state inmate in a county jail is $99. Jails currently receive $75 a day after housing a state inmate for seven days at $55 a day. Reducing that amount to $60 would require the counties to make up even a greater difference. The statement from the Sheriffs Association calls for the Legislature to create an interim committee to explore the funding of appropriate correctional facilities. The Idaho prison system is broken through no fault of IDOC, according to the statement. Sending incarcerated Idahoans out of state is a loser for the inmate, the inmates families and sends millions of Idaho taxpayer dollars to other states. In a year where state legislators are talking about measures to reduce property taxes, keeping that $1.5 million in the state Department of Correction budget and getting it off the backs of property taxpayers is the right move here. Scott McIntosh is the opinion editor of the Idaho Statesman. You can email him at smcintosh@idahostatesman.com or call him at 208-377-6202. Follow him on Twitter @ScottMcIntosh12. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Rajgarh (Madhya Pradesh) [India], Jan 20 (ANI): A day after a clash broke out between BJP workers and police in Rajgarh, a delegation of the party is on its way to visit the area to take stock of the situation. The delegation includes Bansi Lal Gurjar, Usha Thakur and Jitu Jirati. In a video, Rajgarh Collector Nivedita was seen preventing BJP workers from holding a demonstration in support of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in Rajgarh on Sunday. An FIR has been registered for violation of Section 144 in Rjagarh. In total, 124 persons have been named in the FIR and 17 people have been arrested. Moreover, an FIR has been registered against two persons for hitting and pulling the hair of Rajgarh Deputy Collector Priya Verma during the demonstration. One of the accused has been arrested. On Sunday, there was a clash between police and BJP workers, who were carrying out a 'Tiranga rally' in support of the CAA, in Rajgarh. According to police, permission was not granted for the rally due to the imposition of Section 144 in the region. However, the BJP workers and local leaders carried out the rally without permission. (ANI) Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin leaves the funeral hall at Asan Medical Center in Songpa-gu, Seoul, Monday. Shin's father Shin Kyuk-ho died of a chronic illness at age 99 on Sunday. / Yonhap By Kim Jae-heun "Chewing Gum emperor" Lotte Group Founder Shin Kyuk-ho, who passed away on Sunday, left behind a complicated legacy of remarkable entrepreneurial achievements clouded by corruption and messy family feuds. Key tasks for the group chairman Shin Dong-bin who recently succeeded in an ugly battle with his brother Shin Dong-joo for control of the group is how to convince investors that the retail giant will function well and present updated business strategies for corporate sustainability. As a plan to improve corporate governance and further tighten his grip on the entire conglomerate, the chairman is expected to accelerate moves to list Lotte Hotel on the stock market, the group's critical cash cow, according to company officials and market analysts. The acrimonious battle with Dong-joo spooked overseas investors. At the time of his release from jail, Shin promised to make the group even better in terms of management transparency. Shin was sentenced to two and a half years in prison in Feb. 2018 for giving 7 billion won ($5.9 million) in bribes to Choi Soon-sil, a confidant of former president Park Geun-Hye. However, he was freed eight months later when an appellate court sentenced him to 30 months in jail suspended for four years. Thoughts are that the successful listing of Lotte Hotel would soothe growing investors' concerns over the group's transparency, though critics said the "hidden reason" behind the attempts were aimed at solidifying his control over the entire group. "Chairman Shin wants to simplify the group ownership structure by listing the latter. If the hotel unit goes public, the company can reduce the Japanese firm's influence by selling their stocks or issuing new ones," an official said. Shin had attempted to list Lotte Hotel in 2016 but the plan had been forced to be put on hold due to prosecution's investigation of the family's involvement in the former president's corruption scandal. Originating from Japan, Lotte's operations today span numbers of countries and sectors from supermarkets, hotels, burger joints and theme parks to massive factories producing oil, aluminum and chemicals. Regarding the plan of listing of the Lotte Hotel, Mirae Asset-Daewoo analyst Jeong Dae-ro said the plan will take some time before it takes effect. "The company needs to improve its performance in its duty free business. Listing Lotte Hotel in the end is an imperative step to merge with Lotte Corporation, solidifying Shin Dong-bin's control over the company. "He will sell some of (Lotte Holding's) share during the possible listing process to cut Japanese shareholders' influence while forming a stable market price to merge with Lotte Corporation. This will allow for the acquisition of all the subsidiaries under Lotte Hotel without any expenditure," Jeong said. In terms of the specifics of the group shareholder structure, its four major shareholders are Lotte Corporation, Chairman Shin, Lotte Hotel and Lotte Aluminum, each holding 32.5 percent, 11.7 percent, 11.1 percent and 5.1 percent of shares, respectively. But Lotte Hotel owns 38.2 percent of Lotte Aluminum along with those of Lotte Group's many subsidiaries. Due to the complex governance of the ownership structure, the exact percentages are unknown. However, Lotte Hotel reportedly possesses half of Lotte Group's 32.5 percent share which makes the hotel unit the de facto owner of Lotte Corporation. Lotte Holdings shares are owned by the largest stakeholder Kojyunsya, better known as Gwangyunsa here, with 28.1 percent, followed by an employee shareholders association with 27.8 percent, affiliates with 13.9 percent and the company executive's committee with 6 percent. Gwangyunsa belongs to Shin Dong-bin's estranged brother Shin Dong-joo, who has long been trying to take down the chairman from the chief position. Over 99 percent of Lotte Hotel's share is owned by Japan's Lotte Holdings, resulting in the group being recognized as a "Japanese company" despite its expanded presence in South Korea. Lotte is South Korea's fifth largest industrial conglomerate. The U.S. Department of State has added the name of IRGC Brigadier General Hassan Shahvarpour to the list of Iranian officials sanctioned by the United States. Shahvarpour is the commander of the IRGC unit that massacred dozens of Iranian protesters in the southern city of Mahshahr in November. The United States announced in an official statement that the IRGC units under Shahvarpour's command have killed at least 148 protesters in Mahshahr during a violent crackdown on protesters that marked a gross violation of human rights. Shahvarpour is the commander of IRGC's Valiasr headquarters in Khuzestan province, one of the 32 provincial headquarters in Iran that were organized in 2018 with combining IRGC personnel and Basij militia. Iran has 31 provinces but the reason there are 32 headquarters is that Greater Tehran has its own IRGC unit in addition to the headquarters commissioned to keep the Tehran Province secure for the regime. The provincial headquarters are organized in a way to have more authority to decide how to tackle crises independently when local units are cut off from the IRGC's nationwide command. The IRGC has defined two types of critical situations: When there is a threat from abroad presumably by U.S. or Israeli forces, and when the province is facing a threat from within in case of riots and widespread protests against the regime. IRGC commanders' general assumption during the past decade was that an attack by foreign forces or an anti-government upheaval might affect the entire country, and this may cut off local units from the central command in Tehran. This justifies the extensive authority vested in local headquarters. In Khuzestan Province, the local headquarters, Valiasr, is in charge of suppressing protests and there is also a Karbala headquarters that is supposed to deal with foreign threats. Karbala Headquarters is of the 10 Combat headquarters assigned to confront foreign threats. The IRGC has divided the country into 10 areas, each one of them may cover more than one or two provinces. Karbala headquarters operates under the IRGC ground force and covers Khuzestan, Lorestan and Kohkiloyeh and Boyerahmad provinces. Its commander is Brigadier General Ahmad Khadem Daneshpajouh who is the most senior IRGC commander in southern Iran. Both Shahvarpour and Daneshpajouh were promoted to the rank of Brigadier General in March 2018. Shahvarpour was decorated by no one other than the commander in chief of Iranian armed forces, i.e., Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Who Is Shahvarpour? He is one of the IRGC's most experienced commanders in Khuzestan. He can be considered a local as he was born in Safi Abad, south of Dezful. He has served with the IRGC during the war with Iraq in the 1980s and has lost his brother in the course of that war. Both Shahvarpour and Daneshpajouh served with the 7th armored division during the war. The division took part in 16 major operations during the Iran-Iraq war. However, such a division that once fought to expel Iraqi forces from Khuzestan, now suppresses protesters in the streets of the same province, violently confronting people who are fed up with poverty, discrimination, corruption and inefficiency of the government and IRGC. The local people see that commanders who once fought Saddam Hussain are protecting an oppressive and corrupt government and are killing protesters and their children in the streets. Shahvarpour is one of those commanders. He has served with many units after the war, but he will be always remembered for the bloodiest massacre during the suppression of November protests. Mahshahr was the venue of one the bloodiest suppression operations following the protests that broke out after a major gas price hike in Iran in November. Local Governor Gholamreza Shariati has said that serious protests took place in at least 15 cities in Khuzestan but the protest in the strategic industrial city of Mahshahr were the most widespread. Shahvarpour was the only Iranian commander tat brought armored vehicles to the streets to suppress the protesters. Meanwhile, Mahshar was the only city where the IRGC under Shahvarpour's command used heavy machine gun fire against the demonstrators between November 17 and November 19 last year, also using backup from the IRGC naval force. Several IRGC units contributed to the suppression of protests by the people of Mahshahr under Shahvarpour's command: These units include Karbala headquarters, the Provincial Valiasr HQ, the 7th division, as well as the IRGC naval force and the local police units. The IRGC Commanders taking part in the bloody crackdown included: In UP, Nadda explains all the good PM has done for farmers Modi-Shah's trusted lieutenant J P Nadda takes over as BJP president India oi-Madhuri Adnal New Delhi, Jan 20: BJP leader J P Nadda on Monday took over as the new party president after emerging as the only leader in the fray following the nomination process in which his candidature was endorsed by top party leaders. Senior BJP leader Radha Mohan Singh, who is the incharge of the organisational election process, made the announcement at the party headquarters. Outgoing president Amit Shah and other senior leaders congratulated the Himachal Pradesh leader, who had been serving as the party's working president. He will serve for three years at the helm. Nadda, who was appointed as BJP's working president last June, will take over from Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who was at a helm for eventful five-and-a-half years during which the party won its biggest majority in 2019 Lok Sabha election and expanded its footprint across the country. Nadda's name was proposed by the top party leaders, including Union ministers Shah, Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari, besides several chief ministers during the nomination process. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to felicitate Nadda at the party office and both leaders will later hold a meeting with chief ministers and deputy chief ministers of the states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party. Challenge Rahul to speak 10 lines on CAA: Nadda Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad spoke of Nadda's rise through the ranks and said he had always been an "inspiring" worker. Prasad noted that the leader from Himachal Pradesh worked his way up as an "excellent" organisational leader, be it in the RSS students' wing ABVP or the BJP youth wing, and was also a successful health minister in the first Modi government. "He brings with him an enormous experience, be it as a party leader or administrator," Prasad told PTI, expressing confidence that Nadda would consolidate the great successes the party achieved under Shah. Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said the party organisation had been in a strong and robust condition under Shah, and Nadda would build on it to ensure more success for the BJP in future. Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar hailed Nadda for being accessible and also his simplicity. Former Chhattisgarh chief minister and BJP vice president Raman Singh expressed confidence that the "golden era" the BJP had under Shah would continue. Politics meaningless without religion, says J P Nadda Nadda, considered an affable and accessible politician, enjoys a good rapport with all top party leaders. He is seen as a seasoned organisation man, who was associated with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) from his college days before joining the youth wing of the BJP and rising through its ranks. Nadda has also served as a minister in the BJP governments in Himachal Pradesh and at the Centre. President Vladimir Putin moved quickly on Monday to push through an overhaul of Russia's political system that has fuelled speculation he plans to hold on to power when his term expires. Less than a week after announcing the reforms, Putin on Monday submitted a bill with the package of constitutional amendments to lawmakers. The bill, available on the website of the lower house State Duma, proposes a series of changes that would transfer some powers from the presidency to parliament and other state bodies. Putin announced the changes in a state of the nation address last Wednesday, prompting the government to quickly resign. Critics say Putin is putting forward the reforms in an attempt to secure a position for himself after 2024, when his fourth term in the Kremlin is due to expire. The draft was presented just days after a group of experts and popular figures was set up to study the proposals and before a public vote on the amendments that Putin promised last week. The reforms include giving parliament the power to name the prime minister and limiting the president to only two terms in total, instead of two successive terms. They will also strengthen an advisory body known as the State Council, where some say the 67-year-old Putin could stay on in a powerful new role. The proposals have drawn fierce criticism from Russia's opposition, with top Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny on Monday accusing Putin of wanting to remain "leader for life". "No one the heck knows what Putin is going to pull off to remain in power forever," Navalny said before the amendments were submitted to parliament. "Moreover, I am completely sure that Putin, too, does not fully understand what he is doing." Navalny's ally Ilya Yashin said earlier Monday he and other opposition leaders wanted to stage a major rally on February 29 to protest against Putin's proposals. "It will possibly be the most important opposition protest in recent years," Yashin wrote on Facebook. Shortly after it was presented, State Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin sought to deflect criticism lawmakers were acting too quickly. "If we work half-heartedly, you criticise us," he told reporters. "The president delivered the state of the nation address, everything was clearly laid out and today we received the legislative initiatives... What should we do, shelve it?" Putin's reform announcement last week was a surprise and followed by the resignation of longtime prime minister Dmitry Medvedev. He was replaced the next day by Mikhail Mishustin, the little-known head of Russia's tax service. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Thousands of passengers on South African Airways (SAA) have had their flights cancelled as the troubled airline appears close to failure. At least a dozen flights to and from the SAA hub in Johannesburg have been grounded. The cancelled departures include the Monday evening flight to Munich, and the Tuesday return from the German city. The loss of the latter flight will trigger payments of 600 to each passenger under European air passengers rights rules. Ten flights to and from Durban and six links with Cape Town have been axed. In addition, some SA Express services have been grounded. These have SAA flight numbers but are operated by a separate carrier. 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 Further cancellations are planned for Tuesday. Reports in South African media say that the government will refuse to continue to subsidise the prodigious losses of SAA. The low-cost subsidiary, Mango, would continue to fly domestic services. The carrier has lost 30bn rand (1.6bn) over the past 13 years. SAA has not published its financial results since 2017, when it lost the equivalent of 145m about 15 for every passenger flown. At the time it said one strategic objective was to achieve and maintain commercial sustainability. Despite the cancellations, the airline said it wishes to assure its customers and stakeholders that flights to all its destinations continue as normal. A statement insisted: Where there may be flight schedule amendments, such operational changes will be managed and communicated in accordance with the industry norms and practices. SAAs previous chief executive, Vuyani Jarana, had vowed to transform the airlines fortunes. He promised to break the loss-making cycle and transform the airline into a viable and sustainable entity. But he resigned in June 2019, saying his strategy was being systematically undermined. Mr Jarana was replaced by Zukisa Ramasia as acting CEO. Her appointment was criticised by the SAA pilots union, which said the move was a cause for profound distress and concern. In November 2019, at least 40,000 passengers had their travel plans wrecked by a two-day strike over pay and conditions by flight crew and ground staff. SAA has recently bought state-of-the-art Airbus A350 jets for intercontinental services. Last week the airline put nine of its long-haul aircraft fleet up for sale. But the Airbus A340 aircraft are unlikely to attract many buyers since the four-engined jets are much less efficient than modern planes. Were SAA to fail, it would increase demand on the current British Airways and Virgin Atlantic flights from Heathrow to both Johannesburg and Cape Town. SAA has reduced its London operators to a single Heathrow-Johannesburg flight. Vietnam (Ba3, negative) is one of the most exposed sovereigns to sea level rise, whether measured by the share of the population, land area or economic activity threatened, Moodys Investors Service said in a report. Tran Xuan Soan Street in District 7, HCMC was heavily flooded on September 29, 2019. HCMC, the economic center of Vietnam, is at high risk of being submerged, says Moodys Investors Service PHOTO: VNA The United States-based ratings agency said in its January 16 report, called Sea level rise poses long-term credit threat to a number of sovereigns, that the rated sovereigns with the largest shares of population whose living areas would be submerged are Vietnam, Egypt and Suriname. Also, the greatest inundation by proportion of land area would be in the Bahamas, followed by Vietnam and Qatar. Measured by gross domestic product (GDP), Moodys cited a report by the World Bank as indicating that that exposure is greatest in Vietnam (10.2% of GDP), Egypt (6.4%), Suriname (6.4%) and Benin (5.6%). Taking a broader view of exposure, by combining several indicators (GDP, population, land area, agricultural area, degree of urbanization, and wetlands), Vietnam, Egypt, Suriname and the Bahamas feature among the most exposed countries, said Moodys. In a scenario where sea level rise reaches three meters, the population below sea level more than doubles to 3% of the total population, according to the World Bank study. Suriname, Vietnam and Egypt remain the most vulnerable, with 31%, 26% and 15% of their populations exposed, respectively. Vietnam and Suriname are also the most exposed countries by economic output, followed by Benin and the Bahamas. To extend its analysis, Moodys looked at another study, Kopp et al (2017), which links projections of Antarctic ice sheet changes with a sea level rise projection framework. The study found that proportions ranging between 10-41% of the populations of the Netherlands, Vietnam, Suriname, Macao and the United Arab Emirates live on land that will be submerged by 2100, based on a one-meter rise in sea levels. It used projections that estimate sea level rise ranging between 0.8-1.5 meters under a high emissions scenario, and between 0.5-0.6 meters under a low emissions scenario. Differences in exposure estimates from the World Bank study stem in part from different geographic scope. But Vietnam and Suriname feature among the most exposed in both studies, said Moodys. Another recent study by Climate Central, published in October 2019, uses the estimates of Kopp et al (2014), which are based on sea level rise ranging from 0.3-0.8 meters to 0.5-1.2 meters and combines these with a new method to measure coastal elevation and determine population exposure. It found in both the mid-century and 2100 projections, the largest exposed populations in absolute terms are in Asia, in China, Bangladesh, India, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand. Outside small island economies, the most exposed countries when considering locked-in sea level rise are Vietnam, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Bangladesh, said Moodys, adding that major cities that would be submerged include Alexandria, Bangkok, Dhaka, Dubai, HCMC, Miami, Mumbai and Shanghai. The agency noted that for Vietnam, Egypt and Suriname, which have large populations exposed to sea level rise, the share of agriculture in employment and GDP is sizeable. Lower agricultural yields resulting from crop damage due to sea level rise would persistently curb incomes. The Mekong River and its tributaries form Vietnams Rice Bowl four-fifths of the population living in the area is engaged in rice production which faces inundation. The agency warned that coastal cities are often densely populated and serve as ports and nodes for regional and global supply chains and trade. Several ports in Asia are particularly exposed to sea level rise. For Vietnam, Singapore and Hong Kong, unmitigated repeated or long-lasting disruption to the main ports' activity would hurt trade and GDP growth, said the agency. In Vietnam, a number of projects have focused on adapting to flood stresses, including upgrading a storm sewer system in HCMC. Authorities are also looking to construct a large sea wall or tidal barrier, and ring dykes to protect the city. In the countrys rural areas, studies found that households are veered toward soft coping mechanisms, including diversifying sources of income, and shifting to less vulnerable crops. Sea level rise and related shocks pose material credit risk to Vietnam and several other economies. The pace of increase in the frequency and severity of natural disasters related to sea level rise and the effectiveness of adaptation measures will determine the extent of the credit constraints that these sovereigns face, said Moodys. The agency added a relatively gradual increase in the frequency and severity of sea level-related disasters would give governments some time to adapt. However, if the manifestations of sea level rise intensify abruptly, without effective adaptation, these sovereigns may face some downward rating pressure. SGT Hyderabad: Coming down heavily over the callous attitude of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation officials in protecting lakes and ponds spread across the city, and beyond, in the entire state of Telangana, the High Court observed that if higher officials of the corporation are incapable of performing their duties, then it would be better to tender their resignation. Dealing with two separate public interest litigations (PILs), one complaining of the apathy of the GHMC in preventing dumping of garbage in lakes at Kukatpally, and another concerning complaint of locals of stench from the Jawaharnagar dumping yard, the High Court division bench comprising Chief Justice Raghavendra Singh Chauhan and Justice K. Lakshman on Monday expressed displeasure over the officials attitude. Dealing with the PIL on dumping garbage in the lake, Chief Justice Chauhan observed, If the present trend of encroaching lakes and ponds in Telangana state continues, within 20 years from now, Hyderabad and Telangana will face the situation in Jaisalmer in Rajasthan, where an individual is given half a mug of water to take a bath. Pointing to the legal counsel for GHMC, Chief Justice Chauhan said, It seems that GHMC officers do not read daily newspapers. Two days ago, a news item appeared in the papers, which speaks about illegal encroachments and constructions in two lakes in Hyderabad. What action have you taken to restrain encroachers? Ponds and lakes scattered across entire Telangana are lifelines of the state, which need to be protected. Contrary to this, officials are sleeping when lakes and ponds in the state are subjected to encroachments and pollution blatantly, said Chief Justice Chauhan. When Chief Justice Chauhan questioned the standing counsel for GHMC as to what prevented the commissioner, GHMC, to appoint a full-time security person who can monitor the pond who could restrain residents from dumping garbage into the water body and inform the police through a cell phone provided by GHMC, the counsel informed that the commissioner does not have the power to appoint one. Reacting very sharply to the reply, Chief Justice Chauhan said, then tell your GHMC commissioner to resign. Handover papers to the government stating that he is not able to discharge his duties properly. This is not the proper answer which this court expects from the GHMC Commissioner. The Bench termed the counter affidavit filed by the GHMC commissioner as bald contentions, without any evidence to buttress contentions because photographs of pond showing its cleanliness and maintenance, submitted along with the affidavit, didnt have dates or time. This case was adjourned to February 7. File image The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) declared Worli to be the cleanest ward on January 17. Worli, also named as the G-South ward, is the constituency of Shiv Sena youth wing chief Aaditya Thackeray. The cleanest ward award: @mybmcWardGS ! Worli! Looking forward to all other wards share this award next year together https://t.co/zAQQi9qsxX Aaditya Thackeray (@AUThackeray) January 19, 2020 The awards were announced at an awareness programme held in Worli. Elated by the announcement, the young minister took to Twitter on January 19 and said that he hopes to see all the other wards share this award in the future. Several other organisations were also awarded by the BMC for maintaining cleanliness. The cleanest school award went to Witty International School, while PD Hinduja was declared the cleanest hospital this year. According to a Times of India report, Frangipani Cooperative Housing Society was declared to be the cleanest housing society in Mumbai and the cleanest community toilet award went to Pratha Samajik Sanstha. A cheque of Rs 1.5 lakh was given by the civic body to the winners in each category. Many other such awards were given out to non-profit organisations and regulatory bodies to encourage them to take part in Swachh Survekshan 2020. Police are still trying to determine why a man was shot and killed while driving in a quiet southeast Houston neighborhood Sunday night. The man was driving around 8 p.m. in the 1200 block of Elberta when someone opened fire from outside his car, according to Houston Police Department homicide detective E. May. The man was struck by at least one bullet and crashed into a fence, May said. Suffering from Stage IV cancer itself minimises one's chance of recovery. Further, if your beliefs do not approve of certain medical practices then your chances of recovery become even more difficult. That was the case with Ittai James Moshi from Tanzania, who has been successfully treated for Stage IV neuroblastoma by the paediatric haematology and oncology department of Narayan Health City. The child was saved through bloodless bone marrow transplant. The case gives Narayana Health City the unique distinction of being the first hospital in the state to perform bloodless paediatric bone marrow transplant. Hailing from Tanzania, Master Ittai James Moshi was suffering from neuroblastoma, cancer that starts from one of the adrenal glands in the abdomen areas. He was suffering from Stage IV cancer wherein his cancer had spread to the bones and bone marrow. As chemotherapy alone couldn't cure him, he was advised to undergo bone marrow transplant. As the child and family were followers of Jehovah's Witnesses they were not open for blood transfusion which is crucial aspect in bone marrow transplant. Owing to the complexity of the case, the hospital the child was being treated at referred him to Narayana Health City. The haematology and oncology team under Dr Sunil Bhat did a detailed workup and advised for autologous bone marrow transplant. In autologous bone marrow transplant, the healthy blood stem cells from one's own body is taken out and given back after very high doses of chemotherapy. After evaluation, the expert team at Narayana Health city chalked out a detailed plan to treat the child. Generally in a bone marrow transplant, the procedure requires the patient to undergo blood transfusion. In fact, the patient will need to undergo blood transfusion for around 5 to 6 times during the procedure and equal number of platelet transfusions. Respecting the child and the family's religious believes, the doctors decided to work on the child three weeks in advance and put him on medications that help in increasing his blood levels. Once the body started responding positively and his blood levels were optimal they performed the procedure. Firstly they removed the cancerous tumour surgically. The surgery was followed by the bone marrow transplant. "Bone marrow transplant is a complex procedure in general. In the case of Ittai James Moshi it was a high-risk case as we could not use any banked blood products on him. We had to depend on his body to produce the necessary blood, said Dr Sunil Bhat, Director and Clinical Lead - Paediatric Oncology, Haematology and Bone Marrow Transplant at Mazumdar Shaw Cancer Centre, Narayana Health City said, elaborating about the case. "In fact, despite medications, many times the blood production may not be optimal. Further, owing to the low production of platelets there is a high chance of developing bleeding which can affect the survival of the child. The success rate of bone marrow transplant without the support of blood transfusion is very low and many would not even attempt it. However, with the help of our expert team we managed to successfully perform the bone marrow transplant," Dr Bhat added. Within four to six weeks the child body recovered and was discharged. Currently, the child is on follow up. "We had lost all hope. In fact, we were contemplating to go back. However, Dr Sunil Bhat and his team's confidence instilled some optimism in us. We really appreciate their honesty as they elaborated to us right in the beginning itself about the complexity of the procedure. Further, they even patiently stood with us even emotionally through our tough times," said James Moshi, expressing his joy of regaining his child. The Bone Marrow Transplant Unit at the Mazumdar Shaw Cancer Centre, Narayana Health City is recognized world-over as a leading referral centre for both autologous and allogenic stem transplant. The unit has completed more than 1200 stem cell transplants, including the complex transplants like Haplo-identical (half matched transplants) and unrelated transplants. This story is provided by NewsVoir. 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 (AP) The White House violated federal law in withholding security assistance to Ukraine, an action at the center of President Donald Trump's impeachment, a federal watchdog agency said Thursday. The Government Accountability Office said in a report that the Office of Management and Budget broke the law in holding up the aid, which Congress passed less than a year ago, saying the President is not vested with the power to ignore or amend any such duly enacted law." The aid in question was held up last summer on orders from Trump but was released in September after Congress pushed for its release and a whistleblower's complaint about Trump's July call with the Ukrainian leader became public. The independent agency, which reports to Congress, said OMB violated the Impoundment Control Act by delaying the security assistance for policy reasons, rather than technical budgetary needs. Faithful execution of the law does not permit the President to substitute his own policy priorities for those that Congress has enacted into law, wrote the agency's general counsel, Thomas Armstrong, in the report. Capitol Hill Democrats seized on the report as evidence of a lawless White House. led by acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, who is a key figure in the impeachment investigation of Trump. The OMB, the White House, the administration broke I'm saying this broke the law," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Democrats want Mulvaney, who is still officially the OMB director, to be subpoenaed as a witness in Trump's impeachment trial. The Senate opened the trial Thursday, with opening arguments set to begin next week. Congress makes funding decisions, and the Trump Administrations illegal impoundment of these vital national security funds was a brazen assault on the checks and balances inherent to our democracy," said House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey, D-N.Y. Given that this illegal conduct threatened our security and undermined our elections, I feel even more strongly that the House has chosen the right course by impeaching President Trump. No one is above the law." OMB has argued the hold was appropriate and necessary. Story continues We disagree with GAO's opinion. OMB uses its apportionment authority to ensure taxpayer dollars are properly spent consistent with the President's priorities and with the law," said OMB spokeswoman Rachel Semmel. Trump was impeached last month on charges of abusing his power for pressuring Ukraine to investigate Democratic rivals, as he was withholding the aid, and for obstructing Congress' ensuing probe. The Senate will decide whether to convict him on either charge, which would result in his removal from office. A two-thirds vote is required for conviction. The GAO finding concludes that the White House budget office withheld the funds for an unauthorized reason in violation of the Impoundment Control Act, a federal law that requires the executive branch to spend money that is appropriated by Congress. The impoundment control law is rigorously adhered to by career officials in agency budget offices, who can face severe trouble for violating it. RICHMOND, Va. - Tens of thousands of gun-rights activists from around the country rallied peacefully at the Virginia Capitol on Monday to protest plans by the states Democratic leadership to pass gun-control legislation a move that has become a key flash point in the national debate over gun violence. The size of the crowd and the expected participation of white supremacists and fringe militia groups raised fears that the state could see a repeat of the violence that exploded in 2017 in Charlottesville. But the rally concluded uneventfully around noon, and the mood was largely festive, with rally-goers chanting USA! and waving signs denouncing Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam. Many protesters chose not to enter the designated rally zone, where Northam had imposed a temporary weapons ban, and instead packed surrounding streets, many dressed in tactical gear and camouflage and carrying military-style rifles as they cheered on the speakers. I love this. This is like the Super Bowl for the Second Amendment right here, said P.J. Hudson, a truck driver from Richmond who carried an AR-15 rifle just outside Capitol Square. He was one of the few African American rally-goers in a crowd that was overwhelmingly white and male, and was frequently stopped and asked to pose for pictures wearing his Black Guns Matter sweatshirt. An estimated 22,000 people attended, according to authorities, who said one woman was arrested on felony charge of wearing a mask in public. The protesters came out despite the frigid temperature to send a message to legislators, they said. The government doesnt run us, we run the government, said Kem Regik, a 20-year-old private security officer from northern Virginia who brought a white flag with a picture of a rifle captioned, Come and take it. Northam was a particular focus of the protesters wrath. One poster showed his face superimposed on Adolf Hitlers body. The governor said in a statement he was thankful the day passed peacefully and that he will continue to listen to the voices of Virginians while doing everything in his power to keep our commonwealth safe. The issues before us evoke strong emotions, and progress is often difficult, Northam said. Democratic lawmakers said the rally wouldnt impact their plans to pass gun-control measures, including universal background checks and a one-handgun-purchase-a-month limit. Democrats say tightening Virginias gun laws will make communities safer and help prevent mass shootings like the one last year in Virginia Beach, where a dozen people were killed in a municipal building. I was prepared to see a whole lot more people show up than actually did and I think its an indication that a lot of this rhetoric is bluster, quite frankly, said Del. Chris Hurst, a gun-control advocate whose TV journalist girlfriend was killed in an on-air shooting in 2015. Some of the protesters waved flags with messages of support for President Donald Trump. Trump, in turn, tweeted support for their goals. The Democrat Party in the Great Commonwealth of Virginia are working hard to take away your 2nd Amendment rights, he tweeted. This is just the beginning. Dont let it happen, VOTE REPUBLICAN in 2020! The Virginia State Police, the Virginia Capitol Police and the Richmond Police had a heavy presence, with officers deploying on rooftops, patrolling in cars and on bicycles. Authorities were looking to avoid a repeat of the violence that erupted in Charlottesville during one of the largest gatherings of white supremacists and other far-right groups in a decade. Attendees brawled with counterprotesters, and an avowed white supremacist drove his car into a crowd, killing a woman and injuring dozens more. Law enforcement officials faced scathing criticism for what both the white supremacist groups and anti-racism protesters said was a passive response. On Monday, Southern Poverty Law Center staff identified members of what it calls extremist militia groups, including the Oath Keepers and Three Percenters, as well as the League of the South and the Proud Boys, which the centre classifies as hate groups, according to outreach director Lecia Brooks. In contrast to Charlottesville, there was little sign of counterprotesters challenging the gun-rights activists. Police limited access to Capitol Square to only one entrance, and a long line formed to get into the rally zone. Gun-rights advocates also filled the hallways of the building that houses lawmakers offices. One couple, Jared and Marie March, travelled from Floyd County, over three hours west of Richmond, to meet with legislators. Guns are a way of life where we live, said Marie March, who was concerned about a proposed red-flag law she said would allow citizens to be stripped of their guns due to subjective criteria. A proposal to establish universal background checks amounted to more Big Brother, she said. We just feel like we need to push government back into their rightful spot. Mondays rally was organized by an influential grassroots gun-rights group, the Virginia Citizens Defence League. The group holds a yearly rally at the Capitol, typically a low-key event with a few hundred gun enthusiasts listening to speeches from a handful of Republican lawmakers. But this years event was unprecedented. Second Amendment groups have identified the state as a rallying point for the fight against what they see as a national erosion of gun rights. The pushback against proposed new gun restrictions began immediately after Democrats won majorities in both the state Senate and House of Delegates in November, with much of the opposition focused on a proposed assault weapons ban. More than 100 localities have since passed measures declaring support for the Second Amendment. Erich Pratt, senior vice-president of Gun Owners of America, said voters need to replace the Democrats in control of the government in Virginia. We need to throw the bums out. We need to clean house in the next election, he told the crowd. House Republican Leader Todd Gilbert complimented the behaviour of the rally-goers and said Democrats should take a lesson from them. The law-abiding gun owners in attendance today are the ones who would bear the brunt of their anti-gun proposals, which would have little to no impact on crime or criminals, he said in a statement. The rally coincided with the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, which is typically a chance for everyday citizens to use a day off work to lobby their legislators. However, the threat of violence largely kept other groups away from the Capitol, including gun control groups that hold an annual vigil for victims of gun violence. When that event was cancelled, students from March for Our Lives, the movement launched after 17 were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida in 2018, decided they had to do something. A group of about 15 college students and one high schooler slept overnight in the offices of two Democratic lawmakers to ensure they could make it into the Capitol area safely. The lawmakers, Hurst and Del. Dan Helmer whos sponsoring a bill that would block the National Rifle Association from operating an indoor gun range at its headquarters camped out as well. Michael McCabe, a 17-year-old high school senior from northern Virginia, said he was there to underscore the moral urgency felt by a generation unduly affected by gun violence. Our main goal is not to engage with gun extremists today, McCabe said. We are really here to be present in the legislature to make our voices heard. Looking at the structural problems of Canadian conservatism at the dawn of 2020 (Part Three) By Mark Wegierski The impact of the so-called right-wing blogosphere is certainly far less in Canada than in the United States. The impact of various personal blogs (such as those of Kate McMillan, Kathy Shaidle, or Richard Klagsbrun) is difficult to accurately gauge. There are as well the party-based Blogging Tories. The website conservativeforum.org is only an archive site. Free Dominion could be called a self-posting forum where commentary is not formally structured. Unfortunately, Free Dominion has been recently subjected to vicious lawfare and its situation is highly tenuous. Enter Stage Right is an independent, formally structured, consistently-edited, frequently updated, conservative Canadian e-zine. There is also Judi McLeods Canada Free Press. In the wake of the failure of the Sun News Network, Ezra Levant has launched a major website, called The Rebel (or The Rebel Media) with dozens of bloggers regularly contributing to it. Another substantial media initiative is Candice Malcolms True North Canada. Two websites of the culturalist opposition are capforcanada.com and eurocanadian.ca . In July 2013, there arose with great fanfare, the daily webzine, Freedom Press Canada Journal, but it was forced to greatly reduce the frequency of its postings as of November 30, 2013, and, in subsequent months, appears to have been completely removed from the Internet. Since mid-2014, short article postings began to very sporadically appear on the website but, as of this writing, the website is no longer extant. Freedom Press Canada has also published, over the last several years, a number of hard-hitting conservative books, but its publishing endeavours appear to have ended by now. It is also commonly considered that mass-circulation newspapers like The National Post, Calgary Herald, Ottawa Citizen, and The Toronto Sun are heavily right-wing. However, that is not really the case. There are also a considerable number of blogs of varying political complexion now associated with major newspapers and magazines, such as that, for example, of Colby Cosh who had previously had a long-running personal blog. There had also arisen, in April 2011, a right-leaning cable-based news station Sun News Network. However, it completely shut down on February 13, 2015. In the U.S., there are hundreds of private, frequently religiously-affiliated colleges, which may constitute the basis for a network of conservative dissent. There is clearly some conservative presence in much of the U.S. academy. In Canada, conservative professors are few and far between; perhaps the University of Calgary is the only public university with a significant conservative presence (in its department of political science). And, there are only a few private colleges, notably, Trinity Western University in British Columbia, and Redeemer University College in Ontario. Trinity Western University has recently faced strong opposition when it endeavoured to launch a law school. The law school was rejected as legitimate by the Ontario and Nova Scotia bar associations, meaning that its graduates would be unable to practice law in those provinces. There was also agitation continuing against its earlier recognition by the British Columbia bar association. On October 30, 2014, the result of a binding referendum of the B.C. bar association members was to instruct the bar associations benchers to withdraw the recognition of Trinity Westerns law school. There was indeed a highly orchestrated campaign against the recognition of the law school. This culminated in the 2018 decision of the Supreme Court of Canada that the provincial bar associations were justified in forbidding Trinity Western University law school graduates from practicing law in their provinces. Taking into account the disparity in resources as between small-c conservatives and left-liberals in Canada which is clearly astronomical the situation of conservatism in Canada may indeed be seen as rather difficult. One supposes that one of the few possible reassurances for so-called small-c conservatives is that they, after all, have human nature and commonsense on their side. However, what traditionalists call human nature is considered merely a fiction by most left-liberals who believe that human beings are almost entirely determined by their immediate environment, and can indeed be shaped in any direction left-liberalism chooses. Mark Wegierski is a Canadian writer and historical researcher. Home Jammu and Kashmir DGP Dilbagh Singh on Monday said there was no bar on investigating past crimes committed by sacked police officer Davinder Singh. "There is no bar on investigating any complaints against him (Davinder Singh) if we receive a formal complaint," the DGP told reporters. He was responding to a question about reports that the sacked police officer had committed several illegal acts in early years of his career but those acts were overlooked. A senior police officer posted with the strategic anti-hijacking team at the Srinagar airport, Davinder Singh was arrested along with two terrorists whom he was allegedly ferrying in a car in Kashmir Valley. "You are talking about incidents of long ago. The officers concerned at that time must have looked into it. But there is no bar on investigating if something comes to the fore formally," he said. Asked if the arrested DSP had named other policemen who were in league with him, the DGP said the investigation into the case was going on and it was not proper for him to comment. "There might be more disclosures in the coming times we will share with you but for the time being, we cannot comment on it," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BEIJING (AP) The head of a Chinese government expert team said Monday that human-to-human transmission has been confirmed in an outbreak of a new coronavirus, a development that raises the possibility that it could spread more quickly and widely. Team leader Zhong Nanshan, a respiratory expert, said two people in Guangdong province in southern China caught the virus from family members, state media said. Some medical workers have also tested positive for the virus, the English-language China Daily newspaper reported. The late-night announcement capped a day in which authorities announced a sharp uptick in the number of confirmed cases to more than 200, and China's leader called on the government to take every possible step to combat the outbreak. The recent outbreak of novel coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan and other places must be taken seriously, President Xi Jinping said in his first public statement on the crisis. Party committees, governments and relevant departments at all levels should put people's lives and health first. Xi's remarks were reported by state broadcaster CCTV on its main 7 p.m. news broadcast. In Geneva, the World Health Organization announced it would convene an Emergency Committee meeting on Wednesday to determine whether the outbreak warrants being declared a global health crisis. Such declarations are typically made for epidemics of severe diseases that threaten to cross borders and require an internationally coordinated response. Previous global emergencies have been declared for crises including the ongoing Ebola outbreak in Congo, the emergence of Zika virus in the Americas in 2016 and the West Africa Ebola outbreak in 2014. The spread of the viral pneumonia comes as the country enters its busiest travel period, when millions board trains and planes for the Lunar New Year holidays. The outbreak is believed to have started late last month among people connected to a seafood market in Wuhan, a city in central China. Story continues Wuhan health authorities said Monday an additional 136 cases have been confirmed in the city, raising the total to 198. Three have died. Other Chinese cities also confirmed cases for the first time. Five people in Beijing and 14 in Guangdong have been diagnosed with the new coronavirus, CCTV reported Monday evening. Seven suspected cases have been found in other parts of the country, including in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces in the southwest and in Shanghai. Zhong said the two people in Guangdong had not been to Wuhan but fell ill after family members had returned from the city, the China Daily said. The outbreak has put other countries on alert as millions of Chinese travel for Lunar New Year. Authorities in Thailand and in Japan have identified three cases, all involving recent travel from China. South Korea reported its first case Monday, when a 35-year-old Chinese woman from Wuhan tested positive for the new coronavirus one day after arriving at Seoul's Incheon airport. The woman has been isolated at a state-run hospital in Incheon city, just west of Seoul, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement. At least a half-dozen countries in Asia and three U.S. airports have started screening incoming airline passengers from central China. Videos posted online show people in protective suits checking one-by-one the temperatures of plane passengers arriving in Macao from Wuhan. A man surnamed Yang who works for the Macao Health Bureau confirmed over the phone that such checks are taking place in the southern Chinese region. Canada's Chief Medical officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, said signs will be placed at airports in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver in the coming days. Electronic kiosks at Customs will ask people if they have traveled to areas where coronavirus is and if they have flu like symptoms. "The Chinese lunar year is coming so out of abundance precaution that's why we are putting out additional information for travelers," Tam said. Many of the initial cases of the coronavirus were linked to a seafood market in Wuhan, which was closed as authorities investigated. Since hundreds of people who came into close contact with diagnosed patients have not gotten sick, the municipal health commission maintains that the virus is not easily transmitted between humans. However, the source of the new type of coronavirus has not been found, we do not fully understand how the virus is transmitted, and changes in the virus still need to be closely monitored, China's National Health Commission said in a statement Sunday. Coronaviruses cause diseases ranging from the common cold to SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome. SARS first infected people in southern China in late 2002 and spread to more than two dozen countries, killing nearly 800. The Chinese government initially tried to conceal the severity of the SARS epidemic, but its cover-up was exposed by a high-ranking physician. In the early days of SARS, reports were delayed and covered up, said an editorial in the nationalistic Global Times. That kind of thing must not happen again in China. We have made great strides in medicine, social affairs management and public opinion since 2003, the editorial said. Xi instructed government departments Monday to promptly release information on the virus and deepen international cooperation. China has notified and maintained close communication with the World Health Organization and other relevant countries and regions, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a regular news briefing. Wuhan has also adopted measures to control the flow of people leaving the city, Geng said. Initial symptoms of the novel coronavirus include fever, cough, tightness of the chest and shortness of breath, and those seriously ill developed pneumonia. On the Weibo social media platform, which is widely used in China, people posted prevention advice such as wearing masks and washing hands. Some people said they had canceled their travel plans and were staying home for Lunar New Year. ___ Associated Press researcher Yu Bing in Beijing, writer Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul, South Korea, and writer Rob Gillies in Toronto contributed to this report. Credit: CC0 Public Domain Federal authorities will begin screening airline travelers arriving from Wuhan, China, for signs that they may be infected with a new coronavirus that is spreading in Asia, officials announced Friday. Passengers flying into Los Angeles International Airport, San Francisco International Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York will be examined for the virus's pneumonia-like symptoms, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. About 100 additional CDC workers will be deployed to join existing public health staff at the three airports. The newly evolved virus, known as 2019-nCoV, has sickened at least 41 people and killed two. Health authorities in Thailand and Japan have each identified infected patients as well. In at least two of those three cases, the patients had recently traveled to Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak. The likelihood that the virus will spread within the United States is still considered low. "Investigations into this novel coronavirus are ongoing and we are monitoring and responding to this evolving situation," Martin Cetron, the head of the CDC's Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, said in a statement Friday. According to Chinese health officials, most patients infected with the virus in Wuhan were exposed to live animals in a large seafood market, which suggests that the virus jumped from another host species into humans. But at least two patients said they had not visited the marketa concerning sign that the virus has taken hold in humans and could be poised to spread more widely. China's 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARSanother coronaviruswas believed to have originated through animal-to-human transmission in a similar marketplace. That outbreak ultimately killed more than 800 worldwide. 2020 Los Angeles Times Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. North Korea's new foreign minister is a former defence commander with little diplomatic experience, spotlighting leader Kim Jong Un's reliance on party and military loyalists at a sensitive time amid stalled US talks, analysts in Seoul said on Monday. Last week, North Korea told countries with embassies in Pyongyang that Ri Son Gwon, a senior military officer and official of the ruling Workers' Party, had been appointed foreign minister, a diplomatic source in Seoul told Reuters. He replaces Ri Yong Ho, a career diplomat with years of experience negotiating with Washington, but who often took a backseat to other officials during the last two years of diplomacy. Seoul-based NK News first reported the change on Saturday, citing unnamed sources in Pyongyang. Analysts said it was too soon to tell exactly what impact the appointment may have for the stalled denuclearisation talks with the United States, but said Ri Son Gwon had often played a confrontational role in negotiations with South Korea. Unlike his predecessor, Ri Son Gwon does not have any experience in dealing with nuclear issues or U.S. officials, though he has led high-level talks between the neighbours. Previously chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country (CPRC), which handles relations with South Korea, Ri is the latest military official to be promoted to the party leadership. "There has been a demonstrative crossover dynamic in which senior military officials migrate into the party leadership," said Michael Madden, a North Korea leadership expert at the Stimson Centre, a U.S. think tank. As the young North Korean leader oversaw a number of short-range ballistic missile launches in the past year, the number of military and arms industry officials appearing in public with Kim Jong Un has increased sharply. Ri had largely stayed out of the public eye since talks with South Korea stalled last year. But in April he was named to the foreign affairs panel of the Supreme People's Assembly, the country's parliament, and was most recently seen at a meeting of the party's policy-making central committee in December. A tough, hawkish negotiator, Ri "stormed out of the room" during military talks with South Korea in 2014 when Seoul demanded an apology for what it saw as the North's past military provocations, a former South Korean official who met him said. Ri was also known as a right-hand man of Kim Yong Chol, another former military leader who took up a top party post before steering nuclear talks with the United States. POWER SHIFTS After the failed Hanoi summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, Kim Yong Chol faded from public view as Kim Jong Un elevated diplomats versed in U.S. relations, including Ri Yong Ho's deputy Choe Son Hui. But Kim Yong Chol seemed to retain influence behind the scenes, while the role of Ri Yong Ho gradually withered, as working-level talks with the United States also collapsed in October and Washington ignored a year-end deadline to resume negotiations. Ri Yong Ho's absence from a group photograph of top party executives at the December meeting prompted speculation about his future. "Ri Yong Ho is the official who was effectively sidelined after the Hanoi meetings and was removed from office because the interlocutors selected by the foreign ministry appeared not to accomplish anything," Madden said. As Ri Son Gwon becomes foreign minister, deputy Choe is expected to retain an influential position, thanks in part to her family background and personal rapport with an inner circle of women close to Kim Jong Un, including his sister and wife, diplomatic sources say. "What's most important is what Kim Jong Un thinks, and he needs someone he can trust to speak for him, whether it be Ri Son Gwon or Choe Son Hui," said Kim Hong-kyun, a former South Korean nuclear negotiator. WEST HAVEN The American Red Cross is helping a family after a fire damaged their home on Sunday. According to a press release from the Red Cross, the West Haven family, which consisted of two adults, lived on Willow Street. The organization provided assistance, the release said, to meet the immediate familys needs. The Red Cross is also providing comfort kits containing personal care items such as toothbrushes, deodorant; shaving supplies and other items a resident might need when suddenly displaced from their home by a fire, the release said. The release said the Red Cross also gave the family a package containing information about recovering from a fire. The information included tips on cleanup, important contacts and about how to deal with damaged items. The organization said it would continue working with the family. Those affected will connect with Red Cross caseworkers in the coming days to work on a longer-term recovery plan, the press release said. For more information about the Red Cross visit redcross.org and for information on its home fire preparedness campaign visit: http://www.redcross.org/ct/schedule-a-visit or call 1-877-287-3327 and press option 1. An off-duty Roselle Park, N.J. police officer fatally shot himself after crashing his car into two parked vehicles in Matawan on Sunday, the Monmouth County Prosecutors Office said Monday. Edward Nortrup, a 39-year-old Aberdeen resident, lost control of his vehicle around noon and crashed near a two-story home on Broad Street across from the Matawan Municipal Community Center. The prosecutors office said it appeared Nortrup struck two parked cars and then partially rolled over before coming to a stop. He was trapped inside his vehicle. As first responders left the vehicle to get equipment to help with the extraction, the driver located a firearm and fatally shot himself, Monmouth County Prosecutors Office Spokesman Chris Swendeman said in an email. Roselle Park Police Chief Daniel McCaffery did not say if Nortrup used his service weapon. He said an investigation into the gun used is ongoing by the Monmouth County Prosecutors Office. Nortrup was a 13-year veteran of the department who served in the detective bureau and was a member of the Union County Emergency Response Team, according to a post on the departments Facebook page. He graduated from the John H. Stamler Police Academy in 2007. We are grieving as a department for the loss of our officer," McCaffery said in an email to NJ Advance Media. In New Jersey, there were 17 police suicides last year and 37 since 2016. Last summer, the state Attorney Generals office launched a program, called the New Jersey Resiliency Program for Law Enforcement, which will require every officer by the end of 2022 to attend a two-day training session that addresses mental health and coping mechanisms. This is training that is necessary with the epidemic of law enforcement suicides nationwide, McCaffery said. We welcome any training that allows out officers to cope with the stresses of our jobs as best that we can. Editors note: Suicidal thoughts and behaviors can be reduced. If you are in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or text TALK to 741741. Editors note: This post has been updated to correct that the officer worked for the Roselle Park Police Department. Avalon Zoppo may be reached at azoppo2@njadvancemedia.com. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. New Delhi, Jan 20 : The Saket court in Delhi on Monday convicted 19 accused, including high-profile Brajesh Thakur, in connection with the alleged sexual and physical assaults on girl inmates at a shelter home in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district. The judge has slated the matter for arguments on quantum of sentence on January 28. Thakur is the owner of an NGO, Sewa Sankalp Evam Vikas Samiti. Additional Sessions Judge Saurabh Kulshreshta held that Thakur was guilty of rape, gang-rape and aggravated sexual assault. The court, however, acquitted one accused. The court had concluded the final arguments in the case on September 30 and reserved its order in the case. It had earlier framed various charges against the accused persons including criminal conspiracy to commit rape and sexual assault. Former Bihar People's Party MLA Brajesh Thakur, the prime accused in the case, was charged under provisions of the POCSO Act, including Section 6 (aggravated sexual assault). The accused included employees of his shelter home and Bihar department of social welfare officials. The matter had come to light following a report by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. The court had on March 20, 2018, framed charges against the accused, including Thakur. The accused included eight females and 12 males. The case was transferred on February 7 from a local court in Muzaffarpur in Bihar to the POCSO court at Saket district court complex in Delhi on the Supreme Court's directions. The Bill passed by the Andhra Pradesh Assembly intends to give shape to state government's plan of having three capitals executive capital in Visakhapatnam, legislative in Amaravati and judicial in Kurnool Amravati: The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly late on Monday night passed the AP Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Bill, 2020 that intended to give shape to state government's plan of having three capitals executive capital in Visakhapatnam, legislative in Amaravati and judicial in Kurnool. The amendments to the Bill proposed by the Opposition Telugu Desam Party were rejected by the House. The Bill will be moved in the Legislative Council on Tuesday but the government may face an uphill task to see it through as the ruling YSR Congress has just nine members in the 58-member Upper House. Towards the fag end of the day's proceedings, 17 MLAs of the TDP were suspended from the House for a day as they disrupted the chief minister's address. Winding up a nearly 12-hour acrimonious debate on the Bill, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy said by distributing the capital functions and focusing on decentralisation, his government was "undoing the wrongs and historic blunders" committed by the previous regimes since the formation of erstwhile Andhra state in 1953. "We are not changing the capital as such. We are only adding two new capitals. Amaravati will remain the same. We will not do any injustice to any region," the chief minister asserted. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy in State Assembly: I have no grudge against Amaravati. We are continuing with Amaravati as the legislative capital, Visakhapatnam will be the executive capital, and Kurnool will be the judicial capital. https://t.co/nMqR7g9K0v pic.twitter.com/y54KhDdirl ANI (@ANI) January 20, 2020 Listing out his government's priorities related to welfare and development, the chief minister maintained that it was not in a position to spend lakhs of crores of rupees on building a city (Amaravati). "The previous chief minister, Chandrababu Naidu, created only Bhramaravati (illusionary city) in the name of Amaravati. He turned the capital city into a real-estate venture to benefit only a chosen few," Jagan lashed out. "I cannot fool people by showing them only graphics," he remarked. He also debunked Chandrababu's claim that Amaravati was a self-financing project. Earlier, the Leader of Opposition said he was "pleading with folded hands" not to change the state capital from Amaravati to Visakhapatnam. "Though Jagan is much younger to me, I am pleading with folded hands not to relocate the capital. Amaravati is intended for the future of the next generations," Chandrababu said. At one point during the debate, Speaker Tammineni Sitaram remarked, in reaction to the TDP members' comments, that it was not a change of capital but only decentralisation. "The Legislative Capital will remain here (Amaravati) only," he noted. Several ministers and ruling party MLAs, who spoke on the Bill, hit out strongly at the former chief minister, accusing him of indulging in a scandal in the name of building the state capital. The TDP legislators, on the other hand, tried to defend the Amaravati project and said thousands of farmers gave up their fertile agricultural lands for it. "You can't demean the sacrifice of the farmers," they said. The lone member of Jana Sena Rapaka Varaprasad too supported the government on the three capitals, violating the party stand. Moving the Bill on the first day of the extended winter session, Finance and Legislative Affairs Minister Buggana Rajendranath said the government decided to enact a new legislation for decentralisation and inclusive development of all regions in the state for ensuring "balanced and inclusive growth" of the state. "Regional imbalances, absence of equitable growth have caused an acute sense of deprivation among various sections of the state population, leading to disturbances. The logical solution would be to lay emphasis on distributed development and decentralised administration to ensure fruits of socio-economic progress are enjoyed equally by people of various regions," the minister said, quoting the recommendations of the high-powered committee of ministers and bureaucrats, which formed the basis of the new legislation. The AP Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Bill, 2020, also provides for dividing the state into various zones and establishing zonal planning and development boards. The village and (municipal) ward secretariats system that the government brought in in October last year now gets statutory backing as it has been made part of the new Bill. The TDP members raised objection to the introduction of the Bill and stormed the Speaker's podium. Amid the din, the government also moved another Bill to repeal the AP Capital Region Development Authority Act, 2014. The government said it intended to constitute a new Amaravati Metropolitan Region Development Area under the provisions of AP Metropolitan Region and Urban Development Authorities Act, 2016. The CRDA Act was enacted on 22 December, 2014 for the development of the state capital post-bifurcation with a specific area demarcated as the capital region. Now that the YSR Congress government decided to have three capitals for the state, the CRDA Act is proposed to be repealed. The CRDA (Repeal) Bill has also been passed late in the night. Earlier in the day, the Cabinet met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister S Jagan Mohan Reddy and cleared the draft Bills. The Cabinet also approved the recommendations of the HPC on the capitals issue. But the government could face hurdles in getting the Bills cleared in the Legislative Council, which sits from Tuesday, as the ruling party does not have a majority there. By Express News Service MYSURU: With the delay in cabinet expansion and the newly-elected MLAs and defeated candidates jittery over this, veteran BJP leader and Rural Development Minister KS Eshwarappa assured that those who helped in bringing the BJP government to power in the state will be rewarded in two days, adding that it is the BJPs responsibility to reward them. Eshwarappa also clarified that A H Vishwanath will be rewarded, and that discussions are already on regarding this. However, he said that he isnt aware of any talks held regarding this during Home Minister Amit Shahs visit to the state. He said that the Congress has no moral right to attack the BJP over the delay in cabinet expansion. Talking about the stand the BJP has taken regarding banning SDPI and PFI, he said that these people come from Kerala and raise slogans for Pakistan, and that only after checking facts is the government considering banning both organisations. North Korea reportedly names hard-liner as top diplomat North Korea is likely to shift further away from dialogue and return to brinkmanship in the face of the U.S.'s firm policy of maintaining pressure and sanctions against Pyongyang. Media reports about the North's appointment of a hard-liner as its top diplomat are raising concerns that it may withdraw from stalled talks with both Seoul and Washington. On Monday, the Ministry of Unification said it was trying to confirm press reports that the North recently named Ri Son-gwon, chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country, as foreign minister. The North reportedly notified foreign envoys based in its capital of the appointment. Ri's appointment, if confirmed, could signal a tougher stance on the North's denuclearization negotiations with the U.S., and inter-Korean dialogue. There was the possibility that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un might have held the current diplomatic team responsible for failing to extract concessions, including sanctions relief, from the U.S. Ri, a former army officer, has been widely known as a hawk with little experience in diplomacy. That is why pessimism could prevail further over the deadlocked denuclearization talks between Pyongyang and Washington. The Kim regime has put greater pressure on the U.S. to lift major sanctions since the summit between President Donald Trump and Kim in Hanoi collapsed in February 2019. Pyongyang has threatened to take a "new path," hinting at retracting its self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and ICBM testing. In a report to the ruling Workers' Party meeting at the end of December, Kim even spoke of a plan to reveal a new strategic weapon in the near future. Some North Korea experts expect the North to return to its "byeongjin" policy of completing its nuclear arms program and pushing for economic development. The North has vowed to make a "frontal breakthrough" and wage an arduous march to overcome difficulties in the process. This may imply that Pyongyang will not give up its nuclear arsenal unless Washington accepts its demands. The North's negotiations with the U.S. had so far been led by Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho, a longtime diplomat. His reported replacement by Ri Son-gwon could be seen as a move to play hardball with the U.S. It was also reported that Ri Su-yong, director in charge of international relations at the Workers' Party, has been replaced with a former ambassador to Russia. The worsening situation certainly bodes ill for efforts by Seoul and Washington to find a peaceful solution to the nuclear showdown with Pyongyang. The North's tougher position represents a setback for Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who has spearheaded a policy of active engagement. Now the South and the U.S. need to step up cooperation to keep up the momentum for dialogue with the North. They should narrow their differences over Moon's push for individual tours to the North by South Koreans, and other inter-Korean cooperation and exchange projects. Most of all, Trump and Moon must work out new strategies to break the impasse. New Delhi: Amid the registration boycott by the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU), the university administration Monday said at least 82% of students have already registered for the current semester and paid their hostel fee. JNU vice-chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar, in a statement, said, Of the 8,500 students at JNU, 82% students have cleared their hostel dues for winter semester registration as on Monday. The remaining students are also expected to complete their registration process since the registration is still open with a late fee. Kumar said the university has been making every effort to help willing students register for the winter semester. The campus is peaceful and active in pursuit of academic activities. The university is gearing up to celebrate Republic Day. This year, for the first time, the NCC cadets of the university will be participating in a parade at the main Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi, he said. JNUSU vice-president Saket Moon said the administration should reveal the number of students who, according to it, have paid the revised hostel fee. The administration is misleading people. The figure they are giving is of those students who have paid their mess dues. The registration boycott is still on, he said. The JNUSU, which claims the support of a large section of students, has been boycotting the registration process for the present semester since January 1, demanding a complete roll-back of the hiked hostel fee. On January 5, a mob of masked people armed with rods and sticks went on a rampage on the campus, leaving at least 34 persons injured. Following this, the students union had announced the continuation of the boycott until the vice-chancellor stepped down from his post. The students union on Sunday said it will approach the Delhi high court seeking directions to quash the revised hostel manual, which has provisions for a fee hike. The JNUSU had urged students to continue with their boycott of the registration process and all academic activities, including exams and classes. Chairman of the Tay Ninh provincial Peoples Committee Pham Van Tan receives a gift package from a Cambodian official (Source: VNA) Speaking at the event, Chairman of the Tay Ninh provincial Peoples Committee Pham Van Tan briefed the guests on the localitys important socio-economic achievements. He said that cooperation programmes on trade, education, health, transport, border demarcation, searching and repatriating remains of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and experts, and fighting crimes between Tay Ninh with Cambodian provinces of Svay Rieng, Prey Veng, Tboung Khmum and Kamping Cham have been implemented synchronously and recorded positive results, contributing to ensuring border security and building a shared border of peace, friendship, cooperation and development. The highlight of the cooperation was the upgrading of the Tan Nam border gate into the Tan Nam - Men Chay international border gate, Tan said. He expressed his belief that the friendship between the two countries will further develop in 2020. On behalf of the delegation, Governor of Svay Rieng province Men Vibol appreciated Tay Ninhs socio-culture-economic achievements in 2019, while wishing local leaders, officers, soldiers and people a happy new year. Economic and security cooperation between Svay Rieng and Tay Ninh has brought practical benefits to their people living in border areas, he said. The guest said he believes that under the leadership of the Vietnamese and Cambodian governments, the relations between Tay Ninh and Cambodia border localities will be fostered in the coming time./. China Boy | Photo: Valery C./Yelp On Jan. 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 Washington, based on Yelp ratings and our own methodology. Happy Lunar New Year! 1. Dumplings & Beyond photo: doris y./yelp Topping the list is Dumplings & Beyond. Located at 2400 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Floor 2, in Glover Park, it is the highest-rated Chinese restaurant in Washington, boasting four stars out of 397 reviews on Yelp. 2. China Boy photo: jay t./yelp Next up is China Boy, situated at 817 Sixth St. NW in Chinatown. With four stars out of 416 reviews on Yelp, it has proven to be a local favorite. 3. 14th St Cafe Photo: nicholas l./Yelp Logan Circle's 14th St. Cafe, located at 1416 14th St. NW, is another top choice, with Yelpers giving the Asian bistro four stars out of 186 reviews. 4. China Town photo: philip b./yelp China Town in Mount Pleasant is another go-to, with four stars out of 82 Yelp reviews. Head over to 3207 Mount Pleasant St. NW to see for yourself. 5. Copycat Co. photo: jj c./yelp Over in the H Street Corridor, check out Copycat Co., which has earned 4.5 stars out of 589 reviews on Yelp. You can find the cocktail bar and restaurant at 1110 H St. NE. 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. Church leaders divided on Brexit bell ringing to celebrate leaving EU Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Brexit supporters' desire to have church bells ring in celebration of the United Kingdom formally leaving the European Union is not proving to be a unifying topic among church leaders. Following Prime Minister Boris Johnson's landslide election victory in December, where the Tory party gained 48 seats in Parliament and was seen as a contest centering on Brexit, many campaigners and parliamentarians said they wanted to hear church bells ring at 9 a.m. on Feb. 1 to mark the first day of being untethered to the EU, the U.K. Sunday Times reported. Yet the body that represents the church bell ringers, the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers, which was founded in 1891, has refused to back the ringing of the bells for these events, maintaining that ringing should not occur for political reasons. Many also wanted Big Ben to chime at 11 p.m. on Jan. 31 to indicate the moment Brexit begins but that might not happen given that the iconic clock tower has been silenced for years to perform repairs. Although its bongs are not expected to be sounded until 2021, Johnson said Tuesday that it might be possible to crowdfund 500,000 ($651,533) needed to restore the bells clapper and delay the refurbishment work. Were working up a plan so people can bung a bob for a Big Ben bong, because there are some people who want to, Johnson said. As of Sunday morning, supporters have raised over 260,800. "StandUp4Brexit, the organization behind the crowdfunder, says if it does not reach the target, the money will be donated to veterans' charity Help For Heroes," the BBC reported. Brexit Party chairman Richard Tice told the BBC's "Today" program that he did not believe the 500,000 figure was correct, noting that the government made sure Big Ben rang on New Year's Eve. While only vicars can decide when and for what occasions church bells are to be rung, Leave.EU campaigners told the Sunday Times, "If the powers that be don't like it? We'll do it anyway." There are historical moments for which bells have been rung, [the] end of world wars for example. However, the central council, as a principle, does not endorse bellringing for political reasons, the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers told the Sunday Times, noting that bell ringing groups have discretion to ring for such occasions." Alan Wilson, the bishop of Buckingham, said: Two thirds of the population never voted for Brexit in the first place. Its deeply divisive to ring church bells for something like this. Churches are there for the whole community, not for a political faction to crow over people they have beaten. Other bishops and vicars have also weighed in, concurring that the bells should not be rung to mark Brexit given the divisiveness of the issue, though not all are universally opposed. The Rev. Andy Bawtree, the vicar of St Peter & St Paul in River, Kent, wants his bells to ring but says he will discuss it with his local church council first, the Sunday Times added. In June 2016, U.K. voters went to the polls in a referendum and voted to leave the European Union, 52 percent to 48 percent. The result was unexpected and roiled U.K. politics for over three years. Johnson's negotiated Brexit deal passed the House of Commons on Jan. 9. There is a television commercial where a man in his 90s gives out candy bars to kids and the last line says, Youre never too old to change the world. The point isnt candy is good but the act of kindness no matter what your age is priceless. With the state of our world and our country its easy to despair about the future. Lately I have often thought and even said that Im glad I wont be around in 50 years to see what has become of it all. That is a terrible thing to say because it means Im giving up on humanity and I am not going to do that anymore. My mother always said I was her Pollyanna because I tried to see the good in people and situations no matter what and I have made up my mind to continue that until the last of my days. MLK Day brings thoughts of his teachings and accomplishments to all of us but as the year passes we get busy and tend to forget them again. Im not just talking about racism, although God knows we need as much help there as we did before, but of his respect and love for all and his belief that the good in humanity would overcome the evil if we could all work together. I have thought about this a lot lately, especially after reading a book written by a 34-year-old black man. He was born into the worst section of Chicago with a drug addict mother, several siblings by different fathers and almost no chance of getting out and having a successful life. The book is about this life and how he did get out. Some of the stories of his journey are heartbreaking but his success is uplifting. He talks a lot about the people in his life. Some that, while not intentionally, tried to hold him back and others that were his mentors and set him on his path out. I had been thinking about our program today and how we can honor Martin Luther King Jr. and this young mans story gave me the answer. As seniors we can still help our families and communities by mentoring children and young adults. We have all had different journeys leading us to where we are. We have had successes and failures, good days and bad, things we are proud of and things we are not. We all have something to teach and share. So today to honor and celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. and all that he stood for I challenge each of you to mentor someone. Most of us have young people in our lives but if you dont, volunteer to read stories at the library or in a school, visit the Sunday school at your church or just talk to them whenever the opportunity happens. Be positive! We all have our own prejudices and the hard part is to recognize them, deal with them, and strive not to pass them on to others. Encourage them to not just accept things they are told by friends, teachers and even you but to think and research and question. Encourage them to learn and to think for themselves. Teach them to listen to opposing opinions with an open mind and to know that even if you dont agree you can still discuss and learn. You can still be friends with people you disagree with. Teach them the Golden Rule, Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. I am a firm believer that this one simple rule could solve so many world problems. If we all treated each other the way we ourselves wanted to be treated what a wonderful world it would be. Mentor one young person all year or mentor several different ones throughout the year. If each of us could make a positive impact on at least one child or young adult it could play forward and multiply long after we are gone. So please accept my MLK Day challenge and become a mentor to help the world and maybe 50 years from now instead of not wanting to see what the world is like, we can be standing next to Martin, looking down and smiling because we know we helped. Betty McOsker is executive director of Stamfords Over 60 Club. Sweary historian Eleanor Janega writes on her Going Medieval blog (previously) that there was never a time in medieval Europe when bestiality was socially acceptable, and brings the receipts in the form of eyewatering details on the punishments for having sex with animals. Janega mentions that, of course, any non-procreative sex was doctrinally suspect in the Christian tradition of the day, because sex was what got humankind kicked out of Eden, so the only time you should be getting it on is to make babies, otherwise, you're just celebrating the stuff that makes God angriest. But sex with animals was especially bad for medieval theological authorities, because it was "against nature" in that it "humans are blurring the clear line between themselves, as beings with a consciousness, and animals who are a separate category without the faculties to reason." But here is the kicker one of the reasons that bestiality is considered so terrible is because animals cannot reason and therefore cannot consent to it. Animals, famously, were not cursed by God for eating forbidden fruit. They are still therefore running around most nakedly. Because of their innocence, they also mostly just have sex for the purposes of procreation. Now, there are some notable exceptions to the whole sex for procreation thing in the animal kingdom, most notably our good friends and group sex enthusiasts the bonobos, but also dolphins and orcas, and all the gay animals, just off the top of my head. Everyone else though? Mostly having sex in order to have babies and not thinking about it at all. Animals therefore do not want to have sex with your weird ass because they only really want to have sex in order to make babies and you can't do that for them. So, if a person decides to have sex with an animal they are doing it only for themselves in order to do something sinful and despoiling an innocent. They are turning their back on their own rational nature and taking it out on animals that have no recourse to rationality, and yet abstains from sex except for an approved reason. No bestiality was never OK, you absolute rabid weirdo [Eleanor Janega/Going Medieval] HOUSTON (AP) The U.S. government says it will deport a Honduran mother and her two sick children, both of whom are currently hospitalized, to Guatemala as soon as it can get them medically cleared to travel, according to court documents and the familys advocates. The familys advocates accuse the U.S. of disregarding the health of the children, ages 1 and 6, to push forward a plan currently being challenged in court to send planeloads of families to different countries so that they can seek asylum elsewhere. Both children have been hospitalized in recent days in South Texas Rio Grande Valley. In court papers, the U.S. government has said it intends to deport the family to Guatemala on Tuesday, pending clearance from a medical professional. The mother is desperate. She thought her baby was going to die, said Dr. Amy Cohen, a doctor who monitors the governments compliance with a landmark court settlement governing how migrant children are treated known as the Flores agreement. Whenever the baby coughs, her whole body shakes, Cohen said. The 6-year-old looked exhausted. Everyone looked malnourished. According to Cohen, the family says both children were healthy when they crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without authorization in late December. A lawsuit filed by the family says they were taken first to the U.S. Border Patrols processing center in McAllen, Texas, a former warehouse where migrants are held in large fenced-in pens, then to a complex of tents built at the port city of Donna, where they were held for several days longer than the Border Patrols own 72-hour limit to detain people. The lawsuit blames the childrens illnesses on inadequate medical care and the food served at the Donna tents, which they describe as burritos twice a day and a sandwich at night. The 1-year-old has diarrhea and a fever, while the 6-year-old was diagnosed with the flu, an illness that caused the death of a 16-year-old teen held in Border Patrol custody last year. Story continues President Donald Trumps administration struck a deal last year with the Guatemalan government to take in asylum-seekers from Honduras and El Salvador, and has since said it will send Mexicans to Guatemala as well. The U.S. has also announced similar deals with Honduras and El Salvador. As of earlier this month, about 100 Hondurans and Salvadorans had been sent to Guatemala. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security says the deals, known as asylum cooperative agreements, will allow migrants to seek protection within the region. The agreements are a key part of Trump's larger immigration crackdown, including programs forcing migrants to wait weeks or months to request asylum or to remain in Mexico to wait for immigration court dates. As a result, thousands of migrants are living in squalid tent cities just across the U.S.-Mexico border. Tens of thousands of people annually flee El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras collectively forming Central Americas Northern Triangle due to endemic violence, poverty, and political and religious persecution. Experts on the Northern Triangle say those countries cant be expected to take in asylum seekers when many of their own citizens are fleeing. The American Civil Liberties Union and other legal groups sued Wednesday to try to prevent the agreements from being enforced. Lawyers for the mother and her two children have asked a federal judge in South Texas to order the government not to deport them. Their lawsuit alleges that after the mother said she feared returning to Honduras where she says gangs demanded monthly payments or they would kill her and her children she was instructed that she could either return to Honduras or be sent to Guatemala and had to decide immediately." She was not given an opportunity to explain why she feared being sent to Guatemala, where she has no family or contacts and would have difficulty providing for herself and her children, the lawsuit says. In its response, the government said the infant would be monitored by the hospital for a few more days to ensure she can be deported. It also argued that the judge had no authority to prevent the familys deportation because higher courts have recognized that the Attorney Generals office can decide on its own if and when to deport someone. It was unclear when the judge would rule. U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday. Liberal politicians love to spew the platitude "Diversity is our greatest strength." I'm not too sure that this is right. I believe in the adage "America's strength is our ability to unite people of different backgrounds around a set of principles and truths," which is a huge distinction. We already have 22 million immigrants in our country, so America is already bearing a great burden. Some of them will assimilate into our culture and become productive citizens. Very likely, many of them will not. We may be creating a permanent new underclass. It seems that the Lutheran Social Services, and everybody else involved, is reluctant to tell the people of Bismarck from what country, what culture and what religion, are they placing our 25 refugees. It makes a difference -- some groups refuse to assimilate. How does it benefit our country to continue to import people who are less able to contribute to the well-being of our community? Are the Lutherans willing to house, educate and feed the refugees? Instead, shouldn't we seek to help the poorest people who are already here? Wouldn't it be better each year to find 25 of the most impoverished and needy citizens of Bismarck and assist them in achieving their goals and personal advancement? Tom Hammerel, Bismarck Love 6 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 4 Ryanair is suing flight price comparison website Skyscanner for allegedly selling the airline's flights through its own domain and through links to online travel agents. It is also seeking an injunction requiring London-based Skyscanner, SkyscannerHoldings and Skyscanner 2018, to end the selling-on through the use of "screenscraping" whereby the information on the Ryanair website is used for comparing the prices of similar flights. The dispute arose after Ryanair discovered last November that Skyscanner had been permitting website users to use a "green flights filter", that is, it would only show results for flights with lower CO2 emissions. Ryanair became concerned it was being ranked and/or filtered in an inaccurate and/or unfair manner, Ryanair says it entered into a licensing agreement in 2011 whereby, for a donation of 100 to charity, Skyscanner would be allowed to use the airline's data on price, flight and timetabling for the purpose of price comparison. Ryanair says it has spent more than 20m since 2000 on purchasing and upgrading the Navitaire "open skies" technology for its website through which it sells 99% of its flights. While there have been disputes since 2011 with Skyscanner in relation to alleged breaches of the data use licence, they were resolved through negotiation, Ryanair's head of legal Thomas McNamara said in an affidavit. Recently, Skyscanner began selling Ryanair flights through its own domain and through domains linked from its website to online travel agents, Mr McNamara said. This had its roots in a dispute between the parties in relation to the "greener flight filter" initiative of Skyscanner. The selling on of flights amounts to a breach of the licensing agreement on use of Ryanair data, Mr McNamara said. It also seems to be the case that all third-party operators who are selling Ryanair flights advertised on Skyscanner are doing so at a mark-up when it would have been cheaper for a customer to book directly through Ryanair, he said. In selling on, Skyscanner, either on its own domain in conjunction with Kiwi.com, or via other linked domains, is failing to ensure Ryanair is provided with a direct email or phone number of the purchaser of Ryanair flights, he said. This deprives the airline of a direct line of communication with the customer and creates difficulties in complying with aviation regulations in relation to flight cancellations and other passenger matters, he said. Today, Martin Hayden SC, for Ryanair, asked Mr Justice David Barniville to admit Ryanair's case to the fast-track Commercial Court. Michael Howard SC, for Skyscanner, said his side was agreeable to conditional entry of the matter in the commercial list but he asked it be put back to later this week so he could get further instructions. The judge agreed to the adjournment. Four people have been treated for chemical exposure after being evacuated from a swimming pool and spa supply store. Authorities rushed to the Somersby premises near the NSW Central Coast about 10am Monday, with initial reports suggesting 40 people had been exposed. The staff were undertaking normal procedure which involved combining chemicals 'sodium dichlor and sodium methosulphate' at the Pile Road business when the fumes became overpowering. NSW Ambulance confirmed the 10 people were treated for watery eyes and throat burns (stock image) Ten people were evacuated from the business and four were treated on the scene for watery eyes, throat irritation and coughing. Two of the ten people were rushed to Gosford Hospital for further treatment. A NSW Fire and Rescue spokeswoman told AAP: 'At this stage it is believed nothing unusual was taking place.' The fumes caused fire sprinklers to activate, alerting NSW Fire and Rescue. Four ambulance trucks, two fire trucks and two hazmat trucks all responded to the incident. NSW Ambulance duty operations manager Greg Wiggins said treating chemical exposure can be difficult for paramedics. 'The issue with chemical exposure is you have no idea what you are dealing with before arriving at the scene,' Insp Wiggins said in a statement. 'Often, it is scary for us as we have the potential to be exposed to the same chemical. 'Paramedics moved quickly to get through the crowd and assess as many people as they could.' The Missourians Opinion section is a public forum for the discussion of ideas. The views presented in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Missourian or the University of Missouri. If you would like to contribute to the Opinion page with a response or an original topic of your own, visit our submission form New Delhi, Jan 20 : Actress and entrepreneur Shilpa Shetty Kundra and her husband businessman Raj Kundra have been awarded the Champion of Change 2019 Award for their efforts towards encouraging people to take up the Swacch Bharat Abhiyan. Former President of India Pranab Mukherjee handed the award to Shilpa on Monday in the Capital. "I am really honoured to receive this award and I feel it is every citizen's duty to keep their country clean. Cleanliness starts from the mind. When we keep our homes clean, then why not our country? This year I have planted 480 trees to offset my entire carbon footprint. It's every citizen's responsibility to take care of our precious planet not just for the present but also our future," she said. Nandan Jha, chairman of Interactive Forum on Indian economy (IFIE), said: "We are happy to announce that Shilpa Shetty Kundra has been selected for the Champions Change of Award 2019 for her contribution in the Swacch Bharat Abhiyan." Known has a yoga practitioner and health enthusiast, Shilpa said small changes in our daily life can bring about big changes in the cleanliness of the environment. "The first lifestyle change that I flick the switch off as soon as I leave the room. I'm extremely mindful of that. The general tendency is to wait for someone else to switch it off. Also, don't leave the water running when you're brushing your teeth. A lot of people do this unknowingly. They don't realise that turning the tap off between brushing and gargling can save so much water. These little habits can bring about a huge change," she said. In Bollywood, she has started shooting for "Hungama 2" and will also be seen in "Nikamma". China's President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump shake hands during a meeting outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in November 2017. Read more The U.S. economys growth will continue to chug along, albeit at a slower pace, in 2020, say Philadelphia economists and business owners. FS Investments chief U.S. economist, Lara Rhame, likened Americas economy to an airplane cruising along nicely, but at a lower altitude than in 2019 and the last decade of economic expansion. Rhame estimates that the U.S. economy will grow at 1.75% this year, vs. a 2.2% average annually in the last decade. Thats the lowest rate since World War II, but consumer sentiment remains positive and the unemployment rate is at a 50-year low. U.S. consumers account for 70% of the growth in the U.S. economy, which totals $20 trillion annually. The consumer still dominates the U.S. economy, Rhame told the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphias Friday economic outlook event, when executives from Five Below, NFI, and the Philadelphia Federal Reserve also spoke. However, we are late in the business cycle. Will the expansion turn 12 [years old]? The dogs going to die one day, Rhame said, drawing a laugh. . The recent trade deal with China was mostly cosmetic surgery that didnt address intellectual property theft, cyber attacks, or IT piracy issues. The Fed has already cut rates aggressively and is low on ammunition to counteract any slowdown, she said. The Fed funds rate is 1.5% after three rate cuts. Many business owners are holding off on big decisions until after the November election. Depending on the outcome, Rhame said, we could have a policy shift in technology, in health care, trade, and regulation. Rhame was followed by a panel including Sidney Brown, CEO of NFI in Camden, and Joel Anderson, CEO of Five Below. Five Below reported dismal earnings last week but still plans to open an additional 180 stores nationally in 2020, up from 150 in 2019. Impact from the tariffs is an understatement, Anderson said. We broke $5 [the previous maximum price for items] for the first time ever due to tariffs. Our costs surged. Its not how I would have gone in confronting China. However, weve seen the high-water mark for tariffs. Policy uncertainty also hurts, Anderson said. Its difficult to plan and predict for the coming year." Five Below has grown to $2 billion in sales annually, up from $500 million in 2015, he said. The company also recently acquired equity stakes in Nerd Street Gamers and Hollar.com to raise its gaming and e-commerce presence. Teens and tweens spend a lot more time gaming, he said, so Five Below will install gaming centers in some stores. NFI, a freight and logistics company, also experienced a slowdown in tonnage compared with last year, said CEO Brown. There was a definite deceleration, especially in the second half of 2019; our customers business was impacted by tariffs, he said. Also, orders for new trucks and trailers dropped. We may be in a slowdown in the economy thats becoming more permanent. NFI is expanding its fleet into electric trucks, now being tested in the Los Angeles-Long Beach port area in California. By 2025, about 50% of our fleet will be electric, as battery technology gets better. Greater Philly Regionally, business conditions improved in 2019 compared with 2018, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia survey of chamber of commerce members. Ryotaro Tashiro, a Philly Fed regional economist, found the overall sentiment among businesses remains positive more than 50% of respondents believe regional business activity was higher in 2019 than in 2018, and 53% expect higher general activity for their firms in 2020. New Jersey passes SALT workaround, but will IRS let it stand? Governor Phil Murphy on Jan. 13 signed what business owners hope is a workaround of the $10,000 limit on state and local tax deductions. The Pass-Through Business Alternative Income Tax Act allows businesses in New Jersey, such as sub-S corporations, partnerships, LLCs or sole proprietorships, to pay income taxes at the entity level instead of the business owners personal income tax level helping to alleviate the Tax Cuts and Jobs Acts state and local tax deduction cap. New Jersey joins Connecticut, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin in enacting a tax on pass-through entities, according to accountant Gary Bingel with EisnerAmper. High-tax states like California already tried some creative techniques that were effectively squashed at the federal level, said Martin Abo, accountant with Abo Cipolla Financial Forensics in Mount Laurel. It remains to be seen if the IRS will allow the law to stand. New Jersey pass-through entities can now pay personal state income taxes through the entity as if it were a business expense. Before this law, paying the tax individually subjected business owners to the limitation for federal limit of state and local taxes at $10,000, Abo said. The law is effective for businesses for tax years beginning on or after Jan. 1. Police records indicate the shooting took place about 9:55 a.m. that day, on the street, and police and court records indicate that there have been no arrests in the shooting. By Ray Norris, Professor, School of Science, Western Sydney University John Masterson, CC BY-SA One of Australias top telescopes will receive an A$2.6 million upgrade to help extend its three-decade record of improving our understanding of the Universe. The Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA), near Narrabri in NSW, has been one of the top few radio telescopes in the world since it began operations in September 1988. Conceived and run by CSIRO, Australias national science agency, ATCA ushered in a new era of astronomical discovery in this country. The construction of the telescope was nearly all Australian, triggering the development of Australian communications companies and playing a key role in the invention of fast WiFi. https://images.theconversation.com/files/310793/original/file-20200120-1... 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310793/original/file-20200120-1... 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310793/original/file-20200120-1... 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310793/original/file-20200120-1... 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310793/original/file-20200120-1... 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"> John Masterson / CSIRO Fundamental discoveries Since that opening, thousands of astronomers from around the world have used the telescope to make fundamental discoveries about the evolution of stars and galaxies. Even now, about 450 researchers and students use it each year to study the molecules in our galaxy, the magnetic fields that thread through galaxies, and the black holes that lie at their centres. https://images.theconversation.com/files/309614/original/file-20200113-1... 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309614/original/file-20200113-1... 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309614/original/file-20200113-1... 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309614/original/file-20200113-1... 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309614/original/file-20200113-1... 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"> Author provided. The ATCA has been instrumental in identifying the sources of gravitational wave signals, such as colliding black holes or neutron stars. It has mapped the gas in nearby galaxies and has, unexpectedly, discovered gas in clusters of galaxies billions of light years away. https://images.theconversation.com/files/309612/original/file-20200113-1... 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309612/original/file-20200113-1... 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309612/original/file-20200113-1... 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309612/original/file-20200113-1... 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309612/original/file-20200113-1... 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"> csiro https://images.theconversation.com/files/309613/original/file-20200113-1... 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309613/original/file-20200113-1... 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309613/original/file-20200113-1... 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309613/original/file-20200113-1... 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309613/original/file-20200113-1... 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"> M. Kornmesser / ESO. New telescopes Meanwhile, in the north of Western Australia, CSIRO has just completed construction of the revolutionary A$188 million Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder telescope (ASKAP). ASKAP is set to survey radio-frequency signals across the whole sky, increasing our knowledge of the radio sky by a factor of about 30, and providing new views of the Universe, potentially leading to unexpected discoveries. Read more: Expect the unexpected from the big-data boom in radio astronomy So you might think the 30-year old ATCA could now be retired. However, the demand for the ATCA will increase, not decrease. ASKAP looks at a huge area but doesnt see in great detail. But when ASKAP makes a new discovery, ATCA can look at it with higher resolution and using a different range of frequencies. This versatility will be vital for understanding what ASKAPs discoveries mean. https://images.theconversation.com/files/309623/original/file-20200113-1... 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309623/original/file-20200113-1... 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309623/original/file-20200113-1... 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309623/original/file-20200113-1... 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309623/original/file-20200113-1... 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"> CSIRO A new brain How do you refurbish a 30-year old telescope for a reasonable cost? The answer lies in the fact that the large dishes are only the first stage of a signal processing system, and the ATCAs dishes are still amongst the best available. Just as important as the dishes are the computing hardware and software to interpret the signals received by the dishes these are the brain of a modern telescope. Modern computing techniques mean that this brain can be doubled in speed and versatility for a modest cost. ATCA will receive A$530,000 from the Australian Research Council towards an A$2.6 million project, led by Western Sydney University and CSIRO, to replace the electronic brain of the telescope, which was originally built using custom chips and hand-crafted code. The rest of the funding will be provided by CSIRO and other university partners. AAn Read more: Explainer: radio astronomy The upgraded telescope will have a state-of-art heart using Graphics Processor Units first designed for Playstations and Xboxes, together with modern signal processing techniques and cutting-edge software. This will double the amount of bandwidth that can be observed, and make ATCA far more versatile than its old hard-wired hand-crafted brain could manage. The upgrade will vastly increase its ability to understand the science from the discoveries made with ASKAP, and to detect radio signals from gravitational wave events. For example, using ASKAP we have recently discovered many strange and unexpected objects such as the two dancing ghosts show below. https://images.theconversation.com/files/309672/original/file-20200113-1... 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309672/original/file-20200113-1... 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309672/original/file-20200113-1... 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309672/original/file-20200113-1... 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309672/original/file-20200113-1... 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"> Baerbel Koribalski / CSIRO The upgraded ATCA will be able to give us a detailed picture of these objects at many different frequencies, helping to locate their parent black holes and clear up whats happening. After the brain transplant, the rejuvenated ATCA will begin its second career. It will enable Australian researchers to do more ambitious research despite the increasing radio-frequency interference from radio transmitters, make more discoveries, and perhaps understand some more of the mysteries of the Universe. Ray Norris receives funding from the Australian Research Council for the ATCA upgrade project described in this article. He is affiliated with CSIRO as well as Western Sydney University.. Originally published in The Conversation. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 20) Businesses and workers in Calabarzon may have to forego as much as 6.7 billion in incomes in the wake of Taal volcano's eruption, but the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said this is small relative to the regional economy. "We don't see it having a major effect unless there will be a violent eruption," NEDA Undersecretary Adoracion Navarro said in a Monday media briefing. Taal has been on alert level 4 since January 12 when it spewed ash and steam that blanketed towns in Batangas and Cavite with heavy ashfall. Since then, people within a 14-kilometer (km) radius from the main crater have been forced to leave their homes as government volcanologists warned that a dangerous eruption could occur within hours or days. READ: Taal still a threat with 'magma resupply' Phivolcs Batangas and Cavite have also declared a state of calamity, allowing local governments to tap emergency funds to help displaced families. NEDA's initial assessments showed that foregone income from within the 14-km radius stood at 4.314 billion, with farm and fisheries output most affected at 3.168 billion. Gains worth 789.1 million would be foregone from the services sector, while 357.3 million would be lost in the industrial sector money they could have otherwise earned during normal operations. If the impact of Taal's eruption is assessed using a wider 17-km radius, foregone profits will climb to 6.658 billion, with nearly half from agriculture and fisheries. Some 2.778 billion will be lost from the services sector, while manufacturing will let go of 711.9 million worth of opportunities. The figures mainly factor in disrupted livelihood in Taal Lake which surrounds the volcano, as all the tourism, fishing, irrigation, and navigation-related activities there have been stopped. READ: How to prepare for Taal's imminent explosive eruption Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said the figures are separate from the estimated losses from damage to infrastructure and farmlands. Damage to agriculture has ballooned to 3.22 billion as of Monday noon, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. "Note also that in any disaster, the aftermath of typhoons and volcanic eruptions, there's going to be a lot of economic activity in terms of reconstruction and rehabilitation. That's going to create jobs and stimulate the economy," Pernia said. "Government spending will be substantial... The multiplier effects can partly compensate for the foregone income and maybe some of the infrastructure and asset damages," he added. Latest government data showed 215,773 residents have been affected in Batangas, Quezon, Laguna and Cavite, with about half of them staying in evacuation centers. "We hope that if some of them will slide back to poverty, it will only be temporary. The government has funds for the rehabilitation and recovery of these families," Navarro said. The Interior Department on Monday ordered local government units in Batangas to bar residents from returning to their homes near the high-risk areas and to stop commercial establishments from going back to business as a safety measure. READ: Operating Tagaytay businesses may face closure However, some local officials like Cavite Rep. Bambol Tolentino said they will defy this order, saying Tagaytay City where his wife Agnes Tolentino is mayor would let businesses resume operations as the popular tourist spot sits higher than the rest of Batangas and Cavite. Nearly 50 restaurants, 14 malls and parks, and eight hotels opened over the weekend, even as Taal continues to accumulate magma and trigger volcanic earthquakes in the towns near Volcano Island. Five other towns in Batangas are off limits to people, while three allow residents to temporarily return for their belongings as of Sunday evening. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Submit Rome airport police swoop on two Chinese traders. Police at Rome's Fiumicino international airport confiscated a total of 3 million in cash from two Chinese businessmen who were attempting to return to China. The seizure of the banknotes was the result of two separate operations in recent days, both involving Chinese traders operating in Rome, reports the capital's daily newspaper Il Messaggero. Officers became suspicious of the behaviour of a 24-year-old man, and their suspicions increased after they saw his frequent overnight trips to Rome. When asked what his suitcases contained the man said he was carrying clothes and 10,000 in cash. Officers discovered six large parcels containing bundles of banknotes, amounting to 1.2 million. In a separate case in recent days, police seized 1.8 million concealed in the luggage of a 48-year-old Chinese man, also at Fiumicino airport. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said the government's earnest attempt was to decriminalise everything that has to do with Companies Law or related acts as part of initiatives towards a USD 5 trillion economy. She said the government does not want a law that could treat every business house with suspicion. Delivering the Nani Palkhiwala Memorial lecture on Sunday evening here, Sitharaman said she was impressed with the comments made by TATA Sons Ltd Chairman N Chandrashekharan who remarked that the government should trust people and its own citizens. "My first attempt and also an earnest attempt which continues today is to decriminalise everything to do with Companies law or related laws. The very point Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) keeps talking," she said. Sitharaman said in Companies Law, there are a number of sections leading to a criminal approach and penalties of even jail terms. "I had gone through this with a tooth comb. Decriminalising Companies Law ensuring no other act of Government whether it is Income Tax or your PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) will have such an impact. We are making sure that aspect will be addressed," she said. Elaborating, she said "we do not want a law which is going to treat every business house with suspicion. That is not the intent of this government at all". She said it was one of the initiatives the government had planned as part of steps towards taking the country to a USD 5 trillion economy, ensuring trust between the government and businesses. Earlier, to a query posed by a member of the audience that the government was pumping money into banks which had huge non-performing assets, she said banks are required to perform critical functions in an economy. Sitharaman said once PA was around Rs 10 lakh crore. "It has come down to Rs 8 lakh crore, it has further come down now..when we are talking about NPA and when money is given to banks, it is not that the banks need to take that money and happy with that...go after those who failed the bank by not paying dues. Get the money back..," she said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Fatalities resulting from the post-fire debris flow was 10 times greater than those resulting directly from the wildfire in California 2018. Credit: Jason Kean, US Geological Society Most of the drinking water for our cities and towns comes from densely forested catchments in nearby mountains. These catchments act like large, and very cost effective water treatment plants, slowly filtering rainfall through the soil before releasing clean water back to rivers and reservoirs. In fact, this natural water filtration system is so effective that very little additional treatment is required, which minimizes the need for large and expensive water treatment plants. However, while this fortunate situation provides a very low-cost source of water, it also creates a vulnerability in our water supply system. More often than not, our Australian catchments are vegetated with highly flammable Eucalyptus forests. A bushfire in a catchment can have major impacts on water supply; heating from the fire causes the soil to become hydrophobic (water-fearing), while the loss of vegetation exposes the soils, greatly accelerating soil erosion. The catchment no longer acts as a water treatment plant, and serious and sustained water contamination from soil and ash can follow, resulting in undrinkable water. Reservoirs can be unusable for months. These erosion events can be extreme in magnitude, and the results can be devastating, not just for our water supply. Soil erosion from steep forested mountains (which are common in our south east Australian catchments) is typically high episodic; long periods with little erosion, punctuated by infrequent, but very high magnitude erosion events such as landslides and debris flows. Fire creates the right conditions for these high-magnitude events to occur. For example, a thunderstorm following the 2018 Thomas Fire in California generated post-fire debris flows and flash-floods that killed 23 people, injured hundreds more, and destroyed many hundreds of homes. Debris flows following a bushfire in 2007 in Victoria washed away roads and left communities stranded. Credit: Adrian Murphy/ Melbourne Water The number of fatalities resulting from the post-fire debris flow was ten times greater than those resulting directly from the wildfire. Similar events in Australia have destroyed infrastructure and homes, contaminated reservoirs, and resulted in fatalities and injuries to firefighters Post-fire debris flows in south east Australia are highly sensitive to soil conditions, and have only been observed in areas with shallow, poorly structured soils. When they do occur, they generate thousands of tonnes of fine sediment, most of which is efficiently transported through the river network, ultimately contaminating our water storages. Fire frequency in forests is increasing world-wide and is likely to increase in the coming decades in south east Australia in response to reduced annual rainfall and increased maximum temperatures, but at the same time the intensity of thunderstorms is also increasing in response to higher temperatures. Both these changes will increase the frequency and intensity of high magnitude post-fire erosion events and increase the risks to communities and water supplies. Climate oscillations, driven partially by the El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO), are also projected to intensify, with more dry and wet extremes. This, in turn, will lead to more frequent "evacuation" of sediment stored in upland valleys and channels, which will end up in our reservoirs. Fire-related soil erosion leaves an observable legacy in our steep mountainous uplands, with shallower soils in areas that are vulnerable to post fire erosion, compared to areas with less fire and more resistant soils. In fact, over longer timescales, our recent research has found that forests, soils and wildfire actually "co-evolve" together, generating positive feedbacks that can further accelerate the direct effects of climate change on catchments. Fire related erosion results in shallower soils, that in turn favor more open canopied forests that allow the understory fuels to dry out and burn, creating a positive feedback, whereby more fire begets more fire. Researchers from Swansea University, the University of Melbourne and the United States Forest Service monitoring soil erosion following a bushfire in the Thompson catchment (Melbournes main water supply) in 2018 as part of an international collaboration. Credit: Gary Sheridan, University of Melbourne These patterns are particularly strong in the south east Australian climate, which straddles a climate "tipping-point," resulting in strongly asymmetric patterns of north and south facing soils, forests and slope geometry. There is just enough difference in sunshine on these opposing slopes to push the more exposed slope into the positive feedback loop described above. So what should we do? The risks from bushfires and storms is increasing, and we need to respond to this increasing risk now. The long-term solution is of course to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, considerable change is already unavoidable, even with the most ambitious climate change responses. There are many things that can be done to reduce the risk, through fire prevention, mitigation of post-fire erosion and adaptation through upgrades to our water supply systems. Fire prevention strategies include fuel management, strategies for first-attack, strategic fire breaks and maintenance of road networks for access to remote areas in water supply catchments. In the event of a bushfire, which really is inevitable over the next few decades, risk mitigation may include erosion and debris flow control on hillslopes to stop the soil washing away, check dams to trap the soil, and mechanisms for diverting dirty water. Adaptation may include upgrades to treatment facilities, investment in new water supplies and infrastructure to support strategic redistribution of water supplies. The reliability of redistribution however becomes more limited when reservoir storages are low, which unfortunately often coincides with drought and fire. Better risk assessments can be used to prioritize limited resources for protecting water supplies. Ongoing research is required to inform planning and policy development in rapidly changing environment. Governments and policy makers will increasingly need draw on all of these to ensure community safety and uninterrupted water supplies to our cities and towns in a hotter, drier future with more severe fires and intense rainfall events. Explore further Freak mud flows threaten our water supplies, and climate change is raising the risk More information: The role of fire in the coevolution of vegetation, soil and landscapes in south eastern Australia. The role of fire in the coevolution of vegetation, soil and landscapes in south eastern Australia. hdl.handle.net/11343/213469 A police chief has said he will fund driver training at an RAF base after the death of teenage motorcyclist Harry Dunn. Northamptonshire Police Chief Constable Nick Adderley said all new arrivals at RAF Croughton would receive lessons on Highway Code awareness, UK road laws and protocols. Mr Adderley took to Twitter to announce his new initiative saying his plans to fund the training were a mitigation measure I want to take. Expand Close Teenage motorcyclist Harry Dunn (Family handout/PA) PA Media / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Teenage motorcyclist Harry Dunn (Family handout/PA) On Sunday, the police chief said there had been two further incidents of American staff from the base driving on the wrong side of the road since the death of Mr Dunn. The teenagers motorbike crashed into a car outside RAF Croughton on August 27 last year. The suspected driver, 42-year-old Anne Sacoolas, the wife of a US intelligence official, was granted diplomatic immunity and was able to return to her home country, sparking an international controversy. Since Mr Dunns death, footage has emerged of a BMW driver on the wrong side of the road near the base. The video, reported to Northamptonshire Police on Saturday, shows a car with what appears to be a registration number used on US government vehicles in the UK. In a statement at the time, Mr Adderley said: I do not underestimate how much of a concerning incident this was and how much worse it could have been, especially considering the circumstances in which 19-year-old Harry Dunn tragically died. The police chief said the training would begin at the base, which is used as a United States Air Force communications station, from March 12. Announcing the new plans, Mr Adderley said: Following a positive discussion with senior officials at RAF Croughton today, I am pleased to announce that Northamptonshire Police (Roads Policing experts) will be providing training to all staff at the base and to all new arrivals at the site for the foreseeable future. This is only the beginning and I have agreed to provide that training for free to ensure every member of staff at RAF Croughton receives the input and understands the requirements here in the UK. This will include Highway Code awareness, UK road laws and protocols. 2/2 This is only the beginning and I have agreed to provide that training for free to ensure every member of staff at RAF Croughton receives the input and understands the requirements here in the UK. This will include Highway Code awareness, UK road laws and protocols. Nick Adderley (@NorthantsChief) January 20, 2020 Addressing the issue of funding, Mr Adderley added: I will provide the funding for this. Cost is not a primary issue here, saving lives and remembering Harry Dunn is. I have a number of other ideas and suggestions which are for a later meeting at the base. As the Chief Constable of Northamptonshire I have to take all reasonable steps to mitigate risk. Regardless of other countries, this is a mitigation measure I want to take. Mrs Sacoolas was charged in December with causing Mr Dunns death by dangerous driving. Despite the UK making an extradition request for Mrs Sacoolas, the Prime Minister has said the chances of her returning are very low. The US State Department has said the UK extradition request for Ms Sacoolas is highly inappropriate and would be an abuse. An off-duty Roselle Park police officer fatally shot himself after crashing his car into two parked vehicles in Matawan on Sunday, the Monmouth County Prosecutors Office said Monday. Edward Nortrup, a 39-year-old Aberdeen resident, lost control of his vehicle around noon and crashed near a two-story home on Broad Street across from the Matawan Municipal Community Center. The prosecutors office said it appeared Nortrup struck two parked cars and then partially rolled over before coming to a stop. He was trapped inside his vehicle. As first responders left the vehicle to get equipment to help with the extraction, the driver located a firearm and fatally shot himself, Monmouth County Prosecutors Office Spokesman Chris Swendeman said in an email. Roselle Park Police Chief Daniel McCaffery did not say if Nortrup used his service weapon. He said an investigation into the gun used is ongoing by the Monmouth County Prosecutors Office. Nortrup was a 13-year veteran of the department who served in the detective bureau and was a member of the Union County Emergency Response Team, according to a post on the departments Facebook page. He graduated from the John H. Stamler Police Academy in 2007. We are grieving as a department for the loss of our officer," McCaffery said in an email to NJ Advance Media. In New Jersey, there were 17 police suicides last year and 37 since 2016. Last summer, the state Attorney Generals office launched a program, called the New Jersey Resiliency Program for Law Enforcement, which will require every officer by the end of 2022 to attend a two-day training session that addresses mental health and coping mechanisms. This is training that is necessary with the epidemic of law enforcement suicides nationwide, McCaffery said. We welcome any training that allows out officers to cope with the stresses of our jobs as best that we can. Editors note: Suicidal thoughts and behaviors can be reduced. If you are in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or text TALK to 741741. Editors note: This post has been updated to correct that the officer worked for the Roselle Park Police Department. Avalon Zoppo may be reached at azoppo2@njadvancemedia.com. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. It is not a good look, as they say, for the government of a wealthy civilised nation to be perceived to be unsympathetic to child refugees, the most vulnerable of the vulnerable. And yet this is the allegation being levelled angst the Johnson administration by its critics, as it refuses to enshrine in the EU withdrawal bill a proposal that would give unaccompanied child refugees the right to be reunited with their families legally resident in the UK. Presently languishing in squalid and dangerous camps in northern France and Greece, they are homeless; all agree on the principle of family reunification but differ sharply in the best way to have it. Lord (Alf) Dubs was himself a Jewish child refugee who arrived in Britain from Prague on the famous Kindertransport in 1938, effectively saving him from the Nazi death camps. Having made a life here and a career in Labour politics he has recently campaigned successfully to have the child refugees question resolved in legislation. His amendments to two previous Brexit bills, which would allow the refugees to come to the UK, were agreed by the May and the Johnson administrations. However, since the general election, the government has deleted the Dubs amendment. All of the Tories 328 MPs voting against it, and the governments thumping majority in the Commons means that few if any amendments to the Withdrawal Agreement Bill will be accepted. However, the government enjoys no overall majority in the House of Lords, and the Dubs amendment is expected to be inserted back into the legislation by Lord Dubs colleagues, on a cross-party basis. U.S. Ambassador to Korea Harry Harris is accused of being disrespectful toward South Korea's sovereignty following his remarks on President Moon Jae-in's intention to restart suspended inter-Korean projects. / AP-Yonhap By Yi Whan-woo Whenever he is asked about the South Korea-U.S. alliance, U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris has always reaffirmed its importance. For instance, he said the bilateral bond "remains strong and vibrant" at one time, and that the alliance was the "linchpin for Northeast Asian security" at another. Ironically, it is Harris' straightforward yet blunt way with words that is viewed by Koreans as disruptive toward the alliance. And concerns over the impact of his communication style are apparently looming large after Cheong Wa Dae explicitly expressed discontent with him over his latest remarks. Speaking before foreign correspondents, Thursday, Harris said South Korea should consult with the U.S. about its plans to engage with North Korea to avoid any "misunderstandings" that may trigger sanctions. His remarks were related to President Moon Jae-in's statement that individual tours to North Korea did not violate U.N. sanctions and that it could eventually induce the North to return to dialogue. "It's very inappropriate for the ambassador to make such a claim in the media over remarks made by the president of the host nation," a Cheong Wa Dae official said. New Delhi [India], Jan 20 (ANI): Congratulating JP Nadda for getting elected unopposed as BJP's national president, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said that the party will become stronger under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nadda. "Heartiest congratulations to Nadda on being elected the national president of BJP. I believe that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and JP Nadda, BJP will become stronger," Shah said while addressing a gathering at the felicitation programme at the BJP headquarters here. Adding that BJP is the only party that selects its leaders on the basis of their experience and commitment, the former party president said: "Under the leadership of PM Modi, we have won a lot of elections. We have won the recent general elections with a great majority." "However, there are some booths wherein BJP has not won the elections and I firmly believe that the party will touch new heights under the guidance of Nadda. I consider myself fortunate to serve the party as the president for the last five years," Shah said. He also added that BJP has fulfilled all its promises to people. "Be it the issue of Ram Mandir, Triple Talaq, abrogation of Article 370, the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, the BJP has fulfilled its promises to its people. It is because of the party workers at the ground that the party is touching new heights," Shah said. Earlier today, Nadda was elected unopposed as the national president of the Bharatiya Janata Party following the party's organizational poll process. Several party leaders including Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, and Nitin Gadkari were present during the announcement. Nadda will replace Amit Shah who is currently serving as Union Home Minister in the Narendra Modi Cabinet. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will felicitate Nadda later today at the party headquarters. A former Himachal Pradesh minister, Nadda has the organizational experience and became party's working president in June 2019 after the ruling party swept the Lok Sabha elections. (ANI) Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. The Global Medical Grade Titanium Materials Market Report is prepared to club all the essential market details such as market size, share, value, growth, restraints, challenges, and opportunities during the study period of 2020-2025. The data presented in this report has been gathered on the basis of historical data, primary interviews and expert's estimation of future trends. The report also covers regional assessment which has been conducted globally. 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For More Details: DecisionDatabases.com E-Mail: sales@decisiondatabases.com Phone: +91-90-28-057900 Web: https://www.decisiondatabases.com/ San Antonio police officers in a file photo at the scene of a deadly shooting in San Antonio, Texas. (KSAT via AP) 2 Dead, 5 Injured When Gunman Opens Fire Inside Texas Club: Police Chief Two people were killed and five injured after a person opened fire inside a club in San Antonio, Texas, on Sunday night, according to local authorities. San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said in a Sunday night press conference that there appeared to have been an altercation inside the club before gunshots were reported. Five other people were injured. The suspect in the shooting is still at large, officials told local news outlets. WATCH: Chief McManus provides media preliminary information on shooting with multiple victims on the 1000 block of Avenue B. https://t.co/iIiYcTDXqb San Antonio PD (@SATXPolice) January 20, 2020 At least one of the victims was identified, with family telling KENS5 that 25-year-old Alejandro Alex Robles died in the incident. The family said his girlfriend, Brittany, was injured. McManus noted that it still isnt clear whether the shooting was targeted or random. McManus added that he believes a suspect will be identified and taken into custody in the near future. Im confident that we will identify the individual and have that person in custody sooner than later, he told reporters. He said five people are at local hospitals. The incident, he added, is nothing more complicated than [an] argument that occurred inside the club with someone pulling out a firearm. All the victims appear to be bar patrons and no employees were shot, the chief said. The ages of the victims are not clear, he added to reporters. McManus said that an investigation into the matter has not been completed, noting that some details may be subject to change. No further information about the shooting was immediately available. PHILIPSBURG:--- On Thursday, The Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport went to meet the teachers of the Martin Luther King Jr. school after they organized a sit-in. This protest was due to their concerns of possible mold in the classrooms. Minister Irion and his cabinet listened to the concerns of the teachers and began addressing the issues. On Friday, The Minister brought dehumidifiers to the school and had it assessed. Apparently, the primary issue was caused by sewage affluence. The minister had the sewage pits pumped, the buildings sprayed to kill harmful bacteria and the lights fully restored in the classrooms. The AC Company also returned on Friday to donate their services and service the rest of the air conditioners at the school seeing as they hadnt been maintained since before Irma. All classrooms, the principal office and staff rooms were cleaned with non-toxic mold solutions to ensure that mold was no longer a concern. All parents should be advised that school will continue as usual. Not all of the classrooms were effected, and the remainder of the students will take classes at the Dutch Quarter Community Center, located on the same property. The Minister met with the contractor for updates on the process of rebuilding and the projected timeline on the roof repair, works should commence the first week of February. Instead, Jackson agreed with Perkins to loot it July 24, 2018. Jackson parked the armored car outside a Blue Island, Illinois business where he was supposed to be servicing an automated teller machine. Jackson purposefully left the armored truck's side door unlocked so Perkins could enter and steal the money from inside. The two later split the proceeds. The FBI soon had the defendants under suspicion. Perkins matched the description of the man seen taking the cash. Agents of the Gary Response Investigative Team were watching the pair March 18, 2019 when Perkins and Jackson drove to Merrillville to rob a Brinks truck at gunpoint that afternoon. The government said the defendants were following an armored truck making stops at businesses around Merrillville. The defendants were waiting to find a location where Perkins could rob the armored car driver and Jackson could drive away with its cash. BRISBANE, Australia, Jan. 19, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Orocobre Limited (ASX: ORE, TSX: ORL) (Orocobre or the Company), is pleased to advise that two contracts have been signed for supply of battery grade lithium carbonate to top tier Chinese cathode manufacturers. Toyota Tsusho Corporation (TTC), as joint sales and marketing agent for production from the Olaroz Lithium Facility (Olaroz), has signed one contract for supply of a total 7,200 tonnes of battery grade lithium carbonate and a second contract for supply of a total 2,880 tonnes of micronised battery grade lithium carbonate. Both contracts will see the total tonnages delivered over three years with the first shipments expected to commence in the March quarter 2020. The sales price for each contract will be set as per an agreed formula and is linked to market pricing with a floor and cap. Orocobre Managing Director and CEO Mr. Martin Perez de Solay commented, This is a welcome first step towards our previously stated commercial strategy of selling a greater proportion of our product under long term sales agreements with key customers. Richard S. Anthon Joint Company Secretary For more information please contact: Andrew Barber Chief Investor Relations Officer Orocobre Limited T: +61 7 3720 9088 M: +61 418 783 701 E: abarber@orocobre.com W: www.orocobre.com https://twitter.com/OrocobreLimited https://www.linkedin.com/company/orocobre-limited https://www.facebook.com/OrocobreLimited/ https://www.instagram.com/orocobre/ https://www.youtube.com/OrocobreLimited Click here to subscribe to the Orocobre e-Newsletter About Orocobre Limited JPMorgan US bank JPMorgan Chase has said it had purchased a new building in the heart of Paris capable of holding 450 people, the latest step in its plans to move out of London following Brexit. The newcomers will join the 260 employees already working in the French capital, the bank said in a statement on Sunday. "After multiple government reforms and given the intrinsic nature of Parisian infrastructure, this is the ideal time to invest here and for more of our staff to settle here," said Kyril Courboin, the bank's managing director in France. The move "will give the bank the opportunity to pursue growth in France, in line with its strategy to continue to serve its European clients seamlessly from the continent's major cities, including Frankfurt, Luxembourg and Dublin," the statement added. CEO Jamie Dimon said at the beginning of 2019 that JPMorgan planned to shift "several hundred" jobs from London to the continent due to Brexit. The bank already moved a handful of employees at the end of 2018. Britain's exit from the European Union should take effect at the end of this month, paving the way for a transition period until the end of 2020. But the French capital should have already benefited from the relocation of 4,000 employees, Paris Europlace -- an organisation that promotes Paris's financial sector -- said at the beginning of January. Bank of America opened a new French subsidiary in February 2019 that employs 400 people, most of whom were previously based in London. The building JPMorgan chose in Paris is on Place du Marche Saint-Honore. It is connected to its headquarters on Place Vendome and could eventually accommodate trading room activities after the completion of renovation work at the end of 2020. Representatives with Chicago-based Timely & Timeless announced today that the company has launched a new interface for managing returns and exchanges by its customers. We are delighted to launch a more streamlined facility for returns and exchanges, said Paulina Hubli, spokesperson for Timely & Timeless before adding, Internet shopping is convenient and prices are 30-40% less than in conventional stores but as a customer, you do not want to give up hassle-free returns, exchanges and personalized customer care." We want you to be completely satisfied with your new purchase and we make the whole process as easy and worry-free as possible, highlighted Hubli. Use our TIMELY RETURNS interface or send us an email to timelyreturns (at) qwirly (dot) com and we will handle your return, exchange, missing or additional accessories requests and other customer care needs. If you do not like the item you purchased, send it back, it's that easy! We will gladly accept unaltered merchandise in sellable condition and original packaging for a full refund within 30 days of purchase no questions asked, said Hubli. Please allow 2 to 4 business days to process the return once its received. You will be notified via email once the refund has been issued. Refunds for returns are issued less the return shipping charges. The company is already free technical support to its customers for replacing the movements in their clocks on their own rather than relying on specialized service. Hubli explained that even though over 80% of the parts are purchased by the end-user, the movements and parts are traditionally shipped factory-oiled and ready for installation, but no instructions are included. Clock owners often have to reverse engineer by taking careful notes and photographs of the movement they replace during the removal process so that they can install the new one the same way. Unfortunately, that does not always work as movements may have slight changes in design that can throw one off the track. Hubli went on to add that it is easy to identify the movement that clock owners need to purchase to replace the old one. Some clock movements can be determined by looking at the backplate and finding the exact same movement, but some very old clock movements need to be identified using conversion tables. For our customers, we have prepared technical guides and manuals for all the movements we offer, many complete with drawings and diagrams, and some even with video tutorials, Hubli highlighted and added, we are ready to provide technical guidance over the phone when required. Technical support provided on the website includes clock movements FAQ, Hermle clocks operation manual, Kieninger clocks operational manual, cuckoo clocks instructions, manuals and troubleshooting, alarm clocks instructions, and instructions for quartz clock replacement movements. About Timely & Timeless Exquisite Clocks Emporium As an authorized dealer of the world's most exquisite clocks, expectations are high that we will provide exceptional customer service, merchandise expertise, and an unwavering focus on customer satisfaction. We strive to continuously meet and exceed those expectations. We take great pride in our reputation for excellence. And we know that our reputation is on the line each and every time we talk to a customer or sell a new clock. We are also privileged to share in so many special moments in our customers' lives, including milestone occasions like weddings, anniversaries and retirements. Media Contact: Paulina Hubli Timely & Timeless Exquisite Clocks Emporium 6650 N. Northwest Hwy, Suite 213 Chicago, IL 60631 USA Phone: 1-800-390-4067 Source: Timely & Timeless Open Doors: Over 9,000 churches, Christian buildings attacked in past year Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment WASHINGTON Leading Christian persecution watchdog nongovernmental organization Open Doors USA released its 2020 World Watch List Wednesday, an influential annual data report that this year highlights a drastic increase in attacks against Christian buildings and the imprisonment of Christians. The report, first launched in 1992, ranks the worst 50 countries in the world when it comes to the persecution of Christians and is based on data compiled by Open Doors operations in 60 countries. This years list names a number of repeat offenders such as North Korea, China, Iran, Somalia, and Eritrea as well as newly added countries where radical Islamic extremism wreaked havoc on Christian communities in 2019. Open Doors rolled out the 2020 report at a briefing attended by representatives of the Trump administration, Congress, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and prominent human rights activists. The 2020 World Watch List will provide you with the most credible grassroots data on Christian persecution. But it is much more than that, Open Doors USA CEO David Curry explained. Its going to sound the alarm. The report finds that about 260 million Christians experience high levels of persecution in the top 50 countries on the list, an increase of about 6 percent from the 2019 report. The report also states that 9,488 churches or Christian buildings or an average of 25 per day were attacked during the 2019 reporting period (Nov. 1, 2018, to Oct. 31, 2019). By comparison, Open Doors noted in last years report that 1,266 churches or Christian buildings were attacked. Also, the number of Christians detained without trial, arrested and imprisoned increased from 2,625 in the 2019 report to 3,711 in the 2020 report. The 2020 report, however, indicates a decrease in the number of Christians killed for their faith. At least 2,983 Christians were killed for faith-related reasons during the last reporting period. That is an average of eight Christians killed per day. By comparison, an average of 11 Christians was killed per day (4,136) during Open Doors 2018 reporting period. Curry told The Christian Post the drop in killings Open Doors was able to document for this years report was due to the Islamic terror group Boko Haram killing fewer Christians in Nigeria (No. 12). Curry said during the news conference that Nigeria still represents the most violent country in the world for Christians as far as the organizations data can track. The difference this year is primarily because, in Nigeria, Boko Haram has changed its tactic, Curry said. They have gone from assassination and these kinds of things to roadside assaults on Christians and kidnappings. So we have seen a jump in those kinds of things. But Boko Haram is also spreading its wings into Cameroon and into Chad but also into Burkina Faso. Rise of violence on sub-Saharan Africa The reports findings come as violent Islamic extremism spiked in sub-Saharan Africa in 2019, particularly in areas where government control is weak. The increase has led to the closure of churches and caused hundreds of thousands to flee from their homes and villages. One of the countries listed on the World Watch List this year that wasnt in 2019 is Burkina Faso. The West African country that was once considered to be relatively peaceful rose 33 spots in Open Doors rankings from last year and is now ranked No. 28. The northeast part of the country has been dealing with the rise of extremist violence since 2016. But attacks spread and escalated exponentially in 2019. Estimates have suggested that over 250 people were killed by Islamic extremist groups in Burkina Faso in 2019. There were reports of several attacks on Christian churches and worshipers, including a December attack on a church service that killed at least 14. The United Nations reported that Burkina Faso is one of the fastest-growing displacement crises in Africa as hundreds of thousands have fled in the face of spiraling insecurity. Nearly one-third of the Burkina Faso population is affected by the crisis. The government has a responsibility to protect soft targets. We know that they are going to try to attack churches, Curry said. They need to protect those churches and allow Christians to worship freely. Christians are afraid to go to church in the northeastern part of Burkina Faso right now. We really need the civic government to protect Christians in their communities. Similar countries included in the report are the Central African Republic (No. 25), which is dealing with the fighting of rebel Islamic militants who target Christians, and Mali (No. 29). Niger was also added to the World Watch List this year, ranking No. 50. Civil war-ridden Cameroon (No. 48) was added to the World Watch List this year amid reports of attacks by radical Islamic extremists against Christians communities. Cameroon is also dealing with the spread of Boko Haram. Locals in rebel-supporting, English-speaking regions have accused nomadic Fulani herdsmen radicals of carrying out deadly attacks against civilians after encouragement from government actors. As difficult as the issue has been to cover, from a religious freedom aspect, it is great to see this because most of the events [in Cameroon] have been considered to be other issues like an insurgency, Scott Morgan, a human rights activist who has broadly covered issues in Africa, told CP in reaction to Cameroon making the World Watch List. The crisis started as an education issue, so it is not easy to view the Cameroon conflict as specifically a religious freedom issue, he added. But as we are seeing with some of the countries in the Sahel, we are starting to see that issue making people nervous here in Washington. We are reaching out to the embassies and other concerned groups and we are looking forward to doing something on that in the near future. Fulani violence against Christian farming communities in Nigeria continued in 2019. One human rights group estimates that at least 1,000 Nigerian Christians were killed by Fulani radicals or Boko Haram militants in 2019 while over 6,000 have been killed since 2015. I think it is wrong to look at [Fulani] as simply having territorial issues, Curry said. They have an ideology that is historically been radicalized and they have an agenda to push Christians out of these communities. The cover story that somehow these are their ancient lands and so forth doesnt justify unlawful behavior against Christians who live there. The Nigerian government has long faced criticism for its inability to control the violence. The great tragedy of Nigerias ineffectual response to Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen is now parts of Cameroon and those other areas like Burkina Faso are greatly affected, Curry said. Who are the top 10? The top 10 countries on the 2020 World Watch list are the same ones included in the top 10 last year. North Korea held the top-sport on the list for the 18th consecutive year as the Kim regime continues to imprison thousands of Christians in labor camps while the underground church community continues to grow. North Korea is followed by Afghanistan, Somalia, Libya, Pakistan, Eritrea, Sudan, Yemen, Iran and India, where Hindu persecution against Christians has greatly increased since the Bharatiya Janata Party rose to power in 2014. Open Doors notes that in the Islamic Republic of Iran, at least 69 Christians were arrested during the 2019 reporting period. According to Curry, 114 Christians in Iran were arrested in the days before Christmas 2018. Curry said the arrests are a continuation of the Iranian governments attempt to crush the growing house church movement. These are courageous people standing up against the power that exists there in that country, Curry said. Iran has put its full faith into persecuting Christians. In Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka moved from No. 46 to No. 30 on the 2020 World Watch List after suicide bombings last Easter carried out by Islamic extremists killed over 250 and injured 500 others at three churches and three hotels. [They were] dressed up in their Sunday best and taking their kids [to church], but they didnt come home, Curry said. There are repercussions for things like that: 176 children, in that case, lost one or both parents. China, which has been criticized heavily for its mistreatment of various religious groups and detention of hundreds of thousands of Muslims, ranked No. 23 on the list in 2020. In 2019, China ranked No. 27. China has imprisoned countless pastors and Christians for worshiping in unregistered house churches. According to Curry, 5,596 churches in China have been shut down, many of which are because they refuse to put up surveillance cameras in their churches. Curry stressed in the briefing that China represents the greatest threat to human rights as it seeks to control the Chinese people and churches through surveillance. Churches must be sacred places, he said. If the government was monitoring you, your every move, scoring your citizenship based on how often you went to church or didnt go to church, how would you feel? Thats whats happening in China. The crowds of Trump supporters expected to flood into Wildwood next week for the presidents rally will be met with waves of protesters outside the Jersey Shore towns convention center. President Trump has scheduled the Jan. 28 event at The Wildwoods Convention Center with U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, who recently switched to the Republican Party and voted against impeaching Trump last month. Van Drew, R-2nd Dist., said Sunday that about 100,000 people have requested tickets for the rally. The convention center holds 7,400 people and tickets do not guarantee admittance. People are expected to start lining up outside well before the start time. Security inside and outside the building is expected to be tight for the presidential visit. The organizations planning protests, however, said they plan to make their voices heard. The local progressive activist group Cape May County Indivisible is planning a rally outside the convention center alongside more than two dozen other grassroots organizations. The event, dubbed Trump: You are not welcome here! will include speeches from Atlantic County Freeholder Ashley Bennett, Will Cunningham and Amy Kennedy, three of the Democratic primary candidates vying to oppose Van Drew in the general election. CMC Indivisible is estimating between 500 and 1,000 people will be in attendance. When hate comes to our backyard, we feel a moral obligation to stand up and take action. So we will stand in peaceful protest, and in solidarity with the marginalized communities that this administration is hurting, CMC Indivisible wrote on its Facebook page. The protest is scheduled from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. A CMC Indivisible spokeswoman said their group is taking the lead on organizing and coordinating activities with other organizations, including the Cape May County Democratic Committee and Real Democrats of New Jersey. Editors Note: The story was updated Jan. 22, 2020 with further details on the planned protest. Jenna Wise may be reached at jwise@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JennaRWise. 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. SPRINGFIELD Illinois farmers will get a much-needed lift from two international trade agreements approved by the federal government last week, but experts are uncertain if their situations will improve in the long term. After exchanging hundreds of billions of dollars of tariffs for more than a year, the U.S. and Chinese governments agreed to the first part of trade deal on Wednesday. On Thursday, Congress passed the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, better known as USMCA, sending it to President Donald Trump to sign. The average Illinoisan will likely not be much affected by the deals, experts say. Instead, the largest beneficiaries will be corn and soybean farmers who have been caught in President Trumps trade conflicts with China and Mexico since 2018. A cautious step forward Illinois farmers have been especially hurt by Chinas retaliatory tariffs in the ongoing U.S.-China trade war, forcing the federal government to issue $28 billion in aid nationwide. Wednesdays trade agreement with China, however, is more of a ceasefire than a peace agreement, said Jonathan Coppess, director of the Gardner Agriculture Policy Program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Really what it does is kind of stop the damage that was initiated with this tariff conflict that that the president started, he said. The deal should play out in two phases. Phase One, which began Wednesday, requires China to purchase $200 billion in U.S. goods over the next two years, including $32 billion of agricultural products. Chief among them are soybeans and pork, in which Illinois ranks first and fourth, respectively, in U.S. production. American soybean exports to China dropped 75 percent between 2017 and 2018, as China bought soybeans from other countries while exchanging tariffs with the U.S. Trump, however, said he will not lift Americas $360 billion of tariffs on Chinese goods until Phase Two is negotiated and implemented. We see this as a sign of brighter days to come, Illinois Soybean Growers President Doug Schroeder said in a statement. However, he added, A long-awaited win for the soybean industry will come when the soybean tariffs are fully rescinded. Unfortunately, that could be awhile, said Todd Hubbs, a professor of agriculture economics at UIUC. It doesn't sound like Phase Two is going to get done anytime soon, Hubbs said, because U.S. leadership could change after Novembers presidential election. I don't think there's any desire on either side right now to ruin the deal, (but) I don't see it happening before the election, he said. Carson Varner, a professor of international business at Illinois State University who also owns soybean land, says farmers like him are willing to suffer in only the short term. Wed much rather make our money selling soybeans than receiving tariff aid, he said. Varner is hopeful, though, that China and the U.S. can strike a deal. He predicts Phase Two will also allow Illinois to export more pork and agriculture equipment. (Trump) knows how to negotiate, Varner said. I think he told the Chinese he's willing to walk away from a bad deal, and so I am optimistic that this thing is going to move forward. USMCA helps corn farmers, hurts car buyers Despite Trump calling the USMCA one of the biggest trade bills ever made, not much has actually changed from its beginnings as the Clinton-era North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Coppess said. Were not talking about major reform of the trade agreement, Coppess said. If anything, the president has his trade agreement, so we can be assured at least for his time in office that maybe he won't threaten these trading partners again. The agreement mostly reinforces trade the U.S. already does with Canada and Mexico, especially corn, of which Mexico is Americas top buyer and Illinois is Americas second-most producer. Every step toward USMCA passage is cause for celebration, Illinois Corn Growers Association President Bill Leigh said in a statement. The USMCA also increases U.S. dairy exports to Canada, but that will impact more dairy-heavy states like Wisconsin. Both U.S. senators from Illinois, Democrats Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, voted for the bill. In statements, Durbin applauded its bipartisan support, while Duckworth said it works for farmers and manufacturers and features enforceable labor standards to support American workers. Duckworth added, however, the deal is not perfect because it does not tackle climate change. But Varner argues enforcing U.S. environmental standards on Mexico is demanding too much. Dont let the perfect be the enemy of the good, he said. One negative for regular Illinoisans is that the USMCA could increase the prices of new cars, because it ups the percentage of North American auto parts that vehicles must have to avoid tariffs. Because companies often pass on increased production costs and losses from tariffs to consumers, the average American could see car prices increase between $470 and $2,200, according to the Center for Automotive Research. Varner argues, however, the USMCAs requirements regarding auto parts and higher wage standards are designed to spur investment in the U.S. and increase domestic manufacturing. I think it would cost a lot more if we abandon these deals, he said. Trump is expected to sign the USMCA this week. Mexico approved it last year, while Canada is expected to approve it later this year to officially make it binding. 15 new Illinois laws for 2020 Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 This is an opinion column. Their hearts are in the right place. Almost 6,000 names are on a petition encouraging the Alabama Legislature to rename the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma for the man whose courage helped transform the 1,248.1 feet spanning the Alabama River into sacred ground: U.S. Rep. John Lewis. I understand. Lewis is the last man standing. Better yet, the last man marching. Or close to it. He was born in Troy, Alabama almost eight decades ago and served 32 years (and counting) in the United States Congress representing Georgias 5th District essentially Atlanta. He will always be Selma, though. He will always be the young activist and protege of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in the light, Burberry-like overcoat, donning a backpack, in a crisp, white shirt and thin black tie in Selma on Sunday, March 7, 1965. He will always be the stone-faced leader of some 600 men and women, marching from historic Brown Chapel AME toward and across the bridge, peacefully striding toward the state capital 54 miles away to inform Gov. George Wallace that all they wished to do was vote. Like other citizens. Like other Alabamians. He will always be standing, shoulder-to-shoulder with Hosea Williams, another young activist, just over the bridges apex, staring at the phalanx of blue-clad Alabama state troopers waiting at the bridges end. Williams, with the river flowing beneath them, turned to Lewis: John, he said, can you swim? No, can you? Lewis replied. A little. He will always be bloodied, from a nightstick to the head, crumpled on the ground, because the two men decided it was better to stride toward equality than jump into the flowing waters below. Always be beaten, trampled by horses, blinded and choked by tear gas. I thought I saw death, Lewis later told an interviewer and doubtlessly recalled many, many times since that Sunday. I thought I was going to die on that bridge. Lewis footprints will forever be embedded on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. His blood will forever stain it. The bridge, though, should never bear his name. I understand the sentiment and I applaud the gesture. But it shouldnt happen. Ive crossed the bridge four times since moving to the state nearly six years ago. Three times while marching in the annual recreation of the historic crossing; once, in 2018, with my daughter, then a student at the University of Alabama. In 2016, I marched at the front of the mass of celebrants, just a few linked arms to the right of Lewis. As he did each year, the congressman paused at the point where marchers first saw the troopers. He shared memories, then the group prayed and marched on. Two years later, on a quiet Saturday afternoon when the bridge was closed in preparation for the commemoration the following day, my daughter and I were allowed to walk across. As we passed the bridges apex, I glanced ahead at a suited figure walking slowly, purposefully. Is that John Lewis? I thought. It was. He was friendly, engaging and content in his crisp, white shirt and wide blue tie posing for a photo just beneath Edmund Pettus name. Only in Alabama, I told my New York-raised daughter, can you stride across the Edmund Pettus Bridge and casually bump into John Lewis. Anna Johnson (left) with Rep. John Lewis at the Edmund Pettus Bridge (2018) I remember the moment I learned Edmund Pettus was a racist. It was just a few years ago because, of course, things like that are not taught in our history books. When I read Pettus was a U.S. senator, Confederate general and the grand dragon of the Ku Klux Klan, I paused. Then I laughed out loud. Like almost-had-to-catch-my-breath laughed. Pettus is buried In Live Oak Cemetery, just 2.3 miles from the span that opened in 1940, a symbolic gateway to white supremacy. How many times has old boys body done a 360 because the bridge is now a hallowed, iconic symbol of everything he loathed? May it forever be named for him. My stance may surprise some who know my oft-stated disgust at our states shameful, though not at all surprising, protection of Confederate monuments. I dont believe they should stand on public grounds, not as a celebration of our nations most egregious act. Yet, Edmund Pettus should remain inscribed across the bridge. And plaques installed on each end noting the full, unvarnished breadth of his racist life. That irony of all must be preserved and taught in our schools. John Lewis did not die on the bridge that Sunday almost 55 years ago, thankfully. Now, he is battling Stage IV pancreatic cancer, a diagnosis he shared with us late last month. Honor him now, and forever, by demanding the rights he strode across the bridge to secure, the rights he withstood a nightsticks swing to obtain. Rights equal to those of all citizens. If everyone who signed that petition registered to vote and exercised that right in 2020, it would be honor enough. A voice for whats right and wrong in Birmingham, Alabama (and beyond), Roys column appears in The Birmingham News and AL.com, as well as in the Huntsville Times, the Mobile Register. Reach him at rjohnson@al.com and follow him at twitter.com/roysj Amritsar The Amritsar-rural police on Monday arrested a Jammu-based man, Sarvodhya Rakesh Bihari, in connection with the narco-terror module it busted on January 11. This is the seventh arrest in the case and comes the day after the rural police arrested one Rishab Kumar, a student, from Ghaziabad. Police claim Rishab had sold a drone to one of the key accused of the module, army naik Rahul Chauhan, through an online e-commerce company. Sarvodhya had been working as supplier of drones, and was in contact with a Delhi-based company that had been supplying the drones without following guidelines of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), police say. The module had been busted with the seizure of two highly sophisticated Chinese-made drones, and the arrest of an army naik and two smugglers Dharminder Singh and Balkar Singh involved in smuggling of weapons and narcotics across the border. Balkar was arrested from Amritsar jail. He was allegedly operating from jail, as police also recovered a mobile phone. The seizure, resulting from targeted and intelligence-led search operations, also included drone batteries, custom-made drone containers, two walkie-talkie sets and 6.2 lakh believed to be proceeds of drugs, and the magazine of an INSAS Rifle. A senior police official said, During questioning, Kumar told us that he had purchased a drone from Sarvodhya; we apprehended him from Jammu. He, however, refused to disclose the companys name, saying it would hamper investigation. We are close to breaking the chain of the sale and purchase business of drones. More arrests are expected in a day or two, he added. Preliminary investigations had confirmed that the armyman, Chauhan, was directly involved in operating drone sorties across the border for picking up heroin as well as weapons from Pakistan, along with his associates in India and Pakistan. He and his accomplices were in direct contact with Pakistani smugglers on encrypted Over-The-Top (OTT) media platforms, police had said, adding that the plan was to send one of the walkie-talkie sets across the border to Pakistan to aid in two-way communication. On January 14, police had brought two convicts Lakhwinder Singh and Swaran Singh from Amritsar jail after their names had cropped up during questioning. Two key accused, Ajaypal Singh and Paramjit Singh of Mode village, are absconding. Another senior police official said they were zeroing in more suspects, from Punjab and other states, who are involved in the supply of drones without following DGCA guidelines. SSP Vikramjit Singh Duggal refused to comment till the investigation was complete. ITI's total outstanding debt as on 31 December 2019, stood at Rs 978.38 crore. Mumbai: State-run electronics and telecom gear manufacturer Indian Telephone Industries (ITI) plans to raise Rs 1,600 crore through a follow-on public offer which will be utilised for partial debt repayment as well as to meet working capital requirements. The issue will open on 24 January and close on 28 January. The price band for the offer will be announced on 22 January, a top official of the company said. "A significant part of this issue, around Rs 607 crore, will be utilised for partial repayment of loans while over Rs 640 crore would be used to fund our working capital requirements," company's chairman and managing director RM Agarwal told reporters here. ITI's total outstanding debt as on 31 December 2019, stood at Rs 978.38 crore. The follow-on offer (FPO) comprises a fresh issue of up to 18 crore equity shares and additional issue of up to 18 lakh shares, constituting 1 percent of the net issue, which would be reserved for employees on a proportionate bases. An FPO is issuance of additional shares to investors or existing shareholders to raise equity. "We want to diversify our offerings. In the near future, we would be launching new products and services. Also, we would be leveraging our relationship with the government and various public sector agencies, modernise its infrastructure and technology as well as partner with technology firms to support the make in India and digital India initiatives," he added. The FPO will help the company meet Sebi's requirement of minimum 25 percent public shareholding. The company has a diverse suite of products including manufactured products like gigabit passive optical network (GPON), managed leased line network (MLLN) products, stand alone signaling transfer point(SSTP), Wi-Fi access point, radio modem, SMPS, set top box, defence products, smart energy meters, smart cards, solar panels, mini personal computers, among others. Besides offering the telecom turnkey solutions and customized support, ITI has a dedicated network system unit for executing turnkey projects for installation and commissioning of telecommunication network. ITI reported a turnover of Rs 919 crore and a PAT of Rs 168 crore in the third quarter of FY2019-20. The company's order book as of 31 December 2019 stood at Rs 11,051.12 crore which includes various GoI projects such as ASCON, BharatNet, network for spectrum, smart energy meters, space programs and e-governance projects. "The strengths of ITI are its diverse products and services offered across sectors, well established relationships with PSUs, the ministry of Defence and other government and state agencies. With the kind of segments we are entering and the initiatives taken by the government, ITI will be one of the leading technology services provider," Agarwal said. ITI has appointed BOB Capital Markets, Karvy Investor Services and PNB Investment Services as the book running lead managers to the issue. The net issue will have not less than 75 percent allocation to qualified institutional buyers, not more than 15 percent to non-institutional bidders and not more than 10 percent to retail individual bidders. Shares of ITI ended at Rs 102.85 on BSE, down 0.29 percent as against the benchmark index Sensex correcting by 0.99 percent. T he next leader of the Labour Party must talk to the people who didnt vote for us last time, Cherie Blair said today. The wife of Labours most electorally successful prime minister said the next leader must demonstrate that the party is forward-looking and open, in an interview with the Standard. Before the launch of her 100,000 Women campaign in Davos, Mrs Blair said it would be amazing for the party to elect its first female leader, but added: In the end, the question will be who can take the party and make sure it is talking to the people who didnt vote for us last time. They need show we are the forward-looking, open party. People seem to have forgotten that. Mrs Blair also spoke out about the unfair way women in politics are treated, particularly on social media. She added: It is so sad that many women in the last Parliament had to take precautions after being threatened with rape, murder, horrible things. Women... put themselves forward as politicians out of a sense of public duty. Mrs Blair refused to endorse any candidate directly, joking: Im not sure an endorsement from me will do anyone any favours. Who will replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader? 1 /4 Who will replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader? Rebecca Long-Bailey Getty Images Lisa Nandy REUTERS Keir Starmer PA The race to select Jeremy Corbyns replacement has entered its second phase with just one man, Sir Keir Starmer, still running. His rivals Rebecca Long-Bailey, Lisa Nandy, Jess Phillips and Emily Thornberry are fighting for backers after Sir Keirs early progress. Supporters of his rivals have been urging members to use the leadership race to elect Labours first female leader. Andy Burnham, Labour mayor of Greater Manchester, today said the next leader has to be the best person and did not have to be a woman. He told the BBC: Labour sometimes gets itself in trouble when it just says its got to be this for a reason that is about showing a certain position, as opposed to choosing who is going to be the best person to win back that trust. If it could be, it would be a very strong statement, but it doesnt have to be in my view. Sir Keir is expected to secure enough votes from local party branches, unions and affiliates to make it onto the final ballot paper. Three of the big five trade unions are expected to endorse candidates by the weekend. Unison has already backed Sir Keir while Unite is expected to back Ms Long-Bailey. On a visit to Grimsby today, Ms Nandy sought to promote her industrial credentials, saying: Too many major public contracts worth billions of pounds in sectors like offshore wind and the rest of the energy industry have benefited overseas firms at the expense of British jobs despite these investments being funded by everyone through their energy bills. The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2018 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 18:35:29|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), meets with senior officers of troops stationed in southwest China's Yunnan Province in Yunnan's capital city Kunming, Jan. 20, 2020. Xi on Sunday and Monday inspected troops stationed in southwest China's Yunnan Province ahead of the Spring Festival, or Chinese Lunar New Year, and extended his Chinese Lunar New Year's greetings to all soldiers and officers of the People's Liberation Army, armed police, militia and reserve forces, on behalf of the CPC Central Committee and the CMC. (Xinhua/Li Gang) KUNMING, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- President Xi Jinping on Sunday and Monday inspected troops stationed in southwest China's Yunnan Province ahead of the Spring Festival, or Chinese Lunar New Year. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), extended his Chinese Lunar New Year's greetings to all soldiers and officers of the People's Liberation Army, armed police, militia and reserve forces, on behalf of the CPC Central Committee and the CMC. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 20:10:42|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close It is hoped that the first year of this new decade will be marked by greater political stability, economic prosperity and fruitful trade ties in Latin America, though observers admit it may sometimes be an uphill battle. by Xinhua writers Cui Yuanlei, Yang Chunxue, Shooka Shemirani MEXICO CITY, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- The year of 2019 was a turbulent one for Latin America where there were protests, violent clashes and a fierce tug of war between conservative and progressive currents in countries long considered bastions of stability. As the region staggers into 2020 with stagnant or even shrinking growth, hopes are that the first year of this new decade will be marked by greater political stability, economic prosperity and fruitful trade ties, though observers admit it may sometimes be an uphill battle. People participate in a protest in Santiago, Chile, Nov. 8, 2019. (Xinhua/Jorge Villegas) RECOVERING STABILITY With tensions in the region expected to ease in the new year, Chile and Bolivia, the two most roiled by political upheaval in 2019, have already set the wheels in motion towards recovering stability. Chileans will get to vote in an April 26 plebiscite on whether to rewrite the Constitution to better address economic and social disparities. The plebiscite was proposed after massive protests broke out in mid-October against a hike in subway fares in the capital Santiago, and quickly spread throughout the country, fueled by anger at Chile's inability to distribute the country's wealth, which is leading to growing inequality. It remains to be seen whether the April poll will satisfy Chilean protesters, but one good sign is that the plebiscite addresses what many experts believe is Latin America's biggest concern -- inequality. It's not enough to generate wealth, as events in Chile, which has emerged as a high-income country in recent years, have proven. What is needed are policies that promote social and work place inclusion to help eradicate poverty and strengthen the middle class, the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) recommends. Protesters confront the police in Quito, Ecuador, on Oct. 9, 2019. (Str/Xinhua) "We have a highly vulnerable middle class, and that is where we have to offer the right answers, especially to the youth," Alicia Barcena, the ECLAC's executive secretary, has said. Bolivia is set to hold general elections in May for the second time in eight months, after the outcome of October elections was not recognized by the conservative opposition, leading to protests, the resignation of the country's first indigenous president and the installation of an interim government. Will new elections help pacify the polarized country? That all depends on the turnout, said Bolivian political scientist Marcelo Arequipa. "Without a doubt, Bolivia's political-electoral horizon seems uncertain, especially since the right insists on a fragmented roster of potential presidential candidates," said Arequipa. The problem that plagues the right, center-right and hard-right, he said, is the lack of consensus around a unifying candidate, which means those parties will be disputing 60 percent of the votes, while the remaining 40 percent will go to the ruling Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) party. To win, a candidate must garner more than 50 percent of the vote, or more than 40 percent with a 10-point lead over the runner-up, otherwise a runoff will be held between the two leading candidates. Jeanine Anez (C) wears the presidential sash after proclaiming herself interim president in La Paz, Bolivia, on Nov. 12, 2019. (Photo by Meagan Hancock/Xinhua) ECONOMIES REBOUND? Economic deceleration was widespread and synchronized among Latin American countries and sectors, but several are seeing light at the end of the tunnel. Brazil, the region's largest economy, has been showing signs of recovery since the second half of last year, with many economic indicators presenting positive results. On that news, the Brazilian government upgraded its 2020 economic growth forecast in mid-January from 2.32 percent to 2.4 percent. According to a report by the Brazilian Economy Ministry's Economic Policy Secretariat, economic indicators are coming in stronger than the market expected, especially in certain sectors, such as services, commerce and civil construction. The region's number two economy, Mexico, breathed a sigh of relief with the approval by the U.S. Senate of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement on free trade. The deal still needs to be passed by Canada's parliament before it can take effect, but it is already helping to lift spirits and confidence in Mexico's economic outlook. Affected mainly by global trade tensions and social turmoil at home, Chile's exports fell 7.4 percent in 2019. But the government is looking to revert those losses this year by expanding both its range of export products and export markets. "We are looking to diversify our presence in leading markets we are already in, such as China and the United States, for example, by increasing our export of services," said Rodrigo Yanez, Chile's undersecretary for International Economic Relations, told reporters. Aerial photo taken on Sept. 18, 2019 shows a view of a photovoltaic plant with Chinese technology and equipment in the town of Cafayate, Salta Province, Argentina. (Xinhua/Martin Zabala) Ecuador, also rocked by protests towards the end of 2019, needs to rein in public spending and rising debt before it can see sustained growth. Much of the discontent in Ecuador, and other Latin American countries, springs from the 1972-1982 oil boom, which resulted in high levels of corruption and rampant spending and burdened nations with huge debt and imbalanced economies to this day. "The government has to make public finances sustainable again. That is going to help recover the country's competitiveness," economist Alberto Acosta Burneo told Xinhua. Protests in Ecuador are sparked by the elimination of fuel subsidies, which resulted in a sudden spike of gasoline prices and was estimated to save the government 1.5 billion U.S. dollars a year to start getting its finances in order. In a report issued in December, the ECLAC said fiscal policies in the region should be centered "on the reactivation of growth and on responding to growing social demands." CHINA-LATAM COOPERATION As an important trade and development partner for Latin America, China is playing a growing role in the region's development, and offers more chances for the region to make continued progress on different fronts, regional observers agreed. With shared interests in development and highly complementary economies, cooperation between China and Latin American countries has enjoyed sound momentum of growth despite the region's instability and weak economy. A staff member of the Shijiazhuang Customs checks the quality of a pear for export to Brazil, in the city of Cangzhou, north China's Hebei Province, Jan. 14, 2020. (Xinhua/Mu Yu) Statistics of China's Ministry of Commerce showed that the two-way trade volume from January to November last year stood at 286.8 billion dollars, with a year-on-year increase of 1.8 percent. Five years ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed building a China-Latin America community with a shared future, ushering in a new era in China-Latin America ties. Boosted by the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, the two sides have made notable strides in strengthening comprehensive cooperation in many fields from high-level exchanges to trade liberalization. In the eyes of Latin American experts, the initiative, with an aim to build networks connecting Asia with Europe and Africa and beyond, is generating a lot of interest in a region that has traditionally lacked the infrastructure to promote development. "China is expected to participate much more actively in the region's economic transformation," said Juan Angel Cordero, a Cuban expert in international relations, noting that China's cooperation with Latin American countries will be multidirectional. Scholars also called on countries in Latin America to study China's experience in governance and national development. According to Venezuelan geopolitical expert Luis Quintana, China has come up with a successful formula that has also been applied with positive results in Latin America -- a state that plays an active role in the economy and in promoting social rights, and a private sector that takes active part in the process of national development. It "has required a progressive and sustained process of reforms and opening up, which have brought China formidable progress," said Quintana. (Video reporters: Cui Yuanlei, Yang Chunxue; Video editor: Peng Ying) traveler1116/iStock(RICHMOND, Va.) -- Armed with rifles, tactical gear and homemade posters, thousands of gun rights activists hit the streets of Richmond, Va., Monday to protest the states proposed gun control laws. Lobby Day went off with no major violent incidents in the morning despite threats from armed militias and white supremacist groups that led Gov. Ralph Northam to declare a state of emergency and ban weapons from Capitol Square. Gun rights groups, such as the Virginia Citizens Defense League and Gun Owners of America, spoke out against the proposed ban on assault rifles, a "red flag" law, which would give officials the power to confiscate weapons from an individual who poses a threat, and other gun control measures that the newly Democratic-led state legislature introduced. We will not comply, protesters shouted. The armed activists stayed outside of the Capitol grounds, where all weapons are banned until Tuesday night, while their unarmed members held their rally outside of the legislative building. On Monday, police will not be separating counter-protesters within the fenced area in Capitol Square, officers told ABC News. On Wednesday, Northam issued a state of emergency and banned all weapons from Capitol grounds from Friday until Tuesday night. Northam said he had received credible intelligence that hate groups and militias were planning violent attacks in Capitol Square that mirrored the ones seen before the 2017 Charlottesville "Unite the Right" rally where three people were killed. "They are not coming to peacefully protest, they are coming to intimidate and to cause harm," the governor said at a news conference. Gun rights supporters tried to block the state of emergency, arguing that it infringed on their right to rally; however, a judge denied their motion and their subsequent appeal before the ban went into effect Friday evening. The Virginia Citizens Defense League has asked its members to obey the state of emergency. But the group said those who plan to attend Lobby Day and protest outside the protected areas should come armed. "For every one gun owner on the Capitol grounds, we need another two to five people outside," the league said in a statement. President Trump showed his support for the activists on Twitter, writing in a tweet Monday morning, "The Democrat Party in the Great Commonwealth of Virginia are working hard to take away your 2nd Amendment rights. This is just the beginning. Dont let it happen, VOTE REPUBLICAN in 2020." He also retweeted a video of the gun rights activists singing "The Star-Spangled Banner." Virginia's House Republican leader, however, called for calm and urged all groups attending Monday's Lobby Day to be peaceful. "Any group that comes to Richmond to spread white supremacist garbage, or any other form of hate, violence, or civil unrest isn't welcome here," he said in a statement posted on Twitter. Recent FBI activity highlighted the threats facing Lobby Day. On Thursday, the agency arrested three reputed members of a white supremacy group who were allegedly armed with several weapons and traveling to Richmond "in anticipation of a possible race war," law enforcement sources told ABC News. A spokesperson for the FBI's Richmond field office on Sunday told ABC News in a statement: In response to a request for assistance from the Virginia Division of Capitol Police, FBI Richmond has been working with our local and state law enforcement partners in relation to threats of violence at the rally on January 20, 2020. We will provide assistance as deemed appropriate to ensure public safety. State, Capitol and Richmond police said they will have a strong presence in Capitol Square and will set up checkpoints to ensure the weapons ban is enforced and everyone is safe. The emergency order is slated to end Tuesday evening, but the gun control debate will continue over the next few months. Northam and Democratic state leaders said they remain committed to enacting new laws that would curtail gun violence in the state. Several Virginia towns, however, have made resolutions declaring themselves "Second Amendment Sanctuaries" and passed resolutions that disavow any state or national gun control measures. Moms Demand Action, the gun control activist group, spent Monday calling Virginians and volunteering throughout the state to bolster support for the bills. "Activism will always supersede extremism," Shannon Watts, the founder of Moms Demand Action, tweeted. Copyright 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. A British mother who spent years on the run with her two children before washing up in an inflatable dinghy on the island of Jersey has been spared an immediate jail sentence. Teacher Lauren Etchells fled Canada with her young daughter, leaving the girl's other mother distraught and local police scrambling to track her down. She fled to Europe with her then new partner Marco van der Merwe and their child, and evaded capture for three years despite Interpol issuing a Red Notice. Her travels took her to England, France, the Netherlands, the Middle East and possibly to Spain and Portugal, police said. The girl's other mother, Tasha Brown, described the time of her daughter's disappearance as "the lowest of lows". Mother of two Etchells was finally caught after arriving in Jersey with her parents in July 2019 in a 13ft inflatable dinghy - despite their subsequent attempts to deceive immigration staff. The 34-year-old appeared alongside parents Brian Etchells and Angela Hardy, both 68, for sentencing on Monday at Jersey Magistrates' Court. All three had pleaded guilty to making a false representation under immigration law. Lauren Etchells was convicted after a four-day trial at the same court in December of two charges of exposing a child to risk of harm. Her parents were convicted of two charges of aiding and abetting exposing a child to risk of harm. Assistant magistrate Peter Harris said: "These were rather unique circumstances which are unlikely to be repeated. "Together they were using Jersey in an attempt to avoid compliance with a Canadian court order." He acknowledged the efforts made to reduce the risk of harm to the children, and that no harm was actually sustained. But he added: "The waters around Jersey can be very dangerous. "Both children were exposed to a risk of harm." Mr Harris told the defendants that he viewed their conduct as "to all intents and purposes of an equal nature". They were each given six-month prison sentences, suspended for 12 months, and fined 500. They must also pay costs of 1,600 between them. Prosecutor Simon Crowder told the court how all three had initially claimed they had come to Jersey from France "with the intention of having lunch". Sarah Dale, defending Lauren Etchells, said: "As you heard throughout the trial, Miss Etchells believed that she and also her parents had taken all relevant precautions to ensure the safety of the children during the crossing. "Miss Etchells's children are the greatest importance in her life and whatever her motive for making that crossing, she was adamant that she would not do anything at all that she felt put them at risk or endangered them." The court heard that all three defendants, listed as being of La Ruette Pinel in St Helier, Jersey, were of previous good character. Rui Tremoceiro, defending Brian Etchells and Angela Hardy, echoed Ms Dale's submissions about the steps taken to ensure the children were safe on the crossing. On the West Coast, four large dams on the Klamath River, which flows from Southern Oregon into Northern California, are slated for removal by 2022, streamlining some 400 miles of habitat for migratory fish. On the East Coast, efforts are underway in Connecticut to eliminate obsolete dams from rivers that connect with Long Island Sound. State officials are motivated partly by a concern for public safety, since aging dams can suddenly give way. We have government regulations that say we are not going to let you let your dam collapse and kill people, said Stephen Gephard, a supervising fisheries biologist for the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Hazardous dams have to be inspected every other year. Connecticut has about 4,000 dams, Dr. Gephard said, and the vast majority of those are obsolete. The state owns about 100 dams and is reviewing the list to determine which should be removed. But Dr. Gephards team has identified 20 to 30 privately owned dams that it would like to remove to allow fish passage. It can take years, Dr. Gephard said, to educate a community or a private landowner about the merits of losing their dams, a process that often involves debunking myths. Some residents fear being left with a stinking mud flat once the dam is gone, but in fact, dormant seeds quickly become trees, shrubs and grasses. The most bizarre myth is the notion that if you remove the dam, there wont be any water in the stream, Dr. Gephard said. Its as if they think the water is coming from this concrete. So many Americans dont understand the concept of a watershed or flowing water. To that end, conservation groups have enlisted engineering firms to create photo renderings showing how a river would appear without a dam, Dr. Gephard said. Medical undergraduate encourages Wrexham students to aim high during Cambridge University trip This article is old - Published: Monday, Jan 20th, 2020 A medical student at one of the most prestigious universities in the country has encouraged students from her former high school to aspire to aim for the top when it comes to higher education. Esther Abelian who is in her first year at Magdalene College, University of Cambridge spoke to the five year 11 MAT Ysgol Clywedog students about university life while giving them a tour of the different departments and colleges. The visit was part of an organised event attended by students from schools across North Wales to provide information about entry requirements and studying at the university, as well as advice about A-levels they would need to study in order to be able to access particular degree courses. To help the students to start thinking like university students, they took part in a workshop held in Magdalene College which involved them working in groups on a variety of questions that were given to them. The aim was to show the students the way in which the university would want them to tackle questions and think. Afterwards, the students were taken in groups on a tour of the university which included the dining hall, the chapel, a library and the surrounding grounds. The visit to Cambridge opened up a whole new world to me. It showed me how I can achieve my goals and how big I can make my goals, said Jack McNeil. I got a sneak peek into the hard work that studying at the University of Cambridge involves, but also the fun and success it offers. Laura Williams commented: I am considering a career in medicine. The trip to the University of Cambridge made me realise what university life is like. Also, I would now consider applying for Cambridge as well as other universities. Mrs Kane, subject leader PSE & careers, accompanied the students on the visit. She said: It was an excellent day that provided these highly motivated students with an in-depth view of the university. The visit was made extra special as they were shown around by Esther. She also showed them the biology and law departments, as one of the students is interested in medicine and another in law. Esther was able to answer their questions and give them a first-hand account of student life at the university, which is an invaluable perspective. As a former Ysgol Clywedog student she is an excellent role model for them and encouraged them to have confidence and aim high. These students are now far more aware of what they can achieve and that a prestigious university such as Cambridge is within their reach. New Delhi: In Muzaffarpur sexual and physical assault of several girls at a shelter home, a Delhi court on Monday (January 20) convicted 19 accused including NGO owner Brajesh Thakur and acquitted one. The court, however, will pronounce the quantum of sentence on January 28. The shelter home was run by former Bihar People's Party (BPP) MLA Brajesh Thakur. Earlier, the court had deferred the order by a month till January 14 as Judge Saurabh Kulshrestha, was on leave. The accused included eight females and 12 males. The court had held the trial for the offences of rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, drugging of minors and criminal intimidation among other charges. Live TV Key accused Brajesh Thakur and staff of his shelter home, as well as officials in the Bihar department of social welfare, were charged with criminal conspiracy, neglect of duty and failure to report assault on the girls. The charges also included offence of cruelty to child under their authority, punishable under the Juvenile Justice Act. On March 20, 2018, the court had framed charges against the accused, including Thakur, for offences of criminal conspiracy to commit rape and penetrative sexual assault against minors. Notably, former Bihar Social Welfare Minister and then JD(U) leader Manju Verma also faced flak as allegations surfaced that Thakur was associated with her husband. Manju Verma had to resign from her post on August 8, 2018. The CBI had told a special court that there was enough evidence against all the accused in the case. The case was registered under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Additional Sessions Judge Kulshreshtha, during the in-camera trial, concluded the arguments in the case which had begun on February 25 last year. The case was transferred on February 7 from a local court in Muzaffarpur in Bihar to a POCSO court at Saket district court complex in Delhi on the Supreme Court's directions. For the first time, the matter came to fore after the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) submitted a report to the Bihar government on May 26, 2018, highlighting the alleged sexual abuse of minor girls at the shelter home. On May 29, 2018, the Bihar government shifted the girls from the shelter home to other protection homes, and FIR was lodged against 11 accused on May 31, 2018. New Delhi, Jan 20 : The Supreme Court on Monday accepted Centre's proposal recommending a seven-member Board to take over the management of real estate company Unitech. A bench headed by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud approved the appointment of former IAS officer Yudhvir Singh Malik as its CMD. Last month, the apex court had asked the Centre to take over Unitech. The newly approved Board will file a report within two months on the resolution framework to sort out the housing mess of the Unitech, which includes recommendations on the way forward on the stalled housing projects. The apex court also granted two-month moratorium to the new board of Unitech Limited from any legal proceedings. The top court said it will appoint a retired apex court judge to monitor preparation of resolution framework by newly appointed Board of the Unitech. The Centre had informed the Supreme Court it was willing to take over the management of the embattled real estate giant. This decision will have significance for nearly 30,000 homebuyers. In December, the Supreme Court during a hearing had asked Centre to explore the possibility of taking over the management of the company in the thick of financial mess as a consequence of siphoning of more than 50% of money deposited by individuals and financial institutions. In 2009, the government had also taken over scandal-hit Satyam. ST. PAUL As the decennial count gets underway Tuesday, Jan. 21, in remote parts of Alaska, Census Bureau staffers in the Twin Cities are searching for thousands of part-time workers to knock on doors this spring. Statewide, the Census Bureau is 60 percent of the way toward its goal of nearly 39,000 job applicants. Roughly 8,000 more temporary workers will be hired to help count everyone living in the state. Recruiting that workforce is "the most urgent issue right now," according to Jolie Wood, who is leading Ramsey Countys efforts to raise awareness and promote participation in the 2020 census. Ramsey County as of Thursday was at 69 percent of its application target, behind Hennepin County but ahead of Anoka, Dakota and Washington counties. Some of the states greatest needs are around St. Cloud and Duluth. In order to compete for workers in a time of low unemployment, hourly pay rates for census enumerator jobs have increased to $27.50 in Hennepin County and $22 across the other six metro counties. ADVERTISEMENT "I think it is enough," said Birhane Ambaw, 46, who left Ethiopia for the U.S. three years ago and has been earning a "very small" wage overnight at a group home. Ambaw got help applying for an enumerator job Friday at the International Institute of Minnesota, a workforce development center near the State Fairgrounds. Shes looking for daytime work to supplement her income. The institute trains new Americans in housekeeping jobs that pay $12-$13 and nursing assistant jobs paying around $15, said Lynn Thompson, program manager for the hospitality career pathway. Census enumerators get to work close to home, between five and 40 hours a week, during a time of day thats convenient for their lives. "This is very attractive to a lot of our clients and its very flexible," Thompson said. "They can do this job while theyre doing their other jobs." Local people The bureau and its partners in local government and nonprofits have spent a lot of time in immigrant communities explaining what the census is and why its important, as well as recruiting workers. They expect census takers who look like their neighbors and speak the same languages will make for a more accurate count. "Were using assets they have to help America," said Chou Moua, partnership specialist with the Census Bureau. Gaining trust is a major hurdle with certain refugees, he said. ADVERTISEMENT "For some of them, the last census they were in marked them for genocide." Wood said a long list of ethnic community organizations are helping out. Theyre especially needed in St. Paul, where many residents represent groups that historically have been undercounted, such as young people, renters, people of color and immigrants. "We have high proportions of all these groups that historically are being missed," she said. Census moves online The 2020 census will be the first that allows all residents to complete their information online, although mail and phone still are options. The vast majority of Minnesotans will get their first invitations by mail in the middle of March. Those who ignore it will get two reminders in the mail, then a paper questionnaire and then a final mailed reminder. The Census Bureau figures nearly two-thirds of residents will have submitted their information by then, although Minnesotas response rate routinely beats the national average. Those who dont respond will be visited at their homes by census workers in spring. If someone still refuses to participate or cant be reached in person, census enumerators will ask a proxy, such as a neighbor or landlord, to help complete the survey; in a small number of cases, the bureau uses statistical techniques to fill in the gaps. ADVERTISEMENT Why it matters Census data is used to distribute hundreds of billions in federal dollars each year for myriad health, education, housing and infrastructure programs. It also determines how many electoral votes and representatives in the U.S. House each state will get for the next 10 years. Minnesota is widely expected to lose one of its eight congressional districts after this years count. Thats because its estimated population growth of 6.8 percent since 2010 lags behind much of the country. Projections place Minnesotas eighth seat at 437th in line for 435 positions missing the cut by between 6,740 and 21,000 people, according to the consulting firm Election Data Services. State Demographer Susan Brower said shes holding out hope for keeping that seat. "These are numbers that could be made up by a good census count and/or errors in the current estimates and population projections," she said. Congress used to expand the House so that no state would ever lose a seat following a census, but that practice stopped at 435 about 100 years ago. What questions do they ask? For each member of your household, youll give their age, sex, race and ethnicity, how the residents are related to each other, and whether the home is owned or rented. What's new on the 2020 form? White and black people now can record their countries of origin. Theres also new "same-sex" language, which should correct an overcount in the number of same-sex marriages caused by straight people mismarking their sex. Do I have to participate? Yes, its the law. But its extremely unlikely youll be fined if you refuse. Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Tens of thousands of gun rights activists, many of them armed, gathered in Virginias capital on Monday as the governor declared a state of emergency ahead of a protest against strict new gun control laws pledged by the states freshly elected Democratic majority government. Chanting We will not comply, gun rights activists packed the street in front of the Virginias state house, where the governor, Ralph Northam, had temporarily banned anyone from carrying firearms. On the streets outside, though, some protesters carried rifles and wore full tactical gear. One protester estimated that as many as 70% of the crowd was armed, most of them more discreetly, with concealed handguns. Police estimated that 22,000 people attended the rally, most of them in the streets outside the state house, where guns were allowed. Related: Pro-gun activists threaten to kill state lawmaker over bill they misunderstood Virginias politicians had braced for potential violence at the state house, with some raising fears that the gun rights rally could turn violent, like the deadly 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville. Instead, Mondays rally was crowded but calm, with members of militia groups and violent far-right groups such as the Proud Boys strolling the streets, but no counter-protesters in sight. In part because of the expected presence of thousands of Virginians who had no affiliation with hate groups, local anti-fascist activists had announced days before the rally that there would be no counter-protests. One person was arrested, for wearing a mask in public, police said. The single arrest raised questions, since many protesters in the streets outside the rally had worn masks. I was kind of scared it would keep the turnout low, Jacob Taylor, 33, a Virginia resident, said, describing the conspiracy theories and fears of violence that had circulated before the event. He said he had turned out to the protest, his first ever political rally, because I dont want what I thought to be false rhetoric to keep people from coming. Story continues Taylor said that, as a gun owner, he had been motivated to come to the state capitol because some of the bills Democrats had talked about would have directly affected what I can own and what I can do. For several hours, before an official rally organized by a state gun rights group began, protesters in the street in front of the capitol building chanted, sang the national anthem and took turns addressing the crowd through a megaphone. Northam lied and he said he knew there was imminent danger out here. But all I see is God-fearing, American-loving patriots out here, one speaker, a contributor to Infowars said to cheers. Wherever the chickenshit governor is hiding, make sure he hears you right now, he called. USA! USA! USA! the crowd chanted. The large law enforcement presence at the rally was strikingly restrained, with no riot gear. Guns rights supporters gather outside the state capitol in Richmond, Virginia, on Monday. Photograph: Shawn Thew/EPA The presence of thousands of armed citizens outside the elegant state capitol building was meant as a warning: Democrats, not just in Virginia but nationwide, should back off attempts to pass sweeping gun control laws. Early in the morning, two men pushed through the packed crowd in bright red T-shirts that read Make Politicians Afraid Again, with the image of a military-style rifle underneath. Conservative pundits were touting the non-violent gathering as evidence that law-abiding gun owners are not a threat to the publicdespite high numbers of daily shooting deaths. Shannon Watts, the founder of gun control group Moms Demand Action, condemned the rally. Armed insurrectionists who threaten violence and lawlessness if they dont get their way dont represent the majority of Virginians, she said. An armed militia gathers in front of the Virginia state capitol building in Richmond, Virginia, on Monday. Photograph: Stephanie Keith/Reuters In Richmond, a city where nearly half of local residents are black, the gun rights protesters on Monday were overwhelmingly white and overwhelmingly male. Among the thousands of demonstrators were some men in tactical gear, armed with military-style rifles. The conspiracy theorist Alex Jones had showed up with members of the far-right group the Proud Boys. So did some members of anti-government militias. A few lawmakers waving out at the big pro-gun crowd as the VCDL rally begins. The speaker system at the rally is very difficult to understand and theres no stage so almost no one can see whoever is speaking pic.twitter.com/Xrv9wVsvHe Lois Beckett (@loisbeckett) January 20, 2020 Northam had declared a state of emergency last Wednesday, citing threats of violence, in an effort to avoid a repeat of violence that erupted at a 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, when a march by white nationalists led to the death of a counter-protester. Local anti-fascist activists from Richmond and Charlottesville announced over the weekend that they would not be holding any counter-protests, citing safety concerns. Donald Trump acknowledged and encouraged the rally on Twitter on Monday. The Democrat Party in the Great Commonwealth of Virginia are working hard to take away your 2nd Amendment rights. This is just the beginning. Dont let it happen, VOTE REPUBLICAN in 2020! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 20, 2020 On Saturday, after a security briefing for lawmakers, Virginias Republican house minority leader put out a public statement condemning any group that comes to Richmond to spread white supremacist garbage. While we and our Democratic colleagues may have differences, we are all Virginians and we will stand united in opposition to any threats of violence or civil unrest from any quarter, Todd Gilbert wrote. Tensions in Virginia have run high since November 2019, when Democrats won control of the state government for the first time in 26 years and pledged to pass a package of gun control laws, from universal background checks to an extreme risk protection order law to a ban on military-style assault weapons. Since then, pro-gun activists across Virginia have organized a vigorous grassroots movement to protest against the new bills. Gun rights protesters sing the National Athem as they wait outside Virginias capitol. pic.twitter.com/KEwMGvYN1U Lois Beckett (@loisbeckett) January 20, 2020 The standoff in Virginia, where the National Rifle Association (NRA) is headquartered, has also prompted spiraling conspiracy theories and intense rhetoric from gun owners about tyranny and civil war. Human heads were butchered and ritually scooped out to leave bowl-like remains dubbed 'skull cups' as late as in Bronze Age Europe, 4,000 years ago. An international team of researchers found evidence that skulls were processed in a consistent, systematic manner for a total of around 15,000 years. It is not clear exactly what the skull cups were made for, but the tool marks left on their surfaces suggests they were worked for both their meat and another purpose. Experts have previously suggested that skull cups may have been used as containers or drinking vessels, as war trophies or even masks or decorative items. Scroll down for video Human heads were systematically butchered and ritually scooped out leaving bowl-like remains dubbed 'skull cups' as late as in Bronze Age Europe, a study has found Evolutionary anthropologist Francesc Marginedas of the Rovira and Virgili University of Tarragona in Spain and colleagues studied skull cups from three ancient sites Goughs Cave in the UK, Herxheim in Germany and El Mirador Cave in Spain. They compared these with human skulls that had not been found in bowl-shapes from Fontbregoua Cave in France and Gran Dolina in Spain. The skull cups date from from the Upper Palaeolithic, around 20,000 years ago, to the Bronze age, about 4,000 years ago. The ritual use of human skulls has already been documented in several archaeological sites of different chronologies across the globe. Such practices are thought to be related to the creation of war trophies, masks, decorative and engraved elements and what are referred to as 'skull cups'. Experts think that some ancient societies even believed that human skulls possessed a life force or certain powers and were thus collected after violent confrontations as symbols of authority and superiority. By examining tool marks on the insides of the skulls from their study sites, the team were able to recognise potential evidence for ceremonial practices. Ritually-treated skulls are known to often sport signs in the form of cut marks produced by stone tools or metal knives left behind during the scalp removal process. Such practices, for example, are archaeologically well-documented among the American Paleo-Indians, who left behind skulls with circular arrangements carved around the head. Based on such previous examples, the researchers developed a method to statistically analyse whether marks found on the skulls from the study sites were created as part of some form of similarly consistent processing technique. The team found that there is a specific pattern formed by systematic skull treatments that were perpetrated in the same fashion for almost 15,000 years. By examining tool marks on the insides of the skulls from their study sites, the team were able to recognise potential evidence for ceremonial practices. Pictured, marks on a skull found in Gough's Cave, in the UK. Cut marks are shown in blue, while the orange and green colourations represent areas of muscle attachment An international team of researchers led by evolutionary anthropologist Francesc Marginedas of the Rovira and Virgili University of Tarragona, pictured, found evidence that skulls were processed in a consistent manner for a total of around 15,000 years The marks appear to have been left behind as the skulls were stripped of their scalp and meat and intensively cleaned. The same patterns were found on the skulls sourced from all of the study sites except for the Homo antecessor remains from Gran Dolina. The researchers believe that the systematic working of the human skulls began with the removal of the scalp and continued with the excision of muscle tissue. The skulls were then broken to preserve the thickest part of the cranial vault. Researchers studied skull cups from three ancient sites Goughs Cave in the UK, Herxheim in Germany and El Mirador Cave in Spain. They compared these with human skulls which had not been made into bowl-shapes from Fontbregoua Cave in France and Gran Dolina in Spain While many of the cuts suggest a cannibalistic butchering process, other marks found on each of the skulls suggests a final treatment that served a different intent. It remains unclear, however, exactly what the processed skulls were used for once they had been stripped clean of their flesh. Nevertheless, the researchers concluded, 'the preparation of skull cups can be related to a ritual treatment of the human heads in these archaeological contexts.' The full findings of the study were published in the Journal of Archaeological Science. BRONZE AGE BRITAIN: A PERIOD OF TOOLS, POTS AND WEAPONS LASTING NEARLY 1,500 YEARS The Bronze Age in Britain began around 2,000 BC and lasted for nearly 1,500 years. It was a time when sophisticated bronze tools, pots and weapons were brought over from continental Europe. Skulls uncovered from this period are vastly different from Stone Age skulls, which suggests this period of migration brought new ideas and new blood from overseas. Bronze is made from 10 per cent tin and 90 per cent copper, both of which were in abundance at the time. Crete appears to be a centre of expansion for the bronze trade in Europe and weapons first came over from the Mycenaeans in southern Russia. It is widely believed bronze first came to Britain with the Beaker people who lived about 4,500 years ago in the temperate zones of Europe. They received their name from their distinctive bell-shaped beakers, decorated in horizontal zones by finely toothed stamps. The decorated pots are almost ubiquitous across Europe, and could have been used as drinking vessels or ceremonious urns. Believed to be originally from Spain, the Beaker folk soon spread into central and western Europe in their search for metals. Textile production was also under way at the time and people wore wrap-around skirts, tunics and cloaks. Men were generally clean-shaven and had long hair. The dead were cremated or buried in small cemeteries near settlements. This period was followed by the Iron Age which started around 650 BC and finished around 43 AD. Advertisement There is no reverse migration from India: Bangladesh PM. New Delhi: In remarks that indicate Dhakas concerns and will somewhat worry New Delhi, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday said Indias Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) was not necessary but termed it an internal matter of New Delhi. We dont understand why (the Indian government) did it. It was not necessary, Sheikh Hasina was quoted by news agency reports from Dubai as telling the newspaper Gulf News in an interview during her visit to the UAE. No, there is no reverse migration from India. But within India, people are facing many problems, Sheikh Hasina said, adding, (Still), it is an internal affair. Bangladesh has always maintained that the CAA and NRC are internal matters of India, Sheikh Hasina said. She added, The Government of India, on their part, has also repeatedly maintained that the NRC is an internal exercise of India and Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi has in person assured me of the same during my visit to New Delhi in October 2019. India appears to be struggling to contain the possible fallout of the CAA controversy on ties with Bangladesh and seems to be in a damage-control mode on this. Bangladesh is one of the three countries mentioned in the CAA. The MEA had pointed out last month that in Bangladesh, the Governments of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman (Bangabandhu) and (his daughter and current prime minister) Sheikh Hasina had protected minorities in Bangladesh and that persecution had taken place under spells of military rule in Bangladesh and under the previous Government there, a veiled reference to the earlier Government led by Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chief Begum Khaleda Zia which was seen to be pro-Pakistan and anti-India. On ties with Bangladesh, the MEA had earlier said there is a close relationship between India and Bangladesh and that the close ties between the two should not be defined by postponement of a visit, a reference to the cancellation last month of the visit of Bangladesh foreign minister A.K. Abdul Momen. The MEA had also said then that a meeting of the Joint Water Commission between the two countries had only been postponed because Bangladesh felt it did not have the data from the six rivers. The MEA had claimed that too much should not be read into isolated incidents. Two prominent Italian stage directors have decided not to participate in the Islamic Republic's annual Fajr Theater Festival, after Iranian artists urged them to stay away. The organizers of the 38th Fajr Festival confirmed Sunday, January 19, that the theater companies of Italian stage directors Eugenio Barba and Romeo Castellucci have "postponed" all programs arranged for the festival. The organizers have given no reason for what they described as a "postponement." Fajr festival is scheduled to run from January 30 to February 9 in Tehran, celebrating the triumphant return of the elderly leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to Iran in 1979. Earlier last December, a group of prominent exiled Iranian writers, poets, playwrights, and actors had asked Barba and Castellucci to stay away from the Islamic Republic's official festival, in the aftermath of widespread protests, during which up to 1,500 people were shot to death by security forces. "Cancel your trip to Tehran and support the bereaved people of Iran who are still struggling to achieve their rights," the signatories to the letter had cautioned Italian stage directors. Eugenio Barba, 83, is an Italian author and stage director based in Denmark. He is the founder of the Odin Theater and the International School of Theater Anthropology, both located in Holstebro, Denmark. Romeo Castellucci, 59, is an Italian theater director, playwright, artist, and designer. Since the 1980s, he has been one part of the European theatrical avant-garde. The image of the two shined on the poster of the eighth Fajr Theater Festival, while the name of Eugenio Barba, is misspelled in Persian. Meanwhile, dozens of Iranian artists have also withdrawn from the Fajr film and theater festivals to express their sympathy with the families of the victims killed in a Ukraine Airlines passenger plane that was downed by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps anti-air missile(s), on January 8, outside Tehran's Imam Khomeini international airport. Creator-Kenomatv, Oma Nnadi has expressed her sadness after purchasing some amount of yogurts for her daughters consumption. Oma says she didnt bother buying the yogurts from the States since we have it here in Nigeria, only for her to purchase some and met disgusting substances in them despite it had not expired. She took to IG to narrate her terrifying experience. Thank God she was the one that was about to feed her child, her nanny (if any), could have thought it was part of the yogurt Sharing the photos, she wrote: So I didnt bother buying baby yogurt from the states since we have them in my dear country . This is what I saw today when I opened one to feed my girl, this is what I found. even with the fact its not expired ooooo. waohh dear Nigeria. @nafdac_ng Do your jobs before kids eat poison in this country please .. imagine a good looking of this yogurt, fed to your child , what it will develope to in her system. pathetic. please share and continue to tag nafdac for the safety of our children in this country. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates Pompeo Says Berlin Summit Made Progress Toward Libya Cease-Fire By RFE/RL January 19, 2020 U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says a summit in Berlin on the conflict in Libya has made progress toward a fully fledged cease-fire, and that he hopes the development will lead to the reopening of Libyan oil facilities that have been blocked by warring tribesmen. Pompeo made the remarks after Germany brought together the leaders of 11 countries on January 19 for talks aimed at convincing outside powers to stop fueling Libya's civil war with troops, weapons, or financial support. The Berlin summit also sought to secure a cease-fire between forces of Libya's UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli and Libya's Russian-backed rebel leader, General Khalifa Haftar, whose Libyan National Army (LNA) headquarters are in the city of Tobruk. Ultimately, the summit was aimed at relaunching a political process and prevent what some fear could become another Syria-like flood of refugees from Libya. German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters at the conclusion of the summit that the backers of the rival Libyan sides had agreed a truce reached in Tripoli over the past week should be turned into a permanent cease-fire to allow a political process to take place. A special committee made up of five military men from each side will monitor the truce, Merkel said, adding that foreign powers active in Libya have committed themselves to uphold an existing UN arms embargo and to stop shipping weapons there. Those attending the Berlin gathering included Pompeo, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Also in attendance were UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres along with senior representatives of the European Union, the African Union, and the Arab League. 'Downward Spiral' Libya's UN-recognized Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj was also in Berlin for the January 19 gathering along with his main rival, General Haftar. Merkel and German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas met separately with both Sarraj and Haftar at the chancellery in Berlin before the summit began. But neither Sarraj nor Haftar attended the summit's opening group photo and the two did not meet in Berlin, Merkel said. "We know that we have not solved all of Libya's problems today but we were aiming for fresh momentum," she said at the end of the gathering. Just hours before the meeting began, Sarraj raised doubts about Haftar's agenda, saying that "long experience makes us doubt the intentions, seriousness, and commitment of the other side, whom everyone know seeks powers at any price." Guterres said at the start of the conference that world leaders "are here for an urgent and pressing reason: to stop Libya's downward spiral." Macron told the gathering on January 19 that he was extremely concerned about the recent arrival in Tripoli of pro-Turkish Syrian fighters. The French president said the deployment in Libya of fighters from Syria and other foreign forces must stop immediately. Turkey and Russia have both been criticized by UN and Western officials who say their efforts to arm their allies have intensified violence. Differences were apparent on January 19 with Erdogan declaring that the world has failed to respond adequately to Haftar's "reckless attacks" on Sarraj's UN-recognized government. "Hopes that flourish again with the cease-fire and the Berlin summit should not be sacrificed to the ambitions of the merchants of blood and chaos," said Erdogan, who supports Sarraj's government and has been critical of Russia's support for Haftar. Shaky Cease-Fire Erdogan met Putin before the summit began, with Putin saying "we will sincerely strive for the conflict to be resolved." Meanwhile, the U.S. Secretary of State said during a meeting with Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on January 19 that Washington was also concerned about the presence of foreign fighters in Libya. Erdogan announced earlier in January that he had dispatched Turkish military elements to Libya to ensure stability for the GNA. Pompeo also held talks on the sidelines of the Berlin summit with Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates, another country involved in the Libyan conflict. A draft communique circulating early on January 19 urged rival sides to refrain from hostilities against oil infrastructure, agencies reported as senior officials from countries backing the warring parties converged in the German capital. The draft communique reportedly described Tripoli-based state oil company NOC as the only legitimate entity that can sell Libyan oil. Tribesmen loyal to Haftar have reportedly blocked off all oil ports in eastern Libya. A cease-fire between the rival Libyan forces had been scheduled to enter into force on January 12, but has been shaky at best. Last week, Haftar left talks in Moscow without signing a cease-fire deal proposed by Moscow and Ankara. Libya has been plagued with violence and unrest since a NATO-backed campaign ousted longtime dictator Muammar Qaddafi in 2011. UN experts and diplomats say Russian military contractors in recent months have deployed alongside Haftar's LNA, which has also received air support from the U.A.E. and backing from Jordan and Egypt. Moscow denies direct military involvement. With reporting by Reuters, AP, dpa, and AFP Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/german-us-russia-putin- berlin-summit-libya-war-merkel-erdogan -putin-macron/30385215.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 Shiv Sena leader Kamlakar Kothe on Monday said that Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has assured that the Pathri village will not be termed as Saibaba's birthplace and stressed that no new dispute will be created as the matter has ended. "Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has accepted our demands. People of Shirdi are satisfied with what he said. He has assured us that no new dispute will be created and we are ending the matter," Kothe, who is also a representative of the Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust, said after a meeting. A delegation of 40 people, including Sai Temple Trust members and Shiv Sena MP Sadashiv Lokhande, meet Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray earlier today. On Sunday, devotees in Shirdi staged a protest against Thackeray over his decision to develop Pathri in Parbhani as a religious centre terming it the birthplace of Sai Baba. The indefinite 'bandh' was later called off later. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Fall-Winter collection at the 2020 Mens Paris Fashion Week was all about autumnal hues, subtlety and fluidity, and several luxury couture brands including, Hermes, Balmain, Louis Vuitton, Jacquemus, among other showcased their collections in Paris on Saturday. Supermodels sisters, Gigi and Bella Hadid walked the ramp for most of the shows at Paris Fashion Week, but it was their catwalk for Jacquemus that was eye-catching. The sisters bear a huge resemblance to each other, obviously, but during the show they were even dressed in similar colours and styled the same way too, and looked like twins. While 24-year-old Gigi wore a long flowing coffee white dress, which was cinched on one side at the hip and had a thigh-high slit. Gigi sported golden hoop earrings and tan coloured sandals. On the other hand, 23-year-old Bella wore a fitted dress with no slits in a similar colour, huge earrings in multiple metallic tones, high socks in white and sandals. Gigi posted a picture of herself from the ramp on her Instagram and wrote, Wearing these clothes, you can feel the true inspiration and understanding of dressing others Simon got, from making pieces for his mother, as a child- the first one in 1997. I loved hearing what this show meant to him, Jacquemus herself would be so proud! The show was produced by 30-year-old Simon Porte Jacquemus, and the idea was all about soft geometry. The show was all about clever shape-play by the French designer, and the deliberate cutting off of sections and segments, like the thighs or midriff, was to achieve this purpose. The collection was all about long legs, mushroom-shaped and rounded shoulders, flattened scarves or rounded hats perched atop the head, and fabrics like soft wools and comfy cotton to ensure utmost comfort. Gigi recently grabbed headlines after the judge in the Harvey Weinstein rape and sex abuse trial dismissed her as a prospective juror. Gigi told the judge that she had met Harvey Weinstein and also multiple witnesses including Salma Hayek, and that she felt she could remain impartial. However, the judge wasnt convinced and Gigi was ultimately dismissed. Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON With the start of a new legislative session, I am calling on Iowa legislators to change the "Invasion of Privacy" code in Iowa to better protect victims of peeping toms. The "Invasion of Privacy" code in Iowa requires an extremely limiting burden of proof for victims. If a perpetrator is convicted under this section, it must be proved 1) that their victim was at least partially nude at the time of viewing and 2) that the perpetrator was aroused by viewing them. It is simply not a crime in Iowa just to be viewing someone without their consent in a space where privacy is reasonably assumed unless these two elements are present. Briefly, here are a few examples of where that burden of proof hurts victims. In 2015, a Des Moines police officer was relieved of charges after being caught spying on female co-workers in their locker room because it could not be proved whether the women were at least partially nude while being viewed. The 2019 case of an employer videotaping his employee while she was breastpumping is ongoing and the victim faces a burden of proof trying to provide evidence that the employer was aroused. Without proving this, he will be found "not guilty." The "Invasion of Privacy" code in Iowa needs to be changed to remove these archaic requirements or victims will continue to face an overwhelming burden when seeking justice in their cases. That is why I am calling on all of our legislators in Iowa to change Code 709.21 this legislative session. Please contact them to request the same. Ruth Lapointe, Clear Lake Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 He was beloved by millions as Samwell Tarly. And Game Of Thrones star John Bradley cut a dapper figure in a dark blue suit as he cosied up to his glamorous girlfriend Rebecca April May at the 26th Screen Actor's Guild Awards at the The Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on Sunday. The actor, 31, cut a dapper figure in a classic black suit as he joined a slew of stars in attendance for the coveted awards show. Smart: Game Of Thrones star John Bradley, 31, joined his glamorous girlfriend Rebecca April May at the 26th Screen Actor's Guild Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday John was looking suave in his black suit as he posed alongside his stunning girlfriend Rebecca on the red carpet. The Manchester-born actor was in good spirits at the awards event, while Rebecca opted for a pretty cornflower blue lace dress. The dress boasted an elegant black tie neck and layers of crochet detailing, and she finished the look with a statement red lip and black strapped heels. Smart: The actor cut a dapper figure in a classic black suit and Grenson shoes as he joined a slew of stars in attendance for the awards show. Beaming: John was the picture of happiness as he posed alongside his girlfriend Rebecca, who wore a chic blue dress with a pretty crochet effect Legendary: John famously played Samwell Tarley throughout the show's eight season run Cosy: He and his beautiful girlfriend Rebecca were the picture of happiness as they were among the arrival the early arrivals for the awards show John famously played close friend of Jon Snow Samwell throughout the show's eight season run. When the show came to an end last year with its divisive finale Samwell was appointed Grand Maester as part of King Bran Stark's newly-formed council. John's attendance came as Game Of Thrones was nominated for three awards, Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series and Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series. Peter Dinklage also received a nod for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series. Contender: John's attendance came as Game Of Thrones was nominated for two awards, Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series and Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series. The Screen Actors' Guild Awards have also long been been a bellwether for Oscar success, since actors make up the largest percentage of the Academy. Leading the TV categories, in Best Drama Series Ensemble, the actors nominated the casts of Big Little Lies, The Crown, Game of Thrones, The Handmaid's Tale and Stranger Things. Comedy Ensemble nods went to Barry, Fleabag, The Kominsky Method and The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel with HBO's Succession surprisingly overlooked. Pronoun disputes are both a byproduct of these larger fights and a separate field of battle. In one of a number of similar cases, a Virginia high school teacher was fired for refusing to use the male pronoun to refer to a transgender student who was assigned female at birth; the teacher used the students preferred male name, but said his religious convictions prevented him from referring to the student by the pronoun him. The teacher is suing, claiming that the firing violated his rights to free speech and religious liberty. Pakistani delegation arrived in Beijing on Sunday for three-day face-to-face talks with Financial Action Task Force Working Group that would start on 21 January Islamabad: Pakistan has urged the US to support its bid to exit from the grey list of the FATF ahead of a key meeting of the international terror financing watchdog in Beijing in which it will scrutinise Islamabad's efforts to adopt stricter laws against terror financing and money laundering. A Pakistani delegation arrived in Beijing on Sunday for the three-day face-to-face talks with the Financial Action Task Force Working Group that would start on 21 January. The briefing will go over whether Pakistan has complied with an earlier agenda presented to it by the Paris-based financial task force, The News reported. The Pakistani delegation is being led by Minister for Economic Affairs Division Hammad Azhar and comprises representatives of the National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta), the foreign ministry, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), among others. The FATF in October decided to keep Pakistan on its 'Grey' list for failure to curb funnelling of funds to terror groups LeT, JeM and others. If not removed off the list by April, Pakistan may move to a blacklist of countries that face severe economic sanctions, such as Iran. Pakistan has submitted a 650-page review report to the FATF on 8 January. The report was submitted in response to 150 questions raised by the FATF regarding new Pakistani policies on money laundering. The report outlined the steps taken by Pakistan between October 2019 to January 2020 to implement the group's recommendations. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi at a media briefing in Washington on Friday said that Pakistan hoped the US would back its efforts to get it off the list at the FATF's Beijing meeting, the Dawn newspaper reported. This meeting is very important for us as it leads to a plenary meeting in Paris in April where the world body will decide whether Pakistan remains on the list or is taken off, he said. Qureshi concluded his three-day visit to the US on Friday after a series of meetings with key US lawmakers and officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien. The foreign minister spent the week touring Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the US on a diplomatic mission meant to defuse tensions between Washington and Tehran. At his news briefing, Qureshi also urged the US to review its travel advisories for Pakistan and encourage investments in the country. US travel advisories still present Pakistan as a country Americans should avoid travelling because of terrorism threats. Asked why the FATF's Beijing meeting was important, Qureshi said that decisions taken in China's capital would also impact the Force's Paris plenary, which would decide whether Pakistan stayed in or was taken off the grey list. We want our American friends to tell us what's their policy, he said. You share with us what measures you have taken or intend to. The minister acknowledged that removal from the FATF list could not happen overnight, but said that the US could enhance its engagements with Pakistan while waiting for the removal. Qureshi noted that in his meetings with prime minister Imran Khan last year, US President Donald Trump had said that he wanted to see Pakistan off the FATF grey list. So, we expect US officials to work for it now. The foreign minister said Islamabad had taken several concrete steps to meet FATF demands and the time had come for the US to fulfill Trump's pledge. Hong Kong Rally Canceled After Clashes With Police By VOA News January 19, 2020 A large protest in Hong Kong was ended by police when clashes broke out between protesters and plainclothes officers Sunday. Organizers originally applied for a permit to march which was denied by police. Authorities allowed organizers to hold a rally if they agreed to stay in once place. But roughly 10,000 protesters gathered and some began clashing with police on Sunday afternoon when officers in nearby streets in the Central District began to perform stop and searches. Protesters reportedly threw water bottles and paint at the officers, leading to police calling off the rally. A statement from the police said that protesters attacked and injured two officers with umbrellas and batons, leaving them with bloody head injuries. In an apparent new tactic, police have been showing up ahead of time in riot gear, with officers conducting "stop and search" operations near expected demonstrations. "Everyone understands that there's a risk of stop-and-search or mass arrests. I appreciate Hong Kong people still come out courageously, despite the risk," said organizer Ventus Lau. On Jan 1, a march of tens of thousands of people ended with police firing tear gas to disperse crowds. The gathering in the park was initially relaxed, with many families with children listening to speeches by activists. In one corner, a group of volunteers set up a stand where people could leave messages on red cards for the lunar new year to be sent to those who have been arrested. One read: "Hong Kongers won't give up. The future belongs to the youth". Authorities in Hong Kong have arrested more than 7,000 people, many on charges of rioting that can carry jail terms of up to 10 years. It is unclear how many are still in custody. Anger has grown over the months due to perceptions that Beijing was tightening its grip over the city, which was handed over to China by Britain in 1997 in a deal that ensured it enjoyed liberties unavailable in the mainland. Beijing denies meddling and blames the West for fomenting unrest. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The Supreme Court on Monday sought response of the Centre and the Election Commission on a plea seeking a stay on the electoral bond scheme meant for funding political parties. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday sought response of the Centre and the Election Commission on a plea seeking stay on the electoral bond scheme meant for funding political parties. The top court, however, refused to grant an interim stay on the electoral bond scheme. A bench comprising Chief Justice SA Bobde and justices BR Gavai and Surya Kant asked the Centre and the Election Commission to file their responses within two weeks on the interim application filed by NGO 'Association for Democratic Reforms' for staying the scheme. Lawyer Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the NGO, alleged that the scheme is a means for channelising unaccounted black money in favour of the ruling party. Bhushan also referred to a document of the RBI while seeking stay of the scheme. "We will see that. We are listing it after two weeks, the bench said. Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the EC, said all these arguments have already been advanced earlier and sought four weeks time to reply to the plea of the NGO against the scheme. The government has opened the sale of electoral bonds for 10 days for the Delhi Assembly election. The government had notified the Electoral Bond Scheme on 2 January 2018. As per provisions of the scheme, electoral bonds may be purchased by a person, who is a citizen of India or incorporated or established in India. An individual can buy electoral bonds, either singly or jointly with other individuals. Only political parties registered under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 and which secured not less than one per cent of votes polled in the last general election to the House of the People or the Legislative Assembly of the State, shall be eligible to receive electoral bonds. As per the notification, electoral bonds shall be encashed by an eligible political party only through a bank account with an authorised bank. There are various economic and social benefits associated with individuals when they are supported to make effective transitions from secondary school to further education, training, or employment. Varun Gupta and Nitin Gupta, both directors of IMTS Institute, believe in transparency, equality and working ethically in the sector. His motive is to grant easy access to students to the information related to courses and Universities available across. He is a firm believer in the "Right to Education" and the right-to-right information so that the students can make progress. As a citizen of a country, the first and foremost right that every citizen has the right to It enables the citizens to be empowered and to see the world through educated eyes. As a citizen of the country, each and every child is entitled to and this is what the right to education aims to achieve. Here are some statistics which would tell you the condition of the world in terms of education: The path of a successful way is not that much ease while you are doing a job. You have to catch the buses, classes to attend and the last studies to complete. In this complicated situation, you need a guide, who can help you in wrapping up all. Because, at this stage, a wrong decision makes your life almost hell. IMTS Institute is that guide for you. We are one of the premier service providers, we provide education counselling to huge students. We totally understand the needs and mentality of the students and accordingly provide the best counselling to the students. Varun Gupta and Nitin Gupta started the Institute in Noida (INDIA) with a vision of providing a common platform to universities and students where they can come together. Students get to pick the best suitable course and an opportunity to compare the universities offering these courses wholly based on the facts that matter to them. In IMTS Institute, students pursuing courses in distance or part-time mode find it difficult to connect directly with the university after taking admission and, at times, miss on essential announcements made by the university. Gupta makes conscious efforts by communicating with the universities, gathering the information, and keeping the students updated to avoid any gaps. He makes sure that student counselled at his guidance centre should not suffer by missing on any announcement made by the university. Knowledge and Guidance with IMTS Institute Career education and leadership play an essential role in the curriculum that supports: student's interests, strengths, and aspirations. With multiple career options available in the market, it gives students a tough time in selecting the right course for themselves that would help them nurture in the right direction. In the majority of the cases, either student ends up opting for a course that does not align with their plans or take up a job that varies completely from the path they had pursued. Change is the new normal. For this reason, career counsellors must do their work in such a way that their clients become career adaptable and, most importantly, employable. It is vitally important that students acquire those skills that will help them not only survive but rather flourish in times of change. The journey started in 2005 Keeping this motive in mind, the institute of management and technical studies commenced its journey in 2005 by setting up a career counselling and guidance centre quartered in Noida with a social cause. Core belief of IMTS is that every student should get accurate information and assistance before they choose that would become a stepping-stone towards their bright future. Moreover, the professional education counsellors of the Institute do not leave any stone unturned for making this belief a reality. Free Career counselling Here in IMTS, Students can opt for courses in Regular mode, Distance learning, and part-time mode depending on their requirements. IMTS has supported and guided approximately 20,000 students to date and assisted them in taking admission to the university of their choice. Last year itself, 2,500 students benefited from the work of the Institute and took admission in different Universities with the guidance of their counsellors. The Institute is aiming to increase this number year on year, as they firmly believe that education is the right of every individual. IMTS Institute Noida is helping individuals to opt for academic and professional courses. IMTS arranges experts from the corporate to share their experiences with students and helps them in selecting the best of the course. Apart from counseling, IMTS also facilitates individuals from taking admission in the Institute till their results. We feel immense pleasure to share that various professionals from the industries are facilitated and admired by us and working with enthusiasm. This story is provided by Digpu. 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.) A Canadian woman has spent most of her savings to help Australian wildlife impacted by the devastating bushfires. Recent university graduate, Kelsey Trimble, left Canada on January 12 for Australia to deliver donations and hand-made goods to organisations tending to injured wildlife. The 23-year-old announced her plans on Facebook after donating to Animal Rescue Craft Guild and being inspired by their work. The Animal Rescue Collectives Craft Guild is a public group on Facebook with over 230,000 members who are sewing, knitting and crafting much-needed items for affected animals. The donations and craft goods Kelsey Trimble trekked to Australia from Canada. Source: Facebook I recently joined this group and what they are doing for the wildlife in Australia is absolutely amazing. I already contributed through donations, but I also want to bring over some knitted items and/or fabrics for the centres working with these poor babies. If anyone is interested in making some knits, follow this page and go to the file section to get the guidelines for how to make everything and what fabrics to use, Ms Trimble wrote, saying she would happily bring over any donations and items from Canada. On January 12, Ms Trimble announced she had made it to Australia and had been able to gather a considerable amount of supplies. I am so so honoured to be bringing donations from over 20 people in Toronto, Canada, to Australia to help the wildlife during such a terrible time! Ms Trimble said. It was a team effort from all of us and with three checked humanitarian bags at 50lbs (22kgs) a bag, an impact will be made and animals will be helped. Ive never seen people come together like this before, absolutely amazing. Of the knitting goods, Ms Trimble brought over 85 nests, 12 bat wraps, 20 pouches, 69 pouch liners, 52 outer pouches, 22 hanging pouches and 2 beds. The recent university graduate is seen preparing for her flight to Australia. Source: Facebook She also travelled with more than $1200 worth of medical supplies and other donations. Ms Trimble told news.com.au she used most of her savings to get to Australia, forking out $1700 on the plane ticket alone. Story continues She spent another $450 flying from Perth to Sydney, and another $400 on a rental car. There are so many people in Canada working together to help Australiawe all want to help and are all working together to make that happen from the other side of the world, she told News.com.au. 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 acquisition of AHP builds on Risk Strategies previous acquisition of University Health Plans in 2017, a company release said. Risk Strategies also said that the deal helps further its position as the nations largest broker of student health insurance plans and related administrative services. High-quality, affordable and simple-to-navigate student health insurance offerings are important for higher education institutions, and AHP is a proven leader in this arena, said Risk Strategies employee benefits practice leader John Greenbaum. From plan creation to ongoing administration, AHPs focused expertise makes them a great fit for our approach to problem solving and client service. Risk Strategies understands the value of specialty expertise and innovation to solve todays complex healthcare challenges, so joining up with them seemed like the best way to solve that challenge for our clients and expand our business and capabilities, commented AHP founder and CEO Terry Lyons. Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Mansukh Mandaviya as well as three chief ministers -- Amarinder Singh, Kamal Nath and B S Yeddyurappa -- will join over 100 Indian CEOs in the Swiss ski resort town of Davos next month for the WEF's 50th annual meeting, which will be attended by thousands of rich and powerful from across the globe. Among the global leaders, US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin are also expected to attend the high-profile summit, where over 3,000 global leaders would converge to discuss what requires to make it a "cohesive and sustainable world". However, there is no official confirmation about the two leaders as yet. Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan is also expected to be present, but reports have suggested that Chinese premier Xi Jinping and UK's Boris Johnson may give the event a miss. Those having confirmed their presence include Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani, Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin, Hong Kong SAR CEO Carrie Lam, Iraq President Barham Salih, Norway's Prime Minister Erna Solberg, Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsein Loong and Swiss President Ueli Maurer. There are a number of other heads of state from various countries also who have confirmed their presence for this annual jamboree of the rich and powerful from across the world which is expected to be a much bigger affair this time because it would be World Economic Forum's 50th anniversary. While the official list of public figures would be announced closer to the summit, slated for January 20-24, 2020, speculation is abound that Trump and Putin both might be there after both of them skipped the event last year. The Geneva-based WEF has selected "Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World" as the theme for its 2020 annual meeting, which will bring together 3,000 global leaders. The WEF has said the 2020 meeting aims to give a concrete meaning to "stakeholder capitalism", assist governments and international institutions in tracking progress towards the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals, and facilitate discussions on technology and trade governance. Those who are registered from India include industry leaders Gautam Adani, Mukesh Ambani, Rahul and Saniv Bajaj, Kumar Mangalam Birla, N Chandrasekaran of Tata Group, Sajjan Jindal, Uday Kotak, Rajnish Kumar of SBI, Anand Mahindra, Sunil and Rajan Mittal, Ravi Ruia, Pawan Munjal, Nandan Nilekani and Salil Parekh of Infosys, C Vijayakumar of HCL Tech, Ajay Piramal, Rishad Premji, Ajay Singh and Pirojsha Godrej. Film star Deepika Padukone is also registered as founder of Live Love Laugh Foundation, which aims to reduce the stigma, spread awareness and change the way people look at mental health. She will receive the prestigious Crystal Award on the first day of the summit. The foundation has been instrumental in creating a platform where people seek help for themselves or their loved ones, find comprehensive knowledge, connect with professionals and find comfort knowing that they are not alone in their battle with issues specifically stress, anxiety and depression. Among others from the Indian film industry, Shahrukh Khan and Karan Johar have been in Davos for the WEF annual meetings in the recent years. Isha Foundation's Sadhguru will also be there this time. Among the public figures from India, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will be visiting again and would be joined by Mandaviya, Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Shipping and Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers of India. Among chief ministers, Madhya Pradesh's Kamal Nath would be visiting Davos again, while Punjab's Amarinder Singh and Karnataka's Yeddyurappa are also slated to attend this WEF annual meeting. Besides, former union minister Suresh Prabhu, Finance Commission Chairman N K Singh and Telangana Minister K T Rama Rao would also be in Davos. Among global business leaders, Michael Dell of Dell, James Dimon of JP Morgan, Deloitte's Punit Renjen, IBM's Ginni Rometty, Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg, Nokia's Rajiv Suri and UBS' Axel Weber are expected to participate. WEF Founder and Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab has said people are revolting against the economic ''elites'' they believe have betrayed them, and the efforts to keep global warming limited to 1.5 degree celsius are falling dangerously short. "With the world at such critical crossroads, this year we must develop a ''Davos Manifesto 2020'' to reimagine the purpose and scorecards for companies and governments. It is what the World Economic Forum was founded for 50 years ago, and it is what we want to contribute to for the next 50 years," Schwab said. The forum's first meeting in 1971 was established to further the idea put forward by Professor Schwab that business should serve all stakeholders -- customers, employees, communities, as well as shareholders. It was reaffirmed in 1973 in the "Davos Manifesto", a document that has shaped the work of the WEF ever since. In a major update, this year's annual meeting will see the publication of a universal "ESG scorecard" by the WEF's International Business Council, which is currently chaired by Brian Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America. Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi, right, shakes hands with Philippine diplomat Rosario Manalo, a member of the Independent Commission of Enquiry for Rakhine State, at the Presidential Palace in Naypyitaw, Myanmar on Monday. AP photo Myanmar: An independent commission established by Myanmars government has concluded there are reasons to believe that security forces committed war crimes in counterinsurgency operations that led more than 700,000 members of the countrys Muslim Rohingya minority to flee to neighboring Bangladesh. However, the commission, headed by a Philippine diplomat, said in a report given Monday to President Win Myint that there is no evidence supporting charges that genocide was planned or carried out against the Rohingya. The Independent Commission of Enquiry announced its findings in a press release posted on its Facebook page. It came just ahead of a decision by the United Nations top court, scheduled for Thursday, on a request that Myanmar be ordered to halt what has been cast as a genocidal campaign against the Rohingya. The African nation of Gambia brought legal action last year to the International Court of Justice in the Netherlands, alleging on behalf of the 57-country Organization of Islamic Cooperation that genocide occurred and continues. State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmars top leader, strongly denied wrongdoing by government forces at the initial hearing on the case in December. Mondays report issued by the commission said it found no evidence of genocide. But it went further than any public statements issued by Myanmars government in suggesting government forces were guilty of major abuses. Although these serious crimes and violations were committed by multiple actors, there are reasonable grounds to believe that members of Myanmars security forces were involved in war crimes, serious human rights violations, and violations of domestic law in 2017, it said. The killing of innocent villagers and destruction of their homes were committed by some members of the Myanmars security forces through disproportionate use of force during the internal armed conflict, it said. But the report points out that the security forces acted in response to deadly attacks organized by Rohingya guerrillas belonging to the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army ARSA. The commissions announcement said it would hand over its 461-page report to be used for investigations and possible prosecutions by Myanmar civil and military authorities. A U.N. team also conducted a major investigation and found grounds for bringing charges of genocide. Its members were not allowed to enter Myanmar. They did much of their work interviewing Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. The Independent Commission of Enquiry said its investigators were dispatched to Rakhine State, where the violence occurred, Yangon and the Myanmar capital Naypyitaw for evidence collection. But it makes no mention of visiting refugee camps in Bangladesh. The commission is led by senior Philippine diplomat Rosario Manalo, and included retired Japanese diplomat Kenzo Oshima, Myanmar presidential adviser Aung Tun Thet and legal expert Mya Theinn, The inclusion of the Myanmar members close to the government raised doubts about its ability to deliver a credible report, especially because separate earlier investigations by the government and military did not yield much trustworthy information. President Donald Trump took up his own impeachment defense Monday, complaining that he got 'ZERO' fairness during a House inquiry and claiming Democrats 'didn't want' security advisor John Bolton as a witness. Trump made his case Monday on the eve of the debut of arguments in his Senate impeachment trial amid a still unresolved debate and speculation about whether a rump group of Republicans will join Democrats to push for witnesses. Bolton, Trump's fired national security advisor, has become a key figure, following testimony by other witnesses that he called the Ukraine policy being carried out by Rudy Giuliani, the White House acting chief of staff, and a U.S. ambassador a 'drug deal.' President Donald Trump took up his own impeachment defense Monday, complaining that he got 'ZERO' fairness during a House inquiry 'They didnt want John Bolton and others in the House. They were in too much of a rush. Now they want them all in the Senate. Not supposed to be that way!' Trump tweeted Monday. He also went after Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, whose caucus and Senate colleagues have been sworn in to impartially weigh evidence against Trump. 'Cryin Chuck Schumer is now asking for fairness, when he and the Democrat House members worked together to make sure I got ZERO fairness in the House. So, what else is new?' Trump wrote. The House invited Bolton to testify in its impeachment inquiry, but the fired national security advisor then joined an effort to seek a ruling from a federal judge about whether he could appear. Bolton's lawyer asked a judge to rule on whether his client should comply with the request from Congress or a White House instruction for witnesses not to appear. Early this year, Bolton said through his lawyer that he was willing to appear in the Senate trial. Amid the standoff, the House did not subpoena Bolton, although it heard from multiple officials who spoke of his role including security advisor Fiona Hill, who testified about his 'drug deal' comment. Trump tweeted that Democrats 'didn't want' John Bolton to appear, although they sought his testimony Trump complained he got 'ZERO' fairness in the House inquiry 'They didnt want John Bolton and others in the House,' Trump said of the Democratic impeachment inquiry and his fired national security advisor 'I am not part of whatever drug deal Sondland and Mulvaney are cooking up,' Hill said Bolton told her. Hill also said Bolton consider Giuliani, who was working to dig up information on the Bidens in Ukraine, a 'hand grenade.' Schumer said Sunday he would force a vote on allowing witnesses as the Senate impeachment trial gets underway Tuesday. 'We have the right to do it, We are going to do it and we are going to do it at the beginning on Tuesday if leader [Sen. Mitch] McConnell doesn't call for these witnesses in his proposal,' he said. 'If they say well let's wait and hear the arguments we'll want a vote after they hear the arguments as well and we will do everything we can to force votes again,' he said. He would need to assemble 51 votes which would include four Republicans to prevail. House Intelligence Chair Rep. Adam Schiff said of Bolton this year, after the House had already voted out two impeachment articles: 'If we are proceeding in a rationale way where we are trying to be fair to the President and fair to the American people, he should testify before the triers of fact, which are the senators.' Trump's push against witnesses comes as key Republicans including Utah Sen. Mitt Romney and Susan Collins of Maine have spoken about witnesses. Romney says he would like to hear from Bolton, and Collins has said she is 'likely' to back a motion to hear from witnesses. Democrats have demanded the Senate hear from witnesses for there to be a fair trial after the White House refused to allow key figures like Mulaney to appear. The process fight comes days after Trump's legal team put forward the legal argument that abuse of power and obstruction of Congress the two impeachment articles passed by the House do not even constitute a crime. 'The Articles of Impeachment are constitutionally invalid on their face. They fail to allege any crime or violation of law whatsoever, let alone "high Crimes and Misdemeanors," as required by the Constitution,' Trump's lawyers wrote in a six-page brief released Saturday. Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow signed a six-page defense of Trump Trump lawyer Alan Dershowitz has argued that abuse of power is not a crime, and therefore not an impeachable offense John Bolton called Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani a 'hand grenade,' according to impeachment witness Fiona Hill. Here he is pictured with former associate Lev Parnas, who has come forward to speak publicly about his efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate the Bidens Attorney Jay Sekulow and White House counsel Pat Cipollone released a letter arguing Trump's case Saturday Giuliani associate Lev Parnas provided a trove of information to the House impeachment inquiry, which publicly released images and documents Friday 'They are the result of a lawless process ... Nothing in these Articles could permit even beginning to consider removing a duly elected President or warrant nullifying an election and subverting the will of the American people,' according to the brief, signed by Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow and White House counsel Pat Cipollone and They wrote in response to a lengthy Democratic legal brief arguing that Trump violated his oath and abused his office. 'In fact, it alleges no violation of law whatsoever. House Democrats "abuse of power" claim would do lasting damage to the separation fo powers under the Constitution,' Trump's team responded. Trump lawyer Alan Dershowitz has made a similar argument in TV appearances, as he did on ABC's 'This Week' Sunday. He cited Justice Benjamin Curtis and the impeachment of Andrew Johnson who he said forwarded the argument that an impeachable offense must also be a crime. That trial involved dozens of witnesses. 'So I am making an argument much like the argument made by the great Justice Curtis, said Dershowitz. And to call them absurdist is to, you know, insult one of the greatest jurists in American history. The argument is a strong one. The Senate should hear it.' If looks could kill this poor koala would be in seriously trouble. Hungrily eating his breakfast, Soni the koala has no idea that another marsupial is watching him with intense jealously. Sheriff, who is four, was mauled by a dog and brought into Port Stephens Koalas, a hospital for injured koalas, north of Newcastle, New South Wales. Hilarious footage shared by carers at the centre showed Sheriff watching as Soni enjoyed his breakfast on Thursday. 'He's not impressed,' the carer was heard saying in the clip. Footage shared by Port Stephens Koalas, north of Newcastle, New South Wales, on Thursday captured meal time at the sanctuary 'He just got out of his basket and he's gotten back in and he's just waiting patiently for his breakfast.' However once she caught sight of the marsupial again she quickly changed her mind about the manner in which he was waiting. 'Maybe not so patiently,' she joked. Sheriff was glaring down the camera with his forehead furrowed in anger as he watched Soni munch on his breakfast. He began to rest his head on his paws before licking his lips as he eagerly awaited his turn. Sheriff was badly injured and 'very traumatised' after he was mauled by a dog. He had fur torn from around his eyes and puncture wounds to his head, arm and back. Sheriff was sitting in a basket in a pen as he watched Soni (pictured) be held and fed by a carer Soni was being treated for exhaustion following a heatwave. Port Stephens is one of several animal rescue hospitals who have been inundated with koalas since the bushfires began in September 2019. Thousands of koalas are believed to have died in the blazes, particularly those on Kangaroo Island. Koala numbers have plummeted by a third in the 20 years between 1990 and 2010 due to habitat destruction, deforestation, fragmentation, cars and dogs. Sheriff (pictured) was glaring at the camera with his forehead furrowed in anger as he watched Soni munch on his breakfast Due to the destruction of their native habitat, koalas are on track to become completely extinct by 2050. Experts fear this process will be accelerated after huge swathes of the koala population were wiped out by bushfires. Australian Reptile Park curator Hayley Shute warned: 'Unfortunately for koalas their habitat is just being destroyed. 'And so the population in Australia isn't great. That's just due to the habitat destruction, so we just need to make sure that we're not cutting down their trees and we're planting new ones. 'They say they will genetically extinct by 2050, because the populations still there are just becoming smaller and smaller. It's very sad.' Experts at the WWF Australia now estimate around one billion animals have perished in the fires. German-Afghan army adviser on trial for spying for Iran Frankfurt am Main, Jan 20 (AFP) Jan 20, 2020 A German-Afghan translator for the German army went on trial Monday on charges of treason for allegedly spying for Iran in exchange for money. Abdul S., 51, appeared at the higher regional court of Koblenz in western Germany accused of "a particularly serious case of treason" and of "violating state secrets" in 18 instances. He was arrested in January 2019, reportedly after a tip-off from abroad and an ensuing set-up to catch him in the act. His German-Afghan wife Asiea S., 40, appeared in the dock alongside him, after prosecutors in December charged her with aiding and abetting treason. She stands accused of helping her husband "with small organisational things", federal prosecutor Ullrich Schultheis was quoted as saying in court by DPA news agency. Kabul-born Abdul S. worked for several years as a civilian translator and cultural adviser to the German Bundeswehr at the Heinrich-Hertz barracks in the town of Daun, near Koblenz. He is suspected of receiving some 60,000 euros ($66,000) for passing on military secrets to Iranian intelligence services, including at times "explosive information", Schultheis said. Officials have been tight-lipped about the case, releasing no details about the kind of information that was allegedly leaked. The trial is taking place largely behind closed doors and is covered by strict and rarely used confidentiality procedures to protect state secrecy, the court said. Abdul S. risks life in jail if found guilty, which in Germany usually means a sentence of at least 15 years. His wife faces a maximum of 11 years in prison. The couple have yet to respond to the accusations against them, their lawyer Ulrich Sommer said, according to DPA. - Taking the bait - According to Der Spiegel weekly, the hunt for the spy started in 2017 after Germany's military counterintelligence service (MAD) received a warning from "a friendly secret service" that Iran had an informant in the Bundeswehr. MAD spy-catchers quickly focussed their attention on Abdul S. after noticing that his trips to certain EU cities overlapped with those of a senior officer in Iran's secret service, Spiegel wrote in an in-depth article last year. To confirm their suspicions, the MAD started to drip-feed Abdul S. fake documents that appeared to contain sensitive or classified information, and then watched as he reached out to his Iranian contact to set up meetings. The MAD shared its findings with federal prosecutors, tasked with handling cases of national security, in the spring of 2018. Spiegel said Abdul S.'s work for the German military included eavesdropping on phone calls or intercepted radio messages from the Taliban. But it "is doubtful" that Abdul S. had access to classified information about the actions and deployments of German troops in Afghanistan, the weekly added. The case is embarrassing for the Bundeswehr since Abdul S. would have had to pass stringent background checks before being hired. Germany's BfV domestic intelligence agency has identified Iran has one of the countries most active in spying on Germany, along with China and Russia. Iranian spy services "are regularly looking for appropriate sources to cover the information needs of the regime", the BfV said in a report. In 2018, Germany arrested a Vienna-based Iranian diplomat suspected of being a spy, with prosecutors alleging he was plotting with a Belgium-based couple to bomb an Iranian opposition rally in Paris. In another high-profile case, former German intelligence agent Markus Reichel was convicted in 2016 for spying for both the CIA and the Russian secret service. In 2011, Germany jailed a married couple for spying for the Russian secret services for more than 20 years. [January 20, 2020] Finastra Named Best Global Trade Finance Software Provider LONDON, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Finastra has been named best global trade finance software provider by Global Finance at the Trade Finance Awards 2020. The accolade was announced at an awards ceremony held at the BAFT Global Annual Meeting in Frankfurt last week. It recognizes Finastra for its innovative technology in the trade and supply chain finance space. Torsten Pull, Senior Vice President & General Manager for Corporate Banking at Finastra said, "It's a great honor to be awarded the world's best trade finance software provider with our solution that embraces Open Banking and the buildout of an innovative ecosystem, via our platform FusionFabric.cloud. The win reflects our commitment to helping banks compete, stay relevant and future-proof their international trade finance business in today's challenging marketplace." The editorial review board of Global Finance selected the best trade finance providers based on entries from banks and others, as well as input from industry analysts, corporate executives and technology experts. Criteria for choosing the winners included: transaction volume, scope of global coverage, customer service, competitive pricing nd innovative technologies. Joseph Giarraputo, Publisher and Editorial Director at Global Finance Magazine said, "Finastra has a strong track record in trade finance. Its trade and supply chain software solutions enable hundreds of banks to more easily leverage the latest technologies, including cloud computing, advanced data analytics, big data, application programming interfaces and distributed ledger, to digitize their trade finance business and enhance user experience for their corporate customers." Finastra's trade and supply chain finance solutions power over 200 trade finance banks around the world, enabling corporate banks to adapt, with intelligence, insight, and innovation at the core, in line with ever-changing client demands. The full list of winners can be found here. About Finastra Finastra unlocks the potential of people and businesses in finance, creating a platform for open innovation. Formed in 2017 by the combination of Misys and D+H, we provide the broadest portfolio of financial services software in the world todayspanning retail banking, transaction banking, lending, and treasury and capital markets. Our solutions enable customers to deploy mission critical technology on premises or in the cloud. Our scale and geographical reach means that we can serve customers effectively, regardless of their size or geographic locationfrom global financial institutions, to community banks and credit unions. Through our open, secure and reliable solutions, customers are empowered to accelerate growth, optimize cost, mitigate risk and continually evolve to meet the changing needs of their customers. 90 of the world's top 100 banks use Finastra technology. Please visit finastra.com. For further information please contact: Caroline Duff Global Head of PR T +44-(0)-20-3320-5892 E [email protected] finastra.com Harriet Pickering PR Manager EMEA T +44-(0)-20-3320-5317 E [email protected] finastra.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/finastra-named-best-global-trade-finance-software-provider-300989688.html SOURCE Finastra [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] A woman was left in hysterics amused after Instagram inaccurately labelled her as 'Irish' on its featured filter predictions. Astuanta Niang, 19, from Connecticut was testing out Instagram's filter prediction 'Which nationality do you resemble most?' and kept getting flags from countries far off where she came from. The student at the University of Connecticut who is Senegalese by race, landed on the Irish flag - but decided to go with it anyway - even trying to perform a traditional Irish dance. Posting the hilarious clip on her TikTok account @astapasta3, the teenager can be seen riverdancing in her traditional Senegalese dress and headscarf, grabbing a couple of potatoes and even wearing an Irish hat to complete the look. She even mentioned Lucky Charms cereal slogan 'It's magically delicious!' at the end of the video. Astuanta Niang, 19, who is from Connecticut and Senegalese by race, was left in hystericas after an Instagram app labelled her as Irish - with her reaction going viral on Tik Tok and Twitter Astuanta Niang, 19, from Connecticut was testing out Instagram's filter prediction 'Which nationality do you resemble most?' and kept getting flags from countries far off where she came from Her video has since gained over 2.1 million views on TikTok video, with hundreds of users in hysterics over her comedic skit. Replying to the post, one user joked: 'She really do be Irish doe.' Another added: 'you're the funniest person on tiktok, bye', and one added: 'They're magically delicious' lmaoo I lost it'. Elsewhere an Irish user commented: 'As an Irish, I can assure you. this is exactly how we act'. Some users pondered over whether her orange scarf made the Instagram filter think she had 'ginger hair'. Astuanta can be seen grabbing a couple of potatoes and even wearing an Irish hat to complete the look in the viral video Astuanta decided to go with it anyway - even trying to perform a traditional Irish dance Posting the hilarious clip on her TikTok account @astapasta3, the teenager can be seen riverdancing in her traditional Senegalese dress and headscar One TikTok user commented: 'The filter detected that natural ginger hair of yours obviously, it looks beautiful in this vid btw', Another said: 'The orange scarfs makes you look like a ginger'. Astuanta said: 'I felt as if the filter was really inaccurate and wanted to express that to my followers and anyone else who watched the video. 'It took me about 5 minutes to make the video, not too much effort. 'My younger sister got that hat a few years ago from school and it was literally perfect for the video so I decided to use it.' She added: 'I don't think the Instagram filters are accurate at all because I'm Senegalese and the filter gave me Irish among other nationalities which is way of base, but it was still fun to see which ones it landed on. And responding to the her clip going viral, she added: 'It's nice seeing my video on Twitter because people are reaching out to me and saying I'm funny and it's nice to get that affirmation from strangers and not just your friends.' The student at the University of Connecticut who is Senegalese by race, landed on the Irish flag, sharing her hilarious reaction (seen in New York) Astuanta Niang, 19, from Connecticut, seen in Senegal, blended her heritage with the Irish prediction and performmed a hilarious dance (Natural News) Antimatter defined by modern physics as sub-atomic particles that have properties opposite normal sub-atomic particles has recently been confirmed as both a particle and a wave. In a study published in the journal Scientific Advances, a team of physicists from Italian and Swiss institutions, said they made the discovery after subjecting positrons, or positively charged antimatter particles, with the exact same mass as negatively charged electrons, to a version of the historic double-slit or the Young-Feynman experiment. Conducted in 1927, the double-slit experiment showed that electrons are both particles and waves. In the 1927 experiment, scientists Clinton Davisson and Lester Germer fired a stream of electrons through a sheet with two slits on it, with a detector on the other side. According to the experiments abstract, if the electrons had been only particles, they would have formed a pattern of two bright lines on the detector. But instead, they acted like waves and diffracted, thereby forming a spread-out pattern of alternating bright and dim lines. The same thing happened in the antimatter version of the experiment. During the experiment, the team, led by Simone Sala of the University of Milan, fired a focused beam at a rate of approximately 5,000 positrons per second through two gold-coated silicon nitride gratings, each with a different distance between the slits. According to the researchers, the positrons that survived the trip hit a detector a 50-micrometer-thick gelatin full of silver bromide crystals, which served as a three-dimensional photographic film where they formed an interference pattern normally expected from waves and not individual particles. Sponsored solution from CWC Labs: This heavy metals test kit allows you to test almost anything for 20+ heavy metals and nutritive minerals, including lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, aluminum and more. You can test your own hair, vitamins, well water, garden soil, superfoods, pet hair, beverages and other samples (no blood or urine). ISO accredited laboratory using ICP-MS (mass spec) analysis with parts per billion sensitivity. Learn more here. Paola Scampoli, a physicist at the Politecnico di Milano and co-author of the paper, said that the results of their study prove the positrons quantum-mechanical origin, thus explaining the antiparticles wave nature. The researchers are hopeful that the results of their study will open the door to new kinds of interferometry experiments. They are planning to perform gravity measurements with more exotic matter, such as positronium and antihydrogen, and use those results to eventually probe the nature of gravity at very small scales. What is antimatter? The concept of antimatter was first predicted by theoretical physicist Paul Dirac in 1928, who posited in papers the possible existence of a particle with the same mass as an electron but with the opposite, positive charge. This was confirmed in 1930 by Carl Anderson, who, while observing particle trails in a cloud chamber, found the positron. In 1933, Dirac followed this up with a theory regarding the existence of the antiproton a particle that, in 1955, would be discovered by Emilio Segre and Owen Chamberlain at the University of California, Berkeley. Aside from the positron and the antiproton, other forms of antimatter include: Antineutrons Antinuclei Antihydrogen atoms Antihelium atoms Despite these discoveries however, experiments on antimatter have been rare, as it only exists in minute quantities on Earth, mostly in the form of cosmic rays, or as byproducts of certain kinds of radioactive decay and even thunderstorms. Efforts to create antimatter in laboratories have also only yielded minute amounts, with facilities such as Fermilabs Tevatron particle accelerator in the US and the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron in Germany only producing an estimated 18 nanograms of antimatter in total. Their rarity notwithstanding, antimatter particles are now being used in medicine, such as the case with positrons, which are used in Positron-Emission Tomography (PET), a nuclear medicine functional imaging technique used to observe metabolic processes in the body as an aid to the diagnosis of disease. (Related: Over 100 stars VANISH from the sky, providing yet more evidence of alien civilizations harvesting STARS to generate antimatter fuel that can power FTL drives.) More exotic uses of antimatter, as popularized by science fiction, pop culture and speculative science, include power generation, antimatter-based weaponry and antimatter-based propulsion for interplanetary travel. Sources include: LiveScience.com Advances.ScienceMag.org SymmetryMagazine.com UK puts visas into pitch for post-Brexit trade with Africa London, Jan 20 (AFP) Jan 20, 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson told African leaders Monday that Britain would be more open to migrants from their continent after Brexit as he hosted a summit intended to boost trading ties. He also promised an end to direct UK state investment in thermal coal mining or coal power plants overseas, saying London would focus on supporting a switch to low-carbon energy sources. Opening the first UK-Africa Investment Summit in London, Johnson made a clear pitch for business less than two weeks before Britain leaves the European Union. He told the conference involving 16 national leaders and representatives of another five countries, he wanted to make Britain their "investment partner of choice". After highlighting all Britain has to offer, he said Brexit would mean an end to preferential treatment for EU migrants. "Our (immigration) system is becoming fairer and more equal between all our global friends and partners, treating people the same, wherever they come from," he said. "By putting people before passports we will be able to attract the best talent from around the world, wherever they may be." Johnson was due to meet with the presidents of Rwanda, Ghana and Nigeria at the summit, and meet the leaders of Egypt and Kenya on Tuesday. Nigeria's Muhammadu Buhari said Brexit offered an opportunity for increased free trade across the Commonwealth -- and highlighted visas as a key issue. "While many in the African diaspora enjoy considerable benefits from life in the West, they do not always feel at the heart of the community," he wrote in The Times newspaper on Monday. "A renewed sense that there are ties that bind us through the Commonwealth, and a concerted effort to grow those links through trade, could act as a spur to encourage togetherness and the certainty of belonging." - Breathe the same air - The prime minister, with Glasgow staging the next UN climate change summit later this year, also announced a shift in investment strategy to help combat global warming. "There's no point in the UK reducing the amount of coal we burn, if we then trundle over to Africa and line our pockets by encouraging African states to use more of it, is there?" he said. "We all breathe the same air, we live beneath the same sky. We all suffer when carbon emissions rise and the planet warms." He added: "Not another penny of UK taxpayers money will be directly invested in digging up coal or burning it for electricity. "Instead, we're going to focus on supporting the transition to lower and zero carbon alternatives." Environmental campaign group Greenpeace UK welcomed the announcement, although it said Britain could do more. "It's great that in the middle of a climate emergency the UK government is finally putting a stop to taxpayers' money being used to support coal plants and mines abroad," executive director John Sauven said. "But if Britain wants to lead by example, it should also urgently phase out support for oil and gas developments, which are pushing the world closer to climate chaos." Sub-Saharan African faces a number of environmental challenges, particularly the effects of climate change, water and air pollution, desertification, deforestation and over-fishing. - Increase 'risk apetite' - The government's export agency reports providing pound2 billion ($2.6 billion) in financing for British company exports to Africa in the past two years. The agency says it now wants to "increase its risk appetite" in Egypt and the emerging economies in Nigeria and Rwanda. The government said Monday's summit will see British and African firms announce commercial deals worth pound6.5 billion, although it was not clear whether these were all concrete commitments. Britain will leave the EU on January 31, although ties will remain the same for 11 months while the two sides thrash out a new trading relationship. London wants to leave the bloc's single market and customs union to allow it to strike trade deals with other countries, even if this brings new barriers to EU trade. Nigerians have taken to Twitter to register their displeasure about the recent arrest made by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC). The EFCC says it arrested 89 suspected internet fraudsters at the popular Club 360 located on the Akala Expressway, Oluyole Extension in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. The EFCC made this known via its official twitter handle on Monday, saying it had carried out series of discreet surveillance on the nature of activities going on in the nightclub before the arrest. It said, The EFCC Ibadan zonal office, at the weekend, arrested 89 suspected internet fraudsters at the popular Club 360 located on the Akala Expressway, Oluyole Extension in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. In preparation for the late night operation, officers of the commission had carried out series of discreet surveillance on the nature of activities going on in the nightclub which, according to intelligence, was notorious for harboring suspected internet fraudsters. The raid also led to the confiscation of scores of vehicles, laptops, sophisticated phones and other items. The suspects are undergoing further interrogation. Read Also: EFCC Arrests Wanted Internet Fraudsters In Ilorin (Photo) See post In preparation for the late night operation, officers of the commission had carried out series of discreet surveillance on the nature of activities going on in the nightclub which, according to intelligence, was notorious for harboring suspected internet fraudsters. EFCC Nigeria (@officialEFCC) January 20, 2020 The announcement had sparked reactions among many Nigerian Twitter users accusing the anti-graft of raiding the club and randomly making arrest. See some reactions EFCC said they arrested 89 yahoo boys in Ibadan. What were they all doing in one place? Shey na seminar them go? You just entered a night club, packed everybody you see and then labeled them yahoo boys AJ | Adonai (@mrmanhere_) January 20, 2020 Anytime Im in Ibadan, I always go to this spot to hangout cos its very close to my parents house. Had it been I was in IB over the weekend I would have been part of these guys and Im not a yahoo boy. You have also killed someones business, EFCC this is so wrong animasaun idris a (@animasaun_a) January 20, 2020 Less than 6 months ago, the FBI arrested 80 Diaspora Yahoo Yahoo Boys. They already had evidence to nail every single one of them before making any arrest. EFCC can do better. You just can't go around raiding club houses and arresting every single person in sight. It is wrong! Dr. Dipo Awojide (@OgbeniDipo) January 20, 2020 EFCC will randomly March Into club and bars. Arrest innocent men, open twitter and shout we arrested 89 yahoo boys. No investigation, no trial, no nothing, accuse and investigative. Lol, red clothed Sars. Pastor Ola (@Biisi96) January 20, 2020 The EFCC will go down as the biggest Yahoo syndicate operating within a legal auspices in this country. Because all they do is track and arrest Yahoo boys, extort them of millions and release them back into the streets. They're not different from criminals. Kelvin Odanz (@MrOdanz) January 20, 2020 CIUDAD HIDALGO, Mexico Hundreds of Central American migrants waded across the Suchiate River into southern Mexico on Monday in a new test of President Trumps strategy to keep them away from the U.S. border. The migrants moved off a border bridge and toward the river after Mexican officials told them they would not be granted passage through the country. Amid shouts and even some fireworks they began wading across the shallow river. On the Mexican side, migrants ran along the riverbank, looking for an opening in the ranks of National Guard troops sent to meet them. Guardsmen scrambled too, trying to head off groups and detaining people where they could. There was pushing and shoving. Some guardsmen carried riot shields for protection from rocks tossed by migrants and they occasionally zipped a rock back into the crowd. Still others carried assault rifles. Many of the migrants moved back to the rivers edge and a smaller number crossed back to Guatemala. You have two options: You go back to Guatemalan territory or you come with us, Mexican immigration agents said to migrants who had crossed the river. They assured those who went with them that they would regularize their status, but few of the migrants believed them. Mexicos president said he would give us work and an opportunity and look, said Esther Madrid, a Honduran vendor who left her six children in Honduras. Sitting on a rock among dozens of people who didnt know what to do next, she offered only one word when asked if she would consider returning to San Pedro Sula: Never. The migrants want free passage across Mexico to the U.S. border, but Mexicos government has rejected that. Trump has forced asylum seekers to remain in Mexico, or apply in Central American countries, effectively removing one of the escape valves for previous caravans. Under threats of trade or other sanctions from the Trump administration, Mexico has stopped an earlier practice of allowing migrants to cross its territory unimpeded. Instead, the Mexican government now says the migrants are free to enter and compete for jobs if they want to stay and work. But in practice, it has restricted such migrants to the southernmost states while their cases are processed by a sluggish bureaucracy. Maria Verza and Sonia Perez D. are Associated Press writers. For Dayal Saran Sahoo, a resident of north-west Delhis Raja Vihar, one of Delhis numerous unauthorised colonies, it has been a long and anxious wait for a text message on his phone from the Delhi Development Authority (DDA). Sahoo, who owns a grocery store, applied for ownership rights of his residential property with DDA in December last year, following which officials surveyed his house. By January 3, he said, he was supposed to get a text message from DDA. But that has not happened yet. I can submit documents needed for the registry process only after I get the message, Sahoo said. One major issue that has grabbed the political centre stage ahead of the February 8 Delhi assembly elections is unauthorised colonies. It is much part of Delhis triangular battle involving the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress. The BJP has been trying to convince people how the central government led by the party has finally opened up a process to confer property ownership rights to residents of Delhis 1,731 unauthorised colonies. The AAP , which has had a great support base in these colonies since its first election outing in 2013, has emphasised how its government in Delhi ensured development in the areas of water, infrastructure and health-care in these neighbourhoods. The Congress has been trying to pitch how the grand old party was the first to take up the issue of regularisation and welfare of unauthorised colonies. But while there is excitement over the Centres decision to give ownership rights, there is uncertainty in the minds of residents as DDA has suspended the process to give conveyance deed, based on which registry papers are issued, due to the model code of conduct in place for the elections. WHAT OWNERSHIP MEANS Tucked away in a remote corner of the Rohini assembly constituency, one of the three segments the BJP won in 2015, Raja Vihar and Suraj Park two nondescript unauthorised colonies had hit the headlines recently when 20 residents were given conveyance deed and registry papers under the Pradhan Mantri Unauthorised Colonies in Delhi Awas Adhikar Yojana (PM-UDAY). Residents of these colonies are upbeat over the ownership rights. They say the legal tag will put an end to the fear of demolition action by civic authorities. Once it (ownership rights) happens, then there is no fear of demolition. Last year, the civic agency had demolished a few properties. This is a very big step taken by the Centre, said Kuldeep Singh Chhillar, president of the Raja Vihar Residents Welfare Association. As Delhis population soared, hundreds of residential neighbourhoods popularly referred to as unauthorised coloniessurfaced in the city without any legal sanction. More than four million residents here do not have legal ownership rights and are not entitled to loans by mortgaging their properties. On December 16, DDA launched a website wherein residents of 1731 identified unauthorised colonies would be able to apply for ownership rights under PM-UDAY. So far, 176,000 individuals have registered with the website, of which 4,500 have submitted documents. Around 1,500 properties have been surveyed but only 20 individuals have been given documents necessary for their propertys registry, data shared by DDA showed. DEVELOPMENT IS KEY Residents of unauthorised colonies agree that the way to the next Vidhan Sabha will pass through development and welfare schemes. While the BJP-led Centres decision got residents excited, the AAP governments development work in the areas of water, sewer, roads, health care centres and parks have struck a chord with voters. We have the basic amenities now. That matters more than anything else, including ownership rights, which have been a recurring poll issue for years now. In the next five years, we look forward to relief from road congestion and parking problems, said Sajid Anas, a resident of Masoodpur, an unauthorised colony in south Delhi. Welfare schemes such as full waiver on monthly power bill up to 200 units, free water up to 20,000 litres a month and free bus rides for women too have apparently gone down well with most residents of such colonies. Sitting on the street outside their homes in Raja Vihar to catch some sun on a chilly January afternoon, Saroj Sharma and her friends couldnt stop discussing price rise, especially of essential food items. It has become difficult to meet basic requirements. Half-a-litre of milk is for R 20; vegetables are so costly. How will a poor person afford it? Thankfully, we dont have to pay for water and electricity is subsidised. It is a huge benefit, said Saroj, who too has applied for ownership rights. GP Tiwari, another resident, said, In assembly elections, people will vote for basic issues such as sadak, bijli and paani (road, electricity and water). The ownership rights is big move by the BJP but people are getting direct benefit from water and electricity subsidy. We will have to see how BJP will counter this. CHANGING POLITICS For at least two decades now, political parties in Delhi have been raking up the regularisation issue, especially ahead of elections. Regularisation is a more technical process towards authorisation. Conferring ownership rights is one aspect of a broader process. However, the dynamics of the politics revolving around unauthorised colonies has visibly evolved as Delhi changed with time. While Kuldeep Singh sees major relief in terms of demolition, Irkan Chaudhary, a resident of south-east Delhis Zakir Nagar, feels ownership rights would contribute in removing the stigma of living in an unauthorised colony. Residents would best understand the stigma. From employers to bank officials, people have always judged us on the basis of our addresses, Chaudhary said. For Rakesh Goyal, a businessman who resides in east Delhis East Vinod Nagar, it is an opportunity for easier and convenient loans. People in unauthorised colonies have huge dependence on moneylenders for loans, at an extremely high rate of interest. This may change soon, Goyal said. Balbir Singh, a property dealer in Sangam Vihar, disagreed. With more private banks, loans anyway have become easier. The biggest effect will be a potential increase in property prices, Singh said. The location and demographic mix in these colonies are factors that visibly affect how their residents look into the issue of ownership rights. While Zakir Nagar is a settlement on the Yamuna floodplains, East Vinod Nagar is ensconced amid colonies that have been regularised in the past. Sangam Vihar, believed to be Delhis biggest unauthorised colony, is in the heart of south Delhi and in close vicinity of affluent neighbourhoods such as Sainik Farm. Within Sangam Vihar, concerns may differ while Singh prioritised shooting property prices, Madan Kumar, also a resident of the area, looks at it like a window to better water access, sewer lines, parks and health clinics among other facilities. The innermost blocks of Sangam Vihar are yet to witness development on these fronts. Hence, residents of the relatively more developed blocks and those in the backward ones would look into the ownership rights issue in different ways, Kumar said. The concerns are similar for Mithlesh Jha it would pave way for health centres, schools, markets and commercial areas. Jha is a resident of Kirari, an unauthorised colony in the north-west peripheries of the city, inhabited largely by migrants from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, and came into existence much later than Sangam Vihar or Zakir Nagar. Hyderabad: Union minister of state for home G. Kishan Reddy said that Telangana state must be freed from the bonds of the TRS and the Majlis-e-Ittihadul Muslimeen. The state, he said, was not the property of the Owaisi family. TRS supremo and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao was carrying the Owaisi brothers with him, he said. The BJP, he claimed, is not against Muslims, but is against the MIM that indulges in atrocities. The minister was speaking while campaigning for the municipal elections in Nalgonda on Monday. Mr Reddy alleged that the TRS and Congress were bowing to the MIM. He said he was confident that the TRS will lose in the 2023 parliamentary elections and the BJP will come to power in Telangana and that millions of Asaduddins would not be able to resist the BJP. Mr Reddy criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for fleeing abroad and declared that the Congress has no future in the country. As for the TRS, it has forgotten the people and Mr Chandrasekhar Raos family has benefited, he alleged. He accused the TRS and MIM of doing an injustice to the state. Does it make sense when TRS makes an alliance with MIM, which creates unrest among the people of different communities, he queried. He demanded that the TRS explain to the public why it has an alliance with the MIM and said that the people must protect Telangana from KCR and Owaisi families. Minister K.T. Rama Rao, Mr Reddy said, was misleading people about Union government funds to Telangana state, which he has done only to gain votes in the elections. He asked Mr Rama Rao to declare how much funding the state had received from the Centre during the 10-year rule of the Congress, and then in the five-and-a-half years of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) rule at the Centre. In neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, about three lakh houses have already been built for poor and another two lakh houses are under construction and the state is requesting another seven lakh units, he said. But in Telangana, the two lakh houses sanctioned are lying incomplete and it has been six years and the people are still waiting for the double bedroom houses. The TRS wants to win with money, he alleged. All the development in the municipalities so far in the state was done with funds given by the Centre, Mr Reddy claimed. We appeal to the public to give the BJP a thumping majority in the polls so that the BJP will ensure more development, the minister said. More than 400 people gathered in the grand ballroom at Oregon State Universitys CH2M Hill Alumni Center on Friday night for the Celebrate Corvallis Awards, an annual banquet hosted by the Corvallis Chamber of Commerce honoring business leadership, volunteer contributions and civic spirit. The theme for the 70th annual gala was Roaring into the 20s, and a number of the women in attendance added a touch of glamour to the event by dressing as 1920s flappers. Some 73 individuals, businesses and nonprofit organizations were nominated for awards in 13 categories. Among this years big winners were Tammy Morrison of Town & Country Realty, First Citizen; Fred Edwards of Knight Vision Security, Robert C. Ingalls Business Person of the Year; and Dawson Officer of 4 Spirits Distillery, Entrepreneur of the Year. Gerding Builders was named Large Business of the Year, Tried & True Coffee was chosen Small Business of the Year, Broadleaf Architecture was selected Sustainable Business of the Year and the Old Mill Center for Children & Families was picked as Nonprofit of the Year. Junior First Citizen honors went to Corvallis City Councilor Hyatt Lytle, while Candy Pierson-Charlton was named Senior First Citizen, Iris Fu of Crescent Valley High School was named Future First Citizen and Elizabeth Bell was named Patron of the Arts. Retiring OSU President Ed Ray and longtime Corvallis Public Works Director Mary Steckel were honored with the Jim & Ruth Howland Special Achievement Award. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 There are two types of grocery stores: the large cookie-cutter supermarket found in every city and then theres the local neighborhood gem thats been around for ages. Courtney's Produce in San Francisco is one of the latter and for the last 49 years, the cozy market has offered seasonal produce at the corner of Castro and 14th streets. Last Monday, the longstanding grocery store was presented with legacy business status by San Francisco's Office of Small Business. It recognized Courtney's Produce for its physical features and traditions that define the business. Among them were two prominent store items many locals recognize and love: the first is the store's vibrant green neon signage depicting Courtneys and the other is its famous peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Priced at a $2.25, the sandwich is simple in its composition but a step up from the standard you got in grade school. Its prepared with a generous scoop of peanut butter, strawberry jelly, slices of fresh strawberries, and served on two slices of cinnamon bread. "When it gets down to it, in terms of popularity, it is all about the PB&J," Andrew Courtney, great-nephew of Courtney Produce founders Patrick and Lola Courtney, told Hoodline in 2015. "We ruin peoples' day when we sell out," he added. The grocery store had its beginning back in 1969, when Patrick and Lola Courtney first opened as Farmers Produce" in the Upper Haight, Hoodline reports. Two years later, the family-run business moved to the Duboce Triangle neighborhood at 101 Castro St. where it's been ever since. "We are honored to be included in the Legacy Registry and accept this recognition with pride and humility knowing it comes from our beloved City of San Francisco family," Robin Courtney, daughter of Patrick and Lola, told Hoodline. Supervisor Rafael Mandelman of District 8 nominated Courtney's Produce for the legacy business title and said the grocery store was exactly the kind of business that deserved the status. "Ive been in there a few times, but it was their neighbors who really wanted to honor them," Mandelman told SFGATE. "We learned more about the business because of them. We hope they stay there for many years to come." Beyond the neon sign and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, the Office of Small Business also recognized the store for its commitment to fresh produce and other goods sold within the store. You can see all the items listed by the Office of Small Business below. Physical Features or Traditions that Define the Business: Neon sign of Courtneys. Fresh organic and conventional produce. Groceries and healthy prepared foods. The peanut butter and jelly sandwich. San Franciscos Office of Small Business recognizes businesses that have 30 years or more in service or 20 years or more, if they face a significant risk of displacement. Each business must be nominated by a member of the Board of Supervisors or mayor to be considered. Once the business is nominated, they can also apply for the Legacy Business Historic Preservation Fund, which can help small business owners stabilize their rents. According to the Office of Small Business, the fund can offer landlords rent stabilization grants of $4.50 per square foot of space leased to businesses that will get an extended lease of at least 10 years. Small businesses may also receive business assistance grants of $500 per full-time employee per year. "Its getting harder and harder for small businesses to survive in San Francisco and the Legacy Business Program offers some support, but clearly we need to do more," Mandelman said. Currently, the city has 275 legacy businesses listed on its registry. Courtney's Produce is located at 101 Castro St. in San Francisco. Editor's note: This article has been updated to include Supervisor Rafael Mandelman's comments on Courtney's Produce's recent legacy business status. Susana Guerrero is an SFGATE digital reporter. Email: Susana.Guerrero@sfgate.com | Twitter: @SusyGuerrero3 Opinion Article 20 January 2020 With the rise of digital and Google travel search, the hotel customer's journey has grown increasingly complex. Hotel managers need not only to service guests, manage rooms, availabilities, and pricing. They are now also expected to compete for guests in new channels and digital communities that emerge every day. Research by Fuel shows that 87% of today s online travel consumers visit a hotel website before making a reservation. However, according to Google research, these same consumers visit an average of 18 websites via multiple devices across eight sessions before making a hotel booking. So how can your hotel stand out from the competition? To remain competitive means constantly being up-to-date with the latest digital marketing trends and customer behaviors. This comprehensive digital marketing guide will ensure you effectively manage your online marketing and room sales, as wells as organically generate the best possible direct results for your hotel. What Exactly is Digital Marketing for Hotels? For many hoteliers, digital marketing is still novel territory. Most are too busy running their business operations and leaving online sales to the OTAs to give much thought toward implementing a comprehensive digital marketing strategy themselves. However, the digital era is here to stay, and most hoteliers will agree that it no longer be ignored. Many are starting to ask themselves how they can expand their brand online while still having the time to run their business. The obvious choice has been to hire additional staff, but this tactic is just a temporary solution because the demand for digital marketing is unstoppable and will continue to grow alongside the evolution of technology and consumer behaviors. The breakthrough solution for this complex problem is a digital marketing architecture with tools that provide a consistent multi-channel experience to hotel guests and prepares hotels for future digital marketing demands. The Hotel digital marketing umbrella encompasses an array of initiatives to maximize your hotel s online presence and increase direct sales. Such initiatives include optimizing your hotel website and booking engine, promoting your property on social media outlets such as Instagram and Facebook, and solidifying your hotel s presence on OTAs to acquire customers in the first place. Why is a Digital Marketing Strategy Important for Hotels? Let's face it, the OTAs have invested heavily in digital marketing and technologies (Expedia deployed up to 5,000 engineers to focus solely on digital and booking optimization) to engage online travelers at every stage of the buyer's journey. In many cases, this has led to the monopolization of customer relationships, leaving hoteliers in a challenging predicament. In fact, research shows that 70% of online hotel bookings come from OTAs. So how can hoteliers reassert themselves in the customer journey to get in front of online travelers and increase direct bookings? It starts with understanding the five online customer phases of behavior: GuestCentric Dreaming Stage: The guest is searching for their ideal holiday, without knowing exactly what they want yet. The guest is searching for their ideal holiday, without knowing exactly what they want yet. Planning Stage: The guest knows what they want, and is searching for specific rooms, prices, packages etc . The guest knows what they want, and is searching for specific rooms, prices, packages etc Booking Stage: The guest has selected their favorite option and is ready to book . The guest has selected their favorite option and is ready to book Experiencing Stage: The guests experience starts at your website, and whether it ends at the booking engine or at check-out depends on how you optimize their experience. The guests experience starts at your website, and whether it ends at the booking engine or at check-out depends on how you optimize their experience. Sharing Stage: Your guest shares their experience. If all goes well, they become your advocates and shout about their great experiences at your hotel through rave reviews, social media posts, and referrals. It is important to keep these five stages of the customer's journey at the forefront of your digital marketing strategy. You can then break down your digital marketing strategy into three distinctive yet interconnected categories: Guest Engagement Marketing Guest Acquisition Marketing Guest Retention Marketing You will then be able to re-establish a firm relationship with digitally-savvy customers in all stages of their journey and win the direct bookings. This will ultimately decrease OTA dependency and lower distribution costs. 5 Digital Marketing Strategies for Hotels to Win Direct Bookings in 2020 Through new advanced technology and tools, the consumer now has access to more information and more proactive control over their own experiences. This, in turn, impacts how hoteliers build and nurture relationships with existing and prospective customers. Here is a list of 5 tried and proven digital marketing and sales strategies which will organically generate the best direct results for your hotel in 2020: 1. Your Hotel Website and Booking Engine are Number One As mentioned above, the vast majority of prospective guests will visit your hotel s website before booking a destination. As the first introduction to your property, your website is the best opportunity you have to engage with and sell to your guests. On average, guests spend 6 minutes on hotel websites, which is ample opportunity to engage your future guests with bold pictures, easy-to-read room descriptions and attractive offers to make the decision to book simple and consistent. Its important to show what guests will experience when they come to your destination. If you ensure video is part of your web strategy, you will mesmerize your guests. But of course, a great website on its own is not enough. You must also have an optimized booking engine. A good booking engine is optimized for conversion by providing a seamless booking process where your guests can view rates and room types and complete a booking as easily as possible. An effective booking engine should map data directly into your property management system through a channel manager. Load speed is one of the most critical factors when considering a booking engine as it has an extremely high correlation to conversion rates. Additionally, mobile is increasingly important each year and it's where guests in many markets prefer to book. If your mobile experience is poor, expect them to book on an OTA. Also, expect your PPC (e.g. Google AdWords) campaigns to be less effective. Optimization features allow for personalized offers and tactics similar to what you see on OTAs. Things like dynamic pricing, geo-targeting, integrated rate match and dynamic widgets (i.e. rooms remaining, shopping activation and shopping recovery) materially increase conversion. If you run a chain of hotels, you may also want to consider featuring enhanced unavailability messages in your booking engine to encourage guests to book on your neighboring properties. So, when was the last time you updated your website? When was the last time you reviewed your booking engine to ensure it ticks all the boxes above? If the answer is more than two years ago, your website and booking engine could probably be a lot better. 2. Differentiate your Hotel and Direct Channel from OTAs Over the years, a number of hotel chains have seriously evaluated or suspended their contracts with OTAs in order to maximize direct sales. But while this strategy may work well for more established hotel chains with a larger customer base and brand presence, independent or boutique hotels would likely find themselves at a disadvantage if they severed ties completely. If you lack the resources to go at it alone, don t worry. You can still focus on differentiating yourself from the competition by using multiple channels and always optimizing for direct. Here are a few ways that you can differentiate your hotel from OTAs: Incentivize customers to book direct: Reward returning guests that book directly through your website. This can be easily achieved by offering, for example, a 10% discount code for any returning customer, which is still much less than the commission paid to OTAs. Reward returning guests that book directly through your website. This can be easily achieved by offering, for example, a 10% discount code for any returning customer, which is still much less than the commission paid to OTAs. Deliver targeted marketing campaigns: To provide relevant offers and experiences to your guests, you need to understand what they want. Helpful resources to find such information include surveys, online reviews, Google Analytics, and Facebook and Twitter insights. By exploring existing data from various sources, you will be better able to give your guests what they want. To provide relevant offers and experiences to your guests, you need to understand what they want. Helpful resources to find such information include surveys, online reviews, Google Analytics, and Facebook and Twitter insights. By exploring existing data from various sources, you will be better able to give your guests what they want. Customize the guest experience: Provide additional options for customers making a booking. Create partnerships with local attractions, tours, restaurants, and offer them as add-ons after the customer has booked with you. Provide additional options for customers making a booking. Create partnerships with local attractions, tours, restaurants, and offer them as add-ons after the customer has booked with you. Differentiate booking packages: Innovate with room types as product offers. Use your own booking engine to offer promotions and special offers that you do not offer on the OTAs. Regardless of the channels through which you market your property, emphasizing your strengths and offering them as perks will help you stand out from the crowd and effectively market your hotel. 3. Focus on Local SEO Over the past 10 years, Google has significantly increased its own assets in the online travel marketplace and continues to threaten OTA dominance. Google search now plays a major role early on in the travel booking journey. In fact, research shows that 31% of accommodation searches start on the search engine. Furthermore, nearly 50% of all searches in Google have local intent, according to Search Engine Roundtable. Meanwhile, Google reports that "Near Me" searches have grown 150% faster than traditional, local-based searches. Therefore, it is imperative that you ensure your hotel has a strong local SEO presence. You can optimize your hotel for local SEO by following this checklist: Research and establish local keywords: You need to consider local intent. What would people search if looking for a local hotel? You need to consider local intent. What would people search if looking for a local hotel? Revamp your Google My Business listing: Hotel listings can now customize their services and amenities in the Hotel Attributes section. However, this is only available on desktop. Hotel listings can now customize their services and amenities in the Hotel Attributes section. However, this is only available on desktop. Encourage customer reviews: Google uses reviews as another factor in their ranking of your website if you are a local business. While you are not allowed to monetize customers for reviews, you can encourage them through social media channels or other means. If your hotel requires more comprehensive local SEO support, contact our GuestCentric Lab team for more information on our bespoke premium service. 4. Remember that 60% of Customers are Social Travelers GuestCentric According to Forrester, 60% of guests use one or more social networking platforms during their search, shop and buy process. Below are some additional social media traveler behavior statistics to take note of: Furthermore, social media is critical to manage TripAdvisor ratings, have a professional-looking presence on facebook, and allow guests to engage over twitter. To use the social network to amplify your message, ensure that good experiences your guests write about are shared on the different digital communities. For photos, we see the best results using Flickr and for videos a dedicated YouTube channel. And don't forget email: it is still the most widely-used mechanism to share itineraries and ideas of trips. 5. Ensure your Website and Booking Engine are Optimized for Mobile It's only been 11 years since the iPhone hit the shelves, yet it's hard to imagine a trip without smartphones. Google research reveals that nearly 50% of mobile users are comfortable researching, planning, and booking an entire trip to a new travel destination using only their smartphone. However, those who have a negative brand experience on mobile are 62% less likely to purchase from that brand in the future. If you have deployed a mobile-optimization solution, you will realize that mobile consumers have a much more utilitarian behavior. They are looking for your hotel's address, phone number, or want to book a room for tonight or tomorrow night. Hence, the experience to conclude those tasks must be optimized. There are 5 key principles which must be applied when optimizing your hotel website for mobile: Heed the need for speed: More than half of people leave a website if it takes more than 3 seconds to load. More than half of people leave a website if it takes more than 3 seconds to load. Offer a clear value proposition: A good value proposition uses customer-orientated language that answers the question: "Why should I book with this company?" A good value proposition uses customer-orientated language that answers the question: "Why should I book with this company?" Present a clear call to action: Use contrasting colors and fonts for high visibility and to make the action a user should take obvious. Use contrasting colors and fonts for high visibility and to make the action a user should take obvious. Prioritize visible content: Above the fold space is at a premium on mobile devices, making it critical to feature what is most important to the user. Above the fold space is at a premium on mobile devices, making it critical to feature what is most important to the user. Customize key information: Auto-fill the destination or product-specific search query, provide links to recent searches and use auto-suggest features. While success can be found using mobile as a stand-alone media, it provides the largest rewards when it is used as an integrated, multi-channel engagement platform. If you can provide consistent messages across web, social and mobile, while ensuring that the most relevant offers are prioritized, then you have truly delivered multi-channel digital marketing. Digital Marketing for Hotels Should Never Stand Still It's important to remember that in order for a hotelier s digital marketing strategy to be effective, it must be current and align with the ever-changing trends and behaviors of online travel searchers. Organic online growth is also, by no means an overnight process. It will take time before you generate the desired return on investment. Information is power, so be sure to consistently analyze your customers and measure your performance across all channels. This will help you both identify areas for improvement and capitalize on your strengths. And finally, a successful digital marketing strategy must provide a consistent multi-channel experience to hotel guests. This can be achieved by using a multitude of tools or an all-in-one hotel digital marketing solution. But no matter which tools you select, at the core of your strategy should be a digital marketing architecture that prepares your hotel for future digital marketing demands. Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a celebration of the civil rights leaders contributions and to honor his legacy. The day is celebrated on the third Monday in January. This year that is Jan. 20. According to thekingcenter.org, the day should be celebrated with community service - a day on, not a day off. King received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for his nonviolent campaign against racism. He was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tenn., by James Earl Ray. Heres a rundown of what we were able to determine regarding whats closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, Jan. 20. Banks: Most are closed. Capital Area Transit: Will operate under a normal schedule. County offices: Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon and York county offices and courts are closed. Perry County offices and courts are open. Federal courts: The Ronald Reagan Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Harrisburg are closed. Libraries: Dauphin County Library System is closed. Hershey Public Library is closed. Cumberland County Library System, and Middletown Public Library are open. Liquor stores: Stores that are normally open on Mondays will be open regular hours. Municipal government: If you have municipal business to attend to, call first. Some are open, some are not. Those closed include Camp Hill, Carlisle, Hampden Twp., Lower Paxton Twp., Middletown, Palmyra, Silver Spring Twp. and Susquehanna Twp. Hummelstown is open. PA Media Group: PennLive/Patriot-News business offices are open. Parking in Harrisburg: Free. PennDOT: PennDOTs Driver License and Photo License Centers statewide will be closed Jan. 18 and 20. Post offices: The U.S. Postal Service is closed. No mail will be delivered. Public schools: Most closed for students (some districts are using as an in-service day for teachers only) including Camp Hill, Carlisle, Central Dauphin, Derry Twp., East Pennsboro, Greenwood, Halifax, Harrisburg, Lower Dauphin, Mechanicsburg, Millersburg, Newport, Northern York, Palmyra, Susquehanna Township, Susquenita, Upper Dauphin, West Perry and West Shore. rabbittransit: will operate on a regular schedule. Retail stores, supermarkets: open. State government: closed Trash collection: Most trash haulers do not observe the holiday and will collect on normal schedules. However, municipal collections may be affected. 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. They were the big winners for the British contingent at Sunday's Screen Actors Guild Awards. And Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Helena Bonham Carter shared a euphoric moment backstage at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles after collecting their gongs. Phoebe continued her awards season sweep by scooping outstanding actress in a comedy series for her hit show Fleabag, while Helena accepted the award for best ensemble in a drama series on behalf of her Netflix smash The Crown. Winning duo: Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Helena Bonham Carter shared a euphoric moment backstage at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles as they compared their SAG Awards Phoebe presented the ensemble award to Helena, before the two headed backstage together to celebrate. Holding their gongs, the talented pair laughed before posing for photos together. It was third time lucky for the cast of The Crown who, after being nominated for best ensemble in a drama series in 2017 and 2018, finally won, beating out Game Of Thrones, Stranger Things and Big Little Lies. Both Helena and her co-star Olivia Colman, who took over the roles of Princess Margaret and Queen Elizabeth in the latest series of the royal drama, were nominated in the actress category but lost out on the individual awards to Jennifer Aniston for The Morning Show. Gongs: Phoebe cscooped outstanding actress in a comedy series for Fleabag, while Helena accepted the award for best ensemble in a drama series on behalf of The Crown We won! Helena gazed up at Phoebe during a sweet moment backstage as they waited for their prizes to be engraved Giggles: The two actresses were in hysterics while holding tight onto their awards However, the royal show did not go home empty handed. Helena, 53, took the stage to accept the outstanding ensemble in a drama series award flanked by Erin Doherty and Josh O'Connor who play Princess Anne and Prince Charles. 'I'm sorry there's only three of us here,' Helena told the star-studded crowd. 'They're actually 239 in the cast.' 'Were all working tomorrow so were leaving in about five minutes,' she explained. Big moment: Helena smiled for the camera while Phoebe wrote down her name ready for her engraving Kiss: Phoebe presented the ensemble award to Helena, before the two headed backstage together to celebrate Talent: Helena was welcomed by a beaming Phoebe on stage as her Netflix smash finally scooped the ensemble prize after three years of nominations Delighted: Phoebe looked thrilled to present the prize to her friend, with the two actresses exchanging kisses 'Its the most fun job and Im amazed that we get a prize on top of the fun-ness of doing it,' she added. 'Ive had the time of my life, I think we all have. It really is as good as it gets, this show.' Earlier in the evening Phoebe, 34, took to the stage to accept her prize, pulling out a piece of paper and referencing her x-rated remarks a week ago after winning at the Critics Choice Awards. 'I normally try and be spontaneous in my speeches but I don't trust myself not to be bleeped out again so I have written it down,' she said. The London-born actress, writer and producer said: 'The Fleabag team go home tomorrow, back to the UK. But I have to say, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for being so supporting of our show on these shores.' We are family: Helena was flanked by Josh O'Connor and Erin Doherty who play Prince Charles and Princess Anne in The Crown Larking around: Helena and her co-stars put their acting skills to use as they played around with their statues in the media room Big night: Helena, Erin and Josh enjoyed a night off from filming the fourth series of The Crown Representing: The trio were the only members of cast who could make the SAGs, with Helena explaining they were dashing back to set on Monday She appeared a little overcome with emotion as she tried to convey what it meant to have been feted so much by Hollywood. 'This whole thing really has been a dream, and if I wake up tomorrow and discover it's been just that, thank you. It's been a beautiful dream.' Waller-Bridge's win for Fleabag was the only one for the comedy that had received a total of three nods. Andrew Scott lost out to Tony Shalhoub from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel in the supporting actor category and the Amazon Prime original also took home the honors for outstanding comedy series. Win: Earlier in the evening Phoebe, 34, took to the stage to accept her prize, the only gong her show took home on the night after three nominations More than 100 killed in Yemen missile, drone attack Dubai, Jan 19 (AFP) Jan 19, 2020 More than 100 people were killed and dozens wounded in a missile and drone attack blamed on Huthi rebels in central Yemen, officials said Sunday. Saturday's strike follows months of relative calm in the war between the Iran-backed Huthis and Yemen's internationally recognised government, which is supported by a Saudi-led military coalition. The Huthis attacked a mosque in a military camp in the central province of Marib -- about 170 kilometres (105 miles) east of the capital Sanaa -- during evening prayers, military sources told AFP. "We strongly condemn the terrorist attack on a mosque by the Huthi militias... which left more than 100 dead and dozens injured," the Yemeni foreign ministry said on Twitter. An army spokesman said that the dead included soldiers and civilians, and that the Huthis would face a "ruthless" retaliation to the strike. The victims were transported to a Marib city hospital, where a medical source earlier gave a toll of 83 dead and 148 injured. Death tolls in Yemen's grinding conflict are often disputed, but the huge casualty list in Marib represents one of the bloodiest single attacks since the war erupted in 2014 when the rebels seized Sanaa. The Huthis did not make any immediate claim of responsibility. Saudi-owned Al-Hadath television broadcast a video that it said showed the gruesome aftermath of the attack. Body parts can be seen on the floor among shredded debris. Blood is pooled on the carpet and spattered against the walls. The drone and missile strike came a day after coalition-backed government forces launched a large-scale operation against the Huthis in the Nihm region, north of Sanaa. Fighting in Nihm was ongoing on Sunday, a military source said according to the official Saba news agency. "Dozens from the (Huthi) militia were killed and injured," the source added. - 'Stop escalation now' - Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi denounced the "cowardly and terrorist" attack on the mosque, Saba reported. "The disgraceful actions of the Huthi militia without a doubt confirm its unwillingness to (achieve) peace, because it knows nothing but death and destruction and is a cheap Iranian tool in the region," it quoted Hadi as saying. United Nations envoy Martin Griffiths condemned the aerial attack and what he said was the escalation of military activities in three governorates "where airstrikes, missiles and ground attacks reportedly took place". "I have said before that the hard-earned progress that Yemen has made on de-escalation is very fragile. Such actions can derail this progress," he said in a statement. EU foreign policy spokesman Peter Stano said in a statement late Sunday that "all parties should show restraint and engage constructively with the UN Special Envoy to end the conflict." "The EU will continue supporting the UN in achieving this with all the tools at its disposal," he added. - Famine risk - Just last week Griffiths had welcomed what he described as "one of the quietest periods of this conflict", in a briefing to the UN Security Council in which he warned the lull could not be sustained without political progress. A year after Yemen's warring sides agreed to a UN-brokered truce for the key Red Sea port city of Hodeida and its surroundings, fighting in the province has subsided, but the slow implementation of the deal has quashed hopes for an end to the conflict. The landmark agreement signed in Sweden in December 2018 had been hailed as Yemen's best chance so far to end the fighting that has pushed the country to the brink of famine. Tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, have been killed and millions displaced in the war that has ravaged the country, triggering what the UN describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Saudi Arabia and its allies intervened in the conflict to back the government against the Huthis in March 2015, shortly after the rebels seized control of Sanaa. A senior UN official warned Thursday that certain key factors that threatened to trigger a famine in Yemen last year were once again looming large, including a plunge in the value of the national currency. "With a rapidly depreciating rial and disrupted salary payments, we are again seeing some of the key conditions that brought Yemen to the brink of famine a year ago," Ramesh Rajasingham, who coordinates humanitarian aid in Yemen, told the UN Security Council. "We must not let that happen again," he said. Photos by Alec Smith/imagemundi.com / Cape2Rio 2020- Below Maserati camp report sent by Negri Firman for Giovanni Soldini / Maserati Multi 70. Cape to Rio 2020 web: cape2rio2020.com January 19th, 2020 Maserati Multi 70 and Giovanni Soldini cross the finish line of the Cape2Rio 2020 The Italian Team finishes the race with an elapsed time of 8 days, 3 hours, 9 minutes and 34 seconds Giovanni Soldini: It was a great and very hard fought race to the end At 12.39 34 local time on Sunday, January 19th (15.39 34 UTC, 16.39 34 Italian time), Maserati Multi 70 crossed the finish line of the Cape2Rio 2020 off Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Giovanni Soldini and his Team finished the race with an elapsed time of 8 days, 3 hours, 9 minutes and 34 seconds. The Italian Teams direct competitor, the 80 trimaran LoveWater, skippered by Craig Sutherland, crossed the finish line at 5.54 2 local time (8.54 2 UTC, 9.54 2 Italian time), with an elapsed time of 7 days, 20 hours, 24 minutes and 2 seconds, setting the new race record. Maserati Multi 70 and LoveWater set sail from Table Bay, before Cape Town, on Saturday January 11th at 14.30 local time (12.30 UTC, 13.30 Italian time), with a Westerly wind of 10-12 knots. The start wasnt easy for the Italian trimaran: because of a problem with a pressure relief valve, the foils hydraulic pistons were subjected to excessive stress and, as soon as Maserati Multi 70 reached the second turning mark, they were damaged. Giovanni Soldini explained: The pistons are used to adjust the rake, and therefore the foils upward thrust. We were able to make an emergency repair, using a rope system and some pieces of wood we recovered before setting sail, but every time we wanted to adjust the rake we had to stop the boat and manually move the foils, so it was difficult for us to make precise regulations and we lost a lot of time. After the incident, the Italian Team found ideal flying conditions and was able to overtake LoveWater at the end of the first night. The second day of the race got harder and the sea and wind conditions, with gusts up to 30 knots of tailwind and big waves, favoured LoveWater, 10 feet longer, which regained the advantage. Nonetheless Giovanni Soldini and his crew kept up the fight and, thanks to the tactical choice of skipping a gybe, they were able to catch up with their opponents and overtake them the following day. The two trimarans took the lead of the fleet that set sail from Cape Town on January 4th and set course to South, reaching the best stop to pass through the high pressure. Soldini explained: We had almost 100 miles of advantage over our competitors, but the wind came from behind and played in their favour, so LoveWater caught up with us. After that the situation was hard, the waves were big and there were 20-25 knots of tailwind, ideal conditions for our opponent. We were able to achieve a nice speed anyway, up to 31 knots of average speed in 4 hours, and we reduced the distance between us and our competitors from 50 to 30 miles. At that point we were 14 miles away from Rio de Janeiro with no wind at all and we moved hardly at all for 6 hours, while LoveWater already crossed the finish line. It was a really great and very hard fought race! Unfortunately it wasnt an easy challenge, LoveWater is 10 feet longer than Maserati Multi 70, so in certain conditions its definitely faster, but we were able to stand up to them in multiple occasions. Were very happy about Maserati Multi 70, which proved to be doing really well: we noticed that, with the new adjustments made after the studies with the engineers from the Maserati Innovation Lab, we were able to solve some problems that we had before and the boat now is much faster. We reached peaks of 38 knots of speed! Aboard Maserati Multi 70, the skipper Giovanni Soldini raced with a 7-man crew: the Italians Guido Broggi (mainsail trimmer), John Elkann (helmsman and trimmer), Nico Malingri and Matteo Soldini (both grinders and trimmers), the Spanish Carlos Hernandez Robayna (trimmer) and Oliver Herrera Perez (bowman) and the French Pierre-Laurent Boullais. John Elkann, chairman of FCA, already sailed with Soldini numerous times and participated in many races, including two editions of the Transpac, in 2013 and in 2017. After crossing the finish line, he said: We fought like lions since the start of the race, but weve had many difficulties. Giovanni Soldini and everyone in the crew are very skilled, thanks to that we were able to find a solution for every setback: to fix a problem with the central rudder, we used some pieces from the engine. Its been fantastic to see how, in times of difficulty, its possible to achieve results with great perseverance while keeping the spirits up! Born in 1971, organized by the Royal Cape Yacht Club and held every two or three years, the Cape2Rio is the Southern Hemispheres longest intercontinental yacht race, with a 3.600 nautical miles long course, and has always been a legendary event for every experienced sailor. The original course starts in Cape Town and arrives in Rio de Janeiro, but for some editions the finish line has been moved to other destinations: in the years of the anti-Apartheid protests the race finished in Punta del Este, Uruguay, and, in 2006 and 2009, in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil. Child refugees in Greece are among those who would be affected if UK backtracks on Dubs amendment. Names marked with an asterisk have been changed to protect identities. Samos, Greece The youngest unaccompanied child on the Greek island of Samos, who hopes to join family in Europe, is not yet a teenager. The child lives in a refugee camp on a hillside next to the islands capital, Samos Town, alongside 7,200 other refugees and asylum seekers, in a space designed for 640. Tents litter any available space on the already densely packed hill. Children chase each other along a muddy track winding above the main camp in the area known as the jungle, which is acting as an overspill for the ever-growing camp. Nearly 2,000 are children, 400 of whom are unaccompanied. Of these 400, a handful hopes to join family in the United Kingdom. But they now find their fate debated by politicians over 3,000 miles (4,800km) away. The removal of this opportunity by the UK would be a clear violation of these children's rights as it would prevent them from having a normal life outside of a refugee camp, supported by their families. Beatrice Chioccioli, project coordinator for Lawyers Without Borders France at the Samos Legal Centre On January 8, the House of Commons, where the ruling Conservatives hold a majority, voted to repeal an amendment to the Withdrawal Agreement Bill, which would have protected the rights of unaccompanied child refugees to join a relative who is a resident in the UK. After the vote, Prime Minister Boris Johnsons press secretary said the government would honour the provisions set out in the so-called Dubs amendment but there was no need to include it in the bill. Protecting vulnerable children will remain our priority after Brexit, they said. On Tuesday, the House of Lords, in which the ruling Conservatives do not hold a majority, will vote on whether to uphold the governments removal of this amendment, which for many children, may be the only opportunity they have to join their family. Amir* is 17 and slim, but looks younger than he is. He looked confused when representatives from a legal charity on the island tried to explain his rights to him. Originally from Kuwait and a member of the Bidoon community, a stateless minority, Amir has been living in Samos alone for two months since arriving from Turkey across the Mediterranean. He is one of many unaccompanied minors who feel safer sleeping outside the official camp boundaries than in a designated safe zone, which they say are overcrowded and prone to crime. Amirs father, whom he hopes to join, is in the UK. Beatrice Chioccioli, project coordinator for Lawyers Without Borders France at the Samos Legal Centre, told Al Jazeera: We have been dealing with several cases of unaccompanied minors living in extremely bad conditions in the local hotspot. The camp is overcrowded, the sanitary conditions are very poor, access to food is difficult and therefore, it is an extremely unsafe place for unaccompanied children. Our team has been working hard to make sure that their right to family reunification is guaranteed. The removal of this opportunity by the UK would be a clear violation of these childrens rights as it would prevent them from having a normal life outside of a refugee camp, supported by their families. Children playing at a camp in Samos, a Greek island which hosts thousands of refugees including unaccompanied minors [Image by Sajad, a 14-year-old child refugee] Mahdi*, 15, is also a member of the stateless Bidoon community from Kuwait. He arrived in Samos in December and is also living outside the designated safe zone. He hopes to join his elder sister who is living in the UK. Some of the unaccompanied children Al Jazeera interviewed had chronic scabies as a result of overcrowding and poor sanitation. The resettlement scheme, which took the form of an amendment to immigration legislation, was introduced in 2016 by Lord Alf Dubs, a Labour peer. The architect of the amendment, he arrived in the UK as an unaccompanied child refugee just before the outbreak of World War II. I can see no moral justification for the removal of my amendment from the withdrawal agreement bill. As we leave the EU, we cannot abandon our compassion and humanity. Lord Alf Dubs He told Al Jazeera that unaccompanied child refugees should not become collateral damage of Brexit negotiations. The stories of these children in Samos only underline the importance of family reunion. Many unaccompanied refugee children are living in terrible conditions on the Greek islands. A small proportion of these, hope to be reunited with their family in the UK because it is the only safe country where they have any family left. I can see no moral justification for the removal of my amendment from the withdrawal agreement bill. As we leave the EU, we cannot abandon our compassion and humanity. In January, NGOs working on the island, including Still I Rise, which runs a youth centre for refugee children, won a case at the European Court of Human Rights. This ruled that because of the poor living conditions in the camp in Samos, five unaccompanied minors should be transferred to a centre where they could be better provided for. So far, only one of these children has been transferred. We dont need to wonder what happens when lone refugee children are abandoned by governments. On Samos, we see it every day. Family reunion offers the chance for a small number of these children to escape hopelessness and destitution, and join family members in the UK. What politician could possibly hold their head up after leaving these children out in the cold? Alex Green, a spokesperson for Help Refugees, told Al Jazeera. Meanwhile, as politicians in Westminster discuss the merits of Lord Dubs amendment, young children like Amir and Mahdi, are sleeping in thin summer tents in winter, waiting to hear whether they will be able to join their families or not. $10,000 per capita GDP despite population slowdown secures strong Chinese market Global Times By Zhang Hui and Ma Jingjing Source:Global Times Published: 2020/1/18 18:03:19 Last Updated: 2020/1/18 20:10:24 India's demographics to overtake China's China's per capita gross domestic product (GDP) exceeded $10,000 for the first time in 2019. Experts say this cements the country's position as the world's second-largest economy, and that its population of 1.4 billion provides important business opportunities for other countries. China maintained medium-high economic growth in 2019 despite encountering headwinds, with its GDP growing 6.1 percent year-on-year to reach 99.09 trillion yuan ($14.4 trillion), according to official data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Friday. The country's per capita GDP was recorded at $10,276 for 2019. The upper-middle income level revealed domestic consumption will gradually upgrade, allowing China to become the most attractive market for multinationals and high-quality exports, Cong Yi, a professor at the Tianjin University of Finance and Economics, told the Global Times. Official data showed that China continues to drive global economic growth, contributing about 30 percent of overall global economic growth in 2019. However, it is suspected that China's GDP growth may lose momentum over the next decade or two as its demographic dividend declines. In 2019, China's birth rate fell to its lowest level in nearly seven decades. The number of births dropped by 580,000 to 14.65 million compared with 2018, with the birth rate standing at 10.48 per 1,000, the lowest recorded rate since 1952, Ning Jizhe, head of the NBS, said at a press conference on Friday. That was down from 10.94 per 1,000 in 2018 and 12.43 per 1,000 in 2017, according to the NBS., According to Ning, second children accounted for 57 percent of all births in 2019 due to the implementation of the second-child policy. Huang Wenzheng, a demographics expert, said the initial effects of the second-child policy will wear off in another five or six years, and the number of newborns will continue to decline in the following years. China's population will enter a fast-shrinking phase in five or six years, Huang told the Global Times. In the meantime, India, a densely populated country in Asia with an annual number of births almost twice that of China, will soon replace China as the world's most populous country. In recent years, India has seen 25 million births annually. According to a UN report in 2017, India's population will surpass China's by 2024. Although India has a high death rate for newborns, among many other issues including an unreasonable labor system, its growing number of births will provide strong support for its economy in time, Huang said. In the long run, the growth rate of India's economy may exceed that of China, but India has a long way to go before it surpasses China's wealth. The Chinese economy is over four times bigger, Huang said, adding that it will be very difficult for India to catch up with China in terms of its contribution to the global economy. Innovation-driven development "Although China's population growth is slowing, the country's investment in education and training is increasing," Cong said, noting that such investment is the source of high-quality development. Unlike the labor-force-driven economic growth seen in past decades, China is shifting to talent and innovation-supported development, he said. "It's urgent that we encourage companies to make technological innovations, while gradually improving the proportion of high-end industries and value-added products with technological content." In the process, the country should deepen reform to boost the flow of elements such as land, talent and capital between urban and rural regions, and energize micro-entities including corporations and individuals, Cong added. Huang predicted the Chinese economy will maintain relatively fast growth over the next two or three decades, alongside its continued development of technology and education. But some 40 years from now, when technological development is unable to compensate for a shrinking workforce, China will have to adopt strong incentives to encourage couples to have more children. Incentives might include cash rewards, subsidized infant care and education for children. "China should lift its family-planning policy further to remove all birth limitations, although it might have little effect on the improvement of the current birth rate," Zhai Zhenwu, president of the School of Sociology and Population Studies at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times. However, Zhao Gancheng, a research fellow at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies, told the Global Times that as China's development has already reached a relatively high level, the country's huge population will continue to lead contributions to global economic growth over the next decade - exceeding even the US. India's demographic dividend potential may mean it will eventually be able to contribute more to the world than China, Zhao said, as the country has advantages in language, a young population, and cheap land and labor. "There is possibility that India can replicate China's miraculous development over the past 20 years, and the South Asian country is stepping up its integration into the global economy by expanding its opening-up." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address French bakery and patisserie chain Paul UK has raised 13,000 for charity The Felix Project as part of its annual Christmas fundraiser. The business donated 50p from every Festive Pig Christmas sandwich sold to the London-based charity from 5 November to 24 December 2019. It also turned five tonnes of surplus bread into bread pudding, which was distributed daily to the charitys shelters and schools. The Felix Project collects surplus goods from the food industry and then distributes them to over 300 charities, primary schools and holiday programmes in the capital which is used to help vulnerable people who cannot afford it. Paul has been working with The Felix Project for four years and has raised a total of 51,000 so far. Each year, we run a Christmas fundraiser and, given the popularity of our Christmas sandwiches, it seemed only right to donate a percentage of sales to 2019s appeal, said Rachel Meier, sustainability development and project manager at Paul. Knowing that we are helping to close the hunger gap in London, while simultaneously reducing our impact on food waste by working with the amazing team at The Felix Project, means its a win-win for our communities and environment. Paul UK also rescued 55,000 meals, which would have otherwise gone to waste over the Christmas period, through app Too Good To Go. The app, which Paul extended to its entire UK estate in September 2019, allows consumers to purchase unsold food from top eateries at the end of service. Aiming to minimise all food waste by 2021, all 37 Paul UK bakeries are now signed up and have saved 55,012 portions of food from going to landfill and avoided over 137.5 tonnes of CO 2 production, according to the business. We are delighted to partner with Paul and continue to tackle food waste and food poverty in London. Pauls continuing generosity in donating surplus food and raising money through its award-winning Christmas sandwiches means we can continue to rescue and deliver more meals to those people in London experiencing hunger, said Mark Curtin, CEO of The Felix Project. We are so grateful for their continued support and look forward to working with Paul throughout 2020. The much sought after direct flight service between Bhubaneswar and Surat was launched by Air India from the Biju Patnaik International Airport here on Monday. The national carrier's Airbus A 320 aircraft took off for Surat from here at 8.40am with 81 passengers on board. "Air India will operate the direct flights between Bhubaneswar and Surat twice a week," the Director of Biju Patnaik International Airport, B Venkateshwara Rao, said. He informed that the airline will operate the flights from Bhubaneswar to Surat on Mondays and Thursdays and from Surat to Bhubaneswar on Fridays and Sundays. The flights to Surat from Bhubaneswar here will depart at 8.40am and reach the destination at 10.40am. Similarly, the return flights will leave Surat 8.40am and reach Bhubaneswar at 10.40am, Rao said. The airport director also said the frequencies of the flights may increase keeping in view the passanger turnout. "Around 8 lakh Odias stay in Surat and they prefer to take a 2-hour flight rather than spending 30 hours in train," he said. Earlier Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Bhubaneswar MP A Sarangi had urged the Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri to launch direct flights between Surat and Bhubaneswar for the benefit of non-resident Odias. Sources said that direct flights between Bhubaneswar and Varanasi will be launched from here on February 29 and it will be a daily service. The travel and tour operators have been demanding a direct flight service between the two cities - Bhubaneswar and Varanasi - in order to attract Buddhist pilgrims to Odisha. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bocchino for Arora Having served in the House of Representatives in Hartford I know firsthand what type of individual is needed to be effective and successful for her/his constituents. One must be a strong advocate and dedicated servant, someone who never puts party or politics above neighbors and community. An individual who does not seek accolades but instead desires nothing more than to serve their constituents and better the State of Connecticut. The 151st district is lucky to have found such a person in Harry Arora. Harry is a selfless, hard-working individual who knows how to reach across party lines. There is no ego or desire for power, he is committed to fixing our states economy, creating more jobs and implementing sound fiscal practices while holding state government accountable for the reckless spending and poor decision making that we encounter today. Moreover, Harry has the knowledge, vision and temperament to make a significant difference in Hartford. He is the one candidate in this race who understands and has insightful knowledge regarding the current issues facing our state and its residents. This special election is special because voters in the 151st district need to vote for a candidate who can hit the ground running from day 1. Without a question, Harry Arora is that individual. Harry has a vision for our state that will provide growth and prosperity both now and for future generations. I highly endorse Harry Arora for state representative of the 151st district and encourage all residents of the 151st district to get out and vote for Harry Arora on Tuesday, Jan. 21. Mike Bocchino is a former state representative for Greenwich. Republican, Unaffiliated back Moss On Tuesday, Jan. 21, there is a special election for state representative in the 151st district. We have a lot at stake. In this abbreviated election cycle without a public debate, we are challenged to understand the differences in the two candidates. We will be voting for Cheryl Trepp Moss for two key reasons. First, her involvement in the community. Cheryl Moss was unanimously elected Representative Town Meeting District 8 chair and has a long history of community service and has been active in all aspects of our town. Cheryl Moss is the candidate Greenwich knows and who knows Greenwich best. Second, Cheryl Moss has a track record of working with people with different points of view and builds consensus even when faced with divisive issues. To have an effective government we will need a representative who will be able to work collaboratively with others to represent Greenwich on key policy decisions and to bring about effective change. She has demonstrated bipartisan leadership and this talent is recognized by the committees and residents she serves. Cheryl Trepp Moss understands the challenges we face and is up to the task of addressing them. Residents and businesses are leaving Connecticut for low tax states. Mosss vision for new businesses across our state will grow our tax base resulting in lower taxes for all, especially Fairfield County. Moss recognizes we need to grow our economy through improved infrastructure, business friendly regulation and urban centers that will attract and retain young talent. And her experience as an environmental consultant will prove invaluable as Connecticut looks to capitalize on the potential for growth in the green economy. This comprehensive plan for growth is a vision Republicans, Democrats and the unaffiliated voters can support. Cheryl Trepp Moss is the right choice for the 151st on Jan. 21. Nancy Pierce Chapin, Unaffiliated, and Andy Chapin, Republican, are Cos Cob residents. A ballast of reason and leadership On Jan. 21, residents of the 151st District will head to the polls to elect a new state representative to fill the vacancy created by Fred Camilos election as first selectman. We have two candidates in Republican Harry Arora and Democrat Cheryl Moss. Both are good citizens and respected members of the community, but Harry Arora should be our voice in Hartford. When you listen to Harry speak about his candidacy, he is passionate about defending our towns values in Hartford. He is correct when he talks about the immediate need for our Legislature to eliminate wasteful spending and prioritize how it allocates its capital in a way that will put needs ahead of wants. Despite some choppy seas along the way, Greenwich has navigated itself successfully through the economic tumult of the Financial and Housing Crisis of a decade ago. As residents, we owe a big debt of gratitude to our local Republican leaders for this accomplishment. Theirs was a steady hand during times of economic uncertainty. In contrast, our ship of state has steered itself directly into rather than away from stormy seas by a Democratic led legislature that cannot seem to get its act together. Harry Arora will be a ballast of reason and leadership against the tide of mediocrity and poor fiscal stewardship in Hartford and will bring a much needed business oriented, problem solving skill set to the table. Being fiscally responsible does not equate to a blanket rejection of spending. Rather it is more directly correlated to finding ways to spend our tax payer dollars more efficiently and effectively so as to produce better returns on our investments. If the Connecticut Legislature were a Financial Advisory group they would have long ago had their licenses stripped and been prohibited from acting as a fiduciary. Harrys opponent in this race is Democrat Cheryl Moss. She is by any standard a good person and a dedicated, involved and productive member of our community. As our state representative she would be entrusted with the task of being our voice in Hartford. In order to be a voice of fiscal reason in a place that has none, she will have to buck the trend and go against the tide of her own party orthodoxy. According to the Conservative watchdog group Fiscal Freedom for CT, Cheryl Moss scores a 5 percent voting record as a Representative Town Meeting member. A score of above 50 percent would qualify someone as fiscally responsible. This is not encouraging. Our state taxes keep going up, and state Democrats have visions of creating new revenue streams such as tolls through which they will procure funding for infrastructure and transportation that has been left dormant for too long. Weve been sold this bill of goods before. Does anyone out there really trust our state government as presently constituted to allocate your tax dollars in a responsible and efficient way? The answer is a clear and resounding No. We need more fiscally responsible representatives in Hartford, especially with a Democratic governor. Harry Arora is the right person to address the issues at hand and he will be a forceful voice for Greenwich in the State Capital. He will bring much needed business acumen and an entrepreneurial spirit to Hartford and will be a fine representative of our towns values. I ask you to vote for Harry Jan. 21. Dan Quigley is a member of Greenwichs Representative Town Meeting. Reverence for society To the editor, I have known Harry Arora for more than 20 years in professional as well as personal capacity. Harry is a thoughtful, optimistic, hardworking individual. He is a committed, creative and selfless problem solver who can work with all different types of people. All these skills were evident during his success in his chosen field of work. I am keenly aware of the reverence Harry has for the society that has given everything to him and he is very excited to embark on a mission to contribute meaningfully back to that very society. Gautam Gupta New York Moss the better candidate To the editor, I am writing in support of Cheryl Moss the candidates for Greenwich Dist. 151, state representative. I have known Cheryl most of her life, first as a pleasant and polite and popular child, later at Greenwich High School as a good student and athlete. As a high school student, Cheryl was responsible and committed and successful in her academics and as a varsity athlete. As a young adult raising a family in Greenwich, she has continued to demonstrate all those attributes I remember over the years. She has been active in the community and in her childrens schools. She is currently a member of the Representative Town Meeting and supports town committees and not-for-profit organizations and continues to work in the schools, so she has much knowledge of and experience with the Town of Greenwich. I do not know Mr. Harry Arora. I only know of him through his political race for the U.S. House of Representatives because I attended the Greenwich League of Women Voters debate with Mr. Arora and the Honorable Jim Himes. I rely on those debates (and the Voters Guide published by the Greenwich League of Women Voters) to learn about candidates; therefore, I was alarmed to learn that he refused to participate in one for this election. I was also alarmed to think that he was challenging the integrity and long history of nonpartisanship of the League of Women Voters and their choice of a revered and capable Moderator for that debate. For those reasons and for the experience and reputation of Cheryl Moss, I believe she is the better candidate to represent the Town of Greenwich in Hartford. Sue H. Baker Greenwich False accusations It was disappointing to read Michael Spilos attack on a single Representative Town Meeting vote of our colleague Cheryl Moss, candidate for state representative. The vote he refers to was a vote against the deletion of $200k from the current budget for a second propane refueling station to be located at Holly Hill. What Spilo fails to mention is that his analysis used different accounting methods than the town. He ignores other factors contributing to the cost/benefit analysis such as the reduction in emissions and the cost savings to the town as it continues to add duel-fuel vehicles to the towns fleet. More disappointing is that he went on to make false accusations, implying Cheryl will vote for any and every expenditure just because we can afford it. He did not, apparently, analyze all of Cheryls votes on the RTM. Cheryls voting record demonstrates a commitment to addressing the fiscal issues of wasteful spending and good governance that ensures responsible expenditure of taxpayer dollars. Further distressing is Spilos touting of Harry Aroras financial background as proof of his ability to represent Greenwich in the state legislature. He fails to mention that Aroras professional career started at Enron, which he left when they declared bankruptcy, and then went on to Amaranth, leaving shortly before the co-head of his trading desk lost $6B, impacting countless investors, including pension funds and municipalities. The mere existence of a financial background does not a strong legislator make. Arora made his fortune betting on the energy prices that affect all of us. He has shown himself to be divisive and accusatory and someone who seeks to serve only a segment of our community. Cheryl Trepp Moss, a lifelong town resident, understands that representing Greenwich in the 151st State Assembly District is all about taking care of people. Whereas Cheryl has volunteered and been elected to local office, Mr. Arora has no such history. Mr. Aroras background in unregulated and ultimately bankrupt businesses inspires no confidence that he will put the interests of Greenwich voters first. I plan to vote for Cheryl Trepp Moss in the special election on Jan. 21. Caren Rosenbaum of Cos Cob is a member of the Representative Town Meeting representing District 8. This letter is her opinion and does not represent any official position of the RTM. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 09:41:30|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close SYDNEY, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- A huge dust storm has blanketed large parts of outback Australia over the weekend, with videos and images posted on social media showing the jaw-dropping scale of the strange weather event. Stretching from Broken Hill across to Nyngan, Parkes and Dubbo in the central-west of New South Wales State, local resident and photographer Marcia Macmillan told News Corp on Monday, that although it was the worst dust storm in 15 years, the phenomenon is becoming much more common in the region's drought-stricken towns. "These monsters have sadly become our new normal, and they are just as corroding to our emotional and mental wellbeing as they are to the landscape," she said. "It's enormous. We've had five in the last week and they just keep rolling in." "The relentless drought continues, and dust storms of this magnitude now wreak havoc and devastation every couple of days. They are so common that people continue going about their daily routine without taking much notice." Caused by a combination of strong wind, dry soil, low moisture in the air and unstable atmospheric conditions, dust storms can trigger serious health problems, particularly for people suffering from asthma or other respiratory illnesses. "Some of them actually last all day so you're just in it, constantly," Macmillan said. "They go for kilometers. Photos can't even give the scale. While it looks horrific, it doesn't really show the scale of what we are living through, sadly." "They're not scary, they're just depressing. Some days you can't see anything outside and the dirt then sits in the atmosphere for days and settles over everything in the house." Currently in the midst of the worst drought on record, dust storms have become a stark reminder of the stress agricultural communities are facing in the region. "Conditions in the country are often tough and growing up in the bush, you know that. It's a beautiful place but it's really hard to enjoy the beauty at the moment," Macmillan said. "Everyone is doing their best to keep a level of optimism and humour, but it just wears you down." Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday called for preservation and promotion of classical languages as they provide the window to civilisational values of ancient India. Naidu, who arrived at Venkatachalam in Nellore district by a special train, interacted with the Telugu scholars, litterateurs and experts in the Telugu language during a luncheon meeting here. During the interaction, the Vice President said that India's classical languages represent knowledge and wisdom of ancient thinkers, scientists, poets, sages, doctors, philosophers, and rulers. "If we don't preserve and sustain this link, we lose a very precious key to treasure house we have all inherited," he said. He expressed concern that more than 40 languages or dialects in India are considered endangered and are believed to be heading towards extinction as only a few thousand people speak them. An official release said Naidu's discussions with scholars centred around the promotion of classical Telugu language and development of the 'Center of Excellence for Studies in Classical Telugu' (CESCT). CESCT was set up under the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), Mysore after Telugu was recognised as a classical language in 2008. The release said Tamil was the first language in India to be accorded the classical language status in 2004. Subsequently, the Centre for Excellence of Classical Tamil, which was functioning in the campus of the Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysore, was shifted to Chennai on the request from the Tamil Nadu government in 2008. The institute is now known as the Central Institute of Classical Tamil (CICT). The Vice President had visited CICT, Chennai, on Sunday to acquaint himself with the functioning and various projects undertaken by the Institute for preservation and promotion of Tamil language. Sanskrit, Kannada, Malayalam and Odia are the other languages that have been declared as classical languages. Following a demand to shift the Centre of Excellence for Studies in Classical Telugu from Mysuru, the Vice President had suggested shifting the CESCT to then unified Andhra Pradesh some years ago. Subsequently, the Central government wrote to the combined Andhra Pradesh government in this regard. Following the bifurcation of the state of Andhra Pradesh, Naidu urged the Central government to shift CESCT to either of the Telugu speaking states. Later, the Union government decided to locate CESCT in Nellore. The release said that even as the modalities are being worked out for a new campus for the institute in Nellore, Deepa Venkat, daughter of the Vice President and managing trustee of Swarna Bharat Trust, has offered to house the institute for 3-4 years free of cost in the premises of the trust in Nellore. It said that on suggestions of the Vice President, the Union Human Resource Development Ministry has organised a two-day workshop on 'Development of Center of Excellence for Studies in classical Telugu' at Swarna Bharat Trust, Nellore. The release said that various scholars and experts of Telugu classical language are participating in the workshop, which will discuss the preparation of a roadmap on preservation, propagation, and promotion of classical Telugu so that the richness of the language could be taken to a greater height. The Vice President also witnessed 'BhuvanaVijayam', an artistic rendering of the best of Telugu classical poetry at Swarna Bharat Trust . (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) More than a hundred farmers and meat traders again rallied outside the prime ministers office in Yerevan on Monday to protest against a ban on home slaughter of livestock imposed by an Armenian government agency. The ban effective from January 15 means that cattle and other farm animals can be slaughtered only at 24 abattoirs currently operating in Armenia. Shops and market stalls are now obliged to have documents certifying that meat sold by them is supplied from those slaughterhouses. The State Food Safety Inspectorate says that this will help to prevent the sale of unhealthy or contaminated meat and thus protect consumers. Some of the affected farmers, who have traditionally slaughtered their livestock on their farms and courtyards, strongly oppose the new requirement, saying that it places a heavy financial burden on them. They say they are already struggling to make ends meet and cannot afford the extra costs of transporting their animals to the abattoirs and paying for their slaughter. Disaffected meat vendors in Yerevan make similar arguments. Forcing a villager who has two or three animals to take them to an abattoir is the same thing as telling him to stop raising cattle because the villager will have to pay 20,000 to 30,000 drams ($42-$62) to take each animal to the abattoir, said one of the farmers protesting outside Armenias main government building. We cant give the abattoir 10,000 drams and pay another 12,000 drams for the medical paper, said another protester. The angry crowd demanded a meeting with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian. It briefly blocked an adjacent street after none of the officials from Pashinians staff emerged from the building to talk to them. The protesters said they will step up the pressure on the government by blocking highways leading to Yerevan. The State Food Safety Inspectorate strongly defended the ban on home butchery after the first protest staged by the farmers and vendors late last week. There will be no step backwards because I dont want our country to be stuck in the Middle Ages, a senior official from the government agency, Artur Shatvorian, told RFE/RLs Armenian service at the weekend. Shatvorian claimed that there are no farmers among the demonstrators and that Yerevan-based meat traders are strongly opposed to the ban because it will put an end to tax evasion among them. We are all farmers, we are all from the Ararat province, countered one of the participants of Mondays rally. He and other protesters also denied the inspectorates assertion that the private abattoirs have agreed to provide free livestock transportation to farmers living in nearby communities and selling at least three animals at a time. Beirut: Lebanon is bracing for deepening unrest after weekend riots in the capital suggested the country's once-peaceful protest movement is entering a dangerous new phase. Rescue services and police said Sunday that more than 400 people were treated for injuries after the worst night of violence since Lebanese took to the streets in October to demand a new government capable of leading the country out of an acute economic and financial crisis. Police fired rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannon to disperse demonstrators hurling paving stones, fireworks and other projectiles on Sunday. The dark new mood was palpable. "Not peaceful, not peaceful. This is a revolution, not a song," the protesters chanted in downtown Beirut, pointedly contradicting the "peaceful, peaceful" slogan of the uprising's earliest days, when huge demonstrations against the government turned into dance parties. Air India's net loss in 2018-19 was around Rs 8,556 crore. Moreover, its per day losses are estimated to be in the range of Rs 20-26 crore, along with a debt of around Rs 80,000 crore Mumbai: Air India trade unions are likely to demand a VRS package at their second meeting with Minister of State for Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri in New Delhi today (20 January). The minister is set to meet over a dozen Air India unions, including unrecognised ones, today for the second time in a month over the airline's privatisation plans. The government is planning to float Expression of Interest (EoI) for selling its entire 100 percent stake in the loss-making flag carrier sometime next week. At the first meeting on 2 January, the minister had made it clear that privatisation was the only option before the government to keep the airline afloat and sought employees' cooperation in carrying out the disinvestment process. Puri had also told the Unions that he will call them again after the meeting of the ministerial panel on Air India disinvestment. "Initially, we were told that the government would protect our jobs if the airline gets privatised and therefore we did not think about voluntary retirement. But of late, our members have been approaching us and want us to discuss a voluntary retirement scheme package with the government as it is expected that our job will be protected only for one-year post-privatisation. We are going to raise this issue at the meeting with the minister on Monday," an airline source said. The source said that if the government agrees "in-principle" on their demand, the Unions will work out the contours of the VRS package, including the service cut-off period and the quantum of monetary compensation. Media reports suggest that the new investor may be allowed to retain Air India's around 11,000 employees for one year after the carrier goes into private hands. The Group of Ministers (GoM) led by Union Home Minister Amit Shah during its meeting on 7 January approved the plan to invite EoI and the sale-purchase agreement for the disinvestment of the state-run carrier, an official had earlier said. Air India's net loss in 2018-19 was around Rs 8,556 crore. Moreover, its per day losses are estimated to be in the range of Rs 20-26 crore, along with a debt of around Rs 80,000 crore. In 2018, the government had proposed to offload 76 percent stake in Air India while retaining the rest 24 percent with it as well as transfer the management control to private players. However, the offer failed to attract any bidder when the deadline for initial bids closed on May 31, 2018, forcing it to put the plans on hold and then resume the entire process all over again last year. By AFP BERLIN: World leaders committed to ending all foreign meddling in Libya's civil war at a Berlin summit on Sunday, and to uphold a weapons embargo as part of a broader plan to end the long-running conflict. The presidents of Russia, Turkey and France were among global chiefs signing up to the agreement to stop interfering in the war - be it through weapons, troops or financing. But the talks failed to deliver "serious dialogue" between the warring parties - strongman Khalifa Haftar and the head of Tripoli's UN-recognised government Fayez al-Sarraj - or to get both sides to sign up to a permanent truce. ALSO READ| Russia President Vladimir Putin visits Turkey to talk Libya, Syria and gas "Ensuring that a ceasefire is immediately respected is simply not easy to guarantee. But I hope that through today's conference, we have a chance the truce will hold further," said summit host Chancellor Angela Merkel. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo acknowledged that there are "still some questions on how well and effectively" the commitments can be monitored. But he said he is "optimistic that there will be less violence and an opportunity to begin the conversation that (UN special envoy) Ghassan Salame has been trying to get going between the Libyan parties". Libya has been torn by fighting between rival armed factions since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising killed dictator Moamer Kadhafi. Most recently, Sarraj's troops in Tripoli have been under attack since April from Haftar's forces. Clashes have killed more than 280 civilians and 2,000 fighters and displaced tens of thousands, until a fragile ceasefire backed by both Ankara and Moscow was put in place on January 12. Although Sarraj's government is recognised by the UN, powerful players have broken away to stand behind Haftar - turning a domestic conflict into what some have described as a proxy war in which international powers jostle to secure their own interests. Alarm grew in recent weeks after Turkey ordered in troops to shore up Sarraj's Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA). UN chief Antonio Guterres said the world powers had made "a strong commitment to stop" the conflict escalating into a regional confrontation. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov pointed to some positive takeaways from the talks, but said the summit failed to launch necessary talks between Sarraj and Haftar. "It is clear that we have not yet succeeded in launching a serious and stable dialogue between them," Lavrov told reporters after the conference, where Haftar and Sarraj did not meet face to face. Lavrov added that the Libyan parties had taken "a small step" forward. Pro-Haftar forces upped the ante on the eve of the talks by blocking oil exports at Libya's key ports, crippling the country's main income source in protest at Turkey's decision to send troops to shore up Sarraj. In afternoon trade on Asian markets Monday, oil prices rose more than one percent on supply concerns following the move. The flaring oil crisis underlined the devastating impact of foreign influence in the conflict, in which Sarraj's GNA is backed by Turkey and Qatar while Haftar has the support of Russia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Ahead of the talks, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lashed out at Haftar, saying he needed to drop his "hostile attitude" if Libya is to have any chance at winning peace. Russia has been accused of sending in mercenaries to help Haftar as Moscow seeks to extend its influence in the region - allegations it denies. For Turkey, the fall of Sarraj's GNA could jeopardise a maritime boundary agreement the parties signed. It gives Ankara extensive rights over the eastern Mediterranean where the recent discovery of undersea gas reserves has triggered a scramble by littoral states. Erdogan has repeatedly urged Europe to stand united behind Sarraj's government, warning that Tripoli's fall could allow jihadist groups like the Islamic State or Al-Qaeda to regroup. Further unrest could prompt a new wave of migrants to head for Europe, he has cautioned. Amid the latest apparent ceasefire violation -- according to GNA forces Sunday, Haftar's militia opened fire on them in southern Tripoli - Sarraj issued a plea for international "protection troops". The call echoed a similar suggestion by the EU's chief diplomat Josep Borrell, who stressed that monitors must be present to check that any ceasefire and weapons embargo are respected. With the idea gathering pace, Britain and Italy had voiced readiness to help, ahead of an EU foreign ministers' meeting on Monday that will discuss how the bloc can contribute to implementing Sunday's deal. But as Guterres noted, that discussion remains premature. "First, we need to have a ceasefire - we cannot monitor something that doesn't exist," he said. Imperial Valley News Center Department of Justice Announces Proposed Rule Regarding Equal Treatment of Faith-Based Organizations and Guidance on School Prayer Washington, DC - The Department of Justice announced a proposed rule that would implement President Trumps Executive Order No. 13831 (May 3, 2018), remove regulatory burdens on religious organizations, and ensure that religious and non-religious organizations are treated equally in DOJ-supported programs. The proposed rule ensures that DOJ-supported social service programs are implemented in a manner consistent with the Constitution and other applicable federal law. The department also announced, in conjunction with the Department of Education, guidance on school prayer. The updated guidance provides information on legal protections for prayer and other religious expression in public schools. Since our nations founding, there has always been a strong consensus about the centrality of religious liberty in the United States and the freedom of religious expression, said Attorney General William P. Barr. The Framers of the Constitution believed that both were indispensable to sustaining our free system of government. The actions taken by the administration today will hopefully help secure religious freedom in our country for decades to come. Background on Equal Treatment of Faith-Based Organizations Under current regulations that govern DOJ-supported programs, religious providers of social services but not other providers of social services must make referrals under certain circumstances and must post notices regarding this referral procedure. These regulatory burdens had been required by then-President Obamas Executive Order No. 13559 (Nov. 17, 2010). Consistent with President Trumps Executive Order No. 13831 (May 3, 2018), the DOJs proposed rule would eliminate them from DOJ regulations. As the DOJs proposed rule observes, these burdens were not required by any applicable law, and because they were imposed only on religious social service providers, they are in tension with recent Supreme Court precedent regarding nondiscrimination against religious organizations. The proposed rule also will foreclose other unequal treatment of religious organizations by ensuring that they are not required to provide assurances or notices that are not required of secular organizations. In addition, the proposed rule will clarify that religious organizations may apply for awards on the same basis as any other organization and that when DOJ selects award recipients, DOJ will not discriminate based on an organizations religious character. The proposed rule also clarifies that religious organizations participating in DOJ-supported programs retain their independence from the government and may continue to carry out their missions consistent with religious freedom protections in federal law, including the Free Speech and Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment. The proposed rule incorporates the Attorney Generals 2017 Memorandum for All Executive Departments and Agencies, Federal Law Protections for Religious Liberty. That memorandum was issued pursuant to President Trumps Executive Order No. 13798 (May 4, 2017), and it guides all federal administrative agencies and executive departments in complying with federal law. Background on School Prayer Guidance Section 8524(a) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act and codified at 20 U.S.C. 7904(a), requires the Secretary of Education to issue guidance to State educational agencies (SEAs), local educational agencies (LEAs), and the public on constitutionally protected prayer in public elementary and secondary schools. It requires the Department of Justices Office of Legal Counsel to review the guidance prior to distribution to ensure that it represents the current state of the law. In addition, section 8524(b) requires that, as 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. The purpose of this updated guidance is to provide information on the current state of the law concerning religious expression in public schools. Part I is an introduction. Part II clarifies the extent to which prayer in public schools is legally protected. LEAs and SEAs are responsible, under section 8524(b) of the ESEA, to certify their compliance with the standards set forth in Part II. Part III of this updated guidance generally addresses principles of religious liberty that relate to religious expression more broadly, including prayer, in accordance with Executive Order 13798 (May 4, 2017), 82 Fed. Reg. 21675 (May 9, 2017), and the Attorney Generals Memorandum on Federal Law Protections for Religious Liberty of October 7, 2017, 82 Fed. Reg. 49668 (Oct. 26, 2017) (AG Memo). It is meant to advise SEAs and LEAs on how to comply with governing constitutional and statutory law, but it is not a part of the required certification under section 8524(b) of the ESEA. Part IV discusses the Equal Access Act, which provides statutory protection for religious expression in public schools. These broader principles were drawn substantially from a 1995 presidential memorandum, Memorandum on Religious Expression in Public Schools, 2 Pub. Papers 1083 (July 12, 1995), and a 1998 Department of Education memorandum, Richard W. Riley, U.S. Secretary of Education, Religious Expression in Public Schools: A Statement of Principles (June 1998). The (MCA) has unearthed a scam of around Rs 700 crore in troubled real estate company The office of the regional director north has found that siphoned off huge amounts of money to various shell companies, a senior government official told Business Standard. MCA is in the process of examining the findings to decide the next course of action in the matter. promoters Sanjay Chandra and his brother Ajay Chandra are in Delhis Tihar Jail since August 2017 for allegedly siphoning off homebuyers money. The Chandra duo was arrested by the (EOW) of the Delhi Police in April 2017. They were accused of duping buyers, who had booked flats in their Greater Noida residential project. Further investigation ordered into Unitech revealed that money has been diverted to some 15-16 All the findings, along with evidence, have been submitted to the government. Unitech promoters took out money from the main company and created assets such as land banks and buildings under various It is public money that belongs to shareholders and banks which has been diverted, the government official said. Section 224 of the Act empowers the MCA to take action in pursuance of the inspectors report. The MCA recently submitted a proposal in the Supreme Court for taking over the management of the troubled real estate company. In its note to the apex court, the government has proposed names for the board of director positions for what was once the largest real estate firm in the country. The Chandra family, father Ramesh and sons Ajay and Sanjay, were ranked seventh in The Billionaire Club, Business Standards annual ranking of the countrys wealthiest people in 2007, with a net worth of over Rs 30,000 crore. Riding the real estate boom, Unitech expanded rapidly between 2005 and 2007 with multiple projects launched across the country. The apex court had refused to grant bail to the promoters as they had not complied with its October 30, 2017, order directing them to deposit Rs 750 crore. Earlier, in December, the Supreme Court had ordered a forensic audit of the companys books and assets. Forensic auditors reported that Rs 14,270 crore was collected by Unitech from 29,800 home buyers. Of this, Rs 13,364 crore has been traced in bank statements. Of the 16,000 affected by Unitechs pending projects, nearly 4,700 want a complete refund. The other 9,400-odd buyers want either refund or their flat. Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], Jan 20 (ANI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday appealed to governments of all northeastern states and opposition ruled states to pass a resolution against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). "I appeal to governments of all Northeastern states and Opposition ruled states that before taking any decision on conducting NPR, the state governments should study it carefully. I appeal to all states to pass a resolution against CAA," Mamata told ANI. Terming BJP leaders as arrogant, Mamata said, "I appeal to all states to pass a resolution against CAA. This is a shame. I don't want to respond to such leaders who are arrogant. People are protesting because they see the danger." "We will pass a resolution against CAA. There can be an all opposition party meet in Kolkata if they all agree. Centre should remove clauses of conditions in National Population Register (NPR) that support NRC," She further said while cautioning the governments of non-BJP states who are opposing CAA. "I appeal to all opposition state governments to pass a resolution against CAA, NPR is a dangerous game," She added. (ANI) APPLE expects to operate in Cork for the next 40 years, chief executive Tim Cook has said in an exclusive interview with Independent.ie. The tech boss also believes that regulators need to crack down further on online privacy, commenting that "GDPR in itself is not sufficient". And he said that, despite the success of tablets and iPads, there may never be a "post PC era". Mr Cook was in Dublin to visit app developers, musicians and to receive an award from Taoiseach Leo Varadkar on behalf of the IDA for Apples 40 years at its Hollyhill base in Cork, where it employs over 6,000 people. He also spoke about Apples ongoing tax case with the European Commission, as well as the companys 1998 wobble over whether to keep the Cork base open. Before meeting Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Mr Cook sat down to share some thoughts on Apples relationship with Ireland, where its thinking is about apps and Mr Cooks determination to protect the privacy of iPhone and Apple users. Expand Close Apple CEO Tim Cook is presented with the inaugural IDA Ireland Special Recognition Award by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar (Niall Carson/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Apple CEO Tim Cook is presented with the inaugural IDA Ireland Special Recognition Award by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar (Niall Carson/PA) Asked about current relations with the Irish government, Mr Cook described them as positive. "I feel really good about the relationship, not only the government, but with the people," he said. "We've been here now 40 years. And like every good relationship, there's been some ups and downs for both parties. "But we came here at a time of very high unemployment in Cork. Now we've grown to a 6000-plus employee base that has 100 nationalities in it. I look forward to being here the next 40 years." Apple and Ireland are jointly appealing a 13bn European Commission tax ruling in 2016 in a case that could last for years. Apple has recently seen its value soar to $1.4tn (1.2tn), partly thanks to the success of its new products, such as the Apple Watch and AirPods. Ireland is one of the EU countries with the highest iPhone share. Read More However, the company is coming under more sustained pressure to provide 'backdoors' into its secure iPhone encryption as police forces look to suspects' digital devices to help investigate offences. To date, Apple has taken a stiff line on the issue, rebutting requests from UK and - this month - US authorities for access into its security systems. This has drawn the ire of US president Trump, who tweeted his discontent that Apple would not help the FBI break into one of its own iPhones in a terrorist case. Asked whether there is any room for nuance or a lower standard of privacy should authorities seek it, Mr Cook said that there was not. "No," he said. "I think that everybody has seen some of what's at stake over the last several years in some form. And perhaps it's not well understood by everyone about how important privacy is. But our view is that it's the base at which many other things exist. "It's the basis for freedom of expression, as just one example, so I think society is waking up to this and I don't think people in most countries in the world would be satisfied with the continuation of where we are today." Mr Cook has previously taken issue with what he has labelled a dilution of online privacy standards brought about by online web giants such as Google and Facebook. Asked about whether he believes Europe's GDPR privacy law was the answer, he said that he wants regulators to go beyond GDPR standards adopted. "This is an area where regulation is is needed," he said. "GDPR, I think, was a really great first step. And, largely, it's become adopted throughout the world, either because companies couldn't do it two different ways, or because other countries are moving along the same path. But GDPR in itself is not sufficient. The risk to our privacy, which we view as a fundamental human right, has never been greater. "And so, I think we need to all understand what's at stake here. And then I do think it's an area that companies broadly haven't shown that they will self police. I think the EU is a great place for that to where it can ignite and start." Mr Cook spoke about Irish iOS app developers which, he said, have earned close to 1bn from selling their apps to customers around the world and have been central in "creating 17,000 app economy jobs" in Ireland. Expand Close Apple's plant in Hollyhill, Cork / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Apple's plant in Hollyhill, Cork "The developer population here is really taking off and it's great to see it," he said. But asked whether phone and tablet apps were the inevitable endgame for computing, he struck a different note to the "post PC" enthusiasm articulated five years ago at the launch of the iPad Pro. "I think what I've come to realise is that there is room for a number of devices for people," he said. "I don't see a day that PCs are gone. I don't see that. "I think there's too many things about it that are great. I mean, you can look at our numbers, we sell a lot more iPads, but increasingly I view it as a computing device and you just decide which one or ones you want. "Some people will use one of them. Some people will use two. Some even more than two. And so, I think it's very much an individual preference." Corks Hollyhill facility is a global transport logistics hub for Apple. When a new iPhone is launched, Cork's managers become responsible for overseeing thousands of delivery trucks, flights and other practical arrangements to make sure the devices get to shops and depots. The facility is also Apple's only self-operated manufacturing facility in the world, building iMacs to order. There are almost 35,000 configurations possible. Apple has a relatively high percentage of remote workers in Ireland, with around 25pc given the option to work from home. After receiving the IDA's award from Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Cook held a public questions-and-answers session with IDA chief executive Martin Shanahan where he spoke about the 13bn European Commission tax case and having doubted whether Apple would keep its Cork base open in 1998, when the company was in financial trouble. "Its very complex to know how to tax a multinational," he said. "Its not like a small business that does all of their stuff generally in one country. A multinational might manufacture in one country, service in another sell in another and do research and development in another. And so somebody has to decide how to apportion the profits and, therefore, the tax payments." Expand Close IDA chief executive Martin Shanahan. Photo: Frank Mc Grath / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp IDA chief executive Martin Shanahan. Photo: Frank Mc Grath Mr Cook told Mr Shanahan that it was a "really reasonable subject for people to debate" as a policy issue. "I think reasonable people can have different points of view," he said. "I think the place for that to happen is at a worldwide level, because you can bet that each country is going to have a different point of view. Companies shouldn't have anything to do with this, they should just follow the law. And so the OECD, I think, is the place for this. "Mr Cook said that Apple "desperately wants" it to be fair. "This is where the issue comes in the Commission. We believe that law should not be retrofitted, that the law is the law and the law can change going forward but it shouldn't change going backwards. "That is at the heart of the case if you just make it very simple. It is before the court now and we have great faith in the justice system." He went on to say that he is "optimistic" that the OECD can create a clearer tax code. "I think they have to. This is never going to be one that everybody is going to say 'yeah, great' because everybody would like a little bit more. But I think that they [the OECD] are the place for it to happen. And I think that, logically, everybody knows it needs to be rehauled. I would be the last person that would say that the current system or is a perfect system." Mr Cook repeated Apples assertion that it is the "largest taxpayer in the world". "We do so willingly, not grudgingly," he said. "The [European] Commission has a different perspective on who we should pay. And the way that we look at it, and I believe its the way Ireland looks at it as well, is that we have paid them per the law. We followed the law and paid them accordingly." michael barbaro From The New York Times, Im Michael Barbaro. This is The Daily. Today: As the impeachment trial of President Trump resumes this afternoon, senators remain bitterly divided over every element of the proceedings. Peter Baker on why it was such a different story during the last impeachment trial. Its Tuesday, January 21. Peter Baker, what do you remember from this day, almost exactly 21 years ago, when the Senate trial and the impeachment of President Bill Clinton begins? peter baker Boy, it was just a fraught day. You had Republicans and Democrats trying to figure out how to get through it without blowing up the country. And I was a White House reporter for the Washington Post at the time. I had been covering this story from the first days when the news of the Ken Starr investigation had broke. archived recording 1 potentially damaging cloud is hanging over the White House this morning CNN has confirmed archived recording 2 that independent counsel Kenneth Starr is investigating whether the president asked a former White House intern to lie about a relationship she says, or at least alleges, to have with the president. peter baker It was a time that really divided the public over this president and what he had done. archived recording (bill clinton) I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky. peter baker Hed been accused of lying under oath and obstructing justice by covering up his affair with a White House intern. archived recording 1 A defining day for the future of President Clinton, special prosecutor Ken Starr, Congress, and the country. Heres the latest. Details of the Ken Starr accusations are officially out. archived recording 2 Dan, this report accuses the president of lying, obstruction of justice, tampering with witnesses before the grand jury. In the view of the independent counsel, it all grows out of the presidents relationship with Monica Lewinsky. peter baker The polls showed that most people were against impeachment. Most people were for Clinton staying in office. But the anger and the emotion of that moment was very real. archived recording 1 We are witnessing nothing less than the symptoms of a cancer on the American presidency. If we fail to remove it, it will expand to destroy the principles that matter most to all of us. archived recording 2 The question is whether the truth matters. And there are some who seem to be saying that the truth really doesnt matter. Basically, I think what those people who would assert that have to be saying is that power is what matters. And the risk for us there is that that seems to me to be the sure prescription for tyranny. peter baker The House impeachment process was divided and divisive. archived recording The president had an affair. He lied about it. He didnt want anyone to know about it. Does anyone reasonably believe that this amounts to subversion of government? Does anyone reasonably believe that this is what the founding fathers were talking about? peter baker The Democrats wanted to encourage this idea that the Republicans were being partisan, because that was going to be their defense. archived recording This is indeed a Republican coup detat. peter baker Their defense was, theyre coming after our guy. Its illegitimate. Its a witch hunt. Its a coup. You may recognize some of these terms. archived recording 1 This march to impeachment is an attempt to undo and overthrow a duly elected president and ignores the will of the people. archived recording 2 We have frayed our fragile bases for bipartisan cooperation, making the impeachment process just one more pathogen in the medical chest of toxic politics. peter baker And so by the time the issue reaches the House floor for a vote, the country is kind of convulsing here. archived recording On this vote, the yeas are 228. The nays are 206. Article I is adopted. peter baker The House then passes two of the four articles of impeachment that were sent by the Judiciary Committee on largely party line votes, setting up, you know, this very divisive trial to come. The idea that this is not a bipartisan effort at this point. It is the president versus the other party. And its so divisive that you saw the senators on the other side watching in kind of horror, because they didnt want that to happen. Trent Lott was the Republican leader at the time, a senator from Mississippi, and he talks by phone over this period with Tom Daschle, who is his Democratic counterpart. And both of them were expressing this great nervousness that the Senate would be consumed by the fires that they had seen burn up the House. They did not want a circus-like environment. They did not want the ugliness, the partisanship, and each of them on the phone was kind of relieved to discover that the other one felt the same way. michael barbaro And why did they feel that way? I mean, if the rest of their party in the next door chamber is behaving this way, what is so problematic about that for them? peter baker You know, at the time and traditionally the Senate has looked at things differently than the House. They have seen themselves as a more mature body, less reactive to the moods of the moment. Remember, they have six-year terms. They dont have to face the voters every two years. They have more freedom to exercise their judgment without worrying about an instant political consequence. So traditionally, the Senate has been more restrained and, you know, less partisan than the House. And they wanted to make sure that that stayed that way during the trial that was about to start. michael barbaro So the Senate Republican leader and the Senate Democratic leader, theyre basically having back-channel conversations about how to have a civilized impeachment process. peter baker Exactly. Remember, we had not had a Senate impeachment trial of a president since 1868 since Andrew Johnson because Nixon resigned before there was any trial. So nobody really knew how it was supposed to work. And so it fell to the Republican leader Trent Lott and the Democrat leader Tom Daschle to figure out just the rules of the road. How are they going to proceed? What would it look like? Who would say what, when, and what possible actions would be allowed during a trial? And rather than have a food fight over just the rules, they sat on the phone during this Christmas season before the new year, when they would start the trial, kind of beginning to talk through these various issues. How can we join together? Tom Daschle said, were going to co-pilot our way through this together. They wanted to get through this hand-in-hand, even though they were going to vote in different ways when it came to the actual conviction or acquittal. They wanted to hold hands through it, so that the process at least didnt fracture the Senate the way it had the House. archived recording (tom daschle) Senator Lott and I have worked probably more closely in the last two or three weeks in trying to resolve how were going to proceed than we worked on anything since weve been leaders. michael barbaro So how did they actually go about co-piloting the Senate trial? 9 Im very pleased that we are here together to announce that at 30 tomorrow morning in the Old Senate Chamber that we will have a bipartisan Senate conference, so that we can talk to each other and listen to each other and understand what were actually suggesting as to how we should proceed. peter baker You know, it led to a meeting in the Old Senate Chamber. Now the Old Senate Chamber is where the Senate used to meet before the big wings were built on the Capitol. And its a smaller, more intimate and historic room. And so in that room, no reporters, no cameras. They all sat there and talked through their views about how the process should work, and really its Trent Lott and Tom Daschle leading the way. They didnt want to tear apart the institution. They knew at the end of the day, when the trial was over, they still had to work together. They still had a couple more years of governing before the next election, and they didnt want that to be consumed by bitterness and bile. michael barbaro So Peter, how does all of this consensus at the top of the Senate, on both sides of the aisle, how does that influence the rules for the trial? peter baker Well, one thing that was different than it is now is that there was kind of an agreement by Republicans and Democrats that they werent all that excited about the idea of witnesses. Everybody who had anything to tell us about this episode had already testified to the grand jury. We knew what everybodys point of view was. We knew what the evidence was. Unlike now, right, today there are witnesses that weve never heard from. We dont know what they would tell us. Back then, we knew what Monica Lewinskys story was. We knew what President Clintons story was. And so the argument was, why have witnesses? Particularly because it was a sensitive matter. Nobody Republican or Democrat wanted Monica Lewinsky on the floor of the Senate talking about various sex acts. Right? That was just way beyond what any senator thought they could stomach. And so they came up with a set of rules that would put off the question of witnesses first. And say, lets just open the trial with 24 hours of opening arguments by the House managers, the prosecutors, and 24 hours of arguments by the White House side defending him, and then well have questions from the senators passed up on note cards to the chief justice who will then ask them out. And then after we have that, then we can decide whether we want any witnesses or not. So they came up with a set of rules, and the Republicans and Democrats agreed on it. Not only did they agree on it, they actually voted 100 to zero michael barbaro Wow. peter baker to approve the set of rules, which is pretty remarkable if you think about it today. michael barbaro Every single senator, without fail, agreed on the rules for this trial. peter baker Exactly right, and that just freaked out the White House, the White House michael barbaro What do you mean? peter baker Well, they didnt want consensus. Consensus is not good for them. 100 to 0 was not a vote they wanted. They wanted a party line vote, because a party line vote meant that the president could not be removed from office. As long as the battle was a us versus them, as long as it was about Republicans versus Democrats, there was no way that the presidents critics could get to two-thirds majority to remove him from office. So they wanted to maintain this as a partisan process. And the 100-to-0 vote sent the wrong signal. In fact, it falls to John Podesta, the White House chief of staff, to call up Senator Daschles aides. And hes furious. Hes livid. What are you guys doing, hes asking. You know, he made fun of all the senators and their, quote, preening little unity dance, he said. I hope they feel good about it. 100-to-0 vote was nerve-racking for this White House. michael barbaro So the White House message is, we dont like the kind of consensus that you are reaching, because its not politically advantageous to us, even though it would seem to represent a modern achievement of non-partisanship. So how does Daschle respond to that? peter baker Well, Daschle makes a point of not directly talking to them, but his staff says trust us. Its going to be O.K. Were going to get through this. Youre not going to be convicted. This doesnt change the votes. It just means that were going to do it in a different way than the House did it. Were not going to in fact let it become the spectacle that we think the House had become. So, you know, the White House is left kind of on the sidelines here a little bit. Theyre not able to dictate the process the way they would have liked to, and theyre kind of nervous about it. michael barbaro Now it seems notable, is it not, that Daschle is not talking to the White House? Is that a deliberate strategy on his part? peter baker It is. He thinks that talking to the White House would optically look bad. His job now is to be a juror of sorts. And while, of course, everybody understood which side he was going to be on in the end, he thought that he at least had the obligation to look independent of the White House. Of course, the staffs were talking all the time. So it wasnt all independent. But at least for an external appearance, he thought it was important the senators not look like theyre simply michael barbaro coordinating peter baker coordinating directly with the White House, exactly. And there were Democrats who were very angry, particularly in the Senate, at President Clinton and expressed so. In fact, you know, at one point, Pat Leahy, the Democratic senator from Vermont, is talking to the president on the phone late one night from home. And hes so upset, he says, Bill, youre a damn, damn, damn fool. michael barbaro Wow. peter baker So there was this sense that anything could happen. In fact, Tom Daschle had a list of about 10 Democratic senators he was kind of worried about, that he thought in theory could under some circumstances jump ship. And that might create a cascade effect that if it didnt convict the president, it might put pressure on him to resign the way Republicans put pressure on Richard Nixon to resign in 1974. One of President Clintons top aides told him during the impeachment process. He said, Republicans wont be able to remove you from office, but Democrats might be able to. And that was where it was as the trial was about to get under way. michael barbaro Well be right back. archived recording (strom thurmond) [GAVEL] The Senate will come to order. The senators will take their seats. All others will remove themselves from the floor. michael barbaro Peter, what actually happens once the Senate trial begins? archived recording (william rehnquist) Senators, I attend the Senate in conformity with your notice for the purpose of joining with you for the trial of the president of the United States. peter baker Well, you had this remarkable display. First of all, you had the Chief Justice William Rehnquist as the presiding officer. Thats the way the Constitution has it. archived recording (william rehnquist) At this time, I will administer the oath to all senators in the chamber. peter baker Displayed in front of him are 100 United States senators all sitting in their desks. That by itself is extraordinary. That almost never happens. archived recording (william rehnquist) And do you solemnly swear that in all things appertaining to the trial of the impeachment of William Jefferson Clinton, President of the United States, now pending, you will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws so help you God? peter baker So the chief justice was right. There were 13 members of the House Representatives, all Republicans from the Judiciary Committee, who were going to be the prosecutors theyre called managers under this system. To the left of the chief justice was the table for the White House team that included the White House counsel and a handful of other attorneys, both government and private, who were going to defend him in this case. And you had words like impeachment, high crimes and misdemeanors, warrants the removal. These words were hanging in the air and gave, I think, a sense of gravity to the moment, even to people who were very partisan and knew already which way they wanted to vote. michael barbaro And as the Republicans as the House managers who are prosecuting this case start to make their case, what are the points that theyre making? peter baker Well, one thing about this case is that the facts were more or less set. We knew that the president had not told the truth under oath about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. And a lot of people believe he had also obstructed justice by encouraging other witnesses to lie. So the issue was less about the facts than it was what you made of the facts. Really the question is, O.K., if he committed a crime, if you believe he committed a crime, is it a high crime? Is it worthy of removal from office? archived recording (william rehnquist) The managers for the House of Representatives have 24 hours to make presentation of their case. The Senate will now hear you. The presiding officer recognizes Mr. Manager Hyde to begin the presentation of the case for the House of Representatives. peter baker And leading off the case is Henry Hyde, whos the head of the managers. archived recording (henry hyde) We are brought together on this solemn and historic occasion to perform important duties assigned to us by the Constitution. peter baker And he starts off and in his classically typically, you know, high altitude, lofty kind of tones about duty and honor and the Constitution. archived recording (henry hyde) We are here, Mr. Chief Justice and distinguished senators, as advocates for the rule of law, for equal justice under the law, and for the sanctity of the oath. peter baker Remember though, because they had 13 managers, everybody had to get up and say something. Theyre all politicians. Each of them wanted their moment in the sun, and not all of them were as good as the others. But then there was this guy from South Carolina. archived recording (lindsey graham) Were here to judge our president. Were here to say whether or not hes guilty, to begin with, of some serious offenses peter baker A young congressman named Lindsey Graham, who gets up. archived recording (lindsey graham) that are colored by sex, and theres absolutely no way to get around that. And I know its uncomfortable to listen to. peter baker And he wasnt very well known to that point. But there he was on the floor. He didnt follow the script as carefully as the others. He wasnt arguing points of fact. He was talking a very down home, South Carolina Southern accent, in a very folksy and compelling way about, you know, what made sense to him. archived recording (lindsey graham) Whats a high crime? How about if an important person hurt somebody of low means? Its not very scholarly, but I think its a truth. I think thats what they meant by high crimes. peter baker Lindsey Grahams point is, we know what happened here. We know what this president did. And what he did was reprehensible, not just to his wife and his personal life, but reprehensible to the rule of law in this country. archived recording (lindsey graham) And I would argue that every president and every citizen has a constitutional duty not to cheat another citizen, especially the president. And they get out of bounds, its up to us to put him back in bounds or declare it illegal. peter baker And if you let him off the hook, then youre saying a president can violate the law with impunity. He makes it in a very persuasive way. I think, certainly for a lot of Republicans who were doubting the case and even for some of the Democratic senators, I think they found him compelling. Now at one point though archived recording (william rehnquist) This question is from Senators Kohl and Edwards, but its to the House managers. peter baker Because he does think quickly on his feet, and he does tend to say what he thinks in a more candid way rather than following a script, he says something that ends up angering his fellow managers. archived recording (william rehnquist) So let me ask you this. Even if the president engaged in the alleged conduct, can reasonable people disagree with the conclusion that as a matter of law, he must be convicted and removed from office, yes or no? archived recording (lindsey graham) Absolutely. Its never been hard to find out whether Bill Clinton committed perjury or whether he obstructed justice. That aint a hard one for me. But when you take the good of this nation, the upside and the downside, reasonable people can disagree on what we should do. peter baker That reasonable people could disagree about whether or not this should be enough to remove a president as well. michael barbaro He cracks open the door to acquittal. peter baker Exactly. And once you said that once you said that reasonable people can disagree then of course Democrats are going to hold onto that like a life raft, and say well, even Lindsey Graham says its reasonable for me to take this position. michael barbaro So in the Clinton impeachment trial, it is Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, who ends up offering a kind of olive branch to the Democrats, who ends up emerging as a figure of moderation, and then maybe even just a little bit of ambivalence. peter baker Right. Hes trying to connect with the Democrats and say, I get where youre at. I have my own issues with this too. But in the end, you have to find in favor of accountability for a president who does wrong. michael barbaro And Peter, what happens when the presidents lawyers have their chance to make a case? peter baker The president was worried that the senators wouldnt react well to lawyers, and so he wanted to have somebody on his team who could relate to the senators as a peer. And so he reached out, and they got Dale Bumpers, who had just stepped down as a senator from Arkansas Bill Clintons home state to join the defense team, basically be his representative on the floor. archived recording (william rehnquist) The chair recognizes Mr. Counsel Bumpers to continue the presentation of the case for the president. peter baker And, you know, it was an inspired idea to try to get past the legalisms and to really connect with the jury, if you will, if you want to call them that. archived recording (dale bumpers) Mr. Chief Justice, our distinguished House managers, I have seen the look of disappointment on many faces, because I know a lot of people thought you were rid of me once and for all. peter baker So Dale Bumpers gets up, and he is a folksy, very compelling, old-school Southern pol. archived recording (dale bumpers) Colleagues, I come here with some sense of reluctance. The president and I have been close friends for 25 years. peter baker Bumpers knows Bill Clinton in a way that nobody else or very few other people do. archived recording (dale bumpers) We fought so many battles back home together in our beloved Arkansas. peter baker And its his way of saying, this is somebody I know, and I understand his flaws, and I understand his strengths. And you can trust me as a validator for him. archived recording (dale bumpers) But the question is, how did we come to be here? peter baker And he then begins to talk about the case, and he says archived recording (dale bumpers) Were here because of a five-year relentless unending investigation of the president. peter baker Look, you know, this investigation has been a witch hunt. It has been excessive. It has gone too far. archived recording (dale bumpers) $50 billion, hundreds of F.B.I. agents fanning across the nation, examining in detail the microscopic lives of people. Maybe the most intense investigation not only of a president, but of anybody ever. peter baker He says, when they tell you its not about sex archived recording (dale bumpers) And when you hear somebody say, this is not about sex, its about sex. peter baker its about sex. And its the most memorable line, I think, maybe of that trial, right. Hes trying to get at the nub of it. And what hes saying the nub of it is, is forget the legalisms. What it really is, is theyre going after a guy who couldnt keep his pants on, and yes, thats reprehensible. And yes, he should be condemned for it. But does it rise to the level of an impeachable offense? And he says, look, I feel angry at Bill Clinton. archived recording (dale bumpers) You pick your own adjective to describe the presidents conduct: indefensible, outrageous, unforgivable, shameless. I promise you the president would not contest any of those or any others. But the danger peter baker But, and its the big but, right. This is the pivot, but archived recording (dale bumpers) as I say is to the political process and dangerous for reasons feared by the framers about legislative control of the executive. So dont leave a precedent from which we may never recover and almost surely will regret. peter baker None of this offends the integrity of the Republic in the way the framers really meant it. And Senator Bumpers makes the point that the American people agree with him. archived recording (dale bumpers) 76 percent of us think hes doing a fine job. 65 to 70 percent of us dont want him removed from office. peter baker The polls show that two-thirds of the public did not want him impeached and removed from office. They didnt think he was a particularly moral guy, but they thought he was doing a good job in office. They thought the economy was doing well, and they thought that this was not worthy of impeachment. And thats what Bumpers is trying to say. Hes saying to these hundred jurors look, youre politicians. Lets face it. The public doesnt want you to remove him from office. archived recording (dale bumpers) If you vote to acquit, you go immediately to the peoples agenda. But if you vote to convict, you cant be sure whats going to happen. peter baker And this is a political process. Its not strictly a judicial process. And the public view of course plays a role in influencing public servants as they make that judgment. archived recording (dale bumpers) Theyre calling on you to do your solemn duty, and I pray you will. michael barbaro So Peter, after the managers make their case, after the presidents lawyers make their case, how does that question of the witnesses ever get resolved in the Clinton Senate trial? peter baker Well in the end, they came to a compromise. And the compromise was they would have three witnesses, no more, and they would not be interviewed on the floor. They did not again want Monica Lewinsky talking about sex on the floor of the United States Senate. Instead, they would be interviewed in depositions by the two sides with two senators in each deposition serving as kind of judges, and that those depositions would be videotaped. archived recording Sometime back in December of 1997 in the morning, December the 17th, did you receive a call from the president? archived recording (monica lewinsky) Yes. peter baker And each side could then use excerpts from those videotapes on the floor to show to the senators. And so in the end, the three witnesses they interviewed Monica Lewinsky, Vernon Jordan, who is the presidents good friend and helped get a job for Monica, which was seen as an obstruction act. And Sidney Blumenthal, who had spread, you know, malicious rumors about Monica Lewinsky. Those were the three witnesses. They didnt change the outcome, but they were heard. And there was at least some witness testimony. michael barbaro Right. Ultimately, as we know, the presidents legal team and the presidents argument carries the day. peter baker Right. archived recording (william rehnquist) 45 senators having pronounced William Jefferson Clinton, President of the United States, guilty as charged. 55 senators having pronounced him not guilty. peter baker When it comes down to the final vote, the Article I alleging perjury failed on a 45 to 55 vote. archived recording (william rehnquist) Two-thirds of the senators present not having pronounced him guilty. The senator judges that the respondent William Jefferson Clinton, President of the United States, is not guilty as charged in the first article of impeachment. peter baker Meaning that 10 Republicans joined all 45 Democrats in voting not guilty. On the second article they considered, which was on obstruction, they voted 50 to 50. So five Republicans joined the Democrats to acquit the president. Remember, of course, you need 67 votes to convict. So they were nowhere close. archived recording (william rehnquist) It is therefore ordered and adjudged that the said William Jefferson Clinton be, and he hereby is, acquitted of the charges in the said articles. [music] michael barbaro What do you make of that many Republicans crossing the aisle and agreeing with the Democrats not to convict a Democratic president? peter baker I think it says something about where the public was as Dale Bumpers had told them. The public didnt want the president removed from office, and I think at least a handful of Republicans found that a compelling argument. These are senators from states probably that were more moderate or middle of the road than maybe some other states. But in the end, they knew he wasnt going to be convicted. And I think that they decided that they didnt like the precedent of a removal from office on the grounds that had been presented to them. michael barbaro So, Peter, how should we think about the way that the Senate conducted itself during that Clinton trial? peter baker Well, in the end, Trent Lott and Tom Daschle accomplished what they wanted to accomplish. They had a process that went forward in a semi at least as dignified a way as possible. The Senate did not break down into ugliness the way that they had feared. And in fact, the two of them, Daschle and Lott, shook hands at the end of the day after the vote on the floor. And Daschle said, we did it. And Lott said, we sure did. And it was really a striking mood. There was this sort of momentary comity among senators of both sides that they had executed their duty and as faithful a way as possible. And I remember there were a couple of Democratic staffers afterwards on the floor watching all this, and they were kind of actually distraught about it. One of them says, How long do you think this era of good feeling will last? And the other one responds, Well not long, I hope. And then sure enough, it didnt. michael barbaro Right. It didnt last very long at all, and it certainly didnt last until this moment. peter baker No. michael barbaro I mean, when you think about that trial and the trial thats now getting underway in the Trump impeachment, what are the most striking differences to you? I mean, just listening to you talk, I counted so many differences. But I wonder which ones stick out the most to you. peter baker Well, I think, I think there are obviously parallels or echoes, but the things that are really different are this desire, I think, to stand together as Republicans and Democrats and get through this moment without breaking apart. You dont see that today. Mitch McConnell is not sitting down with Chuck Schumer. The two of them are not co-piloting this trial michael barbaro Not at all. peter baker to any kind of consensus conclusion. Nobodys even making the pretense in a lot of ways of going into this as impartial jurors. Theyre more than vocal about, you know, saying which side theyre on before the arguments even get started. Not that they didnt 20 years ago too, but they believed that there was at least a duty to give voice to the idea that they were going to go into it and listen to the evidence before making up their minds. michael barbaro Right I mean, Im struck that Mitch McConnell, who is the Trent Lott of this era, literally said out loud that the outcome was predetermined and that he was coordinating the Republican Senate trial strategy with the president peter baker Right. michael barbaro would be taking cues from the person at the center of the trial. peter baker Thats right. Yeah, Trent Lott called Tom Daschle. Mitch McConnell called Donald Trump. Right, it was the Senate Republican leader wanted to coordinate with the Senate Democratic leader 20 years ago. Today, the Senate Republican leader wants to coordinate with the White House, and thats a big difference obviously. Not that Daschle was not, you know, at odds with the Clinton White House, he wasnt. But he did believe that he had to maintain a certain degree of independence. There was an arms distance that he should maintain as a member of a coequal body of the government, and that his role as a senator was not to be an agent of the White House, even if in the end he was, you know, their ally. michael barbaro Peter, what do the differences that you have just identified, what do they tell you about our politics right now and precisely how they work? peter baker Well, Bill Clinton did not command the party the way Donald Trump commands his party. And so, were so used to the way things are today. But in that era, a president had to maintain support within his own party, and it wasnt guaranteed that he would have it. And the parties have become more homogeneous than they once were. There are very few conservative Democrats anymore, very few liberal Republicans, very few moderates in the middle who might, you know, work together or see things the same way. You are very strongly on one side or the other. And anybody who drifts from that finds himself or herself punished or ostracized or, you know, left out. And so, I think were going to find out now in effect what the Senate is to be in this current era. If its meant to be the place that cools the partisan edges that brings people together in a way that the House doesnt, will that be the case over these next three, four, five weeks? Or will it in fact just be another version of the House? Will it just be one more partisan outcome, one more partisan fracas, that leads to no consensus and no sense of finality or judgment. And I think that in a way people are saying these days, well, the Senate is on trial. In some ways it is. In some ways, the Senate is going to be judged itself in how it handles these serious charges and decides what to do about them. [music] michael barbaro And if, Peter, youre right that the Senate is on trial just as much as Donald Trump, it feels at this point, given everything youve just said, that we kind of know the verdict on the Senate these days. peter baker Well, yeah, we probably do. I dont want to be cynical about it, but it is not starting off in a way that makes you feel like youre going to end the process with a feeling that the Senate had transcended the moment, right. I think that forgetting the outcome, just how we get to the outcome matters. And theyre starting off in a way that looks very different than we saw 20 years ago, in a way that seems like the outcome is the only thing that matters and not how we get there. [music] michael barbaro Thank you, Peter. peter baker Thank you. Appreciate it. michael barbaro Over the weekend, Senate Republicans and Democrats publicly clashed over the shape, scope, and length of the impeachment trial that will reconvene this afternoon, highlighting the depth of their divisions. During a news conference on Sunday, Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, lashed out at Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, complaining that McConnell had yet to disclose the proposed rules for the trial and accusing him of planning a rushed and unfair trial. archived recording (chuck schumer) Whether its because McConnell knows the trial is a cover up and wants to whip through it as quickly as possible, or because hes afraid even more evidence will come out, hes trying to rush it through. That is wrong. And it is so wrong that no one even knows what his plan is a day and a half before one of the most momentous decisions any senator will ever make. michael barbaro On Monday night, McConnell released his proposed rules for the trial, giving Democrats little time to review them before they are voted on this afternoon. [music] michael barbaro Well be right back. Heres what else you need to know today. President Trump has hired several new lawyers to defend him in the impeachment trial, including Ken Starr, whose investigation led to the impeachment of President Clinton, and the celebrity lawyer Alan Dershowitz, who defended O. J. Simpson against murder charges. On Monday, those lawyers submitted a brief to the Senate, urging the body to swiftly dismiss the impeachment charges against the president and offering their first legal argument since the trial began. In the brief, the lawyers rejected both articles of impeachment adopted by the House, because they do not state any specific violation of the law. But the Times described that argument as a narrow and widely rejected interpretation of Congresss power to impeach a president. [music] USAF Gulfstream G550/C-37B Kentavist Brackin/DVIDS/US Air Force The US Air Force's 89th Airlift Wing provides travel for top government employees including the President of the United States The wing primarily uses a fleet of modified civilian aircraft including the Boeing 747-200 used as Air Force One. Its newest aircraft, a military variant of a Gulfstream G550, was delivered to Joint Base Andrews in late December Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. The US Air Force operates a VIP transportation system for the government's top employees. Most known for flying the president of the US on Air Force One, the Air Force also flies elected officials, cabinet secretaries, and even top generals on a fleet of VIP-configured aircraft. As part of the Air Force's Special Air Mission, the 89th Airlift Wing based at Joint Base Andrews near Washington, DC operates a VIP fleet with the stated mission of "Enabling national interests through global transportation for America's senior leaders." Its most frequent flyers include the president, vice president, first lady, secretary of state, secretary of defense, and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a spokesperson for the wing told Business Insider. The aircraft in its fleet are primarily civilian aircraft sometimes modified for military use and receive military designations, as seen with Air Force One being a modified Boing 747-200 designated as the VC-25A. The 89th Airlift Wing recently took delivery of its newest aircraft, a Gulfstream 550 designated as a C-37B, just before Christmas. The US Navy's website says that the aircraft cost $64 million. Though the interior of the recently-received aircraft hasn't officially been released, the Air Force provided Business Insider with photos of one of its other Gulfstream C-37Bs. Here's a look inside one of the aircraft that the government's top officials use to jet around the world. With seating for up to 18, according to Gulfstream, there are a variety of configurations to choose from with the G550. Story continues USAF Gulfstream G550 Kentavist P. Brackin/DVIDS/US Air ForceUp to four people can sit on a single couch alone, maximizing the capacity of the aircraft. USAF Gulfstream G550 Kentavist P. Brackin/DVIDS/US Air ForceUsing the aircraft is one of the most secure ways for government officials to travel, but also one of the most elite. USAF Gulfstream G550 Interior Kentavist P. Brackin/DVIDS/US Air ForceEnlisted Air Force service members are trained to be flight attendants on the aircraft, serving the VIP guests on board. Air Force Gulfstream Flight Attendant Kevin Wallace/DVIDS/US Air ForceGulfstream boasts the range of the aircraft to be 6,750 nautical miles with eight passengers. Gulfstream G550 Benjamin Zhang/Business InsiderAn Air Force pilot familiar with the C-37B told Business Insider the normal range of the aircraft with a standard load of passengers is around 5,500 nautical miles, enough to fly from Hawaii to Washington, DC nonstop. A US Air Force C-37B Kenny Holston/US Air ForceIts twin Rolls-Royce BR710 engines enable the plane to fly at speeds as great as Mach 0.885. 45194069_1582188261882987_6614940644538318848_o (1) Kenny Holston/US Air ForceThe aircraft can also fly as high as 51,000 feet, according to Gulfstream, where one can see the curvature of the earth. Gulfstream G550 window. Benjamin Zhang/Business InsiderFormer President Obama and his wife Michelle used a similar version of the aircraft for a date night to New York City in 2009. 2605121 Kevin Wallace/DVIDS/US Air ForceNot all Air Force VIP aircraft are painted in the "United States of America" blue and white livery, as seen with the new arrival, with some offering government officials more privacy in a more discrete paint job. USAF Gulfstream G550/C-37B Kentavist Brackin/DVIDS/US Air ForceGulfstream delivered 500 G550s by 2015, 12 years after the aircraft entered service. Gulfstream G550 Benjamin Zhang/Business InsiderA rather unique feature of the aircraft is the ability for passengers to control the cabin's amenities such as lighting and temperature via a touchscreen device, though it's unclear whether the Air Force opted for that amenity. Gulfstream G550 Benjamin Zhang/Business InsiderThe 89th Airlift Wing also operates other aircraft for VIPs, including the president's plane, Air Force One, a modified Boeing 747-200 designated as a VC-25A. Air Force One REUTERS/Soe Zeya TunA Boeing 757-200, or C-32A, is used primarily by current Vice President Mike Pence as Air Force Two. Boeing 757 C32A REUTERS/Yuri GripasA Boeing 737-700 BBJ, or C-40, is used primarily by cabinet secretaries and military leaders. 2605106 Kevin Wallace/DVIDS/US Air ForceThe C-40 is also frequently used for overseas congressional delegation trips. A US Navy C-40 Clipper aircraft. Jesus Sepulveda Torres/DVIDS/US Marine CorpsA Gulfstream III, known as the C-20, is also used for smaller missions. A US Air Force Gulfstream C-20 Kevin Wallace/DVIDS/US Air ForceThe 89th Airlift Wing is also preparing for its newest arrivals, two Boeing 747-8i aircraft to be used as new Air Force One aircraft. New Air Force One Model BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/GettyPresident Trump, who pushed for an inexpensive replacement aircraft and new paint scheme for Air Force One, frequently shows off the model of the new plane when foreign leaders to come to visit the White House. New Air Force One Model at the White House Alex Wong/Getty Read the original article on Business Insider The parents of a brain-damaged baby boy were at the High Court today in a final bid to keep their son alive after doctors told a judge he is already dead. Midrar Ali, three months, is on life-support at St Mary's Hospital in Manchester with his parents Karwan, 35, and Shokhan, 31, desperate to give him the chance to live. The Manchester couple have held a constant vigil at his bedside since he was starved of oxygen as a result of birthing complications. Doctors contend Midrar is effectively dead, proven by two 'Dead by Neurological Criteria' (DNC) tests conducted last year. But his parents claim their son's heart is still beating three months on from the test. They also said that during a recently performed circumcision his face went red and his eyes opened, meaning his father was able to see his son's pupils for the first time. The family appeared at the High Court in Preston this morning with a frame of their beloved son, a T-shirt with his face on it and his painted handprints. The case was due to be resolved at the Preston's family court today before Mrs Justice Lieven. But Bruno Quintavalle QC, representing the family, argued for an adjournment so more evidence and expert witnesses could be summoned. Karwan, 35, and Shokhan Ali, 31, are pictured arriving at Preston's family court on Monday with Mrs Ali clutching a framed impression of their baby son Midrar's hand and foot prints Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust argued no best interest declaration is needed because Midrar is already effectively brain stem dead. Mr Quintavalle said to allow the case to go ahead without a best interest declaration would be 'momentous for future patients.' He also said the full range of documents had not been made available from one of the DNC tests and indicated there was a possibility a sedative had been applied prior to one which could have impacted the results. He added that during the circumcision Midrar was 'put under anaesthetic' but despite this 'responded in way the parent had never seen before' including opening his eyes and going red in the face. He also said a more experienced lawyer would be needed to handle the case so the family could have 'equality of arms.' Bur representing the hospital trust, Neil Davy QC opposed the motion. He said there was documentation from the DNC tests and in organ donation cases that it was not unheard of for a heart to continue beating. He said the reaction during the circumcision could be explained by nerves and not 'a signal from the brain.' A decision on whether or not the case will proceed today willing be made this afternoon. Midrar Ali, three months, is on life-support at St Mary's Hospital in Manchester In reaching a verdict, Mrs Justice Lieven refused the motion to adjourn the case. She contended the case 'raised no novel point in the law', said the family had no right to call their own expert witnesses and said she had all the evidence before her which was needed to decide the case. She added keeping Midrar alive may mean his organs would start to deteriorate and this posed a risk of necrosis, meaning it would be 'undignified and unkind' not to resolve the case as soon as possible. Mrs Justice Lieven added: 'The wish of the parents is for ventilation to continue, that position is perfectly understandable but I have to consider whether further material will help me to determine the case. As the evidence now stands, I do not consider that it would.' She told Mr Quantavelle if he wished to challenge this outcome he would have to go to the court of appeal tomorrow morning. He requested a brief break to consider his position. The case continues. If most things revolve around the economy, the latest row over the birthplace of the highly revered mystic, Sai Baba of Shirdi, has its roots in the same. Earlier this week, a fresh war of words broke out after the Maharashtra government agreed to allocate 100 crore for the development of Pathri town in Parbhani district of Marathwada, about 250 kilometres from Shirdi in Ahmednagar district. Pathri is perceived by many as Sai Babas birthplace, although there are no credible records, say historians. The contentious reference to Pathri by the state government as the birthplace of Sai Baba was opposed by the Shirdi Sai Baba temple trust and the locals who protested with an indefinite bandh on Sunday. The bandh was called off late on Sunday evening ahead of a scheduled meeting with Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. This isnt the first time that a controversy has erupted over this popular saints birthplace. In 2005, a Shirdi resident had moved a local court to have a public event around Sai Baba cancelled. More recently, President Ram Nath Kovinds pursuit of a development project at Pathri with the previous state government was met with voices of opposition from Shirdi. This town with a population of 40,000 is one of the richest religious destinations in India with the Sai Baba temple at the centre of its overall economic growth. Located in Ahmednagar district, this town in Maharashtra attracts hundreds, if not thousands of devotees on any given day. It has single-handedly contributed to Shirdis financial growth and the locals have been the biggest beneficiaries. Although Shirdis Sai Baba temple trust is controlled by the state, the circulation of money in the hands of the residents here, thanks to the constant flow of devotees from the northern and southern parts of the country, has made the locals prosperous. The opposition to Pathris proposed development by the state government needs to be viewed in this context. Pathri is a small town in the backward Parbhani district of Marathwada. It is shorn of basic facilities and the locals have been demanding the development of their town as Sai Babas birthplace and therefore, a prominent pilgrim centre. Their hope is that the latest announcement by the state government will boost spiritual tourism here. The people of Shirdi fear they will lose out on tourism if Pathri is developed, said Nationalist Congress Partys Legislative Council member, Babajani Durrani, also a trustee of Pathris Sai Baba temple trust. The fact is that tourism has contributed immensely to Shirdis overall growth with the town getting an airport, rail connectivity, financial institutions, hotels and other infrastructure. Once developed, Pathri could emerge as a competitor to Shirdi and develop on similar lines, something that worries Shirdi locals, says Durrani. Historians say there is no credible record about Sai Babas birthplace. All that we know based on books written on Sai Baba is that the saint appeared in Shirdi and decided to make this town his karma bhoomi (the centre of his humanitarian work), said Shirdis Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA and former minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil. Even as Patil rejected local economic interests as the reason for Shirdis opposition to Pathri, the fact is that theres politics also at play. Most of those opposed to the Thackeray governments decision to develop Pathari are from the BJP. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON CALGARY - The oil and gas industry needs to increase efforts to address climate change or risk becoming socially unacceptable and unprofitable, according to a new International Energy Agency report. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/1/2020 (722 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A flare stack lights the sky along refinery row in Edmonton Alta, on Friday December 28, 2018. A report by the International Energy Agency says the oil and gas industry need to increase their efforts to address climate change. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson CALGARY - The oil and gas industry needs to increase efforts to address climate change or risk becoming socially unacceptable and unprofitable, according to a new International Energy Agency report. "No energy company will be unaffected by clean energy transitions," said Fatih Birol, the IEA's executive director, in a statement Monday. The world is demanding energy services and emissions reductions at the same time, the report said. Social pressures on the industry are rising, it noted, highlighting growing opposition to new infrastructure projects in certain areas and fracking bans. "Every part of the industry needs to consider how to respond. Doing nothing is simply not an option." Some companies have taken steps to address climate change, but the report said the industry as a whole could do more. The diverse industry requires a variety of approaches dependant on individual company's circumstances, according to the report, which was produced in co-operation with the World Economic Forum and will be presented at the organization's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Tuesday. The "immediate task" for the industry is to reduce its operational environmental footprint, Birol said. Approximately 15 per cent of the world's energy-related greenhouse gas emissions come from getting oil and gas out of the ground and to consumers, the report found. "A large part of these emissions can be brought down relatively quickly and easily," said Birol. The most important and cost-effective measure would be to reduce methane leaks to the atmosphere, the report said. Other measures include integrating renewables and low-carbon electricity into new upstream and liquefied natural gas (LNG) developments. Canada's oil and natural gas industry is already at the forefront of developing and implementing the technology necessary for many of the reports recommendations, wrote Terry Abel, executive vice-president for the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, in an email. CAPP declined an interview request. "The Canadian industry is part of the solution," he said, calling it a leader in a number of methods, including carbon capture and storage. The industry has driven down per-barrel emissions in the oil sands by 32 per cent from 1990 levels, and has some of the lowest carbon intensive liquefied natural gas production on the planet, Abel said. The group's members "take climate action very seriously," he said, adding that the report shows oil and natural gas "will need to be a large part of the global energy mix." "To ensure it is developed in the most responsible way possible, that oil and natural gas should come from Canada," he added. The report said "low carbon electricity will undoubtedly move to centre stage in the future energy mix," but oil and gas project investment will still be needed. If investment stopped completely, output would decline by about eight per cent annually, which "is larger than any plausible fall in global demand." Ready, Pet, Go! Leesa Dahl looks at everything to do with our furry, fuzzy, feathered, fishy (and more!) pet friends. Arrives in your inbox each Monday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. The report argues the industry and its resources and skills "will be critical" in helping some key capital-intensive clean energy technologies, like low-carbon hydrogen and biofuels, reach maturity. It says that scaling up such technologies and lowering their cost requires qualities the industry has, such as large-scale engineering and project management capabilities. "Without the industrys input, these technologies may simply not achieve the scale needed for them to move the dial on emissions," Birol said. On average, oil and gas companies invest about one per cent of their total capital spending in non-core areas with the greatest amount in solar photovoltaics (PV) and wind. Leading individual companies spend about five per cent, according to the report, which adds "a much more significant change" in capital spending allocation is needed to accelerate energy transitions. The energy sector can transform without the help of the oil and gas industry, the report reads, but that is a more difficult and expensive path. "Regardless of which pathway the world follows, climate impacts will become more visible and severe over the coming years, increasing the pressure on all elements of society to find solutions. These solutions cannot be found within today's oil and gas paradigm." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 20, 2020. The Centre for Health Protection will launch additional precautionary measures to enhance surveillance of suspected cases of novel coronavirus infection in view of the latest situation and risk assessment. Speaking to reporters at a press conference this afternoon, Secretary for Food & Health Sophia Chan said the Government arranged urgent meetings on the issue this morning. Given the latest development from Wuhan and also from other places in China, as well as confirmed cases reported in Japan, Thailand and also in Korea, I think Hong Kong has to be well prepared and we have been well prepared since day one. This morning we had some urgent meetings to discuss what further information we are going to give to the public as well as what additional measures we are going to take in dealing with the entire situation. Prof Chan explained that Chief Executive Carrie Lam also participated in the meeting. The Chief Executive is also very concerned about the situation. So she joined our meeting to receive reports and the latest risk assessments from the Department of Health and the Hospital Authority, and we discussed all the issues this morning. We also listened to our experts' assessment and they have confirmed that the direction of our prevention and precautionary measures right now are in the right direction. Reporting criteria of severe respiratory disease associated with a novel infectious agent will be revised, she added. Medical practitioners are requested to make a report to the centre if they encounter any individual with fever and acute respiratory illness or pneumonia. Such reporting also includes anyone who, within 14 days prior to the onset of symptoms, visited Hubei Province, visited a medical hospital in the Mainland, or had close contact with a confirmed case of the novel coronavirus while that patient was symptomatic. The centre will issue letters to doctors and private hospitals to inform them of the revised reporting criteria. Meanwhile, starting from midnight tomorrow, the Department of Health will require travellers flying into Hong Kong from Wuhan to fill out a health declaration form. Director of Health Dr Constance Chan said: In view of the increased number of cases reported lately, including cases reported in other parts of the world which, after investigation by those health authorities, all point to a travel history from Wuhan city. So we have further stepped up efforts by introducing the health declaration form as an additional measure. According to the National Health Commission (NHC), from January 18 to 10pm January 19, a total of 136 more cases of novel coronavirus infection were recorded in Wuhan. The additional cases involve 66 males and 70 females who developed symptoms before January 18. Among them, 100 are in stable condition, 33 are in serious condition, two are in critical condition and one patient died. As of 10pm yesterday, the total number of novel coronavirus infections in Wuhan was 198. Among them, 25 were discharged, 35 are in a serious condition, nine are in critical condition and three died, while the remaining patients are in a stable condition. A total of 817 close contacts have been identified. All have been put under medical surveillance with 727 of them having completed the surveillance. No related cases have been detected so far. Separately, according to the NHC, a medical institution in Beijing yesterday received two patients who had been to Wuhan. Both were confirmed pneumonia cases of the novel coronavirus infection. The Guangdong Health Commission also reported that its first imported pneumonia case of the novel coronavirus infection was confirmed yesterday. In addition, the centre has been closely monitoring the first confirmed case of infection of the novel coronavirus in Korea. BOSTON Springfield City Councilors Jesse Lederman, Melvin Edwards, Malo Brown, Sean Curran, and Tim Allen have all voiced their support of U.S. Sen. Ed Markeys reelection to ensure that he continues to lead on the issues that matter most to the people of Massachusetts. No one has been fighting for the issues that impact communities like Springfield for longer than Senator Ed Markey," said Lederman in a prepared statement. "Now more than ever we need principled leaders with the type of integrity and consistency that Ed Markey has demonstrated his entire career. Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi, state senator James Welch, and state representatives Carlos Gonzalez, Jose Tosado, Bud Williams, Brian Ashe, and Tom Petrolati have also expressed support for Markey along with Democratic State Party Chair Emeritus and former Representative, Ray Jordan, and Democratic State Committee Leader Candy Glazer. Senator Markey has been a great partner to the Hampden County Sheriffs Department and the people of Hampden County, Cocchi said. He has spent his entire career fighting for the people of Massachusetts. His work on the opioid crisis has touched the lives of millions of people, and I am so grateful for his support of the work we do every day. I am proud to call him a friend, and I strongly endorse his campaign for reelection. Markey was in Springfield Friday, visiting the Center for EcoTechnology and hosting a round table meeting to discuss Puerto Rico relief efforts. He also stopped in a the Puerto Rico Bakery, and met with residents at The Student Prince & The Fort in Springfield Center. These Springfield stops were in addition to the 25 events and stops across the state this month. (Bloomberg) -- Sign up here to receive the Davos Diary, a special daily newsletter that will run from Jan. 20-24. Emmanuel Macrons pre-Davos summit for tech executives will hold some goodies for startups. In the third edition of his Choose France summit on Monday, timed to catch global CEOs in Paris on their way to the Swiss Alps World Economic Forum, the French president will detail measures in his 2020 budget that have improved stock options for startups in France. Macron will also plug a revamped visa regime that will give fast-track papers to tech workers for French or foreign companies and a new benchmark index, the French Tech 120, to promote the nations most promising ventures. Snaps Evan Spiegel, who was given French nationality in 2018, EU digital Commissioner Thierry Breton, Netflix Inc.s Reed Hastings, Googles You Tube CEO Susan Wojcicki, Limes Joe Kraus and other leaders from Mexico, Nigeria, Sweden, Turkey and the U.K. will attend the forum in Versailles. Entrepreneurs and executives at some of Europes most successful technology startups have been urging local governments to change laws to make employee stock options more attractive, in order to better compete with Silicon Valley. Macron, his Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, Digital Minister Cedric O and 17 ministers will present the governments latest measures. In November 2018, about 30 chief executives of companies including iZettle AB, Funding Circle Ltd., Supercell Oy, TransferWise Ltd., Blablacar and U.S.-based Stripe Inc., signed an open letter saying a patchwork of different rules in various European countries makes it complicated and costly for employers to dole out stock options. The French 2020 budget law, voted late last year and enacted on Jan. 1, has two major measures already to make stock options of startups more attractive. First the conditions of the so-called BSPCE, an employee shareholding tool equivalent to a stock options, have been sweetened: they will get a discount compared to the price investors paid at the last fund raising. Story continues Also, employees of foreign startups with a base in France will be able to get stock options calculated on the parent companys performance, not just the French branch, minister Cedric O unveiled in a statement late last year, as he said France seeks to attract more tech workers and companies. What France has done is fantastic, but we really need a pan-European solution, Martin Mignot, Partner at Index Ventures, which has stakes in BlablaCar, told Bloomberg. Currently, startups face the same problems every time they expand into a new country. Talk to any entrepreneur and they tell you its madness, it is slowing them down and it is putting them at a disadvantage to large companies. Macron has attempted to lure more investors to France ever since his years as an economy minister in 2014, via taxes, visas, benchmark indexes, bilingual schools and the French way to welcome new comers. In September he created the Next 40, a listing of Frances top 40 startups with the strongest growth potential. While only a few of them are currently unicorns, with values topping $1 billion, the government said it expect more of them to scale. Read more: Napoleon, Chateaus on Display as France Seeks Venture Capital One of the key measures taken by Macron was a 30% flat tax on capital revenues from securities, savings, capital gains, and other sources. That measure got him into trouble with some of his citizens protesting against inequalities in the Yellow Vests movement that started in December 2018. The statistic institute Insee said the increase in inequality in 2018 was linked to a sharp rise in investment incomes, which benefited from the introduction of a flat tax the same year. Still, Macron has also toughened his stance on issues like taxes and privacy. He brought it up with Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook in his first months as president and repeatedly to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Macron is currently in a tug of war with U.S. President Donald Trump over his tax on digital giants. Amazon.com Inc., like other tech companies, will make their first payment of Frances new tax on digital giants in a few weeks. The government enacted a 3% levy on large tech groups that is retroactively effective from Jan. 1, 2019. (Updated with comment from Index ventures) --With assistance from Natalia Drozdiak. To contact the reporter on this story: Helene Fouquet in Paris at hfouquet1@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Giles Turner at gturner35@bloomberg.net, Vidya Root 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. Viewed from outside the region, the attention generated earlier this month by the death of Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said, the ruler of Oman, may seem puzzling. Almost every obituary described Qabooss quiet, yet outsized, role in regional diplomacy. Less obvious for some may be why Oman was able to claim such a role in the first place. Qaboos himself deserves much of the credit. A quietly charismatic figure, he inherited absolute political power but only relatively modest wealth (Omans oil resources are a fraction of those available to other Gulf countries), and used these to transform a place known for its remoteness and lack of development into a modern nation. Some of it, however, was also geography. Tourists making their way through the old souk of Muscat, Omans capital, do so in the shadow of a 16th-century Portuguese fort that is still used by the Omani military today. A couple of centuries after the forts construction, the British turned up concerned like the Portuguese before them with safeguarding their route from Europe to India. Control of Musandam In the 20th and 21st centuries, what makes Oman geographically critical is its control of the Musandam Peninsula, the finger of land that forms the southern coast of the Strait of Hormuz. One-sixth of the worlds oil passes through the strait more than 17 million barrels each day. The Musandam is a remote and largely undeveloped area. Well into the 1990s it was a closed military zone, off limits to tourists and casual travellers. It remains sparsely populated and is rarely visited by outsiders, a fact reinforced by it not being connected to the rest of the country. To reach it from the rest of Oman, one must cross about 80km (50 miles) of the United Arab Emirates. It is a bit unique in being separated from the rest of the country, and the area is incredibly strategic sitting right on the Strait of Hormuz, Elana DeLozier, a scholar who focuses on the Gulf at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told Al Jazeera. She says the Musandams security will remain a priority for the new sultan and his government. Omani control of the strategic peninsula in part allowed Qaboos to pursue a largely independent foreign policy while maintaining ties with the Gulf states, Iran and western states. In recent years, Oman hosted talks that led to Irans 2015 nuclear deal with world powers while it has remained neutral in the GCC crisis sparked when Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt imposed a land, sea and air blockade on Qatar in June 2017. Western governments, as well as Omans Arab neighbours, are sure to seek reassurance from new Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said that Oman will continue to serve as a counterweight to Iran, which controls the opposite shore of the strait. An extra complication Omans borders with both Saudi Arabia and what is now the UAE were unsettled for decades. Bitter and sometimes violent clashes were the norm as recently as the 1950s and 60s. Though Haithams fellow Gulf rulers have a strong interest in maintaining the status quo in the Musandam and through the Strait, that may not prevent them from seeing whether he will be as independent minded as his predecessor, say analysts. Omans independent foreign policy has been an irritant for Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and, by implication though to a lesser extent, the Trump administration, said Mehran Kamrava, director of the Center for International and Regional Studies at Georgetown Universitys satellite campus in Qatar. If anyone is going to test the resolve of the new sultan, it is the Saudis and the Emiratis, particularly the latter, with whom the Omanis have had border issues in the past, Kamrava tells Al Jazeera. Saudi Arabia has long had hegemonic ambitions in the Arabian Peninsula hence its history of tensions with Qatar and under [Abu Dhabi Crown Prince] Mohammed bin Zayeds leadership, the UAE has been seeking to reshape the political and diplomatic map of the Middle East. Kamrava added that Oman has steadfastly resisted these converging trends but that it remains to be seen what will happen as the sultanates new leadership settles in. If anyone is going to test the resolve of the new sultan, it is the Saudis and the Emiratis, particularly the latter, with whom the Omanis have had border issues in the past. Mehran Kamrava, director of the Center for International and Regional Studies at Georgetown University's satellite campus in Qatar Rising economic challenges The transition of power though long anticipated (Qaboos had been in failing health for several years) comes at a time of rising economic challenges that are likely to make Haithams job more difficult. The countrys budget deficit grew rapidly after the 2014 fall in oil prices and despite efforts to diversify the economy, oil and its related industries account for nearly three-quarters of Omani government revenues. The waning months of Qabooss reign saw Oman sell off stakes in its gas pipelines and main electric company to foreign investors. Oman will need to rely on other governments as well as international capital markets for financial support in the near term, Karen Young, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, tells Al Jazeera. It has economic vulnerabilities, but it also has an opportunity to liberalise its economy and choose partners for future growth. For all these reasons, observers in the region and beyond will pay close attention to how the new sultan chooses to run his government. Qabooss administration was said to be intensely personal, with the ruler becoming involved in matters most heads of state would barely notice. A drive around Muscat reveals window-mounted air conditioners that are always concealed from view inside artful wooden boxes. Omani law requires this, and popular legend says it does so because Qaboos found AC units to be unsightly. The story may be apocryphal, but the fact that it is widely believed says a lot about the way Qaboos ran his kingdom for nearly half a century. Qaboos famously held nearly every important cabinet portfolio himself. Haitham is likely to try and retain as much personal control over the Omani state as possible. However, it would be extremely difficult if not impossible for him to replicate the same patterns of personalist rule as Sultan Qaboos practiced, Kamrava said. Gregory Gause, a Gulf scholar who heads the International Affairs Department at Texas A&M Universitys Bush School of Government & Public Service, agrees. Domestically, I cannot imagine that Haitham can govern like his cousin, he tells Al Jazeera. I think that he has to become more like the other Gulf rulers, said Gause. The question is whether he becomes more like the Emir of Kuwait the ultimate decision-maker but leaving the day-to-day to others, or more like Mohammed bin Zayed [Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan] and [Saudi Arabia Crown Prince] Mohammed bin Salman the clear and undisputed day-to-day decision-maker. DeLozier notes that unlike his predecessor, Haitham has two brothers Assad and Shihab so the family dynamic will likely shift a bit. Over the years, Sultan Qaboos became one of the Middle Easts essential diplomatic figures a man whose influence only grew as the decades passed. His cousin has immense shoes to fill. At home he must build a legacy of his own while respecting the memory and accomplishments of a predecessor who is personally associated with almost every aspect of modern Omani life. On the international stage, analysts say, he will need to demonstrate quickly that Oman remains a trusted custodian of one of the worlds most important waterways, and a trusted interlocutor who can talk candidly with both Washington and Tehran. The new sultan, said Young, will reign in a time of transformation, much as Sultan Qaboos did. Tuolumne County Government Building View Photo Sonora, CA The Tuolumne County Supervisors will discuss matters on Tuesday related to the construction of the new jail. The county approved a contract with the company Lionakis in 2016 for architectural services, but at the time, the project was estimated to take 17 months to complete. Harris Construction has run into some delays, and the project is about five months behind schedule. A majority of the facility will be completed by March 16 and final completion is now anticipated on April 21. The county will vote to extend its contract with Lionakis for $345,365 so it can do additional related work. It will bring the total contract with the firm up to $3.5-million. The company also agrees to assist the county with its multi-media audio-visual system at the new jail. The board will also vote on a Change Order in the overall jail construction contract, by $223,736, to bring the total cost to $39.9-million. The additional money will be covered by contingency funds set aside by the county for the jail. In addition, the board will hear a presentation on the National Disaster Resiliency projects being planned with 2016 federal grant money. Specifically related to one of those efforts, the supervisors will vote to approve a $140,000 consulting contract with Cox Consulting related to the construction of Community Resilience Centers in Tuolumne and Groveland. Click here to view an earlier story that detailed the plans for the two sites. Tuesdays meeting starts at 9am. MINSK -- Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has reshuffled the country's top military leadership, including his defense minister. Lukashenka said on January 20 that he decided to appoint Major General Viktar Khrenin, the commander of the Western troops, to the post of defense minister. Khrenin's predecessor, Lieutenant General Andrey Raukou, was moved to the position of secretary-general of the Security Council, Lukashenka added. The Belarusian president also said that he appointed Major General Alyaksandr Valfovich as the chief of general staff of the armed forces. "Naturally, some offices have become vacant, and I considered it inappropriate to delay this," Lukashenka said when appointing Raukou. "We are military men and times are complicated now. This doesn't mean there's going to be a war tomorrow and we'll have to fight someone, not at all. But a military organization cannot tolerate uncertainty," he added. With reporting by BelTA and Interfax At least 75 escape from prison in Paraguay: At least 75 inmates, many of them members of a notorious Brazilian gang, escaped from a Paraguayan prison in a border city, according to authorities, who said they immediately fired the prison's director. Officials said they discovered a tunnel and found cells filled with as many as 200 bags of earth. Interior Minister Euclides Acevedo said that the tunnel may have been a ruse to cover complicity by prison officials and that many of the inmates may have been allowed to walk out through the main gate. Acevedo said most of the escapees belong to the First Capital Command in Brazil, which borders the city where the prison is located. Mexican prosecutors said Sunday that they have extradited to the United States an associate of jailed drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. Local media have identified the suspect as Jose Sanchez Villalobos, a financial operator and tunnel builder for the jailed Chapo. "US prosecutors determined that Jose S was the head of a criminal organization," a statement from the prosecutors' office said. Mexican authorities had said in 2012 they had detained Sanchez, who at the time was wanted in the US for cocaine trafficking. Sanchez was handed over to authorities at a federal court in California, where he is wanted on organized crime charges. The suspect extradited was known as "The Lord of the Tunnels" due to his underground mastery, which helped the Sinaloa cartel secretly move drugs into the United States. Sinaloa kingpin El Chapo was also extradited in 2017 to the US, where he is serving a life sentence. Bay Area cities continue the process of updating their local ordinances governing "accessory dwelling units" to conform to new state laws that give cities less control over what they allow. City councils in Walnut Creek and Piedmont are set to address the issue at their respective meetings Tuesday night. Changes being considered in these two cities and elsewhere come via several bills signed in October by Gov. Gavin Newsom meant to increase affordable housing stocks statewide. ADUs, sometimes called "mother-in-law" units or "granny flats," are one part of the state's ideal formula for providing more such housing. One new law, AB 68/AB 881, will limit cities' ability to prevent homeowners from building second and third units less than 16 feet tall provided there is enough space to build them at least four feet from property lines. It also prohibits replacement off-street parking when a "garage, carport or covered parking structure" is demolished or converted into an ADU. Walnut Creek planners say the new state laws "would have nullified the entirety" of that city's existing zoning regulations for ADUs, because some of its provisions conflicted with those in the new state law. The City Council on Dec. 17 adopted an urgency ordinance that removed these conflicting provisions, but further action is needed to comply with state law. Between a significant update of Walnut Creek ADU regulations in 2017, and the new state law that "leaves very little else for the city to regulate in regards to ADUs," the City Council is being urged to make its urgency ordinance permanent over the next several months. The Piedmont City Council is set to take up the issue at its Tuesday meeting, and is poised to implement the proposed ordinance changes. On Jan. 13, the Piedmont Planning Commission voted to recommend updates to the city's ordinance regulating ADUs to bring the city's ordinance in line with the new state laws. Saying they felt their hands, and the city's hands, are tied by the new state laws, commissioners voted to recommend updates to the city's ordinance regulating ADUs that give the city less autonomy in regulating these units. Meanwhile, Marin County is offering new financial breaks for property owners in unincorporated parts of that county to create affordable rental units on their properties. Under this program overseen by the Marin County Community Development Agency, property owners renting ADUs to tenants with household income of less than 80 percent of the local median will have as much as $10,000 in permit fees waived, and smaller breaks as the tenants' incomes rise. The financial incentives are extended to cover fines or fees for property owners rehabilitating existing units or legalizing unpermitted ones. The new local rules are retroactive to Jan. 1 and are valid through Dec. 31. The Walnut Creek City Council meeting begins at 6 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 1666 N. Main St. The Piedmont City Council meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall, 120 Vista. 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. SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio Warrant arrest: Lee Road At 3:10 p.m. Jan. 13, an officer stopped a car because it had been driven through a red light at South Woodland and Lee roads. Upon speaking with the driver, an officer noticed that the front seat passenger, a Cleveland man, 34, was not wearing a seatbelt. After inquiring about the passengers name, it was found that he was wanted on an assault and battery warrant issued in Georgia, as well as on other warrants. The man was arrested on the warrants. Warrant arrest: Farnsleigh Road At 10:45 a.m. Jan. 11, an officer conducted a traffic stop at Farnsleigh and Winslow roads when he spotted a car not being driven between marked lanes. During the stop, it was discovered that the driver, a Shaker Heights woman, 43, was wanted in Franklin County, Ohio, for Medicaid fraud. The woman was arrested on the felony warrant and taken to the Cuyahoga County Jail. Disorderly conduct: Chagrin Boulevard At 1 p.m. Jan. 12, police were dispatched to Rainbow Clothing, 16829 Chagrin Blvd., where a man was drinking alcohol. The man was found in possession of an open container of alcohol. He was arrested for disorderly conduct and for having the open container of alcohol in a public place. OVI: Warrensville Center Road At 3 a.m. Jan. 12, an officer conducted a traffic stop on a car that was displaying expired license plates. The driver, a Warrensville Heights man, 29, showed signs of impairment and went on to fail field sobriety tests. The man had a blood-alcohol content of .146, above the state minimum for drunk driving of .08. Police charged the man with OVI and cited him for the expired plates and for not wearing a seatbelt. OVI: Warrensville Center Road At 11:25 p.m. Jan. 12, an officer stopped a car that was seen traveling 58 mph in a 35 mph zone at Warrensville Center and Farnsleigh roads. The driver, a Cleveland woman, 25, showed signs of impairment and went on to fail field sobriety tests. The woman had a blood-alcohol content of .166. She was arrested and charged with OVI. Menacing: Rolliston Road At 5:55 p.m. Jan. 13, after investigating a disturbance, police detained a boy, 12, for menacing. Warrant arrest: Chagrin Boulevard At 10:40 a.m. Jan. 14, an officer saw a man trespass on a private property, then jaywalk at a traffic-controlled intersection. The officer spoke to the man, 25, of East Cleveland, who gave the officer false personal information. When the mans true identity was found, it was learned that he was wanted by the Cuyahoga County Sheriffs Office for a probation violation. The man was arrested on the warrant and cited for jaywalking and giving police false information. Assault: Southington Road At 1:25 p.m. Jan. 14, police were called to Greenview School, 14201 Southington Road, where a woman reported an assault. Officers arrested two Euclid boys, ages 16 and 13, for assaulting a 12-year-old boy. OVI: Calverton Road At 11:35 p.m. Jan. 15, police were called to the scene of a one-car crash. Police spoke with the driver, a Richmond Heights man, 38, and found that he was impaired. The man refused to take field sobriety tests. He was arrested and charged with OVI and failure to control. Theft from auto: Cheshire Road At 12:55 p.m. Jan. 15, a woman living in the 2000 block of Cheshire Road reported that someone had entered her unlocked car during the previous evening. Money was stolen from the auto. No arrest was made. Theft from auto: Kendall Road At 8:40 a.m. Jan. 15, a man living in the 2000 block of Kendall Road reported that someone had entered his unlocked car during the previous evening and stolen electronic equipment. No arrest was made. Read more from the Sun Press. The American University of Ras Al Khaimah (AURAK) and the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) have signed an agreement to set up a collaborative education program to maximize opportunities for students. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200118005003/en/ AURAK and the University of Texas at Arlington sign a deal to set up a collaborative education program (Photo : AETOSWire) The deal means that students at AURAK who successfully complete three years of the undergraduate curriculum in Computer Engineering can be accepted at the Computer Science and Engineering Department in the College of Engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington. Upon successful completion of the first year at UTA students will be awarded a bachelors degree from AURAK. Upon successful completion of the second year at UTA students will receive a masters degree from UTA. President of AURAK, Professor Hassan Hamdan Al Alkim, signed the three-year agreement along with the Dr. Teik C. Lim, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of Texas at Arlington. AURAK is very pleased to be able to sign this agreement which will help our students in tangible ways. The University of Texas at Arlington offers a great opportunity for our students to continue their education at an excellent institution in the United States and learn real skills that are in high demand on the job market, Prof. Hassan said. UTAs global enrollment was nearly 60,000 for the academic year 2018-19. International students come from more than 100 countries, giving it one of the most diverse campus populations in the United States. It is the second-largest university in the University of Texas System and offers more than 180 baccalaureate, masters', and doctoral degree programs. The campus covers 170 hectares (420 acres) and includes state-of-the-art facilities. AURAK is a nonprofit, government-owned institution of higher education which provides the local, regional and international communities with a North American-style education integrated with Arab customs and traditions. AURAK is licensed by the Ministry of Education in the United Arab Emirates and has been accredited in the United States of America by Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) since December 2018. AURAK offers a total of 22 accredited undergraduate and graduate programs across a wide range of disciplines. *Source: AETOSWire View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200118005003/en/ Ohimai Amaize, a former AIT presenter who fled Nigeria last year, has been granted asylum in the United States. Mr Amaize, 35, departed Abuja in June 2019 following claims he was being trailed by Nigerian security agents with intention to arrest and charge him for treason and incitement. The alleged plots stemmed from a confrontation between the government and AIT and its flagship morning show, Kakaaki Social, a user-generated programme which Mr Amaize was anchoring at the time. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates (JTA)Iran will no longer honor the nuclear deal it signed with world powers. The announcement came Sunday following a meeting of the Islamic Republics National Security Council to discuss the countrys nuclear policy following the assassination on Friday of Qassem Soleimani by the United States, The New York Times reported. Soleimani was the head of the Iranian Quds Force, which operates a number of regional militias and is allied with terrorist groups targeting Israel, including Hezbollah and Hamas. The Islamic Republic of Iran will end its final limitations in the nuclear deal, meaning the limitation in the number of centrifuges. Therefore, Irans nuclear program will have no limitations in production including enrichment capacity and percentage and number of enriched uranium and research and expansion, read a statement released after the Sunday meeting, the Times reported. Since the Trump administration pulled out of the nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action signed, and reimposed economic sanctions, Iran had begun to abrogate many parts of the deal, including exceeding the nuclear enrichment level set by the deal and operating advanced centrifuges. China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, Germany and the European Union have remained committed to the pact. The Iranian government said it would return to the nuclear deal if the sanctions against it were removed. BRUSSELS - The European Union has set up a 900 million euro ($998 million) budget to help countries hit by humanitarian crises, with Africa getting the largest share of the money. The EU Commission, the blocs executive arm, said Monday that people in more than 80 countries will benefit from the money in 2020. Some 400 million euros ($444 million) will go to programs developed in Africa, while 345 million euros ($383 million) have been awarded to address crises in the Middle East. A further 111 million euros ($123 million) will be dedicated to programs in Asia and Latin America. Even though conflict remains the main cause of hunger and displacement, its impact has become seriously worsened by climate change. Europe has a responsibility to show solidarity and support for those in need. Our assistance depends on full humanitarian access so aid organizations can do their lifesaving job, said Janez Lenarcic, the EU commissioner for crisis management. The EU said the bulk of the 2020 EU aid will support people suffering from the long-term conflict in Congo and malnutrition in the Sahel region, as well as those displaced by violence in South Sudan, Central African Republic and the Lake Chad basin. In the Middle East, the EU said the funding will address the crisis in Syria and its refugees in neighbouring countries, as well as the extremely critical situation in Yemen. The Kerala government on Monday decided to recommend Governor Muhammed Arif Khan to convene the state assembly session from January 30. The decision was taken in a special cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan here, a CMO press release said. The cabinet also approved the draft of the Kerala Municipality Amendment Bill and the Kerala Panchayati Raj Amendment Bill, proposing to increase the number of members in local bodies, it said. The other details including the number of days of the proposed session and the major bills which are to come up in the House are yet to be announced. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) IRVINE, Calif., Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Plant-based eaters rejoice! Yogurtland, the leader in self-serve premium frozen yogurt, announces today the launch of the brand's first ever 100% vegan, plant-based chocolate flavor: Salted Chocolate Souffle. This latest flavor is available in Yogurtland locations nationwide beginning today. To ring in the New Year, the brand has also expanded its vast self-serve topping selections to include White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Granola from Bear Naked's artisan-crafted line for a limited time only starting today. Yogurtland Steps Into The Plant-Based Category With New Flavor Launch and Partnership with Bear Naked Yogurtland brings an elevated touch to the plant-based confectionery space with the latest flavor in the brand's portfolio of innovative and culinary-inspired recipes. And, for consumers seeking a better-for-you sweet treat topping, the brand is excited to welcome Bear Naked Premium Granola to the topping line-up. Bear Naked's White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Granola boasts a rich and creamy bite of melted fair-trade chocolate and nut butter that is baked using an exclusive technique that creates a cookie-like cluster. Each granola bite features a quality list of organic, gluten-free, Non-GMO Project Verified and fair-trade ingredients, elevating it from the traditional breakfast staple to the indulgent treat you're reaching for at every occasion, including your frozen yogurt creations. "Yogurtland is committed to crafting innovative flavors and to providing healthy-indulgent options. We are thrilled to partner with Bear Naked to offer our guests a new premium topping choice to create a healthy, better-for-you combination of treats," says Sam Yoon, Senior Vice President of Yogurtland. "At Bear Naked, we're passionate about creating great-tasting and high quality products everyone can enjoy and that's why Yogurtland's roster of delicious yogurt made with real ingredients was a perfect match for this exciting partnership!" says Gianna DeCaro, Bear Naked Brand Director. Bringing a wholesome upgrade to a beloved everyday treat, Yogurtland and Bear Naked have created the ultimate swirl of decadent frozen yogurt. For more information, please visit yogurt-land.com or bearnaked.com. About Yogurtland Yogurtland is the leader in self-service premium frozen yogurt, delivering over 200 handcrafted artisan flavors providing fans an anytime beloved sweet treat for the whole family. Yogurtland exclusively uses real ingredients and scratch-made, handcrafted flavors from across the globe for fans to enjoy a truly customized dessert in the form of yogurt, Drinkable creation shakes, frappes, and waffle cones. Separating Yogurtland from competitors is the company's team of flavorologists who've developed an extension of options added to the exciting rotation of monthly flavors offering non-fat and low-fat yogurt, ice cream, and non-dairy and no sugar added choices while using milk that contains no antibiotics or added hormones. The company continues to transform the industry with its' latest move into third party delivery, giving customers more flexibility to enjoy dessert wherever they are. Presently Yogurtland has more than 300 locations across the U.S., Australia, Dubai, Guam, Myanmar, Oman, Singapore, and Thailand. Flavors are always subject to creative change and popular demand. For more information, visit www.yogurt-land.com. About Bear Naked Bear Naked offers a full line of granolas and snacks bars made with big, delicious chunks of nature to deliver epic taste. Launched in 2002, Bear Naked is the #1 granola brand in the U.S. and is best known for its signature, soft-baked granola made from real whole grains and minimally processed ingredients. The brand is one of the first CPG food brand to successfully adopt fully recyclable packaging. Today, Bear Naked has evolved into a nationally-recognized and loved consumer brand with products available for purchase in natural and conventional retailers such as Sprouts, Whole Foods, Target, Walmart, Amazon and more as well as club stores like Costco. MEDIA CONTACT: Laura Saldarriaga 646.661.1594 [email protected] SOURCE Yogurtland CNN accused South Koreans of "the most bizarre criticism of a U.S. ambassador in recent memory" over the peculiar accusation here that Harry Harris' mustache evokes memories of Japan's occupation of Korea. In a piece Friday titled "Racism, history and politics: Why South Koreans are flipping out over a U.S. ambassador's mustache," CNN said, "Harris was born in Japan to a Japanese mother and American father, who was a Navy officer, and some online commentators have pointed to Harris' heritage along with the mustache in their criticisms." "But Harris isn't Japanese, he's a U.S. citizen. And calling him out for his Japanese ancestry would almost assuredly be considered racist in the United States." Harris was the first American of Asian descent to lead the U.S. Pacific Command and was appointed to his current post in July 2018. "South Korea is a homogenous society without racial diversity like the United States," CNN pointed out. "Mixed-race families are rare and xenophobia remains surprisingly common." It was Minjoo Party lawmaker Song Young-gil who compared Harris to the mustachioed former Japanese viceroy to Korea, garnering some plaudits in the local Twittersphere. Wartime emperor Hirohito also sported a mustache, as did fascist dictator Gen. Hideki Tojo. Last month, it was reported that Apple had sued its former A-series chip lead for breach of contract. Gerard Williams III led the development of Apples A-series chips starting from the A7 found inside the iPhone 5s to the A12X that powers the iPhone XS/iPad Pro. He left Apple in February 2019 to start his own company called Nuvia Inc. This led Apple to sue Williams for breach of the employment contract as it prevented him from indulging in any business activity that would compete with or would be directly related to Apples business or products. On his part, Williams also countersued Apple for illegally monitoring his text messages and that Apples employment contract is not enforceable under the California law. Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Mark Pierce in a tentative ruling has said that the law does not allow an employee to plan and prepare to create a competitive enterprise prior to termination if the employee does so on their employers time and with the employers resources. The judge also dismissed Williams claim of Apple invading his privacy and said that it could not be established that Apple was able to get their hands on the text messages via eavesdropping or recording confidential communication. However, Judge Mark Pierce has dismissed Apples bid for damages saying it has failed to show how Gerard was intentionally trying to harm the company through his activities. Gerards lawyer already plans on contesting the judges findings at a hearing in San Jose on Tuesday. He argues that Gerard cannot be sued just for coming up with a new business idea while working at Apple. [Via Bloomberg DES MOINES, Iowa - Presidential politics move fast. What were watching heading into a new week on the 2020 campaign: ___ Days to Iowa caucuses: 14 Days to general election: 288 ___ THE NARRATIVE With voting to begin in just two weeks, the sprint to the Iowa caucuses is decidedly complicated by the beginning of President Donald Trumps historic impeachment trial in the Senate. The proceedings will prevent the two leading progressive candidates, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, from spending as much time in the kickoff caucus state as theyd like, giving an advantage to moderate rivals Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg. At the same time, the progressive movement is struggling to project a united front after a dispute over gender threatened to splinter the left. Taken together, the evolving dynamics add yet another layer of uncertainty to the already unsettled Democratic primary fight at a critical moment. ___ THE BIG QUESTIONS How excited are black voters about these Democrats? The week opens with Martin Luther King Jr. Day and a spotlight on the Democratic Partys critical relationship with African American voters. The partys best-known black candidates, Kamala Harris and Cory Booker, have already been knocked out the race. On paper, Joe Biden has maintained a dominant advantage over the rest of the field among black voters, but the ultimate Democratic nominee will not only need to win black voters in the primary, he or she will need to convince them to turn out in greater numbers in 2020 than they did in 2016. Well be talking to plenty of African American leaders and watching how the candidates are received at multiple forums dedicated to King and racial justice across various states, including Iowa and South Carolina. Will impeachment change the primary? History is being written in Washington this week as the Senate begins Trumps impeachment trial on Tuesday. While the proceedings are not expected to lead to the Republican presidents removal, they could play a major role in the first voting contest of the Democratic Partys primary season. Four Senate Democrats running for president, Amy Klobuchar, Michael Bennet, Sanders and Warren, are required to attend each day of the trial, which will severely limit their ability to rally supporters on the ground in Iowa. Will it hurt them? Will it ultimately help Biden and Buttigieg? And stepping back, will it diminish the importance of Iowas Feb. 3 caucuses? Can Trump peel off any Bernie bros? All of a sudden, Republicans, led by Trump, are deeply concerned about whether Sanders is being treated fairly by the Democratic Party. Perpetuating a conservative conspiracy theory, the president claimed last week that establishment Democrats are rigging the election against Sanders by forcing him to stay in Washington for the impeachment trial just two weeks before the Iowa caucuses. The conspiracy ignores the fact that Warren, Klobuchar and Bennet are in the same position as Sanders. Its laughable to think Trump and GOP leaders are genuinely concerned about Sanders, but its not quite so crazy to imagine some disaffected Sanders supporters ultimately supporting Trump this fall or sitting out the election altogether if Sanders doesnt emerge as the Democratic nominee. In a general election that may come down to razor-thin margins in a handful of swing states, it wouldnt take many angry Sanders supporters to make a real impact. Will the unity illusion hold? Less than a week has passed since the progressive alliance between Warren and Sanders was shattered with a he said, she said dispute tinged with sexism. The liberal leaders have avoided any further public criticism of each other since the Jan. 14 debate, but tensions remain, particularly among their most passionate supporters. Democrats cannot afford any permanent divisions in their energized left wing if they hope to defeat Trump in the fall. And rank-and-file primary voters have little appetite for Democrat-on-Democrat violence. That makes the Sanders-Warren rift a critical dynamic to watch moving forward. Does Bernie have a woman problem? Even before the Warren accusation, it was no secret that many female supporters of Hillary Clinton had been nursing a years-long grudge against Sanders. They blamed him for not working hard enough to help the partys first female nominee after their divisive 2016 primary battle. Sanders didnt do himself any favours with those voters on Sunday when he described gender (and age) as a political problem. It was an inarticulate answer at best to a dangerous question that Sanders should have been better prepared to answer. Given the decisive role women have played in helping Democrats in the Trump era, Sanders and his party need to do better. ___ THE FINAL THOUGHT Democrats have yet to prove they can assemble a coalition capable of defeating Trump. And on the eve of the Iowa caucuses, the party is facing new questions about its leading candidates standing with women, African Americans and far-left activists. Its risky to assume that Trumps turbulent presidency alone will be enough to bring everyone together behind the Democratic nominee in November. That makes the delicate discussions over gender and race playing out now all the more dangerous. ___ 2020 Watch runs every Monday and provides a look at the week ahead in the 2020 election. ___ Follow Peoples at https://twitter.com/sppeoples ___ Catch up on the 2020 election campaign with AP experts on our weekly politics podcast, Ground Game. An elderly inmate facing execution in the brutal 1985 murder of a 14-year-old Florida girl is innocent, according to his co-defendant who now admits he acted alone. James Dailey, 73, was originally scheduled to be executed on November 7 last year, after he was convicted of murdering teenager Shelly Boggio. But a federal court gave defense lawyers more time to make their case after his co-defendant, Jack Pearcy, 64, said he was solely responsible for the death. That stay of execution is now expired, The Tampa Bay Times reports. Tragic Shelly was found stabbed and drowned in the water off Indian Rocks Beach more than 30 years ago. Pearcy and Daily were both convicted of first degree murder in separate trials. Pearcy is serving a life sentence while Dailey is on death row after the jury declined to recommend a death sentence in Pearcy's case. Jack Pearcy, now 64, left, and James Daily, now 73, right, were convicted of first degree murder in separate trials after Shelly Boggio was found dead off Indian Rocks Beach Shelly Boggio was found stabbed and drowned in the water off Indian Rocks Beach more than 30 years ago. Pearcy and Daily were both convicted of first degree murder in separate trials Pearcy signed a similar statement in 2017 admitting his guilt but then refused to testify at an evidentiary hearing and Dailey's conviction was upheld. 'He is ready to come into court and come clean,' said Joshua Dubin, one of Dailey's lawyers said in December. Authorities say Dailey and two other men met Boggio and her twin sister when the girls were hitchhiking near St. Petersburg. Boggio's body was later found floating near a fishing area. Pearcy originally told investigators that Dailey stabbed Boggio and held her down in the water. He told police the night he was arrested: 'I just want you to know that I got out of the car and tried to stop Jimmy D. from stabbing her, but when I saw it, I puked all over the place.' But on December 30 last year he wrote: 'James Dailey had nothing to do with the murder of Shelly Boggio. I committed the crime alone.' Dailey's lawyers maintain he is innocent and say he was convicted on circumstantial evidence and jailhouse informants. Dailey himself told the states parole commission in 2015: 'I am innocent. Jack Pearcy killed that girl, but I have no way to prove that.' James Dailey, 73, pictured at the time of his arrest, was originally scheduled to be executed on November 7 last year but a federal court gave defense lawyers more time to make their case after his co-defendant, Jack Pearcy, 64, said he was solely responsible for the death Jack Pearcy, pictured in 1987, wrote in December last year: 'James Dailey had nothing to do with the murder of Shelly Boggio. I committed the crime alone.' Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the death warrant in September and has maintained since then that Dailey is guilty. 'We're praying at some point someone is going to listen,' attorney Dubin said. 'The filing that we made just corroborates what we've been saying for so long.' The victim's cousin, Andrea Boggio, told Fox 13: 'It was the two of them. This is just another desperate plea.' Norwalk Police Department NORWALK A plumber working at the SoNo Collection stole nearly $15,000 worth of tools from a work site lock box, according to police. Police said Mark Bene, 38, of Wallingford, had been pawning his boss tools since June. Iran regards dual citizens aboard a Ukrainian plane that was shot down this month as Iranian nationals, Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Musavi said on January 20. Air-defense forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) shot down Ukrainian Airlines Flight PS752 shortly after takeoff on January 8, killing all 176 people on board. Iran has said the downing was an accident. Canada had 57 nationals on board the plane -- many of them with dual Canadian-Iranian citizenship. Iran does not recognize dual nationality. "We have informed Canada that Tehran considers dual nationals who were killed in the plane crash as Iranian citizens.... Iran is mourning their deaths," Musavi told a televised weekly news conference. As protests erupted in Iran over the plane disaster, the British envoy to Tehran, Rob Macaire, was detained for three hours on January 11. Iranian officials said Macaire was at an "illegal" rally, while the envoy said he was attending a vigil for victims. Britain condemned the ambassador's detention. "Iran respects all foreign diplomats in Iran as long as they do not violate international laws," Musavi said. Based on reporting by Reuters and AP A bench headed by Justice R. Banumathi had earlier queried Pawan's counsel: "How many times will we hear the same things? You have already raised it many times." New Delhi : The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a petition of Nirbhaya case convict Pawan Gupta regarding his alleged juvenile status, pointing out that the plea had already been rejected by subordinate courts. Pawan has moved the top court to challenge a Delhi High Court order that declined to entertain his plea that he was a juvenile when Nirbhaya was gang raped and brutally assaulted on December 16 night in 2012. She died on December 29, 2012, at Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore. A Juvenile Board in January 2013 had declared that Pawan was not a juvenile when he committed the crime. While Pawan's counsel had argued that the prosecution deliberately concealed that he was a juvenile, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the prosecution had consistently maintained that the convict was not a juvenile at the time of the crime. "His birth certificate has been filed on record. The parents never disputed the age at the time of the commission of the crime," said Mehta. The Supreme Court on Monday sought the response of the central government on a petition challenging the constitutional validity of the National Commission for Minorities set up under a 1992 law. The plea filed by six petitioners, who claimed to be followers of Sanatan Vedic Dharam, alleged that Hindu community is being discriminated against on the grounds of religion as a number of beneficiary schemes carrying a budget of Rs 4,700 crores have been initiated in favour of some religious minorities even though the Constitution does not conceive special provisions in the name of any religion. Attorney General KK Venugopal who was asked to give his views on the matter told the court today that the issue involves constitutional questions and should be heard by a five-judge constitution bench. The court gave the Centre four weeks to respond to the petition and listed the next hearing in March. The petitioner argued that special benefits and advantages within the sweep of Article 15(4) of the constitution can be provided only to those communities which are found to be socially and educationally backward classes of citizens. No religion or religious groups can be promoted using taxpayers money and therefore, no minorities commission can be created. The petitioner submitted that the Government of India cannot promote minoritism, show inclination towards minorities and allure them to flourish by initiating beneficial programs for them. Such an action will be detrimental to the sovereignty and integrity of India and give rise to separatists sowing seeds for another division of the nation, the petitioners argued. Right to equality, equal protection of law, rule of law and a secular state are basic pillars of Indian Constitution, the petition stated. The petitioner has prayed for striking down the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992 and to restrain the central government from implementing and spending any money from government funds on schemes designed for minorities. Mumbai: After Kerala and Congress-led Punjab, Rajasthan and Maharashtra, which have major opposition parties, have also decided to issue a resolution against the CAA in the Assembly. At the same time, sources have expressed the possibility of taking this step soon in the Congress-ruled Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. The Rajasthan government, headed by Ashok Gehlot, has decided to pass a resolution in the Assembly in the upcoming budget session against the CAA. Terrorist attack in West Niger, 89 soldiers killed According to information received from the sources, the state Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shanti Dhariwal said, the budget session in the assembly will start from January 24 and this proposal is likely to be presented on the first day itself. It is necessary to approve the bill for SC / ST reservation in Lok Sabha and state legislatures for 10 years before January 25. Therefore, the budget session will start from January 24. Grandson of Subhash Chandra Bose says, 'No law can be imposed on citizens of country...' At the same time, it is being said that six MLAs who left the BSP and joined the Congress last year, under the leadership of Wajib Ali, submitted a letter to the Chief Minister on Friday demanding a proposal against the CAA in the Assembly. On the other hand, the Mahavikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra, with the alliance of Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress, will also soon propose against the CAA in the Assembly. Congress spokesperson Raju Waghmare said, senior leaders of our alliance will soon decide on a meeting by holding a meeting on this issue. Ashok Chavan claims, 'CAA will not be implemented as long as Congress is in power' Days after Supreme Court rejected telecom companies' review petitions in the AGR (adjusted gross revenue) case, Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel on Monday filed a modification petition in the apex court, seeking an extension of the January 23 deadline to pay revenue dues. Tata Tele, a subsidiary of the Tata Group, has also reportedly moved the court seeking an extension of the deadline. Nearly two months after filing the review petition in the Supreme Court, the telcos were recently denied relief from the court on their AGR dues. In a massive blow to the telecom industry, the court on Thursday dismissed review petitions by the telecom companies. As a result, the companies have to pay pending AGR dues of nearly Rs 93,000 crore to the Department of Telecommunications by January 23. Also Read: Vodafone Idea AGR dues: Banks to take a beating if telco collapses In its previous order on October 24 last year, the Supreme Court had asked telcos to pay up their AGR dues within 90 days. The AGR dispute dates back to 2003 when the association of telecom operators filed the first plea with the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) challenging the definition of AGR. As per standard accounting practice, companies have to make provisions for such claims. As per estimates, Airtel has to pay Rs 21,682 crore while Vodafone Idea's dues stood at Rs 28,308 crore. Also Read: Why Supreme Court's judgement has pitted Vodafone Idea against Airtel and Reliance Jio? The court's verdict has a far-reaching impact on the sector which is already facing financial stress due to tariff wars and high debt burden. The profitability of telecom companies, barring Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio, is under stress after making provision for the payment of AGR dues. Airtel, for instance, posted net losses of Rs 2,3045 crore during the second quarter ended September 2019. Vodafone Idea reported highest ever quarterly loss of Rs 50,921 crore. By Chitranjan Kumar SELBYVILLE, Del., Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the report published by Global Market Insights, Inc., the global sebacic acid market was estimated at $385 million in 2018 and is expected to hit $620 million by 2026, registering a CAGR of 5.5% from 2019 to 2026. The report contains a detailed study of market size and estimations, key revenue pockets, major strategies, growth drivers and prospects, competitive landscape as well as fluctuations in market trends. Global Market Insights, Inc. Shifting customer preferences towards bio-lubricants over traditional, owing to lower carbon emissions and strict regulatory policies are expected to present lucrative growth prospects for the sebacic acid market. Steady financial support in the automotive sector for the development of fuel-efficient, high-performance vehicles, alongside rising consumer expenditure will foster product demand. Sebacic acid is used extensively in the production of myriad products across diverse applications including lubricants, plasticizers, chemical intermediates and adhesives, due to its corrosion inhibition and low-temperature characteristics. Request sample report at https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/294 Favorable regulatory initiatives, like REACH by European Chemical's Agency, has categorized sebacic acid as safe for humans, which will add impetus to sebacic acid market growth. Industry expansion is further accelerated owing to the escalating utilization of eco-friendly substances among the population, given its production from castor oil. Key reasons for sebacic acid market growth: The paradigm shift towards sebacic acid over petroleum-based solvents Escalating demand for dibutyl sebacate across various application segments Consistent R&D efforts by key industry players for advanced incorporation of the product. The plasticizers application to dominate to 2026 Based on the application, the sebacic acid market is categorized into plasticizers, lubricants, adhesives, solvents, and chemical intermediates segments. Among these, the plasticizer segment holds the dominant position and is anticipated to exhibit the fastest growth rate during the forecast period. Increasing construction efforts in China towards the development of diverse building components including film & sheet coverings, wires & cables and wall & flooring will bolster demand for plasticizer application in the region. Revenue from the construction industry in China is poised to achieve a valuation of over $1 trillion by 2022, in turn presenting several growth prospects for the sebacic acid industry from the plasticizer segment. This growth is largely attributed to favorable government strategies such as "One Belt One Road", which aims to link China with the western world, through the development of roads, railways and other infrastructures. North America to maintain its hold during the forecast period The sebacic acid market across North America held a high share in 2018 and is expected to rule the roost throughout the study period, owing to rising living standards which has led to increasing expenditure on cosmetics. However, the Asia Pacific region is likely to account for a notable share from 2019 to 2026, owing to the rising business of automotive manufacturing units in the region. Make an inquiry for purchasing this report: https://www.gminsights.com/inquiry-before-buying/294 Leading market players Leading market players analyzed in the research include Hokoku Corporation, Tokyo Chemical Industry, BASF SE, KGN Enterprises, Wilmar and Arkema. These companies are focused on implementing expansive R&D activities to encourage product innovations that deliver superior properties like hydrophobicity, ductility, flexibility, and advanced lower melting temperatures. About Us: Global Market Insights Inc. is a global market research and management consulting company catering to leading corporations, non-profit organizations, universities, and government institutions. Our main goal is to assist and partner organizations to make lasting strategic improvements and realize growth targets. Our industry research reports are designed to provide granular quantitative information, combined with key industry insights, aimed at assisting sustainable organizational development. We serve clients on every aspect of strategy, including product development, application modeling, exploring new markets and tapping into niche growth opportunities. Global Market Insights publishes high quality, in-depth market research studies, to help clients obtain granular level clarity on current business trends and expected future developments. We are committed to our client's needs, providing custom solutions best fit for strategy development and implementation to extract tangible results. Contact Us: Global Market Insights, Inc. 4 North Main Street Selbyville, Delaware 19975 USA Phone: 1-302-846-7766 Toll-Free: 1-888-689-0688 Website: https://www.gminsights.com Email: [email protected] Related Images sebacic-acid-market-size-worth.jpg Sebacic Acid Market size worth over $620 Million by 2026 Related Links Spray Adhesives Market is Escalating at a CAGR of 4.5% through 2025 Isoprene Rubber Latex (IRL) Market to Reach $340 Million by 2025 SOURCE Global Market Insights, Inc. Related Links https://www.gminsights.com The president claims progress because the number of fire exchanges has been reduced "significantly". Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he sought the presidency to achieve peace in Donbas. "I would never have sought the presidency without having such a goal," he said in an interview with The Times of Israel. "I would like it to be much quicker. There are very complicated questions. I can see the progress, because the number of exchanges of fire is significantly reduced. But it is still present," Zelensky said. As UNIAN reported earlier, Zelensky said he thinks his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin understands that Ukraine is a big, independent country. According to earlier reports, the SBU Security Service of Ukraine has revealed the scheme of covert financing by Russia's government and non-governmental structures of their puppet "authorities" in the temporarily occupied territory of the so-called "Luhansk People's Republic" ("LPR") in eastern Ukraine. New Delhi, Jan 20 : In a unique online fraud, hackers are tricking people into thinking that they own compensation after being victims of personal data frauds, and under the pretext of offering them money, are fleecing them, a new report said on Monday. Experts at cybersecurity firm Kaspersky detected this new online fraud scheme where scammers urge users to buy 'temporary US social security numbers' worth around $9 each. Victims were found in Russia, Algeria, Egypt and the UAE as well as other countries. The scheme involves a website allegedly owned by the Personal Data Protection Fund, founded by the US Trading Commission. The fund issues compensation to those who may have been subject to a personal data leak and is available to citizens from any country in the world. For those interested, the site offers to check whether user data has ever been leaked. For this, one needs to provide their specific surname, first name, phone number, and social media accounts. Once this has been done, an alert is shown indicating that the user has experienced a leak, which can include data such as photos, videos, and contact information, entitling the user to compensation of thousands of dollars. "However, fraudsters do not just ask for a user to enter a bank card number and wait for the payment to be credited; users inevitably need to offer their own social security numbers," the report noted. In any possible scenario - be it the absence of the SSN or entering the correct existing SSN - the website alerts mistakes and offers to sell a temporary one for the $9 price. Upon agreement, the victim is redirected to this payment form in Russian or English with the purchase price specified in rubles or dollars, respectively. The specific form depends on the victim's IP address, the experts noted. "The scammers themselves are most likely Russian speakers, as suggested by the request for payments in rubles, plus the suspicious similarity of the scheme to other easy money offers that regularly tempt residents of Russia and the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States)," said Tatyana Sidorina, Security expert at Kaspersky. The e-bait in those schemes varies -- giveaways, surveys, secret retirement savings, even a part-time job as a taxi dispatcher -- but they tend to be in Russian (as are some of the preceding links). The bottom line is always the same: the juicy promise of quite a bit of easy money, followed by a demand to pay for an inexpensive service, be it a commission, a 'securing' payment, or a temporary SSN. "The new scheme is quite a topical one and is related to offering compensation for data leaks. Once some organizations have started to pay users, fraudsters decided there is a monetary opportunity for them as well," Sidorina added. In order to stay protected from the potential risks of online fraud, do not trust payment offers, use trusted resources and utilize a reliable security solution, said the researchers. Trump-appointed judge rules against using trans pronouns in child porn convict case Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A federal appellate court has ruled against the mandatory use of transgender pronouns such as referring to a man as "she" or someone as "xemself" in court documents. A three-judge panel from the New Orleans-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled on Jan. 15 that no legal authority exists requiring anyone to refer to gender-dysphoric litigants with pronouns matching their subjective gender identity." Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, denied the request to use the preferred pronouns of a transgender-identified sex offender convicted of child porn possession. The ruling stems from a case involving a federal prisoner named Norman Varner who appealed a lower court's refusal to alter a court document ordering his confinement in the female name of "Katherine Nicole Jett." The three-judge panel included Duncan, the recent Trump appointee, Reagan appointee Judge Jerry Smith, and Clinton appointee Judge James Dennis. The decision was 2-1, with the Republican-appointed judges in the majority. Duncan formerly served as the general counsel at the religious liberty law firm Becket. Varner's appeal came with a motion to use female pronouns when addressing him. He reportedly began self-identifying as a transgender woman in 2015 when he started taking hormones and indicated plans to undergo gender surgery. The motion asserted that the lower court's unwillingness to refer to him by using female pronouns leads me to feel that I am being discriminated against based on my gender identity and [r]eferring to me simply as a male and with male pronouns based solely on my biological body makes me feel very uneasy and disrespected. Varner was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty in 2012 to attempted receipt of child pornography. He had been previously convicted on a state charge of failure to register as a sex offender and on possession of child porn. If a court orders one litigant referred to as her (instead of him), then the court can hardly refuse when the next litigant moves to be referred to as xemself (instead of himself)," Duncan wrote in his opinion. Deploying such neologisms could hinder communication among the parties and the court, the judge added. And presumably the courts order, if disobeyed, would be enforceable through its contempt power. Matters concerning self-declared gender identities as they relate to nondiscrimination and other civil rights statutes are increasingly being litigated in U.S. courts. In October, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v. EEOC & Aimee Stephens, a case where a male who identifies as female argues he was unjustly fired from his job when his former employer, a funeral parlor that has a sex-specific dress code, refused to allow him to wear a skirt to work and be recognized as a woman while on the job. Duncan also wrote in the Fifth Circuit panel's majority opinion that a court might have the most benign motives in calling someone by pronouns of their choice, yet in doing so, the court may unintentionally convey its tacit approval of the litigants underlying legal position. We decline to enlist the federal judiciary in this quixotic undertaking, the ruling concluded. In his dissent, Dennis asserted that Varner is simply requesting that this court, in this proceeding, refer to [him] using her preferred gender pronouns and was not making the request of anyone else. The Fifth Circuit hears federal cases from Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Oslo, Norway -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/20/2020 -- Hakon Watch is an inspiring watchmaking company from Norway, and it has proudly announced the launch of its amazing new designer watch. The watch features a timeless Scandinavian design, and it is all about nostalgia and story. Moreover, Hakon Watch has recently launched a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter to raise funds and support for this project, and the Scandinavian watchmaker is welcoming generous support and backing for this project. "I am pleased to announce that we are creating a watch brand in Norway, with Norwegian name and Norwegian design." Said Bjrn Haakon Hermanrud, while introducing this project to the Kickstarter community. The Norwegian designer has named this new watch after his late grandfather, and he is welcoming watch lovers from around the world to support him in this campaign. Following are some of the basic specifications of this watch: NH35 II Automatic movement Sapphire glass with AR coating Stainless steel 316L case Water resistance 10 ATM Perlon/Leather strap Blue dial with brass indices And much more The Kickstarter Campaign is located on the web at: www.kickstarter.com/projects/bjornhornnes/hakon-watch-timeless-scandinavian-design and all funds raised through this Kickstarter campaign will play a major role in the manufacturing of this watch. The Norwegian watchmaking company is offering a wide range of rewards for the backers, including the watch itself with worldwide shipping and the goal of this Kickstarter campaign is to raise a sum of $20,018. Furthermore, more details are available on the Kickstarter campaign page of the project. About Hakon Watch Hakon Watch is a Norway based Scandinavian designer watchmaking company, which is determined to redefine Scandinavian watchmaking industry. The emerging company is started by a dedicated Norwegian entrepreneur, and he is raising funds and support for his amazing new watch on Kickstarter. Contact: Contact Person: Bjrn Haakon Hermanrud Company: Bjrn Hornnes Country: Norway Email: bjornhornnes@hotmail.com Website: http://kck.st/2R2BJda The head of state joined families of the fallen heroes to lay flowers at the foot of the memorial. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has taken part in an event to honor the memory of Ukrainian military who died defending the Donetsk Airport on this day in 2015. "The head of state along with family members of the dead military laid flowers at the foot of the memorial bell at the Headquarters of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine," according to the president's press service. Read alsoBBC journalist at Donetsk airport: "This is what Armageddon feels like" Zelensky also spoke with the families of the fallen heroes. UNIAN memo. The heroic defense of Donetsk airport in eastern Ukraine lasted 242 days: from May 26, 2014 to January 22, 2015. The Ukrainian military, volunteers, and doctors resisted the invasion of the Russian occupation forces and Russian-backed militants for 242 days. For their feat, Donetsk Airport defenders have been commonly referred to as "Cyborgs". More than 200 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in hostilities at the site of the airport. By Jung Hae-myoung At this time of year when the skin gets dry with the cold air, consumers are taking greater interest in more practical cosmetic products that target the different needs of various age groups. With CheongKwanJang, the Korean Red Ginseng brand of Korea Ginseng Corporation, Donginbi makes premium cosmetic products based on ginseng materials with the company's 120 years of history and technology. Compared to other cosmetic products that use purified water, Donginbi uses ginseng condensate which moisturizes skin more effectively. All products from Donginbi use three main base materials developed by Korea Ginseng Corporation Korean red ginseng oil, red ginseng condensate, and red ginseng essence. Its ginseng oil was recognized by the ministry of drug and food safety for improving skin condition. Korean red ginseng oil is a rare material that is extracted drop by drop from each root, and is effective for preventing skin wrinkles and hydration. Red ginseng condensate contains highly condensed nutrients which make the skin smooth and restore tension, providing a better anti-aging effect for the consumers. "Donginbi Mi Mask Stick Power Repair" is also a premium mask sheet that is based on three main ginseng materials, giving healthy tension to the skin with intense hydration and nutrients. The mask sheet is made with naturally fermented coconut extract, which provides more adherence and absorption. The packaging is in a stick shape, making it easier to carry around. "Red Ginseng Moisture and Balancing Mist" is an extreme moisturizing product made with Korean ginseng essence and Korean ginseng vinegar which helps the skin restore balance between oil and water, making the skin more healthy and shiny. "Red Ginseng Daily Defense Essence" is a product line that aids in skin self-regeneration using the company's core materials and technology. Meanwhile. Korea Ginseng Corporation is holding an event called "HAPPY NEW YEAR, HAPPY NEW TENSION" that provides various benefits when buying Donginbi's popular products in the leadup to Lunar New Year. The event will be held until Jan. 31, at leading department stores, duty free shops, Donginbi offline stores and CheongGwanJang malls in Korea. Nearly four years later in the East Room, Trump still paid homage to American workers and the hard-hit middle-class. But many of the negotiating achievements he boasted of such as new intellectual property protections were of greater benefit to the corporate executives seated in front of him. Researchers said Monday that a brooding self-portrait by Vincent van Gogh is genuine after decades of uncertainty, identifying it as the only work painted by the Dutch master while suffering from psychosis. The "Self Portrait (1889)" -- which shows the artist giving a sideways glance against a swirling blue and yellow background -- was confirmed as authentic by the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Questions were first raised about whether the painting -- owned by the National Gallery in Oslo, Norway -- was genuine as far back as 1970 but the Norwegian museum finally decided to end the doubts in 2014, sending it to Dutch experts. Using X-ray analysis of the canvas, studies of the brushwork and references to letters to his brother Theo, experts established it was painted while Van Gogh was in an asylum in Saint-Remy in France in the late summer of 1889. "The self-portrait that is behind me has been doubted for a very long time," Louis van Tilborgh, senior researcher at the Van Gogh Museum, told AFP as he showed off the picture. "It's a work of art that for all kinds of reasons was by him but nevertheless also had certain aspects that were different from other pictures. "So we had to find an explanation for that and that was difficult, but I think we've solved that and so we're proud that we've more or less given the work back." The Oslo museum bought the painting in 1910 from a collector in Paris for 10,000 francs, making it the first Van Gogh self-portrait to enter a public collection, but doubts have swirled about it for some 50 years. It uses less vibrant colours to other works from the same period, including muted blues and sickly yellows, and some of the paintwork looks less finished. But the new findings establish the painting as a companion piece to two famous self-portraits finished weeks later when he emerged from his psychosis, now in the National Gallery of Art in Washington and the Musee d'Orsay in Paris. "Although we were open to all possibilities, of course we are very happy" that the painting is genuine, said Mai Britt Guleng, curator of old masters and modern art at the Oslo museum. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) WILMINGTON, Del., Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Employees of The Chemours Company (Chemours) (NYSE: CC), a global chemistry company with leading market positions in fluoroproducts, titanium technologies and chemical solutions, today volunteered at events in Delaware, New Jersey and Mississippi as part of Chemours' Fifth Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. Today's efforts are directly connected to the company's broader Corporate Responsibility Commitment program and its 10 bold goals that cover people, the planet and a more sustainable portfolio, with most of today's activities directed toward the company's goal of investing $50 Million on safety, sustainability and education programs in the communities where Chemours operates by the year 2030. Hundreds of Chemours employees are volunteering today at a dozen events around the country. Some of today's activities include: In Wilmington , Delaware , Chemours engineers and technical experts are hosting 50 Boy Scouts at the company's headquarters for a series of science experiments and discussions that will help the scouts earn their chemistry merit badges. Elsewhere in Wilmington, at the 76ers Fieldhouse, the company is co-hosting an event for local children with the City of Wilmington and Mayor Michael Purzycki. The event will include a lecture about Martin Luther King Jr., a Zumba class and a STEM, or science, technology, engineering and mathematics event, with local 'STEM Queen' Jacqueline Means. Additionally, Chemours employees will be painting murals and inspirational quotes to help decorate Family Promise of New Castle County, a facility that serves as transitional housing for needy families. In Penns Grove , New Jersey , and in Wilmington , employees at the company's Chambers Works facility and at its corporate headquarters will assemble 150 STEM-themed literacy kits that will be donated to local elementary and middle school students. In Middletown, Delaware , Chemours employees will serve lunch to residents of Victory Village, a transitional residence for homeless veterans. "Dr. King taught us that by giving of ourselves, we are enriched far beyond what we do for others. Today's events are a tribute to his legacy of service and a symbol of our company's commitment to our communities," said Mark Newman, chief operating officer of Chemours and executive sponsor of the Chemours Black Employees Network. "We know that part of being a good business is being a good neighbor, and it's heartwarming to see hundreds of our colleagues volunteering their time today." About The Chemours Company The Chemours Company (NYSE: CC) is a global leader in titanium technologies, fluoroproducts, and chemical solutions, providing its customers with solutions in a wide range of industries with market-defining products, application expertise and chemistry-based innovations. Chemours ingredients are found in plastics and coatings, refrigeration and air conditioning, mining, and general industrial manufacturing. Our flagship products include prominent brands such as Teflon, Ti-Pure, Krytox, Viton, Opteon, Freon and Nafion. In 2019, Chemours was named to Newsweek's list of America's Most Responsible Companies. The company has approximately 7,000 employees and 28 manufacturing sites serving approximately 3,700 customers in over 120 countries. Chemours is headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware and is listed on the NYSE under the symbol CC. For more information, we invite you to visit chemours.com or follow us on Twitter @Chemours or LinkedIn. CONTACT: NEWS MEDIA David Rosen Global Leader, Media Relations and Strategic Communications +1.302.773.2711 [email protected] INVESTORS Jonathan Lock VP, Corporate Development and Investor Relations +1.302.773.2263 [email protected] SOURCE The Chemours Company Related Links www.chemours.com Josep Borrell, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, attends a European Union Foreign Ministers council in Brussels By Robin Emmott BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union foreign ministers agreed on Monday to look at ways to support a formal ceasefire in Libya if warring sides can move beyond a tentative truce, including a monitoring mission and reviving a naval operation to uphold a U.N. arms embargo. Foreign powers agreed at a summit in Berlin on Sunday to shore up the shaky truce in Libya, which has been in turmoil since the 2011 fall of Muammar Gaddafi as two rival governments in the east and the west vie for power and energy resources. "Without a ceasefire it's going to be difficult to imagine any strong engagement of the European Union," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told a news conference. Borrell said the EU would discuss resuming a naval mission off the Libyan coast to help stop arms reaching Libyan militias, something Italy's foreign minister did not oppose despite Rome's grounding of ships last year during an anti-immigrant backlash. Foreign ministers are expected to consider their options at their next meeting in February and possibly decide a path to take, diplomats said. Borrell, who took up his post in December, has urged EU member states to act more assertively on Libya. Asked about whether the EU could consider an EU mission in Libya to monitor a ceasefire and report back to the United Nations, Borrell said: "A ceasefire requires someone to take care of it. You cannot say, 'This is a ceasefire,' and forget about it ... Someone has to monitor it, to manage it." The EU, which has military missions around the world, has struggled to keep a team of experts in Tripoli to support the U.N.-recognized government there due to security concerns. The EU ceased maritime patrols under its EU operation off Libya, called Sophia, at the end of March last year after Italy, where anti-migrant sentiment is rising, said it would no longer receive those rescued at sea. EU governments did want the mission to continue because they felt it had been effective in dissuading people smugglers and upholding a U.N arms embargo on Libya, meaning Rome's position remains central to putting boats back on the water. Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio cautioned on Monday that Rome would only be interested in turning Sophia into a mission to enforce the arms embargo on Libya. "It should be nothing else than this." (Reporting by Robin Emmott, Editing by Mark Heinrich) ATHENS, Greece - Greek police on Monday were searching for four masked gunmen who burst into a popular restaurant a day earlier and shot dead two men from Montenegro. One woman was wounded and hospitalized. Police believe the case is potentially linked to the settling of accounts by Balkan criminal gangs. The men were dining with their wives and two children, both aged 10, when the gunmen walked into the taverna in a coastal area south of Athens and shot them at around 6:30 p.m. The wife of one of the two was wounded in the leg, possibly from a ricocheting bullet. Police said they recovered 24 shell casings from the scene. The restaurant was not busy at the time. The two men had pending international arrest warrants against them issued by Montenegro for participation in a criminal organization. It was unclear how long they and their families had been in Greece. Prime Minister Boris Johnson meets 16 African leaders at an investment summit Monday that will see Britain cast out a net for trading partners in its new life outside the EU. The first UK-Africa Investment Summit in London comes less than two weeks before Britain formally ends its decades-long involvement in the European integration project. It also follows a tour of sub-Saharan Africa former prime minister Theresa May made in 2018 -- the first by a UK leader in five years. The 16 leaders from 21 attending African countries include presidents Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt and Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and Ghanaian leader Nana Akufo-Addo will also attend. Johnson will tell the African leaders and big company executives that he wants to make Britain their "investment partner of choice," Downing Street said. He is also expected to announce an end to Britain's support for thermal coal mining and coal power plants overseas. "UK aid is tackling climate change and supporting women entrepreneurs," Britain's International Development Secretary Alok Sharma said in statement. "Africa's economic potential is huge, with eight of the world's 15 fastest growing economies and a population set to double to over two billion by 2050," said Sharma. "We have much to offer African nations." The British government's export agency reports providing 2 billion pounds (USD 2.6 billion) in financing for UK company exports to Africa in the past two years. The agency says it now wants to "increase its risk appetite" in Egypt and the fast-growing economies in Nigeria and Rwanda. The UK government said the London summit will see British and African firms announce commercial deals worth 6.5 billion pounds. It did not spell out whether these were all firm commitments or included memorandums of understanding that do not always result in actual deals. Britain will formally leave the European Union on January 31. Brussels and London will then have just 11 months to reach a new free trade agreement that can preserve frictionless trade between Europe's single market and one of its largest economies. Johnson's government says it wants to diverge away from the EU economy in the future -- even at the expense of some of its producers facing trade tariffs and quotas as a result. London believes that this would give Britain a better chance at reaching its own agreements with growing nations outside Europe. UK finance minister Sajid Javid said in an interview with the Financial Times published on Saturday that "there will not be alignment" with the EU once the post-Brexit transition period shuts at the end of the year. Protesters hold hold a banner reading, Tesla or drinking water, as they demonstrate against the nearby planned new Tesla Gigafactory on the main square on Jan. 18, 2020 in Gruenheide, Germany. Around 250 Germans on Saturday protested in the outskirts of Berlin where electric car startup Tesla is planning to build a gigafactory, saying its construction will endanger water supply and wildlife in the area. The U.S. carmaker announced plans last November to build its first European car factory in Gruenheide, in the eastern state of Brandenburg. Politicians, unions and industry groups have welcomed the move, saying it will bring jobs to the region, but environmental concerns drove hundreds of locals to the streets on Saturday. "We are here, we are loud, because Tesla is stealing our water," protesters called. Saturday's protest came after a Brandenburg water association on Thursday warned against "extensive and serious problems with the drinking water supply and wastewater disposal" for the proposed factory. Anne Bach, a 27-year-old environmental activist, said Tesla's plans published earlier this month showed it would need more than 300 cubic meters of water per hour which would drain the area's declining reserves. "I am not against Tesla ... But it's about the site; in a forest area that is a protected wildlife zone. Is this necessary?" Bach said. "In such an ecological system like the one here and with the background that climate is changing, I cannot understand why another location was not selected from the beginning," said Frank Gersdorf, a member of "Citizens' Initiative Gruenheide against Gigafactory", a local group that organized Saturday's protest. Environmentalist protests in Germany have previously halted and delayed major companies' plans such RWE's lignite mining at the Hambach forest, near Cologne, which has become a symbol of the anti-coal protests. Saturday's protest, which Gersdorf and Bach said developed spontaneously from a 50-people forest walk demonstration, highlighted the deforestation of around 300 hectares to build the factory and its impact on wildlife, including birds, insects and bats. People were also protesting against an expected "enormous" increase in traffic on a nearby highway and through the villages. Next to the protest, on the other side of the street, around 20 people carried banners welcoming Tesla in their village, with children chanting, "We are here, we are loud, because Tesla is building our future." Bernd Kutz, a Gruenheide local, said Tesla would bring improvement to the area, create jobs and give chances to young people. "I am here because I don't understand those demonstrators who shout and show us the finger," Kutz said. "Why has it always to be negative?" The governor of Ondo State and chairman, South West Governors Forum, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, has said that the South-west security initiative, Amotekun, is neither a regional army nor an ethnic agenda aimed at undermining national cohesion. He, however, advised against divisive statements and utterances that are capable of compromising the genuine intentions of the South west governors. The governors statement is coming on the heels of floods of reactions from several leading elements of the south west, who have raised objections to the recent stance of the federal government on Amotekun. Amotekun is the security outfit launched by the six states of the south west to rising insecurity in the region. The governors launched the security organisation on January 9, but the federal government afterwards declared it illegal and contrary to the provisions of the constitution. A statement by the Ondo State Commissioner for Information, Donald Ojogo, on Sunday, said the governor reaffirmed his earlier position that Amotekun was initiated to complement the efforts of the conventional internal security agencies that appeared to have been hampered by the absence of local intelligence gathering architecture. Put simply, Amotekun when fully operational would serve the purposes of local information and intelligence gathering for processing and usage by the conventional security agencies, the statement said. Amotekun is therefore, merely supportive and not a replacement for the Nations security agencies. The concerns expressed by individuals, agencies of government and several stakeholders are noted without bias. Where possible, the inexorable efforts of the South west governors will be deepened through relentless interface. The governor warned that while the interface and engagements continue, the ongoing discourse on the issue of Amotekun must not be misguidedly used as a platform to ventilate personal or group views aimed at oiling primordial sentiments and grievances. He said ethicising the current situation was even more unhelpful, adding that there should be no reason for such. This is more so that the Amotekun scheme is not targeted at any non-Southwest ethnic group just as its benefits are to be reaped by all Nigerians irrespective of ethnic or religious placements, the statement further said. Mr Akeredolu expressed confidence that the South-west governors will not capitulate to blackmail either from within or outside the region but were ready to pursue the Amotekun security scheme through all permissible political and legal means. Under circumstances of the nature of Amotekun, the choices are numerous. They range from prevarication and pretence; partisanship and sycophancy as well as moderate and complimentary steps not inimical to the corporate existence of our Nation Nigeria, read the state. The South west governors have chosen the later. In unequivocal terms too, each of the choices has a consequence, if not consequences. Unfortunately, the steps of South West Governors have unwittingly, had to contend with forces of conspiratorial silence and unpretentious moves of sabotage. Each has a right to choices; but certainly, no one individual can circumvent the consequences of whatever choices he or she makes in life. Mr Ojogo noted that fears and apprehensions had been expressed in many quarters that Mr Akeredolus role in the formation of Amotekun could mar his second term chances. This is far from the truth because Governor Akeredolu is on the path of national cohesion through collaborative internal security, he said. The decision taken in respect of Amotekun was in the interest of the entire Nation but not the Southwest alone. The political insinuations and blackmail are the required ingredients needed to make it credible. But such will not discourage the governor in any manner. He however said that there were political vultures waiting to reap from an imaginary scenario, especially as the 2020 Ondo governorship primary of the All Progressives Congress approached. In words and in deeds, Governor Akeredolu will not sacrifice the compelling need to make lives safer in the South west on the altar of political convenience, comfort and partisanship. The welfare of the people must come first, he said. It therefore suffices that Governor Akeredolu considers more compelling, the need to institutionalize an acceptably complementary and more enduring security framework in the South west. Advertisements Gani Adam speaks Meanwhile, the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Gani Adams, also called on traditional rulers in the South-West of Nigeria to throw their weight behind the Western Nigerian Security Network to ensure it comes to fruition. Mr Adams made the call in a statement on Sunday, noting that it was obvious that since the launch of the project, crimes being perpetrated in the zone were gradually reducing. He further urged the State Houses of Assembly in the region to back the security outfit by law within two weeks to conform with what happened in some Northern States on Hisbah commission and civilian JTF in Bornu state. As we can see and observe, since the launch of Amotekun few weeks ago, criminal activities is gradually going into oblivion, examples include kidnapping, invasion of farmland and other social vices. The existence of Amotekun is the beginning of wisdom, he said. Mr Adams said the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Federation had goofed to have described Amotekun as illegal security network, when similar security outfits such as Hisbah operates in Nassarawa, Kano and Katsina States. He emphasised that the minister had no moral justification to discredit Amotekun, noting that if he found Amotekun illegal, he should also admit same for Hisbah in the North. He advised the South West Governors not to go to court, but rather that the Minister should go to court. Mr Adams also seized the opportunity to reply Balarabe Musa, who had condemned the establishment of Amotekun. Let me say this clearly, the emergence of Amotekun is the fear of wisdom, and the fear of the North is that, the existence of Amotekun may jeopardise their conquest agenda, he said. They are not for good governance, but interested in their plan towards conquest agenda. He queried Mr Musas reasoning in the matter, asking if the Hisbah in the North as well as the CJTF were plot to established Arewa Republic? Since criminal Fulanis have been killing people for the past four years, even when they overrun Falaes farmland, has he come to pay condolence visit to Olu Falae, as his friend or make a statement of condolence to the South West? asked Mr Adams. As a former Governor in Nigeria, when has he become the spokesman for the North, that he is now addicted to condemning any good thing from the South West? READ ALSO: It is on record that, he is the only former Governor in Nigeria who operates a one man show, has no aide, he has no followership. On his comments on OPC from the North, we are pleased because, the fear of OPC on the criminals in the North is the beginning of wisdom. Their fear in the North is that, OPC will not compromise on the security situation. Speaking on celebration of his second anniversary he expressed appreciation to all Yorubas within and outside the country with special acknowledgement to Governors Kayode Fayemi(Ekiti), Oluwarotimi Akeredolu(Ondo), Alaafin Oyo Lamidi Adeyemi, Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Oba Olukare, and all the royal fathers. The YSRCP government, which took over in May last year, has alleged irregularities by the previous Naidu government in awarding contracts for building Amaravati. (Photo Credit: YS Jagan Mohan Reddy/Twitter) New Delhi: In a controversial move, the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government on Monday approved the three-capital formula stripping Amaravati of its special status. According to new plan, Andhra Pradesh will get three capitals Amaravati, Kurnool and Visakhapatnam. The move comes amid massive protests by the farmers in the state. In a special 3-day session, the Jagan Mohan government introduced the 3-capital plan in the state Assembly. The Andhra Cabinet has already accepted the formula, latest reports say. The setup envisages development of Amaravati, Visakhapatnam and Kurnool as the legislative, executive and judicial capital cities. 3-Capital Formula In simple terms this means that Andhra government will shift the state Secretariat and the Chief Minister's office to Visakhapatnam and the High Court to Kurnool. The decision was taken almost a month after the Jagan Mohan government deferred the key meet in December last year. Main opposition the Telugu Desam Party has said that the Jagan Mohan government is acting against peoples wishes. TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu had said that the state government must rethink about the three-capital plan as it would affect massive funding proposals. The party has termed the new capital idea as anti-farmer. The state is witnessing widespread protests by farmers opposing the move. Expert committees headed by former IAS officer GN Rao and Boston Consulting Group were roped in to work on the idea. It should be noted that in 2014, 28,000 farmers had given up nearly 33,000 acres of agricultural land for the 'futuristic capital' proposed by then chief minister Chandrababu Naidu. TDP leaders took out rally in support of Amaravati chanting "One state-one capital" and "Save Amaravati-Save Andhra Pradesh" slogans. What Chandrababu Naidu Says? On Sunday, Chandrababu Naidu had urged Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy not to shift the state capital from Amaravati, warning that about Rs 50,000 crore committed investment could be withdrawn and also make farmers suffer. Denying any "irregularities" in the decision making for Amaravati as capital during his tenure, Naidu asserted he does not have any "vested interest" in Amaravati, saying his party is fighting to control further damage of the state. Allegations Of YSR Congress The YSRCP government, which took over in May last year, has alleged irregularities by the previous Naidu government in awarding contracts and in allotting prime lands to those close to the then chief minister. Already Rs 10,000 crore has been spent on developing Amaravati and many structures from the secretariat to assembly complexes, courts, Raj Bhavan and DGP office have come up. For all the Latest India News, South News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. She has always had an air of classic chic. And Jennifer Garner channeled Old Hollywood on the red carpet of the Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles this Sunday. The 47-year-old arrived in a Dolce and Gabbana scarlet gown that featured a wide pleated skirt and a neckline low enough to barely hint at cleavage. Radiant: Jennifer Garner channeled Old Hollywood on the red carpet of the Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles this Sunday Wearing her wavy brown hair down, she accessorized with drop earrings and a large glittering bracelet for her night on the red carpet. The ex-wife of Ben Affleck accentuated her unmistakable features with makeup and treated the cameras to her megawatt smile. Jennifer hit the stage that evening to present the best supporting actor in a movie award to Brad Pitt for Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. Glowing: The ex-wife of Ben Affleck accentuated her unmistakable features with makeup and treated the cameras to her megawatt smile The old razzle dazzle: Wearing her wavy brown hair down, she accessorized with drop earrings and a large glittering bracelet for her night on the red carpet He beat out Jamie Foxx for Just Mercy, Tom Hanks for A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood and both Al Pacino and Joe Pesci for The Irishman. During his speech Brad quipped that his Once Upon A Time In Hollywood role was 'a stretch' as he 'doesn't get on with his wife.' The camera then cut to his first ex-wife Jennifer Aniston in the audience, clapping and wearing an expression of wry recognition. So many stars: Jennifer hit the stage that evening to present the best supporting actor in a movie award to Brad Pitt for Once Upon A Time In Hollywood Stiff competition: He beat out Jamie Foxx for Just Mercy, Tom Hanks for A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood and both Al Pacino and Joe Pesci for The Irishman Although Jennifer Garner was not up for a Screen Actors Guild Award this year, she has won one and been nominated twice. In 2004 and 2005 she earned nods for her leading role on Alias - winning the second time - and in 2014 was up for her supporting role in the film Dallas Buyers Club. This Sunday's ceremony marks the first time Jennifer has attended the ceremony in six years, since the last time she was nominated. 'Well, I went out tonight': Jennifer shared a sweet Instagram snap of her team getting her ready for her big night out on the town 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. As Covid-19 cases dip, Shirdi allows 10,000 more devotees per day to visit shrine with offline passes Controversy over birthplace of Saibaba resolved after Uddhav Thackeray hold meeting India oi-Mousumi Dash Mumbai, Jan 20: The controversy over the birthplace of the 19th-century saint Saibaba was resolved after Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday met residents of temple town Shirdi, where a bandh was observed on Sunday amid a row over the birthplace. Reportedly, the bandh was withdrawn in view of the meeting called by Thackeray in Mumbai to discuss the issue. After the meeting, Shiv Sena MP Sadashiv Lokhande said that Thackeray along with Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar held a detailed discussion with Sai Baba Trust representatives. "The controversy over the birthplace of Saibaba has been resolved in the meeting with the Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray," Lokhande told PTI. According to PTI, on January 9, the Maharashtra cabinet held a review meeting of the development works in Parbhani district. In the meeting, the Maharashtra CM had announced that Pathri, considered as the birthplace of Saibaba would be developed as a site for religious tourism. Besides this, he also announced a grant of Rs 100 crore to Pathri. Shiv Sena MP, Lokhande said that Thackeray on Monday withdrew his statement where he declared Saibaba's birthplace as Pathri. However, there was no official confirmation for the same. Maha floods: Rs 10 cr aid from Saibaba Trust Lokhande has stated that Thackeray asked the Shirdi temple representatives if they have an issue with the allocation of Rs 100 crore for the development of Pathri to which they said their opposition was only to the declaration of Pathri as Saibaba's birthplace and not for any development initiative. The controversy over the birthplace of the spiritual saint begun in Maharashtra century after his soul left for the divine abode, with some claiming it is Pathri in Parbhani district and other saying it was Shirdi in Ahmednagar district. Saibaba is equally revered by Hindus and Muslims. Locals of Shirdi, located 250 km away from Mumbai, observed a one-day bandh on Sunday, with shops and businesses in a majority of the villages remaining shut. As per the report, after the meeting, BJP MLA Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil told reporters that the outcome of the meeting with the chief minister was satisfactory and hence they have decided to call off the agitation. Sukhoi-30MKI fighter aircraft squadron prepares to take off from the Thanjavur airbase during its induction ceremony into the Indian Air Force on Monday. (Photo: PTI) THANJAVUR: Armed forces ought to remain prepared for any emergency like wars. But I cant predict war, said General Bipin Rawat, Chief of Defence Staff here on Monday. He said this to press persons when asked about possibility of a war between India and Pakistan in the wake of certain developments in the recent past. However, he said that he has confidence in our armed forces, which remains strong. Taking pride in India being the third powerful nation in the world with respect to armed forces, he said that the forces are adequate with manpower recruited. We follow stringent rules to recruit personnel for Defence. Candidates should be patriotic and willing to work in any condition etc., he said. Asked about presence of Chinese forces in the Indian Ocean and if they are a challenge to India, Rawat said, Every country has freedom of navigation and dominate in sea areas where they are able to gain access. Any such activity in Indian Ocean should be viewed from the point of view of navigation freedom and to solve problems like pirates and problems of merchant ships, and the like. The Chief of Defence Staff said it was very difficult to predict if a scenario of a war with Pakistan would emerge or not but all the defence services were prepared to take on any challenge. The top general, who inducted the Sukhoi-30 MKI squadron here, was responding to a question about any possibility of a war emerging between India and Pakistan. South India on Monday got its first squadron of Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jets, which have been modified to carry BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, at the Air Force station here. The new squadron is all set to enhance the IAFs air defence capability and ensure vigil over the strategically important Indian Ocean Region. When pointed out about shooting incidents by un-manned planes in some areas of the country, he said that they have been taken note of and systems and equipment will be evolved to face such challenges in the armed forces. Earlier, he took part in the induction of 222 squadron, Tigershark, as part of the capabilities enhancement in Indian Ocean region at the Thanjavur Air force station, Rawat said on the occasion that integration of weapons in armed forces is a game changer in the history of the forces and security of India. Now with the induction of the squadron, security and striking capability will be enhanced in sea and land, he said. Describing the induction as a historic event, he appreciated the IAF, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd and Defence Research and Development Organisation for the induction of the squadron. Five former police officials were sentenced to death by a Bangladesh court on Monday for opening fire on a motorcade of then Opposition leader Sheikh Hasina in 1988 that killed her 24 supporters during an anti-government rally. The court in southeastern Bangladesh's Chittagong city handed down the verdict on Monday after the completion of the defence's argument, the Dhaka Tribune reported. As many as 53 witnesses testified in the court over the attack on the current Prime Minister Hasina's convoy. Four of the five convicts -- Mostafizur Rahman, Pradip Barua, Shah Md Abdullah, and Mamtaj Uddin were present before the court, while one Gobinda Chandra Mondal is absconding. On January 24, 1988, police opened fire on the motorcade of the then Awami League President Hasina, now prime minister, while she was going to address a rally in Chittagong city against the regime of then military dictator HM Ershad. The attack, in which 24 people were killed, was seen by Awami League leaders as an attempt to assassinate Hasina. On March 5, 1992, a case was filed when former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia came to power, but no action was taken for years. Hasina took office when Zia's five-year term ended in 1996 and began the investigation into the killings. On May 14, 1998, the police submitted a charge sheet against 47 people. Later, the court directed the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) seeking further investigation of the case. On October 14, 1999, the country's Criminal Investigations Department charged eight policemen with murder. Of them, three accused have passed away. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) It has been observed that, when young folks get little money and fame, their true self is revealed and they automatically become self-acclaimed philosophers and truth bearers. They extend to the public what they think is the truth. The sad thing is that they mostly dont do any proper thinking and adequate research about certain subjects but are able to make conclusive statements and claims. One young man who have recently come into the lime light due to his lyrical prose is Kofi Kinaata. Born Martin King Arthur, Kofi hails from Takoradi and is well noted for his Fante rap and freestyle. The purpose of this is to clear certain misconceptions most people especially gullible Christians may have based on the claims made by Kofi. Recently in an interview on Joy FM, Kinaata made a claim that sought to give reasons why he does not believe in Christianity or why he is not a Christian. He is quoted to have said that God is not a Christian, God is not a religion, we humans brought religion. He added that religion is man-made, thus he sees no reason why he should associate himself with man-made religion when he can go directly to God as if God works in isolation. I think Kofis misconceptions or misunderstandings led him to make these statements. In his view God exist but He doesnt have any religion and therefore he doesnt identify himself with any religion particularly Christianity. The claim God is not a Christian, God is not a religion, we humans brought religion doesnt justify Kofis conclusion of not believing in Christianity. It is like saying music is not a musician and therefore I cant identify myself as a musician or Ghana is not a Ghanaian so I cant identify myself as a Ghanaian. What then is religion? Religion is an abstract word or a term given to a group of people who possess certain characteristics including the service and worship of a deity and honouring sets of convictions, beliefs and practices. Without people possessing these basic characteristics, there wont be religion. It is just like culture, without people living and behaving in certain ways, there wont be culture. Therefore, there cant be humans living on this earth without religion and culture. Aside from that, religion and culture are intertwined. Its very difficult to detach the two. Every culture comes with a particular religion seeking to answer lifes big questions; Who are we? Why are we here? Where are we going to? What is truth? Is there life after death? and so on. One thing Kofi is ignorant of is that everyone belongs to a culture or a religion and everyone worships/honours something. Even atheists who profess the non-existence of God find themselves in some kind of culture and religion honouring something and possessing some beliefs and practices. Once Kofi has some set of beliefs and practices, has some kind of deity he worships or honours, and identifies likeminded people who come together to honour that deity then he has a religion. I am quite sure that Kofi has likeminded friends who hold these views of his, and they do discuss certain beliefs, doctrines and practices, they may consider weird, or problems they do observe in other groups (religions). It is clear that this statement is absurd and was made without much thought. But lets discuss further, Kofi seems to be saying that a deity who is being worshipped must identify itself as part of those worshipping or following (religion) that deity. Therefore, when that deity does not identify itself as part of its own worshippers or followers then these worshippers (religions) are man-made. But this again is irrational, an originator cant be a follower. Jesus Christ cant follow himself or call himself a Christian (follower of Christ). It rather adherents or believers who would follow him and identify themselves as such. Kofi, we all know you cant call yourself a Kinaata fan because you are the originator himself. So if this is impossible, why do you think God, the Son, must be called a Christian in order to be certain the faith is not man-made? The possible question Kofi or readers might be asking now is, which God are you referring to? Are people of other faith or religion not worshiping the same God? The Which God Question? Anyone who asks the which God question depicts their misunderstanding of who God truly is. There is only one ultimate being called God. The creator of all things, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, omni-everything pure, holy and infinite. There cant be two Gods possessing these same powers (same mind, knowledge, understanding, infinite and so on). There is only on one infinite there cant be two infinites. Also, there can only be one beginning there cant be two beginnings. Therefore asking the which God question assumes there are more than one God which is extremely wrong because God is one. There are demons and evil spirits who are being worshipped as gods knowingly or unknowingly but they are not Gods. A loving God who seeks to redeem his creation cant be a God of confusion and therefore will not give contradictory instructions to his creations. For this reason, it is our responsibility to think through teachings, doctrines and practices of groups which seek to point us to the ultimate Truth or God. I have heard these unreasonable arguments a number of times. It is especially from people who are either ignorant about these subjects and needs understanding or people who are not ready to denounce unrighteousness or immorality in order to worship the Triune God. It is not surprising the Holy Scriptures states in John 3:19-20 that light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light lest his works should be exposed. On the other hand, Kofi may be telling us that he cant be a hiplife musician and identify himself as a Christian. This is because, the values shared by Jesus Christ contradicts his deeds and acts in the music industry. Our television scenes (especially musical videos) are inundated with pride, nudity, vulgar words, alcoholism, pornography and mammon worship etc. The lives of most musicians, actors, and actresses are filled with promiscuity (especially eroticism and fornication). Most of them do not honour the ordained institution of marriage. Any serious regenerated Christian will not be comfortable associating themselves with these shameful acts. But since most cant live with the cost of diligently servicing the Triune God they stay in these filth and try their possible best to rule out Jesus Christ from the picture to make them feel comfortable to continue sinning. The most important question Kofi needs to ask himself is, how are the doctrines and teachings of a particular group (religion) going to redeem him from eternal damnation? How is this religion going to transform him from a sinful person to a sinless individual? Can he base on his deprived wisdom and strength to work for his righteousness? Can he live a life pleasing to the Just God without God first transforming his heart of stone into a heart of flesh (as Christianity teaches)? Which Religion is True? In order to answer this question diligently, one must be truthful to themselves that they would follow the facts where it lead them. Now, every religion has an originator or a founder. The founders actions and inactions are very important to determining whether their teachings and doctrines are true or false. Since God is holy, pure, good, compassionate, loving, and so one, it is very important for the founder of the true faith (religion) to manifest these communicable characteristics. Basing on these, when one compares the founders of all the religions of the world, they will come to a single conclusion that Christianity is true. Because, when you study the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, you wont reach any conclusion apart from this; Jesus Christ is God and he is the only one who can redeem us. Jesus forgave eternal sins, he was worshipped, he was crucified, he died, he was buried and rose on the third day. Aside from these major events, anyone who wants to know more should read the gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) for themselves. These are historical facts and not fictions or myth. There are multiple attestations (both Christian and non-Christian sources) to these. What most people do wrongly is instead of comparing the founders they rather compare the actions of weak or misguided followers to make their conclusions. When this is done, you will never come to a genuine conclusion about which of these faiths is true. You see, I cant base on the actions of a Kinaata fan to make conclusions about the life and works of you, Kofi Kinaata. I can go on and on and on but I wish to end here with a little advice to my brother Kofi and readers, please dont be in hurry to make claims you cant substantiate. Do your best to study to show yourself approved unto God, learn, research properly and reach truthful conclusions in all your endeavours. Christianity is true, so believe and let Christ be formed in you. Kwakye Ransford (Christian Apologist) A majority of people think that the rich are getting richer while the rest of society struggles, according to a new report. Fifty-six percent of general population respondents to a study by consultancy Edelman agreed with the statement: "Capitalism as it exists today does more harm than good in the world," while 78% agreed that "elites are getting richer while regular people struggle to pay their bills." People in 15 countries are pessimistic about the future, with most believing they and their families will not be better off in five years' time, a trend that is particularly marked in developed countries such as Japan, France, Germany and Italy. In the U.S., 43% of people believed they would be better off in five years' time, a 7 percentage point drop on a year ago, while in the U.K., only 27% of people thought they would have more money in the same time period, a drop of two percentage points. In the developing world, people were more optimistic: In Kenya, 90% of people thought they would have more money in five years, the highest in the survey. In Indonesia the figure is 80% and in India it is 77%. In China, 69% thought they would be better off, a fall of 6 percentage points on figures a year ago. The only two markets where people were more optimistic about their economic prospects than they were a year ago are South Africa, at 57% (a one percentage point jump) and the United Arab Emirates, which has seen a three percentage point increase to 75%. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Karina M. Tehusijarana (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, January 20, 2020 18:36 722 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad206042a0b 1 Politics Romahurmuziy,PPP,Corruption-Eradication-Comission,Jakarta-Corruption-Court Free A three-judge panel at the Jakarta Corruption Court has sentenced former United Development Party (PPP) chairman Muhammad "Romy" Romahurmuziy to two years imprisonment for accepting bribes in relation to promotions in the Religious Affairs Ministry. "[The court] declares that Mohammad Romahurmuziy has been officially and convincingly proven to be guilty of the crime of corruption," head judge Fazal Hendri said at the Jakarta Corruption Court in Central Jakarta on Monday. The sentence was only half of the four years demanded by prosecutors last week. The judges also decided not to deny Romy of his political rights. Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigators arrested Romy in March 2019 for allegedly accepting Rp 416.4 million in bribes from two Religious Affairs Ministry officials in return for his support for their promotions. The two officials, Haris Hasanuddin and Muafaq Wirahadi, were both found guilty of bribery and sentenced to two years and 1.5 years in prison, respectively. In his defense statement, Romy strenuously denied any wrongdoing and claimed that he only accepted Rp 250 million from Haris out of politeness and returned the money afterwards. He denied receiving any money from Muafaq. After the ruling was read out, both Romy and the prosecutors said that they would consider lodging an appeal. PRISTINA/BELGRADE -- U.S. diplomats have overseen the signing of an agreement between Serbia and Kosovo on the resumption of commercial flights between the two Balkan states, a rare sign of cooperation between the two neighbors. Serbian, Kosovar, and NATO leaders on January 20 welcomed the signing of the deal to reopen the air link that was broken two decades ago, when the 1998-99 Kosovo conflict escalated. Relations between Pristina and Belgrade have remained strained after the war that claimed more than 10,000 lives and left over 1 million people homeless. Serbia continues to consider its former province part of its territory, although its independence, declared in 2008, has been recognized by about 100 countries, including the United States. The agreement to restore commercial flights between the Serbian and Kosovar capitals, Belgrade and Pristina, was signed at the U.S. Embassy in Berlin by Milun Trivunac, state secretary of Serbia's Ministry of Economy, and Eset Berisha, director-general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Kosovo. Kosovar President Hashim Thaci described the development "an important step for the movement of citizens & normalization process," and thanked U.S. Ambassador Richard Grenell, who also serves as President Donald Trump's special envoy for Serbia and Kosovo, and U.S. national-security adviser Robert O'Brien for facilitating the process. The director of the Serbian government's Office for Kosovo, Marko Djuric, said Belgrade and Pristina "could soon be connected by an airline, for the first time in 20 years." However, Djuric said Kosovo must withdraw its 100 percent trade tariff and dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina should resume before the air link can open. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg described the deal as "an important step, which will make the circulation of people and goods easier and faster within the Western Balkans region." The 25-minute flight between Belgrade and Pristina would be operated by Lufthansa's budget carrier, Eurowings. Currently, it takes more than five hours to travel from Belgrade to Pristina. (CNN) A woman writing a novel about "predatory" older men and their relationships with younger woman will serve as one of 12 jurors who will decide Harvey Weinstein's fate in one of the most high-profile cases in the country. The New York criminal trial of Harvey Weinstein is based on the relationships between the former Hollywood power broker and producer and two younger women. The Manhattan District Attorney's Office is working to prove to the jury those associations included sexual assault and rape, while Weinstein's attorneys maintain his sexual relationships with the two women were consensual. Weinstein, 67, is accused of raping a woman in a New York hotel room in 2013 and forcibly performing oral sex on another woman in 2006 at his Manhattan apartment, court documents show. Weinstein pleaded not guilty to five felony charges: two counts of predatory sexual assault, one count of criminal sexual act in the first degree and one count each of first-degree rape and third-degree rape. The selection of seven men and five women as the trial jury was finalized Friday, capping a selection process that began last week in New York State Supreme Court. Three alternate jurors, two women and one man, were chosen. The 11th juror to be seated in this trial is at the heart of why Weinstein's defense attorneys have filed a motion for a mistrial. "This is my biggest fear," Weinstein's lead defense attorney, Donna Rotunno, told CNN Friday, referring to what she believes can't be a fair and impartial jury panel, and one subject to being tainted by juror No. 11. Jury selection Jury selection in this trial took place over two weeks and went through two phases: pre-screening and voir dire. During each day of the pre-screening phase, the court rotated through the more than 100 New York City residents that received a jury summons and asked them just two questions: could they be a fair and impartial juror and are they available to serve on the jury for the length of the trial, which could last up to eight weeks. "Based on news coverage and experiences with friends and family, I don't think I can be fair," one man told Judge James Burke on the second day of jury selection, according to a pool report. "I read all the news, I have my mind made, and I don't think I'd be a fair juror," another woman told the court. "I think I'm still able to keep an open mind on the facts," supermodel Gigi Hadid told the court after stating she's met Selma Hayek, an actress named on the trial's witness list. Hadid was eventually dismissed from jury duty. Of 120 potential jurors, 43 were dismissed on the first day of jury selection because they couldn't remain impartial, according to a pool reporter. Nearly 50 were dismissed for the same reason on the second day, according to the pool reporter in the courtroom. Potential jurists who told the court they believed they could remain fair and impartial and were available to serve for the length of the trial were instructed by Judge Burke to go home, fill out a jury questionnaire and return to court with it on January 16. Roughly 140 prospective jurors, completed questionnaires in hand, returned to court Thursday. The 72-question form asked the potential jurors who were about to enter the voir dire process a range of questions, from what they do for a living to their hobbies and interests. Voir dire is a process in open court where potential jurors are asked questions on the record by prosecutors and defense lawyers to determine their suitability for jury service. The phrase is French for "to speak the truth." Prosecutors and defense attorneys, hoping to secure individuals who side with their position of the high-stakes trial, asked a variety of questions to prospective jurors: "Are you able to go home and say, 'I found Harvey Weinstein not guilty?'" "Does everyone here appreciate the fact that somebody could be suffering in their own personal life and yet be able to put on a brave face?" "Who believes people have consensual relationships at work to get ahead?" Juror No. 11 Throughout the voir dire process, prosecutors and defense attorneys have 20 peremptory challenges, meaning each side can dismiss up to 20 potential jurists without providing a reason for doing so. Attorneys can present an unlimited amount of challenges for cause explaining to the judge that a potential juror should be eliminated because of bias, prejudice or prior knowledge that would affect his or her ability to serve as an impartial juror. Weinstein's defense team has used the last of their peremptory challenges before it came time to question the woman eventually chosen as juror No. 11. The woman was not forthcoming about her upcoming book on the jury questionnaire, Weinstein's attorneys Damon Cheronis and Arthur Aidala argued in court Friday. Lead prosecutor Joan Illuzzi responded by saying juror No. 11's questionnaire included the fact that she enjoyed "novel writing." The juror indicated she enjoyed "novel writing" under the "hobbies and interests" section of the questionnaire, Weinstein attorney Donna Rotunno told CNN. "Not, 'I am writing a book on this topic,'" she said. "Big difference." Cheronis asked the then-potential juror about the research involved in her upcoming fiction book. Defense claims 'inconsistent" answers She said "no" when asked by Cheronis if she has ever done any research on predatory men. She gave the same response when asked if she's ever done any research on relationships between younger women and older men, Rotunno said. And she answered, 'no' when Cheronis asked her if she's kept abreast of the Weinstein case. "She gave answers that we thought were inconsistent based on other things we were able to find online, and we wanted to raise those issues to the judge, and we believed that those presented a cause challenge," Rotunno told CNN. Prospective jurors and journalists in the courtroom watched the back and forth between Weinstein's attorney and the woman. Jurors were excused from the courtroom and Burke denied the defense's request to grant them an additional peremptory challenge. Weinstein's attorneys then argued juror No. 11 should be stricken from the seated jury for cause because of her upcoming novel. Burke immediately and without hesitation denied the defense challenge for cause without comment. Weinstein, his attorneys and even some members of the press in the downtown Manhattan courtroom appeared shocked by Burke's ruling that juror No. 11 would remain on the seated jury. According to the pool reporter in the courtroom, Weinstein mouthed "wow" when she was allowed to be seated on the trial jury. Juror No. 12 was chosen soon after and the Weinstein jury had been selected. Opening statements to begin Burke is expected to address outstanding motions including a renewed effort by the defense to move the case outside of New York and to declare a mistrial based on selection of Juror No. 11 when court resumes Tuesday. Opening statements are expected to begin Wednesday with Joan Illuzi, a veteran prosecutor who has worked in the district attorney's office for more than 30 years, presenting the prosecution's case to the 12 jurists and Cheronis outlining the defense strategy. Rotunno, a vocal critic of the #MeToo movement, told CNN that she will present the defense's closing arguments. In Lagos today, many youths find themselves doing some jobs not just for the long run, but to satisfy their daily need for food. The quest to understand these young men who find themselves going through the hard way to make ends meet, informed the decision of Information Nigerias Michael Isaac to take to the streets of Lagos to listen, and tell the stories of these young men hawking inside the harsh traffic in Lagos. On a sunny Saturday afternoon at Okota road, Oshodi-Isolo Local Government area of the State, road users are seen moving up and down on both sides of the road as impatient drivers honked their way through the traffic. However, while everyone seem to go about their businesses, the hawkers were also busy moving from vehicle to vehicle in search for that one customer who would aid having bread on their tables. Watching them from a corner going about their business amongst the other road users who mostly turned down their goods or seemed highly uninterested in giving them attention, I patronized one of the traders; it was a very sunny afternoon, so I decided to buy bottled water. From the corner where I stood, I motioned to one hawker selling water to come and three ran to me. Chairman, bottle water or minerals, they all said as they approached where I stood. I let all three come to me as I stretched my hand and picked from one of their bowl of drinks. This una business, e be like say una dey make money o, I said to get their attention which they immediately gave to me. As they looked at me they expressed shock that I had said that as they were quick to counter my statement. It was at that point I introduced myself and all three identified themselves as Chucks, Ike and Olamide. Speaking with the trio, I asked why they resolved to hawk on the streets, but the three gave different narrations Olamide hinted that he started hawking to support himself because he has no one in Lagos and he finds the daily proceeds from his hawking better and more sustainable. You dey make money na, I said as he concluded, and again, he countered me and said How much na Na only 3k or 5k highest for one day, nothing else dey to do so na this level I dey so. For Ike, the story was that of a hustler from Eastern Nigeria. According to him, he left Ebonyi State for greener pastures only to meet disappointment, leaving him with no choice but to hawk. He had been promised a job by an uncle and on getting to Lagos, the uncle turned deaf ears to his needs and pleas for something to do. Chucks had a similar story with Ike as they are both from Ebonyi State. Read Also: Kaduna State Bans Street Hawking / Begging How long una don dey do hawk? I asked and looked out for their expressions. All three looked nothing excited as they gave their answers. Two years for all three. Taking a sip from the water I had bought from Ike, I asked them Wetin you think say government fit do to help una? They all wanted to answer eagerly and I let them, one after the other. For Ike, the government should either provide jobs for them that fit their class as they are neither academics or intellects and if they cant, they should stop using taskforce officials to harass them harassing. The other two pretty much said the same thing, but Olamide has a touching story to share. Nigerian government is wicked and even if you write heaven and earth, dem no fit do anything. No be everybody go school but everybody get one thing wey dem sabi do. Even their yeye task force, na money everybody dey find. If dem sieze your market, na bribe you go take collect am. So this country, no be today wickedness start, he said, while his colleagues and friends supported him. It was interesting speaking to the trio, but it was time to leave for my next location, I brought out Fifty-Naira to pay for the bottled water, but they asked me not to pay; I thanked them, asked to take a picture which they declined and left. At Maryland, next location, the hawkers here seem to be having a hard time finding customers to buy, and many blamed it on the state of the nation, the just-concluded festive season, and the big guys (retail stores and online marketplaces). However, I found teenager hawking some potato chips and other crunches, and immediately I found interest in speaking with him. I waved at him, motioning him to come and he ran towards my direction Good afternoon sir, what do you want to buy? He spoke eloquently and my interest grew. I dont like potato chips but I picked up one from his box of chips and gave a I-dont-really-like-this face. He caught it and said dont worry, fine bros, you will like this one, he tried to convince me. Read Also: Nigerian Politician Distributes Wheelbarrows On Hire Purchase To Alleviate Poverty (Photo) Hmm, before nko, youll say anything to make me buy. Man gats hustle to survive na, bros, he said as he stretched his hand to collect his money. I was about to introduce myself to him before another customer beckoned for him to come. Immediately he left, two young ladies approached me, one with her bowl of drinks. Pure water, bottled water, minerals, bros which one you wan buy? The other lady with groundnuts looked at me to desperately buy from her. I bought a bottle of Pepsi and asked the other lady to give me groundnut worth of fifty-naira. Una go don make plenty of money today o, I started, hoping to get their attention and just like my brothers at Okota, it worked. They were, again, quick to counter my statement as they pointed out that they have only engaged in hawking to support their families and to have food on their tables daily. I introduced myself and they felt a little more comfortable speaking with me, I asked them what prompted them to start hawking and for how long they have been on it. The ladies, Grace and Olaide hinted that it was the condition of the nation that has made them street hawkers, they pointed out that if the country was economically healthy this would not have been an option for them. Speaking further, Grace said: If only the people in high places would come out and see how hard it is for the people on the street, the market women. If they can just take a day and come out, they would see that people are suffering. Olaide supported her as she spoke and I thanked them for their time after paying for the drink. It is obvious that poverty, bad governance and corruption are factors that affect the lives of many Nigerians, and as citizens, we can only hope for better days to come as we play our own parts to ensure the better days come fast enough. A home in Collegedale was destroyed Sunday afternoon. At 3 p.m., a 911 call was made by a motorist reporting a house fire at 3427 Camp Road. The Tri-Community Volunteer Fire Department responded and reported 25% of the house was involved with fire. Incident command reported the house was unsafe for firefighters to enter the home and conducted a defensive attack to contain the fire. Tri-Community VFD requested a Mutual Aid response for additional manpower. The Chattanooga Fire Department and Catoosa County Fire Department responded to the fire scene. East Ridge Fire Department and Highway 58 VFD staged at Tri-Community VFD station 1 for any additional emergency calls. Fire officials reported no one was home when the fire started. No injuries were reported, but Hamilton County EMS was on the scene for any potential injuries to the first responders. Fire officials reported the house was a total loss, with no value reported at this time. The cause of the fire is undetermined and will be under investigation by the Hamilton County Sheriffs Office. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Prince Harry touted the U.K. as an ideal business partner for Africa on Monday as their country prepares for post-Brexit dealings with the world. But Britain faces tough challenges as it seeks to assert itself on a continent with several of the world's fastest-growing economies, and one whose youthful 1.2 billion population is set to double by 2050. Far fewer of Africa's 54 heads of state or government were attending the first U.K.-Africa Investment Summit than the dozens who attended the first Russia-Africa summit last year or the gatherings China regularly holds. The U.K.'s department for international trade says two-way trade with Africa in the year ending in the second quarter of 2019 was $46 billion. Meanwhile, Africa's two-way trade with China, the continent's top trading partner, was $208 billion in 2019. Johnson told attendees the conference "is long overdue." He acknowledged that British officials and companies need to work to convince African nations to do business with the U.K. "We have no divine right to that business," he said. "This is a competitive world. You have may suitors" especially China and Russia. Britain is due to leave the European Union on Jan. 31, and Johnson said the U.K. would become "a global free trading nation" after Brexit. He pledged that the post-Brexit immigration system would "put people before passports," acknowledging a common frustration across Africa. While other global powers including Gulf nations and India have been increasing their diplomatic and economic presence in Africa, some observers have wondered about the interest of Britain, a former colonizer. When Theresa May visited Kenya in 2018, even Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta noted it was the first visit to East Africa's economic hub by a British prime minister in more than three decades. Johnson stressed that he had visited about a dozen African countries when he was British foreign secretary between 2017 and 2019. He said "billions of pounds worth of deals" would be sealed at Monday's summit, including major clean-energy projects. Prince Harry, who has longstanding ties to Africa and is involved with conservation and youth charities on the continent, also attended the conference to boost Britain's cause, despite the swirling drama over his decision to break from official royal duties. Britain said 16 African leaders were attending Monday's summit in London, including the leaders of Nigeria, Congo, Kenya, Egypt, Ghana, Senegal, Malawi, Mozambique, Ivory Coast, Uganda and Rwanda. "The wealth of Africa is undisputed," said Ghana's president, Nana Akufo-Addo, noting that one in four people in the world in 2050 will be African. Leaders stressed the need to tackle growing inequality and the continent's dire need for better infrastructure, especially as millions of people migrate to booming cities. Aside from the sluggishness of its top two economies, South Africa and Nigeria, Africa is showing economic momentum as the recently launched African Continental Free Trade Area gathers steam. Last year, economic growth slowed in all geographic areas except Africa, the United Nations reported last week in its annual World Economic Situation and Prospects 2020. The U.N. said gross domestic product growth in Africa is projected to reach 3.2% in 2020 and 3.5% in 2021. And 25 African countries are projected to achieve economic growth of at least 5% this year. Britain should take a wider investment approach to Africa's growing middle class and increasingly sophisticated consumers, the Overseas Development Institute reported this month. It said more than 80% of Britain's investment in Africa is focused on mining and financial services, and 30% of investment in the continent goes to a single country, South Africa. The White House will block any attempt to summon Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas to testify in the Senate impeachment trial, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. Parnas, who was involved in Giulianis efforts to dig up dirt on Joe Biden, made explosive claims regarding President Trumps involvement in Ukraine during a series of interviews released on Wednesday. President Trump knew exactly what was going on, Parnas said in an interview with MSNBCs Rachel Maddow. He was aware of all my movements. I wouldnt do anything without the consent of Rudy Giuliani or the President. Parnas accused Attorney General William Barr of being aware of Giulianis and Trumps actions but Barr denied that he had any knowledge of such dealings. In testimony during House impeachment hearings, former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch alleged Parnas and associate Igor Fruman, along with Giuliani, were working to oust her in order to advance Parnass and Frumans business interests. The two are also thought to have worked with former top Ukrainian prosecutor Yuriy Lutsenko to obtain information on the Bidens. The Ukrainian businessman was indicted in October on campaign-finance charges, and is accused of disguising donations to Republican candidates to advance his personal interests and those of other Ukrainian politicians. President Trumps impeachment defense team, which includes heavyweight attorney Alan Dershowitz and former Clinton impeachment manager Ken Starr, announced on Monday it will call on the Senate to swiftly reject the articles of impeachment. The Senate should speedily reject these articles of impeachment and acquit the President, reads a trial brief released by the team. All that House Democrats have succeeded in proving is that the President did absolutely nothing wrong. Democrats allege President Trump withheld military aid from Ukraine to pressure the country to investigate corruption allegations against Joe and Hunter Biden. More from National Review Simon and Sarah Kabu serve as a great inspiration to Kenyan youth after starting their multimillion Bonfire Adventure tours and travel company with about Sh20,000 and a desk. Speaking about their marriage and entrepreneurial journey, Sarah Kabu recalled how a member of the Womans Guild advised her not to be in a hurry to settle down. Venye nilikuwa nimefika miaka 30, bado bila kuolewa, alikuwa na wasi wasi. Na alikuwa akinipa mawaidha, usiende kutafuta watu wako na pesa au nini, tafuta tu kijana mjijenge pamoja, she said in an interview with Radio Jambo. The 41-year-old noted that their marriage is not always rosy. Its not all lovey-dovey as people assume. When we get to the office its all work. We are usually very busy. There are days we are not in talking terms but when we get to the office management decisions have to be made so you have to talk and give your opinions. We never mix personal issues with business. If you find us getting mad at each other then its something serious, she said. Sarah also revealed that they have access to each others social media accounts. She said she once saw a message from an admirer in Simons inbox. We both have logins to each others accounts. I was looking at his DM, then a slay queen wrote, Happy New Year Simon Kabu, this year my goal is to go out with you Ningekuwa mrembo kama wao, hata sijiui, I wouldnt waste my beauty with old men out there. Sarah also recounted how her own admirer attempted to sweep her off Kabus arms by copying their business. So hata yeye akaenda aka-set up an office, branded it na akakuja, akanipea ufunguo, so mimi nikamwambia Im not interested, Im happy where I am, she said. Sarah noted: I never compromised my values dating old dirty sponsors like college slay queens do nowadays. They used to be called tushungwa na sugar daddies. I used to survive on one meal a day that is dinner big ugali or rice. Day time snacks were mostly sweets, biscuits, mandazi, chapati and bread. German firms contest Dutch group's warship contract Frankfurt am Main, Jan 20 (AFP) Jan 20, 2020 A German consortium including Thyssenkrupp on Monday said it had filed a complaint against the German government's decision to award a Dutch group a coveted contract to build the nation's next-generation warships. The 5.3-billion-euro ($5.9-billion) deal to build at least four multi-purpose MKS 180 combat ships is the biggest contract in German naval history. "We have serious doubts about the legality of the decision and will therefore exhaust all legal possibilities at our disposal," the Kiel-based shipbuilder German Naval Yards (GNYK) said in a statement. The defence ministry announced last week that it had selected a consortium led by Dutch shipbuilder Damen as the winner, rejecting the joint bid proposed by German Naval Yards and German giant Thyssenkrupp. The Damen consortium also includes French firm Thales and the Hamburg-based Blohm and Voss shipyard. Elevator-to-submarine conglomerate Thyssenkrupp, which is in the midst of a painful restructuring and has long partnered with the German Bundeswehr on military projects, reacted to the decision with outrage. "More than 1,000 jobs" were now at stake, Thyssenkrupp's personnel chief Oliver Burkhard tweeted, recalling that the group had taken over German shipyards in 2004 "at the request of the federal government". "Now it's up to politicians to tell us what kind of future they see for the shipyards." The government's contract decision is not yet final as it still needs to be approved by the German parliament. The MKS 180 is expected to become the backbone of the German navy, capable of anti-submarine, anti-air warfare, as well as land attacks. It can also be used to evacuate civilians in crisis situations. Years of chronic underinvestment in the German military have left the navy in bad shape, with many of its frigates and submarines currently obsolete or out of service. fcz-mfp/hmn/spm THYSSENKRUPP Accordingly, four A prizes went to the composition Don binh minh (Welcoming dawn) for dan tranh (Vietnamese 16-chord zither) solo along with the orchestra by Thuy My; for the music show "Tri an que huong" (Paying gratitude to the homeland) by Nguyen Anh Tri; the show Niem tin (Belief) by Pham Minh Tuan; and the research work The harmony of folk songs southern folk songs in Vietnamese songs by musician and researcher Dang Van Bong. The Arts Council also presented 24 B, 24 C and 16 consolation prizes to other notable works featuring many different forms, including compositions, children songs, artistic songs, performances, symphonic works, chamber works, choral works, research books, textbooks, and articles. This year, the organising board for the 2019 Music Awards received 226 art works by 226 members of the VMA nationwide, including 190 in vocal music, 18 in instrumental music and18 theoretical works. On the occasion, the VMA admitted several new members and presented gifts to veteran musicians ahead of the upcoming Tet (Lunar New Year) Festival. A man shot his ex-girlfriend and her male friend after ramming his car into the back of her parked vehicle outside a Moraga Starbucks on Sunday night, a police official said. The suspected gunman, 21-year-old Isaiah Glaze, of Sacramento, ran from the strip mall to a Saint Marys College extension building a few hundred yards away, where police allegedly found him with a gunshot wound and a handgun near his body. It appeared his gunshot wound was self-inflicted, Moraga Police Chief Jon King said. The shooting was domestic-related involving an ex-boyfriend, King said in the parking lot of Rheem Shopping Center, near the Starbucks. He shot two victims in the front car. A blue sedan with its engine running and doors open was against the rear bumper of the victims car with open doors and a shattered window as investigators combed the scene for evidence. The suspect was taken into custody and his gun was recovered, said King, adding that there was no threat to the public. The condition of the victims was not immediately clear, King said, but at least one did not have life-threatening injuries. The suspects condition was unknown early Monday. The suspect rammed the back of the parked car around 7:30 p.m., exited the vehicle and shot both victims in the car, King said. Across Rheem Boulevard, paramedics treated the suspect, whose clothes were stained with blood, at the side of a Saint Marys College building. He suffered a gunshot wound also, and were investigating that, King said. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Terri Bessette, a Taco Bell employee, was taking a break on the restaurant patio when she saw a man fire two shots at two people in the parking lot about 100 feet away. She ran inside and watched as the gunman ran past the restaurant carrying a handgun. Oh yeah, I was freaked out, she said. I bolted right inside the building. Matthias Gafni is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: matthias.gafni@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @mgafni The Nepal government on Monday resumed the search operation for four South Korean trekkers and their three guides who went missing since an avalanche swept a popular trekking route in the mountains. The operation to rescue the seven people missing have become difficult due to heavy snowfall in the area. On Sunday, a rescue team had to abort their operation due to adverse weather. The trekkers were en route to a Himalayan mountain near a base camp in the Annapurna region when the avalanche struck after heavy snowfall on Friday last. The avalanche happened at an altitude of 3,230 m (10,600ft) about 150 km (93 miles) north-west of Kathmandu. The government is sending a well-equipped high-tech team to rescue seven missing trekkers in the Annapurna area of Kaski district on Monday, the Department of Tourism (DoT) said in a statement. The rescue team comprises members from the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA), the Himalayan Rescue Association (HRA) and the Nepal Army, it said. Meanwhile, the Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal (TAAN) in a statement said a Chinese tourist and her Nepali tourist guide have been rescued to safety. They are undergoing treatment at a hospital in Pokhara. The avalanche had swept away rocks and getting through them was almost impossible at that moment, the statement said. The area where the incident took place is reportedly covered in more than 10 feet of snow. Around 130 trekkers have been rescued with the help of trekking guides, local people and security personnel and had been taken to Chomrong and Pokhara, the TAAN said. Iraqis have been demonstrating for months to demand sweeing reforms Iraqis have been demonstrating for months to demand sweeing reforms (AFP Photo/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE) Baghdad (AFP) - Hundreds of Iraqi anti-government protesters grappled with security forces in a bid to shut Baghdad streets on Monday, a deadline they had given authorities to implement long-awaited reforms. Rallies have rocked Iraq since October but, fearing they would lose momentum amid spiralling regional tensions, protesters last Monday told the government it had one week to meet their demands or they would escalate. They have called for early elections under a new voting law, an independent prime minister and for all corrupt officials to be held accountable. Starting Sunday, young demonstrators in Baghdad and the south began sealing off highways and bridges with burning tyres ahead of the following day's deadline. They tried to do the same early the following morning, but security forces acted fast, with the military saying it had arrested nine protesters and reopened a major Baghdad thoroughfare. Hundreds of demonstrators also descended to Baghdad's Tayaran Square, where they clashed with security forces who fired tear gas and live rounds to disperse them, an AFP journalist there said. Young men wearing helmets and gas masks to protect themselves from flying tear gas canisters set up metal barricades in the street to try to push the riot police back. Skirmishes there had lasted throughout the night, wounding around 20 people including some with gunshot wounds, a medical source told AFP. Since October, around 460 people have lost their lives to protest-related violence and another 25,000 have been wounded, according to an AFP count. Authorities do not provide updated casualty numbers. Demonstrators have feared their movement would be eclipsed by the geopolitical storm brewing between neighbouring Iran and the US, both close partners of Iraq. A US drone strike near Baghdad's airport on January 3 killed top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani, prompting Iranian rocket strikes on an Iraqi base housing US troops and triggering fears of a wider conflict. Story continues Iraqi political figures have since ramped up their calls for foreign forces -- including some 5,200 US troops -- to leave the country. Protesters worry that a separate mass rally this Friday, organised by firebrand Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr to demand the ouster of US troops deployed in Iraq, could drown them out. The demonstrations first erupted in October over corruption, lack of jobs and poor services but escalated quickly to demand a total overhaul of government. Protesters scored one win in December with the resignation of Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi -- but he has stayed on in a caretaker role and political parties have thus far failed to agree on a successor. Demonstrators have publicly rejected names circulating as possible replacements and are furious that other sweeping reforms have not been implemented. Two of the Washington Posts Trump-despising reporters, Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker, have a new book about the president called A Very Stable Genius. In advance of its publication, the Post ran an excerpt in todays paper. The excerpt describes how three of Trumps then-top advisers James Mattis, Rex Tillerson, and Gary Cohn organized a session for the president designed to sell him on key aspects of conventional policy wisdom. According to Leonnig and Rucker, the three were alarmed by what they viewed as gaping holes in Trumps knowledge of history, especially the key alliances forged following World War II. By holding the session a tailored tutorial in the authors words the three hoped to educate Trump. In particular, they sought to instruct him as to why U.S. troops are deployed in so many parts of the world and why, in the view of the three, Americas safety depends on a complex web of trade deals, alliances, and bases across the globe. Anyone want to guess how the tutorial went? Right. According to the Post reporters sources, Trump appeared peeved by the schoolhouse vibe. Moreover, his ricocheting attention span led him to repeatedly interrupt the lesson. What nerve! Hes lucky to have avoided detention. Trump even went so far as to express dismay that the U.S. wasnt winning the war in Afghanistan. When Gen. Dunford, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, explained that the military hadnt been under orders to defeat the enemy, Trump lost his temper. According to the Post reporters sources, he said, I want to win. Then, he added, I wouldnt go to war with you people and told the assembled group, which included top military commanders, youre a bunch of dopes and babies. The meeting soon ended. It was shortly afterwards that Tillerson made his famous remark that Trump is a f*****g moron. But the account of this meeting, rendered in part by Tillerson I assume, doesnt support this assessment. Rude, yes. Indelicate, highly. Trump certainly shouldnt have called our military leaders dopes and babies (if he did). But its not moronic to question internationalist wisdom or to complain about how the war in Afghanistan has gone. Gen. Dunford, though rightly unhappy, Im sure, with the language Trump used about the military brass, had the correct take on the meeting. He said: [Trump] asked a lot of hard questions, and the one thing he does is question some fundamental assumptions that we make as military leaders and he will come in and question those. Its a pretty energetic and an interactive dialogue. Personally, I probably agree with many of the assumptions that Mattis, Tillerson, Cohn, and Dunford pushed at this meeting. But theres nothing wrong with a president questioning these assumptions. In fact, such questioning is a good thing. Heres the important question, though: What policies have emerged from discussions between Trump and the purveyors of conventional wisdom? How has Trump synthesized establishment theses e.g. on our post-World War II alliance with Western Europe and on trade with his own skepticism? Trump has not dismantled NATO. The Trump synthesis is a NATO in which all members meet their payment obligation. Nothing wrong with that. On trade, the Trump synthesis is an improved agreement with Canada and Mexico. Its also a more balanced trading relationship with China. Sounds good to me. Leonnig and Rucker mention the Iran nuclear deal. Here, there is no synthesis not at this point, anyway. The deal is the thesis; pulling out, as Trump has done, is the antithesis. A synthesis would be an improved deal. That may be a pipe dream. But the Iran nuclear deal is not part of the post-World War II internationalist vision that Mattis, Tillerson, and Cohn were trying to sell to Trump. Nor was it the product of any contemporary bipartisan consensus. If it had been, President Obama could have gotten the deal ratified as a treaty. Trump is neither an iconoclast nor a moron for pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal. To get a true sense of the arrogance and condescension behind the Mattis, Tillerson, Cohn tutorial for Trump, consider this statement by a senior official who helped plan the meeting: We were starting to get out on the wrong path [Note: the path the president campaigned successfully on and wanted to take], and we really needed to have a course correction and needed to educate, to teach, to help him understand the reason and basis for a lot of these things. We needed to change how he thinks about this, to course correct. Everybody was on board [Note: thats how it is with conventional wisdom], 100 percent agreed with that sentiment, [but] they were dismayed and in shock when not only did it not have the intended effect, but he dug in his heels and pushed it even further on the spectrum, further solidifying his views. Who is the f*****g moron the president who pushed back during a tutorial on conventional wisdom or anyone who didnt realize that this sort of session would not have its intended effect? US envoy to South Korea scrutinized for 'meddling' in Seoul ties with Pyongyang Iran Press TV Saturday, 18 January 2020 6:58 AM The US ambassador to South Korea has come under scrutiny for his controversial remarks over Seoul's relations with North Korea, calling on the South's government to consult with Washington when pursuing new exchanges with Pyongyang. Ambassador Harry Harris, in the South's capital on Thursday, told international media that it would be better for Seoul to consult Washington to run any plans to engage with Pyongyang, including the possibility of allowing tourists to visit the North. The possibility of allowing visits to the North was brought up by the South's President Moon Jae-In last week in a bid to help ease tensions and encourage Pyongyang to resume talks with the United States. The North has already said it would welcome tourists from South Korea. The remarks by Harris drew harsh criticism from senior members of South Korea's government, who accused him of "meddling in domestic affairs" and even "acting like a governor-general," of the colonial rule over Korea. "It's very inappropriate for the ambassador to make such a mention in the media over remarks by the President of the host nation," said the official on Friday. A spokesman for the South's Unification Ministry declined to comment specifically on the ambassador's remarks, but said that Seoul's "policy with regard to North Korea comes under our sovereignty." Harris has even been criticized in the country over his facial hair, which reminds many South Koreans of officials in the Japanese colonial government that ruled Korea from 1910 to 1945. Harris, who was born in Japan to a Japanese mother and an American father, has been criticized for growing a mustache that reminds many South Koreans of the colonial rule. A ruling party lawmaker compared him with a "governor general" of the Japanese government during the colonial rule. "The mustache has become associated with the latest US image of being disrespectful and even coercive toward Korea," wrote the Korea Times. "Harris often has been ridiculed for not being an ambassador, but a governor general." The ambassador, however, reacted to the public comments about his heritage and his appearance, saying, "My mustache, for some reason, has become a point of some fascination here." "I understand the historical animosity that exists between both of the nations," Harris said referring to long-time tensions between South Korea and Japan. "But I am not the Japanese-American ambassador to Korea I am the American ambassador to Korea," he added. South Korea, a US ally in the region, has been pushing for the resumption of talks between Pyongyang and Washington since the diplomatic process between them hit a deadlock last year. North Korea has been under multiple rounds of harsh sanctions by the United Nations and the US over its nuclear and missile programs. Inter-Korean talks have also stalled amid a deadlock in talks between Washington and Pyongyang. The US has been refusing to offer any sanctions relief to the North even as Pyongyang has taken several unilateral steps as signs of goodwill since 2017, including demolishing a major nuclear test site. There have also been concerns about a rise in tensions recently as North Korea has resumed its missile testing because the US missed a year-end deadline to take action. The North, for months, had been calling on the US to ease the sanctions imposed on the country over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs in order for diplomacy to make sense. Earlier this year, The North's leader Kim Jong-un, eventually called off a two-year moratorium on nuclear and missile tests early this year and warned that the world would soon witness "a new strategic weapon" developed by Pyongyang. Shortly after the declaration, South Korea's president cited a "desperate need" for both Seoul and Pyongyang to improve relations. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address At the Santa Fe Green Chamber of Commerce, we have a simple yet powerful mission: We work to build a sustainable community of local businesses that are environmentally sound, economically viable and socially responsible. Given these guiding principles, it should be no surprise that we support harvesting New Mexicos abundant wind energy resources. By any measure, our state needs economic development opportunities we rank 38th in the country in GDP and 47th in unemployment. Wind energy is here to help! Today, over 2,000 New Mexicans work in wind. Many of these jobs are wind technician positions, which are needed to operate and maintain the over 1,000 wind turbines and counting in our state. In fact, wind technician is Americas fastest-growing job according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and because New Mexico is among the countrys fastest growing wind states, these jobs are growing abundantly within our borders. Wind-tech jobs are well-paying positions located in rural communities, which means young people can find careers that let them support their families without having to leave home. Wind-tech careers are also technical jobs that dont require a four-year degree students can train for them at places like Mesalands Community College in Tucumcari. Wind jobs arent just about wind techs, though. Construction companies, engineering firms and a host of other businesses are needed to bring a new wind farm online. Wind projects also create meaningful economic development opportunities in our states rural communities. Every year, wind projects pay New Mexico landowners hosting turbines over $5 million in lease payments. Thats vital income for ranchers when drought hits or cattle prices fall. New Mexicos wind projects pay $8.5 million in state and local taxes every year, and that number will only increase as we build more in the wind development pipeline. The Broadview project brought 324 MW and $1.5 billion in total economic benefits. Because New Mexico is harvesting the wind, the struggle to attract businesses to our state is also getting a little easier. Facebook recently launched a billion-dollar expansion of its Los Lunas data center, driven partially by the ability to power the facility using New Mexicos affordable, clean wind resources. Eventually, the data center will employ about 300 people, bringing new high-tech jobs to the state that didnt previously exist. We can continue creating jobs and opportunities across rural New Mexico. However, if we want to continue this progress, theres still work to be done. We need to build new transmission lines to carry wind-generated electricity from rural areas to the towns, cities and manufacturing hubs hungry for affordable power. Fortunately, transmission projects open up low-cost energy resources, which brings cheap power to consumers. Added transmission capacity also makes the entire electric grid more reliable and helps ensure the lights stay on for families and businesses. Two recent decisions by the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (PRC) offer encouraging news for maximizing our renewable energy potential. The PRC recently opened the way for both the Clines Corners Wind Farm and the sale of the Western Spirit Transmission line to PNM. Approval of the Western Spirit Transmission line allows the construction to be done by Pattern Development in tandem with 1,000 MW of new wind capacity. Pattern has already constructed New Mexicos largest wind facility and is doubling down on investment in the state. These actions by the PRC provide the opportunity for New Mexico to have an additional 1.4 gigawatts of installed clean renewable energy capacity, enough to power over 1,000,000 homes. Building wind energy in our state empowers local businesses and brings economic opportunity while developing a sustainable, environmentally friendly energy source exactly in line Santa Fe Green Chamber of Commerces mission statement. Heres to more New Mexico wind! BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 20 By Rufiz Hafizoglu Trend: Turkey honors the memory of victims of the January 20 tragedy, a source in the Turkish Presidential Administration told Trend in connection with the 30th anniversary of the January 20 tragedy. Turkey remembers and will never forget the sons and daughters of fraternal Azerbaijan, who sacrificed their lives for the independence of their country, the source noted. Despite that 30 years have passed since the January 20 tragedy, this wound is still fresh in the memory of the Azerbaijani and Turkish peoples. It was also noted that despite that 30 years have passed since this bloody tragedy, its perpetrators are still unpunished. The source added that Turkey will continue to support fraternal Azerbaijan in all areas. January 20 is a day that went down in history of Azerbaijan's fight for independence and territorial integrity. On January 20, 1990, the Soviet army forces entered Baku to suppress the masses protesting the USSR-supported Armenian aggression based on territorial claims against Azerbaijan. The result was an unprecedented tragedy for Azerbaijan. On the night of January 19-20, 1990, 147 people were killed, 744 were injured and 841 were illegally arrested after Soviet troops entered Baku. The Soviet troops also destroyed 200 apartments and houses, as well as private and public property. The January 20 tragedy brought huge losses and death of innocent people. But it also demonstrated the spirit and pride of Azerbaijani nation. Azerbaijanis gained the independence they were dreaming of, and the country achieved sovereignty. Despite that many years have passed since those bloody days, Azerbaijanis remember the dreadful night that took many innocent lives and mark the anniversary of the January 20 tragedy every year. January 20 is immortalized in the memory of Azerbaijani nation as a Day of the Nationwide Sorrow. ---- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu As the climate warms, heat waves are predicted to increase in both frequency and intensity. But that heat, and the threats to public health that come with it, will not be distributed evenly. In cities like Portland, some areas are referred to as heat islands, areas where development has exacerbated the effects of high temperatures. Now, a new study from Portland State University is showing, for the first time, that areas prone to excessive heat are disproportionately populated by low-income communities and people of color due to racist housing policies that stretch back more than a century. Nearly every city included in the study saw higher temperatures in neighborhoods that were historically subject to discriminatory housing policies, with poorer areas seeing averages temperatures about five degrees higher than their wealthier counterparts. And, of the 108 urban areas analyzed, Portland came in with the worst temperature discrepancy between rich and poor, a difference of almost 13 degrees. The patterns of the lowest temperatures in specific neighborhoods of a city do not occur because of circumstance or coincidence, said Vivek Shandas, urban studies and planning professor at PSU and co-author of the study. They are a result of decades of intentional investment in parks, green spaces, trees, transportation and housing policies that provided cooling services, which also coincide with being wealthier and whiter across the country. The study, one of the first to link historic housing policies to threats from climate change, shows what researchers have been saying for years: As extreme weather events like heat waves become more common, poor communities will face disproportionate risks. Decades of racism in housing policy As far back as the early 20th century, housing policies in Portland were explicitly racist. Exclusionary covenants, legal clauses written into property deeds, prohibited people of certain races, specifically African Americans and people of Asian descent, from purchasing homes. In 1919, the Portland Realty Board adopted a rule declaring it unethical to sell a home in a white neighborhood to an African American or Chinese person. The rules stayed in place until 1956. In 1924, Portland voters approved the citys first zoning policies. More than a dozen upscale neighborhoods including familiar names like Irvington, Eastmoreland and Laurelhurst were zoned for single-family homes. The policy, pushed by homeowners under the guise of protecting their property values, kept apartment buildings and multi-family homes, housing options more attainable for low-income residents, in less-desirable areas. After the passage of the National Housing Act in 1934, the federal government asked the Home Owners Loan Corporation to create residential security maps for cities across the country, including Portland. These maps were intended to rate neighborhoods, with A areas being the most desirable and D being least desirable, for investment security purposes, but their effects were much more pernicious. Areas rated D were surrounded with red lines on the maps, and residents who lived there, often low-income minorities, were frequently denied mortgage loans and insurance. In the mid-20th century, Portlands African American communities Albina, Alberta and other parts of Northeast and inner Southeast Portland were all redlined. On an individual level, the practice prevented residents from accessing home loans, denying them the opportunity to build intergenerational wealth by owning property. On a citywide level, redlining, along with zoning restrictions, maintained segregation and made redlined neighborhoods ripe for development of multi-unit buildings and industrial use. By the 1950s, many of these neighborhoods were gutted by so-called urban renewal, as construction of Interstate 5, Emanuel Legacy Hospital and the Veterans Memorial Coliseum saw the forced displacement of entire communities in Northeast Portland. Freeways sliced neighborhoods in half. Warehouses sprung up next to apartment buildings and parking lots. Residential lots were built to the edges, leaving little room for yards or trees. Redlined areas saw more concrete and asphalt but fewer green spaces and parks than their wealthier counterparts. Then the climate began to change. Urban heat islands Shandas began studying areas of excessive heat, known as urban heat islands, more than a decade ago. In 2018, he published his first analysis of Portland temperatures, collecting more than 300,000 data points across the city. He found Portland was home to a number of heat islands, among them: the 82nd Avenue corridor between Interstate 84 and Southeast Foster Road, the inner Southeast industrial area, and the inner Northeast along the I-5 corridor. A map from Vivek Shandas' 2018 analysis shows temperature disparities in Portland. Shandas more recent analysis was simply a matter of taking two maps, of heat islands and of areas that were subject to discriminatory housing practices, and laying them on top of each other. The results were clear. We found that those urban neighborhoods that were denied municipal services and support for home ownership during the mid-20th century now contain the hottest areas in almost every one of the 108 cities we studied, Shandas said. Our concern is that this systemic pattern suggests a woefully negligent planning system that hyper-privileged richer and whiter communities. As climate change brings hotter, more frequent and longer heat waves, the same historically underserved neighborhoods often where lower-income households and communities of color still live will, as a result, face the greatest impact. A map from Vivek Shandas 2020 analysis shows temperature disparities in Portland, overlaid with areas that were subject to redlining, marked by red crosshatch. A few extra degrees might not sound like much, but extreme heat-related illnesses kill more than 600 people every year across the country, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Researchers predict that, as the global climate warms, extreme heat events will increase in both frequency and intensity. Jeremy Hoffman, chief scientist at the Science Museum of Virginia and co-author of the study, said the impacts on residents of these concentrated heat islands are wide-ranging. They are not only experiencing hotter heat waves with their associated health risks but also potentially suffering from higher energy bills, limited access to green spaces that alleviate stress and limited economic mobility at the same time, Hoffman said. Our study is just the first step in identifying a roadmap toward equitable climate resilience by addressing these systemic patterns in our cities. A green path forward If Portland is going to find its way to a cooler future, the path to get there will need to be lined with trees. Curtailing carbon emissions is an essential part of mitigating the impacts of climate change, but the amount of carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere will make some amount of warming inevitable, Shandas said, and adapting to those warmer temperatures will be important, too. Increasing foliage and green space is the best way to combat the pernicious heat islands, at least in the short term, Shandas said. Trees absorb more heat from the sun and create shade. Plants pull moisture from the ground, which in turn evaporates into the air, providing a cooling effect. Portland is looking to make changes to increase greenery in some of the neighborhoods that saw the worst of the discriminatory housing policies, officials said. In December, city councilors voted to adopt changes to city code that would require new development to allocate areas for greenery and put limitations on the size of parking lots. The city council is currently debating a plan that would allow apartments and multiplexes in neighborhoods previously zoned only for single-family homes. Portland is really trying to connect the dots when it comes to institutional racism and some of the outcomes and address these issues moving forward, said Bill Cunningham of the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability. Urban heat islands are a legacy of those past planning decisions. Community groups have been active, too. Plans to widen I-5 in the Rose Quarter have been met with strident opposition from environmental and neighborhood groups. Some have criticized the freeway widening itself, others said plans to cap the freeway must be more extensive and allow for buildings atop them. The group Albina Vision Trust has called for a wholesale neighborhood revival and an expansion of green space in inner North and Northeast Portland. Friends of Trees, a nonprofit that has operated in Oregon and Washington for the past 30 years, has used Shandas heat maps to target areas needing more trees. The group has planted more than 800,000 in three decades, said interim Executive Director Whitney Dorer, and Friends contract with the city requires 70 percent of those plantings go into Portlands low-income communities. For years, researchers have warned that as the climate warms, extreme weather events like heat waves will become more common and poor communities will face bigger threats from these events than their wealthier peers. Shandas findings are what those threats look like on the ground. By recognizing and centering the historical blunders of the planning profession over the past century, such as the exclusionary housing policies of redlining, we stand a better chance for reducing the public health and infrastructure impacts from a warming planet, Shandas said. This is the first step. It's going to take a lot more work on development to undo what weve done in the past. -- Kale Williams kwilliams@oregonian.com 503-294-4048 @sfkale Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Eoghan Murphy, Regina Doherty and Joe McHugh are among the Fine Gael ministers now in danger of losing their seat if the party's dire performance continues. Those in need of a 'Leo lift' are now in danger of becoming 'Leo's losers'. Well over a dozen of Leo Varadkar's seats are in danger if he can't halt the party's slide. 'Yes We Tan' appeared to be the Fine Gael slogan for the opening week of the new decade. The furore over the supposed Black 'n' Tans commemoration for the Royal Irish Constabulary kicked the New Year off in disastrous fashion. It played out at the worst possible time coming just days before the calling of a snap General Election. The Government's comically awful handling of a sensitive issue provided the backdrop to the opinion poll taken by Behaviour and Attitudes for 'The Sunday Times'. Add in the worst A&E trolley crisis ever over the Christmas period and the ongoing housing situation and Fine Gael was caught in the perfect storm. The remarkable Exchequer Returns for 2019 - showing the turnaround in the public finances over the course of the 2010s, a surplus and tax revenue at the highest level ever - didn't get a look in. The poll puts Fine Gael on 20pc, down seven points, and below even the party's 2002 meltdown of 22.5pc. The nadir will be surpassed by a new rock bottom if this is repeated on election day. What it also shows is the shift of support between the two big parties as Fianna Fail went up five points to 32pc. The results illustrate how the Civil War parties are failing to draw major new support as almost half of voters are still looking elsewhere. The poll will put a greater scrutiny on Fianna Fail's offering but also concentrate minds within Fine Gael. The old political adage that there's only one poll that matters and that's on election day certainly applies. However, if this pattern was repeated in the election, a series of Fine Gael ministers and TDs will be in deep trouble, along with severe difficulties in replacing retiring TDs. And it's not just Fianna Fail who would benefit from a Fine Gael collapse either. Here's a snapshot of the seats now in danger, and from where, if Fine Gael ends up anywhere near that poll result: SITTING TDs STRUGGLING Noel Rock Already holding a marginal seat in Dublin North-West, Rock would be decimated by Fianna Fail's Paul McAuliffe. Rock finished behind McAuliffe in first preferences last time out and won by only 700 votes on transfers. Expand Close Noel Rock. Picture: Collins / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Noel Rock. Picture: Collins Eoghan Murphy A swing against a government tends to hit a minister in a volatile south Dublin constituency. And Labour's Kevin Humphreys is based in Murphy's end of the constituency. His colleague Kate O'Connell won't feel safe either. Marcella Corcoran-Kennedy Corcoran-Kennedy's seat in Laois-Offaly would be lost to Fianna Fail's Peter Ormond, also from Birr in Offaly. Expand Close Marcella Corcoran Kennedy. Photo: Tom Burke / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Marcella Corcoran Kennedy. Photo: Tom Burke Pat Deering The party's chances of holding two in Carlow-Kilkenny were already only 50:50. A bad day tips it completely and Deering would lose out on the Carlow side to Fianna Fail's Jennifer Murnane-O'Connor as that party strides towards three seats. Catherine Byrne Dublin South-Central is no Fine Gael stronghold. Fianna Fail's Catherine Ardagh would take out Byrne. Joe McHugh His wife, former Laois-Offaly TD Olwyn Enright, knows how to survive wipeouts after being elected in 2002. Donegal is one of Fine Gael's weakest areas of support and Sinn Fein, Fianna Fail and Independents are all strongly pushing for the five seats. Expand Close Joe McHugh. Photo: Gareth Chaney, Collins / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Joe McHugh. Photo: Gareth Chaney, Collins Paul Kehoe It's already a toss up between Kehoe and fellow minister Michael D'Arcy to see who is in greater danger in Wexford. Kehoe is deemed to be in more peril on a bad Fine Gael day. But a really good day for Fianna Fail means new TD Malcolm Byrne wins Gorey and D'Arcy could lose out. The debacle of Verona Murphy's by-election performance and being booted off the ticket has left the party in disarray. Expand Close Paul Kehoe. Photo: Tom Burke / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Paul Kehoe. Photo: Tom Burke Joe Carey A resurgent Fianna Fail would easily take two seats in Clare with Timmy Dooley and Cathal Crowe. Fine Gael just wouldn't have enough votes to hold two and Joe Carey would be susceptible to an Independent. Hildegarde Naughton Fine Gael minister Sean Kyne looks the stronger with Connemara on his back, leaving Naughton in jeopardy in Galway West. Fianna Fail's Ollie Crowe and the Green Party's Pauline O'Reilly would be in contention to replace her. Bernard Durkan One of the great survivors of the 2002 meltdown, Durkan is now in the firing line in Kildare North from the Green Party's Vincent P Martin and Labour's Emmett Stagg. Andrew Doyle Alongside Simon Harris, Doyle, the junior minister, provides a well-balanced ticket in Wicklow. But the party would struggle to share the vote evenly between Harris in the north and Doyle in the west. Regina Doherty With only one seat on offer in Meath East, Doherty is more vulnerable to Fianna Fail's Deirdre Geraghty-Smith, who shares her base of Ratoath. Her colleague Helen McEntee would also have greater old Fine Gael loyalty to call upon. However, it would have to be a really bad day as this is Fine Gael's best spot after Mayo. The old Meath constituency was the only place to return two Fine Gael TDs in 2002. Expand Close Regina Doherty. Photo: Douglas OConnor / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Regina Doherty. Photo: Douglas OConnor RETIRING TDs NOT REPLACED Fine Gael will also be up the creek in constituencies where sitting TDs are retiring. There are no cases where the party ticket is stronger with the departures. Tony McLoughlin's old seat A problem area for Fine Gael with Frank Feighan coming in from Roscommon and Thomas Walsh added as a late addition. Independent Marian Harkin senses a weakness. Michael Noonan's old seat In Limerick City, Kieran O'Donnell and Maria Byrne should have enough but it's by no means guaranteed. Expand Close Michael Noonan. Photo: Doug OConnor / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Michael Noonan. Photo: Doug OConnor John Deasy's old seat Damien Geoghegan and John Cummins are untested with Fianna Fail's Eddie Mulligan circling in Waterford. Jim Daly's old seat Having no Fine Gael seat in Cork South-West would have Michael Collins turning in his grave. One to watch though. Enda Kenny's old seat Fine Gael not winning a seat in Castlebar is surely unthinkable. It would require an absolute collapse in the vote for Alan Dillon not to replace him. Expand Close Former Taoiseach Enda Kenny / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Former Taoiseach Enda Kenny The Dun Laoghaire seat Fine Gael has Sean Barrett retiring and Maria Bailey being dropped. The hopes of holding a seat would be non-existent. Mary Mitchell-O'Connor would be lucky to hold on with Fianna Fail, the Green Party and Solidarity-People Before Profit. The Cork North-Central seat Dara Murphy's infamous departure left a bitter taste. GAINS GONE Forget about making gains in Cavan-Monaghan, Cork South-Central, Louth, Laois-Offaly, Dublin Rathdown and Longford-Westmeath. The Teachers Union of Ireland will take strike action on Tuesday, February 4 in a long-running dispute over pay discrimination. The Union nationality represents some 19,000 Teachers, Lecturers and Researchers in second-level schools, further education, and Institutes of Technology, including locally Dundalk Institute of Technology and OFiaich College. The dispute has been ongoing since 2010 when the Government unilaterally introduced a reduced pay scale which saw new educators earning 14% less than pre 2011 recruits. Unions opposed the reduced pay scale, highlighting it equated to a pay cut in excess of 50,000 over the first 10 years of a new recruits career. The controversial reduced pay scale has been the number one topic of discussion at the Teacher Unions Conferences since its introduction, with younger teachers annually highlighting the hardship imposed on them due to precarious employment and reduced wages. The TUI and other teaching Unions have consistently called upon the Government to restore all post 2010 recruits to the agreed pay scale. However, despite promises of action the Government have not restored equal pay. In October 2019, 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 the issue, and the Union announced in November that it would take strike action in February unless the matter was resolved. When announcing the upcoming strike action TUI President Seamus Lahart stated Regrettably, the commitment made by Minister McHugh last April that the issue of pay inequality would finally be addressed has not been honoured. 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. Prolonged drought and other effects of climate change are pushing Australia's unique platypus population towards extinction, scientists warned in a study published Monday. The river-dwelling animal has already disappeared from up to 40 percent of its historical range on Australia's east coast due to the drought, land clearing, pollution and building of dams, which fragment their habitat, the researchers said. They predicted that if the current threats persist, platypus numbers will fall another 47-66 percent over the next 50 years. If projections about worsening climate change are taken into account, the numbers of the duck-billed, egg-laying mammal could plummet up to 73 percent by 2070, they wrote. The platypus is listed as "near threatened" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. But the scientists from the University of New South Wales' Centre for Ecosystem Science said damage to river systems caused by years of little rainfall and high temperatures had worsened prospects for the animal. ?These dangers further expose the platypus to even worse local extinctions, with no capacity to repopulate areas," said Gilad Bino, lead author of the study. The scientists said there is an "urgent need" for a national risk assessment to determine if the platypus should be downgraded to "vulnerable" status and to lay out conservation steps "to minimise any risk of extinction?. The study is the first across all platypus habitat zones to establish a so-called "metapopulation" model while also projecting the impacts of climate change on the species going forward. The survey estimated the total platypus population had fallen by 50 percent since European settlement of the continent two centuries ago. An earlier study published in November 2018 estimated the population had fallen by 30 percent over that period, to around 200,000. "Under predicted climate change, the losses forecast were far greater because of increases in extreme drought frequencies and duration, such as the current dry spell," Bino said of the latest report. The new study comes as unprecedented bushfires ravage vast areas of eastern Australia, fuelled by the drought and record-high temperatures. The platypus, which along with four species of echidna are the only mammals that lay eggs, is one of the world's strangest animals, with the bill of a duck, tail of a beaver, otter-like feet and a venomous spur on its hind leg. The platypus is one of the world's strangest animals Bushfires are threatening wildlife across Australia I would like to thank The Beaumont Enterprise for the article about George Lopez show coming to Beaumont. That hit the nail on the head. Im glad to see you allowed someone to say that it was only in jest. Hes a comedian and thats what they do. The president is supposed to be for all Americans. Yet he has used Hispanics as his whipping boy since he came on the scene. He paints all Hispanics with the same brush. If Lopez said something against Trump, it was mild compared to what Trump says at his rallies. If comedians were censored, they wouldnt be as funny. They reflect sentiments of a majority. If anyone watches Saturday Night Live, you can see what Im talking about. To stifle George Lopez would only perpetuate the redneck stigma that has a stronghold on the South. I know Im sticking my neck out by saying this. I dont hear enough protest against hateful, bigoted rhetoric coming from Washington. We love you George! Robert Rodriguez, Winnie Texas is changing In the 1970s, the number of people moving to the state from other states (domestic migration) was 58.9 percent of the population. According to the 1980 census, Texas population was 14.75 million, approximately, 8.69 million people domestically migrated here. Since then, there has been a steady increase of domestic migration. Recent studies indicate that the population grows by 1,000 people a day, according to State Demographer Lloyd Potter. About 500 of those people are people domestically migrating here. From April 1, 2010 to June 1, 2016, it is estimated that 866,933 people domestically migrated here and 508,843 people internationally migrated here. These new migrants bring their own cultures with them and dont necessarily embrace the Texan culture. According to the 2012 census, 2.5 million people in Texas were born in Mexico. In 2018, it is estimated that 11.4 million Hispanics live here. Hispanics are expected to be the majority population by 2022. They also bring their own culture. The good news is that native Texans are not moving out of the state. The bad news is that the native Texan culture has become extremely diluted. The native Texan has become a minority. Deb Joffrion, Groves Dems need major changes It should be obvious to Democratic voters by now that their party cares nothing about them or this country. The Democratic Party is godless, soulless and devoid of character or conscience. It condones abortion and every kind of immorality. The vile hatred of the House Democrats shows in the countenance on their faces. Republican voters and now millions of Democratic voters see this sham impeachment hoax for what it was, a political coup. We will remember in November 2020. I hope House Democrats have their resumes updated. They are not fit to serve. The whole Democratic Party should be impeached for this travesty against our country. This impeachment farce was unfair from the beginning. They made up the rules as they progressed forward. And now they are crying foul, saying they dont think the Senate trial will be fair. Really? Democrats say no one is above the law. They lie. For decades they have let Bill and Hillary Clinton be above the law. Candy Hartzog, Beaumont The man who designed Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman's illicit system of cross-border drug tunnels has been was extradited from Mexico to the United States. The Mexican Attorney General's office announced Sunday it had finally handed over Jose Sanchez Villalobos to federal U.S. officials after capturing him in January 2012. Sanchez Villalobos was dubbed 'The Lord of the Tunnels' for his role in constructing the passageways which helped the Sinaloa Cartel smuggle drugs into the United States. He was indicted by a federal California court in October 2012 and charged with building, financing and operating two secret underground tunnels along the Mexico-U.S. border. Investigators say he supervised the cartel's shipment of marijuana to the Tijuana area. The drugs were then trafficked to the United States across the two tunnels. Jose 'The Lord of the Tunnels' Sanchez Villalobos (pictured) was extradited from Mexico to the United States over the weekend. Sanchez Villalobos is accused by a federal California court of building and managing two underground tunnels that were used by El Chapo's organization to ferry drugs across the Mexico-United States border Investigators check one of the two tunnels that were discovered in November 2010 and November 2011 and connected Tijuana, Mexico, and San Diego, California U.S. federal agents raided two separate warehouses in San Diego, California, in November 2010 and November 2011. The first bust netted 35,350 pounds of marijuana while the second investigation led agents to 51,084 pounds. The drugs were smuggled across two underground tunnels built and operated by Jose 'The Lord of the Tunnels' Sanchez Villalobos, then an associate of El Chapo Federal agents from the HSI, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Border Patrol unearthed the first tunnel during a Thanksgiving 2010 raid that netted 35,350 pounds of marijuana. The 612-yard illicit passageway included rail tracks that linked a warehouse in San Diego's Otay Mesa industrial park with one in Tijuana, Mexico. The elaborate tunnel had an entrance in Mexico that was accessible through a hydraulically-controlled steel door and an elevator hidden under the warehouse floor. The second tunnel - 600 yards in length - was discovered in the Otay Mesa area in November 2011. Agents seized 51,084 pounds of marijuana. Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman (center) also hired Jose 'The Lord of the Tunnels' Sanchez Villalobos to build underground tunnels at his homes in Mexico Each of the tunnels that were discovered by authorities were at least 600 yards long Despite only having an elementary school education, Sanchez Villalobos was hired by El Chapo to handle the cartel's finances. The Lord of the Tunnels was also in charge of building tunnels at El Chapo's homes in Mexico, which were crucial in allowing him to evade capture on numerous occasions. Sanchez Villalobos is charged with 'nine counts of conspiracy to distribute and import marijuana and four counts of building, financing and using the tunnels.' All but one of the counts carry a maximum sentence of life in jail. The small business sector has warned employers are struggling to retain and pay staff in bushfire affected areas despite federal government relief packages rolling out. "Our big issue is not us, it's our staff. We have 24 staff and [if they can't work] they have no income," owner of Big 4 Bright Holiday Park Denis Payton said. The view at the Big 4 caravan park in Bright, which has lost around 90 per cent of its usual holiday peak traffic due to fire conditions. Mr Payton has seen a number of fire seasons in the Victorian Alpine tourist town. This Christmas and New Year period posed a particular challenge, with the business deciding to voluntarily evacuate visitors after a fire at nearby Mount Buffalo intensified on December 28. The Big 4 park has now reopened and Mr Payton will consider applying for elements of the the government's extended relief package for small businesses announced on Monday, which includes concessional loans of up to $500,000 and top up grants for affected businesses. 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. More than 4,000 parolees and others under state supervision are being fitted with new ankle monitors this year to accommodate a technology change. Verizon is upgrading its network from 3G to 4G, meaning the states current 3G-enabled ankle monitors wont work, according to Michigan Department of Corrections Public Information Officer Chris Gautz. Because of this change, the state is in the process of upgrading to 4G-enabled tethers at a projected cost of nearly $4.6 million. Ankle monitors allow MDOC to keep track of people who wear them, including to see if theyre violating any terms of their release. Those terms may require them to be at home by a certain hour, for instance, or stay away from sensitive areas. People under that extra layer of supervision can include sex offenders, domestic abusers and drunken drivers, Gautz said. Gautz said the new tethers arrived in early January, and so far about 16 percent of those being monitored have had their devices swapped out. The replacement process is expected to take about 15 minutes for each of the 4,050 people currently wearing ankle monitors. Gautz expects it will be completed within 45 days. It involves cutting the old device off, changing some computer inputs, putting the new device on, going outside to activate it and a final check-in to make sure the computer is properly registering it. The new monitors come with some advantages, said Andy Zeeman, a lead agent with MDOC. They expect better connections and new technology that prevents somebody from shielding, or tampering with the monitor to obscure their true movements. Related: $500-a-month cost for tethers a hardship for parolees, probationers No swimming, constant monitoring and a big sock. What life on a tether is really like Michigan is monitoring 6,100 people and other key findings of a look at the states tether program When tethered convicts cut and run, police face dangerous chase Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 17:37:20|Editor: mingmei Video Player Close NEW DELHI, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed school students from across the country on Monday ahead of the Annual Examinations which begin next month. The prime minister counseled the school students how to stay stress-free and prepare for the forthcoming examinations in the best possible manner. In the program Pareeksha Pe Charcha (Discussion on Examinations) which was telecast live, Modi also appealed to the parents neither to pressurise their children to score top grades in the exams, nor to force them to pick certain careers, rather give them a free hand to choose their respective career options. This was the sixth consecutive such session addressed by Modi in the past six years. On the occasion, Modi also appealed to the school students not to get addicted to the modern day tech-gadgets, like mobile phones, tabs and video games as addiction to such gadgets negatively affected their normal life. The founder of Extinction Rebellion wants those responsible for climate change to face Nuremberg-style trials. Roger Hallam also called for a World War Two mobilisation of society, with rationing and the confiscation of private property. Extinction Rebellion was formed as a protest group 14 months ago and has twice paralysed transport in London with demonstrations. Roger Hallam (pictured) also called for a World War Two mobilisation of society, with rationing and the confiscation of private property Extinction Rebellion was formed as a protest group 14 months ago and has twice paralysed transport in London with demonstrations Asked how those responsible for climate change should be dealt with, he told The Times: The question will be whos culpable, in the same way [as] with the Nazis. 'Was it just the top Nazis or was it the small guys? He added that maybe [we] should put a bullet in the head as punishment. His remarks come days after Counter Terrorism Policing South East apologised for including Extinction Rebellion in a guide of dangerous groups. Protesters hold a banner reading 'Climate Emergency' at a protest Mr Hallam, 53, a sociologist and former organic farmer from Carmarthenshire, south-west Wales, has been involved in splinter groups that took part in events that Extinction Rebellion did not sanction, such as a plan to disrupt Heathrow airport with drones. In May, Mr Hallam was cleared of all charges relating to protests at Kings College London when Divest from oil and gas was spray-painted on the walls. Acting President Dr Constantino Chiwenga this afternoon received a Boeing 777 aircraft acquired by Government from Malaysia. The aircraft which was handed over to Air Zimbabwe landed at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport at 12:30PM. Acting President Chiwenga said the purchase of the long haul plane showed Governments commitment to revive the countrys airline. JINAN, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- The port city of Qingdao, eastern China's Shandong Province, saw robust trade in 2019, according to an annual session of the provincial people's congress Sunday. It is estimated that Qingdao's GDP rose about 6.5 percent and the import and export of commodity grew about 11 percent in 2019. The construction of the demonstration zone for local economic and trade cooperation with the SCO was accelerated, with 38 construction projects launched and a total investment of 22.3 billion yuan (3.25 billion U.S. dollars). Its total trade volume with member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) grew 15.4 percent year on year. In 2019, Qingdao Port's cargo throughput exceeded 600 million tonnes, and its container throughput surpassed 21 million standard containers. The SCO was established in 2001 by China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan joined as full members in 2017. Since Qingdao hosted the SCO summit in June 2018, trade between Shandong and SCO countries has grown rapidly. Were finding out about it now and the BBC women are furious. Pay discrimination is about even more than the money, its a daily insult to women at work. Its about management airily concluding that men are worth more. They arent! Its only when that pay difference is revealed, and when brave women take up the cudgels, that its exposed for the disgrace that it is. I hope that the BBC is not going to seek revenge on Samira by some back-door freeze-out. I will not be the only one who will be watching like a hawk. Samira, weve got your back! But why did the BBC fight these cases? They were in the wrong by discriminating and then dug themselves further into disrepute by marshalling their massive, publicly funded legal resources in an attempt to squash the women who were challenging them. And Samiras case is not the first time the courts have slapped down the BBC on unequal pay. The BBCs former China editor, the brilliant Carrie Gracie had to take her case to court. All this is deeply depressing to the many legions, of whom I am one, who are passionate believers in the vital role of the BBC for its news reporting, for its centrality to our cultural life and for the fact that David Attenborough is saving the planet. Unlike purely commercial broadcasters who just need to make a profit, the BBC must maintain the support of the public. People who are paying the license fee, many of whom struggle to make ends meet feel entitled to scrutinise whats going on there. So the BBC needs to get itself sorted right now and that means not just tackling unequal pay but also ending excessive pay particularly at the top of management. How on earth did Lord Hall think that he could justify making the license fee payers give him 400,000 a year? The new DG must not take this megapay, or even the love of Strictly might not be enough to save the BBC from its enemies whipping up public anger about pay excess at the top. There are loud voices in government who are totally opposed to the very notion of a public service broadcaster and who want to abolish the licence fee which is vital to its independence. Three men have been killed in an apparent mass stabbing in northeast London. Metropolitan Police officers were called to a disturbance in Elmstead Road, Ilford, at 7.38pm on Sunday, where they found the three victims. All three were pronounced dead where they lay. The men are believed to have been in their 20s and 30s. Chief Superintendent Steve Clayman said: While enquiries into this tragic incident are at an early stage, this is likely to be a triple homicide investigation. I must retain an open mind as to any motive as we are in the early stages of establishing the full circumstances. The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims Show all 18 1 /18 The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims Purple ribbons are seen tied to a tree and fence at a park near to where 17-year-old Jodie Chesney was stabbed to death in an attack with no obvious motive, in the Harold Hill area of London. Chesney was stabbed in an unprovoked attack while out with friends on March 1, 2019. Four males aged 16, 17, 19 and 20 have been charged with her murder which all four deny. In honour of her favourite colour, purple ribbons were tied to a railing, alongside a message also written in purple: "Choose life, drop the knife! RIP Jodie. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims Floral tributes and bottles of alcohol are seen outside the house where 20-year-old Tyrelle Burke was stabbed to death, in the Wythenshawe area of Manchester. Burke was stabbed to death on April 5, outside his home by a friend following a night out. 18-year-old Denver Walton was charged with his murder. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims A woman walks past floral tributes near to where 29-year-old Joshua White was stabbed to death, in the Hackney area of London. Joshua White died after he was stabbed through the heart in broad daylight on April 26. Two teenagers have been charged with his murder, and police are attempting to extradite an 18-year-old from Ireland in relation to the attack. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims Floral tributes and photographs are left at the spot where 17-year-old Yousef Makki was stabbed to death, in Hale Barns. Makki was stabbed to death on March 2 during a row with another boy. A 17-year-old boy was cleared of his murder by a jury at Manchester Crown Court on July 12. Makki's family have protested against the verdict. Photography by Reuters The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims Floral tributes and packets of crisps and a chocolate bar are tied to a fence where 21-year-old James Halewood was stabbed to death, in the Kirkby area of Liverpool. Halewood was stabbed to death in broad daylight outside a parade of shops at lunchtime on July 7. Two men aged 26 and 23 have been arrested in connection with his death. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims Graffiti on a fence of an industrial unit near to where 18-year-old Hazrat Umar was killed, in the Bordesley Green area of Birmingham. Umar was killed after being stabbed 15 times in an unprovoked attack on February 25, on his way to the gym. Adam Muhammad, 17, a student at the same college, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life imprisonment for his murder. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims Floral tributes are seen tied to a pedestrian crossing near to where 40-year-old Gavin Garraway was stabbed to death, in the Clapham area of London. Garroway was stabbed to death through the window of his car on March 29. Zion Chiata, 18, has been charged with his murder. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims Floral tributes and teddy bears are seen outside a house where 26-year-old Kelly-Mary Fauvrelle and her unborn baby where stabbed to death, in the Croydon area of London. Fauvrelle was stabbed to death in the bedroom of her home in the early hours of June 29. Her baby boy, Riley, was delivered but also died four days later. Ex-partner Aaron McKenzie has been charged with her murder and causing the death of the baby. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims Flowers are tied to the entrance of Sara Park near to where 16-year-old Abdullah Muhammad was killed in the Small Heath area of Birmingham. Abdullah died after suffering stab wounds to the chest and back in the evening of February 20. Three males aged 17, 19 and 20 have been charged in connection with his murder. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims The remains of candles and tributes are seen near to where 19-year-old Kamali Gabbidon-Lynck was stabbed to death, in the Wood Green area of London. Gabbidon-Lynck died after he was stabbed by a gang on bicycles on February 22, in an incident which left another man suffering from knife and gunshot wounds. Three men aged 18, 19 and 20 have been charged with murder, attempted murder and robbery. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims A woman pushes a pram past a row of houses where 33-year-old Charlotte Huggins was stabbed to death, in south London. Huggins was the first stabbing victim of 2019, stabbed in the back at her home in the early hours of New Year's Day. Her ex-boyfriend Michael Rolle was found guilty of her murder and jailed for life. He stabbed Huggins after she celebrated New Year's eve with a male friend. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims Floral tributes are left at the spot where 18-year-old Cheyon Evans was stabbed to death, in the Wandsworth area of London. Evans died from a stab wound to the chest after being attacked by a group of youths in broad daylight on June 14. Three males aged 18, 18 and 17 have been charged with his murder. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims Lanfrey Place is where 17-year-old Ayub Hassan died after suffering multiple stab wounds in the street, in the West Kensington area of London. Hassan was killed after his attack on March 7. A 15-year-old boy has been charged with his murder. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims Floral tributes are left near to where 21-year-old Lewis Bagshaw was stabbed to death, in the Southey area of Sheffield. Bagshaw collapsed and died on July 21, when seeking help from residents of Piper Crescent after suffering stab wounds. Police investigations into his death are ongoing. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims Flowers and toys are left at the scene where 19-year-old Lejean Richards was stabbed to death, in the Battersea area of London. Richards was attacked and fatally stabbed on February 5. Roy Reyes-Nieves, 23, and Roger Reyes-Nieves, 18, have been charges with his murder. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims A man walks past floral tributes left near to where 24-year-old Joe O'Brien died after being stabbed in a fight outside a pub, in Manchester. O'Brien died following a fight outside the Royal Oak pub on April 21. Momodou Jallow, 21, has been charged with his murder. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims Flowers are seen near to where 29-year-old Nathaniel Armstrong was stabbed to death, in the Fulham area of London. Armstrong was stabbed to death during an altercation on March 16. Murder charges against a 29-year-old male were dropped after prosecutors said there was no realistic prospect of conviction. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims A police officer stands outside a row of terraced houses where 33-year-old nurse Saima Riaz was stabbed to death, in Rochdale. Riaz, a mother of three, was found on April 23. 36-year-old Mohammed Abid Choudhry has been charged with her murder. Reuters/Phil Noble The London Ambulance Service said paramedics had received a report of a stabbing outside of Seven Kings station. A spokesperson said: We sent a number of resources including three ambulances, three medics in response cars, two critical care paramedics, two incident response officers and our hazardous areas response team. We also dispatched Londons air ambulance. Sadly, despite the efforts of medics, three males were pronounced dead at the scene. No arrests have yet been made. London Mayor Sadiq Khan tweeted that extra police enforcement powers have been authorised for the whole of the borough of Redbridge until 8am on Monday. The dead men are yet to be formally identified, and officers are working on informing their families. Post-mortem examinations have also yet to be arranged. Last week The Independent reported how knife crime had hit its highest level in a decade, with one-fifth of crimes involving blades more than 4,500 committed by children. Additional reporting by Press Association Most tourists often fall into various types of legal problems when they visit Vegas. Getting busted in Vegas is easy, especially if you are not conversant with different laws in Nevada. These laws may cover various areas such as driving, walking, gambling, drinking, drug abuse and gun laws. This article will highlight the different ways of how not to get busted in Vegas. Driving at high speed of over 35 mph can get you pinched in Vegas. You should check and reduce your speed when you hit New York. You should observe the traffic signs because turning from a wrong lane can attract a fine of $395. Using a cell phone while driving is a traffic offense in Vegas. Your drivers license should be valid. In case you borrow a car, ensure that the insurance is up to date. You should not carry glass containers while walking on the strip. Ensure that you also observe silence when walking down Fremont Street between 1100Hrs and 0700Hrs. Remember that hula hoops are also not allowed on that street. Although Vegas is a pleasant town for walking, you can be fined $160 if found jaywalking. Vegas has beautiful parks and lakes. However, you should note that it is illegal to operate a boat while under the influence of alcohol. Children who are not over 14 years are not permitted to drive your boat. Driving over the recommended limit in a federal park can attract a federal offense. Disperse camping is allowed in Vegas. The most popular location for this camping is at the Spring Mountain. Please understand that smoking marijuana in a hotel room is an offense. You can be charged not less than $2,000 if caught smoking. You can also be arrested if you are drunk and hostile in public. You should also not serve alcohol to anyone below 21 years. You can be charged a fine of $1000 and 7 months in jail for this offense. Understand that you are also not allowed to drink alcohol within 1000 feet of a Church. To those who love gambling, it is a felony to cheat other players or the casino. When playing roulette, it is an offense to bet late. You can be fined $10000 or spend up to 6 years in jail. Betting rules in Vegas are stringent. It is a felony to solicit a prostitute or a stripper in Vegas. The penalties range from $1000 and 7 months in jail. It is also illegal to indulge in sexual activities in strip clubs. The laws in Vegas also limits how patrons and dancers interact. It is essential to be in your best behavior when you are in a strip club. Vegas has strict gun laws. Understand that you can only carry a weapon if you have the necessary permit. Nevada recognizes licenses from other states. You are not allowed to carry a gun in military bases, post offices, airports and hoover dams. Illegal hunting is an offense and you can be fined $1000. There you have it, how to visit Vegas and not get in trouble with the law in the process. Enjoy your visit and good luck. The Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to the Centre over a petition challenging the validity of the National Commission for Minorities Act of 1992. The petition claimed that the government is spending Rs 4,800 crore towards 'imparting skills to members of minority communities and promoting their culture'. The Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to the Centre over a petition challenging the constitutional validity of the National Commission for Minorities Act of 1992. The petition claimed that the government is spending Rs 4,800 crore towards "imparting skills to members of minority communities and promoting their culture". The petition also challenged the "extension of welfare schemes to religious minorities using taxpayer money", Bar and Bench reported. The petition filed by "followers" of the Sanatan Vedic Dharam, which reportedly alleged that the Act is a violation of the right to equality, will be heard by the apex court in March, according to ANI. The petition contended that members of the Hindu community are being "unconstitutionally deprived" of the welfare provisions made for religious minorities who are from the same socio-economic backgrounds. The petitioners said that the schemes were a violation of Articles 14, 15, and 27. "The Parliament cannot make any law for the benefit of any religion maybe, for minority religious groups. Special benefit and advantage within the sweep of Article 15(4) can be provided only to those communities who are found socially and educationally backward classes of citizens by a Commission established under Article 340 of the Constitution of India. From tax payer money, no religion or religious groups can be promoted and therefore, no Minority Commission can be created to achieve the purposes enumerated in the Act," the petition was quoted as saying by The Hindu. "The petitioners and other members of Hindu community are suffering because they have been born in majority community," the petition further stated. The plea, which was taken up by a bench led by Justice Rohinton Nariman, challenged the validity of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM). With inputs from agencies When old friendships fall apart, and new relationships are forged, they also come with a need to evolve a new vocabulary and fresh terms of engagement. But old habits die hard. This truth may be dawning on the Shiv Sena, which has pulled the curtains on its three-decade-old alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), to join hands with the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The three parties are unlikely allies, with few political agendas in common, united by only the need to gain power in Maharashtra, and to keep the BJP away from it. The trio has their own political capital to protect, and a target constituency to cater to. When these agendas clash, this will lead to tension in the fledging Maha Vikas Aghadi government led by Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray. However, surprisingly for a politician who has risen from the profession, it has been Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut, who has been dominating the media discourse for his comments, which have fallen foul of the Congress. Raut, who began his journalistic career as a crime reporter with a popular Marathi weekly Lokprabha, spoke at a function organised by a media group about how former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi met the late underworld don Karim Lala. Lala, who was the leader of the Pathans in Mumbai who were into money-lending and crime, led his own syndicate. It was, however, taken head-on and crushed by a local Konkani Muslim Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar now a dreaded international terrorist. Rauts comments about Indira Gandhi meeting Lala at his office at Pydhonie in South Mumbai fell foul of the Congress. The party has always projected the former Premier as a strong leader who had taken on Pakistan and vivisected the country to create Bangladesh. This came at a time when the Congress is being projected as being soft on issues like crime, terrorism and issues of national security by the BJP, which relies on a hyper-nationalist narrative. With senior Congress leaders taking umbrage, Raut had to beat a hasty retreat, but not before stating that those objecting to his comments knew little about the life and times and personality of the former Prime Minister. Raut claimed Indira Gandhi met Lala, not as he was an underworld don but because the strapping Pathan was the leader of the Pashtoon community, having begun as a volunteer of Frontier Gandhi Khan Abdul Gaffar Khans Khudai Khidmatgar. Interestingly, despite his history of making stinging, intemperate statements, Raut, who combines the outspokenness of a Shiv Sainik and the impulse of an old-school crime reporter, has been forced to retract very rarely. Raut, who hails from Choundi village near Alibag in Raigad district near Mumbai, started working in the circulation and marketing department of the Indian Express group. He later graduated to doing crime stories for its weekly Lokprabha. Old timers still recall how Raut had his ears to the ground, producing many cover stories on the dreaded Mumbai mafia and organised crime syndicates. In 1989, the Shiv Sena launched the Marathi daily Saamana, which was edited by party chief Bal Thackeray, with senior journalist Ashok Padbidri, who had socialist inclinations, as the executive editor. In 1992, Raut was drafted in as the executive editor of the newspaper, breaking the unwritten rule in Marathi journalism that only political reporters, and of late, desk hands, can rise to a senior editorial position. He is also a three-term Rajya Sabha MP. While the Shiv Sena has a bristling relationship with the media, it also sent the highest number of journalists to Parliament, including names like Narayan Athavale, Pritish Nandy, Bharatkumar Raut and Sanjay Raut. Raut had another achievement of sorts. He was among the few to be close to Shrikant Thackeray, the younger brother of the Shiv Sena supremo, and a superbly talented cartoonist, music composer and amateur homeopath. Shrikant, who was known for being strict with his own rules of engagement, evoked respect tinged with fear due to his outspoken and forthright nature. However, Raut was close enough to Shrikant to call him Pappa. It may have been this emotional chord with Shrikant and his son Raj which ensured that Raut continued to be friends with Raj, who was seen as uncle Bals political heir, but was gradually edged out by cousin Uddhav in the Senas politics. In 2005, when Raj quit the Shiv Sena (he formed his Maharashtra Navnirman Sena the next year), his resignation letter is said to been drafted by Raut, something that Bal Thackeray realised immediately after he had a look at it. As the executive editor of Saamana, Raut was seen as the Shiv Sena chiefs mirror image, with his editorials being considered the voice of the party chief. The Sena patriarch was fond of the aggressive Raut, who would later make a biopic on his party boss, and the latter is said to have used this proximity against his rivals in the Shiv Sena. However, despite their strident tone, be it against the BJP or even the own partys government in Maharashtra between 1995-1999 and 2014-2014, it was only twice that Rauts opinions were disowned. In the 2009 assembly elections, the Raj Thackeray-led MNS won 13 assembly seats leading to the defeat of the Shiv Sena and BJP in several places in Mumbai and neighbouring areas. An editorial in Saamana charged that the Marathi Manoos in Mumbai had stabbed the Shiv Sena in the back, leading to a hue and cry. In a party meeting, Bal Thackeray denied writing this and Raut had to face the brunt. On May 1, 2014, soon after polling for the Lok Sabha elections was completed, a Saamana editorial attacked Gujaratis in Mumbai for not standing by the cause of the city and state despite making their fortune here. The Shiv Sena leadership was forced to initiate damage control and make amends. Subsequently, Raut was divested of his charge as the party spokesperson, though he continued speaking to the media and voicing his opinions. Between 2014 and 2019, Raut, whose antipathy towards the BJP and association with NCP chief Sharad Pawar was well-known (Pawar and Raut had also explored chances of a NCP- Sena alliance in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls), continued to attack the BJP. Though senior BJP leaders and then chief minister Devendra Fadnavis claimed they were unperturbed and did not read Saamana, the criticism did hurt, as some of them admitted in public. Like in 2014, when Rauts comments about Narendra Modi and then Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs sari and shawl diplomacy had reportedly led to the BJP leadership reading out the riot act to their Shiv Sena counterparts. The jibe referred to Modi gifting a shawl to Sharifs mother and the latter reciprocating by sending a sari for Modis mother. After the Maharashtra assembly elections, Raut, who was a votary of the go it alone line within the Shiv Sena, emerged as the man of the match by successfully ensuring the party tied up with the Congress and NCP for power. However, in line with the Sena leaderships decision to prevent any party leader from growing beyond a point, Rauts brother Sunil, a two-term MLA. was denied a ministerial berth. With the new alliance falling into place, Raut and the Sena too tried to change their vocabulary. Raut, who once claimed there were one crore illegal Bangladeshi immigrants staying in Mumbai and surrounding areas, and sought a National Register of Citizens exercise in the state, discovered the pitfalls of the NRC and the Citizenship Amendment Act. However, this change, which is necessitated by the unlikely three-party alliance, is subject to inherent restrictions as the Shiv Sena cannot antagonise its core constituency beyond a point. For example, when former Congress president Rahul Gandhi attacked Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Raut and the party had to defend the Hindutva icon. Rauts statements against former Satara royal and former three-term Lok Sabha MP Udayanraje Bhosale, who shifted to the BJP from the NCP and lost the subsequent by-elections, have also led to anger. Raut questioned Udayanrajes claims of being a descendant of 17th century warrior-king Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, who has a talismanic hold over the masses for his concept of a welfare state. Angered, Hindutva groups like Shivaprathisthan Hindustan led by the controversial nonagenarian Sambhajirao Bhide Guruji, called for a bandh in parts of Maharashtra. On Saturday, even as the controversy over his comments was yet to settle, Raut again set the cat among the pigeons by reiterating his demand for a Bharat Ratna for Savarkar. Raut attacked former chief minister and senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan, and said those who opposed this honour for Savarkar, needed to be incarcerated for two days at the Cellular Jail in the Andamans, where Savarkar had served time. Chavan had opposed the demand for Savarkar to be given Indias highest civilian honour. After Rauts attack, the Maharashtra Congress retorted that Savarkar was not the only one to serve time in brutal conditions in the jail. As the Maha Vikas Aghadi government nears the end of its honeymoon period and settles into office, inconsistencies and differences in the alliance are coming to the fore. And the public image of this rainbow alliance will depend on how leaders across these political formations continue to temper their public statements, while keeping a lid on these differences. But, one thing is evident. The Shiv Sena, which may have gained the chief ministers post, but lost vital portfolios like home and finance in the bargain, has much at stake. Its future may depend on how these contradictions are managed. (Dhaval Kulkarni is a journalist and author of the book The Cousins Thackeray: Uddhav, Raj and the shadow of their Senas, which is the first political biography of Uddhav and Raj Thackeray. Views are personal) Kolkata, Jan 20 : Continuing the abusive attack on intellectuals who are protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, a BJP leader in West Bengal on Monday called the protesters "dogs" and "monkeys". "If you have problem with the word dog, you can call them monkeys. There is absolutely no problem about that. But we will call them dogs," said BJP state General Secretary Sayantan Basu, when asked about BJP MP Soumitra Khan dubbing the protesting intellectuals as "Mamata Banerjee's dogs." Describing CAA as an Act for the people, the BJP leader said they were going to every area inhabited by "people". "It's no use going to places where dogs and such animals live," Basu told the media while leading a door-to-door campaign in favour of CAA in Kharagpur in West Midnapore district. Later, talking to IANS, Basu refused to elaborate what he meant by "places where dogs and such animals live". "I won't say anything more on this. It is for the media to interpret the way they like," said Basu. Basu also referred to the 'CAA CAA chi chi' (CAA CAA, shame shame) slogan raised by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at an anti-CAA rally last month, and said each of those who raised the slogan where paid Rs 500. "Those who shouted the slogan 'CAA CAA chi chi', they got Rs 500 each. But such slogans are not being given any more, as the money did not reach in time," he said. Leading a similar programme, state BJP Vice President Subhas Sarkar dubbed the protesting intellectuals as "self-seekers". "People are telling us that those so-called intellectuals who are siding with Mamata Banerjee are actually self-seekers," said Sarkar, a Lok Sabha member. A dominant section of the West Bengal civil society has hit the streets against the CAA, National Register of Citizens and National Population Register, inviting the wrath of the BJP, whose leaders have often stooped low to attack the protesters. Few days back, the party's state unit President Dilip Ghosh described these intellectuals as "creatures", "devils" and "parasites". "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," Ghosh had said. Twenty-eight motorists have been hit with fines totalling 266,000 after failing to turn up to court today to face charges for repeatedly dodging M50 tolls. Meanwhile, one of the prosecutions at Dublin District Court, against murdered Drogheda teenager Keane Mulready-Woods, was withdrawn. Last week it was confirmed that remains found in Priorswood, Coolock and in a burned out vehicle at Trinity Terrace, Dublin 3, were those of the 17-year-old boy. He had faced five sample counts alleging that as the registered owner of 2011-reg car, he had not paid tolls for journeys on the motorway on June 25, June 27, June 28, June 29 and June 30 last year. Summonses had been sent to his address in Drogheda. Judge Anthony Halpin agreed to strike out the case after noting from prosecution counsel that the named defendant had passed away. Driver warned of possible 25,000 in fines Meanwhile, another defendant, Des Long, of Rathsallagh Park, Shankill, Dublin, who is facing an on-going case featuring allegations of 1,139 unpaid trips in his van, had his case adjourned until May. He has been warned he could face fines of up to totalling 25,000 after the court heard he was sent 4,417 reminder letters over the motorway charges. Like all defendants in the list, he was prosecuted on five sample counts. Mr Long has insisted he had been trying to deal with eFlow which operates barrier free tolling on the M50 for Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII). Some 51 motorists had been summonsed to appear in court today. Prosecutions against 28 of them went ahead in their absence resulting in hefty fines. They had records of between 115 and 392 unpaid trips, Judge Halpin was told. Each one generated three warning letters and thousands of them were sent to the motorists but the vast majority did not reply, the court heard. One driver was sent 1,176 warning letters The private car owner with the highest amount of unpaid charges had been sent 1,176 warning letters, and was fined 15,000 today. Among them were four commercial vehicle owners. A woman registered as the owner of a heavy goods vehicle was fined 15,000 for 129 trips. Prosecuting counsel Thomas Rice BL (instructed by Pierse Fitzgibbon Solicitors) said a TII official had certificates of ownership as well as the images of the vehicles passing the toll gantry on the M50, on dates from March until August last year. On top of the fines, which have to be paid within six months, vehicle owners were ordered to pay 350 in prosecution costs. Fines of up to 5,000 per charge as well as a sentence of up to six months can be imposed. The court has heard the motorway authority only selected habitual non-payers to face criminal proceedings but no one has been jailed so far. Fifteen motorists had cases adjourned yesterday/today (MON) to allow TII to engage further with them or for hearings to be held on later dates. Eight others got strike outs, either as a result of having resolved their debt with the motorway operator, or due to issues with summonses. M50 tolls regime The standard M50 toll for an unregistered private car is 3.10 must be paid before 8pm the following day or else there is a 3.00 penalty for missing the deadline. Motorists have 14 days from the date of issue to pay for the journey and the initial penalty; otherwise a further penalty of 41 is applied. After a further 56 days there is an additional penalty charge of 103 and if it remains unpaid legal proceedings follow with the possibility of a court fine of up to 5,000 as well as a jail term of six-months, or both, per offence. Commercial and goods vehicle owners have to pay higher tolls. The registered owner of a vehicle is responsible even if they were not driving the vehicle. North Beach merchants and citizens join Supervisors and other city officials at Live Worms Gallery in support of a vacancy tax. | Photo: Lee Hepner Over 100 small business owners and neighborhood activists joined 10 members of San Franciscos Board of Supervisors at Live Worms art gallery in North Beach Sunday afternoon to kick off the Proposition D campaign. Slated to be on the March 3, 2020 ballot, Prop. D would impose a tax on commercial properties that remain vacant for more than 182 days in any given tax year. The tax would ramp up from $250 to $1,000 per linear foot of store frontage over the first three years, and includes exceptions for nonprofits, businesses affected by disaster, and some other cases. Prop. D will require a two-thirds majority to become law. North Beachs District 3 Supervisor Aaron Peskin lauded the rare unanimous support Prop. D has from the SF Board of Supervisors. Every single member of the Board of Supervisors, our state legislature delegation State Senator Scott Weiner, my predecessor State Assembly member David Chiu, and the wind at our back the San Francisco Democratic Party all support the proposition," he said. "But most importantly, it is the merchants and the merchant organizations, starting with the North Beach Business Association (NBBA), that have mobilized getting the legislation on the ballot, Peskin said. Several speakers noted the importance of thriving small businesses to neighborhoods like North Beach. They said vacant storefronts not only contribute to a depressed community and economy, they also invite crime and unsanitary conditions as foot traffic is decreased and vacant entryways are used for illegal or unsafe purposes. There are far too many vacant storefronts in my district. This is an issue of public safety," said District 6 Supervisor Matt Haney, who represents the Tenderloin, SoMa and part of the Lower Polk corridor. "When you have vacant storefronts, when you have commercial corridors that are dying, often other types of negative behavior come about," he said. "There arent eyes on the street, there arent people walking around enjoying the area, and Ive seen that happen across my district." Story continues Fady Zoubi, NBBAs past president and current board member, said he feels this is an opportunity for a better balance of businesses in the neighborhood. It would turn the relationship between landlords and small business owners into a partnership. Importantly, it would keep the ambiance of North Beach retail as unique as its always been, where if you go into a business, theres a 90% chance youll meet the owner. Because of the neighborhoods formula retail ban, nearly all businesses are locally owned and, by definition, lack the corporate foundation that can absorb exorbitant rents. According to Daniel Macchiarini, owner of North Beachs Macchiarini Creative Design and president of NBBA, the idea for the proposition began last year in North Beach, when District 3 Supervisor Aaron Peskin and District 1 Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer conducted a survey of businesses in North Beachs Neighborhood Commercial District (NCD). The survey recorded 40 vacant storefronts. Because of subsequent outreach connecting landlords to potential small business owners, 19 new small businesses have secured leases in the NCD, with even more businesses hoping to open this year along Columbus Boulevard and Grant Avenue. Small Business Commissioner Kathleen Dooley addressed the crowd, saying, We have tried every trick in the book to get [landlords with longstanding retail vacancies] to lease their properties to really no avail." "Many owners of business buildings are not renting and are wanting astronomical rents that no one can afford, and theyre blighting our neighborhood," she said. "So this is how we want to thank them so much for their lack of cooperation. Some North Beach commercial property owners see other reasons for the rampant vacancies, however. Giovanni Toracca, whose properties include storefronts on the 1300 block of Grant Avenue, shared that while all his properties are currently leased, "I have one guy who just wants to open a barbershop," but has been hamstrung by city permit processes for about a year, unable to open his business. "The vacant stores are mostly retail, not food or services," he said. "I told Aaron Peskin, if you want to go after somebody, don't go after the landlords go after Amazon. But you can't, because you know they'll win." New Delhi, Jan 20 : The Unitech management on Monday told the Supreme Court that its assets are greater than the liability, and that there is no requirement to infuse more funds by the Union government to complete its stalled housing projects. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the Unitech management, told a bench headed by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud that he is in agreement with the Centre for not infusing funds to complete its stalled projects. "Our assets are greater than liability. I agree with Centre's suggestion", said Sibal. He also insisted that Sanjay Chandra, one of the Unitech group promoters, can assist the newly formed Board of Directors, as he in the complete know of the affairs of the company. The Attorney General K.K. Venugopal contested this argument. "After 2016-17, no balance-sheet has been prepared by Unitech. The forensic report has shown the money meant for projects was diverted", said Venugopal, strongly opposing Unitech's counsel argument. The Supreme Court has accepted Centre's proposal recommending a seven-member board to take over the management of Unitech. The top court approved the appointment of former IAS officer Yudvir Singh Malik as its CMD. Last month, the apex court had asked the Centre to take over the Unitech, but refused to infuse funds to complete the projects. The newly approved board will file a report within two months on the resolution framework to sort out the housing mess of Unitech, which includes recommendations on the way forward on the stalled housing projects. The apex court also granted moratorium of 2 months to new board of Unitech Limited from any legal proceedings. The top court said that it will appoint a retired apex court judge to monitor preparation of resolution framework by newly appointed Board of the Unitech. Advocate M.L. Lahoti, representing nearly 5,000 homebuyers in Unitech, argued before the court that Centre should infuse funds to complete the projects, as the true picture currently on the value of assets of Unitech is not known. "The apex court has agreed to continue with the Justice S.N. Dhingra committee undertaking the selling of assets of the company, after the government takes over. Unitech has also siphoned of a majority of funds meant for housing projects. And, in the absence of balance-sheets, not sure the assets could generate funds to complete projects", said Lahoti. On the Contrary, a group of homebuyers' have expressed content that Unitech has come out with a statement on its assets. Vivek Tyagi, president All India Association of Unitech Homebuyers, said, "We thank the Supreme Court for finally doing what was required to be done to safeguard homebuyers' interest. The real good news is that assets of Unitech are more than liabilities even today as per the government of India. No homebuyer should worry; all will get refund/home." The top court also refused to appoint Unitech Group founder Ramesh Chandra, on the new board. The court also approved the names of members of the board which include Niranjan Hiranandani, Managing Director of Mumbai-based Hiranandani Group; A.K. Mittal, ex-CMD of National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC); Jitu Virwani, CMD of Embassy Group; and Renu Sud Karnad, Chairman of HDFC Credila Finance Service Pvt Ltd. The court noted an independent and professional board will take control of the company, which is in the interest of homebuyers. The court also indicated that it would stop monitoring the Unitech matter, after issues are removed and things fall in place. The Chinese New Year travel period is humanity's biggest migration as millions head for reunions with their families. (Photo: AFP/Hector Retamal) The world's biggest annual travel rush comes as a SARS-like coronavirus has spread from the central city of Wuhan to Beijing, southern Guangdong province and three Asian countries, with more than 200 people stricken including three fatalities. Wuhan pneumonia virus outbreak infographic Scientists have yet to determine if the disease can be transmitted from human to human, which would raise the risk of more people getting sick as they sit next to each other on long rides to their hometowns. But going back to the countryside or other parts of the country to gather with family is an annual ritual that is impossible to miss - the country will come to a grinding halt from Friday (Jan 24) until Thursday next week as it celebrates the incoming Year of the Rat. More than 100 million train trips have already been taken since the mass migration began about 10 days ago, the national railway operator said Sunday. Lines formed on Monday at ticket booths outside Beijing Railway Station, where commuters - young and old - gathered with their luggage and souvenirs. Li Yang, 28, an account manager from northern Inner Mongolia region, said it had been five to six years since she returned to her hometown from Beijing. "It's hard to guard against such viruses," she told AFP. "Watching the news, I do feel a little worried. But I haven't taken precautionary measures beyond wearing regular masks," she added. "Even if I remained in Beijing, I would have to visit public spaces." A worker in the finance sector surnamed Guo added that she and her friends had been reminding each other to wear masks as a precaution. "We're not sure how else we can protect ourselves, but I am generally vigilant," said the 26-year-old. "What else can we do? We still have to go home over the Spring Festival." "AVOID PUBLIC PLACES" The new coronavirus has caused alarm because of its connection to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which killed nearly 650 people across mainland China and Hong Kong in 2002-2003. Authorities in Wuhan, a city of 11 million people that also serves as a major transport hub, said Monday a third person was confirmed to have died and 136 new cases were found over the weekend. A Wuhan seafood market is believed to be the epicentre of the virus, and the World Health Organization said an animal source seemed most likely to be the "primary" culprit. In Hong Kong, 106 people were being monitored with authorities keeping a close eye on developments, especially given the proximity of Guangdong to the densely packed financial hub. Passengers arriving at the city's airport and high speed train terminals have been subject to increased monitoring, including temperature checks. Health officials said Monday they were expanding their enhanced checks to include anyone coming in from Hubei province, not just Wuhan. All passengers flying in from Wuhan will also be asked to fill out a health declaration form. At Shanghai's busy Hongqiao Railway Station, some in the crowd wore masks, but not significantly more than usually seen in the eastern city. No flu screening stations or signs were seen. A 25-year-old woman surnamed Jiang, who works for a medical device company, was heading to her hometown in Hubei, the province where Wuhan is located. "Previously, I had many plans in Wuhan, like hanging around for one to two days. But now I think I will just transfer there instead of staying," she said. A woman surnamed Xia, a 29-year-old auto industry employee, was wearing a mask because she was heading home to Wuhan. She said one cousin who lives in southern China was "very worried" about the virus and "doesn't dare go back to Wuhan". "I think the pneumonia situation is controllable," Xia said. "But after I go home, I'll avoid public places, seafood and live poultry." A look at Trump's international allies reveals some striking similarities. Many of these leaders came to power by unleashing racial and ethnic prejudices against vulnerable populations. In the U.S., Trump has attacked Mexicans, Muslims, blacks and immigrants while supporting white supremacists who want to ethnically cleanse all people of color from our society. Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel, Narendra Modi in India, and Boris Johnson in Great Britain have risen to power by stoking similar hatred toward minority groups. The chief executive of energy challenger Bulb said that growth is front and centre as he tries to reach 100 million households around the world by the end of the decade. Hayden Wood, who co-founded one of the UKs biggest challengers, revealed that the business now has 1.6 million customers, up from 326,000 two years ago. But his team will have to wait longer to turn a profit, as losses expanded even faster, hitting 129 million in the financial year that ended in March 2019. Speaking as he released the companys most recent accounts, Mr Wood said Bulb would continue to target new customers, but would not be drawn on when it would turn a profit. Our goal is to supply 100 million homes around the world with affordable renewable energy, so we really are just at the beginningHayden Wood, Bulb I will say that our goal is to supply 100 million homes around the world with affordable renewable energy, so we really are just at the beginning, he said. Gross profit per customer has averaged around 60 in the four years since Bulb was founded, Mr Wood said, but in the financial year that ended in March 2019, this reached around 12. This figure strips out Bulbs 136 million in administrative expenses. We deliberately chose to delay some price increases to customers, Mr Wood said to explain the drop in profit per customer. The company took the hit as wholesale energy costs spiked during the Beast from the East. Revenue increased by 350%, as customer numbers grew by 800,000 to 1.1 million households. But the companys net loss also ballooned by 350% to 129 million. The target to hit 100 million homes is an ambitious plan for a company only founded in 2015. Bulb, which had around 1.6 million customers at the end of 2019, would have to grow by almost 50% a year to reach its target by 2030. It is growth that the business has so far lived up to, but it will likely need to eye more countries to reach enough households. Bulb expanded into France, Spain and Texas in 2019 as it tried to break through abroad. The countries are still in the beta testing stage, but have signed up many customers already, Mr Wood said. He said more expansion abroad was likely, but did not name what countries were on his wish list. The company will need to expand to more than the four [countries] that were in now to get to 100 million, he added. A judge in the US has dismissed an assault case against Sir Philip Green after a pilates instructor he allegedly groped decided not to appear in court to give evidence against him. Katie Surridge, 38, had accused the business mogul of repeatedly fondling her bottom and making inappropiate comments to her at the exclusive Canyon Ranch health club in Tucson, Arizona, in 2016 and 2018. It led to billionaire Sir Philip, 67, whose Arcadia Group owns Topshop, Burton and Dorothy Perkins, being charged with four counts of assault by prosecutors in the US. He completely denies the claims. The trial was due to start in Arizona next month, but yesterday it was revealed that the case had been dropped when Arcadia released a statement on behalf of Sir Philip. Pilates instructor Katie Surridge (pictured), 38, accused Sir Philip Green of inappropriate touching in 2016 and again in 2018 Last May, Sir Philip (left) was charged with four counts of misdemeanour assault after pilates instructor Katie Surridge, 38, (right) accused him inappropriate touching in 2016 and again in 2018 It said: At the request of the prosecution the cases alleging assault against Sir Philip Green, due to be heard before The Consolidated Court of Arizona in and for The County of Pima on 20th February 2020, were dismissed by the Order of the Honourable Justice Vince Roberts on 17th January 2020. These matters are now closed. Lauren Deakin, deputy county attorney in Pima, where the prosecution was brought, later said that the case was dismissed due to a misdemeanour compromise. This can occur in some US states after the defendant has reimbursed the alleged victim for any economic loss, or because an alleged victim does not wish to prosecute. The latter can be for a wide variety of reasons such as, for example, if they are not telling the truth or they do not wish to subject their relatives to the embarrassment of themselves appearing in court, according to lawyers. Surridge (pictured) had told Pima County police that Sir Philip had groped her on two separate occasions and had behaved 'like a creepy old man' Mrs Surridge initially claimed in a police interview that the creepy old man had vigorously slapped her bottom up to ten times in January 2016. Surridge (pictured) is not the first woman to have accused Sir Philip of sexual assault She alleged that on a second occasion in January 2018, Sir Philip had placed his hand around her waist and grabbed her bottom. A source close to the case last night said that Mrs Surridge had signed an affidavit this month saying that she had a civil remedy for the injuries and/or damages and she did not intend to appear in court to testify against the defendant. But the source stressed that does not mean that she has taken or is going to take any kind of financial settlement, and added that there have been no admissions of any kind at any time whatsoever by the defendant. The source added that the statute of limitations for a civil claim in the case had now passed. Sir Philip yesterday declined to comment, but a source close to him said: Its a huge relief for him, a big weight off his shoulders. He can now move on with his life. Sir Philip's Tucson-area vacation home within the luxury Canyon Ranch property (pictured) The billionaire chairman of Arcadia, which also owns Burton and Dorothy Perkins, strenuously denied the charges against him (pictured: with his wife Tina and daughter Chloe) He hired high-profile lawyers to defend the case including Alan Jackson, who succeeded in getting sexual assault charges dropped against actor Kevin Spacey. Neither Mrs Surridge, who waived her right to anonymity last year, nor her legal team were available to comment last night. Last year, Sir Philip prevented the collapse of his retail empire when creditors approved a restructuring plan. His group embarked upon a major restructuring process last year in a bid to cut costs. Some 23 UK stores are expected to close, with up to 1,000 jobs at risk. A further 25 stores are also on the brink of closure. The Supreme Court of India has accepted the Centre's proposal to take over the management control of Unitech Limited. Under this arrangement, the government will appoint 10 nominee directors on the Unitech board and complete pending projects of the company for providing relief to around 12,000 hassled homebuyers. The Supreme Court bench, led by Justice DY Chandrachud, also granted two-month moratorium to the new board of Unitech from any legal proceedings against the company's management. The apex court also gave the new Unitech board two months to prepare the resolution for the embattled realty firm and submit its report. The bench directed the Unitech board to appoint a retired Supreme Court judge to monitor the preparation of resolution framework. In a six-page note submitted before the apex court on Saturday, the Centre had said that it is prepared to revisit its proposal of December 2017, to remove the existing management of Unitech and appoint nominee directors. While the Centre agreed to finish stalled housing projects of the company, it said it would not infuse any funds for this purpose. ALSO READ: Centre agrees to take over Unitech, finish stalled projects Back on Saturday, the government had suggested appointing retired Haryana cadre IAS officer Yudvir Singh Malik as chairman and managing director of the board. Suggestions for other nominee directors included A K Mittal, ex-CMD of National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC); Renu Sud Karnad, Chairman of HDFC Credila Finance Service Pvt Ltd; Jitu Virwani, CMD of Embassy Group; and Niranjan Hiranandani , MD of Mumbai-based Hiranandani Group. In 2017, the Centre had moved the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) seeking suspension of the incumbent directors of Unitech and an order of restraint on the alienation of assets by Unitech Ltd. On December 8, 2017, the bankruptcy court issued interim directions for suspension of directors of Unitech Ltd and restrained them from alienating, mortgaging, creating charge, or lien or interest in the properties owned by them personally or that of the company till the conclusion of investigation. However, on December 13, 2017, the Supreme Court had stayed the NCLT's December 8, 2017 order and later the Centre agreed to withdraw its application from the tribunal. ALSO READ: Amrapali case: ED takes custody of directors for interrogation about fund siphoning In 2018, the Supreme Court had directed a forensic audit of Unitech, its sister concerns and subsidiaries by Samir Paranjpe, Partner, Forensic and Investigation Services in Grant Thornton India. The forensic audit report stated that Unitech received around Rs 14,270 crore from 29,800 home buyers mostly between 2006 and 2014, and around Rs 1,805 crore from six financial institutions for the construction of 74 projects. The audit revealed that around Rs 5,063 crore of home buyers' money and around Rs 763 crore of fund received from financial institutions were not utilised by Unitech, but instead, high value investments were made in off-shore tax-haven countries between 2007 and 2010. Following this, the Supreme Court had ordered investigation into the omission and commission of promoters of Unitech under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Presently, Unitech promoters Sanjay Chandra and his brother Ajay Chandra are incarcerated in Tihar jail for allegedly siphoning off homebuyers' money. On December 18, last year, the top court had asked the Centre if it was agreeable to revisit its 2017 proposal as there is urgent need for the projects of Unitech Ltd. to be taken up by a specialised agency, so as to ensure completion in a time bound schedule in the interest of the home buyers. ALSO READ: SBI 'guarantees' to return homebuyers' money if builders fail to deliver on time Their film was recognised as one of the leading contenders at the ceremony, as it was nominated for four awards. And Leonardo DiCaprio and Margot Robbie enjoyed a sweet reunion with their Once Upon a Time in Hollywood co-star Julia Butters at the 26th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, held at The Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on Sunday evening. Screen star Leonardo, 45, and actress Margot, 29, beamed with delight as they engaged in cosy conversations with his young co-star, 10, before posing for snaps at the ceremony. Nice to see you again! Leonardo DiCaprio enjoyed a reunion with Once Upon a Time in Hollywood co-star Julia Butters at the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday Standing out in a silver sequinned blazer, Julia appeared cheery as she caught up with her fellow thespians, who she forged close relationships with on-set of the movie. Neighbours star Margot wowed in a halterneck, floor-length number by Chanel, while the Titanic actor opted for sophistication in a black tuxedo. Leo leads the film as TV star Rick Dalton who attempts to make his way through Hollywood with stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), while Little Julia plays the role of child actor Trudi Fraser, and Margot portrays model and actress Sharon Tate. In good company: Held at LA's Shrine Auditorium, the young actress, 10, also joined fellow screen star Margot Robbie Having fun: Julia beamed with delight as she engaged in cosy conversations with the Titanic actor Brad Pitt won big as he scored the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role as Cliff Booth in Quentin Tarantino's comedy drama. While the screen star scored a top honor, Leo missed out on the Best Actor prize for his role as Rick Dalton, and Once Upon A Time In Hollywood was beaten by Parasite and Avengers in the Cast in a Motion Picture and Stunt Ensemble categories respectively. The Screen Actors' Guild Awards have long been been a bellwether for Oscar success, since actors make up the largest percentage of the Academy. Sweet moment: A confident Julia rested her hand on Leo's shoulder as they chatted throughout the ceremony Looking suave: The Django Unchained actor opted for sophistication in a black tuxedo, complete with a bow tie Impressive: Their film was recognised as one of the leading contenders at the ceremony, as it was nominated for four awards The SAGs rounded out best ensemble with the casts of Taika Waititi's Nazi Germany coming-of-age tale Jojo Rabbit, Jay Roach's Fox News docudrama Bombshell and Bong Joon Ho's class satire Parasite. Other prominent contenders shut out included Sam Mendes' WWI thriller 1917, Greta Gerwig's Louisa May Alcott adaptation Little Women, Lulu Wangs family drama The Farewell, Fernando Meirelles' Vatican drama The Two Popes and Rian Johnson's star-studded whodunit Knives Out. While Apple TV+'s The Morning Show earned three individual noms for supporting actors Steve Carell and Billy Crudup, and female lead Jennifer Aniston, they failed to get into the ensemble category. Dynamic duo: Leo leads the film as TV star Rick Dalton who attempts to make his way through Hollywood with stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt, pictured together) In character: Little Julia plays the role of child actor Trudi Fraser (L), and Margot portrays model and actress Sharon Tate (R) Imperial Valley News Center Member of Barbados Parliament and Minister of Industry Found Guilty of Receiving and Laundering Bribes from Barbadian Insurance Company New York - A former member of the Barbados Parliament, who also served as the Minister of Industry of Barbados, was found guilty today by a federal jury for his role in a scheme to launder bribes paid to him by executives of the Insurance Corporation of Barbados Limited (ICBL). Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Departments Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Richard P. Donoghue of the Eastern District of New York and Assistant Director in Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. of the FBIs New York Field Office made the announcement. Following a one-week trial and two hours of jury deliberations, Donville Inniss, 54, a U.S. legal permanent resident who resided in Tampa, Florida, and Barbados, was found guilty of two counts of money laundering and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Sentencing has not yet been scheduled. According to the evidence presented at trial, in 2015 and 2016, Inniss took part in a scheme to launder into the United States approximately $36,000 in bribes that he received from high-level executives of ICBL. At the time, Inniss was a member of the Parliament of Barbados and the Minister of Industry, International Business, Commerce, and Small Business Development of Barbados. The trial evidence demonstrated that, in exchange for the bribes, Inniss leveraged his position as the Minister of Industry to enable ICBL to obtain two insurance contracts from the Barbados government to insure over $100 million worth of government property. To conceal the bribes, Inniss arranged to receive them through a U.S. bank account in the name of his friends dental company, which had an address in Elmont, New York. The trial evidence further showed that Inniss used a personal email account to communicate with an executive from ICBL in connection with the bribe payments and the laundering of the money through the dental company in New York. The FBIs International Corruption Squad in New York City investigated the case. In 2015, the FBI formed International Corruption Squads across the country to address national and international implications of foreign corruption. Trial Attorney Gerald M. Moody Jr. of the Criminal Divisions Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Gopstein and Sylvia Shweder of the Eastern District of New York prosecuted the case. The Criminal Divisions Office of International Affairs also provided assistance in this matter. The Department appreciates the cooperation provided by its law enforcement colleagues in Barbados during this investigation. A villager in the Gaocheng District of Shijiazhuang in North China's Hebei Province make lanterns for decorating households during the incoming Chinese New Year. [chinadaily.com.cn] As the rest of the country gears up for the long Spring Festival holiday, one village in Shijiazhuang, North China's Hebei Province, is busy making lanterns to decorate households during the festivities that begin on January 25 this year. Tuntou Village in Gaocheng District, southeast of Shijiazhuang, is well-known for aptitude in producing 80 percent of the country's total lantern needs, according to hebnews.cn, a local news website in Hebei. About 90 percent of the village's 6,800 residents are involved in the lantern business, the report claimed. Villagers in the Gaocheng District of Shijiazhuang in North China's Hebei Province make lanterns for decorating households during the incoming Chinese New Year. [chinadaily.com.cn] Each family workshop in the village can make as many as 7,000 lanterns in a day during peak times such as Spring Festival, when according to Chinese tradition, families or hotels hang lanterns at gates as a way of celebrating the new year. Last year, the village produced 200 million lanterns. Some were exported to over 10 foreign countries, including Russia, the Republic of Korea and Japan, according to Su Zhenguo, the Village's Party Chief. A villager in Gaocheng District of Shijiazhuang in North China's Hebei Province checks locally made lanterns for decorating households during the incoming Chinese New Year. [chinadaily.com.cn] Lanterns made in Gaocheng, about 250 kilometers southwest of Beijing, date back to the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220) and are known as Gongdeng, or Palace Lanterns. Local history shows the name dates back to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) when Emperor Qianlong (1711-1799) passed Gaocheng during his trip to the south and found lanterns hung on gates of local households. He found the lanterns exquisite, brought some back and hung them in his palace, thus the name Palace Lantern. A lantern made in Gaocheng District, Shijiazhuang, North China's Hebei Province. [chinadaily.com.cn] Lanterns made in Gaocheng District, Shijiazhuang, North China's Hebei Province. [chinadaily.com.cn] Lanterns made in Gaocheng District, Shijiazhuang, North China's Hebei Province. [chinadaily.com.cn] (Source: chinadaily.com.cn) By Olivia Rose THE TCIs first technical and vocational training school is slated to open in September 2020. Minister of Education Hon. Karen Malcom made the announcement during the Governments three-year anniversary report on January 7. She said: "Effective September 2020, we will establish a national technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institution. "[This] will ensure that areas of concentration are relevant to the labour market so that students are able to acquire the appropriate skills from the programme, being exposed to working situations that will enhance their ability to obtain gainful employment. The institution, which aims to ensure TC Islanders have the vocational skills needed to secure high paying specialised jobs, will be housed in the building behind Abundant Life Ministries on Leeward Highway. Director of Education Edgar Howell, during a brief interview with the Weekly News on Thursday (January 16), explained that the building is currently being occupied by students of Oseta Jolly Primary School. The schools population was displaced after the 2017 hurricanes wreaked havoc on the facility in Blue Hills, Providenciales. Howell said: "The Government bought that building last March for the purpose of the technical vocational school and so once Oseta Jolly returns to their site down in Blue Hills, that would be refurbished for the TVET centre. Last December, a team from Jamaicas Heart Trust Agency visited the TCI to assist in the development of a comprehensive curriculum for the trade school. The delegation met with local education officials including the minister of education at the office of the premier on December 10. The Human Employment and Resource Training (Heart) Trust Agency is the leading provider of vocational training in Jamaica. It specialises in human capital development with a mandate to impact every major industry and community in Jamaica through volunteerism, mentorship and adult literacy. The agency teaches practical, competency-based training which empowers trainees to transition seamlessly into the workforce. These are just some of the tenants the TCIs Ministry of Education is looking to adopt and implement at the trade school. The school will offer a wide range of institution based training courses including commercial food preparation, early childhood development, electrical installation, plumbing, computer repairs, motor vehicle engine systems, and tourism oriented training. London: Kiis FM has doctored a recording of a live interview after controversial radio host Kyle Sandilands described the Duchess of Sussex's mother as "the black mum" and suggested women would "open their legs" for Meghan's estranged half-brother. During the Monday interview, which has since been edited online, Sandilands also joked about providing sexual services to the Queen and asked Thomas Markle jnr whether he would ever have sex with Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie. Kyle Sandilands and Jackie Henderson interviewed the Duchess of Sussex's estranged half-brother. Credit:Kiss FM Sandilands has a long history of making sexually charged remarks on breakfast radio. He delivered an eight-minute apology last September for saying the Virgin Mary got "chock-a-blocked" behind a camel shed and also lost his job as a judge on Australian Idol in 2009 after he asked a 14-year-old girl who had just shared serious rape allegations live on air whether that was her "only [sexual] experience". During Monday's interview on Kiis FM, Sandilands said the Markle family should have remained together for the "perks", including staying at Harry and Meghan's Frogmore Cottage home near Windsor Castle. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 22:14:00|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close ISLAMABAD, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- The operational and political policies Pakistan has adopted against terrorists and terror infrastructure are giving dividends in the form of less terror related incidents, a Pakistani expert has said. Imtiaz Gul, the executive director of the Islamabad-based Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), made the remarks in a recent interview wit Xinhua. "The declining incidents of terrorism will have medium to long term advantages for Pakistan besides propagating a positive image all over the world as a peaceful and progressive country," Gul said. The statistics released by the CRSS show that the number of terrorist attacks in the year of 2019 decreased by around 7.5 percent as compared to the previous year, and the number of people killed in these attacks plummeted by 29.9 percent. And according to the latest available statistics of the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA), the number of terrorist attacks in Pakistan decreased by 21 percent in 2018 as compared to year 2017. The figures from NACTA showed that a total of 517 people were killed in terrorist incidents in 2018 whereas 668 were killed in 2017. Admiring all-out efforts made by security forces and political leaders in countering terrorism, the expert said there is determination, clear intention and conscious decision not to allow any extremist groups to disrupt the peace, and the vigorous and focused pre-emptive strategies undertaken by Pakistani intelligence agencies have profoundly helped in curbing terror incidents. Noting that terrorism had badly affected the tourism industry of Pakistan as well as the flow of foreign direct inflow into the country, Gul said, "Less incidents of terrorism recently have a very positive impact on the lives of people as it has given them the much-needed sense of security ... now the country is on the path of peace and prosperity with growing socio-economic activities." In a separate interview with Xinhua, Muhammad Amir Rana, director of the Pak Institute for Peace Studies, said that if Pakistan can sustain the current level of security and improve it further, it will entail not only economic recovery but also a shift in social processes of change from negative to positive. "Terrorism has affected Pakistan and its people in a number of ways. Other than sacrificing thousands of lives of civilians and security personnel, Pakistan has paid a huge sociocultural cost in the entire course of terrorism and its counter-terrorism campaigns," he said. Now the situation is reversing day by day with growing economic and social opportunities for the people of Pakistan, Rana said. He said the government and the security institutions need to further consolidate their efforts against terrorism and militancy as the threat of terrorism has not been completely eliminated. World-renowned drag queen Courtney Act never holds back from sharing her opinions. And on Monday, she expressed her thoughts on the 'Change The Date' debate while appearing as a panelist on Sunrise. 'I personally feel that the date [of Australia Day] should change,' Courtney, 37, told host David 'Kochie' Koch. Scroll down for video 'Taking these steps is really important in reparations': Drag queen Courtney Act (above) has expressed her support for the campaign to change the date of Australia Day Courtney was also joined on the breakfast show panel by former NSW government minister Pru Goward and Deborah Clay from the Australian Radio Network. 'I like to listen to my friends from Indigenous communities and I hear what they say about what it [Australia Day] means to them and it's important for them that it does change. I support them,' Courtney said. 'I choose to listen to them rather than invalidate how they feel. It's a small gesture, obviously, it's not going to change bigger problems, but I do know taking these kinds of steps is really important in reparations.' 'I choose to listen to them rather than invalidate how they feel': Courtney said she supported her friends from Indigenous communities and wanted the date to change Change or save the date? A new survey from the Institute of Public Affairs claims 71 per cent of Australians wish for Australia Day to remain on December 26 'I think we've got to move on': Former NSW government minister Pru Goward (middle) was adamant the date should remain as 'great nations accept their history... good or bad' Former NSW government minister Pru Goward, 67, then presented an opposing view. 'The moment you start trying to change your history, deny your history, which I think is what a move away from the 26 would be, says you don't believe in yourself and you can't live with yourself,' she said. She went on to say 'great nations accept their history', adding: 'I think we've got to move on... and on Australia Day there should be proper acknowledgement of the wrongs that were done, as well as the rights.' 'I think the retiring of Australian history was already done with Australia Day, sort of colonialism,' Courtney quipped back at Pru. The Australia Day date of December 26 is significant as it's the day the First Fleet arrived in Australia at Sydney Cove in 1788. However, the date was not adopted by all states as a national day of celebration until 1935 and has only been celebrated as it is from 1994. 'Let's find a date to celebrate this beautiful country that doesn't exclude our indigenous people': In 2019, Hollywood superstar Chris Hemsworth (above) led the celebrity charge of stars who wanted to see the date moved from January 26 Last year, the question of whether the nation should change the date of Australia Day become one of the country's most contentious political issues. Hollywood superstar Chris Hemsworth, 35, led the celebrity charge of stars who wanted to see the date moved from January 26. 'Let's find a date to celebrate this beautiful country that doesn't exclude our indigenous people and doesn't ignore the pain and suffering that has occurred,' he said at the time. The Japanese government is determined to achieve a solution to the territorial issue and sign a peace treaty with Russia, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said. "We will speed up talks based on the 1956 Joint Declaration, solve the territorial problem and sign a peace treaty," TASS cited Abe as saying. He noted that Japan is moving towards this without any hesitation. The main stumbling block to achieving this is the ownership issue over the Southern Kuril Islands, called the Northern Territories in Japan. After the end of World War II, the Kuril Islands were incorporated into the Soviet Union. However, the ownership of Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan Islands and the Habomai Islands has been challenged by Japan. WASHINGTON She's not on the ballot in November, but that won't keep U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand from the campaign trail in 2020. The New York Democrat will use her leadership political action committee, Off the Sidelines, to boost the election efforts of at least 20 Democratic women running in state and congressional races, she said in a recent interview. She aims to raise $1 million to support them in 2020 and has already held a few events to kick off her efforts. We raised a lot of money and its a good start," Gillibrand said this month. This cycle, some of the Democratic women backed by Gillibrand are women she met while campaigning for president. They include Iowa U.S. Reps. Abby Finkenauer and Cindy Axne, running for second terms, and Theresa Greenfield, a candidate for Congress. What about supporting female candidates, U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Mn., or Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., now in the race for president in 2020? "Both of them are carrying a lot of the issues I campaigned for and doing it very, very well," Gillibrand said. "So I am very proud of both of them and I do hope I will make an endorsement before the New York primary." Another candidate receiving Gillibrand's support this cycle is Democrat Tedra Cobb, who is running in New Yorks 21st District. "I am proud to have earned the endorsement of Off The Sidelines and Senator Gillibrand and support its mission of electing women that will advocate for women and families in Congress," Cobb said in a statement. Gillibrand also backed Cobb in 2018, when Cobb ran her first campaign against U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville. "I think she is an excellent candidate. I think her story and her focus is perfect for the North Country," Gillibrand said. "She is very independent-minded. She understands small businesses, she understands the importance of health care, she understands the importance of low taxes and particularly getting back the state and local deduction. Stefanik's spokeswoman Maddie Anderson fired back calling Cobb the "worst candidate in America" and Gillibrand's presidential campaign a "trainwreck." Anderson said Stefanik's team cant think of a better first endorsement for Cobb and offered a list of Gillibrands liberal positions, including her support for gun control and her opposition to the new North American trade act, which is critical for the North Country. Stefaniks team said those positions are in lock step with Cobbs. For women who win Gillibrands nod, Gillibrand will join them on the campaign trail, fundraise for them, issue endorsements and make public statements on their behalf "whatever the candidate asks me to do," she said. In 2018, she supported almost 100 campaigns. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Off the Sidelines collected $64,446 in total receipts from January to June 2019, Federal Election Commission data shows. Later this month, the PAC will report financials for the second half of the year. The PAC made $5,000 contributions to Greenfield, Marie Newman of Illinois, who's running for the House, and U.S. Rep. Ann McLane Kuster, D-N.H., FEC data shows. Gillibrand has several fundraisers planned in New York for January and February, she said, and anticipates other events across the country. The PAC is one of many that shares the objective of boosting female representation in government. Stefanik runs a similar effort for Republican women called E-PAC. E-PAC is also endorsing candidates this cycle. "For some women who may not have access to a financial network to fundraise, it simply gives them some access and guidance that they wouldn't have before," said Kelly Dittmar, an assistant professor of Political Science at Rutgers UniversityCamden and a scholar at the Center for American Women and Politics. "They also create an environment in which it seems to a woman who is making the decision to run that if she does, there will be somebody standing behind her." Probably the most influential of women-focused PACs is Emily's List, which was launched in 1985 to give female candidates early money to get traction in their races, Dittmar said. She called it a "game-changer." Last cycle, Emily's List spent $72 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. "Really the Emily's List is the outlier in some ways, in (that) the Emily's List endorsement and support has probably more significant impact on the campaign all around," Dittmar said. "Because of the huge investment they are able to make and the widespread notoriety or recognition of an Emily's List endorsement across the country and even among party leaders, that entity in and of itself is sort of in a different ballpark than a lot of the other groups." Gillibrand started Off the Sidelines in 2011, after the representation of women in Congress decreased in 2010 for the first time in 30 years. She also has a book by the same name. Migrants and asylum seekers fear crossing border in small numbers will lead to their deportations back to Honduras. Ayutla, Guatemala Chaos ensued on the Guatemala-Mexican border on Monday after thousands of migrants and asylum seekers attempted to cross the Suchiate River, which divides the countries, after not being permitted to pass as a group into Mexico. Some migrants threw rocks and other items at Mexican National Guard troops, who blocked the group with tear gas and rocks. While there are few reports of injuries, Al Jazeera observed at least two migrants injured in clashes with the National Guard. This was a disaster, said Darlin Oliva, a 33-year-old Honduran who carried his young daughter in his arms. I was afraid [for my daughter], Oliva told Al Jazeera. They fired tear gas and threw rocks. They would not let us cross to the other side. A man carries a young girl who was injured from the area where migrants clashed with Mexicos National Guard [Jeff Abbott/Al Jazeera] Olivas wife, Rosalie, 28-years-old, cried from the panic and stress of the confrontation. Both decided to join the caravan in hopes of reaching the United States due to the deteriorating situation in Honduras, which has seen an increase in poverty and violence over the last decade. There is no work for anyone over 30, Oliva said. Our hope is to reach the United States. The situation remained tense late on Monday as more National Guard troops arrived at the banks of the river along. At least one group managed to pass the troops and begin walking into Mexico. Fears of deportation The caravan set out from San Pedro Sula, Honduras beginning on January 15, and quickly grew to more than 4,000 people. It split as it entered Guatemala, with groups taking one of two routes to the Mexican border with Guatemala. Hopes were raised on Friday after Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador announced that there were 4,000 jobs along the southern border. The following day, more than 1,000 migrants crossed into Mexico in groups of 20. According to the Mexican National Institute of Migration, each migrant was interviewed and told about opportunities with two government development programmes. which will be implemented along the southern border and in both El Salvador and Honduras. As the migrants waited, a loudspeaker at the border warned against applying for asylum in the US, stating that the applicant could be returned. It also announced that the Mexican government would offer employment opportunities in your country of origin. The possibility of work is being met by scepticism by migrants due to the threat of being returned to Honduras. I dont believe that. It is a lie, Oliva said. They are just trying to find a means trap us and to debilitate the caravan. Migrants run towards the banks of the Suchiate River in hopes of evading the Mexican National Guard [Jeff Abbott/Al Jazeera] On Monday, thousands more gathered at the border at 4am to request that Mexico permit the group passage to the US border. Representatives from the caravan presented Mexican officials with a letter requesting passage, but after several hours, Mexico responded that they would permit the migrants to pass in small groups in order to register everyone. Due to fears that the small groups would be deported more quickly, many in the caravan decided to cross into Mexico via the river. We all wanted to pass all together, said Miriam Luna, a 32-year-old from Santa Rosa Copan, Honduras. We did not want them to separate us and deport us back to Honduras, she told Al Jazeera. They have done this with many Hondurans. A Russian missile hit a building in Aleppo, which was being used by a displaced family to shelter in reports Zaman Al Wasl. Four people from the same family were killed overnight in a Russian airstrikes on a building sheltering displaced people in northern Aleppo province, a local reporter said. A father, mother and two children, who were sheltering in the western countryside, lost their lives in the Russian strike, according to Zaman al-Wasls reporter. On Friday, the Russian-led forces backed by allied Shiite militias launched a new offensive on a rebel-held area in the countryside of Aleppo, which was designated as a de-escalation zone. The ground bombardment has also hit the towns of al-Mansoura and Awarl al-Kobra. Syrias Response Coordinators Team, a local monitoring group, said at least 2,900 families have fled the southern and western countryside of Aleppo in the past 72 hours. Around 350,000 Syrians, mostly women and children, have fled a renewed Russian-backed offensive in the opposition-held Idleb province since early December, and have sought shelter in border areas near Turkey, the United Nations said Thursday. On Friday, The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, called for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Idleb, saying that the latest Syrian ceasefire had yet again failed to protect civilians. It is deeply distressing that civilians are still being killed on a daily basis in missile strikes from both the air and ground, Bachelet said in a statement on the ceasefire, which was due to be implemented nearly a week ago. The conflict in Syria has killed more than 560,000 people and displaced 6.5 million. 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. When he walked into a courthouse in Brampton, Ont., earlier this month, Rakesh Tiwari was full of hope. Tiwari was about to have his day in court, more than half a decade after his son killed himself while on suicide watch at a hospital in Brampton, Ont. He filed a wrongful-death suit against the William Osler Health System and some staff members in 2015 for negligence in their care of Prashant Tiwari. In the fall of 2018, a judge set the 34-day trial for January 2020. On the day the trial was set to get underway, the judge told Tiwari and his lawyer the jury was ready to go, but there was no courtroom to hear the case not in Brampton, Toronto, Kitchener, Orangeville or Milton, Ont. Now Im stuck. There is no hope. I dont believe it will happen, Tiwari said in a recent phone interview, choking back tears. First the medical system has let Prashant down, now we went to court where the justice system has let us down. Delays in Ontario courts are a serious problem. The provinces auditor general ripped the plodding system in a scathing report last month, and the government is trying to address it. However, lawyers say a landmark Supreme Court of Canada ruling designed to speed up criminal cases the so-called Jordan decision has had a restrictive effect on civil cases. In 2016, the countrys highest court put specific time limits on criminal cases that, if exceeded, would result in the charges being tossed for violating an accuseds constitutional right to a timely trial. The problem is the Jordan rule the criminal cases get precedent over the civil cases, Tiwaris lawyer, Michael Smitiuch, said. We are regularly bumped and its wrong. There needs to be a recognition that cases such as wrongful death cases should also have precedence as well. Civil cases and serious criminal matters are intrinsically tied because they are both heard in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, along with some family cases. The same judges, staff members and courtrooms are used for all three, explained Laura Hillyer, the president-elect of the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association. She said lengthy delays in civil matters are a problem across the province, but particularly in urban areas. The long-running problem has been exacerbated by the Jordan decision, she said. The courts are an essential part of our democracy, but if you cant have access to court to settle the dispute, what are you supposed to do? You still have the dispute, Hillyer said. It erodes a fundamental part of our democracy. According to the auditor generals report, there were 74,816 civil cases received in 2018/19, and 37,601 cases disposed of in that time; five years earlier, there were 75,719 cases received and 43,796 cases disposed. The Ministry of the Attorney General said it is working on ways to address delays and backlogs in the justice system. On Jan. 1, the province introduced a simplified procedure process for civil claims between $35,000 and $200,000, and a jury is no longer an option for those cases. The province also increased the limit of small-claims court to $35,000. Weve made changes to simplify civil court processes and reduce costs and delays in civil matters to allow more resources to be applied towards other pressing cases, ministry spokesman Brian Gray said in an email. For Rakesh Tiwari, those changes are meaningless. On June 16, 2014, Prashant Tiwari went to his father after deliberately cutting his neck and chest. Dad, I need help, Rakesh says Prashant told him. Rakesh Tiwari took his son to the Brampton Civic Hospital, where doctors stitched up his neck and chest. Prashant voluntarily admitted himself into the hospitals secure psychiatric unit, his father said, and was kept under close observation. After 10 days of treatment, doctors felt the younger Tiwari had improved enough to schedule a move into a non-secure psychiatric unit, according to the statement of claim. But while inside the secure unit, Prashant Tiwari was left unsupervised for nearly three hours. During that time he went to the shower and hanged himself. William Osler Health System said in a statement that through oversight and error, the observation policy was not followed. However the agency, which runs the Brampton hospital, said it is not responsible for Tiwaris death because it provided reasonable hospital and nursing care. The Osler community has been deeply affected by this tragedy. We have and continue to express our sincere condolences for the Tiwari familys loss, hospital spokesman Donna Harris said. As the matter is before the courts, and in respect of patient privacy, we are unable to discuss this case further. Rakesh Tiwari said until he has his day in court, There will always be that feeling I failed him as a father. I do not know what I could have done other than taking him to the hospital, he said. Read more about: The New York Times Until recently, Hoan Ton-Thats greatest hit was an app that let people put Donald Trumps distinctive yellow hair on their own photos. Then Ton-That did something momentous: He invented a tool that could end your ability to walk down the street anonymously and provided it to hundreds of law enforcement agencies. His tiny company, Clearview AI, devised a groundbreaking facial recognition app. You take a picture of a person, upload it and get to see public photos of that person along with links to where those photos appeared. The system whose backbone is a database of more than 3 billion images that Clearview claims to have scraped from Facebook, YouTube, Venmo and millions of other websites go far beyond anything ever constructed by the US government or Silicon Valley giants. Federal and state law enforcement officers said that while they had only limited knowledge of how Clearview works and who is behind it, they had used its app to help solve shoplifting, identity theft, credit card fraud, murder and child sexual exploitation cases. Until now, the technology that readily identifies everyone based on their faces has been taboo because of its radical erosion of privacy. But without public scrutiny, more than 600 law enforcement agencies have started using Clearview in the past year, according to the company, which declined to provide a list. The computer code underlying its app, analysed by The New York Times, includes programming language to pair it with augmented reality glasses; users would potentially be able to identify every person they saw. Clearview has also licensed the app to at least a handful of companies for security purposes. The weaponisation possibilities of this are endless, said Eric Goldman, co-director of the High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University. Imagine a rogue law enforcement officer who wants to stalk potential romantic partners, or a foreign government using this to dig up secrets about people to blackmail them or throw them in jail. Clearview has shrouded itself in secrecy, avoiding debate about its boundary-pushing technology. When I began looking into the company in November, its website was a bare page showing a nonexistent Manhattan address as its place of business. The companys one employee listed on LinkedIn, a sales manager named John Good, turned out to be Ton-That, using a fake name. For a month, people affiliated with the company would not return my emails or phone calls. While the company was dodging me, it was also monitoring me. At my request, a number of police officers had run my photo through the Clearview app. They soon received phone calls from company representatives asking if they were talking to the media a sign that Clearview has the ability and, in this case, the appetite to monitor whom law enforcement is searching for. Facial recognition technology has always been controversial. Clearviews app carries extra risks because law enforcement agencies are uploading sensitive photos to the servers of a company whose ability to protect its data is untested. The company eventually started answering my questions, saying that its earlier silence was typical of an early-stage startup in stealth mode. Ton-That acknowledged designing a prototype for use with augmented reality glasses but said the company had no plans to release it. And he said my photo had rung alarm bells because the app flags possible anomalous search behaviour in order to prevent users from conducting what it deemed inappropriate searches. In addition to Ton-That, Clearview was founded by Richard Schwartz who was an aide to Rudy Giuliani when he was mayor of New York and backed financially by Peter Thiel, a venture capitalist behind Facebook and Palantir. Another early investor is a small firm called Kirenaga Partners. Its founder, David Scalzo, dismissed concerns about Clearview making the internet searchable by face, saying its a valuable crime-solving tool. Ive come to the conclusion that because information constantly increases, theres never going to be privacy, Scalzo said. Laws have to determine whats legal, but you cant ban technology. Addicted to AI Ton-That, 31, grew up a long way from Silicon Valley, in his native Australia. In 2007, he dropped out of college and moved to San Francisco. The iPhone had just arrived, and his goal was to get in early on what he expected would be a vibrant market for social media apps. In 2015, he spun up Trump Hair, which added Trumps distinctive coif to people in a photo, and a photo-sharing program. Both fizzled. Ton-That moved to New York in 2016. He started reading academic papers on artificial intelligence, image recognition and machine learning. Schwartz and Ton-That met in 2016 at a book event at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank. Schwartz, now 61, had amassed an impressive Rolodex working for Giuliani in the 1990s. The two soon decided to go into the facial recognition business together: Ton-That would build the app, and Schwartz would use his contacts to drum up commercial interest. Police departments have had access to facial recognition tools for almost 20 years, but they have historically been limited to searching government-provided images, such as mug shots and drivers license photos. Ton-That wanted to go way beyond that. He began in 2016 by recruiting a couple of engineers. One helped design a program that can automatically collect images of peoples faces from across the internet, such as employment sites and social networks. Representatives of those companies said their policies prohibit such scraping. Another engineer was hired to perfect a facial recognition algorithm that was derived from academic papers. The result: a system that uses what Ton-That described as a state-of-the-art neural net to convert all the images into mathematical formulas, or vectors, based on facial geometry like how far apart a persons eyes are. Clearview created a vast directory that clustered all the photos with similar vectors into neighbourhoods. When a user uploads a photo of a face into Clearviews system, it converts the face into a vector and then shows all the scraped photos stored in that vectors neighbourhood along with the links to the sites from which those images came. Clearview remains tiny, having raised $7 million from investors, according to Pitchbook, a website that tracks investments in startups. The company declined to confirm the amount. Going viral with law enforcement In February, the Indiana State Police started experimenting with Clearview. They solved a case within 20 minutes of using the app. Two men had gotten into a fight in a park, and it ended when one shot the other in the stomach. A bystander recorded the crime on a phone, so police had a still of the gunmans face to run through Clearviews app. They immediately got a match: The man appeared in a video that someone had posted on social media, and his name was included in a caption on the video. He did not have a drivers license and hadnt been arrested as an adult, so he wasnt in government databases, said Chuck Cohen, an Indiana State Police captain at the time. The man was arrested and charged; Cohen said he probably wouldnt have been identified without the ability to search social media for his face. The Indiana State Police became Clearviews first paying customer, according to the company. (Police declined to comment beyond saying that they tested Clearviews app.) The companys most effective sales technique was offering 30-day free trials to officers. Ton-That finally had his viral hit. Federal law enforcement, including the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, are trying it, as are Canadian law enforcement authorities, according to the company and government officials. Ton-That said the tool does not always work. Most of the photos in Clearviews database are taken at eye level. Much of the material that police upload is from surveillance cameras mounted on ceilings or high on walls. Despite that, the company said, its tool finds matches up to 75 percent of the time. One reason that Clearview is catching on is that its service is unique. Thats because Facebook and other social media sites prohibit people from scraping users images; Clearview is violating the sites terms of service. Some law enforcement officials said they didnt realise the photos they uploaded were being sent to and stored on Clearviews servers. Clearview tries to preempt concerns with an FAQ document given to would-be clients that says its customer support employees wont look at the photos that police upload. Clearview also hired Paul Clement, a US solicitor general under President George W Bush, to assuage concerns about the apps legality. In an August memo that Clearview provided to potential customers, including the Atlanta Police Department and the Pinellas County Sheriffs Office in Florida, Clement said law enforcement agencies do not violate the federal Constitution or relevant existing state biometric and privacy laws when using Clearview for its intended purpose. Clement, now a partner at Kirkland & Ellis, wrote that authorities dont have to tell defendants that they were identified via Clearview as long as it isnt the sole basis for getting a warrant to arrest them. Clement did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The memo appeared to be effective; the Atlanta police and Pinellas County Sheriffs Office soon started using Clearview. Woodrow Hartzog, a professor of law and computer science at Northeastern University in Boston, sees Clearview as the latest proof that facial recognition should be banned in the United States. Weve relied on industry efforts to self-police and not embrace such a risky technology, but now those dams are breaking because there is so much money on the table, Hartzog said. I dont see a future where we harness the benefits of face recognition technology without the crippling abuse of the surveillance that comes with it. The only way to stop it is to ban it. Kashmir Hill c.2020 The New York Times Company A Judge has warned small-time drug-dealers that they are helping to fuel serious crime such as that in Drogheda and Dublin in recent weeks. Judge Paul Kelly made his comments at Letterkenny District Court in Co Donegal when sentencing a Lifford man who pleaded guilty to the sale and supply of drugs. Shane McNulty was a passenger in a car which was stopped by gardai at Daly's Service Station in Lifford on October 9, 2017. Gardai found a bag with cannabis in the car and McNulty admitted it was his. A follow-up raid on his home at Hollybush, Lifford uncovered almost 600 worth of cannabis in his bedroom. Solicitor for the accused, Mr Frank Dorrian, said McNulty had an unfortunate set of circumstances and was trying to go straight. He explained how the accused had been selling the drugs in order to fund a SafePass course but had lost two fingers in a car accident and could no longer do manual labour. Before that, he had been involved in a number of other car accidents which had left him with a brain injury. However, Judge Kelly said it was exactly this type of behaviour which was fuelling the drugs industry. "His drug dealing may have been on the smaller end of the scale but they are all connected to substantial criminal networks. "These are the exact people who have no problem to resorting to appalling violence. If you are buying a joint at a street corner or selling a few deals of cannabis then you are supporting that endeavour. "The shocking and sordid events in Dublin and Drogheda are the type of mess people get into when they get involved in the sale of drugs," he warned. He adjourned McNulty's case until April 2 next to allow for a Probation and Welfare Service report. Political rivals Fianna Fail and Fine Gael are expected to line out against each other like the elections of old over the next three weeks. A presidential-style election campaign is expected. The focus will be on the leaders with lots of build-up to the leaders' debates and focus on campaign launches and major media interviews. This is what the big two parties want. It will play to the strengths of both Leo Varadkar and Micheal Martin, both capable media performers, at ease in front of a tv camera. From the perspective of the big parties, it will paper over the fact that there are few major policy differences between them and it will provide an opportunity to squeeze out smaller parties and Independents. For all the talk of change in politics over the last decade, 2020 marks a return to elections of old when there were two choices, a Fianna Fail-led government or a Fine Gael-led government. Fianna Fail was all but wiped out in 2011 and while there was a noticeable recovery in 2016, government was always unlikely. Now 2020 takes us back to the more finely balanced competition between the big two. But the wider political backdrop of the last decade has not changed. Politics is still very fragmented, the polls show that Fianna Fail and Fine Gael will be doing very well to get their combined vote share up to 55-60pc. This means that four out of every 10 voters will choose another option. A majority coalition government is the preferred outcome for most of the parties but the polls suggest that minority coalition is a much more likely outcome. Varadkar and Martin have a complex campaign agenda to deliver. They must win as many votes as possible for their own parties but make no commitments that might make it difficult to govern in the coming years. And all the while they must be moderate in their criticism of the small parties, to keep them open to coalition negotiations after the big day, while also stealing their voters. Expand Close Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin The received wisdom in Fine Gael is that Varadkar was chosen as leader for his media skills, his ease with social media and his competent and relaxed performances in broadcast interviews and debates. His predecessor Enda Kenny was much faulted for going off script in interviews and for his many gaffes. Interestingly, when Varadkar strays from his text, it is interpreted as a sign of his authenticity, his preference for calling things as they are and there was a modest bounce, now faded away, for Fine Gael after Varadkar took the top job. Authenticity is like gold dust for politicians, it makes you popular and relatable. But authenticity is a difficult commodity to maintain when you are the Taoiseach. You are the boss and flippant remarks and casual comments can backfire easily. Varadkar needs to build his connection with voters. He is not a natural campaigner, easy with voters like Kenny was, but he has a sharp intellect and powerful communication skills. He must dominate the debates, he can't afford gaffes and he must ensure that the election is fought on the grounds of economic policy and competence. This is where Fine Gael is strongest and Varadkar, yet untried as a campaign leader, must deliver. Micheal Martin is one of the most experienced politicians in the Dail and he is undoubtedly Fianna Fail's greatest asset. He ran for leader of Fianna Fail in 2011 when the party was crumbling. Now, he has brought the party back to a point where it is competing for government, something few would have believed in 2011. Martin is a savvy politician with a slight left lean in ideology. His support for change on abortion provision is evidence of his ability to read voters and the public mood. Martin leads a team with some very able people, among them Lisa Chambers, Jim O'Callaghan and Dara Calleary, but he also has a long tail of TDs some of whom seem more suited to the politics of the 1970s. Martin is a strong media performer and a good campaigner. Management of the economy is vulnerable territory for Fianna Fail, he must ensure the election is about quality-of-life issues: housing, childcare, transport and the growing belief that rural Ireland has been left behind. Fianna Fail gets a lot of its support from rural Ireland, especially the western seaboard. This is high-stakes territory for Martin. He could well be Taoiseach after the next election, but if Fianna Fail doesn't make it into government, Martin's leadership will almost certainly end and he will become the first leader of Fianna Fail to not be Taoiseach. The campaign will be crucial and mistakes could be fatal for the leadership of either man. The polls are very tight. A significant number of voters remain undecided and RTE exit polls from the last four elections tell us that as many as 50pc of voters don't decide for definite on their choice until the last week. It's all on Leo and Micheal. They have to deliver. Dr Theresa Reidy is a political scientist at University College Cork Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Reuters) London, United Kingdom Mon, January 20, 2020 14:01 722 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad206034b3a 2 People Meghan-Markle,Thomas-Markle,royals,Britain,Duchess-of-Sussex Free Meghan Markle's estranged father, Thomas Markle, accused his daughter of "cheapening" the British royal family in part of an interview released a day after Buckingham Palace said Prince Harry and his wife would no longer be working members of the monarchy. The palace announced on Saturday that the couple would no longer use their "Royal Highness" titles and would pay their own way in life. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the whole country wished them "the very best" with the new arrangement. "As I said before ... I was sure that the royal family, which has been around a very long time, will find a way forward," Johnson told Sky News in Germany, where he was attending a summit on Libya. The monarchy was thrown into turmoil earlier this month when Harry and his American former actress wife announced that they wanted to reduce their official duties and spend more time in North America. Saturday's announcement from the palace followed discussions in recent days between Queen Elizabeth, her family and officials over how this would work in practice for Harry, 35, and Meghan, 38. Thomas Markle told Channel 5 news in a documentary that he believed Meghan was tossing away "every girl's dream". "It's disappointing because she actually got every girl's dream. Every young girl wants to become a princess and she got that and now she's tossing that away, for, it looks like she's tossing that away for money," he said. The interview was filmed after the couple's announcement that they would step back as senior members of the royal family. Channel 5 released part of the interview on Sunday and said the full documentary would air "in the coming weeks". Read also: Prince Harry expresses 'great sadness' at royal split 'Lost souls' Thomas Markle described the royal family as "one of the greatest long-living institutions ever", saying that when Meghan married Harry in May 2018 they took an obligation "to be part of the royals and to represent the royals". "This is like one of the greatest long-living institutions ever," he said. "They are destroying it, they are cheapening it, they're making it shabby ... They are turning it into a Walmart with a crown of it now. It is something that is ridiculous, they shouldn't be doing this." Thomas Markle and his daughter have been estranged since her marriage to Harry. Earlier this month, the Mail on Sunday newspaper submitted its defense to court action by Meghan over the publication of a private letter she sent to her father. Thomas Markle said he did not expect Meghan to get in contact. "I can't see her reaching out to me, especially now ... or Harry for that matter, but I think both of them are turning into lost souls at this point," he said. "I don't know what they're looking for. I don't think they know what they are looking for." Bernie Sanders says sexism, racism, homophobia and ageism continue to impact the political process as US voters determine which presidential campaign to support despite the electorate moving "very significantly in trying to look at candidates based on what they stand for." Asked in an interview with New Hampshire public radio whether he believes if "gender is still an obstacle for female politicians", the Vermont Senator who remains the front-runner ahead of that state's primary on 11 February said yes, noting that "everybody has their own sets of problems" in the eyes of voters taking gender, or age, or sexuality into account. Mr Sanders said voters are more concerned with a candidate's positions than their gender, age or racial identity. He said: "I'm 78 years of age. That's a problem. ... If you're looking at [Pete] Buttiegieg, he's a young guy. People will say, 'He's too young to be president.' You look at this one, 'She's a woman.' ... I would just hope, very much, that the American people look at the totality of a candidate, not at their gender, at their sexuality, but at everything." Mr Sanders' response followed a previous question about whether an "anxiety" exists within the American electorate about choosing a woman president. Bernie Sanders campaigns with Hillary Clinton Show all 15 1 /15 Bernie Sanders campaigns with Hillary Clinton Bernie Sanders campaigns with Hillary Clinton Andrew Harnik/AP Bernie Sanders campaigns with Hillary Clinton Darren McCollester/Getty Bernie Sanders campaigns with Hillary Clinton Mary Schwalm/Reuters Bernie Sanders campaigns with Hillary Clinton Brian Snyder/Reuters Bernie Sanders campaigns with Hillary Clinton Brian Snyder/Reuters Bernie Sanders campaigns with Hillary Clinton Brian Snyder/Reuters Bernie Sanders campaigns with Hillary Clinton Brian Snyder/Reuters Bernie Sanders campaigns with Hillary Clinton Brian Snyder/Reuters Bernie Sanders campaigns with Hillary Clinton Andrew Harnik/AP Bernie Sanders campaigns with Hillary Clinton Andrew Harnik/AP Bernie Sanders campaigns with Hillary Clinton Darren McCollester/Getty Bernie Sanders campaigns with Hillary Clinton Andrew Harnik/AP Bernie Sanders campaigns with Hillary Clinton Andrew Harnik/AP Bernie Sanders campaigns with Hillary Clinton Andrew Harnik/AP Bernie Sanders campaigns with Hillary Clinton Andrew Harnik/AP "As a country, we've come a long way", he said, pointing to the election and sweeping re-election of Barack Obama and the Democratic candidacy of Pete Buttiegieg, a married gay man. Mr Sanders said: "The world has changed, and to those people who think that a woman cannot be elected, you're dead wrong. If you think a gay American can't be elected, you're dead wrong. If you think an African American can't be elected, you're dead wrong." The interview follows Elizabeth Warren's recent claim that Mr Sanders had told her privately during a 2018 meeting that he didn't believe a woman could be elected president. He has unequivocally denied that claim, saying during last week's debate on CNN that "anybody who knows me knows it's incomprehensible that I would think a woman could not be president". Asked about his interview comments, Ms Warren said: "I have no further comment on this. ... I have been friends with Bernie for a long time." Mr Sanders' communications director Mike Sesca responded to criticism of his interview comments, which seized on his use of the word "problem" to reference a person's race, gender or sexuality as a potential obstacle to one's vote, by clarifying that the candidate is "very clearly calling on voters to move beyond the societal scourges of ageism, homophobia, and sexism". Mr Sesca said Mr Sanders "observes that sexism, ageism and homophobia exist in [America] and will be weaponised by [Donald Trump] in the general election". Working with a renowned company like Scantron will streamline the process, improve exam security, and increase access to exam-taking facilities. Scantron's 1,350 test centers worldwide staffed with proctors who have successfully completed Scantron's ANSI-accredited certificate program will help move NBMTM toward accreditation with the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA). "Although live, remote proctoring may be convenient for many of our exam candidates, our switch to physical, on-site proctoring will enable us to move our organization toward NCCA accreditation," said Dustin Thomas, PharmD, Executive Director. NBMTM strives to improve the quality of pharmaceutical care by providing reliable certification in Medication Therapy Management (MTM). Those seeking to gain or renew certification will be able to use Scantron's services while taking BCMTMS exams. About the National Board of Medication Therapy Management (NBMTM) Established in 2017, the National Board of Medication Therapy Management (NBMTM) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to advance the profession of pharmacy and empower pharmacists. NBMTM is the first and only organization to offer a valid and reliable process of certification in medication therapy management. To learn more about the board certification in medication therapy management (BCMTMS), visit NBMTM website, www.nbmtm.org About Scantron Scantron Corporation is a global, diversified company that empowers growth through intelligent, mission-critical assessment, technology, and data capture solutions for business, education, certification, and government clients around the world. Each year the company develops and delivers millions of digital education assessments and certification tests, provides managed technology support for several hundred thousand IT endpoints and devices, manages nearly a billion copied pages, prints & delivers hundreds of millions of high-precision, scannable answer sheets, and supports leading educational institutions, certifying bodies, small to large businesses, and government agencies across the globe. Scantron is headquartered in the Twin Cities of Minnesota, with other locations in the Research Triangle of North Carolina; Omaha, Nebraska; and Columbia, Pennsylvania. For more information visit www.scantron.com. SOURCE National Board of Medication Therapy Management Related Links https://www.nbmtm.org The Nifty opened with a bang to hit a new intraday high on January 20 only to slip immediately, wiping out all the gains following Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank's quarterly earnings that seem to have left the investors unimpressed. The selling pressure extended into afternoon after Kotak Mahindra Bank came out with its December earnings. The index erased 206 points from the day's high to close way below 12,300, the immediate crucial support level seen last week, and formed a large bearish candle that resembles a Long Black Day pattern on daily charts, as the closing was far lower than the opening tick. Experts says the day's low could be vital for further downside, but 12,000 would continue to be crucial support for the index. The Nifty went past 12,400 to hit a record high of 12,430.50 in the opening minutes but immediately found itself in the bear trap. Selling pressure extended as the day progressed and the index closed near the day's low at 12,224.50, down 127.90 points, or 1.04 percent. "Finally, the bulls appear to have surrendered as the Nifty50 registered a long black day after witnessing a strong opening with a new life-time high of 12,430. This sell-off appears to have triggered a short-term corrective swing with a reversal of the near-term trend in favour of the bears. Hence, any bounce in the zone of 12,25012,290 shall be an ideal opportunity to create fresh shorts," Mazhar Mohammad, Chief StrategistTechnical Research & Trading Advisory, Chartviewindia.in, told Moneycontrol. He said in case the Nifty breaches 12,216 in the next trading session, then it shall ideally extend the correction into the bullish gap zone, registered on January 9, present between 12,132 and 12,044. As upsides shall remain capped in the near term at around 12,400, traders are advised to create fresh shorts either on bounce into the zone of 12,25012,290 levels or if the Nifty trades below 12,200 for more than 30 minutes and look for a target close of 12,050 with a stop above 12,350 on closing basis, he added. The Nifty Bank also traded in line with the Nifty as it rallied on opening and fell gradually as the day progressed. The index lost 509.95 points, or 1.61 percent, to close at 31,080.70 and formed a Long Black Day candle on daily charts. "The Nifty Bank has an important support zone at 30,800 - 30,900, which, if breached on the downside, will weaken the near-term structure for the index and open up fresh downside for the index. However, the resistance for the index is seen around 31,450-31,600," Manav Chopra, CMT, Head Research-Equity at Indiabulls Ventures, said. All sectoral indices, barring FMCG and realty, closed in the red. The broader markets also corrected but outperformed benchmarks as the Nifty Midcap and Smallcap indices fell around 0.6 percent each. N Chandrasekaran, Chairman of the board of Tata Sons, met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi on Monday. The meeting comes days after Chairman emeritus of Tata Sons, Ratan Tata hailed the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government for undertaking numerous "visionary initiatives", at an event held in Gujarat. Earlier today, customary 'Halwa ceremony' was held at the Ministry of Finance, North Block ahead of printing of documents related to Union Budget 2020-21 which is going to be presented on February 1. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Saudi Arabia, UAE slam 'Huthi' attack in Yemen Riyadh, Jan 20 (AFP) Jan 20, 2020 Saudi Arabia and the UAE, key players in a military coalition battling the Huthi rebels in war-torn Yemen, condemned Monday a missile attack that killed more than 100 Yemeni soldiers. Saturday's missile strike blamed on the Iran-backed Huthis follows months of relative calm in the conflict between the rebels and Yemen's internationally recognised government. Government military sources said Saturday that the Huthis attacked a mosque during evening prayers in a military camp in the central province of Marib -- about 170 kilometres (105 miles) east of the capital Sanaa. "Saudi Arabia strongly condemns the terrorist attack carried out by the Huthi militia," the kingdom's foreign ministry said in a statement. The assault "reflects this terrorist militia's disregard for sacred places and... for Yemeni blood". The United Arab Emirates also condemned the "criminal" attack, saying that it "rejects all forms of violence that target security and stability". The death toll increased to 116 and is expected to rise, military and medical sources told AFP on Monday. Early reports suggested 83 were killed and 148 injured. Death tolls in Yemen's grinding conflict are often disputed, but the huge casualty list in Marib represents one of the bloodiest single attacks since the war erupted in 2014 when the rebels seized the capital Sanaa. The Huthis did not make any immediate claim of responsibility for the strike. Tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, have been killed and millions displaced in the war that has ravaged the country, triggering what the United Nations describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Saudi Arabia and its allies intervened in the conflict to back the government against the Huthis in March 2015, shortly after the rebels seized control of Sanaa. Two people have died after a gunman opened fire inside a Texas nightclub - one of at least three bar shootings that took place in the US on Sunday night. Police are still hunting the attacker who struck at the Ventura music venue in San Antonio. Police chief William McManus said: Im confident we will identify the individual and have that person in custody sooner or later. It is still unclear whether the shooting was indiscriminate or targeted. One victim, a 21-year-old man, was found dead inside the club, while another died after being discovered in critical condition. Five others were seriously injured. Meanwhile at a bar in Kansas City a gunman opened fire killing at least one person and injuring 15, of which three are currently in a critical condition. The suspect fired into a queue of people waiting to get into 9ine Ultra Lounge. An armed security guard is believed to have stopped the attacker, who is believed to be one of the dead, according to police. A motive is currently unclear. It came just hours after the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Tennessee Titans to Gun rights rally in Virginia Show all 32 1 /32 Gun rights rally in Virginia Gun rights rally in Virginia Gun rights advocates and militia members attend a rally organised by The Virginia Citizens Defense League on Capitol Square near the state capitol building in Richmond Reuters Gun rights rally in Virginia During elections last year, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam promised to enact sweeping gun control laws in 2020, including limiting handgun purchase to one per month, banning military-style weapons and silencers, allowing localities to ban guns in public spaces and enacting a 'red flag' law so authorities can temporarily seize weapons from someone deemed a threat AP Gun rights rally in Virginia While event organisers asked supporters to show up un-armed, militias and other far-right groups from across the country attended the rally with guns to show their support for gun rights AP Gun rights rally in Virginia A man with his face covered joins the rally Getty Gun rights rally in Virginia EPA Gun rights rally in Virginia Getty Gun rights rally in Virginia AP Gun rights rally in Virginia Reuters Gun rights rally in Virginia EPA Gun rights rally in Virginia Reuters Gun rights rally in Virginia AP Gun rights rally in Virginia Reuters Gun rights rally in Virginia Reuters Gun rights rally in Virginia EPA Gun rights rally in Virginia Reuters Gun rights rally in Virginia Getty Gun rights rally in Virginia AFP via Getty Gun rights rally in Virginia EPA Gun rights rally in Virginia EPA Gun rights rally in Virginia AP Gun rights rally in Virginia Getty Gun rights rally in Virginia AP Gun rights rally in Virginia EPA Gun rights rally in Virginia Getty Gun rights rally in Virginia AP Gun rights rally in Virginia EPA Gun rights rally in Virginia EPA Gun rights rally in Virginia EPA Gun rights rally in Virginia Reuters Gun rights rally in Virginia AFP via Getty Gun rights rally in Virginia AFP via Getty Gun rights rally in Virginia AP advance to the Super Bowl. Jean Peters Baker, the county prosecutor, said: "It is hard to stand here and talk about this tragedy on really one of the best days Kansas City has had in a long time. Meanwhile, Florida police are investigating after a shooting at the Romance Nightclub in Fort Myers in which one person was seriously hurt. Kathmandu, January 20 Himalayan Motrox, an auto trade company, has said it is launching new models of electric buses and other vehicles in Nepal, from BRIGHSUN company. As per the policy of the government of Nepal to give priority to environment-friendly vehicles, we are now launching electric, public, private, tourist and school buses, the company says, The vehicle from BRIGHSUN company the batteries could be recycled after use and guaranteed for 20 years. It takes up to four hours to fully charge a BRIGHSUN bus, and it can travel up to 800 km, the company claims. The company believes that it will be suitable for customers, mainly because it is accessible to the public, private, tourist, school and even for long-distance trips. New Delhi, Jan 20 : The dismissal of the review petition by the Supreme Court of Airtel and Vodafone poses a stiff challenge to Vodafone Idea's survival while Airtel has prepared itself with funds to meet the payments on time, ICICI Securities Limited said. Bharti Airtel has raised capital to meet the liability, but VIL remains challenged. Airtel last week raised capital of US $3 bn, which should help it meet its AGR liability with the help of additional debt. VIL 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. "We don't see the situation for VIL 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 900bn in deferred spectrum dues, besides the AGR liability," ICICI Securities noted. "We also see indirect impact on PSU banks if VIL fails to cough up the money", it noted. The Supreme Court has dismissed the review petition filed by telcos on its AGR ruling, which means the October 24 order continues to hold good. Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea (VIL) have disclosed their potential AGR liabilities at Rs 343 bn and Rs 442bn respectively, which have to be paid by January 23. Bharti Airtel has already raised capital of US $3 bn, 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. We 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", I-Sec said. SPRINGFIELD When 20-year-old Maya Marcacci of Benld was asked by the judges during Sundays State Fair Queen Pageant finals about the first item on her bucket list, she didnt hesitate. Winning this pageant, of course, said Marcacci. She almost got her wish. Marcacci was named the first runner-up during the Miss Illinois County Fair Queen Pageant over the weekend in Springfield, coming in second from a field of 73 contestants vying to reign over the 2020 Illinois and DuQuoin State Fairs. I have been coming to this pageant for close to seven years and I have done everything that I could possibly hope for, said Marcacci, the reigning Miss Macoupin County Fair. Im so thankful for this experience. Miss White County Fair Kelsi Kessler of Carmi was chosen to be the 2020 State Fair Queen, and Marcacci made friends with her and most of the other contestants from every nearly every part of Illinois. Marcacci, the daughter of Mike and Susan Marcacci of Benld, currently is enrolled at Lewis & Clark Community College pursuing a biology degree, with plans to enroll in medical school and become an anesthesiologist. All of these young women continue to get compliments and I dont feel that any of us look at each other as competition, Marcacci said. We are making friends; its a sisterhood. Miss Madison County Fair Elizabeth Moon, 21, of Bethalto also counted many of her fellow county fair queens as friends. Its been really fun to meet all of the girls and make a bunch of new friends, she said. I have enjoyed every moment. Some of those moments were better than others. I tripped over some tape backstage and almost ate the ground, Moon said. But I was able to recover. For Toni Zirkelbach of Hardin, the reigning Miss Calhoun County Fair, one of the daily rituals during the four-day pageant in Springfield presented a challenge for her. Just all of the makeup and trying to take it off at night, the 19-year-old Zirkelbach said. Its just really crazy and getting up at 5 a.m., but its a lot of fun. Its been amazing, very overwhelming and tiring, but this experience is once in a lifetime. My county pageant and this state pageant have taught me a lot more about agriculture, and its opened my eyes and made me realize how many people are out there are involved in agriculture, Zirkelbach said. Miss Jersey County Fair Sara Lamer, a 19-year-old Jerseyville resident, had an unusual situation the first day of the pageant. The first day I couldnt get my earrings out, so they took wire cutters and cut my earrings out, Lamer said. It was kind of scary; I was late for my pictures, but it was OK. Its definitely a memory I will keep for a long time. I had never been a pageant women until this year at the county fair, and I just went for it, it was like why not, Lamer said. And now that Im in this pageant its something that I want to hold true for the rest of my life. Miss Greene County Fair Anja Goetten, 21, of Carrollton echoed the feelings of contestants concerning the value of pageants. They are very empowering for women. I will never apologize for being a pageant girl, Goetten said. It has instilled a confidence in me that I never found before. She needed that confidence for the large dance number that all 73 contestants performed before a crowd of 1,000 people on Sunday. I have two left feet so this production number dance has been interesting for me because I am not a good dancer, Goetten said. Ive been giving it my all though, Ive tripped up a few times, but the two left feet havent been that big of a problem. Kessler is looking forward to her year-long reign. Its going to be a whirlwind but its going to be so much fun, she said. Ive been so lucky to compete along with these girls, and I still cant believe that it ended up like this. Retiring State Fair Queen Alexi Bladel of Rockford said the new queen is going to embark for the entire year on an incredible journey. She will be a role model for not only children but for young adults, Bladel said. Miss Illinois County Fair Queen Pageant Director Cathy Redshaw of Rushville said the 2020 queen will visit 20 to 25 county pageants throughout the summer in addition to reigning over the Illinois and DuQuoin State Fairs. She added that all 73 contestants are winners. I have never talked to a former county fair queen who doesnt say, Oh, I learned so much, I was able to interview so well because of the preparation from this, Redshaw said. Their speaking skills and interview skills are things that they learn from this, they dont get that opportunity any place else. C herie Blair is launching a 10million mentoring campaign to help 100,000 female entrepreneurs around the world achieve their potential. Mrs Blair, the prominent QC and wife of former PM Tony, will unveil the 100,000 Women project to leaders and luminaries assembled in Davos for the World Economic Forum tomorrow. Former US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has already offered her backing to the project, recording a video to accompany the launch. The Cherie Blair Foundation for Women has supported over 160,000 businesswomen across more than 100 countries since 2008. The new phase hopes to reach 100,000 more in just three years. Mentors will be paired with an aspiring entrepreneur in another country and must have seven years business experience. They will be provided with training and asked to give two hours a month. The Foundation must also raise 3million a year towards running costs. Mrs Blair said: Ive been inspired when meeting great women entrepreneurs in lower income countries. Ive also met men and women here who are very keen to give some practical help. I thought, how can we use the match them together? We dont necessarily want CEOs. We want the middle managers, the people who are making things happen. We have a really sophisticated program that matches the mentors by skills and needs. The Foundation creates teaching videos, internet forums and apps to help women who would otherwise not have access to training. Using its technology and working alongside charities in those countries, it has already supported thousands of women in places such as Nigeria, Mexico, Kenya, Indonesia and Vietnam set up their up own businesses. Mrs Blair added: There are amazing women across the world who have the right to redefine their future and all they need is a little bit of help. We dont know why he fled, but reports say he fled because the Government was after him. News broke this morning that he has been granted asylum in the US and this has made so many of his fans HAPPY! This evening, he tweeted about God delivering him from a violent man, and many of his followers told him, how much they have missed him, and demanded he starts an online show. Ofcourse, will he sit in the US and do nothing? Youtube to the rescue.. make some money too, lol. Ofcus anything that suits him will be aired on his Chanel. Some of us still find it hard to believe Ohimai is no more in the country. Jesus take the wheel! He delivers me from my enemies.You also lift me up above those who rise against me; You have delivered me from the violent man. | 2 Samuel 22:49, he had tweeted. See responses below He delivers me from my enemies.You also lift me up above those who rise against me; You have delivered me from the violent man. | 2 Samuel 22:49, he had tweeted. See responses below Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates O P Jindal Global University Vice Chancellor Professor C Raj Kumar has been invited to participate and speak at this year's World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, from January 21-24. He is the only vice-chancellor from the country invited to speak at the World Economic Forum, Davos, this year, a release said. Professor C Raj Kumar will speak in two panels. While the first panel discussion ' & Leadership for Sustainable World' will focus on educational leadership, sustainability, inclusive development, institutional cultural change and pedagogies of sustainability, the second panel discussion is on the theme: 'The Role of Global Universities in Promoting Sustainable Futures'. He has also been invited to speak at the Times Higher Exclusive Davos Breakfast Debate on 'What is the power of place'. At Davos, the O P Jindal Global University will also sign a memorandum of understanding with the University of Zurich for mutual cooperation in higher and research. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) American Ferrera is preparing to welcome her second child with husband Ryan Piers Williams. And the Superstore actress was absolutely glowing at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday. The 35-year-old talent cradled her baby bump wearing a stunning black look as she and her husband hit the red carpet outside the Shrine Auditorium. Baby bump: American Ferrera cradled her baby bump in a stunning black look as she and husband Ryan Piers Williams hit the red carpet Sunday for the Screen Actors Guild Awards America went classic in a sleeveless floor-length black gown, with a cuffed cowl neck and a satin belt strap. The dress featured a leg slit up the side, which teased her toned legs in black satin platform heels. She looked angelic in a pearl-studded tiara headband with a pair of sparkling teardrop earrings and matching diamond rings. Underneath the headband, America's hair was perfectly coiffed by beauty pro Aviva Perea, whose inspiration was 'a modern take on a 60s movie star'. TO achieve this, she used PhytoVolume Volume Actif Spray and IGK Good Behavior, before blowing out America's tresses with the Harry Josh Blow Dryer. The final step was to add in 'a healthy dose' of the Klorane Dry Shampoo and the Oribe Dry Texture Spray to ensure there was plenty of volume and texture. Chic display: The 35-year-old went classic in a sleeveless floor-length black gown, with a cuffed cowl neck and a satin belt strap Teasing some leg: The dress featured a leg slit up the side, which teased her toned legs in black satin platform heels And the winner is: Ferrera later took the stage with Daveed Diggs to present Jennifer Aniston with an award for The Morning Show Ferrera posted her look to Instagram, captioned: 'Mommy & Daddy go out (in matching tuxedos)!!' She gave a close-up of her glam look, which channeled '60s chic with a bouffant and a black smokey cat eye. The Ugly Betty star shared a laugh with Williams as they posed for a snap outside their home. Serving looks: Ferrera posted her look to Instagram, captioned: 'Mommy & Daddy go out (in matching tuxedos)!!' Retro vibes: She gave a close-up of her glam look, which channeled '60s chic with a bouffant and a black smokey cat eye She walked the red carpet with her husband, who put on a dapper display in a classic black suit. They announced their second pregnancy on New Year's Eve, after welcoming their son Sebastian in 2018. Ferrera later took the stage with Daveed Diggs to present Jennifer Aniston with the award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series for her role in The Morning Show. Date night: The Ugly Betty star also shared a laugh with Williams as they posed for a snap outside their home On the eve of a planned right-wing gun-rights rally in Richmond, Virginia, fascists and white supremacists are reportedly heading for the Virginia state capitol, hoping to create a second Charlottesville, modeled on the neo-Nazi riot in 2017 which killed one anti-fascist demonstrator and attracted the praise of President Donald Trump, who called the fascist marchers good people. Trump signaled his support for the Richmond event, tweeting Friday that the Democratic-controlled state government in Virginia was engaged in violating the Second Amendment rights of the states gun owners. Your 2nd Amendment is under very serious attack in the Great Commonwealth of Virginia, he wrote. Thats what happens when you vote for Democrats, they will take your guns away. Republicans will win Virginia in 2020. Thank you Dems! Trumps tweet was a gesture of open encouragement to ultra-rightists and neo-Nazis only days before the presidents trial before the US Senate begins, on impeachment charges brought by the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives. It is a clear demonstration that Trump is not relying merely on the Republican majority in the Senate to safeguard his hold on power but aims to mobilize forces entirely outside the existing two-party structure of capitalist politics. Fencing and magnetometers are set up around Capitol Square for the anticipated pro gun rally at the Virginia State Capitol Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020, in Richmond, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) Mondays rally was called by the Virginia Citizens Defense League, a gun-rights organization that is well to the right of the National Rifle Association. The NRA has declined to join the planned demonstration, urging its supporters to take part in a separate effort to lobby the state legislature against prospective gun regulations that have passed the Virginia state Senate and are now before the General Assembly. Hundreds of neo-Nazis and white supremacists have indicated on social media that they are traveling to Richmond, either to participate in the rally on the capitol groundswhere firearms are now prohibited under a state of emergency declared by Governor Ralph Northamor in the crowd that will assemble just outside the rally perimeter, where gun possession will be legal. Under the state of emergency, which extends from 5 p.m. Thursday to 5 p.m. Tuesday, the area around the state capitol has been turned into a fortress. State police have fenced off the capitol grounds, with a single point of entry for protesters, where they must divide into lines to pass through 17 metal detectors in order to enter a pie-shaped pen. Those found to be in possession of firearms will be denied admission. Northam has banned not only firearms, but torches, bats, laser pointers and scissors from the capitol grounds. The Virginia state Supreme Court upheld the temporary ban on Friday after it was challenged by several gun rights groups. The Federal Aviation Administration has imposed temporary flight restrictions for Richmonds airspace, making it illegal to fly drones or small planes anywhere near the state capitol. Northam said that officials were concerned about possible threats from weaponized drones. The actual gun regulations being enacted by the Virginia state legislature are quite modest. There are several separate bills limiting handgun purchases to one per month, banning military-style weapons and silencers, allowing local governments to ban guns in certain public spaces, and expanding background checks. Democrats won control of the state legislature in November and pledges to adopt such legislation played a major part in the final months of the election campaign. Governor Northam, a Democrat, has said he will sign the restrictions into law. None of the measures violates the Second Amendment to the Constitution, even under the current interpretation by the US Supreme Court as an individual right to bear arms, and most of them are in effect in several other states already, without a noticeable effect either on gun ownership or on gun violence. The initial response of right-wing groups and the Republican Party has been the adoption of Second Amendment sanctuary proclamations, in which officials of villages, towns and counties have pledged not to enforce the restrictions, claiming they are unconstitutional. These proclamations have been adopted by more than 110 local jurisdictions in the state, most of them small and rural. In his annual State of the Commonwealth Address to the state legislature last week, Northam sought to appease the right-wing campaign over the gun regulations. He declared, No one is calling out the National Guard. No one is cutting off your electricity or turning off the internet. No one is going door-to-door to confiscate guns. The birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. has become the customary day for various groups, both liberal and conservative, to lobby the Virginia state legislature, but the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, which supports the gun restrictions, canceled its planned rally because of the danger of a confrontation with the ultra-rightists. The holiday is now suffused with the threat of violence by the gun-rights demonstrators, either directly against the state capitol itself, or, more likely, against any counter-protesters who may attempt to challenge them, as was the case in Charlottesville, some 60 miles away, three years ago. In an indication of the lack of popular support for the white supremacists, barely 100 people took part Friday in a Lee-Jackson Day parade in Lexington, Virginia, in the Shenandoah Valley about 40 miles west of Charlottesville. The parade was supposedly a staging ground for Mondays much larger rally in Richmond. At least seven neo-Nazis were arrested in three separate operations by the FBI last week. Three were arrested in Delaware, suspected of planning a violent provocation during the Richmond rally. Three more were arrested in Georgia, on suspicion of plotting to overthrow the government and murder a Bartow County couple, according to a police statement. The fascists targeted the Florida couple because they believed they were members of the anti-Nazi Antifa group. It was not known whether the three men in Georgia had been planning to travel to Richmond. In Racine, Wisconsin, another member of the same group, which calls itself the Base, was arrested on charges of vandalizing a synagogue. The author also recommends: The impeachment trial begins as Trump escalates fascist appeals [17 January 2020] BERLIN and WASHINGTON, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- scoutbee Inc. ( https://scoutbee.com ), the world-leading supplier discovery platform, today closed a $60 million Series B round from new investors, led by Atomico with participation from Lakestar and Next47, and including existing investors HV Holtzbrinck Ventures, 42CAP and Toba Capital. The investment establishes scoutbee as the fastest growing global SaaS procurement platform and, as part of this investment round, Atomico Partner Hiro Tamura will join the company's board. This investment round brings scoutbee's total venture capital funding to date to $76 million. Headquartered in Berlin and Washington D.C., scoutbee's smart procurement technology is already utilized by major multinationals including Audi, Airbus, Caterpillar and Bosch, as well as 75+ other companies worldwide, to provide them more confident strategic sourcing and purchasing decisions. scoutbee delivers on a vital and compelling area of business, ripe for digital transformation - Global Procurement. Despite rising supply chain costs and complexity, geopolitical tensions and sustainability concerns, there is still no insightful, transparent, global and hyper-efficient way for companies to connect with suppliers. scoutbee enables the right purchasers and the right suppliers to connect - anywhere in the world. By leveraging AI and Big Data to generate deep insights and transparency, scoutbee drives more valuable and confident business relationships. Gregor Stuhler, Co-founder and Managing Director of scoutbee, said, "The significant new funding, together with our new partnership with Atomico and Lakestar is an exciting milestone. We will leverage every aspect of our combined instinct, expertise and passion to develop our products and capture new markets. scoutbee as a solution is unrivaled in its specific capability for strategic scouting. Perhaps most exciting, today our team mission is stronger than ever - and by 2021, we aim to save global companies $10B a year with our intelligent, transparent and fair supplier discovery platform." The potential for digital procurement is huge - private sector companies alone spend trillions annually buying from third-party suppliers. External sourcing is often the largest expense category for companies on average 43% of total costs ( Bain & Company ). scoutbee is strongly positioned to capitalize on a surging global procurement software market, currently growing at a CAGR of 9.1%, and expected to reach $7.3 billion by 2022 (IDC). Hiro Tamura, Partner at Atomico, said, "Using databases and online searches in a vacuum, procurement professionals commonly don't know what proportion of suppliers they have visibility over, nor the suppliers' level of quality or experience. The industry requires far more effective information gathering. We are proud to partner with scoutbee's talented and dedicated team who are focusing on exactly this - a smarter way to find suppliers. We were blown away by their deep knowledge in the procurement space in geographies from Asia, Europe and America, and their product-first approach to solving procurement for the world's top-tier companies." scoutbee will further expand its R&D, accelerate customer growth and explore strategic acquisitions. scoutbee's already diverse team will be scaled up from 120 staff today to around 220 across Berlin, Wurzburg and Washington D.C. by the end of 2020 (including new roles in engineering, AI / ML, product development, sales and marketing). "Despite the deep challenges facing global procurement today, there is no other software platform trying to solve this issue as they are. Organizations can gain access to a far greater proportion of suppliers and then streamline them into a strategic RFP process, all within the platform. scoutbee is creating the intelligent, transparent, and equal procurement environment the world deserves," added Tamura. Delivering a procurement (r)evolution At the centre of scoutbee's core products is ARTIMIS the artificial intelligence that continually mines vast amounts of data and centralizes details about suppliers and products across hundreds of dimensions and across languages. scoutbee uses ARTIMIS and its insights throughout its core product Streamline a powerful SaaS platform that equips procurement professionals to manage an entire RFI and RFP process from start to finish. The final piece in scoutbee's product offering is 'DeepSee' - a powerful company knowledge-base that compiles customer-specific data lakes. DeepSee leverages external data, external applications like Dun & Bradstreet and third-party data. DeepSee profiles offer powerful live data insights - qualified, transparent, effortless. Since its founding in 2015, scoutbee has helped to save billions of dollars for organizations. Typically, scoutbee users save on average 8-11% on contract values. For suppliers, scoutbee is levelling the playing field - by providing them access to customers across the world. scoutbee was recently the first start-up ever to be "Highly Commended" in the technology category at the 2019 World Procurement Awards. Over the next 18 months, scoutbee aims to facilitate over $100B in trading volume across global industry sectors including automotive, aerospace, off-highway and industrial machining, construction, manufacturing and retail. About scoutbee scoutbee's mission is to help the right purchasers and the right suppliers connect, anywhere in the world. scoutbee delivers procurement teams a smarter supplier discovery suite. Powered by AI and continuously curated data, scoutbee traces the supply chain of millions of suppliers to bring together supplier information with deep insights and a simple, digital process for strategic sourcing. Founded in 2015 by procurement, operations and engineering experts, scoutbee offers its strategic sourcing solution in Europe and in the US. scoutbee received global recognition in May 2019 at the World Procurement Awards with the "Highly Commended" award for technology. scoutbee has to date raised $76M in funding from investors including Atomico, Lakestar, Next47, Toba Capital, HV Holtzbrinck Ventures and 42CAP. More details at https://scoutbee.com. SOURCE scoutbee Related Links https://scoutbee.com Air Force helicopter carrying four crashes in Chihuahua Guadalupe y Calvo, Chihuahua A helicopter belonging to the Mexican Air Force crashed on a runway over the weekend, leaving its four crew members injured. La Secretaria de la Defensa Nacional (Sedena) reported the crash of the MD-530F helicopter Sunday afternoon during landing operations after a transfer flight from the municipality of Badiraguato, Sinaloa to Zorrillo in the municipality of Guadalupe y Calvo in Chihuahua. General Luis Cresencio Sandoval Gonzalez, head of National Defense Secretariat, says the four crew members, who were left with various injuries, were taken to the Mazatlan Regional Military Hospital by a Bell 412 helicopter, also from the Mexican Air Force. Photo: La Secretaria de la Defensa Nacional In a statement, Sedena says that it will be responsible for investigating the crash of its aircraft, reviewing possible causes for the accident. Preliminary reports say the pilot apparently lost control while performing landing maneuvers on the runway when the accident occurred. In the last few years, many in the United States have wanted a reevaluation of its history. In particular, ties to slavery and the Confederacy. Arguments have been made about what could be considering glorifying racism. Other arguments have included ones about what could be considered erasing history. In Tennessee, there has long been a controversial law in place. It forces the sitting governor to 'honor' the state's Confederate past. Current Governor Bill Lee is not a supporter of this law. And he's trying to make some changes. Introducing legislation to change the law According to Tennessee law, sitting governors have to sign a number of proclamations over a year. Among the required proclamations are ones designating special observance days involving the Confederacy. Long-observed days in Tennesse include Robert E. Lee Day, Confederate Decoration Day, and Nathan Bedford Forrest Day. According to ABC, Governor Lee received harsh criticism for sign the proclamation for Nathan Bedford Forrest Day last year. And, as reported by WVLT, he announced he would be trying to change the law soon after. Two days before the traditional Robert E. Lee Day, January 19, the governor's office made the announcement. The legislation was in the works. Lee has had his own criticism for the law requiring such proclamations. He openly stated his dislike for signing the Nathan Bedford Forrest proclamation. Lee has also said his job is to enforce Tennessee's laws. But that he wants people to know where his 'heart is on this issue.' A Republican, Bill Lee, was elected governor in 2018. Discuss this news on Eunomia A native of Franklin, Tennesse, he is a graduate of Auburn University in Alabama. Before becoming governor, he was CEO, president, and chairman of a construction company. He was also a trustee of Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. Robert E. Lee and Nathan Bedford Forrest were both Confederate generals Robert E. Lee was the son of one of America's Founding Fathers. He is arguably one of the most confusing figures in American history. He was opposed to slavery, secession, and the creation of the Confederacy. But an apparent sense of obligation drove him to become the Confederacy's top general. All of Lee's sons also became high-ranking officers in the Confederate Army. After the Civil War, one of them was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Nathan Bedford Forrest was a Confederate lieutenant general. He eventually became a prominent member of the Klu Klux Klan and was its first grand wizard. One of his great-grandchildren was a U.S. Army Air Forces brigadier general during World War II. He would be killed in action while serving in Germany. Democrats in the Senate want to call Mr. Bolton to the stand, compel the testimony of three other top Trump aides, including the acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, and obtain the records that the administration has withheld. But they would need the support of at least four Republican senators to do so. A fair trial, everyone understands, involves evidence, Senator Richard J. Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, said Sunday on NBCs Meet the Press. Evidence would be documents and witnesses. We know the president has refused to provide documentation beyond the July 25 telephone memo. And hes refused to provide basic witnesses who actually heard what happened on that conversation and saw what happened afterwards. Here are some of the key questions that more witness testimony or additional documents could address: To what extent did Mr. Giuliani act at Mr. Trumps direction and keep him apprised of his efforts? Some Trump allies have tried to suggest that Mr. Giuliani was a rogue actor pursuing his own interests in Ukraine. But Mr. Giuliani said last spring, as he planned a trip to Ukraine to press for investigations into the Bidens, that his efforts had Mr. Trumps full support and that the president basically knows what Im doing. Mr. Trump has called Mr. Giuliani a crime fighter who was seeking out corruption because he was very, very incensed at the horrible things that he saw. He also said Mr. Giuliani had the right to look into whether the Ukrainians helped sow the seeds for the special counsels investigation into Russias interference in the 2016 election. Mr. Giuliani has insisted that his conversations with Mr. Trump are protected by attorney-client privilege. He has pointed out that Kurt D. Volker, then Mr. Trumps special envoy to Ukraine, put him in touch with a top Ukrainian aide whom he met in August in Madrid. Unquestionably, Mr. Trump sought to vest Mr. Giuliani with at least some informal authority to operate on his behalf. He urged President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, during a phone call on July 25, to consult Mr. Giuliani about the investigations he wanted. And he urged his own diplomats and aides involved with Ukraine to consult with Mr. Giuliani after they returned from Mr. Zelenskys inauguration in May. BERKELEY (BCN) Berkeley Repertory Theatre has been approved for a $50,000 Art Works grant to support The Ground Floor: Berkeley Rep's Center for the Creation and Development of New Work. The grant is one of 1,187 totaling $27.3 million approved by the National Endowment for the Arts in the first round of fiscal 2020 funding to support arts projects all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. NEA grants in the Art Works category support projects that focus on public engagement with, and access to, various forms of excellent art across the nation; the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence; learning in the arts at all stages of life; and the integration of the arts into the fabric of community life. "The arts are at the heart of our communities, connecting people through shared experiences and artistic expression," said Arts Endowment chairman Mary Anne Carter. "The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support projects like Berkeley Rep's Ground Floor and its development of new work." "Berkeley Rep is committed to encouraging writers of all backgrounds to tell us their stories in the most imaginative way they possibly can, because their stories are our stories," said Susan Medak, Berkeley Rep's Managing Director. "Support from the National Endowment for the Arts is one of the essential components necessary to underpin our Ground Floor program and continue the growth of new works." Since 2012, Berkeley Rep has awarded 134 Ground Floor residencies to artists for projects such as Sarah Ruhl's "Becky Nurse of Salem," Anna Deavere Smith's "Notes from the Field," John Leguizamo's "Latin History for Morons," Anas Mitchell's "Tony Award-winning musical "Hadestown," Dave Malloy's "Ghost Quartet," Lauren Yee's "Cambodian Rock Band," and Marcus Gardley's "The House that will not Stand." The Ground Floor is supported by Louise Gund, Frances Hellman and Warren Breslau, Michael & Sue Steinberg, and other individual supporters of Berkeley Rep's Create Campaign. Additional funding is provided by the Tournesol Project and Bank of America. 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. ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - Military personnel armed with shovels spread out across St. John's, N.L., Monday in response to calls from people still struggling to dig out from last week's unprecedented snowfall. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/1/2020 (722 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Residents dig out their car in St. Johns on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020. The state of emergency ordered by the City of St. John's continues, leaving businesses closed and vehicles off the roads in the aftermath of the major winter storm that hit the Newfoundland and Labrador capital. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - Military personnel armed with shovels spread out across St. John's, N.L., Monday in response to calls from people still struggling to dig out from last week's unprecedented snowfall. With a state of emergency set to extend into its fifth day Tuesday, travel remained difficult across eastern Newfoundland, and some residents were relying on each other for food. Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Navy members were being deployed around the city Monday, where traffic was reduced to one lane between towering snowdrifts. Dump trucks hauling loads of snow shared the road with police vehicles, pickup trucks carting snowblowers and pedestrians stretching their legs after days of begin housebound. The provincial capital is still reeling after Friday's blizzard dumped 76 centimetres of snow amid winds gusting over 150 kilometres per hour. With a few flurries in the air, a team of four green-clad soldiers chipped away Monday at a steep, buried driveway on Topsail Road, a task one of them estimated took a few hours. A civilian passerby joined in with his snowblower, and the soldiers were encouraged by people in passing vehicles, who honked horns and shouted their thanks. Bill Ash, 70, said the sight of a clear driveway was a relief after being snowed in for four days. "I was in quite a predicament until I saw our military men turn up this morning," he said. "I really appreciate everything they done." He said his daughter had tried to come by but couldn't make it close to the house. Ash has a snowblower and made some progress himself near his side door before being overwhelmed by the volume of snow. Soldiers from the 4th Artillery Regiment based at CFB Gagetown clear snow at a residence in St. Johns on Monday, January 20, 2020. The state of emergency ordered by the City of St. John's continues, leaving most businesses closed and vehicles off the roads in the aftermath of the major winter storm that hit the Newfoundland and Labrador capital. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan Gunner James Howie was part of the crew clearing his driveway, where only the antenna of Ash's car was visible under the drift of snow. Howie said he joined the army three years ago partly out of a desire to help people during natural disasters, though this was his first time responding to a snowstorm. "It's an amazing community," Howie said of St. John's. "Everyone I've seen has either thanked us, honked the horn as they're passing and certainly cheered us on while we're working." Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said 450 troops including about 175 reservists will be in Newfoundland by Tuesday to help the province dig out from the storm. "When you have 175 reservists who at the same time live in the communities who are affected as well, going out and helping others, it's something to be really proud of, of our reserves and how we come together," Sajjan said in Winnipeg where he was attending a federal cabinet retreat. Sajjan said it is "way too early" to say how long military assistance will be necessary, but he said the troops will stay as long as they're needed. He also said more will be sent if necessary. Meanwhile, the province urged neighbours to continue to check on seniors, people with disabilities and others at risk from days of being shut in without access to food stores or prescription refills. "In many cases, the roads are still not safe to drive on, and emergency responders need unhindered access to provide emergency services," a release from the provincial Municipal Affairs Department said Monday afternoon. The City of St. John's announced its state of emergency would remain in effect Tuesday, but some stores will be allowed to reopen to sell "basic foods." Most other businesses have to remain closed, with exceptions for gas stations and some pharmacies. The city advised residents to "be prepared to purchase enough food for your family for 48 hours. Future opportunities to open food stores during this state of emergency will be evaluated and communicated as conditions warrant." St. John's International Airport announced it would remain closed to commercial flights until Wednesday morning. It has been open since Sunday for military, emergency and medevac flights. Search efforts continued Monday for 26-year-old Joshua Wall, who was last seen leaving his home in Roaches Line on Friday to walk through a wooded area to a friend's home in nearby Marysvale. The RCMP says the Avalon North Wolverines Search and Rescue would focus Monday on areas off the trail where it's believed Wall was travelling on foot from his home. Brad Tuck, a 30-year-old musician, has passed the time shovelling snow and writing a song about "Snowmaggedon 2020." He said that after four days, some neighbours' food supplies were running low on his street in the centre of town. "Some people are running out of things .... People are having to help each other with food, and if you're stuck, you make do with what you have at the moment," he said in a telephone interview. 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. His song's lyrics praise the resilience of residents: "All hands got together, everybody worked as one/ 'cause that's what Newfoundlanders do when there's work here to be done." Assessing the soldiers' work at his St. John's home, Bill Ash remarked that while Newfoundlanders are prepared for wild weather, this month's storm will likely be the stuff of legend. "We're pretty hardy with regards to expecting strange things sometimes," Ash said. "We always have the one storm which we remember back on. Forget the one I was thinking about before, this is going to be the one, now, I think I'll remember for quite some time." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 20, 2020. With files from Michael Tutton in Halifax and Joan Bryden in Winnipeg UCLA Anderson with $50k vs. NYU Stern with $0 scholarship [ #permalink TL;DR: International student with corporate finance focus choosing between UCLA Anderson with $50,000 fellowship and NYU Stern with $0 scholarship. Hi there, Right now Im choosing between Anderson with $50,000 fellowship and Stern with no scholarship and would greatly appreciate input form you guys and any advice or own experience that you could share. Im especially interested in the perspective of international students who stayed on in the US after their MBA. My background: 28 years old, born and raised in Eastern Europe, CFA Charterholder, 4+ years as an investment banker at a local IB shop (mostly DCM and M&A), 2+ years before that as an auditor at Big 4. BBA from local university. MBA situation : 720 at GMAT, planned major/concentration: finance and entrepreneurship. Post-MBA plans: I plan to work at a corporate finance function of a large corporation in the US for 5+ years, then go back to the old country as a senior executive. Financing: will have to take out a student loan to cover 100% of costs. Im very sensitive to taking on too much debt. Minimizing the loan size and maximizing US visa/job chances is a priority. Here is my analysis so far: Financing: over two years Stern costs c. $20,000 more in tuition alone compered with Anderson. Add $50,000 fellowship to that and Stern will cost me at least $70,000 more compared to Anderson. So Anderson is clear winner here. Career prospects: Stern is better known for its finance practice and lots of graduates go to wall street and corporate finance prospects are good too, however plenty of Anderson graduates land corporate finance jobs too. Points to Stern here. Visa: Sterns MBA has a STEM designation which means that on top of one year working right for every F1 visa-holders graduates with relevant post-MBA job can apply for Optional Practical Training program and get two more years of work in the US. While this is pretty huge good as H1B visas are getting a lot harder to obtain nowadays, most corporate finance jobs don't fall under STEM so I don't think this is that useful in my situation. Still, Sterns a winner here. Location: personally, I prefer LA to NY in terms of weather and laid-back attitude, but I can live with both. Total living costs are probably comparable: housing seems more expensive in NY, but Ill have to get a car in LA. Im ambivalent on this one. Any point Im missing or got wrong? How would you guys choose in my place? NEW ORLEANS, Jan. 19, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") and KSF partner, the former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors that they have only until January 20, 2020 to file lead plaintiff applications in securities class action lawsuits against Canopy Growth Corporation (CGC), if they purchased the Companys securities between September 8, 2017 and November 13, 2019, inclusive (the Class Period). These actions are pending in the United States District Courts for the District of New Jersey and Southern District of New York. What You May Do If you purchased securities of Canopy Growth and would like to discuss your legal rights and how these cases might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or via email (lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-cgc/ to learn more. If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in these class actions by overseeing lead counsel with the goal of obtaining a fair and just resolution, you must request this position by application to the Court by January 20, 2020 . About the Lawsuit Canopy Growth and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws. On November 14, 2019, pre-market, the Company announced its 2Q2019 results including a larger-than-expected loss for the quarter, a restructuring charge of $32.7 million. On this news, the price of Canopy Growths shares plummeted. The first-filed case is Ortiz v. Canopy Growth Corporation et al, 2:19cv20543. About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC KSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is one of the nations premier boutique securities litigation law firms. KSF serves a variety of clients including public institutional investors, hedge funds, money managers and retail investors in seeking recoveries for investment losses emanating from corporate fraud or malfeasance by publicly traded companies. KSF has offices in New York, California and Louisiana. Story continues To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com. Contact: Vancouver, British Columbia: Lawyers for the Huawei executive wanted by the US Justice Department for alleged fraud argued Monday that authorities should not send her to the United States because the allegations do not amount to crimes in Canada. The extradition hearing of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, whose detention by Canadian authorities at the behest of the United States 13 months ago has left Canada caught in a conflict between Washington and Beijing, opened Monday morning in a packed courtroom of the British Columbia Supreme Court. Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Huawei, leaves her home for an extradition hearing at the Supreme Court in Vancouver, Canada. Credit:Bloomberg The Justice Department alleges that Meng, the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, committed bank and wire fraud by misleading HSBC about the company's relationship with a subsidiary, SkyCom, effectively tricking it into clearing more than $US100 million ($145 million) in transactions that violated US sanctions on Iran from 2010 to 2014. Under Canadian law, to "commit" Meng for extradition, the allegations must meet the test of "double criminality," meaning that the charges of which she is accused in the US must also be considered crimes in Canada. Today is a day set aside to remember and honor late civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. MLK Day is commemorated on the third Monday in January each year. Todays official holiday is Jan. 19, four days after Kings actual birthday on Jan. 15. King was born Jan. 15, 1929 in Atlanta. He rose to national prominence when he led the boycott of the Montgomerys transit system after Rosa Parks, an African-American, was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a city bus. King later helped form the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and went on to lead protests throughout the South and, in 1963, was a central figure in the March on Washington. King was killed by an assassin on April 4, 1968 in Memphis. Heres a look at whats open, whats closed on Martin Luther King Day 2019: Federal offices - Closed State offices - closed City and county offices - Most closed Courts - Closed U.S. Post Office - Closed, mail will not run Fed Ex Modified schedule, some early drop offs and pickups. All other FedEx services will operate normally. UPS - Open, normal pick-up and delivery ABC stores - Alabama state liquor stores are open unless otherwise closed on Monday Grocery stores - Open Banks - Closed Stores and malls - Open, most on normal schedules Stock markets - Closed Schools and universities - Closed Track pick-up - Most will be suspended on MLK Day, check with your provider for holiday schedules Public transportation- Limited or moderated service in most areas, check with your provider. The next federal holiday is Presidents Day, Monday, Feb. 17. Imperial Valley News Center Man Pleads Guilty to Illicit Sexual Conduct While Traveling and Residing in Cambodia Lexington, Kentucky - A Kentucky resident pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday that he, a U.S. citizen, engaged and attempted to engage in illicit sexual conduct with two minor females while he traveled and resided in Cambodia. Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Departments Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Robert M. Duncan Jr. for the Eastern District of Kentucky, Special Agent in Charge Jerry Templet of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Nashville, and Kentucky State Police Commissioner Rodney Brewer made the announcement. Micky Rife, 36, formerly of Salyersville, Kentucky, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove. In his plea agreement, Rife admitted that between Sept. 3, 2012, and Dec. 9, 2018, he traveled in foreign commerce, and between March 7, 2013 and Dec. 9, 2018, he resided in Cambodia, and that during those periods he touched two minor females under their clothing and inside or on their genital areas on more than one occasion. He further admitted that both minor victims were under the age of 12 when the illicit conduct occurred. Rife was previously indicted for two separate counts of the same offense in February 2019. He pleaded guilty to a single-count information filed. Sentencing is scheduled for April 7, 2020. The investigation was conducted in Cambodia and Kentucky by HSI and the Kentucky State Police. Trial Attorney Lauren S. Kupersmith of the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney David A. Marye prosecuted the case. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. Nine in ten Chinese urbanites use Alipay or WeChat (Ant Financial/PA) British high street retailers are not equipped to deal with a boom in Chinese tourism, with a majority not accepting the countrys most common payment methods. Mystery shoppers found that they were not able to pay with Alipay or WeChat at four in five of the non-luxury retailers in some of Londons top tourist destinations. The luxury retailers, more attuned to the needs of rich travellers, have adapted better, with 41% of them accepting both payment methods, and 21% taking Alipay alone. About 90% of Chinese city dwellers use one of the two apps as their main payment methods, and even in the countryside around half of them use them regularly. The number one pastime of Chinese tourists when visiting the UK is shopping, said Richard Morecroft, the co-founder of JGOO, which conducted the research. JGOO offers to connect businesses to WeChat and Alipay. Chinese tourists are expected to spend up to 1 billion in the UK this year, according to the firm, an increase of 52%. Its mystery shoppers visited 107 retail outlets in Oxford Street, Regent Street, Bond Street and New Bond Street. They also found that 29% of shops employed at least one Mandarin speaker. However more than half (56%) of the luxury shops were able to speak to tourists in Mandarin, the largest of the Chinese dialect groups. Thirteen of the 107 retailers both accepted the payment methods and had Mandarin-speaking staff. They included Harrods, Selfridges and Watches of Switzerland. Mr Morecroft said that visitors could be put off. Our research shows that even some of the UKs leading retailers who are in the prime locations visited by Chinese tourists are not geared up to engage with them properly and could be costing them millions of pounds a year in lost sales, he said. Nigerians on Twitter have launched an attack on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over its arrests of 89 Yahoo-Boys in a night club in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. The EFCC in a Tweet, on Monday, announced the arrest of 89 persons suspected to be involved in cybercrime act, also known in Nigeria as Yahoo-Yahoo. The commission said the arrest was carried out by operatives of its Ibadan zonal office at a popular night club named 360, located on the Akala Expressway, Oluyole Extension in Ibadan. It added that before the arrest, its officers had carried out a series of discreet surveillance on the activities of the accused persons. According to the EFCC, intelligence gathered showed that the activities going on in the nightclub was notorious In reaction, Nigerians have taken to Twitter to attack the EFCCs action, many accusing the Commission of leaving out prominent politicians who have ruined the countrys economy to fight suspected internet fraudsters. Read some of the reactions: A Twitter user @Irunnia2 said, Only a fool will believe this. 89 Yahoo boys. Yall are a joke. What were they all doing in the club at once? Abi they were hosting Yahoo Boy PTA meeting? Rubbish!!! Only a fool will believe this. 89 Yahoo boys. Y'all are a joke. What were they all doing in the club at once? Abi they were hosting Yahoo Boy PTA meeting? Rubbish!!! IRUNNIA (@Irunnia_) January 20, 2020 @DwaneMaurice said: Arresting yahoo boys down South rehabilitating and reintegrating Boko Haram terrorists with juicy packages. A story of a failed state. https://twitter.com/london_used/status/1219219134162010112?s=19 https://twitter.com/mrmanhere_/status/1219276390694031360?s=19 Lol so I fit dey inside club say I wan DJ and efcc go just come pack me with other people say we be yahoo. Mad o https://t.co/4rCvEKOBzA POWERPLAY (@1DJPowerPlay) January 20, 2020 Less than 6 months ago, the FBI arrested 80 Diaspora Yahoo Yahoo Boys. They already had evidence to nail every single one of them before making any arrest. EFCC can do better. You just can't go around raiding club houses and arresting every single person in sight. It is wrong! Dr. Dipo Awojide (@OgbeniDipo) January 20, 2020 https://twitter.com/tawah89/status/1219214193326424074?s=19 BANGOR, MAINE, Jan. 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Husson University proudly announced today that it has concluded its first comprehensive campaign and raised $37,988,400 in cash and pledges. The campaign, called Shaping our Future, had an initial goal of $21 million. The Universitys alumni and friends contributed $16 million during its initial silent phase. This early success combined with a need for a signature and state-of-the-art facility for Hussons College of Business, prompted the trustees to increase the goal to $30 million when the campaign was publically announced on October 3, 2015. We accepted the challenge to do more because we believe in a better future, said Robert A. Clark, Ph.D., president of Husson University. This successful campaign has made it possible for us to better support the success of our students and serve as a catalyst responsible for the economic future of our state. There is no greater calling for any institution than the transformation of students lives and the education of our future leaders. A major donation, in the form of a matching gift challenge, was received from the Harold Alfond Foundation. Husson supporters rose to the challenge committing $8 million toward a new College of Business building, unlocking an additional $4 million matching gift from the Foundation. This represents the largest single gift in the Universitys history. The campaign made a variety of benefits possible for students and the University. With the creation of 51 new endowed scholarships, Husson University students now have more opportunities for financial aid. The campaign also strengthened the institutions endowment. A larger endowment will help to ensure the financial strength and security of Husson University for years of come. The crowning jewel of this fundraising effort will be the construction of a new College of Business building made possible through donations. Husson Universitys College of Business is the largest business school in Maine. Once completed, the new, modern building will feature approximately 42,500 square feet of experiential classrooms and offices, supported by an advanced technology infrastructure. It will fuse business education with science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM) opportunities. These STEAM-oriented learning spaces will become the incubators of future jobs in our state. One of these STEAM-oriented learning spaces with be the new IEX Center in the College of Business building. This Center will create and distribute immersive and interactive experiences for a variety of Husson courses as part of the Universitys commitment to experiential learning. Virtual reality and augmented reality will be part of the experiences offered by the Center. The Center will aid in the Universitys mission to enhance regional economic development by helping to train students for jobs of the future and by developing new practices. Projects that fall within the scope of the IEX Center have the potential to affect a wide range of disciplines. Marketing, Business and Communications Technology are just some of the career fields that can benefit from immersive and interactive experiences. The Business Center will serve as a community resource for businesses that need assistance in developing and integrating immersive technology. In addition, IEX Center will engage in community outreach efforts that encourage the use of immersive technology as it facilitates the placement of Husson students in internship and employment opportunities with employers. A diverse group of Husson faculty and staff are participating in this initiative along with outside stakeholders. Husson envisions a cross pollination of sciences and entrepreneurship in modern, unique learning space dedicated to innovation. The new College of Business building will also feature interactive learning spaces designed to foster innovative interdisciplinary learning. The new building is anticipated to cost approximately $17.2 million. The University expects to break ground on the new building in April 2020. It took a team effort to reach and exceed our fundraising goals, said Sarah Robinson, vice president for advancement at Husson University. The strong support shown by alumni, businesses, foundations, the community, students, faculty and staff for this project show that Husson University has a wide base of support. Our Husson community feels like a family and everyone who contributed to this campaign is responsible for helping to shape the future of this institution and our students. For more than 120 years, Husson University has prepared future leaders to handle the challenges of tomorrow through innovative undergraduate and graduate degrees. With a commitment to delivering affordable classroom, online and experiential learning opportunities, Husson University has come to represent superior value in higher education. Our Bangor campus and off-campus satellite education centers in Southern Maine and Northern Maine provide advanced knowledge in business; health and education; pharmacy studies; science and humanities; as well as communication. In addition, Husson University has a robust adult learning program. According to a recent analysis of tuition and fees by U.S. News & World Report, Husson University is one of the most affordable private colleges in New England. For more information about educational opportunities that can lead to personal and professional success, visit Husson.edu. Attachments Photo: Owen Williamson In a few weeks, Ken Block will hang up his uniform as head of Edmonton Fire Rescue and head Down Under to assume command of 5,000 firefighters in Australia. "I'm really looking forward to getting over there," the fire chief said in an interview this week. Block is to lead a newly created force looking after a large swath of southern Australia that includes both Melbourne and the rural areas around it. The state of Victoria, which includes the region where Block will serve, has not been spared the bush fires ravaging Australia. Dozens of communities have been warned to prepare for a fire sweeping through their area. Recent rain has helped contain the burns, but it hasn't been enough to extinguish them. Every state and territory in Australia has experienced fires this season. The biggest are burning along stretches of the eastern and southern coast, where most of the population lives. More than two dozen people have been killed, more than 10 million hectares have been scorched and thousands of homes have been destroyed. About 70 Canadian firefighters are helping Australian crews working to push back the flames. Forest scientists say climate change contributes to the problem by extending the fire season and increasing the number of hot, dry, windy days that encourage fires to ignite and spread. The role of climate change in the fires remains a subject of debate in Australia. But Block suggests there's little doubt that wildfire is going to be a bigger part of everyone's lives. "I believe it is. (Australians) are living through that right now." For Block, the real issue is adaptation. "The climate is what it is. We may not be getting as much precipitation, or the average temperatures may be increasing. Whatever it is that's contributing to the increasing risk, how do we mitigate that with the way we interact ... How do we build?" Melbourne is growing by 20,000 people a year, he said. That pushes more and more residents out into wildfire country or what Block calls the "rural-urban interface." "The urban area is reaching out into the rural areas. People need to appreciate the increased risk." That's happening in Alberta, too. Although the province hasn't yet experienced fires on the scale of Australia's, blazes in Fort McMurray and Slave Lake where flames levelled entire residential blocks have shown what's possible, Block said. "There's a lot of similarities. The bush fires, small land fires, is one of them. We are experiencing more wildfires in this part of the world. "We've got to get our head around how do we better prepare and plan for emergencies of that magnitude to protect the public, protect the environment." By Gemma Handy ECO activists are poised to begin urgent intervention work to protect the TCIs coral reefs from a lethal disease after finally receiving the green light from the Government. Almost 3,000 people signed a petition demanding environment chiefs grant the TC Reef Fund (TCRF) permission to administer antibiotics to stem the spread of highly contagious stony coral tissue loss disease. The Weekly News first reported last June that the dreaded sickness wreaking havoc across the region had been detected in the TCI. But concerns from Britain over the ramifications of putting antibiotics in the water and its potential risk to both human and marine health delayed treatment. TCRF chiefs had special thanks for Tourism and Environment Minister Ralph Higgs who they credited with stepping in on their behalf. The NGOs chairman Don Stark acknowledged it was a "difficult decision. Londons Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) had warned against putting amoxicillin commonly used to treat conditions like tonsillitis and ear infections into the sea. TCIG has since agreed that "the risks of adverse effects from the introduction of minute quantities of antibiotic into the ocean is far outweighed by the risk to not treating infected corals, a TCRF statement said. Stark thanked Higgs for his support in gaining the TCI Governments approval. Still, activists know they have a tough job on their hands. The sickness is now attacking four islands across the TCI archipelago. It was most recently sighted on Grand Turks famous coral wall in the Columbus Landfall National Park. The labour-intensive treatment process involves applying a bead of antibiotic mixed in shea butter to individual infected coral heads. The technique has shown success in Florida where the disease was first detected in 2014. The illnesss accelerated spread has seen it impact more than half the stony coral species on the Florida Reef Tract. It has since been confirmed in several islands across the Caribbean. Stark said TCRF volunteers would be enlisted to undertake the work, under the supervision of a project manager and the Department of Environment and Coastal Resources (DECR). He added that training of volunteers would begin within the next fortnight and that the NGO planned to dedicate at least two days a week to fighting the illness. Higgs said while the use of amoxicillin had shown "encouraging signs, it was "not accepted conclusively by experts as a cure and its application would be "limited and controlled. Such caution is mirrored by Judith Lang, of international body, the Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment (AGRRA). As the Weekly News reported in August, Lang said there were "valid concerns that amoxicillin might inadvertently help develop antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The biologist described the disease as "serious because it affects many star and brain corals as well as the Caribbeans iconic and threatened pillar coral. The disease is thought to be caused by a bacterial pathogen, spread by direct contact and water circulation. It is unprecedented in its reach, number of coral species affected and high mortality rate, killing up to 80 percent of corals infected, often within weeks. It also attacks many species of important reef-building corals, some of which have taken centuries to grow. Karen Neely of Floridas Nova Southeastern University, which has been studying the sickness, said it could rapidly decimate reefs, significantly altering ecosystem function. Former chief minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday sat on stairs outside the state assembly in Amaravati after 17 party MLAs were suspended from the House for the day. Naidu was detained by the police. He was being taken to his residence but was later taken Mangalagiri police station. Naidu was detained as he wanted to go into villages in Amaravati. The 17 MLAs had created a ruckus while Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy was addressing the House. They raised 'Jai Amaravati' slogans. "Nowhere in the world for one state, there are three capitals. Today is a black day. We wanted to save Amaravati and Andhra Pradesh. Not only me, throughout the state, but people are also fighting and coming on roads. The government is arresting everyone. It's bad for democracy," Naidu told ANI. Andhra Pradesh state assembly on Monday passed 'Andhra Pradesh Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Bill 2020' which will pave the way for the creation of three capitals in the state - -- Visakhapatnam as executive capital, Kurnool as judicial capital, and Amaravati as legislative capital. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A controversy has erupted over a senior railway official's "Portuguese-Goans" remarks while addressing a delegation led by a Goa BJP MLA. As the MLA Alina Saldanha took objection to the remarks, South Western Railway (SWR) General Manager Ajay Kumar Singh withdrew them. "India has houses that are 5,000 years old. Goans were the invading force who came about 500 years back. When you all came, you also must have destroyed houses here...By you I meant Portuguese," Singh told a delegation led by Saldanha in South Goa on Sunday. The delegation had gone to meet the SWR GM against double-tracking of a railway line. After Singh's remarks were aired by some local channels on Sunday and the MLA raised a strong objection, he withdrew them. Saldanha said, "We are not Portuguese, we are Indians. There's no doubt that we were under the Portuguese rule for several years and we got liberated". The Cortalim MLA further said she would raise the issue (utterances of Singh) in the Goa Legislative Assembly, and will also bring it to the notice of Railways Minister. Condemning the GM's statement, Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) president Girish Chodankar on Monday said the utterances reflect the "hatred that is being spread by the BJP towards other communities". "It reflects the mindset of the Central government and the hatred that is even percolated to the government officers. The ideology of RSS has been hammered into their minds," he said. Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Goa spokesman Pradeep Padgaonkar said if the BJP-led state government cannot rein in Central officials and allow them to insult Goans, "then time has come for it to commit suicide". AAP convenor Elvis Gomes has demanded dismissal of Singh, and questioning whether the NRC (National Register of Citizens) had already started in Goa. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) More than a thousand Central American migrants on January 20 were reportedly planning to again march across the Rodolfo Robles bridge leading them to Mexico. According to reports, the march was planned to convince concerned authorities to give the migrants a safe passage through the country. Mexican soldiers shut the gate located on Rodolfo Robles bridge as migrants tried to push their way through the gate. Troops used riot gear According to reports, the troops also used riot gear to disperse the migrants. In the wake of Donald Trump's threat and sanctions, Mexico has enforced measures to stop migrants from reaching the United States. Mexican troops have been stationed at the southern border of the country to patrol and continue to monitor the concerned areas with the help of drones. Mexico's government stated that their attempts to prevent unruly migrants from trying to go to the US were successful. Director for Mexico and migrant rights at the Washington Office on Latin America, Maureen Meyer said that the Mexican government have been upfront about not offering any visa. She further added that people found without proper documents will be taken into custody in order to tell the Trump-led administration that Mexico is doing its part to ensure that migrants are not able to reach the United States border. According to reports, Mexico offered migrants work and a chance to stay in the country with legal status. Mexico's decision comes after it was found that thousands of Central American migrants have been fleeing their countries to escape violence. According to reports, more than 1,000 migrants decided to stay in Mexico after which they were transported to immigration centres. Read: Migrants, Troops Slowly Build Up On Guatemala-Mexico Border Read: Migrants Walk Through Guatemala To Mexico Authorities ask migrants to maintain order According to reports, Mexican troops urged a caravan of around 1500 Central American migrants on January 18 to maintain order and respect after the group attempted forced entry into the country from Guatemala in hopes of travelling north to the United States. More than 200 migrants rested on the Rodolfo Robles, a bridge at the Guatemala-Mexico border waiting for the arrival of others and hoping increasing numbers to improve their chances of entering Mexico. On January 17, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador offered 4,000 jobs to members of the caravan in an attempt to dissuade them from travelling to the United States. An official from National Institute of Migration reported to International media that some 8000 migrants agreed to regularise their status and seek employment in Mexico. Read: Guatemala Officials Disperse Migrants, But Some Keep Trying Read: 100s Of Migrants Crossing Guatemala Face New Challenges Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will not attend the World Economic Forums annual meeting in Davos this week, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said. "He was scheduled to attend ... but they abruptly changed the schedule and it was not the schedule that we agreed upon. So he will not attend Davos," Reuters cited the spokesman as saying. The WEF will be held between January 21-24. The gang rape and murder of 21-year-old Eleni Topaloudi shocked Greeks so much that the country may now be turning a corner in tackling the scourge of femicide. "They are killing us," read a banner held up by women outside a court in Athens at the start last week of the trial of the two young men accused of the crimes in November 2018. The 20-year-old Greek and the 21-year-old Albanian allegedly lured the university student to a holiday house on the island of Rhodes and, when she refused their sexual advances, they raped and hit her savagely, inflicting serious injuries. While she was still alive they took her to a remote rocky beach and threw her into the sea where she drowned, according to the accusations. Topaloudi's barbaric killing put a spotlight on a long string of murders of women, many of them by their husbands or partners. In the weeks after her death, Greek police formed a special department for cases of domestic violence. Days after the department was set up, Citizens' Protection Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis called for a change in the nation's mindset. "Violence against women can happen to any family and any woman. Silence is tolerance and tolerance feeds violence," Chrysochoidis said. "Victims are not to blame for the silence. We are going to give them their voice back", he said. - Overcoming fear and shame - In January 2019, a 27-year-old woman was murdered in Corfu by her father, who opposed her relationship with an Afghan man. It was one of a dozen femicides recorded in 2019 by women's rights NGOs in Greece, a country of 10 million people. The victims were mostly Greek women, but the case of an American tourist who was killed in Crete in July made headlines worldwide. The body of 59-year-old Suzanne Eaton, a molecular biologist at the Max Planck Institute at Dresden University, was found near the city of Chania on the island nearly a week after she was last seen by friends on July 2. A 27-year-old farmer has confessed to raping and killing the scientist before dumping her body in an abandoned World War II bunker. In Greece, such crimes are treated as simple homicides because femicide is not covered in the penal code. Maria Alvanou, a criminologist and lawyer who participated in a march in Athens Saturday to demand women's rights, said domestic violence is at the core of the problem. "The cases of femicide are actually usually the result of years of domestic violence that has not been treated and has not been answered in the correct way," Alvanou told AFP. Ioanna Rotziokou, spokeswoman for the Greek police, underscored how the new department will make it harder to hide femicide and lead to prevention. "Its purpose is to raise awareness on the issue and to encourage the women who feared or felt ashamed to go to the police because of the patriarchal structure of the society, to just do it," Rotziokou told AFP. - 'Destigmatisation of women' - However, the police spokeswoman conceded that "there are still numerous incidents that are not reported by the victims". In the last decade, Greece was hit particularly hard by the global financial crisis and women have paid a violent price, said Sissy Vovou, a feminist activist and editor of the Mov website. "The deterioration of the household finances has multiplied the cases of domestic violence against women," Vovou said. According to the Greek police, the number of domestic violence incidents quadrupled in Greece between 2010 and 2018, from 1,148 to 4,254. In the four years to 2018, violent attacks have risen by 34.4 percent, with 66 percent of the victims being women. Nevertheless, "the traditional man-woman roles have changed and the rise of complaints is mainly attributed to the destigmatisation of women who are now better informed of their rights and the means to defend them", Vovou explained. Maria Syrengela of the General Secretariat for Gender Equality, a Greek government agency, said more needs to be done. "Measures in the sectors of education and labor must still be taken to eliminate discrimination and reinforce womens status in the society" she told AFP. In Greece, women are paid on average 25 percent less than men and are the hardest hit by the unemployment that hovers around 18 percent in the country, the highest of the eurozone, according to official figures. SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- In the age of fast urban development and technological evolution, U.S. and Chinese experts gathered in Silicon Valley Saturday to discuss how urban areas can deliver not only survival and prosperity, but also a clean world and a better future. Aimed at stimulating discussion and cooperation on sustainable urbanization methods, the International Towns Forum attracted more than 100 people from academic and technological communities in the United States and China. Despite fast global urbanization, the experts noted that the gap between urban and rural areas is still big and deserves attention. "Inexpensive solar energy has made irrigation, water purification, electric mobility possible, however, many people or villages do not have the capital or knowledge to economically utilize the technologies," said Steven Chu, professor of physics at Stanford University and a recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize for Physics, in his keynote speech. He said a new business model is needed and a better definition of wealth, which takes into consideration human development and quality of life, should be created to address the challenges. Thomas Ridge, former governor of Pennsylvania, called for application of smart city technologies to rural area, because "too often, smaller rural communities are ignored in the discussion of smart cities." Ridge also encouraged major cities and universities to collaborate with at least one rural community to pilot a smart city application. Zheng Xinli, vice chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchange, said a pilot project in the city of Wuxi in eastern China's Jiangsu Province could serve as an example for sustainable urban development, especially for countries in Asia and Africa. He said the city would become the first in China to realize "zero-emissions," and he hoped that U.S. experts could participate in China's "green transformation." The event was jointly organized by China-USA CEO Association, International Towns Federation and the Center for Sustainable Development and Global Competitiveness. They have rarely been spotted apart since beginning their romance last Summer. And Alexa Chung, 36, and boyfriend Orson Fry, 23, arrived in style at the Prada Party in Paris on Sunday. The fashion It girl cut a chic figure in a camel coloured blazer over a high-neck blue and white mini dress. Chic: Alexa Chung, 36, and boyfriend Orson Fry, 23, arrived in style at the Prada Party in Paris on Sunday. She looked effortlessly stylish as she carried her belongings in a mini silver bag and paired the ensemble with knee high black boots. The natural beauty wore her auburn locks loose with a natural wave and opted for a pared back make-up-palette with a rosy lip. Orson, who is in the band Soundtown, looked equally on trend in a simple white shirt and navy bomber jacket paired with blue suit trousers and converse. They pair are said to be so besotted that Orson has as good as moved into her swanky apartment in Dalston, East London, while she regularly cheers him on when he performs with his band, Soundtown, in grotty pubs across the capital. Looking good: The fashion It girl cut a chic figure in a camel coloured blazer over a high-neck blue and white mini dress Tongues were set wagging in June when Alexa was spotted with her 'hunk' at the All Points East Festival at Victoria Park a stone's thrown from her home prompting whispers that she might have found happiness following her split from True Blood actor Alexander Skarsgard last year. She has also been the face of DKNY Jeans and fashion house Lacoste. She has her own fashion range labelled Alexa Chung and created two collections for M&S. Orson, whose father is thrice married Cosmo Fry, 60 a descendant of the Fry's chocolate dynasty graduated from the private liberal arts college Bard in New York two years ago, and juggles singing in his band with working as a waiter. His mother was Amanda Aspinall daughter of gambling tycoon and animal park owner John Aspinall. Orson was heartbroken when she died last January aged 61. by Steve Ellwanger , January 17, 2020 Every year, the Private Label Manufacturers Association conducts its Salute to Excellence Awards to recognize store brand innovation across a wide swath of product categories. Among other things, the competitionevaluated by eight panels of industry professionals, along with consumershelps bring into sharp focus the ever-growing desire for retailers to take more control over what appears on their shelves. This is fueled in no small part by their waning dependence on national brands for new product insights, shopper research and marketing, along with their rapidly evolving ability to quickly respond to consumer trends. For the 2019 Salute to Excellence Awards, there were 750 entries from U.S. and Canadian retailersyielding 44 food and 23 non-food winners. Walmart was a particular standout. It received seven awards for products ranging from dark chocolate hummus to lobster bisqueboth under the retail giants Marketside brand. According to consumer research data from MRI-Simmons, the highest incidence of private label purchases by U.S. adults is in the food category, followed by cleaning supplies, household products, personal care products and non-alcoholic beverages. PLMA director of retail trade relations Suzanne Caputo headed up the awards competition. In this Q&A, she walks CPG FYIthrough some of the winning entries and talks about what made them stand out. CPG FYI:Lets start with some of the lower-incidence categories, like non-alcoholic beverages. Caputo: We had a lot of submissions in soda, carbonated drinks and water. One of the winners was CVS for its passion fruit seltzer. Its a different flavor, and the packaging is terrific. They obviously paid attention to trends and what consumers are buying and then turned it around quickly. CPG FYI:What did you see in health and beauty products? Caputo: One of the things that I thought really stood out was in the beauty care and cosmetics category, where some of the products that were judged were from major beauty retailers like Sephora and Ulta. But a drugstore (CVS) won for its 360 On The Go Blender. One of the things were seeing is that drugstores and supermarkets are putting more effort into categories that they think will be emerging. They see a real opportunity to differentiate their packaging and put more money into development of their own products. Consumers are open to trying them and, once they have that loyalty, will continue to purchase them. CPG FYI:Talk about mens grooming. Caputo: Target won for its Goodfellow & Co. beard oil. Its beautiful packaging, its a good quality product and priced very reasonably. I think theyre taking advantage of niche markets and realizing where they can put a product in, make it their own and be innovative. The beard oil is a high-quality product priced accordingly from a brand and retailer that consumers love and trust. Its like a Trader Joes. Once people are comfortable with that retailer, they trust their brands. Thats what retailers are doing really well with their private label is getting that consumer trust. CPG FYI:Tell us about Walmarts chocolate hummus. Is that an appetizer or what? Caputo: They consider it a dessert spread. One of the things we noticed so much in the 2019 awards is that retailers are taking different and unique flavors and ingredients, incorporating them into their store brands and taking a normal product like hummus and elevating it. Another example is Kroger in the salty snacks category, with their Cuban-style kettle cooked chipstaking a regular potato chip and adding this unique flavor that people dont necessarily see. It was delicious. CPG FYI:So there was no plant-based food competition? Caputo: We didnt have a specific category for it in 2019, but without question one of the first things we discussed is definitely having it for 2020. CPG FYI:How about CPG products infused with CBD? Caputo: Currently, there seems to be an interest and curiosity from American consumers with regard to the uses and benefits of CBD. Although we did not have a category for CBD in the initial 2019 Salute to Excellence nomination form, we will be including it on this years form. At our trade show held in November, we had a dedicated CBD section on the floor, with 25 exhibitors from the United States and Canada. They showcased innovations with hemp-derived CBD products, in various forms and applications, across an array of non-food categories such as skin care, body care, cosmetics, supplements, pet care and more. All cities can get dreary in the wintertime even New York. But theres a bright new spot (literally) in NYCs historic Garment District thanks to a traveling installation that aims to get urbanites active and playful all the time, no matter how cold and gray the weather might be. Located on Broadway between 37th and 38th streets, where an entire block has been closed to vehicular traffic, Impulse is a collection of 12 illuminated see-saws temporarily installed as part of a year-round public art program. 12 glowing see-saws emit lights and sounds in New York City's Garment District as part of the traveling The interactive installation was first created by Lateral Office and CS Design in collaboration with EGP Group for the sixth edition of Luminotherapie (Light Therapy) in 2015 at the Place des Festivals in Montreals Quartier des Spectacles. Since then, it has traveled to Chicago, Boston, Scottsdale, and other cities around North America, bringing a whole lot of fun along with it. Theres more to Impulse than a dozen glowing see-saws, which range from 16 to 24 feet long. Up to four users can climb on at a time, swinging up and down to activate sequences of light and sound. The installations initial aim was to draw more people to Montreals main arts district during a time of year when it tended to be underutilized. POV shot of someone riding one of the huge glowing New Yorkers have a blast riding the giant glowing The designers took inspiration from a pretty unexpected source, too, explaining: Inspired by the iconic cover of the Joy Division album Unknown Pleasures, as well as Steve Reichs serial, minimal music, which plays with repetition, rhythm, and syncopation, [the] Impulse project explores how architecture can visualize sound. Envisioned as a dynamic, interactive landscape, the installation responds to the movements of its users, making the public an active participant in how it looks and works. LED lights and a pool of sounds are stored within a micro-controller in the base of each see-saw, which in turn is activated by the speed, rhythm, and intensity of its motion. Story continues New Yorkers have a blast riding the giant glowing The designers add: The Place des Festival in the Quartier des Spectacle is transformed into a space of urban play through a series of 30 interactive acoustic illuminated see-saws that respond and transform when in motion. The seesaws, of two lengths, form units of light and sound that can be activated and played by the public to create a temporal, ever-changing event. Impulse embodies ideas of serialism, repetition, and variation to produce zones of intensity and calm within a large public space. When not in use, the see-saws stabilize to the horizontal and remain at a lower glowing level. When activated by users and inclined, the see-saws, wired to LED lights and a speaker, will augment in light intensification and emit a sound sequence. The 30 see-saws shift along the length of the Place des Festival in plan, while their vertical motion creates a dynamic light and sound wave. Impulse is an ever-changing urban instrument. The traveling All that basically creates a constantly changing light and audio show that active users and passersby alike can enjoy. Its certainly livening up the Garment District, where it will remain in place through the end of January. Its also fun to see its previous incarnations, like the snowy scenes in Montreal. Check out more photos at the Lateral Office website, or on Instagram. Photos courtesy of Alex Ayer (Garment District) and Chiara Isserlis (Montreal). BEIJING - The head of a Chinese government expert team said Monday that human-to-human transmission has been confirmed in an outbreak of a new coronavirus, a development that raises the possibility that it could spread more quickly and widely. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 19/1/2020 (723 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Wong Ka-hing, the Controller of the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health holds a Wuhan Municipal Health Commission press statement of the new type of coronavirus, during a press conference at the Health Department in Hong Kong, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020. Health authorities in the central Chinese city of Wuhan are reporting the first death from a new type of coronavirus. The Wuhan Municipal Health Commission reported Saturday that seven other people are in critical condition. (AP Photo/Andy Wong) BEIJING - The head of a Chinese government expert team said Monday that human-to-human transmission has been confirmed in an outbreak of a new coronavirus, a development that raises the possibility that it could spread more quickly and widely. Team leader Zhong Nanshan, a respiratory expert, said two people in Guangdong province in southern China caught the virus from family members, state media said. Some medical workers have also tested positive for the virus, the English-language China Daily newspaper reported. The late-night announcement capped a day in which authorities announced a sharp uptick in the number of confirmed cases to more than 200, and China's leader called on the government to take every possible step to combat the outbreak. The recent outbreak of novel coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan and other places must be taken seriously, President Xi Jinping said in his first public statement on the crisis. Party committees, governments and relevant departments at all levels should put people's lives and health first. This Jan. 17, 2020, photo, shows the closed Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China. China reported Monday, Jan. 20 a sharp rise in the number of people affected in a pneumonia outbreak caused by a new coronoavirus, including the first cases in the capital. (Kyodo News via AP) Xi's remarks were reported by state broadcaster CCTV on its main 7 p.m. news broadcast. In Geneva, the World Health Organization announced it would convene an Emergency Committee meeting on Wednesday to determine whether the outbreak warrants being declared a global health crisis. Such declarations are typically made for epidemics of severe diseases that threaten to cross borders and require an internationally co-ordinated response. Previous global emergencies have been declared for crises including the ongoing Ebola outbreak in Congo, the emergence of Zika virus in the Americas in 2016 and the West Africa Ebola outbreak in 2014. The spread of the viral pneumonia comes as the country enters its busiest travel period, when millions board trains and planes for the Lunar New Year holidays. The outbreak is believed to have started late last month among people connected to a seafood market in Wuhan, a city in central China. Wuhan health authorities said Monday an additional 136 cases have been confirmed in the city, raising the total to 198. Three have died. Travelers wear face masks as they walk outside of the Beijing Railway Station in Beijing, Monday, Jan. 20, 2020. China reported Monday a sharp rise in the number of people infected with a new coronavirus, including the first cases in the capital. The outbreak coincides with the country's busiest travel period, as millions board trains and planes for the Lunar New Year holidays. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) Other Chinese cities also confirmed cases for the first time. Five people in Beijing and 14 in Guangdong have been diagnosed with the new coronavirus, CCTV reported Monday evening. Seven suspected cases have been found in other parts of the country, including in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces in the southwest and in Shanghai. Zhong said the two people in Guangdong had not been to Wuhan but fell ill after family members had returned from the city, the China Daily said. The outbreak has put other countries on alert as millions of Chinese travel for Lunar New Year. Authorities in Thailand and in Japan have identified three cases, all involving recent travel from China. South Korea reported its first case Monday, when a 35-year-old Chinese woman from Wuhan tested positive for the new coronavirus one day after arriving at Seoul's Incheon airport. The woman has been isolated at a state-run hospital in Incheon city, just west of Seoul, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement. Travelers wear face masks as they walk outside of the Beijing Railway Station in Beijing, Monday, Jan. 20, 2020. China reported Monday a sharp rise in the number of people infected with a new coronavirus, including the first cases in the capital. The outbreak coincides with the country's busiest travel period, as millions board trains and planes for the Lunar New Year holidays. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) At least a half-dozen countries in Asia and three U.S. airports have started screening incoming airline passengers from central China. Videos posted online show people in protective suits checking one-by-one the temperatures of plane passengers arriving in Macao from Wuhan. A man surnamed Yang who works for the Macao Health Bureau confirmed over the phone that such checks are taking place in the southern Chinese region. Canada's Chief Medical officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, said signs will be placed at airports in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver in the coming days. Electronic kiosks at Customs will ask people if they have travelled to areas where coronavirus is and if they have flu like symptoms. "The Chinese lunar year is coming so out of abundance precaution that's why we are putting out additional information for travellers," Tam said. Many of the initial cases of the coronavirus were linked to a seafood market in Wuhan, which was closed as authorities investigated. A security officer wears a face mask as he patrols outside of the Beijing Railway Station in Beijing, Monday, Jan. 20, 2020. China reported Monday a sharp rise in the number of people infected with a new coronavirus, including the first cases in the capital. The outbreak coincides with the country's busiest travel period, as millions board trains and planes for the Lunar New Year holidays. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) Since hundreds of people who came into close contact with diagnosed patients have not gotten sick, the municipal health commission maintains that the virus is not easily transmitted between humans. However, the source of the new type of coronavirus has not been found, we do not fully understand how the virus is transmitted, and changes in the virus still need to be closely monitored, China's National Health Commission said in a statement Sunday. Coronaviruses cause diseases ranging from the common cold to SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome. SARS first infected people in southern China in late 2002 and spread to more than two dozen countries, killing nearly 800. The Chinese government initially tried to conceal the severity of the SARS epidemic, but its coverup was exposed by a high-ranking physician. In the early days of SARS, reports were delayed and covered up, said an editorial in the nationalistic Global Times. That kind of thing must not happen again in China. We have made great strides in medicine, social affairs management and public opinion since 2003, the editorial said. Xi instructed government departments Monday to promptly release information on the virus and deepen international co-operation. 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. China has notified and maintained close communication with the World Health Organization and other relevant countries and regions, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a regular news briefing. Wuhan has also adopted measures to control the flow of people leaving the city, Geng said. Initial symptoms of the novel coronavirus include fever, cough, tightness of the chest and shortness of breath, and those seriously ill developed pneumonia. On the Weibo social media platform, which is widely used in China, people posted prevention advice such as wearing masks and washing hands. Some people said they had cancelled their travel plans and were staying home for Lunar New Year. ___ Associated Press researcher Yu Bing in Beijing, writer Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul, South Korea, and writer Rob Gillies in Toronto contributed to this report. China Reports 4th Death, Dozens More Infections as Virus Outbreak Worsens China reported a fourth death due to a new strain of viral pneumonia, in addition to dozens more infections in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangdong Province, as a top Chinese health official confirmed that the disease can be transmitted from human to humanraising concerns that the illness has already spread widely across the country. Meanwhile, a third country outside of China has confirmed a case of infection: South Korea. As the Lunar New Year holiday approachesit falls on Jan. 25 this yearmillions of Chinese are expected to return to their hometowns for festivities and travel abroad for vacation. Official data shows that roughly 3 billion trips take place every year during the new year period. Zeng Guang, chief epidemiology expert at Chinas Center for Disease Control and Prevention, warned Chinese not to travel to Wuhan, the central Chinese city where the illness first broke out, and for Wuhan residents to avoid leaving the city. The Lunar New Year is a key factor in the movement of peopleThis is our expert suggestion, he said at a press conference in Beijing on Jan. 20. Chinese leader Xi Jinping also made his first announcement about the disease on Jan. 20, indicating the severity of the outbreak. He called on relevant Party agencies and governments to take swift action to combat the illness. The recent outbreakmust be taken seriously, he said in a statement aired on state broadcaster CCTV. Chinese premier Li Keqiang similarly urged local governments to work closely with the WHO [World Health Organization] and the governments of Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and other countries. To prevent the illness from further spreading, the United States, Canada, Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, and other countries have begun screenings and other measures at airports to detect potentially infected travelers. Outbreak in China The Wuhan health commission announced early on Jan. 21 that an 89-year-old male surnamed Chen has died from the viral pneumonia. Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that cause diseases ranging from the common cold to SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome. There are also seven suspected cases in other regions across the country: two in southwestern Chinas Sichuan Province; one in Yunnan Province, further west of Sichuan; two more in Shanghai; one in southern Chinas Guangxi region; and one in Shandong Province, on Chinas eastern coast. State-run newspaper Beijing News, citing the Shenzhen Municipal Health Commission, reported on Jan. 20 that eight suspected patients have been quarantined in the southern Chinese city, in addition to the first confirmed case reported the previous day. Also, on Jan. 20, eastern Chinas Zhejiang provincial health commission announced on its official website that five people from four cities within its jurisdiction have exhibited pneumonia symptoms after recently making trips to Wuhan. They are currently quarantined as suspected cases. Human-to-Human Transmission Speaking to CCTV, Zhong Nanshan, head of a senior-level expert group of Chinas National Health Commission, confirmed that the disease was contagious. In Guangdong Province, there are two infected patients, from different families They havent been to Wuhan, but their family members went to Wuhan and contracted the disease, Zhong explained in a Jan. 20 television segment. Zhong, an academician within one of Chinas top research institutes and a leading expert on infectious diseases, confirmed that the viral pneumonia can be transmitted among humans, noting that so far, 14 medical staff who treated infected patients have also contracted the disease. The WHO announced on Twitter on Jan. 19 that an animal source seems the most likely primary source of this novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak. Chinese authorities have linked the outbreak to a fresh food market in Wuhan where wild animals and seafood were sold. Gao Fu, director of Chinas Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said at the same Beijing press conference that the virus likely originated from wild animals and mutated after it was transferred to humans and became contagious among humans. International Cases Also on Monday, South Korea reported the first confirmed case of the disease. According to South Koreas Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), the patient is a 35-year-old Chinese tourist from Wuhan. The confirmed patient was identified in the quarantine phase and there is no community exposure. Those that have come in contact, including passengers and aircraft crew, are currently being investigated, the KCDC said. The patient was quarantined after arriving at the Incheon International Airport on Jan. 19. Two cases were also reported in Thailand, and one in Japan. Hong Kong Hong Kong, a former British colony that returned to Chinese rule in 1997, has two high-speed trains arriving in the city from Wuhan every day, in addition to 12 direct flights from Wuhan every week. Back in 2002 and 2003 during the SARS outbreak, 1,755 Hongkongers contracted the illness and 299 died. The Hong Kong government responded swiftly after Wuhan authorities first reported the outbreak on Dec. 31, 2019. Hong Kong began screening passengers and taking body temperatures at its airport and the West Kowloon high-speed train station. On Monday, Hong Kongs Health Secretary Sophia Chan said at a press conference that the government will now also hand out health declaration forms to travelers arriving on flights from Wuhan. But some local medical experts and lawmakers called for enhanced monitoring since large numbers of passengers travel between Hong Kong and the mainland every day. During the upcoming Lunar New Year weekend, many Hongkongers will also travel to the mainland. So far, more than 100 people have been quarantined in Hong Kong as suspected cases, but none have been diagnosed with the coronavirus yet. At the Jan. 20 press conference in Beijing, Yuen Kwok-yung, professor of infectious diseases at Hong Kong University, warned that [the novel coronavirus] can quickly mutate All of us should not eat any wild animals We must wear a facial mask. Even John F. Kennedy Jr., Americas prince, couldnt escape the FBI kind of. It was the summer of 1995 and bureau special agent William Rosenbaum and others of the special operations group were on an FBI stakeout, waiting to see who notorious mobster Whitey Bulger was going to meet on Marthas Vineyard in Massachusetts. Instead, the agents noticed a couple a short distance away sharing a picnic on the shore. It was former President John F. Kennedys son and and Carolyn Bessette, JFK Jr.s soon-to-be wife. They ate sandwiches, had wine, and took a nap. When they awoke up [sic] the tide had gone out so far the dory was stranded, Rosenbaum later wrote in a typed letter, describing the interaction. Whitey Bulger also noticed them and took off. I and another agent ran down to the shore and helped JFK Jr. push the dory out to the water. RELATED: JFKs Grandson Slams Mike Pence for Failing Test of Courage amid Trumps Impeachment Trial Two weeks later, JFK Jr. presented the agent with a photograph from that night, depicting him pushing the boat. He signed it: Bill, thanks for your help, John Kennedy. Both the photo and Rosenbaums letter about the unusual run-in are part of Ronnie Palogers historic collection of John F. Kennedy memorabilia and photographs that is being auctioned off by RR Auction. A world-famous collector, Paloger is seeking to sell his entire collection to a museum or similar institution so it can be viewed intact. The opening bid is $1.5 million and the auction for the whole collection is now open and will close on Jan. 23 at 5 p.m. (If it is not sold, the collection will be auctioned off in individual lots that same day.) John F. Kennedy Jr. on Martha's Vineyard in 1995 | The Ronnie Paloger JFK Collection / RR Auction John F. Kennedy Jr.'s note to FBI special agent William Rosenbaum | The Ronnie Paloger JFK Collection / RR Auction FBI special agent William Rosenbaum's letter of explanation about his run-in with John F. Kennedy Jr. | The Ronnie Paloger JFK Collection / RR Auction What makes [the collection] unique is that it could be kept intact. This could be in a museum or university setting, so that it could be preserved, saved and appreciated by the public and historians and academics forever, the 70-year-old collector, who dedicated five years full-time to curating the collection, tells PEOPLE. Story continues Its like a film, Paloger says. Theres never been a book that has told Kennedys life story through his memorabilia. Thats what this does. While Paloger cant pick out his favorite part of the collection (thats like asking what is your favorite child, and you have five children, he jokes), the collection does have hundreds of negatives of unpublished, mostly unseen photographs, including photos from 1946 to 1953 that provide insight into President Kennedys life. Its a period that hasnt been covered as extensively as others. [The collection] starts with his school book, then onto the PT-109 archive, to the photo archive of Congressman Kennedy, all the way to President Kennedys inauguration and Marilyn Monroe singing happy birthday and to the assassination, says Bobby Livingston, RR Auctions executive vice president. So its got a little bit of everything. Ronnie [has] this eye and this passion and the emotion for the importance of each individual piece in his collection. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts because of his passion. RELATED: Remembering the Real (and Complicated) JFK Jr. on What Would Be His 59th Birthday He Was Two People From left: First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and President John F. Kennedy visit St. Justine's Children's Hospital in Montreal, Canada, in 1953 | The Ronnie Paloger JFK Collection / RR Auction The photo of JFK Jr. on the water is just one of many images and artifacts from the life of President Kennedy and his family. Other noteworthy pieces include the elder Kennedys handwritten letters to the mother of a deceased WWII sailor, Harold Marney. Kennedy (then a naval officer) wrote Mrs. Marney for almost two decades, even though he only knew her son for one week. I know you know how we all feelboys like Harold and my brother Joe can never be replacedbut there is some consolation in know that they were doing what they wanted to doand were doing it well, Kennedy wrote to Mr. and Mrs. Marney on Sept. 1, 1944. There are also photographs of the young politician shaking hands with supporters while on crutches; candid photos from his early campaign days; images of the president with his wife, Jacqueline Kennedy, including their visit to a private charity; photographs of young JFK Jr.; and even the unpublished eyewitness account of Dave Powers, a best friend of the president who was riding in the car behind Kennedys limo when the president was shot and killed on Nov. 22, 1963. Mrs. Kennedy, still covered with blood, kissed the President goodbye, Powers recalled in his official account. She then took the ring from her finger and placed it on the Presidents finger John F. Kennedy's 1952 senatorial campaign | The Ronnie Paloger JFK Collection / RR Auction A young John F. Kennedy Jr. | The Ronnie Paloger JFK Collection / RR Auction Paloger says that the collection reveals an intimate version of President Kennedy that the public hasnt seen or has forgotten about. His compassion, character and loyalty could not be more visible, reading the PT-109 letters to the mother of the sailor who was killed, Paloger says of what the collection can teach people about the former president. The second thing that people will learn, more than anything else, is his wicked, unbelievable sense of humor that is sprinkled throughout. The third part is his intelligence. LIvingston agrees. RELATED: Saoirse Kennedy Hills Death and a Look Back at More Kennedy Family Tragedies Really, hes a human being that walked this earth and theres every little piece of his personality in this collection. It brings him back to life. It captures his essence with his humor and his passion for history, and his humanity, Livingston tells PEOPLE. Kennedys humanity, and all the emotions of his life and the tragedy and his children and his beautiful wife its all there. One of the many letters John F. Kennedy sent to Mrs. Marney. | The Ronnie Paloger JFK Collection / RR Auction RELATED VIDEO: Robert F. Kennedys Friend and REI Founder Jim Whittaker Recalls Climbing Mount Kennedy with Him Even though the backstory of the photo of John F. Kennedy Jr. with the FBI is humorous, it, too, evokes great sadness. Some four years later, he and his wife died when their plane slammed into the Atlantic Ocean not terribly far from their picnic that 1995 day on Marthas Vineyard. When I looked at this photo of him pushing the boat out to sea from behind, the composition of that photo is just gorgeous, isnt it? Livingston says. Then it reminds you of his father and the sailboat and the Kennedys at the Cape and the water. But then your mind thinks of the plane crash its not lost on me when I look at the photo [that there was] tragedy. It was a tragedy. Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday mocked the Congress party saying that after the Maharashtra assembly elections, it has brought about the 'Bharat Political Marriage Act' and married the Shiv Sena. During a public meeting for the municipal elections here, Owaisi in a satirical tone said, "After the recent Maharashtra state elections, the Congress Party has brought a new law - the Bharat Political Marriage Act. Through this Act, it has married the Shiv Sena." Owaisi said that after this marriage, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has done 'chauthi' (a ritual in marriage) with the Shiv Sena and made Uddhav Thackeray, the 'groom'. Owaisi further said, "After all this, the BJP which was abusing me has taken a divorce from the Shiv Sena." The AIMIM chief said that his party was being targeted from two sides during the Maharashtra assembly elections - the Congress and NCP on one side and the Shiv Sena and BJP on the other. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Left front government in Kerala on Monday decided to inform the Centre it would not cooperate with the updation of the NPR, saying there were fears among the public about the process and it has the "Constitutional responsibility" to alleviate them and ensure law and order. A special cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan here, decided to inform the Registrar General and Census Commissioner under the Union Home Ministry that it was unable to cooperate with anything with regard to the updation of the NPR. "The decision was taken as it was the Constitutional responsibility of the government to alleviate the fears of general public and ensure law and order situation in the state," a Chief Minister's Office release said. However, the state would fully cooperate with the census procedures, it said. The LDF government, which has been on a warpath against the Centre over the Citizenship Amendment Act, has last month stayed all activities related to updation of NPR, considering 'apprehensions' of public that it would lead to NRC in the wake of the controversial CAA. "As the NPR is a process that leads to the National Register of Citizens (NRC), there is a sense of fear among the people that its implementation could lead to widespread insecurity", the CMO release said on Monday. The experience of the state which had already compiled the NRC was an example for this, it added, in apparent reference to Assam. Kerala had already stopped all procedures regarding the NPR updation, the release said adding there was also a report of the state police that the if the government went ahead with the procedures, it would adversely impact the law and order situation. The district collectors have also informed the government that the Census procedures would be affected if the updation of the NPR was done along with it, the CMO release said. The CPI(M)-led LDF government had recently convened a meeting of political parties and socio-religious organisations here on December 29 in the wake of the concerns among people in various stratas of the society, it said. A special assembly session was convened and a resolution was passed requesting the Centre not to implement the CAA and the government had also approached the apex court against the law, it added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Chikmagalur (Karnataka) [India], Jan 20 (ANI): Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Kumaraswamy on Monday said that it would not be difficult for the police to nab the culprits behind the IED (improvised explosive device) found at the Mangaluru airport. "I have got information that they have found a bomb at Mangaluru Airport. The airport has CCTVs. It is not that difficult to find out the perpetrators. The police have sought a month's time apparently," Kumaraswamy told reporters here. However, he said the government should not give the story a different spin later. "I have a suspicion that the government is creating a situation of conflict between different communities," he said. The improvised explosive device (IED) recovered from a bag at Mangaluru airport was defused in an open field by the personnel of the bomb disposal squad on Monday. Commissioner of Police in Mangaluru, PS Harsha said three teams have been formed for "identification and apprehension of the accused." He said that the visuals of the suspect have been shared. He urged people to inform the police if they have any knowledge of the accused. (ANI) More than 6,700 data breaches were reported to the Data Protection Commission in 2019, the second highest level per head of population in Europe. That is according to the latest GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) Data Breach Survey, carried out by law firm DLA Piper. More than 160,000 breaches were recorded across Europe over the past 12 months, with European regulators dishing out fines of more than 102m in that time. In Ireland, members of the public reported 132.52 breaches per 100,000 people, putting this country second in the rankings per capita behind only the Netherlands, which had 147.2 per 100,000. Despite these figures, the Data Protection Commission has yet to levy any fines against firms for breaching the regulation. Data protection is a hot-button topic in Ireland, with the commissions status as the one-stop-shop regulator for a cadre of giant data companies, such as Google and Amazon, which have European headquarters here. Despite this, the State has become embroiled in a number of controversial projects with assorted privacy issues, such as that of the public services card, a court battle concerning which is unfolding between the Government and Data Protection Commissioner Helen Dixon. John Magee, intellectual property and technology partner at DLA Piper, said in light of the reports findings that it was no surprise to see Ireland featured so high on the list. GDPR has driven the issue of data breach well and truly into the open, said Mr Magee. The rate of breach notifications has increased by over 12% compared to last years report and it is no surprise to see Ireland a strategic global hub for data-rich businesses across many sectors once again ranked highly on number of breach notifications. Under GDPR, the maximum fine that an independent regulator can levy against a company is either 20m or up to 4% of the firms turnover, whichever is higher. State bodies here can be held liable for a lesser fine of 1m, per the 2018 Data Protection Act which enshrined GDPR in legislation. Fines of just 114m have been levied to date across Europe since GDPR took effect on May 25, 2018. Mr Magee indicated that statistic is indicative that we are still in the early days of enforcement. We expect to see momentum build with more multi-million-euro fines being imposed over the coming year as regulators ramp up their enforcement activity, he said. The Data Protection Commissioner has over 70 investigations under way for possible data breaches 21 of those are against large tech companies like Google and Facebook. Despite this, Ireland is one of just seven countries within the wider European Economic Area to have failed to deliver financial sanctions against companies, the others being Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and Slovenia. The UK has delivered one such fine, for 320,000, but has filed two notices of intent to levy fines worth 213m and 115m against companies from the airline and hospitality industries in the immediate future - the larger figure being more than four times the currently largest fine levied of 50 million, delivered in France against Google. By PTI MUMBAI: A group of lawyers on Monday read out the Preamble to the Constitution of India outside the Bombay High Court gate here to protest the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and "some action" being taken against people across the country for opposing it. Over 50 lawyers, including senior counsels Navroze Seervai, Gayatri Singh and Mihir Desai, read out the preamble in unison, and later said no one can divide the country and its citizens on the basis of religion. The lawyers said the CAA seeks to provide citizenship to refugees belonging to six religious communities but leaves out one -Islam, which is "constitutionally wrong". "We read the Preamble to reaffirm our faith in the Constitution of India and in its sovereign, secular and democratic nature and as a means to protest against some action taken across the country against people, which is against the Constitution," Seervai told reporters. Advocate Mubin Solkar said the objective behind reading the preamble was to "instill confidence among crores of people across India that our Constitution says the country is secular and a democratic republic". "The CAA, when combined with NRC (National Register of Citizens), becomes a lethal combination as the amendment to it excludes one particular community. It is discriminatory and arbitrary to do so," Solkar said. Another lawyer, Tahira Shaikh, said the Constitution did not allow anyone, including the government, to divide or distinguish its citizens on the basis of religions and hence what is being done is wrong. Protests have been going on in different parts of the country against the new law, which grants Indian citizenship to Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis and Jain refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who entered India on or before December 31, 2014. Two retired Catholic priests were suspended from the ministry over allegations they sexually abused children decades ago, the Diocese of Fall River announced Sunday. The suspended priests, James F. Buckley and Edward J. Byington, are not assigned to a parish but have assisted with masses at various churches since their retirements in the 2000s, the Diocese of Fall River said in a statement. Byington has also taught German classes at St. Josephs School in West Warwick, Rhode Island. The Diocese of Providence was notified of Byingtons suspension, according to the Diocese of Fall River. Nothing is more important than the welfare of all members of our diocesan community, especially anyone who has been harmed or impacted by abuse in any way, Bishop Edgar da Cunha said in the dioceses statement. The Diocese of Fall River remains committed to resolving these matters in as fair and as transparent a process as possible and to ensuring the safety of all youth and vulnerable adults. The separate claims of abuse, denied by both priests, are unrelated and remain under investigation by the diocese. The allegations were also referred to law enforcement. Suspension is required by diocesan policies, the statement said. A man accused Byington of sexually abusing him in the 1970s when he was roughly 16 years old. The alleged victim was not Catholic but was introduced to the priest at Encountering Christ in Others, a weekend retreat program for Christian teenagers on the Cape and Islands. The man was invited by two friends to attend the retreat with them, according to attorney Mitchell Garabedian The mans claim was investigated and denied by the Diocese of Fall River, a primary reason being no one else at the time accused Byington of child sex abuse, according to Garabedian, who is representing the alleged victim and has requested the Diocese of Fall River to reopen his clients claim for further investigation. The diocese, as part of the investigation, spoke to two corroborating witnesses, one who was told about the alleged abuse shortly after it happened and another who was informed about six years before the investigation, Garabedian said. The sexual abuse occurred in approximately 1971 when Fr. Byington, under the pretense of giving my client a ride home, drove my client to the rectory of Sacred Heart Church in Taunton, MA, even though Fr. Byington was not assigned to the Church then, Garabedian said in a statement. Sacred Heart Church was very close to my clients home at the time. The man did not report the alleged abuse to the police because he was not emotionally able to do so, the attorney said. My client is feeling emotionally drained after hearing about the suspension of Fr. Byington and also feels that it is about time that Fr. Byington be publicly outed for accusations of clergy sexual abuse, Garabedian said. Byington was ordained in 1970 and retired in 2006, the diocese said. His previous assignments included St. John the Evangelist Parish in Attleboro, Sacred Heart Parish in Fall River, Sacred Heart Parish in Taunton, St. Patrick Parish in Fall River, St. Paul Parish in Taunton, St. George Parish in Westport, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Seekonk, St. Francis of Xavier Parish in Hyannis and St. Thomas More Parish in Somerset. Buckley, who was ordained in 1959, retired in 2001, according to the dioceses statement. He was previously assigned to two Fall River churches, including St. Marys Cathedral and Sacred Heart Parish, as well as the Immaculate Conception Parish in North Easton, St. Joan of Arc Parish in Orleans, St. Augustine Parish in Vineyard Haven, St. Margaret Parish in Buzzards Bay and Holy Redeemer Parish in Chatham. The Diocese of Fall River recently hired Carolyn Shipp, a licensed social worker, as its victim assistance coordinator. She will focus on outreach to survivors of sex abuse as part of efforts to improve the Office of Safe Environment, according to the diocese. Anyone with information they wish to share about the conduct of past or present members of the diocese has been urged to call Shipp at 508-985-6508 or email her at cshipp@dioc-fr.org. Khalil Yusef Ali Jabarin, the terrorist who stabbed to death Ari Fuld, was convicted of murder by an Israeli military court on Monday morning. Jabarin stabbed Fuld outside a shopping center in Gush Etzion in September 2018. Fuld, though mortally wounded, heroically drew his gun, shooting and wounding the terrorist before he could harm others. Fuld then collapsed from his wounds. Efforts by first responders were unable to save him. The terrorist, Jabarin, is an 18-year-old resident of the town of Yatta, located south of Hebron in the Palestinian Authority. The Palestinian Authority immediately began paying his family after the attack. We are not bashful or secretive about our support for our prisoners, a PA official told The Times of Israel. The [Jabarin] family would be eligible to receive a monthly salary of NIS 1,400 ($390), if their son is not freed by Israel and it completes all the necessary documents. Fuld was well-known for his advocacy work on behalf of Israel. In the name of every citizen of Israel, I send my condolences to the family of Ari Fuld, who was murdered today in a terrorist attack in Gush Etzion, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. With his last strength, Ari fought heroically against the terrorist and prevented a greater tragedy. Ari was a wonderful father to four children. He was an advocate for Israel who fought to spread the truth about Israel. May his memory be a blessing. Thousands of people made their way to his funeral at the Kfar Etzion cemetery, just south of Jerusalem. American diplomats also mourned Fuld, including current U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman and his predecessor Daniel Shapiro. America grieves as one of its citizens was brutally murdered by a Palestinian terrorist, said U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman in a tweet shortly after Fulds death was announced. Ari Fuld was a passionate defender of Israel and an American patriot. He represented the best of both countries and will be deeply missed. May his family be comforted & his memory be blessed. Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath on Monday introduced the Andhra Pradesh De-centralisation and Development of all Regions Bill 2020 in the House during the Special Session of the state Assembly. State Minister of Municipal Administration and Urban Development, Botsa Satyanarayana introduced the Andhra Pradesh CRDA Repeal Bill in the house. TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu held a protest near the state assembly against the proposal of three capitals. They demanded Amaravati to be retained as the sole capital for Andhra Pradesh. He along with TDP MLAs walked into the assembly and sat on the steps in front of the assembly. Later he and TDP MLAs entered into the house. Earlier, the Andhra Pradesh Cabinet approved four bills to be placed in the house. The cabinet meeting was presided over by the Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. The bills are said to be on Decentralisation of AP development, repealing of AP CRDA act, benefits related to Amaravati region farmers, converting all Andhra Pradesh govt schools into English medium into separate identities. The cabinet also gave nod to the recommendations of the high power committee on AP all-round development and decentralization of governance. The three-day special session of Andhra Pradesh assembly began amid tight security while section 144, which prohibits assembly of four or more people in the area, was imposed in some parts of Vijayawada and Guntur to facilitate smooth functioning of the State Assembly proceedings and movement of public representatives. The Committee 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.) BAGHDAD As tensions between the United States and Iran escalated in recent weeks, Iraqi Sunnis have for the most part simply watched warily and wearily. Sunni and Kurdish members of parliament largely boycotted a Jan. 5 parliamentary session on a resolution urging the government to force foreign armed forces out after the outcry that followed a US drone attack at the Baghdad airport that killed Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani and Kataib Hezbollah militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. We told them at that time that yes, you (Shiite parties) are the majority and we do not hate you. But is this the right decision, against the US, now? prominent Sunni member of parliament Mohammed al-Karbouli told Al-Monitor in an extended interview in the Iraqi capital Jan. 14. And now they are all in Iran and talking there. Engaging in negotiations there, with Iran. And they are saying we simply want to put someone in place as leader and then we will prepare for another election, he said. Before the killing of Muhandis, We were speaking for hours daily about the constitution as a result of the protesters demands, while now there is a constitutional void and the way Shiites consider themselves rulers of the country will lead the country to collapse. Karbouli stressed the need for a strategy behind whatever decision is made and not simply reactions followed by stronger reactions. If the coalition forces are forced to leave, then we must find alternatives and we must know how to deal with them, he said. If the coalition forces remain, then they must remain with only the specific powers granted to them by Iraq. The western region of Anbar, Salahuddin and Ninevah, provinces all inhabited mainly by Sunnis, are large areas and contain many Islamic State [IS] hideouts. It will be impossible for the army to deal with them alone in the future without outside assistance, he said. There was a kidnapping recorded a few days ago in the Qaim area. IS fighters attacked a group of civilians and kidnapped three of them. The lack of stability in Syria and in the wider region will be a major problem. We expelled IS from our regions physically but the mentality is still there, he warned. In reference to the idea of possibly forming a Sunni autonomous region along the lines of the Kurdistan Regional Government area, Karbouli said, Clearly, we believe in the unity of Iraq but that they think an autonomous region means the division of Iraq. I think, personally, that it could be a way to rebuild the country. He added that the Iraqi Constitution allows for the creation of autonomous regions. The central government failed to rebuild the country and make it strong again. It has failed since 2003 in the south and center and the recent protests in those Shiite-majority areas are the result of these failures, including the failure to create employment, he said. During the interview, the three-time and current member of parliament addressed several issues important to Sunnis, especially in his native Anbar province. Anbar constitutes roughly a third of Iraq's territory but is sparsely populated. It is, however, rich in untapped resources, Karbouli said. Anbar is also where Iran-backed, Shiite-led armed groups are accused of committing massacres of civilians and where a major demand remains finding out what happened to men who were forcibly disappeared. Another member of parliament from Anbar, Yahia al-Mohamedy, who also sits on the legal committee of the lawmaking body, told Al-Monitor in an interview that one of the primary demands of the people in his hometown of Saqlawiyah is to know what happened to the Sunni men and boys who went missing after security forces separated them from women for checks there and at the Razaza checkpoint during the battle against IS. Thousands were never heard from again, he said. Mohamedy said several of his friends disappeared at that time, including a teacher he had gone to school with, and that Iranian-backed armed groups answering to Iraqi Shiite political leaders stand accused of being behind their disappearance. That Iraqi Sunnis feel they are treated as second-class citizens was voiced by both Mohamedy and Karbouli. There are differences between Sunni areas, however, including how they were treated during the war against IS. In Anbar, some of the local Popular Mobilization Units were trained and equipped by coalition forces; however, local fighting groups in Salahuddin have told this reporter that when they asked for help from the United States against IS, they did not get it. Iran, instead, stepped in. Yazan al-Jabouri, whose local Sunni-led PMU in Salahuddin was widely known for having received arms from Iran and support from Iran-backed Iraqi politicians, scoffed at what he said is a ridiculous idea by Sunni politicians for more autonomy. We fought IS with all its military power and crushed its project to create a Sunni region, he told Al-Monitor in a WhatsApp conversation. I dont think that some politicians with their childish play supported by a Gulf country can succeed in such a game, he said. He did not want to discuss the tensions between the United States and Iran. Karbouli told Al-Monitor that Iraqi Sunnis, in general, prefer state control of the military, while Shiite-led PMU tend toward more militia-style organizations. He said Aaly al-Furat Brigade, a local PMU in his native Qaim along the Syrian border, takes orders from the army, even though it got training and equipment from the coalition and help from me. I helped it but they dont take orders from me. Shiite-led PMUs, on the other hand, get government's salaries but do not take orders from the government, he said. He said they listen only to their original armed groups commander, such as Muhandis for Kataib Hezbollah or Qais Khazali for Asaib Ahl al-Haq. Khazali recently was designated a terrorist by the United States. Karbouli said that although it was the Shiites that included the possibility of creating autonomous regions in the constitution, now that it goes against their interests they oppose it. But he said this may still be an option to help rebuild the country starting from its constituent regions if other parts of the constitution continue to be ignored. Turkey is turning into a pirate state, Cyprus' President said after Turkey announced plans to send a new drilling vessel to the waters of Cyprus, Cyprus Mail reported. Turkey is developing into a pirate state in the Eastern Mediterranean. In contradiction to the energy synergies that have been created in the region, Turkey insists on walking the path of international lawlessness, it continued. Cyprus and Greece dispute Turkeys claims in the region. Turkey claims that attempts to conduct gas exploration constitute a violation of Turkish Cypriot rights by the internationally recognized government of Cyprus. EU foreign affairs spokesman Peter Stano also condemned Turkeys plans, saying that this move violated the conditions for dialogue. If you have a strong stomach, you may find interesting an opinion piece in NPR entitled "His Dad Died in a Venezuelan Hospital. What He Saw in the Morgue Still Haunts Him." The author, Gustavo Ocando Alex, is identified as a "freelance writer in Venezuela." His article is about what he saw after his father died and he accompanied his father's body to the morgue. I will not quote here what Alex saw in that morgue. For those who enjoy graveyard horror movies, think back to the creepiest special effects, and then imagine that those effects are real and come complete with the full panoply of odors surrounding the recently dead in a hot country. One can only feel the deepest sympathy for Alex and others like him trapped in that socialist hellhole. And did I just say "socialist"? Why, yes, I did. As every honest economic chart shows, after Venezuela went full socialist under Hugo Chavez, with his successor Nicolas Maduro doubling down on that political ideology, the country's economy cratered: What's striking is to see the short-term spurt in the economy when Chavez announced socialism in 2004 and poured government money into the economy. Then you can see how the managed economy, one dependent on government, not on individual initiative, creativity, and energy, slumped lower and lower. It's a graph of human tragedy. And that's how you end up with medieval conditions in Venezuela's hospitals, as this video from June 2019 shows: To explain what is going on, Alex mentions "the current economic crisis," but otherwise he focuses on the micro, not the macro. He vividly describes the morgue's general problems: The two freezer units used for preservation haven't worked for months, and the air conditioning is also broken, the source continued. So the temperature in the morgue rooms is close to 100 degrees Fahrenheit, the source said. This situation has been going on for some time. In October 2018, the BBC's Spanish news site reported on the very same Venezuelan morgue I had visited: "Many lifeless bodies lay over dirty metallic tables. They should be there for only a few hours and always in cold, but most of them spend days there, even months." Photos documented the scene which was identical to what I saw a full year later. In a phone interview, Dora Colmenares, secretary of the Organization of the College of Physicians in Zulia state, told me about the animals that infest the morgue: snakes, cockroaches, worms, mosquitoes, cats and dogs. He discusses general health care issues, not to mention the U.N.'s concern about human rights: The tragedy in the morgue is only one manifestation of the health care issues in Venezuela, says Colmenares. The Universitario hospital where my father was treated, she says, can't perform X-rays because the equipment is broken and it doesn't have the proper supplies to do laboratory tests. The Office for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said last July that the health situation in Venezuela was "dire, with hospitals lacking staff, supplies, medicines and electricity to keep vital machinery running." And that's where Alex stops. Not a peep about how the economy collapsed. Perhaps Alex is as honest about things as a writer in Venezuela can be. Maybe speaking about a generic "economic crisis" and the facts on the ground is sufficiently neutral that President Maduro will not turn a steely-eyed gaze on him. I don't blame Alex for his reticence. I do, however, blame NPR for its unwillingness to include a short statement before or after the article stating that Venezuela has a socialist economy. For the uninitiated who reads this article, it's easy to conclude that it's just a "bad economy." The Trump-haters might conclude that Trump's tariffs and border control contributed to it. The emotional ones will want to invite Venezuelans in. The bottom line is that unless the reader is either already informed or curious, he will never know why the Venezuelan morgue is the stuff of your worst nightmares. NPR doesn't report news; it sells emotionalism. That absence of honest information is how you end up being Venezuela. If the coming business year could be defined by a few select words, surely drone must figure prominently amongst them. These aerial wonders will be everywhere in 2020, it seems, delivering everything from our favourite novels to midweek comfort food takeaways. With perfect timing to herald this coming era of convenience, the New Year celebrations in Shanghai included a spectacular display utilising 2,000 of these unmanned aerial vehicles, flying in a variety of perfect formations over the city. While other capitals around the world opted for traditional pollution-laden fireworks on December 31, Chinas biggest city offered an alternative that was as environmentally aware as it was spectacular. Rising into the air against the dramatic skyscraper skyline of the citys Pudong district, the carefully choreographed performance illuminated the Huangpu River and incorporated firework-like explosions, leaping dragons and a giant running man, all culminating in a countdown spelling out 2020 with Chinese characters in the sky. Hailed as a low-pollution and climate-friendly alternative to traditional fireworks, it marked another forward step for drone technology into our daily lives. While drones technology may have been the exclusive preserve of hobbyists up to recently, we are clearly entering a decade when these toys in the sky will become a ubiquitous commercial reality in a variety of sectors. In tandem with the advances in the controlling software, these unmanned aerial automations will find multiple uses in agriculture, oil rigs, construction, mining, geological surveys, traffic monitoring, crowd control and large-scale security. Their assistance in helping relief agencies cope with natural disasters has already been proven in the current bushfires throughout Australia a test-bed for search and rescue activities in future climatic calamities. Like the internet and GPS before them, drones are evolving beyond their military origin to become powerful business tools, according to Goldman Sachs. Theyve already made the leap to the consumer market, and now theyre being put to work in commercial and civil government applications from fire-fighting to farming. Thats creating a market opportunity thats too large to ignore. By the end of 2020, the investment bank forecasts a 90bn market opportunity for drones helped by growing demand from the commercial and civil government sectors. At last weeks CES2020 convention in Las Vegas, one particular Irish drone company was garnering a great deal of attention on the back of its plan to revolutionise food deliveries over the coming year. Dublin-based Manna Aero experienced plenty of interest in its aim to make three-minute food delivery a reality. In the companys declared Manna-festo to completely replace road-based delivery and reduce dispatch times significantly, its custom- developed aerospace-grade drones are poised to deliver directly from restaurants and centralised kitchens to consumers homes. Flying at an altitude of 80m and a speed of 80km/h, these 21st-century takeaway warriors of the aim to deliver a Sicilian pizza, tandoori chicken, or Cao Lau noodles anywhere within a 2km radius in less than three minutes. 2020 for us is going to be about showing everyone in Ireland what it looks like, and showing the world that we are the first to do it properly, said Bobby Healy, CEO of Manna. Flying a hundred times more flights than the largest airline in the world, he added, that Manna deliveries will have to be hundreds of times safer than anyone who flies in aircraft. Manna will begin deliveries in a designated Dublin area this March. Manna intends to have a fleet of 100 drones in the air by the end of the year. We are on the cusp of the fifth industrial revolution, powered by drones, says Bobby Healy. Our intention is to make drone delivery as pervasive as running water. Even looking beyond its establishment in food deliveries, Manna is poised to roll out services pharmacies or convenience stores basically anything else that the local economy needs. For the rural firefighters of Australia, no donation is too small. They have long been known to canvass for dollars and cents in town markets, and their collection tins are fondly displayed in local storefronts. That hat-in-hand approach can now be put on hold. As bush fires have ravaged Australia, celebrities, business moguls and horrified people around the world have inundated the countrys fire services and other nonprofit organisations with tens of millions of dollars in donations. This outpouring has presented new challenges for a country more accustomed to handing out largesse to needier nations than to being the recipient of it. Sydney covered in haze from bushfire smoke Show all 8 1 /8 Sydney covered in haze from bushfire smoke Sydney covered in haze from bushfire smoke Smoke haze covers Sydney as wildfires burn near the city AAP Image/Reuters Sydney covered in haze from bushfire smoke The annual Australian fire season, which peaks during the Southern Hemisphere summer, has started early after an unusually warm and dry winter AP Sydney covered in haze from bushfire smoke Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge in the background as a man takes a picture Getty Sydney covered in haze from bushfire smoke AP Sydney covered in haze from bushfire smoke AFP via Getty Sydney covered in haze from bushfire smoke Getty Sydney covered in haze from bushfire smoke EPA Sydney covered in haze from bushfire smoke Getty Suddenly, Australia has found itself trying to efficiently distribute huge sums of money and to decipher donors sometimes vague intentions. One after another, celebrities have announced large donations or money-collection efforts. A Facebook fundraiser for the New South Wales Rural Fire Service that was started by Australian comedian Celeste Barber has amassed $34 million (18m). Fire brigades have received money from Nicole Kidman and her husband, Keith Urban, as well as from Metallica and Kylie Jenner. Leonardo DiCaprio donated to wildlife organisations. Writers are auctioning off signed books, musicians are hosting concerts, and athletes like Serena Williams have pledged to direct their winnings to bush-fire relief. Since September, the fires have incinerated an area about the size of West Virginia, the United States' state, and at least 25 people have died. Ecologists have estimated that a billion animals have perished, with some species threatened to the point of extinction. At least 3,000 homes have been ravaged in dozens of towns, and the economic damage from the fires could be as much as $3.5 billion (1.9bn) People select donated goods at an unofficial evacuation centre in Cobargo New South Wales January 12 2020 (Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters) (Reuters) The New South Wales Rural Fire Service has seen a dramatic jump in giving. In the period between mid-2017 and mid-2018, the fire service raised $525,000 (277,000). Now, it is flush with the tens of millions of dollars it has received from the Facebook fundraiser and other sources. The donations received so far could be enough to fund state-supported fire services in New South Wales for decades. But that would not provide immediate disaster relief. This money comes with expectations, said Michael Eburn, an associate professor at the Australian National University who specialises in emergency management law. Its a dilemma. The New York Times Key foreign actors commit to limiting external interference as part of plan to end Libyas war. World powers held a high-stakes summit in Berlin on Sunday to discuss the way forward to end the conflict in Libya. Leaders and officials from Turkey, Russia, Egypt, France, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States attended the gathering in the German capital, while representatives from the UAE, Algeria, China, the Republic of the Congo, the United Nations, European Union and African Union were also present. Renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar and his rival, Fayez al-Sarraj, who leads the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) based in Tripoli, attended the summit but did not participate. Haftar, who is backed by a rival administration based in eastern Libya, launched a military offensive on Tripoli in April which has since stalled. Some foreign powers had upped their support to the warring factions in an attempt to break the deadlock, but in Berlin, world leaders agreed on a joint course of action to de-escalate the conflict. Here are the main points they agreed on their final communique, to be put forward as a UN Security Council resolution. End to foreign interference The Berlin participants commit to refraining from interference in the armed conflict or in the internal affairs of Libya and urge all international actors to do the same. UN arms embargo The participants commit to unequivocally and fully respect and implement the arms embargo established by the UN in 2011 but frequently violated, and call on all international actors to do the same. We call on all actors to refrain from any activities exacerbating the conflict including the financing of military capabilities or the recruitment of mercenaries, the text adds. The document also asks UN experts to monitor and investigate any breaches of the arms embargo on a continuous basis and called all actors to enforce UNSC sanctions against those found to be in breach of the embargo. Ceasefire The signatories to the final statement call on all parties concerned to redouble their efforts for a sustained suspension of hostilities, de-escalation and a permanent ceasefire. 200119205759338 They also urge the redeployment of heavy weapons, artillery and aerial vehicles and an end to all military movements by, or in direct support of, the conflict parties throughout Libya and in its airspace, the text reads. The participants invite the UN to establish technical committees to monitor the implementation of the truce. They call on the UNSC to impose appropriate sanctions on those who are found to be in violation of the ceasefire arrangements and on member states to enforce these. Dissolving militias According to the text, the participants want to see credible steps towards the dismantling of armed groups and militias in Libya, whose members should then be integrated into civilian, security and military state institutions. The UN is asked to assist in the demobilisation process. The participants also call for the restoration of the monopoly of the state to the legitimate use of force. They support the establishment of unified Libyan national security, police and military forces under central, civilian authority, building upon the Cairo talks, and the documents produced therein. Return to political process The Berlin document urges all Libyan parties to resume the inclusive Libyan-led and Libyan-owned political process under the auspices of the UNSMIL [the UN Support Mission in Libya] to reach an intra-Libyan solution. The goal is to pave the way to end the transitional period through free, fair and credible parliamentary and presidential elections. Human rights The participants urge all parties in Libya to fully respect international humanitarian law and human rights law. They call for an end to the practice of arbitrary detention and urge the Libyan authorities to gradually close the detention centres for migrants and asylum seekers. Economy and oil The participants stressed the importance of restoring and safeguarding the integrity of Libyan institutions, in particular the Central Bank of Libya and the National Oil Corporation (NOC). They urge all parties to guarantee the security of the countrys crucial oil infrastructure, and reject any illicit exploitation of its energy resources. Distribution of wealth The document calls for transparent, accountable, fair and equitable distribution of public wealth and resources between different Libyan geographical areas, including through decentralisation and support for municipalities. Strengthening of institutions 200119061244724 The agreement urges Libyan authorities to further strengthen transitional justice institutions, including prosecution initiatives, reparations, truth-seeking and institutional reform, which should be in line with internationally recognised standards and principles. Follow-up talks At a news conference announcing the communique, UN chief Antonio Guterres said al-Sarraj, the GNA head, and Haftar, had each appointed five military representatives to attend follow-up talks in Geneva in the next few days. The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture The 7-terabyte dataset, the largest of its kind, helps envision climate-change scenarios at scales as small as 1 kilometer; a new review validates and describes the dataset What the global climate emergency has in store may vary from one back yard to the next, particularly in the tropics where microclimates, geography and land-use practices shift dramatically over small areas. This has major implications for adaptation strategies at local levels and requires trustworthy, high-resolution data on plausible future climate scenarios. A dataset created by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and colleagues is filling this niche. Primarily intended to help policymakers devise adaptation strategies for smallholder farmers around the world, the open-access dataset has been used in 350 research papers. Users in at least 186 countries have downloaded almost 400,000 files from the dataset since it went online in 2013. A full description, review and validation of the dataset, including how it was built, was published January 20 in Scientific Data, an open-access publication by Nature for the description of scientifically valuable datasets. "Climate models are complex representations of the earth system, but they aren't perfect," said Julian Ramirez-Villegas, the principal investigator of the project and a scientist with CIAT and the CGIAR Research Platform on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). "These errors can have an impact on our agricultural models. Because these models help us make decisions, this can have dire consequences." While the data has primarily served agricultural research, it has also been used to map the potential global spread of Zika (a mosquito-borne disease), to plan investment strategies for international development, and to predict the ongoing decline of outdoor skating days in Canada due to warmer winters. "The use and applicability of this data have been really extensive and topically quite broad," said Ramirez-Villegas. "Of course, a large portion of the studies has been done on crops that are key to global food security and incomes such as rice, coffee, cocoa, maize, and others." Pinpointing climate impacts Climate-change projections are typically available at coarse scales, ranging 70-400km. But models for the impact of climate change for many agricultural plant varieties require data at finer scales. The researchers used techniques to increase the spatial resolution (a process known as downscaling) and to correct errors (a process known as bias correction) to create high-resolution future climate data for 436 scenarios. "This is a critical resource for modeling more realistically the future of crops and ecosystems," said Carlos Navarro, the lead author of the study who is affiliated with CIAT and CCAFS. For a given emissions pathway and future period, each scenario includes monthly information for average and extreme temperatures, rainfall, and 19 other related variables. The data are publicly available in the World Data Center for Climate and the CCAFS-Climate data portal. "Through these scenarios, we can understand, for instance, how agricultural productivity might evolve if the world continues on the current greenhouse emissions trajectory," said Navarro. "They also provide the data to model what types of adaptations would best counter any negative climate change effects." Global and regional models analyze climate conditions at a rougher scales and simplify natural processes, producing results that may deviate from realistic scenarios. The dataset is CGIAR's biggest Findable Accessible Interoperable Reusable (FAIR) database. It also underscores CGIAR's role in big data for development, through its Platform for Big Data in Agriculture. The dataset is currently included in its Global Agriculture Research Data Innovation and Acceleration Network (GARDIAN). The high-resolution scale of this data is useful for scientists, policymakers, NGOs and investors, as it can help them understand local climate change impacts and therefore make better bets on adaptation measures, which plans can specifically target watersheds, regions, municipalities or countries. ### In addition to the studies noted by Ramirez-Villegas above, other studies that have used the datasets include: -Mapping global environmental suitability for Zika virus. The results showed that more than 2.17 billion people in the tropics and sub-tropics live in Zika-prone areas. -A multi-year CCAFS study following more than 15,000 farmers across India who are testing new seed varieties to enhance smallholder resilience to climate change. -The above study also noted how Concern Worldwide, an NGO that does long-term development work, has used the data to identify adaptation options and investment strategies in Chad and South Sudan. -The datasets were used in numerous climate change-impact studies on crops in Africa, including cocoa in Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire, chickpea in East Africa, irrigated sugarcane in South Africa, and groundnuts in West Africa. -In a show of the dataset's broad research potential, a study in Canada showed how days of outdoor ice-skating are in decline there due to warming. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 20 By Ilhama Isabalayeva - Trend: This year, two more centers of the Sustainable and Operative Social Security (DOST) Agency under Azerbaijans Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Population will be created in Baku, as well as DOST centers in Sumgayit, Absheron, Sheki, Barda, Guba and Sabirabad districts, Sahil Babayev, the minister of labor and social protection of the population, said at a board meeting, Trend reports, referring to the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Population. The minister noted that the creation of the DOST Agency under the ministry, the first and second Baku DOST centers was the most successful innovation in the social sphere, and ensured the transition of social services to a qualitatively new level of development. The first DOST center served up to 65,000 citizens, the satisfaction level was 95.2 percent, said Babayev. The Konullu DOST program received 6,900 appeals, and 250 volunteers were involved in the work, the minister noted. Babayev added that last year the number of people attracted to the self-employment program reached 10,354, the number of families receiving state targeted social assistance increased by 70 percent, amounting to 72,000 (296,000 family members). These programs will be expanded in 2020, the minister said. Babayev added that the employment agencies of the ministry provided 103,028 people with job, 3,168 people were involved in professional training, and about 135,000 citizens were provided with professional counseling services. Ishsizin DOSTu (A Friend of the Unemployed) program allowed opening 38,000 paid public service jobs, the minister noted. More than 150 events are being held at railway stations across Britain to encourage people to make time to talk on what has been described as the most depressing day of the year. The Samaritans Brew Monday campaign hopes to spark conversations between family, friends and colleagues by handing out thousands of tea bags. The charity wants to turn the third Monday of the year known by some as Blue Monday into a positive day. Dame Julie Walters (Yui Mok/PA) Actress Dame Julie Walters, who is supporting the campaign, said: I believe we need to listen, notice and talk to people. It isnt a problem to talk about how you are feeling, and things wont get out of control, if anything it will dissipate. Its about not being afraid to approach somebody and noticing whats happening around you. Industry figures show nearly 2,000 lifesaving interventions were carried out by rail staff, police and members of the public on the network last year. Kelly Holyoake, a train dispatcher at a south London station, saved the life of a man who had dropped a suicide note on the floor and was standing at the edge of a platform. She said: I asked him what was going on and he told me to stay away. I moved back and gave it a few minutes which seemed like a lifetime, then I stepped forward again and started talking to him. It was the worst and best day. I went through all the emotions but I knew I made a difference. Transport ministers will visit stations on Monday to support the Samaritans initiative. Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris said: With funding from Network Rail, Samaritans has trained more than 20,000 railway employees in prevention techniques. This is a tremendous achievement but we must not stop there. Passengers too can help. Offering a friendly conversation, an opportunity to chat, might be all the difference between suicide and being saved. (Alliance News) - Scope Ratings on Friday affirmed the Republic of Ireland's long-term local- and foreign-currency issuer ratings at A+ and raised their outlook to Positive from Stable. The German credit-ratings agency said the changes were driven by continued deleveraging, an improved budgetary position, and robust growth potential. However, still-high public- and private-debt levels, as well as external vulnerabilities, are rating constraints, the agency noted. Scope Ratings also affirmed Ireland's senior unsecured debt in both local and foreign currency at A+ and revised the outlook to Positive. The sovereign's short-term issuer ratings are affirmed at S-1+ in both local and foreign currency, with outlooks Stable. "The Positive outlook reflects Scope's assessment that risks to Ireland's ratings are skewed to the upside over the forthcoming 12 to 18 months," the agency said. By Loreta Juodagalvyte; loretajuodagalvyte@alliancenews.com Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. While some investors are already well versed in financial metrics (hat tip), this article is for those who would like to learn about Return On Equity (ROE) and why it is important. To keep the lesson grounded in practicality, we'll use ROE to better understand Ideagen plc (LON:IDEA). Ideagen has a ROE of 1.9%, based on the last twelve months. That means that for every 1 worth of shareholders' equity, it generated 0.02 in profit. Check out our latest analysis for Ideagen How Do I Calculate Return On Equity? The formula for ROE is: Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) Shareholders' Equity Or for Ideagen: 1.9% = UK1.4m UK74m (Based on the trailing twelve months to April 2019.) Most readers would understand what net profit is, but its worth explaining the concept of shareholders equity. It is the capital paid in by shareholders, plus any retained earnings. Shareholders' equity can be calculated by subtracting the total liabilities of the company from the total assets of the company. 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 profit over the last twelve months. A higher profit will lead to a higher ROE. So, as a general rule, a high ROE is a good thing. Clearly, then, one can use ROE to compare different companies. Does Ideagen 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. The limitation of this approach is that some companies are quite different from others, even within the same industry classification. If you look at the image below, you can see Ideagen has a lower ROE than the average (10%) in the Software industry classification. AIM:IDEA Past Revenue and Net Income, January 20th 2020 Unfortunately, that's sub-optimal. We'd prefer see an ROE above the industry average, but it might not matter if the company is undervalued. Nonetheless, it might be wise to check if insiders have been selling. Story continues How Does Debt Impact ROE? Virtually all companies need money to invest in the business, to grow profits. The cash for investment can come from prior year profits (retained earnings), issuing new shares, or borrowing. In the first two cases, the ROE will capture this use of capital to grow. In the latter case, the use of debt will improve the returns, but will not change the equity. In this manner the use of debt will boost ROE, even though the core economics of the business stay the same. Ideagen's Debt And Its 1.9% ROE Although Ideagen does use debt, its debt to equity ratio of 0.10 is still low. Its ROE is quite low, and the company already has some debt, so surely shareholders are hoping for an improvement. Judicious use of debt to improve returns can certainly be a good thing, although it does elevate risk slightly and reduce future optionality. The Bottom Line On ROE Return on equity is one way we can compare the business quality of different companies. A company that can achieve a high return on equity without debt could be considered a high quality business. If two companies have around the same level of debt to equity, and one has a higher ROE, I'd generally prefer the one with higher ROE. But when a business is high quality, the market often bids it up to a price that reflects this. The rate at which profits are likely to grow, relative to the expectations of profit growth reflected in the current price, must be considered, too. So I think it may be worth checking this free report on analyst forecasts for the company. Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading. An EFCC Operative, Mohammed Goji, on Monday, told the Federal High Court, Abuja, that the commission did not conduct a thorough investigation into the defunct Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT) headed by Abdulrasheed Maina to unravel members of the team drawn from other ministries, departments or agencies (MDAs) of government. Mr Goji, a member of the EFCC Pension Fraud Team that investigated alleged fraud by Mr Maina, made the revelation during the continuation of cross examination before Justice Okon Abang as the 2nd prosecution witness (PW2) in the ongoing trial. News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Goji on December 16, 2019, told the court how Faisal Maina, son of Abdulrasheed Maina, withdrew N58 million from a commercial bank in the country. Mr Goji, a Principal Detective Superintendent with the anti-graft agency, at the resumed trial of Faisal on Monday, said he could not tell precisely other members of the PRTT constituted by the federal government then. He stated this while responding to questions by Faisals lawyer, Adeola Adedipe. When asked if Mr Goji was a member of the PRTT led by Mr Maina or any personnel from the anti-graft agency was a member, he said: No, I was not a member of the Pension Reformed Task Team, and I cant say if my agency was represented as part of the team. The official explained that while PRTT was designated at the office of the Head of Service of the Federation, the EFCCs Pension Fraud Team is designated at the EFCC office and is constituted only by EFCC operatives. When asked on those who constituted the PRTT, Mr Goji said: I cant say authoritatively who exactly constitutes the Pension Reform Task Team. I know some personnel of different agencies were constituted as part of PRTT but I have not seen an official document nominating such agencies personnel as part of the team. So, precisely, I cannot tell the agencies that participated in the PRTT, he said. Mr Adedipe, in his cross examination, asked: In other words, your investigation was not deeply rooted enough to reveal those agencies? READ ALSO: Admitting, Mr Goji said: We did not conduct an in-depth investigation to find out precisely the members of the agencies represented in the defunct pension reformed task team. However, there was a mild drama when Mr Adedipe refused to allow the EFCC witness offer further explanation on the questions he asked him. I cannot take this. No, no, you dont need further explanation on this, Faisals lawyer said. However, Mr Abang cautioned Mr Adedipe, saying Counsel, I am in charge and you cannot be using such language in the court. Mr Adedipe, therefore, apologised thus: I am sorry My Lord. I urge My Noble Lord not to entertain any further explanation. The judge later told the prosecution witness to always answer questions the way the question was asked. Answer questions the way it is asked and if you want to explain, seek the leave of the court and if it is relevant, I will record it. Your lawyer too is here to guide you, Mr Abang said. After so many questions from counsel to Faisal, the judge adjourned the matter till January 21 for continuation of cross examination. NAN reports that Faisal is being tried, alongside his father, on a three-count charge bordering on money laundering. (NAN) Advertisements Ahead of Republic Day, television makers across the country are giving out a slew of offers, including discounts, for customers. The white goods firms are pinning hopes from the sale season to revive the overall TV sales that have seen a 4-5 percent decline. TV brands like Shinco, Telefunken, Thomson as as well as consumer durable majors like Samsung are rolling out special prices and payment options for the products. Large e-commerce platforms like Amazon and Flipkart have special sales around the Republic Day. The television makers are using these platforms to boost sales. Shinco, the Indian LED TV brand by Videotex International is offering huge discounts - up to Rs 8,000 - on their big size 4K Smart TV's that comes equipped with UNIWALL - UI, during the Amazons The Great Indian Sale. Shinco 4K Smart TVs will be available starting at a price of Rs 22,499. The TV brand is offering no-cost EMIs as well as other value-added benefits which include cashbacks and free installation. Similarly, Thomson has announced discounts for the Flipkart Republic Day sale. Thomsons 24inch HD LED TV-model would be priced at Rs 4,999. Other discounts include offers by Kotak, ICICI bank on its credit & debit cards (10 percent off). Avneet Singh Marwah, CEO SPPL (exclusive brand licensee of Thomson TV India) said that Thomson is looking to increase its consumer base and its continuously working to lower prices and become the most affordable brand in the category, while also offering latest technologies. Television prices have seen intense competition after the entry of new players in the market. Larger players are finding it difficult to cut prices while a handful of online-only TV brands have rapidly slashed prices but saving on distribution and store costs. However, the larger players are also playing an active role in e-commerce sales. The country's largest consumer electronics brand Samsung has announced the sale of its lifestyle TV 'The Frame' in 55-inch and 65-inch sizes. This will be part of the Flipkart Republic Day sale. The TV will be available for Rs 84,990 for 55 inch category. The Frame QLED TV 55-inch, which when not in use transforms into a picture frame with over 1,200 digital artworks to choose from. Samsung said that this product was sold out before the end of the offer period during its previous sale on Flipkart, in September 2019. Those buying 'The Frame' through pre-paid transactions through credit cards, debit cards and net banking will get an additional instant cashback of Rs 3,000. The new Frame QLED TV 65-inch, being introduced in India for the first time, will be available at Rs 1,59,990 with attractive pre-book offer during the sale period. The delivery of pre-booked units will start from February 1, 2020. Among the many unique innovations that Samsung has pioneered over the years, The Frame is a masterpiece designed to be more than just a television. We got a huge response during the last sale on Flipkart in September 2019, and the TV was sold out. So we decided to bring back The Frame during Flipkart Republic Day sale on popular demand. This time, we have added a new 65-inch variant as well, said Piyush Kunnapallil, Director Online Business, Consumer Electronics, Samsung India. The smaller TV players are far more aggressive in the online players and have played the price card to attract buyers. Germany's consumer electronics brand Telefunken that entered the Indian market (through Videotex brand licensee agreement) in 2019 has partnered with Amazon for its Great Indian Sale 2020. The brand's 32 inch LED TV will be available for Rs 6,999 which is a Rs 1,000 discount. The smart TV version will be priced at Rs 8,999. Along with the price deals on Amazon, customers can also avail a 10 percent discount with instant payments from SBI Cards. What is popular online? Industry players said that televisions are the second most popular electronic product to be bought online, the first being smartphones. While the overall TV market has seen an almost 5 percent decline in sales, online market has seen a 30 percent growth. Right now, the online segment contributes less than 30 percent of the total TV market. The ease of installation, quick delivery and better access to a wider range of products has led to a shift of TV customers to the online market. Hong Kong: A prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy activist was arrested by police, his organisation said on Monday, after a protest he helped organise in the financial district a day earlier turned violent with officers firing tear-gas to disperse the crowds. Ventus Lau was arrested on Sunday evening on charges of "obstruction of police administration" and violating terms set when permission was granted for the protest, the Hong Kong Civil Assembly Team said in a statement. The organisers initially applied for a permit - known as a letter of no objection - for a march, but the police only agreed to a static rally in a park in the city's Central district. But as the crowds swelled and spilled onto surrounding streets, some protesters briefly barricaded roads with umbrellas, traffic cones and other street furniture and dug up bricks from the pavement. Governments that send refugees back to countries severely affected by climate change could be in breach of their human rights obligations, a UN committee said on Monday. The independent experts on the Human Rights Committee issued a non-binding but closely watched ruling in a case brought by Ioane Teitiota from the Pacific island nation of Kiribati. Teitiota was disputing his expulsion in 2015 from New Zealand, where he had applied for protection in 2013. He had argued that his own island of South Tarawa became badly overcrowded because rising sea levels had made other islands belonging to Kiribati uninhabitable, causing land disputes and reduced access to safe drinking water. The committee ruled against the claim, saying his life was not immediately in danger, but agreed that "environmental degradation can adversely affect an individual's well-being and lead to a violation of the right to life". Several Pacific island nations including Kiribati are seen as among the most vulnerable in the world to climate change as they are just a few metres above sea level. "Given that the risk of an entire country becoming submerged under water is such an extreme risk, the conditions of life in such a country may become incompatible with the right to life with dignity before the risk is realised," the experts said. The experts said countries planning to deport failed asylum claimants should take into account the effects of climate change in the country of origin or risk breaching their obligations to defend the claimants' right to life. - 'Ground-breaking' - Israeli professor Yuval Shany, the committee's vice chair, said the experts were "leaving the door open for such cases". "We did indicate quite clearly that we can envisage future situations in which individuals will be able to claim a right-to-life violation on the basis of climate change," he said, urging governments to take this into consideration when reviewing asylum claims. Amnesty International called the case "ground-breaking". "The decision sets a global precedent," Kate Schuetze, Pacific researcher at Amnesty, said in a statement. "The message is clear: Pacific Island states do not need to be under water before triggering human rights obligations to protect the right to life," she said. Schuetze said Pacific Island nations were the "canary in the coal mine for climate-induced migrants". The UN refugee agency has said it expects more and more people to be displaced by environmental factors in the coming years but the concept of "climate refugees" currently does not exist under international law. The official definition of a refugee is someone who has crossed an international border "owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion". The UN Human Rights Committee is made up of 18 independent experts who issue opinions and recommendations that carry reputational weight, but they have no power to compel states to follow their rulings. Martha Kasafi and her daughter, refugees from Democratic Republic of Congo, collect water for their crops in Kalobeyei settlement for refugees in Kenya on October 2, 2019; Independent experts on the Human Rights Committee issued a non-binding ruling in a case brought by Ioane Teitiota from the Pacific island nation of Kiribati [January 20, 2020] Cloud Communications Provider Melrose Labs Launches With Ambition to be Europe's No. 1 EDINBURGH, Scotland, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Melrose Labs, the newly launched cloud communications provider, have commenced rolling out the first wave of their communication services for voice and messaging. The company expects to be a significant challenger in the market through its broad range of crucial communication services for businesses of all sizes. The service portfolio of the start-up Melrose Labs is diverse and spans Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS) and Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS). These include an expanding number of services in fixed-line, mobile, satellite and internet communications. The primary focus across these mediums is voice and messaging, with a range of APIs for simple and complex tasks, and sophisticated services for mobile marketing, emergency notification and a cloud PBX phone system. The messaging services will cover rich messaging, SMS, email, social media and chat. In early 2020, the Melrose Labs "Tyr SMS Gateway" will be released for use by developers, with a wide range of APIs suitable for any developer or organisation. Towards the end of 2020, the gateway will be released for production use by customers. This high-reliability SMS gateway will enble organisations around the world to send and receive SMS text messages to and from staff, customers and partners for emergencies, promotional, informational and other uses. Mark Hay, CEO/CTO and Founder of Melrose Labs said: "We aim to claim a small number of very significant mountains with our innovative cloud communications services. I firmly believe in the power of cloud communications to empower organisations to make their organisation better and improve customer experience. Through voice and messaging services, Melrose Labs knows this is achievable. Where cloud communications can make a difference to our customers, we will be there with services that deliver." Melrose Labs may seek investment from venture capital or private equity at a later date to aid with realising its plans. The board of Melrose Labs may also consider acquisitions as part of growth. Melrose Labs' services portfolio will in due course put it in direct competition with Twilio, Sinch, Vonage, Plivo, RingCentral and others. To learn more about Melrose Labs, visit melroselabs.com. Get in touch Web: melroselabs.com Twitter: twitter.com/MelroseLabs Facebook: facebook.com/melroselabs LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/melrose-labs About Melrose Labs Melrose Labs is a cloud communication services provider in fixed-line, mobile, internet and satellite communications. Our services are for large and small enterprises and aimed at empowering organisations to make their organisation better and improve customer experience. Melrose Labs was founded in August 2019 by Mark Hay, the founder and former owner and CEO/CTO of Hay Systems Ltd / HSL Mobile, the UK-based SMS aggregator. Mark Hay founded HSL Mobile in 1999 and sold the business to LINK Mobility Group of Oslo, Norway in December 2018. Mark Hay brings over 20 years of experience in providing communication services to organisations such as DHL, BAA, Capgemini, Goldman Sachs, John Lewis, IKEA, NCR and NHS. Melrose Labs is a privately held company headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. Related Links https://melroselabs.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Ukraine's president on Monday urged Tehran to hand over the black box flight recorders of a passenger plane mistakenly shot down by Iranian forces during a spike in tensions with Washington. President Volodymyr Zelensky met Iran's Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mohammad Eslami in Kiev after Tehran suggested it would keep the black boxes. Zelensky told the minister "Ukraine has the technical capacity and experienced specialists" to read the information on the Boeing flight recorders, the presidency said in a statement. Iranian "representatives" would shortly travel to Ukraine "to acquaint themselves with those technical capacities. "The parties agreed that all debris from the aircraft... must be returned to Ukraine," the statement said, adding that the issue of compensation for families of the dead had been raised. Zelensky noted that Tehran had "fully cooperated" and kept "most" of the promises made after the crash. Ukraine Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko had earlier said the minister had come to Kiev to "officially apologise" after Iran admitted that it mistakenly shot down the Ukrainian jet. "We hope that we would be able... to discuss practical issues including the return of the black boxes," Prystaiko said. "On the part of Iran, this will be proof of the readiness for open dialogue." The Kiev-bound Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 crashed shortly after taking off from Tehran on January 8, killing all 176 people on board, mostly Iranian and Canadian citizens. The disaster happened shortly after Iran launched missiles at US forces in Iraq in response to the killing of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in a US drone strike in Baghdad on January 3. Tehran admitted several days later it had accidentally shot down the plane. On Friday, Prystaiko said Tehran was "ready" to hand over the flight recorders, but a senior official later announced that Iran intended to keep the black boxes "for now". Canada on Sunday repeated its request that Iran quickly hand over the black boxes to France or Ukraine. Last week, 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. COPENHAGEN - Norways populist Progress Party could leave the centre-right government coalition over a decision to bring back home an Islamic State group-linked woman and her two children from a detention camp in Syria. The anti-immigration party, Norways third-largest, is one of Prime Minister Erna Solbergs four coalition members, together with her Conservatives, the centrist Liberal Party and the Christian Democrats.. The 29-year-old Norweigan woman of Pakistani descent reportedly travelled to Syria in 2013 and married a Norwegian foreign fighter there who was later killed in fighting. One of her children is quite ill. Many believe she used her child as a shield to come back to Norway. There are many in Norway who are displeased by this, not just in the Progress Party, said party leader Siv Jensen, who is also Norways finance minister. The party felt it was not consulted when the decision was made to bring back the woman and her children to Norway. She was formally arrested Saturday upon her return and was placed in an Oslo hospital with her two children, A majority in the government believed that the concern for the child was paramount, said Solberg, The mother, who was not named, refused to let the sick child travel alone to Norway, which then allowed her to travel from the Kurdish-controlled camp at Al-Hol where they had been detained since March 2019. Solberg and Jensen were to meet later Monday to discuss whether the Progress Party should remain in the government. The government must muster a majority in the 169-seat Storting, or Parliament. Solberg has been prime minister of the Scandinavian country since 2013 when she formed a coalition with the Progress Party. The parties won renewed support for the steering the country in the 2017 election. The worlds 2,153 billionaires have more wealth between them than a combined 4.6 billion people, which is 60% of the global population, according to a study published, international charity Oxfam. The numbers show that 2,153 billionaires now have more wealth than the 4.6 billion poorest people on the planet. According to the report, "global inequality is shockingly entrenched and vast" and the number of billionaires has doubled in the last decade. Oxfam's figures are based on data from Forbes magazine and Swiss bank Credit Suisse, but they are disputed by some economists. The report comes as delegates gather in Davos, Switzerland, for the annual World Economic Forum conference. The chairman of the Board of the National Currency Association (NCA), Dmitry Piskulov, speaking to Vestnik Kavkaza, listed the problems caused by the global inequality. "First, social tension is growing, especially among the people living near the subsistence minimum or below the subsistence minimum. Second, economic growth slows down: if the number of people who earn little and save little grows, total consumption declines," he said. "Look how financial stratification can affect the entire economic chain: low consumption is not just a shortage of production capacity, but also low payments on public debt, low lending, as the banking system cannot provide loans. The problem of inequality affects the whole economy. In this regard, the Oxfam study is important as a signal to the economic and political elite that the problem is only getting bigger, negatively affecting the global economy," Dmitry Piskulov stressed. A committee in charge of following up the plan of the national committee for renewable energy and power efficiency held its fifteenth meeting. Sustainable Energy Authority (SEA) President Dr Abdulhussein Mirza chaired the session, which was also attended by senior officials representing ministries and government departments. The UN Resident Co-ordinator in the Kingdom of Bahrain was also present. Dr Mirza hailed efforts being exerted by different government departments, which play a key role in the achievements in the fields of renewable energy and power efficiency. The meeting focused on a number of global financing mechanisms that can be used to support renewable energy and power efficiency projects in Bahrain, including the mechanisms to take advantage of the Green Fund to address climate change. The representative of the National Oil and Gas Authority (NOGA) delivered a visual presentation highlighting the possibility of establishing national investment portfolios for promoting sustainable energy. Click here to read the full article. For the first time ever, a record number of 13 talent scouts -including U.S. reps from Wiip, CAA, Gersh- will set foot at Goteborgs sold-out Nordic TV Drama Vision (Jan.29-30), where around 50 series in progress and in development will play to 420 industry delegates. This is the first time ever we have such a large presence of talent agents in Goteborg, but mirrors the worldwide trend of people trying to uncover and snap up the next big talent and stories, of which the Nordics abound, said head of industry Cia Edstrom. More from Variety Heading the works in progress is HBOs Swedish original Beartown, to be discussed by HBO Nordics commissioning editor & VP Original Programming, Hanne Palmquist, director Peter Gronlund, and Filmlance Internationals producers Bonnie Skoog Feeney and Mattias Arehn. The adaptation of Fredrik Backmans best-selling novel will bow on HBO later this year. The dramedy Dreaming of England, a wonderful female driven series with refreshing ingredients and humor, according to Edstrom, is another anticipated show from Sweden, produced by Art&Bob for Swedish public broadcaster SVT. Icelands short form comedy My Funeral, in the vein of Ricky Gervaiss Afterlife, will be pitched by producer Hordur Runarsson of fast-growing prodco Glassriver, while Finnish comic book artist and illustrator JP Ahonen will explain why his black metal mockumentary Belzebubs,, commissioned by Finlands Yle, has evolved from a self-therapy project into a large cross-media project. The works in development take in Finnish drama The Social Worker from Black Widow creators Mikko Polla and Roope Lehtinen, Norwegian teen crime Svik, produced by Mer Film (Disco), as well as four premium shows from other parts of Europe: Austrian crime series Snow, Estonian thriller The Deep, Bulgarias fertility drama Babyland and Ukraines dystopian thriller Alive, Ukraines rising drama output will be showcased as well with a case study of the crime drama Hide & Seek, produced for ICTV and Russias SVOD service Okko. Story continues Rounding out the TV sneaks from the Nordics will be 40-plus trailers of upcoming series and the presentation of five high-end dramas competing for outstanding Nordic TV screenplay at the Nordisk Film & TV Fond Award: Norways 22 July (NRK), Swedens Caliphate (SVT), Icelands Happily Never After (RUV) and Finlands The Paradise (Yle). As always, top Nordic and international TV execs will take centre stage to discuss upcoming trends and challenges ahead. This years fact & figures specialist will be Ampere Analysis Guy Bisson, while Danish academic and formal philosophy professor Vincent F. Hendricks (Copenhagen University) will provide food for thought as TV Dramas opening speaker. European TV keynote speakers announced include ZDFs international co-production specialists Simone Emmelius and Frank Seyberth, as well as influential French producers Caroline Benjo and Carole Scotta of Haut & Court (The Last Panthers, The New Pope). Citing the challenges for producers to continue to create successful high-end shows in a peak TV market, to nurture talent and stay independent, Edstrom said four senior executives will contribute to the discussion in the panel titled The European Model: Endemol Shine Groups Lars Blomgren, ZDFs Emmelius, producer Dariuzs Jablonski, and SVTs Anna Croneman. Finally, to fuel the debate around tax credits and incentives (still lacking in Sweden), film & TV consultant Petri Kemppinen will moderate the roundtable Simply cash or creative resources-the state of production incentives. At press time, the full program of Goteborgs TV Drama Vision was yet to be finalized. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The French foreign ministry said Monday that eight European Union nations had given their support for a new naval patrol to help avoid potential conflicts in the Strait of Hormuz, the strategically critical entry to the Gulf. Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands and Portugal backed the new force, though the ministry did not say how many ships would be involved, or when they would begin operations. The move comes amid escalating tensions in the region, especially between Iran and the United States, that have sparked attacks on tankers and other conflicts in a crucial zone for oil shipping. "For months this situation has jeopardised freedom of navigation and the security of both European and foreign ships and crews," the ministry said in a statement. The EU initiative also underscores the bloc's goal of acting separately from the US, which launched its own operation alongside allies last November to protect shipping in Gulf waters. France and its European allies are hoping to distance themselves from US President Donald Trump in order to save the landmark 2015 deal curtailing Tehran's nuclear programme. Trump abandoned the accord in 2018 and imposed economic sanctions against Iran, rekindling a smouldering conflict that led to strikes on cargo ships as well as Saudi Arabian oil facilities. France, Denmark, Greece and the Netherlands have already confirmed they will contribute to the patrols, which will be based in the United Arab Emirates, and "new commitments" are expected in the coming days, the ministry said. Search Keywords: Short link: Escalating protests in Iraq have led to a halt in production at the Al Ahdab oil field, which pumps some 70,000 bpd, Bloomberg reports, citing an unnamed source from the Iraqi government. Another field is at risk of shutting down starting today as well. Al Ahdab is operated by Chinas CNPC, but it has been blockaded by security guards who are protesting against the absence of permanent employment contracts. The other field at risk of closure, Badra, produces about 50,000 bpd. Russias Gazprom Neft is the operator of that field. Iraq is the second-largest oil producer and exporter in OPEC. It has been hit by a series of economic protests that started last year and are not showing any sings of ending any time soon as disgruntled citizens demand better public services and economic reforms and protest against widespread government corruption. Al Jazeera reports that on Sunday, protesters closed several large roads in cities around the capital Baghdad and demonstrated on the street in anticipation of the deadline they had set for the government to respond to their demands for a new Prime Minister and a new government. The demands were initially made by protesters in the city of Nasiriya, but others soon joined in, Al Jazeeras Gareth Browne reports. Oil prices trended higher early on Monday following the news of the escalation, supported also by news from Libya, where oil exports were suspended after forces loyal to General Khalifa Haftar blocked the export terminals in the Oil Crescent. The events in Iraq and Libya are lending quite an upside potential to prices in the immediate run. The Iraqi protests are particularly bullish for prices: field outages are something of a norm in Libya and traders have more or less gotten used to them. Serious supply disruptions from Iraq, on the other hand, have not happened recently, and therefore have the potential to push prices a lot higher. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: 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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There is no question in my mind that artificial intelligence needs to be regulated. The question is how best to approach this, Pichai told an audience at a conference in Brussels. The U.S. and European nations are currently attempting to develop regulatory policy for artificial intelligence. The U.S. has taken a more hands-off approach than the E.U. thus far but Pichai called for international alignment regarding the issue. While AI promises enormous benefits for Europe and the world, there are real concerns about the potential negative consequences of AI, he said. Among the uses of artificial intelligence software are facial recognition tools, which have been systematically implemented by China throughout the countrys cities. Citizens can now board planes and pay for merchandise in some stores via facial scan, and new purchasers of phone services are now required to complete a facial recognition process. China has also used facial recognition to further the mass surveillance and detention of Muslim citizens of the western Xinjiang province. On January 9 the U.S. unveiled a set of regulations on artificial intelligence meant to leave room for innovation in the field, which is also behind the development of driverless cars. Europe and our allies should avoid heavy handed innovation-killing models, and instead consider a similar regulatory approach, the White House said in a statement regarding its approach to artificial intelligence. America is known throughout the world for our innovation, for our creative spirit and it is part of our inter-competitiveness, and so we want to foster innovation, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao told Politico in an interview. But there are also legitimate public concerns expressed about safety, security and privacy. More from National Review Since becoming the soap's latest villain, he's stolen goods from locals and even killed two beloved characters, Rana Habeeb and Rick Neelan. And heartless loan shark Gary Windass (Mikey North) maintains his merciless persona as he takes furniture away from an elderly and disabled couple in scenes set to air on Coronation Street. The businessman confronts the vulnerable pair at their house before he loads a hug blue van with their belongings alongside his sidekick Sharon (Naomi Cooper-Davis). No mercy: Loan shark Gary Windass (Mikey North) maintains his merciless persona as he takes furniture away from an elderly and disabled couple in scenes set to air on Coronation Street Making a typically bold move, Gary knocks on the OAPs' door to collect a series of sofas and chairs. Despite the embarrassed man's pleas, the former solider is pictured removing floral print furniture and wood seating from their home, much to the couple's disappointment. The pair aren't left with many options as Gary is believed to be punishing them for failing to pay off their debts. Sad times: The businessman confronts the vulnerable pair at their house before he loads a hug blue van with their belongings Time is up! Making a typically bold move, Gary knocks on the OAPs' door to collect a series of sofas and chairs Evil: Since becoming the soap's latest villain, he's stolen goods from locals and even killed two beloved characters, Rana Habeeb and Rick Neelan Enraged: The OAP appears extremely upset as he watches Gary take his possessions They're out! Despite the embarrassed man's pleas, the former solider is pictured removing floral print furniture and wood seating from their home, much to the couple's disappointment No care in the world: Gary is pictured pushing the heavy items onto the vehicle as he prepares to head off Elsewhere, serial killer Gary - who is responsible for the deaths of Rana (Bhavna Limbachia) and Rick (Greg Wood) - left Shona Ramsey (Julia Goulding) in a coma as he shot her during the soap's tense Christmas special. During the episode, newlyweds Shona and David Platt (Jack P Shepherd) were caught up in the drama while taking part in a festive treasure hunt. Gary's rivalry with Derek (Craige Els) has already turned violent, but things took an even darker turn in the explosive scenes. Tense: The pair aren't left with many options as Gary is believed to be punishing them for failing to pay off their debts Desperate: The man looks furious as he attempts to hold onto his sofas In good company: The heartless character takes on the duties alongside his sidekick Sharon (Naomi Cooper-Davis) Left with nothing: Gary's latest victims appear to both be disabled, with the woman using a scooter Is that the face of regret? At one point, he appears to reflect on his actions as he heads into the car On a mission: The main character goes behind the wheel as he heads off with the couple's goods As the residents enjoyed Weatherfield's answer to Winter Wonderland, Derek stole an antique rifle from Gary's furniture shop and chased him through the Street. After terrifying the locals in the pub, Derek ran after Gary, with the pair ending up battling it out on the top of the Helter Skelter at the funfair. Fists and bullets quickly started flying - with Shona, getting caught in the crossfire. Aside from his role, actor Mikey, 33, welcomed his second child, Eliza, with wife Rachael Isherwood in November. Oh dear: Serial killer Gary - who is responsible for the deaths of Rana Habeeb and Rick Neelan - left Shona Ramsey (Julia Goulding, pictured) in a coma At the time, the soap star joked Rachael, 34, was 'on another planet' after being induced in an interview with OK! Magazine. After she revealed she was 'given gas and air, diamorphine and an epidural' as pain relief, Mikey teased: 'She was on another planet and tried it on with me! 'I was like, "Rach, you're in labour, it's probably not the right time and that's how we got in this mess in the first place!"' HOUSTON, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE: WES) ("WES" or the "Partnership") announced that the board of directors of its general partner declared a quarterly cash distribution of $0.622 per unit for the fourth-quarter of 2019, resulting in a full-year 2019 distribution increase of 5-percent over the full-year 2018. This distribution represents WES's 28th consecutive quarterly distribution increase. WES's fourth-quarter 2019 distribution is payable February 13, 2020, to unitholders of record at the close of business January 31, 2020. The Partnership plans to report its fourth-quarter and full-year 2019 results after market close Thursday, February 27, 2020. Management will host a conference call Friday, February 28, 2020, at 1 p.m. CST (2 p.m. EST) to discuss WES's quarterly and annual results. The full text of the release announcing the results will be available on the Partnership's website at www.westernmidstream.com. Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2019 Results Friday, February 28, 2020 1 p.m. CST (2 p.m. EST) Dial-in number: 877-883-0383 International dial-in number: 412-902-6506 Participant access code: 0032829 Individuals that would like to participate in WES's scheduled fourth-quarter earnings call should dial the applicable dial-in number listed above approximately 15 minutes prior to the scheduled conference call time and enter the access code when prompted. To access the live audio webcast of the conference call, please visit the investor relations section of the Partnership's website at www.westernmidstream.com. A replay of the conference call will also be available on the website for two weeks following the call. ABOUT WESTERN MIDSTREAM Western Midstream Partners, LP ("WES") is a Delaware master limited partnership formed to acquire, own, develop and operate midstream assets. With midstream assets located in the Rocky Mountains, North-central Pennsylvania, Texas and New Mexico, WES is engaged in the business of gathering, compressing, treating, processing and transporting natural gas; gathering, stabilizing and transporting condensate, natural gas liquids and crude oil; and gathering and disposing of produced water for its customers. In addition, in its capacity as a processor of natural gas, WES also buys and sells natural gas, NGLs and condensate on behalf of itself and as agent for its customers under certain of its contracts. For more information about Western Midstream Partners, LP and Western Midstream Flash Feed updates, please visit www.westernmidstream.com. Note regarding Non-United States Investors: This release is intended to be a qualified notice under Treasury Regulation Section 1.1446-4(b). Brokers and nominees should treat one hundred percent (100.0%) of Western Midstream Partners, LP's distributions to non-U.S. investors as being attributable to income that is effectively connected with a United States trade or business. Accordingly, Western Midstream Partners, LP's distributions to non-U.S. investors are subject to federal income tax withholding at the highest applicable effective tax rate. WESTERN MIDSTREAM CONTACTS Kristen Shults Vice President, Investor Relations and Communications [email protected] 832.636.6000 Abby Dempsey Investor Relations [email protected] 832.636.6000 SOURCE Western Midstream Partners, LP Related Links http://www.westernmidstream.com FLINT, MI -- The Community Foundation of Greater Flint has awarded $300,167 in grants to local nonprofits working to ensure an accurate 2020 Census count. Grants were distributed among 34 organizations and ranged from $2,100 to $20,000 each, depending on the projects scope and geographic coverage, according to a Community Foundation of Greater Flint news release. Funding runs from December 2019 through August 2020. The Census count begins in April 2020. in 2010 Census, 79.1 percent of Genesee County residents responded, said Director of Communications Mary Herbig. This year, the foundations goal is to help the county raise the percentage of Census participation because the count helps communities create jobs, provide housing, fund K-12 education, prepare for emergencies and build schools, roads, hospitals and libraries. In Genesee County, most of the city of Flint is considered a hard to count area, Herbig said. Grant funding was available to organizations who work with historically under-counted communities in Flint and Genesee County. The foundation will continue to work with all nonprofit organizations interested in outreach efforts, including access to promotional materials, said Sue Peters, vice president of community impact. The Community Foundation is pleased to support local nonprofits that are key to get-out-the-count efforts, particularly in hard-to-count populations, Peters said in a statement. Those with the most to lose from an under-count are the hardest to count, including people of color, immigrants, young children and those traditionally served by nonprofits. The Community Foundation is partnering with the city of Flint and the Michigan Nonprofit Association in its Be Counted Michigan 2020 campaign, with support from the Council of Michigan Foundations and local funders including the C.S. Mott Foundation and Ruth Mott Foundation, the release reads. Grants to Genesee County nonprofits include: As the spat between Kerala Governor Arif Mohamad Khan and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan continues over the Citizenship Amendment Act or CAA, the state government on Monday made it clear that it will not implement the National Population Register (NPR) but it will co-operate with the census operations. The state cabinet has decided to inform the Census Registrar General about the decision of the government. The Kerala general administration department had last week directed all officials to ensure that NPR was not mentioned while sending any communication on Census 2021. We will inform the census directorate that certain questions which will go for the preparation of the NPR will not be done here, said Local Administration Minister A C Moideen. The state government will ask enumerators to exclude two questions - date of birth of respondents and details of their parents - from census questionnaire. A sense of fear has gripped people. It is the duty of the government to help people to come out of this fear and also maintain law and order in the state. If the NPR and National Register of Citizens are implemented it will vitiate the atmosphere. That is why the state government took this decision, said the official release issued by the chief ministers office. It also said the NPR will pave way for the implementation of the NRC which sparked widespread protests across the country. The state police chief has also given a report that the implementation of the NPR will vitiate the prevailing atmosphere in the state. District collectors have also informed the government that it was difficult to carry out census procedure if it was mixed with the NPR, said the government statement. Earlier, the state assembly had passed a resolution urging the Union government to withdraw CAA immediately. Kerala was the first state to pass a resolution and first to move the Supreme Court against the CAA. In the suit in the state government said the CAA violated the basic principles of secularism enshrined in the Constitution. Later, Governor Arif had openly criticised the resolution saying it was unconstitutional and had no legal validity. He had also sought a report from the chief secretary over the governments move to file a suit in Supreme Court without informing him. The two-day CPI(M) central committee meet which concluded in the state capital on Sunday had lauded the state governments initiatives against the CAA. It also decided to launch a nationwide door-to door campaign explaining the link between NPR and the National Register of Citizens. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said people shouldnt exaggerate the fear of crime. Instead, they should remember murders are down since the crash and there are more Garda graduates hitting the streets since 2008. And he reiterated his view that Ireland is a country that is safe, and has a relatively low crime rate and murder rate. He was responding to questions put to him by PJ Coogan on Corks 96FM Opinion Line. The presenter referenced a spate of high-profile murders and the growing fear about the growing rise of crime across the county. The stabbing to death of Cameron Blair on Bandon Road, Cork, came a few hours before a string of brutal attacks, culminating in the attack of a man in his Mayfield house before he was set on fire. It is very worrying and I can understand why people are afraid, he said. Gardai need evidence and we would really encourage everyone to co-operate and help the gardai. On the really sad killing of Cameron Blair, I think the whole country is really numbed about that and I would like to extend my condolences to his family. I think it's every parent's worst nightmare for a night to end the way that did. They certainly have my condolences. Of the level of crime-related incidents recently, he said: With the spate of violence that happens I can totally understand why people are worried, not just in Cork but in other parts of the country. He was asked about his comments about Ireland being safe and was told that a lot of people in Cork would disagree with him. I appreciate that people have a different perspective, he replied. I suppose what I was pointing out there was fact and it is a fact - not a statistic - an actual fact that if you go back to 2007, 13 years ago, you had 70 or 80 murders-a-year in Ireland. Actually last year it was closer to half that. So, murders have gone substantially down in Ireland. I know it doesn't feel like that when you hear about these awful murders. I wouldnt like to downplay the situation but at the same time we shouldn't up play the fear of crime because that in itself can affect people's lives. He was then asked about garda resources, and if it would take a narco terrorist-style murder like that of Keane Mulready-Woods in Drogheda before the county gets more resources. Well first of all, that isn't going to be the case and is not the case, the Taoiseach replied. The Garda strength in Cork at the moment is 1,335 and that is up about 136 gardai since Templemore was closed. Do you remember the previous Fianna Fail government closed Templemore, stopped recruitment? We are the government that started recruitment all over again and as a result of that, we have more gardai every year. Of course it is vital Cork gets its fair share of those. But its the Garda Commissioner that decides on resources, no matter what any politician may tell you or promise you. Its not politicians who decide where gardai are put. But we can only have more gardai in Cork, if we have more gardai. He admitted that the 700 new gardai the government was committed to seeing graduate was a gross figure not a net figure. He said this when pressed to address the discrepancy between the number of gardai graduating and those retiring. Photograph: Kamal Kishore/ Rediff.com IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with newly elected BJP national president J P Nadda at the party HQ in New Delhi. Soft-spoken, affable and low-key, the newly elected Bharatiya Janata Party president Jagat Prasad Nadda is a quintessential organisation man who is expected to consolidate the rapid gains the party has made under his predecessor Amit Shah. He takes over at a time when the BJP is witnessing vigorous challenge from a united opposition in assembly elections amid signs that it needs to rejig its electoral strategy following a string of losses in state polls. If a relatively inexperienced Shah in 2014 was seen as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's handpicked man to shake up the saffron organisation by easing out veterans and infusing young blood to galvanise party cadres and fuel its expansion drive, Nadda is considered a seasoned hand who will build on these gains without causing too many disruptions. His immediate challenge is the February 8 Delhi assembly polls where the BJP is locked in a tough fight with the Aam Aadmi Party, followed by year-end elections in Bihar. However, his big test would be the next year's assembly polls in West Bengal, a state where the BJP has never tasted power but has emerged as a strong challenger to Mamata Banerjee-headed Trinamool Congress. Despite its overwhelming win in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP has suffered several defeats in state polls since 2018 and its governments have been unable to come to power, except in Haryana where it had to join hands with Jannayak Janata Party to form government. The 59-year-old Nadda, who holds a degree in law, brings decades of experience during which he served at key party posts, headed its election campaign in a host of states -- from Bihar to Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra and Punjab among others -- and also worked as a minister in BJP governments in his home state of Himachal Pradesh. He was also a Cabinet minister in the first Modi government. The Brahmin leader is considered within the party an epitome of political correctness with his manners unfailingly polite in public and his attacks on rivals never triggering any unseemly controversy. However, party insiders say Nadda can be very firm in his handling of organisational affairs and electoral challenges but makes it a point to not make any public fuss about them. He is also a man of detail as party leaders recall that he spent months in Uttar Pradesh, a state he was made in-charge of during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, meeting every religious leader of consequence and holding long meetings with party leaders and allies to take on the formidable challenge posed by the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party alliance. Nadda hails from Himachal Pradesh but was born and raised in Bihar where his father was a professor in Patna University. He joined the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishd, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's student wing, there and was active in the anti-Emergency stir headed, his colleagues say. On his return to his home state, he was elected as student union president of the Himachal University. He became president of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, the BJP's youth wing, in 1991. Incidentally, Shah was also a Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha office bearer that time. It was a sign of the trust he always had of the party leadership that he became the leader of the opposition in Himachal in 1993 after being elected an MLA for the first time. When the BJP stormed to power in 1998 in the state, he became a minister. He was a minister again in 2010 when he resigned to become the party's national general secretary when Nitin Gadkari was its president. He enjoyed warm relations with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the latter was for long incharge of the party's affairs in Himachal. Nadda was elected to Rajya Sabha in 2012 and made a member of the party's parliamentary board in 2014 when Shah took over as its president. His steady rise through the organisation continued when Modi and Shah chose him to be its working president last year. MOSCOW -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has submitted a package of proposed constitutional amendments to parliament, after announcing last week a surprise overhaul of the country's political system. Putin had suggested numerous revisions to the constitution during his state-of-the-nation address on January 15, prompting speculation that the shakeup could help keep the 67-year-old former KGB officer in power beyond the end of his fourth presidential term in 2024. The proposed amendments include giving parliament the power to name the prime minister and limit the president to only two terms in total -- instead of two successive terms, according to the bill posted on the website of the Kremlin-controlled lower house, the State Duma, on January 20. It also proposes transferring some powers from the presidency to state bodies such as the State Council, which would be transformed from an advisory body to an organ that would shape domestic and foreign policy, as well as social and economic development, according to the amendments. The sweeping reform would also give the constitution a clear priority over international law. The Duma's Legislative Committee is expected to discuss the package on January 21, and the chamber is to decide the next day when to debate the amendments, according to speaker Vyacheslav Volodin. A working group has been formed by Putin to study the proposed changes, and Putin has promised a popular vote on the amendments. Putin's speech was followed by the resignation of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who was replaced the next day by Mikhail Mishustin, the little-known head of Russia's tax service. On January 20, the Kremlin announced that Russia's prosecutor-general, Yury Chaika, will leave his position after nearly 14 years in office. Putin nominated Igor Krasnov, who has served as deputy chairman of the Investigative Committee, to replace Chaika. With reporting by dpa, AP, and AFP American voters must choose between three sharply divergent visions of the future. The incumbent president, Donald Trump, is clear about where he is guiding the Republican Party white nativism at home and America First unilateralism abroad, brazen corruption, escalating culture wars, a judiciary stacked with ideologues and the veneration of a mythological past where the hierarchy in American society was defined and unchallenged. On the Democratic side, an essential debate is underway between two visions that may define the future of the party and perhaps the nation. Some in the party view Trump as an aberration and believe that a return to a more sensible America is possible. Then there are those who believe that Trump was the product of political and economic systems so rotten that they must be replaced. The Democratic primary contest is often portrayed as a tussle between moderates and progressives. To some extent thats true. But when we spent significant time with the leading candidates, the similarity of their platforms on fundamental issues became striking. Nearly any of them would be the most progressive president in decades on issues like health care, the economy and governments allocations of resources. Where they differ most significantly is not the what but the how, in whether they believe the countrys institutions and norms are up to the challenge of the moment. Many Democratic voters are concerned first and foremost about who can beat Trump. But with a crowded field and with traditional polling in tatters, that calculation calls for a hefty dose of humility about anyones ability to foretell what voters want. Choosing who should face off against Trump also means acknowledging that Americans are being confronted with three models for how to govern this country, not two. Democrats must decide which of their two models would be most compelling for the American people and best suited for repairing the Republic. The partys large and raucous field has made having that clean debate more difficult. With all the focus on personal characteristics age and race and experience and a handful of the most contentious issues, voters havent benefited from a clarifying choice about the partys message in the election and the approach to governing beyond it. It was a privilege for us on the editorial board to spend more than a dozen hours talking to candidates, asking them any question that came to mind. Yet that exercise is impossible for most Americans, and we were left wanting for a more focused conversation for the public. Now is the time to narrow the race. The history of the editorial board would suggest that we would side squarely with the candidate with a more traditional approach to pushing the nation forward, within the realities of a constitutional framework and a multiparty country. But the events of the past few years have shaken the confidence of even the most committed institutionalists. We are not veering away from the values we espouse, but we are rattled by the weakness of the institutions that we trusted to undergird those values. There are legitimate questions about whether our democratic system is fundamentally broken. Our elections are getting less free and fair, Congress and the courts are increasingly partisan, foreign nations are flooding society with misinformation, a deluge of money flows through our politics. And the economic mobility that made the American dream possible is vanishing. Both the radical and the realist models warrant serious consideration. If there were ever a time to be open to new ideas, it is now. If there were ever a time to seek stability, now is it. Thats why were endorsing the most effective advocates for each approach. They are Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar. At the dawn of 2020, some of the most compelling ideas are not emerging from the center, but from the left wing of the Democratic Party. Thats a testament to the effectiveness of the case that Bernie Sanders and Warren have made about what ails the country. We worry about ideological rigidity and overreach, and wed certainly push back on specific policy proposals, like nationalizing health insurance or decriminalizing the border. But we are also struck by how much more effectively their messages have matched the moment. Sanders has spent nearly four decades advocating revolutionary change for a nation whose politics often move with glacial slowness. A career spent adjacent to the Democratic Party but not a part of it has allowed him to level trenchant criticism of a political party that often caters more to rich donors than to the middle class. Many of his ideas that were once labeled radical like paid family leave, a higher minimum wage, universal health care and limits on military intervention are now mainstream, and may attract voters who helped elect Trump in 2016. Sanders would be 79 when he assumed office, and after an October heart attack, his health is a serious concern. Then, theres how Sanders approaches politics. He boasts that compromise is anathema to him. Only his prescriptions can be the right ones, even though most are overly rigid, untested and divisive. He promises that once in office, a groundswell of support will emerge to push through his agenda. Three years into the Trump administration, we see little advantage to exchanging one overpromising, divisive figure in Washington for another. Good news, then, that Elizabeth Warren has emerged as a standard-bearer for the Democratic left. Warren is a gifted storyteller. She speaks elegantly of how the economic system is rigged against all but the wealthiest Americans, and of our chance to rewrite the rules of power in our country, as she put it in a speech last month. In her hands, that story has the passion of a convert, a longtime Republican from Oklahoma and a middle-class family, whose work studying economic realities left her increasingly worried about the future of the country. The word rigged feels less bombastic than rooted in an informed assessment of what the nation needs to do to reassert its historic ideals like fairness, generosity and equality. She is also committed to reforming the fundamental structures of government and the economy her first commitment is to anti-corruption legislation, which is not only urgently needed but also has the potential to find bipartisan support. She speaks fluently about foreign policy, including how to improve NATO relations, something that will be badly needed after Trump leaves office. Her campaigns plans, in general, demonstrate a serious approach to policymaking that some of the other candidates lack. Warren accurately describes a lack of housing construction as the primary driver of the nations housing crisis, and she has proposed both increases in government funding for housing construction, and changes in regulatory policy to encourage local governments to allow more construction. She has plans to sharply increase federal investment in clean energy research and to wean the American economy from fossil fuels. She has described how she would reduce the economic and political power of large corporations and give workers more ability to bargain collectively. And she has proposed a sweeping expansion of government support for Americans at every stage of life, from universal child care to free public college to expanded Social Security. At the same time, a conservative federal judiciary will be almost as significant a roadblock for progressive change. For Warren, that leaves open questions ones she was unwilling to wrestle with in our interview. Warren has proposed to pay for an expanded social safety net by imposing a new tax on wealth. But even if she could push such a bill through the Senate, the idea is constitutionally suspect and would inevitably be bogged down for years in the courts. A conservative judiciary also could constrain a President Warrens regulatory powers, and roll back access to health care. Carrying out a progressive agenda through new laws will also be very hard for any Democratic president. In that light, voters could consider what a Democratic president might accomplish without new legislation and, in particular, they could focus on the presidencys wide-ranging powers to shape American society through the creation and enforcement of regulations. As an adviser to President Barack Obama, Warren was the person most responsible for the creation of a new regulatory agency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. In her interview with the editorial board, she demonstrated her sophisticated understanding of the different levers of power in an administration, particularly in the use of regulation in areas such as trade, antitrust and environmental policy. When she first arrived in Washington, amid the Great Recession, Warren distinguished herself as a citizen-politician. She showed an admirable desire to shake off the entrapments of many Washington interests in favor of pragmatic problem-solving on behalf of regular people. In her primary campaign, however, she has shown some questionable political instincts. She sometimes sounds like a candidate who sees a universe of us-versus-thems, who, in the general election, would be going up against a president who has already divided America into his own version of them and us. This has been most obvious in her case for Medicare for All, where she has already had to soften her message, as voters have expressed their lack of support for her plan. There are good, sound reasons for a public health care option countries all over the world have demonstrated that. But Warrens version would require winning over a skeptical public, legislative trench warfare to pass bills in Congress, the dismantling of a private health care system. That system, through existing public-private programs like Medicare Advantage, has shown it is not nearly as flawed as she insists, and it is even lauded by health economists who now advocate a single-payer system. American capitalism is responsible for its share of sins. But Warren often casts the net far too wide, placing the blame for a host of maladies from climate change to gun violence at the feet of the business community when the onus is on society as a whole. The country needs a more unifying path. The senator talks more about bringing together Democrats, Republicans and independents behind her proposals, often leaning on anecdotes about her conservative brothers to do so. Warren has the power and conviction and credibility to make the case especially given her past as a Republican but she needs to draw on practicality and patience as much as her down-and-dirty critique of the system. Warrens path to the nomination is challenging but not hard to envision. The four front-runners are bunched together both in national polls and surveys in states holding the first votes, so small shifts in voter sentiment can have an outsize influence this early in the campaign. There are plenty of progressives who are hungry for major change but may harbor lingering concerns about a messenger as divisive as Sanders. At the same time, some moderate Democratic primary voters see Warren as someone who speaks to their concerns about inequality and corruption. Her earlier leaps in the polls suggest she can attract more of both. The lack of a single, powerful moderate voice in this Democratic race is the strongest evidence of a divided party. Never mind the talented, honorable politicians who chose to sit this fight out; just stop and consider the talents who did throw their hat into the ring and never got more than a passing glance from voters Cory Booker, Kamala Harris, Steve Bullock, Michael Bennet, Deval Patrick, Jay Inslee, among others. Those candidates who remain all have a mix of strengths and weaknesses. Pete Buttigieg, who is 38 and who was elected mayor of South Bend, Indiana, in 2011, has an all-star resume Harvard graduate, Rhodes scholar, Navy veteran who served in Afghanistan, the first serious openly gay presidential candidate. He shows tremendous promise, though he has never won more than 11,000 votes in any election. His showing in the lead-up to the primaries predicts a bright political future; we look forward to him working his way up. Andrew Yang, an entrepreneur and philanthropist, is an engaging and enthusiastic candidate whose diagnoses are often thought-provoking. He points to new solutions to 21st-century challenges rather than retrofitting old ideas. Yet he has virtually no experience in government. We hope he decides to get involved in New York politics. Michael Bloomberg served three terms as New Yorks mayor (and was endorsed twice by this page). A multibillionaire who built his namesake company from scratch, he is many of the things Trump pretends to be and would be an effective contrast to the president in a campaign. Bloomberg is the candidate in the race with the clearest track record of governing, even if that record has its blemishes, beginning with his belated and convenient apology for stop-and-frisk policing. Still, Bloombergs current campaign approach reveals more about Americas broken system than his likelihood of fixing it. Rather than build support through his ideas and experience, Bloomberg has spent at least $217 million to date to circumvent the hard, uncomfortable work of actual campaigning. Hes also avoided difficult questions going so far as to bar his own news organization from investigating him, and declining to meet with The Times editorial board under the pretext that he didnt yet have positions on enough issues. Whats worse, Bloomberg refuses to allow several women with whom he has nondisclosure settlements to speak freely. Few men have given more of their time and experience to the conduct of the publics business than Joe Biden. The former vice president commands the greatest fluency on foreign policy and is a figure of great warmth and empathy. Hes prone to verbal stumbles, yes, but social media has also made every gaffe a crisis when it clearly is not. Biden maintains a lead in national polls, but that may be a measure of familiarity as much as voter intention. His central pitch to voters is that he can beat Donald Trump. His agenda tinkers at the edges of issues like health care and climate, and he emphasizes returning the country to where things were before the Trump era. But merely restoring the status quo will not get America where it needs to go as a society. Whats more, Biden is 77. It is time for him to pass the torch to a new generation of political leaders. Good news, then, that Amy Klobuchar has emerged as a standard-bearer for the Democratic center. Her vision goes beyond the incremental. Given the polarization in Washington and beyond, the best chance to enact many progressive plans could be under a Klobuchar administration. The senator from Minnesota is the very definition of Midwestern charisma, grit and sticktoitiveness. Her lengthy tenure in the Senate and bipartisan credentials would make her a dealmaker (a real one) and uniter for the wings of the party and perhaps the nation. She promises to put the country on the path through huge investments in green infrastructure and legislation to lower emissions to achieve 100% net-zero emissions no later than 2050. She pledges to cut childhood poverty in half in a decade by expanding the earned income and child care tax credits. She also wants to expand food stamps and overhaul housing policy and has developed the fields most detailed plan for treating addiction and mental illness. And this is all in addition to pushing for a robust public option in health care, free community college and a federal minimum wage of $15 an hour. Klobuchar speaks about issues like climate change, the narrowing middle class, gun safety and trade with an empathy that connects to voters lived experiences, especially in the middle of the country. The senator talks, often with self-deprecating humor, about growing up the daughter of two union workers, her Uncle Dicks deer stand, her fathers struggles with alcoholism and her Christian faith. Klobuchar promises a foreign policy based on leading by example, instead of by threat-via-tweet. As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, she serves on the subcommittees responsible for oversight of the Department of Homeland Security, as well as the nations borders and its immigration, citizenship and refugee laws. In 13 years as a senator, she has sponsored and voted on dozens of national defense measures, including military action in Libya and Syria. Her record shows that she is confident and thoughtful, and she reacts to data what youd want in a crisis. All have helped Klobuchar to be the most productive senator among the Democratic field in terms of bills passed with bipartisan support, according to a recent study for the Center for Effective Lawmaking. When she arrived in the Senate in 2007, Klobuchar was part of a bipartisan group of lawmakers that proposed comprehensive immigration reform, including a path to citizenship for 12 million undocumented immigrants, before conservative pundits made it political poison. Her more recent legislative accomplishments are narrower but meaningful to those affected, especially the legislation aimed at helping crime victims. This is not surprising given her background as the chief prosecutor in Minnesotas most populous county. For example, one measure she wrote helped provide funds to reduce a nationwide backlog of rape kits for investigating sexual assaults. Reports of how Klobuchar treats her staff give us pause. They raise serious questions about her ability to attract and hire talented people. Surrounding the president with a team of seasoned, reasoned leaders is critical to the success of an administration, not doing so is often the downfall of presidencies. Klobuchar has acknowledged shes a tough boss and pledged to do better. (To be fair, Bill Clinton and Trump not to mention Biden also have reputations for sometimes berating their staffs, and it is rarely mentioned as a political liability.) Klobuchar doesnt have the polished veneer and smooth delivery that comes from a lifetime spent in the national spotlight, and she has struggled to gain traction on the campaign trail. In Minnesota, however, she is enormously popular. She has won all three of her Senate elections by double digits. In 2016, Hillary Clinton carried nine of Minnesotas 87 counties. Klobuchar carried 51 in 2018. And its far too early to count Klobuchar out Sen. John Kerry, the eventual Democrat nominee in 2004, was also polling in the single digits at this point in the race. There has been a wildfire burning in Australia larger than Switzerland. The Middle East is more unstable at this moment than at any other time in the past decade, with a nuclear arms race looking more when than if. Basket-case governments in several nations south of the Rio Grande have sent a historic flood of migrants to our southern border. Global technology companies exert more political influence than some national governments. White nationalists from Norway to New Zealand to El Paso use the internet to share ideas about racial superiority and which caliber of rifle works best for the next mass killing. The next president will shape the direction of Americas prosperity and the future of the planet, perhaps irrevocably. The current president, meanwhile, is a threat to democracy. He was impeached for strong-arming Ukraine into tampering with the 2020 election. There is no reason patriotic Americans should not be open to every chance to replace him at the ballot box. Yet, Trump maintains near-universal approval from his party and will nearly certainly coast to the nomination. Democrats would be smart to recognize that Trumps vision for Americas future is shared by many millions of Americans. Any hope of restoring unity in the country will require modesty, a willingness to compromise and the support of the many demographics that make up the Democratic coalition young and old, in red states and blue, black and brown and white. For Klobuchar, thats acknowledging the depth of the nations dysfunction. For Warren, its understanding that the country is more diverse than her base. There will be those dissatisfied that this page is not throwing its weight behind a single candidate, favoring centrists or progressives. But its a fight the party itself has been itching to have since Hillary Clintons defeat in 2016, and one that should be played out in the public arena and in the privacy of the voting booth. Thats the very purpose of primaries, to test-market strategies and ideas that can galvanize and inspire the country. Klobuchar and Warren right now are the Democrats best equipped to lead that debate. May the best woman win. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. The US ambassador to South Korea has some unusual explanations for the harsh criticism he has faced in his host country, suggesting his moustache or Japanese ancestry could be factors. Many South Koreans, however, have a more straightforward explanation for Harry Harris struggle to win hearts and minds in Seoul, and it has got more to do with an outspoken manner that they see as undiplomatic and rude. Since arriving in Seoul in July 2018, Mr Harris, a retired navy general born to a Japanese mother and an American navy officer, has been the focus of keen attention because of his military and ethnic background. The 63-year-old former US Pacific Command chief has sometimes drawn criticism from those who take issue with his manner when dealing with South Koreans. His moustache has become the subject of ribbing online, with jokes made about how it resembles those of Japanese colonial masters, who brutally occupied the Korean Peninsula from 1910-45. But there is more serious concern that the discord could widen a growing rift in Seouls relations with Washington at a time when diplomacy with rival North Korea seem in danger of imploding. Mr Harris recently said his appearance and ethnicity have been a source of his criticism in South Korea. My moustache, for some reason, has become a point of some fascination hereHarry Harris My moustache, for some reason, has become a point of some fascination here, Mr Harris told a group of foreign reporters in Seoul last week. I have been criticised in the media here, especially in social media, because of my ethnic background, because I am a Japanese-American. It is not the first time a US ambassador in South Korea has been in the news for things other than diplomacy. In 2015, former ambassador Mark Lippert was slashed in the face and arm by an anti-American activist. But unlike Mr Lippert, Mr Harris has repeatedly irked many South Koreans since President Donald Trump sent him to Seoul. Expand Close A protester plucks a moustache from a picture of US ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris (Lee Yong-hwan/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A protester plucks a moustache from a picture of US ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris (Lee Yong-hwan/AP) After meeting Mr Harris in November, Lee Hye-hoon, then chairwoman of the South Korean parliaments intelligence committee, said that the ambassador repeated about 20 times Mr Trumps calls for Seoul to drastically increase its financial contribution to US troop deployment in the South. In recent months, four students were arrested after they broke into Mr Harris Seoul residence during an anti-US rally. A mock moustache was plucked from his picture at another demonstration. Mr Harris said his moustache has nothing to do with his Japanese background and that he started growing it only to mark the start of his career as a diplomat. To those people, I say that you are cherry-picking history, Mr Harris said, adding that some Korean independence fighters also had a moustache. Mr Harris said he understands the historical animosity that exists between Japan and South Korea. But Im not the Japanese-American ambassador to Korea, he said. Im the American ambassador to Korea. A woman wearing a mask walks past a quarantine notice about the outbreak of coronavirus in Wuhan, China, at an arrival hall of Haneda airport in Tokyo, Japan, on 20 January, 2020. (PHOTO: Reuters) SINGAPORE The Ministry of Health (MOH) on Monday (20 January) said that it will expand temperature screening at Changi Airport to include all travellers on flights arriving from China from Wednesday, as a new coronavirus originating from China spread to more cities and countries. Individuals with pneumonia who had travelled to Wuhan within 14 days before the onset of symptoms will also be isolated in the hospital. Such additional precautionary measures are in response to the spike in cases of the novel coronavirus and an anticipated increase in travel volume leading to the Chinese New Year holidays, said the ministry in a press statement. Since 3 January, only travellers arriving on flights from Wuhan are screened for their temperatures with suspect cases referred to hospitals for further assessment. Advisory posters have also been placed at the airport. The ministry added that it, together with the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) have developed a joint clinical guidance to advise on the management of suspect cases of the new coronavirus. The guidance has been disseminated to Emergency Department and Infectious Diseases physicians, and public sector hospital laboratories. The MOH has also issued a reminder on 20 January to hospitals and general practitioners to be vigilant for cases with pneumonia who have recently travelled to Wuhan, said the MOH. More cases not ruled out To date, there have been no confirmed cases of the coronavirus reported in Singapore, after investigating six suspected cases here. A seventh suspected case was admitted for further assessment and isolated as a precautionary measure on Monday. However, given that Singapore is a travel hub, we expect to see more suspect cases, and cannot rule out the possibility of imported cases, the ministry added. Once a case is confirmed, contact tracing will be initiated, and we will implement strict isolation, quarantine, and infection control and prevention measures to prevent further transmission. Story continues The ministrys announcement comes as Chinese authorities revealed earlier on Monday that 136 new cases of pneumonia caused by the coronavirus strain were found in Wuhan over the weekend, adding to 62 already known cases. A third death occurred on Saturday, added Chinese authorities. South Korea on the same day reported its first confirmed case of the coronavirus, a 35-year-old female Chinese national who had traveled from Wuhan, the fourth patient to be reported outside China. Last week, two cases were reported in Thailand and one in Japan. All three involved people from Wuhan or who recently visited the city. According to Reuters, a report by London Imperial College's MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis estimated that by 12 January there were 1,723 cases in Wuhan with the onset of related symptoms. The new virus belongs to the same family of coronaviruses as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which killed nearly 800 people globally during a 2002-2003 outbreak that also started in China. Health precautions Members of the public have been urged to remain vigilant and for travellers to Wuhan to monitor their health closely. The ministry also advised travellers and members of the public to adopt the following precautions at all times: Avoid contact with live animals including poultry and birds, and consumption of raw and undercooked meats. Avoid close contact with people who are unwell or showing symptoms of illness. Observe good personal hygiene. Practise frequent hand washing with soap (e.g. before handling food or eating, after going to toilet, or when hands are dirtied by respiratory secretions after coughing or sneezing). Wear a mask if you have respiratory symptoms such as a cough or runny nose. Cover your mouth with a tissue paper when coughing or sneezing, and dispose the soiled tissue paper in the rubbish bin immediately. Seek medical attention promptly if you are feeling unwell and inform your doctor about your travel history. Have a tip-off? Email us at sgnews.tips@verizonmedia.com. In your email, do provide as many details as possible, including videos and photos. Related Singapore stories: China confirms spread of new virus as cases surge Singaporeans must welcome new citizens, not allow others to exploit tensions and divide us: Heng Swee Keat COMMENT: GE 2020 is dress rehearsal for Tan Cheng Bock's party 01/20/2020 Photo (c) Eoneren - Getty Images Apples CEO Tim Cook is calling for an overhaul to the global corporate tax world. At the heart of Cooks comments is where multinational firms should be taxed -- a move prompted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). A change could finally remove the loophole that allows corporations to use a foreign country as their headquarters for the purpose of tax avoidance or total tax evasion. I think logically everybody knows it needs to be rehauled, I would certainly be the last person to say that the current system or the past system was the perfect system. Im hopeful and optimistic that they (OECD) will find something, Cook said. Its very complex to know how to tax a multinational... We desperately want it to be fair. Cook didnt come right out and say it, but he may be looking for a solution to the problem while hoping that the Irish government will let go of the 13 billion euros ($14.41 billion) in back taxes it took Apple to court over. Cook said Apples stance that the law should not retrofitted was at the sticky wicket in the case, but he believed the courts would find a way to work things out to everyones satisfaction. What Cook is referring to Its a tad complex, but a potential solution could be the implementation of international permanent establishment rules, which could be used to determine how much a company should be taxed based on a threshold of its activity in a given country, explains Tee Say Kuek (Taylor's University, Malaysia). The concept is mainly based on physical presence such as the existence of offices, factories, warehouses etc. in a country. Based on existing tax rules, these digital companies report their profits in the country where their businesses are based, thereby depriving other countries of potential tax revenue. Meaning Big Tech, right? The keys to classic business models are of little relevance for Silicon Valley giants like Google, Amazon & others. Today, digital businesses are able to have significant economic or digital presence without necessarily having a substantial physical presence. For instance, in July 2017 the French Government has failed to recover 1.1 billion euros (US$1.3 billion) for years 2005 to 2010 from Google as there was no permanent establishment in France, Kuek wrote. How the tax skirt plays out Patricia Sabga, Al Jazeera Americas Economics and Global Affairs correspondent, laid out the tax skirt for the U.S. by taking one hypothetical company as an example. An American company that earns 1 billion dollars in profits on sales in the United States would face a U.S. tax bill of 350 million dollars before deductions, credits and write-offs. But if the company records those profits to an overseas subsidiary in say, Ireland, where the corporate tax rate is only 12.5 percent -- it would owe the Irish government 125 million dollars before any adjustments, and nothing to the U.S Treasury as long as the money is not brought home. Why Ireland? Well, kissing the tax blarney stone has a handsome payoff. In Apples case, it's one of Irelands largest multinational employers, with 6,000 workers punching the clock. Its also the number one destination for tax inversions at 12.5 percent, a corporate tax rate nearly two-thirds lower than the U.S. There are other countries playing footsie with American corporations, too. Sabga pointed to Samsonite, which changed its mailing address from Massachusetts to Luxembourg, where the corporate tax rate is 19 percent. Restaurant Brands International, parent of fast-food chain Burger King, relocated its headquarters from Florida to Canada, where the corporate tax rate is 15 percent. Countries fight back While other countries love saying theyre home to a major U.S. corporations, the blush has historically worn off once those foreign entities figured out how much was being left on the table. The cry for transparency has been a little late in coming, and Big Tech has kept its mouth shut, its hands in its pockets, and has remained hesitant to pay those foreign taxes. The taxes Ireland wants Apple to pay is a case-in-point, as is Googles situation with France. The French government has failed to recover 1.1 billion euros ($1.3 billion) for years 2005 to 2010 from Google because there was no permanent establishment in France. Currently there is no common action to tackle the taxing of digital business globally and each country is making its own proposals. There is a need for a global solution to the issue of how, what and where to tax income from the digital economy, Kuek wrote. Boris Johnson's Brexit deal has suffered three defeats in the Lords and will now have to go back to the Commons. The first reverse for the Prime Minister was over the right of EU citizens lawfully residing in the UK after Brexit. Peers backed a cross-party amendment to the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill allowing them to be given physical proof of their status. The report stage vote, by 270 to 229, majority 41, means the Bill will have to go back to the Commons, where the Prime Minister will be able to use his big majority to overturn it. Liberal Democrat Lord Oates warned that without physical documentation EU citizens eligible to remain in the UK would be 'severely disadvantaged' in dealings with landlords, airlines, employers and other officials. In the second defeat, peers voted by 241 to 205, majority 36, to remove the power of ministers to decide which courts should have the power to depart from judgments of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and by reference to what test. A third defeat followed rapidly, as peers backed a move by Tory former lord chancellor Lord Mackay of Clashfern to allow cases to be referred to the Supreme Court to decide whether to depart from EU case law. Voting on this amendment was 206 to 186, majority 20, as peers warned against interference in the independence of the judiciary. Lord Oates said EU citizens covered by the settled status scheme should have the right to a physical form of proof of status instead of only the digital proof proposed by the Government The upper chamber backed a cross-party amendment seeking to force the Government to provide EU citizens with physical proof of their right to remain in the UK after January 31 Liberal Democrat Lord Beith said he understood the Government had agreed to move an amendment at third reading to meet concerns raised about making 'bad law'. What does the vote mean for Brexit Deal? The vote by Lords this afternoon should be just a minor hiccup in the progress of the bill that does not delay Brexit at all. Having been debated and voted on by MPs in the Commons earlier this month the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill is going through a similar process in the upper chamber. If they had approved it unchanged it would then move on to being given Royal Assent by the Queen. But as the Lords have registered that they wish it to be changed it will go back to the Commons for a fresh vote by MPs. Despite losing by 41 votes in the Lords, Boris Johnson has a majority of 80 Tory loyalists on the green benches and they will simply throw out the Lords' changes. This will allow the WAB to swiftly move on to the Queen for her to approve it and keep the UK on course to leave the EU on January 31. Advertisement But he said this had been withdrawn because '10 Downing Street is in a sulk' due to the earlier defeat on the Bill. Lord Mackay warned of the test being an 'interference with judicial independence,' which was not proper. He said the Lords should help the Government 'to do properly what they want to do' by asking the Commons to think again. Leading lawyer and independent crossbencher, Lord Pannick branded the Government's proposals 'fundamentally objectionable'. Lord Pannick, who acted for businesswoman Gina Miller in two Brexit-related court cases, said it gave ministers a delegated power to decide which courts should be able to depart from ECJ judgments and what test should apply. 'These are powers which step well over the important boundary between the Executive and the judiciary,' he insisted. 'These amendments are absolutely nothing to do with the merits of Brexit, the terms on which we leave the EU, the timetable for Brexit.' For the Opposition, Lord Goldsmith warned the Government's proposals risked 'uncertainty' and the 'independence of the judiciary'. Brexit minister Lord Callanan, rejecting the amendments, said an important principle was involved that 'UK courts should be able to interpret UK law'. Lord Callanan assured peers the Government would implement the policy in a sensible way and consult with senior judiciary. He said the power could only be used before the end of the implementation period and there was no way a minister could 'interfere with a live case' - allowing time to consult, consider and 'soberly extend the jurisdiction of UK courts to the historic case law of the ECJ'. Following the vote, Liberal Democrat leader in the Lords, Lord Newby said: 'The Conservative Government is trying to use this Brexit legislation to undermine both the rule of law and parliamentary sovereignty. Liberal Democrats will fight them every step of the way. 'Despite Boris Johnson's talk about bringing the country together, his approach seems designed to divide it even further. 'Certainty that lower courts will follow the rulings of higher ones is a crucial part of our legal system. By removing it, the Conservatives would cause chaos and confusion.' New Delhi : The National Investigation Agency will probe DSP Davinder Singh's alleged connection with Pakistan's inter-Services Intelligence ( ISI). Davinder Singh, posted as the deputy superintendent of police was arrested last week along with four banned Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists They were caught with arms and ammunition while they were traveling in a car near Qazigund on the national highway in South Kashmir. After receiving orders from the Union Home Ministry, the NIA has re-registered this case and started the investigation, an official spokesman said. According to the reports, Davinder Singh paid three visits to Bangladesh in 2019 and stayed there for many days. Sources say two of his daughters are currently studying in Bangladesh but the security agencies fear that the real purpose of his visit could be an ISI connection. Haiti - FLASH : The university hospital of Mirebalais obtains world accreditation University Hospital in Mirebalais, Haiti, received formal accreditation from an international oversight group, affirming that the hospitals medical education and residency programs meet the highest global standards. ACGME-I, the international arm of the United States Accreditation Council for Medical Education, informed "Partners In Health" (PIH) known in Haiti as "Zanmi Lasante" of the accreditation of the institution, after a multi-year process and an in-depth analysis by its International Review Committee. The university hospital joins internationally accredited facilities in only seven other countries and is the second such facility in the Western Hemisphere, along with the University of Panama. Dr. Sterman Toussaint, director of medical education at University Hospital for Zanmi Lasante, emphasized that distinction. "This is a big achievement [...] Most of the time, institutions in high- and middle-income countries get access to accreditationnot institutions in low-income countries like Haiti. This is a reflection of the commitment of PIH and Zanmi Lasante to education." Dr. Edward Hundert, dean for medical education at Harvard Medical School and an advisor to PIH, praised the milestone. eThis achievement, of the internationally recognized highest standard for the educational programs at University Hospital, represents a truly wonderful validation of the years of hard work to build these programs, and of the outstanding quality of training that they represent [...] This is exciting news not just for the hospital and the people who made it happen, but ultimately for all of the patients who will be cared for by the clinicians who train in these now ACGME-I accredited programs." Since the start of its medical education programs, Zanmi Lasante has graduated 123 residents, 98 percent of whom have remained to work in Haiti, including 58 percent at facilities supported by Zanmi Lasante. Another 116 residents are currently enrolled. Dr. Mary Clisbee, administrator for graduate medical education at University Hospital, said the accreditation will bring many benefits, including a greater ability to attract and retain physicians from Haiti and abroad, who are seeking residencies at an accredited hospital. "Now we have hard evidence that our programs here meet the highest educational standardswhat we hope is that this will help in retaining physicians that, in the past, weve lost to other countries [...] Additionally, physicians from other countries will be able to come here and do rotations in our hospital, because those rotations will meet those standards. There are mutually beneficial results of those exchanges." "No credible American medical school or teaching hospital functions without it, Paul Farmer, co-founder of PIH said. "A lot of people didnt believe that (a facility in) Haiti could do this. This is the best possible time for them to get that accreditation". Learn more about "Partners In Health The NGO "Partners In Health" (PIH) a Boston-based non-profit health care organization (founded in 1987) which is known in Haiti as "Zanmi Lasante" opened a university hospital in Mirebalais in 2013 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-7102-haiti-health-inauguration-of-the-university-hospital-of-mirebalais.html, in collaboration with the Haitian Ministry of Health. The 300-bed university hospital https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-7102-haiti-health-inauguration-of-the-university-hospital-of-mirebalais.html houses residency programs in internal and family medicine , pediatrics, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, neurology, nurse anesthetists and emergency medicine. See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-7102-haiti-health-inauguration-of-the-university-hospital-of-mirebalais.html HL/ HaitiLibre Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Monday, said that his country will not take retaliatory action against India after the PM Modi government decided to boycott palm oil purchase from the Southeast Asian country. Malaysia is one of the biggest producer and exporter of palm oil and India its largest importing partner, but New Delhi this month effectively halted imports in response to comments made by Mahathir on India's domestic policies. India-Malaysia palm oil crisis The 94-year-old Malaysian Prime Minister while talking to reporters in Langkawi said, "We are too small to take retaliatory action, we have to find ways and means to tackle the problem and overcome that." Mahathir had earlier criticised the abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir and controversial amended citizenship act (CAA). Mahathir was only one of the two Head of States, excluding Prime Minister Imran Khan of Pakistan, to speak on Kashmir in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) last September. Read: Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad Fears Sanctions Amid US-China Trade War India, that has been Malaysia's largest palm oil partner since 2014, but following Prime Minister Mahathir's comment, the BJP-led government has decided to swiftly move towards Indonesia for its edible oil requirements. Malaysia's palm futures fell nearly 10% last week, their biggest weekly decline in more than 11 years. According to media reports, India alone imported 23.9% of Malaysian palm oil in 2019, more than China and Pakistan combined. Read: Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad Clarifies His Statement On Kashmir Reportedly, New Delhi is is unhappy over Malaysia's refusal to revoke permanent resident status to Indian Islamic preacher Zakir Naik. India had accused Zakir Naik of money laundering and hate speech before he fled the country three years ago to go to Malaysia. Mahathir has said that even if the Indian government agrees to conduct a free trial, Zakir Naik faces the real threat of vigilante action. Mahathir further added that Malaysia will only relocate the preacher if it finds a third country where he would be safe. Read: Malaysian PM Mahathir Bin Mohamad Slams Zakir Naik Over 'racial Politics' Amid Deportation Chorus Read: Malaysia PM Mahathir Mohamad Suggests He Could Retain Position Beyond 2020 An actor who hails from our area is preparing for yet another leading role on Broadway - and will be unleashing some hail of her own. Ciara Renee has been announced as the next Elsa in the Broadway production of Frozen, based on Disneys animated film. She will replace original cast member Caissie Levy, who is departing the show, starting Feb. 18. In Frozen, Elsa is the princess born with the magical power to create and control ice. She sings the song Let It Go, the shows anthem that received crossover success as a pop radio hit at the height of the films popularity. Renee is a graduate of Central Dauphin East High School and Baldwin Wallace University. She has found success in New York Citys theater, both on and off Broadway, and on television. Notable past roles include Broadway roles as The Witch in Big Fish" and the Leading Player in Pippin, as the superhero Hawkgirl on the CW series DCs Legends of Tomorrow. Renee joins another central Pennsylvania actor in the Frozen pantheon: Jonathan Groff, of Mindhunter, Spring Awakening and Hamilton fame, is among the voice talent behind the original animated film and its sequel, Frozen 2. Groff hails from the Lancaster area, and portrays Kristoff in the movies. Aditya Birla Memorial Hospital is fully geared to extend necessary support to its patients Pune based Aditya Birla Memorial Hospital (ABMH) is fully geared to extend necessary support to its patients as it invests Rs 45 crore in their healthcare facility. The hospital is designing a new paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) with child-friendly designs and play area elements embedded in the unit, giving a separate entrance to those coming for deliveries and opening up the gym and wellness centre even to outsiders for preventive care. Rekha Dubey, Chief Executive Officer, ABMH, said, A majority (about 80%) of the investment has gone into equipment upgrade that will enable the hospital to use artificial intelligence, robotics and assist terminally ill patients. The investment is about 6-8 times the usual investment that the hospital undertakes on upgrades every year. She further added, It was not easy in the beginning when we started in 2006. It was too huge for a hospital and all our doctors were not a much-known name then. People preferred to go to the doctors they knew. Over time, the hospital has managed to retain all its doctors and they are very much known among people, at large. The hospital works closely with an in-house team, of 115 full-time consultants, as they do not go to any other hospital. The hospital is not bounded by any government regulations as the hospital does not take any government aid and is a part of Aditya Birla Health Services. A MAN living in an illegally parked caravan near Askeaton has been given until January 21 to obey an enforcement notice from Limerick City and County Council and remove the caravan. Billy Hourigan, whose address was given as The Caravan, Collrahnee, Gurt, Askeaton was also ordered to pay legal fees and costs of 4,440.11. After January 21, if the caravan is not removed, a daily fine of 500 comes into play. Mr Hourigan had been given ample opportunity to remove the caravan, said Will Leahy, solicitor for Limerick City and County Council and last October, Mr Hourigan had indicated in court, he hoped to be offered accommodation. Pleading for her client, solicitor Karen Carmody said he had been unable to secure other accommodation. There is simply nowhere for him to go and he will end up homeless, she said. He has been at that site for quite some number of years. He doesnt have anywhere else to go. Read also: Limerick man charged with possession after drugs were hidden in sock He was not, she added, a man of means. He could look for HAP like everybody else, Judge Larkin said. But she added, her decision had already been made. She fined him 100 but put a stay of 14 days on the order to comply and remove the caravan. Recognisance in the event of an appeal was fixed at Mr Hourigans cash bond of 100 and an independent surety of 250. OTTAWA - A woman who alleges she was raped at age 15 while being transported to a residential school has had her settlement claim rejected for a fourth time a case New Democrat MP Charlie Angus says highlights major gaps in the settlement agreement for survivors. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/1/2020 (722 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. NDP Critic for Indigenous Youth Charlie Angus speaks during a news conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Monday January 20, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld OTTAWA - A woman who alleges she was raped at age 15 while being transported to a residential school has had her settlement claim rejected for a fourth time a case New Democrat MP Charlie Angus says highlights major gaps in the settlement agreement for survivors. The woman, whose identity is protected by the process, alleges in 1971 a man who worked as a guidance counsellor for the federal Department of Indian Affairs, as it was then called, told her it was his job to take her to St. Michael's Indian Residential School in Duck Lake, Sask. She says the man sexually assaulted her while they were on their way to the school, about 85 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon. The case was filed under the independent assessment process created through the wider Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement to adjudicate individual claims of physical, sexual and emotional abuse and to determine compensation. Last week, a B.C. Supreme Court judge ruled her claim falls outside the scope of the agreement, because the woman was not yet enrolled at residential school at the time of the alleged sexual assault, and because the accused was not an employee of the school. She further noted the alleged assault did not happen on school property. In rendering this decision, the judge upheld three earlier rulings that came to the same conclusion. In her ruling, B.C. Supreme Court Justice B.J. Brown called the case and its outcome "troubling," but noted the woman is not precluded from pursuing a claim "through other means." Angus called the case "appalling," and the judge's position "ridiculous." Angus says he believes it's part of a pattern of tactics used to block some residential school survivors from receiving compensation. He cited multiple cases of claims that have been denied over the years, including those brought by former students of St. Anne's Indian Residential School in Fort Albany, Ont. "What we have seen time and time and time again is a government willing to use the endless resources of the Justice Department to wage a toxic legal war against the legal rights of survivors," Angus told reporters Monday in Ottawa. He called on Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett to intervene in this particular case and immediately award compensation to the woman. In a statement released late Monday, Bennett's office acknowledged that what happened to the woman in this case was "horrific and inexcusable." Bennett has directed her departmental officials to identify other possible means for appropriate resolution even though the court ruled that her claim doesn't fit within the negotiated terms of the settlement agreement. Her office confirmed that the federal government "does not dispute these allegations." "We know that IRSSA (Indian Residential School Agreement) did not address all forms of Indigenous childhood abuse. We are committed to resolving claims that fall outside of this process which is why Minister Bennett has also directed the department to investigate to ensure appropriate resolution of similar claims," said Jane Deeks, Bennett's press secretary. "Our government will continue to work with survivors and their families to ensure that every Indigenous child who was harmed under past governments is compensated." 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. Angus, however, says a parliamentary committee should conduct a broader review of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. "We may never know how much of these cases were falsely adjudicated. I think a fair thing, now that this process is coming to an end, would be to learn lessons from it," he said. According to the latest statistics available on the Indian residential schools adjudication secretariat's website, as of Dec. 31, a total of 99 per cent of the over 38,000 claims filed have been resolved. Only 13 claims remain in progress, nine of which are at the post-hearing stage. Speaking to reporters from the Liberal cabinet retreat in Winnipeg, Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller suggested this case has not been raised with him, but that he would be willing to look into it. "It is something that sounds... disgusting. But these things need to be looked at quite carefully and I'll be more than glad to engage with Mr. Angus I've had some interactions with him in the past and dig into this issue and get a prompt response." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 20, 2020. Lewis Hamilton looks set to re-commit to Mercedes, according to the authoritative Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport. The report claims that the six-time world champion, earlier linked with a 2021 switch to Ferrari, will in fact re-sign with Mercedes for 2021 and 2022. Recently, the 35-year-old Briton's options for 2021 and beyond became limited when Ferrari signed a new deal with Charles Leclerc through 2024, and Max Verstappen opted to stay at Red Bull until 2023. The Italian report, penned by respected correspondent Luigi Perna, said Hamilton's annual pay will remain at about EUR 45 million. Hamilton was recently listed by the business magazine Forbes as the tenth highest athlete in world sport for the last decade, with $400 million in earnings since 2010. Meanwhile, Mercedes has announced that its 2020 car will be given a "shakedown run" at Silverstone on February 14, a few days before the start of winter testing in Barcelona. Fans and the media are not invited to the shakedown, which Mercedes says is "an internal event for the purpose of completing initial systems checks and creating rights-free, on-track footage of our 2020 car". American voters must choose between three sharply divergent visions of the future. The incumbent president, Donald Trump, is clear about where he is guiding the Republican Party white nativism at home and America First unilateralism abroad, brazen corruption, escalating culture wars, a judiciary stacked with ideologues and the veneration of a mythological past where the hierarchy in American society was defined and unchallenged. On the Democratic side, an essential debate is underway between two visions that may define the future of the party and perhaps the nation. Some in the party view President Trump as an aberration and believe that a return to a more sensible America is possible. Then there are those who believe that President Trump was the product of political and economic systems so rotten that they must be replaced. [Watch the endorsement process on The Weekly, streaming on Hulu.] The Democratic primary contest is often portrayed as a tussle between moderates and progressives. To some extent thats true. But when we spent significant time with the leading candidates, the similarity of their platforms on fundamental issues became striking. Nearly any of them would be the most progressive president in decades on issues like health care, the economy and governments allocations of resources. Where they differ most significantly is not the what but the how, in whether they believe the countrys institutions and norms are up to the challenge of the moment. Many Democratic voters are concerned first and foremost about who can beat Mr. Trump. But with a crowded field and with traditional polling in tatters, that calculation calls for a hefty dose of humility about anyones ability to foretell what voters want. Choosing who should face off against Mr. Trump also means acknowledging that Americans are being confronted with three models for how to govern this country, not two. Democrats must decide which of their two models would be most compelling for the American people and best suited for repairing the Republic. The partys large and raucous field has made having that clean debate more difficult. With all the focus on personal characteristics age and race and experience and a handful of the most contentious issues, voters havent benefited from a clarifying choice about the partys message in the election and the approach to governing beyond it. It was a privilege for us on the editorial board to spend more than a dozen hours talking to candidates, asking them any question that came to mind. Yet that exercise is impossible for most Americans, and we were left wanting for a more focused conversation for the public. Now is the time to narrow the race. The history of the editorial board would suggest that we would side squarely with the candidate with a more traditional approach to pushing the nation forward, within the realities of a constitutional framework and a multiparty country. But the events of the past few years have shaken the confidence of even the most committed institutionalists. We are not veering away from the values we espouse, but we are rattled by the weakness of the institutions that we trusted to undergird those values. There are legitimate questions about whether our democratic system is fundamentally broken. Our elections are getting less free and fair, Congress and the courts are increasingly partisan, foreign nations are flooding society with misinformation, a deluge of money flows through our politics. And the economic mobility that made the American dream possible is vanishing. Both the radical and the realist models warrant serious consideration. If there were ever a time to be open to new ideas, it is now. If there were ever a time to seek stability, now is it. Thats why were endorsing the most effective advocates for each approach. They are Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar. At the dawn of 2020, some of the most compelling ideas are not emerging from the center, but from the left wing of the Democratic Party. Thats a testament to the effectiveness of the case that Bernie Sanders and Senator Warren have made about what ails the country. We worry about ideological rigidity and overreach, and wed certainly push back on specific policy proposals, like nationalizing health insurance or decriminalizing the border. But we are also struck by how much more effectively their messages have matched the moment. Senator Sanders has spent nearly four decades advocating revolutionary change for a nation whose politics often move with glacial slowness. A career spent adjacent to the Democratic Party but not a part of it has allowed him to level trenchant criticism of a political party that often caters more to rich donors than to the middle class. Many of his ideas that were once labeled radical like paid family leave, a higher minimum wage, universal health care and limits on military intervention are now mainstream, and may attract voters who helped elect Mr. Trump in 2016. Mr. Sanders would be 79 when he assumed office, and after an October heart attack, his health is a serious concern. Then, theres how Mr. Sanders approaches politics. He boasts that compromise is anathema to him. Only his prescriptions can be the right ones, even though most are overly rigid, untested and divisive. He promises that once in office, a groundswell of support will emerge to push through his agenda. Three years into the Trump administration, we see little advantage to exchanging one over-promising, divisive figure in Washington for another. Good news, then, that Elizabeth Warren has emerged as a standard-bearer for the Democratic left. Watch a special endorsement episode of The Weekly This video excerpt has been edited by The Weekly. Senator Warren is a gifted storyteller. She speaks elegantly of how the economic system is rigged against all but the wealthiest Americans, and of our chance to rewrite the rules of power in our country, as she put it in a speech last month. In her hands, that story has the passion of a convert, a longtime Republican from Oklahoma and a middle-class family, whose work studying economic realities left her increasingly worried about the future of the country. The word rigged feels less bombastic than rooted in an informed assessment of what the nation needs to do to reassert its historic ideals like fairness, generosity and equality. She is also committed to reforming the fundamental structures of government and the economy her first commitment is to anti-corruption legislation, which is not only urgently needed but also has the potential to find bipartisan support. She speaks fluently about foreign policy, including how to improve NATO relations, something that will be badly needed after Mr. Trump leaves office. Her campaigns plans, in general, demonstrate a serious approach to policymaking that some of the other candidates lack. Ms. Warren accurately describes a lack of housing construction as the primary driver of the nations housing crisis, and she has proposed both increases in government funding for housing construction, and changes in regulatory policy to encourage local governments to allow more construction. She has plans to sharply increase federal investment in clean energy research and to wean the American economy from fossil fuels. She has described how she would reduce the economic and political power of large corporations and give workers more ability to bargain collectively. And she has proposed a sweeping expansion of government support for Americans at every stage of life, from universal child care to free public college to expanded Social Security. At the same time, a conservative federal judiciary will be almost as significant a roadblock for progressive change. For Ms. Warren, that leaves open questions ones she was unwilling to wrestle with in our interview. Ms. Warren has proposed to pay for an expanded social safety net by imposing a new tax on wealth. But even if she could push such a bill through the Senate, the idea is constitutionally suspect and would inevitably be bogged down for years in the courts. A conservative judiciary also could constrain a President Warrens regulatory powers, and roll back access to health care. Carrying out a progressive agenda through new laws will also be very hard for any Democratic president. In that light, voters could consider what a Democratic president might accomplish without new legislation and, in particular, they could focus on the presidencys wide-ranging powers to shape American society through the creation and enforcement of regulations. As an adviser to President Barack Obama, Ms. Warren was the person most responsible for the creation of a new regulatory agency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. In her interview with the editorial board, she demonstrated her sophisticated understanding of the different levers of power in an administration, particularly in the use of regulation in areas such as trade, antitrust and environmental policy. When she first arrived in Washington, amid the Great Recession, Senator Warren distinguished herself as a citizen-politician. She showed an admirable desire to shake off the entrapments of many Washington interests in favor of pragmatic problem-solving on behalf of regular people. In her primary campaign, however, she has shown some questionable political instincts. She sometimes sounds like a candidate who sees a universe of us-versus-thems, who, in the general election, would be going up against a president who has already divided America into his own version of them and us. This has been most obvious in her case for Medicare for all, where she has already had to soften her message, as voters have expressed their lack of support for her plan. There are good, sound reasons for a public health care option countries all over the world have demonstrated that. But Ms. Warrens version would require winning over a skeptical public, legislative trench warfare to pass bills in Congress, the dismantling of a private health care system. That system, through existing public-private programs like Medicare Advantage, has shown it is not nearly as flawed as she insists, and it is even lauded by health economists who now advocate a single-payer system. American capitalism is responsible for its share of sins. But Ms. Warren often casts the net far too wide, placing the blame for a host of maladies from climate change to gun violence at the feet of the business community when the onus is on society as a whole. The country needs a more unifying path. The senator talks more about bringing together Democrats, Republicans and independents behind her proposals, often leaning on anecdotes about her conservative brothers to do so. Ms. Warren has the power and conviction and credibility to make the case especially given her past as a Republican but she needs to draw on practicality and patience as much as her down-and-dirty critique of the system. Ms. Warrens path to the nomination is challenging, but not hard to envision. The four front-runners are bunched together both in national polls and surveys in states holding the first votes, so small shifts in voter sentiment can have an outsize influence this early in the campaign. There are plenty of progressives who are hungry for major change but may harbor lingering concerns about a messenger as divisive as Mr. Sanders. At the same time, some moderate Democratic primary voters see Ms. Warren as someone who speaks to their concerns about inequality and corruption. Her earlier leaps in the polls suggest she can attract more of both. The lack of a single, powerful moderate voice in this Democratic race is the strongest evidence of a divided party. Never mind the talented, honorable politicians who chose to sit this fight out; just stop and consider the talents who did throw their hat into the ring and never got more than a passing glance from voters Cory Booker, Kamala Harris, Steve Bullock, Michael Bennet, Deval Patrick, Jay Inslee, among others. Those candidates who remain all have a mix of strengths and weaknesses. Pete Buttigieg, who is 38 and who was elected mayor of South Bend, Ind., in 2011, has an all-star resume Harvard graduate, Rhodes scholar, Navy veteran who served in Afghanistan, the first serious openly gay presidential candidate. His showing in the lead-up to the primaries predicts a bright political future; we look forward to him working his way up. Andrew Yang, an entrepreneur and philanthropist, is an engaging and enthusiastic candidate whose diagnoses are often thought-provoking. He points to new solutions to 21st-century challenges rather than retrofitting old ideas. Yet he has virtually no experience in government. We hope he decides to get involved in New York politics. Michael Bloomberg served three terms as New Yorks mayor (and was endorsed twice by this page). A multibillionaire who built his namesake company from scratch, he is many of the things Mr. Trump pretends to be and would be an effective contrast to the president in a campaign. Mr. Bloomberg is the candidate in the race with the clearest track record of governing, even if that record has its blemishes, beginning with his belated and convenient apology for stop-and-frisk policing. Still, Mr. Bloombergs current campaign approach reveals more about Americas broken system than his likelihood of fixing it. Rather than build support through his ideas and experience, Mr. Bloomberg has spent at least $217 million to date to circumvent the hard, uncomfortable work of actual campaigning. Hes also avoided difficult questions going so far as to bar his own news organization from investigating him, and declining to meet with The Timess editorial board under the pretext that he didnt yet have positions on enough issues. Whats worse, Mr. Bloomberg refuses to allow several women with whom he has nondisclosure settlements to speak freely. Few men have given more of their time and experience to the conduct of the publics business than Joe Biden. The former vice president commands the greatest fluency on foreign policy and is a figure of great warmth and empathy. Hes prone to verbal stumbles, yes, but social media has also made every gaffe a crisis when it clearly is not. Mr. Biden maintains a lead in national polls, but that may be a measure of familiarity as much as voter intention. His central pitch to voters is that he can beat Donald Trump. His agenda tinkers at the edges of issues like health care and climate, and he emphasizes returning the country to where things were before the Trump era. But merely restoring the status quo will not get America where it needs to go as a society. Whats more, Mr. Biden is 77. It is time for him to pass the torch to a new generation of political leaders. Good news, then, that Amy Klobuchar has emerged as a standard-bearer for the Democratic center. Her vision goes beyond the incremental. Given the polarization in Washington and beyond, the best chance to enact many progressive plans could be under a Klobuchar administration. The senator from Minnesota is the very definition of Midwestern charisma, grit and sticktoitiveness. Her lengthy tenure in the Senate and bipartisan credentials would make her a deal maker (a real one) and uniter for the wings of the party and perhaps the nation. Watch a special endorsement episode of The Weekly This video excerpt has been edited by The Weekly. She promises to put the country on the path through huge investments in green infrastructure and legislation to lower emissions to achieve 100 percent net-zero emissions no later than 2050. She pledges to cut childhood poverty in half in a decade by expanding the earned-income and child care tax credits. She also wants to expand food stamps and overhaul housing policy and has developed the fields most detailed plan for treating addiction and mental illness. And this is all in addition to pushing for a robust public option in health care, free community college and a federal minimum wage of $15 an hour. Ms. Klobuchar speaks about issues like climate change, the narrowing middle class, gun safety and trade with an empathy that connects to voters lived experiences, especially in the middle of the country. The senator talks, often with self-deprecating humor, about growing up the daughter of two union workers, her Uncle Dicks deer stand, her fathers struggles with alcoholism and her Christian faith. Ms. Klobuchar promises a foreign policy based on leading by example, instead of by threat-via-tweet. As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, she serves on the subcommittees responsible for oversight of the Department of Homeland Security, as well as the nations borders and its immigration, citizenship and refugee laws. In 13 years as a senator, she has sponsored and voted on dozens of national defense measures, including military action in Libya and Syria. Her record shows that she is confident and thoughtful, and she reacts to data what youd want in a crisis. All have helped Ms. Klobuchar to be the most productive senator among the Democratic field in terms of bills passed with bipartisan support, according to a recent study for the Center for Effective Lawmaking. When she arrived in the Senate in 2007, Ms. Klobuchar was part of a bipartisan group of lawmakers that proposed comprehensive immigration reform, including a path to citizenship for 12 million undocumented immigrants, before conservative pundits made it political poison. Her more recent legislative accomplishments are narrower but meaningful to those affected, especially the legislation aimed at helping crime victims. This is not surprising given her background as the chief prosecutor in Minnesotas most populous county. For example, one measure she wrote helped provide funds to reduce a nationwide backlog of rape kits for investigating sexual assaults. Reports of how Senator Klobuchar treats her staff give us pause. They raise serious questions about her ability to attract and hire talented people. Surrounding the president with a team of seasoned, reasoned leaders is critical to the success of an administration, not doing so is often the downfall of presidencies. Ms. Klobuchar has acknowledged shes a tough boss and pledged to do better. (To be fair, Bill Clinton and Mr. Trump not to mention former Vice President Biden also have reputations for sometimes berating their staffs, and it is rarely mentioned as a political liability.) Ms. Klobuchar doesnt have the polished veneer and smooth delivery that comes from a lifetime spent in the national spotlight, and she has struggled to gain traction on the campaign trail. In Minnesota, however, she is enormously popular. She has won all three of her Senate elections by double digits. In 2016, Hillary Clinton carried nine of Minnesotas 87 counties. Ms. Klobuchar carried 51 in 2018. And its far too early to count Ms. Klobuchar out Senator John Kerry, the eventual Democratic nominee in 2004, was also polling in the single digits at this point in the race. There has been a wildfire burning in Australia larger than Switzerland. The Middle East is more unstable at this moment than at any other time in the past decade, with a nuclear arms race looking more when than if. Basket-case governments in several nations south of the Rio Grande have sent a historic flood of migrants to our southern border. Global technology companies exert more political influence than some national governments. White nationalists from Norway to New Zealand to El Paso use the internet to share ideas about racial superiority and which caliber of rifle works best for the next mass killing. The next president will shape the direction of Americas prosperity and the future of the planet, perhaps irrevocably. The current president, meanwhile, is a threat to democracy. He was impeached for strong-arming Ukraine into tampering with the 2020 election. There is no reason patriotic Americans should not be open to every chance to replace him at the ballot box. Yet, Mr. Trump maintains near-universal approval from his party and will nearly certainly coast to the nomination. Democrats would be smart to recognize that Mr. Trumps vision for Americas future is shared by many millions of Americans. Any hope of restoring unity in the country will require modesty, a willingness to compromise and the support of the many demographics that make up the Democratic coalition young and old, in red states and blue, black and brown and white. For Senator Klobuchar, thats acknowledging the depth of the nations dysfunction. For Senator Warren, its understanding that the country is more diverse than her base. There will be those dissatisfied that this page is not throwing its weight behind a single candidate, favoring centrists or progressives. But its a fight the party itself has been itching to have since Mrs. Clintons defeat in 2016, and one that should be played out in the public arena and in the privacy of the voting booth. Thats the very purpose of primaries, to test-market strategies and ideas that can galvanize and inspire the country. Ms. Klobuchar and Ms. Warren right now are the Democrats best equipped to lead that debate. May the best woman win. Bernie Sanders likes to shake up the status quo, and thats what hes done with the 2020 Iowa caucuses. This doesnt mean the independent senator from Vermont is going to win the kickoff Democratic presidential voting on Feb. 3. But he is the reason there could be more than one winner declared that night. This year, new rules will lead the Iowa Democratic Party to report three sets of results over the course of the nights caucusing, instead of simply announcing the final delegate tally. Heres the deal: Rather than going to a polling station and casting a secret ballot, as voters do in primary elections, caucus voters gather in their precinct and group together based on the candidate they support. Only candidates who garner a certain level of support -- typically 15 percent -- can gain convention delegates, so backers of candidates bringing up the rear in the first alignment at a caucus site can then peel off and declare for someone else, which ultimately results in a final alignment. The partys new reporting of initial support, officially to increase the processs transparency, is happening thanks to Sanders and his aggressive, committed supporters, The Associated Press reports, who argue the previous rules essentially robbed him of victory in his 2016 race against Hillary Clinton. That contest ended in a narrow delegate victory for Clinton in Iowa. One possible outcome of the new rules: spin-room chaos on the night of the caucuses. With the first- and final-alignment votes now being reported by the party, in addition to the final delegate count, a candidate who wins the caucuses initial voting but ends up falling into second place (or lower) in the final vote could still claim victory, potentially undercutting the traditional momentum of the actual winner. The New Hampshire primary takes place a week after the Iowa caucuses, followed by the Nevada caucuses (with the same new reporting rules) on Feb. 22 and the South Carolina primary on Feb. 29. So-called Super Tuesday, when more than 20 states and territories vote, takes place March 3. Recent polls out of Iowa have Sanders, former Vice President Joe Biden, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and South Bend, Ind., mayor Pete Buttigieg bunched at the top of the candidate pile, with each having a legitimate shot at winning the states delegate haul. -- Douglas Perry @douglasmperry Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. WASHINGTON (AP) Size matters to President Donald Trump. So much that he exaggerates continually, sometimes spectacularly, the size of what he does. Just as his tax cuts are far from the biggest in history, the economy isn't the best ever and his election victory in 2016 was no landslide of historic proportions, Trump's two trade deals don't stand atop the field of presidential endeavors. One is a partial settlement of trade grievances with China; the other is a refresh of what past presidents created for North America. The opening of the Senate impeachment trial stirred other fabrications from the president this past week while Democratic presidential contenders engaged in their final debate before the first votes of the 2020 campaign, in Iowa. A sampling from a week in political rhetoric: TRADE TRUMP on his trade agreement with China: This is the biggest deal there is, anywhere in the world by far. remarks Wednesday at the signing. TRUMP on the China deal and his updated North American trade agreement: So we've done two of the biggest trade deals. They are the two biggest trade deals in the world ever done. remarks at the White House on Thursday. THE FACTS: Neither claim is true. The China agreement is not nearly as big as the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement, so it's not the largest ever, much less by far. The deal with Canada and Mexico was an update of the long-standing North American Free Trade Agreement worked out by Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. The North American agreement also is not the largest ever. For instance, 123 countries signed the Uruguay Round agreement that liberalized trade and produced the World Trade Organization in 1994. The organization's initial membership accounted for more than 90% of global economic output, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston found, and that was before China joined the organization. Also bigger: the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which would have joined North America with Pacific Rim countries in freer trade. Trump took the U.S. out after the deal was negotiated and before the U.S. ratified it. The European Union was formed from a giant deal. Story continues The China deal leaves tariffs in place on about $360 billion in imports from China and pushes substantial remaining disputes ahead to a second phase of negotiations. ___ TRUMP on China deal: I did the biggest deal ever done in the history of our country yesterday in terms of trade and probably other things too, if you think about it. remarks Thursday. THE FACTS: Trump is even more wildly off the mark in speculating that his China trade deal eclipses all other international agreements, even outside trade. The Montreal Protocol, aimed at protecting Earth's ozone layer, was ratified by every member state of the United Nations. A variety of other agreements on the rights of children, world health standards, droughts achieved nearly universal ratification. More than 190 countries signed the Paris accord on climate change, of which more than 180 have ratified it. The U.S. is pulling out of it. ___ IMPEACHMENT TRUMP: 'We demand fairness' shouts Pelosi and the Do Nothing Democrats, yet the Dems in the House wouldnt let us have 1 witness, no lawyers or even ask questions." tweet Monday, referring to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. THE FACTS: Not true. The House Judiciary Committee, which produced the articles of impeachment, invited Trump or his legal team to come. He declined. Absent White House representation, the hearings proceeded as things in Congress routinely do: Time is split between Democratic and Republican lawmakers to ask questions and engage in the debate. Lawyers for Democrats and Republicans on the committee presented the case for and against the impeachment articles and members questioned witnesses, among them an academic called forward by Republicans. The first round of hearings was by the House Intelligence Committee and resembled the investigative phase of criminal cases, conducted without the participation of the subject of the investigation. Trump cried foul then at the lack of representation, then rejected representation when the next committee offered it. His lawyers will participate in the Senate's impeachment trial. ___ TRUMP: You had a fake whistleblower that wrote a report that bore no relationship to what was said. Everything was false." remarks Thursday. THE FACTS: Trump's statement is false. The whistleblower's account of a phone call between Trump and Ukraine's leader in July closely resembled what was said, judging by the rough transcript released later by the White House itself and by the testimony of officials who listened in on the call. Witnesses in the impeachment hearings and other sources also verified the whistleblower's description of events before and after the call as Trump and his aides pressed Ukraine to investigate one of Trump's political rivals, Democrat Joe Biden. The Senate impeachment trial will explore whether Trump abused his power. ___ ECONOMY TRUMP: In Wisconsin, the unemployment rate has reached its lowest level in history. Milwaukee rally Tuesday. THE FACTS: He's citing outdated figures. Wisconsin did post a record low unemployment rate of 2.8% in April and May. But it has since edged up and is now at 3.3%. That's slightly lower than the U.S. average of 3.5%, but suggests that the state hit a rough patch in the middle of last year. ___ TRUMP: More than 300,000 people under Obama, 300,000 people, left the workforce. Under just three years of my administration, 3.5 million people have joined the workforce. Milwaukee rally. THE FACTS: Trump is wrong about Barack Obamas record. More than 5 million people joined the U.S. labor force during Obamas presidency, according to Labor Department figures. These gains reflect the recovery from the Great Recession as well as population growth. More than 4.8 million people have joined the labor force in three years of Trump's presidency. ___ TRUMP: Under the Trump economy, the lowest-paid earners are reaping the biggest, fastest and largest gains. ... Earnings for the bottom 10% are rising faster than earnings for the top 10%, proportionally. Milwaukee rally. THE FACTS: Actually, the top 10% of earners saw the biggest raises of any income bracket over the past year. Their usual weekly earnings jumped 8% or $168, according to the Labor Department. The bottom 10% saw weekly incomes grow 7% or $30. Over a broader range the top and bottom 25% weekly earnings also grew at faster rate for the wealthier group. ___ TRUMP: Weve created 7 million jobs since the election including more than 1 million manufacturing and construction jobs. Nobody thought that was possible. Milwaukee rally. THE FACTS: His numbers are roughly right, though they are less impressive than Trump claims. Job gains under Trump over the past three years were lower than during the final three years of Obamas presidency. More than 8 million jobs were added during that period under Obama, including 1.2 million combined in manufacturing and construction. What these figures suggest is that much of the job growth under Trump reflects the momentum from a recovery that officially began in the middle of 2009. ___ IMMIGRATION TRUMP: We have loopholes. Like a visa lottery. We put things in the lottery, and they come in they become American citizens. Do you think these countries are giving us their finest? Oh, let's give them our best citizens. Milwaukee rally. THE FACTS: This is a perpetual falsehood from the president. Countries don't nominate their citizens for the program. They don't get to select people they'd like to get rid of. Foreigners apply for the visas on their own. Under the program, citizens of countries named by the U.S. can bid for visas if they have enough education or work experience in desired fields. Out of that pool of qualified applicants, the State Department randomly selects a much smaller pool of tentative winners. Not all winners will have visas approved because they still must compete for a smaller number of slots by getting their applications in quickly. Those who are ultimately offered visas still need to go through background checks, like other immigrants. ___ TRUMP: Mexico's paying for the wall. ... You know that. It's all worked out. Milwaukee rally. THE FACTS: Mexico isnt paying for Trump's long-promised border wall. Trump has argued that the updated trade agreement with Canada and Mexico will pay for the wall because of economic benefits he predicts will come from the deal. Nothing in the trade agreement would cover or refund the construction cost or require a payment from Mexico. ___ CHILD CARE BIDEN, on his early days in Washington: "I was making $42,000 a year. I commuted every single solitary day to Wilmington, Delaware over 500 miles a day, excuse me, 250 miles a day because I could not afford ... child care. It was beyond my reach. Democratic presidential debate Tuesday. THE FACTS: That's a stretch. Biden's wife and daughter died in a car accident after he won a Senate seat in 1972 As a single parent working far out of town, Biden might have faced steeper child care costs than people who work locally do. But his Senate salary actually $42,500 was worth more than $256,000 in today's dollars. That's more than four times the median household income. ___ HEALTH CARE TRUMP: I was the person who saved Pre-Existing Conditions in your Healthcare, you have it now." tweet Monday. THE FACTS: That's false. People with preexisting medical problems have health insurance protections because of Obama's health care law, which Trump is trying to dismantle. One of Trumps major alternatives to Obama's law short-term health insurance, already in place doesnt have to cover preexisting conditions. Another alternative is association health plans, which are oriented to small businesses and sole proprietors and do cover preexisting conditions. Meanwhile, Trump's administration has been pressing in court for full repeal of the Obama-era law, including provisions that protect people with preexisting conditions from health insurance discrimination. With Obamacare still in place, insurers in the individual marketplace must take all applicants, regardless of medical history, and charge the same standard premiums to healthy people and those who have poor health or past medical problems. Before Obama's law, any insurer could deny coverage or charge more to anyone with a preexisting condition who was seeking to buy an individual policy. ___ BERNIE SANDERS: 'Medicare for All' ... will cost substantially less than the status quo. Democratic debate. THE FACTS: Theres no guarantee of that. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said in a report last year that total spending under a single-payer system like the Vermont senator and Democratic presidential candidate favors might be higher or lower than under the current system depending on the key features of the new system. Those features have to do with the design of the system, questions such as payment rates for hospitals and doctors, and whether patients are required to pay part of the cost of their care. Sanders says his plan would require no cost-sharing from patients, no copays and no deductibles. But completely free care could trigger a surge in demand for medical services, raising costs. Other countries that provide coverage for all do use cost-sharing to help keep spending in check. A research report last year by the nonprofit Rand think tank estimated that a Medicare for All plan similar to what Sanders wants would modestly raise total U.S. health spending. ___ MILITARY TRUMP, on killing Iran Gen. Qassem Soleimani: The Democrats and the Fake News are trying to make terrorist Soleimani into a wonderful guy." tweet Monday. TRUMP: You know what bothers me? When I see a Nancy Pelosi trying to defend this monster from Iran ... When Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats want to defend him, I think thats a very bad thing for this country. remarks on Jan. 9 at event on environmental regulations. THE FACTS: That's a fabrication. Democrats did not praise or defend the Iranian general. They criticized the action Trump took. Pelosi called the U.S. missile strike provocative and disproportionate while branding Soleimani a terrible person." Similarly, Democratic presidential candidates criticized Trump's strategy and the fact he didn't notify or consult Congress in advance, while making clear they considered Soleimani anything but wonderful. The Iranian was a murderer, responsible for the deaths of thousands, including hundreds of Americans," said Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Even so, Republican Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia asserted Democrats were in love with terrorists then retracted the statement and apologized. I left parts of my body in Iraq fighting terrorists, Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Ilinois, a former Army pilot who lost both her legs while serving in Iraq, told CNN after hearing Collins' initial remarks. I dont need to justify myself to anyone. ___ TRUMP: Our military has been totally rebuilt. Milwaukee rally. THE FACTS: It hasnt. The administration has accelerated a sharp buildup in defense spending, but it will take years for freshly ordered tanks, planes and other weapons to be built, delivered and put to use. The Air Forces Minuteman 3 missiles, for instance, a key part of the U.S. nuclear force, have been operating since the early 1970s, and modernization started under the Obama administration. They are due to be replaced with a new version, but not until later this decade. ___ BIDEN: "I was asked to bring 156,000 troops home from that war, which I did. I led that effort." Democratic debate. THE FACTS: Biden is roughly right about bringing troops home, but he didn't mention that the U.S. had to send some back. Obama did designate Biden, his vice president, to take the lead in pulling U.S. forces out of Iraq and coordinating efforts to maintain stability in Baghdad. His results were mixed. Biden and Obama failed to win agreement from the Iraqi government to keep a limited number of U.S. troops there after December 2011. That was the deadline for a complete U.S. pullout under a deal negotiated by the Bush administration. Biden was still vice president when Obama was compelled to return American troops to Iraq in 2014 after the rise of the Islamic State group. ___ ELECTABILITY TRUMP, on the 2016 election: There have been some great movements where somebody came along and out of the nowhere, won the state of New Hampshire, won Iowa, won South Carolina down the way, won a state someplace, but we won 32 states. THE FACTS: Trump won 30 states, not 32. It was no landslide. He won with about 57% of electoral votes, a comfortable margin but no better than average or below average. Obama and Clinton each won bigger victories twice and many other presidents outperformed Trump. Moreover, Republican Trump lost the popular vote to Democrat Hillary Clinton, a rare occurrence for a winning candidate. Trump routinely inflates the number of electoral votes he won, too. ___ WARREN: The only person on this stage who has beaten an incumbent Republican any time in the past 30 years is me. Democratic debate. SANDERS: Just to set the record straight, I defeated a Republican incumbent running for Congress. WARREN: I said, I was the only one whos beaten an incumbent Republican in 30 years. THE FACTS: Sanders wins this argument one of the stranger disputes of the night by a matter of months. In November 1990, Sanders beat Republican incumbent Peter Smith to take Vermonts only House seat. That was 29 years and two months ago. Sanders win, technically, slips in the 30-year window. ___ Associated Press writers Josh Boak, Paul Wiseman, Robert Burns, Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Lisa Mascaro, Deb Riechmann, Jill Colvin, Colleen Long and Kevin Freking in Washington and Amanda Seitz in Chicago contributed to this report. ___ EDITOR'S NOTE A look at the veracity of claims by political figures. ___ Find AP Fact Checks at http://apne.ws/2kbx8bd Follow @APFactCheck on Twitter: https://twitter.com/APFactCheck The Vomela Companies Acquires Implementix St. Paul, Minnesota-based The Vomela Companies acquired the fleet graphics division of Implementix, of Wheat Ridge, Colorado. The assets related to the printing and installation of fleet graphics will become part of Vomela Transportation Group. "The expertise, experience, and reputation of Vomela's Transportation Group for quality, consistency, and customer service will ensure a smooth transition for Implementix customers," said Mark uth, President & CEO of The Vomela Companies. "The majority of work will be handled from our High Point, North Carolina, location." Implementix will continue to operate as a technology and branding company. The Vomela Companies The Vomela Companies transform ideas into memorable brand experiences by designing and producing impactful visual communications. The company employs 1,400 people in 23 cities across North America. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200120005346/en/ Italian authorities have extradited the alleged perpetrator of a Ft 685 million money laundering scheme. The police stated online that 27 associates of the suspect have already been captured. The alleged perpetrators caused major financial damages to foreign companies and private individuals. Detectives found one-sixth of the Ft 685 million sum in various bank accounts, which they impounded and froze. A court issued an international arrest warrant in June 2019 for a 28-year-old Nigerian man, who was arrested by Italian authorities on October 22, 2019. The man has cooperated in detailing the structure of the scheme. Italian police officers transferred the suspect to Budapest police on Friday at the Budapest Airport. MTI Photo: Koszticsak Szilard This is Linda Grants side of the story: She was hog-tied by Oakland police officers in 1996 for simply walking down the street in East Oakland. She tried to defend herself after officers tackled her and before they placed her in a controversial restraint that fastens a persons hands and feet together while theyre on their stomach. That was the most embarrassing, insulting thing that ever happened to me, Grant, 51, said. Where was I going? They were already on top of me. The police, according to Grant, told her they saw her selling marijuana. Grant, who is black, said she was wrongfully arrested and convicted. In a text message, I asked Grant whether shed filed a claim for excessive use of force against the police officers. LOL a claim? Grant, now a cannabis entrepreneur in Oaklands equity program, responded. I didnt. Whats the use. Like so many others who say theyve been victims of excessive force, Grant thought what happened to her didnt matter. It does now. In November, the Oakland Police Commission voted to contract Raheem AI, a nonprofit that compiles accounts of police interactions. Raheems archive already includes Grants story and thousands of others. Brandon Anderson, the CEO, launched Raheem in 2017. Its named in honor of Andersons partner, who was fatally shot by police in Oklahoma in 2007 while on his way home from work. According to Anderson, who didnt want me to reveal Raheems full name out of respect for his family, the police said Raheem was driving a stolen car. But Anderson told me that the couple saved together to buy the car, a 1992 Toyota. After initially refusing to get out of the car, police say, Raheem ran, according to Anderson. He was shot running from officers and later died in a hospital, Anderson told me. Raheem, the company, seeks to end police violence in Oakland. I wonder: Can a database of stories really change the way police interact with people, particularly communities of color? What we hope to do is to bring a new way of evaluating the performance of police, Anderson said as we sat inside Peets Coffee on Broadway. We want to take those stories, those reports and translate them into meaningful policy, particularly around the use of force that governs the Oakland Police Department. The public cant rely on all Oakland police officers to accurately report use of force. In August, my colleague Megan Cassidy reported that an internal audit found that officers failed to report using force against a suspect in more than one-third of instances studied in 2018. All of those unreported incidents involved a nonwhite suspect. To curb racial bias in traffic stops, officers began declining to pull people over for low-level infractions like a broken taillight in 2018. Sure, it reduced the number of discretionary stops (ones not initiated by a 911 call), but the flagrant racial disparity in stops remains intact. Blacks were 55% of motorists stopped in 2018, dropping from 61% in 2017, according to police data. Whites, by contrast, accounted for 9% of stops in 2017 and 11% in 2018. This is happening in a department that for almost two decades has been undergoing court-monitored reform. In November, the Police Department started using technology that can flag potentially bad police officers before they become dangerous. 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. Regina Jackson, the police commissions chairwoman, doesnt think its enough. We are saying that a lot of the ways that policing is done is wrong, but thats the way a lot of people have been trained, Jackson said. In order to shift the paradigm, you have to deliver a lot of information that is counter to what people have learned and that theyve practiced. The commission is paying Raheem $40,000 for the three-month contract. Anderson, an Army veteran who served two tours in Iraq as a satellite engineer, said Raheem will compile the Oakland stories by using arrest data and an algorithm that scrapes social media sites. The company will contact people and ask them about the interaction. Its our responsibility to help (the police) understand and learn from different perspectives perspectives that are not steeped in policing, Jackson said. When you only look through one lens, you see the same thing over and over again. Raheem categorizes police violence in four areas: physical abuse, psychological abuse, economic exploitation and neglect. Since the nonprofit started in July 2017, Anderson said it has helped almost 2,400 people tell of their experiences with police violence. Their stories are searchable on Raheems website. We have welcomed Raheem at our ad hoc policy meeting, and we also welcome hearing the stories from our community, Oakland Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick said. We want our citizens to have a voice in our policy development, especially on use of force. For Anderson, shaping Oaklands use-of-force policy is just the start. Ultimately, he wants to focus on crime reduction. If what we continue to do is keep expanding the role of police as a means of reducing crime, without addressing the need that drives community members to commit crime, then we arent solving the problem, he said. Were just feeding the beast that continues to feed off of us. San Francisco Chronicle columnist Otis R. Taylor Jr. appears Mondays and Thursdays. Email: otaylor@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @otisrtaylorjr Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney acknowledges the applause after being sworn in for a second term earlier this month. Read more After allegations of workplace-related misconduct by a former assistant administrator at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Mayor Jim Kenney last week called on the institution to improve its handling of such matters. We find that a little surprising, given that the mayor still, in our view, has a ways to go in order to fully address the issue of how city government responds to the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace. While the city has responded with some actions following an audit by City Controller Rebecca Rhynharts office more than 18 months ago, some key recommendations are yet to be followed. At the PMA, according to stories in the New York Times and The Inquirer, employees reported incidents of inappropriate conduct by Joshua R. Helmer, the museums onetime assistant director of interpretation. The alleged conduct left some women who worked for Helmer feeling victimized with little apparent institutional support or recourse. Helmer has since lost his job at the art museum in Erie. READ MORE: Philly spent $2.2M since 2012 to settle sexual harassment cases. The controller says its probably higher Kenneys office insisted it agrees with Rhynhart that the city must reform how it handles investigations and discipline for workplace-related sexual misconduct. It also said the administration has long been working to improve policies, procedures, and training. Rhynhart acknowledged these actions but told The Inquirer the city has not fulfilled the main recommendations of the audit. The first would be to centralize reporting and investigation of complaints rather than have complaints handled by the individual departments from which they are generated. The city which has a unit that serves as a clearinghouse for complaints, but which doesnt investigate all cases argues that employees would be more comfortable handling complaints within their own departments. That deserves rethinking. Departments can vary widely in how they respond to complaints, and internal politics should not influence the outcome of sexual harassment investigations. Thats exactly what happened recently in the police department when a woman was retaliated against for complaining. Ultimately, Commissioner Richard Ross resigned. This was a clear case of a departments failure to adequately respond to complaints. Rhynhart has also pushed for standardizing disciplinary measures to make sure there are consistent consequences for misconduct. The city argues thats tough with a number of labor unions representing employees. READ MORE: Student on former Philadelphia Museum of Art exec: 'Nobody in the world treated me this way So far, data to demonstrate improvement stemming from the new city procedures are not readily available. Philadelphia is not the only government or institution grappling with how to respond to (mostly) men who insist on abusing their power. Last week, Gov. Phil Murphy addressed the need for New Jersey to come up with policies. And the Philadelphia Museum of Art is reviewing its own approach, hiring outside consultants to review policies and training. Many institutions and companies have long figured out how to insure that everyone is safe from harassment and abuse in the workplace. It shouldnt be that complicated especially when, in the case of the city, there is a detailed blueprint for how to act. According to Egyptian Presidency spokesman Bassam Rady, Pompeo said Washington is looking forward to intensifying coordination with Cairo on the Libyan issue in the light of Egypt's political weight in the region and awareness of the aspects of the Libyan crisis, Xinhua reported on Sunday. Cairo, Jan 20 (IANS) Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi met with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in German capital Berlin over Libya's settlement, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement. The two officials' meeting on Friday came right before their participation in the one-day Berlin international conference on the Libyan crisis. During the meeting, Sisi said a settlement in Libya can only be achieved through "a comprehensive solution that addresses all dimensions of the issue via clear and specific political, security and economic paths," said Rady. The talks also addressed the recent US mediation in the negotiations between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan in Washington over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Egypt expressed appreciation of the US role in the dam negotiations and hope to reach a comprehensive agreement on the GERD that preserves Egypt's rights to the Nile water, according to the statement. The US Department of State also issued a statement on Monday's talks between Pompeo and Sisi, saying they "agreed on the urgent need for a lasting cease-fire and a return to a UN-affiliated political process (in Libya)". "Pompeo expressed outrage over the pointless and tragic death of detained US citizen Moustafa Kassem in Egypt," US Department of State Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said. Egypt has previously denied responsibility for the recent death of the Egyptian-American prisoner, saying he insisted to continue a hunger strike despite attempts to stop him from hurting himself. vin When he walked into a courthouse in Brampton, Ont., earlier this month, Rakesh Tiwari was full of hope. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/1/2020 (722 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. When he walked into a courthouse in Brampton, Ont., earlier this month, Rakesh Tiwari was full of hope. Tiwari was about to have his day in court, more than half a decade after his son killed himself while on suicide watch at a hospital in Brampton, Ont. Prashant Tiwari is shown in a handout photo.Tiwari killed himself in 2014 while on suicide watch in a Brampton hospital. His father filed a wrongful death suit in 2015 and two weeks ago, when it was to go to trial, court heard there were no courtrooms available, so it was punted to May 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO I am doing a story about it slugged: Ont-Suicide-Case-Delay. He filed a wrongful death suit against the William Osler Health System and some staff members in 2015 for negligence in their care of Prashant Tiwari. In the fall of 2018, a judge set the 34-day trial for January 2020. On the day the trial was set to get underway, the judge told Tiwari and his lawyer the jury was ready to go, but there was no courtroom to hear the case not in Brampton, Toronto, Kitchener, Orangeville or Milton, Ont. "Now I'm stuck. There is no hope. I don't believe it will happen," Tiwari said in a recent phone interview, choking back tears. "First the medical system has let Prashant down, now we went to court where the justice system has let us down." Delays in Ontario courts are a serious problem. The province's auditor general ripped the plodding system in a scathing report last month, and the government is trying to address it. However, lawyers say a landmark Supreme Court of Canada ruling designed to speed up criminal cases the so-called "Jordan decision" has had a restrictive effect on civil cases. In 2016, the country's highest court put specific time limits on criminal cases that, if exceeded, would result in the charges being tossed for violating an accused's constitutional right to a timely trial. "The problem is the Jordan rule the criminal cases get precedent over the civil cases," Tiwari's lawyer, Michael Smitiuch, said. "We are regularly bumped and it's wrong. There needs to be a recognition that cases such as wrongful death cases should also have precedence as well." Civil cases and serious criminal matters are intrinsically tied because they are both heard in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, along with some family cases. The same judges, staff members and courtrooms are used for all three, explained Laura Hillyer, the president-elect of the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association. She said lengthy delays in civil matters are a problem across the province, but particularly in urban areas. The long-running problem has been exacerbated by the Jordan decision, she said. "The courts are an essential part of our democracy, but if you can't have access to court to settle the dispute, what are you supposed to do? You still have the dispute," Hillyer said. "It erodes a fundamental part of our democracy." According to the auditor general's report, there were 74,816 civil cases received in 2018/19, and 37,601 cases disposed of in that time; five years earlier, there were 75,719 cases received and 43,796 cases disposed. The Ministry of the Attorney General said it is working on ways to "address delays and backlogs in the justice system." On Jan. 1, the province introduced a "simplified procedure" process for civil claims between $35,000 and $200,000, and a jury is no longer an option for those cases. The province also increased the limit of small-claims court to $35,000. "We've made changes to simplify civil court processes and reduce costs and delays in civil matters to allow more resources to be applied towards other pressing cases," ministry spokesman Brian Gray said in an email. For Rakesh Tiwari, those changes are meaningless. On June 16, 2014, Prashant Tiwari went to his father after deliberately cutting his neck and chest. "Dad, I need help," Rakesh says Prashant told him. Rakesh Tiwari took his son to the Brampton Civic Hospital, where doctors stitched up his neck and chest. Prashant voluntarily admitted himself into the hospital's secure psychiatric unit, his father said, and was kept under close observation. After 10 days of treatment, doctors felt the younger Tiwari had improved enough to schedule a move into a non-secure psychiatric unit, according to the statement of claim. But while inside the secure unit, Prashant Tiwari was left unsupervised for nearly three hours. During that time he went to the shower and hanged himself. William Osler Health System said in a statement that "through oversight and error, the observation policy was not followed." However the agency, which runs the Brampton hospital, said it is not responsible for Tiwari's death because it provided reasonable hospital and nursing care. "The Osler community has been deeply affected by this tragedy. We have and continue to express our sincere condolences for the Tiwari familys loss," hospital spokesman Donna Harris said. "As the matter is before the courts, and in respect of patient privacy, we are unable to discuss this case further." Rakesh Tiwari said until he has his day in court, "There will always be that feeling I failed him as a father." "I do not know what I could have done other than taking him to the hospital," he said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 20, 2020. (Bloomberg) -- Chevron Corp. and four oilfield service providers won U.S. government approval to continue working in Venezuela for 90 days, allowing the companies access to the worlds largest reserves of crude despite sanctions on the crisis-stricken country. The U.S. Treasury Department decision is the fourth waiver granted since sanctions were announced in November 2018 in what is becoming a fraught quarterly ritual for the companies. Along with Chevron, the waiver also exempts Baker Hughes Co., Halliburton Co., Schlumberger Ltd. and Weatherford International Ltd. from sanctions. The waiver was extended through 12:01 a.m. Eastern time on April 22. The previous waiver was due to expire on Jan. 22. Venezuelas daily oil production slumped to a 75-year low of 792,000 barrels last year as sanctions crippled the economy and cut off access to U.S. refiners. As a result, the nations crude exports that bankroll the regime tumbled to the lowest since 1985. While Venezuela accounts for only about 1% of Chevrons global crude production, it remains strategically important given the nations vast untapped reserves. Proponents of Chevrons position argued that withdrawing would cede market share and influence to Russian and Chinese companies. Chevron is the last remaining major U.S. explorer in the country. Rivals Exxon Mobil Corp. and ConocoPhillips exited a decade ago after then-President Hugo Chavez seized control of their assets. --With assistance from Fabiola Zerpa. To contact the reporters on this story: Lucia Kassai in Houston at lkassai@bloomberg.net;Kevin Crowley in Houston at kcrowley1@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Marino at dmarino4@bloomberg.net, Brian Wingfield, Rachel Graham 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 rally will address the issues of unemployment, the downward spiral in the economy and rising prices. New Delhi: Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi will hold a rally for the youth in Jaipur on January 28. The rally will address the issues of unemployment, the downward spiral in the economy and rising prices. The shift in focus from the burning political issue of CAA and a possible NRC to the economy reflects the concerns of a section of Mr Gandhis party that the spotlight on these twin issues owing to the ongoing students agitation might end up polarising the electorate and help the BJP reap electoral benefits. We are beginning with Jaipur and will then decide on more such rallies across the nation, Congress general secretary(organisation) K.C. Venugopal told this newspaper. The rally comes amid widespread protests by university students and the youth against the new Citizenship Amend-ment Act and the subsequently promised Natio-nal Register of Citizens. The fact that Mr Gandhi will focus only on the economy and jobs shows that his party is seriously thinking whe-ther its tough stance against the CAA and NRC will end up helping the BJP by diverting att-ention from the economy and polarising voters ahead of the Assembly polls in Delhi and in Bihar later this year. The party has decided that all Congress-led state governments will pass resolutions in their respective Assemblies against the CAA. CLEVELAND, Ohio A doctor in Clevelands eastern suburbs who admitted to a federal charge will cooperate with prosecutors in a case where they said doctors received kickbacks from drug company representatives to increase prescriptions for a neurological medication, court records show. Dr. Franklin Price, who practiced internal medicine and specialized in hematology and medical oncology, pleaded guilty Friday to a charge of wrongful disclosure of individually identifiable health information, a misdemeanor. Price, whose office was on Wilson Mills Road in Mayfield, admitted to U.S. District Judge Sara Lioi that he gave unauthorized access to patient files to G.H., a representative for the company that made the drug Nuedexta. The drug, manufactured by Avanir Pharmaceuticals, treats PseudoBulbar Affect, a disorder that causes exaggerated and uncontrollable crying and laughing episodes. It is frequently seen in elderly patients with dementia and Parkinsons disease. The 77-year-old doctor is one of several people the U.S. Attorneys Office in Cleveland charged in a probe into Nuedextas marketing. Prices plea agreement refers to G.H. and a neurologist named D.R., and federal prosecutors in September named Avanir sales representative Gregory Hayslette and Dr. Deepak Raheja in an 83-count, 104-page indictment. Dr. Bhupinder Sawhny and Frank Mazzucco, an Avanir regional business manager who supervised Hayslette, were also indicted. Prosecutors said the quartet schemed to increase Nuedexta prescriptions, including for ailments other than PseudoBulbar Affect. All four have pleaded not guilty. Price agreed to cooperate with the government, including giving interviews and testimony. His plea agreement calls for a sentence of between zero and six months in federal prison, though he is eligible to receive probation. Lioi is expected to sentence him after he finishes cooperating. His attorney Sean Lavin said the misdemeanor offense to which Price pleaded guilty is a far cry from the charges the other four face. He said his client looks forward to putting the case behind him. G.H. started visiting Prices office in July 2015 to promote Nuedexta, usually bringing coffee for the office staff, according to Prices plea agreement. He sometimes brought literature for the drug, including an article about using Nuedexta to treat agitation in patients with Alzheimers disease. G.H. also brought D.R. to Prices office at least twice. The pair marketed Nuedexta as an alternative to opioid pain medication and said the drug could be used to wean patients off Tramadol, according to the plea agreement. Price began prescribing Nuedexta to patients for pain in November 2015 based on G.H. and D.R.s promotion, the plea agreement says. He then noticed that it was not working as an alternative to opioids and told D.R. D.R. told him to keep trying, the agreement says. Price allowed G.H. to handle the process to obtain approval from federal health care programs for Prices patients to obtain and pay for Nuedexta. He gave G.H. access to patient medical files without his patients authorization in order to get the required approval, according to the agreement. Price voluntarily permanently retired from practicing medicine in November, according to records from the State Medical Board of Ohio. Prosecutors said Hayslette, who lives in Aurora, and Dublin resident Mazzucco worked to give doctors incentives to write Nuedexta prescriptions to make more money for themselves. They arranged for speakers bureau programs, often with little or no educational value to those in attendance, for Raheja, Sawhny and other medical professionals, according to authorities. Hayslette also helped promote uses and dosages of Nuedexta that were not approved by the Food and Drug Administration, accessed patient health information without authorization and helped to submit false diagnoses for PseudoBulbar Affect to Medicaid programs, officials said. The doctors took steps in return for the money and items, including writing more Nuedexta prescriptions, according to the indictment. Between October 2011 and April 2016, Raheja wrote 10,088 prescriptions for Nuedexta, the most of any doctor in the country, according to prosecutors. Raheja, who lives in Hudson, also falsely diagnosed patients with the disorder. Sawhny, a neurosurgeon who lives in Gates Mills, permitted unauthorized access to patient health records, authorities said. In addition to the criminal charges, the California-based Avanir agreed to pay about $116 million in criminal penalties, forfeiture and settlement proceeds. If you would like to comment on this story, please visit Mondays crime and courts comments section. Read more: Pharmaceutical company reps, Cleveland-area doctors charged in kickback scheme to increase prescriptions for neurological drug Dogs Trust Ireland says it has rehomed more than 9,000 dogs from it's centre in Finglas since it opened in 2009. Almost 800 were adopted last year, with Terriers and Lurchers the most common breeds. By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 01/20/2020 ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade. star Blake Abelard appears to have openly spoiled the current status of his relationship with Jasmin Lahtinen by gushing about his love for her on Instagram.Blake took to Instagram on Friday and wrote a beautiful message to Jasmin, shutting down the haters and trolls who have put down their relationship or predicted they'd fail as a couple.Not only did Blake post several photos of Jasmin smiling around Christmas time and looking pensive and beautiful on other occasions, but he also shared a picture of them together in what appeared to be New York City."The fact that I get to see her smile every day, reminds me of all the nights I worked, the beats/productions I sold, and all the clients I've recorded, just to see her...and it was TOTALLY worth it," Blake captioned the slideshow."We're growing as one and its the greatest thing ever. We shun negativity out of our lives just by simply reminding ourselves that, it's US, not them."Blake concluded, "I got her here on my own. I'm taking care of her on my own. I could care less what anyone says. This woman is my everything, my [world]. I love u @jasminaniel."Blake tagged the location of his post about Jasmin as "to the moon and back."Blake, a 29-year-old audio engineer and music producer from California, and Jasmin, a 27-year-old model from Finland, were introduced in Episode 4 of 's currently-airing seventh season.After Blake went through a divorce in his early twenties, he and Jasmin first met on a dating app, and he was completely taken with her eyes, smile, body, and beauty. Jasmin's profile said she lived in Los Angeles, CA, but she was really from Finland.Once he started visiting Jasmin in Finland, she surpassed all of his expectations and he couldn't believe she was the real deal.Blake said Jasmin was "fun, super smart and can speak multiple languages." He added that she's a gymnast and personal trainer, and he viewed her as "unbelievable."Blake realized by his third trip to Finland that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Jasmin, and so that's when he proposed marriage to her.Blake's family and friends, however, were wary of Jasmin's intentions and whether she might've been using Blake for a Green Card, especially since her sister Janette was already living in Los Angeles.Regardless of what anyone else thought, Blake applied for Jasmin's K-1 visa anyway and anxiously awaited her arrival in the United States once it got approved."I never expected to date a model. It may look like we have nothing in common, but Jasmin and I are meant to be together," Blake said on the series.Jasmin said she was single for three years before she met Blake, who was different from anyone else she had ever dated. Jasmin said she'd never marry a man she's not compatible with, but Blake was going to be the first man she ever lived with.When the pair reunited in America, their first month together was a little bumpy.Jasmin clashed with Blake's friends because she didn't enjoy drinking and partying, and Blake admitted she could be "very blunt at times" and wore her emotions on her sleeve.Blake's friends considered Jasmin a bit cold and quiet, and they saw the pair as being complete opposites from one another personality-wise.Jasmin and Blake were also surprised to learn his parents wouldn't allow them to live together.Blake's mother, Kerline, and stepfather told the couple they could live in their apartment -- and Kerline and her husband would move out -- once they got married.Jasmin wished Blake had stood up for her more and found this out before her arrival in America, but at the same time, she respected his parents' wishes. Jasmin just wished Blake had better communicated with his parents, and she wasn't looking forward to sleeping alone for several months.In a recent episode of , Jasmin attended one of Blake's rap concerts and sat in a booth with her sister the entire time. Blake's friends and co-workers were upset to see Jasmin wasn't enjoying herself or his music, as she wasn't singing, dancing or cheering him on.Blake's friends didn't think Jasmin was "down" with their world, which made Blake question whether Jasmin truly loved and supported him."With the 90 days, it's either now or never that he notices [Jasmin]'s lack of interest in what he's doing. Maybe he doesn't want to accept it, or maybe he's just delusional," Joey, the president of Blake's record label, told the cameras."I don't know what we said that was completely off, but... we're coming from a good place."And in Sunday night's broadcast, Blake and Jasmin got into a fight after Jasmin determined she didn't want to attend his best friend Everett's birthday party, which consisted of a pre-party dinner and then a bar outing.However, as has been airing on TLC over the last couple of months, Blake and Jasmin have been sharing sweet photos of each other on social media, showing that their romance survived the odds.In December 2019, for instance, Blake revealed on Instagram he'd like to have two or three children with Jasmin, and the model called her relationship with the artist "a love like no other" on her own Instagram page.It appears Jasmin has remained living in the United States ever since her arrival considering she frequently posts pictures of herself in Los Angeles, CA.It now appears Blake is more in love with Jasmin than ever in 2020.To read more spoilers on the couple and their relationship in the last few months, click here Want more spoilers? Click here to visit our Spoilers webpage! Over 50 firefighters tackled a large blaze on a farm on Ballyclough Road, Bushmills. A number of sheds and machinery were destroyed. Pic Steven McAuley/McAuley Multimedia Over 50 firefighters tackled a large blaze on a farm on Ballyclough Road, Bushmills. A number of sheds and machinery were destroyed. Pic Steven McAuley/McAuley Multimedia Over 50 firefighters tackled a large blaze on a farm on Ballyclough Road, Bushmills. A number of sheds and machinery were destroyed. Pic Steven McAuley/McAuley Multimedia The cause of a Bushmills fire which damaged a number of sheds and farm machinery is under investigation. Farm animals were moved out of the sheds on the Ballyclogh Road during the fire, which got underway on Sunday night. Around 50 fire service personnel attended the fire, which was put out at 1am on Monday morning. Members of the public were asked to avoid the area and the Ballyclogh Road was closed during the incident. There were no reports of any injuries. Meghan Markle's estranged half-brother Thomas Markle Jr has weighed in on her decision to leave the royal family, calling it a 'sign of modern times'. The 54-year-old window-fitter from Grants Pass, Oregon said he didn't 'necessarily support' his sister's move, but believes it comes down to 'two people in love wanting to live their lives.' 'I think that's (royal title) probably one of the biggest achievements you can ever get in life and to be on that pedestal and that position is a major honour for anybody in the entire world. 'It would just have to be a simple explanation that they want to live their lives the way they want to live it and I guess they wanna do it in private,' he told Australian morning show Sunrise on Monday. Thomas Markle Jr said Meghan and Harry's decision to leave the Royal Family was just a 'sign of modern times' The Duke and Duchess of Sussex shocked the world earlier this month when they announced they'd be stepping down as senior members of the Royal Family The Duchess of Sussex, 38, sent shock waves around the world earlier this month after she and husband Prince Harry announced they were stepping down as senior members of the Royal Family. Markle Jr admitted he was surprised to learn Meghan was disrupting years of tradition which he called 'a little bit insulting.' 'It can be one thing, it could be Meghan wanting her way and not wanting to live under anybody's control, and then it could be her and Harry wanting to go off and be private and not be bothered by any responsibilities except for their own.' Markle Jr has been notoriously critical of his sister's alleged efforts to distance herself from her relatives in the media after she became involved with the Royals. But when asked about his apparently softer stance during the interview, he admitted he was still hurt by Meghan's moves to disown her dad's side of the family, but will always wish her the best. During the interview, Markle Jr appeared to soften his normally-critical stance on his half-sibling, saying he had to 'support her in one way' and will always 'wish her the best' Thomas Jr addressed his decision to send a letter to Prince Harry in the lead up to the wedding in which he asked him not to go through with the marriage 'She is my sister and I always loved her. We had a great upbringing, we had a pretty good childhood. It's like my father said, "I don't recognise this person in my daughter anymore", and neither do I and the rest of the family. 'I have to support her in one way, and I have to be on the fence about a lot of different subjects. 'Obviously, I wish her well and the best in life, but on the other hand I don't believe in some of her actions as far as disowning her family and saying we don't exist when we've given her a great childhood and upbringing. But like I said, I do love her, she is my sister.' 'I feel a bit betrayed being shoved off to the side like I don't exist like the rest of the family. 'There's one thing that really did bother me, right at the wedding when my father became ill and he actually had a heart attack. 'I was very surprised and very hurt that she didn't reach out to him and make sure he was okay and actually go visit him - so that gave me a little bad taste in my mouth about the subject, I didn't recognise that person. ' Thomas Jr said he felt 'betrayed' over Meghan's efforts to distance herself from her dad's side of the family Markle Jr also admitted to being 'frustrated' and hurt when he sent a letter to Prince Harry in the lead up to the wedding in which he asked him not to go through with marriage, calling his sister 'shallow and conceited.' 'I was being chased by the media and I reached out and asked for help and got a disturbing answer...so I wrote that out of haste. 'I certainly hope that it's not a sign of what it appears to be to the entire world, you know of stepping stones and breaking up families. 'I wouldn't wish that upon anybody but if they are truly in love, this will be the test. We'll see what happens next.' BoM BoM announces third quarter earnings Pune: Public sector lender-based Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) announced its third quarter earnings and reported a total net profit of Rs 135.26 crore as against loss of Rs 3,764 crore on year-on-year basis, supported by increase in net interest income, robust recovery and control on expenses, according to a statement released by the bank. The bank said while its operating profit grew to Rs 842 crore showing a robust growth of 95%, net interest income (NII) increased to Rs 1,186 crore showing an increase of 36%. (From left) Bank of Maharashtras chief accounts officer and general manager VP Srivastava, executive director AC Rout, managing director and chief executive officer AS Rajeev and executive director Hemant Tamta released the banks third quarter report at a press conference on Monday. Exhibition of 100 large-sized jigsaws Pune From finding the smallest piece in a puzzle to finishing a 1,000 piece jigsaw is nothing, but a task that Siddharth Joshi (27) can complete in few hours. Author Achyut Godbole inaugurated an exhibition of at least 100 large-sized jigsaws organised by Joshi at Balgandharva Rangmandir on January 19. Presidents of International Collectors Society of Rare Items Pradeep Sohoni, Nitin Mehta and Basti Solanki, and Siddharths parents Bhushan Joshi and Smita Joshi were present. The exhibition will end on January 21. Short film on Pune rly division crew released Pune A short documentary emphasising safe train operations with focus on running rooms and crew lobby of Pune railway division was released recently in public interest by EN films. The film is written and directed by Neville Bhaskaran. The five-minute documentary shows the recent facilities provided in running rooms at Pune division. It also points out the importance of safe train operation by loco pilots and the care taken by railways in ensuring the safety of passengers. Road safety campaign by Pune NGO Pune Ahead of the National Road Safety Awareness week (February 4 to 10), city-based NGO Drive Smart Drive Safe has launched its campaign with mass pledge of code of conduct at Tata AutoComp Systems Limited Chakan, Pune on January 17. At least 1,000 people joined and observed a one-minute silence in memory of road victims, participated in short walkathon and also made a safety human chain. Siba Satapathy, group chief human resources officer, Tata AutoComp Systems Limited and Rama Shankar Pandey, MD, Hella India Lighting Ltd were present. The objective of the campaign is to start a sustainable chain of nationwide activities, which will not only make people aware and transform their behaviour on roads, but also lead to formation of road safety clubs among corporates, institutions and organisations. Goswami shares his journey as an entrepreneur Pune There is nobody to guide you when you start your company by leaving a job. You have to utilise what you have learned before. said Shailendra Goswami, managing director and president of Pushkraj Engineering Enterprises Pvt Ltd. He was speaking as the chief guest of an annual social gathering held at MIT university, Kothrud on January 16. Goswami, an alumni of the College of Engineering Pune, also gave insights about his journey as an entrepreneur and shared various anecdotes with the students. Swachh Sundar Chakan drive held Pune IndoSpace, developer of Grade A industrial real estate and logistics company, under its CSR initiative Swachh Sundar Chakan conducted cleanliness drives across Bhamboli and Mahalunge villages in Chakan, Pune on January 17. As a part of the initiative, the company inaugurated material recovery facility (MRF) and composting pits in both the villages. Understanding the need for community-based waste management programme, IndoSpaces CSR initiative aims to sensitise people through these awareness programmes. IndoSpace also provided the residents of the villages with assets to segregate the waste and put it to productive use. Post segregation, the wet waste will be converted to produce biogas for cooking mid-day meals in local schools and anganwadis in Mahalunge and Bhamboli. The event was attended by various local dignitaries. Pune builders win gold for construction projects Pune Construction firms Millennium Engineers and Contractors, and Lunkad Realty (Sky One Corporate Park LLP) win gold in the categories of residential and commercial/semi-commercial projects respectively at the PCERF- Kumar Beharay Construction Safety Awards- 2020. The awards were held at Constro 2020 expo recently and were presented by chief guest Suhas Merchant, president, CREDAI- Pune Metro. Rohan Builders (residential project), Amplus Energy Solutions (infrastructure), SCON Projects pvt ltd (industrial), Bhate and Raje Construction Company (commercial/semi-commercial) and Kolte-Patil Developers I-Ven Townships win silver medals in respective categories. The awards this year received 27 participation entries from real estate developers, contractors, owners or companies across cities, including Pune, Mumbai, Nashik and even from Uttar Pradesh. DPS hosts convention on Indian culture Pune Delhi Public School, Pune witnessed a magic of Indian culture while hosting the SPIC MACAY (The Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music And Culture Amongst Youth) West Zone Convention on January 18-19. The convention commenced with a formal inauguration where Neelam Chakrabarty, Principal, DPS, invited all the participants to the event which was then followed by the orientation by Kiran Seth, founder of SPIC MACAY, who addressed the gathering giving insights on the importance of classical art form in everyday life and how it is important for every child to experience it. The country lost three positions in the list; Germany, South Korea and Singapore made the top three Open source Ukraine remains in the Top 60 of innovative economies. It comes 56th in Bloomberg's latest edition of the respective ranking, thus, losing three ranks compared with that in last year's edition. For eight years in a row, the outlet has been analyzing the economy of 60 countries in Europe, Asia, North and South America, as well as some African countries. Germany, South Korea and Singapore made the top three. Germany actually managed to beat Koreans for the first time in six years. Switzerland and Sweden closed the top five. Israel, France and the USA entered the top ten. Russia climbed one rank higher, compared to the previous year's edition. Meanwhile, Poland lost three positions and is currently ranked 28th. The ranking is based on the analysis of data on investigations and developments in the areas of services, industry, production and activity in international projects. As we reported, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk are supposed to join the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. As long as Citizens United stands, political money corruption will continue in Washington unless federal candidates are given a new way to finance their campaigns that frees them from the iron grip of influence-seeking funders. The courts rulings, and its newly enhanced conservative majority, present serious hurdles to addressing many of the ills of our current campaign financing system. But there are ways to mitigate the damage and dramatically improve the flaws of the current system. Being forced to provide a minimum rail service during strikes is like 'slavery', a union boss has claimed. Mick Whelan, general secretary of the train drivers' union Aslef, said proposed legislation making industrial action unlawful unless a basic service was provided was a 'form of forced labour'. The plans were unveiled last month after members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union staged a 27-day walkout in December over the long-running row about the role of guards on trains. Being forced to provide a minimum rail service during strikes is like 'slavery', a union boss has claimed But the proposal was widely criticised, with Labour peers condemning it as 'reprehensible'. Mr Whelan who previously described the Government's plan as a 'declaration of war' told Sophy Ridge on Sky News yesterday: 'I'm at war with the ethos of forced labour, any form of... slavery. Mick Whelan (pictured), general secretary of the train drivers' union Aslef, said proposed legislation making industrial action unlawful unless a basic service was provided was a 'form of forced labour' 'That's what they're trying to do. 'Only Lithuania has worse labour laws. 'This cradle of democracy, this place of Magna Carta under Maggie's laws, under the Trade Union Bill, we firstly hurt the right of people to strike. 'Now you want to take the actual opportunity to strike against bad employers away. 'It's a form of forced labour. We have no right to strike in the UK now.' Poland took first place in the list of countries with a high level of anti-Semitism Ukraine was placed second in the ranking of anti-Semitic sentiment in Europe. It was reported by Associated Press, citing the poll conducted by Anti-Defamation League. Most prevalent anti-Semitic attitudes were found in Poland, where such sentiment rose to 48% of the population from 37% in 2015, and Ukraine, where the rise was even greater to 46% from 32% in 2016. Anti-Semitic views in Hungary were little changed but remained high, increasing from 40% to 42%. According to the poll, Jewish influence in the business world was a widely accepted view in eastern Europe, with 72% of Ukrainians, 71% of Hungarians, 56% of Poles and 50% of Russians agreeing that Jews have too much power. Meanwhile, in his recent interview with The Times of Israel, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that, in his opinion, Ukraine has the lowest level of anti-Semitism in Europe. As we reported earlier, Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the glorification of those responsible for the murder of Jews and anti-Semitic ideologies in Ukraine. The corresponding statement was published on the Ministrys website. "Individuals responsible for the murder of Jews in the Holocaust and in pogroms, as well as antisemitic ideologists of the Ukrainian National movement have recently been a subject of public glorification in Ukraine," the statement reads. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 20 Trend: Steve Chabot, a member of the US House of Representatives, has made a statement in the US Congress in remembrance of the 30th anniversary of the January 20 tragedy in Azerbaijan, Trend reports referring to Azerbaijans Embassy in the US. I rise today to remember the innocent lives lost in the massacre of Black January at the hands of the Soviet Union, Chabot said. January 20 marks the 30th anniversary of this tragic day in the history of Azerbaijan, which is seen as its rebirth as an independent country. On the night of January 20, 1990, 26,000 Soviet troops attacked Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan, and its surrounding areas. This vicious invasion is fixed in Azerbaijans national history and is remembered in the hearts of its people as Black January. In the Soviet brutality, more than 145 innocent civilians died, around 800 people were injured, and hundreds were arrested, the US congressman noted. The Soviet crackdown was meant to smother the independence movement in Azerbaijan which was gaining momentum at the time. It proved to be a futile attempt to prop up the rule of the Communist Party, and really the whole Soviet Union. In fact, it had the opposite effect, further inflaming the independence movement and strengthening other such movements throughout the former Soviet Union. Following the events of Black January, popular sentiment drove Azerbaijan to break away from the Soviet Union and declare independence, reads the statement. On August 30, 1991, Azerbaijans Parliament adopted the Declaration on the Restoration of the State Independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and on October 18, 1991, the Constitutional Act on the State Independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan was approved. Azerbaijan began to receive international recognition of its newfound independence in November 1991, and shortly thereafter the US became one of the first nations to recognize the country, establishing diplomatic relations on February 28, 1992, Chabot added. Today, cooperation between the US and Azerbaijan has blossomed to include a broad range of issues, particularly energy development and security, and we share many common interests and goals for the region. I urge my colleagues to join me and the Azerbaijani people as they remember the events of Black January and celebrate that brutality cannot stifle the thirst for freedom. Much was made of Anna Paquin's seven-word role in The Irishman. And when the actress appeared on stage at the SAG Awards, Twitter users were quick to point out how it seemed that the ingenue was being upstaged by her male costars, yet again. Castmates Ray Romano and Harvey Keitel acted as the primary speakers during a brief presentation for the film, which was nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture that night. Stuck in the middle: When actress Anna Paquin came out on stage with her Irishman co-stars Ray Romano and Harvey Keitel at the SAG Awards on Sunday, Twitter users were quick to point out that yet again, it seemed as though the ingenue was being upstaged Fans felt it was adding insult to injury to even ask Paquin, 37, to represent the film in the first place since she was barely able to utter a word in it. Late last year, when the film was released in theaters and subsequently hit Netflix's streaming platform, viewers took to social media to air their complaints about the fact that Anna, a consistently well-regarded actress, was left with a mere seven words total in the final cut of the three-and-a-half hour long movie. And on Sunday, Romano hogged most of the trio's time on the mic, joking about how he still couldn't believe he was able to act in a Scorsese film with the likes of De Niro and Pacino. One Twitter user mentioned how she 'spoke about 10 lines, this is more than she did in the irishman,' adding an ironic 'go girl go.' Another offered, 'Similar to The Irishman, the intro for The Irishman at @SAGawards was Anna Paquin being pushed into the background in favor of aging white men' adding the hashtags '#SAGAwards' and '#Annoying.' Reclaiming her time: Romano hogged most of the trio's time on the mic, joking about how he still couldn't believe he was able to act in a Scorsese film, which fans felt echoed Paquin's silence in the actual movie Her one moment: One Twitter user wrote, 'Similar to The Irishman, the intro for The Irishman at @SAGawards was Anna Paquin being pushed into the background in favor of aging white men' Still others pointed to the omission as yet another example of Scorsese's longstanding dismissal of strong women in his mostly male-dominated films. However other viewers of the film, along with Anna herself, defended and stood by her character's sparing dialog, saying that her reticence in the film was intentional and underscored the emotional damage her character's family has experienced. 'I think a lot can be said without words,' Paquin told MailOnline directly in in London in October. 'I think sometimes a look is worth a thousand words and the internalized judgement that she has passed on her father is not something that she would be able to verbalize, not at that stage of her life. 'Shed need 20 years of therapy to be able to explain to him why he was a problematic parent,' she continued. 'But it was really interesting, it was a bit of a challenge but one that was incredibly exciting for me.' Not happy: A roundup of the vociferous Twitter comments against Paquin's treatment both in the film and on stage at Sunday's SAG Awards Robert De Niro, who plays Anna's onscreen father in the film, also came to the defense of the film, referring to Anna's performance to USA Today in December as 'very powerful and that's what it was,' also saying 'She's terrific and it resonates.' And even Scorsese himself, who is no stranger to cinematic controversy of late, addressed his sole lead actress's apparent under-utilization in the Irishman, telling Spike Lee on a podcast in November, 'I kept asking [Irishman screenwriter] Steve Zaillian if we could layer her in the story. I decided that she doesnt have to say anything.' He also said, 'Anna ultimately was amazing in the looks.' The Irishman is up for ten Academy Awards next month, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor nominations for Al Pacino and Joe Pesci. Different point of view: Other viewers of the film, along with Anna herself, defended and stood by her character's sparing dialog, saying that her reticence in the film 'is very much the point' Her POV: Paquin herself has also not shied away from defending her use in the film Fiery feast for the eyes: Paquin sizzled in a strapless red Caroline Herrera tulle gown at the awards event on Sunday Chinese tech giant Huawei has commissioned a report that claims banning it from providing 5G equipment will cost Australia up to $11.9 billion in lost GDP by 2035. The report, by UK-based research firm Oxford Economics, comes as the UK is poised to decide whether to approve the use of technology from the Chinese state-controlled entity in its 5G network. The economic impact study said access would also be delayed with up to 3.1 million more Australians lacking 5G access by 2023 than if Huawei were allowed to compete. Chinese state-controlled tech firm Huawei wants to help build 5G networks in the UK and Australia, but Western countries fear it could pose a security risk In its highest cost scenario, the report said preventing Huawei from competing would increase average investment costs by up to US$300 million per year. 'Lower economic growth due to delays in 5G rollout and the associated slower technological growth reduces GDP by between US$0.8 billion and US$8.2 billion in 2035,' the report said. Huawei was blocked from supplying equipment for the 5G network in August 2018 on national security grounds. Hong Kong democracy protesters in Sydney covered their faces at a protest in August, saying they were afraid of being identified by the CCP The Federal Government said at the time that it could not allow firms likely to be subject to extrajudicial directions from a foreign government to leave the Australia's network vulnerable to unauthorised access or interference. Those fears were heightened in November last year when former Chinese spy Wang 'William' Liqian defected to Australia and told 60 Minutes of how he had silenced dissidents who supported democracy in Hong Kong, built a cyber-army of students, censored news and met the leader of a spy ring allegedly operating in Australia. Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told The Australian that the telco was obligated under Chinese law to aid the country's intelligence services, even though it gave no indication of malign intent. The US has argued that the company's involvement in Australia's 5G networks would allow it to spy on the West and that Huawei is effectively a Trojan horse for the Chinese government. A Huawei representative told Daily Mail Australia the company acts in accordance with the laws of every country it operates in. Huawei commissioned a report by UK-based research firm Oxford Economics to show the cost of blocking the Chinese-controlled tech giant from providing 5G as the UK is poised to decide 'Our founder Ren Zhengfei has made it clear that he would rather shut down our entire company rather than take any action that would ever endanger the security of our customers,' the spokesperson said on Monday. 'It is also worth noting that both Nokia and Ericsson are manufacturing their 5G equipment that is being deployed in Australia in Chinese factories in joint-ventures they have both formed with the Chinese government they would be subject to the exact same laws.' Daily Mail Australia contacted both Nokia and Ericsson for clarification. Neither company would confirm or deny that it was in a joint venture with the Chinese Communist Party. Ericsson, a Swedish company, said it ensures strict security controls are in place and conducts security audits of its factories. Nokia said it uses Chinese companies and facilities for product development. Unrest in Hong Kong has heightened Western fears that if Chinese-controlled tech giant Huawei helps build 5G networks, the Chinese Communist Party may use it to spy Huawei has said it is owned by it's employees, but Western experts have deemed it to be controlled by the Chinese Communist Party. Huawei is owned by a holding company which in turn is 1 percent owned by founder Ren Zhengfei and 99 percent owned by a 'trade union committee' for the holding company, according to a paper written by Fullbright University Vietnam economics professor Christopher Balding and George Washington University law professor Donald Clarke. After investigating the ownership structure, the academics concluded Huawei could be deemed to be state-owned due to the public nature of trade unions in China, a one-party state run by the Chinese Communist Party. The Oxford Economics comes at a sensitive time when the UK is about to release a decision on whether Huawei can build a part of its 5G networks or whether it will join the ban enforced by the US and Australia. The report devotes a section to the UK, saying Great Britain's GDP would lose up to US$11.8 billion in lost growth over the next 15 years if Huawei was blocked, and that 5g infrastructure would cost it up to US$700 million more each year for the next decade. Australia and the US have become increasingly concerned about rivalry from China in the Pacific region. In June, 2018, Australia stepped in to fund underwater internet cables and a cybersecurity centre for the Solomon Islands, blocking plans by Huawei to lay cables for the archipelago nation. Analysts said at the time it could have compromised Australia's internet security by giving the Chinese company access to a broadband hub in Sydney. Huawei was also blocked on security grounds from working on Australias national broadband system in 2012. Daily Mail Australia asked the Australian Government why it was important to block Huawei from 5G. A spokesperson for Communications Minister Paul Fletcher declined to comment. Prystaiko believes this year will be the heyday of relations between Ukraine and Albania. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko says Ukraine will open an embassy in Albania as early as this year. "We believe this will not only be a successful year of cooperation within the OSCE, it will also be a heyday of our relations between Ukraine and Albania," Prystaiko said in Kyiv at a joint press conference with OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Prime Minister and Minister of European and Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Albania Edi Rama. Read alsoUkraine's Embassy in UK demands Tryzub be removed from Extremism Guide "For example, this year we are going to open our embassy in Tirana. We have long been working on this. We hope this step will help our countries to be closer to each other," the Ukrainian foreign minister added. A dose of whooping cough vaccine phased out at the turn of the century could hold the key to protecting children from developing food allergies. A new Australian study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology found that rates of children with food allergies have risen exponentially since the late 1990s around the same time a new whooping cough vaccine was rolled out nationally. The older "whole cell" whooping cough vaccine was eliminated in 1999 and replaced with a new version, amid reports Australian babies were suffering minor side effects, including fever and pain where the needle was injected. Loading Hospital admissions for food-induced anaphylaxis more than doubled between 1998 and 2005, before increasing by a further 50 per cent in between 2005 and 2012, data from the Murdoch Children's Research Institute reveals. Government plans to move the House of Lords to York have been slammed by peers who labelled the proposal 'completely ridiculous'. Boris Johnson is considering moving the upper chamber to the north of England as part of a bid to shift power to his new Tory political heartlands. James Cleverly, the chairman of the Conservative Party, yesterday confirmed that the move was one of a 'whole range of options' which are being examined on how to improve the function of British democracy. But the prospect of being told to move to York has prompted anger and ridicule among many peers with some blaming Dominic Cummings, the Prime Minister's top adviser, for the plan. Boris Johnson is believed to have ordered detailed work on the practicalities of relocating peers (pictured at the state opening last month) to Yorkshire Lord Forsyth of Drumlean, a Conservative peer and former Scottish secretary, said it was a 'completely ridiculous idea that would cost a fortune'. 'I can only assume this is the first fruit of the weirdos that Dominic Cummings said he wanted to recruit to Number 10,' he told The Telegraph. Lord Forsyth's anger was echoed by Admiral Lord West, a Labour peer, who described it as 'madness'. The former First Sea Lord said: 'The Lords are a key part of Parliament. It's not just an add-on where funny people sit around wearing ermine fur.' The suggestion that the government could move the Lords to York shows Mr Johnson is serious about his stated desire to give a voice to areas that helped deliver his election victory. Ministers have hailed efforts to 'connect with the whole of the country' after the PM ordered detailed work on the practicalities of putting the Lords in Yorkshire. The plans have gone as far as identifying disused land owned by the government near York railway station as a potential site, according to the Sunday Times. Peers suggested the idea of moving the House of Lords to York may have been the work of Dominic Cummings, pictured in Downing Street on January 14 The Commons could also go 'on tour', holding debates away from London, in a bid to reconnect democracy to the wider UK. International Development Secretary Alok Sharma said he was 'supportive' of the relocation and in principle it would be a 'very good thing'. And Mr Cleverly told Sky News' Ridge on Sunday programme: 'What we are looking at is a whole range of options on making sure the whole of the UK feels properly connected to politics.' Pressed on whether the government would move the Lords, he said: 'We might. It is one of a range of things that we are looking at.' CARLISLE More than 100 people marched through the cold to support a message of peace, celebrate progress made, and acknowledge that much work remains to be done to bring America to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.s vision of the Promised Land. The 31st annual Carlisle Martin Luther King Commemoration began at about 2:45 p.m. on the steps in front of the St. Paul Lutheran Church. Following a brief prayer by The Rev. Titus Clarke, activists led by the Cumberland County Color Guard and escorted by the police marched to the courthouse. Along the way, they sang the iconic gospel song closely associated with the civil rights movement: We shall overcome. Joe Shane, a 15-year resident of Carlisle and a chemistry professor at Shippensburg University, said the commemoration showcased Carlisles social activism. In a town this size, its wonderful, he said. At the courthouse, Carlisle and Cumberland County leaders delivered speeches aiming to keep the memory of Dr. Kings struggles and accomplishments alive, while hoping to drive home the need for support for Dr. Kings vision of America. Dr. King would truly be proud of the steps our country has taken, said Carlisle Mayor Timothy Scott. But there is still much work to be done. More than once and from more than one speaker - Dr. Kings quote We must learn to live together as brothers, or perish together as fools, was referenced. Carlisle police Chief Taro Landis challenged all Americans, starting in Carlisle, to help fulfill Dr. Kings vision. My message to you is of optimism, he said. I want you to think about it as you go back to your homogenous communities, to stand up and speak about things nobody wants to hear spoken about. State Rep. Barbara Gleim, R-Carlisle, implored everyone present to not forget the lessons of Dr. King. He is the single person of this period who affected this nations consciousness, she said. Few Americans since have had his vision of the Promised Land how we wish today we had one more moment of his timeDr. King held up all of humanity. Also speaking were Vincent DiFilippo, a Cumberland County Commissioner, James Breckenridge, Provost of the US Army War College, and Salvaila Richardson, a recipient of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship. When they were done, the marchers returned to the church for a service featuring Brian A. McClinton of the Mount Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church of Starview as the keynote speaker. Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), the leading national entity for economic development aid, has signed an agreement allocating the UAEs capital contribution of $20 million (Dhs73 million) to the Arab Gulf Programme for Development (AGFUND). As one of the founding countries of AGFUND, the UAE has supported the programmes objectives, goals and activities since 1982. To date, the UAEs total contributions to AGFUND have totalled $37 million (Dhs136 million). Mohammed Saif Al Suwaidi, Director General of ADFD, and Youssef Al Bassam, Vice Chairman of AGFUND, signed the agreement outlining the terms of the contribution at ADFDs headquarters in Abu Dhabi. Also present on the occasion were Khalifa Al Qubaisi, Deputy Director General of ADFD, Nasser Alkahtani, Executive Director of AGFUND, and several high-ranking officials from the two entities. Al Suwaidi said: In line with its mission to stimulate sustainable economic growth worldwide, ADFD is proud to represent the UAE and expand its strategic development efforts through partnering with AGFUND. We are confident that our collaboration will result in a wealth of benefits in key socio-economic sectors. He added: The fund works alongside its partners and in cooperation with international organisations and funding institutions to assist beneficiary countries in achieving their national priorities. In doing so, we also contribute to ongoing efforts to realise the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Al Bassam thanked the UAE for its contribution and praised ADFDs impressive 48-year track record in supporting sustainable projects and programmes across the world. He also highlighted AGFUNDs sustainable development and poverty alleviation endeavours among vulnerable segments of society. Established in 1980, AGFUND is a regional organisation that aims to tackle human development challenges across all segments of society. Its programmes focus on financial inclusion, education, early childhood development, womens empowerment, and development of civil society. Since its inception in 1971, ADFD has funded development projects in 94 countries to the tune of AED92 billion through concessionary loans, government grants, and investments. Spanning all key sectors, the Funds projects support socio-economic growth in developing countries and drive the implementation of the SDGs. -- Tradearabia News Service New Delhi, Jan 20 : The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), BJP's alliance partner in Punjab, announced on Monday that it won't contest the forthcoming Assembly elections in Delhi. "India is a secular country with rich religious, cultural, linguistic and ethnic diversity. This diversity is the strength of our unity. We cannot compromise on this vision of India for which our ancestors have made supreme sacrifices," the party said in a statement. Addressing the media here, SAD spokesman Manjinder Singh Sirsa and the party's Delhi unit President Harmeet Singh Kalka said that there are strong ideological differences between the two parties on the issue of the Citizenship Amendment Act, as SAD wants Muslims to be included in the Act. On the issue of National Register of Citizens (NRC), they said that SAD is firmly opposed to it. SAD said that differences on this sensitive and critical issue have come to the fore during the debate on CAA. Party President Sukhbir Singh Badal took a principled decision to stand with the minorities and uphold the principles of secularism in the spirit of "sarbat da bhala". This stand was endorsed by party MP Balwinder Singh Bhunder in the Rajya Sabha also. "That stand is non-negotiable. We are firm that all minorities, including Muslims, along with Sikhs, Hindus, Christians, Jains, Parsis and Buddhists, who are facing persecution in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, have to be protected by our great nation. The Muslim community must not be left out of the CAA process as leaving them out would go against the basic principles of the Shiromani Akali Dal and the great teachings of our great Gurus," the SAD spokesman said. The party said during several rounds of meetings with the BJP, its leaders were pressing upon the Akali Dal to withdraw its stand on the CAA vis-a-vis the Muslim community. SAD categorically stated in no uncertain terms that the party will stand by each and every word it said in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha and thereafter in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha that along with Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Jains and Parsis, the Muslim community should also be included in the CAA process. SAD also made it clear that NRC should not be implemented. "People of India cannot be made to stand in queues to prove that they are Indians," it said. The previous year might have been a successful career for the descendants of the sun leading lady Song Hye-Kyo but nevertheless she still went through a painful stage when her marriage with her co-star Song Joong Ki suddenly ended in the month of June. They had been together for quite some time as married couple it was about a year and eight months before their marriage ended. As we have noticed, the Descendants of the Sun lead star, Song Joong-Ki's ex-wife Song Hye-Kyo, hardly took any rest from her work even if the news of their divorce already became public. A lot of fans shut Song Joong-Ki out for instantly taking the matter into court and filing for divorce without even discussing the matter with Song Hye-Kyo. The same reaction was also given to the beautiful actress Song Hye-Kyo, she was also shut out by the fans for supposedly acting like nothing happened to her. Though some of her fans have a soft spot for her. A lot of the couple fans felt deeply sad for their separation but the famous actress did not let the issue affect her and she still continued to attend her obligations in and outside South Korea. There are still rumors in the air that Song Joong-Ki and Song Hye-Kyo may have ended their marriage due to their differences but are still open for the reconciliation of their relationship. This rumor suddenly occurred when people noticed that the actress was wearing a ring in a photos hoot for W Korea magazine. The Chinese media quickly assumed that the couple has plan on reconciliation. But the rumor was actually not true. Reports from EconoTimes was released that Song Joong-Ki is rumored to be replacing Gong Yoo in the impending thriller movie Train to Busan 2. But there is still no update on him joining the cast of the movie Train to Busan 2. The famous actor was supposedly scheduled to fly to Bogota Columbia's capital in the mid of this month to shoot for a his upcoming movie titled Bogota. After the said divorce that happened to the couple, both tried their best to live a normal life as possible. By making their self busy with ones' own projects. Though, most of the fans could still notice that Song Hye-Kyo is only involved in photoshoots for promotional projects and magazines, and on the other hand the actor is busy in working in movies. Maybe the reason is that the actress wanted to take a break from her acting career in which she stated on a conversation with Hong Kong's Tatler in July last year. She said that "This year, I will take some personal time off. I need to have some time for myself." Song Hye-Kyo just recently appeared publicly in South Korea's capital, Seoul for endorsing a jewellery brand Chaumet on their promotional activity. At the launch of Chaumet's Lotte Avenue boutique in Seoul the actress was seen still looking amazingly beautiful wearing the jewellery of Chaumet's collection . New Tech, Sharp Docs Made Fast ID of Wuhan Coronavirus Possible By Steve Baragona January 19, 2020 The new virus emerging from a live animal market in southern China has worrisome echoes of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, which killed 774 people worldwide in 2002 and 2003. Two people have died from the new virus, which is closely related to the SARS virus. Sixty-two people have become ill. Three travelers have carried it to Thailand and Japan. Georgetown University infectious diseases physician Daniel Lucey worked on SARS in 2003 in China, Hong Kong and Toronto. He says this outbreak is different in three ways. Chinese scientists have tools that were not available in 2002. They had the acumen to look for something new. And they had something else that was missing during SARS: the transparency to warn the world. Quick ID The world first heard about a new disease coming out of Wuhan, China, Dec. 31. A week later, Chinese researchers announced they had identified the culprit. The following week, German researchers developed the first diagnostic test. That's fast. "It's truly an incredible accomplishment," Lucey said. In the early 2000s, scientists looking for a virus had to grow it in animal cells in petri dishes. The problem with SARS was "it didn't grow in any of the usual cell lines. One of the University of Hong Kong scientists had the idea, 'Well, let's just try some other cell lines. Why not? What's to lose?' And it grew in one that nobody expected it to grow in," Lucey said. Then the researchers had to grow enough of the virus to isolate its DNA and read its genetic code, a process known as sequencing. The technology has advanced tremendously in the past decade and a half. " Back then, it took days to sequence," Lucey said. "Now, it can take hours." Scientists don't even need to grow the virus in cells anymore. They can directly detect extremely small amounts of viral DNA in a patient's spit or blood. Pneumonia in pneumonia season Having the right tool is important, but what's more important, Lucey added, is thinking to use it at a time when it's not obvious. It's winter in China, he said, and "it's a tribute to the insight of the Chinese clinicians to recognize that there's a new infectious disease causing pneumonia in the middle of pneumonia (or flu) season." Lucey said that didn't happen in the first outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS, which has killed more than 850 people. In April 2012, 13 health care workers at a hospital in Zarqa, Jordan, came down with pneumonia. Two died. Tests for known viruses, including SARS, came up negative. Later, in September, a Saudi man died of pneumonia, and scientists determined that a novel virus was causing what was dubbed MERS. Only then did researchers go back and find the MERS virus in samples from the Jordanian patients. Lucey also credits the Chinese scientists for getting the word out quickly. China drew criticism for covering up the spread of SARS in 2002. " You need to have the frame of mind and the political will and the scientific wherewithal to share the information with the world immediately so that diagnostics can be developed immediately," he said. "And that's what's happened. China has done all those things." However, some information is still missing. The three patients who carried the virus outside China came from Wuhan but have no known link to the animal market identified as the source of the other infections. "It just suggests to me that there are other people in Wuhan that are infected, and/or other animal markets," Lucey said. "The virus is out of the bag," he added. "I'm afraid we're at the beginning of the beginning, and a long way to go." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address SHENZHEN, China, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Huntkey, a global power solution provider, is about to release its new desk charge station SAC209 to the global market. The SAC209 is a desk charging station which integrates USB ports, AC sockets, and wireless charger. Moreover, the wireless charge has four nonslip rubber strips to keep the phone from falling down even if it vibrates during wireless charging. Also, the sensing distance is 5mm, allowing the user to charge the phone with the phone case intact (avoid metal case). Wireless charging on the SAC209 has abnormality protection. When other metals such as coins are placed on the top, the wireless charger will automatically disconnect. SAC 209 has 2 AC sockets with 125V and 15A; 2 USB ports sharing 2.4A. More importantly, it is certificated by both ETL and FCC. ETL: any electrical, mechanical products with an ETL mark indicated that the product has met the minimum requirements of the generally recognized U.S. and Canadian product safety standards and has been tested to meet the relevant product safety standards. FCC: the FCC certification is the test certification of electromagnetic compatibility. These certifications ensure users' security. Specification Product Dimensions 11 x 11 x 4 cm Package Size 18.5 x 16 x 7 cm Item weight 642g Shipping weight 734g About Huntkey Huntkey Enterprise Group, founded in 1995 and headquartered in Shenzhen, is a member of The International Power Supply Manufacturer's Association (PSMA) and a member of The China Power Supply Society (CPSS). With branch companies in the USA, Japan and other areas, and cooperating factories in Brazil, Argentina, India and other countries, Huntkey has specialized in the development, design, and manufacturing of PC power supplies, industrial power supplies, surge protectors, adapters and chargers for many years. With its own technologies and manufacturing strength, Huntkey has served Lenovo, Huawei, Haier, DELL, ZTE, Bestbuy and many other large enterprises for years, and has received unanimous recognition and trust from most of the customers. For more information about Huntkey, please visit: https://en.huntkey.com/ Contact: Business Affairs Jack Wu Tel: +86-755-89606658 E-mail: [email protected] https://en.huntkey.com/ SOURCE Huntkey Related Links https://en.huntkey.com/ Washington [US], Jan 20 (ANI): A large crowd of Indian diaspora marched on the streets of Seattle to observe the 30th anniversary of the mass exodus of Kashmiri Pandits in 1990. Amid the slogans of 'Pakistan, Pakistan, stop genocide' and 'What does Jihad promote, Genocide, Genocide', Kashmiri Pandits who came here after the genocide shared their stories regarding the incident. On January 19, 1990, lakhs of Kashmiri Pandits were forced to flee from their homes in the Kashmir Valley following a genocidal campaign launched by the terrorists, backed by Pakistan. "We are witnessing a steady awakening of the Americans about the real dangers of the violent Islamic extremism, Jihad, and how Pakistan is the epicentre of that ideology. Everyday people that come to this area made a point to stop and listen to our poems, stanzas, and slogans and waved hands to understand our collective pain," said a demonstrator. "We elaborated with slogans that 'Hindu lives - matter too', 'Sikh lives - matter too', 'Buddhist lives - matter too', 'Christian lives - matter too' and celebrated India's new CAA that welcomes religious minorities that suffer at the hands of Islamic states of Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan," he added. During an event in Edison of New Jersey on Kashmiri Pandit Genocide, Actor Anupam Kher remembered the day of January 19, thirty years back and called the tragedy a "shameful" chapter of history. "We are remembering what had happened in 1990. We are remembering the loss. There is a sense of shame in that loss," said Kher. Kher recalled the incidents that took place prior to the exodus. "It was planned. Through a systematic way, the Kashmiris Pandits were threatened through rapes, extreme brutalities, murders and then they were forced to flee the region," he added. (ANI) BEIJING Chinese authorities said Sunday that 17 more people had been infected with a mysterious new virus, raising questions about how it is being transmitted and adding to concerns about the spread of the illness before Chinas busiest travel season. The announcement by the health commission in Wuhan, a central Chinese city where the virus originated last month comes amid growing worry among some experts that the outbreak of the illness, the pneumonialike coronavirus, could be more severe than Chinas government has described. The virus has killed two people and sickened at least 62 in the country, according to official statistics. And with hundreds of millions of people in China expected to travel for the Lunar New Year holiday, which begins Friday, public health officials are working to stop a major outbreak. Chinas central government sought Sunday to reassure the public that it had the situation under control. In Beijings most extensive remarks on the virus since the outbreak last month, the National Health Commission said that experts agreed that an epidemic was still preventable and controllable. Still, the commission acknowledged that the source of the virus and its path of transmission were not fully understood. The mutation of the virus still needs to be closely monitored, the statement said. The virus already appears to have spread outside China. Officials in Thailand and Japan have confirmed three cases involving people who have traveled through Wuhan. The health commission in Wuhan said in a statement Sunday that the 17 infected people had begun showing symptoms of the coronavirus as recently as last week. Three are in critical condition, the commission said. Most people with the infection have contracted it through exposure to animals at a market in Wuhan that sells seafood and live animals, authorities said. Health experts are studying whether the virus can spread from human to human on a broad scale. The World Health Organization said Sunday that while its analysis indicated that limited transmission of the virus is possible, it remains unclear whether it can easily spread from one person to another. The group said it would continue to examine the issue. We do not have enough evidence to evaluate the full extent of human-to-human transmission, its Manila office said on Twitter. The health commission in Wuhan said Sunday that some people who had come down with the virus had no exposure to the market. That acknowledgment raises the possibility that the virus could be present in other markets in Wuhan, experts said, adding to fears that more people might be at risk. If you cannot find the source and control the source of the virus, you cannot extinguish the fire, said David Hui, director of the Stanley Ho Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Hui said the risk of widespread human-to-human transmission appeared to be low, though he noted that the virus could mutate. Some experts have suggested that there are probably far more cases of the illness than authorities have disclosed. In previous incidents, like the 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, the Chinese government withheld critical information. One estimate by researchers at Imperial College London suggested Friday that there could now be as many as 1,700 cases of the new virus. The WHO said Sunday that China could potentially confirm more cases in the coming days and weeks as more people were screened for it. The new virus has brought back memories of the SARS outbreak, which was also caused by a coronavirus. SARS, which is believed to have jumped to humans from animals at markets, originated in China and spread to other countries, infecting more than 8,000 people and killing more than 800. While the new coronavirus appears to be less severe than SARS, public health officials around the world are exercising caution. On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States announced that airports in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles would begin screening passengers from Wuhan for the virus. W. Ian Lipkin, a Columbia University professor who assisted in the SARS outbreak, said it was too early to know how deadly the new virus might prove to be. Until it becomes capable of human-to-human transmission, theres not a major threat of a pandemic, said Lipkin, who is also director of the Center for Infection and Immunity at the universitys Mailman School of Public Health. We need to prepare for the possibility that this could be a larger outbreak, and it could become a pandemic, he said. But that doesnt mean that it will. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Former HHS band director wins Golden Rose Award Fran Shelton receives the Golden Rose Award from Patricia Garren. Fran Shelton, who retired as Hendersonville High School in 2015, was honored recently with the Golden Rose Award, the highest honor from the Women Band Directors International. Winners of the award have produced outstanding band programs and served as a clinician or adjudicator in the United States as well as internationally. Shelton met the requirements, leading award-winning symphonic and marching bands at HHS for 28 years while also conducting the jazz band and mentoring middle school students. She served as president of the North Carolina Band Masters Association and was recently inducted into the associations Hall of Fame, and also served as president of WBDI. She also has organized and conducted high school musicians on tours of Europe. Patricia Garren, who taught band at Asheville Junior High School for 30 years and is also N.C. Band Masters Hall of Fame, nominated Shelton for the award. Garren presented the Gold Rose Award to Shelton during the 50th anniversary celebration of Women Band Directors International and the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago. The huge number of stores closing in the first few weeks of the new year could have a knock-on effect as experts warn the worst is yet to come. A whopping 169 stores have closed in two weeks and experts are now concerned that the collapse of the sector could affect landlords struggling to fill the vacant shops. The first few weeks of 2020 have been devastating for the sector, with household names like Harris Scarfe, Jeanswest, Bardot, Roger David announcing closures. A whopping 169 stores have closed in two weeks and experts are now concerned that the collapse of the sector could affect landlords struggling to fill the vacant shops January administrations are not uncommon as stores often keep doors open over Christmas in a bid to stave off a potential collapse. Analyst Lauren Berry told the Sydney Morning Herald it's been a 'notably bad year' and things are likely to get worse. Ms Berry said the ongoing shop closures are likely to start having a flow on effect for the real estate investment trusts like Stockland, Vicinity and Scentre (who own the Westfield Group). Bardot is among the 169 retailers that has announced it will cease operating in Australia after poor sales She said it's standard for lease negotiations to take place once administrations occur. 'Therefore, even if the stores remain open, it's likely that rents may be revised downwards to ensure viability,' she said. Meanwhile the extent of the retail industry's struggles are something never before seen by retail expert and Queensland University of Technology professor Gary Mortimer. The first few weeks of 2020 has been devastating for the sector, with household names like Harris Scarfe, Jeanswest, Bardot, Roger David among the first to go Mr Mortimer told the Sydney Morning Herald major retail landlords like Stockland will respond to the closures with a knee-jerk reaction and that could be even worse for other retailers. 'Centres will react with short-term fixes, which is filling the gap with another retailer, another massage clinic or nail salon, without thinking much about the overall retail offer at the centre,' he said. 'That's problematic because replicating a retail offer over and over again will cannibalise the existing sales of existing retailers, who then might go out of business.' Department store Myer is closing it's branch in Hornsby (pictured) Meanwhile it's not just brick and mortar businesses feeling the pinch, with a drop in confidence for online technology marketplace Kogan reflected in a 20 per cent drop in share price. Discount retailer the Super Retail Group also suffered a 4 per cent drop in shares. The dwindling confidence in the sector was a result of an update to the sharemarket on Monday which warned of slow Christmas sales and the impact of the nation's bushfires. Entrepreneur Dick Smith previously told the Daily Mail Australia the outlook is so bad for the retail sector, high-profile collapses will accelerate until there's very little left. 'We will end up with just Amazon and Aldi and basically all the Aussie companies will be sent to bankruptcy,' he said. As a raging inferno surrounded the grounds of Mogo Wildlife Park on New Year's Eve, the zoo's director Chad Staples feared it was getting on top of the 15 zookeepers who'd committed to stay and fight to protect the hundreds of animals housed at the site. He made two triple zero calls asking for help. None came. In the aftermath of the horrific fire day that turned much of the historic gold rush town of Mogo to charcoal, the story of the zoo's survival has been hailed a rare good news story. But if you ask Mr Staples, that good news is entirely thanks to the zoo's own careful planning and the courage of its staff rather than assistance rendered from state authorities. Mogo Wildlife Park came under severe threat from fire on New Year's Eve and the days that followed. Credit:Chad Staples "We didn't have a single fire truck here the entire day," Mr Staples said. Instead, they faced what he's described as "Armageddon" with "an amazing group of people who did what they needed to do". The fire had "completely surrounded us, coming from every front depending which way the wind blew and we were putting out spot fires all day", he said. Vancouver, January 20, 2020 - Santacruz Silver Mining Ltd. (TSXV: SCZ) (the "Company" or "Santacruz") reports that its Mexican subsidiary, Carrizal Mining, S.A de C.V. ("Carrizal"), has acquired by staking the La Pechuga property (the "Property") located adjacent to the Zimapan Mine at Zimapan, Hidalgo, Mexico. The Property is comprised of one mining concession that covers a land area of approximately 3,025 hectares and is located 25 kilometers southeast of the Zimapan Mine. It contains several historic mines with mineralization hosted in carbonate replacement (skarn) of variable width of 3-8 m, which is intruding the limestones of the El Doctor Formation. Previous work by Mexico's Consejo de Recursos Minerales (CRM), Mexico's Geological Survey, reported nine underground chip samples collected from the San Miguel mine on the 120 level with assay results that contain 34 to 770 grams per tonne ("gpt") silver, trace to 0.50 gpt gold, 0.80% to 21.9% lead, 1.7% to 13.4% zinc and trace to 0.47% copper. Sampling lengths range between 0.80 and 3.00 m and represent the apparent thickness of the mineralization on the 120 level**. The 120 level and the chip samples reported are not representative of the typical mineralization at La Pechuga but is an indication of strongly polymetallic mineralization within the project area. Santacruz and a qualified person have not performed sufficient work to verify this information and the information is considered historical. Mr. Carlos Silva, Chief Operating Officer, stated, "This property is situated in a very promising zone of the Zimapan Mining District and its proximity to the producing Zimapan Mine makes it a strategic acquisition for Santacruz." Mr. Silva continued; "With respect to the Zimapan Mine, management discussions with Penoles are at an advanced stage with respect to final terms of an agreement which would allow Santacruz to acquire the Zimapan assets." Any transaction involving the acquisition of the Zimapan assets by the Company will be subject to, among other things, all necessary regulatory filings and approvals, including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. ** Source: Broines, Alejandro. Estudio Geologica-Minero de Los Fundos San Miguel y Ampliacion san Miguel, La Pechuga, Municipio de Ixmiquilpan, Hidalgo. Archivo Tecnico 130038, 1976. Qualified persons The technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Van Phu Bui, BSc, PGeo, who is independent of the Company and a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101. About Santacruz Silver Mining Ltd. Santacruz is a Mexican focused silver company with two producing silver projects, Veta Grande and Rosario, and two exploration properties, the Minillas property and Zacatecas properties. The Company also owns 100% of Carrizal Mining S.A. de C.V. Carrizal Mining is a private Mexican mining company, the principal asset of which is a 20% working interest in the Company's Veta Grande Project. Carrizal Mining also has the right to operate the Zimapan Mine until December 31, 2020 under a mining lease agreement. The Company is managed by a technical team of professionals with proven track records in developing, operating and discovering silver mines in Mexico. Our corporate objective is to become a mid-tier silver producer. 'signed' Arturo Prestamo Elizondo, President, Chief Executive Officer and Director For further information please contact: Arturo Prestamo Santacruz Silver Mining Ltd. Email: info@santacruzsilver.com Telephone: (604) 569-1609 Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward looking information Certain statements contained in this news release constitute "forward-looking information" as such term is used in applicable Canadian securities laws, including statements relating to the finalization of an agreement with Penoles and the potential acquisition of the Zimapan Mine by the Company from Penoles. Forward-looking information is based on plans, expectations and estimates of management at the date the information is provided and is subject to certain factors and assumptions. In making the forward-looking statements included in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including that the Company's financial condition and development plans do not change as a result of unforeseen events, and that future metal prices and the demand and market outlook for metals will remain stable or improve. Forward-looking information is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause plans, estimates and actual results to vary materially from those projected in such forward-looking information. Factors that could cause the forward-looking information in this news release to change or to be inaccurate include, but are not limited to, the risk that any of the assumptions referred to above prove not to be valid or reliable; there can be no assurance that the Company will be successful in entering into a binding purchase and sale agreement and thereafter completing the acquisition of the Zimapan Mine (including obtaining the necessary funding for the purchase price thereof); risk of delay and/or cessation in planned work or changes in the Company's financial condition and development plans; risks associated with the interpretation of data (including in respect of the third party mineralized material) regarding the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; the uncertainty of the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits and the risk of unexpected variations in mineral resources, grade and/or recovery rates; market conditions and volatility and global economic conditions; risks related to gold, silver, base metal and other commodity price fluctuations; risks relating to environmental regulation and liability; the possibility that results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations, as well as the other risks and uncertainties applicable to mineral exploration and development activities and to the Company as set forth in the Company's continuous disclosure filings filed under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com. There can be no assurance that any forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, the reader should not place any undue reliance on forward-looking information or statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information or statements, other than as required by applicable law. Rosario Project The decisions to commence production at the Rosario Mine, Cinco Estrellas Property and Membrillo Prospect were not based on a feasibility study of mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability, but rather on a more preliminary estimate of inferred mineral resources. Accordingly, there is increased uncertainty and economic and technical risks of failure associated with this production decision. Production and economic variables may vary considerably, due to the absence of a complete and detailed site analysis in accordance with NI 43-101. Veta Grande Project The decision to commence production at the Veta Grande Project was not based on a feasibility study on mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability. Accordingly, there is increased uncertainty and economic and technical risks of failure associated with this production decision. Production and economic variables may vary considerably due to the absence of a complete and detailed site analysis in accordance with NI 43-101. Zimapan Mine Production at the Zimapan Mine is not supported by a feasibility study on mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability or any other independent economic study under NI 43-101. Accordingly, there is increased uncertainty and economic and technical risks of failure associated with production operations at the Zimapan Mine. Production and economic variables may vary considerably due to the absence of a complete and detailed site analysis in accordance with NI 43-101. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/51627 The mother of a girl left severely brain-damaged from an electric shock at state-owned housing in Perth has welcomed a public safety campaign but questions why it took the government almost two years to act. Denishar Woods, then aged 11, was shocked with up to 230 volts when she touched a garden tap at her family's Beldon property in March 2018. Lacey Harrison with her daughter, Denishar Woods. Credit:Cameron Myles The incident left her wheelchair-bound, effectively blind and unable to do anything for herself. An investigation last year concluded a conductor on a cable supplying electricity to the property had failed after prolonged heating. Advertisement People visit Budapest for all sorts of reasons. For the unrivalled spas. For a cruise down the Danube. For the astonishingly cheap food and wine. For the Christmas markets. And for the history. Even if youre on a stag or hen do, set on bulldozing the citys famous fortified fruit brandies, you still cant help noticing its history. Its a city that dates back to Roman times and has constantly endured upheaval, conflict and catastrophe. In just the last century, all its iconic bridges were bombed in the Second World War, and its famous 1956 uprising sought to wrench the city free of Soviet shackles. The main staircase at the entrance of Mystery Hotel Budapest. The hotel is located inside a building that was originally the 19th-century headquarters of the Hungarian Freemasons Whatever brings you here, it feels proper to stay somewhere that acknowledges something of that history. The Mystery Hotel certainly does that. You step off a fairly unremarkable street into something positively palatial. Though newly opened in 2019, the hotel lovingly evokes past eras of prosperity: plush velvety curtains and Corinthian columns extend from high ceilings to an impeccably polished checkerboard floor. This was originally the 19th-century headquarters of the Hungarian Freemasons. Were it not for the bright electric lights and elevators you could almost imagine youve been cast back in a time machine, surrounded by all the elegant fixtures of the premises back then. The bedrooms are just as grandly appointed, with more pillars and curtains amid luxuriously-textured wallpaper: the kind calling out for you to stroke. MailOnline Travel's James Murphy checked into this room at the Mystery Hotel, which featured quirky artwork showing Vermeers most famous model taking a selfie One of the bathrooms at Mystery Hotel Budapest. James says the hoteliers 'have added a touch or a twist to remind us were in the 21st century and Budapest isnt a city mired in its past' And did I mention the chandeliers? The foyer has several but then so do the bedrooms. Wherever theres a light fitting, its dripping with little glass droplets. Getting a cab back to the hotel after a night on the tiles, I found myself telling the driver its the one with the chandelier because indeed this signature flourish also distinguishes the entrance, with an enormous blazing chandelier hanging above the front door. If all this is starting to sound a little too rococo for your tastes, hold on. At every turn, the hoteliers have added a touch or a twist to remind us were in the 21st century and that Budapest isnt a city mired in its past. In the foyer, theres an optical illusion which even once youve made sense of it still beguiles the eye. A long Persian rug leads to the welcome desk then seemingly right through it: till you realise the front of the desk is a giant mirror. Look again, and the same rug seems to extend across the ceiling above you. Another mirror? No, this time its a replica, suspended above you. James says the hotel's most spectacular feature is the lavishly restored ballroom where breakfast is served, pictured The hotel's reception desk, pictured, features an optical illusion thanks to a giant mirror that James says 'beguiles the eye' The hotel has a multi-columned rooftop bar, pictured. James says the hotel is one of the most Instagrammable he has visited in some time James says that the hotel 'is very commendable, sure to add some elegance, comfort and character to your time in Budapest' All the bedrooms are well-appointed - with the one pictured an eye-catching mixture of exposed-brick walls, kaleidoscopic carpeting and funky furniture The hotel is a 'good ten-minute trot' from Budapest's most appealing attractions Throughout the hotel there are reproductions of great paintings, but each has an embellishment: in the hallway, the Mona Lisa has all the accessories she needs for a weekend at Glastonbury or whatever Budapests equivalent may be. Meanwhile, above my bed, Vermeers most famous model is taking a selfie. Doubtless such touches are intended to get you taking selfies yourself, and with its multi-columned rooftop bar and swish, palmed spa nestling within a vast atrium its the most Instagrammable hotel Ive visited in some time, compelling you to keep fishing out your camera. Indeed, that seems to be the aspiration with all the Preferred Hotels and Resorts, of which the Mystery Hotel is a member. On this note, its most spectacular feature is the lavishly-restored ballroom where breakfast is served. The stylish decor is reflected in several bauble-like cloches under which sit hillocks of bacon, sausage and eggs, alongside a kingly array of hams, cheeses, fruits, breads and preserves. If youre visiting in winter, as I did, theres a temptation to stay here on the amply-cushioned sofas and make breakfast last all day. When it comes to venturing out, while the main station is very close, some of the citys most appealing attractions its funky ruin bars, the festive markets and the bustling Gozsdu Passage full of alluring restaurants are a good ten-minute trot away. Nonetheless, theres something to be said for escaping the throngs of tourists back to your personal palazzo. Plus, youre on the right side of town for the resplendent Szechenyi thermal baths in the nearby park. Theres no mystery then: this is a very commendable hotel, sure to add elegance, comfort and character to your time in Budapest. The country on Monday upgraded its capabilities to keep a watch on the strategically-important Indian Ocean Region and deliver an offensive option swiftly, if necessary, with the air force basing its front-line Sukhoi-30 fighters in southern India for the first time. With Chinas footprint in the Indian Ocean growing at a rapid pace, the Indian Air Force raised a new squadron of Su-30 MKI fighter jets at the Thanjavur air force station in Tamil Nadu. Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, IAF chief Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria and Defence Research and Development Organisation chief G Satheesh Reddy attended the ceremony. The fighters are equipped with the air-launched version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, a 2.5-tonne missile that flies at nearly three times the speed of sound. The BrahMos missile, an Indo-Russian joint venture, has a range of 290 km. The missile --- the fastest cruise missile in the world --- would provide the air force the capability to strike sea and land targets from stand-off ranges with pinpoint accuracy in all weather conditions. The No. 222 squadron, nicknamed Tigersharks, has been raised with six fighter planes and is expected to have its full complement of 18 jets by the year-end. Its the air forces second fighter squadron in south India after the No. 45 Flying Daggers squadron at Sulur, which is also in Tamil Nadu. The No. 45 squadron is equipped with Indias first LCA Tejas Mk.1 fighters. The IAF operates Su-30s from bases scattered across the country including Adampur, Halwara, Sirsa, Bareilly, Pune, Tezpur and Chabua. Experts said the deployment of Su-30s in Thanjavur was a significant step towards safeguarding the countrys interests in the Indian Ocean region where Chinese warships are frequently sighted and tracked by the Indian Navy. While the Indian Navy is keeping a close watch on the Indian Ocean region with its P-8I maritime reconnaissance aircraft, the requirement of having an air-delivered kinetic offensive option at quick notice could no longer be neglected. A permanent availability of air power in the Indian Ocean, which was lacking, has now been made up to some extent with the basing of the Sukhois at Thanjavur, said Air Vice Marshal Manmohan Bahadur (retd), additional director general, Centre for Air Power Studies. He said the deep-strike capabilities of the aircraft, especially with the air-to-surface BrahMos supersonic missile, would enhance the countrys much-needed deterrent stance in the region. The IAF has contracted 272 Su-30 fighter planes out of which around 260 have been delivered and the remaining 12 are expected to join the air force fleet by the year-end. The first 50 jets came in a flyaway condition from Russia and the remaining have been built under licence by the state-owned aircraft maker Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. The IAF inducted its first Su-30 fighter at the Lohegaon air base in Pune in June 1997. The safety record of the fighters has been blemished by 12 crashes since the planes were inducted. The IAF is placing an order for a few more jets to make up for the losses. The IAFs Su-30 fleet was plagued by engine troubles a few years ago when a string of failures was reported. The fleets poor serviceability has also been questioned in the past. Serviceability refers to the number of planes in the fleet that are mission-ready at any given time. BrahMos-armed Su-30 fighter jets will be a game changer for future air operations, BrahMos Aerospace CEO Sudhir Mishra told Hindustan Time on Monday. India launched the BrahMos from a specially-modified Su-30 warplane for the first time against a target in the Bay of Bengal in November 2017, followed by a second launch against a land target in May 2019. Last December, the IAF announced that it had successfully fired the BrahMos missile from a Su-30 for the third time and the integration of the weapon on the fighter was complete. The weapon achieved a direct hit on a sea target off the Odisha coast. At least two Su-30 squadrons consisting of 18 planes each are likely to be equipped with the missile. The missiles land and naval variants 500kg heavier than the air launched version are already in service. BrahMos is now capable of being launched from land, sea and air, completing the tactical cruise missile triad for India. India is developing an extended range BrahMos missile that can hit targets at a range of 450 km by tweaking the configuration of the existing weapon. Increasing the missiles range became possible after Indias induction into the Missile Technology Control Regime in June 2016. Compared to an optimum strength of 42-plus units required to fight a two-front war with Pakistan and China, the count of the IAFs fighter squadrons currently stands at around 30. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis has won the NME Awards Godlike Genius prize, it has been announced. She will receive the accolade at the ceremony next month, 24 years after her father and fellow Glastonbury organiser Michael picked up the same honour. Eavis, the first non-performer to win the honour in 20 years, said: This festival has had so many incredible moments over its 50 years, ones that will stay with us forever. Part of the beauty of the event is that its brought together by a huge force of great creative masterminds, and its such a privilege to continue to put this show on and allow it to evolve. I remember being at the NME Awards when I was 16 and being so proud to see my dad named Godlike Genius. Its a huge honour to be given the same award all these years later. Thank you NME. She joins the likes of Blondie, U2, The Cure and the Pet Shop Boys in winning the award. Eavis is the first winner for this years NME Awards, which will take place in Brixton, London on February 12. A statement from the NME team said: After our year off in 2019, we couldnt be more excited about the return of the mighty NME Awards and we know that our audience, our favourite artists and their associated hangers-on are just as hyped up as we are. Back at O2 Academy Brixton, this years event is a special one for many reasons, marking the end of a brilliant decade for music and the start of a new one thats bursting with possibilities. Since the last time we handed out our infamous, finger-flickin trophies, weve seen superstars born and legends cemented. Video of the Day Our nominations show that the music scene is not only in the rudest possible health, its also packed with young personalities who are reshaping the music industry in their image. Were especially humbled to be able to honour Glastonbury Festivals Emily Eavis with our Godlike Genius Award. She is, after all, the only person in Britain who throws a better party than we do. NME have also announced the nominees for this years awards, with Billie Eilish, Stormzy, The 1975, Slowthai, Yungblud, FKA twigs, Lizzo and Lana Del Rey all up for prizes. American music star Eilish, who was recently confirmed to be recording the James Bond theme for No Time To Die, is up for best song in the world, best album in the world and best solo act in the world, while British grime star Stormzy is up for best festival headliner following his Glastonbury headline stint last year and best music video for Vossi Bop. Beijing: According to a report, China has 3.3 million more men than women due to a decades-old single child policy. To meet this gender inequality, thousands of poor women from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam are sold for marriage in China every year. Some of these women are brought here by force. The safety of women is a major challenge in Myanmar. These marriages are performed by the woman's family or village elders, making women unable to refuse it either. According to the report, young girls are sold for 10 to 15 thousand dollars. In China, they are married to old, sick and disabled people. Reportedly, 7,500 women from the war-affected Kachin and northern Shan states of Myanmar were trafficked and taken to China for marriage. Most of these were also forced by the husband to bear a child. According to the report, women are leaving Myanmar due to conflict, poverty and displacement, while the imbalance in the number of men and women, especially in rural China, is in high demand for wife. Also Read: Big statement of Bhagwat, "Being an Indian not on the basis of religion" It will take almost 100 years for the burnt forests of Australia to recover This dangerous virus spreading rapidly in China, America on alert FB video reunites Bangladeshi man with family after 48 yrs Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh tells BW Businessworld why he thinks PM Chandra Shekhar was the last icon of ideological politics Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh was a journalist before he entered the Upper House. In his current role, he is often seen managing an unruly House. While travelling all over the world as part of Parliamentary delegations, he has often been noticed taking on Pakistan for its anti-India propaganda. Harivansh has also been described as one of the most powerful Indians. As a journalist, and as the legendary editor of Prabhat Khabar, he broke new ground in doing ground reports in Jharkhand. Harivansh has another side to his personality. He has been closely associated with former PM Chandra Shekhar first as a journalist, and then as an aide in the PMO. He (with co-author Ravi Dutt Bajpai) has recently come out with a book on the former PM, titled Chandra Shekhar: The Last Icon of Ideological Politics. Harivansh tells BW Businessworld, over an hour-long conversation, why he thinks Chandra Shekhar was the last icon of ideological politics. I have been a journalist (before a political career) associated with publications like Dharmayug, Ravivar, among others. I come from a village on the UP-Bihar border, which, incidentally, was the village of JP, too. My student life, and later my career, got me in touch with the greats like JP, and then Chandra Shekhar. In 1972, when I was in BHU, JP used to come to address meetings. But not even 100 students would turn up initially. A few months down the line, however, a huge gathering of 1.5 lakh people turned up to listen to him the issues he had been raising had gathered so much traction by then. JP belonged to the class of Indian saints the Sant Parmapra of India. In March 1977, I was already in Mumbai for work. When the post-Emergency Lok Sabha election results were announced, I remember the changing numbers were displayed on a board outside the Mantralaya. The commoners, filmstars and industry leaders jostled for space to catch a glimpse of the results. I could sense a sense of euphoria among the people when many of the biggies associated with the Emergency were made to eat humble pie. Chandra Shekhar than used to edit a journal called Young Indian. The editorials that he wrote therein used to become headlines for newspapers. I distinctly remember once such instance related to Indira Gandhi. I was at Dharmayug when I got introduced to Chandra Shekhar ji. I remember JP was admitted at Jaslok Hospital in Mumbai around that time. Putting up in a guest house nearby, Chandra Shekhar remained by his side most of the time. A rumour swirled around that JP had passed away. Parliament even paid homage to him. When a large gathering assembled outside the Jaslok Hospital, Chandrashekhar rode atop a car and said that it was fake news. JP is very much with us, he said. I interviewed him while I was still at Dharmayug. I later stayed in touch with him. When Chandra Shekhar became Prime Minister, I joined his PMO as a joint secretary (Additional Information Adviser). Mr Srivastava who had been with the PTI was his Press Advisor. It is one of the rare moments in Indian politics when one rose directly to become Prime Minister. But, then, Chandra Shekhar was a rarity. He was a decisive leader. Had he got the mandate, he would have proved to be one the best-ever Prime Ministers. Many luminaries including R Venkataraman, Pranab Mukherjee, Muchkund Dubey, M K Narayanan have written on these lines. PV Narasimha Rao wrote that the Ayodhya issue would have been amicably resolved if he had continued as PM. Chandra Shekhar addressed many challenging issues of his times. Yet, he never got his due. Was it because he came from a very humble background? Was it due to the privileges enjoyed by the elites and the fact that Chandra Shekhar rose to the centre stage from the periphery? This is the reason I thought of the book, and I thought the title Chandra Shekhar: The Last Icon of Indian Politics was apt. He came from a very poor family. He had a choice upon getting educated, he could have easily looked after the family. He, instead, chose the difficult path, knowing fully well that the road ahead would be challenging, difficult and full of uncertainties. Chandra Shekhar was influenced by Acharya Narendra Devs philosophy. And he remained steadfastly committed to the ideology. The next 15-20 years remained tough and challenging. During the course of party work, he even washed utensils in the party office. It was in his leadership that the Praja Socialist Party (PSP) went to become the second-largest political party in Uttar Pradesh after the Congress. In 1962, he entered Parliament. Chandra Shekhar was relentless in his attack on the phenomenon of personality cult. Whether it was Nehru or Indira Gandhi, Chandra Shekhar always believed that issues were bigger than personalities, and issues alone would determine the fate of the country. And this was his way of taking forward important political issues. He always wanted the nationalization of banks, insurance, and coal. While fighting for these issues, he joined Congress. The PSP expelled him. For 6-8 months, he remained an unattached member. He was then in Congress. He was elected to the Congress Working Committee despite opposition from Indira. Later, Indira banished Chandra Shekhar from the party. He joined the Janata Party. After the Emergency, Indira wanted Chandra Shekhar back in the party but he was not interested. From the Janata experiments, the Samajwadi Janata Party was born. At times accusations are hurled at Chandra Shekhar that he was a party hopper. But the fact is that he never quit a party. He was removed from them. Chandra Shekhar thought that our economic policies benefitted the rich. Why else would only the rich get licences? This was the reason for his thrust on the nationalization of resources. Even when the country embraced liberalization, with its thrust on Liberalisation-Privatisation-Globalisation, Chandra Shekhar remained the lone contrarian voice. He was firm of the opinion that this path would lead to misery, and impoverish India. He thought India was a land of compassion, and India was not merely a market. Dont you find a resonance in the present times, with trade wars all around? He believed that people wanted to become rich overnight and undertook his last padyatra against the LPG and GATT. He had serious reservations against the RSS and its ideology but on Swadeshi he shared the stage with them. He believed in structured training for party activists and had even roped in renowned economists like Arun Kumar. Once when someone remarked why India doesnt produce too many Nobel Laureates, he said, dont forget this is also the land of greats like Sant Gyaneshwar and Tukaram. An exchange between Indira Gandhi and Chandra Shekhar gives more than a hint about the latters personality and his commitment to ideology. Indira asked him: Why did you choose the Congress? He replied: I worked for the PSP for 15 long years. But it appeared that it had failed to move forward. Indiras next question was: What would he like to do with the Congress? Chandra Shekhar replied: He would make it a socialist (samajwadi) party. What if he failed, Indira asked. Chandra Shekhars reply stunned Indira. He said, In that eventuality, I would break the party. The Congress had become a big banyan tree and newer strands of thoughts had failed to evolve under it, thought Chandra Shekhar. Chandra Shekhar was an embodiment of courage. The brief period of his Prime Ministership was perhaps the most challenging period in post-Independent India. Of course, the economic challenge was most important. When the Finance Secretary told the PM that only 21 days of Forex was left, and India could soon become a defaulter nation, an exasperated Chandra Shekhar said, was this crisis waiting for me. Clearly, the earlier rulers had abdicated their responsibilities. He had the ability to walk alone with the courage of conviction. Once when asked why he didnt join the VP Cabinet, he said he could not have joined governments with whom he had serious disagreements whether it was the Indira government or the Morarji government. As PM, he addressed the nation on television. The reservation fire began to douse. Things started to move on Ayodhya. People felt he would leave behind a lasting legacy. He reached a near-breakthrough on Ayodhya. He initiated talks with the Kashmiris within the purview of the Constitution. The opposition was always clued in on his initiatives. He always believed in the India-First ideology. Political parties came only later. He had the ability to walk alone. He had the courage, conviction, and foresight. Truly, he was the last icon of ideological politics. (as told to BW) Read more news about (internet advertising India, internet advertising, advertising India, digital advertising India, media advertising India) (ISRAEL21c)Israeli NGO IsraAID has sent a relief team to assess needs in Puerto Rico after a deadly 6.4 magnitude quake hit the Caribbean island on Tuesday. The quake, which killed one and flattened buildings in the southern part of the island, was the latest in a series of 100 or so tremors that have hit Puerto Rico over the last 10 days and show no signs of stopping. It was strongest quake to hit the island since 1918 and has caused widespread damage to a nation still recovering from Hurricane Maria in 2017. IsraAID, which has been operating on the island since Maria, launched its initial needs assessment yesterday, and will be traveling to the affected area today to determine first response activities. The team plans to conduct a rapid, on-the-ground needs assessment, focusing on distributing relief items, providing psychological first aid, and organizing safe water and sanitation solutions for the affected population. The extent of the damage in Puerto Rico after this latest disaster is still unclear, but one third of the islands populationover one million peoplehave been left without access to basic services including electricity and water, and an estimated 300 are homeless. A state of emergency is now in effect. A team from IsraAID arrived in Puerto Rico in September 2017, the first few days after Hurricane Maria barrelled through the US state killing some 3,000 people; and they have remained on the island ever since. Last year, ISRAEL21c flew to Puerto Rico to see IsraAIDs long-term recovery work in action. We visited a school in San Juan where IsraAID is working with the community to increase disaster resiliency, and also visiting El Real, a remote community in the mountains where IsraAID helped build a water filtration system that doesnt rely on electricity. Ukraine is concerned about the latest escalation in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko has announced that Ukraine as part of the Normandy Four will appeal to Germany, France, and Russia due to intensified shelling of Ukrainian positions in Russian-occupied Donbas. "We've discussed this with the new OSCE Chairman-in-Office. And what does it mean in general? Is it an attempt to disrupt the [Donbas settlement] process or a coincidence of many of the factors that led to the boost in the shelling?" the top diplomat told a press conference in Kyiv January 20. Prystaiko says Ukraine is concerned about the latest escalation in Donbas and intensified attacks on Ukrainian Army positions by Russian occupation forces. Read alsoHybrid war in Donbas: Ex-OSCE envoy Sajdik names actual parties to conflict In this regard, the foreign minister believes it is necessary for the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to observe the situation twenty-four seven, as well as to strengthen technical capabilities of their monitors. "Let's see if this process is able to lead to a result we are all seeking. I think that there will be Ukraine's reaction to this shelling. We will try to urgently contact our partners in the Normandy [Four], as we really see, just like you, that the agreements aren't working," he added. As UNIAN reported earlier, one Ukrainian military was killed in action and another 10 were wounded in Donbas as Russia-led forces mounted six attacks on Joint Forces positions on January 18. Russia's hybrid military forces on January 19 attacked Ukrainian Army positions 11 times, with one Ukrainian soldier reported as killed in action. They share the screen as the royal family in Netflix's smash hit The Crown. And on Sunday night Helena Bonham Carter, Erin Dohety and Josh O'Connor shared the stage as they accepted the Screen Actors Guild Award for best ensemble in a drama series. Helena, who plays Princess Margaret in the series, enjoyed the ceremony with her on-screen niece Erin, who stars as Princess Anne, and Josh, who plays Prince Charles. Royal win: The Crown stars Helena Bonham Carter, Erin Dohety and Josh O'Connor accepted the Screen Actors Guild Award for best ensemble in a drama series on Sunday night The trio were delighted with their win, clutching their gongs as they posed for animated photos backstage. It was third time lucky for the cast of The Crown who, after being nominated for best ensemble in a drama series in 2017 and 2018, finally won, beating out Game Of Thrones, Stranger Things and Big Little Lies. Both Helena and her co-star Olivia Colman, who took over the roles of Princess Margaret and Queen Elizabeth in the latest series of the royal drama, were nominated in the actress category but lost out on the individual awards to Jennifer Aniston for The Morning Show. However, the royal show did not go home empty handed. We are family: Helena, who plays Princess Margaret in the series, enjoyed the ceremony with her on-screen niece Erin, who stars as Princess Anne, and Josh, who plays Prince Charles Family snap: The talented trio posed for a stunning shot with their acting gongs Representing: The actors, pictured with Sam Phillips who plays Equerry, represented the huge cast of The Crown, who are busy shooting the fourth series Helena, 53, took the stage to accept the outstanding ensemble in a drama series award flanked by Erin and Josh, before explaining the absence of their co-stars in her speech. 'I'm sorry there's only three of us here,' Helena told the star-studded crowd. 'They're actually 239 in the cast.' 'Were all working tomorrow so were leaving in about five minutes,' she explained. Night out with auntie: Newcomers Erin and Josh looked delighted to share the night with Helena Prize: Helena and Erin were seen waiting for their statues to be engraved backstage Finally! After missing out for the past two years in the ensemble category, the show finally scooped their SAG Talent: Erin couldn't hide her smile as the larked around with her cheeky gong 'Its the most fun job and Im amazed that we get a prize on top of the fun-ness of doing it,' she added. 'Ive had the time of my life, I think we all have. It really is as good as it gets, this show.' All three joined The Crown for the third series, with Helena taking over the role of Margaret from Vanessa Kirby, while the storylines of the younger royals were introduced for the first time. The cast are busy filming the fourth series of the show which will focus on the late 1970s through to the 1980s, before a cast reset for the final two series. Fun night: The actors took a night off from their hectic shooting schedule for the important awards season stop Icon: Helena took over the role of Princess Margaret from Vanessa Kirby for the third series of The Crown, while Erin joined the show as Princess Anne Leaving their mark: Erin and Helena signed their names backstage Regal: 'I'm sorry there's only three of us here,' Helena told the star-studded crowd during their acceptance speech. 'They're actually 239 in the cast' We did it! Helena couldn't hide her delight as the winner was announced Cheeky: The actors had some fun with their gongs in the media room After a brutal harvest last year in Manitoba, farmers at least have Manitoba Ag Days to pick up their battered spirits and arm them with tools to tackle this years upcoming season. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/1/2020 (722 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Advertisement Advertise With Us After a brutal harvest last year in Manitoba, farmers at least have Manitoba Ag Days to pick up their battered spirits and arm them with tools to tackle this years upcoming season. "It was a tough year, certainly," said Manitoba Canola Growers Association executive director Delaney Ross Burtnack, whose organization represents 6,500 producers around the province. Manitoba Wheat and Barley Growers Association chairman Fred Greig. (Submitted) Last years growing season started off bone dry. Then, persistent rains and an early snowstorm wreaked havoc on harvests as farmers struggled to get their crops off the field. The canola growers association has three presentations in its program at Ag Days, kicking off the speakers series Tuesday morning in the FCC Theatre. "Weve got a few areas of focus for 2020 a couple of hot topics that have been on the minds of growers that weve certainly heard from our members," Burtnack said. Improving yield potential will be the first topic of discussion. Manitoba Canola Growers Association executive director Delaney Ross Burtnack. (Submitted) "Thats always a concern, certainly, making sure that youre getting the most out of your crops," she said, adding they will focus on best-management practices for fertility and for managing harvests and storage. Another area of concern to producers is clubroot, a soil disease that affects canola and is difficult to eliminate, Burtnack said. "There was an expansion of clubroot in Manitoba this year," she said. "Its certainly a thing that you need to be proactive and on top of." She added clubroot is already a significant concern to farmers in Alberta and causes heavy yield losses. "Its starting to grow in prevalence in Manitoba, so really important that growers are aware of it working to prevent it." Switching to crystal ball mode, a senior agricultural meteorologist from World Weather Inc. will be on hand at the canola growers program. "Hell be talking about predictions for the coming year to get a bit of a sense of what growers can expect for the spring seeding season for 2020," Burtnack said. Keystone Agricultural Producers president Bill Campbell. (File) Burtnack noted she and board directors from the association will be on hand throughout Ag Days to meet with producers. They will be stationed at booth 1113. Meanwhile, the Manitoba Wheat and Barley Growers Association will be hosting its own program Wednesday morning, again in the FCC Theatre. Chairman Fred Greig will open the sessions with a review of the associations activities, as well as an update on talks to amalgamate five commodity associations, followed by talks on wheat breeding for the Canadian Prairies, meeting quality specifications for malting barley selection and a talk titled What Really Matters in Grain Markets, Today and Tomorrow by a senior market analyst with LeftField Commodity Research. Greig, who farms near Reston, said Ag Days is "extremely important" for the association and its approximately 8,000 member producers. "Its continuing education for us," he said, adding the association funds quite a bit of in-variety development, and they want to get feedback from producers on value creation from that. "Theres a couple of topics that will provide some more information, so they can have a better-educated opinion on where we should be going and how much we should be spending, those kinds of things," Greig said, adding, "for us as an organization, its (Ag Days) probably the largest source of interaction with our producers." Not only that, he said, "I think we all enjoy taking a stroll through the arenas and seeing all the brand-new machinery and iron and see how big its gotten." Keystone Agricultural Producers president Bill Campbell agrees Ag Days has much to offer farmers. "Its kind of a start to the new season," said Campbell, who farms south of Brandon and has attended many shows over the years. "It starts to create and stimulate ideas about options and innovation for the new crop year," Campbell said. "It brings together all the latest technology and innovation." It also provides the most up-to-date research that has been happening in the agricultural industry, he said. "I guess probably one of the greatest benefits is that its all in one place. Its all indoors. Theres also the opportunity to speak to machinery manufacturers," Campbell said. "You might not always be able to be in contact with these companies, and so you get to have somewhat of a hands-on approach and talk to the manufacturers, even the people that have developed it. Its actually a great feature for agriculture." Ag Days is also an opportunity for farmers to reconnect with others who work the fields, Campbell added. "In my previous times attending, I sometimes only see people that I have long acquaintances with, but only see them at Ag Days. "It brings people from across Western Canada, to some degree North Dakota, and it is an opportunity to reacquaint friendships and people that you have done business with. It is an excellent opportunity to do that." brobertson@brandonsun.com Sachin Chaturvedi The recently-concluded agreement between the United States and China on trade cooperation has attracted perspectives ranging from as momentous and remarkable and righting the wrongs of the past to even being described as a deal which actually is an uneasy truce. The US media is largely divided on party lines and is seeing this as another tool by the Donald Trump administration as campaigning for the next round is likely to pick up soon. Whatever way it is described the reality is that it would, at least temporarily, arrest further decline of the global trade scenario and may even stop multiplication of negativity in a recessionary setting. It would help avoid undue polarisation and retaliation. As several research papers have clearly established, both the US and China were losing out at this conflict. The US losses are largely related to the higher prices for consumers, while Chinas losses are related to significant export losses (almost 25 per cent) to Taiwan, Mexico and Vietnam. At the substantive level, the agreement stipulates that China shall ensure that its purchases meet the $200 billion figure by 2021. The conflict with the US and western powers is also about intellectual property. According to the current deal, China would also open up for imports of manufactured goods, energy items and agriculture commodities. China is also expected to restrain its companies from acquisitions, intended to acquire technology and, thereby, cooperate with the US respecting intellectual property and address the issue of counterfeiting. Very often, western businesses worry about stealing of trade secrets and acquiring technologies through government entities in an assertive manner. These are time and again done in the name of reviewing the processes of production, in order to do safety checks for Chinese consumers. The cases related to such efforts for accessing technology are evident in sectors such as solar panel production, wind turbine technology and also in the case of car and auto components. The McKinsey Global Institutes (MGI) new China-World Exposure Index shows that the worlds relative exposure to China has increased, while Chinas to the world has fallen. This is important for China to be mindful of as they are already facing a contraction with a rising domestic consumption. According to the MGI, in 11 of the 16 quarters since 2015, domestic consumption contributed more than 60 per cent of total GDP growth. In 2017 to 2018, about 76 per cent of GDP growth came from domestic consumption, while net trade made a negative contribution to GDP growth, which was 8 per cent in 2008. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has raised concerns about rising tariffs in China. According to a study by them, the average tariffs from China have gone up to 10.6 per cent in 2017, which actually were brought down at the time of Chinas access to the WTO in 2000 to about 9 per cent in 2008. Chinas urge to capture technology is also generating fear across various partner countries. The conflicts are not helping China and it would have to position itself, where its rise is not seen as a threat or as a destabilising entity. It is all the more important when China has also witnessed an unprecedented slowdown in the last 30 years. The growth slowed to 6.1 per cent last year, which is likely to go down to 6 per cent this year. In this context, Indias options are limited, both at national and at international levels. In one view, India should continue to work for a strong and robust multilateralism and bring in other developing countries, particularly those committed for South-South cooperation in the ambit of strong multilateral and liberal global trade order. Indias proposal for the WTO reforms should be widely shared for larger public debate. Apart from the South, probably Japan, Australia and the European Union (EU) may also provide support in this endeavour. At the national level, efforts should be made for enhancing competitive character of firms and enterprises reducing logistics based production and shipment costs, and paving way for a fresh look at trade agreements, both at regional level and also at the trans-continental level. It is in this respect, India should reconsider options with the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). In September, Africa is going to launch its continental free trade agreement (CFTA). In the long run, India cannot afford to remain out of these initiatives. As emerging economies are trying to find place in the evolving world order, India should put her house in order and move on with firm footings. Five ministries have universally rejected a proposal by the transport ministry to restrict private investment in the countrys biggest airports and instead hand the job to a single company. A view of Tan Son Nhat Airport in HCM City. In its proposal on mobilisingprivate investment into airports, the Ministry of Transport (MoT) suggestedfully opening three planned small-scale airports in Sa Pa town and Lai Chau andQuang Tri provinces to private firms. Investment in 22 airports,including the biggest and those generating the highest annual revenue, like NoiBai, Tan Son Nhat and Da Nang together with the mega airport project Long Thanh,would continue to be in the sole hands of the joint-stock company AirportsCorporations of Vietnam (ACV). Private companies couldparticipate in infrastructure projects at the airports in question, but wouldbe limited to minor tasks. ACV would be the one to manage and supervise allinvestment projects at the airports. In a document responding to thetransport ministry regarding its proposal, the Ministry of Justice said thatfacilitating more private investment into building and running airports wasessential given the strained national budget. The MoT should hold a thoroughassessment to scrutinise the capabilities and performance of ACV while managingthe airports. The assessment result wouldserve as a factual base to determine whether to go along with the proposal orto strip ACV of its current role and level the market for private firms. The ministry said that anyairports deemed not of highest importance to be invested and owned by the Statewere found to be mismanaged by ACV should have their doors opened to privateinvestors. The Ministry of Planning andInvestment (MPI), meanwhile, lashed out at the transport ministrys proposalfor not being able to ensure of both theoretical and practical bases". It also recommended lifting therestrictions on the number of airports open to private investment. The decisionto determine whether an airport might need investment from the private sectorshould not be based on a particular list, MPI said, but rather the airportsdemand for capital and the capability to balance the budget. The Ministry of NationalDefence and the Ministry of Construction in their own responses to the proposalalso asked the transport ministry to reconsider its limited list of airports allowedto receive private investment. The somewhat key role of ACV inthe proposal raised red flags from the ministries. The justice ministry demandedthe MoT prove the legal basis for its proposal to leave ACV in charge ofselecting investors for projects in 22 airports it was overseeing. It explained that ACV, though95.4 percent of its shares were owned by the State, was not a State-owned but ajoint stock company. Thus it was ineligible for ACV to represent the Governmentto choose investors to invest in, build and upgrade airports, the ministryadded. The MPI was also against suchbig role for ACV, pointing out the firm was simply a State majority-ownedenterprise and not a public entity holding jurisdiction on the matter. Handing ACV the power todetermine the private investment in aviation ports was plainlyinappropriate", it concluded. The Ministry of Finance, meanwhile,called on the MoT to clarify the reasons why ACV was allowed to play such a bigrole in the proposal to oversee all 22 airports and take charge of privateinvestment there in order to maintain standards of transparency./.VNA Home secretary Priti Patel wants the UK to follow Australia's immigration system. (PA) The government is pushing a new immigration system it wants in place by the end of this year. Home secretary Priti Patel will tell her Cabinet colleagues that the UK should follow the lead of Australias points-based immigration system, the Daily Express reported. It said she will argue Britain needs to speed up the introduction of the new migration system to coincide with the UKs planned transition out of EU regulations on 31 December, two years earlier than previously planned. A government source told the newspaper: There is a clear drive for talented and skilled workers from around the world to come to the UK, but we also need to see a reduction in the number of unskilled workers entering the UK and thats why this will be coming to an end. On Monday, prime minister Boris Johnson vowed that an immigration system overhaul after Brexit will put people before passports. But what is the Australian system and how does it work? A UK Border Force officer checks passports as the government reportedly eyes up plans for an an Australian-style points-based immigration system. (PA) What is the Australian system? Migrants who want to move to Australia to work will generally be looking to fill an occupation that is in demand. Applicants are given points based on a number of factors. These include the amount of time they have worked in their sector, their education, their age and their proficiency in the English language. READ MORE FROM YAHOO UK GCHQ claims Huawei 5G deal like 'letting fox loose in a chicken coop' Harry Dunn death: PM vows to discuss 'driving habits' of US personnel with Mike Pompeo Here's why Canada is a savvy choice for Harry and Meghan's new home The points system is typically used for migrants for economic purposes, according to Madeleine Sumption, director of the Migration Observatory at University of Oxford, rather than international students, family migrants or refugees. How do the points work? The threshold for eligibility for a Skilled Independent job in Australia is 65 points. Being aged between 25 and 32 will automatically grant an applicant 30 points. An applicant with superior English will earn 20 points. If they have skilled work experience in Australia, up to eight years, they may earn up to 20 points. Story continues The maximum for education, up to PhD level, is also 20 points. A Home Office Immigration Enforcement van outside Heathrow Airport Terminal 3, London. (PA) What could it mean for Britain? During the general election campaign, Mr Johnson said a points-based scheme would ensure that lower-skilled workers came to Britain only when there was a specific shortage of staff in certain sectors. Dr Alan Gamlen of Monash University in Melbourne told the PA news agency that Australias points-based system is a general skilled migration programme, where immigrants applying for a visa are typically selected based on economically relevant characteristics like education, language skills and work experience. He added: The exact way points are allocated changes depending on policy and the labour market but typically an applicant picks a skilled occupation from a list and needs to score a minimum number of points. But doesnt the UK already have a points-based immigration system? People from outside the EU who want to work in Britain are awarded points for English language, meeting a salary threshold and being sponsored by a company. However, this system is largely driven by having an employer in place, and does not take age or qualifications into account. It has been dubbed a points-based system in name only. What is the reaction from opposition parties? The plan to overhaul Britains immigration system hasnt gone down well with Labour and the Liberal Democrats. Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott said: "This is an ill-informed and reactionary policy that will damage us all, damaging to everything from the NHS to other public services and some of our key private sector industries. "Ministers talk about ending uncontrolled migration when they have been in office for 10 years. In reality, this is just a new twist in the long Tory campaign against migrants, scapegoating them for the terrible effects of Tory policies." Liberal Democrat home affairs spokeswoman Christine Jardine said: "Decisions like this make it loud and clear that this Conservative government has no intention of ending the hostile environment. It's a national embarrassment. "For business and our economy, such draconian changes to immigration rules is utterly unworkable. To think the Home Office could implement the changes in the time given is a joke." Cairo, Jan 20 : Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi met with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in German capital Berlin over Libya's settlement, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement. According to Egyptian Presidency spokesman Bassam Rady, Pompeo said Washington is looking forward to intensifying coordination with Cairo on the Libyan issue in the light of Egypt's political weight in the region and awareness of the aspects of the Libyan crisis, Xinhua reported on Sunday. The two officials' meeting on Friday came right before their participation in the one-day Berlin international conference on the Libyan crisis. During the meeting, Sisi said a settlement in Libya can only be achieved through "a comprehensive solution that addresses all dimensions of the issue via clear and specific political, security and economic paths," said Rady. The talks also addressed the recent US mediation in the negotiations between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan in Washington over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Egypt expressed appreciation of the US role in the dam negotiations and hope to reach a comprehensive agreement on the GERD that preserves Egypt's rights to the Nile water, according to the statement. The US Department of State also issued a statement on Monday's talks between Pompeo and Sisi, saying they "agreed on the urgent need for a lasting cease-fire and a return to a UN-affiliated political process (in Libya)". "Pompeo expressed outrage over the pointless and tragic death of detained US citizen Moustafa Kassem in Egypt," US Department of State Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said. Egypt has previously denied responsibility for the recent death of the Egyptian-American prisoner, saying he insisted to continue a hunger strike despite attempts to stop him from hurting himself. Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu and at least 17 MLAs of his party were taken in police custody late on Monday as they tried to conduct a foot march from the state assembly to nearby Mandadam village in violation of prohibitory orders. TDP leaders started off on the march after staging a sit-in near the assembly main entrance following the suspension of 17 MLAs from the House for the day. They were protesting the AP Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Bill, 2020, that was passed by the assembly, enabling the establishment of three capitals for the state. The TDP leaders were taken to the Mangalagiri police station. Meanwhile, tensions prevailed at the Jana Sena Party headquarters at Mangalagiri as police prevented its president Pawan Kalyan from proceeding to the Amaravati region to speak to protesters fighting for the retention of only one capital for the state. DIG Kanti Rana Tata and other senior police officials reached the Sena office and blocked the exit of Kalyan and political affairs committee chairman Nadendla Manohar, resulting in an argument. Kalyan asked how could police impose restrictions within his own office. Scores of Sena workers gathered outside the office even as a large posse of police was posted to thwart Kalyan and other leaders' plans. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) JACKSON, MI Patrick Burtch hasnt decided yet if hes accepting a city administrator job in Maumee, Ohio, he said in a text message Monday to the Jackson Citizen Patriot/MLive. The city of Maumee offered Burtch, Jacksons current city manager, the position last week, with unanimous approval from its council. A decision from Burtch is expected sometime this week, Jackson city officials said. Ohio city picks Jackson city manager as next city administrator If Burtch leaves, his current contract tweaked by council in December while he was in the running for the Ohio job would allow him to receive an extra nearly $20,000 from the city. One of the changes approved allows Burtch to accrue up to 16 weeks of vacation instead of 10. Since vacation time can be cashed out when leaving, per his contract, this allows Burtch to get paid for nearly $20,000 more in vacation time, if accrued. He receives five weeks of vacation time per year, according to his contract. The Dec. 17 contract amendment was controversial, as it was added to the agenda late and specifics werent available to the public until after the meeting. I think it was deceptively added to the agenda, Councilman Jeromy Alexander said on Monday, Jan. 20. Certainly the constituents didnt have any opportunity to even know that was coming. Just that alone was enough to say no to it. Jackson city manager in running for Ohio job Council was aware Burtch was in the running for the Maumee job at that time, Alexander said. Burtchs candidacy for the Maumee job and the lack of negotiations for this contract change are among Alexanders issues with this, he said. He and Councilman Will Forgrave were the only no votes to the contract amendment. "I certainly don't think it looks good at all," he said. Councilwoman Kelsey Heck was one of the yes votes, saying Burtch rarely uses a vacation day much less the five weeks hes afforded every year. He often has to throw away days, because theres more unused time than he can roll over, Heck said. Hes a workaholic, Heck said. I think hes taken like three vacation days since I came on. Other councilmembers couldnt be reached Monday for comment. "The position already pays more than five times that of a typical Jackson household's annual income and more than city manager positions within similar communities in the state, with benefits to match," Forgrave said in December. "I don't think that apple needs any more polishing." City manager contract changes include benefit and termination pay tweaks Burtch opted out of the citys Employee Retirement System, instead having the city contribute an amount equal to 15 percent of his salary to a deferred compensation retirement account each year. It comes out to about $25,000, this year. At 56 years old with less than nine years of service to the city, Burtch wouldnt be eligible for city retirement benefits, anyway. He would be eligible for retiree health and prescription benefits, though. Burtch was hired as assistant city manager/community development director in Jackson in 2011 and became city manager in 2012. He spent 23 years as the Dundee village manager before that. Maumee is a southwestern suburb of Toledo and has a population of just under 14,000. Burtch has ties to the area, as he grew up there, went to the University of Toledo, has family living in the area and owns a home in neighboring Monclova Township, per the Toledo Blade. "There's so many positive things in Jackson that I don't want to leave, quite frankly," Burtch said in September, after being named a candidate in the running for the Maumee job. "I like what I do here. I just feel like leaving the city of Jackson now might be difficult, because there are just so many projects up in the air." If Burtch accepts, hed start in Maumee on Feb. 17, the Blade reports. His starting salary would be $145,000 and he would become the citys service director and safety director, overseeing the police and fire departments, in addition to his role as city administrator, per the Blade. More Jackson news: Born and raised on Jacksons south side, quiet storm of a leader earns lifetime honor 2 women robbed at gunpoint in Jackson, police say Claudia Gelonese (pictured) ripped off her employer to pay for a lavish Sydney wedding A pregnant childcare worker fleeced her bosses out of thousands of dollars to fund her lavish Sydney harbourside wedding. Claudia Gelonese, 26, was jailed on Monday after ripping off her employer - the Bright Bees Early Learning Centre in Nicholls, in Canberra. She used a work credit card to pay for a shopping spree on Etsy and to hire a graphic designer to make her wedding invitations. Gelonese sobbed in court after pleading guilty to obtaining financial advantage by deception in 2018. She was sentenced to a seven-month jail term to be suspended after four months, according to the Canberra Star. She will also have to repay the $7,772 that she stole. The fraudster will be six months pregnant by the time she is released from prison in May. Photos on social media show the wedding of Claudia Gelonese involved a luxury Rolls Royce and glamorous wedding dress The court heard how Gelonese's crime spree escalated when she gave her bank details to parents at the centre who paid their feeds directly to her rather than her employers. Claudia Gelonese will be released from jail in May by which time she will be six months pregnant A victim impact statement from victim Amresh Kumar revealed the centre faced scrutiny from regulators under Gelonese's watch. The Centre was warned for breaching industry regulators, and Mr Kumar said Gelonese's record keeping could have had safety implications. 'She was so concerned by taking money she wasn't focusing on the job and was putting children at risk,' he said. Gelonese's lawyer asked for a fully suspended sentence. But prosecutor Bridget Atkinson argued that she would have do jail time because she had failed to keep up with community work she had been ordered to serve for a previous offence. Chief Magistrate Glenn Theakston praised Gelonese for pleading guilty but said her actions 'involved a breach or trust' which couldn't be justified. 'What I see before me is someone who cannot be trusted,' he said. The elevation of 59-year-old Nadda was imminent after he was made the BJP working president in July last year. (Photo Credit: Twitter) New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader JP Nadda on Monday took over as the new party president after he emerged as the only candidate for the top post following the conclusion of the nomination process at its headquarters. Nadda, who was appointed as BJP's working president last June, has succeeded Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who was at a helm for an eventful five-and-a-half years during which the party won its biggest majority in 2019 Lok Sabha election and expanded its footprint across the country. JP Nadda's name was proposed by the top party leaders, including Union ministers Shah, Rajnath Singh, and Nitin Gadkari, besides several chief ministers during the nomination process. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit party headquarters in the national capital to felicitate Nadda. Both leaders will later hold a meeting with chief ministers and deputy chief ministers of the states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party. Elevation of Nadda was imminent The elevation of 59-year-old Nadda was imminent after he was made the BJP working president in July last year, following Shahs induction into the Union cabinet. Nadda is a former Union minister and has decades of organisational experience. The BJP national council, the biggest organisational body of the party, is expected to meet after the February 8 Delhi Assembly polls to ratify the election of the new party president. In the run-up to the 2019 general election, Nadda was in charge of the BJPs campaign in Uttar Pradesh, politically the most important state where the saffron party convincingly defeated the formidable alliance of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) by winning 62 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats. Nadda was a cabinet minister in the first Modi government between 2014 and 2019. He has also been a member of the BJPs parliamentary board, the top decision-making body of the party. Shah had taken over as the party president in 2014 after Narendra Modi led it to power. Delhi Needs Development Not Advertisements: JP Nadda Weeks ahead of the assembly elections in the national capital, BJPs working president JP Nadda held organisational meetings with party workers on Friday and said Delhi needs development not advertisement. Nadda told party workers to conduct door-to-door campaigns to expose the lies of the APP government led by Arvind Kejriwal. We will go door-to-door in Delhi to expose the injustice done by the Kejriwal government to the people of Delhi, the lies spoken to them and the scams committed by the government, Nadda tweeted. Delhi needs development not advertisement, he said. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. The Ukrainian plane shot down by the military branch of the clerics regime may well become for the Islamic Republic of Iran what Chernobyl was for the Soviet Union; a trigger for a regime change. In contrast to the previous crises, however serious they were, the current crisis suggests that the population starts to deny legitimacy to the clerics and their military arm, the Revolutionary Guards Corps. The clerics admitted lying to the people. The regime change did not happen overnight in the Soviet Union. This process will take time in Iran, too. Before this country comes to the crossroads, it is worth asking what are possible futures for Iran? The new regime will hardly be a religious one, even reformed. The clerics discredited themselves to the extent that even a reformation may not help them to remain on the helm. No Islamic Reformation seems to be forthcoming anyway. The new regime will unlikely use Western democracy as a model. The 1979 revolution showed to what extent a pro-Western regime may be unpopular. The confrontation between Iran and the U.S. since then has not changed the situation for the better. In a way, the U.S. is as responsible for the tragedy as the Iranian clerics. When the military confrontation reaches its height, mistakes like the one that led to the recent catastrophe are inevitable. The 1983 nuclear false alarm incident that could have triggered a nuclear war illustrates the point better than anything else. Soviet Army Lt. Colonel Petrov made a right decision at that time. The unnamed Iranian operators of the Russias built Tor-1M missile system were less fortunate. Yet their error is all too human in the circumstances of an expected missile retaliatory attack by the U.S. Russia, in contrast to the West, is popular in Iran. But if the future regime turns out to be pro-Russian (e.g., a military pro-Russian government), it will create more problems than it is able to resolve. No single proxy government created and supported by Russia whether one considers Syria, Abkhazia, Southern Ossetia or the republics in the Eastern Ukraine showed itself as viable and sustainable. In these circumstances, a nationalist alternative is worth considering. Despite its long and rich history, Iran has not been run yet by enlightened nationalists, except for short periods. Mohammad Mosaddegh, who headed the Iranian government from 1951 to 1953, was a rare exception. His key policies had some elements of sound nationalism. Sound in the sense that a nation-state building is a necessary stage in the evolution of most viable modern states in the West and in Asia alike. Yet Mosaddeghs tenure was way too short. The current crisis in Iran may be a case for an enlightened nationalism. If Iran focuses on nation-state building, this could allow addressing problems that this country is facing in domestic and foreign affairs. In domestic affairs, an enlightened nationalist government is expected to build and strengthen a nation and all its components economic (national market), political (civil society) and cultural (Irans cultural traditions and pre-Islam religious institutions have been almost forgotten by the clerics). In foreign affairs, an enlightened nationalist government will abandon imperial ambitions so visible now in Syria, Lebanon and Yemen. When the nation is above all, empire-building loses relevance. There is an important caveat though. A nationalist alternative for Iran implies Iranian nationalism, not Fars nationalism. Iran is a multi-ethnic country. Under the current regime, the ethnic minorities Kurds in the north, Arabs in the south, the Baloch and Afghans in the east are far from being happy. However, they have a common ground, as the Iraq-Iran war clearly showed. In the movie Bashu, the Little Stranger (1989) considered as one of the best Iranian films of all time, a child, who lost his parents near the front line in the south, is fleeing to Irans north. The people over there speak a different language. Their skin has a different colour. Yet the kid found a new home. The message is clear: despite all differences, we are all Iranians. Anton Oleinik is a professor of sociology and Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador. Read more about: DALLAS, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Jacobs (NYSE: J) was selected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to provide architect engineer services to the Great Lakes National Program Office (GLNPO). The five-year, Great Lakes Architect Engineer Services (GLAES) II contract encompasses contaminated sediment characterization and remedial design activities, habitat restoration evaluation and design, and contaminated sediment and habitat restoration remedial construction oversight. "For more than three decades, Jacobs has been delivering contaminated sediment assessment, remediation and habitat restoration projects to private and public clients across the U.S.," said Jacobs People & Places Solutions Senior Vice President and Global Environmental Market Director Jan Walstrom. "As a trusted partner with a proven track record of delivering environmental solutions to GLNPO, we look forward to the opportunity to continue to protect and restore the Great Lakes for future generations." Located in the upper mid-east region of North America, on the CanadaUnited States border, the interconnected Great Lakes (comprised of lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario) are the largest group of freshwater lakes on earth by total area, and the second-largest by total volume, containing 21% of the world's surface freshwater by volume. They supply drinking water to tens of millions of people in bordering areas and support a rich diversity of aquatic plants and animals. Although discharges of toxic chemicals to the Great Lakes have been reduced in the last 30 years, high concentrations of contaminants persist in the sediment of some rivers, harbors and bays as a legacy of North America's industrialization. The Great Lakes Legacy Act (GLLA) of 2002 and the Great Lakes Legacy Reauthorization Act (GLLRA) of 2008 are part of a larger strategy to provide a healthy, natural environment for swimming and fishing as well as a source of clean water for drinking and industrial uses. Since 2011, Jacobs has supported GLNPO as a GLAES contractor. The company's initial work for GLNPO began in 2003, under the Region 5 Remedial Action Contract at the Waukegan Harbor Area of Concern (AOC). Since 2003, Jacobs has supported GLNPO on 41 projects within 20 AOCs, with a consistent track record of technical excellence, responsiveness and high-quality delivery across all aspects of the GLAES II statement of work. At Jacobs, we're challenging today to reinvent tomorrow by solving the world's most critical problems for thriving cities, resilient environments, mission-critical outcomes, operational advancement, scientific discovery and cutting-edge manufacturing, turning abstract ideas into realities that transform the world for good. With $13 billion in revenue and a talent force of approximately 52,000, Jacobs provides a full spectrum of professional services including consulting, technical, scientific and project delivery for the government and private sector. Visit jacobs.com and connect with Jacobs on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter. Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking statements as such term is defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and such statements are intended to be covered by the safe harbor provided by the same. Statements made in this release that are not based on historical fact are forward-looking statements. We base these forward-looking statements on management's current estimates and expectations as well as currently available competitive, financial and economic data. Forward-looking statements, however, are inherently uncertain. There are a variety of factors that could cause business results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements. For a description of some additional factors that may occur that could cause actual results to differ from our forward-looking statements see our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 27, 2019, and in particular the discussions contained under Item 1 - Business; Item 1A - Risk Factors; Item 3 - Legal Proceedings; and Item 7 - Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, as well as the Company's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company is not under any duty to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release to conform to actual results, except as required by applicable law. For press/media inquiries: Kerrie Sparks 214.583.8433 SOURCE Jacobs Related Links http://jacobs.com The FTC plans to challenge several pending hospital deals and is considering expanded enforcement of hospital mergers. Hospital deal volume either remained steady in 2019 or dipped somewhat, based on tracking-firm reports. Financially distressed hospitals were the target in one-fifth of the 2019 deals. Federal regulators plan to challenge a number of ongoing hospital deals and are considering widening their net to include more such transactions, a commissioner said this week. Christine Wilson, a member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), said at a Jan. 16 healthcare policy event in Washington, D.C., that the agency is focused on hospital deals and has reexamined its past approaches. We are intent on challenging every hospital merger thats going to produce anti-competitive effects, Wilson said at the gathering of the Council for Affordable Health Coverage. We have a number in the pipeline right now that we are looking at. The agency also may increase the scope of hospital mergers and acquisitions (M&A) that it challenges in federal court if an ongoing review of data indicates completed transactions have reduced consumer choice. Were conducing more retrospectives to make sure that we are making the right calls, Wilson said. And if we sort of need to change the threshold at which we challenge those deals to preserve competition for consumers, we will do that, absolutely. The change in approach has been driven by an FTC review of how it tackles M&A. The previous approach was initiated in 2001 after the agency and the U.S. Department of Justice repeatedly lost court cases involving their challenges of hospital deals. The agencies were willing to challenge these deals, and the courts were saying, You dont have a case for challenging these deals, Wilson said. The recent FTC strategic review included examining how the deals it failed to block affected competition and identifying a way to operationalize those learnings and to develop an analytical framework that we could use to successfully challenge hospital mergers in federal court, she said. She also expressed concern that some states, such as West Virginia, have enacted laws to shield some hospital deals from FTC scrutiny. Hospital M&A continues The increased FTC scrutiny comes amid continued hospital transactions. The pace of those deals is somewhat unclear given that prominent tracking companies differ on their assessment of 2019 deal volume, possibly because they use different definitions of transactions. For instance, Kaufman Hall found total announced deals remained steady in 2019, with 92 transactions, compared with 90 in 2018. In contrast, Ponder & Co. concluded that announced transactions plummeted to 85, or almost 25% fewer than the 116 it found in 2018. Ponders finding was its second-lowest annual total since 2009 but similar to 2016 (85 announced transactions), 2014 (93) and 2010 (88). Who made the deals? Other key 2019 hospital M&A findings from Kaufman Hall included: $278 million average annual revenue for sellers 3 mega mergers where the smaller party had more than $1 billion in annual revenue 11 transactions where the smaller party had annual revenue between $500 million and $1 billion 20% of sellers categorized as financially distressed 19 announced divestiture transactions by for-profit operators Details identified by Ponder for 2019 included: Bowater Credit Union donates to ham radio club The Bowater Credit Union has donated $1,000 to the McMinn County Amateur Radio Club (MCARC) The Cleveland Banner reports: Bowater Credit Union members Joyce Johnson and Bill Luecken W4WPL have each won a $1,000 Pay It Forward prize for their favorite nonprofits doing good in the five counties eligible for credit union membership, Isaiah 117 House and McMinn County Amateur Radio Club (MCARC), respectively. The McMinn County Amateur Radio Club in addition to serving as a venue for promoting amateur radio has a core value of community service and providing emergency communication, writes Luecken. As a testament to the critical need provided for by these services is the fact that after the Nov. 30, 2016, tornado in Athens the MCARC emergency radio repeater network was the only communication system capable of county wide communication. MCARC welcomes financial support, but is especially seeking new members interested in learning more about HAM radio and the important service MCARC provides. Learn more and find upcoming meeting information at http://mcminnarc.com/ Read the full story at http://clevelandbanner.com/stories/bowater-credit-union-donates-1000-each-to-isaiah-117-house-mcminn-county-amateur-radio-club,107568 Gov. Wanda Vasquez fires the director of island's emergency management after people discovered a warehouse full of unused emergency aid that led Puerto Ricans to outrage, NBC News reports. Puerto Ricans in the southern part of the island discovered a warehouse filled with unused emergency aids like bottles of water, cots, and other emergency supplies. This led to a social media uproar as the people in the area struggle to recover from the recent earthquakes that devastated the island. Gov. Wanda Vasquez immediately fired Carlos Acevedo, the director of island's emergency management, after a video of the incident was posted on Facebook. Vasquez said that she already ordered an in-depth investigation after they found that the supplies had been there since 2017 during the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. Meanwhile, Gov. Vasquez appointed Maj. Gen. Jose J. Reyes to replace Acevedo. Maj. Gen. Reyes is the adjutant of the island's National Guard. It was on Saturday when people found the warehouse filled with emergency boxes in the city of Ponce. Several people were seen opening the warehouse and asked the authorities to distribute the emergency supplies as soon as possible. Families then began lining up the same afternoon hoping to receive a bottle of water and other emergency supplies. According to a statement released by Acevedo through the office of the emergency management, there was no mishandling issue in distributing the supplies. Further, he also denied all allegations against him and said that no one was deprived of supplies, food, water, diapers, or anything else. When asked about the pallets of water found inside the Warehouse, he said that they have distributed 600 pallets of water after the island was hit by Hurricanes Dorian and Karen and the remaining nearly 80 pallets of water found inside the Warehouse were expired. Acevedo also clarified that there not have been orders to destroy or seize those items. Moreover, Gov. Vasquez ordered an in-depth investigation about this matter to the island's Secretary of State Elmer Roman and directed to reveal his investigation within 48 hours. Gov. Vasquez said: "There are thousands of people who made sacrifices to bring aid to the south and it's unforgivable that resources have been kept in a warehouse." Puerto Rico was devastated by series of earthquakes since Dec. 28 and one of it was even described by the people as the island's earthquake of the decade. The earthquakes and its series of aftershocks led to the destruction of structures in the country and even displaced hundreds of families. Meanwhile, aside from the supplies that they get from the government, there are also non-profit and non-government organizations that have been helping Puerto Ricans in any way as previously reported in Latin Post. Likewise, Airbnb is also offering free temporary shelter through its program to the displaced individuals and relief workers. At present, there are more than 8,000 individuals who are living right now in the temporary shelters found in the cities of Yauco, Penuelas, Guanica, Guayanilla, and Ponce. Some of the displaced individuals are afraid to go home because of the fear that their house might collapse anytime. Jennifer Aniston has played an array of memorable characters during her illustrious career in Hollywood. And while her latest role as Alex levy in The Morning Show culminated with a SAG Award win on Sunday, the veteran actress admitted there's one part she's always dreamed of playing. While chatting with reporters backstage after accepting her trophy, the actress revealed that she always 'wanted to be Wonder Woman, but waited too long.' Dream role: Jennifer Aniston confessed she always wanted to play Wonder Woman, moments after she won the SAG Award for her performance in The Morning Show Though Aniston mused about the role, it looks the Wonder Woman role is safe with current star Gal Gadot, who's played the superhero in the 2017 reboot and the upcoming sequel Wonder Woman 1984. 'I don't know. I have a lot to do,' Aniston added before getting contemplative about the future of her career. 'I really, honestly, feel that Im just kicking into a creative stride. I've just discovered a new love of this in a new way that I didn't know that I had before so I almost have new eyes that I'm seeing what it is that I do as an actor.' Shining star: Aniston, 50, lit up the red carpet in a white gown before heading inside for the 26th Annual SAG Awards ceremony Honored: The California native said she was surprised by her SAG win for The Morning Show On The Morning Show, Aniston plays a news anchor on a popular new program who fights to retain her job after he co-host is fired amid a sexual misconduct scandal. Along the way she sparks a rivalry with a haphazard field reporter, played by Reese Witherspoon. 'I'm shrieking. I did not see this coming at all so its very exciting. I'm overwhelmed,' she said of her SAG win for The Morning Show. After accepting her SAG Award, Aniston told reporters backstage that she 'wanted to be Wonder Woman, but I waited too long' With the first season of the Apple TV + drama in the rear-view mirror, Aniston is now looking to take a jump into another genre she's had huge success with in the past. 'I want to do more comedies,' she said. 'I want to have some laughter.' The star clearly thrives in the genre. Some of her most iconic roles include Friends, Office Space, Along Came Polly, We're The Millers and Horrible Bosses. Looking to the future: Aniston also revealed she wants to jump back into comedic roles British companies were the third most frequent offenders against the General Data Protection Regulation rules (PA) Companies have been forced to pay around 114 million euro (97 million) in fines for breaching European privacy rules, a new report has claimed. More than 160,000 data breaches have been reported across the European Union, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein since a new law came into force nearly two years ago. British companies were the third most frequent offenders against the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) rules, with more than 22,000 breaches reported in the UK since the law was introduced in May 2018. However, they contributed only 320,000 euro (275,000) of the total fines, according to new research by law firm DLA Piper. Two prominent British cases involving British Airways and Marriott were not included in the figures because the fines have not yet been finalised. The ICO has issued a notice of its intention to fine British Airways 183.39M for infringements of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).https://t.co/TdUYIDWqBf ICO - Information Commissioner's Office (@ICOnews) July 8, 2019 If the data had included the combined fines of 282 million (329 million euro) the Information Commissioners Office last year suggested it will levy over those breaches, it would bring the total EU-wide figure to 443 million euro (367 million). Companies in France have paid the most, with 51 million euro (43 million) in fines for breaches of GDPR. Germany was second at 24.5 million euro (21 million), and then Austria, where companies paid out 18 million euro (15 million) for breaches. Statement in response to Marriott International, Inc's filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission that ICO intends to fine it more than 99 million for infringements of the GDPR. https://t.co/JqQIvZpQgs ICO - Information Commissioner's Office (@ICOnews) July 9, 2019 Eight countries in the bloc are yet to impose any financial penalties at all and only five countries of the 28 have fined their businesses more than one million euros (850,000). We expect to see momentum build with more multimillion-euro fines being imposed over the coming year as regulators ramp up their enforcement activity, Ross McKean, a partner at DLA Piper, said. The biggest fine to date, not counting the two UK cases which are yet to be finalised, was a 50 million euro (43 million) charge that French authorities imposed on Google. The number of reports of breaches have increased by 12% compared to the last time DLA Piper compiled the data. GDPR was introduced in May 2018 in a bid to regulate the way that companies and the public sector store information about their customers. Organisations can face fines of up to 20 million euros or 4% of annual global turnover if they are found to have breached GDPR rules. RTS Exhibiting at Aviation Festival Asia - 18-19 February 2020 Revenue Technology Services is pleased to announce that we will be exhibiting at the upcoming Aviation Festival Asia in Singapore on 18 and 19 February 2020. RTS provides state-of-the-art solutions and industry leading services for the travel and transportation industry including revenue management, pricing, revenue planning and scheduling. RTS Senior Vice President, Jason Codd, and Sales Director APAC, Preetam Prabhu, will be attending the 2020 Aviation Festival Asia. Jason Codd, who heads up RTS' Passenger Solutions portfolio will be speaking on "Pricing, Revenue Management and the Low Cot Carrier," exploring solutions in this fast evolving industry. RTS' attendance at this premier event gives the opportunity to showcase our products in the growing Asian region, and allow customers and prospects in the area to meet face to face. RTS will be at Booth C-7. The festival is held at the Suntec Singapore Convention Centre, Singapore. Aviation Festival Asia is expected to bring together over 2500 attendees from 1200 airlines and airport companies, to discuss a range of aspects of the aviation business in the largest aviation market in the world. About RTS Revenue Technology Services is a worldwide provider of software and consulting solutions for revenue management, pricing, revenue planning, and scheduling for passenger and cargo business for the airline and cruise ferry industries. RTS is headquartered in Dallas, Texas with offices in UK and South Africa and a development center in IT Park in Chandigarh, India. For additional information, please visit www.rtscorp.com or contact [email protected] View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200120005483/en/ Our firm has been based in Orange County for over fifty years, and we are committed to supporting business owners and employees that call it their home, said TRC Financial Principal Darren Gallaway. TRC Financial, an independent insurance brokerage firm, hosted a lunch and panel discussion with diverse leaders to discuss trends about Orange County, California in 2020 and beyond. A group of over 70 community members representing local businesses, community leaders, educational institutions and entrepreneurs came together on Thursday, January 16th to share ideas and discuss the outlook for Orange County as we start 2020. The event featured four speakers that included a venture capitalist, a banking executive, a lawyer, and a local State Assemblyman. The panel of diverse leaders discussed the current state of venture capital, start-ups, banking, wealth management, business planning, estate planning and the business political environment for Orange County. The event delivered important insights, new strategic thinking for the decade, and an inspirational outlook on whats ahead for Orange County. Our firm has been based in Orange County for over fifty years, and we are committed to supporting business owners and employees that call it their home, said TRC Financial Principal Darren Gallaway. Our event was an example of how our economy, particularly the diversity of entrepreneurs and businesses, has grown since our founding. One speaker was Marc Averitt, Managing Director at Okapi Venture Capital, who has been committed to funding local entrepreneurs in Southern California for over a decade. He shared historical lessons, the importance of funding local entrepreneurs and keeping the talented engineers in our community as we look ahead. Also presenting at the lunch was Ethan Morgan, Managing Director and Market Manager at J.P. Morgan Private Bank, who shared insights into how Orange County continues to grow from its foundation in real estate and expand wealth to a broader range of industries. David Sherak, Managing Partner, at Vogt, Resnick & Sherak, LLP, provided insights into critical legal issues regarding business and estate planning to help mitigate intra-family litigation and risks associated with wealth transfer planning. An informative legislative perspective came from the Hon. Phillip Chen, California State Assemblyman, 55th District. Phillip shared insights and updates on legislation coming out of Sacramento and its effect on businesses and families in Orange County. The Orange County 2020 & Beyond event was hosted by Darren Gallaway and Jim Roberson, Principals at TRC Financial. Please direct any questions about the Orange County for 2020 & Beyond event to TRC Financial at info@trcfinancial.com. About TRC Financial TRC Financial is an independent firm that delivers a reliable and unbiased approach to acquiring and managing life insurance for affluent and institutional clients. Our focus centers around proprietary plan design, product placement, and administration for life insurance, disability insurance, executive benefit plans, and private placement insurance investment accounts. We are the oldest and most established firm of its type in Southern California. By PTI ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan would meet US President Donald Trump this week on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, the Foreign Office announced on Monday. Khan would attend the WEF in Davos, Switzerland, from January 21 to 23 at the invitation of Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of WEF. "On the sidelines, the Prime Minister will hold bilateral meetings with several world leaders. These include Prime Minister's meeting with US President Trump," the FO said. This would be the third leadership-level interaction between Pakistan and the US since Prime Minister Khan's maiden visit to Washington in July 2019. They had also met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in September. Several other meetings are also scheduled with a wide range of corporate, business, technology and finance executives, and representatives of international financial institutions. Khan would deliver a keynote address at the WEF Special Session, and interact with CEOs and corporate leaders at the 'Pakistan Strategy Dialogue'. Prime Minister Khan will also speak to international media persons and editors during a session with the Forum's International Media Council. Throughout his engagements at Davos, Prime Minister Khan will share Pakistan's vision and achievements in the areas of the economy, peace and stability, trade, business and investment opportunities, the FO said. He will also highlight the current situation in Kashmir and Pakistan's perspective on key regional and international issues, it said. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Forum. In keeping with the significance of this milestone, political leaders, business executives, heads of international organisations and civil society representatives will deliberate on contemporary economic, geopolitical, social and environmental issues at Davos summit. The New Canaan Library is debuting a Trustees Lecture event that will have guest lecturer Dr. Azra Raza, a world-class oncologist, professor and author on Sunday, January 26, 2020, from 4 to 5 p.m., in the librarys Adrian Lamb Room. In her book, The First Cell, Raza examines the current state of cancer and its devastating impact on the individuals it affects including herself. To reserve a seat for the lecture, register for it on the librarys website at newcanaanlibrary.org. The war on cancer wages on. At least $150 billion is spent annually to treat it, yet a few innovations notwithstanding a patient with cancer is just as likely to die of it as one was 50 years ago, an announcement said. Most new drugs merely add months to ones life at agonizing physical and financial cost. In The First Cell, Dr. Raza offers a searing account of how both medicine and society (mis)treats cancer, how we can do better, and why we must. the announcement said. The First Cell, is a journey from hope to despair, and back again, and explores cancer from every angle: medical, scientific, cultural and personal, as Dr. Raza describes how she bore the terrible burden of being her husbands oncologist as he succumbed to leukemia, it said. Dr. Raza is the Chan Soon-Shiong professor of medicine and director of the MDS Center at Columbia University in New York. Previously, she was the chief of Hematology-Oncology and the Gladys Smith Martin Professor of Oncology at the University of Massachusetts. She is considered an international authority on pre-leukemia (MDS) and acute leukemia and is one of those rare physician-scientists who divide their time equally between caring for patients and supervising a state-of-the-art basic research lab which is well-funded by multiple large grants. Dr. Raza started collecting blood and marrow samples on her patients in 1984 and now her Tissue Bank, the largest, and oldest in the country with more than 60,000 samples, is considered a unique national treasure. Dr. Raza has also published her original clinical and basic research comprising more than 300 peer-reviewed manuscripts in high profile journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine, Cell, Molecular Cell, Cancer Research, Blood and Leukemia, more than 1,000 abstracts, dozens of book chapters and edited a book devoted to pre-leukemia, a co-editor of 3quarksdaily, a website started by her brother, Syed Abbas Raza. She is also a sought after speaker in scientific circles and the recipient of numerous awards including The 2012 Hope Award in Cancer Research, (shared with the Nobel Laureate Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn). The Trustee Lecture is part of a series of lectures established by the librarys current Board to honor the ongoing work and dedication of a former trustee. Each year, a former trustee is nominated to chair a lecture of his, or her choosing that highlights a personal interest and that he, or she believes would interest and enrich the members of the community. The Jewish Academy of Orlando has extended recess for all grades to 45 minutes. In addition to extended recess time, lunch for all grades is 30 minutes, and a mid-morning break of 15 minutes is included in the daily schedule. In recent years, many schools have lessened the amount of time that students spend in free play. In fact, experts find that the decrease may be significantly impacting the social and emotional development of our children. Comparatively speaking, recess only became mandatory in Orange County in December 2016, according to the Orlando Sentinel. Both Seminole and Orange counties require only 20 minutes. Jewish Academy of Orlando offers more than double that time for recess. The Power of Play, published by the American Academy of Pediatrics posits that Children need to develop a variety of skill sets to optimize their development and manage toxic stress. Play enhances brain structure and function. Play promotes executive function (i.e. focus on the process of learning, rather than the content presented), which allows individuals to pursue goals and ignore distractions. Children need a balanced curriculum that includes playful learning for the promotion of healthy child development. I am thrilled that JAO has extended recess time for their students. Schools are so focused on academic performance and student output yet overlook the importance of the social-emotional learning piece that is fostered through recreational activity. High expectations are demanded of young students, but we must remember that they are still children and deserve to take breaks. I believe that JAO has mastered the holistic approach to educating mindful, well-rounded children, stated Danielle Glover, counselor. Recess and play may also help prevent mental health disorders in children. Education Week cited Dr. Peter Gray, a research professor at Boston College as explaining Rates of depression and anxiety among young people in America have been increasing steadily for the past 50 to 70 years. He continues to explain that Today, by at least some estimates, five to eight times as many high school and college students meet the criteria for diagnosis of major depression and/or anxiety disorder as was true half a century or more ago. With the decline in the amount of time students spend in free play, it is suggested that Free play and exploration are, historically, the means by which children learn to solve their own problems, control their own lives, develop their own interests, and become competent in pursuit of their own interests. According to Amy Polacek, interim director of academics, Jewish Academy of Orlando truly believes in educating the whole child, and we have a dual-focus as educators. We foster both academic excellence and social-emotional growth, cultivating values of kindness, self-awareness, mindfulness, and character. Alan Rusonik, head of school added, While we are extremely proud of our students academic achievements, we are focused on graduating children that are happy, confident, love to learn, and know how to get along with their peers; students that are ready for the world! Jewish Academy of Orlando serves central Florida students of all faiths from transitional kindergarten through fifth grade. The school delivers a whole-child education fostering academic excellence and character education rooted in Jewish values. Jewish Academy of Orlando is accredited by the Florida Council of Independent Schools. To learn more about Jewish Academy of Orlando, please visit: jewishacademyorlando.org or follow the school on Facebook facebook.com/JewishAcademyOrlando/ T he publication of secondary school league tables has been delayed after a significant number of results were omitted from the government data. Figures for 2019 were due to be published on Thursday, but a statement on the Department for Educations website said they were delaying the release for two weeks after the results of remarked papers in key GCSEs such as English and maths were left out. The GCSE and A-Level results of thousands of schools across England are published on an annual basis. Professor Alan Smithers, director of the Centre for Education and Employment Research at the University of Buckingham, told the Standard: The official compilation of exam results is extremely important to schools since it can appreciably affect the way they are seen by inspectors and parents. It is absolutely right, therefore, that the Department for Education should delay publication having found a large amount of data was missing. The tables provide data which helps experts measure individual school performance and regional differences. Last years tables revealed that nine top 10 districts for secondary schools were in London, with Barnet schools scoring among the highest for performance progress in the Governments new benchmark. Neil McIvor, DfE chief statistician, said: The departments rigorous quality assurance processes have identified a processing issue that has led to a significant number of late results being omitted from the data. We have decided to delay the full suite of key stage 4 publications by two weeks to allow us to resolve the issue. Parts of Victoria will return to extreme and severe fire danger on Wednesday, with heat and threatening winds forecast for cities and towns such as Bendigo, Horsham and Swan Hill. After hail and heavy rain up to 47mm pelted the state on Sunday, heightened fire risk is predicted on Wednesday for areas that have so far been less affected by bushfires, including the Mallee region in north-west Victoria as well as central and northern parts of the state. Massive hail lashed parts of Melbourne on Sunday, but extreme and severe fire risk is expected for parts of Victoria on Wednesday. Credit:Peter Macaulay Temperatures up to 37 degrees and winds up to 45km/h are expected in north-west Victoria, Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Kevin Parkyn said. "While the focus in the shorter term has been about the flash flooding and heavy rain, we are concerned about a return to elevated fire danger on Wednesday," he said. SAGINAW, MI Its been 55 years since civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King marched for unity and freedom, and Saginaw community member Pat Letherer thinks the march is just as important today as it was decades ago. At 16 years old, Letherer traveled to Selma, Alabama and participated in the march from Selma to Montgomery with her mother, siblings and other civil rights activists from Saginaw. The journey was arranged by the Saginaw Catholic Interracial Council. Letherer, now 71, still thinks there is work to do today. I still think there are not civil rights for black people, she said Monday, Jan. 20. Letherer along with Saginaw leaders and community members attended the annual Martin Luther King Jr. unity luncheon on Monday at The Dow event center, 303 Johnson St. A march through downtown Saginaw was held before the luncheon. Saginaw Public School District Superintendent Ramont Roberts was keynote speaker for the event. He focused his speech on evolution of Kings dream. Currently, under Dr. Kings dream, we can say that civil rights was accomplished, somewhat. There are opportunities that are there, however, with limitations, Roberts said. We know that under the right circumstances, the right person, with the right intellectual and or social skills, has an opportunity to access this economy or whats known as the American Dream. He pointed out that many have been able to benefit from Kings work, but there are still factors that impact people such as racism, systemic oppression, classism, sexism and other social conditions and environmental factors. Letherer agreed. Theres just real racial inequality in this country now and its propagated by our dear president, Letherer said. We were just at a point where I think things were turning around for blacks, women and the handicapped and all of that has gone through reversal in three or four years. Roberts closed out his speech by encouraging the audience to exercise the evolution of the dream in their own way. We cannot rest on our laurels and allow oppressive systems to continue to function that ultimately oppress people, Roberts said. The evolution of the dream compels us to act. NEW YORK, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Infectious Disease Diagnostics market worldwide is projected to grow by US$6.6 Billion, driven by a compounded growth of 5.3%. Assays, Kits, & Reagents, one of the segments analyzed and sized in this study, displays the potential to grow at over 5.9%. The shifting dynamics supporting this growth makes it critical for businesses in this space to keep abreast of the changing pulse of the market. Poised to reach over US$10.5 Billion by the year 2025, Assays, Kits, & Reagents will bring in healthy gains adding significant momentum to global growth. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05798883/?utm_source=PRN - Representing the developed world, the United States will maintain a 4% growth momentum. Within Europe, which continues to remain an important element in the world economy, Germany will add over US$227.6 Million to the region's size and clout in the next 5 to 6 years. Over US$185.1 Million worth of projected demand in the region will come from Rest of Europe markets. In Japan, Assays, Kits, & Reagents will reach a market size of US$511.4 Million by the close of the analysis period. As the world's second largest economy and the new game changer in global markets, China exhibits the potential to grow at 8.6% over the next couple of years and add approximately US$2 Billion in terms of addressable opportunity for the picking by aspiring businesses and their astute leaders. Presented in visually rich graphics are these and many more need-to-know quantitative data important in ensuring quality of strategy decisions, be it entry into new markets or allocation of resources within a portfolio. Several macroeconomic factors and internal market forces will shape growth and development of demand patterns in emerging countries in Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East. All research viewpoints presented are based on validated engagements from influencers in the market, whose opinions supersede all other research methodologies. - Competitors identified in this market include, among others, Abbott Laboratories; Becton, Dickinson and Company; bioMerieux SA; Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc.; Danaher Corporation; DiaSorin SpA; Luminex Corporation; Meridian Bioscience, Inc.; Quidel Corporation; Roche Diagnostics (Schweiz) AG; Siemens AG; Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05798883/?utm_source=PRN I. METHODOLOGY II. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. MARKET OVERVIEW Global Competitor Market Shares Infectious Disease Diagnostics Competitor Market Share Scenario Worldwide (in %): 2019 & 2025 2. FOCUS ON SELECT PLAYERS 3. MARKET TRENDS & DRIVERS 4. GLOBAL MARKET PERSPECTIVE Table 1: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Global Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Million by Region/Country: 2018-2025 Table 2: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Global Retrospective Market Scenario in US$ Million by Region/Country: 2009-2017 Table 3: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Shift across Key Geographies Worldwide: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 4: Immunodiagnostics (Technology) Geographic Market Spread Worldwide in US$ Million: 2018 to 2025 Table 5: Immunodiagnostics (Technology) Region Wise Breakdown of Global Historic Demand in US$ Million: 2009 to 2017 Table 6: Immunodiagnostics (Technology) Market Share Distribution in Percentage by Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 7: PCR (Technology) World Market Estimates and Forecasts by Region/Country in US$ Million: 2018 to 2025 Table 8: PCR (Technology) Market Historic Review by Region/Country in US$ Million: 2009 to 2017 Table 9: PCR (Technology) Market Share Breakdown by Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 10: NGS (Technology) World Market by Region/Country in US$ Million: 2018 to 2025 Table 11: NGS (Technology) Historic Market Analysis by Region/Country in US$ Million: 2009 to 2017 Table 12: NGS (Technology) Market Share Distribution in Percentage by Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 13: Hospital (End-Use) Global Opportunity Assessment in US$ Million by Region/Country: 2018-2025 Table 14: Hospital (End-Use) Historic Sales Analysis in US$ Million by Region/Country: 2009-2017 Table 15: Hospital (End-Use) Percentage Share Breakdown of Global Sales by Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 16: Research Institute (End-Use) Worldwide Sales in US$ Million by Region/Country: 2018-2025 Table 17: Research Institute (End-Use) Historic Demand Patterns in US$ Million by Region/Country: 2009-2017 Table 18: Research Institute (End-Use) Market Share Shift across Key Geographies: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 19: Hepatitis (Disease Type) World Market Estimates and Forecasts by Region/Country in US$ Million: 2018 to 2025 Table 20: Hepatitis (Disease Type) Market Historic Review by Region/Country in US$ Million: 2009 to 2017 Table 21: Hepatitis (Disease Type) Market Share Breakdown by Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 22: HIV (Disease Type) World Market by Region/Country in US$ Million: 2018 to 2025 Table 23: HIV (Disease Type) Historic Market Analysis by Region/Country in US$ Million: 2009 to 2017 Table 24: HIV (Disease Type) Market Share Distribution in Percentage by Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 25: HAI (Disease Type) World Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Million by Region/Country: 2018 to 2025 Table 26: HAI (Disease Type) Market Worldwide Historic Review by Region/Country in US$ Million: 2009 to 2017 Table 27: HAI (Disease Type) Market Percentage Share Distribution by Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 28: HPV (Disease Type) Market Opportunity Analysis Worldwide in US$ Million by Region/Country: 2018 to 2025 Table 29: HPV (Disease Type) Global Historic Demand in US$ Million by Region/Country: 2009 to 2017 Table 30: HPV (Disease Type) Market Share Distribution in Percentage by Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 31: TB (Disease Type) World Market by Region/Country in US$ Million: 2018 to 2025 Table 32: TB (Disease Type) Historic Market Analysis by Region/Country in US$ Million: 2009 to 2017 Table 33: TB (Disease Type) Market Share Breakdown of Worldwide Sales by Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 34: Influenza (Disease Type) Potential Growth Markets Worldwide in US$ Million: 2018 to 2025 Table 35: Influenza (Disease Type) Historic Market Perspective by Region/Country in US$ Million: 2009 to 2017 Table 36: Influenza (Disease Type) Market Sales Breakdown by Region/Country in Percentage: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 37: Assays, Kits, & Reagents (Product & Service) World Market by Region/Country in US$ Million: 2018 to 2025 Table 38: Assays, Kits, & Reagents (Product & Service) Historic Market Analysis by Region/Country in US$ Million: 2009 to 2017 Table 39: Assays, Kits, & Reagents (Product & Service) Market Share Breakdown of Worldwide Sales by Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 40: Instruments (Product & Service) Potential Growth Markets Worldwide in US$ Million: 2018 to 2025 Table 41: Instruments (Product & Service) Historic Market Perspective by Region/Country in US$ Million: 2009 to 2017 Table 42: Instruments (Product & Service) Market Sales Breakdown by Region/Country in Percentage: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 43: Services and Software (Product & Service) Geographic Market Spread Worldwide in US$ Million: 2018 to 2025 Table 44: Services and Software (Product & Service) Region Wise Breakdown of Global Historic Demand in US$ Million: 2009 to 2017 Table 45: Services and Software (Product & Service) Market Share Distribution in Percentage by Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 III. MARKET ANALYSIS GEOGRAPHIC MARKET ANALYSIS UNITED STATES Market Facts & Figures US Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share (in %) by Company: 2019 & 2025 Table 46: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in US$ Million in the United States by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 47: United States Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Retrospective Analysis in US$ Million by Technology: 2009-2017 Table 48: United States Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Breakdown by Technology: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 49: United States Infectious Disease Diagnostics Latent Demand Forecasts in US$ Million by End-Use: 2018 to 2025 Table 50: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Historic Demand Patterns in the United States by End-Use in US$ Million for 2009-2017 Table 51: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Breakdown in the United States by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 52: United States Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Estimates and Projections in US$ Million by Disease Type: 2018 to 2025 Table 53: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in the United States by Disease Type: A Historic Review in US$ Million for 2009-2017 Table 54: United States Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Breakdown by Disease Type: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 55: United States Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Estimates and Projections in US$ Million by Product & Service: 2018 to 2025 Table 56: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in the United States by Product & Service: A Historic Review in US$ Million for 2009-2017 Table 57: United States Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Breakdown by Product & Service: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 CANADA Table 58: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Analysis in Canada in US$ Million by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 59: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in Canada: Historic Review in US$ Million by Technology for the Period 2009-2017 Table 60: Canadian Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Breakdown by Technology: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 61: Canadian Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Quantitative Demand Analysis in US$ Million by End-Use: 2018 to 2025 Table 62: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in Canada: Summarization of Historic Demand Patterns in US$ Million by End-Use for 2009-2017 Table 63: Canadian Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Analysis by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 64: Canadian Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Million by Disease Type: 2018 to 2025 Table 65: Canadian Infectious Disease Diagnostics Historic Market Review by Disease Type in US$ Million: 2009-2017 Table 66: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in Canada: Percentage Share Breakdown of Sales by Disease Type for 2009, 2019, and 2025 Table 67: Canadian Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Million by Product & Service: 2018 to 2025 Table 68: Canadian Infectious Disease Diagnostics Historic Market Review by Product & Service in US$ Million: 2009-2017 Table 69: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in Canada: Percentage Share Breakdown of Sales by Product & Service for 2009, 2019, and 2025 JAPAN Table 70: Japanese Medium & Long-Term Outlook for Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in US$ Million by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 71: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in Japan in US$ Million by Technology: 2009-2017 Table 72: Japanese Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Percentage Share Distribution by Technology: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 73: Japanese Demand Estimates and Forecasts for Infectious Disease Diagnostics in US$ Million by End-Use: 2018 to 2025 Table 74: Japanese Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in US$ Million by End-Use: 2009-2017 Table 75: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Shift in Japan by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 76: Japanese Market for Infectious Disease Diagnostics: Annual Sales Estimates and Projections in US$ Million by Disease Type for the Period 2018-2025 Table 77: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in Japan: Historic Sales Analysis in US$ Million by Disease Type for the Period 2009-2017 Table 78: Japanese Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Analysis by Disease Type: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 79: Japanese Market for Infectious Disease Diagnostics: Annual Sales Estimates and Projections in US$ Million by Product & Service for the Period 2018-2025 Table 80: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in Japan: Historic Sales Analysis in US$ Million by Product & Service for the Period 2009-2017 Table 81: Japanese Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Analysis by Product & Service: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 CHINA Table 82: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Estimates and Forecasts in China in US$ Million by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 83: Chinese Infectious Disease Diagnostics Retrospective Market Scenario in US$ Million by Technology: 2009-2017 Table 84: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in China: Percentage Share Analysis by Technology for 2009, 2019, and 2025 Table 85: Chinese Demand for Infectious Disease Diagnostics in US$ Million by End-Use: 2018 to 2025 Table 86: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Review in China in US$ Million by End-Use: 2009-2017 Table 87: Chinese Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Breakdown by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 88: Chinese Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Growth Prospects in US$ Million by Disease Type for the Period 2018-2025 Table 89: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Historic Market Analysis in China in US$ Million by Disease Type: 2009-2017 Table 90: Chinese Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market by Disease Type: Percentage Breakdown of Sales for 2009, 2019, and 2025 Table 91: Chinese Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Growth Prospects in US$ Million by Product & Service for the Period 2018-2025 Table 92: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Historic Market Analysis in China in US$ Million by Product & Service: 2009-2017 Table 93: Chinese Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market by Product & Service: Percentage Breakdown of Sales for 2009, 2019, and 2025 EUROPE Market Facts & Figures European Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market: Competitor Market Share Scenario (in %) for 2019 & 2025 Table 94: European Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Demand Scenario in US$ Million by Region/Country: 2018-2025 Table 95: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in Europe: A Historic Market Perspective in US$ Million by Region/Country for the Period 2009-2017 Table 96: European Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Shift by Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 97: European Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Assessment in US$ Million by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 98: European Infectious Disease Diagnostics Historic Market Review in US$ Million by Technology: 2009-2017 Table 99: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in Europe: Percentage Breakdown of Sales by Technology for 2009, 2019, and 2025 Table 100: European Infectious Disease Diagnostics Addressable Market Opportunity in US$ Million by End-Use: 2018-2025 Table 101: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in Europe: Summarization of Historic Demand in US$ Million by End-Use for the Period 2009-2017 Table 102: European Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Analysis by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 103: European Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Million by Disease Type: 2018-2025 Table 104: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in Europe in US$ Million by Disease Type: A Historic Review for the Period 2009-2017 Table 105: European Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Breakdown by Disease Type: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 106: European Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Million by Product & Service: 2018-2025 Table 107: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in Europe in US$ Million by Product & Service: A Historic Review for the Period 2009-2017 Table 108: European Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Breakdown by Product & Service: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 FRANCE Table 109: French Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Estimates and Projections in US$ Million by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 110: French Infectious Disease Diagnostics Historic Market Analysis in US$ Million by Technology: 2009-2017 Table 111: French Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Breakdown by Technology: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 112: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Quantitative Demand Analysis in France in US$ Million by End-Use: 2018-2025 Table 113: French Infectious Disease Diagnostics Historic Market Review in US$ Million by End-Use: 2009-2017 Table 114: French Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Analysis: A 17-Year Perspective by End-Use for 2009, 2019, and 2025 Table 115: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in France by Disease Type: Estimates and Projections in US$ Million for the Period 2018-2025 Table 116: French Infectious Disease Diagnostics Historic Market Scenario in US$ Million by Disease Type: 2009-2017 Table 117: French Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Analysis by Disease Type: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 118: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in France by Product & Service: Estimates and Projections in US$ Million for the Period 2018-2025 Table 119: French Infectious Disease Diagnostics Historic Market Scenario in US$ Million by Product & Service: 2009-2017 Table 120: French Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Analysis by Product & Service: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 GERMANY Table 121: German Infectious Disease Diagnostics Latent Demand Forecasts in US$ Million by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 122: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in Germany: A Historic Perspective by Technology in US$ Million for the Period 2009-2017 Table 123: German Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Breakdown by Technology: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 124: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in Germany: Annual Sales Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Million by End-Use for the Period 2018-2025 Table 125: German Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in Retrospect in US$ Million by End-Use: 2009-2017 Table 126: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Distribution in Germany by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 127: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in Germany: Recent Past, Current and Future Analysis in US$ Million by Disease Type for the Period 2018-2025 Table 128: German Infectious Disease Diagnostics Historic Market Analysis in US$ Million by Disease Type: 2009-2017 Table 129: German Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Breakdown by Disease Type: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 130: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in Germany: Recent Past, Current and Future Analysis in US$ Million by Product & Service for the Period 2018-2025 Table 131: German Infectious Disease Diagnostics Historic Market Analysis in US$ Million by Product & Service: 2009-2017 Table 132: German Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Breakdown by Product & Service: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 ITALY Table 133: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Estimates and Forecasts in Italy in US$ Million by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 134: Italian Infectious Disease Diagnostics Retrospective Market Scenario in US$ Million by Technology: 2009-2017 Table 135: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in Italy: Percentage Share Analysis by Technology for 2009, 2019, and 2025 Table 136: Italian Demand for Infectious Disease Diagnostics in US$ Million by End-Use: 2018 to 2025 Table 137: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Review in Italy in US$ Million by End-Use: 2009-2017 Table 138: Italian Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Breakdown by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 139: Italian Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Growth Prospects in US$ Million by Disease Type for the Period 2018-2025 Table 140: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Historic Market Analysis in Italy in US$ Million by Disease Type: 2009-2017 Table 141: Italian Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market by Disease Type: Percentage Breakdown of Sales for 2009, 2019, and 2025 Table 142: Italian Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Growth Prospects in US$ Million by Product & Service for the Period 2018-2025 Table 143: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Historic Market Analysis in Italy in US$ Million by Product & Service: 2009-2017 Table 144: Italian Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market by Product & Service: Percentage Breakdown of Sales for 2009, 2019, and 2025 UNITED KINGDOM Table 145: United Kingdom Medium & Long-Term Outlook for Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in US$ Million by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 146: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in the United Kingdom in US$ Million by Technology: 2009-2017 Table 147: United Kingdom Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Percentage Share Distribution by Technology: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 148: United Kingdom Demand Estimates and Forecasts for Infectious Disease Diagnostics in US$ Million by End-Use: 2018 to 2025 Table 149: United Kingdom Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in US$ Million by End-Use: 2009-2017 Table 150: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Shift in the United Kingdom by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 151: United Kingdom Market for Infectious Disease Diagnostics: Annual Sales Estimates and Projections in US$ Million by Disease Type for the Period 2018-2025 Table 152: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in the United Kingdom: Historic Sales Analysis in US$ Million by Disease Type for the Period 2009-2017 Table 153: United Kingdom Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Analysis by Disease Type: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 154: United Kingdom Market for Infectious Disease Diagnostics: Annual Sales Estimates and Projections in US$ Million by Product & Service for the Period 2018-2025 Table 155: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in the United Kingdom: Historic Sales Analysis in US$ Million by Product & Service for the Period 2009-2017 Table 156: United Kingdom Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Analysis by Product & Service: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 SPAIN Table 157: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Analysis in Spain in US$ Million by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 158: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in Spain: Historic Review in US$ Million by Technology for the Period 2009-2017 Table 159: Spanish Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Breakdown by Technology: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 160: Spanish Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Quantitative Demand Analysis in US$ Million by End-Use: 2018 to 2025 Table 161: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in Spain: Summarization of Historic Demand Patterns in US$ Million by End-Use for 2009-2017 Table 162: Spanish Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Analysis by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 163: Spanish Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Million by Disease Type: 2018 to 2025 Table 164: Spanish Infectious Disease Diagnostics Historic Market Review by Disease Type in US$ Million: 2009-2017 Table 165: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in Spain: Percentage Share Breakdown of Sales by Disease Type for 2009, 2019, and 2025 Table 166: Spanish Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Million by Product & Service: 2018 to 2025 Table 167: Spanish Infectious Disease Diagnostics Historic Market Review by Product & Service in US$ Million: 2009-2017 Table 168: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in Spain: Percentage Share Breakdown of Sales by Product & Service for 2009, 2019, and 2025 RUSSIA Table 169: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in US$ Million in Russia by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 170: Russian Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Retrospective Analysis in US$ Million by Technology: 2009-2017 Table 171: Russian Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Breakdown by Technology: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 172: Russian Infectious Disease Diagnostics Latent Demand Forecasts in US$ Million by End-Use: 2018 to 2025 Table 173: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Historic Demand Patterns in Russia by End-Use in US$ Million for 2009-2017 Table 174: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Breakdown in Russia by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 175: Russian Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Estimates and Projections in US$ Million by Disease Type: 2018 to 2025 Table 176: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in Russia by Disease Type: A Historic Review in US$ Million for 2009-2017 Table 177: Russian Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Breakdown by Disease Type: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 178: Russian Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Estimates and Projections in US$ Million by Product & Service: 2018 to 2025 Table 179: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in Russia by Product & Service: A Historic Review in US$ Million for 2009-2017 Table 180: Russian Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Breakdown by Product & Service: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 REST OF EUROPE Table 181: Rest of Europe Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Assessment in US$ Million by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 182: Rest of Europe Infectious Disease Diagnostics Historic Market Review in US$ Million by Technology: 2009-2017 Table 183: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in Rest of Europe: Percentage Breakdown of Sales by Technology for 2009, 2019, and 2025 Table 184: Rest of Europe Infectious Disease Diagnostics Addressable Market Opportunity in US$ Million by End-Use: 2018-2025 Table 185: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in Rest of Europe: Summarization of Historic Demand in US$ Million by End-Use for the Period 2009-2017 Table 186: Rest of Europe Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Analysis by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 187: Rest of Europe Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Million by Disease Type: 2018-2025 Table 188: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in Rest of Europe in US$ Million by Disease Type: A Historic Review for the Period 2009-2017 Table 189: Rest of Europe Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Breakdown by Disease Type: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 190: Rest of Europe Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Million by Product & Service: 2018-2025 Table 191: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in Rest of Europe in US$ Million by Product & Service: A Historic Review for the Period 2009-2017 Table 192: Rest of Europe Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Breakdown by Product & Service: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 ASIA-PACIFIC Table 193: Asia-Pacific Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Million by Region/Country: 2018-2025 Table 194: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in Asia-Pacific: Historic Market Analysis in US$ Million by Region/Country for the Period 2009-2017 Table 195: Asia-Pacific Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Analysis by Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 196: Asia-Pacific Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Estimates and Projections in US$ Million by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 197: Asia-Pacific Infectious Disease Diagnostics Historic Market Analysis in US$ Million by Technology: 2009-2017 Table 198: Asia-Pacific Infectious Disease Diagnostics Historic Market Analysis in US$ Million by Technology: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 199: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Quantitative Demand Analysis in Asia-Pacific in US$ Million by End-Use: 2018-2025 Table 200: Asia-Pacific Infectious Disease Diagnostics Historic Market Review in US$ Million by End-Use: 2009-2017 Table 201: Asia-Pacific Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Analysis: A 17-Year Perspective by End-Use for 2009, 2019, and 2025 Table 202: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in Asia-Pacific by Disease Type: Estimates and Projections in US$ Million for the Period 2018-2025 Table 203: Asia-Pacific Infectious Disease Diagnostics Historic Market Scenario in US$ Million by Disease Type: 2009-2017 Table 204: Asia-Pacific Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Analysis by Disease Type: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 205: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in Asia-Pacific by Product & Service: Estimates and Projections in US$ Million for the Period 2018-2025 Table 206: Asia-Pacific Infectious Disease Diagnostics Historic Market Scenario in US$ Million by Product & Service: 2009-2017 Table 207: Asia-Pacific Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Analysis by Product & Service: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 AUSTRALIA Table 208: Australian Infectious Disease Diagnostics Latent Demand Forecasts in US$ Million by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 209: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in Australia: A Historic Perspective by Technology in US$ Million for the Period 2009-2017 Table 210: Australian Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Breakdown by Technology: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 211: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in Australia: Annual Sales Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Million by End-Use for the Period 2018-2025 Table 212: Australian Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in Retrospect in US$ Million by End-Use: 2009-2017 Table 213: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Distribution in Australia by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 214: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in Australia: Recent Past, Current and Future Analysis in US$ Million by Disease Type for the Period 2018-2025 Table 215: Australian Infectious Disease Diagnostics Historic Market Analysis in US$ Million by Disease Type: 2009-2017 Table 216: Australian Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Breakdown by Disease Type: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 217: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in Australia: Recent Past, Current and Future Analysis in US$ Million by Product & Service for the Period 2018-2025 Table 218: Australian Infectious Disease Diagnostics Historic Market Analysis in US$ Million by Product & Service: 2009-2017 Table 219: Australian Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Breakdown by Product & Service: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 INDIA Table 220: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Analysis in India in US$ Million by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 221: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in India: Historic Review in US$ Million by Technology for the Period 2009-2017 Table 222: Indian Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Breakdown by Technology: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 223: Indian Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Quantitative Demand Analysis in US$ Million by End-Use: 2018 to 2025 Table 224: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in India: Summarization of Historic Demand Patterns in US$ Million by End-Use for 2009-2017 Table 225: Indian Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Analysis by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 226: Indian Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Million by Disease Type: 2018 to 2025 Table 227: Indian Infectious Disease Diagnostics Historic Market Review by Disease Type in US$ Million: 2009-2017 Table 228: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in India: Percentage Share Breakdown of Sales by Disease Type for 2009, 2019, and 2025 Table 229: Indian Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Million by Product & Service: 2018 to 2025 Table 230: Indian Infectious Disease Diagnostics Historic Market Review by Product & Service in US$ Million: 2009-2017 Table 231: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in India: Percentage Share Breakdown of Sales by Product & Service for 2009, 2019, and 2025 SOUTH KOREA Table 232: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in South Korea: Recent Past, Current and Future Analysis in US$ Million by Technology for the Period 2018-2025 Table 233: South Korean Infectious Disease Diagnostics Historic Market Analysis in US$ Million by Technology: 2009-2017 Table 234: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Distribution in South Korea by Technology: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 235: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in South Korea: Recent Past, Current and Future Analysis in US$ Million by End-Use for the Period 2018-2025 Table 236: South Korean Infectious Disease Diagnostics Historic Market Analysis in US$ Million by End-Use: 2009-2017 Table 237: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Distribution in South Korea by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 238: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in South Korea: Recent Past, Current and Future Analysis in US$ Million by Disease Type for the Period 2018-2025 Table 239: South Korean Infectious Disease Diagnostics Historic Market Analysis in US$ Million by Disease Type: 2009-2017 Table 240: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Distribution in South Korea by Disease Type: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 241: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in South Korea: Recent Past, Current and Future Analysis in US$ Million by Product & Service for the Period 2018-2025 Table 242: South Korean Infectious Disease Diagnostics Historic Market Analysis in US$ Million by Product & Service: 2009-2017 Table 243: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Distribution in South Korea by Product & Service: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 REST OF ASIA-PACIFIC Table 244: Rest of Asia-Pacific Medium & Long-Term Outlook for Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in US$ Million by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 245: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in Rest of Asia-Pacific in US$ Million by Technology: 2009-2017 Table 246: Rest of Asia-Pacific Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Percentage Share Distribution by Technology: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 247: Rest of Asia-Pacific Demand Estimates and Forecasts for Infectious Disease Diagnostics in US$ Million by End-Use: 2018 to 2025 Table 248: Rest of Asia-Pacific Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market in US$ Million by End-Use: 2009-2017 Table 249: Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market Share Shift in Rest of Asia-Pacific by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 250: Rest of Asia-Pacific Market for Infectious Disease Diagnostics: Annual Sales Estimates and Projections in US$ Million by Disease Type for the Period 2018-2025 Please contact our Customer Support Center to get the complete Table of Contents Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05798883/?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 Former Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Najeeb Jung who joined a sit-in protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) outside Delhis Jamia Millia Islamia university on Monday said that the controversial law needed a revamp to make it inclusive. I feel that the Citizenship Amendment Act needs a revamp. They should either include Muslims or remove other names. Make it inclusive. If PM calls these people and talks, the matter will get resolved, Jung said. Jung who once served as the Vice-Chancellor of Jamia Millia University insisted that talks are a must with the protesters to solve the imbroglio. ALSO WATCH | Cant do terror politics; have suggested modifications in CAA: Chandra Bose When Anna Hazare movement had happened (2011), Congress government at the Centre was ready to talk to the agitators. Why is the present government not ready to have such a dialogue? There should be talks, he said. Congratulating students and locals who have been protesting outside Jamia for the last five weeks, Jung said, Its very encouraging to see that an Act, which was meant to create divide among people, have united everyone. The students who have been protesting since December 15, began an indefinite round-the-clock sit-in outside the campus on Wednesday as they intensified their agitation against the CAA and the NRC. Students from several universities also took out a protest march against the CAA Mandi House to Jantar Mantar on Monday. The protest was held under the banner of Young India against CAA-NRC-NPR, a collective of over 30 students groups. N Sai Balaji, AISA National President and former JNU students union (JNUSU) president said, Students and youth today have showed that they wont get divided by hate. We are together to defend our Constitution. The CAA which fast-tracks citizenship for non-Muslim refugees from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh who arrived in India before December 31, 2014, has sparked protests in various parts of the country for over a month now. Most of the protests have been led by students and women. The opposition claims the law is divisive, discriminatory and unconstitutional because it makes religion a test of citizenship. The government and the BJP insist that the law is meant to confer citizenship and not take it away from anyone. The BJP has launched a massive outreach programme to educate the masses about the law. The government insists that there is no question of rolling back the legislation. People walk near the entrance to BBC Broadcasting House on October 22, 2012 in London, England. Tony Hall will step down as the director general of the BBC in the summer to make way for a new person who will negotiate the future for the broadcaster with the government, he said on Monday. Britain's publicly funded broadcaster will need to negotiate a new charter with the government by 2027 and hold a mid-term review in 2022. The BBC is one of Britain's main news providers, as well as the biggest single television and radio broadcaster and the voice of the country to millions around the world. It is funded by what is in effect a 154.50-pound ($198) annual "licence fee" tax on all television-watching households, has a central presence in British cultural life, with its TV, radio and online content reaching 92% of the population. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has questioned if the BBC should continue to be supported by an annual fee paid by all viewing households regardless of how much they use the corporation's services. MOSCOW, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The 11th Gaidar Forum was held at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA) on January 1516. Around 18,000 participants from more than 30 countries registered for the forum, while about 800 journalists from the Russian and foreign media covered its work. Its substantive agenda included 85 sessions, where recognized Russian and foreign experts, politicians and business representatives discussed the challenges facing Russia and the world in the new decade. The participants focused on global economic dynamics and Russia's socio-economic policies, the outlook for the labor market transformation and regional development, the digital revolution and the climate crisis. President Vladimir Putin's Address to the Federal Assembly on the opening day of the forum set the tone for the discussions. Acting First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov met with the Gaidar Forum international experts to discuss the current trends in the global economy. The participants also considered other global challenges, such as climate change and demographic issues. "The Gaidar Forum always takes place at the beginning of the year, an interesting platform for summing up the work done and setting new tasks, for discussing the most important current problems," Anton Siluanov said. Other Russian officials participating in the forum included Acting Minister of Economic Development Maxim Oreshkin, Acting Minister of Science and Higher Education Mikhail Kotyukov, Chairman of the Accounts Chamber Alexei Kudrin, Chairman of Sberbank Management Board Herman Gref, and Chairman of the Management Board of Rusnano state corporation Anatoly Chubais. As usual, the forum was attended by prominent foreign participants. Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy praised Russia's achievements, stressing that the country has again become a superpower thanks to the efforts of President Vladimir Putin. Speaking about the future of Europe, Nicolas Sarkozy said he felt "deeply confident" about the social, economic and political future of the continent. Giulio Tremonti, former Italian Minister of Economy and Finance (19941995, 20012006, 20082011), noted the excessive bureaucratization of Europe. He also urged Europeans to end the confrontation and think about how to build relations with Russia and China. Several leading international economists spoke at the forum, including Mathilde Mesnard, Deputy Director of the OECD Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs, Harvard University Professor Kenneth Rogoff, Columbia University Business School Professor Charles Calomiris, and Chairman of JPMorgan Chase International Jacob Frenkel, who chaired the Bank of Israel from 1991 to 2000. The speakers included experts in business education and heads of world business schools, as well as heads of international research centers. Member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2007 Nobel Peace Prize winner Rae Kwon Chung participated in climate change discussions at the forum. The 2020 forum provided a valuable platform for a comprehensive review of the most important topics on the global and national agenda for the new decade. The discussions held as part of its business and expert programs confirmed the relevance of the Russian agenda, the coincidence of its key points with the global one and the effectiveness of the new forum format aimed at analyzing the situation and developing practical recommendations for national institutions. Despite the changes in the highest echelons of power in Russia, whose representatives traditionally take part in the forum, its program was almost completely implemented. "The 11th Gaidar Forum, which actually opened with the Presidential Address to parliament, largely reflected the agenda and the points the President made. We got a unique opportunity to discuss the topics offered by the head of state with a wide range of experts. I am sure that a lot of what was said on the sidelines of the forum will provide the content for future discussions at business and expert events. While exchanging views, the forum's experts put together a huge array of useful opinions and proposals for the authorities and society to consider with regard to the main aspects of the current and planned global socioeconomic transformations," RANEPA Rector Vladimir Mau summed up. The 11th Gaidar Forum organizers the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, the Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy, and the Association of Innovative Regions of Russia thank all the participants, guests, partners and journalists for productive collaboration and look forward to seeing them at the 12th Gaidar Forum. 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 SpaceX will take Nasa astronauts to space soon, Elon Musk has said. The announcement came after the successful test of a crucial abort system, intended to confirm that astronauts would be able to escape in the case of a launch disaster. It saw SpaceX blow up the Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Crew Dragon astronaut capsule, which then drifted safely back down to Earth. Mr Musk said the successful test had paved the way for real launches in SpaceX's second quarter, which would take it to June at the very latest. "We're highly confident that the hardware will be ready in Q1, most likely end of February but no later than March," Musk said. "And we think it appears probable that the first crewed launch would occur in the second quarter." Best Nasa pictures of the month Show all 10 1 /10 Best Nasa pictures of the month Best Nasa pictures of the month The eye of Hurricane Dorian as captured by Nasa astronaut Nick Hague from onboard the International Space Station (ISS) on 3 September Nasa/EPA Best Nasa pictures of the month The River Nile and its delta captured at night from the ISS on 2 September Nasa Best Nasa pictures of the month The galaxy Messier 81, located in the northern constellation of Ursa Major, as seen by Nasa's Spitzer Space Telescope Nasa/JPL-Caltech Best Nasa pictures of the month The flight path Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft is seen in this long exposure photograph as it launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on 25 September Nasa/Bill Ingalls Best Nasa pictures of the month Danielson Crater, an impact crater in the Arabia region of Mars, as captured by Nasa's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft Nasa/JPL-Caltech Best Nasa pictures of the month A team rehearses landing and crew extraction from Boeing's CST-100 Starliner, which will be used to carry humans to the International Space Station at the White Sands Missile Range outside Las Cruces, New Mexico Nasa/Bill Ingalls Best Nasa pictures of the month Bound for the International Space Station, the Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on 25 September Nasa/Bill Ingalls Best Nasa pictures of the month Hurricane Dorian as seen from the ISS on 2 September Nasa Best Nasa pictures of the month A string of tropical cyclones streams across Earth's northern hemisphere in this picture taken from the ISS on 4 September Nasa Best Nasa pictures of the month The city of New York as seen from the ISS on 11 September Nasa That crewed launch would be the final test, allowing Nasa's commercial crew programme to become fully operational. A successful mission carrying astronauts would be a major breakthrough for the US, which is currently unable to send people to the International Space Station from its own soil, and instead must rely on the Russian space agency. Rather than building its own spacecraft for the missions, Nasa has funded Boeing and SpaceX as they attempt to build their own capsule systems and rockets. If that plan is successful, it will allow for the US to launch its own astronauts for the first time since the end of Nasa's space shuttle programme, in 2011. In the abort test, Crew Dragon detached from the Falcon 9 rocket at "more than double the speed of sound," Musk told reporters, at 131,000 feet (40km) above the Atlantic Ocean roughly twice the altitude of a commercial jetliner. "It is a picture perfect mission. It went as well as one can possibly expect," Musk said at a press conference. National Aeronautics and Space Administration administrator Jim Bridenstine also described the test as a success. Crew Dragon, an acorn-shaped pod that can seat seven astronauts, fired on-board thrusters to detach itself from the rocket less than two minutes after liftoff, simulating an emergency abort scenario to prove it can return astronauts to safety. Each stage of the test prompted loud cheers from SpaceX crew members watching the footage from back on land. The capsule deployed four parachutes to slow its descent, and carried two human-shaped test dummies on seats fitted with motion sensors to collect data on the immense g-force the effect of acceleration on the body astronauts would be subjected to during abort. Additional reporting by agencies 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 Wiggles star Anthony Field, 56, has revealed he had a panic attack when his bandmate Greg Page, 48, suffered a cardiac arrest on stage during a live-streamed charity concert for the Australian bushfires on Friday. The 56-year-old said he was so overcome with emotion at the thought of losing his friend of 30 years and ended up on the 'ground'. Speaking to Triple M's Moonman In The Morning on Monday, he said: 'The worst thing was seeing Greg, he was lifeless. He had no pulse. He wasnt breathing.' Scroll down for video 'My eyes rolled up, I fell down and started shaking': Blue Wiggle Anthony Field has revealed he had a panic attack after witnessing Greg Page's cardiac arrest on stage during a live-streamed charity concert for the Australian bushfires on Friday Anthony admitted: 'I have a few mental conditions myself, so I go [went] into a panic attack. I was on the ground.' The children' entertainer explained whatwhen he has a panic attack: 'I start stuttering, my eyes roll up and I fall down and start shaking like I'm having a heart attack.' On Saturday, Anthony visited Greg at Sydney's Westmead Hospital, where he remains in a serious-but-stable condition after a life-saving medical procedure. 'I went to visit him and I was talking to him [about what happened] and he had no recollection of what happened, and when I was telling him I relived it in my head and I started having another panic attack,' he added. Ordeal: Greg, 48, suffered a cardiac arrest at a bushfire relief concert at Sydney's Castle Hill RSL on Friday night (Pictured far right) 'The worst thing was seeing Greg, lifeless': Blue Wiggle Anthony said he became so emotional at the thought of losing his friend of 30 years that he went into a panic attack on the stage floor 'They really brought him back': Blue Wiggle Anthony (pictured) broke down in tears on Saturday, as he recalled the moment cast, crew and an event-goer saved Greg after his cardiac arrest at Sydney's Castle Hill RSL on Friday night Speaking to 7News outside the Sydney hospital over the weekend, Anthony broke down in tears as he thanked those responsible for saving Greg's life. He thanked drummer Steve Pace, a woman named Kim who works in The Wiggles' office, as well as an off-duty nurse from the audience. Greg suffered a cardiac arrest at a bushfire relief concert at Sydney's Castle Hill RSL on Friday night. The original Yellow Wiggle, 48, suffers from a crippling nervous system disorder that caused him to collapse during a reunion concert for bushfire relief. Greg suffered cardiac arrest due to orthostatic intolerance or 'upright intolerance', meaning that whenever he stands up for a prolonged period of time, he risks his life. People with orthostatic intolerance have a nervous system that struggles to pump enough blood around the body, which prompted Greg's cardiac arrest. Brave: Greg is pictured in hospital where he is recovering from the cardiac arrest The original Wiggles lineup were moments away from performing their final song, Hot Potato, when Greg suddenly collapsed. Since Greg was standing upright for a long period of time, 750ml of blood flowed away from his head and down to his legs, putting immense pressure on his heart. Greg is now at Sydney's Westmead Hospital in a 'serious but stable condition' after the near-death experience. Recovering: On Saturday, it was reported that Greg woke up in hospital and insisted 'the show should go on' for the second Wiggles bushfire relief concert The show must go on: The Wiggles said Greg's main concern was that the bushfire relief concert went on without him. The group performed a second show on Saturday January 18 Greg's life-threatening condition is what forced him to initially quit The Wiggles in November, 2006 after withdrawing from the group's US tour that year. He was also wrongly told he had 'seven years to live' by a doctor. 'To be feeling the way you feel - tired, lethargic, heavy-chested, light-headed and just vague, and to be missing your mouth when you go to eat things - that was a pretty raw moment,' Greg said of his condition to The Sydney Morning Herald in 2008. The Wiggles performed their second bushfire relief concert, with Emma replacing Greg as the Yellow Wiggle, on Saturday at Sydney's Castle Hill RSL. A group of lawyers gathered outside the Bombay High Court gate on Monday to read out Preamble to the Constitution of India in protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act. Over 50 lawyers, including senior counsels Navroze Seervai, Gayatri Singh and Mihir Desai, read out the preamble in unison and later said no one can divide the country and its citizens on the basis of religion. The lawyers said the CAA seeks to provide citizenship to refugees belonging to six religious communities but leaves out one -Islam, which is "constitutionally wrong". Protests have been going on in different parts of the country against the new law, which grants Indian citizenship to Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis and Jain refugees 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.) President Donald Trump and cabinet officials during the signing of phase one of a trade deal with China in the East Room of the White House in Washington on Jan. 15, 2020. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times) Trump Expected to Hail Trade, Economic Victories at Davos 2020 DAVOS, SwitzerlandPresident Donald Trump this week is expected to attend the World Economic Forum (WEF), a high-profile summit in the Swiss mountain town of Davos that brings together world leaders, business elites, economists, and celebrities from around the globe. Trump went in 2018, but had to cancel his trip in 2019 due to a record-long partial-government shutdown. The economic summit in the Alpine town will run from Jan. 21 through Jan. 24, marking its 50th anniversary. As in previous years, the forum will focus on current economic and social issues to help shape global, regional, and industry agendas. Trump is scheduled to attend the summit Jan. 2122. Hell deliver a speech on the events opening day, a few hours before his impeachment trial is expected to begin in the Senate on Jan. 21. This will be Trumps second visit to the annual gathering. He is expected to use his Davos speech as an opportunity to hail his trade and economic victories. Similar to his 2018 speech, Trump is poised to highlight his tax reform and regulatory rollback to deliver a message to investors that America is open for business. We want those business leaders all to come to the United States, he told reporters Jan. 16 at the White House. We have tremendous, powerful room for growth. Amid the global slowdown, the U.S. economy defied recession fears in 2019 and entered the longest expansion in American history. The United States is expected to be the only Group of Seven country that will post growth above 2 percent in 2019, according to economists. Meanwhile, the global economy recorded its slowest expansion in the past decade, according to the International Monetary Fund. Trade tensions, poor business climate, and country-specific weaknesses in emerging markets were a significant drag on global growth in 2019. In 2018, Trump pitched his America First agenda, telling global elites that the United States would no longer turn a blind eye to unfair trade practices. We cannot have free and open trade if some countries exploit the system at the expense of others, Trump said in his first Davos speech. At this years event, however, hes expected to take a softer tone on trade and protectionism after he signed an initial trade deal with China last week. In addition, the Senate on Jan. 16 passed the United States-Mexico-Canada agreement, sending it to the presidents desk for his expected signature. Hes got a great message to deliver there in Davos, Kellyanne Conway, a top adviser to Trump, told reporters on Jan. 16. She said Trump is likely to take on the perils of socialism and address several issues, including the stock market, the global economy, and whether NATO members are meeting their defense spending requirements. Key Theme: Climate Change Each years forum has a theme, and this years meeting will focus on the concept of stakeholders for a sustainable and cohesive world. Political and business leaders will tackle climate and environmental threats during the summit. As in 2019, Greta Thunberg, the 17-year-old Swedish climate activist, is expected to attend the forum and ramp up pressure on businesses and governments. The leaders will address other pressing issues, according to the WEF, such as income inequality, long-term debt burden, technology war, rising geopolitical conflicts, and workforce development. Augustine Faucher, deputy chief economist at Pittsburgh-based PNC Bank, said the main issue that needs addressing in Davos is the slowing of global trade flows, which have had a negative effect on the global economy recently. I do think that greater trade flows over the long run contribute to broad-based global economic growth, he told The Epoch Times. So I would like to see a recommitment to openness to global trade. And that includes tariff barriers, includes non-tariff barriers, includes treatment of intellectual property, all sorts of those issues that need to be addressed. Almost 3,000 people, including leaders from G-20 countries, company executives, and other prominent figures, are expected to attend this years gathering. The list of attendees also includes leaders from Iraq, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Irans Foreign Minister Mohamad Javad Zarif, who was originally scheduled to attend, canceled his trip, according to the WEF. We have to understand the cancellation from Iran Foreign Minister Zarif against the backdrop of uncertainty in the region and what is unfolding in Iran, Borge Brende, WEF president, said at a press conference last week. The U.S. delegation attending the Davos summit this year includes Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, White House advisers Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, and other top officials. Trump will host a dinner for business leaders and conduct a series of bilateral meetings during the summit. Federal lawmaker representing Ajaokuta federal constituency at the House of Representatives, National Assembly, Hon. Idirisu Lawal has eulogised Nigerian youths, describing them as true leaders of tomorrow. Hon. Idirisu was reacting to news over the place of the youths in the present day Nigeria in Abuja. He however hammered on the need to empower youths through qualitative education and entrepreneural skills. "We must equip our youths with quality education and leadership skills to enable them face the present leadership challenges. The world is driven by knowledge and those we are grooming must have all it takes to be competitive in the present day world," he stated. He added that youths must be visionary with determination to succeed in anything they find themselves doing. He urged them to be wary of desperate politicians who only care about using them as mere thugs to achieve self serving goals. Praising Nigeria youths, he said: "Our youths are doing well in all facets and we must give them a chance. We are all witnesses to the laurels that have been won by Nigerian students abroad, where they have broken every known records. "I believe that the future will be brighter if only politicians will stop sponsoring divisions in the polity. If they can come together and create an enabling environment for these leaders of tomorrow, then we cannot entertain any fear for tomorrow". The busines mogul turned politician used the opportunity to shower encomium on the youths of his constituency for their peaceful disposition, thereby making Ajaokuta a safe haven for investors. He added that Governor Yahaya Bello has demonstrated his prowess in ensuring that the youths of the State are not left behind in every sector of the state. His words: "Let me particularly praise the youths of Ajaokuta for their peaceful disposition and my Governor, Yahaya Bello, a youth who has shown what it takes to embrace the youths through strategic engagement and empowerment. As a youth, he understands the heart beats of youths and is taking right steps to position them for the future". A crowdfunding campaign for a massive pro-EU flag to be displayed over the White Cliffs of Dover ahead of Brexit has raised 11,000 in three days. Set up by South East England MEP Antony Hook on Friday, the campaign's target was just 5,500 to fund the 150 square metre banner and it made the sum in 24 hours. The message will read: "We still love EU." Mr Hook said: "The phenomenal success of this appeal demonstrates how passionately people in this country feel about sending a positive message to the EU." He added: "This banner is much bigger than leave or remain. It is about communicating our appreciation for our nearest neighbours and our hope that we will continue to have the best possible relationship with them in the future." Brexit protests - In pictures 1 /13 Brexit protests - In pictures Pro-Brexit protesters outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster PA Activists demonstrate during an anti-government protest calling for the Prime Minister's resignation AFP/Getty Images A pro-Brexit protester shouting at anti-Brexit protesters outside the Houses of Parliament PA British police officers patrol Whitehall during an anti-government protest AFP/Getty Images Anti-Brexit protestors gather on Whitehall REUTERS An anti-Brexit protestor arrives on Whitehall REUTERS An activist holds a placard during an anti-government protes AFP/Getty Images Activists demonstrate during an anti-government protest calling for the Prime Minister's resignation AFP/Getty Images A pro-Brexit protesters outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster PA A pro-Brexit protester (left) speaks to commentator Paul Mason outside the Houses of Parliament PA Mr Hook said the campaign would continue to fundraise despite meeting its target, saying he and his team had "more exciting plans to make sure our message is heard right across the continent". A spokesman for the Liberal Democrat MEP said the banner will be displayed at the top of the cliffs and a drone sent over to capture the image. There are a number of Brexit celebrations planned for the evening of January 31, including a street party in Parliament Square. Union Jacks are due to be flown around Parliament Square and a clock counting down the minutes to 11pm will be projected on Downing Street. The Government has also been under growing pressure to ensure Big Ben chimes to mark Brexit, despite the fact the Elizabeth Tower in which it hangs is undergoing major renovations. Boris Johnson said last week that the Government was "working up a plan so people can bung a bob for a Big Ben bong" after Commons authorities ruled out the proposal because it could cost 500,000. But Downing Street has since sought to distance itself from the campaign, with a Number 10 spokesman insisting the matter is for MPs. Party Working President Jagat Prakash Nadda is all set to win unopposed. The choice of the announcement date on a "ekadashi", was done keeping in the auspiciousness aspect in mind. New Delhi: Just ahead of Delhi election and as the "ekadashi" sets in, the "world's largest political party" -- BJP will have a new president on Monday by 2:30 pm, bringing an end of Amit Shah era. The fact that the BJP has stated that the announcement will come by afternoon suggests there won't be any one apart from JP Nadda, who is backed by Modi-Shah duo, will throw his hat into. Earlier the party through an official communique said that "if an election is at all necessary", it will take place on Jan 21. The fact that the announcement will be made a day earlier, is a clear indication there won't be any election in the first place, as was speculated. Meanwhile, all senior ministers are asked to be in the party office, on Monday. The nomination process for the post of BJP President will begin at 10 am and will go on until 12:30 pm. The filed nomination papers will be examined until 2:30 pm and if any candidate wishes to withdraw them, they can. By 2:30 pm, Nadda will be all set to be declared the man who will step into the role of Amit Shah. However, many are of the opinion that Shah will have the last say on all macro-decisions like pre-poll alliances or top organisational appointments, but will be free from daily monitoring of the organisation. Shah himself wanted this, due to which Nadda was brought in as the working President of the party as key legislations like abrogation of Article 370, Triple Talaq and finally Citizenship Amendment Act meant Shah, who is the home minister as well, had to prioritize his works. 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 date was chosen, keeping that in mind, say sources. 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. Welcome to Morningstar.co.uk! You have been redirected here from Hemscott.com as we are merging our websites to provide you with a one-stop shop for all your investment research needs.To search for a security, type the name or ticker in the search box at the top of the page and select from the dropdown results.Registered Hemscott users can log in to Morningstar using the same login details. Similarly, if you are a Hemscott Premium user, you now have a Morningstar Premium account which you can access using the same login details. Advertisement A mansion in the Scottish landscape which was built for the son of a servant who went on to become a mining tycoon has gone on the market for 1.5M. Tillycorthie Mansion House is just half an hour away from the city of Aberdeen and comes with a glass-roofed courtyard, a lavishly-appointed dining suite, and the nine-acre grounds which surround it. The 11-bedroom property, near the village of Udny just 11 miles north of Aberdeen, is currently on the market with Savills estate agency for 1,500,000. Tillycorthie Mansion House is pictured above with its glass-roofed courtyard seen to the right. The mansion was built for James Rollo Duncan, who went to Latin America during the mining boom of the late 1880s to try and make his fortune Tillycorthie Mansion was built for James Rollo Duncan, an entrepreneur who spent his life between Bolivia and Aberdeenshire. Born as the unwanted son of a servant, Duncan became a shepherd at the age of 10, then a herring fisherman, and later served his apprenticeship as a stonemason. He raised enough money to travel to Bolivia to try and make his fortune in Latin America in the 1880s. He worked for a spell as a miner before moving up the ranks to open his own mine and cash in on the height of the tin mine boom. Duncan bought adjoining mines and soon became one of the country's leading mine owners, and stayed in the country for 30 years. Entrepreneur James Rollo Duncan became a shepherd at the age of 10, then a herring fisherman, and later served his apprenticeship as a stonemason before moving to Latin America. One of the spacious living area rooms is pictured above A red room with a large pool table is seen above. Other rooms include the Purple Room and the Chinese Room, and the house also has its very own Christmas Room The mine mogul visited Scotland on several occasions, but it wasn't until 1911 that he returned to take up permanent residence, joined by his new wife Isabella. One of the 11 bedrooms in the home is seen above James Rollo Duncan spent his life between Bolivia and Aberdeenshire. Born as the unwanted son of a servant, he went to Bolivia and worked as a miner before becoming a mining tycoon himself The 11 bedrooms are each singularly characterful, as are the various drawing-rooms. One of the double bedrooms is pictured above The mine mogul visited Scotland on several occasions, but it wasn't until 1911 that he returned to take up permanent residence, joined by his new wife Isabella, an Aberdeenshire woman who had also travelled to South America in hopes of a better life. Looking for a home which reflected their South American story, they built Tillycorthie Mansion House - one of the very first Scottish homes to be built using reinforced concrete. The wealthy couple lived the rest of their lives in the magnificent house, with Duncan taking a keen interest in local agriculture. He passed away in 1938 and was survived by his wife of 15 years. Following Isabella's passing, the house was abandoned nearly 30 years before it was bought and immaculately refurbished by the current owners to its present condition. 'From the period paints and wallcoverings to the silk window drapes and waxed parquet floors, Tillycorthie Mansion House is a supreme example of a property that has been fortunate enough to have been rescued and restored to its former glory,' said Fiona Gormley of Savills. 'The opportunity to acquire a period mansion house which has been fully refurbished with such meticulous attention to detail is rare indeed. Since acquiring the property the current owners have lavished much energy, passion and expense to ensure that Tillycorthie has been reinstated to its former glory. 'The many ornate fireplaces all have open chimneys and are fully functional. Moulded ceilings, cornice work and ceiling roses are in abundance. Grooved door frames, deep skirting boards, panelled doors and original oak parquet flooring have been lovingly waxed and polished.' From the initial 'wow' of the palm courtyard, as seen above filled with light and greenery, the house has been designed to impress. Owner James Rollo Duncan became one of Bolivia's leading mine owners, and stayed in the country for 30 years The inside of the glass-housed courtyard is pictured above, which looks on to its surroundings. Owner James Rollo Duncan took a keen interest in local agriculture The heart of the home is the generous dining sized presentation kitchen fitted with an extensive and comprehensive range of luxury bespoke handmade cabinets, complemented by granite work surfaces 'The many ornate fireplaces all have open chimneys and are fully functional. Moulded ceilings, cornice work and ceiling roses are in abundance. Grooved door frames, deep skirting boards, panelled doors and original oak parquet flooring have been lovingly waxed and polished', says Fiona Gormley of Savills From the initial 'wow' of the palm courtyard, filled with light and greenery, the house has been designed to impress. The heart of the home is the generous dining sized presentation kitchen fitted with an extensive and comprehensive range of luxury bespoke handmade cabinets, complemented by granite work surfaces. The 11 bedrooms are each singularly characterful, as are the various drawing-rooms. There is a cocktail bar, with a gleaming black and white porcelain-tiled floor, as well as a Christmas Room, where you can warm up in front of the fire on chilly winter days. James Rollo Duncan passed away in 1938 and was survived by his wife of 15 years. Following Isabella's passing, the house was abandoned nearly 30 years before it was bought and immaculately refurbished by the current owners to its present condition. A cosy living room is pictured above Looking for a home which reflected their South American story as Spanish style architecture, as seen above, they built Tillycorthie Mansion House - one of the very first Scottish homes to be built using reinforced concrete. The wealthy couple lived the rest of their lives in the magnificent house The tree-lined road is pictured leading up to the house. Tillycorthie Mansion House is half an hour away from the city of Aberdeen and comes with a glass-roofed courtyard, a lavishly-appointed dining suite, and the nine-acre grounds which surround it Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday hit out at opposition parties, saying those rejected by people in elections have been left with few weapons and were spreading confusion and lies. Without naming his rivals, Modi also targeted the "echo system" backing them, and said it has always been against the BJP. Asserting that despite attempts by the Opposition to spread confusion and lies, people's faith in the BJP and his government have remained "unshaken", he said the party returned to power with a bigger mandate in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls despite its rivals fighting with their full strength. He was addressing the BJP leaders and workers at a ceremony to felicitate newly elected party president J P Nadda. Modi also said that he was sure that the party will scale newer heights during Nadda's presidency. The Prime Minister also praised Amit Shah for his contribution, describing him as an "outstanding karyakarta (worker)". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 19:00:32|Editor: Xiang Bo Video Player Close CHANGCHUN, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Every trip, water deliveryman Huang Weidong and his two colleagues will drive a two-carriage train to deliver drinking water to remote water-deficient villages in the city of Baishan in northeast China's Jilin Province. Days of heavy snowfall laid thick on the ground. Huang, 53, started his preparation work at around 8:00 a.m. in the morning. He first ignited a small piece of cotton and bent down toward the outlet of the water tank to melt the ice on it. "The outlet easily gets frozen due to cold weather. I need to stop in every village to melt the ice," said Huang. The water deliveryman then climbed to the top of the train carriage and used a steel pipe to fill the water tank with clean spring water. "The township of Quanyang has rich mineral water resources, and you can drink the water without filtering it," said Huang. "Sometimes we need to deliver water at night when the temperatures are as low as minus 30 or 40 degrees," he said. After preparations, at 10:20 a.m., Huang and his colleagues departed for the villages, a journey that often lasts two days. These villages, with an average elevation of 600 meters, have complicated geological conditions. The well water is not up to drinking standards. In 1975, the local railway department decided to deliver water by train to villagers near the Quanyang Station. Huang is a fourth-generation water deliveryman of the station. He has worked there for six years, and each year he makes 100 round trips. "We suffer most in winter," Huang said while pointing to his soaked shoes and frozen cotton clothes. "Once my colleague's hands got stuck to the handrail due to the cold weather," Huang recalled. After less than two hours, Huang and his colleagues stopped at the Lushuihe Station for a quick lunch. Bread, sausages and cold mineral water made up their meal. "Food easily gets cold in winter and rotten in summer. The most convenient food is bread," said Du Hongfeng, one of the two train drivers. When the train arrived at Huojugou village at 12:20 p.m., several villagers were already there. "It is really a hard journey to deliver us the drinking water. It is precious," said Tian He, a villager in Huojugou. "We only use it for cooking." "We use snow water in winter and river water in summer for washing ourselves, our clothes and feeding livestock," said Tian. Tian used to be a railway worker. After retirement, Tian raised several cows and chickens at home. Because of the lack of water, most of his neighbors have gradually moved away in recent years. "Only six or seven households are still living in the village," Tian said. "Even if there was only one household left, I would stick to my job and deliver water to those in need," Huang said on his way back. OTTAWA - A poll probing people's knowledge of the Holocaust has turned up a finding that suggests there are some in this country who believe Canada shouldn't intervene militarily if there was a genocide taking place in the world. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/1/2020 (722 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. The sun lights the buildings behind the entrance of the former Nazi death camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau in Oswiecim, Germany, Friday, Dec. 6, 2019.A new poll suggests there are some in this country who believe Canada shouldn't intervene militarily if there was a genocide taking place somewhere in the world. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Markus Schreiber OTTAWA - A poll probing people's knowledge of the Holocaust has turned up a finding that suggests there are some in this country who believe Canada shouldn't intervene militarily if there was a genocide taking place in the world. The poll commissioned by the Association for Canadian Studies found that 29 per cent of respondents disagreed with the idea that Canada should send troops to a place where a genocide was occurring. A further 11 per cent preferred not to answer the question, which the association's president suggests could mean even more people disagree with the idea, but did not want to be counted as being opposed. The online survey of 2,295 Canadians by Leger Marketing was conducted the week of Nov. 11, 2019 and cannot be assigned a margin of error because, according to the polling industry's generally accepted standards, internet-based polls are not considered random samples. The findings are being released as global leaders prepare to mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, a Nazi death camp during the Second World War. Gov. Gen. Julie Payette will be among those attending the commemoration on Jan. 27, the date in 1945 when Soviet troops liberated the camp. The Auschwitz Memorial Site and Museum says some 120 survivors, including some from Canada, are expected to make the trip for events. Fifteen years ago, the United Nations adopted the date as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Canadians by and large understand the concept of genocide, so opposition to military intervention stems less from ignorance and more from a belief that it's not our business, said Jack Jedwab, president of the Association for Canadian Studies. It's also difficult for people to feign ignorance about similar situations today because of today's connected world, Jedwab said. "All this is very unfortunate because the lessons of what transpired 75 years ago as we're on the verge of marking the liberation of Auschwitz the lesson is that those people were victims of the most horrific crime of the 20th century because there were lots of bystanders." Auschwitz-Birkenau, built by Nazi Germany when it occupied Poland, was the largest of the extermination centres the Nazis built during the Second World War. Some 1.1 million people, the vast majority of them Jews, were killed there. About six million Jews were killed during the Second World War, a figure that respondents in the association's survey identified 43 per cent of the time. Ahead of next week's commemoration, the International Court of Justice will issue a decision Thursday over whether it will order a halt to a campaign in Myanmar against the country's Rohingya Muslim minority. In anticipation of the decision, a report on Monday by a Myanmar government commission said there was no evidence of genocide. But it said there are reasons to believe security forces committed war crimes in counterinsurgency operations that more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh. In September 2018, the House of Commons unanimously supported a motion calling the crimes against the Rohingya people a genocide. The survey results suggested that those who disagreed with military intervention to stop a mass slaughter were more likely to show anti-immigrant sentiment and a higher distrust of Jews. Jedwab said that may stem from a belief that situations elsewhere are viewed as conflicts between different groups of ethnic people, with whom we don't feel a connection. 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 are a number of people who say that these situations are not our business," he said. "It's a function of people who don't think that those issues are matters we should deal with that they're not our problem." The youngest respondents in the survey, ages 18 to 24, were the least likely to disagree with sending troops should a similar situation take place again. They too also most often preferred not to answer the question. Those aged 45 to 54, members of so-called Gen X, were the most likely to disagree with sending troops. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 20, 2020. With files from the Associated Press F ormer prime minister Gordon Brown has called for post-Brexit powers to be transferred to the UK's regions to stop the country breaking up. The ex-Labour leader told an audience in Westminster how Boris Johnson's slogan of "getting Brexit done" was having the impact of "leaving Britain undone". Mr Brown said the powers of Brussels should not go to the UK's central government but should be put into the hands of the country's regions. He said: "When you think of Brexit getting done, it is leaving Britain undone and at the same time you are destabilising the relationships between the different interests of Irishness and Britishness, and putting at risk the whole of the United Kingdom. "The danger is we have Scotland first, England first, Wales first, and so on in the United Kingdom." The former chancellor added: "We have to rediscover, in my view, the value of empathy, not enmity, between nations. Gordon Brown who has said that the powers of Brussels must be transferred to the UK's regions to stop the country breaking up after Brexit. / PA "We have to rediscover the importance of cooperation and not conflict." Mr Brown, PM between 2007 and 2010, said one way of reversing the UK's "over-centralised" system was not only to grant more powers to Scotland to ward off the threat of independence, but also to give greater control to English regional leaders over investment and changes in their areas. He said he wanted to see regional citizens' assemblies set up to examine the issues Brexit will present the country with. "I would give it powers to look at some of the important issues that arise from Brexit," he told those at the event organised by campaign group, Hope Not Hate. "When you transfer powers from Brussels to Westminster, you cannot say that's where powers should be located. "There has to be devolution of some of these powers, otherwise Westminster and Whitehall will have even more centralisation and power than they have now." Mr Brown criticised the Conservative idea of moving the House of Lords out of London in a bid to connect with voters, calling it a "cosmetic" change. Instead, he said long-term reform of the House of Lords should use his example of the regional citizen assemblies and turn it into a "senate of regions and nations" to give a stronger voice to places that feel left behind. Councils of the North - and in any other region that wants one - made up of councillors, MPs and elected mayors, could help direct resources to where needed, Mr Brown argued. And, if the government of the day was refusing to listen, pressure applied jointly by the regional councils would eventually be "irresistible" for ministers, he predicted. Prince Harry and Boris Johnson attend the UK-Africa Investment Summit 1 /5 Prince Harry and Boris Johnson attend the UK-Africa Investment Summit Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex with Prime Minister Boris Johnson, as they attend the UK-Africa Investment Summit at the Intercontinental Hotel London PA PA PA PA Addressing current friction north of the border, the former Number 10 incumbent said the SNP had failed to win the argument over independence in Scotland and pushed for the UK to offer an alternative to splitting. "There is not a decisive majority or even an overwhelming majority, as they (the SNP) would argue, for independence," said Mr Brown. "The danger is for Scotland is that we are caught between two positions - a no-change unionism, the status quo, and independence, which is where the nationalists want the debate to be." The 68-year-old said the NHS still represented an illustration of how the UK could function in a united fashion and urged Britain to rediscover that spirit. "The idea is that in any part of the UK, irrespective of whether you're Scottish, English, Welsh or Northern Irish, you can get access to the NHS," said Mr Brown. "The health service is there to treat you equally, on equal terms, irrespective of your money but dependent on your need. "When we have blood transfusions and blood is donated by people, they don't ask if it is going to a Scottish or Welsh or English or Irish patient." Mr Brown warned that unless Labour helped find a solution to Scotland's independence threat, then a party leader was unlikely to cross the threshold of Downing Street as prime minister again. (Bloomberg) -- Sign up here to receive the Davos Diary, a special daily newsletter that will run from Jan. 20-24. Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido left the country to start an international tour that includes meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and a trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, according to people familiar with his plans. Guaido is already in Colombia and will meet with President Ivan Duque Sunday afternoon, Duque said on Twitter. He plans to attend an international conference against terrorism on Monday in Colombia at which Pompeo is due to speak. He will also meet with presidents of countries that recognize him as head of state. Whos in Charge in Venezuela and What May Come Next: QuickTake Guaido last defied a travel ban in March, risking jail to visit Colombia and Brazil. As well as Colombia and Davos, his tour will include a visit to the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Brussels. While more than 50 countries recognize Guaido as the legitimate president of Venezuela he has struggled to translate that support into concrete gains against a regime that remains solidly entrenched. Last April, he tried to lead an uprising against the government of President Nicolas Maduro which failed after most of the armed forces refused to join. Pompeo, on his plane from Berlin, confirmed that he expected to meet with Guaido and suggested continued support. Our mission in Venezuela has not changed, Pompeo told reporters. Maduro has been destructive. Our mission is to continue to work through all of the diplomatic channels to achieve the outcome that President Trump has laid out now about 18 months ago, he said. Maduro gave an interview to the Washington Post, published late yesterday, in which he called for direct talks with the U.S. and said Pompeo was among those giving President Donald Trump bad advice. Guaidos team started organizing the tour at the end of last year, as a strategy to boost his profile and maintain international support. Story continues He had also hoped to meet with Trump and Emmanuel Macron of France, but those meetings are still unconfirmed, the people said. His initial idea had been to make the trip as soon as he was sworn in as Leader of the National Assembly for another year on Jan. 5. But he had to delay after a group of lawmakers backed by Maduro voted in a rival leader even as security forces blocked Guaido and opposition members from entering the building. (Adds Pompeo quotes from 5th paragraph) --With assistance from Kevin Cirilli. To contact the reporters on this story: Alex Vasquez in Caracas Office at avasquez45@bloomberg.net;Sebastian Boyd in Santiago at sboyd9@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Matthew G. Miller at mmiller144@bloomberg.net, Ian Fisher 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 World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), the US space agency NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have all independently concluded that the past decade, 2010 to 2019, experienced the hottest ever recorded global surface temperatures. Each decade since the 1960s has been hotter than the previous one. The five years, 20152019, were the warmest. 2019 was the second hottest yearsurpassed only by 2016, when the El Nino weather pattern drove temperatures to the highest level yet registered. The average surface temperature has risen by 1.1 degrees Celsius since the pre-industrial era. Among credible scientists, there is no dispute that the cause is the long-term impact of human emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas commented: The year 2020 has started out where 2019 left offwith high impact weather and climate-related events. Australia had its hottest, driest year on record in 2019, setting the scene for the massive bushfires, which were so devastating to people and property, wildlife, ecosystems and the environment. Unfortunately, we expect to see much more extreme weather throughout 2020 and the coming decades, fueled by record levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. A wildfire burns on Casitagua hill, north of Quito, Ecuador, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2020. While the fire is not threatening homes, the smoke is reaching the north of Quito. (AP Photos/Dolores Ochoa) Hundreds of millions of people around the world are suffering the impact of human-induced climatic change. In 2019 alone, scientists believe that global warming was the main contributing factor to more intense heat waves, droughts and fire, more regular and severe tropical storms and flooding, increased acidification of oceans, accelerated permafrost melt, the thinning of ice sheets in the Arctic and Antarctica, and the steady rise in sea levels. What action is required to stem global warming is well known. Emissions must be drastically reduced through the wholesale deployment of non-carbon alternatives to fossil fuels, combined with the deployment of verified means of capturing existing carbon from the atmosphere. If they are not, the WMOs Taalas commented, On the current path we are heading toward a temperature increase of 3 to 5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. Yet, for all the proclamations by corporations and governments that they accept the known dangers and the need to reduce the use of fossil fuels, carbon emissions rose to the highest ever level in 2019, according to estimates by the Global Carbon Project. Even though emissions from coal declinedwhile still accounting for 40 percent of the global totaloverall emissions increased through the use of oil and natural gas. Immense rage is building up internationally, especially in the working class and among the worlds youth, over the sheer recklessness and criminality of those in power, who have refused to implement the policies necessary to avoid catastrophic global warming. However, the understanding that must inform the political struggles of the coming months and years is that this corporate and government inaction and indifference stem directly from the irrationality of the capitalist system. A social system that is based on the private ownership of the means of production, the subordination of production to the accumulation of profit, and the division of the globe into rival nation-states, i.e., the capitalist system, is incapable of the coordinated international planning and allocation of resources necessary to address the climate crisis. Protest appeals to the moral conscience of political and corporate leaders have, in the blunt assessment of teenage climate change activist, Greta Thunberg, achieved nothing. Instead, governments internationally, spearheaded by the Trump administration in the United States, are insisting that continued, and even expanded, fossil fuel use is essential for the competitiveness of their industries and their national interest. Just 100 transnational private and state-owned energy corporationswhich generate vast returns for the wealthy eliteare responsible for 71 percent of all emissions. The narrow, short-term dictates of shareholder return, or cheap energy for industry, are given priority over the long-term interests of humanity as a whole. In Australia, where the fires burning across large parts of the continent have starkly brought home the realities of climate change, Scott Morrison, the countrys prime minister, flatly asserted on the weekend: I wont put up a carbon tax. I wont put up peoples electricity prices and I will not wipe out a resources sector which millions of Australians depend on, particularly regional Australians. Morrisona particularly crude defender of the fossil fuel industryhas no concerns for millions of Australians, but for the energy corporations that generate billions of dollars in profit from Australias status as the largest global exporter of coal and one of the largest producers of natural gas. As for taxation, successive governments in Australia, paralleling global processes, have slashed the rate of tax on both corporations and personal income. Vast wealth that could have been used for socially useful purposesincluding low-cost renewable electricity generationhas been channeled to the top 10 percent, and especially the top 1 percent of the population. As recent weeks have demonstrated in Australia, the emergency and health services needed to prepare for and respond to increasingly severe disasters are under-resourced and under-staffed, while a tiny proportion of the population has accrued obscene amounts of personal wealth. Moreover, amid escalating corporate struggles for markets and profit share, nation-states are channeling ever greater resources into war preparationsnot the reduction of emissions. Military spending in 2018 increased by another 2.7 percent, to at least $1.8 trillion, most of it by the United States, followed by China, the European powers, Saudi Arabia and India, countries that are also responsible for the highest carbon emissions. The military apparatus itself is a significant factor in emissions. To sustain its vast global operation of predatory wars and intimidation, the fuel use by the US military alone would have ranked it as the worlds 47th largest emitter in 2017 if it were counted as a separate nation. On January 3, the World Socialist Web Site perspective, The decade of socialist revolution begins, presented a concise and objective summation of the political challenges of the coming period. Those who defend the historically outmoded capitalist order are presiding over the descent toward a catastrophic great power war, the destruction of hard-won democratic rights, the degradation of the environment, unprecedented levels of social inequality and unnecessary deprivation and suffering. The international working class is the only social force that can bring an end to capitalism and usher in a socialist society that prioritises human need, not private profit. Everything depends, however, on the mass struggles of workers, which are already unfolding in country after country, becoming imbued with socialist consciousness and unified into a worldwide movement for revolutionary change. The efforts of all workers and youth who recognise the gravity of the world situation and the crisis posed by climate change must be devoted to this task. New Delhi [India], Jan 20 (ANI): A Delhi court on Monday deferred the hearing in a money laundering case related to alleged misappropriation of funds at Religare Finvest Limited (RFL) against former Fortis Healthcare promoter Malvinder Mohan Singh, Shivinder Singh and former Religare Enterprises Limited CMD Sunil Godhwani. The court has deferred the hearing in the matter till January 29. Enforcement Directorate (ED) had recently filed a charge-sheet against Malvinder Singh, Shivinder Singh and Sunil Godhwani in the Saket courts complex. After taking cognizance of the charge-sheet, the court had listed the matter for January 20. The court, on Monday, issued fresh production warrant against the three accused as they could not be presented before the court. Public Prosecutor Nitesh Rana had told the court that there is enough evidence to initiate proceedings against the three accused under the charges of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The economic offences watchdog has also sought to extend the judicial custody saying that investigation in the case is at a crucial stage. Currently, the accused are under judicial custody in the case. The agency had arrested the three on November 14 under Sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering (PMLA) Act. (ANI) The Chairman of the NATO Military Committee announced that the alliance has sent a counter-hybrid team to Montenegro to face Russian hybrid attacks. Last week in Brussels, the Chairman of the NATO Military Committee (MC), Marshal Sir Stuart Peach, announced the effort of the Alliance in facing Russian hybrid attacks. The term Hybrid warfare refers to a military strategy which employs political warfare and blends conventional warfare, irregular warfare and cyberwarfare with other influencing methods, such as fake news, diplomacy, lawfare and foreign electoral intervention. Peach said that the NATO alliance had set up the first NATO counter-hybrid team in Montenegro. The first NATO counter-hybrid team has been deployed to our ally state, Montenegro, with the aim of helping to strengthen Montenegros capacities and deterring hybrid challenges, Peach said. Several countries, especially Russia, continue their aggressive operations against foreign states, and cyber warfare is becoming the main concern for almost any government. The official explained that since 2014 the defence spending to face hybrid threats has continued to increase, it has been estimated that by 2024 that amount will reach $ 400 billion. NATO data shows a 4,6% increase in 2019. That is the fifth consecutive year of growth. By the end of this year, allies will have invested over $130 billion, added Marshal Peach United States Army General Mark Milley, the highest military officer and military adviser to the President, Minister of Defence and U.S. National Security Council, accused the Russian Government of attempting to destabilize the members of the alliance and divide it. it is evident that Russia has been trying to divide NATO and make it weaker. General Milley said. It would be their benefit. It would be detrimental to Europe and the US if NATO just collapsed and disintegrated. Representatives of Montenegros Defence Ministry confirmed that NATO counter-hybrid team visited Montenegro in November. Experts fear that Russia could attempt to influence the forthcoming parliamentary elections that will take place in October 2020. This visit was the first such engagement in one of the allies, and it was an important experience for Montenegro. Montenegro wants to enhance its capacities and the focus of NATOs team was on strengthening legislative framework in this domain and its implementation, said Ivica Ivanovic, director general for defence policy . On June 5, 2017 Montenegro officially joined NATO alliance despite the strong opposition from the Russian Government that threatened to retaliate. Cybersecurity experts believe that a new wave of attacks from the cyberspace will hit the state. In February 2017, for the second time in a few months, Montenegro suffered massive and prolonged cyberattacks against government and media websites. Researchers at security firm FireEye who analyzed the attacks observed malware and exploits associated with the notorious Russia-linked APT group known as APT28 (aka Fancy Bear, Pawn Storm, Strontium, Sofacy, Sednit, and Tsar Team). Another massive attack hit the countrys institutions during October 2016 elections, amid speculation that the Russian Government was involved. Hackers targeted Montenegro with spear-phishing attacks, the malicious messages used weaponized documents pertaining to a NATO secretary meeting and a visit by a European army unit to Montenegro. At the time, the cyberspies delivered the GAMEFISH backdoor (aka Sednit, Seduploader, JHUHUGIT, and Sofacy), a malware that was used only by the APT28 group in past attacks. Pierluigi Paganini ( SecurityAffairs Montenegro, elections) Share this... Linkedin Share this: Twitter Print LinkedIn Facebook More Tumblr Pocket Share On 20.01.2020 LISTEN Introduction The Contingency Fund of Ghana is one of the major public funds created by the Constitution. However, at no point in time do Ghanaians know and neither do they question how much is the balance in the Contingency Fund. As the people who pay tax and in whom the sovereignty of Ghana resides, Ghanaians must be fully aware about how government manages state affairs and how much is involved. Knowing how much is in the Contingency is therefore key for a financially conscious Ghanaian who has been encouraged to be a citizen and not a spectator, provided that the short memory description of the Ghanaian does not hold true. This article discusses Ghanas Contingency Fund under various subheadings for ease of understanding and reference. Enjoy it. Historical Perspective and Purpose of the Contingency Fund In 1961, Kwame Nkrumah first created the Contingency Fund for Ghana based on article 27 of the First Republican Constitution, 1960. Article 132 of the 1969 Constitution, article 143 of the 1979 Constitution and presently, articles 175 and 177 of the 1992 Constitution (the current Constitution) have also maintained the Contingency Fund created since the 1960s. The chief purpose of the Contingency Fund, which has been placed under the office of the President is to finance expenses related to urgent or unforeseen occurrences which have no provisions in the Appropriation Act of a given year. The Appropriation Act in a given year simply means the approved national budget for that financial year. These unforeseen events, which the Contingency Fund is used to fund, may be flooding, army worm attacks on crops, disease outbreaks, war situations and other happenings of that nature that call for urgent interventions by the state. Contingency Fund Revenue and Expenditure Regarding inflows into the Contingency Fund, Article 177 (1) of the Constitution mandates that Parliament should vote for payment of monies into the Fund. It means that per article 179 of the Constitution, which relates to the Appropriation Act, Parliament must ensure that provision is made for the Contingency Fund revenue within every national budget that the House approves. It equally behooves Parliament to ensure that the monies are actually transferred from the Consolidated Fund into the Contingency Fund in compliance with budgetary dictates or allocations. Article 177(2) of the Constitution makes provision for expenses from the Contingency Fund and corresponding recoupments into the Fund. It states, Where an advance is made from the Contingency Fund, a supplementary estimate shall be presented as soon as possible to Parliament for the purpose of replacing the amount so advanced. It is therefore not surprising that section 36 (1) and 36 (2) of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921) has enshrined verbatim, the tenets or rendition of article 177 (1) and 177 (2) of the Constitution. Suffice to say that as the democratic representatives of the people, Members of Parliament have significant roles regarding how much is allocated into the Contingency Fund, what the Contingency Fund revenue is used for and how disbursements are made from the Fund. Accounting For Contingency Fund Expenditure Section 81 (1) (b) of the Public Financial Management Act (Act 921 of 2016) further requires that the Controller and Accountant General should within 3 months after the end of each Financial Year, prepare and submit the Contingency Fund Accounts to the Minister of Finance with copy to the Auditor-General. It should be noted that the Auditor-General has a constitutional mandate under article 187 (2) and 187 (5) of the Constitution to audit public accounts and report on them to Parliament within 6 months after the end of the immediate preceding financial year. From the foregoing, one may conclude logically that it makes legal and accounting sense that the Controller and Accountant General submits the accounts of the Contingency Fund to the Auditor-General even 3 months before the latter reports on public accounts to Parliament. Who Controls The Contingency Fund? The Contingency Fund is managed at the disposal of the President as a revolving fund or an imprest account. As explained earlier, after such urgent disbursements from the Contingency Fund therefore, the Fund is reimbursed from the Consolidated Fund and a reimbursement into the Contingency Fund is supposed to take precedence over other refunds from the Consolidated Fund. It means that the Contingency Fund must be intact at all times since we are not omniscient like Mawu (God) to know when disaster will strike. Once Parliament has been clothed with the authority to vote for moneys payable into the Contingency Fund, it should also ensure through the Auditor-General that the presidency always uses Contingency Fund votes for the stipulated constitutional purpose. Again, the Parliamentary Committee on Finance has the mandate to approve for Contingency refunds from the Consolidated Fund. The Public Must Know How Much Is In The Contingency Fund Every year, the Finance Minister in compliance with article 179 of the 1992 Constitution presents an Appropriation Bill to Parliament for approval or enactment into an Appropriation Act, which is also called the approved national budget. However, Ghanaians are only told about the Country's GDP and resource envelope used to make the budget as well as developmental projects earmarked and the taxations to be levied. Huge loans are also contracted and we are informed about all those financial actions. However, the Finance Ministers fail to tell us how much we have in the public funds especially the Contingency Fund, which is meant for expenses on disasters and other similar occurrences as the Constitution, 1992 enshrines. Chronicling and telling Ghanaians the urgent events that warranted expenses from the Contingency Fund and how much is involved are important on the altar of transparency and accountability. This is because it has been rumored over the years that Government occasionally pays public sector salaries and incur other expenses of non-urgent nature from the Contingency Fund. Also, it has been alleged in the public domain time and again that refunds into the Fund delay. If such rumors are true, then it is an unwise decision and it goes to solidify the fact that Ghana cares less about disaster preparedness and for that matter disaster funding. I think that it behooves the Auditor-General to be disclosing to Ghanaians at regular intervals as to the balance in the Contingency Fund. Such an important public fund should not be mismanaged, because doing so has dying ramifications for the citizenry. In 2019 when numerous farms and homes were washed away by the floodwaters from torrential rains in the northern parts of the country, NADMO was somehow overwhelmed and relief items delayed in reaching the flood victims. Could this be attributed to inadequate money in the Contingency Fund? Again, a mismanagement of the Contingency Fund amounts to an illegality which must be brought to book regardless of the ranking of the public officers involved since rule of law is one of the principles Ghanaians have committed themselves to under the 1992 Constitution, our supreme source of law per articles 1 and 11 of the Constitution. Conclusion It is high time that Parliament ensured through both the Finance Committee of Parliament and the Public Accounts Committee that the Auditor-General tells Ghanaians as to how much is in the Contingency Fund. The Finance Minister must also do so whenever he or she is presenting the draft budget to Parliament. In a State of the Nation Addresses (SONAs), the President must also tell Ghanaians transparently the expenses made from the Contingency Fund, whether or not the corresponding refund was made and how much is in the Fund. Mindful of the chief purpose of establishing the Contingency Fund, financial indiscipline must be eschewed in its management. The Auditor-General who is already doing well, should equally focus on how the Contingency Fund is managed. It is commonly said that failing to plan means planning to fail so the Contingency Fund must be protected as a financial plan for disaster management and moneys from it judiciously used for the stipulated constitutional purpose. ~Asante Sana ~ Author: Philip Afeti Korto. Email: [email protected] M y Chemical Romance fans will receive a "warm welcome" in Milton Keynes when they visit for the group's UK reunion show despite some branding the town a "s*** hole". The arch-emo group sent their legions of eyeliner-clad fans into a frenzy last year when they announced a comeback. They have been periodically teasing a return to Britain and on Monday the anticipation came to fruition when the band announced a concert at Stadium MK on June 20. Despite jubilation at the return, some were left unimpressed at the location - using expletive-ridden insults to express their disappointment. MK-R? The band has announced their first show in the UK since reuniting / Getty Images Despite this Tory MP Ben Everitt, who represents Milton Keynes North, said he expects those who attend will be pleasantly surprised by the area. "A warm welcome awaits," he told the Standard. He trumpeted Milton Keynes for being "home to Marshall amps, AI-driven delivery robots, more miles of canal than Venice, more shoreline than Jersey and a 220ft indoor ski slope". Describing the announcement as "awesome news", he said: "Last time I saw MCR was back in 2006 when they were touring Black Parade at Brixton Academy. It's great that they're now following in the footsteps of Metallica, Guns n' Roses and the Foos by headlining a Milton Keynes gig." Anne Green, who works for About Milton Keynes, described Stadium MK as "an impressive place". She told the Standard: "To get up and see Milton Keynes trending on Twitter obviously caused a bit of excitement. "As to all the negative comments, well, people here are used to that. We have had it for years and it dates back to the beginnings of Milton Keynes when there really was nothing here except roundabouts, and the concrete cows of course. "So as much as people are fed up with the criticism, I think MK residents generally feel it is coming from people who have never been here." She added: "Anyone who attends the concert is going to see that there is something happening in Milton Keynes, even if they just come in, go to the concert and go away again, without seeing any more of what MK has to offer." BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan.20 Trend: Assistant of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Head of Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration Hikmet Hajiyev visited NATO Headquarters on Jan.20, Trend reports citing Mission of the Republic of Azerbaijan to NATO website. During his visit, Hajiyev met with NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana and held a discussion with the NATO Allies in "29 + 1" format. In the course of discussions, the sides exchanged views on the Azerbaijan-NATO partnership, the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, regional security and other issues of mutual interest. Hajiyev informed the allied nations about the ongoing reforms under the leadership of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. The NATO countries highly appreciated Azerbaijan's active participation in the Partnership for Peace program, contribution to NATO-led operations and its progress in enhancing interoperability and defence reforms. Assistant to the President Hikmat Hajiyevs visit to NATO HQ coincided with the 30th anniversary of the 20 January tragedy. Hajiyev spoke about the significance of this event in the history of Azerbaijan. NATO officials and member states have expressed their solidarity with the Azerbaijani people and profound respect to the memory of martyrs. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky sees a prospect for American investment in oil and gas production in Ukraine, as well as in real estate. He said in an interview with Newsweek that Ukraine sees more prospects for investment in our oil and gas production, as well as in real estate. Zelensky noted that today Ukraine and the United States are cooperating in the space sector and nuclear energy. The president pointed out that in order to win the fight against corruption, Ukraine must carry out digitalization. He said that Ukraine has a connection in this [with the U.S.], since there are a lot of brilliant IT specialists in Ukraine, and the U.S. is the world IT center. He added that now Ukrainians seek to work in American technology companies, but said that the country would like to see more Ukrainian companies developing products in Ukraine and sell them to the world. Theres never been a dust-up like this within the two-year-old international group, members said. Backlash over the blocks perceived political undertones led to charges of intolerance. Then, new versions of the design set off a second round of angry posts and a debate over whether the changes made their work ineligible for a highly coveted label they can receive for assembling 12 challenge blocks into a quilt. Storyful An affable deer created somewhat of a buzz in a neighborhood near Salt Lake City, Utah, he regularly visited over the holiday period.The deer, nicknamed Cooper by local residents, has been playing with children in the neighborhood of Herriman and was even spotted posing for photos, reports said.Herriman resident Angelica Lujan recorded footage of the tame deer interacting with her children outside of her home on South Rowell Drive.Speaking to KSTU, a Utah Division of Wildlife Resources representative said despite the deers friendly attitude, the best thing for the animal is for people to leave him alone.People dont realize these beautiful, cute deer can be aggressive as they get older. Weve had times in the past where these friendly deer, they do get aggressive, said Scott Root, Conservation Outreach Manager, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.Weve had kids hurt at bus stops. Bad things happen when we feed deer in a residential area, Root added. Credit: Angelica Lujan via Storyful / -- 'The Gateway' by Hariharan Balagopal draws attention to the plight of senior citizens who are susceptible to a multitude of crimes against them - ranging from petty robberies to murders. Within the bracket are several other crimes committed against the elderly, often undetected and unreported, like ill-treatment, rape, deliberate neglect, and physical harm by own kin. Bonding over food and drinks is one of Delhi's essential characteristics, and 'The Gateway' employs it effectively for a cause. The gripping novel also stresses on the importance of preventing self-isolation by senior citizens. "The more they isolate themselves, the more they need us," says a quote in the book, and the context cites the depression that old people often grapple with due to loneliness. Perpetrators of crime, leading to demise due to ill treatment over a period of time, often go scot free in the absence of social contact of the senior citizens, and the book draws attention to this essential point. The book delves further into the lack of security faced by senior citizens. If one observes any suspicious movement outside a senior citizen's house, or no movement inside, one should call for an investigation immediately. This implied meaning does not sound out of place in a city like Delhi. 'The Gateway' further documents the awakening of a gated urban community to its responsibility after three of their senior citizens were brutally murdered. Material wealth, successful children who live abroad, loneliness, the bane of the well-to-do urban senior citizen are poignantly delineated. The novel is unhurried in noting people, places, relationships and social dynamics and meanders towards awakening, forging bonds and deep and abiding joys. The characters are finely sketched as are their lives and relationships. The author notes the finest details of social interactions, but does not offer any sermons and leaves it to the reader to process what they want to make of it through the prism of their own experiences. The whodunit angle also reaches its logical conclusion and delivers a satisfactory poetic justice making it a must read for the young to take on the mantle of social responsibility and create a peaceful social order. The film adaptation, in association with Arun Govil who has endorsed the book will unravel several other layers in the novel, and will develop on many of the key characters. 'The energy of the younger generation combined with the experience of senior citizens can move mountains,' this thought forms a vital spoke of the storyline. The storyline of the book shows how some like-minded residents in an upscale colony counter crimes against senior citizens by coming together and bonding over frequent meetings, and create means and ways to work for the well-being of the elderly in the colony. Many obvious points of safety and security both indoors and outdoors, that one often overlooks, are brilliantly portrayed in the novel, and emphasis on sensitive approach to the needs of the elderly underlines the sentiment of the book. About Hariharan Balagopal A specialist in Media Management and Education, Hariharan has been a consultant with many educational initiatives and is associated with various established brands. With over 25 years of hands-on experience in both areas of work, Hariharan Balagopal has helped establish several renowned brands with strategic and media solutions, and has also been showing the way on launching, establishing and managing educational initiatives. Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1060072/The_Gateway. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) : Kerala Chief Secretary Tom Jose met Governor Arif Mohammed Khan here on Monday, a day after the latter sought a report from the Left government over moving the apex court against the Citizenship law without informing him. The meeting is said to have lasted 20 minutes. Tom Jose did not speak to the waiting media personnel. The Chief Secretary is understood to have informed the Governor the government had not willfully violated any rules, sources said. The Governor, who had sought a report from the Chief Secretary, had said that this should not be seen as a "personal fight". "This is not personal fight. My only concern is that the constitution and the law must be upheld and the business of the government must be transacted in accordance with the law," he had said. Days after passing a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the state government had on January 13 approached the Supreme Court against the Citizenship law. An upset khan had said it was "improper" and protocol and courtesy demanded he should have been informed by the government prior to moving the court. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) President Trump blamed his impeachment on 'radical-left lunatics' as he thanked farmers and ranchers for supporting him during the trade war with China. He thanked farmers on Sunday for supporting him through the tariff hikes and currency battle with China as he promoted a new North American trade agreement and a separate one with Beijing that he said will massively benefit the industry. Trump made the remarks as he addressed the American Farm Bureau Federation's convention in Austin, Texas, on Sunday. The president's impeachment trial in the Senate gets underway in earnest on Tuesday. That night, Trump is scheduled to leave on a trip to an international economic summit in Davos, Switzerland before returning to the White House on Wednesday night. As he spoke to the roaring crowd, Trump listed his economic agenda, including two new trade deals involving China, Canada, and Mexico but quickly turned to his upcoming impeachment hearing. He said: 'And what do I get out of it? Tell me? I get impeached. That's what I get out of it. 'By these radical left lunatics, I get impeached. But that's OK, the farmers are sticking with Trump.' President Donald Trump spoke at the American Farm Bureau Federation's convention in Austin, Texas, on Sunday Trump tweeted of his excitement to be in Texas speaking to farmers after his speech was done At one point during his address to the convention, Trump said he has strong support among farmers following his signing last week of a preliminary trade deal with China. 'We did it,' Trump said, recalling his campaign promises to improve America's trading relationships with other countries. When Trump spoke to the American Farm Bureau Federation's last year, he urged farmers to continue supporting him even as they suffered financially in the fallout from his trade war with China and a partial shutdown of the federal government. His follow-up speech Sunday at this year's convention in Austin, Texas, gave him a chance to make the case to farmers that he kept promises he made as a candidate to improve trade with China and separately with Canada and Mexico. He thanked farmers for staying 'in the fight'. 'You were always with me,' Trump said. 'You never even thought of giving up and we got it done. 'We are winning for our farmers and we are winning like never before Farmers love America, and I just want to tell you that America loves our farmers.' After coming off stage the president, feel exuberant tweeted: 'I was thrilled to be back in the Great State of Texas tonight, where the people are known for being tough, strong, hardworking, loyal and fiercely patriotic just like America's incredible Farmers!' Trump assured American farmers and ranchers hit by a trade war with China that a new agreement signed with Beijing will be good for them President Trump landed in Washington after speaking at the American Farm Bureau Federation Annual Convention and Trade Show in Austin, Texas The President appeared to have a lot on his mind as he walked back inside to the White House. His impeachment trial is scheduled to begin on Tuesday of this week Once the President was back at the White House, he started tweeting about how unfairly the impeachment process had been treating him The Republican president wants another term in office and is seeking to shore up support among his base, including farmers. Trump announced he is taking steps to protect the water rights of farmers and ranchers by directing the Army Corps of Engineers to immediately withdraw a new water supply rule and allow states to manage water resources based on their own needs and what the agricultural community wants. 'Water is the lifeblood of agriculture and we will always protect your water supply,' Trump said. Trump signed a preliminary trade deal with China at the White House last Wednesday that commits Beijing to boosting its imports of U.S. manufacturing, energy and farm goods by $200 billion this year and next. That includes larger purchases of soybeans and other farm goods expected to reach $40 billion a year, the U.S. has said, though critics wonder if China can meet the targets. In Austin, Trump described the trade agreement with China as 'groundbreaking' and said, 'We're going to sell the greatest product you've ever seen.' President Donald Trump listens to applause on stage as he speaks at the American Farm Bureau Federation's convention in Austin. It had all the hallmarks of a political stump speech Also last week, the Senate voted overwhelmingly in favor of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a successor to the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement. The administration designed the new agreement to return some factory production to the United States, mostly automobiles. Trump said in Austin that U.S. farmers will also benefit under USMCA, which he said will 'massively boost exports' for farmers, ranchers, growers from 'North to South' and 'from sea to shining sea.' NAFTA had triggered a surge in trade among the three countries, but Trump and other critics blamed it for U.S. job losses brought about when American factories moved production south of the border to take advantage of low-wage labor in Mexico. The House passed the U.S.-Mexico-Canada deal in December. Trump said he would sign it after he returns from a trip to Europe this week. In his remarks to farmers, Trump claimed his administration is doing things no other administration has ever done. Once the President was back at the White House, he started tweeting about how unfairly the impeachment process had been treating him. 'In the House, the President got less due process than the 9-11 terrorists got. This is a corrupt process?' Mark Levin @marklevinshow 'Very much so!' he tweeted. Trump said the initial trade deal he signed with China last Wednesday would be a boon for farmers, whom he thanked for sticking with him Attendees await the arrival of U.S. President Donald Trump to speak at the American Farm Bureau Federation Annual Convention and Trade Show in Austin, Texas Beginning Tuesday, the chamber will meet six hours a day for six days a week in only the third impeachment trial of a US president, with lofty constitutional issues brushing up against raw partisan politics. It will be a 'grueling exercise,' Republican Senator John Cornyn said on CBS. Celebrity attorney Alan Dershowitz, a recent addition to Trump's legal team, argued Sunday that even if every charge sent by the House to the Senate for the president's trial were accepted as true, it would not rise to the level of impeachable behavior. 'The (House) vote was to impeach on abuse of power, which is not within the constitutional criteria for impeachment, and obstruction of Congress,' Dershowitz, a Harvard law professor emeritus, said on ABC. A politically motivated impeachment, he added, was the 'greatest nightmare' of the country's founders. Adam Schiff, the California lawmaker chosen by House Democrats as lead manager of the impeachment trial, dismissed the notion that abuse of power was not impeachable. 'That's an argument you have to make if the facts are so dead set against you,' he said on ABC. Another House impeachment manager, Jerrold Nadler, called Dershowitz's argument 'arrant nonsense.' The House impeached Trump on charges that he abused his office by pressuring Ukraine to dig up dirt on Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden by withholding military aid and dangling a White House meeting with the Ukrainian president. He was also charged with obstructing Congress. Press Release 20 January 2020 1.5 billion international tourist arrivals were recorded in 2019, globally. A 4% increase on the previous year which is also forecast for 2020, confirming tourism as a leading and resilient economic sector, especially in view of current uncertainties. By the same token, this calls for such growth to be managed responsibly so as to best seize the opportunities tourism can generate for communities around the world. Advertisements According to the first comprehensive report on global tourism numbers and trends of the new decade, the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, this represents the tenth consecutive year of growth. All regions saw a rise in international arrivals in 2019. However, uncertainty surrounding Brexit, the collapse of Thomas Cook, geopolitical and social tensions and the global economic slowdown all contributed to a slower growth in 2019, when compared to the exceptional rates of 2017 and 2018. This slowdown affected mainly advanced economies and particularly Europe and Asia and the Pacific. Looking ahead, growth of 3% to 4% is predicted for 2020, an outlook reflected in the latest UNWTO Confidence Index which shows a cautious optimism: 47% of participants believe tourism will perform better and 43% at the same level of 2019. Major sporting events, including the Tokyo Olympics, and cultural events such as Expo 2020 Dubai are expected to have a positive impact on the sector. Responsible growth Presenting the results, UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili stressed that "in these times of uncertainty and volatility, tourism remains a reliable economic sector". Against the backdrop of recently downgraded global economic perspectives, international trade tensions, social unrest and geopolitical uncertainty, "our sector keeps outpacing the world economy and calling upon us to not only grow but to grow better", he added. Given tourism's position as a top export sector and creator of employment, UNWTO advocates the need for responsible growth. Tourism has, therefore, a place at the heart of global development policies, and the opportunity to gain further political recognition and make a real impact as the Decade of Action gets underway, leaving just ten years to fulfill the 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The Middle East leads The Middle East has emerged as the fastest-growing region for international tourism arrivals in 2019, growing at almost double the global average (+8%). Growth in Asia and the Pacific slowed down but still showed above-average growth, with international arrivals up 5%. Europe where growth was also slower than in previous years (+4%) continues to lead in terms of international arrivals numbers, welcoming 743 million international tourists last year (51% of the global market). The Americas (+2%) showed a mixed picture as many island destinations in the Caribbean consolidated their recovery after the 2017 hurricanes while arrivals fell in South America due partly to ongoing social and political turmoil. Limited data available for Africa (+4%) points to continued strong results in North Africa (+9%) while arrivals in Sub-Saharan Africa grew slower in 2019 (+1.5%). Tourism spending still strong Against a backdrop of global economic slowdown, tourism spending continued to grow, most notably among the world's top ten spenders. France reported the strongest increase in international tourism expenditure among the world's top ten outbound markets (+11%), while the United States (+6%) led growth in absolute terms, aided by a strong dollar. However, some large emerging markets such as Brazil and Saudi Arabia reported declines in tourism spending. China, the world's top source market saw outbound trips increase by 14% in the first half of 2019, though expenditure fell 4%. Tourism delivering 'much-needed opportunities' "The number of destinations earning US$1 billion or more from international tourism has almost doubled since 1998," adds Mr Pololikashvili. "The challenge we face is to make sure the benefits are shared as widely as possible and that nobody is left behind. In 2020, UNWTO celebrates the Year of Tourism and Rural Development, and we hope to see our sector lead positive change in rural communities, creating jobs and opportunities, driving economic growth and preserving culture." This latest evidence of the strength and resilience of the tourism sector comes as the UN celebrates its 75th anniversary. During 2020, through the UN75 initiative the UN is carrying out the largest, most inclusive conversation on the role of global cooperation in building a better future for all, with tourism to be high on the agenda. As probiotics grow in popularity, a recent study investigates the reliability of online information. They find that the majority of top websites provide information that lacks scientific evidence. Probiotics are popular, but do they cut the mustard? As scientists have become increasingly interested in the role of gut bacteria, so have the public. In parallel with the microbiomes rise to fame, probiotics have grown ever more popular. Probiotics are live organisms that manufacturers add to a range of foods, most commonly yogurts. Their marketing information often contains an array of health claims, from improving digestive health to boosting the immune system. Probiotics are now big business. In 2017, the probiotics market in the United States was worth more than $40 billion, according to the authors of the recent study. Claims and accuracy examined As with many products today, online sales and marketing play a significant role. With this in mind, researchers from the Brighton and Sussex Medical School in the United Kingdom and the Universite libre de Bruxelles in Belgium assessed online claims about these products for accuracy. To investigate, they collected information from top-ranked webpages in Google searches. Co-author Prof. Michel Goldman explains that often, the public will not go past the first 10 results these will, therefore, have a higher visibility and impact. First, the authors analyzed the pages for accuracy and completeness. Next, they checked the information against the Cochrane library, which is a database of evidence-based medical information, including clinical trials and meta-analyses. Prof. Goldman explains their approach: We assessed the first 150 webpages brought up by a Google search for probiotics and recorded where they originated from and the diseases they mentioned. The scientific evidence for health benefits of probiotics against these diseases was then examined for scientific rigor. They published their findings in the journal Frontiers in Medicine. Site type matters The scientists found that the majority of the top 150 websites were news-based or commercial 31% and 43%, respectively. Overall, news and commercial sites were the least reliable sources of information as they rarely mentioned regulatory issues or side effects for vulnerable individuals, such as those who are immunocompromised. Of the 150 webpages, only 40% mentioned that the benefits of probiotics need more research, 35% referenced scientific literature, only 25% listed potential side effects, and just 15% mentioned regulatory provisions. In the four categories covered above, commercial websites scored lowest. In Googles top 10 results, the scores were higher. The authors explain that Googles algorithms do a relatively good job of ensuring that reliable health portals come at the top of searches: in the top 10 search entries in Google, reliable health portals took up the majority of slots. However, as author Prof. Pietro Ghezzi explains, the fact that there is such a large amount of commercially-oriented information is problematic for consumers who are searching for honest answers. The Delhi-NCR market came next with nearly 70 percent of its total launched projects in the high-rise category. New Delhi: More than half of 1,816 housing projects launched last year across seven big cities were high-rises, while the share of villas declined to an all-time low at 2 percent, according to property consultant Anarock. "With Indian cities under increasing pressure to grow vertically, the share of high-rises (G+20 floors or more) scaled unprecedented heights in 2019," Anarock Chairman Anuj Puri said. Of the total 1,816 projects launched in 2019 across seven major cities, more than 52 percent were of G+20 floors or more. Total supply share of villas declined to an all-time low of 2 percent in 2019 against 5 percent in 2014. Anarock, which is primarily into brokerage business in the residential property market, tracks property markets of seven citiesnational capital region (Delhi-NCR), Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune. According to the data, land-scarce MMR tops the list with over 75 percent of the total 734 projects launched in 2019 in the high-rise category. "With G+20 floors the new normal in the region, Mumbai is closing in on other megacities like New York, Hong Kong and Tokyo where buildings as tall as G+50 floors are the norm," the report said. The Delhi-NCR market came next with nearly 70 percent of its total launched projects in the high-rise category. Bengaluru clocked in with 45 percent of the total projects launched in 2019 towering above G+20 floors, followed by Pune with 41 percent share. In Hyderabad, Kolkata and Chennai, the share of G+20 floors or above option is scantier, with their high-rise share at 23 percent, 21 percent and 16 percent respectively, it added. "Notably, Chennai and Hyderabadtwo cities which had stuck to more conventional low-rise formats for longare gradually warming up to high-rise housing developments. In both these cities, the well-to-do preferred bungalows and sea-facing villas. It is only in the last decade that these cities have begun to grow vertically, largely due to accommodate increased inward migration," the consultant said. On villas, Anarock said that out of the total new launches of 5.45 lakh units in 2014, nearly 5 percent were villas. In 2019, this share dropped to 2 percent of the total of 2.37 lakh units launched during the year. "The increasing trend of vertical development has taken the sheen off a once highly-preferred property typevillas. Both demand and supply of this format are diminishing, with wealthy homebuyers preferring the latter-day concept of sky villas'," Anarock said. Share of new supply of villas in Hyderabad dropped to 8 percent last year from over 35 percent in 2014. In Chennai, the share of villas in 2014 was second-highest with over 16 percent of total new launches (28,540 units). In 2019, this share dropped to 5 percent of the total 13,000 units launched. Bengaluru saw its share of villa launches drop from 12 percent in 2014 to 5 percent in 2019. The overall launches in the city stood at 85,950 units in 2014 and 50,450 units in 2019. Delhi-NCR saw only a marginal dropfrom a 3 percent share of 1.73 lakh units in 2014 to 2 percent of 46,920 units in 2019. MMR had 1 percent share of villas from a total of 1.34 lakh units launched in 2014 and its share in 2019 is now zero. In Pune and Kolkata too, the share of villa supply has been negligible in the last five years, the report said. Anarock posted a revenue of nearly Rs 190 crore in the last fiscal. It competes with News Corp-backed PropTiger, Anil Ambani-led Reliance group backed Square Yard, Quikr, Investors Clinic, 360 Realtors and Wealth Clinic in the organised housing brokerage business. The Left Front government in Kerala on Monday decided to inform the Centre it would not cooperate with the updation of the NPR, saying there were fears among the public about the process and it has the 'constitutional responsibility' to alleviate them and ensure law and order. Thiruvananthapuram: The Left Front government in Kerala on Monday decided to inform the Centre it would not cooperate with the updation of the NPR, saying there were fears among the public about the process and it has the "constitutional responsibility" to alleviate them and ensure law and order. A special cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, decided to inform the Registrar General and Census Commissioner under the Union Home Ministry that it was unable to cooperate with anything with regard to the updation of the National Population Register. "The decision was taken as it was the Constitutional responsibility of the government to alleviate the fears of general public and ensure law and order situation in the state," a Chief Minister's Office release said. However, the state would fully cooperate with the census procedures, it said. The LDF government, which has been on a warpath against the Centre over the Citizenship Amendment Act, has last month stayed all activities related to updation of NPR, considering 'apprehensions' of public that it would lead to NRC in the wake of the controversial CAA. "As the NPR is a process that leads to the National Register of Citizens (NRC), there is a sense of fear among the people that its implementation could lead to widespread insecurity", the CMO release said on Monday. The experience of the state which had already compiled the NRC was an example for this, it added, in apparent reference to Assam. Kerala had already stopped all procedures regarding the NPR updation, the release said adding there was also a report of the state police that the if the government went ahead with the procedures, it would adversely impact the law and order situation. The district collectors have also informed the government that the Census procedures would be affected if the updation of the NPR was done along with it, the CMO release said. The CPM-led LDF government had recently convened a meeting of political parties and socio-religious organisations in Thiruvananthapuram on 29 December in the wake of the concerns among people in various stratas of the society, it said. A special Assembly session was convened and a resolution was passed requesting the Centre not to implement the CAA and the government had also approached the apex court against the law, it added. 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #3 Posted on 19 January 2020 by John Hartz Story of the Week... Editorial of the Week... Toon of the Week... Quote of the Week... Graphic of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Climate Feedback Claim Reviews... SkS Week in Review... Poster of the Week... Story of the Week... 'It's heart-wrenching': 80% of Blue Mountains and 50% of Gondwana rainforests burn in bushfires Guardian Australia analysis reveals the frightening amount of world heritage area burned in Australias ongoing fire crisis The unprecedented bushfires could affect the diversity of eucalypts for which the Blue Mountains is recognised. Photograph: CPOA Brett Kennedy/Commonwealth of Australia/PA At least 80% of the Blue Mountains world heritage area and more than 50% of the Gondwana world heritage rainforests have burned in Australias ongoing bushfire crisis. The scale of the disaster is such that it could affect the diversity of eucalypts for which the Blue Mountains world heritage area is recognised, said John Merson, the executive director of the Blue Mountains World Heritage Institute. The data is based on a Guardian Australia analysis of areas burned in New South Wales and Queensland and was confirmed by the NSW government. 'It's heart-wrenching': 80% of Blue Mountains and 50% of Gondwana rainforests burn in bushfires by Lisa Cox & Nick Evershed, Environment, Guardian, Jan 16, 2020 Click here to access the entire article as originally published on The Guardian website. Editorial of the Week... Grief, frustration, guilt: the bushfires show the far-reaching mental health impacts of climate change Loss of property, hazardous air and reduced food security has transitioned into mass eco-anxiety Mallacoota residents listening to a phone call from neighbours who fled before the fires hit. Loss of homes and associated identity as well as poor air quality are major risk factors for mental illness. Photograph: Rachel Mounsey/The Guardian The bushfires that have ravaged large parts of Australia since September 2019 have resulted in a scale of destruction that will take years, if not decades, of recovery. The mammoth task that will be Australias national bushfire recovery has garnered financial support from numerous private donors and a $2bn commitment from the federal government, including a $76m package allocated to mental health services for affected persons. So what exactly are the expected mental health impacts of the bushfires? To try and anticipate the direct mental health impacts from the current bushfires, one can look to research conducted after the Black Saturday bushfires of 2009. Grief, frustration, guilt: the bushfires show the far-reaching mental health impacts of climate change, Opinion by Fiona Charlson*, Comment is Free, Guardian, Jan 16, 2020 *Dr Fiona Charlson is a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Queensland specialised in global mental health Click here to access the entire opinion piece as originally posted on The Guardian website. Toon of the Week... Hat tip to the Stop Climate Science Denial Facebook page. Graphic of the Week... WMO confirms 2019 as second hottest year on record, Press Release, World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Jan 15, 2020 Coming Soon on SkS... Australia's heat and bushfires are signs of fundamental shifts in its climate (Peter Sinclair) (Peter Sinclair) How did climate change get so controversial? (John Cook) (John Cook) Skeptical Science New Research for Week #3, 2020 (Doug Bostrom) (Doug Bostrom) Waking up to climate change | Australia's Bushfires (Climate Adam) (Climate Adam) What psychotherapy can do for the climate and biodiversity crises (Caroline Hickman) (Caroline Hickman) 2019 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #4 (John Hartz) (John Hartz) 2019 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #4 (John Hartz) Climate Feedback Claim Reviews... Facebook meme incorrectly claims past climate variations contradict human influence on current climate CLAIM: "The idea that 'climate change' is new or is caused by Humans is nonsense." SOURCE: Anonymous, Facebook, 2 Jan. 2020 VERDICT: KEY TAKEAWAY: Many lines of evidence have enabled scientists to conclude that humans are responsible for global warming. Physics dictates that increased concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere trap additional heat in Earth's climate system, and human-caused emissions of greenhouse gases have increased those concentrations. Climate has changed in the past for a number of reasons, and studying those events helps scientists understand the way the climate system works. Facebook meme incorrectly claims past climate variations contradict human influence on current climate, Edited by Scott Johnson, Jan 13, 2020 Poster of the Week... ;Hat tip to the Stop Climate Science Denial Facebook page. SkS Week in Review... Most of the Democrats seeking their partys presidential nomination gather for a Martin Luther King Jr Day prayer service (Meg Kinnard/AP) Democratic presidential contenders celebrated Martin Luther King Jrs legacy at a Baptist church and linked arms with each other and civil rights leaders in a march of tens of thousands to the South Carolina Statehouse. At Zion Baptist Church before the march, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren engaged in the handshake that did not happen in the frosty aftermath of the last debate. This is the handshake, presidential contender Tulsi Gabbard said as Mr Sanders and Ms Warren reached across her to shake hands in the front row. They and rival Amy Klobuchar attended the service before they joined Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg and other contenders in the march to the Statehouse. Expand Close Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren shake hands watched by Tulsi Gabbard (Meg Kinnard/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren shake hands watched by Tulsi Gabbard (Meg Kinnard/AP) In last weeks debate, Ms Warren and Mr Sanders clashed in an exchange over what was said during a private conversation about a womans chances of becoming president. Mr Sanders extended his hand afterward, and Ms Warren pulled back. Now, in the closing days before the first votes are cast in the 2020 Democratic presidential contest, the partys leading hopefuls are splitting their time between the critical early-voting states of South Carolina and Iowa at events celebrating Dr King. The march brought together more candidates than engaged in the last two debates. Beginning today in church for King Day at Zion Baptist Church in SC. Faith is needed at this juncture in our nations history. We must, in Kings words, be drum majors for justice. We reflect on his life and pay tribute to his enduring legacy of progress by continuing his work. Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) January 20, 2020 They arrived at the Statehouse as Dr Kings I have a dream speech played over loudspeakers. While Iowa and New Hampshire Democrats vote first for their nominee, South Carolinas first-in-the-South primary is a crucial proving ground for a candidates mettle with black voters. The states showcase holiday celebration, Columbias King Day at the Dome, is a notable event for Democratic politicians. Today we honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and his fight for social, racial, and economic justice. We honor his struggles and triumphs. We honor his courage and his vision. Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) January 20, 2020 Sanders spokesman Michael Wukela said the King event in South Carolina was about respect pure and simple, noting that racial inequality in areas including criminal justice and poverty highlights the relevance of commemorating a civil rights icon here. If you cant stand shoulder to shoulder with people who face these challenges every day yet still manage to embrace a vision of hope and grace, then you dont deserve their respect, much less their vote, he said. Expand Close Vice President Mike Pence takes a tour of the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel, where Rev. Martin Luther King Jr was fatally shot on April 4, 1968, in Memphis (Joe Rondone/The Commercial Appeal/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Vice President Mike Pence takes a tour of the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel, where Rev. Martin Luther King Jr was fatally shot on April 4, 1968, in Memphis (Joe Rondone/The Commercial Appeal/AP) King Day at the Dome began in 2000 as a reaction to state politicians decision that year to keep the Confederate battle flag flying from the Statehouses copper-covered cupola, a place of prominence that drew opposition. Tens of thousands of people marched through the centre of Columbia from the prayer service to the Statehouse. Politicians eventually agreed to a compromise that moved the flag to a flagpole, albeit one prominently situated in front of the building. The deal also recognised Martin Luther King Jr Day in the state and created Confederate Memorial Day. In 2015, following the racist massacre of nine Bible study participants at a historic black church in Charleston, politicians voted to remove the flag from the grounds. In years past many Democratic presidential hopefuls have made their way to the north-facing facade of the Statehouse, including John Edwards, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Expand Close Democratic presidential hopefuls Joe Biden and Amy Klobuchar (Meg Kinnard/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Democratic presidential hopefuls Joe Biden and Amy Klobuchar (Meg Kinnard/AP) Last year, Mr Sanders and Senator Cory Booker, who has dropped out of the 2020 race, attended. Many of the candidates in the wide field planned to travel to Des Moines, Iowa, on Monday for the Brown and Black Forum, recognised as one of the nations oldest minority-focused presidential candidate events of its kind. Traditionally a debate, the event in recent years has been more of a one-on-one candidate forum. Former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg, who is not competing in the early-voting states but has put some of his multimillion-dollar ad spending there plans to join a King Day parade in Little Rock, Arkansas. Tech businessman Andrew Yang is in the midst of a 17-day bus tour of Iowa and plans to remain there. It was spray-painted in red. Israel's Ambassador to Ukraine Joel Lion has reported that the monument to Holocaust victims in the Ukrainian city of Kryvy Rih has been vandalized. "Days before the commemoration of the International #HolocaustRemembranceDay the monument to the victims of the #Shoa in Kirvyi Rih, not far from President's @ZelenskyyUa parents Home, was vandalized. I hope that justice will prevail. #UnitedinMemory75 #NeverAgain," the ambassador said on Twitter on January 19. Read alsoDonbas war veteran stabbed to death in Kyiv The words inscribed on the monument in memory of the local Jews who died during the Nazi regime in Ukraine were sprayed with red paint. The ambassador also shared an image dated January 18, 2020, from a CCTV camera, showing a vandal committing the crime, and asked Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov and Ukrainian police to investigate it. "Please @AvakovArsen @MVS_UA @NPU_GOV_UA find the criminal, here is the evidence!" the ambassador said. History was made in Chicopee when the first all-female firefighting crew reported for duty on Friday. The all-female crew was by happenstance. Firefighter Kirsten Therrien was filling in for a colleague and by luck joined Lieutenant Dina Brunetti and firefighter Val Stein. Its the first time they have all worked together in Chicopee since Therrien, the most junior of the three, joined the department two years ago. On each shift, a fire engine will have a crew of three: two firefighters and a lieutenant. Each of the women came into the field through different career paths. I never wanted to be a firefighter, said Brunetti, a 15-year veteran with the Chicopee Fire Department. I have a degree in criminal justice. I just kind of fell into it here and now I would never look back. Its awesome. Brunetti planned to work as a corrections officer. She took the fire department test to practice taking civil service tests and tested as a strong candidate. 15 Chicopee female firefighters I was 21 years old so I said, I think Im going to try this and now I would never look back, Brunetti said. When Brunetti first joined the fire department in the mid-2000s there were two other women in the Chicopee Fire Department. One of the women was assigned to the office and the other was out for a family bereavement, leaving Brunetti the only woman working on a fire truck. Id say within a couple of months it was like Ive been here all along, said Brunetti. Through training, there were six of us. The five guys would go do something and then I picked up the saw it was like, all eyes are on you for everything. Even now, some are surprised to see a woman emerge from a fire engine. She recalled being asked by a member of the public if she actually would go into a burning building. Her male counterparts dont face the same doubts, Brunetti said, but it doesnt impact her ability to do the job. Station 7 is called out to an emergency. The first all-female fire crew prepare to leave the station. (Douglas Hook / MassLive) Were all trained to do everything, said Kirsten Therrien. Were all qualified to be on the ambulance. We can all drive the engine or be in the jump seat. We can all do a little bit of everything. There is no difference on the training men and women go through. For Val Stein, firefighting is generational. Her father is a firefighter in Pittsfield. He initially doubted his daughters plan to become a firefighter. So that kind of pushed me," she said. Stein credited former Pittsfield Fire Chief Robert Czerwinski as an invaluable mentor, and said he recommended Stein for her first job with the Granby Fire Department, where she spent the first six years of her career. Stein has now been with the Chicopee Fire Department for three years. How proud we are that for the first time in the City of Chicopee there are three female firefighters staffing the Station 7. These firefighters are all Massachusetts Certified EMTs with over 20 years of experience. They are capable, well-trained, and work together well," said Mayor John Vieau. From my perspective, there is no difference between them and the men. Over the years, women firefighters have become a norm in the service and accepted as a valuable member of the team. Station 7 is called out to an emergency. The first all-female fire crew prepare to leave the station. (Douglas Hook / MassLive) When I first got in, I was so nervous about people looking at me. I used to put my hair in a bun, I would never paint my nails, I wouldnt wear makeup. I tried to fit in, said Brunetti. Now, Im just like, I have a pink five on my helmet. My hood has a pink skeleton on it. Now, you know what, Im not afraid anymore. Ive been in fires. Ive saved lives. I lost lives. Ive delivered babies. Chicopee Fire Chief Daniel Stamborski confirmed that the shift featuring an all-women team was scheduling coincidence. He said all three are capable firefighters. Knowing these firefighters and the work they have done with the department, for us its nothing different." During their day-to-day work, the women said they think of children seeing them responding to emergency calls. I think its very important for young females to see that we can do this. Its not that we can, [its that] we are doing it, said Stein. I want them to see that everyone can do it. SISTER DUCHESSES WITH DIFFERENT STYLES: Kate Middleton accepted the self-sacrifice of life as a senior royal whereas Meghan Markle chose not to stay calm and carry on. Photo: PA Within days of the Monday meeting of the major royals to hammer out Megxit, the women who matter went back to work. Neither of these women was at the Sandringham summit, but Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle will prove the real players, long-term. Last Wednesday, Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, headed to Bradford with her husband, to visit a community centre. She had a smile for everyone, danced with a cute toddler, and wore a Zara dress - reportedly discounted to 19 in the sales - which then sold out in a matter of hours. She and William were full of praise for a royal-themed tier cake, surrounded by cupcakes, each decorated with photographs of the royal pair from childhood to the present day. The highlight was their amusement and amazement at the photograph of a young William, which they both initially thought was a snap of their daughter, Charlotte. The previous day, last Tuesday, Meghan Markle was photographed boarding a seaplane in Canada, leaving her bolthole in Vancouver Island, we later discovered, to visit the offices of an at-risk women's centre. The group posted pictures on Facebook after the visit, a line of women with arms around one another and Meghan in the middle of the line. She beamed in the photo, as she had seemed to beam in the photographs as she boarded the plane, in jeans and boots and a fur-lined parka. "Look who we had tea with today!" said the women's centre in a Facebook post. "The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, visited us today to discuss issues affecting women in the community." Still the Duchess, so, but no longer subject to the stuffy old duties that her sister-Duchess, Kate, is still up to. Two women, both pressing the flesh and raising awareness and reaching out and endeavouring to make a difference with smiles on their faces. But two women worlds away from each other, one seemingly fascinated by her face on some buns, the other, well, suiting herself. Because visiting organisations and charities she was interested in was always something that Meghan Markle did. She always wanted to be a force for change, she always espoused that as part of her public profile and, in many ways, that interest might have helped her believe she'd fit in to the royal way of life. This week, however, "friends" claimed that once Megxit was done and she and Harry were free of his princely commitments, Meghan felt able to breathe again. She had been stifled, she had felt constrained and limited and now, at last, Meghan could do some real good without the royal restrictions. Video of the Day She also visited a Vancouver group called Justice for Girls last week, who later tweeted pictures - in black and white, a Harry and Meghan favourite - of Meghan at a bog-standard office break-out room table, a mug of a hot drink in her hand, having a laugh with a volunteer. All casual, unstructured and modern, and a clear signal of how things will be done, the new Sussex way. However, although Meghan was always committed to doing community good, her profile before her marriage was that of a mid-range celebrity. Now, she's one of the most recognisable women in the world and not only that, but she's operating from a base of extreme wealth and luxury that is way beyond her previous life. The royal experience, despite all the noise around the personal stress and distress of Harry and Meghan, has ultimately been good for her. We saw that last week when she was snapped around Vancouver. She not only looked happy, but she looked relaxed. Better, she looked relatable, in her flat boots and her posh-mom-on-the-school-run parka. And, relatable just might trump royal in the modern long game, as most women look on Meghan and Kate in their endeavours last week and don't have to think hard about what they'd favour for themselves. Coverage of Megxit has focused a lot on the duty upon which Harry and Meghan seem to have turned their backs, but that is possible of little interest to the younger audience to whom they hope to appeal and to watchers on the other side of the Atlantic. North Americans don't set much store in self-sacrifice and that's clearly where Meghan wants to make her mark. Harry may have dutifully stayed in London for the week, hanging on for what might have been his last royal commitment, the launch of the 2021 Rugby League Cup in Buckingham Palace last Thursday, but at the same time, staff were being let go at their Windsor home, Frogmore Cottage. Meghan, it was reported, planned never again to live in the UK in a "meaningful way". In other words, Harry might want to come visit the olds and do the rounds from time to time, but Meghan has moved on. Last Thursday, Meghan was photographed again in Vancouver, driving herself to the airport, security detail in tow, to pick up her friend and Pilates teacher, Heather Dorak. There were reports that her designer friend, Misha Nonoo, whose super-rich Italian wedding Meghan and Harry attended last year and who reportedly introduced the couple, was also on her way to Canada, to help Meghan with her relaunch. Little things like this make you realise just why Meghan wasn't keen to do the British thing and make her role in the monarchy work. That would have required a little stepping back, lying low and taking stock, letting all the fuss around them die down and then re-emerging, with a smile as wide as Kate Middleton's. That would have required a degree of self-sacrifice that it's possible Meghan Markle wasn't willing to make. Which is not to say that this makes her a bad person or a bad influence on her husband, who has left behind, with his senior royal status, a lot more than she has. It merely says that she wasn't willing to keep calm and carry on, probably because she saw no value in it. Royal wives, all of them, put up with a lot. Camilla took a lot of abuse before she found the beloved status she enjoys today. Fergie and Diana had their day. And Kate Middleton was dismissed as Waity Katy, the wallflower who hung on in there while William dithered about committing, before she became who she is now, the woman who will probably do most to restore royal confidence in the years to come. Kate Middleton, who is due to visit Ireland in March with William, is, perhaps, the ultimate swan: serene above water, but doing god knows what paddling furious underwater. That's the choice and commitment she made. That's the choice and commitment Meghan Markle wasn't interested in, and, perhaps, Harry was an open door waiting to be pushed when it came to unhitching himself from his birthright. One of the most interesting pieces written in the UK papers last week was by a journalist who spent more than a decade writing about Harry, and to whom he had confided a desire to quit his UK commitments and become a tour guide in Africa. In other words, to go away and live a low-key and quiet life. He's going away, all right, but Meghan is there ahead of him, already laying the ground for their new life. It's not one's faces on a tray of buns, and it's unlikely to be stuffy and constrained by duty, but it's no quiet life, you can be certain. Police in Hong Kong arrested protest organizer Ventus Lau after claiming incorrectly that he didn't ask a peaceful protest crowd to disperse when their event was ordered to close at short notice by riot police on Sunday. Lau was among the organizers of the "Universal Siege Against Communism" demonstration, who said that some 150,000 people showed up to support the event. He was arrested on Sunday evening on charges of "obstruction of police administration" and for violating terms set when permission was granted for the protest, the Hong Kong Civil Assembly Team said in a statement. Police had initially given permission for a static gathering in the Central business district, but protesters spilled out onto nearby streets, with frontline protesters making barricades to protect the peaceful crowd from riot police. Police then ordered a halt to the protest, and an altercation ensued during which Lau repeatedly demanded to see identification. Lau is then visible in video footage reviewed by RFA telling the crowd to leave peacefully via the nearby Admiralty MTR station. "Reporters at the scene noted that Lau did announce that the rally was over and had asked the crowd to leave peacefully in the direction of Admiralty," government broadcaster RTHK reported on Monday. "Organizers also used loudhailers to ask marshals to help people leave, urging the protesters to remain calm," it said. Police also claimed that Lau's repeated requests to see the officers' identification constituted "obstructive" behavior. Police have refused to wear their unique identifying numbers since protests against extradition to China first escalated last June, making it impossible to lodge complaints through official channels in cases of police brutality or abuse of power. Senior superintendent of operations Ng Lok-chun said some protesters were trying to block roads and damage surveillance cameras, leading to the police order to end the rally. He said four police officers were injured and two were sent to hospital after being attacked by protesters. Report on police violence Millions of pro-democracy supporters have taken to Hong Kong's streets with demands for a public inquiry into police violence, fully democratic elections, an amnesty for thousands of arrested protesters, and an end to the use of the word "rioters" to describe the movement. While Lam formally withdrew hated amendments to the city's laws that would have allowed extradition to mainland China in October, protesters slammed her response as too little, too late, and demanded she address the rapid erosion of the city's promised freedoms. The Civil Rights Observer group said it had compiled a report into police violence during protests on June 12, 2019, and plans to submit it to the United Nations. Group founder Icarus Wong said the report detailed the inappropriate use of tear gas on a crowd of people who had no obvious escape route, as well as excessive use of beating with batons and riot shields to injure protesters already lying on the ground. He said the report recommends an independent public inquiry into police violence on June 12, and a publicly available code of conduct for the use of force by police officers, among other measures. City's debt rating falls The New York-based credit agency Moody's downgraded Hong Kong's debt rating on Monday, blaming the administration of chief executive Carrie Lam for failing to respond adequately to seven months of mass protest. "The absence of tangible plans to address either the political or economic and social concerns of the Hong Kong population that have come to the fore in the past nine months may reflect weaker inherent institutional capacity than Moody's had previously assessed," Moody's said in a statement. It said Lam's response had been "notably slow, tentative and inconclusive." "It may also point to more significant constraints on the autonomy of Hong Kong's institutions than previously thought," the agency added, in a reference to political pressure from the ruling Chinese Communist Party in Beijing. Reported by Gao Feng for RFA's Mandarin and Cantonese Services.Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. T he number of people infected with a deadly Chinese virus has spiked with more than 200 cases confirmed and a third person confirmed to have died. The virus has been likened to SARS, which killed nearly 800 people in 2002, and been detected in 198 patients in Wuhan, where it appears to have originated. The Wuhan Municipal Health Commission said 136 new cases of pneumonia caused by the coronavirus strain had been found in the city over the weekend, adding to 62 already known cases. A third death occurred on Saturday, the authority said in a statement. This brings the total number of known cases worldwide to more than 200. A seafood market in Wuhan has been closed for an investigation, with many of the illnesses having been linked to the site. Authorities in Japan and Thailand have identified three cases, one in the former and two in the latter, while South Korea became the latest country to confirm an infection. A rescue worker walks past a notice about the virus that has broken out in China (REUTERS) / Reuters All those cases have been linked to patients who recently travelled to China. Experts have said the current outbreak is "preventable and controllable", China's National Health Commission said. Quarantine notice: Health authorities have placed warnings about coughing or fever symptoms / REUTERS A statement on Sunday read: "However, the source of the new type of coronavirus has not been found, we do not fully understand how the virus is transmitted, and changes in the virus still need to be closely monitored." Health authorities have suggested the virus is not easily transmitted between humans, though it has not ruled out limited human-to-human transmission. South Korea confirmed its first case on Monday, stating the patient is a 35-year-old Chinese woman and resident of Wuhan who flew from Wuhan to Incheon international airport on Sunday. She was isolated on entering South Korea, with symptoms including high fever, and South Korea's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said: "The confirmed patient was identified in the quarantine phase and there is no community exposure. Those that have come in contact, including passengers and aircraft crew, are currently being investigated." BJP leader JP Nadda emerged as the front-runner for the post of BJP president after he was left out of the Union Council of Ministers. Editor's note: This piece was originally published on 2 June, 2019. This has been republished in the light of JP Nadda taking over charge as full-time president of the Bharatiya Janata Party from Union home minister Amit Shah. Amid congratulations for the Cabinet Ministers of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's second term, speculations are rife about who will take charge of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as president after Amit Shah. Shah was named the home minister in the NDA-II Cabinet, and is likely to resign from the post soon in keeping with the 'one-person-one-post' principle of the ruling party. BJP leader JP Nadda emerged as the front-runner for the post of BJP president after he was left out of the Union Council of Ministers. Nadda, a leader from Himachal Pradesh, is reportedly trusted by the party's top brass and the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh the party's ideological parent and is known for a 'clean' reputation. He was the health minister in Modi's first tenure. The 58-year-old Nadda maintains a low profile, which could work in his favour, as the new party president will be expected to run the organisation in cohesion with the government and carry on with organisational agenda firmed up by Shah, PTI reported. He is a member of the BJP's parliamentary board, which is the party's top decision-making body having its most important members, that gives him requisite seniority for the job as well, party sources were quoted by the report as saying. Nadda was also slated to be Himachal Pradesh chief minister in 2017, after the defeat of another BJP leader Prem Kumar Dhumal. However, that was not possible due to the political equations in the state. A profile of Nadda by News18 notes, "Known for his managerial skills, Nadda didnt get knocked down. Instead, he ensured that his confidante Jairam Thakur makes it to the post. Nadda still continues to enjoy a strong hand in state politics like he does at the Centre. The victory in Uttar Pradesh, where he was the in-charge, is a testament to his strategy making skills." Another likely contender for the post is BJP national general secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Bhupendra Yadav. Yadav was appointed the state in-charge of Bihar and Gujarat for the Lok Sabha election 2019. Both states delivered a landslide victory to the Narendra Modi-led party. A contemporary of Modi and Rajnath Singh in the BJP, OP Mathur is also a possible candidate for the post of the party's president. He is a BJP leader from Rajasthan and is the party's in-charge of Gujarat. He worked closely with Modi in the Assembly elections in 2007 and 2012. The party will also look for new presidents for its Uttar Pradesh and Bihar units as their current heads, Mahendra Nath Pandey and Nityanand Rai respectively, have been inducted in the Union Council of Ministers. With inputs from agencies An India-Africa conference on e-governance is being planned here in March to ensure that benefits of digital platforms are made available for the empowerment of African citizens, a senior official said on Monday. The conference 'Digital Africa: Empowered Citizens' will witness participation of policy makers and government officials from India and 54 African countries. "The Ministry of External Affairs-led initiative in collaboration with the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) and National Centre for Good Governance envisages convening an Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) India-Africa e-governance with focus on enhanced south-south cooperation for sharing the benefits of e-governance for improved service delivery," DARPG Additional Secretary V Srinivas said. He said discussions have been held with African ambassadors in Delhi and the preparations have commenced. "Dates for the conference in March 2020 are expected to be announced shortly," Srinivas told PTI. The objective of the conference is to ensure the benefits of digital platforms are made available for empowerment of the African citizens, another official said. India has a number of success stories on how technology is used to provide efficient services while improving the quality of life of the citizen, he said. "An innovative feature of the ITEC India-Africa e-governance conference is that it provides a forum for government, business and academia from India and Africa while also seeking to crowdsource ideas on strengthening the collaboration through hackathon," the officer said. The conference will have eight sessions to cover an array of subjects including e-governance, fintech and capacity building, while also exploring business partnerships and identifying a roadmap forward, he said. India's several successful initiatives like BharatNet (a programme on providing broadband connectivity to all households), DigiLocker (platform for issuance and verification of documents and certificates), BHIM (unified payment interface) and Aadhaar enabled payment services, and its benefits would be highlighted during the event, the officer added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hyundai and LG will join hands to produce batteries for electric vehicles. "Hyundai Motor and LG Chem are collaborating to build a battery plant [for electric vehicles], but specific details, including the size of the investment and location of the plant, have not yet been decided," an industry insider said on Sunday. The companies are said to have established a 50-50 joint venture with the total investment running into the trillions of won (US$1=W1,159). A site in Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province owned by Hyundai Steel is being considered for the plant, but they are also considering the option of building it overseas. Hyundai last month announced plans to invest W9.7 trillion in its electric car business by 2025 to become the worlds second-largest manufacturer of EVs. Currently the carmaker uses EV batteries supplied by LG Chem and SK Innovation. As Hyundai recently signed a deal with SK Innovation to buy batteries for 500,000 EVs, SK is likely to remain a supplier for the carmaker even after the joint venture is established. New Delhi: Delhis Saket Court on Monday convicted NGO owner Brajesh Thakur in the sensational Muzaffarpur shelter home case. Apart from Thakur, who is also the prime accused in the case, 18 others were also found guilty by the Delhi Court. Thakur was convicted for aggravated sexual assault under the stringent POCSO Act and gangrape in Muzaffarpur shelter home case. A person was also acquitted in the case. The case is in connection with the alleged sexual and physical assault of girls at the shelter home in Bihars Muzaffarpur. The shelter home was run by former Bihar Peoples Party (BPP) MLA Brajesh Thakur, who was also the prime accused in the case. Hearing on quantum of punishment has been scheduled for January 28. It is to be noted that the judgment in the case was supposed to come on December 12, 2019. However, the court deferred the order by a month till January 14, 2020 due to the unavailability of the judge. Several Delays In Verdict Earlier, in November last year, the court had deferred the order by a month till December 12 as 20 accused, who are currently lodged in Tihar central jail, could not be brought to court premises due to the lawyers strike in all six district courts in the national capital. It is worth mentioning here that the court had on March 20, 2018, framed charges against the accused, including Thakur, for offences of criminal conspiracy to commit rape and penetrative sexual assault against minors. The accused included eight females and 12 males. The Court had held the trial for the offences of rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, drugging of minors, criminal intimidation among other charges. Brajesh Thakurs Role Thakur, employees of the shelter home, and the officials of the Bihar department of social welfare were charged with criminal conspiracy, neglect of duty and failure to report the assault on the girls. The charges also included offence of cruelty to child under their authority, punishable under the Juvenile Justice Act. All the accused, who appeared before the court, pleaded innocence and claimed trial. The offences entail a maximum punishment of life imprisonment. The court had reserved order on September 30 after final arguments by the CBI counsel and 20 accused in the case in which former Bihar Social Welfare Minister and the then JD(U) leader Manju Verma also faced flak as allegations surfaced that Thakur had links with her husband. She had resigned from her post on August 8, 2018. The CBI had told a special court that there was enough evidence against all the accused in the case. However, those accused have claimed that the CBI had not conducted a fair investigation into the case, which has been registered under the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and entails life imprisonment as the maximum punishment. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Finance Minister Conor Murphy with Michelle ONeill and party colleagues Declan Kearney and Deirdre Hargey at Stormont (Liam McBurney/PA) The devolved parliament in Belfast has rejected the Governments EU withdrawal plan. The position was agreed without dissent following a near three-hour debate in Northern Ireland. It was one of the first substantive acts of business since the assembly was restored earlier this month following the powersharing deal. Expand Close A Stormont official watches proceedings in the Northern Ireland Assembly Chamber (Liam McBurney/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A Stormont official watches proceedings in the Northern Ireland Assembly Chamber (Liam McBurney/PA) Its two largest parties are the DUP and Sinn Fein, who oppose the Prime Ministers Brexit deal for different reasons. Northern Ireland has been unable to speak without the authority of elected ministers throughout most of the debate over Brexit due to the three-year suspension of the devolved institutions. Sinn Fein deputy first minister Michelle ONeill said: We must work together with common cause to overcome the challenges that have been imposed on us by Brexit. This Assembly has not given its consent to the British Government to legislate on our behalf. The decision by assembly members will not affect the Governments plan to leave the EU at the end of the month. The Assembly has voted not to give consent to the British Gov legislating on our behalf on Brexit A majority of our people, MLAs & MPs oppose Brexit It presents the most profound challenges to our island in a generation Brexit is not orange or green & its not in our interests pic.twitter.com/hmOFHkSa31 Michelle ONeill (@moneillsf) January 20, 2020 Northern Ireland voted in favour of Remain in the 2016 EU referendum, but there was a significant body of mainly-unionist opinion in favour of Leave. The DUP is largely pro-Brexit, but opposes Prime Minister Boris Johnsons plan over fears it could impose customs checks on goods travelling between England, Scotland or Wales and Northern Ireland. DUP leader and Stormont First Minister Arlene Foster urged the Prime Minister to deliver on his promise of unfettered access to the Great Britain market and ensure that competitiveness is maintained. She said the Brexit deal posed significant challenges for Northern Ireland and called on Assembly members to take a stand to show that it was back in business and will not be overruled by the Government. Nationalists and businesses are keen to ensure the Irish land border remains open and frictionless, and are mostly in favour of remaining within the EU bloc. They do not care about people here, they don't care about people in Scotland, and they are determined to go on with the madness that is this BrexitColum Eastwood, SDLP There have been fears leaving could encourage dissident republican violence or re-open the debate over Irish unity, since the Republic of Ireland remains a member state. Ms ONeill said an EU pledge which would see Northern Ireland regain EU membership in the event of unification was a key factor. That has changed the context of the conversation and I think there is a very positive conversation under way now which is irreversible, I think thats where the whole political debate is, she said. Nationalist SDLP leader Colum Eastwood attacked the Governments record on Brexit. He said: They do not care about people here, they dont care about people in Scotland, and they are determined to go on with the madness that is this Brexit. Next week we will be dragged out of the European Union against our will, against the will of people here and people in Scotland. Thats why its important that were here, thats why its important that were rejecting it. Lawyers for a homeless man who admits sexually assaulting a woman in a laneway have said he did not initially accept that a woman could be so drunk as to be incapable of consent. The woman was extremely drunk and walking around the streets in her bare feet when she met Las Vegas Balan (aged 25). Balan, a Romanian national who was sleeping rough on the streets of Cork city, led her into a laneway and pushed her up against a wall. CCTV footage of the laneway shows Balan groping the woman and then trying to knock her to the ground. She is seen struggling to remain upright before Balan pulled her behind a van. A resident heard the victim screaming and looked out to see her partially undressed. Gardai came to the scene and found her sitting on the ground in an incoherent and disoriented state. Footage from earlier in the night shows her unsteadily walking around the city in her bare feet and walking in and out of fast food outlets without ordering any food and in a meandering state. She told gardai she blacked out and had no memory of the attack and never consented to any interaction with the man. Balan had been sleeping rough not far from the scene of the attack. After his arrest he accepted that she was very drunk but claimed the sexual activity was consensual. He did not accept that a person could get so intoxicated so as to be incapable of giving consent. Paul Christopher BL, defending, said Balan accepted she was not 100% aware and agreed that maybe I was wrong in a way. In his culture he is not used to this binge-drinking culture, counsel said, adding that he didn't accept that she was so intoxicated she didn't know what she was doing. Balan pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court on November 14 last year to sexual assault at a place in Cork on a date in May 2018. He has no previous convictions and was living off begging in the city. Mr Justice Micheal White imposed a five-year prison term and backdated it to May 2018, when Balan went into custody. Mr Christopher submitted to the investigating garda, Detective Sergeant John O'Connell, that there was absolutely no coercion. He submitted that the CCTV footage showed the woman in the laneway quite capable and looking around...to see if the coast was clear. He submitted that the woman went voluntarily back behind the van. Det. Sgt O'Connell said he could not agree. Mr Justice White said the objective evidence of the CCTV footage viewed in court was that the woman was absolutely incapable of giving any kind of consent. He noted she had taken prescription medication as well as a substantial amount of alcohol, that she had lost her friends and was wandering around incoherently. Mr Justice White said Balan quite simply took advantage of her although the offence was not accompanied by gratuitous violence. She needed care and assistance rather than exploitation said Mr Justice White. He said the woman had mental health difficulties previously and the offence had a terrible effect on her. Mr Justice White noted that the guilty plea had been of some benefit but noted it had been entered prior to the opening of a retrial, after an extensive trial had already taken place. The guilty plea came after a trial at the Central Criminal Court in which the jury were unable to reach a verdict. The judge said he also took into account Balan had no previous convictions and was a foreign national. Ten members of the Harkat-ul Jihad al-Islami (Huji), a banned Islamist militant group in Bangladesh, were on Monday sentenced to death for a bomb attack on a Communist Party rally in 2001 that killed eight people here. Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Court's Judge Mohammed Rabiul Islam delivered the verdict. The court acquitted two others in the case and fined each of the death row convicts Bangladeshi Taka 20,000 (USD 281), the Dhaka Tribune reported. The bomb attack on January 20, 2001 in Dhaka's Paltan Maidan had left eight people dead, and injured over 50. The main accused, banned Islamist outfit Harkat-al-Jihad al-Islami (Huji) chief Mufti Abdul Hannan, was hanged in a case filed over a grenade attack on ex-British envoy Anwar Choudhury in Sylhet on April 12, 2017. Among the 13 convicts, four were present at the court on Monday. Six other convicts sentenced to death are still on the run. Two others have been acquitted in the case. All of them belong to the banned Islamist militant group. After a hearing in the case on December 1, Judge Robiul Islam had set January 20 as the date for delivering the judgment in the case. On September 4, 2014, the court framed charges against the 13 members. On January 27, 2005, the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate asked the authorities to re-investigate the matter following a petition for fresh probe into the cases. Investigating Officer CID Inspector Mrinal Kanti Saha submitted the charge-sheet on November 27, 2013 accusing 13 of being involved in the attack, bdnews24.com reported. The court in its verdict said that the convicts committed the murders to disrupt the democracy in the country and wipe out the pro-liberation forces. The court also said that no one had the right to commit such heinous acts in the name of religion, The Daily Star reported. A witness of the 2001 attack said he was satisfied with the verdict. Defense lawyer Faruk Ahmed, following the verdict, said that the defendants will appeal in the higher court. Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority nation of 160 million people, has seen a spate of gruesome attacks in recent years on secular activists, religious minorities, bloggers and foreigners, many of whom have been hacked to death with machetes. The country launched a massive crackdown on militants after the July 1 Dhaka terror attack in which 22 people, mostly foreigners, were killed. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) UP Aerospace achieved a major milestone in fall 2018 when it shot its reusable SpaceLoft rocket into suborbit in two back-to-back launches from Spaceport America. But that NASA-sponsored feat generated barely a blip in public attention. Another SpaceLoft launch with NASA-sponsored microgravity experiments took place in November, again with little fanfare. In good part, thats because all eyes are riveted on Virgin Galactic, which is expected to begin suborbital commercial flights from the spaceport this year for paying passengers. But it may also reflect the natural evolution to a new normal public mindset regarding spaceflight activity at the spaceports vertical launch area, where UP has operated since 2006. Since then, it has launched the SpaceLoft 13 times from the spaceport, while also conducting test flights on vehicles there for other companies, including Lockheed Martin. It even built a rocket motor factory on-site in 2017, which now provides all engines for its own launches, plus motors for other companies and entities, such as the military and Sandia National Laboratories. UP is headquartered in Colorado, where it manages most of its basic engineering and design work, but its seven-member workforce has spent more than half of each year since 2017 directly at the spaceport, said UP President and CEO Jerry Larson. And UP is not alone. A half-dozen other companies are also located at the vertical launch area, where theyre developing a variety of new suborbital and orbital launch vehicles and capabilities. That includes Cesaroni Aerospace, a Florida company that partnered with UP to build the on-site rocket factory, or space propulsion center. A new vertical launch tenant, SpinLaunch, also broke ground there last May on a $7 million, 10,000-square-foot center to test and develop a novel technology that could literally fling satellites into space using a ground-based centrifuge system that spins around to reach hypersonic speeds before releasing the rockets for kinetically propelled flight. The company says it now has 20 employees working at the spaceport, and it could begin initial flight testing this year. We are progressing with the buildout of our first mass accelerator, with a target of first test flight in 2020 to verify the system, company founder and CEO Jonathan Yaney told the Journal in an email. The commercial space market is expected to grow to a trillion dollar industry within this next decade, and our partnership with Spaceport America will expedite our ability to service that fast-emerging market. The combined activity of companies in the vertical launch area and Virgin Galactics rapidly approaching commercial operations at the horizontal launch area is turning the spaceport into a major employment hub in the New Mexico desert, said Spaceport America CEO Dan Hicks. The employee count is projected to reach 287 in the current fiscal year that ends in June, up from 163 in FY 2019, and then grow to 351 in FY 2021. That includes a steady ramp up by Virgin Galactic, which opened its Gateway to Space operations center at the spaceport last summer, growing its New Mexico workforce from 80 in FY 2019 to a projected 150 in the current year. It also includes 32 spaceport employees and about 40 contract personnel, Hicks said. Its a good news story, Hicks said. Were creating jobs given all the growth in Virgin Galactic activities and other operations at the spaceport. UP expects to conduct more NASA-sponsored flights this year under contract with the space agencys Flight Opportunities Program, which NASA launched to pay commercial operators to send new technologies into suborbit for testing and development after the space shuttle stopped flying. UP has received three NASA contracts since 2013, flying seven missions to date on its SpaceLoft rocket and carrying more than 80 microgravity experiments to space. Among them are two new technologies that were later sent to the International Space Station, such as a new device built by Washington-based engineering firm Control Dynamics Inc. that can isolate experiments from vibrations and other interference on rocket flights, improving the microgravity environment. UP expects to reach another milestone in February, when it conducts static ground tests on four different solid-propellant rocket motors its built at the spaceport to propel a new, four-stage, satellite-carrying rocket called the Spyder into low earth orbit, Larson said. Up has been developing Spyder for about five years in cooperation with NASA to offer a reusable, low-cost alternative to rapidly launch satellites. It will be a huge milestone for us when we static test all four motors, Larson said. Well lock up the technology and work out all the bugs. The orbital Spyder system wont fly from the spaceport, because with four stages, some of the boosters could fall back to earth over potentially inhabited areas, Larson said. Rather, it will fly from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Virginias Wallops Island, where depleted stages can fall into the ocean. But UP is also developing a suborbital version of the Spyder that will fly from the spaceport. Its a much bigger diameter vehicle than the SpaceLoft, Larson said. It can carry more payloads and go higher and faster. UP is benefiting from exponential growth in the commercial space industry, with satellite operators and others seeking private firms like UP to launch into space. And with Virgin Galactic gearing up for commercial operations this year, the spaceport expects an unprecedented wave of national and international attention that can lift all boats, Larson said. Companies like Space X and Virgin Galactic are helping to inspire the commercial space industry, Larson said. Ive been in this business 35 years and Ive never seen anything like whats been happening in just the last three years. The Supreme Court on Monday told fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya that he hadnt repaid the money the defunct airlines Kingfisher owed to the banks. Not a single paisa has come, Justice Rohinton Nariman remarked as soon a bench led by Chief Justice SA Bobde took up the businessmans petition to stop proceedings to confiscate his assets. Justice Nariman recused from the case soon after. Chief Justice Bobde will reconstitute the bench that will hear the case. Mallya had petitioned the Supreme Court in June last year to seek a stay on confiscation of properties owned by him, arguing that the charges filed against him by the investigative agencies are baseless and the Centre had refused to take him up on his offer to clear his loans. At the last hearing this month, the Centres second most-senior law officer Tushar Mehta had stressed that Mallya and his companies had been saying for years that they will repay the loans but not a single rupee has been paid so far. Mallyas legal team has argued in the top court that the petition for bankruptcy in the UK should be dismissed because the banks are pursuing the same debt through the Indian courts. Mallya, who founded the now-defunct Kingfisher airlines, fled to Britain in March 2016 after facing accusations of financial irregularities amounting to over 9,000 crore. Vijay Mallya was last year declared a fugitive economic offender by a Delhi court that also started proceedings to confiscate his properties. Mallya has argued that no property other than that of Kingfisher Airlines could be attached. The Bombay HIgh Court last month rejected Vijay Mallyas request to stay proceedings before the special court in Mumbai that has taken up money laundering charges against him. The platypus has disappeared from as much as 40 percent of its historical range due to changes wrought by humans. Prolonged drought and other effects of climate change are pushing the duck-billed platypus, one of Australias most unique species, towards extinction, scientists warned in a study published Monday. The furry river-dwelling mammal has already disappeared from as much as 40 percent of its historical range on the east coast of Australia due to drought, land clearing, pollution and the construction of dams, the researchers said. Scientists from the University of New South Wales Centre for Ecosystem Science say if the current threats persist, platypus numbers will fall a further 47-66 percent over the next 50 years. If projections about worsening climate change are taken into account, the numbers of the egg-laying mammal could plummet up to 73 percent by 2070, they wrote. These dangers further expose the platypus to even worse local extinctions, with no capacity to repopulate areas, said Gilad Bino, lead author of the study. Experts say as many as one billion animals may have died in the massive bushfires that took hold of Australias tinder-dry bush in September, tearing through vast swaths of the countrys more-populated southeast and destroying crucial animal habitats. In work published towards the end of last year, Australian scientists found that 100 of Australias endemic species had gone extinct since Europeans arrived on the continent. Extinctions to accelerate The first extinction likely took place within 10 years of colonisation, they said in their findings which were published in the scientific journal Biological Conservation. At least three extinctions took place in the last decade. A pig-footed bandicoot, one of 100 species that are known to have become extinct since Europeans landed in Australia [Supplied/Al Jazeera] They found that the introduction of predators like foxes and cats, as well as environmentally significant events like drought and fire, had harmed indigenous species, with climate change emerging as a factor more recently. John Woinarski of the Threatened Species Recovery Hub at Charles Darwin Universitys Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods and the reports lead author, told Al Jazeera the rate of extinction in Australia was the highest of any continent in the world and highly likely to accelerate. Recalling a species of skink he had once held in his hands and was now extinct, Woinarski said the loss of any species was devastating. To have held an animal or plant that has gone extinct in your lifetime, it affects your soul, he told Al Jazeera. Extinctions are part of us. They arent remote entities. They are real things that had life and vitality and that has been extinguished. The platypus is listed as near threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and the UNSW scientists said the damage caused by years of minimal rainfall and high temperatures had worsened its prospects. Urgent need The scientists said there was an urgent need for a national risk assessment to determine if the platypus should be recognised as vulnerable and to lay out conservation steps to minimise any risk of extinction. It affects your soul says scientist John Woinarski of species extinctions, recalling the time he held the Christmas Island forest skink (above), which became extinct in the last decade [Hal Cogger/Al Jazeera] The study is the first across all platypus habitat zones to establish a so-called metapopulation model while also projecting the impacts of climate change on the species going forward. The survey estimated the total platypus population had fallen by 50 percent since European settlement in 1788. An earlier study published in November 2018 estimated the population had fallen by 30 percent over that period, to around 200,000. Under predicted climate change, the losses forecast were far greater because of increases in extreme drought frequencies and duration, such as the current dry spell, Bino said of the latest report. The platypus, which along with four species of echidna are the only mammals that lay eggs, has a tail like a beaver, otter-like feet and a venomous spur on its hind leg. Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday ordered resolute efforts to curb the spread of a new coronavirus that has infected more than 220 people and resulted in the death of three persons in the country as an expert warned that the virus is contagious between people. Chinese authorities said a third person died over the weekend from coronavirus infection in Wuhan city where the virus was first reported. As public concerns mounted specially ahead of the Chinese New Year festival starting from January 24 during which millions travel within and outside the country to avail weeklong public holidays, Xi said the government and departments at all levels should put the health and safety of the people first. He said it's "extremely crucial" to take every possible measure to contain the virus, especially during a time when China is experiencing huge mobility in the Chinese New Year which is also known as the Spring Festival. Xi asked the health officials to take effective measures to stop the spread of the virus, find out its origins and how it has been spreading, official media reported. So far, a total of 224 cases of pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus had been reported in China. Of them, 217 had been confirmed and seven remained suspected, state run agency Xinhua reported on Monday. Reports say two cases of the virus was identified in Beijing, eight in Shanghai and one in Shenzhen. The mysterious virus was first reported in Wuhan City in December 2019, where it originated at a seafood market. Meanwhile, the virus has reached a third Asian country. One case has been confirmed in Japan, two in Thailand and one in South Korea, Xinhua said. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said there was an indication that the pneumonia-like virus thought to have originated in a seafood and animal meat market in Wuhan could spread through human-to-human transmission, the Hong Kong based South China Morning Post reported. China's Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said on Saturday that the infection was "preventable and controllable". The virus was not severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) which originated in China in 2002-03. More than 700 people died in the outbreak. "An animal source seems the most likely primary source of this novel coronavirus outbreak, with some limited human-to-human transmission occurring between close contacts," WHO said on Twitter. Zhong Nanshan, a prominent scientist at the national health commission, said that human-to-human transmission is "affirmative", according to state-run CCTV. Earlier, China's health authorities said they had found no evidence of human-to-human transmission but could not rule it out. WHO said in a written response to the Post on Monday that it had no information on medical staff being infected by the virus. The agency attributed the jump to "increased searching and testing" for the virus among people showing symptoms of respiratory illness. Chinese official highlighted tips for public to avoid contracting the virus which included wearing masks, washing hands time to time, keeping a distance from other patients and other ways of lowering the risk of getting infected. China in the past has made major breakthroughs in responding to infectious diseases including establishing a system for the early detection of 300 known pathogens and the screening, identifying and detection of unknown pathogens, the Ministry of Science and Technology said highlighting China's ability to cope up with the new virus. China has also set up the world's largest network of laboratory for pathogen spectrum monitoring of infectious disease symptoms, including 12 core labs, 91 provincial-level key labs and 800 hospital labs, focusing on detecting the cause of illness of the respiratory tract, diarrhoea, fever with a rash, fever and bleeding, encephalitis meningitis, the ministry said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) We have come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Never be afraid to do whats right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Societys punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way. The moment she stepped out of the elevator, the Fairmont Hotel guest knew she was in the wrong place. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/1/2020 (722 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Opinion The moment she stepped out of the elevator, the Fairmont Hotel guest knew she was in the wrong place. Wrapped in a parka and sporting a natty tuque, the guest was trying to get to the lobby and then outside into the bitter Sunday morning cold. But alas, she got off on the mezzanine level, which had been conscripted as the nerve centre of a federal cabinet retreat, which is being held this weekend in Winnipeg. Two steps out of the elevator, the woman stopped in her tracks as she spotted an impenetrable wall of journalists and television cameras with lights aflame, all gathered to snag comments from cabinet ministers. Without a word, she slowly backed her way into the elevator like a zookeeper easing away from a cranky carnivore. And with that, journalists witnessed the first and perhaps only dramatic moment of the opening morning of Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus cabinet retreat, one of the more unusual events in the life of a federal politician. Whenever large numbers of politicians gather, journalists are sure to follow. Its our job to capture their every utterance and gesture to create the next great ripple in the torrent of stories that form the national news agenda. Journalists do not attend the meetings, per se. Instead, they are permitted to capture the "ins," brief comments made as the ministers enter the meeting, and the "outs," the comments made as everyone heads back to their hotel rooms. It may not seem like a high-value target, but political journalists are experts in wringing stories out of a few minutes of access to a cabinet minister. Consider the lineup of stories that were generated from just 15 minutes of "ins" on Sunday morning. Justice Minister David Lametti stopped by to talk about his intention to bring forward a revised medically assisted dying bill in February. A Quebec Superior Court judge declared certain sections of the law to be unconstitutional and gave the Liberal government six months to deliver new legislation. Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, fresh from a meeting with Iranian officials in Oman, updated reporters on efforts to repatriate remains of Canadians killed when a Ukrainian jetliner was shot down by Iranian missiles. Economic Development Minister Melanie Joly outlined her hope that opportunities to improve the life of middle-class Canadians would be on the retreat agenda. And Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal, Manitobas senior cabinet representative, stopped by to applaud the decision to bring the retreat to Winnipeg so that local concerns could be highlighted. And what of the prime minister? Trudeau and his new beard were among the first to arrive for Sunday mornings working session. With the urgency of a Blue Bomber running back heading for daylight, Trudeau dodged most of the reporters by rushing past and into a restricted, ministers-only area as Champagne was holding court. Better luck next time, media scrum. It may seem like way too much fuss and not enough actual news to justify the decision to relocate the entire federal cabinet along with dozens of political staffers, audio-visual technicians and security personnel to Winnipeg. The truth is that events such as this are, if nothing else, valuable reminders of the sheer magnitude of the national agenda. When it comes to the business of governing the nation, there are no off days. From the emergency response to the blizzard that ravaged Newfoundland, to the new trade agreement with the United States and Mexico, and preparations for the first parliamentary session of the new minority Liberal government, Trudeau and his cabinet have their hands extremely full. Still, you may wonder why Trudeau and his cabinet chose to come to Winnipeg in January, which typically features the cruelest winter weather this city can muster? As they watched the horizontal snow whipping by their hotel room windows Sunday morning, you can bet many journalists and politicians from Ottawa were asking themselves the same question. There are a variety of theories. First, observers believe that leaving the comfort of Ottawa and coming here is a modest, conciliatory gesture to Western Canada, which summarily rejected the Liberals in last falls federal election. The Liberals won only four of 14 seats in Manitoba and were shut out in Saskatchewan and Alberta. Anger over a range of issues has spawned a new western separatist movement that may not break up the country, but could make it difficult for Liberals to gain a foothold west of Manitoba in future elections. 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. However, if the location of the cabinet retreat was supposed to serve as an olive branch to cranky western separatists, one has to wonder why Trudeau didnt venture a bit farther west than Winnipeg? Although Manitoba is a chartered member of "the West," its certainly not the epicentre of western alienation. The short answer is that its too soon. Emotions among self-proclaimed Wexit activists are still at full boil. This past weekend, more than 700 hard-core separatists held a "Value of Alberta" conference in Calgary to discuss opportunities to recast the provinces relationship to the rest of Canada. Had Trudeau visited Calgary this weekend, you would have been able to see the ensuing mushroom cloud all the way from the Ottawa Valley. No, Winnipeg is "western lite," close enough that some will see it as a symbolic gesture, and far away enough from the oilpatch that it wont be too provocative. Save for the occasional hotel guest who inadvertently strays into the path of television cameras, Winnipeggers will likely not even notice that the prime minister and cabinet are in Winnipeg. But that does not mean there will be no news. dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca Last week, she was seen sunning herself on the golden shores of Jamaica, as she joined a host of pals to celebrate her friend Lori Harvey's 23rd birthday in style. Back it was back to work for Winnie Harlow on Monday evening, as she took to the runway for Ralph & Russo's Spring/Summer 2020 presentation during Haute Couture Fashion Week in Paris. The Canadian beauty, 25, wowed as she modelled a flowing green off-the-shoulder gown, which boasted en empire silhouette and a dramatic gathering at the bodice. Model behaviour: Winnie Harlow took to the runway in two stunning designs for Ralph & Russo's Spring/Summer 2020 presentation during Haute Couture Fashion Week in Paris on Monday evening Wearing her raven tresses in a partial updo while the remainder fell down her back in a straight, sleek style, the former America's Next Top Model star kept her makeup light and natural for the occasion. She also took to the runway in an equally eye-catching lime green dress, which featured a deeply plunging neckline and a thigh-high slit. Standing tall in a pair of matching heels, the Toronto native was back in work mode, days after returning from her trip to Jamaica, where she vacationed with a host of pals, including Jordyn Woods, Normani, and Teyana Taylor. Back to work: The Toronto native was back in work mode, days after returning from her trip to Jamaica, where she vacationed pals, including Jordyn Woods, Normani, and Teyana Taylor Winnie rose to fame in 2014 competing on the 21st cycle of America's Next Top Model. She was discovered by the long-running show's host Tyra Banks, 46, on Instagram and finished sixth overall. At the age of four, she was diagnosed with the chronic skin condition vitiligo, characterised by depigmentation of patches of the skin. Winnie modelled in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in 2018 and has walked the runway in New York and London Fashion Week shows. Wow: The 25-year-old also wowed as she modelled a flowing green off-the-shoulder gown, which boasted en empire silhouette and a dramatic gathering at the bodice Beauty: Wearing her raven tresses in a half updo while the remainder fell down her back in a straight, sleek style, the star kept her makeup light and natural for the occasion Attention: The model commanded attention as she made her way down the starkly lit runway She has become a public speaker about her experiences with vitiligo and also speaks out against bullying. During a recent episode of Success with Moira Forbes, the star said she's instead focusing on forging her own path. 'I try not to compare myself to anyone else. Its inspiring to see my girls in my industry doing the things that they're doing. But I have my own path that I have to walk and you just can't compare. In 2016, Winnie was named as one of BBC's 100 Women. Guest: Kat Graham was among the well-heeled guests invited to the hot ticket presentation Front row: Ne-Yo and Dove Cameron were spotted settling into their seats in the front row Here she comes: Winnie was seen leaving her latest catwalk commitment later that night EPA Thousands of guns rights activists descended on Capitol Square in Richmond, Virginia, for a rally after the state Senate passed a series of bills limiting the purchasing of firearms and establishing mandatory background checks. Gun owners rallied on the streets amid heavy security, with many demonstrators holding weapons, pro-gun rights banners and wearing camouflage clothing. Activists were campaigning for their right to bear arms, which is protected by the Second Amendment of the constitution. Governor Ralph Northam (D-VA) declared a state of emergency and temporarily banned guns on capitol grounds as the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) held its annual Lobby Day demonstrations on Martin Luther King Jr Day. The demonstrations come less than a week after the gun control measures were advanced in the state legislature, setting up for a contentious showdown between gun owners attending the rally and counter-protestors calling for common sense reforms in Virginia, known for its lax gun laws. Donald Trump tweeted a message shortly before the rally officially began appearing to support the protestors. The president said: The Democrat Party in the Great Commonwealth of Virginia are working hard to take away your 2nd Amendment rights, followed by a call for people to vote Republican in the 2020 US election. The FBI arrested multiple suspected neo-Nazis in the build-up to the event, who had reportedly discussed opening fire at the demonstrations and were anticipating a possible race war. There were initially fears of a second Charlottesville -- when a white supremacist rally turned deadly in Virginia nearly three years ago -- but it was ultimately a peaceful, albeit tense, event. 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Yingling is the leader of the Pennsylvania Lightfoot Militia, based out of Latrobe. Read more Thousands of people affiliated with gun-rights groups and militias from across the country descended on Richmond, Va., Monday for a rally that some feared could turn violent, prompting the governor to declare a state of emergency. But no violent incidents or arrests were reported by the time the rally concluded early Monday afternoon. Among the groups that attended were national organizations that have chapters in Pennsylvania, including the PA Light Foot Militia, a group whose leader was banned from rallying with weapons in Charlottesville after the 2017 Unite the Right rally and had said there was enormous potential for something to go wrong" at Mondays event. The group indicated on Facebook that it wanted to stand with the people of Virginia and our allied units in various states against the draconian gun legislation being proposed by the current sitting legislature. The annual rally was billed as a peaceful gathering, but attracted more attention this year as the Virginia legislature, which was flipped by Democrats in November, considers new gun control laws. Virginia saw a mass shooting last year in Virginia Beach that killed 12. Cory Kepner of Carbon County, a member of the Pennsylvania-based group Firearm Owners Against Crime, attended the rally to observe and help be a diffuser if conflict arose. But the crowd was friendly and calm, with a fantastic job from the heavy police presence, he said. We were all expecting antifa and all kinds of problems, and we didnt see anything like that, which was a real surprise, said Kepner, 31. It was extremely peaceful. I think people went completely out of their way to make sure it stayed that way. What was Mondays rally? The events in Richmond were organized by the Virginia Citizens Defense League, a gun-rights organization that holds an annual Lobby Day at the capitol. The last few years have fallen on Martin Luther King Day. The rally was expected to draw more than state gun-rights figures this year. Far-right personalities and white nationalists with large internet followings, some of whom considered themselves organizers of the deadly Charlottesville rally in 2017, pledged to attend. The governor promised to sign three bills into law: one to require background checks for any firearm transfer, one to allow municipalities to ban firearms in governmental buildings and public parks or streets, and one to limit purchases of handguns to one per month. (In Pennsylvania, little has been passed by the state legislature in the way of gun control in recent years, though recent mass shootings and everyday gun violence in Philadelphia and other areas inspired debate in the Statehouse. A law aiming to disarm domestic abusers took effect last year, though it largely hasnt been enforced in Philadelphia.) Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam had declared a state of emergency ahead of the expected demonstrations, citing credible threats of violence surrounding the event, along with white nationalist rhetoric and plans by out-of-state militia groups to attend. That emergency declaration allowed officials to ban all weapons from Capitol grounds and allotted additional resources for law enforcement agencies. Federal authorities last week arrested six members of a violent white supremacist group called the Base," at least three of whom are accused of plotting to kill antifascist activists. Gun-control groups denounced the rally. Pennsylvanias largest such group, CeaseFirePA, tweeted, #IStandWithVirginia because we will not cower to those with hate in their hearts. We will rise above bigotry and will never step back. The Pa. groups that attended Roughly 6,000 rally-goers passed through security, according to the Washington Post, and included members of militias, or groups of people, usually armed, who meet and train with the stated goal of defending the Constitution and rising up should the government violate it. These militia group leaders included Christian Yingling, the PA Light Foot Militia commanding officer who runs a chapter based out of Latrobe. (According to the groups website, there are also chapters based in New Bethlehem, Reading, Wilkes-Barre, and Towanda, as well as Cape May and Morristown, N.J.) Yingling posted a statement on Facebook saying Northam was wrongly attempting to paint a picture similar to what we saw in Charlottesville," where he led a militia of about 30 people. He wrote that the group didnt plan to cause violence or harm in any way and sought only to aid our communities and others in securing their rights as guaranteed to them by our Forefathers. Yingling told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in 2017 that he got involved with the militia group because of his affinity for Alex Jones, the InfoWars founder and far-right conspiracy theorist who arrived at the rally in Richmond on Monday. The rally included chants of USA!, You dont represent us, and You work for us, said Kepner, the Carbon County gun owner. He followed an armed militia as it marched through the streets and said the blocks surrounding the Capitol were packed. People were livestreaming and broadcasting to YouTube, he said. Ive been to a lot of gun rallies over the years and this is probably the largest thing I personally have seen, he said. Obviously people were frustrated and upset with the legislation, but it was very friendly amongst each other, while the message was, We will not comply. Kim Stolfer of Allegheny County, head of Firearm Owners Against Crime, said as many as 20 of his members were in Richmond attending the rally. As an organization, we didnt underwrite it, if you will, but we told everybody that if they wanted to go, we thought it would be a good idea to support our fellow citizens in Virginia defending the right to bear arms, Stolfer said. Many of our members would be there if it was something like the Fourth Amendment or the Fifth Amendment or the First Amendment, because we believe in the Bill of Rights. Stolfer said he believed Virginias proposed gun laws were unconstitutional and would fail. He cited rallies his group has held in Harrisburg, saying, Were peaceful, and the same things going to happen in Richmond. Everything [Northam] is doing in Virginia is an affront to not only the legislative process but also the rights of citizens, Stolfer said. His vitriol is pushing everybody to view the people rallying in Richmond right now as a threat to the safety of citizens. Believers in the Second Amendment are not the enemy. National groups with Pa. ties were there, too While the National Rifle Association has criticized the legislation being considered in Virginia, the group distanced itself from the rally. However, Gun Owners of America, a national gun-rights organization to the right of the NRA, urged its members to attend. Other militias and far-right groups, like the Oath Keepers and the Three Percenters, both national organizations with local chapters, encouraged their membership to attend. The Oath Keepers are part of what experts call the patriot movement and are one of the nations largest antigovernment groups. Much of their recruitment is focused on military both current and former soldiers and police. While the Pennsylvania chapter of the Oath Keepers didnt respond to a request for comment, the group posted about the rally on Instagram two days ago, sharing a meme poking fun at Northams state of emergency declaration. The Three Percenters, which has state chapters in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, dont consider themselves to be a militia, but rather a group of patriotic citizens who love their country, their freedoms, and their liberty. However, experts have deemed the Three Percenters (named after their belief that only 3% of colonists fought the British during the Revolution) antigovernment extremists part of the militia movement. One of life's simple pleasures is a run. Out in the sunshine, gentle breeze, maybe a dog at your side and friends around you. Every Saturday morning, tens of thousands of Australians embrace this via the volunteer-driven Parkrun program. Canberra Parkrunners enjoy an autumn outing. Credit:Elesa Kurtz These five-kilometre non-competitive events, managed online and helped along by people prepared to spend an hour of their week marshalling runners or taking photographs, are a growing force in physical activity participation. From Cowra to Cohuna, Parkruns are everywhere around this country. Former Fine Gael justice minister Alan Shatter could be set for a shock political comeback after saying it was "very tempting to get into the fray". Mr Shatter lost his Dail seat in Dublin Rathdown in the 2016 General Election and later quit Fine Gael following a dispute with the party over the manner of his departure from cabinet in 2014 and his re-election bid two years later. Mr Shatter has been highly critical of Fine Gael since then and in recent days he has tweeted that the party "had entirely lost its moral compass and sense of decency". He also gave an interview to 'Russia Today' from Florida last week in which he was critical of Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. Fuelling speculation that he could run for the Dail in this General Election, Mr Shatter tweeted yesterday: "Watching GE2020 from the sidelines very tempting to get into the fray." He did not respond to requests for comment. Mr Shatter resigned from government in 2014 following claims he mishandled Garda malpractice allegations. He was later vindicated by a State inquiry and the Court of Appeal, which found his constitutional rights had been breached. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will be giving up their royal titles as they take a step back from the royal family and make the move to Canada. While Queen Elizabeth has issued statements in support of their plan, an insider claims that life behind the palace doors has been challenging for Markle. Meghan Markle | DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS WPA Pool/Getty Images Prince Harry and Markle made a surprise announcement Royal fans were surprised when Prince Harry and Markle made the announcement that theyd be leaving the spotlight with their son Archie, as they shared in an Instagram post: After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution. They continued: 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. Was royal life difficult for Markle? Reports swirled following their bombshell announcement, including one source who claimed there was a lot of drama and backstabbing in the royal family that Markle wasnt prepared for. An insider told Us Weekly: Meghan knew life as a royal wouldnt be easy. But nothing prepared her for the constant criticism and drama and backstabbing that goes on behind palace doors. Prince Harry, the source shared, was unhappy with the situation, noting: To say hes upset about the way the royals and the U.K. press have treated Meghan is an understatement. Additionally, royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams claimed: Its clear royal pressures have made them deeply unhappy. Theyre going to do things their way. The queen is supportive of Prince Harry and Markles decision After Prince Harry and Markle revealed their future plans, the queen held a special meeting with Harry, Prince William, and Prince Charles to discuss the next steps. At the time, Queen Elizabeth released a statement that noted: My family and I are entirely supportive of Harry and Meghans desire to create a new life as a young family. 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 while remaining a valued part of my family. She added that the couple made clear that they do not want to be reliant on public funds in their new lives. It has therefore been agreed that there will be a period of transition in which the Sussexes will spend time in Canada and the UK. The queen shared that they would reach final decisions soon, later releasing a statement after the details were finalized. That statement noted: Following many months of conversations and more recent discussions, I am pleased that together we have found a constructive and supportive way forward for my grandson and his family. Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved members of my family. I recognise the challenges they have experienced as a result of intense scrutiny over the last two years and support their wish for a more independent life. The queens statement shared that she is particularly proud of how Meghan has so quickly become one of the family, and added, It is my whole familys hope that todays agreement allows them to start building a happy and peaceful new life. Email To : Multiple e-mail addresses must be separated with a comma character(maximum 200 characters) Email To is required. Your Full Name: (optional) Your Email Address: Your Email Address is required. NEW YORK (JTA)-An estimated 25,000 people marched across the Brooklyn Bridge and held a rally on Sunday to protest rising anti-Semitism in and around New York City. The rally comes following a spate of attacks on Jews-including, most recently, a stabbing attack at a rabbi's home in the New York City suburb of Monsey and a shooting in a Jersey City kosher supermarket that claimed four lives. There has also been an unending stream of verbal and physical assaults on Jews in neighborhoods of Brooklyn with large Orthodox populations. The rally, organized just within the past week and endorsed by the New York Times Editorial Board, drew throngs of Jews from the state, which is home to nearly two million Jews and delegations came in from cities across the country like Washington, D.C., and Cleveland. And the march included the state's most senior politicians, including Governor Andrew Cuomo and Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer, who is Jewish. "What has happened in Brooklyn, what has happened in Monsey, New York, was an attack on every New Yorker and every New Yorker has felt the pain," Cuomo said ahead of the march. "Racism and anti-Semitism is anti-American and we have to remember that. It is ignorant of our history because to know the history of the Jewish community is to love and appreciate the Jewish community because New York would not be New York without the Jewish community." Despite the somber reason for the march, the atmosphere was relaxed and even uplifting. Scores of Jews traversed the bridge, singing and stopping to take selfies amid the occasional chant of "No hate, no fear"-the rally's slogan. People chatted about television shows, which kosher restaurant they would choose for lunch and how many pounds they were dropping on the mile-and-a-half walk. But marchers interviewed along the route all said they felt a certain measure of fear, as well as the need to display their defiance in the face of the uptick in Jew-hatred. Rabbi Rachel Ain of Manhattan's Sutton Place Synagogue, which was graffitied with a swastika in 2017, said that she is "in a combination of denial, shock and sadness." "We had hoped anti-Semitism was a moment of the past and what we're seeing now is that it's rearing its ugly head and we can't ignore it," Ain said. "I am aware there's increased hate and I'm conscious of it, but I still walk with my kippah, I still go to shul, I still send my kids where they should be sent for their Jewish learning and I won't back down." Nathan Wieder, a 16-year-old who came as part of the Cleveland delegation, said teachers at his Orthodox high school tell their students that the long history of anti-Semitism is repeating itself. "I have great grandparents who survived the Holocaust, and the fact that I would be here right now showing I'm proud to be Jewish and fighting back -their souls are smiling on me right now," said Wieder, who draped himself in an Israeli flag at the march. "Yeah, bad things are going on. I don't think you can compare it to [Nazi] Germany, but I think the whole point of their trying to attack us, not make us feel safe where we want to be, that's kind of similar." Along with signs bearing the official slogan, people brought homemade signs condemning their chosen ideological targets. One said, "America 2020 not Germany 1933." Some condemned President Donald Trump for fomenting racism. Another took aim at Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, who support the movement to boycott Israel and have been accused of anti-Semitism. One read "NYT fire Bret Stephens," the conservative New York Times columnist who recently penned a controversial piece on the roots of Jewish genius. Stephens was reportedly at the march. At the rally afterward, which filled Cadman Plaza on the bridge's Brooklyn side, demonstrators danced along to Matisyahu and the Maccabeats, a men's a cappella group from Yeshiva University, amid a chorus of speakers from the New York Jewish community and their allies who all stressed that anti-Semitism should never become acceptable, no matter the source. "The broader community has to stand up and, by the way, we have to stand up for the broader community in fighting all sorts of hatred," said Eric Goldstein, CEO of UJA-Federation of New York. "Too many people are pointing fingers at the other, at the other community, the other political party. We need to call out inappropriate conduct in our own communities, in our own parties." UJA was one of many Jewish groups that lent their name to the event, along with the local Jewish Community Relations Council, the Anti-Defamation League and a host of others. But the event was notable for having apparently few marchers from the Hasidic community, despite Hasidic Jews being the victims of most of the recent attacks. "The reason why they're not here, there's no reason other than because there was no outreach, but I'm not thinking into it," said Chesky Deutsch, a community activist in the Orthodox Jewish community of Jersey City who attended the march and praised it. "There wasn't a broad outreach? That's OK. Everyone shows sympathy and support in their own way." Officials also used the demonstration to present their plans for fighting anti-Semitism. Speaking before the march, Cuomo vowed to introduce a law that would define anti-Semitism as domestic terrorism, as well as increase the ranks of the state police force and the state Hate Crimes Task Force. Speaking to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Gillibrand also pointed to Congressional efforts to increase funding for security at houses of worship, as well as a parallel federal bill on domestic terrorism. "I'm going to work very hard to increase our funding for the not-for-profit security grants both for rural and urban areas," Gillibrand told JTA. "We're going to try to exponentially increase the amount of resources we have to protect this city." Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the ADL, said that defining anti-Semitism as domestic terror would allow for the government to bring to bear the full brunt of its force. He called out elected leaders in both major parties for having "given permission for people to use prejudice." "I think we ned to call out these acts," he said, referring to anti-Semitic attacks. "When you attack someone because of how they pray or where they're from, that's an act of terror. That doesn't just affect the individual but it impacts the entire community." Jumaane Williams, New York City's public advocate, told JTA that he disagrees with the idea of increasing police presence in Brooklyn to stem anti-Semitism. He attributed the spike in anti-Semitism to hatred "being pushed in the highest halls of our country," and said that putting more police on the street would not solve the root causes of the problem. He called for increased education against hate, as well as enhanced mental health treatment. "I think cops should be used for acute situations and we have to work with our police officers, but anytime we directly go there and we have to have more cops for everything that means the rest of us are failing," Williams said. "I don't know if it's a problem that cops can solve. We as a community have to get together and make sure people are not just tolerating folks but understanding and accepting the beauty of everyone's culture, the beauty of everybody's religion, and that takes time." Mumbai: The dispute over the birthplace of Sai Baba has finally been resolved as Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray withdrew his statement that Pathri in Marathwada was the birthplace of the revered spiritual figure. He made it clear that Pathri would be developed only as a religious site and not as the birthplace of Sai Baba. Following the assurance from Thackeray in a meeting held on Monday to resolve the dispute, Shirdi residents have decided not to continue their agitation. Thackeray said that the funds of Rs 100 crore have been allotted for the development of Pathri, but only as a religious site. Why should there be a dispute over the birthplace, he asked. Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust (SSST) representative and Shiv Sena leader Kamlakar Kothe said, Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has accepted our demands. Residents of Shirdi are satisfied with what he said. He has assured us that no new dispute will be created and we are ending the matter. Along with the CM, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat, environment minister Aaditya Thackeray, Shiv Sena MP Sadashiv Lokhande, senior BJP MLA Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, SSST CEO Deepak Muglikar and delegations of Shirdi and Pathri residents attended the meeting. Vikhe-Patil said that the outcome of the meeting with the Chief Minister was satisfactory and hence Shirdi locals had decided to call off the agitation. The bandh was observed in Shirdi considering the emotions of Sai devotees. The state government had never taken a stand about the birthplace earlier. It should remain the same, he said. Lokhande said, The CM asked the Shirdi temple representatives if they had an issue with the allocation of Rs 100 crore for the development of Pathri to which they said their opposition was only to the declaration of Pathri as Sai Babas birthplace and not for any development initiative. An FIR has been registered against 124 persons for violation of Section 144 in Rajgarh on Sunday during a demonstration held by BJP workers in support of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). 17 accused have been arrested. Moreover, an FIR has been registered against 2 persons for hitting the Rajgarh Deputy Collector Priya Verma and pulling her hair during the demonstration. One of the accused has been arrested. On Sunday, a clash broke out between police and BJP workers, who were carrying out a 'Tiranga rally' in support of the CAA, in Rajgarh. According to police, permission was not granted for the rally due to the imposition of Section 144 in the region. However, the BJP workers and local leaders held the rally without permission. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A LIMERICK family resource centre will close its doors for one day next month in order to partake in a national protest. The Board of Management of Northside Family Resource Centre CLG in Ballynanty will cease all operations on February 5 to join the National Childcare Protest in Dublin. As the largest family resource centre in the country, Northside FRC employs 74 staff directly, operating numerous services, including two childcare services, an afterschool service, youth work services, adult education, parenting support and advocacy service, child and adult therapy services, community groups and clubs, meals on wheels and many more. We are challenging the Government, and its agents, to start listening to the actual issues facing children, parents, workers and providers operating across the country, and more specifically, those living and working in the most deprived areas in all of Ireland, said a spokesperson, we are providing a State function to the highest of standards for the best value for money. However, we are in crisis. The chairperson of Northside Family Resource Centre, Gerard Bracken, said: It is difficult to cease operation, even for just one day, given the impact it will have on parents, children and older people especially. We are concerned for our many service users but also the loss of income that will result for the centre. However, the Board has a duty of care to all stakeholders and we are therefore seeking long-term sustainable change in the sector, he added, the status quo is driving dedicated workers out of the sector making sustainability and quality assurance more and more difficult. The Board, therefore, will travel with staff to Dublin for the protest. Northside Family Resource Centre are calling on parents, community members, and any other concerned persons, to join them in Dublin to say weve had enough. Northside Family Resource Centre is demanding the following: - A new way of funding Childcare Services. The National Childcare Scheme is not fit for purpose as it is based on the economic productivity of parents rather than the needs of children. There is room for both, and all children must be included in any funding scheme. They are calling for the National Childcare Scheme to be poverty proofed ensuring no child is excluded based on their parents employment status. - Low staff wages cannot be used to subsidise the cost of childcare any longer. Northside FRC call for a professional National Childcare Salary Scale that represents the level of education, experience and ongoing professional development of workers and is adequately funded. - A Childcare Funding Scheme where providers can offer decent employment terms and conditions. We are forced to place workers on sub-standard contracts (part-time hours; 38-week year; temporary contracts etc) due to the current funding model as our income fluctuates throughout the year and year on year. This must end, said a centre spokesperson. Basic employment terms and conditions are necessary to provide a high-quality service and the centre, and tell of a parent who is not entitled to a sub-vented place, nor can he afford the full rate saying: I never learned to read or write. I want my son to get in here so he can do better than me. Be better than me. This child cannot access an afterschool service. He does not fit the model under current terms and conditions of the National Childcare Scheme. We have had enough, said the spokesperson. The alumni association of the Presidency University on Monday said it would felicitate Nobel laureate and alumnus Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee with the prestigious 'Atul Chandra Gupta Memorial Award' when he next visits the city. Bivas Chaudhuri, the secretary of Presidency Alumni Association, said the felicitation programme would be organised "any time after January 28 during Banerjee's stay in Kolkata". "We had previously conferred the award on luminaries like Amartya Sen and Bimal Jalan, who made the Presidency proud. This year, we are bestowing it on Banerjee. "We are grateful that he has agreed to receive the award," Chaudhury said on the sidelines of the institute's 202nd Foundation Day celebrations here. The association secretary also said that all alumni publications, some dating back to the early 19th century, has been archived on the National Digital Library of India (NDLI). NDLI is a single-window platform that collects and collates metadata from premier learning institutions in India and abroad, as well as other relevant sources. "All editions of alumni publications -- from 1900 to this date -- have been scanned, digitised and uploaded on the NDLI website. "We hope it will be of great help to those interested about the university's rich academic past," Chaudhury said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Uttar Pradesh police began an investigation on Monday into "false news" spread online in connection with alleged sexual assault of madrassa students arrested during anti-citizenship law protests in Muzaffarnagar district. Special Investigation Team incharge Superintendent of Police (Crime) R B Chourasia told PTI that all posts on social media, which are found to be "false news", would be under the purview of the inquiry. Bollywood actor Swara Bhasker, human rights activist Kavita Krishnan among other Twitter users had expressed shock over the report of sexual assault with madrassa students, who were held in police custody for allegedly instigating violence during protests against the amended law held here last month. Police had registered a case against unidentified people for allegedly spreading false on social media and newspapers of the sexual assault case under section 22 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in this connection. The SP said 51 cases were registered and 81 people were arrested so far in connection with violence during the protest held here on December 20. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 98-year-old grandmother could be forced to leave her entire family behind as she faces being deported back to India after a 12-year battle for a visa. Esmeralda Rosario came to Australia in 2007 and was put on an indefinite bridging visa in 2008 as the family fought to get her an Aged Parent visa. But after 12 years of waiting the family was told the application was declined because caring for Ms Rosario would 'result in significant cost to the Australian community'. Ms Rosario's granddaughter-in-law Samantha D'Silva started a Change.org petition ahead of her court hearing on Tuesday. Esmeralda Rosario (pictured with her grandson and his wife Samantha) came to Australia in 2007 and was put on an indefinite bridging visa in 2008 as the family fought to get her an Aged Parent visa After 12 years of waiting the family was told the application was declined as caring for Ms Rosario would 'result in significant cost to the Australian community' 'My family applied to keep her in the country indefinitely in 2012 because she had no one back home to take care of her,' the petition reads. 'Over the past 12 years, my Nan's mind has deteriorated and is not the same person she was. Due to natural ageing over the last 12 years, she now suffers from anxiety.' The family was told the Home Affairs department refused the Aged Parent Visa application after a compulsory medical examination in 2018. They were first told the news in January 2019 but paid for a $500 review before they were formally told the visa was declined in November 2019. The family are now appealing the decision on Tuesday at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. 'She has been denied residence based on her age, and is now at risk of being deported back, where she will have to live the rest of her days without her loved ones by her side,' Ms D'Silva wrote. According to The Daily Telegraph, a Commonwealth medical officer found Ms Rosario had 'severe functional impairment' which would result in 'significant cost to the Australian community'. Ms Rosario's granddaughter-in-law Samantha D'Silva (pictured with her husband Jason) started a Change.org petition ahead of her court hearing on Tuesday 'We were in shock when they refused, the thought of her getting on a plane back to India for so many hours,' Ms Rosario's son-in-law Godwin D'Silva told the publication. 'There's no way she could do it, and there is no one there to look after her in India. We might have to look at nuns in a convent.' Ms Rosario is currently a recipient of the MyAgedCare government program, which provides $50,990 in annual funding and includes 15 hours of at-home care from a nurse per week. Her daughter, Marie Rita D'Silva, said the family is just looking for some help while they all work. 'Godwin works during the week and on weekends to provide for her. We do our best, we've worked from day one. I don't see my mum living for much longer, I just want her to be comfortable and at peace in her last years,' she said. The family are appealing the decision on Tuesday at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Ms Rosario (pictured with Ms D'Silva) is currently a recipient of the MyAgedCare government program, which provides $50,990 in annual funding and includes at-home care Despite receiving support from hundreds of people signing the petition, Immigration Solutions managing director and principal lawyer Anne O'Donoghue said there is little chance the decision will be changed on Tuesday. She said the case may change if it is recommended to the minister by the tribunal. Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs Alan Tudge said he understands why Ms Rosario is desperate not to be deported. But if Tuesday's appeal is once again unsuccessful, Ms Rosario will need to leave Australia within 28 days unless the family applies for ministerial intervention. 'This week has been an emotional week for our family,' Ms D'Silva wrote on Sunday. 'We have been struggling to come to terms with the realisation that Nan may not be here with us in Australia for much longer, while enjoying the time we have left here with her.' 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. Han Hyung-seob, CEO of HHS, poses wearing the company's AI technology-based safety helmet during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Jan. 9. / Korea Times photo by Baek Byung-yeul By Baek Byung-yeul Han Hyung-seob, CEO of local startup Health and Happiness System (HHS), has sought to develop safe systems to reduce work-related disasters in Korea which has the third worst industrial safety record among member countries of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Han established HHS in the southern port city of Ulsan in 2016 and succeeded to develop a smart safety helmet which utilizes artificial intelligence enhanced electroencephalogram (EEG) technology to monitor the brain waves of wearers and notifies the on-site manger of laborers' health status. "This is the industry's first attempt to combine information technology with EEG to monitor brain waves of people," Han told The Korea Times. "Using sensors, AI technology can monitor not only brain waves but also vital signs such as the ECG or pulses of our smart safety helmet wearers. This enables on-site managers to check the health status of their laborers in real time." Stating that the firm's safety helmet will be mostly used on construction sites, Han said the smart safety helmet benefits both workers and companies. "By using the smart safety helmets, companies will be able to reduce industrial disasters. With better risk management systems, they will eventually increase productivity on industrial sites. Also, for workers, they can reduce the chances of having industrial disasters and maintain well-balanced working conditions," he said. Han said he dreamed of developing such devices when he was a doctoral student in computer science. "When I was a doctoral student in computer science at the University of Ulsan, I studied biomedical signal processing, which is about analysis of measurements to provide useful information upon which people can make decisions," he said. The presidential office invited Han in September 2019 to Cheong Wa Dae to mark the country's one-millionth design patent being issued by the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO). Han said the company's safety helmet will be sold to the country's state-run companies so that the helmets can be distributed to industrial sites. "We signed a contract for the state-run corporations. We are also in the negotiation phase with the country's major construction firms as they are deeply interested in enhancing the safety of their workers on construction sites," he said. Supported by the Ulsan Economic Promotion Agency, Han's company had a chance to promote its smart safety helmet at this year's Consumer Electronics Show held in Las Vegas from Jan. 7 to 10. At the Eureka Park exhibition hall where startups from many countries were gathered, HHS showed off its smart helmet. "We have received a lot of positive responses. Thanks to the agency, we had a chance to meet with international buyers," he said. The state may have been hit by torrential rain, but parts of Victoria are still expected to experience extreme fire danger on Tuesday. Swathes of Victoria will have fire danger ratings ranging from 'extreme' to 'severe' on Wednesday, and residents are being warned to remain vigilant. The Mallee is most at risk of out-of-control fires, while the Wimmera, northern country, southwest and north central regions are all on high alert. East Gippsland - one of the areas worst affected by bushfires over New Year - is also at risk. Large areas of Victoria will be subject to 'severe' and 'extreme' fire danger on Wednesday as hot winds whip across the state Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Kevin Parkin said the heightened risk of fires was a result of hot winds whipping around the state. However he did concede it was 'hard to imagine' new blazes sparking up because of the recent rain. Emergency Management Victoria Commissioner Andrew Crisp says the weather has helped calm some bushfires in the state's east. There were still 14 blazes burning by Monday evening, all of them at advice level in the northeast and East Gippsland. But it's too soon to say what impact that will have on firefighting efforts. 'It's difficult for our firefighters to get onto the firegrounds to better assess what that actually means for us,' he told reporters in Melbourne on Monday. Hot and windy weather is expected to return on Wednesday, pushing fire danger into the severe and extreme ranges again in some parts of the state. The Bureau of Meteorology forecast a cold front coming on Wednesday morning, bringing very strong winds that might cause the blazes to flare-up. Despite a reprieve of heavy rain (pictured) brought some relief to Victoria many residents are being warned the danger is not gone yet Despite showers remaining on Wednesday, temperatures will rise to the high 30s across central and eastern Victoria, and dust will pick up on the Mallee, where severe fire danger is expected. Victoria's bushfires have so far burnt more than 1.5 million hectares and killed five since November. Across the state, 396 homes have been destroyed and more than 600 outbuildings including sheds have also been razed. State control centre spokesman Luke Hegarty said firefighters and emergency workers were preparing for the risks the conditions bring. Crews would be bolstered by reinforcements to help 'maintain coverage across the rest of the state' throughout Wednesday. The Bureau of Meteorology forecast a cold front coming on Wednesday morning, bringing very strong winds that might cause the blazes to flare-up 'It means that we are not dragging more resources out of those regions,' he told The Herald Sun. While the storms brought 81mm of rainfall to Stratford in West Gippsland, the rain was generally lighter across East Gippsland where the fires are burning. The rain also delayed the planned opening of the Princes Highway in the bushfire-affected areas and forced its brief closure in Pakenham in Melbourne's outer southeast. The State Emergency Service received 1824 calls for help since storms started hitting Victoria on Sunday, with about 1700 of them in the Melbourne metropolitan area, mostly for building damage. There are still fifteen fires burning in Victoria after 3.5 million million acreshave already been razed. At least 286 homes and 400 other buildings have also been destroyed by the Victorian bushfires. Temperatures will rise to the high 30s across central and eastern Victoria, and dust will pick up on the Mallee, where severe fire danger is expected Meanwhile 40 per cent of the approved logging areas in the East Gippsland were also destroyed by fire. In Queensland at least 6.2 million acres have burned since August and in New South Wales more than 2,176 homes have been destroyed and nearly 13 million acres have burned. Bushfires in South Australia have already razed 1.2 million acres and 151 homes. The general consensus is the bushfire emergency began in September of 2019 when the first fires started to burn, bushfires have been raging every day since. In total it is estimated 14 million acres of land has been razed and a billion animals have been killed. The official national death toll remains at 29 as of Monday, January 20. Oxygen and metal from lunar regolith. Credit: Beth Lomax - University of Glasgow ESA's technical heart has begun to produce oxygen out of simulated moondust. A prototype oxygen plant has been set up in the Materials and Electrical Components Laboratory of the European Space Research and Technology Centre, ESTEC, based in Noordwijk in the Netherlands. "Having our own facility allows us to focus on oxygen production, measuring it with a mass spectrometer as it is extracted from the regolith simulant," comments Beth Lomax of the University of Glasgow, whose Ph.D. work is being supported through ESA's Networking and Partnering Initiative, harnessing advanced academic research for space applications. "Being able to acquire oxygen from resources found on the Moon would obviously be hugely useful for future lunar settlers, both for breathing and in the local production of rocket fuel." ESA research fellow Alexandre Meurisse adds: "And now we have the facility in operation we can look into fine-tuning it, for instance by reducing the operating temperature, eventually designing a version of this system that could one day fly to the Moon to be operated there." Samples returned from the lunar surface confirm that lunar regolith is made up of 4045% percent oxygen by weight, its single most abundant element. But this oxygen is bound up chemically as oxides in the form of minerals or glass, so is unavailable for immediate use. Credit: European Space Agency ESTEC's oxygen extraction is taking place using a method called molten salt electrolysis, involving placing regolith in a metal basket with molten calcium chloride salt to serve as an electrolyte, heated to 950C. At this temperature the regolith remains solid. But passing a current through it causes the oxygen to be extracted from the regolith and migrate across the salt to be collected at an anode. As a bonus this process also converts the regolith into usable metal alloys. In fact this molten salt electrolysis method was developed by UK company Metalysis for commercial metal and alloy production. Beth's Ph.D. involved working at the company to study the process before recreating it at ESTEC. "At Metalysis, oxygen produced by the process is an unwanted by-product and is instead released as carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, which means the reactors are not designed to withstand oxygen gas itself," explains Beth. "So we had to redesign the ESTEC version to be able to have the oxygen available to measure. The lab team was very helpful in getting it installed and operating safely." Scanning electron microscope view of lunar simulant particles before the oxygen extraction process. Credit: Beth Lomax / University of Glasgow The oxygen plant runs silently, with the oxygen produced in the process is vented into an exhaust pipe for now, but will be stored after future upgrades of the system. "The production process leaves behind a tangle of different metals," adds Alexandre, "and this is another useful line of research, to see what are the most useful alloys that could be produced from them, and what kind of applications could they be put to. "Could they be 3-D printed directly, for example, or would they require refining? The precise combination of metals will depend on where on the Moon the regolith is acquired fromthere would be significant regional differences." The ultimate aim would be to design a "pilot plant" that could operate sustainably on the Moon, with the first technology demonstration targeted for the mid-2020s. Moondust simulant undergoing oxygen extraction. Credit: Beth Lomax / University of Glasgow "ESA and NASA are heading back to the Moon with crewed missions, this time with a view towards staying," says Tommaso Ghidini, Head of ESA's Structures, Mechanisms and Materials Division. "Accordingly we're shifting our engineering approach to a systematic use of lunar resources in-situ. We are working with our colleagues in the Human and Robotics Exploration Directorate, European industry and academia to provide top class scientific approaches and key enabling technologies like this one, towards a sustained human presence on the Moon and maybe one day Mars." Explore further Oxygen and metal from lunar regolith The Income Tax Department has launched searches at multiple locations of the Bharat Hotels group, its associates and a leading automobile dealer firm in connection with a tax evasion probe, officials said on January 20. They said about 8 premises linked to Bharat Hotels CMD Jyotsna Suri and some of her associates as well as Jayant Nanda, promoter of Cargo Motors, one of the largest dealers of Tata motors in the country, are being searched in and around the national capital. The searches, they said, were launched late on January 19 and are related to a tax evasion probe being conducted by the department. Transactions of these groups, under the scanner of the department, are related, official sources said. The Bharat Hotels group owns the chain of Lalit hotels in the country. It runs over a dozen such luxury facilities at present. Jyotsna Suri has been associated with the Bharat Hotels group since 1989 and took over as the Chairperson and Managing Director (CMD) in 2006, after the death of her husband and hotelier Lalit Suri. The businesswoman has also been the chairman of industry body FICCI in the past. "All hotels within the group operated under the brand The Grand Hotels, Palaces and Resorts. It was re-branded as 'The LaLiT' on November 19, 2008 as a tribute to the company's Founder Chairman Mr. Lalit Suri." "The company offers twelve luxury hotels, places & resorts and two mid market segment hotels under The LaLiT Traveller brand offering 2,261 rooms. In addition, we also hold the exclusive management rights to operate hotel in London offering 70 rooms," information provided on the official website of the Lalit group said. As per information available on the official web portal of Cargo Motors, "Mr. Yash Pal Nanda founded Cargo Motors in 1959..." "Presently it is operational in Delhi, Gujarat, Punjab and Rajasthan through 73 sales outlets and 30 workshops." live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More HDFC Bank share price fell nearly 2 percent in the morning trade on January 20 after the private lender reported a mixed bag of numbers for the October-December quarter. The stock, which has rallied 18 percent in the last one year, was quoting at Rs 1,257.60, down Rs 20.25, or 1.58 percent, on the BSE at 1104 hours. The country's second largest private sector lender registered 32.8 percent year-on-year growth in Q3FY20 profit, partly driven by operating income, and 12.7 percent rise in net interest income with a loan growth of 19.9 percent YoY. Net interest margin remained steady at 4.2 percent QoQ. Profit of more than 30 percent came in for the first time in the last 12 quarters, while net interest income (NII) growth was at 14-quarter low, leading to six-quarter low growth in operating profit despite strong treasury income. But slippages shot up 43.8 percent sequentially to Rs 5,339 crore due to lumpy corporate and stress in agri segment, with provision coverage ratio declining 300bps QoQ to 66.7 percent in the December quarter. Hence, the credit cost was the highest in last eight quarters. But the bank expects some pullback in agri stress in Q4. Overall, numbers were a mixed bag, but brokerages retained their positive stance on the stock, with Credit Suisse raising target price to Rs 1,550 (from Rs 1,400 per share). For All Earnings Related News - Click Here The brokerage has maintained outperformed call on the stock, as the lender should continue to allow for market share gains. "Slippages saw some increase on the back of slippage in agri segment, but ex-corporate accounts, slippages were stable at 1.7 percent of loans," it said, adding operating performance was strong with return on assets at 2.2 percent. While maintaining add rating with a target of Rs 1,350 per share, Kotak Institutional Equities said the NII growth weakened YoY as the share of unsecured loans was relatively high at 17 percent of loans. "Credit cost is still running high and slippages spiked to 2.5 percent of loans. Early warning NPL indicators are still stable," it added. Emkay feels HDFC Bank has been standout performer in the current stressed environment. It maintained buy a call on the stock. "The stock performance in the near-to-medium term will track news flow around new MD/CEO, in which a better clarity should emerge around mid CY20," the brokerage said. Motilal Oswal, which has a buy call on the stock with a target of Rs 1,500 per share, also said HDFC Bank's operating performance remained strong in a tough environment. "While corporate loan growth is strong and driving overall loan growth, retail loan growth remains skewed in favour of unsecured products. Asset quality has deteriorated as the bank reported higher slippages from lumpy accounts and the agri segment. However, provisioning buffers should enable a steady earnings trajectory," said the brokerage, which estimated loan book/PAT CAGR at 19/25 percent over FY19-22, led by continued improvement in operating leverage, higher fee income and stable margins. Change in the CEO -- Aditya Puri's tenure ends in October 2020--will be a big event, it added. : The above report is compiled from information available on public platforms. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions. Press Release January 20, 2020 Statement of Senator Joel Villanueva on the decision of the Technical Working Group to cancel its study on motorcycle taxis The abrupt decision of the Technical Working Group (TWG) to cancel the study on motorcycle taxis as a viable public transportation is illogical. The TWG's findings would have provided both houses of Congress a clearer perspective on the issue at hand, as its primary mandate should be. In outlawing motorcycle taxis with its decision to cancel the study, the TWG placed a portion of the riding public dependent on motorcycle taxis at risk because they will patronize an illegitimate form of transportation. From what we have gathered, our workers are reliant on motorcycle taxis to get to their jobs on time given the worsening traffic conditions here in Metro Manila. For service providers that motorcycle taxi firms tap, the cancellation of the study means adding an estimated 27,000 riders back to the unemployment column. We should create more jobs, not take away means of getting an honest day's pay. The fact remains that the public needs an alternative mode of transportation, more choices for mobility; and with traffic congestion choking our streets, motorcycle taxis are one of the most viable solutions. To reduce the demand for ride hailing transportation services, we need to provide the public with better, cheaper, more efficient alternative. We need to fix the public transportation system. Otherwise, prohibiting the motorcycle taxi service without providing an alternative is simply ridiculous. While we are supportive of a free market and we welcome the entry of more players, these new players should also keep in mind the convenience of the public- the riders and passengers. The new players should be able to provide an app that is easy to use and efficient, and more importantly, accredited drivers that are properly trained in road safety precautions. Our transport agencies should definitely abide with Article XIII, Section 3, Paragraph 1 of the 1987 Constitution which mandates the State to promote full employment and equality of employment opportunities for all. The current policy of the TWG to limit the number of riders to 30,000 and to limit them to one ride hailing app per rider is a burden to achieving productivity and employability of our citizens who wish to use their motorcycles for a living. These agencies should definitely reconsider their arbitrary and capricious policies for the benefit of our citizens. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will skip the World Economic Forum which kicks off in the Swiss resort of Davos on January 21, Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Musavi told a news conference on January 20. The annual gathering has been overshadowed by escalating tensions between Iran and the United States. U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to attend the summit. Zarif had been scheduled to attend the four-day gathering after receiving a personal invitation, Musavi said. "They changed the original program they had for him, the program that had been agreed upon, and came up with something else," Musavi said. "Either way, this trip unfortunately will not happen," he told a news conference in Tehran. Trump is scheduled to depart late on January 20 for Davos. Tensions between Iran and the United States have worsened since 2018 when Trump withdrew from a landmark nuclear deal between Iran and world powers. The two countries appeared to be on the brink of war after a U.S. drone strike killed one of Iran's top military commanders, Qasem Soleimani, on January 3. On January 8, Iran fired missiles at U.S. troops stationed in neighboring Iraq. Hours later, Iran's armed forces shot down a Ukrainian airliner, killing all 176 people on board, in what Iran said was an accident. Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP Karnataka: Timeless Karwar beach nowa zone of contention January 20,2020 | Source: Deccan Herald The scenic beach, where poet Rabindranath Tagore wrote his first drama Prakritir Pratishodh, is now a zone of contention between fishermen and the government. As boulders are being dumped on the Rabindranath Tagore beach in Karwar for building a breakwater, a little far away members of fishing community are staging a dharna and protesting against the expansion of Karwar port, under Sagarmala project, in front of the Uttara Kannada (UK) deputy commissioners office for the past one week. The fishermens protest against the project became vocal after Karnataka State Level Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), following the recommendation by State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC), in January 2019, issued an environmental clearance (EC) to the Karwar Port Divisions proposal on expanding the port capacity from 3 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) to 4.5 MTPA. According to Karwar Port Officer Capt Swamy, the project would be implemented near Bhaitkol village at a cost of Rs 274 crore. A 880-metre sea wall will be constructed and the jetty will be expanded by 250 metre. Fishermen leader K T Tandel laments that their written objections against the project was ignored during a public hearing in February 2018. Last week, thousands of fishermen took to the streets after the executing agency of the project begun dumping boulders on the beach to build a 1200-metre-long break-water. As many as 114 fishermen families have to be relocated if the project is implemented. The fishermen in 13 beaches surrounding Seabird naval base were not scientifically rehabilitated, said Shridhar Bhaitkol, secretary, Bhaitkol Meenugarara Seva Sangha. Apart from harming the scenic Tagore beach, the project will threaten livelihood of 25,000 people. Fishermen in Bhaitkol are already suffering dust pollution (during the loading and unloading of cargo), sea pollution and erosion. Senior marine biologist V N Nayak has justified the fears of fishermen pointing out that the sea wall would cut off fishing communitys access to fish stocks. Vinayak Bhaitkol, a fishermen leader, said Karwar, like Mumbai, was one foot below the sea. Due to reclaiming of land at Naval base, the sea had extended by 50 metres affecting the functioning of a toy train on the beach. If there is another breakwater, entire town would sink, he feared. Advocate B S Pai asserts that the expansion of Karwar commercial port was not development but destruction. Kali river creek, declared as critically vulnerable coastal area (CVCA), is located within 5 km from the project site, and thus SEIAA was not the competent authority to issue EC. The CRZ clearance is violation of CRZ notification, 2011. The port had submitted an application, a few days ago, seeking permission from Karnataka State Pollution Control Board. The projects bio-diversity plan also has not been validated by the Bio-diversity Board, he said adding that they were exploring legal option. U-K Deputy Commissioner K Harishkumar said, following the protest, work on breakwater had stopped. The district administration will facilitate a meeting between the fishermens delegation and the chief minister, he said. Reaching out to students in their own language, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday addressed 200 of them during a 'Pariksha Pe Charcha' and said his conversations with them will be 'hashtag without filter' New Delhi: Reaching out to students in their own language, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday addressed 200 of them during a "Pariksha Pe Charcha" and said his conversations with them will be "hashtag without filter". Assuring students of his complete focus, Modi said they could speak to him openly. "Speak to me hashtag without filter," he said at the interaction held at the Talkatora Stadium in Delhi. Modi said everyone should keep abreast of the latest technology but it should not be allowed to govern lives. "We should have the strength to keep technology under our control and ensure it does not waste our time. One room in our homes should be technology-free. Whoever enters will not carry any gadgets," he told students while stressing that exams are not everything. The prime minister also urged students to spend their spare time with the elderly. He also said students should not be afraid of failure and take it as a part of life. "Was told I shouldn't attend Chandrayaan landing as there was no guarantee of success but I needed to be there," the prime minister said. Good marks in exams are not everything, he told the students in the interaction. "We have to come out of the thinking that exams are everything," the prime minister said. The Prime Minister also highlighted the importance of taking on extra-curricular activities and said there is a growing tendency among parents to push their children into activities considered "glamorous". "Parents should take time out to find out what their children want to do instead of pushing them into activities that are considered glamorous which they can discuss in their conversations with their friends," he said. Imperial Valley News Center Two Former Correctional Officers Plead Guilty to Federal Offenses Following the In-Custody Death of a Woman New Orleans, Louisiana - Thursday, two more defendants pleaded guilty in connection with their roles in the death of Nimali Henry, an inmate in their custody. Henry, who had a rare blood disorder and other medical conditions, died in the St. Bernard Parish Prison in Chalmette, Louisiana, on April 1, 2014, after failing to receive treatment for her serious medical needs during the 10 days she was incarcerated there. Officers such as Andre Dominick and Lisa Vaccarella have a responsibility to protect the civil rights of all in their custody, said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Justice Departments Civil Rights Division. The Department of Justice will continue to defend the civil rights of all citizens. The protection for all of our citizens civil rights is an essential part of our constitutional rights, said U.S. Attorney Peter G. Strasser for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Violation of these entitlements, especially in this case by the correctional officers sworn to protect the rights of inmates, erodes public confidence in our correctional system. The public must be able to trust that correctional officers are fulfilling their duties honestly and are truthful during the course of federal investigations or face the consequences of their actions. Our office along with DOJ, state and local law enforcement agencies will continue to investigate and prosecute any violations of our citizens civil rights. Captain Andre Dominick and Correctional Officer Lisa Vaccarella were responsible for the welfare of inmates at the St. Bernard Parish Prison. Because of the choices each defendant made, Nimali Henry failed to get the care and attention that she needed to address known medical conditions, leading to her death, said Bryan A. Vorndran, FBI New Orleans Special Agent in Charge. The FBI New Orleans Field Office, in coordination with the Department of Justices Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorneys Office, remain committed to protecting the rights of all Americans, to include those incarcerated. Dominick, a former correctional captain, pleaded guilty to violating the civil rights of Henry, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 242. In pleading guilty, Dominick who was acting as the medical officer during Henrys incarceration admitted that he knew that Henry had serious medical needs, but failed to take any reasonable steps to get her the medical attention she needed during the 10 days that she was in the custody. Vaccarella, a former correctional deputy, pleaded guilty to one count of misprision of a felony. In pleading guilty to that count, Vaccarella admitted that she knew that other officers at the jail had willfully deprived Henry of medical treatment for her serious medical needs, but she failed to take any affirmative steps to alert federal authorities to this federal civil rights violation. In addition, Vaccarella pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements to the FBI, admitting that, during her voluntary interview with the FBI, she lied to the FBI about her observations of Henry. Vaccarella is scheduled to be sentenced on April 29, 2020. Dominick is scheduled to be sentenced on June 10, 2020. Dominick faces a sentence of up to life imprisonment. Vaccarella faces a sentence of up to eight years of imprisonment. Previously, in related cases, former Corporal Timothy Williams pleaded guilty on Sept. 18, 2018, to one count of deprivation of rights under color of law, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 242. In pleading guilty, Williams admitted that he willfully disregarded a substantial risk of serious harm to Henrys health and safety by failing to take reasonable measures to address her medical conditions. On Jan. 7, 2020, former Deputy Debra Becnel pleaded guilty to making false statements in connection with the federal investigation into Henrys death, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1001. This case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted jointly by Trial Attorney Christine M. Siscaretti of the Justice Departments Civil Rights Division and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chandra Menon and Tracey N. Knight of the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana. ALBANY Roughly three-quarters of New York voters believe racial and religious minorities in the state experience discrimination, according to a Siena College Research Institute poll released Monday. Seventy-three percent of respondents said racial and ethnic minorities are discriminated against, the highest percentage among three polls taken since the question was introduced in 2018. Seventy-eight percent of voters said religious minorities, such as Muslim and Jewish people, experience discrimination a new question introduced in the wake of the attack at a rabbi's home in Monsey last month, in addition to other anti-Semitic incidents reported recently across the state. For many, the main point of investing is to generate higher returns than the overall market. But even the best stock picker will only win with some selections. At this point some shareholders may be questioning their investment in China Machinery Engineering Corporation (HKG:1829), since the last five years saw the share price fall 53%. It's up 1.9% in the last seven days. Check out our latest analysis for China Machinery Engineering While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price. While the share price declined over five years, China Machinery Engineering actually managed to increase EPS by an average of 1.6% per year. Given the share price reaction, one might suspect that EPS is not a good guide to the business performance during the period (perhaps due to a one-off loss or gain). Alternatively, growth expectations may have been unreasonable in the past. Based on these numbers, we'd venture that the market may have been over-optimistic about forecast growth, half a decade ago. Having said that, we might get a better idea of what's going on with the stock by looking at other metrics. The steady dividend doesn't really explain why the share price is down. While it's not completely obvious why the share price is down, a closer look at the company's history might help explain it. You can see below how earnings and revenue have changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image). SEHK:1829 Income Statement, January 20th 2020 You can see how its balance sheet has strengthened (or weakened) over time in this free interactive graphic. What About Dividends? When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. The TSR is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings and spin-offs. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. As it happens, China Machinery Engineering's TSR for the last 5 years was -40%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return. Story continues A Different Perspective Investors in China Machinery Engineering had a tough year, with a total loss of 10% (including dividends) , against a market gain of about 9.9%. 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. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 9.6% over the last half decade. Generally speaking long term share price weakness can be a bad sign, though contrarian investors might want to research the stock in hope of a turnaround. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand China Machinery Engineering better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with China Machinery Engineering . Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of companies we expect will grow earnings. 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. Manila, Jan 20 : Philippine authorities on Monday maintained the alert level for the Taal volcano, which entered its second week of eruption amid risks of a lava explosion, though smoke and ash emissions have diminished. Renato Sodium, head of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), said that although the volcano seemed calm, underground volcanic activity shows the opposite, so the alert level, set on January 12, remains at 4 out of 5, reports Efe news. "There is definitely magma rising to the surface," the expert said. Phivolcs reported that frequent volcanic earthquakes around Taal - 714 since the eruption began, 175 of them noticeable - indicate that magma continues to rise to the surface from the subsoil, which can lead to an eruption. Sodium explained that the magma movement has caused the volcano te elevate, causing deep fissures and cracks on the surface, which have also been seen in the towns near Taal, located 60 km south of the capital Manila. Taal is a small 311-meter high volcano, which forms an island in the middle of a lake of the same name. "Lake Taal is stretching, the land is rising and the water level is going down, and the water in the main crater has evaporated while new smaller craters have been created," Sodium said. Sulfur dioxide emissions - a substance that separates from magma when it is close to the surface - have risen to 4,353 tons in the last 24 hours, another symptom of the imminent risk of a lava eruption. The eruption risk has forced the evacuation of all territories within 14 km around the volcano. In eight days of eruption, more than 215,000 people have been evacuated, of which 112,700 are in one of the 416 evacuation centres enabled in public buildings. Up to 16 municipalities located around Lake Taal, still covered by a dense blanket of ash, have been completely closed, with military controls at the entrances to prevent neighbours from returning home. About 6,000 families that had lived on the slopes of the volcano for decades will not be able to return home after the government declared the small island "uninhabitable". The government is looking for land of about three hectares located at least 17 km away from the volcano to relocate the inhabitants, who mainly worked as tourist guides, raising horses to take visitors to the volcano crater, which was a popular tourist destination. Beijing Enterprises Holdings Limited (HKG:392), which is in the gas utilities business, and is based in Hong Kong, received a lot of attention from a substantial price movement on the SEHK over the last few months, increasing to HK$38.05 at one point, and dropping to the lows of HK$34.10. 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 Beijing Enterprises Holdings's current trading price of HK$36.60 reflective of the actual value of the mid-cap? Or is it currently undervalued, providing us with the opportunity to buy? Lets take a look at Beijing Enterprises 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 Beijing Enterprises Holdings What is Beijing Enterprises Holdings worth? Good news, investors! Beijing Enterprises Holdings is still a bargain right now. Ive used the price-to-earnings ratio in this instance because theres not enough visibility to forecast its cash flows. The stocks ratio of 5.73x is currently well-below the industry average of 17.9x, meaning that it is trading at a cheaper price relative to its peers. However, given that Beijing Enterprises 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 Beijing Enterprises Holdings generate? SEHK:392 Past and Future Earnings, January 20th 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. With profit expected to grow by 21% over the next couple of years, the future seems bright for Beijing Enterprises Holdings. It looks like higher cash flow is on the cards for the stock, which should feed into a higher share valuation. Story continues What this means for you: Are you a shareholder? Since 392 is currently undervalued, it may be a great time to accumulate more of your holdings in the stock. With a positive outlook on the horizon, it seems like this growth has not yet been fully factored into the share price. However, there are also other factors such as financial health to consider, which could explain the current undervaluation. Are you a potential investor? If youve been keeping an eye on 392 for a while, now might be the time to enter the stock. Its prosperous future outlook isnt fully reflected in the current share price yet, which means its not too late to buy 392. But before you make any investment decisions, consider other factors such as the strength of its balance sheet, in order to make a well-informed investment decision. Price is just the tip of the iceberg. Dig deeper into what truly matters the fundamentals before you make a decision on Beijing Enterprises Holdings. You can find everything you need to know about Beijing Enterprises Holdings in the latest infographic research report. If you are no longer interested in Beijing Enterprises 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. If your closet is bulging, your basement is cluttered and you cant seem to save money, its time for a little minimalism especially when it comes to your finances. Use less. Spend less. Accumulate less. Thats what minimalistic money management looks like and it leads to more money, more fulfilment, more clarity and better organization. Its also better for the environment and your mental health. Tidy up your financial clutter Do you have accounts scattered across several banks and dozens of different money managers? Streamline your account structure. In the majority of cases, Canadians need one chequing account (where your paycheques go into and bills are withdrawn from), one emergency savings account (dont link this to your debit card so you wont accidentally spend it), one general savings account (this is for short-term purchases like vacations or a car repair), two credit cards (one is a primary and the other is a backup, which should be from a different provider), an RRSP and a TFSA. Having too many accounts is confusing and gets difficult to track. It also means youre paying unnecessary fees, and scattered investments tend not to be optimized to your risk profile and overall goals which means youre not going to achieve your full investment growth potential. Spend with intention If your money seems to be evaporating into thin air every month, its time to pull back on your spending. More than likely youve got too many transactions running through your accounts for things you probably dont need. Get organized by drafting up a budget (how you intend to spend). Cut your daily shopping trips down to one planned-out event per week, which means youll need to use a checklist. Keep a tally of your spending so that as you close out each day, you know exactly how much you spent that day. Intentional spending triggers the financial awareness youre going to need in order to break overspending habits. Purge your space and sell what youre not using Having more things doesnt make you more powerful, smarter, a better person or more popular. In fact, it can have the opposite effect, and its financially unhealthy. Make space in your life for financial abundance by clearing out the physical clutter in your living space. By selling your goods online or through a consignment shop, youll make money that can be put toward savings. If it doesnt sell, donate it to a local charity. Many even have a pickup service. So, dig out that old exercise bike, humidifier, area rug, patio set and toboggan, and list it all for sale. If youre not sure whether to purge something, I recommend asking yourself have I used this in the past twelve months? If the answer is no, its got to go. Minimize your advice circle Having too many people weighing in on your financial plans is not optimal, especially if they arent qualified. Your dream team should include a financial planner who focuses on building a realistic financial plan based on growing net worth throughout the long-term; an insurance agent who can advise on how to best protect your assets and family in case something derails your plans (damage, illness or death); an accountant, if your finances are complicated, to focus on tax-reduction and preparation strategies; and a lawyer whom you hopefully wont need often to advise on wills, property transactions, prenuptials, trusts, estates and other legal matters that might surface. It will take a bit of effort to minimize your finances in the beginning, but I guarantee it: Less confusion and complexity in your finances will eventually lead to better financial health. A Florida man who was wanted for allegedly selling methamphetamine tried to avoid arrest by holding his breath as he hid underwater in a pond while deputies searched nearby. Daniel Christopher Booth, 36, of MacClenny, Florida, was at work on Wednesday morning at a solar power plant in Suwannee County. But when a sheriff's deputy arrived at the plant, Booth decided to make a run for it, according to the Suwannee County Sheriff's Office. He saw a nearby pond and decided he to try to evade arrest by hiding underwater. Daniel Christopher Booth, 36, of MacClenny, Florida, was taken into custody by Suwannee County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday morning The sheriff's office said that Booth tried to avoid arrest by holding his breath underwater in a pond near his place of work in Suwannee County In 2013, Booth was sentenced to 20 months in prison for selling methamphetamine But there was no escape from canine units deployed by law enforcement officials who quickly tracked him down. Booth 'didn't take into account he's not a fish and had to come up for air and was quickly captured,' the Suwannee County Sheriff's Office said. The sheriff's office posted a photo showing a deputy escorting a handcuffed and shirtless Booth out of a wooded area near the pond. On its Facebook page, the sheriff's office announced the arrest and added the hashtags #actionmoviesarenotreallife, #NotRambo, #mistakesweremade, #thatsnothowanyofthisworks, and #BreathingIsNotOptional. Court records show Booth has served time in prison for drug-related offenses. In 2013, he was sentenced to 20 months in prison for selling meth and other related charges. LONDON, Jan 19 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday there would be no normalisation of the two countries' relations until Moscow ends its "destabilising activity" that threatens security. A spokeswoman from Johnson's Downing Street office said the prime minister met Putin on the sidelines of a summit on Libya in Berlin, where the two discussed the need to address security issues in Libya, Syria, Iraq and Iran. "He was clear there had been no change in the UK's position on Salisbury, which was a reckless use of chemical weapons and a brazen attempt to murder innocent people on UK soil. He said that such an attack must not be repeated," the spokeswoman said in a statement. This referred to a 2018 chemical attack on a former Russian double agent in the city of Salisbury that the British government blamed on Russian military intelligence. "The prime minister said there will be no normalisation of our bilateral relationship until Russia ends the destabilising activity that threatens the UK and our allies and undermines the safety of our citizens and our collective security." (Reporting by Elizabeth Piper Editing by Frances Kerry) Grown and harvested on the slopes of the Mauna Loa on the Big Island, Kona blend coffee is rich in flavour and fresh from the sun-kissed shores of Hawaii. Every winter, Canadians are invited to indulge in the warm comfort, balanced flavour and smooth finish of 7-Eleven's exclusive Kona Blend, escaping the dreaded Canadian winters, even just for a moment. "With a long winter still ahead, we want to make our customers days a little brighter by bringing that Hawaiian feeling home." says Vice President and General Manager of 7-Eleven Canada, Norman Hower. "The majority of Canadians would like to escape the cold climate during the winter, so we are excited to provide our 7Rewards registered members with a chance to win a trip to Hawaii." Every hot beverage can be fully customized at 7-Eleven's coffee bar with condiments at no extra charge - making morning coffee runs quick and easy. 7-Eleven's coffee is made of 100% premium Arabica beans, hand-selected and small-batch roasted in Canada, making a consistent and delicious cup of coffee, every time. For a chance to win, customers must be registered as a 7Rewards member. Every registered coffee scan is a chance to win 1 of 7 trips to Hawaii. Customers who are not yet a member can enter in store, download the 7-Eleven app, text KONA to 711247 or sign up at 7-eleven.ca/7rewards/ to get one step closer to winning the grand prize. Click here to learn more about the contest rules. 7-Eleven, Inc. 7-Eleven, Inc. is the premier name and largest chain in the convenience-retailing industry. Based in Irving, Texas, 7-Eleven operates, franchises and/or licenses more than 69,000 in 17 countries, including 11,800 in North America. 7-Eleven, Inc. is the premier name and largest chain in the convenience retailing industry. Find out more about 7-Eleven Canada at www.7-Eleven.ca . SOURCE 7-Eleven Canada For further information: Gemma Goulder, [email protected], 604.809.9845 Theo Clarke is MP for Stafford. At the start of a new decade, there is no better time to consider emerging opportunities for Britain. Our exit from the European Union is a chance for us to reassess our place in the world, and to renew and strengthen our relationships with neighbours near and far. One key regional partner as we make this transition will be Africa home to five of the fastest growing economies across the world in 2019. This growth, set to continue at an extraordinary pace in 2020, has the potential to yield fantastic opportunities for the people of the continent, and for the people of Britain too, including my constituency of Stafford. As we chart a new course for our country, investing in the economic power of Africas burgeoning and youthful economies will play a vital role in the success of Global Britain. Todays UK-Africa Investment Summit, which brings together governments, business and international institutions, represents an ideal stage for Britain to make clear its intention to be an open, collaborative partner to nations around the world. The potential growth of the continent is evident for all to see. Africa is home to 16 per cent of the worlds population, and this is set to double by 2050. Additionally, the continents GDP is expected to reach $3.2 trillion in the next five years. Angola alone, Africas fifth largest economy and one of the fast-growing economies in the world, is projected to see a 49 per cent growth in its population between 2018 and 2030. Thanks to its rapidly growing population, by 2050 Africa will be home to a quarter of the worlds consumers. This is exciting news for British businesses looking to connect with new customers and build strong export markets across the world. Locking into this export potential is a compelling opportunity for many up and down the UK, and is especially pertinent as we shape our own independent trade policy outside the EU. Indeed, Alok Sharma said last week that Brexit means Britain will be able to turbo-charge relations with Africa a statement I wholeheartedly endorse. Our strengths, including our record as a leading source of private investment in Africa, mean that we will be at the front of the queue to help support the growth and development of the continent. However, trade is just one part of how the UK can support the growth of Africa. Aid is just as important in strengthening the developing world in fact, they are two sides of the same coin. Around the world we see clear evidence of how the UKs development budget is stimulating job creation and economic growth, helping to nurture new businesses and grow them into potential export partners. A good example in my constituency is JCB who have a local manufacturing plant in Hixon from which they export generators to numerous countries in Africa. By creating more opportunities for local businesses to export to emerging markets we can create more jobs in Stafford. I was lucky enough to visit Africado in East Africa, and see first hand the direct benefit of UK aid the jobs its created, the businesses its built and the lives it has changed for the better. Founded in 2007, Africado was previously an abandoned coffee plantation. Today, it is a successful farm exporting 2,600 tonnes of avocados annually, and the largest grower and exporter of avocados in Tanzania, which are stocked directly in British supermarkets. Throughout my travels in Africa, whenever I ask local people what they need, time and time again they say jobs. To be exact, 50,000 new jobs are needed a day across the continent to meet demand. Africado is a fantastic example of how our aid budget has kickstarted and built up an entire industry. Thanks to the initiative, over 2,000 farmers in the East African country supply avocados for export meaning they now have financial security Britain alone spends an average of $144 million on avocados every year. The result underlines the fact that trade and aid are not mutually exclusive, instead working in tandem to turn our developing partners today into our future trading partners. Supporting the development of growing economies is not only the right thing to do, but is also firmly in the UKs national interest. A great example of the power of UK aid in building opportunities home and abroad is South Korea. A former aid recipient, today South Korea is a high-income country and a leading economic partner of ours, trading 7.2 billion worth of goods and services with Britain in 2017. With the UK setting out on our ambition to become a truly Global Britain, we must understand the huge role that development plays in promoting brand Britain around the world. The Conservative Party manifesto that I and my new colleagues in Parliament stood on made clear that our party views the UK as a force for good and will aim to strengthen Britain in the world. The UK-Africa Summit is but one more opportunity to put this into practice and to showcase the values we want to celebrate of compassion, enterprise and leadership. So as delegates gather this Monday, they should view trade and aid through the same prism. It is not a case of one or the other both can unleash the huge potential of Africas young population. PARIS (Reuters) - French economy minister Bruno Le Maire said he hoped to resolve a row with the United States over a planned French digital tax by Wednesday evening of this week. "We are ready to make steps toward the United States, and we have already proposed a certain number of measures. We hope to reach a resolution by Wednesday," Le Maire told LCI television on Monday, adding he would meet U.S. counterparts at the Davos World Economic forum in Switzerland this week. France decided in July to apply a 3% levy on revenue from digital services earned in France by firms with revenues of more than 25 million euros ($28 million) in France and 750 million euros worldwide. Washington has threatened to impose taxes on key French products in response. Last week, the French government said the United States risked a proliferation of national taxes on tech giants if President Donald Trump rejected new international rules for taxing digital companies at the World Economic Forum. Le Maire wants a U.S. commitment in Davos to the international tax reform and is also pressing Washington to lift a threat of tariffs on French champagne, cheese and luxury handbags made in retaliation for France's own digital tax. Agreement was close on a universal tax proposal drawn up by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, Le Maire said, but Washington needed to take the "last step" to reach a compromise. (Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Simon Carraud; Editing by Catherine Evans) BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan.20 Trend: President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has embarked on a working visit to the Swiss Confederation to attend the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum. President Ilham Aliyev met with President and Chairman of VTB Bank Management Board Andrey Kostin in Davos. VTB Banks long-term successful activity in Azerbaijan was hailed at the meeting. Fruitful cooperation between Azerbaijan`s State oil Fund and VTB Bank was praised. President Ilham Aliyev proposed that VTB Bank increased the crediting of the real sector of Azerbaijan`s economy. Andrey Kostin welcomed the proposal, assuring the head of state that the Bank would expand its activity in this regard. The successful development of economic and trade relations between Azerbaijan and Russia was highlighted. They stressed the importance of maintaining and boosting the trade growth. They exchanged views over cooperation prospects. If everything had been going fine in America, there would have been no market for Donald Trump's call in 2016 to 'Make America Great Again'. The French economist Thomas Philippon argues for a surprising conclusion: Europe is making a better job of running a competitive market economy than the home of capitalism. Which is not to claim that the European economy is doing exceptionally well, or that Trump's populist nationalism does not have support in several European countries. But Philippon diagnoses some peculiarly American ailments which Europe, courtesy of European Union policies, has managed to avoid. The American and European economies are broadly comparable in population, technology and level of development. The US has, for several decades, experienced poor productivity growth, increasing inequality and a declining share of labour in national income. It has also, Trump's boosterism notwithstanding, been doing no better than sluggish old Europe in recent years. Philippon, who has divided his career between Europe and America, notes that per capita output growth, the ultimate measure of overall ability to support rising living standards, has been averaging below 1pc per annum in the USA for the last two decades. The poor performance predates the financial crash and most European countries, including Ireland, have managed to do a little better. A principal explanation is that the USA has lost its traditional enthusiasm for keeping capitalism honest, through discouraging concentration in business and industry. Market dominance has been allowed to build up, while Europe has gone the opposite route. Developments in the airline industry illustrate the point. The USA liberalised the airline business, previously a tolerated cartel, in 1978, encouraging new entrants and price competition. Europe followed suit from 1986 onwards, resulting in the emergence of low-cost carriers and a better deal for customers. But the US permitted a spate of mergers which saw the industry consolidate while European regulators prohibited mergers thought likely to weaken competition. The US now has just three big network airlines (American, Delta and United) and many routes now have just one carrier. There has not been a significant new entrant since the 1990s. Airline profits have risen but fares are higher than in Europe, where entry is encouraged, and competition is more intense. If the decline in competition, which blunts innovation and improvements in productivity, had been confined to the airline business, the damage would be modest. Philippon provides evidence that it has been more general and laments a steady dilution of America's antitrust policies that has been under way for 40 years. Meanwhile, the EU has intensified its pro-competition stance, through the single market reforms and the empowerment of the European Commission's oversight role. It has been noticeable that Europe has given the digital giants, including Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google, a tougher time in recent years than the US regulators. These industries, now the biggest business corporations in the world, enjoy strong network economies which make them vulnerable to winner-takes-all outcomes. America invented antitrust law at the end of the 19th Century to deal with similar problems in what were then the new emerging industries, including oil and railroads, while Europe to its cost permitted cartels and trusts, including national champions and imperial flag-bearers. The pupil has, since European economic integration was initiated in the 1950s, been learning the lessons that teacher forgot. The diminished antitrust zeal in the US and consequent growth in the market dominance of the biggest firms owes something also to an increased intrusion into business life of state and federal regulation, in contrast to the deregulatory and pro-competitive single market reforms in the EU. Philippon documents the rise of the American regulatory state and the anti-competitive impact, including the effective creation of new barriers to entry. It is a myth that business firms invariably oppose state regulation: they lobby actively for regulations which are in their interest, and in the USA the scale of business lobbying is extraordinary. Total cash expenditure on political lobbying in the US is about three times the European figure and the disparity in campaign financing is even greater. In the 2014 Senate race (for a single seat each) campaign spending in the two most expensive states reached $113m in North Carolina (population 10 million) and $97m in Colorado (population 6 million). It is unlikely that the total spent has reached these levels in Ireland for all Dail candidates combined at all elections since the foundation of the state a century ago. On average the winning candidate alone, in a US Senate or House of Representatives race, spends over $10m directly, roughly what all the Irish political parties will spend between them at the upcoming general election in this country. One consequence is that newly elected members of Congress in Washington are advised to commence fundraising for re-election on their first day in the office: some are believed to devote 30 hours per week to raising finance. The pay-off has come in part through the weakness of climate policy compared to Europe. The oil, gas and coal industries have been major spenders in Washington and climate action in the USA, when inevitably it must be faced, will cost more than it might have done had fewer politicians been beholden to fossil fuel interests. Video of the Day Breaking the link between money and politics is not easy, even if you try. In most European countries, including the UK and Ireland, it is illegal to buy or sell political advertising on radio and television, a huge component of campaign spending in the US. But internet advertising on social media platforms is permitted, including targeted advertising based on the involuntary mining of personal information. Perhaps it is time for the EU to consider restrictions in this area to keep a lid on the intrusion of money into politics which has gone out of control in America. Time also, Philippon argues, for America to relearn the virtues of competitive capitalism from its erstwhile pupil across the pond. By Andrea Shalal WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The world's financial sector should take rapid steps to address record or near-record inequality levels within countries that new research shows could be a harbinger of a new financial crisis, the head of the International Monetary Fund said Friday. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva issued what she termed a 'call to action', urging a shift to facilitate more lending to small and women-led businesses, which in turn would help bolster resilience in the event of a future crisis By Andrea Shalal WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The world's financial sector should take rapid steps to address record or near-record inequality levels within countries that new research shows could be a harbinger of a new financial crisis, the head of the International Monetary Fund said Friday. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva issued what she termed a "call to action", urging a shift to facilitate more lending to small and women-led businesses, which in turn would help bolster resilience in the event of a future crisis. "Our new research file:///C:/Users/u8007546/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/C63MH0ID/Financial_Services_and_Inequalities%20SDN%20(003).pdf shows that inequality tends to increase before a financial crisis, signalling a strong link between inequality and financial stability," she said, citing parallels to 1920s boom years that led to the Great Depression. A report by IMF staff released Friday shows that expanding financial services to more low-income households, women and small businesses could serve as a powerful lever in creating a more inclusive society, but the increasing complexity of the financial sector often wound up benefiting mainly the wealthy. "If we act, and act together, we can avoid repeating the mistakes of the 1920s in the 2020s," Georgieva told an event at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. The Fund would apply the lessons of the new research to its assessment and surveillance of financial sector stability, while focussing on bolstered financial literacy among less "sophisticated" populations, she added. Georgieva, who served as the World Bank's chief executive officer before moving to the IMF in October, has made reversing inequalities one of her top priorities. In her speech on Friday, she said it was important to maintain high lending standards and good supervision, but work was needed to reverse widening gaps between rich and poor. Unlike the 1920s, climate change was a huge factor exacerbating inequality today, she said, citing a World Bank estimate that 100 million people could be living in extreme poverty by 2030 if current policies were not changed. The Fund in November called for central banks to develop stress tests for climate risks, and Georgieva said it would seek to incorporate them into its assessment instruments this calendar year. Devaluing climate-related stranded assets could result in costs of $4 trillion to $20 trillion. Governments should continue using fiscal policies to address growing rates of inequality, she said, and avert the populism and political upheaval it could spawn. But the financial sector also had a key role to play, she said, citing research by IMF staff that showed a 2-to-3-percentage point difference in longer-term gross domestic product (GDP) growth between financially inclusive countries and their less inclusive peers. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Daniel Wallis) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. All images courtesy of our interviewees. Imagine this: You are fifteen years old. Your biggest concern is whether you will complete your revision on time so that you can paint on the weekend. You just received news that you have been awarded a scholarship to study in another country. You have one day to decide whether you want to accept the offer. Sounds familiar? Probably not. But this is what Rebecca, and many other foreign scholars in Singapore, went through. Rebecca is from Hunan, China, a province known for its love of spicy food. She loves painting, so much so that she took H2 Art. She is a Life Science and Psychology major who spends her free time bouldering and watching dramas. My favourite place is my bed, she laughs. Singaporeans are no stranger to foreigners, nor are we unfamiliar with foreign scholars. I remember Chinese scholars gathering in secondary school hallways, their grades good enough that they were always streamed into the best classes. What I dont remember is talking much with any of them. Every year, students are recruited from schools throughout China, and enter Secondary Three via the SM1 Programme. First established in 1991, the SM1 programme is a partnership between Singapore and China. Around 300 Chinese students every year are recruited to study in Singapore. Scholars from each city are placed in the same school; for instance, Jenny was placed in Swiss Cottage Secondary School, alongside others from Urumqi. I sat down with Rebecca, Jenny, and a few other scholars who had come in through the SM1 programme to find out what it was like to be a foreign student in Singapore. What was it like to move to another country at fifteen years old? Whats it like now, almost a decade later? The moment we stepped into Changi Airport, I thought to myself: so humid! Jenny exclaims. Urumqi, a city in the province of Xinjiang, is dry even in the summer. When I came here, I saw people wearing FBTs and they were so short. Now Im used to them. Its very comfortable. Story continues It was quite easy to adapt, she says. But the hardest part was English. My English was P4 standard. The language barrier didnt just mean she had to relearn everything in a new languageit was also a social barrier. The Singaporean accent was unfamiliar, and took her a while to pick up. Learning Singlish helped me adapt and become more Singaporean. To prepare for the O Levels, Lionel wrote an essay every day for a month. He even rewrote one particular essay eight times. English wasnt the only language barrier, either. To my surprise, he said that he also faced issues with Mandarin. The northerners would make fun of my Chinese, Lionel laughs. He comes from Shantou, located in the southern province of Guangdong, and his first language is Teochew. I would speak Teochew with the auntie in JC and she gave me a lot of noodles. Everyones eyes lit up when asked about food. While it was easier to adapt for somelike Lionel, who was already used to southern Chinese cuisineit was a more drastic change for others. Xinjiang food has a lot of beef and mutton, Jenny says. Singapore food is a lot lighter and soupier. She is used to it now, and smiles when she declares that her favourite dish is sliced fish noodle soup. Living alone abroad, she says, requires a lot of self-discipline. When Melissa first came from Hunan, it was easier to find commonalities with other scholars. There was a distinct sense of being different from the locals. My friends teacher asked for someone to be the class monitor, she says. My friend raised her hand, but the teacher kept asking for more volunteers, until a local student raised her hand, and they picked her instead. Then, in the toilet, she heard them laughing about why shed raised her hand and saying stuff like, who does she think she is? These experiences of othering were common. While some found it easier to integrate, others faced more difficulties. I would speak in English, and I didnt know whether people were pretending not to understand so that they didnt have to talk to me, Jenny says. But incidents like these became less common as people around her matured and she became more integrated into Singapore society. For the scholars, just like anyone else, their social circles transformed as they grew older. They might have started with more Chinese friendsscholars that stuck together because of similarities in a foreign landbut they all gradually met more locals. Now, most of my friends are from [my residential college], Rachel quips. When we sat down to talk, Rachel had just commemorated her eighth year in Singapore by celebrating with her hostel mates from secondary school. Some were no longer studying here, but they all met up over Skype. Like the others, Rachel has spent her schooling years since Secondary Three in dorms. Living alone abroad, she says, requires a lot of self-discipline, something that the others concurred with. They had a guardian who oversaw them, but it was never the same as having a mother or father around. Rachel had always wanted to go abroad. The first time she visited Singapore, she was ten years old and came with her family; this trip helped solidify her resolve to study overseas. When I told my mother I wanted to go to Singapore to study, she stopped the car on the side of the road and cried. The other scholars I talked with, however, had starkly different experiences. Most were encouraged or even forced, as Jenny describes, by their parents to study overseas. The scholarship was something prestigious, only offered to top students. In the end, Rachels mother became supportive, even helping her find scholarships. Rachel is from Shantou, like Lionel, and has relatives here. When she first arrived, they showed her aroundto the Night Safari, to USSand she spends every Chinese New Year at their home. The thought of living alone overseas wasnt terrifying for her. Rachel wanted to see the world. Chris also wanted to see the world, but he was worried about being away from home. In fact, he cried during the scholarship interview. I was surprised I got accepted, he laughs. My interview was fifty minutes long. The scholars only go home once or twice a year. Most didnt feel homesick at first, but nostalgia and homesickness can strike at the most surprising moments. I was walking along ECP at night with a friend, and we looked at the moon and talked about home and cried together, Melissa shares. For Rebecca, the first time she felt homesick was after her first trip back to China. She was making her own bed and thought to herself: if she was at home, she wouldnt be doing this. Rebecca describes a scene she painted in junior college: a girl sleeping on a bed, two suitcases on the ground, and a hand knocking on the door. Its nameDo you still like eggplant? I used to like eggplant, she tears up as she says this. Its barely noticeable except for the shine of her eyes. I went home, and my mum wanted to cook something for me, but she wasnt sure whether I liked eggplant anymore. From the ages of fifteen to our early twenties, most of us are floundering around. Spending these transformative years abroad means that the scholars learn to live independently. But now that they are at the tail end of their education abroad, the future has become unpredictable. Im open to possibilities, Melissa says, happy to move back to China or to stay in Singapore. I really like the environment here. When I came back from exchange, it was like coming home. The others echo similar sentiments. They want to take care of their families, but at the same time want to keep their options open, having grown attached to Singapore. Jenny seriously thought about settling down hereshed talked about getting a BTO with her ex-boyfriend. Rachel has even thought about which school she wants to send her children to. Chris intends to do a PhD. Where exactly hell go after that, he says, is a bit unclear. For Rebecca and her girlfriend, the future is uncertain as well: same-sex marriage is illegal in both Singapore and China. Being abroad means that theyve seen things from different perspectives and have been immersed in different cultures. When I talked to them, I realised this: their stories and insights have been very much influenced by their diverse experiences. What ties all of them together is their open-mindedness and maturity, which has come from learning to live independently and adapt. Even for the scholars themselves, theyve rarely had the chance to sit down and reflect on their past eight or nine years in Singapore. Each person has their own story to share; to be honest, I doubt that a single interview is enough to encompass the true breadth of anyones experiences. Theres a lot of heterogeneity amongst Chinese scholars, Rebecca affirms. Everyone has their own narrative. Even if they are tied together by a common thread of being Chinese scholars in Singapore, it doesnt mean that everyone can be described using a single adjective. Recently, the Ministry of Education (MOE) tried to address online discussion about awarding scholarships to foreign students instead of local ones. However, many were not appeased, continuing to question the statistics and telling the government to feed [your] own children first, then think about feeding outsiders. Incidents like these are not uncommon. They reflect the general sentiments that Singaporeans have towards foreign scholars, migrant workers, and immigrants in general. In August 2019, Education Minister Ong Ye Kung responded to a question in Parliament on the amount of spending on foreign students. He argued that even if foreign scholars do leave Singapore after serving their bond, they can be part of our valuable global network of fans and friends, who can speak up for Singapore, and forge collaborations with Singapore. Minister Ongs words are echoed in Melissas feelings towards Singapore. I do not tolerate people saying anything bad about Singapore as well, Melissa says, when asked about her thoughts on living abroad. Yet, despite years of espousing the narrative that foreigners benefit Singaporeans both economically and socially, Singaporeans dont seem to be entirely convinced. A quick look at the comments section of MOEs Facebook post is all you need to grasp the extent of discontent and cynicism surrounding the governments stance on foreign scholars. The effects having foreign scholars in our midst, whether positive or negative, go beyond just taking up one percent of our education budget. The issue of foreigners in Singapore society is not just a matter of numbers. Every person in Singapore, local or foreigner, is inevitably weaved into the social fabric of the country. When considering our perspective towards foreigners, merely citing dollars and percentages is not enough. Not only do we have to understand the possible social effects, we should also understand the viewpoints of different stakeholders: Singapore citizens, the government, and the foreigners themselves. Even if we see their presence here as temporary, a temporary presence is still a presence after all, and denotes a unique individual that has the potential to impact the lives around them. Taking the time to sit down with a foreign scholaror a migrant worker, or a new immigrantmight just be what we need to grant ourselves a little more empathy and perspective. Is the conversation around foreigners and immigration misguided, or is it on the right track? Tell us what you think at community@ricemedia.co. The post The Realities of Being A PRC Scholar in Singapore appeared first on RICE. When Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex announced their intent to step back as senior members of the British Royal Family, things began moving at a rapid-fire pace. The Sussexes explained that they would become financially independent of the royal family, and split their time between the U.K. and North America. They also outlined a detailed plan for their new progressive royal roles on their new website. Like the rest of the world, the British royal family seemed stunned by this announcement. However, after the abuse and harassment that the duchess has endured at the hands of the British public and press, we can see why she and the prince felt they had to take drastic measures. In fact, just days after the announcement, Markle left the U.K. for Canada where she will be staying with her infant son for the foreseeable future. The prince wrapping up some scheduled events. Now that the Sussexes will only be in the U.K. part-time, what will happen to their royal staff? Prince Harry is working with the British royal family to tie up loose ends The Sussexes announced their departure as senior members of the royal family, making it clear that theyd been planning their exit for some time. After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution, they said. We intend to step back as senior members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen. It is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few years, that we feel prepared to make this adjustment. We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages. Shortly thereafter, Prince Harry was called into a summit with Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles, and Prince William. The queen gave her blessing, but also explained that the transition would happen overnight. She said, These are complex matters for my family to resolve, and there is some more work to be done, but I have asked for final decisions to be reached in the coming days. It looks like those final decisions have already been set in motion. Meghan Markle has already settled into her new life in Canada For now, the Sussexes are staying at a rented mansion on Vancouver Island, the same home they vacationed in during their six-week holiday hiatus. However, the duchess is now back to work. Shes visited the Downtown Eastside Womens Centre (DEWC) an organization committed to combating the high levels of violence, homelessness, addictions, and poverty for the women and children of the area. It appears that Markles focus on women, girls, and mental health issues will continue in Canada. The main issue seems to be who will pay for the Sussexes extensive security when they are in Canada. We havent spent any time thinking about this issue, Bill Morneau, Canadas finance minister. told CBC reporters. We obviously are always looking to make sure, as a member of the Commonwealth, we play a role. We have not had any discussions on that subject at this time. Prince Harry and Meghan Markles U.K. staff is being reassigned When they are in the U.K. the Sussexes hope to still live at Frogmore Cottage, the estate that was gifted to them from Queen Elizabeth following their wedding. They spent millions of their own money renovating the estate. According to the Sussexes new website, Frogmore Cottage will continue to be the property of Her Majesty the Queen. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will continue to use Frogmore Cottage with the permission of Her Majesty The Queen as their official residence as they continue to support the Monarchy. The queen may allow the couple to keep their home, but their staff is presently being reassigned to other royal households. In quiet periods staff are often redeployed elsewhere around the estate, an insider told CNN. No members of staff have been let go. Were just glad the Sussexes are doing whats best for them. Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Monday sought to dispel misgivings about the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the National Population Register but underscored that the Constitution guaranteed "right to freedom of expression" which ought to be respected while dealing with protests. Paswan also claimed that it was at his instance that the Union Home Ministry agreed to "amend" the NPR forms wherein columns like those pertaining to places of birth of parents had triggered fears that the exercise might be a precursor to the National Register of Citizens (NRC). "Even I do not know my date of birth. Do I cease to become a citizen on that account? I had told the Home Ministry that these things will cause confusion. Now the ministry has amended the forms", he told reporters here. Notably, the Union Home Ministry had recently stated that people could "skip" the aforementioned columns after a request to the effect was made by many states, not ruled by the BJP, that these be "dropped". The Union Minister, who holds Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution System portfolio, however sought to allay fears that people not possessing required documents could lose their citizenship and Muslims whom the CAA allegedly discriminates against would suffer the most. "No government can dare to snatch away any persons citizenship. It will lead to an upheaval. Any regime which seeks to do so will be torn apart by the media. This is simply not possible", he said. However, he added "we owe our rise in to the 1974 students movement. Now, students, the youth have their own sentiments. We cannot do much about that. But it is true that the police often goes overboard in enforcing rule of law", said Paswan, who is the founder of Lok Janshakti Party an NDA constituent. "I do not hold an uncharitable view of the protests in Jamia Milia Islamia or JNU. People associated with these do keep meeting me over issues. We have cut our political teeth with freedom of speech and restraint in action as a cardinal principle. "All these protesters including the women of Shaheen Bagh they all enjoy the right to freedom of expression", Paswan added. Notably, the BJP the mightiest constituent of the NDA - has adopted a belligerent stance against the country-wide protests with top leaders like Union Home Minister Amit Shah dubbing these as a "conspiracy" hatched by those aiming at "disintegration" of the country. The LJP founder, however, sought to defend the CAA, which seeks to fast-track grant of citizenship to non-Muslim refugees, who might have landed on the Indian soil by the year 2014, from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. "Unlike India, which is not a Hindu state, the three countries are Islamic republics. The Act aims at granting citizenship to refugees, as distinct from infiltrators, who may have fled because of religious persecution", he said. Asked about the rationale behind leaving out Muslims, Paswan said "it is not that doors of Indian citizenship have been slammed shut on Muslims from any country. But when the Amendment sought to help minorities in three Islamic countries, Muslims could not have been brought under its ambit". The LJP leader who was previously with the UPA sought to know "why did the Congress not raise objections while in power if it really has so much of a problem with NPR? "Why did it preside over a similar exercise in 2010? And the CAA has come into force after being passed by both Houses of the Parliament, with us (NDA) not having a majority in the Rajya Sabha. In this backdrop, the noise by the opposition parties leaves me bewildered? he asked. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Researchers have determined that the above self-portrait of Vincent van Gogh, long thought to have been a fake, was indeed painted by the artist in 1889 while he was suffering from psychosis in a French mental institution. The painting belongs to Norway's National Museum but is currently on display at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. From The Art Newspaper: The painting is now linked to a letter in which Van Gogh wrote that he had made a self-portrait which was "an attempt from when I was ill". The artist had suffered a severe mental attack at the asylum in mid July 1889, when he tried to swallow paints, but by 22 August he had recovered sufficiently to write to his brother Theo, asking that he be allowed access to his painting materials. (Researcher Louis) van Tilborgh argues that the artist made the self-portrait a few days later, before he suffered a minor setback and was ill for a short period at the beginning of September Eight months earlier Van Gogh had severely mutilated his left ear, which at first glance appears to be the one in the painting. But while working on the self-portrait he would actually (have been) looking at his features in a mirror, in reverse, thereby seeing his intact right ear. However, Van Gogh must surely have realised that those outside the art world would assume that he was depicting his left ear, which had been mutilated. He could have tried to avoid the problem by disguising some of the ear with hair, but he has deliberately and unflinchingly allowed the upper part to remain highly visible, with lighter-coloured paint. Van Tilborgh argues that the artist began by depicting his fully intact right ear, but then took a palette knife to the picture, scraping away some of the paint. He believes that Van Gogh scraped the picture to give his face a more lifeless expression and to strengthen the impression of mental anguish. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 18:51:32|Editor: Xiang Bo Video Player Close BEIJING, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- The central government has offered financial support worth 30 million yuan (about 4.37 million U.S. dollars) for quake relief in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. An emergency response was launched after a 6.4-magnitude earthquake jolted Jiashi County in Kashgar Prefecture at 9:27 p.m. Sunday (Beijing Time). Relief goods including 5,000 cotton tents, 5,000 folding beds, 10,000 cotton quilts and 20,000 cotton-padded overcoats were sent to the region. The quake killed one person and slightly injured two others, authorities said Monday. It comes as no surprise that Walk Score's list rates Sydney as the most walkable large city in Australia. The Waterfront City has also been deemed the second most transit-friendly in the country behind Brisbane and in-front of Melbourne. Sydney provides a wide range of transport with ferries, trains, metro and the recently welcomed light rail amongst the many options available. Opportunities to cycle have also risen as the city's biking infrastructure has improved in recent years. Significantly more councils have bike lanes with stationless shared bikes located and accessible across the city. Mobike and LimeBike operate in multiple suburbs and can be tracked and paid on their website and app. LimeBike have, since late 2018, provided electric assisted bikes which has helped encourage more users. Sydney is also diverse, home to nearly 200 nationalities, and offers a unique cultural experience with its range of cuisine, museums, galleries, and beaches. These are all of metrics Walk Score takes into account when deciding the rankings for each of Sydney's neighbourhoods. Without further ado, here are the top neighbourhoods. 1. Haymarket Walk Score: 99 | Population: 5,365 "Haymarket is a Walker's Paradise", states Walk Score. "Daily errands do not require a car in Haymarket Sydney." Adjacent to Darling Harbour, Haymarket includes much of Sydney's Chinatown, Thaitown and Railway Square localities. Amongst the neighbourhood's many perks, the proximity of restaurants, bars and coffee shops is highly regarded. There are about eight restaurants, bars and coffee shops, and people in the area can walk to an average of two restaurants, bars and coffee shops in five minutes. Source: WalkScore 2. The Rocks Walk Score: 98 | Population: 683 This neighbourhood of historic laneways in the shadow of Sydney Harbour Bridge, has a diverse cluster of people. Interaction mainly takes place at the open-air Rocks Market where street food and handmade items are sold. Source: TimeOut The Rocks is home to Sydney's oldest pubs and many upscale harbour-view restaurants. This hub of culture is an urban stage of buskers who perform live along the harbour front promenade. The Museum of Contemporary Art offers local and international exhibits. Source: WalkScore 3. Sydney Walk Score: 98 | Population: 14,287 Source: WalkScore 4. Ultimo Walk Score: 98 | Population: 7,106 Located in the inner-city suburb of Sydney, Ultimo is only 2 km south-west of CBD. Broadway is amongst the many attractions of the neighbourhood as well as a range of heritage listed buildings. The corporate headquarters and Sydney studios of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) are located in Ultimo Centre which houses an auditorium and recording stood. TCS, NITV and Aurora are also located at Ultimo Centre. Source: WalkScore 5. Surry Hills Walk Score: 97 | Population: 15,379 A constantly evolving area, Surry Hills is notorious for its in-trend scene and cafe culture. Hip coffee joints, fashion boutiques and global eateries can be found in terraced houses on Crown and Cleveland streets. Source: Surry Hills Cat Wall This trendy neighbourhood is home to pubs, wine bars, galleries and the Surry Hills Library. There is a Surry Hills Market held once a month where street food and vintage goods can be found. Source: WalkScore 6. Chippendale Walk Score: 97 | Population: 4,069 Source: WalkScore Following shortly behind are the following: 7. Millers Point Walk Score: 96 | Population: 1,742 8. Darlinghurst Walk Score: 96 | Population: 10,096 9. Newtown Walk Score: 95 | 14,142 10. Rushcutters Bay Walk Score: 94 | Population: 2,378 Developed by Chengdu-based Tengden Technology Co, the world's first large, three-engine utility drone makes its first flight in Southwest China on January 16. Photo: CNS photo Independently developed by China, the world's first large, three-engine utility drone recently made its first flight, with experts saying on Sunday that the drone is very reliable and versatile thanks to the extra engine, and can be used in transport and attack missions. Developed by Chengdu-based Tengden Technology Co, the drone took off and landed on Thursday morning at an airfield in Southwest China, marking its successful maiden flight, Chengdu Daily reported on Friday. The drone is a three-engine variant of Tengden's twin-engine TB Twin-tailed Scorpion, as this design is a world first for drones, Chengdu Daily said, without introducing the designation of the new variant. The drone has a width of 20 meters and a length of 11 meters. It is equipped with three piston engines, with one under each wing and one on its tail, enabling it to have a maximum takeoff weight of 3.2 tons and an endurance of 35 hours, according to the report. The drone has a flight ceiling of 9,500 meters, a max climb rate of 10 meters a second and a top speed of more than 300 kilometers an hour, the report said, noting that it is very adaptable and can be deployed in airfields in plateau areas. Because the drone uses piston engines, which are low cost but have long lifespans, it is also very cost efficient. The extra engine makes this new drone more powerful, capable of carrying more payload and taking off at shorter ranges, a military expert who asked not to be named told the Global Times on Sunday. This enables the drone to be used for a wider range of purposes, such as logistics and transport, in addition to traditional drone purposes including patrols, reconnaissance and attack, the expert said. The drone can also be used in areas such as disaster relief, forest firefighting, geographic mapping, meteorological observation and aerial communications relay, chinanews.com reported. If one or two engines malfunction, the remaining engine should still be enough to allow the drone to fly safely, making it very reliable, the expert said. The drone will be "put into market in all fronts" in 2021, chinanews.com reported. China is a top player in drone development, with many state-owned and private companies becoming known globally for high quality drones, such as DJI's civilian-use drones, Aviation Industry Corp of China's Wing Loong drones and China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp's CH (Rainbow) drones. Substance Abuse Treatment Market Share, Trends and Size Analysis By Abuse Type (Alcohol Dependence, Tobacco & Drug Abuse, Treatment (Alcohol Addiction (Disulfiram, Acamprosate), Nicotine Addiction & Drug Abuse))), End User Global Forecast Till 2023 Global Substance Abuse Treatment Market size is estimated to demonstrate a spectacular growth and rising at a significant double-digit CAGR of 11.6% over the forecast period (2018 2023) says Market Research Future (MRFR). The global substance abuse treatment market is rising pervasively, mainly due to the augmented demand for substance cessation therapeutics. Over the past few years, cases of substance abuse and addictions, including alcohol and illicit drugs, are growing at an alarming rate. Often, the use of these harmful psychoactive substances leads to causing aggressive behavior and mental imbalance in the addicts. Although todays heady lifestyle is the root cause of substance abuse, factors such as the family history of addiction, mental health disorder, peer pressure, lack of family involvement, early use, and others cant be ignored too. The good news is that the riddance from substance abuse or addiction cessation is very much possible. There have been several breakthrough therapies & treatments developed. An alarming increase in the incidences of drug abuse is prompting the demand for novel treatments. Therefore, the market for substance abuse treatment is increasing rapidly. Request Free Sample Copy at: https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/7230 Evidently, technological advances transpired into the field of medical science are providing impetus to the market growth. However, market players that are continually bringing improvements and innovative devices and medicines for the treatment are the main driving force turning the tables in the substance abuse sector. Government initiatives are playing a major role in market development, spreading awareness among people. Additionally, various prevailing addictions such as alcohol, narcotics, etc. are contributing to the market growth. Extensive R&D activities transpired in the field, led by the public, and private funding support is fostering the market growth significantly. The rising demand by physicians and patients is also propelling the market to a great extent. On the other hand, large unmet needs and high cost of treatment, alongside the lack of medical infrastructure and awareness in certain regions, are the factors anticipated to hamper the growth of the market. Nevertheless, rising patient awareness about substance abuse treatment, increasing rates of treatment, and healthcare infrastructure would support the growth of the market. Substance Abuse Treatment Market Segmentations Substance Abuse Treatment Market is segmented into Abuse Type, Treatment Type and End User substance abuse treatment market is segmented by Abuse Type into Alcohol Dependence, Tobacco & Drug Abuse, and others. substance abuse treatment market is segmented by Treatment Type into Alcohol Addiction Treatment (Disulfiram, Acamprosate, Naltrexone, others), Tobacco/Nicotine Addiction Treatment {nicotine replacement treatment (nicotine patch, nicotine gum, nicotine lozenge, nicotine spray, nicotine inhaler, others)}, Non-Nicotine Medication (Bupropion, Varenicline, others), Drug Abuse Treatment (Methadone, Buprenorphine, Naltrexone), and others. substance abuse treatment market is segmented by End-user into Outpatient Treatment Centres, Residential Treatment Centres, Inpatient Treatment Centres, and others. Substance Abuse Treatment Market Regional Analysis substance abuse treatment market is segmented into Regions: Europe, Americas, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and Rest-of-the-World. North America dominates the global substance abuse treatment market. The significant share of the market attributes to the presence of major market players and raising awareness about substance abuse treatment in the region. Additionally, various initiatives and programs run by private organizations and the government to spread awareness about substance abuse are impacting the regional market growth to an extent. Besides, factors such as advances in medical technology, high healthcare expenses, the burgeoning healthcare industry, and the availability of many treatment centers drive the growth of the regional market. The North American substance abuse treatment market is further expected to increase colossally, registering a fabulous CAGR during the forecast period. Europe accounts for the second-largest market for substance abuse treatment on a global level. Increasing emphasis on providing new effective treatments that can bring greater outcomes in people affected with substance abuse act as a major driving force for the market growth. The European substance abuse treatment market is projected to grow at a considerable CAGR in the next three years. The Asia Pacific region has emerged as the fastest-growing market for substance abuse treatments. The market growth can be attributed to the rising research and development programs that are fostered with huge investments. Furthermore, factors such as the increasing incidences of tobacco addiction and quadrupling technological advances in the field are boosting the APAC substance abuse treatment market. Substance Abuse Treatment Market Competitive Analysis The global substance abuse treatment market appears to be fiercely competitive with the several well-established players operating in the market. To gain a larger share in this market, innovation, mergers & acquisitions, expansion, brand reinforcement, and product/ technology launch remain the key trends. Top players invest heavily in R&D and clinical trials to develop effective therapeutics and medicines. Substance Abuse Treatment Market Key Players: Players leading the global substance abuse treatment market include Alkermes Plc, Pfizer Inc., GlaxoSmithKline Plc., Allergan, Purdue Pharma LP, Mylan Laboratories, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals, Forest Laboratories, Inc., Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Accord Healthcare, Apotex, Cipla, BioCorRx, Glenmark, LFB Group, INSYS Therapeutics, Lupin, Opiant Technologies, Sanquin, Sanofi Aventis, Sterinova, and Sun Pharmaceuticals, among others. Substance Abuse Treatment Industry/Innovation/ Related News: Mind Medicine, Inc. (Mindmed the US), a leading neuro-pharmaceutical company focused on discovering & developing medicines based on psychedelics, announced that it has finalized the acquisition of the 18-MC drug development program Savant HWP Inc. (the US), a provider of medications to improve health, maintain wellness and prevent disease. The 18-MC drug is an anti-addictive molecule based on the natural psychedelic ibogaine intended for addressing the opioid crisis and other forms of addiction. Discovery Behavioral Health (the US), a nationwide leader in mental health services, announced the acquisition of one of the leading providers of addiction and mental health services in the Northwest Associated Behavioral Health Care (ABHC). The deal, which took place on December 31, 2019, caps a banner year for DBH, during which it acquired four additional treatment center brands. DBH acquired Casa Palmera, a nationally recognized facility providing evidence-based treatment for adults dealing with drug and alcohol addiction. These acquisitions include October 22, 2019s deal announced by DBH confirming the acquisition of New Life Addiction Counselling & Mental Health Services, an OPD facility, providing evidence-based treatment for drug and alcohol addiction in adults as well as treatment of co-occurring mental health issues including anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder. Request Free Sample Copy at: https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/substance-abuse-treatment-market-7230 About Market Research Future: At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), & Consulting Services. MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Contact: Akash Anand Market Research Future +1 646 845 9312 Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com Shanghai (Gasgoo)-NIO, Tesla's China wannabe, aims to beef up the cumulative number of its sales and service outletsNIO House and NIO Spaceto around 200 by the end of 2020, Wei Jian, NIO's Vice President of User Operations, said on January 16. Mr. Wei said then NIO had already set up 22 NIO Houses and 55 NIO Spaces in 57 cities in China. The number is now further increased as a local media outlet said the startup would open up another seven NIO Spaces on January 18. (Photo source: NIO) The Shanghai-based EV manufacturer is famous for its thoughtful services. Under the slogan a space for NIOs users and friends, a joyful lifestyle beyond the car, the startup opens NIO House throughout China in cities' prime lots with huge amount of money involved. More than a room to display the company's products, a typical NIO House is simultaneously a coffee shop open only for its users, a day care center, a library and a meeting room and places for other social activities. NIO thinks it will build a deeper relationship with its customers. By contrast, NIO Space covers smaller area and involves fewer construction cost. According to Wei, a NIO Space commonly occupies fewer than 200 square meters with an average building cost of under RMB1 million. It mainly serves as a showroom for sale that facilitates users who are interested in NIO's products while living in cities without NIO Houses. Some NIO Spaces are wholly funded and operated by the company itself, and some are co-built with partners boasting ample automotive industry experience, said Mr. We. NIO delivered 3,170 vehicles in December 2019, representing a robust 25.4% month-over-month growth. The growth should be attributable to multiple reasons. Through favorable word of mouth and referrals, our existing users remain a steady and relevant driver of new orders. Our sales also benefited from the expansion of our sales network through the continued launch of more efficient NIO Spaces, said William Bin Li, founder, chairman and CEO of NIO. The vice president also pointed out that the higher efficiency, lower rent and fewer staff cost for operating NIO Spaces won't make the automaker downplay the development of NIO Space, which are still very critical to NIO's branding, business model and supportive user base in the future. Amid the ongoing protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and proposed pan-India National Register of Citizens (NRC), West Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh on Sunday claimed 50 lakh Muslim infiltrators will be identified and thrown out of India if needed. Ghosh made the statement, which is set to spark a political debate, while addressing a rally in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. "50 lakh Muslim infiltrators will be identified, if needed they will be chased out of the country." Launching a direct attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Ghosh said that the removal of names of Muslim infiltrators will stop Mamata from appeasing the people of a particular community. "Firstly, the names of Muslim infiltrators will be removed from voters` list then didi (in reference to Mamata Banerjee) cannot appease anyone," he said. The West Bengal BJP chief asserted that the removal of the names from of infiltrators from the voters' list will reduce the number of votes to Mamata Banerjee in the 2021 state assembly election. "Once this is done didi`s votes will be reduced and in the coming elections, we will get 200 seats, she will not even get 50 seats," he said. Ghosh also slammed the Congress and other opposition parties for protesting against the CAA and NRC, saying "their hearts bleed for infiltrators". Live TV The BJP leader, last week, sparked a major row by saying that those involved in damaging public property should be shot dead. He had also attacked Mamata Banerjee of failing to take action against the rioters because "they are her voters". It may be recalled that several protests were held in different parts of West Bengal, many of which turned violent, against the CAA. The new legislation 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. Its a big year in classical music with celebrations of the 250th anniversary of Ludwig Van Beethovens birth taking place all over the world in the coming 12 months. The Limerick-based Irish Chamber Orchestra is marking a notable anniversary itself in 2020, celebrating 50 years of entertaining Irish and international audiences. So, with perfect symmetry, the orchestra can kick off its own celebrations with a performance of Beethovens 7th Symphony, one of the German giants best loved works in Limerick and Dublin next month. The ICOs artistic partner Jorg Widmann takes the baton, driving the orchestra in a slow build-up of energy in Beethovens swashbuckling Seventh, a roller-coaster ride that apparently made even the staid Richard Wagner jump up and dance. It is the sheer thrill of playing and living on the edge as Beethoven aspired to intoxicate his listeners on this journey of elation. The Seventh is one of his happiest symphonies, filled with a relentless vitality. Widmanns personal fascination with Beethoven, is evident in his early Con Brio (2008) along with his more recent 6th String Quartet (2019), which the ICO hopes to perform in the future. Con Brio evolved from an invitation by Mariss Jansons, to six internationally acclaimed composers to create short works that allude to a Beethoven symphony. You can enjoy Widmanns response on the night, the Con Brio Overture being an amazing fun-filled soundscape, based on Symphonies 7 & 8. Also on the programme are performances of Mozarts Marriage of Figaro Overture and a Strauss Duet Concertino for Clarinet, Bassoon and Orchestra. Bassoonist Diego Chenna joins the Widmann on clarinet in a sprightly and lively account of the latter. The orchestras boisterous rendition of the effervescent Figaro Overture provides the perfect curtain-raiser for what should be a thrilling performance. The ICO performs its Spring Season at UCH, Limerick and for the first time, at The Printworks at Dublin Castle, on February 13 and 14 respectively. Programme Mozart Marriage of Figaro Overture KV 492 Strauss Duet Concertino for Clarinet, Bassoon and Orchestra TrV 293 Widmann Con Brio Overture Beethoven Symphony No. 7, Op. 92 Thursday, February 13, University Concert Hall, Limerick @ 8pm 061 331549 www.uch.ie. Tickets 28, 25 and 10 students, 5 children (CNN) Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday met with Egypt's president and expressed outrage "over the pointless and tragic death" of Moustafa Kassem, an American citizen detained in the country. Pompeo met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in Berlin, where both men are attending a conference aiming to bring peace to Libya. "Met with President Sisi today and addressed the pointless and tragic death of detained U.S. citizen Moustafa Kassem in Egypt. On #Libya, President Sisi and I agreed on the urgent need for a return to a @UN-facilitated political process and a ceasefire," Pompeo tweeted Sunday morning. Kassem, who once begged for President Donald Trump's help, died Monday of heart failure during a hunger strike after more than six years in an Egyptian prison. He was 54 years old. The Egyptian American was detained in August 2013 in Cairo while visiting his family. He was beaten by security forces and held in pretrial detention for more than five years before being sentenced without due process in September 2018 to 15 years in prison, according to Pretrial Rights International and The Freedom Initiative, the two organizations that represented him during his case. Shortly after his sentencing, Kassem sent a handwritten letter to Trump to inform him of his plight and implore the US President for his help. "I pray that you have a plan for me," Kassem wrote. He told Trump that he was diabetic and was going on a hunger strike "knowing full well that I may not survive it." According to Mohamed Soltan, the leader of The Freedom Initiative, Kassem was on a liquid-only hunger strike on and off before cutting off liquids last week. Shortly afterward, he was transferred to a local hospital, where he died. "I am putting my life in your hands," Kassem wrote to Trump in that September 2018 message. It is unclear if the President ever saw the letter, which was passed to him by Rep. Peter King, the New York Republican who represented Kassem's brother and sister-in-law. The White House declined to comment on the record about Kassem's death. Last week, a bipartisan group of lawmakers and activists on Wednesday gathered on Capitol Hill to urge the administration not to let Kassem's death be in vain. "He died in an Egyptian prison for no reason whatsoever," said Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat. "I'm a former prosecutor. I would call his death a homicide. It was as preventable as his imprisonment was unlawful." The US State Department confirmed his death on Monday, with top senior State Department official David Schenker saying, "his death in custody was needless, tragic and avoidable." Although Pompeo had raised concerns about Americans detained in Egypt, including Kassem, Trump has been less vocal about the Egyptian President's human rights abuses. The US President instead heaped praise on Sisi in April 2019, when he hosted the Egyptian leader at the White House. "I think he's doing a great job," Trump said, calling Sisi a "great person." This story was first published on CNN.com 'Pompeo expresses outrage over American's 'pointless' death in meeting with Egyptian President' BJP leaders on Mondayhailed J P Nadda for his "simplicity" and also his vast organisational experience to express confidence that the party will do well under him, as he appeared set to be the new national president of the party succeeding Amit Shah. Chief ministers and deputy chief ministers besides Union ministers, including Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari, from the BJP and top leaders from its state units filed nomination papers in support of Nadda's candidature. Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad spoke of Nadda's rise through the ranks and said he has always been an "inspiring" worker. He noted the Himachal Pradesh leader worked his way up as an "excellent" organisational leader, be it in ABVP or the youth wing of the BJP, and was also a successful health minister in the first Modi government. "He brings with him an enormous experience be it as a party leader or administrator," Prasad told PTI, expressing confidence that Nadda will consolidate the great successes the party achieved under Shah. Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said the party organisation has been in a strong and robust condition under Shah and Nadda will build on it to ensure more success for the BJP in future. Another Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar hailed Nadda for being accessible and also his simplicity. Former Chhattisgarh chief minister and BJP vice president Raman Singh also praised Nadda for his simplicity while expressing confidence that the "golden era" that the BJP had under Shah will continue. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Presbyterian Church has moved to distance itself from a gay Pride conference in Mid Ulster which one of its ministers is attending. Rev Cheryl Meban, a Presbyterian Chaplain at Ulster University, is due to speak at a conference organised by Mid Ulster Pride in Cookstown in April. She will be joined by Professor Laurence Kirkpatrick, who was dismissed from the church's Theological Training College in Belfast in 2018 after saying he would be "horrified" if a student at the college was taught that a same-sex marriage was sinful. Read More A spokesperson for the Presbyterian Church said: "As a church we continue to affirm that all people are loved, valued and cherished by God. To love someone in Christ does not mean you have to agree with their lifestyle, or point of view. "For example, PCIs (Presbyterian Church in Ireland) biblically faithful position that marriage is between one man and one woman, is well known. "With little knowledge of the event, the format, or topics that the speakers will be addressing, it would be difficult to comment further. Dr Kirkpatrick is no longer a minister in the Presbyterian Church in Ireland and no longer holds a professorial chair at Union Theological College. Expand Close The Mid Ulster Gay Pride launch in Cookstown. Credit: Mid Ulster Pride / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The Mid Ulster Gay Pride launch in Cookstown. Credit: Mid Ulster Pride "We would assume that Rev Cheryl Meban, who is one of our ministers, will be speaking in a personal capacity." Rev Meban, speaking to the Belfast Telegraph last week, explained why she was attending the event. "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," she said. "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." 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. (JNS)A horrific attack on the Jewish community in Monsey, N. Y., took place on Saturday, the seventh night of Chanukah, when a machete-wielding assailant entered and began wildly stabbing at worshippers during a crowded holiday celebration in a rabbis home. Its the most recent in a series of attacks on Jews in and around New York City over the past several months. Last week alone, during the festival of Hanukkah, New York Citys Jews were reportedly attacked in hate crimes taking place almost every day. No one seems to know why this is happening, and in a city of more than 8 million, its important to remember the vast majority of people across all communities have absolutely nothing to do with it. But its also vital to recognize that its clearly become a trend. Its also clear that the citys response has been weak. Reportedly, most of the suspects have been released back into the communities they allegedly terrorized. In one instance, a woman who was charged with punching and screaming at three Orthodox Jewish women, and who told cops, Yes, I slapped them. I cursed them out. I said, F*** U, Jews! has already been released on no bail, despite this admission and despite her record for felony criminal mischief, a charge for which she already failed to show up for court appearances. The release without bail of these alleged attackers is tied to new bail reform legislation set to go into effect on Jan. 1 requir[ing] arraignment judges to free suspects in any nonsexual assault that doesnt cause physical injury, even in cases of hate attacks, according to the New York Post. This is unacceptable. On top of problems with this new legislation, adroitly unpacked by Karol Markowicz in the Post, it seems a questionable interpretation of the language of this law to categorize aggressive physical assaults such as slaps as causing no physical injury. In the unfortunate event that any other groupMuslims, for instancewere being targeted for physical attack in the city, with more than a dozen assaults of mounting severity over the course of a month culminating in a mass machete attack at a religious event, I believe that we would see thousands of New Yorkers take to the streets to stand in solidarity with that community. How much more would that be the case if the courts appeared to be soft on the alleged perpetrators? To be sure, our Jewish community would be at the forefront of any such demonstrations. No doubt the Orthodox are being targeted by anti-Semites because they are easy to identify and perceived as an easy target (this despite the fact that some of the victims in the Monsey attack reportedly fought back). Remember: An attack on our most visible members is an attack on us all. Next time, any of us could be in the crosshairs. The Jewish community needs to stand as one. And we must do more, now, to show solidarity with our Orthodox brethren, and to say loud and clear that this is unacceptable. If, God forbid, this trend continues, perhaps the Jewish community of New York City should seriously consider taking to the streets in peaceful protest and asking good New Yorkers of all religions and races to stand in solidarity with us in demanding action from city and state leadership. Jewish lives matter, too. Not to mention, any community could be targeted next in a city thats soft on hate. Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced that hes beefing up police presence at Jewish institutions. Thats a good start. But if hes serious, he should start reflecting on how indeed young New Yorkers have somehow gotten the idea that bias is acceptable and reconsider some of his political alliances, including with Rev. Al Sharpton, whom de Blasio recently (and obscenely) described as pushing for justice in the teachings of Dr. King. In reality, Sharpton, who has lately tried to clean up his image, built his career on inciting racial violence, including during the bad old days of the 1991 Crown Heights riots in Brooklyn, and has never apologized for it. De Blasio should also reconsider the Democratic Partys flawed and specious addiction to identity politics, which pits groups against each other and, in its obsession with difference and power dynamics rather than with universal ethics and spiritual transcendence, is in no way consistent with Dr. Kings vision. This brutal attack and those that preceded it are a reminder that prejudice, racism and anti-Semitic hate have no one face, no one race, no one religion and no one political ideology. Anyone can be either a victim or perpetrator. While socioeconomic disparities and injustices are realand some groups have suffered unique hardshipsnone of that gives anyone the right to abuse another person or group because they are different or perceived to be privileged, as some imagine Jews to be. And being part of a historically disadvantaged group shouldnt provide immunity from the law. Those quick to point to a climate of hate when it concerns the utterances of U.S. President Donald Trump, and who also embrace identity politics, should consider how they may unwittingly be contributing to this climate by dividing and apportioning values based on ethnic and racial identity without recognizing the deeper truths that we are all human, that no one has a monopoly on prejudice, and that we are all equal under the law. Are kids learning this at home and in school? They should be. Its long past time to teach the simple truth that anyone, of any religion or race, is capable of dehumanizing others, which is the essence of racism. And anyone can be better than that. Perhaps thats the first thing that Mayor de Blasio should insist be taught in Brooklyns public schools as part of a new curriculum he has promised if hes serious about countering hate and the terrible ignorance weve seen spewing onto the streets of New York City in recent weeks. Lesson One could be: There is only one race, the human race. Heather Robinson is a contributor to The New York Post and blogs at: Heatherrobinson.net. Twitter: @HE_Robinson. (Newser) When Japanese aircraft attacked Pearl Harbor on the morning of Dec. 7, 1941, Doris "Dorie" Miller was a mess hall attendant who had been busy collecting laundry aboard the USS West Virginia. In the 90 minutes that followed, he later said, he "forgot all about" the fact that black sailors "can be only messmen in the Navy and are not taught how to man an antiaircraft gun." The 22-year-old from Waco, Texas, helped carry injured servicemen, including Capt. Mervyn S. Bennion, to safety before operating an antiaircraft gun "until he ran out of ammunition and was ordered to abandon ship," says the Navy, which is now naming an aircraft carrier after him. In 1942, Miller was recognized for his bravery and became the first African American to be awarded the Navy Cross, the New York Times reports. story continues below "I just pulled the trigger and she worked fine," Miller said afterward, adding that he thought he got one of the enemy planes that were "diving pretty close to us." Miller, who helped pull sailors from the burning water, was one of the last three men to leave the stricken ship, the Navy Times reports. In 1943after a promotion to cook, third classhe was killed in action in the Battle of Makin when the Liscombe Bay escort carrier was torpedoed. By naming the aircraft carrier for Miller, says Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas B. Modly, "we honor the contributions of all our enlisted ranks, past and present, men and women, of every race, religion, and background. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. observed, 'Everybody can be greatbecause anybody can serve.'" (Read more Navy stories.) MARLBOROUGH, Mass., Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- APITechTM (API Technologies Corp.), a leading provider of high-performance RF and microwave signal conditioning, and electromagnetic spectrum management solutions, announced the appointment of three senior leaders. APITech is pleased to welcome Michael Ryan as Vice President and General Manager (VP/GM) of the RF microwave and microelectronics business unit (RF2M US). Mike will lead all operations, product line management, and program management for the Business Unit. He will also be a member of the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) and report directly to CEO, Terrence Hahn. Terrence said, "Mike's leadership mindset and experience fits well to the APITech culture. His customer focus will enable RF2M US to continue to be a leading RF spectrum innovator as he drives to meet our customers' needs while continuing to align the team for on-time and on-specification delivery to customers." Prior to joining APITech, Mike was a Senior Executive with TMD Technologies. Prior to TMD, he was the President of Teledyne Technologies' Microwave Solutions Group. Mike has over 35 years of experience in the Aerospace & Defense Industry and has served as Vice President & General Manager of Aerodyne Controls and was the concurrent business leader of W. L. Gore & Associates' Space Flight Products division, MRI Devices division and Microwave Fabrics division. In addition to degrees in mathematics and history, Michael received his BS in electrical engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and has an MBA from the University of Delaware. John Tyhacz has recently been appointed to the position of Chief Technology Officer for APITech. John will be a member of the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) reporting directly to the CEO. In this role, John will engage with customers to understand their critical needs and direct APITech's technology and capabilities roadmaps. John will also lead the engineering organization to develop robust solutions for our customers' critical applications. Hahn stated, "John is a proven innovator of highly engineered technical solutions across multiple industries and will bring expertise from design to delivery for APITech's valued customers". John has recently supported many organizations in achieving their growth objectives through deep customer understanding as part of his consulting business, J D Tyhacz Consulting LLC. Prior to that, John served for over 16 years at Honeywell International Inc. Automation & Controls Division serving as Vice President in multiple positions as General Manager North American Residential Controls, Eastern USA Sales, Global Supply Chain, Advanced Manufacturing Engineering, and Business Process Improvement. John holds a BS in Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and an MS in Business from New York University (NYU). APITech is also pleased to announce that Scott Wolf joins APITech, reporting to Mike Ryan to lead the Integrated Microwave Assembly (IMA) and Power product lines as Product Line Director. Scott was most recently the General Manager for New York Operations for Advanced Acoustic Concepts (AAC), where he was responsible for a business portfolio of software programs for training Naval Aviators in Anti-Submarine Warfare tactics. Before AAC, Scott was the Vice President of Program Management for the Cobham Integrated Electronics Solutions Business Unit. He also held business leadership roles with Cobham including Vice President and Site Lead for the Lansdale, PA business. Scott holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering and MS in Engineering Management from Drexel University. About APITech APITechTM (API Technologies Corp.) is an innovative designer and manufacturer of high performance systems, subsystems, modules, and components for technically demanding RF, microwave, millimeterwave, electromagnetic, power, and security applications. A high-reliability technology pioneer with over 70 years of heritage, APITechs' products are used by global defense, industrial, and commercial customers in the areas of commercial aerospace, wireless communications, medical, oil and gas, electronic warfare, unmanned systems, C4ISR, missile defense, harsh environments, satellites, and space. Learn more about APITech and our products visit www.apitech.com. Contact: Dana Morris APITech +1 774-245-9449 [email protected] SOURCE APITech Related Links https://www.apitech.com Anti-government protesters take cover while security forces use tear gas during clashes in central Baghdad, - AP Two Iraqi police officers were killed and dozens of protesters were wounded in Baghdad and other cities on Monday in clashes with security forces, medical and security sources said, as anti-government unrest resumed after a lull of several weeks. In Baghdad's Tayaran Square overnight, protesters threw petrol bombs and stones at police who responded with tear gas and stun grenades, Reuters witnesses said. Elsewhere in southern Iraq, hundreds of protesters burned tyres and blocked main roads in several cities, including Nassiriya, Kerbala and Amara. They say Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi has not fulfilled promises including naming a new government acceptable to Iraqis. "They (security forces) should stop shooting and aiming, who are they and who are we? Both sides are Iraqis. So why are you killing your brothers?" said one woman protester in Baghdad who declined to give her name. In the Iraqi oil city of Basra, two policemen were struck and killed by a civilian car during the protest, security sources said. The driver was trying to avoid the scene of clashes between protesters and security forces when he drove into the two officers, they said. A policeman is seen at West Qurna-1 oilfield, which is operated by ExxonMobil, in Basra Credit: REUTERS/Essam al-Sudani/File Photo Baghdad police said its forces had reopened all roads that were closed by "violent gatherings". It said 14 officers were wounded near Tahrir square, including with head wounds and broken bones. Traffic was disrupted on a highway linking Baghdad to southern cities, a Reuters witness said. Production in southern oilfields was unaffected by the unrest, oil officials said. Mass protests have gripped Iraq since Oct. 1, with mostly young protesters demanding an overhaul of a political system they see as profoundly corrupt and as keeping most Iraqis in poverty. More than 450 people have been killed. Numbers had dwindled but protests resumed last week as demonstrators sought to keep up momentum after attention turned to the threat of a U.S.-Iran conflict following Washington's killing of Tehran's top general in an air strike inside Iraq. The killing of Qassem Soleimani, to which Tehran responded with a ballistic missile attack on two Iraqi military bases housing U.S. troops, has highlighted the influence of some foreign powers in Iraq, especially Iran and the United States. Amanda Rasmussen, the chief operating officer of ITL and chairwoman of Amcham Ho Chi Minh City What challenges did ITL have to overcome under the effects of the world economic downturn in 2019? Many sectors and companies faced challenges resulting from real or perceived potential world economic downturn in 2019. What we saw in the logistics industry that is specific to this market was cooling off of transportation volumes in terms of volume growth compared to the last 2-3 years. Equally, we saw a more balanced equilibrium in terms of supply and demand in logistics, resulting in a further downturn in the overall rate levels and costs to shippers and importers globally. Domestically, Vietnam enjoyed greater than average GDP growth globally, closing 2019 with an estimated 7.02 per cent growth. Ultimately, these challenges resulted in price pressure and greater competition in terms of market share. What did ITL do to overcome the headwinds and affirm its position in the local and regional industry? ITL will be focusing on core businesses and customers to protect our existing market share while ensuring that we continue to deliver best-in-class levels and achieve our expected growth levels. Disruption and uncertainty are a key part of the challenges we face in the industry today, locally and regionally, and to overcome these challenges, we must remain focused and committed to our strategy. For ITL, we saw the launch of new domestically-focused business units such as our new distribution business in 2018 and warehousing business in 2019. This enabled us to continue to benefit from our international play but also ensure we were in the right position to leverage on domestic growth. Equally, we have positioned ourselves to be a leader in international e-commerce cross-border logistics which is a major game-changer and growth area in the industry. Amanda believes that the industry in Vietnam will remain steady in 2020 What achievements helped ITL make it into Top 10 most reputable companies in the transportation and logistics industry in 2019? I believe the areas mentioned earlier such as the launch of new business units to diversify our product base and better ensure our strategic position in the industry as well as focus on key areas to strengthen our business, such as our technology platform, customer-centric business model, health & safety initiatives and our employee well-being and CSR activities. In 2019, we launched our partner facility with Saigon Newport (SNP) in Binh Duong, which is not only the largest multi-user in the area at 51,000 square metres but also considered to be state-of-the-art in comparison to other existing facilities in Southern Vietnam. We are heavily expanding across Vietnam in this area, including complementary products and services. We continue to invest in not only our capabilities and assets but our people as well. We consider ITL a family and with a special DNA that sets us apart from the competition. Our vision is to be the National Champion in the logistics industry in Vietnam as local hero also possessing the ability to compete internationally. This platform of technology, people, and a customer-centric mindset are central to this strategy. ITL will continue working towards its vision of becoming a National Champion, said Amanda How do you think the Vietnam and global logistics industry will be in 2020, as well as in the next five and ten years? I believe that the industry in Vietnam will remain steady in 2020 and is expected to be one of ASEANs top performers in 2020 resulting from positive developments and gains in industrial production, domestic consumption, and exports. The domestic economy continues to be a buffer against the potential slowing of the global economy or more localized offsets resulting from U.S-China trade tensions and potential to impact Vietnam due it its growing trade surplus. That said, the country is still expected to grow at a healthy 6.6 per cent in 2020 and 6.5 per cent in 2021. Globally, I believe we will continue to see a balanced supply and demand in 2020. However, with the potential impact of disruptors and global e-commerce trade, we may see this change in the coming 12-24 months and beyond. Of course, Vietnam is vulnerable to the impacts of changes in the global economy and trade tensions. Looking ahead, growth should remain well above the ASEAN average due to fast-developing domestic demand, ongoing FDI, the manufacturing sector as well as even the growing tourism sector. What is ITLs vision and strategy in the near future to catch these trends and overcome the upcoming challenges? Our core focus is to provide the most integrated and innovative transportation, aviation and e-commerce logistics services with mutual respect and extreme goodwill to those we serve. Moreover, ITL will keep expanding co-operation with the strategic partners SNP and Maple Tree to keep up with the trend of developing and serve customers and partners better. In 2020, we will also celebrate 20 years of establishment and development, ITL will have more breakthrough developments. It is said that ITL will invest an additional $70 million in 2020. What will you use this for? The investment will be to further strengthen our position as a leading player in Vietnam and Indochina through further mergers and acquisitions activity and asset development. I believe the market will hear and see more of ITL in the near future as we expand our footprint and capacities. Vietnam is expected to become the air transport hub of the region soon. Which role will ITL play in this important trend, and how will ITL contribute to domestic and regional air logistics? ITL will play a central in this area by leading the development of this new offering for Vietnam, together with the industry leaders, customers, partners, local agencies and our own asset development. We will focus on this development not only in the air, but also in sea transport as well. This has a significant opportunity for the domestic and regional market by not only creating new revenue for Vietnam but equally allowing this volume to move closer to such an important centre of gravity as an exporting and even importing market. ITL is aiming to become the National Champion the leading logistics company of Vietnam and the region - as well as a $500 million company in the next two years. Based on your current potential and position, why not set a higher goal? The goal of ITL as a $500 million company in the next two years is already ahead of schedule for this period due to our results over the last several years. This is our short-term goal. We believe a higher goal is achievable and the market remains very exciting and buoyant in the long term in Vietnam. We look forward to sharing these plans and the results with the market, our customers and our partners soon. Korea has lowered its travel advisory for Hong Kong as tensions in the city have shown signs of easing following months of often violent pro-democracy protests. The Foreign Ministry here on Friday downgraded the advisory level to the one that advises travelers to exercise caution when they are in the city. In November, the ministry advised Koreans planning to travel to Hong Kong to reconsider their trips and urged those staying there to pay extra attention to their personal safety. The ministry said it would continue to monitor the security situation there. A Lake Worth man walked into a neighbors home via the front door and stabbed the senior citizen resident with kitchen knives, Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office says. Past arrest records put Sergio Quinteros home in the same 7700 block of Rockport Circle as the neighbor. For now, the 61-year-old Quintero stays at the Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office Department of Corrections Main Detention Center on charges of attempted murder, aggravated battery on a person 65 years or older and resisting an officer without violence. PBCSO didnt give Quinteros motivation for walking through an unlocked front door and arguing with his neighbor. It did say Quintero grabbed various kitchen knives and began stabbing. His victim dialed 911, PBCSO said, but Quintero got hold of the phone, told the 911 caller all was well and no attention was necessary. Minutes later, deputies arrived, discovering Quintero was attempting to discard evidence items out the back door, PBCSO said. Quintero attempted to run back into the house, where deputies took him into custody. Inside the house, they also found the stabbed and slashed victim, who was in serious but stable condition as of Sunday evening. Quintero wasnt granted bond on the attempted murder charge. Whats already his second 2020 visit to the Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office jail has lasted longer than his first. Sergio Quintero after his Jan. 10 arrest by Florida Highway Patrol A week earlier, Jan. 10, Florida Highway Patrol troopers say during a traffic stop, Quintero shifted into reverse instead of park and backed that Nissan up into an FHP cruiser. The driver then got out and sat in the rear passenger seat, the arrest report says. Troopers smelled alcohol and found a bottle of Johnny Walker Red Label riding in the passenger seat. Quintero had a Florida Identification card, but not a drivers license. He blew a 0.249 and a 0.255 blood alcohol level, each one just over three times the legal limit. He was booked on charges of DUI and driving on a suspended license-habitual offender. Palm Beach County Court records say 15 times Quintero has been ticketed or arrested for traffic violations in the last 10 years. Saif Ali Khan's controversial statement claiming that 'there was no concept of India until the British came' has got everyone's attention on the Internet. Many schooled the actor and gave out historic facts to prove that his statement wasn't right. Journalist-Author Tarek Fatah also took to his Twitter handle to oppose and mocked Saif Ali Khan, 'a self-confessed history buff'. Saif Ali Khan royally schooled for 'no concept of India until the British came' absurdity Saif had said, "But when people say this is history, I dont think this is history. I am quite aware of what the history was. I dont think there was a concept of India till perhaps the British gave it one. I dont think there is really any constructive point in arguing about loudly, provided you yourself know why youre doing it." Here's Tarek Fatah's tweet Fatah has taken a sarcastic line on Saif Ali Khan's statement, raising how the herald of colonial imperialism was the East India Company, with India in its name itself. He also goes on to cite that Vasco D'Gama had sailed east searching for India. Bollywood history buff #SaifAliKhan claims there was no concept of India until the British came. Yeah right. French East India Company was about China & Vasco DGama went to Fiji. Last time he invoked he invoked history he named his son Timur pic.twitter.com/pyZXERUQy0 Tarek Fatah (@TarekFatah) January 19, 2020 Touche! Aarti Tikoo Singh (@AartiTikoo) January 19, 2020 Saif triggers debate Saif Ali Khan's statements have triggered an almighty debate online, with netizens highlighting various technicalities while agreeing that India - as a concept or otherwise - has a long and rich history. You present poor logic while trolling him. He is right there was no India. There is no coherent India. It was bits and pieces of different nations and then a term of convenience used by British commonwealth, a misnomer nonetheless Kashmir Deserves Freedom (@Basheer62967081) January 20, 2020 Tbh! Both of you are partially correct, Europeans used to call the region India, arabs used to the call the people living east of Indus River call hindus, but the people living here never saw themselves as a country until the late 19th century. Pavan (@indianfromhyd) January 19, 2020 This conceptualisation of a "nation" only happened around independence. India as a geopolitical entity with boundaries and states only came into being after the independence and the partition. A (@sklubaskaswenn) January 19, 2020 Before that there were independent kingdoms that existed under the British empire. How is that unclear is beyond me? This constitution was adopted by accessing all these independent kingdoms into a nation state. And it's consistent history was only conceptualised around/post 1947 A (@sklubaskaswenn) January 19, 2020 Saif Ali Khan comes clean on politics of 'Tanhaji',feels the film was 'a dangerous idea' ALSO READ | Saif Ali Khan reveals these THREE things about his role in 'Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior' Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Monday sought to dispel misgivings about the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the National Population Register but underscored that the Constitution guaranteed right to freedom of expression which ought to be respected while dealing with protests. Paswan also claimed that it was at his instance that the Union Home Ministry agreed to amend the NPR forms wherein columns like those pertaining to places of birth of parents had triggered fears that the exercise might be a precursor to the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Even I do not know my date of birth. Do I cease to become a citizen on that account? I had told the Home Ministry that these things will cause confusion. Now the ministry has amended the forms, he told reporters here. ALSO WATCH | Cant do terror politics; have suggested modifications in CAA: Chandra Bose Notably, the Union Home Ministry had recently stated that people could skip the aforementioned columns after a request to the effect was made by many states, not ruled by the BJP, that these be dropped. The Union Minister, who holds Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution System portfolio, however sought to allay fears that people not possessing required documents could lose their citizenship and Muslims whom the CAA allegedly discriminates against would suffer the most. No government can dare to snatch away any persons citizenship. It will lead to an upheaval. Any regime which seeks to do so will be torn apart by the media. This is simply not possible, he said. However, he added we owe our rise in politics to the 1974 students movement. Now, students, the youth have their own sentiments. We cannot do much about that. But it is true that the police often goes overboard in enforcing rule of law, said Paswan, who is the founder of Lok Janshakti Party an NDA constituent. I do not hold an uncharitable view of the protests in Jamia Milia Islamia or JNU. People associated with these do keep meeting me over issues. We have cut our political teeth with freedom of speech and restraint in action as a cardinal principle. All these protesters including the women of Shaheen Bagh they all enjoy the right to freedom of expression, Paswan added. Notably, the BJP the mightiest constituent of the NDA - has adopted a belligerent stance against the country-wide protests with top leaders like Union Home Minister Amit Shah dubbing these as a conspiracy hatched by those aiming at disintegration of the country. The LJP founder, however, sought to defend the CAA, which seeks to fast-track grant of citizenship to non-Muslim refugees, who might have landed on the Indian soil by the year 2014, from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Unlike India, which is not a Hindu state, the three countries are Islamic republics. The Act aims at granting citizenship to refugees, as distinct from infiltrators, who may have fled because of religious persecution, he said. Asked about the rationale behind leaving out Muslims, Paswan said it is not that doors of Indian citizenship have been slammed shut on Muslims from any country. But when the Amendment sought to help minorities in three Islamic countries, Muslims could not have been brought under its ambit. The LJP leader who was previously with the UPA sought to know why did the Congress not raise objections while in power if it really has so much of a problem with NPR? Why did it preside over a similar exercise in 2010? And the CAA has come into force after being passed by both Houses of the Parliament, with us (NDA) not having a majority in the Rajya Sabha. In this backdrop, the noise by the opposition parties leaves me bewildered? he asked. Until recently, Hoan Ton-Thats greatest hit was an app that let people put Donald Trumps distinctive yellow hair on their own photos. Then Ton-That did something momentous: He invented a tool that could end your ability to walk down the street anonymously and provided it to hundreds of law enforcement agencies. His tiny company, Clearview AI, devised a groundbreaking facial recognition app. You take a picture of a person, upload it and get to see public photos of that person along with links to where those photos appeared. The system whose backbone is a database of more than 3 billion images that Clearview claims to have scraped from Facebook, YouTube, Venmo and millions of other websites goes far beyond anything ever constructed by the U.S. government or Silicon Valley giants. Federal and state law enforcement officers said that while they had only limited knowledge of how Clearview works and who is behind it, they had used its app to help solve shoplifting, identity theft, credit card fraud, murder and child sexual exploitation cases. Until now, technology that readily identifies everyone based on their faces has been taboo because of its radical erosion of privacy. But without public scrutiny, more than 600 law enforcement agencies have started using Clearview in the past year, according to the company, which declined to provide a list. The computer code underlying its app, analyzed by the New York Times, includes programming language to pair it with augmented reality glasses; users would potentially be able to identify every person they saw. Clearview has also licensed the app to at least a handful of companies for security purposes. The weaponization possibilities of this are endless, said Eric Goldman, co-director of the High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University. Imagine a rogue law enforcement officer who wants to stalk potential romantic partners, or a foreign government using this to dig up secrets about people to blackmail them or throw them in jail. Clearview has shrouded itself in secrecy, avoiding debate about its boundary-pushing technology. When I started researching the company in November, its web site was a bare page showing a nonexistent Manhattan address as its place of business. The companys one employee listed on LinkedIn, a sales manager named John Good, turned out to be Ton-That, using a fake name. For a month, people affiliated with the company would not return my emails or phone calls. While the company was dodging me, it was also monitoring me. At my request, a number of police officers had run my photo through the Clearview app. They soon received phone calls from company representatives asking if they were talking to the media a sign that Clearview has the ability and, in this case, the appetite to monitor whom law enforcement is searching for. Facial recognition technology has always been controversial. Clearviews app carries extra risks because law enforcement agencies are uploading sensitive photos to the servers of a company whose ability to protect its data is untested. The company eventually started answering my questions, saying that its earlier silence was typical of an early-stage startup in stealth mode. Ton-That acknowledged designing a prototype for use with augmented reality glasses but said the company had no plans to release it. And he said my photo had rung alarm bells because the app flags possible anomalous search behavior in order to prevent users from conducting what it deemed inappropriate searches. In addition to Ton-That, Clearview was founded by Richard Schwartz who was an aide to Rudy Giuliani when he was mayor of New York and backed financially by Peter Thiel, a venture capitalist behind Facebook and Palantir. Another early investor is a small firm called Kirenaga Partners. Its founder, David Scalzo, dismissed concerns about Clearview making the internet searchable by face, saying its a valuable crime-solving tool. Ive come to the conclusion that because information constantly increases, theres never going to be privacy, Scalzo said. Laws have to determine whats legal, but you cant ban technology. Ton-That, 31, grew up a long way from Silicon Valley, in his native Australia. In 2007, he dropped out of college and moved to San Francisco. The iPhone had just arrived, and his goal was to get in early on what he expected would be a vibrant market for social media apps. In 2015, he spun up Trump Hair, which added Trumps distinctive coif to people in a photo, and a photo-sharing program. Both fizzled. Ton-That moved to New York in 2016. He started reading academic papers on artificial intelligence, image recognition and machine learning. Schwartz and Ton-That met in 2016 at a book event at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank. Schwartz, now 61, had amassed an impressive Rolodex working for Giuliani in the 1990s. The two soon decided to go into the facial recognition business together: Ton-That would build the app, and Schwartz would use his contacts to drum up commercial interest. Police departments have had access to facial recognition tools for almost 20 years, but they have historically been limited to searching government-provided images, such as mug shots and drivers license photos. Ton-That wanted to go way beyond that. He began in 2016 by recruiting a couple of engineers. One helped design a program that can automatically collect images of peoples faces from across the internet, such as employment sites and social networks. Representatives of those companies said their policies prohibit such scraping. Another engineer was hired to perfect a facial recognition algorithm that was derived from academic papers. The result: a system that uses what Ton-That described as a state-of-the-art neural net to convert all the images into mathematical formulas, or vectors, based on facial geometry like how far apart a persons eyes are. Clearview created a vast directory that clustered all the photos with similar vectors into neighborhoods. When a user uploads a photo of a face into Clearviews system, it converts the face into a vector and then shows all the scraped photos stored in that vectors neighborhood along with the links to the sites from which those images came. Clearview remains tiny, having raised $7 million from investors, according to Pitchbook, a website that tracks investments in startups. The company declined to confirm the amount. In February, the Indiana State Police started experimenting with Clearview. They solved a case within 20 minutes of using the app. Two men had gotten into a fight in a park, and it ended when one shot the other in the stomach. A bystander recorded the crime on a phone, so police had a still of the gunmans face to run through Clearviews app. They immediately got a match: The man appeared in a video that someone had posted on social media, and his name was included in a caption on the video. He did not have a drivers license and hadnt been arrested as an adult, so he wasnt in government databases, said Chuck Cohen, an Indiana State Police captain at the time. The man was arrested and charged; Cohen said he probably wouldnt have been identified without the ability to search social media for his face. The Indiana State Police became Clearviews first paying customer, according to the company. (Police declined to comment beyond saying that they tested Clearviews app.) The companys most effective sales technique was offering 30-day free trials to officers. Ton-That finally had his viral hit. In Gainesville, Fla., Detective Sgt. Nick Ferrara heard about Clearview last summer when it advertised on CrimeDex, a group email list for investigators who specialize in financial crimes. He said he had previously relied solely on a state-provided facial recognition tool, Faces, which draws from more than 30 million Florida mug shots and Department of Motor Vehicle photos. Ferrara found Clearviews app superior, he said. Its nationwide database of images is much larger, and unlike Faces, Clearviews algorithm doesnt require photos of people looking straight at the camera. With Clearview, you can use photos that arent perfect, Ferrara said. A person can be wearing a hat or glasses, or it can be a profile shot or partial view of their face. He uploaded his own photo to the system, and it brought up his Venmo page. He ran photos from old, dead-end cases and identified more than 30 suspects. In September, the Gainesville Police Department paid $10,000 for an annual Clearview license. Federal law enforcement, including the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, are trying it, as are Canadian law enforcement authorities, according to the company and government officials. Ton-That said the tool does not always work. Most of the photos in Clearviews database are taken at eye level. Much of the material that police upload is from surveillance cameras mounted on ceilings or high on walls. Despite that, the company said, its tool finds matches up to 75% of the time. One reason that Clearview is catching on is that its service is unique. Thats because Facebook and other social media sites prohibit people from scraping users images; Clearview is violating the sites terms of service. Some law enforcement officials said they didnt realize the photos they uploaded were being sent to and stored on Clearviews servers. Clearview tries to preempt concerns with an FAQ document given to would-be clients that says its customer support employees wont look at the photos that police upload. Clearview also hired Paul Clement, a U.S. solicitor general under President George W. Bush, to assuage concerns about the apps legality. In an August memo that Clearview provided to potential customers, including the Atlanta Police Department and the Pinellas County Sheriffs Office in Florida, Clement said law enforcement agencies do not violate the federal Constitution or relevant existing state biometric and privacy laws when using Clearview for its intended purpose. Clement, now a partner at Kirkland & Ellis, wrote that authorities dont have to tell defendants that they were identified via Clearview as long as it isnt the sole basis for getting a warrant to arrest them. Clement did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The memo appeared to be effective; the Atlanta police and Pinellas County Sheriffs Office soon started using Clearview. Woodrow Hartzog, a professor of law and computer science at Northeastern University in Boston, sees Clearview as the latest proof that facial recognition should be banned in the United States. Weve relied on industry efforts to self-police and not embrace such a risky technology, but now those dams are breaking because there is so much money on the table, Hartzog said. I dont see a future where we harness the benefits of face recognition technology without the crippling abuse of the surveillance that comes with it. The only way to stop it is to ban it. Kashmir Hill is a New York Times writer. Nova star Michael 'Wippa' Wipfli has confessed to getting into a bingle with one of the radio station's vans during the Christmas break. During his Fitzy & Wippa show on Monday, the 40-year-old star revealed the comedy of errors which led to the accident. 'It was the first time we had all the family at our place,' Wippa said, adding he had 10 people staying at his Sydney home over Christmas. Oops: Nova star Michael 'Wippa' Wipfli , 40, confessed to smashing one of the company's vans over Christmas on his Fitzy and Wippa radio show on Monday. Pictured: Ryan Fitzgerald, 43 (R) 'I knew that Nova had some trestle tables,' he said, so he got in contact with a station employee named Jess who said he could use them. 'She said: "Ok, good news. if you want to come and get the van, you can take the tables, drop them off, bring the van back".' Wippa went on to confirm he had tradesmen working at his house, furiously trying to finish a number of jobs. 'It was the first time we had all the family at our place,' Wippa said, adding he had 10 people staying at his Sydney home over Christmas. Here: with family and friends at his home While reversing out of his driveway, he struck one of the tradesman's trucks, causing $1000 of damage. 'I took his rear vision mirror off the side of the car and crashed into the front of it. Smashed his rear lights,' he said, detailing the damage. After then driving the van back to the Nova offices, Wippa said he got a surprise when he sheepishly told Jess of the accident. 'I took his rear vision mirror off the side of the car and crashed into the front of it. Smashed his rear lights,' Wippa said of the workman's car, detailing the damage. Here: his own car Family: Nova's Michael (L) and wife Lisa (R) have been married for six years, with the couple sharing two sons: Theodore, four, and Jack, three '[Jess said] "You know what, it's Christmas. Don't worry about a thing".' At the end of the segment, Jess came on the line and confirmed that the damage was indeed $1,000, which came out of the station's pocket. It was a big Christmas for Michael and his wife Lisa. The couple, who have been married for six years, recently purchased a sprawling three level mansion in Sydney's ritzy Rose Bay for $6.5million. They share two sons Theodore, four, and Jack, three, with another child on the way. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg would vote to convict President Donald Trump if he were a senator, he told Craig Melvin in an exclusive interview that aired on NBC's "TODAY Show" Monday. "I'd have to swallow two or three times, but I would say I would vote to convict because there's so much evidence that he acted inappropriately," said Bloomberg, who's running for the Democratic nomination. However, Bloomberg called the impeachment process "not good," and said that the country would be "much better off letting the voters decide who is president." Trump's impeachment trial in the Senate starts Tuesday afternoon and his defense team is expected to include Ken Starr, the prosecutor whose investigation two decades ago led to the impeachment of President Bill Clinton, along with former Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, to his defense team. Bloomberg and Trump both hail from New York and have long known each other. On Friday, the president criticized Bloomberg on Twitter, mocking his refusal to participate in the Democratic presidential debates. Bloomberg spoke with NBC News during a campaign stop in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he made a pitch to African American voters on Sunday, speaking about race-based economic inequality. He outlined a proposal aimed at increasing the number of black-owned homes and businesses, including a $70 billion investment in the nation's most disadvantaged neighborhoods. Bloomberg has been criticized for the stop-and-frisk policy he supported as mayor where New York City police officers made it a routine practice to stop and search multitudes of mostly black and Hispanic men to see if they were carrying weapons. He apologized for it in November, saying he got it wrong. "When we did it, it got out of control. When I noticed it, we did a little test of seeing what happens if you stopped it. Everyone said crime would go up. It didn't, so I said lets get rid of it," he said in the interview. "When I left office, 95 percent of it was gone, and I wished I had apologized earlier. Plain and simple," he added. The New York billionaire, who built his fortune through the financial information company he founded, only entered the race for the party's nomination in November a choice he made after looking at the other Democratic nominees. "I looked, and I didn't think any of them could beat Donald Trump. Some, in fact, would almost guarantee his re-election," he said of the other Democratic nominees, though he declined to name specific contenders. Spelling out why he feels Trump is so dangerous, Bloomberg said that his impetuous style was hazardous for the country. "It's his process and lack of inclusiveness and getting advice from people. I always joke there's no 'I' in the word team. The way Donald spells it, there's no T, E, A or M, and that's not the way to accomplish things," he said. Bloomberg's late entry into the nomination race meant that it was too late to build organizations in Iowa and New Hampshire and the other early states, he said. In the weeks since his entry, he has built a sizable campaign operation, with many hundreds of staffers in dozens of states. The first test of Bloomberg's electoral strength will be on Super Tuesday on March 3. If he loses the nomination, that army of staffers would go on to help the eventual nominee, he has said. Since entering the race in November, Bloomberg has hired more than 800 staffers, including 500 field organizers and staff in more than 30 states and another 300 staffers in his campaign's New York headquarters. He's already unleashed more than $100 million on advertising and is on track to have a dozen offices in Ohio, nine in Michigan and 17 in Florida, his campaign has said. The Associated Press contributed to this report The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Monday that it is holding an emergency meeting to debate whether the outbreak of a new coronavirus in China should be declared an international public health emergency. Earlier Monday, China confirmed that the newly-identified virus had been transmitted between humans, infected more than 200 people, including 14 health care workers, killed three and crossed international borders to sicken four people. Alarm was first raised by the discovery that the cause of the new illness was a virus related to SARS, which killed nearly 800 people in worldwide in 2003. Health officials in the US last week announced that the three major airports (JFK, San Francisco and LAX) that receive the most flights from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the outbreak, would begin screening all passengers arriving from the region. Now, as China gears up for the Lunar Year on Saturday, a time of increased travel and potentially for accelerated transmission of the virus, the WHO considers what, if any, guidance to issue to the international community. World Health Organization officials called an emergency meeting o Monday to discuss whether the coronavirus outbreak stemming from China comprises a global emergency (file) President Xi Jinping said curbing the outbreak and saving lives was a top priority as the number of patients more than tripled and a third person died. Adding to the difficulties of containing it, hundreds of millions of Chinese will be travelling domestically and abroad during the Lunar New Year holiday that starts this week. Authorities around the globe, including in the United States and many Asian countries, have stepped up screening of travelers from Wuhan, the central city where the virus was first discovered. 'Wuhan is a major hub and with travel being a huge part of the fast approaching Chinese New Year, the concern level must remain high. There is more to come from this outbreak,' said Jeremy Farrar, a specialist in infectious disease epidemics and director of the Wellcome Trust global health charity. Authorities confirmed a total of 217 new cases of the virus in China as of 6pm local time on Monday, state television reported, 198 of which were in Wuhan. 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 Five new cases were confirmed in Beijing and 14 more in Guangdong province, the report said. Another statement confirmed a new case in Shanghai, bringing the number of known cases worldwide to 222. 'People's lives and health should be given top priority and the spread of the outbreak should be resolutely curbed,' President Xi was quoted as saying by state television. The virus belongs to the same family of coronaviruses as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which killed nearly 800 people globally during a 2002/03 outbreak that also started in China. Its symptoms include fever and difficulty in breathing, which are similar to many other respiratory diseases and pose complications for screening efforts. Zhong Nanshan, a respiratory expert and head of the health commission team investigating the outbreak, confirmed that two cases of infection in Guangdong province were due to human-to-human transmission, Xinhua said. Some medical staff have been infected, it added, but gave no number. NEW CORONAVIRUS HAS TRAVELED BEYOND CHINA'S BORDERS South Korea on Monday confirmed its first case, a 35-year-old Chinese national who had traveled from Wuhan, the fourth patient reported outside China. Last week, two cases were reported in Thailand and one in Japan. All three involved people from Wuhan or who recently visited the city. A report by London Imperial College's MRC Center for Global Infectious Disease Analysis estimated that by January 12 there were 1,723 cases in Wuhan City with onset of related symptoms. Chinese health authorities have not commented directly on the report. 'This outbreak is extremely concerning. Uncertainty and gaps remain, but it is now clear that there is person to person transmission,' Farrar said. The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Monday 'an animal source' appeared most likely to be the primary source of the outbreak and that some 'limited human-to-human transmission' occurred between close contacts. The Geneva-based UN agency later convened an emergency committee for Wednesday to assess whether the outbreak constitutes an international health emergency and what measures should be taken to manage it. So far, the WHO has not recommended trade or travel restrictions, but a panel of independent experts could do so or make other recommendations to limit spread. China's state council reiterated the government will step up prevention efforts and find the source of infection and transmission channels as soon as possible, state television said on Monday. Shares in pharmaceutical firms and mask makers in China surged Monday because of the outbreak. 'Who knows how many people who have been to Wuhan may be unaware that they have already been infected?,' said one commentator on Chinese social media platform Weibo. The state-run Global Times newspaper said in an editorial the government needs to disclose all information and not repeat the mistakes made with SARS. Chinese officials covered up the SARS outbreak for weeks before a growing death toll and rumors forced it to reveal the epidemic. 'Concealment would be a serious blow to the government's credibility and might trigger greater social panic,' the editorial said. A restricted airspace and round-the-clock surveillance through radars, drones and fighter jets have made this Swiss ski resort town into a virtual fortress with all rich and powerful from across the world expected here to attend the WEF's 50th annual meeting. While the summit will discuss ways to ensure a "cohesive and sustainable world", the presence of top world leaders including US President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel means that the security has to be top-notch and the Swiss government, in coordination with the organisers, is not leaving any corner unattended by deploying up to 5,000 army men and scores of policemen and private security guards. Beginning last week itself, the Air Force of Switzerland has stepped up surveillance of the airspace through radars, ready-to-use fighter jets and ground-based air defence to ensure security in the airspace above Davos. As the rich and powerful from across the globe assemble this week in this Swiss ski resort town to discuss ways to ensure a 'cohesive and sustainable world', over 100 CEOs as also multiple union ministers and chief ministers from India would also be present alongside filmstar Deepika Padukone, talking about mental health and other issues, and Sadhguru holding morning meditation sessions. US President Donald Trump, Britain's Prince Charles, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Afghanistan's Ashraf Ghani and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan would be among the world leaders attending the five-day 50th annual meeting of WEF, beginning Monday. The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020, taking place on January 20-24, will focus on establishing stakeholder capitalism as a way of addressing the world's greatest challenges, from societal divisions created by income inequality and political polarization to the climate crisis we face today, the Geneva-based International organisation for public-private partnership has said. The forum's first meeting in 1971 was established to further the idea put forward by Professor Schwab that business should serve all stakeholders - customers, employees, communities, as well as shareholders. The event in Davos will be covered by some 500 journalists from across the world. According to the Swiss government, the WEF meeting is one of the most important economic and socio-political events in the world, as underlined by the Swiss Federal Council, the government of the Canton of Graubunden and Davos Communal Council. The government said hosting this forum for exchanging views and seeking solutions to world problems is in line with Switzerland's longstanding tradition of serving as a host country for international conferences and gatherings. The fact that leading representatives from the worlds of business, politics, science and culture gather in Davos offers Switzerland the possibility to cultivate relations with a great many influential figures in a special setting. A great many jobs in Davos depend on the economic benefits of conferences and other events, and the people of Davos have repeatedly expressed their support for hosting the WEF in a number of popular votes. The additional costs to the public authorities for security at the WEF Annual Meeting 2020 are estimated to amount to around CHF 9 million, which would be split between the funding partners, including one-fourth by the WEF and the rest by the local and national administrations. In the event of exceptional incidents such as terrorist attacks, assassination attempts, major threats or clear indications that such acts may be carried out, the federal government will meet 80 per cent of any additional costs, while the remaining 20 per cent will be met by the Canton of Graubunden and the WEF. The WEF pays CHF 2.25 million of the annual security costs incurred by the Annual Meeting. The deployment of the armed forces in support is funded through the government budget. In previous years, the deployment of the armed forces has cost around CHF 32 million per meeting. In the financial year from July 2017 to June 2018, the WEF reported a turnover of CHF 326 million and a surplus of CHF 1.7 million, which is paid into its capital. In 2017, the WEF annual meeting generated an estimated turnover of around CHF 94 million throughout Switzerland. About CHF 60 million of this benefited the commune of Davos. A number of agencies from the Swiss Confederation, the canton and the commune of Davos work together with the WEF. The Graubunden cantonal police and its partners ensure the security of visitors to the WEF Annual Meeting, the local population and guests. In light of terrorist attacks in Europe in recent years and the ongoing activities of jihadist groups and organisations, the terror threat in many European countries remains elevated or high. "Robust security precautions with a high, visible police presence, intensive reconnaissance and police checks are necessary in 2020 to ensure that the WEF Annual Meeting passes off safely," according to the Swiss government. All cantons in Switzerland participate in the inter-cantonal police operation to maintain security and protect people and property. The Federal Assembly has also authorised the deployment of up to 5,000 armed forces personnel in 20192021 for civil support duties to assist the Canton of Graubunden. For heads of state or government and serving government members, the Federal Security Service will order special protective measures if necessary. These, along with the general security plans, are carried out by the cantonal police and its partners. Besides, security restrictions have been imposed on the airspace over Davos to safeguard air sovereignty. Civilian aircraft may continue to fly through the restricted airspace on a limited basis provided they have been registered and identified. Authorisation is given by the air force. The Swiss authorities said they also consider the WEF meeting to be a place of open dialogue where critical debate on issues such as globalisation and the development of the world economy should be possible. Marijuana use is on the rise as more states legalize it for medicinal and recreational purposes, and physicians are fielding more questions about its safety. Although smoking tobacco is responsible for approximately one in four deaths from cardiovascular disease, the effects of smoking marijuana on the heart are not fully understood. Some studies suggest that marijuana can trigger heart attacks and strokes in some users. Ersilia DeFilippis, MD, a second-year cardiology fellow at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian, first became interested in marijuana's effect on the heart a few years ago when studying heart attacks in people under 50. "We noted that 10% of patients in a registry of young heart attack patients had used marijuana and/or cocaine," she says. DeFilippis and colleagues recently reviewed the medical literature to find out what's known about marijuana's effect on the heart and what's still unknown. Their full report was published Jan. 20 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Here are five highlights from the review: 2 Million People with Heart Disease Have Used Marijuana Marijuana is the most commonly used drug of abuse. It's estimated that approximately 90 million American adults have used the drug at least once in their life, and more than 39 million have used the drug in the past year. Based on responses to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2016, DeFilippis and her colleagues estimate that about 2 million adults in the United States who have cardiovascular disease currently use marijuana or have used the drug in the past. "In addition to the 2 million marijuana users with diagnosed cardiovascular disease, many more may be at risk," DeFilippis says. "With many adolescents and young adults turning to marijuana, it is important to understand the cardiovascular implications they may face years down the line." Cannabinoids Can Interact with Drugs Used to Treat Heart Disease Cannabinoids inhibit certain enzymes in the body, which affects the metabolism of many drugs for heart disease, including antiarrhythmics, statins, calcium-channel blockers, beta blockers, and warfarin. Researchers believe that cannabinoids may increase the activity of these prescribed drugs in the body, though limited data are available to guide physicians in adjusting dose to compensate for marijuana use. Marijuana's Potency Today Is Higher The potency of marijuana--the percentage of THC contained in the plant--has steadily increased over the past 30 years, from about 4% in the mid-1990s to 12% in 2014. However, most scientific studies of cannabis tested products with THC levels between 1.5% and 4%. "Higher potency may translate into greater effects on the conduction system, the vasculature, and the muscle of the heart," DeFilippis says. "It also highlights the need for real-world data given the variety of marijuana products and formulations available for purchase." THC is the most psychoactive chemical in marijuana, but marijuana also contains more than 100 compounds, called cannabinoids, that are chemically related to THC. Receptors for cannabinoids are highly concentrated in the nervous system but also can be found in blood cells, muscle cells, and other tissues and organs. Marijuana May Be Linked to Heart Attacks and Strokes Studies have identified marijuana smoking as a potential trigger of heart attacks, and marijuana use is not infrequently detected in adults who have experienced heart attacks at an early age (under 50). A small experimental study found that smoking marijuana can bring on angina (chest pain) more quickly in patients with coronary heart disease compared with smoking a placebo. Though current evidence for a link between marijuana and heart attacks is modest, it's thought that smoking marijuana may increase cellular stress and inflammation, which are known to be precipitating factors for coronary artery disease and heart attacks. Cerebrovascular events, including strokes, also have been associated with marijuana use. It's thought that marijuana may induce changes in the inner lining of blood vessels or alter blood flow. Physicians Should Screen for Marijuana Use "Although we need more data, the evidence we do have indicates that marijuana use has been associated with coronary artery disease, arrhythmia, cardiomyopathy, and more," DeFilippis says. "Therefore, asking patients about marijuana use may help in risk assessment. In addition, we know that marijuana use affects the metabolism of many common cardiac drugs. In order to make sure patients are getting therapeutic doses without untoward side effects, it is important for cardiologists to talk to their patients about marijuana use." ### About the Paper The paper is titled, "Marijuana Use in Patients With Cardiovascular Disease," and was published Jan. 20 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The other authors are: Navkaranbir S. Bajaj (University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama), Amitoj Singh (University of Arizona), and Rhynn Malloy, Michael M. Givertz, Ron Blankstein, Deepak L. Bhatt, and Muthiah Vaduganathan ((Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School). Ersilia DeFilippis reports no relationships relevant to the contents of this paper to disclose. (See paper for information on other authors). Columbia University Irving Medical Center provides international leadership in basic, preclinical, and clinical research; medical and health sciences education; and patient care. The medical center trains future leaders and includes the dedicated work of many physicians, scientists, public health professionals, dentists, and nurses at the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Mailman School of Public Health, the College of Dental Medicine, the School of Nursing, the biomedical departments of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and allied research centers and institutions. Columbia University Irving Medical Center is home to the largest medical research enterprise in New York City and State and one of the largest faculty medical practices in the Northeast. For more information, visit cuimc.columbia.edu or columbiadoctors.org. Our story about social media makes sobering reading. We reveal that more than 13,000 reports of alleged crimes linked to social media have been made to the police over a three-year period. A total of 13,477 crimes reported to the PSNI contained references either to Facebook or Twitter. The highest figure was in 2016, with a total of 4,814. This volume has dropped slightly with 4,557 in 2017 and 4,106 in 2018. Read More Social media has now become so ubiquitous that it is often difficult to know where the online world ends and where the real world begins. One serious consequence is that some people forget that the normal behaviour of civil society should apply equally to the online world, where some act in ways they would not do in real life. The language used online is often characterised by a coarseness that is less common in the real world. Threats of violence, even of death, and invitations to self-harm are bandied about on social media in ways that would be utterly unacceptable in real life. However, no matter how much people blame social media for all the ills of society, the genie is not going to be put back in the bottle any time soon. In fact, the internet and its offshoots are such a revolutionary development that it's difficult to remember a time before they existed. The benefits are equivalent to a Copernican revolution in the storage of information and its retrieval. In purely scientific terms, the closest comparison in the 20th century is most probably the splitting of the atom. Despite the bounteous riches of the internet and social media, there is always the possibility of misuse. DUP MP Carla Lockhart, who has been the victim of online trolling, suggests that people using social media accounts anonymously should be forced to submit an ID that could be traced if a complaint is made. Ms Lockhart accepts that this may be an imperfect solution, but at the very least it might make trollers think twice. While the internet and social media are based on the right to free information, that right must be tempered by the duty to use the technology responsibly, ethically and, above all, legally. Ms Lockhart's proposal has much to commend it, and we would look forward to its adoption into the statute book. 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. A study published by two researchers at the University of Luxembourg questions the react impact of Luxembourg's soon to be free public transport. When the decision to make Luxembourg's public transport free of charge was taken in 2018, the entire world applauded the pioneering project and praised the Grand Duchy for its readiness to take climate action and to battle carbon dioxide emissions. Academic journal article slams Luxembourg's free public transport initiative The report of two researchers, however, paints a very different picture. The daily users of Luxembourg's public transport system know all too well that the offer is far from perfect. They also questioned the political agenda behind this sudden "glory" of the Grand Duchy and even went as far as arguing that free transport will only make Luxembourg's traffic problem worse. Borders and cross-border workers The current mobility situation in Luxembourg is a tricky one. Almost 200,000 cross-border commuters flock into the country on a daily basis. The country needs this workforce to maintain its economic growth but, at the same time, transport-related problems are undeniable. The government aims to preserve Luxembourg's economic growth and make sure that the GDP increases by 2 to 4% per year. The imperfect transport system is under pressure to keep up with the increasing demand. Trains crossing the borders are often overcrowded at rush hour. Delays and cancellations are frequent, customer service not always helpful, and public investments in infrastructure cause even more traffic congestion. How Luxembourg's free public transport is being discussed in the international press The price of public transport was not high to begin with in Luxembourg. Making it free will therefore not really have a significant influence, the researchers argue. Free public transport will neither solve the real issues like exploding rent prices and related social inequalities, nor improve traffic flow. Back to cars The researchers also argued that people will still be forced to use cars as the current public transport system is failing. It is also misleading to talk of "free" public transport as it will be paid for with taxpayers' money. The researchers insinuate that the project is either another nation-branding campaign without a real impact on the actual lives of residents or simply a miscalculation that did not take Luxembourg's demographic complexity into account. Needless to say, their report concluded that Luxembourg needs to find real solutions and work on concrete improvements. Maximum pressure was supposed to induce the regime of Kim Jong Un to surrender its entire arsenal of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. Three years in, it is still building them and it has now publicly sworn off any further negotiations with the Trump administration. Whether Kim will order a return to the testing of long-range missiles or nuclear warheads in the next few months, thereby provoking an election-year crisis for Trump, remains uncertain. Whats certain is that North Korea will end Trumps first term with a dozen or so more nukes than it had when he took office. The technological infrastructure is based on "a unique technology, designed to fit the terrain characteristics of the northern border," a military spokesperson said in a statement. The equipment will be used for defense purposes in case additional cross-border tunnels will be construed by Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Lebanese armed group, according to the statement. The deployment is part of Israel's effort to fortify its border with Lebanon. Works to construct a concrete wall along the 130-km border with Lebanon begun in 2018, before Lebanon complained to the UN Security Council in 2019, saying part of the wall is being built on the Lebanese land. Israel carried out an operation dubbed Northern Shield about a year ago, in an attempt to expose and destroy six "attack" tunnels excavated by Hezbollah. Israel and Hezbollah fought a bloody war in 2006. 20.01.2020 LISTEN The UK and Ireland Chapter of the NDC has learned with a heavy heart the tragic accident that occurred at Komenda junction a few days ago resulting in 35 deaths and other passengers sustaining severe injuries. Our deepest sympathies go to the family and loved ones of all those involved in the accident. It was reported that many of the accident victims could have been saved if emergency medical services was promptly deployed to the scene of the accident. Photos of the injured and the dead being carried to the hospital on the back of pickups and other vehicles are in the public domain. We in the NDC UK and Ireland are appalled about the insensitivity and lack of respect for human life by the Akufo Addo government. It is unbelievable that the Akufo Addo government choses to park ambulances bought with the tax payers' money instead of releasing them to save lives in critical situations like the Komenda junction accident and many more that occur daily across our country. We wish to ask Akufo Addo to immediately accede to the request of the citizens who voted for him in 2016 but cannot afford to travel abroad to receive medical care or give birth like his appointees and release the ambulances now. Human life is precious and irreplaceable. No amount of politics with the ambulances by his government can bring back the dead. Ordinary Ghanaians continue to loose their mothers, fathers, uncles, aunties, sons, daughter among others because of the absence of emergency medical services (ambulances) parked and waiting for the tax payers money to be spent in a needless ceremony to commission them as part of an election campaign strategy. This is not only unacceptable but wicked. It is not surprising his minister for special initiatives told Ghanaians they were dying before the ambulances were brought into the country and should continue to die until government is ready to release the ambulances. We call on President Akufo Addo to release the ambulances now and stop hiding behind the National Ambulance Service to tell Ghanaians cock and bull stories. Mr Akufo Addo should be truthful and tell Ghanaians if the vans are not fully equipped ambulances as is being alleged. Is it the case that the Ambulances are awaiting the supplier to travel to Ghana to convert them into ambulances so that they can be fit for purpose? Enough blood has been shed on our roads already? Simon Aworigo. Communication Officer NDC UK and Ireland Chapter The Republican Main Street Partnership PAC which is supporting a group of 53 moderately conservative members of Congress will endorse Rep. Steve King's GOP opponent Randy Feenstra for Iowa's deeply conservative 4th district. Why it matters: The group, which advocates for a sizable, if shrinking part of the Republican caucus, is the first national GOP organization to publicly endorse and financially support King's primary challenger. The backdrop: King has come under fire from both his Republican and Democratic colleagues on the Hill for racist and xenophobic comments. Some congressional leaders, like House Republican committee chair Liz Cheney (R-Wy.), have called for his resignation. Last January, GOP leadership stripped King of his committee assignments after he asked in a New York Times interview how terms like "white nationalist" and "white supremacist" became offensive. In August, King drew condemnation again for defending a ban on abortion with no exceptions by arguing that most of the world's population wouldn't exist without rape or incest. The state of play: Feenstra, an Iowa state senator, is one of four Republican primary rivals trying to defeat King, who has held onto his seat more than 15 years. Feenstra raised more than $721,000 in 2019. He out-raised King in at least three quarters of 2019, according to the Sioux City Journal. King narrowly won his midterm race against Democrat J.D. Scholten in 2018, defeating him by just 3%. Scholten is running again this year. What they're saying: As a landowner in Iowas 4th District, its frustrating to know that nothing is getting done on our behalf in Congress. I know how this system works, says Doug Ose, RMSP PACs treasurer and a former congressman. The district deserves representation." Go deeper: Iowa newspapers urge Steve King to resign over racist remarks Puerto Ricos governor fired two officials after a warehouse filled with emergency Hurricane Maria supplies was discovered and they could not say if there are more. Governor Wanda Vazquez announced that Housing Secretary Fernando Gil and Department of Family Secretary Glorimar Andujar were formally terminated from their positions on Sunday following the fallout of the bombshell discovery. Gil and Andujars exits come one day after Vasquez fired Carlos Acevedo, director of the US territory's emergency management agency. The string of dismissals follows the release of a Facebook video showing furious people breaking into a warehouse stocked with water, toiletries and supplies meant for victims of the 2017 Hurricane Maria. Fernando Gil (left) and Glorimar Andujar (right) were fired from their positions by Governor Wanda Vazquez on Sunday after officials could not provide information about other collections in distribution centers Vasquez said: There have been actions by government officials that have been completely unacceptable. They weren't able to personally tell me specifically where these centers were located, what they contained and whether an inventory was completed. Vasquez made the decision after meeting with her administration leaders that found officials could not provide information about other supplies collections and distribution centers. Governor Wanda Vasquez (pictured) blasted the terminated officials, saying: 'There have been actions by government officials that have been completely unacceptable' The director of the US territory's emergency management agency Carlos Acevedo (pictured) has been fired The governor did not disclose why Gil and Andujars were singled out, just that she lost confidence in their abilities. In addition to the government shakeup, Vasquez is concerned that the warehouse discovery could undermine Puerto Ricos credibility with the Trump administration in Washington. This week, President Donald Trump released a hold on $8billion in hurricane funds after pressure from Democrats, including Nancy Pelosi, who ordered officials to cease and desist that illegal activity. The warehouse was filled with water, cots and other unused emergency supplies that could have helped those struggling The funds were previously retained amid worries of corruption and mismanagement. Trump claimed in May that Congress gave Puerto Rico $91billion for Hurricanes Irma and Maria disaster relief funds, saying that it was the largest appointment of any state in history. In the past, Trump has criticized Puerto Ricos leadership following the 2017 hurricane, saying: So many wonderful people, but with such bad Island leadership and with so much money wasted. Locals set off a social media uproar Saturday when they broke in to retrieve goods as the area struggles to recover from a strong earthquake on January 7 A man removes diapers and baby wipes from the warehouse filled with supplies believed to be from 2017 on Saturday The president has yet to address the new revelations, but other Puerto Rico officials have expressed outrage as they deal with an earthquake crisis that killed one person. On January 7, a 6.4 magnitude quake rocked the commonwealths southern region, causing extensive damage and left more than 7,000 people in shelters as aftershocks continue. Ponce Mayor Maria Melendez said: I spent several days requesting cots and water. They sent me to Cabo Rojo for the cots and to San Juan for the water. If I had known that those supplies were there, I would have demanded that they be taken out immediately. She continued to berate the government's mishandling of Hurricane Maria relief on Twitter. Melendez said: 'Our people suffered greatly bc of how Hurricane Maria was managed. We cannot allow history to repeat itself. The City of Ponce and its Government had NO knowledge of the findings made in this warehouse near the Guancha de Ponce.' 'This is outrageous,' she said. 'Everyone knows what us mayors went through after Hurricane Maria to try and get help to our cities and how we've worked these weeks to provide basic supplies to people affected by earthquakes. Those involved owe us an explanation.' Police arrive as people break into a warehouse filled with supplies that could have saved lives two years ago The shocking discovery comes after Democrats pushed for the release of Congress-approved emergency funds When asked how it was possibly she was unaware of the warehouse, Vasquez shouldered blame onto the fired employees. Thats what the head of agencies are for ... to inform the governor, she said. Anger erupted across Puerto Rico on Saturday after Lorenzo Delgado, an online blogger, posted a video of the warehouse stocked to the brim with water bottles, cots, baby food and other basic supplies that had been untouched for nearly three years. Delgado said he received a tip about the warehouse, but did not specify when. A group of enraged citizens broke into the warehouse and began distributing the goods to those affected by the recent quakes. Ponce Mayor Maria Melendez detailed her struggle to secure clean water for her citizesn following a 6.4 magnitude earthquake Vasquez said the matter is currently under investigation and acknowledged the horrific implications of finding a trove of unknown aid supplies. 'There are thousands of people who have made sacrifices to help those in the south, and it is unforgivable that resources were kept in the warehouse,' the governor said. Officials have two days to investigate why the supplies were left behind. Puerto Rico's secretary of state, Elmer Roman, told reporters that Acevedo had not told him about the contents of the warehouse. President Trump (pictured) has previously accused Puerto Rico's government of corruption and mismanagement, saying: 'So many wonderful people, but with such bad Island leadership and with so much money wasted' Ines Rivera, spokeswoman for the city of Ponce, told The Associated Press that the warehouse is owned by Puerto Ricos Company of Commerce and Export. Officials with the company could not be reached for comment. The information upset many in Puerto Rico already angry over the government's botched response to Hurricane Maria, with similar incidents of supplies going unused being uncovered months later. Maria destroyed thousands of buildings and knocked out the electricity grid for 1.5 million people, which took 11 months to restore. As a result of the earthquake and the aftermath, it's believed 3,000 people died. Many people didn't have access to clean water. A man distributes supplies after breaking into a warehouse with supplies believed to have been from when Hurricane Maria. President Trump's said in April that Puerto Rico was holding up its own disaster relief funds A man pulls a pallet of gas canisters at the supplies warehouse in Puerto Rico where thousands of items were found A woman carries boxes of baby wipes she removed as it was revealed cots, medicine and more had been abandoned In August 2019, abandoned supplies were located in an elections office. Rats had torn through the food and medicine that could have saved lives. Then in September 2019, a year after the hurricane, hundreds of pallets of water were found on an airstrip. The water had gone bad after months abandoned in the sun. The outrage led it Governor Ricardo Rossello resigning in July 2019. New Delhi: In a stinging attack against the Nirbhaya convicts, the mother of 23-year-old paramedic said that all of them should be hanged one by one. Perturbed over the constant delays and fresh appeals ahead of the execution, Asha Devi said, their (convicts) tactic to delay hanging has been rejected. I'll be satisfied only when they're hanged on Febraury 1. Just like they're delaying it one after other, they must be hanged one by one so that they understand what it means to toy with law. The feisty mother who has fought for justice for her daughter has repeatedly said that execution of rapists is the only way of getting closure. Earlier on Saturday, Nirbhayas mother had slammed senior advocate Indira Jaising saying that just because of people like her, justice is not done with rape victims. The hard-hitting statement from Asha Devi came after Indira Jaising urged her to pardon four convicts for the 2012 gangrape of her daughter. Reacting to Indira Jaisings suggestion, Asha Devi said, Who is Indira Jaising to give me such a suggestion. Whole country wants the convicts to be executed. Just because of people like her, justice is not done with rape victims. Also Read: Nirbhaya Case: Supreme Court Rejects Convict Pawan Guptas Plea Of Juvenility She further said, Cant believe how Indira Jaising even dared to suggest such this. I met her many times over the years in the Supreme Court. Not once she asked for my wellbeing and today she is speaking for convicts. Such people earn livelihood by supporting rapists. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court Monday rejected the plea of a death row convict in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case challenging the Delhi High Court order, which had dismissed his claim of being a juvenile at the time of the offence. A bench comprising Justices R Banumathi, Ashok Bushan, and AS Bopanna dismissed the plea of convict Pawan Kumar Gupta and upheld the Delhi High Court verdict. The death-row convict in the Nirbhaya case had moved the top court on Friday. Also Read: Supreme Court Refuses To Put Stay On Electoral Bonds Ahead Of Delhi Polls Pawan Gupta had also sought a direction restraining the authorities from executing the death penalty, scheduled for February 1. The bench said the claim of being a juvenile was not taken initially during trial in the Nirbhaya case. However, Guptas lawyer contended that it was taken as a mitigating circumstance at the time of sentencing in the case. A 23-year-old physiotherapy intern 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. Six peopleMukesh Singh, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Kumar Singh, Pawan Gupta, Ram Singh and a juvenilewere named as accused. Here is the cardinal rule about governmenteverything it says through its spokespersons, hired guns, public relations adepts, and the mockingbird corporate media should be considered a self-serving lie, or at best a distortion hammered into shape to fit a predefined agenda. For instance, we should question who is ultimately responsible for the shootdown of the Ukrainian airliner in Tehran following the assassination of Qassem Soleimani. Former CIA military intelligence officer Philip Giraldi believes there is a possibility Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 was a false flag designed to put further pressure on the government of Iran and feed the USAID opposition to the mullahs. Giraldi writes there just might be considerably more to the story involving cyberwarfare carried out by the U.S. and possibly Israeli governments. False Flag? Fmr CIA Officer Suggests US Hacked Ukrainian Plane Transponder To Provoke Iran Shootdown https://t.co/DHpDjGrIGf zerohedge (@zerohedge) January 19, 2020 What seems to have been a case of bad judgements and human error does, however, include some elements that have yet to be explained. The Iranian missile operator reportedly experienced considerable jamming and the planes transponder switched off and stopped transmitting several minutes before the missiles were launched. There were also problems with the communication network of the air defense command, which may have been related. Giraldi explains the SA-15 Tor defense system used by Iran has one major vulnerability. It can be hacked or spoofed, permitting an intruder to impersonate a legitimate user and take control. The United States Navy and Air Force reportedly have developed technologies that can fool enemy radar systems with false and deceptively moving targets. Fooling the system also means fooling the operator. The Guardian has also reported independently how the United States military has long been developing systems that can from a distance alter the electronics and targeting of Irans available missiles. Naturally, this possibility is not even mentioned by the corporate war propaganda media, with the notable exception of The Guardian. Instead, we are pelted with tweets and news articles purporting to show just how angry the Iranian people supposedly are over the shootdown, accidental or otherwise. Kimia Alizadeh, the only Iranian woman to win an Olympic medal, announced that she had defected. She is part of growing public outrage in Iran after the military admitted to shooting down a Ukraine International Airlines jet. https://t.co/NkwtCTP0yw New York Times World (@nytimesworld) January 13, 2020 Protests erupt in Iran after country admits to downing Ukraine plane https://t.co/Nsg0v34rGQ pic.twitter.com/MJk17XVJV9 The Hill (@thehill) January 12, 2020 Iran reporters quit state TV amid protests over Ukraine flight shootdown https://t.co/0ZOQWT2K8l Newsweek (@Newsweek) January 13, 2020 The establishment media, long-serving as war propagandists, would have you believe the people of Iran care more about the shootdown of an passenger airliner than the four-decade longeconomic war against them waged by the USG, Israel, and Saudia Arabiaa war that has the possibility of breaking out into a conflict that will kill far more than the 176 who died when two missiles hit flight PS752. This reminds me of a murderous trick pulled by the Israelis. In September 2018, Syrian anti-aircraft defenses shot down a Russian military plane near the Hmeimim airbase where the Russians stage military operations against USG supported terrorists in Syria (and invited, along with Iran and Hezbollah, to do so by Syria, unlike the illegal American occupation and the apparently endless Israeli air raids). A Russian military spokesman said Israeli F-16 pilots were using the Russian plane as a shield while carrying out missile strikes against targets in Syrias Latakia province and put it in the line of fire from Syrian anti-aircraft batteries, The Guardian reported at the time. Russias defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, told a senior Israeli official that Israel bore full responsibility for the incident and the death of the Russian crew, a military spokesman said later on Tuesday. Israels ambassador in Moscow was summoned to the Russian foreign ministry over the incident. Putin let it go, however, realizing that pushing the issue too far would worsen the conflict and possibly result in further Russian causalities. Such caution, however, cannot be attributed to the USG and certainly not Israel. Bibi Netanyahu, the Israeli PM, said Bashir al-Assad and the Syrians were solely responsible for the attack. No such caution or diplomacy can be expected from the USG and its current loudmouth know-nothing president, Donald Trump. The death of nearly two hundred people is simply an excuse to whip up hysteria and push forward the covert war against Iran. First and foremost, when you read the news dispensed by the war propaganda media, you should assume, unless otherwise proven and verified independently, that what they say about Iran and the Middle East is nothing less than a carelessly and hastily assembled pack of lies, distortion, and omissions, all designed to destroy Iran and kill thousands, possibly millions of innocent men, women, and children. By Trend Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops 24 times, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said on Jan. 20, Trend reports. The Armenian armed forces were using large caliber machine guns and sniper rifles. 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: Clive Maund for Streetwise Reports (1/20/20) Technical analyst Clive Maund looks at the charts and finds that gold may react back before continuing to climb. At first glance gold looks like it may be about to advance out of a bull Flag, but there are a number of factors in play that we will examine that suggest that any near-term advance won't get far before it turns and drops again, and that a longer period of consolidation and perhaps reaction is necessary before it makes significant further progress. On the 6-month chart we can see how gold stabbed into a zone of strong resistance on the Iran crisis around the time Iran's general was murdered, but after a couple of bearish looking candles with high upper shadows formed, it backed off into what many are taking to be a bull Flag. The 10-year chart makes it plain why gold is vulnerable here to reacting back over the short to medium term, because it has advanced deep into "enemy territory": the broad band of heavy resistance approaching the 2011 highs, with a zone of particularly strong resistance right where it is now. It would be healthier and increase gold's chances of breaking out to new highs if it now backed off into a trading range for a while to moderate what now looks like excessive bullishness. Thus it remains a cause for concern (or it should be for gold bulls) to see gold's latest COTs continuing to show high Commercial short and Large Spec long positions. Is it going to be different this time? The latest Hedgers' charts that we are now going to look at suggest not. Click on chart to pop-up a larger, clearer version. The COT chart only goes back a year. The Hedgers' charts shown below, which are a form of COT chart, go back many years, and frankly, they look pretty scary. We'll start by looking at the Hedgers' chart that goes back to before the 2011 sector peak. On it we see that current Hedgers positions are at extremes that way exceed even those at the peak of the 2012 sucker rally, which was followed by the bulk of the decline in the bear market that followed. Does this mean that we are going to see another bear market like that? No, it doesn't, but it does mean that these positions will probably need to moderate before we see significant further gains. Click on chart to pop-up a larger, clearer version. Looking at the Hedgers' chart going way back to before the year 2000, we see that the current readings are record readings by a significant margin and obviously increase the risks of a sizeable reaction. We can speculate about what the reasons for a decline might be, one possibility being the sector getting dragged down by a stock market crash after its blowoff top, which may be imminent, as happened in 2008, since it remains to be seen whether investors will rush into the sector as a safe haven in the event of a market crash. Click on chart to pop-up a larger, clearer version. Turning now to precious metals stocks, we see on its latest 10-year chart that GDX still looks like it is completing a giant Head-and-Shoulders bottom pattern. However, it is currently dithering just beneath resistance at the top of this base pattern, which means that it is vulnerable to backing off. So, how then does gold stock sentiment look right now? As we can see on the 5-year chart for the Gold Miners' Bullish Percent Index, bullishness towards the sector is now at a very high level, 84.6%, which makes it more likely that stocks will drop soon rather than rally, and what they could do, of course, is rally some to increase this level of bullishness still further, and then drop. Does all this mean that investors in the sector should suddenly rush for the exits? No, it doesn't, especially as the charts for many individual stocks across the sector look very bullish, and it may be that all that is needed is a cooling period of consolidation. However it does make sense to use hedges at extremes, such as leveraged inverse ETFs, and better still options as insurance, which have the advantage of providing protection for a very small capital outlay, a fine example being GLD puts, which are liquid with narrow spreads. We did this just ahead of the recent peak when Iran lobbed a volley of missiles at Iraq. We will not be selling our strongest gold and silver stocks, but instead look to buy more on dips. Article originally published on CliveMaund.com on Sunday, January 19, 2020. Clive Maund has been president of www.clivemaund.com, a successful resource sector website, since its inception in 2003. He has 30 years' experience in technical analysis and has worked for banks, commodity brokers and stockbrokers in the City of London. He holds a Diploma in Technical Analysis from the UK Society of Technical Analysts. [NLINSERT] Disclosure: 1) Statements and opinions expressed are the opinions of Clive Maund and not of Streetwise Reports or its officers. Clive Maund is wholly responsible for the validity of the statements. Streetwise Reports was not involved in the content preparation. Clive Maund was not paid by Streetwise Reports LLC for this article. Streetwise Reports was not paid by the author to publish or syndicate this article. 2) This article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. This article is not a solicitation for investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company mentioned on Streetwise Reports. 3) From time to time, Streetwise Reports LLC and its directors, officers, employees or members of their families, as well as persons interviewed for articles and interviews on the site, may have a long or short position in securities mentioned. Directors, officers, employees or members of their immediate families are prohibited from making purchases and/or sales of those securities in the open market or otherwise from the time of the interview or the decision to write an article until three business days after the publication of the interview or article. The foregoing prohibition does not apply to articles that in substance only restate previously published company releases. Charts and graphics provided by the author. CliveMaund.com Disclosure: The above represents the opinion and analysis of Mr Maund, based on data available to him, at the time of writing. Mr. Maund's opinions are his own, and are not a recommendation or an offer to buy or sell securities. Mr. Maund is an independent analyst who receives no compensation of any kind from any groups, individuals or corporations mentioned in his reports. As trading and investing in any financial markets may involve serious risk of loss, Mr. Maund recommends that you consult with a qualified investment advisor, one licensed by appropriate regulatory agencies in your legal jurisdiction and do your own due diligence and research when making any kind of a transaction with financial ramifications. Although a qualified and experienced stock market analyst, Clive Maund is not a Registered Securities Advisor. Therefore Mr. Maund's opinions on the market and stocks can only be construed as a solicitation to buy and sell securities when they are subject to the prior approval and endorsement of a Registered Securities Advisor operating in accordance with the appropriate regulations in your area of jurisdiction. BJP MLA Alina Saldanha has taken offence and said she will take up the matter in the Goa Legislative Assembly after a railway official referred to Goans as "Portuguese" while addressing a delegation led by her on Sunday in South Goa. South Western Railway Manager Ajay Kumar Singh had yesterday while addressing a delegation opposing double tracking of the railway line, had termed Goans as "Portuguese". "India has houses that are 5,000 years old. Goans were the invading force in India who came about 500 years back. When you all came, you also must have destroyed so many houses when you came here. I meant Portuguese," Singh was heard as saying in a video. Singh, later, withdrew his remark. Talking to reporters on Sunday, Saldanha said "we are not Portuguese, we are Indians. There's no doubt that we were under Portuguese rule for several years and we were liberated." "I will raise the issue in the Goa Legislative Assembly and also will bring it to the notice of Union Minister for Railways," Saldanha, who is an MLA from Cortalim constituency, had said. BJP Goa general secretary Narendra Sawaikar has demanded an unconditional apology from the official. "Demand immediate unconditional apology from GM of @SWRRLY Shri AjayKumar for referring MLA Smt Alina Saldanha and people of Cortalim as Portuguese. We are Indians firstly and lastly," Sawaikar had tweeted. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis on Monday warned against antisemitism and populism in an audience with a delegation from the Simon Wiesenthal Center. The pope recalled his visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, and condemned antisemitism in every form. The pope described "an increase in selfishness and indifference" in many parts of the world. "This creates a fertile ground for the forms of factionalism and populism we see around us, where hatred quickly springs up", he said. We need to address the cause of the problem by committing ourselves to "tilling the soil in which hatred grows and sowing peace instead", said Pope Francis. "For it is through integration and seeking to understand others that we more effectively protect ourselves". This means reintegrating those who are marginalized, reaching out to those far away, and assisting those who are victims of intolerance and discrimination, said the Pope. Pope Francis concluded with a prayer to "make the earth a better place by sowing seeds of peace". We need to put the "rich spiritual patrimony that Jews and Christians possess" at the service of others, he said. "Not to take the path of distance and exclusion, but that of proximity and inclusion; not to force solutions, but to initiate ways of drawing closer together". "If we do not do this", asked Pope Francis, "then who will?" In welcoming the delegation from the Wiesenthal Centre, the pope noted how it actively "seeks to combat all forms of antisemitism, racism and hatred towards minorities". The Simon Wiesenthal Centre has maintained contacts with the Holy See for decades, said the Pope, "in a shared desire to make the world a better place in respect for human dignity. This dignity is due to every person in equal measure, regardless of his or her ethnic origin, religion or social status", he added. The Pope said: "It is essential to teach tolerance, mutual understanding and freedom of religion, and the promotion of peace within society". 27 January will mark the seventy-fifth anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Pope Francis recalled visiting the camp in 2016, "to reflect and to pray in silence". "In our world, with its whirlwind of activity, we find it hard to pause, to look within and to listen in silence to the plea of suffering humanity", he said. The Pope reflected on how our consumerist society squanders words: "how many unhelpful words are spoken, how much time is wasted in arguing, accusing, shouting insults, without a real concern for what we say. Silence, on the other hand, helps to keep memory alive. If we lose our memory, we destroy our future", he added. "May the anniversary of the unspeakable cruelty that humanity learned of seventy-five years ago serve as a summons to pause, to be still and to remember", said Pope Francis. "We need to do this, lest we become indifferent". (Alliance News) - Oil & gas company Echo Energy PLC on Monday said it will advance operations at the Campo Limite exploration well in Argentina, after promising initial drilling data. Campo Limite was drillied to 2,247 metres and London-based Echo Energy said initial reports from drilling and wireline logging were "encouraging". Alongside Selva Maria Oil & Gas SA, the Buenos Aires-based operator of the asset, Echo Energy said it will move to the "next stage of operations" at the Campo Limite well. Echo Energy added: "The presence of elevated gas shows in the target section combined with wireline log data is positive and has resulted in the company and the operator taking the decision to move to completion and testing. The company cautions that completion of the well test and analyses of the results is needed to conclusively establish the presence of producible gas." Shares in the company were flat at 2.30 pence each in London on Monday morning. By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. Gary Starkweather, who defied his corporate boss to invent the laser printer, a revolutionary development that made it possible to print images and text directly from computer terminals in homes and offices, died on December 26 at a hospital in Orlando. He was 81. The cause was leukemia, said his wife, Joyce Starkweather. Starkweather, who also won an Academy Award for technical advances in filmmaking, was working for Xerox in the late 1960s when the company was the dominant producer of copy machines. The technology at the time used a photographic lens to copy an image from one sheet of paper to another. Mr Starkweather wondered whether it might be possible to skip a step in the process namely the use of a physical document and send an electronic signal directly from a computer terminal to a printer. Thousands gathered at The Diamond on Monday morning to board shuttles headed downtown for the Virginia Citizens Defense League's Lobbying Day rally. Alia Bhatt, who is busy shooting for Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Gangubai Kathiawadi informed viewers that she has suffered a back injury in an Instagram post. Starring Bhatt's little furball Eddie, the actress can be seen laying in bed, with her adorable pet keeping her company. READ Internet Fashion Police At It Again, Alia Bhatt Needlessly Chided For Ripped Jeans Now Alia Bhatt shares recovery update However, this is not the first time the actress has been injured. Previously, Bhatt injured her right shoulder and arm while filming a stunt sequence in Bulgaria for Brahmastra. Reports say that the Raazi actresss right arm was bandaged and held up in a sling in the pictures that had surfaced back then. She was also out of action for a few weeks as she was in a lot of pain. Brahmastra is the first film from the upcoming fantasy adventure trilogy by Ayan Mukerji. It also stars Amitabh Bachchan and it will bring Amitabh Bachchan, RanbirKapoor, and Alia Bhatt together first the time READ: Alia Bhatt To Ananya Panday; Celeb-approved Ways To Sport Hoop Earrings Alia Bhatt recently unveiled the first look of Gangubai Kathiawadi. The actor received a lot of love and some varied reactions about the look on social media accounts like Twitter and Instagram. The film is a biography directorial by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. She will be seen on essaying the dynamic character Gangubhai, who was a mafia queen back in her days. The film will also star Vijay Razz, suggest reports. The film is slated to release on September 11, 2020. Alia Bhatts first look received a lot of appreciation from fans and critics alike. Proud parents Mahesh Bhatt and Soni Razdan also shared the poster on their Twitter accounts. On receiving king-sized love for her new venture, Alia took to her Twitter to thank fans for all the attention. Sharing the first look poster once again, the Brahmastra actor, in the caption, wrote, Thank youuuu ever READ: Films That Were 'turned Down' By Alia Bhatt; From 'Saaho' To 'Neerja' READ: Alia Bhatt Gives Fans Style And Fitness Inspiration With Her Gym Wear 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. The Vietnam Germany Innovation Network (VGI Network) held its founding congress recently in Berlin with the participation of Vietnamese professors, doctors and scientists living and working across Germany. At the founding congress of the Vietnam Germany Innovation Network (VGI Network) According to Professor Nguyen Xuan Thinh, headof the networks representative board, the VGI Network aims to create afoundation for cooperation between Vietnamese and German scientists and researchers ,while supporting Vietnamese scientists in Germany in their life, research andwork. Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Nguyen Minh Vusaid the network will help strengthen solidarity, connections and supportbetween members to implement practical activities contributing to Vietnamssocio-economic development. He hoped the network will expand to increase itsoperational efficiency. The network will serve as a forum for scientiststo exchange ideas to create new technologies and innovations in various fieldssuch as culture, society, economy, health care, and the environment. It will also connect experts and scientists fromVietnam, Germany and Europe to share experience and information about thedemands of their respective markets as well as programmes and projects topromote science-technology development. One of the important goals of the network issupporting Vietnamese scientists and young intellectuals in Germany to studyand conduct research. The congress elected a 21-member executive boardof the VGI Network with Professor Nguyen Xuan Thinh voted in as chairman./.VNA From January 22 to 23, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Stef Blok will be in Armenia on an official visit. As reported the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, on January 23, the foreign ministers of the Republic of Armenia and the Kingdom of the Netherlands will meet and give a joint press conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During the visit, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Stef Blok will be received by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Minister Blok will also visit the Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex and pay tribute to the Holy Martyrs. Scotland's Dean Robertson came up with a dramatic way to upstage Greg Norman on the opening day of the Heineken Classic in Perth. Robertson sank a 35-foot putt and then holed a 103-yard wedge for an eagle three to close a seven under par round of 65, giving the Scot a one-stroke lead over the Great White Shark and Nick O'Hern. - Michy Batshuayi has been taken to court by his ex lover over failure to pay for maintenance - Gitte Van Der Elst accused the Chelsea star of not paying maintenance fees for their daughter - Batshuayis lawyer blamed the players representatives for the missed contributions Belgium international Michy Batshuayi who plays for Chelsea has been dragged to court by his ex girlfriend Gitte Van Der Elst for an alleged failure to pay for child maintenance. After he decided to part ways with Van Elst, Batshuayi was ordered to be paying monthly sum for maintenance and for the care of his two-year-old daughter. READ ALSO: Man United fans point out tactical blunder that cost club at Anfield against Liverpool READ ALSO: Dennis Oliech: Harambee Stars all time top scorer retires from football But according to the report on UK Sun, the forward has been accused of missing two of 2,067 remittances and being late with several others. Gitte Elst is said to have reported the situation last week where hearing was given on the issue. Batshuayi's ex-lover Gitte Van Der Elst holds their two-year-old daughter. Photo: SunSport. Source: UGC READ ALSO: Liverpool vs Man United: Van Dijk, Salah score as Reds win 2-0 According to the Belgian law, family abandonment and failure to pay for maintenance is punishable by up to six months in jail with fine. The player's lawyer Monville said payments were now up to date and blamed his representatives for the missed contributions. Michy Batshuayi is currently on a KSh 14 million-a-week wages at Chelsea. Photo: SunSport. Source: UGC PAY ATTENTION: Install Pitch Football app for FREE to easily access stats, news and live updates Meanwhile, the case has been adjourned by Judge Suzy Vanhoonacker until February when a verdict will be delivered. Chelsea are currently occupying fourth position on the Premier League standings with 39 points after 23 games played this term. Do you have an inspirational story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690 and Tuko news. The Blind Tailor, I don't want people to pity me. I want them to be encouraged by my story | Tuko TV Source: TUKO.co.ke The Australian Dollar exchange rates remained largely flat on Monday as trading volumes were thin due to the closure of US markets for Martin Luther King Day. Despite the global risk-on sentiment, the Aussie opened this week down for the third consecutive week, with the Australian Dollar US Dollar exchange rate currently trading flat at $0.6865. While encouraging signs from China provided some support for AUD, the currency was left largely muted against a handful of currencies. On Monday, Chinese Minister of Industry and Information Technology Wei said the country is confident of maintaining steady industrial growth over the course of 2020 despite huge pressures. Australian Dollar Exchange Rates Left Flat on Hard Brexit Fears The risk-sensitive Australian Dollar remained flat against the Pound following an upswing in fears the UK will suffer a hard Brexit. This left the Australian Dollar Pound (AUD/GBP) exchange rate trading at around 0.5282 on Monday. UK Finance Minister, Sajid Javid sparked fears of weak ties between the UK and European Union after Brexit. Saturday saw Javid say the UK would not commit to sticking to the blocs rules in post-Brexit discussions, a threat to many businesses that wish to ease cross-border checks once the transition period concludes at the end of the year. Commenting on this, RBC Capital Markets chief currency strategist Adam Cole noted: Its about the UK diverging from Europe, and that would necessarily result in limiting access to European markets. Markets are taking that negatively. 50% Chance US-China Phase One Deal Will Fall Apart The Australian Dollar was able to benefit from the phase one US-China trade deal as the truce is good for global confidence. However, on Monday reports suggested that there is a 50% chance the deal could fall apart in one year, weighing on AUD. Richard Martin, managing director at management consulting firm IMA Asia told CNBCs Squawk Box Asia: Theres a very poor track record on government-mandated trade flows working out and thats what we got right now. We dont like governments to go out and say this is the volume of trade and this is the price point we want done at thats meant to be said at the markets He also added that this deal allows U.S. Trade Representative, Robert Lighthizer, to pretty much determine when Chinas breaking the rules and inflict any penalty he wants. Australian Dollar Outlook: Will Consumer Confidence Send AUD Lower? Looking ahead, the Australian Dollar (AUD) could slide against a handful of currencies following the release of Westpacs consumer confidence data. If Januarys confidence slumps further than expected, the Aussie is likely to fall. Meanwhile, the Aussie could remain under pressure as investors predict the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will cut rates at the start of next month. Markets will likely focus on this weeks Australian labour market data, and if this disappoints, the chance of a rate cut from the RBA is likely to increase, weighing on AUD. Commenting on this, Commonwealth Bank of Australias strategist, Joseph Capurso, said: We expect the RBA will deliver more policy stimulus with a 25bp rate cut on 4 February. Australian futures are pricing a 55% chance of a cut. A high unemployment rate above 5% will reinforce the view that further stimulus is required to push unemployment towards the RBAs 4.5% full employment target. Other factors like stress and other infections, may also increase the resting heart rate, the study said. (Photo Credit: Stock image ) Los Angeles: Researchers have reported for the first time that the resting heart rate, and sleep data from wearable devices can be used for real-time prediction of infectious diseases like influenza, an advance that may lead to new ways of forecasting epidemic outbreaks. According to the study, published in the journal The Lancet Digital Health, people's resting heart rate spikes up during infections, and this is captured by wearable devices like smartwatches, and fitness trackers like Fitbit. The researchers, including those from Scripps Research Translational Institute in the US, de-identified data from 47,249 Fitbit users, and retrospectively identified weeks during which they had elevated resting heart rate, and changes to routine sleep. They said tracking outbreaks of influenza -- which kills nearly 6,50,000 people every year globally -- had previously been attempted by analysing crowdsourced user search data in Google Flu Trends and Twitter. However, the scientists said, in these methods it is impossible to separate out the activity of individuals with influenza from the heightened awareness people get from media during flu season. In the current study, the researchers demonstrated the potential for metrics from wearable devices to enhance flu surveillance, and consequently improve public health responses. Traditional surveillance, they said, usually takes 1-3 weeks to report the incidence of influenza outbreaks, which limits the ability to quickly roll out response measures like ensuring patients stay at home, wash hands, and deploying antivirals and vaccines. But combined with the sensor data from smartwatches and fitness trackers, the scientists said real-time surveillance can be improved significantly at the state level. "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," said Jennifer Radin, study co-author from Scripps Research Translational Institute. As part of the study, the researchers assessed data from 2,00,000 users who wore a Fitbit wearable device that tracked their heart rate and sleep for at least 60 days during the study time from March 2016 to March 2018. From these users, they found that 47,248 people from California, Texas, New York, Illinois and Pennsylvania wore a Fitbit device consistently during the study period, resulting in a total of 13,342,651 daily measurements. According to the researchers, the average user was 43 years old, and 60 per cent were female. The average resting heart rate and sleep duration of the users were calculated, along with deviations to these parameters to help identify when these measures were outside of an individual's typical range. In a week, the researchers said, a user was identified as abnormal if their weekly average resting heart rate was above their overall average, and their weekly average sleep was not below their overall average. The scientists then arranged the users based on the state they lived in, and the proportion of users above the threshold was calculated each week. Comparing this estimate to the weekly assessment for influenza-like illness rates reported by the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the researchers found that the influenza predictions at the state level were significantly improved. The study noted that there was an improvement in real-time surveillance in all the five states from which the users stayed. According to the scientists, it may be possible to apply the method to more geographically refined areas, such as county or city-level with greater volumes of user data. However, the researchers cautioned that the study could not control for seasonal fitness differences, or more short-term activity changes. Citing another limitation of the study, they said, the weekly resting heart rate averages may include days when an individual is both sick and not sick, and this may result in underestimation of illness by lowering the weekly averages. Other factors like stress and other infections, may also increase the resting heart rate, the study said. MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico should move to deepen its economic ties with China after U.S. congressional approval of a new North American trade deal, a senior Mexican official said late on Saturday. Jesus Seade, the deputy foreign minister for North America and Mexico's top trade negotiator, said that as the second year of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's six-year term got underway, boosting economic ties with China was vital. Last week, the U.S. Senate completed ratification of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), a deal negotiated at the behest of President Donald Trump to replace the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Canada's parliament is expected to approve soon. Writing on Twitter shortly before midnight, Seade said Mexico should take steps to capitalize on the investment potential China offered, noting that his country's appeal to the Asian economy "grew enormously" with the USMCA deal. Some Asian businesses wasted little time in committing investment to Mexico once the USMCA had passed U.S. Congress. One day later, Japanese carmaker Toyota Motor Corp said it would move production of its mid-size Tacoma pick-up truck from the United States to Mexico. (Reporting by Dave Graham; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) Wendy Williams has been caught in the middle of the NeNe Leakes and Kenya Moore feud on The Real Housewives of Atlanta. After Bravo released a mid-season trailer of whats coming up, the TV host is seen making an appearance. Williams is close to both Moore and Leakes and the video shows when the latter calls the first for advice. Wendy Williams | Michael Tran/FilmMagic Williams started her show on Friday, January 17 telling her co-hosts she would make an appearance on RHOA. I knew this was going to happen but I kind of forgot about it because me a NeNe talk all the time, Williams said. Theres a new guest appearance ME! When the co-hosts found out Williams was going to show up on RHOA they went excited and cheered. Im on the phone with NeNe and I knew that I was being recorded, she continued adding that Leakes wanted her to physically appear on the show. Williams declined the invitation but she agreed to have a conversation with Leakes over the phone. In the trailer, Williams is heard on the phone advising Leakes about the multiple feuds shes having with the ladies. Give these girls friendship and love, Williams is heard saying. Kenya Moore talks to Wendy Williams Moore stopped by The Wendy Williams Show ahead of the premiere of season 12 of RHOA. The Bravo star did not hold back about when she thinks the feud with Leakes started. When I had a high-risk pregnancy, that I wanted my entire life, she never once called me, Moore told Williams. When I did show up, she never checked on my child. She never said, Is everything okay? when she learned I wasnt going to be on the show. She never said, Are you okay girl, do you need anything? And then when she did see me eight months pregnant, she called me a monster and said that my child was a buffalo and she was hurling insults. Moore then made the revelation that Leakes tried to spit on her during one of their intense arguments. She tried to act like she was going to spit on me, Moore revealed saying that the OG of Atlanta was hawking up her saliva. You will see that on the show. When Williams asked if it was true she was going after Leakes paycheck, the former Miss USA titleholder put the latter on blast. Kandi makes the most money, so if I was coming for anybodys purse and bag, it would be Kandis, Moore said. Kandi is the real HBIC on that show. Im just a player. I have a nice coin. I love the little bag I take home at night and it feeds my child very well. So Im not coming for anybodys money. NeNe Leakes calls Wendy Williams Since Leakes and Williams have a close relationship, the former called the latter to make things clear about her incident with Moore. After Kenya left, Im on my way home commuting and the phone rings, who do you think it was? Nene, Williams told her co-hosts the next day. Nenes like, Wendy, I didnt even watch, but my phone was blowing up. First of all, I didnt spit in her face. Williams feels caught in the middle of both RHOA stars. I told NeNe, Youre my friend. Kenyas a friend on the show, Williams continued. Two totally different things. But NeNe was, she was nice, she took it like a champ. She understands our friendship is forged. But she also understands I got love for Kenya. The Real Housewives of Atlanta airs every Sunday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo. Amaravati: The Andhra Pradesh Council of Ministers and the Legislature will meet one after the other here on Monday to decide the fate and the future of the state capital. There is widespread anticipation on what is in store for the state, already suffering from the pangs of bifurcation since 2014, as the Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy government is firm on carrying out its new plans for comprehensive, parallel and decentralized development. All other political parties and citizens at large, however, are staunchly opposing the ruling YSR Congress' move to basically relocate the state capital from Amaravati to Visakhapatnam, as already indicated by the Chief Minister on the floor of the Assembly on December 17. How the government is seeking to go ahead with its plans remains a closely-guarded secret but, given any opportunity, the principal opposition Telugu Desam is determined to derail the process by showing its strength in the Legislative Council. The YSRC may be having a brute majority of 151 in the 175-member Assembly but it's in a woeful minority in the 58-member Council, with its numbers being just nine. With 28 members, and possible support of BJP and others, the TDP could effectively stallalbeit temporarily any legislation intended to alter the status quo vis--vis the capital. Wary of this, the government has not let its strategy known so far though indications are that it may bring in a Money Bill to foil the opposition attempts. But the (draft) Money Bill has to be first approved by the Cabinet and sent to the Governor for clearance before it is tabled in the Assembly, government sources said. The Cabinet is scheduled to meet at 9 am on Monday while the Assembly will convene for its extended winter session at 11 am. Interestingly, the meeting of the Assembly Business Advisory Committee is scheduled at 10 am, where the legislative business to be taken up will be finalised. The Council will meet on January 21 as per the Legislature notification and will sit only for two days whereas the Assembly will have one extra day. What ministers gave everyone to understand ahead of the session, which is supposed to be a landmark, is that the Legislature will essentially deliberate the report of the High-Powered Committee of ministers and bureaucrats on decentralised development and take a call on various related issues, including the location of the state capital. The HPC relied on the recommendations made by the six-member committee of experts and also the Boston Consulting Group, besides the Sivaramakrishnan Committee, while coming out with its own set of suggestions. The crux of the recommendations, according to highly-placed sources, was that the state should have distributed capital functions with the Secretariat and other government departments operating from Visakhapatnam, Legislature from Amaravati and High Court from Kurnool. The recommendations of these committees are clearly in line with what the Chief Minister announced in the Assembly on December 17. But how to go about the business, given the possible legal and technical implications, is what is said to be worrying the rulers. The Chief Minister conferred with select ministers and bureaucrats here on Sunday and discussed the government's strategy, particularly on overcoming the opposition in the Legislative Council. The opposition could at best delay the process but not fully stop it, was the counsel offered but there has been no conclusive opinion on what could eventually happen in a court of law, as already a set of petitions are pending on the capital issue. Panaji, Jan 20 : Ruling and opposition political parties in Goa, including the BJP, on Monday demanded the resignation of South Western Railway manager Ajay Kumar Singh after he during a verbal duel with Goa BJP MLA Alina Saldanha allegedly suggested that she was of Portuguese descent. While Goa BJP General Secretary Narendra Sawaikar demanded immediate action against Singh, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) demanded his dismissal for referring to Saldanha as one of Portuguese origin. "We demand immediate unconditional apology from GM ofA@SWRRLYAShri. AjayKumar for referring MLA Smt. Alina Saldanha & people of Cortalim as Portuguese. We are Indians firstly & lastly.A@PMOIndiaA@PiyushGoyalA@RailMinIndia," Sawaikar tweeted. In a tweet, Goa AAP convener Elvis Gomes also called the reference to Saldanha, an MLA from the Cortalim Assembly constituency, as "despicable". "Despicable. How dare he? A Manager of SW Railway Ajay Kumar Singh, Hubballi Div, insults @BJP4Goa women MLA Alina Saldanha. Says Goans are not Indians. @DrPramodPSawant, NRC started? @AAPGoa demands, if any self respect remains, get @PiyushGoyal @RailMinIndia to dismiss him. Now," Gomes tweeted. On Sunday, Alina Saldanha, who was leading a protest against the proposed demolition of houses in her constituency to make way for track doubling along the South Western Railways line, had taken offence to being referred to as one of Portuguese descent, during her face-off with Singh. "Are they taking Goans for granted by calling us Portuguese? We are Indians first," Saldanha had told reporters following the altercation with the senior Indian Railways official. Saldanha is the wife of former BJP Minister late Mathany Saldanha. Earlier, media reports quoted Singh as having said: "India has houses that are 5,000 years old. Goans were the invading force who came about 500 years back. When you all came, you also must have destroyed houses here... By you I meant Portuguese." Singh, who functions from the headquarters of the South Western Railway in Hubli, could not be reached for a comment. For years now, Saldanha has led protests against the doubling of railway tracks along the South Western Railway route, which passes through her constituency in South Goa, claiming that old heritage houses would be demolished if the double-tracking comes through. Goa was ruled by the Portuguese for 451 years before it was liberated by the Indian armed forces in 1961. Ending all speculations and ignoring protests from the entire opposition and Amaravati farmers, the state's ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government tabled a Bill to shift key capital functions out of Amaravati. Amaravati, Jan 20 (IANS) Sealing the fate of Amaravati as the Andhra Pradesh capital, a Bill was tabled in the Assembly on Monday to develop Visakhapatnam and Kurnool as the two other state capitals. As soon as the House met for a three-day special session, Finance Minister Bugga Rajendranath Reddy moved the Andhra Pradesh Decentralization and Inclusive Development of All Regions Bill 2020. Urban Development Minister Botsa Satyanarayana tabled the Capital Region Development Authority repeal Bill 2020, bringing curtains on Amaravati as the only state capital as envisaged by former Telugu Desam Party (TDP) government. Terming the Bill as historic, the Finance Minister announced that there will be three seats of administration to ensure balanced development of all regions. He said Amaravati Metropolitan Region will be the legislative capital of the state. Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region will be the executive capital, which means the secretariat will be shifted from Amaravati to the port city. He also announced that Kurnool will be the judicial capital. "The High Court will be set up in Kurnool Urban Development Area after getting necessary approvals and issuing relevant orders," he said. The Minister said the Bill was aimed at ensuring decentralization of governance and inclusive development of all regions. On December 17, 2019, Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had mooted the idea of three state capitals. Subsequently, the experts' committee and Boston Consultancy Group (BCP) made the same recommendation. The high-power committee, constituted to analyse the reports of both the panels, submitted its report to the government favouring three-capital proposal. The report of the high-power committee comprising ministers and senior officials was approved by state cabinet, which met before the start of the Assembly session. The government is likely to announce a package for Amaravati farmers, who have been protesting for over a month demanding that Amaravati be continued as the only state capital. The farmers, who had given 33,000 acres of land for development of Amaravati as the state capital in 2015, say that shifting of key capital functions would harm their interests. Amaravati was the brainchild of then Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, who wanted to develop it as a world-class city. The Singapore government had prepared the master plan for Amaravati, the foundation stone for which was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in October 2015. The city was planned to be developed on the banks of Krishna river at a cost more than Rs 1 lakh crore. After Naidu's TDP lost power in the elections last year, Jagan Mohan Reddy had announced review of all projects launched during TDP rule. Alleging insider trading in development of Amaravati, the YSRCP government stopped all works in Amaravati and launched a probe. ms/ksk/ Iran will withdraw from the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), if Irans nuclear file is sent to the United Nations Security Council, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said. "If the Europeans continue their improper behaviour or send Irans file to the Security Council, we will withdraw from the NPT," IRNA cited the minister as saying. Appointment 20 January 2020 Joining the executive team in the same role he served at the Waldorf Astoria Park City (Utah), Musyt will oversee the full food and beverage division of the hotel, including Jean-Georges Beverly Hills, The Rooftop by JG, Lobby Lounge, in-room dining, catering and banquet events. Musyt comes to the hotel with a lifetime of experience in the world of food and beverage. He began his hospitality career at age 16 and attended Denver's Johnson & Wales University. In the ensuing years, he has served as the F&B director for various luxury hotels, including the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group and the Salamander Resort and Spa in Middleburg, Virginia, his most recent post. Musyt brings an impressive set of skills to the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills team, including his award-winning fiscal organization, customer relations, employee management and successful strategic planning track record. But when it comes down to it, for Jacob Musyt, it really is all about the food - and the people. Langkawi/IBNS: Malaysia cannot take retaliatory steps to counter India's palm oil curbs, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has said, media reported. Malaysia could not afford to hit back as it is too small a country, Mahathir Mohamad, who had criticized India over Kashmir and Citizenship Amendment Act, told media persons. His country would explore other "ways and means" to counter the restrictions imposed on the import of refined palm oil, he said. India, the largest buyer of vegetable oil in the world, has moved the import of refined palm oil and palm olein from the free to restricted category with the aim to bar imports from Malaysia, recently. After losing business with India, Malaysia is trying to boost palm oil imports to Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Egypt, the Philippines and Vietnam, Malaysian officials have told the media, reports had said. The Malaysian refiners are anticipating huge losses as imports to India are likely to slide down to 1 million tonnes from 4.4 million tonnes in 2019 if the situation doesn't improve, reports said. Country's primary industries minister Teresa Kok had last week said that Malaysia would try to resolve the challenge diplomatically. With YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led Andhra Pradesh cabinet finally approving the scrapping of the Amaravati Capital Region Development Authority Act 2014, it is now official that the much-discussed capital city dream project of former chief minister Chandrababu Naidu lies in tatters. Here are five key reasons why the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government decided to take this step. Chip away at the financial support base of TDP It is no secret that after the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) came to power in 2014 in the newly-truncated Andhra Pradesh and before Amaravati was chosen as the location of the next capital, there were a large number of land deals. YSRCP has repeatedly claimed that TDP leaders and the rich Kamma community from which Naidu hails took advantage and bought large parcels of land as they knew Amaravati would be chosen at throwaway prices. Kammas, by and large, have supported TDP. Though they are just 5-6% of the population, they historically have been a keen mercantile community and have big financial muscle. YSRCP believes that one way of breaking TDPs back is by ensuring that the capital project in which Naidu invested thousands of crores does not benefit the opposition partys supporters. Diversify the centre of political gravity The YSRCP government claims the diversion of the focus from Amaravati is to ensure more equitable growth for different parts of the state. This is why it is saying that while Amaravati will be the legislative capital, Visakhapatnam or Vizag will be the executive capital with the bulk of the judiciary being based in Kurnool. This way, coastal Andhra, Rayalaseema and central Andhra will get equal attention. Break traditional TDP strongholds By ensuring that the government machinery operates out of Vizag, YSRCP hopes to break into a TDP stronghold. For instance, even in a wave election like the last assembly polls in which YSRCP won 151 of the 175 assembly seats, in Vizag, TDP won 4 of the 7 assembly seats. But with this move, YSRCP hopes to lure traditional TDP voters into its fold. Traditionally, Vizag with neighbouring Srikakulam district, has been more cosmopolitan and shares a border with Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. Diversifies gains to people beyond TDP The new YSRCP government has cancelled numerous lucrative infrastructure building contracts that it claims was awarded illegally to people close to the TDP in Amaravati. It has either scrapped or gone in for fresh re-tendering of almost all major projects even as some of the earlier companies have approached courts. By ensuring the shift away from Amaravati, a lot of spending will also be shifted to other parts of the state to ensure that the people and firms which gained in the previous regime do not derive any benefit after the change. Amaravati had become too identified with Naidu The other unstated grouse is that because of Chandrababu Naidus constant championing of the new capital, the project was identified with him to a large extent. Even if it had succeeded, the credit would have gone to Naidu and TDP. The former CM keeps repeatedly claiming that he was the one who made Hyderabad what it is today when he was the chief minister of united Andhra. Jagan doesnt want that to happen. The move will ensure that the political centre is not solely on Amaravati. VANCOUVERShe has passed her days painting flowers, conferring with her lawyers, reading books and improving her English, ensconced in two different multimillion-dollar mansions in exclusive sections of Vancouver. But Friday, after the city had experienced a rare snowstorm, Meng Wanzhou, the Huawei chief financial officer detained in Vancouver and awaiting an extradition hearing on fraud charges, could be seen playfully throwing a snowball outside her house. Then she spotted a photographer. Her smile turned into a frown. In the 13 months since Meng, 47, was arrested at a Vancouver airport, her life has been circumscribed by the terms of her $10 million bail. On Monday, it entered a new phase when her extradition hearing formally began. This part of the hearing, which could last a week, will examine whether the crime Meng is accused of constitutes a crime in Canada, a prerequisite under Canadian law for her extradition to proceed. This is known as the legal concept of double criminality. The United States, in a January 2019 indictment, charged, among other things, that Meng deceived four banks into clearing transactions in Iran through Skycom, a subsidiary, violating U.S. sanctions against Iran. Prosecutors say Meng lied to representatives of the bank HSBC in 2013 about Huaweis relationship with Skycom, telling them it was a partner when it was, in fact, a subsidiary. That put HSBC at risk of sanctions. On Monday, at the beginning of the proceedings, Richard Peck, a member of Mengs defence team, said the case should be dismissed because it was founded on the accusation of breach of U.S. sanctions against Iran sanctions that Canada does not accept. The claim of fraud, he said, was a facade. In the courtroom, Meng, wearing a black dress with white polka dots and sitting in a bulletproof defendants box at the back of the court, appeared composed and smiling as she conferred with her legal team. If her case goes ahead, the court will also hear her lawyers arguments that her rights were violated when she was arrested. Mengs arrest has pushed Canada into the centre of a tense diplomatic battle between China and the United States. President Donald Trump once said he might consider interceding in the case if that helped him reach a trade deal with China. In what many called a retaliation for the arrest of Meng one of Chinas most prominent business executives China has arrested two Canadians, accused them of espionage and detained them in secret jails, deprived of access to lawyers and their families. It is unclear when a final ruling in Mengs extradition case will be made. In the meantime, she could face many more months in Vancouver. Vincent Pang, a Huawei board member and longtime friend of Mengs, visits her about once a month. He said in an interview Friday that he and the company believe she is innocent, and so does she. Nevertheless, Pang said, Meng is facing enormous emotional stress because of the uncertainty about her future and from being separated for long periods from her four children, all of whom live in China. He said her two youngest children were in Vancouver schools at the time of her arrest, which upended their lives. She feels sorry for her family, Pang said. According to one of the security guards monitoring her house, her family came to see her during the Christmas holidays. Her mother and husband have taken turns keeping her company. Meng lives in a seven-bedroom, gated mansion in Vancouvers exclusive Shaughnessy neighbourhood, valued at about $14 million. Under the terms of her bail, she is able to travel relatively freely about the city, although she has an 11 p.m. curfew and a GPS tracker around her ankle. Her bail conditions, which give her the freedom to go shopping, are in stark contrast with the two Canadians detained in China and have been criticized in Canada. But she seldom leaves the house, said one of two unarmed guards, who was standing near a makeshift tent outside Mengs mansion Friday. When she does, he said, it is usually to meet with her lawyers. Pang said that while Meng lived in a mansion, it was, effectively, a gilded cage. He said she had lost a lot of weight. Its not about how big her home is but whats in her heart, he said, adding, She feels trapped. Despite entreaties by him and others friends to go out more, Meng prefers to stay at home, Pang said. If youre detained, you dont feel like shopping or eating, he said. Still, on one occasion, Meng was spotted browsing at Holt Renfrew, the luxury retailer. And on Chinas National Day, she wore a bright red Gucci dress to court, adorned with an enamel Chinese flag pin. Meng has hired an A-list legal team led by David Martin, one of Canadas most high-powered lawyers, who specializes in white-collar crime. He has argued cases at the countrys Supreme Court and has defended members of foreign governments and ultrarich captains of industry seeking to avoid extradition. While Meng retains her chief financial officer title at Huawei and continues to take a role in the business, Pang said her responsibilities had been significantly scaled back, given that Shenzhen, where Huawei has its headquarters, is 16 hours ahead of Vancouver. In December, on the anniversary of her arrest, Meng wrote a reflective letter, published on Huaweis website, in which she said she had experienced moments of fear, pain and disappointment but also acceptance. When I was in Shenzhen, time used to pass by very quickly, she wrote. She continued, Right now, time seems to pass slowly. After the letter was released, there was a backlash on social media against Huawei and sly allusions to the story of a former company employee, Li Hongyuan, who was jailed for more than eight months after he demanded severance pay when his contract wasnt renewed. Li was eventually released with no charges, but some compared his detainment with Mengs luxurious surroundings. In recent interviews with international news outlets, Mengs father, Ren Zhengfei, who is Huaweis billionaire founder, suggested that her detention has brought the two closer together. Before her arrest, Ren said, Meng rarely called or texted him. Now the two speak regularly by phone. When Ren turned 75 in October, Meng posted a handwritten birthday greeting on social media. The post included a photo of her standing outdoors wearing her ankle monitor. The letter was signed Piggy a nickname apparently given to her when she was a chubby child. Given that Meng is wanted by the United States on fraud charges, it has not gone unnoticed among local residents in her neighbourhood that her 8,047-square-foot house is just a few doors down from the residence of the U.S. consul general, where an American flag flaps in the wind. A short walk away is the hulking Consulate General of the Peoples Republic of China. Ji Jiahao, 22, came to Vancouver from Shanghai to study English and lives in a mansion on the same street as Meng. He said Meng had not broken any laws and should be released. Canada has always been the little brother of United States, he said. It does whatever the United States does. Hayden Rubensohn, a doctor who works in the area, said Mengs bail conditions showed that Canada was a humane country. But he said they did spur some resentment in a city with a vast economic gap. Its hard for people to see foreigners living with so much wealth, he said, when people in Vancouver are struggling to make ends meet. Read more about: Salaries in Britain's technology industry surged in 2019 with cyber security experts among those enjoying hefty pay hikes as the threat of online attacks sent demand soaring, new figures have shown. A salary report from Reed Specialist Recruitment revealed that technology was the fastest growing sector last year after a 13.8 per cent hike in jobs posted and a 4.7 per cent increase in the average salary. Its Salary Guide - which analysed 7.5 million jobs posted since the start of 2016 - showed the new data protection rules and the rising threat of cyber crime in particular has seen demand for some roles rocket, which is pushing up salaries. Reed's Salary Guide showed the new data protection rules and the rising threat of cyber crime in particular has seen demand for some cybersecurity roles rocket A network security analyst has seen a 34 per cent rise in average salary since 2017, to 63,000, it found. But the overall number of UK jobs advertised fell in 2019 after two years of growth, according to the figures. Other IT roles that saw significant salary hikes over the 40,000 mark include a 22.4 per cent rise for network security analysts, an 11.5 per cent increase for infrastructure security engineers and 7.5 per cent jump for user interface designers. Brexit also had an impact as some sectors face a skills shortage as a result of the impending EU withdrawal, with pastry chefs among those benefiting from surging wages in a bid to attract applicants - up 28.2 per cent in 2019. Net-EU migration fell to its lowest level since 2003 in November as more workers from Eastern Europe return home. The number of EU nationals who came to the UK in the year to June 2019 versus those who left was 48,000. The decline in EU workers has worried some industries, including the food and drink sector, which relies heavily on seasonal workers from Eastern Europe. The Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) recently found that only a fifth of firms it polled think the supply of engineering skills will improve in the next three to five years The UK government is planning to introduce an Australian-style points-based immigration system that could see strict limits imposed on unskilled workers coming to work in the UK. Engineering jobs were likewise in high demand, with a 0.9 per cent rise in jobs advertised last year. However, engineering wages edged 2.1 per cent higher compared with the national average of 3.4 per cent. The Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) recently found that only a fifth of firms it polled believe the supply of engineering and technology skills will improve in the next three to five years. Half of engineering firms also said that skills shortages are a threat to their business and that the diversity needed to attract more of the necessary workers has not sufficiently materialised. IET's head of policy Joanna Cox said: 'There has been no progress in diversifying the engineering and technical workforce since 2017 and yet attracting under-represented groups will widen the pool of trained engineers and reduce skills shortages and gaps.' Boris Johnson wants an to introduce an Australian-style points-based immigration system that could see strict limits imposed on unskilled workers coming to work in the UK She called on the government to give more opportunities for young people and for greater cooperation between businesses and the education system. Tom Lovell, global managing director at Reed Specialist Recruitment, said: 'An ageing workforce combined with a lack of new talent entering the engineering sector is also a challenge, leading to higher vacancy levels.' He added the report showed how sectors are responding to the changing political and commercial landscape. 'It is no coincidence that talented pastry chefs are in demand, given an historic reliance on EU nationals and our changing relationship with Europe, meaning many chefs have returned overseas,' he said. The data reveals that increases in the National Living Wage is providing a boost to average salaries in lower level roles. In fact, it showed the highest rate of average salary increase was for hospitality and leisure workers, at 6.1 per cent. The minimum wage will rise to 8.72 from April. The 6.2 per cent increase is set to benefit three million workers who will take home an extra 930 a year Last year, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that the minimum wage will rise to 8.72 from April. The 6.2 per cent increase is expected to benefit three million workers who will take home an extra 930 a year. All 21-24 year olds will also see a 50p increase in their minimum wage to 8.20. The Chancellor Sajid Javid has promised the minimum will jump to two-thirds of median earnings by 2024. A survey from the Federation of Small Businesses found that around forty per cent of employers will raise prices to offset the wage increase, while about 25 per cent say they will recruit fewer workers. 'There's always a danger of being self-defeating in this space: wage increases aren't much good to workers if prices rise, jobs are lost and there's no impact on productivity because employers are forced to cut back on investing in tech, training and equipment,' he said. The Enforcement Directorate once again interrogated Karti Chidambaram, son of former Finance Minister P Chidambaram, over the INX Media money laundering case on Monday. The agency recorded Karti's statement in the matter under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), reports suggest. Allegations against Karti state that he received kickbacks in lieu of his father P Chidambaram facilitating infusion of foreign funds in INX Media in 2007 during his tenure as the Finance Minister. The veteran Congress leader was incarcerated for 106 days in this case, and was granted bail by the Supreme Court on December 4 last year. Both Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) have alleged that the Chidambaram father-son duo received kickbacks for a deal worth Rs 305 crore. He had been questioned several times in the past by the ED in relation to this case. Back in March 2018, Karti was arrested from Chennai airport in relation to the INX Media case. He was granted bail by Delhi High Court after spending 22 days in Tihar jail. The ED also attached properties worth Rs 54 crore belonging to Karti in 2018. Agency sources had earlier alleged that P Chidambaram and Karti were the "beneficial owners" of several shell firms that were incorporated in India and abroad in connection with a Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approval given to the INX Media group during the former's tenure as the Union finance minister. The central agency's probe found that the alleged kickbacks so received by the father-son duo were used to meet their "personal expenses". They put the money in over two dozen foreign accounts and purchased multiple immovable assets in countries such as Malaysia, the United Kingdom and Spain among others, according to the ED. ALSO READ: Snub more people to make India $5 trillion economy: Chidambaram on Piyush Goyal's 'no favour' jibe at Jeff Bezos ALSO READ: If unemployment rises, youth may explode in anger: Chidambaram ALSO READ: Chidambaram mocks Modi govt, says 'you cannot build economy on Uber, WeWork' Kathmandu, January 20 The main opposition Nepali Congress has asked the ruling Nepal Communist Party to support its candidate for the position of deputy speaker. Because the ruling party has nearly two-thirds majority lawmakers, whoever gets supports from its lawmakers will be elected. As the current Deputy Speaker Shiva Maya Tumbahamphe is resigning so as to let the party field its candidate for the speaker, the opposition partys chief whip Bal Krishna Khand said it expected that the NCP would let the Congress claim the deputy position. Khand said lawmakers from his party would vote for the NCPs candidate for the speaker if the NCP agreed to support the Congress candidate for the deputy speaker. The opposition party is preparing to field its candidate against the NCPs Agni Prasad Sapkota for the speakers poll if the party would not support the Congress candidate for the deputy. Business leaders need to have a fresh approach in 2020. (Source: Getty) Its the start of 2020 and, this time, its not just another new year but the beginning of a brand-new decade. With one of the most revolutionary decades now behind us, its time for leaders to start thinking about how to ready their business for a fresh and even more fast-paced era of game-changing opportunities, exciting wins and new milestones. Here are some business basics that every company should consider from SMEs to multinationals as they navigate their way to greater profitability and success in 2020 and beyond. Spend more on your employees The business world has come a long way in its understanding of the importance of investing in employees to keep them happy and engaged. Today, onsite gyms, flexible working practices and lunchtime yoga classes are just some of the things modern companies are implementing to attract the best and most talented people and drive productivity. And theres plenty of research out there to prove that it really works. According to a Deloitte study, motivated and engaged employees are 57% more effective at work and 87% less likely to leave. With the success of your business so closely linked to its people, you should head into 2020 with a few ideas for how you can make your employees feel more appreciated, energised and comfortable every day. After all, any investment you make to achieve these objectives is likely to lead to stronger returns in the long run. Borrow money to earn more money Investing in new tools and equipment, spending money on marketing, carrying out renovations or buying more stock can often lead to generating more revenue in the long-term. But the problem for many business leaders is that they struggle to find the cash in the first place to take that all-important next step forward investing in new revenue generating opportunities. If you think its too tricky or time-consuming to get finance with a traditional financial institution, alternative lending institutions could be your solution to quickly getting your hands on the funds you need to give your business a boost when the time is right. Story continues Diversify your marketing strategy As consumers become increasingly digitally connected, technology has opened an array of new marketing channels that enable businesses to communicate and interact with their target audiences in the right context and at the best time. More specifically, as we head into the next decade, itll become much more important to leverage an omnichannel marketing strategy that delivers improved ROI in terms of open rates and lead generation. For example, business leaders could benefit from spending some time considering the unique role that robust social media strategies, EDMs and SMS alerts and notifications could play in winning new business and engaging with customers. Reward your customers to reward yourself Today, customers arent just looking at the price and quality of products and services when choosing a brand, theyre also driven by the desire to get something back in return for their loyalty. Almost 80 per cent of Australians are members of at least one loyalty scheme. Typically, these schemes reward customers with points while many offer affiliate marketing schemes. Its important to capitalise on this trend in an age where businesses are having to do more and more to beat the competition. So, 2020 might be the time to explore opportunities to partner with third-party loyalty programs that can act as a marketing tool and a means to reach new audiences. Running a business is never a game of set and forget. As we make headway into a new year, all business leaders should engage in some outside-the-box thinking and re-evaluation to ensure theyre equipped and on track to embrace new opportunities in a changing environment. Reuven Barukh is the CEO of Live group. Make your money work with Yahoo Finances daily newsletter. Sign up here and stay on top of the latest money, property and tech news. PM Narendra Modi with newly elected BJP National President JP Nadda, after the latter was elected as the new chief of the BJP unit unopposed, at BJP HQ in New Delhi. Veteran party leader LK Advani, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Home Minister Amit Shah are also seen. (Image: PTI) Nineteen Indian sailors who were kidnapped by pirates near the Nigerian coast have been released, the Indian Mission in Nigeria has said. It, however, said a twentieth sailor lost his life as a result of an ill condition in captivity. The Indian government on December 14, had said 20 of its nationals aboard an oil tanker, MV Duke, were kidnapped by pirates in the Gulf of Guinea West along the shores of Nigeria. Our Mission in Abuja has taken up the matter with the Nigerian authorities, as also with the authorities of the neighboring countries, the Indian foreign ministry had said. But in a statement on Sunday, the Indian High Commission in Nigeria via its verified Twitter handle, @india_nigeria, said only 19 were of the crew members were released. It said one sadly died in captivity in adverse conditions. Indian Govt & Mission gave highest priority and worked with @NigeriaGov on release of 20 Indian seafarers kidnapped on 15 Dec from MV Duke. 19 were released yesterday. One sadly died in captivity in adverse conditions. Our deepest condolences.Mission assiting in speedy return. India in Nigeria (and Benin, Chad & ECOWAS) (@india_nigeria) January 19, 2020 Indian Govt and Mission gave the highest priority and worked with @NigeriaGov on the release of 20 Indian seafarers kidnapped on 15 Dec from MV Duke. 19 were released yesterday. One sadly died in captivity in adverse conditions. Our deepest condolences. Mission assisting in speedy return, the High Commission said. Not the first time PREMIUM TIMES in July reported how ten Turkish sailors on a cargo ship were kidnapped for ransom by armed men off the coast of Nigeria. The shipping company, Kadioglu Denizcilik, in a statement then said the vessel was attacked when the pirates boarded the ship on its way from Cameroon to the Ivory Coast in the Gulf of Guinea. Pirates on December 5 also kidnapped 19 crew members, (all but one of them Indian nationals), from a supertanker off Nigeria. The craft was chartered by French oil major, Total, to deliver crude oil to India. Pirates also released three crew members taken hostage from a Greek oil tanker off the coast of Togo in November. In Kerala, not all Syro-Malabar rite churches have followed the reading of the directive. The Indian bishops are concerned about the alleged conversions forcibly extracted from Christian girls, seduced and then radicalized in the Islamic "holy war". New Delhi (AsiaNews / Agencies) - In Kerala, several Syro-Malabar Catholic churches have read a communique that invites the faithful to pay attention to the practice of forced conversions called "love jihad". The directive was read yesterday during Sunday masses, despite the criticisms that have fallen on the Church for the choice to share their concerns on the issue of alleged conversions forcibly extracted from Christian girls, seduced and then radicalized. In fact, the practice is also one of the workhorses of the nationalist right. The concerns of the ecclesiastical hierarchies were raised during the recent Plenary of the Syro-Malabar Synod, one of the three rites of the Indian Bishops' Conference (CBCI). The position of the bishops is animated by the intent to protect the Christian community, following the publication of investigations by the Indian police who arrested several Islamic radicals who had joined the fighters of the Islamic State. Of those arrested, half were Christian converts. For this reason the bishops share the data of the investigations and report that "the problem is real". However, other churches of the same rite, especially in the diocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly, have chosen not to publish the communique, signed by Card. George Alencherry, major archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church. The diocese in question is also the one where in recent months numerous demonstrations have taken place against the cardinal, at the center of a land scandal. An article published in Sathyadeepam, the diocese's weekly magazine, criticizes the Synod's choice to associate Islam with "love jihad" at a time when "the country is burning in the name of religious policies. It would be common sense not to throw petrol on the fire by denigrating any religion . The reference is to the new citizenship law passed by the Indian Parliament last December. It excludes Muslim immigrants from the request for naturalization, while it includes six persecuted minorities (Hindus, Buddhists, Jainists, Christians, Sikhs and Parsis) in three neighboring countries with an Islamic majority (Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh). The Syro-Malabar Church and the Council of Catholic Bishops of Kerala (both bodies are chaired by Cardinal Alencherry), expressed favorable opinions on the law, while asking "to include illegal migrants of all religions". January 10, 2020 Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada Today, Minister Champagne spoke to his US counterpart, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The two Ministers began by speaking about the tragic crash of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752. Secretary Pompeo expressed his condolences to the family and loved ones of the Canadians who died. The Ministers discussed the intelligence that indicates that the plane was likely shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile, perhaps unintentionally. Secretary Pompeo offered the US governments full assistance in the ongoing investigation. Finally, the Ministers discussed the situation in Iraq, Iran and the region. Minister Champagne emphasized the need for a de-escalation in tensions and reiterated Canadas commitment to peace, stability and prosperity for the people of Iraq. Both Ministers agreed to remain in close touch as this situation continues to evolve. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 10:57:38|Editor: Wang Yamei Video Player Close BERLIN, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping's special envoy Yang Jiechi on Sunday met with President of European Council Charles Michel here with the two sides agreeing to jointly promote China-EU ties through closer cooperation. During the meeting on the sidelines of the Berlin Conference on Libya, Yang said President Xi reached important consensus with Michel on deepening the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership, which has guided a smooth transition of China-EU relations and charted the course for the development of bilateral ties in the next phase. Yang, also member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, told Michel that China and the EU need to strengthen communication, coordination and cooperation and work together to safeguard multilateralism to ensure the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership moves forward steadily. It not only conforms to the common interests of both sides, but will also bring more stability, certainty and positive energy to the world, added Yang. He noted that China is willing to make joint efforts with the new EU institutions to make sure a series of important agendas between China and the EU this year will be successful and promote the active and healthy development of the four China-EU partnerships featuring peace, growth, reform and civilization. Michel said it is an extremely important year for both the EU and China as the two sides have many key political agendas. The EU side is willing to maintain close communication and coordination with China and push for positive outcomes in priority areas of cooperation such as economy, trade and investment. Michel said that the EU views China as a key partner and it is ready to work with China to implement multilateralism and better address climate change and other global challenges. A new UCL-led study in the UK has suggested that the black and Asian people with dementia are not receiving the same quality of medical care as their white peers. The finding which was published in Clinical Epidemiology, reveal that Asian people with dementia are less likely to receive anti-dementia drugs, and they take them for shorter periods. People belonging to black ethnic groups who are diagnosed with Dementia are prescribed antipsychotic drugs. Not giving attention to the primary symptoms, they are being suggested drugs that are used to treat dementia-related distress. The lead author of the study, Professor Claudia Cooper said, "Our new findings are concerning as they appear to reflect inequalities in the care people receive to treat symptoms associated with dementia." Researchers analysed data from 53,718 people across the UK who had a dementia diagnosis, and 1,648,889 people without dementia, drawing from The Improvement Network primary care database and collected between 2014 and 2016. Analysed a data of 53,718 people across the UK who had a dementia diagnosis, and 1,648,889 people without dementia, the researchers found that, Asian people with dementia were 14 per cent less likely than white patients to be prescribed anti-dementia drugs when they were potentially beneficial, and received them for an average of 15 fewer days per year. Drugs like antipsychotics are usually prescribed to treat some of the associated and psychological symptoms, while, Anti-dementia drugs - cholinesterase inhibitors or memantine - are the only class of medication available for treating dementia Both Asian and black people with dementia were prescribed antipsychotic drugs for longer than white patients, by 27 and 17 days more, respectively, which could put them at greater risk of harmful side effects. "Rates of antipsychotic prescribing in all ethnic groups exceeded recommendations for treating the often very distressing behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia, such as agitation or challenging behaviours, which are the most common reasons antipsychotic drugs are prescribed to people living with dementia," explained Professor Cooper. Co-author professor Jill Manthorpe also pitched that experts should raise the question of whether antipsychotic drugs are being prescribed instead of other forms of support that could address causes of the distressing symptoms. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) First drill test of Horsethief gold property, Nevada, funded by Hochschild Follow up drilling targeting high grade silver at Haldane, Yukon Additional early-stage exploration for high-grade gold and silver in BC, Nevada and Yukon VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 20, 2020 -- Alianza Minerals Ltd. (TSX-V: ANZ, OTC: TARSF) (Alianza or the Company) announces plans for the 2020 field programs on the Companys projects include drilling on two projects, one gold and one silver, and plans drill targeting on three others in Nevada, Yukon Territory and British Columbia. We are looking forward to another busy year for Alianza in 2020, following up on the successful programs at Horsethief and Haldane in 2019, stated Jason Weber, P.Geo, president and CEO of Alianza. With drilling planned for two projects, 2020 should be an exciting year for Alianza shareholders. The Company invites investors and shareholders attending the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference January 19th and 20th to visit the Alianza booth and learn about our projects and plans. The Company will also be displaying core from the Haldane Silver Project January 22nd and 23rd and giving a presentation on the Haldane Project January 23rd, at the Association for Mineral Explorations Roundup Conference in Vancouver. Achievements in 2019 In summary, 2019 was a very successful year for Alianza which achieved the following: April - Alianza optioned our three Nevada gold projects to Hochschild Mining plc After completion of programs at all three, Hochschild elected to drill specific targets at Horsethief in 2020 and handed the other two projects back to Alianza in a more advanced state. June - Alianza announced a letter of intent to option the Tim silver project in Yukon to Coeur Mining Ltd. July - Alianza announced a financing of $750,000 and closed it at $1.1 million, well over subscribed. August - Alianza completed sampling at KRL in BCs Golden Triangle to follow up on high grade gold samples previously found at surface. August - Alianza began drilling at the high-grade Haldane silver project in the Keno Hill area of the Yukon, resulting in discovery of a new silver vein target at the Bighorn Zone (2.35m averaging 125.7 g/t Ag, 4.4% Pb). November - Alianza announced high-grade silver drill results from the Middlecoff Zone (455 g/t Ag over 1.02 metres and 996 g/t Ag and 28.35% Pb over 0.35 metres) on the Haldane Project. December - Alianza announced the expansion of the KRL showing including a highlight sample grading 35.7 g/t Au. Plans for 2020 Nevada Planning is underway for drilling at the Horsethief Property, NV with funding from partner Hochschild Mining. Drilling will target disseminated gold mineralization near the contact of Cambrian and Ordovician aged rocks an important age that hosts large gold deposits elsewhere in Nevada, such as the Long Canyon mine. Prior to drilling, an Induced Polarization and magnetics survey, slated to start in February, will investigate the new claims added to the property subsequent to the completion of the 2019 program. These claims were acquired in light of the discovery of gold-bearing jasperoid alteration in carbonate rocks east of the property. Approximately five line-kilometres of IP and 20 line-kilometres of magnetics will be completed. Drilling will commence as soon as weather conditions on the property permit. Also in Nevada, Alianza is planning mapping and sampling programs at its wholly-owned BP and Bellview properties in the southern extension of the Carlin Trend and in the vicinity of the Bald Mountain gold mine. At BP, work will focus on refining the carbonate stratigraphy on the property to focus further exploration, while at Bellview, work will concentrate on the CS Showing. In both cases, the 2020 field work will be completed in order to upgrade the properties for potential option/JV partnerships. Yukon Territory The Haldane Property, located in the Keno Hill District of Yukon Territory is the second property Alianza plans to test with drilling in 2020. This program will follow up the 2019 drill program which resulted in the discovery of a new high-grade silver target at the Bighorn Zone as well as following up high-grade silver mineralization intersected in drilling at the Middlecoff Zone. The results of the 2019 program are being compiled and detailed planning for 2020 will commence once that work is complete. The Company is also expecting to have a partner secured to fund exploration at its road-accessible Tim Property in southern Yukon Territory. Exploration at Tim is targeting high-grade silver-lead-zinc Carbonate Replacement Mineralization (CRM) similar in style to that found at the Silvertip Mine, 12 kilometres south of the property. It is expected that the program will consist of detailed mapping, soil geochemical surveys and reopening old trenches dating back to 1988. In 2013, a focused work program to re-evaluate a historical zone of silver-lead rich Carbonate Replacement Mineralization (CRM) returned 3.7 metres assaying 365 g/t silver and 7.5% lead from a channel sample. British Columbia The Company is also planning a follow-up program at the KRL gold property in the Golden Triangle, BC. The 2019 program identified a potential corridor to host high-grade gold mineralization (Alianza highlights include 122.8 g/t gold over 30 cm). The 2020 program will consist of detailed mapping of this target to assess the potential for additional high grade gold veins and to prioritized targets for drilling. Management expects to be active on five projects in 2020, with Alianza operating all but one. The Company is also actively seeking partners for other projects in the portfolio in Yukon, Nevada and Peru. About Alianza Minerals Ltd. Alianza employs an exploration model of joint venture funding and self-funded projects to maximize opportunity for exploration success. The Company currently has gold, silver and base metal projects in Yukon Territory, British Columbia, Nevada and Peru. Alianza currently has two projects optioned out in Nevada and Yukon Territory, and is actively exploring on two others. Alianzas current partners include Hochschild Mining plc and Coeur Mining, Inc. The Company has 82.4 million shares issued and outstanding and is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol ANZ and trades on the OTC market in the US under the symbol TARSF. Mr. Jason Weber, P.Geo., President and CEO of Alianza Minerals Ltd. is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Weber supervised the preparation of the technical information contained in this release. For further information, contact: Jason Weber, President and CEO Sandrine Lam, Shareholder Communications Tel: (604) 687-3520 Fax: (888) 889-4874 Renmark Financial Communications Inc. Melanie Barbeau mbarbeau@renmarkfinancial.com Tel: (416) 644-2020 or (514) 939-3989 www.renmarkfinancial.com To learn more visit: www.alianzaminerals.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. STATEMENTS IN THIS NEWS RELEASE, OTHER THAN PURELY HISTORICAL INFORMATION, INCLUDING STATEMENTS RELATING TO THE COMPANY'S FUTURE PLANS AND OBJECTIVES OR EXPECTED RESULTS, MAY INCLUDE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS ARE BASED ON NUMEROUS ASSUMPTIONS AND ARE SUBJECT TO ALL OF THE RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES INHERENT IN RESOURCE EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT. AS A RESULT, ACTUAL RESULTS MAY VARY MATERIALLY FROM THOSE DESCRIBED IN THE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 20:11:43|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), visits an ecological wetland of Dianchi Lake in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, Jan. 20, 2020. Xi visited the wetland to examine the protection and pollution treatment of the lake during an inspection tour to the province. (Xinhua/Ju Peng) KUNMING, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, on Monday visited an ecological wetland of Dianchi Lake in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province. Xi visited the wetland to examine the protection and pollution treatment of the lake during an inspection tour to the province. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 15:02:01|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close by Xiong Maoling and Hu Yousong WASHINGTON, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- The China-U.S. phase-one economic and trade agreement will not only benefit the U.S. business community but also support China's economic growth in the next decade, U.S.-China Business Council President Craig Allen told Xinhua in a recent interview. China and the United States formally signed their phase-one economic and trade agreement in Washington last week, defusing tensions between the world's two largest economies after nearly two years' strenuous negotiations. There is a lot of "excitement" in the U.S. business community, said Allen, who was among those invited to attend the signing ceremony. The agreement covers issues that range from expanding bilateral trade in such sectors as agricultural products, manufactured goods, energy and service, to further broadening market access and enhancing the protection of intellectual property rights. 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. "It gives me great joy that this is an agreement that is both good for the Chinese side and good for the American side," said Allen, who leads a nonprofit organization of about 200 U.S. companies that do business with China. He said the deal will grant U.S. insurance, banking, securities and payments companies improved access to the Chinese market, thus the allocation of capital within China can be "greatly improved." "I think that all elements of this trade deal are going to help sustain economic growth in China for the foreseeable future," he added. The business leader spoke highly of the agreement, saying it is "a foundation upon which we can build, and it allows both governments to begin a new phase in the overall bilateral relationship." Furthermore, it will "give us an opportunity to better manage those other risks in a more collaborative and friendly and constructive manner," he said. Allen said he hopes the two countries can "maintain positive momentum going forward" until they eventually remove all the additional tariffs. Beijing and Washington have engaged in trade negotiations for nearly two years. Despite overall stable economic growth in both countries, Allen said he does worry about a drop-off in tourist visas, displacement of some American exports into China, and a decline in Chinese investment in the United States, "which we need." Allen, who served as commercial attache at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing in the 1990s, said the two countries have been economically integrated over the past 40 years. "We have so much to learn from each other and so much to gain from interconnectivity, mutual investment, collaboration across technological fields. The last 40 years have been incredibly fruitful in those areas," he said. "How about the next 40 years?" If Akufo Addo really wants to be recognized as a good or intelligent Ghanaian president, that really cares about the suffering of common Ghanaians, then he must quickly apologize to Ghanaians and takeover the uncompleted projects left by the former government of the National Democratic Congress. If not, anyone who votes for this man is not really an intelligent person. Find out and you will know. In 2016, NDC was defeated by the NPP party under the current leader, Nana Akufo Addo and before leaving office, the ex-Ghanaian leader, John Mahama left many projects uncompleted. Some of the abandoned projects include: The E-Block in the Yunyoo/Nansuan district. The Walewale- Wungu road project. The Yagaba- Mankarigu road project. The Dormitory and Classroom blocks at Walewale Vocational institute. A police post at Wenchiki in the Chereponi District. The Yendi- Chereponi road. A Dining Hall Complex at Nalerigu Secondary School. The Eastern corridor. A Dining Hall Complex at the Bunkpurugu Secondary School. The E-Block project at Langbinsi in the East Mamprusi Municipal. These projects, for God's sake, are the property of Ghana or for Ghanaians, toward economic and political developments in the country. Therefore, it doesn't make sense for a new political party in power to abandon such projects. Politics in Africa is taken as a joke by the developed world, while African leaders are never given the recognition they deserve because of the lack of efficiency and their corrupt nature. Apart from corruption which has affected Africas development, bad leadership has affected Africa too. There are so many rich resources, yet the leaders lack the knowledge to utilize them. There are brilliant people in Ghana, unfortunately only a few people have spoken about this political blunder Nana Akufo Addo made, without taking its impact on the economy of Ghana into consideration. All that Ghanaians are interested in or saying is the NPP will win, however, they forget that once a bad leader in four years, these same bad leadership will be in the next four years. It seems most Ghanaians have lost their thinking ability to realize how Akufo Addos administration has made Ghana lost millions of dollars, due to the abandoned projects, poor planning, overestimation of the cost of projects and corruption. Like always, the common Ghanaians are those that feel the impact of the poor administration and ineffective leadership. Politicians know where they get their extra income, therefore, they don't feel that pain or the economic burden. Make any political research and find out which new government neglected projects of the former government to be a waste, youll never find it anywhere, unless Ghana because of the lack of intelligence, yet Ghanaians think Akufo Addo is the most intelligent leader because of implementing a free education. Implementing a free education doesnt make one intelligent but the quality of leadership a president offers to the citizen is what matters. Providing good medical facilities, creating jobs to reduce unemployment, running an effective judiciary system and sustainable economy are the tasks that identify good leadership and intelligence. These are what European leaders and the presidents of the United States of America in the past and today, provide for their citizens. They dont abandon projects left behind by the Democrats or the Republicans. Akufo Addo what you did makes you a very bad leader indeed and doesnt even permit you to be a minister let alone a president. However, I know that you may win the 2020 elections because many Ghanaians have lost their thinking ability, due to the impact of frustration under NDC. But before you win or lose the elections, apologize to Ghanaians and take over the uncompleted projects because they are for Ghanaians, not for the NDC. Eliminate hate, jealousy, tribalism, and nepotism from your government because they are diseases that affect the growth of every country. If Ghanaians are really intelligent as I know, this is the question they must find an answer: If in the first four years, Akufo Addo neglects projects left by the NDC government, which belongs to Ghanaians, so if he wins the 2020 elections, what's he going to do with those projects, just to be a waste? Ghanaians asleep must wake from their slumber and cast their precious votes wisely in 2020. The hypocrisy of Akufo Addo will come back to haunt him. According to him, he wants to improve education, the reason he implemented a free education. Intelligent Ghanaians must ask him: If he really wants to improve the access to education, why did he abandon the uncompleted educational blocks by NDC? All the NPP politicians are stinking hypocrites, time will tell, that I just don't write meaningless articles but true facts. Today we'll take a closer look at IRESS Limited (ASX:IRE) from a dividend investor's perspective. Owning a strong business and reinvesting the dividends is widely seen as an attractive way of growing your wealth. Unfortunately, it's common for investors to be enticed in by the seemingly attractive yield, and lose money when the company has to cut its dividend payments. A high yield and a long history of paying dividends is an appealing combination for IRESS. It would not be a surprise to discover that many investors buy it for the dividends. Some simple analysis can offer a lot of insights when buying a company for its dividend, and we'll go through this below. Click the interactive chart for our full dividend analysis ASX:IRE Historical Dividend Yield, January 19th 2020 Payout ratios Companies (usually) pay dividends out of their earnings. If a company is paying more than it earns, the dividend might have to be cut. So we need to form a view on if a company's dividend is sustainable, relative to its net profit after tax. In the last year, IRESS paid out 126% of its profit as dividends. A payout ratio above 100% is definitely an item of concern, unless there are some other circumstances that would justify it. In addition to comparing dividends against profits, we should inspect whether the company generated enough cash to pay its dividend. The company paid out 77% of its free cash flow as dividends last year, which is adequate, but reduces the wriggle room in the event of a downturn. It's good to see that while IRESS's dividends were not covered by profits, at least they are affordable from a cash perspective. Still, if the company repeatedly paid a dividend greater than its profits, we'd be concerned. Very few companies are able to sustainably pay dividends larger than their reported earnings. Is IRESS's Balance Sheet Risky? As IRESS's dividend was not well covered by earnings, we need to check its balance sheet for signs of financial distress. A rough way to check this is with these two simple ratios: a) net debt divided by EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation), and b) net interest cover. Net debt to EBITDA is a measure of a company's total debt. Net interest cover measures the ability to meet interest payments. Essentially we check that a) the company does not have too much debt, and b) that it can afford to pay the interest. IRESS has net debt of 1.66 times its EBITDA, which is generally an okay level of debt for most companies. Story continues Net interest cover can be calculated by dividing earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) by the company's net interest expense. With EBIT of 13.23 times its interest expense, IRESS's interest cover is quite strong - more than enough to cover the interest expense. Remember, you can always get a snapshot of IRESS's latest financial position, by checking our visualisation of its financial health. Dividend Volatility Before buying a stock for its income, we want to see if the dividends have been stable in the past, and if the company has a track record of maintaining its dividend. For the purpose of this article, we only scrutinise the last decade of IRESS's dividend payments. The dividend has been stable over the past 10 years, which is great. We think this could suggest some resilience to the business and its dividends. During the past ten-year period, the first annual payment was AU$0.31 in 2010, compared to AU$0.46 last year. Dividends per share have grown at approximately 4.0% per year over this time. While the consistency in the dividend payments is impressive, we think the relatively slow rate of growth is unappealing. Dividend Growth Potential Dividend payments have been consistent over the past few years, but we should always check if earnings per share (EPS) are growing, as this will help maintain the purchasing power of the dividend. It's good to see IRESS has been growing its earnings per share at 16% a year over the past five years. Paying out more in dividends than was reported as profit can make sense in some cases, we would be inclined to avoid a company doing this, unless there were a solid reason. Conclusion To summarise, shareholders should always check that IRESS's dividends are affordable, that its dividend payments are relatively stable, and that it has decent prospects for growing its earnings and dividend. We're a bit uncomfortable with its high payout ratio, although at least the dividend was covered by free cash flow. We like that it has been delivering solid improvement in its earnings per share, and relatively consistent dividend payments. In sum, we find it hard to get excited about IRESS from a dividend perspective. It's not that we think it's a bad business; just that there are other companies that perform better on these criteria. Companies that are growing earnings tend to be the best dividend stocks over the long term. See what the 6 analysts we track are forecasting for IRESS for free with public analyst estimates for the company. If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at our curated list of dividend stocks yielding above 3%. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading. [January 20, 2020] Francesco Baschieri Accepted Into Forbes Business Council NEW YORK, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Francesco Baschieri, president of audio technology company Voxnest , has been accepted into the Forbes Business Council, the foremost growth and networking organization for successful business owners and leaders worldwide. Baschieri was vetted and selected by a review committee based on the depth and diversity of his experience. Criteria for acceptance include a track record of successfully impacting business growth metrics, as well as personal and professional achievements and honors. "We are honored to welcome Francesco into the community," said Scott Gerber, founder of Forbes Councils, the collective that includes Forbes Business Council. "Our mission with Forbes Councils is to bring together proven leaders from every industry, creating a curated, social capital-driven network that helps every member grow professionally and make an even greater impact on the business world." As an accepted member of the Council, Baschieri has access to a variety of exclusive opportunities designed to help him reach peak professional influence. He will connect and collaborate with other respected local leaders in a private forum and at members-only events. Baschieri will also be invited to work with a professional editorial team to share his expert insights in original buiness articles on Forbes.com, and to contribute to published Q&A panels alongside other experts. Finally, Baschieri will benefit from exclusive access to vetted business service partners, membership-branded marketing collateral, and the high-touch support of the Forbes Councils member concierge team. "I'm grateful for the opportunity to join so many respected business leaders in the Forbes Council community," said Baschieri. "It's a great chance to further cement how Voxnest is leading the way in the podcast technology industry." About Forbes Councils Forbes Councils is a collective of invitation-only communities created in partnership with Forbes and the expert community builders who founded Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC). In Forbes Councils, exceptional business owners and leaders come together with the people and resources that can help them thrive. About Voxnest Voxnest is a technology company that provides professional solutions for podcasters and the brands looking to engage with listeners. The company's comprehensive tools for podcast creation, distribution, management, measurement, monetization and advertising include Spreaker, catering to independent podcasters, Spreaker Enterprise, a turnkey platform for enterprises, and Dynamo, a standalone monetization solution that gives any podcaster, regardless of host or distribution platform, the ability to earn revenue using Voxnest's real-time, dynamic ad injection technology. The company also works directly with brands looking to deliver highly-targeted, high-impact advertising campaigns through podcasts. The company, launched in January 2018 following the merger of Spreaker and BlogTalkRadio, is led by co-founder and President Francesco Baschieri and is headquartered in New York. 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That is our mission. The air intelligence wing of the customs department at the Biju Patnaik International Airport seized 215 grams of gold worth Rs 8.91 lakh from a passenger who landed here from Kuala Lumpur, officials said on Monday. Forty eight gold pieces of foreign origin were found concealed in the baggage of the passenger, a resident of Madurai in Tamil Nadu, on January 17, they said. The seizure was made under the provisions of the Customs Act, they added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ministers made many enemies with their work, the prime minister believes. Oleksiy Honcharuk, Ukraine's prime minister who came to top government office in the summer of 2019 after Volodymyr Zelensky won presidency, believes the fact that his meeting was wiretapped is a threat to the national security of Ukraine. Explaining his move to submit a resignation letter to the president, the prime minister said he thus confirmed a vote of confidence in himself on the part of the head of state, Channel 24 reports. "Now it's very important that we have no misunderstandings within the team. Over the past four months, we have been doing a lot of things that create plenty of problems for corrupt officials and bribe-takers. And, obviously, we're making a lot of enemies," the prime minister said. Read alsoZelensky doesn't accept PM Honcharuk's resignation "I think that the security services will figure out who bugged us... Actually, I think that this is a crime. I believe that what's been done is unacceptable. This is, in fact, also a threat to national security with a number of considerations. But, my main idea, the message, is that we are uncompromised in our fight against corruption," Honcharuk said. There is no top-level corruption in the incumbent government, its leader believes. Speaking about the leaked tapes of his alleged communications with other officials, Honcharuk said that they were "tailored quotes, taken out of context and seasoned with comments." "All this was a manipulation," he said, adding that he sees "nothing criminal" in the contents of his communications during what he called a "working meeting" with other officials. Read alsoZelensky orders to establish source of leaked audio targeting PM Honcharuk As UNIAN reported earlier, on January 17, Honcharuk announced his resignation and passed the corresponding letter to the president. Zelensky said he was not accepting resignation, giving Honcharuk and his team "a chance." A Beales department store in Bournemouth. The company went into administration on Monday. Photo: Beales Department store chain Beales, one of the UKs oldest retailers, on Monday confirmed that it had gone into administration, putting more than 1,000 jobs at risk. The privately owned company said it had appointed KPMG to oversee the process, and that it had terminated its search for a buyer. While there are no plans for immediate store closures or lay-offs, it is thought that a scaled-down operation could emerge from the administration process. Founded in Bournemouth in 1881, Beales has 23 department stores in England and Scotland, and is owned by veteran retailer Tony Brown. READ MORE: No Christmas or election boost as retail sales crash in December The department store chain has around 1,050 people on staff, a total that does not include contractors. KPMG said on Monday that it will continue to operate all 23 stores as a going concern while it assesses the business. All members of staff have been retained by the joint administrators to assist in trading the stores, it said. The retailer filed a notice signalling its intention to appoint insolvency practitioners 10 days ago. Brown completed a management buyout of Beales in October 2018. In December, Beales appointed accountancy firm KPMG to complete a strategic review of the company and to examine refinancing and funding options. We are confident that we have a solution for the business that will create a stronger if leaner Beales. It is difficult trading on the high street. The difficulties are exacerbated by the lunacy of the business rates system, Brown said earlier this month. KPMG said the strategic review did not secure any solvent solutions for Beales and that, as a result, the directors took the difficult decision to place the companies into administration. For over a hundred years, Beales has been a stalwart of the high street in market towns up and down the UK, but like countless similar retailers, has found trading in recent times to be incredibly tough, said Will Wright, a partner at KPMG, on Monday. Story continues With the impact of high rents and rates exacerbated by disappointing trading over the Christmas period, and extensive discussions around additional investment proving unsuccessful, there were no other available options but to place the company into administration, he said. READ MORE: JD Wetherspoon cuts drink prices for Brexit but only for a month Gift vouchers, customer deposits, and customer returns and refunds will continue to be honoured, Wright noted. Beales has stores in the following towns and cities: Beccles Bedford Bournemouth Chipping Norton Diss Fareham Hexham Keighley Kendal Lowestoft Mansfield Perth Peterborough Poole Skegness Southport Spalding St Neots Tonbridge Wisbech Worthing Yeovil READ MORE: Five common reasons why we overspend Tens of thousands of employees in the sector lost their jobs in 2019, while behemoths like Sir Philip Greens Arcadia Group underwent restructuring and closed stores across the country. Retail sales unexpectedly declined in December, meaning that neither Christmas nor prime minister Boris Johnsons emphatic election win were enough to boost the ailing high street. The retail sector is currently experiencing the longest stretch of weakness since sectoral records began in the 1970s. Compared with November, retail sales declined by 0.6% in December, even though analysts had expected growth of 0.5%, according to official data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) released on Friday. New Delhi [India], Jan 20 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday made a veiled attack on the Congress and some other opposition parties over their stance on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and NPR, saying that "lies and rumours" were being spread by the parties which had been rejected by the people in 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The Prime Minister lauded the BJP workers and asked them to be "more active" in reaching out to the people. In his speech at the BJP headquarters after JP Nadda was elected the party's new president, Modi said that some people had objections to the party's ideals. He hit out at the Congress and said those who had been rejected by the people in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, saying that "those whose words people were not willing to hear had very few weapons left." He accused them of "spreading rumours and lies" and said that these were being fanned by the eco-system created by them. Modi said the BJP workers do not rely on mediums to convey their message but reach out to the people directly. "It is that power, which brought us back to power with a greater majority. This is an important development in India's history," he said. "There is a need to be more active. There is a need to reach every citizen," he said. Congress and several other opposition parties have opposed the Citizenship Amendment Act and raised their objections to the manner in which the National Population Register was being conducted. They have also accused the government of trying to bring the National Register of Citizens. Congress leader P Chidambaram has termed NPR as "disguised NRC". (ANI) Nasal septum tissue of a mouse (middle). Brush cells (green) were rare in the nasal respiratory epithelium (right), and highly concentrated in the main olfactory epithelium (left). Credit: Ualiyeva et al., Sci. Immunol. 5, eaax7224 (2020) A team of researchers working at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School has found evidence of brush cells in the mouse nose secreting proinflammatory lipids. In their paper published in the journal Science Immunology, the group describes their study of chemical-sensing cells in the noses of mice and what they learned about them. Human allergies and sensitivities to environmental materials have grown worse over the past several centuries as human activities have resulted in an increase in irritants. Scientists studying allergies have learned a lot about what happens during such reactions, but still do not know what triggers them. In this new effort, the researchers working in Boston have found evidence of chemical-sensing cells in the noses of mice that produce chemicals that lead to inflammation. As part of an effort to learn more about the biological processes that cause inflammatory reactions to irritants, the researchers studied chemical-sensing brush cells inside the noses and along the respiratory tracts of mice. To learn more about the cells, the researchers exposed them to a variety of known irritants and observed the responses. Prior research has shown that immune cells in the blood produce a lipid known as cysteinyl leukotriene. This fatty acid has been identified as playing a role in allergic and sensitivity reactions. Careful study of the mouse nasal brush cells showed that they, too, produce the lipidbut only when exposed to certain molds or dust mite proteins, or the energy carrier adenosine triphosphate. Testing the cells in living mice showed that exposure to the same irritants produced swelling in nasal tissue. The researchers also found that if they removed the brush cells from the noses of test mice, they experienced less inflammation. Brush cells (green) in nasal septum found in the olfactory epithelium (top row) and respiratory epithelium (bottom row). They expressed various molecules typical of the taste cell family, including DCLK1 (red), confirming their identity as brush cells. Credit: Ualiyeva et al., Sci. Immunol. 5, eaax7224 (2020) The researchers next plan to carry out similar research on brush cells in humans. If they find similar results, the next step will be to study the possibility of turning off their response to irritants or removing them altogether in extreme cases. They also plan to continue their study of brush cells as part of their effort to learn more about the factors that lead people to develop allergies. Cross-section of the nasal cavity (left) and brush cells (in green and light blue) found in the olfactory epithelium (top right) and respiratory epithelium (bottom right). Credit: Ualiyeva et al., Sci. Immunol. 5, eaax7224 (2020) Explore further Scientists discover immune cell subtype in mice that drives allergic reactions 2020 Science X Network And we watched older children at circle time, studying the animals under the sea the octopus has eight legs, the sea turtle is a reptile. They could all read, they were all comfortable in English. More than that, they were clearly comfortable in the classroom; they knew all the subtle rules of classroom conduct, like making eye contact with the teacher, raising their hands to answer, giving their answers in complete sentences. As we walked through the bright hallways, decorated, like day care and kindergarten hallways everywhere, with personalized cubbies (all the names here in English and Mandarin) and childrens art, we could hear much more raucous noises coming from the gym where groups of children were presumably engaging in more physical and more chaotic activity. All the classroom schedules featured playtime, built into the day in carefully programmed increments. But in showing us circle time, what the school was showcasing was something far more curriculum-based and far more instructional than anything my own children experienced in their years of day care. In fact, the people running the kindergarten acknowledged that parents in Shanghai are deeply aware of the competitive nature of the educational system for which the children are being prepped and expect them to emerge ready to take tests and excel. I knew that some of the college students would have concerns about whether what we were seeing represented early academic pressure on very young children. But I also knew that my students were impressed and so was I. The classrooms were cheerful, the teachers were positive, and the children seemed to be engaged in the back-and-forth of learning. Yes, the 2-year-olds sometimes seemed to be speaking English sentences they had memorized, without necessarily completely understanding them but thats also a part of how children learn language, and they were clearly enjoying shouting out the words together. And the older children the 4- and 5- and 6-year-olds understood what they were saying well enough to be making jokes and even teasing their teachers. When my own children were in day care, all those years ago, I never yearned after curriculum I just assumed that my children would read on schedule, and read well, that they would learn math just fine when the time came (by the way, the Shanghai day care center told us proudly that it follows the Singapore math curriculum, which produces much better results than our methods in the United States.) But watching the process of deliberately creating bilingual 5- and 6-year-olds, taking full advantage of that remarkable developmental window that helps children learn fluent language in those early years, I felt downright wistful. To speak a second language from childhood is to have a more capacious brain and a larger connection to the world. I never aspired to having young children who were prepped for testing, or who had been drilled to get a jump on elementary school subjects. But I looked at the way those 2- and 3-year-olds navigated a second language, and I wondered whether I could have done this for my children or found them a setting that would do it. Hes openly dished about his least favorites, but Captain Lee Rosbach from Below Deck was more than happy to discuss one of his favorite charter guests. Captain Lee Rosbach |Virginia Sherwood/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images Rosbach has hosted several guests he considers to be favorites. He told Colin Macy-OToole during a Stars Marketing Group event in Florida he has fond memories of Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy, who were the inspiration for the film The Blind Side. They were just my favorite because they were so much fun, Rosbach remarked. They just had a zest for living. And all they wanted to do was have a good time! Another one of Rosbachs favorites who also just wanted to have a good time was Steve Foam Man Bradley. Bradley appeared on the show on more than one occasion, always a little sauced and extremely committed to having fun. All he wants to do is have fun Rosbach shared that Bradley was one of his favorites and knew the comment might draw mixed reviews. Steve has been retired for a million years or so and all he wants to do is have fun, Rosbach shared. And he wants everyone around him to enjoy in his good time. He then answered the million-dollar question. Does he overindulge a little bit? Rosbach asked. You know, you might say that. But he doesnt mean any harm to anybody in the world. And Ive known Steve for a while. And when you see him out of the Below Deck context, its totally different. But watch out when hes on Below Deck. But as soon as he gets on the show its like stand back. We are going to par-tay and then some! But he just wants everybody to have a good time. Not a mean bone in his body. I think everybody would love to grow up to be like Steve and have that endless supply of cash and go wherever you want. I mean he travels like six, seven months out of the year. He goes through life like, I just wanna have fun! And whoever is with me, Come on!' He has pushed Rosbachs buttons Even though Rosbach has nothing but love for his friend, he acknowledges that Bradley can take his fun a little too far. But there are times where he will try your patience and then you have to just wear him out, he says. Rosbach recalls Bradelys recent Below Deck excursion when Bradley refused to wear a life jacket while riding a jet ski. You know, where hes on a jet ski and wont wear a life jacket, Rosbach recalls. Back and forth and back and forth. So Im just sitting there and am like, Okay its a war of attrition. Ive got to wear him out, and sooner or later he comes to the realization that, okay, nobody is gonna come out here and have fun with me and Ive had all the fun I can have by myself. So he comes back in. Thankfully, Bradley learned a lesson from that instance. Six months after that he sent me a picture and goes, I went out on another jet ski and wore my life jacket,' Rosbach says laughing. The United States is screening visitors from Wuhan, China at JFK and at airports in Los Angeles and San Francisco for people who may have symptoms of a new virus. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid China insists a Sars-like virus outbreak that could spread across the country during Lunar New Year celebrations is "controllable" despite 17 new cases in the city of Wuhan. China's National Health Commission admits the disease's source was unknown, but vowed to "step up monitoring" of any mutations during the festival period. Millions of Chinese will be heading home to their families for the holiday, also called the Spring Festival, in the next few days. The disease, also known as the coronavirus, is connected to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars), which killed nearly 650 people in China and Hong Kong during 2002 and 2003. Of the 17 new cases in the central city of Wuhan, believed to be the epicentre of the outbreak and where 62 people are now affected, three were described as "severe". The disease has also spread overseas, with two cases in Thailand, and one in Japan. Two people have died so far, including a 69-year-old man in whom it caused pulmonary tuberculosis. Scientists from the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis at Imperial College in London have warned that the number of cases in Wuhan is likely to be much higher than officially identified - closer to 1,700. Please register or log in with Independent.ie for free access to this article Register Already have an account? Log In P addy McGuinness and Chris Harris reunited on the red carpet at the premiere of the latest series of Top Gear - but their co-presenter Freddie Flintoff was missing. The duo looked cheerful as ever as they headed to Leicester Square to mark the return of the BBC Two motoring programme. To mark the occasion, a number of the vehicles that will feature in the upcoming episodes were transported to the London landmark. Together with The Stig, McGuinness and Harris posed alongside cars including an Aston Martin DBX - with the event marking the first time the model has been seen on public roads. Premiere: Harris and McGuiness were without their co-presenter / PA A teaser trailer for the new series of the long-running show saw the team attempt to pull off one of their wildest stunts yet - bungee jumping off a 500 foot dam in a Rover. The nail-biting challenge prompted Flintoff to admit: "At this point, I wish I'd done Strictly." The Rover Metro Cabriolet that Flintoff used was also shipped in to mark the series' official launch. This marks McGuinness' second series with Flintoff and Harris, after he replaced previous host Matt LeBlanc. Rover: The vehicle used in Flintoff's stunt is still in one piece / PA Speaking ahead of the previous season, the presenter said that the new group of hosts brought a "different vibe" to Top Gear and has "embrace[d] all sorts of emotions." "I feel as if we're bringing a different vibe to the show, which is a positive in my eyes, with families watching it," he said. After the success of their first series together, Flintoff, McGuinness and Harris headed to Nepal for a Christmas special, which was broadcast over the festive period. Nitrous oxide has been used in clubs in the Netherlands The HSE is warning about the use of laughing gas among young people. The health body said it has become aware of reports of laughing gas or nitrous oxide use among young people and in particular festival-goers. The gas is intended for use as an anaesthetic in dental practices or as propellant in whipped-cream canisters. Nitrous oxide is a colourless gas that people inhale, usually via a balloon. To consume it, people open the cannister, which is easily bought legally online, transfer the gas into a balloon and inhale the balloon. Euphoria "We are aware that nitrous oxide can be bought online from a number of different websites," said a HSE spokesperson. As with many other substances, the quality and purity of nitrous oxide depends on the source. When inhaled, the drug creates a short-lasting euphoria popularly considered harmless. "There are a number of risks associated with use, it is known that death from suffocation or lack of oxygen can occur. "Nitrous oxide can displace the air in the lungs and can temporarily prevent oxygen from entering the bloodstream. "Long-term risks associated with frequent use can lead to red blood cell problems and Vitamin B deficiency," added the spokesperson. Irish tourists may have come in contact with nitrous oxide while on holidays in Europe or Asia. In the Netherlands, laughing gas has been available in nightclubs as balloons filled from large canisters or as small canisters available from shops. The Dutch government has announced plans to include laughing gas on its blacklist of forbidden drugs. But authorities became concerned when laughing gas started cropping up on street corners in the past three years. Last summer, the HSE launched an online survey in partnership with Trinity College Dublin to gather data on drug trends and harm-reduction among Irish festival attendees. Unpublished preliminary data from more than 1,000 respondents indicates its use is emerging as an issue among Irish festival-goers. According to Irish legislation, it is illegal to sell this substance for human consumption. It is also illegal to consume it under the Criminal Justice (Psychoactive Substances) Act 2010. Due to its use in the catering industry, the gas can be purchased in large quantities online with relative ease. The HSE plans to include information regarding the associated risks and how to reduce the harms as part of the festival campaign work in 2020. HOLLAND TOWNSHIP, MI --- A woman and teenage girl from Holland were killed and three other Holland residents were injured after three cars collided Sunday afternoon on Douglas Avenue. The 33-year-old Holland woman was driving a BMW SUV east on Douglas Avenue, near Adams Street, at about 2:32 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 19, when she lost control, crossed the centerline and crashed into a westbound Nissan Rogue, according to a news release from the Ottawa County Sheriffs office. The driver of the BMW and her 16-year-old female passenger, also a Holland resident, were both transported from the scene to area hospitals and later died from injuries sustained in the crash. Neither have been identified by police. The driver of the Nissan, a 44-year-old Holland woman, and her front-seat passenger, an 18-year-old Holland man, were both taken initially to Holland Community Hospital and later taken to Spectrum Butterworth Hospital, where both were listed in serious condition. A 31-year-old Holland woman was driving a third vehicle, a Jeep Cherokee, west on Douglas Avenue behind the Nissan Rouge. Police said the driver of the Jeep was unable to avoid the collision and also crashed into the Nissan. The Jeeps driver was taken to Holland Community Hospital, police said, and was in listed stable condition. The driver of the BMW was transported by AMR Ambulance to Holland Community Hospital, where she died of her injuries. Her 16-year-old passenger was first transported to Holland Community Hospital before being airlifted to Spectrum Butterworth Hospital, where also died of her injuries. The intersection of Douglas Avenue and Adams Street was closed for about three hours while police responded to and investigated the crash, but has since reopened. Also on MLive: Thousands without power in Northwest Grand Rapids Woman loses control of vehicle, crashes into railroad tracks West Michigan digging out from wet, heavy snow "When you insist on the will of the Lord you are an idolater, because you prefer what you think, that idol, to the will of the Lord." When you rebel against the "will of the Lord", you are not docile, "it is as if it were a sin of divination". As if, while saying that you believe in God, you went "from the fortune teller to have your hands read 'for safety'". Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Being a "good Christian" then means being "docile" to the Word of the Lord in order to avoid committing the sin of lacking docility, which lies precisely in that preference for what I think and not what the Lord commands of me which I dont understand. This was the theme at the heart of Pope Francis homily at Mass this morning at Casa Santa Marta, taking inspiration from the First reading (1Sam 15.16-23) in which Samuel reproaches Saul because he did not obey what the Lord asked him. Pope Francis said that the essence of Sauls sin was his lack of docility to the Word of God, imagining that his own interpretation of Gods command was more correct. The Lord had commanded the Israelites not to take anything from the people they had conquered, but they disobeyed. Pope Francis explained: When Samuel goes to reject [Saul] on behalf of God, [Saul] tried to explain: But look, there were cattle, there were so many good, fat animals, and with these I offered a sacrifice to the Lord. He had not put anything in his own pocket, although others had. On the contrary, with this attitude of interpreting the Word of God as it seemed right to him, he allowed the others to put something of the plunder in their own pockets. The stages of corruption: it begins with a little disobedience, a lack of docility, and it keeps going further, further, further. After exterminating the Amalekites, Pope Francis said, the people took from the plunder small and large beasts, the first fruits of what was vowed to extermination, to sacrifice to the Lord. But Samuel pointed out that the Lord prefers obedience to the voice of God to holocausts and sacrifices; and he clarified the hierarchy of values: It is more important to have a docile heart, and to obey, than to offer sacrifices, to fast, to do penance. The sin of lacking docility, the Pope continued, lies precisely in that preference for what I think and not what the Lord commands of me which I dont understand. When you rebel against the will of the Lord, he said, you are not docile; its like a sin of fortune-telling. Its as if, although you say you believe in God, you were to go to a fortune-teller to have your palm read just in case. Refusing to obey the Lord, the lack of docility, the Pope repeated, is like fortune-telling. When you insist on doing things your own way in the face the Lords will, you are an idolater, because you prefer what you think, that idol, to the will of the Lord. And for Saul, this disobedience cost him the kingdom: Because you have rejected the Word of the Lord, the Lord has rejected you as king. This should make us think a little bit about our own docility. We often prefer our own interpretation of the Gospel [] for example, when we fall into casuistry, into moral casuistry This is not the will of the Lord. The will of the Lord is clear; He makes it known with the commandments in the Bible, and makes it known with the Holy Spirit within your heart. But when I am obstinate, and turn the Word of the Lord into an ideology, I am an idolater, I am not docile. Turning to the days Gospel, from St Mark, Pope Francis recalled that the disciples were criticised because they did not fast. Jesus uses an analogy: no one sews new cloth on an old cloak, because it would risk making the tear worse; and no one puts new wine in old wineskins, because the skins would burst, and both the wine and the wineskins would be lost. Rather, the Lord said, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins. The newness of the Word of the Lord because the Word of the Lord is always new, it always carries us onward always wins, it is better than everything. It overcomes idolatry, it overcomes pride, and it overcomes this attitude of being too sure of ourselves, not through [commitment to] the Word of the Lord, but to the ideologies that I have built around the Word of the Lord. There is a very beautiful expression of Jesus that explains all this and that comes from God, taken from the Old Testament: I desire mercy, and not sacrifice. The Pope said that being a good Christian means being docile to the Word of the Lord, listening to what the Lord says about justice, charity, forgiveness, and mercy; and not being inconsistent in life, using an ideology to be able to go forward. Its true, he added, that the Word of the Lord sometimes gets us in trouble, but the devil does the same thing, deceptively. So to be a Christian, Pope Francis concluded, is to be free, through trust in God. Angolan businesswoman Isabel dos Santos faces allegations of corruptions after 700,000 documents detailing her business interests were leaked to the media - AFP Africas richest woman has been accused of corruption and exploiting her own countrys natural resources, after thousands of documents detailing her business interests were leaked to the media. Isabel dos Santos, who resides in the UK and whose father was the president of Angola, faces allegations of exploiting family connections to secure deals on land, oil and diamonds. According to the documents, seen by BBC Panorama and the Guardian, she and her husband were allowed to buy up valuable state assets and siphon hundreds of millions of dollars out of Angola. Ms dos Santos, whose fortune is estimated at 2bn, says these claims are entirely false and that she is the victim of a witch-hunt led by the Angolan government. She also wrote on Twitter that the leaked documents were fake and based on false information. Ms dos Santos is already under investigation for corruption by the Angolan government, which has frozen her assets in the country. The documents were obtained by the Platform to Protect Whistle-blowers in Africa and then passed to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Anti-corruption campaigners responded by claiming that Ms dos Santos has been exploiting her own country for personal gain, with normal Angolan citizens the victims of her lavish lifestyle. "Every time she appears on the cover of some glossy magazine somewhere in the world, every time that she hosts one of her glamorous parties in the south of France, she is doing so by trampling on the aspirations of the citizens of Angola, Andrew Feinstein, the head of Corruption Watch, told the BBC. In an interview with the BBC following the leak, Ms dos Santos said: I regret that Angola has chosen this path, I think that we all stand a lot to lose. Now, when you look at my track record and you see the work I have done and look at all the companies I have built, most certainly my companies are commercial companies. Story continues If you tell me, is there anything wrong for an Angolan person to have a business venture with a state company, I think there is nothing wrong. She added that she was facing prejudice due to being the daughter of Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who served as President of Angola from 1979 to 2017. Ms dos Santos was educated in the UK and is married to Sindika Dokolo, a Congolese art collector and businessman. An 8-year-old rabbit named Coco received her wings and a VIP treatment on a United Airlines flight from SFO to Japan, but the internet failed to notice until nearly a year later. After a three-year stint in San Francisco, 32-year-old Takako Ogawa was flying back home to Kyoto for a new job in late 2018. Although she may have made for an unusual passenger, Coco, a registered emotional support animal, was able to come along after Ogawa paid $100 to bring her in a portable kennel as a carry-on. As fate would have it, the seat next to Ogawa in business class turned out to be unoccupied, and her well-behaved rabbit was given her own seat. The photo evidence is pure joy. MORE: You are most likely to find an empty seat next to you when flying from these airports Coco traveled in style, and would you expect anything less? Shes wearing a bow tie in some of the photos, which she switches out for a cloth napkin bib to avoid spilling crumbs on herself as she nibbles from a bowl of nuts. In a recent interview that took place after the photos of her posh pet went viral, Ogawa told Metro UK she had ordered an ice cream sundae when the flight attendant looked over and asked if the rabbit wanted anything. Rabbits typically arent supposed to eat almonds (or bread for that matter), but that didnt stop Coco from living on the edge anyway as she curiously sniffed at a flaky croissant next to a bubbling flute of champagne. It wasnt her first time traversing the skies, either. Coco had flown to San Francisco with Ogawa in 2015, though her initial journey in the cargo area wasnt nearly as glamorous. She reportedly also visited the Google office, where her human companion previously worked, and made appearances at family barbecues. Ogawa said Coco likely wont fly again because of her age, so it looks like the rest of us will just have to dream of spotting a bonnet-wearing bunny on Muni again someday. Amanda Bartlett is an SFGATE associate digital reporter (and has her own pet rabbit named Cheeto.) Send her cute pictures of bunnies at amanda.bartlett@sfgate.com | Twitter: @byabartlett Missing 14 year old found safe and well This article is old - Published: Monday, Jan 20th, 2020 Update: Police have said the missing 14 year old has been found safe and well. Police add, Thank you for all your assistance as always. Original information: North Wales Police have issued an appeal to trace a teenager who was last seen at Ruabon train station earlier this evening. 14 year old Mali Livingston-Llywelyn is described as being 5ft 6, of slim build, with a lip piercing and very dark brown hair usually tied in a ponytail. She was last seen wearing grey short shorts, white top, white puffer jacket at Ruabon train station at 5pm. Police believe she may be in the Plas Madoc area. Any sightings or further information can be reported to North Wales Police on 101. The Housing Ministry organised an open meeting with real estate developers and contractors bidding for the tender to build 132 housing units, along with necessary infrastructure on a government-owned land in Al Lawzi. The 132-unit project is the pilot phase of a scheme to build housing units on government-owned lands, launched by the Ministry in October, 2019, in co-operation with the Eskan Bank. During the meeting, attended by the representatives of local real estate development and contractor companies, the Housing MInistry staged a presentation, including details of the scheme. The presentation highlighted the bidding criteria and documents, in addition to the technical and engineering requirements of the project regarding units or infrastructure. Under the scheme, private real estate developers will develop the housing units, which will then be sold to the Kingdoms citizens, who are on the waiting lists, by receiving one of the ministrys financing programmes. The Housing Ministry requesters real estate developers to submit their bids before 4 March, 2020, so that the construction work commences in May. If the pilot phase of the project proves successful, similar housing projects will be implemented across governorates, with a plan to build 15,000 units on state-owned land plots over a 10-year period At least two police officers were killed in a shooting incident that took place on Sunday morning in the Diamond Head area in Honolulu, reported CNN. Honolulu Police said the area of Hibiscus Drive was closed because of a police investigation. Earlier, the FBI had said authorities were responding to an "active shooter" in Waikiki. "We are responding to an active shooter in Waikiki. That is what we are responding to. It is developing," FBI Honolulu Operational Support Technician Derek Hayes was quoted as saying to CNN. "I would like to express my deepest condolences to the family and friends of the two officers as well as the entire Honolulu Police Department. This is an unprecedented tragedy for not only the City and County of Honolulu but the entire state of Hawai'i," tweeted Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell. "Our office is in communication with the Honolulu Police Department as more details about the circumstances around this horrific event come to light. Our hearts go out to the first responders who are on the scene as this event unfolds," Caldwell said in another tweet. Sputnik in its report citing local media said police officers responded to an assault call near Diamond Head, where they entered into a firefight with a male, who reportedly hid inside a house which was then abruptly engulfed by flames. The house in which the suspected gunman reportedly took refuge caught on fire and, as per reports, spread to several other homes. Further details are awaited. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The US, Japan and others are urging the cartel and its allies to boost output and ease soaring energy prices. If the judge finds the double-criminality test is not met, Meng will be freed, though prosecutors will have an opportunity to appeal. If the test is met, the process will advance to a second stage in June, when Mengs lawyers are expected to argue that the case against her is politically motivated. New Delhi reaches out to Colombo as it aims to counter growing Chinese influence in the region. Sri Lanka and India have pledged to strengthen military ties and widen maritime links with neighbours after security talks, the presidents office said on Sunday, as New Delhi moves to counter Chinese influence in the region. China, a longtime regional rival of India, has been widening its footprint in the region, including building ports and expressways and upgrading airports in Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Indias National Security Advisor Ajit Doval met on Saturday with recently elected Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and discussed setting up a maritime research coordination centre, Rajapaksas office said in a statement. It did not give details of the proposed centre but said other nations in the region should be included as observers. It said the two countries also discussed closer military and coastguard cooperation. Geography a big advantage for India Sri Lanka-India military ties go back a long way so its nothing new, but what is important is clearly a greater incentive for these ties because of the China factor, said Jabin Thomas Jacob, Associate Professor at Shiv Nadar University in Noida, India. India cannot match China in terms of economic clout but geography is a big advantage for India, therefore Indias neighbours have to take that into account. The meeting followed Gotabayas visit to New Delhi last November for talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who offered $450m in aid to Sri Lanka after his landslide victory in the presidential election. Sri Lanka has been facing an economic and debt crisis, and a series of attacks last April wiped out its vibrant tourism sector plunging the South Asian island nation into further economic and security uncertainty. Local media reports said Gotabaya will travel to China his second foreign visit since coming to power while his brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa will visit India on his first overseas trip. No exact dates have been announced, but official sources said it could happen within weeks. Chinese investments in Sri Lanka Sri Lanka has traditionally been allied to India, but China invested and loaned billions of dollars to the island nation during the decade-long (2005-2015) reign of Gotabayas elder brother, Mahinda, who presided over the defeat of Tamils separatists in 2009. Sri Lankas foreign policy was tilted heavily towards China under Mahinda, who fell out with the West over human rights and allegations of war crimes at the end of the civil war. Chinese investments had grown under the previous Colombo government too. On Tuesday, Chinas Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with President Gotabaya during a brief transit stop in Colombo and the two men discussed the presidents impending Beijing visit. As Sri Lankas strategic partner, China will continue to stand by Sri Lankas interests, Gotabayas office quoted Wang as saying. The visit will focus on technology, tourism and infrastructure as well as other areas, the presidents office said last week. Gotabaya in December warned India and Western nations that Sri Lanka would be forced to seek more finance from China if they do not invest in the island. Sri Lanka was forced to hand over the strategic Hambantota port south of Colombo to China in 2017 on a 99-year lease after the government at the time said it was unable to repay loans taken to build it. Bilal Kuchay contributed to this report from New Delhi Dash cam footage of a police car overtaking stationary traffic only to make a right hand turn has divided opinion online. The 'illegal' move sparked anger from an outraged driver who captured the moment on her dash cam at a busy Castle Hill intersection in Sydney's north-west. However, many motorists disagreed with her that the officer was breaking the law and NSW Police confirmed the manoeuvre was completely legal. The footage shows a police car with its lights flashing and sirens blaring past them on the left in the lane next to them before turning. With its lights flashing, the NSW police car (left) passes stationary traffic waiting to turn right 'That's illegal what he's doing isn't it,' the woman exclaims. 'Isn't what he's doing illegal? He can't just stop the traffic just to turn right.' The woman continues her rant well after the police car was out of sight. 'Like hello, how is that legal?' she continues. 'He just did an illegal thing! Everyone is in shock with what he's done.' NSW Police have since confirmed officers are exempt from certain road rules if they are responding to an incident The footage, which was filmed in September, has divided social media. 'This was sent in with the description 'Police illegal use of powers,' Dash Cam Owners Australia posted when the footage was uploaded onto its Facebook page on Monday. The footage sparked more than 50,000 views within an hour and was inundated with comments that disagreed. The woman expressed outrage as the police car turned right before the waiting traffic 'He has his lights on they could have been responding to a situation. They have all authority to go through. Just as ambos and fire fighters would. You got to make room for them, they ain't gonna wait in traffic like everyone else when those sirens, come on,' one person commented. The woman heard ranting in the dam cam was roasted online. 'I'm lost for words. She needs to redo her licence,' one person commented. Another added: 'What rock has she been hiding under. Seriously if you don't know the rules that apply to emergency vehicles under light and sirens you shouldn't have a licence. You're an accident waiting to happen.' The moment that has divided internet happened at a Castle Hill intersection last September Dash Cam Owners Australia later posted within the comments the video was uploaded to point out the stupidity of it. NSW Police confirmed to Daily Mail Australia that officers have exemptions to breach certain road rules under road rule regulation 305. 'These exemptions are absolutely necessary for police to be able to keep the community safe. For the exemption to apply police are required to act within a certain criteria and must always exercise reasonable care,' an emailed statement read. Dear Editor, After receiving a subpoena requesting 10 years of business records, President Trump, on the White House lawn stated: The subpoena is ridiculous. We have been, I have been the most transparent president and administration in the history of the country by far, he said. During House Impeachment inquiries, Trump instructed staff to ignore subpoenas requiring testimony under oath, yet he claimed testimony would exonerate him. His disregard of House subpoenas led to one article of impeachment: Obstruction of Congress. Republicans demanded witnesses, specifically Hunter Biden, during House impeachment proceedings. They complained of Democrats holding closed session meetings, but Republicans had sitting members present. Also, Republicans held closed sessions when they controlled the House. They warned of secrecy during witness interviews, yet complete testimony transcripts were released and those same witnesses were later interviewed on live TV in open sessions. Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans refuse calling witnesses. While some might exonerate Trump, they worry impeachment charges will be proven under oath. Senate Republicans proposing closed sessions away from the public gaze is hypocritically dishonest. Congressional Republicans do not universally provide transparency, fairness and honesty. They offer transparency only if by majority they set committee rules, allowing orchestration of what We The People see and hear. Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans are failing to provide a transparent and fair impeachment trial for America to witness. Jeff Akins Highland, N.Y. M ost of the year, Davos is a smart ski town in the Swiss Alps, two hours from Zurich. But for four days in late January it hosts the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum and in the process, becomes the centre of the business, political and non-profit world. This congress of power and influence was founded in 1971 by Klaus Schwab, a German academic, who claims to have originated the idea of stakeholder capitalism which is the notion that companies have a duty to do more than just make money for shareholders. Schwab has degrees from Harvard, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich and the University of Fribourg. He is also a former member of the UN High-Level Advisory Board on Sustainable Development, and despite attacks from critics, who argue the summit is elitist and out of touch remains evangelical about its role in changing the world. Elites have always existed, he told The New York Times this weekend. We bring together people of influence, and we hope that they use their influence in a positive way. The WEF employs 700 people to organise Davos and several other international meetings, as well as manage digital platforms encouraging public-private cooperation. It is a non-profit organisation based in Geneva, and claims to engage the foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. Certainly, the summit remains the social event of the year for the global economic and political elite, where agendas are set, messages honed and deals struck far from the public gaze. It attracts presidents, prime ministers, CEOs, entrepreneurs and all their hangers-on. More than 500 of the Swiss police and armys finest patrol the resort to keep it free of protesters. The top names have schedules which resemble speed dating through the day and night, culminating in the notorious nightcaps late-night parties organised in hotel bars and mountain chalets. Its a rare occasion for the most powerful people in the world to fraternise without scrutiny and be their bad selves after dark. Think Tony Blair riding a funicular with Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Christine Lagarde, the head of the European Central Bank, to get to a party with George Clooney and several Russian oligarchs. Movers and shakers So, whos going this year? While the business and tech crowd attends regularly, politicians can be wary of seeming too elitist. Boris Johnson has been before but ordered his ministers not to come. It doesnt jibe with the new Tory earthiness. Climate activist Greta Thunberg will be at Davos / Getty Images Barack Obama never went to Davos, but Donald Trump will be back for his second visit. Despite his reputation as a populist, Trump found the business crowd sympathetic when he went in 2018. Hell be accompanied by his daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner. Other big draws will be Greta Thunberg, the 17-year-old Swedish climate activist; Ren Zhengfei, the founder of telecoms firm Huawei; Sanna Marin of Finland, at 34 the worlds youngest serving prime minister; Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook; and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Going green This years summit takes place against the backdrop of Trumps impeachment trial, tensions with Iran, the Australian bushfires and the techlash. Previous years have been dominated by the emergence of a particular country, such as Russia, India or China, or on-going issues such as Brexit. The Russians used to throw parties staffed by unusually attractive female translators, but they have gone quiet recently. This year, the environment and the so-called decoupling of economic growth and emissions will be top of the agenda. Larry Fink, the CEO of BlackRock, the worlds largest money management firm, has refused a coal-fired jet to fly into the conference, and last week warned that climate risk is financial risk. How can economies grow without hurting the planet? Global taxation and crypto-currencies are likely to be major issues. Davos is also where the bandwagon of corporate blather gets loaded up and sent off down the track towards the rest of us. The official theme is slippery: Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World. Into that mould, leaders can fit almost any subject they want. The sub-themes are Healthy Futures, How to Save the Planet, Better Business, Beyond Geopolitics, Tech for Good, Society and Future of Work, and Fairer Economies. To mark its 50th birthday, the WEF has refreshed its manifesto, to argue that companies should pay their fair share of taxes, show zero tolerance for corruption, uphold human rights throughout their global supply chains, and advocate for a competitive level playing field. But its not all business. Attendees will really want to talk about Harry and Meghans defection, and how Carlos Ghosn the former CEO of Renault-Nissan escaped Japan for Beirut by hiding in a musical instruments box. High fliers Davos is up a mountain, and the higher you are on it, the higher your status. The truly elite stay in chalets in the clouds. The peons stay in the valley. In between is the town itself. The national delegations, and the merely powerful, stay in hotels here, notably The Belvedere. Heres where youll also find the Congress Centre, the hub of the summit. Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump will join Ivanka's father, President Trump at Davos this year / Getty Images There are strict levels of access, or circles of hell, all rendered visible by the colour of your badge. White with a hologram shows you are at the top level. Grey is for your partner. Orange is for press. Purple is for technicians. Green is for those accompanying heads of state. The seriously elite will have spent the weekend in St Moritz at the wedding celebrations of Stavros Niarchos, the shipping heir, and Dasha Zhukova, Roman Abramovichs ex. The dress code is business attire under a fur-lined parka, rubber-soled boots, and a Zurich Insurance woollen bobble hat. Flygskam and other criticisms Who has a problem with it? Anyone who prefers their ruling class to be accountable. Writer Anand Giridharadas launched the hashtag #CancelDavos and wrote: Davos is a family reunion of the global tippy-tops, who have pulled off a coup: rigging nations to monopolise the fruits of progress for themselves then benefiting when demagogues goad stiffed publics not to punch up, at them, but down, at the most vulnerable. Environmentalists attack the hypocrisy of people arriving at a mountain resort on private jets to express their concern for the environment. Last year, Prince William interviewed Sir David Attenborough at Davos, as the private jet traffic around Davos hit new heights. This year the WEF is trying to get ahead of the flight shaming by promising the summit will be carbon neutral. There will be more electric vehicles, local food and plenty of non-meat options. The main conference centre has been fitted with solar panels, geothermal heating and carpets made from end-of-life fishing nets. The Supreme Court (SC) will on Monday (January 20) hear a Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by one of the Nirbhaya gangrape-murder convicts, Pawan Kumar Gupta, claiming that he was a juvenile when he committed the crime in 2012 and this fact was not taken into account by Delhi High Court during the proceedings in the case. It is to be noted that Pawan had filed the same plea in the Delhi High Court too but it was rejected by the court. On January 17 (Friday), Pawan had approached the apex court challenging the Delhi High Court order in this case. Pawan`s lawyer A P Singh has claimed in the petition that his client's date of birth as per school record is October 8, 1996, but this fact was ignored by Delhi High Court. The SLP will be heard by a three-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Justice R Banumathi and Justices Ashok Bhushan and AS Bopanna. Meanwhile, a fresh death warrant has been issued by the Patiala House Court on Friday for the hanging of four 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. Live TV 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. Four convicts, Vinay, Akshay, Pawan and Mukesh were convicted and sentenced to death for raping the 23-year-old victim in a moving bus in the national capital on the intervening night of December 16-17, 2012. London (AFP) - An award-winning investigative team published a trove of files Sunday allegedly showing how Africa's richest woman syphoned hundreds of millions of dollars of public money into offshore accounts. The New York-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) worked with newspapers such as Munich's Suddeutsche Zeitung to reveal the "Panama Papers" tax haven scandal in 2016. Its latest series called "Luanda Leaks" zeros in on Isabel dos Santos, the daughter of former Angola president Jose Eduardo dos Santos. Angola's prosecutors last month froze the bank accounts and assets owned by the 46-year-old businesswoman and her Congolese husband Sindika Dokolo, which she described as a groundless political vendetta. "Based on a trove of more than 715,000 files, our investigation highlights a broken international regulatory system that allows professional services firms to serve the powerful with almost no questions asked," the ICIJ wrote. The group said its team of 120 reporters in 20 countries was able to trace "how an army of Western financial firms, lawyers, accountants, government officials and management companies helped (dos Santos and Dokolo) hide assets from tax authorities". Dos Santos took to Twitter to refute the claims, launching a salvo of around 30 tweets in Portuguese and English, and accusing journalists involved in the investigation of telling "lies". "My fortune is built on my character, my intelligence, education, capacity for work, perseverance," she wrote. She also blasted "the racism and prejudice" of SIC-Expresso, a Portuguese TV station and newspaper, and member of the ICIJ, "that recall the colonial era when an African could never be considered equal to a European". Dos Santos's lawyer dismissed the ICIJ findings as a "highly coordinated attack" orchestrated by Angola's current rulers, in a statement quoted by The Guardian newspaper. Story continues Dos Santos herself told BBC Africa the file dump was part of a "witch hunt" meant to discredit her and her father. The former president's daughter headed Angola's national oil company Sonangol. Forbes magazine last year estimated her net worth at $2.2 billion. Her father's successor Joao Lourenco forced her out of the oil company after becoming president in 2017. Dos Santos said on Wednesday that she would consider running for president in the next election in 2022. - Western consultants - The ICIJ investigation said Western consulting firms such as PwC and Boston Consulting Group were "apparently ignoring red flags" while helping her stash away public assets. "Regulators around the globe have virtually ignored the key role Western professionals play in maintaining an offshore industry that drives money laundering and drains trillions from public coffers," the report said. Its document trove included redacted letters allegedly showing how consultants sought out ways to open non-transparent bank accounts. One confidential document allegedly drafted by Boston Consulting in September 2015 outlined a complex scheme for the oil company to move its money offshore. The investigation also published a similar 99-page presentation from KPMG. None of the companies named issued immediate statements in response to the investigation. by Thomas ODwyer We still recall the 1920s as the Roaring Twenties or the Jazz Age. Not many will know that the decade which began 200 years ago with U.S. President James Monroe in office was the Era of Good Feelings, a name coined by a Boston newspaper. In 1820, a presidential election year, Monroe ran for his second term he was unopposed, so there was really no campaign. He won all the electoral college votes except one, narrowly leaving George Washington to remain as the only president ever to score a unanimous victory. In the flood of commentary, prophecy, gloom, and nostalgia that has greeted the start of a new decade, many of the comparisons with the past have fixed on the 1920s. That age is almost within living memory, maybe not personal, but at least familial, through the reminiscences and records of parents or grandparents. And for the first time in human history, we have extensive evidence in sound, film, and photography from the fascinating 1920s. But is also interesting to look even further back, another 100 years, to the 1820s. For here, most people can agree, lie the true roots of the science-driven modernity that was more spectacularly obvious in the 1920s and beyond. Full documentary records in the 1820s were sparse but growing. Nicephore Niepce developed the first photograph in 1826 but sound reproduction would have to wait another 50 years for Thomas Edison. The first moving-picture sequence was made by Frenchman Louis le Prince in 1888. The new inventions and discoveries of the 1820s were physically primitive, but loaded with hidden significance and promise that no one could have guessed. The decade was dominated by the Industrial Revolution, thrusting first Britain, then the entire West, into an explosion of development. Beginning unobtrusively with technical improvements in the dreary textile mills of northern England, technology began to advance significantly as armies of coal miners fed the giant engines to power the factories and expanding cities. Textiles, rail transport and engineering projects surged and grew more prominent across the decade. At the same time, colonialism gained ground in Africa and Asia, and in China, the Qing Dynasty began to open up to foreign traders, particularly from Europe. In 1825 the worlds first modern railway, the Stockton and Darlington Railway, opened in England. On the dark and evil side, slavery and child labour fed the greedy new capitalist monster. American skeptics of the day suggested that Era of Good Feelings should be pronounced with a sarcastic sneer. Despite Monroes sweeping and unopposed victory, the American political atmosphere was riddled with strains and divisions within the government and the Democratic-Republican Party. (Monroes election was the last clean sweep of the dominant Democratic-Republican Party which vanquished the vanishing Federalists before itself disintegrating in 1824. One faction of the defunct party eventually became the Democratic Party led by Andrew Jackson). Of course, America is not the world and the start of the 19th century was the beginning of what we call modernity across the planet. In 1802 the worlds population reached 1 billion for the first time North America was home to a mere 7 million of those, while Latin America already had 24 million. In South America, wars of independence erupted and raged on until Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, and Uruguay won self-determination. In their struggles, the Latin states were powerfully bolstered by the American Monroe Doctrine. This was issued in 1823 and stated that any attempt by a European power to take control of an independent state in North or South America would be regarded as the manifestation of an unfriendly disposition toward the United States. This was a significant blow against European colonialism, though not a decisive one, as the rise of the global British Empire was really only beginning. The early years of the century were dominated by the wars of Napoleon Bonaparte in Europe. Frances empire rose swiftly before falling just as quickly after Napoleons attempts to conquer Russia, the War of 1812 (a Napoleonic spillover into America), and Napoleons ultimate defeat in 1815 by the British, Dutch and Germans at Waterloo. The tentacles of British and Dutch imperialism began to reach out to Africa and Asia through trade policies dominated by powerful corporations like the East India Company which virtually conquered India. In 1824 the name Australia was adopted as the official name of the country first known as New Holland. With our 2020 hindsight, we can now discern in the decade of the 1820s the first tiny footprints that have evolved into the giant boot of progress stamping on the face of the planet. Thoughts of progress did not dominate American minds as 1820 rolled in. Just behind them was the great Panic of 1819. Peace may have come after Napoleons wars, but prosperity did not. The so-called panic was the first huge financial crisis to hit the United States in a time of peace and it brought about a general collapse of the economy that only began to turn around after two years. France and Britain had been at war on and off since the 17th century, and while they warred, the young United States had prospered. American goods were in high demand to help the Europeans sustain themselves during the conflicts. Once the wars ended, U.S.-made products were no longer in such demand and Americans had to evolve from a colonial-based trading status with Europe and become an independent economy. The severity of the global market adjustments was made worse by an American banking crisis caused by runaway speculation in public lands. When we are in upheavals, we can only see the bad, not the new horizons they may uncover. Today economic historians say that the Panic of 1819 was actually the transition of the United States into the modern business cycle. All beginnings are obscure, whether owing to their minuteness or their apparent insignificance, wrote the 19th-century classical historian, Theodor Gomperz. When they do not escape reception they are liable to include observation. The sources of history, too, can only be tracked at a footpace. As well as its opaque foreshadowings, the 1820s era cast some farewell glances to the past, drawing lines under attitudes and practices deemed medieval and barbaric. In 1820 the last criminals to be hanged, drawn, and quartered were executed in London. The five men subjected to this public savagery were members of the Cato Street Conspiracy a plot to murder the prime minister and all his cabinet ministers. When the convicted men were beheaded after hanging, the watching crowd became angry and the executioners had to be locked in the nearby prison for their safety. But it took another 50 years before the punishment was finally removed from the statute books. Amid such signs of departing dark ages, there were promising reminders or markers of culture and better times ahead. In April 1820, a Greek peasant on the island of Milos found the stunning marble statue of Venus de Milo in a niche under some ruins. It was dated at around 130 BCE, a reminder that the distant past once held beauty as well as barbarism. In March, the Royal Astronomical Society was founded in London, mostly through the efforts of one Charles Babbage. Its original aim was to standardise astronomical calculations and to propagate the data collected as widely as possible. These ideas were linked to Babbages theories on computation. In 1822 he published proposals for a mechanical computer, and in 1824 he won the Royal Societys gold medal for his invention of an engine for calculating mathematical and astronomical tables. All the basic ideas of modern computers were in Babbages analytical engine, although he never built a working model. Having invented the first mechanical computer that eventually led to our complex electronic designs, Babbage is generally regarded as the father of the computer age. In 1828, a priest and member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Anyos Jedlik, unveiled the worlds first dynamo and electric motor. From this distance, we can now see that by the end of the 1820s, essential technical elements were already in place or under development for the great leap forward in human achievement that would mark the 20th century. In 1827 a Romanian, Petrache Poenaru gained a French patent for the invention of the first fountain pen with a replaceable ink cartridge. But two years later, in America William Burt obtained the first patent for a different writing instrument that was going to take the world a lot farther than any pen the first typewriter. Consider how far the humble keyboard has come in 200 years in its marriage to Babbages electronic descendants. But another patent was granted in 1829, one many of us would like to go back in time and strangle at birth. It was for the accordion. In the first year of the new decade, several newborns slipped into a world they were destined to change. In January Anne Bronte was born, the youngest of Englands most famous literary sisterhood. In America William Sherman, the future Civil War general, arrived in February, as did Susan B. Anthony, the campaigner for womens rights and suffrage. In Italy, the man who would unite the country for the first time since the sixth century, Victor Immanuel II, was born. And in England, along came the founder of modern nursing and healthcare, Florence Nightingale. The most significant death in that year was probably King George III, the mad king who lost America, but also the man who defeated Napoleon. He also created the United Kingdom of Britain and Ireland, a tie that bound somewhat more tightly than the American one and which would take the Irish another hundred years to sever. George had lived for 82 years and reigned for 59 of them. His life and his reign were longer than of any of his predecessors and subsequent kings. Only two monarchs, both women, Victoria and Elizabeth II, have since lived and reigned longer. His death definitively marked the passing of an era in the same way as Victorias would in 1901. Many of the political or international events that dominated newspaper headlines during 1820s are long forgotten, a reminder that todays huge political crisis might not even make it as a footnote in a history book. A European dispute that bumbled on for decades and into the following century was the notorious Schleswig-Holstein Question. It was a mere territorial dispute about two provinces on the border between Germany and Denmark. They were claimed by both countries but the residents of the provinces demanded a say in the outcome. However, the residents were also divided about which country they wished to join. The issue and its negotiations became so convoluted that British Prime Minister Lord Palmerston famously commented: The Schleswig-Holstein question is so complicated, only three men in Europe have ever understood it. One was Prince Albert, who is dead. The second was a German professor who became mad. I am the third and I have forgotten all about it. And so has everyone else on the planet. Without doubt the evolving history of the modern world over the past 200 years belongs to the scientific and technological seeds that began to sprout in the 1820s, allied to the new economic practices and institutions that made their development possible. When we look at the arts and culture however, the picture becomes more diffuse, the threads linking those days to us more broken. The Scottish novelist Sir Walter Scott attained international literary celebrity during his lifetime as a bestselling author. He features prominently on a list of the best books of the 1820s compiled by the booklovers website Goodreads. Yet who today still reads Ivanhoe, Waverley, The Heart of Midlothian or The Bride of Lammermoor? On that same list, we find Washington Irvings Legend of Sleepy Hollow and The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper as well as works by Honore de Balzac, Victor Hugo, and Thomas de Quincy. But the most surprising feature of the list which we are unlikely to see on such a compilation today is the amount of poetry several volumes by Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelly, Edgar Allan Poe, John Keats, Alexander Pushkin, Heinrich Heine, and other lesser-known poets. Turning to music, we seem to be on more familiar ground in the 1820s, although none of the popular or music hall songs of those days have survived the journey. But this was the decade when the career of Ludwig van Beethoven really soared. To this day Beethoven remains one of the worlds most influential musicians, and his compositions are among the most performed by orchestras around the world. He has leaped over the centuries as Shakespeare has done in literature. The Ninth Symphony was premiered in Vienna in 1824 and has not been out of the classical repertoire since. It is part of UNESCOs Memory of the World Programme and the choral movement is the national anthem of the European Union. In 1823 an eleven-year-old Franz Liszt performed a public concert, after which he was personally congratulated by Beethoven. In 1826, Beethoven completed his String Quartet, Opus 131. At the end of the decade, Felix Mendelssohn made his first visit to Britain. After conducting the first London performance of his concert overture to A Midsummer Nights Dream, he took a trip to Scotland and discovered Fingals Cave in the Hebrides islands. The strange echoes in the cave inspired Mendelssohns Hebrides Overture. The tenuous links to our distant past, the start of things they could not then imagine were coming, and the dizzying progress for both good and ill, make it difficult to be anything but pessimistic about where humanity is headed. Perhaps that is because it makes ones head ache to try to imagine what the world will look like in another 200 years. All one can safely predict is that all predictions will be wrong, most of them ludicrously so. Our images of the future may look as daft to people then as those of the 19th century look to us. A cursory search of the few predictions made for our world 200 years ago revealed only one plausible prophet a French illustrator who foresaw the Roomba. Well, it is a 19th-century Roomba, but the elements of the idea are there in the electric scrubber. The only anomaly is that my Roomba didnt come with a French maid to shepherd it. CONCORD, MI Concord Community Schools is one of 250 school districts in the U.S. and Canada named to an honor roll recognizing progress in Advanced Placement classes. The 10th annual AP District Honor Roll from the College Board recognizes those schools that have increased the number of students participating in AP classes while also increasing or maintaining a score of three or higher on AP tests. Concord increased the number of students earning a score of three or higher from two and three in 2017 and 2018, respectively, to 15 in 2019, Superintendent Dan Funston said. Concord High School has done a great job providing challenging coursework to our students through the College Boards Advanced Placement program, Funston said in a news release. Were proud of our students success and the increase in passing scores on the AP exams. Our teachers and principal are working hard to continue this growth. The Kerala government on Monday cited a sense of fear among the people while reiterating it will not implement the exercise to update the National Population Register (NPR) in the state even as it will cooperate with the Census operations. A sense of fear has gripped the people. It is the governments duty to help people come out of this fear and also maintain the law and order in the state. If the NPR and National Register of Citizens [NRC] are implemented, it will vitiate the atmosphere. That is why the state government took this decision, a press release from chief minister Pinarayi Vijayans office said. It said the NPR will pave way for the NRCs implementation. The statement said the state police chief has also given a report that the implementation of the NPR will vitiate the atmosphere. District collectors have also informed the government that it was difficult to carry out Census procedures if mixed with the NPR. The NPR, which will be updated from April 2020 along with the house listing exercise for the Census, is a comprehensive biometric database of all usual residents. The Census is a database of households. The NPR has generated controversy as Opposition parties have contended that the exercise is linked to the National Register for Indian Citizens (NRIC) aimed at identifying illegal immigrants. West Bengal, too, has announced it will not participate in the NPR exercise. The government has in the past described the NPR as the first step towards a nationwide NRC. It now maintains that there is no link between the two and that an all-India NRC is not immediately on the anvil in the backdrop of protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, or CAA. The passage of the CAA last month to fast-track the citizenship process for non-Muslims, who have entered India from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh before 2015, has triggered protests. Opponents of the law insist it is discriminatory and unconstitutional as it leaves out the Muslims and links faith to citizenship in a secular country. They say it could result in the expulsion or detentions of the Muslims unable to provide the documentation if the law is seen in the context of a proposed pan-India NRC. A process to identify undocumented immigrants in Assam led to the exclusion of around 2 million people from the NRC last year. The Kerala government last week directed officials to ensure that the NPR is not mentioned while sending any communication regarding the Census. We will inform the Census directorate that certain questions which will go for the preparation of the NPR will not be done here, said state minister AC Moideen. The state government will ask enumerators to exclude questions regarding the dates of birth of respondents and details of their parents from the Census questionnaire, he added. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Caitlyn Jenner was spotted at the Women's March in Los Angeles on Saturday. She looked glamorous while giving a speech about transgender rights alongside Amber Heard. The reality television star spoke to thousands of people about equality for all, particularly transgender women like herself. This is amidst the claim that Caitlyn needed what sources referred to as "plastic surgery overhaul." Caitlyn looked formal for the march in downtown Los Angeles, wearing a white top, a skirt, and a blazer for the highly political event. Women gathered together to focus on their take on several issues that women from all over the world have to face. These include pay equity, immigration, reproductive rights and even climate change. Several other rallies as such had simultaneously taken place across different states and cities in America. One With Women Caitlyn Jenner refers to herself as a transgender woman. The "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" star has completed her gender reassignment surgery in January of 2017, and joined the Women's March to encourage women from all walks of life to come together and bring about the much-needed change the community deserves. "Together as women, trans women, and cis [gender] women, we have the power to influence friends, families, colleagues, and communities. We can turn this country around," Caitlyn said in her speech during the Women's March. Caitlyn was also seen mingling with Amber Heard, Johnny Depp's former partner. At the event, Amber shared her experience of wanting to get out of her private battle, saying that she just woke up one day and realized that she was tired of carrying her feet feeling weary about going into battle. "I was looking for a different world," Heard said. Bella Thorne and Mira Sorvino were also there to keep the crowd pumped up. Evelyn Yang, the wife of Presidential Candidate Andrew Yang, also took the stage in the New York Women's March. To recall, Evelyn recently admitted that she was sexually assaulted by her gynecologist Yang said that it was scary to come out and tell the whole world about her story, but she believes that coming forward could also help her reclaim her voice. Her purpose was to encourage others to speak up and reclaim their voices, too. Otherwise, as Yang said, every other victim out there would remain in the shadows of their perpetrators. On Plastic Surgery Caitlyn made it to the headlines after being voted out of U.K. survival show "I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here." A source told RadarOnline that the reality star was horrified about how she looked on the show. "The makeup-free shots on TV have horrified her and pulled down her self-esteem," the source said. This was what made her think about the many options she has to improve herself, and it included a number of plastic surgery treatments, the source added. According to the source of RadarOnline, Caitlyn wanted to change how she looked after completing her sex reassignment surgery. She wanted to have a new look for 2020, particularly because she got herself a whole new fan base. Prejudice and narrow-mindedness against the minorities in India, particularly against the Muslims and the Christians, is not a new trend and new behaviour. by Ali Sukhanver The Washington Post has recently reported that this month a meeting between Mr. Modi and the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was scheduled to take place in Guwahati, the largest city in Assam but because of the ongoing unrest in Assam, that visit has been cancelled. Assam is one of the seven states in Indias northeast that share borders with Bangladesh, Myanmar and China. Recently introduced CAA bill has sparked violent protests in Assam which has yet taken lives of two people and left 25 injured. Situation there is so horrible that feeling the severity and gravity the U.S. and British governments have urged their citizens to exercise caution if traveling to Indias northeast. Lurin Jyoti Gogoi, the general secretary of All Assam Students Union has warned the BJP government that protest against the CAA would not stop unless the government reviews the amendment bill. He said, The movement in Assam will intensify, and the legal fight against the citizenship act will continue. Unfortunately, the BJP government is not feeling the severity of the matter. No one seems willing to listen to the protesting voices. Ignoring the voices of the already crushed minorities is simply a routine practice of the Modi government but this time this routine practice may prove disastrous. Mr. Satya Nadella is enjoying one of the most important key-positions in the Microsoft. He grew up in India's technology hub Hyderabad and later on succeeded in getting American citizenship. A few days back, speaking at a Microsoft event for editors in New York, Mr. Satya Nadella said, I think what is happening in India is sad, primarily as sort of someone who grew up there... I think it's just bad. BJP leaders have reacted in a very harsh manner on this statement of the Microsoft Boss. Newspapers and TV channels are replete with the resentment rather condemning statements of BJP leaders over the issue. BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi said in a tweet that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's statement on CAA is a perfect example of How literate need to be educated. Prejudice and narrow-mindedness against the minorities in India, particularly against the Muslims and the Christians, is not a new trend and new behaviour. In the last week of December 2019, Delhi BJP vice-president Shazia Ilmi also had to face the same prejudice when she was not allowed to go on to the stage from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the gathering during his Sunday rally at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan. She complained that other Delhi unit leaders were given the passes for the main stage. Analysts are of the opinion that she had to face this discrimination just because she is a Muslim. Shazia Ilmi had been a very active member of the Aam Aadmi Party till May 2014. Later on she left the AAP and joined the BJP. She has accused the senior leadership of BJP Delhi unit of discrimination and favouritism. According to the Media reports Ilmi expressed her anger saying that she felt humiliated as her pass was not made while the other office-bearers of Delhi unit were allowed on the main stage. There is a storm of protest all over the country against the CAA not only in India but all over the world as it is seen as a discrimination against the religious minorities. It is one of the worlds darkest discriminatory laws based on religion. Even the Indian Constitution does not support such type of brutal legislation. Social workers, members of different human rights organizations, teachers, writers, actors, students and even traders are expressing their reservations over this new amendment. Bollywood actor Zeeshan Ayub said criticizing the CAA, Everyone has been exposed and the common man has understood everything and the right-wing people cannot make a fool out of them by giving vague statements. He complained that even the BJP leaders are not having any clear concept of this amendment; they are pushing the general public into a blind alley of confusions. Zeeshan Ayub said talking to the ANI, The Home minister said something, the next day something else is being said in the Ram leela; people are getting confused. Chetan Bhagat is a renowned Indian novelist; moreover he is an ardent supporter of Mr. Modi too but he is not happy over the police action against the students protesting on the CAA. In a series of tweets, he said criticizing the BJP government, All universities must be protected. Those who fantasize about India with a Hindu king and his subservient subjects must remember this; even if I dignified your bigotry (I don't), you can't wish 200 million Muslims away. Try that and India will burn, GDP will crash and your kids will be unsafe and jobless. Stop these fantasies! The flood of protest against the CAA is creating a lot of political as well as diplomatic problems for India but the BJP government is not taking the situation serious. Mr. Modi and his sweet companions seem sitting on a volcano-waiting for a storm. Customer centricity without empowerment is like a power-generating dam without water -- you must have both to achieve the desired result. Empowerment taps into the potential of a human being to do more than what is typically defined by their job description. Empowerment allows that individual to take initiative, to show courage, to speak up and to make things better. Also, it allows them to act as capable adults, not machines on a prescribed path. When employees are empowered, organizations can adapt, flourish, respond immediately to outside forces and identify key factors it would never have known about before they become problems or issues. This type of organization allows its people to focus on the customer experience in a way that cannot be achieved with standard customer-service policies and procedures. Customers, like all of us, are individuals -- idiosyncratic and unpredictable. So they must be treated as individuals in order to give them the best possible experience. To do so requires that all employees, regardless of whether they are customer-facing or not, are empowered to make the best decisions and take the right actions for their customers. This is especially important today, because organizations are expected to provide an increasing amount of personalization. A recent study found that 80 percent of surveyed customers were more likely to do business with a company that offered personalized experiences. Empowerment is essential in providing a personalized experience because if employees are limited to a specific set of guidelines, they are unable to respond to customer needs in a unique fashion. By empowering your workforce, you enable them to do what they know they should do: care about the customer experience, own the customer experience and, where appropriate, do something to impact that customer experience. It is important to recognize that building an empowering culture is an initiative, and needs to be treated as such, not just as an addition to building a customer-centric culture. If customer centricity is a corporate priority for your organization, but you do not currently have an empowered workforce, create an initiative that is a blend of empowerment and customer centricity. By giving both the necessary attention, you can create a customer-centric culture that changes the way your company does business, how customers interact with you and how the world sees you. Related: The Real ROI of Being Customer-Centric True empowerment allows you to release the potential of employees at all levels and roles, which earns you results far greater than those you will achieve if you simply instruct them in any given scenario. Here are five guidelines for managing empowered employees as you take your own journey to customer centricity. 1. Initiate frequent, honest, open communication. Communication must be open and honest between leadership and empowered employees. Employees are not truly empowered if they are missing information that would help them act in the best interests of the customer. Therefore, it is imperative that there is trust built so that both leaders and team members feel safe, share key communication messages and are free to express their thoughts, ideas and feelings during the process of creating a customer-centric culture. 2. Seek feedback. By constantly seeking feedback and initiating discussions with an empowered workforce, you keep the door open to individuals to bring up ideas, identify patterns in customer feedback and prevent problems from developing. When individuals propose ideas to improve the customer experience, it is important to let them know whether their ideas will be explored, and if not, why not. This way, employees feel heard, which encourages them to continue to bring ideas forward. 3. Provide clear and focused vision and direction. Empowerment can only exist within the context of the organizational vision and direction. Sharing a clear vision and direction related to customer centricity helps individuals to confidently execute their tasks and responsibilities in ways that support that common vision. 4. Provide training and skill development. Empowered employees will constantly be growing, so it is important to work with them to provide necessary opportunities for training and development. This helps everyone to accelerate their ability to contribute to their fullest, while helping them to continue to improve and feel challenged. 5. Clearly define boundaries, then allow autonomy within them. In order to maximize the potential of these increasingly empowered employees, it is important to be clear about boundaries so employees know when they have the authority to take personal action and when it is appropriate to bring an idea to their leader. As each individual demonstrates more experience, track record and knowledge, it is important to re-examine boundaries and expand them as appropriate so the individual feels challenged, trusted and able to contribute effectively to the customer experience. Related: How to Become More Customer-Centric The hallmark of a successful customer-centricity initiative is when every decision that every employee makes is to the benefit of the customer, creating an experience with your organization that leaves them wanting more. Employees can only do this if they are empowered to make appropriate decisions when necessary. When you put the effort into empowering your workforce, you might be surprised at how quickly your organization will embrace a culture of customer centricity. Related: 3 Important Leadership Lessons From Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. "We Work Towards the Goal of Eradicating Hunger and Malnutrition:" Says Sunil Kapur 5 Management Rules for Being a Thoughtful, Effective Executive Copyright 2020 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved COLUMBIA The South Carolina Department of Agricultures Agribusiness Center for Research and Entrepreneurship (ACRE), in partnership with Clemson Cooperative Extension, has awarded $5,000 each to five entrepreneurs bringing innovation to food and farming in the state. SCDA founded ACRE in 2018 to help identify and nurture new ideas and businesses in the Palmetto States agribusiness sector. One of its programs is the ACRE Curriculum, a partnership with Clemson Cooperative Extension that guides beginning entrepreneurs. In its second year, the ACRE Curriculum program offered skills training and networking opportunities for 15 participants. We taught them about business planning, finances, marketing, operational planning, how to give a pitch, how to apply for a grant or loan, and other crucial business skills, said ACRE Executive Director Kyle Player. Following a live Pitch Day on Dec. 17, a panel of judges selected five of the 15 projects for funding: Ben Crawford and Rebecca Goldberg of Woodland Valley Mushrooms grow gourmet mushrooms in a converted shipping container in the Aiken County area. They plan to acquire and upfit a second container to expand their market. Justin Hancock and Jen Sample of Wando River Farm, a small produce farm in the Lowcountry with a community-supported agriculture program and a few restaurant clients, plan to expand the farms production. David and Caroline Harper run CHI design indigo, a Midlands company making hand-dyed indigo textiles and working to bring back the historic crop to South Carolina. The Harpers are working with three in-state farms to grow indigo and have plans for further educational outreach. Melissa Price of Saluda-based Patchwork Farm plans to use ACRE funding to launch an educational agri-tourism project in which students will be able to adopt a cow on her farm and follow it virtually from their classroom. Toshiba Traynham-Jackson is one of three family members behind Jackson Farms II, which sells produce in the Upstate. They plan to build a mobile farmers market to serve food deserts in their area, expanding their community outreach as well as their business. South Carolinas agribusiness sector needs innovators and risk-takers who are also well-grounded in business principles, South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture Hugh Weathers said. ACRE is a key part of our strategy to grow and diversify the states farming industry. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 National Security Adviser (NSA) to Prime Minister Modi, Ajit Kumar Doval, who turned 75 on January 20 has donned the title of 'Indian James Bond' following his stint as a spy. The highly decorated IPS officer of Kerala Cadre, who now heads the National Security Council has dealt with the country's most complex international and domestic security challenges. Known as the significant brain behind India's security and military apparatus under the Modi regime, the fifth and the current NSA spent seven years as a secret agent in Pakistan. In one of the most significant stints, Ajit Doval, as an undercover operative in Pakistan worked to gather intelligence and terror activities, with Dawood Ibrahim, known to be on his constant radar. Ajit Doval's Pakistan stint Retired as the Director Intelligence Bureau in January 2005, Ajit Doval lived in Pakistan's Lahore, disguised as a Muslim for seven years. During his years in the country, he befriended the locals visiting mosques and lived among the predominantly Muslim population. Acknowledged as a master of psychological welfare, Ajit Doval, as a part of his job also spied on Pakistan's intelligence agency, ISI. READ| NSA Ajit Doval recounts how Alan Turing changed WW-II, at DRDO meet As an secret agent, he gathered intel of the terror plans of Pakistani-based terrorists, available reinforcements, further, uncovered weapons and hideouts. Proficient with his negotiation tactics, Doval, during his time strategically lured his way into a militant group called Kukkay Parey, wherein he reportedly cajoled them into turning moles of their own terror organisation, which paved the way for elections in Jammu and Kashmir. Sharing an incident from his time in Pakistan, he said that he was once identified as a Hindu by a local from his pierced ears. Doval then underwent plastic surgery to prevent his cover from blowing. Narrating his account, Doval shared, "I was coming back from a Masjid. A man sitting in the corner, who had an intriguing personality and a white beard, called me. He asked, are you a Hindu? I replied saying no. He asked me to come with him, and took me to a small room and shut the door. He told me, 'See you are a Hindu. Your ears are pierced.' The place I come from, as a child there is a tradition to pierce the ear. I told him it was pierced when I was born. He told me, get plastic surgery of this, it's not safe to walk like that. Then I got it (plastic surgery) done." In the late 1980s. Doval snuck inside the Golden Temple posing as a Pakistani agent to the Khalistani militants and passed significant information during Operation Black Thunder in 1988. After his stint as an undercover agent, Doval worked in the Indian High Commission in Islamabad. A close-associate of PM Modi, Doval is also responsible for master-minding the surgical strike in 2016. WATCH: NSA Ajit Doval shares light moment with Army, Navy & IAF Chiefs READ| Pegasus spyware maker NSO Group to face trial in open court The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has advised its supporters in Kano State to remain calm and avoid acts capable of causing trouble in the state. The states PDP Caretaker Committee Chairman, Rabiu Suleiman-Bichi, gave the advice while speaking with journalists in Kano on Monday. Mr Sulaiman-Bichi, who was reacting to the Supreme Court ruling affirming Abdullahi Ganduje as the duly elected governor of the state, stressed the need for party supporters to maintain the peace for the development of the state and the country at large. He also urged them to remain steadfast and not engage in any form of crisis. My call to our supporters is for them to remain calm over the recent development. Let us put hands together to move our party forward, he said. He said that the party had accepted the verdict that affirmed Mr Ganduje as duly elected governor of the state. We thank the Almighty Allah for the current situation. As you know, we were at the High Court where the decision was not in our favour and we went for appeal, there too it was not in our favour. We then exploited the final option and went to the Supreme Court. We have accepted the final judgment in good faith and we will forge ahead to move our party forward, Mr Sulaiman-Bichi said. NAN reports that the Supreme Court on Monday affirmed Mr Ganduje as the duly elected Governor of the state. NAN further reports that security was beefed up in and around Government House and other strategic locations in the state after the judgment to forestall any violence. (NAN) Earlier in the month, Chloe Sevigny revealed her burgeoning baby bump as she strolled hand-in-hand with partner, Sinisa Mackovic. And the 45-year-old was spotted back out on the streets of New York doing some Sunday morning shopping at maternity clothing store Hatch. Chloe's outing came after she showed off her burgeoning baby bump for the first time on social media via a series of stunning black and white photographs posted Tuesday. Hot mama: Chloe Sevigny was spotted showing off her baby bump in NYC just a few weeks after debuting her pregnancy with partner Sinisa Mackovic Upscale: The 45-year-old actress stopped by maternity clothing store Hatch Sevigny looked casual, but cool in an all black ensemble as she made her way down the city sidewalk. She sported a black leather jacket paired with patterned leggings and UGG boots. Her neck was wrapped in a cozy scarf that covered up the majority of her signature blonde 'do. The Brown Bunny star appeared noticeably makeup free as she hid her blue peepers behind a pair of RayBan sunglasses. With a shoppers tote in hand, Chloe was ready to lay down some cash on a slew of fashionable maternity wear at Hatch. Going strong: Chloe is nearly six months along, but her bump was mostly concealed by her leather jacket Lip switch: Sevigny walked into the store with a red lip, but exited with a brown pout Chloe didn't appear to purchase anything from the boutique, but she did switch up her lip color while inside. She wandered in with a ruby red pout and wandered out with an edgier brown lip. The actress is nearly six-months into her pregnancy, according to TMZ, and she showed her bump off in its bare form on Instagram last week. Baring it all: The soon-to-be mom shared these snapshots on her Instagram page on Tuesday Bump: The photos featured the first view of her bare bump since her reveal earlier in the month Mackovic was the one behind the series of psychedelic black and white snapshots that featured Sevigny in a bra and low-rise patterned pants. Chloe was strewn about on a vintage sofa as she posed dramatically for her lover's lens in a pair of white go-go boots. The actress playfully tagged her location as 'Baby On Board.' She hinted at her pregnancy prior in an Instagram post on January 3rd where she expressed her gratitude towards having such a 'fruitful year.' Psychedelic: The actress posed on a vintage couch in a bra, patterned pants, and a pair of white go-go boots A representative for the actress confirmed the pregnancy to People soon after she showed her bump off in public for the first time on January 7th. In the debut photographs, the American Psycho starlet had draped her body in a tight fitting, rust colored dress that perfectly encapsulated her growing stomach. The couple appeared ecstatic over their imminent introduction to parenthood. The first clue: Unbeknownst to fans, the actress teased her pregnancy in an Instagram post shared on January 3rd days before her big NYC reveal But back in 2016, the actress was singing a much different tune to W Mag, when she confessed how not having children has allowed her to maintain her youthful appearance. She explained: 'I think its not having had a baby yet. Because I think the baby wear and tear and stress on your body is part of the reason why people say, Why do you still look so young? I really think that that unfortunately ages women, especially when they have children in their 30s, not in their 20s.' But it' possible that Mackovic, who is the director of Karma Art Gallery in New York, may have changed Sevigny's mind about children over the span of their relationship. MIDDLETOWN Two of the citys legislators joined members of the Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Committee of Greater Middletown Saturday for a check presentation. State Sen. Matt Lesser and state Rep. Quentin Phipps, both D-Middletown, presented the donation at Wesleyan Universitys Allbritton Hall. The state lawmakers applauded the work of the committee, according to a press release. Working with the legislative Black and Puerto Rican Caucus, we were able to raise funds for scholarships for Middletown-area students, Lesser said in a prepared statement. Im pleased to support the MLK Jr. Scholarship Committee and the good work they do in our community. I am thrilled to see a Middletown student chosen to receive the MLK Education Scholarship, Phipps said in the statement. Empowering our children through education is the best tool we have to help them succeed and become productive members of our communities. This scholarship is a way of helping them get closer to achieving their academic goals and letting them know we are supporting their dreams. Committee President Brittany Hoggard thanked the state legislators for their continued support of the committee and generous donation. The Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Committee extends our sincere gratitude to state Sen. Matt Lesser and state Rep. Quentin Phipps for their support and efforts, Hoggard said in the release. Your donation will help in the continued works of providing scholarships to our youth pursuing a higher education. The Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Committee of Greater Middletown provides scholarships to high school seniors who are planning on attending a two- or four-year college or university, or an accredited technical/vocational institution. The scholarship is based on financial need, academic achievement, community involvement, and includes an essay about the work of Dr. King. Photo taken on Jan. 19, 2020 shows the commemorative stamp themed on the Year of Rat in Paris, capital of France. French postal service company La Poste issued two Year of Rat stamps in a ceremony here on Saturday to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year. This year's stamps are designed by Paris-based Chinese artist Chen Jiang Hong. The first pane of 400,000 stamps depicts a rat with a lotus and the second set, containing 325,000 copies, features a rat bride based on Chinese folklore. (Xinhua/Gao Jing) PARIS, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- French postal service company La Poste issued two Year of Rat stamps in a ceremony here on Saturday to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year. The initiative to issue Chinese zodiac stamps dated back to 2005. Each year the French postal service company celebrates the Chinese New Year by issuing the stamp featuring the year's zodiac animal. The Chinese astrology has 12 animal figures and the rat is the first in the series, representing wealth and shrewdness in the Chinese culture. This year's stamps are designed by Paris-based Chinese artist Chen Jiang Hong. The first pane of 400,000 stamps depicts a rat with a lotus and the second set, containing 325,000 copies, features a rat bride based on Chinese folklore. The new stamps will be on sale on Jan. 20 in French post offices and the site of the postal service company. A Starbucks logo is seen in this file photo. From top left are Hana Financial Group Chairman Kim Jung-tai, KB Financial Group Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo, KB Kookmin Bank CEO Hur Yin and NongHyup Financial Group Chairman Kim Gwang-soo. / Korea Times file By Park Jae-hyuk A growing number of Korean banking groups are showing alarm at Starbucks, describing the U.S. coffeehouse chain as a potential rival that could threaten their survival in the financial market within a few years, industry officials said Monday. The banking groups fear that Starbucks may stir up the conventional financial market based on the significant amount of cash customers load onto its prepaid gift cards cards that have yet to be subject to financial regulations. According to the Wall Street Journal, the coffee shop chain's U.S. headquarters had $1.2 billion that customers had loaded onto Starbucks gift cards and the mobile app as of the first quarter of 2016 surpassing the amount of cash that major American provincial banks had in their deposits. The amount of cash its Korean unit holds is confidential, but it is estimated at over 70 billion won ($60.2 million), according to its regulatory filing. Starbucks, however, has been free of financial regulations here as it has not offered interest for the prepaid cash and the money loaded onto its gift cards and app can be used at its stores only. Hana Financial Group Chairman Kim Jung-tai expressed his concerns over this situation. "Technologies have allowed coffee companies like Starbucks to be our rivals," he said in his New Year's address. "It will be fine to call Starbucks an unregulated bank, not a mere coffee company." In 2019, KB Financial Group Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo, KB Kookmin Bank CEO Hur Yin and NongHyup Financial Group Chairman Kim Gwang-soo mentioned Starbucks in their New Year's messages. "The most-used mobile payment app in the U.S. was the Starbucks app, not Google or Apple Pay," Yoon said. "About 40 percent of its payments were made with the app, and the amount of cash loaded onto its prepaid cards and apps surpassed the amount of cash that some provincial banks had." Hur cited the amount of cash loaded onto Starbucks gift cards, in order to emphasize digitization, agility and efficiency are key factors for his bank's survival. Kim urged his company to learn from Starbucks' corporate culture of fostering skilled employees. The nation's financial authorities have also been interested in Starbucks with a positive view. The Financial Supervisory Service invited Starbucks Vice President Michele Waits to its international symposium in November 2018 to share the company's insights into financial evolution through digital innovation. The invitation came as Starbucks began moving into the financial industry based on its investments in blockchain and cryptocurrency. In July 2018, it announced it would invest in crypto exchange Bakkt as the first launch partner. Experts expect Starbucks will use cryptocurrency to manage its cash prepaid in various currencies. Furthermore, they say the company will begin the asset management business worldwide via the prepaid cards, expanding its presence in the currency exchange, loan and insurance markets. "Starbucks have been regarded as a fintech firm, not a coffee company, over the past few years," a bank official said. "The removal of the word coffee from its signboard also proves this." Against this backdrop, calls have grown for the financial regulators to put controls on Starbucks. "Regulations are needed for prepaid service providers to maintain a certain level of capital adequacy ratio," Hansung University's economics professor Kim Sang-bong said. A top Pakistani woman lawyer and human rights activist, supporting the minority Hazara community in the country, was stopped from taking a flight to the UK and detained for hours by immigration authorities at the airport here on Monday, citing her "anti-state activities", according to a media report. Jalila Haider, who was listed as one of the 100 most inspiring and influential women across the world by the BBC last year, was stopped by airport authorities when she was boarding a flight to the UK where she had to attend a conference on feminism organised by the University of Sussex, she told the Dawn When she asked why she was being stopped from boarding the flight, she was told that her name was on the no-fly list because of her "anti-state activities". Haider, who hails from Balochistan and belongs to the minority Hazara community, told the daily that she was detained by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for seven hours at the airport after which authorities returned her passport and told her that she can book another flight to the UK. She added that she had not been involved in any "anti-state activity". Haider is an advocate and the founder of We The Humans a non-profit organisation which works to lift local communities by strengthening opportunities for vulnerable women and children. She is also vocal about the persecution of the minority Hazaras in the Muslim-majority country. In 2018, she went on a hunger strike, demanding the state to address the violence against the people of the Hazara community, who she said faced persecution due to ethnicity and sectarianism. Haider had demanded Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa to visit Balochistan and console the thousands of widows and orphaned children left by the killing of Hazaras in Pakistan over the past two decades, the daily said. of her detention spread on social media after the activist posted on her Facebook page that she had been stopped at the Lahore airport. Her sister who had come to see her off and social media activists gathered at the airport, demanding Haider's release and holding placards. The lawyer said that only names of people who are suspected in a case and are named in a first information report can be placed on the Exit Control List (ECL). She further said that people whose names are placed on the ECL should be served with a show-cause notice, adding that she was not issued one. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) T heres a playfulness to our home, says Italian architect Chantal Martinelli of the flat she shares in a converted textiles factory in Hackney with her husband Julien Desormeaux, a French infrastructure project financier, and their sons Marcel, seven, and Lucio, 10. Nothing is too serious here. With soaring ceilings and huge sash windows, the architecture is elegant, offset by witty touches and jolts of strong colour that make the flat chic yet fun. One wall in the kitchen-cum-dining room is painted chili pepper red, the backdrop to a retro tangerine-coloured Smeg fridge. Two orange and red vintage pendant lights stylishly tie these acid hues together. Picking up a pomegranate from a fruit bowl, Martinelli says: Reds and oranges relate to fruit and spices. They give more vitality to the space. From here, a tall sliding door made of reclaimed oak flooring leads via a small sitting room where the family watch TV to a living room painted zingy sky blue. Clearly, Martinelli enjoys combining hot and cool hues to startling effect. She studied architecture in Rome, then worked for Foster + Partners in London, gaining experience designing large-scale projects. I worked on offices, museums, hotels, using the studios neutral palette of glass and steel. I rarely did residential properties. While on maternity leave, two friends asked me to design their home, which involved linking two Victorian houses. She found more work through word of mouth and in 2013 set up her architecture practice, Mad Atelier. What it cost Cost of apartment in 2009: 310,000 Cost of refurbishment: 206,000 Value of house now (estimate): 950,000 The Mad bit is short for Martinelli Architecture Design but I also like the other sense it conjures up crazy and bold, she says. It signifies Martinelli and Desormeaux, too, since we work together. People said they liked my projects holiday-ish, Mediterranean feel, their sense of freedom, she adds. For one client, a musician, I chose patterned tiles that brought to mind musical rhythms. For a couple occupying a former hummus factory, she enlivened a mainly monochrome decor with plaster-pink walls. The latter, as well as the home of Martinelli and Desormeaux, feature in new book East London Homes: Creative Interiors from Londons East End (Hoxton Mini Press), which celebrates the pioneering, unconventional transformation of anything from coffin workshops to gin distilleries into striking, personal spaces. Other Mad Atelier projects include The Rose hotel in Deal, Kent. The Tarzan and Jane effect A corridor forms the backbone of the L-shaped apartment. Three rooms lead off it, starting with the childrens bedroom, then Chantal and Juliens bedroom and finally a spacious bathroom. The boys wooden beds recall bunk beds but, rather than arranged one above the other, are at crows nest height, reached by ladders. An offbeat wallpaper here by Barcelona-based company Batabasta features outsized palm trees from which tiny, Lycra-clad human figures swing like Tarzan and Jane. Quirkier still is a square of white netting stretched horizontally near ceiling height in the corridor just outside the kitchen to provide extra play space. Securely fixed to the walls, this can be accessed from one of the boys beds. Its made of very strong netting used on catamarans, explains Martinelli. The boys even have pillow fights on it. She redesigned parts of the flat: The kitchen used to be a galley kitchen where the kids bedroom is now, so we moved it into the larger room. Kitchens shouldnt be separated from the rest of the home I like to be with my friends when Im cooking. We added a small bathroom next to the blue living room, also used as a guest room. Parquet flooring meets velvet detailing and soft pink accents / Daniel Hambury/@stellapicsltd Mad Atelier is conveniently based at her and Desormeauxs equally out-there, eponymous shop on nearby Lower Clapton Road, which they opened in 2017. Like the style of Martinellis projects and home, the two-storey emporium is an expression of this sparky architects personality outgoing and uninhibited. The exterior wall of the shop is decorated with a giant mural of multicoloured pixels by Spanish designer Cristian Zuzunaga. Inside, the mood is summed up by a cushion-strewn, egg-shaped, ceiling-hung chair that brushes against a desk with a neat row of computers, suggesting that work and leisure are, not unreasonably, intertwined. Here, Martinelli and Desormeaux, who works on the business side and helps to source products, can display idiosyncratic homeware found in independent shops in Mediterranean countries, chiefly France, Italy and Portugal, which can then be supplied directly to clients. Natural elements The shop occupies a former Victorian pub, where stripped wood and exposed brick provide a neutral backdrop for the eccentric curios, including lamps by Seletti in the shape of lifelike, gold mice clutching bare light bulbs, and plates by Maison Fragile adorned with portraits of French icons including Yves Saint Laurent and Serge Gainsbourg. A similar vibe pervades the couples home, where much of the furniture and art are available in the store. Saffron detailing in the bedroom (Photographer Jon Aaron Green. Photographed for the book East London Homes by Sarah Bagner, published by Hoxton Mini Press) / Photographer Jon Aaron Green. "Photographed for the book East London Homes by Sarah Bagner, published by Hoxton Mini Press". In the dining area is a huge storage unit made by Manchester-based designer Jon Male from reclaimed public library shelves, fronted with glass panels sand-blasted with the word library. Martinelli likes to soften architectures hard edges. In the main bedroom saffron-coloured curtains filter golden light into the space, while another curtain fronts the wardrobe. An old parquet floor in a warm, dark tone, found in most of the flat, which the couple had restored, is pleasingly unifying. The kitchen features two parallel worktops wide enough apart to allow freedom of movement but close enough to make it easy to shift food and objects easily from one to the other. So what work does she most enjoy? Residential and hospitality projects are my favourites because theyre about cosiness and comfort, she says. I love trying to translate peoples personalities into a space. Get the look The Port city Visakhapatnam, which has the sobriquet City of Destiny, will soon become the Capital of Andhra Pradesh if the Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy government overcomes the opposition in the Legislative Council and also possible legal hurdles. The governmen on Monday brought-in a bill to give statutory backing to its plans of having three seats of governance for the state with Visakhapatnam the executive capital housing the secretariat. Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Area, for all practical purposes, could be designated the state capital as the main seat of power the Secretariat is proposed to be located there, as per the plan outlined by the government in the Andhra Pradesh Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Bill, 2020. While the ruling YSR Congress termed the bill 'historic', the principal opposition Telugu Desam called it 'unconstitutional'. In December 2014, the then Telugu Desam government enacted the AP Capital Region Development Authority Act, under which the Amaravati region has been designated as the state capital. The actual capital city Amaravati was, however, not notified in the last five years and it remains only a cluster of 29 villages. Given its overwhelming strength in the assembly, the YSRC government will have a smooth sailing in getting the new Bill approved there, but the TDP, which is in a majority in the Council, is determined to delay its passage, if not stall it. With 28 members, and possible support of BJP and others, the TDP could effectively upset the government plans by delaying the bill by at least three months. Though it was rumoured that the government might bring in a Money Bill to thwart the opposition efforts, Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath, however, only moved a general Bill and called it historic. The Council, as per rules, has the power to return the Bill to the assembly, suggesting possible amendments, only twice, after which it has to necessarily pass it. As it has only two days to get the Council clearance in the current session, the YSRC is working on a counter-strategy to foil the TDP plans and get the Bill cleared without a hitch. On Monday, the ruling party once again renewed the threat to abolish the Council, sending the opposition members into a tizzy. Another strategy worked out by the government side is to deploy all 24 ministers in full strength in the Council to exert psychological pressure, particularly on the Chairman, to hurry things up and send the Bill back to the Assembly on Tuesday itself even if not cleared. We can then send the Bill to the Council afresh on Wednesday and possibly hope for its passage. If not, we have to wait till the Budget session in March, a minister said. This Bill in itself is unconstitutional. How could it speak of three capitals when there is no such provision in the Constitution? It will not stand legal scrutiny, veteran TDP member Gorantla Butchaiah Chowdary said. In the Bill, the government said the Raj Bhawan, Secretariat and offices of the Heads of Departments of government shall be located at the Executive Capital of Visakhapatnam." The state capital is where the Secretariat is, a minister observed in an informal chat, when asked whats the actual new capital of AP as the bill referred to three different capitals. To enable a decentralised model of governance and to provide an inclusive governance in the state there shall be three Seats of Governance in Andhra Pradesh, to be called as 'Capital(s)'. Amaravati Metropolitan Region Development Area (hereinafter referred to as Amaravati) to be called as the 'Legislative Capital'; Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Area (hereinafter referred to as Visakhapatnam) to be called as the 'Executive Capital' and Kurnool Urban Development Area (hereinafter referred to as Kurnool) to be called as the 'Judicial Capital', the Bill read. Interestingly, the VMRDA jurisdiction stretches to even adjoining areas in Vizianagaram district where the state Secretariat could be located in the future. The governments plan, though, is to shift base in the next few months to start its operations from temporary premises on the picturesque beach road outside Visakhapatnam. The bill also envisages initiating steps to seek relocation of the principal seat of High Court of Andhra Pradesh to the Judicial Capital of Kurnool and for constitution of bench(es) of the High Court in accordance with the procedure prescribed under the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014." The hitch, however, is the President has already notified Amaravati as the principal seat of the AP High Court, in accordance with the Reorganisation Act. Changing this involves a whole new process while a legal question is also being raised as to whether the President is empowered to alter the notification already issued. Also, the concurrence of the high court and the Supreme Court may be required to relocate the principal seat of the HC, legal professionals aver. But the YSR Congress government is seeking to place this burden onto the BJP's shoulders since the national party promised in its election manifesto to locate the AP High Court in Rayalaseema, of which Kurnool is a nerve Centre. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Food Network set out to find the best deli in each state, and their Connecticut search brought them to Gaetano's in Stratford. Citing the owners' start on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx, Food Network praises the deli for its selection of Italian groceries, paninis and fresh bread picked up daily from Addeos Bakery in the Bronx. Owner Milanno Ukehaxhaj said he is "humbled" by the endorsement, and "thankful for all the customers that made us number one." The deli posted the Food Network article on its Facebook page, and the post garnered 151 comments from customers like: "CONGRATULATIONS! Been going to you for the past 20 years when I moved to Stratford from The Bronx." "Of course! The Greatest Italian Deli in the USA, in my opinion!! We have been faithful customers in Stratford since my son discovered it while he was in high school in 2000! Love the food: heros & catering, the service & especially the personal touch Milano, Guy & especially Angelo, who is so attentive to our every order in Stratford!!! Recognition well deserved!!" Ukehaxhaj said what sets Gaetano's apart from other delis is that they "put their heart and soul into it" and do it "for the love of the job and the love of the people." For those who have never tried a Gaetano's sandwich, Ukehaxhaj recommends the Kovaks Special, which is made with chicken cutlet, prosciutto, mozzarella, roasted red peppers and broccoli rabe. Gaetano's also has locations in Monroe and Westport, and is opening a fourth location in Shelton this year. More Living Top Yelp-reviewed cheap eats in southwestern Connecticut File Photo: Motorists drive through a heavy traffic flow during rush hours along the main highway EDSA in Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines. REUTERS/Erik De Castro By Andreo Calonzo The Philippines plans to build roads and bridges worth 380 billion pesos ($7.5 billion) to decongest the capitals main highway, seeking to solve the worlds worst traffic. More than 400,000 vehicles pass daily through Manilas main road called EDSA, and President Rodrigo Duterte targets to reduce this by a third before his six-year term ends in 2022 by building alternative routes, Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said on Friday. Road congestion has become an economic constraint for the Philippines, causing annual losses of $18 billion based on Asian Development Bank estimates. The Philippine capital region was seen by Waze as the worlds worst cities to drive in last year. It is only during the time of President Duterte that we see this ambitious plan to decongest the symbol of our infrastructure underinvestment, Villar said at a forum touting the governments achievements. A 37.4 billion-peso expressway is set to open this quarter thats seen to cut travel time from the capitals north to south from 2 hours to 15 minutes, Villar said. Companies like San Miguel Corp. are also proposing solutions to Manila traffic, such as an elevated expressway along EDSA. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. The Perspective Atlanta, Georgia January 20, 2020 Cllr. Sayma Syrenius Cephus - Is this really a son of the famous Pay Me Weah? Please stop disgracing the famous man because he was not corrupt. He was paid what he earned honestly. The Liberian National Bar Association (LNBA) says it frowns on attempts by some state actors to engage in the harassment of lawyers simply on the account of representing their clients.The LNBA says its attention has been drawn to a recent statement attributed to the Solicitor General of Liberia, threatening to arrest Cllr. Finley Karngar, a member of the LNBA, on the premise that he could not produce a client, in the person of Henry Costa who has fled the country based on personal security concerns. The LNBA says assuming that Cllr. Karngar signed for Mr. Henry Costa to have him report for an investigation, the mere fact that the Liberian Government was in the know that Mr. Costa had fled the country and the Government said it was initiating discussions with the Government of Sierra Leone to bring Costa back to Liberia, the matter became moot. Therefore, Cllr. Karngar no longer had any obligation of ensuring the appearance of Costa before any forum, neither was he responsible to answer any question regarding the whereabouts of Henry Costa. The LNBA maintains the position that being the Solicitor General of Liberia does not give Cllr. Cephas, who is also a member of the LNBA, any authority to arrest a member of the LNBA who has not committed any offense under Liberian law. The Bar Association further says that for Cllr. Cephus to perceive, imagine, countenance or entertain the notion that he has such authority is sad, to say the least. The LNBA cautions the Solicitor General to exercise his authority within the scope of the law and with regard to the rights of all Liberian citizens, including lawyers, as guaranteed by the Constitution of Liberia and the international bill of human rights. The LNBA says it will not tolerate any violation of the rights of lawyers in the execution of the professional obligations to their clients by the Solicitor General or any official of Government and reminds the SG to always take cognizance of section 12.70 of the Penal Law which prohibits the abuse of public office. The LNBA warns that it will not hesitate to institute actions and impose appropriate sanctions on Cllr. Cephus if he were to carry out the threatened arbitrary arrest of Cllr. Finley, in order to send out a clear message that the Bar will not condone the subjection of lawyers to harassment by state actors and shall always defend lawyers in the protection of their duties. Additionally, the LNBA says it is taken aback that the Liberia Immigration Service (LIS) would assign unto itself a duty outside of its statutory mandate beyond the Alien and Nationality Law by attempting to investigate a Liberian citizen for alleged possession of false travel document. The Bar notes that the principal function of the LIS is to enforce the Alien and Nationality Law, Title 4 - Liberian Code of Laws Revised and not to conduct an investigation of Liberian citizens suspected or accused of committing a crime. Such a duty, according to the Bar, is strictly assigned to the Liberian National Police. At the same time, the Bar says that it is concerned about the escalating clampdown on critics of the government, as evidenced by unfounded allegations and threatening utterances coming from highly placed individuals, which may have the net effect of silencing dissent, thereby reversing the gains made in the building of democracy in Liberia and eventually creating an environment for the resurgence of dictatorship in Liberia and civil conflict. Once again, the LNBA calls on the Government of Liberia and all officials of government to take serious note of the fact that the legal profession is the only profession that is protected by the Constitution of Liberia. Article 21(i) of the Constitution of Liberia provides, amongst other things that no lawyer shall be punished for providing legal services, regardless of the charges against or the guilt of his client Solicitor General Cephas and other overzealous officials of governments must resist the temptation to illegally amplify the scope of authority of their offices by taking actions against lawyers that bear the potential of creating a chilling effect on the practice of law and thereby make it difficult for lawyers to protect human rights in Liberia. Finally, the LNBA assures the Government of Liberia of its willingness to cooperate and collaborate with it in protecting the rights of the people and seeking their common good. But it shall not for one minute close its eyes on the violation of the rights of its members in the performance of the professional duties to their clients and any attempt by anyone holding public office in Liberia to depart from subscribing to governance by rule of law to governance by rule of man. A married rapist who sexually assaulting seven women while they were asleep and took 20,000 photographs of his victims unconscious has been jailed for 21 years. Many victims of 33-year-old Jamie Rogers had no idea what had happened to them until being told by police about the assaults after their attacker's phone was seized. The builder from Hanworth, Berkshire, had his device searched for an unrelated matter but officers found 21,000 pictures and 600 videos he had taken of his crimes. Jamie Rogers, 33, of Hanworth, Berkshire, had his mobile phone searched for an unrelated matter but officers found photos and videos he had taken of his 'depraved sexual fantasies' Rogers drugged his victims and sometimes even their partners following sessions of drinking alcohol at his home inviting them to stay over, reported The Sun. He also gave them tablets to avoid hangovers - which were actually date rape drugs. Rogers even filmed himself abusing one woman with husband unconscious nearby. Investigators found he had attacked seven women between January 2009 and July 2017. Rogers pleaded guilty at Kingston Crown Court in London to 46 offences. These were 12 counts of rape, 15 counts of assault by penetration, and 19 counts of sexual assault. He was jailed for 21 years, with an extended licence of seven years. It took two years for Rogers to be taken into custody after his arrest. His wife had no idea what he was doing, and he split from her before moving to Sheffield. Scotland Yard Detective Inspector Simon Dowling said: 'Rogers took complete advantage of these women to fulfil his own depraved sexual fantasies. Rogers pleaded guilty at Kingston Crown Court (pictured) in South West London to 46 crimes 'The victims in this case were completely unaware of what had happened to them until they were notified by police. 'They were left utterly shocked by what was disclosed and they will have to live with the repercussions of this for the rest of their lives. 'We take all reports of sexual offences very seriously and we hope this shows our commitment to bringing offenders of this nature to justice.' The court heard Rogers - who has been placed on the sex offenders register for life - carried out the attacks while the victims were asleep. None of them were aware they had been sexually assaulted until police discovered images and videos that Rogers had taken. The discovery on a secret smartphone app came after Rogers was initially arrested on suspicion of having indecent images of children. The judge said Rogers was 'a dangerous offender' who must serve two thirds of his sentence before parole can be considered. Kolkata, Jan 20 : The West Bengal government is planning to pass a resolution in the state Assembly against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in the next three-four days, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Monday. Banerjee also appealed to other states, particularly those in the North-East, to pass such resolutions. "We have also passed a resolution against NRCA three months ago. We will pass a resolution against CAA also within three-four days," Banerjee told mediapersons. The CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala and Congress ruled Punjab have already passed resolutions in the respective state assemblies demanding scrapping of the controversial CAA. TheA CAA, passed in Parliament last month, seeks to provide Indian nationality to Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Parsis, Jains and Buddhists fleeing persecution in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh before December 31, 2014. As per the Act, such communities will not be treated as illegal immigrants now and will be given Indian citizenship. The legislation, which has come into force on January 10, has led to intense protests across the country, with students coming out on the streets in thousands in almost all the states. Civil society members, anti-BJP political parties and commoners have also joined the protests. Credit: Dreamstime A Yale-affiliated scientist finds that even a few hours' exposure to ambient ultrafine particles common in air pollution may potentially trigger a nonfatal heart attack. Myocardial infarction (MI) is a major form of cardiovascular disease worldwide. Ultrafine particles (UFP) are 100 nanometers or smaller in size. In urban areas, automobile emissions are the primary source of UFP. The study in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives is believed to be the first epidemiological investigation of the effects of UFP exposure and heart attacks using the number of particles and the particle length and surface area concentrations at hourly intervals of exposure. "This study confirms something that has long been suspectedair pollution's tiny particles can play a role in serious heart disease. This is particularly true within the first few hours of exposure," said Kai Chen, Ph.D., assistant professor at Yale School of Public Health and the study's first author. "Elevated levels of UFP are a serious public health concern." UFP constitute a health risk due to their small size, large surface areas per unit of mass, and their ability to penetrate the cells and get into the blood system. "We were the first to demonstrate the effects of UFP on the health of asthmatics in an epidemiological study in the 1990s," said Annette Peters, director of the Institute of Epidemiology at Helmholtz Center Munich and a co-author of this paper. "Since then approximately 200 additional studies have been published. However, epidemiological evidence remains inconsistent and insufficient to infer a causal relationship." The lack of consistent findings across epidemiological studies may be in part because of the different size ranges and exposure metrics examined to characterize ambient UFP exposure. Chen and his co-authors were interested in whether transient UFP exposure could trigger heart attacks and whether alternative metrics such as particle length and surface area concentrations could improve the investigation of UFP-related health effects. With colleagues from Helmholtz Center Munich, Augsburg University Hospital and Nordlingen Hospital, Chen examined data from a registry of all nonfatal MI cases in Augsburg, Germany. The study looked at more than 5, 898 nonfatal heart attack patients between 2005 and 2015. The individual heart attacks were compared against air pollution UFP data on the hour of the heart attack and adjusted for a range of additional factors, such as the day of the week, long-term time trend and socioeconomic status. "This represents an important step toward understanding the appropriate indicator of ultrafine particles exposure in determining the short-term health effects, as the effects of particle length and surface concentrations were stronger than the ones of particle number concentration and remained similar after adjustment for other air pollutants," said Chen. "Our future analyses will examine the combined hourly exposures to both air pollution and extreme temperature. We will also identify vulnerable subpopulations regarding pre-existing diseases and medication intake." More information: Kai Chen et al. Hourly Exposure to Ultrafine Particle Metrics and the Onset of Myocardial Infarction in Augsburg, Germany, Environmental Health Perspectives (2020). Journal information: Environmental Health Perspectives Kai Chen et al. Hourly Exposure to Ultrafine Particle Metrics and the Onset of Myocardial Infarction in Augsburg, Germany,(2020). DOI: 10.1289/EHP5478 After a record quarter, the company, which turns 25 at the end of January, accumulates 15 quarters with positive figures. With a before taxes result of 1,074 million euros and a reduction in its Net Financial Debt of 42 percent over the past year, "we have done our duty to generate benefits to our shareholders, to whom we thank every day for the confidence they have put in us" said Sisco Sapena, founder and CEO of the company. Throughout 2019, the company's sales registered an increase of 10%, up to 13.6 million euros, compared to the 12.3 million sold the previous year. Out of the three business lines of Lleida.net, that of Software as a Service recorded a turnover of around 3.7 million euros, 546,000 over last year sales, or an 18% increase. The Wholesale Interconnection business line, which encompasses SMS sales to operators, accumulated to a 7.45 million, 13% more than in 2018. During 2019, the company signed interconnection agreements with China Mobile and China Telecom operators, which together amount to over one billion customers. "Our commitment to innovation and the development of technological solutions for such key sectors as the insurer, and the way they are being accepted in markets such as Latin America, the Middle East and Africa shows that Lleida.net is a leading edge company in the market", Sapena explained. Accumulated gross sales margin for 2019 reached 51 percent, two points over 2018. Currently, the company holds more than 100 patents on electronic certification patent methods in different regions of the world, including the European Union, United States, Australia, Latin America and the Middle East. By the end of 2018, it became the first Spanish company to receive eIDAS approval for its technology, which allows its electronic certificates to be admitted by default to any European court or administration. Next Friday, Lleida.net will hold its first Investors' Day before Spanish and French institutional and minority investors. Contact: Ramon Pedrosa Media, [email protected] Comedias, 17 Valencia Spain +34-672-129-922 https://Lleida.net SOURCE Lleida.net Related Links http://lleida.net/ US ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan sworn in - GeorgianJournal Phoebe Burgess has certainly come a long way since meeting NRL star Sam at an Avicii concert in 2014. Over the years Phoebe, 30, has said goodbye to life as a Sydney magazine journalist and embraced the glamour that comes with life as an NRL WAG. Following her transformation, the mother-of-two now boasts an impressive designer wardrobe, whiter teeth and even a new 'do. Inside Phoebe Burgess' WAG-over: Over the years Phoebe, 30, has said goodbye to life as a Sydney magazine journalist and embraced the glamour that comes with life as an NRL WAG. Phoebe Left: February 2016. Right: January 2019 Since tying the knot with her now-estranged husband Sam in 2015, Phoebe has amassed a sizable collection of designer handbags, including a $3,500 Dior tote, a yellow Balenciaga bag worth $2,200 and a $2,000 Loewe bag. In August last year, Phoebe revealed a glimpse into her collection of designer clothing when she tried to offload some of her wardrobe via secondhand online seller Pre Loved Closet. Among Phoebe's haul of expensive garbs was a Rodeo Show blouse, a Camilla and Marc dress and a Mother of Pearl cocktail dress. It's designer, baby! Since tying the knot with her now-estranged husband Sam in 2015, Phoebe has amassed a sizable collection of designer handbags, including a $3,500 Dior tote, a yellow Balenciaga bag worth$2,200 and a $2,000 Loewe bag Wardrobe goals! In August last year, Phoebe revealed a glimpse into her collection of designer clothing when she tried to offload some of her wardrobe via secondhand online seller Pre Loved Closet Sparkling new look: Meanwhile, Phoebe's teeth appear to have also evolved over the years. Left: September 2014. Right: November 2019 Meanwhile, Phoebe's teeth appear to have also evolved over the years. These days, Phoebe boasts an impressively white smile compared to throwback red carpet photos of the statuesque star. It's no surprise the glamazon has brightened her smile over time, given that she is a celebrity ambassador for Colgate Optic White. Top of the crop! Phoebe has also evolved her look with the help of a hairdresser, having chopped off her blonde locks in recent years. Left: October 2017. Right: May 2019 Finally, Phoebe has also evolved her look with the help of a hairdresser, having chopped off her blonde locks in recent years. Her long, golden-blonde locks have been replaced with an ash-toned blonde crop with subtle bangs. Phoebe and Sam were married in a lavish ceremony at her parents' home in Bowral, in the New South Wales Southern Highlands in December 2015. They ended their marriage in October 2019, following a brief separation earlier. New 'do: Her long, golden-blonde locks have been replaced with an ash-toned blonde crop with subtle bangs. Left: September 2017. Right: May 2019 Nick Elliott and Cody Schmidt saw a challenge in grocery shopping. The former roommates faced the choice between balancing a small basket on their laps or trying to push a cart with one hand while maneuvering their wheelchairs with the other hand. "We saw the issue of having to push the grocery cart while also having to push your chair, and knew as it got heavier and heavier, it would get harder and harder," Elliott said. "We just experienced it so many times, so we talked about it and thought of ways it could be better." The challenge spurred the two Rochester Community and Technical College grads to make the top pitch in the first Assistive Tech Challenge conducted by Destination Medical Center. Their pitch centered on a device that connects wheelchairs to grocery carts, allowing users to maneuver a cart with a chair, while also allowing the flexibility to quickly attach and detach as needed. ADVERTISEMENT Fourteen months later, Elliott and Schmidt continue tweaking the prototype they presented to DMC judges on Nov. 3, 2018, and they are working toward a utility patent under the name Adapt-A-Cart, with the hopes of making it easier for anyone to shop from a wheelchair. Schmidt, a product engineer at Spring Valleys KFI Products, said the goal is to make it as easy to use as possible. With the help of Creating Ability owner Kevin Carr, the first device emerged, and updates are being honed as it nears a new testing phase. Throughout testing, Elliott said he and Schmidt quickly knew their idea had potential. "We knew we were onto something once we built the prototype and we used it at HyVee," he said. Since then, they have also tested it at Sunshine Foods in Chatfield, which is closer to Carrs shop. Elliott, who found out about the challenge while interning at Mayo Clinic, said the project continued to grow with DMC input. "They gave us a lot of support both before and after the challenge," he said. Chris Schad, the organizer of the challenge and director of business development at DMCs Discovery Square, said the challenge, which is currently taking applications for its second pitch competition, is intended to spur new ideas. ADVERTISEMENT "The Assistive Tech Challenge puts a spotlight on the regions innovative spirit," he said. "It encourages entrepreneurs to develop their ideas while showcasing solutions for individuals with disabilities." In addition to helping generate new companies, like Adapt-A-Cart, the event raises awareness of other startups and draws them to Rochester. Such was the case for Eden Prairie-based Vitals Aware Services, a service using technology to provide first responders, educators and others access to updated information on people with special needs. The company, which was launched in 2017, won the professional division in the first Assistive Tech Challenge. Stan Alleyne, Vitals Aware Services director of communications, said the event offered the chance to extend the new companys reach and hone its message amid growth. "It also helped us really work on and refine our pitch," he said. "We talk about it every day, but we dont just have five minutes to do it." Elliott and Schmidt said honing the pitch was important to the process, but the response was just as important for moving ahead with their project. "Were always looking for feedback on it, and a lot of people have helped us along the way," Elliot said. ADVERTISEMENT Schad said thats one of the benefits of participating in a pitch competition, whether a project wins or falls short of expectations. He said the judges can validate ideas, ask questions that spur further tweaks and provide insights for future effort. "It could also be very humbling, because they are getting feedback," he said of the process. For Elliot and Schmidt, the feedback, along with the competitions cash prize, was valuable for moving their idea toward a reality that will overcome the grocery store challenge. The pair plan to take Adapt-A-Cart to the Walleye Tank pitch competition in May as a student qualifier, with hopes of building on their success. Until then, they are streamlining and tweaking their winning idea until its ready to launch in a local store. "Wed like to start locally and from there go as far as we can," Schmidt said. 1. Applications are being accepted. Destination Medical Center is taking applications from individuals and teams for the second Assistive Tech Challenge. Applications are available on the DMC website at https://dmc.mn. The online application deadline is Feb 10. Applications will be evaluated by judges, and 12 six in the open class and six in the professional class will be chosen to make pitches. The pitch competition takes place April 4 at the Rochester Civic Theatre. 2. The challenge combined two ideas. Chris Schad, organizer of the challenge and director of business development at Destination Medical Centers Discovery Square, said DMC officials were discussing ideas for a pitch competition at the same time that regional representatives from The Arc were planning an assistive tech expo. The two ideas fit hand-in-hand, he said, noting that one of DMCs initiatives is to find ways to overcome existing challenges. "They were really good partners for us," Schad said of The Arc. 3. The goal is to find products or solutions to address specific needs. For the 2020 Assistive Tech Challenge, potential participants are being asked to develop a product or service related to: Independent living Access to employment Support for care providers Social skill development, or Improved public infrastructure 4. DMC has been recruiting potential pitches. A series of design workshops throughout the region last year were held with the intent of stirring new ideas and encouraging participation in the Assistive Tech Challenge. Schad said its too early to say whether the effort paid off, but he has heard from some workshop participants who said they are working on potential pitches. 5. Participants have eight minutes to sell their ideas. The individuals or teams selected to make pitches will have five minutes to address several questions in their pitches. The questions are: What problem are you solving? How are you solving the problem? Why is your team the one to solve it? What do you need to further develop your idea? Following the pitch will be a three-minute question-and-answer session with the judges. About 100,000 tickets have been requested for President Donald Trumps rally at the Wildwood Convention Center next week - the highest demand for any event the president has held, U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew told Fox News during an interview Sunday. Its been exciting and Im proud to say for his event - of all the events hes done in all the country - weve had the most ticket requests, said Van Drew, R-2nd Dist., who recently switched parties after losing support from Democratic leaders for opposing impeachment. Trump is slated to appear at the Wildwood Convention Center at 7 p.m. on Jan. 28. Trumps re-election campaign announced he was coming to Cape May County earlier this month to support Van Drew. Van Drew was one of two Democratic congressman to vote against the presidents impeachment and changed parties officially soon after. Were proud to have him, Van Drew said. It shows he cares about the big towns and big places and he also cars about the little places. Wildwood Mayor Pete Byron said last week he had heard estimates that 40,000 tickets had been issued for an event being held in a venue that can hold 7,400 people. There is also the possibility another 10,000 may show up to the city. About 150,000 people are in Wildwood on a typical summer day, a Cape May County spokeswoman said. The city has about 5,000 year-round residents. Wildwoods Convention Center on the boardwalk in Wildwood. (Andrew Mills/The Star-Ledger)SL 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. KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. The rocket launched. It exploded. SpaceX and NASA declared the blast a success. Usually the destruction of a rocket means a failed mission. But on Sunday, SpaceX was demonstrating a crucial safety system of its Crew Dragon spacecraft, a capsule that is to carry astronauts for NASA to the International Space Station. There was no one on board during Sundays flight. The passengers this time were two test dummies with sensors to measure the forces that real astronauts would experience if the capsules escape system were ever needed. The system proved itself, even during a phase of the flight when atmospheric forces on the spacecraft are most severe. About nine minutes after the test, the intact capsule landed in the Atlantic Ocean. Overall, as far we can tell thus far, it was a picture-perfect mission, said Elon Musk, the founder and chief executive of SpaceX, during a news conference after the test. The YSR Congress party government on Monday took the first step to enact a legislation that will soon make port city of Visakhapatnam the seat of administration of Andhra Pradesh government, in place of Amaravati. The legislation - Andhra Pradesh Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Bill, 2020 - was introduced by state finance minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy in the state assembly, which met for a three-day special session in Amaravati on Monday. Another bill - the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA) Repeal Bill, 2020 - was also introduced by municipal administration minister Botsa Satyanarayana. The bill seeks to abolish the APCRDA which was formed in December 2014 to oversee the development of Amaravati as the capital city. As the ruling YSRC enjoys a huge majority with 151 MLAs in the 175-member state assembly, both the bills are expected to be passed after a prolonged debate later in the night. The finance minister proposed to create three seats of governance or capitals for the state: Amaravati Metropolitan Region Development Area to be called as the legislative capital, Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Area as executive capital and Kurnool Urban Development Area as the judicial capital. While the state legislature would be at Amaravati, Raj Bhavan, Secretariat and offices of the Heads of the Departments of government would be located at Visakhapatnam, and Kurnool would be the seat of all state judicial institutions, including high court. Reddy said the government could, if required, locate any institution or department(s) of the government in any of these three capitals under special circumstances. The minister also announced establishment of four zonal planning and development boards, each covering three districts for an overall development of the state. He alleged that the previous TDP government led by N Chandrababu Naidu had not followed the recommendations of the K S Sivaramakrishnan committee appointed by the Centre in choosing the capital city. Instead, he had selected Amaravati to benefit only his family members and his party leaders and select individuals by indulging in insider trading. He had done real estate business in the name of capital, Reddy said and listed out the companies and institutions that had been allotted lands at throwaway prices. Introducing the APCRDA Repealing Bill 2020, the municipal administration minister announced that the government would soon constitute Amaravati Metropolitan Region Development Authority (AMRDA) in place of APCRDA. He said the new authority would honour all the commitments made by the CRDA including allotment of developed plots to farmers and its financial committees, including loans and bonds. Satyanarayana said the government would allocate an additional 200 square yards of residential plot per every acre given by the farmers to under land pooling, apart from 1000-1200 square yards of residential plot and 250-400 sq yards of commercial plot depending on the nature of agriculture land already promised by the previous government. He said even those who had surrendered their assigned lands would also be given developed plots on par with those with patta lands. He also announced extension of period of annuity payment to the farmers from 10 years to 15 years. Each farmer is now being paid 30,000 per acre for drylands to 50,000 per acre for wetlands. He said the government has decided to enhance the pension amount being given to the landless poor from 2,500 to 5000 per month per family, for the remainder of the tenure including an additional five years. Minister for agriculture K Kanna Babu, YSRC MLA Alla Ramakrishna Reddy, TDP legislator N Rama Naidu and Jana Sena MLA R Varaprasad participated in the debate. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON During his weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on Sunday, Netanyahu referred to the deal between Israel and Egypt as a "singular economic and diplomatic event" because Israel is "spreading itself to the Arab world and into Europe" through the gas pipeline. Jerusalem, Jan 20 (IANS) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the export of natural gas to Egypt started on January 15 has "turned Israel into an energy power". Israel has no diplomatic relations with most of the Arab states, though it has signed peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, Xinhua reported. On January 15, commercial gas started to be transported via a subsea pipeline from Israel's offshore Leviathan natural gas reservoir to Egypt. Under the deal, Dolphinus Holdings, a private company in Egypt, will buy 85 billion cubic metres of gas at a cost of about $19.5 billion from Israel's Leviathan and Tamar over a period of 15 years. According to a statement issued on January 15 by the Israeli and Egyptian energy ministries, the move "will also allow Israel to export some of its natural gas to Europe through Egypt's liquefied natural gas facilities and promote Egypt's status as a regional gas market". Leviathan is a huge 622-billion-cubic metre gas reservoir that was found off Israel's Mediterranean coast in 2010. Gas production in Tamar, a nearby smaller gas field, kicked off in March 2013. vin Senior Producers, Larger-Cap Near-Term Production Aluminum Price Shrs O/S Mkt Cap Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Cash Flow Per Share Price/Cash Flow EV/EBITDA Div Yld Symbol Rating 17-Jan-20 (MM) (US$MM) 2018 2019E 2020E 2019E 2020E 2018 2019E 2020E 2019E 2020E 2019E % Alcoa Inc AA 2.6 US$17.69 186 $3,283 3.58 (0.99) 0.17 -- NM 2.38 2.53 2.40 7.0 7.4 5.4 0.0% Alumina Ltd AWC 3.2 US$1.57 2880 $4,549 0.24 0.12 0.08 13.3 18.6 0.22 0.15 0.10 10.8 16.0 6.1 11.2% Aluminum Corp China Ltd (ADR) ACH 2.4 CNY$2.33 17023 $7,939 0.04 0.07 0.10 31.5 22.6 0.77 0.84 0.86 2.8 2.7 14.8 0.0% Century Aluminum CENX 2.5 US$7.18 89 $638 (0.14) (1.45) 0.18 -- 39.9 (0.79) 0.06 1.01 NM 7.1 30.8 0.0% United Company Rusal Ltd (HK) 486 2.1 US$0.55 15193 $8,426 0.11 0.08 0.11 6.9 5.2 0.05 0.10 0.08 5.3 6.7 10.6 0.0% Average 17.2 21.6 6.5 8.0 13.5 Iron Ore Cliffs Natural Resources CLF 2.7 US$7.89 270 $2,131 3.71 1.10 0.79 7.2 10.0 1.57 1.84 1.08 4.3 7.3 10.8 3.1% Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (AU) FMG 3.3 US$7.84 3079 $24,233 0.69 1.15 1.00 6.8 7.8 0.96 1.56 1.41 5.0 5.6 6.6 4.8% Kumba Iron Ore Ltd (SA) KIO 3.8 ZAR$432.00 322 $9,657 30.06 58.59 46.40 7.4 9.3 47.32 86.95 65.23 5.0 6.6 7.2 9.3% Labrador Iron Ore Royalty (CA) LIF 2.1 C$23.61 64 $1,159 2.01 3.28 2.66 7.2 8.9 2.32 3.49 2.71 6.8 8.7 16.1 5.2% Mount Gibson Iron Limited (AU) MGX 2.7 AUD$0.99 1158 $791 0.07 0.12 0.10 8.3 9.5 0.07 0.11 0.16 9.3 6.3 36.3 3.9% Average 7.4 9.1 6.1 6.9 15.4 Note: Currency shown is that used by the company for financial reporting. Currency does not always reflect the country/market in which the company/stock symbol trades. GAAP may differ between stocks due to countries and markets. The tables are compiled from the Thomson Reuters database of consensus Ratings & Estimates of equity analysts. The historicals and estimates of earnings and cash flows exclude non-operating, special items. Thomson Consensus Rating System: Buy (1.0), Buy/Hold (2.0), Hold (3.0), Sell/Hold (4.0), Sell (5.0) Source: Thomson Reuters. Base Metals & Diversified Large Cap Price Shrs O/S Mkt Cap Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Cash Flow Per Share Price/Cash Flow EV/EBITDA Div Yld Symbol Rating 17-Jan-20 (MM) (US$MM) 2018 2019E 2020E 2019E 2020E 2018 2019E 2020E 2019E 2020E 2019E % Anglo American PLC (UK) AAL 2.7 US$29.21 1369 $40,001 2.50 2.87 2.69 10.2 10.8 5.50 5.47 5.74 5.3 5.1 8.2 4.0% Antofagasta PLC (UK) ANTO 2.7 US$12.80 986 $12,619 0.52 0.59 0.60 21.9 21.3 1.33 1.93 1.70 6.6 7.5 10.0 0.9% BHP Billiton Ltd BHP 2.7 US$27.90 5058 $133,371 1.81 1.95 1.97 14.3 14.2 3.45 3.48 3.35 8.0 8.3 9.0 4.7% China Molybdenum Co Ltd (HK) 3993 2.2 CNY$3.14 21599 $13,156 0.22 0.08 0.12 39.8 25.7 0.44 (0.18) 0.30 -- 10.5 51.9 0.0% Freeport McMoran C&G FCX 2.3 US$12.87 1451 $18,673 1.52 0.01 0.52 NM 24.6 2.65 1.15 1.78 11.2 7.2 7.4 2.1% Glencore International PLC (UK) GLEN 2.0 US$3.16 13324 $42,152 0.41 0.16 0.23 19.8 13.7 0.81 0.60 0.64 5.3 4.9 7.4 2.9% Grupo Mexico (MX) GMEXICOB 2.4 US$3.15 7785 $24,496 0.17 0.22 0.23 14.5 13.4 0.22 0.32 0.36 9.9 8.8 9.8 7.0% Hindustan Zinc (IN) HZ 2.6 INR$216.95 4225 $12,920 19.47 18.73 20.00 11.6 10.8 21.39 21.96 24.09 9.9 9.0 6.8 0.0% MMC Norilsk Nickel (RU) GMKN -- RU$5,429.84 158 $55,294 -- 899.94 1210.92 6.0 4.5 -- 689.72 1388.13 7.9 3.9 17.0 11.7% Rio Tinto PLC (UK) RIO 2.7 US$60.50 1620 $102,501 5.12 6.30 5.54 9.6 10.9 6.88 8.68 8.10 7.0 7.5 9.0 5.3% South32 Ltd (AU) S32 2.4 US$1.98 4900 $9,734 0.22 0.13 0.11 15.1 17.9 0.34 0.30 0.28 6.7 7.2 5.2 3.6% Southern Copper Corp SCCO 2.4 US$43.93 773 $33,960 2.00 2.02 2.13 21.7 20.6 3.02 2.78 3.06 15.8 14.3 17.6 4.7% Sumitomo Metal Mining (JP) 5713 2.2 JPY$3,475 291 $9,175 265.40 225.22 260.32 15.4 13.3 438.78 447.61 406.96 7.8 8.5 11.6 1.8% Teck Resources Ltd TCK 2.0 C$21.21 554 $8,988 4.07 2.95 2.54 7.2 8.3 7.62 6.44 6.04 3.3 3.5 4.9 0.9% Vale SA (ADR) VALE 2.4 US$56.72 5284 $72,380 5.27 5.89 7.08 9.6 8.0 9.94 9.29 9.10 6.1 6.2 10.5 4.1% Average 15.5 14.5 7.9 7.5 12.4 Mid Cap Assore Ltd (SA) ASR 3.2 ZAR$283.80 140 $2,750 55.70 59.81 52.16 4.7 5.4 14.60 18.27 27.33 15.5 10.4 10.4 6.5% Aurubis AG (GR) NDA 2.9 EUR$53.36 45 $2,671 5.17 3.25 3.87 16.4 13.8 4.75 5.43 5.46 9.8 9.8 6.5 3.1% Boliden AB (SW) BOL 2.8 SEK$263.30 274 $7,591 26.32 21.83 23.56 12.1 11.2 43.03 35.89 42.52 7.3 6.2 7.8 3.9% Exxaro Resources Ltd (SA) EXX 1.7 ZAR$141.00 359 $3,510 20.57 26.23 26.28 5.4 5.4 (0.17) 15.24 11.81 9.3 11.9 8.7 8.8% First Quantum Minerals (CA) FM 2.1 US$10.10 689 $6,973 0.71 0.31 0.45 32.2 22.3 2.87 1.50 2.54 6.7 4.0 16.4 0.1% Iluka Resources Ltd (AU) ILU 3.3 AUD$9.55 423 $2,784 0.72 0.58 0.76 16.4 12.6 1.49 0.88 1.17 10.9 8.2 -- 2.2% Independence Group NL (AU) IGO 2.8 AUD$6.68 591 $2,722 0.11 0.24 0.36 27.5 18.5 0.59 0.72 0.81 9.3 8.2 25.4 2.1% Ivanhoe Mines Ltd (CA) IVP 2.0 US$3.09 1196 $3,690 0.03 (0.00) (0.04) -- -- (0.02) (0.03) (0.04) -- -- -- 0.0% Jiangxi Copper Co "H" (HK) 358 2.3 CNY$9.52 3463 $6,840 0.70 0.74 0.83 12.9 11.5 2.36 1.57 1.14 6.1 8.3 15.5 2.2% Kazakhmys PLC (UK) KAZ 2.2 US$7.30 472 $3,466 1.18 0.99 0.98 7.4 7.5 1.51 1.41 1.50 5.2 4.9 25.6 1.3% KGHM Polska Miedz (PO) KGH 3.6 PLN$101.00 200 $5,318 8.29 10.67 9.96 9.5 10.1 19.30 19.92 19.31 5.1 5.2 6.1 0.0% Lundin Mining Corp (CA) LUN 2.0 US$6.00 734 $4,414 0.30 0.21 0.46 28.5 13.2 0.65 0.72 1.12 8.3 5.4 8.6 0.0% Mineral Resources Ltd (AU) MIN 2.0 AUD$17.41 188 $2,262 1.15 1.38 1.51 12.6 11.5 1.59 1.40 1.58 12.4 11.0 10.5 0.0% MMG Ltd (HK) 1208 2.5 US$0.27 8055 $2,145 0.01 (0.01) 0.00 -- 54.4 0.21 0.09 0.14 3.0 1.9 12.2 0.0% Oz Minerals (AU) OZL 2.5 AUD$10.98 324 $2,453 0.73 0.50 0.55 21.9 19.9 1.45 1.27 1.46 8.7 7.5 9.4 2.3% Sesa Sterlite Ltd (ADR) SSLT 2.3 INR$159.50 3702 $8,322 17.89 16.30 19.11 9.8 8.3 60.18 53.79 49.95 3.0 3.2 4.6 1.2% Vale Indonesia Tbk PT (ID) INCO 1.7 US$0.26 9936 $2,552 0.01 0.01 0.01 46.6 30.1 0.02 0.02 0.02 13.9 12.4 17.1 0.0% Vedanta Resources PLC (UK) VED -- US$10.85 285 $3,089 -- 0.87 1.24 12.5 8.7 -- 9.96 12.60 1.1 0.9 -- -- Average 17.3 15.5 8.0 7.0 12.3 Small Cap Price Shrs O/S Mkt Cap Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Cash Flow Per Share Price/Cash Flow EV/EBITDA Div Yld Symbol Rating 17-Jan-20 (MM) (US$MM) 2018 2019E 2020E 2019E 2020E 2018 2019E 2020E 2019E 2020E 2019E % Anglo Pacific Group PLC (UK) APF 1.8 GBP$1.82 181 $432 0.18 0.21 0.21 8.8 8.7 0.20 0.23 0.22 8.0 8.2 20.2 4.6% Atalaya Mining PLC (UK) ATYM 1.2 EUR$2.41 137 $369 0.25 0.24 0.42 10.0 5.8 0.40 0.17 0.26 14.6 9.5 22.7 0.0% Eramet (FR) ERA 1.7 EUR$44.00 27 $1,305 1.83 1.07 6.73 41.1 6.5 16.01 11.42 18.67 3.9 2.4 6.6 1.0% Ero Copper Corp (CA) ERO 2.5 US$15.76 86 $1,353 0.03 0.60 1.08 26.4 14.6 0.94 1.46 1.72 10.8 9.1 -- 0.0% Hudbay Minerals HBM 2.4 US$3.77 261 $988 0.40 (0.13) (0.02) -- -- 1.84 1.15 1.24 3.3 3.1 3.5 0.4% Mechel OAO (ADR) MTL 4.0 RU$98.90 555 $915 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 8.4 0.0% Mitsui Mining & Smelting (JP) 5706 2.3 JPY$2,855 57 $1,485 58.51 115.46 224.39 24.7 12.7 649.22 626.83 733.61 4.6 3.9 6.6 2.7% Nexa Resources NA NEXA 3.0 US$8.64 133 $1,151 0.25 (0.84) 0.18 -- 48.5 2.61 1.38 2.80 6.2 3.1 -- 0.0% Outokumpu (FN) OUT1V 3.1 EUR$2.84 416 $1,317 0.34 (0.17) 0.13 -- 22.5 0.52 0.56 0.61 5.1 4.7 8.3 6.2% Sandfire Resources NL (AU) SFR 2.6 AUD$6.19 178 $760 0.72 0.69 0.85 9.0 7.3 1.44 1.50 1.76 4.1 3.5 4.2 3.4% Turquoise Hill Resources TRQ 3.0 US$0.69 2012 $1,417 0.20 0.14 0.07 4.9 9.4 0.09 0.02 0.06 43.2 10.9 7.4 0.0% Volcan Cia Ninera VOLABC1 2.3 US$0.17 4077 $2,129 0.01 (0.00) 0.01 -- 13.0 -- -- -- -- -- 10.2 0.0% Western Areas NL (AU) WSA 2.4 AUD$2.85 274 $538 0.04 0.16 0.28 17.4 10.1 0.32 0.43 0.50 6.6 5.7 10.3 1.0% Average 17.8 14.5 10.0 5.8 9.9 Note: Currency shown is that used by the company for financial reporting. Currency does not always reflect the country/market in which the company/stock symbol trades. GAAP may differ between stocks due to countries and markets. The tables are compiled from the Thomson Reuters database of consensus Ratings & Estimates of equity analysts. The historicals and estimates of earnings and cash flows exclude non-operating, special items. Thomson Consensus Rating System: Buy (1.0), Buy/Hold (2.0), Hold (3.0), Sell/Hold (4.0), Sell (5.0) Source: Thomson Reuters. Gold Large Cap Price Shrs O/S Mkt Cap Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Cash Flow Per Share Price/Cash Flow EV/EBITDA Div Yld Symbol Rating 17-Jan-20 (MM) (US$MM) 2018 2019E 2020E 2019E 2020E 2018 2019E 2020E 2019E 2020E 2019E % Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd AEM 2.0 US$60.35 239 $14,431 0.31 0.95 1.84 63.4 32.9 2.60 3.68 5.11 16.4 11.8 18.1 0.9% Barrick Gold Corp ABX 2.1 US$17.94 1778 $31,927 0.35 0.51 0.73 35.2 24.4 1.51 1.78 2.26 10.1 7.9 11.3 1.0% Franco-Nevada FNV 2.3 US$105.64 189 $19,957 1.17 1.70 2.12 62.2 49.8 2.55 3.20 3.82 33.0 27.6 41.1 1.1% Kirkland Lake Gold (CA) KL 2.6 C$43.47 210 $9,128 1.36 2.68 2.61 16.2 16.6 2.58 4.18 4.38 10.4 9.9 48.4 0.3% Newcrest Mining Ltd (AU) NCM 3.3 AUD$21.92 769 $16,918 0.66 0.90 1.06 24.5 20.7 1.90 1.95 2.02 11.2 10.8 12.9 1.0% Newmont Goldcorp NEM 2.0 US$43.48 820 $35,647 1.34 1.31 1.96 33.2 22.2 3.41 3.89 4.73 11.2 9.2 17.5 1.5% Polyus Gold International (UK) PGIL 2.0 RU$7,360.00 134 $16,042 617.74 724.84 831.98 10.2 8.8 589.63 861.18 977.19 8.5 7.5 -- 4.1% Zijin Mining Group (HK) 2899 1.7 CNY$3.48 25377 $16,103 0.18 0.18 0.21 19.8 16.5 0.44 0.38 0.49 9.2 7.1 24.7 0.0% Average 33.1 24.0 13.8 11.5 24.9 Mid Cap Alamos Gold AGI 2.2 US$5.63 391 $2,204 0.05 0.21 0.26 27.0 21.7 0.55 0.72 0.72 7.8 7.8 13.3 0.7% AngloGold Ashanti Ltd AU 2.7 US$20.68 415 $8,614 0.51 1.20 2.17 17.2 9.5 2.05 2.61 3.84 7.9 5.4 6.8 0.4% B2Gold Corp BTG 1.6 US$4.12 1026 $4,233 0.16 0.24 0.37 16.9 11.3 0.43 0.49 0.66 8.4 6.3 13.8 0.0% Buenaventura (ADR) BVN 3.1 US$13.54 276 $3,958 (0.02) 0.43 0.76 31.6 17.7 1.36 0.59 1.11 23.0 12.2 13.8 0.8% Centerra Gold (CA) CG 2.3 US$7.24 294 $2,126 0.26 0.71 1.07 10.2 6.8 0.74 1.45 1.98 5.0 3.7 6.3 0.0% Detour Gold Corp (CA) DGC 2.4 US$18.85 177 $3,344 0.37 0.58 0.91 32.3 20.6 1.47 1.88 2.10 10.0 9.0 12.7 0.0% Evolution Mining Ltd (AU) EVN 2.8 AUD$3.90 1704 $4,585 0.14 0.17 0.24 22.6 16.5 0.39 0.42 0.50 9.2 7.7 10.0 2.2% Gold Fields Ltd (ADR) GFI 3.0 US$6.13 829 $5,141 0.07 0.21 0.46 29.2 13.3 0.75 1.07 1.43 5.7 4.3 5.7 0.5% Kinross Gold Corp KGC 2.5 US$4.51 1254 $5,652 0.10 0.31 0.39 14.6 11.4 0.63 0.88 1.05 5.1 4.3 8.4 0.0% Northern Star Resources (AU) NST 2.3 AUD$12.28 734 $6,217 0.30 0.44 0.72 28.0 17.1 0.58 0.75 1.09 16.4 11.2 20.4 1.2% Polymetal International PLC (UK) POLY 2.4 US$16.25 470 $7,639 1.00 1.17 1.52 13.9 10.7 1.14 1.49 1.92 10.9 8.5 12.4 4.0% Pretium Resources PVG 2.1 US$10.48 196 $2,057 0.54 0.50 1.09 21.0 9.6 1.07 1.14 1.74 9.2 6.0 -- 0.0% Royal Gold Inc RGLD 3.2 US$112.77 66 $7,397 1.60 2.07 2.73 54.4 41.4 4.45 4.50 5.24 25.1 21.5 27.2 0.8% Saracen Mineral Holdings (AU) SAR 2.0 AUD$3.74 1103 $2,845 0.10 0.17 0.27 22.1 14.0 0.25 0.32 0.42 11.8 8.8 42.9 0.0% Sibanye Gold Ltd (SA) SGL 1.8 ZAR$39.20 2670 $7,264 (0.01) 1.70 6.68 23.1 5.9 5.31 2.49 10.01 15.8 3.9 12.1 0.0% SSR Mining SSRM 2.3 US$17.71 123 $2,178 0.23 0.73 1.06 24.3 16.6 0.50 1.52 2.15 11.7 8.2 9.7 0.0% Yamana Gold Inc AUY 2.5 US$3.68 950 $3,507 0.12 0.12 0.19 30.8 19.4 0.43 0.52 0.67 7.1 5.5 7.3 0.8% Zhaojin Mining Industry Co Ltd (HK) 1818 2.3 CNY$8.03 3270 $3,825 0.15 0.21 0.33 38.7 24.4 0.53 0.78 1.10 10.4 7.3 20.8 0.5% Average 25.5 16.0 11.1 7.9 14.3 Small Cap Price Shrs O/S Mkt Cap Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Cash Flow Per Share Price/Cash Flow EV/EBITDA Div Yld Symbol Rating 17-Jan-20 (MM) (US$MM) 2018 2019E 2020E 2019E 2020E 2018 2019E 2020E 2019E 2020E 2019E % Acacia Mining PLC (UK) ACAA -- US$2.93 410 $1,200 0.11 0.22 0.25 13.5 11.7 0.31 0.44 0.52 6.7 5.6 -- 0.0% Alacer Gold Corp (CA) ASR 2.6 US$5.07 295 $1,493 0.05 0.41 0.50 12.5 10.2 0.33 0.76 0.96 6.7 5.3 53.6 0.0% Centamin Egypt (CA) CEE 2.3 US$1.67 1156 $1,925 0.06 0.06 0.10 25.8 17.2 0.19 0.11 0.15 15.5 11.5 4.1 4.8% Eldorado Gold Corp EGO 2.8 US$7.57 159 $1,155 (0.17) 0.08 0.84 89.6 9.0 0.42 1.03 2.13 7.4 3.5 9.9 0.0% Endeavour Mining Corp (CA) EDV 1.8 US$19.21 110 $2,111 0.49 0.64 1.52 30.0 12.7 2.33 2.91 4.00 6.6 4.8 12.1 0.0% Equinox Gold Corp (CA) EQX 2.2 US$8.34 113 $948 (0.10) 0.15 0.51 56.9 16.2 (0.25) 0.76 1.21 11.0 6.9 -- 0.0% Harmony Gold Mining Ltd HAR 2.1 ZAR$51.10 542 $1,924 1.80 4.55 8.19 11.2 6.2 8.56 11.17 14.93 4.6 3.4 7.4 0.0% Hecla Mining Co HL 3.2 US$3.10 496 $1,536 (0.11) (0.13) 0.02 -- NM 0.22 0.23 0.36 13.2 8.7 8.8 0.6% Highland Gold Mining Ltd (UK) HGM 2.7 US$2.41 364 $876 0.15 0.26 0.29 9.3 8.3 0.37 0.41 0.44 5.9 5.5 7.2 6.1% Hochschild Mining PLC (UK) HOC 2.4 US$2.22 514 $1,138 0.05 0.12 0.15 18.1 14.4 0.36 0.45 0.46 5.0 4.8 3.9 1.7% Iamgold Corp IAG 2.7 US$3.02 468 $1,412 0.06 (0.00) 0.21 -- 14.6 0.41 0.54 0.85 5.6 3.6 3.9 0.0% Lundin Gold Inc (CA) LUG 2.1 US$6.94 224 $1,553 (0.12) (0.22) 0.37 -- 18.7 (0.17) (0.12) 0.60 -- 11.5 -- 0.0% Oceanagold Corp (AU) OGC 2.1 US$1.90 622 $1,169 0.20 0.06 0.19 33.4 10.0 0.55 0.34 0.43 5.5 4.5 4.6 0.2% Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd OR 2.1 C$12.40 157 $1,494 0.20 0.26 0.33 48.3 38.1 0.53 0.64 0.75 19.3 16.5 51.3 1.6% Perseus Mining Ltd (AU) PRU 2.4 AUD$1.06 1168 $854 0.00 0.02 0.05 47.5 20.3 0.10 0.14 0.17 7.3 6.2 92.2 0.0% Regis Resources Ltd (AU) RRL 2.8 AUD$4.57 508 $1,602 0.33 0.37 0.43 12.4 10.5 0.53 0.55 0.59 8.3 7.7 8.7 3.0% St Barbara Ltd (AU) SBM 2.3 AUD$2.97 699 $1,432 0.32 0.27 0.31 11.1 9.6 0.52 0.45 0.49 6.7 6.1 3.9 2.7% Sandstorm Gold Ltd (CA) SAND 2.1 US$6.92 175 $1,210 0.03 0.08 0.13 87.9 53.2 0.24 0.32 0.39 21.6 17.5 32.9 0.0% Semafo (CA) SMF 2.4 US$2.02 334 $677 (0.01) 0.25 0.31 8.0 6.5 0.34 0.75 0.71 2.7 2.8 5.1 0.0% Silver Lake Resources (AU) SLR 2.2 AUD$1.41 880 $856 0.03 0.05 0.08 27.1 17.2 0.14 0.15 0.19 9.3 7.6 17.6 0.0% Torex Gold Resources (CA) TXG 1.9 US$13.44 85 $1,146 0.23 0.69 0.98 19.4 13.8 2.68 3.18 3.07 4.2 4.4 7.6 0.0% Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd (CA) WDO 2.2 C$8.88 137 $934 0.11 0.33 0.44 27.1 20.3 0.34 0.57 0.60 15.6 14.8 69.8 0.0% Average 31.2 15.9 8.7 7.1 18.6 Note: Currency shown is that used by the company for financial reporting. Currency does not always reflect the country/market in which the company/stock symbol trades. GAAP may differ between stocks due to countries and markets. The tables are compiled from the Thomson Reuters database of consensus Ratings & Estimates of equity analysts. The historicals and estimates of earnings and cash flows exclude non-operating, special items. Thomson Reuters Rating System: Buy (1.0), Buy/Hold (2.0), Hold (3.0), Sell/Hold (4.0), Sell (5.0) Source: Thomson Reuters. Silver Price Shrs O/S Mkt Cap Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Cash Flow Per Share Price/Cash Flow EV/EBITDA Div Yld Symbol Rating 17-Jan-20 (MM) (US$MM) 2018 2019E 2020E 2019E 2020E 2018 2019E 2020E 2019E 2020E 2019E % Americas Gold & Silver Corp (CA) USA 1.8 US$2.93 83 $243 (0.25) (0.23) 0.18 -- 16.3 0.21 0.07 0.52 43.4 5.6 55.9 0.0% Coeur Mining Corp CDE 2.7 US$5.86 241 $1,409 (0.01) (0.22) 0.21 -- 27.6 0.11 0.56 1.05 10.5 5.6 7.6 0.0% Endeavour Silver Corp EXK 3.2 US$2.14 140 $299 (0.10) (0.25) 0.04 -- 50.3 0.21 (0.01) 0.26 -- 8.2 8.5 0.0% First Majestic Silver Corp AG 2.6 US$10.54 205 $2,159 (0.21) 0.06 0.28 NM 37.4 0.18 0.52 0.74 20.3 14.2 19.5 0.0% Fortuna Silver Mines FSM 2.1 US$3.87 160 $620 0.24 0.17 0.46 23.0 8.4 0.52 0.37 0.93 10.6 4.1 8.3 0.0% Fresnillo (UK) FRES 2.7 US$8.33 737 $6,137 0.46 0.22 0.31 37.8 26.8 1.09 0.86 0.93 9.7 8.9 6.5 2.9% MAG Silver Corp MAG 1.9 US$10.56 87 $916 (0.09) (0.05) 0.28 -- 38.4 (0.05) (0.04) 0.08 -- NM -- 0.0% Pan American Silver PAAS 2.4 US$21.34 210 $4,472 0.39 0.64 0.80 33.6 26.7 1.01 1.49 2.31 14.3 9.2 17.1 0.9% Silvercorp Metals Inc SVM 2.0 US$5.46 172 $941 0.21 0.22 0.22 25.0 24.3 0.40 0.42 0.40 12.9 13.8 -- 0.6% Wheaton Precious Metals WPM 1.9 US$28.21 447 $12,648 0.48 0.58 0.88 48.9 32.1 1.22 1.16 1.48 24.2 19.0 22.4 1.4% Average 33.7 28.8 18.3 9.9 18.2 Platinum Group Metals African Rainbow Minerals (SA) ARI 2.1 ZAR$187.82 224 $2,918 25.61 29.28 29.17 6.4 6.4 13.97 17.61 22.93 10.7 8.2 40.1 7.1% Anglo American Platinum Ltd (SA) AMS 3.1 ZAR$1,360.00 270 $25,456 28.22 73.04 96.90 18.6 14.0 59.17 82.35 105.33 16.5 12.9 39.0 2.2% Impala Platinum (SA) IMP 2.6 ZAR$154.61 799 $9,272 1.23 10.74 18.49 14.4 8.4 9.05 16.36 19.04 9.5 8.1 42.3 0.0% Lonmin PLC (UK) LMI -- US$0.96 290 $278 -- 0.41 0.40 2.3 2.4 -- 0.48 0.02 2.0 62.9 -- 0.0% North American Palladium Ltd (CA) PDL -- C$19.73 59 $883 -- 2.30 2.49 8.6 7.9 -- 3.95 -- 5.0 -- -- 1.3% Northam Platinum Ltd (SA) NHM 2.1 ZAR$141.23 510 $4,997 (0.92) 4.36 10.66 32.4 13.2 3.39 12.97 19.12 10.9 7.4 93.9 0.0% Average 13.8 8.7 9.1 19.9 53.8 Diamonds & Gems Price Shrs O/S Mkt Cap Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Cash Flow Per Share Price/Cash Flow EV/EBITDA Div Yld Symbol Rating 17-Jan-20 (MM) (US$MM) 2018 2019E 2020E 2019E 2020E 2018 2019E 2020E 2019E 2020E 2019E % AK Alrosa PAO (RU) ALRS 2.4 RU$33.75 7365 $10,982 12.29 8.15 10.04 4.1 3.4 16.55 8.74 12.72 3.9 2.7 4.2 10.7% Lucara Diamond Corp (CA) LUC 2.0 US$0.67 397 $265 0.03 0.04 0.06 17.5 10.5 0.11 0.15 0.17 4.4 3.9 1.4 9.0% Mountain Province Diamonds (CA) MPVD 2.3 US$1.15 210 $185 (0.10) (0.12) 0.08 -- 15.0 0.69 0.41 0.56 2.8 2.0 -- 3.2% Petra Diamonds Ltd (UK) PDL 2.5 US$0.12 865 $104 (0.01) (0.01) 0.00 -- 35.7 0.12 0.10 0.09 1.2 1.3 4.3 0.0% Average 10.8 16.2 3.1 2.5 3.3 Fertilizers Arab Potash Co (JR) APOT -- JOD$21.35 83 $2,512 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 16.7 6.3% CF Industries CF 2.4 US$46.14 217 $10,032 1.24 2.20 2.50 21.0 18.5 6.40 6.76 7.22 6.8 6.4 19.1 2.4% Compass Minerals CMP 2.2 US$59.57 34 $2,018 1.93 2.20 3.61 27.1 16.5 5.63 5.02 8.93 11.9 6.7 12.4 5.1% Incitec Pivot Ltd (AU) IPL 2.8 AUD$3.37 1613 $3,751 0.18 0.11 0.18 30.2 19.0 0.36 0.29 0.40 11.6 8.5 10.8 1.4% Israel Chemical (IS) ICL 2.4 US$4.48 1280 $5,739 0.37 0.40 0.41 11.3 10.9 0.48 0.77 0.71 5.9 6.3 7.9 4.2% K & S Aktiengesellschaft (GR) SDF 2.5 EUR$10.24 191 $2,181 0.22 0.52 0.82 19.7 12.5 1.61 2.72 2.88 3.8 3.6 9.3 2.0% Mosaic Co MOS 2.3 US$21.87 379 $8,284 2.12 0.48 1.18 45.6 18.5 3.75 3.29 3.32 6.7 6.6 11.2 0.7% Nutrien Ltd NTR 2.0 US$46.87 573 $26,896 2.69 2.32 2.85 20.2 16.4 3.28 6.86 5.77 6.8 8.1 -- 0.0% Sociedad Quimica Minera (ADR) SQM 3.0 US$30.70 263 $7,653 1.67 1.10 1.25 28.0 24.6 1.99 1.59 1.56 19.3 19.7 11.0 4.6% Yara International ASA (NO) YAR 2.5 NOK$38.93 272 $10,604 1.68 2.95 3.38 13.2 11.5 2.77 6.12 6.10 6.4 6.4 8.8 1.7% Average 24.0 16.5 8.8 8.0 11.9 Note: Currency shown is that used by the company for financial reporting. Currency does not always reflect the country/market in which the company/stock symbol trades. GAAP may differ between stocks due to countries and markets. The tables are compiled from the Thomson Reuters database of consensus Ratings & Estimates of equity analysts. The historicals and estimates of earnings and cash flows exclude non-operating, special items. Thomson Reuters Rating System: Buy (1.0), Buy/Hold (2.0), Hold (3.0), Sell/Hold (4.0), Sell (5.0) Source: Thomson Reuters. Uranium Price Shrs O/S Mkt Cap Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Cash Flow Per Share Price/Cash Flow EV/EBITDA Div Yld Symbol Rating 17-Jan-20 (MM) (US$MM) 2018 2019E 2020E 2019E 2020E 2018 2019E 2020E 2019E 2020E 2019E % Cameco Corp CCJ 2.4 C$11.60 396 $3,521 0.53 0.01 0.09 NM NM 1.68 0.87 0.82 13.3 14.1 8.1 0.6% Denison Mines DNN 2.1 US$0.52 590 $235 (0.04) (0.04) (0.03) -- -- (0.04) (0.04) (0.02) -- -- -- 0.0% Energy Resources Australia (AU) ERA 4.0 AUD$0.17 3691 $420 0.03 (0.03) (0.09) -- -- (0.11) 0.17 (0.03) 1.0 -- 15.2 0.0% Uranium Participation Corp (CA) U 2.1 C$4.02 138 $426 (0.03) 0.16 0.26 24.9 15.6 (0.04) (0.04) (0.05) -- -- -- 0.0% Average 24.9 15.6 7.1 14.1 11.6 Coal Large - Mid Cap Price Shrs O/S Mkt Cap Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Cash Flow Per Share Price/Cash Flow EV/EBITDA Div Yld Symbol Rating 17-Jan-20 (MM) (US$MM) 2018 2019E 2020E 2019E 2020E 2018 2019E 2020E 2019E 2020E 2019E % Adaro Energy TBK (ID) ADRO 2.6 US$0.11 31986 $3,474 0.01 0.01 0.01 7.9 8.4 0.03 0.02 0.02 4.6 4.9 5.5 9.5% Banpu Public Co Ltd (TH) BANPU 2.9 THB$0.38 5162 $1,972 0.08 0.02 0.04 16.2 10.4 0.08 0.08 0.07 4.7 5.4 16.3 5.8% China Coal Energy Co (HK) 1898 2.3 CNY$2.67 13259 $8,037 0.34 0.51 0.46 5.3 5.8 1.54 1.54 1.54 1.7 1.7 11.8 2.7% China Shenhua Energy Co (HK) 1088 2.5 CNY$13.86 19890 $49,791 2.22 2.22 2.08 6.2 6.7 4.44 4.00 3.47 3.5 4.0 5.1 6.3% Consol Energy CNX 2.9 US$7.81 187 $1,457 1.36 0.62 0.51 12.6 15.3 4.13 4.17 4.16 1.9 1.9 7.2 0.0% Whitehaven Coal Lyd (AU) WHC 2.4 AUD$2.61 1026 $1,847 0.54 0.35 0.17 7.5 15.0 0.87 0.61 0.39 4.3 6.6 6.3 0.0% Yancoal Australia Lyd YAL -- AUD$2.85 1320 $2,596 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 0.0% Yanzhou Coal Mining Co Ltd (HK) 1171 2.8 CNY$6.01 4912 $6,054 1.75 1.82 1.60 3.3 3.8 3.71 3.59 3.44 1.7 1.7 16.8 0.0% Average 8.4 9.3 3.2 3.7 9.9 Small Cap Fushan Int'l Energy Group (HK) 639 2.3 HK$1.70 5302 $1,160 0.21 0.22 0.22 7.6 7.7 0.31 0.32 0.42 5.3 4.0 7.2 10.0% NLC India Ltd (IN) NLCINDIA -- INR$60.00 1387 $1,173 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 8.2 -- New Hope Corp Ltd (AU) NHC 2.4 AUD$2.07 832 $1,188 0.31 0.27 0.20 7.7 10.5 0.44 0.36 0.34 5.7 6.1 13.3 6.8% PT Tambang Batubara Bukit (ID) PTBA 2.7 IDR$2,670 11521 $2,258 477.00 370.79 328.43 7.2 8.1 746.44 297.65 315.30 9.0 8.5 9.5 15.0% PT Bumi Resources (ID) BUMI -- US$0.00 65477 $317 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 0.0% Average 7.5 8.8 6.7 6.2 9.6 Limited Partnership Alliance Resource Partners LP ARLP 2.5 US$11.00 128 $1,409 2.99 1.59 0.92 6.9 12.0 5.31 2.61 1.90 4.2 5.8 3.1 13.3% Natural Resource Partners LP NRP -- US$21.83 12 $268 6.43 5.20 4.12 4.2 5.3 9.19 7.06 5.28 3.1 4.1 3.4 7.1% Average 5.6 8.6 3.7 5.0 3.3 Note: Currency shown is that used by the company for financial reporting. Currency does not always reflect the country/market in which the company/stock symbol trades. GAAP may differ between stocks due to countries and markets. The tables are compiled from the Thomson Reuters database of consensus Ratings & Estimates of equity analysts. The historicals and estimates of earnings and cash flows exclude non-operating, special items. Thomson Reuters Rating System: Buy (1.0), Buy/Hold (2.0), Hold (3.0), Sell/Hold (4.0), Sell (5.0) Source: Thomson Reuters. Recent and Forecast Commodity Prices Cash Price (17-Jan-20) Aluminum ($0.81 / lb) Cobalt ($14.52 / lb) Copper ($2.85 / lb) Lead ($0.90 / lb) Molybdenum ($9.60 / lb) Nickel ($6.28 / lb) Tin ($8.06 / lb) Zinc ($1.10 / lb) Palladium ($2295 / oz) Platinum ($1022 / oz) Silver ($18.00 / oz) The US state of Virginia is bracing for a pro-gun rally on Monday that experts and political leaders warn could descend into violence. The rally, billed by its organisers as a peaceful event to lobby legislators to protect the Second Amendment, is expected to draw dozens of militia groups to the state capital, Richmond, according to social media and statements by the groups. We have received credible intelligence from our law enforcement agencies of threats of violence surrounding the demonstration planned for Monday, January 20, said Virginias Democratic Governor Ralph Northam. This includes extremist rhetoric similar to what has been seen before major incidents, such as Charlottesville in 2017, he tweeted, referring to the Virginia white supremacist rally in which a neo-Nazi rammed his car into a group of anti-racist protesters, killing 32-year-old anti-racist demonstrator Heather Heyer. Fencing and magnetometers are set up around Capitol Square for the anticipated pro-gun rally at the Virginia State Capitol [Steve Helber/AP Photo] Citing the threats, Northam declared a state of emergency in the state capital that bans all weapons from the Capitol grounds from Friday through Tuesday. Virginia and gun control The pro-gun Lobby Day is an annual event during which pro-gun groups take to the Virginia Capitol grounds to lobby their state legislators. This years event, effectively endorsed by President Donald Trump, comes as the now-Democratic state legislature and governor seek to push through new gun control measures. Those measures include limits on the purchases of handguns, background checks for firearm transfers and enabling local governments to ban guns in parks and other public spaces. The three bills passed the state Senate last week and could be voted on in the House of Delegates as early as this week. Other bills are being considered, including a so-called red flag bill, which would allow law enforcement and lawyers to seek emergency orders to confiscate or block the sale of firearms to anyone deemed a substantial risk of injury to himself or others. A sign warns visitors not to enter the Virginia State Capitol building with their firearms as security ramps up before a Monday rally by gun rights advocates and militia members in Richmond, Virginia [Jonathan Drake/Reuters] Democrats say the measures will make residents safer. The pieces of legislation that were offering is to keep guns out of prohibitive hands, Northam told local media. Its very simple. Theyre constitutional and they support the Second Amendment. But Republicans and gun rights groups say the measures infringe on the right to bear arms. Your 2nd Amendment is under very serious attack in the Great Commonwealth of Virginia, Trump tweeted last week. The gun control measures have prompted more than 100 local municipalities to designate themselves as sanctuary cities in which they say new laws will not be enforced. Although leaders of the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL), the organisers of Mondays Lobby Day insist the day will be a peaceful event, they have welcomed the presence of militia groups. We welcome our militia brothers and sisters to be part of making the day a success, said VCDL president, Philip Van Cleave, who previously said he was proud to be labelled an extremist. Philip VanCleave gestures during the meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee at the Capitol in Richmond, Virginia [Steve Helber/AP Photo] Among the groups expected to attend are the Oath Keepers, which has been labelled an extremist group driven by conspiratorial rhetoric, by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) watchdog. We like to see as many members attend this event or see the membership come out and exercise their 1st amendment rights on 2nd amendment issues that is taking place in the state legislature and other unconstitutional laws that the state is trying to pass into law, the Virginia branch of the Oath Keepers said on its website. At least 30 other militia groups, including the Virginia Militia and others from outside the state, have also vowed to attend Mondays event, the SPLC said, prompting fears of a repeat, or worse, of the 2017 Charlottesville rally. It cant go unstated just how fractious of an issue guns are in this country and thats across the political spectrum, said SPLC senior research analyst Howard Graves, who added that tension is heightened within the extremist movement. Its something that is really kind of baked into the DNA of American extremists, Graves told Al Jazeera. Gun rights advocates and militia members attend a pre-rally dinner in Richmond, Virginia [Jim Urquhart/Reuters] Early on Monday morning, dozens of gun rights advocates and members of militias began queueing outside the Capitol grounds. According to local media, many were armed, but law enforcement reiterated those carrying weapons would not be allowed on the grounds of the Capitol. Growth of militia movement Following deadly confrontations in the 1990s including the 1992 Ruby Ridge standoff in Idaho and the botched siege in Waco, Texas, the following year the broader militia movement fanned out around the country. The SPLC documented a surge in the number of militia groups and activity after the election of former President Barack Obama, the countrys first African American president. Although the number of anti-government groups, including militias, declined in 2018, Graves said the SPLC was surprised that in the wake of a Republican victory we saw militia groups continue to stay really active. One of the things I think we can attribute this to is this really deep, pervasive sense within the country that sort of manifested itself in a lot of President Trumps rhetoric during the 2016 campaign about how America had been usurped by foreign invaders, really leading into anti-immigrant rhetoric, he said. Trump has made a crackdown on immigration a centrepiece of his presidency and re-election campaign. Following the Charlottesville attack, the president blamed both sides for the violence. Graves added that militia groups tend to explain away the contradiction of their anti-government stance but support of Trump by saying whatever [he] is doing, hes best by the swamp and that of the deep state. Law enforcement officers manage a security checkpoint to access the Virginia State Capitol grounds before a gun rights advocates and militia members rally in Richmond, Virginia [Jim Urquhart/Reuters] Last week, six men with links to The Base, a neo-Nazi collective, were arrested across three states on charges ranging from conspiring to kill anti-fascists to transporting a firearm and ammunition with intent to commit a felony. Authorities said they believed at least three of the members were headed to Mondays rally in Virginia, intending to commit violence. Those threats, along with the trends in the way militia violence often manifest, have led analysts to express concerns about a potentially volatile situation on Monday. Whats important to note is that most of militia violence is a little bit different than a lot of white nationalist violence, said Shane Burley, author of the book Fascism Today. It tends to actually spark up when they have large numbers of recruits and theyre doing pretty well as opposed to white nationalist violence, which tends to be a desperate act. Burley explained that it is hard to predict what exactly will happen in Virginia on Monday, but weapons bans are the number one thing thats going to spark [militias] to radical behaviour every single time. Faced with the potential of violence, gun control groups cancelled their annual vigil for victims of gun violence. It is with a heavy heart that I am announcing the cancellation of the annual Martin Luther King Day Vigil and Day of Advocacy, said Lori Haas, director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. Citizens who represent the overwhelming majority of Virginians are prevented from lobbying their officials because of credible threats to their safety, Hass said in a statement. Militia supporters argue that they will exercise their First Amendment rights on Monday, an assertion Haas dismissed. This is a full-scale rejection of our democratic elections, she said. This is mob rule. It is a grave threat to our democracy. Manila (CNN Philippines Life) At 1 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 12, Taal Volcano spewed ash about 14 kilometers high, sending residents of CALABARZON and Metro Manila into a frenzy. Residents were evacuated, classes and work called off, and domestic and international flights in Ninoy Aquino International Airport cancelled. Ash and mud covered lakeside towns like Talisay, Tanauan, Laurel, and Cuenca, and earthquakes continued to rock the area. Ashfall rained down on Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga, and Metro Manila, blanketing sidewalks and cars with gray ash and leaving a heavy haze all around. On Monday and Tuesday, despite warnings by PHIVOLCS of an imminent eruption, several residents have attempted to return to their homes to save their livestock and other animals left behind, check on their farms, and even to catch fish in the lake. Photograph Jilson Tiu captures scenes from Talisay and Tanauan. A resident begins cleaning crops covered in ash. Photo by JILSON TIU A closer look at the volcanic ashfall accumulated on crops. Photo by JILSON TIU According to the Department of Agriculture, 2,772 hectares of land are affected by the ashfall in CALABARZON, with agricultural damages amounting to P577.59 million. Photo by JILSON TIU A stray cat takes refuge underneath damaged foliage. Since Monday, animal rights groups such as PETA Asia, the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), and the Philippine Pet Birth Control Center of the Philippines (PPBCC) have been providing aid and relief to the animals affected. Photo by JILSON TIU Ashfall blanketing the roof of a residence in Batangas. Photo by JILSON TIU Motorists continue to ride the street despite the haze that covers most parts of Batangas. Anyone residing in and visiting the areas directly hit by heavy ashfall are advised to wear face masks to avoid breathing in the volcanic ash, which can be hazardous to one's health. Photo by JILSON TIU Police clear the mud and ashfall to help residents pass through the slippery streets. Photo by JILSON TIU Despite warnings that the fish may be poisonous to consume, fisherfolk return to Taal Lake as the volcano continues to spew ash. Photo by JILSON TIU According to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, an estimated 15,033 metric tons of fish supply is lost to the eruption. Photo by JILSON TIU Norway's government has collapsed over the decision to allow an ISIS bride to return to the country from Syria with her children. The populist Progress Party pulled out of Norway's coalition government today after the mother was permitted repatriation so that her gravely ill five-year-old son could receive medical treatment. The 29-year-old and her two children have been living in the Al-Hol camp in Syria - notorious in Britain as the detention centre which held Shamima Begum. Prime Minister Erna Solberg said she would forge on with a minority government comprised of her Conservatives, the centrist Liberal Party and the Christian Democrats. Prime Minister Erna Solberg, leader of the Conservative Party, speaks on Monday after the populist Progress Party said it would no longer support her government The 29-year-old and her two children have been living in the Al-Hol camp in Syria - notorious in Britain as the detention centre which held Shamima Begum (pictured: file photo of women at the Al-Hol camp earlier this month) Progress Party leader Siv Jensen said that 'the cup is now full' after the decision to allow the woman to return to Norway, on which her anti-immigration party feels it was not consulted. She added that when Solberg's coalition expanded a year ago to include the liberals and the Christian Democrats, veering more to the centre and becoming a majority government, 'enthusiasm dropped.' 'Over time, politics was too much based on compromises,' said Jensen, who is Norway's outgoing finance minister. Prime Minister Solberg said she 'understood' why the Progress Party wanted to leave her coalition government, adding she would seek cooperation with the party - which is Norway's third-largest. Norway's next parliamentary election is scheduled for September 2021. To stay in office until then and pass legislation in the 169-seat parliament, Solberg needs the support of parties outside the government, including the Progress Party. The Norwegian woman of Pakistani descent reportedly travelled to Syria in 2013 and married a Norwegian foreign fighter there who was later killed in fighting. She was formally arrested Saturday upon her return and was placed in an Oslo hospital with both children. Jensen said many believed that the woman, who has not been named, 'used her child as a shield to come back to Norway.' Norway's Progress party leader and Finance Minister Siv Jensen today, she had accused the woman as 'using her child as a shield to come back to Norway' 'There are many ... who are displeased by this, not just in the Progress Party,' Jensen said last week. The mother, who was not named, refused to let the sick child travel alone to Norway, which then allowed her to travel from the Kurdish-controlled camp at Al-Hol where all three had been detained since March 2019. 'A majority in the government believed that concern for the child was paramount,' Solberg said. Solberg has been prime minister of the Scandinavian country since 2013 when she formed a coalition with the Progress Party. The parties won renewed support in 2017 elections. ISIS's new leader unmasked: Sharia law graduate Al-Salbi born into Iraqi Turkmen family is revealed as man now running the terror group after Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi fireball death in US strike Two intelligence services said that al-Salbi took over from Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Al-Salbi, who helped found ISIS, brought in brutal Sharia Law in Iraq and Syria Spies unmasked al-Salbi and paint a picture of extremist similar to al-Baghdadi The new leader of Islamic State has been revealed as Iraqi Amir Mohammed Abdul Rahman al-Mawli al-Salbi. Two intelligence services said al-Salbi took over from Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi after the terrorist leader blew himself up in October. Al-Salbi, who helped found ISIS, brought in brutal Sharia Law in Iraq and Syria, led the enslavement of the Yazidi and has operated across the world. The new leader of Islamic State has been revealed as Iraqi Amir Mohammed Abdul Rahman al-Mawli al-Salbi (pictured) The terrorist was made leader just hours after al-Baghdadi died, despite his named being reported as Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Quraishi. This was a nom de guerre and officials said they had heard little of the 'nobody' at the time. Spies have unmasked al-Salbi over the past three months and paint a picture of a hardened extremist similar to al-Baghdadi, according to the Guardian. The Mosul-born leader is believed to be one of the most influential ideologues left in ISIS's depleted ranks and is one of the last non-Arabs. He was born in Tal Afar, a city near Mosul, to Iraqi Turkmen. After a background as an Islamic scholar, he rose the ranks in the terror organisation, and tried to justify an attempted genocide on the Yazidi people. Two intelligence services said al-Salbi took over from Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (pictured) after the terrorist leader blew himself up in October As chief legislator al-Salbi made it so homosexuals were thrown off roofs and women accused of adultery were stoned. He is also known as 'The Professor' and 'The Destroyer', and took over operations from al-Baghdadi from July after the leader struggled with his health. They became friends while caged in US Camp Bucca detention centre, Iraq. The Americans put a $5million bounty on al-Salbi's head - as well as two other senior terrorists - before al-Baghdadi died. Al-Salbi claims he is a direct descendant from the Prophet Mohammed. Al-Baghdadi was cornered by Delta Force commandos as they stormed his compound in the village of Barisha near Idlib, northern Syria, on October 26. The extremist cleric blew himself up by detonating a suicide belt after running into a dead end and dragging two of his children with him to their deaths. According to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, two of Baghdadi's wives were killed in the assault. The raid was a major blow to ISIS, which has lost territories it held in Syria and Iraq in a series of military defeats by the US-led coalition and Syrian and Iraqi allies. Many IS members escaped through smuggling routes to north-western Syria in the final days of battle ahead of the group's territorial defeat earlier this year, while others have melted into the desert in Syria or Iraq. President Abdel-Fattah Fattah El-Sisi ordered the implementation of several social protection programmes in support of poor families, head of parliament's Social Solidarity Committee Abdel-Hadi El-Qasbi said on Monday. During a meeting with a youth delegation, El-Qasbi said the state was keen to provide every possible support for poor families during the implementation of the social economic programmes. Several presidential initiatives were launched, such as Takaful and Karama, to ensure a decent life for every Egyptian citizen. "The political leadership was aware of the dangers of the economic transition, which is why state bodies spared no effort to establish security and provide foodstuffs for every citizen," he said. Search Keywords: Short link: Click here to read the full article. In 2018, Stacey Abrams, having served in the Georgia House of Representatives for 10 years, ran as the Democratic candidate for governor of Georgia. She was the first African-American woman in the United States to be chosen as a gubernatorial nominee by one of the two major parties. Abrams had tremendous support, and after losing the election by just 50,000 votes, she sued the Georgia board of elections, citing multiple documented allegations of voter suppression. To this day, Abrams has refused to concede the election, and shes right theres a powerful likelihood that the 2018 Georgia governors race was, in effect, stolen. Thats a moral, political, and legal outrage. But as Robert Greenwalds scary and galvanizing documentary Suppressed: The Fight to Vote demonstrates, the meaning of what happened in Georgia has implications that extend far beyond that race. As the film anatomizes, the Georgia election was a textbook case of whats now happening to the American electoral system. Its being undercut not by Russian bots or too much fake news on Facebook (though none of that helps), but by the Republican Party, which has devised a kind of slow-motion, invisible series of methods to stack the deck. The implications are ominous. More from Variety If I had a dime for every time I heard a liberal say of Hillary Clinton in 2016, She won the election (because she won the popular vote), Id be rolling in dimes. But lets be clear: That kind of thinking may feel righteous, but it holds no water. Hillary Clinton did not win the election. The electoral college, in my opinion, should be handily abolished (its a time-machine relic), but until the day that happens we have the system we have. Story continues Yet when forces within the establishment figure out ways to game the system, our democracy becomes a thinly veiled charade. And thats what happened in the Georgia governors race in 2018. It should terrify everyone. To my liberal friends who now acknowledge the distinct possibility of a Trump victory in the 2020 election, I want to say: Welcome to reality, but youre still behind the curve. The prospect of extending the Trump disaster into a second term seems unthinkable, but the most cataclysmic question is what happens after that in 2024. Do we seriously believe that if Trump is re-elected, hes simply going to walk away from the presidency four years from now? That assumption strikes me as terribly naive. But how could Trump run for, and win, a third term? How could the Republicans do an end run around the 22nd Amendment, which was put in place after the grand exception of FDR in World War II precisely to stop the possibility of one-party rule? The answer to that, as typified by the Senate impeachment trial were about to have, is that the Republicans, in throwing in their lot with Trumps authoritarian leadership, ceased caring about the rule of law a while back. What will they stop at? Probably nothing. Theyre all in. And the disenfranchisement of voters is one of the key ways that theyre shoring up their power. If you think that sounds alarmist, you need to learn more about how the process works. Barak Goodman and Chris Durrances brilliant documentary Slay the Dragon, which might be described as an exploration of gerrymandering 3.0, will be released in March, and its a must-see. But Suppressed, in its compact and smaller-scale way, is just as essential. Its only 38 minutes long, and its not coming to a theater near you. But it may be showing at a church, a university, or a community center (700 screenings have been held in 43 states), and its on YouTube, where you can link to it right now. In the time it takes for a lunch break, you can get a crash course in how and why America is crashing. Greenwald, the muckraking solo flyer who has made such incisive, scrupulous, dark-side-of-the-real-world documentaries as Outfoxed: Rupert Murdochs War on Journalism (2004), Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price (2005), and Making a Killing: Guns, Greed, and the NRA (2016), talks to voters, politicians, and scholars, laying out the clandestine techniques by which citizens are denied their rights. In Georgia, the suppression of voting was done, in part, under the auspices of Brian Kemp, the Trump-backed Georgia Secretary of State who Stacey Abrams was running against. Thats a typical situation: those in power using their leverage to choke off the process. The voters who get targeted tend to be poor, African-American, and Democratic. Suppressed captures how Kemp, in the year leading up to the election, purged an astonishing 890,000 eligible voters from the Georgia voter rolls (thats 14 percent of the electorate). By what rationale? Voters were purged for not having voted in the last few elections. They were purged for having moved within the same county. For having not returned a postcard from the Secretary of State. And Democratic counties were purged at a rate that was four times that of Republican counties. Using outrageously restrictive exact match laws, Kemp put 53,260 new registrations on hold (80 percent of them were people of color); the election was decided by 54,723 votes. Yet its telling that as corruptions go, these are not sexy ones. On election day in Georgia, the lines in numerous polling places in African-American neighborhoods were so long and slow-moving that it took three to five hours for many people to vote. Thats because the precincts were given so few voting machines. (Its been statistically established that long lines at the polling station lead to low voter turnout.) Carol Anderson, the chair of African-American Studies at Emory University, says, Weve got to understand, this isnt a Klan cross burning. This stuff is very bureaucratic, its very mundane, its very routine. But it is lethal. Many of the techniques of voter suppression captured in Suppressed are not new; theyve been going on for decades. But the age of technology, and the absolutist slant of the new Republican Party as its been born again under Trump, have heightened and formalized the corruptions of old. In the movie, Marcia Fudge, who heads the elections subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives, says, This is systematic. If you look at what has happened across this country in the last five years, 40 states have passed some kind of law to make it more difficult for people to vote. Carol Anderson says, Pull back the veneer, and you see something really rotten happening. Its almost like termites coming in theyre in the wood, theyre eating the wood away, and you dont even realize your house is getting ready to collapse until its too late. And unless we fight it, its not going to stop. With a morally bankrupt party in power, it will only get worse. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will send a letter to his Ukranian counterpart Vladimir Zelensky on the Ukrainian Boeings crash, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said. "Iranian Minister of Road Construction and Urban Development Muhammad Islami will pay an official visit to the Ukrainian capital of Kiev to deliver a letter from President Hassan Rouhani to his Ukranian counterpart, Vladimir Zelensky, on the Ukrainian Boeing 737s crash," IRNA cited him as saying. Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 crashed near Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport minutes after takeoff on January 8. All 176 people on board were killed. The crash occurred shortly after Iran launched airstrikes against US bases in neighbouring Iraq. Three days later, the Iranian military admitted to accidentally shooting down the plane, having confused it with a hostile missile in anticipation of a retaliatory strike from the U.S. A defiant Iran has threatened to leave the international treaty that bars countries from obtaining atomic weapons and escalate its actions against the west, in response to US pressure and the threat of further sanctions. Both Irans foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, and the speaker of parliament, Ali Larijani, warned on Monday that the country was considering exiting the five-decade Nuclear Non-Proliferation (NPT) if Europe takes Tehran before the United Nations Security Council over its alleged violations of the 2015 accord it signed with the west. This comes after Iranian officials announced two impending launches of its Zafer surveillance satellites into space, in a development that worries non-proliferation experts who fear the delivery systems for putting a craft into orbit around the earth can also be used to launch long-range missiles. Irans foreign ministry on Monday also repeated their threat to nations hosting US troops that they will be targets of Iranian reprisals if America uses their territory to stage attacks on the country. In a sign of worsening ties with the UK, lawmakers passed a resolution calling on the government of President Hassan Rouhani to downgrade relations from the level of ambassador to charge daffaires. This follows the brief detention of the UK ambassador to Iran, Robert Macaire, over his presence at a politically charged Tehran gathering for victims of a Ukrainian passenger plane shot down by an Iranian air defence personnel earlier this month. 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 There were also reports that Kataib Hezbollah, an Iraqi militia affiliated with Iran, was setting up a new base on the Iraqi-Syrian border just weeks after the group was struck by US missiles. Taken together, the series of warnings and threatens signalled that Tehran was countering a devastating economic and military pressure campaign spearheaded by the administration of US president Donald Trump by upping its belligerence on all matters of international concern: its nuclear programme, its missiles, its entanglements abroad, and its treatment of foreign nationals and diplomatic outposts within its borders. The threats and the hardening of Irans positions follows the decision last week by the UK, Germany and France to trigger a legal mechanism that would take their dispute to the UN Security Council, which in practice could almost certainly end up unravelling the 2015 landmark nuclear deal and result in even harsher sanctions on the country. The Europeans were responding to Irans decision to remove all limits on its enrichment of nuclear fuel as proscribed by the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action following the US assassination of Revolutionary Guard commander Qassem Soleimani outside the international airport compound in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad on 3 January. Foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (centre) arrives prior to a meeting with his Venezuelan counterpart in Tehran (AP) Iran responded by launching a barrage of missiles at two US bases in Iraq, injuring at least eight American military personnel while prompting complaints by Iraqi officials that Iran had violated its sovereignty. Iranian officials have been unapologetic. If the security and military specialists in Iran conclude that a country or regime has collaborated and helped this cowardly act, it will pay the price, Foreign Ministry spokesman Seyed Abbas Mousavi told reporters in Tehran on Monday. We are not after war but we are ready to strongly defend against any mischief. US Iran policy envoy Brian Hook insisted last week that the combination of maximum economic pressure and restoring deterrence by the credible threat of military force would advance peace and stability in the region. But experts warn that an Iranian departure from the NPT would have disastrous consequences for the region, triggering an atomic arms race in one of the most volatile regions of the world. Pakistan, India and North Korea all exited the pact as they became nuclear weapons states while Israel, an undeclared nuclear power, never signed it. Iran has threatened before to leave, but the latest warning comes amid unprecedented domestic and international pressure on the country. If the Europeans continue to play more political games, we will have many options, Mr Zarif was quoted as saying. Iran was among the original signers of the 1970 accord, which gives non-nuclear weapons states access to atomic technology in exchange for not pursuing a bomb. But in 2003 it was found in non-compliance with the deal after it became known that the country had launched a secret programme to enrich uranium, one of the pathways towards obtaining a nuclear weapon, as well as producing nuclear energy. Iran says its nuclear programme is meant only for peaceful civilian purposes, including energy and medicine. But western intelligence officials believe that Iran was actively pursuing a secret nuclear weapons programme until about 2003, when Saddam Hussein was toppled in the US invasion of Iraq. Since then, most independent non-proliferation specialists have concluded that Iran had been pursuing a policy of nuclear ambiguity, assembling the various components to have a weapons programme without violating the NPT. The 2015 nuclear deal was meant to place stricter limits on Irans nuclear programme in exchange for economic incentives. But Mr Trumps abrogation of the agreement and European companies abidance of American restrictions have robbed it of incentives to keep lids on its nuclear programme. The president and the small clique of Washington hawks who have his ear on Iran say that the nuclear deal gave Tehran too much in return for limits on its nuclear programme which would expire by 2030. European officials say they want to preserve the deal which they consider a landmark diplomatic agreement. They say they triggered the dispute mechanism, which could bring Irans nuclear programme before the Security Council for renewed sanctions, to keep Iran from further expanding its nuclear activities. German defence minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer told reporters in London last week the Trump administration threatened to impose 25 per cent tariffs on EU car imports if European nations party to the nuclear deal did not trigger the dispute mechanism. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-21 01:06:19|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close Zimbabwean Vice President Constantino Chiwenga (2nd L, front) and other officials pose for a photo with crews of the Boeing 777-200 aircraft in Harare, Zimbabwe, Jan. 20, 2020. Zimbabwe's state-owned airline, Air Zimbabwe, on Monday took delivery of one of the two Boeing 777-200 aircrafts bought by government from Malaysia as part of efforts to revive its struggling national carrier. (Photo by Shaun Jusa/Xinhua) HARARE, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe's state-owned airline, Air Zimbabwe, on Monday took delivery of one of the two Boeing 777-200 aircraft bought by government from Malaysia as part of efforts to revive its struggling national carrier. Transport and Infrastructural Development, Joel Biggie Matiza flew in with the new plane which was received at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport by Vice President Constantino Chiwenga. The aircraft will enable Air Zimbabwe to resume international flights to such destinations as the United Kingdom and China which were stopped several years ago due to operational and viability challenges. The troubled airline is operating with a severely reduced fleet which is old and expensive to run. The airline is currently plying domestic and regional routes, and has seen its route network shrink to less than 10 from around 20 in the 1990s. Speaking after receiving the aircraft, Chiwenga said the purchase of the long-haul plane showed government's commitment to reviving the troubled airline. "Receipt of this B-777 aircraft is a clear testimony that we are taking concrete steps to capacitate our national airline so that it plays its role in promoting economic growth, creating jobs and facilitating international trade and tourism," he said. He said the plane came at an opportune time when the country was seeking to increase its volume of trade with other countries. He bemoaned Western sanctions which he said had rendered most of the country's equipment in the aviation industry unserviceable due to shortage of imported spare parts and other ancillary equipment. As such, a reliable airline was vital and that was why the government wanted to ensure that Air Zimbabwe was restored to full functionality, he said. Speaking at the same event, Transport Minister Joel Biggie Matiza said he was optimistic that the aircraft will go a long way in unlocking value of the country's aviation industry. He said the second aircraft was in the final stages of maintenance to ensure that it is air worthy and ready to be deployed to Harare shortly. He added that the Zimbabwe government still needs to give support to Air Zimbabwe to acquire a smaller regional aircraft, which will help the airline rebuild its national and regional network which will act as a springboard to launch international routes. MONTREAL - On the one-year anniversary of their mother's death, the family of former Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe announced they are suing the luxury seniors' residence where the 93-year-old perished after being trapped in a courtyard during a false fire alarm. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/1/2020 (722 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. MONTREAL - On the one-year anniversary of their mother's death, the family of former Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe announced they are suing the luxury seniors' residence where the 93-year-old perished after being trapped in a courtyard during a false fire alarm. Helene Rowley Hotte Duceppe died of hypothermia on Jan. 20, 2019, on a morning when it was a bitter -35 C outside and snowing. In legal documents filed Monday, Rowley Hotte Duceppe's seven children allege their mother's life would have been saved if not for the "gross negligence" of the residence. "Mother never stops dying, it continues all the time because (the residence's responsibility) isn't recognized," Gilles Duceppe said in a brief interview following the announcement of the lawsuit. Lawyer Marc-Antoine Cloutier told the Montreal news conference that while the death may have been accidental, the alleged negligence of staff at the Lux Gouverneur Montreal contributed to the tragedy. "When we don't put in place what needs to be put in place, there are foreseeable consequences," he said. A coroner's report released last summer said video surveillance showed the woman trapped in the courtyard for six hours. She tried to get back inside the building to no avail, since her access card wouldn't let her back inside and no one noticed her absence. Cloutier said the family and the estate are seeking $1.25 million for both the suffering experienced by Rowley Hotte Duceppe, and the pain her death has caused her seven children. Gilles Duceppe said his mother had a "horrible fear of fire," and left her apartment upon hearing an alarm. He said the residence should have checked security cameras and the building's exits after the all-clear was given and the alarm turned out to be false. "We can't understand how something like this can happen," he said. "There were cameras, they could have seen her." Duceppe says he also doesn't understand how staff allegedly didn't look to see if anyone was outside after the alarm on the emergency door into the courtyard signalled it had been opened. "You have to open the door: they could have saved her, she would have come in. She was just there, on the other side." His sister, Monique Duceppe, said the family chose the residence precisely because it was advertised as safe. "That's why we went there, because in their brochure, it was the highest technology in terms of security," she said. Her mother was happy there, she said. "Nobody thinks they'll end their days like that, outside..." she said, her voice trailing off. 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. Cloutier said that while the family is only suing the one residence, he hopes the case prompts a wider societal discussion on the safety of seniors' homes, and the need for stricter standards. "We hear more and more about the problems that stem from the lack of security in these residences, but also sometimes because of lack of personnel, lack of training, carelessness in some cases." The family sent the Lux Gouverneur notice last July that they were seeking damages, and were prepared to take legal action if the residence did not respond. Cloutier said the possibility of criminal charges was raised at first, but the family ultimately decided on a civil action. The management of the residence said in a statement Monday saying staff remain "extremely shaken by the death of Mrs. Rowley-Hotte." "The safety and wellbeing of residents is a top priority for management. Due to the ongoing legal procedures, we will not be granting interviews," the statement reads. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan 20, 2020. Nadda was Modi and RSS first choice to succeed Amit Shah because he is the man who has never been heard saying ye nahin ho sakta. Affable, an organisation man, committed to ideology and a leader with a smile this is how many describe 59-year-old Jagat Prakash Nadda, who succeeded Amit Shah as the president of the worlds largest political party at a time when the Bharatiya Janata Partys electoral graph seems to be on a decline. That Mr Nadda would succeed Mr Shah was indicated by the party top brass when he was promoted as the BJPs working president when the later became Union home minister. With the BJP, as an organisation, at its best position ever since Narendra Modi came to power at the Centre and Amit Shah taking the reins of the party, Mr Nadda with his organisational skill and experience is expected to add to the BJPs forward march. Associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) since his college days, Mr Nadda is taking over the reins of the BJP when elections in the national capital are just days away and opinion polls are favouring Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Admi Party (AAP) to retain power. While the BJP has been dominating the Delhis municipal corporation for many years now, the party has been out of power in Delhi for more than two decades. Perhaps sensing the difficulties his party is likely to face in Delhi elections and also the fact that its state unit is not famous for being a cohesive unit, Mr Nadda has been visiting each Assembly seat and reaching out to the cadre the partys backbone and trying to enthuse them. Whichever way Delhi goes, other challenges lie ahead for Mr Nadda as two crucial states are set to go to polls Bihar by the end of this year and West Bengal next year. While in Bihar, the state where Mr Nadda was born, the BJP has already declared that its ally JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar will continue to be the face of the ruling alliance, in West Bengal it will be seen whether the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC continues to be the favourite or the BJPs assertion of being the best alternative finds takers. However, before all this, Mr Naddas team will be in focus and all eyes will be on who all are accommodated and whether he relies on the old faces in the existing team or goes for an overhaul. When Mr Shah had taken over the partys reins, among his top priorities was strengthening state units and organisations and the results were seen when the BJP won one state after the other. Mr Shah made it a point to visit each and every state unit, interact with the cadre and get a firsthand view of the problems ailing the party. Being a close confidante of Mr Shah, the new BJP chief has been assisting his predecessor in most of these tasks. Said to be the first choice of Mr Modi and also the RSS to succeed Mr Shah, Mr Nadda is known as a leader whose face never shows disappointment or anger. Those associated with him since his university days recall how he would be the first one to reach out to any student in problem and would never shy away from taking up issues that concerned students. Mr Nadda is often given credit for the RSS affiliated youth wing, Akhil Bhartiya Vidhayrthi Parishad (ABVP), making inroads in the once Left-dominated Himachal Pradesh University (HPU). He was HPUs first students union president from the ABVP. Mr Nadda was associated with the ABVP from the late 70s when he got elected as the secretary of the Patna University. He was born in Patna where his father was the vice-chancellor of the Patna University and shifted to Himachal Pradesh in the 1980s. Those associated with him since the HPU days recall another quality of his that he remembers the name of each and every vidyarthi parishad member who worked along with him, as well as the BJP cadre. We have never heard him saying ye nahin ho sakta. He has a positive attitude no matter how big the problem is. And one of his best qualities is that he remembers the name of each and every karyakarta or sangathan member he meets, recalls Swatantra Sankhyan, who has been associated with Mr Nadda since their university days. A former Union health minister, Mr Nadda was one of the key strategists for the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections and was also given the charge in 2019 general polls of Uttar Pradesh, a politically crucial state where the party maintained its dominance and dented the poll prospects of regional satraps the SP and BSP once considered arch rivals who were forced to join hands to take on the BJP-led NDA. He was then the national general secretary in Mr Shahs team. Mr Nadda first came to political limelight during the Kandror agitation in Himachal Pradesh, to demand Plus II education in government higher secondary schools. His stint as state minister is known for promoting medicinal plants and herbs and how he provided medical facilities to far flung areas of the hilly state. As the forest minister, Mr Nadda launched state forest police stations to check forest crimes, massive plantation drives and creating awareness about setting up forest ponds. MONTREAL and WASHINGTON, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - (NYSE: CAE) (TSX: CAE) CAE is pleased to announce the appointment of Todd Probert as Group President, Defence & Security, effective January 27, 2020. He will be based in Washington, DC and is succeeding Gene Colabatistto, who retired from CAE in December 2019. Todd Probert appointed Group President, CAE Defence and Security (CNW Group/CAE INC.) "I am very pleased to welcome Todd Probert to CAE's executive management team, as our new Group President, Defence & Security. He is a proven strategic business leader with the right balance of technical, business and international experience in defence and technology," said Marc Parent, CAE's President and Chief Executive Officer. "Todd's competencies and background are very well aligned with CAE's emphasis on digital innovation and our long-term vision to be the training partner of choice. His ability to drive business growth and create strategic partnerships will bring significant value to our company and our defence customers." Mr. Probert worked for Raytheon, the world's fourth largest defence company, over the past 10 years. Most recently, he was leading the Command, Control, Space & Intelligence business unit as part of Raytheon's Intelligence, Information and Services segment. In this role, he spearheaded Raytheon's use of commercial software development practices and artificial intelligence for military and intelligence community customers in addition to establishing strategic relationships with Silicon Valley companies. He previously served as the Vice President of Raytheon's Mission Support & Modernization product line where he steadily grew the business during his tenure. He has formed innovative partnerships with leading tech companies to transform the development timelines and delivery of capabilities to the U.S. Department of Defense in areas such as fully open architectures, artificial intelligence and cyber security. He also held the position of Vice President, Engineering and Technology, where he managed the engineering workforce for Raytheon's Intelligence, Information and Services portfolio. Before joining Raytheon, Mr. Probert worked for Honeywell Technology Solutions, Inc. (HTSI) in various functions such as strategy and business development, planning and operations, merger and acquisition activities, and he also served as HTSI's Chief Technology Officer. Prior to that, he worked for ANSER, where he led the Space Technology division. In 2019, Mr. Probert was named by WashingtonExec as one of the Top 10 Department of Defense (DOD) Executives to Watch based on business accomplishments, impact on the defence community and vision for the future. He also received the 2019 Aviation Week Program Excellence Award in the OEM Sustainment category. Mr. Probert holds a master's degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from Purdue University, where he was named Outstanding Aerospace Engineer of the Year in 2017. He has a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Michigan. About CAE CAE's Defence & Security business unit focuses on helping prepare our customers to develop and maintain the highest levels of mission readiness. We are a world-class training systems integrator offering a comprehensive portfolio of training centres, training services and simulation products across the air, land, sea and public safety market segments. We serve our global defence and security customers through regional operations in the United States/Latin America; Canada; Europe/Africa; and Asia-Pacific/Middle East, all of which leverage the full breadth of CAE's capabilities, technologies and solutions. CAE is a global leader in training for the civil aviation, defence and security, and healthcare markets. Backed by a record of more than 70 years of industry firsts, we continue to help define global training standards with our innovative virtual-to-live training solutions to make flying safer, maintain defence force readiness and enhance patient safety. We have the broadest global presence in the industry, with over 10,000 employees, 160 sites and training locations in over 35 countries. Each year, we train more than 220,000 civil and defence crewmembers, including more than 135,000 pilots, and thousands of healthcare professionals worldwide. www.cae.com Follow us on Twitter @CAE_Inc and @CAE_Defence SOURCE CAE INC. Related Links http://www.cae.com/ An armed militia member stands near his "troops" as others line up to enter a no-gun zone at the start of a rally by gun rights advocates and militia members near Virginia's Capitol, in Richmond, Virginia, U.S. January 20, 2020. More than 22,000 armed gun-rights activists peacefully filled the streets around Virginia's capitol building on Monday to protest gun-control legislation making its way through the newly Democratic-controlled state legislature. Despite fears that neo-Nazis or other extremists would piggyback on the Richmond rally to stoke violence like the violence at a 2017 demonstration by white nationalists in Charlottesville that killed a counter-protester, the Capitol Police reported just one arrest, a 21-year-old woman taken into custody for wearing a bandana over her face after twice being warned that masks were not allowed. Chants of "USA! USA! USA!" and others praising President Donald Trump reverberated as men and women carrying handguns and rifles squeezed into the streets around the Virginia state capitol, standing shoulder-to-shoulder for three blocks in all directions. There was a heavy security presence after Governor Ralph Northam banned carrying weapons onto the capitol grounds and the FBI earlier last week arrested three alleged neo-Nazis who it said intended to use the event to spark a race war. But by 1 p.m. ET, nearly all rally-goers had left the area, with volunteers picking up trash left behind. The Capitol Police estimated the crowd at 22,000 people. Activists at the rally organized by the Virginia Citizens Defense League argued that Virginia was trying to infringe on their right to bear arms, which is protected by the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. "What's going on here, if not stopped, will spread to other states," said Teri Horne, who had traveled to Virginia from her home in Texas with her Smith & Wesson rifle and .40-caliber handgun. "They will come for our guns in other states if we don't stop them in Virginia." Northam, a Democrat, has vowed to push through new gun control laws and is backing a package of eight bills, including universal background checks, a "red flag" law, a ban on assault-style rifles and a limit of one handgun-a-month purchase. It does not call for confiscating guns currently legally owned. It is not his first attempt. He called a special legislative session last year after the massacre of 12 people in Virginia Beach, but the Republicans who then controlled the legislature ended that meeting without a vote. State Democratic leaders and activists believe that move contributed to the November victories that gave them control of both chambers. A group of 13 student activists from March For Our Lives, a gun-control group, slept inside the capitol building on Sunday night ahead of impromptu meetings with lawmakers to encourage them to pass the legislation. "A lot of the protesters outside have a really extreme reading of the Second Amendment," Eve Levenson, a 20-year-old political science student at George Washington University, said in a telephone interview. "What we're fighting for is common-sense laws that are proven to work and are already effective in other states." Nine civilians died in western Chad after a female suicide bomber detonated her explosives in an area targeted in the past by jihadist group Boko Haram, the army and officials said on Monday. Chad is one of the countries struggling with the jihadist violence that has spilled over from Nigeria's decades-long Islamist insurgency The attack took place overnight Sunday in the village of Kaiga Kindjiria. "A suicide bomber blew herself up yesterday in Kaiga Kindjiria, killing nine people, two women and seven men," an army source said. The toll was confirmed by Chadian army spokesman Colonel Azem Bermandoa. "It is Boko Haram, There is no doubt," the spokesman said. Kaiga-Kindjiria, a village of about 7,000 people, is located near the vast Lake Chad region where militants hide out among islets and marshlands to launch attacks on Cameroon, Chad, Nigeria and Niger. Boko Haram began in Nigeria but its attacks have spread to neighbouring countries. The group has also split and a faction affiliated with the Islamic State group, ISWAP, is particularly active around Lake Chad. The suicide attack came as French Minister of the Armed Forces, Florence Parly visited the Chad capital N'Djamena, where she met her Chadian counterpart on Monday morning. In early January, 1,200 Chadian troops, deployed as part of a regional force in Nigeria, returned to Chad to be redeployed around the Lake, where attacks have multiplied in recent months. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) We are fresh from Christmas, and if we have been listening to the regular type of services in Christian churches, we will be familiar with that passage from Isaiah, Chapter 7, which speaks of a child being born whose name will be Immanuel. This is one of the most famous prophecies in the Old Testament and is regularly read, alongside a New Testament passage depicting the nativity, as proof that Jesus is the ChristChrist meaning, of course, the long awaited Jewish Messiah. But more than that, the word Immanuel in its etymology means God-with-us, and so is also indicative of the whole idea of the incarnation: that God himself became a human being and lived among us. Less well known, however, and if considered at all, is the rather remarkable context of the prophecy itself. Why was the prophecy made, and to whom? And what has that to say to us today? The story is, I think, quite astonishing. The prophecy is made to King Ahaz at the time after the split of the Israelites into the northern kingdom (now under the reign of King Pekah) and the southern kingdom of Judah (from which the word Jew comes) led by Ahaz. All the kingdoms in this area close to the Mediterranean Sea are under pressure from Tiglath-Pileser III, the Assyrian king, for Assyria is a civilization that is essentially conquering the known world at that time; its armies are savage and irresistible. Ahaz (732716 B.C.), king of Judah, the son and successor of Jotham. Published by Guillaume Rouille. (Public Domain) A stone tablet depicting Tiglath-Pileser III, the Assyrian king with a mighty army. (Public Domain) But Pekah has teamed up with the king of Syria, Rezin, in order to create an alliance to resist the advance of the Assyrians, and they are demanding that Ahaz join their alliance of resistance. Asking God for a Sign Isaiah, the prophet, goes to Ahaz to tell him that God has told him that Ahaz should not trust any alliance with Pekah and Rezin, but trust in God Himself and to resist this temptation. Furthermoreand here is the crux leading to the prophecyIsaiah also informs King Ahaz that God wants to give him a sign that this prophecy is true, and that he should ask for it. Not only that, however, but God specifically gives permission for Ahaz to ask for any sign that could be shown either from the depths of hell (in Hebrew, Sheol) or from the heights of heaven itself. The Immanuel prophecy is given to King Ahaz because he rejects asking for one. Here is the passage from Isaiah 7: Then the Lord spoke again to Ahaz, saying, Ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God; make it deep as Sheol or high as heaven. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord! This permission to ask for a sign is exceptional, particularly given the scope of it; indeed, it is difficult to think of a comparable offer in the whole Bible. First, then, why does God make the offer? Usually the situation is one of receiving the prophecy and being expected to accept it because it is the word of God. We remember Jonaha true prophet, but one who fled from the message and direction of God, and who consequently was swallowed by the whale and forced to go to Nineveh and deliver Gods prophecy of imminent destruction. There was no question of Jonah being offered a sign to confirm that he needed to travel to Nineveh, though a sign happened anyway. But in the case of Ahaz, we do not have a reluctant or a false prophet; we have the king of Judea and Jerusalem, a descendant of King David. Apparently a religious man, for he cites scriptureYou shall not put the Lord your God to the test (Deuteronomy 6:16)in order to reject the command for a confirmatory sign that would prove and establish what Gods will actually is. He is seemingly, then, pious, but the piety is exactly of the order of Satan in the temptation of Christ in the wilderness, for Satan likewise cites scripture in order to confound the real inner meaning. Inviting Christ to throw himself off the temple building, Satan cites: He will give His angels charge concerning you That you do not strike your foot against a stone (Psalm 91:11-12). Christ rebuts this by quoting the very text that Ahaz uses: You shall not put the Lord your God to the test! (Luke 4:12). Thus, on the one hand, we have Ahaz condemned (Isaiah immediately says that Ahazs refusal to ask for a sign tries the patience of God) for invoking this text, and, on the other, Christ justified in its application. How can this be, and what are the important lessons? Conversations With God First, lets note that the context of testing God connects both these passages. At the heart, therefore, of doing the right thing is the discernment of what is Gods will for us, individually and collectively. How do we discern what is the right thing to do when the texts themselves seem contradictory in that the same text justifies Christ but condemns Ahaz? This is an important issue because many people reject religious and spiritual writings on the grounds that they are contradictory, so that God, or any or all spiritual writings concerning deity or deities must be contradictory too, and so worthless. But this view is, as I hope to suggest, entirely superficial. We might recall those profound words of Ralph Waldo Emerson: In good conversation, parties dont speak to the words, but to the meanings of each other. This is exactly what is happening here: Strangely, in looking at the word of God, we are invited not only to consider the literal words and what they might denote if we consulted a dictionary, but we are also invited to consider their meanings, which means their whole context. In other words, God is having a conversation with us, and we must be alert to its nuances; in understanding spiritual matters, we must investigate more deeply its intentions and meanings. Virtue-Signaling: Ahaz and Us We see in Ahaz something that we see a lot in the modern world: virtue-signaling. It really conceals a deep evil or the hearts evil intention. The psychiatrist and author Norman Doidge said, Virtue signaling is, quite possibly, our commonest vice. Ahaz appears pious in quoting the scriptures, but in his heart he has already decided to act as if he were God, and that he knows better than God: He will form an alliance with Tiglath-Pileser III and so, through his own cleverness, avert the catastrophe that is sweeping down upon Jerusalem. The scale of the rejection of Gods offerto show such a stupendous signis indicative of just how oblivious he is to God and to the world of the spirit. No amount of evidence for him would count. If we think about Marxism, communism, socialism, and some of the other virtue-signaling philosophies that some follow, we can see exactly the same pattern. As Jordan B. Peterson observed: If there was any excuse to be a Marxist in 1917, there is absolutely and finally no excuse now. Yet still the ideologues go on believing in the rightness of their way, despite all the historical evidence that these ideologies dont work and only lead to the enslavement of whole populations. Again, citing Norman Doidge, Ideologues are people who pretend they know how to make the world a better place before theyve taken care of their own chaos within. Supping With the Devil Finally, we observe here that because Ahaz rejects Gods way, he follows a course in which he resists evil (the invasion by Assyria) with evil; and of course, there is a catch. Those who sup with the devil, it is said, need a long spoon. Indeed, the exact opposite of what Ahaz planned occurs: The Jews become vassals of Tiglath-Pileser, and the destruction of Jerusalem is not averted. That Ahaz is evil is not in dispute. Perhaps the most telling detail, aside from this rejection of Gods sign, is in 2 Kings 16:3 where we learn that he committed the abomination of making his son pass through fire, and in doing so followed other nations in this pagan practice. The meaning of this is disputed: It might mean that one of his sons underwent a purification ritual, but it seems much more likely that the abomination refers to infant sacrifice. In 2 Chronicles 28:3 it expressly says that he burned his sons in fire. King Ahaz is believed to have been evil, offering his own children as sacrifice to an idol. Offering to Molech, illustration by Charles Foster for the 1897 Bible Pictures and What They Teach Us. (Public Domain) It is this indifference to human life and what people actually need and want that seems to me the mark of all the false ideologies: The death of millions are just statistics along the way as we progress to equality and socialist utopias. As we enter fully, then, the new year, the new decade, what signs are we receiving, or choosing to ignore? And if we think there are no signs, perhaps we need to intensify our prayers to ask for guidancefor more guidanceso that we are on the right way. After all, as we also learn from the Bible, God is a generous giver, so unlike Ahaz, who doesnt ask and doesnt want Gods guidance, we might simply do the opposite. All quotes are from the New American Standard version of the Bible. James Sale is an English businessman whose company, Motivational Maps Ltd., operates in 14 countries. He is the author of over 40 books on management and education from major international publishers including Macmillan, Pearson, and Routledge. As a poet, he won first prize in The Society of Classical Poets 2017 competition and spoke at the groups first symposium held at New Yorks Princeton Club on June 17, 2019. Washington President Donald Trump's trade deal with China last week opened up export opportunities for American farmers, manufacturers and energy producers. And his trade pact with Canada and Mexico, approved Thursday by the Senate, could help restore some auto production in the United States. Last week's twin breakthroughs on trade provided a breather from two chaotic years of Trumpian policymaking. "We got trade peace," said Mary Lovely, an economist who studies trade at Syracuse University. At least for now. But Lovely and other critics warn that the deal with China leaves unresolved most of the toughest and most complicated issues dividing the world's two biggest economies and that progress could unravel over time. They also caution that the new North American trade pact, though it might spur some job growth, will likely make American-built cars more expensive and less competitive globally. Whatever the outcome, the president's approach to trade marks a clear break with seven decades of U.S. policy that had favored ever-freer world commerce. Rather than seek to tear down trade barriers and pursue rules designed to benefit all countries, the administration unabashedly embraced an America First agenda. Many trade experts say they worry that in the long run, Trump's confrontational stance and eager embrace of tariffs could pose risks to both the U.S. and global economies. And even as tensions ease at least temporarily with China, the Trump administration is readying tariffs on the European Union over subsidies to the aviation giant Airbus and on France over a digital services tax that targets U.S. tech giants like Google and Amazon. Here is a closer look at Trump's record on trade: Senators voted 89-10 Thursday to approve Trump's U.S.-Mexico Canada Agreement, a month after the House had passed it 385-41. The so-called USMCA replaces the North American Free Trade Agreement, which had eliminated most trade barriers among the United States, Canada and Mexico. NAFTA triggered a surge in trade among the three countries. And it created a regional manufacturing bloc to compete with East Asia and Europe. But Trump argued that NAFTA cost the U.S. jobs by encouraging factories to move south to capitalize on low-wage Mexican laborers. Trump's top trade negotiator, Robert Lighthizer, crafted a replacement trade agreement that is intended to return factory production to the U.S. To qualify for USMCA's duty-free benefits, automakers must derive 75 percent of their production content from within North America up from 62.5 percent under NAFTA. That means more auto content would have to be homegrown in higher-wage North America. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. At least 40 percent of vehicles would also have to originate in places where workers earn at least $16 an hour. But USMCA could produce negative side effects. "The new content requirements will raise production costs, resulting in higher auto prices, reduced U.S. demand, lower auto exports, and more rapid substitution of machines for workers," Syracuse's Lovely and Jeffrey Schott of the Peterson Institute for International Economics concluded in a report last month. After 18 months of trade combat, the U.S. and China agreed to an interim truce Wednesday. Under the so-called Phase 1 deal, Trump scrapped his plan to impose tariffs on $160 billion in Chinese imports, and he halved his import taxes on an additional $110 billion worth. In return, China agreed to do more to protect intellectual property and to curb its practice of forcing foreign companies to hand over trade secrets as the price of admission to the Chinese market. But the centerpiece of the deal was China's vow to buy an extra $200 billion worth of U.S. manufacturing, energy and farm exports this year and next. Critics wonder whether China is really capable of meeting the targets. Under the deal, for instance, China is supposed to buy $40 billion in U.S. agricultural products a year a wildly ambitious goal considering that it's never bought more than $26 billion a year and that during the trade war it has redirected some of its farm purchases to other exporting countries. And things could get nasty if the United States decides China isn't living up to its commitments. In an unusual move, the two countries did not arrange to let any disputes go to a neutral arbitrator. Instead, they will try to work out their differences in a series of consultations. If they can't, the United States could impose tariffs and the deal could unravel. Perhaps most significantly, the Phase 1 deal did nothing about the U.S. complaint that China uses illicit trade practices in its drive to surpass the U.S. Specifically, it didn't address Beijing's massive subsidies for its tech firms. The New York Times editorial board endorsed U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren for president, citing the Massachusetts Democrats serious approach to policymaking," the publication announced Sunday. The Timess editorial board broke from tradition by throwing its support behind a second presidential candidate, Sen. Amy Klobuchar. The Minnesota Democrat is viewed as one of the moderate voices in the partys crowded presidential primary field, while Warren is considered to be more progressive. Voters will face three divergent visions for the future in the 2020 presidential election, according to the editorial board: a conservative vision embodied by incumbent President Donald Trump as well as two paths outlined by Democrats, one more radical and one more centrist. The Times said both the liberal and the realist models warrant consideration. There will be those dissatisfied that this page is not throwing its weight behind a single candidate, favoring centrists or progressives. But its a fight the party itself has been itching to have since Mrs. Clintons defeat in 2016, the editorial board wrote. Ms. Klobuchar and Ms. Warren right now are the Democrats best equipped to lead that debate. May the best woman win. The editorial board, which spent more than a dozen hours talking with the 2020 candidates, has endorsed presidential contenders since 1860. This year, the board met with nine of the leading candidates for the Democratic nomination in December. The Times cited in its endorsement of Warren her commitment to major government reform, fluency in foreign policy and ability as a progressive candidate to appeal to more moderate Democrats. The Massachusetts senator also worked as an advisor in the Obama administration, where she is credited for helping create the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The Times said in its interview with Warren, the candidate demonstrated sophisticated understanding of the different levers of power in an administration, particularly in the use of regulation in areas such as trade, antitrust and environmental policy. The Oklahoma native was one of the earliest major candidates to enter the 2020 race. She made a name for herself by rolling out dozens of policy plans on everything from criminal justice reform to eliminating student loan debt. Her calls for big, structural change and combating government corruption have become cornerstones of her campaign. Senator Warren is a gifted storyteller, the editorial board wrote. "She speaks elegantly of how the economic system is rigged against all but the wealthiest Americans, and of our chance to rewrite the rules of power in our country.' " Warren will face several roadblocks if elected president, including a conservative federal judiciary, legislative trench warfare in Congress and unifying a polarized public. American capitalism is responsible for its share of sins. But Ms. Warren often casts the net far too wide, placing the blame for a host of maladies from climate change to gun violence at the feet of the business community when the onus is on society as a whole, the editorial board wrote. The country needs a more unifying path. The Massachusetts senator, who comes from a middle-class family and was a longtime Republican, often speaks about her economic struggles as a child while on the campaign trail. She can appeal to Republicans and independents with her background, according to the editorial board. The senator talks more about bringing together Democrats, Republicans and independents behind her proposals, often leaning on anecdotes about her conservative brothers to do so. Ms. Warren has the power and conviction and credibility to make the case especially given her past as a Republican but she needs to draw on practicality and patience as much as her down-and-dirty critique of the system, the Times wrote. Warrens campaign reported a decline in fundraising in late December. She also recently sparred with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, another presidential primary frontrunner whose views largely fall in line with her own, after Warren alleged Sanders said in a private meeting two years ago that a woman could not win the presidency in 2020. Sanders is currently leading the race in Iowa, with Warren, former Vice President Joe Biden and South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg close behind, according to a recently release Des Moines Register poll. Ms. Warrens path to the nomination is challenging, but not hard to envision, the Times wrote. The four front-runners are bunched together both in national polls and surveys in states holding the first votes, so small shifts in voter sentiment can have an outsize influence this early in the campaign. Related content: Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Star/ANN) Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia Mon, January 20, 2020 12:17 722 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20602b305 2 SE Asia Abu-Sayyaf,military-operation,kidnapping,Indonesian-sailors,Malaysia,Philippines Free Philippine security forces gunned down an Abu Sayyaf militant believed to be involved in the kidnapping of five Indonesian fishermen off Lahad Datu last week. Regional intelligence sources said the gunmen and the hostages were currently on the run from the pursuing military forces. During the incident on Thursday, six gunmen kidnapped the hostages and fled on foot when they landed on Solre Island in Parang, within the militants stronghold in the southern Philippine island of Jolo. According to regional intelligence sources, the Filipino military set up a cordon around Jolo following reports of the kidnapping of five Sabah-based Indonesian fishermen and a shootout occurred late Saturday. They conducted airstrike operations using MG helicopters on a suspected Abu Sayyaf group in Solre Island that resulted in the death of one of the militants, the source said. The source said a grey-blue coloured speedboat and a mobile phone were also seized. On Thursday night, six militants from a kidnap-for-ransom group linked to suspected Abu Sayyaf militants abducted five Indonesian fishermen from their trawler in Sabahs easternmost waters off Lahad Datu, about 10 minutes from the Tawi-Tawi chain of islands in southern Philippines. The hostages were taken from an eight-man Indonesian crew on board the Sabah-registered fishing trawler before heading towards the southern Philippines waters. Security forces under the Eastern Sabah Security Command were alerted to the incident by other fishermen at 1 p.m. on Friday. They then immediately carried out an operation and alerted their Filipino counterparts. Those kidnapped were the trawlers skipper Arsyad Dahlan, 41; La Baa, 32; Riswanto Hayano, 27; Edi Lawalopo, 53; and Syarizal Kastamiran, 29. All the Indonesians were working for a Sandakan-based fishing company. Regional intelligence sources said that the Philippine military was closing in on the gunmen and the hostages. Please register or log in to keep reading. No credit card required! Stay logged in to skip the surveys. San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin last week announced the creation of a diversion program for primary caregiver parents of minors his first policy since being sworn in and one thats personal for the new prosecutor. Boudin is the son of incarcerated parents who were imprisoned when he was an infant. They acted as getaway drivers in a 1981 armored car robbery in upstate New York that left two police officers and a security guard dead. I grew up visiting my parents behind bars, Boudin said in a statement Tuesday announcing the policy. I know the kind of trauma the sudden loss of a parent can have on a child and the kind of resources that are needed to make that child whole again. This is about taking responsibility, protecting the sanctity of the family, and ensuring innocent children are not condemned to repeat the mistakes of their parents. Gov. Gavin Newsom cleared the way for courts to create the new diversion program, which is optional for every county, when he signed SB394 in October. Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, authored the bill to allow diversion for primary caregivers of minor children under certain circumstances, much like the mental health and drug diversion programs already in place in San Francisco. The bills goal was to reduce the physical, emotional and psychological problems that come from a childs separation from a parent, along with the potential for a generational cycle of incarceration. All misdemeanors under the citys new program are eligible for diversion along with felonies that are not serious or violent. A defendant does not qualify if they are accused of committing a crime against the child under their care. The court must also determine the defendant does not pose a risk of danger to public safety. Boudin directed his prosecutors to encourage all eligible defendants to participate in the program. If a defense attorney requests a referral to the program and the defendant is eligible under the statute, prosecutors will not object, said Paula Lehman-Ewing, an office spokeswoman. The policy will suspend criminal proceeding for six to 24 months as a defendant goes through the program, which may include parenting classes, anger management, job training, drug and alcohol treatment, and counseling. If the defendant completes the program successfully, the court will dismiss the criminal charges. Under the statute, only defendants who are the parent or legal guardian of a minor child and who live in the same home and provide care and financial support for the child qualify for the program. Opponents of the law have raised questions about the kinds of crimes that may now qualify for diversion, including misdemeanor domestic violence and sex crimes. The California District Attorneys Association opposed the law and sent a letter to Skinner last year highlighting its potential consequences. A misdemeanor charge of contacting a minor with the intent to commit a sexual offense, for example, requires an offender to register as a sex offender, and future violations carry state prison terms. The new policy was also met with concern from some in the district attorneys office. A source high up in the office, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, is terrified for current and future victims, particularly women and children in abusive homes. Airbnb shooting: Authorities identified two young men killed within 24 hours last week in separate Hayward shootings that marked the citys first two homicides of the year, officials said. In the first killing, Farrarri Johnson, 19, of Oakland was shot and killed last 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. An unknown number of assailants 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 across the country at short-term rental properties 17 fatally in just a six-month period last year. Hayward police spokeswoman Claudia Mau confirmed that the Osage Avenue 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, 21-year-old Hayward resident Garland Scott was shot and killed on the 22000 block of Alice Street. 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, officials said. This appears to be an isolated incident and there is no danger to the general public. Five homicides were recorded last year in Hayward. Snapchat plea: 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 old with force and rape by intoxication or controlled substance, according to San Jose police. Vasquez met the 14-year-old in Capitola on Tuesday, police said. He allegedly gave her drugs, which left her incapacitated, before calling Fremont residents Antonio Quirino Salvador, 34, and Hediberto Gonzalez Avarenga, 31. The three men put the girl in a car against her will, where Vasquez sexually assaulted her, police said. They then drove to E-Z 8 Motel at 1550 N. First St. in San Jose and carried the girl to a second-floor room where Vasquez allegedly sexually assaulted her again. The girl did not know where she was but managed to tell her friends through Snapchat she had been kidnapped, police said. The girls friends tracked her through the app and called 911. Authorities went to the motel Tuesday morning and found the girl inside the room. Vasquez was arrested, and a day later Salvador and Avarenga were taken into custody on suspicion of kidnapping and conspiracy. It was unclear whether any of the men have attorneys. Evan Sernoffsky, Anna Bauman and Alejandro Serrano are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com, anna.bauman@sfchronicle.com, alejandro.serrano@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky, @abauman2, @serrano_alej The Supreme Court in its judgement on Monday explained why it upheld the election of Plateau State governor, Simon Lalong. It held that the constitutional requirements for any person contesting for governor are that, he must be a citizen of Nigeria, must have attained the age of 35, must belong to a political party and must have at least a primary school certificate. Justice Galinje said Mr Lalong has satisfied all these requirements by law. The court further added that, the appellants failed to prove that the election was not conducted in substantial compliance with the electoral act. On the whole, this appeal fails and it is dismissed by law, the court ruled. Lower courts The Court of Appeal in Jos on November 29 affirmed the reelection of Mr Lalong of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as Governor of Plateau State. In a unanimous decision read by Justice O.A. Otisi, the court dismissed the appeal by Jeremiah Useni of the Peoples Democratic Party and upheld the judgment of the Plateau State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal which had validated Mr Lalongs victory in the March governorship election. The appellate court also held that Mr Lalong had the educational qualification to contest in the election. Mr Useni, a former senator, had challenged the declaration of Mr Lalong as the winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) The PDP candidate had in his petition alleged that the election was not conducted in compliance with the Electoral Act and was also marred by corrupt practices. He also said Mr Lalong lied on oath while submitting his form CF001 to INEC. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal and awarded N200,000 as cost to be paid to the respondents. Muhammad Nami, executive chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), has approved the redeployment of top directors in the a... Muhammad Nami, executive chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), has approved the redeployment of top directors in the agency. TheCable reports that at least 50 directors, deputy directors, assistant directors and over 100 other staff of the agency were affected in the major shake-up. The transfers, it was gathered, was a means of shaping the agency along the lines Mani believes could fetch the N8.5 trillion target for 2020. While some of the directors were said to have moved up in relevance and ranking, a senior official was sent out of the agency while a new director also joined the service. A director, who recently retired from the service, said the move is also a means of placing Manis own ministers at strategic positions so he could move very fast. Affected were Cyriacus Ekechi, the erstwhile coordinating director of compliance enforcement group, who became the transition lead of compliance support group; Aishiekh Maidugu, director, planning reporting and statistics, who is now special assistant on special duties to the executive chairman; Femi Oluwaniyi, director debt management, who is now transition lead, domestic taxes group. Others are Kudu Mohammed, assistant director, project management office (e-services), who is now special advisor to the executive chairman a position said to have been occupied by Abiodun Aina, former acting chairman, who is now coordinating director, domestic taxes group and Abdullahi Ismaila, special assistant on service and communication to the FIRS chairman. A circular dated December 31, 2019, signed by Victor Ekundayo, director of human capital management department, said the five along with the executive chairman will constitute the interim management team. Ekundayo has, however, been moved to the career and skills development department. Innocent Ohagwa of the special tax audit, Lagos, replaced Ekundayo; Gbolaga Oshiga, formerly of Abia, Ebonyi, Enugu, was moved to revenue house Abuja as director of tax audit; while Mohammed Abubakar, former coordinating director of tax appeal tribunal is now secretary, joint tax board (JTB). Oseni Elamah, former secretary of JTB and former chairman of Edo state internal revenue service, got no alternative posting. Sanni Dahiru, an assistant director at the state coordinators office in charge of Kogi, FCT and Nasarawa replaced Mohammed Abubakar. Pam Davou, director and state coordinator in charge of Kano, Katsina and Jigawa states, was asked to come in as director of collections at the headquarters. Fowler: Former chairman of the agency Najim Ajila, the former director of audit replaced Oluwaniyi in debt collection, while Joel Ogohi, a deputy director replaced Oshiga as state coordinator for Abia, Ebonyi, Enugu states. Others moved include David Ogedemgbe, head large tax audit, who is now state coordinator, Lagos Island; Shetimma Tamadi, a deputy director from the office of the state coordinator, Benue Kaduna and Niger, and now state coordinator for the three states; Lucky Chukwu, a deputy director, head oil and gas (downstream) is now head, large tax audit. Umar Galadanchi of large tax office, Kano, is the new state coordinator of Kano, Jigawa and Katsina; Muazu Garba, assistant director of training school, is the new coordinator for oil and gas (downstream); Etsu Madami, state coordinator for Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara moved to Borno, Plateau, Bauchi and Yobe in the same position; Peter Alfred, assistant director, large tax office in Lagos, is now head special tax audit; Yerima Silas, assistant director, large tax office Lagos (non-oil) moved to Kano to head the large tax audit office. Four other managers were also moved. Adebayo Kayode, director of investigations, was moved to special investigations department; while Idris Ndanusa, a fresh director, was hired and posted to internal affairs department. Chukwuemeka Obiagwu, formerly of enforcement department is now in the enforcement unit, office of the executive chairman. Ozavize Winfrul, a deputy director of the compliance unit in the chairmans office, has moved to compliance research. Simon Kato, a deputy director and special assistant, office of the chairman moved to domestic taxes group. Odekunle Oluwatoyin, an assistant director and former chief of staff to the former executive chairman, was transferred to enforcement unit in the office of the transition lead enforcement and compliance group while Maupatin Olatundun, former special adviser to the executive chairman was moved to tax audit department. Olufemi Akinfala, former head, research and development department was moved to planning research and statistics department. The incumbent FIRS chairman Oyebanji Matthew, deputy director of special tax audit, Lagos, became tax controller oil and gas; Muazu Garba, an assistant director, tax controller oil and gas (downstream) was moved to tax investigation department. Orebanjo Adebola, an assistant director at relationship management unit, Lagos, was moved to large tax office, non oil, and Aniko Emmanuel was also moved to large tax oil and gas. Two other assistant directors, Oluwa Badmus and Oluola Adedayo were moved from relationship management unit to state coordinators office, while most staff of the relationship management unit said to be a creation of Tunde Fowler, former chairman, were also transferred. An assistant director confirmed that more transfers and movements will come as Mani strengthens his hold on the FIRS. These transfers are normal. When Fowler also came, he moved people on a continuous basis until he was comfortable to do the job, the assistant director said. And let me tell you, in the FIRS that I know, anyone who has spent four years in an office could be transferred. Its in black and white. And the staff know. The new chairman is eager for results. And as you can see, his focus is tax, tax, tax and anything that could assist him to realise the 2020 target. Hon. Prince Ned Nwoko has received an awesome reception from Nigerians who clouded the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport to historically welcome the first Nigerian and African to visit the Antarctica. Hon. Ned Nwoko who as the Founder of Prince Ned Nwoko Foundation and convener of the Malaria Eradication Project in Africa, has returned from his Antarctica Expedition with resolute determination to end the scourge of malaria in Africa. Speaking to Journalists on his arrival to Nigeria, Hon. Ned described his trip to the Antarctica as a lead that will enhance the malaria eradication project in Nigeria. He also stated that his experience earned him the resolved determination to kick-out Malaria from Nigeria and other nations facing similar challenges in Africa. Nwoko arrived Nigeria in the company of his Wife, Actress Regina Daniels Nwoko, mother in-law Rita Daniels and volunteers of the malaria eradication project in Africa. He was first received and honoured by the Anioma Community in Capetown and later met with US TV Host Steve Harley to discuss collaborations and strategic roadsmaps for eliminating Malaria from Africa. Before his return to Nigeria, Hon. Ned Nwoko was also hosted to an exclusive interview by famous Veteran Journalist and presenter, Peter Ndoro on his Prime Time Network Program on Africa's biggest television station "SABC TV", where Prince Nwoko highlighted some of his visionary engagements as regards prospective roadsmaps for eradicating the killer disease in Africa. However the former House of Representative member haven arrived Nigeria told journalists that the Antarctica was the most coldest continent in the world with just about 5,000 resident research Scientists. He noted that there was only 12 flags of nations in the Antarctica who have recorded their presence in the south pole, but today the Nigeria flag is placed high as the 13th nation's flag hoisted in the Antarctica by Prince Ned Nwoko. With his trip to the Antarctica and other activities in-view of eradicating the scourge of malaria in Africa, Prince Ned Nwoko is therefore ready and would stop at nothing to ensure a permanent solution to the parasitic problem. His foundation will be funding 5 universities across African nations to support researches for vaccines as a long term plan for eradicating malaria. He is also working with international partners and the federal government on plans to kick-start the fumigation of Nigeria environments. Nigerians had come out in different groups and as individuals to appreciate his visionary mandate in making significant impact in humanity. Tonga is a country located in Polynesia, and it is an archipelago made up of about 169 Islands out of which only 36 are inhabited. The country covers a land area 290 square miles and all the islands are scattered covering an area of 270,000 square miles in the Southern part of the Pacific Ocean. Tonga is home to 100,651 inhabitants, and 70% of the population lives on the main island of Tongatapu. The nearest neighboring island nations include Fiji, Samoa, Niue, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna, which is a French territory, New Caledonia, and Kermadec, which is part of New Zealand. The economy of Tonga is characterized by a huge non-monetary sector which relies heavily on remittance from its population; half of whom live abroad, particularly in Australia, New Zealand, and the US. The royal family and other nobles are the largest owners of the monetary sector in the country, especially the telecommunication and satellite services. In 2008, Tonga was listed by Forbes Magazine as the world's 6th most corrupt country and in 2011, and the country was ranked as the 165th nation with the safest environment for investment in the whole world. According to the estimates in 2012, the country had a GDP of $85 million and GDP per capita of $7,500. In 2012, the GDP growth rate in Tonga was estimated at 1.4%, and agriculture was the main contributor to the country's GDP accounting for 20.4%, while manufacturing accounted for 18.6%. Agriculture Agriculture in Tonga plays a critical role in the economy, and it is a major employer as well as the leading earner of foreign exchange. In the rural part of the country, subsistence agriculture is the most common and widespread practice. Some of the cultural crops cultivated for the local market and home consumption include coconuts, bananas, beans, coffee, potatoes, taro, and cassava. Root crops are the most common on the island, and about two-thirds of the arable land as of 2001 was under root crops. Keeping livestock is also common in Tonga and particularly the keeping of poultry and pigs. Beef imports in the country have been declining because there has been an increase in the keeping of cattle. The feudal land ownership system in the country has discouraged farmers from growing long term tree crops because they did not own the land. By the end of the 20th-century large-scale plantation of vanilla, lava, and squash became some of the leading crops particularly, for exports. At the beginning of 1987, exports of squash particularity to Japan brought some relief to the struggling economy, but the local farmers became increasingly wary of the price fluctuations in the Japanese market. By 2010, agriculture, together with forestry and fisheries, accounted for 20% of the GDP. Manufacturing The manufacturing industry in Tonga is relatively underdeveloped, and they are mainly related to timber processing and food processing, primarily for the local market. Special trade agreement between Tonga and Australia and New Zealand through SPARTECA, allows Tonga to export manufactured items free of duty, and few items have successfully established market such as woolen items and other products produced at home or in small factories. Most of the advantages of the trade agreement have significantly fallen as a result of the liberalization, which led to the opening up of Australia and New Zealand to markets of cheaper items from Asia. Processing of coconut into cobra was at one point the most important industry in Tonga, but the falling prices in the international market and lack of replanting of coconut trees brought down the once most vibrant industry, not only in Tonga but in other neighboring countries in South Pacific. The most important manufacturing items in the country are made up of the handicrafts and other small scale industries, and they account for about 3% of the GDP. Plans are underway by the government to grow the private sector, to upgrade agricultural productivity, to develop tourism, to revitalize squash industries, and to improve transport and communication. Tourism The tourism industry in Tonga is still underdeveloped, and the government has recognized its potential and the impact it would have on the economy if the industry is fully tapped. There are numerous cruise ships that often dock at Vavau, which is a famous whale watching site as well as a game fishing location. Tonga is an upcoming tourist market in South Pacific because it has beautiful landscapes with active volcanoes as well as a fantastic tropical rainforest. There are also beautiful coral atolls, pristine coral reefs, and beautiful beaches with unique flora and fauna which can attract tourists from different parts of the world. Activities such as surfing, scuba diving, whale watching, snorkeling, fishing, camping, hiking, kayaking, sailing, and horse riding among other activities are some of the potential activities which can be developed in Tonga to attract tourists. Mining Currently, there is no mining carried onshore in Tonga, but different minerals have been found offshore which has attracted different international companies. In the past, different companies have been granted licenses to explore minerals in the country, and they include the Korean Oceanographic Research Development Institute and Bluewater Metals Pty Ltd. The country for a long time has been involved in the Pacific Deep Sea Mineral Project which receives funds from the European Union and managed by SOPAC, which helps the communities in the Pacific to manage deep-sea mineral reserves. Different companies have carried out mineral exploration of the deep sea in 2008, which led to the discovery of several seafloor sulfide systems with sizable deposits of Zinc. In 2012, Tonga offshore mining together with the International Seabed Authority signed an agreement to explore polymetallic minerals in the deep sea and the contract was to run for 15 years. So far, exploration has led to the identification of at least 19 locations with high prospective sites, which means further evaluation is needed. Out of this, 18 locations are within the vicinity of North East Lau Basin close to Niuas, while the other 11 are found near the Valu Fa ridge close to the island of Tongatapu. Quarrying is also carried out throughout the country, which includes the production of crushed rocks utilized in building and construction as well as a source of aggregate materials. Challenges Facing Tonga Most agricultural practices in the country have exhausted soil fertility while the forest cover has declined significantly because of the demand for agricultural land. Several attempts for reforestation have not succeeded in the past. Water pollution in the country has become a huge problem as a result of salinization and toxic chemicals from farms and sewers. The island nation of Tonga is also vulnerable to natural disasters such as flooding, cyclones, drought, and earthquakes. The government has come up with a water master plan to address the country's water resources in the next 20 years, and the national development plan is a comprehensive plan trying to address all the environmental problems in the country. DUBLIN, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Zephyrus Aviation Capital ("Zephyrus") announced today that it has closed on a $350 million warehouse finance facility, with Deutsche Bank AG, New York Branch, acting as the sole structuring agent and lead arranger, with aircraft scheduled to be placed into the facility in the coming days and weeks. This is the first warehouse facility for Zephyrus and follows the successful launch of the company's highly acclaimed ZCAP 2018-1 ABS facility a little over a year ago. The closing also comes on the heels of a year in which the organization undertook significant growth and expansion. "After the success of our initial ABS, it was a pleasure to once again work with Deutsche Bank and our other partners on this warehouse facility, as this continuity allows us to more efficiently execute our business growth and development plans. This new facility, coupled with our highly skilled team and existing equity, will enable us to be even more responsive in providing solutions in the mid- to late-life aircraft market," said Zephyrus President and CEO, Damon J. D'Agostino. Richard Moody, Head of Global Transportation Finance at Deutsche Bank, commented, "We are extremely pleased to have assisted Zephyrus on this milestone warehouse financing. Zephyrus continues to grow, and this facility will aid them in taking advantage of market opportunities." "We have continued to work closely with Zephyrus since their formation and are proud to continue offering solutions to their expanding needs," added Michael Halaby, Head of Aviation Debt Origination at Deutsche Bank. Working closely with Deutsche Bank, the parties were able to craft a facility that is specially designed for mid- to older-life aircraft and the unique financing opportunities that they present. UMB Bank, N.A. will act as facility agent and security trustee under the warehouse, and Canyon CTS will serve as managing agent. VedderPrice advised Zephyrus and the borrowers, Clifford Chance advised Deutsche Bank, A&L Goodbody acted as Irish counsel, and Maples and Calder acted as Cayman Islands counsel. ABOUT ZEPHYRUS AVIATION CAPITAL Launched in 2018, Zephyrus is led by a highly-skilled executive team and backed by Virgo Investment Group, a private investment firm based in the San Francisco Bay area. Zephyrus is an aircraft and engine leasing and trading company led by a team of industry veterans and focused on aircraft which are in the mid to mature stage of their lifecycle. Utilizing strong industry relationships, leveraging a proven industry track record of transactional success, and employing innovative strategies, Zephyrus is a fleet management solutions provider with a customer-centric approach that creates value for all stakeholders. Zephyrus' in-depth knowledge of aviation assets, coupled with industry-leading partnerships, allows for innovative solutions across the aviation industry. For more information, visit www.zacap.aero. SOURCE Zephyrus Aviation Capital Credit: CC0 Public Domain he treatment and management of pain in people with Alzheimer's disease (AD) can be a challenge due to problems in communication and uncommon symptoms of pain. Opioid painkillers are widely prescribed, but not without adverse effects. Finding the best course of treatment to alleviate pain in people with Alzheimer's disease is a complex and multifaceted issue. One recent contribution to increasing our understanding of the big picture around AD, pain and painkillers is a Ph.D. thesis by Researcher Aleksi Hamina, MSc (Pharm.), at the University of Eastern Finland. Using data from nationwide health care registers, he has studied the use of opioids and other painkillers in more than 70,000 people diagnosed with AD in Finland. "Treating pain in older adults is a massively important issue, which will become even more important in the near future. Analgesics are very widely used, but the evidence on their harms and benefits is not as strong as we would hope for. This goes even more for people with cognitive disorders, such as AD, and there really isn't enough research on how and which analgesics are being used," Hamina says. Many faces of pain Pain is commonly reported by older people regardless of whether they have Alzheimer's or not. However, AD makes things more complicated, as there are frequent problems in communication and people may express their pain through behavioral and psychiatric symptoms. Indeed, antipsychotics, anti-anxiety drugs and sleep-inducing drugs are often prescribed to people with AD, sometimes in response to their symptoms of pain. "We found that when people with AD were prescribed an opioid analgesic, use of antipsychotics and benzodiazepine drugs began to decrease. This could indicate better management of their pain, although it is impossible to know for certain from the data we used," Hamina points out. Use of opioids is common and often long-term People with Alzheimer's disease are prescribed an opioid almost as frequently as people without AD. There are, however, differences in how opioids are used. Pills are often replaced by opioid skin patches, whose effect can last up to several days. Long-term use is also common in people with AD: once an opioid is started, more than 30% continue using them for six months or more. "Long-term use of opioids can be problematic, as adverse effects may occur. In any case, regular assessment of pain and opioid use is important in all patients, those with and without cognitive disorders alike," Hamina says. Opioid painkillers increase pneumonia risk While opioids may alleviate pain and other possible pain induced symptoms in people with AD, they also increase the risk of pneumonia by around 30%. Strong opioids such as oxycodone and fentanyl increase the risk most, but an increased risk was also found among those using buprenorphine, tramadol or codeine. "Opioids weaken the cough reflex and increase sedation, possibly explaining the increased risk of pneumonia," Hamina says. Treating pain in older people with drugs, especially long-term, is always a balancing act. "On one hand, pain should be treated, but on the other hand, all drugs have adverse effects. Non-pharmacological methods should be preferred and also facilitated on a system level. If opioids are used, low initial doses and careful monitoring should follow. Research should focus on investigating the safest and most effective ways of treating pain in individuals with cognitive disorders," Hamina concludes. Aleksi Hamina's Ph.D. thesis, Analgesic use and outcomes associated with incident opioid usethe medication use and Alzheimer's disease study, will be examined at the University of Eastern Finland on 24 January 2020. The findings presented in the Ph.D. thesis have been published as original articles in European Journal of Pain, PAIN, International Psychogeriatrics and Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. Explore further Strong painkillers increase the risk of hip fracture among persons with Alzheimer's disease Advertisement Staring into each other's eyes, Brad Pitt and ex-wife Jennifer Aniston enjoyed an emotional reunion backstage as they congratulated each other for winning Screen Actors Guild awards in Los Angeles on Sunday - just moments after Pitt had trashed his other ex-wife, Angelina Jolie. Joking about being single as Aniston, 50, watched on from the floor, Pitt, 56, said he would add the picture of him collecting the award to his Tinder profile as he collected the award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. He had already watched in awe as Aniston collected an award for her role on The Morning Show, her Apple TV hit with Reese Witherspoon. As he gazed at a TV airing her acceptance speech, he said: 'Oh wow,' and stopped in his tracks to listen to her. The pair were later photographed clasping hands, Brad gently grabbing her wrist as she walked away. Another photo showed Aniston gently touching Pitts chest. During Pitts acceptance remarks, Aniston could be seen smiling - even when Pitt poked fun at Jolie, 44, the woman widely credited with breaking up their five-year marriage. 'Let's be honest. It was a difficult part,' Pitt said. 'A guy who gets high, takes his shirt off and doesn't get on with his wife. It was a big stretch,' he added. Brad Pitt (left) and ex-wife Jennifer Aniston (right) share a moment backstage at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on Sunday The former spouses congratulated each other for winning awards at the ceremony. Aniston gently placed her hand on Pitt's chest as the two parted Pitt momentarily grasps his ex-wife's left hand as she walks away. Several onlookers were there to witness the moment Pitt split from Aniston in 2005 after he had an affair with Jolie which has long been rumored to have begun on the set of Mr and Mrs Smith. He went on to marry the Tomb Raider actress in 2014 after they had welcomed five children via adoption and some biologically, but they split in 2016, and the couple finally divorced last year. The exes have remained friends and have been supportive of each other in recent years, with Pitt attending Anistons 50th birthday bash in February 2019. Collecting her own award, Aniston said it was therapeutic to play her character on the Morning Show - an ageing morning TV show host who is worried about being replaced and trying to avoid it at any cost. Collecting her award, Aniston thanked her The Morning Show co-star Reese Witherspoon, saying: 'I love you, girl. It took 20 years, but we did it.' The former Friends star continued: 'You know, I was thinking back to when I was a little girl...I would tape Laverne & Shirley, Happy Days, and others. I would listen to them. I would think one day I am going to do that.' Aniston smiled as she and Pitt congratulated each other backstage at the award show on Sunday in Los Angeles Aniston appeared as if she could hardly contain her joy as she and her former spouse exchanged pleasantries The assembled media and other onlookers were happy to catch a glimpse of the former power couple on Sunday Pitt embraces his ex-wife Jennifer while holding his award Sunday at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles Aniston tenderly places her hands on her ex-husband's arms while congratulating him backstage on Sunday Incredible: Brad could not tear his eyes away from his ex-wife Jennifer Aniston as she accepted her award for Best Female Actor at Sunday's SAG Awards Pitt flashes a smile during his acceptance speech after winning the best supporting actor award at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday 'I have to add this to my Tinder profile,' the actor quipped as he held the statue for his work on Tarantino's Once Upon A Time in Hollywood Aniston applauded and looked on approvingly during his acceptance speech on Sunday The former spouses, both of whom are reportedly single, appear to be supportive of one another The camera panned to Aniston after Pitt's joke about not getting along with his wife. Aniston would eventually be announced as the winner of an award for best actress in a drama series Wow factor: Jennifer Aniston earned a shock win in the Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series Pitt is seen watching Aniston give her acceptance speech on a television screen backstage Another look at Brad Pitt watching Jennifer Aniston winning her statue for #TheMorningShow at the #SAGAwards pic.twitter.com/Wg6vQm8Q1z The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) January 20, 2020 Receiving his award, Pitt mocked Tarantino's famous foot fetish, saying the director had 'separated more women from their shoes and the TSA' and thanked his co-stars from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, 'Leo [DiCaprio], Margot Robbie, Margot Robbie's feet.' Pitt continued: 'Listen, I love our community so much. It has been amazing to me. 'I have met so many amazing people along the way. Each of us in this room, you know, we know pain, we know loneliness. We bring that to the screen. Brad and Jennifer's romance: A timeline 1998: The couple go on their first date after being set up by their agents 1999: The duo make their public debut on the red carpet AT the Emmy Awards 2000: Brad and Jennifer tie the knot in an incredible Malibu ceremony 2001: The actor makes his now legendary Friends cameo 2003: In cryptic interview, Jennifer muses: 'Is he the love of my life? I mean, I dont know' 2004: Brad meets Angelina Jolie while they were filming Mr And Mrs Smith, where they fall in love 2005: Jennifer and Brad split 2014: Angelina and Brad wed 2015: Jennifer marries Justin Theroux 2016: Brad splits from Angelina 2018: Jennifer and Justin split 2019: Brad and Jennifer attend the same Golden Globes after-party before their sweet reunion at the SAGs Advertisement 'We know moments of grace. We have had moments of wisdom. We bring that to the screen. 'We have all had a laugh at our ridiculousness. We know funny, and we bring that to the screen. And I think that is a worthy endeavor.' Pitt concluded his speech by saying: 'I have been banging away at this thing for 30 years. 'I think the simple math is some projects work, and some don't, and there is no reason to belabor either one. 'Just get on to the next and keep telling stories. Thank you for this. 'My love and respect. Enjoy the evening, because tomorrow it is back to work.' When asked backstage why he made his speech so personal, Pitt said: 'You gotta make it personal, or it's not grounded. It doesn't land. 'I make everything personalto a fault.' Before the ceremony, Pitt was asked by Entertainment Tonight about possibly bumping into his ex-wife. 'Ill run into Jen, shes a good friend. Yeah,' Pitt told ET. When Pitt was told that the world wanted to see a photo of them together at the event, he joked: 'The second most important reunion of her year? I understand. That was a play on Friends.' 'They were saying that.' Pitt was referring to Aniston, Christina Applegate, and Reese Witherspoon, all of whom were at the awards show and who played sisters on the long-running NBC sitcom. Aniston was also asked about fans hoping for a reconciliation between the former lovebirds. 'It's hysterical,' Aniston, who recently divorced from second husband Justin Theroux, said. 'But what else are they going to talk about?' Aniston posed with her award after her acceptance speech on Sunday at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles On January 5, Pitt and Aniston were photographed just a few feet away from each other at the Golden Globe Awards. When asked about his ex-wife, Pitt said she was 'a good friend' while walking the red carpet. But Pitt and his former spouse only exchanged greetings at an awards show after party, TMZ reported. The movie stars don't have anything romantic going on between them and don't spend time with each other outside of Hollywood events and parties like the Globes, the outlet revealed. TMZ said that they have a lot of mutual friends in the business and sometimes cross paths because they are often invited to the same parties. Besides the Hollywood parties, the former married couple do not spend time with each other. TMZ added that Brad, who has been seen on a number of occasions spending time with actress pal Alia Shawkat, is 'single.' As Brad arrived at the ceremony on Sunday, he was asked how he felt about potentially running into Jennifer on the red carpet. The way they were: Brad and Jennifer were married from 2000 until 2005; pictured October 19, 2004 in Los Angeles Family: He has six children with Angelina, 44: Maddox, 18, Pax, 16, Zahara, 14, Shiloh, 13, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 11; Angelina pictured with their six children on February 25, 2019 in New York City at The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind screening 'I'll run into Jen, she's a good friend. Yeah,' Brad, 56, told Entertainment Tonight with a smile. Jennifer sat just six feet away from her ex-husband Brad Pitt at the Golden Globes, which were held at The Beverly Hilton Hotel. She was seen cheering him on after he scooped up Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture for his role in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. Jennifer was nominated for Best Performance By An Actress in a Television Series - Drama for The Morning Show; Olivia Colman won for her role in The Crown. Jennifer last attended the Golden Globes in 2003, when she won Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series for her role as Rachel on Friends. Details about NVIDIA's upcoming Ampere GPUs have leaked online, and it looks like we may in for a treat this year. We are getting to know a few hardware specs about two Ampere GPUs GA103 and GA104, which could eventually be designated the RTX 3080 and RTX 3070, respectively. GA103 seems to offer a significantly higher CUDA core count and memory bandwidth compared to the RTX 2080 Super. The leak also seems to indicate that there is ample room for a GA102 RTX 3080 Ti, which could turn out to be a monster of a card. 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 NVIDIA is expected to launch new GPUs based on the Ampere architecture later this year, possibly even earlier during GTC 2020 in March. While details about the NVIDIA Ampere family are still largely speculative at this point, Chinese site MyDrivers is reporting the existence of two Ampere GPUs GA103 and GA104. GA103, which is purported to be the RTX 3080, is said to sport 3,840 CUDA cores, 60 streaming multiprocessors (SMs), a 320-bit memory bus, and a 10/20 GB GDDR6 memory. The GA104, on the other hand, will feature 3,072 CUDA cores, 48 SMs, a 256-bit memory bus, and 8/16 GB GDDR6 VRAM. The Ampere generation will support PCIe Gen4 and will be fabbed on a 7nm process most likely from TSMC, but we have also seen reports of Samsung offering to do the honors as well at much lower prices. Now that we have the above information, it's time to don the speculation hat. The mention of GA103 is interesting as this is probably the first time we are seeing an xx3 moniker. This indicates that an even more powerful GA102 could be in the offing, and that could very well be the RTX 3080 Ti and consequently, a new Titan RTX. From the given specs, it looks like the RTX 3080 (GA103) could be a sizeable upgrade from the current RTX 2080 Super, which has 3,072 CUDA cores. We may also see higher clock speeds and improved power efficiency thanks to the transition to 7nm, which would make the RTX 3080 a very enticing prospect. The leak indicates that GA103 has a 10/20 GB GDDR6 RAM. In all likelihood, the 10 GB RAM would be for the consumer versions while 20 GB would be limited to the Quadros considering rumors that memory shortage can be expected due to growth in demand for consoles. That being said, NVIDIA could still cram in 20 GB memory in a consumer card so your guess as good as ours at this point. Assuming at least 16 Gbps of memory speed, expect GA103 to sport a 640 GB/s memory bandwidth, which is a large bump from the RTX 2080 Super's bandwidth of 448 GB/s. The RTX 3070 (GA104) looks to take the RTX 2080 Super's place with similar specs of the latter, but there's a good possibility of increased memory bandwidth up to 512 GB/s. The more important take-home message from this leak is that there is still a lot of scope left for the RTX 3080 Ti to emerge as an unbeatable flagship. Word on the street is that Ampere could offer up to a 50% performance improvement over Turing with improved RTX and compute abilities. All this means that AMD could be in hot soup once again. We have to wait till Big Navi launches during Computex 2020 to see what value AMD would bring to consumers. Mandy Moore is on the mend physically and emotionally after a nasty bout of food poisoning abruptly ended her trip to Ecuador. The This Is Us star revealed on Instagram Friday that she and her husband Taylor Goldsmith were forced to cancel nearly the entire trip and fly home after getting sick. Sometimes things dont go according to plan. For someone slightly type A (like myself), its challenging not drive myself absolutely crazy when things veer in a different direction, she admitted. I love an end of year lesson (one that Ive encountered a million times before and will again, btw). Wasnt meant to be. Wed planned this extraordinary trip to hike Cotapaxi in Ecuador with my favorite friend and guide @melissaarnot, when T and I both got knocked out simultaneously with a major bout of food poisoning (on Day 2) and couldnt continue on the trip, she continued. We just wouldnt be able to catch up on hydration, nutrition and rest to complete any more acclimatization hikes before our summit push. In any casewe made the tough call to travel home (wow that wasnt fun lol) and got back yesterday, she added. We showered and crawled into bed shells of ourselves but quickly had the kitties/dogs by our side and our own Mountain View out the window to enjoy. RELATED: Mandy Moore Celebrates 1-Year Wedding Anniversary with Taylor Goldsmith I Am the Luckiest Story continues Reflecting on the unfortunate experience, Moore, 35, managed to find a silver lining. I think the Universe must have wanted us to slow down and just savor some time at home. And we shall, she said. And she made sure to thank her friend and guide Melissa Reid for taking care of them. Thank you again to @melissaarnot for being the best teacher/nurse/caretaker/non-judgmental friend she brought us meds and crackers and fluids and made us laugh after witnessing some truly horrible things, she added. We [love] you so much, Melissa! Ok off to binge some tv with [cats] in my lap. Hope everyone is having a happy and healthy holiday break!! XO Moore also reposted a few of Reids posts on her own Instagram Story, revealing she and Goldsmith, 34, made it up one peak and then got sick on the way down. Mandy Moore/Instagram RELATED: Mandy Moore Is Going on Tour in 2020 Her First in Over a Decade! Earlier this week, Moore posted a photo with Goldsmith in Quito, Ecuador. Were here! Taking in a cultural (and acclimatization) day in Quito before we embark on to adventures in the [mountains], she wrote. But despite the unfortunate circumstances, the couple is already planning their next trip to the South American country. We can not WAIT to get back to Ecuador, she wrote in her caption on Friday. We absolutely loved our short journey and have already chatted about returning with a more all encompassing look at the whole country. US-based Fluor Corporation, a leading engineering construction company, has achieved a significant milestone on BHPs $3.6 billion South Flank iron ore project in Australia, erecting the first 1,500 tonnes of modules in the ore handling plant. This construction milestone is in the critical sequence to first ore and comes following achievement of 50 per cent project completion, announced by BHP in October 2019. Fluor is providing engineering, procurement and construction management services on South Flank, which is located in the remote Pilbara region of Western Australia, said a statement. When operational, South Flank will be one of the largest iron ore processing hubs in the world. The project will include an 80-million-tonne-per-year crushing and screening plant, an overland conveyor system and rail-loading facilities. South Flank engineering and procurement work is being performed from BHP's office in Perth, with Fluor working together with BHP as an integrated project team. Tony Morgan, president of Fluors Mining and Metals business, said: We are extremely proud of what we have been able to accomplish with BHP on this project including our commitment to achieve diversity through the hiring of indigenous and local team members. The pioneering integrated team approach on this project is truly a collaborative effort. We look forward to continuing our long and successful relationship with BHP on this project and beyond, he said. The project team has worked extremely hard to get the project to this position, said Richard Gerspacher, project director. Based on the project routines and culture we've created, I am confident that the project will continue to proceed in a positive manner as we work towards first ore. Fluor previously performed the feasibility study for the project before it was awarded the follow-on construction and project management scope. Over the life of the project, it is expected that more than 9,000 people will be engaged in the South Flank work force. Construction began in July 2018, and first production of iron ore is anticipated in 2021. TradeArabia News Service Climate change pushing Australia's platypus towards extinction: researchers Sydney, Jan 20 (AFP) Jan 20, 2020 Prolonged drought and other effects of climate change are pushing Australia's unique platypus population towards extinction, scientists warned in a study published Monday. The river-dwelling animal has already disappeared from up to 40 percent of its historical range on Australia's east coast due to the drought, land clearing, pollution and building of dams, which fragment their habitat, the researchers said. They predicted that if the current threats persist, platypus numbers will fall another 47-66 percent over the next 50 years. If projections about worsening climate change are taken into account, the numbers of the duck-billed, egg-laying mammal could plummet up to 73 percent by 2070, they wrote. The platypus is listed as "near threatened" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. But the scientists from the University of New South Wales' Centre for Ecosystem Science said damage to river systems caused by years of little rainfall and high temperatures had worsened prospects for the animal. "These dangers further expose the platypus to even worse local extinctions, with no capacity to repopulate areas," said Gilad Bino, lead author of the study. The scientists said there is an "urgent need" for a national risk assessment to determine if the platypus should be downgraded to "vulnerable" status and to lay out conservation steps "to minimise any risk of extinction". The study is the first across all platypus habitat zones to establish a so-called "metapopulation" model while also projecting the impacts of climate change on the species going forward. The survey estimated the total platypus population had fallen by 50 percent since European settlement of the continent two centuries ago. An earlier study published in November 2018 estimated the population had fallen by 30 percent over that period, to around 200,000. "Under predicted climate change, the losses forecast were far greater because of increases in extreme drought frequencies and duration, such as the current dry spell," Bino said of the latest report. The new study comes as unprecedented bushfires ravage vast areas of eastern Australia, fuelled by the drought and record-high temperatures. The platypus, which along with four species of echidna are the only mammals that lay eggs, is one of the world's strangest animals, with the bill of a duck, tail of a beaver, otter-like feet and a venomous spur on its hind leg. Wuhan virus preventable, controllable: commission Global Times By Hu Yuwei and Xu Keyue Source:Global Times Published: 2020/1/19 23:23:40 Open sources, prevention tips urged amid public anxiety over mysterious coronavirus The National Health Commission (NHC) said Sunday that the pneumonia in Wuhan, capital of Central China's Hubei Province, caused by a new type of coronavirus was still "preventable and controllable," as public voices called for more open and transparent information amid anxiety of expanding transmission during the Spring Festival travel rush. Chinese observers noted although the source and transmission route of the epidemic was not yet fully understood, the government has proposed many preventative measures and China's notification mechanism for epidemic prevention and control has greatly improved especially since the 2003 SARS outbreak. A total of 3 billion trips are forecast to be made during the 40-day Chinese Spring Festival rush. How to control and prevent the spread of the coronavirus in Wuhan, a dense transportation hub and international metropolis with nearly 10 million people, constitutes a test for the city's authorities who earlier on Sunday said they could not rule out the possibility of limited human-to-human transmission. Sixty-two people are confirmed sick, eight seriously, in Wuhan. Two people have died from the virus. New cases peaked Friday, with 17 more and four new cases were reported a day earlier. Chinese experts stressed that local medical systems and governments should provide timely public updates, respond to queries and break down rumors through open, reliable data. Concealing the epidemic, like with the earlier period of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2002, risked causing a crisis in public confidence. Speculation on the outbreak has begun building on Chinese social media ahead of the festival travel rush. If a government tried to cover up the new cases to "not spoil the atmosphere of the Spring Festival," it would ultimately cause a disastrous blow to its credibility and also trigger a doubling of social panic, they warned. Strengthened measures Wuhan has monitored the close contacts of those infected and temperature detection is being conducted in airports and train stations, Wuhan authorities said on Sunday. Working groups have been sent to all provinces of China to guide prevention and control of pneumonia caused by the new coronavirus, the NHC announced on Sunday night. The Wuhan coronavirus-related cases have been confirmed in Thailand and Japan. Ninety suspected cases have been reported in Hong Kong. Vietnam and Singapore have discovered suspected cases too, arousing concerns that Wuhan could have more cases than reported. The Wuhan virus also coincides with peak season for regular flu and pneumonia, prompting misunderstandings both at home and overseas. The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong Province on Sunday denied rumors that its medical workers may have contracted the new coronavirus. At least two suspected cases have been reported in Shenzhen, Guangdong, and a third in Shanghai, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported on Saturday. The cities' centers for disease control and prevention and the health authorities did not confirm the cases with the Global Times as of press time. Although even having not confirmed the cases, Shanghai authorities said on Sunday that they have sent special working groups and expert teams to formulate emergency measures and make timely plans. They said all medical institutions in the metropolis have comprehensively strengthened allocation of pre-examination triage and fever clinics. The city has increased standardized monitoring, screening, diagnosis, treatment and disposal of suspicious cases to safeguard the health and safety of the public. The National Health Commission said it had strengthened international cooperation and exchanges with WHO, China's Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan regions and other related countries. The coronavirus gene sequence was immediately shared with WHO and the response to the outbreak was "fully recognized" by the organization, the commission said on Sunday. Not SARS The pneumonia in Wuhan echoes the SARS epidemic that shook China and the world in 2002-2003. The SARS virus and the new coronavirus do not share much in terms of medical pathology, but they both damage the lungs, Zhou Zijun, a professor at Peking University's school of public health, told the Global Times on Sunday. But Zhou said the coronavirus in Wuhan appears to be far less serious than the virus that caused the SARS or the Middle East respiratory syndrome, known as MERS. Moreover, the coronavirus was not spreading as rapidly, and the death rate was not as high, he noted. Authorities launched improvements to China's notification mechanism for epidemic prevention and control after SARS, making sure to deploy improved internet communications, Zhou noted. Departments of disease notification and control deliver daily virus updates and closely monitor the virus through internal communications. SARS cases in the early days were concealed and the information was delayed, Zhou said, noting that such delays were unlikely to be repeated this time. It was not simply a matter of discrediting rumors, but a more important task was to strengthen public awareness of prevention, dispel doubts and give the public confidence, said an observer from Beijing, who requested anonymity. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Fine Gael is promising to provide a further seven weeks of paid parental leave should they be returned to office. Speaking at a press briefing in Dublin, ministers Paschal Donohoe, Regina Doherty and Joe McHugh outlined their plans, which they said would make life easier on families. We will provide a further seven weeks for paid parental leave in addition to the existing two weeks parental leave introduced in 2019. This applies to each child per parent, benefiting up to 60,000 parents every year. "This will be in addition to existing maternity and paternity leave, so that by 2025 mothers can avail of 35 paid weeks and fathers 11 paid weeks, Minister Donohoe said. The party is also promising to extend the school hot meals programme so by the end of this year, 42,000 children will get a hot meal every day. In Budget 2020, the Government committed to continue the roll out of this new initiative by providing hot meals to a further 35,000 children in primary schools. We will continue this level of expansion over the next five-years, focusing in the first instance on providing hot meals to the most vulnerable children in our society, they said. They are also promising to introduce a free school books scheme for all primary schools. Mr Donohoe said: We understand the pressures faced by parents jugging responsibilities at home and at work. We have already introduced paid paternity leave, parental leave for both parents and extended unpaid leave. Investment in childcare has increased by 138% over the past five budgets leading to a doubling in capacity and a doubling in the number of children receiving State subsidies. "The consistent poverty rate for children is now at its lowest level since 2008, with the at-risk-of-poverty and the deprivation rate are also falling, he said. But we know this is not enough. Fine Gael in government will do more to make life easier on families and give children the best start in life, he added. Ms Doherty said: We will provide a further seven weeks for paid parental leave for both parents, helping up to 60,000 parents every year to spend more time with their children. We are extending the hot meal scheme so that by the end of 2020 42,000 children will get a hot meal in school every day. We will build on this and continue to extend the scheme to the most vulnerable children in our society, she added. Using special thermometers, bacteria detect whether they are in a warm-blooded host or not. Credit: RUB, Kramer Many bacterial pathogens excrete toxins as soon as they have entered the host in order to suppress its immune response. Researchers at Ruhr-Universitat Bochum (RUB) have analyzed what happens on the molecular level when the diarrhea pathogen Yersinia pseudotuberculosis switches into attack mode. To this end, they examined so-called RNA thermometers, which signal to the bacteria whether they are in the host. In collaboration with colleagues from the Helmholtz Institute for Infection Research in Braunschweig, they also showed that bacteria with deactivated RNA thermometers can no longer trigger an infection. The journal Plos Pathogens reports about the study. RNA thermometer melts at 37 degrees Celcius "We knew from previous studies that Yersinia bacteria are very sensitive to temperature changes and recognize that they are in their host on the basis of body temperature," says Professor Franz Narberhaus from the RUB Chair of Microbial Biology. RNA thermometers are responsible for temperature measurement. They are sections in the messenger RNA of many genes that contain the blueprint for disease-causing proteins. At low temperatures, i.e. outside the host, RNA thermometers prevent the RNA from being read and translated into proteins. Only after successful infection of the warm-blooded host, i.e. at a temperature of around 37 degrees Celsius, do the RNA structures melt. They can then be written into proteins that have a harmful effect on the host. In the current publication, the scientists describe the underlying melting mechanism of the RNA thermometer for one of the toxins of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, namely the CnfY-Toxin. Bacteria with non-functional thermometers do not cause illness Christian Twittenhoff (right) and Franz Narberhaus have created a model that shows how the RNA thermometer melts. Credit: RUB, Kramer Ph.D. student Christian Twittenhoff from Bochum used isolated cell components of the diarrhea pathogen to show which structure the RNA thermometer for the CnfY toxin assumes and where it melts. The biologist created a model that documents how the thermometer opens. It also shows how the ribosomethe cell component on which the messenger RNA is translated into a proteindocks to the messenger RNA. In cooperation with the group headed by Professor Petra Dersch, formerly at Helmholtz Institute in Braunschweig, currently at the University of Munster, the researchers moreover demonstrated the role of the RNA thermometer in the disease process. They infected mice with Yersinia bacteria that either had functioning RNA thermometers or inactivated RNA thermometers that could not melt at 37 degrees Celsius. The bacterial strains with modified RNA thermometers were not able to make mice ill. "The results have shown how important very short regulatory RNA sequences can be for the successful course of infection of a bacterium," concludes Christian Twittenhoff, lead author of the study. Similar mechanisms suspected in other bacteria Christian Twittenhoff compared the gene of the CnfY toxin with toxin genes of other pathogens using bioinformatic methods. The analysis suggests that other toxin genes might also be regulated by RNA thermometers. "Even though the sequences are very different, we are able to predict which RNA structures are likely to act as thermometers," he explains. "RNA thermometers function via a very simple mechanism, which has probably proved its efficacy in the course of evolution and has therefore developed many times and independently of each other," assumes Franz Narberhaus. In principle, it is possible to prevent bacterial infection by preventing the melting of such RNA structures. "However, we don't yet know any substances that freeze RNA thermometers in the closed state," continues Narberhaus. The diarrhea pathogen Yersinia pseudotuberculosis is closely related to the plague pathogen Yersinia pestis. The bacterium is transmitted via contaminated food. As soon as it arrives in the intestine of the warm-blooded host, it secretes the so-called CnfY toxin, which triggers acute inflammatory reactions and increases the effect of other pathogenic substances. Explore further Diarrhoeal pathogen measures human body temperature with RNA thermometer More information: Christian Twittenhoff et al. An RNA thermometer dictates production of a secreted bacterial toxin, PLOS Pathogens (2020). Journal information: PLoS Pathogens Christian Twittenhoff et al. An RNA thermometer dictates production of a secreted bacterial toxin,(2020). DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1008184 Provided by Ruhr-Universitat Bochum No NPR in the state but census will continue, Kerala government informs Centre India oi-PTI Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 20: The Left front government in Kerala on Monday decided to inform the Centre it would not cooperate with the updation of the NPR, saying there were fears among the public about the process and it has the "Constitutional responsibility" to alleviate them and ensure law and order. A special cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan here, decided to inform the Registrar General and Census Commissioner under the Union Home Ministry that it was unable to cooperate with anything with regard to the updation of the NPR. Kerala CM Vijayan writes to 11 Chief Ministers including Mamata, Kejriwal on repealing CAA "The decision was taken as it was the Constitutional responsibility of the government to alleviate the fears of general public and ensure law and order situation in the state," a Chief Minister's Office release said. However, the state would fully cooperate with the census procedures, it said. The LDF government, which has been on a warpath against the Centre over the Citizenship Amendment Act, has last month stayed all activities related to updation of NPR, considering 'apprehensions' of public that it would lead to NRC in the wake of the controversial CAA. "As the NPR is a process that leads to the National Register of Citizens (NRC), there is a sense of fear among the people that its implementation could lead to widespread insecurity", the CMO release said on Monday. The experience of the state which had already compiled the NRC was an example for this, it added, in apparent reference to Assam. Kerala had already stopped all procedures regarding the NPR updation, the release said adding there was also a report of the state police that the if the government went ahead with the procedures, it would adversely impact the law and order situation. The district collectors have also informed the government that the Census procedures would be affected if the updation of the NPR was done along with it, the CMO release said. The CPI(M)-led LDF government had recently convened a meeting of political parties and socio-religious organisations here on December 29 in the wake of the concerns among people in various stratas of the society, it said. CAB 'unconstitutional', will not be implemented in Kerala: CM Vijayan A special assembly session was convened and a resolution was passed requesting the Centre not to implement the CAA and the government had also approached the apex court against the law, it added. Home Office lawyers are using legally unsound and most extraordinary arguments in court as they push for migrants to be denied the right to be in Britain, according to immigration solicitors. Evidence submitted to the governments independent immigration watchdog cites one example of a Home Office lawyer arguing that teenager who had never been to Afghanistan and did not speak the language could easily readjust to life in Kabul. Another claimed a person with a physics degree in English might have needed to hire a proxy for a basic English language test. The document, compiled by the Immigration Law Practitioners Association (ILPA), has been presented to the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI) as supporting evidence for an inspection he is undertaking into the work of civil servants who represent the Home Office at appeal hearings, known as presenting officers. It highlights that between 2013 and 2019, the proportion of successful asylum appeals increased from 25 per cent to 41 per cent which it says indicates the Home Office is regularly requiring its lawyers to defend poor quality decisions in cases where applicants should have been granted protection at an earlier stage. An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Show all 20 1 /20 An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Maria, 31, holds her daughters, Elena, two, and baby Ioana, weeks old, in her London home A few months after Britain voted to leave the European Union, Maria was told her to go back to her native Romania whilst in hospital by an elderly English woman. You are a foreigner, your place is not here recalls Maria, who was stunned Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Maria and her husband Adi, 37, take their daughters for a walk in Hampstead Heath near their home The couple are preparing to leave Britain later this year with their two children, fed up with what Maria says is xenophobia and the rising cost of living in London Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Elena holds up British passports belonging to her and her sister. Both children have dual citizenship, but their parents do not want to apply for this despite having permanent residency in Britain Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Maria holds daughter Ioana, who is less than a week old, while Elena wipes a table Maria had never faced direct abuse over her nationality in her 10 years in the country until that moment at the hospital Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Adi spends time with his daughters Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Adi plays hide and seek with his daughter Elena Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Food is served Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Adi takes his daughter, Elena, to nursery Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Adi's sister, Nicoleta, 34, carries her niece Elena in a restaurant after a trip out Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Adi and Maria cook together at their home Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Adi holds his baby daughter, Ioana Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Adi and wife Maria take their daughters for a walk in Hampstead Heath Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Berwyn, a neighbour of the couple, who moved to the UK in the 1980s from Australia, says goodbye to Maria after a visit at her home. Berwyn has dual citizenship - Australian and Irish as she lived in Ireland for a few years before moving to Britain. She calls the family her 'dearest Christian Romanian friends' Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Religious pictures including a portrait of Arsenie Boca, a Romanian Orthodox monk, theologian and artist (top), hang on the wall at the home of Adi and Maria Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Maria dries Elena after giving her a bath after nursery Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Maria holds her baby daughter Ioana Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Adi works with his colleague Alexandru, who is also from Romania, for a removal company Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Maria holds her daughter Elena Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Neighbour, Berwyn, holds baby Ioana Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Adi and Maria, along with their daughters, leave St Andrews church in Kingsbury after attending a service Reuters This is likely to have a particularly harmful effect on appellants who are unrepresented or poorly represented, who risk unfair negative credibility findings that go unchallenged, with potential consequences for their access to protection from persecution, according to the dossier. Solicitors note that Home Office presenting officers tend to lack understanding of important procedural questions and have little or no knowledge of the applicable law, giving the example of one notorious case where on being told by a judge that she was wrong in law, a presenting officer replied: You have your law, I have mine. The briefing goes on to state: Such deep misconceptions are not isolated. Presenting officers routinely deploy legally unsound arguments in the form of incorrect or misleading mantras. In some cases, presenting officers appear to be as frustrated as everyone else by the Home Offices decisions, according to the dossier. One reportedly dispiritedly trailing off as they argued the grounds of appeal during one hearing and said: To be honest I wouldnt have appealed this one [...] I just dont see how the judge has made a mistake [...] I know you will make it look like I tried. The dossier goes on to note: That presenting officer knew he had a terrible case, which could not succeed without a serious injustice, and did not want to waste everyones time with it but was clearly still worried his manager would find out that he had not pursued it vigorously. John Vassiliou, partner at McGill and Co solicitors, said ILPAs evidence echoed many issues that he and his colleagues had encountered in recent years. He said that while there used to be much more scope for presenting officers to review a decision that had ended up on their desk and to reach their own view that the decision was unsustainable and ought to be withdrawn, now there seemed to be far less room for such initiative. The lack of preparation time hampers a proper dialogue between parties in advance of the hearing. In other courts, representatives acting for parties will regularly speak in the lead-up to a case in order to agree the relevant issues and narrow the focus of the hearing, Mr Vassiliou added. Why is the Home Office getting so many immigration decisions wrong? As ILPA points out, presenting officers are often forced to defend poor first instance decision making, even in cases where the Home Office position is indefensible. This not only creates great cost and stress for appellants, but also takes up public resources. The briefing has been written in response to a call for evidence from David Bolt, chief inspector of borders and immigration, ahead of his inspection into presenting officers, which is expected to be published later this year. A Home Office spokesperson said it "did not recognise" the description of Home Office staff given by ILPA. The Home Office is always keen to improve and we will work with the Chief Inspector to take forward his recommendations following the publication of his report," they said. Georgi Kutoyan, a former head of Armenias National Security Service (NSS) who was found shot dead on Friday, most probably committed suicide, Prosecutor-General Artur Davtian said over the weekend. Davtian told reporters that investigators have found quite a bit of information testifying to a suicide as he attended a requiem service for Kutoyan held on Saturday. He cautioned, though, that they are continuing to consider other theories of the 38-year-olds shock death, including murder. Kutoyans body was discovered at a Yerevan apartment belonging to his family. According to the Investigative Committee, he had a gunshot wound to his head. A spokeswoman for the law-enforcement agency, Naira Harutiunian, said on Monday that investigators have found no traces of violence on the body. She also told RFE/RLs Armenian service that they are awaiting the results of several forensic tests that could shed more light on Kutoyans death. A deputy head of the Investigative Committee, Artur Melikian, said on Friday that his officers found dozens of bullets and spent cartridge cases in the apartment. In a written statement released on Saturday, the Investigative Committee said it has established that Kutoyan fired 35 gunshots at an apartment wall after consuming alcohol there in late December. He was killed by a bullet fired from the same pistol legally owned by him, said the statement. Kutoyan and his family did not live in the apartment in question. According to the Investigative Committee, the former NSS chief went there the day before his death after telling his loved ones that he wants to rest there for two or three days. The committee statement also said that Kutoyan, who reportedly studied in Britain, returned to Armenia on December 9. A lawyer by education, Kutoyan had worked as an assistant to President Serzh Sarkisian from 2011 until his surprise appointment as director of Armenias most powerful security agency in February 2016. He was sacked by newly elected Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian in May 2018 immediately after the Velvet Revolution that toppled Sarkisian. Sarkisian was reportedly shocked by the unexpected death of his former aide. The 65-year-old ex-president attended the requiem service and Kutoyans funeral on Monday as did most of his top loyalists. He refused to talk reporters. Kutoyan is the second former senior security official found shot to death in the last four months. Hayk Harutiunian, a former chief of the Armenian police, was found dead in his country house in September. Investigators suggested that he committed suicide. Prince Charles plans to review Harry and Meghan's abdication deal within a year, amid fears over the mounting costs of their proposed lifestyle. The concern comes as Harry described he and his wife's decision as "a leap of faith" where "there really was no other option". Speaking at a charity event last night, he said: "It brings me great sadness that it has come to this. "The decision that I have made for my wife and I to step back is not one I made lightly. What I want to make clear is we're not walking away." He added that he and Meghan were now hoping for a more "peaceful life". While the couple have severed all official ties with the royal family, Prince Charles is to continue to offer "private financial support" to his son and daughter-in-law as they embark on a new independent life in Canada. The substantial cash injection is expected to come from his own private investment income rather than revenue generated by his Duchy of Cornwall estate, which has traditionally funded the heir to the throne and his two sons. However, a source close to Prince Charles suggested that this was not an inexhaustible source of funds. It is understood that any agreement reached concerning the Sussexes' finances is being viewed strictly within the parameters of the initial one-year period before the family reconvenes to review the arrangement next spring. The warning was sounded as grave concerns were expressed over the couple's security arrangements, which one well-placed source described as a "mess" that could cost millions. Questions also remained over whether the couple will still be allowed to use the potentially lucrative Sussex Royal branding that features on their social media platforms and new website, amid concern it could be viewed as exploiting the connection with the family. The source said staffing costs have been estimated at a minimum of 600,000 per individual but that does not include travel, reconnaissance and home security. "The security is a complete mess," the source said. "It's a huge mess." Another suggested that the costs might have to be partially met by the couple themselves, and therefore potentially by Prince Charles. "If they increase the risk on themselves while doing all sorts of exciting things that make them a large amount of money, should that be part of the security deal or should the costs be borne by them rather than the state?" one senior former officer said. The exit deal announced by Buckingham Palace at the weekend confirmed Harry and Meghan had been banned from using their HRH titles. However, as a former helicopter pilot who served in Afghanistan - and therefore a terror target - the UK is unlikely ever to be fully free of security costs for Harry. The couple will be allowed to make millions from commercial deals with no oversight from Buckingham Palace, which will be reliant on their word that any deals they strike will "uphold the values" of the queen. However, how much additional funding they require will be determined by how successfully they forge their new careers, which are likely to be anchored by commercial deals and public speaking engagements. They will need a substantial new property and will expect to live in the lifestyle to which they have become accustomed. An aide said that outstanding issues such as the Sussex Royal branding were "in the gift of the family to decide". Prince Harry (35) will continue to perform royal duties until the spring. Today, he will attend private meetings at a summit for African leaders in London and is then expected to return to Canada to be reunited with his wife and son. Meanwhile, discussions involving outside stakeholders, such as the British government and the Canadian authorities, will continue. While most of the couple's UK-based staff will be redeployed within the royal estate, the fate of senior advisers such as Sara Latham, their communications secretary, and Fiona Mcilwham, their newly appointed private secretary, hangs in the balance. Aides were at pains to point out that negotiations over the Sussexes' future had been friendly and constructive but it is understood that the queen made it clear from the outset that the Sussexes were not going to get their "cake and eat it" wish by keeping one foot in the royal fold. The queen is said to have made her personal disappointment clear. While she acknowledged the Sussexes' feelings, she told them that the deal they wanted was simply not deliverable. It is understood that the queen reminded the couple of their royal obligations, reiterating that they served the monarchy and that the monarchy did not serve them. But she did issue an emotional statement, saying she recognised the "challenges" the couple had faced over the past year, and added: "I want to thank them for all their dedicated work across this country, the Commonwealth and beyond, and am particularly proud of how Meghan has so quickly become one of the family." A source close to the talks acknowledged that there was a clear understanding that circumstances could change, saying: "There is some wriggle room. The feeling is, let's review it, let's see how it goes... The door is always open." Aides last night rowed back on suggestions that the couple would pay a commercial rent on Frogmore Cottage, their listed home west of London, suggesting they would pay only a peppercorn rent and running costs when they are in the UK. "The queen made it clear she wanted to ensure they could keep the home she had given them in her backyard," a source said. ( Daily Telegraph, London) Jimmy Heath, the influential Philadelphia jazz saxophone player, composer, and bandleader who played with John Coltrane and Miles Davis and whose prolific career spanned seven decades, died Sunday at age 93. Heath died in Loganville, Ga., of natural causes, according to his grandson, Fa Mtume. He was surrounded by his family, including his wife, Mona, whom he met in 1959 at a party celebrating his release from prison; his jazz and R&B musician son, James Mtume; and his brother, drummer Albert Tootie Heath, with whom he performed in the Heath Brothers along with the late bassist Percy Heath. When Jimmy Heaths autobiography was published by Temple University Press in 2010, he called it I Walked With Giants a title with a double meaning. In his long and storied career, he collaborated with such jazz greats as Dizzy Gillespie, Clifford Brown, and Gil Evans. But Heath was also small in physical stature, standing just 5-foot-3. He told NPR in 2017 that when he was growing up in South Philadelphia first on Gerritt Street, then on Federal Street he was too small to be an athlete. I got on a horse once, and I got frightened when he started galloping, so I couldnt be a jockey, either. His musical education came from the Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller, and Marian Anderson records that his father, Percy, an auto mechanic who also played the clarinet, and his mother, Arlethia, who sang in a church choir, played on a windup Victrola. At 13, he got his first sax. I said, This is for me, Heath recalled. And Ive been with the saxophone ever since. Heath wasnt drafted into World War II because he was under the minimum weight. He toured with the Nate Towles Band and in 1946 formed his own group, including fellow sax players Benny Golson and Coltrane. In those years, Heath was often called Lil Bird, a reference to both his stature and his ability to play in a high-speed style similar to bebop sax player Charlie Parker. In 1949, Heath broke up the group to join Gillespies band. Like many of his peers, Heath was a heroin user in the 1950s. In I Walked With Giants, he recalled helping to revive Coltrane after his fellow sax man slumped to the floor at a Los Angeles gig. If we hadnt, Heath wrote, the Coltrane that people know would never have existed. Starting in 1955, Heath served 4 1/2 years in the penitentiary at Lewisburg, Pa., for selling drugs. He made good use of his time there kicking his addiction, learning to play the flute, and focusing on composing and arranging. Playboys, a 1956 album by Art Pepper and Chet Baker, contained five songs Heath wrote in prison. He released his first album as a leader, The Thumper, in 1959. He briefly played with Miles Davis, who had recorded his song CTA in 1953, but his probation kept him from touring. (Davis once called Heath one of the thoroughbreds" of jazz.) Heath followed The Thumper with five more LPs for Riverside Records and worked as an arranger for the label. Producer Orrin Keepnews helped him get a cabaret card so he could perform in New York clubs, a license often denied ex-convicts, and he settled in Queens with his wife. The sax player arranged for both small combos and larger ensembles, such as 2006s stellar big band album Turn Up The Heath. They are both desirable to me, he told the Inquirer in 2009. The big band is our symphony orchestra." In 1976, he formed the Heath Brothers with Tootie and Percy the latter a longtime member of the Modern Jazz Quartet and the pianist Stanley Cowell. That year, his long-form The Afro-American Suite of Evolution premiered in New York. The Heath Brothers 1980 album Live at the Public Theater was nominated for a Grammy. Starting in 1986, he taught for 11 years at Queens College in New York. In 2013, Heath, whose frequently recorded songs include Gingerbread Boy and Gemini, spoke to NPR about the importance of writing. You know, you got to compose. I want to be someone who can compose and leave something here for posterity. Heath released his last album, Togetherness, in 2014. In 2016, just before his 90th birthday, he was honored with a Jazz at Lincoln Center program called Life of a Legend. I loved his consistency, said Bob Perkins, longtime jazz deejay on Temple University radio station WRTI-FM (90.1), who grew up on the same Gerritt Street block as the Heaths. The whole family was miraculous. You had three kids in that family making a hell of a lot of noise. Perkins played Heaths Big P, a tribute to Percy, after hearing the news Sunday. Oh Lord, he said, contemplating the loss. Jimmy was a great technician, a composer, an arranger, an educator. He was perpetually going on. He did not let time stop him." Heath is survived by his wife, daughter Roslyn, son James, brother Albert, and seven grandchildren and great-grandchildren. BARCELONA (Reuters) - Four people have died in strong winds, heavy snowfall and low temperatures as Storm Gloria swept across Spain on Sunday and Monday, officials said. With more than 30 provinces on bad weather alert, Valencia on the Mediterranean coast and the Balearic Islands were bearing the brunt of the storm on Monday. Port authorities estimated waves of 8.44 metres in Valencia on Monday, which they said was a record, while a Reuters witness said waves had been growing throughout the day, crashing on to Barcelona's famous Barceloneta beach. A 63-year-old man died at home in the central province of Avila after being hit by roof tiles lifted by a gust of wind, said David Segovia, mayor of the town of Pedro Bernardo. Unusually cold weather was blamed for the death of a 54-year-old homeless woman in Gandia, near Valencia, a municipal official told Reuters. One man in northwest Asturias region was killed by a vehicle on a snowbound road, reportedly struck while fitting chains to his car, an emergency services spokesman said. And Spanish media quoted the mayor of the Valencian town of Moixent as saying a fourth man had died after being found outside his home showing signs of hypothermia on Monday morning. Catalonia's regional government ordered a ban on all outdoor activities in the Girona, Barcelona and central Catalonia regions, a spokesman for its interior department said, adding those who did not comply with the ban could face a fine. The storm also forced the closure of Alicante airport, leading to the cancellation of nearly 200 flights. National weather agency Aemet reported winds of up to 115 km per hour (71 mph) and eight-metre (26-feet) waves in the province of Valencia. At least 120 councils there decided to suspend school and hundreds of kilometres of roads were cut off. (Reporting by Elena Rodriguez, Nacho Doce and Jessica Jones; Editing by Andrei Khalip, Andrew Cawthorne and Nick Macfie) We are happy to report that on January 19th, 2020 the Hellenic Air Force Museums Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IXc MJ755 flew for the first time since 1953. The aircraft has been under restoration since 2018 within the Biggin Hill Heritage Hangar at the old Battle of Britain aerodrome, RAF Biggin Hill near London, England. This hangar is home to The Spitfire Company (Biggin Hill) Ltd., which has become world famous over the past few years thanks to their prodigious output of spectacular Supermarine Spitfire restorations. The Icarus Foundation sponsored this restoration, placing the aircraft in their name on the British Civil Registry as G-CLGS during July last year. She made her first engine runs in late December, 2019 so it didnt take long until she was ready for her first flight, which Peter Kynsey conducted on Sunday. There is a small, and somewhat shaky video of the first flight below MJ755 has an interesting history. She rolled off the production line at Supermarines shadow factory in Castle Bromwich during late 1943, arriving with 33 Maintenance Unit at RAF Lyneham, Wiltshire that December. In early 1944 the Spitfire received its first combat assignment, joining the RAFs Middle East Air Force, arriving in Casablanca aboard the SS Fort Liard on March 13th. MJ755 joined 43 Squadron, the Fighting Cocks, and took part in Operation Dragoon, flying cover for the Allied forces landing in the south of France in mid-August, 1944. 43 Squadron hopped from airfield to airfield in France as the invasion progressed, extending into Peretola, Italy during October, 1944, and finishing the war in Klagenfurt, Austria at the end of the war in May, 1945. Following the war, the RAF transferred a number of Supermarine Spitfires to Greece to aid the nations efforts in rebuilding their air force. MJ755 was one of some 77 Spitfires which Britain sent to the Hellenic Air Force. She arrived in Greece on February 27th, 1947, and joined 335 Squadron at Sides during April. By 1949, MJ755 had been relegated to the Air Force Pilots School at Tatoi Air Base in Dekeleia to become a part of the Reserve Pilots Training Center. The Spitfire journeyed to Athens in 1950 for a full overhaul at the State Aircraft Factory, being fitted with two cameras for aerial reconnaissance missions. Her last flight came on September 8th, 1953, afterwhich she went into storage with the Aircraft Storage Squadron at Hellenikon Air Base, and from there, back again to Tatoi for gate guard duties. The Spitfire later became a part of the Hellenic War Museum in Athens, sitting on external display for several decades before being formally transferred to the newly-formed Hellenic Air Force Museum at Dekeleia in 1995. In 2008 the museum took MJ755 off display, and disassembled her for the beginning of a planned airworthy restoration effort. Other than the disassembly of the airframe, and stripping her paint, little substantive restoration work appears to have taken place in the interim. With the aircraft in safe hands at Biggin Hill though, it is clear that she will eventually re-emerge as a magnificently restored, airworthy example of the breed. It is believed that MJ755 is the sole survivor of the 77 or so examples which flew in the Hellenic Air Force, so seeing her in the skies over Greece again will be a welcome treat to many. So heres to a successful first flight, and many years of safe operation to come for MJ755! Many thanks to George Land for the photos! Britain should seek to do smaller-scale trade deals with individual American states in case a full US-UK agreement gets bogged down by rows over chlorinated chicken, Liam Fox will warn today. The former international trade minister will use a speech in Geneva to suggest Boris Johnson looks to make service sector deals with the likes of California, Texas, Florida and New York. He will say that they would all be members of the G20 if they were independent and are allowed to strike agreements on services at the state level. In contrast, free trade deals on goods have to be done federally by the Trump administration, which means they are likely to face 'unavoidable difficulties'. He will tell an audience at the Spinoza think tank that 'the US will, quite correctly, negotiate hard for its own interests' and 'is likely to focus on better access for its agricultural products', according to the Telegraph. The former international trade minister will use a speech in Geneva to suggest Boris Johnson looks to make service sector deals with the likes of California, Texas, Florida and New York Boris Johnson faces a stiff battle with the US over agricultural products currently banned under EU laws The UK and US continue to be at odds over the issue of chlorinated chicken and other agricultural products. Earlier this month Environment Secretary Theresa Villiers said that the EU ban on meat treated this way - to remove parasites - would be continued after the UK leaves the bloc at the end of January. In an interview to be broadcast this weekend on the BBC's Countryfile programme, she said: 'We will not be importing chlorinated-chicken. We will not be importing hormone-treated beef. 'Both of those are illegal under EU law, which we are importing into our domestic system. 'There are legal barriers to their import and those are going to stay in place.' But the US is likely to drive a hard bargain when negotiations start in earnest after January 31 and any stand-off could harm other areas of trade. Australia's biggest port operator DP World has called workers back from holidays after docking the pay packets of those who refused to work outdoors during the height of Sydney's bushfire smoke haze. DP World manager Mark Hulme told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age on Monday that "a small percentage of employees with key skills in both operations and engineering have had their leave cancelled in order to maintain operations". Mr Hulme also confirmed that employees who had stopped work because of the bushfire smoke pollution would not be backpaid. DP World workers are involved in a protracted industrial dispute with the company over wage and other entitlements. Credit:AAP "It remains our view that the actions taken by employees to cease work were inconsistent with the provisions of our enterprise agreement that deal with resolution of disputes," he said. "Those employees participating in the stoppage were stood down off pay." Pakistani authorities refused to let a top human rights lawyer leave the country, citing her "anti-state activities", she told AFP on Monday, in what appeared to be the latest example of an ongoing rights crackdown. Jalila Haider, who last year featured on a BBC list of 100 inspiring and influential women for her work defending women's rights in Pakistan, was briefly detained by immigration officials in Lahore as she tried to fly to Britain to attend a workshop on women's issues. They released her after several hours, she told AFP, but barred her from leaving the country, telling her that her name was on a no-fly list. "One of the immigration officials told me that my name was placed on the ECL (Exit Control List) as I am involved in anti-state activities. I have no idea what anti-state activities he was referring to," Haider told AFP. "I address the issues related to women, minorities, enforced disappearances and problems Balochistan is facing today," the 32-year-old said, adding that authorities confiscated her passport and national identification card. Pakistan has a history of enforced disappearances over the past decade -- mainly confined to conflict zones near the Afghanistan border or to restive southwestern Balochistan province, where Haider lives and works. The military routinely denies being involved, and criticism of the powerful security forces, including over such disappearances, is largely seen as a "red line" in the country. Pakistan's interior ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment by AFP. The incident fuelled fears around an ongoing crackdown on rights and freedom of speech in Pakistan. "Yet another #humanrightsdefender placed on Pakistan's *mysterious* no-fly list," tweeted Rabia Mehmood, a Pakistan researcher for Amnesty International. "@Advjalila is a fierce defender of the rights of the marginalized, her name must be immediately removed from the Exit Control List. #istandwithjalila". Haider's lawyer Asad Jamal, who said he was not allowed to meet her while she was being detained, called it "an act of harassment". In addition to her work on women's rights, Haider is a member of Pakistan's persecuted Hazara community, who are often targeted by sectarian militants in Pakistan and Afghanistan. In 2018 she went on a hunger strike demanding protection for the Hazara community. Pakistan human rights activists hold placards during a protest against a suicide blast targeting the Hazara ethnic minority in Lahore in April 2019 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. Hollywood actor Robert De Niro was honoured with this year's Lifetime Achievement at the 2020 Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday (local time). The 76-year-old actor accepted the award from his long-time friend Leonardo DiCaprio. In his speech, De Niro opened up about his long career and touched on political matters, as he said, "As actors, we don't take victory laps. We're too worried about what our next job will be. So, it makes me very happy to know that my next job is working with you [DiCaprio] and Marty [Scorsese]. At least I know I've got another year of health insurance," reported Us Weekly. The 'Raging Bull' star also admitted that he has been puzzling over what to say in his speech to express his appreciation for the award. And the veteran actor was also thankful for being a part of the community of actors and able to have a career with dignity and creative fulfilment. "We, as actors, don't do it all alone. We can't do it alone. We depend on each other for collaboration in our work, and support and fellowship both onscreen and off," he added. The 'Godfather II' star was announced as the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award recipient for the 26th ceremony on November 29. Previously, the honour has been given to SAG-AFTRA announced Morgan Freeman, Debbie Reynolds, Julie Andrews and Clint Eastwood. The president of SAG-AFTRA said in a statement "Robert De Niro is an actor of extraordinary depth and ability. The characters he creates captivate our imaginations." The 'Irishman' star's long career includes a plethora of diverse performances. The star has appeared in crime dramas including 'Goodfellas' and 'Casino'. He has also impressed the viewers by acting in comedies including 'Meet the Parents' and 'Dirty Grandpa. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Australian model Gemma Ward and partner David Letts announced they were having a baby girl earlier this week. And the 32-year-old looked positively glowing on Sunday, when she shared a couch selfie to Instagram. The picture showed the blonde beauty's flawless visage, as she shot the camera a sultry look worthy of a magazine. She's glowing! Pregnant model Gemma Ward, 32, (pictured) looked radiant in a couch selfie in an Instagram snap on Sunday, after announcing she is expecting a baby girl this year 'Goodnight from LA!' Gemma captioned the snap, obviously in the American city. Gemma appeared to be wearing minimal makeup, while allowing her trademark blonde tresses to cascade past her shoulders. The beauty wore a white ruffled top, which sat loosely on her small frame. It's a girl! The 32-year-old Australian model announced she is having a girl last week, sharing this photo of herself showing off her baby bump at the beach It comes after Gemma shared a blossoming bump shot earlier this week while in her native Australia, while on holidays in tourist mecca Byron Bay. The model let fans know she will be having a girl later this year. 'Expecting a baby girl this year to round out our little gang,' she captioned the snap. Family of five: Gemma and David are already parents to a six-year-old daughter, Naia (pictured), and a three-year-old son, Jet Gemma posed side-on in a nude bikini with high-waisted briefs, against the backdrop of an empty beach. Her burgeoning baby bump was on full display as she placed her hands behind her hips. Gemma and David are already parents to a six-year-old daughter, Naia, and a three-year-old son, Jet. Bonding time: Gemma is pictured with her son, Jet Meanwhile, Gemma and David were flooded with congratulatory messages on Instagram from their famous friends. The likes of Nicole Trunfio, Lara Bingle, Jessica Gomes, Megan Gale and Georgia Fowler all sent their well-wishes. Gemma famously dated late actor Heath Ledger. Congrats! Gemma and David were flooded with congratulatory messages from their friends, including model Nicole Trunfio and Georgia Fowler The two were reportedly in a relationship at the time of the 28-year-old's death from an accidental drug overdose in New York City in January 2008. In an interview with Vogue Australia in July, Gemma spoke about balancing her modelling career with motherhood. 'I think it's all about teamwork. You have to make sure everyone is on board and obviously the kids come first, but work is pretty important too when you have an obligation to provide for them,' she said. The focus of crop science on protecting plants from seed to harvest is changing as it faces environmental and regulatory challenges. Key among them is the issue of polymer-based coatings used to preserve and protect seeds that are adding to the microplastics problem. Two years ago, the European Union initiated restrictions on the use of these tiny pollutants in cosmetics and most experts believe the agri-sector has no more than five years before it is subject to similar strictures. Crop science is preparing for a regulatory crackdown on microplastics And while this appears to give the industry some leeway, one should remember that once a replacement for traditional encapsulation technology is found, the whole process of registration and field trials kicks in, adding at least two years to the process. Bearing that in mind, it shouldn't be a surprise to learn that the world's largest chemicals businesses are casting around for ready-made solutions. It also explains why Corteva Agrisciences, the American giant valued at US$21bn, has teamed up with a UK small-cap that appears to have cracked the microplastics problem. Eden Research PLC's (LON:EDEN) Sustaine encapsulation technology is free from plastics, is derived from a natural source, and is suitable for use with both sustainable biopesticides and conventional synthetic pesticides. Indeed, it is this technology that has enabled the commercialisation of Eden's own biopesticides, which are used to protect grapevines and various other crops. On January 8, Eden revealed it had signed a one-year exclusive evaluation agreement with Corteva the former's first foray into the seed market. While the exact details of the evaluation haven't been released, Eden chief executive Sean Smith confirmed Sustaine would be used on a 'significant crop'. Success would provide a big commercial kicker. That's because Corteva, a combine of the agri-assets of Dow Chemicals and DuPont, would then assume exclusive distribution rights in the EU, Russia, Ukraine and Turkey. According to CEO Smith, there are other, more big wheels from the world of plant science talking to Eden about its terpene-based products. It already has two products on the market, Mevalone (a bio-fungicide) and Cedroz, which protects against soil-based pests called nematodes. Its existing partnerships with industry big hitters such as, Eastman, Sipcam Oxon and SumiAgro have opened the doors to deals in Mexico, Portugal, Italy and the Benelux countries to name a few. But, as the company's broker Cenkos pointed out, the Corteva tie-up brings with it a certain cachet. 'We see this agreement, following positive field trials, as a strong endorsement of Eden's Sustaine technology,' said analyst Chris Donnellan. Hsinchu, Taiwan R.O.C., Jan. 20, 2020 TSMC (TWSE: 2330, NYSE: TSM) today announced that after four months and two rounds of competition, a team from Yuan Ze University took first place in the first TSMC IC Layout Contest to win a cash prize of NT$200,000. TSMC launched its first IC Layout Contest to encourage Taiwan university students to join the field of IC layout, and gained an enthusiastic response from institutions across the country, attracting young talent to the semiconductor industry and providing valuable real-world knowledge to the next generation of engineers and scholars that will drive IC innovation in the future. A total of 1,000 applicants and 150 advising professors from 35 Taiwan universities signed up for the competition. By teaming up with Open Innovation Platform Cloud Alliance members Cadence and Microsoft to hold the contest on TSMCs Virtual Design Environment (VDE), TSMC was able to host four months of competition without limitations from location or university IT facilities. Besides providing contestants from around Taiwan with seven hours of online training courses, TSMC made the VDE available to students for 12 weeks for hands-on practice. In addition, TSMC held three training seminars in North, Central, and South Taiwan, offering opportunities to learn about innovations in IC layout in advanced processes from experts in the field, and further aligning classroom knowledge with industry needs. A total of 500 contestants formed 250 teams of two members, and 17 teams were selected as finalists in the preliminary round of competition. Finalists were invited to further intensive training at TSMCs R&D center in Hsinchu, Taiwan before the final round on January 15, 2020. It has been a great pleasure to witness the talent and enthusiasm of the contestants of the TSMC IC Layout Contest, said Dr. Cliff Hou, Vice President of Technology Development of TSMC. The combination of leading-edge semiconductor processes and advanced IC layout is a solid foundation for innovations in design and technology co-optimization. We welcome innovative young talent to join us in the semiconductor industry, challenge the limits of technology, and define the industrys path forward to build a new future. Microsoft worked hand in hand with TSMC to not only provide the cloud infrastructure for the IC Layout Contest, but also support online and offline training for the contestants, said Rani Borkar, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Azure. The flexibility and scalability of the Azure platform also enabled us to seamlessly accommodate the strong turnout for this contest as well as provide access for students all over Taiwan. We hope the contestants have not only acquired valuable knowledge and skills, but also gained greater passion for the fascinating field of semiconductor technology. Wed like to extend our warmest congratulations to the winners of the TSMC IC Layout Contest. To see so many students working with our layout tools and the Cadence CloudBurst platform at the same time doing such impressive work in advanced IC layout, it has been an unprecedented experience, said Dr. Anirudh Devgan, president of Cadence. Cadence has supported Taiwans thriving, innovative IC design industry for many years, and our close collaboration with TSMC in this contest is another way were demonstrating our commitment to future generations of innovators. US President Donald Trump has slammed the idea of building a sea wall around the New York. He tweeted after a publication in The New York Times the US engineering troops proposed a giant wall project to protect New York from frequent destructive storms caused by global warming. It was reported that the wall will cost $ 119 billion, and the construction will take at least 25 years. According to Trump, the construction of a massive multi-billion-dollar sea wall around the largest American city to protect it from rare storms is an expensive, silly and environmentally unacceptable idea that will not work if necessary. Trump noted that the wall will look terrible, and advised the residents of New York to prepare mops and buckets. Project's opponents have already said that the wall could quickly become obsolete due to an inaccurate estimate of sea level rise. Such a barrier can reportedly only protect against storm waves, and it will be useless with high tidal waves. Acording to the source, 72 people became victims of storms, the disaster caused $ 62 million for seven years in New York. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Norman Harsono (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, January 20, 2020 14:20 722 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20603638f 2 Business hydropower-plant,renewable-energy,South-Korea,investment,BKPM,Indonesia-Power,PLN,Central-Java Free A South Korean power producer is looking to finance a hydropower plant project in Central Java that would be the coal buyers first renewable energy deal with Indonesia. Korea Southern Power (KOSPO) is currently reviewing a feasibility study to develop the 230-megawatt (MW) Maung hydropower plant in Banjarnegara, Central Java, with Indonesian state-owned construction firm Nindya Karya and power producer Indonesia Power, a subsidiary of state utility company PLN. They estimated the hydropower plant development to cost US$650 million. If every condition is reasonable, KOSPO will be an equity investor. We will have a joint operation with Indonesia Power, said KOSPO overseas business senior manager Chong Ryu after signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Indonesian companies in Jakarta on Friday. South Korea is among the many major economies including China and the United States being eyed by President Joko Jokowi Widodo to finance his governments main energy ambition of stamping Indonesias oil imports, which has put pressure on the rupiah exchange rate. Earlier this month, Indonesia secured $6.8 billion from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to develop, among other projects, two oil refineries and one floating solar power plant. The oil refineries belong to state-owned oil company Pertamina and the plant by PLN. Indonesian Coordinating Investment Board (BKPM) head Bahlil Lahadalia, who witnessed Fridays signing ceremony, said he expected the hydropower plant to be up and running within a maximum of four years, or by 2024. I will guard the project and ensure that nothing disrupts its development, he added. Jokowi granted the BKPM extra powers to optimize investment flows in Indonesia late last year. He issued Presidential Instruction (Inpres) No. 7/2019 on the acceleration of ease of doing business (EODB) that streamlines business licensing processes with the board. KOSPO, a subsidiary of South Korean state-owned utility company Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), hoped to speed up the projects development as an initial feasibility study had already been completed. We already have a feasibility study but we have to review it because the project was halted several years ago, said Nindya Karya president director Haedar A. Karim, adding that the company needed at least two years to construct the plant. The investment would be a change of pace for KOSPO, which is a frequent buyer of Indonesian coal. Indonesia Power acting president director Ahsin Sidqi said the hydropower project, which was a direct mandate from PLN, was also one of the utility companys investments in achieving a 23 percent renewable power production mix by 2025. PLN, which is Indonesias largest power producer, frequently reiterates its commitment to meeting the elusive 23 percent mark yet Southeast Asias largest economy continues to miss annual renewable energy development benchmarks. The country closed 2019 with a power production capacity of 69.1 gigawatts (GW), lower than the targeted 74.8 GW set in the General National Energy Planning (RUEN) roadmap. The BKPM said in a statement that KOSPOs investment followed up Bahlils visit to Seoul last month. The businessman-turned-government official had met with major South Korean multinationals such as LG International, Hyundai Motors, Lotte Group and Hankook Tire and Technology. According to the latest BKPM data, South Korea was Indonesias eighth-largest foreign investor in the January to September period last year. The East Asian country funneled $638.6 million into 2,100 projects over that period. The statement added that the Maung plant was expected to reduce sedimentation in the Mrica Reservoir in Banjarnegara. Such sedimentation has been curtailing power generation from the 180 MW Mrica hydropower plant since at least 2008. The statement suggests that the Maung plant would be built along Mricas power source, the Serayu River. Neil Draper, son, brother, uncle, nephew, cousin and friend, passed peacefully on December 22, 2019, at the age of 58. Draper was born September 2, 1961 in Salisbury, Md. He loved his family, friends and the eastern-shore lifestyle that he lived. One of Drapers true passions was horses and the harness racing industry. There were many nights he spent with family and friends down to the track at Harrington Raceway and Ocean Downs. It didnt matter if the weather was mild, cold or downright sloppy, just the atmosphere and the thrill of the race were enough for Draper. He was a lifetime member and treasurer of Horse Lovers United Inc., a nonprofit group. With good friends Lorraine, Ronnie and David, Draper helped Standardbred racehorses find good and loving homes to ride out their retirement years. In honour of Drapers memory, donations to Horse Lovers United Inc. P.O. Box 2744 Salisbury, MD 21802 would be truly special, and something he would have dearly loved. Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to friends and family of Neil Draper. (USTA) Supplier News 20 January 2020 Winnow, the technology company behind Winnow Vision, the artificial intelligence tool helping chefs cut food waste in half, will be at Davos alongside leading global technology company, HCL Technologies (HCL) to demonstrate its technology capabilities. "As a future looking organization, HCL believes in exploring emerging technologies and empowering cutting-edge start-ups for the betterment of society. We see AI as a key enabler in creating more sustainable business standards, so we are pleased to be supporting Winnow on its mission to reduce food wastage across the hospitality sector." - Kalyan Kumar, Corporate Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, HCL Technologies. Winnow has grown significantly since the launch last year of its AI product Winnow Vision: the most advanced food waste technology on the market developed to automate waste tracking and enable chefs to run more profitable and sustainable kitchens. With global clients already adopting Winnow Vision, from IKEA stores through to the Armani Hotel in Dubai, the demand by companies to drive down food waste is increasing. "Whilst we're proud of these achievements we're just getting started. We've set ourselves a target to save the hospitality industry $1bn worth of food per year by 2025" - Marc Zornes, Founder, Winnow. Winnow Vision works by taking photos of wasted food as it's thrown away and uses the images to train itself to recognise what has been discarded. Winnow's systems have already reached and surpassed human levels of accuracy in identifying wasted foods. This means for clients, over time, these systems will enable their kitchens to automatically register food waste without any human interaction. Food will be thrown in the bin and the data will be captured automatically. This ground-breaking innovation was made possible by Winnow's in-house R&D Team via HCL's ETO Open Innovation Program. The technology will feature within the HCL Pavilion, which includes a Tech Showcase Zone, representing Technology for the Digital Enterprise 4.0. Please visit the live showcase from 21st till 23rd Jan 2020 at the HCL Pavilion, The Escher Raumdesign, Promenade 115, 7270 Davos Platz. About Winnow Winnow is the technology company behind Winnow Vision, building artificial intelligence tools to help chefs run more profitable and sustainable kitchens by cutting food waste in half. Winnow believes that food is far too valuable to waste and that technology can transform the way food is used. For this reason Winnow's mission is to help the hospitality industry tackle avoidable food waste by connecting the kitchen, empowering chefs to run a more efficient operation. About HCL Technologies HCL Technologies (HCL) empowers global enterprises with technology for the next decade today. HCL's Mode 1-2-3 strategy, through its deep-domain industry expertise, customer-centricity and entrepreneurial culture of ideapreneurship enables businesses to transform into next-gen enterprises. HCL offers its services and products through three business units - IT and Business Services (ITBS), Engineering and R&D Services (ERS) and Products & Platforms (P&P). ITBS enables global enterprises to transform their businesses through offerings in areas of Applications, Infrastructure, Digital Process Operations and next generational digital transformation solutions. ERS offers engineering services and solutions in all aspects of product development and platform engineering. Under P&P, HCL provides modernized software products to global clients for their technology and industry-specific requirements. Through its cutting-edge co-innovation labs, global delivery capabilities and broad global network, HCL delivers holistic services in various industry verticals, categorized under Financial Services, Manufacturing, Technology & Services, Telecom & Media, Retail & CPG, Life Sciences & Healthcare and Public Services. As a leading global technology company, HCL takes pride in its diversity, social responsibility, sustainability and education initiatives. As of 12 months ended September 30, 2019, HCL has a consolidated revenue of US$ 9.3 billion and its 147,123 ideapreneurs operate out of 44 countries. For more information, visit www.hcltech.com. North Korea Appoints Korean Unification Talks Chief as New Foreign Minister Reports Sputnik News 13:16 19.01.2020 SEOUL (Sputnik) - According to the Yonhap News Agency, ambassadors in Pyongyang have been notified of the appointment. The former CPRC chief, who has previously headed North Korean delegations during high-level talks with South Korea, will reportedly replace outgoing Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho. North Korea has appointed Ri Son-gwon, the former head of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country (CPRC), as the country's new foreign minister, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported on Sunday, citing sources in Pyongyang. The agency stated that the replacement of Ri Yong-ho, a specialist in conducting diplomacy with the United States, could indicate Pyongyang's lack of intention to continue denuclearisation talks with Washington. The outgoing foreign minister held the post for four years, and travelled with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to the US-North Korean summits that were held in February and June last year, the agency reported. South Korean President Moon Jae-in on 7 January called on Pyongyang to do everything possible to implement the agreement on a return visit of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to Seoul. Moon held talks with the North Korean leader in Pyongyang in September 2018, although was warned by North Korea on 11 January not to read into a birthday message sent by US President Donald Trump to Kim Jong-un. US-North Korea denuclearisation negotiations have been in limbo since the North Korean delegation walked away from negotiations that took place in Sweden in October, frustrated by Washington's unwillingness to offer any concessions. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Advertisement The 26th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards brought together the biggest stars in Hollywood to celebrate the best films and TV shows of the year. And Jennifer Aniston made sure to have all eyes on her as she glided down the red carpet in a slinky, white gown by Dior at the Shrine Auditorium on Sunday afternoon. The 50-year-old actress was joined on the best dressed list by fellow bombshells Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Lopez and Charlize Theron. Beautiful: Jennifer Aniston (L, in Dior), Scarlett Johansson (LC, in Armani), Jennifer Lopez (RC, in Georges Hobeika) and Charlize Theron (R, in Givenchy Haute Couture) dazzled on the red carpet as they arrived at the SAG Awards on Sunday at the Shrine Auditorium Jennifer, 50, turned heads in a slinky white vintage Dior by John Galliano gown that hugged her figure; the Friends star's frock had a patterned hemline with a ruched accent along one hip and an asymmetrical neckline. The beauty, who stars on The Morning Show, opted to go braless in the eye-catching gown, while adding two diamond rings and earrings for pops of sparkle - all by Fred Leighton. Scarlett, 35, was an absolute bombshell in her emerald colored gown by Armani Prive, complete with a plunging neckline and crystal encrusted straps in the back. The Marriage Story star rounded out her glamorous look with Stuart Weitzman heels, Taffin jewellery and a Jimmy Choo clutch; The mother of one painted her pout a crimson hue, with her blonde locks pulled back into a chic bun. Scarlett arrived with her fiance SNL writer and star Colin Jost, who cut a dapper figure in his Giorgio Armani suit and bowtie. The lovebirds, who beamed on the red carpet, announced their engagement on May 19, 2019 after almost two years together. Sexy: Jennifer, 50, wore a formfitting white gown that she opted to rock braless; she is wearing a vintage Dior by John Galliano gown with Fred Leighton jewellery Bombshell: Scarlett, 35, flashed her back tattoos in the shiny Armani Prive gown that had a low-cut neckline So happy: Scarlett arrived with her fiance SNL writer and star Colin Jost, who cut a dapper figure in his Giorgio Armani suit and bowtie Scarlett's arrival to the SAG Awards comes two days after she was 'violently ill' and couldn't attend the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, according to ET Canada. The star's statement was read by SBIFF Executive Director Roger Durling, who also accepted her award on her behalf. Her statement read: 'I am so saddened that I can not be here with you this evening. An hour-and-a-half ago, I became violently ill right as I was about to leave the Miramar Hotel for the theater. I was so looking forward to accepting this incredible honor in person, and to not be here on stage with Adam is deeply disappointing, to say the least,' via People. Jennifer's gown, by Georges Hobeika, had off-the-shoulder sleeves that dropped off at the ends; the black gown had a dipped back with a train. The 50-year-old actress carried a Tyler Ellis clutch with Casadei heels and her tresses pulled back into an updo - with two pieces loose near her face; the star wore pink lipstick with smokey eye makeup beneath defined brows. Jennifer arrived with her fiance Alex Rodriguez, 44; the couple got engaged in March 2019 after two years of dating. The mother of two wore over $9 million worth of Harry Winston jewellery, all of which were set in platinum; her jewellery includes a cascading drop necklace with diamonds (73.55 carats); line drop earrings with diamonds (13.77 carats); a wire diamond bracelet with round brilliant, pear-and marquise-shaped diamonds (59.27 carats); a secret cluster bracelet with diamonds (35.42 carats; a cushion-cut diamond ring (15.99 carats), set in platinum and a Lotus cluster ring with diamonds (1.26 carats). What an arrival: Jennifer, 50, donned an off-the-shoulder black Georges Hobeika dress with over $9 million worth of Harry Winston jewellery Iconic: Jennifer wore over $9 million worth of Harry Winston jewellery, including a cascading drop necklace with diamonds (73.55 carats), set in platinum; line drop earrings with diamonds (13.77 carats), set in platinum; a wire diamond bracelet with round brilliant, pear-and marquise-shaped diamonds (59.27 carats), set in platinum; a secret cluster bracelet with diamonds (35.42 carats), set in platinum; a cushion-cut diamond ring (15.99 carats), set in platinum and a Lotus cluster ring with diamonds (1.26 carats), set in platinum Can't stop smiling: Jennifer arrived with her fiance Alex Rodriguez, 44; the couple got engaged in March 2019 after two years of dating Charlize looked every inch the movie star that she is in a Givenchy Haute Couture look, consisting with a high-neck silver crop top and a high-waisted black belted skirt. The sleeveless top also flashed a hint of her flat stomach while also sharing a peek at her toned legs with the thigh-slit. The 44-year-old Bombshell actress wore all Tiffany & Co. jewellery, including a bracelet along her hairline; the beautiful mother of two wore her blonde hair centre-parted and pulled back. Reese Witherspoon, 43, also joined Charlize on the silver and black trend, as did Phoebe Waller-Bridge, 34, Margaret Qualley, 25 and Glenn Close, 72. Reese, who stars on The Morning Show and Big Little Lies, dazzled in a one-shoulder gown by Celine with Harry Winston jewellery, all in set in platinum, including: ear studs with emerald-cut diamonds (6.32 carats); a bracelet with diamond links (6.78 carats); a crossover diamond ring (1.67 carats); and a river diamond ring (2.58 carats). Alexis Bledel, Rachel Brosnahan and Lili Reinhart all chose gowns with silver accents for a bold metallic touch to their exquisite looks. Goddess: Charlize looked every inch the movie star that she is in a Givenchy Haute Couture look, consisting with a high-neck silver crop top and a high-waisted black belted skirt Elegant: The 44-year-old Bombshell actress wore all Tiffany & Co. jewellery, including a bracelet along her hairline; the beautiful mother of two wore her blonde hair centre-parted and pulled back; she posed with Brad Pitt, whom she was rumored to be dating last year Silver and black: Reese Witherspoon (L, in Celine), Phoebe Waller-Bridge (lC, in custom Armani Prive) and Margaret Qualley (RC, in Chanel) and Glenn Close (R, in Oscar de la Renta) all wore two-tone looks Co-stars: Zoe Kravitz shared a laugh with her Big Little Lies co-star Reese as they posed up a storm Silver accents: Sadie Sink (L, in Gucci), Alexis Bledel (LC, in Temperley London), Rachel Brosnahan (RC, in Stella McCartney and Forevermark) and Lili Reinhart (R, in Miu Miu) all chose dress with silver detailing Silver gowns was another popular trend on the SAG awards red carpet, with Dakota Fanning, Jane Seymour and Catherine Zeta-Jones leading the way. Dakota, 25, chose a midriff-baring sparkling Valentino gown, adding Fred Leighton jewels, Sophia Webster heels and a Roger Vivier clutch. Catherine Zeta-Jones was a vision in her plunging silver frock by Julien X Gabriela, adding Lorraine Schwartz jewellery and Giuseppe Zanotti heels. The 50-year-old Welsh beauty arrived with her husband of 19 years, actor Michael Douglas, 75. Stranger Things' Natalia Dyer went for gold in her dazzling Saint Laurent gown with Cartier jewellery; she posed up a storm with her boyfriend and co-star Charlie Heaton, who donned Lanvin. Queens of the carpet: Dakota Fanning (L, in Valentino), Jane Seymour (C, in Sho) and Catherine Zeta-Jones (R, in Julien X Gabriela) The 50-year-old Welsh beauty arrived with her husband of 19 years, actor Michael Douglas, 75 Lovely: Stranger Things' Natalia Dyer went for gold in her dazzling Saint Laurent gown with Cartier jewellery; she posed up a storm with her boyfriend and co-star Charlie Heaton, who donned Lanvin Many stars opted for more neutral colours for the SAG Awards; Millie Bobbie Brown, Yvonne Strahovski and Camila Mendes chose white frocks for the red carpet, with Riverdale star Camila choosing to accessorise hers with earrings and a ring from Swarovski. On the other end of the colour spectrum were stars Michelle Williams, Maya Hawke, America Ferrera and Gwendoline Christie, who all chose classic black; Maya added some bling to her look by adorning her hair with accessories from Swarovski. Joey King looked particularly beautiful in her black sheer-panelled gown by custom Jason Wu Collection - which had nine different types of Swarovski crystals and tiny metal studs; there are 5,000 Swarovski crystals and studs - which were placed by hand on the dress. Joey, 20, rounded out her chic ensemble with Jimmy Cho heels, Jennifer Zeuner earrings, a Stefere and Akillis ring. Neutral: Stranger Things' Millie Bobby Brown, 15, (L, in Louis Vuitton) chose w dress that featured trousers while Yvonne Strahovski (C, in Khyeli) and Camila Mendes (R, in Ralph & Russo) opted for off-the-shoulder dresses LBD: Michelle Williams (L, in Louis Vuitton and Forevermark) Maya Hawke (LR, in Giambattista Valli), America Ferrera (RC, in Paule Ka) and Gwendoline Christie (R, in Rick Owens) opted for black gowns Glowing: Pregnant Michelle, 39, arrived with her fiance Thomas Kail to the awards show Sheer delight: Joey King (L, in Jason Wu Collection and holding a Jimmy Choo clutch) and Winona Ryder (R, in Dior) opted for sheer detailed black dresses Nicole Kidman, 52, Helena Bonham Carter, 53, Renee Zellweger, 50, and Samira Wiley, 32, went for dark blue ensembles. Nicole showed off her toned legs in a custom Michael Kors gown, as did Renee in her strapless shiny Maison Margiela tuxedo-style frock. Margot Robbie was a vision in a plaid pleated gown, adding a chain bow belt and layers of gold jewellery; she is wearing a Chanel Resort 2020 gown with Chanel Fine Jewellery. Handmaid Tale's Madeline Brewer chose a bright blue tiered gown by Monique Lhullier, adding Stuart Weitzman heels and a Tyler Ellis clutch. Dark blue vibes: Nicole Kidman (L, in Michael Kors), Helena Bonham Carter donned Self-Portrait (LC), Renee Zellweger (RC, in Maison Margiela and Jimmy Choo heels) and Samira Wiley (R, in Adeam) Pretty in pattern: Margot Robbie, 29, was a vision in a plaid pleated gown, adding a chain bow belt and layers of gold jewellery; she is wearing a Chanel Resort 2020 gown with Chanel Fine Jewellery Strike a pose: Handmaid Tale's Madeline Brewer chose a bright blue tiered gown by Monique Lhullier, adding Stuart Weitzman heels and a Tyler Ellis clutch Lovely: Camryn Manheim (L) donned a burgundy frock while Logan Browning (R, in Jason Wu) chose a blush hued gown with a train Flower power: Sarah Hyland looked beautiful in a lilac floral gown by Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini dress Zoe Kravitz channeled movie and style icon Audrey Hepburn as she shimmered on the red carpet; the Big Little Lies star, 31, chose a soft peach custom Oscar de la Renta column gown with bow detail. The beauty, who is the daughter of Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet, paired the strapless gown with Wing and Weft gloves, soft nude and copper makeup with slicked locks. Handmaid Tale's Elisabeth Moss dazzled in a soft pink Monique Lhullier gown, which had a red belt; she added Sergio Rossi heels, an Edie Parker clutch and Niwaka jewels. Sophie Turner, 23, donned a strapless dress by Louis Vuitton that showcased her svelte figure; she is wearing the figure-hugging number with Louis Vuitton High Jewellery. The Game of Thrones actress arrived with her husband, Joe Jonas, 30; the lovebirds married on 1 May, 2019 in Las Vegas. They had a ceremony on 29 June, 2019 in France. Audrey Hepburn inspired: Zoe Kravitz was a beauty in her soft peach strapless gown by Oscar de la Renta, adding white gloves by Wing and Weft Pretty in rosy pink: Handmaid Tale's Elisabeth Moss dazzled in a soft pink Monique Lhullier gown, which had a red belt; she added Sergio Rossi heels, an Edie Parker clutch and Niwaka jewels Catching up: Elisabeth, 37, greeted fellow star Jennifer as they posed up a storm on the red carpet Chic: Sophie, 23, donned a strapless dress that showcased her svelte figure; she is wearing Louis Vuitton with Louis Vuitton High Jewellery Couples: The Game of Thrones actress arrived with her husband, Joe Jonas, 30; the lovebirds married on 1 May, 2019 in Las Vegas. They had a ceremony on 29 June, 2019 in France; Molly Sims, 46, chose a pink frock for the event, which she attended with her husband Scott Stuber Bright star: Harriet's Cynthia Erivo chose a red and pink strapless custom Schiaparelli gown; the frock had a voluminous layered skirt. She added Roberto Coin jewels and Christian Louboutin heels Grinning ear to ear: Stranger Things' David Harbour, 44, posed alongside his girlfriend, singer Lily Allen, 34; she wore an Azzi & Osta gown Red love: Jennifer Garner (L, in Dolce & Gabbana), Danai Gurira (C, in Mugler) and Anna Paquin (R, in Carolina Herrera) chose bright crimson gowns In love: Anna, 37, arrived with her husband of nine years Stephen Moyer, 50; they met on the set of their series True Blood Good looking couple: Stranger Things' Dacre Montgomery posed with his beautiful girlfriend model Liv Pollock Stand out: Storm Reid (L, in Giambattista Valli), Nathalie Emmanuel (LC, in Miu Miu), Christina Applegate (RC, in Monique Lhullier) and Lupita Nyong'o (R, in Louis Vuitton and Forevermark) chose patterned looks Co-star love: Joey posed with her co-star Patricia Arquette; the duo star on The Act Bold: Cara Buono (L, in Bibhu Mohapatra) donned a red and black number Catherine O'Hara (C, in Marc Jacobs) chose a sequin orange gown; Kathryn Newton (R, in Valentino) chose a bright orange pleated gown with a low-cut neckline Bright: Pariah Ferguson (L, in RED Valentino), Alex Borstein (C) and Laura Dern (R, in Stella McCartney) Stranger Things cast: (L-R) Cara Buono, Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp, Millie Bobby Brown, Priah Ferguson, and Gaten Matarazzo Strike a pose: Natalia Dyer chose a gold dress as she arrived with boyfriend Charlie Heaton (L); Cary Elwes and Lisa Marie Kubikoff (R) looked chic on the red carpet Close: Sam Rockwell, 51, posed with his partner Leslie Bibb, 45; he wore a Dior Men by Kim Jones suit and she wore an August Getty Atelier Spring 2019 Couture gown; Stranger Things' Joe Keery, 27, cut a handsome figure as he posed with his girlfriend Maika Monroe, 26 Sweet: Jason Bateman arrived with his wife Amanda Anka and Adam Scott with his wife Naomi Good times: Samira arrived with her wife Orange Is The New Black writer Lauren Morelli; Rachel posed with her husband Jason Ralph Dapper: Joe Keery (L), Joaquin Phoenix (LC), Adam Driver (RC) and Bobby Cannavale (R) Suave: Leonardo DiCaprio chose a Giorgio Armani suit with Oliver Peoples sunglasses Catching up: Henry Winkler, 74, chatted with Brad Pitt, 56, on the red carpet; Brad is wearing a Brioni tuxedo Handsome: Stranger Things' Dacre, 25, chose a white suit with a black bow while his co-star Gaten Matarazzo donned an all black look and Finn Wolfhard chose a black suit with a white suit Bright: Stranger Things' Noah Schnapp(L) chose a light blue silky suit by Balmain with white sneakers while his co-star Caleb McLaughlin (R) donned a bright blue suit Suited up: Taron Egerton (L, in Brunello Cucinelli), Sterling K. Brown (LC), Taika Waititi (RC) and Eugene Levy (R) Shanghai (Gasgoo)- The year of 2020 is themed new energy vehicle and branding by BMW Group as the German premium carmaker is to roll out many NEV models in China and quite a few new models from a same series by the end of 2020. Last year, the BMW Group delivered a total of 723,680 BMW and MINI vehicles to customers in China, a 13.1% increase compared with the previous year, the automaker announced at a conference held on January 14. This was the company's best-ever sales result in the country since entering the market in 1994. As an e-mobility pioneer, it has already delivered the 50,000th electrified vehicles there as of December 2019. BMW Group pointed out it plans to roll out 17 new models in China, of which the all-new BMW X5 M and X6 M are set to hit the market in the middle of the year. Other fuel-burning models include the all-new BMW M5 and the all-new M8 four-door coupe. The concentration on the M products is the motive on which the annual theme branding is based. Three NEV models are scheduled to go on sale in the first quarter, namely, the BMW 5 Series PHEV with longer EV-only range, the all-new X5 PHEV and a limited edition of the BMW i8. The all-new iX3 all-electric SUV will be produced and hit the market by 2020. Aside from the expanding product lineup, the company said it will build up to 250,000 charging piles in 300 cities across China by 2020, covering 70,000 DC piles. WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trumps legal team asserted Monday that he did absolutely nothing wrong," urging the Senate to swiftly reject an impeachment case that it called flimsy" and a dangerous perversion of the Constitution." The lawyers decried the impeachment process as rigged and insisted that abuse of power was not a crime. The brief from Trump's lawyers, filed before arguments expected this week in the Senate impeachment trial, offered the most detailed glimpse of the lines of defense they intend to use against Democratic efforts to convict the president and oust him from office over his dealings with Ukraine. It is meant as a counter to a filing two days ago from House Democrats that summarized weeks of testimony from more than a dozen witnesses in laying out the impeachment case. The 110-page filing from the White House shifted the tone toward a more legal response. It still hinged on Trumps assertion he did nothing wrong and did not commit a crime even though impeachment does not depend on a material violation of law but rather on the more vague definition of other high crimes and misdemeanors as established in the Constitution. It is a constitutional travesty," the lawyers wrote. The document says the two articles of impeachment brought against the president abuse of power and obstruction of Congress don't amount to impeachment offenses. It asserts that the impeachment inquiry, centered on Trump's request that Ukraine's president open an investigation into Democratic rival Joe Biden, was never about finding the truth. Instead, House Democrats were determined from the outset to find some way any way to corrupt the extraordinary power of impeachment for use as a political tool to overturn the result of the 2016 election and to interfere in the 2020 election," Trump's legal team wrote. All of that is a dangerous perversion of the Constitution that the Senate should swiftly and roundly condemn." The prosecution team of House managers was expected to spend another day on Capitol Hill preparing for the trial, which will be under heavy security. Before the filing, House prosecutors arrived on Capitol Hill to tour the Senate chamber. The impeachment case accuses Trump of abusing power by withholding military aid from Ukraine at the same time that the president was seeking an investigation into Biden, and of obstructing Congress by instructing administration officials not to appear for testimony or provide documents, defying congressional subpoenas. In a brief filed Saturday, House Democrats called Trump's conduct the worst nightmare" of the framers of the Constitution. President Donald J. Trump used his official powers to pressure a foreign government to interfere in a United States election for his personal political gain, the House prosecutors wrote, and then attempted to cover up his scheme by obstructing Congresss investigation into his misconduct. But Trump's team contended Monday that even if Trump were to have abused his power in withholding the Ukraine military assistance, it would not be impeachable, because it did not violate a specific criminal statute. And it said that the White House was within its legal right to shield close advisers of the president from having to appear before Congress, saying that position has been taken by administrations of both parties. Opening arguments are expected within days following a debate Tuesday over rules, including about whether witnesses are to be called in the trial. Trump signaled his opposition to witnesses, tweeting Monday: They didnt want John Bolton and others in the House. They were in too much of a rush. Now they want them all in the Senate. Not supposed to be that way!" That's a reference to former national security adviser John Bolton, who was not subpoenaed by the House in its impeachment inquiry but has said he is willing to testify in the Senate if he is subpoenaed. The White House brief argues that the articles of impeachment passed by the House are structurally deficient because they charge multiple acts, creating a menu of options as possible grounds for conviction. The Trump team claims that the Constitution requires that senators agree on the specific basis for conviction and that there is no way to ensure that the senators agree on which acts are worthy of removal. As part of their defense, Trump's attorneys also mounted a broad defense of presidential power, arguing that the two other impeachment trials in the nation's history were similarly defective. The White House brief argues that the articles of impeachment passed by the House are structurally deficient because they charge multiple acts, creating a menu of options as possible grounds for conviction. The Trump team claims that the Constitution requires that senators agree on the specific basis for conviction and that there is no way to ensure that the senators agree on which acts are worthy of removal, because a single count contains multiple allegations. Administration officials have argued that similar imprecision applied to the perjury case in the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton, who was acquitted by the Senate. The Trump lawyers accused Democrats of diluting the standards for impeachment, an argument that echoed the case made Sunday by one of Trump's attorneys, Alan Dershowitz, who contended in talk shows that impeachable offenses must be criminal-like conduct." That assertion has been rejected by scholars, and Rep. Adam Schiff, the Democratic chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, called it an absurdist position." Laurence Fox attends the Walpole British Luxury Awards 2019 at The Dorchester on November 18, 2019 (David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Walpole) Actor Laurence Fox has labelled woke people racist as the controversy over his comments about Meghan Markles treatment in the press rumbles on. Its not hopeful, what world do you want to live in? he said of wokeness on Talk Radio on Monday 20 January, adding: A world where everyone is racist or where we all try to come together? I think there is racism everywhere but I dont think we are systemically racist but then again I am a straight white male. The actor faced a backlash over his appearance on BBC1s Question Time last week when he queried whether the Duchess of Sussex had faced discrimination in the British press. One woman in the studio criticised Fox for his statements, saying: What worries me about your comments is you are a white, privileged male who has no experience in this. Actors Billie Piper and Laurence Fox in 2014. The couple are now divorced. (Grant Pollard/Invision/AP) Fox later revealed he had received death threats after his Question Time comments made headlines, sharing a grab of one from a man identified only as Chris L which read: You know what would be hilarious? If someone walked up to Laurence Fox and unloaded a couple shotgun shots into his face. Ending his racist, miserable existence. Id just laugh and laugh Read more: Meghan and Harry to give up royal titles Speaking to Talk Radio, the actor said that he was not expecting people to kick off over his remarks on the BBC debate programme. He added that you cant be a wokeist without blaming everybody for being racist. He said: I am at the bottom of the intersectional ladder, thats for sure. But she was being racist. I didnt raise colour at all. She said youre a straight white male and technically thats racist so I was surprised it created such drama. However he added: I think it created drama because the British are patient and were tired of being told were racist by the people we pay money for and support and generally applaud, and so it hurts a little extra when youre called racist on top of it. Question Time panellist Laurence Fox: British people are "tired of being called racist by the people we support." Watch in full https://t.co/3PrjQHxBAa@JuliaHB1 | @LozzaFox pic.twitter.com/cnQHNug3c2 talkRADIO (@talkRADIO) January 20, 2020 Fox, son of actor James Fox and nephew of Edward Fox, said that he was fine with people taking a pop at him over his views, but added that he stops listening when the criticism spills over into vitriol. Story continues He said: We live in the most tolerant, progressive society, but then you go we have to have something were upset about, so they get upset about oppression. The actor, who was married to Billie Piper, also suggested that being woke is a middle-class thing because they need to feel oppressed as well. Laurence Fox attending the 25th Birthday National Lottery Awards, the search for the UK's favourite National Lottery-funded projects. On Sunday, former Lewis star Fox also hit out at black and working-class actors for complaining about the industry once they have five million quid in the bank. He told The Delingpod podcast: The most annoying thing is, the minute a black actor its the same with working-class actors the minute theyve got five million quid in the bank, every interview they do is about how racism is rampant and rife in the industry. And with working-class actors, Theres not enough working-class actors. You werent saying that when you didnt have a f****** pot to piss in were you? You werent standing up for the working class actors until youre now no longer materially working class. Mike Silva has found a way to combine his greatest loves: music, cookies and Albuquerque. His two cookie shops one near the University of New Mexico and the other at the renovated El Vado Motel near Old Town are called Rude Boy Cookies, playing off the term for serious ska music fans. Silva is a very serious fan. He can play accordion, sax and drums, and hes in two bands, including one he started called the Duke City Ska Jazz Syndicate. Music was kind of a big turning point for me, and as Ive grown older in life and tried to find things to connect to and ground myself to, Ive always come back to the music, says Silva, 51. The other company Silva owns with partner Jesse Herron, the Albuquerque Tourism & Sightseeing Factory, grew out of Silvas love for the city to which he and his mother and siblings fled after some really tough times in Los Angeles. I love Albuquerque, says Silva, who arrived here when he was 8. To say Im passionate about it seems kind of cliche, but what it did for my family and the people here that helped make the transition doable my love for this city is so strong. The tourism factory, founded in 2015, includes the Albucreepy Downtown Ghost Walk, the Duke City Pedaler and a trolley service that boomed with its tour of Breaking Bad locations, Silva says. We go around the city every day and tell folks all over the world how amazing Albuquerque is, says Silva, who won an Ethics in Business award last year in the individual excellence category. Thats what we do. Silva is also very big on his family and his friends, especially the long-standing group unofficially known as the Circle. Coffee with brothas is what I call it, Silva says. Theres not a lot of African-American folks around here, so to find professional black men there definitely are folks like that here, but I was finding in my circle I wasnt running into too many, so we kind of get together to help each other and get a little wind beneath our wings. Out of that grew some really cool moments. For example, the group decided a couple of years ago to buy out a movie theater and fill it with kids who ate popcorn, sipped drinks and watched Black Panther. We decided were going to have them experience what we might not have been able to, Silva says. When it ended, the kids clapped, hooted and hollered. I had to fight back tears. What led you to become an entrepreneur? Its funny. I was working traditional jobs. I didnt have an entrepreneurial bone in my body, as far as I knew, and I had a job that I loved and they fired me. And the way that went down was so humiliating. I had to do that walk of shame: go sit in an office and they tell you that youre not employed anymore and you have to walk back to your office and pack up a box and by now everybody in the whole office knows. It was maybe one of the lowest points in my life. My wife and I had just bought a brand-new house, so we panicked and it was stressful. We managed to get through it, but from that I decided I was never going to work for anybody ever again. I decided Im going to create a work environment where people want to work, where people are treated fairly. Why did you branch out into cookies? Cookies came about five years after the tour business started. Everybody has their go-to sweet. For some people, its cake, a scoop of ice cream. For me, it was always a chocolate chip cookie. I looked around the community, and there was no designated cookie shop. And then there was my love of music. So I laid in bed one night, and I thought, You know what? Im going to open a cookie shop called Rude Boy Cookies, and its going to play reggae and ska music and Im doing this.' You mentioned your childhood. What were you like as a kid? My childhood in Los Angeles was a little difficult, which was what led to coming out here. My dad had a rough go. He was battling some demons that he was never really able to shake. He passed away when I was in ninth grade. (Moving to Albuquerque) was very tough for me because I was a pretty hardened kid for a third-grader already. I had already kind of seen way too much, been exposed to some things I probably shouldnt have seen. I was a stubborn, angry kid in suspension all the time. Fourth grade was a year I found a little bit of comfort because I was playing sax. By the time I got to middle school, the instrument was such a big part of my life that everything was no longer an issue, because I was so focused. The music kind of changed me. What was it that fostered your love for Albuquerque? I had teachers I took a liking to. My early music director (at Lowell Elementary School) made an influence on me really early. And then when I reached high school, a buddy of mine, his parents took me in as their own and to this day, theyre like family to me. Ive been fortunate in that my life has been filled with people that have come and gone, really important people. But its been the folks that have come and stayed that have changed things for me, that have helped me to see that theres another way. That I can persevere, and I can move forward because a whole lot of people have stepped in and helped to push me forward to the point Im sitting here with you now because otherwise I would have fallen prey to what everyone else around me was doing early on. What do you think makes you successful? Im honest, Im vulnerable. Im not afraid to admit my mistakes. Im not afraid to acknowledge that I dont know everything. I definitely have a sense of fearlessness about me. Not reckless, but fearless, and I have a strong push and motivation to be wealthy. Im not going to deny that. I am motivated by wealth, but heres the thing. The wealth that I hope to achieve will be enough to make sure my familys good, but if it ever gets to the point that I want it to get to, then the amount I can give back and do for this city is unbelievable. Its going to be massive. Thats part of my motivation. Besides cookies, what are your favorite foods? I love pizza. I love spinach. Hated it as a kid, love it now. My wife makes an incredible salmon. My mother-in-law makes unbelievable salmon. I didnt eat meat for a really long time, but now Im back to eating meat, brisket. Whats a splurge for you? A splurge for me would be a huge, diner-sized piece of chocolate fudge cake with a scoop of mocha fudge ice cream. Thats a splurge for me. Going on a road trip with a bunch of my buddies and watching some sporting games and having good meals. Give me some food, folks and fun, and Im happy. THE BASICS: Michael M. Silva, Jr., 51; born in San Bernardino, California; married to Penimah Silva since 2003; one daughter, Ariella Silva, 7; one pet, Miles, a mixed-breed dog; University of New Mexico, bachelors in political science, 1995. POSITIONS: Co-founder/owner, Albuquerque Tourism & Sightseeing Factory and founder/co-owner, Rude Boy Cookies. COMMUNITY SERVICE: Board member, Golden Apple Foundation of New Mexico, University of New Mexico Alumni Association, City of Albuquerque Small Business Regulatory Advisory Committee, ACES Foundation, ACES Technical Charter School. The most active migrants who implement the idea of entrepreneurship by different means and facilitate the social and economic development of Gdansk will be defined during the online voting Ukrainians Kateryna Brodovska and Natalya Kovalyshyna nominated for award for Immigrant Entrepreneurship as Dziennik Baltycki reported. Earlier, Dziennik Baltycki announced the competition Gdansk city of proactive 2019. Immigrant Entrepreneurship is the category when we award adult citizens of Gdansk with foreign citizenship for active participation in the development of the local community, the message said. According to the profile of Kateryna Brodovska, she is a linguist of the Polish language on education. During two years, she cooperates with amateur Ukrainian theater Navpaky and she is a member of Gdansk organization Union of Ukrainians in Poland. She launched two startups in Gdansk: Polish language courses and event-agency BRODway. Second nominated Ukrainian Natalya Kovalyshyna is the coordinator for students with the experience of migration in the school and preschool complex #1 in Gdansk according to her profile. She helps children of migrants to adapt. The most active migrants who implement the idea of entrepreneurship by different means and facilitate the social and economic development of city will be defined during the online voting. Earlier, a passenger car crashed into a truck near the Polish town of Kobiel, killing four people, two of them were Ukrainians. The federal government earmarked N3.79 billion for Ajaokuta Steel Company in the 2020 budget. According to budget documents seen, N3... The federal government earmarked N3.79 billion for Ajaokuta Steel Company in the 2020 budget. According to budget documents seen, N3.607 million of that amount would be for recurrent expenditure during the year while N188.5 million would go into capital expenditure. Some of the key highlights from the budget include N94.1 million for provision of water facilities, N43 million for maintenance of power facilities, N41.3 million for purchase of two Toyota Hilux vans while lighting and security would gulp N10 million. The allocations were made even though the steel plant located in Kogi state has never functioned since its construction. In 2019, Abubakar Bwari, minister of state, mines and steel development, said the plant had reached 98 percent completion, and that it would start functioning when the infrastructure required such as rail, dredging of Lokoja and Warri ports are completed. ANOTHER N309.9M FOR CONCESSION Besides the N3.79 billion, another N309.9 million was allocated to concession the steel company. This comes less than a year after a bill seeking to halt the concession process was rejected by President Muhammadu Buhari. The house of representatives had asked Buhari to direct Kayode Fayemi, then minister of mines and steel development, to stop the process of concession. The plant is said to have gulped $5.1 billion. The failure of the green chamber to convince the federal government to shelve the plan to concession the company led to the introduction of that bill which also sought to complete it. One of Buharis campaign promises in 2015 was to ensure the resuscitation of the plant. A before-and-after photo of Russell Crowe's farm shows the stark differences heavy rain has had on the fire-ravaged property just weeks after he chose to miss the Golden Globes to fight the blazes. The Hollywood actor has remained at his sprawling 400 hectare Nana Glen rural property near Coffs Harbour on the NSW north coast after it was hit by the fires in November. He took to Twitter on Wednesday and shared two striking images of the farm, one taken after the fire tore through and the other on Monday morning. Over the weekend the area was hit with 117mm of rain, with the property once again looking rejuvenated and green. Crowe took to Twitter on Wednesday and shared two striking images of the farm, one taken after the fire tore through and the other on Monday morning (both pictured) Crisis: Russell was personally impacted by the raging inferno when his rural property was badly damaged in November (pictured) 'Look at this place, absolutely f**king smashed': Crowe shared this image of a fallen, burnt out tree blocking his access to his home The Gladiator star was overseas where he found out on November 13 his property was under threat. Crowe's stunning sprawling home was later badly damaged in the blaze. The actor shared photos of the aftermath sent to to him by his family, showing the ash-covered ground and scorched trees, along with the charred remains of several ruined fixtures, including a horse trailer. 'Lost a couple of buildings, but overall very lucky so far. Chapel roof scorched. Deepest thanks to everyone on the ground. Some fires still burning and we are out of water. No livestock deaths to date. Horses ok,' he tweeted at the time. Crowe chose not to attend the 77th Golden Globe Awards on January 5 to stay in Australia as bushfires continued to ravage the country. The 55-year-old actor was nominated for his role in miniseries The Loudest Voice, but instead stayed home to help those affected by the bushfires in New South Wales. 'Sexy truck for sure': Russell Crowe stepped up his bushfire relief efforts this week by modifying his banged-up old Ford F1 into a makeshift fire truck (pictured) 'We've got all the stuff you need for fighting fires': Earlier in the week, Russell had shared a video to Instagram in which he showed off the inside of his truck In his absence, Jennifer Aniston read a powerful message about climate change Russell had sent from Australia when he won. The statement read: 'Make no mistake. The tragedy unfolding in Australia is climate change-based. We need to act based on science, move our global workforce to renewable energy and respect our planet for the unique and amazing place it is.' Earlier this month he stepped up his relief efforts by modifying his banged-up old Ford F1 into a makeshift fire truck. The 55-year-old shared a photo of the truck to Instagram, telling fans that he had 're-purposed' the vehicle in order to help his neighbours. 'I've owned this truck over 20 years and it was already an "old" truck when I bought it,' he wrote in the caption. Before and after: Russell's 400-hectare property in Nana Glen, on the NSW mid-north coast, was badly damaged in November when a raging inferno tore through the area Smoke from a large bushfire is seen outside Nana Glen, near Russell Crowe's 400-hectare property 'Repurposed to fight the good fight. I know... sexy truck for sure.' Earlier in the week, Russell had shared a video to Instagram in which he showed off the inside of his truck. 'We keep this truck ready and prepared in case things get crazy,' he said. 'It's got a thousand litre water cube on it... it's got a couple of bins filed with dirt and shovels for spot fires.' 'We've got all the stuff you need for fighting fires,' he added, showing off his gear including spare hoses, fire blankets and respirators. Crowe has been sharing the damages from his property, posting videos of him working on cleaning up the farm. There were claims from distraught locals at the time the that fire crews rushed to Crowe's property first and left other homes to burn, which NSW Rural Fire Service described at the time as nonsense. Crowe shared this photo of a fallen, burnt out tree blocking his access to his home Crowe added three pictures of the grounds (pictured) around his home on fire, showing firefighters containing the blaze His niece Chelsea Crowe, who also lives on his property also angrily fired back at the claims and set the record straight in a public Facebook post. 'Unfortunately, there is a lot of gossip... going around that fire crews abandoned properties in favour to protect Russell's home,' Chelsea posted. 'If you look at a map and knew the boundary lines the entire property is backed by Tallawudjah and the state forest. Whilst they moved to crews to a previously scouted vantage point to attack it as it came through the ridge. 'This move was not to protect his buildings in particular. It wouldn't have mattered who lived there.' Crowe first bought land in Nana Glen in 1999 before later expanding his property to included nine surrounding lots. He married long-time on-off partner Danielle Spencer on the property on his 39th birthday in 2003. DTEK to hold roundtable in Davos devoted to Ukraine's opportunities of contributing in Green Deal DTEK will lead a roundtable discussion "A European Green Deal How Can Ukraine's Energy Sector Contribute?" during the World Economic Forum in Davos on of January 23, 2020. "The goal of our roundtable is to discuss with the European partners both the contribution and opportunities of Ukraine's energy reform to work in tandem with the Green Deal" DTEK said on its website on Monday, citing DTEK CEO Maksym Tymchenko. The company said that Ukraine can make a significant contribution to achieving the Green Deal targets by increasing the share of renewables in the country's energy balance to replace other generation capacities, developing responsible consumption, and building a customer-focused energy sector. One of the priorities of Green Deal is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. DTEK said that the Green Deal adopted by the European Commission on December 11, 2019 aims to reconfigure the EU's existing economic model in the face of ongoing climate and environmental-related challenges. WEST CHESTER The Pennsylvania Attorney Generals Office has taken over the prosecution of the Coatesville mother of an alleged child abuse victim who is accused of committing perjury during a 2016 trial, a case that grew to have political implications in last years race for Chester County District Attorney. Chief Deputy Attorney General Kirsten Heine entered her appearance sometime last week after the case was referred to her office by new District Attorney Deb Ryan. Contacted Thursday, Heine declined comment on the case. However, she did ask for a pre-trial hearing on a pair of motions before Judge David Bortner to be continued until next month. Bortner granted the continuance. Ryan issued a statement explaining her reasons for asking the AGs Office to assume responsibility for the prosecution, which began in 2017. This was referred to the Attorney Generals Office because I was one of the prosecutors who handled the underlying case where the alleged perjury occurred, Ryan said Friday. In order to avoid even the appearance of impropriety or bias it is imperative that another agency assume the matter. The defense attorney representing the mother welcomed the change. I am pleased that this case has been transferred to the Attorney General, said Amparito Arriaga of West Chester. I am hopeful that a fresh set of eyes will bring a new perspective to this case. The perjury case was put off from a scheduled trial before Bortner last summer when an attorney for Ryan complained it was being used as a political tool against her candidacy. Ryan had been the lead prosecutor on the original child abuse case when she was head of the DAs Child Abuse Unit. That alleged political bias in the case those opposed to Ryans candidacy in November used it in flyers sent to prospective voters just prior to Election Day to call her fitness for office into question was behind a move by Arraiga to have the case dismissed, or transferred to the Attorney General. That motion was to be heard on Wednesday by Bortner, along with an unusual motion by the former prosecutor handling the perjury case, Assistant District Attorney Christopher Miller, to have Bortner either disqualified or voluntarily removed from hearing the case because of alleged bias against the prosecution. In the motion filed on Dec. 20, Miller charged that Bortner had engaged in repeated improper conduct in this matter, leading to both actual bias and an appearance of bis as it relates to his ability to preside fairly over this criminal case. Miller cited several instances in which he alleged that Bortner attempted to force him into accepting a misdemeanor plea instead of the felony perjury charge now facing the woman. Judge Bortner appears to have forgotten that his role is to sit as an impartial judge, not as an advocate for a party to the proceedings, an extraordinary accusation by a prosecutor against a judge who has sat on the countys Common Pleas bench for 12 years. Miller, who had been Ryans co-counsel on the child abuse trial in 2016, was let go by the District Attorneys Office on Jan. 7, a day after Ryan took office. It will now be up to Heine to decide whether to go forward with that motion or withdraw it. Heine also has the authority to proceed with the case to trial, or work out a non-trial disposition of the matter with Arriaga. The conflict involves a 35-year-old Coatesville woman who in 2015 accused a family friend of sexually assaulting her autistic, then 4-year-old daughter, and who then admittedly lied at the mans November 2016 trial about the extent of the relationship she had with him. The womans name is being withheld by the Daily Local News because of the nature of the initial charges against the man, which have since been dropped. She faces felony perjury charges, as well as two counts of false swearing, a misdemeanor. If convicted of all three counts, she could face a maximum prison term of 51/2 to 11 years. The case was the last trial that Ryan, the former chief supervisor of the DAs Child Abuse Unit, conducted before resigning from the office in early 2017. According to the perjury arrest warrant filed against the woman in 2017 by Chester County Detective Keith Cowdright, the woman reported to police in Coatesville that she had witnessed a family friend, Mario Serrano, sexually assault her daughter while sitting on a sofa in her living room. Because the child is non-verbal, the woman was the sole witness who could testify to the alleged offense. After Serrano was arrested in July 2015 and charged with child sexual abuse, he told authorities that he and the woman had a prior sexual relationship and that she was fabricating the story about his behavior as revenge for him ending their relationship. Later, at Serranos trial, the woman falsely testified that she had no prior romantic relationship with Serrano. But following her cross-examination by Serranos attorney, Joel Benecke of West Chester, the woman admitted to a county investigator that she had indeed had a four- to five-year-long sexual relationship with him, and believed that he might be the father of one of her children. The following day, the woman retook the stand and acknowledged that she had not testified truthfully about their relationship. The trial ended in a mistrial after the jury told Judge James P. MacElree Ii that it could not reach a unanimous verdict. In 2017, Miller withdrew charges against Serrano, saying the prosecution did not have sufficient evidence to prove the case against him. The perjury charges against the woman, however, do not involve her original accusations about the alleged sexual assault on her daughter. To contact staff writer Michael P. Rellahan call 610-696-1544. Hub71, a tech ecosystem in Abu Dhabi, has launched the regions first Microsoft Reactor program as it further expanded its ecosystemto35 innovative startups with the announcement of 17 winners of the Hub71 Incentive Package. As part of its strategic partnership with Microsoft, Hub71s Microsoft Reactor program will be a center for technical learning and knowledge-sharing where developers and startup founders can connect with the local community. The Microsoft Reactor program will provide a curriculum to help these professionals strengthen expertise around emerging topics such as cloud services and Artificial Intelligence. This comprehensive program is available to Hub71 residents and the broader community free of charge. Microsoft for Startups will also operate out of Hub71, which is designed to support startups as they build and scale their companies. With the announcement of 17 winners of the Hub71 Incentive Program,Hub71 is now supporting 35 innovative startups with up to 100 per cent free housing, office space and health insurance for two years for seed companies and 50 per cent subsidizes for emergent companies, for three years, worth around Dh3.5million ($950,000). Ibrahim Ajami, head of Ventures at Mubadala Capital, said: The 17 winning startups joining Hub71 will make waves across multiple industries, adding diversity to Abu Dhabis tech economy from around the world and creating new jobs in the Emirate. To further support the success of Hub71s community of innovative startups, were pleased to welcome the Microsoft Reactor program to Hub71; providing new skills and enabling companies to materialize their best innovations yet. Jeana Jorgensen, general manager, Cloud and AI Division at Microsoft, said: Built to support the Gulfs unprecedented rate of digital transformation, we are thrilled to open a Microsoft Reactor within Hub71. The concentration of globally minded startups, investors and industry, represents an enormous opportunity. We believe bringing these elements together with Mubadala and Hub71 will be a catalyst for the region. Hub71, which opened its program to the public last October, received 348 applications from 47 countries with the UAE, USA, Lebanon, India and Egypt forming the top five countries. 41 per cent of applicants said they would move their teams to Abu Dhabi if they were selected validating the Emirates position as a regional tech hub. Startups that applied to the Hub71 Incentive Program were predominately in the sectors of Fintech, Artificial Intelligence and e-commerce, with 72 per cent of applicants in the seed stage having raised $100,000 to 1 million and 28 per cent of applicants in the emergent stage having raised $ 1-5 million. Of the startups that applied, 20 per cent are led by Emirati nationals and 37 per cent are female-led companies. Collectively, the 17 winning startups look to raise approximately $ 60 million in capital, and to double their full-time employees. Hub7 Incentive Program winner and Emirati founder and CEO, Mustafa Almusawa Alhashemi, commented:We are overjoyed to have been selected for the Hub71 Incentive Program. We look forward to bringing our team here to Hub71. We feel its the right place at the right time to build Smart Navigation System; as we believe Abu Dhabi is set to become the leading global tech hub in the not-too-distant future. TradeArabia News Service Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MP Galla Jayadev was on Monday detained by the police in Amaravati during a rally by farmers against state government approving setting up of three capitals. "The government never mentioned about three capital before the elections. They kept the pubic in dark. They did not mention this in the manifesto and they have got no mandate from the public to change the capital or make it into three. They have won the election on a false pretext and false claims," MP Jayadev said. He claimed that no government officials have come here to speak to the farmers who are protesting for 32 days. "Today is the 32nd day of the peaceful protests and till now no government officials have come to speak to farmers. The Chief Minister has not come, not even the local MLAs are coming. This is a single party protest even the YRSCP leaders have participated in the protests. In total 23 people have died in the last 32 days. It is shameful that the government failed to understand what the protest means to people," he added. The leader said he condemns the autocratic attitude and the fight for Amaravati will continue. A tense situation prevailed at 'Dharna Chowk' as the Amaravati Joint Action Committee (JAC) leaders marched towards the state assembly. When the leaders started marching to the assembly, police tried to stop them following which a verbal altercation took place. The JAC leaders expressed anger that police were illegally arresting those who were protesting peacefully. Former MP Maganti Babu, other JAC leaders, and other participants in the march including women were arrested and taken to police stations at different places. In the assembly, Andhra Pradesh finance minister Buggana Rajendranath introduced the Andhra Pradesh Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of all Region Bill 2020. Andhra Pradesh municipal administration and urban development minister Botsa Satyanarayana also introduced Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority Repeal Bill 2020 in the house. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In what is a very troubled passage for our country, we should not forget how significant it is that we reserve a date calling attention not to a former president or a founder from the revolution of 1776, but to a staunch critic of our injustices. He was killed after giving a speech in Memphis suffused with admonishments to anyone who looked down on others, most powerfully when he noted that the low-paid Americans whose strike he was supporting were public servants, who happen to be sanitation workers. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday (January 20) said during his 'Pariksha Pe Charcha' programme in New Delhi that he was unable to sleep on the night when Chandrayaan 2's Vikram lander failed to land on the moon's surface successfully. The prime minister also revealed that he was advised by some people not to attend Chandrayaan 2 launch mission, saying 'there is no surety, what if it fails' but he told them that is the reason I must visit ISRO. Addressing the students at Delhi's Talkatora Stadium, PM Modi said that he went to the hotel after the scientists at Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) confirmed that Vikram lander has lost contact with ISRO headquarters but he was not disappointed with this development. The prime minister added that he then called the officers of PMO to his room and asked them to fix a time of his meeting with ISRO scientists the next morning. PM Modi said that he then went to meet the scientists and appreciated the Chandrayaan 2 team for the mission and this changed the mood of the whole nation. The prime minister told students that the incident taught him that we can learn lessons of success even from our failures. "I could not sit in peace. I summoned the PMO team and changed the schedule. I met the scientists early morning the next day. I shared my emotions with them and lauded their efforts. Basically, we can find an education about success in failures," said PM Modi Encouraging those behind Chandrayaan 2 mission, PM Modi had said that there will be a new dawn and a brighter tomorrow very soon. Referring to the loss of contact when the Vikram Lander was just 2.1 km away from Moon, the Prime Minister said, We might not have reached the surface of moon as per our plan, but a poet will describe this situation as Chandrayaan-2 was in a hurry to meet the moon and hence it rushed towards it. Live TV Asserting that science is never satisfied with results, the prime minister had said, Today I can proudly say that the effort was worth it and so was the journey. Our team worked hard, travelled far and these very teachings will remain with us. The learning from today will make us stronger and better. S chools in England are today able to start ordering free sanitary products for pupils as part of a government scheme to tackle period poverty. Millions of period products, such as tampons, pads and menstrual cups will be available for primary and secondary institutions to order. The scheme is targeting children who miss school if they don't have access to products at home. The government is giving each school a set amount of money to spend on products in 2020 - calculated on the basis that 35 per cent of pupils who menstruate will use them. They will be available for schools to order online via email or by phone, and come at a range of prices. It was announced in March that the government would fund free period products in secondary schools. Campaigners have warned schools that they would put pupils at a disadvantage if they do not back the scheme. Campaigner Amika George, founder of #FreePeriods, said: "We have been waiting for this day for a long time! As a grassroots, student-led movement, Free Periods has been fighting for every single child in this country to be able to go to school without worrying about their next pad or tampon. "For the first time in history, this scheme will ensure that becomes a reality. "We ask that schools have open conversations with students about what they need and start signing up to the scheme no child must miss out. "Free products in schools will ensure that every child can learn and be their very best, without periods holding them back." Saudi Arabia, which is leading a military coalition against the Houthi rebels in war-torn Yemen, condemned on Monday a missile attack that killed more than 100 Yemeni soldiers. Saturday's missile strike blamed on the Iran-aligned Houthis follows months of relative calm in the conflict between the rebels and Yemen's internationally recognised government. The Houthis attacked a mosque in a military camp in the central province of Marib -- about 170 kilometres (105 miles) east of the capital Sanaa -- during evening prayers, government military sources said on Sunday. "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia strongly condemns the terrorist attack carried out by the Houthi militia," the foreign ministry said in a statement. The assault "reflects this terrorist militia's disregard for sacred places and... for Yemeni blood". The death toll increased to 116 and is expected to rise, military and medical sources told AFP on Monday. Earlier reports said that 83 were killed and 148 injured. Death tolls in Yemen's grinding conflict are often disputed, but the huge casualty list in Marib represents one of the bloodiest single attacks since the war erupted in 2014 when the rebels seized the capital Sanaa. The Houthis did not make any immediate claim of responsibility for the strike. Tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, have been killed and millions displaced in the war that has ravaged the country, triggering what the United Nations describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Saudi Arabia and its allies intervened in the conflict to back the government against the Houthis in March 2015, shortly after the rebels seized control of Sanaa. Search Keywords: Short link: CHESTER Delaware County Council delivered boxes and bags of toiletries to the Wesley House shelter Monday as part of its Day of Service in honor of Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Adrienne Marofsky in our office, on behalf of the county, does a great job of organizing the event, said county Council Chairman Brian Zidek. Employees and residents who had the means were able to donate some items to folks in need to hopefully make their lives a little easier. Zidek was joined by fellow council members Dr. Monica Taylor, the vice chairman, Christine Reuther, Elaine Paul Schafer and Kevin Madden, as well as several Chester firefighters, Director of Emergency Services Tim Boyce and Ed Coleman, director of the Community Action Agency. Marofsky said thousands of items were donated at various county buildings including the Government Center, the 911 Center, Fair Acres, the Delaware County Office of Services for the Aging and Children and Youth Services. Wesley House Coordinator Sheiletta Corporal said the facility has 17 units set up to accommodate families in need, be it women with children escaping a bad domestic situation, those displaced by disaster or some other reason. There are currently more than 30 women and more than 20 children at Wesley House, which is a partner of Community Action Agency. Cases vary by need, but Corporal said a typical stay at Wesley House is about three months while residents get on their feet again. Residents receive help from case workers, are referred out for employment assistance if needed, and establish goals to work toward while at the shelter, she said. Zidek said the drop off of items like shampoo, razors, baby products and other toiletries at the center was one of several events council was participating in Monday that were in the spirit of Kings message of economic and environmental justice. It gives us a day to pause and reflect, and hopefully try to live up to his ideals, he said, noting King spent about three years at Crozer Theological Seminary. It always makes it more relatable, makes it seem less like some celebrity from afar, but rather somebody who studied right here in Delaware County, that makes it a little more meaningful. YREKA, Calif. As plans come together for a memorial honoring fallen law enforcement officers, firefighters, and military members, the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office says that organizers have planned a fundraiser for next Saturday. According to the Siskiyou County Fallen Heroes Memorial committee, the planned memorial will feature three aircraft that signify the different services they intend to honor. It will eventually go up near the Weed rest area along I-5 northbound in Siskiyou County. Siskiyou County Fallen Heroes Memorial committee fundraiser dinner When: Saturday, January 25. Social begins at 5 p.m., dinner at 6 p.m. Where: Yreka Community Center, 810 N Oregon Street (near Yreka High School) Cost: $25 per ticket (Tickets are available for purchase at the Yreka Cal Fire station, the Sheriff's Office, or the Siskiyou County Veterans Service Office. Tickets, donations, or raffle donations may also be made by contacting Ron Kindred at 841-1846, Suzy Brady at 598-2622, Tony Ginocchio at 945-8979, or Bob Singleton at 598-6042. Tickets, donations, or contributions may also be made by contacting the Moun Shasta Elks Club at 926-2138.) "The intent of the founders and committee members is to recognize all Siskiyou County citizens or residents who sacrificed their lives as a service member, law enforcement official, or firefighter here or elsewhere in the line of duty," the committee says on its website. The fundraiser dinner includes rib-eye steak or chicken, barbecued by "a team of expert chefs" from Cal Fire. Tickets include the dinner, a raffle, a silent auction, and other special items. Tables can be reserved for either six or eight guests. According to the Sheriff's Office, organizers will be have three commemorative Henry rifles for auction, each with a custom display case and each with engravings honoring either law enforcement, firefighting, or military service. There will also be a dessert auction. "Dignitaries, including local elected officials and regional elected state and federal officials or their representatives will attend the event, and offer their support," the Sheriff's Office said. "The theme of the dinner will echo the purpose of the memorial, the solemn purpose of which is to memorialize the fallen from our law enforcement, fire service, and military communities and show that we, as Siskiyou County citizens, pledge to perpetually offer an enduring commitment to them, their families, and co-workers." Bob Singleton, a former administrator for Siskiyou County schools, now heads the project. Sheriff Lopey said that Singleton is also a veteran of the Vietnam War, a decorated Marine Captain who served at the battle of Khe Sanh. On behalf of the Siskiyou County Fallen Heroes Memorial Project Committee (SCFHMP), we would like to invite all community members to our fund raising dinner," said Singleton. "This is our major fund raising event this year for this important project that will be constructed at the Weed Rest Area (northbound I-5) just north of Weed, California, to honor the fallen heroes of Siskiyou County from our law enforcement, fire service, and military professions whose sacrifices through the years should be honored and remembered." Anyone wanting to donate to the project can contact Singleton, or send them to the SCFHMP, P.O. Box 1662, Yreka, CA 96097. Srinagar, Jan 20 : Supporting the idea of de-radicalisation centres in Kashmir, as suggested by Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, J&K Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbagh Singh said such a move was welcome. Replying to a media question here on Monday about General Rawat's remark on setting up of de-radicalisation centres, Singh said Pakistan and its agencies had been trying to radicalise Kashmir, affecting many youths. "If any such facility (de-radicalisation centres) comes up in Kashmir, it would be good," he said and added the de-radicalisation centres would help youths gone astray. "Sometimes when the police detain such youths, they don't seem to be talking sense," Singh said. Urging a collective effort to tackle radicalisation in Kashmir, he said experts and civil society members must join hands to counter it. "If some kind of an arrangement is worked out where the civil society people and experts dealing with the subject and relevant aspects of religion come together, it must be welcomed," the DGP said. Last week, speaking at the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi, General Rawat had sparked a controversy by speaking about setting up de-radicalisation camps. (Zaffar Iqbal can be contacted at zaffar25@gmail.com) by Akim Reinhardt Stuck is a weekly serial appearing at 3QD every Monday through early April. The Prologue is here. The table of contents with links to previous chapters is here. Forever is a long time. When I was 8 years old, I vowed that I would never smoke a cigarette. Had my first one when I was 19 and smoked steadily for several years. Camels unfiltered. At age 10, I made a pact with my best friend: under no circumstances would we ever do drugs. I dont even know where to begin with that one; itd be a whole separate book. Circumstances change. People change. Everything within you changes, as does everything you are within. Oaths are so hard to keep that their ultimate meaning perhaps lies in the breaking. That life is not about our hopes and dreams, but the ways we turn them into lies. At the alter of a Lutheran church in North Carolina, my paternal grandparents married forever in eyes of God. A couple of decades later, they got divorced. Then they married each other once more. Followed by yet another divorce. The oath as a sling shot. The oath as a yo-yo. No less than three times has Sean Connery sworn he was done playing James Bond. Beginning in 1962, he did five films in five years. He burned out, was unhappy with the pay, and worried about typecasting. So he quit the franchise for the first time in 1967 after You Only Live Twice. Producers Albert Broccoli and Harry Saltzman did one Bond film without him, which flopped. They feared it might be the end of the franchise. They needed Connery back, but he loathed them. So they opened the vault, offering him a record setting payday, a guarantee to make two non-James Bond films with United Artists, and a clause in the contract ensuring Connery would not have to so much as talk to Broccoli or Saltzamn. He returned for 1971s Diamonds are Forever. Afterwards, Connery was even more adamant. Most of his old gripes had only hardened. He didnt enjoy making and promoting the films; he believed the Bond movies were becoming mediocre (he was right); he still hated Broccoli and Saltzman; he still worried about typecasting and was eager to branch out as an actor before he got too old. He also didnt need James Bond anymore. He was financially secure and eager to star in other pictures. Sean Connery now quit for the second time, publicly swearing that hed made his last James Bond movie. Never again! he told the press. Fast forward a dozen years. Connerys 53 years old. A nice post-Bond run during the 1970s is winding down. Starring roles in hit movies are getting harder to come by. His big comeback Oscar for The Untouchables is still four years away. Then a guy named Kevin McClory makes him an interesting offer. A distant relative of the Bronte sisters and a former lover of Elizabeth Taylor, McClory possessed something no one else in the world did: the key to cracking producer Albert Broccolis James Bond movie monopoly (by then Saltzman was out of the picture, so to speak). McClory held film rights to a single James Bond title: Thunderball. The courts ruled that because hed co-written with Ian Flemming the original story that eventually became the novel (1961) and film (1964), McClory could remake Thunderball under a different title. But it wouldnt be easy. McClory spent a decade going nowhere, unable to get his film off the ground. Broccoli maintained an iron grip on the franchise. Hed produced Bond films for 20 years and held the eras established James Bond actor, Roger Moore, under contract. For a new version of Thunderball to be successful, or even viable, McClory had only one real play: somehow lure Connery back into the role he had twice publicly sworn off. McClory was smart and determined. Hed been nurturing his relationship with Connery for years, paying him as a consultant for the would-be remake. They also bonded over their hatred of Brocolli. The enemy of my enemy . . . McClory now offered the aging film star a big paycheck and creative control: $3 million, a piece of the profits, and script and cast approval. He also gave Connery a chance to turn the knife: a release date that would compete against the latest Roger Moore Bond movie (Octopussy), and cut into Brocollis profits. It worked. Connery signed on to play 007 one last time. But what to call this remake? Never Say Never Again. The last time I truly swore something off, I was about 15 years old. Id been shaving for a year or so. No electric. Just a single blade safety razor and a can of Barbasol. It didnt take very long. Mostly a smattering of peach fuzz masquerading as mustache and chin hair. The sideburns were barely in. But that little bit just beneath the bottom lip gave me trouble. On more than one occasion I cut myself right where the flap of skin above the chin approaches the lip. As a novice barber, I of course cut myself all over the place, little spots of cherry red blood blotting through the ripped drabs of toilet paper I pressed into my face afterwards. Just part of the learning curve. However, I found this particular spot not only prone to accidents, but also enormously irritating when hacked. And for what? Fuck it. Just didnt seem to be worth it. So I vowed to never again shave the hair in that spot. So it is written, so it shall be done The little patch grew with me into manhood. Unlike all the other hairs on my head, they were to be spared the blade. Eventually, the longer ones reached the bottom of my chin and a little beyond. When people would ask, I briefly explained with a shorthand moniker. They were the Virgin Hairs. Much like the curlies on my crotch, they had come in with puberty and were left to their own devices. When I had a beard, which was much of the time, the scraggly Virgin Hairs would become entangled with the rest of my facial overgrowth. But when I shaved, they stood out, looking as if someone had badly botched a wire splicing job. Simply put, they looked like shit. I was unmoved. There was nicotine in my lungs. Just about any illicit substance you could think of had coursed through my veins. Relationships Id sworn off were recycled into tragicomic girlfriend sequels. I needed something. A rock of consistency. An eternal truth I could point to and depend upon, knowing it would bring a slender thread of meaning and righteousness to all my days upon this planet. I needed to know that my word meant something, no matter how trivial and frowzy the display of permanence. The Virgin Hairs remained. And then one day I trimmed them. It was for a woman I was dating. She wanted to see me clean shaven. I couldve said Never, My Love. Instead I just shaved my beard and mustache and then took scissors to the Virgin Hairs. Didnt put them to the blade and reduce them to stubble. Just clipped them to about half their unrestrained length. I am a liar, a thief, and a charlatan, a pitiful excuse for a man whose word is not worth the breath that slips from his mouth like quiet flatulence, a breaker of oaths who spins blessings into curses and swears only in vanity and sacrilege. I am the most impotent and irredeemable shape to ever bestride the Earth. I am human. Akim Reinhardts website is ThePublicProfessor.com. He promises it will always be worth visiting. WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Jan 20 (Reuters) - The Alberta Energy Regulator has filed charges against Tourmaline Energy Corp and two other oil companies for a 2018 release of hydrogen sulphide that affected human health, the regulator said on Monday. Five charges under Alberta environmental and conservation laws were laid against Tourmaline and Topaz Oil Corp, and three charges against CWC Energy Services Corp, related to a release on Feb. 25, 2018 near Spirit River, Alberta. Hydrogen sulphide is a toxic gas with a smell of rotten eggs that can impair breathing. (Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba) Actor Naomi Watts (The Loudest Voice, Gypsy, Mulholland Drive) will narrate upcoming Nine observational series, Taronga: Whos Who In The Zoo. The series by McAvoy Media goes behind the scenes of Sydneys famous zoo. Watts was named a Centenary Ambassador for Taronga Zoo when it celebrated its one hundredth year in 2016. An airdate is yet to be announced. As Taronga Zoo completes some of the biggest changes in its history there has never been such an exciting time to show Australia what makes this magical place tick. No part of Tarongas sprawling 21 hectares set on spectacular Sydney Harbour is off limits in this gripping series which tracks the 240 keepers and vets who care for more than 5000 animals. Millions of visitors from Australia and around the world pass through the zoos gates every year to get a glimpse of some of the most amazing creatures on the planet. But what they dont see is the incredible, groundbreaking work that goes on behind the animal exhibits until now. No two days are the same as our cameras capture all aspects of zoo life, from celebrating a giant tortoises 103rd birthday to the complex logistical task of transporting a platypus to San Francisco Zoo. Throughout the series well meet the zoos own CSI team in the morgue. Well be there to see how Taronga rehabilitates injured wildlife; the special breeding programs for all sorts of animals, from chimpanzees and furry penguins to gorillas and turtles; and the tricky job of working out how to save the smile of a crocodile. We will also get up close with the dedicated staff at Taronga who are a rare breed themselves, with their mix of world-class expertise and laidback Australian spirit. They show us exactly what it takes to run one of the greatest conservation success stories in the world. The closed Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, which has been linked to cases of the new coronavirus, on 17 January, 2020, in Wuhan, China. (PHOTO: Getty Images) SINGAPORE Singapores seventh suspected case of a new coronavirus originating from the Chinese city of Wuhan has been admitted for further assessment and isolated as a precautionary measure here, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Monday (20 January). In a press statement, the ministry said that it was notified of a 44-year-old female Singapore resident with pneumonia, who had travelled to Wuhan, as of 10am on the same day. She was admitted for treatment and is in stable condition, the MOH added. The suspect case did not visit the Huanan seafood wholesale market associated with the cluster of pneumonia in Wuhan, said the ministry. Separately, epidemiological investigations, clinical assessment, and laboratory test results from a suspect case reported on 18 January concluded that it was not linked to the new coronavirus outbreak. The 52-year-old male Singapore resident with pneumonia, who had travelled to Wuhan, tested negative for coronavirus. As medical practitioners are on the lookout for cases with pneumonia who have recently returned from Wuhan, Singapore is likely to see more suspect cases that will need to be investigated for possible links to the Wuhan cluster, said the MOH. Earlier on Monday, the ministry announced that it will expand temperature screening at Changi Airport to all travellers on flights arriving from China from Wednesday. Since 3 January, temperature screening has only been implemented at the airport for travellers arriving on flights from Wuhan. These measures come as Chinese authorities revealed earlier on Monday that 136 new cases of pneumonia caused by the coronavirus strain were found in Wuhan over the weekend, adding to 62 already known cases. A third death occurred on Saturday, added Chinese authorities. South Korea on the same day reported its first confirmed case of the coronavirus, a 35-year-old female Chinese national who had traveled from Wuhan, the fourth patient to be reported outside China. Last week, two cases were reported in Thailand and one in Japan. All three involved people from Wuhan or who recently visited the city. Story continues According to Reuters, a report by London Imperial College's MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis estimated that by 12 January there were 1,723 cases in Wuhan with the onset of related symptoms. The new virus belongs to the same family of coronaviruses as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which killed nearly 800 people globally during a 2002-2003 outbreak and also originated from China. Have a tip-off? Email us at sgnews.tips@verizonmedia.com. In your email, do provide as many details as possible, including videos and photos. Related Singapore stories: Wuhan virus outbreak: MOH to expand temperature screening at Changi Airport to all flights from China China confirms spread of new virus as cases surge Reach key decision makers with sales-ready leads that shorten your sales process. Move the needle by delivering funnel qualified leads to your sales team. Learn more The prison workforce development program run by Televerde, an Arizona-based sales, marketing, and tech company, delivers significant economic and cultural value, concludes a study recently conducted at Arizona State Universitys Seidman Research Institute. Televerde trains and employs women incarcerated in Arizona and Indiana, and it offers many of them employment when they leave prison. Televerde CSRO Michelle Cirocco Michelle Cirocco, Televerdes chief social responsibility officer, spoke with the E-Commerce Times about the study and about the long-term benefits of Televerdes program for the company, for the economy, and for the women involved in the program. E-Commerce Times: What are some of the key findings of the ASU study, The Economic, Social and Fiscal Impact of Televerdes Prison Partnership Program? Michelle Cirocco: It provided validation for a lot of the things that we knew or suspected. The purpose of the study was to get unbiased, third-party validation. It wasnt just Televerde standing on the stage; it was having someone else come in, evaluate the data, do the research, and give us the facts about the impact were having. One of the key things it validated was the reduction of recidivism. The women who work for Televerde have a 5.4 percent recidivism rate within three years, and that was the biggest and the most important finding. The women who participate in the program are, essentially, less likely to go back to prison than other inmates. The other key things that really stood out are that 94.1 percent of the women who participate in the program are in paid employment five years after their release, compared to a national average of 49.8 percent, and their earning potentials are higher than other formerly incarcerated individuals. The impact its having on the individual women is significant. The benefit for their children is also something weve always suspected, but we didnt have the specific statistics to validate that. The children are more likely to graduate from high school and less likely to go prison themselves than children of other incarcerated mothers. When we can actually have generational impact on families when we break those cycles we can make a big difference in the long-term health and wellness of the family and the community. Theres evidence in the study about how the relationships between the women and their families have improved as well. A D V E R T I S E M E N T And finally, theres also an impact on the state and the economy. The program provides a (US)$13.3 million a year annual savings to the state of Arizona through the reduction of recidivism and through the amount of money the women contribute, their increased employment, and the reduction of entitlement programs and foster programs. ECT: What effects do you think the study will have? Cirocco: From a business standpoint, were happy to have validation of the positive impact were having, and this validation enables us to support our expansion. We have a goal of providing 10,000 people with life-changing opportunities over the next decade, and with this study, we can show the positive impact were having. From a community standpoint, this idea of building a prison-to-workforce pipeline opens peoples eyes and raises awareness about how we develop marketing skills, rather than relegating people to low-wage, low-skill jobs during and after prison. The study shows that we are having a positive impact on the whole criminal justice system. ECT: What is the key to the success of Televerdes program? Cirocco: Its really about training, education, experience and opportunity. We provide incarcerated women with the training, skills and business acumen they need to be successful, and we provide them with real work opportunities both in prison and after prison. All of that together allows them to be successful. ECT: Why is workforce development for those with criminal backgrounds so important? A D V E R T I S E M E N T Cirocco: I think that if we send people to prison, we have a responsibility to help them become productive members of society. The problem with prisons is that were No. 1 in the world in incarcerating people. Were spending billions of dollars a year incarcerating people, but its not solving the problem, since so many them will go back to prison after they get out. The No. 1 factor for recidivism is joblessness. If we release them from prison and havent done anything to allow them to become more productive members of society, it reinforces that cycle. If people are not able to get employment, they will go back to prison. One of the misperceptions is that people with a criminal record are incapable of or not deserving of anything. The reality, however, is that theyre intelligent and entrepreneurial. They might just not have had the same opportunities as others. If people get out and cant get jobs, theyll find a way to provide for themselves and their families. They have a misguided sense of entrepreneurial spirit. Our program is a way to empower people to learn marketable skills, join the workforce, and have a meaningful career. ECT: What kinds of skills do people learn through Televerdes program? Cirocco: We have people in all kinds of areas. They often start out by learning sales and marketing. They learn business, communication, and sales skills, as well as project management skills and account management skills. We have people doing data analysis, designing marketing campaigns, and doing deep-dive analytics and marketing analysis. We have people doing training and development, writing content, blogs, brochures. If you think about any job that you can have in a company, were training women in these types of skills. And we provide them with opportunities to work at our corporate office or one of our clients after theyre released. ECT: Whats in the future for Televerdes prison partnership program? How is it changing and evolving? Cirocco: Currently we are in Arizona, with the womens correctional facility, and in our corporate office after theyre released. Weve expanded into Indiana in the womens correctional facility, and were expanding into Florida later this year, as well as the UK. Were also looking to expand into areas other than corrections, to allow people in other disempowered populations to build careers. ECT: Can Televerdes program be a model for what other companies might do? Cirocco: If other companies would get involved in building a prison-to-workforce pipeline, we could go a long way toward solving the growing skills gap, building a pipeline of workers for the future, and providing opportunities for people. There are many opportunities for companies to build this kind of workforce for today and for the future. Weve got this growing skills gap in this country. Theres just not enough talent. Companies are having a difficult time finding the talent they need, but if they invest in disempowered populations, they can help solve that talent gap. WASHINGTON In his first formal response to impeachment charges, President Donald Trump misrepresented the testimony of a key witness who described an exchange of favors in the Ukraine matter. The claim marked a week of frequent exaggeration and distortion by the president heading into the opening statements of his impeachment trial. Just as his tax cuts are far from the biggest in history, the economy isnt the best ever and his election victory in 2016 was no landslide of historic proportions, Trumps two trade deals dont stand atop the field of presidential endeavors. One is a partial settlement of trade grievances with China; the other is a refresh of what past presidents created for North America. Meanwhile, the Democratic presidential contenders werent immune from misrepresentation in their final debate before the first votes of the 2020 campaign, in Iowa. A look at the claims: IMPEACHMENT TRUMP, via attorneys: Individuals who have stated for the record that they spoke to the President about the subject actually exonerate him. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland stated that when he asked the President what he wanted from Ukraine, the President said: I want nothing. I want no quid pro quo.' r esponse to impeachment charges filed Saturday. THE FACTS: That assertion omits key context on what Sondland told House investigators. As one of the officials most deeply involved in trying to get Ukraine to do Trumps bidding, Sondland testified that there was indeed a quid pro quo in the matter and everyone was in the loop. Specifically, Sondland said it was understood that Ukraines new president would only get a meeting with Trump in the Oval Office if he publicly pledged to investigate the Bidens and the Democrats. Was there a quid pro quo? Sondland asked in his statement to the House Intelligence Committee. As I testified previously, with regard to the requested White House call and White House meeting, the answer is yes. Moreover, on the more serious matter of withholding military aid to Ukraine unless the country investigated Democrats, Sondland testified that a this-for-that explanation was the only one that made sense to him. Testimony from other officials shored up the picture of a president and his associates systematically trying to get Ukraine to do what Trump wanted during a period when the military assistance approved by Congress was put on hold without explanation. ___ TRUMP: The President acted at all times with full constitutional and legal authority and in our national interest. response to impeachment charges. THE FACTS: That, of course, is in dispute. The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, found the White House violated federal law in withholding security assistance to Ukraine, an action at the center of Trumps impeachment. Its report said the Office of Management and Budget broke the law over the military aid, which Congress passed less than a year ago, saying the President is not vested with the power to ignore or amend any such duly enacted law. The money was held up last summer on orders from Trump but freed up in September after Congress pushed for its release and a whistleblowers complaint about Trumps July call with the Ukrainian leader became public. The Government Accountability Office said the White House budget office violated the Impoundment Control Act by delaying the security assistance for policy reasons, rather than technical budgetary needs. The budget office has said it disagrees with that finding and the hold was appropriate and necessary. Trump argues he delayed the $391 million in U.S. assistance because of concerns about corruption, although the Defense Department had already previously certified to congressional committees that Ukraine had made enough progress on reducing corruption to receive the aid. ___ TRUMP: House Democrats ran a fundamentally flawed and illegitimate process that denied the President every basic right, including the right to have counsel present, the right to cross-examine witnesses. response to impeachment charges. TRUMP: We demand fairness shouts Pelosi and the Do Nothing Democrats, yet the Dems in the House wouldnt let us have 1 witness, no lawyers or even ask questions. tweet on Jan. 13, referring to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. THE FACTS: Not true. The House Judiciary Committee, which produced the articles of impeachment, invited Trump or his legal team to come. He declined. Absent White House representation, the hearings proceeded as things in Congress routinely do: Time is split between Democratic and Republican lawmakers to ask questions and engage in the debate. Lawyers for Democrats and Republicans on the committee presented the case for and against the impeachment articles and members questioned witnesses, among them an academic called forward by Republicans. The first round of hearings was by the House Intelligence Committee and resembled the investigative phase of criminal cases, conducted without the participation of the subject of the investigation. Trump cried foul then at the lack of representation, then rejected representation when the next committee offered it. His lawyers will participate in the Senates impeachment trial, which resumes Tuesday. ___ TRUMP, on House intelligence chairman Adam Schiff: Mr. Schiff created a fraudulent version of the July 25 call and read it to the American people at a congressional hearing, without disclosing that he was simply making it all up. response to impeachment charges. THE FACTS: Its incorrect that Schiff didnt disclose what he was doing. Trump is overstating Schiffs exaggerations, which the president has repeatedly described as lies and massive frauds. The California Democrat, in what he said was a parody during a committee hearing in September, was mocking the presidents pleas in his July call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, as Trump does with his critics routinely. Schiff made clear he was providing an account that was in essence what he believed Trump was conveying to Zelenskiy, when shorn of its rambling character. ___ TRUMP: You had a fake whistleblower that wrote a report that bore no relationship to what was said. Everything was false. remarks Thursday. THE FACTS: Trumps statement is false. The whistleblowers account of a phone call between Trump and Ukraines leader in July closely resembled what was said, judging by the rough transcript released later by the White House itself and by the testimony of officials who listened in on the call. Witnesses in the impeachment hearings and other sources also verified the whistleblowers description of events before and after the call as Trump and his aides pressed Ukraine to investigate one of Trumps political rivals, Democrat Joe Biden. The Senate impeachment trial will explore whether Trump abused his power. ___ TRADE TRUMP on his trade agreement with China: This is the biggest deal there is, anywhere in the world by far. remarks Wednesday at the signing. TRUMP on the China deal and his updated North American trade agreement: So weve done two of the biggest trade deals. They are the two biggest trade deals in the world ever done. remarks at the White House on Thursday. THE FACTS: Neither claim is true. The China agreement is not nearly as big as the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement, so its not the largest ever, much less by far. The deal with Canada and Mexico was an update of the long-standing North American Free Trade Agreement worked out by Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. The North American agreement also is not the largest ever. For instance, 123 countries signed the Uruguay Round agreement that liberalized trade and produced the World Trade Organization in 1994. The organizations initial membership accounted for more than 90% of global economic output, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston found, and that was before China joined the organization. Also bigger: the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which would have joined North America with Pacific Rim countries in freer trade. Trump took the U.S. out after the deal was negotiated and before the U.S. ratified it. The European Union was formed from a giant deal. The China deal leaves tariffs in place on about $360 billion in imports from China and pushes substantial remaining disputes ahead to a second phase of negotiations. ___ TRUMP on China deal: I did the biggest deal ever done in the history of our country yesterday in terms of trade and probably other things too, if you think about it. remarks Thursday. THE FACTS: Trump is even more wildly off the mark in speculating that his China trade deal eclipses all other international agreements, even outside trade. The Montreal Protocol, aimed at protecting Earths ozone layer, was ratified by every member state of the United Nations. A variety of other agreements on the rights of children, world health standards, droughts achieved nearly universal ratification. More than 190 countries signed the Paris accord on climate change, of which more than 180 have ratified it. The U.S. is pulling out of it. ___ ECONOMY TRUMP: In Wisconsin, the unemployment rate has reached its lowest level in history. Milwaukee rally Tuesday. THE FACTS: Hes citing outdated figures. Wisconsin did post a record low unemployment rate of 2.8% in April and May. But it has since edged up and is now at 3.3%. Thats slightly lower than the U.S. average of 3.5%, but suggests that the state hit a rough patch in the middle of last year. ___ TRUMP: More than 300,000 people under Obama, 300,000 people, left the workforce. Under just three years of my administration, 3.5 million people have joined the workforce. Milwaukee rally. THE FACTS: Trump is wrong about Barack Obamas record. More than 5 million people joined the U.S. labor force during Obamas presidency, according to Labor Department figures. These gains reflect the recovery from the Great Recession as well as population growth. More than 4.8 million people have joined the labor force in three years of Trumps presidency. ___ TRUMP: Under the Trump economy, the lowest-paid earners are reaping the biggest, fastest and largest gains. Earnings for the bottom 10% are rising faster than earnings for the top 10%, proportionally. Milwaukee rally. THE FACTS: Actually, the top 10% of earners saw the biggest raises of any income bracket over the past year. Their usual weekly earnings jumped 8% or $168, according to the Labor Department. The bottom 10% saw weekly incomes grow 7% or $30. Over a broader range the top and bottom 25% weekly earnings also grew at faster rate for the wealthier group. ___ TRUMP: Weve created 7 million jobs since the election including more than 1 million manufacturing and construction jobs. Nobody thought that was possible. Milwaukee rally. THE FACTS: His numbers are roughly right, though they are less impressive than Trump claims. Job gains under Trump over the past three years were lower than during the final three years of Obamas presidency. More than 8 million jobs were added during that period under Obama, including 1.2 million combined in manufacturing and construction. What these figures suggest is that much of the job growth under Trump reflects the momentum from a recovery that officially began in the middle of 2009. ___ IMMIGRATION TRUMP: We have loopholes. Like a visa lottery. We put things in the lottery, and they come in they become American citizens. Do you think these countries are giving us their finest? Oh, lets give them our best citizens. Milwaukee rally. THE FACTS: This is a perpetual falsehood from the president. Countries dont nominate their citizens for the program. They dont get to select people theyd like to get rid of. Foreigners apply for the visas on their own. Under the program, citizens of countries named by the U.S. can bid for visas if they have enough education or work experience in desired fields. Out of that pool of qualified applicants, the State Department randomly selects a much smaller pool of tentative winners. Not all winners will have visas approved because they still must compete for a smaller number of slots by getting their applications in quickly. Those who are ultimately offered visas still need to go through background checks, like other immigrants. ___ TRUMP: Mexicos paying for the wall. You know that. Its all worked out. Milwaukee rally. THE FACTS: Mexico isnt paying for Trumps long-promised border wall. Trump has argued that the updated trade agreement with Canada and Mexico will pay for the wall because of economic benefits he predicts will come from the deal. Nothing in the trade agreement would cover or refund the construction cost or require a payment from Mexico. ___ CHILD CARE BIDEN, on his early days in Washington: I was making $42,000 a year. I commuted every single solitary day to Wilmington, Delaware over 500 miles a day, excuse me, 250 miles a day because I could not afford child care. It was beyond my reach. Democratic presidential debate Tuesday. THE FACTS: Thats a stretch. Bidens wife and daughter died in a car accident after he won a Senate seat in 1972 As a single parent working far out of town, Biden might have faced steeper child care costs than people who work locally do. But his Senate salary actually $42,500 was worth more than $256,000 in todays dollars. Thats more than four times the median household income. ___ HEALTH CARE TRUMP: I was the person who saved Pre-Existing Conditions in your Healthcare, you have it now. tweet on Jan. 13. THE FACTS: Thats false. People with preexisting medical problems have health insurance protections because of Obamas health care law, which Trump is trying to dismantle. One of Trumps major alternatives to Obamas law short-term health insurance, already in place doesnt have to cover preexisting conditions. Another alternative is association health plans, which are oriented to small businesses and sole proprietors and do cover preexisting conditions. Meanwhile, Trumps administration has been pressing in court for full repeal of the Obama-era law, including provisions that protect people with preexisting conditions from health insurance discrimination. With Obamacare still in place, insurers in the individual marketplace must take all applicants, regardless of medical history, and charge the same standard premiums to healthy people and those who have poor health or past medical problems. Before Obamas law, any insurer could deny coverage or charge more to anyone with a preexisting condition who was seeking to buy an individual policy. ___ BERNIE SANDERS: Medicare for All will cost substantially less than the status quo. Democratic debate. THE FACTS: Theres no guarantee of that. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said in a report last year that total spending under a single-payer system like the Vermont senator and Democratic presidential candidate favors might be higher or lower than under the current system depending on the key features of the new system. Those features have to do with the design of the system, questions such as payment rates for hospitals and doctors, and whether patients are required to pay part of the cost of their care. Sanders says his plan would require no cost-sharing from patients, no copays and no deductibles. But completely free care could trigger a surge in demand for medical services, raising costs. Other countries that provide coverage for all do use cost-sharing to help keep spending in check. A research report last year by the nonprofit Rand think tank estimated that a Medicare for All plan similar to what Sanders wants would modestly raise total U.S. health spending. ___ MILITARY TRUMP, on killing Iran Gen. Qassem Soleimani: The Democrats and the Fake News are trying to make terrorist Soleimani into a wonderful guy. tweet on Jan. 13. TRUMP: You know what bothers me? When I see a Nancy Pelosi trying to defend this monster from Iran When Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats want to defend him, I think thats a very bad thing for this country. remarks on Jan. 9 at event on environmental regulations. THE FACTS: Thats a fabrication. Democrats did not praise or defend the Iranian general. They criticized the action Trump took. Pelosi called the U.S. missile strike provocative and disproportionate while branding Soleimani a terrible person. Similarly, Democratic presidential candidates criticized Trumps strategy and the fact he didnt notify or consult Congress in advance, while making clear they considered Soleimani anything but wonderful. The Iranian was a murderer, responsible for the deaths of thousands, including hundreds of Americans, said Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Even so, Republican Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia asserted Democrats were in love with terrorists then retracted the statement and apologized. I left parts of my body in Iraq fighting terrorists, Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Ilinois, a former Army pilot who lost both her legs while serving in Iraq, told CNN after hearing Collins initial remarks. I dont need to justify myself to anyone. ___ TRUMP: Our military has been totally rebuilt. Milwaukee rally. THE FACTS: It hasnt. The administration has accelerated a sharp buildup in defense spending, but it will take years for freshly ordered tanks, planes and other weapons to be built, delivered and put to use. The Air Forces Minuteman 3 missiles, for instance, a key part of the U.S. nuclear force, have been operating since the early 1970s, and modernization started under the Obama administration. They are due to be replaced with a new version, but not until later this decade. ___ BIDEN: I was asked to bring 156,000 troops home from that war, which I did. I led that effort. Democratic debate. THE FACTS: Biden is roughly right about bringing troops home, but he didnt mention that the U.S. had to send some back. Obama did designate Biden, his vice president, to take the lead in pulling U.S. forces out of Iraq and coordinating efforts to maintain stability in Baghdad. His results were mixed. Biden and Obama failed to win agreement from the Iraqi government to keep a limited number of U.S. troops there after December 2011. That was the deadline for a complete U.S. pullout under a deal negotiated by the Bush administration. Biden was still vice president when Obama was compelled to return American troops to Iraq in 2014 after the rise of the Islamic State group. ___ ELECTABILITY TRUMP, on the 2016 election: There have been some great movements where somebody came along and out of the nowhere, won the state of New Hampshire, won Iowa, won South Carolina down the way, won a state someplace, but we won 32 states. THE FACTS: Trump won 30 states, not 32. It was no landslide. He won with about 57% of electoral votes, a comfortable margin but no better than average or below average. Obama and Clinton each won bigger victories twice and many other presidents outperformed Trump. Moreover, Republican Trump lost the popular vote to Democrat Hillary Clinton, a rare occurrence for a winning candidate. Trump routinely inflates the number of electoral votes he won, too. ___ Associated Press writers Josh Boak, Paul Wiseman, Robert Burns, Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Lisa Mascaro, Deb Riechmann, Jill Colvin, Colleen Long and Kevin Freking in Washington and Amanda Seitz in Chicago contributed to this report. ___ EDITORS NOTE A look at the veracity of claims by political figures. ___ Find AP Fact Checks at http://apne.ws/2kbx8bd Follow @APFactCheck on Twitter: https://twitter.com/APFactCheck Just weeks after he was promoted, Major General Mohamed Ali Fakhrou was killed in an Islamic State ambush, that left 15 regime fighters dead writes Pro-Justice. Syrian media and both opposition and loyalist pages reported the death of Major General Mohamed Ali Fakhrou, an officer in the Assad regimes Republican Guard, killed at the hands of the Islamic State (ISIS). The incident occurred when ISIS members carried out an attack on shepherds in the eastern al-Bulil countryside in Deir ez-Zor, killing four and stealing about 750 head of sheep, according to the Midea River media network. The network added that when regime forces heard the news, they mobilized and sent a military convoy to the area composed of Republican Guard forces and the National Defense with the aim of recovering the sheep. ISIS members set up an ambush for the convoy and clashes occurred between the two sides, killing 15 on the regime side, including Major General Mohamed Fakhrou. The news spread on loyalist pages and media sites, where Fakhrous death was mourned. He had been known as the engineer of the Joubar tunnels. Fakhour had a close relationship with Iranian sectarian militias, and his activities were not limited to the military field, but involved establishing Shiification bases in the area, setting up shrines and other sites, including turning the spring in al-Quriyah, known as Ayn Ali, into a pilgrimage site for Shia pilgrims. Zaman al-Wasl reported that Fakhrous death came just two weeks after he was promoted in the promotions issued at the start of the year by Bashar al-Assad. Various images were published of the general; including his visit to Ayn Ali in al-Quriyah, east of Deir ez-Zor, which was established by the Aal al-Bayt Shrines Authority, funded by Iran. Fakhrou was from the city of al-Dana in the Idleb countryside and was known as an expert in explosives and an engineer who set up tunnels in Damascus districts and the countryside. Alongside Major General Fakhrou, First Lieutenant Rami Zaffour, Warrant Officer Khaldoun Zaher al-Deen, and Essam Zaher al-Deen, a commander in the Nafez Assad Allah militia, were all killed in the attack. 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. New Delhi, Jan 20 : The BJP has got a brand new President in the form of J.P. Nadda. As reported earlier, by 2.30 PM, the announcement came, bringing an end to Amit Shah era. Party Working President Jagat Prakash Nadda won unopposed, sparking celebrations outside the BJP headquarters here on Monday. The choice of the announcement date on 'ekadashi', was done keeping the auspiciousness in mind. Amit Shah himself was among the people who proposed Nadda's name along with Nitin Gadkari and Rajnath Singh. Soon after his annointment, BJP election returning officer Radha Mohan Singh told the media, "I announce J.P. Nadda as the new BJP President." Soon after it, Shah was seen hugging Nadda - embodiment of the proximity the two share. By 4 p.m., the prime minister Narendra Modi himself is expected in the BJP headquarters to congratulate Nadda. The nomination process for the post of the BJP President began at 10 a.m. and went on till 12.30 p.m. For the next hour, the filed nomination paper, which was just one, was examined and another one hour till 2.30 p.m. was provided to withdraw nominations, if any candidate wishes to. By 2.30 p.m. Nadda was declared the man who stepped into the shoes of Amit Shah. Though, many believe, Shah will have the last say on all macro decisions like pre poll alliances or top organisational appointments, but will be free from daily monitoring of the organisation. Shah himself wanted this, due to which Nadda was brought in as the working President as key legislations like abrogation of Article 370, Triple Talaq and finally Citizenship Amendment Act meant Shah, who is the home minister as well, had to prioritize his works. 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 date was chosen, keeping that in mind, say sources. 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 than five states where elections have been completed for the national council. The consent of the candidate is necessary," it says. A Delhi court on Monday convicted key accused Brajesh Thakur and 18 others for sexually assaulting several girls in a shelter home run by him in Muzaffarpur, Bihar. Additional Sessions Judge Saurabh Kulshreshtha convicted Thakur, who once unsuccessfully contested assembly polls on Bihar People's Party ticket, for several offences including the aggravated penetrative sexual assault under section 6 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and offences of rape and gang rape under the Indian Penal code (IPC). In its bulky judgement running into 1,546 pages, the court also convicted Thakur for the offences under sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 324 (causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and abetment under IPC, section 21 (failure to report commission of an offence) of the POCSO Act section 75 (cruelty to child) of Juvenile Justice Act. The court fixed January 28 for hearing arguments on quantum of sentence. The offences entail a maximum punishment of life imprisonment. It however acquitted one Vikki in the case for the want of evidence. One of the female accused Rosy Rani, former assistant director of child protection unit in Muzaffarpur, was convicted for the offences under section 21(1) (failure to report commission of an offence) of the POCSO Act. Since the maximum punishment for the offence was six months, which she had already undergone, she was granted bail by the court. Dillip Kumar Verma, former chairman of Child Welfare Committee (CWC) of Muzaffarpur, child protection officer of District Child Protection Unit Ravi Roshan, member of CWC Vikas Kumar and other accused Vijay Kumar Tiwari, Guddu Patel, Kishan Kumar and Ramanuj Thakur were convicted for the offences of aggravated penetrative sexual assault under POCSO Act, criminal conspiracy, rape, gang rape, causing hurt, abetment to rape under IPC and POCSO Act, and section 75 of the JJ Act. Two of the accused -- Rama Shankar Singh and Dr Ashwani-- were held guilty for the offences of criminal conspiracy and abetment to rape. Rama was also convicted under sections 323 of IPC, 75 of JJ Act and 21 of POCSO Act. Female accused -- Shaista Praveen, Indu Kumari, Minu Devi, Manju Devi, Chanda Devi, Neha Kumari, Hema Masih, Kiran Kumari -- were held guilty for criminal conspiracy, abetment to rape, cruelty to child and failure to report commission of an offence. After the pronouncement of the judgement, one of the convicts Ravi broke down in the courtroom. "I have not done any of the crimes told by you. I have not committed such shameful acts on the girls. You are sending me to jail. I will commit suicide," he told the judge. The judge asked his counsel to console him. Following this, some female convicts also started crying to which the judge sternly directed the investigating officer and the jail authorities to take them outside and console them. Advocates P K Dubey and Nishaank Mattoo, appearing for Thakur, told reporters that they will challenge the verdict in the higher court. Advocate Gyanendra Mishra, representing Dillip, too said there was no evidence against the accused and he will challenge the judgement in the higher court. The court had recorded the statement of 69 witnesses lead by the Central Bureau of Investigation, represented by Public Prosecutor Amit Jindal. It had recorded the statement of 44 girls who were physically and sexually assaulted at the shelter home, of which around 13 were mentally disabled. It had examined 20 defence witnesses, said advocate Dheeraj Kumar, appearing for some of the accused. The trial was held on a day-to-day basis and was completed within six months as per the Supreme Court's directions. The court had on March 30, 2019, framed charges against the accused, including Thakur. It had held trial for the offences of rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, drugging of minors, criminal intimidation among other charges. Thakur and employees of his shelter home, as well as Bihar department of social welfare officials were charged with criminal conspiracy, neglect of duty and failure to report assault on the girls. The charges also included offence of cruelty to child under their authority, punishable under the Juvenile Justice Act. The court had reserved order on September 30, 2019 after final arguments by the CBI counsel and 20 accused in the case in which former Bihar Social Welfare Minister and the then Janata Dal-United leader Manju Verma also faced flak as allegations surfaced that Thakur had links with her husband. She had resigned from her post on August 8, 2018. The case was transferred on February 7, 2019 from a local court in Muzaffarpur in Bihar to a POCSO court at Saket district court complex in Delhi on the apex court's directions. The matter had come to light on May 26, 2018 after Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) submitted a report to the Bihar government highlighting the alleged sexual abuse of minor girls in the shelter home for the first time. The report had been submitted to the Bihar Social Welfare Department by TISS in February that year. Uma Thurman struggled to hold back tears as she offered her support to the family of a murdered student on an Italian chat show. The Pulp Fiction actress, 49, was a guest on late-night talk show Che Tempo Che Fa in Milan on Sunday when she listened to the plea of the parents of Giulio Regeni, who was killed in Cairo three years ago. Hearing that Paola Deffendi and Claudio Regeni were fighting the Egyptian government for extradition of five men to face trial in Italy for their son's killing, an emotional Uma said she hoped they 'could receive justice'. Emotional: Uma Thurman struggled to hold back tears as she offered her support to the family of a murdered student on an Italian chat show 'I would like to express my condolences to the Regeni family. I have heard the letter and I hope there is justice. They have all my support,' she said. The star was then comforted by host Fabio Fazio as they began to discuss aspects of her film career. Talking about her friendship with director Quentin Tarantino, Uma was quizzed on the possibility of making a third Kill Bill move, in which she stars as The Bride. Heartbreaking: The Pulp Fiction actress, 49, was a guest on the late-night talk show Che Tempo Che Fa in Milan on Sunday when she listened to the plea of the parents of Giulio Regeni Kind words: 'I would like to express my condolences to the Regeni family. I have heard the letter and I hope there is justice. They have all my support' '[Quentin] doesn't deny it, it is in his mind [doing a third film]. He has probably written something on it,' she said. The Producers star added that it would be 'difficult to say' whether it would go ahead because of the conflicting schedules of the potential cast and creative directors. The actress had been visiting Europe over the weekend, and on Saturday attended Paris menswear Fashion Week. Rumour: Talking about her friendship with director Quentin Tarantino, Uma was quizzed on the possibility of making a third Kill Bill move, in which she stars as The Bride In the pipeline: '[Quentin] doesn't deny it, it is in his mind [doing a third film]. He has probably written something on it,' she said of Kill Bill 3 (Uma pictured as the Bride) She was seen enjoying a night out with her son Levon Hawke, 18, and making the most of their stay in the city. Uma was casually clad in boot-cut jeans and a black jumper, wrapping up in a gold and navy pashmina and a coordinating scarf. She added a pair of leather ankle boots and went make-up free during her outing, showing off her radiant complexion. Levon - who she shares with her ex Ethan Hawke - was dressed to impress in a star print jacket teamed with grey chinos. Stepping out: Uma was enjoying a night out with her son Levon Hawke, 18, on Saturday, making the most of their stay in France during Paris Fashion Week: Men's Uma raises Levon with her ex-husband, actor Ethan Hawke, 48; the former couple were married from 1998 until their separation in 2003 after meeting on the set of Gattaca in 1997. The pair have a daughter, actress Maya Hawke, 21, who has shot to fame in her own right as a star of Netflix series Stranger Things. Uma also has a daughter Luna Thurman-Busson, seven, from her on-off relationship with French financier Arpad Busson, 56, between 2007 and 2014. The actress played the lead in 2003's Kill Bill and the 2004 sequel Kill Bill Volume 2 and director Quentin Tarantino revealed recently the pair have been discussing ideas for Kill Bill Volume 3. Speaking on MTV's Happy Sad Confused podcast, Tarantino, 56, said: 'Me and Uma have talked about [a third Kill Bill] recently. 'Frankly, to tell you the truth, I have thought about it a little further. 'We were talking about it literally last week. If any of my movies were going to spring from my other movies, it would be a third Kill Bill.' The chief executive of Google has called for international cooperation on regulating artificial intelligence technology to ensure it is harnessed for good. Sundar Pichai said that while regulation by individual governments and existing rules such as GDPR can provide a 'strong foundation' for the regulation of AI, a more coordinated international effort is 'critical' to making global standards work. The CEO said that history is full of examples of how technologys virtues arent guaranteed and that with technological innovations come side effects. These range from internal combustion engines, which ushered the era of personal travel in the 19th century but also caused more accidents, to the internet, which has helped people connect but also made it easier for misinformation to spread. Pichai said 'nefarious' uses of facial recognition and misinformation on the internet, such as deepfakes, are examples of the negative consequences of AI. These are lessons that teach us we need to be clear-eyed about what could go wrong in the development of AI-based technologies, he said. Google CEO Sundar Pichai (pictured) has asked governments to step up regarding how they regulate AI Companies such as ours cannot just build promising new technology and let market forces decide how it will be used, he said, writing in the Financial Times. It is equally incumbent on us to make sure that technology is harnessed for good and available to everyone. Now there is no question in my mind that artificial intelligence needs to be regulated. It is too important not to. The only question is how to approach it.' Pichai pointed to Google's AI Principles, a framework by which the company evaluates its own research and application of technologies. He said the list of seven principles help Google avoid bias, test for safety and make the technology accountable to people, such as consumers. The company also vows not to design or deploy technologies that cause harm such as killer autonomous weapons or surveillance-monitoring. To enforce these principles, Google is testing AI decisions for fairness and conducting independent human rights assessments of new products. Last year Google announced a large dataset of deepfakes to help researchers create detection methods Mr Pichai, who was also made CEO of Googles parent company Alphabet last month, said that international alignment will be critical to ensure the safety of humanity in the face of AI. We want to be a helpful and engaged partner to regulators as they grapple with the inevitable tensions and trade-offs. WHAT IS A DEEPFAKE? Deepfakes are so named because they are made using deep learning, a form of artificial intelligence, to create fake videos of a target individual. They are made by feeding a computer an algorithm, or set of instructions, as well as lots of images and audio of the target person. The computer program then learns how to mimic the person's facial expressions, mannerisms, voice and inflections. With enough video and audio of someone, you can combine a fake video of a person with fake audio and get them to say anything you want. Advertisement While there is already some work being done to address these concerns, there will inevitably be more challenges ahead that no one company or industry can solve alone, wrote Pichai. We offer our expertise, experience and tools as we navigate these issues together. Existing rules such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) can also serve as a strong foundation for individual governments to enforce regulation of technologies, he said. However, Pichais company does not have an entirely clean record in this regard and the first step for Google will be heeding its own advice. Last year, French data regulator CNIL imposed a record 50 million fine on Google for breaching GDPR. The company also had to suspend its own facial recognition research programme after reports emerged that its workers had been taking pictures of homeless black people to build up its image database. Some critics believe the burden of responsibility to control AI - and prevent an era of independently-thinking killer robots - ultimately lies with companies like Google. Google's search engine uses AI and machine learning technologies to return search results Last year, for example, a Google software engineer expressed fears about a new generation of robots that could carry out 'atrocities and unlawful killings'. Laura Nolan, who previously worked on the tech giant's military drone initiative, Project Maven, called for the ban of all autonomous war drones, as these machines do not have the same common sense or discernment as humans. 'What you are looking at are possible atrocities and unlawful killings even under laws of warfare, especially if hundreds or thousands of these machines are deployed,' said Nolan, who is now a member of the International Committee for Robot Arms Control. 'There could be large-scale accidents because these things will start to behave in unexpected ways, she explained to the Guardian. The Campaign to Stop Killer Robots has already penned an open letter to Pichai urging his company not to engage in Project Maven, a US Department of Defense project that's developing AI for military drone strikes. Former Google engineer Laura Nolan expressed fears about a new generation of robots that could carryout 'atrocities and unlawful killings'. Pictured is the war drone MQ-9 Reaper, an drone capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations for the US Air Force While many of today's drones, missiles, tanks and submarines are semi-autonomous - and have been for decades - they all have human supervision. However, a new crop of weapons being developed by nations like the US, Russia and Israel, called lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS), can identify, target, and kill a person all on their own, despite no international laws governing their use. Consumers, businesses and independent groups alike all fear the point where artificial intelligence becomes so sophisticated that it can outwit or be physically dangerous to humanity whether its programmed to or not. National and global AI regulations have been piecemeal and slow to enter into law, although some advances are being made. Last May, 42 countries adopted the first set of intergovernmental policy guidelines on AI, including Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries the UK, the US, Australia, Japan and Korea. The OECD Principles on Artificial Intelligence comprise five principles for the responsible deployment of trustworthy AI and recommendations for public policy and international co-operation. But the Principles dont have force of law, and the UK is still yet to enforce a concrete legal regime regulating to the use of AI. A report from Drone Wars UK also claims that the Ministry of Defence is funding multiple AI weapon systems, despite not developing them itself. As for the US, the Pentagon released a set of recommendations on the ethical use of AI by its Department of Defense last November. However, both the UK and the US are reportedly among a group of states also including Australia, Israel, Russia speaking against legal regulation of killer robots at the UN last March. The Student Loan Trust Fund (SLTF) project as established under the trustees incorporation Act 1962, Act 106, aimed at helping the nation to pursue her dream of providing financial resources for the benefit of students as demanded by Article 25 and 38 of the 1992 constitution, appears to be losing its focus and vision. It is crystal clear that, the establishment and implementation of the Student Loan Trust Fun (SLTF) scheme over the years, has gone a long way to play a pivotal role in liberating students from the financial hardships they encounter in their various academic endeavors. It is an indisputable fact that, so many students have been basking in the mercies and favor of the initiative over the years. For many are those who have successfully completed their various courses in their respective tertiary institutions through the support given to them by the SLTF policy. It has therefore remained an epitome and embodiment of success and joy in the academic lives of many students across the country. Notwithstanding, The government, Education Ministry, Finance Ministry plus the SLTF secretariat have woefully failed us in recent years. What has Changed?. As stipulated clearly in the constitution, the SLTF as a public institution is expected to serve its purpose satisfactorily to ensure that, the nations goal of providing quality education to all citizens through the provision of financial resources is achieved. On this note, every government should at all times ensure that, funds are allocated for disbursement to support eligible tertiary students across the country. Truth be told, the government of Ghana has lost the degree of focus and attention needed to keep the Student Loan Trust Fund policy in motion. For the sake of my stand on this issue, we want to state emphatically that, the government's attention to this important policy is minimal. Now, the failure of the government to provide funds for timely disbursement is an empirical evidence to our claim.(Governments attention to the policy is minimal) In setting the records straight, for two consecutive years, the SLTF has failed to serve its purpose on time. For instance, students who were patiently waiting for their loan in September for the 2018/19 academic year were left devastated, disappointed and flabbergasted after the government heartlessly refused to release funds in the expected month. They had to wait till the last month of the year. Also, the government is still as quiet as a church mouse bout the 2019/2020 disbursement. As a result of this, a good number of students have deferred their courses while others are burning in financial quandaries. Our parents are at home singing hymns of joy thinking that we are well catered for by the government. A lot of supplications have been made to the government by we the students. However, our voices are still not heard. At this juncture, the main question running through our minds is that, Has the government changed the structure of the SLTF scheme?. For we have not had any formal information coming from either the government or the Student Loan Trust Fund Secretariat. We are therefore writing to register our displeasure and disgust over the governments failure to do the right thing at the right time. The government should by all means help the nation to realize her dream of providing quality education for all citizens as far as the constitution is concerned. The government should also at all times allocate the needed funds for disbursement to help eligible but needy tertiary students as far as the constitution is concerned. We are also calling on the government to consider our wishes without any hesitation as far as the constitution is concerned. On this note, if Government and SLTF fail further to pay us by 31st January, 2020, we are going to embark on a dirty demonstration. Enough is enough. Sign Antwi Samuel Bosnia President Tertiary Education Institutions Network (TEIN) UDS WA CAMPUS. Sign Seidu Ziblim Abu DASA General Secretary UDS WA CAMPUS "Prescriptive home styles have changed as consumers continue to crave design that mirrors their personal style," said Grant Davis, senior vice president and general manager of Andersen's Residential and Commercial Pro Division. "At this year's IBS show, we are showcasing how Andersen empowers customers to create spaces they love." Renowned design influencers, Becki Owens and Will Taylor, will be in the Andersen booth presenting learning sessions on approachable design and business development. Becki Owens "Design to Sell: Utilizing Approachable Design and Styling to Appeal to Homeowners" Tuesday, January 21st at 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. A full-service residential designer in southern California, Becki is best known for transforming and creating spaces that are simple, clean and elegantall showcased on her highly popular social media channels, where she reaches over 1 million followers on Instagram alone. Becki will be sharing her tips on designing a home to sell, what homeowners want to see in design and how builders can work with designers to leverage design and styling to sell a home faster. Will Taylor "Leveraging Social Media to Build your Business" Wednesday, January 22nd at 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. Will has been blogging about his love of colorful design, fashion and travel since 2009 on his website Bright Bazaar. Will's accessible approach to design and fashion has led to more than 2.6 million fans across his social media channels. Learn how to harness the power of social media to build your business, tips to improve online presence and commonly asked questions from this social media pro. Additional highlights of the Andersen Windows booth include: Bringing style to life, an interactive massing installation showcasing how Andersen's versatility helps pros and homeowners alike visualize various house styles along the traditional to contemporary continuum. showcasing how Andersen's versatility helps pros and homeowners alike visualize various house styles along the traditional to contemporary continuum. Big doors and large window combinations that seamlessly blend indoor and outdoor spaces extending entertaining spaces and showcasing nature around us, including a 40-foot-wide MultiGlide door and coordinating pass-through window with automation. and large window combinations that seamlessly blend indoor and outdoor spaces extending entertaining spaces and showcasing nature around us, including a 40-foot-wide door and coordinating pass-through window with automation. Contemporary Heritage aluminum windows and doors featuring narrow profiles, clean lines and expansive glass for an awe-inspiring view. aluminum windows and doors featuring narrow profiles, clean lines and expansive glass for an awe-inspiring view. New 100 Series two-way joining and hands-on demonstrations of the innovative Easy Connect Joining System. Andersen Windows will be at IBS in Booth C4507. For more information visit www.andersenwindows.com/ibs. About Andersen Corporation Headquartered in Bayport, Minn., Andersen Corporation and its subsidiaries manufacture and market window and door products under the Andersen, Renewal by Andersen, EMCO, Weiland, MQ and Heritage brands. Andersen, a privately held company, was founded in 1903 and employs more than 11,000 people with manufacturing sites in North America and Europe. Andersen has earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's 2018 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Sustained Excellence Award. Visit us at andersenwindows.com. Follow us on Facebook @AndersenWindows, Twitter @AndersenWindows, and Instagram @andersen_windows. SOURCE Andersen Windows Related Links http://www.andersenwindows.com I read the newspaper account of Sheriff Jim Hammond's suggestion to the school board that arming school staff and/or teachers would be a good idea to reduce the shortage of security officers in the public schools with great concern. Fortunately, the school board did not agree with Mr. Hammond. As the parent of a public school teacher, I cannot imagine that my daughter would agree to packing a pistol and learning to use it as a security effort for her classroom. My daughter felt called to teach students, and she does her best to do so, despite a serious lack of resources and parental support in the Title 1 school in which she teaches. She did not feel called to be a law enforcement officer nor to carry a weapon. The administration of a school system has the responsibility to provide security and the board has wisely chosen to hire officers to do that. Asking a professional educator to serve as an armed security officer is not appropriate nor is it smart. Does the teacher keep the weapon loaded at all times? What happens if a student grabs the loaded weapon? Does the teacher keep an unloaded weapon and then hope to grab it and load it to confront an armed intruder? As a retired Army officer I know the risks of loaded weapons. These dangerous tools should be handled only by carefully trained and supervised people who use them only as a last resort. Tim McDonald * * * Mr. McDonald, I appreciate your service to our country but disagree with your opinion. While your daughter may not wish to be armed there are teachers who would step up and want to be a first line defense to violence. No one is forcing a teacher to carry a weapon. As a retired officer you said you know the dangers of a loaded weapon. Do you know the dangers of an unloaded weapon or an unarmed person in a violent conflict? I think the sheriff is 100 percent correct in his opinion. Trained and armed teachers could stop a violent situation well before law enforcement could arrive. By all means, lets train and arm the teachers who wish to confront violence if needed. Mike Cox * * * Mr. Cox, I disagree with you disagreeing with Mr. McDonald. Albeit, for slightly different reason though. Mr. Cox, teachers sometimes come in carrying the same baggage that infects and affects the rest of the population. When a teacher can't restrain him/herself or control their emotions to prevent them from slapping a second or third grader upside the head, dragging a second or third grader down a hallway, flat their back by the strap of their backpack. When a sixth grade six-footer teacher can't control his emotions and slams a puny sixth grader up against a set of lockers, lifting that sixth-grader up off the floor by his shirt collar. Knocks school books from the arms of a grade schooler walking down a flight of stairs. What do you think will prevent those same type teachers with their on issues from drawing a gun on a student? When you see two teachers getting into a cat-fight over some dude or dudess they're both dating, you'll appreciate the wisdom of what Mr. McDonald and others are attempting to warn you guns in schools, guns everywhere and all over supporters against. Been there. Witnessed that. Brenda Washington * * * In general I fall on the side of not arming teachers. Teachers are currently called on not only to educate children but to recognize all kinds of mental and social problems and deal with those as well. In a time when students bring guns and knives to school, placing a gun in the classroom could have devastating consequences. In addition, the teacher who discharges a weapon is legally responsible for the entire path of the bullet, regardless of who it injures or kills. I'm convinced that the security of schools should be in the hands of expertly trained personnel and schools built or retrofitted to be safer against those who want to commit mass murder. The root of the problem is the funds to do what is right. It is similar to a dangerous intersection on a road. When enough people are killed, the road gets a signal light or re-engineering to be safer. It's about money and how many children have to die before proper steps are taken. How many must die before resolution. In Israel, the schools are guarded by fully suited and armed [fully automatic] military personnel. When a bus goes on a field trip, there is an armed military person on board. We need to look at other countries as well to see their solutions. Every time someone suggests making a school more like a prison than a school, the idea is shot down. We certainly don't want to scare the children! What about the trauma of seeing your classmates and or your teacher killed in front of you? It's all about money in the end. Money. How much are our children worth? Evidently not enough. Ted Ladd Demonstrators shut down the corner of Randolph and Clark streets as part of a protest demanding government action on climate change in Chicago on October 7, 2019. DAVOS, Switzerland Scientists and climate activists from around the world have called on policymakers and business leaders to urgently take action in line with the scientific consensus on the climate emergency. Speaking at the launch of the 'Unite Behind The Science' campaign at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, climate change experts warned Monday that political inaction would not be acceptable. "Scientists want to make clear that every single policy, business and investment decision worldwide must follow the path that gives the world a fighting chance of limiting global warming to 1.5C and lead to the most livable future possible," organizers of the Unite Behind The Science campaign said in a statement. The four-day January get-together of world leaders, CEOs and investors is set to begin Tuesday, with this year's theme scheduled to focus on the intensifying climate crisis. "We cannot accept insufficient action anymore," Professor Gail Whiteman, founder of Arctic Basecamp and director of the Pentland Centre for Sustainability in Business at Lancaster University, said in a statement. "If we're united behind the science then every decision, every investment, every behavior should be based on what is taking us in the right direction." "If you decide to invest in and continue to produce fossil fuels, you are walking away from science," Whiteman said. While coloring her headband, one of the Countryside Elementary School kindergarteners said she could be like King by sitting on the school bus next to someone who feels alone. Another suggested inviting someone to play who doesnt have anyone to play with. Very few websites are unique or valuable enough to justify an access fee. With the exception of a few industry leaders, most content found on a website can, in most cases, be found elsewhere for free. The director of business development at ASEOHosting, a search engine optimization focused hosting provider, today said that gated content behind paywalls needs to have enough user value to justify the fee. On the surface, the paywall isnt a terrible concept, said Daniel Page, Director of Business Development at search engine optimization focused hosting provider. You produce content thats valuable to your audience. So, if that content were locked behind a nominal fee, the audience should be willing to pay for access. The paywall revenue model neglects one very important factor, though, he said. Very few websites are unique or valuable enough to justify an access fee. With the exception of a few industry leaders, most content found on a website can, in most cases, be found elsewhere for free. In other words, said Page, most publishers, when they institute paywalls, are overestimating the value of their own content. They are adopting a business model that may work for industry leaders like the Harvard Business Review, but which falls entirely flat for smaller publications. At best, they will simply drive traffic away from the website in question. At worst, they will alienate even that sites most dedicated users. We have reached a point of total content saturation, explained Page. Thats no secret. The assumption that any content save that created by unquestioned thought leaders is valuable enough to lock behind a paid subscription is almost laughable. Instead of using a paywall, Page suggests a few alternatives. First, publications could take the necessary steps to properly police their ad networks, and make that fact clear to the audience. They could also ask for donations, or offer a paid subscription service that gives access to certain exclusive features and perks. The issue of funding where digital content is concerned is a challenging one, Page admits. And theres no singular solution that will work for every organization. The only thing that is certain is that paywalls, as most businesses envision them, simply do not work. About ASEOHosting: Launched in 2002, ASEOHosting is a leader in providing SEO Hosting, including Shared SEO Hosting, Dedicated SEO Hosting, US Dedicated SEO Servers, and EU Dedicated SEO Servers. Based in Orlando, FL, and Detroit, MI, ASEOHosting has established one of the webs premier solutions for reseller web hosting, multiple IP hosting, dedicated servers, and VPS hosting. For more information, visit https://www.aseohosting.com. A 23-year-old man was arrested from Varanasi in a joint operation by the Uttar Pradesh anti-terrorism squad and military intelligence sleuths for allegedly passing on sensitive information to ISI agents in Pakistan, an official said on Monday. Rashid Ahmad was picked up on Sunday and a mobile phone, which he used to send photographs and video clips of vital Army installations and CRPF camps to the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agents across the border, was recovered from him, the official said. Preliminary investigation revealed that he had been to Pakistan twice, according to the official. Only two episodes of Power remain, and fans are still trying to crack the Who Shot Ghost? mystery. At the top of the year, they were presented with seven possible shooters: Tommy, Tasha, Tariq, Dre, Saxe, Tate, and Paz. But as the list of suspects narrows, viewers have started to wonder if theres a major twist ahead and the assailant will turn out to be someone other than those seven. Some people are convinced that Ramona Garrity (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) is the one who really pulled the trigger. But what are the odds of that? Warning: This post contains Power Season 6 spoilers. Cynthia Addai-Robinson acting on a television show | Eddy Chen/USA Network/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images A summary of Ghost and Ramonas relationship James Ghost St. Patrick and Ramona met while working with Councilman Tate, who had been campaigning to become the next governor of New York. As Tate slumped in the polls, St. Patrick and Ramona ditched him and threw their support behind Tates opponent Lorette Walsh, who chose St. Patrick as her potential lieutenant governor. This deepened tensions between St. Patrick and Tate and contributed to their falling out. On the campaign trail, St. Patrick and Ramona began to develop feelings for one another. They went on to start a romantic relationship and went public with their affair at a party at St. Patricks nightclub, Truth. When Ramona went to the bathroom, she was confronted by Paz, who issued a stark warning about St. Patricks true persona. With a strange look in her eyes, Ramona acknowledged how some people are simply unstoppable. Her facial expression suggests that shes not as clean as some viewers might think and could be up to something. At the end of the party, Ramona told St. Patrick that she would meet him back at his hotel, but he never made it. He was shot and killed by an unknown assailant later in the evening. Why fans think Ramona is the killer Some fans have theorized that Ramona killed Ghost in retaliation for murdering lawyer Terry Silver, as they believe the two were related. Ghost killed Silver in a jealous rage after learning hed been sleeping with his estranged wife, Tasha. Some viewers also believe that she might have a connection to Breeze, a drug lord that Ghost killed in his earlier days. Breezes name resurfaced in season 6 for no apparent reason. But while some fans are convinced that Ramona pulled the trigger, Power executive producer Courtney Kemp has said in multiple interviews that the killer is definitely among the suspects we mentioned earlier. So far, Dre, Tommy, and Paz have been ruled out leaving Tasha, Tariq, Sax, and Tate as suspects. But this isnt to say that Ramona isnt at all involved. Theres also a theory out there that Ramona and Tate conspired to kill Ghost to boost the disgraced politician in the polls. On Reddit, one person posited that Ramona sent Tate to murder the businessman to get his reputation back and steal Ghosts potential position as lieutenant governor. The latest episode of Power gives a hint about the shooter On the most recent episode of Power which aired on Jan. 19 Tommy found Ghost suffering from at least one gunshot wound. As the men exchanged words, they both saw the shooter. Tommy raised his gun and aimed at the suspect, but Ghost told him, Let it go. He died moments later. Was Ghost asking Tommy to let Tate go? Or was it one of the other suspects? Youll have to stay tuned to find out. Remember, Power airs on Starz at 8 p.m. ET on Sundays. Moscow: In a solemn ceremony at an airport in Ukraine on Sunday, President Volodymyr Zelensky paid his respects to the 11 citizens from his country who were killed when Iran's military mistakenly shot down a passenger jet in Tehran this month. Zelensky has grappled with the diplomacy around the downing of the plane, Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752. The missile strike put his government in the middle of a conflict between the United States and Iran, and he has walked a fine line as his country sought answers from Iran. On the morning of the crash, Iranian air defences had been on high alert after the country launched ballistic missiles at two US bases in Iraq in response to the US killing of a top Iranian general in Baghdad. Iran was preparing for retaliation to its missile strikes on the bases. Although the Ukrainian government quickly concluded that a missile had downed the plane, killing all 176 people aboard, it refrained from public criticism of Iran until its investigative team on the ground had found irrefutable proof, including shrapnel holes in the plane's fuselage. With help from Soros and Bloomberg, last fall, Virginia got a California-style government, meaning it's hard Left from top to bottom. This new government announced that it wants to do what all Leftist governments do once they attain power: disarm its citizens. It's a little harder to disarm citizens in America than in other countries because of that pesky Second Amendment, but the Virginia Legislature, with help from Gov. Ralph Northam, is doing its best. The plan is to ban "assault weapons," with current owners having to register their guns, restricting magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds, raising to 21 the minimum age for firearms purchases, and even banning some firearms training. The state will also buff up its prison budget for all the people it expects to fight the new laws. The augmented prison budget is necessary because triumphant Democrats did not account for waking the sleeping giant. Those Virginians who had somehow managed to doze through the election realized they were about to lose the one constitutionally identified right that supports all the other rights. There are now 105 Second Amendment sanctuaries in Virginia. The state is remembering its role in the American Revolution. Large numbers of Virginians who support the Second Amendment will attend a proSecond Amendment rally in Richmond on January 20. Normally, this would be a good thing, but some are worried that radical Leftist groups are going to appear in MAGA and NRA hats to create trouble: The Internet is rife with rumors that antifa will march shoulder to shoulder with pro-gun protesters about to descend on Virginia's capital tomorrow including one claiming that it will be antifa activists wearing red MAGA caps and NRA garb this time. Tom DeWeese, who works at the American Policy Center, was the first to voice concern: I'm in Richmond and have just received information from a very reliable source concerning Monday's rally against the legislature's gun grabs. Antifa have rented seven buses to bring in their thugs to cause trouble. The report says they will be wearing MAGA hats and wearing NRA garb. They will pretend to be pro gun people. Meanwhile others posing as democrats holding anti gun signs will stand on the side. The Antifa thugs, pretending to be pro gun , will attack the sign holders. Making it look like the pro gun people have started violence. This is the plan. If you are attending the rally be aware. Be very careful. The Virginia Legislature's Sen. Amanda Chase echoed DeWeese's concerns that Antifa and other Leftist activists plan a false flag operation to make it appear that Trump- and NRA-supporters are violent people who justify gun control: Sadly, I am posting this, knowing that the Governor of Virginia has declared a State of Emergency in our state. I want you to be aware of how we are being set up. Does the Patriot Act ring a bell? Does the National Defense Authorization Act ring a bell? If people show up wearing any kind of uniform, patch or other symbol on their clothing signifying they belong to a militia and something goes wrong, you could/will be held as a domestic terrorist. If anyone steps out of line, all it takes is one person, it may even be a government plant....if that plant does anything to disrupt the rally, you could/will be arrested as a domestic terrorist. [snip] We were told not once, but several times by the current President, "It's Not Me they are after, It's You, The American People." Just to add to the concern that the Left is creating a narrative, on Sunday, Ben Collins, an NBC News reporter, announced that he would be covering the "white nationalist rally" in Richmond. Only later did Collins delete the tweet and explain what he really meant to say: Hi everybody! Im deleting a tweet so I can be super clear about tomorrows rally in Virginia. The Lobby Day protest is and has traditionally been a gun rights rally, but white nationalists, including militant group The Base, have been planning violent action at the event. Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) January 19, 2020 If you do attend the rally, be of good cheer. Do not allow yourself to be drawn into fights. You are there as representatives of all law-abiding American citizens who believe in the Second Amendment. That places on you an obligation to act with dignity, separating yourself from the violence inherent in Antifa. At a practical level, carry signs that say "fake conservative" or "false flag" so that, if you see the media converging on someone acting out, you too can converge and label the interlopers for what they are. By demonstrating good humor and self-restraint, constitutionally minded Americans can expose Leftist overreach to the world and what a triumph that will be. SAN JOSE, Calif., Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- YuJa Inc. formally announces a new partnership with Johnson County Community College (JCCC) to provide a site-wide lecture capture system and media management solution. Following an extensive evaluation process, and a Request for Proposal (RFP) that described the requirements of supporting concurrent Learning Management Systems, Gradebook integration, and a Media Chooser Extension for LMS Embedding, the YuJa Enterprise Video Platform was selected. "YuJa was built to seamlessly integrate with our partners' existing technology investments to create new instructional offerings and learning opportunities," said Dr. Ajit Singh, Chief Executive Officer of YuJa Inc. "Our partnership with Johnson County provides industry leading solutions for media across their campus." The awarded contract fulfills Johnson County Community College's functional requirements to integrate their existing Canvas Learning Management System (LMS) to create accessible and modern media management solutions. About YuJa YuJa is a leader in enterprise video solutions. Our products harness the power of video to educate, engage, inspire and collaborate. We serve organizations of all sizes, within all sectors, including higher-ed, K-12, government, healthcare, non-profit and corporate delivering engaging video experiences. Our portfolio includes products for lecture capture, live streaming, video management, video conferencing, video test proctoring, digital asset management and enterprise accessibility. We have legal headquarters in Delaware with primary U.S. offices in Silicon Valley, California and Canadian offices in Toronto. About Johnson County Community College With 44,000 students enrolled in credit and continuing education classes each semester, Johnson County Community College is the largest institution of undergraduate education in the state of Kansas. Nationally known for the quality of its programming and teaching, JCCC offers a full range of undergraduate credit courses that form the first two years of most college curricula. In addition, more than 50 one- and two-year career and certificate programs prepare students to enter the job market in high-employment fields. JCCC's continuing education program is the largest, most comprehensive in the Kansas City area. SOURCE YuJa Related Links http://www.yuja.com Earlier last year, Google suspended some of its business operations with HUAWEI which includes a ban on using Google Services and Play Store. Subsequently, the company got another 90-day license extension to do business with American firms. While the smartphones launched by HUAWEI recently doesnt come with Google Play Services, the company has been working on alternatives. On similar lines now, HUAWEI will use TomTom for navigation instead of Google Maps. TomTom has closed a deal with HUAWEI and in upcoming devices, HUAWEI will use TomTom maps and services. The deal was closed some time ago, but it was announced publicly. The deal with TomTom could be a big boost to HUAWEI as it cannot use Google Maps for navigation on its new devices. Having said that, it is to be seen how HUAWEI will take advantage of the map data and add its own set of customizations. In case you missed, TomTom is a well-known navigation solutions provider and can be spotted in most automobiles fitted with a navigation system, be it cars or even public transport. It is also widely known that mobile phones have made specialized navigation devices a bit redundant by offering excellent capabilities for everyone that owns a smartphone. It is primarily aimed at drivers who rely on navigation for all their daily needs. Source (Alliance News) - Oil rigs manufacturer Lamprell PLC said Monday it has been formally awarded a contract from International Maritime Industries Co for the delivery of two jack-up drilling rigs. The company first received a letter of intent from the Saudi Arabian joint venture for the deal in late December 2018. The two rigs are to be built collaboratively between IMI and Lamprell, with Lamprell's share of the project value expected at around USD350 million. The rig design will be based on the Super 116E, and the majority of work will be carried out at Lamprell's facilities in the UAE. The project is expected to start immediately, with a 25% down payment to Lamprell amounting to USD87.9 million which is set to be received in late January. The first rig is set to be completed in over two years for the first rig, with the second rig being delivered three months later. Looking ahead, the down payment will put Lamprell in a stronger new cash position for 2020. "We are delighted to have secured the formal award for the first two jackup rigs as part of our partnership with IMI and expect to host a substantial number of Saudi nationals during the course of the project in our facilities as part of building IMI's capabilities. The maritime yard in Saudi Arabia is a significant part of the country's economic ambition and we are honoured to play a role in its realisation," said Chief Executive Officer Christopher McDonald. Shares in Lamprell - which is based in Dubai - were up 10% at 37.50 pence on Monday in London. By Dayo Laniyan; dayolaniyan@alliancenews.com Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. (CNN) If you've heard of the term "MSG," you might have also heard of its common but inaccurate connotations. For years, monosodium glutamate, a food additive known as MSG, has been branded as an unhealthy processed ingredient mainly found in Chinese food, despite a lack of supporting scientific evidence. This perception, which activists argue is outdated and racist, is so widespread that the Merriam-Webster dictionary has an entry for the term "Chinese restaurant syndrome" -- a type of condition that allegedly affects people eating "Chinese food heavily seasoned with monosodium glutamate," with symptoms like dizziness and palpitations. Now, activists have launched a campaign called "Redefine CRS." Headed by Japanese food and seasoning company Ajinomoto, the online campaign urges Merriam-Webster to change its entry to reflect the scientific consensus on MSG -- and the impact of misinformation on the American public's perception of Asian cuisine. "To this day, the myth around MSG is ingrained in America's consciousness, with Asian food and culture still receiving unfair blame," said the company in its campaign website. "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome isn't just scientifically false it's xenophobic." In a video released by Ajinomoto, several Asian American figures, restaurateurs, and medical professionals spoke out against the misconceptions surrounding MSG and Chinese food. "Calling it Chinese restaurant syndrome is really ignorant," said restaurateur Eddie Huang, whose memoir was adapted into the hit sitcom "Fresh Off the Boat." In the video, he pointed out that MSG is not only delicious -- but found in practically all processed foods, from ranch dressing to Doritos. The campaign proposed a new definition for "Chinese restaurant syndrome" in the Merriam-Webster -- "an outdated term that falsely blamed Chinese food containing MSG, or monosodium glutamate, for a group of symptoms." In response, Merriam-Webster tweeted on Wednesday that it would be "reviewing the term and revising accordingly." "We're constantly in the process of updating as usage and attitudes evolve, so we're grateful when readers can point us toward a definition that needs attention," said the company. What MSG is and isn't First off: what is MSG? Chances are, you've eaten it. It's a common amino acid naturally found in foods like tomatoes and cheese, which people then figured out how to extract and ferment -- a process similar to how we make yogurt and wine. This fermented MSG is now used to flavor lots of different foods like stews or chicken stock. It's so widely used because it taps into our fifth basic taste: umami (pronounced oo-maa-mee). Umami is less well known than the other tastes like saltiness or sweetness, but it's everywhere -- it's the complex, savory taste you find in mushrooms or Parmesan cheese. People have consumed MSG throughout history, according to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) -- but the debate over its health effects began in 1968, when a man wrote a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine, complaining of numbness after eating at Chinese restaurants. The idea that Chinese food was dangerous spread quickly, and was lent legitimacy by some medical professionals at the time. A 1969 scientific paper identified MSG as "the cause of the Chinese restaurant syndrome," and warned that it caused "burning sensations, facial pressure, and chest pain." That's not to say it was scientifically proven. A 1986 paper in the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology argued that a decade of research had "failed to reveal any objective sign" that MSG was dangerous, and that the very idea of "Chinese restaurant syndrome" was "questionable." The FDA even set up an independent inquiry into MSG in the 1990s -- which ultimately concluded that MSG is safe. Still, it was too late to contain public fear and anxiety. MSG had effectively been vilified in the American imagination, and was shunned for decades afterward. Even now, a quick Google search for MSG turns up countless pages that ask: is MSG harmful? Many regulatory bodies and scientific groups have answered this definitively: No. The addition of MSG in foods is "generally recognized as safe," says the FDA site. A joint study by the World Health Organization and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization "failed to confirm an involvement of MSG in 'Chinese Restaurant Syndrome'," and noted that the syndrome itself was based on "anecdotal" evidence rather than any scientific fact. Besides, many said, if MSG was so dangerous, masses of people would have fallen sick in countries that cook with the additive, like China and Japan -- something that simply hasn't happened. The fight for Asian food in America As the Ajinomoto campaign points out, the public scare over MSG unfairly placed the blame on Chinese food -- and is partly why many in the United States still think of Chinese food as processed, unclean, or unhealthy. This perception -- and the growing movement to break down this stereotype -- made national headlines in the spring of 2019, when a white woman opened a Chinese restaurant called Lucky Lee's in New York. The restaurant would serve "clean" Chinese food, she wrote in a now-deleted Instagram post -- food that wasn't "too oily," and that wouldn't make people feel "bloated and icky" afterward. Almost immediately, the internet was in uproar. Members of the Asian and Asian American community accused the owner of not just appropriating another culture's cuisine, but doing it with an offensive rather than appreciative approach. The owner responded shortly after the backlash, acknowledging in an Instagram post that Chinese food had "health benefits" and promising to "always listen and reflect accordingly." The restaurant closed in December 2019 -- just eight months after opening. She apologized more explicitly in an interview with The New York Times -- but still, critics argued that her original post had reinforced negative and false stereotypes around Chinese food instead of exploring what it actually is. The controversy sparked a broader discussion on the racially-driven lines drawn around which foods are "clean" and "sophisticated." Why, for instance, is Italian or French cuisine -- both foreign to the US -- seen as high-class fine dining, while Chinese or Thai food is still often regarded as quick, cheap, and low quality? Some also pointed out that "ethnic" foods -- a controversy in itself, because what is "ethnic" anyway? -- hold stories that have been erased or unacknowledged completely. For many, "Americanized" Chinese food was born from desperation and adapted for American tastes -- a way for immigrant families to survive in a society that demanded assimilation. To have that food, and its history of immigrant struggle, dismissed as "icky" or "oily" felt like a slap in the face for many in the Asian American community. For years, Chinese restaurants in the US often had signs inside that announced "No MSG used," in an attempt to distance themselves from the stigma. Now, some are reclaiming and openly embracing the additive; Chinese restaurant chain Mission Chinese Food has salt shakers filled with MSG, and MSG margaritas with MSG crystals in the ice cubes. Then there's Ajinomoto, one of the biggest voices in the MSG market and the leader of the Redefine CRS campaign. You can find Ajinomoto's MSG seasoning packets and spice mixes in many American supermarkets, and it has been working for years to raise awareness about both the safety of consuming MSG and the ways it can be used to add flavor to dishes. Amid all the hullabaloo, restaurateurs like celebrity chef David Chang, who produced and starred in the Netflix series "Ugly Delicious," and Anthony Bourdain, the late host of CNN's award-winning series "Parts Unknown," have worked to change public perception. The fears surrounding MSG were just a "psychosomatic myth," Chang said in a tweet. In another post, he shared how he uses MSG in his daily life, adding it as seasoning to snacks like popcorn. Bourdain, who traveled the world and showcased an extraordinary diversity of cultures and cuisines, was more explicit. "I think (MSG) is good stuff," he said in a 2016 episode of "Parts Unknown" filmed in China. "I don't react to it -- nobody does. It's a lie." "You know what causes Chinese restaurant syndrome?" he added as he walked through the streets of Sichuan. "Racism." Guntur (Andhra Pradesh) [India], Jan 20 (ANI): Students' union leaders who were part of 'Chalo Assembly' march were detained by police here. They raised slogans against the three capitals proposal during the protest. In the wake of ''Chalo Assembly (Let's march to assembly)'' call against the state government by Amaravati Parirakahana Samiti and TDP, the police have detained several TDP leaders from across the state late night and put them under house arrest. Section 144 of CrPc, which prohibits assembly of four or more people in an area, was imposed in some parts of Vijayawada and Guntur to facilitate smooth functioning of the State Assembly proceedings and movement of public representatives today. The YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government is likely to pass a resolution for decentralisation of the state capital today. Protests had erupted in the state, after 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. The Committee proposed Visakhapatnam as the executive capital and Kurnool the judicial capital while retaining Amaravati as the legislative capital. (ANI) In a series of experiments, a duo of researchers from the Department of Zoology at Stockholm University has observed eight-week-old wolf puppies spontaneously responding to social-communicative behaviors from an unfamiliar person by retrieving a ball. These observations come as a surprise because it had been hypothesized that the cognitive abilities necessary to understand cues given by a human, such as those required for a game of fetch, arose in dogs only after humans domesticated them at least 15,000 years ago. When I saw the first wolf puppy retrieving the ball I literally got goose bumps, said Dr. Christina Hansen Wheat, the lead author of the study. It was so unexpected, and I immediately knew that this meant that if variation in human-directed play behavior exists in wolves, this behavior could have been a potential target for early selective pressures exerted during dog domestication. Dr. Hansen Wheat and her colleague, Dr. Hans Temrin, tested 13 wolf puppies from three different litters in a behavioral test battery designed to assess various behaviors in young dog puppies. The first two wolf litters they worked with showed little to no interest in balls let alone retrieving one. They thought little of it at the time. It was what they would have expected, after all. That is until they tested the third wolf litter and some of the puppies not only went for the ball, but also responded to the social cues given by the unfamiliar person and brought it back. It was very surprising that we had wolves actually retrieving the ball, Dr. Hansen Wheat said. I did not expect that. I do not think any of us did. It was especially surprising that the wolves retrieved the ball for a person they had never met before. Similarities between dogs and wolves can tell us something about where the behavior we see in our dogs comes from. And, while it was a surprise to see a wolf puppy playing fetch and connecting with a person in that way, in retrospect, it also makes sense, Dr. Hansen Wheat said. Wolf puppies showing human-directed behavior could have had a selective advantage in early stages of dog domestication. The findings were published in the journal iScience. _____ Christina Hansen Wheat & Hans Temrin. Intrinsic Ball Retrieving in Wolf Puppies Suggests Standing Ancestral Variation for Human-Directed Play Behavior. iScience, published online January 16, 2020; doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2019.100811 Car Bomb Targets Turkish Engineers Outside Mogadishu By Abdulaziz Osman January 19, 2020 - At least three people were killed and more than 20 others, including Turkish nationals, were wounded when a car bomb targeting foreign nationals exploded Saturday in the town of Afgoye, 30 kilometers outside of Somalia's capital, Mogadishu. Al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for the attack. Two Somali officials confirmed the causalities to local media. According to Turkish news Agency Anadolu, the Turkish health minister said at least six Turkish nationals were injured in the attack, two of whom sustained serious injuries. The news agency said staffers of a Turkish construction firm were injured in the explosion. Afgoye residents say they heard a huge blast in the area followed by gunfire. Turkish engineers are working on road construction project. Two Turkish nationals, a foremen and a construction worker, were among more than 80 killed in late December in a bomb attack on a checkpoint near Mogadishu. Saturday's attack came hours after the Somali army said it had repelled several attacks carried out by al-Shabab militants in Qoryooley and Afgoye town overnight. Qoryooley is about 70 km south of Mogadishu. Al-Shabab claimed it had killed four African Union troops and overrun a military base in Afgoye town, but a Somali official said only one Somali soldier was killed in Afgoye attack. Samsung has appointed a new mobile boss, Roh Tae-moon. CEO Koh Dong-jin will remain the CEO of IT & mobile communications. At 51, Roh is Samsungs youngest-ever president. Previously, he worked as a smartphone development specialist for the Galaxy series. Understandably, he has many achievements under his belt. Notable amongst them is the outsourcing of smartphone production which allowed the company to cut cost and increase the competitiveness of its products. Advertisement He is also credited for the work he did for the Galaxy range. Its worth mentioning that both the Galaxy S10 and Note 10 ranges sold in more numbers than their predecessors. Similarly, the renewed focus on mid-range models has also reportedly helped the company revive shipments. Samsung is currently the number one smartphone vendor. Rising competition from Chinese companies like Huawei is perceived as a threat to its dominant position. Samsung acknowledges that the competition is getting tougher. Although the South Korean giant sold most 5G smartphones than any other vendor in 2019, it will probably find it difficult to maintain its lead this year. Advertisement New Mobile Boss Expected To Rejuvenate Samsung Numerous manufacturers have announced plans to release affordable 5G phones this year. Huawei is competing aggressively in its home market of China, now that the U.S. ban has essentially paralyzed its business in the rest of the world. Sure, the company cans still sell its phones in other countries, but without Google apps and services, demand is bound to get affected. At the same time, mobile manufacturers are exploring new form factors. While some like Samsung are creating foldable phones, others like Microsoft are focusing on dual-screen ones. Advertisement Either way, the market is changing and Samsungs recent corporate shakeup is apparently a result of that. The new mobile boss is reportedly very decisive. His ability to respond quickly to challenges is what Samsung supposedly believe will help it defend its crown. Samsung hopes that Roh will come up with strategies to breathe a new life into the company. CEO Koh, on the other hand, will take care of the broader issues and lead the overall mobile and telecommunications gear business. The idea is that the CEOs will create synergy between the different units and find new business opportunities. This will help boost the growth of the organization. Advertisement Samsung Is Also Getting Serious About The Networking Business As for what Roh will bring to the table remains to be seen. After all, he is just getting started and will likely make his debut as the mobile boss on public stage next month during the Unpacked event. But what we do know is Samsung is betting heavily on 5G and foldable phones to retain its lead. But then, 5G is on the agenda of almost all other vendors. And thanks to chipmakers like Qualcomm and MediaTek, the task has been made easier. Thus, we will have to wait and see how exactly he plans to differentiate Samsung branded phones from the rest of the pack. Advertisement Samsung has also promoted the former network business chief Cheun Kyung-whoon to president. The company supposedly wants to take advantage of the turmoil Huawei is in to turn the networking wing into a major business unit. Arjun Singh died after an assault in Nottingham city centre on Saturday. (PA) A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a university student was killed in an attack in Nottingham city centre. Arjun Singh, 20, who was studying at Nottingham Trent University, died after being taken to Queens Medical Centre following the assault in Long Row shortly before 4am on Saturday. Nottinghamshire Police previously said detectives were eager to trace two men who fled the scene on foot. The arrested man, 20, is currently being questioned by police, the force added. Detective Inspector Richard Monk said: "A man is now in custody being questioned on suspicion of murder. This was a serious assault which has resulted in a young man losing his life. Read more GCHQ claims Huawei 5G deal like 'letting fox loose in a chicken coop' Harry Dunn death: PM vows to discuss 'driving habits' of US personnel with Mike Pompeo Here's why Canada is a savvy choice for Harry and Meghan's new home Our thoughts are with Arjuns family and friends and we would ask that people respect their privacy at this very sad and difficult time. It is really important that if anyone has any information that could help the enquiry, no matter how small it may be, they come forward immediately. The senior officer added: If you were in the area of the Slug and Lettuce public house around 3.45am on Saturday morning and have not yet spoken to the police, I would urge you to come forward. We need to hear from anyone who may have dash-cam footage, including taxi-drivers who were in the area of Long Row West and Angel Row at the time, or any mobile phone footage of the incident. Anyone with information is urged to call Nottinghamshire Police on 101, quoting incident number 132 of 18 January, or to contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. BEIJING, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- President Xi Jinping has encouraged the officers and soldiers of a company of the 74th Group Army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army to carry forward their fighting spirit and build a strong military unit. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks when answering a letter from the company known as the "hard-boned sixth company" Saturday. Xi urged the entire company to pass on their "red genes" and hone their capabilities to win wars. He also extended Chinese New Year's greetings to them and their families. A heroic military unit, the company was conferred the honorary title of "hard-boned sixth company" by the Ministry of National Defense in 1964. Xi visited the unit in 2004 and sent his greetings to the soldiers and officers again in 2014. Appointment 20 January 2020 Ambassador Chicago, the Gold Coast's original boutique hotel, kicks off 2020 by welcoming Katharine Degoma to the team as the property's new General Manager. Degoma brings nearly 20 years of hospitality experience to her role and will oversee all of the property's operations while ensuring a memorable guest experience. Degoma joins Ambassador from the Hyatt Regency Deerfield where she served as the General Manager. There, she oversaw a $14 million guest room renovation and $1 million overhaul of the property's meeting space, flawlessly executing renovation strategy and keeping employee morale high. Previously, Degoma was the Director of Operations at the Hyatt Regency Schaumburg, where she assisted in a management company conversion, revamped the customer service program and increased revenue overall. Originally studying nursing and education in college, she quickly transferred to Roosevelt University to finish her studies once she realized hospitality and tourism were her true passion. A suburban Chicago native, Degoma comes from a large family of accomplished athletes. Competition flows through her veins and she thrives in fast-paced, dynamic atmospheres - making the hospitality industry a perfect match! MLK Unity Breakfast attendees honor Ninth Avenue School Keynote speaker Vergel L. Lattimore III urges people to value education during the MLK Unity Breakfast on Monday. Members of the community on Martin Luther King Jr. Day remembered the old Sixth Avenue and Ninth Avenue schools, 55 years after the last school bell marked the end of separate but equal racial segregation in Hendersonville schools. The annual Martin Luther King Jr. Unity Breakfast on Monday drew 325 people who braved early morning temperatures in the teens to celebrate diversity over Bojangles eggs, bacon, sausage and biscuits at the Blue Ridge Conference Hall at BRCC. Built on Sixth Avenue at Valley Street in 1916 for $700, Sixth Avenue School was a two-story wood-framed building with classrooms on the first floor and an auditorium on the second. Until 1936, the school term lasted only six months, Associate Schools Superintendent John Bryant told the audience. I know about 13,400 kids would love us to go back to that school term. When a federal Depression-era relief grant allowed the city to build a new stone gym at Hendersonville High School in the 1936, the old wooden gym was dismantled and moved to Ninth Avenue to serve as a high school annex. Eighteen years later, in May of 1954, a grant of $96,600.29 from the School Plant Construction Repair Fund state of North Carolina paid for construction of a new school on Ninth Avenue, built under the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court case that declared separate but equal accommodations to be constitutional. A union school, the new Ninth Avenue school served black students in grades 1 through 12 from Henderson, Polk and Transylvania counties. It would be 11 more years before Henderson County schools and the old city school system integrated. Ninth Avenue held its last commencement in May of 1965, with 16 students earning their diploma. The building, which underwent a major renovation, has served as Hendersonville Junior High School and Hendersonville Middle School. District Attorney Greg Newman recounted the numerous luminaries who had graduated from the African-American school, including Floyd Benjamin of Brevard, who became president and CEO of Keystone Pharmaceuticals. Newman quoted Benjamin saying: I do not have a problem with celebrating Ninth Avenue School. I have problem with celebrating the idea behind Ninth Avenue School. Keynote speaker Vergel L. Lattimore III, president of Hood Theological Seminary in Salisbury, urged the attendees to value education, character and wisdom. An ordained elder in the AME Zion Church, Lattimore was the first African-American chaplain to achieve the rank of brigadier general in the U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard. Only education allows people to achieve social change and freedom, he said, supporting the theme with quotes from Horace Mann, Langston Hughes, Nelson Mandela, John Hope Franklin and Martin Luther King Jr. Heed the words of Mann, he said: Character is what God and the angels know about. Reputation is what men and women think about. What teachers say to young people, he argued, can make a lifelong difference. When he was a sophomore at North Mecklenburg High School, he told his teacher he had chosen Martin Luther King Jr. as his term paper topic. He said, Vergel thats wonderful. You will one day be a great man like Dr. King. I said, What?! That stuck with me because he thought enough of me to invest in that thought, that idea, that I could achieve like Dr. King, Lattimore said. And Ive gotten to travel all over this country and the world in my role and I never forgot that. In his mountaintop speech, King was teaching us about the courage to face the past and (that) it takes wisdom and strength to face change that must come from the past (and) to go and move into the future, he said. Kings aspiration that everyone would obtain their rightful place in the world is my goal for everybody, that everybody takes their righteous place in Gods world. To move society toward understanding, We must become students and teachers of each other, about our history, about our culture, about our family history, about our relationships with each other, he said. We must celebrate each others story. Relationships move at the speed of trust," he said. "Social change moves at the speed of relationships. Character building is something we have to do every day. Its not something you do one time and youre done. A plaque on the wall at a counseling center in Salisbury, he said, contained sound advice: Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Watch your words, for they become actions. Watch your actions, for they become habits. Watch your habits, for they become character. Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny. HAIKOU, China, Jan. 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The third session of the Sixth People's Congress of Hainan Province opened in Haikou on January 16. According to Shen Xiaoming, governor of Hainan Province, in his government work report, the GDP of Hainan Province is estimated to increase by 5.8 percent year on year in 2019. The province has set a GDP growth target of 6.5 percent for this year. According to the work report of the People's Government of Hainan Province, last year, Hainan's tourism revenue increased by 11.3 percent year on year, and the number of overseas tourists increased by 13.6 percent, which is 9 percent higher than the country's average. The per capita disposable income of urban and rural residents increased by 8 percent. The per capita disposable income of urban and rural residents is expected to increase by 8 percent and 8.2 percent respectively in 2020. According to the report, since April 2018, more than 7,700 international skilled workers have come to work in Hainan. In 2019, the foreign investment in actual use and the number of newly established foreign-funded enterprises in Hainan increased by more than 100 percent. The province aims to create 130,000 urban jobs this year. Shen Xiaoming said that 2020 marks the year when the well-off society will be built in an all-round way and the "13th Five-Year Plan" will come to an end. It is a key year for the construction of Hainan Free Trade Port. Doing a good job in government work will be of great significance. Hainan will focus on the following works: The first is to speed up the construction of the free trade port and build new heights of opening-up. The second is to comprehensively strengthen institutional innovation and cultivate and strengthen core strengths. The third is to continue to promote industrial transformation and lay a solid foundation for high-quality development. The forth is to accurately implement the quality improvement and upgrading of the "five networks" and strengthen the support and guarantee capability. The fifth is to do a good job in the overall planning of urban and rural areas and promote the coordinated development of the whole province. The sixth is to strictly implement the tasks of the first phase of National Ecological Civilization Pilot Zone and raise the quality of the ecological environment to a new level. The seventh is to strive to make up for the shortcomings in social undertakings and optimize the supply of public services. The eighth is to actively address major problems in the field of people's livelihood and ensure that the fruits of development benefit all our people. SOURCE The People's Government of Hainan Province The National Assembly of the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic) today hosted a discussion that was devoted to the 30th anniversary of the Armenian pogroms in Baku and featured a keynote speech by Armenian American writer, professor, Candidate of Law, member of Westbrook City Council Anna Astvatsaturian Turcotte, a survivor of the Baku pogroms, as reported the Department of Media and Public Relations of the National Assembly of the Republic of Artsakh. Among other attendees were Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Vahram Balayan, heads and members of factions and standing committees, state officials and survivors of the Baku pogroms. The discussion began with a speech by Speaker of the National Assembly Ashot Ghulyan, who touched upon the special session of the Inter-Parliamentary Committee on Cooperation between the National Assemblies of the Republic of Artsakh and the Republic of Armenia and the declaration adopted by the Committee, underscoring its importance in terms of speaking out against and condemning the Baku pogroms once again. My relatives scattered across the globe after the pogroms and now live in different countries, and we dont know each other. This is our misery. I feel like a refugee everywhere I go, Anna Astvatsaturian said, adding that, unfortunately, there has not been a comprehensive state approach to the issue to this day, but the recent session of the interparliamentary committee in Armenia was the first step towards that. In his speech, Professor Alexander Manasyan attached importance to the search for ways to popularize and advance information about the Baku pogroms. Talking about Azerbaijans anti-Armenian propaganda, the professor said genocide is a national policy for Azerbaijan. Summing up the meeting, the parliamentary speaker stated that both Armenia and Artsakh need to prepare a package of documents about the events that took place in 1988-90 which will be the most correct substantiation of why Artsakh cant be a part of Azerbaijan in terms of sovereignty and jurisdiction. At the end of the meeting, the attendees respected the memory of the victims of the Baku pogroms with a moment of silence. The Australian government said on Sunday it will provide financial aid to the country's tourism sector that's been badly hit by long-lasting bush fires, as business owners fretted about cancellations that stretch into the months ahead. Although recent rains have brought some relief, damage to the industry from the fires has approached A$1 billion ($690 million) so far and may top A$4.5 billion by the end of the year, according to estimates from Australian tourism bodies. "People have stopped coming," said Tony Coppins, owner of Kangaroo Island Safari and Kangaroo Island Ocean Safari, adding that he had received cancellations for February and March. "They think the whole island is on fire and it's not, so we really need to send that message out that the island is still accessible." A fire earlier this month scorched more than 200,000 hectares (494,000 acres) on the island, located off the coast of South Australia, in blazes described as "hell on earth". The government said on Sunday it would channel $76 million ($52 million) in what it described as an initial push to help the country's A$152 billion tourism industry, which accounts for more than 3% of annual economic output. "International visitors are critical and especially critical in places like Kangaroo Island or tropical North Queensland and these are destinations that have relied upon a large part of their visitor market being international tourists and that's why we got to recover those markets as quickly as we can," said Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham. Birmingham said bookings from key international markets to Australia were down by between 30% and 40%. Domestic bookings across the country were down nearly 70%, Australian media reported. Rains have brought the number of fires burning across Australia's east and south coast to under 100 for the first time in weeks, easing a disaster that has scorched an area roughly one-third the size of Germany. Twenty nine people have been killed in the fires while millions of animals are also estimated to have perished. In Melbourne, fears receded that smoke from the fires would disrupt the Australian Open which starts on Monday as the city and parts of the bush fire-ravaged state of Victoria braced for heavy rains. "Victoria is about to see its wettest two-day period in many, many months," said Dean Narramore from the state's Bureau of Meteorology. More than 780,000 fans attended the two-week Australian Open last year, according to figures from the office of the state's premier, providing a major influx of cash for Victoria's economy. Following are some highlights of what is happening in the bush fire crisis: Soft-spoken, unassuming, yet resolute, 59-year-old BJP leader from Himachal Pradesh, Jagat Prakash Nadda, is a man known generally to maintain a low profile, but that has not stopped his ascent to the top in the boisterous world of Indian politics as he is takes over as the president of Indias ruling BJP. Underneath a soft exterior, Nadda hides a doughty perseverance, an unflinching commitment to ideology and shrewd organizational skills that have ensured his rise, say party leaders who have seen him over the years. In 2014, when the BJP led by Narendra Modi swept the national polls, many were surprised when Naddas name did the rounds for the top job in the party, which was then studded with stalwarts from Arun Jaitley to Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari. Watch: JP Nadda elected BJP President unopposed; the challenges ahead The position, however, was bestowed on Amit Shah, who along with Modi had shot to national limelight after delivering a stunning 73 out of 80 Lok Sabha seats in the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh. Nadda joined the Union Cabinet and served as the Health Minister. But in 2019, as Shah took over as the Union Home minister, there was little doubt that it was time for Nadda to come to the fore. He was appointed the BJPs working president, a clear indication that the man who enjoys the confidence of both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJPs ideological mentor RSS, Nadda is virtually the third most powerful in the present political set up. On Monday, he was formally elected unopposed as the BJP president. Belonging to a Brahmin family from Himachal Pradesh, it was in Bihar where Nadda got his initial lessons in politics as a student leader of the ABVP. Naddas father N L Nadda was an academic who also became a vice chancellor of the Patna University. In his biodata on the website of Rajya Sabha of which he is a member, Nadda says he was inspired by the JP Movement to join the Chhatra Sangharsh Samiti and then associated with the ABVP and BJPs youth wing Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha, which he also went on to head. Nadda mentions that he was detained for 45 days for leading a campaign for upgrading schools. Not born into a political family, Nadda married into one. His wife Mallika Nadda is the daughter of a former Jabalpur Member of Parliament Jayshree Banerjee. Interestingly, while Nadda went on to take up politics like his mother-in-law, his wife like his father has pursued academics. Nadda has a Law degree from Himachal Pradesh. It was in the northern hill state where Nadda made his electoral debut getting elected to the state Assembly from the Bilaspur seat in 1993. He won this seat several times after and went on to become a state minister for forest, environment, science and technology. Party leaders say a combination of all these factors has helped Nadda gain keen insights. From cutting his teeth in the caste cauldron of Bihar as a student politician, to being the son-in-law of a prominent political family of Madhya Pradesh, a state with strong RSS hold, to having been a minister and leader of opposition in the high hills of Himachal, his experience from the beginning has been quite diverse. He is a silent strategist, said a senior BJP leader. And Nadda put all this to use, when Shah assigned him the responsibility to helm the partys efforts in Uttar Pradesh for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Aided by BJP leader from Gujarat Gordhan Zadaphia, Nadda delivered. BJP and its allies mustered a formidable 64 of the 80 seats ensuring a comfortable repeat as the Centre. However, not all electoral battles are the same and Nadda has to fill the big shoes of the highly successful Shah. The battle immediately staring Nadda in the face is the Delhi Assembly election where Arvind Kejriwals Aam Aadmi Party appears to be retaining its grip over the voters. Not unaware, Nadda has been touring multiple constituencies on a daily basis getting a first-hand assessment of the partys strengths and weaknesses. He is about commitment and hardwork. We are going to see more of this, said the party leader quoted above. Among other things, Nadda is said to have an interest in swimming during school days. He is father to two sons. Toronto and Vancouver continue to heavily weigh upon the average national home sales price, which might not give an accurate picture of the Canadian housing markets actual situation, Dominion Lending Centres chief economist Sherry Cooper has argued. In a recent analysis posted at the DLCs online portal, Cooper noted that the actual average price of homes sold across Canada (as measured by CREAs MLS) last month was at around $517,000. This was 9.6% higher on an annual basis. The contribution of the two largest urban housing markets cannot be exaggerated, Cooper said. Teagasc National Tillage Conference to focus on Minimizing Risk and Promoting Sustainability This years Teagasc National Tillage Conference is set against a background of the challenging 2019 Autumn, which led to a reduction of up to 50% in winter crop plantings. Meanwhile, the sector continues to face significant risks posed by the loss of important chemistries for pest, disease and weed control and the need to ensure sustainable practises. Minimizing risk, promoting sustainability is the theme of the Teagasc conference which will take place on Wednesday, 29th January at the Lyrath Convention Centre, Kilkenny. Yet, the tillage industry has real potential to assist the agricultural sector in meeting its climate change obligations. In contrast to livestock systems, tillage enterprises emit the lowest average Greenhouse Gasses (GHG) and Ammonia levels, and are the most efficient in regards to Nitrogen (>60%) and Phosphorous (>80%) use. Minimizing risk, promoting sustainability is the theme of the Teagasc conference which will take place on Wednesday, 29th January at the Lyrath Convention Centre, Kilkenny. Its focussed on delivering answers to many of the decisions stakeholders need to make in advance of the 2020 crop season. Speaking in advance of the National Tillage Conference, Head of the Crops Science Department in Teagasc, Dr Ewen Mullins said that the topics covered this year relate to some of the key issues facing growers such as costs and returns looking ahead to spring planting, beans agronomy, managing insecticide resistance in aphids, the emergence of grassweeds and cereal diseases with the loss of chlorothalonil. With a focus on carbon, soils and GHG, insight into the overall environmental sustainability of the sector will be presented, as will the impact of cultivation method in oilseed rape on sustainability factors. The role of cover crops will be objectively discussed against the demands of future environmental sustainability goals, with Dr. Nanna Kristensen (SEGES, Denmark) detailing the experience of cover crops in Denmark, where cultivation has been mandatory since the 1990s, and Dr. Richie Hackett will report his experience with them in Ireland. There will also be a session of research snapshots covering a brief detail of outputs from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine funded VICCI project, the role of speed breeding and genetics in cereal breeding as well as developing solutions for managing grassweeds. Across two panel discussions, the challenges of achieving greater sustainability on the farm will be tackled, as will the primary opportunities and challenges ahead. Farmers attending the conference will have the opportunity to learn about on-going tillage projects that Teagasc has underway with both its national and international partners. Over 20 posters on the research projects will be accessible throughout the day to provide updates for growers and those working in the industry. The full conference programme is available at www.teagasc.ie/tillagecon20 OPEC is likely to continue with its oil supply cuts for the rest of 2020, a research director said Monday. "One thing which we are seeing in our numbers is that the market is still not ready to absorb the production cuts back, even for (the) whole of this year," Sushant Gupta, who heads Wood Mackenzie's refining and oils market team in Asia, told CNBC's "Capital Connection." "We expect OPEC to continue cutting production for 2020," he said. OPEC and its allies agreed in December 2019 to cut supply by an additional 500,000 barrels per day until its next meeting in March 2020, bringing the total reduction to 1.7 million barrels a day. However, the duration of the deal remains uncertain. The energy alliance usually gathers every six months, so the announcement of a meeting in March caused some analysts to believe that tighter policy would only last for the first quarter of 2020. Gupta argued that the additional cuts indicate OPEC is aware of oversupply in the oil market for at least the first half of this year. "They will have to manage that oversupply somehow, by either higher compliance or even deeper cuts for (a) longer time," he said. He added that Wood Mackenzie expects oil supply to outpace demand for "the whole of 2020." Part of that supply will come from non-OPEC, non-U.S. producers such as Brazil, Canada and Norway, he said. "It's more pronounced in the first half 2020 than the second half ... but we expect (OPEC) to rollover production cuts for the whole of 2020," he said. The Reserve Bank has been warned it may have to buy up coal mines and fossil-fuel power stations as part of extraordinary actions to save the economy from climate change-induced financial disaster. As Australian business leaders grow increasingly worried climate change will hit their bottom lines and the International Monetary Fund warns global warming is now a major financial risk, a new warning issued by the world's top central bank says the RBA could be forced into rescuing the economy and the environment. Three separate reports released on the same day, coinciding with Australia's worst bushfire season and ongoing political division over environmental policy, point to increasing fears among economic policy leaders that climate change could cause the next global financial breakdown. The Bank for International Settlements, which acts as the central bank to the world's central banks, overnight told its members they had to start incorporating climate change into their thinking about the stability of the economy. London, 20 January 2020 Grand Vision Media Holdings plc ( "GVMH" or the "Company") Appointment of New Director, Resignation of Director and Notification of Transaction of Directors, Persons Discharging Managerial Responsibility or Connected Persons The directors of GVMH are pleased to announce that Frederick Oon Kian Chua has been appointed as a non-executive director of the Company with effect from today. Mr Chua is a non-executive director of CMON Limited (Cayman), which is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's Main Board. Mr Chua is also a director of Magic Carpet Pre-IPO Fund ("Magic Carpet") and Quantum Asset Management Pte Ltd. Magic Carpet holds shares of GVMH. The directors of GVMH announce that Edward Kwan-Mang Ng has resigned as a director of the Company with effect from today. The Company wishes to thank Edward for his services to the Company. Pursuant to DTR 3.1.2-A and article 19(1) of the Market Abuse Regulation, the Directors also announce that Cyber Lion Limited, a company controlled by two of GVMH's directors (namely, Edward Kwan-Mang Ng and Ajay Rajpal), sold 7,328,000 ordinary shares of par value 10p (ISIN: GB00BDHBGL97) in GVMH (the "Shares") for a price of 5.5p per share. Following this sale, Cyber Lion Limited has no further interest in the shares of GVMH. The Shares have been acquired by Win Network International Limited ("Win"), a company controlled by Stephen Lo, on 20 January 2020 in Hong Kong. Mr Lo is the father of one of GVMH's directors (namely, Jonathan Lo). Following this acquisition, Win will own 7,328,000 shares in GVMH, representing 7.6% of the issued share capital of the Company. Win also owns 454K of convertible loan notes that were issued by the Company on 19 July 2019. The conversion of Win's convertible loan notes into shares in the Company would result in Win's acquisition of 3,027,245 shares in the Company and the exercise of Win's warrants would result in Win's acquisition of an additional 756,811 shares in the Company. Win would own 11,112,056 shares in the Company if all of the loan notes are converted and all of the warrants are exercised, representing 10.9% of the Company on a fully diluted basis. Stephen Lo also owns 12,439,779 shares in the Company. Therefore, Stephen Lo currently has a beneficial interest in 19,767,779 shares in the Company (representing 20.5% of the issued share capital of the Company), and could have a beneficial interest in 23,551,835 shares in the Company on a fully diluted basis assuming all loan notes and warrants are exercised as detailed above (representing 23.1% of the fully diluted issued share capital of the Company). Jonathan Lo, GVMH's Chief Executive Officer said: "We are happy to welcome Frederick to the GVMH team. Frederick's range of experience will add significantly to our Board as we focus on the delivery of our corporate strategy." The Company hereby confirms that Mr Chua has no further disclosures to make in accordance with Rule 9.6.13R(1)-(6) of the Listing Rules of the UK Listing Authority. The Directors accept responsibility for this announcement. For more information: Grand Vision Media Holdings plc http://gvmh.co.uk/ Jonathan Lo, Director Tel: +44 (0) 20 7866 2145 or info@gvmh.co.uk Alfred Henry Corporate Finance Ltd Nick Michaels / Jon Isaacs Tel: +44 (0) 20 3772 0021 or enquiries@alfredhenry.com - ENDS - DHAKA, Bangladesh - A Bangladesh court sentenced five former police officials to death Monday for opening fire on a motorcade of then opposition leader Sheikh Hasina 31 years ago, killing 24 of her supporters during an anti-government rally. Judge Mohammed Ismail Hossain in southeastern Bangladeshs Chittagong city announced the verdict with four defendants present, said prosecution lawyer Shibu Prakash Biswas. One defendant has fled, he said. Hasina is now prime minister of the South Asian nation. On Jan. 24, 1988, police started shooting as Hasinas motorcade surrounded by her supporters was approaching the rally against then military dictator H.M. Ershad. He ruled the country for nearly nine years until 1990, when he was overthrown in an uprising. The prosecution said the target was to kill Hasina, but her supporters formed a human shield, surrounding her when the shooting started. After the killings took place, the bodies were taken to a local crematorium and cremated regardless of religious identities, without giving their families any chance to see them. Political bickering delayed the legal proceedings. A case was filed in 1992 when former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia came to power, but it was shelved for years because Hasina is her arch rival. Hasina took office when Zias five-year term ended in 1996 and began the investigation into the killings. The countrys Criminal Investigations Department charged eight policemen with murder. Three of the defendants have died. Bangladesh has gone through numerous political upheavals since its independence from Pakistan in 1971, involving killings, military coups and counter-coups. Parnas asked him what was going on, resorting again to the double question marks when Avakov failed to respond straight away. Eleven minutes later, Avakov sent back a message that everything was normal and he and others were with Zelensky and he would speak to Parnas the next day. YEREVAN, JANUARY 20, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Parliament is debating the package of bills on making changes and amendments to the Law on Public Service at the second reading. The package of bills relates to the process and implementation of public administration reforms. The first stage of these reforms took place by the laws adopted on March 23, 2018. With this package of bills the second stage of reforms is being carried out and later the third stage will also be presented. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan I mean everything. All the worries, feeding, sleeping, walking, talking, childcare and school, friendships, reading, writing and even arithmetic. Back in the day, when my children were young, we worried about too much television screen time (only to discover years later they watched when we werent home). What they eat and what they didnt. Exercise. School results. Relationships. How can they be helped to be competent and independent while at the same time thinking, oh my god, why arent they home? WHY ARENT THEY HOME CANT THEY TELL THE TIME? Pick up the bloody phone or at least text me. Lovers (ohmigod, they are having sex?) Where will they live? Good jobs and bad jobs. Are they content? Why arent they content? Why are they travelling? Why cant they just stay nearby and gaze adoringly at their ageing mother? That teenage time for me was the absolute worst. Knowing that in order to develop independence, they needed to be able to go out, make judgments, stay out too late. Waiting for the jingling key in the door and the clompity clomp of shoe on wooden floorboards. Im glad that part of my life is more or less over. Loading I might have been reassured if Id read the new book by Sarah Macdonald and Cathy Wilcox, So ... You're Having a Teenager: An A-Z of adolescence from argumentative to zits. Might have. Under W for worry, they write: You will. All the time. But try to worry about the important things: not so much about their marks, sporting prowess and disgusting habits... Rather their survival, developing competence, resilience and reasonable happiness. I worried about everything on their list and more. Macdonald says its important not to transfix the worry on to them but recognises that adolescence is a time of great worry. We always worry then. They are pulling away from us, she says. Wilcox says its important to ask ourselves this question: What is it that is eating you at a subterranean level versus what you think is causing you to be worried. The teenage time was the worst but I still worry. With me, it was all levels and still is. Im embarrassed to tell you how old my children are but when I was talking about this on Facebook to my friends, I was reassured by the number of folks whose parents still worried, from whippersnappers in their 20s to those whose mothers were in their nineties. Yes. Of course. Absolutely. Always. It would be hard to beat Mich-Elle Myers who says one time she flew in late from Los Angeles because her plane was delayed. Shed neglected to text her mother to explain the late departure. By the time I landed in Sydney she had spoken to the airline and even knew the pilots name. Turns out that the pilot had the same first name as Mich-Elles dad and her mum took that to be a good omen. A young friend, Emily McMillan, is 1.8 metres tall and 37 years old. Does her mother worry? "Yes, and its lovely. I dont like to worry her, but I love that she cares so much. I think Im lucky to have that. A petition was filed in the Supreme Court on Monday seeking directions to the police to open Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch, which has been closed since December 15 due to ongoing protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The petition said that the public at large is facing huge inconvenience and hardship as the road is blocked since December 15 last year and residents, shopkeepers, children, and patients are facing extreme difficulties. The petition was filed by advocate Amit Sahni against a Delhi High Court order, in which it had asked Delhi Police to "look into the matter in larger public interest and deal with the issue of maintaining law and order". "The protestors have been using Loudspeakers, as per reports, thus 'unrestricted holding of public meetings', processions, demonstrations, etc. has caused obstruction to traffic and disturbance of public tranquillity," the petition filed in the Supreme Court said. It said that no one can be permitted to occupy the public road for any reason whatsoever "under the pretext of peaceful protest" and that too for an "indefinite period to make others suffer". "The protests at the public road cannot be permitted to continue as the same would set a wrong precedent and the same has inspired Shaheen Bagh style protests in Prayagraj Gaya, Nagpur, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Lucknow, and Kota," the petition added. The plea said that the Kalindi Kunj stretch is "quite crucial" as it connects Delhi, Faridabad (Haryana) and Noida (Uttar Pradesh) and commuters who use these roads are "forced to take alternative routes" Delhi-Noida-Delhi (DND) Expressway and Ashram, which is causing hours of traffic jams and wastage of time and fuel. Sahni's plea in the High Court had sought directions to Delhi Police Commissioner for withdrawing the closure of Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh Stretch and Okhla underpass, which were closed on December 15 last year for ongoing protests against CAA. It was a temporary measure but has been extended from time to time. Protests are going on across the country against and in support 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. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Mother Loraine Marie Maguire, (C), of the Little Sisters of the Poor, speaks to the media after arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on March 23, 2016. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images) Supreme Court to Hear Appeal by Little Sisters of the Poor on Contraception Mandate WASHINGTONThe Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal from Little Sisters of the Poor, a Roman Catholic order of nuns, regarding its objection on religious grounds to having to provide health insurance that covers birth control, sterilization, and abortifacients for its employees under the Obamacare law. The case, cited as Little Sisters of the Poor v. Pennsylvania, is the latest in a series of lawsuits. The Supreme Court granted certiorari Jan. 17, agreeing to review a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit. The Little Sisters of the Poor, a religious order and charity that operates facilities nationwide, describes itself on its website as an international congregation of Roman Catholic women founded in 1839 by Saint Jeanne Jugan [who] serve the elderly poor in over 30 countries around the world. [They offer] the neediest elderly of every race and religion a home. It is disappointing to think that as we enter a new decade, we must still defend our ministry in court, Mother Loraine Marie Maguire of the Little Sisters of the Poor said in a statement. We are grateful the Supreme Court has decided to weigh in, and hopeful that the Justices will reinforce their previous decision and allow us to focus on our lifelong work of serving the elderly poor once and for all. The Obama-era contraception mandate has been a source of controversy since it surfaced in 2011, spurring more than 100 lawsuits from private individuals, religious groups, state governments, and businesses that objected to it on religious grounds. In October 2017, the Trump administration issued a regulation that exempted religious groups from complying with the Obamacare mandate. The government said it had been wrong to try to compel the Little Sisters and others to provide services such as the morning-after pill in their health plans because doing so violated their religious beliefs. President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 13798 on May 4, 2017, in which he took steps to protect Americans fundamental rights of conscience and religious liberty. EO 13798 states it shall be the policy of the executive branch to vigorously enforce Federal laws robust protections for religious freedom because our Founders envisioned a Nation in which religious voices and views were integral to a vibrant public square, and in which religious people and institutions were free to practice their faith without fear of discrimination or retaliation by the Federal Government. The order directs that all executive departments and agencies to the greatest extent practicable and to the extent permitted by law, respect, and protect the freedom of persons and organizations to engage in religious and political speech. Pennsylvania, which doesnt have a state-level contraceptive mandate, sued the Trump administration to take away the religious exemption after acknowledging it already has many of its own government programs that provide contraceptives to women who seek them. Pennsylvanias position is that the Little Sisters have to comply with the federal mandate or pay tens of millions of dollars in fines. A lower court blocked the new rule and ruled against the Little Sisters in January 2019. In July that year, the 3rd Circuit also ruled against the charity. In October, the Little Sisters asked the Supreme Court to review the decision and on Jan. 17, it agreed to do so. Pennsylvania needs to give it a rest, said Mark Rienzi, president of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a public-interest law firm that represents the Little Sisters. Why is Pennsylvania still trying to fight tired and unnecessary culture wars that were settled years ago? There are plenty of ways to provide people with contraceptives without forcing Catholic nuns to participate. Its too bad that the Supreme Court is being forced by Pennsylvania to deal with this issue again, but at least the Court can now bring this litigation to a permanent end. In a separate case, cited as California v. Little Sisters of the Poor, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled on Oct. 22 that a preliminary injunction issued by a federal judge against the Trump-era exemption provided to religious groups could continue. The injunction bars enforcement of final rules by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in California and the other 12 states involved in the lawsuit (plus the District of Columbia) that exempt employers with religious and moral objections from the Affordable Care Acts requirement that group health plans cover contraceptive care. Former United States Vice President Joe Biden while addressing the Sunday services at Bethlehem Baptist Church reportedly condemned US President Donald Trump for heightening racial divisions in the country. He further even urged the crowd to fight back against hatred. Biden also reportedly called out Trump and his 'Klu Klux Klans' while pointing out to the outbreak of white supremacist violence in Charlottesville back in 2017. Biden's recent remarks on Trump were believed to be among the strongest condemnations of the president to date in a campaign season in which a number of leading candidates have harshly criticised the president's posture on race and immigration. According to international media reports, he also made the comments as he seeks to position himself as the inevitable Democratic challenger to Trump. The group of Biden's surrogates included Randall Woodfin, the mayor of Birmingham, Sean Patrick Thomas, an actor who grew up in Biden's home state and Symone Sanders, a former spokeswoman of Bernie Sander, but now a top adviser to Biden. READ: Indo-American Physicians Formally Announce Support For Joe Biden AAPI announces endorsement of Biden While Biden aimed to cement his support in South Carolina, the American Association of Physicians of India Origin officially announces its endorsement of Joe Biden. The co-founder of the AAPI Victory Fund, Indian-American Shekar Narasimhan has told a newspaper that the organisation had met several party candidates to decide their support in the crowded race and the community decided that their 'top priority' was to support someone who could beat the current US President Donald Trump and who would listen to the Indian community in America. READ: Joe Biden Boosts Super Tuesday Case With Sewell Endorsement Furthermore, he added that Biden is popular among the Indian-Americans and gave Biden a huge part of their donations in the third quarter of 2019, which was nearly $246,000. The AAPI co-founder also elaborated that the community also preferred Andrew Yang, an Asian American. However, with the escalating tensions between US and Iran after Trump-directed airstrike killed Iran's top commander Wassem Soleimani along with other military personnel, the Indian-American community wanted to choose a candidate 'who has the best interest of the country'. According to international media reports, AAPI will now organise on-the-ground rallies along with digital events 'to get Biden to the finish line'. READ: Serious Escalation With Iran Shows Trump 'dangerously Incompetent', Says Joe Biden READ: Joe Biden Calls Soleimani's Killing 'hugely Escalating Move' By Trump A police sniper secures a roof next to the Congress Centre on the eve of the opening day of the World Economic Forum, on January 16, 2017 in Davos. FABRICE COFFRINI The annual World Economic Forum (WEF) is about to kick off in Davos and with heads of state and global business leaders gathering at the event, keeping attendants safe is a top priority. President Donald Trump, the European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, the new managing director of the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and climate activist Greta Thunberg are just a few of the high-profile names (there are 3,000 attendants) at the summit in the Swiss Alps that runs from January 21 to 24. With many people watching the event to see if the world's elite can agree on how to improve "the state of the world," Switzerland and WEF bear a huge burden of responsibility to ensure attendants are kept safe and that they are seen to be kept safe too. As such, security is both conspicuous and discreet in Davos. Soldiers patrol the streets of the small ski-orientated town and security checks are carried out on personnel, vehicle and bags on access roads into the area. Snipers can be seen stationed on the roofs of buildings; security is obviously extremely tight within the main Forum too, known as the Congress Center. The Forum is held in the Swiss state of Graubunden the Canton of Grisons and the regional government is in charge of security rather than the country's Ministry of Defense, although the local authority can ask for help from police teams outside the state as well as from the Swiss armed forces, which do attend the event. A sniper of Swiss police stands on top of the Congress Center on January 25, 2011 in Davos. JOHANNES EISELE Security costs The Canton of Grisons has published security information and costs for 2020 and says that the additional costs for the security of the WEF Annual Meeting 2020 are expected to total around 9 million Swiss francs ($9.35 million). A quarter of those costs are borne by WEF (around 2.25 million Swiss francs), another quarter by the Canton of Grisons, the Davos municipality pays an eighth of the costs and federal government around a third (around 3.3 million Swiss francs). In previous years, the army has incurred costs of around 32 million Swiss francs per annual meeting. WEF notes that, overall, the deployment of the armed forces to support the event is funded through the Swiss defense department's budget. Switzerland's Parliament authorized the deployment of up to 5,000 armed forces personnel in 2019-2021 for "civil support duties." "Overall, the cost of deploying troops at the WEF Annual Meeting is much the same as that incurred by the same battalions when on regular training. In previous years, the deployment of the armed forces has cost around 32 million Swiss francs per meeting," WEF notes. The threat of potential terrorist attacks at an event like the Forum is at the forefront of authorities' minds too and security restrictions are in place over the airspace of Davos to safeguard air sovereignty. The Swiss government states that "the terrorist threat in many European countries remains elevated or high" and that the "spate of attacks in Europe and their considerable media impact may also incite radicalised persons in Switzerland to carry out terrorist violence." "The security authorities at federal and cantonal level continuously assess the situation and take appropriate measures where necessary. Robust security precautions with a high, visible police presence, intensive reconnaissance and police checks is necessary in 2020 to ensure that the WEF Annual Meeting passes off safely." Unforeseen events Security costs can change, of course, especially if there is the participation of an extraordinarily large number people who are designated as "internationally protected people" or significant increase in accommodation costs for non-cantonal security staff. Or there is an unforeseen expansion of the security zone in Davos due to the number of protective persons or even due to meteorological reasons, in that case the Swiss government will provide extra funds. Armed security personnel stand guard on the rooftop of a hotel in Davos, Switzerland. Fabrice Coffrini | AFP | Getty Images Two Demonstrators Killed In New Flare-Up Of Iraqi Antigovernment Protests January 18, 2020 At least two demonstrators were killed and 24 others hurt during clashes with security forces in central Baghdad in a new flare-up of protests against the country's political elite and widespread corruption. Security sources told Western news agencies that one protester was killed on January 17 as demonstrators attempted to cross the strategic Sinek Bridge in the center of the capital. Security forces fired tear gas as they sought to prevent protesters from crossing the bridge, with one canister hitting a demonstrator in the chest and killing him. Iraq late last year was shaken by three months of mostly leaderless anti-government and anti-Iranian protests that led to the deaths of hundreds of people and injuries to some 25,000 amid a violent crackdown by authorities. Protesters have demanded sweeping political reform, better job opportunities, improved public services, and the elimination of foreign influence in the country, along with the resignation of the governmental leaders. Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi was forced out by the public pressure, although he has said he will remain on in a caretaker capacity. In recent days, the protests have been overshadowed by the January 3 killing of a senior Iranian commander, Major General Qasem Soleimani, in a U.S. air strike in Baghdad, sparking concerns that Iraq could become the battle ground in a conflict between Washington and Tehran. Iran on January 8 fired a series of ballistic missiles at Iraqi military bases that were hosting U.S. and other international troops, further raising tensions. Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, has blamed the government for the "bloodshed" during the recent unrest on Iraqi streets. Based on reporting by AFP, AP, Reuters, and dpa Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/30384430.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 PRINCETON, New Jersey, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Damco Solutions Inc., a leading provider of end to end software, digital, and IT-enabled services to global organizations across industries, today announced that it has achieved the Salesforce Silver Consulting Partner Status. Damco became part of the Salesforce ecosystem as an ISV partner and has a proven track record of publishing numerous ready-to-install apps on AppExchange, the enterprise app marketplace powered by Salesforce. Salesforce, the world's #1 customer success platform headquartered in San Francisco, empowers companies to connect with their customers in a whole new way. Salesforce's evaluation process for the partnership tier is based on the Consulting Partner Value Score which measures a partner's contribution against Salesforce-set targets across three key dimensions: 1. ACV: Revenue Influence and Revenue Growth 2. Expertise: Certifications, Growth in no. of Certified Consultants and New Certified Consultant Accelerators 3. Customer Success: Specialization and CSAT achieved through project deliveries Damco gained points in each parameter to reach the points needed for the Silver tier. This advancement reflects Damco's Salesforce expertise and consistent track record around excellent customer service and delivery. Acknowledging the achievement, Mohit Gupta, CEO, Damco Solutions. said, "We are pleased to be recognized with Silver Partner Status. This recognition is a glowing testimony of our skilled resources, best in class processes and accelerators. We will continue to evolve our salesforce practice by further investing in technology and our people to enable our clients to maximize their salesforce investments and pivot their organization to success." "We believe this recognition by Salesforce validates and reflects our commitment to enable organizations across industries to unleash and harness the potential of the world's #1 CRM 'Salesforce' through our best in class, cost-effective Salesforce services ranging from consulting, custom development, integration, lightning migration, implementation to support and managed services", said Alok Khandelwal, Salesforce Practice Head at Damco. Damco's technical excellence in major products of Salesforce including Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Community Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Pardot, Integration Cloud, Einstein Platform Services and App Cloud facilitates them to provide superior services to their clients. Damco's strong industry solutions experience garnered over the period of the last 23 years enables its clients to gain a competitive advantage in a dynamic industry ecosystem. About Damco Solutions Founded in 1996, Damco Solutions is the trusted technology partner of businesses worldwide enabling them to leverage software and IT as a strategic asset. With the diverse experience of more than two decades, technology expertise, immaculate execution capabilities, and unwavering focus on customer success; Damco has empowered businesses to connect with their customers, clients, and employees in an entirely new way. Salesforce services is one of the core services provided by Damco with strong delivery capacity in North America, UK, Luxembourg and India. For further information, contact at +1-609-632-0350, email [email protected] , or visit https://www.damcogroup.com. Media Contact: Richa Pokhriyal Vice President Marketing Damco Solutions [email protected] SOURCE Damco Solutions A Chester County firefighter has been charged with sexually abusing teenage boys after an anonymous tip alerted authorities to his relationship with a 14-year-old, prosecutors said Sunday. Investigators said they believe Carlton Raye Bell Jr., a battalion chief with the North Coventry Fire Company, found his victims on the online dating site Grindr before luring them back to his Pottstown home. Authorities arrested him Friday on multiple felonies including involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, statutory sexual assault, and unlawful contact with a minor. He did not respond to requests for comment Sunday night. According to the criminal complaint, Bell, 27, first made contact with his 14-year-old victim on Grindr in September and quickly escalated their relationship to an in-person meeting. He picked up the boy at his Caln Township residence for a sexual encounter, prosecutors said. On a second occasion, the complaint alleges, Bell initiated a group chat between the 14-year-old and two other suspected minors believed to be 16 and 17. He allegedly drove all them to his home and had sex with all three. Prosecutors said the 14-year-old led them to Bell after they received the tip about their relationship in December. The District Attorneys Office is deeply committed to the protection and safety of children, Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan said in a statement. In addition to his role with the North Coventry Fire Company, Bell also served as a volunteer firefighter with the Limerick, Ridge and Goodwill Pottstown fire companies in Montgomery County. He has been suspended from all of them, prosecutors said. He remains at the Chester County prison on a $150,000 cash bail pending a Jan. 23 preliminary hearing. Students in Rochester, New York have returned to the citys classrooms in the aftermath of an abrupt mid-year layoff of 95 teachers, largely affecting elementary students. Overall, more than 150 teachers were displaced. The Rochester City School District (RCSD) announced the cuts on December 6, stating that they would be effective at the end of the calendar year. Young people and city residents are incensed. On December 9, hundreds of students walked out of classrooms at numerous schools and marched through downtown chanting We want our teachers and Chop from the top. The RCSD claims the job cuts are the result of overspending by $64 million during the past two fiscal years. Increased expenses associated with special education, healthcare insurance costs and proliferating charter school outfits were brought to light last September by a year-end audit. The district has now pledged to balance the budget and neither the state nor the city has offered assistance. Therefore, the full brunt of cuts will fall on the citys schools, its teachers and students. Attempting to take measures into their own hands, parents launched a GoFundMe page with the aim of raising $10 million to be applied to preserving the jobs of the teachers. A change.org petition, now with over 22,000 signatories, also calls for New York State to pay a reputed debt of $86 million to the district. The petition says the layoffs are unacceptable, emphasizing that the city has the third-highest child poverty rate in the US. A staggering 51.9 percent of Rochester children under 18 are officially living in poverty. These cuts will have a further devastating impact on the lives of children and their families. A group of students staged a State of the Students address January 13, rebutting Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomos State of the State the week prior. We expected the worst and learned the worst, said East High eighth-grader Sarah Adams, telling the media, Our voices and our education [are] not a priority for him. The long-time Democratic governors speech emphasized his willingness to address a $6.1 billion state budget deficit. Far from advancing desperately needed cash for schools, he is widely expected to enact cuts to both Medicaid and school aid. Cuomo, long the darling of Wall Street hedge funders and speculators, has brazenly rejected significant tax increases on the wealthy and has cautioned that the super-rich are fleeing New York for lower-taxed states. New York State has the second greatest share of billionaire residents with 113 of the USs 639 billionaires. Nearby Upstate New York cities Syracuse and Buffalo face conditions similar to Rochester, with youth poverty rates of 46.8 and 47.2 percent, respectively, following years of deindustrialization and job cuts, especially at Kodak and Xerox. Unemployment has been compounded by a recent cascade of plant closures throughout the region. Corporations that once received lavish hand-outs in the form of millions of dollars of tax subsidies authorized by Democrats and Republicans alike have simply pulled up stakes. Impoverished communities have been left to deal with the consequences. For its part, the Rochester Teachers Association eschewed strike action over the layoffs and sought to channel anger behind appeals to the millionaire governor and the Democrats. Far from making a stand on defending jobs, the RTA website asks, Thinking of retirement? and provides assistance on retiring and getting unemployment. On January 14, the union organized three busloads of parents, teachers, students and members of the board of education to petition Cuomo in Albany. The governors office doors were locked when they arrived. Students and other protestors left pink slips and messages. Meanwhile, school district superintendent Terry Dade has now doubled down, indicating he will demand at least $7 million in further concessions from teachers. Teacher Rakia Hardaway told WHAM she fears these cuts are just the beginning. We have kids walking around asking us, Are you going to be safe? When are you going to leave? said Hardaway. Also for us, we dont know if were going to have a job. As he has done with similar teacher struggles this primary season, Democratic Party candidate Bernie Sanders sent a boilerplate message of support to Rochester teachers. He tweeted, I am proud to stand with students in Rochester who are fighting proposed teacher layoffs. I urge government officials to keep these educators in their classrooms. Together, we will invest in public education and reduce class sizes. This empty statement, which dares not mention the role of fellow Democrat Cuomo, commits the nominal socialist Sanders to nothing. His claims to advocate a national minimum salary of $60,000 for educators combat privatization by eliminating school voucher programs and placing a moratorium on the expansion of charter schools are entirely demagogic. Sanders, like Elizabeth Warren who has made similar statements, is fully aware that the vast majority of their own Democratic Party would oppose even slight tampering with the voracious profits of Wall Street. From the period of the Clintons in the 1990s on, not just Cuomo but the Democratic Party as a whole has championed school choice, the diversion of public funding to charter and private schools, while implementing massive cuts to public education. It is time for educators, parents and students everywhere to draw a balance sheet on the capitalist system itself and the long record of both the Democratic and Republican parties in the decades-long assault on social rights. There can be no solution to the education crisis without a break with the pro-capitalist trade unions, the independent organization of the working class, and a frontal assault on the entrenched wealth of the financial oligarchy. In other words, the defense of public education today requires an end to the profit system and the fight for genuine socialism. Sign up for the WSWS Teacher Newsletter and get involved today. The author also recommends: Cascade of plant closings in New York state [9 February 2019] As an organizer working to end the torture of prolonged solitary confinement and replace it with more humane and effective alternatives, I am sometimes asked: What alternatives? Honestly, most people don't question the need for reform. They know solitary destroys people and doesn't improve safety. It's obvious: Putting a person in extreme isolation for months, years and even decades will only make it harder to rejoin the community. Most importantly, solitary confinement is torture and there can never be an excuse to torture people. I was locked in solitary for seven and a half years, so this point is very real to me. But others want to dig deeper on the alternatives. The state's Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement Act limits solitary to 15 days, in line with international human rights standards, after which a person can be placed in rehabilitative units with access to group programming and out-of-cell time. With emptied prisons across the state and jail populations falling after bail reform, existing capacity would suffice for these units. New York has many powerful examples to draw from in creating programs that are actually effective at promoting safety and reducing harm. Many European countries rarely use solitary, and use it only for very short periods, instead focusing on connections to family and community, fostering autonomy and responsibility, and creating conditions akin to life outside of incarceration in preparation for returning home. One of the strongest examples in the United States is the Resolve to Stop the Violence Project in San Francisco jails. This well-studied project immerses residents in an intensive program with most of the day out of cell, in group discussions, classes, counseling and meetings with survivors of violence. RSVP resulted in a 25-fold reduction in violent incidents, five-fold reduction in rearrests for violent crimes, six-fold reduction in jail time and cost savings. Here in New York, the Merle Cooper program in Clinton Correctional Facility also provided separation of people from the rest of the prison population without isolation. For people deemed high risk, Merle Cooper provided group sessions, intensive programming, peer-led initiatives, increased autonomy and responsibility, all day out of cell, and the ability to earn unlocked cells. Even though Clinton is considered one of New York's most violent prisons, Merle Cooper was a safe space, receiving near-universal praise from correction officers, participants and administrators while it was open from 1977 to 2013. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. As a former Merle Cooper participant and program counselor, I can tell you it was an effective and staff-supported program that helped others like myself deal honestly with some of the issues that brought us to prison and kept getting us in trouble while there. Merle Cooper was a model from which most of us left better fit for the general prison population and ultimately society at large. Many of us came to the program not thinking it would do much for us, yet it would become instrumental in helping us turn our lives around. It dared to provide not just perfunctory programming, but instead meaningful opportunities for both empowerment and accountability. It was where many of us for the first time came to grips with who we were, what some of our issues were and some of the ways we could thrive. It was staffed by those who wanted to help foster change and self-respect, and provided ways to earn and develop self-esteem, empathy and maturity even though we were initially singled out as those who needed separation. It certainly helped change my life and the lives of countless others. If lawmakers are serious about safety, prisons and jails across New York should end prolonged solitary and implement programs like Merle Cooper and RSVP. If they are serious about the most basic human right to be free from torture, they must enact the HALT Solitary Confinement Act immediately. Samantha Markle bragged she was 'right all along' about her half-sister, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, in a series of bizarre leaked emails. She made the bold statement while turning down a request for an interview with Australian breakfast radio show Kyle and Jackie O on Monday. Host Kyle Sandilands famously hung up on Samantha in April 2017 when she tried to promote her book, The Diary of Princess Pushy's Sister, on his program - and she clearly holds a grudge almost three years later. Not again! Samantha Markle (pictured) bragged she was 'right all along' about her half-sister, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, in a series of bizarre emails released on Monday On Monday's program, the 48-year-old shock jock read aloud an email exchange between Samantha and KIIS FM producer Jamie 'Mayo' Hassos. Jamie began by asking if Samantha would like to be interviewed about Meghan's decision to step back from senior royal duties alongside her husband, Prince Harry. Samantha replied: 'Tell Kyle to make a public apology! And then please ask me again! He was an a**!' History: Samantha made the bold statement while turning down a request for an interview with Australian breakfast radio show Kyle and Jackie O. She has a feud with the program's host, Kyle Sandilands (pictured on Monday), who famously hung up on her mid-interview in April 2017 In a follow-up email, she wrote: 'Tell him I'll do it [an interview] if he does the show wearing a diaper and a pacifier while apologising. LOL!' KIIS FM newsreader Brooklyn Ross then asked, 'Did she really write that?' to which Kyle responded: 'Yeah, she wrote it!' A third email from Samantha read: 'No, he called my book a "s**t book" before I could even tell him what it was about, and hung up on me for shock value. Bitter: Samantha (pictured on Sunrise on Monday) has often criticised Meghan in the press 'What a rude pig, [he] shouldn't have a job. I worked in radio a while back and he's not funny, he's just a piece of dung.' But that wasn't the end of it, as Samantha followed up with yet another email. The final email stated: 'Maybe you should plug my book and admit you knew nothing about it. As the world sees, I was right [about Meghan] all along.' Family: Samantha is the daughter of retired lighting technician Thomas Markle Snr. - Meghan's father - and his first wife, Roslyn. Mr Markle is pictured in a British TV interview on Saturday It comes after Kyle hung up on Samantha during a live interview in April 2017. After Samantha repeatedly denied that her book, The Diary of Princess Pushy's Sister, was a 'horrible tell-all', Kyle terminated the call. Afterwards, he yelled: 'Don't use your sister's name to trick media organisations into pushing your s**t book!' Samantha, a mother of three, is the daughter of retired Hollywood lighting technician Thomas Markle Snr. - Meghan's father - and his first wife, Roslyn. End of an era: Meghan and Harry (pictured on January 7) are stepping down from royal duties and sacrificing their HRH titles after striking a deal with the Queen over the weekend Thomas was later married to Doria Ragland between 1979 and 1988. They had only one child together, Meghan, who was born on August 4, 1981. Meghan and Harry are stepping down from royal duties and sacrificing their HRH titles after striking a deal with the Queen over the weekend. Their decision to retreat from public life and permanently relocate to Canada has been dubbed 'Megxit' in the press. The new bill proposes to provide Armenian police with the opportunity to independently listen to phone talks as suspects in a particular case. According to My Step ruling bloc MP Armen Khachatryan, taking into account the operational and investigative powers of the police, and the fact that the police have an operational and technical specialized unit that has the appropriate specialists and technical base, this bill proposes to allow control and wiretapping of citizens' phone calls using existing technical funds at the legislative level. It will be possible to save the time spent on contacting the National Security Service to ensure that they have the required funds, and to carry out organizational work, he said. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 14:20:57|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KUNMING, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, has urged good communication of the adaptation of Marxism to the Chinese context. Xi made the remarks on Sunday afternoon as he visited the old town of Heshun on an inspection tour to southwest China's Yunnan Province ahead of the Chinese New Year. He went to the memorial hall of Ai Siqi and learned about Ai's contributions to promoting the Party's theories, popularizing Marxism in China and adapting it with Chinese characteristics. Xi called on nurturing people like Ai and using popular, easy-to-understand ways to spread Marxism. CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio -- Coinciding with this months 10th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Courts Citizens United ruling that opened the floodgates for even more big money in politics, the city will host its annual Democracy Day, starting at 7 p.m. Jan. 30 in council chambers. It will be the seventh installment of local public hearings intended to counteract corporate influence on elections, mainly through campaign contributions, since corporations still can't vote -- or speak, as critics point out. But money certainly talks. Back in 2010, the nation's high court ruled 5-4 that corporations otherwise have the same rights of free speech as individual private citizens, a ruling that further rejected corporate spending limits in elections. Three years later, through the Move to Amend initiative in 2013, Cleveland Heights voters overwhelmingly passed Issue 32 in support of a 28th constitutional amendment clearly stating that: -- Only human beings, not corporate entities, have constitutional rights -- Since money is not speech, money spent on elections can be regulated Issue 32 also established annual public hearings to examine the impact on our city, our state and our nation of political influence by corporate entities and big money in elections, a city press release stated. About 40 people attended the 2019 Democracy Day, with 20 speaking on a variety of topics outlining how they felt corporate "personhood" was having far-reaching effects, from blocking common-sense gun laws and lead-based paint reforms to charter schools and corporate standardized testing draining public education funds. There were also some lighter touches, such as a poem entitled "My Life as a Corporation," by Ray Lesser, co-founder and co-publisher of Cleveland Heights' own homegrown humor publication The Funny Times. Members of Cleveland Heights Move to Amend, now part of Cleveland East Move to Amend, work to coordinate speakers and testimony for Cleveland Heights Democracy Day each year. A letter and a summary of each years event are compiled and forwarded to state and federal legislators. The citys website archives the letter to elected officials, written minutes and full video of each Democracy Day under Public Hearings, which are put at the end of the archived agendas and minutes for each year. In their monthly Heights Observer column, Carla Rautenberg and Deborah Van Kleef noted that when they and Move to Amend proponents refer to "corporate entities," that can also include nonprofit as well as for-profit corporations, labor unions and professional associations -- "which often engage in lobbying." They also pointed to other Ohio cities that held Democracy Days last year, including Brecksville, Chagrin Falls, Cleveland, Defiance, Kent, Mentor, Newburgh Heights, Shaker Heights, Toledo and South Euclid. Under the guidelines in Cleveland Heights, members of the general public will be afforded the opportunity to speak on these matters for up to five minutes per person, the city press release states. Join us to speak or just to listen. Its your democracy. Councilwoman sets public listening session Meanwhile, on the night before (Jan. 29) at 7 p.m. in the Imani Temple, 2463 N. Taylor Road, Councilwoman Melody Joy Hart will hold her first community listening session for residents. Hart has also started putting together a spreadsheet of citizens comments made during the public portion of regular City Council meetings, which is then distributed to city officials. This is a real listening session with a real facilitator, where I will listen and not make speeches other than welcoming people, Hart said. I am going to invite other council members to attend -- if the purpose is listening. Read more from the Sun Press. TORONTO, Jan. 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dividend Select 15 Corp. (The "Company") declares its monthly distribution of $0.06183 per Equity share. The distribution is payable February 10, 2020 to shareholders on record as of January 31, 2020. Under the distribution policy announced in September 2014, the monthly dividend payable on the Equity shares is determined by applying a 10.00% annualized rate on the volume weighted average market price (VWAP) of the Equity shares over the last 3 trading days of the preceding month. As a result, Equity shareholders of record on January 31, 2020 will receive a dividend of $0.06183 per share based on the VWAP of $7.42 payable on February 10, 2020. The yield will remain stable at 10.00% (based on the VWAP) under this distribution policy. Since inception, Equity shareholders have received a total of $7.21 per share inclusive of this distribution. The Company invests in a portfolio of 15 Canadian companies selected from the following 20 company universe which are among the highest Canadian dividend yielding stocks. Bank of Montreal Great West Lifeco Inc. TELUS Corporation BCE Inc. Husky Energy Inc. The Bank of Nova Scotia CIBC National Bank of Canada The Toronto-Dominion Bank CI Financial Corp. Power Corporation of Canada Thomson Reuters Corporation Enbridge Inc. Royal Bank of Canada TMX Group Inc. EnCana Corporation Loblaw Companies Limited TransAlta Corporation Sun Life Financial Inc. TC Energy Corporation Distribution Details Equity Share (DS) $0.06183 Ex-Dividend Date: January 30, 2020 Record Date: January 31, 2020 Payable Date: February 10, 2020 Investor Relations: 1-877-478-2372 Local: 416-304-4443 www.dividendselect15.com info@quadravest.com Omoyele Sowore has cried out about a certain mad man breaking into his temporary home in Abuja. He broke the news on his official Facebook page. He narrates the experience thus; Yesterday an unknown mad man broke into my place of temporary abode in Abuja where I am currently restricted per court bail conditions issued by Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of the Federal High Court, ABUJA. I should report that I am safe! I was ensconced in a different part of the house during the fracas. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates A look at the most-read stories from the weekend you might have missed: Revised North Broadway assessments stun nursing home Twenty-one of 120 parcels subject to assessment for the planned reconstruction of North Broadway Avenue are seeing increases to their expected contributions. Samaritan Bethanys nursing home complex, west of Broadway at 24 Eighth St. NW, is seeing the biggest jump, from $28,303 proposed in April to $218,972 using a revised formula based on estimated benefits to property values. "It seems a little excessive," said Susan Knutson, Samaritan Bethany mission leader and CEO. Read the full story from Randy Petersen here. ADVERTISEMENT A change in the weather: PB is bringing Brock back The Post Bulletin has introduced frequent daily weather forecasts and updates, provided by the largest weather team serving southeastern Minnesota and featuring regular contributions by longtime Rochester television meteorologist Randy Brock. Brock was chief meteorologist at KTTC-TV for 14 years before leaving television for a career as a real estate agent. He will contribute a weekly video weather report on the Post Bulletin's website and co-host a new weekly podcast with the Post Bulletin. The first entry will appear Monday at PostBulletin.com/Weather . Read the full story from Jeff Pieters here. St. Charles makes another sale in I-90 business park ST. CHARLES Another sale signals another success for St. Charles' business park on Interstate 90. Danmar Properties, representing the new Whitewater Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram dealership that's been selling cars since last fall, purchased 4 acres in the new phase two addition to the business park. The deal was done in the wake of a deal between the car dealership and representatives of Love's Travel Plaza. Danmar sold a portion of its initial purchase at the business park to Love's in order to help Love's reach its goal of a total of 10 contiguous acres. Read the full story from Brian Todd here. 'We're on a fun ride': Schaeffer Academy boys basketball team enjoying breakout season Tom Bance saw it coming. ADVERTISEMENT The Schaeffer Academy head coach knew his boys basketball team had a chance to be good after a 13-win 2018-19 campaign. And before the calendar has even flipped to February, Schaeffer Academy has already eclipsed its win total from last season. Read the full story from Isaac Trotter here. Climate change, altered landscape taking toll on Minnesota wildlife BLOOMINGTON Climate change and an altered landscape are taking a toll on wildlife, and its only going to get more challenging, according to managers in the division of Fish and Wildlife and the division of Ecological Services and Water Resources within the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Extreme rain events, flooded lands and eroding waterways are taking a toll on everything from deer and upland bird species to migrating songbirds, four managers from the two divisions told an audience Jan. 24 at the annual Roundtable hosted by the department in Bloomington. Its all impacting the ability to produce wildlife for today and the future, Dave Trauba, regional wildlife director in New Ulm, told the audience. "It is going to get a lot harder for us to do that," he said. ADVERTISEMENT Read the full story here. US embassy in Jerusalem issues security alert following Soleimani killing By Marcy Oster JERUSALEM (JTA)The United States Embassy in Jerusalem issued a security alert on Monday for U.S. citizens in Israel after the assassination of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani prompted Iran to promise harsh revenge. Out of an abundance of caution, the Embassy strongly encourages U.S. citizens to remain vigilant and take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness, as security incidents, including rocket fire, often take place without warning, the alert read. Soleimani was the head of the Iranian Quds Force, which operates a number of regional militias and is allied with terrorist groups targeting Israel, including Hezbollah and Hamas. Meanwhile, the head of the Israel Defense Forces Southern Command said on Monday that Israel is observing the escalation between the U.S. and Iran from the sidelines, distancing the Jewish state from a possible conflict. The assassination also has ramifications for us as Israelis, and we must follow it closely, but we arent the main story hereand its good that it happened far away, Maj. Gen. Herzi Halevi said at a conference in Jerusalem sponsored by Ynet and the daily newspaper Yediot Acharonot. He said that the IDF has so far not identified any attempts by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which receives Iranian military and financial support, to carry out attacks against Israel in response to the killing. Couple drowns in flooded Tel Aviv elevator By Marcy Oster JERUSALEM (JTA)A young couple drowned in an elevator in southern Tel Aviv amid widespread flooding amid heavy rainfall in central Israel. Dean Shoshani and Stav Harari, both 25, died Saturday after rain flooded an underground parking lot elevator, according to reports. The elevator doors were locked due to an electrical short caused by the water. Rescue crews used scuba gear to reach the elevator and remove the couple. They both were declared dead at a nearby hospital. Neighbors who heard the couple banging on the walls of the elevator calling for help said it took emergency crews more than a half hour to arrive on the scene. Videos posted on social media showed water nearly covering the tops of cars on Tel Aviv streets, as well as people using surf boards and swimming in the streets. The Tel Aviv municipality said the area got 20 percent of its annual average rainfall in a few hours on Saturday. Flood warnings also were issued in the Judean Desert and the Jordan Valley over the weekend. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a statement at the start of Sundays Cabinet meeting expressed deep shock over the tragic deaths in the Tel Aviv elevator. He called a meeting today with all of the professional elements in order to learn lessons so that such things do not recur. Rain continued to inundate central Israel on Sunday morning but slowed down later in the day. More rain is expected in the middle of the week. N.Y. synagogues offered phones that connect instantly to emergency services By Marcy Oster (JTA)Special phones that connect instantly to emergency services are being offered to New York City synagogues in the wake of a rise in anti-Semitic incidents in the city. The phones, dubbed shul phones, are being offered by the Shomrim, a volunteer Jewish neighborhood patrol, the New York Post reported. The phone will allow callers to press one button to be connected to 911, the local Shomrim or the Hatzolah ambulance service. In addition to being a quick way to connect to emergency services, the phone would be available on Shabbat, when most Jewish people do not carry their cell phones and synagogue land lines are locked away. Some 200 synagogues have expressed interest in the special phone, according to the Post, citing a Shomrim supervisor. They will be sold at cost, expected to be under $200, according to the report. Thousands march in France to protest decision to not prosecute Jewish womans killer By Marcy Oster (JTA)Several thousand people, many of them Jews, rallied in several cities in France on Sunday to protest a court ruling not to try a Muslim man who confessed to killing his Jewish neighbor while shouting about Allah. Republique Square in Paris was crowded with protesters over the ruling last month on the fate of Kobili Traore, who admitted to killing Sarah Halimi in 2017. Reaffirming an earlier ruling, the Paris Appeals Court last month asserted that Traore killed Halimi because she was Jewish but cited psychiatric evaluations saying his consumption of marijuana before the incident led to a delirious episode that made him not legally responsible for his actions. Several thousand Jews marched in Marseille in protest of the ruling, which leaders of French Jewry have suggested was designed to avoid scrutiny of Muslim anti-Semitism. The BNVCA, a Jewish community watchdog, says virtually all violent anti-Semitic assaults in France are cases are committed by people whose families immigrated to France from Muslim countries, which the group called new anti-Semitism. But in its 2016 report, the French National Consultative Commission on Human Rights, a government agency, said it had no evidence that new anti-Semitism exists. Ukrainian airliner goes down in Tehran, killing 176 (JNS)A Ukrainian Boeing 737 passenger jet crashed shortly after takeoff in Tehran on Wednesday, killing all 176 people aboard. Though a spokesman for Irans Road and Transportation Ministry claimed that the crash was caused by technical difficulties, at least two Kazakh airlines announced that they were considering rerouting or canceling their flights over Iran in light of the fatal crash. According to Ukrainian Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk and Iranian media reports, 167 passengers and nine crew were on board. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said the victims included 82 people from Iran, 63 Canadians, 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, three Germans and three Britons, according to a report by France 24. Most passengers were in transit, said the airline. The airliners black boxes have been located, but Iran is refusing to hand them over to Boeing, the planes manufacturer, for analysis, according to The Times of Israel. New York lawmaker proposes changes to controversial bail-reform law (JNS)Just days after the start of 2020, New York Democratic Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein is pushing for changes to the states new bail-reform law, which allows for people charged with certain crimes to be released from jail prior to a trial without posting bail. Touted as one of the hallmarks of New Yorks criminal-justice reform, the new bail law is facing a backlash, particularly in light of the rise in anti-Semitic attacks in New York City. Eichenstein represents the heavily Orthodox communities of Midwood and Borough Park in Brooklyn. Under the current law, bail is eliminated for people facing misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies. The law also requires police to issue desk appearance tickets, instead of arresting many of those suspects. Practically speaking, the concern is that those who allegedly commit nonviolent hate crimes would remain on the streets, putting the public at risk. Critics point to the case of Tiffany Harris, who was arrested in late December after hitting three Orthodox women. She was released without bail because of the pending new law, and then went on to attack another woman and was arrested again. Eichensteins proposed amendment would classify hate crimes as a qualifying offense, giving the courts leeway to affix bail or to keep in custody people charged with such incidents. 22 dead in Israels worst flu season in a decade By Marcy Oster JERUSALEM (JTA)Twenty-two Israelis have died so far this flu season, according to a Health Ministry report. The ministry released a report on Monday, and updated numbers were released on Tuesday. In addition to the deaths, 216 people have been hospitalized in serious condition due to complications. Most of the deaths have been related to the A-Type sub-species of the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu. The report said it is the worst flu season in a decade. Man who threw table at Monsey stabber receives NY State Senates highest honor By Marcy Oster (JTA)The man who threw a table at the assailant during the stabbing attack at a rabbis home in Monsey, New York, and then wrote down the attackers license plate number, received the State Senates highest honor. I didnt earn this medal, god earns this medal, Joseph Gluck said Sunday after being presented with the New York State Senate Liberty Medal. Gluck, 32, of Monsey, was given the award by State Sen. David Carlucci. Out of the darkness of this tragedy, came some light. Joseph Gluck did what we all hope we could do in a chaotic and violent situation. He fought back and threw a coffee table at the machete-wielding attacker. Gluck then had the peace of mind to secure the attackers license plate number and provide it to police, which led to the suspects arrest. He saved lives at the Hanukkah ceremony by warning people to leave and prevented a further tragedy, Carlucci said in presenting the medal. Police used the license information given by Gluck to apprehend the alleged stabber, Grafton Thomas, who last week was indicted by a grand jury in Rockland Country on six attempted murder charges. The stabbings also carry a federal hate crimes charge of obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs involving an attempt to kill. Michael Bloomberg spends $10 million on Super Bowl ad for his presidential campaign By Marcy Oster (JTA)Michael Bloombergs presidential campaign has purchased a 60-second advertising spot that will air next month during the broadcast of the Super Bowl, for a cost of about $10 million, The New York Times reported on Tuesday. Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor and billionaire media mogul, is financing his run for president out of his own pocket. The reelection campaign of President Donald Trump also will air a 60-second ad during the Super Bowl, according to the report. Bloomberg already has spent nearly $170 million on television and digital advertising, the Times reported, citing Advertising Analytics, an ad tracking firm. His polling numbers have risen steadily, and he currently holds about 5.6 percent in Democratic polls. Since his campaign is self-funded, however, Bloomberg does not have the donor requirements set by the Democratic National Committee to appear in the next presidential debate. Iran hits US bases in Iraq, warns escalation would reach Israel By Ron Kampeas WASHINGTON (JTA)Iran fired ballistic missiles at U.S. military targets in Iraq in retaliation for the killing last week of a top general and warned that if the United States escalates, Irans next targets would be U.S. allies, including Israel. Iran is warning that if there is retaliation for the two waves of attacks they launched their third wave will destroy Dubai and Haifa, Ali Arouzi, NBCs Tehran correspondent, reported on Twitter, where he was relaying official comments from Irans state media. The U.S. Sixth Fleet often docks in Haifa. The warning came after Iranian missiles hit two U.S. bases in Iraq on Tuesday. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Tensions have escalated over the last year between the United States and Iran, as the U.S. intensified sanctions against the country and Iran continued its adventurism in the region. Late last year, an Iranian proxy killed an American contractor, leading President Donald Trump to approve the assassination last week of Qassem Soleimani, who leads the Qods Force, the foreign arm of Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Arouzi and others on Twitter quoted Iranian media as saying that Iran would not continue its attacks if there were no further U.S. retaliation. Record 2.32 million people visited Auschwitz in 2019 By Marcy Oster (JTA)A record 2.32 million people from around the word visited the sites of the former Nazi camps Auschwitz and Birkenau in 2019. The total is about 170,000 more than in 2018, which also had broken previous records, the Auschwitz memorial reported on Tuesday. Eighty-one percent of the visitors availed themselves of one of 340 guides who conduct educational tours in 21 languages. According to the memorials online reservation system, some 396,000 visitors were from Poland, 200,000 from Great Britain, 120,000 from the United States, 104,000 from Italy, 73,000 from Germany, 70,000 from Spain, 67,000 from France, 59,000 from Israel, 42,000 from Ireland and 40,000 from Sweden. In addition, over 900,000 follow the Auschwitz Museums Twitter account, more than 300,000 use its Facebook page, and 80,000 follow it on Instagram. Elizabeth Wurtzel, author of Prozac Nation, dies of breast cancer at age 52 By Emily Burack (JTA)Author Elizabeth Wurtzel, best known for her memoir Prozac Nation, died at age 52 after a five-year fight with breast cancer. Wurtzels blockbuster memoir, Prozac Nation, which came out in 1994 when she was only 27 years old, detailed her struggles with anti-depressants. Wurtzel was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in 2015. The same year, she underwent a double mastectomy. Wurtzel later became an advocate for testing for the BRCA gene mutation and pushed for insurance companies to cover BRCA testing for all Ashkenazi Jewish women, regardless of whether or not they present cancer symptoms. I caught it fast and I acted fast, but I must have looked away: By the time of my double mastectomy, the cancer had spread to five lymph nodes, she wrote in The New York Times in 2015. Wurtzel was born and raised in New York City in a Jewish family. She attended the Ramaz School, a Modern Orthodox day school in New York, before attending Harvard as an undergraduate and Yale Law School. In December 2018, she wrote about how the man she thought was her father, Donald Wurtzel, was not. Her biological father was Bob Adelman, a photographer, with whom her mother had an affair. Across the US, police and locals rally around Jewish communities in wake of rise in anti-Semitic attacks By Marcy Oster (JTA)New York City held a huge rally this past weekend, but it wasnt the only place to protest against a recent rise in anti-Semitic attacks. Police and locals in cities around the United States have pledged to support and protect their Jewish communities over the past week. In South Carolina, religious leaders gathered in the state capital on Monday to speak out against anti-Semitism and racial attacks across the country. They also demanded state hate crime legislation. On Sunday, top Los Angeles Police Department officers met with members of the local Jewish community to put them at ease. Please know... we are here to work for you, LAPD Deputy Chief Jorge Rodriguez said. Police departments across northeast Ohio issued a statement of support for the regions Jewish community which emphasized that Hatred has no home here. Police departments from Clevelands east side suburbs, home to a large Jewish community, also joined in the statement. In Atlanta, members of the Jewish community and their supporters gathered on Monday night to hold a solidarity event to take a stand against anti-Semitism and hate. In Chicago, dozens of Jews and their supporters met in Millennium Park on Monday afternoon to protest anti-Semitism. In New Jersey, a delegation of Morris County government, law enforcement and faith leaders will gather Thursday at a Jewish school, the Gottesman RTW Academy in Randolph, for a Rally Against Hate in the wake of a series of anti-Semitic attacks in the area. Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania, the York Jewish Community Center said it will increase security at its facilities with two major security upgrades, estimated to cost about $300,000. Honolulu police carry an injured fellow officer after a shooting and domestic incident at a residence on Hibiscus Road near Diamond Head in Honolulu, Hawaii, on Jan. 19, 2020. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Advertiser). Honolulu Shooting Suspect Had History of Mental Instability: Attorney The attorney of the man accused of fatally shooting two Honolulu police officers on Jan. 19 has told local media the suspect has a history of mental instability and disagreements with neighbors. Jerry J. Hanel shot dead the officers as they responded to a domestic violence call in the area of Diamond Head with a third officer. According to Hawaii News Now, police reports allege the 69-year-old stabbed his 77-year-old landlord, Lois Cain, in the legs. He then set off a raging fire that destroyed at least seven homes and damaged others in the area, local media said. In a news conference on Sunday, Police Chief Ballard identified the officers as Tiffany-Victoria Enriquez and Kaulike Kalama, both of whom had been with the force for less than 10 years. Ballard said that in addition to the officers deaths, two other females were missing from a house that was burned down in the area. They were last seen in the home. Honolulu police watch a house fire after a shooting and domestic incident at a residence on Hibiscus Road near Diamond Head in Honolulu, Hawaii, on Jan. 19, 2020. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Advertiser). Hanels attorney, Jonathan Burge, told Hawaii News Now that Hanel had a history of mental illness, including delusions that he was being tracked by the Secret Service and FBI, but had declined suggestions that his client sought treatment. Hanel had also allegedly been charged with assault for shoving a neighbor but was subsequently acquitted, Burge said, adding that he had no indication that Hanel was capable of extreme violence. Ballard said that Hanel did not have a firearms permit for the gun he used to shot the officers. Upcoming Eviction Burge said that Hanel had lived rent-free in the lower floor at the Hibiscus Drive home where the shooting took place and that he had forged a friendship with Cain. Burge said that Cain had repeatedly helped Hanel out despite him having a number of issues and disputes with his neighbours but had recently asked him to leave the property as she planned to move house. Hawaii News Now said it had obtained court documents showing the landlord had secured an eviction order from a court to remove Hanel from the property on Jan. 17 and that these documents contained complaints that Hanel had no rental agreement, had caused damage to the property, and had refused to leave despite demands multiple occasions. His eviction was to be confirmed in court next week and he was scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 21 for a separate misdemeanor charge in which he reportedly made a fraudulent 911 call, the outlet added. Despite this, Burge said he believed that his client had been preparing to vacate the property peacefully. In Sundays news conference, Ballard said that police were aware of Hanel and had responded to a number of incidents at his residence in the past. Hanel is presumed dead, but authorities said they are still searching for his body and the weapon. The fire has now been totally extinguished by the fire department. Following the incident, Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell shared condolences on Twitter, calling the incident an unprecedented tragedy. I would like to express my deepest condolences to the family and friends of the two officers as well as the entire Honolulu Police Department. This is an unprecedented tragedy for not only the City and County of Honolulu but the entire state of Hawaii, he wrote. Thoughts and prayers from everyone @UplandPD. We grieve with @honolulupolice, the family and friends of officers Tiffany Enriquez and Kaulike Kalama https://t.co/0eyFe1OqFD Upland Police Department (@UplandPD) January 20, 2020 Our office is in communication with the Honolulu Police Department as more details about the circumstances around this horrific event come to light. Our hearts go out to the first responders who are on the scene as this event unfolds. Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D), who is also running for the 2020 presidential campaign, said on Twitter: My heart is with the Enriquez & Kalama families, and their fellow officers, in the wake of this tragic shooting. They responded to a call for help, and paid the ultimate price. To the first responders still at the scene working to protect others from harm, thank you and be safe. Miscreants on Monday hurled a petrol bomb at security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district but there was no damage done, police said. The petrol bomb was lobbed towards a CRPF bunker at Newain Pulwama Monday evening, a police official said. He said there was no loss of life or injury in the explosion. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Chinese President Xi Jinpings state visit to Myanmar from Jan 17 to 18 has guided China-Myanmar relationship onto a new starting point. The new blueprint of bilateral ties heralds a beautiful prospect of the China-Myanmar community with a shared future and responds to the earnest aspiration of the two peoples for a long-lasting fraternal relationship between the two countries. A closer China-Myanmar relationship further reflects the two countries geographic proximity and close people-to-people bonds and cultural ties. President Xi has reiterated the Paukphaw friendship between the two countries in his signed article carried by Myanmar newspapers and during his meeting with Myanmar leaders. The China-Myanmar Paukphaw friendship, with a history of more than 1,000 years, is the driving force and source of the development of bilateral relationship. The deep friendship between the two countries could be seen from the fact that the two countries understand each other and treat each other with sincerity, support each other through thick and thin, and respect each other and adhere to win-win cooperation. China firmly supports the Myanmar government and people in taking a development path that is in line with their national conditions and continuously advancing the cause of national development. The country advocates that the people of the two countries will always be good neighbors, friends and partners. The Myanmar society highly agrees with this. During President Xis visit, the voice for Long live China-Myanmar friendship! echoed over Naypyidaw, and the faith of promoting the friendship between the two countries and deepening bilateral relations became firmer. To build a China-Myanmar community with a shared future allows China-Myanmar relations to keep up with innovation and forge ahead in the new era. The comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between China and Myanmar has a deep foundation. It is of extraordinary significance in the field of international relations that the two sides work together to set an example of promoting and practicing the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, and set an example of exchanges between countries. The important political consensus reached by leaders of the two countries on the establishment of a community with a shared future between China and Myanmar has further explained the close relationship between the two countries, and injected new impetus and vitality into the development of bilateral relations. It also signified that the two countries will make new joint efforts to push for the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind. China has always been a good friend to Myanmar and the two countries have been bound together, said Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, adding that Myanmar stands ready to keep sharing weal and woe and build a community with a shared future with China. China and Myanmar will work hand in hand to build an even closer China-Myanmar community with a shared future and write a new chapter for the millennia-old pauk-phaw friendship, Myanmar newspaper The Global New Light of Myanmar said in a commentary. To accelerate the integration of the Belt and Road Initiative with Myanmars development strategy brings bright prospects to China-Myanmar cooperation. During his stay in Myanmar, President Xi conducted in-depth discussions on promoting high-quality co-construction of the BRI with Myanmar leaders. The two sides agreed to work hard to push forward the construction of the Kyaukpyu Special Economic Zone, the China-Myanmar Border Economic Cooperation Zone, the New Yangon City, as well as roads, railways and power and energy infrastructure projects. It marks the transition of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) from conceptual planning to substantive construction. At present, a three-pillar giant cooperation pattern is being formed which starts in north from Chinas Yunnan province, goes down south to the central Myanmar city of Mandalay, and further extends eastward to the new city of Yangon and westward to the Kyaukpyu special economic zone. In the future, China-Myanmar mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields will bear more fruits and create more benefits for the people. Myanmar President U Win Myint said he believes that as the two countries cooperation deepens, Myanmar- China relations will witness greater development. Deep are the feelings of Paukphaw, just as long is the flow of rivers of China and Myanmar. The Myanmar trip, paid days before Chinas Spring Festival, was President Xis first overseas trip in 2020, a year that marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Myanmar. People are glad to see the historical trend of China-Myanmar friendly exchanges and cooperative development is leaping forward, and the path of building a community with a shared future for China and Myanmar is getting wider and wider. Re-reading Bloom, I am thunderstruck, because my inclination is to blame it all on social media and attendant technologies favoring vicarious experience. But Blooms 1987 narrative establishes an earlier start. He distinguishes my sixties generation from his eighties students, in whom tendencies that we initiated yielded a dead end. It may in effect be read as a tale of unwanted, unanticipated consequences. The American Interest Xiaomi is expected to launch the Mi 10 lineup next month, and weve been seeing multiple different renders, leaks and artist ideas of how the phone might look like. We have seen a quad-cam setup similar to the Mi 9 (but with an extra shooter), a Mi Mix Alpha copycat, but now real-life shots (from a post that has already been deleted) suggest the Mi 10 Pro will look like the Mi Note 10 from the back. Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro from all angles Three of the shooters are split in a setup, while a fourth snapper is separated from the bunch. There is also a dual-LED flash that will likely have two different tones of light. The phone is not powered, so it might be just a dummy, but we also get a sneak peak of the retail box, sporting a huge 10 in the middle, along with the Pro and 5G monikers on the bottom. More Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro shots Other photos reveal a USB-C port on the bottom, next to a grille for the speaker and the SIM slot, while the top also has a speaker, a noise-cancellation mic and a small IR blaster. There is a 65W charger for the phone with model number M2001J1C, which is in line with some rumors from November about the next Mi 10 flagship having the fastest ever charging speeds for a Xiaomi smartphone. At a closer inspection, the camera is likely to be 108 MP, just like the rumors from earlier today suggested. Some of the Mi 10 Pro photos are taken with another Mi 10 Pro, and thanks to the watermark we can see an infinity sign that Xiaomi introduced in their other 108 MP phone - the Mi Note 10. Source (in Chinese) | Via CIA Botswana's partnership with leading cyber security firms enables it to provide unmatchable cyber defence services in Botswana and the rest of Africa. CIA Botswana have a wealth of Cyber Security experience, as well as extensive knowledge of the Information Technology and related industries. We are committed to Cyber Security . Our exemplary quality assurance practices provide seamless, worry-free security controls throughout the duration of your project and beyond. Services include: NEW YORK, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) market worldwide is projected to grow by US$7.6 Billion, driven by a compounded growth of 5.5%. Marine, one of the segments analyzed and sized in this study, displays the potential to grow at over 5.2%. The shifting dynamics supporting this growth makes it critical for businesses in this space to keep abreast of the changing pulse of the market. Poised to reach over US$6.1 Billion by the year 2025, Marine will bring in healthy gains adding significant momentum to global growth. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05798878/?utm_source=PRN - Representing the developed world, the United States will maintain a 4.7% growth momentum. Within Europe, which continues to remain an important element in the world economy, Germany will add over US$272.1 Million to the region's size and clout in the next 5 to 6 years. Over US$236.9 Million worth of projected demand in the region will come from Rest of Europe markets. In Japan, Marine will reach a market size of US$236.9 Million by the close of the analysis period. As the world's second largest economy and the new game changer in global markets, China exhibits the potential to grow at 8% over the next couple of years and add approximately US$2 Billion in terms of addressable opportunity for the picking by aspiring businesses and their astute leaders. Presented in visually rich graphics are these and many more need-to-know quantitative data important in ensuring quality of strategy decisions, be it entry into new markets or allocation of resources within a portfolio. Several macroeconomic factors and internal market forces will shape growth and development of demand patterns in emerging countries in Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East. All research viewpoints presented are based on validated engagements from influencers in the market, whose opinions supersede all other research methodologies. - Competitors identified in this market include, among others, General Electric Company; Gladiator Technologies, Inc.; Honeywell International, Inc.; LORD MicroStrain Sensing Systems; Northrop Grumman Corporation; Robert Bosch GmbH; Safran Electronics & Defense; STMicroelectronics NV; Teledyne Technologies Inc.; Thales Group; Trimble Navigation Ltd.; VectorNav Technologies LLC Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05798878/?utm_source=PRN I. METHODOLOGY II. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. MARKET OVERVIEW Global Competitor Market Shares Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Competitor Market Share Scenario Worldwide (in %): 2019 & 2025 2. FOCUS ON SELECT PLAYERS 3. MARKET TRENDS & DRIVERS 4. GLOBAL MARKET PERSPECTIVE Table 1: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Global Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Million by Region/Country: 2018-2025 Table 2: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Global Retrospective Market Scenario in US$ Million by Region/Country: 2009-2017 Table 3: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Share Shift across Key Geographies Worldwide: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 4: Mechanical Gyro (Technology) World Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Million by Region/Country: 2018 to 2025 Table 5: Mechanical Gyro (Technology) Market Worldwide Historic Review by Region/Country in US$ Million: 2009 to 2017 Table 6: Mechanical Gyro (Technology) Market Percentage Share Distribution by Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 7: Ring Laser Gyro (Technology) Market Opportunity Analysis Worldwide in US$ Million by Region/Country: 2018 to 2025 Table 8: Ring Laser Gyro (Technology) Global Historic Demand in US$ Million by Region/Country: 2009 to 2017 Table 9: Ring Laser Gyro (Technology) Market Share Distribution in Percentage by Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 10: Fiber Optics Gyro (Technology) World Market by Region/Country in US$ Million: 2018 to 2025 Table 11: Fiber Optics Gyro (Technology) Historic Market Analysis by Region/Country in US$ Million: 2009 to 2017 Table 12: Fiber Optics Gyro (Technology) Market Share Breakdown of Worldwide Sales by Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 13: MEMS (Technology) Potential Growth Markets Worldwide in US$ Million: 2018 to 2025 Table 14: MEMS (Technology) Historic Market Perspective by Region/Country in US$ Million: 2009 to 2017 Table 15: MEMS (Technology) Market Sales Breakdown by Region/Country in Percentage: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 16: Other Technologies (Technology) Geographic Market Spread Worldwide in US$ Million: 2018 to 2025 Table 17: Other Technologies (Technology) Region Wise Breakdown of Global Historic Demand in US$ Million: 2009 to 2017 Table 18: Other Technologies (Technology) Market Share Distribution in Percentage by Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 19: Marine (Grade) World Market by Region/Country in US$ Million: 2018 to 2025 Table 20: Marine (Grade) Historic Market Analysis by Region/Country in US$ Million: 2009 to 2017 Table 21: Marine (Grade) Market Share Breakdown of Worldwide Sales by Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 22: Navigation (Grade) Potential Growth Markets Worldwide in US$ Million: 2018 to 2025 Table 23: Navigation (Grade) Historic Market Perspective by Region/Country in US$ Million: 2009 to 2017 Table 24: Navigation (Grade) Market Sales Breakdown by Region/Country in Percentage: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 25: Tactical (Grade) Geographic Market Spread Worldwide in US$ Million: 2018 to 2025 Table 26: Tactical (Grade) Region Wise Breakdown of Global Historic Demand in US$ Million: 2009 to 2017 Table 27: Tactical (Grade) Market Share Distribution in Percentage by Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 28: Space (Grade) World Market Estimates and Forecasts by Region/Country in US$ Million: 2018 to 2025 Table 29: Space (Grade) Market Historic Review by Region/Country in US$ Million: 2009 to 2017 Table 30: Space (Grade) Market Share Breakdown by Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 31: Commercial (Grade) World Market by Region/Country in US$ Million: 2018 to 2025 Table 32: Commercial (Grade) Historic Market Analysis by Region/Country in US$ Million: 2009 to 2017 Table 33: Commercial (Grade) Market Share Distribution in Percentage by Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 III. MARKET ANALYSIS GEOGRAPHIC MARKET ANALYSIS UNITED STATES Market Facts & Figures US Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Share (in %) by Company: 2019 & 2025 Table 34: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in US$ Million in the United States by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 35: United States Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Retrospective Analysis in US$ Million by Technology: 2009-2017 Table 36: United States Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Share Breakdown by Technology: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 37: United States Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Estimates and Projections in US$ Million by Grade: 2018 to 2025 Table 38: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in the United States by Grade: A Historic Review in US$ Million for 2009-2017 Table 39: United States Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Share Breakdown by Grade: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 CANADA Table 40: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Analysis in Canada in US$ Million by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 41: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in Canada: Historic Review in US$ Million by Technology for the Period 2009-2017 Table 42: Canadian Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Share Breakdown by Technology: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 43: Canadian Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Million by Grade: 2018 to 2025 Table 44: Canadian Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Historic Market Review by Grade in US$ Million: 2009-2017 Table 45: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in Canada: Percentage Share Breakdown of Sales by Grade for 2009, 2019, and 2025 JAPAN Table 46: Japanese Medium & Long-Term Outlook for Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in US$ Million by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 47: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in Japan in US$ Million by Technology: 2009-2017 Table 48: Japanese Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Percentage Share Distribution by Technology: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 49: Japanese Market for Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU): Annual Sales Estimates and Projections in US$ Million by Grade for the Period 2018-2025 Table 50: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in Japan: Historic Sales Analysis in US$ Million by Grade for the Period 2009-2017 Table 51: Japanese Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Share Analysis by Grade: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 CHINA Table 52: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Estimates and Forecasts in China in US$ Million by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 53: Chinese Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Retrospective Market Scenario in US$ Million by Technology: 2009-2017 Table 54: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in China: Percentage Share Analysis by Technology for 2009, 2019, and 2025 Table 55: Chinese Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Growth Prospects in US$ Million by Grade for the Period 2018-2025 Table 56: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Historic Market Analysis in China in US$ Million by Grade: 2009-2017 Table 57: Chinese Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market by Grade: Percentage Breakdown of Sales for 2009, 2019, and 2025 EUROPE Market Facts & Figures European Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market: Competitor Market Share Scenario (in %) for 2019 & 2025 Table 58: European Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Demand Scenario in US$ Million by Region/Country: 2018-2025 Table 59: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in Europe: A Historic Market Perspective in US$ Million by Region/Country for the Period 2009-2017 Table 60: European Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Share Shift by Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 61: European Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Assessment in US$ Million by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 62: European Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Historic Market Review in US$ Million by Technology: 2009-2017 Table 63: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in Europe: Percentage Breakdown of Sales by Technology for 2009, 2019, and 2025 Table 64: European Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Million by Grade: 2018-2025 Table 65: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in Europe in US$ Million by Grade: A Historic Review for the Period 2009-2017 Table 66: European Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Share Breakdown by Grade: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 FRANCE Table 67: French Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Estimates and Projections in US$ Million by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 68: French Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Historic Market Analysis in US$ Million by Technology: 2009-2017 Table 69: French Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Share Breakdown by Technology: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 70: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in France by Grade: Estimates and Projections in US$ Million for the Period 2018-2025 Table 71: French Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Historic Market Scenario in US$ Million by Grade: 2009-2017 Table 72: French Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Share Analysis by Grade: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 GERMANY Table 73: German Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Latent Demand Forecasts in US$ Million by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 74: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in Germany: A Historic Perspective by Technology in US$ Million for the Period 2009-2017 Table 75: German Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Share Breakdown by Technology: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 76: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in Germany: Recent Past, Current and Future Analysis in US$ Million by Grade for the Period 2018-2025 Table 77: German Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Historic Market Analysis in US$ Million by Grade: 2009-2017 Table 78: German Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Share Breakdown by Grade: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 ITALY Table 79: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Estimates and Forecasts in Italy in US$ Million by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 80: Italian Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Retrospective Market Scenario in US$ Million by Technology: 2009-2017 Table 81: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in Italy: Percentage Share Analysis by Technology for 2009, 2019, and 2025 Table 82: Italian Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Growth Prospects in US$ Million by Grade for the Period 2018-2025 Table 83: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Historic Market Analysis in Italy in US$ Million by Grade: 2009-2017 Table 84: Italian Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market by Grade: Percentage Breakdown of Sales for 2009, 2019, and 2025 UNITED KINGDOM Table 85: United Kingdom Medium & Long-Term Outlook for Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in US$ Million by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 86: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in the United Kingdom in US$ Million by Technology: 2009-2017 Table 87: United Kingdom Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Percentage Share Distribution by Technology: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 88: United Kingdom Market for Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU): Annual Sales Estimates and Projections in US$ Million by Grade for the Period 2018-2025 Table 89: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in the United Kingdom: Historic Sales Analysis in US$ Million by Grade for the Period 2009-2017 Table 90: United Kingdom Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Share Analysis by Grade: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 SPAIN Table 91: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Analysis in Spain in US$ Million by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 92: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in Spain: Historic Review in US$ Million by Technology for the Period 2009-2017 Table 93: Spanish Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Share Breakdown by Technology: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 94: Spanish Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Million by Grade: 2018 to 2025 Table 95: Spanish Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Historic Market Review by Grade in US$ Million: 2009-2017 Table 96: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in Spain: Percentage Share Breakdown of Sales by Grade for 2009, 2019, and 2025 RUSSIA Table 97: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in US$ Million in Russia by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 98: Russian Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Retrospective Analysis in US$ Million by Technology: 2009-2017 Table 99: Russian Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Share Breakdown by Technology: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 100: Russian Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Estimates and Projections in US$ Million by Grade: 2018 to 2025 Table 101: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in Russia by Grade: A Historic Review in US$ Million for 2009-2017 Table 102: Russian Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Share Breakdown by Grade: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 REST OF EUROPE Table 103: Rest of Europe Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Assessment in US$ Million by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 104: Rest of Europe Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Historic Market Review in US$ Million by Technology: 2009-2017 Table 105: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in Rest of Europe: Percentage Breakdown of Sales by Technology for 2009, 2019, and 2025 Table 106: Rest of Europe Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Million by Grade: 2018-2025 Table 107: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in Rest of Europe in US$ Million by Grade: A Historic Review for the Period 2009-2017 Table 108: Rest of Europe Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Share Breakdown by Grade: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 ASIA-PACIFIC Table 109: Asia-Pacific Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Million by Region/Country: 2018-2025 Table 110: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in Asia-Pacific: Historic Market Analysis in US$ Million by Region/Country for the Period 2009-2017 Table 111: Asia-Pacific Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Share Analysis by Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 112: Asia-Pacific Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Estimates and Projections in US$ Million by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 113: Asia-Pacific Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Historic Market Analysis in US$ Million by Technology: 2009-2017 Table 114: Asia-Pacific Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Historic Market Analysis in US$ Million by Technology: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 115: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in Asia-Pacific by Grade: Estimates and Projections in US$ Million for the Period 2018-2025 Table 116: Asia-Pacific Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Historic Market Scenario in US$ Million by Grade: 2009-2017 Table 117: Asia-Pacific Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Share Analysis by Grade: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 AUSTRALIA Table 118: Australian Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Latent Demand Forecasts in US$ Million by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 119: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in Australia: A Historic Perspective by Technology in US$ Million for the Period 2009-2017 Table 120: Australian Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Share Breakdown by Technology: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 121: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in Australia: Recent Past, Current and Future Analysis in US$ Million by Grade for the Period 2018-2025 Table 122: Australian Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Historic Market Analysis in US$ Million by Grade: 2009-2017 Table 123: Australian Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Share Breakdown by Grade: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 INDIA Table 124: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Analysis in India in US$ Million by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 125: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in India: Historic Review in US$ Million by Technology for the Period 2009-2017 Table 126: Indian Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Share Breakdown by Technology: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 127: Indian Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Million by Grade: 2018 to 2025 Table 128: Indian Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Historic Market Review by Grade in US$ Million: 2009-2017 Table 129: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in India: Percentage Share Breakdown of Sales by Grade for 2009, 2019, and 2025 SOUTH KOREA Table 130: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in South Korea: Recent Past, Current and Future Analysis in US$ Million by Technology for the Period 2018-2025 Table 131: South Korean Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Historic Market Analysis in US$ Million by Technology: 2009-2017 Table 132: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Share Distribution in South Korea by Technology: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 133: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in South Korea: Recent Past, Current and Future Analysis in US$ Million by Grade for the Period 2018-2025 Table 134: South Korean Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Historic Market Analysis in US$ Million by Grade: 2009-2017 Table 135: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Share Distribution in South Korea by Grade: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 REST OF ASIA-PACIFIC Table 136: Rest of Asia-Pacific Medium & Long-Term Outlook for Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in US$ Million by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 137: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in Rest of Asia-Pacific in US$ Million by Technology: 2009-2017 Table 138: Rest of Asia-Pacific Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Percentage Share Distribution by Technology: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 139: Rest of Asia-Pacific Market for Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU): Annual Sales Estimates and Projections in US$ Million by Grade for the Period 2018-2025 Table 140: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in Rest of Asia-Pacific: Historic Sales Analysis in US$ Million by Grade for the Period 2009-2017 Table 141: Rest of Asia-Pacific Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Share Analysis by Grade: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 LATIN AMERICA Table 142: Latin American Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Trends by Region/Country in US$ Million: 2018-2025 Table 143: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in Latin America in US$ Million by Region/Country: A Historic Perspective for the Period 2009-2017 Table 144: Latin American Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Percentage Breakdown of Sales by Region/Country: 2009, 2019, and 2025 Table 145: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Estimates and Forecasts in Latin America in US$ Million by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 146: Latin American Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Retrospective Market Scenario in US$ Million by Technology: 2009-2017 Table 147: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in Latin America : Percentage Analysis by Technology for 2009, 2019, and 2025 Table 148: Latin American Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Growth Prospects in US$ Million by Grade for the Period 2018-2025 Table 149: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Historic Market Analysis in Latin America in US$ Million by Grade: 2009-2017 Table 150: Latin American Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market by Grade: Percentage Breakdown of Sales for 2009, 2019, and 2025 ARGENTINA Table 151: Argentinean Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Assessment in US$ Million by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 152: Argentinean Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Historic Market Review in US$ Million by Technology: 2009-2017 Table 153: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in Argentina: Percentage Breakdown of Sales by Technology for 2009, 2019, and 2025 Table 154: Argentinean Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Million by Grade: 2018-2025 Table 155: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in Argentina in US$ Million by Grade: A Historic Review for the Period 2009-2017 Table 156: Argentinean Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Share Breakdown by Grade: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 BRAZIL Table 157: Brazilian Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Estimates and Projections in US$ Million by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 158: Brazilian Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Historic Market Analysis in US$ Million by Technology: 2009-2017 Table 159: Brazilian Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Share Breakdown by Technology: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 160: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in Brazil by Grade: Estimates and Projections in US$ Million for the Period 2018-2025 Table 161: Brazilian Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Historic Market Scenario in US$ Million by Grade: 2009-2017 Table 162: Brazilian Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Share Analysis by Grade: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 MEXICO Table 163: Mexican Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Latent Demand Forecasts in US$ Million by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 164: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in Mexico: A Historic Perspective by Technology in US$ Million for the Period 2009-2017 Table 165: Mexican Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Share Breakdown by Technology: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 166: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in Mexico: Recent Past, Current and Future Analysis in US$ Million by Grade for the Period 2018-2025 Table 167: Mexican Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Historic Market Analysis in US$ Million by Grade: 2009-2017 Table 168: Mexican Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Share Breakdown by Grade: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 REST OF LATIN AMERICA Table 169: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in US$ Million in Rest of Latin America by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 170: Rest of Latin America Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Retrospective Analysis in US$ Million by Technology: 2009-2017 Table 171: Rest of Latin America Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Share Breakdown by Technology: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 172: Rest of Latin America Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Estimates and Projections in US$ Million by Grade: 2018 to 2025 Table 173: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in Rest of Latin America by Grade: A Historic Review in US$ Million for 2009-2017 Table 174: Rest of Latin America Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Share Breakdown by Grade: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 MIDDLE EAST Table 175: The Middle East Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Million by Region/Country: 2018-2025 Table 176: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in the Middle East by Region/Country in US$ Million: 2009-2017 Table 177: The Middle East Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Share Breakdown by Region/Country: 2009, 2019, and 2025 Table 178: The Middle East Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Analysis in US$ Million by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 179: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in the Middle East: Historic Review in US$ Million by Technology for the Period 2009-2017 Table 180: The Middle East Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Share Breakdown by Technology: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 181: The Middle East Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Million by Grade: 2018 to 2025 Table 182: The Middle East Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Historic Market by Grade in US$ Million: 2009-2017 Table 183: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in the Middle East: Percentage Share Breakdown of Sales by Grade for 2009, 2019, and 2025 IRAN Table 184: Iranian Medium & Long-Term Outlook for Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in US$ Million by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 185: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in Iran in US$ Million by Technology: 2009-2017 Table 186: Iranian Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Percentage Share Distribution by Technology: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 187: Iranian Market for Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU): Annual Sales Estimates and Projections in US$ Million by Grade for the Period 2018-2025 Table 188: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in Iran: Historic Sales Analysis in US$ Million by Grade for the Period 2009-2017 Table 189: Iranian Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Share Analysis by Grade: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 ISRAEL Table 190: Israeli Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Assessment in US$ Million by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 191: Israeli Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Historic Market Review in US$ Million by Technology: 2009-2017 Table 192: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in Israel: Percentage Breakdown of Sales by Technology for 2009, 2019, and 2025 Table 193: Israeli Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Million by Grade: 2018-2025 Table 194: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in Israel in US$ Million by Grade: A Historic Review for the Period 2009-2017 Table 195: Israeli Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Share Breakdown by Grade: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 SAUDI ARABIA Table 196: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Estimates and Forecasts in Saudi Arabia in US$ Million by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 197: Saudi Arabian Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Retrospective Market Scenario in US$ Million by Technology: 2009-2017 Table 198: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in Saudi Arabia: Percentage Share Analysis by Technology for 2009, 2019, and 2025 Table 199: Saudi Arabian Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Growth Prospects in US$ Million by Grade for the Period 2018-2025 Table 200: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Historic Market Analysis in Saudi Arabia in US$ Million by Grade: 2009-2017 Table 201: Saudi Arabian Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market by Grade: Percentage Breakdown of Sales for 2009, 2019, and 2025 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Table 202: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in the United Arab Emirates: Recent Past, Current and Future Analysis in US$ Million by Technology for the Period 2018-2025 Table 203: United Arab Emirates Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Historic Market Analysis in US$ Million by Technology: 2009-2017 Table 204: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Share Distribution in United Arab Emirates by Technology: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 205: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in the United Arab Emirates: Recent Past, Current and Future Analysis in US$ Million by Grade for the Period 2018-2025 Table 206: United Arab Emirates Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Historic Market Analysis in US$ Million by Grade: 2009-2017 Table 207: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Share Distribution in United Arab Emirates by Grade: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 REST OF MIDDLE EAST Table 208: Rest of Middle East Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Latent Demand Forecasts in US$ Million by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 209: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in Rest of Middle East: A Historic Perspective by Technology in US$ Million for the Period 2009-2017 Table 210: Rest of Middle East Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Share Breakdown by Technology: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 211: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in Rest of Middle East: Recent Past, Current and Future Analysis in US$ Million by Grade for the Period 2018-2025 Table 212: Rest of Middle East Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Historic Market Analysis in US$ Million by Grade: 2009-2017 Table 213: Rest of Middle East Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Share Breakdown by Grade: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 AFRICA Table 214: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in US$ Million in Africa by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 215: African Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Retrospective Analysis in US$ Million by Technology: 2009-2017 Table 216: African Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Share Breakdown by Technology: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 Table 217: African Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Estimates and Projections in US$ Million by Grade: 2018 to 2025 Table 218: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market in Africa by Grade: A Historic Review in US$ Million for 2009-2017 Table 219: African Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Market Share Breakdown by Grade: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025 IV. COMPETITION GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY GLADIATOR TECHNOLOGIES HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL LORD MICROSTRAIN SENSING SYSTEMS NORTHROP GRUMMAN CORPORATION ROBERT BOSCH GMBH STMICROELECTRONICS NV SAFRAN ELECTRONICS & DEFENSE TELEDYNE TECHNOLOGIES THALES GROUP TRIMBLE NAVIGATION VECTORNAV TECHNOLOGIES LLC V. CURATED RESEARCH Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05798878/?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 In a development that will come as a relief for thousands of homebuyers, the Supreme Court on January 20 permitted the Centre to take over the management of embattled real estate firm Unitech and accepted the government's proposal to appoint the new board led by former Haryana cadre IAS officer YS Malik as Chairman and Managing Director. The apex court also approved the other seven names proposed by the government to the new Unitech board. Seven members were proposed by the union of India. One more director, Prabhakar Singh, director general, CPWD, has been proposed by the court, said Pawanshree Agarwal, amicus curiae in the Unitech case. The government-proposed board is to supersede Unitech's existing board of directors. The bench headed by Justice DY Chandrachud gave two months time to the new board to prepare the resolution framework for completing the pending projects and place the report before the Supreme Court, sources said. The apex court also granted moratorium of two months to the new board from any legal proceedings against the management of the firm. The Supreme Court also said that it would appoint a retired judge to monitor the preparation of the resolution framework by the new board. Pending further orders, moratorium against institution of proceedings against Unitech and current proceedings shall stand suspended to help the new BoD take charge. "This means that no legal proceedings against the company can take place. It is like a period of calm," legal experts said. Existing construction to go on with the new board at liberty to give a comprehensive proposal, including in respect of existing projects. The Centre, in its note submitted earlier to the bench, headed by Justice DY Chandrachud, had told the apex court that it is agreeable to revisit its 2017 proposal to take over the management control of Unitech Ltd and complete the stuck projects. It had suggested the names Haryana cadre IAS officer YS Malik as Chairman and Managing Director of the board; AK Mittal, former CMD of National Buildings Construction Corporation, as director; Renu Sud Karnad, chairman of HDFC Credila Financial Services Pvt Ltd, as director. Jitu Virwani as director. He is the CMD of Bengaluru based real estate firm Embassy Group; Niranjan Hiranandani as director. He is currently the co-founder and managing director of Mumbai-based Hiranandani Group; Girish Kumar Ahuja as director. He is the the Centres nominee director of SBI; B Sriram as director. He is former MD and CEO of IDBI Bank Ltd and former MD of SBI. A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and M R Shah also refused to appoint Unitech Group founder Ramesh Chandra, as a member of the new board saying that it would not be appropriate at this stage. It said the committee headed by Justice S N Dhingra, tasked with selling the company's assets and utilising the money for completion of pending projects, would continue to work till the new board comes up with a resolution framework. The Centre had also made it clear that it would not infuse any funds for completion of pending projects of the company. The bench, however, did suggest that the board could consider the stressed asset fund for completing pending projects. Funds will come in from whatever money is available with the court by sale of land held with the company. There are homebuyers who still have to pay up. The bench suggested that if required the board should consider applying for the stressed asset fund, Agarwal told Moneycontrol. "For the homebuyers, the order means that there is finally hope that construction of homes will begin, the board will examine all options to ensure that construction takes place. The money will come from monetization of assets," legal experts said. Hiranandani told Moneycontrol that he would want the interim report to be ready within 30 days so that work can begin in 60 days. "The idea is to hit the ground running by getting an interim report ready within 30 days. I think we will be able to start with 50% to 60% of the projects very quickly," he said. Asked about liquidity issues, he said: "If there is a need, we may apply for the stressed fund." "We thank SC for finally doing what was required to be done to safeguard homebuyers' interests. The good news is that assets of Unitech are more than liabilities even today as per Govt of India. So, no homebuyer should worry now, all will get refund or a home," said Vivek Tyagi, President, All India Association of Unitech Homebuyers. The Supreme Court on December 18, 2019, had asked the government to look into the possibility of it taking over the Unitech Group and complete the pending housing projects to protect the interest of over 30,000 homebuyers. The courts direction followed the submission of the forensic auditor's report that said that the embattled firm and its directors had siphoned off almost half of the homebuyers' money. It must be remembered that in 2017, the Centre had moved the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) seeking suspension of the current directors and taking of control of the management of Unitech Ltd but had later withdrawn the proposal after a stay on its move from the apex court. Audit firm Grant Thornton's report on the Unitech group and its subsidiary firms had said that thousands of crores of rupees of homebuyers' money was diverted for purposes other than construction and some of the funds were parked in offshore tax havens like Cyprus. The forensic auditors have also submitted their report which said that Unitech Ltd received around Rs 14,270 crore from 29,800 homebuyers mostly between 2006-2014 and around Rs 1,805 crore from six financial institutions for the construction of 74 projects. The audit revealed that around Rs 5,063 crore of homebuyers' money and around Rs 763 crore of fund received from financial institutions were not utilised by the company and high value investments were made off-shore tax-haven countries between 2007-2010. The apex court had directed an investigation into the omission and commission of promoters of Unitech Ltd under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The apex court had on January 23, 2019, refused to grant bail to the Chandra brothers. It said they had not complied with the October 30, 2017 order which asked them to deposit Rs 750 crore with the court registry by December 31, 2017. The court had directed the trial court which is seized of the criminal case against the Unitech promoters to proceed expeditiously in the trial. The Chandras sought bail on the ground that they were complying with the apex court order and had deposited around Rs 481 crore till now. The realty firm is facing the wrath of the court in a case related to alleged siphoning of homebuyers' money. The matter pertains to a criminal case lodged in 2015 by 158 home buyers of Unitech projects' -- 'Wild Flower Country' and 'Anthea Project' -- situated in Gurugram. The new arrangement was reached on Saturday after crisis talks on couples wish to step back from official engagements. Britains Prince Harry spoke on Sunday of his great sadness that he and his wife Meghan had to give up their royal titles as part of a separation agreement with Queen Elizabeth II and senior members of the royal family. Buckingham Palace announced on Saturday that Harry and Meghan would no longer be working members of Britains monarchy, no longer use their Royal Highness titles and would now pay their own way in life, freeing them to forge new careers. The new arrangement was struck to end a crisis the couple sparked by announcing earlier this month they wanted to cut down on official engagements and spend more time in North America, while remaining active royals. In a speech to the Sentebale charity on Sunday, a clearly upset Harry said the final outcome was not what he and his US wife, a former actress, had wanted. It brings me great sadness that it has come to this, he said in his first remarks on the agreement. Our hope was to continue serving the queen, the Commonwealth and my military associations without public funding. Sadly that wasnt possible. Harry is sixth-in-line to the throne. Under the settlement, Harry will remain a prince and the couple will keep their titles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex as they begin a new life split between Britain and North America. They will not take part in any future ceremonial events or royal tours. Harry said the decision to step back had followed months of talks and had not been a decision he had come to lightly. They were not walking away, he explained. As far as this goes, there really was no other option, he added. He told the audience at the charity he founded to help children with HIV in Africa that he wanted them to hear the truth from him not as a prince, or a duke, but as Harry, the same person that many of you have watched grow up over the last 35 years but with a clearer perspective. The couples plans for independence, announced after a long break in Canada over the Christmas period, caught the rest of the royal family by surprise and left the queen and other senior members hurt and disappointed, according to reports citing royal sources. Bullying However, in a TV interview aired in October, both had made it clear how they were struggling with the immense media attention. The couple also began legal action against one newspaper for printing a letter Meghan wrote to her estranged father, Thomas Markle. Harry said he felt his wife had faced bullying from some tabloids similar to that faced by his mother, Princess Diana, who died in a car crash in 1997. The settlement between Harry and Meghan and the queen dominated the Sunday newspapers in the UK; Harry has previously said he felt his wife had faced bullying from some of the tabloid press [Frank Augstein/AP Photo] Harry said he felt utmost respect for Queen Elizabeth. It has been our privilege to serve you, and we will continue to lead a life of service. I will always have the utmost respect for my grandmother, my commander-in-chief, and I am incredibly grateful to her and the rest of my family, for the support they have shown Meghan and I over the last few months. Buckingham Palace has said the couple will no longer receive public money and will repay the cost of refurbishing their cottage in Windsor, which official figures show amounted to 2.4 million pounds ($3.1m). But certain details, such as their future security arrangements or whether the couple can continue to use the Sussex Royal title for their website and branding, have either not been finalised or publicly revealed. Meghan is currently in Canada with her baby son Archie and Harry is expected to join them soon. Hotel comparison website Trivago breached Australian consumer law by misleading consumers on which hotel deals were best, the Australian Federal Court has found. In a striking victory for Australia's competition watchdog against the Netherlands-incorporated online giant, the court concluded that Trivago engaged in misleading conduct and made false representations to consumers. The ACCC had argued Trivago promised customers impartial, objective and transparent hotel price comparisons which would allow them to quickly and easily identify the cheapest offer available. But rather than serving consumers the best deals, the hotel aggregator promoted its best advertisers, the ACCC claimed. The consumer watchdog took the company to court in August last year over misleading information on the website and television advertising aired more than 400,000 times from late 2013 to mid-2018. Reuters Swedish activist Greta Thunberg marched with 10,000 protesters in the Swiss city of Lausanne on Friday and said you have not seen anything yet before some head to Davos next week to challenge the global financial elite to fight climate change. The 17-year-old, who launched the #FridaysforFuture movement that has sparked worldwide 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. Hundreds will take trains over the weekend and then march to Klosters near Davos, the annual gathering of world political and business leaders that 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 global decision-makers in a survey ahead of the 2020 gathering of the global elite. This years meeting of 3,000 includes U.S. President Donald Trump who once described climate change as a hoax and whose administration in November filed paperwork to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement, the first formal step in a one-year process to exit the pact to fight climate change. The latest World Economic Forum annual meeting takes place against the backdrop of some of Australias worst-ever bushfires. While the government there has avoided making a link to climate change, the fires have deepened public concern about the heating of the planet. Last year was the Earths second-hottest since records began, and the world should brace itself for more extreme weather events like Australias fires, the U.N. World Meteorological Organization said on Wednesday. We are...an alliance that is organizing 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, she said. In a court of law, a party on the receiving end of civil or criminal charges can move to dismiss those charges if he can prove that the charges do not state a case for which relief can be granted. This argument can be made either on the ground that the law does not recognize the claimed cause of action or criminal charge or on the grounds that the facts stated in the opening papers fail to meet the requirements for such a cause of action or criminal charge. The president's opening papers show that his attorneys will argue that the articles of impeachment fail under both of these metrics. For some time, however, Republicans have been concerned that the Senate will not allow the equivalent of a motion to dismiss. Instead, they've fretted that the Senate will give credibility to the fatally flawed articles of impeachment by allowing a full evidentiary trial. Even assuming that Trump were to prevail in the impeachment proceedings, his opponents would still argue that the claims were valid enough to merit a full hearing. It appears, though, that Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell is leaving the door open to allowing Trump's attorneys to move to dismiss on the grounds that the House Democrats have not made either a factual or a constitutional case against President Trump: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is preparing a resolution that would leave room for President Trump's lawyers to move immediately to dismiss the impeachment charges if they so choose, according to Republican Sen. Josh Hawley. [snip] "I am familiar with the resolution as it stood a day or two ago," Hawley, the junior senator from Missouri, told me in a phone interview on Saturday. "My understanding is that the resolution will give the president's team the option to either move to judgment or to move to dismiss at a meaningful time..." Hawley added that in the most recent draft of the organizing resolution he saw there was an option for the president's counsel to make a motion in multiple places, including at the beginning of the proceedings. A Republican leadership aide responded: "The White House has the right to make motions under the regular order, including a motion to dismiss, right after the resolution is adopted because a motion to dismiss is a motion permitted by the impeachment rules." Some Senate members have already stated in advance that they will not vote to dismiss without hearing the case on the merits. Some believe that the Republicans' small majority makes a motion to dismiss pointless. Others believe that Trump should have the opportunity to present substantive evidence to vindicate himself. And others, despite being Republican, dislike Trump and hope a parade of hostile witnesses, no matter how pointless their evidence, will hurt Trump. This would be the Kavanaugh strategy of throwing huge amounts of mud in the hope that it makes Trump look dirty, no matter how clean he is. The American people should hope for a motion to dismiss. If it's a good motion, it will allow the government to drop this farce and move on to real business. Of course, given the House's Democrat control, maybe it's a mercy that its Trump obsessions have kept it from legislating. It's probably best for America if this particular Congress doesn't produce many laws. A mother-of-three who was stabbed seven times by her husband has hit out at the justice system after he was jailed for just five years. Sarah Phillips, 46, was viciously attacked with a knife by Richard Austin in November 2018 after she ended their 11-year relationship. After the assault, Ms Phillips needed 100 stitches, almost had her fingers amputated and was left scarred for life. In June 2019, unemployed Richard Austin, of Erdington in Birmingham, was jailed for five years after pleading guilty to attempted murder. Ms Phillips, who is unable to work due to injuries from the attack, said: 'His sentence is a joke. Sarah Phillips, 46, was viciously attacked with a knife by Richard Austin in November 2018 'That monster tried to kill me and he could be released in five years - while my sentence will never end. 'It doesn't make any sense. The mental scars still linger, it makes me cry when I think that Richard tried to kill me. But I'm a survivor. 'Now I struggle to open jars or bathe myself as I can't use two fingers on my left hand. 'And I need to get a denture for my tooth that was knocked out which will set me back around 1,000. 'I just hope I never see Richard's face again. I've been left scarred for life while he's serving a pitiful sentence.' Ms Phillips and Austin started dating in January 2007 and moved in together three months later. She says: 'He was a good father figure to my children. At first he was very attentive, always there if I needed anything. 'But after we moved in together, Richard kicked off if I spoke to my friends or family. So I stopped speaking to them to keep the peace with him.' After the assault, Ms Phillips needed 100 stitches, almost had her fingers amputated and was left scarred for life By February 2009, the couple were married. But Austin soon became violent and he began assaulting the mother-of-three. Years passed and Ms Phillips's mental health declined. She says: 'Richard made me believe that I was useless and deserved his abuse. 'Then in November 2018, Richard threatened to kill my son and it was like a lightbulb had gone off in my head. 'I split up with him and, eventually, Richard moved into a shared house. 'But he refused to leave me alone, constantly calling me and turning up at my house. He even called my daughter's work accusing her of taking drugs.' Ms Phillips begged police officers to stop him, but they said there wasn't enough evidence to charge him. She says: 'I was so angry, so I got a taxi to his house to tell him to leave me alone once and for all. 'When I arrived, he led me into his bedroom, locking the door behind him. Then he told me: 'You're not getting out of this house alive'. 'I realised that I'd made a bad decision and tried to leave. But he punched me in the face and I fell onto the bed. Ms Phillips and Austin started dating in January 2007 and moved in together three months later 'He punched me again and again, and knocked out my front tooth. I panicked that I was going to die. 'Then I felt a sharp pain in my leg and saw Richard holding an eight-and-a-half-inch flick knife. 'He stabbed me in the leg and stomach. I didn't feel any pain as I was in shock. 'Then he climbed on the bed behind me and whispered: 'Ear to ear'. I realised he was going to slit my throat and tried to defend myself from the blade. 'Instead, the metal sliced through my fingers. Then I collapsed to the floor.' As Ms Phillips lay on the floor bleeding from her injuries, Austin called police telling them he'd stabbed his wife and she was dying. Ms Phillips woke hours later in Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham. Police officers revealed that Austin had been arrested at the scene and charged with attacking her. Ms Phillips says: 'Doctors told me I'd lost two and a half pints of blood and I'd been in surgery for four hours to close my wounds. 'I needed over 100 stitches, and the nerves and tendons had been sliced on my fingers so it was unlikely I'd be able to use them. 'Doctors wanted to amputate, but I insisted on keeping them as they'd saved my life.' In June 2019, Richard Austin, 47, pleaded guilty to attempted murder at Birmingham Crown Court. He was jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of five years. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 17:08:17|Editor: mingmei Video Player Close BEIJING, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- The lander and rover of the Chang'e-4 probe have resumed work for the 14th lunar day on the far side of the moon after "sleeping" during the extremely cold night. Both the lander and the rover are in normal working order, according to the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administration. The Chang'e-4 probe, launched on Dec. 8, 2018, made the first-ever soft landing on the Von Karman Crater in the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the far side of the moon on Jan. 3, 2019. The rover Yutu-2, or Jade Rabbit-2, has worked much longer than its three-month design life, becoming the longest-working lunar rover on the moon. A lunar day equals 14 days on Earth, and a lunar night is the same length. The Chang'e-4 probe switched to dormant mode during the lunar night due to the lack of solar power. Josep Lluis Trapero, Pere Soler, Cesar Puig and Teresa Laplana. Last year saw the Supreme Court trial of the pro-independence leaders involved in the 2017 secessionist drive in Catalonia. That case concluded with nine politicians and civic association leaders given lengthy prison sentences for offenses including sedition and misuse of funds. Around 20 kilometers from the Supreme Court, a new trial began today related to the events of 2017, which saw an illegal referendum held in the northeastern Spanish region, followed by a unilateral declaration of independence. Proceedings began on Monday in the Audiencia Nacional, the Spanish High Court, which is located in San Fernando de Henares, a municipality in the east of Madrid. Facing trial are the former heads of the Catalan regional police force, the Mossos dEsquadra, accused of having played a key role in the pro-independence drive. Four people are taking the stand, and, as in the Supreme Court case, are accused of rebellion and sedition. The public prosecutor is calling for up to 11 years in jail for each of them. But who are they? What role did they play during the events in question? And what evidence is there against them? Trapero figures constantly in the 94-page written accusation filed in the High Court by the public prosecutor Josep Lluis Trapero. The then-chief of the Mossos dEsquadra was sacked from his position in 2017, after four years in charge of the regional force. Trapero figures constantly in the 94-page written accusation filed in the High Court by the public prosecutor, and is attributed as having taken a proactive attitude during the independence drive. He contributed in a decisive manner so that the Mossos were placed at the service of the secessionist plan, the prosecutor writes, adding that he deliberately designed mechanisms so that officers were hindered from complying with the instructions issued by the public prosecutor and with court rulings. He is also blamed for setting out the instructions and operational rules given to the Mossos on October 1, the day that the illegal referendum took place. The regional officers were accused of passivity on the day of the vote, and were seen in a number of videos doing nothing to stop the referendum from taking place, despite the fact that it had been declared illegal by Spains top courts. (The attempts by the National Police and the Civil Guard to stop the vote saw now-infamous scenes of police violence against citizens, and there were also moments of tension between the two aforementioned forces and the Mossos themselves.) The public prosecutor has also drawn attention to Traperos alleged orders to send an insufficient police presence to the Economic Affairs Department on September 20, where a crowd of protestors gathered while the Spanish authorities searched the building to try to find materials relating to the planned referendum. He is also accused of collusion with the pro-independence politicians, whom he informed of the police and judicial investigations that were taking place. When he appeared as a witness in the Supreme Court trial, Trapero voiced his main line of defense: that he and the Mossos always displayed their commitment to the law. We told [the secessionist leaders] that the Mossos were not going to break the law or the Constitution, he said in court at the time. That we did not accompany them on their pro-independence project. But there are a series of factors that could contradict that defense, such as a number of phone calls between Trapero and one of the jailed independence leaders, Jordi Sanchez, during the protests outside the Economic Affairs Department. Sanchez was tried in the Supreme Court and jailed for his involvement in the organization of that protest. Orders from the [regional] government must take precedence over those that come from the public prosecutor or the judicial police Intercepted email The conditions imposed by Sanchez during that day were assumed completely by Trapero, who, with his conscious inactivity, avoided putting an end to the serious public-order problem that was taking place, the prosecution states, including an exchange of emails between Pere Soler, the former general director of the Mossos, and Trapero himself. Before October 1, Soler said to Trapero: Orders from the [regional] government must take precedence over those that come from the public prosecutor or the judicial police. In another mail, the prosecutors claim, Trapero responded saying: On October 1, 2017, a referendum on Catalan self-determination must be held. Pere Soler. At the time of the independence drive, Soler was the general director of the Mossos, which is a political appointment. An attorney and former city councilor in Tarrasa, he is accused by the public prosecutor of having planned the steps to be taken on the days prior to the referendum to guarantee it took place. He is accused of having done this along with Trapero and the former regional interior minister, Joaquim Forn. They designed a [police] action plan that was deliberately inefficient, the prosecution states. Soler is also accused of giving cover and protection to the people implicated in the organization of the referendum. Among these figures was Francesc Sutrias Grau, who was arrested for allegedly acquiring material for use in the referendum with public money. He promised him counter-surveillance measures and even greater protection to counteract the judicial investigation that was targeting him. Cesar Puig. The former secretary general of the regional interior department also a political appointment is accused by the prosecution of conveying information about the actions of the National Police and Civil Guard and providing information to the promoters of the process to guarantee it ended well. According to the accusation, Puig raised the alarm about a search at private postal service Unipost, where there were thousands of envelopes ready to send that contained letters with names and surnames addressed to Catalan citizens who had been designated to man polling booths that would be set up on October 1. Teresa Laplana. The least-known figure in the trial, this Mossos officer was in charge of the security detail at the Economic Affairs Department during the search on September 20. She cooperated in a decisive, conscious and intentional manner with the aims sought by the Catalan institutions and the pro-independence associations, impeding the judicial process under the legal conditions necessary with her deliberate passivity, the prosecutor states, arguing that she disregarded providing the assistance that had been requested by the Civil Guard despite being aware of the need for the Mossos to intervene. [Teresa Laplana] repeatedly and intentionally refused to provide the police assistance that was being requested She repeatedly and intentionally refused to provide the assistance that was being requested, guided by the ultimate purpose that was behind her actions, which was to hinder the actions of the judicial committee, the prosecutor states. The accusation also points out that on October 26, 2017, the day before the unilateral declaration of independence was passed by the regional parliament, the National Police intercepted a truck with three mossos on board and documents that were on their way to being incinerated. The prosecutor adds that among those papers, there were documents that revealed the true intentions of the Mossos chiefs, which were to not stop the referendum from taking place and to work with the pro-independence leaders on the development and culmination of a process that would conclude with the independence of Catalonia. English version by Simon Hunter. (JTA)New York Times columnist Bret Stephens came under fire on social media for an op-ed in which he wrote that Ashkenazi Jews are more intelligent than other people and cited a paper by a researcher who promoted eugenics. The reference to the paper later was removed. The Secret of Jewish Genius published on Saturday had received nearly 700 comments on the online edition of The Times by Sunday afternoon when the comments were closed. Many of the comments also thanked Stephens for his column and praised his conclusions. The column cited a 2005 paper by researchers Gregory Cochran, Jason Hardy and Henry Harpending of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Utah stating that Ashkenazi Jews have the highest average I.Q. of any ethnic group for which there are reliable data. During the 20th century, they made up about 3 percent of the U.S. population but won 27 percent of the U.S. Nobel science prizes and 25 percent of the ACM Turing awards. They account for more than half of world chess champions. But the Southern Poverty Law Center said that Harpending was an anthropologist who possessed a white nationalist ideology and promoted eugenics, which was studied and practiced by the Nazis. The practice aims to improve a populations genetic composition through selective breeding, as by sterilization. The reference to the paper was removed later on Sunday. An editors note said, in part, that Mr. Stephens was not endorsing the study or its authors views, but it was a mistake to cite it uncritically. The effect was to leave an impression with many readers that Mr. Stephens was arguing that Jews are genetically superior. That was not his intent. Stephens concluded in his column that Ashkenazi Jews might have a marginal advantage over their gentile peers when it comes to thinking better. Where their advantage more often lies is in thinking different. This different thinking is born of repeated exile, where Jews have learned that things are ultimately perishable, but knowledge is potentially everlasting. Some critics questioned how The Times could allow the column to be published, saying that articles about eugenics and the supremacy of Jews over others are inappropriate, especially in the venerable newspaper. On Twitter, some wrote that they canceled their subscriptions because of the column. Times reporters, columnists and contributors also roundly criticized Stephens. One tweet called on white Jews to organize a public demand to fire Stephens over the column. One commenter on The Times website said the importance of education to many Jews, not IQ or inherent intelligence, is the reason that Jews are considered smart. Another wondered if Asian Americans feel a similar nervousness when their genius is touted. Stephens, a conservative on the predominantly liberal opinion pages of The Times, has often been a lightning rod for left-leaning and pro-Palestinian criticism. A frequent critic of President Donald Trump, Stephens has also been attacked from the right. Before winning a Pulitzer Prize for commentary at The Wall Street Journal, Stephens was editor of The Jerusalem Post. Head of the state acknowledged the existence of nationalist radicals in Ukraine, but noted that their percentage is very small President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky believes that Ukraine has the lowest level of anti-Semitism in Europe, The Times of Israel reports. "Of course, in Ukraine, like everywhere in the world, now and in the past, there is some percent of people who do not see anyone else except their nation. The same happened during the Second World War, and during the occupation by fascist Germany of Ukraine. The same kind of complicated attitude was demonstrated to Jewish people during Soviet times. We all know this. But right now we also know perfectly well that the lowest level of anti-Semitism is in Ukraine," Zelensky said. In support of his argument, Ukrainian president recalled data from the Pew Research Center poll from 2018 that assessed the level of anti-Semitism in Europe. According to it, the lowest level of anti-Semitism was in Ukraine. As we reported earlier, Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the glorification of those responsible for the murder of Jews and anti-Semitic ideologies in Ukraine. The corresponding statement was published on the Ministrys website. "Individuals responsible for the murder of Jews in the Holocaust and in pogroms, as well as antisemitic ideologists of the Ukrainian National movement have recently been a subject of public glorification in Ukraine," the statement reads. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he believes representatives of medium-sized businesses support the decisions of the current government aimed at the transparency of processes in the economy. "If you talk to midsized businesses not oligarchs or the small companies that don't pay taxes you will find that they support our decisions because we are moving toward transparency. Something that is really important is that we have put a stop to smuggling, and this can cause complications for small businesses, which don't want to pass customs procedures and pay the taxes as they are struggling to receive certain goods. But transparency means that everyone must pay taxes and live according to the law," he said in an interview with Newsweek magazine. Zelensky stressed that the new government seeks to destroy the monopolies that exist, for example, in the gas sector and the production of alcohol. The president is convinced that Ukraine will no longer have such a high level of corruption as before. "For many years, people around the world have heard about corruption in Ukraine, and investors act on emotion. So we are making changes. First of all, with the judiciary, so that when investors arrive they can see that their investments will be defended. I come from a business background, and I understand investors. I can promise that we will never again have such levels of corruption, and we will make great strides toward transparency. This is the moment to invest, because prices are low, in the markets and privatized sectors, and we will be giving out licenses to work in many sectors, such as gas," he said. TROY, N.Y. The Sanctuary for Independent Media hosted an MLK Holiday Labor Celebration on Monday in Troy. In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.s birthday, the community gathering sought to promoted a participatory discussion on social, national and international issues facing communities on a local level. Started in by the Solidarity Committee of the Capital District in 1999, the theme asks, where do we go from here? Theres a lot of issues in the community in terms of housing, criminal justice, racism. Theres a lot of stuff on the international level that the community doesnt even know about, that the community should know about and should be involved in that, said Willie Terry, one of the lead organizers of the program. Among those round table topics discussed were community issues, labor struggles, racism, national and international issues, criminal justice, environment, youth and education, economics and health justice. What we want to do here is not have a traditional program where people come and talk down on you, we want to have a community engagement where the community engages in discussion with those nine issues that we have and they talk about what are the key issues in those nine issues and how do we resolve some of that? Terry added on the grassroots discussion. Schenectady County Human Rights Commission, Executive Director, Ang Morris, who walked in the Womens March this past weekend, spoke to Dr. Kings message of the urgency of now. Dr. Kings legacy right now, its a day of remembrance of his legacy and his life. But its very critical that we remember it but we act upon it, that we continue to act upon it. Definitely in 2020. Dr. King talked about in his I have a dream speech about the urgency of now and its very urgent that everyone stands up, speaks up for their rights, gets involved, takes action, get involved with voting, stand up and speak up about the census, make sure everyone is counted for, Morris said of the need for action. A short film shown at the program was an Aug. 1967 speech by King, touched on the Three Evils of Society. If one didnt know any better many of the issues King spoke about sounded like they couldve come from a Sen. Bernie Sanders speech in 2020. Dr. King was a beloved civil rights icon. His rights, what he was talking about, 50 years ago, we are living in now, 50 years later. Those issues of economic justice, racial justice, racism, bigotry, antisemitism, all of those isms that he was talking about, were living in now. So its imperative that we today celebrate not only his legacy but take action, do it now, because this is the most critical election in the history of America and if people sit on the sidelines and dont utilize their civil rights regarding voting, then we will continue to go through the nightmare of a dream that Dr. King didnt have as a nightmare, Morris said of those same issues facing society today. His dream is a nightmare now. We have to do that in the spirit of love, come together in unity, get involved, vote and also elect officials that vote for your rights, for your values and your issues that will stand up against the hatred and the bigotry thats going on at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, he continued. Morris also noted why she believes its so important to forge a movement to address those issues. So thats what were here to talk about those issues. It cant be some kumbaya moment, this is not a moment, its a movement. Dr. King he paid with his life every day, he died for the cause and sacrificed his life. This is for me something Im very passionate about because Dr. King was one of my civil rights heroes. Everything he did was in the spirit of love, love won people over, love trumps hate and biblically that love is the only thing that can change people, Morris said. Morris expounded upon the need for the community to take action as well. He talked about that beloved community and thats why were here today, thats why Im here today to join forces with Troy. Say Dr. Kings legacy needs to be seen in Troy. No longer can people in Troy sit on the sidelines and continue the police brutality, continue to see blight, housing, poverty, all those issues in Troy that were facing all over the Capital Region, Troy needs to stand up, speak up and live the dream that Dr. King talked about in the spirit of love as urgent now, Morris said. Terry echoed those sentiments as to how the program discussion could translate out into communities like Troy and beyond. Were going to take these community discussions outside this venue because we cant do everything in here. Were going to take it into various communities to involve more people and engage with them. Were doing it with the purpose to educate them, organize them and well hopefully persuade them to get involved in social justice issues, Terry added. DES MOINES, Iowa - A little more than two weeks before Iowa's Feb. 3 caucuses, the race for the presidency is largely centered around the Democrats. Local television is inundated with nonstop campaign ads, yard signs are everywhere and near-daily candidate events draw voters by the hundreds. Amid predictions of record caucus turnout and an influx of new voters, local Democrats say they think Iowa, which Donald Trump won by just under 10 points in 2016, could be flipped to blue in November. But as Democratic candidates dash back and forth across the state, it's hard to miss the reminders of how tough that could be. Towns small and large, especially in rural areas, are dotted with Trump flags that weren't there four years ago, including ones that read "Trump 2020" and "Keep America Great." Trump voters have increasingly shown up at Democratic events, including a recent town hall in Dubuque where a man waved a "Make America Great Again" sign as his friend pressed Elizabeth Warren on abortion policy. And on a chilly Thursday evening, as local television warned of a dangerous incoming snowstorm, some 500 people - many wearing red "MAGA" hats - packed into a large ballroom at a Holiday Inn across the street from the airport to hear a trio of Republican women, including the president's daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, speak as part of a "Women for Trump" tour traveling across the state this week. "Whoa! Des Moines!" Lara Trump declared as she was welcomed by supporters who jumped to their feet, shouting and clapping. "They told us this was all Democrats, but I think y'all have something different to say." The event, which drew as many men as women, was part of the counter programming launched by the Trump campaign here in recent days, beginning with flying a pro-Trump banner over Tuesday's debate site. And President Donald Trump is scheduled to return to Des Moines for a rally on Jan. 30, four days before the caucuses. Thursday's event had the feel, at times, of a morning show. The women - Lara Trump, who is married to the president's son Eric; Trump campaign senior adviser Mercedes Schlapp; and Republican National Committee spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany - sat in cream-colored chairs on a small stage against the backdrop of a large pink-and-white "Women for Trump" sign. After urging those in the audience to take their seats and "get cozy," the women chatted casually, ticking through a litany of policy points and arguing that, under President Trump, America and, especially, American women are thriving. They warned of chaos if Democrats recapture the White House. "We have tangible results that we can point to because of this president, and the Democrats have literally nothing to offer," Lara Trump said. "If we let any of these Democrats get a hold of the White House, this country will be unrecognizable as the United States of America. They want to turn this country the way of Venezuela. And Venezuela is a complete disaster. It was one of the greatest countries in the world, incredibly prosperous, very rich. Things were going great. And then socialism took over." In the back, a woman lifted her hands in the air in prayer, as other members of the audience shook their hands. While the event was mostly focused on President Trump, the women peppered their remarks with warnings about the Democrats in the race, including "Crazy Bernie" Sanders and Joe Biden, who they warned was just as liberal as his Democratic rivals in the race. "Don't let him escape that label," McEnany said. At one point, Lara Trump mocked Biden's performance at the last debate. "I'm supposed to want him to fail at every turn, but every time he comes on stage and they turn to him, I'm like: 'Joe, can you get it out? Let's get the words out. Joe.' You kind of feel bad for him," she said of Biden, who regularly speaks about his history of stuttering. "The problem is, that's their front-runner, guys. They know that the people that they're offering up on the Democratic side have zero chance of beating Donald Trump, right? Zero." The audience responded with laughs and cheers. Many in attendance described themselves as loyal Trump supporters from the earliest days of his campaign, even when their other Republican friends were against his candidacy. And in interviews, most said that nothing Trump had done as a candidate or as president had changed their minds about him - not his use of Twitter, his handling of foreign policy or the allegations that he solicited foreign help to investigate the Bidens. Mary Godwin, a real estate agent from Des Moines, said she had backed Trump four years ago because he had appealed to her as a political outsider and a businessman, and that she felt he had delivered on his promises to the business community, including a strong stock market, tax-code changes and a booming economy. She came out Thursday because was curious about the strategy the Trump campaign would take in addressing impeachment, which she said was a "distraction" from real issues. "To me, nothing he has done has been high crimes and misdemeanors or enough to be impeached," she said, arguing the scandal would probably end up driving up his support among Republicans, including in Iowa. "I think this is actually very bad for the Democrats." But Lara Trump and her counterparts were taking no chances. Four years ago, she said, the Trump campaign was like an airplane that was being built in the air as it was trying to land. "Some days, we didn't have windows on the side," she said. "Some days, a wing was a little off. But at the last second, just when it mattered, we got the landing gear attached and on and landed the plane. And we all know what happened next. Donald Trump became our president." The difference now is that the campaign "never shut down" and has kept growing and raising money and assembling a ground game that she said is far ahead of the Democrats. "Although we feel really strong, we cannot leave anything to chance," she said. "We have to win with such a resounding impact that they cannot deny the results of this election." The Supreme Court Monday sought response of the Uttar Pradesh government on a plea filed by Allahabad Heritage Society challenging the renaming of Allahabad to Prayagraj. A bench, comprising Chief Justice S A Bobde and justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant, issued notice to the state government on an appeal filed by the society against the Allahabad High Court order of February, 2019 dismissing the PIL against the renaming of the holy town. The Centre had on January 1 last year approved renaming of Allahabad as Prayagraj. The high court had observed that a mere name change of the city will not affect public interest and moreover, it cannot interfere with the policy decision of the government. The appeal, besides challenging the notification of the UP government in this regard, has also alleged procedural violations in renaming the holy city. The move to rename the city is contrary to the secular ethos of the Constitution, and hence runs contrary to the spirit of composite culture, the plea said, adding that the name Allahabad has been associated with the city for almost four centuries. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The state appellate panel rejected a disgraced former Hudson County Jail officials latest bid to receive his full pension, which was forfeited after he was sentenced to more than a year in jail on wiretapping charges. The decision is the latest in a years-long saga surrounding the ex-official, Kirk Eady, who in 2015 was convicted in federal court of listening to and recording conversations between members of correctional officers unions. In 2016, during his prison sentence, the Police and Firemens Retirement System board of trustees voted to confiscate all contributions to Eadys pension during his 10-year tenure as deputy director of Hudson County jail. Eady appealed the decision, but not until more than two months after the deadline to appeal passed. After the board rejected this appeal, citing the missed deadline, Eady appealed again, this time more than a year late. This second appeal was rejected. In November 2019, a lawyer for Eady argued in the Appellate Division of the Superior Court that the boards decision should be thrown out. On Friday, judges rejected Eadys arguments, writing in their decision that Eady provides no explanation why his initial .... appeal to the Board as well as his subsequent challenges to the Boards rulings should not be declared untimely." Eady still has the option to appeal the case in the state Supreme Court, but it is unclear whether or not he will choose to do so. Representatives for Eady and the PFRS board were not immediately available for comment. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 20 By Tamilla Mammadova Trend: In 2019, Georgia received electricity from Russia (524.5 million kWh) and from Azerbaijan (1.102 billion kWh), Trend reports with reference to Georgian Electricity System Commercial Operator of Georgia (ESCO). Reportedly, in 2019, electricity imports from Russia increased by 153 percent compared to 2018, while imports from Azerbaijan decreased by 10 percent. In 2019, Georgia exported 59 percent less electricity (243.4 million kWh) compared to 2018. In 2019, 13.153 billion kWh of electricity was consumed in Georgia. This indicator is slightly less as compared to 2018, when electricity consumption in Georgia amounted to 13.197 billion kWh. According to ESCO, in 2019, the volume of electricity imported by Georgia increased by 7.8 percent compared to 2018 and amounted to 1.62 billion kWh. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Mila61979356 live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Here are the stocks that are in the news today: Results: Kotak Mahindra Bank, Can Fin Homes, Just Dial, KEI Industries, Federal Bank, Monnet Ispat & Energy, Hindustan Zinc, HFCL, ICICI Securities, Bank of Maharashtra Reliance Industries: 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. Its 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. HDFC Bank Q3: Profit jumped 33 percent, but asset quality weakened and provisions spiked. Profit during the quarter increased to Rs 7,416.5 crore, from Rs 5,585.85 crore in the same period last year. Net interest income grew by 12.7 percent to Rs 14,172.9 crore compared to year-ago. TCS: Tata Consultancy Services reported tepid growth numbers for the December quarter. Its net profit was at Rs 8,118 crore, up 0.2 percent year-on-year (YoY) against Rs 8,105 crore reported in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year. HCL Technologies: HCL Technologies reported a 16 percent year-on-year (YoY) and 14.6 percent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) rise in its net income at Rs 3,037 crore for the quarter ended December 2019. IndusInd Bank: Bank registered a 32 percent growth in Q3FY20 profit and 34.3 percent growth in net interest income compared to the same quarter last year. Asset quality was also stable with gross non-performing assets (NPA) in Q3 falling 1bps to 2.18 percent and net NPA declining 7bps to 1.05 percent QoQ. Lupin: Lupin received five observations from the US health regulator after inspection of its Vizag facility in Andhra Pradesh. The inspection of company's Vizag API manufacturing facility by the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has been completed, Lupin said in a filing to BSE. Chennai Petro Q3 : Consolidated net profit at Rs 11.29 crore against loss of Rs 213.6 crore QoQ. Consolidated revenue went down 1 percent at Rs 9,146.7 crore against Rs 9,237.7 crore QoQ. PNC Infra: The company bagged order worth Rs 639 crore from NHAI. GMR Infra: GMR Airports won a contract for duty-free shops at Kannur international airport in Kerala. SMS Pharma - USFDA conducted a cGMP inspection at our Kandivalasa, Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh API manufacturing facility from January 13 to 17, 2020 ITI board meeting on January 22 to consider and approve price band for FPO Prestige Estate's subsidiary has invested in Lokhandwala DB Realty LLP (LLP) by way of capital account contribution and admitted as partner of the LLP with 50% economic and voting rights Cyient: The company's third-quarter profit grew by 10.4 percent sequentially to Rs 107.6 crore on revenue of Rs 1,105.9 crore. Rupee revenue fell 4.6 percent compared to Rs 1,158.9 crore in the September quarter, while dollar revenue declined 5.5 percent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) to $155.2 million in the quarter ended December 2019. L&T Finance Holdings: The company reported a marginal 1.8 percent rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 591.47 crore during the third quarter ended on December 31, 2019. Net profit in the year-ago period stood at Rs 580.96 crore. PFC: Power Finance Corporation raised $750 million through the issuance of overseas bonds to fund business expansion plans. Blue Dart Express: The company reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 31.92 crore for the quarter ended December on 31, 2019. L&T Technology: L&T Technology Services posted a 10 percent rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 204 crore during the quarter ended December 31, 2019, mainly on account of business growth in North America. ICICI Lombard General Insurance posted a 23 percent year-on-year (YoY) rise in its December quarter net profit at Rs 294.11 crore. Godawari Power - Chhattisgarh Environment Conservation Board granted consent to operate the Rolling Mill with a capacity of 4,00,000 tonnes per annum and iron ore beneficiation plant with capacity of 10,00,000 tonne per annum Electrosteel Casting - CARE Ratings has withdrawn the outstanding ratings assigned to the bank facilities of the company Mercator sold its Floating Storage and Offloading Unit (FSO) Ship - Prem Pride, built 1999, for a total consideration of Rs 49.54 crore M&M subsidiary signed a share purchase agreement for acquiring up to 100% of the paid up equity share capital of Fifth Gear Ventures Fine organics - ICRA upgraded long term credit ratings of the company from ICRA A+ Positive to to ICRA AA- stable Chalet Hotels executed share purchase agreement for the purchase of Belaire Hotels Private Limited, owner of Novotel Pune Nagar Road Hotel Disclaimer: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd. MONTREAL - Disgraced former Montreal mayor Michael Applebaum can keep the $268,000 he received from the city after resigning from office, despite a conviction for fraud against the government, Quebec Superior Court ruled Monday. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/1/2020 (722 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Former Montreal mayor Michael Applebaum arrives at the courthouse on Thursday, March 30, 2017 in Montreal. Quebec's Superior Court has ruled disgraced ex-Montreal mayor Michael Applebaum can keep more than $250,000 he received after he resigned from office, despite his conviction for fraud against the government. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson MONTREAL - Disgraced former Montreal mayor Michael Applebaum can keep the $268,000 he received from the city after resigning from office, despite a conviction for fraud against the government, Quebec Superior Court ruled Monday. Applebaum is legally entitled to the taxpayer cash because new rules punishing elected officials convicted of crimes went into effect after he broke the law and received his severance package, Justice Serge Gaudet said. The judge added that nothing in the law stipulates the new rules apply retroactively. Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante said she was disappointed with the ruling because it sent a signal that politicians can break the law and still get paid. She said the city's lawyers will analyze the decision to see whether other legal avenues to recoup the money are possible. Applebaum's crimes occurred during a period in the city's history when there was "a lot of corruption and collusion," Plante told reporters Monday. As a result, she added, Montrealers have become cynical towards municipal politics. "If someone is convicted of fraud I think the message to send is that we will fight to get this money back," she said. Applebaum, who was first elected to council in 1994, became the city's interim mayor in 2012 on a promise to clean up the city's scandal-plagued politics. He replaced mayor Gerald Tremblay, who resigned after his administration was accused of corruption by witnesses at a public inquiry. Applebaum was forced to resign in 2013 when he was arrested on corruption charges. He was convicted in January 2017 of fraud against the government, conspiracy to commit fraud, breach of trust and conspiracy to commit breach of trust. The ex-mayor was sentenced to one year in jail. The Crown alleged Applebaum accepted cash through a former aide between 2007 and 2010 in return for favours given to local real estate developers and engineering firms. As a consequence of the corruption in Montreal and in other Quebec cities, the provincial government changed a law governing municipal politicians, in 2016 and again in 2018. The new rules forced elected officials to reimburse so-called departing and transition allowances if they were convicted of certain crimes. One month after he resigned in 2013, Applebaum received $108,204 as a departing allowance and another $159,719 as a transition payment, designed to help politicians transition to a new career. Gaudet ruled that Applebaum's actions took place before the consequences of those actions were entered into law, despite the fact he was convicted after the first modification of the law went into force. Applebaum's lawyer, Anamaria Natalia Manole, said neither her client's morality nor his criminal behaviour were on trial. "This was a matter of law," she said in an interview. "This isn't a criminal trial, it was a civil case. The law had to be applied and it was applied." Attempts to reach Applebaum for comment were unsuccessful. This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Jan 20, 2020. The timing and scope of a major planned expansion of GO Transit rail service appears to be in doubt, after the companies tasked with executing the project raised serious concerns about how the province was contracting out the work. According to documents obtained by the Star, last fall Metrolinx and Infrastructure Ontario were forced to reconsider the procurement process for the massive expansion, under which Metrolinx planned to dramatically increase GO service across the GTA and deploy electric trains on core parts of the network. The GO Expansion plan would effectively transform GO from a commuter railway into an all-day, two-way transit network, with service every 15 minutes or better on core parts of the network. It would enable projected annual GO ridership to reach more than 200 million by 2055, and is seen as crucial to meeting future transportation needs of the rapidly growing region. The documents obtained by the Star, which include portions of an internal assessment of Metrolinx capital projects from last fall, show the regional transit agency and Infrastructure Ontario (IO) had to rethink the procurement in response to private sector bidders objections about how much financial risk they were being asked to take on through the public-private partnership (P3) being used to deliver it. The documents warned that changing course could delay procurement for the expansion. Early work for the project is already underway, but Metrolinx and IO had planned to award a contract for the critical third and final phase by early 2021, and substantially complete the expansion by 2025. In a statement Thursday, a spokesperson for IO, which oversees the delivery of major public infrastructure projects in the province, wouldnt confirm whether the final phase of GO Expansion will still be completed according to the previously announced plan and schedule. IO spokesperson Ian McConachie said it had become apparent through feedback from bidders that some adjustment would benefit the procurement, but said it would be inappropriate to confirm any potential modifications to the schedule or scope details as that is still being determined. We had heard from some of the construction industry and stakeholders that certain risks that they do not have full control over are becoming more difficult for proponents to carry, he said, adding that GO Expansion is large and complex but IO remains committed to delivering the program. McConachie said it is normal for Metrolinx and IO to discuss procurement with industry partners to ensure we tailor the needs of each project to current market conditions. Anne Marie Aikins, a spokesperson for regional transit agency Metrolinx, said GO Expansion is being delivered incrementally, and under earlier phases of the plan the agency has already increased service by 33 per cent over the past two years. GO Expansion is not delayed, she asserted, but declined to speak about the schedule for future work. Aikins wouldnt confirm whether Metrolinx is still firmly committed to replacing parts of its diesel fleet with electric trains, a promise that was made under the previous Ontario Liberal government and the fulfilment of which has been eagerly awaited by thousands of residents who live along the regions GO lines. Aikins would only say the agency wants the private sector to propose innovative approaches to meeting increased GO service levels, and that could include supplying technology to electrify core segments of the network. GO Expansion, previously known as regional express rail, is the provinces single largest transit project and was launched under the Ontario Liberals. The total cost of the project has been estimated at $16.8 billion. Initial phases focused on laying new track, building grade separations, making station improvements, and other relatively minor work. In May 2019, the province announced it had shortlisted four teams to bid on the third and most complex phase, known as On-Corridor Works (OnCorr). Under the proposed P3 agreement, the winning team for OnCorr would be responsible over a 35-year term for designing, building and financing the infrastructure required for electrification and increased GO service, as well as supplying, operating, and maintaining the vehicle fleet. The complicated work would also include reconfiguring platforms and tracks at Union Station, and all of it would have to be completed while GO service continued to operate. According to the report on Metrolinx capital projects obtained by the Star, by last fall the bidding teams had expressed concerns regarding the scale of the project, the capacity of the construction industry to complete it, and the difficulty of effectively dividing the contract between the member companies of the winning consortium. The report said as a result of the bidders concerns none of the teams are fully formed. The provincial agencies were considering a revised delivery strategy to address the bidders issues, which the report said could impact procurement timelines. Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster and Infrastructure Ontario president Ehren Cory told the project proponents in an Oct. 25 letter they were looking into altering the procurement. We continue to hear that the individual capacity to deliver the GO Expansion On-Corridor (OnCorr) project is challenging and that the market is less willing to consider risk transfers that were typical in the past, Verster and Cory acknowledged in the letter, which was obtained by the Star. Options the two agencies wanted to discuss included breaking up the OnCorr procurement into smaller parts and shortening the contract term from 35 years. Neither Metrolinx nor IO would say last week whether those changes were made. Asked whether the shortlisted bidding teams, which are made up of Canadian and international contractors, design firms, banks, vehicle manufacturers and other companies, are still intact and engaged in the process, McConachie said IO has not received any formal notice from the bid teams as to their withdrawal from the procurement, and the four teams continue to remain in the procurement. Leading members of the teams, which include SNC-Lavalin Capital, ACS Group, Aecon Concessions, and Kiewit, either didnt respond to questions or declined to comment. The problems affecting GO Expansion appear to reflect wider concerns the private sector has harboured about how Metrolinx has attempted to use P3s to deliver major transit projects in recent years. Under a P3, a government authority typically establishes the overall parameters of a project, and the private sector is responsible for designing, financing, and/or constructing it. The government generally only issues payment once the project is completed, and the companies can face steep financial penalties if they dont complete the work on time or within the approved budget. IO asserts the model allows projects to be delivered more efficiently than traditional public procurement, and protects taxpayers from cost overruns by transferring risks to private sector partners with the expertise, experience and ability to handle it. However, the model has faced opposition from progressive critics such as the Ontario NDP, which has described P3s as a wasteful form of privatization. A 2014 report from Ontario Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk concluded the provinces use of P3s on transit and hospital projects had cost it $8 billion more than if they had been procured using traditional public financing, largely because private contractors face higher borrowing costs than government. In a July 2018 letter that was sent to IO leadership and obtained by the Star, Mississauga-based construction giant EllisDon delivered a scathing critique of how Metrolinx was using the P3 model for GO expansion. The firm warned Metrolinx was attempting to use P3s to force an unreasonable amount of risk onto private companies by making them responsible for costs that cant be predicted for at the start of a major transit project. As examples, EllisDon cited Metrolinx contracts putting private companies on the hook for work to mitigate site conditions or relocate underground utilities, issues that could only be discovered after a project had begun. EllisDon said that created an extreme risk transfer that cannot actually be controlled for or bid to by a company competing for the contract. EllisDon also slammed Metrolinxs management of P3 agreements, claiming agency officials interpreted contract language in a manner that was unreasonable and in the most aggressive way possible. The company concluded that P3 projects are becoming riskier for contractors to bid (on), to the extent they were becoming unworkable. At this point general contractors can make the same margins in (non-P3) work for significantly less risk, it said. EllisDon has been contracted to work on earlier phases of GO Expansion, but wasnt a member of the teams shortlisted for the OnCorr project. EllisDons chief operating officer Kieran Hawe told the Star in a statement the company has a collaborative relationship with IO and regularly provides candid feedback to ensure the P3 model is successful. McConachie, the IO spokesperson, said EllisDons comments in the correspondence was normal and useful, and the agencys P3 model is constantly evolving and improving to respond to market conditions and industry feedback. Aikins said Metrolinx has done significant market engagement ... to address the concerns raised by industry in the 18 months since EllisDon wrote the letter. Some in the private sector dont believe Metrolinx has done enough to address concerns about how it delivers P3s. One private sector source who has worked on Metrolinx projects said the problem isnt with P3s themselves, but with the agencys politically driven administration of them. The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they werent authorized to talk publicly about Metrolinx work, charged that the arms-length transit agency attempts to shove so much risk on contractors because it fears it would face criticism from the government and the public if its costs for a project rose. They sell the P3 model as this magic bullet thats going to mean projects are always delivered on time, and that any responsibility for delays or extra costs is borne by the (private sector). And thats not what the model does, said the source. The source said Metrolinx and IOs commercial unreasonableness is affecting the willingness of contractors to work on these important projects. Ben Spurr is a Toronto-based reporter covering transportation. Reach him by email at bspurr@thestar.ca or follow him on Twitter: @BenSpurr Read more about: We came across a new leak that shows a promo poster for the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Z foldable phone, depicting dual-hinge design that allows it to unfold in a Z-shaped manner. However, it's unlikely that it's based on the design and it's far more probable that we are looking at a stylized promo image for the upcoming Galaxy Z Flip which will employ a clamshell design and is expected to arrive alongside the S20 series on February 11. We dont have much else to work with apart from the poster itself. We can see the dual-fold mechanism accompanied by the glowing foldable screen. From the looks of it, the device will have one part of the screen on its outside even when folded all the way shut. We'll just have to wait and see if this is indeed a new device or just a specially curated image of the Galaxy Fold Z Flip. In related news, Samsung will reportedly offer its Galaxy Z Flip in exclusive colors to South Korean carries. SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus users will be getting limited edition blue, red and pink colors to match the carrier's brand colors. In addition to the three limited colors, the Galaxy Z Flip clamshell will be offered in black, white and purple colors as standard. Samsung is known to offer exclusive color options for its phones for a while now with devices like the Galaxy Note10 getting the Aura Red paint job with certain carriers around the world. Source (in Chinese) | Via 1 Via 2 Reza Pahlavi, the Crown Prince of Iran, speaks about current events in Iran at the Hudson Institute in Washington on Jan. 15, 2020. (EVA HAMBACH/AFP via Getty Images) Irans Crown Prince in Exile: Engage With the True Sovereigns of Iranthe People Irans exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi has called for an end to Western negotiations with the countrys regime of terror and insisted that maximum support be given to the Iranian people, who he said are the true sovereigns of Iran. Speaking at the Hudson Institute in Washington D.C. on Jan. 15, the exiled prince insisted that negotiating with the countrys regime was a betrayal of the Iranian people and instead called for an open dialogue with the representatives of the Iranian people to help them achieve freedom. In offering the regime negotiations without preconditions, you neglect the peoples demand for unconditional support, he said. In fact, you betrayed them by accommodating their oppressors. International attention and solidarity are vital to any movement seeking to overthrow a totalitarian regime. The Iranian peoples struggle is no exception. This is precisely why the regimes proxies and apologists in the Western media and policy communities work diligently to frustrate any form of support for the free world, whether by advocating cuts in funding for civil education or human rights initiatives or by peddling the absurd argument that even speaking of the regimes crimes will undermine democratic progress. Today, I look forward to discussing a new path, one that focuses on engaging the true sovereigns of Iran, the people of Iran. This regime deserves every form of maximum pressure, but my people deserve every ounce of maximum support, he added. Pahlavi said that Irans reign of terror traced back nearly 40 years and cited several incidents in which the regime had repressed and murdered its people, including the recent shooting down of Ukrainian International Airlines flight 752, which killed all 176 passengers on board, of which 82 were Iranian nationals. Hasnt there been enough water under the bridge for us to assess that this regime cannot be trusted? It has never been transparent. It has never been honest, the exiled prince said. It has proven time and again that its willing to sacrifice the lives of millions of Iranian people just to maintain itself in power. And the message youll be sending to a nation that is trying to get free from this regime that we are still insisting on having some dialogue with them, he said. Its not an encouraging message. It can only be interpreted as something, to put it bluntly, discouraging. And by saying thatand I think the time has come to finally realize that expecting the regime to change anything different than what its done for the past 40 years is literally a waste of time. Pahlavi insisted that people of Iran, who he called the x-factor, were crucial to achieving freedom in the country, adding that in 40 years, they had never been considered. Have a dialogue with the representatives of the Iranian people of the secular democratic forces. Have them be offering you the ways that they can help themselves achieve that freedom because, as I said before, we have the shared values of freedom and human rights. And we are part of the solution, but we have never been, until now, a factor as a nation. Because history has shown us that regimes dont survive, but peoples are eternal. And its the people factor that counts here, not regime factor. Were no longer in the 20th century. We are in the 21st century. Its a big difference than that era, where raison detat or detente or some realpolitik was the order of the daynot anymore. You cant stop the people. You can only help them. And this is what it boils down to. Elsewhere in his talk, Pahlavi, who lives in Maryland, noted that the recent protests in his country where unlike anything hes seen since the 1979 Iranian revolution and said that Iranians could smell the opportunity for the first time in 40 years this time. The people have had it. Todays generation of young Iranians cannot take it anymore. They want to have an opportunity for a better future. 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. Widespread protests had gripped the region since Nov. 15 when authorities announced a new petrol-rationing scheme which would see gasoline prices hike up to 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. I dont think people are going in the streets, risking their lives, just because theyre disputing an electric bill. Its much more than that. And its a right to self-determination that was their cry from day one, and has yet to be achieved in Iran, Pahlavi added. More recently, hundreds and thousands of Iranians took to the streets to protest after the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard admitted to shooting down the Ukraine flight 752 by accident, despite initially blaming it on a mechanical failure. A stay-at-home mother has revealed how she transformed her family's fortunes in a year after turning them into Instagram influencers. Octavia Lamb, 25, from Ormskirk, Lancashire, has gathered 24,500 Instagram followers in the last year since posting about her family's daily adventures - taking them from scraping by to 'living like VIPs' and enjoying freebies worth 20,000. She took tips from successful influencers she followed, carefully crafting posts about life with her truck driver husband Matt, 25, and their boys, Harvey, four, and Oscar, two. Now, sent everything from free clothes to food by major brands, she said: 'Since I've grown such a big Instagram following, so many doors have opened up for my family. Octavia Lamb (pictured with her family), 25, has gathered 24,500 Instagram followers in the last year since posting about her family's daily adventures The mother-of-two (pictured with a gifted TV) has transformed her family's fortunes - taking them from scraping by to 'living like VIPs' and enjoying freebies worth 20,000 The family are now gifted free toys (pictured) for their little boys - and the children love to feature on their mother's Instagram account 'Huge brands want to work with me and I've been given 20,000 worth of gifts in exchange for posting about the products on my Instagram. 'I also get paid up to 250 per sponsored post - but that fee will go up as my followers increase. I feel so grateful to all the brands who have worked with me, because they've made my family's dreams come true.' While her Instagram fan base grew steadily in the first half of 2019, Octavia enjoyed a tsunami of interest in June, when she spiced up her page with the help of a posh camera, to produce sharp images. She explained: 'In June I decided to make my account more creative. I bought a Nikon 500 camera for about 500 and taught myself how to take a good picture. 'I also purchased a photo editing app called Lightroom, which only costs 4 per month. As soon as I started posting well-taken, edited images, my Instagram just took off. The Lancashire mother, from Ormskirk, took tips from successful influencers she followed, carefully crafting posts about life with her truck driver husband Matt, 25, and their boys, Harvey, four, and Oscar, two (picture together) Harvey is a born performer, says the proud mother, and loves posing for the camera while on free days out, pictured left, or trying out the new products, right Now, sent everything from free clothes to food by major brands, Octavia said: 'Since I've grown such a big Instagram following, so many doors have opened up for my family'. Pictured: Harvey enjoying a day out during the Halloween period 'Editing and adding hashtags like #mum and #family was definitely a game changer, too. Now I've got 24,500 followers and most of my posts reach an average of 10,000 views.' Octavia's top tips for a successful Instagram account: 1. Always edit photographs to ensure your Instagram page is consistent and aesthetically pleasing. 2. Embrace the online community and see other influencers as friends rather than as competition. 3. Engage with your followers every day - make sure to like and comment on their posts, as well as replying to comments on your own. 4. Make sure to create high quality content. Don't just take pictures in the same place or with a messy background, really think about the whole picture. 5. Always stay genuine and post real and relatable content that your followers can engage with. Advertisement Octavia - who runs the @thelambfamilyadventures Instagram page - says her account's success has reaped massive rewards for her family. She explained: 'It's helped us so much money wise. Before, we were an average family just about getting by. 'But now, we can do things we'd never have been able to afford before - now we can take the kids on day trips all the time, eat out a lot and do fun things like family photoshoots. 'We get so much for free that we don't need to buy much, so we can save the money Matt earns and put it towards buying a bigger house. 'I want to get a four-bedroom semi-detached house with garage space in the next couple of years, which will cost around 350,000.' And every day brings the prospect of something new being posted to the Lamb family's home. 'It's really exciting when the postman comes to my door, because I never know what I'm going to get,' said Octavia. 'Now it's just a case of trying to find enough room in my house for all the stuff I receive.' While her Instagram fan base grew steadily in the first half of 2019, Octavia enjoyed a tsunami of interest in June, when she spiced up her page with the help of a posh camera, producing sharp images. Pictured: Her sons running through a forest Husband Matt (pictured with his sons) was 'baffled' at first by all the interest his family was receiving on his wife's Instagram account Young Harvey is surrounded by books that his mother has been gifted. They include a Thomas the Tank Engine themed one Feeling bored and isolated as a young mother when she first decided to give her Instagram page a facelift, it has since transformed her life and boosted her confidence. 'I'd always wanted to do more for my boys and give them the best opportunities that I could,' she said. 'I was a bit bored and wanted something I could get stuck into that would benefit my family. 'So, I started looking at other ladies on Instagram who had large followings and I just thought, "Yeah, I want to do that". One day I just woke up and I was like, "Right, I'm going to start taking Instagram seriously today".' Now considered hot property by firms wanting her to promote their products on her page, Octavia is still amazed by their resulting generosity. She said: 'I've been given so many amazing gifts - fancy dinners out, a SodaStream, a Lollipop baby camera, Trunki suitcases, Asda gin, a designer watch, a 32-inch TV, family photoshoots, a Gourmet Society card - the list is endless. The family have been given 20,000 worth of freebies, including pushchairs, pictured left, and plenty of soap products, right Octavia (pictured with her son) - who runs the @thelambfamilyadventures Instagram page - says her account's success has reaped massive rewards for her family Octavia, pictured left, explained: 'It's helped us so much money wise. Before, we were an average family just about getting by.' Pictured right: Gins which were sent to Octavia to try 'I've also worked with Marks & Spencer, who gave me a voucher to go and buy party food from their Halloween range and post about it. I get Femme Luxe clothing vouchers worth up to 100 every month. 'As soon as I post a picture of me wearing the brand's clothes, they send me across more vouchers to buy more clothes with. 'Oscar and Harvey have got some brilliant goodies, too. They've had clothes from Muddy Puddles, Child's Farm gift sets, Bentley trikes, books, paint sticks and boxes of slime. 'We've been gifted trips to Alton Towers, Disney on Ice, ZSL London Zoo, and I got tickets to the Glamour Beauty Festival in Manchester. 'We're also going to the Lake District for a three-night lodge stay later this month which will be lovely, too.' Octavia was even made an ambassador for Castle Park Live and the Lightopia Festival and is required to promote the events on her page in return for free tickets. A beaming two-year-old Oscar showcases free products on his mother's Instagram page, including personalised clothes and a pushchair Octavia (pictured with her family on a day out) has even lost three stone, thanks to her Instagram fame, after a weight loss brand Do The Unthinkable provided her with six months of their calorie-controlled food 'Oscar and Harvey (pictured) have got some brilliant goodies, too. They've had clothes from Muddy Puddles, Child's Farm gift sets, Bentley trikes, books, paint sticks and boxes of slime,' Octavia explained She said: 'As long as I post about them, I get to go to the events and enjoy them as a VIP with my family. I don't have any contracts or any formal agreements. The brands just trust me to post honestly about them on my page.' Octavia has even lost three stone, thanks to her Instagram fame, after a weight loss brand Do The Unthinkable provided her with six months of their calorie-controlled food. 'For six months I had free food dropped to my door every fortnight,' she said. 'I was sent a selection of ready meals, like low calorie curries and noodles, and snacks like low calorie crisps and cake bars. 'I lost around three stone - and all I had to do in return was post about the products and share my before and after pictures with the company.' Feeling bored and isolated as a young mother when she first decided to give her Instagram page a facelift, it has since transformed Octavia's life and boosted her confidence. Pictured: Her family during a holiday Thanks to her Instagram page posts, seen above, Octavia has been gifted trips to Alton Towers, Disney on Ice, and ZSL London Zoo Octavia's youngest son Oscar offers a cheeky smile for the camera while testing out some new bed covers, featuring zoo animals But Octavia said her overnight good fortune left her husband 'baffled.' 'At first, Matt was baffled by all the products we were getting delivered to the door,' she said. 'He doesn't do social media and I don't think he understood what an influencer was. 'He thought I'd gone on a spending spree and would ask, "Oh no, what have you ordered now?". He still doesn't understand why I'm getting all these amazing gifts and days out for free but he loves the wonderful activities we get to do with the kids.' Meanwhile, her two boys are always keen to feature on her Instagram page. 'The boys love posing, and they love it when they get new toys too, 'she said. I've just launched a YouTube channel for the kids to unbox the toys they've been gifted in front of the camera. Octavia's two boys are always keen to feature on her Instagram page. Pictured: The mother-of-two with her eldest son Despite the massive benefits her family (pictured) has seen, spiteful internet trolls have criticised Octavia for putting her children on social media 'Harvey is a blossoming actor, so he loves to show off and Oscar's still little, but he likes being there and getting involved.' Despite the massive benefits her family has seen, spiteful internet trolls have criticised her for putting her children on social media. 'I'm not bothered about sharing my life with the world, the way I see it is I'd be posting about my kids and updates about my life on Facebook anyway,' she said. 'We do ask our family and friends to check with us first before they post anything about us - just so we can maintain some element of privacy. 'But I'm still targeted by trolls who say, "Do your kids get a say in being all over the Internet?" or "What kind of mother puts their kids on social media?". Octavia said her overnight good fortune left her husband (pictured with one of his sons) confused but 'he loves the wonderful activities we get to do with the kids' Octavia said since creating her platform, her boys (pictured) have been approached to do modelling work 'because they're being noticed by the right people' 'I know it's just trolls with not much else to do, so I just brush the comments off. At the end of the day, I'm working hard to give my kids the best life possible and it's just jealousy, so I ignore it.' Meanwhile, the opportunities for the Lamb family continue to flood in. 'Before my Instagram success, I tried to get my boys into modelling, but it wasn't happening,' she said. 'Now, since creating this platform, they've been approached to do modelling work because they're being noticed by the right people. 'Recently, they modelled for Jacob Matthews in exchange for some vouchers and free clothes.' As well as the financial benefits, Octavia says being an influencer has improved her outlook on life. Octavia's sons (with Harvey pictured) recently modelled for Jacob Matthews in exchange for some vouchers and free clothes The mother-of-two (seen with her son) believes she has become a social media hit as she keeps her page 'authentic.' 'I love being a mum, but it can be a bit lonely and when I started using Instagram, I found this whole community of people I could chat to,' she said. 'Before this I was quite an anxious person, but now I'm confident and I'm always chatting away to other mums online. It's really bought me out of my shell.' Octavia believes she has become a social media hit as she keeps her page 'authentic.' 'I make sure to share the good and the bad on my posts,' she said. Take when Oscar was teething, I wrote all about the awful nights we had - including as much about the bad times as the good times. 'And I only accept collaborations from family friendly brands. The brand has to fit in with my page and what I stand for, otherwise it won't work. People think being an influencer is easy - but it's a seven day a week job. 'I work for four or five hours a day, as I'm basically running my own business as well as being a mum. But it's all been worth it, because I've been able to change my family's life for the better.' Dear colleagues, First of all, thank you for all your comments and feedback since I spoke to you from Cardiff last week. It was really important to me to set a clear direction for us, as well as celebrating some of the outstanding work youre doing. My reason for writing is however more personal. I wanted you to be the first to know that I will give my all to this organisation for the next six months, as I have done these last seven years. But in the summer Ill step down as your Director-General. Its been such a hard decision for me. I love the BBC. Im passionate about our values and the role we have in our country and what we do globally too. If I followed my heart I would genuinely never want to leave. However, I believe that an important part of leadership is putting the interests of the organisation first. The BBC has an eleven-year Charter our mission is secure until 2027. But we also have a mid-term review process for the spring of 2022. As I said last week, we have to develop our ideas for both. And it must be right that the BBC has one person to lead it through both stages. Over the next six months my priority, as always, will be to champion this great organisation and continue to direct our re-invention. Theres so much we can do to transform the creative industries around the UK still further and to project this countrys talent and ideas to the world. Our Chairman, David Clementi, will begin the search for my successor and hell let you know how that will work shortly. Well have plenty of time to talk in the months ahead but Id like to share three thoughts with you today. First, thanks to you and your great work I believe Ill be leaving the BBC in a much stronger place than when I joined. It feels a very different organisation more innovative; more open; more inclusive; more efficient; more commercially aware. And a BBC thats on cracking creative form. You all have my thanks and admiration for the part youve played in that success. Change has been tough at times and, of course, theres still more to do. But I believe our recent record of transformation stands comparison with virtually any other creative organisation in the world. Second, without question, our values have never been more relevant to the society we live in. As our country enters its next chapter it needs a strong BBC, a BBC that can champion the nations creativity at home and abroad, and help play its part in bringing the UK together. In an era of fake news, we remain the gold standard of impartiality and truth. What the BBC is, and what it stands for, is precious for this country. We ignore that at our peril. Finally, we must and can never stand still. We have to keep adapting, reforming and leading. Our values are timeless but the need for constant change is ever-present. The BBC has changed hugely in recent years and thats going to continue. We have to embrace the opportunities it brings. Well be working flat out, across the Executive Committee, to implement the priorities I talked to you about last week, and to demonstrate why public service broadcasting with the BBC at its heart is an eternal idea. Very best wishes, Tony Billie Faiers burst into tears as she refused to take sister Sam's 30th birthday gift of a helicopter ride over New York because she was too 'scared'. The Mummy Diaries co-stars suffered another bump in their trip of a lifetime on Monday when Billie, 30, rejected the sweet surprise because of a fear of heights. Sam, 29, documented the scenario on her Instagram stories, posting an image of Billie breaking down in tears - before sharing videos of helicopters flying over the Statue of Liberty alongside the wistful caption 'could have been us'. Facing her fears: Billie Faiers broke down in tears on Monday as she rejected her sister Sam's 30th birthday gift of a helicopter ride over New York because she was 'too scared' The image saw Billie, who sported a pretty floral jumper, with her head bowed and wiping away tears following Sam's big surprise. Captioning the picture, former TOWIE star Sam wrote: 'Ok so for @billiefaiersofficial final birthday surprise I booked a helicopter ride to see New York... 'Unfortunately we didn't make it. Billie is crying here because she doesn't want to do it. Poor sis, she said she was scared. My mission this year is to get her to get her fear.' [sic] However, all was soon well as the glamorous trio soon found another mode of transport to see the city. Oh no: Sam, 29, told her Instagram followers she had planned the surprise of a lifetime for her big sister to mark her landmark birthday - but it was rejected In the following Instagram story, Sam filmed herself Billie and mum Sue as she said: 'So we are now going to be going on the ferry to see a bit of New York!' The girls were heard giggling away as Sam panned the camera around. And it certainly was a chilly trip as another clip showed the famous sisters wrapped up in balaclavas amid the minus two degrees temperature. But despite their fun time on the ferry in which they took in the stunning skyline, Sam couldn't help but take one last dig at her sister's rejection of her present. Onwards but not upwards: However, all was soon well as the glamorous trio soon found another mode of transport to see the city Alternative: In the following Instagram story, Sam filmed herself Billie and mum Sue as she said: 'So we are now going to be going on the ferry to see a bit of New York!' Filming a helicopter up in the sky, the mum-of-two wrote: 'could have been us', alongside three laughing/crying emojis. Sam, Billie and Sue have been getting stuck in to their New York trip and have of course been detailing their holiday in forensic detail on social media - including their boozy brunch at Balthazar and a trip to Times Square. On Thursday, fans were wowed when Sam took to social media to reveal she had gifted Billie with a Louis Vuitton bag and a trip to New York alongside their mum as a 30th present. The ladies were living the life of luxury as they jetted away on Friday in First Class yet things got off to a rocky start when Billie lashed out a 'fun-sucking' member of BA staff, who claimed they were making too much noise. Life's a breeze: And it certainly was a chilly trip as another clip showed the famous sisters wrapped up in balaclavas amid the minus two degrees temperature What could've been: Filming a helicopter up in the sky, the mum-of-two wrote: 'could have been us', alongside three laughing/crying emojis 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. Yet the ladies have since moved on from their travel woes and have been sharing all their snaps from their trips around the Big Apple - including carriage rides in Central Park and a trip to Times Square. When Sam shared a stunning snap from her trip to the iconic location, she posed in a cream ensemble with a Louis Vuitton handbag and a full length fur coat - which riled Instagram users. Fun times: Sam, Billie and Sue have been getting stuck in to their New York trip and have of course been detailing their holiday in forensic detail on social media Stunner followers and animal rights activists, penned: 'That coat. Unfollowed. Deleting any negative posts... why? Shame on you wearing Mink. Only mink should wear mike!!!... I'm surprised she dare it out in public... Yes it is beautiful ON THE ANIMALS. Love a mink. On a mink.' In a hilarious twist, Sam revealed they were in fact booked to return to the eatery but could not make it, seemingly from the excess of the previous day. They instead opted for hot dogs in the street. MailOnline has contacted a representative for Sam for comment yet at the time of publication there was no confirmation if Sam's fur coat is real or faux. Obviously feeling wild, the ladies posted a number of their trip to iconic French brasserie Balthazar, where they were seen dancing, rocking out and having a laugh. (Newser) Parasite has officially infected Hollywood's award season. Bong Joon Hos Korean class satire became the first foreign language film to take top honors from the Screen Actors Guild on Sunday, setting itself up as a legitimate best picture contender to the frontrunner 1917 at next months Academy Awards. The best ensemble win for Parasite came over the starry epics Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood and The Irishman. It was a surprise but only to a degree. Parasite, up for six Oscars including best picture, has emerged as perhaps the stiffest competition for Sam Mendes' 1917, which won at the Producers Guild Awards on Saturday. Before the win for Parasite, the SAG Awards were most notable as a reunion for Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston, the AP reports. They each took home awards and celebrated the other's win. story continues below Pitt is headed toward his first acting Academy Award for his supporting performance in Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood, and he added to his frontrunner status with a win from the actors' guild. Aniston, his ex-wife, later won an award of her own for best female actor in a drama series for the Apple TV Plus show The Morning Show. Backstage, Pitt watched Aniston's acceptance speech. After she got off stage, they warmly congratulated each other on their first individual SAG Awards. Along with Pitt, all the Oscar favorites kept their momentum, including wins for Renee Zellweger (Judy), Joaquin Phoenix (Joker) and Laura Dern (Marriage Story). More: As expected, Phoenix took best performance by a leading male actor. After individually praising each fellow nominee, Phoenix concluded with a nod to his Joker predecessor. "I'm standing here on the shoulders of my favorite actor, Heath Ledger," said Phoenix. Dern also further established herself as the best supporting actress favorite with a win from the actors guild. On her way to the stage, she hugged her father, Bruce Dern, part of the Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood ensemble. Robert De Niro was given the guild's lifetime achievement award, an honor presented by Leonardo DiCaprio who, like De Niro, is a frequent leading man for Martin Scorsese. (The two co-star in Scorsese's upcoming Killers of the Flower Moon.) A raucous standing ovation greeted the 76-year-old actor. Game of Thrones closed out its eight-season run with wins for Peter Dinklage for best male actor in a drama series and for best stunt ensemble work. The Crown took best ensemble in a drama series. And both Fosse/Verdon starsMichelle Williams and Sam Rockwellwon for their performances in the miniseries. (Click for a full list of winners .) A mother-of-two who was prescribed painkillers after a miscarriage has told how she became so addicted that she ended up 'faking her identity' to get more pills, lost her home and was arrested in front of her children. Maggie Woods, 49, from Chattanooga, Tennessee, fell pregnant with her second child in 1998 and experienced a lot of pain and several complications during her pregnancy. One day, she found herself bleeding heavily and rushed to hospital, where she was devastated to discover she'd had a miscarriage. She was sent home with pain medication and pills to pass the baby out, which took several days and was highly traumatic. Maggie Woods, 49, from Chattanooga, Tennessee, pictured with her husband Mark, became so addicted to painkillers after she was prescribed them for a miscarriage that she ended up 'faking her identity' to get more opiate pills Maggie told how being arrested in front of her children and jailed for multiple drug and fraud charges helped her get clean 'Every time I went to the bathroom, I felt like I was flushing away pieces of my baby,' Maggie recalled. 'The miscarriage went on for many days and it was extremely painful and even more emotionally painful. 'Too many days passed and I hadn't passed the baby, so it was decided that I needed a surgery to remove the baby and clean everything out. 'It's the strangest thing to go to sleep pregnant and wake up with nothing.' Maggie's complications didn't stop there; she endured chronic pelvic pain and was diagnosed with endometriosis. After a few failed surgeries, she was referred to the hospital's pain management team. Pictured with her husband and two daughters, Maggie told how she fell pregnant with her second child in 1998 and experienced a lot of pain and several complications during her entire pregnancy before suffering a miscarriage She was given stronger narcotics, but soon began taking more than the prescribed dosage, popping pills whenever she had a 'bad day' to make herself feel better. Maggie said: 'At that time, I took the pain medicine prescribed mainly for my horrendous periods but I also noticed that a pill could take the edge off a bad day or a headache or a broken fingernail. 'Once when I had to go to lunch with an upper management member at work, I popped one and I carried on the most delightful conversation with her. In my mind I was really onto something good.' Because she took more than the recommended dosage, Maggie would quickly run out of supply and found herself going to the emergency room to get more before her next appointment. Her addiction soon spiraled out of control and she began to visit other clinics to get more, taking up to 15 opiate painkillers a day. Maggie was given stronger narcotics to help her cope with chronic pelvic pain and endometriosis, but soon began taking more than the prescribed dosage, popping pills whenever she had a 'bad day' to make herself feel better. Pictured with her brother Bobby, who died from a drug overdose in 2017 She added: 'In pain management they give much stronger narcotics that regular doctors give and in much greater doses. 'My pain management doctor told me to take these high-powered pain medications before I even felt any pain. 'He instructed me to "stay ahead of the pain" so that it would be well controlled before it had the chance to be out of control. 'I knew I was the right girl for the job. I medicated for any and every possible pain that life could potentially bring me. Maggie's addiction soon spiraled out of control and she was taking up to 15 opiate painkillers a day. Pictured with her husband and their pet dog 'A lot of times before my period even came and the real pain was manifesting, I would be out of my supply. 'I would have to get my refills sooner and sooner and my doses were raised to cover for my "breakthrough" pain. 'I also began to visit other doctors and emergency rooms when I couldn't get my pain doctor to give me more before my next appointment. 'At the height of my pain management tour I was taking anywhere from 10-15 high powered opiate painkillers every day and more when I could get it. 'I never overdosed somehow but I did have chest pains a few times and nodded out all the time. I think my tolerance was super high and I was extremely lucky. 'I absolutely did have chronic pain but I also was absolutely addicted to opiates.' Maggie's doctor soon found out she was sourcing pain killers from multiple ERs and stopped prescribing her opiates. She lost her job and began to run out of money due to her overwhelming addiction, and would continue visiting other doctors to get her daily supply and make it through the day. She soon ran out of emergency clinics in her area and had to travel out of town to get her supply, driving for hours to different states and cities across the US. In the grips of her addiction, Maggie lost her job and began to run out of money due to her overwhelming addiction, and would continue visiting other doctors to get her daily supply and make it through the day. Pictured: mugshots from her prescription fraud arrests Maggie would even use fake names, social security numbers and different identities to cover up her tracks in order to get more pills and fuel her addiction. Speaking about using different identities, she recalled: 'The first time I did it I couldn't believe how easy it was. 'The scary part was walking in to pick it up. I used a fake name just in case. It worked. It worked for a long time at multiple pharmacies in multiple counties in multiple states. Until it didn't. 'The thing is you don't really ever maintain an active addiction. Active addiction always escalates. It always wants more and it will never ever be enough. Ever.' Maggie was arrested multiple times for felony prescription fraud and other crimes related to her drug addiction. She found herself in an out of jail cells across the country and never attended any court dates. Pictured with husband Mark, Maggie and her family were kicked out of their home and their children didn't go to school when her addiction was at its worst Maggie's family were kicked out of their home and her children ended up not going to school anymore, living from hotel to hotel just to survive. 'My home life was a wreck,' Maggie said. 'We were thrown out of our home and my children pretty much stopped going to school. 'We lived in hotels and just tried to survive. Life was chaos. I was at a new level of miserable. I looked and felt awful. 'I knew that this was going to kill me but I knew there was nothing I could do about it. I was afraid. 'I wanted this hell to end but I didn't know of any way to make this happen. There was no way out.' On December 22 in 2011, Maggie was stopped along the road for failing to turn on her headlights, but ended up getting arrested after cops found out she had multiple warrants for drug charges. Maggie was arrested multiple times for felony prescription fraud and other crimes related to her drug addiction and found herself in an out of jail cells across the country and never attended any court dates. Pictured left in a police mugshot and right now Maggie was handcuffed in front of her two children and ended up missing Christmas celebrations with them, spending the holiday season behind bars. Speaking about the arrest, she said: 'I begged him to not take me. I knew there was no way I would be out for Christmas and it would break my girls' hearts. I was about to ruin Christmas. 'I asked if I could at least go tell them goodbye. He graciously allowed me to. I felt like I was walking in slow motion up to the passenger side door to say goodbye to my girls. 'My oldest rolled down the window and they both leaned forward to hear what I would say. '"Mommy has to go" is all I could choke out. Instantly they were screaming. I could hear them crying and screaming as I walked back to the officers. My husband arrived and I couldn't even look at him. In 2017, Maggie lost her younger brother Bobby, pictured with her father Robert, to drug addiction after he started using again and overdosed in a hotel room during his recovery phase 'They took me away. It was one of the worst moments of my entire life. I'm crying right now recalling it.' Maggie went cold turkey in jail and struggled to get by, experiencing intense withdrawal symptoms from her addiction to opiates. In court, the mother-of-two was given the choice to undergo a two-year recovery program called 'Drug Court' or stay behind bars. She accepted the recovery program, but her aim really was to get out of jail so she could continue using again. However, Maggie ended up falling in love with recovery and curbed her addiction once and for all, and has now been clean for over eight years. She said: 'That dramatic arrest was eight years ago this past December and my life is a whole different life now. Maggie was handcuffed in front of her two children (pictured together in Peter Pan fancy dress recently) and ended up missing Christmas celebrations with them, spending the holiday season behind bars - breaking their hearts 'I always say that I'm not back to my old self like before my active addiction happened. That's not true. I'm an entirely different woman now. 'I've become a version of myself that I didn't know was possible. For the first time in life I do what's best for me and I have a love for myself that I didn't possess before. 'My family life is wonderful. It took work but we walk together in recovery. We all say we recovered and that's absolutely true. 'Addiction is a family problem and recovery is a family thing too. 'I have had the same job for six-and-a-half years. For someone like me that's a miracle! I'm so grateful they gave me a chance. My job has helped me keep my head on straight and has built my confidence so much.' Maggie went cold turkey in jail and struggled to get by, experiencing intense withdrawal symptoms from her addiction to opiates. But she's now eight years clean (pictured) In 2017, Maggie lost her younger brother, Bobby, to drug addiction after he started using again and overdosed in a hotel room during his recovery phase. In a few words of advice to others going through addiction, Maggie said: 'Recovery is hard work but keep working until you get to the good part. Life is beautiful. It's not perfect but it's beautiful. 'Addiction plays no favourites and you will not win. I can't think of one person who kept on using who it worked out for.' The strike by 1,800 copper miners at Asarco facilities in Arizona and Texas has entered its fourth month. Miners and their families are continuing to bravely oppose the copper giants demands for the doubling of health care costs, the extension of a decade-long pay freeze for the majority of workers and attacks on pensions. The strike began on October 13, two days after workers voted by a more than three-to-one margin to oppose the companys last, best and final ultimatum. Striking Asarco miners in Arizona The United Steelworkers, Teamsters and six other unions at the company have continued to isolate the strike. Meanwhile, union officials are telling workers to look to Trumps National Labor Relations Board, Arizonas Governor Doug Ducey and the Democratic Party for support. All of this is worse than useless. Even if the NLRB rules in the strikers favor that the walkout is over unfair labor practices, this will not stop the companys demands for unprecedented concessions, but only open a path for the USW to end the strike on managements terms. Ducey will be no help either. The multi-millionaire head of the Cold Stone Creamery ice cream chain is a tool of the states corporate interests whose hostility to public education provoked the statewide wildcat strike by teachers in 2018. As for the Democrats, veteran copper miners will never forget that it was the pro-labor Democratic governor of Arizona Bruce Babbitt (dubbed Bruce Scabbitt by miners) who dispatched hundreds of national guard troops to crush the Phelps Dodge copper miner strike in 1983. Union officials, including AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, Teamsters President James P. Hoffa and USW President Tom Conway, have focused their criticism of Asarco on its Mexican ownership, saying conglomerate Grupo Mexicothe worlds fourth largest copper produceris a rogue employer that must be pressured to abide by US labor laws. The unions are deliberately concealing three basic facts. First, some of the largest shareholders of this Mexican company are US-based Wall Street firms. Second, US labor laws have not stopped the corporations, including red, white and blue American-owned companies, from waging a four-decade war against the working class in the US and around the world. Third, the entire copper and metal mining industry is dominated by giant global corporations, including Phoenix, Arizona-based Freeport-McMoRan, which bought Phelps Dodge in 2007, the British-Australian giant Rio Tinto, which bought Kennecott Copper in 1989, Australia-based BHP Billiton, and Codelco, the state-owned company in Chile, which is the largest copper producer in the world. It is not possible to wage an isolated struggle against giant transnational corporations. Asarco miners have to break out of the straitjacket imposed on their struggle by the USW and other unions, and form rank-and-file strike committees to fight for the extension of the strike throughout the copper and metal mining industry, not only in the US but internationally. This includes joint strikes and other actions with Grupo Mexico workers south of the border. On the Asarco picket lines in Arizona and Texas, there is widespread sentiment for international solidarity and cross-border action with Mexican and South American miners. In an effort to retain credibility among striking miners, the USW and other unions have repeatedly pointed to their close collaboration with the National Union of Mine, Metal, Steel and Allied Workers of the Mexican Republic (STNMM), commonly known as Los Mineros. However, despite the long relationship between the unions, which dates back at least two decades, neither the USW or Los Mineros have ever called cross-border strikes or any other significant international actions when Mexican or US miners have been on strike against Grupo Mexico or any of the other mining giants. On the contrary, the international solidarity has largely been limited to the issuing of press releases. It is worth taking a closer look at the long-standing leader of Los Mineros, Napoleon Gomez Urrutia, who the USW and AFL-CIO hail as the heroic leader of an independent union. Gomez, an Oxford-educated economist who never worked a day in the mines, inherited his position from his fatherNapoleon Gomez Sadawho ruled the union for four decades until he passed it over to his son in 2001. The elder Gomez was one of the charros (corrupt union bosses) installed by the former ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) to head off left-wing opposition from the working class to the PRI and the gangsters who controlled the Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM). Napoleon Gomez Urrutia (Source: IndustriAll Working class opposition to the Mexican trade union apparatus, and to Napoleon Gomez Urrutia in particular, erupted after a methane explosion on February 19, 2006, which killed 65 workers at Grupo Mexicos Pasta de los Conchos mine in the Mexican state of Coahuila, close to the border of Texas. Less than two weeks before, the union had signed off on a government report deeming the Conchos mine safe. After the blast, relatives of the killed miners called Gomez a rat for refusing to visit the mine for a week after the explosion, and then chased him from the mine into managements offices when he finally showed up. The unions collaboration with government inspectors and the corporations was exposed when Gomez could not explain why the union did not make efforts to close the mine before the explosion after inspectors found critical safety violations at the mine two weeks earlier, including high levels of explosive methane gas. After copper and zinc miners at Grupo Mexico launched wildcat strikes over the companys callous disregard for safety, Gomez had no choice but to denounce the company for industrial homicide and call a one-day strike by the unions 250,000 members. Shortly afterwards, the Labor Ministry decided to remove Gomez from the leadership of the union after he was accused of embezzling $55 million from a union trust. Although he had faithfully served the capitalist government in Mexicocolluding in stripping away Mexican mine and steelworkers benefits, pensions and wagesthe administration of Vincente Fox moved against Gomez because it lost confidence in his ability to suppress the growing militancy of the working class. Gomez also angered Fox by resisting his administrations efforts to reform the long-term corporatist relations between the companies, the unions and the government, which helped enrich the bloated labor bureaucracy. With the help of the USW bureaucracy in the US and Canada, Gomez fled to Vancouver, Canada, with his family, and the Canadian government protected him against extradition requests from the Mexican government and Interpol. According to former USW President Leo Gerard, the USW brought Gomez across the US border where he was sheltered by then-USW district director Terry Bonds in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Soon after he went to Vancouver, Canada, where he worked out of the USWs District 3 office for 12 years. In 2005, the USW and Los Mineros signed a Strategic Alliance, later expanded to a Solidarity Alliance between the two unions at the USW International Convention in 2011. Between 2006 and 2014, while Mexican and US copper miners took part in several strikes, the two unions did everything to separate workers across the borders and prevent a common struggle. Were perfectly aware that we the unions have to have enough flexibility to adapt ourselves to the production cycles. We want to be a responsible union, Gomez told the Wall Street Journal in January 2014, making it clear the union would continue to sanction job and wage cuts during economic slowdowns. But wages have also to go significantly up when the price of a pound of copper rockets 600%, as it has happened in the last five years. The embezzlement accusations stemmed from the management of a trust set up in the late 1980s, when Gomezs father sanctioned the privatization of several state-owned mining companies. The trust set aside 5 percent of the shares sold for workers at those mines. In 2005, Gomez and other union leaders dissolved the trust and sent the money to a union bank account. According to the Wall Street Journal, a Mexican congressional investigation in 2006 found that many of the workers did not get the funds. They sued Gomez for fraud, accusing him of using the money to support an extravagant lifestyle of private jet travel and luxuries. Gomez contended that the money was for the union, not individual workers. In August 2014, a panel of Mexican federal judges ruled that the union legally took control of the money from the trust and voided criminal charges against Gomez. The judges did not rule on whether the money was then used illegally, and the workers are continuing to demand their money. The ruling was part of the decision to rehabilitate Gomez since his services were again required as Mexican workers began a new upsurge. In 2017, Los Mineros endorsed the presidential campaign of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, known as AMLO, a left-talking defender of capitalism who promised workers improvements. With the backing of AMLOs Morena party, Gomez won a senate seat in August 2018 and returned to Mexico after 10 years in exile. The chief interest of the USW, the AFL-CIO and Los Mineros is not to unify workers across the border. On the contrary, they have joined together to prevent the growing revolt of Mexican workers against the corrupt and gangster ridden CTM from taking a left-wing and anti-capitalist form, threatening the interests of US multinationals and posing the danger of spreading the infection of socialism and internationalism to American workers coming into their own struggles like Asarco. This was shown when 70,000 auto parts and electronics workers in the maquiladora factories in Matamoros, Mexico, rebelled against the CTM in January and February 2019, carrying banners saying the Unions and the Bosses kill the working class and marching to the border to appeal to American workers to join their strikes. Gomez announced the founding of the International Labor Confederation (CIT) with the Electricians Union (SME) on February 13, 2019, one day after striking Fisher Dynamics workers in Matamoros sent a video to the World Socialist Web Site expressing their solidarity with General Motors workers fighting plant closures in the US and Canada. Matamoros maquilladora workers Faced with a rebellion by the workers, the Matamoros branch of Los Mineroswhich is ostensibly independent of the CTMwent to the mass democratic assemblies of workers to insist that workers keep confidence in our [municipal] president, a member of the Morena party, and remain tied to the authorities, including the CTM unions. Gomez belongs to the Executive Committee of IndustriAll, a supposed global union made up of the labor bureaucracies in North America and Europe, which began to construct what it referred to as free and independent trade unions in Mexico, based on the labor-management partnerships of the unions in North America and Europe, and an explicit rejection of genuine international solidarity of the working class and its striving toward socialism. These so-called independent unions were a key factor in the drafting of US President Donald Trumps US-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade deal, which is aimed at strengthening the US transnational corporations against China and other competitors. Under the USMCA, the Mexican government will encourage the formation of independent unionsthat is, unions run by corporate stooges like Gomez. The Mexican mine workers union is also a partner with the AFL-CIOs Solidarity Center, the US government-funded institution that works with the US State Department operations to destabilize and overthrow any government, such as in Venezuela, deemed hostile to the global interests of American imperialism. The Solidarity Centers predecessor was the American Institute for Free Labor Development (AIFLD), the CIA labor front involved in one US-backed military coup after another. This includes the 1973 overthrow of the Chilean government of Salvador Allende, which had nationalized the holdings of US copper giants Anaconda and Kennecott. The dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet installed by the US, with the full backing of the AIFLD, carried out a brutal campaign of murder, torture and repression of left-wing workers, students and copper miners, the vanguard of the Chilean working class. Striking workers at Asarco need to unify with workers across the US, Mexico and beyond. To fight for this, however, they will have to take the conduct of the struggle out of the hands of the USW, Teamsters and other pro-company unions that are only preparing another defeat. Instead, workers should build rank-and-file strike committees to extend the strike throughout the copper and metal mining industry and to unite US and Mexican workers in a common battle against Grupo Mexico and its Wall Street backers. This must be combined with a political struggle against both corporate-controlled parties and the development of a powerful political movement to fight for socialism, including the transformation of the giant transnational mining corporations into public utilities, collectively owned and democratically controlled by workers, as part of the reorganization of the world economy to meet human needs, instead of corporate profit. The authors also recommend: New trade union bureaucracies or rank-and-file workers power? Lessons of the Matamoros workers rebellion [25 March 2019] 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!) Staff at Vodafone New Zealand will be given Friday afternoons off for the rest of the summer. The telecommunications company told staff at midday on Monday their week would be getting cut shorter so they could enjoy more of their weekend. From January 24 until February 28 non-essential staff can leave from 2pm on Fridays. Staff at Vodafone New Zealand will be given Fridays off for the rest of the summer Bosses hope it will allow workers a chance to spend time with their loved ones. 'We hope youll make the most of the extra time perhaps escape the city for the weekend, pick up the kids from school and head to the beach, or maybe catch up with friends and family around the BBQ,' an internal memo to staff said. Some essential teams, such as call centre workers, will be required to stay back and work their rostered hours. However those staff members will be rewarded with a day in lieu. Staff have also been warned the early finishes aren't an excuse to get behind on their work. 'Its important to note, summer hours is not about just stopping work early on Friday and getting behind in what needs to be done,' the memo read. Bosses hope it will allow workers a chance to spend time with their loved ones having BBQs or at the beach (stock) 'It is about working efficiently throughout the week so youre able to wrap up any current work and leave the office after 2pm on Fridays to enjoy more of the great Kiwi summer.' Vodafone New Zealand is not the first business to implement such an idea, with some businesses embracing a four-day work week. In July 2019 Kath Blackham, CEO of digital marketing agency Versa, came up with the idea to not work Wednesdays in a bid to stop staff quitting for cushier jobs with clients. The company's offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Singapore close on Wednesdays - although staff can still go in if they need to get something done. The exceptionally preserved fossils of the oldest species of scorpion ever found have been unearthed in Wisconsin, the United States. The newly-discovered ancient scorpion lived around 437 million years ago during the early Silurian period. Dubbed Parioscorpio venator, the animal was about 2.5 cm (one inch) long about the same size as many extant scorpions. The creature is the earliest scorpion yet reported, and it provides new information about how animals transitioned from living in the sea to living entirely on land. Its respiratory and circulatory systems are almost identical to those of extant scorpions and operate similarly to those of a horseshoe crab. Parioscorpio venator shows a crucial evolutionary link between the way ancient ancestors of scorpions respired under water, and the way modern-day scorpions breathe on land, said Professor Loren Babcock, a paleontologist in the School of Earth Sciences at the Ohio State University. The inner workings of the respiratory-circulatory system in this animal are, shape-wise, identical to those of the arachnids and scorpions that breathe air exclusively, he explained. But it also is incredibly similar to what we recognize in marine arthropods like horseshoe crabs. So, it looks like this scorpion, this lineage, must have been pre-adapted to life on land, meaning they had the morphologic capability to make that transition, even before they first stepped onto land. The fossilized remains of Parioscorpio venator were unearthed in 1985 from the Brandon Bridge Formation, a site in Wisconsin that was once a small pool at the base of an island cliff face. The specimens belong to the so-called Waukesha Biota, and were recovered from layers older than those from Scotland yielding Dolichophonus loudonensis, which was previously accepted as the oldest known scorpion. Professor Babcock, Otterbein Universitys Dr. Andrew Wendruff and their colleagues examined the fossils under a microscope, and took detailed, high-resolution photographs of the fossils from different angles. They were able to identify the appendages, a chamber where the animal would have stored its venom, and the remains of its respiratory and circulatory systems. Were looking at the oldest known scorpion the oldest known member of the arachnid lineage, which has been one of the most successful land-going creatures in all of Earth history, Professor Babcock said. And beyond that, what is of even greater significance is that weve identified a mechanism by which animals made that critical transition from a marine habitat to a terrestrial habitat. It provides a model for other kinds of animals that have made that transition including, potentially, vertebrate animals. Its a groundbreaking discovery. The discovery is reported in a paper in the journal Scientific Reports. _____ A.J. Wendruff et al. A Silurian ancestral scorpion with fossilised internal anatomy illustrating a pathway to arachnid terrestrialisation. Sci Rep 10, 14; doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-56010-z PULASKI, N.Y. At first glance, the small manufacturing plant that Vinny Lobdell Jr. and his father opened in this rural village would seem to be what President Donald Trump had in mind when he promised to Make America Great Again. The HealthWay Family of Brands began as an offshoot of a company Vince Lobdell started in his family home here about 30 years ago, selling air cleaners to remove cigarette smoke from bars and restaurants. The business took off as the company sold U.S.-made air purification and filtration systems to the owners of large commercial buildings, including hotels run by Marriott and Hilton. In 1999, HealthWay opened a plant in China to make smaller, portable air cleaners for the residential market. When the family was ready to expand the company again in 2016, the Lobdells decided to make their portable air cleaners in Pulaski. The idea was to bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States, boosting the Oswego County village of some 2,000 people that had fallen on hard times. Now almost four years later, HealthWay has fallen victim to Trumps trade war with China as U.S. tariffs of 25% on Chinese imports take a rising toll on the company. HealthWays fully-assembled products imported from their Chinese factory are exempt from the U.S. tariffs. But the U.S. rejected HealthWays application to exempt some of the Chinese-made parts that go into the air cleaners manufactured at its Pulaski factory, leaving American workers to feel the brunt of the tariffs. HealthWay said last week that it would have to lay off eight of its 42 U.S. employees because of the tariffs and the impact it had on the small manufacturers cash flow. Its as though we are being penalized for moving our manufacturing from China to the U.S.," said Vince Lobdell, 63, the company founder. The company has also decided to delay a planned $2 million factory expansion expected to create 35 to 50 new production and office jobs in Pulaski, Vinny Lobdell Jr., the company president, told Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard. The new employees would have made $35,000 to $100,000 per year in a county that had New Yorks fourth-highest unemployment rate in November at 4.8%, up from 4.5% in the same month of 2018. All told, the U.S. tariffs cost HealthWay at least $700,000 last year, a big hit for a small, privately-held company with annual revenue of less than $20 million, Lobdell Jr. said. Its had a crucial impact on our business, he said. Its been a major challenge for our business. There are casualties to every war, and certainly were casualties of this war. Trade war hits home For many people, the trade war with China is a distant concern, a battle taking place with a country some 7,000 miles away from Upstate New York. But the impact of U.S. and Chinese retaliatory tariffs has rippled across the U.S. economy. Its taking a toll that extends beyond the bottom line of small manufacturers like HealthWay and to the kitchen tables of people struggling to make a living. A study by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office concluded that Trumps trade wars will reduce the average U.S. households income by $580 in 2020. Its the equivalent of about $60 billion in lost economic activity. In Central New York, the tariffs have hit hard with family dairy farmers. Cayuga Milk Ingredients, a milk processing plant owned by farmers in Cayuga County, has been forced to delay an $89 million expansion project. In Cortland County, family-owned Gutchess Lumber furloughed or reduced hours for its 500 employees after China imposed retaliatory tariffs of up to 25% on U.S. hardwoods. Before the tariffs, China had become the top buyer of the companys prized Northern hardwoods. Manufacturers like HealthWay, which supported Trumps idea of negotiating fair trade rules with China, are now raising alarms about the U.S. strategy. The National Association of Manufacturers warned the Trump administration in August against imposing an additional 10% in new tariffs on $300 billion worth of goods from China. NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons said hes concerned about U.S. companies and their workers who are feeling the negative impact of the current tariffs and will be made even less competitive with this new tax on trade. The associations survey of its member companies found that manufacturing optimism took a substantial hit last year, driven largely by uncertainties in trade policy. Interim trade deal wont help HealthWay The layoffs at HealthWay took place in the same week Trump signed an interim trade deal with China, essentially calling a truce to the conflict that began nearly two years ago. Under terms of the deal signed in a White House ceremony on Wednesday, China agreed to increase imports of American goods and services by at least $200 billion over two years. The total includes $40 billion to $50 billion worth of agricultural goods each year for two years. China also agreed to protect American intellectual property and to stop forcing U.S. companies to transfer their technology to Chinese companies as a price for doing business with the worlds second-largest economy. The so-called phase one deal did not eliminate the U.S. tariffs on Chinese products, including parts imported by HealthWay. As part of the deal, Trump held off on increasing tariffs on Chinese goods that he threatened to impose last year. But he left in place tariffs on about $370 billion worth of Chinese products imported to the United States. Those tariffs are paid by U.S. companies like HealthWay, which import the products, not the Chinese manufacturers. A setback for U.S. manufacturing Lobdell Jr. said the U.S. tariffs ended up penalizing his company for making portable air cleaners in the United States. When the U.S. first imposed the tariffs on Chinese imports in 2018, HealthWay applied for and received an exclusion from the U.S. Department of Commerce. The waiver allowed the company to import its fully-assembled air purification equipment from its plant in China without paying the extra duties. But when HealthWay applied for a similar exclusion for parts it imports from China for its U.S.-made portable air cleaners, the Commerce Department declined to waive the tariff, Lobdell said. The company, which sells its U.S.-made air cleaners under the Intellipure brand name, pays an extra 25% in tariffs on the Chinese-made motors and key pads that it ships to the Pulaski plant. The U.S. tariff increased the cost of the motors from $52.20 to $65.25 per unit for the portable air purifiers, and from $125.50 to $156.87 per unit for its commercial air purifiers, Lobdell said. HealthWay has been unable to find an exact replacement for the Chinese-made motors in the United States, and motors that are similar would cost about twice as much as those he imports from China, according to the company. HealthWay pays the tariffs up front when imported parts arrive from China. The company cant recapture the costs until months later when exporting its finished products to China and other markets. Lobdell said its ironic that about 80% of his companys U.S.-made portable air cleaners are sold in China and other Asian markets, where customers are willing to pay a premium for the quality of American products. Air quality is the number one health risk facing people worldwide, he said. We have the best product in the fastest growing market in the world to tackle the biggest health challenge of our time, yet were being put at a disadvantage. The Intellipure air purifiers made in Pulaski are prominently labeled, Made in USA. The equipment is marketed as a high-end product, selling for up to $1,600 per unit in Asia compared to $999 online in the United States. Members of Congress try to help Before deciding he had no choice but to lay off employees, Lobdell turned to local members of Congress for help. U.S. Reps. Anthony Brindisi and John Katko wrote to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Sept. 27, asking for his support to exclude HealthWay from the U.S. tariffs. But the Commerce Department denied the application last week. Brindisi said that the U.S. tariffs appear to be hurting companies they were intended to help. This is a perfect example of a company trying to do the right thing by bringing manufacturing jobs back to the United States, Brindisi said in an interview. However, like many Upstate New York businesses, they are becoming victims of this trade war. Brindisi said he supports the idea of holding China accountable. But he said it must be done by working with U.S. allies to pressure China. Vinny Lobdell agrees. When it comes to China, we needed to do something, he said. There just needs to be more thoughtfulness about how this impacts small businesses. Smaller businesses take a 25% hit and it makes a big difference. HealthWays setback also makes a difference for Pulaski, where the Lobdells have helped revitalize the village by purchasing about 20 vacant or dilapidated buildings and renovating them for retail, office and residential use. HealthWay's headquarters building in Pulaski, N.Y., is among 20 properties in the village renovated by the company and the Lobdell family. N. Scott Trimble | strimble@syra The family renovated the historic Kallet Theater on the main road through the village, reopening the 350-seat theater into a multi-purpose building that plays movies and hosts conferences, plays and musical acts. We fixed them up, repaired them and rented them, Lobdell Jr. said. But we havent been able to invest any money back in capital projects or infrastructure because of the tariffs. Tariffs hit Trump stronghold from 2016 Lobdell Jr. declined to discuss his political views or whether he supported Trump in the 2016 presidential election. Trump won Oswego Countys vote in the presidential election by more than 20 percentage points over Hillary Clinton, and he won the wider 22nd Congressional District by more than 15 points. The 39-year-old said he would like to share his companys story with Trump and explain how it helped boost a small community while building one of the nations leading air quality companies. More than anything else, Lobdell Jr. said, he would ask the president to bring some certainty to his trade policies so that business owners can make long-term plans about their investments. Hes so unpredictable that its hard to make decisions, Lobdell Jr. said of Trump. As business people, we make decisions every day. When you dont know what the government position is going to be, it just prevents growth. Manufacturing is dying in this country and were trying to bring it back. Hes making it very difficult to do so. Read more Trump trade war with China takes toll on Upstate NY dairy farmers Central New York lumber mill struggles amid trade war with China Contact Mark Weiner: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751 Thanks for visiting Syracuse.com. Quality local journalism has never been more important, and your subscription matters. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work. Three thousand Central-American migrants on their way to the United States were again blocked from entering Mexico on Monday, AP reports. Driving the news: Mexican troops had scuffled with and locked out hundreds of migrants from entry to Mexico on Saturday. Mexico's increased efforts to block migration north are boosted by President Trump's threat of sanctions if further groups reach the U.S. Migrants traveling in two large caravans reached the U.S. in 2018 and early 2019. Mexico warded off another in April 2019. But, but, but... Mexican authorities sought a solution this weekend by inviting migrants to stay in Mexico, but details on employment were thin and many feared deportation. More than 1,000 opted to try Mexico and were escorted into the country. AP notes: "It was unclear what sort of work Mexico had in mind for the migrants, considering that half the Mexican population is poor and millions are unemployed." Go deeper: "Birth tourism" is Trump's next immigration target The launch of the 4 Corners Festival 2020 in Hydebank Wood Secure College Belfast (Bernie Brown/PA) There is a role for wider civic society to play in the rehabilitation of offenders, an event has heard. A womens prison in Northern Ireland hosted the launch of a cross-community arts festival on Friday evening. Around 150 people attended the launch of Belfasts cross-community inter-Church 4 Corners Festival in Hydebank Wood Secure College. The event was co-hosted by the Northern Ireland Prison Service and the Probation Board for Northern Ireland. The 4 Corners festival was co-founded by Presbyterian minister Rev Steve Stockman and Catholic priest, Fr Martin Magill. Speaking at the event, chief executive of the Probation Board Cheryl Lamont said the rehabilitation of offenders is one of the least understood areas of public policy. Ms Lamont said there was a role for wider civic society to play in rehabilitation. That is why events like this are so important, she said. The more we talk about it, and engage with wider society, the better we will know what is involved and how everyone can play a role in building not only safer communities but communities of grace. Many of us have much to be grateful for a stable home, a supportive family, a decent education, a good job. For in different circumstances who knows what choices or decision we would have made? The problems of society are concentrated in our prisons and therefore it is vital that we challenge offending behaviour and support individuals to changeRonnie Armour, Northern Ireland Prison Service Director general of the Northern Ireland Prison Service Ronnie Armour said launching an event like this in a custodial environment would just have been unthinkable not that long ago. He said: It is the first time such a festival has been launched in a prison and is a demonstration that prisons are now very much part of the community. They are not apart from the community. The problems of society are concentrated in our prisons and therefore it is vital that we challenge offending behaviour and support individuals to change. Reflecting on the theme of the festival, he said: Building a City of Grace has at its core a desire to make society better by delivering real change. Changing lives and making communities safer is central to the work of the Prison Service as prison staff and our partners focus on rehabilitation, resettlement and reintegration of those in our care. Delivering rehabilitation is complex and demanding and can only be achieved when positive and constructive relationships exist between staff and those in their care. That ethos is central to the work we do. The Rev Steve Stockman said: Asking questions as to what we do with those sentenced in our courts is a crucial issue to ask questions about. Grace is a powerfully redemptive word and we who follow Jesus believe that even those who commit the worst of human crimes can be redeemed. The 4 Corners Festival, now in its eighth year, will run from January 31 until February 9 and its theme is Building A City Of Grace. A popular Adamawa pastor, Denis Bagauri, a also known as Pastor Nyako, has been killed by gunmen at his residence in Nasarawo Jereng, Mayo Belwa local government of Adamawa State, locals and security sources have said. Mr Bagauri served under the Jibrilla Bindow-led administration as a senior special assistant on religious matters. Sources on Monday revealed that the pastor was attacked at night by unknown gunmen. A resident who escaped the attack, said, It is true. They killed him yesterday, in the night. They came to his house and killed him. They initially came to our area, but they later retreated to the pastors area, when they sighted local hunters. His corpse has been (taken) to the mortuary. The deceased was a politician, who was known for liaising between the former governor, Murtala Nyako and Christians around the state, a role which earned him the nickname, Pastor Nyako. His action earned him a role under the last administration and was appointed as the Senior Special Assistant on Religious Matters to governor Mohammed Jibrilla Bindow, said the source. A friend of the deceased, Muhammad Buba, who is the Adamawa State Public Relations Officer of Miyetti-Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN), said, I knew him well. He was my friend, a nice politician who related cordially with persons and organisations. When contacted, the police spokesperson in the state, Suleiman Nguroje, confirmed the incident, but said, the details are sketchy and investigation is still on. RICHMOND, Va. Police are scouring the internet for clues about plans for mayhem, workers are putting up chain-link holding pens around Virginias picturesque Capitol Square, and one lawmaker even plans to hide in a safe house in advance of whats expected to be an unprecedented show of force by gun rights activists. What is provoking their anger in this once reliably conservative state is the new Democratic majority leadership and its plans to enact a host of gun restrictions. The clash of old and new has made Virginia determined to prevent a replay of the Charlottesville violence in 2017 ground zero in the nations raging debate over gun control. The Virginia Citizens Defense Leagues yearly rally at the Capitol typically draws just a few hundred gun enthusiasts. This year, however, thousands of gun activists are expected to turn out Monday. Second Amendment groups have identified the state as a rallying point for the fight against what they see as a national erosion of gun rights. Were not going to be quiet anymore. Were going to fight them in the courts and on the ground. The illegal laws theyre proposing are just straight up unconstitutional, said Timothy Forster of Chesterfield, Va., an NRA member who had one handgun strapped to his shoulder and another tucked into his waistband as he stood outside a legislative office building last week. Extremist groups have blanketed social media and online forums with ominous messages and hinted at potential violence. The FBI said it arrested three men Thursday linked to a violent white supremacist group Thursday who were planning to attend the rally, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity. Democrats have permanently banned guns inside the Capitol, and Gov. Ralph Northam declared a temporary state of emergency Wednesday that bans all weapons, including guns, from Capitol Square, during the rally to prevent armed militia groups storming our Capitol. Gun rights groups asked the Virginia Supreme Court to rule Northams declaration unconstitutional, but the court upheld the ban Friday. Northam said there were credible threats of violence like weaponized drones being deployed over Capitol Square. On Friday, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a temporary flight restriction, including for drones, over Capitol airspace during the rally. The governor said some of the rhetoric used by groups planning to attend Mondays rally is reminiscent of that used ahead of the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville in August 2017. One woman was killed and more than 30 other people were hurt when a white supremacist drove his car into a crowd of counterprotesters there. The Virginia State Police, the Virginia Capitol Police and the Richmond Police are all coordinating for the event and have plans for a huge police presence that will include both uniformed and plainclothes officers. Alan Suderman and Denise Lavoie are Associated Press writers. JP Nadda, BJPs working president, is all set to take over party reins from national president Amit Shah on Monday and is expected to be elected to the top post unopposed. Top leaders, across the states and in government, are likely to arrive at the BJP headquarters to file nominations in support of Nadda, who was made partys working president in June 2019. It was also the first time that the BJP had appointed a working president. Nadda has long been seen as the choice of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah for the top party role. Naddas decades-long experience in the organisation, starting from student politics, proximity to the RSS and clean image are seen as his strengths. In the lead to Monday, Shah held a meeting with senior party leaders, including several Union ministers and chief ministers of the party-ruled states, on Sunday evening. Though there has been no official communication from the party, PTI quoting sources said the party leaders deliberated over the details of the election exercise. Senior BJP leader Radha Mohan Singh, who is in charge of the partys organisational poll process, said that nominations for the national presidents election will be filed on January 20, and a contest will take place the next day if required. The BJP has the convention of electing its president with consensus and without any contest, and there is little possibility that it will be any other way this time. The election of a new president will bring to end incumbent Shahs tenure of over five-and-a-half years during which the BJP expanded its footprints across the country like never before and enjoyed its best phase in electoral contests despite suffering a few setbacks in state polls. With Shah joining the Modi 2.0 government as home minister, the BJP began the exercise for electing his successor as the party has the convention of one person, one post. In the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha election, Nadda was in-charge of the BJPs election campaign in the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh, where the party faced a tough challenge from the grand alliance of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). The party won 62 out of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh. Having risen through the saffron ranks, Nadda has long been a member of the BJP parliamentary board, its highest decision making body. He had served as a minister in the first Modi government. A 58-year-old leader with background of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the students wing of the RSS, Nadda was a prominent youth leader. He was elected to the HImachal Pradesh assembly in 1993, 1998 and 2007. Nadda moved to the national politics in 2010 as the partys national general secretary after the RSS appointed Nagpur leader Nitin Gadkari as the president of the BJP in 2009. He was in contention for the BJP presidents post in 2014 after Rajnath Singh became the home minister. However, he lost to Amit Shah who was Modis choice for the BJP president then. (With agency inputs) A Toronto man wanted for the first-degree murder of his ex-wife, 28-year-old Heeral Patel, has been found dead, Peel Police say. A warrant for the arrest of Rakeshbhai Patel, 36, was issued on Jan. 16, three days after Heeral Patels body was found in a wooded area near Nexus Avenue and Fogal Road in Brampton. Rakeshbhai Patels body was found in Toronto Friday, Peel police said in a Monday news release, adding that death is not being pursued as a criminal investigation. Toronto police had set up a command post to search for Heeral Patel after she was reported missing last week. She was last seen in the Islington Avenue and Steeles Avenue West area on Jan. 11 at around 11 p.m. Last week, Global News reported that Patel left her husband last year and was in the process of divorcing him. According to the Times of India, got the couple got married in Gujarat, India in 2013. We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of a young team member who was committed to her profession, said the Board of Directors of the care home where Patel had worked for a year. Our thoughts and deepest sympathies go out to Heeral Patels family and friends, including the many colleagues she worked with at Villa Leonardo Gambin. Peel Police said Monday that the investigation into Heeral Patels death remains ongoing. The time during and after the end of a relationship is an especially high-risk time for women, particularly in cases involving a history of abuse or prior threats of violence. An actual or pending separation was involved in 67 per cent of 311 domestic homicide cases examined by Ontarios Domestic Violence Death Review Committee between 2003 and 2017. About half the homicides in Peel Region last year were allegedly committed by a former or current intimate partner, or by a family member. According to the Canadian Femicide Observatory, a current or former intimate partner was the alleged perpetrator in more than half the cases of women killed across the country last year. In the GTA, 2019 saw at least 16 homicides in which a current or former intimate partner was charged or died by suicide soon after the incident two more than 2018, according to a Star analysis. Fourteen of the victims were women, one was a man and one was a child; the alleged killer died by suicide in six cases. If you or someone you know need help, you can call the Assaulted Womens Helpline at 1-866-863-0511 (Toll Free), 1-866-863-7868 (TTY) or 416-863-0511 (Toronto). The rise in the number of international tourist arrivals slowed to 4.0 per cent in 2019, its slowest rate since 2016 due to a cooling global economy, geopolitical tensions and uncertainty regarding Brexit, the World Tourism Organisation said Monday. The Madrid-based UN body, UNWTO, predicted global tourism will grow by 3.0-4.0 per cent this year, buoyed by major sporting and cultural events such as the Tokyo Olympics in Japan. The number of international tourist arrivals hit 1.5 billion last year, up from 1.4 billion in 2018, the body said in a statement. Tourist numbers grew by 6.0 per cent in 2018, 7.0 per cent in 2017 and by 4.0 per cent in 2016. "The slowdown in linked to the results of the global economy, with economic growth of around 3.0 per cent," UNWTO's market intelligence chief, Sandra Carvao, told a conference. She said "strong uncertainty around" Britain's looming exit from the European Union, simmering geopolitical tensions and the collapse of Thomas Cook, the world's oldest travel form, had also contributed to the slowdown. But Carvao stressed that both 2017 and 2018 had posted exceptionally high rates of tourism growth. "What is happening is we are returning to historical levels of tourism growth," she said. Europe and the Asia-Pacific region were the most affected by the slowdown in tourism arrivals. Arrivals rose by 4.0 per cent in Europe in 2019, down from 6.0 per cent in 2018, while in Asia-Pacific arrivals rose by 5.0 per cent compared to 7.0 per cent in 2018 as ongoing protests in Hong Kong weighed the sector down. Africa posted a 4.0-per cent rise in tourist arrivals, down from 9.0 per cent in 2018. The Middle East was the one bright spot as tourist arrivals in the region jumped by 8.0 per cent in 2018, up from 3.0 per cent in the previous year, due mainly to Saudi Arabia's ambitious plan to draw foreign visitors. UNWTO expects France, Spain and the United States to once again be the three most visited countries in the world last year once it has final figures. "We don't really expect changes in the rankings," said Carvao. In 2018, France remained the world's most visited nation with 89 million arrivals followed by Spain and the United States. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a first, a team of over 50 women bikers from Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) would be showcasing "aerobic frills and finesse a among other stunts on grandeur-laced Rajpath on the occasion of 71st Republic Day celebration. Image Source: IANS News In a first, a team of over 50 women bikers from Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) would be showcasing "aerobic frills and finesse a among other stunts on grandeur-laced Rajpath on the occasion of 71st Republic Day celebration. Image Source: IANS News In a first, a team of over 50 women bikers from Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) would be showcasing "aerobic frills and finesse a among other stunts on grandeur-laced Rajpath on the occasion of 71st Republic Day celebration. Image Source: IANS News In a first, a team of over 50 women bikers from Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) would be showcasing "aerobic frills and finesse a among other stunts on grandeur-laced Rajpath on the occasion of 71st Republic Day celebration. Image Source: IANS News In a first, a team of over 50 women bikers from Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) would be showcasing "aerobic frills and finesse a among other stunts on grandeur-laced Rajpath on the occasion of 71st Republic Day celebration. Image Source: IANS News In a first, a team of over 50 women bikers from Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) would be showcasing "aerobic frills and finesse a among other stunts on grandeur-laced Rajpath on the occasion of 71st Republic Day celebration. Image Source: IANS News In a first, a team of over 50 women bikers from Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) would be showcasing "aerobic frills and finesse a among other stunts on grandeur-laced Rajpath on the occasion of 71st Republic Day celebration. Image Source: IANS News New Delhi, Jan 20 : In a first, a team of over 50 women bikers, named "Dare Devils", from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) would be showcasing their skills on the Rajpath on the occasion of 71st Republic Day celebrations. "Pistol position, rifle position, beam roll, ladder climbing, pyramid and all-round defence" are among nine motorcycle-borne stunts to be performed by the women bikers. The women bikers, led by Inspector Sima Nag of Rapid Action Force (RAF) unit, will showcase their skills in the start of the parade with the CRPF marching contingent, which was adjudged the best marching contingent in 2019 and is taking part in the celebration again. Raised in 2014, the women biker team got the opportunity to showcase their skills by replacing last year's Border Security Force (BSF) women "Dare Davil" biker team. The bikers have been drawn from various parts of the country. According to officials, it's a proud moment for the CRPF. "It (CRPF) is also the force that raised the first armed woman battalion of not only the country but of Asia," CRPF Deputy Inspector General M. Dinakaran told IANS. The CRPF has six women battalions, deployed across the country -- from J&K to Maoist- infested areas, to the northeast. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro will be the chief guest at the event. He will be the third Brazilian President to grace the R-Day celebrations after Fernando Henrique Cardoso in 1996 and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in 2004. (Rajnish Singh can be contacted at rajnish.s@ians.in) New Delhi, Jan 20 (IANS) Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Monday held a party roadshow -- with his family and senior party colleagues and supporters in tow -- before filing his nomination papers from the New Delhi constituency for the February 8 Assembly elections. Kejriwal paid obeisance at the Valmiki Mandir here before hopping on to an open vehicle for the roadshow, which will wind its way to Connaught Place Inner Circle in central Delhi via Panchkuian Marg. It will then move towards the Outer Circle on to Baba Kharak Singh Marg before terminating near the Patel Chowk Metro station near Parliament Street. kejriwal's wife Sunita Kejriwal and their two children, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh accompanied him in the open vehicle as a sea of supporters holding brooms (the party's election symbol) and placards walked along. Amid heavy security during the roadshow, the participants chanted the Aam Aadmi Party's re-election slogan -- "Acchhe beete panch saal, lage raho Kejriwal". Kejriwal is seeking re-election from the seat for the third time -- having won in 2013 and 2015 with a vote percentage of 53.46 and 64.34 respectively. Interestingly, ahead of the 2015 elections, Kejriwal had filed his nomination on the same date, January 20 that year. The Delhi Assembly polls will be held on February 8 and counting of votes will take place on February 11. January 21 is the last date for filing of nominations. Both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party are yet to announce their candidates against the AAP supremo. In 2013, when the AAP fought its maiden election, Kejriwal had visited the same Valmiki temple before filing his nomination. Recalling the 2013 elections, Kejriwal earlier tweeted: "It was from here in 2013 that we took a broom for the first time to clear politics. Today, once again (after) taking the blessings of sage Valmiki, I will go to file my nomination." nks/tsb/bg 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 Theres a growing urgency - and willingness - to fix Pennsylvanias probation system. Pennsylvania lawmakers cant squander this opportunity. About 178,000 people are on probation in Pennsylvania. Criminal justice reform advocates and a growing number of lawmakers say that number is too high. The system is unnecessarily expensive and punitive. Too many people are on probation for too long, making it exceedingly difficult for those trying for a fresh start. The good news? Theres a broad, bipartisan recognition that the probation system needs reform. Gov. Tom Wolf has called on lawmakers to reform probation. Punishment should fit the crime, Wolf said in November. Punishment should not be endless. Between probation, parole and prisons, Pennsylvania has the second highest rate of people under correctional control in the country, according to the Prison Policy Initiative. Most other states have defined limits on probation and several states have found ways to reduce the number of people under court supervision. In Pennsylvania, many spend years on probation, making it harder for them to find work. Some end up going to county jails or state prisons due to technical violations, advocates and lawmakers say. Probation, which is meant to be an alternative to incarceration, has become a driving force in putting people behind bars, advocates and researchers say. Corrections Secretary John Wetzel says he supports efforts to shorten probation terms and reduce the prison population. If they dont end up behind bars, violators often strike deals with prosecutors to extend their sentences by years. Advocates are pushing for reforms to ensure those struggling to pay fines and court supervision costs dont end up going to jail over an inability to pay. Putting those individuals behind bars can cost them their jobs, which only makes it more difficult to start over (and pay their bills, including court costs). Experts and advocates say the greatest risk for those on probation to commit new crimes is within the first year. Advocates and some probation officers say theres little to be gained by maintaining court supervision of most on probation beyond two years. Yet one in three people on probation - about 60,000 people - are serving sentences of three years or longer. Probation officers say they could use staff and resources better by actively monitoring only those who need supervision. Republicans and Democrats have crafted legislation to fix the system. Reps. Sheryl Delozier, R-Cumberland, and Jordan Harris, D-Philadelphia, have sponsored a bill in the state House. State Sens. Anthony Williams, D-Philadelphia, and Camera Bartolotta, R-Washington, have sponsored a bill in the Senate. While many lawmakers agree that the probation system needs to be fixed, they dont agree on how to do it. Some want uniform caps on probation terms and the Senate bill calls for such limits: three years for misdemeanors and five years for probations. The House bill had similar language which was dropped, disappointing some advocates. The House measure now includes a presumption that probation would end after five years for felonies and three years for misdemeanors. Under the House bill, mandatory conferences would enabling judges to shorten terms. Advocates cringed at some of the changes. The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania dropped its support of the House bill, arguing it no longer ensures a reduction in probation sentences. The ACLU also objects to new provisions that would allow for warrantless searches of offenders. Delozier and Harris say the legislation is being negotiated and is a work in progress. It still must go through the House and Senate. Lawmakers say they are committed to getting a bill to the governor this year, hopefully in the spring. We want to find that sweet spot for a compromise," Delozier said. Reforming the probation system doesnt just help offenders turn their lives around. Probation reform can bolster Pennsylvanias economy by enabling more people to get back into the workforce. Thats one reason why a number of Republicans are backing efforts to fix the system. While Harrisburg has had no shortage of partisan shenanigans, state lawmakers have worked together admirably on criminal justice reform, including the Clean Slate law, which allows those with convictions of less serious crimes to clear their record. Last month, lawmakers approved a package of reforms that will allow some lower-level offenders to be eligible for parole more quickly. Lawmakers also approved a bill creating an advisory panel to improve the probation system. There are honest disagreements in fixing Pennsylvanias flawed probation system. But lawmakers must work with a sense of urgency to get a measure to the governor this spring. With the fall elections, the Legislature probably wont get much done in the second half of the year. And this issue demands immediate attention. Offenders dont deserve a free pass. But they do deserve a second chance. Thanks for visiting PennLive. Quality local journalism has never been more important. You deserve the best. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work. Islands of Hope: Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace Focuses on Pacific Region Photo: John Dunn indicates where the graveyard of his ancestral was located until 10 years ago, in Togoru. The rise of sea levels has been forcing displacement in many parts of Fiji. Credit: Marcelo Schneider/WCC NEWS PROVIDED BY World Council of Churches Jan. 20, 2020 GENEVE, Jan. 20, 2020 / Christian Newswire / -- "The Pacific Conference of Churches welcomes you on board our ecumenical canoe, as we sail and voyage together beyond the fringing reefs and rocks of the many issues that affect us here in the Pacific and globally, and set sail with our eyes firmly fixed on the island of hope," said Rev. Dr James Baghwan, Pacific Conference of Churches general secretary as he welcomed participants of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace to Fiji, on 20 January. The Reference Group of the Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace and the Theological Study Group of the pilgrimage are meeting at the Pacific Theological College, in Suva, Fiji, 19-22 January, with the goal of reflecting on the situation in the Pacific through the lens of a global thematic focus on climate change and cooperation with churches, national councils of churches in the region, the Pacific Conference of Churches, and others. In his welcoming words, Baghwan alluded to the "island of hope" concept, which derives from a WCC document from 2001 entitled "Island of Hope - a Pacific Church Response to Globalisation," subsequently endorsed by church leaders from the region. "The island of hope proposes a way of life based on principles that do not exclude or marginalize, and on values that are commonly found in the various Pacific cultures," said Baghwan. "It is visionary in its view of the future of our region and we want to share this vision with the global ecumenical family." For WCC deputy general secretary Prof. Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri, Baghwan's insight resonates the proposed theme of the Pilgrimage for 2020: "Caring for People, Water and Earth." "The Pilgrimage theme for this year connotes various streams of ideas that resonate on multi-levels with the Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace, and with the Pacific's religious, cultural, and socio-political landscapes," she said. " 'Caring for People, Water and Earth' naturally frames the following social justice and political issues facing the Pacific today and the required actions and responses that may determine our pilgrimage's agenda for the region in 2020," added Phiri. Prior to the meeting in Suva, four pilgrim team visits took place in various parts of Fiji on 16-19 January, focusing on climate-induced displacement, indigenous land rights and extractive industries, gender justice, people with disabilities, interfaith dialogue, climate change, ecological justice, ocean health, and care for creation. During their visit to various communities in Fiji, delegation members met leaders of indigenous communities, local church leaders, victims of human rights violations and conflict, and champions of transforming injustices. Each pilgrim team visit expressed solidarity with those who reside in coastal areas, relying on natural resources for their livelihoods and well-being, and forced to survive the tidal waves of injustice. As group members gathered in Suva, they developed theological reflections using the overarching themes "land and displacement," "truth and trauma," "gender justice," and "racial justice." The programme in Fiji also includes the pre-launch of the WCC's Ecumenical Water Network "Seven Weeks for Water" Lenten campaign, on 21 January. SOURCE World Council of Churches Parasite just took home the biggest award of the night at the 2020 Screen Actors Guild Awards. The film won the statuette for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture at Sunday evenings awards ceremony in Los Angeles. It was up against The Irishman, Jojo Rabbit, Bombshell and Once Upon a Timein Hollywood. This was the first time in SAG Awards history that a foreign language film took home the honor. Speaking through a translator, actor Kang-Ho Song thanked the crowd, calling the win a great honor. Although the title is Parasite, the story is about coexistence and how we can all live together, he said. But to be honored with the best ensemble award, it occurs to me that maybe we havent created such a bad movie. Cast of Parasite | Rich Fury/Getty RELATED: SAG Awards Nominations 2020 Announced Jennifer Aniston, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Lopez Get Nods I am so honored to receive this award in front of so many actors I admire, he said. I will never forget this beautiful night. I think this film resonated with a lot of people because I think in any society these days you have the haves and have nots, you have those who are needy and those who are well off and, every society you have those groups constantly existing with one another, Song told PEOPLE backstage after the win. I think thats why the film was gain so much sympathy from people all over the world. Im a little embarrassed feeling like were the parasites of Hollywood now, Lee Sun Gyun added to reporters. Hopefully, with this opportunity and with the success of Parasite, various industries across the world can coexist and exist together. To add on that, last year was Korean cinemas hundredth year anniversary, Choi Woo-Shik chimed in. It was the year where we got in the door and that was history that we made. But today, we just made a new history that 20 years after Life is Beautiful, a foreign cast won this big award. I think as we speak right now, we are making new history. Story continues Neon RELATED: Get to Know Parasites South Korean Film Director, Bong Joon-ho Director Bong Joon-Ho told reporters that it is true that the momentum is building [for the Oscars], and we are a part of the awards race and the campaign, but I think today whats truly important is that these actors were acknowledged by fellow peers, acknowledged as the best ensemble cast of this year. And thats the greatest joy of this night. In regards to the Oscars, who knows. No one can predict what will happen. Parasite is just the second foreign language film to score an ensemble nomination in the history of the SAG Awards, following the 1997 Italian movie Life Is Beautiful. It was already a blockbuster hit in South Korea before it became one of the most talked-about films of 2019 in the United States. The mastermind behind the thriller, South Korea-born Bong Joon-ho, premiered the movie at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival last May, where it became the first Korean film to win the coveted Palme dOr, the top prize of the festival. The film, which follows a poor family and a rich family as they become unusually entangled, stars Song Kang-ho, Cho Yeo-jeong, Park So-dam, Choi Woo-shik, Chang Hyae-Jin, Jung Hyeon-Jun, Jung Ziso, Lee Jung-eun, Lee Sun-kyun and Park Myung-hoon. The movie also won best foreign language film at the 2020 Golden Globes and is up for best picture at the Oscars next month. The 26th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards were presented live on TNT and TBS on Sunday. With reporting by Tomas Mier. By Wayne Sandholtz Donald Trump is a few steps from becoming a new kind of autocrat an elected one. The typical paths to autocracy used to be through revolution or military coup. No longer. Todays strongmen Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, Viktor Orban of Hungary, Vladimir Putin of Russia, Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines and others came to power through elections and then used the institutions of government to subvert democracy and expand their own powers. Trump regularly praises the current batch of autocrats and clearly longs to rule as they do. How could an elected autocracy take hold in the United States? After all, we have three branches of government, with built-in checks and balances. But these days, it is not so clear that Americas constitutional framework could readily repel Donald Trumps autocratic impulses, especially when supported by the Republican Senate under Mitch McConnell. Trump clearly admires foreign strongmen who have been able to dismantle democratic institutions and amass executive power. He praises them not because their policies are compatible with American interests and values, but because they repudiate those values with impunity. Trump and his allies in Congress, and potentially the Supreme Court, are laying out a path that would make it possible for him to emulate the authoritarians. The impeachment process has shown that Republicans in Congress have no interest in being a check on this president, whether in substance or process. McConnell announced from the start that the Senate would not be impartial in any impeachment trial and that he would act in total coordination with Trumps counsel. Lindsey Graham, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has declared that he has already made up his mind and has no intention of being a fair juror. Last week, McConnell announced that the impeachment trial would begin without a decision on witnesses. These positions mock the oath to render impartial justice that all senators will take at the impeachment trial. As for the Supreme Court, a moment of truth is approaching. The court has agreed to hear Trumps appeal of the ruling of a three-judge panel of the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals holding that he must comply with subpoenas for his personal and corporate tax records. During arguments at the appellate court, Trumps lawyer, William Consovoy, argued that Trump enjoyed absolute immunity from criminal prosecution or investigation as president, even if he shot someone. With two Trump appointees Neil M. Gorsuch and Brett M. Kavanaugh now on the Supreme Court, it is possible that the courts conservative majority will vote to shield a conservative president and accept his far-reaching claims of executive immunity. Such an outcome would further diminish the ability of the judicial branch to check executive powers and conduct. These developments and strategies mirror what authoritarian leaders abroad have used to enlarge and entrench their powers. They almost invariably target the three key institutions that can hold them accountable as they move to consolidate power: independent courts, a free press and civil society organizations. In the Philippines, prominent journalists have been arrested after publishing reports critical of Duterte. He has also referred to reporters as spies and warned that they are not exempt from assassination in a country where extrajudicial killings encouraged by Duterte have reached more than 7,000. In Turkey, Erdogan has virtually eliminated independent news media. That country has jailed more journalists than any other in the world. Erdogan has also brought the judiciary firmly under his governments control. In Hungary, Orban has eviscerated the nations Constitutional Court, brought the rest of the judiciary under his partys control, and put nearly all independent media outlets out of business. In Vladimir Putins Russia, journalists and opposition politicians have been jailed or assassinated and news media have been brought firmly within the Kremlins grip. Each of these authoritarians got into office through elections and used the powers of the state to undermine democratic institutions and erode mechanisms of accountability. According to global measures compiled by the Varieties of Democracy project and Freedom House, scores for the health of those three key accountability mechanisms have declined in America since Trumps election, with the greatest erosion occurring in political attacks on the judiciary and harassment of journalists. The falling scores clearly reflect Trumps derision for judges and courts that have ruled against him and his relentless attacks on news organizations, undermining confidence in both the judiciary and the press. In fact, the United States is among the 10 countries showing the most dramatic declines in relevant measures since 2016. The overall decrease places the United States in the company of notorious democratic backsliders like Nicaragua, Poland, and Hungary. These indicators are not irreversible, but they offer alarming signs of where we may be headed. With the Republican Senate on a path of blind support for Trump and a Supreme Court that may accept his claim of absolute immunity from any kind of investigation, the legislative and judicial branches appear to be unable or unwilling to exercise their constitutional duty to check the presidency. And now, after three years in office, Trump seems even less restrained by the norms of presidential conduct that were guard rails for previous occupants of the White House. Trump and his enablers in Congress are clearing the path for autocracy in America. Will enough Americans awaken to the danger before it is too late? Wayne Sandholtz is a professor of international relations and law at the University of Southern California. The Star-Ledger/NJ.com encourages submissions of opinion. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow us on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and on Facebook at NJ.com Opinion. Get the latest news updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. T he new Government is barely back in Westminster, and it is the earliest of days. But in boardrooms and factories across the UK, business has been taking stock of what to expect. After four years of paralysis, we have a government with an unarguable mandate to lead. Early priorities are promising: commitment to a decade of renewal of infrastructure, skills and digital connectivity; addressing unacceptable regional inequality through a policy of levelling up; unequivocal support for the UKs target of cutting carbon emissions to net zero by 2050. These are all ambitions that business fully shares. Perhaps most welcome of all is the clear message that this government backs enterprise. And the reply from business is equally clear: were here to help and play our part. In fact, wed go further. As the UK heads into this important new decade, facing unprecedented challenges from climate to technology change, success will only be possible if government and business work together, as partners. And this relationship needs a reset. Brexit has taken its toll. Now its time to look forward, not backward, and build an unbreakable partnership to tackle the biggest issues of the day. So what should the priorities be in 2020, and how can business help? First, the new government is right to prioritise a good trade deal with the EU. Business welcomes the Chancellors ambition for the economy, set out on Friday. And a good deal can support this. For some firms, divergence from EU rules and regulations can bring value, while for many others alignment supports continued investment, competitiveness and jobs. Hence insights from enterprise will be essential for making complex decisions. Carolyn Fairbairn / PA The guiding star must be evidence from the whole economy, and business is ready to bring its expertise to the table. Lets get the trade architecture we need up and running as soon as possible, learning lessons from countries such as the US, Australia and Canada, that have decades of experience. The service industry must be high on the agenda it makes up 80 per cent of our economy and is vital for jobs. Business will continue to stress the importance of free and open trade with the EU, our largest trading partner, while respecting the Governments wish for a fast trade deal. As the UK establishes its new global role, the CBI will be one of its strongest ambassadors abroad. As the countrys business voice at the B7, the B20, BusinessEurope and the OECD, we will help relaunch the UKs international brand, centred on innovation, dynamic manufacturing and world-class services. The new immigration system is also a top priority. A points-based approach is being designed, and it can be made to work. Business can advise on whats practical on the ground particularly for small firms that cant afford costly processes as well as bring evidence on what skills are needed at all skill levels, not just the brightest and best. Boris Johnson at the annual CBI conference / AFP via Getty Images Moving to longer-term challenges, businesses can be a big part of the solution to climate change. The COP26 climate summit being hosted in Glasgow later this year is a fantastic opportunity to showcase the UK as a world innovator in sustainable finance, energy and industry. Firms can help make it a global success, while at the same time taking their own strides on the path to net zero. Skills and education is another area for a renewed partnership to tackle. According to new joint CBI/McKinsey research, nine in 10 workers will need new skills by 2030 to keep pace with changing technology at an estimated 10-year cost of 130 billion. Business has the insight to help government move from planning to delivery, and will itself step up on training. It wants to work with the Government to make the apprenticeship levy work better for employers and employees alike. Our existing education system must also better equip young people for the world of work. Business can help here too, by working more closely with schools. Gatsby Foundation research shows that if a young person has four interactions with business at school, they are five times less likely to be unemployed as adults. Weve been leading a campaign to help more schools connect with businesses and vice versa. Perhaps most important of all, successful business can be at the heart of the Governments mission to level up our nation. Firms are already delivering for communities across the UK. But for prosperity to be felt, it must be shared equally. Business backs the Governments ambition to tackle regional inequality. And proposals to move the House of Lords to York could send an important signal that decisions will be taken closer to those affected by them. By using our convening power and links with metro mayors and local enterprise partnerships, the CBI can help ministers get more devolution deals over the line, giving local leaders greater clarity on the resources available to help their regions thrive. As is evident from the West Midlands to the North West, regional industrial policies, delivered in tandem with business, reap rewards. The UK has so many strengths. British companies and products are envied worldwide. Our country remains a magnet for international investment. We have some of the worlds best universities, cutting-edge manufacturers and first-class services. Our language, location and ease of doing business all give the UK a crucial advantage. British business is as optimistic as the Prime Minister about the opportunities available for our country. Lets work together to deliver a true decade of renewal for the UK. German-Afghan army adviser on trial for spying for Iran Frankfurt am Main, Jan 20 (AFP) Jan 20, 2020 A German-Afghan translator for the German army goes on trial Monday along with his wife on charges of treason for allegedly spying for Iran. Abdul S., 51, stands accused of "a particularly serious case of treason" and of "violating state secrets" in 18 instances, according to the higher regional court of Koblenz in western Germany. The suspect was arrested in January 2019, reportedly after a tip-off from abroad and an ensuing set-up to catch him in the act. His 40-year-old wife Asiea S. will be in the dock with him, after prosecutors in December charged her with aiding and abetting treason. Asiea S. is accused of "helping her husband from the very beginning" with his espionage activities for Iranian intelligence services, the Koblenz court said. Abdul S. worked for several years as a civilian translator and cultural adviser to the German Bundeswehr at the Heinrich-Hertz barracks in the town of Daun, near Koblenz. Officials have been tight-lipped about the case, revealing no details about the information that was allegedly leaked. Abdul S. himself "has yet to comment on the accusations against him", the court said in a statement, adding that much of the legal proceedings will take place behind closed doors. Abdul S. risks life in jail if found guilty, which in Germany usually means a sentence of at least 15 years. His wife faces a maximum of 11 years in prison. - Taking the bait - According to Der Spiegel weekly, the hunt for the spy started in 2017 after Germany's military counterintelligence service (MAD) received a warning from "a friendly secret service" that Iran had an informant in the Bundeswehr. MAD spycatchers quickly focussed their attention on Abdul S. after noticing that his trips to certain EU cities overlapped with those of a senior officer in Iran's secret service, Spiegel wrote in an in-depth article last year. To confirm their suspicions, the MAD started to dripfeed Abdul S. fake documents that appeared to contain sensitive or classified information, and then watched as he reached out to his Iranian contact to set up meetings. The MAD shared its findings with federal prosecutors, tasked with handling cases of national security, in the spring of 2018. Spiegel said Abdul S.'s work for the German military included eavesdropping on phone calls or intercepted radio messages from the Taliban. But it "is doubtful" that Abdul S. had access to classified information about the actions and deployments of German troops in Afghanistan, the weekly added. Nevertheless, the case is embarrassing for the Bundeswehr since Abdul S. would have had to pass stringent background checks before being hired. Germany's BfV domestic intelligence agency has identified Iran has one of the countries most active in spying on Germany, along with China and Russia. Iranian spy services "are regularly looking for appropriate sources to cover the information needs of the regime", the BfV said in a report. In 2018, Germany arrested a Vienna-based Iranian diplomat suspected of being a spy, with prosecutors alleging he was plotting with a Belgium-based couple to bomb an Iranian opposition rally in Paris. In another high-profile case, former German intelligence agent Markus Reichel was convicted in 2016 for spying for both the CIA and the Russian secret service. In 2011, Germany jailed a married couple for spying for the Russian secret services for more than 20 years. Fine Gael Senator and General Election candidate, Colm Burke, is confident that an incident which saw his office vandalised is not connected to the theft of hundreds of his posters. However, Mr Burke said that no candidate should have to put up with such issues. On Sunday evening, Mr Burke's office, located in an old post office in Blackpool on the northside of Cork city, had its windows smashed in. A brick was thrown through one window, with several stones used to break a second pane of glass. The brick was "thrown with force" and knocked a chunk out of the wall, he said. Mr Burke was contacted by a local businessperson who saw the incident unfolding and contacted the gardai. "I have never had to put up with anything like this in previous campaigns," he said. Mr Burke has run a number of times for Fine Gael since the 1980s. Most recently, he contested the by-election in November 2019. Separately, since the general election campaign started, Mr Burke said "at least 250" of his election posters have been stolen. Many of these have reappeared in areas where they shouldn't have, he added. He recalled one incident in which a Farranree resident called him at 7.30pm one evening to say that two men were outside her house on a ladder, removing Fine Gael posters. "I don't believe the incidents are connected," he said. "But posters are being targeted in city areas; some of them are being removed within 12 hours of being put up." Mr Burke said he doesn't know who is behind the incidents or why he is being targeted. There has been an outpouring of support for Mr Burke in the wake of the incidents. Responding to a tweet showing the damage to his constituency office, Fine Gael colleague Simon Coveney said: "Don't be intimidated by this kind of thuggery... This should not be part of elections or politics." Stay strong @SenColmBurke, dont be intimidated by this kind of thuggery. @FineGael is a party that represents everyone, from all walks of life, we listen to frustrations & criticism and respond as best we can. But this should not be part of elections or politics. Simon Coveney (@simoncoveney) January 19, 2020 Tony Fitzgerald, a former Lord Mayor of Cork and Fianna Fail candidate in Cork North-Central, also offered his support, describing the damage as"unacceptable". Gardai are investigating the matter. "Gardai attended an incident of criminal damage at a property on Thomas Davis Street, Blackpool, Co. Cork on Sunday, January 19 at approximately 8:10pm," a garda spokesperson said. "No one was injured during the incident. No arrests made and investigations are ongoing." STAMFORD The Connecticut RISE network, a group of educators that pairs with urban schools to provide resources and learning opportunities, has donated over $320,000 to fund teachers projects in East Hartford, Hartford, Manchester, Meriden, Middletown, Naugatuck, New Haven, Norwalk and Stamford Public Schools and approximately $54,000 has gone to Westhill teachers for their own projects. RISE matches donations for projects they evaluate as promising from teachers in schools included in the RISE network, making it much easier for teachers to reach their goal. DonorsChoose is a fundraising platform open to teachers and support staff from every public school in America. Through DonorsChoose, teachers can post a project they need additional funding for, and donors can donate money to the project they find most appealing or necessary. Teachers can sign up, request the items they need and post their project so it can be funded. Teachers choose the exact products they need and those are posted along with the project so donors know exactly where their money is going. They must also create an in-depth proposal for their project, including the number of students affected and the purpose of their project. Donors can go directly to donorschoose.org and give money to projects they choose. Alumni of a school often donate to projects from teachers they may have had in high school. Projects that have been funded for Westhill teachers include a portable printing center proposed by Ms. Wheeler and items for the marine science lab in agriscience proposed by Ms. Porter-Collins. DonorsChoose is an amazing platform for teachers who have grand ideas but limited funding to make those ideas a reality for their students, Porter-Collins said. DonorsChoose enables teachers to accomplish dreams that may seem big, but with the help of generous donors and organizations like RISE they can become a reality. Madeline MacDonald is a student at Westhill High School. A half mile south of San Francisco City Hall, developer Related Californias latest project charges up the sky. The nearly 400-foot tower at 1500 Mission St. is the first in a new district of planned high-rises, with dizzying views of Sutro Tower and most of downtown. It has 550 apartments, 20% of them affordable, and leasing will start this spring. At ground level is a massive seal of the city and county of San Francisco. Thats because Related is also building new offices for the citys Department of Building Inspection and Planning Department the very agencies that sign off on its projects. It speaks to the symbiotic relationship between the city and Related, which has grown to become one of the largest builders in the state. It has built or proposed more than 5,000 homes in San Francisco and 4,000 more in Silicon Valley and the East Bay. It also has major Southern California holdings and is moving to expand to the North Bay and Sacramento. Bill Witte, founder and CEO of the 30-year-old Irvine company, is no stranger to government. He was a top housing aide under Mayors Dianne Feinstein and Art Agnos, and also worked for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. I think a lot of developers understandably say, You know, I just dont want to have to deal with more government. Well, were accustomed to it, he said. Witte has deftly navigated city and neighborhood politics, partnering with the city and nonprofits, and defusing most opposition by modifying projects. By and large, weve avoided major fights, because even people who disagree with us, well listen to them, and well take some of their ideas, he said. People have to talk to each other. Youre developing in an urban area. Only two projects in the companys history have died, Witte said: one in Newport Beach and a San Francisco tower on a city-owned site at 30 Van Ness Ave., across the street from 1500 Mission. Relateds $80 million offer to buy the site was voted down after the 2015 election of Supervisor Aaron Peskin, who wasnt satisfied with the deal. But Related is now working with Peskin on another public site, where it plans to replace a squat Financial District fire station with a new station, 200-room hotel and offices. Project fees will help fund affordable housing in nearby Chinatown. Peskin said that despite the 30 Van Ness vote, he gets along with Witte and praised the developers ingenuity. They came up with a remarkably creative solution that, when done, will build dozens of units of affordable housing in Chinatown, Peskin said. They are very smart and creative folks. Unlike most housing developers, which focus on either market-rate or affordable housing, Related California does both. That approach mirrors its parent company, New Yorks Related Companies. Founded by Stephen Ross in 1972 as an affordable housing builder, its since grown into a global enterprise that owns and manages more than $60 billion in projects, including Hudson Yards in Manhattan. Witte said the name comes from Ross initially starting separate companies in housing, property management and finance that were all related. Ross is also majority owner of the Miami Dolphins, and Related controls SoulCycle and the boutique gym Equinox. His New York fundraiser for President Trump triggered SoulCycle and Equinox boycotts last year, but the backlash didnt appear to affect the companys real estate projects. To build 100% affordable housing, Related California often partners with local nonprofits such as Mercy Housing and Chinatown Community Development Center. Even its four major San Francisco market-rate projects to date 1500 Mission, the Avery in Transbay, Mason on Mariposa on Potrero Hill and the Paramount in South of Market all have 20% affordable housing or more. Trumbull; Todd That has helped it win political support. If youre a long-term owner, like we are of all of our properties, it is good for the brand. And as a for-profit (company), I think we feel a special burden to prove to people that were doing good developments here, Witte said. Its a little harder when were at a community meeting or with a city to demonize us. Affordable housing projects still generate some money through developer fees and rental income, though they arent nearly as lucrative as market-rate projects, Witte said. Its not a business for home runs. Its singles and doubles. As a private company, Related California doesnt disclose its financial performance, but Witte said its able to scale in part by using its parent companys capital, which helps it weather downturns. It also uses government funding to help build affordable projects. Agnos, his former boss in City Hall, said Witte is one of the few developers who dont pursue profit above all. Bill, in my book, combines the very best of public service and used the values and principles of public service to do good in the private sector, Agnos said. A lot of other developers overreach. He is the exception. Related still has to grapple with San Franciscos lengthy approvals process. Approval for 1500 Mission took about three years, even though it had future city offices and no opposition, Witte said. At times, permits would be stuck for months, he said. Relateds biggest project in San Francisco is not a luxury skyscraper. Its the Sunnydale redevelopment in Visitacion Valley, replacing 775 units of public housing and adding 995 homes, in partnership with Mercy Housing. The project includes a new community center and new streets and utilities, adding millions of dollars in costs, in an effort to transform an area that has grappled with poverty and high crime. Theyre willing to do hard projects, Doug Shoemaker, president of Mercy Housing, said of Related. I think a lot of it has to do with understanding what cities need, what departments need. Shoemaker said Witte doesnt try to use power to force through projects, but is receptive to the community. I think people are comfortable working with him, Shoemaker said. As far as for-profit firms go, theyre our partners for a reason. Theres tons of alignment. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes Some of Relateds partners arent in the real estate business at all. Across the street from 1500 Mission, Related is proposing a tower with the French American International School, which would get a new facility. In East Oakland, its worked with Acts Full Gospel Church to build affordable housing. John Blanchard Related has had some missteps. It failed to secure a grocery store at its Avery tower in Transbay, a city requirement that was later scrapped. Its $8 billion project in Santa Clara near Levis Stadium was caught in the crossfire of dueling lawsuits between San Jose and Santa Clara over growth, which Witte attributed to historic bad blood, leading to delays. But litigation was settled last year, and the project is set to begin construction this year. In comparison, Relateds New York megaproject Hudson Yards has seen bigger fights, including a dispute with construction labor unions and, last week, backlash over a potential wall next to the High Line elevated park, though Related denies it was ever considered. Trumbull; Todd Witte also picks his battles. He said for now, the company isnt pursuing any market-rate housing projects in the Mission, where other developers have been caught in years-long fights with community groups. At Relateds 299-unit project at 1601 Mariposa St. on Potrero Hill, community criticism led to changes including new pedestrian passageways, a reduction in mass, a higher affordable housing rate, and $2 million for improvements at neighboring Jackson Park. J.R. Eppler, president of the Potrero Boosters Neighborhood Association, said community engagement was positive. The process we had with Related, while lengthy, was cordial and respectful, Eppler said. Bill was an old hand at San Francisco politics, and it showed in how he was respectful for the neighbors. Relateds project was approved in 2015 and is nearing completion. Other developers in the neighborhood havent fared as well. A few blocks away, Potrero Hill groups sued an approved housing project at 901 16th St. In an unusual move, Witte met with the neighbors during the approvals process, a role thats usually fulfilled by a project manager, not the company CEO. Were in it for the long haul, and I cant hide. You want to get invited back, he said. Roland Li is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: roland.li@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rolandlisf The Trump administration has a new target on the immigration front pregnant women visiting from other countries with plans as early as this week to roll out a new rule cracking down on "birth tourism," three administration officials told Axios. Why it matters: Trump has threatened to end birthright citizenship and railed against immigrant "anchor babies." The new rule would be one of the first tangible steps to test how much legal authority the administration has to prevent foreigners from taking advantage of the 14th Amendment's protection of citizenship for anyone born in the U.S. "This change is intended to address the national security and law enforcement risks associated with birth tourism, including criminal activity associated with the birth tourism industry," a State Department official told Axios. The regulation is also part of the administration's broader efforts to intensify the vetting process for visas, according to another senior administration official. The big picture: "Birth tourists" often come to the U.S. from China, Russia and Nigeria, according to the AP. There's no official count of babies born to foreign visitors in the U.S., while the immigration restrictionist group Center for Immigration Studies which has close ties to Trump administration immigration officials puts estimates at around 33,000 every year. How the new regulation would work: It would alter the requirements for B visas (or visitor visas), giving State Department officials the authority to deny foreigners the short-term business and tourism visas if they believe the process is being used to facilitate automatic citizenship. It's unclear yet how the rule would be enforced whether officials would be directed to consider pregnancy or the country of the woman's citizenship in determining whether to grant a visa. Consular officers who issue passports and visas "are remarkably skilled at sussing out true versus false claims," the senior official said. "The underlying practical issue is that very few people who give birth in the U.S. got a visa for that specific purpose. Most people already have visas and come in later," according to Jeffrey Gorsky, former chief legal adviser in the State Department visa office. This is but one step in the administration's plans to make it harder for people from other countries to benefit from birthright citizenship. "Rome wasn't built in a day," the senior official said. "Just the legal recognition that this is improper and wrong and not allowed is a significant step forward." The plans to address the use of B visas for birth tourism were included in the latest version of the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. Immigration experts expect there to be a similar rule for Customs and Border Protection to go along with the State Department's regulation. What to watch: Most of Trump's major immigration moves have been met with lawsuits. If the regulation leaves it to officers' discretion to ensure that B visas aren't used for birth tourism, it would be difficult to challenge in court, according to Lynden Melmed, an attorney and former chief counsel at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. "State Department officials have all the discretion in the world to deny people visas," said Sarah Pierce of the Migration Policy Institute. Foreign nationals who are outside the U.S. and have not yet received visas "don't have a lot of legal standing." But specific restrictions that could keep out non-birth tourism visitors such as pregnant women coming to the U.S. for business, etc. would be legally questionable, according to Melmed and Gorsky. Go deeper: Trump's most effective border wall isn't a physical one New Delhi: After meeting Kerala chief secretary, Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Monday said that no explanation of the state government over their move to challenge the Citizenship Amendment Act or CAA in the Supreme Court. The Governor was upset because he was allegedly not consulted by the Kerala government before moving the top court against CAA. Hitting out at the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan-led government, the Governor had Sunday said that he will not remain a "mute spectator" and would ensure the law of the land is upheld. "The Constitution has to be upheld and this is not a personal fight," khan told reporters on Sunday evening. "I will not sit like a mute spectator... will ensure that the rules and law are upheld", he added. The Governor had taken strong exception to the state government's decision to challenge the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) "without consulting" him and sought a report from the Chief Secretary. Kerala To Inform Centre It Cannot Update NPR Meanwhile, the Left front government in Kerala on Monday decided to inform the Centre it would not cooperate with the updation of the NPR, saying there were fears among the public about the process and it has the "Constitutional responsibility" to alleviate them and ensure law and order. A special cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan here, decided to inform the Registrar General and Census Commissioner under the Union Home Ministry that it was unable to cooperate with anything with regard to the updation of the NPR. "The decision was taken as it was the Constitutional responsibility of the government to alleviate the fears of general public and ensure law and order situation in the state," a Chief Minister's Office release said. However, the state would fully cooperate with the census procedures, it said. (With PTI Inputs) For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. NEW HAVEN The Rev. Boise Kimber said his heart is heavy. Following the death of Mubarak Soulemane, 19, in a state police shooting following a high-speed chase, the president and senior pastor of First Calvary Baptist Church made several demands at a special prayer service for Martin Luther King Jr. Day Monday. I do not trust the state to do an investigation against themselves, Kimber said. The shooting is under investigation by inspectors from the state Division of Criminal Justice. The New London States Attorneys Office will oversee the state police investigation. A state trooper shot Soulemane, a New Haven resident, Jan. 15 after the 19-year-old allegedly carjacked someone in Norwalk following an alleged incident with a knife at an AT&T store there, and fled from police at high at speeds that topped 90 mph, weaving in and out of traffic along Interstate 95. According to state police, Trooper Brian North fired his weapon after he saw Soulemane with a knife after stopping the car off of Exit 43 in West Haven. Soulemane had crashed into another vehicle on Campbell Avenue. When the driver displayed a weapon (later determined to be a knife), a trooper on scene discharged his assigned duty pistol, striking the driver, state police said. In a video released by police, North appears to shoot about seven times into an unopened drivers side window once the vehicle Soulemane is operating has been brought to a stop by a police vehicle, with its door apparently barricaded shut by the other vehicle. Kimber, who has taken charge of representing Soulemanes family and pursuing action, is coordinating a letter-writing campaign to U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, both D-Conn., asking for lawmakers involvement. He said he is also meeting with the states commissioner of police and the states attorneys office. Justice will not be done if we dont stay on top of them, he said. Some of Soulemanes relatives, who were guests at the ceremony, addressed the congregation. His mother, Omo Mohammed, had caught a flight out of Ghana, where she was on a business trip, once she learned the news. Speaking very briefly, she said she was there at the event Monday because she had lost a son. My son is not a criminal, she said, thanking Kimber for his support. Other relatives spoke more about Soulemanes life and legacy. We are seeking answers to the many questions we have, said his aunt, Ayesha Adams. His uncle, Tahir Mohammad, said he was accustomed to seeing dead black men on television news, but we never thought it would come on our doorstep. God sent us an angel in the form of Rev. Kimber, he said. We never met him before, but he called us. Adams said Soulemane had lots of friends and there had been an outpouring of condolences. She said the killing should shed light on how police interact with people in the midst of a mental health crisis Soulemane was known to police for schizophrenic episodes and had been taken to a hospital for treatment by police before. As he was just wrapping up his associate degree at Gateway Community College, Adams said Soulemane intended to get a four-year degree in business. At 13 he started selling tie-dye socks to friends, she said. He had an entrepreneurial mind. U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3, said there are no words for Soulemanes death, offering her condolences and an acknowledgement of the familys quest for answers. Mayor Justin Elicker, who was welcomed to the stage by Kimber with an introduction acknowledging Kimber had not supported him during the election, said Soulemane was not offered the opportunities he needed to thrive. Roberta Hoskie, owner of a local real estate agency and one of three recipients of the Greater New Haven Clergy Associations Martin Luther King Award, said she had known Soulemane as Mubi as a guest in her home, because her husband was his athletic coach. What happened was unfair, it was unjust and unnecessary, she said. We are no longer accepting things. No mother deserves to feel that type of pain. In a fiery, galvanizing sermon, the Rev. W. Franklyn Richardson of Grace Baptist Church in Mount Vernon, N.Y., said it is an irrefutable fact that racism is still a barrier in America. He said there are contemporary efforts to enshrine Kings contributions so as to impede progress. We must not surrender, we must not give up, he said. brian.zahn@hearstmediact.com Moscow, Jan 20 : Five people were killed and three others hospitalized on Monday after a broken hot water pipe flooded a small hotel in the Russian city of Perm near the Ural Mountains, the regional investigative committee said. The accident was caused by a broken pipe, Xinhua news agency quoted the committee as saying in a statement. Investigators have opened a criminal case on the grounds of provision of services that do not meet safety requirements for life and health of consumers, the statement said. Most experienced criminologists of the committee were sent to Perm to provide practical assistance, as well as to collect and record evidence, it said, adding that investigators are still working at the scene of the accident. Vijayawada: All eyes are on the AP Legislative Council, which will take up the two contentious Bills for consideration on Tuesday one, on setting up three capitals, and the other repealing the AP Capital Region Development Authority. With the Telugu Desam in majority in the Council, the YSRC government was busy working out options, including a compromise formula, wherein the Council would send back the Bills to Assembly for reconsideration without delay. The first option remains to engineer a split. Sources revealed that several TD MLCs were pressurising their leadership to not antagonise Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy beyond a point. Interestingly, a section of the YSRC governments media managers leaked information, apparently as a threat to Telugu Desam MLCs, that the government would table a Bill recommending the scrapping of Council on Monday. The effort fell flat, though some newspapers fell for it unthinkingly and published the story. DC refrained from carrying the leak and the government made no such move today. The YSRC convened a three-day session from Monday but the business of passing the two Bills was finished on day one itself. Sources said that the treasury benches would transact routine business on Tuesday, and await outcome in the Council. We kept Wednesday as a reserve day and can take up the Bills for reconsideration, should the council send it back, a minister said. Inquiries by DC revealed that it would not be easy for the ruling party to have its way and finish the legislative procedure by Wednes-day, unless the Opposition either overtly or covertly supports the government agenda. As per rules, the Council will debate the Bills and send them back with certain amendments to the Assembly for reconsideration. The catch here is how much time would the Council chairman takes to fulfil the procedural obligation. The chairman might adjourn the House without completing the business or take his own time to send back the Bills to the Assembly with amendments, an Assembly official pointed out. Though the government is tight-lipped about the nature of the Bills, it is learnt that the treasury benches introduced the Bills as money bills. If it is a regular Bill, the consent of Council Chairman and Assembly Speaker and signing of the blue copy by both is mandatory for the Governor to give assent, an official said, adding that Council Chairmans approval is not mandatory in case of money bills. A disabled man is fighting for his life in hospital with sepsis and kidney failure after he was initially sent home from hospital with antibiotics. Naythen Watkin, 22, was taken to A&E on January 1 by his mother Debra Newbert, 47, because he had been feeling sick for a week. His skin had turned 'grey' and he had been having trouble urinating. But according to Ms Newbert, doctors failed to ask Mr Watkin any questions about how he felt and didn't do a blood test. He was sent home with antibiotics. The next morning, Ms Newbert was unable to wake Mr Watkin and he was rushed to the same hospital Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham. It was discovered that Mr Watkin, who had a kidney transplant when aged seven, had kidney failure and severe sepsis. Ms Newbert was told her son only had 'two hours to live'. Sepsis is known as a 'silent killer' because the symptoms are difficult to spot. Mr Watkin, who has Dandy-Walker Syndrome which inhibits his motor and language skills, has now been in hospital for two weeks undergoing 'traumatic' dialysis but his mother says he is looking better. She is calling for doctors to take people with disabilities like her son more seriously. Naythen Watkin, 22, was sent home from hospital with antibiotics despite having underlying sepsis and kidney failure which almost killed him. He is pictured in hospital Mr Watkin's mother, Debra Newbert, 47, was told her son only had 'two hours to live' when he was diagnosed with kidney failure and sepsis. They are pictured together Ms Newbert said: 'They told us he only had a couple of hours to live. They told us it was a very real possibility he would not survive. 'In the critical care unit they managed to get the line in for dialysis but the doctor said it was touch and go. 'He looked grey and a simple blood test would have shown that he was very ill. 'He lives a perfectly normal life but the doctor never even asked Mr Watkin any questions. He could have told him how he felt, I don't know.' Ms Newbert added: 'It might not have changed the outcome but he would not have been so sick.' She first took Mr Watkin to A&E at the Queen's Medical Centre on New Year's Day. Mr Watkin's rare genetic condition affects brain development and causes facial abnormalities. HOSPITALS COULD FACE PENALTIES IF THEY DON'T SPOT SEPSIS Hospitals could be fined for failing to spot and treat the silent killer sepsis, under guidelines imposed in March that were drawn up by NHS England. Casualty staff have to be extra vigilant for symptoms of the life-threatening complication in patients at A&E and on wards. Junior doctors were also told to tell consultants if patients diagnosed with sepsis havent responded to drugs within an hour, as part of the move. The move formed part of a drive to provide quicker diagnosis and treatment of patients arriving at A&E with suspected sepsis and other killers such as heart attacks and strokes. The guidelines, which took effect from April 1, came after a handful of hospitals had been criticised for failing to prevent sepsis deaths. Guidelines were drawn up by NHS England with the Royal College of Physicians, the Royal College of GPs, the health watchdog NICE and the UK Sepsis Trust. Dr Tim Nutbeam, of the UK Sepsis Trust, said: We have been working with NHS England for the past three years to improve the recognition and management of sepsis in hospitals.' Advertisement Ms Newbert, a full-time carer for her son, said she had noticed his skin turning 'grey' and that he was having trouble passing urine. Upon arriving, Mr Watkin was sent to the Urgent Treatment Unit on the QMC site. He waited for six hours before seeing a doctor who sent him home with antibiotics. 'He had not been very well, he had been sick for over a week and he was not passing urine or anything,' Ms Newbert told Nottinghamshire Live. 'The doctor asked me all the questions, he did not even take notice that Mr Watkin was there. He is difficult to examine but we can help, but they just sent us home with antibiotics.' But the following morning, on January 2, Mr Watkin took a turn for the worse. Ms Newbert said she was unable to wake her son and he was rushed to the resuscitation area at the QMC by an ambulance. It was found Mr Watkin sepsis, a potentially life-threatening condition caused by the body's response to an infection. It is not clear what infection triggered sepsis in Mr Watkin's case. Symptoms of sepsis include a fever, high heart rate, problems breathing, weakness and changes in mental state. Mr Watkin also had kidney failure, a symptom of which is difficulty urinating. This may have been caused by a kidney infection, which left untreated can cause the organ to fail. It is not clear if Mr Watskin had an underlying kidney condition, given he needed an organ transplant as a child. After discovering how ill Mr Watkin really was, he was transferred to the renal unit at Nottingham City Hospital on January 3. Ms Newbert was told it was likely 'he would not survive'. Doctors typically treat sepsis in intensive care with antibiotics and fluids to stop the infection and protect the vital organs. Mr Watkin is said to be recovering, but it is not clear when he will be discharged. Ms Newbert is now calling for more training to help medical professionals interact with those who may have trouble speaking, or people who have similar disabilities or specific needs. She said: 'We live in 2020 and special needs are part of our community. So many young adults are overlooked.' A full investigation is being run by NEMS, a contractor which provides NHS services for the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, and the Nottingham City Clinical Commissioning Group. The NEMS team at the Urgent Treatment Unit said: 'We have just been made aware of this incident and will immediately be commencing a full investigation under our governance process. 'In the meantime, we would like to offer our kindest wishes to the patient and his family.' This morning at approximately 0217 hours, the Avenel Fire Department was dispatched for a residential structure fire.... Posted by Avenel Fire Department on Sunday, January 19, 2020 A firefighter and his family escaped a late-night blaze thanks in part to his quick-thinking 6-year-old daughter, who heard the fire alarm and alerted everyone to escape the flames, authorities said. Jimmy Karlbon, a current member of the Avenel Fire Department and a former chief, was asleep at home early Sunday when a fire started in his kitchen. His 6-year-old daughter, Madalyn, was awakened by the fire alarms just after 2 a.m., and immediately ran to her dad once she saw smoke. Without any hesitation she jumped into action and ultimately saved the lives of her family by remembering all she was taught during fire prevention week and through the vast knowledge that her dad and fellow firefighter family has instilled in her, the Avenel Fire Department said in a Facebook post. To say all of us here at the Avenel Fire Department are so proud of you is an understatement. Way to go Madalyn. Youre indeed a hero!!! Karlbon got Madalyn and her brother, 2-year-old Hunter, out of the home safely before helping his girlfriend, Sarah Woods, out, fire official Cory Spillar told NJ Advance Media. No one was seriously injured in the fire. Woods sustained a burn to her hand, but declined medical treatment, Spillar said. The family cat escaped on its own, and found its way back to the family. The fire started on the stove top in the kitchen, Spillar said. A family member fell asleep while cooking food, and it eventually sparked a fire, Spillar said. The fire stayed in the kitchen, but smoke damaged the entire home, Spillar said. The home is currently uninhabitable, and the family has lost almost all of their belongings, Spillar said. To help get them back on their feet while the family stays in a hotel, the Avenel Fire Department is collecting donations of clothes, toys, and money. Madalyn wears a size 7/8, and Hunter wears a 3T/4T. Checks can be made payable to The Avenel Fire Company Community Fund. All donations can be dropped off at the Avenel Fire Department at 346 Avenel Street in Avenel. Katie Kausch may be reached at kkausch@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @KatieKausch. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us: nj.com/tips. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Advertisement Shocking pictures have revealed the extent of the damage caused to a 150-year-old place of worship which has been reduced to rubble after a tower collapsed on it. Emergency services were called to Grade II-listed St John the Baptist Church in High Toynton, Lincolnshire on Sunday morning, after a historic tower, built-in 1872, came down without warning. The area is known as a 'doubly thankful' village, as it is one of only 14 places in the UK where all servicemen came back from worth World Wars. Sniffer dogs were brought in by the fire service to search the rubble for bodies - but fortunately nobody was reported injured. The church would usually have been packed with parishioners but there was not a service on Sunday. The remains of the church have been cordoned off by police while an online fundraiser has been set up to help raise 100,000 towards the cost of the repairs. Shocking aerial photos (as above) show the extent of the damage caused to the church when the tower fell on it on Sunday The picture above shows where the tower had collapsed, cascading into grave stones and the grass outside the church Slide me The church is seen (left) before the tower fell down and crashed into the rest of the building. It is seen right after the accident A structural engineer was inspecting the site this morning with the Reverend Charles Patrick. He said: 'It's obviously a great shock to see the devastation and a great gaping hole. 'The fire service did a thorough job and brought in dogs just to ensure nobody was found.' Horncastle Police tweeted: 'We have been supporting the community of High Toynton with Horncastle firefighters after the collapse of the church tower. 'No injuries to report thankfully and we will be supporting the community with regular 24 hours checks of the site.' A set of aerial photos revealed the damage and showed how far the debris had spread in the church grave yard in Lincolnshire From this angle you can see exactly where the church tower had sat before it fell onto the rest of the building on Sunday A cordon has now been put around the rubble in order to protect the parishioners. It looks as though the cordon is attached to the grave stones Police and Crime Commissioner for Lincolnshire, Marc Jones, also tweeted: 'What a terrible shock for the whole community. 'Glad that everyone is safe but what a sad sight to see.' There has been a parish church at the site since the 13th century and the current building was constructed using mainly greenstone in 1872 by Ewan Christian. The architect, who also restored Southwell Minster and Carlisle Cathedral, reused 12th-century fragments and Norman stone from the previous church erected in 1779. Included in the church is a bank of Living Memories, which includes a resident's diary of 1939 to 1941. Group administrator of Horncastle churches Debbie Knight said: 'The Reverend is there this morning with the structural engineer. Bits of rubble can be seen left on the floor above and include what looks to be some sort of light fixture, which is seen on the grass 'There was not a service yesterday and we believe the collapse happened in the morning.' A JustGiving page has been set up by Robert Tomkinson, a villager who got married in the church, to raise money to rebuild the church tower. Robert said: 'On Sunday, January 19, the tower of St John the Baptist church in High Toynton collapsed, taking down almost 150 years of history. 'Thankfully no one was hurt. 'The rest of the building is still standing - but the challenge of rebuilding starts now and the village will need all the help it can get! 'We don't know how much we will need at this stage but the final figure will no doubt be very high - all money raised here will go to the High Toynton Village Fund. 'The church is the heart of village life (and the only community building left after the bus stop!). It hosts church services and music nights throughout the year. 'If you have any connection to High Toynton - we need your help. 'There is so much history behind this wonderful building. 'There has been a church on this site since the 13th century and High Toynton is one of only 14 villages in the UK to be 'doubly thankful' - with everyone who fought in both World Wars returning home. 'This fundraising target will be updated once the full costs of rebuilding are known - but any money you can give will help.' Soft-spoken, affable and low-key, the newly elected BJP president Jagat Prasad Nadda is a quintessential organisation man who is expected to consolidate the rapid gains the party has made under his predecessor Amit Shah. He takes over at a time when the BJP is witnessing vigorous challenge from a united opposition in assembly elections amid signs that it needs to rejig its electoral strategy following a string of losses in state polls. If a relatively inexperienced Shah in 2014 was seen as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's handpicked man to shake up the saffron organisation by easing out veterans and infusing young blood to galvanise party cadres and fuel its expansion drive, Nadda is considered a seasoned hand who will build on these gains without causing too many disruptions. His immediate challenge is the February 8 Delhi Assembly polls where the BJP is locked in a tough fight with Aam Aadmy Party, followed by year-end elections in Bihar. However, his big test would be the next year's assembly polls in West Bengal, a state where the BJP has never tasted power but has emerged as a strong challenger to Mamata Banerjee-headed TMC. Despite its overwhelming win in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP has suffered several defeats in state polls since 2018 and its governments have been unable to come to power, except in Haryana where it had to join hands with JJP to form government. The 59-year-old Nadda, who holds a degree in law, brings decades of experience during which he served at key party posts, headed its election campaign in a host of states -- from Bihar to Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra and Punjab among others -- and also worked as a minister in BJP governments in his home state of Himachal Pradesh. He was also a Cabinet minister in the first Modi government. The Brahmin leader is considered within the party an epitome of political correctness with his manners unfailingly polite in public and his attacks on rivals never triggering any unseemly controversy. However, party insiders say Nadda can be very firm in his handling of organisational affairs and electoral challenges but makes it a point to not make any public fuss about them. He is also a man of detail as party leaders recall that he spent months in Uttar Pradesh, a state he was made incharge of during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, meeting every religious leader of consequence and holding long meetings with party leaders and allies to take on the formidable challenge posed by the SP-BSP alliance. Nadda hails from Himachal Pradesh but was born and raised in Bihar where his father was a professor in Patna University. He joined the ABVP, the RSS' student wing, there and was active in the anti-Emergency stir headed, his colleagues say. On his return to his home state, he was elected as student union president of the Himachal University. He became president of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, the BJP's youth wing, in 1991. Incidentally, Shah was also a BJYM office bearer that time. It was a sign of the trust he always had of the party leadership that he became the leader of the opposition in Himachal in 1993 after being elected an MLA for the first time. When the BJP stormed to power in 1998 in the state, he became a minister. He was a minister again in 2010 when he resigned to become the party's national general secretary when Nitin Gadkari was its president. He enjoyed warm relations with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the latter was for long incharge of the party's affairs in Himachal. Nadda was elected to Rajya Sabha in 2012 and made a member of the party's parliamentary board in 2014 when Shah took over as its president. His steady rise through the organisation continued when Modi and Shah chose him to be its working president last year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US president promises farmers that China trade deal will be good for them, as he seeks their support ahead of election. President Donald Trump has sought to assure farmers and ranchers in the United States hit by a protracted tariff war with China that a trade agreement he signed with Beijing will lead to significant purchases of US agricultural products. Trumps remarks in Texas, a state he won in 2016 and will need again in Novembers election, had all the hallmarks of a political stump speech, with a stab at Democrats trying to remove him through impeachment and a wish he could wear a cowboy hat in Washington, DC. He began his remarks to the annual American Farm Bureau Federation convention in Austin by waving a copy of a Farm Journal poll that said he had wide support among farmers and ranchers. Trump said the initial trade deal he signed with China last Wednesday would help farmers, whom he thanked for sticking with him after he twice had to allocate multibillion-dollar bailouts for producers targeted by Chinese tariffs. You stayed in the fight, said Trump. You were always with me. You never even thought of giving up and we got it done. His Senate impeachment trial is set to begin in earnest on Tuesday. By these radical-left lunatics I get impeached. But thats OK, the farmers are sticking with Trump, he said. The phase one trade deal with China was meant to reduce tensions after 18 months of a tit-for-tat tariff war between the worlds two largest economies that has hit global growth. It included a pledge by China to buy at least an additional $12.5bn worth of agricultural goods in 2020 and at least $19.5bn over the 2017 level of $24bn in 2021. Analysts have said a number of issues remain unresolved. The phase one agreement will leave in place 25 percent tariffs on $250bn of Chinese industrial goods and components used by US manufacturers, and Chinas retaliatory tariffs on over $100bn in US goods. Trump told the farmers he would vigorously enforce the trade deal to make sure China holds up its side of the agreement. I think its going to work out and I think China is going all out to prove that the agreement that we signed is a good agreement, he said. Trump also reminded the farmers that he had gained passage by Congress of a new trade deal among the US, Mexico and Canada that will replace the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement. He said he would sign the deal soon, probably in a White House ceremony. PORTLAND, Maine, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Stroudwater Associates, the nation's leading source of strategic, operational, and financial strategy for rural and community hospitals, announced today it has surpassed its impact goals for 2019 and is positioned for additional growth in 2020. According to the American Hospital Association, 51 million Americans depend on their hospital not only as a source of care, but as an economic and social pillar of their community. These hospitals are fighting to improve outcomes and provide high value healthcare services in a challenging operating environment with a shortage of clinicians, proliferating high deductible health plans, technology investment imperatives and regulatory complexity. Stroudwater's strategic, operational, and financial services are designed to provide immediate and long-term impact that will enhance the sustainability of hospitals and health systems and help their communities maintain access to essential healthcare services. "When we talk about impact we're focusing primarily on patients and communities," said Stroudwater Associates Managing Director Jeffrey Sommer. "We evaluate our impact by how many hospitals we help remain a cornerstone of their community and we look at the impact that comes with keeping healthcare services close, efficient, high quality and cost effective." 2019 impact, by the numbers: 368 engagements with hospitals, health systems, and physician groups Engagements in 43 states in 2019 Strategies with 210 unique client organizations Direct impact on 2,200,000 patients in areas where access to health services is at risk "Our goal in 2020 is to double the lives we are impacting," says Stroudwater Board Chairman Eric Shell. "We are well positioned to do this through investments in people, technology, and additional services. Also, beyond our single hospital engagements we are increasingly working with health systems to help them impact their entire network of rural and community hospitals." Team promotions and recognition: Principal Eric Shell elected as Chair of the Board of Directors elected as Chair of the Board of Directors Principal Jeffrey Sommer accepts role as Managing Director accepts role as Managing Director Opal H. Greenway and Jonathan Patenberg promoted to Principal and Jonathan Patenberg promoted to Principal Laurie Daigle promoted to Senior Consultant promoted to Senior Consultant A. Zachary Boser joins as consultant joins as consultant Senior Healthcare Consultant Lindsay Corcoran named 2020 Rural Health Fellow by NRHA Managing Director Jeffrey Sommer accepts Patriot Award in recognition of support provided to a service member or their family Service Expansion & Technology Stroudwater is known for its ability to deliver short-term, high-intensity support to hospitals, health systems and provider organizations facing immediate challenges in operating and financial performance. In addition to its longer-term engagements around strategic planning, capital planning, affiliation and partnership advisory, revenue cycle, population health and team care, it has developed shorter term assessments that provide immediate value. Products include: Rapid Strategic Planning Rapid Facility Planning Strategic, Financial, and Operational Assessments (SFOA) Physician Office / Clinic Designations Payer Contracting Chargemaster and Revenue Cycle Review These projects are supported by advancements in Stroudwater technology and data including: Strategic Risk Assessment Dashboard: a comprehensive, market exclusive risk measurement tool for use in developing strategic plans Swing Bed Quality Analysis Tool that provides nationally comparable quality data to demonstrate quality of care and participate in alternative payment methods Cost Report Optimization Tool to help leverage designations and optimize reimbursements "Seizing opportunity requires grit and we see that every day working in community hospitals and rural communities," adds Sommer. "We are optimistic about the coming year and the resources we bring to bear for the hospitals, communities, and patients that we are dedicated to serving." To learn more about Stroudwater, visit www.stroudwater.com. About Stroudwater Associates Founded in 1985, Stroudwater Associates is a leading national healthcare consulting firm with offices in Atlanta, Nashville, and Portland, Maine. We focus on strategic, operational, and financial areas where our perspective offers the highest value for rural hospitals, community hospitals, healthcare systems, and large physician groups. Stroudwater is made up of clinicians, managers, corporate officers, investment bankers, financial analysts, and content specialists with deep domain expertise. Media Contact: Kebra Shelhamer 773.799.8200 [email protected] SOURCE Stroudwater Associates Related Links http://www.stroudwater.com A suspected serial bank robber who was released under controversial bail reforms and then went on to carry out two more heists has finally been detained by a judge. Gerod Woodberry, 42, carried out four robberies across New York before being arrested and brought before a judge on January 9 who then had no choice but to release him under the city's no-bail law reform. Hours after his release, the suspect went on to rack up two more bank robberies before turning himself in to police on Friday. Woodberry has now finally been detained by a federal judge who voiced incredulity at his ability to carry on committing crimes. 'How is he here today?' Judge Steven Gold asked at Woodberry's arraignment in Brooklyn Federal Court Sunday, according to the New York Post. The suspect is pictured above entering the Chase Bank at 20 Flatbush Avenue, Downtown Brooklyn on 10 January before he carried out what is believed to be robbery number five The robber pictured on January 3 at a Chase Bank in Broadway, Manhattan. His signature style is to pass a note asking for 'large bills only please' Woodberry didn't apply for bail Sunday but could still walk free on bail Friday when a preliminary bail hearing will be held Prosecutors had argued for Woodberry's detention in a letter to the judge in which they described the suspect as a danger to the community and pointed to five other 'strong-arm' robbery convictions in South Carolina. Court papers showed that Woodberry had been sentenced to 15 years with seven suspended after his most recent conviction in 2018. Based on the ruling, prosecutors appeared baffled as to how the convicted robber was not currently serving time in South Carolina. 'I don't really understand this, your honor,' prosecutor Jack Dennehy told the judge. 'The FBI did run a report and it seems to me [he] was sentenced to 15 years, seven of which were suspended. 'Maybe it's just my Catholic school education but the math just doesn't add up. There seems to be no way he should be in Brooklyn in less than eight years.' Woodberry didn't apply for bail Sunday but could still walk free on bail Friday when a preliminary bail hearing will be held. The suspect allegedly carried out six heists since 30 December. His signature move is to pass a note (pictured) to tellers asking for 'large bills only' Prosecutors had argued for Woodberry's detention in a letter to the judge in which they described the suspect as a danger to the community and pointed to five other 'strong-arm' robbery convictions in South Carolina. Court papers showed that Woodberry had been sentenced to 15 years with seven suspended after his most recent conviction in 2018 The suspect has allegedly carried out six heists since 30 December, hitting up banks across New York's Midtown Manhattan, Harlem, the West Village and the Upper West Side. On January 9 Woodberry was hauled before a Manhattan Criminal Court judge for robberies at four Chase branches across the city, where he had taken about $2,000 in stolen cash. Under the controversial new New York 'no-bail law' that doesn't require a bond to hold a suspect accused of non-violent felonies, including robbery, Woodberry was allowed to walk free. 'I can't believe they let me out,' he was overheard saying on the way out of the New York Police Department headquarters, reports the New York Post. 'What were they thinking?' he added. This left Woodberry free to rob another bank in Downtown Brooklyn just hours later on January 10, police said. He was then caught on surveillance footage entering the Citibank on Third Avenue near East 49th Street in Midtown around 1:20pm on January 14 and carrying out his signature move - passing a note, which read, 'This is a robbery. Large bills only please.' The suspect fled the bank empty-handed. Woodberry was arrested on Friday when he allegedly turned himself in to police at Manhattan Criminal Court, saying 'I'm the one that's been robbing banks' the NY Post reported. Woodberry has been charged in federal court with the January 10 robbery. The 'no-bail' law has received mixed review since it was enshrined into state legislation on January 1, with politicians and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio calling for it to be revamped or scrapped altogether. One high-ranking NYPD insider told the Post it was a 'circus'. They said: 'They made it this way, your local New York state politicians. Wait until a cop gets hurt responding, or a person fleeing the bank. We'll see how they feel after that.' Since the law came into effect, a string of serious offenders have been released back onto the city's streets. On Tuesday a Bronx man was arrested for viciously assaulting his girlfriend and pulling a knife on her but was released under the bail reform. The Harriman Village Police department said that 20-year-old Jay Vasquez-Paulino attacked the woman he had been dating for about a month. Horrifying video footage shows Vasquez-Paulino repeatedly punching and kicking at the woman before threatening her with a knife at the Superior Packing company in Harriman, where the pair had both been employed. Vasquez-Paulino was charged with misdemeanors for the assault, but police had no choice but to release him. This followed a series of defendants charged with carrying out violent anti-Semitic attacks on the city's streets being released in December, one month before the reforms officially come into force. On December 28, Tiffany Harris, 30, was allowed to walk out of Brooklyn Criminal Court without bail after she allegedly slapped three women in the face and shouted, 'F-U Jews!' The judge even mentioned the bail reform at the suspect's arraignment, according to the New York Post, Laura Johnson said: 'So I'm releasing her on consent and also because it will be required under the statute in just a few days.' Another suspect, Ayana Logan, 43, was also released without bail in December after she allegedly whacked a Brooklyn woman over the head and yelled 'You f***ing Jew! Your end is coming!' Another mockery of the law: On Tuesday a Bronx man, 20-year-old Jay Vasquez-Paulino, was arrested for viciously assaulting his girlfriend and pulling a knife on her but was later released under the bail reform. Let down by the law: Reeaz Khan, 21, walked free without bail on assault and gun charges in late November, six weeks before he was arrested again on January 10 and charged in the horrific murder of Maria Fuertes in Queens. The ICE has blasted the state's laws Last week the Immigration and Customs Enforcement blasted the state's laws, saying the city ignored a federal immigration detainer for a man who went on to be charged with the rape and murder of a 92-year-old woman. NEW YORK'S BAIL REFORMS: THE FACTS On January 1 2020, New York State introduced sweeping criminal justice legislation, meaning that cash bail is no longer permitted for most misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies, including robbery. Judges are now required to release individuals charged with such crimes with no cash bail. The controversial new New York 'no-bail law' is expected to curtail the use of cash bail and pretrial detention in an estimated 90% of arrests and strengthen measures intended to ensure a defendant's right to a speedy trial. New York's decision to reform its law saw the state join ranks with California and New Jersey - which already prohibit cash bails for most misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies. The 'no-bail' law has been mired in controversy since it was enshrined into state legislation. Advertisement Reeaz Khan, 21, walked free without bail on assault and gun charges in late November, six weeks before he was arrested again on January 10 and charged in the horrific murder of Maria Fuertes in Queens. On Tuesday, ICE released a statement excoriating the city for not cooperating with federal immigration enforcement, saying the murder could have been prevented if its agents had been allowed in November to take custody of Khan, a Guyanese national who is present in the U.S. illegally. 'New York City's stance against honoring detainers is dangerously flawed,' said Thomas R. Decker, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations field office director for New York. 'It was a deadly choice to release a man on an active ICE detainer back onto the streets after his first arrest.' New York Mayor Bill de Blasio's office fired back at ICE for 'politicizing' the murder. The 'no-bail' law has received mixed review since it was enshrined into state legislation on January 1, with politicians and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio calling for it to be revamped or scrapped altogether. One high-ranking NYPD insider told the Post it was a 'circus'. They said: 'They made it this way, your local New York state politicians. Wait until a cop gets hurt responding, or a person fleeing the bank. We'll see how they feel after that.' XI'AN, China, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Spring Festival is the most grand traditional festival in China. In Xi'an, the starting point of the ancient Silk Road, a 41-day Grand Party for the Spring Festival is taking place. The Enjoy Chinese New Year in Xi'an series of cultural tourism activities organized by the Publicity Department of the CPC Xi'an Municipal Committee and Xi'an Culture and Tourism Bureau kicked off on January 1, 2020. With bright lanterns, colorful activities, and various delicious foods, Xi'an invites guests from all over the world to "Come to Xi'an to Celebrate the Chinese New Year". Xi'an, widely known as one of the four ancient capital cities in the world, has a history of more than 7,000 years of civilization. The city blends history and modernity to create a unique urban charm. During the Spring Festival, you can take a walk on the walls of Xi'an City, enjoy the most gorgeous traditional Chinese lanterns, ring the bells and beat the drums at the Bell and Drum Tower and the Little Wild Goose Pagoda to celebrate the Chinese New Year, and participate in the themed Tang culture activities at the Grand Tang Mall to feel the golden age of the Tang Dynasty. From January 1st to February 9th, Xi'an launches 46 key events and 255 mass cultural events that are centering around 9 themes, including New Year temple fairs, cultural performances, intangible cultural heritage performances, and colorful lantern shows. Tourists from all over the world can enjoy a brand-new experience that combines the "Cultural New Year", the "Happy New Year", and the "Foodie New Year". In order to allow more global visitors to experience the joyful atmosphere of the Chinese New Year and understand the cooperative opportunities brought by Xi'an's booming economy, the city also specially invites 15 countries' ambassadors to China to "celebrate the Chinese New Year in Xi'an". Meanwhile, a large-scale Silk Road gala is about to begin: the online celebrities and the online media from the countries along the Belt and Road will share these great moments at Xi'an with the rest of the world; the Silk Road artists will compete on a single stage, conduct cultural exchanges, and convey good-neighborliness and friendship. Xi'an takes advantage of its historical and cultural resources to create a first-class world tourist destination city, launch a series of cultural tourism brand activities, and create a distinctive urban cultural brand. According to data released by the Xi'an Culture and Tourism Bureau, Xi'an received more than 300 million tourists from home and abroad in 2019 and earned a total tourism revenue of more than 310 billion yuan. Image Attachments Links: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=355961 http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=355966 Meghan Markles estranged father, Thomas Markle, accused his daughter of cheapening the British royal family in part of an interview released a day after Buckingham Palace said Prince Harry and his wife would no longer be working members of the monarchy. The palace announced on Saturday that the couple would no longer use their Royal Highness titles and would pay their own way in life. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the whole country wished them the very best with the new arrangement. As I said before ... I was sure that the royal family, which has been around a very long time, will find a way forward, Johnson told Sky News in Germany, where he was attending a summit on Libya. Also Watch | Prince Harry & Meghan to step back as senior UK royals; Queen responds The monarchy was thrown into turmoil earlier this month when Harry and his American former actress wife announced that they wanted to reduce their official duties and spend more time in North America. Saturdays announcement from the palace followed discussions in recent days between Queen Elizabeth, her family and officials over how this would work in practice for Harry, 35, and Meghan, 38. Thomas Markle told Channel 5 news in a documentary that he believed Meghan was tossing away every girls dream. Its disappointing because she actually got every girls dream. Every young girl wants to become a princess and she got that and now shes tossing that away, for, it looks like shes tossing that away for money, he said. The interview was filmed after the couples announcement that they would step back as senior members of the royal family. Channel 5 released part of the interview on Sunday and said the full documentary would air in the coming weeks. Lost Souls Thomas Markle described the royal family as one of the greatest long-living institutions ever, saying that when Meghan married Harry in May 2018 they took an obligation to be part of the royals and to represent the royals. This is like one of the greatest long-living institutions ever, he said. They are destroying it, they are cheapening it, theyre making it shabby ... They are turning it into a Walmart with a crown of it now. It is something that is ridiculous, they shouldnt be doing this. Thomas Markle and his daughter have been estranged since her marriage to Harry. Earlier this month, the Mail on Sunday newspaper submitted its defence to court action by Meghan over the publication of a private letter she sent to her father. Thomas Markle said he did not expect Meghan to get in contact. I cant see her reaching out to me, especially now ... or Harry for that matter, but I think both of them are turning into lost souls at this point, he said. I dont know what theyre looking for. I dont think they know what they are looking for. ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, Jan. 20 By Huseyn Hasanov - Trend: Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of Turkmenistan has created a special webpage with job vacancies on its official website, Trend reports referring to the ministry's statement. Enterprises, institutions and organizations, as well as individual individuals - private entrepreneurs, having posted on this page information about the available vacancies, required specialists and employees, will be able to inform the job seekers about the available vacancies, and also choose among them the appropriate employees, the ministry stated. The job seeking citizens will have the opportunity to get the information on vacancies relevant to their specialties. New Delhi: A petition, seeking directions to the Delhi police to open the Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch closed since December 15 in protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, was filed in the Supreme Court by an activist on Monday. The protest at Shaheen Bagh has been going on for the last 35 days leading to the blockage of the Kalindi Kunj road. The petitioner has claimed that the Delhi High Court's order does not seek to achieve the relief sought by the petitioner given that the High Court merely directed the Delhi police to look into the grievances of the people on the issue. Challenging the same order, the petitioner has approached the Supreme Court. Sahni has prayed for certain specific directions for the removal of the blockage of the protest site, reported Bar & Bench. On January 14, the Delhi High Court directed the police to look into traffic restrictions on Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch while keeping in mind the larger public interest. A bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice C Hari Shankar had asked the police to look into the issue while also keeping in mind that law and order is maintained. The court passed the order while disposing of a PIL filed by advocate and social activist Amit Sahni seeking a direction to the Delhi Police Commissioner to lift restrictions on Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch and Okhla underpass, which were closed on December 15, 2019 for ongoing protests against CAA and National Register of Citizen (NRC). It was a temporary measure but has been extended from time to time. The Kalindi Kunj stretch is vital as it connects Delhi, Faridabad (Haryana) and Noida (Uttar Pradesh) and commuters are forced to take the Delhi-Noida-Delhi (DND) Expressway and Ashram, which is causing hours of traffic jams and wastage of time and fuel, the plea said. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Frakes was picked up by security forces after live footage streamed from the scene of the protests was broadcast on the Facebook page of the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Lebanese authorities said. Security officials traced the location from which the feed was filmed, found Frakes at the scene and detained him, Lebanons General Security Directorate said in a statement Monday night. Civil Society Group Alliance for Science Ghana has described as unfair and unprogressive statement by Minister for Agriculture that Ghana does not need genetically modified organisms (GMO) technology. Dr Akoto Owusu Afriyie at governments Results Forum last week said Ghana will only need GMOs in a hundred years. Im a scientist. I believe in science. GMO is a method of science. But its like cracking a nut with a sledgehammer. Ghana does not need to go GMOs, he said. The essence of Planting for Food and Jobs is to bring these well-researched varieties created by or own scientists, to bring them to the farmers. And to do that, you need what we call the extension service So my lady, forget about GMOs. There is no GMO in what we are doing, the minister said in response to a question. Its only when we have exhausted all the beautiful work done by our own scientists that we may have to fall on it, and that will be another 100 years. Because there is a lot that our scientists have done using traditional breeding methods, not GMO methods And we dont need GMOs. And I can assure you, this government is not here for GMOs, he said. But Alliance for Science Ghana, a coalition of farmers, students, scientists, and other well-meaning Ghanaians says, that position is unfair to the millions of farmers across the country who probably need improved technology to help make their work better and there is the need for us all Ghanaians to reflect on this issue further. The group says the GMOs being worked on in Ghana are not being done by foreign scientists as the picture is being painted. Dr Mumuni Abdulai who is principal investigator in charge of the GMO cowpea (Bt cowpea) project at the Savannah Agricultural Research Institute of the CSIR and Dr Maxwell Asante Darko who is in charge of the GMO rice (Nitrogen Efficient, Salt Tolerant, Water Efficient NEWEST rice) at the Crop Research Institute of CSIR in Fumesua Kumasi are Ghanaian scientists working on the varieties in Ghana, the statement said. Below is the full statement The debate over whether Ghana needs GMOs has been re-ignited by last weeks comment by the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr Akoto Owusu Afriyie, that Ghana will only need GMOs in a hundred years. That position is unfair to the millions of farmers across the country who probably need improved technology to help make their work better and there is the need for us all Ghanaians to reflect on this issue further. For better analysis, lets recount exactly what the minister said at governments recent Results Fair in response to a question. He said; Im a scientist. I believe in science. GMO is a method of science. But its like cracking a nut with a sledgehammer. Ghana does not need to go GMOs. Our scientists have done a lot of research on creating new varieties of all kinds and situations. You will be amazed if you go to the universities and CSIR (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research) organisations, most of their products are sitting on the shelves and are not coming out to help farmers. The essence of Planting for Food and Jobs is to bring these well-researched varieties created by or own scientists, to bring them to the farmers. And to do that, you need what we call the extension service So my lady, forget about GMOs. There is no GMO in what we are doing. Its only when we have exhausted all the beautiful work done by our own scientists that we may have to fall on it, and that will be another 100 years. Because there is a lot that our scientists have done using traditional breeding methods, not GMO methods to come up with short gestation varieties, disease resistance varieties, drought-resistant varieties. You will be amazed by the range that we have. And we dont need GMOs. And I can assure you, this government is not here for GMOs. First of all, the GMOs being worked on in Ghana are not being done by foreign scientists as the picture is being painted. Dr Mumuni Abdulai who is principal investigator in charge of the GMO cowpea (Bt cowpea) project at the Savannah Agricultural Research Institute of the CSIR and Dr Maxwell Asante Darko who is in charge of the GMO rice (Nitrogen Efficient, Salt Tolerant, Water Efficient NEWEST rice) at the Crop Research Institute of CSIR in Fumesua Kumasi are Ghanaian scientists working on the varieties in Ghana. Secondly, if weather patterns are terrible and rain is falling less and pests continue to devastate your farm to the extent that average yield of maize on Ghanaian farms is 1.7 metric tonnes per hectare whilst their colleagues in South Africa are producing averagely at up to 5 tonnes per hectare, its unfair to say using advanced science like GMOs on Ghanaian farms is using sledgehammer to crack nuts. Do we want to deal with the problem or we dont? Do we want to increase productivity or we dont? Do we want to deal with the pest attacks or we dont? Cowpea (beans) producers in the northern part of the country spray their fields with chemicals between 8 to 10 times in the three-month life cycle of their produce every season to control the deadly Maruca pests. Research work done at the Savannah Agricultural Research Institute shows if you use the GMO cowpea currently on trials there, the number of spray reduces to two. Do we want to continue polluting the environment with chemicals and poison the cowpea products with chemicals or we do not want to? Those are the critical questions requiring answers. Thirdly, the argument that Ghana will only need GMOs after all available improved varieties developed through conventional breeding have been commercialized is obviously untenable. Its like saying no Ghanaians should use the latest iPhone 11 Pro until everyone has used all the other earlier versions. In fact, its like saying we will not use mobile phones until everyone in the country has used and become conversant with landlines. That has never been our history as a people. In the USA, more than 94% of soybean and 93% of corn produced there is GMO. A lot of our imported cornflakes, flour and soya oil, among other products come from there. In fact, in the US, about 70% of all processed foods in grocery shops contain some form of genetically modified ingredient , just as is the case in several other countries like South Africa, Brazil, among others. In South Africa, a pproximately 99% of all soya bean and 84% of maize grown is GMO. Nigeria recently approved the growing of GMO cowpea and cotton which will be on the market soon as they work towards being a market leader on the continent in the production of these crops. In total, 67 of the worlds 195 countries have adopted GM crops. Five industrial nations led by the United States grow GM crops, and 43 countries, including 26 in the European Union, formally import biotech crops for food, feed and processing. Its the fastest adopted crop technology in the world . In 2016 alone, GM crops resulted in reduced carbon emissions equal to taking 16.75 million cars off the roads. Biotech crops have also helped farmers cut their use of insecticides and herbicides, or apply the products more strategically, reducing the environmental impact associated with their use by 18.4 per cent since 1996. So, who are we deceiving when we say we are not going to grow GMOs in Ghana until 100 years to come? That obviously means we will rather import GMOs into the country than grown them ourselves. That posture sounds very unprogressive. Recently, the Savannah Agricultural Research Institute of the CSIR announced plans to apply to the National Biosafety Authority for approval by the end of the month to put GMO cowpea on the market. Its a good time to reflect on what we want for the future of agriculture in our country. But let us allow dialogue to prevail and not jump into conclusions too soon when the debates and conversations havent ended. Signed Farmer Evans Okomeng For Alliance for Science Ghana Myjoyonline.com Buckingham Palace has strenuously denied Prince Harry was at risk of losing his dukedom during talks over his future in the royal family. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were granted the historic titles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex when they married in 2018. However, the palace has now been forced to deny reports that the Queen considered stripping the pair of the titles following their decision to withdraw from the front lines of royal life with Prince Harry reportedly flying out to Canada on Monday evening where the couple plan to raise their son Archie away from the public eye. A source told the Evening Standard that removing the Sussex name was seriously considered and discussed at the highest level. But palace insiders have since said the assertion was categorically untrue. World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down Show all 24 1 /24 World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down US World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down Canada World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down Italy World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down UK World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down UK World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down US World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down Canada World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down UK World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down Argentina World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down US World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down UK World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down Belgiam World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down UK World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down US World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down Brazil World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down UK World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down Chile World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down UK World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down UK World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down Belgiam World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down UK World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down Canada World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down UK The source added that discussions to resolve the crisis between officials and members of the royal family had been described as extremely friendly and constructive when they ended. According to reports, the couple would have been expected to continue into the future under one of Harrys more junior titles potentially as the earl and countess of Dumbarton but there the Queen and Prince Charles feared such a move could be considered petty. Recommended Prince Harry and Meghan will gain a lot from losing their royal titles The couple have already put in the legwork to use the name well into the future filing to trademark the Sussex Royal brand in June 2019 to protect its use in a number of areas from clothing to charitable causes. On Monday, Prince Harry was pictured at the UK-Africa Investment Summit in London, where he held a number of private meetings, including with Boris Johnson. The prime minister and the duke had an informal catch-up chat at the event, meeting for 20 minutes one-to-one without any aides present. It marked one of his few remaining official engagements before the Sussexes take a leap of faith and leave the monarchy for a new life in Canada, with the freedom to take on commercial ventures. Additional reporting by Press Association Mahindra must present more drastic self-rescue plan before seeking aid Mahindra Group, the largest shareholder of SsangYong Motor Co., has called for fresh loans from the government to normalize the cash-strapped automaker. Yet it is uncertain if the company can secure such financial support in return for self-rescue measures. On Thursday, Mahindra & Mahindra Managing Director Pawan Goenka promised a cash injection of 230 billion won ($198 million) to make SsangYong profitable by 2022 on the condition that the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) SsangYong's main creditor offer additional loans. He made the request for financial assistance during a meeting with KDB Chairman Lee Dong-gull in Seoul. On Friday, Goenka also met with Korean officials to ask for help with labor issues. Mahindra's request appears to be a pressure tactic aimed at seeking more support under the pretext of normalizing SsangYong and ensuring job security for autoworkers before the general election in April. The state lender, which already lent SsangYong 100 billion won last year, needs to be cautious, given the uncertain path ahead of the troubled automaker. SsangYong has been in the red for 11 quarters in a row, beset with sluggish sales, intensifying competition and delays in new car development. Its operating loss for 2019 is estimated at 200 billion won, bringing SsangYong's cumulative losses over the recent three years to 330 billion won. Mahindra reportedly expects that SsangYong will need 500 billion won over the next three years to get back on track. But its latest self-rescue plan appears to be insufficient to bring the automaker back to normal. A more serious question is whether SsangYong, a small carmaker with no capacity to develop futuristic vehicles like electric or hydrogen cars, can stay afloat amid the hectic wave of the mobility revolution represented by self-driving vehicles and car sharing. What is needed first is for Mahindra to present a more drastic and viable self-rescue plan. Then the KDB could consider providing additional financial support for SsangYong. Otherwise the government may risk pouring money into a bottomless pit only for a company whose survival is in doubt. Hyatt Place Dubai, Hyatts upscale select service brand of hotels, has promoted Sanjay Nambiar to cluster director of sales and marketing. Nambiar will be responsible for generating maximum revenue and executing strategies that will drive sales across all four Hyatt Place hotels in Dubai, namely Hyatt Place Dubai/Al Rigga; Hyatt Place Dubai/Baniyas Square; Hyatt Place Dubai/Wasl District and the recently-opened Hyatt Place Dubai/Jumeirah. Nambiar, who hails from India, brings more than 15 years of experience to his new role, acquired from working for prestigious hospitality brands in the UAE. With an array of regional experience, including Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts in Dubai and Abu Dhabi as well as Hyatt Regency Creek Heights in Dubai, he took on the role of managing the sales and marketing team for Hyatt Place Dubai in 2016. Since then, the Hyatt Place brand has expanded in Dubai, with the number of properties growing two-fold in the last nine months. Nambiar has pioneered driving the revenue for the four properties, while maintaining a strong average daily rate (ADR), and has been instrumental in establishing a solid reputation for the Hyatt Place brand in the UAE. In a very dynamic hospitality industry, Sanjay has been exemplary in securing consistent and additional business for the four Hyatt Place branded hotels in Dubai, said Fathi Khogaly, cluster general manager, Hyatt Place Dubai hotels. He leads the team in successfully delivering and escalating business growth and has built a great reputation for the brand. We are delighted to have Sanjay in our senior leadership team and we look forward to him further elevating the brands presence in the market - particularly with the recent opening of our flagship property, Hyatt Place Dubai/Jumeirah. Nambiar has showcased a history of efficient financial achievement for the properties. With the opening of Hyatt Place Dubai/Jumeirah in October 2019, he managed to drive an above the market average occupancy for the hotel till date and continues to boost revenue across all four properties. He has been successful in acquiring new accounts from the leisure and corporate business by diversifying the feeder market to include a larger proportion of India, Africa, Europe and America. With the support of his team, Nambiar conducted various familiarisation trips and quarterly sales blitzes in potential business hubs that resulted in consistent room nights for the properties. Under his leadership, the properties reported growth in small meetings and events, with regular groups of guests becoming loyal clientele of the Hyatt Place brand in Dubai. I feel privileged to lead a very supportive and performing team who share the same goal and ambition of increasing revenue and exceeding management expectations. The role comes with a lot of pressure and challenges, but we have an excellent brand, so I look forward to further maximising revenue and garnering distinguished results for Hyatt Place hotels in Dubai, commented Nambiar. - TradeArabia News Service EDITORS NOTE: On March 10, NJ Cannabis Insider hosts its first semi-annual, daylong industry conference, featuring leaders in the medical marijuana, hemp and legal cannabis industries. Early-bird tickets are now available. WASHINGTON Researchers are in a Cannabis Catch-22. They cant conduct cannabis research until they show cannabis has a medical use, but they cant show cannabis has a medical use until they can conduct research, said Rep. Anna Eshoo D-Calif. The House Energy and Commerce health subcommittee, which Eshoo chairs, held its first-ever hearing on marijuana last week. The panel considered several bills to expand research into the medical uses of cannabis, as well as the House Judiciary Committee-passed legislation to remove the federal ban on cannabis. The University of Mississippi currently is the only federally approved source of cannabis for research. Having only a single domestic source of research cannabis limits the diversity of products and formulations available to researchers and slows the development of cannabis-based medications, said Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse at the National Institutes of Health. Under federal law, researchers cant even use marijuana purchased legally in states, she said. Though its representatives were not invited to testify at the hearing, the American Psychological Association weighed in through a letter sent to the subcommittee and also urged an expanded supply of marijuana for research purposes. The scientific community is eager to advance cannabis research on both the harmful and therapeutic effects of cannabis and its derivatives," wrote Russ Shilling, chief scientific officer. But without the ability to obtain a range of FDA-approved marijuana products, scientific research cannot hope to keep pace with the ever-expanding recreational and medicinal cannabis marketplace, Shilling wrote. That has put pressure on the Drug Enforcement Agency to expand the supply of cannabis for research. Matthew Strait, a senior policy adviser with the DEAs Diversion Control Division, said the agency was trying to do just that, within certain limits. He said the agency fully supports research into marijuana and has expanded the supply to 3,200 kilograms in 2020 from 472 in 2017, a 575% increase. We look forward to continuing our efforts with our interagency partners to expand research efforts for all controlled substances, Strait said. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., chairman of the full committee, said the hearing was needed because of changes in the marijuana landscape, where 33 states allow medical cannabis while 11 have legalized the drug for recreational use. New Jersey voters will vote in November on whether to allow recreational marijuana. While state laws and public perception around cannabis and its derivatives have evolved over the years, much of the federal framework that regulates cannabis has stayed the same, said Pallone, D-6th Dist. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., who founded the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, called the an important milestone. It was important to hear a number of senior members of Congress affirming the change that is taking place at the state level and affirming the contradictions that are created by the federal government being out of step and out of touch, he said. Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook. Are you interested in the cannabis industry? Subscribe here for exclusive insider information from NJ Cannabis Insider. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. [January 20, 2020] IoT Security Market to Garner $73.92 Bn, Globally, by 2026 at 31.2% CAGR, Says Allied Market Research Increase in malware and phishing threats among enterprises, rise in adoption of IoT and BYOD trend, and numerous benefits provided by IoT security solutions drive the growth of the global IoT security market. PORTLAND, Oregon, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research recently published a report, titled, "IoT Security Market by Component (Solution and Services), Deployment Model (On-Premise and Cloud), Organization Size (Large Enterprises and Small & Medium Enterprises), Product Type (Device Authentication & Management, Identity Access & Management, Intrusion Detection System & Intrusion Prevention System, Data Encryption & Tokenization and Others), Security Type (Network Security, Endpoint Security, Application Security, Cloud Security, and Others), and Industry Vertical (Manufacturing, Retail & E-Commerce, Government & Defense, Transportation & Logistics, Energy & Utilities, Healthcare and Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20192026". According to the report, the global IoT security industry was pegged at $8.47 billion in 2018 and is projected to reach $73.92 billion by 2026, registering a CAGR of 31.2% from 2019 to 2026. Download Sample Report: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/4426 Major motivators for market growth Increase in malware and phishing threats among enterprises, rise in adoption of IoT and BYOD trend, and numerous benefits provided by IoT security solutions drive the growth of the global IoT security market. However, constant need to conform to industry standards and regulations and complexities of device security hamper the market growth. On the contrary, the need for strong authentication methods and transformation in traditional anti-virus software industry are expected to create lucrative opportunities in the near future. Solution segment dominated the market Based on component, the solution segment held the largest share in 2018, accounting for around three-fourths of the global IoT security market, owing to rise in the adoption of this IoT security solution among various enterprises. However, the services segment is expected to portray the fastest CAGR of 33.9% during the forecast period, owing to surge in different types of services which include professional and managed services. Manufacturing segment held the largest share Based on idustry verticals, the manufacturing segment dominated the market in 2018, contributing to nearly one-fourth of the global IoT security market, owing to rise in the number of IoT devices and to increase the security and privacy for the devices. However, the healthcare segment is expected to register the fastest CAGR of 36.2% during the study period, owing to its capabilities of accessing from anywhere across the world. For Purchase Inquiry: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/4426 North America held the lion's share The global IoT security market across North America held the largest share in 2018, contributing to more than one-third of the market, owing to rapid improvements in operational efficiency in IT infrastructures in the region. However, the market across the Asia-Pacific region is expected to register the fastest CAGR of 33.8% during the study period, owing to rise in digitalization in emerging economies such as China and India. Major market players IBM Corporation Infineon Technologies AG Intel Corporation Broadcom Cisco Systems Inc. Fortinet Inc. Gemalto NV Palo Alto Networks Inc. SecuriThings Trend Micro Incorporated Access AVENUE- A Subscription-Based Library (Premium on-demand, subscription-based pricing model) at: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/library-access Avenue is 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. By offering core business insights on the varied industries, economies, and end users worldwide, Avenue ensures that the registered members get an easy as well as single gateway to their all-inclusive requirements. Avenue Library Subscription | Request for 14 days free trial of before buying: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/avenue/trial/starter Similar Reports: Global IoT Monetization Market Expected to Reach $1,361,395 Million by 2025 IoT Integration Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20192026 IoT in Education Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020-2027 Internet of Everything (IoE) Market Expected to Reach $3,352 Billion by 2022 About Us: Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry. Contact: David Correa 5933 NE Win Sivers Drive #205, Portland, OR 97220 United States Toll Free: +1-800-792-5285 UK: +44-845-528-1300 Hong Kong: +852-301-84916 India (Pune): +91-20-66346060 Fax: +1-855-550-5975 [email protected] Web: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com Follow Us on: LinkedIn Twitter Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/636519/Allied_Market_Research_Logo.jpg Mainly Jem's Birding & Ringing Exploits in the Eastern Province & Ringing Trips to Bahrain File image Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said the government's earnest attempt was to decriminalise everything that has to do with Companies Law or related acts as part of initiatives towards a $5 trillion economy. She said the government does not want a law that could treat every business house with suspicion. Delivering the Nani Palkhiwala Memorial lecture on Sunday evening here, Sitharaman said she was impressed with the comments made by TATA Sons Ltd Chairman N Chandrashekharan who remarked that the government should trust people and its own citizens. "My first attempt and also an earnest attempt which continues today is to decriminalise everything to do with Companies law or related laws. The very point Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) keeps talking," she said. Sitharaman said in Companies Law, there are a number of sections leading to a criminal approach and penalties of even jail terms. "I had gone through this with a tooth comb. Decriminalising Companies Law ensuring no other act of Government whether it is Income Tax or your PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) will have such an impact. We are making sure that aspect will be addressed," she said. Elaborating, she said "we do not want a law which is going to treat every business house with suspicion. That is not the intent of this government at all". She said it was one of the initiatives the government had planned as part of steps towards taking the country to a $5 trillion economy, ensuring trust between the government and businesses. Earlier, to a query posed by a member of the audience that the government was pumping money into banks which had huge non-performing assets, she said banks are required to perform critical functions in an economy. Sitharaman said once PA was around Rs 10 lakh crore. "It has come down to Rs 8 lakh crore, it has further come down now..when we are talking about NPA and when money is given to banks, it is not that the banks need to take that money and happy with that...go after those who failed the bank by not paying dues. Get the money back..," she said. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 15:52:07|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- China's industrial economy will continue to expand steadily in 2020 despite downward pressures, a senior official said Monday. China boasts a complete industrial system, a large domestic market, robust consumption potential, abundant human resources, competitive infrastructure and ample policy leeway, which will continue to buoy industrial development this year, Miao Wei, minister of industry and information technology, told a press conference. China's unremitting efforts to improve the business environment, such as tax cuts and fee reductions, will further unleash market vitality, he continued. Innovation-based technology upgrading will also add impetus to the country's industrial growth, Miao said. In 2019, China's value-added industrial output expanded 5.7 percent year on year, within the target range of 5.5 to 6 percent set at the start of last year. During the first 11 months of 2019, 28 out of 41 major industrial divisions posted year-on-year profit growth. New Delhi, Jan 20 : The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Adobe India on Monday announced the winners of Creativity Challenge, after concluding its final round of judgement in the National Capital Region (NCR). Launched in October 2019 honouring the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the Creativity Challenge is the contest designed towards encouraging students from across 20,000 CBSE affiliated schools to showcase their creative expression, digital skills and personal vision depicting how Gandhian values can help the world today to prosper. Springdales School (Pusa Road, New Delhi), Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (Ahmednagar, Maharashtra) and East Point School (Vasundhara Enclave, New Delhi) emerged as winners among 4,500 plus schools across India that submitted project entries using various 'Adobe Creative Cloud' tools. "Our partnership with Adobe for Creativity Challenge in schools was a milestone initiative that boosted creativity in India's classrooms, while celebrating the ethos of Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy and learnings during this momentous year of his 150th birth anniversary," said Anita Karwal, Chairperson, CBSE. While the winning teams in the three defined grade categories will be given an all-expenses-paid trip to Adobe's global headquarters in California, US, the top nine schools will win an annual subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud to further their creative potential for long term growth. "It is heartening to see the overwhelming participation received by the contest from schools across all corners of India - encouraging young minds to the opportunity to experience how the powerful collaboration of imagination and innovation can help them maximise their potential, and truly thrive in the long run," said Shanmugh Natarajan, VP - Products, Adobe India. The CBSE - Adobe Creativity Challenge saw the participation of students from 6th Grade to 12th Grade, where they leveraged Adobe Creative Cloud tools to prepare and submit creative projects across nine themes related to sustainable development goals and life of Mahatma Gandhi. The Irish Foreign Minister on Monday met with the EU's chief Brexit negotiator in Brussels, less than two weeks before the UK is set to leave the bloc. Simon Coveney stressed the importance that "guarantees that have been provided to prevent border infrastructure" on the island of Ireland needed to be implemented in parallel with the process of negotiating a post-Brexit deal. Britain is expected to officially leave the European Union on Jan. 31 after a debilitating political period that has bitterly divided the nation since the 2016 Brexit referendum. Two days before the exit, on 29 January, the EU legislature will vote on Brexit. Difficult negotiations setting out the new relationship between Britain and its European neighbours will then continue throughout 2020 during an 11-month transition period. =========================================================== Clients are reminded: (i) to check the terms of their licence agreements for use of content outside news programming and that further advice and assistance can be obtained from the AP Archive on: Tel +44 (0) 20 7482 7482 Email: info@aparchive.com (ii) they should check with the applicable collecting society in their Territory regarding the clearance of any sound recording or performance included within the AP Television News service (iii) they have editorial responsibility for the use of all and any content included within the AP Television News service and for libel, privacy, compliance and third party rights applicable to their Territory. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan.20 By Leman Zeynalova Trend: In 2019 the Asian Development Bank (ADB) significantly increased the provision of its technical assistance and knowledge support to government agencies in Azerbaijan, ADB told Trend. "The outgoing year was a special for our partnership. We marked its 20-year anniversary with number of events," said the Bank. As the ADB said in summer the Azerbaijani government and the Bank endorsed the new Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) which outlines directions of cooperation for the next five years. "The CPS overall objective is to support diversified and inclusive growth in Azerbaijan in line with the governments strategic road maps," said ADB. The CPS includes three strategic pillars: Boosting private sector development: 1) More sustainable and diverse non-oil private sector (e.g., improved business and investment climate environment; stronger micro, small, and medium enterprises; stronger value chains) 2) Deeper and more inclusive finance sector (e.g., stronger nonbank credit institutions, new financial instruments, capital market development, building up capabilities of financial intermediaries, effective risk-mitigation schemes); Raising Public Sector Efficiency: 1) Strengthened public resource management (e.g., fiscal rule on use of hydrocarbon revenues, medium-term expenditure framework, budget information management system, public procurement capacity, fiscal risk and public debt management, tax administration efficiency, enhancing social protection systems), 2) Increased efficiency and financial sustainability of state-owned enterprises; Improving Infrastructure and Strengthening Human Capital: 1) Better and more sustainable infrastructure to reduce cost of doing business and regional inequalities, and to support regional cooperation and integration; 2) Utility regulation and tariff reform; 3) More private sector participation in infrastructure; 4) Improved labor skills and productivity through better access and quality of technical and vocational education. "In November ADB approved a $250 million policy-based loan in support of the government of Azerbaijans efforts to strengthen public sector governance and fiscal management, and encourage private sector development. Overall, this year can be assessed as another productive and fruitful year of our successful partnership," said ADB. As the Bank said, since Azerbaijan joined ADB in 1999, ADB approved about $5.1 billion in sovereign and nonsovereign loans, guarantees, and technical assistance in various fields such as transport, energy, water supply and sanitation, public sector management, finance, agriculture and natural resources. Of this amount, $1.9 billion went to energy, $1.4 billion transport, $1 billion public sector management, $583 million water and other urban infrastructure and services, $214 million finance, $1.2 million agriculture, natural resources and rural development and $0.6 million health. A total of 82 projects were supported in Azerbaijan by the ADB as of September 1, 2019. "The priority areas of our cooperation are set in our Country Operational Business Plan (COBP) for 2020-2022. The COBP is the document which is being updated on annual basis. The updating process will start in early 2020 and new COBP will be finalized by summer," said ADB. Azerbaijan, a group C developing member country, is eligible for regular ordinary capital resources (OCR) lending. The indicative resources available during 20202022 for sovereign operations total $820 million. Co-financing and funding from other sources, including the regular OCR regional cooperation and integration set-aside, will be explored. During 20202022, ADB also expects to commit technical assistance (TA) amounting to $5.8 million to be financed from internal sources and supplemented, whenever feasible, by ADB-administered trust funds and other external sources. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn January 20, 2020 Philips' products and solutions improved the lives of 1.64 billion globally in 2019 compared to 1.54 billion in 2018, and improved the lives of 194 million in underserved communities compared to 175 million in 2018 Global roll-out of Philips' large medical systems take-back and remanufacturing program Philips' US and Netherlands operations 100% powered by renewable energy Philips ranked on CDP Climate Change A-list for seventh year running and among the world's top global companies for its commitment to action on climate change Amsterdam, the Netherlands and Davos, Switzerland - Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology, today announced new milestones in its aim to make the world healthier and more sustainable through innovation. In collaboration with its partners, Philips aims to address pressing societal issues with a focus on the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals 3, 12 and 13 aimed at improving access to affordable care, the transition to a circular economy and actions on climate change. The company's mission is to improve the lives of 3 billion people a year by 2030. "Through innovation we can leverage the synergies between health and sustainability giving great opportunity to improve people's lives," said Frans van Houten, CEO of Royal Philips, in the run-up to Davos 2020. "Whether it's empowering clinicians to improve patient outcomes or creating new business models and circular economy solutions to reduce healthcare's carbon footprint, we know that achieving the scale necessary to make a global difference can only be done through inclusive stakeholder partnerships that create true end-to-end solutions." Recent milestones achieved by Philips in collaboration with its partners include: SDG3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages Half the world's population still has no access to healthcare, while studies show that in many well-developed healthcare systems as much as 25% of health spending is wasteful. Philips is committed to co-creating high-quality affordable healthcare solutions in which resources are used in the most efficient and responsible way. In 2019, Philips' products and solutions improved the lives of 1.64 billion globally, compared to 1.54 billion in 2018, and improved the lives of 194 million in underserved communities compared to 175 million in 2018. Last Friday, Philips announced it has signed a new partnership agreement with the Republic of the Congo's Ministry of Health & Population and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to reduce maternal and newborn mortality rates by 50 percent in the country's health facilities over the next five years, especially in remote areas. The three partners will work together to implement a large-scale 'Emergency obstetric and newborn care' (EmONC) program that will reach more than 500,000 women and 70,000 newborns, improving access to high quality and affordable maternal, neonatal and child healthcare. The program benefitted from a high level meeting at WEF 2019 that galvanized the support for the initiative from a large group of stakeholders. In the US, Philips partners with the US Department of Veterans Affairsallows US veterans to conduct virtual appointments with their VA providers without having to travel to a distant VA regional medical facility or outpatient clinic. SDG 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns Philips is on track to deliver on the circular economy commitment it made at the 2018 WEF Annual Meeting that by 2020 the company will take back and repurpose all the large medical systems that its customers are prepared to return to it. With reverse logistics in place, adding a return flow from all major markets, the global roll-out of Philips' product take-back and remanufacturing program is currently underway. Philips has also expanded its parts recovery activities, allowing the company to re-use more components. Through co-chairmanship of PACE), Philips CEO Frans van Houten is supporting the circular economy, helping the industry to formulate change, spearheading implementation, and assembling a coalition of like-minded companies prepared to make circular economy pledges. Eight new PACE reports were launched in 2019. PACE activities currently run across China, Southeast Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America, and its Leadership Group grew from around 50 in 2018 to over 70 global leaders in 2019. Last week, PACE announced that four new members are joining its board. Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UN Environment Program, Lisa Jackson, VP Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives for Apple, Ellen MacArthur, Founder Ellen MacArthur Foundation and Stientje van Veldhoven, Minister for the Environment and Housing for the Government of the Netherlands. SDG 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts Earlier today, Philips announcedthat it has once again been placed on the CDP Climate Change A List [1], making this the seventh consecutive year it has achieved a CDP A-list ranking for its leadership in corporate climate action. Philips has been recognized for its actions during the last reporting year to reduce emissions, mitigate climate risks and develop the low-carbon economy. An example is last year's successful opening of Windpark Krammer in the Netherlands enabling Philips to power 100% of its Netherlands operations with renewable energy, matching the 100% renewable energy target already achieved in the company's US operations. [1] The Climate Change A List is published by CDP each year, alongside A Lists for leadership on protecting forests and water security. The full list of companies that made this year's CDP Climate Change A List is available, along with other publicly available company scores, at https://www.cdp.net/en/companies/companies-scores . For further information, please contact: Joost Maltha Philips Global Press Office Tel.: +31 6 10 55 8116 E-mail: joost.maltha@philips.com Ben Zwirs Philips Global Press Office Tel.: +31 6 15 2134 46 E-mail: ben.zwirs@philips.com About Royal Philips Royal Philips. Attachments Police allowed him to spend the holidays with his very elderly sister. Since 2007 the bishop has been under police control and in solitary confinement. Rome (AsiaNews) - Msgr Agostino Cui Tai, underground bishop of Xuanhua (Hebei) has been freed to spend the Chinese New Year celebrations with his family, which begins on the evening of January 24th, according to some priests of the diocese. They say the police will return the bishop to isolation after the New Year holidays. Archbishop Cui, 69, was arrested and taken away by the police last March. The bishop is recognized by the Holy See but not by the government, which is pushing him to become a member of an "independent" Church. Since 2007, the authorities have relentlessly and illegally detained Msgr. Cui Tai or placed him under house arrest, without observing any legal process. During these years, the bishop has been locked up in several secret detention centers, or in hotels, or taken away for forced "vacations" under the escort of government officials. Only during the Chinese New Year and the Mid-Autumn Festival (of the moon) has Msgr. Cui Tai occasionally been able to return home for a short visit to his elderly sister. For the rest of the time he has always remained under the guard and control of the government. EDWARDSVILLE Alderman SJ Morrison came to the finance committee meeting Tuesday with opinions about the previous round of Edwardsvilles Neighborhood Enhancement Recognition and Grant Initiative (ENERGI) program. The program provides up to 50 percent reimbursement to city-registered neighborhood associations for approved projects and it allocates up to $5,000 per ward. Only registered neighborhood associations are eligible for the grants. Last year, wards one, three and eight had no projects submitted. I asked that this be on the agenda, Morrison said. I know that in our previous round, some wards that did not have any grants submitted at all. We had a discussion at this committee about issuing another round of grants, which we have done. While he was complimentary of the overall program, Morrison wanted to discuss the application review process, led by the chairpeople of the various city committees. They vote on the applications and have the ability to turn them down, which he said has happened to one from his ward. I think that this is silly, Morrison said. I dont know if that is a layer that we need. Not only does it add time to the process, I think its an unnecessary step. He remarked that neighborhoods worked hard to obtain signatures, volunteers, project estimates then a group of chairpeople, leaders of the citys beautification, cool cities, plan commission, zoning board, and historic preservation decide to reject applications for whatever reasons. The reason for that was because, say there were four projects in one ward that are submitted, said Mayor Hal Patton. Is it fair to have the aldermen select out of those four or is it fair to have a non-partisan [group do it]? Patton said he understood Morrisons desire to have the decision process move faster and become more efficient, but he disagrees with removing the review or oversight layer, citing what happened in other areas with a lack of oversight, such as Chicago and St. Louis. There is plenty of money available in my ward, my allocation. They just decided no, this project doesnt rate, Morrison said. City Planner Emily Fultz attended the meeting, too. She explained that while the chairpersons who review applications felt the Ward 4 project has merit and they appeared to like it, they declined to approve it because they felt another round should be advertised city-wide and everyone should have another opportunity to form an association and apply. But thats different than voting no on the project, Morrison said. What bothered me is they were making not a decision about the merit of the application, which is what their charge is; they were making a procedural [decision]. Patton agreed, saying that needs to be cleaned up but he sought to retain the chairpersons role as review committee. A change he and Alderman Chris Farrar suggested was applying any leftover grant funds toward city-wide projects. Alderman Craig Louer concurred. For the second round, this fiscal year, were looking at a very short turnaround, Fultz said. She added that second round applications are due by 5 p.m. on Jan. 27. Awards will be announced shortly thereafter and projects must be completed by March 31. We like to have all of our requests for reimbursement back to us by April 1 so we can get those processed and get the reimbursements to the associations by the end of our fiscal year. The citys current fiscal year ends April 30. This is a program that I think is really important, Morrison said. Ive seen in my ward neighborhoods come together to organize, go door-to-door, get petitions and work together on projects. Steinmeyer Place is one that submitted an application for this round. Eligible projects include, but are not limited to, decorative street signage, landscape or beautification projects, installation of benches or artwork in common areas, or a subdivision identification sign. Applicants are encouraged to be creative and collaborative to develop projects that engage and benefit their neighborhoods. The citys 2020-2021 ENERGI grant program will be open for applications in May or June. For more information on this program, visit www.cityofedwardsville.com and click on the ENERGI Neighborhood Grant Program link under the Our Community tab or contact City Planner Emily Fultz at (618) 692-7535. Completed applications may be dropped off before the deadline at the citys public works department, 200 E. Park St. Reach reporter Charles Bolinger at (618) 659-5735 Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 10:29:35|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close BUENOS AIRES, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Bolivia's leftist Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) party said Sunday it has picked former economy minister Luis Arce to be its presidential candidate in the general elections to be held in May. Evo Morales, Bolivia's former president and the party's founder, made the announcement in Argentina's capital Buenos Aires, where he was granted political asylum after being forced out of office in November. Arce's running mate will be former Foreign Affairs Minister David Choquehuanca, who, like Morales, is a member of Bolivia's majority indigenous population. "We opted for Luis Arce because the economy will be a fundamental topic in MAS' proposal for Bolivia's future government," Morales told reporters at a press conference. Arce was minister of economy and public finance between 2006 and 2017, and again from January to November in 2019. Bolivians will choose a new president on May 3 for the second time in eight months, after hard-right factions rejected Morales' reelection to a fourth term in October, citing electoral fraud. Morales resigned and fled to Mexico after Bolivia's military and police forces sided with the conservative opposition and withdrew their support for his leadership. He later relocated to Argentina to take a more active role in the elections being organized by the opposition-backed interim government that took over. Brisbane-based tech start-up, Entegy, is off to a great start in the new decade, as the companys service has recently expanded into Brazil, Spain, Canada and UAE. The companys core platform for event organisations, Entegy Suite, has landed large-scale events such as the 2014 G20 Brisbane summit, and big brands like Eventbrite, Monash University and Queensland Tourism. The platform helps its clients to organise events and streamline the communications and processes that come with it. The story of Entegy started in 2014, after its co-founder and director, Graeme Caplen-Black, was invited to pitch on building an app for a Jazz festival. During this time, Graeme realised that there was a lack of collective solutions to the shared problems between businesses in the event industry, such as ineffective communications, weak engagement and complex logistics. Entegy was born to address these concerns. Brisbane owned, built and operated, Entegy maintains local connections with a global vision. The company launched its partner program in 2017, entering the markets in USA, New Zealand, Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland and Germany in its first year. Speaking of its recent expansion, Graeme is pleased with the fact that Entegy has managed to stick to its mission despite some difficulties along the way. We always knew we would have to grow internationally to scale our business and this was part of the strategy from the beginning, he said. Truly expanding internationally as a bootstrapped business took careful planning and execution, which has centred around building a world-class team that believes in our vision for the company. Graeme also observed that, for Entegy, landing on an international deal is not the hardest part of breaking into the global market. The international market came to us initially, however making the partnerships work and scaling them has been a lot of hard work. It has been akin to re-learning our business at times however a great opportunity to truly understand what is required to go global. One of Entegys partners is Eventbrite, who now offers the suite across eight countries. Eventbrites Senior Vice President of Global Sales and Services, Phil Silverstone, says that Entegy is a local partner who understood the unique needs of event organisers. Working with the Queensland Tourism Industry Council, Entegy also supported the 2018 Queensland Tourism Awards gala dinner, where an event app is used for the first time during this annual gathering. Graeme believes that building meaningful connections with partners is critical for Entegy to stay grounded while scaling globally. I guess its handy that were all relationships focused people! We are acutely aware that each partner builds unique bonds with specific team members which is something we encourage. Scaling this model has had challenges, specifically change management as weve grown the network. However, we have been going from strength to strength so we must be doing something right! Entegy is now on track to supporting more than 2,000 events worldwide in 2020, with more than half of them being international. The company is also set to open an office in Amsterdam this year to cater for the global demand. You can read more about startups here. Keep up to date with our stories LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Amanda Knox is getting married in 40 days and shes wearing her trusty old prison uniform to prepare for it. In an Instagram post shared on Sunday, the 32-year-old ex-convict, who was wrongfully convicted and then exonerated for the 2007 murder of roommate Meredith Kercher in Perugia, Italy, Knox wrote, 40 days left until the wedding and 267 tasks left on the wedding To Do list. Knox continued, Ive locked myself in the craftroom and Im wearing my old prison uniform in Casa Circondariale Capanne, Perugia. Over the summer, Knox and her fiance Christopher Robinson raised eyebrows with a new wedding website where the couple asked for donations to help crowd-fund their space-themed wedding celebration. Lets face it, we dont need any more stuff, she and Robinson wrote on the registry portion of the site. What we do need is help putting on the best party ever for our family and friends! Amanda Knox and her fiance Christopher Robinson | Amanda Knox/Instagram RELATED: Amanda Knox Asks for Donations to Crowd-Fund Wedding: Best Party Ever Instead of a traditional registry, we are asking for donations towards the cost of the wedding, they wrote. Whether youre attending or not, all are welcome to donate to specific costs, or at a patron level. The registry also says that everyone who donates will receive a signed, limited edition copy of The Cardio Tesseract, the couples joint book of love poems. Knox was an American student studying abroad in Perugia in 2007 when she was accused of killing her roommate Meredith Kercher, 21, who was found half-naked with her throat cut in her bedroom. Knox, who was 20 at the time of the slaying, and her then-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, were both convicted in the murder. Prosecutors alleged the crime had taken place during a sex game run amok, though hard evidence against the young couple was scant. Knox and Robinson in Italy to attend a conference organized by the Italy Innocence Project | Antonio Calanni/AP/Shutterstock RELATED: Amanda Knox to Return to Italy for First Time Since She Was Falsely Convicted of Murdering Roommate In 2011, Knox and Sollecito were freed after four years in prison after an appeals court acquitted them. However, the pair were convicted again in absentia in 2013 before being acquitted again in 2015. Last year, Knox returned to Italy, where she appeared as a guest speaker on a panel discussion on wrongful convictions organized by the group the Innocence Project. Even though we are in the 21st century, racism and injustice still exist in the U.S. and other parts of the world. As an Ahmadi Muslim, I encourage our brothers and sisters in humanity to reflect on this day and ponder upon it on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said the same message that Dr. King preached over 13 centuries ago that a white has no superiority over a black nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good action. This mirrors what Dr. King famously stated: I look to the day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. I encourage my fellow Americans to pay heed to this message and let us all come together and echo our voices toward justice and end racism. Khalid Khan, Bay Point Housing and homeless Two interesting points on todays issues of homelessness and housing. First, we are in a booming economic expansion. Homelessness is at a record high. What would it look like if the economy turns down? Imagine a recession creating so many more people on the streets. Second, the housing issues are creating havoc with politicians. On the one hand, you want more housing units on as much land as possible. Yet, the growing pains exacerbate stress on the community. Also, you put pressure on developing open space which environmentalists want to preserve. North Stamets, Sausalito Well done, Sweeney Regarding Doorman hangs up his beefeater suit (Page One, Jan. 14): My tour of duty is over, announced Tom Sweeney after a sterling career at San Franciscos Sir Francis Drake Hotel. What a joy to read! Sweeney worked straight out of high school and now can collect two pensions because of his ambition. I salute him. I wish more people shared his work ethic, helpful personality and resourcefulness David Tulanian, Las Vegas Shut down rock hall Regarding Doobie Brothers get into rock hall (Jan. 16): So what? Its hard to imagine a more meaningless institution than the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, whose business is to memorialize yesterdays pop stars. The music industrys lifeline is whats happening today and what comes next. I mean, certainly this fame recognition must be gratifying to friends and family of T. Rex and Whitney Houston (new inductees, along with the Doobie Brothers), but lets get real. Nobodys listening. The sharks have been jumped. Today, on Amazon, youll find best-of albums by the Doobie Brothers, Whitney Houston and T. Rex for less than five bucks near-giveaways, guaranteed to dwindle further in years to come. And rightly so. Their time is past. Attempting to prop up these acts with blast-from-the-past accolades is pop musics Thousand-Year Reich. Dead and gone. Time to recognize that and shut down the hall. John Burks, Pacifica Dangerous precedent Regarding Homeless to shelter on vacant state land (Page One, Jan. 8): As a compassionate person, I couldnt be more pleased that California will be opening vacant state land to emergency shelters for homeless persons. Shelter is one of the basic needs on Maslows hierarchy of needs, and the fact that more people will be sheltered is a positive thought. However, I feel Gov. Gavin Newsom shouldnt have granted exemptions to environmental regulations in order to speed up shelter construction. As a student of environmental science, I am painfully aware of the potential harmful effects of ignoring environmental regulations. I believe ignoring these regulations, even for such philanthropic causes, can set a dangerous precedent. If we can ignore environmental regulations for this, whats to stop us from doing it again for a less positive cause? So, Gov. Newsom, please continue to improve conditions for homeless people, but also maintain good conditions for our environment. Lydia Neve, San Jose Cut out the beef Responding to Reduce carbon footprint (Letters, Jan. 14): I welcome all ways to reduce our carbon emissions, and turn around climate change. A very easy and effective thing to do is to eat less meat. Producing meat, especially beef, is extremely water-intensive (5,000 gallons per pound of beef). The methane emissions from animals are worse for the environment than those from fossil fuels! You dont have to go completely vegetarian, just cut back a few meals or days per week. The land can then be used for better purposes. Kathryn Ryan, La Honda Profiles in Cowardice Former President John F. Kennedy was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for his book Profiles in Courage. Its about eight senators in our history who took controversial and courageous stands for their principles and against their party. Who will, today, write a Profiles in Cowardice highlighting the Republican senators, cowed by President Trump, who choose to put their own selfish political interests over the Constitution and the country? Thane (Maharashtra) [India], Jan 20 (ANI): In remarks that could stir controversy, NCP leader Jitendra Awhad and Maharashtra Minister on Monday alleged that ancestors of people sitting at the throne in Delhi "were appeasing" Britishers at a time his father was embracing death sentence for the sake of the country. He made the remarks at a rally here against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and in support of the stance of several opposition parties against the National Population Register. The opposition parties have accused the BJP-led coalition of trying to bring the National Register of Citizenship. Awhad, who is Maharashtra Housing Minister, also said Muslims can tell where their grandfather was buried but Hindus may not be able to tell the place where the last rites of their ancestors were performed. "I would ask the (people at) throne in Delhi, will you ask me proof of my being an Indian. Then listen, when your father was licking the boots of the British after bowing to them, my father was embracing the death and raising slogans inquilab zindabad," he said. "I want to ask, my Hindu brothers are sitting here, where your grandfather's last rites took place? Muslim can tell where the graveyard is," he added. Awhad said Citizenship Amendment Act was not only against Muslims but against other communities and notified tribes. The government has said NPR and NRC were not linked and there has been no discussion on NRC. The CAA grants citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, who came to India on or before December 31, 2014. (ANI) Samsung Display, a flat-screen supplier to Samsung Electronics Co, will invest nearly $500 million to build a new factory in India, media reports said, citing a regulatory filing, Trend with reference to Reuters reports. The South Korean company told Reuters that it was considering building a factory in India, without elaborating further. The new factory will be built in Noida on the outskirts of New Delhi, according to reports by tech website TechCrunch and Indian newspaper The Economic Times. Noida is also home to Samsung Electronics phone factory. The new display plant will help Samsung Electronics secure local supplies of one of the most expensive parts of a smartphone, at a time when the tech giant is struggling to fend off competition from Chinese rivals. Samsung, the No.2 smartphone seller in India after Xiaomi, saw its market share drop to 20% in the country in the third quarter, from 25% in the preceding quarter, according to data from research firm Counterpoint. Smaller Chinese rivals Vivo and Realme boosted market share in India, one of the fastest growing smartphone markets in the world. In 2018, Samsung Electronics formally opened a new phone factory in Noida. Businesses need to be singing from the same hymn sheet if they want to make meaningful progress in combatting the climate crisis, said the environmental director of one of Asia's leading hotel groups, Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels. Janice Lao, director of group corporate responsibility and sustainability at Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels, has called for a consolidation of sustainability standards. There are "too many" sustainability metrics out there and they are overwhelming the public and hindering progress, Lao told CNBC's "Street Signs" on Monday. "If we don't talk in one language, people are not going to understand what progress we're trying to achieve (and) where we are in the journey." Sustainability standards have grown at a rapid rate in recent decades as environmental issues gain increasing prominence. As of 2019, there were over 400 measures, according to the State of Sustainability Initiatives. Lao, a Forbes Sustainability Leader, said she is already in talks with several standards agencies to come up with coordinated sustainability metrics, but she said greater backing was needed. "If we can consolidate the definitions, it's much easier for us to tell our story ... not only to the public but also to the business community, who are going to be making these types of investments," she said. Lao's comments come as leaders gather at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland this week to discuss, among other things, striking a unified response to the intensifying climate crisis. Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels has been advocating environmental practices since 2013 via its "Sustainable Luxury Vision 2020," which covers areas such as sustainable food sourcing and construction. Lao noted that the luxury hotel chain, which has operations in Asia, the U.S. and Europe, has succeeded in receiving investor buy-in because it was able to present the plan as part of its long-term strategy. The director said that approach may be less attainable for low to mid-range hotels, with smaller margins. However, she added that businesses should regard the shift to sustainability as an inevitability, particularly as more countries move to curb unsustainable practices. "This is what the future is going to be like, this is the norm," said Lao. "We know that in all the cities we're going to be operating in, in all the countries we're operating, we're seeing more and more environmental, climate change and plastics regulation. That's something that we're preparing for." Democratic presidential contenders celebrated Martin Luther King Jrs legacy at a Baptist church and linked arms with each other and civil rights leaders in a march of tens of thousands to the South Carolina Statehouse. At Zion Baptist Church before the march, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren engaged in the handshake that did not happen in the frosty aftermath of the last debate. This is the handshake, presidential contender Tulsi Gabbard said as Mr Sanders and Ms Warren reached across her to shake hands in the front row. They and rival Amy Klobuchar attended the service before they joined Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg and other contenders in the march to the Statehouse. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren shake hands watched by Tulsi Gabbard (Meg Kinnard/AP) In last weeks debate, Ms Warren and Mr Sanders clashed in an exchange over what was said during a private conversation about a womans chances of becoming president. Mr Sanders extended his hand afterward, and Ms Warren pulled back. Now, in the closing days before the first votes are cast in the 2020 Democratic presidential contest, the partys leading hopefuls are splitting their time between the critical early-voting states of South Carolina and Iowa at events celebrating Dr King. The march brought together more candidates than engaged in the last two debates. Beginning today in church for King Day at Zion Baptist Church in SC. Faith is needed at this juncture in our nations history. We must, in Kings words, be drum majors for justice. We reflect on his life and pay tribute to his enduring legacy of progress by continuing his work. Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) January 20, 2020 They arrived at the Statehouse as Dr Kings I have a dream speech played over loudspeakers. While Iowa and New Hampshire Democrats vote first for their nominee, South Carolinas first-in-the-South primary is a crucial proving ground for a candidates mettle with black voters. Story continues The states showcase holiday celebration, Columbias King Day at the Dome, is a notable event for Democratic politicians. Today we honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and his fight for social, racial, and economic justice. We honor his struggles and triumphs. We honor his courage and his vision. Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) January 20, 2020 Sanders spokesman Michael Wukela said the King event in South Carolina was about respect pure and simple, noting that racial inequality in areas including criminal justice and poverty highlights the relevance of commemorating a civil rights icon here. If you cant stand shoulder to shoulder with people who face these challenges every day yet still manage to embrace a vision of hope and grace, then you dont deserve their respect, much less their vote, he said. Vice President Mike Pence takes a tour of the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel, where Rev. Martin Luther King Jr was fatally shot on April 4, 1968, in Memphis (Joe Rondone/The Commercial Appeal/AP) King Day at the Dome began in 2000 as a reaction to state politicians decision that year to keep the Confederate battle flag flying from the Statehouses copper-covered cupola, a place of prominence that drew opposition. Tens of thousands of people marched through the centre of Columbia from the prayer service to the Statehouse. Politicians eventually agreed to a compromise that moved the flag to a flagpole, albeit one prominently situated in front of the building. The deal also recognised Martin Luther King Jr Day in the state and created Confederate Memorial Day. In 2015, following the racist massacre of nine Bible study participants at a historic black church in Charleston, politicians voted to remove the flag from the grounds. In years past many Democratic presidential hopefuls have made their way to the north-facing facade of the Statehouse, including John Edwards, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Democratic presidential hopefuls Joe Biden and Amy Klobuchar (Meg Kinnard/AP) Last year, Mr Sanders and Senator Cory Booker, who has dropped out of the 2020 race, attended. Many of the candidates in the wide field planned to travel to Des Moines, Iowa, on Monday for the Brown and Black Forum, recognised as one of the nations oldest minority-focused presidential candidate events of its kind. Traditionally a debate, the event in recent years has been more of a one-on-one candidate forum. Former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg, who is not competing in the early-voting states but has put some of his multimillion-dollar ad spending there plans to join a King Day parade in Little Rock, Arkansas. Tech businessman Andrew Yang is in the midst of a 17-day bus tour of Iowa and plans to remain there. 'If the Bangladesh-China relationship strengthens further, it can only be to India's detriment,' notes Vice Admiral Premvir Das. IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi with his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina. Photograph: Atul Yadav/PTI Photo India and Bangladesh have come a long way since 1971. From the heyday of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, to the low points during the regimes of Zia-ur Rehman and his wife Begum Zia, to the current blossoming relationship with Mujib's daughter, Sheikh Hasina, the relationship has travelled some distance, with many ups and downs. With an upswing now in motion, every effort must be made to ensure that the surge is maintained. India's Indo-Pacific aspirations have been emphasised more than once by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in recent months; Bangladesh, located where it is, must surely figure very high in that calculus. It is in this context that we should view recent developments resulting in, and flowing from, the cancellation of two visits by its senior ministers to our country. While the history of our land border issues over several decades is well-known and now happily resolved, that of the maritime demarcation is unknown to most Indians. For several years, both countries argued over a small piece of territory called New Moore Island, which submerged at high tide but was quite visible when the waters subsided. Bangladesh claimed the island as its own and drew its maritime boundary and exclusive economic zone from it, while India maintained that it lay in its jurisdiction. Behind both claims was an assessment that reserves of oil and gas lay submerged in the seabed around New Moore. At one time, India even positioned its naval personnel and a ship around the island. There was considerable acrimony and a near state of hostility between the two countries, and it was only in 2014 that the issue was resolved through international arbitration, which resulted in India giving up its claim to New Moore and about 80 per cent of the waters it had claimed. Thus, a major impediment to good-neighbourly relations was removed. So, now both land and maritime boundaries between the two countries stand resolved. Why is Bangladesh important to our interests in the Indo-Pacific? Lying some 600 miles north of the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal, with the major port of Chittagong and another, Cox's Bazaar, almost bordering its neighbour Myanmar, the country is an important littoral on our eastern seaboard. Along with Myanmar, it has had security linkages with China in the form of port infrastructure development; to this must be added the supply of military and naval hardware, in which two submarines figure prominently. Chinese warships have frequently visited Chittagong. If the relationship strengthens further, it can only be to India's detriment. Bangladesh is also a supporter of the China's Belt and Road Initiative, and that country's aspiration to link its Yunan province to the Indian Ocean, bypassing the long and arduous Malacca Straits, requires access to Chittagong through Bangladesh. If this materialises, we will see a sizeable increase in the Chinese naval and maritime presence in the Bay of Bengal and consequently, in proximity to the Andaman Islands. During the current positive engagement between India and Bangladesh, the potential negatives have been pushed to the back burner, but nothing should be done that may reverse the situation. Earlier this month, the naval chief disclosed that a Chinese research vessel had intruded into our exclusive economic zone and had to be asked to leave. This is not the first time that such an intrusion has occurred. These ships test seabed possibilities and sonar conditions that facilitate optimum operations of submarines, and are clearly unacceptable. Further, deployments by foreign warships in the maritime territories of others -- except on 'innocent passage' -- require prior approval. The Chinese have ignored this requirement repeatedly. They have flouted international norms and rules in the South China Sea, where smaller countries such as the Philippines and Vietnam have been wary of opposing them forcefully. They cannot be allowed to replicate their in our areas of interest. The Bay of Bengal is a key component of the Indo-Pacific, and rates high in our strategic and security priorities. Leaving aside such unauthorised incursions, the Chinese maritime presence in the waters of the Indian Ocean has increased substantially post-2008, following the outbreak of Somali piracy. They maintain bases in Pakistan (Gwadar) and in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, and can deploy forces from both. They also maintain a regular presence of four or five ships, including an oiler, in the Indian Ocean region, which provides endurance and staying power at sea. Additionally, they are seeking a presence in island territories such as the Seychelles, and have contributed towards port development in Sri Lanka (Hambantota and Colombo) and in Myanmar. So, friendly relations with Bangladesh are critical to India's interests. Fortunately, from every economic and social parameter, the country is doing well and in many of them, out-performing India. The areas of discord are few. It is in this context that we must view recent developments. Identifying Bangladesh, even indirectly, for persecution of Hindu minorities alongside Pakistan has not been well-received by them, and it is not surprising that it has taken the position that it has. Fortunately, Sheikh Hasina herself has not made any comments, and this speaks volumes for her own assessment of the relationship, even as the desired 'messages' were sent through cancellation of the high-profile ministerial visits. Hopefully, these have been assimilated and will help tone down the rhetoric because, of the dozens of countries that are Indo-Pacific littorals and of importance to India, Bangladesh must rank among those at the top. In the immediate neighbourhood, it is clearly one that merits a 'friendly' tag. It will not help our interests if that categorisation is even diluted, much less revised. Vice Admiral Premvir Das is a former commander-in-chief of the Eastern Naval Command. He has also served as member of the National Security Advisory Board. PR-Inside.com: 2020-01-20 13:00:18 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 773 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / January 20, 2020 / Orsu Metals Corporation (TSXV:OSU) ("Orsu" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the results of an updated Mineral Resource estimate for its Sergeevskoe Gold Project in Zabaikalsky Krai, Russia. The Mineral Resource estimate was independently prepared by Wardell Armstrong International Ltd. ("WAI") in accordance with the guidelines of the JORC Code (2012)/CIM Definitions Standards and NI 43-101 requirements. A Technical Report covering the Mineral Resource estimate will be filed on SEDAR within 45 days of this news release.Highlights:An Inferred Mineral Resource of 30.42 million tonnes, grading 1.45 g/t gold and containing 1.417 Moz gold at a 0.5 g/t gold cut-off grade and US$1450 per Troy ounce of gold, was optimized into an open pit constrained by the license boundaries at Sergeevskoe.Dr. Alexander Yakubchuk, Director of Exploration of Orsu commented: "As a result of the 2019 exploration programme, Orsu was able not only to double the mineralized footprint to 2x1 km at Sergeevskoe, the Company also succeeded in increasing by 19.3% its previously announced maiden Mineral Resource. We have no doubt that it is possible to further grow this resource as, due to the size of the limited drilling programme, obvious gaps were left along the strike of mineral wireframes. In addition, the system remains widely open to the west and north." An Inferred Mineral Resource was estimated for a large stockwork, containing 179 segments of sheeted subparallel quartz-tourmaline-sulfide veins in nine domains over a strike length of 2x1 km. The individual vein segments are separated by faults along the strike or unmineralized intervals across the strike. The mineralized envelope is divided by the Shirotnyi Fault (Figure 1) into two areas with largely northwest-trending stockworks in the Peak Klyuchi, Kozie West, and Klyuchi West domains (to the north of the fault) and west- to southwest-trending stockworks in Zone 23 West, Zone 23 Middle, Zone 23 East, and Adit 5 West and East domains (to the south). Based on 2019 exploration results, the veins in all domains were reshaped to greater or smaller extent (Figure 1). Exploration works at Peak Klyuchi yielded a swarm of new veins. After additional trenching, veins in Zone 23 West domain were reinterpreted to strike southwest. New veins were discovered at Kozie West. All veins between the Northeast Fault and Shirotnyi Fault are now interpreted to belong to a single domain of Klyuchi West. In Zone 23 East domain, previously constrained veins were discovered to continue downdip to a depth of 400 m. Several veins were discovered in the western part of Adit 5 West.Figure 1. Plan view of maiden (left) and updated (right) Mineral Resource domains in the unconstrained model at Sergeevskoe. (To view the full-size image, please click here)From these domains, an Inferred Mineral Resource of 30.42 million tonnes, grading 1.45 g/t gold and containing 1.417 Moz gold at a 0.5 g/t gold cut-off grade and using a gold price of US$1450 per Troy ounce was optimized into a pit constrained by the license boundaries to the east and southwest. The result was a 19.3% increase to the maiden Mineral resource estimate (see press release 17 April 2019).Table 1 shows a sensitivity analysis of tonnage and grade for the Sergeevskoe project within a pit constrained at different cut-off grades ("COG").Table 1. Open pit Mineral Resource estimate for the Sergeevskoe Gold Project with base case at 0.5 g/t cut off grade and using the US$1450 per Troy ounce of gold prices for base case scenario, with sensitivity analysis of tonnage and grade at different cut-off grades as at January 9, 2020.COGTonnes (Mt)Grade (g/t Au)Contained Metal (Au 000 oz)0.0*30.591.451,4260.430.491.451,4180.530.421.451,4170.628.751.501,3870.725.561.611,3200.822.131.741,238*- All Mineralisation within Wireframe ModelNotes: (1) CIM Definition Standards were followed for Mineral Resources; (2) Mineral Resources reported for the Sergeevskoe Gold Project are classified as Inferred by Phil Newall, an independent Qualified Person as defined by CIM Definition Standards; (3) Mineral resources are limited to an optimised open pit shell based on appropriate economic and reasonable mining parameters as provided by Orsu Metals Corporation; (4) Mineral Resources are not reserves until they have demonstrated economic viability based on a Feasibility Study or Pre-Feasibility Study; (5) All figures are rounded to reflect the relative accuracy of the estimate, and apparent errors may occur due to rounding; (6) Contained metal refers to estimated contained metal in the ground not adjusted for metallurgical recovery; (7) The mineral resources reported represent the sub-celled model with no account of potential mining dilution of the mineralisation.Table 2 shows sensitivity of the open-pit constrained resources to different gold prices.Table 2. Sensitivity analysis of updated pit- and license-constrained mineral resources at different gold prices using the NPV Scheduler.Gold PriceMineralized Material (Mt)Waste (Mt)Au (g/t)Gold, MozUS$1,35030.07283.561.451.402US$1,45030.42293.941.451.417US$1,55030.73303.231.451.429Figure 2 The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipreye Sylva, held his maiden briefing with journalists on Thursday on the activities of the ministry since his assumption of office. He spoke on various issues including the plan to give Nigerians alternative to petrol as fuel for vehicles, Petroleum Industry Bill and the lingering $62 billion oil revenue controversy with international oil companies. Business & Economy Editor, Bassey Udo, was there. Excerpts: Q: Whats the update on the effort by the federal government to recover the $62 billion from international oil companies operating in the deep offshore fields in Nigeria following the 2018 Supreme Court decision on the issue? SYLVA: First, let me clarify that I am not part of that engagement with the oil companies. Yes, there was a provision in the amended Deep Offshore Act that when oil prices rise above $20 a barrel, the federal government will ask for some form of an increase in their take. Unfortunately, we didnt activate that aspect of the law. Nobody will blame the federal government, nor the oil companies for not doing that at the time. But, from todays reality, one will agree that $20 can be considered a windfall. In those days $20 when oil was less than $9 per barrel, probably it may have been considered a windfall. That was why it was pegged at that price for the additional take to kick in. But, for a long time now, $20 has ceased to be a windfall. Ten years ago, the oil price was already over $100 per barrel. Even if we rewind five years further, maybe 15 years, $20 would not have been considered a windfall. I feel one cannot now put a blanket rate and say we should calculate from 1992 or whenever (when oil price went above $20) and recover from the oil companies up till today. That will be very unfair. One must determine, first and foremost, when $20 stopped to be a windfall before one begins to calculate. That is not going to be an easy task. We have to go through a lot of processes to achieve that. Beyond that, this is a partnership between the federal government and the oil companies. In partnerships, we always have these issues which the partners resolve. In this case, too, the Ministry of Petroleum is looking at it as a partnership issue that would be resolved amicably. $62 billion could not have been sitting somewhere for us to harvest now. Its not possible. It can only be a product of a lot of discussions. President Muhammadu Buhari [Photo: Al-Jazeera] At this point, I cannot say where those discussions are because I am not part of the team yet. But, its something I believe we will work out amicably with our partners. Q: When you as the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources say you are not part of the discussions on the issue, the suggestion seems to be there was no consultation with the Ministry by the Attorney General of the Federation before the demand was made. A group even called for your resignation from office for speaking against the demand? Whats the situation now on that? SYLVA: I dont really want to go too deeply into the issue. Its not as if the government did not think about it. The truth is that there was a court judgment, and there are technical bottlenecks to achieve it. One can say a court can give a decision. But, sometimes those decisions would have to be subjected to the reality on the ground, which a partnership between the federal government and the oil companies. Now, discussions are ongoing. But, it is how to manage the partnership that matters. Chevron One cannot say because a court has said $62 billion should be paid, then the money will be brought from a cupboard and paid. In this case, it is a whole process of discussing, establishing and reconciling records. There is a lot of reconciliation to be done. Probably one has to go to Chevron in San Ramon in the U.S; Mobil, Shell and all the other IOCs to do all that. After the judgment, then the technicalities will begin. For example, if they say yes there is a law which provided that the federal government will improve its stake after the price goes beyond $20 per barrel, the presumption at that time for making this law that that price was considered windfall, high profit. At the time offshore was a frontier territory. It was not a tested territory. So, all these incentives were given to the operators to encourage them go into the area and sell the oil and at a certain price. But, if the price goes beyond a certain level, the government will come in and take more. That was considered windfall at the time of passage of this law in 1992. But, today, the reality is different. $20 per cannot be considered a windfall. If you successfully determined when oil price ceased to be $20 per barrel so that the federal government to take more revenue, then we are saying let all the oil companies leave the country, because nobody will operate profitably in this environment. That is why I said the only way to resolve this issue is to handle it as partners. Each partner might infringe on the right of the other, and another time the other partner infringes, the other might find a way of accommodating him, and vice versa. Its a process of accommodation. Thats what we are looking at. Let us accommodate each other as partners. We dont want these companies to leave now. Our intention is not to wind down the companies, share the profit and go our separate ways. The intention is to keep our partners and continue to work with them. That means whatever the judgment is, we have to look for realistic ways to resolve the matter. And for those who called for my sack because (of what) I said, they can continue to make the call. But, that is the truth. There is no $62 billion anywhere that any oil company can pay. It is a process that needs to be accommodating; to be discussed as partners and resolve it. Advertisements Q: You spoke about improving the relationship between the petroleum sector and the masses by reducing the cost of fuel. Are we talking about reducing the price of petroleum products? SYLVA: I could easily have said yes, we are reducing the price of fuel. I am sure all would be wondering why I am saying so. Why that is so is that the government is thinking of giving the masses an alternative fuel. Today, we are all hooked on PMS (premium motor spirit). What we want to do going forward is to see that we are able to move the masses to CNG (compressed natural gas) cars. This is what is called the GSM treatment. There was a time Nigerians used to fight anytime the federal government wanted to privatize NITEL, because there was no alternative. But, when the masses were given GSM, they got hooked to it. No one kicked again, because it didnt matter to them anymore. I believe the problem of fuel is also that way. Today, everybody clamours when poor people agitate when the federal government mutes the idea of an increase in fuel price. We all agree that has continued to be a drain on Nigerias finances. When so much is spent to subside fuel. The process itself is being manipulated by all kinds of unscrupulous elements. But we also recognize that is the only point of contact between the oil industry and the masses. So, we decided we should give the masses an alternative by moving the masses to CNG. We will start by taking transport vehicles out of the PMS loop for them to be using CMG, then we will see that that is the point of contact with the poorest of our population. It will, even further down, take out a lot of people from the PMS loop. CNG, unit for unit, costs less than even the subsidized PMS. A litre of subsidized costs of PMS is about N145. CNG will cost about N95-97 per liter. That is why I said we want to reduce the cost of fuel. That way, we believe that when an alternative is given to Nigerians and they get used, they will not even notice when the subsidy on PMS is removed. That is the alternative government is working on. It will start very soon to roll out. Already, there is a pilot programme in Benin, which has worked for a long time, with about 10,000 vehicles already on CNG in Benin City. So, we want to expand that CNG programme across the country. We believe that it is going to create a lot of opportunities for Nigerians, and also give Nigerians a new lease of life, because they will be accessing their fuels cheaper. Q: You spoke about the oil and gas bid round. Is it happening this year? SYLVA: Yes, we expect to have a bid round. But, I have a minister, who is the president. So, everything hinges on his approval. We are discussing the need for a bid round. But, the main bid round can only take place after the Petroleum Industry Bill has been passed, so that the fiscal framework around the operation of the oil industry assets will be clearer. That way, we will be able to attract more interesting participation. Everything actually hinges on the passage of the PIB. That is why we are calling on all Nigerians to come together to ensure the PIB is passed this year. The stagnation in the industry is mostly due to the non-passage of the law. As Nigerians, we all need to ensure we clarify and sanitize the fiscal environment and the framework so that we can attract investors into the sector. Q: The UAE Ambassador visited you recently, perhaps in connection with upcoming Nigeria International Petroleum Summit in February. What benefits are Nigerians looking to gain from the event? SYLVA: Nigerians have had excellent relationships with the UAE. We had good discussions with the Ambassador. I am hoping we can deepen the relationship between UAE and Nigeria. Of course, NIPS has continued to grow. It is becoming one of the foremost events in the oil industry not only in Nigeria but internationally. It brings a lot of investors together. We hope that through the NIPS, we will attract important investors. We want to expand the operating environment in Nigeria. The only way to do that will be to attract new investors in the industry. The NIPS is one of those fora we think we are going to attract some of those investors. We hope to get some very important investors in the industry to participate in the NIPS. Q: How concerned are you about the speculations on the exit or the reduction of stake in Nigeria by Chevron? SYLVA: I am not aware of Chevron exiting or reducing their exposure to Nigeria. People have asked me about it. But, I dont see any sign of the stake reduction. What Chevron is saying is that they have some assets that have become marginal to them, and they want to encourage some local operators to take over those assets. What I am aware of is that there are a lot of additional investments going on. The final investment decision on Nigeria LNG Train 7 was taken recently. There is still a lot of confidence in the Nigerian environment. Shell and all its partners in the NLNG project are still investing in Nigeria. So there is no sign of reduction of their exposure to Nigeria. But, I keep getting speculations in the rumour mill that Chevron is trying to reduce their footprints in Nigeria. I have asked Chevron management and they denied they ever contemplated doing that. In fact, when the factors are alright, like when the PIB has been passed, they say they will be ready to invest more in Nigeria. So, in the oil industry I can say authoritatively Chevron remains a very strong partner to Nigeria and has never approached us on plans to reduce its footprint in the country. Q: Are you in talks with the Russian gas company for more involvement in Nigerias gas industry? SYLVA: Yes, we are talking to investors from Russia. We had discussions with Gazprom. We are strengthening those discussions. Lukoil is also looking forward to taking a very strong position in Nigeria. We want to expand the operating environment. We are looking to very major investors in Nigeria. Gazprom and Lukoil are very strong investors we will like to have in Nigeria. QUES: You also mentioned that the PIB will be passed this year. But we know Bill was broken into five different parts. So, will the National Assembly pass it in bits or in bulk? SYLVA: The PIB is one bill. I only looked at the two parts of the bill. So, when we approach the bill, we are not taking it in parts. We are going to take it as a bulk bill and passed as a PIB. Q: Can you give us an idea on the subsidy for December 2019? SYLVA: I frankly cant say how much it is. But, we should be happy as Nigerians that today we can celebrate Christmas in December with fuel crisis. Frankly speaking, it was not under any additional cost at all. It was due to better management of the process. The process has, over the years, been taken advantage of by some unscrupulous Nigerians. When those problems are eliminated, what you have is a sanitized process. So, the federal government just sanitized the process and strengthened the management of the subsidy scheme. That is why you saw the result in December. We are hoping we will never again have fuel scarcity in this country. Q: You spoke about some of the plans you want to achieve this year and the years ahead. But, we recall that sometimes in 2016, the President launched a roadmap called 7 Big Wins containing very comprehensive strategies the government said it will run the industry in the short to long term. What is the fate of that document now? Has it been jettisoned? SYLVA: There is continuity in government. We expect improvements. So, whatever is contained in the document is still relevant today. But, what has happened is that the document has been improved upon during this tenure. Before we were sworn in, we had a presidential retreat and mandates were given to us flowing from the 7 Big Wins. Of course, that is what we are running with. It is still linked up with the 7 Big Wins. Whatever budget that was made available is still available to us. QUES: You said by the first anniversary of your appointment, PIB will be passed. May is the first anniversary. Are you aware of that? SYLVA: We are very ambitious about the PIB. We are hoping that it will be passed before May this year, which is the first anniversary of the second tenure of this government. But, we are counting on the excellent relationship between the executive and the legislature. But, it must be said that is why we are mobilizing your support, National Assembly and the industry to build the consensus around the PIB. The non-passage of the PIB has held us down for too long. So, we need to get it passed quickly. Its taken us a while to really tidy it up, because we want to take every interest on board. Of course, not every interest can be taken on board. But, we are comparing our jurisdiction to our competitors to ensure we are very competitive. When we come out, we believe it is a law that will be acceptable to all. Q: You also said 2020 is the year of gas for Nigeria. What specific things do you want to do to realize this? SYLVA: Apart from our plan to move vehicles to CNG to open up the gas sector, we are also looking at improving exponentially the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) penetration in Nigeria. Our people must be taken to LPG usage. Unfortunately, our LPG usage today is one of the least in Africa. What we also use is firewood, kerosene. Of course, its all about the race against carbon emission. We believe gas is a cleaner fuel and it is going to save our forest resources. So, we are going to be heavy on that front. Q: About refinery, what are you going to do differently to get the refinery working to end imports? SYLVA: What we are doing differently about rehabilitating the refineries is that we will involve the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Over the years, a lot of monies have been spent on rehabilitating the refineries. But, unfortunately, they do not function optimally. One of the problems is that the OEMs were not involved in the rehabilitation process. If we dont involve the owners of the technology, there will always be problems. The other issues are at the management level. We have all come to the conclusion that the refineries cannot be effectively managed by the government bureaucracy. For example, a seal begins to leak in Port Harcourt refinery and requires a replacement. The limit of approval of the Managing Director of the Port Harcourt refinery is N50 million. One seal probably costs N100 million equivalent. The MD comes to get approval from the Group Managing Director of NNPC. By the time he finishes the process to actually purchase the replacement, two more seals have gone bad. With the two additional seals, the cumulative cost is more than the approval limit of the GMD and needs to be escalated to the Executive Council of the Federation for approval. By the time it comes to the GMD-FEC and back, 10 more seals have spoilt. So the government bureaucracy cannot be applied to the management of refineries, in addition to other leakages that happen through the government processes. So because of this, what we are trying to do differently is to ensure when these refineries are finally restored and rehabilitated, we will put operation and management (O&M) contract, so that a professional manager will manage the refinery. That will cut off all these bureaucratic bottlenecks for the refineries to function well. Libya's Haftar must end 'hostile attitude' to resolve conflict: Erdogan Iran Press TV Sunday, 19 January 2020 3:25 PM Turkey says Libya's renegade general Khalifa Haftar should end his "hostile attitude" in order to resolve the conflict in the war-wracked Arab country. "For a political solution and the implementation of other phases of a solution, Haftar's hostile attitude should come to an end," Turkey's state-owned Anadolu Agency quoted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as saying on Sunday. Erdogan made the remarks during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of an international summit on Libya in the German capital Berlin. Putin also said "but we have not lost hope that the dialogue will be continued and we sincerely aspire to the resolution of the conflict." The Russian president said Libya's conflict is of great concern to Europe especially because the North African country's wide-open doors have seen "an influx of refugees from the Middle East and Africa to Europe". The UN-led summit will discuss ways to end the conflict in the North African country. Leaders of Germany, Russia, Turkey, and France will attend the meeting. Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj and Khalifa Haftar, the commander of an array of militia groups, are also expected to attend. The conference is aimed at ending the armed fighting between the UN-recognized government and Haftar's rebel forces. It will also discuss the interference of foreign powers in the Libyan conflict through the provision of weapons, troops, and financing. Since 2014, Libya has been divided between two rival governments, the House of Representatives based in the eastern city of Tobruk and the internationally-recognized government of Sarraj or the Tripoli-based unity Government of National Accord (GNA). Last April, renegade general Haftar, who backs the eastern government, launched an offensive to capture capital Tripoli and oust the GNA. Despite intense and deadly clashes between the two sides, Haftar has so far failed to achieve his objective. Turkey supports the Libyan government and has sent troops to the North African country to help Sarraj's government defend itself against the Haftar's offensive. Turkey and Russia mediated peace talks between Sarraj and Haftar, who held indirect talks in Moscow last week. But the talks ended without result after Haftar walked away. Sarraj had already signed a draft agreement on a truce. Libya has been the scene of increasing violence since 2011, when long-time former leader Muammar Gaddafi was toppled after a NATO military intervention. His ouster created a huge power vacuum, leading to chaos and the emergence of numerous militant outfits, including the Daesh terrorist group. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address PORTLAND, Oregon, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research recently published a report, titled, "IoT Security Market by Component (Solution and Services), Deployment Model (On-Premise and Cloud), Organization Size (Large Enterprises and Small & Medium Enterprises), Product Type (Device Authentication & Management, Identity Access & Management, Intrusion Detection System & Intrusion Prevention System, Data Encryption & Tokenization and Others), Security Type (Network Security, Endpoint Security, Application Security, Cloud Security, and Others), and Industry Vertical (Manufacturing, Retail & E-Commerce, Government & Defense, Transportation & Logistics, Energy & Utilities, Healthcare and Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20192026". According to the report, the global IoT security industry was pegged at $8.47 billion in 2018 and is projected to reach $73.92 billion by 2026, registering a CAGR of 31.2% from 2019 to 2026. Download Sample Report: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/4426 Major motivators for market growth Increase in malware and phishing threats among enterprises, rise in adoption of IoT and BYOD trend, and numerous benefits provided by IoT security solutions drive the growth of the global IoT security market. However, constant need to conform to industry standards and regulations and complexities of device security hamper the market growth. On the contrary, the need for strong authentication methods and transformation in traditional anti-virus software industry are expected to create lucrative opportunities in the near future. Solution segment dominated the market Based on component, the solution segment held the largest share in 2018, accounting for around three-fourths of the global IoT security market, owing to rise in the adoption of this IoT security solution among various enterprises. However, the services segment is expected to portray the fastest CAGR of 33.9% during the forecast period, owing to surge in different types of services which include professional and managed services. Manufacturing segment held the largest share Based on industry verticals, the manufacturing segment dominated the market in 2018, contributing to nearly one-fourth of the global IoT security market, owing to rise in the number of IoT devices and to increase the security and privacy for the devices. However, the healthcare segment is expected to register the fastest CAGR of 36.2% during the study period, owing to its capabilities of accessing from anywhere across the world. For Purchase Inquiry: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/4426 North America held the lion's share The global IoT security market across North America held the largest share in 2018, contributing to more than one-third of the market, owing to rapid improvements in operational efficiency in IT infrastructures in the region. However, the market across the Asia-Pacific region is expected to register the fastest CAGR of 33.8% during the study period, owing to rise in digitalization in emerging economies such as China and India. Major market players IBM Corporation Infineon Technologies AG Intel Corporation Broadcom Cisco Systems Inc. Fortinet Inc. Gemalto NV Palo Alto Networks Inc. SecuriThings Trend Micro Incorporated Access AVENUE- A Subscription-Based Library (Premium on-demand, subscription-based pricing model) at: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/library-access Avenue is 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. By offering core business insights on the varied industries, economies, and end users worldwide, Avenue ensures that the registered members get an easy as well as single gateway to their all-inclusive requirements. Avenue Library Subscription | Request for 14 days free trial of before buying: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/avenue/trial/starter Similar Reports: Global IoT Monetization Market Expected to Reach $1,361,395 Million by 2025 IoT Integration Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20192026 IoT in Education Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020-2027 Internet of Everything (IoE) Market Expected to Reach $3,352 Billion by 2022 About Us: Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry. Contact: David Correa 5933 NE Win Sivers Drive #205, Portland, OR 97220 United States Toll Free: +1-800-792-5285 UK: +44-845-528-1300 Hong Kong: +852-301-84916 India (Pune): +91-20-66346060 Fax: +1-855-550-5975 [email protected] Web: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com Follow Us on: LinkedIn Twitter SOURCE Allied Market Research A teenage employee has been fired from a Five Guys in New Jersey after he called a group of police officers 'piggies' and 'pork'. The 17-year-old lost his job after he 'mouthed off' at a group of cops on Friday evening at the burger-joint in Howell. The worker, who has not been identified, launched the tirade at the fast-food outlet when the five officers came inside during their meal break. Howell's police chief met with Five Guys management after the incident. Kudrick has called on the community to support the team at Five Guys who he said were not responsible for the actions of one A person who witnessed the teenager's rant posted about the incident on Facebook. He said the employee had shouted at the officers shouting 'piggies' and 'get out pork'. Howell Township PD chief Andrew Kudrick confirmed the incident had occurred in a public statement. He said after the derogatory comments were made the team of officers turned around and 'left without engaging this misguided young man'. However, he has called on the community to continue its support of local businesses as 'the action of one is not a reflection of all'. An image of the Five Guys restaurant where the incident is believed to have taken place INFORMATION RELEASE Statement from Chief Kudrick in response to the incident at Five Guys Burgers and Fries The... Posted by Howell Township Police Department on Saturday, January 18, 2020 The police chief had met with both the owner and area manager of the fast-food joint and had a 'meaningful' conversation. 'Both were genuinely upset and stressed over this incident,' he said. In support, Kudrick had lunch with the team. Chief Kudrick also expressed his pleasure that the incident was 'handled swiftly and appropriately'. 'The employee was terminated even before this incident made it to social media. I believe this is to be an isolated incident caused by a poor decision by a part-time employee. It is definitely not the culture of this business.' Area manager Courtney Pechillo told NJ.com it was a 'stupid kid' saying something he shouldn't have. 'I've been here 11 years and I don't run the company this way. Immediate action was taken and we'll go from there,' she said. VANCOUVERGlobal politics, big money, high technology and the intricacies of Canadian law will come together Monday when the extradition hearing of Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, begins in a Vancouver courtroom. Meng, 47, a former secretary at Huawei who rose to become a public face of the company, was arrested in Vancouver in December 2018 after the United States requested her extradition on fraud charges. She has been detained in the city since then. The arrest has put Canada in a difficult spot between two world powers China and the United States and severely damaged the countrys relations with China. Huawei is one of Chinas most prominent companies. Shortly after Mengs arrest, China detained in retaliation, some said two Canadians and accused them of espionage. It has also punished Canada by restricting imports of pork, canola oil and other Canadian products. Complicating matters, Canada is in the process of deciding whether to allow Huawei to participate in the development of its next-generation 5G network. The issue is fraught because the U.S. government has repeatedly accused Huawei of spying and stealing technology from its Western rivals. The Trump administration has argued that the company is in thrall to the Chinese government and a threat to national security. Huawei vehemently denies that. As the legal case unfolds at the Supreme Court of British Columbia, heres the background and whats at stake. Who is Meng Wanzhou? Meng is the eldest daughter of Huaweis founder, Ren Zhengfei. She was born in the western city of Chengdu, has a masters degree in accounting and began her career at Huawei 25 years ago. Before her arrest, her responsibilities at the company, where she is also deputy chairwoman of the board, included announcing its financial results. Meng, who is also known as Cathy or Sabrina, is married; she has four children. Since her arrest, Mengs life has been circumscribed. She has been out on bail of $10 million and relatively free to travel about Vancouver, where she and her husband own two expensive homes. She is under 24-hour surveillance and must wear a GPS tracker on her ankle. She is living in a gated seven-bedroom mansion, valued at about $14 million, in the citys exclusive Shaughnessy neighbourhood. The judge in the case allowed her to move there from her other home a six-bedroom house valued at an estimated $6 million. Under the terms of her bail, she has an 11 p.m. curfew, and has been allowed to travel to Richmond to sample the citys diverse Chinese community, food courts with regional Chinese delicacies and a vibrant cultural life. Friends and work colleagues can visit her. Her family came to Canada during the Christmas holidays, according to a member of her security detail. Since being detained, Meng has experienced moments of fear but also found more time for herself, she recently wrote on Huaweis website. She passes the time by, among other things, reading and oil painting. Mengs bail conditions have spurred anger in Canada because critics have contrasted her surroundings with the harsh conditions of the Canadians arrested by China, who have been denied access to lawyers and their families. What is happening in court this week? In January 2019, the United States unveiled a sweeping indictment that, among other things, charges that Meng fraudulently deceived four banks into clearing transactions in Iran through a subsidiary company, in violation of sanctions against Iran. Over several days, Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes will examine whether the case against Meng satisfies a fundamental requirement for extraditing a person under Canadian law: that the crime she is accused of in the United States constitutes a crime in Canada. This is known as the legal concept of double criminality. Prosecutors in Canada are focusing on the accusation that Meng lied to representatives of HSBC in 2013 about Huaweis relationship with Skycom, a company doing business in Iran. Prosecutors contend she told HSBC that Skycom was a partner although it was, in fact, a Huawei subsidiary, putting HSBC at risk of sanctions. Inducing a bank to extend financial services by lying to it is criminal, the prosecution wrote in documents submitted to the court. Meng has denied the allegations. Her defence argues that the crime she is being accused of does not constitute a crime in Canada because Canada has not imposed sanctions against companies doing business in Iran. They also contend that there was no risk of financial loss for HSBC, a prerequisite for fraud to have taken place under Canadian law. In essence, this is a case of U.S. sanction enforcement masquerading as Canadian fraud, Mengs lawyers argued in documents released Friday. If the judge rules that the case doesnt satisfy the double criminality requirement, then Meng could go free. What happens next? Later this year, the court will address another argument Mengs legal team is making that her rights were violated when she was first detained. Canadian border officials questioned her for three hours and seized her phones, asked for her passcodes and searched her luggage before arresting her. Her lawyers contend that this means that Canada and the United States conducted a covert criminal investigation. If the judge finds that Mengs rights were violated, the case could be dismissed. The defence has filed a separate civil case against Canadian authorities over the manner of Mengs arrest, and the date for that hearing has yet to be announced. Gary Botting, an extradition lawyer who has written several textbooks on Canadian extradition law, said he thought Meng had a good case that her rights were violated. And Richard Kurland, a leading immigration lawyer, said the case was significant because it could help define when peoples constitutional rights kick in after they arrive in the country. What are the chances Meng will be extradited? Very high. Changes to Canadas extradition laws in 1999 which are still widely criticized by human rights groups mean that about 90 per cent of extradition requests are granted. Legal experts said an extradition request can be turned down if it is deemed to be politically motivated or if a person extradited could face the death penalty. Shortly after Mengs arrest, U.S. President Donald Trump said he might consider interceding in the case if that helped him reach a trade deal with China. Her lawyers have argued that these statements were intimidating and corrosive of the rule of law and should disqualify the United States from being able to extradite Meng. If Meng loses the extradition case, she could appeal the decision all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada in a process that could drag on for years. Eventually the case would move from the legal arena to the political one. A final judicial ruling against Meng would go to the justice minister in Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus government, who would then decide whether to issue the order to send Meng to the United States. Read more about: Now Open 20 January 2020 Avani Hotels & Resorts announces the opening of Avani Ao Nang Cliff Krabi Resort. The opening marks the brands first entry into Thailand's resort town of Krabi, which will be followed with the opening of Avani+ Koh Lanta Resort later in the year. Centrally located, Avani Ao Nang Cliff Krabi Resort boasts stunning views of limestone formations rising up from the Andaman Sea. Just steps away from local cafes and bars, as well as the ever-popular Ao Nang Night Market, visitors can immerse themselves in the bustling social scene while still being able to enjoy Ao Nang's natural beauty. The contemporary 178 guest rooms and villas reflect Krabi' s natural landscape, and are designed to deliver a peaceful sleep experience. The private villas sitting further uphill on the property boast stunning sunset views, with a pool and relaxation area creating a private sanctuary, perfect for honeymooners. The picturesque setting makes an idyllic backdrop for rejuvenation and pampering at the AvaniSpa, with every treatment tailored to the guest's goal, whether it is to combat jetlag or to relax in pure bliss. Avani Ao Nang Cliff Krabi Resort will feature an elevated swimming pool for spectacular sunsets, along with an AvaniFit designed gym to keep up with any active lifestyle. Families will love the indoor and outdoor playgrounds at AvaniKids, along with engaging family activities. Avani Ao Nang Cliff Krabi hotel will showcase five new dining and drinking venues for a diverse offering to satisfy every taste. Orchid Bar, by the pool, will serve hearty snacks and artisanal cocktails. Pano Cafe will greet guests every morning with a deliciously replenishing breakfast, from fresh omelettes to traditional Thai rice porridge sets. Sundowners at the resort's centrepiece, The Cliff, an infinity pool bar overlooking the cliff onto the Andaman, its mesmerising view complimented with a wide selection of handcrafted cocktails, wines and craft beer. The Peak rooftop bar opens when the stars come out and serves guests enchanting beverages to chillout beats. Ao Nang Buffet is a popular local hangout, and features succulent seafood freshly caught as well as Thai's favourite dishes. Krabi is renowned as a beach lovers' paradise and an island-hopping mecca. Its clear waters are dotted with around 200 islands of all shapes and sizes. Visitors come to Krabi from all over the world to scuba dive, snorkel, kitesurf, sail, or just float along Phang Nga Bay into the Andaman Sea. There is no shortage of aquatic activities. For those who prefer to explore the land, there are pristine jungles, mangrove forests, and waterfalls, as well as inspiring temples and quaint villages that welcome visitors all along this coastal province. Launched in response to a growing global group of discerning world travellers whose priorities are style and value, Avani Hotels & Resorts is a contemporary, upbeat brand that delivers the perfect balance of sleep, space, sustenance and service. Avani Hotels & Resorts currently operates over 30 properties in Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe, most recently debuting in both Cambodia and Republic of Korea. The brand has a strong pipeline of new properties under development, including in such new destinations as South Korea, the Maldives, Mauritius, and Oman. On January 20 Commander-in-Chief of the Revolutionary Guard appointed Mohammad Hejazi as Vice-Commander of the Qods (Quds) Force, a development that signals even more impetus to the role of Iran's extra-territorial military-intelligence unit. Brigadier General Hejazi is not new to the Qods Force. His footsteps have been seen in Lebanon very recently where according to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) he commanded the Iranian personnel stationed in Lebanon. In August 2019 (IDF) alleged that Hejazi was involved in the Iranian-led manufacture of precision-guided missiles by the Lebanese Hezbollah and a tweet included him with three other Guard members as "individuals who put the future of Lebanon in danger". Hejazi is also a very controversial figure due to his hardline political views, which he has never been shy about, and the alleged role he and the Basij Militia Force played to ensure Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected president in 2005. Dissidents also hold him responsible for the suppression of protesters who questioned the legitimacy of Ahmadinejad's second-term victory in 2009, when as commander of IRGC's Sarallah Base in Tehran he played a significant role in the bloody post-election crackdown. His role in violating human rights and freedom of thought and speech earned him a place on the EU sanctions list in October 2011 in addition to the place he was already holding on the U.S. Department of State sanctions list since 2007. IDF tweet showing individuals "who can endanger Lebanon's future". The 63-year-old general has a background of anti-insurgency guerrilla warfare in Kurdistan in the 80s where he fought Kurdish dissident groups including the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan and the Revolutionary Organization of Kurdish Workers (Komala) as well as serving during the Iran-Iraq War (1980-88) as deputy commander of Basij Militia Force. Hejazi's most important positions in the past include Commander of Basij Militia Force and Vice-Commander of Revolutionary Guard, a position he held until his new appointment today. In the post-Soleimani era Hejazi's new position is not a demotion as it may seem at first glance. In fact, it can even be perceived as a huge promotion because of Khamenei's now openly expressed strategy of keeping the war with the United States and Israel outside Iranian borders. In his most recent speech, on December 17, Khamenei dubbed the Qods Force as "Fighters without Borders", a not-so-veiled reference to Reporters without Borders or Doctors Without Borders. In fact, hardliners have been quick to point out the similarity in several articles published in Iran. Like Khamenei they are now even referring to it as a "humanitarian body". "Fighters without Borders" is the latest in the series of Khamenei's favorite "keywords" including "heroic flexibility" which justified his consent to the nuclear agreement in 2015 to his devotees who would have found such a concession on Khamenei's part very difficult to swallow; or "Resistance Economy" which is used to describe his economic vision for Iran under sanctions. Since Khamenei used the new "keyword" a few days ago #Fighters-without-borders (#__) has become one of the "hot" Persian-language hashtags on Twitter and Khamenei's own website and the hardliner media have already run tens of articles about the new "keyword of the Great Leader of the Revolution". Under Soleimani, on a few occasions such as flying Bashar Assad to Tehran last year without Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif's knowledge, the Qods Force drove the country's diplomatic apparatus out of the field. With the U.S. killing of the Qassem Soleimani, Khamenei seems to be giving even more freedom to the Qods Force, making it the official player in Iran's foreign policy and his December 17 speech can even be taken as his wish to elevate the Qods Force to a position even higher than the other Revolutionary Guard units, a "humanitarian entity with lofty and liberating drives" that rushes to help the peoples of the region like "Fighters without borders" whenever required. More than 470 million people worldwide are currently unemployed or underemployed, the UN said on Monday, warning that a lack of access to decent jobs was contributing to social unrest. The global rate has remained relatively stable over much of the past decade, according to the UN's Labour Organisation. But while the rate -- which stood at 5.4 per cent last year -- is not expected to change much, overall jobless numbers are likely to inch up as slowing economies reduce the number of jobs available to a growing population. This year, the number of people registered as unemployed is expected to rise to 190.5 million up from 188 million in 2019, ILO said in its annual World Employment and Social Outlook report. At the same time, the UN body stressed that some 285 million people worldwide are considered underemployed, meaning they either work less than they want to, have given up searching for work or otherwise lack access to the labour market. That amounts to nearly half a billion people and represents a full 13 per cent of the global labour force, the ILO pointed out. "For millions of working people, it is becoming increasingly difficult I think to build better lives through work," ILO chief Guy Ryder told reporters in Geneva. He warned that "persisting and substantial work-related inequalities and exclusion" were preventing many from finding decent work and thereby also creating better futures. "I think that this is an extremely worrying finding," he said, adding that lacking access to decent work appeared to be part of what was spurring growing protest movements and unrest around the world. "Labour market conditions are contributing to... this erosion of social cohesion in many of our societies," he said, referring to mass demonstrations in places like Lebanon and Chile. According to the ILO's "social unrest index", measuring the frequency of things like demonstrations and strikes, there was an increase both at the global level and in seven out of 11 subregions between 2009 and 2019. The ILO report highlighted that more than 60 percent of the global workforce currently work in the informal economy, often toiling for substandard wages and lacking basic social protections. And in 2019, more than 630 million people -- a fifth of the global working population -- lived in so-called working poverty, meaning they made less than USD 3.20 per day in purchasing power. At the same time, the ILO report warned of significant income and job access inequality, driven by things like gender, age and geographic location. In particular, it warned that a staggering 267 million young people between the ages of 15 and 24 are not in employment, education or training, while many more in this group endure substandard working conditions. The study showed that the average share of national income going to pay wages and other labour costs shrank from 54 percent to 51 percent between 2004 and 2017. And within the waged population, the gap between the highest earners and those at the bottom is "extremely unequal", Ryder said. The ILO report found that it took 11 years for the bottom 20 percent of wage earners to make the same amount as the top 20 percent make in a year. "The situation is worse than we previously thought," Ryder said. The death toll from China's virus epidemic neared 1,400 on Friday, as the United States complained of a "lack of transparency" from Beijing South Korea on Monday confirmed its first case of the SARS-like virus that is spreading in China, as concerns mount about a wider outbreak. A 35-year-old Chinese woman who flew in from Wuhan, the apparent epicentre of the outbreak, was confirmed to have the new coronavirus strain, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said. She went to hospital in Wuhan on Saturday with symptoms of a cold and was prescribed medication before flying to Incheon airport on Sunday, where she was taken into quarantine. Her infection was confirmed on Monday, when she was in stable condition and being treated in an isolation unit at a medical facility. "She was visiting Seoul on a tour for the Lunar New Year holidays," said KCDC director Jung Eun-kyeong, adding Korean authorities were investigating her movement on the plane and those who might have come in contact with her, including flight attendants. "As she was detected at the quarantine stage there has been no exposure for locals," she added. The outbreak has caused alarm because the new virus is from the same family as the pathogen that causes SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), which killed 349 people in mainland China and 299 in Hong Kong in 2002 and 2003. No cases of human-to-human transmission have been confirmed so far, but authorities have previously said the possibility "cannot be excluded". Authorities in Wuhan said a seafood market was the centre of the outbreak. It was closed on January 1. The woman told the South Korean authorities she had not visited the market, nor had she knowingly come into contact with infected patients in Wuhan. start-up Kesarwala on Monday sought incentives from the government in the forthcoming Budget for the fast growing sector to push the industry growth. "The industry needs adequate infrastructure in terms of number of testing and certifying labs in the country. This will help in cutting the cost as currently these things are expensive," Founders of Kesarwala Divaker Bhalla and Yousuf Khan said. They said that starting from the farmers to the industry, the sector needs support from the government. "To replenish farm land for the purpose of growing organic produce, which are completely chemical free, a farmer has to wait for at least five years as he or she can not use that land before that for organic farming. Leaving the land for five year is a long period. If government can announce some kind of subsidies to those farmers, it will provide a big help to them," Khan said. He also said increasing awareness about the benefits of consuming organic produce too is important for the growth of the sector. Bhalla said although people are gradually shifting towards organic foods, more steps needs to be taken in this direction in all big and small cities. "We can take cue from countries such as the US and Europe to taker forward this sector," he added. Further, Khan said that skill development is another area, which needs to be focussed. Finance Minister will present the budget for 2020-21 on February 1. The company is running its restaurant in Noida. It is planning to open 10 new franchise restaurants in the national capital region in next few months. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has emphasized that the 1932-1933 Holodomor is genocide for Ukraine, not a social or economic tragedy, as someone is trying to present it. "A lot of people were destroyed. A lot of things were taken from them their homes, their land, their cattle, everything was taken from them. And if they were not providing their assets, then they were killed. They were shot. Millions of people died. Many countries have recognized that Holodomor is a genocide. And I know that Israel understands this, and understands that Ukraine has recognized the Holocaust as genocide. For Ukraine, its not a social or economic tragedy. Its a genocide. Millions of Ukrainians were destroyed," he said in an interview with The Times of Israel posted on Sunday. Zelensky is confident that in the future the world will recognize that Holodomor is a huge tragedy for Ukraine, which in fact was the destruction of Ukrainian people. "There was a lot of silence in different media because of the policies of the USSR, because the USSR was hiding all the information. It was hiding the records, it was hiding the locations of mass graves. There was not enough information about this. That's how the history was made. So we understand that there are different histories. But I am sure that in the future, people will understand what is the history of Ukraine and what are the real facts. Millions of Ukrainians were destroyed during Holodomor," he stressed. Zelensky noted that a lot of good things happened during the USSR period, there were many people of world renown who did many wonderful things, but there were also many tragedies such as Holodomor. "You know, today we still don't have statistics to tell us how many Jews died [in the Soviet era] and what exactly happened to them how many of them were killed, how many of them were taken away, exiled. How many of them became dissidents Take the case of Andrei Sakharov, who managed to tell his story to the world. But how many Jews did not manage to do that? We do not have this history," the president said. Politburo member and Minister of Public Security To Lam held talks with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Samdech Krolahom Sar Kheng in Ho Chi Minh City on January 18. Participants at the talks The talks aimed to review the cooperation between the two ministries in 2029and signed a new cooperation plan for 2020. During the talks, the two ministers affirmed that the cooperation in2019 reached positive outcomes, importantly contributing to ensuring security andorder between the two nations in general and in each country in particular. They reviewed cooperation and efforts of the two sides in ensuring security andcombating transnational crimes, especially drug and human trafficking, and hi-techcrimes, for peace and cooperation in the region. The ministers pledged to forge closer cooperation at international bilateraland multilateral forums, and join hands to defeat all plots of hostile forcesagainst the relations between the two countries. Sar Kheng congratulated Vietnam on undertaking its roles as the ASEAN Chair 2020 and a non-permanent member of the UnitedNations Security Council (UNSC) for the 2020 2021 tenure, and thetwo-way trade turnover reaching 5 billion USD. Additionally, the two sides set directions for cooperation between theVietnamese police and interior offices of Cambodias border provinces in suchfields as delegation exchange, training, and medical examination and treatment. Lam and Sar Kheng signed a cooperation plan between the two ministries in 2020. The Vietnamese official took the occasion to hand over the Friendship Order of Vietnam to the Cambodian Ministry of Interior, and its ten individuals fortheir contributions to promoting the bilateral relations between Vietnam andCambodia./. VNA WASHINGTON As the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Tulare, presented a fiery defense of President Trump during impeachment hearings last month, angrily accusing Democrats of ginning up a false narrative about the presidents efforts to get Ukraine to dig up dirt on a political rival. But newly released text messages suggest Nunes staff was aware of and involved in portions of the scheme, casting a new light on his combative defense. Documents released by the House committee show repeated contact between Lev Parnas, who worked with Trumps personal attorney Rudolph Giuliani, and Derek Harvey, an aide to Nunes on the committee, about meetings with Ukrainian prosecutors to get damaging information about Democrat Joe Biden, who is running for president, and about a debunked theory about Ukrainian involvement in the 2016 U.S. election. The messages between Parnas, who functioned as Giulianis emissary to Ukrainian officials, and Harvey indicate Nunes office was aware of the back-channel White House effort that has led to Trumps impeachment on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Parnas, who is facing federal campaign finance violation charges in New York, has publicly turned on Trump and Giuliani in recent weeks. He has provided documents to the House committee and given explosive media interviews as the Senate prepares to determine whether to remove Trump from office. In his interviews, Parnas has sought to tie Nunes closely to the attempt to unearth dirt on Biden and to gather information on an unsubstantiated theory promoted by Russia but refuted by the U.S. intelligence community that it was Ukraine, not Russia, that interfered in the 2016 presidential election. A spokesman for Nunes did not answer an email seeking comment. During the House impeachment inquiry, Nunes accused Democrats of coordinating with the whistle-blower who first alleged that Trump had blocked nearly $400 million in military aid to Ukraine until newly elected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky publicly committed to announcing an investigation of Biden and his son Hunter, and the false claims about 2016. The text messages appear to show that Parnas sought to set up Skype and FaceTime calls last spring between Harvey and Ukrainian officials who were assisting Giuliani in his efforts to gather negative information on Biden and to oust the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch. Sarah D. Wire is a Los Angeles Times writer. Before they edged out the Miami Heat 107-102 Sunday at the AT&T Center, Patty Mills and the San Antonio Spurs helped host the NBA's first "Indigenous Night." The event recognized the city's earliest settlers and history. The Andhra Pradesh Council of Ministers and the Legislature will meet one after the other in Amravati on Monday to decide the fate and the future of the state capital Amaravati: The Andhra Pradesh Council of Ministers and the Legislature will meet one after the other in Amravati on Monday to decide the fate and the future of the state capital. There is widespread anticipation on what is in store for the state, already suffering from the pangs of bifurcation since 2014, as the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government is firm on carrying out its new plans for "comprehensive, parallel and decentralized development." All other political parties and citizens at large, however, are staunchly opposing the ruling YSR Congress' move to basically relocate the state capital from Amaravati to Visakhapatnam, as already indicated by the Chief Minister on the floor of the Assembly on 17 December. How the government is seeking to go ahead with its plans remains a closely-guarded secret but, given any opportunity, the principal opposition Telugu Desam is determined to derail the process by showing its strength in the Legislative Council. The YSRC may be having a brute majority of 151 in the 175-member Assembly but it's in a woeful minority in the 58-member Council, with its numbers being just nine. With 28 members, and possible support of BJP and others, the TDP could effectively stall albeit temporarily any legislation intended to alter the status quo vis-vis the capital. Wary of this, the government has not let its strategy known so far though indications are that it may bring in a Money Bill to foil the opposition attempts. But the (draft) Money Bill has to be first approved by the Cabinet and sent to the Governor for clearance before it is tabled in the Assembly, government sources said. The Cabinet is scheduled to meet at 9 am on Monday while the Assembly will convene for its extended winter session at 11 am. Interestingly, the meeting of the Assembly Business Advisory Committee is scheduled at 10 am, where the legislative business to be taken up will be finalised. The Council will meet on 21 January as per the Legislature notification and will sit only for two days whereas the Assembly will have one extra day. What ministers gave everyone to understand ahead of the session, which is supposed to be a landmark, is that the Legislature will essentially deliberate the report of the High-Powered Committee of ministers and bureaucrats on "decentralised development" and take a call on various related issues, including the location of the state capital. The HPC relied on the recommendations made by the six-member committee of experts and also the Boston Consulting Group, besides the Sivaramakrishnan Committee, while coming out with its own set of suggestions. The crux of the recommendations, according to highly-placed sources, was that the state should have "distributed capital functions" with the Secretariat and other government departments operating from Visakhapatnam, Legislature from Amaravati and High Court from Kurnool. The recommendations of these committees are clearly in line with what the Chief Minister announced in the Assembly on December 17. But how to go about the business, given the possible legal and technical implications, is what is said to be worrying about the rulers. The Chief Minister conferred with select ministers and bureaucrats here on Sunday and discussed the government's strategy, particularly on overcoming the opposition in the Legislative Council. "The opposition could at best delay the process but not fully stop it," was the counsel offered but there has been no conclusive opinion on what could eventually happen in a court of law, as already a set of petitions are pending on the capital issue. Shabana Azmi's husband Javed Akhtar was also present in the car but escaped with a minor injury. An FIR has been registered against actor Shabana Azmi's driver after their car met with an accident on Mumbai-Pune Expressway on Saturday, police said. Azmi's driver has been identified as Kamlesh Kamath. According to police, the complaint has been registered by Rajesh Pandurang Shinde, the truck driver, as his vehicle was hit from behind by the Azmi's car. The incident occurred near Khalapur, over 60 kilometres from Mumbai. We have booked driver Kamlesh Kamath under Indian Penal Code Sections 279 and 337 for rash and negligent driving and provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act. He is not yet arrested, Raigad Superintendent of Police Paraskar said. The car will be sent for an inspection to RTO (regional transport office) to ascertain if there was any fault in the vehicle or if the mishap took place after the driver lost control, he said. Soon after the accident, the Azmi was immediately rushed to MGM hospital in Navi Mumbai and later shifted to multi-specialty Kokilaben Hospital in Mumbai's suburban Andheri. According to doctors she has suffered a head injury and there was a slight damage to the backbone. Her husband Javed Akhtar, who was travelling with her, escaped with a minor injury. We will collect Azmis medical report from the MGM Hospital where she was initially taken. The drivers medical examination was also conducted and he was not found under the influence of alcohol, Paraskar said. Dr Santosh Shetty, Executive Director and CEO of Ambani Hospital said that the actress is recuperating and no surgery was needed. (With inputs from agencies) Relatives have stepped up their appeal for information about the whereabouts of 23-year-old British man Harry Stagg, who is thought to be in southern Spain after hitchhiking from the UK last year. Harry, who is from East Cowes on the Isle of Wight, was reported as missing at the Guardia Civil station in Alora last week by his aunt Paula Morris, who lives in the area. She had been expecting him as he had told the family that he would spend Christmas in Spain. The last contact the family had with Harry, said his aunt, was on 29 November when he called home from a police station in Huesca, northern Spain, although no one was there to take his call. "He managed to call his friend who he had been travelling with and they arranged to meet; this didn't happen," Paula said. "Harry doesn't have a mobile phone and we are not sure if his bank card may have run out as a new one has been received at his home on the Isle of Wight." According to the missing persons report he was spotted in Antequera on 13 December, hitchhiking with a sign reading Campillos. More recently, said his aunt, he is thought to have been seen in Gibraltar, juggling at traffic lights. The family has urged anyone who sees him to ask him to get in touch with his family and to contact the Guardia Civil in Alora. Harry is around1.85m tall with dark wavy hair. He wears black clothes and trainers and carries a black rucksack. Stocks in the news today: Here's a look at stocks that are likely to be in focus in Monday's trading session based on latest developments. Investors are also awaiting December quarter earnings of several firms that are scheduled to be released today. Companies set to announce their earnings are Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Securities, Federal Bank, Can Fin homes, Hindustan Zinc among others. HCL Technologies Q3: The IT company reported a 16.31% YoY rise in consolidated profit at Rs 3,037 crore for the quarter ended December 31 compared with Rs 2,611 crore recorded in the corresponding quarter last year. Revenue increased 15.5 per cent to Rs 18,135 crore during December quarter, while EBITDA jumped 22.60 per cent to Rs 3,647 crore. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Q3: The company has reported net profit of Rs 8,118 crore for the December quarter. The company's revenue for the quarter grew at Rs 39,854 crore, up 6.7% YoY. While its operating margin stands at 25%; net margin was 20.4% for Q3. TCS' revenue growth was led by life sciences and healthcare business, (which saw 17.1% growth), communications and media (9.5% growth) and manufacturing (up 9.2%). TCS has also declared its third interim dividend of Rs 5 per equity share of Re 1 each of the company. L&T Technology Services Q3: L&T Technology Services Ltd has reported financial results for the period ended December 31, 2019. The company has posted net profit of Rs 204.1 crores for the period ended December 31, 2019, as against Rs.185.6 crores for the period ended December 31, 2018 ,registering growth of 9.97%. Company's Q3FY20 net sales recorded at Rs 1,467.2 crores compared to Rs 1,352.8 crore in Q3FY19. Reliance Industries: RIL share will be in focus today after the Mukesh Ambani-led firm reported declared consolidated net profit of Rs 11,640 crore for the quarter under review, as opposed to Rs 10,251 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.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. The stock closed 2.79% higher at Rs 1,580 before the earnings were announced on Friday. HDFC Bank: HDFC Bank share will be in focus today after the private sector lender reported a 32.8 per cent increase in its net profit for the quarter ended December 31, 2019. The private lender posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 7,416.5 crore in the third quarter of this fiscal, as opposed to Rs 5,585.8 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal. The stock closed 0.76% lower at Rs 1,277 on Friday. APL Apollo Tubes Limited: The company has approved the allotment of Commercial Paper of Rs 20 crore. The coupon rate is 6.60% and the maturity date is March 27, 2020. Ramky Infrastructure: Indian Overseas Bank, Asset Recovery Management Branch (ARMB), Hyderabad, financial creditor to Srinagar Banihal Expressway Limited (Subsidiary of Ramky Infrastructure Ltd) has made an application under section 7 of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 to NCLT, Hyderabad Bench against the company for a claim amount of Rs 236.63 crores, being a corporate guarantee issuer to the lenders of said subsidiary company. Acrysil Limited: The leading Quartz kitchen sinks manufacturer has signed an agreement with Farah Ali Khan, a well-known jewellery designer and Indian gemologist for their brand Sternhagen. The company will promote and market the collections designed under the brand "Farah Khan for Sternhagen". Quick Heal Technologies Ltd: Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal ('CESTAT') vide its judgment in the case of 'Quick Heal Technologies Limited v/s Commissioner of Service Tax, Delhi and has set aside the Service Tax demand for Rs 56 crore which was confirmed issued to Quick Heal Technologies Limited by DGCEI, New Delhi. Q3 Earnings Today: Kotak Mahindra Bank, Apollo Tricoat Tubes, Can Fin Homes, HFCL, Hindustan Zinc, Deccan Gold Mines, Federal Bank, Gujrat Hotels, ICICI Securities, Just Dial, KEI Industries are among the companies set to announce their earnings for the quarter ended December today. The city of San Antonio has spent at least $315,000 in legal fees after the city council voted to stop the San Antonio airport from opening a location of Chick-fil-A in a new dining concourse. The San Antonio City Council voted to prevent the chain from opening up because of the company's well documented 'legacy of anti-LGBTQ behavior.' As a result of the council's actions, the city has now paid out the cash in legal fees after it faced two lawsuits and a federal investigation, with other bills still to come. San Antonio City Council banned Chick-fil-A from opening up at San Antonio International Airport as part of a new project coming in April 2020 Last year, Senator Ted Cruz shared his opposition to Chick-fil-A being banned from the airport, claiming that fast food fans were being punished because of the company's philanthropic efforts. 'The citizens of beautiful San Antonio deserve more delicious sandwiches, and fewer rabid attacks against companies because of their charitable giving to the community. Come on,' Cruz posted on Twitter The move came after Think Progress shared tax documents from Chick-fil-A Inc. showing it had donated $1.8million to discriminatory organizations. It was despite a 2012 backlash against Chick-fil-A's CEO Dan Cathy who claimed America is 'inviting God's judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at him and say we know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage.' Senator Ted Cruz has shared his opposition to Chick-fil-A being banned from the airport The city of San Antonio appears to have spent $315,000 in legal fees preventing the fast food chain from opening at the airport, pictured The company later vowed in a Facebook statement to 'leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena'. Recent tax returns show the Chick-fil-A Foundation gave $1,653,416 to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, $6,000 to the Paul Anderson Youth Home, and $150,000 to the Salvation Army in 2017. It was even more than in 2016. It was reported the Salvation Army had opposed legal protection for the LGBTQ community, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes had a policy that banned 'homosexual acts' and the Paul Anderson Youth Home taught troubled residents that homosexuality was wrong. The chicken strip restaurant told Think Progress they stopped donating to the youth home after a 'blog post from 2010 surfaced that does not meet Chick-fil-A's commitment to creating a welcoming environment to all'. Tax documents from Chick-fil-A Inc. showing they donated $1.8million to discriminatory organizations, including $1,653,416 to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes But the damage was already done for the City of San Antonio when it came to the airport allowing a location of the fast food chain to open up. Councilman Roberto Trevino said in a statement: 'The City Council reaffirmed the work our city has done to become a champion of equality and inclusion. San Antonio is a city full of compassion, and we do not have room in our public facilities for a business with a legacy of anti-LGBTQ behavior.' In the time since their airport ban, Chick-fil-A has cut off support for the three groups that opposed gay marriage, much to the ire of its supporters. Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott also signed a 'Save Chick-fil-A' bill in June which serves to ensure religious beliefs are protected from discrimination. Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy wrote in a letter to the American Family Association that the fast-food chain had 'inadvertently discredited' groups including the Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes after changing its 'giving strategy.' 'We understand how some thought we were abandoning our longstanding support of faith-based organization,' Cathy wrote. 'We inadvertently discredited several outstanding organizations that have effectively served communities for years.' 'The intent of our corporate giving has always been to have impact -- not to make a statement or support a political or social agenda. Chick-fil-A will give to faith-based and other organizations that we believe to be highly effective in a particular area.' Alabamas long practice of celebrating a joint Martin Luther King Jr./Robert E. Lee Day continues, despite efforts to separate the two. Currently, only Alabama and Mississippi combine the day honoring the black civil rights leader and white Confederate general. Arkansas ended its dual King/Lee holiday in 2017 and now honors King alone. Last year, Birmingham Rep. John Rogers introduced a bill to split the two, moving Lees official recognition to Confederate Memorial Day, which is commemorated in April as an official state holiday. The bill failed to make it out of committee. A petition supporting ending the Lee holiday received more than 20,000 signatures. Alabama currently has three state holidays with Confederate ties: King-Lee Day, Confederate Memorial Day; and the birthday of Confederate President Jefferson Davis in June. Lee was born on Jan. 19, 1807; King was born on Jan. 15, 1929. The King holiday was moved to Monday after the 1971 implementation of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act which put the observance of some holidays at the start of the work week to allow for three-day weekends. Alabama and Mississippi have commemorated Lees birthday since the 1800s and Kings since 1983. Russias President Vladimir Putin has submitted to Parliament a package of constitutional amendments widely seen as an attempt to secure his grip on power well after his current term ends in 2024. Mr Putin first presented the proposed changes in his state-of-the-nation address on Wednesday, arguing they are intended to bolster the role of Parliament and strengthen democracy. Kremlin critics have argued that they are intended to allow his rule for life. The Kremlin-controlled lower house, the State Duma, confirmed on Monday that it has received a draft bill on constitutional proposals from the Kremlin. Meeting with permanent Security Council members: outcome of Libya conference, socioeconomic development of the Russian Federation https://t.co/zkYmWBBFxL pic.twitter.com/t9vIoIZb35 President of Russia (@KremlinRussia_E) January 20, 2020 The politicians will fast-track the document, putting it for discussion at Thursdays meeting. Mr Putin, 67, has been in power for more than 20 years, 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, Mr Putin must step down as president when his current term ends. Observers say that the proposed changes could allow Mr Putin to stay in charge by shifting into the position of head of the State Council or moving into the prime ministers seat after increasing the powers of Parliament and the Cabinet and trimming presidential authority. Mr Putins amendments include a proposal to give the constitution a clear priority over international law, a tweak seen as a reflection of the Kremlins irritation over the European Court of Human Rights rulings that held Russia responsible for human rights violations. Expand Close Russian President Vladimir Putin (Mikhail Klimentyev/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Russian President Vladimir Putin (Mikhail Klimentyev/AP) Another suggested amendment says that top government officials are not allowed to have foreign citizenship or residence permits. Parallel to politicians, a working group created by Mr Putin will also consider the proposed changes before they are put to the vote. Mr Putin said that the constitutional changes need to be approved by the entire nation, but it was not immediately clear how such a vote would be organised. Along with amending the constitution, Mr Putin last week also fired prime minister Dmitry Medvedev, who had the job for eight years, and named tax chief Mikhail Mishustin to succeed him. The Russian leader is yet to appoint the new Cabinet. T he board of Sirius Minerals is distinctly sheepish in its statement accepting todays takeover by Anglo American. And, given that 85,000 retail investors were suckered into buying shares in their super-high-risk mine development in the North York Moors, so they should be. Many were naive locals wanting to support a potential lifeline for the local economy. People like Nigel Howard, a 76-year-old who cashed in his 30,000 pension and put the lot into Sirius when the shares were 24p. Today, the board accepted an offer at their true value, 5.5p. The truth is, this 4 billion project should never have been a standalone public company, whatever its advisers and brokers, JPMorgan, Liberum and Shore Capital, said. Depending heavily on winning state subsidies which always looked unlikely, it failed to attract the institutional investors who recognised the huge risks. Chief executive Chris Fraser (paid nearly 1 million last year) blamed the City for not supporting him. In fact, institutional investors got this one right, protecting pension funds from losses. The silver lining, and it is a significant one, is that the mine will now go ahead under the expert stewardship of a world-class producer. This will create thousands of jobs in an area with one of the highest rates of unemployment in the country. A 20-year-old student has died in hospital following an early hours attack in Nottingham city centre over the weekend. Arjun Singh, who was studying at Nottingham Trent University, succumbed to his injuries after he was attacked shortly before 4am on Saturday. He was rushed to hospital and died on Sunday after the incident in the city's Long Row. A murder inquiry has been launched. Officers want to trace two men who fled the scene after the assault. Detective inspector Richard Monk, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: "This was a serious assault which has resulted in a young man losing his life. "Our thoughts are with Arjun's family and friends and we would ask that people respect their privacy at this very sad and difficult time." He urged anyone with any information that may help the investigation to contact the force. The senior officer added: "If you were in the area of the Slug and Lettuce public house around 3.45am on Saturday morning and have not yet spoken to the police, I would urge you to come forward. "We need to hear from anyone who may have dash-cam footage, including taxi-drivers who were in the area of Long Row West and Angel Row at the time, or any mobile phone footage of the incident." West Bengal opposition parties Congress and CPI(M) on Monday welcomed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's plans to table a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in the Assembly while the BJP has said such a move would be unconstitutional and illegal. The chief minister, earlier in the day, said that an anti-CAA resolution would be tabled in the House within three to four days. Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly, Abdul Mannan of the Congress said he was thankful that Banerjee realised the necessity for such a resolution. Mannan, when contacted, said, "She is now repeating what we had said in the past. It is better late than never. She has realised what we have been saying. We welcome the move." Earlier this month, the TMC had prevented the passage of an anti-CAA resolution in the Assembly, even as the Congress and the CPI(M) had pitched for it. CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty, though welcoming the move, said the party will tread cautiously till the resolution is tabled in the House. "The CM says one thing in the morning and absolutely the opposite in the evening. So, unless the resolution sees the light of the day it is difficult to say anything. Last time, we had followed all parliamentary norms to move the resolution against the CAA after holding talks with Speaker Biman Bandyopadhyay," Chakraborty said. The BJP said a resolution against an Act would be unconstitutional and illegal. "You cannot bring a resolution against a law (CAA) which is already passed in the Parliament. You cannot bring a resolution only because you are a majority in the Assembly. "If the state government is planning to do that it will be unconstitutional and illegal," BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha told PTI. Preventing the passage of an anti-CAA resolution earlier this month, Banerjee had said that since the Assembly had adopted a resolution against a pan-India NRC in September last year, which also denounced granting Indian citizenship to people based on religion, there was no need for a fresh resolution. Incidentally, Kerala and Punjab have passed resolutions against the new citizenship law. The Left Front and the Congress has been criticising the TMC government for not adopting a resolution against CAA. The Congress and the CPI(M) had described the TMC as the 'B' team of the BJP and had accused Banerjee of deliberately preventing the passage of an anti-CAA resolution in the Assembly. The TMC supremo had hit the streets against the CAA. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) "The Children" at People's Light with (from left) Graham Smith, Marcia Saunders, and Janis Dardaris. Read more The time, were told in the Peoples Light program, is the present, and the location a cottage on the east coast of England. But we might be forgiven for wondering if the three characters in Lucy Kirkwoods Tony-nominated The Children, their British accents notwithstanding, have somehow wandered into Malvern from 2011 Japan. Thats how closely their situation seems to mirror the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster, Kirkwoods admitted inspiration. Kirkwood, a rising star of the British theater, describes The Children as being a bit about the battle between wanting more and looking at what you can actually have. Its this germ of an idea, about unfulfilled desires of various kinds, that unites the plays skillfully interwoven political and personal threads. The Peoples Light production (through Feb. 9), directed by the theaters executive artistic director, Abigail Adams, and featuring three superb veteran actors, is subtle, engrossing, and sometimes darkly humorous. The staging, which benefits from Daniel Zimmermans hyperrealistic kitchen set, Dennis Parichys poetic lighting, and Lee Kinneys sound design, helps paper over the scripts more questionable aspects, above all Kirkwoods sense of generational grievance and entitlement. A nuclear power plant accident has obliged two retired, married nuclear engineers, Hazel (Marcia Saunders) and Robin (Graham Smith), to leave their longtime home and farm. Its consigned them to a radically simplified existence, not far away, with limited electricity and plumbing. The adjustment, involving dinners of cold salads and leisure time for Hazels yoga, seems to suit them. Retired people are like nuclear power stations, Hazel tells their brittle, unmarried former colleague, Rose (the spectacular Janis Dardaris). We like to live by the sea. That same nuclear disaster has caused Rose, who has spent years in the United States, to show up for the first time in what may be almost four decades. (Actually, it turns out, Rose has an uncanny familiarity with the cottage for a reason that Hazel gradually comes to suspect.) Much of the interest of the play stems from Kirkwoods and Adams delineation of the ominously shifting relationships among the three characters. Think Pinter, but more chatty and accessible. In the course of 90 intermissionless minutes, simmering tensions will, of course, boil over. The trio will reveal a web of accumulated entanglements and resentments, culminating in a dance performance and a moral challenge. The plays title seems initially to refer to Robin and Hazels four children, as well as, more broadly, to the generation that will succeed them and inherit the mess of their world. Kirkwood has said that she also views her three protagonists, all in their 60s, as children at times. Lest we miss the point, Robin, who lies about matters both bovine and romantic and still laments a failed, Viagra-fueled assignation with a buxom milkmaid named Fiona, rides a tricycle across the stage. THEATER REVIEW The Children Through Feb. 9 at Peoples Light Steinbright Stage, 39 Conestoga Road, Malvern. Tickets: $45 and up, with dynamic pricing. Information: 610-644-3500 or PeoplesLight.org. There's a certain sort of commentator who likes to sound mature and urbane and wise in the ways of the world, by brushing off suggestions that fascism might be making a bit of a comeback. I wouldn't be one of those commentators - I wrote an article in LIFE magazine about Trump which had the word "fascism" in the headline, and that was before he was elected. But those mature and urbane commentators will baulk at the use of the word in almost any context except that of Nazi Germany, supposedly because the word has such weight, you have to be terribly careful about using it in any other context - but really it's because they just want to sound mature and urbane. It is, if you like, an affectation. After all, I too am profoundly aware of the weight of that word, indeed of the weight of all words, so I tend to look at it this way: If a man such as Trump is openly contemptuous of the norms of democracy, indeed of the constraints of the US constitution itself, and if he frequently expresses his admiration for totalitarian forms of government and the dictators who preside over them, I am prepared to take him at his word on that. And if he is pushing a far right nationalist kind of politics, I feel it would be remiss of me not to point out certain similarities with certain movements of the 1930s. Indeed to fail to find such echoes is revealing of a failure of the imagination at least, on the part of the mature, urbane commentator - a bit like the failure of the imagination in the higher echelons of German society in 1930, when Germany was still a liberal democracy, and they just couldn't envisage that within four years that democracy of theirs would all be so over. The Rise of the Nazis starts in 1930, and I guess we know where it will eventually finish. But first we must praise the BBC for showing this series last year, and RTE2 for starting to repeat it last Sunday. They didn't just make this by accident, it is framed clearly as "a story of how democracy died". And we are left in no doubt that with the rise of far right nationalism in America and Britain and a lot of other places too, any takeaways from the way things panned out in Germany in the 1930s are entirely appropriate. There too the "conservative" establishment thought they could use the delinquent energies of Hitler for their own malevolent ends, as the Republicans have been doing with their "strongman". But they are also discovering that these guys just can't be controlled, that they have this feral understanding of what a fragile thing this democracy can be, if you really want to push it. And these guys really want to push it. It is a failure of imagination too, if you're expecting a force such as fascism to repeat itself in exactly the same form as it did in the 1930s, jackboots and all. Video of the Day The next time it comes, it won't necessarily be advertising itself with SS uniforms, though of course some of its modern adherents are perfectly comfortable with that look. Nor is it a coherent ideology, as such, it is more about the amoral opportunism of ruthless men, the kind who have no limits. Again there are one or two characters of that ilk knocking around the top tables of Washington and London, as we speak. So we should all be watching The Rise of the Nazis, and noting how the opening episode had the progressive lawyer Hans Litten destroying Hitler in court during a cross examination in 1931 - by the end of the episode we would learn that Litten died in Dachau in 1938. We kept recognising certain patterns in the way that the Nazis were enabled by "big business" and aristocrats and "sections of the media", united in their hatred of leftists and liberals and "progressive" types. Really, there's only one word for it. Today there are multiple stretches that carry the Dixie Highway name in Florida and, as conversations continue to play out about what to do with Confederate monuments, there is a growing interest in changing the name. In Hallandale Beach, where Mr. Jackson lives, a resolution supporting a name change was recently approved, but not without some pushback. Dixie Highway was this ambitious project starting in 1915. It was later absorbed into some state and federal systems, said Tammy Ingram, the author of Dixie Highway: Road Building and the Making of the Modern South, 1900-1930. The name Cotton Belt Route was considered, too, but Dixie was chosen to promote the South. Dixie is thought to be a reference to the Mason-Dixon line, although the origins of the term are still debated by historians. The minstrel song of the same name was adopted as a kind of anthem of the Confederacy during the Civil War. By the time of the Civil War, the term Dixie was racialized, and a romanticized reference to the antebellum South, said Dr. Ingram, an associate professor of history at the College of Charleston. It was an email from a retired businessman and the words of a Miami-Dade County commissioner that led several leaders in South Florida to consider changing the name in parts of the region. In July, Modesto Abety-Gutierrez was driving on South Dixie Highway in Miami on the way to drop his 16-year-old granddaughter, Isabella Banos, off at a friends house. When Isabella noticed the sign, she asked her grandfather why a name that symbolized slavery was still being used. She later suggested Harriet Tubman Highway as an alternative. A man has been repeatedly stabbed in front of shocked passengers on a train in west London. The victim, aged in his 30s, was attacked on board the train from Ashford to Hounslow while it was travelling into the capital on Sunday evening. British Transport Police and paramedics were called to Hounslow station just before 6.40pm. The man was treated at the scene before being taken to hospital. His injuries are not believed to be life threatening. A man and a woman were arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm. Detectives have launched an investigation and are still conducting enquiries. Officers are aware a number of other passengers were on board and would have witnessed what happened. Those who were on board who have not yet spoken with police are asked to get in touch. Why the wealthy men try to bury our traditions (1956) IT is just 168 years since Captain Arthur Phillip, RN, landed in Sydney Cove and began the founding of a new nation. We celebrate this on January 26. But our press barons, declare each year that nobody knows what is it we celebrate. To the wealthy and guilty men who control our country all talk of our national traditions is embarrassing. Phillip arrived here with a commission to found a penal colony that would, in the shortest possible time, cease to be a drain on the British treasury. The convicts, after serving their time, were to be settled on small blocks of land, thus making the whole colony self-supporting. This seemed a good scheme for the British capitalists. They were in their palmy days. Children worked from about 5 years old on for anything up to 16 to 18 hours a day. Labour was plentiful and cheap as the new machinery smashed the livelihood of spinners, weavers and other such people. Enclosures were still dispossessing people from land that had been theirs for centuries. Trade unions were banned, and the workers denied all political and social rights. As one historian has written: You could be hanged for protesting against the horrors of 18th century England or for remaining mute ... You could be hanged for stealing a deer but you could not be hanged for stealing the commons from the people. You could be hanged for stealing a handkerchief but you were quite safe if you stole the air that was needed, by the children who worked in the new factories for 12 hours a day. Thus was a nice balance maintained and Englishmen continued to sing that they never, never would be slaves! For lesser crimes, men could be transported. Hence the British capitalists, having lost America had great need of Australia. But although Phillip argued and cajoled, the British Government was not prepared to spend any more than the absolute minimum on the new venture. Phillip was provided with inferior seed, broken tools and broken men and women. Nevertheless, by the time he left the colony he had established 172 farmers on small plots. A hundred were ex-convicts; the remainder were former marine and seamen. But when Phillip left the military took over. The officer clique, dominated by John MacArthur was concerned neither for the British treasury nor the welfare, of the poor wretches in their care. Their only concern was the acquiring of wealth as quickly as possible. They therefore introduced the traffic in rum. This rotted the morale of all possible opposition and also returned a very nice profit. They took charge of the commissary the only market for the wheat grown by the small farmers and the only source of food for the hungry men and women who laboured. Out of peoples hunger and toil they made themselves a profit; they distributed the land among themselves, and staffed it with convicts to toil for them. It was only after all this that the idea of sheep raising occurred to them. The sheep were to put the seal of permanence on their achievements. Governor after governor tried to break their evil traffic and their open defiance of the British Government. When [Governor Ed] Bligh looked likely to succeed, MacArthur organised an armed revolt against him. Profits were always more important than loyalty to the ruling class. In 1808, the Kings representatives were betrayed for the sake of wealth. In 1955 the whole nation is betrayed. Foreign shipowners and American monopolies loot our country. And the Australian millionaires and their government, stooges, stand by for a share of the spoils. No wonder the press barons want to forget the past. Look briefly at the record of the wealthy men. The rum traffic and treason founded their wealth; convictism, and its brutal exploitations consolidated it. They have corrupted union leaders, and shot rank and file workers. They have raped the soil and robbed the people. Today, they prate in their papers about the disloyalty of wharfies leaders fighting to extract some small degree of justice from the ship-owners excess profits. But the workers have never been disloyal to our country. They hewed the roads out of the rocks, tilled the soil, built the factories, and brought the minerals out of its depths. The working people have always defended our countrys independence, and fought for our liberties. The working people are Australia. That is why the enemies of the working people want to forget the significance of January 26. For their past is soaked in rum and treason; their present is a sordid deal with a foreign power; and they have no future. This article originally appeared in Tribune, January 25, 1956. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva have paid tribute to the victims of the 20 January tragedy on the National Mourning Day. The Azerbaijani President laid a wreath at the "Eternal Flame" memorial. State and government officials, heads of religious communities, ambassadors of foreign countries to Azerbaijan, and representatives of international organizations also paid tribute to the victims. Among those in attendance at the commemorative ceremony were Prime Minister Ali Asadov, Parliament Speaker Ogtay Asadov and head of the Presidential Administration Samir Nuriyev, AzerTAc reported. 2 dead, 5 injured as patron opens fire 'indiscriminately' at San Antonio bar originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Two people are dead and five injured after a person opened fire "indiscriminately" at a San Antonio bar Sunday night. San Antonio Police Department responded to a shooting at a bar called Ventura, steps from the San Antonio River, at 8 p.m. local time. An altercation appears to have broken out between customers when one person pulled out a gun and began shooting, Police Chief William McManus said at a press conference Sunday night. MORE: 2 officers dead in shooting near Hawaii's Diamond Head: Officials In total, seven people were shot. A 21-year-old man died inside the club, while a second person in critical condition was later pronounced dead. Five people are currently being treated at area hospitals. Their conditions are unclear at this moment, police said. PHOTO: Seven people were shot and two killed at a bar in San Antonio on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020. (KSAT) All of the victims appear to be patrons, McManus said. No employees of the bar were shot. On Monday, police said they had arrested Kieran Christopher Williams, 19, in connection to the shooting and will be charged with capital murder. ARRESTED: Excellent teamwork by our Repeat Offender Program (ROP), Street Crimes Unit, SWAT, EAGLE and Homicide detectives in the arrest of Kieran Christopher Williams. Williams is accused of opening fire last night at Ventura. Two people were killed and 5 others were injured. pic.twitter.com/TbYBrzTTVr San Antonio PD (@SATXPolice) January 20, 2020 Williams responded to questions from reporters at the police station after being taken into custody "He told me he was gonna kill me," Williams said. "He told me because I bumped into him he was gonna kill me. Don't worry about me, I'll be all right." Williams also referred to himself as an up-and-coming music artist and requested people follow him on Instagram just before being loaded into the back of a police vehicle. Story continues "I regret everything that I did," he added. MORE: Teen facing murder charge after victim shot at Dallas high school basketball game dies The police chief had hinted on Sunday that they expected to make an arrest quickly. "We're working on that, I'm confident that we will identify the individual and have that person in custody sooner than later," McManus said. The concert, called Living the DREAM, featured a lineup of up-and-coming rappers popular on social media. ABC News' Matt Foster and Marilyn Heck contributed to this report. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 20) The government has relaunched real estate investment trusts or REITs, a platform that would let property companies raise fresh funding from the public. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) led the unveiling of new rules for REITs on Monday, 11 years since the law creating these investment instruments took effect. REITs work like stocks and are managed and pooled through fund managers, except that these are solely invested in the real property sector. These are typically invested in commercial assets like offices and apartment buildings, hotels, and shopping malls. Investors profit through a share of the income drawn from rental fees and other gains drawn from the establishment's operations. Authorities have tweaked investment rules to make REITs more attractive and sustainable. From an old requirement to have at least 40 percent of the investment firm owned by the public, the figure has been reduced to 33 percent a share much lower than original rules which would make it hard for companies to thrive. REITs are also tax-free following a provision under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act which took effect beginning January 2018. "REITs allow Filipinos to invest in the real estate market without owning actual property or the disadvantages of high transaction costs and illiquidity, SEC Chairman Emilio Aquino said in a statement, adding that developers are also assisted by diversifying their funding profiles. The REITs will be listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange, and will appear like trading stocks except that these are solely hedged on real estate projects. Accredit REIT fund managers and property managers will be authorized to handle transactions. It would also be a way to diversify investments in the local capital market, and would also support the property and even infrastructure sectors through additional funding. Medical staff carry a patient into the Jinyintan hospital, where patients infected with a new strain of Coronavirus identified as the cause of the Wuhan pneumonia outbreak are being treated, in Wuhan, China, 18 January 2020 (issued 19 January 2020). China on 19 January 2020 reported 17 new cases of the new mysterious SARS-like virus linked to the Wuhan pneumonia outbreak that has killed two people and sickened at least 62, raising fears ahead of the Chinese New Year holidays where millions of people are expected to travel around the country. EPA South Korea on Monday reported the first confirmed case of the China coronavirus amid concerns that a pneumonia-like illness is set to spread across China and Asia. A Chinese woman suffered a fever, respiratory problems and other symptoms after arriving at Incheon International Airport on China Southern Airlines flight CZ6079 at 12:11 p.m. on Sunday and tested positive for the virus, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). "She tested positive in the pancoronavirus polymerase chain reaction test that checks a person's DNA," the country's public health and safety agency said. The 35-year-old resident arrived from the Chinese central city of Wuhan in Hubei Province -- where the virus appears to have originated -- on Sunday while en route to Japan in tune with the Lunar New Year holiday this week. The patient has since been quarantined at a designated isolation ward in Incheon, west of Seoul, for treatment after being detected during the quarantine inspection process at the airport. The agency said the cabin crew on the plane and fellow passengers are being monitored for any symptoms, with three people being placed in isolation and 14 others being checked. The agency said it has elevated the country's infectious disease alert level by one notch from "blue" to "yellow" and ordered local governments to strengthen monitoring. KCDC strongly advised people who visited China showing symptoms like fever and shortness of breath to visit nearby clinics or hospitals so they can be checked. Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun instructed his Cabinet to take all possible countermeasures to contain the spread of the virus, according to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). Chung ordered Minister of Health and Welfare Park Neung-hoo and the chief of the KCDC to completely quarantine and treat the patient after being briefed by Park on the situation, the office said. "Prime Minister Chung ordered that epidemiological investigations be quickly and thoroughly conducted to verify the movement and contact routes of the patient and contain the spread of the infectious disease," the PMO said. The prime minister also instructed his Cabinet to take all countermeasures in accordance with the government's manual and to make swift and transparent disclosures of all relevant information to help ease public anxiety. Seoul reported a suspected case earlier in the month, but that person was released after tests showed she was not infected with the same virus spreading in China. The Beijing government has reported a total of 201 infected patients, with the death toll at three. There have been two pneumonia-like cases in Thailand and a single case in Japan. Beijing has said the new strain of the coronavirus is not contagious between people, but the World Health Organization (WHO) is not ruling out person-to-person transmission under certain conditions, the center said. (Yonhap) Three terrorists, including a police deserter, were killed in an encounter with security forces in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday, police said. Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Wacchi area of Shopian district following information about presence of terrorists there, a police official said. He said the terrorists were asked to surrender but they opened fire towards security forces' positions. "In the ensuing encounter, three terrorists of were killed," the official said. One of the slain terrorists was been identified as Adil Ahmad, a special police officer who had deserted the force in 2018 and decamped with seven AK assault rifles from the official residence of then MLA Wacchi Aijaz Ahmad Mir from Jawahar Nagar area of the city, the official said. The identification of the other two terrorists is being ascertained, he added. More than 13,000 suspected crimes linked to social media sites were reported to police in a three-year period, it can be revealed. On average, the PSNI receives 12 reports of crime every day that mention Facebook or Twitter. Concerns over the misuse of social media have come to the fore in recent times, with an escalation in cyber-bullying and trolling. Read More Now figures obtained by this newspaper give an insight into the scale of the problem. Between 2016 and 2018, a total of 13,477 crime reports to the PSNI contained mentions of either Facebook or Twitter. An MP who was targeted by online trolls believes many people do not report abuse to police, and suggested the figure could actually be much higher. Police said an incident report does not always equate to a crime, but they urged the public to be mindful online - especially on social media. Politicians have called for social media giants like Facebook and Twitter to do more to combat abuse. Among them is DUP MP Carla Lockhart, who has been the victim of vicious online comments about her appearance. Expand Close DUP MP Carla Lockhart speaking in the House of Commons / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp DUP MP Carla Lockhart speaking in the House of Commons The Upper Bann representative (34) has vowed to use her voice in Westminster to tackle the issue. She told the Belfast Telegraph: "Over the past 18 to 24 months it has been well highlighted that I have been subject to online abuse via social media platforms. "Whilst a number of incidences of this have been widely reported, it is an ongoing problem. "Several times a week I am subjected to this. Twitter are usually good in the short term of restricting accounts, I've had four restricted in the last week, but these people do reappear." Read More The number of reported incidents has fallen, but over the three-year period it still works out at more than 12 every day. The highest number was in 2016 with a total of 4,814 reports that referenced Facebook or Twitter, dropping to 4,557 in 2017 and 4,106 in 2018. High-profile incidents have included offensive images and videos, online threats and sectarian and homophobic abuse. Ms Lockhart believes the extent of the problem is under-reported. "I generally don't report these incidents to the police so whilst the figures show a worrying number, I would suggest that the majority of people don't report this. "The police powers are somewhat restricted with one incident by an individual user and I would like to see far more targeted powers in force for the police and social media platforms more receptive to requests from law enforcement. "I understand some people want to retain anonymity on social media for a number of reasons. "One of those, however, cannot be to abuse people online with no repercussions. "My belief is that some form of ID should be lodged with the social media company who will retain this should there be incidents of harassment or some hate crime committed. "It is not perfect but it may make those people with low numbers of followers, who are solely on the platforms to be abusive, think twice about their actions." A PSNI spokesman said some incident reports may include references to Facebook or Twitter without the sites being directly implicated in the crime, but that it was a reminder for people to be wary online. "Without going through each individual 'incident' report it would be impossible to determine how many crimes have been committed through the use of Facebook or Twitter," they said. "An 'incident' report does not necessarily equate to a crime. For example, a member of the public could phone up the 101 non-emergency number and say they have information in relation to an appeal the PSNI had put up on their Facebook or Twitter account. Whilst Facebook and Twitter have been mentioned in this report, there was no crime committed through that medium. "We all deserve to be able to use the internet to learn, explore and connect with each other safely but all of us need to be aware of the risks involved in doing so, especially on social media. Please remember to be mindful of accepting friend requests from strangers and do not share personal information online. "All users of social media should also be aware that they are personally responsible for the content they post and should avoid posting any content that has the potential to constitute a criminal offence." Facebook and Twitter were contacted for comment. Downing Street suggested it could block a Labour plot to install hated ex-Speaker John Bercow in the House of Lords today. Jeremy Corbyn is said to have put forward the reviled former Commons custodian for a seat in the upper chamber, as well as some of his closest left-wing cronies. It came after Boris Johnson refused to elevate Mr Bercow as is customary for a former Speaker, a move seen as a rebuke for his efforts to stall Brexit last year. But No 10 suggested today that it would block any new attempt to place the outspoken former MP in the Lords. Mr Johnson's Official Spokesman told reporters this morning: 'It is a long-standing convention that leaders of the opposition can nominate people representing their party for peerages.' Boris Johnson refused to elevate Mr Bercow as is customary for a former Speaker, a move seen as a rebuke for his efforts to stall Brexit last year Jeremy Corbyn is said to have put forward the reviled former Commons custodian for a seat in the upper chamber, as well as some of his closest left-wing cronies Mr Bercow became Tory MP for Buckingham in 1997 and represented the seat until the December election. In his decade as Speaker he was officially an independent and officially neutral. But he was accused of repeatedly twisting parliamentary procedure to help Remainers thwart the government. Mr Bercow was also embroiled in rows over bullying allegations - which he flatly denied - and his lavish expenses. According to the Sunday Times, Mr Corbyn - who praised Mr Bercow's handling of Brexit - has now nominated Mr Bercow for a peerage. He is also said to have put forward former Labour deputy leader Tom Watson, with whom he had an often tense working relationship. And Mr Corbyn's former key aide and chief of staff Karie Murphy could also get a coveted seat in the Upper Chamber. Labour refused to comment on any of the claims. The trio reportedly appear on an eight-strong list of dissolution honours nominations put forward by the Labour chief, who will quit his post in April after leading the party to two successive general election defeats. Vetting is expected to begin on the nominations soon. When Aaron Philip made her runway debut this month at Willie Norris' fashion show, screams from the crowd vibrated the walls and finger snaps filled the air. She wore a bold red lip, platinum blonde bob and a t-shirt hung across the back of her wheelchair with the words "Queer Capital." The moment was life-changing for Philip, who wrote on Instagram after, "My hands were shaking and my heart was beating out of my chest." As a Black, transgender, wheelchair-using teenager, the 18-year-old's appearance was an opportunity she willed into existence within a few short years and it's only the beginning. "I hope that my first show goes to show that runways and fashion collections with people like me in it can be possible," Philip wrote, "and there should be more things and opportunities like this everywhere within the fashion industry/world." In November 2017, Philip posted photos of herself on Twitter that expressed her dreams of becoming a professional model with cerebral palsy. "When I get scouted/discovered by a modeling agency, it's over for y'all," she warned, demanding greater representation in the fashion industry to reflect her own life experiences. To date, Philip's tweet has nearly 24k retweets and 100k likes the first viral push that helped kickstart her freelance modeling career. With support from her family, who are originally from Antigua and immigrated to the U.S. when Philip was three, she started posing for fashion editorials and campaigns, all while building her online profile (She has more than 100k combined followers.) Jacket: Prabal Gurung, Sunglasses: Gentle Monster Elite Model Management eventually contracted her in September 2018, making Philip the first Black, trans disabled model to sign for a major agency. With backing from a fashion gatekeeper that's previously worked with icons like Naomi Campbell and Tyra Banks, Philip has become a model of the moment, and landed her first major campaign this summer with Sephora. Her image, photographed by Luke Gilford, is plastered across New York City; there's something truly remarkable about seeing Philip blown up to the size of a city bus, looking down on passersby completely self-made and self-assured. Campbell, whom Philip says is one of her greatest modeling influences, shared a similar experience of pushing forward in the face of systematic resistance. At the beginning of Campbell's career, she was subject to blatant racism and discrimination in an industry that prioritized her white peers. Designers wouldn't cast Campbell because she was Black, while makeup artists and hair stylists weren't trained to work with her skin tone or hair. Even magazines upheld discriminatory practices in the '80s; after Yves St. Laurent threatened to cut advertising from French Vogue for their refusal to put Black models on covers, Campbell became the first POC cover star in August 1988. "I understood what it meant to be Black," Campbell wrote in The Guardian. "You had to put in the extra effort. You had to be twice as good." Philip sees the connections between her work today and Campbell's. "We're both Black women getting a platform and doing lots of work that should be done," she says. "And we're being visible in the ways that leave an impact and a lasting impression. We're garnering success and we will continue to, and with that comes a lot of criticism and hatred. So we have to keep our skin on, we have to keep professional even though we shouldn't have to because we deserve to express our emotions when we go through these things. It's just a matter of stepping your foot down and being brave, but also knowing that we are what we are, as we are." Below, for PAPER Pride, we asked Naomi Campbell and Aaron Philip to interview each other about forging a new lane in fashion, and why, despite the groundbreaking moves she's already made, Philip is just a normal teenage girl from the Bronx with huge ambitions. Dress: THE Marc Jacobs, Rings: L'Enchanteur, Shoes: Adeam Naomi Campbell: What interested you about the fashion industry growing up, and did you have a sense that you would be part of it someday? If so, when did that moment happen? Aaron Philip: I grew up and always looked at fashion as something that I loved, because more than anything, I was born and raised on the internet. And when you're on the internet and exposed to things like advertisements, you see fashion advertising. So I always saw Marc Jacobs, Prada and Dior, right below my keyboard, and I was like, Oh my gosh, I love this. It was only until I was about 12 or 13, when I started looking into it seriously. I got ahold of Vogue, Dazed, and i-D, and I fell in love with the industry and with seeing people wear beautiful clothes in a way that's so visible and public as models. I was always very aware of my identity as a person in a wheelchair. And I later became more aware of my transness eventually, but more than anything, I was hyper-aware of my disability. I realized there's no one I see on TV or online or in fashion, on the stage that I love, looking like me. And I knew that was a problem, because I knew inherently, there was nothing wrong with me. I know what people thought of disability and ableism, so I decided for it to become my journey when I was about 16, to actually become a model. I didn't know what that meant to me until I did research, but I knew more than anything that I wanted to start out with head shots, and I wanted to manifest these dreams. But they weren't acceptable to me if I were to go to a modeling industry and present myself because they're not exactly looking for me when they cast people or bring new faces in. So I decided to make it into a public journey where I figured, maybe if this gets enough attention and maybe if people see what I see for myself and what I see for people like me, maybe people will catch on. Naomi Campbell: Who was a role model to you and in what ways did they influence you? Aaron Philip: My mom, Lydia Philip, she lives in Antigua, she's definitely one of my role models. It's because my mom is really fearless and she's very bold. She loves taking risks, she loves creating things. She loves creativity and she has this thing in her mind and heart where there's no space for bigotry, and there's no space for negativity when it comes to people who are different. She always knew that, and she raised me with a lot of thought. She put a lot of thought into making me a thinker. She really wanted me to think critically and to have my head on about the world and the way I see it and to keep my morals set. So she's this really strong individual who's really set in her ground. She's really inspiring, especially as a woman. She always says, as a woman, nothing limits her. Everything is possible no matter what it is. Naomi Campbell: Who are your favorite designers and who would you like to work with? Aaron Philip: I love Miuccia Prada. I love Donatella Versace... Helmut Lang, Versace, Gucci. I'm really into the houses that are famous for making beautiful clothes and beautiful designs. The first thing that comes to mind is Prada and Miu Miu being that they're so representative of alternative femininity either making or breaking the standard of what femininity is through their lens. They have a really contemporary image of what femininity is to them and what fashion for women and femmes are, and I feel like that's so cool to see because it's so centered around women. Also, Marc Jacobs, for sure. I love Marc Jacobs. Marc Jacobs is actually one of my number one shows. "In August 2018, Elite emailed me and wanted to confirm me for their modeling management and that was one of the best days of my life." Aaron Philip Naomi Campbell: How has the internet helped transform your career?" Aaron Philip: I wouldn't have a start if it wasn't for the internet. And I mean that really literally where, I went on Twitter when I was 16 and made this Tweet. I had these headshots I just took at the park, it was a November afternoon, I finally got them from my [photographer] friend, and I just said, "It's time. I'm ready." So I made my tweet and did this call to action where I said, "Honestly, when I'm scouted and discovered, it's gonna end for the industry because they've never seen anything like it before, and I think it's time to start this revolution." I don't even want to think of it as a revolution, but it kind of is within itself being that. Within the career that I have now there's been so many firsts that concern me. These things are so bare minimum to me, and should've been done light years ahead before I came along. Months after that Tweet came out, I did my first photo shoot with Myles Loftin, and when that came out, I was profiled by y'all at PAPER, so amazing and so special to me. Then I started getting a lot of odd jobs until I worked my way up in freelance for a year, where I started getting clients myself like ASOS and H&M, Refinery29 and Them, and NowThis News. And I started doing odd jobs, and before I knew it, my agency stepped along. In February 2018 I had met them for the first time and I remember my agent telling me, "You're the first person that I've ever seen like you." So I left, not expecting anything. Even so, they were there watching from the shadows. In August 2018, Elite emailed me and wanted to confirm me for their modeling management and that was one of the best days of my life. The way things were going within my freelance life, things were on and off. And I had to do a lot of work by myself. I didn't have an agent or a booker to do things for me, so I had to take care of my bookings and my demands that normally agents would put into the world. I even did taxes myself when it came to doing photoshoots in case there was a budget. I did those things myself with my dad, you know? It was rough. And then they signed me and I'm just like, "Oh wow." I never saw it coming. Dress: Prabal Gurung, Rings: L'Enchanteur Naomi Campbell: How do you process and deal with any critics you may have? Aaron Philip: I'm still improving on that majorly. Block and delete, at this point. My mom said I need to block and delete them because I feel like I often find myself putting so much energy into talking to these people when... it's not that I don't know that they're horrible, evil bigots, it's just that I feel like they are fully aware of what they're doing and what they're saying, and the rhetoric that they're spewing, and the hatefulness that they display. I want to say something to them because it makes me angry, like how can you just act like that? But for the sake of myself and for the sake of preserving me these people are miserable. So more than anything, I just need to block and delete. Just go about my business. Naomi Campbell: How do you spiritually prepare yourself each day? Do you have a mantra or meditation you do if things ever become overwhelming? Aaron Philip: Now that you say that, I don't take the time to do those things. My life, even before modeling, has always been so... I've always had to be so present. Because being disabled, I have to be present of people taking care of my needs. I'm just hyper-aware of everything around me. More than anything, I just jump into these things when I do them and not think twice, and I have fun, but I think it would be good to step back and prepare myself for the experiences I'm having. Even though I'm good with jumping into it because that's what I've been doing my whole life, but some of these things are so major and beyond me. And sometimes I do take the time to meditate on them and think about them, because I write about them in my journal, and I take the time to process it, but it honestly depends. It varies. Naomi Campbell: How does your family feel about your career? Aaron Philip: They are so happy and so proud, which is so amazing. That's what makes it worthwhile, seeing my family being proud of me. Because I know how much sacrifices they made for me as immigrants and as hardworking mothers and fathers, to make my life what it is and come here to bring a fresh start for me. So, more than anything, making them proud is good. And I guess I make them proud by being myself, which is even the best part possible. "People are paying attention and seeing what can be done if things like simple accommodations are met for people with disabilities." Aaron Philip Naomi Campbell: What do you hope to accomplish in your career and in your lifetime? Aaron Philip: I feel like I've accomplished so much now and I'm so grateful for every opportunity I'm offered, being that I was once not signed. And when I started out in high fashion, not a lot was going on because I was still underage, I was still 17, which was not terrible but clients were dodgy about taking me on. I want to be able to do my job and exist as who I am, the way anyone else successful has, and make a legacy by being myself, doing my job well, and working my hardest. That's what I want for myself. But ultimately, I want to be a professional runway model. The work I'm doing currently is so essential because now I'm actually approaching brands and people of all types and saying that it's possible to put me on a runway and have it be profitable and cool. I guess there's this inner thought to the industry that taking on people like myself who are disabled or in wheelchairs is so taboo, and almost dangerous, because they don't know what to expect by putting someone on the runway like me. So I think that as much as I talk about it, it's starting to reach the right ears. And I think people are paying attention and seeing what can be done if things like simple accommodations are met for people with disabilities, like ramps and elevators on these venues. But also just making sure that you have these conversations in a corporate level so that within your companies, you say, "This is worth the investment-making." Because it's no different from any other models. I want to see them erase that narrative where it's like, "People with disabilities are so different to the point where they can't do anything that an able-bodied person can." That's so untrue as long as accommodations are met. It's executing a vision. Dress: Kalmanovich Naomi Campbell: Do you know how many people you have helped by being your authentic and honest self? Aaron Philip: I really don't. I think that's such an interesting question. I feel like I'm doing nothing, but trying my hardest to authentically live my life and exist as who I know I am. And there are so many false narratives and interpretations about me. When you search me up on Google, you'll see: "Aaron Philip: the trans, disabled model" over and over and over again. And you'll see old pictures of me, two years back, where I didn't look anything like I look like now as an 18-year-old model who is now signed. And people still hold on to that image of me being younger. I feel like I wasn't able to be as much as myself when I was younger as I am now. I wasn't comfortable enough, I didn't have the resources. So I want nothing more but to live my life authentically and to be seen professionally and personally as literally a Black girl in a wheelchair from the Bronx, and a teenage girl who is turning into a woman or whatever that is. I want to be seen equal. I want to have the equal opportunities that any other woman would have in life itself. I want to have those experiences. I want to have normalcy. Naomi Campbell: What's the best piece of advice you've ever gotten? The worst? Aaron Philip: Be loud and don't look back, because the world has done so much to try and silence people like myself. It's just the truth of knowing that I want nothing more for myself than to be normal and to be seen as normal because I know that I am normal, no matter what my intersections are. I'm just a teenage girl. So if I have to be loud about pursuing and demanding normalcy from people just because I happen to be a little different, then that's what it's all about. The worst piece of advice was to just not do anything. Because I feel like people are so scared of seeing me in pain or people saying bad things about me because I am who I am, but how can you know until you try? All of that negativity and all of that hatred is invalid because I simply just am. I know what my goals are, I know what my intentions are and I want nothing more than to be loved and valued, and profitable, and successful as myself. "I want nothing more for myself than to be normal and to be seen as normal because I know that I am normal, no matter what my intersections are." Aaron Philip Naomi Campbell: What advice would you give to young people who, like you, are trying to break the mold in some way? Aaron Philip: Keep going. No matter what obstacles may be in your way. Just keep going and keep doing what you can to get a sense of knowledge about it. And just pursue it fully, and don't let anything stop your way, and just do what you must. Your dreams are your most important thing, and don't let go of them. Naomi Campbell: Where does your overall determination come from? Aaron Philip: This is a dog-eat-dog world. You gotta do what you gotta do. If it means being determined and focused, you gotta do what you gotta do. You just have to keep pushing and leave an impact. Leave something, because we all die someday. Naomi Campbell: Why does representation matter? Aaron Philip: Representation matters because everyone deserves to be objectively beautiful and be objectively desired. Everyone deserves to be acknowledged, respected, and valued, and seen as beautiful and desirable and alive for exactly who they are and what they love. Because people deserve to be themselves. Jacket: Prabal Gurung, Sunglasses: Versace, Gloves: Wing & Weft Aaron Philip: What was modeling like for you being my age? Naomi Campbell: Modeling for me was thrilling, I was exploring and traveling the world. I felt like a kid in a candy store. I was very comfortable traveling and exploring new countries and territories and meeting new people and photographers. It was a whole new world for me, but I had no fear about it it was a big adventure. Aaron Philip: Who are people in the modeling industry that you love the most and why? Naomi Campbell: I love the people that were there for me from the beginning, people like Beth Boldt (who discovered me), Bethann Hardison, Steven Meisel, Eileen Ford, Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista, Stephanie Seymour, Francois Nars, Oribe, Azzedine Alaia, Marc Jacobs, and so many more. The people I grew up with and that gave me opportunity. What is wonderful is that I have gotten to maintain these friendships, with those that are still here, until this day. I call them my chosen family. "I listen to my body more than I listen to anything else." Naomi Campbell Aaron Philip: What makes you feel empowered? Naomi Campbell: Doing things and sharing things with people that I love, that they enjoy too. It can be something very simple, but just enjoying what I do with the people that I love is very empowering. Aaron Philip: As a woman in the world, how do you take care of yourself? Do you have words of advice for young women like myself? Naomi Campbell: I take care of myself by listening to my body. I listen to my body more than I listen to anything else. If someone says for me to slow down, but my body says it's ok, I'll keep going! Dress: THE Marc Jacobs Aaron Philip: What is your ideal go to outfit? Naomi Campbell: I don't have one [Laughs]. I have a uniform when I travel, which is leggings, a big oversized top, sneakers and always a pretty coat. Aaron Philip: What is your favorite thing about being Black? Naomi Campbell: I am Black and I am proud. Whatever situations or obstacles that I have gone through in my career, I've embraced. I embrace the challenges. I am proud of the color of my skin and I wouldn't want to be any other way. The challenges have made me stronger and made me understand that I have to share my story with the world to help the next generation after me, to make it easier for them. "I am Black and I am proud. Whatever situations or obstacles that I have gone through in my career, I've embraced." Naomi Campbell Aaron Philip: Do you think that the fashion industry is becoming more diverse? Naomi Campbell: It has gotten a lot better, but I still think there is a lot of improvement needed. I would now like to see the diverse models get the same contracts as their counterparts. House prices across Ireland are expected to rise by 2.4pc on average in 2020, according to a survey on value expectations for the new year commissioned by the Irish Independent. Estate agents across the country believe that a 'Brexit certainty bounce' will return the property market to modest price growth following uncertainty over the UK's departure from the EU, which has been a key factor in freezing or lowering prices in many locations in 2019. The Real Estate Alliance (REA) estimates that, last year, the price of an average three-bed semi fell by 0.6pc nationally and 4.3pc in Dublin city. Brexit uncertainty and Central Bank lending limits played a major part in price drops - especially at the higher end of the market. In its survey carried out for the Irish Independent, REA agents in the capital's post-coded addresses are predicting price rises of 2.8pc this year, with north Co Dublin forecast to see increases of 2pc (compared with -2pc in 2019). It is a prediction supported by Davy stockbrokers, which last week predicted house prices would rise by 2pc or more if subsiding Brexit fears stimulate greater spending on high-end homes. South County Dublin lost most due to the Brexit effect (-5.1pc in 2019) and the survey sees a level of confidence returning to the market, with a 2.2pc upturn on present prices forecast in 2020. Agents in the area believe that certainty will encourage activity after a year that saw houses in the 550,000-plus price brackets drop 30,000 in value. "With slightly more clarity on our economic future in the last few months of the year, we saw a bit of a selling resurgence - but mainly at the lower end of the market," said REA spokesperson Barry McDonald. "There are financed first-time buyers in the market, but (there is) a shortage of supply of the type of accommodation that is most in demand, at a price that is affordable. "The market continues to be characterised by small investors selling up and an absence of cash buyers, leaving sales dependent on working couples and the availability of finance. "However, with wages not rising and Central Bank limits remaining unchanged, house prices are not going to take a dramatic rise in the short term." The survey shows that homes priced between 250,000-350,000 are selling quite quickly, but the market up to 450,000 is much slower. Above that point, a shortage of buyers is apparent. Commuter county locations have proven reasonably strong for agents. "Where new homes are being built in Dublin and the commuter areas, they are selling reasonably well - but only up to a certain price point. "For the market above that 450,000 point to change, we need certainty, confidence and clarity over Brexit," said Mr McDonald. "The difference between now and 2007 is that the market is not aspirational, and people are moving when they have to, for space purposes, rather than feeling pressured to constantly upgrade." Pricing is the key to sales success as fresh properties enter the Dublin market, according to Paul Grimes of REA Grimes in Clontarf and the city centre. "The lending restrictions mean that buyers have a budget and the condition of the property at the price becomes a deciding factor due to the increasing cost of renovations," he said. Agents in three of the four main cities outside Dublin are cautiously optimistic about 2020, with rises of 2pc predicted in Cork (1pc in 2019) and 4pc in Galway which experienced no growth last year. Limerick is also forecasting 2pc growth, off the back of a 2.5pc rise in 2019, with agent Michael O'Connor of REA O'Connor Murphy predicting that a number of new developments due to come on the market will increase supply and possibly cap price increases. Agents in Waterford are predicting that prices will remain static after a year which saw average houses rise by 5,000 to 215,000 - thanks to activity in the last few months of the year. Galway agents McGreal Burke said Brexit and other factors made the second half of 2019 slower than expected. But it feels this may have built up a reservoir of purchasers who will be confident to enter the market this year. Commuter counties suffered a 1pc fall in 2019 and are looking for prices to rebound by 1.5pc in 2020. "An increasing supply of new homes plus Brexit uncertainty will continue to affect the second-hand market in commuter areas," said Darina Collins, of REA O'Brien Collins in Drogheda, who is predicting no change in prices in 2020 after Louth saw prices fall by 5pc in 2019. The Taoiseach has said there is a real and serious risk that we could wake up on February 9 and find that we have a Fianna Fail Government. Speaking at an IDA event convened to give Apple CEO Tim Cook a special award on the back of Apples 40th anniversary of setting up shop in Ireland, Leo Varadkar said that a Sunday Times poll at the weekend which shows Fianna Fail 12 points ahead in the election race shows that his party is going into this election behind and we are playing catch up. He said that we all know how that ends with regard to the prospect of a Fianna Fail administration. Every single time that Fianna Fail gets into office, twice in my lifetime alone, within a few years they have wrecked the economy, and that leads to unemployment, forced emigration, and people losing their homes, Mr Varadkar said. Earlier, in introducing the event to honour Mr Cook, the Taoiseach emphasised that flexible working is a key part of his partys manifesto, as evidenced by the controversial 3bn National Broadband Plan, and took the opportunity to attack his political opponents.. The fact the Government has signed the national broadband contract makes that (working from home) possible, he said. My opponents say that they will tear up the contract. Dont believe them, theyre not going to do that. And theyre not going to get in anyway so it doesnt matter. He defended Irelands enthusiasm for foreign direct investment (FDI), saying that those companies pay in tax pretty much what it costs to run our entire education system. Speaking to the media after the event, Mr Varadkar said that he expected the two televised head-to-head debates between himself and Micheal Martin will be the ones that people focus on. Regarding changes in corporation taxes and what impact they may have on giant companies like Apple, the Taoiseach said he is a firm believer in big companies paying their fair share of taxes. He said that his own partys financial plans have factored in the expected loss of wholesale corporation tax receipts for the next five years. Theyre Brexit-proofed and proofed against any reduction in corporation tax. Youre not seeing that from the other parties, the minute they see a surplus they want to spend it. When you do that the surplus isnt there when you actually need it, he said. Thats why we shouldnt trust them with the country. Meanwhile, Mr Varadkar has been formally invited by the mayor of Drogheda, Paul Bell, to a protest to be held in Drogheda on Saturday against the prevalence of gangland crime in the Louth town in the aftermath of the brutal murder of 17-year-old Keane Mulready Woods. Last week, when visiting the town, the Taoiseach had been non-committal about attending the event. Mr Bell, speaking to local radio station LMFM, said that the protest would be a non-political rally, but added that if Mr Varadkar is in a position to attend he would be afforded the opportunity to speak at the event. Fine Gael had not responded to a query as to whether the Taoiseach will attend at the time of publication. Police escort a Harkat-ul Jihad-al-Islami Bangladesh militant to a Dhaka court where he was sentenced to death for his role in killing five people in a 2001 grenade attack, Jan. 20, 2020. Two Bangladesh trial courts on Monday sentenced 15 people to death 10 militants and five former police for massacres in 1988 and 2001. Dhaka Metropolitan Session Court Judge Rabiul Alam sentenced the militants who killed five people 19 years ago at a rally of the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB). The court has handed down capital punishment for the 10 militants belonging to the Harkat-ul Jihad-al-Islami Bangladesh (HuJI) for the grenade attack at the rally, public prosecutor Salahuddin Howlader told BenarNews. The court has observed that the HuJI carried out the attack for political causes, the prosecutor said. Meanwhile in Chittagong, Judge Md Ismail Hossain sentenced five former police officers who shot 24 supporters of Sheikh Hasina, who was not prime minister at the time, during a January 1988 Awami League rally. Hasina attended the rally and was not injured. In Dhaka, four of the defendants in the grenade attack, Mufti Mainuddin Sheikh, Arif Hasan Suman, Sabbir Ahmed and Shawkat Osman alias Sheikh Farid were present. The others, Jahangir Alam Badar, Mohibul Muttakin, Aminul Mursalin, Mufti Abdul Hai, Mufti Shafiqur Rahman and Nur Islam have absconded. CPB President Mujahidul Islam Selim said his party is pleased that justice was served two decades after the attack. After coming to power, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government in December 2003 closed the investigation saying that the case had no merit. As we waged political agitation, the same BNP government initiated a reinvestigation of the case, Selim told BenarNews. But the BNP tenure ended before the completion of the investigation. Four people died at the scene of the Jan. 20, 2001, attack while a fifth died later at a hospital. Police under the BNP government submitted a final report on Dec. 17, 2003, that did not list any suspects. As justice was not done for previous attacks, the militants then carried out a grenade attack on Hasina in 2004, he said. The HuJI carried out a grenade attack on Hasina on Aug 21, 2004, the same year as a similar attack against Anwar Chaudhury, the British envoy in Bangladesh. Selim said some BNP and Awami League leaders blamed the 2001 attack on the CPB. We handed over evidence of the attack to Hasina who assured us there would be justice. Todays verdict proves that the attack was a militant attack, not an internal political in fight of the CPB, he said. In 2005, the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate asked police to reinvestigate following a CPB petition. That investigation led to the police Criminal Investigating Department submitting a charge-sheet on Nov 27, 2013, accusing 13 HuJI militants. One suspect, HuJI chief Mufti Abdul Hannan was executed for his role in another attack, while two others were acquitted. The other 10 were sentenced to death on Monday. 1988 massacre verdict On Jan. 24, 1988, police shot and killed 24 at an Awami League rally in Chittagong attended by Hasina, who was the partys president at the time. Public prosecutor Shabu Biswas told journalists that police shot at Hasinas motorcade without any provocation at the direction of Mirza Rakibul Huda, the then-Chittagong police commissioner who has since died. Biswas said the court sentenced J.C. Mandal, Mostafigur Rahman, Pradip Barua, Shah Md Abdullah and Mamtaj Uddin. They were punished as they misused their power that led to the death of 24 innocent people, he said. Four of the defendants were in court while Mandal has absconded. In addition to the death sentences, all five were sentenced to 10 years for causing severe injury with dangerous weapons. Hasina had gone to Chittagong to rally supporters in a movement to get rid of military ruler H.M. Ershad who came to power following a coup on March 24, 1982. The killing was a heinous episode in our political history. The attack was aimed at killing our leader Sheikh Hasina who had been fighting for the political rights of the people, Faruk Khan, an Awami League member, told BenarNews. Finally the relatives of the victims get justice, he said. Video PlayerClose Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits a village of the Wa ethnic group to learn about poverty alleviation efforts and extend his Chinese New Year's greetings to the villagers in Qingshui Township of the city of Tengchong, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Jan. 19, 2020. Xi visited Yunnan Province Sunday on an inspection tour ahead of Chinese New Year. [Xinhua/Ju Peng] KUNMING, January 19 (Xinhua) Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, visited southwest China's Yunnan Province Sunday on an inspection tour ahead of Chinese New Year. Xi went to a village of the Wa ethnic group in Qingshui Township of the city of Tengchong Sunday afternoon to learn about poverty alleviation efforts and extend his Chinese New Year's greetings to the villagers. Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits a village of the Wa ethnic group to extend his Chinese New Year's greetings to the villagers in Qingshui Township of the city of Tengchong, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Jan. 19, 2020. Xi visited Yunnan Province Sunday on an inspection tour ahead of Chinese New Year. [Xinhua/Ju Peng] He also visited the old town of Heshun, a gateway on the ancient Southern Silk Road that linked China's Sichuan and Yunnan with Myanmar and India, to learn about exchanges, historical and cultural inheritance, as well as ecological and environmental protection along the trade route. (Source: Xinhua) 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 All primary care appointments and surgeries at Kaiser Permanente Woodland Hills Medical Center have been canceled "until further notice," company officials said Monday. That's because of a water main break that's left the facility without running water since Saturday night. The cause has not been released, but officials did say the water main break did follow a planned shutdown of the water line over the weekend. Speaking to the media Monday afternoon, Kaiser representatives said "emergency water supply measures" are in place and they estimate the repairs will be completed and water service restored by the end of Thursday, Jan. 23. The pharmacy, urgent care, emergency room and hospital will remain open. Appointments at other Kaiser facilities have not been impacted, officials said. On Monday, rows of port-a-potties and hand-washing stations lined an entrance to the emergency room at the Valley medical center. They were the only bathrooms available at the hospital, as the restrooms inside have been taped over with caution tape. Los Angeles Department of Water and Power spokeswoman Christina Holland said the utility's crews did not respond because the water line break occurred somewhere in the hospital's own water system, not in pipes controlled by the utility. UPDATES: 4:19 p.m.: This article was updated with the latest information from Kaiser Permanente officials. This article was originally published at 2:45 p.m. LAist digital producer Ryan Fonseca contributed to this story. The bench said the claim of being a juvenile was not taken initially during trial in the Nirbhaya case. (Photo Credit: File Photo) New Delhi: The Supreme Court has reserved the verdict on the plea of a death-row convict in the Nirbhaya case against a Delhi High Court order dismissing his claim that he was a juvenile when the crime was committed. A bench headed by Justice R Banumathi is hearing the plea of convict Pawan Kumar Gupta. The convict had moved the apex court on Friday. He has also sought a direction restraining the authorities from executing the death penalty, scheduled for February 1. The bench said the claim of being a juvenile was not taken initially during trial in the Nirbhaya case. However, Guptas lawyer contended that it was taken as a mitigating circumstance at the time of sentencing in the case. Seeking to be declared a juvenile at the time of occurrence of the incident, Pawan had alleged that his ossification test was not conducted by the investigating officers and claimed benefit under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act. He had said in his plea that the provision of section 7A of JJ Act lays down that a claim of juvenility may be taken before any court and it shall be recognised at any stage, even after final disposal of the case. Pawan sought that the concerned authority be directed to conduct his ossification test to ascertain his claim of juvenility. What is Nirbhaya case? A 23-year-old physiotherapy intern 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. Six peopleMukesh Singh, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Kumar Singh, Pawan Gupta, Ram Singh and a juvenilewere 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. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Goa NRI Commissioner Narendra Sawaikar on Monday said the state government was making all efforts to get the body of a sailor who died in captivity after being abducted by pirates off the Nigerian coast last month. Brito D'Silva was part of the 20-member crew of MV Duke who were abducted on December 15 by pirates. The Indian High Commission in Abuja in Nigeria informed in a tweet on Sunday that 19 of those abducted had been released on Saturday, while one had died in captivity under adverse conditions. "Efforts are on to get the body of the seafarer. We are trying through diplomatic channels to get the remains of the seaman," Sawaikar told PTI on Monday. Meanwhile, Goa Seamen's Association of India president Dixon Vaz said the kin of D'Silva continue to remain in the dark about when the remains would reach here. "Brito D'Silva died on December 23 while his family members were told about the death on Sunday. There is apprehension the pirates may have been buried the body in the forest in Nigeria," Vaz claimed. He said the shipping agent who recruited D'Silva was not answering queries, adding that the seaman's death may be the first ever of a Goan in pirate captivity. As per government statistics, between thirty to forty thousand Goans work on tankers and merchant vessels, with Salcette taluka in South Goa providing the highest number. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New Delhi [India], Jan 20 (ANI): BJP leader Lanka Dinakaran on Monday slammed the Andhra Pradesh government for giving nod to the three capital proposal. He termed it a 'foolish cabinet decision.' "I strongly condemn the decision of the Andhra Pradesh government for having three capital," said Dinakaran while talking to ANI. He added, "It is a foolish cabinet decision as per the whims and fancies of Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSRCP government." He also urged to conduct a CBI investigation into the transactions of the Andhra Pradesh government. "I seek a CBI investigation against Amaravati transactions for the first six months and Vishakapatnam land scams," he said. Despite ongoing protests against three capital, Reddy-led government on Monday approved the High Power Committee report on three capital during a Cabinet meeting. The Cabinet, which was chaired by Chief Minister Reddy, approved the idea of three capitals -- Visakhapatnam as executive capital, Kurnool as judicial capital, and Amaravati as legislative capital. (ANI) SWARTHMORE Councils first legislative session agenda of 2020 was light, but not without importance. Mayor Marty Spiegel presented the State of the Borough Address. The state of the borough is very strong, he said. First, President Mary Walk and council handled outstanding appointments, reports, and announcements of upcoming committee meetings. Newly elected council member Jill Gaieski will chair the Public Safety Committee. Michael Carey, finance chair, reported a positive budget status. Both Carey and Manager Jane Billings made the point that the administration strives to have finances very transparent and open to the public. The meeting quickly moved to Spiegel, who was appointed the fill the mayoral vacancy when Tim Kearney was elected to the Pennsylvania Senate. Spiegel was elected unopposed in the 2019 election for a term ending in 2022. Spiegel said in preparing for this address he asked himself what has made the town a strong and desirable place to live. The list of conditions he cited was considerable and made Swarthmore the perfect profile of a community. Topping the list was being incredibly healthy financially, for which he recognized Billings and councils management. Taxes are always an issue, and ours are relatively high. However, the boroughs share (of the overall tax bill) is less than 20 percent. That amount is running everything that goes on, especially public sewer service. Its hard to fault the borough for those costs, said Spiegel. Referring to the other taxes, Spiegel spoke of the school district. We have one of the best school districts in the state, and that helps to create an incredibly strong real estate market. If there is a fault with real estate, it is that stability, particularly residents aging in place, results in not enough to sell, Spiegel said. The positive features of the borough were exhaustive, as Spiegel cited the green environment, walk-ability, transportation, senior services, cultural opportunities and robust volunteerism. The presence of Swarthmore College was beneficial in a variety of ways, he added. With a nod to Police Chief Ray Stufflet and Fire Department President Rick Lee, who both attend council meetings, Spiegel commended the boroughs safety. It could be enhanced, he suggested, if residents would remember to lock car doors as well as home entries, and take responsibilities for ourselves. The biggest challenge is our downtown, said Spiegel, who served as Town Center coordinator for many years. I cant stress enough the value of the downtown, as well as the need for residents to patronize our stores. Everybody at this table and in this room doing their job makes Swarthmore an incredible place to live, and we are all so fortunate, said Spiegel, who ended by saying how extremely pleased he is to be serving as mayor. Walk acknowledged Spiegel as a great booster of this town. Its apparent how much you love it. A member of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Daisy Danjuma, has said her endorsement of Edo State Governor, Godwin Obasekis second term aspiration was personal. Mr Obaseki is a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC). I owe nobody apology for endorsing the second term aspiration of Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo, Mrs Danjuma, wife of former defence minister Theophilus Danjuma, told journalists in Benin City. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that Mrs Danjuma, a former senator, had, in Lagos on Sunday, endorsed Mr Obaseki during a town hall meeting organised for the governor in Lagos. The endorsement has drawn the ire of the state chapter of the party who felt that the former senators stance was not proper. I have the right to support whoever I choose to. I am a member of the PDP. I have never left the PDP or decamped to any party like others. It is my right to free comment and I have exercised that, she said. The Edo PDP, in a statement, disassociated itself from Mrs Danjumas decision to support Mr Obaseki for second term, and asked her to resign her position. It said the comments, discussions and purported endorsements credited to Mrs Danjuma were her private thoughts and do not reflect the thoughts of Edo PDP. The Edo PDP said it was abnormal and not politically savvy for party leaders to endorse aspirants of another party other than the candidate of their party. In a statement signed by the Publicity Secretary, Chris Nehikhare, the PDP stated that being a member of the BOT conferred some rights and privileges that should not be abused. READ ALSO: The statement said it was an abuse of such rights and privileges to openly and publicly endorse a candidate of another party. Mr Nehikhare said the statement of endorsement is a morale-damper to the hard working, committed and loyal men, women and youths of Edo PDP. At the appropriate time and in accordance with our partys constitution, a credible PDP candidate will be nominated to contest the Edo 2020 governorship election to liberate the state from political arrogance, poverty, insecurity and unemployment. To all Edo people, members and supporters of PDP, you will have a choice to make between the umbrella of comfort and the broom of hardship. A PDP government will liberate our state from the APC government that is insensitive to the plight of our people, he said. (NAN) OIL FORECAST: 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 Advertisement Freezing temperatures of less that -7C are expected to sweep across the UK today as the country gears itself up to harsher and frostier conditions. The plunging thermometers, which come after high pressure brought widespread mist and frost, will see fog or freezing fog patches develop across southern parts of northwest England into the Midlands, East Anglia and southern England. As Britain braces itself for the approaching bitter chill, the weather has also ignited concern for the effect the temperatures could have on wildlife, such as birds, and plants. Following the cold start to the day, many areas across the nation are expected to become dry and bright once the freezing patches of fog begin to clear on Monday. The plunging temperatures comes after parts of Britain suffered the coldest night of winter on Sunday night, with forecasters warning the frosty evenings were set to continue, as 'exceptionally high' pressure threatened TV and radio blackouts. The mist was seen rolling across Glastonbury, Somerset (pictured), today as Britain braces itself for the approaching bitter chill A horse walks though New Forest, Hampshire, as parts of the country gears up to harsher and frostier conditions as temperatures continue to plunge Following the high pressure which brought widespread mist, fog and frost, the UK will begin to see fog or freezing fog patches develop. Pictured: Malmesbury, Wiltshire A Mackerel sky over St Mary's lighthouse in Whitley Bay as freezing temperatures hit Britain, with some experiencing the coldest night of winter so far Millions of homes could be affected by the pressure, which could be the highest since 1957, meaning viewers may miss out on shows like Dancing on Ice and Doctor Who. The Met Office also warned that people might experience their ears popping more easily than usual because of the pressure, which is caused by an unusual warm layer of air above cold air at ground level. However, the high pressure should also mean that the UK will experience more settled weather, with low winds and clear skies, though it will be bitterly cold overnight. Freeview, which provides TV channels to six in 10 UK homes and 40 million Brits, will be the worst hit while YouView's TV will also be affected, as will its broadcast partnerships to TV services from BT, TalkTalk and Plusnet. Satellite broadcasters Sky and Freesat will not be affected as they use different frequencies and online streaming should also work as normal. MeteoGroup forecaster Mario Cuellar said: 'The stronger the air pressure, the greater the impact on TV and radio waves. 'And the UK will be close to its 1053.6 millibars pressure record. 'High pressure will cause cold air at ground level and warm air above, which will act like a mirror reflecting and disrupting TV and radio waves.' Met Office forecaster Marco Petagna said: 'High pressure could well affect Freeview, causing signals to weaken and interfere with one another, due to a temperature inversion. 'Incredible high pressure around 1050 millibars will be over us.' High air pressure happens when a body of cold air descends, or when cold air gets trapped underneath a layer of warmer air. This disrupts TV as channel signals mix, causing pixelated or black screens The high pressure, which could reach 1050 millibars, will bend and reflect TV signals leaving viewers with scrambled TV channels A runner in a frost covered Windsor Great Park. The Met Office said Northern Ireland experienced its coldest night of the winter yesterday, while the temperature fell to -6.8C in North Yorkshire's Topcliffe, and hovered around -1C across London Photographers wait to take picture of a stag in a frost-covered Richmond Park in south west London where overnight temperatures dipped to -3C A walker in a frost covered Windsor Great Park. As well as the cold weather, millions of homes could be affected by 'exceptionally high' pressure, which could be the highest since 1957, meaning viewers may miss out on shows like Dancing on Ice and Doctor Who Deer in a frost covered Windsor Great Park. Though temperature will rise as high as 46.4F (8C) throughout the day all over the UK, they are expected to plunge back down to -7C later tonight A Freeview spokesperson said: 'High pressure can mean some viewers experience pixelated pictures or a temporary loss of certain channels. 'We'll closely monitor the weather and update our service status.' YouView has said: 'High pressure can negatively affect signals, causing picture break-up.' The Met Office said Northern Ireland experienced its coldest night of the winter yesterday, while the temperature fell to -6.8C in North Yorkshire's Topcliffe, and hovered around -1C across London. Though temperature will rise as high as 46.4F (8C) throughout the day all over the UK, they are expected to plunge back down to -7C later tonight. The agency's Alex Burkhill said a fog warning had been put in place over sections of the West Midlands and north-west England. A man takes his dog for a walk as the sun rises behind the Allen Clarke Memorial Windmill in Blackpool, as the chilly weekend continued with the mercury dipping below zero and fog coating large parts of the country Deer in a frost covered Windsor Great Park. A mid-range cold weather alert has been issued by Public Health England from 6pm on Sunday to 6pm on Tuesday A cyclist rides through a frost-covered Richmond Park in south west London where overnight temperatures dipped to -3C. Temperatures will rise throughout Sunday before plummeting again tonight 'It's been a very frosty start but through the bulk of the day it's going to be largely fine and largely sunny,' the forecaster said. It would still be 'quite chilly' with expected highs of 8C scattered across parts of England, Mr Burkhill said. He added that there would be some rain for the Shetland Islands. A mid-range cold weather alert has been issued by Public Health England from 6pm on Sunday to 6pm on Tuesday and the organisation is urging people to prepare for cold weather conditions and look out for those most at risk. Dr Owen Landeg, principal environmental public health scientist at PHE, said: 'Below 18 degrees, changes to the body mean that the risk of strokes, heart attacks and chest infections increase so heating homes to this temperature is particularly important to stay well.' New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Monday interact with a group of students, teachers, and parents about various aspects of the examinations during the third edition of Pariksha Pe Charcha. The interaction programme with students is being organised at Talkatora Indoor Stadium in Delhi. A total of 2,000 students and teachers are expected to attend the event. Out of 2,000 1,050 students with whom PM Modi will interact have been selected through an essay competition. During the interaction, PM Modi will share valuable tips with the students to ensure they take the upcoming board and entrance exams in a relaxed manner. The prime minister will also respond to questions of students and give them tips to overcome examination stress. PM Modi will answer queries of students The students who will get to ask questions to PM Modi have been short-listed on the basis of essays submitted by them on five subjects - Your Future Depends on Your Aspirations, Gratitude is Great, Our Duties, Examining Exams, Your Take, and Balance is Beneficial. According to officials, the event which will start around 11.00 am - will also be broadcast live on YouTube. A lot of excitement and enthusiasm is being seen among the students, teachers, and parents to not only participate in the unique event but also to receive valuable tips from the prime minister who is keen to ensure that the students take exams in a relaxed atmosphere and do not come under stress, to ensure better results in the long run, the HRD Ministry said in a statement. A senior official of the ministry said they received around 2.6 lakh entries from students for the event this year. Almost double of what they received in 2018. Last year, it was around 1.4 lakh entries. PM Modis interaction programme Pariksha Pe Charcha 2020 was initially scheduled for January 16 but was rescheduled to January 20 on account of Pongal, Makar Sankranti, Lohri, Onam and other festivals across the country. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Teachers who were at a Cudahy, Calif., elementary school when a Delta aircraft dumped fuel overhead on Tuesday have filed a lawsuit against the airline, accusing it of negligence. The teachers, who asked not to be named, felt sick, dizzy and nauseated after being covered with the fuel, prominent womens rights attorney Gloria Allred said at a press conference after filing the lawsuit on Friday. Allred said the school children began to scream and cry, and the teachers rushed them inside. At least 60 people were treated for minor injuries, according to CNN, including at least 20 children and 11 adults at Park Avenue Elementary School. The airplane, a Delta 777-200, had been required to turn back to Los Angeles International Airport shortly after taking off on a trip to Shanghai, Delta said in a Jan. 14 statement. After encountering an engine issue, the aircraft released fuel, which Delta characterized as part of normal procedure to reach a safe landing weight. The FAA has confirmed to TIME that the pilot did not tell air traffic controllers that it would dump the fuel. It has said that it is thoroughly investigating what happened. In the press conference, Allred characterized the fuel dump as unnecessary and dangerous and noted that the pilot had told air traffic personnel that releasing the fuel would not be necessary. She said that the plane had not tried to fly at a higher altitude, which would have permitted the fuel to dissipate, or to fly the aircraft in a holding pattern to burn off fuel. Had the Delta pilot notified air traffic personnel of the need to dump fuel, the flight would have been directed by air traffic control to a location and to an altitude from which fuel could have been released without danger to the teachers, the students, and others at the school, Allred said. One Park Avenue Elementary School teacher, who has been an instructor for 13 years, was outside with 5th grade students on the playground when she spotted a plane flying low overhead and releasing white vapor, she said at the press conference. Soon afterward, she felt what seemed to be drizzle until the playground was flooded with the stench of fuel. She said that the liquid affected the victims eyes, noses, mouths, lungs and skin. Story continues I immediately began to rush my students indoors, as the fumes were stifling, said the teacher. My students began screaming and crying because their eyes and skin were burning. Fear, dread, panic and helplessness ensued. We are all very experienced teachers. But we are not equipped to deal with this level of hazardous contamination. The unnamed teacher said that as the other instructors were consumed with helping their students, they had to wait several hours to help decontaminate themselves. She noted that she and other teachers are concerned about the longterm affects of the incident, and have already experienced eye, sinus, respiratory, and other health issues. Several teachers said that they sought emergency care in the hours or days after the fuel dump. Another teacher, who has taught at Park Avenue Elementary School for 21 years, said that she received urgent care the next day because she had a severe headache and was nauseous. Im scared of what can happen to my health, the health of my students, my friends and my colleagues, the teacher said. Delta did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit. Allred said that other plaintiffs may join the lawsuit. After a brief hiatus, locusts have again attacked crops in Gujarat's Banaskantha district, prompting the state and central teams to take immediate steps to control the menace, officials said on Monday. Last month also, huge swarms of locusts damaged several crops in Banaskantha and Patan districts of north Gujarat, but the menace was controlled by December 20 with spray of pesticides. The problem resurfaced three days ago when locusts again arrived from desert areas of Pakistan and attacked crops in Banaskantha, district agriculture officer P K Patel said. "Due to change of wind direction, locusts have invaded parts of villages like Mavsar, Kundaliya and Radhanesda close to the border adjoining Pakistan. We are trying to control the problem by constant spray of pesticides," he said. READ: Three Killed, 31 Injured After Truck Hits Bus In Gujarat The equipment provided by the central government and other machines mounted on tractors are being used to spray the pesticides, the official said. "Teams of the central and state governments are working daily with the help of locals to trace the swarm of locusts and destroy them. We believe locusts are now moving towards neighbouring Rajasthan," he said. According to some locals in the affected villages, locusts coming from Tharparkar region of Pakistan have damaged standing crops, including cumin and castor, that are mainly grown in the area. Last month also, huge swarms of locusts invaded parts of Banaskantha and Patan, feeding on crops like mustard, castor and wheat. The problem was controlled by December 20 with spray of pesticides in the affected areas, an official earlier said. The state government then estimated crop damage in 25,000 hectare area and announced a relief package of Rs 31.5 crore for nearly 11,000 affected farmers. Gulfood, the worlds largest annual food and beverage trade exhibition, will mark its silver anniversary this year, and unite food businesses from six continents to rethink their output in an age of major innovation and evolution across the global food and beverage (F&B) sector. Gulfood 2020 will be held from February 16 to 20, at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) in Dubai, UAE. The UAEs strategic position and status as a global trade hub has been underlined by the latest Gulfood Global Industry Outlook, produced by the shows knowledge partner Euromonitor International, which forecasts the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region will experience above world average compound annual growth across most F&B categories through to 2023. The report, which is available to registered Gulfood 2020 attendees, reveals that during the next decade world-class trade and commerce infrastructure in the Emirates can facilitate Asia Pacifics emergence as the worlds biggest F&B consumer by 2030. The Mena region is also showing huge growth potential both as a standalone market and as a trading corridor for business expansion inroads in Africa and Asia. Mena has emerged, with greater distribution of wealth and rapidly developing infrastructure, consumers have greater access to a wider range of foods and beverages, states the report. With Mena forecast to outstrip the average global growth in seven out of eight sectors, poultry and seafood offer the biggest potential as both are predicted to grow annually by 5.2 per cent according to the report. Beverages are forecast to record 3.6 per cent annual growth, dairy 2.9 per cent, pulses, grains and cereals 3.8 per cent, ingredients by 3.2 per cent and confectionery and snacks by 3.3 per cent. Only fats and oils fall short of the world average, but even this sector is forecast to record regional annual growth of 3.4 per cent. While the growth potential is there, the regional industry faces significant opportunities and challenges which now beset the global sector it is why we believe a major rethink is required as we embark on a new decade of innovation and transformation, said Trixie LohMirmand, senior vice president, Exhibitions & Events, DWTC. As Gulfood 2020 brings this new era into focus, we anticipate the 25th edition will be a hotbed of innovation reflecting wider trends within an industry where demographic shifts such as urbanisation, migration, and the rise of the middle class are reshaping consumer lifestyles and purchasing decisions, she added. With the global food industry in the midst of transformation across the entire production chain, innovation will hallmark exhibitor promotions at Gulfood 2020. To ease business facilitation, the show is divided into eight categories: beverages; dairy; fats and oils; wellness and free from; meat and poultry; power brands; pulses, grains and cereals; and world food, which will feature 120 national pavilions with niche and specialty products in 2020. Transformation is being felt across all Gulfood product sectors and industry players must rethink their approach to a segment in which natural ingredients, sugar reduction and free-from labels remain the F&B industrys main priorities, explained LohMirmand. Leveraging the trend for natural, healthy ingredients, New Zealand-based dairy ingredient solutions provider, NZMP - the global dairy ingredients and solutions business of Fonterra, believes Gulfood 2020 will provide crucial insight and shape the industry agenda for the early part of the 2020s. Simon Penfold, sales director NZMP and Anchor Food Professionals, said: As we head into a new decade, it is essential that food and beverage companies gain insights into a fast-evolving market. As one of the biggest global food and beverage events globally, Gulfood allows us to connect with our customers and offers an important platform to showcase our innovative dairy ingredient solutions, while exploring opportunities across the Middle East and Africa, he added. Creativity is also expected to shine at the two-day Gulfood Innovation Summit, which will run under the Rethinking Food theme and has attracted some of the industrys most inspiring change-makers. The Summit will bring together influential chefs, food scientists, government officials and industry leaders at the forefront of innovation to discuss and shape the future of food and gastronomy. The two-day agenda will delve into topics revolving around the role of government in shaping the future of food, adapting to healthier, sustainable lifestyles, F&B marketing, tourism and retail, future food technologies and new halal markets, added LohMirmand. The summit will also feature a country focus probing the evolving Saudi Arabian culinary scene, which is poised for further growth following Decembers landmark decision to end gender segregation in F&B outlets across the kingdom. As Gulfood enters its 25th anniversary year, LohMirmand stressed the show can now trace its historic contribution in the ongoing evolution of a regional F&B scene, which has undergone seismic shifts in market approach. We now see higher rates of local production and exporting in a region which, for many years, was totally import reliant. Consumers are prioritising their health and that of the planet. Look out for more transparent labelling, increasing concentration on health & wellbeing, ethical ingredient sourcing, more environmentally friendly packaging, added LohMirmand. With the Mena region now developing as an export player and an increasingly demanding importer, Gulfood 2020 is expected to attract huge global attendance for the main show and its associated event programme. This includes the Halal World Food global trading platform, which generates lucrative investment for businesses looking to capitalise on the burgeoning halal food sector. Christophe Lecourtier, managing director of Business France, said: France has been a partner of Gulfood since its beginning. For this 2020 edition, 80 French exhibitors led by Business France will be present across nearly 1000 sq m. That is why the French government and Business France has chosen Gulfood to launch Taste France, the banner brand promoting the French agriculture and food sectors, around four main values: gastronomy, passion, art of living, simplicity. Unified under this same banner, our companies will be stronger to win internationally, he added. Gulfood 2020 will feature the Gulfood Startup Programme, where entrepreneurs demonstrate how their innovation is lighting the path to a smarter food tomorrow, while the Gulfood Innovation Awards will celebrate and reward excellence across brands and products. The Discover Zone, where the spotlight falls on product releases, will feature new categories for an enhanced shopping experience, while Innovation Tours will provide curated pathways through a show where 5,000-plus exhibitors will be showcasing hundreds of thousands of product lines, it stated. TradeArabia News Service In the old Jewish quarter of Morocco's coastal city of Essaouira, a newly-opened "House of Memory" has been dedicated to the historic coexistence of its Jewish and Muslim communities. Nestled in a narrow alleyway among labyrinthine lanes, Bayt Dakira (House of Memory) is situated in a former family home of wealthy traders, who added a small synagogue decorated with woodwork and carved furnishings. The restored building "testifies to a period when Islam and Judaism had an exceptional closeness, complicity and intimacy", said Andre Azoulay, an adviser to King Mohammed VI. Azoulay, himself a member of Essaouira's Jewish community, launched the project in partnership with Morocco's culture ministry. "We said to ourselves: We're going to let our patrimony speak, and protect what was the art of living together in mutual respect," he said. His daughter Audrey Azoulay, who is director-general of the UN cultural agency UNESCO, was also present last Wednesday when the king made an official visit to the centre. Countering 'amnesia' Bayt Dakira showcases objects donated by local families alongside stories of members of the Jewish community from the southwestern city on the Atlantic. They include Leslie Belisha (1893-1957), who was Britain's minister of finance, transport and war, and David Yulee Levy (1810-1986), the "first Jew elected in United States history". A panel lists Jewish royal advisers from Essaouira, including Azoulay who was called to the palace in 1991 by Hassan II, the late father of Mohammed. Bayt Dakira also houses old photographs, archive footage, musical recordings, traditional dress and religious objects. Upstairs will house a research centre. At the time of Sultan Mohamed III, who in the 18th century transformed the small port into a diplomatic and commercial hub, Essaouira was "the only city in the Islamic world with a majority Jewish population", the 78-year-old royal adviser says. Azoulay's goal is to turn his city's history into a symbol of "the art of the possible", and push back against what he calls "amnesia, regression and archaism". At one point, Essaouira had 37 synagogues, but most have fallen into ruin. Ancient community The Jewish community has been present in Morocco since antiquity and grew over the centuries, particularly with the arrival of Jews expelled from Spain by the Catholic kings after 1492. At the end of the 1940s, Jewish Moroccans numbered about 250,000 -- some 10 percent of the population. Many left after the creation of Israel in 1948, and the community now numbers around 3,000, still the largest in North Africa. Azoulay's goal is to turn his city's history into a symbol of 'the art of the possible'.. By FADEL SENNA (AFP) Essaouira was largely forgotten during the French protectorate (1912-1956), but has experienced a gradual rebirth since the early 1990s, turning into a tourist destination and cultural beacon. It is not the only city to house a memorial to the country's Judeo-Moroccan heritage, something which the king often highlights. Cemeteries, synagogues and historic Jewish quarters are also being restored. Since 1997, Casablanca has housed a Moroccan Jewish Museum, the only one of its kind in the Arab world. And in Fez, the country's spiritual capital, a museum dedicated to the Jewish memory is under construction. While the kingdom doesn't have official ties with Israel, thousands of Jews of Moroccan descent visit every year -- including from the Jewish state. They come to rediscover the land of their ancestors, celebrate religious events or make pilgrimages. A retired couple were brought to tears after they discovered they had been walking around $5million richer. The couple, from Narellan, 60km south west of Sydney, were one of two division one prize winners taking home $5,209,329.11. Moments after making their weekly Lotto ticket check and finding out their lives were about to change the couple were in shock. 'Oh gosh. I'm going to cry,' the woman said to officials. A retired couple were brought to tears after they discovered they had been walking around $5million richer (stock) 'This is so exciting! 'We had no idea we'd been walking around with this winning ticket in our wallet!' They said it was 'incredible' and they 'couldn't comprehend' their newfound wealth but were unsure how they would spend it. 'Wow. We have no idea right now. We will really have to think,' they laughed. 'I guess there's plenty we can do with our prize! Our options are pretty much endless. 'We will have to sit down and make a plan when we've calmed down.' The winning ticket was purchased from Narellan Newsagency in Narellan Town Centre. Employee Dee Appleton said it was nice for the store to have a win at the start of a new decade. The winning ticket was purchased from Narellan Newsagency in Narellan Town Centre 'It's so exciting to unite these winners with their prize and it's great that this amazing prize has gone to our local customers,' she said. 'It's an incredible prize and we're just so happy for them. 'It's been great to kick off the year selling this winning entry and we hope it's the beginning of many more for our customers.' The winning numbers of the January 14 draw were 34, 7, 44, 10, 21, 40 and 9 while the supplementary numbers were 2 and 37. The other winner was from South Australia. Saturday's Lotto draw will be dedicated to bushfire relief with all proceeds going to recovery efforts. VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) The first stage of an extradition hearing for a senior executive of Chinese tech giant Huawei started in a Vancouver courtroom M onday, a case that has infuriated Beijing, caused a diplomatic uproar between China and Canada and complicated high-stakes trade talks between China and the United States. Canada's arrest of chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of Huawei's founder, in late 2018 at America's request enraged Beijing to the point it detained two Canadians in apparent retaliation. Huawei represents China's progress in becoming a technological power and has been a subject of U.S. security concerns for years. Beijing views Meng's case as an attempt to contain China's rise. "Our government has been clear. We are a rule of law country and we honor our extradition treaty commitments," Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said at a Cabinet retreat in Manitoba. It is what we need to do and what we will do. China's foreign ministry on Monday accused the United States and Canada of violating Meng's rights and called for her release. "It is completely a serious political incident," said a ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang. He urged Canada to correct mistakes with concrete actions, release Ms. Meng Wanzhou and let her return safely as soon as possible. Washington accuses Huawei of using a Hong Kong shell company to sell equipment to Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions. It says Meng, 47, committed fraud by misleading the HSBC bank about the company's business dealings in Iran. Meng, who is free on bail and living in one of the two Vancouver mansions she owns, sat next to her lawyers wearing a black dress with white polka dots. She earlier waved at reporters as she arrived at court. Meng denies the U.S. allegations. Her defense team says comments by President Donald Trump suggest the case against her is politically motivated. Story continues We trust in Canada's judicial system, which will prove Ms. Meng's innocence," Huawei said in a statement as the proceedings began. Meng was detained in December 2018 in Vancouver as she was changing flights on the same day that Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met for trade talks. Prosecutors have stressed that Meng's case is separate from the wider China-U.S. trade dispute, but Trump undercut that message weeks after her arrest when he said he would consider intervening in the case if it would help forge a trade deal with Beijing. China and the U.S. reached a "Phase 1" trade agreement last week, but most analysts say any meaningful resolution of the main U.S. allegation that Beijing uses predatory tactics in its drive to supplant America's technological supremacy could require years of contentious talks. Trump had raised the possibility of using Huawei's fate as a bargaining chip in the trade talks, but the deal announced Wednesday didn't mention the company. Huawei is the biggest global supplier of network gear for cellphone and internet companies. Washington is pressuring other countries to limit use of its technology, warning they could be opening themselves up to surveillance and theft. The initial stage of Meng's extradition hearing this week is focusing on whether Meng's alleged crimes are crimes both in the United States and Canada. Her lawyers filed a a motion Friday arguing that Meng's case is really about U.S. sanctions against Iran, not a fraud case. Canada does not have similar sanctions on Iran. Richard Peck, Meng's lawyer, said in court that the fraud allegations are a "facade" and the charges are really about the United States attempting to enforce its sanctions on Iran. Would we be here in the absence of U.S. sanctions law? My response is no, Peck said. Arguments will continue Tuesday and throughout the week. The second phase, scheduled for June, will consider defense allegations that Canada Border Services, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the FBI violated Meng's rights while collecting evidence before she was actually arrested. The extradition case could take years to resolve if there are appeals. Nearly 90% of those arrested in Canada on extradition requests from the United States. were surrendered to U.S. authorities between 2008 and 2018. In apparent retaliation for Meng's arrest, China detained former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and Canadian entrepreneur Michael Spavor. The two men have been denied access to lawyers and family and are being held in prison cells where the lights are kept on 24-hours-a-day. China has also placed restrictions on various Canadian exports to China, including canola oil seed and meat. Last January, China also handed a death sentence to a convicted Canadian drug smuggler in a sudden retrial. "That's mafia-style pressure," Lewis, the Washington-based analyst, said. ___ Associated Press writer Jim Morris reported this story in Vancouver and AP writer Rob Gillies reported from Toronto. Jagat Prakash Nadda was on Monday elected unopposed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president, taking over from Amit Shah after the latters five-and-a-half-year tenure, even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the party will scale new heights under the 59-year-old Naddas leadership. A senior BJP leader from Himachal Pradesh, Nadda was picked to lead the party months after it retained power in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. He takes over the reins at a time when the BJP is facing opposition from political rivals over the new citizenship law. Political analysts said consolidating the partys electoral strategy after recent setbacks in states will be a key task for him. His election as the 11th president of the BJP was announced by Radha Mohan Singh, who is in charge of the organisational election process. Nadda will have a three-year tenure. The BJP may face more difficulty in the future and we must be ready as per the needs and desires of the nation, moulding the workers and taking India ahead is our target, Modi said shortly after Naddas appointment was announced at the BJP headquarters in the national capital. The PM and the BJP parliamentary board congratulated the newly elected party president at a ceremony that was also attended by veterans LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi. After his election, Nadda said: I thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi for showing faith in me. Today, we are the worlds largest party that is in power in India. We have the highest number of MPs and MLAs in the country. We are not going to stop at this. There are some states left and we will make sure we reach to them as well. Naddas elevation was expected. He was appointment the BJP working president last June, after Shah joined the Modi government as the Union home minister. Wishing Nadda success, Modi said he was sure that the party would scale new heights during his presidency. When I handled the party organisation, he was looking after the Yuva Morcha. We used to travel together on a scooter, the PM said. His leadership will give us new energy and inspiration, he added. He also praised Shah for his tenure as the BJP president. The BJP has expanded in a short time, fulfilling peoples aspirations and transforming itself with time, Modi said. Shah was earlier joined by senior party leaders, including Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari, and several functionaries from state units, in filing nominations in support of Nadda. The process of electing the national president was undertaken after organisational polls were held in 21 states. The proposal for Naddas candidature was made by these 21 states and the parliamentary party. He takes over from Shah, who was appointed as full-term president on January 2016. On Monday, Shah said: Heartiest congratulations to JP Nadda on being elected the national president of BJP. I believe that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and JP Nadda, BJP will become stronger. Nadda was a member of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the students wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). He joined electoral politics in the 1980s. He later worked alongside Modi in the 1990s. During the first term of the Modi-led government, Nadda served as the Union health minister. The Prime Minister also used the occasion to hit out at political rivals protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. He said the parties that were rejected by people were left with few weapons, and were spreading confusion and lies. Those rejected by the people have limited means but one of them is to spread falsehoods. They have a full ecosystem for that. BJP karyakartas have always drawn their strength from the people of India. We do not need to seek validation an ecosystem that will never accept us, the PM said. There are some people who dislike the very principles which guide us. That is why there are attempts to create problems. For them, the problem is that the people of India are with us. These are the same people rejected by the people of India. Referring to his partys structure, Modi said the BJP is not a temporary party or political arrangement, and that it is inspired by its ideals. Shah, too, launched an attack on the Opposition. He said unlike the BJP, other political parties in the country follow a dynastic policy. The BJP stands apart in India because it does not function on casteism or nepotism. If you look at other parties, every party is family-based and is promoting their own people. Only BJP promotes every worker based on sheer quality and love for motherland, Shah said. (With inputs from PTI) With rise in Omicron cases, SC to conduct hearings virtually for next two weeks Can't allow every person who thinks of some solution to COVID-19 to file petition: SC PIL challenging renaming of Allahabad to Prayagraj: SC issues notice to UP govt India oi-Madhuri Adnal New Delhi, Jan 20: The Supreme Court on Monday sought response of the Uttar Pradesh government on a PIL filed by Allahabad Heritage Society challenging renaming of Allahabad to Prayagraj. A bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant issued notice to the state. The Special Leave Petition was filed before the Supreme Court by the Allahabad Heritage Society and some residents from the city after the Allahabad High Court dismissed the plea. Registering opposition to the name change itself, the petition filed through Advocate Shadan Farasat states. Muslim population went up due to special rights: Yogi Adityanath The Centre had on January 1 last year approved the renaming of Allahabad as Prayagraj. NEWS AT NOON, JANUARY 20th, 2020 In February last year, the Allahabad High Court dismissed the plea upon finding that the state government had the authority to make the name change under Section 6(2) of the Uttar Pradesh Revenue Code, 2006. The High Court had concluded that it could not interfere in such matters of policy. Mumbai, Jan 20 : Budding Bollywood star Disha Patani has set Instagram on fire again with a fresh lot of bikini pictures. This time, the actress has shared a couple of stills from her upcoming flick "Malang". Disha has shared two pictures, where she can be seen at the beach and in the water. "Some more #malang," she wrote. The actress loves to tease her fans with snapshots that overflow with oomph every now and then on social media. Her flawless figure surely must give fitness goals to some of her fans. Disha's upcoming release is "Malang" directed by Mohit Suri. The film also features Anil Kapoor, Aditya Roy Kapur and Kunal Kemmu, and is scheduled to release February 7. -- Syndicated from IANS Former Secretary of State for International Trade, Liam Fox - REUTERS Britain should negotiate trade deals with individual US states as a backstop while Boris Johnson tries to seal a post-Brexit free trade agreement with America, a former trade secretary will say on Monday. Liam Fox will point out that four US states - California, Texas, Florida and New York - would be members of the G20 if they were independent nations, and that many deals could be struck with states, rather than the US as a whole. While tariffs on goods can only be negotiated by Washington, deals on services, which account for the majority of Britains transatlantic trade, can be sealed on a state level, unlocking billions of pounds of business for the UK economy. Dr Fox will tell a conference in Geneva that free trade agreements are not the only mechanism to generate huge volumes of business between countries such as the UK and the US. He will say that a comprehensive free trade agreement with the US will encounter unavoidable difficulties because the US will, quite correctly, negotiate hard for its own interests and is likely to focus on better access for its agricultural products. Liam Fox Many commentators have warned that the Governments insistence that it will not allow products such as chlorine-washed chicken or hormone-fed beef into the country from the US is incompatible with a free trade agreement (FTA), meaning it will be difficult to convince Donald Trump to sign one. However, Dr Fox, who served as International Trade Secretary until last summer, will tell business leaders that Britain should concentrate on removing non-tariff barriers to trade with the US, which would not need an FTA. He says regulatory autonomy after Brexit - as promised by Mr Johnson - will be key to removing long-standing trade barriers. One example he cites is a mutual recognition agreement negotiated by the Government between the Institute for Chartered Accountants of Scotland and two US accountancy bodies covering every US state, which made professional qualifications on either side of the Atlantic compatible with each other and opened up the American market to accountants from Scotland. Story continues Services already account for 50bn of exports to the USA, around 60 per cent of the total export market, and similar deals would open up the US market still further. Speaking to The Telegraph ahead of his speech, Dr Fox said: There are other things in the toolkit apart from FTAs. We should be concentrating on market access restrictions rather than solely FTAs with countries like America. An FTA would cover tariffs, quotas and fees on goods being traded across the Atlantic, but Dr Fox says that as well as mutual recognition agreements, the removal of regulatory barriers can be done outside an FTA. Dairies in Northern Ireland, for example, were unable to export yoghurt and other dairy-based products to China because of regulations that meant that although China imported milk from both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, it would not import Northern Irish yoghurt that incorporated milk from the Republic. The Department for International Trade negotiated the removal of the regulatory glitch, which was worth 250 million to Northern Irish producers. Dr Fox will tell the Spinoza Foundation think tank that such side deals represent enormous potential for Britain to trade more with the US, beyond the concept of an FTA. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 20) In a bid to connect with Taal victims, the House of Representatives is set to hold its plenary session on Wednesday in Batangas province, south of Manila, said Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano. Cayetano made the proposal during his privilege speech on Monday, citing the need for long-term plans to prepare for disasters and calamities. His colleagues unanimously approved the proposal to hold the session at the Batangas City Convention Center. The proposal is that we move to become a committee of the whole and listen to different representatives from all over Laguna, Cavite, and Batangas; listen to the first responders, listen to those who are directly affected, Cayetano said during his speech. He added the move will also raise lawmakers' awareness on how to improve the governments disaster response plans. We want to come out with a feasible, strategic and comprehensive rehab plan and assign whether it is one person, one agency or one department that will be fully accountable, Cayetano said. Lawmakers previously said they are prioritizing the passage of a bill that would create the Department of Disaster Resilience to address the impact of recent calamities and improve on preparedness and mitigation efforts. The House has vowed to pass the bill before Congress adjourns again on March 13. Over 100,000 individuals, including 29,000 families, have been evacuated after Taals steam-driven eruption on January 12. Both the provinces of Batangas and Cavite are under a state of calamity amid a possible hazardous explosive eruption of Taal anytime. CNN Philippines Xianne Arcangel contributed to this report. LA PAZ (Reuters) - Former Bolivian leader Evo Morales is fostering instability and violence from inside Argentina and the United States had warned the South American nation that he would be a 'headache,' a senior U.S. official said in an interview published on Sunday by Bolivian media. LA PAZ (Reuters) - Former Bolivian leader Evo Morales is fostering instability and violence from inside Argentina and the United States had warned the South American nation that he would be a "headache," a senior U.S. official said in an interview published on Sunday by Bolivian media. Mauricio Claver-Carone, a senior adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, said in an interview with Bolivian newspaper Pagina Siete that Morales was a "headache" for Argentina, which granted him asylum, at a time it should be focusing on other issues including its economic crisis and its relationship with the International Monetary Fund. "(Morales) had sold himself like a caricature that was peaceful, but what we have seen is an Evo Morales who sponsors and fosters violence and wants to foster militias. We warned the Argentine government that this was going to happen. I warned then President-elect Alberto Fernandez before these events occurred," Claver-Carone said in the interview. "I wish I had been wrong, but now Argentina is seeing the problem that Evo Morales means," he said. A spokesperson for Fernandez, who was inaugurated on Dec. 10, did not immediately respond to request for comment. Morales said on Jan. 13 that Bolivians had the right to organize and defend themselves, without firearms, from what he said were attacks by Bolivia's interim government, which he says took power in a coup late last year. Days later, Morales retracted his call for the organization of militias after it prompted Bolivia's interim government to send a letter to Argentina asking that the government disavow his comments. A spokesman for Argentina's Foreign Ministry declined to comment at the time on whether the government spoke to Morales about his comments. Morales, a socialist leader who was at the helm of Bolivia for nearly 14 years, stepped down on Nov. 10 after a disputed election victory sparked protests and led to allies, the police and the military pulling their support. A caretaker government led by interim President Jeanine Anez then took control of the country. After initially fleeing to Mexico, Morales arrived in Argentina after Fernandez's inauguration and has been living there under asylum. Claver-Carone, who visited Bolivia earlier this week for meetings with Anez, also took aim at Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, saying he tried to destroy the country's armed forces to pave the way for armed militias in an act of "gangsterism." "The same thing that Nicolas Maduro did with that gangsterism, is what Evo Morales tried here in Bolivia," Claver-Carone said. Maduro claims the Trump administration has tried to precipitate a coup in Venezuela and has praised the armed forces for their loyalty. Argentina's Fernandez faces a diplomatic juggling act between the United States, which has called for Maduro to step down as president, and leftist allies including Venezuela and Morales. In December, Claver-Carone left Fernandez's inauguration events early, unhappy with the presence of Venezuelan officials from Maduro's government. (Reporting by Cassandra Garrison in Buenos Aires and Monica Machicao in La Paz; additional reporting by Angus Berwick in Caracas; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. President Muhammadu Buhari has sought the cooperation of the National Crime Agency of the United Kingdom in the investigation of fugitives from Nigeria finding accommodation in that country. Femi Adesina, the presidents Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, in a statement in Abuja, said the Nigerian leader made the call during a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Boris Johnson in London on Monday. The two leaders met on the sidelines of the UK-Africa Investment Summit 2020. Mr Buhari said the ongoing anti-corruption war in Nigeria, though slow but painstaking, needed the cooperation of the Agency. News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that former Minister of Petroleum, Diezani Alison-Madueke and other Nigerian fugitives in the UK had fled into exile since 2015 when the current administration of Mr Buhari came on board. It would be recalled that in 2017, a Federal High Court in Lagos, presided over by Justice Abdulazeez Anka, had ordered the final forfeiture of N7.6 billion alleged loot recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from Alison-Madueke. Mr Buhari also updated Mr Johnson on the positive developments in Nigeria in different areas of national endeavour. He told Mr Johnson of strides in agriculture, leading almost to self-sufficiency in rice and other grains, which is saving the country billions in foreign exchange, which are now deployed to other areas of development. On the war against insurgency, the president said things were a lot better, with the disabuse of the minds of the people on the true philosophy of Boko Haram. He said though there were challenges in the area of resettling displaced people, it was being tackled head-on. We have a long history with the British military, and we are collaborating, Mr Buhari added. On Climate change, the president said it was a challenge to Nigeria and neighbouring African countries, especially with the shrinkage of Lake Chad. He also said the country was making progress on education, particularly that of the girl child. READ ALSO: In his remarks, Mr Johnson thanked Mr Buhari for being a regional leader who gives strong encouragement to the West. He congratulated him on jobs being created through agriculture and urged him to do more. He equally lauded the Nigerian president for what he called the social and economic benefits that had accrued to the country since 2015. Mr Johnson pledged that the necessary hand of fellowship would be extended to Nigeria on its war against corruption, through the National Crime Agency. He pledged to cooperate with Nigeria and other African countries in the inter-basin water transfer, which could solve the Lake Chad problem, and enhance security in the sub-region. On the Commonwealth Free Trade Area, the prime minister applauded the idea and pledged a careful consideration. He charged the Nigerian leader to keep the national autonomy of his country intact, noting that in the future, Nigeria would not just be a continental power but an international power. (NAN) A demonstrator carries a sign reading 'Capitalism is killing us!' at a pension-reform strike in Paris on 9 January. Photo: Samuel Boivin/NurPhoto via Getty Images Global leaders clustering at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland this week may disagree, but the latest survey from US public relations firm Edelman found that over half of people think that capitalism has failed them. Edelman surveyed 34,000 people in 28 markets, including China and the US, between October and November 2019 for its Trust Barometer. It found that, overall, 56% of respondents agreed with the statement that capitalism as it exists today does more harm than good in the world." In the 35-54 age group, that climbed to 59%. The index measures the trust of the public in its core institutions: government, business, NGOs, and the media. We are living in a trust paradox, said Edelman chief executive Richard Edelman. Since we began measuring trust 20 years ago, economic growth has fostered rising trust. This continues in Asia and the Middle East but not in developed markets, where national income inequality is now the more important factor. Despite a strong global economy and near full employment, a majority of respondents in every developed market do not believe they will be better off in five years time, the survey said. Fears are stifling hope, and long-held assumptions about hard work leading to upward mobility are now invalid, Edelman said. READ MORE: Worlds 2,153 billionaires richer than 60% of global population Broadly, more than 80% of workers are worried about losing their jobs to the growing gig economy, recession, cheaper foreign competition, immigrants taking their jobs or their jobs being automated. Two-thirds feel technological change is happening too fast. Incompetent and unethical Peoples expectations of institutions have led us to evolve our model for measuring trust, said Edelman. Trust today is granted on two distinct attributes: competence (delivering on promises) and ethical behavior (doing the right thing and working to improve society). It is no longer only a matter of what you do its also how you do it. Story continues READ MORE: World's elite head to Switzerland for Davos He added that for many, businesses have taken over the role vacated by populist and partisan governments and expectations on CEOs have changed to reflect that. More than 90% of employees say CEOs should speak out on issues of the day, including the ethical use of technology and income inequality, and 75% believe CEOs need to take the lead to make change instead of waiting on governments. It can no longer be business as usual, with an exclusive focus on shareholder returns, Edelman said. While none of the four institutions are regarded as both competent and ethical, business ranks by far the highest when it comes to competence. However, despite being perceived as incompetent and unethical, people trust the government more than twice as much as business when it comes to tackling wealth inequality and climate protection. While fake news has largely damaged trust in the media 57% said they dont think the media is doing a good job at differentiating opinion from fact news coverage is as important to people as ever. NEW HAVEN A Madison man is scheduled to go on trial today in Superior Court in New Haven for allegedly stabbing a woman in a room at Motel 6 in Branford. John Ginnetti, 71, of Warpas Road, is charged with first-degree assault, a felony. He has been held in lieu of $500,000 bail since his arrest Nov. 8, 2018, the day of the alleged event. Branford police were called to the motel at about 4:20 p.m. that day after receiving a 911 call reporting a woman had been stabbed. More News Woman reported in stable condition after Branford hotel stabbing According to the police affidavit, a motel employee had called to report a female victim came to the front desk, bloody and naked to say she had just been stabbed by John. Two motel employees tended to the victim in the lobby area, as she was bleeding profusely, the affidavit stated. The victim was able to inform them that John Ginnetti just stabbed her and was leaving in his vehicle. At the same time, the affidavit said, one of the motel employees was approached by an unknown teenage boy who informed her that he just saw a bloody half-naked older man exit the motel. The employee, who reportedly knows Ginnetti, then saw him backing his vehicle out of a parking space and she relayed this information to the 911 dispatcher. Police officers arrived shortly afterward and detained Ginnetti. Ginnetti refused to cooperate with the officers and they took him to the Branford Police Department, the affidavit said. The victim was taken to Yale New Haven Hospital. Her condition was listed as serious but stable. Some of the responding officers quickly determined that the crime scene originated in room 117 and that a trail of blood evidence led to the first floor hallway and into the front lobby, according to the affidavit. When interviewed at the hospital, the woman told police that she and Ginnetti were in a dating relationship and that earlier that day he picked her up and went to a restaurant in Hamden, the affidavit stated. They then went to the motel where they had consensual sex, she said. But she reported Ginnetti then went to the bathroom and when he returned to the woman, who was still in bed, he was holding orange tape in his hand, which he wanted to use on her during sex, the affidavit said. When the victim declined, Ginnetti pulled out a four-inch folding knife in anger, the affidavit stated. The victim added that Ginnetti proceeded to stab her several times before she was able to knock the knife out of his hand. At that point the victim states that Ginnetti used a pillow and tried to smother her by placing the pillow over her head. But the woman told police the pillow was so bloody that she was able to slide her head away from the pillow, at which time Ginnetti left the room, the affidavit added. She was also quoted in the affidavit telling police she feared for her life and believed that Ginnetti intended to kill her because she decided to stay with her husband rather than with him, which angered him. When police detectives went to room 117, they observed blood evidence on the bed, walls, pillow and table, which was consistent with the victims statement. But the detectives said the knife she described had not been recovered. Ginnetti pleaded not guilty to the assault charge. During a pretrial appearance last year he rejected the states offer to plead guilty in return for a sentence which would have required him to serve 10 years in prison. According to court documents, a judge at one of Ginnettis pretrial appearances ordered he be given anti-depression medicine daily and be placed on suicide watch. During jury selection, which was completed last week, Ginnetti sat beside his defense attorney, Kevin Smith. The prosecutor in the case is Assistant States Attorney Reed Durham. Superior Court Judge Elpedio N. Vitale will preside over the trial. randall.beach@hearstmediact.com American Family Care (AFC) is celebrating six years on Entrepreneur magazines Franchise 500, one of the worlds most admired business rankings. AFC experienced a steady climb from #405 in 2013 to #107 in 2019. The Franchise 500 ranking recognizes AFC for its exceptional performance in areas including financial strength and stability, growth rate, and brand power. Our consecutive ranking on the Franchise 500 is an outstanding achievement, said D. Bruce Irwin, M.D., Founder and CEO of AFC. Our success is the result of the dedication our employees and franchisees have for delivering compassionate, convenient healthcare to our patients around the corner and around the nation. American Family Care currently has more than 200 locations across the country and is the largest provider of urgent care in the country. Our rapid growth is fueled by the nations need for high-quality, accessible healthcare, as well as the companys focus on patient satisfaction, explains Sean Hart, CFE, AFCs Vice President of Sales and Development. We are on track to expand our footprint to 500 locations within the next five years. Our patient-centric model is at the core of that growth, we are making it easier for families to get checked out by a medical provider seven days a week, no appointment is ever needed at AFC. Over the last 38 years, AFC has pioneered the concept of non-emergency room urgent care and expanded the concept across 28 states. All AFC clinics are designed, equipped, and staffed to provide accessible primary care, urgent care, and minor emergency treatment. Each clinic features a high-tech approach, including digital x-rays, on-site lab testing, state-of-the-art diagnostics, and electronic medical records. The clinics are staffed by kind, caring, and compassionate health care professionals. During its 41 years in existence, the Franchise 500 has become recognized as an important industry measurement tool for franchisors and a primary research tool for potential franchisees. American Family Cares sustained presence in the ranking is a testament to its strength as a franchise opportunity. About American Family Care: Founded by Dr. Bruce Irwin with a single location in 1982, American Family Care has pioneered the concept of convenient, patient-centric healthcare. Today, with more than 200 clinics and 600 in-network physicians caring for nearly 3 million patients a year, AFC is the nations leading provider of urgent care, accessible primary care, and occupational medicine. Ranked by Inc. magazine as one of the fastest-growing companies in the U.S., AFCs stated mission is to provide the best healthcare possible, in a kind and caring environment, while respecting the rights of all patients, in an economical manner, at times and locations convenient to the patient. For more information, visit http://www.AmericanFamilyCare.com. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky will come to the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 22. He will deliver a speech there as the Presidents Office reported. On January 22, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky will make a working visit to Switzerland to participate in the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, the message said. The schedule of the visit includes the speech of President Zelensky, which will take place at 4:00 p.m. Besides, the president planned a number of meetings with the leaders of other states, representatives of business and international financial organizations. Besides, Executive Director of Corruption Counteraction Center Daria Kalenyuk, businessman Viktor Pinchuk, Director-General of DTEK (holding company that develops business streams in the energy sector, - ed.) Maksym Tkachenko, entrepreneur Vadym Novinsky, and Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko will come to Davos too. In 2019, U.S. leader Donald Trump canceled his visit to Davos within the World Economic Forum in late January. The reason was his ongoing opposition with the Democratic Party within the discussions about the wall construction on the U.S.-Mexico border. As we reported, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo postponed his trip to Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Cyprus due to unrest in Iraq. He had to come to Kyiv on January 3. Morales announces candidates for MAS party in Bolivia's elections Former Bolivian President Evo Morales speaks during a news conference in Buenos Aires BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Former Bolivian leader Evo Morales announced from Argentina on Sunday the candidates for his socialist party in Bolivia's May 3 elections, which will serve as a re-run of the disputed October vote and be the first in some two decades without him. Speaking at a news conference in Buenos Aires, Morales named his former economy minister Luis Arce Catacora as the Movement to Socialism's (MAS) presidential candidate, with former foreign minister David Choquehuanca as his running mate. Morales unveiled the ticket after meeting at the weekend with senior MAS party officials who travelled to the Argentine capital, where Morales is living after accepting an offer of asylum. He is barred from running for president again. The names differed from a ticket announced on Friday by MAS officials in La Paz, which had Choquehuanca, an Aymara Indian, as the party's presidential candidate. At the time, a party official said the ticket - including Morales disciple and coca farmer Andronico Rodriguez as vice presidential candidate - was the result of party consensus. But later on Friday Morales wrote on Twitter that the pair were just "pre-candidates" along with two of his close allies: Catacora and another former foreign minister, Diego Pary Rodriguez. "Soon we will return to Bolivia to join this campaign fight," Morales said at the press conference. "I want to tell everyone I have a political project of liberation, not only to Bolivians but the whole world... that another world without capitalism is possible." Morales, Bolivia's first indigenous president, resigned on Nov. 10 after a disputed election victory in October sparked protests and an Organization of American States audit found serious irregularities in the vote count. After initially going to Mexico, he arrived in December in Argentina, where he has remained vocal about Bolivian politics and his party's participation in the upcoming elections. (Reporting by Horacio Soria, Cassandra Garrison and Hernan Nessi; Editing by Daniel Wallis) Shadow planning minister Mike Nahan has urged the state government to reverse a decision to force two concrete batching plants out of the Claisebrook precinct in East Perth, warning their removal could hinder or cancel new developments in the CBD. The Hanson and Holcim batching plants have been in the East Perth area for more than four decades and in their current locations since the mid-90s but residential developments have been edging closer, and with them, increased community and council opposition. The Hanson concrete batching plant in East Perth. Credit:Hamish Hastie The companies were beaten in 2017 when then-acting Planning Minister Ben Wyatt upheld a City of Vincent zoning change to exclude industrial operations in the area and turn it into a mixed-use residential and commercial precinct. Mr Wyatt declared the companies had until 2024 to find a new location, but more than two years on nothing has been announced. Imagine a pristine T&T where there are no more homeless people or animals. One where hunger has been eliminated as the relic of a bygone era. A world where pipe-borne water is delivered to every home every day, not wasted in an archaic system where significant leaks are either ignored or washed out to sea. Police claim a West Australian man endangered the lives of three people after he allegedly burnt them using an aerosol can and cigarette lighter. It is alleged the incident happened in a home on Ardagh Avenue in Kalgoorlie about 3.45pm on Sunday. The four people including a woman in her 30s and two men in their 20s were all known to each other and at the home when the man, 31, allegedly became agitated and armed himself with an aerosol can and a cigarette lighter before using them to burn all three victims with a flame. The female victim was left with extensive burns to her left arm, left hand, back and neck. The two male victims had burns to their neck, ears, arms and hands. The 31-year-old man from Kalgoorlie was charged with three counts of unlawful act or omission with intent to harm (endangering life, health or safety of any person). WYOMING, MI Police identified Medardo David Ibuado, 23, of Wyoming, as the victim of a fatal shooting late Sunday, Jan. 19. The shooting happened around 10:35 p.m. near 5027 Curtis Drive SW. Police responded to a report of shots fired in the area and found the victim. He died at the scene, Wyoming police said. Police continue to investigate and asked anyone with information to call police at 616-530-7300 or 911 or Silent Observer at 616-774-2345. Police said early investigation suggests there is no specific threat or reason to believe there is any elevated danger to the general public. Read more: Everything you need to know about Grand Rapids free college tuition promise Train hits vehicle after driver gets stuck on tracks Driver charged in crash that killed utility worker The tiny island in the middle of Elmendorf Lake that was once knotted with gnarled trees, dead vegetation and more than 1,000 birds now looks clean and open. Only a few bare trees remain. Neatly raked soil covers the ground. A scant number of birds perch at the islands edge near Our Lady of the Lake University. Bird Island, a quarter-acre dot of land, is unrecognizable. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the city of San Antonios Parks and Recreation Department have teamed up in recent weeks to divert large masses of cattle egrets from the island with hopes of stopping them from flying over Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland and Port San Antonio. The exercise aims to minimize the risk of bird strikes with airplanes. City workers and contractors changed the islands landscape by removing dead materials and old nests last month. They pruned the remaining live vegetation, cutting 50 to 70 percent of the trees canopy to make the spot less enticing to cattle egrets. They also dispersed two types of seed to encourage new growth. USDA employees began conducting daily diversion or harassment exercises in mid-December, using startling noises and visuals to keep the birds from returning. That campaign will continue every evening through March. For two hours every night, workers slam clapper boards together and shine lasers or handheld strobe lights. Sometimes they fire up inflatable figures staked to the ground, which act as scarecrows of sorts. Other times they fire pyrotechnics into the air like fireworks without the colorful patterns. The diversion exercises must persist beyond mid-February, when the nesting season for cattle egrets begins. Once they get to that point where they have to build a nest and lay an egg and theyre realizing theyre not going to be allowed to do it at that location ... they will give up and go somewhere else, said Cory Wilson, a wildlife biologist with the USDAs Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio begins clearing out Bird Island Ideally, USDA workers hope the cattle egrets move to Mitchell Lake Audubon Center 11 miles away. Wilson refers to the noisy harassment campaign as conditioning exercises. This was a project based on risk management and hazard management it wasnt necessarily a nuisance issue, he said. Theres no cause to be mad at these birds because they exist. Its because theres a true threat to health and human safety for the aircrews at this point. The Federal Aviation Administration traditionally requires airports to identify any wildlife hazards within a 5-mile perimeter of its runways, Wilson said. In recent years, 500 to 700 cattle egrets have nested at Bird Island throughout the winter. In the spring, up to 1,000 to 1,200 stop there as the migratory population arrives. Because of that large volume of bird traffic, the island became unsightly. The number and the concentration of birds that existed on that island were actually causing a collapse of the vegetation, Wilson said. Most of the vegetation that was removed was actually dead just from the buildup of the fecal material on the ground. When they establish these rookeries ... theyll literally kill the trees in that area and then just kind of move on. That is a sometimes a byproduct of that colonial nesting bird behavior. On ExpressNews.com: Cattle egrets on San Antonios Bird island to face shock and awe The accumulation of bird droppings changed the balance of Bird Islands soil. Some trees grew sideways because of the sheer number of birds nesting in them. Most of those trees died and have been removed, said Bill Pennell, the citys assistant manager of park planning. Bird Island is at the western end of Elmendorf Lake Park, which the city spent $15 million revitalizing in recent years. The island accessible only by kayak or canoe serves as a critical nesting site for the snowy egret, great egret, neotropic cormorant, double-crested cormorant and great blue heron, according to signs at the lake. The city spent $32,000 cleaning up the island, Pennell said. Such projects are infrequent for the USDA. We might physically do one of these projects every five years, Wilson said. But we do offer a lot of technical guidance to allow different municipalities or other agencies to do the same things that were doing here. Such jobs are becoming more common for cities and parks as development continues, Pennell said. Birds and other animals still need areas to go. With reduced areas and spaces for wildlife, theyre going to find places. ... So it will put stress on any habitat that cant handle that, he said. Peggy OHare reports on the census, demographics and occasionally crime and general assignments in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | pohare@express-news.net | Twitter: @Peggy_OHare Concurs repetat pentru selectarea unei companii sociologice, care sa efectueze un studiu tematic "Barometrul opiniei publice in domeniul schimbarilor climatice" By Nandita Bose BOULDER, Colo. (Reuters) - 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. By Nandita Bose BOULDER, Colo. (Reuters) - 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 smart-tracker startup was one of four companies that testified at the latest hearing of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee's antitrust subcommittee in Colorado on Friday. 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 behaviour 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 2019. 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. "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 David 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. It said the practice allowed competitors to purchase ads that made it hard for consumers to reach Basecamp's website, co-founder David Heinemeier 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. (Reporting by Nandita Bose; Editing by Stephen Coates and Rosalba O'Brien) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. TORONTO, Jan. 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- EEStor Corporation (the Company) (TSXV: ESU) announces that it has terminated negotiations with FWG Ltd. (FWG) and will not be proceeding with the previously announced acquisition. The parties have been unable to reach agreement surrounding the structure of the proposed acquisition, and as a result have elected not to move forward. No funds were advanced by the Company to FWG, and the Company has not assumed any contingent liabilities arising from the proposed acquisition. About EEStor EEStor is a developer of high energy density solid-state capacitor technology utilizing patented Composition Modified Barium Titanate (CMBT) material. EEStor is committed to providing commercially viable and sustainable energy solutions across a broad spectrum of industries and applications. 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. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, contained in this press release including, but not limited to (i) generally, or the About EEStor paragraph which essentially describes the Corporations outlook and objectives, constitute ''forward-looking information'' or ''forward-looking statements'' within the meaning of certain securities laws, and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as of the time of this press release. Forward looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Corporation as of the time of such statements, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. These estimates and assumptions may prove to be incorrect. Many of these uncertainties and contingencies can directly or indirectly affect, and could cause, actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that 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 management's expectations and plans relating to the future. The Corporation disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements or to explain any material difference between subsequent actual events and such forward-looking statements, except to the extent required by applicable law. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 20 Trend: A minute of silence has been held in Azerbaijan as a tribute to the victims of January 20, 1990, Trend reports. The movement of traffic and pedestrians in Azerbaijans cities was stopped for a minute to honor the tragedy victims, while the minute of silence was accompanied by horns of ships in the Baku Bay, as well as in Baku Metro and railway trains. On the night of January 19-20, 1990, the Soviet army forces entered Baku to suppress the masses protesting the USSR-supported Armenian aggression based on territorial claims against Azerbaijan. The result was an unprecedented tragedy for the country. As a result, 147 people were killed, 744 were injured and 841 were illegally arrested after Soviet troops entered Baku. The Soviet troops also destroyed 200 apartments and houses, as well as private and public property. A Nigerian-born American, Yinka Faleti, has shown his interest to contest for a political position in America. Faleti is vying for the position of Missouri secretary of state in the USA. He is of the Democratic Party. Faleti who was given birth to in Lagos relocated to the US with his parents for greener pasture when he was seven years old. As new immigrants, the Faleti family had it tough fending for their family and had to change address often. They moved from New York to Virginia to Florida to Mississippi and finally to Texas. Succour came for Yinka through education as he graduated as a valedictorian of his junior high school in Florida. He later graduated from the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science from where he got an appointment to and graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point. Yinka Faleti served in the US Army as a combat arms officer in tank units for over six years and rose to the rank of captain after two deployments overseas to Kuwait as part of Operation Desert Spring prior to 9/11 and Operation Enduring Freedom in response to 9/11. After a successful career in the military, Faleti relocated to St. Louis, he attended and graduated from law school at Washington University. Faleti practised law as an attorney at the global law firm of Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner and subsequently as a state prosecutor, where he worked for justice for victims of abuse, assault and burglary. He went on to become a senior vice president with United Way of Greater St. Louis and led the fundraising and volunteer engagement divisions, raising $300 million during his tenure to help people in the Greater St. Louis region. He later became the executive director of the successor nonprofit to the Ferguson Commission, Forward Through Ferguson, a position he stepped down from to seek the political post of secretary of state of Missouri. Yinka Faleti is happily married to Ronke and together they have four lovely children. Yinka shared a video of his campaign on social media. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android and read the best news about Nigeria Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported the story of Beroro Efekoro, a young Nigerian man in the US who contested and won an election to become an Albany county legislator in New York. With his election, 28-year-old Efekoro becomes the youngest member of the 39-member House of the Albany County Legislature. HELLO! NAIJ.com (naija.ng) upgrades to Legit.ng We keep evolving to serve our readers better. How leaving Nigeria for Canada for 16yrs changed my life | Legit TV Source: Legit.ng Russell Crowe has spoken about life post-divorce, saying he decided to skip the start of Hollywood's awards season to spend more time with his children. The Oscar-winning actor, 55, told Fitzy & Wippa he has 'limited time' with his sons, Charles, 16, and Tennyson, 13, after finalising his divorce from Danielle Spencer in 2018. 'This time of year, it's difficult for me to engage in that stuff [awards]. As you know, I'm divorced now. And like many other blokes out there that are probably listening, I have limited time with my children,' he began. Scroll down for video Family first: Russell Crowe has spoken about life post-divorce, saying he decided to skip the start of Hollywood's awards season to spend time with his children. Pictured with his then-wife, Danielle Spencer, and their sons, Tennyson and Charles, in Hollywood on April 12, 2010 'I don't get to wake up with them every day. And I get them every year between December 27 and January 15. So if you expect me to do anything - anything, I don't give a s**t what it is - in that time that doesn't include my children, well you can go and whatever!' Russell confirmed via Twitter in April 2018 that he and Danielle had finally divorced, six years after their marriage breakdown. He marked the occasion by selling off many of his prized possessions in a Sotheby's auction titled The Art of Divorce that raised more than $3.7million. Custody arrangement: The Oscar-winning actor told Australian radio show Fitzy & Wippa he has 'limited time' with his sons, Charles, 16, and Tennyson, 13, after finalising his divorce from Danielle Spencer in 2018. Pictured with his children on July 16, 2015 in Los Angeles Russell and Danielle married in 2003 and split in late 2012. She told The Daily Telegraph in 2015 that she wanted things to remain as friendly as possible, similar to her own parents' divorce. 'It's been a great example for me, that is exactly what I would aspire to achieving myself,' Danielle said. End of an era: Russell confirmed via Twitter in April 2018 that he and Danielle had finally divorced, six years after their marriage breakdown. Pictured on May 22, 2017 in Sydney 'If my mother's away, my father and step-dad will get together and watch the footy or something they're really great friends.' Russell told The Sunday Times that same year that he wouldn't rule out a reconciliation with Danielle. 'Once I commit to something, I stick with it, so you never know I've loved Danielle Spencer since 1989. That's never going to change,' he said at the time. By Jun Ji-hye Korean fried chicken franchise BBQ has lost a lawsuit against a former employee who allegedly utilized internal information after moving to local rival bhc, according to industry officials Monday. Yoon Hong-geun, chairman of Genesis BBQ Group Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter aircraft armed with BrahMos air-launched supersonic cruise missiles were inducted into Indian Air Force's 222 Tigersharks Squadron at the Thanjavur Air Force Station in Tamil Nadu on Monday (January 202, 2020). A water salute was given to the Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter at the induction ceremony at Thanjavur. Speaking on the occasion IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria pointed out that the decision to deploy the Su-30MKI at Thanjavur airbase was taken due to its strategic location. The airbase is located in Tamil Nadu and the Su-30MKIs with their 1,500 kilometres combat radius and the air-launched BrahMos which have a range of 400 km will ensure the IAF is able to patrol the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea and vast areas of the Indian Ocean. The Su-30MKIs and their deadly arsenal will help the IAF keep a hawkeye on the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and thwart any intrusion by enemy ships close to the country's coast. #WATCH Water salute being given to the SU-30MKI fighter aircraft at the induction of the 222 Tigersharks fighter squadron at the Thanjavur air base. pic.twitter.com/pMO9ugtZgO ANI (@ANI) January 20, 2020 "The Su-30MKI inducted here is equipped with special weapon (BrahMos supersonic cruise missile). The integration of the air-launched version of the BrahMos missile with the Su-30MKI fighter has been done fully indigenously by BrahMos Aerospace, HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) and the India Air Force," said ACM Bhadauria At present, the Tigersharks has six Su-30MKI fighters but it will have 18 combat aircraft by the end of 2020, making it a full-fledged IAF fighter squadron. With the BrahMos air-launched supersonic cruise missiles with a range of over 400 kms under their belly, the Su-30MKIs are one of the most potent weapons in the IAF armoury. The air-launched version of BrahMos is about 500 kilogrammes lighter than its land and ship-launched cousins. Weighing almost 2,500 kgs, the BrahMos arming Su-30MKIs can destroy targets on sea flying at a speed of almost Mach 3 ( over 3704 kilometres per hour). With China flexing its muscle in the IOR in the last few years, IAF's move to station the Tigersharks Squadron with Su-30 MKIs in Thanjavur will ensure that all its (China) moves are under close scrutiny, By Richard Smith and Evan R. Bernstein On Dec. 10, 2019, two individuals parked a stolen van in front of a kosher supermarket in Jersey City. They went on to enter the store armed with a shotgun and assault rifle and brutally murdered three innocent civilians. They had already killed Jersey City Police Detective Joseph Seals less than a mile away. A mere two weeks later, in Monsey, New York, another armed individual entered a Rabbis house during a Hanukah celebration. He savagely stabbed and critically wounded several of the guests. These two incidents were the latest in a string of high profile and lethal attacks on Jews that began with the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburg over a year ago. While these violent attacks underscore anti-Semitism as a driving force for hatred and extremism, Jews are rarely the only target. Just a few years ago, in June 2015, a white supremacist entered the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina and shot nine worshippers. The attacks in Jersey City and Monsey show that anti-Semitism is widespread, and it is becoming increasingly violent. At the same time, we have seen a very troubling increase in the use of hateful rhetoric and anti-Semitic stereotypes by elected officials and community leaders in New Jersey. According to Attorney General Gurbir Grewals office, there were a staggering 944 bias incidents in 2019, an increase of 65%. In 2018, ADL recorded 200 anti-Semitic incidents, the third highest in the nation. Preliminary estimates are that this number will be even higher in 2019. As the representatives of the NAACP and the ADL in New Jersey, we came together this month to say enough is enough and to establish a partnership to stop this trend in our state. Our message is clear. We will not allow hateful individuals to drive a dangerous wedge between our two communities. This is because we know that anti-Semitism threatens Jews, but it also harms African Americans by reinforcing racist tropes and fomenting division. Jews of Color, for example, who live and worship in communities throughout our state, bear the brunt of both anti-Semitism and racism. In addition, for the many African Americans who are not Jewish, anti-Semitism reinforces racist tropes and divides us instead of uniting us to address the real challenges our communities face. The stereotyping and scapegoating of Jews that we see in anti-Semitism is all too familiar and connected to the racism faced by African-Americans. When we fail to confront anti-Semitism, it undermines our collective goal of ending all forms of hate and securing equal rights for all. For over a century, the NAACP and ADL stood on the front lines of the joint fight for freedom, justice and equality. And we fully intend to continue this fight together by bringing this partnership to New Jersey. Moving forward, ADL New York / New Jersey and the NAACP State Conference of New Jersey are committing our organizations to the joint objective of strengthening intercommunal understanding and combating all forms of hate in New Jersey. We will offer anti-bias education to elected officials, build bridges of tolerance and understanding between our constituents, and respond with a united voice to incidents of racism, anti-Semitism and bigotry. At ADL and the NAACP, we know that to truly eradicate anti-Semitism and racism once and for all, we must have meaningful conversations about the way hate functions. We must be able to have difficult conversations about the challenges facing our communities without invoking painful tropes or stereotypes. We must be willing to call out and vehemently reject hatred and bigotry each and every time we see it. This is no easy task. It involves a commitment to increased dialogue and continued learning. It requires us to see and celebrate the exceptional diversity within the Black and Jewish communities. Dating back to NAACPs founding, Jewish activists and the ADL have played a disproportionate role in the civil rights movement. Similarly, the NAACP and civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. stood with their Jewish brothers and sisters in strong condemnation of anti-Semitism. They understood we are in this together. Whether it involves swastikas scrawled onto our childrens schools, white supremacist propaganda disseminated in our towns, or hateful vitriol sprouted online, the perpetrators of these acts carry a deep-seated disdain for all marginalized communities. We know that we are stronger when we combat these acts of hate together. We can and must do better, because our collective safety and security depend on it. We welcome all New Jersey residents to join us in this fight. Richard Smith is president of the NAACP State Conference in New Jersey and a member of the NAACP National Board of Directors. Evan R. Bernstein is the Vice President, Northeast Division at the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). The Star-Ledger/NJ.com encourages submissions of opinion. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow us on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and on Facebook at NJ.com Opinion. Get the latest news updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 20 By Rufiz Hafizoglu Trend: Turkey doesnt forget the victims of the January 20 tragedy and wont forget them, Trend reports Jan. 20 with reference to the statement by Turkeys Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). The statement also noted that Turkey, as always, will support Azerbaijan. January 20 is a day that went down in history of Azerbaijan's fight for independence and territorial integrity. On the night of January 19-20, 1990, the Soviet army forces entered Baku to suppress the masses protesting the USSR-supported Armenian aggression based on territorial claims against Azerbaijan. The result was an unprecedented tragedy for Azerbaijan. As a result, 147 people were killed, 744 were injured and 841 were illegally arrested after Soviet troops entered Baku. The Soviet troops also destroyed 200 apartments and houses, as well as private and public property. The January 20 tragedy brought huge losses and death of innocent people. But it also demonstrated the spirit and pride of Azerbaijani nation. Azerbaijanis gained the independence they were dreaming of, and the country achieved sovereignty. Despite that many years have passed since those bloody days, Azerbaijanis remember the dreadful night that took many innocent lives and mark the anniversary of the January 20 tragedy every year. January 20 is immortalized in the memory of Azerbaijani nation as a Day of the Nationwide Sorrow. New Delhi, Jan 20 : The Supreme Court on Monday accepted Centre's proposal recommending a seven-member board to take over the management of real estate company Unitech. For Unitech, the Centre has named retired Haryana cadre IAS officer Yudhvir Singh Malik, as chairman and managing director of the board and names of members including A.K. Mittal, ex-CMD of National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC), Renu Sud Karnad, Chairman of HDFC Credila Finance Service Pvt Ltd, Jitu Virwani, CMD of Embassy Group. In addition, Niranjan Hiranandani, MD, Hiranandani Group and National President, NAREDCO & ASSOCHAM, has also been recommended as director on the seven-member panle nominated for the property developer. A bench headed by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud has approved the appointment of new board members as recommended by the Centre. The newly approved board will file a report within two months on the resolution framework to sort out the housing mess of Unitech, which includes recommendations on the way forward on the stalled housing projects. The apex court also granted a two-month moratorium to the new board of Unitech Limited from any legal proceedings. The top court said it will appoint a retired apex court judge to monitor preparation of resolution framework by the newly appointed board of the Unitech. "There is a possibility of at least 50-60% of Unitech's projects ultimately being net worth positive, so I think there is a good opportunity to start these projects early. However, we may seek some help from the stress fund of the SBI in order to take care of the funding for the interim period. Further dove-tails will depend on board meeting to decide the way forward," Hiranandani said in a statement. The Centre had informed the Supreme Court it was willing to take over the management of the embattled real estate giant. This decision will have significance for nearly 30,000 homebuyers. In December, the Supreme Court during a hearing had asked Centre to explore the possibility of taking over the management of the company in the thick of financial mess as a consequence of siphoning of more than 50% of money deposited by individuals and financial institutions. In 2009, the government had also taken over scandal-hit Satyam. Yoko Lord has been sewing, stitching and altering uniforms at her family's small storefront outside the Charleston Air Force Base gate for nearly 50 years. Her business, Needle and Thread Alterations and Tailoring, has a rack of clothes filled with dress blues, BDUs and well-trimmed suits all ready for pickup. Many of the garments are rush jobs. They're for young men and women who need to look their best for a promotion ceremony or formal affair and waited until the last minute. Lord estimates that 65 percent of the customers come from the base less than 100 feet from her front door. They are her most loyal and reliable clients. She's not alone. Across eight major military installations in South Carolina, there are roughly 63,000 Department of Defense personnel and nearly 500,000 veterans. This has created a whole economy just beyond the fence line that wouldn't exist otherwise. Car dealerships, tailors, supplement stores, vape shops, bars, federal credit unions and cheap eats all advertise to and rely on these young men and women in uniform who are armed with consistent paychecks and practically no living expenses. Eye doctors take military insurance, store hours accommodate base training times and American flags and signs supporting the military are scattered in storefronts. But federal and state-level decisions have the ability to change the livelihood of these mom and pop businesses at the stroke of a pen. Every fiscal year comes the potential threat of what Congress calls a "Base Realignment and Closure," a money-saving measure to relocate or abolish military assets. They've hit the Palmetto State before, and it's never clear when one could possibly strike again, which puts the ultimate success and fate of these businesses in the hands of the federal government. "The potential for closure is always on our mind," said Bill Bethea, chairman of the S.C. Military Base Task Force. "The impact on the local economy is significant, and there would be a large ripple effect to those businesses." Uncertain futures Charleston is no stranger to base closures. In 1993, the Charleston Naval Base closed, a devastating blow to the surrounding cities of Charleston, Hanahan and North Charleston. Private contractors filled in the space over the past decade after the closures. "It was huge," Bethea said. "There was a very painful period, and the future was not so rosy." Many of South Carolina's bases provide unique and rare missions which make them key Pentagon assets. Fort Jackson in Columbia is the Army's largest basic training center. Shaw AFB in Sumter is the Air Force's only Southeast base flying air combat patrols over the U.S., and Parris Island near Beaufort is the one Marine recruit training base on the East Coast. They're still subject to government budget cuts. In 2003, Gov. Mark Sanford created the S.C. Military Base Task Force and the Governor's Military Base Advisory Committee to help coordinate state strategy related to future base closures. Two years later, the Pentagon said Fort Jackson, McEntire Air National Guard Station and Shaw could all experience significant reductions because of another round of cuts. In the end, Charleston lost roughly 1,100 jobs, including 985 civilian positions, under the massive Pentagon restructuring. South Carolina gained 709 defense jobs from other base closings that year. These cuts are still looming. A 2018 report by the National Conference of State Legislatures recognizes that bases help "sustain local communities by creating employment opportunities across a wide range of sectors, both directly and indirectly." But these economies are at the mercy of the federal government. "The economic benefits created by military installations are susceptible to change at both the federal and state levels," the report states. "Events such as the drawdown of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, federal budget cuts, and potential future rounds of Base Realignment and Closure have left government officials uncertain of the future role and sustainability of military installations." With the fate of some local economies in the balance, area chamber of commerce groups have made supporting these bases a top priority. Columbia, Charleston, Sumter and Beaufort all have members on the S.C. Military Base Task Force. Customers in uniform Tabitha Goyette, a clerk with Planet Vape, said she sees a lot of familiar faces coming into the store just down the street from the Charleston air base that's part of the sprawling multi-missioned Joint Base Charleston. They offer a 10 percent discount on products for service members. Likewise, Vincent Krause offers military discounts at his storefront that sits just outside the gates, Apex Nutrition. As an Army veteran, he knows how important it is to offer reliable products to them. Col. Terrence Adams, the 628th Air Base Wing commander in Charleston, has made it part of his mission to have more community outreach. He wants there to be a strong relationship with the base's neighbors. We are extremely grateful for the love and support our community has shown to our military members and their families," Adams said. "Without the support of our Lowcountry neighbors, we could not accomplish our global mobility mission." Roughly 181,000 South Carolina jobs are created directly or indirectly because of the military, according to an economic study from the S.C. Military Base Task Force. Lord, the tailor, hopes another base closure doesn't mean the end of her alteration shop. "Sometimes the men and women are here for three years and then they disappear," Lord said. "Sometimes they come back and I remember them. All I know, is that I don't want the base to close." WASHINGTON (JTA)-After a six-month search, the Jewish campus group Hillel International is sticking to the path hewn by its previous CEO in choosing a close associate as his successor. Hillel's board announced Tuesday that Adam Lehman, the group's former chief operating officer and interim CEO, will succeed Eric Fingerhut, who became head of the Jewish Federations of North America over the summer. In choosing Lehman, the board has issued a vote of confidence in how Fingerhut has shaped the organization, expanding its reach to Jewish students while sticking closely to the establishment line on Israel. "We are so thrilled that Adam will be continuing to lead Hillel to help us build on the tremendous progress we've made in our mission of enriching the lives of all Jewish students so that they can enrich the Jewish people and the world," Skip Vichness, chairman of Hillel International's board of directors, said in a statement. In terms of growth metrics, Fingerhut's tenure was seen as a success. When he took over in 2013, engagement was reaching 68,000 students a year. Last year, the group reached 141,000 students on 550 campuses. The budget has also doubled from $90 million to $180 million. But the organization has also been hammered as the political climate has grown more polarized, particularly on Israel. Fingerhut apologized in 2015 after he pulled out of an appearance at JStreetU, the student affiliate of the liberal Jewish Middle East policy group. In 2018, he apologized again after Princeton Hillel canceled an appearance by Israel's then foreign minister, Tzipi Hotovely, in the face of protests. Lehman, 52, has a background in data analysis. For eight years, he was a senior vice president at AOL. In an interview with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, he said he would use data to analyze how best to serve Jewish students so that "they find meaning, they find purpose, they find a way to serve the broader community through Hillel." The data would help shape "spiritual and religious life experiences, Israel engagement experiences, social justice activity and voluntarism," he said. Lehman tried to dodge a question about which organizations Hillel considered kosher to partner with, saying it would engage with Jewish students as individuals whatever their affiliations. When pressed, he said Hillel would work with groups that "align with our values and our mission," a rubric that in the past rejected partnership with any group that supports a boycott of Israel. Pressed again, he said Hillel International would continue to work with JStreetU. Reluctance to disengage from the establishment on matters related to Israel has dogged Hillel's efforts to engage younger Jews. There was internal dissent in 2018 when Hillel endorsed Kenneth Marcus to run the civil rights division in the Trump administration's Department of Education. Marcus had worked with Hillel to fight anti-Israel activity on campus, but he was reviled by liberals for pledging to roll back federal protections for victims of campus sexual assault. On the programmatic front, Lehman said he wanted to take successful programs initiated at individual chapters and roll them out nationwide, including a mental wellness initiative from California, a free delivered Shabbat dinner party kit from Vermont and a training program to combat anti-Semitism from Illinois. He also wants to emphasize wellness and mental health. "That is such a critical set of issues today," he said. For all of his wonkiness, Lehman-who likes tossing out terms like "Gen Z"-has an artsy side: He's a founding member of the D.C.-based Jewish a cappella group JewKvox. Praising the pick was Sheila Katz, the CEO of the National Council of Jewish Women who was at the center of a Hillel controversy last year when she accused a major donor, Michael Steinhardt, of sexual harassment. Hillel cut off relations with Steinhardt. "He's data and technology-driven and he cares deeply about students and the student voice and believes in new ways to engage students using technology and data," she said. Emphasizing her approval of the choice, Katz nonetheless noted that yet another national Jewish organization will be helmed by a white man. She said she had heard that plenty of women had applied for the position. "It used to be said there were fewer women because women weren't putting their names forward," she said. "They are putting their names forward. It calls on us to do better at creating opportunities for more diversity on the ladders of leadership and to do more training on the unconscious bias on boards and hiring committees." WASHINGTON - Standing against a backdrop of Chinese and American flags, President Donald Trump welcomed by name a roster of corporate executives and Wall Street bankers to the signing of his landmark trade deal with Beijing. Looking out over the friendly East Room crowd, the president spied a woman in a red power suit. "Mary Erdoes, JPMorgan Chase," Trump said. "They just announced earnings, and they were incredible. . . . Will you say, 'Thank you, Mr. President' at least? Huh? I made a lot of bankers look very good." The exchange may have been just good-natured ribbing. But it illustrated how a president who once railed against financial industry greed and vowed to remake the Republican Party as a "workers' party" has prioritized corporate America's desires. Trump's high-profile China deal celebration included billionaire Stephen Schwarzman, a private equity investor; Sheldon Adelson, whose company owns casinos in the Chinese territory of Macao; and Hank Greenberg, the former head of American International Group. Numerous representatives of companies such as Honeywell and Boeing that have outsourced jobs to China in recent years joined them, but no representatives of organized labor attended. "There is precious little in this deal that addresses China's long-standing denial of basic labor rights," said Richard Trumka, the president of the AFL-CIO. "It is another big giveaway to Wall Street and Big Pharma and prioritizes new protections for companies that move to China, creating even more incentives for outsourcing." U.S. officials deny the deal will encourage the migration of additional American jobs to China, a phenomenon Trump has credited with motivating him to run for office. They say hard-won protections for U.S. trade secrets will make it harder for Chinese companies to steal job-creating innovations and lead to greater gains for workers at home. Labor's place on the sidelines of the China negotiations stood in sharp contrast to the influential role it played throughout the development of a new North American trade deal. Robert Lighthizer, the president's chief negotiator, consulted with labor representatives from the start of talks aimed at the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. A native of an industrial port town in East Ohio, Lighthizer drew praise from Democrats and union officials for designing that agreement to steer more manufacturing work to the United States. Unlike his Republican predecessors, the veteran trade lawyer did not cozy up to industry groups during the North America talks, instead labeling them "special interests." Lighthizer set as a goal the development of a new bipartisan trade coalition that would unite Democratic unions with Trump's Republican populists. Lighthizer wrote into USMCA requirements for Mexico to improve its treatment of workers, including by guaranteeing the right to collective bargaining. Over time, that could help narrow the yawning gap between Mexican and U.S. wages, which encouraged decades of outsourcing. The accord, a replacement for the 1994 NAFTA deal that unions have blamed for the loss of millions of factory jobs, devotes an entire chapter to labor issues. The word "labor" does not appear a single time in the 86-page China agreement. Labor's influence in USMCA and its impotence in the China talks reflect cold political calculation. In USMCA's case, which changed U.S. law and thus required congressional approval, the administration needed labor support to get Democratic votes in the House. The China deal did not require a vote in Congress. "That's why labor was in the room; they had leverage," said Robert Scott, an economist with the Economic Policy Institute. "Labor had no leverage on this [China] deal. None." It also would have been far more difficult to impose political terms upon China, the world's second-largest economy and a military power of growing stature. Securing new rights for Chinese workers would have political ramifications that China's authoritarian president, Xi Jinping, would be certain to refuse. The "phase one" China deal does include a Chinese commitment to refrain from manipulating the value of its currency to gain a trade advantage. Union officials have long blamed an undervalued yuan for making Chinese products less expensive than U.S. alternatives, though in recent years the Chinese government has sought to keep its currency from falling. The deal also requires China to buy $200 billion in extra U.S. goods above 2017 levels, which should benefit manufacturers, energy companies, services providers and farmers. Trump already has begun touting the China deal on the campaign trail. One week before the East Room ceremony, he labeled it a "big beautiful monster" at a raucous reelection rally in Toledo, Ohio, advising farmers: "Go buy larger tractors." Workers have benefited from the economy's continued expansion under the president. Unemployment is near a half-century low at 3.5%, jobs are plentiful, and wages are rising, particularly for lower-income workers. Yet labor's share of the economic pie remains depressed. Workers' salaries and benefits account for 77.9% of corporate income, according to the latest figures from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. That has improved by 1.5 percentage points under Trump, continuing a gradual rebound that began in 2014. But workers have regained over the past five years less than half of what they lost since early 2000. Trump's potential Democratic rivals in the November election, meanwhile, are engaged in a fierce debate about income inequality and the outsized influence of the nation's wealthiest individuals. If the China deal left labor almost empty-handed, Wall Street cashed in. Helping steer the talks along with Lighthizer was Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs partner, who remains close to the financial industry. And among Trump's trusted outside confidants on China is Schwarzman, chief executive of the Blackstone Group, a private equity firm. One of the agreement's seven chapters details the ways in which China must open its financial services market to U.S. institutions. The deal contains detailed provisions governing treatment of banks, credit-rating agencies, electronic payment providers such as Visa and Mastercard, insurers, and securities firms. (The Visa and Mastercard chief executives attended the White House signing ceremony and were publicly thanked by Trump). While China has often discussed plans to loosen restrictions on foreign financial institutions, it has never before committed to specific short-term deadlines. "So the banks are going to be doing great," Trump said shortly before signing the agreement. By April 1 - little more than 10 weeks from now - Chinese officials must allow foreign companies to take majority stakes in fund management companies, insurers, futures traders and other securities firms. That fulfills a long-sought goal for Wall Street. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes "It allows us to do in China what we do everywhere else in the world," Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan's CEO, told reporters last week. "China will grow, and we'll grow with them." Christopher Nixon Cox, former President Richard Nixon's grandson, is among those eyeing potential opportunities. "China has been talking about opening up financial services for years. It's now happening," said Cox, global strategist for Brightsphere Investment Group of Boston. Prying open the Chinese market is just the latest good news for Wall Street under the Trump administration. Like other industries, big banks have profited from the president's corporate tax cut and deregulation. Last year, the Federal Reserve eased the annual stress tests that the big banks are required to take to show they can survive a financial crisis. Regulators also made less onerous the "living wills" banks must develop to show how they would be wound down if necessary. "This administration has delivered historic levels of deregulation to the financial industry, and there's more on the way," said Dennis Kelleher, president of Better Markets, a nonpartisan watchdog group. The Federal Reserve and four other financial regulators in October proposed loosening the rules governing financial swaps between affiliates of the same financial parent. The revision was proposed by officials appointed by Trump and opposed by at least one holdover from the Obama administration, Fed Governor Lael Brainard. If approved, the shift would free up $40 billion in capital held in reserve that the banks could instead put to work in profitable activities, according to Kelleher. Last week's East Room signing ceremony came one day after JPMorgan, the nation's largest bank, had reported annual profits of more than $36 billion, 50 percent higher than in 2016. On Wednesday, Trump joked with Erdoes, the head of JPMorgan's asset and wealth management division whom American Banker once called "the most powerful woman in finance." The president said he looked forward to seeing Dimon the next day. Since Trump took office, the bank's share price has easily outperformed the broader stock market. Putting the financial industry at the center of his remaking of China trade policy was not what candidate Trump promised. At a June 2016 campaign stop in Monessen, Pennsylvania, Trump said globalization had made "the financial elite" wealthy while ruining the lives of American workers. Standing in front of a towering mound of recycled aluminum, Trump vowed to defend the country's "amazing workers" and bring back lost factory jobs. His attack that day on "global finance" was consistent with his promise to raise taxes on hedge fund managers, whom he accused of "getting away with murder." Nearly four years later in the East Room, Trump still paid homage to American workers and the hard-hit middle-class. But many of the negotiating achievements he boasted of - such as new intellectual property protections - were of greater benefit to the corporate executives seated in front of him. "Unlike those who came before me, I kept my promise," the president declared. "I actually think I more than kept my promise." The Upper House was a bubbling cauldron of indignation. Our noble Lords were miffed, irked. Their mighty chateau-snorting conks had been knocked firmly out of joint. The subject of their discomfiture was a story in the Sunday papers that claimed the Government was considering moving the chamber to York, meaning a long schlep oop North each day to collect their 300 appearance fee. Angry scowls dotted the red benches. Not since sticky toffee pudding was temporarily removed from the peers dining room has the old place been so irate. Lord Foulkes (above) demanded to know how moving the Lords could be reconciled with the billions currently being spent on it as part of Parliaments refurbishment The matter was raised straight after urgent questions by Lord Foulkes (Lab). Combative Foulkes, a former minister under Tony Blair, is a fiery Scot, the sort who could start a fight in a convent. Hes also the possessor of the most glorious hooter. Each time he spoke it seemed to glow with rage. Foulkes demanded to know how moving the Lords could be reconciled with the billions currently being spent on it as part of Parliaments refurbishment. It had fallen to the Lords genial deputy leader Earl Howe to respond as best he could, murmuring something about the move still being under review. Poor fellow appeared to be as much in the dark about the Governments proposals as any of them. Lord Wallace, left, brought attention to the fact that the Sunday Times was briefed it would take peers three hours to travel between York station and Kings Cross. A heavy dose of sarcasm soon gripped proceedings. Lord Kirkhope, right, demanded the Commons should also be moved perhaps to Edinburgh or Glasgow, he suggested unhelpfully The subject of their discomfiture was a story in the Sunday papers that claimed the Government was considering moving the chamber to York, meaning a long schlep oop North each day to collect their 300 appearance fee. The city's York Minister is pictured above Around the chamber there was a sense of nervy detachment. Former Liberal Democrat leader Lord Campbell grinned tightly, as if someone had just squirted a pipette of vinegar down his gullet. Baroness Shackleton, that feared divorce litigator, crossed her arms huffily. Clearly she had not taken ermine to go carting up the M1. Lord Wallace brought attention to the fact that the Sunday Times was briefed it would take peers three hours to travel between York station and Kings Cross. Wallace had himself travelled back from York recently and the journey had taken only two hours. Cast-iron proof, he lisped in the triumphant tones of Horace Rumpole, that the Government had not thought this proposal through properly. Howe replied, not very convincingly, that all logisticial aspects would be looked into. It had fallen to the Lords genial deputy leader Earl Howe to respond as best he could, murmuring something about the move still being under review. Poor fellow appeared to be as much in the dark about the Governments proposals as any of them Labours leader in the Lords, Baroness Smith, suggested the story smacked of a wheeze cooked up by a No 10 policy unit desperate for newspaper headlines, adding that the Prime Minister was clearly as worried about Lords scrutiny as he is about Andrew Neil a reference to the PMs refusal to be interviewed by the BBCs rottweiller during the election. A heavy dose of sarcasm soon gripped proceedings. Lord Kirkhope (Con) demanded the Commons should also be moved perhaps to Edinburgh or Glasgow, he suggested unhelpfully. TV scientist Lord Winston (Lab), whose famous Merv Hughes moustache twitched and bristled with irritation, reckoned the idea had all the makings of a Government shambles. Lord Forsyth (Con) pithily pointed out that all those people in the North who surprisingly voted for the Government had not done so because they wanted more politicians in the area. They wanted things that actually matter he said, such as healthcare. Ah, NHS spending. That unbeatable trump card. There was much merriment when stately Lord West (Lab), silken handkerchief drooping from his breast pocket, rose on his high hooves. The retired admiral suggested that, as ours is a proud maritime nation, perhaps instead of decamping peers to York, No 10 could base them in an old Cunard ship that sailed around the country. The chamber reverberated to the sound of raucous chortling. Howe, perhaps not entirely seriously, thought this an imaginative idea and worth the Governments consideration. The House of Lords wont really be moved, of course. But what a hoot to see the old stiffs so rattled. Will history repeat itself? Obviously, this prize is not much of a precursor for Oscar success. Hidden Figures won it, for goodness sake. But those two Parasite standing ovations and the passion behind them send out a lot of good vibes for academy members to absorb and consider. Were less than two weeks out from the start of final Oscar voting. Thats plenty of time for voters to shuffle their rankings and move Bong Joon Hos thriller up on their ballots. And if Bong prevails Saturday at the Directors Guild, momentum could really shift. More than half of people aged between 60 and 80 are likely to have hearing difficulties. A hearing aid could change their lives, says Rowena Walsh. Frank Keogh did not want to get a hearing aid. He was afraid that it would make him look old. But now, just several weeks after having one fitted, he says that he cant do without it. This is a sentiment that audiologist Leona Kane is very familiar with. Some people feel that hearing loss is purely age-related and is giving in to old age. But not getting help makes life more difficult, she says. Leona says that the statistics prove untreated hearing loss can lead to isolation and depression, both of which are linked to dementia. She refers to research by Frank Lin at the John Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, who says that aside from a higher risk of dementia, those with hearing problems lose their cognitive skills about 35% faster than others. If you have a hearing loss and youre hearing part of the word, your brain is then filling in, says Leona, who is secretary of the Irish Society of Hearing Aid Audiologists. You are using up brain activity to listen that you really should be able to use for problem-solving. She refers to the listening effort people with hearing loss need for every conversation. As your hearing loss changes, your brain is constantly trying to fill in and that can be quite tiring. Dolores Madden of the society says that research says more than half the population aged between 60 and 80 are likely to have measurable hearing loss. For Leona, the key indicator that someone is experiencing hearing loss is if they feel that people are mumbling. You can hear someone talk but you cant understand them. Other indicators are getting physically closer to someone while talking to them and giving an answer to a question that wasnt actually asked. She says when this happens, people start to feel insecure and self-conscious, which can prevent them from engaging in conversation. Its very isolating. I think its one of the saddest and loneliest problems because people dont understand hearing loss. I do a random word test and family members can be shocked when they hear the responses that the person is giving. One of the words may be fish, but they might say dish, or it could be gate and they say date. Theyre picking up a sound, and then the brain is filling in a word, but not the right word. Frank, who is aged 82, says he was prompted to visit Leonas practice by family members. I was annoying them. If there was any kind of background noise, when you were talking to me, I didnt know what you were saying and youd have to be looking at me and standing in front of me, I was half lip-reading. The grandfather of seven could still hear but says it was like he was listening to an old-fashioned radio where too much sound was coming through the speakers. You can hear the sound, but you cant make out the actual words. His articulation index scores were 16% in one ear and 9% in the other. Franks life has changed dramatically since he got his hearing aid. He says he couldnt have taken a phone call six weeks ago. I can hear things like the rustling of keys or the indicators in the car flicking. You can hear too much at times. Its like youre in a disco when you get the hearing aid first, but once you become adjusted to it, your brain calms everything down. It takes weeks. His treatment plan started in November the average waiting time for a hearing aid is one week when he was given 80% of the prescription he required. Leona says when reintroducing sounds to the brain, it is better to do so at a comfortable level, which encourages auditory retraining, and then build up the prescription. By the next month, he had reached the target prescription of 100%. Hearing is starting to be seen as something that you should have tested, says Leona. Deep down, people know if they have a little bit of a problem, they just may not want to admit it to themselves. For Frank, putting in his hearing aid every day is one more job to do but one thats definitely worth it. Amy Adams and her husband Darren Le Gallo looked as happy as the day they walked down the aisle while strolling around West Hollywood on Sunday. The pair, both 45, kept it casual in sunglasses and jeans as they went to grab juice. The Sharp Objects star beamed while walking arm-in-arm with her actor/artist husband. Locking eyes: Amy Adams and her husband Darren Le Gallo looked as happy as the day they walked down the aisle while strolling around West Hollywood on Sunday Amy went for a comfortable look, donning an over-sized white cardigan and a matching t-shirt accessorized with a brown purse and coordinating booties. The actress' perennial plus one layered a white T-shirt underneath a black crew-neck sweater and a pair of sneakers. The pair both pulled their hair back, as the Oscar winner kept her signature red locks in a long ponytail and her man rocked a styled man bun. The couple were clearly enjoying each other's company, as Amy gazed at her other half lovingly. Matching: The Sharp Objects star beamed while walking arm-in-arm with her husband Juice date: The pair both pulled their hair back, as the Oscar winner kept her signature red locks in a long ponytail and her man rocked a styled man bun. The couple, who share a nine-year-old daughter Aviana Olea, got engaged in 2008, but waited until 2015 to tie the knot in an intimate ceremony outside of Santa Barbara, California. In 2013 Amy told Vanity Fair she wanted something 'family-oriented and laid-back' for the big day. Despite the long engagement, the pair have always been deeply committed to each other. 'We always had the commitment, but now he's stuck with me and I can really act out. I'm kidding. The truth is, I feel a stronger sense of family, a bigger sense of permanence, which is a nice thing for me,' she told U.K.'s The Times. Madly in love: The couple, who share a 9-year-old daughter, Aviana Olea, got engaged in 2008, but waited until 2015 to tie the knot in an intimate ceremony outside of Santa Barbara, California. The lovebirds met during acting classes in 2001, but initially sparks didn't fly. 'I had another boyfriend, and Darren was dating some girl I did scenes with him, and I liked him and thought he was really sweet.' She also joked, 'I was really focused on the classeshe was a little scared of me.' But, when they both appeared in a the short film Pennies together, they quickly started dating. Family of three: The actors and their daughter were all smiles at the Trigg Ison Fine Art 'From Destruction' art exhibit in Los Angeles last week Last week, the family was all in attendance at the Trigg Ison Fine Art 'From Destruction' art exhibit in Los Angeles, as Darren's artwork was featured. The loving husband's work is said to be influenced 'somewhere between Surrealism and Expressionism, with the exploration of the subconscious mind, the mysteries of dreams and the human psyche as main themes, according to his bio on Triggison.com. While the pair are both successful actors, the proud parents' most important role is supporting their daughter. 'It's sexy to see him raising a girl and teaching her how a man should treat her in a lovely way,' Amy told Marie Claire in 2018. T wo men have been arrested on suspicion of murder after three men were knifed to death in Seven Kings yesterday. The pair, aged 29 and 39, were detained following the incident in north-east London on Sunday evening, the Metropolitan Police said. Officers were called to Emstead Road at 7.38pm, to reports of a disturbance, and three men were found with stab wounds. The London Ambulance Service sent paramedics to tend to the wounded but despite their efforts they were pronounced dead at the scene. Crime scene: A murder inquiry has been launched / Nigel Howard The victims, who have not yet been formally identified, are believed to be in their 20s and 30s. Scotland Yard today said the arrested men and the deceased knew each other and are believed to be members of the Sikh community in the area. Investigations: Officers in the area following the stabbings / PA Chief Superintendent Stephen Clayman said officers are still making efforts to contact the families of the victims and described the incident as "horrific". "It was a horrific scene for anyone to come across and my heart goes out to the families and those affected by it because it is unprecedented to have something like this," he added. Cordon: Police remain at the crime scene this morning / PA On Monday morning, a police cordon was in place outside Seven Kings railway station. The motive for the attack remains unclear, though police have ruled out terrorism. A tent has been set up by police within the cordon / PA Post-mortem examinations following the deaths are set to be arranged. The leader of Redbridge Council, Jas Athwal, said he believes knives were used in the bloody killings and that it was an isolated incident. Police dogs joined officers on the scene / Nigel Howard An incident like this is unheard of within the Sikh community here in Redbridge, he said. I think tragically there are at least three families who are going to be in mourning and this is going to last a lifetime for the people left behind. Weve got to look at the causes of why this happened and address those. The incident has been described as 'unprecedented' / PA He was critical of bloody footage shared on social media - appearing to show the aftermath of the killings - and denounced those who put the footage online. I think the first response should be What can we do to help?. To put it on social media is not right. Burma Chinese Presidents Claim That Beijing Not Arming EAOs Met With Skepticism in Myanmar Myanmar military chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and Chinese President Xi Jinping hold talks in Naypyitaw on Jan. 18, 2020. / Office of the Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services NAYPYITAWPolitical observers in Myanmar have responded with skepticism to Chinese President Xi Jinpings claim that Beijing does not provide arms to non-state armed groups in Myanmar. According to the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services, in a meeting with Myanmar military chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyitaw on Saturday, the visiting Chinese president said he does not accept any organization taking advantage of Chinas territory to harm Myanmar, and accusations that China provides arms and ammunition to armed organizations in Myanmar are false. However, the president reportedly said those organizations can get arms by other means, and promised to carefully probe and solve the problem. Critics believe China is manipulating ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) based along the China-Myanmar border for political leverage over Myanmar. I dont think Myanmar people believe what he [Xi] said, U Ye Htun, a former Lower House lawmaker for Hsipaw Township, told The Irrawaddy. How can ethnic armed organizations in Myanmar possibly acquire advanced Chinese-made weapons including anti-aircraft weapons unless theyre provided by Beijing? the former lawmaker asked. China issued similar denials when it backed the now-defunct Communist Party of Burma, he said. Why does China have influence over organizations in [Myanmars] peace process? This doesnt happen without a reason. How can they have influence if they dont give support? he asked. Most of the arms and ammunition discovered in large caches of weapons seized from the Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA) by the Myanmar military (or Tatmadaw) in November last yearincluding RPGs and FN6 anti-aircraft launcherswere Chinese-made. According to the Tatmadaws statement and photos, among the seized weapons were 39 M-22 assault rifles, 29 medium machine guns, 69 M-21 assault rifles, nine M-16 assault rifles, 16 RPG-7s, five RPG-2s, two 12-volt spotlights and one FN-6 shoulder-fired surface-to-air missile, plus 77 bags of TNLA uniforms, flags and military equipment. All weapons seized from the TNLA were Chinese-made except nine M-16 rifles, said political analyst U Than Soe Naing. EAOs are able to purchase arms from China, though the central Chinese government may not have a policy to directly sell arms to them, he said. U Than Soe Naing expressed doubts over President Xis ability to stamp out the apparent arms smuggling. This is a not a national policy; regional authorities and parts of the Chinese military must be involved, said U Than Soe Naing, suggesting that the arms are smuggled into the country. Among the EAOs in Myanmar, the United Wa State Army, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and National Democratic Alliance Army have very close ties to China, while the Kachin Independence Army also has ties. China has repeatedly spoken of providing assistance to Myanmars peace process, and also made financial contributions to aid peace in Myanmar. The Chinese government says it doesnt support the EAOs, but in reality, armed organizations in Wa State, Kokang and Mongla self-administered zones are armed with Chinese-made weapons, said U Sai Tun Aye, a Lower House lawmaker from the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy. Thought it does not officially support supplying EAOs with arms, it is possible that the Chinese central government turns a blind eye to the practice, the lawmaker said. Director U Thein Tun Oo of the Thayninga Institute for Strategic Studies, a think tank formed by ex-military officers, said, China will deny any support for the sake of diplomacy. The main question is why EAOs in northern Myanmar have surface-to-air missiles made in China. China might change its attitude toward the EAOs if the Myanmar government cooperates with it more closely in establishing the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor and other projects related to the Belt and Road Initiative, he said. [The Chinese president] denied accusations of China providing arms to EAOs in Myanmar, and said he would investigate whether [weapons are supplied to EAOs] by other means, said military spokesperson Brigadier-General Zaw Min Tun. According to the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services, Sen-Gen Min Aung Hlaing said no country can accept terrorist acts and riots that threaten the peace and stability of the state. Likewise, armed terrorist attacks against the government cannot be accepted, he said There was barely any fighting between the Myanmar military and the EAOs during the Chinese Presidents two-day visit to Myanmar on Friday and Saturday. It is good that China provides help. But I dont like dependency on China, or the fact that China is involved in Myanmars peace process more than is necessary. I want [the Myanmar military and EAOs] to build mutual trust, and settle it themselves, U Than Soe Naing said. You may also like these stories: What Will Xi Jinpings Visit Mean for Myanmars Future? Facebook Apologizes After Vulgar Translation of Chinese Leaders Name Myanmar, China Sign Dozens of Deals on BRI Projects, Cooperation During Xis Visit Fine Gael TDs fear a 'ministerial meltdown' with the party's second seats in constituencies across the country now at risk following a shock opinion poll. Fine Gael figures were taken by surprise after the first opinion poll published since the General Election was called last week showed a 12-point gap between the Government party and Fianna Fail. One senior Fine Gael campaign source admitted that the planned strikes by secondary teachers and childcare workers in the days leading up to the election on February 8 could further imperil the party's chances of securing a historic third term. While sources at all levels of the party sought to play down the significance of just one poll, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar admitted there was now a "real risk, a real danger" of Fine Gael losing power to Fianna Fail. Several Fine Gael TDs told the Irish Independent that second seats could be lost across the country, potentially putting in danger the political careers of several high-profile ministers, including Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy, Social Protection Minister Regina Doherty, Defence Minister Paul Kehoe and others. A Behaviour and Attitudes poll for the 'Sunday Times' put Fianna Fail on 32pc and Fine Gael on 20pc - its lowest ever rating in that polling series. "It's a fact, if you are on 20pc and you're in a three-seater you're not going to get two seats," a Fine Gael TD said. "If that poll is true, you won't record two seats anywhere. It would be worse than 2002." This is a reference to the disastrous election 18 years ago when Fine Gael won just 31 seats. Another TD said: "On that figure, we don't hold two seats in any constituency." A third Fine Gael TD said: "The boys live in the bubble in Leinster House, when you come out you meet the reality, you know. The poll is a setback, but I am confident we'll fight back. I think Leo should meet more people." Mr Varadkar expressed fears that Fine Gael could be replaced in government after the election. "I think the opinion poll demonstrates that there is a real risk, a real danger that we'll have a Fianna Fail-led government after the next election and I would hate to see that happen because it would mean the country falling backwards," he said outside Croke Park yesterday. Tanaiste Simon Coveney said the poll should "act as a motivator for Fine Gael people and Fine Gael candidates right across the country". However, Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin sought to play down the significance of the poll. "I believe it's much tighter. I believe the battles in the individual constituencies will determine the outcome of this election and it will be closely fought," he said. Mindful The poll was taken between January 2 and 14 at the height of the now-postponed plans to commemorate the Royal Irish Constabulary. Labour leader Brendan Howlin said the poll results did not reflect Fine Gael's "missteps" in the first week of campaigning. "You have to be mindful of when this poll was taken. It was taken before the election was called, at the height of the debacle Fine Gael made of the Black and Tan issue," he said. "I don't think there was a household in the country that wasn't amazed by the view Fine Gael were taking on things." Meanwhile, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe defended a 'Government of Ireland' advertisement published on the front of the 'Business Post' yesterday promoting the rise in the minimum wage after the Opposition accused Fine Gael of using taxpayers' money to "buy the election". After Fianna Fail and Labour criticised the ad, Mr Donohoe insisted it was appropriate to let citizens know of a change in the minimum wage and said Fine Gael was not involved in the ad. "This is the kind of communication that happens every time there is a change in the minimum wage," he said. New York states death rate from guns is a lot lower than you might think from watching Law & Order or gangster movies. Pop culture would have you believe that the Gowanus Canals main pollutant is decaying corpses, while local news and opportunistic politicians can make it seem like violent crime is omnipresent. And yet, New York is tied with Massachusetts for the second-lowest rate of gun-related deaths in the nation at 3.7 deaths per 100,000 people, a statistic that includes suicides, homicides, accidents, and people shot to death by police officers. Only Hawaiis rate is lower. Why does New York have such a comparatively low rate of death by gun? Conditions in New York City play an outsized role, because so much of the states population lives there, so one factor is the overall decline in crime in New York City, which has rendered New York the safest large city in the United States. New York City went from 2,262 murders in 1990 to a historic low of 292 murders in 2017. And while the murder numbers have crept up slightly since then, New York remains one of the safest large cities in the country. But most gun deaths are suicides, meaning crime rates alone cannot provide a full explanation nor are crime rates in some of New Yorks smaller cities such as Buffalo, Niagara Falls and Binghamton especially low compared to their counterparts. So what else is at play? What is New York doing right that it should keep doing, or do more? New Yorks famously tough gun laws play a role in curbing both homicides and suicides. The Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement (SAFE) Act became law in 2013, in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre, and New York tightened its gun laws again in 2019. In addition to the famous limits on assault weapons, the SAFE Act banned handguns for convicted felons and people deemed dangerous to themselves or others due to mental illness. The SAFE Act also imposed a background check on people applying to own private handguns. The 2019 overhaul empowered courts to temporarily seize the guns of people who are deemed dangerous to themselves or others. The lives saved by these gun control measures may not be the ones youd think. New Yorks low rate of gun death has a lot to do with its low suicide rate. Nationwide, of the 39,773 total gun deaths in the United States in 2017, 60% of gun deaths were suicides and 37% were homicides. Three-quarters of murders and 51% of all suicides involved a gun. Despite their collective reputation as neurotics and depressives, New York has the lowest suicide rate of any state, 8.1/100,000. Montana has the highest at 28.9/100,000. Due to the prevalence of suicide in rural America, a few states manage to have much higher overall rates of gun death than New York, despite lower overall crime rates. Idahos firearm death rate of 16.4/100,000 is more than four times New Yorks. Suicide is a major public health problem both nationwide and in New York, and easy access to guns is correlated to higher rates of suicide. The 20 states with the highest suicide rates, including Wyoming, Alaska, and Montana, also have some of the loosest gun laws, according to Dr. Carolina Velez-Grau, a professor at the Silver School of Social Work at New York University who studies suicide. One of the things that I believe is important is that New York has very strict rules in terms of access to guns, said Velez-Grau. Guns are a very effective tool of self-destruction, 85% of suicide attempts with a gun end in death, compared to just 3% of suicide attempts with drugs. New York has the third-lowest gun ownership rate of any state, after Delaware and Rhode Island: 10.3% of New Yorkers own guns. The variation by state and region is enormous: The top two states for gun ownership are Alaska and Arkansas with 61.7% and 57.9%, respectively. Overall, the Northeast has the lowest gun ownership rate of any region, at about 16%, while the South has the highest, around 36%. The national suicide rate has increased by 33% since 1999. Rural areas have long had higher suicide rates than cities, but the gap is widening rapidly. The suicide rate for urban communities rose by 16% between 1999 and 2017, while the rate for rural communities rose by 53%. Youth suicide is also on an alarming upswing. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the suicide rate for Americans aged 10 to 24 rose from 6.8/100,000 in 2007 to 10.6/100,000 in 2017, a 56% percent increase. Youth suicide is strongly correlated with household gun ownership. The social causes of higher suicide rates are complex, including untreated mental illness, unemployment and social isolation. Stigma about mental illness and mental health care makes matters worse. Economic insecurity also plays a role. A recent study suggested that raising the minimum wage might decrease suicide rates. Poverty and lack of opportunity increase suicide risk everywhere, but the correlation between economic deprivation and suicide is stronger in rural counties, according to a recent nationwide study. These factors may help explain why suicide rates vary dramatically across New York with from a low of 4.8/100,000 in Brooklyn to a high of 28/100,000 in tiny, rural Hamilton County. The firearm suicide rate is 3.36 times higher in the rest of New York state than it is in New York City. Velez-Grau posits that rural New York has a higher suicide rate because there is less economic opportunity and more social isolation in these communities. Rural New Yorkers also have less access to mental and behavioral health care than city-dwellers. Research shows that suicide tends to be an impulsive act: 24% of survivors of nearly lethal suicide attempts reported that less than 5 minutes elapsed between deciding to end their lives and acting on that decision. An additional 47% of survivors in that study said they deliberated between 5 minutes and an hour. Not having a very lethal method at hand during those moments of crisis can mean the difference between life and death. Deprived of a gun, people may resort to a less lethal means one they are much more likely to surive or they may not attempt suicide at all. You might think that people who are determined to take their own lives would simply pick another equally lethal method, but thats not always true. Restricting common, highly lethal methods of suicide can reduce the overall suicide rate, not just suicides by that specific means. Removing carbon monoxide from kitchen gas in 1958 reduced the overall national suicide rate in the UK for several years, not just the rate of suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning. Tighter regulations on lethal pesticides dramatically reduced the national suicide rate of Sri Lanka, and not just the suicide rate by pesticide. Velez-Grau says theres still a lot to be done to get New Yorks suicide rate even lower. The needs of Latino and immigrant populations are often overlooked in our suicide prevention efforts. The rate of completed suicide is still slightly higher for white female teens, but nevertheless, suicide is the second leading cause of death amongst Latina adolescents in New York. Nationwide, Latina teens are more likely to attempt suicide than their black or white peers. Velez-Grau says that Latino people whose families have been in the U.S. for a long time are at higher risk than recent immigrants. She believes that this has something to do with the erosion of the protective influence of family and community that tends to reduce the risk for more recent immigrants. New York Citys racial diversity and high population of recent immigrants probably contribute to its low suicide rate. New York state is 64% white, but New York City is only 43% white. Nationwide, white men account for nearly 70% of deaths by suicide, in part because they are more likely to attempt suicide with guns. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has announced his desire to toughen New Yorks gun laws even further by preventing people who have been convicted of serious crimes in other states from buying guns in New York. This is a reasonable proposal, but even greater public health gains could be realized by increasing investment in our mental health infrastructure. Even as youth suicide rates climb, New York slashed reimbursement rates for Medicaid-eligible children and families who receive mental health care through Children and Family Treatment and Support Services. Even before the cuts, fewer than half of children in need of behavioral health care were actually getting it, and now that the rates have been cut, some providers will be forced to stop offering services. Restoring the reimbursement rates would be a meaningful step towards the long term psychological well-being of young people and an important investment in suicide prevention. Byron Bay-based hipster couple Mitch Gobel and Sally Mustang have built a giant birthing pool in their living room to prepare for the imminent arrival of their first child - after the couple hosted a 'blessing' in the forest for their baby. The Australian parents-to-be - who are known for sharing explicit details about their sex life on Instagram - are set to welcome their baby in the next couple of weeks. Sally and Mitch are already ready for the birth, which they plan to do at home in a giant indoor pool. Byron Bay-based hipster couple Mitch Gobel and Sally Mustang (pictured) have built a giant birthing pool in their living room to prepare for the imminent arrival of their first child The parents-to-be - who are known for sharing explicit details about their sex life on Instagram - are set to welcome their baby in the next couple of weeks with a water birth (the birthing pool pictured) For the birth, they intend to have a water birth, which will take place at home in the giant pool (pictured) The couple hosted a 'blessing' for their unborn baby in the forest last month, where they made 'flower mandala' which were placed 'everywhere' throughout their home (pictured) 'Starting to prepare for my birthing experience, visualising everyday myself in the moment, really feeling into what I want, what our babe wants to come earthside,' Sally posted on Instagram recently. She and Mitch will have a water birth, and their baby is due at the beginning of February. The couple hosted a 'blessing' for their unborn baby in the forest last month, where they made 'flower mandala' which were placed 'everywhere' throughout their home. Sally's stomach was also painted, which the 29-year-old said is supposed to 'call in creativity, expression and an ability to see through a third eye'. Sally's stomach was also painted, which the 29-year-old said is supposed to 'call in creativity, expression and an ability to see through a third eye' (pictured) At the event, Sally's 'entire body' was massaged to promote a state of calm, while the couple's guests enjoyed fruit punch, a fruit platter and raw vegan cake (Sally pictured with Mitch) At the event, Sally's 'entire body' was massaged to promote a state of calm, while the couple's guests enjoyed fruit punch, a fruit platter and raw vegan cake. Sally and Mitch and their guests also used flowers to press natural sheets for their home. Finally, they had a meditation and prayer session for the arrival of their baby. Sally (pictured) and Mitch and their guests also used flowers to press natural sheets for their home The couple (pictured_ announced their pregnancy last September, after they tied the knot last year in a 'fairy tale forest wedding', complete with flower blessings, hand-stitched outfits, their own handwritten vows and pagan prayers The couple announced their pregnancy last September, after they tied the knot last year in a 'fairy tale forest wedding', complete with flower blessings, hand-stitched outfits, their own handwritten vows and pagan prayers. Surrounded by their close circle of friends and family in the Byron Bay hinterland, New South Wales, the duo included many personal elements in their day - and said they felt 'airborne' at pulling off their dream wedding. 'We wanted our love ceremony to represent us and a new way of marriage for this coming generation,' Sally told FEMAIL in May. 'We focused on the aspect of nature, spirituality, cultures from around the world and celebration. As you can see the set up was quite like a fairy tale and filled with magic.' The bride chose to complete her wedding look by going barefoot for the ceremony, which took place outside where she and Mitch exchanged vows. The couple first set the Internet alight when they started sharing the intimate details of what goes on between their sheets to their Instagram followers in 2016 (Sally pictured pregnant) The couple first set the Internet alight when they started sharing the intimate details of what goes on between their sheets to their Instagram followers in 2016. Their bohemian adventures quickly earned them a collective half a million Instagram followers. Photo shoots, Instagram fans and online fame followed, before Sally took to her personal profile in May 2017 to reveal they had broken up in a shock split. An open relationship followed, before the pair rekindled their love, with Mitch proposing to Sally in 2018. By Trend Flight data recorders of the Ukrainian passenger plane, which was accidentally downed outside Tehran, will be sent to Kiev, Hassan Rezaifar, head of the accidents investigation commission at Irans Civil Aviation Organization, said on Saturday, Trend reports citing TASS. "We have once more consulted with Ukrainian experts and [confirmed] that it is impossible to decode black boxes in Iran" he said quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency. "At the request of the Ukrainian authorities, the black boxes of the Ukrainian downed jet will not be read in Iran, but instead will be transferred to Ukraine for analysis and reading," the official added. Rezaifar noted that "with the use of the expertise of the countries of France, Canada and America we will try to read the [flight data recorders] in Kiev." "If this effort is unsuccessful then the black box will be sent to France," he added. On Friday, the office of Ukraines prosecutor general filed another request to Iran asking to hand Kiev the flight data recorders of the downed plane. Ukraine had submitted a previous request to Iran on January 15. On the same day, head of the Kiev Research Institute of Forensic Studies Alexander Ruvin said that an international team of experts would start reading the black boxes in Kiev on January 20. On January 8, a Boeing-737 of the Ukrainian International Airlines bound for Kiev crashed minutes after takeoff from Tehrans Imam Khomeini Airport. The crash killed all 176 people on board - citizens of Afghanistan, Germany, Iran, Canada and Ukraine and also British and Swedish subjects. On January 11, Irans Armed Forces General Staff released a statement admitting the plane had been mistakenly shot down. According to Iranian Brigadier-General Amir-Ali Hajizadeh, the plane was misidentified as a cruise missile by the air defense force. GRANTS PASS, Ore.-- The Red Cross shelter in the Illinois Valley will stay open Sunday night. It's been running for people who have been without power since Thursday's powerful winter storm. It's located at Illinois Valley High School: 625 E River St, Cave Junction, OR 97523. The Red Cross shelter in Grants Pass is now closed. Most people in the Grants Pass area have had their power restored. Red Cross said it will remain on standby for any future needs in the Grants Pass area. As of 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, the Pacific Power outage map was showing about 1,300 customers without power in Josephine County. In an update Sunday morning, Pacific Power said it restored service to about 3,000 customers Saturday. At it's peark, more than 18,000 customers were without power. Were thankful to all of our customers for their encouragement and understanding as our crews continue to make restoration progress in the wake of the winter storm, said Dave Lucas, Pacific Powers vice president of transmission and distribution. We know how difficult it can be to go without power for an extended period. Our crews are focused on the task at hand and will continue to work around the clock to clear hazards, make repairs and restore service to our customers. Pacific Power has more than 300 crew members and contract personnel working in the area. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 09:39:30|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close Staff members of Ukraine International Airlines mourn for plane crash victims during a memorial event at the Boryspil International Airport in Kiev, Ukraine, Jan. 19, 2020. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky bid farewell to 11 Ukrainians killed in a plane mistakenly shot down by Iran earlier this month, the presidential office said Sunday. The president, along with Parliament speaker Dmutro Razumkov, Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk and some other members of the government, arrived at Boryspil International Airport in Kiev to receive the bodies of nine crew members and two passengers. (Photo by Sergey Starostenko/Xinhua) KIEV, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky bid farewell to 11 Ukrainians killed in a plane mistakenly shot down by Iran earlier this month, the presidential office said Sunday. The president, along with Parliament speaker Dmutro Razumkov, Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk and some other members of the government, arrived at Boryspil International Airport in Kiev to receive the bodies of nine crew members and two passengers. The head of state expressed his sincere condolences to the families and relatives of the victims. The officials laid flowers at the solemn ceremony at the airport. The honor guards held flags of the countries whose citizens were among the 176 aboard the ill-fated plane. On the morning of Jan. 8, the Ukrainian Boeing-737 flying from Tehran to Kiev crashed shortly after taking off. On Jan. 11, Iran admitted that it had "unintentionally" shot down the jetliner. VANCOUVER, Jan. 20, 2020 - Colorado Resources Ltd. (TSX.V: CXO) ("Colorado", or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Company has retrieved and assayed the previously un-assayed 7 drillholes, and finished assaying the remainder of one partially assayed drillhole from the 2018 field exploration and drilling program at the Tami Zone, on its KSP property. This is further to the news release dated November 16, 2018, which highlighted copper-gold mineralization in over 500 m of strike length at the Tami Zone. These results comprised a total of 8 drillholes (1,583.50 m), 3 of which were drilled within the main E W corridor, and 5 that were drilled on peripheral targets (see Figure 1). The analysis of these drillcores was suspended in 2018 due to budgetary constraints, and lack of obvious visible mineralization. The company is now pleased to report that all three drillholes (TMDDH18-147,148 & 149) drilled within the main mineralized corridor returned considerably anomalous gold and copper mineralization (see Table 1). Particularly encouraging are drillholes (TMDDH18-148 & 149) located west of previously known mineralization (previous drilling; approximately 150 and 330 m, respectively), thus extending mineralized continuity of intercepts in drilling to over 800 m of strike from drillhole TMDDH18-149, east to TMDDH18-136. A 600 m x 600 m gold in soil anomaly (> 100 ppb Au) is also located a further 200 m west of TMDDH18-149, on trend, that attests to the potential westward expansion of the mineralized E W corridor. The Tami E W corridor is now outlined as 800 m of continuous mineralized strike (From TMDDH18-149 to TMDDH18-136) in addition to 300 m of discontinuous strike (from TMDDH18-136 to TMDDH18-147) for a total E W strike of the corridor approximately 1,100 m. Table 1: KSP- Tami Zone Significant Intercepts* Hole ID Total Length (m) From (m) To (m) Interval (m) Au (g/t) Cu (%) TMDDH18-146 172.0 61.0 73.0 12.0 0.27 0.06 TMDDH18-147 246.0 9.0 25.0 16.0 0.25 0.06 and 59.0 69.0 10.0 0.29 0.1 and 89.0 91.0 2.0 1.39 0.06 TMDDH18-148 171.0 17.0 61.0 44.0 0.56 0.01 including 19.0 21.0 2.0 1.45 0.03 and 45.0 55.0 10.0 1.22 0.01 TMDDH19-149 198.0 51.0 57.0 6.0 0.34 0.01 and 75.0 77.0 2.0 0.93 0.08 and 121.0 133.0 12.0 0.27 0.09 and 155.0 171.0 16.0 0.35 0.14 TMDDH19-152 201.0 No Significant Results TMDDH19-153 297.0 No Significant Results TMDDH19-155 141.0 No Significant Results TMDDH19-156 157.5 No Significant Results *The intervals reported in this table represent drill intercepts and insufficient data is available at this time to state the true thickness of the mineralized intervals The remaining 5 unassayed drillholes (TMDDH18-146,152,153,155 & 156) were drilled primarily on the periphery of the main E - W corridor, targeting magnetic anomalies as much as 675 m north or south of the main mineralized east-west trend,which generally failed to return significant results. Detailed examination also reveals that no drillholes were drilled down dip or south of the significantly mineralized intercepts from the 2017 drilling, and thus depth potential remains untested. Three previously not disclosed holes (TMDDH18-137, 139 & 144) from 2018 on the Tami Zone did not return significant results. TMDDH18-137 currently implies that there may be a break in mineralized continuity across the corridor. However, large drill hole spacing (closest hole is 100 m away) may suggest that there is potential to establish mineralization continuity across the entire 1,100 m corridor by adding additional drill density, to test down dip, and/or at depth. Colorado's CEO, Joe Mullin, commented, "KSP is a district scale property with multiple established porphyry-related zones, including the Tami and Inel Zone. Our technical team will continue to review, recompile and prioritize the huge amount of data and information in our dataroom in preparation for the 2020 field season, leading to drill target selection in Q4 2020. That's also our theme for all of Colorado's key projects in 2020: Castle, North ROK (Mabon and ROK-Coyote), Sofia, and KSP-KingPin. We expect to publish more details regarding our 2020 plans shortly." Detailed Science Based Review Continues on All Projects The company has also begun detailed scientific based review of all its projects with particular emphasis on the following: Castle Property An elongate, arcuate 6 km long composite, alkalic pluton that is structurally disrupted, deformed, QSP altered westward, and contiguous from GT Gold's Saddle Deposit. North ROK (Mabon and ROK-Coyote Properties) Host to the Mabon porphyry Cu-Au deposit (142 MT of 0.22 % Cu, 0.26 g/t Au) with exploration potential indicated by km-scale Cu-Au soil geochemical anomalies, in part coincident with magnetic and IP geophysical signatures. Sofia Property A recently completed airborne magnetic survey is being reviewed and interpreted. A government geological technical report released December 2019 (MDRU Publication 424) highlighted copper-gold porphyry potential beneath previously known gold occurrences. This work is being synthesized and compiled into the existing databases. KSP and KingPin Properties An enigmatic district-scale land package (633 km2) that hosts numerous high grade Au-Ag vein and Cu-Au porphyry targets. A detailed review and compilation of data is underway to identify exploration efforts, prioritize targets, and develop exisiting zones. The company will continue to diligently review these enormous datasets, that encompass one of the largest and most strategic landholdings of a junior company in the Golden Triangle of northwestern BC. Proposed, prioritized 2020 fieldwork will be synthesized and as information becomes available, updates will be provided. The company also looks forward to the upcoming AME Roundup Conference (Booth 627) from January 20- 23, 2020 to meet shareholders and other interested parties. Data Quality Analysis Colorado has implemented a rigorous data quality analysis (DQA) protocol to ensure best practices are employed in sampling and data quality is measured after analysis of diamond drill core. Blanks (blind and unblind), field duplicates, and certified reference materials (CRM's) are inserted into the sample stream to monitor laboratory performance. In 2018, ALS Global Laboratories of Terrace, B.C. prepped diamond drill core from drill holes TMDDH18-152, 153, 155, and 156 by fine crushing passing 70 % < passing 2mm (CRU-31), riffle splitting (SPL-21), then pulverizing 1000 g to 85 % < 75 microns (PUL-32). These prepped core samples were not analyzed by ALS at the request of Colorado Resources in the fall of 2018. Drill core from diamond drill holes TMDDH18-146, 147, 148, and 149 were weighed but not prepped or analyzed by ALS at the request of Colorado Resources in the fall of 2018. All samples from the diamond drill holes mentioned above were placed in secure outdoor storage. For 2019 analysis, all samples from the diamond drill holes reported in this news release were brought out of secure storage and transported to ActLabs of Kamloops, B.C. Drill core samples received as core were dried, crushed to 80 % passing 2 mm, 10 mesh, riffle split, 250 g, and pulverized in mild steel to 95 % passing 105 microns, 150 mesh (Prep Code RX1). Drill core samples received with a dry pulp fraction had the pulp fraction re-pulverized for homogenization in mild steel to 95 % passing 105 microns, 150 mesh (Prep Code RX4). Drill core samples received with a pulp fraction that was, or appeared to have been, wet had the original pulp fraction stored, and the entire crushed fraction was dried, riffle split, 250 g, and pulverized in mild steel to 95 % passing 105 microns, 150-mesh (Prep code RX4) creating a new pulp fraction. In 2019, all samples from the diamond drill holes reported in this news release was analyzed by ActLabs of Kamloops B.C. All samples were analyzed for gold by 50 g fire assay fusion with AA finish (Method Code 1A2-50) and for 43 elements by four acid digestion with ICP-MS finish (Method Code UT-4M). Samples with > 5 g/t gold were re-analyzed for gold by 30 g fire assay with gravimetric finish (Method Code 1A3). Samples with silver, copper, lead or zinc that exceeded the uper reporting limit of method UT-4M were re-analyzed for the over limit elements by four acid digestion with ICP-OES finish assay (Method Code 8- 4 Acid ICP-OES). Qualified Person The technical information in this release has been reviewed and approved by Steven Kramar, P.Geo., Colorado's Senior Geologist and a qualified person under NI 43-101. About Colorado Colorado Resources Ltd. is exploring high-grade gold and copper in the Golden Triangle and the Toodoggone area of British Columbia. The portfolio includes the flagship Castle property, a porphyry copper-gold project located in the Red Chris mining district of the Golden Triangle, contiguous with GT Gold's Tatogga property. Other properties include; (i) North ROK, (ii) KSP, (iii) Kingpin, (iv) Heart Peaks, and (v) Sofia properties in British Columbia. These assets are being advanced by a newly assembled technical and management team with experience in discovery, exploration, permitting and development. On behalf of the Board of Directors of Colorado Resources Ltd. "Joseph Mullin" Joseph Mullin Chief Executive Officer and Director Cautionary Notes on Release and Figure This release contains information about adjacent properties on which Colorado has no right to explore or mine. Readers are cautioned that mineral deposits on adjacent properties are not indicative of mineral deposits on the Company's properties. The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information All statements, trend analysis and other information contained in this press release about anticipated future events or results constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect" and "intend" and statements that an event or result "may", "will", "should", "could" or "might" occur or be achieved and other similar expressions. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, including, without limitation, are forward-looking statements. Although Colorado (the "Company") believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements and/or information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements since the Company can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. These 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 the risks, uncertainties and other factors identified in the Companies' periodic filings with Canadian securities regulators. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Colorado expectations include risks associated with the business of Colorado; risks related to exploration and potential development of Colorado's projects; business and economic conditions in the mining industry generally; fluctuations in commodity prices and currency exchange rates; uncertainties relating to interpretation of drill results and the geology, continuity and grade of mineral deposits; the need for cooperation of government agencies and native groups in the exploration and development of properties and the issuance of required permits; the need to obtain additional financing to develop properties and uncertainty as to the availability and terms of future financing; the possibility of delay in exploration or development programs and uncertainty of meeting anticipated program milestones; uncertainty as to timely availability of permits and other governmental approvals; and other risk factors as detailed from time to time and additional risks identified in Colorado's filings with Canadian securities regulators on SEDAR in Canada (available at www.sedar.com). Forward-looking statements are based on estimates and opinions of management at the date the statements are made. Colorado does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements except as required by applicable securities laws. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. SOURCE Colorado Resources Ltd. Contact Colorado Resources Ltd., T: (250) 768-1511, F: (250) 768-0849, TF: (855) 768-1511, W: www.coloradoresources.com, NR 20-02 Tagaytay: The Philippine government will no longer allow people to live on the crater-studded island that's home to the erupting Taal volcano, with officials warning that living there would be "like having a gun pointed at you". The simmering volcano has ejected smaller ash plumes for days after a gigantic eruption January 12 sent ash drifting north over Manila, the capital, about 65 kilometres away. While a larger, explosive eruption is still possible and tens of thousands of evacuees remain in emergency shelters, officials have begun discussing post-eruption recovery. Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano said officials in Batangas province, where the volcano is located, have been asked to look for a safer housing area at least three hectares in size for about 6000 families that used to live in four villages and worked mostly as tourist guides, farmers and fish pen operators on Volcano Island. The new housing site should be at least 17 kilometres away from the restive volcano to be safe, he said. A woman walks through a park blanketed in ash in the town of Tagaytay, near the Taal volcano. Credit:AP The island was long ago designated a national park that"s off-limits to permanent villages. The government's volcano-monitoring agency has separately declared the island a permanent danger zone, but still, impoverished villagers have lived and worked there for decades. A couple accused of murdering their five-year-old daughter are to be released from prison for her funeral service, a judge ruled on Monday. Nadia Zofia Kalinowska was discovered at the family's home in Newtownabbey, Co Antrim on December 15 last year. The child's mother, Aleksandra Wahab, 25, and stepfather, Abdul Wahab, 31, were granted compassionate bail to attend the ceremony at an undisclosed location on Wednesday. Nadia's body will then be flown to Poland for burial at a later date. Her parents 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. The husband and wife, originally from Pakistan and Poland respectively, emphatically deny all of the charges against them. 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 want the pathologist report disclosed to establish if she has a case to answer. At Belfast Magistrates' Court on Monday it emerged that she converted to Islam from Catholicism after meeting her husband. Both accused sought temporary release from custody so they can be at a service in Northern Ireland for Nadia. Following that ceremony the child's remains are to be released back to her maternal grandmother for interment in Poland. Granting compassionate bail to both defendants, District Judge Peter Magill stressed they must remain with police at all times until their return to prison. He also told them: "You are allowed to speak to your co-accused, provided you do so in English in the presence of police officers and you do not discuss these criminal proceedings in any way." No child under 16 will be allowed at the service, including the couple's two-year-old son. Mr Magill added: "This is a most unusual case, and it's with grave reservations that I entertain the application, but I bear in mind that you enjoy a presumption of innocence." The couple are due to appear back in court in four weeks time. The public is likely to face an enormous bill for the Duke and Duchess of Sussexs future security, a former Home Office minister has warned. Ex-Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker suggested the fact Harry will not use but will still retain his HRH style was a way of ensuring he could qualify for paid security, unlike Diana, Princess of Wales, who was stripped of her HRH style and police protection. Buckingham Palace is not commenting on whether taxpayers will still have to pay for Harry, Meghan and baby Archie Mountbatten-Windsors round-the-clock guards. Mr Baker, the author of a book about royal family finances entitled And What Do You Do?, said the familys new life in North America would cause costs to escalate. Were going to end up from the public purse paying more for Harry and Meghan than we do now because the security costs are going to go through the roof, he said. Its not just the cost of Harry and Meghans security, but its also the cost of flying police officers out of Scotland Yard, over on transatlantic planes to and from Canada on shifts 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Its an enormous bill. Security for the royal family as a whole costs the taxpayer in excess of an estimated 100 million a year, but the actual figure is never disclosed. Expand Close Former Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker has written a book about royal family finances (Dominic Lipinski/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Former Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker has written a book about royal family finances (Dominic Lipinski/PA) Harry and Meghan will earn their own money when they step back fully from royal life. They had initially hoped for a dual role, supporting the Queen, the Commonwealth and Harrys military associations as well, but the idea was fraught with problems and in the end unworkable. The Prince of Wales will offer some private financial support to Harry and Meghan but it is not known if this will come from his 21 million a year Duchy of Cornwall income or other private funds. Mr Baker claimed the taxpayer could lose out if Charles uses his Duchy income, if there was a reduction in his tax liability. Expand Close Meghan Markle walks up the aisle with the Prince of Wales at St Georges Chapel during her wedding to Harry (Dominic Lipinski/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Meghan Markle walks up the aisle with the Prince of Wales at St Georges Chapel during her wedding to Harry (Dominic Lipinski/PA) He told the PA news agency: It depends how he supports them. If he wants to support them from genuinely his own money, thats fine. However, I suspect based on previous behaviour, he wont do that, hell support them through the Duchy of Cornwall. What he will then do, based on previous experience, is claim that as a legitimate expense and he will use that to reduce his tax liability and therefore the public purse will continue to support Harry indirectly. Sources insisted, however, that the prince will not be attempting to offset any contributions against tax, and that he would pay all relevant tax. He voluntarily pays income tax at the 45% rate on his income from the Duchy of Cornwall, after his business-related costs are deducted, and his taxes are checked by HMRC. Expand Close The Prince of Wales is also the Duke of Cornwall (Jane Barlow/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The Prince of Wales is also the Duke of Cornwall (Jane Barlow/PA) Mr Baker argued that the Duchy, the landed estate set up in 1337 by Edward III to provide an income for heirs to the throne, should be subject to corporation tax, and called for the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to look into the Duchys finances. Theres a need for a drastic look at royal finances and thats the body that should be doing it, he added. The Duchy of Cornwalls website says it is not a corporation and therefore not subject to corporation tax. Mr Baker said the PAC would also be able to investigate whether Harry and Meghan, who will start paying commercial rent on their UK base Frogmore Cottage, will be charged at the correct level. Rents on Frogmore Cottage a newly renovated four-bedroom property with a nursery in Windsors Home Park could be around 5,000 a month as it could not be let commercially for security reasons. Expand Close Harry and Meghan will pay rent on Frogmore Cottage, but how much? (Steve Parsons/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Harry and Meghan will pay rent on Frogmore Cottage, but how much? (Steve Parsons/PA) But other estimates have suggested the home would fetch up to 30,000 a month. Harry and Meghan have also said they will pay the running costs, and repay the renovation bill of 2.4 million, which is likely to rise when the bill for additional work not completed by the time of last years accounts is added. Frogmore Cottage is likely to remain shuttered for most of the year as the Sussex family make a new life in North America. Tora Japanese Restaurant | Photo: Seran L./Yelp Spending time in Chinatown? Get to know this Boston neighborhood by browsing its most popular local businesses, from a Chinese bakery to a florist. Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the top places to visit in Chinatown, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of neighborhood businesses. Read on for the results. 1. Top Bread Photo: Arnold l./Yelp Topping the list is bakery Top Bread. Located at 77 Harrison Ave. (between Knapp and Beach streets), it's the highest-rated business in the neighborhood, boasting four stars out of 102 reviews on Yelp. Top Bread offers egg tarts, coconut buns, mango mousse cake and more. 2. Tora Japanese Restaurant Photo: tora japanese restaurant/Yelp Sushi bar and Japanese spot Tora Japanese Restaurant is another top choice. Yelpers give the business, located at 20B Tyler St. (between Beach and Kneeland streets), 4.5 stars out of 354 reviews. Tora Japanese Restaurant serves up poke, with your choice of Luxury California maki, spicy tuna mayo, shrimp and tofu, among others. 3. Wing's Kitchen Photo: jimmy t./Yelp Wing's Kitchen, a Cantonese spot, is another neighborhood go-to, with four stars out of 76 Yelp reviews. Head over to 23 Hudson St. (between Beach and Kneeland streets) to see for yourself. Menu offerings include pan-fried pork dumplings, sweet corn soup and beef brisket soup. 4. Thinking Cup Photo: zhanwei y./Yelp Then, check out Thinking Cup, which has earned four stars out of 1,151 reviews on Yelp. You can find the spot to score coffee, tea and more at 165 Tremont St. On the menu, look for chocolate croissants, breakfast burritos and honey cinnamon lattes. 5. Chaba Florists Photo john l./Yelp Finally, there's Chaba Florists, a local favorite with five stars out of 106 reviews. Stop by 71 Stuart St. (between Tremont Street and Eliot Place) to hit up the next time you're in the neighborhood. Chaba Florists provides bouquets, rose collections, centerpieces and more. 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. DALLAS, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Among his many honors over the past two years, successful Texas maverick, Trey Rome, is among the prestigious 2020 Dallas Business Journal "40 Under 40" business leaders under age 40 who are making their mark on North Texas. Dallas Business Journal cited Rome's impressive professional achievements and proven track record as what set him apart. As Founder/CEO of Home Tax Solutions (HTS), Rome achieved an average annualized revenue growth rate of 55% over the past three years, and with 23 on staff, managed to capture one-third of all property tax loans in Texas. HTS is Texas' largest property tax loan originator, is one of SMU's Top 100 fastest growing, privately held entrepreneurial companies in Dallas and US Business News named HTS "Best 2019 Property Tax Lender in Texas." Eight years ago, Rome started HTS at his kitchen table. Today, offices are in Houston, Austin, San Antonio and McAllen and Dallas headquarters will be expanding. Rome sites hiring the right people as a key to business success, placing major emphasis on a person's character and who wants to be part of HTS. One of the most important qualities Rome looks for in leadership is impeccable follow-up. "It makes a difference when you have a collaborative meeting with a leader, determine action plans, and trust they will be implemented," said Rome. He creates a diverse climate with age, race and gender hires and believes diversity enables different points of view that spark innovation and deliver competitive advantages. Rome suggests happy employees is key to retentions, which is why he hired a healthcare consultant to develop benefits better than others in his industry. Rome believes in giving back to the community, individually and as a company, as a way to foster employee unity. Banking was Rome's first job graduating college. His boss was a great mentor and helped jumpstart his entrepreneurial spirit. That, along with what he learned as a student at SMU, "the most important thing about a business is its people," are the two guiding forces and principles which helped take Rome's business from 0 to 100 in eight short years and can help others achieve similar success. Rome graduated from SMU; lives in Dallas with his wife and two sons. Contact: Fran Cashen, 949.735.5641 [email protected] SOURCE Home Tax Solutions Related Links https://www.hometaxsolutions.com BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 20 By Leman Zeynalova - Trend: The events of January 20 have led to the birth of new Azerbaijani statehood, Gela Vasadze, a Georgian political analyst and regional project director of the Georgian Strategic Analysis Center (GSAC), told Trend Jan. 20. What happened in Baku in January 1990 was a reaction of the central authorities to the beginning of collapse of the USSR, Vasadze noted. It seemed to someone in the Kremlin that it would be enough to scare people who began to demand independence, and everything would be the same, said the analyst. But history has its own logic. After these events, the communist regime completely lost the moral right in the eyes of the people to lead the country, and its end became a matter of time. In Georgia, Soviet power came to an end in April 1989, in Azerbaijan - in January 1990. Azerbaijan honors memory of the victims of the January 20 tragedy. January 20 is a day that went down in history of Azerbaijan's fight for independence and territorial integrity. On the night of January 19-20, 1990, the Soviet army forces entered Baku to suppress the masses protesting the USSR-supported Armenian aggression based on territorial claims against Azerbaijan. The result was an unprecedented tragedy for Azerbaijan. As a result, 147 people were killed, 744 were injured and 841 were illegally arrested after Soviet troops entered Baku. The Soviet troops also destroyed 200 apartments and houses, as well as private and public property. The January 20 tragedy brought huge losses and death of innocent people. But it also demonstrated the spirit and pride of Azerbaijani nation. Azerbaijanis gained the independence they were dreaming of, and the country achieved sovereignty. Despite that many years have passed since those bloody days, Azerbaijanis remember the dreadful night that took many innocent lives and mark the anniversary of the January 20 tragedy every year. January 20 is immortalized in the memory of Azerbaijani nation as a Day of the Nationwide Sorrow. New Delhi, Jan 20 : Springdales School (Pusa Road) and East Point School (Vasundhara Enclave) were among the three winners of the 'Creativity Challenge' organised by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Adobe India in the National Capital Region (NCR), the company announced on Monday. Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (Ahmednagar, Maharashtra) was the third winner of the challenge that received project entries from over 4,500 schools across the country using various 'Adobe Creative Cloud' tools. While the winning teams in the three defined grade categories will be given an all-expenses-paid trip to Adobe's global headquarters in the US state of California, the top nine schools will win an annual subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud to further their creative potential for long term growth. "Our partnership with Adobe for Creativity Challenge in schools was a milestone initiative that boosted creativity in India's classrooms, while celebrating the ethos of Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy and learnings during this momentous year of his 150th birth anniversary," said Anita Karwal, Chairperson, CBSE. Launched in October last year honouring the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the 'Creativity Challenge' is the contest designed towards encouraging students from across 20,000 CBSE-affiliated schools to showcase their creative expression, digital skills and personal vision depicting how Gandhian values can help the world today to prosper. "It is heartening to see the overwhelming participation received by the contest from schools across all corners of India - encouraging young minds to the opportunity to experience how the powerful collaboration of imagination and innovation can help them maximise their potential, and truly thrive in the long run," said Shanmugh Natarajan, VP - Products, Adobe India. The CBSE-Adobe 'Creativity Challenge' saw the participation of students from 6th Grade to 12th Grade, where they leveraged Adobe Creative Cloud tools to prepare and submit creative projects across nine themes related to sustainable development goals and life of Mahatma Gandhi. The search for a hiking group that disappeared in an avalanche last week was called off Monday amid dangerous conditions in an area of the Himalayas where officials say they have had to rescue hundreds of people. Seven remain missing since last week's crush on a trail around Mount Annapurna, where tourists flock to see the world's 10th-highest peak. A slew of military and government officials have joined tourism groups, locals and others to look for the four South Korean hikers and their three Nepali guides, and to bring about 200 people "whose lives were in jeopardy" to safety, Nepal's tourism department said in a statement. But avalanches and heavy snowfall have thwarted those operations, the department said. Poor conditions kept a military helicopter with rescue teams from landing Monday, Reuters reported. "It is a big disaster and the government is concerned about the safety of tourists," Mira Acharya, director of Nepal's tourism department, told Reuters. "Rescuers are on standby for a fresh search." About 140 foreign hikers were among the tourists, guides and others rescued over the weekend, Reuters said, citing police. Nepal law enforcement and tourism department officials did not immediately respond to inquiries from The Washington Post. Officials said the still-missing travelers were caught Friday morning when an avalanche sparked by heavy snowfall slammed trails on the Annapurna Circuit Trek, where tourism companies advertise multiweek journeys through stunning scenery. Mount Annapurna rises nearly 27,000 feet high, but the Circuit Trek maxes out at the Thorung La Pass below 20,000 feet. All trekkers in the area besides the group of seven have been flown to safety, the tourism department's Acharya told the Associated Press. Authorities described the South Koreans still missing as two women and two men, all teachers, who were in Nepal to volunteer, according to South Korean news media. The Korean ambassador to Nepal and families of those trapped in the avalanche have been involved in search and rescue work, officials said. Um Hong-gil, a South Korean climber helping to look for those missing, told South Korea's Yonhap News Agency on Monday that he feared a "prolonged" search. "A person who went close to the scene told me that a huge chunk of ice that had been piled up on high grounds for a long time collapsed along with the snow," he said to the news organization. "This snow and ice has poured down into a deep valley and likely won't melt well even when the spring comes. I am afraid that the search might be prolonged." Weather and continued avalanches also interfered Sunday with search efforts of the Trekking Agents' Association of Nepal, according to Reuters, and a representative from a rescue company told Reuters that a helicopter was not able to determine where the South Koreans and their guides disappeared. Mountaineering has long been "the major tourism activity" in Nepal, generating significant revenue since the country's peaks opened to climbers in 1949, officials say. But it can be dangerous. A snowstorm that hit Annapurna during peak trekking season in fall 2014 killed dozens and forced the rescue of hundreds more. More recently, in 2018, five South Korean climbers and their four guides died elsewhere in the Himalayas when a block of ice crashed down into a gorge, according to Reuters. That was the worst accident of its kind since 18 climbers died in an avalanche on Mount Everest three years earlier. - - - The Washington Post's Abha Bhattarai contributed to this report. NEW YORK, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Asia Pacific drug delivery systems market is expected to reach US$ 441,337.0 Mn in 2027 from US$ 212,012.7 Mn in 2018. The market is estimated to grow with a CAGR of 8.6% from 2019-2027. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05828352/?utm_source=PRN The growth of the drug delivery systems market is primarily attributed to the rapid technological advancements in diabetes care devices and increasing rate of obesity.However, increasing reuse of pen needles is likely to pose a negative impact on the market growth. On the other hand, growing medical tourism in the emerging nations is likely to have a positive impact on the growth of the Asia Pacific drug delivery systems market in the coming years. The advancement in the field of the healthcare industry is driving to the players for more research and developments for the drug delivery systems for the administration purpose required during various medical conditions.The pen needles used in various injection pens have evolved gradually in terms of material, performance, dimensions and safety factors such as sterility and safety packaging. Various manufacturers are coming up with innovative products to sustain in the highly fragmented drug delivery systems market, in the region.Moreover, the easy regulatory approvals in the Asian countries has led to mid-sized companies enter the market and compete with the local and established players. For instance, in May 2018, Hindustan Syringes and Medical Devices (HMD), one of the leading manufacturers of disposable syringes introduced "Dispovan" insulin pen needle which is the first made-in-India disposable pen needle that is technologically efficient and affordable than that of the currently available products in the market.Development of pen needles with precise lubrication to reduce the pain sensation has been another focus of manufacturers during the research. Thus, owing to the above mentioned factors the market for drug delivery systems anticipated to grow rapidly in the forecast period, in the region. In 2018, the oral segment held a largest market share of 50.2% of the drug delivery systems market, by route of administration. The oral segment is expected to dominate its market share in 2027 owing to ease of drug administration, high degree of flexibility on dosages and cost effectiveness. In 2018, the hospitals and clinics held a largest market share of 56.0% of the drug delivery systems market, by application. This segment is also expected to dominate the market in 2027 owing to the large number of patient population visiting hospitals and clinics. Also hospitals provide diagnosis and treatment for various medical conditions. In 2018, the hospitals pharmacies held a largest market share of 68.7% of the drug delivery systems market, by distribution channel. This segment is also expected to dominate the market in 2027 as hospital pharmacies provide larger range of medications, including more specialized and investigational medications. Some of the major primary and secondary sources for drug delivery systems included in the report are, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Centers for Diabetes and Endocrinology (CDE), China Initiative for Diabetes Excellence (CIDE), Vision Health Initiative (VHI) and others. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05828352/?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 With one in two Australians diagnosed with cancer by the age of 85 it pays to know which symptoms you should be looking out for - and when you're most likely to see them. Radiologist Dr Alan Chai from Sydney's PRP Imaging looked at the cancer risks across different age groups and the screening and diagnostic tests available to come up with a decade-by-decade breakdown of diseases. From contracting cervical cancer in your 20s to prostate or liver cancer in your 60s and 70s, these are the cancerous growths to be aware of, particularly given World Cancer Day is coming up on February 4. IN YOUR 20s TO 30s A pap test every three years is recommended to test for any abnormal cells that could potentially lead to viruses such as HPV, which is more commonly known to cause cervical cancer. The Gardasil 9 vaccine is recommended for girls and boys ages 11 or 12, although it can be given as early as age 9. It's ideal for girls and boys to receive the vaccine before they have sexual contact and are exposed to. The Gardasil 9 vaccine is recommended for girls and boys ages 11 or 12, although it can be given as early as age 9 (stock image) Some of the main symptoms are blood spots or light bleeding between periods, bleeding or pain after having sex and unexplained, persistent pelvic or back pain. For men testicular cancer is a primary concern during this decade with Dr Chai encouraging them to regularly inspect and feel their testes, with any lumps, swelling or tenderness to be further investigated. 'An ultrasound is usually the first test carried out if there are any concerns,' he said. 'Ultrasound is very useful in detecting if a lump is real and whether it is in one of the testes or in an adjacent structure.' A dull ache around the abdomen or groin, back pain or a feeling of heaviness in the scrotum could also be a sign that you've got testicular cancer. What are the symptoms of melanoma? Often melanoma has no symptoms, however, the first sign is generally a change in an existing mole or the appearance of a new spot. These changes can include: - Colour: A mole may change in colour or have different colour shades or become blotchy - Size: A mole may appear to get bigger - Shape: A mole may have in irregular border or may increase in height - Elevation: The mole may develop a raised area itching or bleeding Source: Cancer Council Australia Advertisement IN YOUR 30s TO 40s Melanoma is one of the most common cancers in Australia and skin checks are highly recommended by doctors across the country. If a lump is identified, it can be biopsied or further blood tests can be carried out. Look for changes in a moles colour, size, shape and elevation to work out if its harmless or harmful. Dr Chai said its important not to dismiss symptoms such as abdominal bloating, a 'fullness' feeling after eating, abdominal and pelvic pain or discomfort during sex, which can potentially be symptoms of irregularities within the ovaries. If ovarian cancer is suspected, a pelvic ultrasound may be ordered. Melanoma is one of the most common cancers in Australia and skin checks are highly recommended by doctors across the country (stock image) 'A pelvic ultrasound is performed in two parts. The first is using the ultrasound beam through the abdominal wall,' he said. A transvaginal approach is then performed if possible as this gives more detailed information of the uterus and ovaries over ultrasound through the abdominal wall.' Finally thyroid cancer - one of the more difficult cancers to diagnose - usually presents with no obvious symptoms. When a symptom does present, it's usually a lump in the neck. 'An ultrasound is used to identify if there is any focal lesion in the thyroid gland. While most are not cancers, there are established criteria for when to biopsy a nodule,' Dr Chai said. He added: 'A nuclear medicine scan may also be performed in conjunction with an ultrasound to better define any thyroid nodule that could be cancerous.' IN YOUR 50s TO 60s What is Breast Tomosynthesis? Breast tomosynthesis is an advanced form of mammography, a specific type of breast imaging that uses low-dose x-rays to detect cancer early when it is most treatable. Breast tomosynthesis is not yet available in all imaging facilities. Source: Radiology info Advertisement Screening mammograms should be undertaken every two years at this age to look for signs of breast cancer, while remaining attentive with regular self-breast checks and breast checks with your GP. Women with a personal history of breast cancer or those with strong risk factors should undergo yearly mammograms. 'Mammogram now includes 3D Breast Tomosynthesis together with an ultrasound and is the most cost effective tool we have to detect breast cancer in the initial stages,' Dr Chai said. Screening mammograms should be undertaken every two years at this age to look for signs of breast cancer 'There is strong evidence based on thorough research suggesting it saves lives. 'Breast MRI is also proven to increase pickup of cancer if performed with the other two tests though it is more expensive.' As we age we lose some of our kidney function, putting us at risk of kidney cancer. It can be difficult to detect as early symptoms can often be overlooked, including blood in the urine, pain or pressure in the back, fatigue and loss of appetite. Urine tests, blood tests, biopsy and imaging tests, including ultrasound and CT, can be carried out to detect, diagnose and stage kidney cancer. Meanwhile bowel cancer represents the second highest number of cancer deaths in Australia and is the second most common cancer for both men and women. What are the symptoms of bowel cancer? Symptoms can include a change in bowel habits, blood in the stools, rectal pain and a lump in the anus or rectum. A non-invasive screening test, faecal occult blood test (FOBT), is available for people to use at home. Advertisement Symptoms can include a change in bowel habits, blood in the stools, rectal pain and a lump in the anus or rectum. A non-invasive screening test, faecal occult blood test (FOBT), is available for people to use at home. Those with increased risk should undergo further testing including colonoscopy, CT scan, CT colonography and occasionally, an MRI. IN YOUR 60s TO 70s Prostate cancer is very much an age dependent disease with the chance of developing it increasing as you get older. While there are no specific screening tests available, early detection and treatment can significantly improve chances of survival. Symptoms can include frequent urination, blood in the urine, weak or interrupted urine flow and blood in the seminal fluid. Prostate cancer is very much an age dependent disease with the chance of developing it increasing as you get older (stock image) 'Prostate MRI can greatly aid in the detection of prostate cancer and in specific cases, also aid in directing a biopsy to confirm if a prostate lesion is cancer,' Dr Chai said. Symptoms of liver cancer generally appear as the disease advances, and you might start to feel tired, pain or tenderness in the upper right side of the abdomen, weight loss and skin that appears yellow. Blood tests as well as imaging tests are used to reveal any liver abnormalities. Toilet cleaner Tania Roy (pictured) has detailed some of the worst conditions she has experienced in her career - including faeces on walls and even someone defecating in a bathroom bin A toilet cleaner has detailed some of the worst conditions she has experienced in her career - and told how it's not always children who make the biggest mess. Gympie mother-of-three Tania Roy, 47, has cleaned toilets - including those in some of Australia's biggest stores - in regional south-eastern Queensland for the past 15 years. She said if she saw a toilet which had not been flushed it would make her vomit nine times out of ten. Ms Roy added some toilet users even used customer bathrooms as a way from stealing from the store. 'Customers in shopping centres - your average day-to-day people - are worse than pubs and clubs,' she told Daily Mail Australia. 'They don't flush and it doesn't matter what's in there. Also, if it ends up on the toilet seat they don't wipe it. 'I've had people wipe faeces on the wall and seen urine all over the floor.' Worst of all, she can tell some of the mess smeared over the walls was the work of adults and not children. 'I can tell from the finger marks and the size of what's left in the toilet they're not kids,' Ms Roy said. 'What can you say about a person who does that.' One time she even had to clear up after someone had defecated in a store's bathroom bin. Another case even saw someone relieve themselves in the car park. Ms Roy said she had seen horrific toilet scenes during her career, which has spanned homes, commercial cleans, nightlife venues and surf clubs. She shared a photo of a filthy bathroom in a bond clean where the floor had not been cleaned at all. She shared a photo with Daily Mail Australia of a filthy bathroom where the floor had not been cleaned at all - but said she had seen much worse She said men's public toilet were the worst offenders, but added mothers using stores' baby change facilities also did not have a particularly good reputation. 'Parents leave the nappies anywhere and they don't even put them in the receptacle,' she said. Ms Roy, who now works early in the morning around the same time stores open, said she often sees the evidence of petty crime in bathroom stalls. 'People use the toilets to steal and I quite often see packets from stolen items, so they've gone in there to take the wrapping off and then leave.' The mother-of-three (pictured) said she had seen some horrific toilet scenes during her career, which has spanned homes, commercial cleans, nightlife venues and surf clubs Aside from insufficiently disposed of fecal matter and theft, she said people would often eat in the toilets and then leave behind their rubbish. The veteran cleaner said a lot of people around Gympie live off tank water so try to limit their usage by not flushing at home. But she said that was no excuse for not flushing in public, where stores do not have such limitations. When she is not at work, the shop cleaner is naming and shaming 'thousands' of alleged sex and domestic violence offenders on a powerful Facebook page. The single mother told Daily Mail Australia in June she was stepping it up a notch by publishing her own DIY public register of child abusers and violent criminals. She said she was planning to set her own register live in 2020, before the Federal Government publishes its planned register of sex abuse offenders. Mumbai: As Indias economic slowdown has intensified, so has the debate on whether the government should stick to fiscal consolidation or run a higher deficit to push growth in the upcoming budget, due on 1 February. However, data on revenue available so far suggests that the government has very little fiscal space for any significant growth stimulus. If the governments off-budget liabilities (or withheld payments) are taken into account, the central governments real fiscal deficit could end up being as high as 5.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) in the current fiscal year, a Mint analysis of public accounts suggests. This is significantly higher than what the last budget, presented in July, had projected (3.3%) and significantly above the fiscal deficit threshold mandated by law. The spike in the deficit numbers is largely on account of a pronounced slowdown in revenue. As the economy has slowed, so have tax collections. In the first eight months of 2019-20, the government collected 9.83 trillion in total revenue (tax and non-tax), which is 50.1% of the target for the full year. This included 7.5 trillion in tax receipts, about 45% of the target for the full year. Non-tax revenue collections was 2.32 trillion during the period. An analysis of revenue data for the past decade shows that on an average, 53% of total revenue collections are made by November. Going by that trend, total revenue receipts this year should at best be close to 18.4 trillion, falling short of the budgeted 19.6 trillion by 1.2 trillion. On top of that, disinvestment receipts are likely to fall short of the target this fiscal year. If the market is favourable, we may be able to meet about 60% of the disinvestment target this year," said a finance ministry official on condition of anonymity. It needs to be seen how exuberant the market is after the budget." This means the shortfall in disinvestment receipts could be about 40%, or about 42,000 crore. So far, the government has achieved less than 20% of the disinvestment target. Such a shortfall in revenue collections would push the fiscal deficit to 4.2% of the estimated GDP. This is even after taking into account the windfall gains in non-tax revenue, following the transfer of surplus reserves from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and even without accounting for any of the governments off-budget liabilities. If the governments off-budget liabilities in the form of National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) loans to public entities and government-serviced bonds are assumed to be the same in the current fiscal year as in the previous fiscal year, the real deficit number would shoot up to 5.5%. The bottom line: unless the government pulls back spending sharply in the last (ongoing) quarter, we are about to witness a major fiscal slip this year. Little wonder then that the bond markets are on the edge, and RBI has to launch successive twist operations to try and bring down yields of long-dated government securities. One of the biggest off-budget liabilities relates to unpaid food subsidy bills to the Food Corporation of India (FCI), which has been repeatedly forced to avail NSSF loans to run its operations since the government has been unable to keep its payment commitments, leaving the state-run firm cash-strapped. Under the governments cash accounting system, deferred payments are not considered as expenses, and the government has taken advantage of it to defer payments to one of its own firms. In fiscal 2020, the carryover liability bill due to FCI is likely to cross 2 trillion, data from FCI shows. Data also shows that the budgeted expenditure on food subsidy to FCI in the current fiscal is likely to be short of the subsidy expenditure incurred by FCI by about 29,928 crore. More worryingly, the entire budgeted food subsidy payment to FCI is likely to be used to settle past dues and none of it would accrue to subsidy payments incurred by FCI in this fiscal. This was also true of the past two fiscal years. As a result, the carryover liability bill has surged in recent years. It remains to be seen whether at a time of severe fiscal stress, the hallowed tradition of kicking the can down the road will be abandoned this year. Dressing up the numbers would, however, mean that the budget numbers will continue to face questions from the bond markets, as former finance secretary Subhash Chandra Garg has argued. According to Gargs estimates, the true fiscal deficit numbers have been consistently higher than the reported numbers over the past few years. Gargs estimates are marginally lower (5% for fiscal 2020) compared with our calculations as he anticipates a marginal cut in spending. Besides, his off-budget liability estimates do not include NSSF loans to public entities other than FCI. However, as these pages have highlighted earlier, the role of NSSF in picking the burden of the governments spending commitments is not limited to subsidy bills. Loans extended by NSSF to public sector entities such as FCI, NHAI, and IRFC account for a significant chunk of public sector capital spending in recent years. While this is partly because of a surplus of funds left in the account due to lower borrowings by state governments, this has allowed the Union government to withhold any capital infusion in these firms, and instead dump its liabilities on their books so as to report more presentable deficit numbers. Apart from such liabilities, there are other commitments of the government that threaten its fiscal position. With state goods and service tax (SGST) collections also taking a hit, the compensation cess collections of the government are now falling short of compensation requirement of states. Data presented in the recent GST council meeting shows the compensation cess gap is likely to be as much as 63,200 crore in FY20. Although the government may be able to make use of the surplus cess collections accumulated in the past two years, it is likely to still fall short of the total requirement, and may have to dip into its own coffers to make up for any such shortfall. We may be in for a prolonged period of fiscal stress now. Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. When we first meet Grant, shes getting a call from her insomniac mother at 2 in the morning. Myerson is 70 at that point, so we are in the early 1990s, and she has about 20 years to live. It does not take long to realize that the nighttime conversation is part of a familiar, hellish pattern for the pair. Myerson calls her daughter to kvetch and berate, but also unwittingly express a desperate need for company, if only on the phone. (Anna Holbrook portrays the disembodied Myerson and remains unseen until the curtain call). It is easy now to snicker at that earlier quip about the burden of being a Jewish star, but Myerson was, indeed, very famous. She was crowned in 1945 and gained instant recognition, but still faced anti-Semitism regular pageant sponsors, for instance, were not interested in being associated with her. She went on to an illustrious career on television game shows, and as a consultant and a public servant: She was appointed head of New York Citys Department of Consumer Affairs in 1969 and was an adviser to three presidents. Yet younger New Yorkers are unlikely to be aware of Myerson, let alone of her accomplishments, and the play does not help, focusing almost exclusively on the mother-daughter relationship; Grant did more to put her Myersons career in perspective in a December opinion column in The New York Times. Then again, this is not docu-theater, but an exorcism, because its obvious that for years, if not decades, Myerson crushed her daughters self-esteem although Grant did go on to become an actress, screenwriter and director (Love Hurts, Life of the Party). Prerna Manwar was the talk of her small town in Aurangabad district after she sought advice from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the 'Pariksha pe Charcha' programme on problems faced by her in waking up early. Reaching out to students across the country through the third edition of the "Pariksha Pe Charcha" programme at the Talkatora Stadium in Delhi on Monday, the prime minister told them not to get demotivated by temporary setbacks. A 12th class student of the Jawahar Navodyay Vidyalaya at Kannad, Prerna asked Modi to guide her saying, "My parents and teachers ask me to sleep early and wake up early. But I am a night owl." Modi appreciated her query, calling it a 'nirdosh' (innocent) question. "This means the 'Pariksha pe Charcha' programme is a success," he said. Modi said he does not have the 'moral authority' to comment as he himself wakes up early but is unable to sleep early owing to his hectic schedule. "Prerna loves mathematics as a subject but is allergic to engineering. She wants to do a career in medicine," her father Pradeep Manwar told PTI. Prerna resides in the Kannad tehsil town in Aurangabad district. Her father is a Marathi teacher in the institute where she studies. "Prerna scored 93 per cent in 10th standard without any extra tuitions," he said. "While she was filling online forms to participate in the PM's programme, we asked her to leave it and study instead but she went ahead with the task quietly," her father said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A police officer in Illinois has been charged with a DUI after her passenger also an officer was killed following a crash on Sunday, police say. Officer Charles Schauer, 33, with the Berwyn Police Department was a passenger in a 2019 Dodge Durango driven by Erin Zilka, 35, when it crashed into the back of a box truck near Plainfield around 6 a.m., WBBM reported. The box truck and a pickup had crashed earlier in the day and were stopped in the right two lanes of traffic, according to the outlet. Schauer was killed, WGN reported. Both officers were off-duty. Zilka an officer with Joliet police was taken to the hospital for minor injuries, then arrested and charged with driving under the influence, according to the outlet. She also was charged with driving too fast for the conditions, WBBM reported. Erin Zilka, 35, was arrested and charged with a DUI after police say the car she was driving crashed into a box truck, killing a passenger in Illinois. Zilkas lawyer says her blood alcohol test came in under the legal limit, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Shes absolutely devastated to a degree I cant express verbally, her attorney, Jeff Tomczak, told the newspaper. Zilka was released on bond, and Joliet police say theyve opened an internal investigation into the incident, WGN reported. Schauer was a 10-year veteran at the Berwyn Police Department and a well-respected officer, the department said in a Facebook post. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Schauer family during this time of need, the post said. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has rejected a former senator, Godswill Akpabios withdrawal from a scheduled rerun election for the Akwa Ibom North-West District. The rerun election takes place this Saturday. INEC in a letter addressed to Mr Akpabios party All Progressives Congress (APC) in December said it was too late for the former senators name to be replaced with another. Your letter dated 10 December, 2019 wherein you forwarded Nomination Forms of one Hon. Ekperikpe Luke Ekpo as substitute candidate of your Party for the court-ordered rerun refers. Please note that the last day for the withdrawal/substitution of candidates for the 2019 National Assembly elections and the said period has lapsed, the election commission said in the letter signed by its secretary, Rose Oriaran-Anthony. Further, the said rerun election is to be conducted amongst the same political parties and candidates who participated in the nullified elections. Consequent upon the above, the commission cannot accede to your request and Sen. Godswill Akpabio remains the candidate of the APC for the Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District court-ordered rerun election. Backstory Mr Akpabios dream of returning to the Senate to represent the district for a second term was truncated February last year by Chris Ekpenyong, a former deputy governor of Akwa Ibom, who was the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the election. READ ALSO: The Court of Appeal, Calabar, in November, had ordered a rerun in only one local government area Essien Udim in the district, following Mr Akpabios appeal against the judgment of the election petition tribunal which declared Mr Ekpenyong was the validly elected senator for the district. Mr Akpabio, who hails from Essien Udim, was appointed minister of Niger Delta Affairs by President Muhammadu Buhari after he lost the election. The minister had said he would not want to abandon his huge responsibility and a critical national assignment at the Niger Delta Affairs Ministry as the reason he was backing out of the rerun election. Vietnam aims to welcome 2 million Japanese visitors in 2020, according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT). Tourists in Hoi An city Japan will to be amongthe most important tourism markets for Vietnam this year. Over the years, VNATand the Japan National Tourism Organisation have carried out promotions forvarious Vietnamese destinations. The countries localities have also strengthenedtourism cooperation, particularly between Hanoi and Tokyo. In the past 10 years, thenumber of Japanese arrivals to Vietnam have recorded average growth of 8-10percent. In 2019 alone, nearly500,000 Vietnamese travelled to Japan, a year-on-year increase of 27.3 percent.Meanwhile, Vietnam received close to 1 million Japanese holidaymakers, up 15.2percent against the previous year./.VNA The upcoming twelfth Global Forum for Migration and Development (GFMD) in Quito, Ecuador provides policy-makers and practitioners the opportunity to mingle and share ideas for effective partnerships and collective action to find integrated development solutions to migration challenges. For the first time, the GFMD is offering one platform for civil society, business leaders and the Mayoral Forum together to explore complementarities of the two Global Compacts one on Refugees (GCR) and the other for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) adopted in 2018, in line with commitments made in the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants. With just 10 years to go, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Decade of Action calls for accelerating sustainable solutions to overcome inequality, poverty and climate crisis among others. Achieving the SDGs means addressing almost all the key objectives of the Global Compact for Migration. Migrants represent 3.5 percent of the world's population but contribute nearly 10 percent of gross domestic product. Migrants are therefore central agents in this endeavour and should be engaged as such to transform our world. What needs to happen? Here are three insights to make migration work for sustainable development: 1. Migration should be driven by choice - It is essential to address the negative drivers and structural factors that force people to leave their country, in unsafe often desperate and dangerous conditions. Violent conflict, lack of gainful employment opportunities and climate induced natural disasters have been seen as some of the major causes for migration. Rule of law, stronger and accountable state institutions, targeted climate actions, and promoting skills development are key elements to address this issue. 2. Integration of migrants in a safe, orderly and regular manner is socio-economically beneficial - Integrating immigrants in destination countries in a safe, orderly and regular manner for example, in education, health, transport and agriculture could add between US$800 billion to $1 trillion to the global economy every year. If managed well, international migration can be socially and culturally a productive experience for diverse communities, while reducing risks and vulnerabilities and protecting human rights. 3. Building capacity and connecting youth to skills and jobs in both the country of origin and destination can create new opportunities. Introducing new digital technologies can enable and empower youth to be competitive and globally connected. This helps them have better options and choices and minimizes the possibility of undertaking hazardous jobs as unskilled migrants. Diasporas can play an important role in leveraging migrations benefits for development, transferring new skills and knowledge that is invaluable for development to their home country. The achievement of the SDGs depends, more than ever, on the ability of local and regional governments to promote integrated, inclusive and sustainable development. Together with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), UNDP is supporting eleven countriesBangladesh, Ecuador, Jamaica, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Morocco, Nepal, the Philippines, Serbia, Senegal and Tunisia, to continue to address the plight of migrants and their host communities by supporting national and local governments to mainstream migration into development plans. In Belize, teaching youth life skills has helped solve practical problems that could be barriers to employment, for example, legal identification papers. In Tajikistan, with support from Japan, the Youth Innovation Centre is serving as a platform for 50,000 young people to network and exchange experiences. Moldova with the support of Switzerland was successful in ensuring two-way dialogue through organizing the diaspora/migrants and local development programme where more than 10,000 migrants participated. To date more than 300,000 people benefit from better services in their villages and cities. In Zambia, the Sustainable Resettlement Programme works with local government, UN agencies, civil society organizations and the private sector to implement activities that are needed to help displaced persons and their host communities shift from humanitarian assistance to more medium and long-term development initiatives. This has resulted in social, cultural and economic integration and cohesion for former refugees as new permanent residents, allowing greater freedom of movement and the opportunity to engage in income opportunities. We need more evidence-based studies on migration. The landmark study Scaling Fences: Voices of Irregular Migrants from Africa to Europe gives voice to irregular migrants, and reveals strong links between migration and development. There is a need to leverage the commitment and support to the Migration Multi-Partner Trust Fund a collective endeavour of the UN system, Member States and other partners to achieve the SDGs, especially SDG target 10.7. UNDP is committed to work with our partners, the IOM, the World Bank and other members in the UN Network on Migration, to provide meaningful contributions to safe, orderly and regular migration, where people are provided with choices. On this, the international community can count on us as a trusted partner. The office of embattled Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister Angus Taylor has refused to release information relating to an allegedly forged document he relied on to accuse City of Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore of hypocrisy on climate change. In response to a Freedom of Information request filed by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, Mr Taylor's senior adviser, Tim Neal, decided to release only four of 18 documents containing information about "the City of Sydney's travel expenditure" in full. Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor faced intense pressure from the opposition last year. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen The office refused to release one document consisting of "messages between the minister's office and an external third party", because it contained "sensitive business information". The unnamed third party, who was required to be consulted, put forward a "detailed case" arguing their correspondence with Mr Taylor's office should not be made public. Making the third-party communications public "would not inform debate on a matter of public importance", Mr Neal decided, which is among the reasons he is allowed to consider in his role as an authorised decision maker under freedom of information laws. Kia Motorsa manufacturing facility in Andhra Pradesh has an installed production capacity to roll out 3 lakh units per annum on a three shift basis. (Photo Credit: File) Hyderabad: South Korean automaker Kia Motors plans to keep rolling out new models at regular intervals in India as it aims to fully utilise its current installed production capacity of 3 lakh units by March 2022, a senior company official said. The company, which has got to a flying start in the country with its first product Seltos, aims to bring in two more models this year. It will drive in luxury multi purpose vehicle Carnival at Auto Expo, followed by a compact SUV later during the year. Similarly, the company would also look at bringing in two more products next year as well. We have already stated that we will keep introducing a new model every six months. Our first goal right now is to fully exhaust the installed production capacity, Kia Motors India Head Marketing and Sales Manohar Bhat told PTI. It should take around 4-5 models from the companys stables to achieve the target in 2022, he added. Kia Motors manufacturing facility in Andhra Pradesh has an installed production capacity to roll out 3 lakh units per annum on a three shift basis. The company is currently running two shifts at the plant. Kia to create a new segment with Carnvial Commenting on Carnival, which was showcased here, Bhat said the company would be creating a new segment with the model. Carnival is going to be our flagship model in India. There is no product like it in the country right now. It would meet the evolving needs of elite customers in the country, Bhatt said. Carnival will be powered by a 2.2 litre diesel engine with a claimed fuel efficiency of 13.9 km per litre. We will redefine the market place with this product as well as we did with Seltos. It will have BS-VI compliant engine right from the start, Bhat said. When asked to comment on sales expectations from the model, he added that the company is not looking at it from volume point of view, but wants to showcase its prowess in terms of quality and luxury. The compact SUV model, which would be showcased at the Auto Expo and launched later during the year, would be more of a volume cruncher for the company, he added. On sales network expansion, Bhat said the company is already present at 265 touchpoints across 160 cities. Kia is now trying to consolidate in regions where it currently lags in terms of presence, he added. In this post-holiday season and with apologies to Perry Como and the Fontaine Sisters who sang the Christmas standard "Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas," wed like to make an unrhythmic play on the songs title. As we read news stories coming from around farm country and speak at meetings of farm organizations, it seems that its beginning to look a lot like the early stages of a serious farm crisis that could well mirror the crisis of the 1980s: increasing number of calls being received by farm crisis hotlines, a clear upswing in farm bankruptcies, a steep decline in net farm income and most worrisome of all is the increase in farmer suicides. In December, Harwood was invited to speak at a public meeting the Land Stewardship Project held in New Ulm, Minn. This meeting was planned by veterans of the farm crisis of 40 years ago who believe that farmers need to establish an agenda to get out in front of the current troubles. They recalled the American Agriculture Movements "tractorcade" that brought farmers from all across the country to gather on the National Mall to raise awareness of the 49 percent decline in net farm income between 1973 and 1978. Some told of the establishment of farm crisis hotlines in the early '80s. Others spoke of the organizing that it took to lobby the Minnesota Legislature to establish a farm debt mediation process for farmers who were facing foreclosure. All recalled the loss of farmers who felt shame over the possibility of losing a farm that their grandfather had shepherded through the Great Depression. The meeting organizers contacted us because they believed that the only solution to the growing crisis is a farm program that provides a price and the Agricultural Policy Analysis Center/Texas Farmers Union (APAC/TFU) proposal is the only proposal out there that can solve the farm price/income problem without resorting to an indefinite extension of the massive Market Facilitation Program. ADVERTISEMENT Farm programs that establish a floor price on agricultural commodities are called supply management programs. Traditionally, those programs were established by New Deal Democrats with the support of rural Republicans. At present, support for supply management programs exists only across a slice of Democratic legislators. The goal in making the invitation was to familiarize the audience with some of the supply management mechanisms that would allow farmers to receive their income from the marketplace instead of the mailbox, or in this electronic age, direct deposit from the federal governments till to the farmer's bank account. In addition to its support of farm prices, thus farm income, the APAC/TFU proposal would enable farmers to undertake land management practices that the Land Stewardship Project has encouraged since its inception. Care of the land and the farmers who derive their livelihood from it are two sides of the same coin. TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez said on Sunday he was committed to battling corruption after his government ended the mandate of an anti-graft mission in the country backed by the Organization of American States (OAS). Writing on Twitter the day the mandate lapsed for the body known as the Fight Against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (MACCIH), Hernandez said: 'We confirm our steadfast desire to continue our fight against corruption and for transparency.' The president, who critics accuse of undermining the rule of law in Honduras, added that his country would continue seeking support from international partners including the OAS, the United Nations, the European Union and others. Lawmakers allied with Hernandez voted last year against retaining the MACCIH, which was formed in 2016. TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez said on Sunday he was committed to battling corruption after his government ended the mandate of an anti-graft mission in the country backed by the Organization of American States (OAS). Writing on Twitter the day the mandate lapsed for the body known as the Fight Against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (MACCIH), Hernandez said: "We confirm our steadfast desire to continue our fight against corruption and for transparency." The president, who critics accuse of undermining the rule of law in Honduras, added that his country would continue seeking support from international partners including the OAS, the United Nations, the European Union and others. Lawmakers allied with Hernandez voted last year against retaining the MACCIH, which was formed in 2016. On Friday, the foreign ministry said Honduras had failed to agree on a renewal of the MACCIH's mandate, noting there was concern in sectors of society that it had overreached its remit. In response, the OAS said the Honduran government had not matched the MACCIH's commitment to tackling corruption. The record of Hernandez, an ally of the United States, has come under increasing scrutiny in recent months. Last year, a U.S. jury found his brother, Juan Antonio "Tony" Hernandez, guilty of conspiring to import cocaine, illicit weapons possession and lying to U.S. authorities. During the trial, witnesses alleged that Juan Orlando Hernandez pledged to protect his brother from extradition and called for bribes to secure power for himself and the ruling National Party. Hernandez denied the allegations. Hernandez won a second term as president two years ago after an election the OAS said was marred by irregularities. (Reporting by Gustavo Palencia) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad said that the Register of Citizens (NRC) is dreadful for Dalits, Adivasis, and backward classes. "If NRC is dreadful for someone in this country, then that are Dalits, Adivasis, and backward classes, those who don't have or own any land)," Azad said here. "When happened in Meerut after the CAA protests was terrifying. We came here to meet the family members personally. This has never happened in a democracy. It was a black day in the history of Meerut. We have moved court against those who have taken law into their hands. Also, we are hopeful that we will be able to get those people out of jail who were forcibly sent there," he added. Azad further informed that the court will hear the matter on January 23. This comes after a Delhi court on Saturday adjourned the hearing till January 21 in connection with Azad's bail modification matter in the case pertaining to alleged incitement of violence during anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests. The court has sought Azad's address to be verified. On Friday, Azad moved a Tis Hazari Court seeking modification of bail order in the Daryaganj violence case. The petition states that Azad hailed from the SC community and his voice cannot be suppressed in election time. He is a public representative. The petition also said that Daryaganj violence is a Delhi matter, therefore, only the Investigation Officer of Delhi is looking into this matter. If the Bhim Army Chief commits any violence in any manner or disobeys the order of the court, then the Investigation Officer of Delhi will see it. So why does he have to appear before SHO Saharanpur, when he has nothing to do with Saharanpur in this regard. The Delhi court on January 15 granted bail to Azad, one of the accused in the Daryaganj violence case.The court ordered that Azad will not conduct any dharna in Delhi for one month till February 16. As of now, he will stay in UP's Saharanpur at his permanent address. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Popular Australian band Tame Impala recently announced their music tour with a few shows planned in different Australian cities. According to reports, the band will be playing songs from their brand new album The Slow Rush which will release on February 14th, 2020. The band will kickstart their tour in Auckland, New Zealand on April 16 and then go on to perform in Brisbane (April 18), Sydney (April 20), Melbourne (April 23), Adelaide (April 25) and finally bring down the curtains on their tour in Perth on April 28. Tickets for the Australian tour will go live from 10am (local time) on January 28. Tame Impala to donate for bushfire crisis According to reports, the band said that they will be donating a sum of $300,000 to donations being raised for the bushfire crisis in Australia. Band member Kevin Parker said that he was sad to see the way Australia had been devastated due to the wildfires, adding that their donation is to help in any way possible. Parker said that no charity will be overlooked in such dire times, adding that their contribution will help both human beings and animals affected by the wildfires. The funds will also be used to fund climate fund research and prevention of bushfires. Attempt to save Austria from raging wildfires The dire and devastating situation in Australia prompted a lot of celebrities to contributed to fighting against the bushfires. I am totally devastated watching what is happening in Australia right now with the horrific bushfires. I am pledging a donation of $500,000 directly to the local fire services that are battling so hard on the frontlines. My heart goes out to our friends and family in Oz pic.twitter.com/kyjDbhoXpp P!nk (@Pink) January 4, 2020 Read: Effects Of Climate Change Pushing Australia's Platypus Population Towards Extinction Hi everyone. Like you, I want to support the fight against the bushfires here in Australia. My family and I are contributing a million dollars. Hopefully you guys can chip in too. Every penny counts so whatever you can muster up is greatly appreciated.https://t.co/KcBpMe7QvY pic.twitter.com/gYuA4LELZM Chris Hemsworth (@chrishemsworth) January 7, 2020 Read: Hailstorm Pounds Australia's Capital, Damages Cars Our familys support, thoughts, and prayers are with everyone affected by the fires all over Australia. We are donating $500,000 to the Rural Fire Services who are all doing and giving so much right now. - KU pic.twitter.com/9dLtNrFAne Keith Urban (@KeithUrban) January 4, 2020 Read: Australian Government In An Attempt To Revive The Tourism Industry Pledges $52 Million Read: Australia: Flash Floods Cause Road Closures As Storms Hit Bushfire Affected Regions Islamist militants attacked a facility housing several aid groups in northeast Nigeria at the weekend in what the United Nations warned on Monday is an escalation in violence specifically targeting aid workers, Trend reports citing Reuters. It was not immediately clear which militant group was responsible for Saturdays attack in Ngala, near the border with Cameroon. A more than decade-long insurgency by Islamist groups in northeastern Nigeria has killed 36,000 people and left more than 7 million in need of humanitarian assistance. Three witnesses told Reuters that at least 20 displaced people awaiting assistance were killed in the attack on the facility where aid workers live and provide assistance to displaced people. A statement by the United Nations on Monday said that its five staff members who were there at the time were not harmed. I am shocked by the violence and intensity of this attack, which is the latest of too many incidents directly targeting humanitarian actors and the assistance we provide, U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator Edward Kallon said. The insurgents struck on Saturday evening, firing on people from their convoy of vehicles carrying explosives and pick-up trucks mounted with anti-aircraft guns as it entered the town, according to witnesses. Humanitarian staff at the facility escaped before the militants overpowered Nigerian security forces guarding the compound, said Bakaka Mallam Bor, who saw the attack. A few minutes after, they detonated the car filled with explosives, setting the hub ablaze and burning the humanitarians vehicles, Bor said. Kallon said aid workers are increasingly targeted by militant groups, noting that 12 were killed in 2019, double the previous year, and two remain in captivity. On Dec. 22, unknown militants killed at least 10 people in a convoy in northern Nigeria in an attack that sources told Reuters targeted Christians and those associated with international aid groups. The Islamist insurgency began with the Boko Haram group in 2009, but an offshoot - Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) - has in the last two years been the dominant faction. Each day this week, public elementary school teachers will hold strikes in different school boards, impacting Toronto on Monday. And on Tuesday, all Catholic elementary and secondary teachers in Ontario, along with public high school teachers in some boards, including Toronto, will hit the picket line. Unfortunately for the teachers on the picket line Monday, its also one of the coldest days of the year with temperatures falling to -15 Celsius, feeling like -22 C with the wind chill. Heres whats happening across Toronto with the teachers on the picket lines: At Carleton Village Junior and Senior Sports and Wellness Academy, near St. Clair Avenue West and Davenport Road, about 20 parents set up a table filled with hot coffee, homemade muffins and hand warmers in solidarity with picketing teachers. Weve spent a lot of time talking to parents that you see here, but also parents you dont see here and the support is here for the teachers, said parent organizer Rachel Huot. Parents, who had gathered Sunday to make signs, spent about an hour walking the picket line with teachers, as passersby in cars honked in support. Parent Sarah Donnellys sign read Ive Seen Smarter Cabinets at IKEA. She was with her son whos in senior kindergarten and another who will be starting school next year. We know the job action theyre taking today is to make sure that our children have the best education that they can have, said Donnelly, a stay-at-home parent. They deserve a fair deal and we want the Ford government to give them everything they ask for. They deserve fair compensation, they deserve a living wage increase in a city that is very expensive but theyre not just fighting for that . . . Our children dont need to be in larger classes than they already are. And they are fighting for support for special needs students. Sipping on hot coffee, teacher Paul Grewal said parent support has been remarkable. They wont be placated by this government not coming to the (negotiating) table for more than a month, he said noting the sides were last in bargaining talks on Dec. 19. He also questioned the provinces move to reimburse parents financially up to $60 per student for every day that schools are closed to help out with childcare. Giving parents their own money to placate them for a walkout that they essentially caused really doesnt make any sense to us. NDP education critic Marit Stiles visited a couple of schools in her riding Monday, including Carleton Village. Why Im here is, I think, the reason why a lot of other parents are out here: To thank the teachers for being out here in the cold and standing up for public education, said Stiles, who has a daughter in Grade 10. Parents and parent councils have really come together to speak up and stand up with education workers. And that solidarity is so important. It sends a really strong message. She understands the strike can be inconvenient for a lot of parents, who were scrambling for child care, saying its going to be tough. What Ive heard, generally, is that people understand that theres some inconvenience now, but the reason were doing it is so that down the road our kids get the supports they need. Electoral bonds, introduced by the Narendra Modi government, have attracted criticism from various quarters for their opaqueness Indias millions of ordinary voters will never know the identity of those who are donating large sums of money to the political parties, especially the ruling BJP. The latest data show that electoral bonds have become the preferred route of political donations. Almost two-thirds of the Rs 3,696.62 crore received by the BJP and six other prominent parties, in 2018-19 were through electoral bonds. Transparency activist Venkatesh Nayak tells DHs Shemin Joy that electoral bonds are a danger to our democracy. Q. Why do you have a problem with electoral bonds? A. Electoral Bonds mark a reversal of the trend of increasing transparency in political party funding. Under NDA-I (Atal Bihari Vajpayee), the election laws and rules were amended to make donations above Rs 20,000 to political parties transparent and accountable. The identity of donors was made public through their annual contribution reports to the Election Commission, which proactively disclosed them to the public on its website. Under the Modi government, the opposite has happened. Fewer and fewer donors are making donations through transparent methods as those making big donations prefer the opacity of electoral bonds. This does not augur well for our parliamentary democracy. People have the right to know who makes large scale donations to political parties. Q. Why is it important for voters to know who funds the parties? A. Big donors do not give funds to political parties out of generosity. Often, there is a quid pro quo, especially when the party to which they donate comes to power. So, people should know which donor can be linked to which decisions of the government that they benefit from. Q. How do electoral bonds affect transparency? A. Due to electoral bonds, the identities of individuals, corporates and other institutions who have given donations of more than Rs 6,000 crore since the launch of the scheme are not known. Unlike gifts that private citizens give to each other which might not have a public interest element, donations made to political parties are aimed at financing them to fight elections to form the govt and/or represent not only the donor but also the citizenry. So, there must be transparency of all large-sized donations. Moreover, corporate donations are made not from individual pockets but from profits earned through commercial operations. So, shareholders of companies have the right to know where their money is going. The amendments made to the Companies Act in 2017 (to bring in the electoral bonds scheme) take away this right. Q. Do you agree with Opposition parties claim that this route in effect plugs their funding sources? A. Available data indicates that the ruling BJP, which floated the scheme, has cornered a lions share of donations made through this route. This, coupled with the fact that the Income Tax Department sent notices to people who donated to AAP a few years ago, raises genuine concerns about the intentions of the government. Moreover, no donor has come forward to say that he/she demanded anonymity for making donations, which is what the government claimed as the reason for introducing the electoral bond scheme in 2017. So, who has driven political funding in India onto this opaque route is still a mystery. Q. Despite opposing it, several parties receive funds through these bonds. What should they do? A. All political parties that oppose electoral bonds must publicly pledge not to accept donations through that route. Other transparent methods like cheque, demand drafts and digital transfers do not create any disability for donors. This will put pressure on parties that accept electoral bonds to do a rethink. CPI(M) has refused to accept electoral bonds. However, if the Supreme Court declares the electoral bonds as violative of the principle of transparent political funding, which is the bedrock of a responsible democracy, then electoral bonds will die a natural death. The Supreme Court has again refused to grant a stay on electoral bonds. Delhi elections are scheduled now. Do you see this as a setback? It is indeed a setback. The legality of electoral bonds is in question before the Bench. Postponing a decision on this issue only lends greater legitimacy to electoral bonds as a source of political funding when there is a wealth of data in the public domain about its opacity and how it has benefited one political party at the expense of others. Electoral bonds skew the level playing field to which political parties are entitled in terms of receiving funds from donors. Q. Can Opposition parties take a stand that they will not take money through electoral bond route? Is it feasible? A. CPI(M) has already done it. Others need to emulate this pro-transparency gesture. Q. What is the role of the EC in this issue? A. The Election Commission must add its weight to the opposition against electoral bonds in a consistent manner. They said so during the consultations on the draft electoral bonds scheme, as revealed in court and through RTI interventions. They must not resile from this position. Q. Is State funding of elections a possibility or a way out? A. There are pros and cons to State funding of political parties. This must be decided through a well-informed and widespread debate involving the voters and taxpayers who actually bear the brunt of State funding. Any such mechanism will succeed only if illegitimate sources of funding to political parties and candidates are curtailed through legal and executive measures. Money power has influenced electoral outcomes for most of Indias independent existence. This must come to an end if elections are to be held in a free and fair manner. A Personal Insolvency Arrangement (PIA) has been approved by the High Court allowing a Co Clare man write down almost all of his 60m debts. At the High Court today, Mr Justice Mark Sanfey approved the PIA in respect of Enda Patrick Whelan of College Grove, Ennis, Co Clare. Under the arrangement, Mr Whelan will make a payment of approximately 50,000 to his creditors. Mr Whelan's creditors include National Asset Loan Management (NALM) which is a company of Nama, which was owed some 56.4m arising out of personal guarantees he had given in respect in respect of four companies owned by his family. The firms were all part of the Whelan Group of companies, which were involved in the construction industry, and had got into difficulties following the economic crash. He gave the guarantees when the companies sought to enter examinership, but that process was ultimately unsuccessful. The companies had taken out loans with the now-defunct Anglo Irish Bank. He also owed 1.46m to Bank of Scotland and 1.44m to Cabot Asset Purcashes Ireland, which had both secured mortgage judgements for those respective amounts against Mr Whelan's family home. He also had a further unsecured debt of 905,000 which was owed to Everyday Finance Ltd. Under the PIA Mr Whelan will make a payment of approximately 50,00 to his creditors. That payment is to be made in the next 12 weeks, the judge was told. Counsel for Mr Whelan, Keith Farry BL , told the court that while Nama had some initial objections to the PIA, it was now consenting to its approval after certain alterations to the arrangement had been agreed. One of the conditions was that there would be an effective 12 months supervisory period in relation to the PIA, counsel said. Counsel said that Mr Whelan's Personal Insolvency Practioner Mr Jim Stafford was satisfied that the PIA should be approved. Mr Whelan's creditors would do better under the PIA than compared to a bankruptcy situation, counsel said. Counsel told the court that under the PIA the creditors will receive a very small amount in respect of what is owed from Mr Whelan. The amounts will range from 1.3 cents in the Euro to just 0.01 cent in the Euro. However, if Mr Whelan was to be adjudicated bankrupt then the creditors would get nil, counsel said. Counsel said that under the PIA Mr Whelan and his family will retain their principal private residence, which is a three-bedroomed house that his client co-owns with his wife. Mr Whelan will also continue to make mortgage repayments on his home. In addition, the judgement obtained against Mr Whelan are to be deregistered on the successful completion of the PIA, counsel said. Eithne Corry Bl for Nama said her client was, after initially voicing its reservations about the PIA, consenting to its approval. After considering the application Mr Justice Sanfey said he was satisfied that the PIA should be approved. iStock/dageldog(MILLVILLE, N.J.) -- A pit bull rescued from a dogfighting ring in Canada is ready to protect and serve as the newest K-9 arson detection officer and the first of his kind in the U.S. Tyler VanLeer, a New Jersey firefighter, had a stroke of genius when he suggested the addition of an arson detection K-9 unit at his local firehouse. The dog, named Hansel, is the first of its breed to hold the title in the country. VanLeer, who has been with the Millville Fire Department for eight years, told ABC News the plan came together with the support of his fire chief, a local police officer and the Throw Away Dogs Project. "It was like an instant bond -- his little head poked around the corner and it was like an instant connection. You could feel it," VanLeer said about his first meeting with Hansel at the firehouse. "Hansel and I started a 16-week academy on Sept. 30 with the New Jersey Police K-9 Association and we did all scent work to become a single purpose arson detection K-9," VanLeer said. "He was trained, or imprinted, on 14 different ignitable liquids and graduated on Jan. 18." VanLeer said Sunday was Hansel's first official day on the job in the firehouse, but the 4-year-old pup was already well adjusted to his environment. "The firehouse is no strange place to him. He was there with me prior to the academy, getting used to the bells and whistles going off and everything," he said. "He's extremely sociable, everybody loves him and there are no problems whatsoever." The newly graduated K-9 officer was first rescued by the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (OSPCA) in 2015 and was later rehabilitated by Throw Away Dogs Project in 2018. Hansel stayed with the rescue organization for one year before being sent to the Millville Fire Department. "This step is so important for this misunderstood breed as I dont think there is any other pit bull arson detection K9s in whole country," Throw Away Dogs Project founder Carol Skaziak told ABC News. Skaziak said she has trained and placed three other dogs from the dog-fighting ring in Ontario and they too are now K-9 officers. "The journey has been really fun and it's just going up from here," VanLeer said. VanLeer said Hansel lives with his family at their home and has everything he needs in the firehouse including an outdoor kennel, heaters and plenty of dog food. "Chief Michael Lippincott has been extremely helpful, he made sure everything I needed was already there," VanLeer said. "When he met Hansel, the same day as I did, he automatically knew it was gonna be a great idea too." VanLeer also hailed Millville-based K-9 patrolmen officer John Butschky for his help as "the middle man" who got things off the ground and answered all of his K-9 related questions. "He was a huge asset on getting me in contact with Carol (Skaziak) and getting the ball rolling. He has 20 plus years of K-9 experience and a lot of connections in the K-9 officer world," he said. Hansel's transition from rescue to officer was "really smooth" with everyone involved, Van Leer said. Throw Away Dogs Project, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit, is known for taking in misunderstood dogs, training them to become police dogs, finding them jobs around the country and donating them free of charge. Copyright 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. New Delhi, Jan 20 : Amrapali Group and Unitech, both are mirror images of a housing mess, which has left close to 50,000 homebuyers in the lurch. The Centre is striving to devise a resolution, which it can consistently implement in sorting the mess in Delhi-NCR. Both real estate groups are under litigation in the Supreme Court. In December 2019, for Amrapali Group, the Centre made an application having a five-point criterion for financing the selected stalled projects. But for Unitech, the Centre refused to infuse funds from the Rs 25,000 crore corpus created to salvage stalled residential projects. Attorney General K.K. Venugopal on Monday told the Supreme Court, during the hearing on Unitech, it cannot dig into the Rs 25,000-crore fund for homebuyers, as these funds are not meant for housing projects under litigation in the Supreme Court and the High Court. Unitech is in the thick of financial mess as a consequence of siphoning of more than 50% of money deposited by individuals and financial institutions. Advocate M.L. Lahoti, who represents thousands of homebuyers' in Amrapali and Unitech, said the Centre's stand on resolving the housing projects issue is not consistent. In Amrapali Group, the top court directed SBICAP Ventures Ltd to decide on financing the uncompleted projects of the defunct Amrapali Group. "The Centre had gone on record by placing the application of SBICAP Ventures Ltd. (in Amrapali matter) with respect to the process for selection of stalled projects for funding of SWAMIH Investment Fund-U and corresponding timeline. But, in Unitech, they have refused to infuse to complete the unfinished projects", said Lahoti. The SBICAP is the fund manager of the government sponsored Special Window for Affordable and Mid-Income Housing (SWAMIH) fund. A bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra had directed court receiver senior advocate R. Venkatramani, based on this application, to draw out a roadmap and make an application to SBICAP Ventures and submit the information in connection with the stalled projects. The court had said, "We request the receiver to deliberate with the SBICAP Ventures Ltd and furnish the requisite information. On the requisite information being furnished, the SBICAP Ventures Ltd is to deal with the same within 10 days and to submit its proposal." The Attorney General contended before the apex court that there are many stalled housing projects in the country, which are not under litigation, and the stress fund created by the Centre will essentially serve as a fuel for these projects. Kumar Mihir, advocate representing many homebuyers, said: "The Centre's stress funds should be utilized in the interest of homebuyers who have invested their hard-earned money in these housing projects, and there should not be any discrimination for projects under litigation." In Amrapali Group matter, the criteria for financing the stalled projects identifies at least 90 per cent of the available FSI/FAR being developed as affordable housing units or mid-income housing units and is networth positive -- value of sold receivables plus unsold inventory being greater than the cost of construction and to service the investment by the fund. (Sumit Saxena can be contacted at sumit.s@ians.in) Sin Quirin, current guitarist for the industrial metal band Ministry, has been accused by two women of engaging in sexual intercourse with them while they were 15 and 16 years old, respectively. In a new SPIN report published in Billboard, both women alleged that they each met Quirin following concerts by his band Society 1, which predates his time in Ministry. The first of those women, Kelly Longoria, told SPINs Maggie Serota that she began a sexual relationship with Quirin at age 15 after meeting him at a Society 1 show in 2002. According to SPIN, Longoria told the San Antonio Police Department in a 2017 report that while no sexual contact took place on the night they met, she and Quirin became sexually involved soon after. The initial sexual assault occurred sometime between December 2002 and April 2003. There were approximately two encounters during that time frame and after that we had a boyfriend-girlfriend type relationship, even after I was of legal age, Longoria stated in the police report. I could not tell you how many times we had sex during that time frame. SPIN corroborated Longorias story with her mother and two other women who were friends with her in high school. As Longoria tells it, the relationship lasted for years, only ending when she was around 21 or 22. The report also cites email exchanges between Quirin and an ex-girlfriend, Lacey Sculls, in which the Ministry guitarist reportedly acknowledges a relationship with a minor. Speaking through an attorney to SPIN, Quirin denied ever having sexual contact with Longoria, but admitted to exchanging contact information with her in 2002. During this time Society 1 was touring heavily in various locations throughout the United States, the statement reads in part. When the band was in or near the San Antonio area, Ms. Longoria would come to the show as a guest. Story continues Quirins attorney also responded to allegations from a second woman who came forward with claims of sexual misconduct, who was identified by SPIN only as Brooke. The woman alleged that she had sex with Quirin when she was 16 after inviting Society 1 to stay the night at her parents home in Portland, Oregon while her mother was out of town. Brooke stated that she and her friends definitely made it clear to Quirin and the other members of Society 1 that they were underage, but that she and Quirin had sex that night and the following night after a Society 1 show in Tacoma, Washington. (The age consent in Oregon is 18; the age of consent in Washington is 16.) Quirin denied Brookes claims to SPIN via his attorney. Mr. Quirin maintains no recollection of meeting a minor outside a show in Portland, his attorney Randolph Ortega wrote. Mr. Quirin denies ever have (sic) any sexual relationship with anyone under the age of majority. Ortega also claimed that Ministrys Al Jourgensen is unaware of any of potential nefarious activity by any member of Ministry during their respective tenure(s) with the band including but not limited to Mr. Sin Quirin. Pitchfork has reached out to representatives for Ministry. Originally Appeared on Pitchfork An eight-year-old rabbit named Coco lived the high life when she flew business class on an United Airlines flight from San Francisco to Japan. Coco's classy endeavor took place in 2018, but the bow tie wearing rabbit has just gone viral after photos show her sniffing at a flaky croissant and lounging on a perfectly fluffed pillow near champagne. Following a three-year stint with Google in San Francisco, owner Takako Ogawa was flying back home to Kyoto for a new job in late 2018. Ogawa told Insider: 'I was returning to Japan, resigning from to start my new career. I couldn't leave her in the, so I took her back with me. Coco, an eight-year-old rabbit, flew business class on an United Airlines flight from San Francisco to Japan in late 2018 Adorable photos of Coco sniffing a croissant near a bubbling glass of champagne and hopping around in a bow tie have gone viral Ogawa feared that her companion was too old to safely travel in the designated animal cargo hold, so she registered Coco as a emotional support animal and paid an additional $100 that let the rabbit into the cabin in a carry case. Luckily, the seat next to Ogawa turned out to unoccupied and she seized the opportunity to let Coco hop into the life of luxury. Footage from the 11 hour flight reveal Coco spent the hours snuggling with Ogawa and curiously inspecting a bowl of nuts while charming the flight crew. 'I thought it was super nice of the flight attendants to let her use the unoccupied cubicle next to me, and for bringing her treats throughout the trip,' she said. Coco charmed the United Airlines flight crew with her adorable look, which scored her a bowl of nuts and tons of attention Ogawa: 'I thought it was super nice of the flight attendants to let her use the unoccupied cubicle next to me, and for bringing her treats throughout the trip' At one point, a flight attendant brought Ogawa an ice cream sundae and asked if Coco would want a sweet treat, too. 'I wasnt sure what the rabbit could have, but she got some of the toppings like almonds and nuts and they put it on a very small plate for her,' she said. 'It was adorable. She did enjoy them. She was very happy.' Although the flight to Kyoto was long, Coco apparently had a exploring her small portion of the plane. Takako Ogawa (pictured) was taking Coco back to Japan after spending three years at Google in San Francisco 'She was very curious and was hopping around. Shes usually very good. Shes very calm being surrounded by people and in a different environment, so she took it really well,' Ogawa told Metro UK. 'She didnt get a lot of attention from other passengers because it was the business class so you dont really see a lot of people.' This way of flying, according to Ogawa, was better for Coco in the long run. Ogawa said: 'What happens in the cargo is that there are a lot of anxious animals on the plane with her. Dogs will be barking all the time. ' 'My friend had a cat that was put in the cargo that got so nervous during the flight that she couldnt eat for another week after landing. That kind of pressure might have been bad for Coco because she is older now.' Even though they had their own space, Ogawa was nervous about the toilet situation for Coco. To be allowed in the cabin, Coco was registered as an emotional support animal and Ogawa paid an additional $100 She brought plenty of pet sheets onto the plane and stowed away some extra pellets Coco could munch on. 'I thought I could get her whatever else she needed when I got off the plane,' Ogawa said. Although Coco makes for an unlikely passenger, she's no stranger to jet-setting by plane or becoming the life of the party. Coco flew to San Francisco with Ogawa in 2015, as well as took visits to the Google office and made appearances at family barbecues. But this might be Coco's last time taking to the skies. 'I think she's too old now that she's getting closer to nine years old!' Ogawa said. Nigerias anti-graft agency is yet to release Bello Adoke, days after its second remand warrant for the former attorney-general expired. The EFCC secured an initial court warrant to hold Mr Adoke for 14 days following his arrest at the international airport in Abuja on December 19. Following the expiration of the first order, a judge approved a second warrant to keep the former attorney-general for another 14 days to enable anti-graft detectives to conduct their investigation and arraign him in court. The second warrant expired on January 16. Mr Adoke was detained in Dubai, UAE, and later travelled to Nigeria on December 19 when he was arrested by Interpol at the Abuja airport and handed over to the EFCC. It was his first entrance into the country since he went on exile a few months after leaving office in 2015. The former AGF has been a subject of an international investigation into the Malabu Oil scandal regarding the controversial sale of Nigerias OPL 245 oil field. Mr Adoke was the attorney-general when Nigeria brokered the 2010 transaction between Shell and Agip-Eni and Dan Etete, a former Nigerian petroleum minister who had been previously convicted for money laundering in France. He, Shell, Agip-Eni and dozens of other suspects identified in the charges denied wrongdoing. The trial of some Shell and Agip-Eni officials who allegedly took part in the suspicious payments, commenced in Italy last year. Mr Adoke vacated office as attorney-general in May 2015, following the defeat of President Goodluck Jonathan. While in Europe, he enrolled for a masters degree programme at a university in The Netherlands. He also wrote a memoir that was published in September 2019. In November 2019, he was arrested in Dubai on allegations bordering on the Malabu scandal, spending more than a month in what his lawyer said was an illegal detention. The EFCC has since filed charges against Mr Adoke, but hearing dates have not been disclosed to the public. Crucial and legal The EFCC investigated Mr Adoke for years and even filed charges against him. It remained unclear why he has not been arraigned a month since he returned to the country. He is even yet to be served the charges. The commission got court orders to remand the former minister for 28 days saying it needed time to complete investigation in a matter in which charges were already filed. The EFCC acknowledged the expiration of a second remand warrant for Mr Adoke but said its action was nonetheless legal and consistent with its extant operational procedure. Tony Orilade, the acting spokesperson for the anti-graft office, said Mr Adoke was being held beyond the validity of court order because the date for his arraignment had drawn nearer and he had to be kept in custody for ease of access. Once charges have been filed and a date is fixed for arraignment, the commission goes after the suspect to ensure the person is in safe custody in preparation for the arraignment, Mr Orilade told PREMIUM TIMES on Monday morning. The official did not cite an existing law that enables the agency to hold a citizen without a court warrant but said the practice is part of crucial and legal measures put in place to guarantee diligent prosecution. Nigerias criminal justice system prohibits detention of a suspect beyond 48 hours without trial. Mr Orilade said even if Mr Adoke had been freed on bail, detectives would still have to take him into custody ahead of the arraignment. Even if he were to be at home, we would still go after him and bring him into custody in preparatory for arraignment, he added. Looming charges Even though Mr Orilade insisted that all had been set for Mr Adokes arraignment, he declined to comment on the specific date fixed for the commencement of hearing in the matter. He also declined to say whether or not judges had been assigned to hear the matter. But PREMIUM TIMES learnt from other EFCC sources that Mr Adoke would be arraigned in court any day from Tuesday. The former AGF would likely be charged on separate allegations before the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court and the Federal Capital Territory High Court. The Federal High Court case would likely contain about seven charges, including money laundering, PREMIUM TIMES learnt from sources. Advertisements At the FCT High Court, about 42 counts have been prepared against Mr Adoke and his alleged conspirators, including businessman Aliyu Abubakar, Mabalu Oil Limited, Shell, Agip-Eni and Rasky Gbinigie, a former Malabu official. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Made Anthony Iswara (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, January 20, 2020 14:02 722 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20603560f 1 Business BKPM,investment,Amazon,Grab,JBIC,traveloka,FDI,WEF,World-Economic-Forum,Davos,Indonesia Free Indonesia has set its eyes on multinational corporations attending the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, to attract investments, including tech behemoth Amazon and Singapore ride-hailing giant Grab. Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) head Bahlil Lahadalia will have one-on-one meetings with eight global corporation leaders from Jan. 20 to 23 on the sidelines of the event, said the agencys deputy director for investment climate development, Farah Ratnadewi Indriani. "In a nutshell, the BKPM head will ask multinational companies to increase their existing investments in Indonesia for those who have already invested, Farah said in a press statement on Sunday. For those who have not invested, the BKPM head will invite them to [Indonesia]. BKPMs efforts echo President Joko Jokowi Widodos drive to attract more investors to Indonesia, which is expected to help stoke stagnant economic growth. Apart from Amazon and Grab, Bahlil will also meet leaders of the travel start-up Traveloka, Japanese financial services firm Mizuho, United Arab Emirates-based luxury hotel chain Jumeirah Hotels and Resorts, Chinese dairy giant Yili Group, German engineering company Siemens Group and Japanese state-lender Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). The government will particularly invite financial institutions to join Indonesia's sovereign wealth fund, Farah said. Dont be left behind, hurry up, Farah said. From January to September 2019, overall realized investment reached Rp 601.3 trillion (US$44 billion), a 12.3 percent increase year-on-year (yoy), BKPM data shows. Domestic investment grew 17.3 percent to Rp 283.5 trillion while foreign direct investment (FDI) rose 8.2 percent yoy to Rp 317.8 trillion. Farah added that the agency would use the opportunity at WEF to boost investments from the EU. The United Kingdom and the Netherlands are currently the only European countries included in the list of Indonesias top 10 biggest investors, she said. According to BKPM data, the European blocs investment realization in the third quarter last year was $2.8 billion, up 19.25 percent from $2.3 billion during the same period in 2018. Indonesia received around 15,770 projects from Europe between 2015 and the third quarter of 2019, the data revealed. We are challenging Europe: Dont lose against Asian countries. We admit that European countries are more cautious [in investing], said Farah, citing Singapore, Japan, China, Hongkong and South Korea as Asian countries that had dominated Indonesias foreign investment landscape. The BKPMs attempt to attract EU companies is happening in the backdrop of the blocs disputes with Indonesia over a ban on palm oil and nickel ore exports for most of 2019, characterized by tit-for-tat trade spats, tariffs and lawsuits. Indonesia is expected to meet the bloc around late January this year for consultations. From the moment they decided to open a distillery in Australia's Yarra Valley, the co-founders of Four Pillars Gin Stu Gregor, Cam MacKenzie and Matt Jones knew it was serious business. "When we started, we didn't want to make the best gin in Melbourne," said Gregor, "but one that would be considered a great gin compared to any in the world." The founders of Four Pillars Gin: (from left) Stu Gregor, Cam MacKenzie and Matt Jones. Courtesy of Four Pillars Gin Six years ago, they invested in a German still and perfected a range of gins, including the company's flagship drop, Rare Dry Gin, made with native botanicals like lemon myrtle and Tasmanian pepperberry. In November of 2019, they achieved their goal, winning the 2019 International Gin Producer of the Year at the 50th Annual International Wine and Spirits Com petition in London. A big part of their success has been getting the product in front of a wide variety of people. Four Pillars Gin range. Courtesy of Four Pillars Gin "Five years ago, most people had never had an Aussie gin," said Gregor. "It was something their grandma drank, and they probably would only have come across Gordon's or Beefeater." "We wanted to have a great home that people would want to visit. It was rammed when I arrived here today, and that was at 11:45 a.m. on a Friday morning," he said. "Five years ago, most people had never had an Aussie gin. It was something their grandma drank. Stu Gregor Co-founder of Four Pillars Gin Recognizing their chosen beverage might not be to everyone's taste, they developed a range of gins to appeal to a wide variety of drinkers. There's a Spiced Negroni Gin, Christmas Gin and Bloody Shiraz Gin, the latter a tip of the cap to their home in the Yarra Valley, a well-known producer of Australia's shiraz wine. "We made the first batch of Bloody Shiraz as a bit of an experiment," Gregor explained. "This year we'll make well over 100,000 bottles, and we buy more shiraz grapes than anyone else in the Yarra Valley." Four Pillars gin is available throughout Australia, as well as in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Asia. Dark past, bright futures "About five years ago, the Australian gin market was made up of about five craft distilleries," said Little Lon Distilling. executive Dean Jarvis. "At last count there's something like 241." "We thought it might last 12 to 18 months, and it's been five or six years and shows no sign of slowing down." Eighteen months ago, Little Lon's founder Brad Wilson and his team moved into a small location in the heart of Melbourne. One of the last red-brick, single-story cottages in the city, the distillery's new home came with an interesting past. Melbourne's Little Lon distillery. Courtesy of Little Lon Distilling "The story and history of this place was a big thing. Around the 1890s and into the early 1900s, this was a brothel and sly grog shop," Wilson said, using the Australian term for a place that sold illegal alcohol during the country's Prohibition period. "That was the madam's work room," he said, indicating a small space that currently houses the still. "Now it's our work room." From the start, Wilson was serious about creating a unique product. "We're one of the few distillers who go to the trouble of making a base spirit from malt barley," he explained. "We make it a bit hard for ourselves, but we get a lot more control over the flavor." Little Lon's Dean Jarvis. Courtesy of Little Lon Distilling In the 20-seater bar area, Jarvis pours tastes of the company's three main products. First up is Ginger Mick, named after a "local larrikin" (an Aussie term for mischief maker), that is made with mixed citrus and fresh ginger a great gin for cocktails. Then it's Miss Yoko, the Chinese madam of the house (who told people she was from Japan). The drink is "a little bit exotic and made with fresh, hand-peeled lychees, lemongrass and a little bit of cinnamon," Jarvis said. "It's really great as is subtle, you really have to look for the lychees but if you add a splash of tonic, you almost get freeze-dried raspberries." We're one of the few distillers who go to the trouble of making a base spirit from malt barley. Brad Wilson founder of Little Lon Distilling Finally there's the rosemary overtones of Constable Proudfoot, named after an imposing policeman who once patrolled the area streets. "It makes a cracking G&T or a herbaceous, floral martini, if that's your thing," said Jarvis. Those who sign up for a masterclass receive a gin tasting, distillery tour and lessons on the rich history of the area and the characters who once roamed the building and neighboring streets. Gin flights and martini carts When they launched the business three years ago, Dave Irwin and Matt Argus of Patient Wolf Distilling worked from a Brunswick warehouse in the north of Melbourne. But the space wasn't big enough to house their ambitions. In December of 2019, they moved to the the city's Southbank, not far from the Yarra River and city center. "Now we have a bar and a place where we can tell people more about the distillery," said Irwin. "We wanted to feed our brand, first of all, but having a front-of-house allows us to portray how we want to be seen and how we want the drinks to be made." The interior of Patient Wolf Distilling Cheyne Toomey Photography Those wanting a taste of Patient Wolf can order a gin flight which comes with an explanation of how each is made along with each gin's unique characteristics. "Before we even made our first gin, we identified gaps in the market," said Irwin, who launched into the fast-growing market. "We put gin samples in front of people to get their thoughts. Now everything we do is based on tradition but has an edge to it." Patient Wolf's Melbourne Dry Gin "a good all-rounder" is available around the country. "We vapor infuse with grapefruit and orange, and it's made in the London Dry style," said Irwin, noting the presence of juniper, coriander and lesser-known botanicals like aniseed myrtle. Tonka beans from Brazil and Venezuela add flavors of marzipan and bitter almond and give the gin a good viscosity, he added. A challenge to the bar scene, it's now popular to meet at distilleries. Cheyne Toomey Photography The hotly contested South Kildare constituency is gearing up to be a fascinating battle with confirmation today that well-known school principal, Anita Mhic Gib, is entering the race. The Kilcullen resident who is principal of Gaelscoil Nas an Riogh has been selected by Aontu, Irelands newest political party, led by Deputy Peadar Toibin. She is married to Portarlington man Maurice Mac Gib. The fledgeling party ran two candidates in Kildare for the local elections and Anita Mhic Gib says she believes she can build on that, saying there is a growing resentment amongst people at the wanton waste and lack of accountability that will be the lasting legacy of this Government." I have been actively involved in Politics for over 20 years and I believe that this area and this country is being mismanaged so badly, that I just have to stand up and try and be a voice for people who feel totally disenfranchised. Aontu polled very respectably in the local elections in Kildare last May, for a party that was then just months in existence. "There is a huge appetite for change; people want to be heard and ordinary hard-working people in our constituency are tired and frustrated by the runaway train that is health, housing, education, crime; this Government has haemorrhaged public money and the worst thing is that nobody is being held to account. If ordinary working people made such a spectacular mess of their jobs they would be fired." Kildare has a farming crisis, it has a housing crisis, it has huge waiting times for services for children with special needs, it has an early years sector crisis; everywhere you turn there is a crisis." Fine Gael was traditionally the party for Farmers in our area but FG has turned its back on them. We have unelected planners who are responsible for Kildare and Laois having some of the strictest planning laws in the country. It seems our two largest parties have been working hard over the years to set us up for the biggest housing crisis we have ever had. Over 7,300 families are on the social housing list in Kildare with 1,500 in Laois." Vulture funds are being allowed to buy distressed mortgages and have refused to come before the Dail Finance Committee. Kildare has one of the longest waiting times for children to see an occupational therapist or speech therapist in the country. "The assessment of need service list, which helps identify children with disabilities, and the interventions which are required is long that parents have brought the HSE to court in order to force them( HSE) to provide the assessments that children are entitled to under the law. "Early intervention is so important and I know the huge struggle parents face in obtaining services and support. I have always been a strong advocate for all children on a national level, ensuring that all the children of the nation are cherished equally. Labhroidh me go laidir ar son paisti na tire seo." I am working at the chalk face so to speak and I know that this electoral area is one of the worst affected by the new school building scandal. After years of inadequate school buildings, communities were delighted with new schools only to find that they were structurally unsafe and had serious defections in fire safety, resulting in urgent and costly remedial works. This mismanagement has cost millions which would have been better directed at paying school secretaries a proper wage, removing the two-tier Teacher pay scale or investing in special education. Kildare South and Portarlington have massive potential for growth but Government policy has directed investment to Dublin, ignoring our area. My husband Maurice is from Portarlington and regularly points to the fact that it is constantly being ignored by successive Governments in their rush to welcome multinationals. While inward investment is very important it should co-exist with good supports for indigenous industry. We badly need new industry in Portarlington, Monasterevin and Athy, and promote vibrant communities instead of emptying these towns every day as workers face the long commute to Dublin. With just 11 Gardai in the Kildare Drugs Unit and the Laois Offaly Unit being cut to three recently the scourge of drugs continues unabated in this area. Many communities find themselves with a part-time Garda station and an even rarer Garda on the beat." Somebody has to shout stop and I promise if elected to be a loyal and loud voice for the people of South Kildare and Portarlington." An intense air campaign by the Assad regime and Russia have force tens of thousands of people from their homes reports Enab Baladi. More than 26,000 civilians from southern and western Aleppo countrysides were displaced during air and missile bombardments of the area by Assads and Russias forces. The Humanitarian Response Coordinators in the North issued a statement on Sunday in which they said that the number of displaced people heading from the southern and western Aleppo countrysides had reached 4,698 families (26,779 individuals) more than 73 percent of them women and children. The team called on all local and international actors to respond to the recent displacement and warned against returning displaced to the area, and called for allowing freedom of movement of the displaced to all areas. The villages and towns of the southern and western Aleppo countryside have in recent days been subjected to an intensified air campaign by the Assad regime and Russian forces in an escalation accompanied by the arrival of Assad reinforcements to the front lines with the opposition. The bombardment resulted in dozens of civilian victims, mostly families, women and children, as well as a major displacement, that has not been seen in the Aleppo countryside in recent months. According to the Humanitarian Response Coordinators, the displaced are spread throughout the Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch areas as well as the camps and safe zones in the Idleb province, falling on the Turkish-Syrian border. Assads forces with Russian backing are still continuing their military campaign against Idleb province and the Aleppo and Lattakia countrysides, despite Turkey and Russia declaring a ceasefire last week. The Assad regime justified its campaign against the towns and countryside of western Aleppo by citing the bombardment carried out by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham on the areas where it operates in Aleppo city. With the western and southern Aleppo countrysides, the bombardment is currently affecting the southern and eastern Idleb province, coinciding with attempts to advance on the ground by Assads forces toward the strategic city of Maarat al-Numan. There is no sign painting a clear picture of the future of Idleb province so far, especially given the that last few days have seen a reshuffling of the cards by the guarantors, whether Turkey or Russia, as well as the United States. 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. While President Barack Obamas goal was to streamline the process while incorporating climate change impacts in proposed actions, the current administration is returning to the pre-NEPA concept, described by then-Interior Secretary Walter Hickel, as build now, repair later. This observation was in response to the original design of the Trans-Alaska pipeline, which called for most of the pipe to be buried underground, as was common in the lower 48 states in this case, under the permafrost and riverbeds of Alaska. He recalled that many Ukrainian Jewish people had helped to build the new Israel Open source President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine and Israel have good relations, The Times of Israel reports. "I think we have good relations. For example, my own relationship with Netanyahu: I met him in Ukraine; he made an official visit here. We spoke. I know your government is being created right now. I know hes busy right now," Zelensky said. He recalled that many Ukrainian Jewish people had helped to build the new Israel. "They are very famous in Israel and very famous in Ukraine. Relations are very strong. When Ukrainians and Israelis speak to each other, each side respects the other. Israel and Ukraine exchange technologies, there are exchanges of knowledge," head of Ukrainian state emphasized. As we reported earlier, Israel could act as a mediator in the negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu said this during his meeting with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, according to The Times of Israel. Israel is in good relations with both Ukraine and Russia, so it could be helpful in terms of finding a solution to the ongoing conflict, the outlet wrote. Two police officers were killed Sunday in Honolulu and three people including the suspected gunman are unaccounted for, authorities said, following a bizarre string of events that allegedly began with an attempted eviction. The officers were met with gunfire after responding to a call about a stabbing at a home at the far end of Waikiki Beach between the Honolulu Zoo and the Diamond Head State Monument. Hawaii News Now, citing police sources, reported the man first stabbed his landlord after she tried to evict him, then fired at responding police officers and set fire to the home. During an evening press conference, Honolulu Police Chief Susan Ballardidentified the two officers who died as Tiffany Enriquez, a seven-year veteran, and Kaulike Kalama, a nine-year police veteran. Both were parents, Ballard said. The suspect in their killings and two other women remain unaccounted for, the chief said. Ballard confirmed police responded to a stabbing after receiving a call around 9 a.m. from a woman who said she needed help. That woman was transported to the hospital after she was found by a responding officer with a stab wound to the leg, and Ballard said she was unsure of the woman's condition. Two additional officers arrived on the scene, Ballard said. As the three officers were walking on the home's driveway, the suspect, identified by Ballard as Jerry Hanel, opened fire. Hanel first shot Enriquez, and the other two officers took cover. More officers arrived to assist and Hanel shot at the second group of officers, this time hitting Kalama, the chief said. It's unclear what kind of gun Hanel used, though he didn't have a permit to own a firearm, Ballard said. Both officers were wearing bulletproof vests, the chief said. "I'm deeply saddened to report the tragic loss of two of HPD's finest in a senseless and selfish act," Ballard said. Ballard said Hanel, who is "in his 60s," along with two women she didn't identify but who were last seen inside the home, are unaccounted for. Story continues "We will continue to search for Hanel until we confirm that his remains are recovered," Ballard said. The Honolulu Police Department did not immediately return phone calls from USA TODAY. Honolulu Fire Department Chief Manuel Neves told reporters that the fire Hanel allegedly set has been "totally extinguished," but seven homes were totally destroyed and multiple others sustained fire or smoke damage. A shelter has been opened for displaced families. Hanel was living in the home of Lois Cain, according to court documents. Cain recently sought to have Hanel evicted, and a neighbor said she saw Cain being loaded into an ambulance on Sunday with knife wounds. Defendant does NOT have a Rental Agreement to occupy the premises and Defendant has no ownership interest in said premises, read a complaint for eviction that Cain filed last week in court, according to the Associated press. Despite repeated demands, Defendant has failed and refused to vacate the premises. Jonathan Burge, Hanel's attorney since 2015, said Hanel had lived in Cain's home free of charge in exchange for handyman work. Burge also said three of Hanel's neighbors had obtained temporary restraining orders against him. Hanel believed the government was watching him and tapping his phone, Burge said. The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives posted on Twitter that agents were responding to an active shooter situation in Honolulu. Hawaii Gov. David Ige said the entire state mourns the loss of the two police officers killed in Sunday's shooting. As we express our condolences to their families, friends and colleagues, let us also come together to help and support those who have been forever changed by this tragedy, Ige said on Twitter. I would like to express my deepest condolences to the family and friends of the two officers as well as the entire Honolulu Police Department. This is an unprecedented tragedy for not only the City and County of Honolulu but the entire state of Hawaii. Kirk Caldwell (@MayorKirkHNL) January 19, 2020 Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell took to Twitter to express his condolences for the two officers who were killed. I would like to express my deepest condolences to the family and friends of the two officers as well as the entire Honolulu Police Department, Caldwell tweeted. This is an unprecedented tragedy for not only the City and County of Honolulu but the entire state of Hawaii. Contributing: The Associated Press This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hawaii shooting: Honolulu police mourn 'senseless' death of 2 officers January 20, 2020 In a world of hyper-connectivity and massive data production 2.5 quintillion bytes are created each day keeping infrastructures safe is a massive challenge. Point of reference: a quintillion is the number 1 followed by 18 zeros: 1,000,000,000,000,000,000. Every day, we use tools intended to make our lives easier and more efficient. To enable this, we rely on the free flow of data between people, devices, and applications. From our home to our workplaces, connectivity is ubiquitous. Connected vehicles and public transit move us from here to there. Our laptops, phones, and smart devices keep us connected through technology and social networks. Even medical devices like pacemakers and insulin pumps constantly monitor and share health information over open networks. The truth is, virtually everything and everyone are connected. Corporations spend millions on their networksbuilding, managing, and making them secure. Still, the risk of security breaches or network and application outages has never been higher. Its not a question of IF a breach will happen, but WHEN. Bottom line: its a question of how prepared any given company is to handle it. Some of the world's largest, most powerful corporationsEquifax, Asus, and Ericsson (News - Alert) among them already have been victims of breaches, with disastrous results. If they were breached, how confident are you that YOUR business is safe? Your organization may feel protected under layers of security, but the reality is that security is defined by trust. When that trust is broken, breaches and outages become all too real. The Exposure Epidemiclike any widespread, growing diseasesubjects everyone to infection. Because of the dramatic proliferation of connected devices and apps, combined with corporations' constantly changing business operations, huge amounts of data are passing through millions of connecting points. This vast data exchange has exponentially increased the cyberattack surface and the risk of breaches. The rise of quantum computing with its immense power is already making current cryptographic and algorithms obsolete. So how did these high-profile corporate breaches happen? How is it possible that a medical device could be hijacked? The simple answer is digital certificates. Like the usernames and passwords we utilize each day, digital certificates are used to secure devices and applications. When digital certificates are mismanaged, the consequences can be epic: 148 million Equifax customers suffered a breach that went undetected for months, all because of a single expired certificate. One expired certificate was also to blame for a day-long outage affecting more than 60 million mobile network users in the U.K. and Japan. Hackers hijacked an unprotected ASUS key to push malware to more than half a million unsuspecting users of its manufactured devices. As the IoT advances, the risks move from business to life-critical. Medical devices, for example, become new targets for hackers to manipulate or hijack. Sadly, what happened with Equifax is not uncommon in most organizations today. Digital certificates are critical to corporate security. Burgeoning technology and outdated methodologies make security ripe for ineffectiveness at many organizations. Without proper management, keys and certificates intended to build trust between devices, users, and applications can all too quickly become liabilities. Compromised keys can be "weaponized" against the organizations; across the board, expiring certificates bring down mission-critical applications. In companies of all sizes, management of digital certificates often is overlooked or forgotten. Hence, the Exposure Epidemic. We simply cannot allow ourselves to fall victim to these preventable risks. The tools and approaches organizations are using today are outdated and ineffective. Collectively, our mission must be to find the right technology, people, and processes to restore trust in our ability to protect our business and our customers. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are set to build a new life for themselves in Canada, which means Meghan could soon be heading back to many of her favourite haunts. Meghan, 38, spent seven years living in Toronto while filming US legal drama Suits before moving to the UK to be with Prince Harry, 35, and the couple could now make the city their Canadian home. The couple both have close ties to the city - and plenty of fond memories - having spent much of the early days of their relationship criss-crossing between Toronto and Harry's Kensington Palace home. Meghan, 38, spent seven years living in Toronto while filming US legal drama Suits before moving to the UK to be with Prince Harry, 35, and the couple could now make the city their Canadian home. Pictured, Harry and Meghan at Canada House, London, earlier this month Meghan's best friend, Jessica Mulroney, lives in Toronto and she and Harry even chose made their first official outing as a couple in the city, stepping out together at the Invictus Games in September 2017. All this has led some, including Vanity Fair, to speculate that the Sussexes could move to the city on a more permanent basis. The other option is Vancouver, or nearby Vancouver Island, where Meghan and Archie are currently staying in the multi-million dollar bolthole that the family has been using since before Christmas. Prince Harry is thought to be flying out shortly to reunite with his wife and son after two weeks apart. If the Sussexes do choose Toronto, it would give Meghan the opportunity to revisit some of her old hotspots, including the local Soho House and the yoga studio where she once 'trolled for girlfriends'. Here, a closer look at what the city could hold for them... NIGHTS OUT AT SOHO HOUSE Date nights: The couple are rumoured to have had their first date in the London Soho House back in 2016 and attended the opening of the Amsterdam outpost in 2018, so date nights at the Toronto Soho House, pictured, could be on the cards Their new roles mean Prince Harry and Meghan Markle should be able to enjoy more low-key nights out together - and the local Soho House is likely to be high on their list. The couple are rumoured to have had their first date in the London clubhouse back in 2016 and more recently visited the opening of the Amsterdam outpost in 2018, so date nights at the Toronto Soho House could be on the cards. Indeed, they love Soho House so much that they even hired the chain's former designer to head up the interiors work at Frogmore House, their home on the Windsor estate. And if they're worried about their visits being kept secret, they can always call on Markus Anderson, a close friend of Meghan's and a consultant at Soho House, for that extra exclusive, VIP treatment. YOGA CLASSES AT A DOWNTOWN STUDIO Favourite hobby: Meghan inherited her love of yoga from her mother Doria and is almost certain to seek out a studio wherever she puts down roots. The Duchess could return to Modo studios, pictured, formally known as Moksha, which she frequented back in her Suits days Meghan inherited her love of yoga from her mother Doria, who teaches in Los Angeles, and is almost certain to seek out a studio wherever she puts down roots. The Duchess could return to Modo studios, formally known as Moksha, which she frequented back in her Suits days. Speaking to the Toronto Sun in 2016, the actress said: 'When I first got here, Suits wasnt aired in Canada for the first two years. I was going to Moksha downtown and trolling for girlfriends.' The Duchess is still fond of the chain and was spotted attending a Modo yoga class in New York during her whirlwind visit to watch Serena Williams in the US Open last year. There are several locations dotted across Toronto, giving Meghan plenty of choice. DOG WALKS IN THE PARK Family day out: Meghan used to walk her dogs, Bogart and Guy, at the city's popular Trinity Bellwoods Park (pictured in file image) and it could soon be a place for her, Harry and Archie to unwind. The family are thought to have as many as three dogs between them Both Harry and Meghan are well known dog lovers and are thought to own as many as three between them. Meghan owned a Bogart, Labrador-shepherd mix, and Guy, a Beagle, when she lived in Toronto and frequently described them as 'my boys' and 'my loves' on her Instagram account. Her favourite dog walking spot was the city's Trinity Bellwoods Park - and it could soon become a go-to for her, Harry and Archie. When she moved to the UK, only Guy made the journey as Bogart was too old to travel. It is thought he was given to friends to look after. Harry and Meghan are then thought to have acquired a black Labrador together, although a name has never been confirmed. Both Guy and the Labrador are understood to have been flown to Canada before Christmas. FIVE-STAR HOTEL FOR GUESTS Royal seal of approval: Prince Harry stayed in a suite at the Royal York Hotel, pictured, while visiting the city for the Invictus Games in September 2017. It could be perfect for staycations While it is likely any house Harry and Meghan choose will have plenty of space for guests, the couple could always rent out a room - or suite - in the Royal York Hotel if they wanted to treat their loved ones to a little bit of luxury. The Royal York is one of Canada's leading hotels and already has the royal seal of approval after Prince Harry stayed in a suite while visiting the city for the Invictus Games in September 2017. It is not known which suite he occupied but the Royal Suite which would have certainly been appropriate has a bar, fireplace and 16-seater dining room. It costs 2,318 Canadian dollars a night including taxes, or almost 1,400. One of the smaller suites would be 1,854 Canadian dollars (1,160). Meghan spent time with her then boyfriend at the hotel during the trip, which also saw their first official public outing as a couple. BEAUTY TREATMENTS AT A LOCAL CLINIC Firm favourite: Meghan Markle used to visit Toronto's W Skincare, pictured in an Instagram snap, while filming Suits. She might seek out her favourite treatments on her return Like many busy women on the go, it was important for Meghan to find a convenient spa while living in Toronto - and W Skincare was just the spot. Located just a stone's throw from where she used to film Suits, W Skincare offers a range of treatments including clinical peels, cold lasers and microdermabrasion. The clinic's director, Jeff Eltom, has previously described Meghan as 'Very down to earth, exceedingly polite and genuine with everyone'. One of her favourite treatments was their signature cold laser therapy which is a non-invasive treatment designed to replenish the skin's natural moisture barrier and reduce the appearance of fine lines. CEO pessimism over global economic growth is particularly significant in North America, Western Europe and the Middle East, with 63%, 59% and 57% of CEOs from those regions predicting lower global growth in the year ahead. "Given the lingering uncertainty over trade tensions, geopolitical issues and the lack of agreement on how to deal with climate change, the drop in confidence in economic growth is not surprising even if the scale of the change in mood is," said Bob Moritz, Chairman, of the PwC Network. "These challenges facing the global economy are not new however the scale of them and the speed at which some of them are escalating is new, the key issue for leaders gathering in Davos is: how are we going to come together to tackle them." "On a brighter note, while there is record pessimism amongst business leaders, there are still real opportunities out there. With an agile strategy, a sharp focus on the changing expectations of stakeholders, and the experience many have built up over the last ten years in a challenging environment, business leaders can weather an economic downturn and continue to thrive." CEO confidence in own revenue growth declines CEOs are also not so positive about their own companies' prospects for the year ahead, with only 27% of CEOs saying they are "very confident" in their own organisation's growth over the next 12 months the lowest level we have seen since 2009 and down from 35% last year. While confidence levels are generally down across the world, there is a wide variation from country to country, with China and India showing the highest levels of confidence among major economies at 45% and 40% respectively, the US at 36%, Canada at 27%, the UK at 26%, Germany at 20%, France 18%, and Japan having the least optimistic CEOs with only 11% of CEOs very confident of growing revenues in 2020. When asked about their own revenue growth prospects, the change in CEO sentiment has proven to be an excellent predictor of global economic growth. Analysing CEO forecasts since 2008, the correlation between CEO confidence in their 12-month revenue growth and the actual growth achieved by the global economy has been very close (see exhibit4 in notes). If the analysis continues to hold, global growth could slow to 2.4% in 2020 below many estimates including the 3.4% October growth prediction from the IMF. China looks beyond the US for growth Overall the US just retains its lead as the top market CEOs look to for growth over the next 12 months at 30%, one percentage point ahead of China at 29%. However, ongoing trade conflicts and political tensions have seriously dented the attractiveness of the US for China CEOs. In 2018, 59% of China CEOs selected the US as one of their top three growth markets, in 2020 this has dropped dramatically to just 11%. The US loss has been Australia's gain, with 45% of China CEOs now looking to Australia as a top three key growth market compared with only 9% two years ago. The other countries making the top five for growth are unchanged from last year Germany (13%), India (9%) and the UK (9%). A strong result for the UK given the uncertainty created by Brexit. Australia is just outside the top five boosted by its increased attractiveness for China CEOs. Worries about uncertain economic growth on the rise In 2019 when asked about the top threats to their organisation's growth prospects, uncertain economic growth ranked outside the top ten concerns for CEOs at number twelve. This year it has leapt to third place, just behind trade conflicts another risk that has risen up the CEOs agenda and the perennial over-regulation, which has again topped the table as the number one threat for CEOs. CEOs are also increasingly concerned about cyber threats and climate change and environmental damage, however despite the increasing number of extreme weather events and the intensity of debate on the issue, the magnitude of other threats continues to overshadow climate change which still does not make it into the CEOs' top ten threats to growth. Policing cyberspace While CEOs around the world express clear concerns about the threat of over-regulation, they are also predicting significant regulatory changes in the technology sector. Globally over two-thirds of CEOs believe that governments will introduce new legislation to regulate the content on both the internet and social media and to break up dominant tech companies. A majority of CEOs (51%) also predict that governments will increasingly compel the private sector to financially compensate individuals for the personal data that they collect. However, CEOs are in two minds as to whether governments are striking the right balance in designing privacy regulation between increasing consumer trust and maintaining business competitiveness, with 41% saying it does strike the right balance and 43% saying it doesn't. The upskilling challenge While the shortage of key skills remains a top threat to growth for CEOs and they agree that retraining/upskilling is the best way to close the skills gap, they are not making much headway in tackling the problem with only 18% of CEOs saying they have made "significant progress" in establishing an upskilling programme. This sentiment is echoed by workers. In a separate survey by PwC , 77% of 22,000 workers around the world say they would like to learn new skills or retrain but only 33% feel they have been given the opportunity to develop digital skills outside their normal duties. "Upskilling will be one of the key issues discussed this week at Davos and business leaders, educators, government and civil society must work together to ensure that people around the world stay productively engaged in meaningful and rewarding work. Leaders have a key role to play; although people may have fears about the future, they want to learn and develop and they are looking to leaders to provide a trusted path forward," added Bob Moritz. Climate change challenge or chance? Although climate change does not appear in the top ten threats to CEOs' growth prospects, CEOs are expressing a growing appreciation of the upside of taking action to reduce their carbon footprint. Compared to a decade ago, when we last asked this question, CEOs are now twice as likely to "strongly agree" that investing in climate change initiatives will boost reputational advantage (30% in 2020 compared with 16% in 2010) and 25% of CEOs today compared with 13% in 2010 see climate change initiatives leading to new product and service opportunities for their organisation. While views of climate change driven product and service opportunities have remained relatively stable in the US and the UK, there has been a dramatic shift in views in China over the last ten years. In 2010, only 2% of China CEOs saw climate change leading to opportunities whereas in 2020 this has risen to 47%, by far the largest increase of CEOs in any country included in the survey. However, for these opportunities to turn into long term success stories the principles of climate change need to be embedded right across a businesses' supply chain and customer experience. Notes: Download the report at ceosurvey.pwc . Video footage from the launch of the Global CEO Survey in Davos and other media materials are available at: press.pwc.com PwC conducted 1,581 interviews with CEOs in 83 countries between September and October 2019. Our sample is weighted by national GDP to ensure that CEOs' views are fairly represented across all major regions. 7% of the interviews were conducted by telephone, 88% online, and 5% by post or face-to-face. All quantitative interviews were conducted on a confidential basis. 46% of companies had revenues of $1 billion or more; 35% of companies had revenues between $100 million and $1 billion; 15% of companies had revenues of up to $100 million; 55% of companies were privately owned. About PwC At PwC, our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems. We're a network of firms in 157 countries with over 276,000 people who are committed to delivering quality in assurance, advisory and tax services. Find out more and tell us what matters to you by visiting us at www.pwc.com. PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1078672/PwC_CEO_Infographic.jpg SOURCE PwC The RJD, in alliance with the Congress, will contest in four constituencies of Delhi Burari, Kirari, Palam and Uttamnagar New Delhi: Seeking to expand its footprint outside Bihar, Lalu Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) will contest on four Assembly seats in Delhi in alliance with the Congress. Polling for the 70 member-Delhi Assembly will be held on 8 February. The RJD had initially demanded 10 percent seats in Delhi from the Congress, but finally it was decided that the party would contest on four constituencies Burari, Kirari, Palam and Uttamnagar, senior RJD leader and Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha said. "We have a list of 39-40 candidates for the four seats and our SWOT analysis is going on. We will announce our candidates on Monday," he said. The last day for filing of nomination papers for the Delhi polls is Tuesday. The RJD banking on presence of a sizeable number of Purvanchali voters in Delhi and would hope to open its account in the city with the help of its senior alliance partner. "We will give a good fight on all the four seats we are contesting," Jha said. Delhi Congress president Subhash Chopra said the alliance will help the Congress in its efforts of challenging the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and exuded confidence that his party would form government in Delhi. The Congress, which ruled the city for three consecutive terms from 1998 to 2013, will for the first time go in the Assembly polls in Delhi in alliance with another party. Taking a dig at the AAP and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for "not being vocal" against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), Chopra said, "We are not opposed to Kejriwal but we do not appreciate his silence on fundamental issues that are currently being talked about." The RJD had presence in Delhi and it contested elections here. Out of the four seats it has got in the pre-poll alliance, the party had earlier unsuccessfully contested in Kirari, Burari and Palam seats. As a member of United Progressive Alliance(UPA), RJD contested recent Jharkhand Assembly polls along with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Congress and bagged one seat. (Natural News) Every day, hundreds of millions of gallons of water drain from the oceans into the Earths mantle, and geologists think that a dead supercontinent may be to blame. Dubbed the deep water cycle or the geologic water cycle, this phenomenon occurs when water gets soaked up by minerals within the earths mantle through a process called subduction. As the water gets closer and closer to the Earths core, it heats up, to the point where a large quantity of it gets expelled back into the ocean floor through undersea explosions and hydrothermal vents. Earlier research suggests that the phenomenon is just one of many that determine the rise and fall of ocean levels. In a study published in the journal Geochemistry, Geophysics and Geosystems, a team led by geologists from the University of Oslo detailed their findings surrounding the phenomenon including historical evidence of sea levels fluctuating by more than 656 feet alongside so-called super continental cycles every 300 to 500 million years. Krister Karlsen, lead author of the study and a researcher at UiOs Centre for Earth Evolution and Dynamics, said this phenomenon can be traced back to one major geological event: the splitting of the supercontinent Pangaea 200 million years ago. The breakup of Pangaea was associated with a time of very rapid tectonic plate subduction, Karlsen said in an interview with LiveScience, adding that when Pangaea broke up, the resulting deep water cycle led to a drop of up to 430 feet in both Panthalassa and Tethys, the two main oceans at the time. Sponsored solution from CWC Labs: This heavy metals test kit allows you to test almost anything for 20+ heavy metals and nutritive minerals, including lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, aluminum and more. You can test your own hair, vitamins, well water, garden soil, superfoods, pet hair, beverages and other samples (no blood or urine). ISO accredited laboratory using ICP-MS (mass spec) analysis with parts per billion sensitivity. Learn more here. Karlsen said their team built on previous studies of the Earths tectonic plates over the last 230 million years to model the approximate rates in which oceanic water entered and left the Earths mantle. Among their findings, Karlsen said, was the discovery that the faster the water-logged mineral plate fell into Earth, the farther it could subduct before the mantles high heat evaporated its water content. According to the teams calculations, this rapid subduction imbalanced the deep water cycle to the point that it triggered millions of years of extreme water loss. Lose a continent, gain seven oceans Experts, however, say this water loss is not as negative as it might sound, as it was something that led to the creation of todays oceans. Popular Mechanics expanded on this, noting in an article that the resulting lower water levels from Pangaeas split actually made the planet more habitable. According to geologic records, when the supercontinent Pangaea started to split, new oceans appeared, starting with the North Atlantic, which appeared roughly 175 million years ago, followed by the South Atlantic 145 million years ago. The split also closed off the Tethys Ocean and triggered the formation of the Arctic Ocean from what used to be the Sinus Borealis. The Pacific followed suit, during the Mesozoic era, formed from the remains of the Panthalassa. Continued tectonic movement meanwhile, led to the formation of the youngest of todays oceans: the Indian and the Antarctic. Deep ocean cycle no match for sea level spikes researcher Despite the continued draining of the oceans waters into the mantle, however, Karlsen said it cant really address issues such as continued sea level spikes, noting that even as massive amounts of water sink into the mantle, actual sea levels can spike and plummet by hundreds of feet on much shorter timescales. (Related: Rising global sea levels may actually be beneficial for coral reef islands in the long-run: Study.) While the deep water cycle can effectively change sea level over hundreds of millions to billions of years, climate change can change the sea level in zero to 100 years, Karlsen said. For comparison, the present-day sea level rise associated with climate change is about 0.1 inches (3.2 millimeters) a year. The sea-level drop associated with the deepwater cycle is about 1/10,000 of that. For more stories related to oceans and the environment, head over to Environ.news today. Sources include: LiveScience.com Express.co.uk AGPubs.OnlineLibrary.Wiley.com PopularMechanics.com Panaji, Jan 20 : Sunil Kumar Singh, 48, who was arrested two weeks ago for posing as a UP Minister and enjoying Goa government protocol privileges which included free accommodation, police security and escort vehicles, was on Monday released on conditional bail by a local court. Judicial Magistrate First Class in Mapusa town, Teisy Mascarenhas, in her order on Monday directed the police to release Singh, a resident of Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, on a bail bond of Rs. 50,000 along with two local sureties. The accused has also been directed to appear before the Goa Police Crime Branch every 15 days until a chargesheet in the case is filed. According to the Crime Branch officials, Singh had posed as a UP Minister in order to avail of a cheap holiday in Goa and was put up in a posh government guest house for nearly two weeks from December-end to January. He also met several key officials of the state government and Ministers, by posing as a Minister for Co-operatives in the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh and also attended a function organised by Goa government in South Goa, as a guest of honour. Promotions Linda Chilton was promoted to senior vice president, chief retail officer at Opportunity Bank of Montana. Chilton has more than two decades of banking experience, holding leadership positions at community-focused financial institutions throughout Montana. Since joining Opportunity Bank of Montana in 2014, Chilton most recently served as vice president, branch administrator. In this new role, Chilton will be a member of the Executive Management Team responsible for leading overall retail banking, treasury management, branch administration, marketing and product management, and delivering excellence in retail operations across our expanding footprint. Chilton holds a B.S. in business administration from the University of Montana. She will continue to work out of Missoula. Michael Combo, CPA, Shareholder, has been promoted to the Missoula office vice president for Anderson Zurmuehlen. Combo has practiced in public accounting for over 24 years providing tax, advisory and transactional consulting to small and large businesses and their owners. He takes a proactive advisory role with clients providing solutions to complex tax issues. Combo holds masters degree in accountancy and a bachelors degree in accounting from the University of Montana and has been with the firm since 2005. Amanda Anders has been promoted to senior manager in the Anderson Zurmuehlen Missoula office. Anders has over 19 years of experience in providing tax and accounting services to her clients, and she has extensive experience working with clients to automate and enhance their back-office processes. Anders holds an associate of applied science in accounting from the University of Montana and has been with the firm since 2006. New business North Ridge Fire Equipment has opened at 1400 Stoddard St. It specializes in both wildland and structural fire fighting equipment. North Ridge Fire Equipment provides in-stock gear to firefighters in the Missoula area plus national sales via its website NorthRidgeFire.com. Store manager, Kory Koski, formerly with Axmen, has been selling firefighting gear for over six years. Elected The Missoula Downtown Association announced new officers and board members. Joining the MDA Board of Directors for a three-year term are Mimi Hall-Gustafson, director of sales and marking at the Holiday Inn Downtown; Conor Newman, CPA with Boyle, Deveny & Meyer and Jeff Smith, attorney with Garlington, Lohn & Robinson. New officers are Bob McGowan, Rocky Mountain School of Photography, president; Josh Eder, S.G. Long, vice president of Advocacy; Ashley Larkin, First Montana Bank, vice president of Marking and Events; Paige Livingston, One Eleven, vice president of Membership; Ellen Buchanan, Missoula Redevelopment Agency, vice president of Master Plan; Tom Snyder, Five on Black; past president and Rachel McDonough, MOFI, treasurer. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Monday forfeited the Director General of Police's (DGP) commendation medal and certificate given to suspended DSP Devinder Singh. He was arrested along with Hizbul Mujahideen commander Naveed Babu, his accomplice Rafi Ahmad and a lawyer named Irfan from a car on the highway near Kulgam. He was allegedly helping Babu travel to Pakistan in connivance with Irfan. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is probing the case of Singh. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on January 16 had asked the agency to start the investigation into Singh's arrest and take a close look at his alleged involvement with terror groups. Live TV According to reports, the NIA will also take the arms and ammunition, that was recovered from Singh's residence during a raid, into its possession. A day after Singh's arrest, the Jammu and Kashmir Police conducted raids at the police officer's properties and recovered AK-47, hand grenades and a pistol. Following his arrest, he was interrogated by a joint team of the Centre and Jammu and Kashmir and was booked under the Unlawful Activity Act. During his interrogation, Singh maintained that he had no link to Hizbul militants and that he was taking the terrorists to surrender; but interrogators have dismissed his claims. According to news agency IANS, a sum of Rs 12 lakh may have been given to Singh to move out the two Hizbul militants to Jammu on their way to Chandigarh and onward to Delhi to carry out attacks on or before the Republic Day. Singh was posted with the anti-hijacking unit at Srinagar Airport and was one of the officials that received the 16-member delegation of foreign ambassadors which visited Kashmir. On January 13, he was suspended from his services. Intelligence sources told IANS that Singh 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. Since the arrest of Singh and the two Hizb militants, security agencies carried out multiple raids across the Union Territory, especially Srinagar and south Kashmir, and seized a huge cache of arms and ammunition stashed by the officer and the terrorists. Maharashtra Minister Ashok Chavan said here on Monday that till the time Congress is in Maharashtra government, Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) will not be implemented in the state. "As long as Congress is in Maharashtra government, we will not allow CAA to be implemented in Maharashtra," Chavan tweeted. The leader shared a video of him joining the protest against CAA in Nanded. In the video, while speaking at the protests, he said, "It is our government in Maharashtra. We got involved in the state government to keep the BJP away. Many of our Muslim brothers have said that BJP is the biggest enemy for them." On Sunday, the Maha Vikas Agadi (MVA) government decided to bring out a resolution against the CAA in Maharashtra Assembly. If this happens, then Maharashtra will be the third state to pass a resolution against CAA after Kerala and Punjab. The Act grants citizenship to non-Muslim 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.) You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close The newly created U.S. combatant command focused on space has passed its initial combat test, according to officials and experts. Early warning capabilities belonging to the command helped detect recent Iranian ballistic missile launches at U.S. bases in Iraq, contributing to an early warning advantage for troops on the ground. In a statement to Military.com earlier this week, U.S. Space Command officials pointed to the vast array of interlocking space and ground sensors, mostly inherited from the Air Force, that are now in the command's domain. The capabilities serve to detect and track ballistic missiles worldwide. Officials did not, however, specify which particular system first picked up the launches. But U.S. official speaking on background and several experts said the first signs of a launch almost certainly came from the Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS), a capability generated by four satellites operated by the 460th Space Wing at Buckley Air Force Base in Colorado. In the SPACECOM statement, a spokesperson for the new command described in general terms the "multitude of systems that contribute to worldwide missile warning and detection capabilities to protect the nation" and deployed troops. Related: 11 Troops Injured in Iranian Missile Attack on Iraq Base In its mission, the new command coordinated with the Missile Warning Center, the Joint Overhead Persistent Infrared Planning Center, the Combined Space Operations Center, and the Joint Tactical Ground Stations deployed by the Army to provide worldwide "theater ballistic missile warning and enhanced infrared coverage," the spokesperson said. On Jan. 9, the day after Iran launched 16 ballistic missiles at two bases in Iraq housing U.S. and Iraqi troops, President Donald Trump said simply that U.S. troops were protected by "an early warning system that worked very well." Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khameinei, said the missile launches were a "slap in the face" to the U.S. in response to the Jan. 5 drone strike at Baghdad's International Airport that killed Iranian Quds Force leader Qasem Soleimani. Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley said that Iran fired a total of 16 missiles, of which four failed in flight. Eleven hit Al Asad airbase in Iraq's Anbar province, and one hit an open field in Erbil in the northern autonomous Kurdish region. The initial reports were that there were no deaths or injuries to U.S. troops, but DoD announced Friday that 11 troops at Al Asad had suffered concussive effects from the missile blasts and were evacuated to Landstuhl, Germany, as a precautionary move to check for possible traumatic brain injury. All were expected to return to duty, DoD said. Although SPACECOM would not name the system that first detected the launches, the initial warning "absolutely" came from the 460th Space Wing, which "queued up that information" for other systems to track the path of the missiles, said Riki Ellison, chairman of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance. "Any ballistic missile of any range will have a heat signature that's going to be picked up by multiple infrared systems" in the U.S. inventory, said Thomas Karako, director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "The capability is certainly there" for SBIRS to detect the launches, he added. "That's why we have it in the first place." While SBIRS would have picked up the ballistic missile launches, the system would have been less likely to have detected the surface-to-air missile launch that brought down Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752, said Adam Mount, director of the Defense Posture Project at the Federation of American Scientists. Iran has called the shootdown, which resulted in the deaths of all 176 aboard, a tragic mistake. The short flight path and attitude of the surface-to-air missile would have made it less visible to the U.S. satellite configurations, Mount said. Officials with the 460th Space Wing at Buckley Air Force Base referred questions on the missile launches to SPACECOM. But the wing's website said the 460th "provides combatant commanders with worldwide missile warning and global situational awareness." The wing operates the Defense Support Program, dating back to the 1970s, in addition to SBIRS, the website said. Once the missiles were launched, there was little U.S. troops could do but get to bunkers and wait out the attack. On the night of the attacks, Defense Secretary Esper said in a gaggle with Pentagon reporters that "we had a heads-up in the sense that our warning systems and all those things were activated and watching, and were able to give a sufficient warning." He declined comment on whether the U.S. had any capabilities in the region that may have intercepted the missiles, but U.S. officials said there are no Army Patriot or THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) anti-missile systems in Iraq. Analysts Karako and Ellison also said there are no Patriot or THAAD systems in Iraq, and attributed the absence of the systems to the high demand for their presence elsewhere. "They can't be everywhere at once," Karako said. -- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com. Read More: Here's the New Light Machine Gun SOCOM Is Evaluating Credit: CC0 Public Domain With sea level rise already lapping at its door, the city of Miami made its first significant commitment to address the root cause of climate change, not just the symptoms. The city government plans to go carbon neutral by 2050, a pledge that will change everything from what city employees drive to how the city builds to how it powers itself. Miami became the first city in Florida and 96th in the world to join C40 Cities, an international climate organization that helps cities lower their carbon footprint. Mayor Francis Suarez, who signed the agreement Friday afternoon, called it a moral imperative for the city to cut its emissions "If we really want to be here forever we can't just react to what mother nature is doing," he said. "We have to do everything in our power not to make matters worse, but to make matters better." Exactly how the city plans to go carbon neutral, a hefty goal for a large and car-centric community, comes later. Miami's Climate Ready Plan will be released next week, and it tackles broad actions the city can take, like switching out gas-powered city cars for electric vehicles, installing more solar panels and enforcing energy efficiency in city buildings. In recent years, Miami has largely chosen to address the 2 feet of sea level rise expected by 2060 with adaptation measures that address the effects of climate change, such as flooded streets, rising groundwater and hotter days. The force driving themexcess greenhouse gases in the atmospherehas not been on the agenda. Under activist pressure, that is starting to change. Miami just declared a "climate emergency," a symbolic gesture at the city's increased focus on the topic. Advocates have since pressed the city to commit to cutting its carbon footprint. Susan Glickman, Florida director for the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, called it a significant goal for the city. "It's key to have local governments commit to meaningful targets to move the needle backwards on carbon emissions," she said. "It's key to have cities like Miami show leadership. It shows the state of Florida, that has yet to take on any targets toward carbon emissions, that it's possible and it's important to do to avoid the worst implication of climate change." Emily Gorman, chair of the Miami Climate Alliance, said her organization is more skeptical about the city's plans. They're waiting to see the exact steps the city plans to take. "We are obviously very hopeful and glad to see the mayor is interested in bold climate action," she said. "But frankly, implementation is the nature of true leadership." She hopes to see the city commit to 100% renewable energy, like South Miami had pledged to do. That doesn't include nuclear power from Turkey Point, which provides energy for much of South Florida. Nuclear power doesn't create emissions and is considered renewable energy, but some environmentalists like Gorman think the safety and pollution concerns declassify it as "clean energy." Another priority for activists: that the transition to renewable energy doesn't just benefit the rich. Gilbert said the city plans to work with C40 to come up with policies that both lower emissions and provide jobs and business opportunities for low-income parts of the community. "It's important to frame our actions in how they're going to give us an economic return on investment and provide a source of living-wage jobs," she said. "We're not going to be able to spend a lot of money on something that only provides carbon mitigation. It's got to provide other returns." Laura Jay, deputy regional director for C40's North America program, said her team helps cities put numbers on the side benefits of mitigation, like the health benefits of cleaner air or the new jobs a solar farm could provide. That makes it easier for mayors to pitch policies to their commissions. "That helps bring cities to the table and showcase their leadership," Jay said. They also connect staffers at cities across the globe to share success stories or tips. C40 tracks citieslike Boston, Paris and LAto see if they meet their commitments. Miami's last attempt to cut its emissions didn't go well. A 2008 plan to address climate change and the city's emissions called for Miami to cut emissions 25% below 2006 levels by the year 2020, to 3.6 million metric tons. The plan also called for annual updates on the city's progress. Then came a recession and a new mayor. "The mayor and manager at that time decided that was not the priority," Gilbert said. In the meantime, Gilbert said, the city did a few things to lower its carbon footprint, like making older buildings more energy-efficient and switching park lighting to LEDs. Last year, the city swapped out 90 gas-powered cars in its fleet for electric hybrids. But exactly how much better or worse the city's carbon emissions became in the last decade is unclear. Miami is in the process of accounting for its greenhouse gas emissions now and hopes to be done by April. After that data is available, Gilbert said, the city will set specific, new targets for reductions. Miami-Dade County set its own emissions goals shortly after Miami first did, in 2010. The county's Greenprint plan called for a 10% reduction from 2008 levels by 2015. "The County did not achieve this goal. In fact, emissions increased over this period," wrote Miami-Dade's Chief Resilience Officer, Jim Murley, in a statement. That came from a combination of more people driving more cars, more aviation emissions and higher emissions from industrial activity, he said. So far the county has tackled its emissions with a new purchase of 33 electric buses and various energy efficiency programs, including one that requires buildings over 20,000 square feet to benchmark their use of electricity. "In order to reach the 2050 goal of an 80% reduction, the community will need to implement meaningful resource conservation measures that include fuel, energy and waste reduction as well as investments in renewable energy like solar and transitioning to more electric vehicles countywide," he said. Explore further Barcelona bans older, most polluting cars 2020 Miami Herald Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. LONDON - In a quiet, heartfelt speech Sunday night, before a small audience at a charity he founded, Britain's Prince Harry said he and his wife, Meghan, were "taking a leap of faith" in stepping away from their duties as senior royals, but added, "There really was no other option." The 35-year-old Duke of Sussex said that he was "born into this life" and that "once Meghan and I were married, we were excited, we were hopeful and we were here to serve." But he said that was not possible - and acknowledged that his decision was made with "great sadness." Harry did not say exactly why the couple decided to step back from royal duties and split their time between Canada and Britain. But he gave a hint, saying that they hope that in the future they will be able to live "a more peaceful life." He also called the news media "a powerful force" that needs to be countered. Harry made the remarks during a short speech to supporters of Sentebale, a charity that he - along with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho in southern Africa - created in 2006 to honor his late mother, Princess Diana, and to support those affected by HIV and AIDS. The speech, given at a private event, was posted by Harry and Meghan's SussexRoyal Instagram account. The prince told the audience members that he imagined that they had heard about the couple over the past few weeks. He began, "So, I want you to hear the truth from me, as much as I can share - not as a prince, or a duke, but as Harry, the same person that many of you have watched grow up over the last 35 years - but with a clearer perspective." He added, "The U.K. is my home and a place that I love. That will never change." He thanked his friends for welcoming Meghan "with open arms as you saw me find the love and happiness that I had hoped for all my life." He said his wife "upholds the same values as I do." Harry said, "Once Meghan and I were married, we were excited, we were hopeful and we were here to serve. For those reasons, it brings me great sadness that it has come to this. "The decision that I have made for my wife and I to step back is not one I made lightly. It was so many months of talks after so many years of challenges. And I know I haven't always got it right, but as far as this goes, there really was no other option." He added that "we're not walking away." "Our hope was to continue serving the Queen, the Commonwealth and my military associations, but without public funding," he said. "Unfortunately, that wasn't possible." Last week, Queen Elizabeth II announced that she and her royal family were "entirely supportive of Harry and Meghan's desire to create a new life" and that she had agreed to a "period of transition" during which her grandson and his wife would split their time between Canada and Britain. 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. Meghan, 38, a former actress who was raised in Los Angeles, did not attend the speech Sunday. She is in the Vancouver area with the couple's 8-month-old son, Archie. On Saturday, the palace said the couple will no longer be known as "royal highnesses," forgoing use of their top titles. Harry and Meghan also signaled that they will seek to repay millions of dollars spent on renovating their mansion and will no longer take public money for performing royal duties. "I've accepted this, knowing that it doesn't change who I am or how committed I am," Harry said Sunday night. "But I hope that helps you understand what it had come to, that I would step my family back from all I have ever known, to take a step forward into what I hope can be a more peaceful life." Speaking of Princess Diana's death in a car crash in a Paris tunnel in 1997, Harry said, "When I lost my mum 23 years ago, you took me under your wing. You've looked out for me for so long, but the media is a powerful force, and my hope is one day our collective support for each other can be more powerful because this is so much bigger than just us." The prince pledged to continue to support "the causes, charities and military communities that are so important to me." He closed by saying, "We are taking a leap of faith. Thank you for giving me the courage to take this next step." The Duchess of Cornwall was given pause for thought yesterday when she was asked for her opinion on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepping down as senior royals. Camilla, 72, broke her silence on Megxit during a visit to the Prospect Hospice in Wroughton, as she helped to celebrate the facility's 40th anniversary year. While meeting hospice staff, the wife of Prince Charles was asked by a reporter: 'Will you miss Harry and Meghan?', and the question appeared to take her by surprise. Camilla smiled and paused, initially replying with a 'hmmm', before adding 'course' as she walked away. The Duchess of Cornwall smiled enigmatically when she was asked by a reporter if she would miss Harry and Meghan, during a hospice visit in Wroughton yesterday The Duchess of Cornwall, 72, appeared in high spirits as she tried out a virtual reality headset during a visit to the Prospect Hospice in Swindon The royal tested out the virtual reality goggles, which showed a calming woodland scene, while visiting the hospice Camilla appeared in high spirits as she arrived at the hospice earlier today, donning a smart tweed ensemble with over-the-knee boots The royal, who is president of the hospice, appeared in high spirits as she tested the pair of VR goggles, which are used to keep patients calm by showing a tranquil woodland scene. Camilla arrived at the hospice in a smart brown tweed two-piece, pairing the outfit with a simple cream blouse. The royal could be seen smiling and joking with staff as she tested out one of the headsets, which show a tranquil woodland scene. Staff assisted the royal with the goggles, before she could be seen laughing and smiling as she retreated into the virtual reality world. Prospect Hospice is a local charity that supports a community of more than 300,000 people in Swindon, Marlborough and North East Wiltshire. The Duchess of Cornwall wrapped up warm for the appearance today in Swindon, opting for a tweed ensemble She could be seen chatting with staff during the visit to the hospice in Swindon as she helped celebrate it's 40th anniversary The hospice cares for and supports around 7,300 patients, carers and family members each year. Camilla's visit comes as fall-out continues around Prince Harry and Meghan's decision to leave the royal family. Over the weekend it was announced that the Sussexes would no longer be using their HRH titles or perform royal duties. The royal appeared in high spirits at the appearance today, and shook hands with staff as she arrived at the hospice She could be seen smiling with staff who assisted her with the goggles while at the facility earlier today The royal appeared in high spirits while trying the VR goggles during her visit to the hospice in Swindon today It was announced Meghan and Harry are due to split their time between London and Canada, where Meghan's mother Doria is predicted to be more actively involved in Archie's upbringing. Under the terms of the historic deal thrashed out at Sandringham yesterday, the pair, who will be known as Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, will cease to be working members of the Royal Family from this spring. They will not perform any official duties on behalf of the Queen effectively leaving 'The Firm' completely. It leaves them free to pursue commercial deals, but they have given assurances that they will continue to uphold the Queen's values. Staff could be seen helping the royal as she tested out the goggles, which are used to help calm patients at the hospice Brad Pitt was the toast of the SAG Awards after winning best supporting actor on Sunday and reuniting with his ex wife Jennifer Aniston. But there's one person who might not be celebrating his triumphant night: his other ex wife, Angelina Jolie. The 56-year-old appeared to take unprecedented jabs at the Maleficent actress and the mother of his six children. Ouch: Brad Pitt appeared to take aim at Angelina Jolie in his acceptance speech on Sunday night Happier times: Pitt and his ex Angelina back in 2015 in Hollywood together In a speech sure to rile Jolie, he hinted at tension during their marriage and revealed his plans to use his Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award win to improve his dating life. The actor scooped Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role for his work on Once Upon a Time in Hollywood ahead of Jamie Foxx (Just Mercy), Tom Hanks (A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood) and The Irishman's Al Pacino and Joe Pesci and joked as he got on stage on Sunday he'd be boasting about it on dating apps. Taking to the stage at Los Angeles' Shrine Auditorium, he quipped: 'I got to add this to my Tinder profile.' And Brad - who has been open about his struggles with alcoholism - also joked about the similarities between his character and his own failed marriage to Angelina. He said: 'Let's be honest, it was a difficult part a guy who gets high, takes his shirt off and doesn't get on with his wife. It was a big stretch. It's big.' Swipe right! Taking to the stage at Los Angeles' Shrine Auditorium, he quipped: 'I go to add this to my Tinder profile' Reunited! In addition to his speech, Brad also reunited with his ex-wife Jennifer Aniston backstage Touchy-feely: Pitt briefly held Aniston's hand as she turned away from him Congratulations: Aniston placed her hands gently on her ex as they shared a moment backstage At this point, the camera panned to his ex-wife Jennifer Aniston, who was sitting in the audience, appearing amused by his remarks. But that wasn't all. In a move likely to rub salt in the wound, Brad was pictured reuniting with Jennifer backstage. The pair, who both won awards that evening, looked elated as they congratulated each other for their new honors. Jennifer was seen with her hands placed gently upon her ex as they smiled and briefly held hands during their chat. Brad even watched Jennifer accept her award from a screen backstage. The actor said 'wow' as she was announced the winner of Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series. Brad's marriage to Jennifer lasted for five years before they announced they were divorcing in early 2005 - which came after he had met Angelina on the set of Mr & Mrs Smith. There was intense speculation that the 'Brangelina' romance began as an illicit affair while he was still married to Aniston. Ecstatic: Aniston seemed overwhelmed with happiness as she met with her ex What a night: The A-listers were both award winners that evening Friendly exes: The pair looked truly happy to see one another In October 2008, Angelina told The New York Times that her children loved Mr & Mrs Smith because: 'Not a lot of people get to see a movie where their parents fell in love.' However, the actress always maintained that they were nothing more than friends until after Pitt and Aniston announced they were divorcing. Brad and Angelina spent years together before finally marrying in 2014 at their Chateau Miraval in France. During their relationship, they built quite the large family, sharing sons Maddox, 18, Pax, 16, daughters Zahara, 15, Shiloh, 13, and 11-year-old twins Vivienne and Knox. However, the marriage was short-lived. Just two years after tying the knot, Angelina filed for divorce, triggering a bitter custody battle. The actress filed for divorce from Brad after he allegedly got into an argument with their son Maddox on board a plane. Brad was accused of child abuse but, following weeks of extensive investigations carried out by social services, he was cleared of the allegations and the case was closed. The ex factor: Pitt watched Aniston, who appeared to be walking away And Brad - who has been open about his struggles with alcoholism - also joked about the similarities between his character and his own failed marriage to Angelina Jolie Hello sunshine! Aniston won for her role on The Morning Show His heavy drinking was also reportedly a factor and Brad admitted he entered Alcoholics Anonymous after the split. The exes went on to endure a long and nasty custody dispute and fought over money. They are now understood to share joint custody of their children, however Brad reportedly remains estranged from Maddox. A few weeks ago, Brad joked his personal life had become a 'disaster.' 'I'm just trash mag fodder,' he said on the WTF podcast with Marc Maron. 'Because of my disaster of a personal life, most likely.' Jennifer is back on the market after splitting from her husband Justin Theroux in 2017, and fans have been rooting for the actress to reconcile with Brad since then. Though Brad attended her 50th birthday party last year and have been in proximity this awards season, there is nothing romantic going on between them, TMZ reported. Splitsville: Brad split from Angelina after a total of 12 years and six children together in 2016 Clearly, they have remained friendly. Jennifer invited Brad to her Christmas tree-trimming party, where sources told ET Online they 'didn't have much interaction.' 'They've come so far since their marriage and plan to stay friends for life,' a source told Entertainment Tonight. 'There are truly no hard feelings between them... They both realize that anytime they cross paths people talk about a reunion. 'He came on his own and quietly entered the party. They had heavy security, kept a ban on social media, and hoped for the best.' Brad recently said he was open to running into his ex. 'I'll run into Jen, she's a good friend. Yeah,' he told ET Online at the Golden Globes. 'The second most important reunion of her year? I understand. That was a play on Friends. They were saying that,' he said, referring to Jennifer and her former Friends co-stars, Reese Witherspoon and Christina Applegate. With the kids: Jolie with her six children, Knox, Vivienne, Pax, Shiloh, Zahara, and Maddox, in 2019 Delhi's former Lieutenant Governor (L-G) Najeeb Jung on Monday said the Central government should make the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) inclusive to quell the protest against the newly enacted citizenship law. "I feel that the Citizenship Amendment Act needs a revamp. They should either include Muslims or remove other names. Make it inclusive. The matter will get dismissed. If the PM calls these people and talks, the matter will get resolved," Jung told ANI outside the Jamia Millia Islamia here. "This issue will be solved if the Act is made inclusive for all. Otherwise, it is a violation of Article 14," added Jung, saying that there should be talks and only then a solution will come out. "How will the solution come if we don't talk? How long will this protest go on? The economy is suffering. Shops are closed. Buses are not plying. Losses are being incurred," he added. Protests are going on in different parts of the country against and in support of CAA, 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.) On Nov. 11,1918, a so-called All Quiet on the Western Front trenches began with the 11 a.m. Armistice. Some 2000 miles away, the Battle of Tulgas in North Russia occurred, pitting invading American, British, and Canadian soldiers against Red Bolshevik troops in frozen snows near the Arctic Circle. On that day, the first U.S. casualties on Russias soil were seven killed and 14 wounded. Politically pressured by Britain and France, on July 17, 1918 President Woodrow Wilson had ordered American troops to be dispatched to Russia to, guard military supplies, protect the lost Czechoslovak Legion, and render aid to the Russians in their self-defense. However, for and against which Russians, President Wilsons directive tragically had not clarified. Shunned by the West as a pariah, the Red revolutionary government in Petrograd unilaterally bailed out of the Great War by arranging a giveaway peace of one-third of both its population and territory to Imperial Germany on March 3, 1918, at Brest Litovsk. A vast ongoing civil war between Bolshevik Reds and pro-Tsarist Whites across the breadth and length of Russia had erupted. Alexander Kerenskys provisional democratic government, from March-November 1917 was overthrown by Vladimir lllyitch Lenin. Sidelined from the Paris Peace Conference, a temporarily ignored Bolshevik Russia was seemingly left to its self-determination. Ultimately, however, about 140,000 Allied, U.S., and Chinese troops were sent to war-torn Russia from 1918-1922 as an Intervention. The Great War: America's women advance on all fronts World War I opened wide opportunities for America's women, and eventually helped them gain the right to vote. French, British, Canadians, Italians, Greeks, Serbs, Czechs, Slovaks, Hungarians, and Japanese all composed the Allied alliance. America and China were Associates. (Japans imperial Siberian army intended to annex Siberia to its empire as its buffer against possible Bolshevik aggression.) Two separate American troop expeditions landed in key Russian ports, one at Archangel on Sept. 4, 1918, and the other at Vladivostok commencing on Aug. 15,1918. Depicting an impending super-Cannae by the surrounding White armies about to annihilate the Bolshevik pocketroughly centered on Moscow the strategic map of Russia, was illusory. Skillfully led by ardent Comrade General Leon Trotsky on a fluid, trenchless front, by Oct. 25,1922 the Reds were victorious. Commanded by U.S. Lieutenant-Colonel George Ste wart, the North Russian AEF element, the 339th Infantry Regiment, was largely composed of Michigan automobile workers (500 were Wisconsinites), nicknamed Detroits Own by the mayor. U.S. planners felt they would be acclimated to the cold, thus their deployment to Russia. Upon landing, the 339th was immediately ordered to march into battle against the Bolsheviks by ranking commander, British Major Gen. Frederick Poole. To his mens disgust, Stewart remained in Archangel, whose supplies were earlier seized by the Bolsheviks. Although outnumbered by the Bolos, the Americans sobriquet for the Red troops, the doughboys were very tenacious defenders. An attached U.S. engineer unit eagerly constructed hundreds of heavy log blockhouses so stout they could withstand everything except a direct hit from the Bolos big field artillery. It was harder for a U.S. presence to inspire White Army soldiers into combat against the Reds. White gunners were cajoled by doughboys to man their support artillery. Disheartening was the dour local villagers indifference about rallying to the North Russia, American and Allied effort to liberate them. The Great War: A peace to end all peace One hundred years ago, on June 28,1919, a "peace to end all peace" was signed as a treaty ending World War I in the great Hall of Mirrors in the Versailles Palace in France. Typically beheld was a cluster of dirty huts, dominated by a serene white steeple church in the terrible grasp of devastating Arctic cold [under] grief-laden skies. Religion rather than democracy was the opium of the peasants. Presently, the northern horror, a despair of their missions utter purposelessness, seized upon the U.S. interventionist troops spirits. Ignorant of the November 1918 Armistice, they had not been apprised of it until late January 1919. (Ordered to defeat the Reds, Allied troops felt some purpose.} Depression, frostbite, malnutrition, lice, pneumonia, and mutiny soared, as U.S. morale plummeted with the thermometer which, recorded, in the range of 40 to 60 below zero. Perhaps the nearly sunless colds capability to instantly coagulate external combat bleeds, preventing massive hemorrhages, was a partial consolation. The Great War: A microscopic invader lays all the armies low In 1918 and 1919, the tiny influenza virus proved more powerful than the might of all the world's nations combined. Bitter Russian-American immigrants in the U.S., who protested the Intervention by distributing pro-Bolshevik leaflets were incarcerated in the Tombs dungeon on Manhattan Island for being in violation of the Sedition Act of May 1918. President Wilson had admonished America, its most dangerous traitor was the hyphenate. Ever on the defensive, not receiving reinforcements or adequate supplies, Detroits Own were in a semi-paralytic limbo. Rising to voice dissent for its sons isolated in a distant undeclared overseas war the Wolverine State spoke up. Assailed by a, 110,000-signatures petition to bring home the 339th, U.S. Secretary of War Newton Baker (himself not enthusiastic to U.S. intervention in Russia), went to Detroit and reassured they would return. On Feb. 17, 1919, he authorized the withdrawal. Embellished as the Polar Bears, of the original 5,500, 4,500 returned to Hoboken port by late June 1919-after Archangel and Murmansk became thawed-out and ice-free, in time to celebrate July Fourth on Belle Isle with thankful family and friends. Belatedly too, returned the bodies of 212 Polar Bears, shipped back home in stages, from 1919 to 1934, the United States having recognized Soviet Russia on Nov. 16, 1933. The Great War: Americans occupy the Rhineland In an area the size of Maryland and Delaware, the Rhenish numbered 7 million, or 11 percent of Germany's total population. Doughboys and residents had to win each other over. Thirty remained where they died within the embrace of Mother Russia. At Russias opposite end, 5,000 miles east, U.S. Major Gen. William Graves led an American Expeditionary Force of one California and two Philippine regiments, to safeguard Vladivostok port for the succor of the Czech Legion. They were also a deterrent to a large Japanese Imperial army of 70,000 far in excess of the agreed-upon cap of 12,000 troops per Allied or Associate power in Eastern Siberia during 1918-1920. (Japan claimed that a 2,000-member U.S. civilian support team, attached to the Siberian AEF, already violated this limit, providing it an excuse for its larger force.) About 50,000 Czechs, Slovaks, and Hungarians were all members of the stranded Czech Legion actually, a corps whose name was derived from the French Foreign Legion, which had included Czech troops on the Western Front. They were stranded in Russia when the Soviets withdrew from the war. Lenins government at first allowed the Czech Legion free passage from the defunct Eastern Front via the Trans-Siberian Railway. A clash between the Czechs and Magyars (i.e., Hungarians) while en route made the local commissars demand their disarmament for continued safe travel, which the indomitable Czechs refused to obey. Idyllic champion of a self-determined post-war Czechoslovakia in Eastern Europe, Wilson prioritized the Czechoslovak Legions deliverance. The Great War: The president arrives to make peace One hundred years ago, on his lucky day, Friday the 13th, December 1918, arriving in Brest, France, Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924) made history as the first American president to visit Europe. The AEF guarded the Trans-Siberian Railway. Wisely, Graves did not get ensconced in the Entente-Japan-China military actions against the Bolshevik Reds nor in the political intrigues of the Whites in spite of much pressure upon him to help crush Bolshevism in its cradle. (To protect Chinese worker settlements in Siberia, China had sent 2,300 troops.) American ambassador to Russia David Francis,appealed to Wilson to additionally send 100,000 U.S. troops to bury the putrid corpse of Bolshevism. Cannily, a well-informed Wilson realized that escalated U.S. intervention in Russia would not be tolerated by an America now wanting renewed home prosperity, especially with the June 28, 1919 signing of the Versailles Treaty. April 1,1920, saw the last Americans of the Siberian AEF depart, losing 189 men in nine months while saving the Czech Legion and Eastern Siberia. Futini is a Napa-based history enthusiast. This is the latest in an occasional series marking the 100th anniversary of the First World War and its world-shaping aftermath. He will give a presentation to the Napa Evening Rotary Club, Tuesday, March 17, 2020, at 6:30 p.m., on the topic of The Versailles Treaty at 101, 1919-2020. Hyderabad: Film actor and politician Prakash Raj participated in a protest meeting against the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) at Dharna Chowk on Monday. Speaking at the event, Raj slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah for their conflicting statements on the NRC. Shah is speaking the truth when he says NRC will be implemented across the country. But Modi is lying to the people. In any case, there is very little honesty in either of these leaders, he said. He suggested there could be a register of unemployed people instead. The Bengaluru-based politician said the Prime Minister had no right to ask citizens for their credentials. A man who doesnt have a certificate to prove his degree wants us to submit all our documents to him, he said. Raj advised the protesters to maintain their non-violent approach. The powers that be want us to get violent. They want to crush us. Dont give them the opportunity, he said. Other participants in the meeting included academic-activist P.L. Vishweshwar Rao and leaders of student unions and various universities in the city. Ukraine still insists that the "black boxes" from the passenger plane of Ukraine International Airlines (UIA), which was downed over Tehran on January 8, be passed to it, Foreign Minister of Ukraine Vadym Prystaiko has said. "In 10 minutes we have a meeting with the Iranian minister. The Iranians are already here. And just what to do with these 'black boxes' is one of the key parts of our conversation. This is the Minister of Infrastructure and Roads. He is the official representative of Iran, his main task is to apologize, acknowledge what happened. We hope that we can go a little further than just political definitions and discuss practical problems. Among them are 'black boxes,'" he said at a press conference in Kyiv on Monday. According to him, the conversation will also concern compensations to the families of the victims, but stressed that lawyers will discuss the topic in more detail. Prystaiko said the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine (PGO) has already requested a joint investigation into the disaster. "As you know, the criminal case in Ukraine has already been opened. We will demand the creation of a group that will work together in Iran to collect data, access to all sources of information, negotiations, dispatch data, aviation data, etc.," he said. As reported, Prystaiko said in parliament on Friday that Ukraine wants Iran's guilt in the downing of an UIA plane in Tehran documented. Ukraine will raise this issue in the UN Security Council. Nepal's Deputy Speaker of House of Representatives, Shiva Maya Tumbahangphe, announced her resignation from the post on Monday afternoon. Tumbahangphe's resignation came shortly after she chaired the House meeting at 1 pm (Local Time) on Monday. "In order to vent this confusion, I have been minutely observing ongoing discussions. Majority owing party in House Of Representatives have claimed leadership; facilitation of proceeding as per our constitutional and legal practices," Tumbahangphe said while addressing the House meeting. Ruling Nepal Communist Party has fielded Agni Prasad Sapkota as the candidate for the Speaker of the House. Opposition Nepali Congress is yet to decide over the candidate it would file for the post. The post of Nepal's Parliament has remained vacant since early October 2019 when Krisha Bahadur Mahara had to resign from the post following the allegations of rape. Article 91 (2) of the constitution has the mandatory provision of electing the speaker and deputy speaker from different political parties and gender. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The best bang for your buck! This option enables you to purchase online 24/7 access and receive the Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday print edition at no additional cost * Print edition only available in our carrier delivery area. Allow up to 72 hours for delivery of your print edition to begin. Print edition not available for Day Pass option. By ANI NEW DELHI: Difference of opinions among Congress leaders have started coming to fore over the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 in States of the country following the passing of resolution against the new legislation by the Assemblies of Kerala and Punjab. After Congress leader Kapil Sibal, party colleague and former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda also said that a state cannot refuse to implement a law passed by Parliament. "Once a law or act is passed by the Parliament, I think that the constitutional view is that, any state can't and should not say no but this has to be legally examined," Hooda said on Sunday. ALSO READ | Hope after Kapil Sibal's clarification on CAA, Amarinder Singh will behave responsibly: BJP Congress leader Kapil Sibal, who is also a renowned lawyer, had said that no state can say that it will not implement the Citizenship Amendment Act, as doing so will be unconstitutional. Former union minister and party leader Salman Khurshid also backed Sibal and said 'if something is on the statute book, you have to obey the law'. "If the SC doesn't interfere, it'll remain on the statute book. If something is on the statute book, you have to obey the law, else there are consequences. It is a matter where the state governments have a very serious difference of opinion with the Centre as far as this (CAA) law is concerned. So, we would wait for the final pronouncement made by the SC. Ultimately, the SC will decide and till then everything said, done, not done is provisional and tentative," he said. ALSO READ: CM Pinarayi Vijayan urges Opposition to join hands with govt in fight against CAA However, senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel said that that his party is thinking about bringing a resolution against the CAA in Congress-ruled states. "After Punjab, we are thinking about bringing a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act in states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh. It would be a clear message to the Central Government to reconsider the Act," he said. Several Opposition parties including Congress are opposing the CAA grants citizenship to the non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, who came to India on or before December 31, 2014. Several petitions have also been filed against the new Act in the Supreme Court. Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh also announced that his government will be joining the Kerala government in the Apex Court against CAA. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday sought the Centres response to a plea challenging the National Commission for Minorities (NCM)s constitutional validity. It gave four weeks to the Centre to respond and listed the matter for hearing next in March. In their plea, six petitioners claiming to be Sanatan Vedic Dharam followers have sought the scrapping of the National Commission for Minorities Act that governs the panel and to restrain the Centre from implementing and spending government funds on 14 schemes for the minorities. When asked to give his views on the matter, attorney general K K Venugopal told the court that the issue involves constitutional questions and that a five-judge constitution bench should hear it. The petitioners have alleged the Hindu community was being discriminated against on the grounds of religion as a number of government schemes favour certain religious minority communities even as the Constitution does not provide for special provisions in the name of religion. The petitioners have pleaded that citizens cannot be forced to pay taxes for the promotion of religious minorities as it violates the right to equality under the Constitutions Article 14, the prohibition against discrimination under Article 15 and freedom against payment of taxes for promotion of any particular religion under Article 27. The NCM was set up in 1992 and Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, and Zoroastrians have been notified as minority communities. States like Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Delhi, Jharkhand, and Karnataka have also set up state minorities commissions. The functions of these Commissions, inter-alia, are to safeguard and protect the interests of minorities provided in the Constitution and laws enacted by Parliament and the State Legislatures, according to the NCM website. Aggrieved persons belonging to the minority communities may approach the concerned State Minorities Commissions for redressal of their grievances. They may also send their representations, to the National Commission for Minorities, after exhausting all remedies available to them. The petitioners have challenged the 14 central schemes for the benefit of religious minorities for which Rs 4,700 crore of taxpayers money was being spent in the current financial year. They have argued that special benefits and advantages under Constitutions Article 15(4) can be provided only to communities found to be socially and educationally backward. No religion or religious groups can be promoted using tax payers money and, therefore, no minority commission can be created, they argued. The petitioners have underlined the government cannot promote minoritism, show inclination towards minorities and initiate beneficial schemes for them. Such an action will be detrimental for Indias sovereignty and integrity of and sow seeds for another division, the petitioners argued. Right to equality, equal protection of the law, rule of law and a secular state are basic pillars of Indian Constitution, the petition says. Our bone of contention before the Supreme Court is that religious minority cannot be treated to be a class and, therefore, money spent in their favour would be violative of Articles 14, 15 and 27. The petition raises pertinent issues which will have a significant bearing on the interpretation of minority rights, advocate for the petitioners, Vishnu Shankar Jain told HT. Advertisement Jennifer Aniston earned a shock win in the Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series category at the SAG Awards. However, the writing was on the wall for several other categories as her ex Brad Pitt, Renee Zellweger, Laura Dern, and Joaquin Phoenix continued their winning streaks through award season as they each triumphed in the same categories at both the Golden Globes and Critics' Choice Awards in recent weeks. Aniston, 50, was recognized for her work on The Morning Show as she seemed very surprised while addressing the star-studded audience at the 26th annual event held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The former star of Friends faced heavy competition in the category as she triumphed over the likes of: Helena Bonham Carter (The Crown), Olivia Colman (The Crown), Jodie Comer (Killing Eve), and Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaids Tale). Wow factor: Jennifer Aniston earned a shock win in the Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series Toast of the town: This came after her ex-husband Brad Pitt (left) and Laura Dern continued their Award Season winning streak in the supporting actor categories Road to The Oscars: They were not the only ones who kept winning ways going as Renee Zellweger (left) and Joaquin Phoenix also won Outstanding Performance by a Female and Male Actor in a Leading Role, respectively Trailblazing: Parasite shocked as the Bong Joon Ho directed and written film won the top honor of the night: Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture (left to right: So-dam Park, Sun-kyun Lee, Woo-sik Choi, Jeong-eun Lee, and Kang-ho Song) Aniston thanked her co-star Reese Witherspoon on the AppleTV+ series during the acceptance speech as she said: 'I love you, girl. It took 20 years, but we did it.' She also took the time to thank her often-collaborator and good friend Adam Sandler who was snubbed out of an Academy Awards nomination earlier this week as she concluded her speech: 'Your performance is extraordinary and your magic is real. I love you, buddy.' No doubt Aniston worked hard to get where she is throughout her career which has spanned over 30 years. She said: 'You know, I was thinking back to when I was a little girl...I would tape Laverne & Shirley, Happy Days, and others. I would listen to them. I would think one day I am going to do that.' Aniston portrayed news anchor Alex Levy in the series that gives an inside look at the lives of the people who help America wake up in the morning, exploring the unique challenges faced by the men and women who carry out this daily televised ritual. Unbelievable: The 50-year-old actress looked flummoxed as she was recognized for her work on The Morning Show as she seemed very surprised while addressing the star-studded audience What an upset! Jennifer faced heavy competition in the category as she triumphed over the likes of: Helena Bonham Carter (The Crown), Olivia Colman (The Crown), Jodie Comer (Killing Eve), and Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaids Tale) 'Your performance is extraordinary and your magic is real. I love you, buddy': She also took the time to thank her often-collaborator and good friend Adam Sandler who was snubbed out of an Academy Awards nomination earlier this week as she concluded her speech Buzzworthy: Aniston (pictured with Steve Carrell) portrayed news anchor Alex Levy in the series that gives an inside look at the lives of the people who help America wake up in the morning, exploring the unique challenges faced by the men and women who carry out this daily televised ritual This came after her ex-husband Pitt and veteran actress Dern continued their Award Season winning streak. The 56-year-old actor and 52-year-old actress were both honored in the Outstanding Performance by a Actor in a Supporting Role Male and Female categories, respectively. Both stars have earned Critics' Choice and Golden Globes in similar categories in the weeks leading up. Brad - who was recognized by his peers for his work in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood - was the king of one-liners as he looked at his green actor award and quipped: 'I have to add this to my Tinder bio.' Dynamic duo: Brad Pitt and Laura Dern continued their Award Season winning streak at the SAG Awards Cheesing it up: Brad - who was recognized by his peers for his work in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood - was the king of one-liners as he looked at his green actor award and quipped: 'I have to add this to my Tinder bio' Hilarious: He kept the audience laughing as he joked about his role in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood as he said: 'Let's be honest. It was a difficult part. A guy who gets high, takes his shirt off and doesn't get on with his wife' Support system: The live broadcast quickly cut to his ex-wife Aniston who clapped and looked on approvingly during his speech Top of the world: He faced heavy competition in the category including: Jamie Foxx (Just Mercy), Tom Hanks (A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood), Al Pacino (The Irishman). and Joe Pesci (The Irishman) Dynamic duo: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood tells the story of TV star Rick Dalton (DiCaprio) and his longtime stunt double Cliff Booth (Pitt), who make their way around an industry they hardly recognize anymore Rekindling the flame? The two A-listers were later seen sharing an embrace backstage as they congratulated each other on their wins leading social media into a frenzy He faced heavy competition in the category including: Jamie Foxx (Just Mercy), Tom Hanks (A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood), Al Pacino (The Irishman). and Joe Pesci (The Irishman). Pitt thanked his fellow nominees and actors at the event as he said: 'Thank you, my brothers, my sisters. This means so much. More than I can possibly fathom. 'I want you to know I watch everything. I watch you all, and the work has been mesmerizing. So I thank you.' Pitt then laughed at Tarantino's famous foot fetish, as he joked: 'I want to thank my co-stars, Leo [DiCaprio], Margot Robbie, Margot Robbie's feet.' His film Once Upon A Time In Hollywood tells the story of TV star Rick Dalton (DiCaprio) and his longtime stunt double Cliff Booth (Pitt), who make their way around an industry they hardly recognize anymore. Credit where it's due: During her acceptance speech she said: 'I want to thank our Marriage Story family, Noah Baumbach, our incredible cast, Adam [Driver] and Scarlett [Johansson], the two partners in law I would like to share this with Alan Alda and Ray Liotta' Amazing: Laura bested Scarlett Johansson (Jojo Rabbit), Nicole Kidman (Bombshell), Jennifer Lopez (Hustlers), and Margot Robbie (Bombshell) for her role in A Marriage Story Kicking her feet up: She lounged proudly with her new hardware What a moment! She also shared a moment with her legendary actor father Bruce Dern as she gave him a hug before hitting the podium for her speech, as the Big Little Lies star commented: 'Im so emotional because I got to hug my dad' Captivating: In Marriage Story, Dern plays Nora - the fiery divorce lawyer who represents Scarlett Johansson's character Nicole in her divorce from Adam Drivers Charlie SAG Awards 2020 Winners Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role Christian Bale - Ford v Ferrari Leonardo DiCaprio - Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Adam Driver - Marriage Story Taron Egerton - Rocketman Joaquin Phoenix - Joker - WINNER Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role Cynthia Erivo - Harriet Scarlett Johansson - Marriage Story Lupita Nyongo - Us Charlize Theron - Bombshell Renee Zellweger - Judy - WINNER Sweep: Renee has won the Golden Globe, Critics' Choice, and now the SAG Award for her role portraying Judy Garland Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role Jamie Foxx - Just Mercy Tom Hanks - A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood Al Pacino - The Irishman Joe Pesci - The Irishman Brad Pitt - Once Upon a Time in Hollywood - WINNER Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role Laura Dern - Marriage Story - WINNER Scarlett Johansson - Jojo Rabbit Nicole Kidman - Bombshell Jennifer Lopez - Hustlers Margot Robbie - Bombshell Blonde ambition: Laura Dern was recognized for her role as Nora the divorce lawyer in Marriage Story Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Bombshell - Lionsgate The Irishman - Netflix Jojo Rabbit - Fox Once Upon a Time in Hollywood - Sony Parasite - Neon - WINNER Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture Avengers: Endgame - WINNER Ford v Ferrari The Irishman Joker Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series Game of Thrones - WINNER GLOW Stranger Things The Walking Dead Watchmen Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries Mahershala Ali - True Detective Russell Crowe - The Loudest Voice Jared Harris - Chernobyl Jharrel Jerome - When They See Us Sam Rockwell - Fosse/Verdon - WINNER Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries Patricia Arquette - The Act Toni Collette - Unbelievable Joey King - The Act Emily Watson - Chernobyl Michelle Williams - Fosse/Verdon - WINNER Transcendent: Michelle Williams was honored for her role as Gwen Verdon Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series Sterling K. Brown - This Is Us Steve Carell - The Morning Show Billy Crudup - The Morning Show Peter Dinklage - Game of Thrones - WINNER David Harbour - Stranger Things Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series Jennifer Aniston - The Morning Show - WINNER Helena Bonham Carter - The Crown Olivia Colman - The Crown Jodie Comer - Killing Eve Elisabeth Moss - The Handmaids Tale Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series Alan Arkin - The Kominsky Method Michael Douglas - The Kominsky Method Bill Hader - Barry Andrew Scott - Fleabag Tony Shalhoub - The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel - WINNER Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series Christina Applegate - Dead to Me Alex Borstein - The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Rachel Brosnahan - The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Catherine OHara - Schitts Creek Phoebe Waller-Bridge - Fleabag - WINNER Hey Obama! Phoebe Waller-Bridge was recognized once again for her work on Fleabag Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Big Little Lies - HBO The Crown - Netflix - WINNER Game of Thrones - HBO The Handmaids Tale - Hulu Stranger Things - Netflix Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Barry - HBO Fleabag - Amazon The Kominsky Method - Netflix The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel - Amazon - WINNER Schitts Creek - CBC Television/Pop TV Advertisement He kept the audience laughing as he joked about his role in the film as he said: 'Let's be honest. It was a difficult part. A guy who gets high, takes his shirt off and doesn't get on with his wife.' The live broadcast quickly cut to his ex-wife Aniston who clapped and looked on approvingly during his speech. The two A-listers were later seen sharing an embrace backstage as they congratulated each other on their wins leading social media into a frenzy. Meanwhile, Laura bested Scarlett Johansson (Jojo Rabbit), Nicole Kidman (Bombshell), Jennifer Lopez (Hustlers), and Margot Robbie (Bombshell) for her role in A Marriage Story. Going streaking: Dern and Pitt were not the only ones who kept their winning ways going as Renee Zellweger and Joaquin Phoenix also continued their streak as they won Outstanding Performance by a Female and Male Actor in a Leading Role, respectively Interesting: She surprised many as she thanked her co-star from 1996 film Jerry Maguire, Tom Cruise, toward the end of her speech as she said: 'Tom Cruise, for your example of professionalism on set and striving for excellence and generosity and unconditional kindness' Golden: The 50-year-old actress was recognized for her performance in Judy as she was declared the winner over Cynthia Erivo (Harriet), Scarlett Johansson (Marriage Story), Lupita Nyongo (Us), and Charlize Theron (Bombshell) Ready for her close-up: She posed on some stairs next to her green actor award Quite the transformation: Judy follows legendary performer Judy Garland after she arrives in London in the winter of 1968 to perform a series of sold out concert In the Netflix film, Dern plays Nora - the fiery divorce lawyer who represents Scarlett Johansson's character Nicole in her divorce from Adam Drivers Charlie. During her acceptance speech she said: 'I want to thank our Marriage Story family, Noah Baumbach, our incredible cast, Adam [Driver] and Scarlett [Johansson], the two partners in law I would like to share this with Alan Alda and Ray Liotta.' She also shared a moment with her legendary actor father Bruce Dern as she gave him a hug before hitting the podium for her speech, as the Big Little Lies star commented: 'Im so emotional because I got to hug my dad.' Dern and Pitt were not the only ones who kept their winning ways going as Renee Zellweger and Joaquin Phoenix also continued their streak as they won Outstanding Performance by a Female and Male Actor in a Leading Role, respectively. Top dog: Joaquin came out on top for his role in Joker over Christian Bale (Ford v Ferrari), Leonardo DiCaprio (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood), Adam Driver (Marriage Story), and Taron Egerton (Rocketman) Nice: The 45-year-old actor sweetly recognized each of his fellow nominees and described how he feels about their work while thanking them for inspiring him Put a smile on that face: Of course Joker follows mentally troubled comedian Arthur Fleck who is mistreated by society leading him into a downward spiral with the eventual path of becoming his supervillian alter-ego Happy: Joaquin happily posed next to the green actor trophy Honoring: However the most talked about acknowledgement was aimed toward an actor who had played his role of Joker previously as he concluded his speech: 'Im standing here on the shoulders of my favorite actor Heath Ledger' Classic: Heath Ledger in 2008's The Dark Knight which earned him a SAG Award in Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role and the Oscar for that same category in 2009 All eyes on him: The leading man smiled as he was acknowledged by fans backstage The 50-year-old actress was recognized for her performance in Judy as she was declared the winner over Cynthia Erivo (Harriet), Scarlett Johansson (Marriage Story), Lupita Nyongo (Us), and Charlize Theron (Bombshell). She surprised many as she thanked her co-star from 1996 film Jerry Maguire, Tom Cruise, toward the end of her speech as she said: 'Tom Cruise, for your example of professionalism on set and striving for excellence and generosity and unconditional kindness.' Judy follows legendary performer Judy Garland after she arrives in London in the winter of 1968 to perform a series of sold out concert. Joaquin came out on top for his role in Joker over Christian Bale (Ford v Ferrari), Leonardo DiCaprio (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood), Adam Driver (Marriage Story), and Taron Egerton (Rocketman). His film follows mentally troubled comedian Arthur Fleck who is mistreated by society leading him into a downward spiral with the eventual path of becoming his supervillian alter-ego. The 45-year-old actor sweetly recognized each of his fellow nominees and described how he feels about their work while thanking them for inspiring him. However the most talked about acknowledgement was aimed toward an actor who had played his role of Joker previously as he concluded his speech: 'Im standing here on the shoulders of my favorite actor Heath Ledger.' Parasite shocked as the Bong Joon Ho directed and written film won the top honor of the night: Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. Unbelievable: Korean film Parasite shocked as it beat out Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, Bombshell, The Irishman, and Jojo Rabbit (from left: Park So-dam, Bong Joon-ho, Jang Hye-jin, Choi Woo-shik, and Lee Sun Gyun) Tense: The film follows all unemployed, Ki-taek (Kang-ho Song - seen second from left) and his family take peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks, as they ingratiate themselves into their lives and get entangled in an unexpected incident The Korean film shocked as it beat out Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, Bombshell, The Irishman, and Jojo Rabbit. Notably missing out on the best ensemble nomination was Noah Baumbach's divorce drama Marriage Story, which earlier this month led the Golden Globe nominations with six nods. The much-praised film made history as it was just the second foreign language film to be nominated for the SAGs' top award. Parasite follows all unemployed, Ki-taek (Kang-ho Song) and his family take peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks, as they ingratiate themselves into their lives and get entangled in an unexpected incident. Dynamic duo: Michelle Williams and Sam Rockwell represented Fosse/Verdon as they earned Outstanding Performance by a Female and Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries, respectively Challenging: The two starred in the FX limited series which detailed the romantic and creative partnership between choreographer/director, Bob Fosse (Rockwell), and Gwen Verdon (Williams), one of the greatest Broadway dancers of all-time United front: During her speech Williams, 39 said she was 'so damn lucky' to work with 51-year-old Rockwell Owning it: Rockwell's road to victory was also no easy task as he defeated Mahershala Ali (True Detective), Russell Crowe (The Loudest Voice), Jared Harris (Chernobyl), and Jharrel Jerome (When They See Us) Michelle Williams and Sam Rockwell represented Fosse/Verdon as they earned Outstanding Performance by a Female and Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries, respectively. The two starred in the FX limited series which detailed the romantic and creative partnership between choreographer/director, Bob Fosse (Rockwell), and Gwen Verdon (Williams), one of the greatest Broadway dancers of all-time. During her speech Williams, 39 said she was 'so damn lucky' to work with 51-year-old Rockwell. She faced several of the best actresses in the world as she was up against Patricia Arquette (The Act), Toni Collette (Unbelievable), Joey King (The Act), and Emily Watson (Chernobyl). Rockwell's road to victory was also no easy task as he defeated Mahershala Ali (True Detective), Russell Crowe (The Loudest Voice), Jared Harris (Chernobyl), and Jharrel Jerome (When They See Us). Earlier in the night, Phoebe Waller-Bridge honored her Fleabag castmates as she won Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series. Despite talking about the cast of the series earnestly, The 34-year-old actress did show off her signature charm as she joked about her 'painted on abs.' Waller-Bridge portrays the titular character in the groundbreaking series - which she adapted from an award-winning play - as it follows a young woman trying to cope with life in London while coming to terms with a recent tragedy. Icon: Phoebe Waller-Bridge was honored with Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series as the SAG Awards kicked off Transparency: Despite talking about the cast of the series earnestly, The 34-year-old actress did show off her signature charm as she joked about her 'painted on abs' Talented: Waller-Bridge portrays the titular character in the groundbreaking series - which she adapted from an award-winning play - as it follows a young woman trying to cope with life in London while coming to terms with a recent tragedy Phoebe beat out an impressive field including Christina Applegate (Dead to Me), Alex Borstein (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), and Catherine OHara (Schitts Creek). Unfortunately the cast as a whole did not earn the top honor in the comedy series genre as they lost Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series to The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. They also beat out Barry. The Kominsky Method, and Schitt's Creek. It was a huge night for the Amazon series as Tony Shalhoub also won Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series. He faced stiff-competition including: Alan Arkin (The Kominsky Method), Michael Douglas (The Kominsky Method), Bill Hader (Barry), and Andrew Scott (Fleabag). Squad: Unfortunately the cast as a whole did not earn the top honor in the comedy series genre as they lost Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series to The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel as `is shown accepting the honor Beautiful in blue: Lead actress Rachel Brosnahan also shared a few sweet words Marvelous: Tony Shalhoub also won Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Throwback: Marvelous Mrs. Maisel follows a housewife (Rachel Brosnahan) in the 1960s decides to become a stand-up comic Marvelous Mrs. Maisel follows a housewife (Rachel Brosnahan) in the 1960s decides to become a stand-up comic. Peter Dinklage earned his first individual SAG Award in the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series for his work in Game Of Thrones. He defeated Sterling K. Brown (This Is Us), Steve Carell (The Morning Show), Billy Crudup (The Morning Show), and David Harbour (Stranger Things). The 50-year-old actor had previously won Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture as an ensemble with the cast of Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. He famously played Tyrion Lannister on the HBO series which concluded last year and was one of the most successful television programs of all-time. Rounding out the winners was The Crown which won Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. He earned it! Peter Dinklage earned his first individual SAG Award in the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series for his work in Game Of Thrones Signature role: He famously played Tyrion Lannister on the HBO series which concluded last year and was one of the most successful television programs of all-time The series which is centered around Queen Elizabeth II and the Royal Family won the battle over Big Little Lies, Game of Thrones, The Handmaids Tale, and Stranger Things. Helena Bonham Carter - who plays Princess Margaret - accepted the award on behalf of her cast as she said: 'It's the most fun, and I'm amazed that we get a prize on top of the funness of doing it. 'It's our privilege to be on this great show. I've had the time of my life I think we all have and it's as good as it gets, this show. I really recommend it if you want a job. It's amazing how well produced this thing is, and it's because of [producers] Suzanne Mackie and Andy Harries over there. I would thank everybody else, but they're all asleep.' Crowning achievement: Rounding out the winners was The Crown which won Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series 'It's the most fun': Helena Bonham Carter - who plays Princess Margaret - accepted the award on behalf of her cast Royals: Helena, Erin Doherty, Josh O'Connor and Sam Phillips are pictured from left to right British rule: Phoebe and Helena posed with their new trophies backstage at the gala Robert De Niro was presented one of the top honors by Leonardo DiCaprio at the event as he was given the Lifetime Achievement Award. The 76-year-old acting legend took the platform to take a veiled shot at US President Donald Trump as he said: 'Theres right, and theres wrong and there's common sense, and theres abuse of power 'And if I have a bigger voice because of my situation, Im going to use it whenever I see a blatant abuse of power. And thats all Im going say about that tonight.' Real recognize real: Robert De Niro was presented one of the top honors by Leonardo DiCaprio at the event as he was given the Lifetime Achievement Award Lots of love: Leo gave the acting legend a kiss on the cheek 'Theres right, and theres wrong and there's common sense, and theres abuse of power': The 76-year-old acting legend took the platform to take a veiled shot at US President Donald Trump Nice: He then went on to thank his 'comrades in arms' for bestowing the life achievement honor, presented by the Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Actors Respect: The crowd and Leo applauded for the Goodfellas star He then went on to thank his 'comrades in arms' for bestowing the life achievement honor, presented by the Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Actors. The Screen Actors' Guild Awards have long been been a bellwether for Oscar success, since actors make up the largest percentage of the Academy so perhaps this evening's events will be a taste what's to come. The repeating four winners Pitt, Zellweger, Phoenix, and Dern are all up for Academy Awards on February 9. Ravishing in red: Jennifer Garner looked stunning in a ruby number as she presented at the gala event Up and comers: Young stars Kaitlyn Dever and Lili Reinhart spoke on stage Good fun: Filmmaker Taika Waititi, Scarlett Johansson and Roman Griffin Davis spoke on stage Legend: Glenn Close looked amazing as she hit the podium Family affair: Father and son Eugene and Dan Levy made clear that they were not hosts of the show as they announced the first and last awards of the night Recently, a SAG ensemble nomination hasn't been quite as vital for a best-picture winner at the Oscars as in years past. The last two winners, Green Book and The Shape of Water, managed the feat without a nod for the screen actors' top award. Before that, it had been two decades since the SAG Awards didn't help predict the eventual best-picture winner. Usually, about four out of five individual SAG nominees go on to land an Oscar nomination. Meet us in Monterrey: Meryl Streep (standing), Zoe Kravitz, Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, and Laura Dern (seen from left to right) posed for a snap together as they starred together on season 2 of Big Little Lies last year Who knew they were friends? Jennifer Lopez was lucky enough to hang out with Phoebe Waller-Bridge as they posed for a snap together Pals: J-Lo and Jamie Foxx got the opportunity to catch up together Legally lovable: Michelle Williams and Reese Witherspoon shared a laugh All eyes on her: Jennifer signed a few posters before stepping into the event Wonderful tonight: Michelle and Rachel Brosnahan happily autographed the prints Specs appeal: Meryl posed up with fellow veteran actor John Lithgow Fleabag and the Hot Priest: Co-stars Phoebe and Andrew Scott seemed to have a blast together A LONG PETAL OF THE SEA By Isabel Allende In January of 1939, after three and a half years of devastating civil war, Francisco Franco defeated Spains Republican army at Barcelona, clinching a dictatorship that would last for nearly a half-century and displacing hundreds of thousands of soldiers, activists and Republican supporters. Many fled across the Pyrenees into France thinking theyd escaped the worst, only to find themselves behind barbed wire in concentration camps like Argeles-sur-Mer, half-dead from cold and hunger. Though the larger world seemed as blind to Spains displaced population as theyd been to the war itself, the Chilean diplomat and poet Pablo Neruda lobbied to save over 2,000 of the refugees, as many as could fit on a nine-ton cargo ship called the Winnipeg, bound for political asylum. Nerudas far-reaching humanist act calls to mind Oskar Schindler, and is the little-known kernel of history at the heart of Isabel Allendes 17th novel, A Long Petal of the Sea. Allende, we learn from her authors note, first heard about Nerudas ship of hope in her childhood, when it caught in her memory and remained there for 40 years. Now she has deftly woven fact and fiction, history and memory, to create one of the most richly imagined portrayals of the Spanish Civil War to date, and one of the strongest and most affecting works in her long career. Spanning generations and continents, the novel follows an unforgettable pair of exiles granted passage on the Winnipeg: Victor Dalmau, an auxiliary medic in the war, and Roser Bruguera, a young woman carrying the child of Victors brother Guillem, missing in action. As the special consul for Spanish emigration, Neruda has been ordered to select candidates clinically, rejecting radicals and any candidates who are overly political or intellectual. His compassion becomes the stronger factor, however, an unexpected blessing for Victor and Roser, who manage to impress the poet with their selflessness and commitment to save the child at any cost. [ Read an excerpt from A Long Petal of the Sea. ] Victor and Roser marry, a bond that has nothing to do with romantic love, but something far richer and more reliable. As they begin their lives over again with nothing in Santiago, Chile, their partnership grows into deep friendship and emotional symbiosis. Only together, they realize, can they endure what theyve lost and recover a sense of purpose. The Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum has signed nine agreements to search for and produce oil and natural gas in the Mediterranean and Western Desert regions. The agreements include digging 38 wells with investments of a minimum $452.3 million and signing grants of about $84 million. According to a statement by the Ministry of Petroleum this morning, the agreements signed were between the Egyptian Petroleum Corporation and Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Co. (EGAS), Apache Corporation, BP plc, Shell Company and Petronas Company. Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El-Molla stated that with these nine agreements, the number of oil agreements signed by the ministry with investors and partners since July 2014 has reached 79 agreements. The minister added that another four agreements approved by the Egyptian House of Representatives will be signed later. Minister El-Molla explained that the ministry's strategy involves offering new international bids during the coming period as well as concluding more oil agreements. The minister asserted that the oil sector is the backbone of economic development, and that the oil agreements will attract new foreign investments that should help in boosting and maximising Egypt's oil reserves and production. Search Keywords: Short link: As the train approached the Southport station, prosecutors said Jackson grabbed a 55-year-old riders iPhone 11 and struggled with the man until a still at-large accomplice grabbed the victim from behind and pulled him backward. That allowed the teen to escape with the phone that retails between $700 and $1,100, prosecutors said. The victim wasnt seriously injured, according to an arrest report. The two opposition parties represented in Armenias parliament have named their representatives to an ad hoc commission tasked with drafting constitutional changes planned by the government. Under an executive order signed by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian earlier this month, the commission will consist of 15 members, including Justice Minister Rustam Badasian, the governments representative to the European Court of Human Rights, human rights ombudsman Arman Tatoyan and a representative of the countrys judges. It will also comprise six legal scholars, who will be chosen by the Justice Ministry on a supposedly competitive basis, two civil society members and representatives of the three political forces represented in the Armenian parliament. The opposition Bright Armenia (LHK) and Prosperous Armenia (BHK) parties will be represented in the commission by their senior lawmakers: Taron Sahakian and Gevorg Petrosian respectively. Vladimir Vartanian, the pro-government chairman of the parliament committee on legal affairs, will represent Pashinians My Step alliance. The government officially announced plans to amend the constitution in October as part of its strategy of reforming the national judicial and electoral systems. The strategy calls for constitutional changes relating to the work of judicial bodies and conduct of elections. There is also lingering speculation that Pashinian is considering restoring the presidential system of government in the country, even though he has made no public statements to that effect so far. My Steps parliamentary leader, Lilit Makunts, said on Monday that she sees no need for such a radical change. But she also said that it is up to the commission to recommend whether Armenia should remain a parliamentary republic. The BHK, which boasts the second largest group in the National Assembly, has yet to decide what kind of amendments to the Armenian constitution it should press for. The partys leader, Gagik Tsarukian, noted on Monday that in 2015 he was forced to temporarily leave the political arena because of opposing the switch to the parliamentary system of government initiated by then President Serzh Sarkisian. For its part, the LHK has been campaigning for constitutional curbs on sweeping powers enjoyed by the prime minister. Sahakian, its nominee for the commission, said the planned constitutional changes should end the overconcentration of power in the executive branch while preserving the parliamentary system. Makunts claimed in this regard that the existing system cannot be described super prime-ministerial because elections held in Armenia are no longer rigged and the parliamentary opposition is now in a better position to hold the government in check. Photograph: Mike Theiler/Reuters The two psychologists who designed the US enhanced interrogation programme that included waterboarding and other forms of torture are due to give evidence in open court for the first time this week. James Mitchell and Bruce Jessen will answer questions at a pre-trial hearing on the 9/11 attacks before a military tribunal in Guantanamo Bay. Lawyers for the defendants, who are among 40 detainees being held at prison camp on the island of Cuba, say it will be a unique opportunity to hold to account those responsible for approving and carrying out the use of torture, and to demonstrate that both the CIA and FBI were complicit in torture, with significant implications for any future trial of suspected 9/11 plotters. Mitchell and Jessen were former air force psychologists who were tasked by the CIA in 2002 to establish a programme of severe interrogation techniques. They were paid $1,800 a day and in 2005 they set up a private company, which provided most of the interrogators and most of the security staff at the black sites, secret detention facilities. The company was paid $81m for its services before its contract was terminated in 2009. The perverse work of these psychologists has dramatically set back the global fight against torture. The interrogation methods they championed have had a rippling effect around the world, said Julia Hall, a human rights lawyer with Amnesty International who is attending the hearings. The American Psychological Association has disowned Mitchell and Jessen for violating the ethics of their profession and leaving a stain on the discipline of psychology. But both men have insisted they did nothing wrong, arguing they were asked to do things that were declared legal by the George W Bush administration, and that they had to prevent the worst excesses of other interrogators. Defence lawyers and human rights advocates hope Mitchell and Jessen will cast more light on the scale of the torture programme, the culpability of senior officials and the role of the FBI, which has hitherto presented itself as uninvolved. Story continues The main points that I will be asking the witnesses about are the deep involvement of the FBI in the rendition detention and interrogation program, the huge bureaucracy that was necessary to support the use of coercive pressure as an interrogation tactic, and the elements of the CIAs programme that didnt involve Dr Mitchell and Dr Jessen at all, said James Connell, lawyer for one of the defendants, Ammar al-Baluchi, who will lead the questioning of Mitchell this week. There are many other people who are involved. Alka Pradhan, another Baluchi lawyer who will take the lead in questioning Jessen said the coming session was probably one of the most consequential hearings we have had yet in eight years of pre-trial hearings. At the core of the prosecution case are a set of statements made by the defendants in 2007 to FBI investigators. The government contends that this was a clean team of investigators who had nothing to do with torture. The statements were therefore untainted and admissible in court. Pradhan said the Mitchell and Jessen testimony would add to already considerable evidence that the FBI also had dirty hands. They knew that they needed clean interrogations in order to be able to prosecute and eventually execute, she said. The defence lawyers say there were FBI agents at the black sites during enhanced interrogations and that the FBI submitted questions for the interrogators to use, knowing torture was being used. This weeks hearing has been complicated by a new set of secrecy rules introduced by the prosecution on Thursday, that prevents defence lawyers from citing references to the interrogation programme in published books, even though they had been cleared for publication by the CIA. On the other hand, defence teams will be allowed to cite more details of dates, places and techniques used on detainees. The CIA has acknowledged that at least 39 prisoners were subjected to the enhanced interrogation techniques that included slamming detainees into a wall, confining them in a 21x30in (53x76cm) box, and waterboarding, the simulation of drowning by covering a prisoners face with cloth and pouring water on it. The UN and human rights groups have declared waterboarding and some of the other techniques to be torture. Defence and prosecution lawyers are due to argue over classification and other procedural issues in closed session at the military commission built on the Guantanamo naval base near the detention camp. Then the presiding judge, Col Shane Cohen, is expected to hold open sessions for at least some of the next two weeks. Mitchell and Jessen agreed an out of court settlement in a civil suit brought by the American Council on Civil Liberties on behalf of Suleiman Abdullah Salim and Mohamed Ben Soud, who were released without charges after being tortured, and the family of Gul Rahman, who died under interrogation in 2002 in one of the CIAs secret detention facilities around the world, known as black sites. Rahman died after being left shackled overnight naked from the waist down in a freezing concrete cell. Mitchell and Jessen said they had complained about Rahmans treatment but their warnings were ignored by senior CIA officials. The psychologists said their interrogation programme had been designed to induce a learned helplessness in detainees that would make them more compliant. Mitchell wrote a memoir, Enhanced Interrogation, in which he claimed that the enhanced interrogation techniques helped foil al-Qaida attacks on the US. I concluded that it would be immoral and unethical to ignore my obligation to use what I knew to defend our citizens and our way of life against enemies who themselves had initiated the conflict and whose stated goal was to destroy us, Mitchell wrote. His claims over the programmes success is disputed by a report by the Senate intelligence committee, which found that the enhanced interrogations produced no actionable intelligence. On Monday, the Supreme Court will decide the fate of Abdullahi Ganduje of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who is the governor of Kano State. Abba Yusuf of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is challenging the election of Mr Ganduje. The governor defeated his opponent (Mr Yusuf) after a rescheduled supplementary election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). On March 24, 2019, the INEC declared Mr Ganduje winner. Mr Ganduje scored 1,033,695 votes to defeat his closest rival, Mr Yusuf, who got 1,024,713 votes. Dissatisfied, the candidate of the PDP and his party approached the Kano State Election Petition Tribunal and then the Court of Appeal for election irregularities among others. Not being able to get a judgement in their favour, Mr Yusuf and his party are before the apex court, asking for an order overturning the lower courts decision and affirming them as the winner of the last governorship election. PDPs argument Appearing before the court on January 14, Mr Yusufs lawyer, Adegboyega Awomolo, asked the court to allow their appeal and grant all the appellants prayers. Mr Awomolo, in his submission to the seven-member panel of the Supreme Court led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria(CJN), Tanko Mohammed, noted that the returning officer had cancelled results in 207 polling units, declared the election inconclusive and rescheduled another election for March 23, 2019. The lawyer said, the cancellation made by the state returning officer in 207 polling units after announcing the entire results in the state is ultra vires(beyond his powers) and that the declaration of the election as inconclusive is also ultra vires. Therefore, the result of the second rescheduled election of March 23 is null and void, he argued. The only lawful votes at the Kano State governorship election were those announced by the returning officer on March 11. In conclusion, I urge your lordship to allow this appeal on the grounds that the appellant scored the highest votes at the election of March 9, 20,19 and satisfied section 179 (2) a and b. Opposing arguments But the lawyer representing INEC, Ahmed Raji, urged the court to summarily dismiss Mr Yusufs appeal. Mr Raji said it was not correct that the returning officer cancelled votes. He said the evidence laid did not prove any cancellation. Also, M N Duru, the lawyer to Mr Ganduje, said they had addressed all the issues raised in their brief of argument. The lawyer also said the appellants premise, exhibit P1 which is form EC8D, upon which the appellant based his argument, does not contain the results of all the 44 local governments that make up Kano State, contrary to his assertion. According to him, the form EC8D does not contain the results of the 207 polling units. Therefore, there was absolutely no way, the returning officer could have declared a winner out of that result. Mr Ganduje said out of the 207 polling units, 62 polling units were from Gama ward. The results from that unit were not collated by relevant officers as agents of the appellant carted away the results, locked himself up in a room with a pen, stayed there for an hour, did not return the results to INEC, but took them to the commissioner of police in the state, he said. Mr Duru said allowing the appeal would mean sanctioning election violence, giving credit to somebody who has clearly violated the law and admitted the same. He urged the apex court to dismiss the appeal with a substantial cost of N5 million in their favour. Advertisements The APC lawyer, Alex Iziyion, on his part, also urged the court to dismiss the appeal. With the submissions of the lawyers of the respective parties, Nigerians eagerly await the decision of the apex court on Monday. (Bloomberg Opinion) -- In his recent state of the nation address, Russian President Vladimir Putin spent about 20 minutes on a sweeping constitutional reform proposal designed to keep him in power indefinitely and about twice as much time on ideas meant to boost the birth rate. This is typical of Europes national-conservative governments, and even some relatively liberal ones, that are preoccupied with fertility policies because of declining populations. Perhaps theyre on to something. In a just-published working paper, economist Charles Jones of Stanford University built some models to show that so-called natalist policies may be much more important than we have appreciated in determining whether nations, and the world as a whole, will end up with a shrinking population and no economic growth or with both the population and the economy on a path of steady growth. The intuition behind the models is that growth is, essentially, a function of peoples ability to come up with new ideas, and if the number of people stops growing or falls, the stock of knowledge stops expanding. The social planner, Jones wrote, would like the economy to have a much higher fertility rate. But the global trend is going in the opposite direction: Historically, fertility rates in high-income countries have fallen from 5 children per women to 4, 3, 2, and now even fewer. From a familys standpoint, there is nothing special about above two versus below two and the demographic transition may lead families to settle on fewer than two children. The macroeconomics of the problem, however, make this distinction one of critical importance: it is the difference between an Expanding Cosmos of exponential growth in both population and living standards and an Empty Planet, in which incomes stagnate and the population vanishes. United Nations population data show birth rates going down steeply even in those parts of the world where it seemed just recently theyd never go down below the replacement rate of 2 births per woman. In Asia, for example, thats projected to happen between 2055 and 2060. More educated populations and more women in the workforce mean fewer kids, and these are factors that arent going away in the foreseeable future. Story continues In Europe, of course, the population growth rate already is negative. In the wealthier countries the decline is still offset by immigration from places that produce too many people for their countries of origin to sustain. Thats the case in Germany and France. But in post-Communist Eastern Europe, natalist policies are the only obvious way to slow down a population decline enhanced by emigration, which the European Unions free-movement policy has stimulated. Besides, natalism goes hand in hand with nativism, and in a number of Eastern European countries, voters, and subsequently governments, are wary of trying to increase immigration. In any case, counting on immigration isnt really a long-term solution. If the global population as a whole stops growing, this source of replenishing the labor forces and the stock of idea-generating researchers and entrepreneurs will run out. So the government of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban will start offering free in vitro fertilization to women starting Feb. 1, in addition to tax breaks and loan forgiveness for large families. Poland last year expanded its generous 500 Plus program, initially intended as a kind of unconditional basic income for families with at least two children, to those with just one child. The program, introduced in April 2016, pays families about 12% of the countrys average gross wage per child, and while some criticize it for the absence of means-testing, others welcome it as a form of recognizing the labor that goes into caring for children. Lithuania recently extended child benefits to all children and decided to pay for free lunches for all preschoolers. Other post-Communist nations, such as Slovakia and Bulgaria, have pro-fertility policies in place, though theyre less generous than Polands or Hungarys. Putins Russia is one of the worlds natalism champions. Though, unlike its former Eastern European satellites, it attracts a relatively large number of immigrants from former Soviet countries, the open-door policy is unpopular and, as Putin well knows, unsustainable because fewer people throughout the former Soviet Union are learning Russian or dreaming of moving to Russia. So the government has been offering maternity capital to new mothers a lump subsidy currently worth $7,600 that can go toward housing, education and other costs. Briefly, the policy appeared to work: In 2013, 2014 and 2015, the number of births in Russia exceeded the number of deaths. But then an economic downturn reversed the trend. In January through February of 2019, Russias natural population decrease, 236,900 people, was bigger than for the whole of 2018. Putin is ready to fight tooth and nail for a return to growth. Starting this year, low-income families are receiving, on average, $180 per child per month until the children reach age 3; in the state of the nation address, Putin proposed continuing to pay half that amount until age 7. He has also ordered the maternity-capital subsidy boosted to $10,000 for the second child. In addition, the government will offer hot meals to all primary-school students. The problem with the measures taken by Eastern European governments is that they dont really work as advertised. In a 2014 paper, the Brandeis University economist Elizabeth Brainerd wrote that natalist policies in post-Communist Europe have been only modestly effective in countering the impacts of widespread social changes, including new work opportunities for women and stronger incentives to invest in education. Indeed, more recent data appear to bear out this conclusion. In Poland, the 500 Plus program has lifted many families out of poverty, but the number of births and the fertility rates actually dropped in 2018. The population decline resumed after halting in 2017. In Russia, meanwhile, the brief baby boom largely took place in areas with the least economic opportunity those where the maternity capital went the furthest. Some of these areas are in the North Caucasus, a region with a high proportion of Muslims who traditionally have high birth rates. Big-city residents are more responsive to the general economic situation and to intangibles such as the level of freedom and a sense that the children will have a better future. So far, Putins policies havent produced much hope on any of those fronts and even if they did, thered be no guarantee that Russia wouldnt follow the Western European low fertility trend. Even though, in theory, pro-fertility policies appear desirable as global population growth slows, in practice there are no such policies proved to have a surefire effect. As Canadian political scientist Richard Togman wrote in Nationalizing Sex: Fertility, Fear and Power, his recent history of natalism: Thus far, efforts to increase fertility have primarily led to a change in the timing of births but not in the overall number of babies born. Regimes as violent and totalitarian as Nazi Germany and Communist Romania have failed to increase long-term birth rates, as have a multitude of more moderate approaches of many other states. In Togmans view, the problem with natalist politics is that theyre based on the manipulation of broad national statistics rather than on finding out why the birth rate is low in a specific nation or region. Governments almost never make studied inquiries of various demographic groups regarding what it would actually take to convince them to have another child, he wrote: Only through a detailed study of local context and with input from those whom the programs are deemed to serve can natalist policy be truly effective. By its nature, natalist policy relies on the buy-in of millions of people, and truly consensual efforts to change reproductive practices might yield great benefit to individuals, their communities, and the state. Because of this need for smart design and universal buy-in, illiberal governments such as Putins or Orbans arent likely to come up with the best solutions. Ultimately, that means humanity may come up with other ways of ensuring an expanding store of knowledge and continued growth before it cracks the secret of increasing fertility. Jones mentioned a couple of possibilities in his paper: Producing more ideas with the help of automation, or simply discovering a way to make people immortal. To contact the author of this story: Leonid Bershidsky at lbershidsky@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tobin Harshaw at tharshaw@bloomberg.net This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners. Leonid Bershidsky is Bloomberg Opinion's Europe columnist. He was the founding editor of the Russian business daily Vedomosti and founded the opinion website Slon.ru. 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. The government is considering a proposal of the commerce ministry to reduce the permitted quantity of tax-free foreign liquor and cigarettes purchased from a duty-free shop in line with the practice followed by countries such as the United States, China, South Korea and Singapore, two officials with direct knowledge of the matter said, requesting anonymity. The officials said the proposal was part of the larger exercise to curtail import of non-essential goods into the country. This measure is not for revenue considerations. Both liquor and cigarettes are sin products and should be discouraged. There is no point that India should be more liberal than countries such as the US, China and Singapore in allowing greater duty-free access to sin goods, the first official mentioned above said. According to the official, the proposal is based on an internal study. The US allows one litre of alcoholic beverage and China allows 1.5 litres. In case of South Korea, it is confined to one bottle of one litre, with the value not exceeding $400, the official said. Singapore does not allow passengers to carry cigarettes without paying duty. Australia allows 25 cigarettes and New Zealand 50. Why should India be more liberal? the official added. India allows inbound international passengers to buy two bottles or two litres of alcohol, and one carton of cigarette from duty-free shops. These shops are located at airports allowing passengers to purchase goods worth about 50,000 without paying any import duty. Various ministries send proposals for the budget, a second official said, adding that all proposals are examined by the finance ministry but not all are accepted. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union budget 2020-21 on February 1. Spokespersons of the finance ministry and the commerce ministry could not be contacted immediately for comment. The commerce ministry has also suggested an increase in customs duty on several products such as paper, footwear, rubber items and toys to promote Make in India, and boost manufacturing growth, officials said. The ministry has also proposed to rationalise import duties on more than 300 items from different sectors, including furniture, chemicals, rubber, coated paper and paper boards, the officials said. Law enforcers say the operation is targeting a "criminal organization". Operatives with the Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) and the SBU Security Service of Ukraine are conducting a number of searches and other investigative actions to get new evidence in criminal proceedings into the murder of Kherson activist Kateryna Handziuk. The raid was launched in the ity of Kherson and other settlements across the region "to suppress the activities of a criminal organization" engaged in acts of violence and arson, according to the PGO's website. "Suspicion was reported to the head of the criminal organization, who is a former aide to a Ukrainian MP of previous convocations. It should be noted the indictment against the specified individual is already being considered by Odesa's Prymorskiy district court," read the report. Read alsoUkraine's PGO chief on Handziuk murder: Prosecutors didn't want to probe case Law enforcers are now pressing charges against other members of the criminal organization, the report says. UNIAN memo. Kherson activist, advisor to the Mayor of Kherson and acting manager of affairs at Kherson City Council's executive committee Kateryna Handziuk, 33, on July 31, 2018, survived an act of acid throwing. She suffered burns to more than 35% of her body and underwent 11 operations in Kyiv. Handziuk died on November 4, 2018. The immediate cause of her death was a severed blood clot resulting from the acid attack. Police originally qualified the attack as an attempted murder committed with extreme cruelty, then its status was changed to completed murder. Six suspects were detained, one of whom, Mykola Novikov, was later released from custody as charges against him had been dropped. On May 7, 2019, the Prosecutor General's Office sent an indictment against five defendants in the case of the murder: Mykyta Hrabchuk, Volodymyr Vasyanovych, Vyacheslav Vishnevsky, Serhiy Torbin, and Viktor Horbunov. On June 6, the court announced their sentences. Torbin, the organizer of the murder, was sentenced to six years and six months in prison. Hrabchuk, the actual perpetrator of the crime, was sentenced to six years in prison. Accused of aiding, Vasyanovych and Horbunov were sentenced to four and three years in prison, respectively; accomplice Vishnevsky's sentence is four years' imprisonment. Oleksiy Levin, who has a criminal record, as well as Chairman of Kherson Regional Council Vladyslav Manger and Ihor Pavlovsky, who was an assistant to MP from the Petro Poroshenko's Bloc Mykola Palamarchuk, are also figures in the Handziuk murder case. Read alsoHandziuk murder case: Suspect Pavlovsky skips court hearing for fourth time Moreover, public activists believe that former Chairman of Kherson Regional State Administration Andriy Gordeev and former Deputy Chairman of Kherson Regional State Administration Yevhen Ryshchuk were involved in the crime. On October 3, Ukraine's PGO replaced a group of prosecutors in the Handziuk murder case. I really appreciated Stanley Heller's on the mark commentary on the topic of anti-Zionism as opposed to anti-Semitism. I concur with all of his thoughts. And I would add there are many other noble, fine Jewish people who are anti-Zionist and not anti-Semitic. In that category, I would add Noam Chomsky, noted M.I.T professor, philosopher and author; the editor of Haaretz newspaper in Israel (Haaretz grew to become the most influential newspaper in Israel under the leadership of its iconic publisher and editor Gershom Schocken (1939-1990).); the editors of The Intercept, founder/editor Glenn Greenwald et al ; Elleanne Green in London who publishes the facebook group site Palestine Live (a tremendous source of news as it happens daily on the ground in Palestine); Amy Goodman producer of the radio show 'Democracy Now!'; and my own political blog on facebook 'Common Sense' which seeks to give the American people news which is blocked from corporate news; just to name a few. The policies of Kushner/Trump are outrageously bad and are furthering the horrendous mistreatment of the Palestinian people. Rob Fuoco Burlington Misstating reality Stanley Hellers column Anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitism drew a number of responses which ignore or mis-state reality. I address some of the most obvious ones here. Non-Jewish Israelis do not enjoy equal political rights. The 2018 Nation State Law specifically declares Israel to be the nation state of the Jewish people. Further, it removes the status of Arabic as an official language of the state. Palestinians are highly educated productive human beings, with a vibrant culture that thrives despite the oppressive and violent occupation. No, they are not productive citizens, because they are denied citizenship status by the occupying authority, Israels supposedly robust judiciary is useless for West Bank Palestinians, who instead fall under the Israeli military justice system. This system is used regularly to imprison Palestinians for long periods of time without charge, and violently detain and abuse children. Israel has singled itself out in the community of nations. A recent Pew Research Center poll, conducted in 33 countries, reported that Israel is the only country in the world where a majority supports Trumps withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal. While people in the nations polled overwhelmingly said they dont trust Trump to do the right thing regarding world affairs, 71 percent of Israeli respondents gave him a vote of confidence. Israel counts as some of its closest friends some of the worlds most reactionary and racist leaders: Modi from India, Bolsonaro from Brazil, Orban from Hungary, Trump from the U.S., Duterte from the Philippines. Jewish students at American universities have expressed themselves in large numbers about their upset with Israels co-opting Judaism for its own political ends. For this, students have been excluded from Hillel, and instead have created a vibrant Open Hillel organization which promotes pluralism and open discourse on Israel/Palestine in Jewish communities on campus. Far from a handful of obscure persons and fringe groups, the movement for human rights in Israel and the Occupied Territories is strong. Jewish Voice for Peace has over 200,000 supporters. Across our nation, Jews young and old are rising up against the destructive narrative which says that Palestinians must be displaced in order for Jews to survive. Shelly Altman New Haven Religion is not ideology I fully agree with Stanley Hellers very clearly thought out and expressed criticism of President Trumps diktat, equating anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism and criminalizing the criticism of Israel, even in Academia. Anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism are two completely different conditions; they are not to be consciously or ignorantly confused. To equate them is tantamount to confusing anti-Communists as anti-Slaves, or anti-Nazis as anti-Germans. Zionism is the ideological foster child of the hey days of 19th century European colonialism; it was inspired by it and elaborated by a group of anti-assimilationist, nationalist Ashkenazi who, like their Christian colonialist and todays white supremacist counterparts, used the scripture to sell the notion that Jewishness is a distinct race and nationality, and that traditional Palestine is the Jews God given promised land, as Richard Shermans response to Hellers article suggests. These Ashkenazi Zionists set out to sell their ideology to governments and people internationally; they propagandized, raised funds and set up a Jewish Colonizing Society to purchase and colonize land in Palestine, and to finance and encourage emigration there. At the end of WWII, as the world became aware about the dreadful Holocaust, they aggressively, and successfully marketed their claim to Palestine, and with U.S arm twisting obtained by a slim vote at the UN the controversial right to a state in part of Palestine. The young Jewish State had to fight wars waged by the regional states attempting to prevent the realization of its scheme; after its 1967 victory Israel brutally ruled and creepily annexed more land in Palestine, and from Syria and Lebanon, and imposed on its subjected Palestinians inhumane military rules and harsh unacceptable restrictions and treatment reminiscent of South Africas now rejected Apartheid, even surpassing it by erecting innumerable checkpoints and walls that separated their own illegal settlements from the Palestinian farms, towns and villages. Judaism is a religion and a culture and its adherents are nationals of the countries where they reside, like any other residents; Zionism is a political ideology which proponents are not necessarily, exclusively Jewish; they may be Christians or whatever; so how could one reasonably call reaction to Israeli inhumanity toward its defenseless subjects anti-Semitic? Alfred G Gerteiny, Ph.D Bridgeport Author: The Terrorist Conjunction, The United States the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict and alQaida, Preager Security International, Greenwood Publishers, Westport, CT. & London UK, 2007 Reflections on Judaism Israel and allegations of anti-Semitism do not equal my Judaism. Israel, entrenched in the repressive nationalism of Zionism, does not reflect my Judaism. My Judaism is about justice, human rights and freedom. Being Jewish for me is about standing up for peoples right to pray to the God of your heart; to live in peace in a land of your choice and identification; to stand with all peoples who live with the horror of oppression; and to study and learn, to question and challenge. These are the values I was taught by my teachers in my local Hebrew School in the upper West Side of NYC. These are the ethical principles embodied by the civil rights activists who went down South, and gave their lives, to help with voter registration in the 1960s. Today I live and work in New Haven., and have for the past 35 years. I am a nurse, a grandmother, and a Jew. I am active in our local chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace, ever since my first visit to villages in the West Bank of Palestine where I witnessed first hand the terrorism and occupation by Israel over Palestinian families, homes, and farm lands. Israel uses the political weapon of Zionism to deny Palestinians their rightful access to water, livelihood, healthcare, education and nationhood. I have family I love who are Israeli, who live and work in Ashkelon and Tel Aviv, and who live in fear of more war, more killing and more death. As American Jews, as Israelis, as people of conscience - we need to stand up to leaders who put nationalism, militarism and personal gain in the dangerous guise of Zionism, and call it fighting anti-Semitism. That is not my Judaism. I work for peace and justice for all people because I am a Jew and an American. Ellen Rubin New Haven Entirely correct Stanley Heller is entirely correct that anti-Zionism, the belief that Israel should be transformed into a secular or binational democracy, is a legitimate viewpoint supported not just by many of Israel's Palestinian victims but also by multitudes of Jews including myself. When a 2018 poll asked American Jews if Israel can be both a Jewish state and a democracy, 1 in 5 responded, "No, it should be a democracy." This means that 20% of American Jews are effectively anti-Zionists. I am sure the percentage is even higher among younger Jews, since virtually all Jewish millennials I know are outraged at how Israel treats non-Jews as second-class citizens or worse. Therefore, Jared Kushner's recent op-ed, equating anti-Zionism with hostility to Jews, was highly misleading and totally ignored the diversity of viewpoints within Jewish communities. As a former New Haven resident, I was proud to see that the local paper published Heller's courageous response. Daniel Fischer South Bend, IN Led by fanatics Stanley Heller is correct in his assessment that Anti-Zionism does not equal Anti-semitism, and that President Trumps executive order is a transparent effort to crush free speech on campus. In the Zionist state of Israel, free speech is enforced by the use of munitions by the IDF and law enforcement, as well as many other non-lethal methods, against the Palestinians. Thats a fact that has been illuminated and verified by numerous human rights organizations. Trump, Jared Kushner and other Zionist sympathizers are intent on revoking the 1st Amendment rights of anyone on campus who attempts to bring these facts to light. Plain and simple. The numerous, well-organized critics of Hellers article like to toss around a bunch of biblical mumbo-jumbo and historical incompletes that are intended to obfuscate the obvious. Israel, led by Zionist fanatics, is a racist, apartheid state hiding behind Jewish historical victimhood. The oppressed have become the oppressors, in fact. Thats why many Jewish individuals and groups, especially younger Jews, and innumerable non-Jews, are turning away from Israel. They see the light. Sandy Bueti Winsted Agreement with Heller Equating Zionism and Semitism is wrong on the part of Jared Kushner. His claim that the two terms mean the same is an effort to limit free speech by those who want freedom and justice for the Palestinians. As a supporter of the Palestinians right to return to their homeland as well as an advocate of the boycott divest and sanction movement against the apartheid state of Israel, I wholeheartedly agree with Stanley Hellers opinion piece. Palestinians, both Muslim and Christian in affect live in an open air prison in Occupied Palestine. They are detained illegally, traumatized daily, murdered and all under the banner of Zionism in what is erroneously labeled a democratic society. Palestinians are a Semitic people as well so and should be seen as victims of antisemitism by the state of Israel. It is blatant hypocrisy to equate the two. Continued support of Israel as violators of international law in their treatment of Palestinians is continued support of Zionism. Jamilah Rasheed New Haven Much-needed intervention Stanley Heller's editorial "Anti-Zionism is not Anti-Semitism" is a much needed intervention in these troubling times with President Trump's Executive Order wrongly conflating the two, requiring federal agencies to use a definition of antisemitism that conflates criticism of Israel with antisemitism when investigating civil rights complaints alleging antisemitism on campuses. Jewish people all around the world are reclaiming Judaism from the political ideology of Zionism. As Israeli historian Ilan Pappe has documented, the secular Jews who founded the Zionist movement wanted both to secularize Jewish life and to use the Bible as a justification for colonizing Palestine, a contradiction to say the least. Moreover, what is too often missing in public discourse is recognition of the anti-Semitic roots of Zionism. It was Protestant scholars and politicians of the Bible, especially in Britain, who asserted that Jews had no place in Europe and pushed the Zionist movement towards Palestine. In his now twenty-year-old essay, "America's Last Taboo," Palestinian public intellectual Edward Said pointed out how American Zionism made any serious public discussion of the past or future of Israel a taboo. He noted that the while the U.S. public could handle discussions about any number of highly contentious social issues (e.g. abortion, homosexuality, the death penalty, and so forth), the systematic continuity of Israels cruelty toward the Palestinian people is hardly mentionable. Two decades later, this is still the case - and that must change; we must claim our right to not only openly discussion Zionism - but to challenge it categorically. Rather than protect Jewish students from actual anti-Semitism, the Executive Order obviously targets those who dare criticize Israel and those who dare stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people. J. Kehaulani Kauanui, Ph.D. Middletown J. Kehaulani Kauanui, Ph.D. is Professor of American Studies at Wesleyan University. She serves on the advisory board for the U.S. Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel. Regime change Stanley Heller is absolutely right. You can be an anti-Zionist without being an anti-Semite - and vice versa. (Look at the right-wing autocrats like Victor Orban.) I am one. I'm Jewish, and I'm not the only one. Zionism is support for Israel as a Jewish state, where Jews are privileged and non-Jews are, at best, second- or third- or fourth-class citizens. Imagine the United States or Canada if they were Christian states like that! Jews have advocated for a couple of centuries for secular democracies, where everyone is equal under law - but Zionists make an exception for Israel. Do I call for the destruction of Israel? No. I just want regime change. I want it to be a democracy, not a Jewish state. It cannot be both. Elizabeth Block Toronto Canada Fighting for us all Jewish history always had its share of heroes, never more than now when Jewish journalists and organizations like IfNotNow, BTselem, Rabbis for Human Rights, the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Federation, Breaking the Silence show Jews defending the core value of Jewish heritage: equal rights for all people. Ellen Mayer of the youth organization IfNotNow, at last years J Street conference, called the Israeli occupation of Palestine the central moral question of our time, and if we dont move, the future generation will not want to call itself Jewish anymore. IfNotNows motto from rabbi Abraham Heschel defines a Jew as one whose moral integrity depends on feeling the wrong done to others. It asks Jews to see that Palestinians are being persecuted in their name. The Center for Jewish Nonviolence claims Occupation Is Not My Judaism. Professor Robert Cohen sees opposition to Jewish colonialism in the seizure of Palestine as the test case for preserving Judaism itself, while Prof. Joseph Levine writes that the current Jewish state isnt justified at the cost of taking over another peoples land and kicking out most of them while oppressing those that remain. Rabbi Arik Ascherman of Torah of Justice will be tried in Israel for defending Palestinian shepherds from Jewish settlers who aggressively invade Palestinian land, poison wells, burn crops, even kill with impunity, shielded by the Israeli army. Among sins to be confessed in last years Sukkot and Simchat Torah ritual, Rabbi Ascherman lists betrayal of the Torah and Declaration of Independence, land theft, eviction of families, selling arms to rogue governments, falsely claiming the Nation State Law doesnt discriminate, contempt for Tikkun Olam, undermining the courts, flaunting international law, and misleading soldiers and police to act unlawfully. His 80-year-old rabbi colleague Moshe Yehudai was beaten by settlers and hospitalized, while Torat Tzedeks founder Dr. Yoav Silbert tells how Israelis relieved at creation of a Jewish state then fell prey to nationalism and militarism losing the ideals for which the state was founded. Filmmaker Alice Rothchild shows how Jewish refugees found a place to live but now deny the same right to people they displaced. Zionism (colonization to create a zone where only Jews have rights) is an outgrowth of European racism and colonialism, Theodor Herzls writings make clear. Israeli schools are barred from teaching what happened to Palestinians in the forcible ethnic cleansing from their homeland, but schools like the Hagar school in the Negev have Jews and Palestinians work together telling the story of both peoples. Dramas of Jewish conscience are playing out everywhere, their stories largely suppressed in the US. Jews who arent free to resist injustice arent free to be Jews. Theyre doing what Jews have always done: speaking prophetically, saying Dont forget we are people who wont do to others what we dont want done to ourselves. The rest of us should support them. Theyre fighting for us all. Yann van Heurck Madison Police investigating the brutal murder of a 17-year-old amid an escalating Irish gang war have arrested a man thought to be involved in his death. Officers apprehended the 24-year-old, who is said to be central to an ongoing feud in the town of Drogheda, early Monday morning after a major manhunt. He is due to appear in court on Monday charged with violating parole while on bail for another serious offence that is not directly connected to the murder of teenager Keane Mulready-Woods. Meanwhile rumours have been circulating that Mulready-Woods was killed in a row over flip-flops stolen from another suspect's gym bag. Keane Mulready-Woods, 17, was murdered and dismembered just over a week ago, with his limbs stuffed into a gym bag. It is thought a pair of flip flops were also inside the bag, amid rumors that the theft of a similar pair from a north Dublin hitman sparked the killing Gardai pictured searching an area known locally as 'The Banks' near a house on Rathmullen Park, Drogheda, on Thursday, close to where the teen is thought to have been killed The second suspect, a 'psychotic' 35-year-old north Dublin hitman, was attacked on the streets of Dublin as he was coming out of a gym in recent weeks and the flip-flops stolen. Another man, an associate of Mulready-Woods who is also involved in the Drogheda feud, is then thought to have posed with the footwear in an image on social media. A similar pair of flip flops are thought to have been found inside a Puma gym bag containing the severed limbs of Mulready-Woods, which were dumped in the Coolock area of Dublin last week, as a warning to the hitman's rivals. Police were fearful that the 24-year-old suspect could flee Ireland for England, the Irish Independent reported. As a result they posted officers at Dublin Port and Airport to try and stop him. They say he failed to sign on at a Garda station several time in December and has not been staying at a house where he is required to spend the night as a condition of his High Court bail. 'Gardai... intend to bring the suspect off the streets and into prison,' the Independent reported. 'If this happens it will ease tensions.' Police are desperately trying to put an end to feuding in Drogheda which has seen a total of three people - including Mulready-Woods - killed in the last five months. Keane Mulready-Woods went missing in Drogheda on January 12, and police believe he was taken to a house nearby where he was killed before his body parts were dumped in Dublin Officers reportedly tried to put an end to the turf-war in August last year, shortly before the fatal shooting of Keith Branigan, during an informal sit-down with Owen Maguire - a gang boss involved in the fighting. But associates of Maguire, who was paralysed from the waist down in an attempted assassination the previous year, told officers that they would not back down until three men on a hit-list had been killed. The names included the Dublin hitman now believed to have murdered Mulready-Woods, the gunman who tried to kill Maguire, and a third gangland hitman linked to a number of assassination plots. 'The officer had an obligation to do everything to help end the dispute, but his request was completely ignored by Maguires associates,' a source told The Irish Sun. Details of the hit-list emerged as it was revealed the Mulready-Woods last spoke with his mother over the phone on Sunday at around 6pm to tell her that he would be coming home late. During the conversation he asked her to leave money on the mantelpiece to pay the taxi fare, but never made it home. Mulready-Woods was dismembered and decapitated before his remains were dumped in two locations in Dublin, some 35 miles away from the crime scene in Drogheda, Co Louth Keane Mulready-Woods is thought to have been caught up in a brutal gang war in the town of Drogheda Until that point he had been on a curfew meaning he had to be home before dark, and had largely been observing it. Mulready-Woods was abducted from Drogheda, Co Louth last Sunday before he was tortured in a house in Rathmullen Park in the town. His severed head and limbs were found in two locations in Dublin last week. The 17-year-old was involved in organised crime and detectives are investigating whether his killing was carried out in revenge for another recent murder or attack. Not long after the meeting between police and Maguire, one of Maguire's associates shot dead Keith Brannigan in Clogherhead, Co Louth. Mulready-Woods's murder comes amid two ongoing gang feuds - one in Drogheda and one in Coolock - which are now beginning to overlap Just three months later, his associates also murdered Richard Carberry. The chief suspect in the murder of Mulready-Woods is said to have vowed revenge after Carberry's killing. It has been reported that the gang feud will not stop until these three targeted are killed. Yesterday it emerged the chief suspect believed to be responsible for dismembering Mulready-Woods 'threatened to murder another man'. The suspect, who is well known to Gardai, posted footage of threats against a man who has since fled the country. As well as Mulready-Woods' murder, two men were shot in Dublin this week, as well as a student, Cameron Blair, who was stabbed to death during a house party in Cork on Thursday night. Two men were also shot and wounded outside a pub in the early hours of yesterday morning. A community meeting to discuss a proposal to rename a Richmond elementary school in honor of former first lady Michelle Obama will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday at Grace Lutheran Church, 2369 Barrett Ave. Wilson Elementary School, named for President Woodrow Wilson, at 629 42nd St. is currently being rebuilt and parents with the school's Parent Teacher Association believe the change will help instill additional pride for students attending at the revamped campus. Students now attend at a temporary location at the former campus of Portola Middle School in El Cerrito. "The newly rebuilt school will be the district's initiation in the 21st Century school facility design, featuring flexible learning spaces, which will allow for student and staff collaboration, interaction and flexibility," PTA President Maisha Cole wrote in a letter to the district. "When the students step into the new school, they will bring a positive attitude about what the future holds for them. We also want the neighboring community to see this new facility as a community resource. We want to keep our children in our school district." The idea was submitted to the West Contra Costa Unified School District last September and the board formed an ad hoc committee in October to study the proposal. President Stephanie Hernandez-Jarvis and member Mister Phillips represent the board on the committee. "We feel as though a name change would be fundamental to this fresh new start," Cole wrote. "We are prepared to testify as to why we feel that the current name does not reflect who we are as a community, as well as why the name we are proposing is much more fitting." The California Highway Patrol reported a fatal collision occurred Sunday morning on southbound U.S. Highway 101 in San Mateo. The collision was first reported at 1:43 a.m. on U.S. Highway 101 at the state Highway 92 connector, according to the CHP. The CHP reported that the collision forced the closure of several lanes of southbound U.S. Highway 101 for several hours. The roadway was cleared and the lanes reopened around 5:38 a.m. Police in San Francisco are investigating a shooting Saturday night in the Tenderloin neighborhood that sent one person to the hospital. Officers with the San Francisco Police Department responded Saturday at 11:21 p.m. to shots fired in the 900 block of Market Street. A short time later, a victim suffering from a gunshot wound arrived at a local hospital, according to police. The victim, a 33-year-old man, remained in the hospital Sunday morning. His condition was not life threatening, according to police. The victim told investigators the incident occurred at the intersection of Golden Gate Avenue and Market Street. A San Francisco man has been sentenced to four years in prison for possession of child pornography, United States Attorney David Anderson announced Thursday. Mark Miner, 51, was sentenced to 48 months in prison after pleading guilty on July 17, 2019 to possession of more than 800 images and videos of child pornography that he stored online with an internet file-hosting service, prosecutors said. Miner admitted to sending links to his online account via texts and other electronic communications in order to distribute the images and videos to others. In addition to his prison sentence, Miner will serve a five-year period of supervised release. The driver of a Tesla Model S died in a Saturday evening crash in Pleasanton after apparently losing control and hitting a traffic signal pole and cement wall, police said. The crash was reported just before 6 p.m. in the intersection of West Las Positas Boulevard and Hacienda Drive and the car was on fire when officers arrived. The Pleasanton Police Department is investigating the incident and it has not been determined whether alcohol or drugs were a factor. The driver's identity is not yet being released. A 42-year-old woman died early Sunday morning from injuries suffered when her car was struck by another vehicle whose driver and other occupants then fled, Oakland police said. Police and emergency personnel were called to the accident scene at Grand Avenue and MacArthur Boulevard shortly after 1 a.m. Fire and ambulance crews tended to the woman, who was then taken to Highland Hospital, where she died from her injuries. Police determined that the woman was going eastbound on MacArthur at the intersection when her 2002 Subaru Outback was struck by a 2014 Audi A4 going southbound on Grand. The male driver of the Audi and two male passengers then fled. An alert officer walking the beat Friday morning in San Francisco's Tenderloin district saved the life of a young man who had overdosed and was unresponsive, police said. The officer came on the 25-year-old man lying between cars parked near Turk and Hyde streets just before 6:30 a.m. The man, who was unconscious and breathing shallowly, was revived by three doses of Naloxone, a medication used to counter the effects of opioid overdose. Tenderloin officers saved 73 people in 2019 with the medication, police said. The Department of Elections in San Francisco is recruiting people interested in serving as poll workers in the March 3 election. Poll workers facilitate voting at neighborhood polling places on Election Day and receive a stipend ranging from $180 to $240, depending on the assignment. The Department of Elections "expects the 2020 elections to be among the largest in the city's history," Director John Arntz said, adding, "There is no better way to fully participate in these historically significant moments than supporting our community and being a poll worker." The department recruits more than 2,000 volunteers during each election to assist voters at the polls and provides training and materials. 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. Lok Janshakti Party founder Ram Vilas Paswan on Monday ducked queries about a viable seat-sharing formula for the ruling NDA in Bihar for the assembly elections later this year though he asserted that his outfit would act as a "cementing force" for its senior allies JD(U) and BJP. Paswan, a member of the Union cabinet, also sought to distance himself from recent comments by his younger brother Pashupati Kumar Paras who had suggested that JD(U) headed by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and the BJP fight 100 seats each leaving the remaining 43 for the LJP. "Paras is a senior leader of the party. He may have spoken something after being pestered with questions by the media. But a seat-sharing arrangement is not made before the media. Of course, once a formula is agreed upon the same will be made public at an appropriate time", Paswan told reporters. When probed further on whether the party would insist on a figure that came close to the one his brother favoured, Paswan said "I think the number that Paras spoke about was indicative. The party has six members in the Lok Sabha. One constituency normally comprises six to seven assembly segments. So the number of assembly seats that come under the parliamentary constituencies held by us come close to the 43, he said. He, however, hastened to add "I would reiterate that I saw Paras speak on TV and whatever he uttered was in response to questions from journalists. This is not the time to speak about seat-sharing. Top leaders will take a decision at an appropriate time. I disapprove the practice of issuing statements before the media in this regard". Paswan was also asked questions about the tug of war that has been going on between the JD(U) and BJP despite repeated assurances by Union Home Minister and ex-BJP chief Amit Shah that elections in the state will be held "under the leadership of Nitish Kumar". "The LJP has always acted as a cementing force between its two allies and I assure you we will play the same role in Bihar assembly polls. We will ensure that NDA puts up a united fight and we return with a three-fourth majority', the 73- year-old leader said with an air of ebullience. Recently, the pot was stirred by JD(U) national vice- president Prashant Kishor, who held that his party must contest a number of seats that was higher than, and not equal to those fought by the BJP unlike in the Lok Sabha polls last year wherein both parties fielded candidates in 17 constituencies each. The BJP gave up five of its sitting seats to accommodate the JD(U) which had returned to NDA in 2017 - and while it won all the 17 the ally bagged all but one. LJP, too, came up with a cent per cent strike rate winning all the six seats it had contested. Paswan, this time, left his pocket borough of Hajipur for Paras and got elected to the Rajya Sabha from the seat vacated by cabinet colleague and BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad, who now represents Patna Sahib. The LJP founder, however, parried questions about assembly polls in Delhi where his party has been contesting with marginal success and where the BJP is said to be wary of going it alone and planning to take alliance partners like JD(U) and Shiromani Akali Dal along. "Chirag is now the partys national president. He will take a call based on the situation that the party is presented with', Paswan quipped. Controlled by Paswans family,LJP underwent the proverbial generational shift recently when the Union ministers son who is the MP from Jamui was made the national president while Prince Raj, who debuted from Samastipur in a by-poll necessitated by his father Ram Chandra Paswans death took over as state president replacing Paras. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Opposition leader arrives in Bogota, where he is expected to meet US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido has defied a travel ban to head to Colombia, where he is expected to meet US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, as he seeks to boost support amid a power struggle with President Nicolas Maduro. Recognised as Venezuelas legitimate president by more than 50 countries, including the United States, Guaido had not left the country since February 2019, when he also defied the court-imposed ban to travel to Colombia. Maduro accuses Guaido of being a coup-mongering puppet controlled by the White House. Pompeo, who is scheduled to arrive in the Colombian capital, Bogota, on Monday at the start of a Latin American tour, said Guaido was the duly elected leader of Venezuela. I look forward to having a meeting with him, Pompeo told reporters on a flight from Germany to Colombia. Maduro has been destructive Our mission set is to deliver a set of free and fair elections to the Venezuelan people. Pompeo and Guaido are reportedly expected to meet on Monday. According to the Washington Post, Guaido plans to travel from Colombia to the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he will urge European officials to increase pressure on Maduro. Senior figures in Venezuelas opposition hope that Guaido will also get to meet US President Donald Trump in Davos, the newspaper said. Guaido has been barred from leaving Venezuela since proclaiming himself acting president a year ago and declared Maduro a usurper who had secured re-election in a 2018 vote widely considered fraudulent. Maduro, however, remains in power, backed by the military as well as Russia, China and Cuba and accuses the opposition of stirring up violence. Full of good news On Sunday, Guaido met Colombian President Ivan Duque at the presidential residence in Bogota. In a Twitter post, Guaido said he was grateful for Duques support and said the trip would generate the conditions that will lead us to freedom. I can assure you that my return to our country will be full of good news, he added. Earlier this month, Venezuelas ruling Socialist Party seized control of the National Assembly and swore in an allied politician who defected from Guaidos camp. Opposition legislators then voted Guaido in for a second term as congress chief in a separate session. Pompeo at the time congratulated Guaido on his re-election. In an interview published by the Washington Post on Saturday, Maduro said the Trump administration had underestimated his staying power and he didnt care about sanctions. Maduro has proposed holding parliamentary elections this year, with the aim of retaking control of the National Assembly, the only national institution in opposition hands. Guaido, who has long demanded new presidential elections to replace Maduro, has pledged to fight any move to hold parliamentary elections with the Supreme Court and the National Election Council firmly under control of Maduro allies. China will oppose Taiwan independence resolutely while continuing to support the one country, two systems model, the senior official in charge of cross-strait affairs said on Sunday, a week after President Tsai Ing-wens landslide election victory. Wang Yang, a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, said Beijing would work to strengthen cross-strait ties but act against separatism, according to state news agency Xinhua. The situation across the Taiwan Strait will be more complex and grim, he told officials from the Taiwan Affairs Office at their 2020 work meeting. We must uphold the one-China principle and resolutely oppose and contain Taiwan independence activities in any form. On Wednesday Tsai said the mainland needed to face the reality that the island was an independent country already and we call ourselves the Republic of China. Speaking after she defeated Han Kuo-yu from the mainland-friendly Kuomintang, securing a record 8.17 million votes, she also warned that invading Taiwan was something that would be very costly for China. Beijing regards Taiwan as a breakaway province that must be returned to the mainland fold, by force if necessary. Wang told Sundays meeting that Beijing still favoured peaceful reunification under the one country, two systems model, and said that more efforts would be taken to promote cross-strait exchanges, deepen integrated development and guarantee the well-being of the Taiwanese. We must take precise measures to improve the effect of those policies that benefit the Taiwanese people, he said. He continued that better conditions would be offered to entice young Taiwanese to study and work in mainland China. Beijing repeated its opposition to Taiwanese independence. Photo: AP In the past couple of years Beijing has unveiled a series of measures to give businesses and residents equal status with mainlanders in the hope of building ties among people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. Story continues Wang also told the meeting Beijings policies have made positive progress with laudable achievements in the past year. However, relations between the two governments have deteriorated sharply since Tsai was elected in 2016 and refused to accept the 1992 consensus that there is only one China, but the two sides may disagree about how to interpret that. In January last year President Xi Jinping gave a speech to mark the 40th anniversary of Beijings call to end military confrontations between the two sides in which he urged Taiwan to adopt Hong Kongs one country, two systems model as the basis for talks on reunification. But Tsai rebuffed the call, saying Taiwan would never accept one country, two systems. Later in the year following months of anti-government protests in Hong Kong she used the slogan Hong Kong today, Taiwan tomorrow in her successful campaign for re-election. Taiwan and the mainland have been divided since 1949, when the Nationalist or Kuomintang forces fled to the island following their defeat in the civil war. Since then relations across the strait have often been tense, despite occasional thaws. Notably, state medias coverage of Wangs remarks on Sunday made no mention of the 1992 consensus that Tsai has rejected. 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. This article China will continue to oppose Taiwan independence after Tsai Ing-wens election victory first appeared on South China Morning Post For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2020. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-19 22:33:39|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Aerial photo taken on Sept. 18, 2019 shows a night view of the Lujiazui area in Shanghai, east China. (Xinhua/Ren Long) Despite a cloud of challenges, China's robust economy is expected to act as a "locomotive" when it comes to contributing to the global growth. BEIJING, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- With the arrival of a new decade, one predictable thing about China in the 2020s is that it is shifting into a higher-quality economy that is more open and abounds with new opportunities for global businesses. Despite a cloud of challenges, China's economy wrapped up 2019 with 6.1-percent GDP growth as a top performer among comparable economies. Acting as a "locomotive," it is expected to contribute to around 30 percent of global growth. Emerging from the 2010s larger and in better shape, the world's second-largest economy is increasingly shaped by the growing power of consumers and the services and emerging sectors, all believed to stimulate China's huge potential in market, reform and innovation. These trends can offer glimpses into the positive changes the world can expect from China in the new decade: CONSUMERS FIRST Domestic consumers now account for over 60 percent of China's economic growth. Despite a moderation of headline GDP growth, retail sales, a major gauge of consumption, grew 8 percent in 2019. Looking ahead, analysts expect the country's consumption to be shaped by a booming middle-income group, fast urbanization and technology advances, among other trends. With the world's largest middle-income population, China has great potential to increase the contribution of consumption, especially that of services consumption, to its GDP growth, said Liu Qiao, dean of the Guanghua School of Management at Peking University, predicting that services consumption would make up about 60 percent or more in China's total consumption by 2035. Consumers wait in line outside the global flagship store of "niko and..." brand in Shanghai, east China, Dec. 21, 2019. (Xinhua/Wang Xiang) Although large cities still contributed to a larger amount of consumption, that of lower-tier cities and rural regions continued to grow fast. A report from Morgan Stanley predicted that consumption in China's smaller cities could triple by 2030 from 2018. "The future Chinese consumers will be richer and more tech-savvy," said Asian market analyst Angela Moh in the report, "Considering that by 2030, more than half of the population in China will either have grown up with a smartphone or be sufficiently tech-literate to benefit from the sprawling e-commerce, which is likely to remain a key driver of China's consumption." RISING INNOVATOR In the 2020 Bloomberg innovation index, China ranked 15th on the list of the world's most innovative countries, rising from 16th in 2019 and 19th in 2018. The better performance came amid China's efforts to enhance intellectual property protection, increase productivity and foster new growth drivers through innovation. A World Bank report named "China 2030: Building a Modern, Harmonious, and Creative Society" lists the country's advantages in its journey toward an innovative economy -- a steep upward trend of its spending on research and development, large manufacturing sector with wide-ranging capabilities and rising supply of science and engineering skills of improving quality. Staff members work at a production base of server manufacturer Inspur in Jinan, east China's Shandong Province, June 14, 2018. (Xinhua/Zhu Zheng) Breakthroughs in technology will usher in the next wave of economic development and new investment opportunities, and China is to climb up the value chain, said Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management. China will ramp up its competitiveness in high value-added manufacturing categories such as information technology, emerging industries and household appliances, said UBS researcher Hou Yankun. GREENER FOOTPRINT To tackle environmental challenges, the Chinese government has declared a war on pollution and introduced a series of green initiatives, including cutting overall emissions, reducing coal-fired plants and enhancing enforcement of environmental rules. China is taking the lead with concrete actions. The proportion of China's clean energy sources in total energy consumption mix continued to rise to 24 percent of the total in 2019, up from 23 percent in 2018. Its carbon dioxide emissions per GDP dropped by 45.8 percent in 2018 from the 2005 level, a stride toward the goal of meeting the emission peak around 2030. Aerial photo taken on Sept. 19, 2019 shows solar panels on the rooftop of a local automobile maker in Huzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) The country's green commitments can grow into enormous opportunities for global investors. Global financial giant Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) expects that China's efforts to meet the 2030 sustainable goals would bring about investment opportunities worth 3 trillion U.S. dollars, taking up about 30 percent of the total global investment value. Realizing the full coverage of clean water and sanitary facilities in China, for example, will unlock investment potential worth 26.1 billion U.S. dollars for the private sector, SCB noted. GREATER OPENING-UP China will continue to shorten the negative list to ease foreign investment off-limits rules and beef up opening-up efforts in pilot free trade zones in 2020, said the National Development and Reform Commission. With the implementation of the landmark foreign investment law, removal of restrictions on the manufacturing and financial sectors for foreign firms and tariff cuts, China has quickened its opening-up pace. Electric carmaker giant Tesla witnessed China's speed as its Shanghai gigafactory delivered the first 15 Model 3 cars to customers less than one year after it began operation, which showed that China, with continued efforts in reform and opening-up, still tops the list of investment destinations for foreign firms. A Tesla Model 3 vehicle arrives at a delivery ceremony in Shanghai, east China, Dec. 30, 2019. The first batch of vehicles produced by Tesla's overseas plant in Shanghai was delivered to customers Monday. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe) China is committed to opening up at a higher level and honoring its promises to further open up its market, improve its opening-up structure, optimize the business environment, deepen multilateral and bilateral cooperation and advance Belt and Road cooperation. As its door keeps opening wider and its economy expands steadily, China is bound to make greater contributions to the global economy. "China will play a bigger role in fuelling global demand and supply," said Shao Yu, chief economist at Orient Securities. Civil aviation minister has asked disinvestment-bound Air India to set up an internal mechanism committee comprising members from the management and its various trade unions to sort out privatisation-related issues of employees, a source said on Monday. At a meeting between the minister and representatives of over a dozen in New Delhi on Monday, the minister also "assured" the employees of full payment of their arrears, according to the source. The nearly hour-long meeting was also attended by Civil Aviation Secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola, Air India Chairman and Managing Director Ashwani Lohani and airline's Director for Personnel Amrita Sharan, the source who was present at the meeting said. "The minister during the meeting told Air india to set up an internal mechanism committee with members both from the management and the unions to sort out the employees issues related to privatisation," the source said. "Puri also assured the employees, mainly the pilots that the government was committed to full payment of their dues in the face of the privatisation," the source added. As per the source, the minister also told employees that contours about payment of dues are likely to be incorporated in the Expression of Interest (EoI) document. On January 7, a group of ministers headed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah approved the draft EoI and Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) for the disinvestment of Air India. At his first meeting with the unions on January 2, Puri had said privatisation was inevitable and cooperation of the employees was necessary in carrying out the exercise. Media reports suggest that the new investor may be allowed to retain Air India's some 11,000 employees only for one year after the carrier goes into private hands. In 2018-19, Air India's net loss was around Rs 8,556 crore. The airline has a debt burden of more than Rs 80,000 crore. In 2018, the government had proposed to offload 76 per cent stake in Air India while retaining the rest 24 per cent with it as well as transfer the management control to private players. However, the offer had failed to attract any bidders. Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang's Regular Press Conference on January 20, 2020 2020/01/20 Q: Can you share with us any new details on how China is coordinating with other countries to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus? A: You may have noted that the Chinese health authorities have released relevant information on the prevention and control of pneumonia outbreak caused by the new coronavirus. You may refer to that. Here I want to stress that since the outbreak, China has taken proactive measures to handle it in a serious and professional manner. We have worked to formulate strict prevention and control schemes, spared no effort to treat the patients, properly managed close contacts, carried out in-depth epidemiological investigations, released the information on epidemic prevention and control in a timely manner, and launched campaigns to raise awareness of the disease. At the same time, China has informed the World Health Organization, relevant nations, regional organizations, and its Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan regions of the outbreak in a timely manner and maintained close communication with them. We have shared with the WHO the information on the genome sequence of the new coronavirus as soon as possible. After receiving notification of cases from relevant countries, China has taken that seriously and stayed in close communication with all parties through bilateral and multilateral channels, while strengthening cooperation with all-out efforts to deal with them. We hope other countries can immediately inform the Chinese side of suspected imported cases through official channels with a view to better prevention and control. We will work with all parties to jointly tackle the epidemic and safeguard regional and global health security. Q: Recently, Japan, Thailand and the ROK all reported cases of the infection by new coronavirus. It is the peak season for the Spring Festival travel rush in China, and many people are concerned about it. What measures will China take to prevent the outbreak from spreading around the world? A: According to what I learned from relevant authorities, Japan, Thailand and the ROK have informed China of confirmed cases of new coronavirus infections. China has maintained close communication and cooperation with these countries on treatment, prevention and control. As for what measures China will take to prevent the spread of the epidemic, I can tell you that the Wuhan government has taken measures to control the flow of people leaving the city. I would refer you to competent authorities and relevant local governments for more details. I would like to emphasize once again that after the outbreak of the new coronavirus-caused pneumonia in Wuhan, relevant Chinese authorities have informed the WHO, relevant nations, regional organizations, as well as China's Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan regions in a timely manner and stayed in close communication with them. At the same time, relevant departments of the Chinese side have also disclosed information and briefed the public on the developments of the epidemic in a timely manner. We will work with all parties to jointly tackle the epidemic and safeguard regional and global health security. Q: Russian acting Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov suggested to hold a meeting on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal at the level of political directors of the deal's remaining participants' in order to understand the future fate of the agreement. In China's point of view, is there a need to organize this meeting now? Will China attend it? A: The JCPOA, endorsed by the UN Security Council, is an important outcome of multilateral diplomacy, an important pillar for the international non-proliferation regime and peace and stability in the Middle East, and a significant part of the international order based on international law. It should be upheld and implemented. Under the current circumstances, we call on all parties to the JCPOA to remain calm and restrained, resolve differences through dialogue and negotiations under the JCPOA Joint Commission, and take concrete measures to restore the balance between rights and obligations in the JCPOA. As comprehensive strategic partners of coordination for a new era and staunch supporters of the JCPOA, China and Russia have been in close communication with each other on the Iranian nuclear issue. China supports all proposals that will help ameliorate the current situation and preserve the JCPOA. Q: The extradition hearing for Meng Wanzhou begins today in Canada. The Chinese side has repeatedly called for her release. Is the Chinese side confident that she will receive a fair hearing in Canada? A: China's position on the Meng Wanzhou case is consistent and clear. The US and Canada abused their bilateral extradition treaty and arbitrarily took compulsory measures against a Chinese citizen without cause. This is entirely a serious political incident that grossly violates the legitimate rights and interests of the Chinese citizen. The Chinese government is steadfast in safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens. Once again we urge the Canadian side to take China's position and concerns seriously, release Ms. Meng and ensure her safe return to China at an early date. Q: The Berlin Conference on Libya was held yesterday in Germany, with representatives of Russia, China, the United States and other countries in attendance. The participants agreed to create an international mechanism to coordinate their follow-up actions, and called for the formation of a united and effective government, resumption of peace talks and holding presidential election in Libya. What's China's comment on the result of the conference? A: The Berlin Conference on Libya was held in Germany on January 19. Special Representative of President Xi Jinping, Yang Jiechi, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, attended the meeting and expounded on China's position and propositions. The Conclusions of the Berlin Conference on Libya reflects the global consensus on easing the tension in Libya and seeking a political settlement of the issue. China always takes an objective and fair stand on the Libya issue, abides by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, respects Libya's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and strives for the political settlement of the Libya issue under the auspices of the UN. China is ready to work with the international community for restoring peace, stability and development in Libya. Q: You mentioned the Meng Wanzhou case being a political incident and questions about the fairness of the extradition proceedings here. So I'll just ask my question again, does the Chinese government have confidence in a court in Canada to fairly examine these questions? A: Regarding the case of Meng Wanzhou, China and Canada have stayed in touch with each other. Once again we urge the Canadian side to take concrete measures to correct its wrongdoing, release Ms. Meng and ensure her safe return to China at an early date. Q: Once again to the coronavirus. Do you have any information as to human-to-human infection at the moment? A: I would refer you to the competent authorities as this question is a very technical one. What I can tell you is that China has taken proactive measures to handle the situation, formulated strict prevention and control schemes, spared no effort to treat the patients, properly managed close contacts and carried out in-depth epidemiological investigations. We will work with all parties to jointly safeguard regional and global health security. When Sun Young Park and Peter Cho talk about their next restaurant, they typically dream of something bigger, a handsome dining room with an open kitchen and a nice patio for the summer months. Most important, the right space would have more room and more amenities than Han Oak, the modern Korean restaurant run out of the couples Northeast Portland home. And then a pint-sized restaurant space opened on the other side of Han Oaks courtyard wall. This spring, the Han Oak team will open Pocha, a 600-square-foot restaurant with dumplings, noodles and snacky bar stuff served in the former home of Indian-influenced vegan restaurant The Sudra. Like Han Oak, which opened in 2016 and was The Oregonians 2017 Restaurant of the Year, Park and Cho expect the menu and concept to evolve over time. Right now, Park thinks of it as an extension and handy waiting lounge for Han Oak. Cho, the New York-trained chef whose creative juices have been flowing since a recent staff trip to Los Angeles, is bursting with enough ideas to fill an all-day menu. Either way, the new restaurant, which should hold about 20 seats, including nearly half at a low-slung noodle bar, will open with dumplings, noodles and Chos popular fried chicken. That should start with kalguksu, the comforting knife-cut noodles in broth that have often appeared on Han Oaks menu, then transition by summer into naengmyon, the chilled buckwheat noodles that are a hot-weather staple. At Han Oak, the pork and chive dumplings are inspired by Chinese xiaolongbao. At Pocha, Cho plans to serve a more Korean-style of mandu, inspired by his moms recipe, with pork-and-beef stuffed dumplings steamed, boiled or pan-fried. Could Cho turn his passion for breakfast kimchi jjigae into a tofu-kimchi-pork belly shakshuka topped with a baked egg? Can we expect to find Korean-style sweet and savory baked goods alongside the main menu? Will Han Oaks mozzarella-coated buldak chicken come Nashville hot with a wedge of Konbi-style egg salad sando in what Cho describes as a crazy mashup of all the super trendy things?" Time will tell. Pocha the name is the shorthand for pojangmacha, the collection of Korean street food served with soju under tarps at semi-mobile stalls throughout South Korea could mean changes for Han Oak as well, including a change in service days and a possible return for the restaurants weekend brunch. Fingers crossed. Brunch here is so nice, the way the light filters in, and it smells like coffee, Park says. Its nice to have a different energy in here after four years of dinners, and it would be nice to have an Asian brunch option close-in." Look for Pocha to open for lunch and dinner, Monday to Friday, starting this March at 2333 N.E. Glisan St. Take a look at the unfinished space here. -- Michael Russell, mrussell@oregonian.com, @tdmrussell Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Former OSCE Chairman-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Tripartite Contact Group, Martin Sajdik, compared Ukraine to a "gnome" and Russia to a "giant", who threatens the gnome, Kommersant reports. Sajdik argues that Russia should not threaten Ukraine. "Why is confrontation going on? A giant does not have to tell a gnome: 'you are a threat to me'. But for a gnome, a giant is a threat. A giant has to instill confidence in gnome and should not demand the same in response. And what are you doing? In general, a giant yells, makes noises and says: 'if you do not do something, I will turn it off'," Martin Sajdik said. Sajdik added that all "giants" behave the same way, including America. "We are now talking about Europe, about our space. But there is also the same question - how do they (the U.S. - ed.) treat Canada, Mexico. Here we have to answer: have we instilled confidence in our neighbors, who are less than us? Is there such a policy in Russia? Why do these gnome-countries start to fear? Because someone from overseas tells them: now you have to be afraid?' No, that is not true, he emphasized. As we reported earlier, Andrei Kozenko, the lawmaker of Russia's State Duma from the annexed Crimea claimed that the areas of temporarily occupied Donbas are "special subjects" of the Russian Federation. The video with his comment is published on the Union TV company's YouTube channel, Strana.ua informed. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 20) Two men tagged in the Maguindanao massacre who were arrested after a Quezon City court handed its verdict on the mass killing will now face trial. Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes ordered Friday the revival of charges against Kagi Faizal and Gambayan Kasim following their arrests this month. The court also ordered Faizal and Kasim to be detained at the Quezon City Jail Annex in Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City. Kasim, also known as Lori Alip, was arrested last January 9 in his home in Shariff Aguak in Maguindanao, three days after the arrest of Faizal, also known as Faisal Dimaukom. Kasim and Faizal are among the 80 out of nearly 200 suspects in the Maguindanao massacre who were at large by the time the Quezon City court handed down last month its verdict on the mass killing. The court convicted 43 people over the massacre, which killed 57 people, including 31 media workers. All of the 101 accused were acquitted of the alleged killing of photojournalist Reynaldo "Bebot" Momay, as he has yet to be found. CNN Philippines Correspondent Anjo Alimario contributed to this report. Moments after Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam approached the podium at the state capitol building on Wednesday to announce that he was issuing a temporary state of emergency ahead of a gun rights rally on Monday in Richmond, the angry comments started pouring in. Though Northam had cited threats of violence from militias and other extremist groups as justification for banning protesters from bringing weapons to Mondays rally, those opposed to the decision blasted him as a liar and a tyrant, accused him of fearmongering and called for his resignation. This is what your 2A rights being stripped looks like, Mitchell Heather Snow commented on a live stream of the press conference that was being broadcast from the Governors official Facebook page. Please show us proof of these threats, wrote David Still, as the Governor explained that the decision to temporarily ban firearms from the capitol grounds was based on credible intelligence from our law enforcement agencies that there are groups with malicious plans for the rally that is planned for Monday. I want transparency of these threats, read a similarly skeptical comment from Ian Ellsworth. You are using fear to take away my rights! A gun rights activist carries a handgun in a hip holster outside the Virginia State Capitol building as the General Assembly prepares to convene in Richmond on Jan. 8, 2020. (Jonathan Drake/Reuters) By the time the press conference was over, more than 300 comments had been posted on the Facebook live stream. (By the following morning, that number had ballooned to more than 3,500, and it continues to grow.) While about a handful of the initial comments praised Northams decision, thanking him for taking action to prevent potential violence, the vast majority were dubious, dismissive and, in some cases, defiant. Rick Weiss posted: If you want my guns then COME AND GET THEM!!! Similar sentiments reverberated through the Governors Twitter feed as well. This is a cynical attempt to muffle the protests of law-abiding citizens. You should be ashamed of yourself. Keith Maniac, from Guatemala (@CutItOutPutin) January 15, 2020 You're a complete and total liar. El Jefe (@ElJefeTulum) January 15, 2020 The reactions to Northams announcement reflect the blend of frustration, paranoia and fear that has been fomenting both online and throughout Virginia in the weeks and months leading up to Mondays rally. Tens of thousands of armed Second Amendment supporters were expected to descend upon Richmond, including members of out-of-state militia groups. Story continues What started in November as a fight between rural Virginia gun owners and newly elected Democratic lawmakers seeking to propose gun control legislation has since been warped and amplified by extremist groups which, for different reasons, have sought to exploit real tensions around Virginias gun debate to advance their own agendas. Over the last two months, these groups have wielded unsubstantiated rumors and fake news reports to promote conspiracy theories about a Democratic plot to forcibly confiscate guns. Such theories have successfully fueled outrage and helped amplify rhetoric online. More recently, as the governor and others have discussed concerns about potential violence at the capitol in Richmond Monday, additional theories have begun to circulate online that the event is actually a setup, and any violence that may take place at the rally is a false flag operation designed to discredit the gun rights cause. I just know that all the intelligent people are ducking this [rally], said Bret Lynn, one of the hosts of the Southern Nationalist Networks podcast Rebel Yell, during a discussion about the pro-gun rally in Richmond on the podcast earlier this month. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, Rebel Yell is the primary recruiting organ of Identity Dixie, an influential neo-Confederate propaganda organization that was involved in organizing the violent Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville in 2017. They dont want to be a part of it. Because they dont want to give Northam another mouse to put in his trap, said Lynn. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, center, at podium. (Bob Brown/Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP ) Northams emergency declaration, which followed a vote last week by the Democratic majority to ban guns from inside the State Capitol, only seemed to validate those conspiracies even as the FBI announced the arrests on Thursday of three alleged members of a violent white supremacist group whod reportedly discussed bringing weapons to Richmond for the rally. I think many extremists would be pleased with the most recent developments following Gov. Northams declaration, Alex Friedfeld, a researcher at the Anti-Defamation Leagues Center on Extremism told Yahoo News. While there are many on social media who are trying to temper extreme reactions and stress with the need for peaceful, legal responses, there is a culture of paranoia surrounding this event that is being fed by extreme actors and conspiracy theories that is only raising tensions. On Friday, President Trump appeared to throw fuel on the already-heated situation. Your 2nd Amendment is under very serious attack in the Great Commonwealth of Virginia, Trump tweeted. Thats what happens when you vote for Democrats, they will take your guns away. Republicans will win Virginia in 2020. Thank you Dems! Tensions over proposed gun control regulations began brewing across Virginia after Nov. 5, when a wave of Democratic candidates were elected to the state legislature, toppling the Republican majority in both legislative chambers for the first time in more than two decades. The results of the November elections not only reflected changing demographics in the former confederate state, but also the new Democratic majority presented a particular concern for Virginias gun owners, who suddenly saw the states lax gun laws in the governments crosshairs. The blue wave that swept Virginia last fall was largely fueled by donations from gun control advocacy groups, including Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund and Everytown for Gun Safety Victory Fund, which are backed in large part by Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire former mayor of New York City and current presidential candidate. Republicans had long been able to thwart attempts to impose tighter restrictions on Virginias lax gun laws, including this past summer, when Northam convened a special legislative session to consider a number of proposals that would include, among other things, an assault weapons ban and universal background checks, following a mass shooting that left 12 dead in Virginia Beach that spring. But now, with Democrats in control, the passage of new gun control regulations seemed not just likely but inevitable. Gun rights protesters hold signs prior to the start of a meeting of the Senate Judiciary committee at the Capitol in Richmond, Va., on Monday. (Steve Helber/AP) As incoming Democratic lawmakers began to outline their gun control proposals, gun owners and Second Amendment activists began calling on local officials to defend their right to bear arms from what they feared would be government overreach and widespread confiscation of guns. Within weeks of the November election, several predominantly rural counties had declared themselves Second Amendment Sanctuaries, with local officials adopting resolutions to oppose any unconstitutional restrictions on Second Amendment rights that may be passed at the state level. Soon, though, thanks to strong promotion by the Virginia Citizens Defense League, a grassroots gun rights group, the Second Amendment Sanctuary Movement had spread throughout the state, with more than 100 counties, cities and towns approving similar resolutions within less than two months. Legally, the Sanctuary movement is mostly symbolic Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring confirmed in a written opinion last month that such resolutions, as written, have no legal effect. Not only are local governments and law enforcement unable to nullify state laws, but, Herring emphasized, neither local governments nor local constitutional officials have the authority to declare state statutes unconstitutional or decline to follow them on that basis. Still, some pro-gun state officials have taken things even further. In addition to adopting a sanctuary resolution, the Board of Supervisors in Tazewell County passed another resolution to allocate money from the countys budget for the specific purpose of maintaining a well-funded and regulated militia. In Culpeper County, Sheriff Scott Jenkins vowed that, if necessary, he would deputize thousands of our law-abiding citizens to protect their constitutional right to own firearms. Culpeper County Sheriff Scott Jenkins speaks at an anti-gun control rally in Culpeper, Virginia on Jan. 12, 2020. (Vincent Vala/Culpeper Star-Exponent) In early December, the ADLs Friedfeld said he first started noticing conversations about Virginia popping up in various extremist forums particularly alongside the word boogaloo. Derived from a much older joke based on the 1984 breakdancing movie Breakin 2: Electric Boogaloo, over the past year or so, Friedfeld explained, Boogaloo has been adopted by members of various extremist movements online as shorthand for a coming civil war. The term boogaloo takes on slightly different meanings depending on who is using it. Among gun rights activists and militia groups, it is used to describe a violent resistance to government attempts to take away their guns. Boogaloo has also been appropriated by white supremacists, in particular the accelerationist faction of that movement, who seek the violent destruction of modern society in order to rebuild a new, all-white world in its place. For them, boogaloo is this kind of, society-wide civil war that will break everything down sometimes it's a race war, sometimes it's just general strife, explained Friedfeld. Chaos creates an opportunity for them that they want to take advantage of. The three men arrested by the FBI Thursday were alleged members of the Base, a violent accelerationist group. The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that, according to law enforcement officials, the men had discussed opening fire at the Richmond rally from different locations to create chaos. The situation in Virginia has seemed to fit the narratives of both camps. And soon, mentions of boogaloo and a second Civil War starting in Virginia began to spread from encrypted chat rooms and other dark corners of the internet frequented by white nationalists and other extremists to more public social media platforms like Reddit, Facebook and YouTube. It's going down it's boogaloo time boys..This is what our forefathers intended and we need to make it happen, reads one of the initial comments on a YouTube video titled Civil War 2 Beginning in Virginia? which has been viewed more than 150,000 times since it was posted on Jan. 13. Other initial posts on the same video include such comments as Locked and Loaded! and Blood is going to spills all over the streets in Virginia very soon! Be prepare for the worst to come to Virginia! Legitimate policies, such as a proposed red flag law that would allow guns to be temporarily confiscated from people deemed to be a danger to themselves or others, have been conflated with conspiracy theories and fake news reports, including one circulated by white supremacist radio personality Hal Turner, that erroneously claimed Northam was planning cut off the electricity and internet to certain parts of the state where hed ordered the National Guard to begin forcibly confiscating guns. To Friedfeld, its the violent rhetoric that has emerged in the comments sections of such posts that poses the real concern. The fact of the matter is, we look at this stuff every day and 99.9 percent of it is meaningless, it's just people spouting off online, Friedfeld said. Still, he warned that the more this kind of messaging spreads, the greater the chance that one person will believe that violence is necessary to stand up to tyranny. If you frame things in the most extreme way possible, these extreme reactions start to seem like the only way forward, Fairfield added. The dangerous combination of outrage and misinformation swirling around Virginias gun control debate has already resulted in multiple reported death threats targeting state Delegate Lee Carter, a Democatic Socialist, over a proposed legislation that has nothing to do with guns, but would prevent certain government employees from being fired for striking. Intended to protect public school teachers and not applying to police officers, the proposal has been misinterpreted by some gun rights activists as an attempt to fire law enforcement officials who refuse to comply with potential new gun control laws. In the face of numerous threats, Carter has said he plans to avoid the statehouse on Monday and take shelter at a safe house instead. Volunteer Tom Kennedy from Campbell County passes out "Guns Saves Lives" stickers on Tuesday at a Lynchburg City Council public hearing on whether to declare Lynchburg a Second Amendment sanctuary city. (Emily Elconin/The News & Advance via AP) The Virginia Citizens Defense League, the grassroots gun rights group that led the charge behind the Second Amendment Sanctuary movement, has toed a fine line between not totally disavowing such rhetoric and misinformation while trying to discourage those planning to attend their annual Lobby Day rally from engaging in violence or other kind of bad behavior that might discredit their cause. The VCDLs official Facebook page, for example, has posted several Civil War memes and even shared a YouTube video titled Does the Boogaloo Begin in Virginia? Still, VCDL president Philip Van Cleave, who wrote a letter to the Winchester Star in July declaring that VCDL is proud to be categorized as an extremist organization, has repeatedly reiterated the message to supporters that Lobby Day is not a protest but a peaceful day to address our Legislature. Prior to Northams gun ban, Van Cleave urged rallygoers who chose to open carry at the rally to leave their long guns at home to prevent bad optics and has instructed participants not to engage with anyone who might try to provoke them. There is probably someone secretly recording the interaction, with the intent of capturing some kind of inappropriate reaction on your part, Van Cleave warned in a written guidance for supporters. Van Cleave also made clear that, while out-of-state militias do not need to provide security at the rally, their members are more than welcome to join in. The Virginia state Capitol building is surrounded by fencing on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020 in preparation for Monday's rally by gun rights advocates (Dean Hoffmeyer/Richmond Times-Dispatch) After VCDL and other gun rights groups unsuccessfully attempted to overturn Northams emergency declaration in court, Van Cleave outlined a new plan for the rally in an email to VCDL supporters late Friday. We are separating our responsibilities, in this otherwise untenable and unconstitutional situation foisted on gun owners by Northam, read the email, explaining that the group needed at least 10,000 members to commit to taking one for the team by entering the Capitol grounds unarmed around 10 am and being in place for the rally by 10:45 am. For every one gun owner on the Capitol grounds, we need another two to five people outside the Capitol grounds's fence on 9th Street, the message continued. Those doing so can be legally armed. Once again, he noted at the bottom of the email: Monday is going to be a day of lobbying, with a peaceful rally. Members of the Oath Keepers militia group act as security to those leaving a rally by President Trump in Minneapolis, Minn. (Jim Urquhart/Reuters) Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers, a far-right anti-government militia group that has been rallying supporters since the beginning of the year to gather in Richmond on the 20th, told Yahoo News he did not agree with VCDLs request for 10,000 gun owners to enter the gun-free zone unarmed. I think it sends a terrible message of submission, Rhodes wrote in a text message to Yahoo News. Members of his group, which include current and former military and law enforcement officers, he wrote, WILL NOT be inside the Governors no gun square on Monday, but rather planned to focus on keeping everyone cool in the streets of Richmond Monday, where they will still be allowed to carry firearms. We expect there to be a large group of armed patriots on the streets outside the fended off no guns zone, Rhodes told Yahoo News, arguing that Northam has made the situation worse instead of better. Hes not keeping anyone safe. He [sic] putting more people at risk, Rhodes said. _____ Read more from Yahoo News: On Jan. 17, which was also Minor New Years Day, Chinese and foreign travelers celebrated the festival on a high-speed train from Kunming to Hong Kongs West Kowloon, writing Spring Festival Couplets, making dumplings and giving each other Fu (happiness) characters. I feel so happy making dumplings during the Spring Festival, especially on the Fuxing bullet train, said one traveler. (Video provided by China Railway Guangzhou Group Co., Ltd) President Trump and Greta Thunberg's Twitter battle could be coming to life Tuesday onstage at the World Economic Forum taking place in Davos, Switzerland. The American president and the 17-year-old Swedish climate activist will share the venue during the opening day of the conference, which marks its 50th year. 'I think both voices are necessary,' World Economic Forum Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab told the Associated Press Sunday. For Trump, Davos could come as a welcome escape as the U.S. Senate will kick off his impeachment trial in the hours following the president's Tuesday address. In recent years, Davos has cued groans for its elite brew of heads of state, corporate leaders and celebrities who are ferried by private jets to the tiny Switzerland ski town to talk about about big-picture ideas while staying in $500 hotel rooms and attending private dinners. President Trump is headed back to the World Economic Forum on Tuesday in Davos, Switzerland. He appeared at the conference of world leaders in 2018, but skipped the event last year due to the ongoing government shutdown Appearing at the World Economic Forum at the same day as President Trump is 17-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg, who was named Time's 'Person of the Year' in 2019 President Trump took to Twitter last month to call it 'ridiculous' that the climate activist got the honor. Trump was Time's person of the year in 2016 after his shock win of the presidential election Greta Thunberg replied by briefly changing her Twitter bio to mimic the words President Trump had used calling herself 'A teenager working on her anger management problem' Thousands of people - including heads of state, business leaders and celebrities - descend on Davos, Switzerland every year for the World Economic Forum. President Trump will make his second appearance as president on Tuesday Preparations are being made in Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum's 50th year. President Trump is due at the conference on Tuesday and Wednesday Climate activists march in Switzerland in advance of the World Economic Forum set to kick off Tuesday in Davos, Switzerland The same mix of leaders and the well-to-do are expected at this year's event, which will be heavy on climate change chatter with the appearance of Thunberg and former Vice President Al Gore. THE US DELEGATION AT DAVOS President Donald J. Trump Treasure Secretary Steven Mnuchin Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer Under Secretary for Growth, Energy and the Environment Keith Krach Assistant to the President Ivanka Trump Assistant to the President Jared Kushner Assistant to the President Christopher Liddell Advertisement There have also been climate protests in Switzerland in the run-up to the summit. The theme is 'Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World.' Trump - who's returning to the conference after skipping it last year - has deregulated the U.S. in terms of fossil fuels and pulled the country out of the Paris climate agreement, has made Thunberg a target. Last month, Trump reacted to the teenager being named Time magazine's 2019 'Person of the Year' by mocking her serious demeanor. Trump shared a congratulatory tweet about Thunberg's win from actress Roma Downey. 'So ridiculous,' the president responded. 'Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, Chill!' Thunberg responded by briefly changing her Twitter bio to read: 'A teenager working on her anger management problem. Currently chilling and watching a good old fashioned movie with a friend.' Trump had also weighed in September after Thunberg made a passionate plea to world leaders during the United Nations General Assembly to do something about the warming earth. Greta Thunberg's (center) expression when she saw President Trump (left) enter the United Nations in September went viral and became a meme President Trump had also tweeted about Greta Thunberg in September when he mocked her for being hysterical during her address to the United Nations General Assembly 'I shouldn't be up here,' Thunberg said at the time. 'I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come to us young people for hope? How dare you!' she exclaimed. Trump then tweeted a video of Thunberg's speech. 'People are suffering, people are dying, entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction and all you can talk about is money and fairytales of eternal economic growth,' Thunberg had said. 'She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see!' Trump said sarcastically. Thunberg changed her Twitter bio then as well, calling herself 'a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future.' However Thunberg's expression when she saw Trump entering the U.N. the day she gave her speech was not-so-happy. The stink eye Thunberg gave the American president went viral online. Trump has gotten a mixed reaction on the world stage, including at Davos. His criticism of the media during his 2018 appearance elicited a mix of boos and groans from the audience. Several months later, during an appearance at the United Nations General Assembly - the gathering where he ran into Thunberg a year later - members of the audience, which included heads of state, laughed out loud at Trump's bombast. 'In less than two years, my administration has accomplished more than any administration in the history of out country,' Trump touted to laughter. 'So true,' he added. 'Didn't expect that reaction, but that's OK.' And then there was the incident at the NATO summit where Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was caught on hot mic discussing Trump's behavior at the summit. Trudeau was describing to U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanual Macron and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte how Trump essentially holds a press conference before his bilateral meetings with world leaders. The group was seen having a laugh. Trump called the Canadian PM's behavior 'two-faced.' Trudeau fessed up to it. 'Last night I made reference to the fact that there was an unscheduled press conference before my meeting with President Trump. I was happy to be part of it but it was certainly notable,' Trudea said in a press conference the next day. The moment inspired a 'Saturday Night Live' skit that featured actor Paul Rudd as Macron and Jimmy Fallon as Trudeau, who bully Trump - played by Alec Baldwin - in the U.N. cafeteria - and ask Kate McKinnon's Angela Merkel to sit with them instead. The Trumps had some hiccups on the world stage in 2019, including when the French government showed this clip of Ivanka Trump being snubbed by world leaders including French President Emmanual Macron Another incident, from the NATO summit in December, inspired this 'Saturday Night Live' skit, in which Jimmy Fallon as Justin Trudeau, Paul Rudd as Emmanual Macron and James Corbin as Boris Johnson pick on Alec Baldwin's Donald Trump in the U.N. cafeteria The SNL skit concludes with the leaders taping an 'Impeach Me!!!' sign to Alec Baldwin's back. Trump was impeached later that month and his Senate trial begins Tuesday, the same day he'll give a main stage address at Davos The incident also called back to the video shared by the Frech government that showed Ivanka Trump being snubbed by leaders including Macron, Christine Lagarde, who now serves as the president of the European Central Bank, and then U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May. WHO IS TRUMP MEETING WITH AT DAVOS Dr. Barham Salih, President of the Republic of Iraq Imran Khan of Pakistan, Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Simonetta Sommaruga, President of the Swiss Confederation Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission Nechirvan Barzani, President of the Kurdistan Regional Government World Economic Forum Founder and Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab Advertisement As the first daughter tries to engage in the discussion, talking excitedly with her hands, she's largely ignored, the video clip from the July G-20 showed. Both Trumps are heading to Davos. Merkel and Lagarde will also be on hand. Ivanka Trump is a member of the seven-person delegation announced to represent the U.S. at Davos before even the president committed to attend. She tweeted about her participation Monday. 'Headed to Davos to call on the worlds largest employers to sign our #PledgetoAmericasWorkers and join us in unleashing the potential of our people and accelerating the historic wave of opportunity, wage growth and job creation in the United States,' Ivanka Trump wrote. The president can use the opportunity to steer heads away from the Senate impeachmen trial, which will kick off in the hours following his Davos speech. Trump is also due to host a dinner and will participate in several bilateral meetings with leaders during his two-day stay in Switzerland. He'll have the benefit of not having an awkward run-in with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif who dropped out Monday. The Iranians are blaming organizers who they claim 'abruptly changed its agenda' for the summit. Trump has taken a victory lap for the American drone strike in Iraq that killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, a move that brought the countries to the brink of war. And while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is attending the conference, he wasn't on the list of leaders Trump planned to meet. At the summit Trump will, however, be meeting with Iraqi President Barham Salih and Nechirvan Barzani, the president of the Kurdistan Regional Government - two important meetings that could impact America's future in the Middle East. The White House also announced Monday that Trump would sit down with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, Swiss President Simonetta Sommaruga, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Schwab. With the support of the two governments, Vietnams oil and gas industry is expected to continue developing strongly. The Government Electronic Information Portal on December 24 reported that in the conversation between the Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev, the two sides exchanged views on the cooperation between the two countries in the oil and gas sector. The Vietnamese side affirmed that it has always created most favorable conditions for oil and gas companies of the two countries to cooperate with each other in oil and gas exploration and exploitation, as well as new fields such as gas-fired thermopower, LPG supply and engine fuel. According to Hoang Xuan Quy, former director of NIPI, a national petroleum research institute, Vietnam pursues a policy on attracting foreign investments to nearly all business fields of the economy, including the oil and gas sector. The Vietnamese side affirmed that it has always created most favorable conditions for oil and gas companies of the two countries to cooperate with each other in oil and gas exploration and exploitation, as well as new fields such as gas-fired thermopower, LPG supply and engine fuel. These are favorable conditions for joint venture companies between Vietnam and Russia to continue seeking new partners and new projects to expand the cooperation in the field in Vietnam. Of the cooperation relations between Vietnam and other countries, the cooperation between Vietnam and Russia are the most successful. Vietsovepetro, a joint venture of the two countries, is the typical example. The cooperation brings high economic efficiency to Vietnam, and helps Vietnam train qualified experts in oil and gas, thus helping build up Vietnams oil and gas industry. The oil and gas exploration reserves are declining. This is foreseeable. If we continue to invest intellectually, financially and technologically, we can find new oil fields, not only in the exploited areas, but also in the offshore seas that Vietnam has not touched yet, he said. Quy went on to say that Vietnam, together with Russia, can carry out oil and gas exploitation in foreign waters. The work can be done better with the intellectual, financial and technological support from Russia. For many years, the cooperation between Vietnam and Russia has made progress with the establishment of the joint ventures operating in Russia. With these bases, Vietnam can expand its oil and gas activities in Russia. In late September 2007, the agreement on the establishment of Rusvietpetro was signed. The joint venture exploited the first oil barrel in 2009 in the north of Russia. Also in that year, Gazprom and PetroVietnam, the national oil and gas group, set up Gazpromviet LLC to develop oil and gas projects in Russia, Vietnam, and third countries. Vietnam and Russia began cooperation in 1981, when PetroVietnam and Zarubezhneft established Vietsovpetro joint venture and the first ton of oil was exploited by the company at Bach Ho (White Tiger) on June 26, 1986. Linh Ha The current reserves of gas fields in Vietnam are estimated at 700 billion cubic meters, an amount that can be exploited for 40-50 years. SPRINGFIELD Democrats elected state Sen. Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, as the next Illinois Senate President on Sunday. Harmon said at a news conference after being elected that he will push for a graduated income tax. Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, announced in November he planned to retire. Cullerton resigned Sunday. Ive enjoyed working with all of you, Republicans and Democrats alike, Cullerton said. Weve accomplished a great deal together. And now its time for me to move on. My grandchildren await. Before the rare Sunday session started, Senators met privately after several rounds of private ballots. Harmon came out on top over Maywood Democratic state Sen. Kimberly Lightford. Harmon got 37 votes on the Senate floor. Honest, collaborative, representative these are the principles that will guide me as we start our journey together, Harmon said. And now let us begin. Harmon has served in the Senate since 2003 and was on the chambers Executive Committee, among others. The attorney from Oak Park has three children with his wife, Teresa. Harmon will serve as Senate President until January 2021, when the next General Assembly will be seated and will choose new leaders. Gov. J.B. Pritzker presided over the vote Sunday, which was his birthday. The Republican minority kept its leaders in place. State Sen. Emil Jones III, D-Chicago, said he initially believed a black woman could be elected Senate President. But if you dont have the support to pull it over the finish line, me putting my district first, I chose to be with the winner, Jones said. Being in the Senate minority state Sen. Jason Plummer, R-Edwardsville, said he wanted to see the new Senate President show some independence and support a fair legislative map-making process and ethics reforms to curb corruption. You go to the average voter in the street right now, they laugh at their state government, Plummer said. Its embarrassing, he said. Its frankly appalling the regard in which were held to the average voter. Its something that needs to be addressed and I hope people take that seriously. Both chambers return later this month for the start of the spring session. SEATTLE, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Milliman, Inc., one of the premier global consulting, actuarial, and benefits administration firms, today announced it has added the Wisconsin Ironworkers Union Individual Account Retirement Fund as a defined contribution client. The plan includes over 3,300 participants and $215 million in assets. "We had a retirement plan that was valued once a month and the Board of Trustees wanted to move it to daily valuation to allow the members of Local 8 to better plan for their retirement, " says Tony Mayrhofer, Business Manager and Trustee. "We selected Milliman for their extensive experience converting plans like ours from balance-forward to daily valuation, with participant-direction, without having to change the unique investment structure that we had in place. Our members are very pleased with the change and can now view their accounts at any time. I couldn't be happier with the program that we now have in place." Milliman will provide recordkeeping, communications and ERISA consulting services for the plan. "We are grateful the Board of Trustees chose Milliman for their retirement needs," says Gerald Erickson, principal and DC Taft-Hartley practice leader at Milliman. "The trustees and staff at Local 8 are great to work with and it really was a nice collaborative effort with the other fund professionals in making the transition successful." For information on Milliman's employee benefit services, go to https://us.milliman.com/en/retirement-and-benefits. About Milliman Milliman is a leading provider of consulting services and benefit administration. The firm has practices in healthcare, property & casualty insurance, life insurance and financial services, and employee benefits. Founded in 1947, Milliman is an independent firm with offices in major cities around the globe. For further information, visit milliman.com. SOURCE Milliman, Inc. Related Links https://us.milliman.com Written and directed by renowned Egyptian Filmmaker Amir Ramses, the two parts of 'Jews of Egypt' will be screened at Ewart Hall The two parts of director's Amir Ramses documentary titled 'Jews of Egypt' will be screened at the AUC Tahrir Cultural Center on Sunday 2 February. Part one, Jews of Egypt 2012, produced by Haitham AlKhamissi and Ramses, under Session Productions, is a 96-min capturing of fragments of the lives of the Egyptian Jewish community in the first half of the twentieth century and examining how the Jews of Egypt turned in the eyes of Egyptians from partners in the same country to enemies. Part Two, Jews of Egypt end of journey 2014, produced by Haitham Al Khamissi , Essam Fawzi, and Hussein Menebawi, under DAAL Media Production, in 56 minutes tells the story of the only 12 Jewish ladies, out of 80,000 Egyptian Jews, still living in Egypt, including Magda Shehata Harroun, the new president of the Jewish community. The 1979-born Ramses, who wrote the two parts of the documentary, is a known Egyptian filmmaker who is also a jury president and member of many prestigious film festivals. Ramses worked as assistant director for five years with Youssef Chahine in various films, whilst directing many short films, documentaries and features and wrote one novel entitled song of songs published in 2010. Programme: Sunday 2 February 2020 at 7pm Ewart Hall, Cultural Center, AUC Tahrir For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture Search Keywords: Short link: Daly's Pharmacy has been caring for the people of Naas for over a hundred years, and is delighted to continue that tradition by announcing the installation of a Public Access Defibrillator (PAC) on their shop front on South Main Street, Naas. Therese Lawlor, owner of Daly's Pharmacy, says "It is the only defibrillator publicly available on the main street, in such a prominent location close to shops, businesses and schools, and right in the heart of our town. "We at Daly's Pharmacy are proud to invest in this life-saving technology for the benefit of all people who live in and visit Naas." Five thousand people a year in Ireland die from sudden cardiac arrest. Seventy per cent of these occur out of hospital. Therese Lawlor, Daly's Pharmacy (centre) with Amanda Ross and Julie Banim of Naas Community First Responders If a defibrillator is used and CPR is performed within five minutes of cardiac arrest, survival chances increase from six per cent to seventy four per cent. Photo show Julie Banim, Naas Community First Responders, Dervla Hynes pharmacist, Cllr Bill Clear Naas MD, Therese Lawlor owners of Daly's Pharmacy, Amanda Ross, Naas Community First Responders and Janet Ward, beauty consultant at Daly's of Naas at the official announcement of the new defibrillator for South Main Street, Naas on Saturday, 18 January last. PICTURES: Ben Kelly Photography Seoul: The US ambassador to South Korea has some unusual explanations for the harsh criticism he's faced in his host country. His moustache, maybe? Or a Japanese ancestry that raises unpleasant reminders of Japan's former colonial domination of Korea? Many South Koreans, however, have a more straight-forward explanation for Harry Harris' struggle to win hearts and minds in Seoul, and it's got more to do with an outspoken manner that they see as undiplomatic and rude. A protester plucks a fake moustache from a picture of the US ambassador to South Korea, Harry Harris. Credit:AP Since arriving in Seoul in July 2018, Harris, a retired navy admiral born to a Japanese mother and an American navy officer, has been the focus of keen attention because of his military and ethnic background. The 63-year-old former US Pacific Command chief has sometimes drawn criticism from those who take issue with his manner when dealing with South Koreans. His moustache has become the subject of ribbing online, with jokes made about how it resembles those of Japanese colonial masters, who brutally occupied the Korean Peninsula from 1910-45. But there is more serious concern that the discord could widen a growing rift in Seoul's relations with Washington at a time when diplomacy with rival North Korea seem in danger of imploding. Plans for an Elephant man statue planned in his hometown have caused a row with some locals saying he was a 'freak of nature' and doesn't deserve one. Jo Vigor-Mungovin - his biographer - is trying to raise 100,000 for the monument but some residents in Leicester, where he was born, are opposing it. The Elephant Man - real name Joseph Merrick - was born in the East Midlands city in 1862 and Ms Vigor-Mungovin is a direct descendant of the showman who worked with him. However, her plans have caused controversy in the city, with locals opposed to the erecting of a statue. The Elephant Man - real name Joseph Merrick - was born in Leicester in 1862. His condition is believed to be due to a rare genetic disorder called Proteus syndrome Artists impression of the Leicester statue proposed for the Joseph Merrick the Elephant Man Doreen Jefford said: 'He was a freak of nature. Our poor city has become ugly enough without a statue of this poor man being displayed. 'He had a sad life and I do not believe that he would want a statue of himself.' Kai Higgins said: 'He had a rare condition and apparently that makes him somewhat amazing. 'Why does he deserve a statue?' Ms Vigor-Mungovin wrote the book Joseph: The Life, Times & Places of the Elephant Man, and used City of London records to trace his resting place to a cemetery near Epping Forest in Essex. Speaking about the statue, she said: 'I wasn't expecting it to be controversial. 'But I've come across the same reaction over and over. 'When I approach funding sources or venues, people seem interested at first but when they hear it will be a statue of the Elephant Man, they seem a bit shocked. Because of his leg deformities, he could only walk with a stick and as a result struggled to walk long distances 'They either say 'You can't do that' or stop answering emails or the phone.' Mr Merrick's condition, which developed in early childhood, is believed to be due to a rare genetic disorder called Proteus syndrome. His head measured 36 inches (91cm), his right wrist 12 inches (30cm) and one of his fingers 5 inches (13cm) in circumference. Because of his leg deformities, he could only walk with a stick and as a result struggled to walk long distances. His mother died when he was 11, and he became an object of curiosity and ridicule. He was confined to a workhouse, which he left in 1884 to join a travelling 'freak show.' But he was often robbed of his earnings while part of this show and whether he was beaten or abused is a subject of some debate. Merrick died in London in 1890 and his skeleton was preserved at the London Hospital whilst his soft tissue remains were buried at Epping Forest cemetery after Merrick's body was dissected. Ms Vigor-Mungovin, said: 'The weight of his head, which would have crushed his windpipe, prevented him from sleeping normally so he had to get his rest sitting up. Picture of the current plaque for Joseph Merrick the Elephant Man who died in London in 1890 and had his skeleton preserved at the London Hospital 'The death was ruled an accident. 'He died trying to be like others.' Ms Vigor-Mungovin, added: 'There is a fear of what the statue would be like - but he was an inspirational figure. 'I'm a descendant of Tom Norman, the showman who worked with Joseph, and I've even been accused of being an accomplice to a ''Vampire showman's crime''. 'I think the maquette will put a lot of people's mind at rest. 'And I am hoping to get items from the Royal London Hospital for the exhibition, maybe even the full-size copy of his skeleton.' A Leicester City Council spokesman said: 'Joseph Merrick's story is a significant part of Leicester's history, and his story addresses important issues about society's changing attitudes towards disability. 'The city council is not responsible for erecting statues, but if other groups or organisations want to raise the money, we are happy to help facilitate the process.' While the hiring activity in the Middle East has been supported by consistent public investments, mainly in Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia, positive signs were noted from the private sector in both markets, a report said. Amongst major trends monitored in the region over the past year, there has been a growing demand for National candidates in the UAE and Saudi Arabia in the public and private sectors, including multinationals, added the report titled 2020 Middle East Salary & Skills Guide from Michael Page, a leading job and recruitment agency. 2019 has been mostly in line with 2018, in terms of recruitment market trends, and the year has also confirmed a few emerging tendencies which we will closely observe in 2020. Firstly, based on a relatively stable oil price, the Middle East market has been active overall. Obviously, Saudi Arabia has been the steering economic engine, while the UAE picked up slightly, the report said. Sector-wise, industry players struggled and often downsized essentially due to demand contraction and a saturated market in the UAE, while Qatar's situation did not help support exports resulting in a decrease in recruitment in that space. In the UAE again, the financial services sector, despite staying active, also showed signs of a slow-down due to major consolidations. That said, some sectors like retail, FMCG and luxury picked up after three years of slow activity, probably in preparation for Expo 2020. Classic support functions like finance, procurement and supply chain were stable in terms of recruitment activity but more oriented towards junior and mid-manager profiles. As noticed in the past two years, demand for IT talent, especially data and digital experts, has increased significantly, supporting companies in their quest for new revenue streams. On another note, due to regional specificities and challenges, a demand for legal and consultancy experts was observed. Last, but not the least, 2019 confirmed a huge need for property & construction professionals owing to the key projects aligned with the Saudi Vision 2030. Salary-wise, despite increasing operating costs being a regional concern, the best candidates still require double digit salary increase to move jobs. High demand in the Saudi market and competition between major projects to attract talent obviously triggers that trend. TradeArabia News Service Jerusalem (AFP) - A Palestinian family pledged on Monday to appeal an Israeli court order to evict them from their home in a mainly-Palestinian east Jerusalem neighbourhood in a case lodged by a settler organisation. The Israeli anti-settlement NGO Peace Now said a Jerusalem magistrates court ruled Sunday in favour of evicting the Rajabi family from their home in the Silwan neighbourhood following a lawsuit filed by members of the pro-settlement Ateret Cohanim organisation. The three-storey building houses 17 Palestinians, the family said. "There is no other home for me and my family to go to," said Nasser al-Rajabi, adding that the youngest member of the family is 18 months old. "We reject this decision," he said. The family has lived in the building since 1975, he added, arguing they are "victims of a political game by the Israeli courts and the settler organisations." The family's lawyer, Mohammed Dahla, said they would file an appeal. Israel occupied east Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed it in a move never recognised by the international community. Israel considers all Jerusalem its undivided capital but the Palestinians see the eastern part as the capital of their future state. Around 200,000 Israeli Jews now live in east Jerusalem in settlement homes considered illegal under international law. Under a decades-old Israeli law, if Jews can prove their families owned property in east Jerusalem before the 1948 war that led to the creation of Israel, they can demand that Israel's general custodian office release the property and return their "ownership rights". A spokesman for Ateret Cohanim told AFP that a number of ownership claims were in progress but he would not comment on specific cases or on his organisation's involvement. During the war, thousands of Jews fled Jerusalem as Jordanian-led Arab forces seized the city, while hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled from land that was later to become Israel. Story continues No such law exists for Palestinians who lost their land. Peace Now said the family was one of around 100 families threatened by eviction lawsuits filed by Ateret Cohanim, in total putting around 700 people at risk of eviction. It said the eviction notices were an "attempt to displace a Palestinian community and to replace it with an Israeli one, in the heart of a Palestinian neighbourhood in East Jerusalem." The 2020 Hunan TV Spring Festival Gala will be broadcast live at 7:30 pm on Saturday. A sub-venue will be set up in Shibadong village in Hunan province, which has been called a model for the nation's targeted poverty alleviation efforts. A video, showing new pictures of Shibadong village that are full of Chinese New Year flavor from the perspective of a group of foreign tourists, will be seen at the gala. The gala also will focus on the military parade celebrating the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the ecological progress on Dongting Lake, and China-Africa exchanges and cooperation, to showcase China's pride in 2019. Many artists will perform to celebrate the festival through opera, acrobatics, singing and dancing, and magic shows. Former defence minister and Australian War Memorial director Brendan Nelson has been appointed to run aerospace and defence giant Boeing's operations in Australia. The Chicago-headquartered Boeing said on Monday Dr Nelson would commence as president of Boeing Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific on February 11. Former Liberal opposition leader Brendan Nelson will lead Boeing's operations in Australia. Credit:Rohan Thomson He will be the company's senior leader in the region and oversee 3800 employees working across commercial plane manufacturing, military systems, services and research and development. The appointment comes as Boeing faces one of the biggest crises in its history due to the grounding of its best-selling 737 MAX. Vijayawada: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has taken a calculated political risk by formally enacting a law establishing three capitals in the state legislative, executive and judicial in Amaravati, Visakhapatnam and Kurnool respectively. Till now, the YSRC government had sought to project that certain capital functions would be decentralised and spread out. Retired bureaucrat, G.N. Rao, whose committee had recommended the decentralisation of administration, had told mediapersons that a few capital functions would only be performed from Visakha-patnam, which could not be equated with the shifting of capital. But Chief Minister Reddy went ahead with introducing a Bill in the State Assembly on Mon-day, which clearly stated that the government would have three seats of governance. It is for the first time after the bifurcation of state that Andhra Pradesh government gave any legislative backing to the location of a capital. Former chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had avoided officially notifying Amaravati as a state capital in the Assembly till he stepped down. Significantly, the Jagan Mohan Reddy government went ahead with the Bills for new capitals as well as repealing the Capital Reg-ion Development Auth-ority (CRDA) Act, even before the AP High Court-set deadline of 2.30 pm on Monday to receive grievances from farmers ended. The matter was brought to the courts notice, but no order was passed. The state administration, however, is divided over the procedure to be followed post enactment for locating new capitals. The Raj Bhavan, principal seat of executive, has to be re-located and this requires a notification from the Centre. Secondly, the Bill introduced on Monday says that relocation of the principal seat of High Court would be done in accordance with the procedure prescribed under the AP Reorgani-sation Act, 2014. The same procedure has to be followed for the remaining two capitals, a senior bureaucrat involved in drafting the Reorgani-sation Act explained. The AP Reorganisation Act declared that Hyde-rabad would remain joint capital till 2024 and the Centre would initiate the process of locating a new capital for AP by appointing a committee. Accordingly, the Siva-ramakrishnan Committee was appointed but the process was abruptly ended with Mr Naidu deciding to build Amar-avati as capital. Sources in CMO, however, said adequate care was taken to avoid legal tussle. If the procedure requires Centres clearance, we will get it, a senior official said. Apparently to strengthen its case, the state heavily banked on recommendations of the Sivaramakrishnan Co-mmittee in building its theory for decentralisation of administration. Finance minister B. Rajendranath Reddy slammed former AP chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu for going against the recommendations of the Sivaramakrishnan Committee on forming a new capital for AP. Mr Chandrababu Naidu had done the exact opposite of what the Sivaramakrishnan Committee had recommended. The committee had opposed damaging the ecosystem and destroying agricultural fields for a new capital. We want to rectify the previous govenrments actions by following the recommendations of various committees, including Sivaramakrishnan, finance minister B. Rajendranath Reddy said. Prime Minister Boris Johnson meets 16 African leaders at an investment summit Monday that will see Britain cast out a net for trading partners in its new life outside the EU. The first UK-Africa Investment Summit in London comes less than two weeks before Britain formally ends its decades-long involvement in the European integration project. It also follows a tour of sub-Saharan Africa former prime minister Theresa May made in 2018 -- the first by a UK leader in five years. The 16 leaders from 21 attending African countries include presidents Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt and Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and Ghanaian leader Nana Akufo-Addo will also attend. Johnson will tell the African leaders and big company executives that he wants to make Britain their "investment partner of choice," Downing Street said. He is also expected to announce an end to Britain's support for thermal coal mining and coal power plants overseas. "UK aid is tackling climate change and supporting women entrepreneurs," Britain's International Development Secretary Alok Sharma said in statement. "Africa's economic potential is huge, with eight of the world's 15 fastest growing economies and a population set to double to over two billion by 2050," said Sharma. "We have much to offer African nations." The British government's export agency reports providing 2 billion pounds (USD 2.6 billion) in financing for UK company exports to Africa in the past two years. The agency says it now wants to "increase its risk appetite" in Egypt and the fast-growing economies in Nigeria and Rwanda. The UK government said the London summit will see British and African firms announce commercial deals worth 6.5 billion pounds. It did not spell out whether these were all firm commitments or included memorandums of understanding that do not always result in actual deals. Britain will formally leave the European Union on January 31. Brussels and London will then have just 11 months to reach a new free trade agreement that can preserve frictionless trade between Europe's single market and one of its largest economies. Johnson's government says it wants to diverge away from the EU economy in the future -- even at the expense of some of its producers facing trade tariffs and quotas as a result. London believes that this would give Britain a better chance at reaching its own agreements with growing nations outside Europe. UK finance minister Sajid Javid said in an interview with the Financial Times published on Saturday that "there will not be alignment" with the EU once the post-Brexit transition period shuts at the end of the year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) As Victims' Bodies Arrive In Kyiv, Tehran Clouds Plans For Flight PS752's Black Boxes By RFE/RL January 19, 2020 The coffins of 11 Ukrainians killed when Iran's military mistakenly shot down a passenger airliner after takeoff from Tehran international airport arrived in Kyiv on January 19 as new questions emerged over Iranian officials' cooperation in ongoing investigations into the tragedy. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk, and other senior Ukrainian officials participated in a solemn ceremony after the 11 flag-draped coffins arrived in the Ukrainian capital carrying the bodies of nine Ukrainian International Airlines crew members and two passengers killed along with 165 other people when Flight PS752 went down on January 8. Iranian officials have said that air defenses on high alert during heightened tensions after Iranian missile strikes made an error and fired antiaircraft defenses at the Boeing 737-800. Ukrainians and officials from the four other countries that lost nationals in the disaster have demanded a "thorough, independent, and transparent" investigation. Now, the Iranian official who is leading the investigation for Tehran has appeared to backtrack on a pledge to share the crucial black boxes that were collecting flight data aboard the aircraft. Hassan Rezaifer, head of the accident investigations unit of Iran's civil aviation authority, was quoted on January 19 by the state-run IRNA news agency as saying "the flight recorders from the Ukrainian Boeing are in Iranian hands and we have no plans to send them out," AP reported. Work to read the data was ongoing, he was quoted as saying, "But as of yet, we have made no decision" on transferring the black boxes outside the country. Rezaifer had been quoted by the Tasnim news agency as saying French, American, and Canadian experts would work with the equipment after it was sent to Kyiv because Iranian authorities had been unable to read the black-box data. "If this effort is unsuccessful, then the black box will be sent to France," he had added, according to Tasnim. Senior Iranian officials called for the punishment of those responsible after air-defense forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) shot down the plane. Joint Statement The foreign ministers of Afghanistan, Britain, Canada, Sweden, and Ukraine issued a joint statement after a meeting in London on January 17 to pressure Iran to give a full accounting. Most of the victims on the flight were Iranians or dual citizens, many of them students returning to studies abroad or families returning home after visiting relatives in Iran. Meanwhile, Ukrainians gathered at Boryspil International Airport outside Kyiv for a ceremony on January 19 to honor the flight's casualties as their bodies arrived home for burial. The incident came shortly after Iran launched missiles at military bases in Iraq that hosted U.S. forces, in an attack that was a response to a January 3 U.S. air strike that killed top Iranian military commander Major General Qasem Soleimani near Baghdad's international airport. After initially denying it shot down the plane, Tehran eventually admitted that its forces "unintentionally" struck the airliner with a missile after it said it veered toward a sensitive military site. Thousands of Iranians took to the streets to protest their government's actions, prompting public calls for punishment of the individuals responsible for the mistake. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called for national unity and defended the country's armed forces in a rare sermon at Tehran's Mosalla Mosque on January 17. He accused Iran's enemies of using the plane crash to question the Islamic republic, the armed forces, and the IRGC, which he said "maintained the security" of Iran. With reporting by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, AP, and AFP Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/as-victims-bodies-arrive -in-kyiv-tehran-clouds-plans-for-flight- ps752-s-black-boxes/30385506.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 United Nations Special Rapporteurs have labelled the treason trial of opposition leader Kem Sokha as tainted and said the entire legal processes surrounding the case have been marred by irregularities. Kem Sokha went to trial last week, more than two years after he was first arrested in September 2017. The first two days of the trial ended last Thursday and will resume on January 22, with the trial expected to take at least three months. Rhona Smith, Special Rapporteur on human rights in Cambodia; David Kaye, Special Rapporteur on promotion and protection of the right to freedom of expression; and Diego Garcia-Sayan, Special Rapporteur on independence of judges and lawyers released the critical statement on Friday calling the charges politically motivated. 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, the experts said in the statement. The experts said the trial had been tainted by the clear neglect of international, human rights and domestic laws. Kem Sokha faced up to 30 years if he is found guilty of conspiring with a foreign power. The court and government have also come in for severe criticism for preventing independent journalists and human rights NGOs from monitoring the proceedings, using the excuse that the courtroom was full of embassy representatives. Reports from those inside court show that there were empty seats during the proceedings and that members of a pro-government youth group are also occupying many seats. Justice Ministry spokesperson Chin Malin said that the court would not be swayed by the statement released by the three experts and that judicial procedures would be followed. So, all these commentaries or criticisms from any party, including the group supporting former opposition party, would have no influence on the court decision, which is an independent institution, he said. The Sokha trial will continue this week, with the defense expected to play a one-hour section of a video of the opposition leader giving a speech in 2013 in Australia, a video the government says shows his guilt. He also expected to be questioned about his work following his departure from the Cambodian Center for Human Rights in 2007. New Delhi: The Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter aircraft were inducted into the newly reinstated 222 Tigersharks Squadron of the Indian Airforce on Monday at Thanjavur Air Force Station in Tamil Nadu. The new squadron is all set to enhance the IAFs air defence capability and ensure vigil over the strategically important Indian Ocean Region, according to a Defence release. It is the second frontline fighter squadron of IAF to be based in South India, the earlier one being in Coimbatore. However, Thanjavur is the first Sukhoi-30 Squadron of the Southern Air Command. Water salute being given to the SU-30MKI fighter aircraft at the induction of the 222 Tigersharks fighter squadron at the Thanjavur air base in Tamil Nadu. Video: @Madhurendra13 pic.twitter.com/iej4zOW17t News Nation (@NewsNationTV) January 20, 2020 Air Force Station in Thanjavur was dedicated to the nation on May 27, 2013 with the primary aim of strengthening the air defence capabilities under Southern Air Command (SAC), headquartered in Thiruvananthapuram. Also Read: Sukhoi-57 Vs F-35: Which Fighter Jet Has An Edge? Heres A Detailed Analysis Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat inducted the Sukhoi-30, 222 squadron Tigersharks, in the presence of top officials including Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria. The Su-30 MKI is a state-of-the-art, all-weather multi-role fighter aircraft capable of undertaking air defence, ground attack and maritime missions. Also Read: IAF Successfully Conducts Five Flight Tests Of Air-To-Air 'Astra' Missile From Sukhoi-30 MKI Moreover, in December 2019, Indo-Russian BrahMos Air-Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM) was successfully launched by the IAF the from the Russian Su-30 MKI against a sea target. This station was mandated to protect economic interests and assets in Southern peninsula in Indian Ocean region. The presence of two airbases-Tanjavur and Coimbatore will hugely enhance the operational capability of IAF in the southern region. (With PTI inputs) For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. The Azerbaijani Embassy in Russia held a mourning event today, dedicated to the memory of victims of the tragedy of January 20, 1990 in Baku, when 132 Baku people were killed. Opening the event, Ambassador Polad Bulbuloglu thanked all the participants for sharing the Azerbaijani people's grief, the correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza reports. "30 years ago, the leadership of the Soviet Union, losing control of the political situation in the country, unleashed unprecedented, ruthless carnage against the civilian population of the Azerbaijani capital," he recalled the events of a terrible night from January 19 to 20, 1990. "The official numbers of human rights organizations - 132 were killed, more than 700 people were injured, 841 people were arrested without due process of law. On that terrible night, subjected to punitive measures, civilians of Azerbaijan gave their lives in the name of independence, in the name of freedom of the modern Azerbaijani state," the ambassador said. "The day after the incident, on January 21, 1990, the outstanding son of the Azerbaijani people, national leader Heydar Aliyev came to the permanent mission of Azerbaijan together with his family members and made his famous speech, in which he called the decision of the Soviet leadership to send troops into Baku illegal. He made the first political assessment of what had happened, demanding that all those involved in the tragedy were punished. The Azerbaijani people will always remember his heroic deed," Polad Bulbuloglu noted. "For many years, purposeful work was not conducted to investigate the causes of this grave crime, only after Heydar Aliyev returned to the leadership position, the political and legal assessment was given to the January 20 events. Since that time, this bloody January day was declared the day of sorrow. Azerbaijan people will never forget those terrible events and the decisions made by the former Soviet leadership that led to the numerous casualties among innocent civilians. Today, their family members are surrounded by the government's support, and those who lost their health in connection with the January 20 events are under the direct protection of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, who pays great attention to the issues of their social protection and proper pension provision," the diplomat said. "At the end of my speech, I would like to once again sincerely thank my colleagues, ambassadors, the State Duma MPs, famous people of Russia and emphasize that Azerbaijan in no way equates this crime with today's democratic Russia. I hope this will never happen again, in no country, with no people," Polad Bulbul oglu concluded. Russian State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Leonid Slutsky admitted that when arriving in Baku, he always visits the Alley of Honor and the Alley of Martyrs in the first place, noting that modern Baku cannot be imagined without them. "I think that we should always remember these tragic events and do everything in our power, in power of politicians, cultural figures, civil society, ordinary people, to prevent such events from happening again. Once again, words of deepest condolences to all our brotherly Azerbaijan to the people, and, of course, to those who, like Polad Bulbulovich, survived these tragic days," the Russian State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman added. Director of the Center for Post-Soviet Studies at the Institute of International Studies of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations Stanislav Chernyavsky, in turn, said that everything will be done so that the Black January tragedy is never repeated. "This is a tragedy for all of our Soviet people, for our entire homeland," he said. "Relations between Russia and Azerbaijan have strengthened. This year is marked by a special moment - the anniversary of the Great Victory, which we will celebrate together on May 9. In an interview on New Year's Eve to a Russian TV channel, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev noted how respected are those veterans who were protecting our homeland. Glory to the people who fell, innocent victims, let them rest in peace," Stanislav Chernyavsky concluded. Americans are split on whether the Senate should move to remove Donald Trump from office, with 51 per cent saying a poll released Monday that he should be convicted. In the CNN/SSRS poll, 45 per cent of Americans said the Senate should not vote to convict and remove the president and 4 per cent of respondents said they had no opinion on the matter. The poll comes the day before the Senate is set to begin the proceedings in the impeachment trial. It also shows a slight shift from the same poll in December, which had 47 per cent of Americans said Trump should not be removed compared to the 45 per cent who want to see him ousted from the White House. Of the 1,156 respondents, 58 per cent feel Trump did abuse his power of the presidency and 57 per cent say its true he obstructed the House from being able to properly investigate him. Americans are split on whether the Senate should vote to convict and remove Donald Trump from office 51 per cent say he should be removed, while 45 per cent say he should not Republicans are still adamant, though, with only 8 per cent in the poll in favor of conviction and removal But the parties are sticking to their wits are this one 89 per ent of Democrats believe he should be convicted and removed from office while only 8 per cent of Republicans agree. Independent voters are split. Trump will likely be acquitted in the Republican-controlled chamber. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi signed the articles of impeachment abuse of power and obstruction of Congress Wednesday evening. Then the seven Democratic impeachment managers, which she announced earlier in the day, hand delivered the articles to the Senate side of Congress. Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, announced Wednesday that the impeachment trial would commence Tuesday. On Monday Congress observed Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The Kentucky Republican has not yet shared with Democrats what the rules of the trial will be, but one aide revealed it could feature 24 hours for opening states for both the defense and prosecution with two days to spread that time out. McConnell said the Senate would decide whether witnesses will be permitted in the trial. Democrats have demanded they be allowed to call witnesses, like Trumps former national security adviser, John Bolton, but Republicans have said they would then call witnesses like former Vice President Joe Biden, his son Hunter and the anonymous whistle-blower. The poll was conducted in the days after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi signed the articles of impeachment and sent them to the Senate Americans seem to agree that witnesses should be called, with 69 per cent indicating the trial should feature testimony from new individuals who did not testify in the House impeachment investigation. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points, and was taken January 16-19 the days after the articles were turned over to the Senate. The articles were read by lead Democratic prosecution manager Adam Schiff on the Senate floor Thursday. Chief Supreme Court Justice John Roberts was then sworn in to preside over the hearing and he swore in all 100 senators. This week will feature opening arguments. Donald Trumps team appointed attorneys Alan Dershowitz, a liberal Democrats, and Ken Starr to presents arguments against impeaching. Dershowitz insists that abuse of power and obstruction of Congress are not impeachable offenses as detailed by high crimes and misdemeanors in the Constitution. Jaipur, Jan 20 : The ruling Congress government and the opposition BJP are busy strategising for the forthcoming budget session of the Rajasthan assembly which starts from January 24 as the CAA shall be the focal point of discussion in the House. While the Congress plans to bring a resolution against the CAA in the assembly, the BJP is also working on its strategy to protest against the resolution. According to state parliamentary affairs minister Shanti Dhariwal, "The session shall start from Friday as the Bill for extending reservation to SC/ST candidates in Lok Sabha and state legislatures for next 10 years needs to be ratified on January 25. We are also considering to bring in a resolution against the CAA during this session," he added. Meanwhile, BJP state president Satish Poonia told IANS that the BJP is planning to protest against the resolution strongly. We have called a meeting of our MLAs on January 23 to discuss our strategy," he added. Last week, the state congress government allocated land to 100 migrants from Pakistan at 50 per cent discounted rates. Soon after, Poonia attacked Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, questioning his stand on the CAA. Poonia had said, "Chief Minister is misleading the public by following two dimensional strategy. On the one hand, Jaipur development authority distributes land to 100 Pak migrants giving them hope of citizenship, and on the other, he takes out a peaceful march against the CAA saying that the new law will not be implemented in the state even if it has been passed by the Parliament. The Chief Minister should at least answer about his intentions of following such double standards? The protest was part of the 'holocaust day' which is being observed by the displaced community who were forced to flee from Kashmir to Jammu Jammu: The 21-year-old Ritik Jotshi was among a group of Kashmiri Pandits who have joined a peaceful sit-in outside Raj Bhavan in Jammu on Sunday to mark the completion of their 30 years in exile. The protest was part of the 'holocaust day' which is being observed by the displaced community who were forced to flee from Kashmir to Jammu and other states in the early 90s soon after the outbreak of militancy. Chanting high pitch slogans in support of the demand for their return and rehabilitation in the Valley, Jotshi whose family migrated from their ancestral Brahman Mohalla village in Anantnag district of south Kashmir is hopeful of making it back to his village with dignity. "This is for the first time that I am joining the protest here. We want the government to come out with a roadmap for our return and rehabilitation in the valley without further delay," he told PTI. Jotshi said he had visited his ancestral village for a few days after his birth in Jammu but "the desire in my heart to live in my land remains alive." "The government needs to look into the plight of Kashmiri Pandits on humanitarian grounds and ensure our return and rehabilitation," he said. Joining him in highlighting the demand, Akash Pandit of Shopian and Amit Koul of Ashmuqam, who were also in their 20s, said the community wants justice as successive governments have only made promises and done nothing concrete to ensure their return to the land of their ancestors. Sunandan Handoo, another youth, however, demanded a probe commission to look into the atrocities on the community leading to their exodus and strict punishment to those responsible. The protest was organised by All State Kashmiri Pandit Conference (ASKPC), whose delegation led by its president Ravinder Raina later submitted a memorandum to the Lt Governor GC Murmu, highlighting various demands with special thrust for return and rehabilitation in their homeland. Apart from the ASKPC, several other pandit organisations including the All Party Migrant Coordination Committee (APMCC), Panun Kashmir, All India Pandit Conference (AIPC) and All Displaced KP United Forum organised separate functions to commemorate the 'holocaust day'. The day also marked a campaign #HumWapasAayenge on social media by the community, pledging to return home after 30 years of exile. "We request Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Lt Governor to address all our issues related to social, economic and political rights. There is also a need to set a time frame for our return and rehabilitation in the valley," APMCC chairman Vinod Pandita said. Raina said the community has entered into the 31st year of exile and living as refugees in their own country. KPs have been "cheated by hollow promises" of return and rehabilitation by all successive governments. "Government after taking into confidence the community leaders should come out with a blueprint for resettlement of community at one place in Kashmir with political empowerment and economic rehabilitation, till then community be declared as internally displaced," he said. Convenor, Panun Kashmir, Agnishekhar said this year the 'holocaust day was observed in the backdrop of historical and epochal decisions taken by the Union government with regards to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) which have re-established the faith of entire exiled Hindus of Kashmir. "The pain and agony of forced displacement have left indelible marks on the psyche of Hindus of Kashmir and last 30 years have added to our festering wounds," he said. He expressed hope that after the abrogation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir on 5 August last and CAA, the Centre would address the pain and agony suffered by Hindus of Kashmir for last 30 years. Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu, who was detained outside the state assembly, was later released in Mangalagiri town. Chandrababu Naidu, along with his convoy has left for his residence. The TDP chief was detained from outside Andhra Pradesh assembly for expressing dissent over the passage of 'Andhra Pradesh Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Bill 2020' in the House. Earlier on Monday night, Naidu sat on stairs outside the state assembly in Amaravati after 17 party MLAs were suspended from the House for the day. Naidu was detained by the police. He was being taken to his residence but was later taken to Mangalagiri police station. The TDP chief was detained as he wanted to go into villages in Amaravati. The 17 MLAs had created a ruckus while Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy was addressing the House. They raised 'Jai Amaravati' slogans. "Nowhere in the world for one state, there are three capitals. Today is a black day. We wanted to save Amaravati and Andhra Pradesh. Not only me, throughout the state, but people are also fighting and coming on roads. The government is arresting everyone. It's bad for democracy," Naidu told ANI on Monday. Andhra Pradesh state assembly on Monday passed 'Andhra Pradesh Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Bill 2020' which will pave the way for the creation of three capitals in the state - -- Visakhapatnam as executive capital, Kurnool as judicial capital, and Amaravati as legislative capital. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 11:29:42|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KUNMING, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, has urged good communication of the adaptation of Marxism to Chinese context. Xi made the remarks on Sunday afternoon as he visited the old town of Heshun on an inspection tour to southwest China's Yunnan Province ahead of the Chinese New Year. TOLEDO, Ohio, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- On Saturday, Jan. 25, several hundred families and community members in the metro Toledo area will explore their options for the upcoming school year at the Northwest Ohio Scholarship Fund's School Choice School Fair. The free event will bring representatives from more than 38 traditional public, public charter, and private schools under one roof, along with homeschool organizations and scholarship organizations. While families shop for a new school or simply learn about the diverse education options in their community, children can enjoy music, a photo booth, and free snacks. The School Choice School Fair is free, open to the public, and will take place 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Franciscan Theatre & Conference Center, located at 6832 Convent Blvd. Families can reserve a spot for the event at facebook.com/events/438506556692379/. 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. "The Northwest Ohio Scholarship Fund is excited to host its second annual School Choice School Fair," said Ann Riddle, executive director of the Northwest Ohio Scholarship Fund. "Part of our mission states that parents should have an opportunity to choose the best school for their children. The fair provides a family-friendly place to learn about all the different types of schools in our community and the scholarships that are available for them." The Northwest Ohio Scholarship Fund is committed to offering educational choices to low-income families through privately funded scholarships. 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/ohio. SOURCE National School Choice Week Related Links www.schoolchoiceweek.com Egypt strongly condemned on Monday the terrorist attack on a mosque at a Yemeni army camp in Ma'arab province, which resulted in the killing and injuring of dozens of military personnel and civilians on Saturday. In a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday, Egypt extended its deepest condolences to the people and government of Yemen and the families of the victims, and wished the wounded a speedy recovery. Further, the ministry voiced Egypt's categorical rejection of all forms of terrorism, violence, and extremism, expressing its solidarity with brotherly Yemen in its bereavement. At least 100 people were killed or injured in the missile attack. The Yemeni government and armed forces have accused Iranian-backed Houthi militants of being behind the attack. The Houthi militants have not claimed responsibility for Saturdays attack. Search Keywords: Short link: OAKLAND, Calif. - Homeless mothers who were evicted last week from an Oakland, California, house where they were squatting plan to move back after speculators agreed to sell the property to a non-profit organization, it was announced Monday. Wedgewood Inc. will sell the home to the Oakland Community Land Trust, which buys and fixes up property for affordable housing. The group plans to allow women from the group Moms 4 Housing to return, Mayor Libby Schaaf announced. The city helped negotiate the agreement with the land trust and Wedgewood after a public outcry following the evictions. This is what happens when we organize, when people come together to build the beloved community, Dominique Walker of Moms 4 Housing said in a statement on the holiday honouring civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Today we honour Dr. Kings radical legacy by taking Oakland back from banks and corporations. Wedgewood also agreed to work with the city to negotiate a right-of-first-refusal program for all its other Oakland properties, a city statement said. Wedgewood will give the city, the land trust or other community groups the first chance to buy the homes so they remain permanently affordable, said Carroll Fife of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment. Last week, following a court order, two women from Moms 4 Housing were evicted from the vacant house on Magnolia Street that they and their children had illegally occupied since November. Sheriffs deputies used a battering ram to enter and arrested the women. The incident highlighted Californias severe housing shortage, soaring housing costs and a rising rate of homelessness. A one-night count of homeless in the San Francisco Bay Area city jumped 47% in two years to more than 4,000 last year. The evicted women had said nobody should be homeless when investment companies are buying and fixing up properties to sell at a profit. Wedgewood, based in Southern California, has flipped 160 homes in Oakland over the past nine years, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The company bought the property in the distressed west Oakland at a foreclosure auction last year for just over $500,000. The Oakland Community Land Trust will buy the home for a price not to exceed the appraised value, said a statement from the office of Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf. The median house sales price in Oakland is about $750,000. Wedgewood previously had refused to negotiate with the mothers group or the land trust but the eviction made national headlines and garnered strong political support. Theyre representing tens of thousands of other mothers, families that are suffering, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom said last week. Wedgewood is thankful for the outpouring of support for our company throughout the illegal occupation of our Oakland property. We appreciate the local, state and national support for property owners as well as the publics support for non-violent discussion and action, the company said in a statement Monday. We are honoured and inspired to collaborate with the City of Oakland on reasonable, thoughtful, and organized actions to address the issue of homelessness and housing, the company said. Misty Cross, one of those evicted, said the group will continue pressing for affordable housing. We wont stop until everyone is housed, she said. We want housing to be a human right. Imagine you go on a blind date and meet someone from another country with whom you fall deeply in love. Youre already successful, independent and at the top of your career. But youve fallen in love, so you jack it all in, move countries, and leave everything work, friends, family, support system, identity behind to become rebranded not as yourself, but as the wife of the person you have just married. The things you do for love. As well as adjusting to a new country and building your relationship with your new husband, you are also getting to grips with his job, of which you are expected to play a significant role. And getting the hang of his extended family, who are, shall we say, rather set in their ways, and with a closet full not just of skeletons, but fully-fleshed bodies. Your husbands uncle seems to be a sex offender, but nobody talks about that. You are encouraged to embrace the long-standing family policy of stiff upper lippism, but like your husband you find this a bit tricky. A bit last century. Still, here you are. Getting on with it, smiling, smiling, smiling. You have a baby, far away from your own loved ones, in your new home, surrounded by new people. You feel pretty isolated. Your husband and his brother seem to have fallen out, and your mum is an ocean away. Your husbands job is doing his head in, and as the full enormity of what you have undertaken begins to sink in, you are simultaneously learning how to parent a new baby, while continuously navigating your new life in the family business. Now imagine doing all of this not just in the kind of public view that mere celebrities routinely negotiate, but under a 24/7 blinding searchlight of relentless, unending media scrutiny. Not just the barrage of intrusive media scrutiny that your husband has been subjected to since birth, and that killed his mum when he was 12, but openly hostile scrutiny. Toxic, irrational, racist, misogynist scrutiny. Everything you do is wrong, from how you manage your pregnancy and birth to what you put on your toast. You are this, you are that, you are the other. Especially the other, the simmering racism of the media in your adopted country boiling over into shameless vileness. Acres of baseless hate are written about you. Not only do you have the nerve to be a woman, but a woman of colour unafraid to state her needs and continue being herself. You stick it out, but really, you do not need this shit. To be fair, neither does your husband. He has been with you every step of the way, his loyalty unswerving. You both hand in your notice, because of self-care. Because of mental health. Because of freedom and happiness and self-respect. Because of rearing your child in peace. Because love. You are nobodys subject, are you, Meghan Markle? You are nobodys Diana.To thine own self be true. The Milken Institute has ranked Bahrain third in the Gulf, and 42nd globally in the Global Opportunities Index 2020. The United Arab Emirates has been ranked first in the Gulf and 26 globally, followed by Qatar (38th in the world), then Bahrain, the Sultanate of Oman (53 globally), Kuwait (58), and finally Saudi Arabia, which scored 66th on the international level. The institute said that there are defects in the policies that guarantee the protection of foreign investors in the Gulf countries in general, explaining that although the GCC countries are intensifying their efforts to attract investments to diversify their economies, they are still retreating in many areas that hinder their progress significantly. The Global Opportunities Index, published annually, examines the economic and financial factors that affect foreign investment activities, as well as the commercial, legal and regulatory policies that Gulf governments use to drive investment. The institutes report pointed out that this years Global Opportunities Index is pivotal for the Gulf countries, with Saudi Arabia assuming the presidency of the Group of Twenty, and Dubai hosting the Expo 2020, which indicates highlighting the growing economic development in the region. The index indicated that a foreign investor can own up to 49 per cent only in some Gulf markets from consumer, retail, health care, services, communications and technology companies, and up to only 5pc of financial services companies. It pointed out: For example, non-citizens of the Gulf Co-operation Council are not entitled to own lands in Kuwait, and non-citizens may not own more than 5pc of the bank interest without the approval of the central bank. It added: The areas that do not qualify for the foreign investor include the fields of oil and gas extraction, fertiliser industry, fuel distribution, and real estate activities, except for special building development projects. University of Tennessee at Knoxville junior Marti Sullivan was selected as the first Miss Cleveland Volunteer on Sunday afternoon at Cleveland State Community College as the local franchise was revived after a decade long absence. The win gives the Lewisburg resident her second trip to the Miss Tennessee Volunteer Scholarship Pageant which will be held from June 17-20 in Jackson. Ms. Sullivan represented Rutherford County at last years pageant. Through its affiliation with the state program leadership when it was aligned with the Miss America Organization the Cleveland franchise produced three Miss Tennessee winners Lisa Robertson (1989), Beth Hood (2000) and Stephanie Culberson (2001) who was the Miss America 2002 second runner-up. The Tennessee Volunteer program started last year after the Jackson leadership ended its alliance with MAO. Lee University student and pianist Jasmine Ngo was first runner-up and Ciara Warren from the University of Memphis was second runner-up. Ms. Sullivan who is majoring in Education won the Interview Award and performed the Stevie Wonder classic For Once in My Life for her talent presentation. Former Miss Tennessee contestant and Mrs. Tennessee 2018 Trinity Garner Pearson is the Cleveland executive director. I n an unprepossessing east London classroom, 21 teachers had gathered for a ground-breaking training programme to put their various schools on a new trajectory with regard to exclusions. Perched on a desk up front, Kiran Gill, 31, the dynamic founder of The Difference charity which had organised the programme, surveyed the first cohort of thought leaders who she hoped would spark a step change. What does inclusion mean to you? she asked. Advocacy for vulnerable children, said one teacher. Every child given the opportunity to succeed, replied another. For Kiran, the answer was all these things and deeply personal. When she was 11, her single mother adopted two girls from social services, aged two and four, who had experienced trauma in care and who were to have a profound impact on Kirans worldview. Kiran Gill previously worked as a secondary school teacher / NIGEL HOWARD A As I progressed through high school, I was aware that my sisters were struggling, she told the Standard. After attending Cambridge University, where she got a double-first, Kiran qualified as a secondary school English teacher. I suddenly had students in my class who reminded me of my sisters pupils who felt like failures and ended up behaving badly and getting permanently excluded, she said. After working in schools for five years, I felt frustrated that the most vulnerable learners arrived at high school vulnerable and left even more so. Instead of improving, they fell further behind. Yet the schools I worked in were among the best in the country for value-added. I began to realise it was not a failure of individual schools, but a systemic failure. It prompted Kiran to try to reshape government policy and so she resigned to join the cross-party Social Mobility Commission, arriving full of expectation. But her hopes were soon dashed. There was lots of noise about university access for underprivileged high performers but little focus on children bumping along the bottom who end up in crime and become the most challenging and expensive members of society, she said. Too often we spend money on children who would be alright without our help, while ignoring those at the bottom with ruined lives and who ruin other lives. Kiran felt impassioned to remedy this failure. She observed that teachers who work with disruptive children often have low status, despite doing a job that she felt was the brain surgery of teaching because its the most challenging. How schools can access our 1m fund Grants of up to 150,000 over three years are available to London secondary schools with higher exclusions than national average seeking to radically cut exclusions We have two 500,000 funders John Lyons Charity and tech philanthropist Martin Moshal whose funds will be administered by The London Community Foundation Schools interested in finding out more and located in the beneficial area of JLC (Barnet, Brent, Camden, Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham, Kensington & Chelsea, Harrow and Westminster) should go to www.jlc.london. Schools in other London boroughs should apply at www.londoncf.org.uk. Criteria for funding is the same in both cases. Deadline: Expressions of interest by Feb 7. And second, she realised that teachers in mainstream schools were not trained to support children who experienced trauma. She saw little evidence, too, of teachers being shown how to work with other services, such as the police and adolescent mental health. So instead of settling for a comfort- able civil service pension, Kiran quit and in 2017 raised close to 2 million to set up a teacher training organisation. She called it The Difference and her idea was to raise the status and training of teachers working with challenging students to make a difference in bolstering inclusion. They provide two programmes. The Difference Leaders programme offers high-flying mainstream teachers two years experience in a good pupil referral unit with the idea that they then return to their mainstream school to help their school support children suffering trauma. It was hugely oversubscribed with 100 applications for 10 places. The Inclusive Leaders programme offers six training days over the course of a year at 2,500 per place, rising to 3,000 for September 2020, for teachers who want to be trauma-informed but stay in their mainstream school. Matt Jones, principal of Ark Globe Academy in Southwark, sent two of his staff on the Inclusive Leaders programme. He said: Avoiding permanent exclusions is my biggest challenge. Not many of us, and I include my school, is doing particularly well in this regard. The year before I arrived at Ark Globe in 2012, they had nine permanent exclusions and fixed term exclusions were three times the national rate. Now we are down to five permanent exclusions in the last two years and our fixed term exclusions are just below the 10 per cent national rate, but I am sending two senior staff for training so we can learn how vulnerable children can be better supported. Mr Jones, 49, who grew up on a west London housing estate, said: I am drawn to help the kind of children I grew up with and that is what The Difference offers. Too often, support for these children comes too late when the child is already permanently excluded. It could be a learning or cognitive issue or around speech and language which can spill into behaviour. We need to identify the problem and act sooner. Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), the apex body representing all major vehicle and vehicular engine manufacturers in the country, is bullish on the revival of the in 2020, a senior official said on Monday. Since the penetration of automobiles in the country is low, many foreign players will look at this opportunity to enter India, he said here. "This is the worst downturn of the in the last 20 years," deputy director Sugato Sen told reporters here. "We hope that the year 2020 will be the year of revival of the Indian Sales are expected to go up as penetration of automobiles in India is very low," Sen said. He said many foreign players will look at this scope to enter the Indian market. On the upcoming Auto Expo to be held in Greater Noida from February 7 to 12, he said new players like Chinese automobile manufacturers Great Wall and Haima will showcase their products for the first time in the exhibition. Another Chinese player which will be also present for the first time is MG Motors which will bring in their entire range of automobiles in the Expo. There will be around 70 launches in the Expo by members in the Expo. "There will be also global launches by foreign players," deputy director said. Sen said all stalls will display (EV). The dip in commercial vehicles is due to the new axle loading norms announced by the government which has hit sales, he said. BARRY COUNTY --- A snowmobiler was airlifted from Barry County to Spectrum Health Hospital in Grand Rapids with serious injuries Sunday after hitting a culvert and being thrown from his sled. The driver of the snowmobile, who was wearing a helmet, was traveling south along the west side of Tischer Road in Barry Countys Carlton Township at 2:15 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 19, when he stuck the culvert and was thrown, according to a news release from the Barry County Sheriffs office. The driver, who has not been identified by police, was airlifted by Aero Med to Spectrum Health Hospital in Grand Rapids. A culvert is an underground structure that allows water to flow underneath a road, railroad, trail or other obstruction. Culverts are typically embedded into soil and easily hidden, especially underneath snow. Also on MLive: Woman, 33, and girl, 16, killed in Ottawa County crash West Michigan digging out from wet, heavy snow Kalamazoo firefighters rescue cat while putting out house fire Tan Jee Toon - Country general manager IBM Vietnam From a digital technology perspective, as Vietnam embraces the advanced technologies of Industry 4.0, it is becoming one of the more dynamic emerging countries in Southeast Asia. The acceleration of digital transformation in Vietnam will profoundly impact the way people communicate, connect, and work, as well as altering the structure of industry throughout the country. Vietnamese businesses need to transform digitally to be able to accommodate growing client expectations across all channels. The minimum threshold for customer experience is the best one they had before. As the emerging technologies such as AI, automation, the Internet of Things and blockchain become pervasive, their combined impact will reshape standard business or technology architecture in the country. There are three critical factors for businesses to successfully transform. Organisations must first understand their digital transformation needs and the business outcomes that they want to achieve by going digital. They need to switch their perspective from being a provider-focused to become more customer-centric by leveraging on technology. The second factor is creating new business models. In every industry, business leaders have long used IT to improve productivity and efficiency, reach new markets, and optimise supply chains. With digital transformation, the business competitive advantage lies not just in being agile but also being a data-driven organisation. The third factor involves digital talent readiness. It takes a combination of technology and talent to go through the digital transformation journey. Some of the key barriers slowing digital transformation in Vietnam are not about technology but rather the ability of enterprises to address the new required deep digital skillsets workers where machines and humans can work together. In the World Economic Forums latest Future of Jobs Report on workforce trends in 20 economies, over 42 per cent of all jobs will change significantly by 2022 and require new skills such as analytics or design thinking and soft skills like complex problem solving. To address this, both public and private sector partners need to collectively come together to provide students with the academic, technical, and professional skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, communication, and collaboration, required to compete in the digital economy. Industry involvement fuels the opportunity to engage with learning in a significant, long-term manner that develops workforce talent. There is a growing category of jobs, in areas such as cloud computing, cybersecurity, and digital design that require more than a high school diploma but do not necessarily require a four-year degree. IBM is advocating for workers to have the right skills and credentials they need for these jobs by revolutionising education, and training employees for the AI era through our new Collar and Skill Accelerator programme, partnering with the Hanoi University of Science and Technology (HUST). In the first year of implementing the programme, IBM will support the Data Science and AI Department to develop and finalise an AI curriculum using IBMs available resources, coursework materials, and other resources of the IBM Academic Initiative. We aim to train 1,000 students in this academic year and will extend the programme further with the HUST and other institutional academies throughout the country. Two industries facing high demand for more personalised customer experiences are banking and telecommunications. Our clients in these industries are well aware of the need to change and to win in the advanced competition. Banking clients in particular are experimenting with both public and private clouds, in which IBM extends our support and solutions to shape the appropriate transformation for each business requirement. We also see that businesses in other industries like insurance, healthcare, supply chains, manufacturing, aviation, and especially retail and e-commerce are transforming digitally. This will be the year that customer satisfaction is the key to success of business and by transforming themselves, businesses in these fields can definitely win. C oronavirus has hit the UK with the Department of Health confirming that thousands of people have been infected. Public Health England said anyone with Covid-19 symptoms should self-isolate for seven days. If someone in a household develops symptoms, the rest of the inhabitants need to self-isolate for 14 days. The first British person to die of Covid-19 was confirmed to be on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan on February 29. Here's everything you need to know about the virus - including symptoms and NHS guidance. Sneezes should be caught in a tissue / PA What is coronavirus? Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars). The strain that has recently emerged is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans. The respiratory disease has been named Covid-19 by WHO. It is thought to be transmitted in droplets from coughs and sneezes and can survive for a limited time on surfaces. What are the symptoms of coronavirus? According to the NHS, the main symptoms of coronavirus are having a cough, high temperature or shortness of breath. New research suggests loss of smell and taste may also be symptoms of the disease. People with the virus will typically show flu-like symptoms, including a fever and a cough, that can progress to severe pneumonia. This can then cause breathing difficulties. The World Health Organisation has also stated that some patients may also experience aches and pains, as well as nasal congestion, a runny nose, sore throat or diarrhoea. Who is most at risk? Those with weakened immune systems, the elderly or those with pre-existing conditions such as diabetes, cancer and chronic lung disease are more at risk. What measures should you take to protect yourself? Simple steps go a long way to helping people avoid catching and spreading germs, such as coronavirus. Wash your hands regularly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds Comply with lockdown rules of staying at home and only leaving the house for infrequent shopping trips and for exercise Catch sneezes and coughs with a tissue, then bin it immediately, making sure you wash your hands afterwards or use antibacterial gel Do not touch your eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands Avoid those who are unwell Before and during Coronavirus lockdown - In pictures 1 /44 Before and during Coronavirus lockdown - In pictures AP Buckingham Palace AP Piccadilly Line tube AP Big Ben AP Millennium bridge AP Wembley Stadium AP St Pancras International train station AP Downing Street AP Victoria Station AP Regent Street AP The Mall leading to Buckingham Palace AP London's National Gallery in Trafalgar Square PA Edinburgh's Royal Mile PA Barry Island, South Wales PA Bath PA Bath PA London's Waterloo station PA London Bridge PA London's Canary Wharf Jubilee Line platform PA London's Canary Wharf Station PA London's Buckingham Palace PA London's Tower Bridge PA London's Leicester Square PA London's Millennium Bridge with St Paul's Cathedral PA London's Criterion Theatre PA London's Palace Theatre PA London's Phoenix Theatre PA London's Canary Wharf Station PA Bournemouth beach PA Bath PA Bath PA Barry Island, South Wales PA Bournemouth beach PA Hand washing advice: Public Health England launched an advertising campaign to encourage Brits to wash their hands more effectively. The Government said this will help slow the spread of the virus. The nation should wash their hands after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing and before eating or touching food. You should wash your hands for 20 seconds each time, using soap and water or hand sanitiser. Health secretary Matt Hancock said: "Washing hands regularly is the single most important thing that an individual can do." Is there treatment available? As the infection is relatively new, there is no specific treatment for coronavirus at this time. Medics try to relieve symptoms and keep the infected alive. The UK has become the largest contributor in the international effort to find a coronavirus vaccine and Boris Johnson announced a 210 million donation during a virtual summit with G20 leaders at the end of March. The Prime Minister said the money will help the whole word fight the Covid-19 strain and urged other countries to step up and help defeat the virus. During a daily press briefing, Cabinet member Michael Gove said thousands of ventilators will be distributed to hospitals across the nation. How to self-isolate and NHS guidance on calling 111 The latest NHS guidelines state that you should not go to your local GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital if you are displaying signs of coronavirus. If you have symptoms like a fever or a continuous cough, you are advised to stay at home for 7 days. You should only call 111 if you feel you cannot cope with the symptoms, you do not get better after 7 days, or your symptoms worse. If you are staying at home you are advised to do the following: Try to keep at least 2 metres from other people, particularly older people or those with long-term health conditions Ask friends and family and delivery services to deliver things like food shopping and medicines but avoid contact with them Regularly wash your hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds Try to sleep alone if possible Stay away from older people and those with long-term health conditions Drink plenty of water and take painkillers, such as paracetamol and ibuprofen, to help with your symptom (Bloomberg Opinion) -- Chinas most sprawling effort at revealing the universes deepest mysteries is a 1,640-foot-wide silver dish that settles comfortably between hills in a remote part of the countrys southwest. The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope is more sensitive than any telescope on Earth. This month, the Chinese government announced that it had begun formal operations. FAST is expected to further human understanding of gravitational waves and cosmic rays, and just possibly detect extraterrestrial communications. But for the Chinese government, which spent $180 million on the massive instrument, the most important return on its investment will be the homecoming of Chinese scientists who have been living and researching abroad. According to a recent study in the journal Science and Public Policy, its been happening for a while. The number of Chinese scientists who departed the U.S. for China in 2017 was 69% higher than 2010 departures. The factors driving this phenomenon are complex but come down to the Chinese governments decades-long investments in scientific education, research and facilities like FAST. Those efforts are likely to accelerate the return of Chinas scientists in coming years, and they will bring economic, geopolitical and cultural benefits with them. In time, they could challenge the preeminence of American science. A rising tide of returnees was not preordained. As recently as the late 1970s, Chinas universities and its science were a shambles. The Cultural Revolution had created a missing generation of scientists. To narrow the gap, Deng Xiaoping, Chinas reformist leader, resolved to send thousands of students abroad. Eventually, he hoped, a few might come back and make improvements. As of 2017, China had allowed, and often paid for, 5.2 million students to get better educations abroad. China also invested extensively in universities and university enrollment, creating the worlds largest (and improving) population of engineers and scientists, while funding research and development at world-beating rates. From 2000 to 2017, Chinese spending on research and development grew more than 17% per year, compared with 4.3% per year in the U.S. The Americans kept a slim lead in total spending the U.S. accounted for 25% of global R&D spending in 2017, compared with 23% for China but that gap is narrowing (and may have flipped in Chinas favor in 2019). Story continues Spending is an imperfect measure of scientific leadership, but theres no question that China has earned dividends from its efforts. Today its in the global vanguard for key fields, including artificial intelligence, nanotechnology and biotechnology. Those advances wont bring back all of the young talent thats left China over the decades the U.S. is still the worlds scientific superpower but they certainly help. The FAST facility is a good example of how this might work. Chinese scientists have been involved in radio astronomy for decades. But because the biggest and best radio telescopes were all abroad notably, the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico Chinese radio scientists were reliant upon host scientists and countries for research opportunities and collaborators. The commissioning of FAST flips the tables. Li Di, FASTs chief scientist, earned his doctorate at Cornell University, and previously worked as a research scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Now hes in China. International collaborators will be welcome at FAST, but China will set the agenda, allot the telescope time, and ultimately reap the bulk of the benefits. In the Science and Public Policy study released in December, researchers traced the career paths of Chinese scientists via the addresses associated with their scientific publications (a necessary approach, because of the lack of reliable data on either side of the Pacific). In 2017, 4,569 Chinese scientists left the U.S. for China, compared with 2,703 in 2010. Even more notable than the scale of the return is the quality. Twelve percent of Chinas scientific publications were written by scientists with overseas experience, and the share of high impact publications those that are regularly cited by other scientists is higher than peers who remained in China. Those scientists, in turn, train younger Chinese scientists and connect them to the increasingly global nature of scientific inquiry in the 21st century. For now, there is still more talent flowing into the U.S. than out of it. But the quickening uptick of Chinas scientific returnees should serve as a powerful reminder that scientific superpower status requires constant investment and a commitment to openness and collaboration across borders. For decades, the U.S. has attracted and benefited from Chinese scientific talent because it made those commitments. Chinas research investments mean that the U.S. needs to reaffirm them, or risk ceding its accustomed role as the world's undisputed scientific leader. To contact the author of this story: Adam Minter at aminter@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. Adam Minter is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is the author of Junkyard Planet: Travels in the Billion-Dollar Trash Trade and the forthcoming "Secondhand: Travels in the New Global Garage Sale." 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. Embezzlement case against Rodex Group owner dropped Russian business ombudsman RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov 11:58 20/01/2020 MOSCOW, January 20 (RAPSI) A Moscow District Investigative Directorate has closed a criminal case against Rodex Group owner Yevgeny Rodionov, the press-service of Russias Business Rights Commissioner Boris Titov informs on Monday. The businessman stood charged with especially serious embezzlement when dealing with a suburban settlements development project near Moscow. Rodionov has spent over 18 months under house arrest while protesting his innocence and trying to prove the absurdity of the charges. He insisted that the allegedly embezzled money was actually used to build houses, which were transferred to respective buyers in the framework of his company bankruptcy. The case has been investigated for 7 years; over this time it has been heard and returned to investigators several times, the statement reads. After Titov had intervened in the case asking investigators to examine the lawfulness of the persecution, the case was dropped owing to the absence of elements of a crime in the businessmans actions; at the same time, Rodionovs right to seek rehabilitation was recognized. A 27-year-old woman who was walking in Queens, New York, was dragged into an alley and raped early on Saturday morning. The victim was walking on Jamaica Avenue at 4am when a man who was walking in front of her suddenly stopped. As the victim tried to pass him by, the suspect grabbed her and pulled her into an alleyway where he raped her. Police are hunting for a man in Jamaica, Queens who dragged a 27-year-old woman into an alleyway and raped her The violent attack happened around 4am on Saturday morning along Jamaica Avenue She was taken to Queens Hospital with injuries to her head, body, arms and legs. Police have released a photo taken from surveillance footage of the suspect and are appealing for the public to help identifying him. The man is described as Hispanic, aged between 25 and 35, and about 5-foot-6. He was wearing black sneakers, a dark-colored ski cap, tan vest, blue jeans and a black sweater. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. The woman was walking when the man suddenly stopped in front of her. As she tried to pass him, the man pulled her into a nearby alleyway Former Judge Gene Cohen at his law office in Philadelphia. Cohen served two terms as a Court of Common Pleas judge in Philadelphia. Read more Back in the 1960s, Gene D. Cohen says, he was an unlikely Army police captain three inches shorter than the rule book limit and the only Jew in the battalion but thats where he was assigned after Penn State ROTC. He came home to Philly, where, amid his long law career, he presided over major commercial cases, pulling two stints as an unlikely Common Pleas Court judge: was tapped by Gov. Bob Casey and retained by voters (1988 to 2005) as a replacement for elected judges snared in the Roofers Union campaign-cash scandal; and was returned to the bench as an appointed senior judge (2016-19). "The pay was bad, the hours werent terrific, the computers broke down, he said, so at 77 he gave it up again, after delivering last years Duffield House ruling, ordering the city to repay landlords $50 million to reverse an unconstitutional tax increase. (The city has appealed.) It wasnt the first Cohen decision that turned on explosive and expensive issues of city governance. Back in private practice at the Horn Williamson firm under Jennifer Horn, who worked for him at his previous firm, Cohen Seglias Cohen sat for an interview to review key cases and issues. Public pension funds In 2004, Cohen rejected a settlement between Pennsylvania and a venture capital firm that had sent state pension funds to an investor who blew them on a lobster company and other unapproved investments. The state and other clients lost nearly $100 million. Cohen refused to approve a city malpractice settlement with the citys own law firms, which, as he saw it, had aided and abetted the unlawful and unsuccessful investment, and settled in the dark lacking transparency. That got my attention. How often does a judge take the publics side in stopping a cozy deal among government officials and the contractors who ripped them off? Public pensions, Cohen notes, invest billions under processes hidden from public review: I dont understand the necessity for almost total confidentiality in the selection of the fund managers, or for hiding fat profits private managers collect from state investments. Im surprised there has not been more serious investigations. I like what youve written about the public pension funds in Pennsylvania. But I dont think you hit them nearly hard enough, Cohen told me. That suspect settlement was born in the dark, through confidential mediation. The process didnt even try to pin responsibility for the losses, Cohen said: It was all about getting to Yes from a dollar point of view." He refused to sign a blank check. Cohens justice was overturned on appeal in 2005, but you could say he has been vindicated by events: The unauthorized investor, Michael Liberty, went on to raise hundreds of millions more, much of it from Philadelphia-area sources, for Mozido, a telecom start-up that failed to thrive as promised. In 2017 Liberty was jailed for campaign finance fraud. Last year he was indicted on fraud charges related to Mozido, which he is contesting. If the Mozido investors didnt know Libertys past, its no wonder: Not even Judge Cohen was told his name, given the secrecy around the mediation. I dont think there should be much secrecy, Cohen concluded. If the public has an interest in the outcome of a matter, the idea of using the courts as a cover-up I hate to use that word is certainly not something I favor. Binding arbitration Under Pennsylvanias Act 111 from 1968, police disputes over firings and disciplinary actions are typically assigned to arbitrators whose word is final and whose selection is partly decided by police representatives. The practice is blamed for Philadelphias apparent inability to fire police officers whose actions force the city to pay millions in damages. It appears that, because they want to continue to be selected as arbitrators, their decisions are sometimes more favorable to the people who regularly select them," Cohen says. One solution, he suggests, would be random arbitrator selection, so arbitrators cant be blackballed for ruling in muncipalities favor. Judges and politics Cohen credits his years as an Army police captain, including injuries from a raid on a soldier turned heroin dealer, for helping make him not a brave person, but at least unafraid to stand up and do whatever I had to do. That became useful as a judge in Philadelphia, where political ties are sometimes called on by plaintiffs and defense lawyers, and by judges whose families sometimes want jobs and favors. Theres a lot of that," Cohen says. In a nonjury trial, a defendant brought a State Senator to represent them. I found them guilty. It had no impact on me. "Maybe a legislator, a councilman, can sometimes compromise their values for optimal reasons. A judge cannot. It is a position of trust. I never put my family on the [public] payroll. And I dont see myself compromising because f what the repercussions might be. Before he was a judge: Cohen, who had been the Republican candidate for city sheriff in 1975, found himself a few years later accused of disloyalty by a fellow Republican, a senior state official, when he resigned as a state medical licensing hearing officer in protest of the state medical boards failure to pull the license of a Lankenau Hospital gynecologist accused by a dozen women of 36 episodes of sexual misconduct. He left the party, and later applauded the amateur boards replacement by professional administrative-law judges. Grand Juries Overseeing one of the secretive citizen juries that reviews and typically approves prosecutors recommendations, sometimes you had to say no to the district attorney," says Cohen. "If I thought an attempted prosecution was more political than criminal, I would interfere. That would infuriate them. He cited the 1992 case of Window Washing Charlie Matthews, a West Philadelphia man who was reported by neighbors for waving a gun on his porch. Responding officers fired more than 90 shots, killing him. His gun turned out to be empty. District Attorney Lynne Abrahams office submitted paperwork to charge several of the officers. Cohen quashed it, leaving charges only against a senior officer accused of shooting the man in his head at close range after he had fallen. (The officer was eventually acquitted on appeal.) Cohen cites his cop experience: I knew what it was like, to hold a gun on somebody, and a gun pointing at me, he told me. I knew what the police had gone through. They may have been negligent," but did not act with criminal intent. He felt blowback from the D.A.'s office, some of which circulated in writing. He didnt regret what he did. Unlike with mediation and arbitration, Cohen calls grand jury secrecy a necessity: These are criminal proceedings. You have to protect the witnesses. Elected prosecutors Citizens are outraged, Cohen notes, when they learn that drug gangs or white-collar thieves have hurt victims for years, with investigators knowledge, until prosecutors finally press charges. Are these delays more common among appointed federal prosecutors? Their concept, to me, is more of law enforcement than crime prevention," Cohen said. "When they get wind somebody is committing crimes, they may watch and wait for two or three years, until they have a drop-dead case. Meanwhile, people are being injured. By contrast, Pennsylvanias elected district attorneys, who face the voters, are "more about crime prevention. As soon as a crime is committed, they tend to act, and not wait until they get 100% assurance of a conviction. Elected judges Pennsylvania judicial candidates are expected to contribute to political parties to get elected; they raise money from lawyers, who may someday have cases before them. And counties at times elected jurists who were not all that smart, Cohen said. He prefers the Missouri system, under which judges are first screened and appointed, then after several years subject to public retention votes. He notes he was one of 12 Casey-appointed post-Roofers judges retained by voters when they ran for second terms, showing the process worked: Nobody disgraced themselves. Which was saying something in a court that had all kinds of issues in those days. Commerce court Cohen was among the judges picked to hear business cases in a special Common Pleas Court section, one of the first set up by U.S. cities. The general principle is that businesses and legal disputants want their matters reached as quickly and intelligently as possible," he said. Without juries or long pretrial conferences, you get inside the cases real quickly. Litigants want it over as soon as possible; they want a decision on how to proceed with their business. "You know, lawyers are like molecules, they take up all available space. I used to say, Dispose of the inventory, and dont embarrass the court.Thats kind of a low bar. But its a high-volume court. (This online column contains additional material that was not in the printed story due to space constraints) The patient monitoring system is used for monitoring physiological signals that include the parameters such as electro-cardio graph (ECG), respiratory signals, blood pressure, body temperature, and others. The same parameters can be recorded at a central station in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), or home via a laptop or computer in order to helps the caregivers to constantly monitor their patients, these systems are called central patient monitoring systems. The monitoring system is installed in intensive care unit, anesthesia, and surgery departments. Download the Sample copy Of Report with Table of Contents and Figures @ https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-pdf/3319 Global Central Patient Monitoring Systems Market Dynamics A need for constant monitoring of a large number of patients, efficiently, in hospitals that have more than 500 beds, is expected to propel growth of the central patient monitoring system market over the forecast period. For instance, according to the National University Hospital of Iceland Landspitali, in April 2017, its emergency department contains 46 monitors and 3 central stations for patient monitoring. The hospital has installed Intellispace central monitoring system developed by Koninklijke Philips N.V., in intensive care, anesthesia, and surgery department. However, increasing risk of false alarms in central patient monitoring systems is likely to restrain market growth over the forecast period. For instance, according to the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), in May 2018, around 90% of alarms in critical care settings are either clinically irrelevant or false. Global Central Patient Monitoring Systems Market Regional Insights North America accounted for the largest market share in 2018, owing to increasing launches and approvals of new central patient monitoring systems in the region. For instance, in March 2018, Nihon Kohden announced the launch of its NK- HiQ Wireless Patient Monitoring System in the U.S. The NK- HiQ uses Wi-Fi technology to provide safe continuous patient monitoring in the hospital setting. NK- HiQ is a smart, secure data acquisition and management platform with a fully-featured central station, bedside, transport and wearable patient monitors. The system captures and manages patient data from admission to discharge, effortlessly throughout the treatment. Moreover, in September 2019, Baxter International entered into a mutual agreement to acquire Cheetah Medical, a U.S.-based company of non-invasive fluid management and hemodynamic monitoring technology. The acquisition will result in improved clinical outcomes with an established Baxters patient monitoring technology to help clinicians in taking better treatment decisions. Global Central Patient Monitoring Systems Market Competitive Landscape Key players operating in the global central patient monitoring system market include Koninklijke Philips N.V., GE Healthcare, Hipac Healthcare Pty Ltd, Infinium Medical, Universal Medical Instruments, Heyer Medical AG, MindRay, Criticare Systems Inc., Sunray, Mediana, Nihon Kohden, and others. Purchase a copy of Central Patient Monitoring Systems Market Report: https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/buy-now/3319 Global Central Patient Monitoring Systems Market Taxonomy On the basis of number of patients, the global central patient monitoring systems market is segmented into: 16 Patients 32 Patients 64 Patients 66 Patients >250 Patients On the basis of end-users, the global central patient monitoring systems market is segmented into: Hospitals Ambulatory Surgical Centers Trauma Centers Others On the basis of region, the global central patient monitoring systems market is segmented into: North America Latin America Europe Asia Pacific Middle East Africa About Coherent Market Insights: Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity. Media Contact: Name: Mr. Raj Shah Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.com Phone: US +12067016702 Country: United States Website: https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ Visit Blog: https://globalindustryresearchblog.wordpress.com/ The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Edward Kallon, on Monday condemned an attack by Boko Haram on one of its buildings in Ngala, a border town in Borno State. On Saturday, Boko Haram attacked Ngala, the headquarters of the Gamboru-Ngala local government, hitting a building housing UN humanitarian workers. Due to a lack of communication facilities in Ngala, journalists could not immediately confirm the attack when the rumour filtered to town. A statement issued by the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said Mr Kallon was outraged and strongly condemns the attack. The statement said the building was the UNs main humanitarian accommodation in Ngala. I am outraged by the extremely violent attack on this key humanitarian facility where five United Nations staff were staying at the time of the incident, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator said. The statement explained that the attack, which occurred on the evening of Saturday, was a direct target of a complex assault by heavily armed non-state armed groups operatives. An entire section of the facility was burned down as well as one of the few vehicles UN agencies rely on for movement and aid delivery. The statement added that theprotective security measures deployed at the humanitarian hub prevented any harm to the staff who were in the facility. I am shocked by the violence and intensity of this attack, which is the latest of too many incidents directly targeting humanitarian actors and the assistance we provide, Mr Kallon stressed. I am relieved all staff is now safe and secure. Aid workers, humanitarian facilities and assets cannot be a target and must be protected and respected at all times. He added that before the attack, aid workers had been providing assistance to more than 55,000 people in the town of Ngala. In 2019, over 10,000 people displaced by the violence arrived in Ngala, searching for security and basic services. He said humanitarian hubs in Borno State, like the one attacked on Saturday, are critical to the humanitarian response. They provide operating environments for aid workers in remote locations where some of the most vulnerable people live or have sought refuge. Such incidents have a disastrous effect on the lives of the most vulnerable people who depend on our assistance to survive. Many of them had already fled violence in their area of origin and were hoping to find safety and assistance in Ngala. This also jeopardises the ability to aid workers to stay and deliver assistance to the people most in need in remote areas in Borno State. I call on all parties to the conflict to respect the principles of humanity, neutrality, independence, and impartiality which guide the assistance the humanitarian community delivers in the states of Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe. MOUNT CLEMENS (AP) Michigans third-largest county has taken steps to create a public defender office, which county officials hope will address concerns with representing those who cant afford attorneys. Macomb County posted an administrator job for the office, which drew 51 applicants, according to The Detroit News. Interviews were scheduled to begin next month and county officials hoped to fill the position in March. The size of the office was yet to be determined. Currently, public defenders are assigned through a case manage committee. Attorneys are selected by rotation based on their eligibility and case complexity. Ive always looked at it as kind of an unfair fight. Youve got to protect peoples rights, no matter who they are, said Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel. Even if they are a bad guy, we still have to protect their rights along the process, to ensure that were not putting the wrong person in jail. The change comes as Michigan has been under criticism for the issue. A 2008 study of 10 counties by the National Legal Aid and Defender Association said Michigan failed to provide competent representation to those who cannot afford counsel in its criminal courts. The Transportation Security Administration apologized to a traveler at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, who used her social media platform to call out the "unacceptable behavior" she faced Monday from a TSA agent who mimicked using her braided hair as reins during a security pat-down. Tara Houska is a Minnesota attorney and indigenous rights activist who opposes the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline project. She had flown from Washington, D.C., where she participated in the Fire Drill Friday climate protest. On Twitter, Houska spoke about her treatment at the security checkpoint. "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," she wrote. Houska described feeling hurt by the agent, who she said "humiliated" her. "When I informed the middle-aged blonde woman who had casually used her authority to dehumanize and disrespect me, she said 'Well it was just in fun, I'm sorry. Your hair is lovely.' <- that is NOT an apology and it is NOT okay," she added. It has long been an issue that women of color face in going through TSA checkpoints, where hair worn in braided, twisted or natural styles leads to flags on scanners that prompt agents to pull them aside for more invasive screenings. It was even addressed in an "Ask TSA" response about hair pat-downs in the case that the "hair area alarms for a potential explosive" or when someone's "hair looks like it could contain a prohibited item or is styled in a way an officer cannot visually clear it." In a statement, the agency said: "TSA was made aware of allegations made by a traveler about her screening experience at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport Monday morning. TSA officials investigated the incident and on Tuesday afternoon, TSA Federal Security Director for Minnesota Cliff Van Leuven spoke with the traveler. He apologized for actions and a comment that were insensitive and made by a TSA officer to the traveler during the screening experience." "TSA holds its employees to the highest standards of professional conduct and any type of improper behavior is taken seriously," the statement continued. In a letter to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (also known by code MSP) staff Tuesday, Van Leuven confirmed the incident took place. "Did it actually happen? Yes. Exactly as described? Yes." He described the agent's behavior as "insensitive" during the screening and said he spoke with and apologized to Houska directly for the treatment she endured. Van Leuven said Houska wasn't seeking discipline for the agent involved but rather wanted the incident to be a learning opportunity for TSA to "educate staff about the many Native American Tribes/Bands in our state and region to better understand their culture." Houska, who is Ojibwe, said she travels frequently for speaking engagements and shared with Van Leuven that she hasn't had any concerns with TSA in Minnesota respecting sacred items or Tribal IDs before, which added to her surprise during the incident Monday. "We all make mistakes," Van Leuven said. "Treating the public we are sworn to serve and protect with dignity and respect is our calling - every passenger, every day. We'll learn from this." Houska acknowledged the apology on Twitter and was emphatic that training be taken seriously. "I really, really hope this doesn't happen to anyone else moving forward," she wrote. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Kharishar Kahfi (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, January 20, 2020 20:04 722 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20604461b 1 National pneumonia,SARS,health-check,Airport,outbreak Free Airport authorities in Greater Jakarta will increase health monitoring of passengers on international flights from China and Hong Kong amid growing concern about a pneumonia outbreak in Wuhan, in eastern China. According to a circular issued by the health office of Soekarno Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, earlier this month, authorities will enforce a number of prevention and monitoring measures on passengers landing at the airport, as well as Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport in East Jakarta. All airlines serving direct or transit flights from China and Hong Kong were advised to immediately provide health documents in the form of general declarations, as well as passenger manifests to the officials in the health office. Passengers coming from countries with reported cases of pneumonia infection will be screened by thermal scanner as well as syndromic surveillance, says the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Jakarta Post. The office also recommended that all people working in the airport wear protective devices to reduce the chance of infection from people suspected of being infected by the disease. If you suffer from fever, cough or throat problems, contact medical personnel immediately, the health office wrote in the circular. The Indonesian Society of Respirology (PDPI) warned in a statement issued last Friday that people traveling to countries with outbreaks of the disease should wear masks at all times. After returning from places with outbreaks, immediately consult doctors if you experience a high fever or other symptoms of the infection. You should also tell the doctor of your recent travels to the outbreak sites, the PDPI wrote in a statement. Read also: Mystery China pneumonia outbreak likely caused by new human coronavirus Since December last year, dozens of cases of pneumonia have been reported in Wuhan. The disease is associated with a previously unidentified coronavirus related to the deadly Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus. The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Monday that China had reported to the organization 139 new cases of coronavirus infection in Wuhan, Beijing and Shenzhen over the past two days. The increased number was said to be the result of increased searching and testing for 2019-nCoV [2019-novel coronavirus] among people sick with respiratory illness. #China has reported to WHO 139 new cases of the novel #coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in #Wuhan, #Beijing and #Shenzhen over the past two days. This is the result of increased searching and testing for 2019-nCoV among people sick with respiratory illness. pic.twitter.com/qAuaFzYmXH World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) January 19, 2020 The WHO had recently confirmed the first infection case outside China, with a doctor in Bangkok confirming a Chinese traveler was diagnosed with pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus. According to the WHO, there are also other suspected cases in other cities around the region, such as Singapore and Seoul. The outbreak has caused alarm because of the link with SARS, which killed 349 people in mainland China and another 299 in Hong Kong in 2002-2003. LONDON - Prince Harry said Sunday that he felt great sadness but found no other option to cutting almost all of his and his wife Meghans royal ties in the hopes of achieving a more peaceful life. The comments were Harrys first public remarks since his split from the royal family was announced earlier this month. Video of his speech was posted to Harry and Meghans official Instagram account. Harry said he did not make the decision lightly and praised his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, and the rest of his family for supporting him and his wife in recent months. He called the decision a leap of faith and said he hopes the move will allow him and his family to achieve a more peaceful life. During his speech at a charity event, Harry framed the decision as being at least in part because of press scrutiny, saying the the media is a powerful force. He said that he and Meghan intend to continue a life of service and that his love and support for the United Kingdom is unwavering, but added that he needed to shed the royal ties he grew up with. Were not walking away, and we are certainly not walking away from you, Harry said. Our hope was to continue serving the queen, the commonwealth and my military associations but without public funding. Unfortunately, that wasnt possible. Harry and Meghan plan to spend most of their time in Canada. Beginning this spring they will stop using their royal highness titles and will lose all access to public funds once they stop carrying out official functions. Harry made the remarks at a dinner to support Sentebale, his Africa-based charity supporting youngsters with HIV. He opened his speech noting that many in the audience had watched him grow up and said he wanted them to hear the truth from me, as much as I can share, not as a prince, or a duke, but as Harry. Harry framed the decision to leave as his own, made on behalf of Meghan and their young son, Archie. He said that Meghan shares his values and remains the same woman I fell in love with. He spoke of both during his remarks, telling the audience that Archie had seen snow for the first time a few days ago and thought it was bloody brilliant. He then turned to his relationship with the queen and other members of his family. I will always have the utmost respect for my grandmother my commander in chief and Im incredibly grateful to her and the rest of my family for the support they have shown Meghan and I over the last few months, he said. VANCOUVER, British Columbia She has passed her days painting flowers, conferring with her lawyers, reading books and improving her English, ensconced in two different multimillion-dollar mansions in exclusive sections of Vancouver. But on Friday, after the city experienced a rare snowstorm, Meng Wanzhou, the Huawei chief financial officer detained in Vancouver and awaiting an extradition hearing on fraud charges, could be seen playfully throwing a snowball outside her house. Then she spotted a photographer. Her smile turned into a frown. In the 13 months since Ms. Meng, 47, was arrested at the Vancouver airport, her life has been circumscribed by the terms of her $10 million bail. On Monday, it entered a new phase when her extradition hearing formally began. This part of the hearing, which could last a week, will examine whether the crime Ms. Meng is accused of constitutes a crime in Canada, a prerequisite under Canadian law for her extradition to proceed. This is known as the legal concept of double criminality. Remembering Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam View(s): The 96th death anniversary of Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam was commemorated on January 9 at the Presidential Secretariat premises (Old Parliament). Chief guest Sanjay Rajaratnem, Acting Solicitor General and D.M. Swaminathan MP, the Guest of Honour garlanded the statue. Family members Mrs. Sarla Nagendra, Nirmalan Nagendra, Prashan Nagendra, Mrs. Iswari Mahadeva and Hari Namasivayam along with office bearers of the Hindu Congress, Colombo North Hindu Paripalana Sangam and other distinguished personalities also garlanded the statue. The welcome address was delivered by Mrs. A. Kailasapillai, Trustee, while a citation was read by Dr. J.M. Swaminathan, Vice- Chairman of Trustees. A short time after Sir Ponnambalams death the grateful people honoured his memory by erecting his statue in the grounds of the old Parliament house the present Presidential Secretariat premises. It was unveiled by the then Governor, Sir Herbert Stanley on April 3, 1930.It was the first statue to adorn this premises and stood in solitary splendour till the statue of his brother Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan was erected in 1953. A traffic stop earlier this month in Magnolia led to the arrest of two, including one man accused of stealing a vehicle. Christopher Wayne Galloway, 37, of Magnolia, is being charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle, a state jail felony, and evading arrest, a Class A Misdemeanor. Danitzca Marie Dunkle, 30, of Bellville, is being charged with bond forfeiture, a misdemeanor. On Jan. 7, a Montgomery County Precinct 5 Constables deputy pulled over a vehicle with a Florida license plate at La Quinta Hotel. Galloway, who had been driving, fled on foot. Dunkle, who was the passenger and was taken into custody after she was found to have a warrant, identified Galloway. After a brief investigation, deputies found Galloway was staying under a friends name at La Quinta. Galloway was located in his room and taken into custody, according to the Pct. 5 Constables Office. The constables office is proactively searching for thieves throughout the precinct. Serving and protecting the citizens and their property is (a ) priority for our department, said Pct. 5 Constable Chris Jones in a statement. We will continue to pursue those who look to steal from the hard-working people in this county and state. Galloway and Dunkle are currently at the Montgomery County Jail, according to jail records. Galloway is being held on a combined $10,750 bond. Dunkle is being held on a $10,000 bond. Galloway has multiple convictions in Texas going back to 2001 for driving while intoxicated and drug possession, as well as one 2011 conviction for assault causing bodily injury to a family member, according to records from the Texas Department of Public Safety. The Pct. 5 Constables Office is asking anyone aware of criminal activity in the Magnolia area to contact them at 281-259-6493 or visit their website, Constable5.org, to provide an anonymous tip. jose.gonzalez@chron.com twitter.com/jrgzztx According to her, several conditions related to the NRC have been set in the name of the NPR. Kolkata: Taking a cue from Kerala, Punjab and Maharashtra, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday declared that her government would pass a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) soon in the state Assembly. Describing the National Population Register (NPR) as a dangerous game, she appealed to the governments of all Northeastern states to study it before taking a decision on its implementation. She also asked the Centre to pass a resolution for its withdrawal. The NPR is a very dangerous game because it is totally related to the National Register of Citizens and the CAA. I will request the Central government to pass a resolution to withdraw it. We also passed a resolution against the NPR here four months ago. For the CAA also we will pass a resolution in three-four days, the Trinamul Congress supremo said at Kolkata airport before leaving for North Bengal. Ms Banerjee mocked the states which sent their representatives to a meeting called by the Union home ministry on NPR in New Delhi on January 17 and said they have been brainwashed. At the inauguration of Uttar Banda Utsob she later observed, Many of them spoke differently. But I found all of them attended the meeting later. Only I did not go I protested alone. I kept my word. Ms Banerjee said, I ask all the Northeast states ruled by the BJP and those ruled by other parties to rethink NPR before implementing it. All of you attended the meeting and you were convinced with the clever and nice words. Whoever wants to remain convinced by them, let him be, but I am not. According to her, several conditions related to the NRC have been set in the name of the NPR. I request all the states to see the law properly before taking the decision to start the process. I also request them not to participate in the matter because the conditions are very bad. There is a column in the NPR that says: Give the birth certificates of your father and mother or their address. Though I have not gone through it, I have seen it the press-media, the Trinamul chief alleged. She claimed, Basically, it is not mandatory. If it is not mandatory, you withdraw it. Why will it exist in your paper? If it exists on paper, those who will not provide their parents names or dates and places of birth will be excluded. There is apprehension about it. So they first have to withdraw all these clauses and conditions... I urge these states to see it. Several opposition-ruled states, including Bengal, Kerala and Punjab, have put an end to the work on the National Population Register. Critics say they are concerned that the NRC, read with the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act or CAA, will be misused to target Muslims. Chief Secretaries of six states stayed away from the January 17 meeting, sending other officials in their place. Bengal skipped the meeting altogether. Photo: CTV News New screening measures coming to some Canadian airports after virus outbreak in China New screening measures will be coming to some Canadian airports following the outbreak of coronavirus in China. The announcement comes just days after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control announced it would begin screening some arriving passengers from China at three major U.S. airports for symptoms of the virus, reports CTV News Vancouver. Health authorities have now confirmed Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal airports will implement the new measures, starting sometime in the next week. Changes include new messages reminding passengers to report any flu-like symptoms and additional health-related questions on electronic kiosks. At airports like New York - JFK and San Francisco, all incoming passengers from Wuhan, China, are being individually screened for symptoms of the virus, which has killed two adults in China and infected nearly 50 others. Canadians travelling overseas are encouraged to check the Travel Health Notice for China. - With files from CTV Vancouver. Norways populist party has quit the countrys governing coalition over a decision to allow a suspected Isis bride to return from Syria. Finance minister Siv Jensen said there had been too many compromises as she announced her right-wing Progress Party would step down. The move means Conservative prime minister Erna Solberg no longer has a parliamentary majority, which could make the country more difficult to govern. However she is expected to remain in office as head of a minority coalition. Ms Jensens departure was triggered by the decision to help a Norwegian woman and her two children return from Syria so one of the youngsters could receive medical treatment. The woman, who left Norway in 2013, was arrested on her return on suspicion of being a member of the Isis terrorist group. Timeline of the Isis caliphate Show all 19 1 /19 Timeline of the Isis caliphate Timeline of the Isis caliphate ISIS began as a group by the merging of extremist organisations ISI and al-Nusra in 2013. Following clashes, Syrian rebels captured the ISIS headquarters in Aleppo in January 2014 (pictured) AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi declared the creation of a caliphate in Mosul on 27 June 2014 Timeline of the Isis caliphate Isis conquered the Kurdish towns of Sinjar and Zumar in August 2014, forcing thousands of civilians to flee their homes. Pictured are a group of Yazidi Kurds who have fled Rex Timeline of the Isis caliphate On September 2 2014 Isis released a video depicting the beheading of US journalist Steven Sotloff. On September 13 they released another video showing the execution of British aid worker David Haines Timeline of the Isis caliphate The US launched its first airstrikes against Isis in Syria on 23 September 2014. Here Lt Gen William C Mayville Jnr speaks about the bombing campaign in the wake of the first strikes Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Isis militants sit atop a hill planted with their flag in the Syrian town of Kobani on 6 October 2014. They had been advancing on Kobani since mid-September and by now was in control of the citys entrance and exit points AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Residents of the border village of Alizar keep guard day and night as they wait in fear of mortar fire from Isis who have occupied the nearby city of Kobani Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Smoke rises following a US airstrike on Kobani, 28 October 2014 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate YPG fighters raise a flag as they reclaim Kobani on 26 January 2015 VOA Timeline of the Isis caliphate Isis seized the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra on 20 May 2015. This image show the city from above days after its capture by Isis Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Kurdish forces are stationed on a hill above the town of Sinjar as smoke rises following US airstrikes on 12 November 2015 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Kurdish forces enter Sinjar after seizing it from Isis control on 13 November 2015 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Iraqi government forces make the victory sign as they retake the city of Fallujah from ISIS on 26 June 2016 Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Iraqi forces battle with Isis for the city of Mosul on 30 June 2017 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Members of the Iraqi federal police raise flags in Mosul on 8 July 2017. On the following day, Iraqi prime minister Haider Al Abadi declares victory over Isis in Mosul Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Members of Syrian Democratic Forces celebrate in Al-Naim square after taking back the city of Raqqa from Isis. US-backed Syrian forces declare victory over Isis in Raqqa on 20 October 2017 after a four-month long campaign Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Female fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces celebrate in Al-Naim Square after taking back the city of Raqqa from Isis. US-backed Syrian forces declare victory over Isis in Raqqa on 20 October 2017 after a four-month long campaign AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Trucks full of women and children arrive from the last Isis-held areas in Deir ez-Zor, Syria in January 2019 They were among the last civilians to be living in the ISIS caliphate, by this time reduced to just two small villages in Syrias Deir ez-Zor Richard Hall/The Independent Timeline of the Isis caliphate Zikia Ibrahim, 28, with her two-year-old son and 8-month-old daughter, after fleeing the Isis caliphate, on Saturday 26 January 2019 Richard Hall/The Independent While Progress had offered to help the children, the populist party sought to deny any government assistance for adults seeking to return home after joining Islamist groups abroad or marrying foreign fighters. Decisions on whether to help women with IS ties return from Syria has caused controversy in Europe, including in Finland where the recently appointed government settled on a compromise to decide each case individually. The Norwegian woman, who has not been named, has denied the charges against her and will fully cooperate with police during interrogation, her lawyer has said. Ms Jensens exit, along with six other Progress cabinet ministers, leaves Solberg with a string of posts to fill, including that of oil and energy minister to oversee Western Europes biggest oil and gas industry. Norways constitution does not allow early elections, and the next vote for parliament will not take place until September 2021. All four parties in Ms Solbergs coalition currently struggle in the polls, including Progress which is stuck at about 10 per cent support, down from more than 20 per cent a decade ago. Ms Jensen recently admitted the government looked grey and dull, with the partys image diluted by compromises with centrist parties that do not share its penchant for tax cuts and less immigration. Additional reporting by Reuters Meng Wanzhou case is about the U.S. wanting Canada to enforce sanctions it rejects, defence says Meng Wanzhou's lawyers appealed to Canadian independence Monday as they accused the U.S. of trying to use Canada to enforce economic sanctions Canadians have rejected in order to extradite the Huawei executive. Defence lawyer Richard Peck kicked off the start of Meng's formal extradition hearing in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver by telling Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes that despite the Crown's claims to the contrary, the case is all about U.S. sanctions against Iran. "It's all based on sanctions," Peck said in his opening statement. "In the end, we're being asked to impose on Canada an obligation to assist the U.S. in the enforcement of its sanctions sanctions that we have expressly rejected." Peck said any attempt to suggest otherwise was a "facade." "Canada is a sovereign nation. We have our own heritage, our own ethos, our own identity, our own standards, our own laws," he said. "Canadians and Canadian courts have never hesitated to protect these values in the face of adversity let alone on request or demand." Lots of cameras A lineup of cameras greeted Meng on her way to court this morning, as she left the multimillion-dollar Vancouver home where she lives under house arrest. The 47-year-old chief financial officer of China-based telecommunications giant Huawei waved to supporters, some wishing her a happy Chinese New Year, as she arrived at the downtown courthouse about 15 minutes later. The week-long hearing comes more than a year after Meng's arrest at Vancouver International Airport on Dec. 1, 2018. American prosecutors want Meng sent to New York to face fraud charges related to allegations she deceived banks about Huawei's control of a company accused of violating U.S. economic sanctions against Iran. Over five days this week, her defence team and lawyers for Canada's attorney general will debate the question of so-called double criminality specifically, whether the offence Meng is accused of would be considered a crime if her alleged conduct had happened in Canada. Story continues WATCH | Meng leaves her Vancouver home, greets a throng of cameras at court: Meng has made a point of displaying the GPS-monitoring ankle bracelet she wears as part of the terms of her $10-million bail agreement. She wore a black dress with giant white polka dots as she made her way, flanked by security guards, into the giant courtroom. It's the same courtroom where her bail hearing was held. Glass walls cut the lawyers and Meng off from a public gallery that holds about 150 people. The gallery was overflowing and Holmes announced the court was planning to broadcast the proceedings into the overflow area. 'Out of step with the international community' The defence is expected to use about two days of court time, to be followed by the Crown's submissions. Both sides have filed arguments in advance of the hearing. The Crown plans to argue that the "essence" of the conduct is what is important in Canadian extradition as opposed to "offence-matching" laws on either side of the border. They say Meng is charged with fraud in that she is accused of making a misrepresentation that put banks at risk of loss. Maggie MacPherson/CBC But Peck rejected that logic, saying it was a "fiction" to suggest the U.S. had any interest that didn't involve sanctions when it came to policing the private dealings between foreign citizens and their banks. He ran through the history of U.S. sanctions against Iran and Canada's decision to drop economic sanctions against the Islamic republic as a result of an international deal to limit Iran's nuclear ambitions. He said the U.S. decided to implement sanctions again in 2018 when President Donald Trump left the treaty. But Canada did not follow suit. "That move was out of step with the international community," Peck said. "What it resulted in was a decision by the United States to criminalize conduct that Canada and most of the other countries, if not all, permit." Ben Nelms/CBC The courtroom was filled with an array of onlookers, including lawyers from other parts of the building, students and numerous Huawei employees, many of whom have made a habit of attending the proceedings. During the afternoon, Holmes interrupted Peck's co-counsel Eric Gottardi as he discussed the elements of fraud. She asked him whether a person could be successfully prosecuted in Canada given the same set of circumstances, but with the alleged lie being told in Canada instead of Hong Kong. Gottardi seemed to indicate that they probably could. The judge then asked why the same consideration wouldn't apply to an extradition hearing. He told her he would need the night to "crystallize" his answer. Media from around the world have obtained court accreditation in advance of this week's hearing. Mo Vayeghan, a Vancouver criminal defence and extradition lawyer, says the case is unusual and largely without precedent, but the Crown has a good chance at success. "American prosecutors understand that the allegations they are making need to meet the test of dual criminality," he said. "They get this issue. That is why the United States prosecutors, in their indictment, they have worded their allegations broadly to include misrepresentations and fraudulent activity." Abuse of process? If the defence succeeds in convincing Holmes the bar of double criminality has not been met, the extradition proceedings against Meng would come to an end. But the court has scheduled a series of other hearings if necessary. Those include a week of arguments in June in which the defence will claim that Meng's rights were violated when she was detained by Canada Border Services Agency officers for three hours before her arrest by RCMP. Meng's lawyers will also argue that she is being used as a political pawn in the U.S. and China's trade battle. Her lawyers have cited comments from U.S. President Donald Trump, who told Reuters shortly after her arrest that he would intervene in the case if it would help get the U.S. a better trade deal with China. Trump signed an initial trade deal with China last week, with no sign that he had heeded a suggestion from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in December that any pact should deal with Meng and two Canadians who were detained in China shortly after her arrest. Entrepreneur Michael Spavor and former diplomat Michael Kovrig were later formally arrested and now face accusations of spying in China, where they are incarcerated without access to lawyers or family. China has also cut off Canadian canola and meat imports in the past year, lifting a ban on pork and beef in November. Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has reacted to Sundays pipeline fire in Ile-Epo area of Abule Egba in which three people were ... Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has reacted to Sundays pipeline fire in Ile-Epo area of Abule Egba in which three people were killed and properties destroyed.The governor, on his twitter handle on Monday, said his thoughts and prayers are with the families and businesses affected by the pipeline fire.He wrote: My thoughts and prayers are with the families & businesses affected in the unfortunate incident at Abule Egba. We are thankful for the brave members of LASEMA & our fire service that swung into action working all night to reduce the impact. Pipeline Vandals will be shown no mercyWe must work together to ensure man-made incidents like Abule Egba are avoided. Security and information gathering along volatile corridors will increase and a stronger synergy with communities must happen. We all have a role to play. For this Republic Day, Samsung is having multiple offers for Indian consumers including attractive finance schemes, cash backs, and easy EMIs options with zero down payment. These offers are available across various Samsung devices such as its TVs, Microwaves, Ovens, Washing Machines and more. Beginning with its most lucrative offers, Customers purchasing select models of its QLED or 4K UHD TVs will get either Galaxy S10 (512GB) worth Rs. 76900, Galaxy A50s (4GB) worth Rs. 19999, Galaxy M30 6GB worth Rs. 16999, Galaxy A10s 2GB worth Rs. 8,499 and Samsung U Flex Headphone worth Rs. 3,799. When purchasing select models of convection Microwave Oven (28L & above), Samsung will gift a free Borosil kit along with a 10 year warranty on the ceramic enamel cavity. During this offer period, Samsung is also providing a 2-year warranty on select air conditioner models Samsung is also offering My Samsung My EMI service and Flexi EMI options, both giving customers easy EMI options when purchasing these products. Customers can avail up to 15% cash back via Axis Bank, Federal Bank and ICICI Bank debit and credit cards. Commenting on launch of these offers, Raju Pullan, Senior Vice President, Consumer Electronics Business, Samsung India said: Three rockets hit near the US embassy in the Iraqi capitals high-security Green Zone, security sources told AFP, with no immediate reports of casualties. Sirens could be heard across the zone immediately after the rockets made impact. The US has blamed Iran-backed paramilitary groups for a spate of similar attacks in recent months on the Green Zone, but there has never been a claim of responsibility. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON (Bloomberg Opinion) -- When he lands in Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum, Brazilian Economy Minister Paulo Guedes is expected to tell the captains of global enterprise that the worst is over for Latin Americas signature economy and that God, once again, is Brazilian. The problem is what some Brazilians are doing in His name. Ask the guys at Porta dos Fundos, the irreverent comedians who released a Yuletide parody on Netflix featuring a gay Jesus. They saw their Rio de Janeiro studios firebombed on Christmas Eve by a gang claiming to have heard the call of the Lord. Now they cant go anywhere without 24-hour armed guard. Such violent choler is odd in Brazil and unheard of since the return of democracy 34 years ago. But with the economy torpid and politics polarized, the conviviality and tolerance Brazilians once took pride in are crumbling. The revanchist political establishment now in charge has emboldened the general fury, too often through shameless appeals to the most obscurantist doctrine. This shifting sentiment has placed some of Brazils rising Protestant evangelicals on the front lines of the culture wars. With little use for the identity politics and rainbow sensibilities of the liberal order, ambitious pastors and their sponsors in public office seem hell-bent on engineering a social collision. Even in the most conflagrated times, Brazilians always preserved a tradition of mutual tolerance and concord that has kept the national conversation civil and prevented political violence, said Bolivar Lamounier, director of Augurium, a Sao Paulo political consultancy. But with the corruption that has destroyed political parties, fringe movements have grown and weve lost that attribute. This dalliance between power and proselytism isnt entirely new. Ever since the first Portuguese voyagers stuck a cross in the sand five centuries ago, religion and politics have sailed together in Brazil. The republican elite that toppled the Brazilian monarchy in the late 19th century so, theoretically separating church and state were devout Positivists. Conservative Catholic bishops drummed up popular support for the 1964 military coup. Yet faith and public policy arguably have never been so deliberately entwined as now, and thats a big problem. Story continues Check in with Guedess technocrats. Even as they toiled to fix the fiscal mess that engulfed Brazil in its worst recession since World War II, they were blindsided early this year by President Jair Bolsonaros draft executive order to subsidize electricity for religious institutions. Brazils fast-talking evangelical preachers, who keep the lights blazing and air-conditioning roaring in their megachurches day and night, were delighted. But a public backlash by taxpayers who would have been out $7.5 million a year for the so-called electricity tithe forced Bolsonaro to back down. That was just Bolsonaros latest sally in his mission to launch faith-based politics, delouse (his campaign mantra) public service of godless lefties and replace them with conservative acolytes. Consider his pick for the secretariat for women, children and human rights, Damares Alves, an evangelical preacher, whose doctrinal prescription for stopping the spread of sexually transmitted diseases among youth is abstinence. The job description for the new head of the National Cinema Agency? A good Christian capable of declaiming 200 verses of the bible. And who will get the nod for the next Supreme Court vacancy? Someone terribly evangelical, Bolsonaro assured evangelical lawmakers last year. After all, he added, we are terribly Christian. Raised as a Roman Catholic, Bolsonaro has long courted the emerging Protestant hierarchy. In 2016, as he prepared for his presidential run, he was baptized by a Brazilian evangelical pastor in the River Jordan. Religiosity has been central to his political brand. He had no qualms about enlisting heads of evangelical churches to collect the nearly 500,000 signatures required to validate his new political party, Alliance for Brazil. Whether out of conviction or calculation, his conversion resonated with the mostly conservative, family-values defending Brazilian middle classes who have filled the Protestant pews. Evangelicals now represent an estimated 30% of the population. Compare that with self-identified Catholics, once an overwhelming majority, now numbering just 51% of the population. With atheists and non-believers also on the rise, some analysts project a non-Catholic majority this decade. As evangelical congregations have grown, so have their pastors ambitions. Neon-lit storefront temples spread like food trucks, especially in poorer neighborhoods where the scarcer Roman Catholic churches and their duller masses have lost allure. Gospel radio is booming. The nations second largest broadcaster, Record Network, belongs to Edir Macedo, founder of the aggressive Neo-Pentecostal order, the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God. No respectable politician can hope to win election without the blessing of headline evangelical pastors. Bolsonaro draws his most fervent support from the Bible caucus, a loose coalition of evangelical lawmakers that holds about a fifth (or more, according to the most ardent believers) of the national congress. Yet what evangelicals as a group want is less clear. Though often conflated with the Brazilian right wing, evangelicals represent many churches and a broad political spectrum. Consider former presidential hopeful Marina Silva, a soft socialist and former environment minister, who clashed with Bolsonaro for his misogynist cant during the 2018 election and branded him an environmental predator. Many mainstream Protestants also look askance at Bolsonaros pro-gun policies, his sometimes scatological outbursts and his two divorces. In that respect, evangelicals may not be so much the vanguard of Brazils new conservatism as its most visible symptom. The evangelical churches have moved to the right just as Brazilian society has moved to the right, Edin Sued Abumanssur, who studies the sociology of religion at Sao Paulos Catholic University, told me. Still, evangelical leaders see something more in Bolsonaros rise a chance to enhance their cachet. They have no overarching vision or project for Brazil, just a generally shared moral sensibility. They want influence, to occupy choice jobs and to convert everyone to the faith, said Abumanssur. That leaves them at the mercy of the prevailing political winds, and for the moment, the wind is blowing to the right. Weather-vane politics may not be all bad. Most churchgoing Brazilians are too busy making ends meet to make holy war, an imperative that could help curb political extremism in the pews and on the street. Bolsonaros firing of his special culture secretary, who unleashed a public scandal by paraphrasing Goebbels on social media to the strophes of Wagner, suggests that even provocateurs understand reputation risk. The danger is that bottom-feeding ideologues make things worse by weaponizing religious convictions for partisan gain. Witness the exalted gang of believers who answered last Christmass Netflix spoof with Molotov cocktails. Brazil has men, machos to stand up for Jesus Christ and the Brazilian homeland, boasted one of the attackers in a video he posted on social media after fleeing to Moscow a step ahead of the police. (One doubtless unintended consequence for the comedy troupe was a windfall in viewers.) Neither Bolsonaro nor Justice Minister Sergio Moro said a word about the criminal attack (although Bolsonaros son and closest adviser, Eduardo, called the film garbage). Brasilia has yet to demand the extradition of the fugitive arsonist. The extent to which this new incivility will damage Brazils international standing is as yet unclear. It may well chill the reception Guedes receives in the politically correct salons of the Davos Congress Center. But for a country struggling with a wan economic recovery, a widening gap between rich and poor, and deepening social fissures, a little ecumenical decorum would help to boost democracy. So would some old-fashioned regard for the boundaries of church and state. To contact the author of this story: Mac Margolis at mmargolis14@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Gibney at jgibney5@bloomberg.net This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners. Mac Margolis is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Latin and South America. He was a reporter for Newsweek and is the author of The Last New World: The Conquest of the Amazon Frontier. 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. Commuters in Delhi had a harrowing time on Monday as VIP movement, a protest march and Republic Day rehearsals affected movement of traffic on several key stretches. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal took out a roadshow from Valmiki Mandir near Gole Market to Patel Chowk metro station, causing huge traffic jams near Connaught Place and Panchkuian Road. Several students held a march from Mandi House to Jantar Mantar to protest the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens. Rajpath, from Vijay Chowk to India Gate, was closed for traffic from 9 am to 12 noon for the Republic Day parade rehearsals. Traffic movement was also restricted on Rafi Marg, Janpath and Mansingh Road during this time. The rehearsal will also be held on Tuesday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New Delhi, Jan 20 : Investors are demanding better disclosure of climate change risk from Indian companies which have spurred better disclosure from India Inc. CDP India saw a 13 per cent hike in the number of those, comprising Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, who responded to climate change questionnaire between 2018 and 2019 -- from 52 to 59. The findings were released in Mumbai on Monday in CDP's annual report "Climate and Business: Partnership of The Future". Increasing climate activism and the growing band of climate-conscious investors have ensured that almost all boards of top responding companies now have committees and members designated to addressing climate risk. A whopping 58 companies, 98 per cent of the responding sample, have board-level oversight of climate-related issues. "Scores of investors are actively engaging companies to disclose their climate risk and helping them to do better. This can only benefit the companies through green innovation and help clean up our environment," said Damandeep Singh, CDP India Director. "The unlikely duo of world's teenagers and investors seem to be pushing the world, we now need to pick up the pace," he said. Top managements have integrated climate concerns in performance evaluation of key personal with nearly 90 per cent (53) providing incentives to senior staffers to help meet targets, 71 per cent (42) providing monetary rewards and 37 giving non-monetary rewards for recognising, monitoring and overseeing progress in climate-related targets. "We are delighted that Jio has joined the growing group of companies who are evaluating and disclosing their climate risk. We hope that the flagship Reliance Industries will also disclose in the coming year," Damandeep Singh told IANS. According to R. Mukundan, MD and CEO of Tata Chemicals Ltd and a Board member of CDP India, embedding a sustainable and climate-focused approach in an organisation, creates long-term stakeholder value. "Indian companies have reaffirmed their commitment to addressing the challenge of climate change by taking bold emission reduction targets and promoting renewable energy which has put India on the path to achieving its commitments under the Paris Agreement," he said. In 2019, up to 57 of the 59 responding companies stated that they have a process for risks assessment; 51 declared that their process of identifying, assessing and managing climate related risks is integrated into the multi-disciplinary, companywide risk identification, assessment, and management process which is considered a best practice. Of the 43 responding companies that assess risks annually, 29 (67 per cent) also consider risks for more than six years into the future, clearly promoting a long-term vision. Given the important role the value chain plays in a company's attempt at decarbonisation, 49 of the 59 companies are interacting with their suppliers on climate-related issues. The CDP findings indicate that Indian companies are propelling India to the leadership group in planning urgent climate action. India is now the fifth country and the first developing economy with Science Based Targets the maximum number of companies committing to SBTi. By December 2019, 38 companies have been committed to SBTi which is significant growth from 25 companies in 2018. Renewable energy (RE) too is increasingly an area of focus among Indian companies. In 2019, 23 companies reported RE targets, a 44 per cent growth over 2018. Majority of companies have reported RE consumption targets. This includes three companies (Dalmia Cement, Infosys Ltd and Tata Motors) that have adopted 100 per cent RE consumption. Australia's devastating drought, and other effects of climate change are pushing the iconic duck-billed platypus, a globally unique mammal, towards extinction, a study published on Monday warned. Platypuses were once considered widespread across the eastern Australian mainland and Tasmania, although not a lot is known about their distribution or abundance because of the species' secretive and nocturnal nature, according to the researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia. Researchers, who for the first time examined the risks of extinction for this intriguing animal, call for action to minimise the risk of the platypus vanishing due to habitat destruction, dams and weirs. The study, published in the journal Biological Conservation, examined the potentially devastating combination of threats to platypus populations, including water resource development, land clearing, climate change and increasingly severe periods of drought. Lead author Gilad Bino, a researcher at the UNSW Centre for Ecosystem Science, said action must be taken now to prevent the platypus from disappearing from our waterways. "There is an urgent need for a national risk assessment for the platypus to assess its conservation status, evaluate risks and impacts, and prioritise management in order to minimise any risk of extinction," Bino said. The platypus is the sole living representative of its family, and genus, though a number of related species appear in the fossil record. It is one of the five extant species of monotremes, the only mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young. The study estimated that under current climate conditions and due to land clearing and fragmentation by dams, platypus numbers almost halved. This led to the extinction of local populations across about 40 per cent of the species' range, reflecting ongoing declines since European colonisation, the researchers said. Under predicted climate change, the losses forecast were far greater because of increases in extreme drought frequencies and duration, such as the current dry spell. "These dangers further expose the platypus to even worse local extinctions with no capacity to repopulate areas," Bino added. Documented declines and local extinctions of the platypus show a species facing considerable risks, while the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) recently downgraded the platypus' conservation status to "Near Threatened," the researchers said. However, the platypus remains unlisted in most jurisdictions in Australia -- except South Australia, where it is endangered. Study co-author Professor Richard Kingsford said it was unfortunate that platypuses lived in areas undergoing extensive human development that threatened their lives and long-term viability. "These include dams that stop their movements, agriculture which can destroy their burrows, fishing gear and yabby traps which can drown them and invasive foxes which can kill them," Kingsford said. Study co-author Professor Brendan Wintle at The University of Melbourne said it was important that preventative measures were taken now. "Even for a presumed 'safe' species such as the platypus, mitigating or even stopping threats, such as new dams, is likely to be more effective than waiting for the risk of extinction to increase and possible failure," Wintle said. "We should learn from the peril facing the koala to understand what happens when we ignore the warning signs," he said. Bino said the research paper added to the increasing body of evidence which showed that the platypus, like many other native Australian species, was on the path to extinction. "There is an urgent need to implement national conservation efforts for this unique mammal and other species by increasing monitoring, tracking trends, mitigating threats, and protecting and improving management of freshwater habitats," Bino said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An American brand which claims credit for the worlds first submarine sandwich has opened its first Asian store, and yes, Singapore, that means us. Visitors can get a bite of signature Blimpie subs in Tampines. That means classic subs, paninis, or wraps, with salads to come at a later date. Whats a Blimpie? Think Subway, but with a different name and a fraction of the storefronts globally. Customers can choose from a selection of breads including white, wheat, olive, or parmesan before picking mains such as turkey breast, roast beef, beef salami, and more. Sandwiches come in two sizes. Well, how much are they? Two Blimpie fan faves are the Meatball Hero (S$9.50- S$15.50) and the Philly Cheesesteak (S$10.50- S$18.50 large). Blimpies traveled a long road and changed ownership numerous times since its 1964 origins in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Blimpie Singapore is a joint venture between American restaurant group Kahala Brands, a wholly-owned subsidiary of MTY Food Group, and Singapores Deelish Brands. Stores in Singapore will have distinct menus with items adapted especially for the halal consumer. The store is open 11am to 10pm daily at Tampines Food Co. 10, a community of restaurants in Tampines at 10 Tampines North Drive 4. Customers can choose between the classic sub, panini, or wrap. Photo: Blimpie FIND IT Blimpie Singapore 10am-11pm daily Tampines Food Co. 10 Tampines North Drive 4 More F&B news from the Little Red Dot at Coconuts.co/Singapore. This article, Put big American heroes in your mouth at Blimpies first Singapore shop, originally appeared on Coconuts, Asia's leading alternative media company. Want more Coconuts? Sign up for our newsletters! President Trump departs for Davos, Switzerland, on Monday night to attend the World Economic Forum, placing him thousands of miles away from Washington as the Senate hashes out the rules of his impeachment trial. Why it matters: Senators on Tuesday will determine the rules that dictate the course of the trial, including how much time lawyers will have to make arguments and whether witnesses will be able to testify. Details: The leaders he will meet include Iraqi President Barham Salih, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, Swiss Confederation President Simonetta Sommaruga and Nechirvan Barzani, the president of the Kurdistan Region in Iraq. Trump will also meet Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and Klaus Schwab, the World Economic Forum founder, according to Reuters. The big picture: Trump has been away from Washington at key moments of the impeachment process. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced the impeachment inquiry while he attended the United Nations General Assembly last fall. The House Judiciary Committee held its first impeachment hearing in December while the president was at NATO summit in the United Kingdom. Between the lines: The forum will give Trump a platform to tout the "phase one" trade deal the U.S. and China signed last week. Of note: This is Trump's first return to Davos since 2018, USA Today reports. Trump did not attend the 2019 forum because it occurred during the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. Go deeper: What's next in the impeachment witness battle SPRINGFIELD With early voting for the March primary set to begin early next month, Illinois House Republicans demanded an immediate hearing into how the Secretary of States Office improperly caused voter registration cards to be sent to hundreds of non-citizens. State officials said 574 people who indicated they werent U.S. citizens were sent voter registration cards by mistake in the past 18 months. The Secretary of States office said it was the result of a glitch that had been corrected. Early voting for the March primary is set to begin Feb. 6. Republicans said they want answers before voting gets underway. The Secretary of States office says they improperly registered 574 non-citizens through the automatic voter registration program. Secretary of State spokesman Dave Druker said the list did not include undocumented immigrants. The glitch affected Illinois residents who had green cards, but were not eligible to vote. I think weve done everything we can in acknowledging our error on this and thats where we stand at this point, Druker said. The error has been corrected and it should not happen again. The programming error affected less than one percent of the more than 740,000 new voters registered through Driver Services facilities since the automatic voter registration program began in July 2018. Republicans said further investigation was needed. Potentially 574 self-identified non-citizens, these are that were people that were doing the right thing when they went into the Driver Services facilities and they were doing the right thing saying they were non-citizens, but they were still forwarded to register to vote, state Rep. Tim Butler, R-Springfield said. This is an egregious break of state law. This is exactly what we were talking about when automatic voter registration was debated that these are the potential problems that could exist, Butler said. The states automatic voter registration program was started in 2017 after then Gov. Bruce Rauner signed an agreed-upon bill into law. Rauner had previously vetoed a similar measure. The program automatically registers people to vote when they interact with a state agency, such as the Secretary of States office. People can opt-out of the program. The non-citizen voter registration problems spanned the state. In Sangamon County, one person was improperly registered. Sangamon County Clerk Don Gray said his office had so far failed to contact the person. He said his office will ensure the person wont be able to vote. Specifically for us in Sangamon County weve had an experience of very close elections every vote counts and registering those that are not entitled to register and potentially casting a ballot is a disservice to our electoral system of democracy, Gray said. Gray said local authorities take information from the state assuming the state is doing its job properly when forwarding individuals to register to vote through the automatic voter registration program. At a fundamental level, this is the most important piece, Gray said. This shouldnt be happening. It should be examined, steps should be taken in making sure this never happens again. In a letter to House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, Butler asked for an immediate hearing either this week or next week when lawmakers return for the start of the spring legislative session. He said the Secretary of State Office must be held accountable and elections must be secure. It has to be of the highest integrity, Butler said. There cant be any questions about it. If youve seen all this focus on the elections from the last two cycles, youve seen meddling from the Russians, and all this talk about things, and here we have a program that weve instituted ourselves that we cant even manage. We need to do better than that. Butler also said the states failure could potentially result in non-citizens here legally breaking the law by voting. I believe thats a felony under federal law if youre a non-citizen and youre voting in an election, Butler said. Gray said an investigation was needed and supported House Republicans call for a legislative hearing into the matter. The Secretary of States Office said it was open to a hearing. House Speaker Michael Madigan has yet to respond to the request for a hearing. Madigan didnt respond to messages seeking comment on Monday. Burma Myanmars National Dialogue Must Be for All NCA Signatories Ahead of Peace Summit, EAOs Say Delegates attend the 21st-century Panglong peace conference in September 2016 in Naypyitaw. / The Irrawaddy Organizing a national-level political dialogue before the next peace conference will be one of the key issues to discuss during next weeks meeting between the government and the ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) that signed the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA). The national dialogue began in 2017 but not all the signatories were able to convene. These included the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) because of objections from the Tatmadaw (military) about the location and the Arakan Liberation Party (ALP) in Rakhine State, citing security concerns. The RCSS and ALP were missing from the dialogue in 2017 and 2018 and their input was therefore missing from the process to establish a federation. With the formal peace process stalled, the national political dialogue has been abandoned for nearly two years. Sai Ngern, the head of the EAOs negotiation team on the political dialogue framework and a secretary of the RCSS, said every NCA signatory must be able to organize the national-level political dialogue under a new framework. We tentatively plan it to be able to hold talks in late March. It will be on the agenda of the talks with the government on Jan. 28-29, he told reporters after the 10 NCA signatories Peace Process Steering Team (PPST) meeting in Chiang Mai on Saturday. He said the EAOs believed every group should organize a national-level political dialogue, as the recommendations from the consultations are passed to the Union Peace Conference (UPC) for consideration when developing federal principles. The groups said they needed to negotiate in what form and where the dialogue can be held ahead of the fourth 21st-Century Panglong UPC, which is due no later than April. The Joint Implementation Coordination Meeting (JICM) on Jan. 8 saw the government and EAOs agree eight points to further implement the peace process to establish a stronger ceasefire and pledge to continue to negotiate in finding ways to move forward in building a federal union. The JICM, which was led by State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Deputy Commander-in-Chief Vice-Senior General Soe Win and RCSS chairman General Yawd Serk, also agreed to implement interim arrangements from the NCA text. They planned to further prepare and establish a model for what to include in part three of the Union Accord, which will be discussed at the UPC. Among the agreements made at the JICM were to convene the next UPC early this year; to form a working committee to ensure common understanding of the NCA terms and definitions; to ensure NCA non-signatories are included in the peace process; and to start the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee (UPDJC) and Joint Ceasefire Monitoring Committee (JMC) meetings. The PPST leaders said negotiators were to work on the key federal principles that can be agreed at the next UPC, added U Than Khe, the chair of the All Burma Students Democratic Front, an NCA signatory. The negotiations with the government will also cover the drafting framework for the political dialogue and how to work together on the participation of the NCA non-signatories. Sai Ngern reiterated that the PPST leaders also focused discussions on the inclusion of the non-NCA signatories in the peace process because inclusivity is vital, as the peace process cannot be achieved with only 10 EAOs. He added: Therefore, we had been finding ways to include our brothers in the process. We talked about it in the JICM and in the PPST discussions. We are in talks with the governments Peace Commission, who also have talks with the non-NCA signatories and we need to link both of our approaches together. So far, we plan to invite our brothers [non-NCA signatories] to join the talks on drafting the political dialogue framework. Part of their efforts on inclusion have been that the PPSTs negotiation team and the non-signatories, such as the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), met to discuss the basic federal principles last Monday in Chiang Mai, according to sources. The KNPP, KIO and other members of the Northern Alliance, of which the KIO is a member, are holding peace talks with the government. These groups were negotiating to reach the bilateral ceasefire agreements without pre-conditions, General Gun Maw of the KIO told The Irrawaddy last week. Only after it is signed, will the issues of the return of internally displaced people and the NCA be discussed. The political dialogue framework is also key to starting the national-level dialogue, and non-signatories joined the framework-drafting meeting in 2018. Later this week, the RCSS is due to hold talks with the Tatmadaw ahead of the Jan. 28 negotiations, according to Sai Ngern. The PPST leaders also said the Karen National Union would meet the Tatmadaw. The New Mon State Party had talks with the military, which withdrew troops from an outpost at the Three Pagodas Pass on the Thai border on Jan. 8, according to Nai Ong Ma Nge of the NMSP. It helps to build trust with the Tatmadaw, he said. You may also like these stories: Rebel Groups Told to Unite to Save Myanmars Peace Process At Myanmar Peace Talks, State Counselor Urges All Parties to Put Country First YEREVAN, JANUARY 20, ARMENPRESS. The ministry of emergency situations informs that on January 20, as of 08:00, some roads are closed and difficult to pass in Armenia. The ministry told Armenpress that Sotk-Karvachar highway and Vardenyats Pass are closed for trucks, but difficult to pass for the remaining vehicles. The roads of Syunik province are partly covered with clear ice. Snowfalls are reported in Ijevan and Noyemberyan towns of Tavush province. The Georgian side informed that the Stepantsminda-Lars highway is open for all types of vehicles. Drivers are urged to use winter tires. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) [India], Jan 20 (ANI): North Andhra Pradesh has remained backward for last several decades "due to neglect of those in power" and 85 per cent of jobs should be given to the youth, former UPSC member KS Chalam said on Monday. He was speaking at a meeting organized by intellectuals here. The intellectuals unanimously resolved to support the proposal of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy to make Visakhapatnam as the executive capital of the state. They also celebrated the Andhra Pradesh cabinet's decision. Former vice-chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Kakinada (JNTU-K) Allam Appa Rao said Vizag was a readymade strategic location for the capital. "A large pool of talent is available in the city and has good rail, road and air transport network." Amid ongoing protests in Andhra Pradesh over the three-capital proposal, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government on Monday approved the high-power committee report at a cabinet meeting. The cabinet approved the idea of three capitals -- Visakhapatnam as executive capital, Kurnool as judicial capital, and Amaravati as legislative capital. (ANI) Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday met residents of temple town Shirdi, where a bandh was observed on Sunday amid a row over the birthplace of 19th century saint Saibaba. The bandh was called off in view of the meeting called by Thackeray in Mumbai to discuss the issue. After the meeting, Shiv Sena MP Sadashiv Lokhande said Thackeray along with Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar held a detailed discussion with Sai Baba Trust representatives. "The controversy over the birthplace of Saibaba has been resolved in the meeting with the Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray," Lokhande told PTI. On January 9, the Maharashtra cabinet held a review meeting of the development works in Parbhani district. In the meeting, Thackeray had announced that Pathri, considered as the birthplace of Saibaba would be developed as a site for religious tourism. Thackeray also announced a grant of Rs 100 crore to Pathri. Lokhande said Thackeray on Monday withdrew his statement where he declared Saibaba's birthplace as Pathri. However, there was no official confirmation for the same. Lokhande said Thackeray asked the Shirdi temple representatives if they have an issue with the allocation of Rs 100 crore for the development of Pathri to which they said their opposition was only to the declaration of Pathri as Saibaba's birthplace and not for any development initiative. A century after Saibaba died, a heated debate has begun in Maharashtra on the spiritual figures birthplace, with some claiming it is Pathri in Parbhani district and other saying it was Shirdi in Ahmednagar district. Saibaba is equally revered by Hindus and Muslims. Locals of Shirdi, located 250 km away from Mumbai, observed a one-day bandh on Sunday, with shops and businesses in a majority of the villages remaining shut. Those in Shirdi had also called for an indefinite bandh in the temple town from Sunday midnight but it was called off by evening on the assurance of a meeting with Thackeray. Lokhande said Shirdi residents were not against development of any place (Pathri). After the meeting, BJP MLA Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil told reporters that the outcome of the meeting with the chief minister was satisfactory and hence they have decided to call off the agitation. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Dividend paying stocks like Shandong Xinhua Pharmaceutical Company Limited (HKG:719) tend to be popular with investors, and for good reason - some research suggests a significant amount of all stock market returns come from reinvested dividends. On the other hand, investors have been known to buy a stock because of its yield, and then lose money if the company's dividend doesn't live up to expectations. A 2.9% yield is nothing to get excited about, but investors probably think the long payment history suggests Shandong Xinhua Pharmaceutical has some staying power. There are a few simple ways to reduce the risks of buying Shandong Xinhua Pharmaceutical for its dividend, and we'll go through these below. Explore this interactive chart for our latest analysis on Shandong Xinhua Pharmaceutical! SEHK:719 Historical Dividend Yield, January 20th 2020 Payout ratios Companies (usually) pay dividends out of their earnings. If a company is paying more than it earns, the dividend might have to be cut. As a result, we should always investigate whether a company can afford its dividend, measured as a percentage of a company's net income after tax. In the last year, Shandong Xinhua Pharmaceutical paid out 21% of its profit as dividends. With a low payout ratio, it looks like the dividend is comprehensively covered by earnings. We update our data on Shandong Xinhua Pharmaceutical every 24 hours, so you can always get our latest analysis of its financial health, here. Dividend Volatility One of the major risks of relying on dividend income, is the potential for a company to struggle financially and cut its dividend. Not only is your income cut, but the value of your investment declines as well - nasty. For the purpose of this article, we only scrutinise the last decade of Shandong Xinhua Pharmaceutical's dividend payments. The dividend has been cut on at least one occasion historically. During the past ten-year period, the first annual payment was CN0.023 in 2010, compared to CN0.10 last year. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 16% a year over that time. The growth in dividends has not been linear, but the CAGR is a decent approximation of the rate of change over this time frame. Story continues It's not great to see that the payment has been cut in the past. We're generally more wary of companies that have cut their dividend before, as they tend to perform worse in an economic downturn. Dividend Growth Potential With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to see if earnings per share (EPS) are growing. Why take the risk of a dividend getting cut, unless there's a good chance of bigger dividends in future? Strong earnings per share (EPS) growth might encourage our interest in the company despite fluctuating dividends, which is why it's great to see Shandong Xinhua Pharmaceutical has grown its earnings per share at 41% per annum over the past five years. The company is only paying out a fraction of its earnings as dividends, and in the past been able to use the retained earnings to grow its profits rapidly - an ideal combination. Conclusion When we look at a dividend stock, we need to form a judgement on whether the dividend will grow, if the company is able to maintain it in a wide range of economic circumstances, and if the dividend payout is sustainable. We're glad to see Shandong Xinhua Pharmaceutical has a low payout ratio, as this suggests earnings are being reinvested in the business. Next, earnings growth has been good, but unfortunately the dividend has been cut at least once in the past. Shandong Xinhua Pharmaceutical fits all of our criteria, and we think it's an attractive dividend idea that would warrant further investigation. Now, if you want to look closer, it would be worth checking out our free research on Shandong Xinhua Pharmaceutical management tenure, salary, and performance. If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at our curated list of dividend stocks yielding above 3%. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading. A new partnership looking to boost Welsh PGI Beef and Lamb to key consumers in the south-east of England has been announced. Red meat body Hybu Cig Cymru Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) will link up with Wales Week London, an initiative which promotes Welsh culture to London-based audiences. The pairing will see Waless iconic PGI Welsh Lamb and PGI Welsh Beef brands featuring as partners of the major business and cultural festival. Protected Welsh meat will also be promoted over Wales Week London's extensive social media channels. Wales Week London has grown rapidly from its inception in 2017. Last year it promoted over 100 events in over 50 venues, to over 10,000 attendees. Its social media impact alone was also impressive, generating two million impressions. Due to its success, activities are spread over two weeks, with the 2020 celebrations running from 22 February to 8 March. Food is a major part of the festivities, with Welsh food being showcased at events in Paddington Station, 10 Downing Street, PwC, BAFTA, as well as at leading London restaurants run by renowned Welsh chefs Bryn Williams and Tom Simmons, helping to raise the profile of Welsh food and farming. HCCs Market Development Manager, Rhys Llywelyn, said: London has been an important market for some time for Welsh Lamb and Welsh Beef. But partnering with Wales Week London and Wales Week Worldwide will bring an extra dimension to our work. He added: We have a major initiative during the early months of 2020 to highlight how Welsh Lamb and Welsh Beef are high-quality and sustainable foods, reared non-intensively using the perfect natural environment that we have. By working with our new partners well extend the reach of this campaign to key consumers in the south-east of England in particular, where the profile of activities around St Davids Day is increasing and attracting growing audiences. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 00:46:55|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close CAIRO, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi met with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday in German capital Berlin over Libya's settlement, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement. During the meeting, Sisi said a settlement in Libya can only be achieved through "a comprehensive solution that addresses all dimensions of the issue via clear and specific political, security and economic paths," said Egyptian Presidency spokesman Bassam Rady. The two officials' meeting came right before their participation in the one-day Berlin international conference on the Libyan crisis. Pompeo said Washington is looking forward to intensifying coordination with Cairo on the Libyan issue in the light of Egypt's political weight in the region and awareness of the aspects of the Libyan crisis, said Rady. The talks also addressed the recent U.S. mediation in the negotiations between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan in Washington over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Egypt expressed appreciation of the U.S. role in the dam negotiations and hope to reach a comprehensive agreement on the GERD that preserves Egypt's rights to the Nile water, according to the statement. The U.S. Department of State also issued a statement on Monday's talks between Pompeo and Sisi, saying they "agreed on the urgent need for a lasting cease-fire and a return to a UN-affiliated political process (in Libya)." "Pompeo expressed outrage over the pointless and tragic death of detained U.S. citizen Moustafa Kassem in Egypt," U.S. Department of State spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said. Egypt has previously denied responsibility for the recent death of the Egyptian-American prisoner, saying he insisted to continue a hunger strike despite attempts to stop him from hurting himself. The Police in Lagos State have arrested a 26-year old woman and her boyfriend after she allegedly faked her own kidnap to extort money from her employer. The woman, Ataghar Namdoo was arrested on Thursday around 10.00pm by operatives from Anti-kidnapping Unit, Lagos State Police Command for faking her own kidnap. Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Bala Elkana, in a statement on Sunday said January 9, at about 175:30pm, the suspect conspired with her boyfriend, Emmanuel Idu and Okpe David to produce a short video of herself blindfolded and driven to a bush in a truck. In the second video, the woman, a mother of one, was seen in a bush at Sangotedo area, Ajah threatened by a man wearing a mask and holding a Jack knife. Police later identified the masked man as Emmanuel Idu who is the boyfriend of the woman. The abductors were demanding for ten million naira as ransom in the video. The two videos were sent to the employer of the lady with a threat to kill her and to also go after the family of the employer if the ransom is not paid. Frightened by the threat contained in the video and the follow up calls, the said employer who is into Fleet business, reported the case to the Police. On the receipt of the case, the Commissioner of Police, CP Hakeem Odumosu ordered the Anti kidnapping unit to carry out an in-depth investigate into the case. The videos were thoroughly analysed alongside other vital leads. A well coordinated operation was put in place which led to the successful rescue of the self arranged victim of the abduction and the arrest of one of the two suspects, Okpe David. The Command has taken steps to verify the claim made by Okpe David that he is a military personnel. Police have equally launched a manhunt for the second male suspect, Emmanuel Idu, who is on the run. Okpe David confessed to have provided the truck used in driving the woman to the bush. The truck was actually driven by him. He also did the video recordings and sent to the employer of the Lady, Elkana explained. Elkana said the three suspects all came from Benue State and that they had known each other for so many years, saying that both the lady and the man arrested confessed to the commission of the crime and that their aim was to extort money from the womans employer which they intended to share among themselves. It is worthy to note that, it is a criminal offence for anyone to fake his or her kidnapping. Under the Lagos State laws, the offender upon conviction, is liable to 14 years imprisonment. The suspects will be charged to Court, he said. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates There's no doubt that money can be made by owning shares of unprofitable businesses. For example, biotech and mining exploration companies often lose money for years before finding success with a new treatment or mineral discovery. Nonetheless, only a fool would ignore the risk that a loss making company burns through its cash too quickly. So should Australian Mines (ASX:AUZ) shareholders be worried about its cash burn? 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. The first step is to compare its cash burn with its cash reserves, to give us its 'cash runway'. View our latest analysis for Australian Mines How Long Is Australian Mines's 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. In June 2019, Australian Mines had AU$3.4m in cash, and was debt-free. Looking at the last year, the company burnt through AU$15m. That means it had a cash runway of around 3 months as of June 2019. With a cash runway that short, we strongly believe that the company must raise cash or else douse its cash burn promptly. You can see how its cash balance has changed over time in the image below. ASX:AUZ Historical Debt, January 20th 2020 How Is Australian Mines's Cash Burn Changing Over Time? Australian Mines didn't record any revenue over the last year, indicating that it's an early stage company still developing its business. Nonetheless, we can still examine its cash burn trajectory as part of our assessment of its cash burn situation. It's possible that the 17% reduction in cash burn over the last year is evidence of management tightening their belts as cash reserves deplete. Australian Mines makes us a little nervous due to its lack of substantial operating revenue. So we'd generally prefer stocks from this list of stocks that have analysts forecasting growth. Story continues Can Australian Mines Raise More Cash Easily? Even though it has reduced its cash burn recently, shareholders should still consider how easy it would be for Australian Mines to raise more cash in the future. Issuing new shares, or taking on debt, are the most common ways for a listed company to raise more money for its business. 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. Australian Mines has a market capitalisation of AU$60m and burnt through AU$15m last year, which is 24% of the company's market value. That's fairly notable cash burn, so if the company had to sell shares to cover the cost of another year's operations, shareholders would suffer some costly dilution. So, Should We Worry About Australian Mines's Cash Burn? On this analysis of Australian Mines's cash burn, we think its cash burn reduction was reassuring, while its cash runway has us a bit worried. Once we consider the metrics mentioned in this article together, we're left with very little confidence in the company's ability to manage its cash burn, and we think it will probably need more money. While we always like to monitor cash burn for early stage companies, qualitative factors such as the CEO pay can also shed light on the situation. Click here to see free what the Australian Mines CEO is paid.. If you would prefer to check out another company with better fundamentals, then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt or this list of stocks which are all forecast to grow. 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 Syrian Democratic Council has announced that it is seeking to resume negotiations with the Assad regime, after previous talks fell apart writes Rudaw. The co-president of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), Riad Darar, announced their desire to reopen discussions with the Syrian government. Darar told the Rudaw Kurdish network that, We are heading towards negotiating with the regime, and this path is one we began in mid-2018 and which stopped because of the regimes arrogance and its desire to return to matters as they were before 2011. He added that, We want there to be a new, more advanced and more successful negotiating situation. Darar said that, with regards to the tours carried out in Europe, they had aims, especially after the Turkish aggression against our area in Ras al-Ayn and Tel Abyad. There were many invitations from Europeans who had been receiving us in hotels or cafesbut now we are going to foreign ministries and meeting with ministers and discussing many projects to resolve the matter, especially with regards to the Islamic State (ISIS) prisoners we have and naturally resolving the problems of the ISIS families. Darar continued that, regarding the Arab position, it is an excellent position alongside us against the Turkish aggression and we have been invited to Cairo and met with Egypts foreign minister. We called for a Cairo 3 conference, and based on that they invited us to Cairo. We are now in a preparatory committee, and so we are calling for this conference and through it we will establish a new round of political relations between Syrians, which can build an understanding between the opposition everywhere, including us, to everyones benefit. 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. India's richest 1 per cent hold more than four-times the wealth held by 953 million people who make up for the bottom 70 per cent of the country's population, while the total wealth of all Indian billionaires is more than the full-year budget, a new study said on Monday. Releasing the study 'Time to Care' here ahead of the 50th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF), rights group also said the world's 2,153 billionaires have more wealth than the 4.6 billion people who make up 60 per cent of the planet's population. The report flagged that global inequality is shockingly entrenched and vast and the number of billionaires has doubled in the last decade, despite their combined wealth having declined in the last year. "The gap between rich and poor can't be resolved without deliberate inequality-busting policies, and too few governments are committed to these," said India CEO Amitabh Behar, who is here to represent the confederation this year. The issues of income and gender inequality are expected to figure prominently in discussions at the five-day summit of the WEF, starting Monday. The WEF's annual Global Risks Report has also warned that the downward pressure on the global economy from macroeconomic fragilities and financial inequality continued to intensify in 2019. Concern about inequality underlies recent social unrest in almost every continent, although it may be sparked by different tipping points such as corruption, constitutional breaches, or the rise in prices for basic goods and services, as per the WEF report. Although global inequality has declined over the past three decades, domestic income inequality has risen in many countries, particularly in advanced economies and reached historic highs in some, the Global Risks Report flagged last week. The Oxfam report further said "sexist" economies are fuelling the inequality crisis by enabling a wealthy elite to accumulate vast fortunes at the expense of ordinary people and particularly poor women and girls. Regarding India, Oxfam said the combined total wealth of 63 Indian billionaires is higher than the total Union Budget of India for the fiscal year 2018-19 which was at Rs 24,42,200 crore. "Our broken economies are lining the pockets of billionaires and big business at the expense of ordinary men and women. No wonder people are starting to question whether billionaires should even exist," Behar said. As per the report, it would take a female domestic worker 22,277 years to earn what a top CEO of a technology company makes in one year. With earnings pegged at Rs 106 per second, a tech CEO would make more in 10 minutes than what a domestic worker would make in one year. It further said women and girls put in 3.26 billion hours of unpaid care work each and every day -- a contribution to the Indian economy of at least Rs 19 lakh crore a year, which is 20 times the entire education budget of India in 2019 (Rs 93,000 crore). Besides, direct public investments in the care economy of 2 per cent of GDP would potentially create 11 million new jobs and make up for the 11 million jobs lost in 2018, the report said. Behar said the gap between rich and poor cannot be resolved without deliberate inequality-busting policies, and too few governments are committed to these. He said women and girls are among those who benefit the least from today's economic system. "They spend billions of hours cooking, cleaning and caring for children and the elderly. Unpaid care work is the 'hidden engine' that keeps the wheels of our economies, businesses and societies moving. "It is driven by women who often have little time to get an education, earn a decent living or have a say in how our societies are run, and who are therefore trapped at the bottom of the economy, Behar added. Oxfam said governments are massively under-taxing the wealthiest individuals and corporations and failing to collect revenues that could help lift the responsibility of care from women and tackle poverty and inequality. Besides, the governments are also underfunding vital public services and infrastructure that could help reduce women and girls' workload, the report said. As per the global survey, the 22 richest men in the world have more wealth than all the women in Africa. Besides, women and girls put in 12.5 billion hours of unpaid care work each and every day -- a contribution to the global economy of at least USD 10.8 trillion a year, more than three times the size of the global tech industry. Getting the richest one per cent to pay just 0.5 per cent extra tax on their wealth over the next 10 years would equal the investment needed to create 117 million jobs in sectors such as elderly and childcare, education and health. Governments must prioritise care as being as important as all other sectors in order to build more human economies that work for everyone, not just a fortunate few, Behar said. Oxfam said its calculations are based on the latest data sources available, including from the Credit Suisse Research Institute's Global Wealth Databook 2019 and Forbes' 2019 Billionaires List. Embattled BBC boss Tony Hall will step down in six months' time, he told staff on Monday, as the British broadcaster grapples with a damaging equal-pay ruling and scrutiny over its funding. "I will give my all to this organisation for the next six months... but in the summer I'll step down as your Director-General," he told staff in a group email. "If I followed my heart I would genuinely never want to leave. However, I believe that an important part of leadership is putting the interests of the organisation first," he added. Hall took up his post in 2013, tasked with restoring the reputation of the world's biggest broadcaster after late presenter Jimmy Savile was exposed as one of Britain's most prolific child-sex offenders. But the corporation now faces the fallout of last week's shock equal-pay ruling, which could end up costing it many millions of pounds (dollars, euros), and hostility from the government over the licence fee. An employment tribunal ruled the corporation discriminated against female presenter Samira Ahmed, paying her one sixth of the amount given to Jeremy Vine for hosting a similar show. The ruling opens the door to many other claims. The BBC is also facing pressure from Britain's new government, headed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, which accuses it of bias in reporting in the recent general election. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) By Express News Service CHENNAI: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday, rejected the Oppositions claim that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 is against one particular community and termed the resolutions passed by State governments to not implement it as unconstitutional. She also hinted at the possibility of providing citizenship to Sri Lankan Tamils, as demanded by many political parties in the State. Addressing an event as part of the BJPs nationwide Jan Jagran Abhiyan campaign in support of the CAA in Chennai, the Finance Minister said it was the responsibility of all the States to ensure implementation of the law passed in Parliament. This comes at a time when the State governments in Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, and Maharashtra, have voiced their disagreement with CAA, as well as with National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR). ALSO READ | Man detained at Chennai airport minutes before Nirmala Sitharaman's arrival for CAA event Reacting to the Oppositions criticism of CAA being discriminatory against certain minority communities, she claimed that 566 Muslims from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh were given citizenship till 2014, and 391 Afghan Muslims and 1,595 Pakistani migrants were given citizenship between 2016 and 2018. Musician Adnan Sami and author Taslima Nasreen being granted Indian citizenship proves all the allegations against the government wrong, she said.She also claimed that during the last six years, 2,838 Pakistani, 914 Afghanistani and 172 Bangladeshi refugees were given Indian citizenship. People from East Pakistan have been living in many camps across the country for about 50-60 years. If you visit these camps, your heart will cry. They have been living there even without any basic amenities, she said. She said her government was being sympathetic towards the Sri Lankan Tamils in Tamil Nadu as they, too, have been living in such camps. The government has, in fact, provided citizenship to 4.61 lakh Sri Lankan Tamils from 1964 to 2008, she said. Meanwhile, taking note of protests across the country, she urged the people not to get confused between the NRC that is implemented in Assam and what may be implemented for the rest of the country. There is no need to fear that NRC implemented in Assam will be carried out across the country. It is being done under the supervision of the Court, continued Sitharaman, saying that the government is yet to describe how the NRC process will be conducted for the rest of the country. The policy applies to complementary activities in school hours. C. Ribas A policy from the far-right Spanish political party Vox is causing heated debate over education and the rights of children. Dubbed by Vox as the parental pin, the policy gives parents the right to stop their children from attending complementary workshops organized during school hours. The measure means that schools will need to ask for parents permission to give talks, workshops or activities with an ideological or moral leaning against their convictions, according to the text of policy. This includes talks on sex education and LGBTQ+ rights. In Murcia, it is up to schools to establish what kind of authorization is asked for The debate over the policy broke out last week after Vox said that it would not support the budget in Spains south-eastern region of Murcia unless the parental veto was included in the educational program. The regional government of Murcia is controlled by a coalition between the conservative Popular Party (PP) and center-right Ciudadanos (Citizens) but depends on Voxs support it cannot pass the budget without a vote from one of the far-right groups four regional lawmakers. Although Ciudadanos initially said the parental veto was a red line that it would not agree to, the party ceded to the far-right partys demand, reaching an agreement with Vox and the PP that states that families will need to give their express authorization to allow their children to participate in complementary activities. The agreement, however, does not change the current state of education in Murcia. In June last year, Vox agreed to vote for Fernando Lopez Miras, of the PP, as the premier of Murcia, in exchange for having the parental veto introduced in the region. In August, the regional education department issued an order to all educational centers from primary to secondary school indicating that family permission was needed for complementary activities in school hours. Since then, it has been up to schools to establish what kind of authorization is asked for, how it reaches families and if no reply can be taken as a refusal. Opposition The measure has received widespread criticism from the governing Socialist Party (PSOE) and anti-austerity Unidas Podemos. The government delegate for gender violence, Victoria Rosell, suggested that the introduction of the parental pin could warrant the application of Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution. This measure, which was put into action in 2017 in the wake of the Catalan independence drive, would see regional powers suspended in Murcia and the central government in Madrid take charge. Imagine an [Article] 155 in Murcia because they have denied the right to treat all students equally or to guarantee the right of the most vulnerable people, Rosell, who is from Unidas Podemos, told the Spanish radio station Cadena Ser on Monday. Rosell later clarified in a message on Twitter that the statement was intended to be ironic. Meanwhile, eight regional education ministers from the PSOE signed a document on Monday that accused Vox of using the parental veto to break school harmony and the culture of dialogue to impose blind and uncritical authoritarianism. Are they telling me that we have families like in Cuba, that children belong to the revolution? PP leader Pablo Casado Education Minister Isabel Celaa, of the PSOE, also warned last week that the ministry will appeal the measure in court on the basis that it seeks to undermine the right to education and censor the actions of educational centers and their professors. According to the education minister, the parental veto goes against the integral training of students outlined in Article 1 of the Education Law. In an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Correo, published on Sunday, Celaa said that a homophobic family [...] does not have the right to make their children homophobic as well. Parental authority cannot be confused with property, she added. Celaas claim that children are not the property of their parents was attacked by the leader of the PP, Pablo Casado, who linked the argument with communism. Are they telling me that we have families like in Cuba, that children belong to the revolution? he said on Sunday. Are we going to arrive at the point where children inform on their parents if they are not good revolutionaries? Casado, who supports the parental veto, added that the controversy was being used as a smokescreen to distract from the recent debate over the governments naming of former justice minister, Dolores Delgado, as prosecutor general. Response of parents and schools The parental veto has raised many complaints from parents and teachers in Murcia. There are many children who forget to bring the permission to their parents and we cannot exclude them from activities, said Mariola Sanz, the director of an association of infant and secondary schools in the region. In the case that a family member does not give their consent, this child has to be assigned another teacher and space, she explained, adding that the regional government has not provided more resources to cover these situations. While the regional education department said the parental veto was a growing demand of parents, Sanz believes parents dont understand why they have to be supervising what the school has considered interesting for the education of their children. Oscar Sanchez, the father of two children who go to a public school near Murcia city, described the measure as absurd. We complained to the school but they told us that they didnt want problems with the authorities and that they had to follow the order. According to Sanchez, the veto is a political fight that has crept into the school and only created more bureaucracy. With reporting by Virginia Vadillo, Ana Torres Menarguez and Natalia Junqueras. English version by Melissa Kitson. by Jeroen Bouterse I have some very simple New Years resolutions, and some that require an entire column to spell out. One example of the latter is that I want to make a subtle but meaningful change in how I talk to my (middle and high school) math students about proofs. First, I need to be open about the fact that talking about proof in mathematics comes with an especially strong impostor syndrome: as a secondary school teacher, who am I to talk about the nature and limits of deductive reasoning in a discipline of which I have barely scratched the surface? I know high school proofs of high school mathematical concepts; I am vaguely aware that people much cleverer than I have tried to reduce all mathematical claims to analytical (logical) truths, or at least to a limited set of axioms; and I believe that after having mentioned this, I have to name-drop Godel as the person who has supposedly put a stop to these projects, even though I have never studied his incompleteness theorem and doubt I would be able accurately to judge its relevance and meaning. Thats about it. Usually, doubts like these are something to keep hidden in a light-hearted column like this, because they waste space and look self-absorbed. In this case, however, I think they are relevant, because I suspect I will not be the only one who (1) is by no means an expert on mathematical logic, and (2) still has some intuitive convictions about the special relation between mathematics and provability. For most of us, when we think about mathematics and proof, we think of high school or undergraduate mathematics. I think it is fair to say that this is the most culturally prominent face of mathematics: the concepts almost all of us have been taught, or at least heard about, and the discourses surrounding the teaching of those concepts. These discourses will depend in part on the teachers you have encountered, but Ill go out on a limb here and speculate that most mathematics teachers will have told most of their classes, at some point, that in mathematics we believe things because we can prove them. I know I have made comments in that spirit. I have also come to feel a bit uncomfortable about them. Let me tell you why. Proving and trusting Classroom contexts in which these chirpy remarks naturally come to me are usually those occasions in which I have given two or three examples of a concept or theorem in practice, and then moved on to show with some algebraic or geometric magic that it actually works for all cases of a certain kind. In a classroom proof, say of the Pythagorean theorem, a lot of things come together. One is simply the experience of demonstrating something. Another is the apparent jump to the infinite: we can show that given any right triangle, Pythagoras theorem holds. In one sentence, we can say something about an infinite number of triangles. A third is the practical implication that whenever the conditions of our demonstration are met (which, for instance, involves a diagram with triangles with sides of lengths in a square with sides of lengths , and thus involves right triangles), we are allowed to use the theorem. Its good that a lot of interesting stuff happens at the same time. Its also potentially confusing. My first worry is that maybe I am guilty of mystification, by exaggerating the miraculousness of this particular miracle we have just witnessed. Though it feels to me as if we have genuinely demonstrated something amazing, it may be fairer to say that what we have done is rewrite some algebraic expressions encoding some of our assumptions about spatial relations assumptions most of which remain, in this classroom context and in the minds of those involved, implicit and non-rigorous. Why should I dance around yelling excitedly to my students that we have performed magic today, when I might equally well say, in a suitably monotone voice, that we have done some good bookkeeping today that will serve us well in our later bookkeeping efforts? My second worry concerns the message that the proof is why we are allowed to believe and apply the theorem. Im afraid this message is misleading, for we havent actually arranged the curriculum so that students are allowed to work only with what they have proven. After fussing about how important this proof of the Pythagorean theorem is, I will cheerfully go on to say that from now on, we will assume that the Pythagorean theorem works in right triangles, and only in right triangles. That last clause is affirming the consequent; we havent demonstrated this. I will, true to the temporary spirit of rigor and truthfulness, solemnly admit to my students that we havent. I will also move on to what the textbook and I have harmoniously decided to be more interesting stuff: to the Pythagorean theorem in 3D shapes no proofs involved. Critical-minded though some of my students are (I am fondly and proudly thinking of some in particular who will reliably raise their hand whenever I make a quick general statement about prime factorization, and remind the class that what the teacher just said does not apply to the number 1), none of them has ever stopped me here and confronted me with the promises implied by my brief but moving believing things because of proofs-speech. This is a relief and a cause for hope that I have not yet done irreversible damage. For of course I dont expect my students to believe only what we have proven. Honestly, I expect them to believe what I say because I say it. I mean that behind my authority as a teacher is an implicit promise that if we roughly do things my way, they will, all in all, keep making sense. Students trust in their mathematics curriculum is social. I mean this not in the sense that they mindlessly absorb falsities just because they are in the textbook they will in fact notice typing errors in the algebra sections. I mean that even though maybe they secretly arent able to fully grasp this proof yet and it doesnt in their heart of hearts actually make sense to them that you can say something about the sides of triangles by looking at squares and juggling around with letters, they know people have apparently done this and worse before and survived. That they didnt find a gap in the proof is of little consequence; what matters is that they approach the exercises in this chapter with the expectation that what they have just been taught will help them get the required results. In time, of course, and through conscious efforts both on their part and on mine, we hope these things will make sense, in the sense that new techniques involving Pythagoras theorem come to be tied not just to my local expectations, but to their background knowledge and their existing skills. The point is that the role of proofs here is decidedly modest, and that this is not a defect in high school mathematics; rather, the defect is in the idea that a successful proof should be typical of the entire range of activities that make up mathematical practice. It is all too easy to take the experience of establishing a compelling proof, and generalize this experience to the whole subject. In doing so, we are overselling ourselves. Not because of fundamental logical subtleties like Incompleteness, as these subtleties usually do not directly touch the phenomenology of high-school mathematics. Rather, we are overselling ourselves because we are claiming that the combination of rigor and certitude we were able to achieve in this case is typical of all mathematical practice. As philosopher of science Ian Hacking said, only dogma or theory has made people say that mathematics as a whole has a peculiar certainty.[1] Norms and ideology At this point you may object: maybe rigor isnt typical of everything students experience in mathematical education; however, isnt it typical of the norms professional mathematicians face; of what is required for extending the boundaries of mathematics? And doesnt it make sense for us to inject some academic ethics into the classroom context, not all the time but sometimes? In history classes, we dont cite primary sources to every claim we make; but doesnt it make sense to say, every now and then, that as historians we ought of course to believe historical claims only on the basis of primary sources? Id reply that no, I dont believe that these foundationalist maxims have a place either in mathematics or in history classes. If we are so keen on connecting the academy to the classroom, on giving students a taste of what would be involved in contributing to a field, then Im much more in favor of giving them a taste of the complexities, ambiguities and uncertainties involved than in feeding them philosophical myths. The misleading part of these myths is not that sources are central to history, or that proofs are central to mathematics. The misleading part lies in the suggestion of absoluteness. Primary sources are not in any absolute sense an end-point to historical inquiry; they are the thing that historians keep circling back to, relating them as best they can to the knowledge, theories and debates of the day and their own informed judgments. It is no doubt possible to construct a normatively positivist philosophy of history that seeks to absolutize the status of primary sources, but it is unlikely that the language and practices required by such a philosophy would be reflected in the best available historiography. Likewise, proofs are important in mathematics, but they are neither where mathematicians start thinking nor where they stop. The grain of truth in our cliches does not justify those cliches. When we simplify proof plays an important role in mathematics to mathematicians believe things only if they are proven and do so invoking a naive concept of proof as something that provides absolute certainty, the concept of proof comes to bear a burden too heavy for a secondary school subject. Too heavy, and too risky. For the cultural notion of mathematics special relation to absolute certainty tends to be connected to a rather straightforward historical narrative, in which the culture that established this special relation was the ancient Hellenic world, usually in its role as precursor of the modern West. Long story short: when I sing the praises of deductive proofs, I need to be aware of the role popular and scholarly conceptions of proofs have played in perpetuating mythologies of essential Western intellectual superiority.[2] I will sing those praises still. None of what I have said here is meant to detract from how amazing mathematics is, and how deep and interesting the mathematics that students encounter in middle and high school. This bears emphasizing, because I know from experience that humanistic inclinations to search for and point out the complexities, particularities, the local judgments and negotiations involved in culturally important sciences are often seen as attempts at undermining those sciences. Or that taking an interest in the problematic aspects of the history of a culturally important idea is intended to smear this idea. I am not a skeptic about mathematics, and not a pessimist or a cynic about its cultural relevance. I just think the question of what practices characterize or distinguish different subjects and fields in the sciences and humanities is one to which the honest answers are very complex, and the easy answers are ideologically charged. For that reason, I will think twice before I start preaching about the essence of mathematics, or making absolute claims about the norms of the subject that dont connect to my actual classroom expectations. The day this column gets published on 3quarksdaily, I will start working towards an understanding of Pythagoras theorem with a new cohort of students. As I do every year at this point, I will tell them what a privilege it is to introduce them to it. When we get to the theorem itself, we will have a go at proving it. We will do so because the activity of proving something, or even of attempting to prove something, has a part to play in increasing our understanding of what we are claiming or doing with this theorem. Proofs as an activity This notion, that the activity of trying to demonstrate something will itself lead to interesting new perspectives, has a respectable philosophical pedigree. In the famous dialogue between Socrates and the slave boy in Platos Meno, where the two set out to double the area of a square, the boys first conjecture is that doubling the lengths of the sides will double the length of the square. Only when the attempt to make this work fails and the boy is properly confused does Socrates start to nudge him towards a construction that actually doubles the area of the original square.[3] Both the failed and the successful demonstration serve the goal of increasing understanding: in the first case, by showing that our implicit intuitions were inconsistent; in the second case, by providing us with more coherent insight. The demonstrations, by the way, are based in both cases not on manipulating variables but on manipulating specific numbers (2 feet, 4 feet) in a way that can be extended to other numbers. A similar, albeit more sophisticated example of an idealized classroom discussion about proofs can be found in Imre Lakatos Proofs and Refutations. In this dialogue, the teacher sets out, with a group of students, to prove a theorem (Eulers formula describing the relations between the number of edges, vertices and faces of polyhedra, though the precise formulation of the theorem will evolve in the course of the dialogue). Their attempts lead to an exciting dialectic of attempted demonstrations, counterexamples, and adaptations or reformulations of the claim to be proved. While some students are focused mainly upon the question whether the proof has accomplished what it set out to do, and how we can ever be certain that no new kind of monsters or counterexamples will turn up from unexpected corners, the teacher is much more relaxed about these questions, musing: You are interested only in proofs which prove what they have set out to prove. I am interested in proofs even if they do not accomplish their intended task.[4] Lakatos dialogue proves the teachers point: at the end, you may feel confident that the final and best formulations of Eulers formula are true, proven and certain; but your confidence may also be shaken by the bumpy road that got you there. However, what you can be confident about is that the whole journey has improved your understanding of the theorem. The teacher will still bring this aspect of proofs into focus and the students in Lakatos dialogue are also clearly prepared to philosophize about the scope and meaning of proofs but in this case, their narration draws attention to what is going on in the classroom in the dialogue instead of pontificating about what is or ought to be going on in all of mathematics. I like that better. [1] Ian Hacking, What mathematics has done to some and only some philosophers, Proceedings of the British Academy 103 (2002) 83-138: 98. [2] For examples, see Chemla(2012), Karine, Historiography and history of mathematical proof: a research programme in: Karine Chemla ed., The history of mathematical proof in ancient traditions (Cambridge University Press). [3] Plato, Meno, from 82f. [4] Imre Lakatos, Imre, Proof and refutations. The logic of mathematical discovery. John Worrall, Elie Zahar ed. (1976; this edition Cambridge University Press, 2015) 15. Annually, since 1973, citizens of the Knokke-Heist region in Belgium have organized a series of parades and ceremonies as a tribute to the sacrifices made by those who participated in Operation SWITCHBACK. The For Freedom Pipes and Drum Band performed at Adegem Canadian War Cemetery, near Maldegem, BE . The majority buried at Adegem Canadian War Cemetary died during Operation SWITCHBACK clearing the south bank of the Scheldt, but many Canadians who lost their lives elsewhere in Belgium were also brought to this location for burial. The weekend events always culminate with a 33 km march from the town of Hoofdplaat, NL to Knokke, BE . The march stopped briefly at Hickman Bridge in the Netherlands prior to crossing into Belgium while Col Walter Taylor and WO Sandra Gulin layed a wreath named for Sgt Jack Hickman, Canadian Military Engineer, at Retrenchement, NL . On 3 November 1944, Sgt Hickman was the second-in-command of a bridge construction troop which came under German artillery and mortar fire. The march then continued to Knokke, BE finishing retracing the movement of the First Canadian Army during Operation SWITCHBACK in 1944. The RAF is planning a fighter jet that can fly at more than 4,000mph and be controlled by virtual reality helmet. The 100million Tempest stealth aircraft is being designed to replace the Royal Air Force's long-serving Typhoon, and will enter service in 2035. The hypersonic aircraft will be able to fly at more than Mach 5, three times as fast as existing aircraft, as reported by the Daily Star. The defence companies behind it BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, Leonardo's UK arm and MBDA are due to present further proposals to ministers at the end of 2020. The 100million Tempest stealth aircraft is being designed to replace the Royal Air Force's long-serving Typhoon, and will enter service in 2035 BAE Systems' Jean Page told the newspaper: 'We are looking at what we are calling a wearable cockpit. 'You remove many of the physical elements of the cockpit, and replace it with a virtual display, projected through the helmet.' The sixth-generation craft - which will be able to fly unmanned, feature high-tech weaponry and control swarms of drones - are meant to replace the fourth-generation Typhoons and complement the fifth-generation F-35 stealth jets which are currently entering service. It was previously reported by This is Money, that defence companies working on the jet are set to recruit 1,500 staff this year. This will see them increase the total number of people working on the project from 1,000 to 2,500, the Ministry of Defence has said. The fighter is being developed jointly by the UK, Italy and Sweden, with BAE and the RAF leading the work. Rolls-Royce is set to design the engines, while European missile firm MBDA will contribute weapons and Italy's Leonardo will develop the sensors and electrical systems. A prototype is planned for 2025, with the jets entering service by 2035. 2,838 Pakistani refugees got Indian visa: India Finance Minister NEW DEHLI: Amidst the countrywide protests sweep India against the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, Indian minister on Sunday claimed that the country has given citizenship to 2,838 Pakistani refugees in the past six years. BJPs leader and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was quoted as saying, in the last six years, as many as 2838 Pakistani refugees, 914 Afghan refugees, 172 Bangladeshi refugees including Muslims have been given Indian citizenship. The minister, further, said, It was also during the same period in 2016, that Adnan Sami was given Indian citizenship, this is an example. Giving citizenship to Taslima Nasreen is another example. Asserting that the government is not snatching away anyones citizenship, the BJP leader said: This Citizenship (Amendment) Act is an attempt to provide people with a better life. We are not snatching away anyones citizenship, we are only providing them that. The Indian minister further said that the people who had migrated from the region formerly known as East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), are still residing in various camps across India. They are still there and its been 50-60 years now. If you visit these camps, your heart will cry. The situation is the same with Sri Lankan refugees who continue to live in camps. Theyre barred from getting basic facilities, she said. It is pertinent to mention here, protests in India after implementation of the controversial citizenship law have become a major challenge for the Modi government. Natural gas futures plunged last week and settled under the psychological $2.00 level as a shift in the forecast calling for much warmer temperatures encouraged speculative longs to dump positions, while bearish traders may have added to their short positions. According to Natural Gas Intelligence, citing Bespoke Weather Services, The latest guidance showed a huge change in the warmer direction, the forecaster said. The European data has warmed enough to drop about 80-90 Bcf in natural gas demand over the last 36 hours, and that is only for the next 15 days, the forecaster said Friday. The warmer change can be directly attributed to the high latitude pattern offering no support for colder air intrusions into the United StatesThis pattern appears set to roll on into early February, and if that is the case, we will not hold $2.00 in prompt-month pricing during the upcoming week, Bespoke said. Under such a scenario, more demand losses will continue outweighing what would otherwise be solidly bullish balance data. Last week, March Natural Gas settled at $1.985, down $0.183 or -8.44%. Short-Term Weather Outlook According to NatGasWeather for January 17-23, A strong weather system will track out of the West and into the central US today with areas of rain and snow, while chilly behind the cold front with highs of 10s to 30s. The East has cooled after a cold short raced through Thursday, followed by rain & snow increasing this weekend as the central US storm arrives. Much stronger demand is on tap for early next week as reinforcing cold shots follow across the Midwest and East with lows of -0s to 20s, including 20s and 30s into the South & Southeast. Warming will spread across much of the US late next week with highs of 30s and 50s across the northern US 60s & 70s across the southern US for light national demand. Overall, moderate demand through Sunday, high Monday through Wednesday, then low late next week. Story continues U.S. Energy Information Administration Weekly Storage Report The EIA reported on Thursday that domestic supplies of natural gas fell by 109 billion cubic feet (Bcf) for the week-ended January 10. Analysts were looking for a 92 Bcf withdrawal. Total stocks now stand at 3.039 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), up 494 Bcf from a year ago, and 149 Bcf above the five-year average, the government said. Weekly Forecast The market starts the new week bearish. Although we could see bargain-hunters step in to slow down the price slide, were running out of time for a meaningful winter rally. Theres always the possibility that the models shift back toward cold, but that would only bring the market back above the psychological $2.00 level. Were going to be watching the open interest and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Commitment of Traders report to tell us if the short-sellers added to their already established bearish positions. Just two weeks ago, traders were talking about a short-squeeze. Thats still possible, but not likely to occur unless a lingering cold spell is put back into the forecast. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: At least two people were killed and 15 left injured in a shooting outside a crowded bar in Kansas City, celebrating the Chiefs' playoff victory last night. The shooting took place shortly before midnight on Sunday, when a gunman opened fire on a line of people waiting to enter. Two people were found dead, including a woman in the parking lot of the 9ine Ultra Lounge in Kansas City, missouri, police said. It is believed the shooter is the second person found dead at scene after he was shot by a security guard, police said at a press conference. According to Fox4KC, the gunman was trying to get into the nightclub when a fight broke out and the suspect then started shooting. It is not known if there is any connection between the the suspect and the dead woman. A video posted on social media appeared to show armed security guards open fire on the suspect as he fled the scene, but that has yet to be confirmed by police. The footage showed bar security personnel running towards a man in the parking lot as terrified revelers watched on and were heard screaming when a bullet was fired. Police said they do not know what kind of gun was used, as a weapon was not found in the area, and a motive for the attack was not immediately clear. A Facebook post on the club's page advertised Sunday night's 'Sold Out Sundays' event, which appeared to be a celebration of the Kansas City Chiefs winning the AFC Championship. Kansas City police crime scene investigators gathering evidence at the scene of a shooting at a nightclub in the early hours of Monday A video posted on Instagram appeared to show three armed security guards walking towards a suspect in a parking before one opened fire in front of horrified witnesses Witnesses were seen lying on the ground as gun fire rang out across the crowded parking lot Security guards advanced towards a figure in a long coast walking away from the scene Police said the gunman shot into a line of people waiting to enter the nightclub. A police spokesman added that responding officers found 'a chaotic scene' and had to call in help from around the city. During the investigation, police heard that people were showing up to local hospitals with injuries from the shooting. A police statement said there 'may still have 15 other victims at area hospitals' with at least three people in a critical condition. Video posted on Instagram showed three security guards, at least one carrying a weapon, yelling 'drop it, put it down', as they advanced towards a person wearing a long coat in a parking lot. The security guards ducked behind parked cars before one opened fire. It is not clear if the suspect they fired on was the gunman. Voices could be heard shouting 'what are you doing', just before a gunshot that seemed to come from security personnel rang out. The security guards continued to pursue the supposed suspect after a shot was fired. In a longer version of the clip, scared witnesses could be seen lying on the ground as the gun battle continued and more shots were heard. Injured people were also being carried to safety by other civilians caught up in the violence, the footage showed. One eye witnesses said he saw a woman who he believed had been shot in the stomach being carried away. Police believe 'the only suspect' is one of the two people found dead at the scene. One eye witness told KCTV there were around 100 people waiting to get into the club and described the aftermath as 'not a pretty sight'. The lead guard appeared to have a weapon and just before a shot rang out, voices shouted 'drop it, put it down' as revelers watched on it terror A woman, who one witness said had been shot in the stomach, was seen being carried away by another reveler caught up in the violence Two people were killed and up to 15 injured after a shooting outside a nightclub in Kansas City, Missouri, just hours after the city celebrated the Chiefs' playoff win The 9ine Ultra Lounge club night posted a promo on Facebook that advertised Sunday night's 'Sold Out Sundays' event, which appeared to be a celebration of the Kansas City Chiefs victory over the Tennessee Titans Just hours earlier, the Chiefs - featured on the event's artwork posted on social media - beat the Tennessee Titans on Sunday to advance to the Super Bowl for the first time in 50 years. The venue sits around two miles from Arrowhead Stadium, where the Chiefs beat the Titans 35-24 to reach Super Bowl LIV in Miami on February 2. Business filings for the nightclub identify former Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Alphonso Hodge as the owner of the club. Hodge was drafted in the fifth round of the 2005 NFL Draft by the Chiefs and spent two seasons with the club moving to the New York Jets.. Last night police cordoned off a huge area of the parking lot outside the club, with dozens of markers on the floor indicating forensic evidence. It is also thought the suspect's car is still in the lot, police said. Captain David Jackson of KCPD said no police officers fired any shots in the course of the incident. He told the media: 'Officers were already close by in the area and responded. They located a chaotic scene with several people running around. 'They had to call in crews from all around the city to stabilize the scene before they could start the investigation. 'Once they began the investigation they found one adult male deceased and one adult female deceased in the parking lot. 'Police officers were not involved in the shooting. No police officers fired any shots in this incident. 'While they were investigating they received reports of several more victims showing up at area hospitals. 'Right now we have 15 unidentified people around the metro area. Three are listed in a critical condition. The 9ine Ultra Lounge nightclub sits around two miles from Arrowhead Stadium, where the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Tennessee Titans 35-24 to reach the Super Bowl for the first time in 50 years Police outside the 9ine Ultra Lounge nightclub in Kansas City where party-goers were celebrating the Chiefs AFC Championship victory last night Police (above at the scene last night) believe 'the only suspect' is one of the two people found dead at the scene. The second victim was a woman found dead in the parking lot 'It's unknown what motivated this incident. There was a line to get in, there was a bar. The suspected showed up and started shooting into the line of people. We don't know what precipitated all of that. 'We don't know if there was any specific person targeted or disturbance yet, we are still investigating what led up to this. 'We are not aware of any specific type of firearm or anything at this point. 'We do believe the shooter that started the incident is one of the deceased parties and the information we are getting is that an armed security guard at the location stopped the shooter.' Further details have not been released and officers say it will take them 'a little time to sort through' the crime scene. Jean Peters Baker, Jackson County Prosecutor, said at the scene in a reference to last night's victory for the city's team: 'We know the number [of victims] is high and it just put such a tragic end to such a wonderful day in Kansas City. 'So it's just hard to stand here and talk about this kind of tragedy on really one of the best days Kansas City has really had in a long time. 'But here we are. I know that I have two individuals that are dead. And I have scores that are in the hospital right now having their wounds mended. A police vehicle passing with sirens on near the scene of a shooting in Kansas City, Missouri. Police say at least two people are dead and upwards of a dozen people may have been injured in the shooting outside a bar Responding officers found 'a chaotic scene' at the 9ine Ultra Lounge (pictured in a file image) and had to call in help from around the city after a mass shooting Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (left) Tyrann Mathieu (center) and Travis Kelce (right) looks at the Lamar Hunt Trophy on stage after beating the Tennessee Titans in their AFC Championship game at Arrowhead Stadium last night 'It is contained, the police do have this very well in hand. The investigation is proceeding well.' Jackson added in a statement: 'Detectives and crime scene investigators will be collecting evidence and talking with witnesses to gather evidence and more information to see what lead to this shooting.' The scene was near US Highway 40. KSHB-TV, which had a reporter at the scene, identified the bar outside which the shooting took place as 9ine Ultra Lounge. Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas tweeted a statement thanking security as well as responding officers for their quick actions. He wrote: 'Our greatest challenges remain even this morning in our community. My thoughts are with the families and friends of those whose lives were lost or impacted by last night's mass shooting. Thankful security appears to have kept the situation from being even worse.' There were a total of 148 homicides and 491 non-fatal shootings in Kansas City during 2019. The shooting comes as two people were also killed and five others injured following a shooting during a concert at a San Antonio club on Sunday evening. An argument broke out inside of the club in Texas between a group of individuals and one person pulled out a gun and started shooting, police said. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-19 23:13:46|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close China and Myanmar have agreed to work together to build a community with a shared future, opening a new era of bilateral ties. 'Chinese restaurant syndrome' does not exist and is a 'xenophobic myth', activists say. Campaigners trying to get the term removed from an online dictionary say the term is ingrained in American culture. It was coined in the 1960s and refers to symptoms including headaches, nausea and sweating after eating Chinese food. Monosodium glutamate (MSG), a food additive found mainly in Chinese cuisine, has been blamed for causing the symptoms. It is racist to blame takeaway food for causing 'Chinese restaurant syndrome', activists say Monosodium glutamate (MSG), a food additive found mainly in Chinese cuisine, was blamed for causing the illness The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considers MSG safe and says most people can eat foods that contain the flavouring without issue. But a small percentage have short-term, adverse reactions to the food additive. Japanese food and seasoning company Ajinomoto has launched a campaign to have online dictionary Merriam-Webster change its entry for the term. The firm said on its website: 'To this day, the myth around MSG is ingrained in America's consciousness, with Asian food and culture still receiving unfair blame. 'Chinese Restaurant Syndrome isn't just scientifically false it's xenophobic.' In a video released by Ajinomoto, several high-profile Asian-Americans spoke out against the outdated term. Campaigners are trying to have the term removed from online dictionary Merriam-Webster (shown). They slammed it is a 'xenophobic myth' ingrained in American culture WHAT IS SO-CALLED CHINESE RESTAURANT SYNDROME? The outdated term was used to describe a collection of symptoms caused by a reaction to the monosodium glutamate (MSG) which is best known for being used to flavour Chinese food. The medical name for the condition is now MSG symptom complex and, although experts are not sure why, it may cause the following symptoms: Breathing difficulties Chest pain Tiredness Nausea Facial flushing Headache Numbness or burning in the mouth A rapid heart rate Sweating Swelling of the face Dr Jane Leonard, a London-based GP, says if someone is experiencing mild symptoms they should try drinking water and peppermint or ginger tea, resting, and taking painkillers for a headache. Source: Medical News Today Advertisement Eddie Huang, whose memoir was adapted into the sitcom Fresh Off the Boat, described it as 'really ignorant'. Merriam-Webster's dictionary entry for Chinese restaurant syndrome reads: '[It is] a group of symptoms (such as numbness of the neck, arms, and back with headache, dizziness, and palpitations) that is held to affect susceptible persons eating food and especially Chinese food heavily seasoned with monosodium glutamate.' In a tweet on Wednesday, the online dictionary said it would be 'reviewing the term and revising accordingly'. 'We're constantly in the process of updating as usage and attitudes evolve, so we're grateful when readers can point us toward a definition that needs attention,' it added. MSG is found in popular foods like hot dogs, canned foods and crisps as well as Chinese food. MSG is a form of glutamic acid which is found naturally in the human body, as well as in foods including cheese, meat, fish, mushrooms, tomatoes and walnuts. But despite its natural occurrence, when MSG is used as an added flavouring, it can have unpleasant effects on people who eat it. Most common effects include thirstiness, feeling sleepy or weak, feeling sick or having a headache. One man in Mahad, northern India, was reported in 2017 to have lost his voice and ability to swallow after eating MSG. According to a report in the Indian Journal of Critical Care Medicine, the 23-year-old went to hospital with a difficulty speaking and unable to swallow his saliva. Doctors found his mouth had swelled up and blamed it on MSG in the Chinese fried rice he had eaten for dinner the night before. The man complained of giddiness, sweating, and itching all over his body, but recovered in a couple of days. T he Duke of Sussex has landed in Canada and is set to be reunited with Meghan and Archie. Prince Harry boarded a flight to Vancouver on Monday evening after his meeting with Boris Johnson and world leaders at the UK-Africa Investment Summit in London. The summit was likely to be one of his few remaining official engagements before he and Meghan take a "leap of faith" and step back as "senior" royals in spring. Harry's journey to Canada also came after his brother Prince William hosted his first reception alone at the Palace, as he and Kate received world leaders on Monday. The Duke of Sussex arrives in Vancouver / SplashNews.com Harry flew from London's Heathrow on British Airways flight 85, according to the Mail. The flight landed at Vancouver International Airport 15 minutes late and two security guards escorted Harry to a black people carrier which would take him to Vancouver Island to join his family, the newspaper reported. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at a reception at London's Buckingham Palace / PA On Sunday night the duke gave an emotional speech, saying he had "no other option" but to give up his official royal duties and forge a new life in Canada. Johnny Hornby, chairman of Sentebale, a charity co-founded by Harry and Lesotho's Prince Seeiso, said the duke had indicated the solution was not something he "ideally" wanted. Harry has reportedly flown back to Canada to be reunited with Meghan and baby Archie / Getty Images Asked if it mattered to the Africa-based charity, which supports youngsters living with HIV, if Harry was royal or had a title, Mr Hornby told Radio 4's Today programme: "No, I don't think it matters at all. "I think he has a kind of unique ability and an aura around him when he's with children, when he's with any gathering, I think his passion comes over. "We don't need from Sentebale's perspective his title, we just need his time and his passion and he's committed to give us that." Royals gather at Buckingham Palace for UK-Africa summit - In pictures 1 /17 Royals gather at Buckingham Palace for UK-Africa summit - In pictures The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge welcome guest to a reception at London's Buckingham Palace PA The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Princess Royal and the Earl and Countess of Wessex join Heads of Government, Ministers and members of NGOs attending the UK-Africa Investment Summit PA The Duchess of Cambridge welcomes guest to a reception at London's Buckingham Palace. PA The Earl and Countess of Wessex arrive PA The Earl and Countess of Wessex speak with the Duchess of Cambridge PA The Duchess of Cambridge walks through to the State Room with the Master of the Household PA She stunned in a red sparkling gown PA The Earl of Wessex and the Duke of Cambridge at a reception at London's Buckingham Palace PA The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrive PA Boris Johnson also attended PA PA PA PA At a private event for Sentebale on Sunday night in London, Harry spoke about leaving royal duties behind in a bid for a "more peaceful life" for his family. His comments came after Buckingham Palace released the outcome of talks between the Queen, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge and Harry over the future role of the Sussexes. Harry and Meghan had wanted to remain as working royals, although not prominent members, and drop their public funding so they could become financially independent - a dual role many commentators said was fraught with problems. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex: Prince Harry & Meghan Markle PDAs 1 /48 The Duke and Duchess of Sussex: Prince Harry & Meghan Markle PDAs Prince Harry kisses Meghan Markle as they leave St George's Chapel after their wedding in Windsor, England on May 19, 2018. AFP/Getty Images The Duchess and Duke of Sussex at the 2017 Invictus Games in Toronto, Canada PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announce their engagement in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace Jeremy Selwyn Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announce the birth of their newborn Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor during a photocall in St George's Hall, May 2018 Getty Images Meghan Markle and Prince Harry having a beach date at Bondi Beach, October 2018. Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle share a giggle and hold hands at the Joff Youth Centre in Sussex, May 2018. Getty Images The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, and Prince Harry visit Redwoods Treewalk in New Zeland holding hands in October 2018. SplashNews.com Prince Harry cheekily (though it could just be the camera angle) ushers his wife onto their plane in New Zealand on October 28, 2018. SplashNews.com Prince Harry and his new wife Meghan Markle hold hands in their wedding carriage. AFP/Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle get close visiting Edinburgh Castle in Scotland on February 13, 2018. Getty Images Meghan Markle and Prince Harry walk arm in arm while attending a charity fair in Nottingham, England on December 1, 2017. Getty Images Meghan Markle and Prince Harry at the Invictus Games in 2017, where they appeared publicly for the first time. Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have a cuddle under the umbrella while watching aboriginal dances in Australia on October 17, 2018. AFP/Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle go head to head at the UK Team Trials for the Invictus Games in Bath, England on April 6, 2018. Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during the official photocall after announcing their engagement in London, England on November 27, 2017. Getty Images Meghan Markle and Prince Harry attend a Christmas Day church service in King's Lynn, England on December 25, 2017. Getty Images Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle hold hands on a walkabout at Cardiff Castle on January 18 2018, in Cardiff, Wales. Getty Images Meghan Markle holds hands with her husband, Prince Harry at the Royal Ascot in Ascot, England on June 18, 2018. Getty Images Prince Harry gazing at Meghan Markle in Fiji, October 2018. Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arm in arm after Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank's wedding in Windsor, England on October 12, 2018. Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sneak a kiss at the Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club on July 26, 2018 in Windsor, England. Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stand arm in arm at the Coach Core Awards in Loughborough, England on September 24, 2018. Getty Images Prince Harry gazing adoringly at Meghan Markle during her cookbook launch on September 20, 2018. Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle hold hands while visiting the Nechells Wellbeing Centre in Birmingham, UK on March 7, 2018. SplashNews.com Meghan Markle and Prince Harry hold hands while participating in the unveiling of The Queen's Commonwealth Canopy at Tupou College on October 26, 2018 in New Zealand. Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle hold hands while arriving in Wellington, New Zealand on October 28, 2018. Getty Images Meghan Markle and Prince Harry hold hands while walking out of Te Papaiouru Marae after attending a formal luncheon on October 31, 2018 in Rotorua, New Zealand. Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle secretly holding hands at the Cirque du Soleil Totem premiere at the Royal Albert Hall, January 16, 2019. Getty Images The royal couple have a small cuddle as they watch students play football during their visit to Lycee Qualifiant Grand Atlas, the local secondary school in Morocco Getty Images Meghan and Harry are arm in arm while visiting the Education For All boarding house for girls in Morocco Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle walk hand in hand for a reception hosted by the British Ambassador to Morocco at the British Residence during the second day of their tour of Morocco Getty Images The Duke and Duchess of Sussex try some food as they visit a cooking demonstration, where children from under-privileged backgrounds learn traditional Moroccan recipes Getty Images Meghan and Harry walk arm in arm during a visit in Morocco Getty Images Harry fixes Meghan's hair while they meet with an artisan during a visit to the Kasbah of the Udayas near the Moroccan capital AFP/Getty Images The royal couple hold hands on their way to attend the Commonwealth Service on Commonwealth Day at Westminster Abbey Getty Images In a statement issued on Saturday after royal family talks, the Sussexes announced they will stop carrying out royal duties from the spring, no longer use HRH and will repay the taxpayers millions spent on their Berkshire home. In the Sentebale speech, Harry told invited guests: "What I want to make clear is we're not walking away, and we certainly aren't walking away from you. "Our hope was to continue serving the Queen, the Commonwealth and my military associations, but without public funding. Unfortunately, that wasn't possible. "I've accepted this, knowing that it doesn't change who I am or how committed I am. But I hope that helps you understand what it had to come to, that I would step my family back from all I have ever known, to take a step forward into what I hope can be a more peaceful life." TODO: define component type apester Mr Hornby said he met Harry on Friday when they went through major events for the coming year, from trips to Africa to the opening of new camps that support teenagers living with HIV, and a research project the charity is doing with Royal Holloway, University of London. He added of the duke: "He couldn't be more passionate then he has been to date, and he'll certainly be as passionate going forward." Harry was not officially attending the investment summit at a London hotel but was holding one-to-one meetings with a number of foreign leaders at the request of the UK Government. He sat down to talks with Moroccan prime minister Saad-Eddine El Othmani, Malawi's President Peter Mutharika, and Filipe Nyusi, president of Mozambique. It is likely the Government asked Harry to meet the African leaders because he has a keen interest in the continent and the royal family employs "soft diplomacy" to help strengthen Britain's ties with her allies. In a few months the duke will no longer be representing the UK in an official capacity and events like the summit will only be open to him as a guest. Questions have also been raised about how Harry and Meghan will continue with their Sussex Royal brand when they cease being working royals. In UP, Nadda explains all the good PM has done for farmers 'CM refused to get on phone': JP Nadda slams Punjab govt over PM Modi's security lapse Modi, new BJP President J P Nadda to meet party CMs, deputy CMs India oi-Madhuri Adnal New Delhi, Jan 20: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and J P Nadda, who is set to be elected BJP president, will hold a meeting with chief ministers and deputy chief ministers of party-ruled states on Monday evening. The meeting will follow the formal announcement of Nadda as the new national president of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The leader from Himachal Pradesh is set to be elected unopposed to the top party post, succeeding Amit Shah. Nomination process for BJP National Prez to be held on Monday, J P Nadda to succeed Amit Shah NEWS AT NOON, JANUARY 20th, 2020 Party leader Narendra Tomar hailed Nadda's expected elevation, saying he had vast organisational and administrative experience, and expressed confidence that the party would go from strength to strength under him. Union ministers, including Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari and Shah, and party representatives from states filed nomination papers in Nadda's support as the BJP began the exercise to elect its new national president. More than 280,000 has been spent by two government departments on VIP services at Irish airports over the past three years. This included executive facilities for EU Commissioner Phil Hogan, former taoiseach Bertie Ahern and more than 30,000 on the visit of Pope Francis. The vast bulk of the money was spent by the Department of Foreign Affairs, which provides VIP services for visiting heads of state, ministers, royals, dignitaries and senior diplomats. The Department of the Taoiseach has paid for luxury services at Dublin Airport for Enda Kenny, Leo Varadkar, Mr Hogan and Mr Ahern, according to records obtained under Freedom of Information. VIP facilities for Mr Hogan cost 1,003 for five flights between 2017 and 2019. Asked why these services were used by the EU Commissioner, a spokesman said usch travel arrangements were a matter for the Department of the Taoiseach. Records previously released by the department said that was part of a "standing arrangement" with the Dublin Airport Authority. Mr Ahern made use of the VIP facilities for four flights in July and September last year. Each time he used the "platinum service" at Dublin Airport, the Department of the Taoiseach paid a bill of 225 a flight. Mr Ahern is only allowed to use VIP facilities because of a decision made by Mr Varadkar in October 2017 to reintroduce such perks for former taoisigh. They had been scrapped by Mr Kenny but Mr Ahern has been the only ex-taoiseach to use the new arrangement. The Department of the Taoiseach also paid out another 2,500 for VIP airport facilities for Mr Kenny, while he was still serving, and for current Taoiseach Mr Varadkar. More than 220,000 has been spent by the Department of Foreign Affairs on platinum services and ramp transfers at Dublin Airport over the past two years. Papal The bill for 2018 hit 120,000, fuelled mainly by the high costs involved with the two-day visit of Pope Francis to Ireland. Two separate bills were paid by the Department of Foreign Affairs for the papal visit, the first for 18,600 and the second for 11,600. That covered the costs of VIP facilities for Pope Francis and his more than 100-strong delegation, according to the records. Henrico County police are seeking the public's help with identifying a man who robbed a store at gunpoint and fled on a purple bicycle. Police were summoned to the Avail Vapor store in the 4400 block of South Laburnum Avenue at 3:15 p.m. on Saturday. A man revealed a black, semiautomatic pistol and "ordered all victims to the ground," police said in a news release. "Instructions were given to open the safe and hand over the money," the release said. "After retrieving the cash, the suspect then fled through the rear door of the store and left the area on a purple bike prior to police arrival." The police described the robber as a black man with a medium to dark complexion in his 30s who is 5 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs about 170 to 175 pounds, with an average to thin build. He had a small, unkempt beard and was wearing a lime-green traffic vest and tan-outlined motorcycle goggles and had a dark-colored book bag, police said. Chief of Defence Staff on Monday said it was very difficult to predict if a scenario of a war with Pakistan would emerge or not but all the defence services were prepared to take on any challenge. The top general, who inducted the Sukhoi-30 MKI squadron here, was responding to a question about any possibility of a war emerging between India and Pakistan. "All the defence services are tasked to be prepared for any option that may emerge. It is very difficult to predict a scenario. But, we are always prepared for any task that may be assigned to us," Rawat said. Iran said it could quit the global nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty if European countries refer it to the UN security council for scaling back its commitments under its 2015 nuclear pact with world powers, which the United States quit in 2018. France, Britain and Germany formally triggered the agreements dispute mechanism this month, the strongest step they have taken so far to enforce a deal under which Iran was offered sanctions relief in return for curbing its nuclear work. Donald Trump reimposed US sanctions on Iran after pulling Washington out of the pact. After months of announcing gradual steps to reduce compliance, Iran said on 6 January it would scrap all limits on enriching uranium, saying the Europeans had failed to ensure Iran received the economic benefits promised in the deal. The dispute resolution process takes up to 65 days to play out unless extended by consensus. Thousands of climate protesters are marching across Switzerland to Davos ahead of demonstrations during the World Economic Forum. Activists have spent three days marching from Landquart, in the Swiss Alps, to Davos and plan to arrive on January 21 - the first day of the summit. Security in the Alpine town has been beefed up ahead of their arrival as world and business leaders including the likes of Donald Trump are expected there this week. Roads leading into the town have been closed, 5,000 troops placed on standby, police snipers positioned on rooftops and airspace restricted in order to make sure the event passes off smoothly. 1,200 climate activists are marching towards Davos from the nearby town of Landquart, in Switzerland, in an attempt to shame leaders for failing to protect the environment Police have beefed up security in the town - including deploying snipers on the rooftops - in an attempt to keep peace during the three-day forum As well as sharpshooters, the Swiss government has closed roads and placed some 5,000 troops on reserve to head off any trouble Officials have outlined additional measures including vehicle checks and webcam shutdowns to ensure the event passes off smoothly. Zurich regional police said some 130 attendees who are 'protected under international law' - including royalty, presidents and prime ministers - were expected to pass through toward the Davos gathering from Tuesday to Friday. All told, nearly 3,000 leaders from civil society, business, politics and elsewhere from 118 countries are expected as the Forum marks its 50th year. Protesters with the 'Strike-WEF' collective have taken issue with one security measure: An order from regional police that no more than 300 people can attend a planned protest near the town hall. Iran's top diplomat won't attend summit Iran's top diplomat has cancelled his trip and will not be attending the Davos Forum, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said Monday amid a crisis with Washington and disputes with Europe over Iran's nuclear steps. The summit in the Swiss resort also comes after Iran earlier this month shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane, killing all 176 people on board. Tensions also remain high between Iran and the U.S. after an American drone killed Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad. Iran's top diplomat, Mohammad Javad Zarif, had been invited and plans had been made for him to attend the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said. However, according to Mousavi, officials at the forum changed plans involving Zarif, which led to the diplomat cancelling his trip, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. Advertisement Authorities insist the square is too small to hold more people. The protesters have called such limits anti-democratic. On their website, Strike-WEF organisers argue that those attending the summit are largely responsible for climate change and have enriched themselves while failing to protect the environment. They are demanding that companies immediately invest away from fossil fuels, that CEOs step down over their environmental failings, and that the world economy be restructured to better protect the planet. 'When they can have space for 3,000 people - the majority of who are the richest people on the planet - but for only 300 among the 99% of the rest of us, it's a joke,' said Payal Parekh, a spokeswoman for the collective. Members of the group and its supporters - some dressed in get-ups like Ronald McDonald outfits - were marching toward Davos but have been barred from the main roads to get there. 'There are ways to get to Davos,' she said. 'We are creative and flexible.' Rosalina Mueller, a spokeswoman for the Young Socialists that is helping organize the demonstration in Davos, applauded the idea of having leaders come together, but said they'd failed to help the world over the last half-century. 'They say they want to make the world better, but for 50 years they haven't done anything,' she said. Forum organizers have pointed to scores of initiatives like planting trees, enlisting businesses in advocacy programs, and rallying thousands of promising youths to help their communities in scores of countries around the world. The Swiss national authorities were restricting airspace and have authorized up to 5,000 troops to take part in enhanced security. Authorities and Forum organizers have set aside a budget of $9million for extra security measures during the event. Protesters say world and economic leaders have failed to protect the world from the effects of climate change, and should immediately stand down Activists are also demanding that companies immediately divest away from fossil fuels and restructure the economy to focus on protecting resources rather than perpetual growth Zurich authorities were boosting security checks of people and vehicles and advising Zurich airport visitors to use public transport for Trump's expected arrival on Tuesday. Protesters began their march on Sunday, two days after teen climate activist Greta Thunberg addressed a rally of tens of thousands of people in the Swiss city of Lausanne. The 17-year-old activist, who is due to address the forum alongside other teen activists, promised world leaders 'you haven't seen anything yet' in her speech. In a pre-summit speech, International Monetary Fund chief economist Gita Gopinath issued a warning over the climate, saying: 'Countries need to co-operate on multiple fronts to lift growth and spread prosperity 'They must adopt strategies to limit the rise in global temperatures and the severe consequences of weather-related natural disasters.' Leading the counter-charge will likely be climate change skeptic Donald Trump, who is due to address the forum on Tuesday. Donald Trump, an outspoken climate change skeptic, is due to address business leaders at the conference on Tuesday Rodano and Favale will be releasing monthly music releases and tribute videos throughout the year as well as producing concerts, special screenings, and art shows to celebrate the life of Il Maestro. Favale and Rodano have long shared a passion for Fellini's films and the music of Nino Rota (and in later years Luis Enriquez Bacalov, Gianfranco Plenizio and Nicola Piovani) that played such an important part of Fellini's work. "Fellini's influence on film, music, fashion and pop culture cannot be overstatedin my opinion he is the Beatles of cinema," says Favale. "As someone who was born and raised in Italy, Fellini's presence in my life was cemented at an early age. His movies and music have influenced my own work in a powerful way," says Rodano. Federico Fellini was born in Rimini, Italy on January 20th, 1920. His early years in Rimini were a big influence on his films, notably "I Vitelloni" and "Amarcord." Fellini won five Oscars, and two of his films ("La Dolce Vita" and "8 ") regularly make critics' lists of the greatest films of all time. Simona Rodano is the founder of Incanto Productions, Corp., which specializes in multicultural and multilanguage productions for schools and families. It is dedicated to the improvement and expansion of teaching and learning languages at all levels of instruction through music and theatre. For more information go to www.incantoproductions.com. Vinnie Favale is the founder of Favale Media, which specializes in Live Events, Films, Musical Theater, Scripted & Unscripted Programs. Favale is a veteran of CBS, David Letterman, The Howard Stern Show and a founder of Comedy Central. He is the co-creator of the internationally acclaimed off-Broadway show, Hereafter Musical. The film version, starring the late Danny Aiello in his final film role, will be released in 2020. For more information go to www.vinniefavale.com. SOURCE Favale Media Related Links http://www.fellini2020.com China has made important contributions to the global fight against terrorism with its deradicalisation efforts in Xinjiang, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday. Speaking at a joint news conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in Cairo, Wang stressed that the issue of Xinjiang is solely Chinas internal affairs. He said that what happens in Xinjiang is an issue of fighting separatism and terrorism, rather than an issue of human rights or religion. For quite a period, the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, as one of the five ethnic autonomous regions in China, had suffered from the woes of terrorism and extremism. Violent extremists had perpetrated several terror attacks, killing and wounding thousands of innocent civilians, Wang said. To protect the safety of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang including the Muslims, the Chinese government has firmly cracked down on all forms of terror activities, on one hand, and set up vocational education and training centres, on another hand, the top Chinese diplomat explained. These centres aimed at saving those who were infected by extremist thoughts through education and professional training to uproot extremism and terrorism at the source, he said. In its anti-terror campaign in Xinjiang, China has drawn on the experience of many countries, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, as well as many Western countries such as the United States and France, he said. The Chinese measures are totally legal, as they are widely recognized as preventive counter-terrorism steps, Wang said. He added that Chinas counter-terrorism efforts in Xinjiang have paid off. For three years in a row, Xinjiang has been free from violent terrorist incidents, he noted. Wang said that all the trainees in the training centres have now graduated, and, with the help of the government, they have found stable jobs and are living a peaceful and secure life. It has been proved that the efforts made by the government in Xinjiang have not only provided security for local residents but also protected the rights of religious freedom, thus making important contributions to the global anti-terror cause and providing a useful experience for the global deradicalization efforts, Wang said. The freedom of religious belief, including Islam, is fully ensured in Xinjiang, where there are over 24,000 mosques, or one for every 530 Muslims, which is a higher ratio than many Islamic countries. Wang slammed the evil intentions of some forces in the West, which attempt to destabilize Xinjiang and undermine the ties between China and the Islamic world through smearing China, to block Chinas development. We should be clear-eyed about those Western countries accusing China of the Xinjiang issue, as they are in fact the ones which have the least respect for the Islamic civilization and inflicted heavy casualties on a great number of innocent Muslims, Wang said. He said most Islamic countries, including Egypt, have not been deceived by the lies spread by those Western states. A total of 51 countries, including 28 Islamic nations, signed a joint letter last July sent to the United Nations to express support to Chinas policies in Xinjiang. Facts speak louder than words, and fair-minded people can tell right from wrong, Wang said. More than 70 foreign delegations from 91 countries and regions, or some 1,000 people, have visited Xinjiang and stated that Chinas counter-terrorism and deradicalization efforts can provide inspirations for others. China welcomes Egyptian friends, including religious groups, to Xinjiang to take a tour and have a look with own eyes. I bet you will see a stable, peaceful and thriving Xinjiang, the top Chinese diplomat said. If Brexit Britain turns into a tax haven, the impact of capital flight will be dramatic, say campaigners. In his new year speech, the United Kingdoms Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the upcoming decade would be one of prosperity and opportunity for the United Kingdom. The idea is that once the UK leaves the European Union on January 31, the country will be free to pursue trade deals that will be better for the country, and also to enforce its own regulations, away from the old shackles of Brussels bureaucracy. Britain will be able to turn away from looking just towards Europe, and will be able to look out towards the world or, at least, that is the picture being painted by the Brexiteers. The problem is, as campaigners are pointing out, the UKs future economic moves may have a terrible impact on the developing world. One of the main plans that has been touted by ardent supporters of Brexit, including those within the UK government, is that any potential economic losses that may occur will be more than compensated for by the benefits of economic liberalisation. This may potentially include tax cuts and deregulation. Campaigners say the danger is that the UK turns into a tax haven, and one that will attract more and more capital from the developing world, depriving them of tax revenues they desperately need. The Global Alliance for Tax Justice says that countries in the Global South already lose $1 trillion every year in capital flight and tax evasion. African countries lose between $30bn and $60bn each year, the equivalent of 40 years worth of the aid that they receive. If the direction of flow is changed, Africa will have the resources to finance its own development, to improve the livelihood of its people, and to empower its own citizens to hold their governments to account for what they are doing, Dereje Alemayehu, executive coordinator for the Global Alliance for Tax Justice, told Al Jazeera. Multinationals often conduct transactions between head offices and African subsidiaries that mask where profits are being made, thereby avoiding the payment of taxes, Alemayehu added. What the tax havens are enabling is that the companies can structure themselves in such a way that, through their transactions, they can inflate their costs in countries where they have to pay taxes, Alemayehu said. They make profits appear only in countries where they have no taxes to pay. Singapore-on-Thames The prospect that the UK may diverge heavily from EU financial regulations has left some economic liberals dreaming that the countrys economy will become lightly regulated and that corporate taxes will be slashed. The vision of a future London is that of a Singapore-on-Thames, named after the financially liberal city-state. And while the promotion of the idea, first insinuated by Britains ex-Chancellor Philip Hammond in 2017, may be a British bluff, the UK has a strong relationship with tax havens. While Singapore is eighth in the 2019 Corporate Tax Haven Index, three British Overseas Territories the British Virgin Islands, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands make up the top three. The UK itself is 13th, and other British territories such as Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man and Gibraltar are all high on the list. The perception is that Africa is living off the life support of the North, but if you look at how the global economy works, Africa is actually subsidising rich countries Dereje Alemayehu, Global Alliance for Tax Justice The UK also gives rich people the peculiar option of a non-domiciled tax status. It is a way for the extremely wealthy to avoid paying taxes on their offshore income, by registering their permanent home as outside of the UK. Since the 1950s, Britain and its spider web of tax havens have been at the forefront of plundering countries of the majority world, said John Christensen, the chair of the Tax Justice Network. The big fear after Brexit is that Britain will continue to enable plundering and will lead a race to the bottom on tax rates and financial regulation. Christensen should know a fair bit about tax havens he was previously an economic adviser to the government of Jersey for 11 years. He is fearful that the UK will come out of negotiations with the EU completely unaligned with Brussels regulations, as the UK is already insisting will happen. 200102081337546 The lawyers and bankers who work around here [the City of London] will certainly do good business attracting more oligarchs, and more plundered money, and more multinational companies that want to use London as a base for tax avoidance, said Christensen. The real danger is that Britain, in moving to a Singapore-on-Thames model, will undercut regulation elsewhere in Europe, will undercut regulation in North America and will precipitate a race to the bottom. However, there are signs the UK is posturing in its negotiations with the EU, and that it may not go as far as campaigners fear. The planned cut to corporate tax rates, from 19 percent to 17 percent, will likely be repealed in UK Chancellor Sajid Javids March budget. The UK governments Department for International Development (DFID) denied any planned liberalisation of tax legislation. There is no evidence of the UK planning to become an aggressive tax haven, a spokesperson told Al Jazeera. The government has been clear that it will continue to fight tax evasion and international fraud, along with other global partners. In reference to Africa in fact, there is a summit being held in London on Monday [January 20] with African leaders to discuss how to increase UK investment into the continent following an announcement of 400 million [$520 million] from the UK to help leverage more private investment into African development projects, DFID added. But Africa is still losing more than it is gaining, says Alemayehu. African countries are losing resources that are much needed to make development work, to improve the livelihood of the country, said Alemayehu. There is research showing that Africa is a net creditor to the rest of the world, which means that the rest of the world owes Africa more than what Africa owes to the rest of the world. The perception is that Africa is living off the life support of the North, but if you look at how the global economy works, Africa is actually subsidising rich countries. Three Iraq protesters killed as anger boils over govt 'procrastination' Baghdad, Jan 20 (AFP) Jan 20, 2020 Three Iraqi protesters were killed in the capital as thousands of anti-government demonstrators sought to shut streets across the country on Monday, their deadline for authorities to implement long-awaited reforms. Rallies have rocked Iraq since October but, fearing they would lose momentum amid spiralling regional tensions, protesters last Monday told the government it had one week to meet their demands or they would escalate their demonstrations. Protesters sought to ramp up pressure on the government on Monday with pop-up rallies away from their main gathering place in Baghdad's iconic Tahrir (Liberation) Square. Hundreds descended on nearby Tayaran Square, where they clashed with security forces who fired tear gas and live rounds to disperse them, an AFP journalist said. Three protesters were killed, medics told AFP, two of them by live rounds and the third by a tear gas canister that pierced his neck. More than 50 other people were wounded, the medics said. Young men wearing helmets and gas masks in an attempt to protect themselves from flying gas canisters erected barricades to try to push riot police back. Protesters have called for early elections under a new voting law, an independent prime minister to replace outgoing premier Adel Abdel Mahdi and for all corrupt officials to be held accountable. Late Sunday young protesters began sealing off highways and bridges across the capital Baghdad and Iraq's south, torching tyres and setting up makeshift barricades. They tried to do the same early Monday in the capital but security forces acted fast, with the military saying it had reopened a major Baghdad thoroughfare and arrested nine young men who had attempted to seal it off. - Protests slam 'procrastination' - Fearing widespread rallies, provincial authorities across southern Iraq announced an official holiday on Monday. But young people hit the streets in the southern cities of Kut, Nasiriyah, Baqubah, Amara and the holy city of Najaf, setting tyres on fire. In the protest hotspot of Diwaniyah, they shut key roads both inside and leading out of the city. "The procrastination of the government and the political class for more than three months now has prompted us to take escalatory steps to pressure them to meet our demands," Mohammad Faeq, a 28-year-old protester, told AFP. Since October, around 460 people have lost their lives to protest-related violence and another 25,000 have been wounded, according to an AFP count. Authorities do not provide updated casualty figures. Demonstrators have feared their movement would be eclipsed by the geopolitical storm brewing between neighbouring Iran and the United States, both close partners of Iraq. A US drone strike near Baghdad's airport on January 3 killed top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani, prompting Iranian rocket strikes on an Iraqi base housing US troops and triggering fears of a wider conflict. Iraqi political figures have since ramped up their calls for foreign forces -- including some 5,200 US troops -- to leave the country. The dramatic escalation came after months of rocket attacks on Baghdad's high-security Green Zone, home to the US embassy and other missions, as well as Iraqi bases where US troops are deployed. Three rockets hit near the US embassy just after midnight on Tuesday morning, security sources told AFP, with no immediate reports of casualties. - UN warns of 'foreign interference' - On Monday, the United Nations' top official in Iraq Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said ignoring the demands of protesters would only fuel "anger and distrust". "Domestic unity, cohesion and determination are urgently necessary to build resilience against narrow partisan interests, foreign interference and/or criminal elements which actively seek to hinder Iraq's stability," she added. Protesters also worry that a mass rally to be organised Friday by firebrand Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr to demand the ouster of US troops could drown them out. Last week, Sadr urged Iraqis to hold "a million-strong, peaceful, unified demonstration to condemn the American presence and its violations". While protesters have criticised the US, they have directly accused Iran of hindering Iraq politically and economically. Tehran holds major sway in Iraq, building up close ties with a variety of political and military players over decades. Protesters say Iran's overreach has contributed to rampant corruption and poor services. The World Bank says one in five people lives below the poverty line in Iraq, which is OPEC's second-biggest crude producer. While the rallies initially railed against the economy, they quickly escalated to demand a total overhaul of government. Protesters scored one win in December with the resignation of Abdel Mahdi but he has stayed on in a caretaker role and political parties have thus far failed to agree on a successor. Demonstrators have publicly rejected names circulating as possible replacements and are furious that other sweeping reforms have not been implemented. Henley HENLEY Climate Action Group is urging people to think about three ideas to help battle climate change including stopping flying. Group organisers John and Penny Stott say theres been increased interest in environmental initiatives in Henley since a climate change meeting was held in the towns Guildhall last October which was attended by 57 people. Twelve years ago there just wasnt that much interest in the climate debate but now people are trying to understand the importance of it and interest is growing, Mrs Stott said. The three green ideas Henley Climate Action Group are asking people to consider are: switch off a light and close the door; give up or reduce air travel (the action group report that in Sweden air travel has reduced by eight per cent while rail travel has increased by eight per cent); walk more or take public transport. The action groups next meeting is on Thursday 30th January. For more details contact John or Penny Stott on 01564 792251. Can A 5G Network Really Be Secure? The Australian governments decision to ban high-risk vendors from its 5G network build has made waves through the Five Eyes community but also in major markets where those high-risk vendors already have key customers. One such customer is Germany which, like Britain is grappling with multiple tensions when it came to opening the door to a potential 5G vendor that others had considered to be a risk. The decisions and deliberations of the Five Eyes countries have slowly become public. The fifth generation of cellular technology known as 5G is the next great leap in speed for wireless devices. This speed includes both the rate mobile users can download data to their devices and the latency, or lag, they experience between sending and receiving information. 5G aims to deliver data rates that are 10 to 100 times faster than current 4G networks. Australias position on high-risk vendors is not new, neither are risk-based decisions about network operators. In 2012, the Australian government banned Chinese telecommunications company Huawei from taking part in building the National Broadband Network (NBN). However, 2012 is a long time ago and the public narrative on restrictions on such vendors was quite different - there was no public statement and no Austaralian intelligence official publicly talked about the decision. The lack of a public narrative could be explained away in the context of a trade relationship. Or it could be explained in the context of a different time, when the government narrative on such issues tended to be less direct. The arguments about trust were often interwoven with reports of the theft of intellectual property and indictments against Chinese nationals accused of spiriting out highly sensitive US secrets, commercial espionage, or both. A report from the US House intelligence committee at the time expressed concerns about Chinese legislation compelling its citizens to cooperate with requests, Under Chinese law, ZTE and Huawei would be obligated to cooperate with any request by the Chinese government to use their systems or access them for malicious purposes under the guise of state security. For Chinese citizens and companies alike, participation in intelligence work is a legal responsibility and obligation, regardless of geographic boundaries. This requirement is consistent across several laws on the protection of Chinas state security. For instance, Article 7 of the new Chinese National Intelligence Law declares: Any organisation and citizen shall, in accordance with the law, support, provide assistance, and cooperate in national intelligence work, and guard the secrecy of any national intelligence work that they are aware of. ....The state shall protect individuals and organisations that support, cooperate with, and collaborate in national intelligence work. That could mean the Chinese government may influence, interfere with and have access to key assets of national interest, in this case, a telecommunications network. The head of the Australian Signals Directorate, Mike Burgess, explained to the Sydney Morning Herald why assessing the security risks of critical infrastructure like the 5G network is a vital part of ASDs work: The stakes could not be higher. This is about more than just protecting the confidentiality of our information, it is also about integrity and availability of the data and systems on which we depend Historically, we have protected the sensitive information and functions at the core of our telecommunications networks by confining our high-risk vendors to the edge of our networks. But the distinction between core and edge collapses in 5G networks. That means that a potential threat anywhere in the network will be a threat to the whole network. In Britian, the General Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) securty agency seems to have formed a different view which has been reflected in the UK governments approach to 5G vendors. The UK agreed several years ago to having a Huawei cell in the country that assesses Huawei code before its used. The 5G network build is a matter for the UK government alone, and its perfectly entitled to make a decision different from those of its Five Eyes partners. News reports indicate that the 5G decision was subject to heated debate in the British cabinet, in which there was no uniform view on the question of excluding high-risk vendors. However, the debate marked the start of the core versus edge public narrative, which could be convenient nuance for justifying the UK governments approach. So, where did all of this leave Germany? In June 2019, it appeared to be landing somewhere between the Australian and UK approaches. Germany didnt seem to want to adopt the direct Australian approach. One organisation we visited said, Germany would never directly exclude a company in a procurement process. Some German organisations labelled the Australian decision as geopolitical. Often, talk moved on to China being regarded as less of a threat because it was not geographically close to Germany, which is odd given that the conduit of cyber has no borders. Germany wanted to be in a position to trust and verify and that it would prefer to be able to determine its vendors on that basis. However, when pressed to explain how this approach could ensure network security, when Chinese companies can be subject to their domestic law, and when German companies may be none the wiser, our German colleagues struggled to respond. Some shifted uncomfortably when we asked why an outright ban on high-risk vendors could not occur. They also spoke of a broader European strategy and said that no one country could dictate the procurement process, even though these decisions are supposed to be made at the national rather than EU level. Now, there is pressure on the Bundestag to reach a decsion and while the 5G build situation remains fluid, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has reportedly decided to allow Huawei to take part in Germanys 5G bidding suggesting that Chancellor Angela Merkel has put Germanys short-term economic interests first at the possible long-term expense of international security. Germanys decision to let Huawei take part in its 5G procurement process feeds into a broader EU issue about the degree to which collective security considerations should influence decisions made by national governments. There does seem to be tension between the German and EU interests. Its unclear whether there can ever really be a unified approach to building a 5G network, particularly because each EU member state may have different incumbent providers that in turn have relationships with overseas vendors like Huawei. As Germany moves through the 5G procurement process, it will be interesting to see how it will or wont be influenced by the different approaches of other nations and whether it will be influenced by a broader EU approach to national security. Will Germany decide that its neither the core nor the edge that matters and that security risks can be managed by limiting the level of participation of foreign network operators, as suggested in the CDU document? Irrespective of which path Germany takes, its bound to attract attention and be closely watched. ASPI Strategist: Live Science: Sydney Morning Herald: Lawfare: You Might Also Read: 5G Mobile Technology Poses An Espionage Risk: Canada Is Suspicions Of Huawei: A Looming US vs China Tech War Over Huawei: ACCEPT THE CALL (2019) 10 p.m. on PBS. Yusuf Abdurahman fled civil war in Somalia in 1992. He settled in Minnesota, and he raised his son, Zacharia, in one of the largest Somali communities in the United States. In 2015, Zacharia was arrested along with five other Somali-Americans in Minnesota after an attempt to join ISIS in Syria. The filmmaker Eunice Lau tells Zacharias story through the eyes of his father, who, in trying to understand his sons actions, unearths a harsh reality of targeted recruitment in his community and the struggles of growing up Muslim in the face of Americas war on terror. PRODIGAL SON 9:01 p.m. on FOX. Tom Payne plays Malcolm Bright, your standard charming, wickedly intelligent N.Y.P.D. detective in this series, which is back for the rest of Season 1. The twist: Brights estranged father, Dr. Martin Whitly (Michael Sheen), is a convicted (and imprisoned) serial killer known as the Surgeon and he has a copy cat. This season, Malcolm reconnected with his father to solve the murders, and the two have become a team. Now, Malcolm is being held hostage and the F.B.I. bands with the police to save him with help from Ainsley (Halston Sage) and Jessica (Bellamy Young). Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-21 01:53:24|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close TEHRAN, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will not attend the 2020 World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland this week, the Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi announced on Monday. Speaking to reporters at his weekly press conference, Mousavi said Zarif was scheduled to attend the Davos meeting, but "they abruptly changed the schedule despite the primary planning and the official invitation." Therefore, Zarif will not participate in the forum in Davos, the spokesman said. Western media reported earlier that Zarif was no longer on the list of nearly 3,000 people due at the event, which is being held under the banner "Stakeholders for a Sustainable and Cohesive World." (Newser) Michael Bloomberg's stop-and-frisk policy while heading up the Big Apple has become his Achilles' heel in the 2020 campaign, Politico notes. Now, however, the ex-mayor is trying to convince black Americans he's the best candidate for the job, traveling to cities with large black populations and acknowledging his white privilege. He spoke over the weekend in Tulsa, Okla., where he gave a speech at the Vernon Chapel AME Church. "I often say my story would only have been possible in Americaand I think that's true," Bloomberg said Sunday. "But I also know that my story might have turned out very differently if I had been black, and that more black Americans of my generation would have ended up with far more wealth had they been white." Per ABC News, Bloomberg has since apologized for the stop-and-frisk policy during his NYC tenure, and he noted during his speech, "I was wrong." story continues below Some say his mea culpa may not be enough. "He doesn't really understand just what black people are concerned about in enough of a personal way to be relatable," civil rights activist Maya Wiley says, per Politico. "And I say that not because I don't think he is trying, but because I don't think he understands." Meanwhile, per NBC News, Bloomberg weighed in Monday on what he'd do if he were a senator taking part in President Trump's impeachment trial. "I'd have to swallow two or three times, but I would say I would vote to convict because there's so much evidence that he acted inappropriately," he said on the Today show, though he added the impeachment overall was "not good," and that he feels the US would be "much better off letting the voters decide who is president." (Read more Michael Bloomberg stories.) As members of the Royal Family, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have always faced complex and serious threats from terrorists, criminal gangs, obsessed stalkers, unlicensed paparazzi and even from those they believed to be friends. Now the couple are severing their royal ties and plan to live outside Britain, those threats have multiplied and become much more difficult to guard against. Final decisions on how they will be protected and who will pay have yet to be agreed. But as former operational commander of royalty protection and senior Met police officer, I am seriously concerned for their immediate safety. As members of the Royal Family, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have always faced complex and serious threats from terrorists, criminal gangs, obsessed stalkers, unlicensed paparazzi and even from those they believed to be friends In the mid-Nineties, the divorce of Charles and Diana created huge safety issues. Harry's mother loved to act spontaneously, making it impossible to guarantee her protection. Later she declined police protection through the Royal Family a fact that I believe may have cost the princess her life. I am convinced that Harry and Meghan face dangers just as grave, yet by moving abroad they are making it even harder to set up effective protection. Whatever security the Sussexes have in place at their borrowed home on Vancouver Island, I cannot imagine it is adequate. It has been alleged that some of their protection officers are armed only with Tasers. If true, that is preposterous. Any plot to assassinate or kidnap Harry's family will involve weaponry far more lethal than Tasers, and his team need to be carrying firearms at all times. In the UK, royal personal protection officers carry guns as a matter of course but, once abroad, can only be armed with the permission of local authorities under a 'reciprocity' arrangement. British royal protection officers may be being assisted by armed members of the Special Protection Unit of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police the Mounties. I certainly hope so. But what of the future? If Harry and Meghan come to rely on private security companies, they will struggle to match the level of watchfulness provided by my old department. They don't have access to the same level of structural support and financial resources. The 2.4million renovation of Frogmore Cottage (pictured) did not include the extra costs, covered from the royal protection budget, for safe rooms, fences, underground detection systems and encrypted secure communication The couple may not appreciate the costs of 'static protection' the integrated networks of alarms and CCTV cameras that are standard at royal palaces. The 2.4million renovation of Frogmore Cottage did not include the extra costs, covered from the royal protection budget, for safe rooms, fences, underground detection systems and encrypted secure communication. On top of this, there's maintenance expenses. As a veteran of the Afghan campaign, Prince Harry is at risk: the Taliban always regarded him as their main target. Their desire to hurt him has not diminished because he has stepped down as the Captain General of the Royal Marines, who were at the forefront of the Afghan fighting. Terrorist threats could come from other sources too. Harry's father is Colonel-in-Chief of the Paratroopers, still hated by many Irish republicans. Perhaps that sounds an unlikely threat, but his great-uncle, Lord Mountbatten was dismissive of the risks too. It cost him his life and the lives of several of those around him when an IRA bomb planted on his boat, the Shadow V, went off one day in August 1979. Equally worrying are the number of obsessive individuals who might mean the couple harm. Racist, far-Right groups could target Meghan, for instance. It only takes one deranged individual. That's why, in 2006, the Home Office and the Met, working with the Department of Health, set up the Fixated Threat Assessment Centre [FTAC] to monitor would-be stalkers who target royals and politicians. The FTAC relies on a wide variety of intelligence from Britain's security and police services. I hope that arrangements can be made to maintain official royal protection for Harry, Meghan and Archie, or at least to integrate their private set-up with the royal systems. But this should all have been done long before the couple bailed out. I am horrified that discussions over their safety are so far from being finalised. Already their security is compromised, because their location has been leaked. I'm sure that unscrupulous photographers will have checked out the house where Meghan and Archie are believed to be staying, and thought how easy it would be to approach by sea using a small boat or even a canoe. The paparazzi know no boundaries, especially in America. The idea that the couple will be better placed to control publicity around them is, I'm afraid, wrong. As the costs of private security mount, Harry will need to earn money. That puts him and Meghan at increased risk from predatory business people. It's the job of royal protection services to do the requisite due diligence on potential business associates and, in doing so, they have access to intelligence no private company could match. That said, the system is not infallible as Prince Andrew's ill-judged friendship with the wealthy paedophile Jeffrey Epstein shows. Now more than ever, Harry and Meghan need competent, highly experienced security advisers, yet for the first time they may have to learn to live without this vital help. Their world has just become a much more dangerous place. UK may 'strike deal' on huge security bill By George Odling British taxpayers may be required to contribute to the multi-million pound security bill for the Sussexes even after they stop using their HRH titles, experts warned last night. Although a deal has been struck following days of discussions at Sandringham, the question of who will pay for Harry and Meghan's security when they split their time between the UK and Canada has yet to be answered. Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau suggested his country would pay some of the expense but a poll last week found that 73 per cent of Canadians do not want their government to pick up the bill. Costly: Canadian security guards surround Harry in Toronto for the 2017 Invictus Games Currently, Canada covers royal security costs on official visits when Scotland Yard close protection teams also travel. Under the Canadian criminal code, an internationally protected person (IPP) who requires state-funded security is defined as 'a head of state' or member of their family. It is likely that Meghan and Harry will lose that IPP status under Canadian law. Former Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officer, Joe Balz, who now works for private firm Sentinel Security Plus, said: 'If the royal couple were to step away from their responsibilities and status as royals, this section of the criminal code clearly would indicate they would have no IPP status in Canada. 'The government may feel we're going to have to give them some type of protection, but there's no guarantee.' Another former officer, Larry Busch, who has also protected the royals, predicted Canada would have to agree to a 'cost-sharing' agreement with the UK. Mr Busch, who runs his own firm, Strategic Security, estimated that the couple would need a protection team of 24 RCMP officers at an annual cost of 1.2million. 'We don't want any of the royals injured or embarrassed while they are here so it behoves us to apply the proper level of security. 'Hollywood people get security provided by private companies. Politicians will get security provided by police officers and that would be the case here.' Scotland Yard has already had to nearly double its flight budget to cover the escalating cost of protecting the globe-trotting royals on official visits and holidays. Taxpayers faced a 4.6million bill for officers' flights in the year to March 31, 2019, almost double the 2.5million in 2016. The police already struggle to train enough specialist officers to cope with increasing royal security demands. Despite the Home Office recommending a 20 per cent rise in Scotland Yard bodyguards in 2017, the force said it had found it 'extremely difficult' to obtain the necessary training courses, adding that maintaining security has meant a 'reliance on overtime'. Close Donald Trump denies knowing Lev Parnas 13 times The day before his impeachment trial is set to begin, Donald Trump's lawyers are urging the Senate reject the charges against him and are calling the hearings an "illegitimate partisan effort to take him down" by Democrats. Meanwhile, the prosecution team from the House has filed a stern reply to the president's legal team, following their response to a summons request calling the impeachment articles "constitutionally invalid." House managers replied, calling the president's assertion that he can't be removed from the presidency "chilling" and "dead wrong". House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff, who is on that prosecution team, has warned that the CIA and National Security Agency could be holding on to further key evidence regarding the Ukraine scandal that led to the president's impeachment, ahead of the commencement of the Senate trial on Tuesday. The results of a CNN poll, released the day before the trial begins, revealed that 51 per cent of Americans support the president's removal, and nearly 70 per cent want witness testimony. Lawyers preparing to defend Mr Trump took to the talk show circuit on Sunday to argue that he cannot be removed from office on abuse of power grounds, a position dismissed as absurdist and arrant nonsense by Mr Schiff and fellow leading Democrat Jerrold Nadler, who together have helped build the case against him. 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 Meanwhile, as Mr Trump prepared to leave for Switzerland to participate in the World Economic Forum, the White House had no scheduled events to recognise Martin Luther King Jr's memorial and birthday, breaking once more from previous administration's tradition of service and volunteering to honour the civil rights leader. The president instead voiced his support for thousands of gun rights advocates carrying weapons in Virginia in protest of upcoming gun control legislation, while White House advisor Kellyanne Conway argued that Dr King would not support impeachment, which she said has "dragged Americans through the process" of considering the president's removal from office. On Twitter over the weekend, President Trump continued to attack 2020 candidate Michael Bloomberg, revealed a surprise appreciation for Hollywood Golden Age star Cary Grant and tweeted an astonishing claim from Fox News host Mark Levin that: In the House, the president got less due process than the 9/11 terrorists. Follow coverage as it happened: LONDON, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Boris Johnson will call for deeper investment ties between Britain and Africa at a summit for leaders of 21 African countries on Monday that comes days before his country will leave the European Union. After securing Britain's departure from the EU, the world's largest trading bloc, on Jan. 31, Johnson is keen to develop business ties with countries outside Europe. At the summit in London, Johnson will call for Britain to be the "investment partner of choice" for Africa. He will highlight deals worth billions of pounds with countries on the continent, underlining the roles British companies are playing in providing anything from smart street lighting in Nigeria to environmentally friendly breweries in Kenya. The prime minister will also announce an end to British support for thermal coal mining or coal power plants overseas, according to a statement issued before the summit's start. (Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Pravin Char) Former Finance Minister, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, has sued the head of the Special Investigation Team probing the collapse of seven local banks during the banking sector crisis accusing Edward Tabiri of harassing him. He is seeking a perpetual injunction to restrain the teams head, Edward Tabiri, from continuing in this purported harassment. According to the suit dated January 8, 2020 and sighted by Citi News, Dr. Duffuor received a letter from the Special Investigation Team requesting his cooperation with investigations into allegations of money laundering against him. This is because of his ties to the now-defunct UniBank . Dr. Duffuor, in turn, directed his lawyers to reply saying he had not served as director of UniBank since 2009 hence he was not in a position to assist with the investigations. the respondent very well or ought to have known that I ceased to be a board member of UniBank since 2009 when I was appointed into a ministerial position and that I had no connection whatsoever with the collapse of UniBank in 2018 . I reiterate that from February 2009 when I left UniBank, I had never occupied any directorship nor management position in UniBank Ghana Limited, he said in the suit. He also requested the specific allegations against him but is yet to receive a response, according to the lawsuit. Following this, Dr. Duffuor claims that Mr. Tabiri, has threatened to have him arrested, detained and hurriedly arraigned before the court on nonexistent and or frivolous charges in order to embarrass and humiliate him thereby lowering his standing in society. Dr. Duffuor fears the defendant will carry out this threat unless restrained by the court. He thus wants the court to declare that the officer's alleged threats constitute an infringement of his fundamental human rights. He also wants an order directed at Mr. Tabiri to stop the threats in addition to an injunction restraining him. ---citinewsroom American media personality Kim Kardashian West, who always wanted to become a lawyer, on Monday shared the trailer of her upcoming documentary 'The Justice Project'. Kim, through her social media accounts, broke the news to her followers that her upcoming documentary will be coming out on April 5 on Oxygen. The 'Keeping up with the Kardashian' star on Twitter wrote, "The official trailer for my new documentary is here! Criminal justice reform is something that's so important to me, and I can't wait to share these stories with all of you. #KKWTheJusticeProject premieres Sunday, April 5 at 7/6c on @Oxygen." The KKW owner shared the same post on her Instagram account. She was seen profoundly shaken by prison inmates telling stories of being behind bars in the trailer and even spoke with their family and friends. The two-hour-long documentary would feature four cases, including one victim of sex trafficking and a woman who murdered a family member for molesting her. All the four believed that they received unfair sentences and two of them end up being released, as per Billboard. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ukraine intends to open an embassy in Tirana, Albania, this year, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko has said. He said this at a joint press conference with OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Albania's Prime Minister and Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Edi Rama, on Monday, January 20, according to an Ukrinform correspondent. "This year, for example, we are going to open our embassy in Tirana. We have been working on this for a long time, and we hope that this step will help our countries to be closer to each other," Prystaiko said. The minister also expects this year to be a "year of blossoming" of relations between Ukraine and Albania. Photo: twitter.com/MFA of Ukraine Anti-Semitic violence in 2019... So far, 2019 seemed to be the worst year for anti-Semitism throughout the world. Let's hope 2020 is not as bad (or worse)! I've listed some of the incidents by month but, because of space, left many out: January: Swastika was sprayed on Terenure Hebrew Congregation in Dublin, Ireland. Vandals smash windows of Choral Synagogue in Ukraine. Swastika spray-painted outside Temple Beth Torah in Ventura, California Hundreds of stickers "Jews are poisoning our children" distributed in Queens, NY. 15 Jews in Brooklyn were attacked. February: Louis Farrakhan praises Congresswoman Omar's anti-Semitic tweets. Swastikas daubed on 96 gravestones at a Jewish cemetery in France. Hundreds of neo-Nazis march in Budapest yelling "Jews out." Kosher restaurant in Winnipeg, Canada tagged with hateful graffiti. Anti-Semitic flyers distributed in Missoula, Montana. March: "Die Jew Bitch" written on a poster of Ruth Bader Ginsburg in Brooklyn, NY. Two people in Paris, France film themselves urinating on Jewish literature. 60 Jewish gravestones were defaced with message," Heil Hitler in Fall River, Mass. April: Palestinian rapper performs anti-Semitic song at the University of North Carolina. Anti-Semitic flyers are placed in the library at University of North Carolina. Holocaust Museum in downtown St.Petersburg, Fl.vandalized. May: Carload of men in Brooklyn, NY tells Jewish teens "We love Hitler." Jewish graves in Berlin, Germany desecrated. Bomb threat made on synagogue in Kiev, Ukraine. June: 900 march in anti-Semitic "Jerusalem Day" parade in Berlin, Germany. "I hate Jews" and a swastika scrawled on NYC bus. Man threatens to commit mass killing at San Francisco Synagogue. July: Cartoon with words "Jew Swine" aired on Norwegian television. Sign in Arabic posted on Jerusalem's Western Wall, "Slaughter the Jews." Anti-Semitic flyers denying the Holocaust posted on Marblehead, Ma. Synagogue. August: White Nationalist threatens Jewish Community Center in Ohio. Holocaust memorial in Ukraine desecrated. "Death to Jews" chanted at Turkish summer camp. September: Synagogue in Duluth, MN is burned to the ground. Florida man threatens to kill Jews. Car tries to run over Jewish worshippers in New Jersey. "Six million is not enough" painted on Los Angeles Synagogue. October: Man crying"Allahu Akbar" runs into Berlin Synagoge with a knife. Bomb threats at Synagogue in Bridgeport, CT force evacuation. Jewish gravestones in Chatham,UK smashed on Yom Kippur. November: Gangs pelt Jews with eggs in Borough Park, NY. Hate flyers targeting Jews & quoting Hitler at the University of Arizona. Hitler masks go on sale in Prague. (I can't continue... too depressing for me. December was worse than all put together and what you've already read is less than a third of the happenings! "Never Again" has really become "Again & Again"!) Let's change the subject... It appears that I've missed a terrific program at the JCC39ers. MYRNA OSSIN, author of "Lists for Living, Lists for Life," lectured on how to declutter your home. (And I'm a hoarder!!!) On the subject of authors, a reminder... MARCIA JO ZERIVITZ will be at the JCC on Sunday, Jan. 19th between 2-4 p.m. at the Roth Family JCC, Maitland. She will discuss her book "Jews of Florida." This event is open to all. The cost is $5. For more information, contact ROBBY ETZKIN at robby@orlandojcc.org. Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando... On Sunday, Jan. 19th from 10 a.m. until noon, a P.J. Library Event, "BEEYOURSELFIE" will take place at the Jewish Academy of Orlando, 851 N. Maitland Avenue, Maitland. There will be story time, crafts and lots of fun! Phone the Jewish Academy for further information and to RSVP. Congregation of Reform Judaism... On Sunday, Jan. 26th there is a program just for me... I think. It's called "Drumsticks & Drumming for Prime Timers." (It's for folks 55 plus. Gee, I just made it!) An interactive drum circle and lunch and dessert! The cost is $10 for CRJ members; $13 for others. For further information. Contact BLAINE at 407-645-0444 or Bsmith@CRJOrlando.org Attention Music Lovers... Award-winning New York City jazz pianist BEN ROSENBLUM will perform an intimate concert at the Blue Bamboo Center for the Arts in Orlando, part of a nineteen performance Southeast tour through Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee. The evening will feature Rosenblum's regular touring drummer BEN ZWEIG, along with acclaimed bassist DAN CHMIELINSKI. Ben Rosenblum has been called "mature beyond his years," and an "impressive talent." Ben Rosenblum The Blue Bamboo Center for the Arts is located at 1905 Kentucky Ave, Winter Park. The date of the performance is Wednesday, Jan. 29th at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20. For more information https://bluebambooartcenter.com/event/2741294/500250785/ben-rosenblum-trio One for the road... 90-year-old David is surprised, but pleased nevertheless, when his grandsons Sam and Ollie come to visit him. During their visit, they can't help noticing how old David looks. Then Sam says to him, "Grandpa, how old are you really?" David, being a bit of a joker, replies, "Well Sam, I'm very, very old. In fact, I'm so old that when I was your age, the Dead Sea wasn't even dead, it was only sick." Seven years ago, the TaxPayers Alliance reported that in the last year, five times more Labour people were appointed to public bodies than Tories. Since then, the figures have varied, and some Conservative members or supporters have been selected to fill important posts. Nonetheless, it remains the case that, since it took office in 2010, our Party has punched beneath its weight when it comes to public appointments. One of the reasons seems to be that Tories simply dont apply in the same number as Labour supporters. To help remedy this, every week we put up links to some of the main public appointments vacancies, so that qualified Conservatives might be aware of the opportunities presented. Information Authority Non-Executive Director Parliaments Information Authority is seeking to recruit a Non-Executive Director to join them for meetings related to the Parliamentary Estate, our building information and data, and the Restoration and Renewal programme. It is expected that the successful candidate would attend up to 15 meetings per year, including quarterly Authority meetings, additional Authority meetings related to the programme or associated work and to join other associated discussions as required. The 15 days to include all preparatory work for those meetings. Time: Up to 15 meetings a year. Remuneration: 9,000 per annum plus reasonable travel expenses. Closes: 19 January Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership Chair The Greater Lincolnshire LEP works with the public, private and voluntary sectors to drive sustainable economic growth. We help our businesses increase productivity and innovation, create new employment opportunities, and develop infrastructure solutions that support this. We are the voice of the local business community, ensuring that the economic interests of the area are properly represented. We believe that Greater Lincolnshire is alive with opportunities and a truly great place to live, work and do business and is emerging as the intelligent choice for investors. Time: Around four days per month. Remuneration: None. Closes: 20 January Construction Industry Training Board Board Trustee CITB is the statutory skills body for the construction industry in Great Britain and its purpose is to make better provision for the training and maintenance of skills in the industry. CITB raises around 200m annually via a training levy, and works closely with employers and the Government to ensure national construction skills needs are met. CITB seeks to create the culture and conditions that will deliver new ways of working, embracing new technologies, creating a demand in construction for more skills, new skills and higher level skills. CITB aspires to be at the forefront of effective commissioning and grant practice and is undertaking a high-profile transformational reform programme in order to achieve this. Time: Around 16 hours per month. Remuneration: Expenses. Closes: 28 January Homes England Chair The Chair will be responsible for the proper running of the Homes England Board. They will guide and influence the Agency at a strategic level providing confident, clear and consistent leadership. They will also lead the Agencys relationship with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, who they will meet on a regular basis. The Chair will act as an ambassador for the Board and for Homes England, helping to build and develop collaborative strategic partnerships that support and promote Homes Englands core mission. The successful candidate will influence and network with key decision makers and stakeholders and explain how the organisation is transforming Time: Up to two days per week. Remuneration: 95,000 per annum. Closes: 31 January Northern Ireland Office Lead Non-Executive Director The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) is seeking to appoint a Lead Non-Executive Director to its Management Board. In addition to his/her responsibilities as a Board Member, the role of the Lead Non-Executive Director is to chair the Departments Audit and Risk Committee. The successful candidate will be expected to take up the position in May 2020. Non-Executive Directors provide a key role in the strategic and operational leadership of the Northern Ireland Office. They complement the balance of skills and experience of Government Ministers and officials by bringing independent advice, support, constructive challenge and a fresh external perspective to help shape a departments work. Time: Approx. 20 days per annum. Remuneration: 12,500 per annum plus expenses. Closes: 03 February Solent Local Enterprise Partnership Chair The Solent LEP is seeking to recruit a Chair who is an influential local leader and who can bring energy and passion to act as a champion for the areas economic success. The Chair requires sufficient standing to be able to convene the local business community and public sector stakeholders, while having the insight to oversee the development of an economic strategy and the relationship skills to work effectively with government. We want you to have a voice, make a difference and give something back to the region. The Chair must come from the private sector (Individuals can only be classed as private sector if their organisations do not appear on the Public Sector Classifications guide which can be viewed on the Office for National Statistics website). Time: Minimum one day per week on average. Remuneration: Reasonable expenses. Closes: 29 February Migration Advisory Committee Chair The Chair of the MAC is appointed by the Home Secretary to oversee the operation of the Committee. The Chair has overall accountability for the MACs work and is responsible for overseeing the operation and output of the Committee, in collaboration with the Home Office Secretariat. To date, the MAC has operated hands-on in its analysis and interaction with the Secretariat. The Chair is responsible for establishing effective working relationships within the Committee, across the Secretariat and with government departments. Time: Two days per week. Remuneration: 40,000 per annum. Closes: 17 February Tees Valley Local Enterprise Partnership Chair The Tees Valley Combined Authority and Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) are looking to recruit a new LEP Chair and new LEP members from the private sector to deliver our ambitious economic plans. The Combined Authority and LEP strive to ensure an equal and diverse membership, and through this latest round of appointments, have committed to achieve 50% female representation on the LEP board in 2020. Due to the current LEP Chair coming to the end of his term, we are looking to appoint a new LEP Chair who has a strong private sector background, experience of building effective organisations and has the motivation to fully commit to and represent the LEP on a local and national scale. Time: 6-8 days per month. Remuneration: Travel and subsistence expenses. Closes: 29 February The on Sunday endorsed Senators Amy Klobuchar and for the Democratic presidential nomination, its first time choosing two candidates. The liberal newspaper's pick comes just a few weeks before the Iowa caucuses on February 3 which officially begins the presidential primary season. The Times described Massachusetts senator Warren as the "radical" and Minnesota senator Klobuchar as the "realist" choice. "An essential debate is underway between two visions that may define the future of the (Democratic) party and perhaps the nation," the editorial board wrote. "Some in the party view President Trump as an aberration and believe that a return to a more sensible America is possible. Then there are those who believe that President Trump was the product of political and economic systems so rotten that they must be replaced." "Both the radical and the realist models warrant serious consideration," the board said. "That's why we're endorsing the most effective candidates for each approach. They are and Amy Klobuchar." Warren has consistently polled at third place, behind former vice president Joe Biden and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders -- Warren's fellow progressive. She surged during the summer but has seen her support slide since October. But The Times called her the new "standard-bearer for the Democratic left," praising her plans for structural and social reform. "Ms. Warren's path to the nomination is challenging, but not hard to envision," the board said. For Klobuchar, who is more moderate, The Times said her "lengthy tenure in the Senate and bipartisan credentials would make her a deal maker (a real one) and uniter for the wings of the party -- and perhaps the nation." "May the best woman win," The Times concluded. For the first time, The Times detailed its decision-making process on its television show "The Weekly". The episode shows the editorial board's interviews with nine leading Democratic presidential hopefuls. In addition to Warren and Klobuchar, The Times spoke with Biden, Sanders, billionaire activist Tom Steyer, entrepreneur Andrew Yang, South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg, former Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick and New Jersey senator Cory Booker, who dropped out of the race in December. The interviews were conducted on the record. In addition to showing video clips of the interviews in the "Weekly" episode, the Times Opinion section also published interview transcripts. T he UK Government said it respects "the spirit and the letter of the devolution settlement" as it presses ahead with Brexit without consent from the devolved administrations. In letters sent to Scottish and Welsh ministers addressing their refusal to give legislative consent to Boris Johnson's deal, Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay said he recognised the "significant role" played by the legislative consent process. He said the circumstances of the UK's departure from the EU are "specific, singular and exceptional" despite the Sewel Convention which says the UK Government should "not normally" press ahead without consent from devolved administrations. It comes as the newly-restored Stormont Assembly in Belfast rejected the Government's EU withdrawal plan on Monday. Stephen Barclay speaking as he opens the debate on the European Union Withdrawal Agreement Bill / AFP via Getty Images It was one of the first substantive acts of business since the assembly was restored earlier this month following the powersharing deal. MSPs at Holyrood also voted by 92 votes to 29 to reject Mr Johnson's Withdrawal Agreement Bill, earlier this month. Finance Minister Conor Murphy of Sinn Fein with Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill and party colleagues Junior Minister Declan Kearney and Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey at the Great Hall in Stormont Buildings / PA Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford has urged assembly members to vote it down when it comes to the Senedd. Under the devolution agreement, legislative consent is required for issues affecting devolved policy areas. In practice, however, the UK Government is able to still proceed against the will of the Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish administrations. Writing to Scotland's Constitutional Relations Secretary Mike Russell, Mr Barclay said the UK Government would be ready to continue to engage with the Scottish Government as the Bill moves through its remaining stages at Westminster. "I am disappointed that you do not feel in a position to recommend legislative consent to the Scottish Parliament," he wrote. Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford has urged assembly members to vote it down when it comes to the Senedd. / PA "I am also disappointed that the Scottish Parliament voted not to give consent, particularly with the Bill at such an early stage in its Parliamentary process. "Despite the distance between our positions, I know we both recognise the enduring power and value of our historic relationship and also the important role of the legislative consent process - a principle to which the UK Government remains committed." He added: "Over the years, this has helped ensure that UK-wide legislation both reflects the concerns of the Scottish Government and respects the devolution settlement. "Both through significant engagement on the Bill and the changes we have made to accommodate your concerns, we have at every stage respected the spirit and the letter of the devolution settlement." Mr Barclay added although the UK Government would be proceeding with the legislation despite not having the consent of the devolved administrations, it would "continued to work to address your concerns." Stephen Barclay speaking during the conclusion of proceedings of the European Union Withdrawal Agreement Bill / PRU/AFP via Getty Images In his letter to Welsh Brexit Minister Jeremy Miles, Mr Barclay said: "I hope that you will revise your recommendation and support this Bill. "It allows us to respect the result of the referendum, in which the people of Wales voted to leave the EU, to move on to focus on other priorities and at the same time bring the country together." Mr Russell accused the UK Government of "ripping up the rules". He said: "Throughout the Brexit process, the UK Government has ignored the wishes of the people of Scotland, votes in the Scottish Parliament and the views of the Scottish Government. "The Tories have used Brexit to launch a power grab on Holyrood and Steve Barclay is now making it clear they are ripping up the rules that are meant to protect the Scottish Parliament so they can impose a hard Brexit." He added: "By the end of tomorrow it is highly likely all three of the devolved legislatures in the UK will have refused consent to this disastrous Brexit Bill. "If Boris Johnson presses ahead it will demonstrate once again his contempt for devolution and the idea of the UK as a partnership of equals. An atmosphere of fear is being created on the issue of citizenship. This applies to both the ruling party and the opposition parties. Just because the law has been passed by Parliament, it can't be used to bulldoze people by ignoring the protests. The same applies to opposition parties which are deliberately misleading the masses', said West Bengal BJP vice president Chandra Kumar Bose Kolkata: An "atmosphere of fear" is being created by both the ruling and opposition parties over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), West Bengal BJP vice president Chandra Kumar Bose said on Monday, and urged the Centre to grant citizenship even to Muslims under the amended act. He also said the government should issue a written clarification on the issue. "An atmosphere of fear is being created on the issue of citizenship. This applies to both the ruling party and the opposition parties. Just because it (the law) has been passed by Parliament, it can't be used to bulldoze people by ignoring the protests. The same applies to opposition parties which are deliberately misleading the masses," he told PTI. Bose, a grandnephew of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have categorically noted CAA is not based on religion. However, statements made by some other leaders are creating confusion. "In order to deal with this, I think that this clause should be included (in the new law) that the CAA is not based on religion....and Muslims should also be included in it," he said. The CAA aims to provide Indian citizenship to Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis who entered India on or before 31 December, 2014 from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, having fled religious persecution in their countries. "Now what will happen to the Muslims who had come to this country before that date? There is confusion. The Centre must take steps to remove that confusion," Bose said. A few state BJP leaders PTI approached declined to comment on Bose's statements. Bose had pitched for the inclusion of Muslims in the CAA earlier also. "If CAA, 2019 is not related to any religion why are we stating Hindu, Sikh, Buddhists, Christians, Parsis, and Jains only! Why not include Muslims as well? Let's be transparent," he had tweeted last month. Don't equate India or compare it with any other nation, as it's a nation Open to all religions and communities," he had said in another tweet. West Bengal has been witnessing relentless protests over the CAA, a pan-India National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the updation of the National Population Register (NPR), with chief minister Mamata Banerjee leading the charge against the government on these livewires issues. The protests, though initially very violent, have acquired a somewhat milder tone but are continuing. Scuffles have been reported from several campuses including the prestigious Jadavpur University and Visva Bharati. Edge, the newly established advanced technology group for defence and beyond, has joined Mubadala Investment Company as the host partner of the Global Aerospace Summit 2020 one of the worlds leading thought leadership platforms for the aviation, aerospace, defence and space industries. As part of its role in the event, Edge will showcase its extensive expertise, technology leadership and R&D capabilities within the defence sector. The summit will offer a platform for the UAE to highlight its strategy of building national technological capabilities and leveraging cutting-edge solutions to achieve its ambitious vision for the future. Inaugurated in November 2019, Edge is set to position the UAE as a prominent global player in advanced technology. The company has consolidated more than 25 entities comprising a total of 12,000 employees, including subsidiaries of Emirates Defence Industries Company (EDIC), Emirates Advanced Investments Group (EAIG) and Tawazun Holding, as well as other independent organisations. Faisal Al Bannai, CEO and managing director of Edge, said: We live in an era of data, connectivity and unprecedented opportunity. Working towards a secure future, Edge is a catalyst for change, developing agile, bold and disruptive solutions for the defence, aviation and aerospace sectors. The Global Aerospace Summit will allow us to engage in dialogue with industry-leading partners and explore the ever-changing dynamics shaping future trends. We look forward to hosting the worlds aerospace leaders in Abu Dhabi. Nicholas Webb, managing director of Streamline Marketing Group (SMG), the organiser of the event, said: We are proud to welcome Edge as a new joint partner with Mubadala for the summit, an event that will truly showcase the impact of new technology on the aerospace, aviation, space and defence sectors. The 2020 edition of the Summit will particularly focus on digitalisation and data analytics, and the role of these technologies is a central theme of the event. Therefore, the expertise of entities such as Edge and Mubadala will be crucial to communicating the advances in the industry, both regionally and globally. The Global Aerospace Summit 2020 will return to Abu Dhabi for the fifth time from March 17 to 19. - TradeArabia News Service To a certain type of Republican, George Papadopoulos is a martyr a young man whose ambition exceeded his experience and led to his railroading at the hands of an intelligence community that would stop at nothing to destroy President Trumps 2016 campaign. Or at least, thats the view of the Russia saga that Papadopoulos wants to sell voters as he runs for the California House seat recently vacated by Democrat Katie Hill. Papadopoulos, a 32-year-old with no political experience to speak of, is betting that he can capitalize on the current historic levels of distrust in Americas most storied institutions to reclaim a seat that was held by Republicans for two decades until their defeat at the hands of Hill, herself a 32-year-old freshman who was recently forced to resign after nude photos of her posing with a young female staffer were published online. In an age when some not-inconsequential portion of the populace believes that the intelligence community orchestrated a coup to overturn the results of a presidential election, could Papadopoulos be right? As a political novice and newcomer to California, Papadopoulos is at a huge disadvantage relative to Republican Steve Knight, who held the seat for two terms until 2018, when he was bested by Hill and her unprecedented $6 million war chest. Papadopouloss conviction in connection with the Russia investigation and his reputation as a political climber with a penchant for self-sabotage and braggadocio should, by rights, hurt him when compared with Knights record of military service and staid political career. And even if he gets past Knight, hell still be a candidate with a lot of baggage running in a district where Democrats enjoy a significant voter-registration advantage. (The race is rated as leaning Democratic by the Cook Political Report.) And yet . . . these are not conventional times. Papadopoulos, in spite or maybe because of his many faults as a candidate on paper, has some potential to appeal to the kind of ticked-off Republican voter dying to stick a middle finger in the eye of the establishment. Story continues Papadopoulos believes that U.S. attorney John Durhams ongoing investigation into the origins of the Russia probe will build on the wrongdoings exposed by Department of Justice inspector general Michael Horowitz and, ultimately, vindicate him. Horowitz was the prelude and Durham will be the main act, he says in a lengthy phone interview. He cites Durhams recent trip to Italy with Attorney General William Barr, saying he believes that the Connecticut prosecutor is currently working to determine exactly who dispatched Maltese academic Joseph Mifsud to meet with him and why. (It was Mifsud who provided the tip about Russian dirt on Clinton, subsequently shared with Australian diplomat Alexander Downer by Papadopoulos, which touched off the Russia probe in 2016). John Durham has actually been conducting interviews with individuals like Alexander Downer, this Australian who met with me, Joseph Mifsuds lawyer, the head of Italian intelligence services, all with the purpose to understand why on earth these individuals were making contact with me and trying to learn about me before even the Washington Post knew I had joined the campaign in March of 2016, Papadopoulos says. So these are questions that Horowitz was unable to address. He simply did not have the ability to convene a grand jury and subpoena witnesses. He couldnt interview even Jim Comey or State Department officials. It is still much too early to say whether the hotly anticipated report Durham is producing will offer the vindication that Papadopoulos craves. But Durham does indeed have a broader mandate than Horowitz, whose investigation was limited to the FBIs interactions with the FISA court. In addition, Durhams willingness to publicly contradict Horowitzs conclusions about the FBIs proper predication for opening the probe, which longtime colleagues claim is out of character for the career prosecutor, suggests that Papadopouloss predictions might be in the right ballpark. But for now, the existence of the Durham investigation which has been upgraded from an administrative review to a criminal probe might provide sufficient fodder for Papadopoulos to argue to voters that he will ultimately emerge as the victim of a sweeping conspiracy to derail the Trump campaign. That message is tailor-made for the kind of disaffected Southern California Republican Papadopoulos is hoping to rally to his cause. His plan is to rely on his name ID and friendly interviews on Fox News, where he announced his candidacy, to sell himself as a candidate who will go to Washington with a singular focus: reforming the institutions that have betrayed Americans such as him, and punishing the self-righteous former intel officials who are beamed into American living rooms night after night to opine on the Trump scandal du jour. He says he wants to clean the black stain off of the FBI and the broader federal law-enforcement and intelligence communities. The message that I get from people is, We want people to be held accountable, George, he says. He claims that the people he talks with in Californias 25th district are first and foremost concerned with the state of the nations law-enforcement institutions, and that their concerns about issues such as immigration and the economy pale in comparison to this foundational worry. We understand theres not too much we can do with immigration. The wall is going up, and the laws are getting more strict. The U.S. military is strong again. But one thing we do have worries about is accountability and the trust that we as citizens hold in the institutions that we hoped would protect us, he says voters have told him. The idea that such voters might be reluctant to send to Washington, as their avenging angel, a man who spilled secrets over drinks seems not to cross his mind, and it is true that his narrative is mighty convenient for a man in his position. But theres at least a slight possibility that he could still be on to something: Republicans confidence in the FBI has fallen 22 percentage points since 2017 while Democrats opinion of the bureau has remained steady, according to an October Fox News poll. Confidence in the CIA fell by 10 percent among Democrats and Republicans alike during the same period. For years after 9/11, Republicans defended the intelligence community against civil libertarians and intervention-skeptical Democrats, attacking critics of the FBI and CIA as unpatriotic ingrates. Now, the roles are reversed. CNN viewers are inundated with analysis from James Clapper, John Brennan, and countless other former FBI and CIA officials, many of whom are called on to analyze news stories that directly involve their work under President Obama. Establishment Democrats scold Republican critics of the intelligence community as unpatriotic stooges of President Trump. In a district where Democrats outnumber Republicans, Papadopoulos must hope that some of the cynicism and distrust now evident on the right has reached the mainstream media, infecting Democrats and independents. Even CNN and some of the other mainstream media, theyre pissed about what happened, and they feel duped. I was watching Jake Tapper a week ago, and he basically called out the FBI and intel agencies, he says. No one, including Papadopoulos himself, knows for sure what the Durham report will say. But whether he will ultimately be vindicated, embarrassed, or neither is ultimately beside the point when assessing the efficacy of his sales pitch to voters. He has some name recognition, he has Fox News, and he has an establishment to rail against to a Republican electorate that has never been more wary of political insiders. That probably wont be enough. But theres a chance that it could be. More from National Review We are Punekars and we might have different opinions: Pawar (Photo Credit: PTI) Pune: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar of the NCP on Sunday said the state government might explore the possibility of allowing nightlife in Pune only after trying such a proposal in Mumbai. Stating that people of Pune might be having different views on such a plan, Pawar added that we have some important works to do than this proposal. I have read news reports about (the demand for allowing) night life in Pune. The life in Mumbai is different which never sleeps, he told reporters. Pawar, who is Guardian Minister of Pune district, said a decision to implement such a proposal in Pune will be taken after experimenting in Mumbai. We are Punekars and we might have different opinions about such a project. Meanwhile, we have important works to do than this proposal, he added. Maharashtra Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray had on Saturday said shops, malls and eateries in non-residential areas of Mumbai will have the option of remaining open 24x7 from January 26, although it will not be made compulsory. Aaditya, son of Chief Minister and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, is believed to be the prime mover behind the nightlife project. Responding to it, Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, also of the NCP, on Sunday night said the proposal will be better served if it is limited to select places in malls and on mill land in Mumbai. The state Cabinet will discuss the issue on January 22, he said. Italys right-wing opposition leader Matteo Salvini has challenged legislators to lift his Senate immunity so he could be tried for allegedly keeping migrants hostage for days aboard a coastguard rescue ship, and some did as he asked. But the only Senate immunity commission members who voted in favour of lifting his protection from prosecution were from his own anti-migrant League party, acting on his directive. Nothing is definite since the whole Senate must decide on his immunity in February. Legislators from parties in the governing coalition, unwilling to make Mr Salvini seem a martyr ahead of a crucial regional election next week, boycotted the commission vote. That left only opposition senators among commission members. They split, five votes to five, on lifting Mr Salvinis immunity. Under commission rules that was tantamount to allowing immunity to be lifted, a matter which will be decided by the full Senate. Expand Close Giuseppe Conte (Chris J Ratcliffe/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Giuseppe Conte (Chris J Ratcliffe/PA) Governing centre-left parties fear Mr Salvini pushed to have his immunity lifted to win sympathy votes for his League party in a January 26 regional election, where he hopes to triumph in a left-wing stronghold. If someone wants to put me on trial, thats OK, he tweeted on Monday. Ill look them in the eyes, and if it costs me going to jail, Ill go with my head high. Commission chairman Maurizio Gasparri, from the centre-right opposition forces, had recommended that the members vote to keep Mr Salvinis immunity, but the five League legislators did what Mr Salvini wanted. In the end a political consideration prevailed on the part of the League, Mr Gasparri told reporters after the vote. Mr Salvini insists that while interior minister he acted to safeguard Italys borders when he refused for six days to allow the coastguard ship Gregoretti to bring 131 rescued migrants ashore to Sicily in July 2019. His League party blames migrants for crime and contends there is a risk some might be terrorists. Expand Close Migrants on board a ship heading towards Italy (Santi Palacios/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Migrants on board a ship heading towards Italy (Santi Palacios/AP) Drug dealers, rapists, mafiosi should end up in jail, not ministers who defend citizens, Mr Salvini told an election rally for the Leagues regional candidate. Prosecutors in Sicily investigated him for alleged kidnapping, then decided to shelve the case, but another judicial body, the Tribunal of Ministers, which has jurisdiction over the handling of alleged crimes by government officials, wants to proceed. Coalition parties in premier Giuseppe Contes government last week unsuccessfully sought to have the vote delayed until after the election for the governorship of Emilia Romagna, a long-time left-wing stronghold. If the Democrats, a main government party, lose in Sundays vote to the right-wing League, Mr Salvini would gain momentum to resume pressing for an early national election. As interior minister in Mr Contes previous government, Mr Salvini cracked down on migrants who were rescued by the thousand in the Mediterranean Sea from human traffickers unseaworthy boats. He has insisted the decision to refuse to let the migrants disembark was shared by Mr Conte and 5-Star chief Luigi Di Maio, who was the other coalition leader in the previous 5-Star-League government. That government collapsed in August after Mr Salvini withdrew support in a thwarted bid to trigger earlier elections. Boston, MA -- For most patients, melanoma begins with a small, pigmented spot on their skin that they notice starts to change. Many primary melanomas can be cured by having this lesion removed, but melanoma can also recur and spread; an analysis of the removed lesion can offer some information on the likelihood that the cancer will come back. Today, lesions are analyzed in much the same way that they were 100 years ago. Despite advances in molecular diagnostics for other forms of cancer, analysis of a skin cancer lesion is surprisingly simplistic. The lesion's thickness -- patients with thinner melanomas tend to do better -- and microscopic features, such as ulcerations, are considered, and a T stage of 1 through 4 is assigned. In a paper published in Nature Cancer, investigators from Brigham and Women's Hospital, in collaboration with international colleagues, present a new, quantitative technique that leverages DNA sequencing to make more sophisticated and accurate predictions about which primary melanomas are likely to recur and spread. "As recently as 10 years ago the outlook for metastatic melanoma was dismal, but we now have treatments to offer patients with metastatic disease and may also be able to apply these treatments when primary disease hasn't metastasized," said corresponding author Thomas Kupper, MD, chair of the Department of Dermatology at the Brigham. "Because of the advent of these new immunotherapy treatments, it's important to have a clear idea of which patients are likely to progress so that we can tailor treatment accordingly." Immune checkpoint inhibitors, which can reawaken T cells to mount an immune response against cancer cells, have radically changed outcomes and options available to patients whose skin cancer has spread. In some patients, they can elicit dramatic responses, including long-term remission, essentially curing a patient. But identifying patients at greatest risk for disease progression has remained an unmet need. To address this, Kupper and colleagues sought to determine if certain measurable features of T cells could predict recurrence in patients whose primary melanoma had been removed and were free of disease. T1 melanomas (<1mm) rarely metastasize, so they studied T2 (1-2mm), T3 (2-4mm) and T4 (>4mm) primary melanomas. The research team faced a unique hurdle in acquiring enough samples to conduct a robust study. Unlike most tumors, which are removed by a surgeon at a hospital, skin lesions can be removed in private practices and ambulatory clinics, which means that specimens are not concentrated in hospital settings. In addition, specimens must be kept for several years after removal, delaying their availability for research studies. To collect enough samples, investigators from the Brigham collaborated with colleagues at the Melanoma Institute of Australia and the Zealand University Hospital in Denmark to share resources. The current analysis includes more than 300 samples from patients across these sites. The team compared samples from patients whose primary melanoma progressed to metastatic disease to patients whose primary melanoma did not. They used high-throughput DNA sequencing, performed by Adaptive Biotechnologies, to analyze the T cell repertoire of the tumors. The investigators found that of all variables identified, the T-cell fraction (TCFr; or proportion of cells in the lesion that were T cells) was a powerful, independent predictor of which patients would progress. Even for patients whose lesion thickness (T) was the same, TCFr was able to predict which patients were more likely to have metastatic disease. Patients with a TCFr of lower than 20 percent were more at risk of disease progression than patients with a TCFr of higher than 20 percent. For example, for patients with T3 melanoma (2-4mm thickness), five years after having their primary lesion removed, 51 percent of those with lower TCFr experienced recurrence, compared to 24 percent with higher TCFr. The test used in this work is commercially available for research use only and is not currently yet available in the clinic. The authors also note that the current study is retrospective, looking at samples from patients whose outcomes are already known. Prospective studies of patients whose outcomes are not yet known will be needed to further validate the test. If brought to the clinic, Kupper and colleagues envision that the test could strengthen current prediction models and improve patient care. "This is a simple, elegant test. It's quantitative rather than subjective, and it may be able to add value to predictions about disease progression," said Kupper. "In the future, such a test could help us tailor treatment; patients with high TCFr may further benefit from checkpoint inhibitor therapy, while low TCFr patients may need additional intervention." ### Funding for this work was provided by National Institutes of Health (R01 AI127654 and R01 CA203721, the German Research Foundation (grant no. PR 1621/1-1), the Novo Nordisk Foundation and the Lundbeck Foundation. Laboratory services were provided at no cost by Adaptive Biotechnologies. Four co-authors are or were employed by and have financial interest in Adaptive Biotechnologies. A co-author owns intellectual property associated with Adaptive Biotechnologies. Kupper serves on the Scientific Advisory Board (Hematology) of Adaptive Biotechnologies but does not own stock or receive compensation. Paper cited: Pruessmann, W et al. "Molecular analysis of primary melanoma T cells identifies patients at risk for metastatic recurrence" Nature Cancer DOI: 10.1038/s43018-019-0019-5 (Newser) Chinese President Xi Jinping recently visited Myanmar, and on the second day of his visit, some awkwardness ensued online. A statement about the visit published on the Facebook page of Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi referred to Xibut when the page was translated to English, his name came through as Mr. Shithole, the Guardian reports. It appears the problem was with Facebook's translation database (a Google translation of the page did not show the same error), and the social media company has since apologized. "We fixed a technical issue that caused incorrect translations from Burmese to English on Facebook," a rep says. "This should not have happened and we are taking steps to ensure it doesnt happen again. We sincerely apologize for the offense this has caused." story continues below Xi's name was not included in Facebook's Burmese database, so the translation program took a guess: Per Mashable, the company says the same issue would have occurred had any word starting with "xi" and "shi" in Burmese been translated. Mashable adds that Facebook has had issues with Burmese translations before, and actually removed the feature entirely from its website for a period of time starting in 2018. The Guardian notes it wasn't just Suu Kyi's statement that was affected; the headline of a local news article ended up translated as, "Dinner honors president shithole." The New York Times reports China appears to have censored information about the translation error, as no mention of it appears on Chinese news sites or social media. (Read more Xi Jinping stories.) Dakota Fanning was in one of the most talked-about movies of the year. And the actress oozed star power as she joined her Once Upon a Time in Hollywood co-stars at the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday. The 25-year-old talent teased her taut midriff in a dazzling mint green gown as she walked the red carpet in Los Angeles. Dazzling display: Dakota Fanning teased her taut midriff in a dazzling green gown as she walked the red carpet of the Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday Dakota stunned in a sheer green Valentino floor-length dress, adorned with sparkling beads. The plunging number was ruched at the chest, featuring a cutout over her taut midriff. She complemented the look with a pair silver satin Sophia Webster platform stilettos, blue jeweled chandelier earrings and matching rings. Valentino vixen: The 25-year-old stunned in a sheer green Valentino floor-length dress, adorned with sparkling beads Showing skin: The plunging number was ruched at the chest, featuring a cutout over her taut midriff. She complemented the look with a pair silver satin Sophia Webster platform stilettos Reunited: The actress took the stage with co-stars Bruce Dern and Margaret Qualley to present Once Upon a Time in Hollywood for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Gal pal: She was also seen catching up with co-star Margot Robbie inside the event The actress' makeup look was created by beauty pro Lisa Storey, who revealed her most useful product from the evening was actually a lip balm from EOS that she used on Fanning's lips and cheeks. Lisa turned to the budget-friendly EOS Super Cashmere Tinted Lip Balm to add some color to Fanning's face, revealing: 'On the cheeks I layered EOS Super Cashmere Tinted Shea Lip Balm to get a bright warm beige glow, that still kept the fresh dewy look to the skin. 'I concentrated the pigment on the outer balls of the cheeks high up closer to the eye to make them pop. I also dabbed a tiny amount above the brow for the effect. I then I generously applied the same shade to the lips, giving a high pigmented but still sheer looking soft matte tone.' Fanning took to Instagram before the awards show to show off her look as she posed in her hotel room. The actress later took the stage with co-stars Bruce Dern and Margaret Qualley to present Once Upon a Time in Hollywood for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. The movie ultimately lost out to Parasite, which beat fellow nominees Bombshell, The Irishman and Jojo Rabbit. Photo op: Fanning took to Instagram before the awards show to show off her look as she posed in her hotel room Dripping in jewels: The ensemble was finished with some blue jeweled chandelier earrings and matching rings Fanning ended up getting a shout-out in co-star Brad Pitt's acceptance speech for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role. He joked: 'I want to thank my co-stars: Leo, Margot Robbie, Margot Robbies feet, Margaret Qualley's feet, Dakota Fanning's feet.' Pitt was referring to director Quentin Tarantino's infamous affinity for the perfect foot shot, many of which have ended up in his previous movies. The actor added: 'Seriously, Quentin has separated more women from their shoes than the TSA.' New Delhi: Zee Studios will release Hacked, a stalker thriller directed by Vikram Bhatt, starring Hina Khan, Rohan Shah, Mohit Malhotra and Sid Makkar on February 7, 2020, in India. Produced by Amar Thakkar & Krishna Bhatt, the film is an edgy thriller that promises to keep you at the edge of your seat. Director Vikram Bhatt said, I have put aside the horrors of the spirit world to talk about the horrors of the real world and our vulnerable lives on the Internet is one such horror. It just takes one Hacker with enough motivation to ruin your life. Hacked is a film about a single woman and such an obsessed Hacker. My association with Zee has been an old one. Way back in 1996 it was with Zee that I had my first hit film, Fareb. Followed by some very successful albums with Zee music. I am delighted to have Zee Studios as my partner for Hacked. It's a new beginning with my old partners." Presented by Zee Studios, produced by Krishna Bhatt, Amar Thakkar and Jatin Sethi, 'Hacked' will release on February 7, 2020, in India. Nadda had faced the tough task of beating the arithmetic of the SP-BSP-RLD mahagathbandhan, and he ensured success for the BJP. Editor's note: This piece was originally published on 18 June, 2019. This has been republished in the light of JP Nadda taking over charge as full-time president of the Bharatiya Janata Party from Union home minister Amit Shah. It has long been said that the road to Delhi passes through Lucknow. Of late, this has proved to be true not just for political parties, but also for the post of the working president of the Bharatiya Janata Party. JP Naddas elevation to the post of working president is the first of its kind in the history of the BJP (such a post did not exist in the BJP's predecessor, the Jana Sangh, either). In the next six months, Nadda is likely to become the full-fledged national president of the party. Nadda belongs to Himachal Pradesh, and not Uttar Pradesh. He has risen through the ranks in the ABVP, of which he was a part during his student days in Himachal Pradesh and Bihar. He has held several important positions ranging from organisational posts at the district, state and national level; to ministerial positions at the state and central level. Before the BJP leadership decided to make him working president, his organisational skills were put to the test in Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha election. Nadda faced the tough task of beating the arithmetic of the SP-BSP-RLD mahagathbandhan. Although Narendra Modi and Amit Shah were clear about their target and strategy, somebody was needed on the ground round the clock to translate the strategy into reality. Nadda has now been rewarded for the party's performance in Uttar Pradesh, and his success in Lucknow has paved the way for one of the most powerful positions in Delhi. Earlier, BJP president Amit Shahs reputation of being a master strategist emanated from the BJP's superlative performance in Uttar Pradesh in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, and the subsequent Assembly election in the state. Shah's predecessor Rajnath Singh hails from Uttar Pradesh. Under the current arrangement, Shah continues to be party president and Nadda is the working president. Shahs term as BJP president will end in December this year. Although he can remain the party president for another term as per the party's constitution, the BJP follows a norm of "one person, one post." Since Shah is now home minister, he will have to relinquish the post of the party president. While the BJP has won a historic mandate in the parliamentary elections, elections are due in three states ruled by it Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Haryana. The Delhi Assembly elections will follow shortly thereafter. In Maharashtra, the BJP will face the tough task of carrying out seat-sharing negotiations with the Shiv Sena. The party may need Shah's proven capabilities to conduct the negotiations smoothly. Firstpost spoke to several BJP leaders, all of whom said that the party cannot afford to allow Shah to relinquish his organisational responsibilities, given his track record and the results that he has delivered. In the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-LK Advani era, the two leaders controlled strategic decisions of the party to a large extent, while also holding the posts of prime minister and home minister respectively. All organisational elections in the BJP have to conclude by the end of December, which means that organisational elections will have to be held at the block, district, state and national levels. Before that, a fresh membership drive will have to be undertaken. The leadership has set a target to increase membership by 20 percent in all the states. A meeting on the membership drive, chaired by former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, was held on Monday at the BJP headquarters. A senior party leader said that in the next six months, Nadda will be able to familiarise himself with the functioning of the party president's post. Besides the day-to-day work, he will be part of all strategy meetings and will have time to prepare himself to hit the ground running when he is appointed as party president. The decision to make Nadda the BJP's working president was made in the presence of Modi and other senior leaders. This leaves no doubt that he will be the next president. In the next six months, Nadda will get the opportunity to prove himself a worthy successor to Shah. New research has revealed that the internet business contributes 1.6bn to the Northern Ireland economy. The data, released by the Internet Association on Monday, aims to highlight the value the internet brings right across the UK economy. It's the first time the research has given a breakdown of Northern Ireland findings. It said the estimated number of internet related jobs in Northern Ireland sits at 4,370, while there is an estimated 590 businesses in the sector. The estimated value-added generated from the internet sector is 1.58bn. Belfast South is the constituency with the highest number of internet sector jobs with 630 of these roles and 120 internet businesses based there. UK executive director Daniel Dyball said: "These figures highlight the true value of the internet sector to communities in Northern Ireland. From East Antrim to Strangford, the internet is a major economic engine that is delivering benefits to the economy and society. "The positive figures and tangible benefits are only set to grow as technology develops, but the Government must ensure the UK has the right policies to allow the internet to thrive. "We are keen to work with the new government to make the UK one of the best internet economies in the world." On a UK level, the internet sector contributes approximately 400,000 jobs, 80,000 businesses, and 45bn in Gross Value Added to the UK's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). These equate to about 1.2% of UK jobs, 3.1% of UK enterprises, and 2.3% of UK GDP. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Dedek Hendry and Kharishar Kahfi (The Jakarta Post) Bengkulu/Jakarta Mon, January 20, 2020 14:00 722 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad2060346fe 1 National search-and-rescue,Bengkulu,flash-flood,bridge-collapsed Free Nine people have been confirmed dead in seven villages across Kaur regency in Bengkulu after a suspension bridge in Bungin Tambun III village in the regency collapsed on Sunday afternoon on account of a flash flood hitting the area. Apart from the casualties, the local search and rescue team also recorded that a local identified as Ipan was still unaccounted for. We launch a search and rescue mission today and tomorrow to look for the missing person. Well look for him at the mouth of the river, Bengkulu Search and Rescue Agency head Abdul Malik told The Jakarta Post on Monday. He added that the bridge collapsed might have not been the only cause of death but also the high-flowing river. Some were also reportedly hit by rocks and other materials in the water. Read also: Bengkulu villagers driven from their homes by flooding Kaur Disaster Mitigation Agency head Ujang Safiri said authorities suspected that the bridge collapsed on account of carrying heavy loads. The agency estimated around 30 people were on the bridge when it collapsed. According to information we obtained, they were spending their free time on the bridge at the time of the incident. Some of them are junior and high school students, Ujang said. According to a statement from the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), another 17 people survived the incident. A local disaster mitigation agency had set up a rescue post at the location. The agency said the flash flood was caused by extreme weather and rainfall intensity. Authorities are still estimating the financial loss caused by the incident. Damage to the ozone layer may have been responsible for half of Arctic warming over the span of 50 years, a new study claims. An international team of researchers say the findings highlight ozone-depleting substances (ODS) as an unrecognised source of 20th century Arctic climate change. ODS, a group of very potent greenhouse gases, are halogen compounds that destroy the protective layer of ozone in the upper atmosphere. They may be responsible for 50 per cent of Arctic warming and sea ice loss from 1955 to 2005 and nearly one third of global average warming during that period. Ice melting in the Novaya Zemlya archipelago (pictured) off the north coast of Russia WHAT IS THE OZONE LAYER? Ozone is a molecule comprised of three oxygen atoms that occurs naturally in small amounts. In the stratosphere, roughly seven to 25 miles above Earth's surface, the ozone layer acts like sunscreen, shielding the planet from potentially harmful ultraviolet radiation. It is produced in tropical latitudes and distributed around the globe. Closer to the ground, ozone can also be created by photochemical reactions between the sun and pollution from vehicle emissions and other sources, forming harmful smog. In the 1970s, it was recognised that chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), a type of ODS, used in refrigeration and aerosols, were destroying ozone in the stratosphere. In 1987, the Montreal Protocol was agreed, which led to the phase-out of CFCs and, recently, the first signs of recovery of the Antarctic ozone layer. At lower latitudes, the upper stratosphere is also showing clear signs of recovery, suggesting the Montreal Protocol is working well. Advertisement These compounds, in addition to causing the ozone hole over Antarctica, have long been recognised at powerful greenhouse gases, the researchers write in Nature Climate Change. While much less abundant that carbon dioxide, ODS are much more powerful greenhouse gases on a molecule-by-molecule basis.' ODS were developed in the 1920s and 1930s and used as propellants, refrigerants and solvents during the 20th century. They were being emitted into the atmosphere in substantial quantities in the late 1950s in particular. But the discovery of the ozone hole of Antarctica, which causes unique atmospheric and chemical conditions there at certain times of the year, led to the phase-out of the production. Since the Montreal Protocol, an agreement to protect the stratospheric ozone layer in 1987, ODS emissions have been curbed and the ozone layer is now in slow recovery. However, ODS are potent greenhouse gases and have long atmospheric lifetimes, so they can add substantially to the anthropogenic greenhouse effect. Corresponding author of the study Lorenzo Polvani and his colleagues at Columbia University in New York used a climate model to estimate what amount of climate warming can be attributed to ODS. The team simulated two worlds one with natural and human emissions as measured between 1955 and 2005, and another with ODCs and their ozone impacts removed to measure net impact of ODSs on the climate. Their models showed that when ODS numbers are kept fixed, forced Arctic surface warming and forced sea-ice loss are only half as large as when ODS are allowed to increase. The results suggest that continued phase-out of ODS will help mitigate Arctic warming and sea ice melt in the future. If our findings are confirmed by future studies, the role of the Montreal Protocol as a major environmental treaty will assume a new dimension,' the researchers state. ODS include chlorofluorocarbons, hydrochlorofluorocarbons and haloalkanes. ODS are generally very stable in the troposphere Earth's lowest atmospheric layer and only degrade under intense ultraviolet light in the stratosphere the second major layer of Earth's atmosphere. Once in the stratosphere, they release halogen atoms through photodissociation which catalyse the breakdown of ozone (O3) into oxygen (O2). This depletes the Earths protective ozone layer, leaving humans exposed to the suns harmful radiation. The number of prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants stood at 177 in Hungary in 2017, well above the EU average, according to a release of data by statistical agency Eurostat. In the EU there were on average 116 prisoners per 100,000 people, the lowest rate since 2000. Among member states, the highest rate was registered in Lithuania (232), followed by the Czech Republic (209), Estonia (207), Poland (196) and Latvia (193). The lowest rate was registered in Denmark (59), Sweden (57) and Finland (56). On average in the EU, 5% of prisoners were women, Eurostat says. A Colorado antique shop is facing intense backlash for selling Jim Crow Era 'White Only' signs and refusing to remove them from sale. Nicola Shanks was browsing through the aisles in Antique Corral of Cortez, Colorado, when she stumbled upon several signs and merchandise that she described as racist. Signs reading 'Public Swimming Pool--White Only','Colored Seated In Rear' and 'We Serve Colored Carry Out Only,' were placed near a bookshelf that appeared to hold 'mammy' figurines that historically display African American women as nursemaids for white children. The signs were a result of the segregationist Jim Crow laws that plagued the U.S., but mainly southern states, for over eight decades Signs reading, 'Public Swimming Pool--White Only','Colored Seated In Rear' and 'We Serve Colored Carry Out Only' were found inside the Antique Corral in Cortez, Colorado Shanks, a stay-at-home mother with an African American daughter, was taken aback by the Antique Corral's controversial stock. 'I think it was disbelief at first, that I was actually seeing these signs in a store. It's something I would expect to see at the Jim Crow museum, not in a local antique store,' she told CNN. Shanks expressed her concerns to a store employee and asked to speak with the owner, Cheryl Dean, to request the merchandise be removed. Antique Corral also appeared to sell 'mammy' figurines (pictured) that historically display African American women as nursemaids for white children After several attempts to contact Dean about the signs, she finally met the owner last week after seeing the items were still on display. During the 15-minute conversation, Dean refused to back down and said the items, which were revealed to be replicas, were not racist in nature. Dean said: 'I've lived in a small town my whole life. I don't even know what the word means. There's been black people in the store and we laugh about it. There's people that collect that stuff. It has nothing to do with racism. It's part of history, like, 'Look how far we've come".' Nicola Shanks (pictured) says the the merchandise is inappropriate because it represents racial inequality and she 'would expect to see at the Jim Crow museum, not in a local antique store' Dean also maintains that the signs and other memorabilia are historical. 'They were just a few on the floor, not posted. They are a piece of history, and do not mean it is what I believe,' Dean told The Journal. 'Are spurs banned next because they hurt a horse. Where does it stop? If you dont like my store, you dont have to come here. I dont like marijuana, so I dont go in those stores,' she added. In response, Shanks said the items are inappropriate for their ties to racial inequality and are more apt for a museum. 'I decided to speak up. There are lots of things historical, but I dont think they all need to be sold to make a profit off. These should be in a museum,' said Shanks. Shanks says Dean told her to 'go back to England where I came from' and continued to sell the items after the conversation. However, the small town confrontation soon turned into a viral controversy after photos of the signs were shared on social media. As a result of the incident going viral on social media, owner Cheryl Dean says people have threatened to burn down Antique Corral (pictured) People have begun leaving one-star reviews and disparaging messages on the store's now deleted Facebook page. Dean, who's owned the store for 15 years, says she's also received death threats and comments saying her store would be burned down. While Shanks stands firm in her condemnation of the signs, she doesn't approve of the hateful speech directed at Dean. 'I do not approve of violence or threatening people. I want to talk about it with peaceful communication and hope for a change of heart,' she said. Shanks is afraid the sudden online attention the incident attracted has distracted from a conversation in which, 'we hear each other and try to understand.' On her part, Shanks would be willing to meet with Dean again to address the issues and discuss what happened. In a Facebook post, Dean revealed the signs have since been sold. 'For all you people so worried about the 2-3 signs I sell in my store, Im happy to report they are not there anymore!!!. They all sold today with all the advertising!!!' she said. 'Thanks. Had a great day at my store. There will be no more response to any negative comments. All have been reported for harassment. Thanks again.' Antique Corral owner Cherly Dean revealed that the controversial signs had been sold because of 'all the advertising' but she would not be restocking the items However, she's not keen on restocking the items, 'because of all the stink it has caused.' This latest confrontation continues an ongoing conversation about the place of historical figures and items with overtones of racial inequality in modern society. Over the last several years, statues honoring Civil War Commander Robert E. Lee and other similar individuals have been met with opposition. Monuments and memorabilia of Robert E. Lee (pictured) have been criticized on recent years because of the General's history with slavery and the American Civil War Earlier this year, students at a Virginia law school asked the administration to remove portraits of 'controversial' figures George Washington and Robert E. Lee from their graduation diplomas. Washington's role as a slaveholder and Lee's position as a Confederate soldier have marred their reputation among individuals. The debate has also become a hot topic on university and college campuses. The University of California, Berkeley School of Law removed benefactor John Henry Boalt from four buildings and other references around campus. Boalt was removed due to his fierce support of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act. Florida State University in Tallahassee has received requests to remove Florida Supreme Court Justice B.K. Roberts from its law school. Roberts resisted integration policies and worked to deny admission of a black student into the once segregated law school. But, Weimer said, unfortunately the $1.6 million federal study by the Army Corps of Engineers has not yet occurred. The study required a 50% match, which the state originally said it would help fund and then abruptly removed the line item from the budget without explanation, she said. Tens of thousands of students looking to pursue higher studies will converge on Sharjah as the regions most popular higher education fair is set to be held at Expo Centre Sharjah from January 22 to 24, 2020. The 16th International Education Show 2020 (IES 2020) will see bigger participation of educational institutions, launch of one of the biggest higher education and career guidance events of India, besides hosting The Education Growth Summit (TEGS) and EDUTECH a platform to showcase latest innovations in smart education technology. The exhibition will feature nearly 120 educational institutions from 20 countries including universities from the US, the UK, Poland, Switzerland, Malaysia, Jordon, Lebanon, India and Cyprus. In recent years, the International Education Show has seen the biggest expansion in terms of value additions, exhibitor and visitor turnout growth. It is now the most comprehensive event of its kind that continuously focuses on improving student experience, besides offering a dynamic industry platform all the stakeholders. The aspirations of students are growing and we are in the forefront of keeping pace with their demands and requirements, said Saif Mohammed Al Midfa, CEO, Expo Centre Sharjah. For the first time, the International Education Show will be hosting one of the biggest higher education and career guidance events of India -- Career Utsav. Career Utsav, organised by Bangalore-based K2 Learning, will present more than 50 Indian universities, colleges and other educational institutions and boarding schools. Career Utsav will target the large Indian population in the country and the region, besides those from the subcontinent and others intending to pursue their higher studies in one of the fastest growing major economies in the world. The IES 2020 will also host the second edition of The Education Growth Summit, which will see the participation of government policy makers, directors, department heads and faculty members of several key institutions, and industry executives. The summit will be held in association with K2 Learning. The First edition of Edu-Tech, a special platform that will bring together some of top companies operating in the educational technology sector, will also be held alongside the IES 2020. Edu-Tech will showcase the latest in smart education technology and resources. For students, the IES 2020 will be the only place to meet scores of higher education experts from across the world at a single place, and gain insights into study programmes, fees and visa regulations. For the stakeholders of the industry, it will be an event that will better help them understand demand dynamics, open new business channels and attract investor attention, added Sultan Shattaf, Director, Sales and Marketing, Expo Centre Sharjah. The phenomenal growth of IES can be attributed to the continuous expansion of the education sector in the country due to strong government support, increase in use of ICT, rising student population, establishment of new schools, and rising number of students opting for higher education, among others. The show will feature a wide range of under-graduate, post-graduate and vocational courses, recruitment advisors from leading national and international universities, psychometric assessments, career counselling sessions, workshops and scholarship and internship opportunities. Visitors can expect to listen to Indian author, ex-banker and IIT-IIM Alumnus Chetan Bhagat as Keynote Speaker, who will be holding an exclusive session for parents on Friday, January 24 at 4 pm Organised by Expo Centre Sharjah in association with the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the IES 2020 is supported the UAE Ministry of Education and Sharjah Private Education Authority. The show is open to students, parents and general public from 9 am to 2 pm and 5 pm to 9 pm on Wednesday and Thursday, while the timings of Friday will be from 3 pm to 9 pm. Entry and parking are free. -- Tradearabia News Service Credit: RUDN University A chemist from RUDN University has developed a method for analyzing the products of binding of aldehydes with the amino acid cysteine in malt and beerthese substances can adversely affect taste during storage. The technique can be used for the routine detection of these substances, which will help prove or disprove their effect on the taste of beer. The results are published in the Journal of Chromatography A. The flavor of beer becomes less saturated over time after bottling. The new study advances the hypothesis that the deterioration in taste is associated with the reaction products between aldehydes and the amino acid cysteine, which are found in beer raw materials and beer itself. To confirm or refute this idea, it is necessary to determine how much of these substances samples of beer with "good" and "bad" taste contain. If there are less reaction products of cysteine and aldehydes in "bad" beer, it means that these two substances are the ones that spoil the taste. However, reliable methods for detecting the reaction products of aldehydes and cysteine did not exist. Professor Eric Van der Eycken of RUDN University, together with colleagues from Belgium and the Netherlands, developed a chemical analysis technique that solves this problem. To develop detection methods, the chemists first synthesized seven standard aldehyde samples considered to be markers of beer aging. The researchers studied their structure using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), as well as mass spectrometry. Then the samples were checked for impurities using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). With these samples, the chemists developed a method for their simultaneous identification using liquid chromatography with a mass spectrometric detector (HPLC-MS). This is a selective method that can detect several substances simultaneously among a large number of other compounds, and at a very low concentration, up to 0.4 micrograms per liter. To valdiate the method, they experimentally confirmed its linearity, sensitivity, convergence, and correctness using samples of pure substances. They proved that the method obtains reliable analysis results in the range from 0.4 to 1000 micrograms per liter. In order to achieve that, the researchers used a chromatographic apparatus to study samples of two varieties of pilsner malt and two varieties of beer: fermented, prepared in a pilot brewery at the Belgian Catholic University of Leuven, and one of the most popular commercial varieties. As a result of the experiment, the researchers found products of the interaction of seven aldehydes with cysteine in the malt samples, which were not detected in significant concentrations in beer samples; and while they were found in some samples, it was at the limit of detection, which means that their concentration is below the measurement range of the measuring devices. The fact that the products of the interaction of aldehydes with cysteine were found in the malt samples in significant concentrations, about 500 micrograms per liter, and some of them in the beer samples as well (in very low concentrations, of about 4.2 micrograms per liter), shows that the technique can be used to test the hypothesis about the effect of these substances on the taste of beer. The technique proposed by the RUDN University chemists can be used for routine detection of these substances in beer and raw materials for beer, which will finally establish if these substances have anything to do with deterioration in the taste of beer. Explore further Brewing beer that tastes fresh longer More information: P. Bustillo Trueba et al. Validation of an ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method for the quantification of cysteinylated aldehydes and application to malt and beer samples, Journal of Chromatography A (2019). P. Bustillo Trueba et al. Validation of an ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method for the quantification of cysteinylated aldehydes and application to malt and beer samples,(2019). DOI: 10.1016/j.chroma.2019.460467 The 2020 Railway Forum in Riyadh will be addressed by ministers, leaders and influential figures in the transport industry from various countries around the world. The forum, under the patronage of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, will be organised by the Saudi Railway Company (SAR), in cooperation with the Ministry of Transport, on January 28 and 29 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Riyadh. It seeks to showcase the latest developments in the railways and transportation industry, while expanding the horizon of cooperation between international companies. The forum also aims to shed light on the development and growth of the railway sector in the Kingdom, attract pioneering investments and local and global partnerships. It hopes to place the railways sector in the kingdom on the global map, by attracting pioneers in the transportation sector, and creating an international platform to present new concepts and exchange successful experiences. Ammar bin Ahmed Al Nahdi, Director General of Corporate Communications and Marketing at SAR, said that the forum will witness - on the first day - a discussion session titled Towards 2030, in which Saudi Minister of Transport Engineer Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser will take part with a group of transport ministers from around the world. It will be followed by the participation of CEOs from the most prominent international companies in another session. The second day will include three presentations, the first of which will be related to Safety and security in the railway industry. The discussion sessions will also include topics such as: Global trade paths to expand business; Infrastructure development; Expansion activities in local markets; Increased demographic pressures and urban expansion; Organising future development; Investing in pipeline projects; Railways transport and logistics; Competitive advantage; Logistical advantages of railways; Multimodal supply chain; Future of railways; Hyperloop system; Technological innovation; Rail operations technologies; Smart rail, improving customer experience; Safe Digital wallet, and Governance and investment. Al-Nahdi thanked the group of partners who have sponsored the event, including the Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden), the Etihad Rail Company, Sabic, Bahri Company, the Public Authority for Transport and others. TradeArabia News Service York Region hospitals are reporting a surge in influenza-related cases, but the local public health department says residents shouldnt be overly concerned about the recent mystery illness reported in China. Social media pages have lit up the past week with worried parents wondering about all the sickness lately, and whether theres a chance the Wuhan flu has made its way here. However, public health officials say we should all breathe easier. Its normal this time of year to see an increase in influenza, says Andrea Main, the regions manager of control of infectious diseases. The flu season is well underway, says Main, but theres little indication York Region residents, or Canadians for that matter, are at risk of contracting the viral pneumonia making headlines on the other side of the world. On Dec. 31, Chinese health authorities issued a public statement that they had identified a cluster of respiratory illness associated with a local live seafood market, in Wuhan China. Symptoms include fever and new or worsening cough or shortness of breath. The seafood market was closed Jan. 1. Nine days later, Chinese authorities reported the cluster likely came from a novel coronavirus from an animal source. The coronavirus was diagnosed in 41 cases and in most cases, patients either worked at or frequently visited the seafood market. It has since killed three people, and cases have now been reported in Japan, South Korea and Thailand. No suspected cases have occurred in Canada, Main said. The difference between this illness outbreak and the SARS outbreak of 2003 is the speed with which China has responded, quickly identifying the virus and taking rapid measures to contain it, said Canadas Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam. Importantly, based on information received from public health authorities, there is no clear evidence that the virus passes easily between people, although experts and officials are continuing to investigate, said a statement released by York Region Public Health. While the local risk remains low, York Region public health is closely monitoring the Wuhan outbreak and is receiving regular updates from the Ministry of Health, the statement said. Travellers are advised to avoid live animal markets or farms, to take general health precautions while travelling, and to let their doctor know if they become sick while abroad. The viral pneumonia outbreak in China is a different disease from influenza, Main said, and it isnt connected to the increase in flu cases currently being reported in York Region although the symptoms are similar: fever, cough and respiratory symptoms. As of Jan. 15, the region has 504 lab-confirmed cases of influenza. Those are just the cases that have been tested, Main said. While its too early to tell if it has peaked, health officials expect the flu season to spike sometime between late December and early February. Across Canada, the most commonly circulating strain is Influenza A H3N2, but Canadas public health agency is also reporting an unusual rise in Influenza B cases with pediatric hospitalizations higher than in the previous five seasons. The B strain which usually doesnt spike until February impacts young children more severely, Tam said. A and B strains dont differ in terms of symptoms, prevention or treatment. Aurora mom Christine DeForest is concerned about the spike. I have a weakened immune system, so its scaring the crap out of me sending my kids to school, she said. I just hope people will keep their kids home and stay home from work if they show symptoms of this flu. Their family members may be able to fight it off, but lots of kids at school have asthma and other ailments that can make it much more severe for them. Kids also bring the germs home where people with weakened immune systems live and cant fight it off. The best protection against the flu remains immunization, Main said. Its not too late, she said, and it takes up to two weeks for the vaccine to fully protect you. Exact estimates of how effective this years flu shot has been wont be known until March, she added. So far it appears it was not a perfect match for one of the strains, but a better match for the other two circulating strains. - HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF Wash your hands well, and often, with soap and warm water. If unavailable, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Dont forget to clean under your fingernails, and wash your wrists and between your fingers. Cough or sneeze into the corner of your elbow/sleeve or cover your mouth and nose with a tissue, then throw the tissue out immediately. (Wash your hands afterwards.) Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Avoid large crowds and, whenever possible, stay home when you are sick to avoid spreading your illness. A woman fatally stabbed her partner after he assaulted her parents during a fight over loud music in their Perth home, her trial has been told. Tracey Bridgewater, 41, is charged with the manslaughter of Nicholas Josephs, 44, in Hamilton Hill in September 2018. Prosecutor James Mactaggart told a WA Supreme Court jury on Monday the couple had enjoyed a night out with her parents, who were visiting from the UK and meeting Josephs for the first time, when the argument erupted. Tracey Elizabeth Diane Bridgewater is facing manslaughter charges over the stabbing death of her partner at their Hamilton Hill home in September 2018 Bridgewater and her father told the deceased to turn down loud music he was playing though his mobile phone on a portable speaker, but he continued to blare it. Mr Mactaggart said what occurred next was not entirely clear, but it was the state's case Josephs pushed Bridgewater then punched her father in the face, fracturing an eye socket, after the older man grabbed his shirt. Bridgewater was telling Josephs to leave when her mother intervened. He pulled her to the ground by her hair and 'may have kicked her', the prosecutor said. Notwithstanding anything the deceased had done, Bridgewater did not call police or seek help from neighbours and instead 'drastically escalated an already tense situation' by deliberately stabbing Mr Josephs in the chest with a knife she had grabbed from the kitchen. That could not be excused by law, Mr Mactaggart said. 'The accused acted in a way that massively escalated what was taking place,' he said. The blade penetrated Mr Josephs' vital organs, leaving a 10-11cm deep wound. The prosecutor said Bridgewater 'knew precisely what she had done', telling police and paramedics she had stabbed her boyfriend once in self defence. When Boris Johnson brought back his Brexit bill to this new majority-Conservative parliament, the debate shifted from whether the UK would leave the European Union to what kind of country we will become when we do. No longer having to court the votes of moderate MPs, Johnson is now trying to strip away the commitments he made. Gone are the pledges not to water down workers rights and environmental standards. Gone is the commitment to reunite unaccompanied refugee children with their families. Gone is Johnsons promise to automatically guarantee in law the rights of EU citizens living in the UK. Each of those U-turns by Johnson and his Conservative Party show that their vision for our country is mean and heartless. It couldnt be more different from the Liberal Democrat vision of a United Kingdom that is open, compassionate and fair. Thats why Liberal Democrat MPs fought hard to restore those protections in the House of Commons, and Liberal Democrat peers are continuing that fight now the Withdrawal Agreement Bill is passing through the House of Lords. And in the House of Lords we can win. An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Show all 20 1 /20 An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Maria, 31, holds her daughters, Elena, two, and baby Ioana, weeks old, in her London home A few months after Britain voted to leave the European Union, Maria was told her to go back to her native Romania whilst in hospital by an elderly English woman. You are a foreigner, your place is not here recalls Maria, who was stunned Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Maria and her husband Adi, 37, take their daughters for a walk in Hampstead Heath near their home The couple are preparing to leave Britain later this year with their two children, fed up with what Maria says is xenophobia and the rising cost of living in London Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Elena holds up British passports belonging to her and her sister. Both children have dual citizenship, but their parents do not want to apply for this despite having permanent residency in Britain Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Maria holds daughter Ioana, who is less than a week old, while Elena wipes a table Maria had never faced direct abuse over her nationality in her 10 years in the country until that moment at the hospital Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Adi spends time with his daughters Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Adi plays hide and seek with his daughter Elena Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Food is served Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Adi takes his daughter, Elena, to nursery Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Adi's sister, Nicoleta, 34, carries her niece Elena in a restaurant after a trip out Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Adi and Maria cook together at their home Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Adi holds his baby daughter, Ioana Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Adi and wife Maria take their daughters for a walk in Hampstead Heath Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Berwyn, a neighbour of the couple, who moved to the UK in the 1980s from Australia, says goodbye to Maria after a visit at her home. Berwyn has dual citizenship - Australian and Irish as she lived in Ireland for a few years before moving to Britain. She calls the family her 'dearest Christian Romanian friends' Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Religious pictures including a portrait of Arsenie Boca, a Romanian Orthodox monk, theologian and artist (top), hang on the wall at the home of Adi and Maria Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Maria dries Elena after giving her a bath after nursery Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Maria holds her baby daughter Ioana Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Adi works with his colleague Alexandru, who is also from Romania, for a removal company Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Maria holds her daughter Elena Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Neighbour, Berwyn, holds baby Ioana Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Adi and Maria, along with their daughters, leave St Andrews church in Kingsbury after attending a service Reuters Take child refugees. They have been forced to flee their homes and separated from their families. They are some of the most vulnerable people in the world, and we must do all we can to protect them. The UK has a proud history of providing sanctuary to those in need, but now the Conservative government is turning its back on child refugees and failing to live up to our obligations to them. Liberal Democrats have been fighting for these rights for years. Along with the principled and tireless peer Lord Dubs, who came to the UK as a refugee himself in 1939, we have tabled an amendment that would protect the rights of lone refugee children to be reunited with their family members after Brexit. We have also tabled a separate amendment to guarantee the rights of the 3.6 million EU citizens living in the UK. These are our friends and our families, our carers and our colleagues, and Johnson made them a promise both during the 2016 referendum campaign and when he moved into Downing Street last summer. He promised that their rights to continue living and working in the UK after Brexit would be automatically guaranteed in law. But Johnson has broken that promise. Instead, the Tory government is forcing EU citizens to apply for settled status by the end of June 2021. Those who dont get it by that arbitrary deadline will be left effectively undocumented and exposed to the Conservatives hostile environment. This means tens or even hundreds of thousands of EU citizens will be at risk of eviction, detention or even deportation despite recent government denials. It runs the risk of another Windrush scandal waiting to happen, but on an even bigger scale. That is why Liberal Democrats have tabled an amendment to stand up for EU citizens and hold Johnson to account to what he promised: to guarantee their rights automatically in law. Again, with cross-party support we can win. Liberal Democrats have always taken our role of scrutinising government legislation very seriously, working hard to protect individual rights and freedoms and standing firm for the values we believe in. Even with the limited time available, our approach to the Withdrawal Agreement Bill is no different. Dick Newby is leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords Eight male residents were killed at a fire in a home for disabled people in the Czech Republic on Sunday morning, while 30 other people were injured. The fire broke shortly before 5 a.m. out at the institution in the city of Vejprty, 60 miles northwest of the capital Prague on the border with Germany, and killed eight people, most likely due to smoke inhalation. Some 30 people were injured, with three still in hospital. Two of them are in critical condition, the BBC reported. The building housed 38 people in total; 35 predominantly male residents with mental disorders and other impairments, and three staff members. The cause of the fire has not yet been established, but it started in one room and spread to two others, according to The New York Times, which based its information on the Czech newspaper Dennik N. Firefighters from nearby Germany offered help but rescue operations were hindered by bad weather. No helicopters could be deployed to transport the patients to nearby hospitals. Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis who visited the site said the government is doing whatever it can to help. Visiting the site, Czech Prime Minister called the fire a huge tragedy. Im here to find out how the government can help and what to do to prevent such a tragedy in the future, Babis said, according to The Associated Press. Vejprty Mayor Jitka Gavdunova said, It is, for our city, a great tragedy because clients of the home are part of our city, the BBC reported. The mayor added that safety standards were above legal standards but there were no sprinklers installed in the area where the fire broke out. She also said that in the past people had attempted to set fire to the building before but were unsuccessful. However, she said the home was understaffed. Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Jana Malacova said she would adapt the law to counter the understaffing problem. We want there to be a maximum of 13 clients per carer. I think it will help a lot in such critical situations, she said, according to the BBC. Malacova also promised the government will help to rebuild the facility. The proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) applications in recent years and across different industries has greatly disrupted production and labour processes. AI has the potential to create large productivity gains, specially in low-skilled sectors, which could improve the work and lives of people in developing regions across Southeast Asia. Compared to the main AI global hubs the US and China ASEAN states still lag markedly behind. However, Singapore has shown strong commitment to the development of the technology and is currently at the forefront of countries in the region in AI implementation. In November, the city-state launched its National Artificial Intelligence Strategy and committed over S$500 million (c. US$370 million) to fund activities related to AI under the Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2020 Plan. Malaysia and Vietnam are also showing early signs of AI development, although adoption rates remain low. Many of these countries are aware of the potential the technology has to offer but lack the critical infrastructure to properly capitalise on the benefits. Dr Chris Marshall, associate VP for data, analytics and AI, at IDC, explains that in the region, with the exception of a few digital native enterprises that have embedded analytics and AI into their business models from the start, only a handful have really deployed these technologies at scale throughout the enterprise. There are many reasons for this, such as a lack of skilled resources, lack of data, lack of coordination between key stakeholders, lack of imagination as to what the technology can do. But perhaps the most important issue is the need for a long term perspective and commitment to analytics and AI, he says. Businesses need to manage expectations at every level to achieve success, he says. They must also show patience, embedding the technology into business processes to achieve real business value. This is undoubtedly an area where CIOs can offer their expertise and knowledge. Here, we take a look at the impact artificial intelligence is having across seven industries in ASEAN countries. Financial services Achim Granzen, principal analyst at Forrester, says that AI-infused process automation in the financial services industry (FSI) will streamline customer facing processes, reducing cost and providing a better customer experience. This, continues Granzen, is crucial for traditional FSI players to compete with new digital banks who have adopted AI earlier. Singapore is leading the technological charge in this arena, but the rest of the ASEAN bloc has been slow on the uptake when it comes to some of the more advanced uses for artificial intelligence. Financial institutions throughout America and China have already started to develop AI that can be applied to functions such as credit scoring and investment predictions. Some argue that emerging technology on that level is best left to the fintech startups that the region is continuing to attract. Singapore based startup CashShield, for example, uses real-time high-frequency algorithms with biometric analysis and pattern recognition to help companies manage the risk of fraudulent accounts and payments. Claiming to be the worlds only fully automated fraud management system, its algorithm trains itself in real time, functioning without the need for any data scientist or fraud analyst. However, not every country in the bloc is as technological savvy as Singapore, with businesses elsewhere needing to accelerate basic digitisation efforts; streamlining their data collection, management and analytics processes before they can start feeding the information into complex AI algorithms. Ultimately, most of the AI developments in financial services will emerge from fintech startups. Its up to the established institutions throughout the region to keep up with these developments or risk losing their business to digital disruption. Travel In the view of James Chua, general manager of Singaporean travel agency Global Travel, the role of AI has evolved dramatically within the travel industry over the past decade. AI is now used in a myriad of applications to increase efficiencies and save resources from automated chatbots to product recommendations and cyber defence, he says. Cybersecurity, in particular, provides the most promising use case of enterprise AI in the real world. A rise in data breaches incidents in the region has evidenced Southeast Asias weakness in the areas of cybersecurity and data compliance. Major breaches in Singapore Airlines and Malaysias Malindo Air show that the travel industry is particularly vulnerable. Global Travel has deployed artificial intelligence to protect confidential traveler information, including passport data and travel plans. Using Darktraces cyber AI they are now able to identify and stop cyberthreats on a 24/7 basis. The technology is able to neutralise attacks across the enterprise before they can cause damage. Chua sees the potential of AI in the travel industry so great that he goes as far as to claim that AI is no longer a nice to have, but a necessity for the travel industry in fighting back against tomorrows adversary. Transport Ride-hailing startup Grab and the National University of Singapore (NUS) launched an AI laboratory in 2018, aiming to develop solutions that can transform urban transport and prepare for smarter cities in Southeast Asia. The Grab-NUS AI Lab, which has been set up with a joint initial investment of S$6 million (US$4.5 million), is Grabs first major AI laboratory and NUSs first AI laboratory with a commercial partner. Through the use of AI algorithms, Grab is using data from its rides to build richer maps, understand passengers preferences, model of traffic conditions, analyse driver behaviour and detect real-time traffic events. By combining this data with NUSs AI expertise, the Grab-NUS AI Lab will map out traffic patterns and identify ways to improve mobility and livability in cities across Southeast Asia. Healthcare Healthcare in Southeast Asia varies by country but typically combines state-funded care with private, insurance-led options. One of the biggest healthcare insurers in Singapore, NTUC Income, is using IBM Watson to digitally process almost 15,000 monthly claims. Private medical group Parkway Pantai has been using AI since November 2018 to generate accurate hospital bill estimates. Using AI and machine learning algorithms from Singapore-based startup UCARE.AI, four of its hospitals are now able to generate personalised bill estimates based on parameters such as the patients medical condition and medical practices. It also takes into account the patients current age, revisit frequency and existing conditions like high blood pressure or diabetes. The uses of AI have also been embraced by the government in Singapore, with one state agency using the technology to analyse patient data that has been inputted from a number of different healthcare systems. The system should help to improve diagnostic outcomes and generate greater insights into potential treatments. Healthtech startups are also flourishing in Malaysia, with many of these emerging companies developing AI-based solutions to help improve the access people have to healthcare professionals. Getdoc, Door2Door Doctor, Teleme, HomeGP, Healthmetrics, and BookDoc are all Malaysian healthcare startups that use AI algorithms to help predict your medical needs, customise your healthcare plan and increase your access to medical advice. However, similar to the financial services industry, the majority of healthcare institutions throughout Southeast Asia still rely heavily on legacy systems and are often unable to cope with the data demands needed to successfully implement AI technologies. Education AI chatbots and classroom assistants are proving useful in the education sector, removing some of the pressure from teachers and allowing them to focus more on the job of teaching and less on monotonous and repetitive tasks. In the field of AI analytics, universities in Singapore and Malaysia have started to experiment with predictive algorithms designed to reduce the number of school dropouts by allowing for earlier interventions. For some countries in the ASEAN bloc though, where there is variability in IT infrastructure quality, improving internet access must come before a move to AI. Retail Retail is big business in Southeast Asia. Ecommerce alone is expected to reach US$53 billion by 2023. Like their counterparts in Europe and the US, both online and offline retailers in ASEAN are keen to move with the times and offer their customers a new shopping experience that reflects the digital age we now live in. A growing number of consumers are turning to their phones for help, instead of seeking out a real person. Smart phones now come fully equipped with AI assistants and every retailer from Starbucks to supermarkets now use chatbots to engage with their customers. In retail, AI will be all about enhancing customer experience and shopping experiences, whether its browsing, selecting, or paying for goods, says Granzen. Poorly implemented, however, there is a risk of backfiring, when there is no value to the shopper besides the novelty, or their privacy is threatened. Gartner says that retailers require AI capabilities as a foundation of digital business strategy and execution to remain viable in the market. Within the retail sector, AI can personalise purchasing recommendations for customers whilst helping retailers to optimise pricing and discount strategies, alongside demand forecasting. For example, Lazada (a Singaporean online marketplace that is Southeast Asias answer to Amazon) uses an AI driven app that takes away the emphasis from pre-set categories and instead uses machine-learning algorithms to show off products that the user might be interested in based on purchase and viewing history. HR AI-powered tools can help enhance HR functions such as recruiting, payroll or reporting. In Singapore, startup Evie.ai has created Evie, an AI recruitment coordinator that helps with interview scheduling and coordination while keeping the human touch. Among the tasks that Evie is able to do is handling the back and forth of negotiations, follow up with candidates, send out invitations and book meeting rooms. Evie is based in the cloud and only requires Google or Office 365 to operate. Beyond recruitment, AI-enabled legal services could develop an AI engine to automatically review legal contracts and highlight any issues based on a businesss legal policies and in this way ensuring consistency. It could also manage contract approvals and escalation which would get the right tasks to the right people automatically. A trial for a German-Afghan national suspected of spying for Iranian intelligence is set to commence on January 20 in the city of Koblenz in Germany. Identified as Abdul Hamid S. according to Germany privacy laws, the 51-year-old former interpreter and adviser for the German armed forces, or Bundeswehr, was arrested a year ago in the Rhineland region of western Germany and accused of providing information to Iranian intelligence for many years. Prosecutors specifically accuse him of passing on 19 classified documents to Iranian intelligence. Iran has denied ever having contact with the former military consultant. The suspects 40-year-old spouse has been charged as an accessory but has not been detained. A spokesman for Irans Foreign Ministry has told German broadcaster Deutsche Welle that the suspects arrest was an attempt by enemies of Iran to sabotage the Islamic republics relations with the EU. German magazine Der Spiegel has reported that he had access to sensitive information, including possible details of troop deployments in Afghanistan, and that he worked for Irans MOIS intelligence agency. The Bundeswehr is known to use native speakers to accompany troops on patrol in Afghanistan to facilitate communication with locals. News agency dpa reported that the trial will be conducted behind closed doors and is scheduled to last until March 31. Based on reporting by Deutsche Welle, dpa, and Der Spiegel By Tessa Vikander and Moira Warburton VANCOUVER/TORONTO (Reuters) - Extraditing Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou to the United States based on American sanctions against Iran would set a dangerous precedent and could even undermine Canada's policy towards Iran, Meng's lawyers argued in court documents released on Friday. Meng, 47, was arrested at the Vancouver International Airport on Dec By Tessa Vikander and Moira Warburton VANCOUVER/TORONTO (Reuters) - Extraditing Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou to the United States based on American sanctions against Iran would set a dangerous precedent and could even undermine Canada's policy towards Iran, Meng's lawyers argued in court documents released on Friday. Meng, 47, was arrested at the Vancouver International Airport on Dec. 1, 2018, at the request of the United States, where she is charged with bank fraud and accused of misleading the bank HSBC about Huawei Technologies' business in Iran. Meng has said she is innocent and is fighting extradition. Canada's attorney general said in submissions released last week that Meng was being extradited because she fraudulently mislead HSBC, and that U.S. sanctions should be taken into account as contributing to the legal environment in which the fraud took place - not as a reason for the extradition. Meng's team called the attorney general's argument "circular," arguing that because prosecutors relied on U.S. sanctions to establish a risk of economic deprivation in both countries, "American law becomes Canadian law. Double criminality becomes single criminality." They wrote that allowing the attorney general to use U.S. sanctions as a reason to extradite set a dangerous precedent, because it would "interfere with the (Canadian) government's prerogative in foreign affairs ... In a democratic society, important public policy choices are best made in the elected legislative assembly rather than by judicial actors." Meng appeared in court on Friday for the first time in several months, for a case management conference to schedule hearings addressing the Canadian attorney general's claims of privilege on releasing some documents requested by Meng's legal team. Wearing dark slacks and sipping from a pink thermos, Meng appeared calm but serious, refraining from waving to journalists as she has while entering the courtroom on other occasions. The first phase of the extradition hearing will begin on Monday in a federal court in Vancouver. (Reporting by Moira Warburton in Toronto and Tessa Vikander in Vancouver; Editing by Marguerita Choy) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Dreamstime/TNS, Dreamstime/TNS / TNS The Texas Rangers have been called in to assist in the investigation of a woman found dead Sunday behind a home near Newton. The body of the 32-year-old woman was found in an outbuilding behind a home on FM 2626 just north of Newton, according to a news release from the Newton County Sheriffs Office. [January 20, 2020] Agency Veteran Launches The Tease: A Digital Media Brand Aimed To Disrupt The Beauty & Salon Professional Industry LOS ANGELES, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Ideas That Evoke, a digital media company with offices in Chicago and Los Angeles, has brought its newest digital brand to the forefront: The Tease , an inclusive, multi-channel destination dedicated to premium coverage of hair, beauty and culture. Kelly Ehlers , female founder behind Ideas That Evoke and The Evoke Agency , channeled her insider knowledge of the digital marketing, beauty and salon professional industries to unveil this new take on trade media. Ehlers' digital agency works with national and international clients and has been named one of Inc 500 and Inc 5000 Fastest Growing Companies in the U.S. and Wisconsin for four years running, as well as one of the Top Entrepreneurial Companies in America by Entrepreneur Magazine two years running. With contributions to Forbes and AdAge Councils, Ehlers has become an icon in thought leadership and best practices for marketers around the country, as well as one of the most well-known marketers in the beauty and salon professional space. "Growing up quite literally in the back of my mother's small-town-Iowa salon, you could say I got my second education in the professional beauty industry," says Ehlers. "Since then, I've spent my career working with many of the world's top beauty and salon professional brands. There, I noticed an opportunity for a media brand to come to the forefront and talk to today's pros and highly educated consumers in a different way. After discovering a void in the crossover of trade and professional content, Ehlers saw an incredible opportunity to fill the need herself. "We forget that salon and beauty professionals are consumers, too," added Ehlers. "This ongoing relationship is being ignored, and The Tease solves for that need." This brand-agnostic platform informed by insight, curiosity and razor sharp commentary was designed by Ehlers to keep multiple subsects of the beauty sphere in-the-know and on-trend with smart, candid reporting and exclusive editorial content (such as articles, videos and podcasts). "This publication offers content as engaging and upbeat as consumer-facing channels at a much higher caliber of detail and education," says Ehlers. "The Tease bypasses the basics to give industry-familiar readers info that is more substantial and interesting and extends itself beyond the trends to talk to the hair-and-beauty-obsessed about things they actually ought to be obsessed with." With The Tease's coverage of industry news , beauty trends and more, Ehlers will revive a genuine conversation about beauty. This new era of content is hitting the digital presses and encouraging all tiers of the beauty community to learn, share and engage together. With this shift in beauty media, pros and prosumers will be informed, enlightened and given a smile as they scroll. For more information on The Tease, including editorial and strategic partnerships, please email [email protected] . About Ideas That Evoke Ideas That Evoke a social media, digital and PR agency located in Madison, WI was recently named the #325th Fastest Growing Private Company in America and 4th Fastest Growing Company in WI by Inc. Magazine's annual Inc. 5000 List. The agency, founded by Kelly Ehlers in 2009, is rooted in solving business challenges through the innovative use of social media, influencer marketing and disruptive creative. To learn more about Ideas That Evoke, visit http://www.IdeasThatEvoke.com, follow us on Instagram and Twitter or like us on Facebook. Contact: Kelly Ehlers [email protected] 480.296.9301 View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/agency-veteran-launches-the-tease-a-digital-media-brand-aimed-to-disrupt-the-beauty--salon-professional-industry-300989807.html SOURCE The Tease [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] In a rather bizarre incident, Facebook issued an apology for translating Chinese President Xi Jinping's name from Burmese to English to 'Mr. Sh*thole' on its platform for some users. If you've ever scrolled Facebook, you will notice the 'translate' tab next to anything that's not in your preferred or chosen language. Unfortunately though, Facebook's big gaffe came to light when the Chinese President's name was translated to an obscenity instead of his actual name. Reuters The Chinese President, over the weekend, met Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi to enhance bilateral relationships between the two countries. The post, originally written in Burmese, Facebooks translation into English referred to Mr Xi as Mr Sh*thole, six separate times. Reuters Mr Sh*thole, President of China, arrives at 4pm, the translation stated. Consultant Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is friendly. And the president of China, Mr Sh*thole, signed a guest record of the house of representatives. it continued with the very apparent error! Facebook gave out statement declaring it was a technical glitch form their end on an account of the mistranslation. "We fixed a technical issue that caused incorrect translations from Burmese to English on Facebook,". This should not have happened and we are taking steps to ensure it doesn't happen again." said Andy Stone, a spokesman for Facebook, while making a statement. Burmese is the official language of Myanmar and it's spoken by two-thirds of the population there. This issue is not a reflection of the way our products should work and we sincerely apologise for the offence this has caused. Andy Stone further added. Reuters Social networking in general relies heavily on automated moderators to fix content that isn't right, as well as taking feedback and reports from its users. The issue wasn't fixed urgently but took several hours to be resolved. Facebook is now carrying an investigation into the whole matter. Facebook also admitted that Mr Xi's name had not been fed into the database that translates Burmese into English. So, in instances when data for a particular word is missing, Facebook guesses the translation closest to the syllables used for the said word. Hence the translation for Xi or Shi, in Burmese also produced 'Sh*thole', unfortunately. Umm. Facebook seems to be translating Xi Jinping written in Burmese as Mr Shithole. This is a post on Aung San Suu Kyis official page, recounting her meeting with him yesterday... h/t @felizysolo kingdom of Mr Shithole pic.twitter.com/B4V2cYjPJw Poppy McPherson (@poppymcp) January 18, 2020 Although, coverage of the gaffe was censored in China, as the flow of information is controlled by the government there, it didn't stop the entire World Wide Web to know about this absurd mistake made by Facebook. Mr Thackeray said that the funds of Rs 100 crore have been allotted for the development of Pathri, but only as a religious site. Mumbai: The dispute over the birthplace of Sai Baba has finally been resolved as chief minister Uddhav Thackeray withdrew his statement that Pathri in Marathwada was the birthplace of the revered spiritual figure. He also made it clear that Pathri would be developed only as a religious site and not as the birthplace of Sai Baba. Following the assurance from Mr Thackeray in a meeting held on Monday to resolve the dispute, Shirdi residents have decided not to continue their agitation. Mr Thackeray said that the funds of `100 crore have been allotted for the development of Pathri, but only as a religious site. Why should there be a dispute over the birthplace? he asked. Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust (SSST) representative and Shiv Sena leader Kamlakar Kothe said, Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has accepted our demands. Residents of Shirdi are satisfied with what he said. He has assured us that no new dispute will be created and we are ending the matter. Along with the CM, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat, environment minister Aaditya Thackeray, Shiv Sena MP Sadashiv Lokhande, senior BJP MLA Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, SSST chief executive officer Deepak Muglikar and delegations of Shirdi and Pathri residents attended the meeting. Mr Vikhe-Patil said that the outcome of the meeting with the chief minister was satisfactory and hence Shirdi locals had decided to call off the agitation. The bandh was observed in Shirdi considering the emotions of Sai devotees. The state government had never taken a stand about the birthplace earlier. It should remain the same, he said. Mr Lokhande said, The CM asked the Shirdi temple representatives if they had an issue with the allocation of `100 crore for the development of Pathri to which they said their opposition was only to the declaration of Pathri as Sai Babas birthplace and not for any development initiative. A row had erupted after the chief minister announced a grant of `100 crore for the development of facilities at Sai janmasthan at Pathri, nearly 273 km away from Shirdi in Ahmednagar district. To protest this, Shirdi had observed a bandh on Sunday, with shops and businesses in a majority of the villages remaining shut. Those in Shirdi had also called for an indefinite bandh in the temple town from Sunday midnight but it was called off by evening on the assurance of a meeting with Mr Thackeray. Tajikistan increases output in 2019 by 400,000t 20 January 2020 Tajikistan produced 4.2Mt of cement in 2019, an increase of 400,000t compared to the previous year, according to the Ministry of Industry and New Technologies (MoINT). The countrys cement exports also rose by around 150,000t to 1.546Mt. Tajikistan reportedly earned US$68.1m from its cement export activities in 2019. "Last year, Tajikistan exported 890,000t of cement to Uzbekistan, 576,000t of cement to Afghanistan and 80,600t of cement to Kyrgyzstan," added a source for Asia-Plus. Tajik-Chinese joint ventures Chzhungtsai Mohir Cement, Huaxin Gayur Cement and Huaxin Gayur Sughd Cement accounted for around 90 per cent of domestic production during the year. Published under PR-Inside.com: 2020-01-20 14:00:48 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 850 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NIAGARA FALLS, ON and SAUDI ARABIA / ACCESSWIRE / January 20, 2020 / EnerDynamic Hybrid Technologies Corp. (TSXV:EHT) ("EHT") is pleased to announce it has signed a strategic partnership agreement with SYSILS Corp. ("SC"), a leading Oil and Gas service company based in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.Through this strategic partnership, EHT and SC has together renewable energy solutions that has been designed for the Oil & Gas industry. Oil & Gas companies across Saudi Arabia and Bahrain can now take advantage of high quality unique hybrid solar and battery systems to address the need for rapid deployment and mobilization for the rig sites. EHT will make containers with their ENERTEC fiber-glass skin wrapped with ENERTEC back-contact solar and SC will install their battery and power expertise in Saudi and Bahrain to complete the units.Saudi Arabia, Opec's biggest oil exporter, is radically transforming its economy under Vision 2030. Saudi Arabia has been moving away from burning crude oil to generate power, first switching to gas-fired plants and, subsequently, moving towards wind and solar energy solutions as it seeks to free up its crude for the export market. Developing a thriving renewable energy industry is a central plank of the Saudi Vision 2030 economic and social blueprint with an initial target of generating 9.5 gigawatts of renewable energy.Muhammad Assad, GM of SC, commented: "We are very proud and excited to be working side by side with a successful and growing company like EHT, as we work together towards providing renewable energy solutions in Saudi Arabia in line with the Kingdom Vision 2030. Muhammad Assad went on to say, "We are really confident that our expertise in the industrial field will assure a quick and seamless start of commercialization of EHT innovative renewable technology and products across Saudi Arabia and Bahrain." John Gamble, CEO of EHT, commented: "We are very pleased to partner with SC; the combined company will be able to immediately utilize our new ENERTEC back contact solar panels to power units required by many of the leading Saudi Oil Companies like Saudi Aramco." EHT and SC will have the first units operational in the next couple of months; SC's partnership agreement calls for a minimum sale of US $250,000 in the first twelve months of the Agreement for SC to continue as an exclusive distributor in these countries.About EnerDynamic Hybrid TechnologiesEHT delivers proprietary, turn-key energy solutions which are intelligent, bankable and sustainable. EHT's expertise includes the development of its ENERTEC module structures with full integration of smart energy solutions. Using a proprietary skin and foam core that is stronger than traditional wood or steel structural insulated panels, EHT provides exceptional thermal energy efficiency in modular homes, cold storage facilities, residential/commercial out buildings and emergency/temporary shelters. EHT works with its partners worldwide to erect the buildings on-site utilizing EHT staff and local crews. In addition to traditional support to established electrical networks, ENERTEC buildings excel where no electrical grid exists.About Sysils CorpSC is a forward-looking company with and international scope. It was established to accommodate the diversification of technological and engineering services, supply material and products for the oil and gas, petrochemical and process industries. As a full-service engineering, consulting, construction, and operations SC has the human and technical resources with international footprint, and the depth of know-how and experience to help you achieve your goals successfully. Each of our clients demands and deserves a completely satisfying solution on every project, regardless of complexity. SC differentiates itself on how we define "satisfying": our commitment to outperform on you your behalf. Whatever your current or future needs, our full-service, worldwide resources are available to support you on your next critical project.SC's website is currently being updated and is expected to be back up by the end of January. In the meantime, we are attaching a company profile. Please click here.Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.The statements herein that are not historical facts are forwardlooking statements. Forward-looking information relating to sales of the products (the "Opportunities") involves risk, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects, for the Opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Although EHT believes that the assumptions used in preparing the forward-looking information on the Opportunities outlined in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. EHT disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by applicable securities laws.FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACTJohn GambleCEO & Director(289) 488-1699jgamble@ ehthybrid.com info@ ehthybrid.com Website: www.ehthybrid.com SOURCE: EnerDynamic Hybrid Technologies Corp. A young Australian couple who suffered a miscarriage nine weeks along have revealed they are expecting again - and shared exactly when their bundle of joy is due. YouTubers Chloe Szepanowski, 21, and her boyfriend Mitchell Orval, 23, are known for their pranks and gags online but in an incredibly personal video the happy couple have explained why they have been noticeably absent of late. After sharing their miscarriage heartbreak in July 2019 they could finally announce that Chloe was pregnant again, this time with a little baby boy due August 8. Scroll down for video YouTubers Chloe Szepanowski, 21, and her boyfriend Mitchell Orval, 23, have announced they're expecting a little baby boy After sharing their miscarriage heartbreak in July 2019 they could finally announce that Chloe was pregnant again, this time with a little baby boy due August 8 'All she does is sleep and she feels really sick because it's her first trimester,' Mitch explained in recent footage. 'We are stepping into what feels like adulthood now. We've got a few surprising months ahead and we can't wait to document it along the way,' Chloe added. In the video they visit their local shopping centre on the Gold Coast and purchased a few small clothing items, before getting a call from the doctor to say they can find out the child's gender. Although they had been convinced it would be a girl, the doctor corrected them by saying it was a boy. Although they had been convinced it would be a girl, the doctor corrected them by saying it was a boy In the video they visit their local shopping centre on the Gold Coast and purchase a few small clothing items, before getting a call from the doctor to say they can find out the child's gender 'We were very shocked. I said we were having a girl but we always wanted a boy. Either way as long as its healthy we are happy with whatever we get,' Chloe said. They have a number of 'creative' names prepared and have received a number of well wishes from both family and friends. In July last year the couple shared an emotional image that detailed the loss of their first child. 'Emotional day but Chloe did it like a soldier. No complications, and time to move forward and hopefully start our family in the near future,' Mitchell captioned a photo of the pair in hospital on July 17. It was the first time their thousands of followers were told that Chloe was nine weeks pregnant, before she miscarried and had a D&C procedure (a procedure to remove tissue from inside the uterus). Chloe has been busily preparing their home for a new arrival (pictured clothes shopping) YouTuber Chloe Szepanowski, 21, and her boyfriend Mitchell Orval, 23, are famous online for their pranks and gags but they have been very serious about their want to start a family 'I nurtured half of myself and half of Mitch deep in my tummy for the past nine weeks,' Chloe confirmed in a later post. 'We went to the scan so excited to see our bub only to be told there was no fetal heartbeat. Nothing can prepare you for that. Our hearts are broken.' Weeks later Mitchell's brother Dylan and girlfriend Krystell welcomed a child, Bowe Harvey, into the world. While it was exciting news for the Orval family, Chloe and Mitchell were more overjoyed than most at the prospect of meeting a newborn baby. While it was exciting news for the Orval family, Chloe and Mitchell were more overjoyed than most at the prospect of meeting a newborn baby (pictured) 'After our s****y week there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow,' Mitchell said in a video. What does a D&C procedure involve? A D&C, also known as dilation and curettage, is a surgical procedure often performed after a first trimester miscarriage. In a D&C, dilation refers to opening the cervix; curettage refers to removing the contents of the uterus. Curettage may be performed by scraping the uterine wall with a curette instrument or by a suction curettage (also called vacuum aspiration). Advertisement Footage shows the pair cradling Bowe for the first time, Chloe - who was still lactating post-miscarriage - changing his nappy and holding his hand. 'I'm still bleeding from my other little bubba who is gone... but I'm ready to be a mum,' Chloe said in a later sequence of video. 'Chloe showed off her natural mothering skills. She changed the baby twice,' Mitchell said. 'It's really inspiring because now I really want to be a dad again.' The pair got together when Chloe was just 16 and moved into their Melbourne apartment shortly after. 'Chloe showed off her natural mothering skills. She changed the baby twice,' Mitchell said Stationary retailer Papyrus is shuttering all of its stores, with liquidation sales already underway, according to a report by Retail Dive. There are more than 260 Papyrus stores, including one at the Lehigh Valley Mall and eight in New Jersey, according to the companys website. The store closures are a result of the current challenges of the retail industry, Papyrus said in a statement to Retail Dive. The company hired liquidation firm Gordon Brothers to assist with liquidation sales, according to the report. Greeting cards, gift bags, paper products and writing accessories are sold by Papyrus, which said in its statement it has not yet been determined if its e-commerce sites will halt operations. Papyrus is just another in a long list of chain stores to be hit by the retail apocalypse. Bose recently announced the closure of 119 stores, and Pier 1 Imports will shutter up to 450. The Schurman family founded Papyrus in 1950. The Lehigh Valley Mall Papyrus opened in 2012. The retailer has no other stores in the region. Nicolette Accardi can be reached at naccardi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter: @N_Accardi. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips MORE RETAIL AND SHOPPING COVERAGE: The list of chains that closed stores in 2019 Amazon joins the wireless earbud craze with Echo Buds Pier 1 Imports will close 450 stores. Heres the status of each N.J. location. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, January 20, 2020 12:30 722 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20602bf39 1 Business omnibus-bill,labor-union,labor-rights,Jokowi-administration,labor-reform,Commission-IX,DPR,demonstration Free The House of Representatives Commission IX overseeing health care and manpower will form a team with labor unions to discuss the upcoming omnibus bill on job creation, which has been rejected by workers over speculations it would undermine labor rights. Commission IX vice chairman Emanuel Melkiades said the team would be a better platform for the unions to convey their aspirations instead of street protests. The House is trying to prevent another wave of protest by laborers, which will continue on Monday after two previous rallies in the past two weeks. Leaders of labor confederations can choose their representatives and the Commission will choose ours, so we can use the team to further discuss [the omnibus bill on job creation] issue, Emanuel said during a public hearing with labor groups at the Commission on Thursday. The Indonesian Worker Union Confederation (KSPI), National Welfare Movement (Gekanas) and State-Owned Enterprises Joint Labor Movement (Geber BUMN) were among the labor groups that joined the hearing. President Joko Jokowi Widodo previously said that the omnibus bill on job creation would be completed last week and submitted to the House this week to be placed on the governments priority bills list (Prolegnas). The bill on job creation is seen as essential for the government as it has been struggling to attract foreign investment to help improve economic growth. If passed, the omnibus law will amend around 1,200 articles in more than 80 prevailing laws, including the Labor Law, which have been blamed for hampering investment in the country. Labor unions, however, rejected the bill after rumors surfaced that it would reduce severance payments, enforce an hourly pay system to replace the minimum wage and eliminate sanctions against companies who fail to provide health insurance. The government has since clarified that the bill would not eliminate the minimum wage regulation but without shedding further light on the rumors. Hundreds of laborers from several unions staged rallies in front of the House complexs main gate in Central Jakarta on Jan. 13 to protest the omnibus bill, following a smaller protest with about 100 people at Tanjung Priok Port in North Jakarta on Jan. 9. The KSPI announced on Saturday that around 30,000 workers from Greater Jakarta would once again march to the House building on Monday to demand that the government stop further deliberations of the bill. Regional chapters of the KSPI are expected to march to their respective Regional Legislative Council (DPRD) buildings on the same day. Indonesian Metal Workers Federation (FSPMI) secretary-general Riden Hatam Aziz added his federation would follow the protest with a national strike from metal workers if the government did not fulfill laborers demands. We hope Mondays protest could be the first and final warning, Riden told reporters on Saturday. KSPI chairman Muhammad Rusdi said that he would wait for around a month before declaring a KSPI-wide labor strike. The government claimed to have discussed with seven labor confederations and 28 other unions regarding the bill and said that almost all confederations accept the bill, Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartanto said on Jan. 15. (mfp) Women have told of the effects of domestic violence on them while they were pregnant, with new research claiming many are missing out on interventions and assistance because of a lack of screening and "poor continuity of care". The study, which involves interviews with 18 women, found they often appear to be "invisible in health, maternity and domestic violence service settings". According to the research: "Two women spoke about how their last pregnancy was a result of rape by their partner and the impact this had on them. "The physical violence during pregnancy in some cases was strategically located so that bruises would not be visible on the womans abdominal area or face. For other women they were beaten in a targeted manner on their abdomen or pregnancy bump. Women were concerned about harm to their foetus and in two cases went to their GP or hospital to ensure their unborn baby was not impacted by the physical abuse." The PhD study, entitled 'Domestic violence and pregnancy in Ireland: womens routes to seeking help and safety', was written by Sioban OBrien Green of Trinity College Dublin, who is also Head of Healthcare Programmes at The Irish Hospice Foundation. The women interviewed reported multiple, serious physical and mental health problems during and after their pregnancies, which they related to living in an abusive relationship. "Findings suggest that a lack of screening for domestic violence and poor continuity of care and trust-building opportunities between health care professionals and women erodes potential for disclosure prospects and reduces opportunities for help and safety-seeking," it said. "Women stated that time-pressured medical appointments, before and after the birth, in busy maternity hospitals lacking a sense of privacy created barriers to disclosing domestic violence. Women self-referred in most cases to specialist domestic violence services, but time spent finding an appropriate service may have increased the risk women were exposed to regarding their abuse." It also found that while having children often acted as an incentive to seek help, "fear of removal of children by social workers became a deterrent to this process". It also said: "Once women found, or were referred to, and accessed specialist domestic violence services, including refuges, they were very satisfied with the supports provided, especially migrant women." Recommendations include easier access to specialist supports for domestic violence in health and maternity care settings, search engine optimisation for all domestic violence services websites, a greater awareness of domestic violence among organisations such as homelessness services, and advanced training for gardai, midwives and others. "These women appear to be invisible in health, maternity and domestic violence service settings but may be at considerable risk within their relationships," it said. A former Secretary of State has accused the Government of double standards over its calls for Stormont to take greater responsibility for Northern Ireland's economy. Peter Hain said Westminster "cannot have it both ways" by issuing the demand while at the same time inflicting "untold damage" through its Brexit policies. Last week EU chief commissioner Michel Barnier confirmed there would be "checks and controls" between Britain and Northern Ireland under the agreement that will govern the UK's exit from the EU. Lord Hain, who served as Secretary of State from 2005 to 2007, said Northern Ireland will be disadvantaged on multiple fronts. He said: "When the Chancellor Sajid Javid told the Financial Times that there will not be regulatory alignment with the EU after Brexit and insisted firms must 'adjust' to new regulations, he confirmed that the Government is hell bent on an ideologically hard Brexit that could do untold damage to the small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) that make up the overwhelming majority of businesses in Northern Ireland. "And these are the very businesses that the Government says it wants to be at the core of Northern Ireland's economic future. "As the EU Withdrawal Bill currently stands, a raft of checks and controls will be placed on the movement of goods to and from Northern Ireland and Great Britain and this will inevitably lead to Northern Ireland facing barriers to trade and be at a competitive disadvantage in both the internal UK and EU markets." Lord Hain, who has previously warned of the risks to peace in Northern Ireland caused by a hard Brexit, described it as "the worst of all worlds". Last week the BBC reported that the Northern Ireland economy slowed last year because of a contraction in the private sector. Lord Hain said businesses had been left in the dark around Brexit. He added: "The Chancellor blithely says that businesses have had since 2016 to prepare even though they didn't know the exact terms. "Small businesses in Northern still don't know the terms and the Government can't or won't tell them. There will be checks and controls between Northern Ireland and GB. "There will be additional bureaucratic burdens on companies least able to carry them. "How much will it cost? Will there be a VAT recovery processes? If tariffs are levied and then reclaimed how long will it take for rebates to be paid? "Businesses simply do not know and that is not only incredible with only 11 months to go before the end of the transition period, it's intolerable. "And while it is right that there should be democratic controls through Stormont built in to any new and developing post Brexit arrangements, to tell SMEs that perhaps every four years all might change - or all might not change - by a vote of the Assembly will create huge uncertainty for business investment and planning." Lord Hain said there was support from across the business community and all political parties for damage limitation amendments to the Withdrawal Bill. He added: "The Government needs to listen to those voices if a dogma-driven disaster for the Northern Ireland economy is to be averted." In response, a UK Government spokeswoman said: "The protocol within the Withdrawal Agreement makes clear that Northern Ireland remains in the UKs customs territory. It also provides for NIs businesses and producers to have unfettered access for goods travelling from NI to GB. Ambassador of Belarus A.Ermolovich meets the Federal Minister for Science and Technology of Pakistan 20-01-2020 On January 20, 2020 the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Belarus to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Andrei Ermolovich, met with the Federal Minister for Science and Technology of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Fawad Hussain Chaudhry. During the meeting the sides discussed the actual state of Belarusian-Pakistani cooperation in science and technology. The interlocutors considered a list of joint scientific and technological projects proposed for implementation based on the results of the competition held in 2019 by the State Committee on Science and Technology of Belarus and the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology of Pakistan. The mutual interest was noted in the exchange of best practices and the development of practical cooperation between Belarus and Pakistan in the field of agricultural mechanization, land sensing, bio- and medical technologies, medical equipment, robotics, the creation of joint ventures to promote products on the markets of the region. A.Ermolovich presented to F.H. Chaudhry an invitation letter of the State Committee on Science and Technology to pay a working visit to Minsk in order to hold the fourth Session of Belarus-Pakistan Commission for Cooperation in Science and Technology. The sides discussed possible program of the visit, including the visiting of Belarus High-Tech Park and the Belarusian-Chinese Industrial Park Great Stone. The sides agreed to hold the Session of the Commission in the first half of 2020. print version Libyas oil production will be limited to 72,000 barrels per day from over 1.2 million barrels per day after Libyan National Army (LNA) Commander Khalifa Haftar shut down oil production, Bloomberg reported citing the Libyan National Oil Corporation's spokesman. On January 18, the National Oil Corporation declared Force Majeure as a result of the blockage of ports in the central and eastern parts of Libya. According to the NOC, oil output will fall by about 800,000 barrels a day, costing $55 million daily. On January 19, Al Wasat reported that the El Sharara oilfield, which can pump 300,000 barrels a day, was closed. A leading analyst of the National Energy Security Fund, a lecturer at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, Igor Yushkov, speaking to Vestnik Kavkaza, stressed that this blockade will not significantly affect the global oil market. "Libya has joined a pool of countries that have recently virtually zeroed exports - Venezuela and Iran - but this has not caused a deficit or price increase. The reasons are clear - other countries increased their production, compensating for Libya's oil export," he pointed out. "First of all, the United States. The U.S.is increasing output, and in this regard, the Libyan crisis is as beneficial to them as the sanctions that they imposed against Iran and Venezuela. It is also beneficial to Saudi Arabia. If before Saudi Aramco's IPO, the company's output was even less than prescribed by the OPEC + agreement, now it will begin to increase production to the maximum allowed by the OPEC+," Igor Yushkov noted. Deputy head of the Council of the Russian Diplomats Association Andrei Baklanov, in turn, noted that by blocking ports, Haftar sent Tripoli a signal to international mediators, including Russia and Turkey, that he wanted to be in a stronger position. "He does not want to equalize himself and the transitional government in Tripoli and sees the negotiation process only with his predominant role," the diplomat said. "The blockade of ports is a signal from Haftar and forces loyal to him that the place that is assigned to them and the general in the negotiation process does not quite suit them. Haftar believes that the balance of forces on the ground imply a more significant meaning of his words and decisions," Andrey Baklanov noted. Subscribe to get the Good Morning, CNY newsletter delivered to your email inbox weekday mornings. Weather High: 21; Low: 6. Cold again, with intermittent clouds Photo of the Day The Syracuse Women's March with about 150 people heads to the University United Methodist Church from the James M. Hanley Federal Building, Sat. Jan. 18, 2020, Syracuse, N.Y. Scott Schild | sschild@syracuse.com MARCH FOR EQUALITY: About 150 people marched braved bitingly cold temperatures on Saturday to take part in the annual Syracuse Women's March. The march was among hundreds of similar events taking place around the world calling for women's rights and equality. Read more, and see more photos. (Scott Schild photo) Whats Trending MLK Day: Heres a look at whats open and whats closed today for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Missing 18-year-old found: A Syracuse teen was found safe Sunday, police said, a week and a half after she went missing. I cry because so much was lost For more than 60 years, Irv Sattler had a fine view of the historic buildings lining the 100 block of Main Street in downtown Boonville. Those buildings -- home to six businesses, 15 residents and more than a century of memories -- are gone, destroyed in a devastating fire. Thatll never come back, Sattler said. It just cant be replaced. Soldiers shipping out: This spring, 250 soldiers from Fort Drum, near Watertown, will deploy to Afghanistan as the 10th Mountain Division replaces the 1st Armored Division. Editorial: Same old song and dance? Its deja vu at the St. Josephs Amphitheater at Lakeview. Ten of the 13 headliners announced so far have performed there in the past three years. The sameness is a turn-off. SUBSCRIBERS ONLY: Want to join group chats about SU sports, the Bills, the local restaurant scene and the best of CNY? You can SIGN UP HERE to get texts from syracuse.com reporters Brent Axe, Matt Parrino, Jacob Pucci and Charlie Miller. Looking Ahead This week in CNY music: You can see live rock, bluegrass, reggae and more this week in Central New York. Here are six shows you should see. Lots of choices for country fans: Live Nation announced the lineup for the 2020 Country Megaticket at the St. Joes Amp, and it includes seven shows. Meanwhile, even more country acts are filling up the concert calendar across Upstate New York. Sports & Scores Syracuse guard Buddy Boeheim (35) with a three pointer during a game against Virginia Tech on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2020, at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Va. (Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com) BIG DAY FOR BUDDY: Syracuse guard Buddy Boeheim puts up a three-pointer during a game against Virginia Tech on Saturday at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Va. Boeheim led SU with 26 points and the Orange won 71-69. It was the third straight win for Syracuse. (Dennis Nett photo) Orange beats Hokies, win third straight: After leading by as many as 16 points in the first half, Syracuse escaped with a dramatic win over Virginia Tech, defeating the Hokies 71-69 on Saturday. Super Bowl set: The Kansas City Chiefs will face the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV. The Chiefs beat the Titans on Sunday for the AFC title, while the 49ers beat Green Bay for to become NFC Champs. High school sports scores, news and notes In Brief What would you do if you found $43K hidden in a couch you bought? A Michigan man returned it all Central New York child dies of flu $710,000 home in Skaneateles: List of 83 Onondaga County home sales Editorial cartoons for the week: The Senate takes up impeachment Tully junior wins USATF cross country championship Carmelo Anthony hits another milestone, trades buckets and compliments with Luka Doncic Todays Obituaries To view todays obituaries, please click here. Amazon Flash Briefings To listen to the latest news every morning with Alexa, please click here. Subscribe Quality local journalism has never been more important, please consider supporting our work by subscribing to Syracuse.com. Advertisement Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are expected to amass a billion dollar fortune from Diana's inheritance, eight-figure deals with TV giants and their Sussex Royal brand following their departure from official royal duties - but taxpayers could still be picking up the couple's 3million bodyguard bill because of fears they won't be kept safe in Canada. The abdication agreement with Her Majesty has cost the Sussexes their HRH titles - but it will allow them 'complete and absolute' freedom to secure tie-ups with Silicon Valley giants such as Apple and Netflix or US TV networks while avoiding 'dodgy' commercial deals that would upset the Queen. Experts have claimed that US TV networks could be willing to pay the couple 38million [$50million] book deals, 20million for US TV interviews and 470,000 [$600,000] based on the amounts secured by the Obamas since they left the White House. And Prince Charles is expected to pay his 2.3million annual payment to his son for at least another year while they set up in Canada, despite the couple having an estimated joint net worth of 34million [$44million]. Harry has his own wealth, including an estimated 20million inheritance from Princess Diana and 7million from the Queen Mother. Meghan is thought to be worth 4million, accumulated mainly from her seven years on Suits. The couple are predicted to have such incredible earning power they could build a $1billion brand having spent part of 2019 secretly trademarking the Sussex brand on items such as pyjamas, hats and hoodies - but this is expected to be impossible without angering Harry's grandmother and father. But despite the Megxit deal being hammered out at the Sandringham summit hosted by the Queen this month, there are still a number of unanswered questions about who will fund the couple once they settle abroad - and how they will make money. There is a row brewing because the British taxpayer could pick up the couple's estimated 3million security bill because an American private firm would be 'woefully ill-equipped' to protect the high profile couple. Harry and Meghan have significant personal wealth but their decision to quit as frontline royals and move to Canada will increase the earning potential for them and their charities. But it is inevitable they will become richer themselves Who pays for Meghan and Harry's lifestyle, where does their cash come from and how much could they make in North America? Who pays for Harry and Meghan now and will this continue when they move to Canada? Home Office The government department covers Harry, Meghan and Archie's 24/7 Met police security - estimated at 600,000-a-year. With overtime, travel and accommodation expenses this would likely reach 1million. However experts have said that this could reach 3million - with British taxpayers expected to pick up some or all of the bill despite the couple living in Canada. The details have not yet been agreed but sources expect the Home Office to pick up some or all of the bill when their royal duties end in the spring. Prince Charles Harry receives up to 2.3million annually from his father's royal estate, the Duchy of Cornwall. It is understood that Charles will continue to fund his son for the first year at least, either via the Duchy of Cornwall, the estate which provides him with private funding, or more likely from his own personal investments from income such as his bequest from the late Queen Mother. No public funds will be used. Personal wealth Harry inherited around 20million from his mother, Princess Diana, who died when he was 12. The Queen Mother also left him up to 7million. Much of his cash is tied up in trust funds with some of the money kept from him until his 40th birthday Meghan has a personal fortune of 4million, mainly from her acting work and property in Canada. She also earned six-figures each year from blogging, fashion and modelling. Where could they make money from and how much? Harry and Meghan are expected to walk in the footsteps of Barack and Michelle Obama, who agreed a production deal with Netflix to make TV and film projects. The path taken by Mrs Obama after her time as First Lady - and indeed the career Hillary Clinton has carved out - may well be an inspiration to Meghan as she looks to her future. The former Suits actress is likely to be highly sought after by publishing houses who would see dollar signs at the prospect of a revealing memoir. Recent books written by Mrs Obama and Mrs Clinton topped bestseller lists and were accompanied by tours where they filled venues like rock stars. Experts have claimed that US TV networks could be willing to pay the Sussexes 38million [$50million] book deals, 20million [$25million] for US TV interviews and 470,000 [$600,000] based on the amounts secured by the Obamas since they left the White House. As a former lifestyle blogger, another option would be for Meghan to resurrect The Tig blog and become an a-list influencer, perhaps teaming up with brands, signing sponsorship deals, and getting paid in return for posting about brands on her blog and social media. It is thought that this route may be unlikely as it could be argued that it does not fit in with upholding the values of the Queen. Another possibility for Meghan would be to return to her role as paralegal Rachel Zane in Suits, which was filmed in Toronto, and would therefore be convenient if the couple settled in the Canadian city. The show has ended now but executives may be tempted to bring it back if they were to have a duchess among the cast. In April 2019, Kensington Palace announced that Harry was working with US chat show queen Oprah Winfrey on a mental health documentary series. Harry and Oprah will be co-creators and executive producers of the project for Apple, with the multi-part documentary series focusing on both mental illness and mental wellness. Away from TV, Harry could turn to the well-paid lecture circuit where he could depend on his confidence and charisma to bring in big bucks. With his Army training in leading others and experience of appearing on stages across the world, Harry could well become an in-demand motivational speaker. Advertisement Dai Davies, who led the Metropolitan Police's royalty protection unit, said: 'Ultimately I think the British public will still be paying for it. 'The private security firms simply cannot cope with the professional demands that protecting Harry and Meghan would put on them. 'By moving abroad they are making it harder to set up adequate protection.' Buckingham Palace has delayed the final decision over whether to ban the couple's use of the 'Sussex Royal' brand on Instagram and on their personal website until later in the year - but the Queen has warned them not to use it as a trade name in business deals. A final ruling on what is allowed will be made after further negotiations, but the brand would refer to the couple's soon-to-be announced charitable foundation and not commercial activities, an insider has said, adding: 'They have promised they will not bring the Royal Family into disrepute through any dodgy deals. Harry and Meghan want to use their Sussex brand to make huge amounts of money for the charities and good causes they support in the UK and around the world - but is inevitable they will become richer themselves. Aides are said to have warned the couple they could be forced to change the name of their charitable foundation and social media profile if it damages the Royal Family. But sources have suggested something this 'extreme' is unlikely with the couple losing the HRH title, perks and having top pay back the 2.4million of taxpayers' money spent on Frogmore Cottage. And with Harry set to fly out to Canada imminently after completing some of his final royal duties, the couple are able to continue building their brand and business opportunities with their Sussex Royal brand intact. Talent manager Jonathan Shalit, who has struck commercial deals with a host of stars, tweeted last night: 'Meghan and Harry will become a billion dollar brand', adding cash would roll in from 'Fashion and consumer product ranges, endorsements and advertising. Books, TV and film, paid public appearances, company directorships in return for shares.' He added in an interview with LBC: 'The Duchess of Sussex is one of the most famous people in the world. The phone is going to be off the hook. Never before has someone that close to the queen been available for commercial opportunity. 'My guess is [an Oprah Winfrey interview would pay] around $25 million. Imagine how many people are going to watch that. Let's say it goes out on Apple or Amazon, imagine the advertising around that. The commercial opportunity is extraordinary. 'The Obamas book deal in the US was around $50m. The real value when it comes to fashion is Meghan. She's been on the front cover of glossy magazines all over the world. Any brand in the world. It would be phenomenal in terms of her income. 'You mention wellness, there's a TV actress in America Jessica Alba had a company called The Honest Company that's worth over a billion dollars. [Meghan] could in theory make billions of dollars if she got involved with the right company in terms of being a shareholder.' Netflix's chief content officer Ted Sarandos said at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in LA yesterday the streaming giant would like to work with Harry and Meghan, adding: 'Who wouldn't be interested?' Harry has also worked with Apple - and US TV networks are ready to work with the Sussexes, who are close to Oprah Winfrey. Harry and Meghan need an income to replace the estimated 2million a year from the taxpayer-funded Sovereign Grant, which supports most senior royals. It is understood that Charles will pay either via the Duchy of Cornwall, the estate which provides him with private funding, or more likely from his own personal investments from income such as his bequest from the late Queen Mother. Palace sources insist no public funds will be used. Although an abdication deal was announced on Saturday following days of discussions at Sandringham, the question of who will pay for Harry and Meghan's security once they split their time between the UK and Canada has yet to be answered. Currently their bodyguards cost around 1million-a-year - but experts claim this could reach 3million if they spend most of their time in Canada. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had intimated that his country would pick up some of the expense - but a poll of 1,154 Canadian adults found last week that 73 per cent do not want their government to pay for the couple's security costs. The Queen and Prince Charles decided not to strip Prince Harry of their HRH titles and Duke and Duchess of Sussex rank to avoid looking 'petty', it was claimed today. Her Majesty is said to have considered stripping the couple of their most prized titles and instead referring to them as the Earl and Countess of Dumbarton putting them at the same level as Edward and Sophie, Earl and Countess of Wessex. However, the Queen and Prince Charles are believed to have felt preventing the couple from using 'HRH' in public and for commercial use - while still officially retaining the title - was a sufficient enough change. A source told the Evening Standard: 'The Sussex title is one of the ancient royal dukedoms given to him ahead of his wedding to Meghan, along with other titles. Removing it was seriously considered and discussed at the highest level.' Netflixs chief content officer Ted Sarandos, pictured at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in LA yesterday said the streaming giant would like to work with Harry and Meghan As part of their independence deal agreed by the Queen, they will keep their HRH titles but will not use them once they cease to be working royals. They will not be addressed as His or Her Royal Highness, but will be Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. Their decision to step back from royal duties had led to speculation they could be stripped of their HRH titles, and may no longer be able to use Sussex Royal. But a source said such a move was considered too extreme, and could have been problematic for the Royal Family in the future. Had Harry and Meghan been stripped of their titles completely, they would have been considered junior to other members of the family, such as Prince Andrew's daughters Beatrice and Eugenie. That could have led to the embarrassing prospect of Meghan having to curtsey to the princesses. The HRH title was taken from Harry's mother Diana and his aunt Sarah Ferguson after they divorced, but he was born a royal, so the Queen would have had to issue a Letters Patent to remove it. Applications have already been made to trademark the Sussex Royal brand, which is at the centre of the couple's social media presence, including their website and Twitter and Instagram accounts. They will be free to make commercial deals without the involvement of Buckingham Palace, but aides have insisted such arrangements will be 'respectful' of the Queen. The source close to the couple said: 'There are still a lot of details to be worked out, but if it's the use of the word 'royal' in a charitable sense, then what is the problem?' They have not yet signed any contracts and have agreed not to become brand ambassadors for any big companies. Instead, they are expected to seek commercial deals that complement causes close to their charitable interests. Harry has signed up as co-creator and executive producer on an Apple TV documentary on mental health with US broadcaster Oprah Winfrey, due to be screened this year. He is understood to have asked for his fee to be donated to mental health organisations. Harry (left today) says he and Meghan (right in Vancouver last week) feel they have no choice but quit for Canada Meghan has also agreed to provide a voiceover for a Disney film in exchange for a donation to a conservation charity. In future, they could be paid for such agreements, although they will inevitably face accusations that they are cashing in on Harry's royal background. Meghan's father Thomas Markle has already voiced concerns that they will 'cheapen' the Royal Family. In a documentary for Channel 5, Mr Markle will say his daughter had lived every girl's princess dream when she married Harry. But he added: 'Now... it looks like she's tossing that away for money. Apparently $3million and a 26-bedroom home isn't enough for them. It's kind of embarrassing to me. This is like one of the greatest long-living institutions ever. They are destroying it... cheapening it, making it shabby... turning it into a Walmart with a crown on it.' Harry and Meghan need an income to replace the estimated 2million a year from the taxpayer-funded Sovereign Grant, which supports the most senior royals. Prince Charles is expected to support Harry financially for at least a year. Harry also has his own wealth, including an estimated 20million inheritance from Princess Diana and 7million from the Queen Mother. Meghan is thought to be worth 4million. An Iranian flag flies at the Bushehr nuclear power plant in November 2019 -- the US issued a 90-day waiver extension on Bushehr to "ensure safety of operations" (AFP Photo/ATTA KENARE) Tehran (AFP) - Iran said Monday it will consider withdrawing from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) if a dispute over its atomic programme goes before the UN Security Council. Britain, France and Germany launched a process last week charging Iran with failing to observe the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal, a move that could eventually see the Security Council reimpose international sanctions on the country. Iran has accused the three EU member states of inaction over sanctions the United States reimposed on it after unilaterally withdrawing from the landmark accord in 2018. The European move "has no legal basis" and if they take further measures "Iran's withdrawal from the NPT will be considered," Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was quoted as saying by the Iranian parliament's website. The landmark 2015 deal reached with Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States gave Iran relief from sanctions in return for curbs on its nuclear programme. Since the US pullout, Iran has progressively rolled back its commitments to the accord -- the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action -- in retaliation. It has hit out at the three European nations that remain party to the JCPOA for failing to live up to their promises to ease the impact of US sanctions on its oil-based economy. "If the Europeans return to the commitments, Iran will also stop reducing its commitments, but if the Europeans continue as they have been... we have different options," said Zarif. The foreign minister said Iran's President Hassan Rouhani had warned former EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini about such consequences in three letters sent in 2018. "It was stated in the president's letter that if this issue is referred to the Security Council, Iran's withdrawal from the NPT will be discussed but before that we can consider other (options)," he said. European officials have made it clear that the decision to trigger the dispute resolution mechanism was made in a bid to bring Iran back into compliance and save the accord. Story continues But Iran's foreign ministry on Monday warned more measures could be taken in retaliation for the European move. "If these talks continue, Iran is formulating a final and even more effective" measure regarding the nuclear deal, spokesman Abbas Mousavi told a news conference in Tehran. Asked by reporters to elaborate, Mousavi said it would be a "serious" measure, but he gave no further details. "Different options are on the table for Iran that will be announced if a consensus is reached" by its leaders, he said. Iran has stressed the steps it has taken to roll back the nuclear deal can be reversed if its interests are realised. (Newser) One of US Bank's core tenets is "We put people first," but when one of its own senior bankers tried to do just that, she was fired. Emily James tells the Oregonian that on Dec. 23, she was working at the bank's call center in Gresham, Ore., when she heard from Marc Eugenio, who needed help lifting a hold on a $1,000-plus paycheck from a new job. James tells KOIN 6 that Eugenio told her without that cash, he couldn't afford living expenses or Christmas gifts for his two young kids. James advised him to visit his local branch the next day, Christmas Eve, to have the hold liftedbut when he went, the bank manager was on vacation and no one else could lift the hold. He called James back in frustration and happened to mention he was at a gas station about 15 miles away from the call center. "I wish I had just $20 bucks to get home," Eugenio says he told James. story continues below That's when James asked her supervisor if she could head over to the gas station, where she handed Eugenio $20 in cash for gas, then headed back to work. On New Year's Eve, however, she got some bad news: She was being fired. The bank issued a statement to the New York Post saying that "James did not use the available solutions to remedy the customer's situation and instead put herself and the bank at risk with her actions." James said the supervisor who gave the OK for her to meet up with Eugenio was also canned, though US Bank wouldn't speak about employee matters. The publicity surrounding what happened could spur US Bank to rescind its pink slip, but James isn't sure she would accept her job back. "I don't think I would want to continue to work for someone who would do that," she tells the Oregonian. (Read more fired stories.) The company will maintain the Team Bebon name and its staff of underwriters, AmTrust said. We are extremely pleased that one of the title insurance industrys best-known and most respected professionals is joining AmTrust, said Jason Gordon, AmTrust president. Mike has built Team Bebon into a powerhouse in the industry. His teams underwriting expertise now together with AmTrusts financial capacity creates a formidable offering in commercial real estate on a New York metro, national and international level. Mike and his team will be a major new force in driving the business of our company, said Steven Napolitano, president of First Nationwide Title Agency, a subsidiary of AmTrust Financial. Together, AmTrust and Team Bebon are a dynamic duo for the title insurance industry. Working nine-to-five in a humdrum job is unlikely to be the path chosen by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, but as it stands it is not known how exactly the couple will earn a living. In their bombshell statement on January 8, Harry and Meghan announced their intention to work to become financially independent while also fully supporting the Queen. They said they would continue to collaborate with the monarch, the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge but it was decided that a half-in/half-out model whereby the couple would gain financial independence while also serving the Queen was not possible. After talks with the royal family, Harry and Meghan announced that they will stop carrying out royal duties from the spring and no longer use the title HRH. Now, with their new-found freedom, they only have to wait for the offers to come rolling in, so what will the Sussexes do next? There has been much speculation about the millions Harry and Meghan will be able to make through lucrative contracts, with suggestions ranging from acting, film or television, to brand partnerships, to public speaking, and even book deals. But whatever they choose, the couple have promised that everything they do will continue to uphold the values of Her Majesty. Harry has already spoken to Lion King director Jon Favreau and Beyonce, one of the films stars, about Meghans ability to do voiceover work. The Mail on Sunday published a video of Harry at the premiere of the Disney film in London in July last year, praising his wife and her joking about pitching for work. In the footage Harry says: Next time, if anyone needs any extra voiceover work, we can make ourselves available. Meghan then added: Thats really why were here to pitch. Harry was also filmed chatting to Robert Iger, chairman and chief executive of the Walt Disney Company, during the premiere and said of Meghan: You do know she does voiceovers? Expand Close The Duke and Duchess of Sussex chat with film director Jon Favreau at the European Premiere of Disneys The Lion King in London (Niklas Hallen/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The Duke and Duchess of Sussex chat with film director Jon Favreau at the European Premiere of Disneys The Lion King in London (Niklas Hallen/PA) Meghan has since agreed a voiceover deal with Disney, which will make a donation to wildlife charity Elephants Without Borders that is supported by Harry, the Times reported. A source has confirmed the agreement, saying it was a model similar to having the couple attend the movie premiere, where Disney kindly donated to the Royal Foundation in return. Meanwhile, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex could become the Duke and Duchess of Netflix, after the streaming giants chief content officer, Ted Sarandos, said he would be interested in working with them. Speaking at an event in Los Angeles, he told the PA news agency: Who wouldnt be interested? Yes, sure. It would see Harry and Meghan walk in the footsteps of Barack and Michelle Obama, who agreed a production deal with Netflix to make TV and film projects. The path taken by Mrs Obama after her time as First Lady and indeed the career Hillary Clinton has carved out may well be an inspiration to Meghan as she looks to her future. The former Suits actress is likely to be highly sought after by publishing houses who would see dollar signs at the prospect of a revealing memoir. Recent books written by Mrs Obama and Mrs Clinton topped bestseller lists and were accompanied by tours where they filled venues like rock stars. One can only imagine the scramble for tickets if accomplished public speaker Meghan was to sign up to live interviews about her life in the royal family. If a tell-all tome was ruled out, there would still be an appetite for a different type of book, perhaps focused on an issue close to her heart such as womens empowerment. Expand Close The cover of British Vogues September issue, entitled Forces for Change, which was guest-edited by Meghan (Peter Lindbergh/PA) PA Media / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The cover of British Vogues September issue, entitled Forces for Change, which was guest-edited by Meghan (Peter Lindbergh/PA) Elsewhere, glossy magazine editors will surely be queuing up to convince Meghan to adorn their covers, but it remains to be seen how keen she would be to agree to this after choosing a selection of women to grace the front of an edition of Vogue that she guest-edited last year. As a former lifestyle blogger, another option would be for her to resurrect The Tig blog and become an a-list influencer, perhaps teaming up with brands, signing sponsorship deals, and getting paid in return for posting about brands on her blog and social media. It is thought that this route may be unlikely as it could be argued that it does not fit in with upholding the values of the Queen. Another possibility for Meghan would be to return to her role as paralegal Rachel Zane in Suits, which was filmed in Toronto, and would therefore be convenient if the couple settled in the Canadian city. The show has ended now but executives may be tempted to bring it back if they were to have a duchess among the cast. The couple may well want their work to have an ethical dimension, so they may sign up to financial projects or endorsements that promote a cause or highlight an issue that chimes with their own beliefs. In April 2019, Kensington Palace announced that Harry was working with US chat show queen Oprah Winfrey on a mental health documentary series. Harry and Oprah will be co-creators and executive producers of the project for Apple, with the multi-part documentary series focusing on both mental illness and mental wellness. Away from TV, Harry could turn to the well-paid lecture circuit where he could depend on his confidence and charisma to bring in big bucks. With his Army training in leading others and experience of appearing on stages across the world, Harry could well become an in-demand motivational speaker. In his homily yesterday, the cardinal slammed Lebanons politicians, especially those hindering the formation of a government. The latter is behind last week-ends protests and clashes. At least 370 injured on Saturday. The cardinal again backs the legitimate demands of the people. Beirut (AsiaNews) Lebanons political leaders bear the responsibility of shame and disgrace for what happened in Hamra and Beirut, said yesterday Card Beshara al-Rahi, Patriarch of the Maronite Church, in his Sunday homily, following the latest round of anti-government protests. The cardinal berated the countrys leaders for lacking even an iota of humanity, especially those who are obstructing the formation of a government at a time of renewed violence among people exasperated by months of political and economic crisis, with rising unemployment, wage cuts, and a banking system on the verge of collapse. Over the weekend, security forces in Beirut clashed with protesters, firing rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the crowd, with people responding by pelting riot police with stones and other material. Sundays confrontation broke out near parliament a day after more than 370 people were injured, the highest casualty toll since protests began. The Lebanese Red Cross said it treated 52 people and took 38 to hospital. The spark that set off the unrest was the continued failure by political leaders to set up a government after months of stalemate and uncertainties, and deal with the worsening economic crisis. We have gone from being a country we used to call the Switzerland of the east to a country ranked at the bottom in everything, said housewife Rezzan Barraj, 47, at Sunday nights protest. Exacerbated by economic hardships, anti-government protests escalated in mid-December, when it became clear that, largely because of cross-vetoes, no one was going to be able to form a government to replace the one that resigned on 29 October. On several occasions, top Church leaders have reminded politicians about their responsibility and the urgency to stir the ship of state in a country that is dangerously close to a cliff. In yesterday's homily, Patriarch al-Rahi renewed his support for the people and its legitimate demands, which political leaders must meet. He slammed the latter for distorting the meaning and essence of politics as an honourable art in the service of the people and the common good, making four specific demands. First, he wants the state not to underestimate the youth revolution nor retaliate. Secondly, those tasked with setting up a government should hurry up to save the country. Thirdly, he wants the military and the security forces to bring calm and prevent clashes. Lastly, he wants the international community to take the Lebanese question seriously since the country plays an important role in the Mideast. In a small, windowless room in the bowels of the Westin St. Francis hotel on Union Square, Rob Holsen washes the hotel's money. Every penny, nickel, dime and quarter. Three times a week, Holsen soaps, rinses, dries and rolls money. He estimates that $1.5 million in spare change has passed through his hands in the past 20 years. "That's a lot of pieces of money," Holsen said as he began a recent cleaning. Since 1938, all the coins the St. Francis acquires through its cafe, restaurants and bars - all of it tarnished by the grime of the outside world - has made its way through the cleaning closet before it leaves the hotel bright and shiny. It's believed the St. Francis is the only hotel to continue the practice, which started in the 1930s as a courtesy to guests. "It's a connection to a different time," Holsen said as he rolled up his sleeves and tucked his tie into his dress shirt. "A connection to a more gentle time, when to go downtown was a big deal. Dress up, put on a hat and gloves, and go to Macy's." Money washing at the St. Francis began in 1938 when hotelier Dan London noticed that coins dirtied a woman's white gloves. "Coins were used to pay for lunch tabs," Holsen said, "tips, taxi rides, everything. It was rare to use a bill." 31 years of washing Arnold Batliner was the most storied coin washer at the St. Francis. Batliner, a beloved employee who earned a day of recognition in his honor from Mayor Frank Jordan upon his retirement in 1993, held the position for 31 years. He passed on the craft to Holsen. Batliner died in 1995, but to this day, hotel employees still take a break on his birthday at 11 a.m. to celebrate with champagne and cake, Holsen said. Inside the washing room, nicknamed "Arnold's Office," Holsen keeps a few of Batliner's personal items hanging above the drying table: his name badge, his eyeglasses and a toothbrush. "Arnold probably washed $14 million in his time," Holsen said. But change has changed with the times. The St. Francis lobby once housed a bank of pay phones, and soda machines lined the floors. Now, with the soda machines long gone and pay phones obsolete, less pocket change enters the building. Batliner ran the coin-washing operation full time. Holsen runs it about 10 hours a week. Setting up the coin washer The process begins when the general cashier sends racks of rolled coins to Holsen, who empties the change into a repurposed silver burnisher. Along with the coins, the burnisher is filled with water, bird shot to knock the dirt off, and a healthy pour of 20 Mule Team Borax soap. After three hours of swishing the coins around, Holsen uses a metal ice scoop to pour the loot into a perforated roast pan that sifts out the bird shot. The wet coins are then spread out on a table beneath heat lamps. This is where once-rusted copper pennies turn into shimmering bronze coins. Quarters look like sparkling silver bits. It's also where Holsen gives the money a quick quality inspection. The newly designed nickels that trade in the familiar image of Monticello on the back for homages to the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark expedition do not impress him. "They look counterfeit to me," Holsen said. "And it took me forever to get over it when they changed the backs of quarters to honor the states." Some coins tossed Some pennies are beyond saving. They're bent or mutilated by vandals. One penny Holsen pulled from his box of misfits had a crucifix punched out of its center. Slugs, Canadian coins and painted quarters also don't make it past Holsen. Once he's satisfied, he feeds the polished money into a counter, which shoots the change into paper rolls to be distributed to the hotel's cash registers. From there, they return to the hands of the guests. "There was a time," Holsen said, "when a cabdriver could look at a person after they paid their fare and ask, 'So, how was your stay at the St. Francis?' " A driver allegedly fleeing from a crash that injured a woman watched his car burn from the back of a police cruiser early Monday morning, police say. The man, later identified as Luis Mendez-Rodriguez, was driving his BMW shortly after midnight in the 9100 block of Airline Drive in north Harris County when he allegedly crashed into a Toyota Camry, the force of which sent the Camry through a wrought iron fence. Instead of stopping and helping the woman who was injured inside the Camry, Mendez-Rodriguez drove away, according to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez. Countries with interests in Libya's long-running conflict agreed to provide no further military support to the warring parties while a ceasefire lasts. Participants in Sunday's Berlin conference on Libya, in a joint statement, called for the demobilisation of all Libyan armed groups. "We call for a comprehensive process of demobilisation and disarmament of armed groups and militias in Libya and the subsequent integration of suitable personnel into civilian, security and military state institutions, on an individual basis and based on a census of armed groups personnel and professional vetting. We call upon the United Nations to assist this process," the document's article 12 reads. READ | Iran Speaker Warns Europe Over Cooperation With UN Atomic Watchdog The participants have also called for restoring the monopoly of the state for the legitimate use of force. "We support the establishment of unified Libyan national security, police and military forces under central, civilian authority, building upon the Cairo talks, and the documents produced therein," the document's article 36 reads. READ | Now, United Nations Files Plea In SC On India's Decision To Deport Rohingyas UN to facilitate ceasefire negotiations The summit called for external factors to refrain from intervening in Libya's domestic matters. The participants urged the United Nations to broker the ceasefire negotiations between the conflicting sides and also asked the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to impose sanctions against those who violate the ceasefire. READ | United Nations Asks To "assist" The Supreme Court's On Rohingya Deportation "We call upon the United Nations to facilitate ceasefire negotiations between the parties, including through the immediate establishment of technical committees to monitor and verify the implementation of the ceasefire," the document reads, adding, "We call upon the UNSC to impose appropriate sanctions on those who are found to be in violation of the ceasefire arrangements and on the Member States to enforce these". READ | US Justifies Killing Soleimani As Self Defence At United Nations Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, head of Libya's UN-recognized Government of National Accord and his rival military commander of Libyan national Army, Khalifa Haftar attended the UN-backed gathering in the German capital to carve out a political process in the war-torn North African country. (With ANI inputs) The long-awaited George Best Hotel looks set to finally get the green light after months of wrangling with planners, it has emerged. Planning authorities have recommended approval of the city centre development, which has been shrouded in controversy, and the matter is due to be discussed by councillors at a meeting of the planning committee at Belfast City Hall on Thursday night. However, the approval of the 63-bed hotel, is subject to a series of conditions after the proposed conversion of the Scottish Mutual Building has been plagued by objections from neighbouring businesses and planning authorities. Read More Outstanding issues with the plans include the need for further details about a proposed new fire escape and a requirement for the window frames to be painted a darker colour than the white suggested in the current plans. The developer has also been told that original architraves, mouldings and skirtings on the fifth floor must be retained and repaired, with work only carried out when it is absolutely necessary. Original doors should only be upgraded if it is required in order to meet fire safety regulations, planners have said. Advising councillors ahead of Thursday's meeting, the planning department said that a number of proposed amendments to the plans are considered "unacceptable" to the Historical Environment Division, but said "on balance, the proposed alterations to the listed building are considered acceptable to allow for a modern hotel use and meeting requirements for fire safety, thermal and acoustic insulation". It added: "The proposal will provide employment within the hotel of course, but also a number of short term construction jobs. "It will bring an injection of vitality to this area of Bedford Street and Donegall Square South. The increased footfall to the area will also boost trade for local retailers." The controversial George Best Hotel is one of two major hotel developments due to be discussed at this Thursday's meeting. Also on the agenda is a proposed 276-bed hotel close earmarked for the Titanic Quarter. Planners have said the project, which includes conference facilities, restaurant, cafe and rooftop bar, should get the go ahead. "Having had regard to the extant development plan, the draft development plan, relevant planning policies, planning approvals in the area, economic benefits and other material considerations the proposed development is considered on balance acceptable," the planners added. Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has reacted to Sundays pipeline fire in Ile-Epo area of Abule Egba in which three people were killed and properties destroyed. The governor, on his twitter handle on Monday, said his thoughts and prayers are with the families and businesses affected by the pipeline fire. He wrote: My thoughts and prayers are with the families & businesses affected in the unfortunate incident at Abule Egba. We are thankful for the brave members of LASEMA & our fire service that swung into action working all night to reduce the impact. Pipeline Vandals will be shown no mercy We must work together to ensure man-made incidents like Abule Egba are avoided. Security and information gathering along volatile corridors will increase and a stronger synergy with communities must happen. We all have a role to play. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday congratulated JP Nadda for getting elected unopposed as the BJP's president. "Congratulations to Shri JP Naddaji on being elected as BJP president. Wishing him the very best for his tenure. Naddaji is a dedicated and disciplined Karyakarta who has worked for years to strengthen the party at the grassroots. His affable nature is also known to all," Modi's tweet on Monday read. Through another tweet, PM Modi said that Nadda had proven his mettle at every stage of his life and expressed the hope that the party will scale further heights in the coming days under him. "Be it as a young party karyakarta, MLA, Minister in Himachal Pradesh or organisational duties at the Centre, MP and Union Minister, JP Naddaji has added value to any responsibility he has held. Am sure BJP will scale newer heights during his Presidency," his second tweet read. The Prime Minister also thanked the outgoing BJP president Amit Shah for his contribution in the past few years and termed him as an "outstanding karyakarta". "I do not think words can do justice to the rich contribution of Amit Shahji as BJP President. During his Presidency, BJP got opportunities to serve in several parts of India. We also got our highest ever tally in a Parliamentary election. He is an outstanding Karyakarta," Modi's third tweet read. Nadda was elected unopposed as the president of the Bharatiya Janata Party following the party's organisational poll process here on Monday. Several party leaders including Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, and Nitin Gadkari were present during the announcement. Nadda replaces Amit Shah, who is currently serving as the Union Home Minister. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) By PTI PESHAWAR: The Hindus in Pakistan's northwest province have asked the government to replicate the Kartarpur corridor example by developing their over 200 religious sites in Khyber Patkahunkhwa, asserting that it will promote tourism and help put the country's ailing economy on a sound footing. In November, Pakistan and India separately inaugurated the historic Kartarpur corridor on their sides of the border to facilitate the visa-free entry of Indian Sikh pilgrims to celebrate the 550th birth anniversary of founder of Sikhism Guru Nanak Dev. The corridor provides the shortest route for Indian Sikh pilgrims to the revered Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur area of Pakistan's Narowal district, where Guru Nanak spent last 18 years of his life. Leader of Hindu Community Peshawar Haroon Sarab Diyal said on Sunday that in view of the positive impact of the Kartarpur corridor, the provincial and federal governments should also develop the religious sites of Hindus in Khyber Patkahunkhwa. It will promote religious tourism and put Pakistan's economy on track, he said. Diyal said if the government agreed to develop Hindus' religious sites, they would attract many pilgrims from across the world. There are over 65 religious sites in Swabi district, and 154 in Nowshera district of Khyber Patkahunkhwa (KPK), he said. The KPK has one of the world's largest Shivlinghams and is home to 12 panths of the Sanatana dharama, including Gorakhnath and Bholaynath, he said. Kali Bari Mandir in Dera Ismail Khan district too has a great importance in Hindu religion, Diyal said. The followers of the Hindu religion have swelled to over one billion in the world and to woo them to the province will be a boon to Pakistan's economy, he added. According to the Pakistan Hindu Council, there are around 8 million Hindus living in Pakistan, comprising 4 per cent of the Pakistani population. Opinion Article 20 January 2020 Recently I attended a hotel association conference where I was a speaker for one of their breakout sessions. The opening morning of the convention started with a breakfast where we listened to the many great developments within the association in the past year and heard a fantastic story from the morning keynote about evacuating an entire city without one casualty or serious injury from an oncoming forest fire. Advertisements What a morning! But the thing that got me more that anything else that day was a memory. The memory of being in that very room some 35 years earlier having breakfast all by myself. You see it was the hotel and dining room where I signed my very first duty meal. A free meal is something special for most people, especially when it is a good one. What I mean is, most people only get a free meal when they are at someone else's house for dinner or a BBQ or a free meal from a nice restaurant when someone else is paying. These are not the same as a duty meal. That free meal with friends or a salesperson has strings attached. You are either on the hook next time or they want you to buy something. Duty meals in hotels are quite different indeed. Going back those 35 years, I had been working in this hotel for a couple of years by then. I had started in the very same room as a busboy not some 20 months earlier. It was 1985. By my measurement in those days I was on the fast track. I had transferred to this hotel from another in the same company from the other end of the country. Which really meant they offered me a job as a busboy making $1.90 an hour and in order to collect my first paycheck, I had to drive 4,500 kilometers (yes, I'm from Canada) and there was no moving allowance-zip. In the previous hotel I also had worked for two years. I worked the bars as a waiter and bartender then found what I called a real job in the receiving and stores department that last summer. Summer ended and the company offered me a transfer west. Almost all the way west and getting there was my own deal. I remember the trip well The first stop was Montreal to stay with a good bartender friend from the hotel. We ripped it up pretty good including a late night joint down on St. Catherine's St. Then it was on to North Bay where I met a good friend for a quiet weekend in a cabin on the shores of Lake Nipissing. Then it was the serious part of the drive, into Wisconsin under Lake Superior and across the Canadian border again to catch the Yellow Head Highway north to Edmonton. Just in time to grace my big brother's wedding. From there it was south to my new home and new job. I registered myself, so to speak, in the staff residence by checking in with a friend from my old hotel who I happened to meet in the parking lot shortly after my arrival. It wasn't until a few weeks later that the staff accommodations office found out I was "squatting" there. They were not pleased to say the least. Getting settled into my new job was not easy. I didn't like taking a step backward (going back to busboy). In my last hotel I was a somebody. Here I was one among many busboys and that was not where I wanted to be. Before I left my last hotel, I was told to put in my time and do a good job and "something" would come up. I bided my time only to learn that the slow season was coming quickly and that meant very few hours for several weeks until the Christmas rush. I did as I was told and made the very best of it. Like they say, showing up is half the job. Another acquaintance from my last hotel saw me in the cafeteria one afternoon after one of my lunch shifts. She asked me how it was going. I told her it was slow and then I asked her how things were for her. She smiled and said she was having fun! Well, I thought that was the end of that. Not 10 minutes later I was clearing my plate in the dish lane and a girl I didn't know at all came up to me and said, "Are you David?" "Yes, that's me," I replied. She was wearing what I thought was a front office uniform. That is usually how you know what people do in the hotel, by the uniform they wear. She introduced herself and asked me if I had time to talk. We both grabbed a coffee and sat down. She explained that she was the head front office cashier and needed new staff as several team members had recently left. Oh, so why me? Well, she said, our mutual friend MJ had called her to tell her about me and she wanted to let me know firsthand about the new openings. Ten minutes later I was in what we called "personnel" in those days filling out a transfer request only to find out I was not eligible to make the change because I had not completed my six months. With that news I made my way to the lobby where I found my new friend behind the cash end of the front desk. I told her about my bad news and thanked her. Maybe in a few months, I said. "Not so fast," she said, "Didn't you work back east before coming here?" "Yes," I said. "Stay right there and I'll make a call." With that she disappeared, and I took a seat feeling just a little looked upon by the desk agents, not to mention what my imagination was doing about what the guests were thinking. She reappeared after what seemed like an eternity and she was smiling a little. She motioned me to the desk and explained that she was able to get a small exception for me. The very next day I had my first day of training on the front desk. The job was awesome. I learned so much and by the way I was the only guy in the entire department that winter. I worked there for almost one year when another opportunity presented itself and I transferred to the F&B Control Department. After a few months the assistant left to move to British Columbia and I was offered her job. Now things were starting to cook This job was really the first job where I could show "management" what I was all about. It was coincidentally the same time that the hotel got its first personal computer. This meant a steep learning curve, but it was no time until I had all the green columnar pads on Lotus spreadsheets and what would take an hour before now took four minutes. This is where things paid off. Not only was I in the right time at the right place with work, I also had a new boss and her boss liked me. She was a bit unusual, but you take what you are given and make it work. She is the one who gave me my own duty meal account. Duty meals in our business are as common as shifts can be long and meals are often provided after the work is done. But to have your own duty meal accountincluding your own numbermeans you are given the privilege of going to the outlets whenever you work. It means that even before your shift you can have a meal, heck, even on your day off. That is not only awesome, it is life changing. I sat there during the conference breakfast as my mind wondered back through all of this and I remembered this hotel, the dining room, the people, the work, the good times and most of all how proud I was that I stuck with it. The Finance Tower (including the adjacent Door Building) represents approximately 200.000 m 2 of high quality office space opposite the Jardin Botanique in the so-called Freedom Quarter in Brussels. The sale of this asset represents the final chapter in the urban development, redevelopment and revitalization scheme of this area owned and executed by Breevast and ZBG. The project consisted of the Finance Tower and the urban (re)development of more than 150.000 m 2 of office, residential and retail space in the RAC Belair sites (sold between 2014 and 2017). In total, more than 350.000 m 2 has been redeveloped and newly developed. Breevast and ZBG were advised by real estate consultancy CBRE and legal and tax firms Loyens & Loeff, Stibbe, and PwC Legal. Henk Brouwer, CEO of Breevast and member of the Management Board of ZBG, says: "The sale of the Finance Tower is a significant achievement, representing a commitment by Breevast and ZBG of almost two decades to realizing a high quality and sustainable asset in the heart of Brussels combining both office and residential space. This successful transaction reflects the growing international interest in large-scale urban revitalization projects in which we specialize. We have a full pipeline of residential, commercial and office projects which aim to address the growing demand for high quality urban real estate." Alexander Villaverde, member of the Management Board of ZBG, says: "We are pleased to hand over this high quality asset to its new owners. This project, together with the adjacent RAC Belair sites, was a long-term commitment to the future of Brussels. The complete development represents one of the largest combined office and residential developments in Europe and we are proud to have played a role in realizing it. ZBG will continue to build its portfolio by investing in high quality real estate & development as part of our broader investment activities." Meritz Securities, part of Meritz Financial Group, headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, is a provider of financial services and investments. It manages assets worth more than EUR 45 billion. Meritz has been active in the European real estate market for some time driven by the strong market fundamentals and its desire for geographic diversification. In its acquisition of the Finance Tower, Meritz was advised by Valesco Group, a European real estate investment and asset manager based in London. In addition to the Finance Tower, Meritz has recently acquired large-scale office buildings in the United Kingdom, France and Germany. In December 2001, Breevast and ZBG acquired the Finance Tower for EUR 311 million after winning a public tender organized by the Belgian federal government. This sale and leaseback transaction included a full renovation and redevelopment including an extensive asbestos removal scheme of Belgium's largest stand-alone office property covering all 36-stories. Work started in 2005, took more than 3 years to complete and cost EUR 325 million. In a significant achievement, the project was completed on time and under budget. From 2008 onwards the Finance Tower has provided office space for approximately 4.800 civil servants working for multiple federal ministries and agencies based on a long-term lease agreement with the Belgian federal government. The neighboring RAC Belair project included more than 90.000 m2 of office space, 45.000 m2 of residential apartments, 5.000 m2 of retail, a 7.500 m2 school and almost 2.000 parking places. This project was (re)developed in phases and sold between 2014 and 2017. The sale of the Brussels Finance Tower is the latest milestone for Breevast and ZBG. In October 2019 they completed the sale of one of Germany's largest residential projects, an office complex site to be redeveloped into more than 1.200 new homes in the popular Gallus inner-city district of Frankfurt am Main. Earlier in the year, Breevast completed an investment in two office buildings in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, for USD 153.5 million. The current development pipeline consists of more than 600.000 m2 of commercial, office and residential projects, with a focus on projects which help meet the growing demand for urban living and mixed-use areas. About Breevast Founded in 1963, Breevast focuses on the development, realization, investment and management of commercial and residential real estate in Europe and North America. Breevast invests in real estate, but more importantly, Breevast is building a better future for people by creating ideal and sustainable spaces for them. The main motivation for its investments is the growth in popularity of urban living, especially in major international cities. Breevast wants to give people the opportunity to live in the city at a time when this is becoming increasingly challenging due to the shortage of quality real estate in many cities. Breevast has approximately 1.7 million m2 of real estate under management, representing more than EUR 3 billion in invested assets. It includes assets such as the office building on Spaklerweg 1 in Amsterdam, currently in use by DNB (Dutch Central Bank) and Nationale Nederlanden. The mainly residential development pipeline has a size of approximately 600,000 m2, including large scale projects in the Randstad area, Eindhoven and Luxembourg. In addition to its Dutch headquarters in Amsterdam, Breevast has offices in Antwerp, Luxembourg and Newport Beach (United States). For more information, please visit www.breevast.nl About ZBG ZBG Group of Companies is an investment company founded in 1982. Its investment portfolio focuses on three areas: real estate development and investment, agriculture, and technology. With its investments, ZBG aims to have a long-term positive effect on the future. ZBG's head office is located in Eindhoven. For more information, visit www.zbg.nl SOURCE Breevast The Hindus in Pakistan's northwest province have asked the government to replicate the Kartarpur corridor example by developing their over 200 religious sites in Khyber Patkahunkhwa, asserting that it will promote tourism and help put the country's ailing economy on a sound footing. In November, Pakistan and India separately inaugurated the historic Kartarpur corridor on their sides of the border to facilitate the visa-free entry of Indian Sikh pilgrims to celebrate the 550th birth anniversary of founder of Sikhism Guru Nanak Dev. The corridor provides the shortest route for Indian Sikh pilgrims to the revered Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur area of Pakistan's Narowal district, where Guru Nanak spent last 18 years of his life. Leader of Hindu Community Peshawar Haroon Sarab Diyal said on Sunday that in view of the positive impact of the Kartarpur corridor, the provincial and federal governments should also develop the religious sites of Hindus in Khyber Patkahunkhwa. It will promote religious tourism and put Pakistan's economy on track, he said. Diyal said if the government agreed to develop Hindus' religious sites, they would attract many pilgrims from the across the world. There are over 65 religious sites in Swabi district, and 154 in Nowshera district of Khyber Patkahunkhwa (KPK), he said. The KPK has one of the world's largest Shivlinghams and is home to 12 panths of the Sanatana dharama, including Gorakhnath and Bholaynath, he said. Kali Bari Mandir in Dera Ismail Khan district too has a great importance in Hindu religion, Diyal said. The followers of the Hindu religion have swelled to over one billion in the world and to woo them to the province will be a boon to Pakistan's economy, he added. According to the Pakistan Hindu Council, there are around 8 million Hindus living in Pakistan, comprising 4 per cent of the Pakistani population. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former Gold Coast bikie Ben 'Notorious' Geppert has vowed to change his ways after spending Christmas in jail. The ex-Hells Angel enforcer was released on bail in January following his arrest in Airlie Beach, north Queensland, in November 2019 after a spate of alleged violent incidents on a trip away with his now ex-partner Allaina Jones. The 27-year-old took to Instagram to claim that 2020 was his year. 'I can pretty much say 2020 will be the year for the BG! How much money have you lost chasing p****? How much p**** you lost chasing money? Think about it', he wrote. Ex Hells Angels bikie Ben 'Notorious' Geppert has claimed that 2020 will be his year Geppert was released on bail in January following his arrest in Airlie Beach in November after a spate of alleged violent incidents on a trip away with his now ex-partner Allaina Jones (both pictured) Geppert's Instagram story, where he claimed '2020 will be the year for BG!' Geppert is serving a three-year suspended prison sentence following a fight outside a KFC restaurant on the Gold Coast. The bikie was back in the news in September following the stabbing death of his 17-year-old brother Harrison during a brawl. At the time of his brother's death, Geppert said he was 'crushed' and 'if I could give my life for you to have yours back I would do so without thinking twice'. Geppert moved to Airlie Beach after his brother's death, and has received a number of threatening messages online since his relocation. Former bikie enforcer Ben Geppert has shared an anonymous death threat sent privately to his Instagram Last week, Geppert posted a now-deleted screenshot of a private message sent to his Instagram account. 'We are all coming for you Geppert u can't think you can just say sorry and get away with years of your bulls**t,' the message reads. 'Your time is up we will find you and you can't leave town cause you are on parole'. 'It's only a matter of time your days are numbered not even the cops can save u now f**k face'. Geppert captioned the screenshot saying the person 'keeps making fake accounts' to try and scare him and that he has no intention to leave Airlie Beach. He followed that post with a picture of a mystery brunette with the caption 'see you soon princess,' signalling an end to his tumultuous relationship with former partner Allaina Jones. The estranged couple have regularly made headlines in recent years, from a war of words with their relatives to both of them being involved in public fights and road rage brawls. From left, U.N. Envoy for Libya, Ghassan Salame, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel attend a news conference after the conference on Libya at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, on Jan. 19, 2020. (Axel Schmidt/Pool Photo via AP) Libya Players Agree to Respect Arms Embargo, Push Cease-Fire BERLINCountries with interests in Libyas long-running civil war agreed Sunday to respect a much-violated arms embargo, hold off on military support to the warring parties and push them to reach a full cease-fire, German and U.N. leaders said. The agreement came after about four hours of talks at the chancellery in Berlin. German Chancellor Anglea Merkel hosted leaders of 11 countries involved in the conflict, with Libyas two main rival leaders also in the German capital but not at the main conference table. Organizers knew that we had to succeed in getting all the parties that connected in any way with the Libya conflict to speak with one voicebecause then the parties inside Libya will also understand that there is only a non-military way to a solution, Merkel said. We achieved this result here. Among those who attended were Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The participants agreed that we want to respect the arms embargo, and that the arms embargo will be more strongly controlled than was the case in the past, she said. She added that the results of the conference should be endorsed by the U.N. Security Council. Libyas two main rival leaders, Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj and Gen. Khalifa Hifter, said the two men named members of a military committee that will represent them at talks on a more permanent cease-fire, Merkel. U.N. Secretary-General Guterres said that the committee would be convened in Geneva in the coming days. Merkel said the summit participants agreed that they will give no further support to the warring parties in Libya ahead of the committees meeting and cease operations as long as the cease-fire holds. Guterres said the Berlin conference had succeeded in fending off the risk of a true regional escalation. That risk was averted in Berlinprovided, of course, that it is possible to maintain the truce and then to move into a cease-fire, he said. Guterres underlined the urgency of that next step, saying all the participants committed to put pressure on the parties for a full cease-fire to be reached. We cannot monitor something that doesnt exist, Guterres said. We have a truce. Merkel added that the participants would continue to hold regular further meetings to ensure the process continues so the people in Libya get their right to a peaceful life. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said that we know that todays signatures arent enough. He said countries that werent invited Sunday will be given the opportunity to participate in future meetings of the four committees dealing with various aspects of the crisis, among them military issues and the economy. We know that the work has only just started, Maas said and praised the spirit of cooperation seen in Berlin. Libya has sunk further into chaos since the 2011 ouster and killing of its longtime dictator, Moammar Gadhafi. It is now divided into rival administrations, each backed by different nations: the U.N.-recognized government based in Tripoli, headed by Sarraj, and one based in the countrys east, supported by Hifters forces. Hifters forces have been on the offensive since April, laying siege to Tripoli in an effort to capture the capital. Hifters forces are backed by Egypt, Russia, and the United Arab Emirates, while the Tripoli government has turned to Turkey for troops and weapons. On Sunday, Libyas National Oil Corporation said that guards under the command of Hifters forces shut down two key oil fields in the countrys southwestern desert, following the earlier closure of all eastern export terminals. Only offshore fields and one smaller facility remain operational, the corporation said. By Frank Jordans and Geir Moulson Three persons were stabbed to death after a clash between two groups within the Sikh community in east London, police said on Monday. The victims were believed to be in their 20s or 30s, they said. Police said they received a call about 19:40 GMT on Sunday to reports of a disturbance in Elmstead Road in Seven Kings, Ilford. "We believe the groups involved are members of the Sikh community," Chief Superintendent Stephen Clayman was quoted as saying by the Telegraph. Clayman said the suspects and the victims were known to each other. Two persons have been arrested on suspicion of murder, the officer said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) News Baltimore, Maryland - A federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment charging Stephen Orback, 65, for threatening on multiple occasions to attack a Baltimore-area synagogue. Count One charges Orback with intentionally attempting to obstruct persons in the enjoyment of their free exercise of religious beliefs through the threatened use of force, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 247. Count Two charges Orback with making threatening interstate communications, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 875. According to the superseding indictment, between May 12 and July 21, 2019, Orback made numerous telephone calls to an employee of a synagogue in Owings Mills, Maryland, threatening to kill members of the synagogues congregation with firearms, by using explosives, and by burning the synagogue down. The superseding indictment replaces a previous indictment, handed down by the grand jury on Aug. 15, 2019, which charged the defendant only with the interstate-threats count. An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. If convicted, Orback faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. The case is being investigated by the FBI's Baltimore Field Office and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney P. Michael Cunningham of the District of Maryland and Civil Rights Division Trial Attorney Zachary Dembo. An all-woman bikers contingent of the CRPF will make its debut and showcase daredevil stunts at the January 26 Republic Day parade at Rajpath, officials said on Monday. The 65-member team will display its acrobatic skills on 350cc Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycles towards the end of the over 90-minute-long parade. "It will be the first time that our women bikers are going to be a part of the Republic Day parade. "This squad was raised in 2014 as part of our commitment to involving women in all spheres of duties rendered by us," CRPF spokesperson Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Moses Dhinakaran told PTI. The contingent will be commanded by Inspector Seema Nag, who is posted with the Rapid Action Force (RAF). The RAF is the special anti-riots combat unit of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), which is the world's largest paramilitary force with about 3.25 lakh personnel in its ranks. The members of the squad have been specially chosen by CRPF trainers and are in the age group of 25 to 30. They are drawn from various combat ranks of the force, another official said. This women bikers team, the official said, had performed at the birth anniversary celebrations of country's first home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on October 31 last year at Kevadia in Gujarat. The event was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In 1986, the CRPF had raised the first armed women's battalion in the Asia region and at present it has six such units with over 1,000 personnel in each. At this year's Republic Day parade, the all-woman CRPF contingent is expected to present as many as nine acts of daring bike riding and conclude by forming a human pyramid on multiple motorcycles. At the 2018 parade, a women bikers team of the Border Security Force (BSF) had made a similar debut. In 2015, women marching contingents of Army, Navy and Air Force had debuted in the national parade. According to tradition, the BSF and the Army's bike-borne daredevils end the Republic Day parade every alternate year riding their roaring bikes. This year, the opportunity has been given to the CRPF women personnel, the official said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The former chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has partnered with Accenture to create the non-profit Digital Dollar Project, which plans to explore the creation of a U.S. Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). The digital 21st century is underserved by an analogue reserve currency, said Chris Giancarlo, former CFTC chair under Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump. A digital dollar would help future-proof the greenback and allow individuals and global enterprises to make payments in dollars irrespective of space and time. The purpose of the Digital Dollar Project is to encourage research and public discussion on the potential advantages of a digital dollar, convene private sector thought leaders and actors, and propose possible models to support the public sector. The Project will develop a framework for practical steps that can be taken to establish a dollar-based CBDC. A cryptocurrency backed by a fiat cash is known as a stablecoin. A tokenized U.S. currency would coexist with other Federal Reserve liabilities and serve as a settlement medium to meet the demands of the digital world and a cheaper, faster and more inclusive global financial system, Giancarlo added in a statement. Joining him in leading the project is his brother, Pure Storage CEO Charles Giancarlo, and the CFTCs former chief innovation officer, Daniel Gorfine. Because of Accentures experience working with central banks on digital currency and related initiatives, the consulting firm is an ideal technology partner in the Digital Dollar endeavor, according to Martha Bennett, a vice president at Forrester Research. Chris Giancarlo pointed out Accenture central bank projects that have included the Bank of Canada, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, European Central Bank, and most recently efforts by Swedens Riksbank the worlds first central bank to develop an e-Krona in a test environment. So they were the obvious choice for guiding this process, Giancarlo said. While at the CFTC, Giancarlo pressed the agency for clarity around the regulatory framework of cryptocurrencies and once told the Senate Banking Committee it should not ignore cryptocurrencies but embrace technological advances, earning him the moniker Crypto Dad by some in the industry. In general, however, U.S. regulators and President Trump have not looked favorably on cryptocurrencies, cash backed or otherwise, compared to European and Asian nations. Some central banks in those regions are in the final stages of launching digital currencies, including Chinas digital yuan and Russias e-Ruble. The regulators in those countries are on board because theyre either driving the initiatives themselves, or theyre closely involved, Bennett said via email. Having a former regulator driving this [U.S.-based] initiative puts it in a different league: this is clearly not about private sector firms launching initiatives that may or may not compete with national currencies, or potentially having a destabilizing influence. The race to integrate crypto into global banking is real as public sector projects are already driving interest in fiat-backed cryptocurrencies by central and regional banks. The U.S. dollar is the worlds reserve currency because it represents about 58% of all foreign exchange reserves in the world, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Additionally, 40% of the worlds debt is denominated in dollars. Some experts believe the U.S. dollar could fall behind as the defacto ecommerce currency if other nations launch state-sponsored stablecoin first. In 2020, we at KPMG expect to assist regional and central banks in the development of well-defined technology frameworks that can anchor private-sector initiatives, Arun Ghosh, U.S. Blockchain Leader at KPMG, said in a recent blog post. In a blog post, the IMF said recently todays fiat currencies are in flux and innovation will transform the landscape of banking and money. Among other banking entities, the IMF has shown support for fiat-backed cryptocurrencies, saying they can reduce the reliance on government-issued money, "and unlike bank transfers, crypto asset transactions can be cleared and settled quickly without an intermediary, Dong He, deputy director of the IMFs Monetary and Capital Markets Department, wrote in a post for the agency. The advantages are especially apparent in cross-border payments, which are costly, cumbersome, and opaque," He said. "New services using distributed ledger technology and crypto assets have slashed the time it takes for cross-border payments to reach their destination from days to seconds by bypassing correspondent banking networks. Unlike private digital token initiatives, such as Facebooks Libra digital coin, as well as other financial instruments that are more like derivatives or money market funds, the Digital Dollar Projects cryptocurrency would be a central bank-controlled money. JP Morgan Chases planned JPM Coin, for example, is neither a stablecoin in its current format nor a cryptocurrency, according to Bennett. Its a token representing a dollar in the current system (in European terms, it would be classed as e-money), Bennett said. A CBDC is different in that its by definition issued by a central bank and hence subject to different control and stability mechanisms. Its also worth noting that [a] US CBDC has safeguards that a Libra or equivalent wouldnt have, and not all other CBDCs would necessarily feature: government access to data is constitutionally restricted. E conomic growth in Britain will remain sluggish for at least two years, according to a report. The International Monetary Fund predicted GDP growth of 1.4 per cent in 2020 and 1.5 per cent in 2021, stressing: The growth forecast assumes an orderly exit from the European Union at the end of January followed by a gradual transition. Days earlier Chancellor Sajid Javid sparked alarm among business chiefs by ruling out alignment with the European Union in a trade deal which the Government is seeking to strike at speed having written into law that the transition period will finish at the end of the year. The stance has raised fears of tariffs and trade barriers, alongside concerns over the impact on the workforce of an Australia-style points-based immigration system. The IMF figures show the UK will be growing marginally more than the eurozone, at 1.3 per cent this year and 1.4 per cent in 2021, and ahead of Germany and France. Click it or ticket, once upon a time, was a snappy way for traffic officials to encourage motorists to buckle up. But in the age of snark, those words are so last century. So the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) will instead start telling drivers Drive like your momma is watchin, and If you miss your exit, its okay, we made more up ahead. Those slogans were among the winners of a contest last Fall challenging residents to make up their own lighthearted safety signs. The only rules were that the messages couldnt exceed 63 characters, including spaces, and no profanity was allowed. After receiving hundreds of submissions, GDOT announced the winners on Thursdayand theyre hilarious. GDOT divided the submissions into five categories. Here are the winners: General Safety First place: If you miss your exit its okay, we made more up ahead. Second place: Better late than never. Third place (tie): Drive like your momma is watchin. Third place (tie): You are allowed to use turn signals. We checked. Third place (tie): Drive safely or we call your mother. Distracted Driving First place (tie): You look great but the selfie can wait. First place (tie): Looking at the road is a great way to stay on it. Second place: No one wants to see traffic on Snapchat, Brenda. Third place: Pop quiz, what is the speed limit on this road? Impaired Driving First place: Driving half-lit is not very bright. Second place: Dont spend the new year in jail. Party responsibly. Third place (tie): Dont be a turkey and drive basted. Third place (tie): The party should be lit, not you. Bring in the new year safe. Seat Belt First place (tie): This is a sign you should buckle up. First place (tie): If you dont wear a seat belt, please be an organ donor. Second place: Wearing a seat belt makes you look thinner. Third place (tie): Here is the tea sis, we can see you so buckle up. Third place (tie): Seat belts are in, everybody is wearing them. Work Zone Safety First place: Look left, look right, keep workers in sight. Second place: Work zone, slow down, workers have families that want them around. Third place (tie): Work zones matter so do the people in them. Third place (tie): Avoid destruction, mind the construction. GDOT says winners may start seeing their messages displayed on highway boards as early as this weekend. The-CNN-Wire & 2020 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved. ComplyAdvantage, the regtech company transforming the compliance industry through data science and machine learning to neutralize the risk of financial crimes, today announced the appointment of Vatsa Narasimha as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer. Narasimha is the former President and CEO of OANDA Global Corporation (OANDA), a leading online foreign exchange trading platform, currency data and analytics company that was acquired by private equity firm CVC Capital Partners in May 2018. Im excited to have Vatsa partner with me to usher in the next phase of growth for ComplyAdvantage, said Charles Delingpole, Founder and CEO, ComplyAdvantage. Vatsa is a well-respected fintech executive who was instrumental in OANDAs success story. I look forward to what we will accomplish together as we grow our next-generation anti-money laundering technology platform across new markets, said Delingpole. Over the last 12 months: ComplyAdvantage closed a Series B financing round led by Index Ventures who were joined by existing investor Balderton Capital, Doubled headcount focusing on product and engineering while opening offices in Singapore and Hong Kong, And added companies like OakNorth Bank, Munich RE and OANDA as customers. Finovate Group named ComplyAdvantage Best RegTech Solution and U.K.s Tech Track 100 List by Fast Track listed the company as the 16th fastest growing company. "ComplyAdvantage has a strong customer-centric vision and has demonstrated its impact across financial institutions and fintech clients, said Vatsa Narasimha, CFO & COO of ComplyAdvantage. The team at ComplyAdvantage have done a fantastic job broadening their global footprint by offering a range of innovative compliance solutions. Im excited to join the company at this pivotal time of growth as we work to become the industry standard for accurate, real-time AML data and technology that all financial institutions and corporates need, Narasimha added. Financial crime detection tools are critical to neutralize the risk of money laundering, terrorist financing, corruption and all other global financial crimes, but the industry is not innovating enough to make a real difference. ComplyAdvantage is building the first global, connected database to allow companies to identify their risks faster and in a more sophisticated manner. The success they have had shows the increasing demand for such a solution. Vatsas hiring is exciting as his expertise will be crucial as the business continues to scale in its next phase of growth. Having known Vatsa for a good part of a decade, I can unreservedly say he is one of the best operators I have encountered, added Jan Hammer, Index Ventures partner. Hammer sits on ComplyAdvantages board and is also an investor in Adyen, Alan and Robinhood. Prior to OANDA, Narasimha spent eight years as a Principal at The Boston Consulting Group, working with leading financial institutions on a variety of growth strategy, corporate development and operational issues. He holds an MS in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University and an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. About ComplyAdvantage: It is estimated that trillions of dollars are laundered annually funding financial crime and yet less than 3% is ever caught. ComplyAdvantages vision is to take on and neutralize the risk of money laundering, terrorist financing, corruption and all other global financial crimes by providing the worlds only dynamic global risk database of people and companies. Powering a suite of configurable cloud services, ComplyAdvantage integrates seamlessly to help automate and reduce the frustration of complying with Sanctions, AML, and CFT regulations. Founded in 2014, ComplyAdvantage works with over 500 enterprise clients across 75 countries. Backed by Index Ventures and Balderton Capital, ComplyAdvantage has four global hubs in London, New York, Cluj-Napoca, and Singapore. For more information, go to complyadvantage.com. Scarlett Johansson was not alone when at the 2020 Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday. The Lucy star - who looked stunning in an emerald green satin gown - was with fiance Colin Jost of Saturday Night Live fame. And when the 35-year-old actress could, she cuddled up to the comedian who popped the question in May 2019. Her future husband: Scarlett Johansson was not alone when at the 2020 Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday. The Lucy star - who looked stunning in an emerald green satin gown - was with fiance Colin Jost of Saturday Night Live fame Hand on her man: And when the 35-year-old actress could, she cuddled up to the comedian who popped the question in May 2019 In October Scarlett told Ellen DeGeneres she was very happy with Colin, who she started dating in 2017. 'I did it, I locked him in,' she joked. He proposed with an 11-carat diamond engagement ring reportedly worth around $400,000. 'Hes a cute guy. I mean, Im partial, you know,' she laughed. 'But now were engaged so Im going down that path now.' Locked up: In October Scarlett told Ellen DeGeneres she was very happy with Colin, who she started dating in 2017. 'I did it, I locked him in,' she joked Love love love: He proposed with an 11-carat diamond engagement ring reportedly worth around $400,000. 'Hes a cute guy. I mean, Im partial, you know,' she laughed. 'But now were engaged so Im going down that path now' 'Hes got a lot behind that news desk hes hiding,' she said, referring to his Weekend Update show. 'Hes very charming and very thoughtful and romantic. But yeah, I was surprised. Even if you kind of imagine what that moments gonna be like, its still a beautiful moment.' As far as the engagement she said, 'It was very personal, it was a special moment. I think, more than anything, when someone tells you they want to spend their life with you, thats a lovely, special thing.' The one: 'Hes got a lot behind that news desk hes hiding,' she said, referring to his Weekend Update show. 'Hes very charming and very thoughtful and romantic' This will be her third marriage. The actress previously married actor Ryan Reynolds in 2008. She then married French journalist and art collector, Domain Dauriac, in 2014, and they share a daughter named Rose together. On Sunday she looked vibrant wearing a plunging ocean blue Armani Prive gown to the awards show, held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. Scarlett looked like she was bouncing back after falling 'violently ill' before the 2020 Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Friday, rendering her unable to accept an award for her performance in Marriage Story. Her man: As far as the engagement she said, 'It was very personal, it was a special moment. I think, more than anything, when someone tells you they want to spend their life with you, thats a lovely, special thing' No 3: This will be her third marriage. The actress previously married actor Ryan Reynolds in 2008. She then married French journalist and art collector, Domain Dauriac, in 2014, and they share a daughter named Rose together Nominee: On Sunday she went up against Laura Dern (Marriage Story), Nicole Kidman (Bombshell), Jennifer Lopez (Hustlers) and Margot Robbie (Bombshell) in the Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role All eyes were on the actress as she stepped out in a glamorous and shimmering teal satin dress by Armani Prive with her hair pulled back. The breathtaking look continued to turn heads with gemstone adorned straps. She also rocked diamond drop earrings with a gold bracelet on her left wrist as she hit the red carpet. The actress is nominated for two awards at the SAG Awards, Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role for Marriage Story and Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role for Jojo Rabbit. They held hands all night long: Here Colin led the way on the grey carpet of the SAGs Johansson was nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role alongside Cynthia Eriva (Harriet), Lupita Nyong'o (Us), Charlize Theron (Bombshell) and Renee Zelwegger. She went up against Laura Dern (Marriage Story), Nicole Kidman (Bombshell), Jennifer Lopez (Hustlers) and Margot Robbie (Bombshell) in the Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role But Johansson lost the Supporting Role award to Laura Dern during the ceremony. She also took to the stage to present a video package for her film Jojo Rabbit with star-director Taika Waititi and Roman Griffin Davis. On stage: She also took to the stage to present a video package for her film Jojo Rabbit with star-director Taika Waititi and Roman Griffin Davis Johansson revealed in a hand-written note she gave to her Marriage Story co-star Adam Driver that he read on stage. 'I am so saddened that I can not be here with you this evening,' penned the actress. She added that, about 'an hour and a half' before the ceremony she had become 'violently ill' though she added. 'I was so looking forward to accepting this incredible honor in person, and to not be here on stage with Adam is deeply disappointing, to say the least,' she concluded. On the red carpet, Johansson spoke about her great run this year, stating she was honored to work with, 'some incredible writer-directors this year.' 'I think sometimes it seems like there are more opportunities for women who are not the sidekick, wife, other woman,' she said. Johansson will next be seen on the big screen in Marvel Studios' Black Widow, her highly-anticipated superhero adventure. The actress returns as Natasha Romanoff, a.k.a. Black Widow, who made her Marvel Studios debut in 2010's Iron Man 2. She also returns to voice Ash in the upcoming animated sequel Sing 2, which is slated for release on July 2, 2021. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 20, 2020) - Santacruz Silver Mining Ltd. (TSXV: SCZ) (the "Company" or "Santacruz") reports that its Mexican subsidiary, Carrizal Mining, S.A de C.V. ("Carrizal"), has acquired by staking the La Pechuga property (the "Property") located adjacent to the Zimapan Mine at Zimapan, Hidalgo, Mexico. The Property is comprised of one mining concession that covers a land area of approximately 3,025 hectares and is located 25 kilometers southeast of the Zimapan Mine. It contains several historic mines with mineralization hosted in carbonate replacement (skarn) of variable width of 3-8 m, which is intruding the limestones of the El Doctor Formation. Previous work by Mexico's Consejo de Recursos Minerales (CRM), Mexico's Geological Survey, reported nine underground chip samples collected from the San Miguel mine on the 120 level with assay results that contain 34 to 770 grams per tonne ("gpt") silver, trace to 0.50 gpt gold, 0.80% to 21.9% lead, 1.7% to 13.4% zinc and trace to 0.47% copper. Sampling lengths range between 0.80 and 3.00 m and represent the apparent thickness of the mineralization on the 120 level**. The 120 level and the chip samples reported are not representative of the typical mineralization at La Pechuga but is an indication of strongly polymetallic mineralization within the project area. Santacruz and a qualified person have not performed sufficient work to verify this information and the information is considered historical. Mr. Carlos Silva, Chief Operating Officer, stated, "This property is situated in a very promising zone of the Zimapan Mining District and its proximity to the producing Zimapan Mine makes it a strategic acquisition for Santacruz." Mr. Silva continued; "With respect to the Zimapan Mine, management discussions with Penoles are at an advanced stage with respect to final terms of an agreement which would allow Santacruz to acquire the Zimapan assets." Story continues Any transaction involving the acquisition of the Zimapan assets by the Company will be subject to, among other things, all necessary regulatory filings and approvals, including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. ** Source: Broines, Alejandro. Estudio Geologica-Minero de Los Fundos San Miguel y Ampliacion san Miguel, La Pechuga, Municipio de Ixmiquilpan, Hidalgo. Archivo Tecnico 130038, 1976. Qualified persons The technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Van Phu Bui, BSc, PGeo, who is independent of the Company and a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101. About Santacruz Silver Mining Ltd. Santacruz is a Mexican focused silver company with two producing silver projects, Veta Grande and Rosario, and two exploration properties, the Minillas property and Zacatecas properties. The Company also owns 100% of Carrizal Mining S.A. de C.V. Carrizal Mining is a private Mexican mining company, the principal asset of which is a 20% working interest in the Company's Veta Grande Project. Carrizal Mining also has the right to operate the Zimapan Mine until December 31, 2020 under a mining lease agreement. The Company is managed by a technical team of professionals with proven track records in developing, operating and discovering silver mines in Mexico. Our corporate objective is to become a mid-tier silver producer. 'signed' Arturo Prestamo Elizondo, President, Chief Executive Officer and Director For further information please contact: Arturo Prestamo Santacruz Silver Mining Ltd. Email: info@santacruzsilver.com Telephone: (604) 569-1609 Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward looking information Certain statements contained in this news release constitute "forward-looking information" as such term is used in applicable Canadian securities laws, including statements relating to the finalization of an agreement with Penoles and the potential acquisition of the Zimapan Mine by the Company from Penoles. Forward-looking information is based on plans, expectations and estimates of management at the date the information is provided and is subject to certain factors and assumptions. In making the forward-looking statements included in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including that the Company's financial condition and development plans do not change as a result of unforeseen events, and that future metal prices and the demand and market outlook for metals will remain stable or improve. Forward-looking information is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause plans, estimates and actual results to vary materially from those projected in such forward-looking information. Factors that could cause the forward-looking information in this news release to change or to be inaccurate include, but are not limited to, the risk that any of the assumptions referred to above prove not to be valid or reliable; there can be no assurance that the Company will be successful in entering into a binding purchase and sale agreement and thereafter completing the acquisition of the Zimapan Mine (including obtaining the necessary funding for the purchase price thereof); risk of delay and/or cessation in planned work or changes in the Company's financial condition and development plans; risks associated with the interpretation of data (including in respect of the third party mineralized material) regarding the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; the uncertainty of the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits and the risk of unexpected variations in mineral resources, grade and/or recovery rates; market conditions and volatility and global economic conditions; risks related to gold, silver, base metal and other commodity price fluctuations; risks relating to environmental regulation and liability; the possibility that results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations, as well as the other risks and uncertainties applicable to mineral exploration and development activities and to the Company as set forth in the Company's continuous disclosure filings filed under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com. There can be no assurance that any forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, the reader should not place any undue reliance on forward-looking information or statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information or statements, other than as required by applicable law. Rosario Project The decisions to commence production at the Rosario Mine, Cinco Estrellas Property and Membrillo Prospect were not based on a feasibility study of mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability, but rather on a more preliminary estimate of inferred mineral resources. Accordingly, there is increased uncertainty and economic and technical risks of failure associated with this production decision. Production and economic variables may vary considerably, due to the absence of a complete and detailed site analysis in accordance with NI 43-101. Veta Grande Project The decision to commence production at the Veta Grande Project was not based on a feasibility study on mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability. Accordingly, there is increased uncertainty and economic and technical risks of failure associated with this production decision. Production and economic variables may vary considerably due to the absence of a complete and detailed site analysis in accordance with NI 43-101. Zimapan Mine Production at the Zimapan Mine is not supported by a feasibility study on mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability or any other independent economic study under NI 43-101. Accordingly, there is increased uncertainty and economic and technical risks of failure associated with production operations at the Zimapan Mine. Production and economic variables may vary considerably due to the absence of a complete and detailed site analysis in accordance with NI 43-101. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/51627 Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan would meet US President Donald Trump this week on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, the Foreign Office announced on Monday. Khan would attend the WEF in Davos, Switzerland, from January 21 to 23 at the invitation of Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of WEF. "On the sidelines, the Prime Minister will hold bilateral meetings with several world leaders. These include Prime Minister's meeting with US President Trump," the FO said. This would be the third leadership-level interaction between Pakistan and the US since Prime Minister Khan's maiden visit to Washington in July 2019. They had also met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in September. Several other meetings are also scheduled with a wide range of corporate, business, technology and finance executives, and representatives of international financial institutions. Khan would deliver a keynote address at the WEF Special Session, and interact with CEOs and corporate leaders at the 'Pakistan Strategy Dialogue'. Prime Minister Khan will also speak to international media persons and editors during a session with the Forum's International Media Council. Throughout his engagements at Davos, Prime Minister Khan will share Pakistan's vision and achievements in the areas of economy, peace and stability, trade, business and investment opportunities, the FO said. He will also highlight the current situation in Kashmir and Pakistan's perspective on key regional and international issues, it said. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Forum. In keeping with the significance of this milestone, political leaders, business executives, heads of international organisations and civil society representatives will deliberate on contemporary economic, geopolitical, social and environmental issues at Davos summit. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) (Newser) A 71-year-old woman was helping to take care of a family member's 14 dogs when one of them attacked herand in investigating the mauling, police think they've uncovered an illegal dogfighting ring. Deputies responded Saturday to a 911 call from the York County, SC, property and found the woman on the ground, having been attacked by a pit bull that had somehow gotten loose, ABC News reports. She was taken via helicopter to a hospital, and deputies found the other dogsplus "evidence of state violations of the dogs being improperly restrained, aggressive, and lacking adequate food, water, and shelter," the York County Sheriff's Office says in a statement. "Code enforcement officers are also investigating the possibility the animals were used for fighting." story continues below "This incident speaks to the viciousness and violent nature of raising animals for the purpose of fighting and unfortunately caused very serious and unnecessary harm to an innocent and unintended victim," the sheriff says in the statement. "This activity is cruel, unnecessary, and criminal." York County Animal Control has all the dogs as the police investigation continues. There's no word on the woman's condition. (Read more dog fighting stories.) In a move he said was in honor of Martin Luther Kings legacy, Gov. Phil Murphy on Monday signed a trio of bills into law to further reform New Jerseys criminal justice system including one that allows some inmates convicted of non-violent crimes in the state to be paroled earlier. State officials say that law could significantly streamline the Garden States parole process and shrink its number of prisoners, leading to the release of nearly 2,000 more inmates each year. The other two measures Murphy signed change the rules on when authorities can seize valuables and money in the state and allocate taxpayer dollars to fund programs to reduce violence. In a speech during the annual Martin Luther King Day celebration at New Hope Baptist Memorial Church in Elizabeth, Murphy said one of his goals as governor has been to undo the racial disparities in our criminal justice system. We deeply committed to ensuring fairness in our criminal justice system." the Democratic governor, who is white, told the largely black audience at the church. And today, we are taking critical steps to ensure the scales of justice work equally for not some but all New Jerseyans. Today, we honor Dr. Kings legacy not just by celebrating his achievements in the fight for equality and justice but by continuing the difficult work he left for us to do," Murphy added. We are a state that believes in second chances. ... These changes are a second chance for New Jersey to do the right thing." The first new law (S761) also known as the Earn Your Way Out Act" is designed to speed up the states parole process. It creates administrative parole, which will allow certain inmates convicted of nonviolent offenses to forgo a full parole hearing and instead be released on parole after a review by a hearing officer and certification by a member of the State Parole Board. The State Parole Board expects the increase in the annual number of parolees in New Jersey to range from 1,749 to 1,923 under the new law, which takes effect April 1. Thus, the board projects that its annual expenditures would rise by up to $16.6 million or $8,612 per additional parolee once the law is fully realized. The law also requires the state Department of Corrections and the State Parole Board better prepare inmates to re-enter society with individual, comprehensive plans. This is where our emphasis should be when it comes to reforming the system, reducing crime and shutting the revolving door on prisons, said state Assemblyman Benji Wimberly, D-Passaic, a sponsor. The Democratic-sponsored measure has been in the works for years in Trenton and was conditionally vetoed by Murphys Republican predecessor, Chris Christie, in 2017. After Murphy became governor, both houses of the Democratic-controlled state Legislature passed the bill largely along partisan lines 28-11 in the state Senate and 58-16, with 2 abstentions, in the Assembly. The second law (A4970) Murphy signed Monday changes the states rules for civil asset forfeiture when authorities confiscate you property and cash when youre charged with a crime. Currently, you do not have to be found guilty for that to happen. Authorities need only a preponderance of evidence to seize something. But this law bans civil asset forfeiture if there are no criminal charges related to what has been seized or if the prosecution related to the assets ends without a conviction. Murphys office said this will make it easier for those with dismissed or acquitted cases to recover what has been seized from them. The Senate passed the bipartisan bill 37-2 and the Assembly 72-2. The third law (S3309) establishes the New Jersey Violence Intervention Program in the state Attorney Generals Office to fund initiatives to reduce violence. The program will award grants to municipalities, health agencies, law enforcement agencies, and non-profit organizations to implement the initiatives in communities with disproportionately high rates of gun violence. The Senate passed the Democratic-sponsored bill 39-0 and the Assembly 74-0, with 2 abstentions. These are the latest in a series steps Murphy and Democratic lawmakers have taken to reform criminal justice in New Jersey. Last month, Murphy signed laws that restore voting rights to people on parole in New Jersey and allows more residents to have their criminal records expunged. The governor noted Monday that when he took office in January 2017, New Jersey had 12 times more black than white prisoners. 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. Advertisement A smiling Meghan Markle has taken Archie and her two dogs for a walk in Vancouver hours before a beaming Harry landed in Canada last night after racing through one of his final royal engagements in London. The Duchess of Sussex was followed by two royal protection officers as she strolled through the Horth Hill Regional Park near the opulent 10million [$14million] Vancouver Island mansion they have used since American Thanksgiving last year. Meghan was wrangling her black Labrador Oz and beagle Guy while appearing to struggle to keep eight-month-old Archie in her baby carrier with one of the straps slipping off her shoulder. The former Suits star was followed by two bodyguards, who she smiled and talked to, as the row over whether British or Canadian taxpayers will pay the Sussexes' 3million-a-year personal protection bill rumbles on. Harry is today at the oceanfront mansion where Meghan and Archie have spent most of the past two months. Yesterday he rushed through morning meetings with Prime Minister Boris Johnson and several heads of state at the UK-Africa Investment Summit in Greenwich, arriving at around 11am and leaving by 1pm UK time. He then held a meeting with his Kensington Palace team about managing his and Meghan's affairs because they will now be in Canada for the foreseeable future. The Duke even dodged his brother William's first solo reception at Buckingham Palace and rushed to Heathrow to catch a 5.30pm British Airways flight to Vancouver International - before catching a smaller WestJet plane to Victoria Airport on Vancouver Island, arriving at 9.45pm local time. The father-of-one, who was grinning as he got off the plane with his security team having completed his 5,000-mile journey, wore a padded coat, blue jeans and a beanie hat while carrying a 76 ($98) green Everlane 'Twill Weekender' bag as he walked across the Tarmac. Meghan Markle took son Archie and her dogs Oz and Guy for a walk in the woods in Vancouver yesterday as her husband Harry flew in from the UK Hours later Harry landed on a BA flight to Vancouver Int (left). Harry flew on to Victoria airport on a smaller plane and smiled as he arrived having been away from his wife and son for almost two weeks Hours earlier Meghan smiled while strolling through Horth Hill Regional Park holding her two dogs, black lab Oz and beagle Guy on leashes Two Royal Protection Officers strolled behind her at a discreet distance for the morning outing - it is not known if they are British or Canadian The Duchess of Sussex held her eight-month-old son on her chest in a baby carrier as she waited for husband Prince Harry to arrive hours later Archie was dressed in a white onesie and bootees. Harry recently revealed his son, who is in Canada with Meghan, recently saw snow for the first time It was one of the warmest mornings for days on Canada's Vancouver Island, where it has been freezing, raining or snowing As Meghan and Harry were reunited in Canada for the first time since quitting as royals, it has emerged: Palace gaffe after announcing Prince Harry's wife would take the title of a divorced woman Palace officials were last night forced to admit they had made a blunder by announcing Meghan would take the title of a divorced woman. After confirming that she and Harry will give up their HRH His and Her Royal Highness titles, aides said the couple would instead be known as Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. But as Harry boarded a flight to Canada last night to start his new life with Meghan and baby Archie, palace officials at home were scrambling to confirm the couple's correct titles after admitting they had got them wrong. Typically only the divorced wives or widows of hereditary peers are referred to by their Christian name, followed by a comma, then their title as in the case of Diana, Princess of Wales and Sarah, Duchess of York. Advertisement Harry, who is still sixth in line to the throne, flew to Vancouver last night and has been reunited with eight-month-old Archie after more than two weeks apart and looked happy and excited to be in Canada. The prince was spotted landing in the country on British Airways flight 85 from Londons Heathrow and he left the Boeing 747 by the back staircase. At the end of the near-10-hour Boeing 747 flight he was whisked away in a black minivan to continue his journey with a short 25-minute hop over to Victoria on Vancouver Island. Harry flew on to Vancouver Island via WestJet, the same carrier that Meghan is said to have taken, landing at Victoria Airport around 9.45pm local time. Officials at the airport closed the third-floor public viewing area shortly before he landed. The Duke was then driven the last couple of miles in a Silver SUV to the 10million [$14million] oceanfront mansion where Harry and Meghan stayed for six weeks at the end of last year and where she has been with eight-month-old Archie for the past 10 days. Before the 5,000-mile journey, he was uncharacteristically relegated to a walk-on role at the high-profile UK-Africa Investment Summit in London as his brother and sister-in-law, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, held a glittering reception at Buckingham Palace. It was a sign of his new rank in the royal hierarchy. The event at the Intercontinental Hotel in Greenwich will be one of his last as a senior royal. The Duke, pictured getting off the plane, is expected to be in Canada for the foreseeable future although will have a few more engagements in the UK before the end of the spring Harry landed at Victoria Airport around 9.45pm local time. Officials at the airport closed the third-floor public viewing area shortly before he landed The duke was then driven the last couple of miles in a Silver SUV to $14million oceanfront mansion Mille Fleurs Harry is pictured getting a transfer direct from the tarmac. The prince is seen surrounded by security Monday night Harry couldn't help but smile as he made his way closer to his wife and child on Monday night following the second flight Hours earlier Prince Harry was whisked off a BA flight at Vancouver Int. The transatlantic flight which arrived six minutes late was Harrys goodbye to the royal life that he has lived since his birth Harry carried a 76 ($98) green Everlane 'Twill Weekender' bag and wore blue jeans as he made his way to a black minivan. Everlane is known to be one of his wife's favorite US-based brands The prince was spotted landing in the country on British Airways flight 85 from Londons Heathrow and he left the Boeing 747 by the back staircase Prince Harry has arrived in Canada to join Meghan and son Archie, after agreeing a deal to step back as senior royals. The Duke of Sussex had earlier attended the UK-Africa investment summit in London, where he met with the prime minister. Read more: https://t.co/hsHnXyv4eS pic.twitter.com/vxYA5LXm29 Sky News (@SkyNews) January 21, 2020 Queen's senior advisor says it would be 'unsatisfactory' if Harry and Meghan continue to use 'Sussex Royal' brand The Queen's most senior advisor on ceremonial matters has said it would not be 'satisfactory' for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to continue to use the Sussex Royal name after stepping down from senior royal duties. Thomas Woodcock, Garter Principal King of Arms, is a member of the royal household and his job is ensuring that royal symbols are not wrongly used commercially. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex successfully negotiated their withdrawal from the royal family earlier this week, and it has already been announced the couple will not use their HRH titles. But the couple already have an Instagram feed called Sussexroyal and a website of the same name. And questions linger over whether they should be able to use the brand, as they have stepped down from royal duties. Mr Woodcock told The Times: 'I don't think it's satisfactory. One cannot be two things at once. You either are [royal] or you're not.' The principal advisor to the Queen on heraldry and ceremonial matters is currently being consulted on the plans, but the final call will be made by Her Majesty. He added: 'It is such unusual times that it is a matter of waiting and seeing how things develop.' Advertisement Meghan, 38, had not been seen since last Thursday when she drove a Range Rover to pick up her pilates instructor Heather Dorak at Victoria Airport. The Duchess was visibly enjoying walking in picturesque Horth Hill Park during her stay on Vancouver Island. She and Harry took a hike there on New Year's Day, before he flew back to London to sort out the details of their split from the Royal Family. But it is expected they will spend most of their time in North America, meaning Archie will have little contact with his cousins Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis or his aunt and uncle, Kate and William. Horth Hill Regional Park is just a couple of miles from Mille Fleurs. On the previous visit, Harry and Meghan shocked local couple Iliya Pavlovic and Asymina Kantorowicz who were taking selfies when the soon-to-be-ex-royals walked past and offered to snap pictures of the couple, according to CTV News. 'I froze up, I actually couldn't believe who it was,' Kantorowicz said. 'I kept looking back and forth like, 'Is this actually happening?' Kantorowicz, who lives some 15 miles away in Victoria, British Columbia, said Meghan handed her phone back and wished her a Happy New Year and the two couples went on their way. Harry and Meghan were with their dogs and her Suits co-star Abigail Spencer. Harry and Meghan now have to decide in which part of Canada they are to make their future. It is understood he would like to stay on the west coast around Vancouver while she would prefer Toronto where she lived while she was filming Suits. She wrapped up in layers under a green beanie hat, wearing black leggings and her favourite Kamik ankle-high brown hiking boots Two Royal Protection Officers strolled behind her at a discreet distance. Harry and Meghan will repay the British taxpayer 2.4 million pounds ($3.1 million) for extensive renovations to Frogmore House in Windsor, which they will continue to use as their base when in Britain It is at least the second time the duchess has gone walking in picturesque Horth Hill Park during her stay on Vancouver Island Meghan was seen lovingly gazing at Archie as she waited for Harry to jet in from the UK on Monday Her dog Guy (right) was also sporting a red sweater during the casual stroll on a the warmest day yet this winter Under the terms of Megxit, Harry and Meghan will keep their titles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the courtesy HRH but they will not use the initials Meghan Markle is the picture of a happy mom as she enjoys a casual stroll through a neighborhood park this morning The former Duchess of Sussex couldn't look more relaxed or happy as she carried baby Archie in a sling while holding her two dogs Guy and Oz Meghan smiles at onlookers as she places a protective hand over baby Archie on Monday in Canada The couple would have been expected to attend the Buckingham Palace bash but William and Kate were joined by the Earl and Countess of Wessex and Princess Anne, in what has been described as the new royal order those who will support the Queen from now on. It is another stepping stone for William in the long preparation for him becoming king. The Queen and Prince Charles were not in attendance at the reception to mark the UK-Africa Investment Summit and Prince Harry was in the air and on his way to Vancouver, in order not to overshadow his brother's big night. Someone show Meghan how to use a baby carrier before Archie drops out', Twitter users urge Holding her two dogs, there was no sign of the drama of Megxit on her smiling face, as she took Archie for a stroll through the woods with Guy the Beagle and their black Labrador Social media users have urged Meghan Markle to get advice from the nanny on how to use a baby carrier after pictures showed her awkwardly handling Archie while walking with her two dogs yesterday. The Duchess of Sussex looked in good spirits as she strolled through the woods just a couple of miles from the oceanfront home on Canada's Vancouver Island where she has spent most of the past two months. Smiling to herself, there was no sign of the drama of Megxit on her face as she took Archie out for some fresh air with Guy the beagle and the black Labrador she shares with Prince Harry. However some eagle-eyed Twitter users were distracted by baby Archie and claimed the eight-month-old looked a little uncomfortable against his mother's chest in a sporty $180 (154) Ergo 360 Omni Baby Carrier. Some went so far as to say she was using the baby carrier incorrectly and said she looked like she might need 'help' One user said: 'Archie looks uncomfortable - maybe one of Meghan's armed guards could give her a hand with the pup...just say'in. Twitter user Tina Richards said: 'Please someone show Meghan how a baby carrier is used correctly before poor little Archie drops out.' Advertisement Harrys walk-on appearance in Greenwich yesterday came as sources said that the prince, who looked tired at the event, is determined to prove wrong those who say his plan to earn a living commercially is incompatible with his position. Royal aides are concerned the couples desire to exploit their commercial earning potential could embarrass the monarchy, but have agreed to let them give it a go, with a review in a year. One source said: Harry and Meghan just wanted more flexibility in their lives. They felt constrained by the institution and their place in the hierarchy. They were wheeled out when they were needed, otherwise their wings were clipped. Now it is up to them to prove that this new model can be successful. Harry wants to be able to go back to the Queen in a years time and say, Granny, this can work. The UK-Africa Investment Summit brought together heads of state and government and senior representatives from African countries, agencies and businesses to promote investment across Africa. But although Harry met the prime minister of Morocco and the presidents of Malawi and Mozambique, his was very much a bit-part role. It comes after the prince told on Monday night of his disappointment at not being able to continue performing duties on behalf of his grandmother. He said: What I want to make clear is were not walking away, and we certainly arent walking away from you. Our hope was to continue serving the Queen, the Commonwealth, and my military associations, but without public funding. Unfortunately, that wasnt possible. Ive accepted this, knowing that it doesnt change who I am or how committed I am. But I hope that helps you understand what it had to come to, that I would step my family back from all I have ever known, to take a step forward into what I hope can be a more peaceful life. It has been reported Prince Harry's rift with William has been repaired but he is still at odds with Charles following the Duke of Sussex's dramatic exit from royal life. The two-year quarrel stopped after they realised it was 'now or never', with Harry flying to Canada. A source told the Sun: 'William and Harry have spent time together privately away from the official Sandringham Summit working on their relationship and discussing their future. Secret peace talks, helped by the Duchess of Sussex and Duchess of Cambridge, were separate from conversations involving the Queen over Harry's future role. 'It has been ground-breaking in terms of saving their bond as brothers and has been totally driven by them. 'But Kate and Meghan, who was in Canada, did join in with some of the talks on more than one occasion which is another sign of a real thaw in their relationship. Things are better.' They added: 'Given Harry is now permanently moving away, there was a realisation if they didn't sort things out now, they never would.' Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex talks with Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a bilateral meeting at the UK-Africa Investment Summit in London on Monday Despite the drama of the past fortnight, William and Kate appeared without a care in the world as they received a line of visiting African heads of state at Buckingham Palace last night in an event Harry and Meghan would once have been expected to attend The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Princess Royal and the Earl and Countess of Wessex join Heads of Government, Ministers and members of NGOs attending the UK-Africa Investment Summit for a group photograph at London's Buckingham Palace. Prince Harry, the Queen and Prince Charles were missing from the picture Palace officials were last night forced to admit they had made a blunder by announcing Meghan would take the title of a divorced woman. After confirming that she and Harry will give up their HRH His and Her Royal Highness titles, aides said the couple would instead be known as Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. The Queen and Prince Charles decided not to strip Prince Harry of their HRH titles and Duke and Duchess of Sussex rank to avoid looking 'petty'. Her Majesty is said to have considered denying the couple of their most prized titles and instead referring to them as the Earl and Countess of Dumbarton putting them at the same level as Edward and Sophie, Earl and Countess of Wessex. However, the Queen and Prince Charles are believed to have felt preventing the couple from using 'HRH' in public and for commercial use - while still officially retaining the title - was a sufficient enough change. A source told the Evening Standard: 'The Sussex title is one of the ancient royal dukedoms given to him ahead of his wedding to Meghan, along with other titles. Removing it was seriously considered and discussed at the highest level.' Under the terms of Megxit, Harry and Meghan will keep their titles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the courtesy HRH but they will not use the initials. It is not known when Harry will return to the UK but a Sussex source told MailOnline there is 'more to come' in Britain for the prince before the spring. During a visit to Prospect House in Wroughton, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall broke her silence on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepping down as royals, pausing before saying the couple would be missed. Camilla, 72, was asked for her thought on Megxit during a visit to the Prospect Hospice in Wroughton, as she helped to celebrate the facility's 40th anniversary year. While meeting hospice staff, the wife of Prince Charles was asked by a reporter: 'Will you miss Harry and Meghan?'. Camilla smiled and replied: 'Of course'. Harry spoke on Sunday night of his 'great sadness' at leaving the royals and claimed he and Meghan were 'not just walking away.' 'Once Meghan and I were married, we were excited. We were hopeful and we were here to serve. For those reasons it brings me great sadness that it has come to this,' he said in London at a meeting of Sentebale, an AIDS and HIV charity he founded in 2006. 'The decision that I have made for my wife and I to step back is not one I made lightly. It was so many months of talks after so many years of challenges and I know I haven't always gotten it right but as far as this goes there really was no other option.' Harry said he wanted his audience to hear 'the truth' from him 'not as a Prince or a Duke, but as Harry, the same person that many of you have watched grow up over the last 35 years but with a clearer perspective.' He added: 'We both do everything we can to fly the flag and carry out our roles for this country with pride. 'I will continue to be the same man who holds his country dear,' he said, 'and dedicates his life to supporting the causes, charities and military communities that are so important to methe UK is my home and a place that I love. That will never change.' Harry has defiantly backed an Army charity amid claims he is grieving after the Queen and Prince Charles' insisted he is stripped of his official military roles for quitting. He used the Sussex Royal Instagram account to celebrate the 10th birthday of the Walking With The Wounded charity and shared a series of photographs of him supporting them around the world. Harry must step away from his three official military roles but has vowed to always maintain his links with his fellow soldiers and today praised 'the resilience and strength' of those 'injured in service to their country'. The emotive Instagram post said: 'The Duke has worked hard to raise awareness over the years, including an expedition to the North Pole in 2011, trekking across the South Pole with 12 injured servicemen from the UK, the US and the Commonwealth in 2013, and joining wounded veterans for their incredible 1,000-mile walk of Britain in 2015!' They will also repay the British taxpayer 2.4 million pounds ($3.1 million) for extensive renovations to Frogmore House in Windsor, which they will continue to use as their base when in Britain. 'Royal Peter' for hire in China: As Prince Harry flies to Canada to earn millions, the Queen's eldest grandson Peter Phillips is revealed to be trading on his royal status by advertising milk on TV The Queen's grandson is using his royal connections to sell milk on Chinese TV. In a fresh twist to the row over Harry and Meghan seeking 'financial independence', Peter Phillips appears in two adverts for a state-owned dairy firm. The 42-year-old son of Princess Anne is seen holding a glass of milk in front of a stately home, with the caption: 'British Royal Family member Peter Phillips.' 'British royal family member Peter Phillips' how Anne's son is presented on the ad he signs off Thirsty work: Phillips takes a swig of milk Drink, sir: A 'Palace' footman serves Phillips his drink on a silver salver Mr Phillips, who grew up on his mother's estate in Gloucestershire, boasts in the advert of being brought up on Jersey milk from the herd at Windsor. A spokesman for Longleat House, the Wiltshire property used in the commercial, said permission had not been granted. The revelation will intensify the row about 'royals for rent', as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex embark on their new lives. Harry and Meghan have had to promise not to use their HRH titles to cash in as they set about becoming 'financially independent'. Mr Phillips and his sister Zara have never had HRH status, and both have come under scrutiny in the past for the way they make money. Stately home: The massive country pile seen in the advert appears to be Longleat House in Wiltshire, complete with a royal carriage (circled) He and his Canadian wife Autumn Kelly sold their 2008 wedding to Hello! magazine. And last year he held meetings with colourful Chinese entrepreneur Dr Johnny Hon over a possible launch of a horse-racing private members' club in Hong Kong. Yesterday it emerged that the latest scheme for Mr Phillips a first cousin of William and Harry has been to promote 'Jersey Fresh Milk' in advertisements shown on television in Shanghai. The potentially lucrative promotion could be worth tens of thousands of pounds. Mr Phillips did not respond to questions last night, including as to whether he was paid. Two videos have been shown on Dragon TV. Filming appears to have been last year. The makers have spliced together footage of Longleat House with a replica of the state coach used by the Queen on state occasions, giving the film a regal feel. Nagging doubts: A behind-the-scenes video reveals the advert was in fact filmed using green-screen trickery but the horse is real, at least The Jersey milk is sold by a multinational corporation called Bright Dairies, which is ultimately owned by the Shanghai municipal government. In his advert, Mr Phillips gushes: 'Bright Dairies has got a fantastic reputation all over China and outside of China as well, for producing high quality dairy products.' The 30-second advert in Chinese opens with a set of intricate wrought-iron gates opening to a sweeping drive up to a palatial English country house. A moment later, viewers see Peter Phillips, dressed in a black bow tie and dinner jacket, peering out of a high window. Then the camera switches to an outside view again, showing a horse-drawn landau resembling the state coach drawing up to the grand set of stone steps. Memories: Phillips presented here with a milk churn tells how 'there was a herd of Jersey cattle at Windsor... we were brought up on it' The gilded scene suggests Mr Phillips is watching the arrival of the monarch at a royal palace. The next clip shows an opulent drawing room with a butler approaching Mr Phillips bearing a bottle of milk and glass on a silver platter. A Chinese voice, apparently dubbing Mr Phillips, says: 'I love to drink Jersey Milk.' As the butler nods Mr Phillips takes a long gulp of milk from a glass. With classical music playing, the scene turns to an aerial view of green rolling hills, with the caption in Chinese: 'The royal estate of Britain Jersey Island'. Although the Channel Island of Jersey is a Crown dependency, it is not usually described as part of the royal 'estate'. Idyllic: The advert cuts to a grazing herd of cattle Then follows a tranquil scene of five Jersey cows munching on grass in what appears to be a mountainous terrain with snowy peaks, with the Chinese voice saying: 'For centuries, the Jersey cows are protected by British law.' The advert introduces the Chinese version of Jersey milk, named Guangming Zhiyou. It appears this is produced from a herd of 'pure breed' Jersey cows in China. Mr Phillips next appears, in an expensive-looking three-piece suit, opening the door of a fridge filled with bottles of 'Jersey Cattle' milk. 'Fresh is what I want,' says the voice. 'Indulge in freshness and richness.' The Chinese captions on the screen translate as: 'Quality British product' and 'This is the fresh milk I love to drink.' Accompanying the advert is a one-and-a-half-minute video in English, which appears to show Mr Phillips making the ad and explaining his role. 'Hello, my name is Peter Phillips,' he begins. If Chinese viewers do not recognise him, the next scene shows the Queen's golden landau trundling into view. Mr Phillips waxes lyrical about his love of 'sampling other cultures', before telling viewers: 'As children, we used to spend a lot of time down at the dairy. There was a herd of Jersey cattle at Windsor and we were brought up on it. 'And it was always much fuller of flavour, much creamier, than other milks that we had growing up. That has something to do with the way the cows are bred.' He says the 'well looked after' cows 'do produce fantastic milk', as the camera shows him taking appreciative sips from a glass and nodding contentedly. Mr Phillips says: 'It's a privilege for me to be able to represent Bright Dairies in this exciting new project to bring jersey milk to China. Hopefully it will be a huge success.' There is a huge market for quality milk in China and Bright Dairy & Food Co Ltd is one of the leading companies there. Taking a break: Phillips enjoys a drink while looking out at the Shanghai skyline Last night Buckingham Palace declined to comment. A source said the royal landau in the film was a 'replica' of the Queen's coach and pointed out that Mr Phillips had never held a royal title nor been a working member of the royal family. The source said he was a private individual, and suggested it would not be for the palace to comment on his private business. Sources insisted Mr Phillips was not trading on his royal connections, saying the word 'royal' was not used. However the Chinese advert prominently describes him as 'British royal family member Peter Phillips'. Mr Phillips did not respond to requests for comment. For the Queen's sake, when WILL Harry start to think before he acts? The Duke of Sussex brusquely rips up royal unity again by saying deal is NOT what he wanted, writes RICHARD KAY Were these the first cracks in the highly polished exterior, an unmistakably emotional outburst ripping up the carefully choreographed royal script and, for the first time, appearing to directly question the agreement struck with his grandmother the Queen? Privately, friends insisted he was doing no more than clarifying his position when he forthrightly spoke out about his future at a dinner in a fashionable restaurant. But others around Prince Harry fear it was a sign of something more fragile, something that has echoes of his late mother Princess Diana. With the ink barely dry on the deal that allows him to escape the straitjacket of being a working royal, Harry's sudden decision to use a private event to pass a very public judgement on it was not just discourteous to the Royal Family, but also dramatically undermined the harmonious accord it had been presented as hours earlier. Above all Harry's speech demonstrated how raw and how unpredictable the drama over his and Meghan's split from the royals really is No wonder there was consternation at the Palace yesterday. Above all Harry's speech demonstrated how raw and how unpredictable the drama over his and Meghan's split from the royals really is. Harry's intervention has been likened to that of a merger between two companies when, after it has been successfully concluded, the chief executive of one of the firms suddenly announces 'this isn't what I wanted', blindsiding directors, shareholders and workers. His remarks included in a speech he delivered on Sunday evening at a glossy event at Chelsea's Ivy Garden in aid of the charity Sentebale, which he founded to honour his mother's legacy supporting those affected by Aids and HIV in the African kingdom of Lesotho addressed the crisis over his future head on. The Harry I know will be desperately torn over the repercussions of his decision to walk away Coming just 24 hours after he had apparently signed off on the agreement struck between him, the Queen and his father Prince Charles, Harry's anguish couldn't be clearer: he was telling the world that this was not what he wanted. He had, he said, hoped to continue to serve the Queen and Commonwealth and, crucially, retain his military associations. 'Unfortunately that wasn't possible,' he declared. For all his optimism about leaps into the future, it was a speech tinged with regret. 'It brings me great sadness that it has come to this,' he said at one point. Something, surely, with which the Queen would heartily agree. Her Majesty may be less pleased, however, that her grandson decided to speak out at all. In her own measured and generous statement the previous evening, the Queen deliberately spoke warmly of Meghan, describing her pride at how quickly the 38-year old duchess has become 'one of the family'. And in promising that Harry, Meghan and their son Archie would always be 'much-loved' members of the Royal Family, she was mapping out a future in which they would not be exiled. These words were intended to be conciliatory, a peace-making gesture. Did Harry wilfully misinterpret this kindness or was he simply hell-bent on showing that his exclusion from those aspects of his royal life which mean the most to him was not his doing? As someone who has followed the fortunes of Prince Harry for this newspaper since his first day at nursery school, I would like to think that it is the latter. Less charitable voices within the Queen's household are not so sure. One figure suggested that at the very least Harry had demonstrated an act of incivility to both his father and his grandmother. This was hardly the first time Harry has so brusquely intervened as the crisis unfolded in ways not to his liking. This was hardly the first time Harry has so brusquely intervened as the crisis unfolded in ways not to his liking It is almost two weeks ago that he sensationally announced that he and Meghan were quitting their frontline royal roles without forewarning the Queen, Prince Charles or Prince William. Indeed, the first the Queen learned of it was from an evening television news bulletin. The reaction of the Queen and Charles since has been informed by their desire to avoid repeating the mistakes that occurred with Harry's mother over her split from the Prince of Wales. Almost exactly 24 years ago the long-term discussions about Diana's future also erupted into the public consciousness with the princess accusing the Palace of playing 'ping-pong' with her. It concerned her status as a divorced woman outside the Royal Family and also pivoted on a title, in her case the style Her Royal Highness. Like Harry, she viewed the handling of her issue quite differently from the Palace. Royal officials claimed she had offered to surrender the HRH title without duress. Diana angrily disagreed insisting it had been a 'pre-condition to any divorce negotiation'. The Palace hit back with a chastening statement oozing with disdain, which spelt out that it did not 'say something specific on a point like this unless we are absolutely sure of our facts'. Shattered by the ferocity of the negotiations, Diana did not fight the title issue and in the end it helped secure her 17.5million divorce settlement, a sum that Charles's then financial adviser said had 'taken him to the cleaners', forcing him to sell his entire investment portfolio. But Diana bitterly regretted losing the HRH style and pointedly quit as patron of 100 charities as a result. She felt passionately that organisations like Help the Aged and British Red Cross Youth deserved a royal patron and that the loss in her standing as result of her title being forfeited would be to diminish them. The reaction of the Queen and Charles since has been informed by their desire to avoid repeating the mistakes that occurred with Harry's mother over her split from the Prince of Wales Her only consolation was the promise from the then 14-year old Prince William that he would restore it when he became King. There are other parallels with the Sussex crisis, too. Diana was constantly linked with commercial deals, from a fragrance named after her by a French perfume house to being the face of a high street fashion brand. They offered her mega-bucks but she turned them all down just as she did Kevin Costner who wanted her to star with him in a remake of The Bodyguard. She could have made millions but didn't. Significantly, she also resisted the constant blandishments of money-rich US TV networks. In her case she was pursued by the veteran Barbara Walters. Did all this turbulence in his mother's life resonate with Prince Harry at the Ivy on Sunday evening? Certainly, he made no fewer than four references to his mother during his brief speech, including one poignant reference to her death. 'When I lost my mum 23 years ago, you took me under your wing,' he said. And to be fair there was humility in his words too as he spoke of his 'utmost respect for my grandmother, my commander in chief'. He also acknowledged how grateful he was to the Queen and 'the rest of my family' for the support they have shown Meghan. But that gratitude is somewhat tested by remarks made as he attempted to put his side of the story. 'What I want to make clear is we're not walking away,' he said. 'Our hope was to continue serving the Queen, the Commonwealth and my military associations, but without public funding. Unfortunately that wasn't possible.' As an ex-soldier, with distinguished service in Afghanistan, quite apart from his work with veterans and the Invictus Games he founded for wounded, injured and disabled veterans, losing those Army links clearly hurts. Elsewhere in the speech, if it wasn't his mother's influence it was his wife's, who he was proud to say 'upholds the same values as I do'. Elsewhere in the speech, if it wasn't his mother's influence it was his wife's, who he was proud to say 'upholds the same values as I do' He insisted the decision to 'step back' was not one he had made lightly. And using an Americanism he added: 'I know I haven't always gotten it right, but as far as this goes, there really was no other option.' Really? Some might say that after less than two years as a working royal couple, Harry and Meghan had barely got started. After all he stresses his commitment to duty and service. You can almost hear the anguish in his voice when he says at one point: 'We were here to serve.' So why aren't they? And what went wrong in his mind that stopped them doing just that? When royal couples in the past have struggled matrimonially or with the burden of their role, the Queen has always been a sympathetic ear. But she also has the 'five-year test'. Don't do anything hasty, let's see how things work out over five years, is her measured response. In recent years both the Duchess of Cambridge and the Countess of Wessex have been challenged by searching public criticism and they have emerged as two of the most reliable and popular members of the Royal Family. And what about Camilla, Harry's stepmother? No royal figure has taken more knocks in public life but she has been quietly transformed as Duchess of Cornwall performing a vital role as Prince Charles's consort. Even Charles and Diana delayed their separation at her request to try to make the marriage work. The more one looks at the whole sorry situation it does seem the Sussexes decision to walk away is one made in haste. But then everything about them has happened at speed. From that first meeting a blind date in a London restaurant to Harry almost immediately whisking Meghan away to camp out in the Botswana bush to her settling in to cosy Nottingham Cottage, his London home at Kensington Palace, everything has been at pace. Everything conducted like a holiday romance him in Canada, both going to Africa, she visiting England but with drama at every turn. And in the flash of an eye they were engaged, married and undertaking big overseas tours. Was it any wonder that after that breathless trip to Africa its brilliance overshadowed by the spectacularly misjudged decision to complain about their life in the spotlight in a television interview they needed a break. Seven weeks of introspection later they appeared to make their announcement without any real thought about its impact and now find themselves fire-fighting public anger and disappointment at their treatment of the 93-year-old Queen. Perhaps this was really why Harry spoke as he did. The Harry I know will be desperately torn over the repercussions of his decision to walk away. One thing he could do which would assuage public criticism concerns his promise to repay the 2.4million of taxpayers' money spent on Frogmore Cottage. Rather than have it transferred into an anonymous fund where it will be used to the repair costs of royal properties, a friend of the prince has suggested he earmark it for a specific project such as a school or a hospice. Diana would certainly have approved. When she learned of the money being used to build the Millennium Dome in 1997, she pleaded with ministers to spend the estimated 750million on a new regional hospital instead. Her wishes, alas, were ignored. How WILL Prince Harry and Meghan Markle fund their new life? Couple will rake in cash from Diana's inheritance and mega-million-dollar deals with Netflix and Apple... but taxpayers could STILL have to pick up 3m security bill Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are expected to amass a billion dollar fortune from Diana's inheritance, eight-figure deals with TV giants and their Sussex Royal brand following their departure from official royal duties - but taxpayers could still be picking up the couple's 3million bodyguard bill because of fears they won't be kept safe in Canada. The abdication agreement with Her Majesty has cost the Sussexes their HRH titles - but it will allow them 'complete and absolute' freedom to secure tie-ups with Silicon Valley giants such as Apple and Netflix or US TV networks while avoiding 'dodgy' commercial deals that would upset the Queen. Experts have claimed that US TV networks could be willing to pay the couple 38million [$50million] book deals, 20million for US TV interviews and 470,000 [$600,000] based on the amounts secured by the Obamas since they left the White House. And Prince Charles is expected to pay his 2.3million annual payment to his son for at least another year while they set up in Canada, despite the couple having an estimated joint net worth of 34million [$44million]. Harry has his own wealth, including an estimated 20million inheritance from Princess Diana and 7million from the Queen Mother. Meghan is thought to be worth 4million, accumulated mainly from her seven years on Suits. The couple are predicted to have such incredible earning power they could build a $1billion brand having spent part of 2019 secretly trademarking the Sussex brand on items such as pyjamas, hats and hoodies - but this is expected to be impossible without angering Harry's grandmother and father. But despite the Megxit deal being hammered out at the Sandringham summit hosted by the Queen this month, there are still a number of unanswered questions about who will fund the couple once they settle abroad - and how they will make money. There is a row brewing because the British taxpayer could pick up the couple's estimated 3million security bill because an American private firm would be 'woefully ill-equipped' to protect the high profile couple. Harry and Meghan have significant personal wealth but their decision to quit as frontline royals and move to Canada will increase the earning potential for them and their charities. But it is inevitable they will become richer themselves Who pays for Meghan and Harry's lifestyle, where does their cash come from and how much could they make in North America? Who pays for Harry and Meghan now and will this continue when they move to Canada? Home Office The government department covers Harry, Meghan and Archie's 24/7 Met police security - estimated at 600,000-a-year. With overtime, travel and accommodation expenses this would likely reach 1million. However experts have said that this could reach 3million - with British taxpayers expected to pick up some or all of the bill despite the couple living in Canada. The details have not yet been agreed but sources expect the Home Office to pick up some or all of the bill when their royal duties end in the spring. Prince Charles Harry receives up to 2.3million annually from his father's royal estate, the Duchy of Cornwall. It is understood that Charles will continue to fund his son for the first year at least, either via the Duchy of Cornwall, the estate which provides him with private funding, or more likely from his own personal investments from income such as his bequest from the late Queen Mother. No public funds will be used. Personal wealth Harry inherited around 20million from his mother, Princess Diana, who died when he was 12. The Queen Mother also left him up to 7million. Much of his cash is tied up in trust funds with some of the money kept from him until his 40th birthday Meghan has a personal fortune of 4million, mainly from her acting work and property in Canada. She also earned six-figures each year from blogging, fashion and modelling. Where could they make money from and how much? Harry and Meghan are expected to walk in the footsteps of Barack and Michelle Obama, who agreed a production deal with Netflix to make TV and film projects. The path taken by Mrs Obama after her time as First Lady - and indeed the career Hillary Clinton has carved out - may well be an inspiration to Meghan as she looks to her future. The former Suits actress is likely to be highly sought after by publishing houses who would see dollar signs at the prospect of a revealing memoir. Recent books written by Mrs Obama and Mrs Clinton topped bestseller lists and were accompanied by tours where they filled venues like rock stars. Experts have claimed that US TV networks could be willing to pay the Sussexes 38million [$50million] book deals, 20million [$25million] for US TV interviews and 470,000 [$600,000] based on the amounts secured by the Obamas since they left the White House. As a former lifestyle blogger, another option would be for Meghan to resurrect The Tig blog and become an a-list influencer, perhaps teaming up with brands, signing sponsorship deals, and getting paid in return for posting about brands on her blog and social media. It is thought that this route may be unlikely as it could be argued that it does not fit in with upholding the values of the Queen. Another possibility for Meghan would be to return to her role as paralegal Rachel Zane in Suits, which was filmed in Toronto, and would therefore be convenient if the couple settled in the Canadian city. The show has ended now but executives may be tempted to bring it back if they were to have a duchess among the cast. In April 2019, Kensington Palace announced that Harry was working with US chat show queen Oprah Winfrey on a mental health documentary series. Harry and Oprah will be co-creators and executive producers of the project for Apple, with the multi-part documentary series focusing on both mental illness and mental wellness. Away from TV, Harry could turn to the well-paid lecture circuit where he could depend on his confidence and charisma to bring in big bucks. With his Army training in leading others and experience of appearing on stages across the world, Harry could well become an in-demand motivational speaker. Advertisement Dai Davies, who led the Metropolitan Police's royalty protection unit, said: 'Ultimately I think the British public will still be paying for it. 'The private security firms simply cannot cope with the professional demands that protecting Harry and Meghan would put on them. 'By moving abroad they are making it harder to set up adequate protection.' Buckingham Palace has delayed the final decision over whether to ban the couple's use of the 'Sussex Royal' brand on Instagram and on their personal website until later in the year - but the Queen has warned them not to use it as a trade name in business deals. A final ruling on what is allowed will be made after further negotiations, but the brand would refer to the couple's soon-to-be announced charitable foundation and not commercial activities, an insider has said, adding: 'They have promised they will not bring the Royal Family into disrepute through any dodgy deals. Harry and Meghan want to use their Sussex brand to make huge amounts of money for the charities and good causes they support in the UK and around the world - but is inevitable they will become richer themselves. Aides are said to have warned the couple they could be forced to change the name of their charitable foundation and social media profile if it damages the Royal Family. But sources have suggested something this 'extreme' is unlikely with the couple losing the HRH title, perks and having top pay back the 2.4million of taxpayers' money spent on Frogmore Cottage. And with Harry set to fly out to Canada imminently after completing some of his final royal duties, the couple are able to continue building their brand and business opportunities with their Sussex Royal brand intact. Talent manager Jonathan Shalit, who has struck commercial deals with a host of stars, tweeted last night: 'Meghan and Harry will become a billion dollar brand', adding cash would roll in from 'Fashion and consumer product ranges, endorsements and advertising. Books, TV and film, paid public appearances, company directorships in return for shares.' He added in an interview with LBC: 'The Duchess of Sussex is one of the most famous people in the world. The phone is going to be off the hook. Never before has someone that close to the queen been available for commercial opportunity. 'My guess is [an Oprah Winfrey interview would pay] around $25 million. Imagine how many people are going to watch that. Let's say it goes out on Apple or Amazon, imagine the advertising around that. The commercial opportunity is extraordinary. 'The Obamas book deal in the US was around $50m. The real value when it comes to fashion is Meghan. She's been on the front cover of glossy magazines all over the world. Any brand in the world. It would be phenomenal in terms of her income. 'You mention wellness, there's a TV actress in America Jessica Alba had a company called The Honest Company that's worth over a billion dollars. [Meghan] could in theory make billions of dollars if she got involved with the right company in terms of being a shareholder.' Netflix's chief content officer Ted Sarandos said at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in LA yesterday the streaming giant would like to work with Harry and Meghan, adding: 'Who wouldn't be interested?' Harry has also worked with Apple - and US TV networks are ready to work with the Sussexes, who are close to Oprah Winfrey. Harry and Meghan need an income to replace the estimated 2million a year from the taxpayer-funded Sovereign Grant, which supports most senior royals. It is understood that Charles will pay either via the Duchy of Cornwall, the estate which provides him with private funding, or more likely from his own personal investments from income such as his bequest from the late Queen Mother. Palace sources insist no public funds will be used. Although an abdication deal was announced on Saturday following days of discussions at Sandringham, the question of who will pay for Harry and Meghan's security once they split their time between the UK and Canada has yet to be answered. Currently their bodyguards cost around 1million-a-year - but experts claim this could reach 3million if they spend most of their time in Canada. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had intimated that his country would pick up some of the expense - but a poll of 1,154 Canadian adults found last week that 73 per cent do not want their government to pay for the couple's security costs. The Queen and Prince Charles decided not to strip Prince Harry of their HRH titles and Duke and Duchess of Sussex rank to avoid looking 'petty', it was claimed today. Her Majesty is said to have considered stripping the couple of their most prized titles and instead referring to them as the Earl and Countess of Dumbarton putting them at the same level as Edward and Sophie, Earl and Countess of Wessex. However, the Queen and Prince Charles are believed to have felt preventing the couple from using 'HRH' in public and for commercial use - while still officially retaining the title - was a sufficient enough change. A source told the Evening Standard: 'The Sussex title is one of the ancient royal dukedoms given to him ahead of his wedding to Meghan, along with other titles. Removing it was seriously considered and discussed at the highest level.' Netflixs chief content officer Ted Sarandos, pictured at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in LA yesterday said the streaming giant would like to work with Harry and Meghan As part of their independence deal agreed by the Queen, they will keep their HRH titles but will not use them once they cease to be working royals. They will not be addressed as His or Her Royal Highness, but will be Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. Their decision to step back from royal duties had led to speculation they could be stripped of their HRH titles, and may no longer be able to use Sussex Royal. But a source said such a move was considered too extreme, and could have been problematic for the Royal Family in the future. Had Harry and Meghan been stripped of their titles completely, they would have been considered junior to other members of the family, such as Prince Andrew's daughters Beatrice and Eugenie. That could have led to the embarrassing prospect of Meghan having to curtsey to the princesses. The HRH title was taken from Harry's mother Diana and his aunt Sarah Ferguson after they divorced, but he was born a royal, so the Queen would have had to issue a Letters Patent to remove it. Applications have already been made to trademark the Sussex Royal brand, which is at the centre of the couple's social media presence, including their website and Twitter and Instagram accounts. They will be free to make commercial deals without the involvement of Buckingham Palace, but aides have insisted such arrangements will be 'respectful' of the Queen. The source close to the couple said: 'There are still a lot of details to be worked out, but if it's the use of the word 'royal' in a charitable sense, then what is the problem?' They have not yet signed any contracts and have agreed not to become brand ambassadors for any big companies. Instead, they are expected to seek commercial deals that complement causes close to their charitable interests. Harry has signed up as co-creator and executive producer on an Apple TV documentary on mental health with US broadcaster Oprah Winfrey, due to be screened this year. He is understood to have asked for his fee to be donated to mental health organisations. Harry (left today) says he and Meghan (right in Vancouver last week) feel they have no choice but quit for Canada Meghan has also agreed to provide a voiceover for a Disney film in exchange for a donation to a conservation charity. In future, they could be paid for such agreements, although they will inevitably face accusations that they are cashing in on Harry's royal background. Meghan's father Thomas Markle has already voiced concerns that they will 'cheapen' the Royal Family. In a documentary for Channel 5, Mr Markle will say his daughter had lived every girl's princess dream when she married Harry. But he added: 'Now... it looks like she's tossing that away for money. Apparently $3million and a 26-bedroom home isn't enough for them. It's kind of embarrassing to me. This is like one of the greatest long-living institutions ever. They are destroying it... cheapening it, making it shabby... turning it into a Walmart with a crown on it.' Harry and Meghan need an income to replace the estimated 2million a year from the taxpayer-funded Sovereign Grant, which supports the most senior royals. Prince Charles is expected to support Harry financially for at least a year. Harry also has his own wealth, including an estimated 20million inheritance from Princess Diana and 7million from the Queen Mother. Meghan is thought to be worth 4million. SMALL and medium enterprises (SME) owners and managers need to find new profitable market niches where competition is still low, or consider indirect exporting to penetrate more overseas markets. A research paper series titled: Obstacles of Philippine SMEs: Participation in Global Value Chains (GVCs), published by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) cited data from a survey and related literature indicating that Philippine SMEs are not well connected to GVCs. In terms of GVC connectivity per sector, most indicators suggest that industry SMEs are more linked to GVCs than services SMEs. The paper said SMEs are having difficulty competing with companies from Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and East Asian countries. The lower cost of labor and the bigger government support that SMEs enjoy in competitor countries compared to the Philippines are making it harder for Philippine SMEs to compete in international markets. Given that these circumstances are beyond SMEs control, what they can do is to target the right market where they can establish early mover advantages, it said. The paper also underscored the difficulties of many SMEs in reaching international markets due to their lack of access to information about foreign markets, coupled with their inability to mass-produce that would make exporting profitable. One way to address these obstacles in connecting to GVCs is through indirect exporting. This may be done through consolidators, a third party that buys export quality products from local producers that they could sell in countries where demand for these products exists, it said. The paper further said indirect exporting may also be done by providing inputs to firms that export, such as foreign companies or large businesses. These inputs may be in the form of supplies or services through outsourcing or sub-contracting arrangements. To help SMEs overcome the challenges in connecting to GVCs, it said it is imperative that policymakers must provide more incentives to exporters of higher-value products, implement programs that promote linkages between SMEs and foreign or large firms, improve credit terms of SME loans and enhance the efficiency of port and customs operations. The paper said most SME exporters operate at the low end of the value chain, such that they export raw materials rather than processed and high-value products. The study also underscored the importance of providing incentives on the purchase of equipment that processes raw materials into higher-value products. (Philexport News And Features ) Advertisement An astonishing 111-day around-the-world cruise is under way, with destinations including Melbourne, Mauritius and Singapore on the itinerary. The voyage, called 2020 World Cruise, is taking place on Princess Cruises' Pacific Princess ship, with the cheapest ticket costing $22,999 (17,700). Cruisers will visit a total of 42 destinations in 26 countries across five continents and also have the opportunity to see 20 Unesco World Heritage Sites, including Stone Town, Zanzibar. A map showing the route of Princess Cruises' 2020 World Cruise, which takes in 42 destinations in 26 countries across five continents in 111 days The voyage is taking place on Princess Cruises' Pacific Princess ship, with the cheapest ticket costing $22,999 (17,700) Pacific Princess, which can carry 670 passengers, departed from Fort Lauderdale on January 5 and has already called at ports in Aruba, Costa Rica and Mexico. Today it will leave Los Angeles before heading across the Pacific Ocean towards Tahiti, New Zealand and Australia. For the first time on a World Cruise sailing by Princess Cruises, the ship will stop in Kaikoura in New Zealand, the island of Praslin in Seychelles and Mayotte Island, a French protectorate in the Indian Ocean. There will also be 12 late-night stays in the likes of Melbourne, Tahiti and Phuket as well as an overnight stay in Cape Town to maximise the amount of time passengers can spend in a port. One of the balcony staterooms onboard the Pacific Princess. Today the ship will leave Los Angeles before heading across the Pacific Ocean towards Tahiti, New Zealand and Australia In total, the cruise liner will have sailed 34,287 nautical miles by the time it returns to Fort Lauderdale on May 11, having crossed the Equator four times. Meanwhile, Princess Cruises is already taking bookings for its 2021 World Cruise, which will take place on the Island Princess ship and sets sail on January 3, 2021. This larger vessel, which is 965ft long and boasts 15 decks, can carry up to 2,200 guests and 900 crew. Jan Swartz, president of Princess Cruises, said: 'We've been offering World Cruises since 1998 and our team of destination experts know how to create the best worldwide itineraries like no other in the cruise industry. 'Our captain, officers and crew regularly hear from guests the impact the World Cruise has on them, as they share their appreciation for taking them to places they never in a million years thought they would experience.' Virginia Gun Rally Ends With One Arrest, Peaceful Demonstrations Thousands of gun-rights activists and other groups amassed at the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond on Monday before the rally dispersed. According to local reports, in a later update, there was one arrest, and the demonstration was described as peaceful. There were fears that some militia groups would attempt to carry out acts of violence during the demonstration, which was held in opposition to proposed laws in the state legislature that would further restrict gun ownership. Those reported threats prompted Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, to declare a state of emergency that banned all weapons on the Capitols grounds until Tuesday. At around 1:30 p.m. police wrote on social media that the Capitol Square had emptied out. Local news outlets reported a woman was arrested for refusing to remove a bandana from her face. Police had earlier written that no arrests were made. In a statement following the rally, Gov. Northam said that thousands of people came to Richmond to make their voices heard. Today showed that when people disagree, they can do so peacefully. The issues before us evoke strong emotions, and progress is often difficult. I will continue to listen to the voices of Virginians, and I will continue to do everything in my power to keep our Commonwealth safe. He then commended state and federal law enforcement for assisting. Youre never going to get the criminals to turn in their weapons, demonstrator Bill Hayden told local outlet WTVR. Thats why were here. None of us have committed a crime. Go take care of the criminals. Dont take the guns from us. Its a right thats it. Just like your First Amendment Right, Freedom of Speech, Fourth Amendment Right, Sixth Amendment Right, 14th Amendment Right, which leads back to the Second, added Mark Cheeseman in the report. Theres really no argument. Its non-negotiable. Gun rights groups sought to block the state of emergency gun ban in a state court and argued it infringed on their right to assembly. A judge denied their motion last week, and their subsequent appeal wasnt taken up by the states Supreme Court, effectively leaving the weapons ban in place. The Virginia Citizens Defense League, one of the groups behind the rally, called on its supporters to obey Northams declaration, but it urged people to protest outside the Capitol grounds while armed. For every one gun owner on the Capitol grounds, we need another two to five people outside, the league said in a statement. Gun rights activists take part in a rally in Richmond, Virginia, on Jan. 20, 2020. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times) Gun rights activists take part in a rally in Richmond, Virginia, on Jan. 20, 2020. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times) 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 told reporters on Wednesday in elaborating on his emergency declaration. Intelligence shows the threat of armed militia groups storming our capitol, he added. The FBI announced on Jan. 16 it arrested three members of a white supremacist group known as The Base, who were reportedly planning to attend the Virginia rally. Gun rights activists take part in a rally in Richmond, Virginia, on Jan. 20, 2020. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times) Gun rights activists take part in a rally in Richmond, Virginia, on Jan. 20, 2020. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times) Virginias House Republican leader urged white supremacists or other extremist groups should stay away from the rally. Any group that comes to Richmond to spread white supremacist garbage, or any other form of hate, violence, or civil unrest isnt welcome here, House Republican leader Todd Gilbert said over the weekend. While we and our Democratic colleagues may have differences, we are all Virginians and we will stand united in opposition to any threats of violence or civil unrest from any quarter. The rally prompted national and international headlines as well as the attention of President Donald Trump, who urged people to vote for Republicans in 2020 in light of Democratic-proposed gun laws. New Delhi: The Delhi Police first arrested an arms supplier from the national capital and recovered 10 illegal pistols from him on Friday before interrogating him to bust a gun factory in Meerut and find another 50 pistols there. The factory in Meerut was run by a family three generations of whom have been in the business over a period of three decades, said Sanjeev Kumar Yadav, deputy commissioner of police (special cell). The arrested men were identified by the police as the supplier, 27-year-old Sanjeev, and the manufacturer, 25-year-old , Noor Hasan. Yadav said the police had already been probing the role of a gang from Meerut that supplied illegal firearms to Delhi-NCR when they received a tip-off on Friday that one man would arrive in outer Delhis Haiderpur with a cache of arms. We caught Sanjeev and recovered 10 semi-automatic pistols from him, said Yadav. Sanjeev allegedly turned out to be in this trade for five years and revealed that he took his supplies from a man named Fakruddin, who runs a factory in Meerut. He also was revealed to be involved in three known crimes in the past the most recent of them being the murder of a man in Sonepat for resisting a robbery. On Sunday, we raided the house where these guns were being made. We recovered 50 pistols and some parts of guns still in making. We also recovered machinery being used to manufacture these weapons, said the officer. While Fakruddin couldnt be caught, the police nabbed his son, Hasan. Fakruddins father began manufacturing guns three decades ago. The trade was passed on to the next generations. Today, Fakruddin and his sons go about this business, said Yadav. They only supply in bulk and boast about the quality of their guns, said the officer. Dancing On Ice hopeful Caprice has been liking supportive tweets from fans after the news that she had parted ways from partner Hamish Gaman. The news was revealed by hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield at the beginning of Sundays show. Unfortunately, Caprice and Hamish have parted ways and will not be skating this week, revealed Willoughby. As you saw in our opening number, Hamish remains one of the members of our professional team and we hope to have Caprice back on the ice next week. Caprice during the Dancing On Ice 2019 photocall at ITV Studios in December. (Stuart C Wilson/Getty Images) Fans flocked to Twitter to ask for more answers, with Caprice liking many of the supportive tweets that called on her to return the following week. Read more: Caprices husband terrified of DOI curse Hope your ok. Really missed you on sundays show. Hope to see you back soon, one viewer posted on Twitter. Caprice and Hamish Gaman during the Dancing On Ice 2019 photocall. (Mike Marsland/WireImage) Another said: Extremely worried about Lady Caprice (@CapriceBourret_) being absent on @dancingonice. I hope that she reconsiders her decision. @CapriceBourret_ hope your ok. Really missed you on sundays show. Hope to see you back soon X stevo (@teamdavey180) January 20, 2020 No one can concentrate on the skating as we're all too busy trying to find out what's happened between @HamishGaman and @CapriceBourret_ #DancingOnIce @dancingonice, said another. However, neither Caprice nor Gaman have released any statement nor confirmed any additional details. Hamish Gaman and Caprice during the Dancing On Ice 2019 photocall. (Karwai Tang/WireImage) ITV later released a statement in which they confirmed that Hamish remains very much part of our professional team. The pair performed a skate routine to Lewis Capaldis Someone You Loved in the first week, receiving 25.5 points out of 40, which placed them second on the leaderboard. Caprice at the launch party for the new Winter Terrace at Lazeez Lebanese tapas restaurant in Mayfair, London. In an interview given in the days before the launch of the show, Caprice joked about being catty and causing drama, telling OK magazine: Right now we're all having a laugh, but once we start competing seriously and we get a bit more down the line, who knows? Story continues You may have the dramas then." She then mimicked cat claws and added: Thatll be me. Yahoo has contacted reps for Caprice and Dancing On Ice for comment. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 21:23:55|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close TEHRAN, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Monday that Iran's refusal to submitting to the U.S. coercive policies has angered the United States, state TV reported. "The resistance of the Islamic Republic of Iran against America and the Iranian nation's refusal to accepting bullying is a fascinating fact for the world," Khamenei made the remarks in a meeting with a group of religious Hajj officials. "The Iranian nation's independence, resistance and refusal to surrendering to the bullies angers the United States," he was quoted as saying by the Press TV. Hajj is an Islamic ritual and millions of the world Muslims attend the ceremony in Mecca city of Saudi Arabia. Dubai: Team India captain Virat Kohli and vice-captain Rohit Sharma have maintained their dominance in the latest ODI rankings of the ICC. At the same time, Jasprit Bumrah's dominance in the bowlers also continues. India recently defeated Australia 21 in a three-match ODI series. After this, Kohli leads the batsmen's rankings with 886 points. Rohit had brilliant innings of 119 runs in Bengaluru and this inning has taken him to second place with 868 points. Pro Hockey League: Indian hockey team beat Netherlands in penalty shootout Babar Azam of Pakistan is at number three with 829 points. Shikhar Dhawan, who returned from injury, has also batted brilliantly in the series to be ranked 15th. He has moved up seven places. Australia's Steve Smith has captured 23rd place while opening batsman David Warner has moved up one place to number six. Australian captain Aaron Finch has moved down one place to 10th. Now this cricketer became a hindrance for Rishabh Pant, Virat supported KL When it comes to bowlers, Bumrah is on top with 764 points. He is followed by Trent Boult of New Zealand. The third number is occupied by Mujib ur Rehman of Afghanistan. At the same time, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has now reached 27th position in the bowlers' rankings. Rome ranking series: Ravi Kumar defeated Kazakhstan's wrestler 12-2, India win seven medals Kyle Sandilands' new girlfriend has admitted slapping a policewoman during a public spat with the radio star but will seek to have her case dealt with under mental health provisions. Tegan Kynaston faced Waverley Local Court on Tuesday morning when her solicitor Greg Goold entered a guilty plea to assaulting a police officer in the execution of her duty. Mr Goold told a registrar his client would seek to have the matter dealt with under Section 32 of the Mental Health (Forensic Provisions) Act. Kynaston was charged with assaulting police after slapping a female officer during an incident involving her 48-year-old lover and boss. Kyle Sandilands' girlfriend Tegan Kynaston (pictured) pleaded guilty to one count of assaulting police during an appearance at Waverley Local Court on Tuesday Kynaston (right), 33, and Sandilands (left), 48, were involved in a spat in Bondi in December. When police were called Kynaston slapped an officer in the face The 34-year-old was seen in a dispute with Sandilands who had been driving his $350,000 Bentley on Beach Road at Bondi on the morning of Saturday, December 7. Sandilands had reportedly asked a bystander to call Triple Zero after an altercation with Kynaston and when police arrived she assaulted the female officer. The communications director for Sandilands' company King Kyle Pty Ltd was taken to Prince of Wales Hospital for a mental health evaluation. Kynaston, who was previously Sandilands' personal assistant, was served with a court summons the next evening at her Bondi home. Mr Goold told the court his client had an appointment with a psychiatrist on March 17. If the matter is dealt with under the Mental Health Act it may not lead to a criminal conviction. Kynaston is already on a bond for possessing cocaine after being caught with about half a gram of the drug outside a Surry Hills pub in March 2018. That matter was mentioned in court during Tuesday's brief appearance. Kynaston is reported to have been dating Sandilands for several months but initially denied being in a relationship with the KIIS FM breakfast host. Kynaston's solicitor Greg Goold (right) told the registrar at Waverley Local Court that he would be seeking to have his client's matter dealt with under mental health provisions The communications director for Sandilands company King Kyle Pty Ltd was seen in a dispute with Sandilands on Beach Road at Bondi on the morning of Saturday, December 7 If Kynaston is successful in having the matter dealt with under the Mental Health Act it may not lead to a criminal conviction Kynaston (pictured) is already on a bond for possessing cocaine after being caught with about half a gram of the drug outside a Surry Hills pub in March 2018 Having insisted for weeks they were just friends and colleagues, Kynaston used Instagram to share a picture of her kissing Sandilands on the cheek in front of the Sydney Harbour Bridge on New Year's Eve. A New South Wales Police spokesperson said officers arrived in Beach Road on December 7 to find a 'woman who was visibly distressed', along with a man who was driving a car. 'While speaking with the woman it will be alleged in court she assaulted one of the officers before being taken to hospital for a mental health assessment,' the spokesperson said. 'The man was spoken to by police and left the area soon after.' A spokesman for King Kyle said at the time the company would not be commenting on the matter. 'There have been reports of an incident that occurred in Bondi this morning,' the spokesman said. 'As this is now a police matter and out of respect and concern for those affected, we're unable to comment.' Kyle unexpectedly announced his split from long-term girlfriend Imogen Anthony (pictured) 28, live on The Kyle & Jackie O Show in November after eight years together Days later Kynaston and Sandilands were pictured on holiday in Cairns with her mother and stepfather. Kynaston denied in November she was dating her employer. 'I know that's kind of been said, but it's completely not true,' she told Daily Mail Australia. About the same time Sandilands' manager Bruno Bouchet described rumours of romance between Kynaston and his client as hurtful 'fabricated garbage'. The radio star announced his split from girlfriend of eight years, 28-year-old Imogen Anthony, live on The Kyle & Jackie O Show on November 5. 'We haven't been with each other for quite a few months now,' Sandilands said. 'Unfortunately it's run its course.' Kynaston is due back in the same court on April 14. It seems that the ongoing political tussle between the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is going to intensify in future with senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel saying on Sunday said the grand old party would follow in Punjab's footsteps and may bring a resolution against the new legislation in Congress-ruled states. "After Punjab, we are thinking about bringing a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act in states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh. It would be a clear message to the central government to reconsider the Act," Patel said. He remarked that though the CAA has been passed by the Parliament, respective states have the right to disagree with the Centre and the Centre cannot force any state to implement the "unconstitutional" law until the issue is resolved in the Supreme Court (SC). It is learned that Congress-ruled Rajasthan has will bring in a resolution against the implementation of the CAA in the assembly on January 24. State government sources said that the resolution would be passed in the Assembly on the first day of the budget session. Live TV Patel's statement came just a day after his party colleague and former Union Law Minister Kapil Sibal said that a state cannot deny the implementation of the CAA when it is already passed by Parliament. Sibal, however, also said that state assembly has the constitutional right to pass a resolution and ask the Centre to withdraw the CAA. Sibal noted that but if the SC passes a verdict declaring the CAA as constitutional then it will become problematic for the state to oppose its implementation. Earlier in January, the Congress Working Committee (CWC) had demanded that the BJP-led government at the Centre should withdraw the CAA. The CWC meeting headed by Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi had also accused the BJP of using its brute majority to impose a "divisive and discriminatory" agenda. Hong Kong's pro-democracy opposition won a stunning landslide victory in weekend local elections in a clear rebuke to city leader Carrie Lam over her handling of violent protests that have divided the semi-autonomous Chinese territory. Wu Chi-wai, leader of the city's biggest pro-democracy party, said that the bloc swept nearly 90 per cent of 452 district council seats, which will help it take unprecedented control of 17 out of 18 district councils. The results were based on official tallies announced by election officials. The result of Sunday's elections could force the central government in Beijing to rethink how to handle the unrest, which is now in its sixth month. Expand Close Wu Chi Wai, Chairperson of the Democratic Party attends a news conference after the local district council election in Hong Kong REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Wu Chi Wai, Chairperson of the Democratic Party attends a news conference after the local district council election in Hong Kong REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha The district councils have little power, but the vote became a referendum on public support for the protests. "It's nothing short of a revolution. This is a landslide," said Willy Lam, a political expert at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. "It's a sound repudiation of the Carrie Lam administration and shows the silent majority are behind the demands of the protesters." The pro-democracy camp hailed its astounding gains in the normally low-key race as a victory for the people and said Ms Lam and Beijing must now seriously heed protesters' demands, in particular a call for an independent commission to investigate the events of the past six months. "We are only vehicles used to reflect the people's concerns," said Mr Wu. Beijing, which blames foreign powers for fomenting the unrest in Hong Kong, has showed no signs that it may soften its stance on the former British colony, which was returned to China in 1997. Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi told reporters during a visit to Tokyo on Monday that any attempts to undermine Hong Kong will be futile. "No matter what kind of things happen in Hong Kong, Hong Kong is a part of Chinese territory," he said. "Any attempts to destroy Hong Kong or harm Hong Kong's stability and development cannot possibly succeed." But the election result will add new pressure on Ms Lam, who pledged to reflect on the people's voice. Some pro-establishment candidates have already pointed fingers at Ms Lam for their loss. "There are various analyses and interpretations in the community in relation to the results, and quite a few are of the view that the results reflect people's dissatisfaction with the current situation and the deep-seated problems in society," Ms Lam said in a statement. A record 71pc of Hong Kong's 4.1 million registered voters cast ballots in the city's only fully democratic elections, well exceeding the 47pc turnout in the same poll four years ago. The largest pro-establishment political party suffered the biggest setback, with only 21 of its 182 candidates winning. Starry Lee, head of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, said the government must review its response to the crisis and do more to reconcile society. Many pro-Beijing political heavyweights were trounced, including controversial lawmaker Junius Ho, who is reviled by protesters for supporting a bloody mob attack on demonstrators in July. Mr Ho was stabbed with a knife during campaigning this month. The winners included many youth activists and a candidate who replaced activist Joshua Wong, the only person barred from running in the election. Pro-democracy rally organiser Jimmy Sham, who was beaten by hammer-wielding assailants last month, also triumphed, as did a pro-democracy politician who had part of his ear bitten off by an assailant. Celebrations broke out outside polling stations overnight when results were announced. At lunchtime on Monday, dozens of supporters gathered in a business district for a victory rally. A woman popped a champagne bottle and poured drinks for everyone. "This is historic. As our city plummets from being semi-autonomous to semi-authoritarian, we react by showing what's democracy in action," Mr Wong tweeted. More than 5,000 people have been arrested in the unrest that has contributed to Hong Kong's first recession in a decade. Supporters from both sides of the divide hope the election will pave a peaceful way out after months of pitched battles between protesters and police, capped by a university siege this month. An estimated 30 protesters, fearing arrests, are still holding out at the campus, which has been ringed by police for days. "With the mandate from the Hong Kong people, protesters expect concessions from Beijing, but those concessions won't be coming. Confrontations may intensify," warned political analyst Mr Lam. The victory will see the pro-democracy camp secure 117 seats in the 1,200-member pro-Beijing panel that elects the city's leader. It will bolster their influence, as the bloc usually has over 300 supporters on the panel but still falls short of the majority. The turmoil started in June over a now-abandoned extradition bill that many viewed as a sign of creeping Chinese control over Hong Kong. Protesters have expanded their demands to include free elections for the city's leader and members of the legislature, as well as an investigation into alleged police brutality. [January 20, 2020] Award-winning Processing Technique Cuts Out Noise from Real-world Images SEOUL, South Korea, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Denoising is a crucial process in devices that produce images. Scientists at Dongguk University proposed an upgraded method to remove noise from images, which efficiently produces high-quality images. This new method was ranked first place in a prestigious real-world image denoising challenge, called the NTIRE 2019 Real Image Denoising Challenge. Modern electronic devices are capable of producing high-quality images, but the process of acquiring and processing images is complex. Sometimes, disruptions in image-producing signals lead to "noise," which causes the images to be blurry or of poor quality. To correct these "noisy" images, one type of approach involves the addition of synthetic noise to a noise-free image. But, this method is flawed, as these artificial noisy images are very different from real-word images. To focus on real-world images, another type of approach involves the use of an image acquisition algorithm, in which a ground-truth image (reflecting how reality looks) is converted to an artificially produced noisy image. The noisy, blurry image can then be reverted to the original, sharp image using the same algorithm. This technique is effective, but currently, it lacks a large enough dataset to denoise images efficiently. In a new study in the 2019 IEEE/CVF Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition Workshops, researchers at Dongguk University in South Korea, led by Dr Seung-Won Jung, built a state-of-the-art image denoising method, which is much more efficient than previous methods. Dr Jung explains, "Real-world image denoising is still very challenging because we cannot obtain ideal pairs of ground-truth and real-world noisy images. Through our study, we wanted to resolve the issues faced by existing denoising methods." For their study, the scientists used images from the database of the NTIRE 2019 Real Image Denoising Challenge. By generating a new computational architecture, which they called "group residual dense network," they augmented the existing dataset of real-world noisy and ground-truth images, which helped them achieve the highest possible level of peak signal-to-noise ratio and structural similarity. What's more, this new image-correcting method was even ranked first place at the NTIRE 2019 Real Image Denoising Challenge for its novelty and efficiency. Describing this method, Dr Jung says, "While previous research often used artificially produced noisy images, we built a database of real-world noisy images instead." Removing noise is important for devices such as smartphones and digital cameras to produce high-quality images. By finding a more efficient denoising method, this study has possibly made significant advancements in the field of image processing. Dr Jung concludes by talking about the applications of the study, "We believe that our real-world noise modeling method can be extended to various applications, such as removing blur, aliasing, and haze in images produced by devices like mobile phones and cameras, showing its versatility." Reference Title of original paper: GRDN: Grouped Residual Dense Network for Real Image Denoising and GAN-based Real-world Noise Modeling Author: Dr Seung-Won Jung Affiliation: Department of Multimedia Engineering, Dongguk University, Seoul Media contact: Seung-Won Jung [email protected] +82 10-2231-4853 View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/award-winning-processing-technique-cuts-out-noise-from-real-world-images-300988889.html SOURCE Dongguk University [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Kate Middleton put on a dazzling display as she joined Prince William at the UK-Africa Investment Summit at Buckingham Palace tonight. The Duchess of Cambridge, 38, opted for a glittering 410 red gown from high end high-street store Needle & Thread for the evening reception - a brand also loved by Princess Beatrice. The mother-of-three's showstopping gown featured silver shimmering sequins inspired by vintage lace tablecloth - and she complemented her outfit with a pair of Gianvito Rossi heels costing 510. The engagement, which marked William's first solo reception at the palace, comes after his brother Prince Harry, 35, jetted off to Canada tonight to be with Meghan Markle, 38, after a deal was reached on their departure from the royal family. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were joined at the reception by other senior royals Prince Edward, his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex, and Princess Anne, but the Queen and Prince Charles were not in attendance. Kate Middleton, 38, donned a stunning cherry red 410 sequin gown by Needle & Thread as she arrived at the UK-Africa Investment Summit at Buckingham Palace this evening The royal looked all smiles as she arrived alongside husband Prince William in the high-end high street brand - which is also loved by Princess Beatrice Kate accessorised with a coordinating red clutch bag and completed her glamorous ensemble with a pair of dangling ruby earrings. The natural beauty wore her hair in her usual bouncy blow dry, and kept her make up natural for the occasion. The royal's brand of choice - Needle & Thread - is well-known within the royal family because it's a favourite of Princess Beatrice. The 31-year-old has stepped out in the brand, which is well known for its embroidered and lacy styles, from the retailer several times in the past few years. Kate (pictured) completed her outfit with a glamorous clutch bag and a pair of Gianvito Rossi heels, costing 510 The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge welcomed a guest to a reception at London's Buckingham Palace to mark the UK-Africa Investment Summit (pictured) Kate's showstopping gown features silver shimmering sequins and according to the website, is inspired by vintage lace tablecloth. Pictured, alongside Prince William Kate's husband Prince William coordinated with his wife perfectly in a smart navy suit and a matching red tie. Tonight is seen as another stepping stone for William in the long preparation for him becoming king and will showcase the royal family's new order post-Harry. The Duke of Cambridge is being supported by his wife Kate, Prince Edward, his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex, and Princess Anne, as they welcome 21 African delegations to the Queen's London home. The Queen and Prince Charles will not be in attendance at the reception to mark the start of the UK-Africa Investment Summit and Prince Harry is expected to fly to Vancouver imminently, in order not to overshadow his brother's big night. Harry had agreed to attend today's summit before the Sussexes sensationally quit 11 days ago, and prior to quitting, he would almost certainly have been there to support his older sibling, who for the first time was asked by the Queen to host a major state occasion. Today it was claimed the Queen and Prince Charles decided not to strip Prince Harry of their HRH titles and Duke and Duchess of Sussex rank to avoid looking 'petty'. When the commanders are saying, Were doing our best and weve identified a white vehicle, thats great," he said in a telephone interview days after the meeting. "But why arent there more police dispatched into this neighborhood to be able to roam the neighborhood either on foot, on bicycle, on horseback, on scooter, whatever it is, so that we can eradicate what we have going on? This is a neighborhood that is not used to it. LifeStyle The best Lifestyle shows are right here, from Australia and around the world. Catch up with the experts on home design and interiors, food and cooking, the property market, and get fresh ideas with the savviest of renovators. Whether you need inspiration for cooking up a storm, to refresh a tired room, or tips to sell your property, Foxtel Lifestyle will always something new for you to watch. Enjoy your favourite experts like Andrew Winter and Neale Whitaker, or Shaynna Blaze and Jamie Oliver live or On Demand. Berlin: World leaders announced a new ceasefire on Sunday and pledged to respect an arms embargo in Libya, concluding a UN-sponsored summit that marked an eleventh-hour push by European nations to reengage in an intractable conflict they had long ignored. "I cannot stress enough the summit's conclusion that there is no military solution to the conflict in Libya," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a news conference on Sunday. He added that all participants had committed to refraining "from interference in the armed conflict or internal affairs of Libya." "This must be adhered to," he said. The statements followed six hours of talks held in Berlin on Sunday. German Chancellor Angela Merkel assembled presidents and representatives of five permanent members of the UN Security Council as well as seven other countries - many of them involved in fuelling Libya's civil war through repeated violations of an arms embargo. Taiwan not part of China as claimed by Myanmar, Beijing: MOFA ROC Central News Agency 01/19/2020 02:25 PM Taipei, Jan. 19 (CNA) Taiwan's foreign ministry on Sunday pushed back against a joint statement between Beijing and Myanmar that said Taiwan was undisputedly part of China's territory. "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) solemnly protests the joint statement issued by China and Myanmar on January 18, in which Myanmar reaffirmed the so called 'one-China principle' and categorized Taiwan as an inalienable part of the People's Republic of China's territory," MOFA spokeswoman Joanne Ou () said in a statement. "The ministry condemns such false statements that diminish the sovereignty of the Republic of China, Taiwan," Ou said. Taiwan is not part of China, and only the Taiwanese government elected by its people can represent Taiwan in the international arena, she said, responding to the statement issued Saturday by China and Myanmar during a two-day visit to the latter country by Chinese President Xi Jinping (). "The results of the (Jan. 11 presidential) election fully demonstrated the will of the Taiwanese people in resisting China's 'one country, two systems' model," Ou said. "We urge the Chinese authorities to respect the election results and cease from suppressing Taiwan so that positive interactions across the Taiwan Strait can be realized." In the joint statement, Myanmar said it firmly adheres to the one-China principle and recognizes Taiwan, Tibet and Xinjiang as inalienable parts of the People's Republic of China's territory, according to a copy posted on the website of China's foreign ministry. Myanmar also said it supports Beijing's efforts to resolve issues relating to Taiwan, Tibet and Xinjiang. Ou, however, said: "China's rude and unreasonable promotion of the fabricated one-China principle will only hurt the feelings of the Taiwan people and force democratic Taiwan to draw a line with autocratic China." Beijing should respect the results of the Jan. 11 presidential and legislative elections in Taiwan, which gave incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen () a second term in a landslide victory, Ou said. Myanmar, the first non-Communist country to recognize the current Beijing government in 1949, has been identified as China-leaning in its geopolitical preferences and reportedly is engaged in extensive strategic and military cooperation with China. (By Emerson Lim) Enditem/pc NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Hyderabad: A strapping young male leopard strayed into the Patel Road area of Shamshabad on Sunday, but miraculously managed to stay out of trouble, despite being practically mobbed by groups of noisy people armed with mobile phones to shoot pictures and videos, pursuing the animal. The leopard, with police struggling to keep inquisitive people at bay, was, however, safely captured on Monday morning. A police constable received minor injuries as the leopard made a dash for safety after being tranquillised. When he first noticed it, Manne Vijay Kumar, who spotted the leopard on the terrace of his house, at first believed someone it might have been a stuffed toy. After I woke up at around 6 am, I walked out onto the terrace and saw its tail near a satellite TV dish. I thought it was a toy and wanted to grab the tail and take it out. Then I noticed it was a real leopard. I nearly had a heart attack, he told media personnel at the spot. He then rushed down, shouting out to the rest of his family to shut the doors and keep them locked and call the police for help. The police alerted the forest department and zoo officials. When a rescue team, led by Dr M.A. Hakeem, deputy director, Nehru Zoological Park, reached the spot, the leopard was hiding under the nook of the staircase leading to the terrace. To get a shot, our team had to go into the kitchen, which presented a proper view of its hiding place, Dr Hakeem said. As the news of the leopard spread like wildfire, thousands of people thronged to the location to spot it. Though the Shadnagar police did manage to keep most of them at bay, many refused to heed to the polices advice and were seen scurrying between narrow lanes around Vijay Kumars house, where the leopard was hidden, trying to catch a glimpse of it and take pictures. Zoo officials heaved a sigh of relief that the leopard did not attack anyone after it tried to escape. It was fortunate that the leopard did not attack anyone after it tried to escape. The people were noisy and refusing to stay away, were ignoring all instructions, a zoo official said. Once the darts hit the wild animal, the leopard leapt over the compound wall and ran for a little distance away, before the drugs took effect. By then, it was drowsy. We used a long stick to prod it and make sure it was immobilised, said Dr S.A. Asadullah. The leopard was then taken to the zoo in a transportation cage and examined for injuries. It was pronounced healthy. It is a strapping male. We will keep it under observation for 48 hours to ensure that the effects of the drugs wear off fully. After that, it will be taken to a forest and released into the wild, Dr Sidhanand Kukrety, director of the zoo, said. Plans are also afoot to release other male leopard, caught in Nalgonda district six days ago, in one of the wildlife reserves in the state soon. WINNIPEG - The mayor of Winnipeg came out of a sit-down meeting with the prime minister on Monday saying that all levels of government need to work together to tackle a methamphetamine crisis plaguing the city. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/1/2020 (722 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. WINNIPEG - The mayor of Winnipeg came out of a sit-down meeting with the prime minister on Monday saying that all levels of government need to work together to tackle a methamphetamine crisis plaguing the city. Brian Bowman said he asked Justin Trudeau to take stock of the federal government's efforts to make sure that they align with those of the city and the province. Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman speaks to media during the Liberal Cabinet Retreat at the Fairmont Hotel in Winnipeg, Monday, Jan. 20, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mike Sudoma "We have to work together with our provincial and our federal partners to better address the root causes of crime, but also deal with the meth crisis that we are particularly affected with here in the Prairies and in the city of Winnipeg," Bowman said. Bowman's closed-door meeting with Trudeau came on the second day of a three-day federal cabinet retreat in the city. Winnipeg was chosen as somewhat of an olive branch to areas of the country that turned from the Liberals in the Oct. 21 election. The party lost three of seven seats in Manitoba and was shut out of Saskatchewan and Alberta. Manitoba's premier also had a meeting with Trudeau on Monday. Brian Pallister said it's important to continue a tripartite approach to public safety. Trudeau's office said in a news release that he and Bowman talked about recent cases of violent crime in Winnipeg, and about the importance of taking measures to help people with substance abuse issues. It said the two leaders also agreed to work together on Winnipeg's infrastructure projects, and on planting trees to fight climate change and protect the environment. Bowman had called for a face-to-face meeting with Pallister and Trudeau in November after a rise in violence in Winnipeg and a record-breaking number of homicides, including the killing of a three-year-old boy. Bowman said he's spoken with both leaders separately about the issue and is happy with progress, despite all three having not sat down together. Winnipeg's police chief has said much of the city's violent crime is linked to addictions and methamphetamine. There were 44 homicide victims in the city last year, up from 22 in 2018. The Addictions Foundation of Manitoba says meth use has increased by more than 100 per cent in adults and nearly 50 per cent in youth since 2014. When asked about a ban on assault rifles, which was part of the Liberals' election platform, the mayor said he did not talk about it in his meeting with Trudeau. But Bowman suggested if there were to be a ban, it would have to be a national one to avoid confusion regionally. A Winnipeg city councillor recently called for handguns to be banned in Winnipeg after a fatal shooting at a downtown hotel. A police spokesperson suggested the ban would not make a difference. Bowman said changes shouldn't only come from policing. There must also be strategies for mental health, addictions and families in crisis which often fall out of the city's jurisdiction. He said Winnipeg has created a first-of-its-kind illicit drug strategy task force and all levels of government have been taking steps to implement its recommendations. "We know a lot more work needs to be done." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 20, 2020 BRUSSELS The EU's proposal for a temporary ban on facial-recognition technology won backing from Alphabet Chief Executive Sundar Pichai on Monday but got a cool response from Microsoft President Brad Smith. While Pichai cited the possibility that the technology could be used for nefarious purposes as a reason for a moratorium, Smith said a ban was akin to using a meat cleaver instead of a scalpel to solve potential problems. "I think it is important that governments and regulations tackle it sooner rather than later and give a framework for it," Pichai told a conference in Brussels organized by think-tank Bruegel. "It can be immediate but maybe there's a waiting period before we really think about how it's being used," he said. "It's up to governments to chart the course" for the use of such technology. Smith, who is also Microsoft's chief legal officer, however cited the benefits of facial recognition technology in some instances such as NGOs using it to find missing children. "I'm really reluctant to say let's stop people from using technology in a way that will reunite families when it can help them do it," Smith said. Credit: CC0 Public Domain Most of us think we know what aging looks and feels like. It announces itself with wrinkled skin and gray, thinning hair. It blurs vision, makes joints creaky, and if not rigorously countered, causes things to sag. But scientists are cataloging far subtler signs of biological aging, evident long before hair is lost and skin starts to crinkle. It's a story told not just in the body's organs but in its genes, cells and proteinseven in the bacteria that colonize us. First, one or two molecular processes fall out of whack. Those failures send broader functions off kilter. Sometimes all at once, sometimes gradually, our organs suffer and entire networksthe immune system, for instancebegin to falter. Understanding how all this happens could allow us to live longer someday. But a nearer goal might produce an even bigger payoff: Defining what aging is and exactly how it progresses may enable us to stay healthy for more of our lives. Two new pieces of research bring that goal of extending humans' "healthspan" a bit closer. Both identify biomarkers that help define what it means, at a microscopic level, to age. Both zero in on mechanisms prone to break down as we agein other words, targets for therapies that could disrupt or delay the aging process. And both offer some guideposts to measure the effectiveness of elixirs that promise to be (but rarely are) fountains of youth. In one of the new studies, Stanford University researchers combed through 18 million data points collected from 106 people who were monitored for two to four years. The aim was to detect patterns common to all as we age as well as patterns that vary from person to person. Emerging from that study, published this week in the journal Nature Medicine, is the idea that individuals age along at least four biological "pathways." While one person may be most prone to decline in the function of his kidneys, another may experience the most age-related degradation in the liver, the immune system or in metabolic function, the findings suggest. Most of us likely age along some or all those fronts, if not more, said Stanford geneticist Michael Snyder, who led the research. But classifying people by their personal "aging style," or areas of greatest vulnerability, may help them identify and forestall their most likely depredations of aging, he said. In the second study, scientists from the Buck Institute for Research on Aging profiled the known universe of tissues and cells that can reveal the biological age of the human body. It made use of data collected as part of a study that has tracked 3,200 volunteers over the course of their adult lives since 1958. That atlas of aging's biomarkers will speed efforts to find and develop drugs that could slow biological aging, said University of Southern California biochemist Judith Campisi, who led the work published this week in the journal PLOS Biology. One day, she added, it may allow doctors to give their patients "a clear read-out of how well, or poorly, their various tissues and organs are aging." After centuries of snake oil and hucksterism, the struggle against aging has gotten real in recent years. Scientists have honed in on "senescent" cells, which stop dividing under stress, as a key driver of conditions such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis and dementia. Since these diseases are more common as we get older, they and their root causes have become central to scientists' understanding of aging. Researchers increasingly suspect that when you disrupt the development of one disease of aging, you may help protect against othersa principle called the "unitary theory of fundamental aging processes." If, for instance, senescent cells and the inflammation they trigger could be brought under control, perhaps many age-related diseasesindeed, unhealthy aging itselfcould be averted and the experience of aging might be far less miserable. That's the idea behind the search for "senolytics"drugs or therapies that could remove or disrupt the action of senescent cells. If such anti-aging drugs are to be developed and used safely, researchers will need to recognize the many forms that senescent cells take, and to measure what happens when different members of that group are removed or suppressed. In the Stanford University study, researchers sequenced genes; analyzed blood, urine and saliva samples; and probed the microbes in the guts and noses of 43 people. The team found 608 molecules that could be assessed and used to identify likely contributors to age-related problems. The Stanford team came up with four "ageotypes" based on these biomarkers and how they shifted over time. While the list is likely to expand with further research, the authors suggest that people tend to age most along one of four distinct biological pathways: metabolic, immune, hepatic (or liver) and nephrotic (or kidney). A person whose dominant ageotype is metabolic might see her A1C, a measure of blood sugar levels, rise with age, potentially leading to Type 2 diabetes. A person with an immune ageotype, on the other hand, might experience increased inflammation across the body, making her more vulnerable to a heart attack and certain cancers. The work is highly preliminary. Dr. Zoltan Arany who studies aging processes at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine, said that while it probed a very wide range of measures and looked for changes over time, determining whether they actually cause aging or are innocent bystanders of the process "will require a lot of further work." Even after scientists have established the common roots of age-related diseasesa task that is far from completethere's still hard work ahead, said Dr. James L. Kirkland, who studies aging at the Mayo Clinic. If studies like the two published this week are to help humans age better, they'll have to explain why we age so differently, and predict which of many routes each of us will take. "At the moment, we're measuring everything," Kirkpatrick said. "But the effort will be to narrow down, to get a composite score of biomarkers, that is predictive of a future decline in healthspan." Snyder said he shared that long-term goal. "I can envision a world in which everyone gets their ageotype measured, so that at the earliest sign of acceleration, you can intervene," he said. For some, that may be taking a cholesterol-lowering statin, and for others, it may mean exercising more. "This can give you an earlier kick in the butt" to address those vulnerabilities, he said. 2020 Los Angeles Times Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. As the royal family gathered to hammer out Megxit, the women who matter went back to work. Neither of these women was at the summit, but Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle will prove the real players, long-term. Last Wednesday Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, headed to Bradford with her husband to visit a community centre. She had a smile for everyone, danced with a cute toddler and wore a Zara dress - reportedly discounted to 19 in the sales - which then sold out in a matter of hours. She and William were full of praise for a royal-themed tier cake, surrounded by cupcakes, each decorated with photographs of the royal pair from childhood to the present day. The highlight was their amusement and amazement at the photograph of a young William, which they both initially thought was a snap of their daughter Charlotte. Read More The previous day Meghan Markle was photographed boarding a seaplane in Canada, leaving her bolthole in Vancouver Island, we later discovered, to visit the offices of an at-risk women's centre. The group posted pictures on Facebook after the visit, a line of women with arms around one another and Meghan in the middle of the line. She beamed in the photo, as she had seemed to beam in the photographs as she boarded the plane, in jeans and boots and a fur-lined Parka. "Look who we had tea with today!" said the women's centre in a Facebook post. "The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, visited us today to discuss issues affecting women in the community." Still the duchess, so, but no longer subject to the stuffy old duties that her sister-duchess Kate is still up to. Two women, both pressing the flesh and raising awareness and reaching out and endeavouring to make a difference with smiles on their faces. But two women worlds away from each other, one seemingly fascinated by her face on some buns, the other, well, suiting herself. Because visiting organisations and charities she was interested in was always something that Meghan Markle did. She always wanted to be a force for change, she always espoused that as part of her public profile and, in many ways, that interest might have helped her believe she'd fit in to the royal way of life. Expand Close The formality of a royal visit when William and Kate went to the Khidmat PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The formality of a royal visit when William and Kate went to the Khidmat This week, however, "friends" claimed that once Megxit was done and she and Harry were free of his princely commitments, Meghan felt able to breathe again. She had been stifled, she had felt constrained and limited and now, at last, Meghan could do some real good without the royal restrictions. She also visited a Vancouver group called Justice for Girls last week, who later tweeted pictures - in black and white, a Harry and Meghan favourite - of Meghan at a bog-standard office break-out room table, a mug of a hot drink in her hand, having a laugh with a volunteer. All casual, unstructured and modern, and a clear signal of how things will be done, the new Sussex way. However, although Meghan was always committed to doing community good, her profile before her marriage was that of a mid-range celebrity. Now she's one of the most recognisable women in the world and not only that, but she still has royal ties that are way beyond her previous life. The royal experience, despite all the noise around the personal stress and distress of Harry and Meghan, has ultimately been good for her. We saw that last week when she was snapped around Vancouver. She not only looked happy, but she looked relaxed. Better, she looked relatable in her flat boots and her posh-mom-on-the-school-run Parka. And, relatable just might trump royal in the modern long game, as most women look on Meghan and Kate in their endeavours last week and don't have to think hard about what they'd favour for themselves. Coverage of Megxit has focused a lot on the duty upon which Harry and Meghan seem to have turned their backs, but that is possible of little interest to the younger audience to whom they hope to appeal and to watchers on the other side of the Atlantic. North Americans don't set much store in self-sacrifice and that's clearly where Meghan wants to make her mark. Harry may have dutifully stayed in London for the week, hanging on for what might have been his last royal commitment, the launch of the 2021 Rugby League Cup in Buckingham Palace last Thursday, but at the same time staff were being let go at their Windsor home, Frogmore Cottage. Meghan, it was reported, planned never again to live in the UK in a "meaningful way". In other words, Harry might want to come visit the olds and do the rounds from time to time, but Meghan has moved on. Last Thursday Meghan was photographed again in Vancouver, driving herself to the airport, security detail in tow, to pick up her friend and Pilates teacher Heather Dorak. There were reports that her designer friend Misha Nonoo, whose super-rich Italian wedding Meghan and Harry attended last year and who reportedly introduced the couple, was also on her way to Canada to help Meghan with her relaunch. Little things like this make you realise just why Meghan wasn't keen to do the British thing and make her role in the monarchy work. That would have required a little stepping back, lying low and taking stock, letting all the fuss around them die down and then re-emerging with a smile as wide as Kate Middleton's. That would have required a degree of self-sacrifice that it's possible Meghan Markle wasn't willing to make. Which is not to say that this makes her a bad person or a bad influence on her husband, who has left behind, with his senior royal status, a lot more than she has. It merely says that she wasn't willing to keep calm and carry on, probably because she saw no value in it. Royal wives, all of them, put up with a lot. Camilla took a lot of abuse before she found the beloved status she enjoys today. Fergie and Diana had their day. And Kate Middleton was dismissed as Waity Katy, the wallflower who hung on in there while William dithered about committing, before she became who she is now, the woman who will probably do most to restore royal confidence in the years to come. Kate Middleton, who is due to visit the Republic in March with William, is perhaps the ultimate swan: serene above water, but doing god knows what paddling furious underwater. That's the choice and commitment she made. That's the choice and commitment Meghan Markle wasn't interested in, and, perhaps, Harry was an open door waiting to be pushed when it came to unhitching himself from his birthright. One of the most interesting pieces written in the UK papers last week was by a journalist who spent more than a decade writing about Harry, and to whom he had confided a desire to quit his UK commitments and become a tour guide in Africa. In other words, to go away and live a low-key and quiet life. He's going away all right, but Meghan is there ahead of him, already laying the ground for their new life. It's not one's faces on a tray of buns, and it's unlikely to be stuffy and constrained by duty, but it's no quiet life, you can be certain. Farmers have called upon Welsh government to make public key information relating to the proposed Nitrate Vulnerable Zones across the whole of Wales in 2020. This includes full disclosure of the advice and evidence received by Welsh government from Natural Resources Wales (NRW). NVZs are areas within Wales that contain surface water or groundwater susceptible to nitrate pollution from agricultural activities. The Welsh government is responsible for maintaining and improving the quality of the aquatic environment, and carries out a review of the zone's areas every four years. But numerous farm groups in the country believe an all-Wales proposal, due to be enforced this year, would not be effective in delivering water quality improvements. NFU Cymru, which has campaigned for months to halt the plans, said the NVZs would also be highly damaging for farm businesses and the wider economy. The group is requesting Welsh government to make public the information and evidence it has to justify whole territory proposals. Welsh government has, however, already refused to disclose the advice and evidence relating to the proposed regulations that it has received from NRW. This comes as NFU Cymru made a Freedom of Information request under the Environmental Information Regulations. The union's deputy president, Aled Jones said: Clearly this decision is very disappointing. As environmental regulator and adviser to government, NRW will play a key role in the application of the EU Nitrates Directive in Wales if the Minister decides to implement this directive. NRW is also the enforcement body for NVZ rules which, if the current proposals are taken forward, will apply to every farm business across Wales. Information supplied by NRW as part of the Nitrates Review in 2016 provided no justification for the introduction of NVZs across the whole of Wales. We believe it is very much in the public interest to understand what information Welsh government has received from NRW since then to lead Welsh government to such a costly and damaging NVZ proposal, Mr Jones said. It is also legitimate to understand whether Welsh government whole Wales NVZ proposal aligns with the advice of the principal adviser to government on all matters relating to the environment and natural resources. NFU Cymru has also repeatedly expressed concerns about the way in which the proposals for the introduction of regulatory measures to address agricultural pollution have been developed without a thorough understanding of the costs and impact of the proposals. Mr Jones added: The Regulatory Impact Assessment is a critical document in understanding the impact of regulatory proposals. The significant importance of this assessment and potential long term implications, calls for a high level of scrutiny. No decision should be taken without a comprehensive understanding of the full impact of that decision. The union has this week written to the minister for rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths, to reiterate the key factors that it believes should be considered as part of a comprehensive Regulatory Impact Assessment. Mr Jones said: A comprehensive impact assessment must consider the impact of an all Wales NVZ on farm viability and capacity of farm businesses to afford the cost of new regulations and continue trading, alongside consideration of the impacts of proposed NVZ regulations on employment, both direct and indirect, on Welsh farms as well as in the allied industry and wider supply chain. It comes against the backdrop of latest figures on Farm Business Incomes in Wales (2018-2019), which have shown drops in income of 43% on dairy farms, 30% on cattle and sheep (LFA) farms and 29% on cattle and sheep (lowland) farms. The impact assessment must also take account of specific sector impacts including the dairy and specialist beef sectors, as well as the ability of tenant farmers and farmers suffering long term bovine TB breakdowns to reach compliance with NVZ regulations, Mr Jones added. The full cost and impact of the regulations must be considered alongside a similar comprehensive assessment of the benefits to Water quality that the EU Nitrates Directive would deliver in Wales. The proposed new regulations will impact on every farm, every sector and every area of Wales and their proposed introduction is contributing considerably to high levels of stress and anxiety within the farming community at, what is already, an exceedingly difficult time, he said. (Newser) Two Honolulu, Hawaii, police officers were killed Sunday morning in a situation that quickly turned into a "siege." Sources tell KHON 2 it started when police were called to a home near the base of Diamond Head, where a landlord was reportedly trying to evict a tenant. The tenant allegedly stabbed the landlord, then shot at the three officers who responded to the assault call; sources say two of the officers died at the hospital. The home then started burning and was "quickly engulfed by flames," per the AP; the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports the fire ultimately spread to a dozen homes, with at least five being a total loss as of this writing. Live ammunition inside the original home could be heard exploding hours after the fire started, and the fires also caused live electrical wires to fall onto the street. story continues below "I was walking my dogs and now were under siege. This has never happened before here," said a local resident in a Facebook Live video she posted of the homes on fire, with heavily armed officers in view, per the Daily Beast. "Its pretty sad. Pray for us, please. Pray for us." Hawaii News Now reports the suspect is believed to be dead and has been named as Jerry Hanel, who has a history of violence and false 911 calls. A third police officer was shot in the leg, and the landlord was taken to a hospital; her condition was not known. "This is an unprecedented tragedy for not only the City and County of Honolulu but the entire state of Hawaii, Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell said. I would like to express my deepest condolences to the family and friends of the two officers as well as the entire Honolulu Police Department." (Read more Hawaii stories.) A new type of scan that involves magnetising molecules allows doctors to see in real-time which regions of a breast tumour are active, according to research funded by Cancer Research UK* and published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences today (Monday). This is the first time researchers have demonstrated that this scanning technique, called carbon-13 hyperpolarised imaging, can be used to monitor breast cancer. The team based at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute and the Department of Radiology, University of Cambridge, tested the technique in seven patients from Addenbrooke's Hospital with various types and grades of breast cancer** before they had received any treatment. They used the scan to measure how fast the patients' tumours were metabolising a naturally occurring molecule called pyruvate, and were able to detect differences in the size, type and grade of tumours - a measure of how fast growing, or aggressive the cancer is. The scan also revealed in more detail the 'topography' of the tumour, detecting variations in metabolism between different regions of the same tumour. Professor Kevin Brindle, lead researcher from the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, said: "This is one of the most detailed pictures of the metabolism of a patient's breast cancer that we've ever been able to achieve. It's like we can see the tumour 'breathing'. "Combining this with advances in genetic testing, this scan could in the future allow doctors to better tailor treatments to each individual, and detect whether patients are responding to treatments, like chemotherapy, earlier than is currently possible". Hyperpolarised carbon-13 pyruvate is an isotope-labelled form of the molecule that is slightly heavier than the naturally occurring pyruvate which is formed in our bodies from the breakdown of glucose and other sugars. In the study, the scientists 'hyperpolarised', or magnetised, carbon-13 pyruvate by cooling it to about one degree above absolute zero (-272C) and exposing it to extremely strong magnetic fields and microwave radiation. The frozen material was then thawed and dissolved into an injectable solution. Patients were injected with the solution and then received an MRI scan at Addenbrooke's Hospital. Magnetising the carbon-13 pyruvate molecules increases the signal strength by 10,000 times so that they are visible on the scan. The researchers used the scan to measure how fast pyruvate was being converted into a substance called lactate. Our cells convert pyruvate into lactate as part of the metabolic processes that produce energy and the building blocks for making new cells. Tumours have a different metabolism to healthy cells, and so produce lactate more quickly. This rate also varies between tumours, and between different regions of the same tumour. The researchers showed that monitoring this conversion in real-time could be used to infer the type and aggressiveness of the breast cancer. The team now hopes to trial this scan in larger groups of patients, to see if it can be reliably used to inform treatment decisions in hospitals. Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in the UK, with around 55,000 new cases each year. 80% of people with breast cancer survive for 10 years or more, however for some subtypes, survival is much lower. Professor Charles Swanton, Cancer Research UK's chief clinician, said: "This exciting advance in scanning technology could provide new information about the metabolic status of each patient's tumour upon diagnosis, which could help doctors to identify the best course of treatment. "And the simple, non-invasive scan could be repeated periodically during treatment, providing an indication of whether the treatment is working. Ultimately, the hope is that scans like this could help doctors decide to switch to a more intensive treatment if needed, or even reduce the treatment dose, sparing people unnecessary side effects". ### For media enquiries contact Thomas Bullen in the Cancer Research UK press office on 020 3469 5171 or, out of hours, on 07050 264 059. Notes to editor: *through the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute and the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Centre. It was also supported by The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research. **Four patients had grade 3 triple negative breast cancer, one patient had grade 2 invasive ductal carcinoma (ER/PR+ HER2-), one patient had grade 3 invasive ductal carcinoma (ER/PR+ HER2-) and one patient had grade 2 invasive lobular carcinoma (ER/PR+ HER2-). The grade of a cancer depends on what the cells look like under a microscope. In general, a lower grade indicates a slower-growing (less aggressive) cancer and a higher grade indicates a faster-growing (more aggressive) one. About Cancer Research UK: Cancer Research UK is the world's leading cancer charity dedicated to saving lives through research. Cancer Research UK's pioneering work into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer has helped save millions of lives. Cancer Research UK receives no funding from the UK government for its life-saving research. Every step it makes towards beating cancer relies on vital donations from the public. Cancer Research UK has been at the heart of the progress that has already seen survival in the UK double in the last 40 years. Today, 2 in 4 people survive their cancer for at least 10 years. Cancer Research UK's ambition is to accelerate progress so that by 2034, 3 in 4 people will survive their cancer for at least 10 years. Cancer Research UK supports research into all aspects of cancer through the work of over 4,000 scientists, doctors and nurses. Together with its partners and supporters, Cancer Research UK's vision is to bring forward the day when all cancers are cured. For further information about Cancer Research UK's work or to find out how to support the charity, please call 0300 123 1022 or visit http://www.cancerresearchuk.org. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook. About The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research: The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research supports scientists answering the most complex questions in cancer research. Launched in 2017, The Mark Foundation pursues its mission by funding a global portfolio of groundbreaking research that will lead to new and better ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer. Since its launch in 2017, the Foundation has awarded over $85 million in grant funding to over 50 institutions across 19 U.S. states and 4 countries. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. San Francisco, 20 January 2020: The Report Road Haulage Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Type (International Road Haulage, Domestic Road Haulage), By Vehicle Type, By Application, By Region And Segment Forecasts, 2019 2025 The global road haulage market size is expected to reach USD 4,071.7 billion by 2025, registering a CAGR of 5.5% from 2019 to 2025 according to a study conducted by Grand View Research, Inc. The increasing demand for preserved commodities, fresh food, and perishable goods, coupled with the flourishing e-commerce industry, has triggered the demand for road haulage services. These factors are anticipated to drive the market in the coming years. The steady expansion of the automotive and transportation industries over the years has also spurred the demand for road haulage services in recent years. Rising population and shift in residential preferences are also key factors that are expected to fuel market growth. Numerous technological advancements such as vehicle-to-vehicle communication, integrated supply chain, remote diagnostics, and autonomous driving are optimizing road transportation and increasing cargo throughput. Additionally, the availability of several online support services such as GPS tracking and google maps are expected to augment the adoption of road haulage services. The rising demand for food commodities, local deliveries, agricultural goods, and wholesale product deliveries are anticipated to provide significant growth opportunities for the players present in the market. Professional road haulage services are cost-efficient, easy to track, involve low idle period, offer doorstep deliveries and highly safe cargoes, and are capable of using different routes. Such benefits are encouraging the adoption of these services in manufacturing, petroleum, and infrastructure arenas. Furthermore, steadily expanding global and cross-border trade are spurring market growth. Reduction in vehicle and fuel taxes in certain countries are further boosting the adoption of road transportation. The market is highly fragmented and characterized by high competition with the presence of established local and regional players. Companies are focusing on offering the most cost-effective, flexible, and efficient services to customers. Companies are also focusing on partnerships and mergers, with medium-sized operators to strengthen their market presence. Key players operating in the market are focusing on enhancing their global logistics networks. Numerous companies are undergoing mergers and acquisitions with third-party logistics services to provide more value-added services to customers. For instance, in May 2018, Alibaba group invested USD 1.38 billion in ZTO express to strengthen its transportation and logistics network and ensure quick parcel deliveries in China. However, the escalation of fuel prices and fuel levies in certain economies are hindering the market growth. Moreover, a massive shortage of Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) drivers is reducing productivity and causing delays in the transportation of goods. These factors are further expected to challenge the growth prospects of the market. Access Research Report of Road Haulage Market @ https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/global-road-haulage-market Further key findings from the study suggest: In terms of the vehicle type, the light commercial vehicles segment is expected to grow prominently by 2025, registering a CAGR of more than 6% from 2019 to 2025. The significant increase in the adoption of light goods vehicle (LGVs) corresponds to the growing e-commerce industry, which requires quick deliveries of retail goods The domestic road haulage segment is expected to grow at a CAGR exceeding 5% from 2019 to 2025. This prominent growth is due to the increased deliveries of food commodities and other retail goods The food & beverage application segment is expected to register a promising CAGR owing to the rising transport of agricultural products such as bulk food commodities and field produce The Asia Pacific regional market is expected to witness substantial growth prospects and a CAGR exceeding 6% during the forecast period. This can be attributed to the robust roadways infrastructure and connectivity in the region Countries such as China and India witness high volumes of export and import of goods, which requires quick and cost-efficient freight transportation. In addition, legislative initiatives for road transport and flexible international transport policies in the Asia Pacific region are further contributing to market growth Key players operating in the market include CONCOR, Kindersley Transport Ltd., Gosselin Group, Monarch Transport, AM Cargo, Manitoulin Group of Companies, SLH Transport Inc., Woodside Logistics Group, and UK Haulier. Browse more reports of this category by Grand View Research at: https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry/communication-services Grand View Research has segmented the road haulage market based on type, vehicle type, application, and region: Road Haulage Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2014 - 2025) International Road Haulage Domestic Road Haulage Road Haulage Vehicle Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2014 - 2025) Light Commercial Vehicles Heavy Commercial Vehicles Road Haulage Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2014 - 2025) Mining & Construction Oil & Gas Food & Beverage Retail Manufacturing Healthcare Automotive Others Road Haulage Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2014 - 2025) North America Europe Asia Pacific Latin America Middle East & Africa Access Press Release of Road Haulage Market @ https://www.grandviewresearch.com/press-release/road-haulage-market About Grand View Research Grand View Research, Inc. is a U.S. based market research and consulting company, registered in the State of California and headquartered in San Francisco. The company provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. To help clients make informed business decisions, we offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across a range of industries, from technology to chemicals, materials and healthcare. For More Information: www.grandviewresearch.com A Republican Senator says the Democrats are putting the spotlight on impeachment because 'their greatest fears are coming true,' that Trump will win in 2020. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) told Fox News: 'They're pretty concerned and I think they believe that the American people are now solidly behind President Donald Trump and their greatest fears are coming true.' Scott's assertion on Sunday comes as the impeachment trial - only the third in American history - resumes on Tuesday. 'The most important statement made about this entire impeachment process was made by (Texas) Congressman Al Green when he said if we don't impeach him, he might win.' Sen. Scott added. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) said: 'They're pretty concerned and I think they believe that the American people are now solidly behind President Donald Trump and their greatest fears are coming true' President Donald Trump puts his hand to his head while speaking at the American Farm Bureau Federation Annual Convention and Trade Show in Austin, Texas on Sunday. He has blamed his impeachment on radical leftists House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has previously said that whatever happens in the Senate Trump will 'be impeached forever.' Sen. Scott said: 'I believe the Democrat strategy is not to bring more illumination to the case, but to put a bull's eye on the back of [Colorado Republican Sen.] Cory Gardner, [Iowa Republican Sen.] Joni Ernst, [Arizona Republican Sen.] Martha McSally, [North Carolina Republican Sen.] Thom Tillis. 'That is the strategy they're using to try to win back the Senate.' The trial resumes on Tuesday with what could be a fight over the ground rules. By then, both sides will have submitted briefs and four Democratic presidential candidates will have been forced back to Washington from the early nominating states to join every other senator in silence on the Senate floor. What they're likely to hear in this extraordinary setting is the House Democrats' impeachment articles that charge Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress over his pressure on Ukraine for political help. From the White House, the senator-jurors are expected to hear that Trump committed no crime, the impeachment articles are invalid and he's the victim of Democrats who want to overturn his election. But the 'no crime, no impeachment' approach has been roundly dismissed by scholars and Democrats, who were fresh off a trial brief that called Trump's behavior the 'worst nightmare' of the country's founders. In their view, the standard of 'high crimes and misdemeanors' is vague and open-ended in the Constitution and meant to encompass abuses of power that aren't necessarily illegal. The back-and-forth came as all concerned agitated for the Senate to get on with the third impeachment trial in the nation's history. Behind the scenes. the seven House managers were shoring up which prosecutor will handle which parts of the case and doing a walk-through of the Senate. . No senators were more eager to get going than the four Democratic presidential candidates facing the prospect of being marooned in the Senate ahead of kickoff nominating votes in Iowa and New Hampshire. 'I'd rather be here,' said Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders on New Hampshire Public Radio while campaigning Sunday in Concord. During the trial, Sanders and other senators are required to sit for perhaps six grueling hours of proceedings daily - except Sundays, per Senate rules - in pursuit of the 'impartial justice' they pledged to pursue. With Republicans controlling the Senate 53-47, they can set the trial rules - or any four Republicans could join with Democrats to change course. The House on December 18 voted mostly along party lines to impeach, or indict, Mr Trump on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. He denies both charges as the products of a 'witch hunt' and a 'hoax', and has cast himself as a victim of Democrats who want to overturn his 2016 election. Pacemaker Press 16/01/2020 Police and ATO at the scene of a security alert on the Lurgan Road near Maple Park in Crumlin , Co Antrim on Thursday evening, A number of homes have been evacuated. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker A shopping centre employee was the target of a crude extortion bomb bid by a criminal gang. The unexploded device was eventually discovered after he drove 14 miles from the Kennedy Centre in west Belfast to a wake house in the village of Crumlin. The male had gone there to pay his respects to the deceased mother of a friend. Had the bomb detonated, dozens of mourners at the house on Maple Park could have suffered serious injuries. Criminal sources told Sunday Life the target of the attack is an employee at the busy Kennedy Centre which is home to over 50 shops. It is understood that the business for which he works has been at the centre of extortion attempts by a west Belfast-based crime gang. The owners refused to pay up, leading to the bomb being placed on the employee's car. "It was a really crude device stuck to the front grilles of the car with duct tape," said a source. "The fella drove from the Kennedy Centre to the wake house in Crumlin to offer support to his grieving friend. It was only when he parked the car nearby that the bomb was noticed." The discovery last Thursday evening sparked a security alert on the Lurgan Road at the junction of Maple Park where the wake was taking place. A number of families were forced from their homes. Expand Close 0 Police and ATO at the scene of a security alert on the Lurgan Road near Maple Park in Crumlin , Co Antrim on Thursday evening. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp 0 Police and ATO at the scene of a security alert on the Lurgan Road near Maple Park in Crumlin , Co Antrim on Thursday evening. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Detective Inspector Stephen Harvey said: "The device was taken away for further examination and I can confirm it contained component parts which, had the device been detonated, would have made it viable. "Our officers and ATO (Ammunition Technical Officers) attended the scene, and a public safety operation was implemented." The top cop accused whoever placed the device of committing a reckless act as the car travelled almost 14 miles before it was spotted. He confirmed police are following a number of lines of enquiry, one of which Sunday Life can confirm is an extortion attempt. Several businesses and building sites in west Belfast have been targeted by dissident republicans and crime gangs, with threats for cash on the rise. DI Harvey added: "The device may have been placed on the vehicle on the Falls Road, in the area of the Kennedy Centre, in west Belfast sometime earlier in the day and the vehicle was then driven to the Lurgan Road area where the device was subsequently discovered. "This incident caused disruption to a number of families who had to leave their homes while we worked to make the area safe, and I want to thank those affected for their patience and co-operation." Expand Close Kennedy Centre / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Kennedy Centre cbarnes@sundaylife.co.uk It is Davos time again. This week, the worlds finance, business and political leaders plus a sprinkling of pop stars will gather as they do each year in the Swiss ski resort to meet and ponder the state of the global economy. It is easy to mock the event, the upcoming one particularly so, since on a count done by Bloomberg at least 119 billionaires from all around the world are flying there, and one of the main appearances will be by Greta Thunberg. Hypocrisy is alive and strong among the uber-wealthy. Ripe for ridicule indeed, but to do so misses the key point. It is actually very efficient for business leaders to be able to meet their key customers in one place at one time. Allow for that and maybe the events carbon footprint is not so dreadful after all. The environment is the most upfront single theme this year. Last week Larry Fink, chairman of BlackRock, the worlds largest asset manager, warned that the entire global financial system would be fundamentally reshaped by climate change. His message was chilling in that he warned of huge risks to the world economy, to cities, to food production and so on. But on a broader perspective, it is also encouraging. If global finance is mobilised to combat climate change, then huge resources will be thrown at the problem. Global finance is more powerful and more unified than individual national governments. Bhopal, Jan 20 : The Madhya Pradesh bureaucracy and the police are caught in the ruling-opposition parties crossfire over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). If they act against protesters they are accused of high-handedness, if they don't they are blamed for negligence. After Sunday's violent confrontation, involving Rajgarh District Magistrate Nidhi Nivedita and her deputy with activists, defying restrictive orders under section 144, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) here on Monday called for intensifying the stir. The BJP continues to be offensive, with party spokesman Lokendra Parashar saying the Collector was mentally unstable and needed treatment, or she was acting at the ruling party's instance to crush a democratic agitation. The Kamal Nath government has opposed the CAA passed by Parliament. Video clips of the Sunday's administration-agitators confrontation at Biaora that went viral showed Nidhi Nivedita "slapping" a man and Additional Collector Priya Verma being pulled by hair. Trying to maximise the mileage from the incident, former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh on Monday tweeted, "The Rajgarh incident will prove the last nail in the coffin of the state government. We are going to build up a massive movement against it. We are going to get the FIR lodged against the Collector and if it's not registered, we are going to move the court." The Collector, on the other hand, has blamed the agitators for provocative acts. "I am saddened at the politicisation of the incident," she said. She said permission to the anti-CAA rally was cancelled at the last-minute following intelligence inputs about possible violence. The administration convinced protesters to put off the rally. The pro-CAA rally was also denied permission in view of the Republic Day preparations. Khujner town of the district had witnessed communal flare-up during the R-Day events last year. Despite agreeing to cancel the rally, the activists assembled unlawfully and began raising inflammatory slogans. One of them, overly active to provoke trouble, began abusing women officials. "I just tapped him to dissuade against inciting people. I didn't slap him though we are empowered to dismiss an unlawful assembly by physical force. I reacted when he hurled abuses at me," she said. "Since I had withdrawn permission to the Congress and others twice for holding anti-CAA protests, I didn't allow the pro-CAA rally to be neutral and fair to both parties," she said. The Collector said 124 people have been booked for defying the prohibitory orders under section 188 of IPC. Ten people had been arrested for misbehaving with herself, she added. Five or them were let off later. "While we were doing our duty, a crowd came from the other side and misbehaved with us," she said. "Even if I was not a public serving officer, I would have acted against those men who almost tried to molest women," she said. Verma said a man pulled her hair from behind, while another kicked her in the waist. "All that (her physical retaliation against some men) happened later", she said. MP Minister for Urban Development Jaivardhan Singh who represents the neighbouring Raghogarh constituency, said, "We too have held rallies, taken to the street for protests, but always have followed law." The border wall, a concept that has hung over Laredo since before President Trump took office, has finally made its way to City Councils dais. READ MORE: Trumps border wall threatens San Ygnacio The federal government is requesting the right of entry on the citys property along the Rio Grande for a period of 18 months, which will be discussed in executive session at councils Tuesday meeting. This would allow the government to survey the property to determine the best alignment for a border fence. Due to the possibility of litigation, it is unlikely that council will take any action on this item. However Border Patrol is also slated to present to City Council on the status of fence construction in the area, which will be in open session. When Mayor Pete Saenz and Co-Interim City Manager Robert Eads visited Washington, D.C. late last year, Customs and Border Protection officials offered the City of Laredo a compromise. In exchange for councils signature on the right of entry documents, Laredo would receive a more aesthetically-pleasing, river walk-style border barrier through the downtown area. Its called a bulkhead. Saenz told LMT Friday that Border Patrol has said the bulkhead in Laredo is no longer conditional, and that they will build it whether council votes to sign the right of entry or not. Which is a relief, in a way, the mayor said. Whatever their reasoning, if they end up with their wall theyll build the bulkhead in that one-mile span. Border Patrol was not able to corroborate this statement over the weekend. The majority of council members contacted for this story said they wanted to see Border Patrols presentation before they declared how they plan to vote on the right of entry request. However none failed to mention that they and their constituents remain completely against the wall. And if there were a compromise for a bulkhead, at least one council member Merc Martinez III said his answer is a firm no. I think were in this for the long haul. We might lose a battle, but I dont think well lose the war, Martinez said. ... Weve been here for generations, and were not going to let one campaign promise set us back. Councilman Alberto Torres Jr. noted that historically, the end results in the citys negotiations with the government have not been favorable. He pointed to the citys recent offer to allow the feds to rent out a city building to conduct immigration court hearings for $1 a year. Instead, the Trump administration chose to build a tent facility in the nearby floodplain for over $25 million. Torres said he will be in staunch opposition to any type of barrier, whether its a bulkhead or wall. Councilman Roberto Balli said Border Patrol presented to him about a month ago their plan for border fencing in the area. They had fencing going through utilities plants, creeks and water lines. It seemed like they hadnt done any homework, Balli said. It seemed like somebody got on Google Maps and just drew a line through the border and had never done any groundwork, he said. READ MORE: Opposition to border wall growing in Laredo Still, Balli said he will wait to decide how to vote until he sees their presentation Tuesday. Julia Wallace may be reached at 956-728-2543 or jwallace@lmtonline.com ROCKY RIVER, Ohio -- Rocky River High School senior Samantha Lorenc has completed her long trek to a Girl Scout Gold Award. The award for girls is equivalent to, and as prestigious as, the Boy Scouts Eagle Scout ranking. Samantha joined a Brownie troop at the usual age of 7 while living with her family in Florida. The family moved to Caspar, Wy., when she was 10, then on to Rocky River in 2014 when she was 13. But her drive and ambition as she proceeded through the higher ranks of Scouting were anything but the usual. As a member of Lakewood Troop 70322, Samantha set her sights on the highly valued Gold Award. Samantha learned a lot in advance about having a vision, choosing a course and planning a project for impact in the community, reaching out for help and guidance, fundraising, executing the plan, being persistent through the challenges and, in her case, even learning some woodworking skills. She chose Little Free Libraries as her project. When I was on a trip to Iowa, she said, where I first saw Little Free Libraries, I thought this is a good way to bring people to libraries. In Rocky River, our library is more to the north (of the city), so I thought this was a way to help bring books closer to more people. Information from the Little Free Libraries website recounts the beginning of the phenomenon: In 2009, Todd H. Bol created the first Little Free Library book exchange and placed it in his Hudson, Wisc., front yard in tribute to his mother, who had been a teacher. Ten years later, his idea had snowballed into a worldwide book-sharing movement. Because of this global book-sharing phenomenon, millions of books have been shared and thousands of neighbors have connected for the first time! The Little Free Library, a nonprofit organization, is at the heart of this global movement to inspire a love of reading, build community and spark creativity. As Samantha discussed her project idea with her Scout leader, she learned that in order to be eligible for the Gold Award, her project had to be something sustainable -- something that didnt have to have a lot of reinforcement on an ongoing basis. Another qualifier, she said, was to have someone you dont know help you with the project. I chose my high school librarian, Sarah Wepler. I began organizing the project with her in June of 2018. She had never helped with a Gold Award before. Samantha said the librarian loved the idea. She said I should probably go to City Hall to see if the parks and recreation director would be willing to install them in the parks. No objections there. And the city took care of the building permits she needed. City Recreation Director Bob Holub approved installing the Little Free Libraries in Martin Park, off of Kings Mill Run; Morley Park, off of Morley Avenue; and in front of Elmwood Park, next to Elmwood Cabin. The list of steps Samantha had to complete from there was long: Find blueprints Raise money for needed materials Cut the wood for the structures, making sure the lines were straight Put together the first prototype to make sure it was all lined up correctly Build the others Host a party for help with the painting of the structures (seven members of St. Christopher Church showed up to help) Take one of the finished boxes to the city recreation office to show the color of the paint (I had to change from the bright colors I had used to more subdued colors so they would blend into the park surroundings, Samantha said) Note: she was allowed to keep the bright colors inside the structure. Cut out the doors with a neighbors saw Put weights on the doors, as they were bowing Apply weather stripping around the inside frames Install doors with plexiglass for visibility Install a hook-and-eye latch Put roofing shingles on top The city then installed the Little Free Libraries in the parks. One is in my front yard, too, so I had to make the post for my yard, and there is also one at Goldwood Elementary School. The city made the posts for the others," Samantha said. When asked where she got the books for each Little Free Library, she said, On the Rocky River Facebook page, I did a post for donations of books. She now has about 30 books in each structure -- kids books on the bottom shelf and young adult to advanced readers on the top one. Most people, she said, borrow a book and either bring it back or replace it with one of their own. Samantha still has to submit a final report to the Girls Scouts with a log detailing the hours she worked and photos with text boxes explaining how she went through the entire process. The report has to be submitted by Feb. 1. If all is judged to be in order, she will receive her well-deserved Gold Award at a summer conference attended by Girl Scouts from all over the country. She also noted that only about 5 percent of Girl Scouts climb to Gold Award status. What has she learned from her hard work on the project? What I have learned, she said, is that I love to build things that can help improve my community. This project opened my eyes to how much I can help others with such a little thing to make a big difference. "I also met a lot of new people I would have never met without this project. In addition, I learned that there are a lot of obstacles that come with doing a project of this size. I had to do a lot of time management and organization. The community of Rocky River is happy about the project and are very vocal about it through the Community of Rocky River Facebook page," she said. "Many of the residents even asked where they could buy a kit so they could have one in front of their houses. In addition, many of the residents donated books to the project to help restock the Little Free Libraries. Visit https://littlefreelibrary.org/ for more information on how to start a Little Free Library of your own. Read more from the West Shore Sun. Fifteen years ago, before laneway and infill housing were common in the urban vernacular, Julie Dyck, 48, and Michael Humphries, 49, saw the potential in a tiny overlooked lot that was sitting on the market around the corner from their former Queen Street East home. Even though it wasnt entirely clear what they could build on the site, the couple bought the 25-by-28-foot lot with a ramshackle garage for $50,000. It was a risk likely fuelled by reading a lot of Dwell Magazine, says a joking Humphries. But with the help of an architect friend, Drew Hauser, they transformed the site into a local landmark a five-storey live-work tower on tiny Trefann Street near Parliament Street that has been their home and the headquarters of their jewelry design business for the last decade. On Monday, the 2,200-square-foot house went on the market, listed for $2.25 million. Its owners have succumbed to what Humphries calls land fever, making the difficult decision to move to the country. Because the property is zoned residential-commercial, it has been built to the lot line with no setback. Its steel framing is visible through a tall glass atrium that wraps around the northeast corner and spans most of the north wall of the tower. The stairs follow the atrium up each separate floor of living space, flooding the home with light. Each level has a balcony or opening to the outdoors The fire department insisted, Dyck said. Even on the greyest day you still feel that winter is just a little bit further away, Humphries said. Dyck said the couple worked to build a useful house, with nothing too precious to enjoy. The ground floor serves as a studio and garage. But they havent had a car for five years. They get around by bike and car sharing. There is a small basement too for storage. Upstairs there is a warm, modern kitchen diner with an entire wall of built-in storage and a built-in banquette surrounding the kitchen table from Dycks childhood home. Its not the only piece of history. The counters and wall tiles were fashioned from Carrara marble that was being removed from First Canadian Place at about the same time the couple were building. The bank towers marble facade had begun falling off the side of the building creating a danger below and the pieces were being piled in a field in Markham, said Dyck, who had them cleaned and honed. They really were a mess. A lot of the pieces had a bow in them because it didnt matter when they were mounting them on the building if they were flat, she said. Dyck worked hard to get to know the contractors and source materials. The stair treads, for example, are made of hardwood logs salvaged from the floor of Georgian Bay, she said. The couple started building the tower house in 2005 but difficulty with trades early on prompted them to hit pause. Eventually Dyck took over herself as contractor on site and they moved in around 2010. They budgeted about $400,000 for the shell of the house. By the time they installed the fixtures and fittings, the pair say it cost between $800,000 and $900,000 to build. The floors throughout are heated concrete. They have not done any renovations since the initial build. We chose materials we knew would last. If you do it once you dont want to do it again, she said. Upstairs from the kitchen is a living area, laundry and another washroom. A Murphy bed easily drops down for guest accommodation. The master bedroom, another floor up, has an ensuite also lined in Carrara marble with a walk-in shower and stand-alone tub. The couples favourite space is at the towers summit a showstopper rooftop terrace with hot tub and a gas line for the barbecue. It offers a European view of a church, Queen Street rooftops and towers rising to the southeast. The deck opens off a small seating area behind glass doors. Sitting there in the winter is like sitting in a snow globe, say the couple. Despite its height, the house lives like a traditional townhome. Stairs are not an issue, Dyck said. You rarely do zero to five (floors) in one go. You really live on two and three and four like a normal townhouse, she said. Because the house is built to commercial standards, theres a two-inch intake for the water so the water pressure is unbelievable, Dyck said. You could flush all the toilets and have a shower at the same time, she said. Im going to miss that a lot. Erica Reddy-Choquette, broker of record at Royal LePage Signature Realty Erica Reddy Brokerage, specializes in selling lofts. She says the tower house is special because its like loft living in a freehold. Its one of those properties that can appeal to various lifestyles and family configurations. It could be a couple with children or a child, a downsizer, she said. It was a dream to build it and were going to hopefully do it again soon, said Humphries about their country home. We would repeat a lot of things we did but just in a different shape, he said. Next time, Humphries said, they will probably look at a low, modern design. Correction January 20, 2019: This article was updated from a previous version that misstated the size of the lot as 25 square feet. The lot is in fact 25 by 28 feet. The age-old India-Myanmar cultural, traditional and religious affinity would be emboldened by the Pangsau Pass International Festival, Myanmar Ambassador Moe Kyaw Aung said after declaring the three-day historic event open in bordering Changlang district on Monday. The festival opened with much grandeur amid a mammoth gathering of dignitaries, government officials, cultural troupes, artistes and tourist from all over India. "Such festival facilitates both nations to exchange their rich culture, hold trade and uphold bonhomie to maintain the age-old ties," said Aung, who was the chief guest of the event. The myriad beauty of culture would be known to the world, particularly to South East Asia through this festival to help explore the enchanting beauty of Arunachal, said deputy chief minister Chowna Mein, while highlighting the history of Stillwell or Ledo Road and essence of the festival. The area boasts of numerous historic monuments such as Stilwell Road, World War-II Cemetery, the Lake of No Return and the Hell Gate, besides the border market offering huge scope for tourism, said Mein, who was the guest of honour. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form The search for a hiking group that disappeared in an avalanche last week was called off Monday amid dangerous conditions in an area of the Himalayas where officials say they have had to rescue hundreds of people. Seven remain missing since last week's crush on a trail around Mount Annapurna, where tourists flock to see the world's 10th-highest peak. A slew of military and government officials have joined tourism groups, locals and others to look for the four South Korean hikers and their three Nepali guides, and to bring about 200 people "whose lives were in jeopardy" to safety, Nepal's tourism department said in a statement. But avalanches and heavy snowfall have thwarted those operations, the department said. Poor conditions kept a military helicopter with rescue teams from landing Monday, Reuters reported. "It is a big disaster and the government is concerned about the safety of tourists," Mira Acharya, director of Nepal's tourism department, told Reuters. "Rescuers are on standby for a fresh search." About 140 foreign hikers were among the tourists, guides and others rescued over the weekend, Reuters said, citing police. Nepal law enforcement and tourism department officials did not immediately respond to inquiries from The Washington Post. Officials said the still-missing travelers were caught Friday morning when an avalanche sparked by heavy snowfall slammed trails on the Annapurna Circuit Trek, where tourism companies advertise multiweek journeys through stunning scenery. Mount Annapurna rises nearly 27,000 feet high, but the Circuit Trek maxes out at the Thorung La Pass below 20,000 feet. All trekkers in the area besides the group of seven have been flown to safety, the tourism department's Acharya told the Associated Press. Authorities described the South Koreans still missing as two women and two men, all teachers, who were in Nepal to volunteer, according to South Korean news media. The Korean ambassador to Nepal and families of those trapped in the avalanche have been involved in search and rescue work, officials said. Um Hong-gil, a South Korean climber helping to look for those missing, told South Korea's Yonhap News Agency on Monday that he feared a "prolonged" search. "A person who went close to the scene told me that a huge chunk of ice that had been piled up on high grounds for a long time collapsed along with the snow," he said to the news organization. "This snow and ice has poured down into a deep valley and likely won't melt well even when the spring comes. I am afraid that the search might be prolonged." Weather and continued avalanches also interfered Sunday with search efforts of the Trekking Agents' Association of Nepal, according to Reuters, and a representative from a rescue company told Reuters that a helicopter was not able to determine where the South Koreans and their guides disappeared. 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. Mountaineering has long been "the major tourism activity" in Nepal, generating significant revenue since the country's peaks opened to climbers in 1949, officials say. But it can be dangerous. A snowstorm that hit Annapurna during peak trekking season in fall 2014 killed dozens and forced the rescue of hundreds more. More recently, in 2018, five South Korean climbers and their four guides died elsewhere in the Himalayas when a block of ice crashed down into a gorge, according to Reuters. That was the worst accident of its kind since 18 climbers died in an avalanche on Mount Everest three years earlier. - - - The Washington Post's Abha Bhattarai contributed to this report. YEREVAN, JANUARY 20, ARMENPRESS. Armenian political scientist Mher Sahakyan considers China a newly-discovered superpower with which it is necessary to deepen the relations. Mher Sahakyan, who is also the founder of the "China-Eurasia" Council for Political and Strategic Research, gave an interview to ARMENPRESS, talking about the council, China-Eurasia cooperation, the deepening of Armenia-China relations and other topics. -Mr. Sahakyan, the "China-Eurasia" Council for Political and Strategic Research, was founded in 2016. What was the motive of creating this council, and what main issues did the council solve within these past three years? -Yes, this year on November 11 the council marked its 3rd anniversary. It started its practical and active work after November 2017 when I finally returned from China to Armenia. There were several reasons for establishing this organization, the first one was that there was a gap of an organization conducting a high-quality, scientific and analytical work, as well as a literature about China in Armenia, the country was lacking information about the policy run by China. Secondly, for many years I was communicating with the leading specialists of China, Russia, UK, Austria and other countries, who are dealing with the political and economic issues of China and the Eurasian states, and there was a need to unite this potential in order to further strengthen the ties and use this huge potential also for Armenia. And the third one, by living in China for five years I noticed that China also lacked information about Armenia, and a serious actions were needed to be taken on this path, although we were conducting certain works in this regard in the Armenian community of China. Next, it was also necessary to seriously study Chinas Belt and Road initiative, create a roadmap for Armenia through which Armenia would have an opportunity to be included in this initiative. These are the directions our Council has dealt with and continues to deal with. -To what extent you consider the issues set before your organization in these three years solved? What kind of new goals and issues emerged during your work? -"China-Eurasia" Council for Political and Strategic Research is a young organization. Of course, the launch was successful and during this period major works were carried out, but its still on the development path which requires serious works. As the life is changing rapidly, all issues need to be revised almost every day. But the main goals are to contribute to the development of the Armenian-Chinese relations, create school to understand Chinas economy, policy in Armenia, contribute to the professional development of Armenian experts on Chinese studies, become a global and independent think tank. I must state with pride that today the Council gathered a multinational, experienced team thanks to which it has an important contribution to the research on China and Eurasia, and also at the global level. The Council is working with the principle of recording concrete results with small and limited forces. Its worth remembering that this Council is not an office, but a philosophy and a uniting network. It mainly operates thanks to the imagination of its members, their dedicated work for whom the important is to be useful to Armenia and contribute to the development of the Armenian-Chinese relations. -Recently you presented your organization in China and made a cooperation proposal to Chinese researchers. What reaction did you get? What is their interest towards Armenia? -Recently I was in China at the invitation of the Chinese side where we had meetings with the diplomats of the Chinese foreign ministry, the leadership of the Communist party of Yunnan Tunan province, young Chinese leaders, discussed the Armenian-Chinese relations, the possibilities of Armenias active participation to the Belt and Road initiative. I also delivered remarks at the Dialogue of Young Scientists of China and Eurasian countries scientific conference where I made numerous proposals for the development of Armenian-Chinese relations. During these meetings a number of cooperation agreements were reached which will soon turn into reality and will contribute to the development of these ties thanks to the public diplomacy. -What the cooperation with Eurasia can give to China today, and what the Eurasian countries can get from the partnership with China? -Thanks to its Belt and Road initiative China has made a transition to Eurasia thanks to which it tries to develop its economy, strengthen security, etc. The Eurasian countries have an opportunity to deepen their cooperation with the country with the biggest market and economy in the world. -If we look from the perspective of cooperation of the two countries, what can China give to Armenia, and vice versa? -China is the worlds newly-discovered superpower with which it is necessary to deepen the relations, try to find a place in its huge and rich market worth 1.4 billion for the Armenian products. It is necessary to get new technologies from them, jointly deepen the cooperation in the military-industrial field, financial-banking sector, agriculture and other areas. Armenia in its turn is a rapidly and steadily developing country which is unique and can be interesting for China both with its geographical position, rich culture and history and a military experience. -It seems you visit China very often connected with your job. But imagine yourself as a tourist and please answer what can attract an Armenian tourist in China? -I lived in China for five years, its a very unique country, Asia with all its sides, it needs to be understood. It can attract tourists with its exclusive historical-cultural sites, unique dishes, cities, etc. A country with millennia-old history, culture, philosophy which is living with the new rhythms of technologies, and I think that one must definitely see all these. Interview by Norayr Shoghikyan Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan (BESA Center via JNS)Like clockwork, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeos recent observation that the establishment of Israeli civilian settlements in the West Bank is not, per se, inconsistent with international law was immediately denounced by the Jewish left. The head of the Reform Movement in North America, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, said that the U.S. governments new position on Israeli settlements will undercut the fight against BDS and the delegitimization of Israel in the United States, specifically on college campuses. Its not clear when Rabbi Jacobs was last on a campus, but the debate at North American colleges is not about the so-called occupation but about whether Israel has a right to exist, period. Pro-BDS groups, including Jewish ones, are talking about the illegitimacy of the 1949 armistice lines, not those of 1967. Moreover, a recent survey conducted by Ron Hassner at the University of California, Berkeley shows that most students who care strongly about the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories do not have knowledge of even basic facts on the subject. Jacobss lack of understanding speaks to the divergent lexicon of the conflict, and more pointedly to the growing split between American Jews and Israelis. In many progressive circles there is little to no understanding of what areas are even in dispute; witness the continued claims that Gaza is occupied by Israel. For the BDS movement, everything Israeli, including Haifa and Tel Aviv, is a settlement and hence illegal. Far more than American policy, it is the language of occupation that plays a key role in what has become the religion of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The main feature of that religion is the Palestinian claim that their (alleged) territories are occupied by Israel, regardless of where they are located on the map, much less in any legal sense under international law. The mantra of occupation, and the demand that Israel be shunned until the occupation is endedmeaning the time when Israel is dissolved by the implementation of the Palestinian right of returnis the key demand of the Palestinians and the BDS movement. The weaponization of the term hitnahlut (settlement) began after 1967 by the PLO and the Arab world. For the government of Israel under Levi Eshkol, newly established communities were an outgrowth of military outposts that had been created with the clear understanding that they were Israels first line of defense against its enemies. But 52 years later, no one remembers that Eshkol headed the Labor government or that Israel made overtures toward reconciliation in the immediate aftermath of the Six-Day War. The only legacy preached by rabbis like Rabbi Jacobs are condemnations of the occupation. Naturally, Rabbi Jacobs continues to echo the left-wing mantra that The U.S. is giving a green light to settlements and settlement expansion. This could also be interpreted as a first step toward supporting any Israeli annexation efforts. Jacobss interpretation characterizes the entire Arab-Israeli conflict as a territorial one, ignoring its religious foundations and thus all the many ingredients necessary for peace to actually come about. The relegation of the conflict to a matter of land alone is the reason why all peace proposals over the past century have been rejected by the Palestinians. The essence of the two-state placebo is the belief that peace will come when there are two states living side by side. But the reality is that the resilience of Jewish-Israeli survival has been overshadowed by the false Arab-Palestinian notion of being occupied and robbed of their true destiny by religiously ordained supremacy. Consequently, Israel is the oppressor. The Palestinian concept demands that the occupation remain the root cause of all that societys problems, self-imposed and otherwise, from social and economic woes to terrorism. The historical fact that the Trump administration decided to acknowledgethat the 1949 boundaries were neither sacred nor a permanent border and were always subject to adjustmenthas been known for over five decades. This reality will not change no matter how falsely the facts are described on campus or by the Reform Movement. Asaf Romirowsky is executive director of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East (SPME), a senior non-resident fellow at the BESA Center and a Fellow at the Middle East Forum. This article was first published by the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies. CASS COUNTY, MICH. -- A county park in southwestern Michigan has been recognized as an exemplary place for taking in the night sky. Dr. T.K. Lawless Park in Cass County was recently designated as an International Dark Sky Park by the International Dark-Sky Association, an exceptional distinction given to locations that offer unspoiled night-sky viewing. The 860-acre park, nine miles east of Cassopolis, is only the second park in Michigan to be honored with the distinction. In 2011, the Headlands International Dark Sky Park in Mackinaw City became the first such park in the state, and one of the first 10 international dark sky parks in the world. The process to apply for the designation is extremely rigorous, including recording detailed measurements of the skys darkness as well as altering outdoor lighting to meet strict requirements. So the official designation from the International Dark-Sky Association came as exciting news for Robert Parrish, a lifelong Cass County resident and Cass County Parks board member, who for more than two years has spearheaded the parks effort to acquire the special designation. Honestly, I cried," he said of when he got the news. It was a very rewarding feeling when I realized that we made it. Now that the designation has been announced, Cass County Parks is assessing the best ways to encourage the public to have a rewarding and safe night-sky viewing experience at the park. The park is committed to staying open late a certain number of nights for star viewing, and special programming is in the works, like introductory astro-photography workshops. Eventually, Parrish said, the dream is to construct the parks own observatory. An official celebration of the International Dark-Sky designation is scheduled to coincide with the Michiana Astronomical Societys annual Star Party at the park, scheduled for April 24-26. Parrish said he hopes to have a website for the park up and running soon, but in the meantime, people can stay tuned for more information about the park and upcoming dark-sky events at the Cass County Parks web page. Dark skies are considered to be a dwindling natural, cultural, and economic resource, with light pollution impacting everything from migratory birds to baby sea turtles to human circadian rhythms. An estimated 80 percent of the developed world is unable to see the Milky Way; perhaps relatedly, dark-sky tourism is on the rise. Parrish credits his late father with instilling in him an abiding love of the night sky, which is something hes looking forward to seeing more people enjoy at Dr. T.K. Lawless County Park. Theres very few places you can go nowadays where light pollution doesnt interfere with our view of the night sky, he said. But seeing the Milky Way is an awe-inspiring experience, and I think collectively everybody at the park wanted to let everybody in on that beauty. The beauty of Mother Nature doesnt have to end when the sun goes down. RELATED: This Michigan park is one of the worlds best stargazing spots Michigans Beaver Island seeks international dark sky designation This U.P. photographer has photographed every single sunrise of 2019 Kochi: The Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit (SSUS) at Kalady in Kerala has become the first university in the country to pass a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CA). The resolution passed was by the universitys 15-member syndicate with no dissent. Mincing no words, it condemned the violence unleashed upon students, teachers and scholars by saffron supporters with the active abetment of the Modi government. The resolution was moved by the student representative in the syndicate, K.V. Abhijith. The resolution added, The ruling BJP is trying to stifle every voice of dissent by brutally attacking the youth of the country, be it students who protested against the fees hike in Jawaharlal Nehru University or the ones who agitated against the Citizenship Amendment Act on other campuses. The BJP government is using the police and goons to muzzle all those who are raising their voices against it. The university also urged the academic community to launch a strong protest against the horrifying violence on students and teachers. Established in 1994, SSUS is one of the pioneering Sanskrit universities in India in teaching, research and innovations. It is named after the Hindu sage and philosopher Adi Sankaracharya. On contemporary issues, the campus is known to take some pretty firm stances. Last month, the varsitys academic council passed a resolution asking the Centre to withdraw the draft education policy, calling it out as a deviation from secularism, humanism and contemporary scientific thought. India this month effectively halted palm oil imports from its largest supplier and the worlds second-biggest producer in response to comments from Mahathir attacking Indias domestic policies. Langkawi, Malaysia: Malaysia will not take retaliatory trade action against India over its boycott of palm oil purchases amid a political row between the two countries, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Monday. India, the worlds largest edible oil buyer, this month effectively halted palm oil imports from its largest supplier and the worlds second-biggest producer in response to comments from Mahathir attacking Indias domestic policies. We are too small to take retaliatory action, Mahathir told reporters in Langkawi, a resort island off the western coast of Malaysia. We have to find ways and means to overcome that, he added. The 94-year-old premier of Muslim-majority Malaysia has criticised New Delhis new religion-based citizenship law and also accused India of invading the disputed region of Kashmir. Mahathir again criticised Indias citizenship law on Monday, saying he believed it was grossly unfair. India has been Malaysias largest palm oil market for the past five years, presenting the Southeast Asian country with a major challenge in finding new buyers for its palm oil. Benchmark Malaysian palm futures fell nearly 10 percent last week, their biggest weekly decline in more than 11 years. New Delhi is also unhappy with Malaysias refusal to revoke permanent resident status for controversial Indian Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, who has lived in Malaysia for about three years and faces charges of money laundering and hate speech in India. Mahathir said even if the Indian government guarantees a fair trial, Naik faces the real threat of vigilante action and that Malaysia will only relocate the preacher if it can find a third country where he would be safe. If we can find a place for him, we will send him out. Tukur Buratai, chief of army staff, has described the recent activity of Boko Haram insurgents as the kicks of a dying horse gasping f... Tukur Buratai, chief of army staff, has described the recent activity of Boko Haram insurgents as the kicks of a dying horse gasping for the last breath. Boko Haram has stepped up attacks on military formations and civilian population in the north-east. He also asked local and foreign bodies to be mindful of the comments they make on Nigerias security. Buratais warning came a day after the European parliament, a legislative branch of the European Union, said there has not been progress in the fight against Boko Haram insurgents. The parliament in its January 16, 2020 resolution said the security situation in Nigeria has deteriorated significantly. Aminu Iliyasu, the army operations media coordinator, in a statement on Monday, said the army chief has asked those bodies to make utterances that would help restore peace. The chief of army staff Lieutenant General Tukur Yusufu Buratai has reassured Nigerians that the counter insurgency operations in the north-east and indeed other ongoing operations against our common enemies across the country are still on course with current indicators revealing tremendous successes across the various theatres of operation, the statement read. After a careful review of the Nigerian Army operations in the north-east, it is pertinent to state that, Headquarters Nigerian Army has gladly observed the renewed zeal and determination by troops to take the counter insurgency operations to its logical conclusion with outcomes favourable to Nigeria and Nigerians as evident in the recent decimation of many Boko Haram/Islamic State West Africa Province criminals, including some of their top commanders amidst several arrests of the insurgents logistic suppliers and collaborators, numerous capture of the criminals arms and ammunition as well as rescue of many captives from the bondage of the insurgents. To this end, all local and foreign interests are advised to exhibit more commitment and restraint on issues of our national security and avoid taking sides. Furthermore, all actions and utterances must be tailored towards supporting the national cause with a view to restoring peace and tranquility to our beloved country. Buratai assured troops that their sacrifices and that of their fallen colleagues would never be in vain. He also warned all enemies of Nigeria and Nigerians who take delight in the suffering of our innocent citizens that the day of reckoning is at their door steps. Is Fluxys Belgium SA (EBR:FLUX) a good dividend stock? How can we tell? Dividend paying companies with growing earnings can be highly rewarding in the long term. Unfortunately, it's common for investors to be enticed in by the seemingly attractive yield, and lose money when the company has to cut its dividend payments. With Fluxys Belgium yielding 4.3% and having paid a dividend for over 10 years, many investors likely find the company quite interesting. It would not be a surprise to discover that many investors buy it for the dividends. There are a few simple ways to reduce the risks of buying Fluxys Belgium for its dividend, and we'll go through these below. Explore this interactive chart for our latest analysis on Fluxys Belgium! ENXTBR:FLUX Historical Dividend Yield, January 20th 2020 Payout ratios Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. So we need to form a view on if a company's dividend is sustainable, relative to its net profit after tax. In the last year, Fluxys Belgium paid out 144% of its profit as dividends. Unless there are extenuating circumstances, from the perspective of an investor who hopes to own the company for many years, a payout ratio of above 100% is definitely a concern. In addition to comparing dividends against profits, we should inspect whether the company generated enough cash to pay its dividend. Fluxys Belgium paid out 57% of its free cash flow last year, which is acceptable, but is starting to limit the amount of earnings that can be reinvested into the business. It's disappointing to see that the dividend was not covered by profits, but cash is more important from a dividend sustainability perspective, and Fluxys Belgium fortunately did generate enough cash to fund its dividend. Still, if the company repeatedly paid a dividend greater than its profits, we'd be concerned. Extraordinarily few companies are capable of persistently paying a dividend that is greater than their profits. Story continues Is Fluxys Belgium's Balance Sheet Risky? As Fluxys Belgium's dividend was not well covered by earnings, we need to check its balance sheet for signs of financial distress. A rough way to check this is with these two simple ratios: a) net debt divided by EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation), and b) net interest cover. Net debt to EBITDA is a measure of a company's total debt. Net interest cover measures the ability to meet interest payments. Essentially we check that a) the company does not have too much debt, and b) that it can afford to pay the interest. With net debt of 5.13 times its EBITDA, Fluxys Belgium could be described as a highly leveraged company. While some companies can handle this level of leverage, we'd be concerned about the dividend sustainability if there was any risk of an earnings downturn. We calculated its interest cover by measuring its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT), and dividing this by the company's net interest expense. Interest cover of 3.68 times its interest expense is starting to become a concern for Fluxys Belgium, and be aware that lenders may place additional restrictions on the company as well. High debt and weak interest cover are not a great combo, and we would be cautious of relying on this company's dividend while these metrics persist. We update our data on Fluxys Belgium every 24 hours, so you can always get our latest analysis of its financial health, here. Dividend Volatility Before buying a stock for its income, we want to see if the dividends have been stable in the past, and if the company has a track record of maintaining its dividend. Fluxys Belgium has been paying dividends for a long time, but for the purpose of this analysis, we only examine the past 10 years of payments. The dividend has been cut on at least one occasion historically. During the past ten-year period, the first annual payment was 0.70 in 2010, compared to 1.26 last year. Dividends per share have grown at approximately 6.1% per year over this time. The growth in dividends has not been linear, but the CAGR is a decent approximation of the rate of change over this time frame. A reasonable rate of dividend growth is good to see, but we're wary that the dividend history is not as solid as we'd like, having been cut at least once. Dividend Growth Potential With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to evaluate if earnings per share (EPS) are growing - it's not worth taking the risk on a dividend getting cut, unless you might be rewarded with larger dividends in future. It's not great to see that Fluxys Belgium's have fallen at approximately 2.2% over the past five years. If earnings continue to decline, the dividend may come under pressure. Every investor should make an assessment of whether the company is taking steps to stabilise the situation. Conclusion To summarise, shareholders should always check that Fluxys Belgium's dividends are affordable, that its dividend payments are relatively stable, and that it has decent prospects for growing its earnings and dividend. We're not keen on the fact that Fluxys Belgium paid out such a high percentage of its income, although its cashflow is in better shape. Second, earnings per share have been in decline, and its dividend has been cut at least once in the past. There are a few too many issues for us to get comfortable with Fluxys Belgium from a dividend perspective. Businesses can change, but we would struggle to identify why an investor should rely on this stock for their income. See if management have their own wealth at stake, by checking insider shareholdings in Fluxys Belgium stock. If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at our curated list of dividend stocks yielding above 3%. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading. Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill has said raising tuition fees here is "not the way to go" to plug any shortfall in funding from the UK Government. Her comments come just days after First Minister Arlene Foster stated there will have to be a "positive debate" on the issue. Currently, students pay up to 4,275 a year to study locally, compared to up to 9,250 in England. Last week the UK Government announced it was committing an extra 1bn to Northern Ireland after the New Decade, New Approach deal. This is in addition to 1bn already coming here under the Barnett formula, used to calculate spending in the devolved regions. The funding package was greeted with anger from the Stormont parties, who insisted the figure was significantly less than what was promised during negotiations. Secretary of State Julian Smith responded by suggesting the Executive needs to raise revenue in order to cover some of the commitments made in the deal. Speaking on the BBC's Sunday Politics programme, Mrs O'Neill ruled out raising tuition fees. "We shouldn't be trying to build up barriers to accessing education - we should be trying to break them down," she said. "I think there are clearly financial challenges facing this Executive and we have to grapple with all of those things, but I don't think any conversation around raising tuition fees is a helpful conversation and it's not the right approach." Mrs O'Neill did, however, say that how universities here are funded needs to be examined and government should work with them so they can be "creative and innovative" in attracting new funding streams. "Those things will help grow our economy and help make education more affordable, that is something the new Executive should look at - but raising tuition fees is not the way to go," she said. The Sinn Fein vice-president suggested raising taxation on the highest earners should be an option and said a commission would be set up by Finance Minister Conor Murphy to examine the tax powers of the Executive. Mrs O'Neill also claimed that, of the 2bn coming, only around 750m over five years was "new money". Last week Mr Smith said Northern Ireland receives "20% more funding than any other part of the UK" and he was "disappointed" the parties had ruled out introducing water charges. "The Executive needs to look at its own revenue-raising measures as well as coming to the UK Exchequer for cash," he added. Mr Murphy hit back, releasing a briefing note that "sets out facts" of the proposed financial package. The note states the Executive's budget for 2019/20 is 530m less than pre-austerity levels in 2010/11. Ulster Unionist MLA Mike Nesbitt accused the Northern Ireland Office of being "disingenuous" during negotiations, claiming there had been discussions of the Executive receiving 6bn over three years as part of the deal. Ulster University economist Esmond Birnie has suggested 5bn is needed to get NI back up and running after three years without devolved government. INTERIOR and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Ano said on Monday, January 20, that he will order a complete lockdown within Taal Volcano's danger zone and prohibit anyone from entering the area during the designated "window hours". These "window hours" allow residents to go back to their homes and retrieve personal belongings. We allowed LGUs (local government units) to decide to give window hours but depending on the input of the Phivolcs, actually I would provide instruction to the LGUs, 'yung mga nakapagprovide na ng window hours, stop na 'yun... hindi puwedeng araw-araw (that can't be allowed everyday), Ano said. Nagbigay lang tayo ng konting humanitarian consideration (We just allowed it for humanitarian consideration). We need to be strict. As I said, hindi natin alam kailan puputok yan (we don't know when that will explode). As long as we have the Alert Level, impose talaga natin yung lockdown at saka mandatory evacuation, he added. Alert Level 4, which means a possible hazardous explosive eruption within hours or days, remained hoisted over the volcano on Monday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said in its 8 a.m. advisory. The volcano has been spewing steam-laden plumes and lava fountains since January 12. Phivolcs has advised mandatory evacuation within the 14-kilometer danger zone while the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) placed several towns on lockdown. Some local government officials, however, have designated "window hours" within which residents can briefly return to their homes. The DILG secretary said 98 percent of the residents within the 14-kilometer radius of the volcano have evacuated. In its report as of 6 a.m. Monday, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said 50,599 families or 203,763 persons in the provinces of Batangas, Quezon, Laguna and Cavite have been affected by the Taal Volcano eruption. Story continues Of the total, 26,767 families or 104,377 persons, are taking temporary shelter in 408 evacuation centers. As of January 17, the Department of Agriculture said damage to the farm sector in Batangas, Laguna and Cavite has reached more than P3 billion In a separate interview, DILG Undersecretary Epimaco Densing said commercial activities are not allowed yet within the 14-kilometer danger zone. The DILG has issued a memorandum to Tagaytay City Mayor Agnes Tolentino to implement its order for establishments to temporarily cease operations due to Taals intense unrest. He made the statement following reports that the SkyRanch, an amusement park, and some other businesses in Tagaytay have reopened for business. We are actually discouraging tourists or locals to go up to Tagaytay dahil nasa Alert Level 4. Mamaya pag-akyat nila biglang sumabog, makakadagdag pa sila sa tutulungan o poprotektahan, Densing said. For his part, NDRRMC director Ricardo Jalad said Tagaytay City remains vulnerable to heavy ash fall brought about by the activities of the volcano. "They are safe from base surge but affected by ashfall...Immediately outside of the danger zone, there is still heavy ashfall that can affect these areas," Jalad said in a Camp Crame press briefing. (SunStar Philippines) WINNIPEG - Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister is holding out the possibility of imposing a carbon tax in his province as he tries to fashion a green plan that will meet with the federal government's approval. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/1/2020 (722 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Advertisement Advertise With Us MIKE SUDOMA / THE CANADIAN PRESS Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrives to speak to media during the Liberal cabinet retreat in Winnipeg, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mike Sudoma WINNIPEG - Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister is holding out the possibility of imposing a carbon tax in his province as he tries to fashion a green plan that will meet with the federal government's approval. But he's simultaneously warning that Ottawa will have to show some flexibility if it wants him to continue playing the role of bridge-builder to the other two Prairie provinces, where talk of western alienation and outright separation has escalated since Justin Trudeau's Liberals won re-election on Oct. 21. "The prime minister has said and numerous of his colleagues have said that they are seeking to build a stronger country. To do that, Manitoba is the bridge," Pallister said Monday after a 30-minute meeting with Trudeau, who is in Winnipeg for a federal cabinet retreat. "If you can't get along with friendly Manitobans, there's a lot of other Canadians you can't get along with." Pallister's government initially came up with a green plan that included a carbon tax that was below the national standard set by the Trudeau government. He scrapped the plan when it was rejected by Ottawa and joined his fellow conservative premiers in challenging the federal carbon-tax backstop in court. Ottawa is imposing its tax on provinces that have refused to meet the national standard for pricing carbon emissions: Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario. The national tax was initially imposed in New Brunswick as well but that province came up with its own tax after the election, which has since been approved by the feds. Pallister said he'll unveil a new green plan and discuss it with the federal government "in the not-too-distant future." That dialogue, he added, "will include a carbon price of some kind." Manitoba NDP Leader Wab Kinew said a carbon tax is "long past due" and Pallister should stop fighting it. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks to media while meeting with Manitoba Premier, Brian Pallister during the Liberal Cabinet Retreat at the Fairmont Hotel in Winnipeg, Monday, Jan. 20, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mike Sudoma Whereas the national carbon tax is structured to escalate over time, Pallister indicated that he believes any tax should be "flat and low like the prairie horizon." Moreover, he said Ottawa must give Manitoba credit for steps it's already taken to reduce carbon emissions, such as investing in clean hydroelectricity. "We've put billions of dollars at risk to green up the environment and we deserve respect for that," Pallister said. "We deserve to be respected for our green record. We do not deserve to be called climate-change deniers by anybody ... We want acceptance of our made-in-Manitoba green strategies." Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, who has been travelling the country meeting with premiers and others in a bid to mend some of the deep divisions exposed by the election, said she and the prime minister already have "lots of respect for Manitoba." "I hope (Pallister) would agree that we have a very effective, friendly working relationship with him and we really appreciate that," said Freeland, who is also the intergovernmental affairs minister. She sat in on Monday's meeting between the two leaders. "Manitoba occupies an important and valued geographic position in the country. It's fair to describe Manitoba as being in the heart of the country and co-operating with the premier is really valuable to us." But extending that co-operation to watering down the federal carbon-pricing regime for Manitoba seems unlikely. Federal Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson was not enthusiastic Monday about crediting the province for past measures to reduce emissions. "We have to be forward-looking with climate change," he said after making an announcement elsewhere in Winnipeg. "At the end of the day, the challenge that we are facing is one of the emissions that exist today. We need to ... have plans as to how we're going to reduce the emissions that exist today on a go-forward basis." Trudeau's tete-a-tete with Pallister came on the second day of a three-day federal cabinet retreat, being held in Winnipeg in a bid to reach out to a region that spurned Trudeau's Liberals in the Oct. 21 election. The election reduced the Liberals to a minority. They were entirely shut out of Alberta and Saskatchewan, where Liberal environmental and climate policies are widely blamed for gutting the energy industry. Manitoba, where the Liberals lost three of seven seats, is somewhat friendlier turf. Pallister has signalled his willingness to work with Ottawa, in stark contrast to the other openly hostile Prairie premiers, Alberta's Jason Kenney and Saskatchewan's Scott Moe. "We pride ourselves here on being Canadian first and we have the opportunity to, I think, partner in an improved way on several major files that I think Canadians will appreciate," Pallister said as he sat down with Trudeau. The Trudeau government has so far gotten little credit in the other Prairie provinces for its controversial decision to purchase the Trans Mountain pipeline to ensure plans for its expansion go ahead a decision that cost Liberals support among environmentalists and progressive voters. But now that construction is actually underway and the Supreme Court last week cleared away another legal hurdle to the project, Natural Resources Minister Seamus O'Regan expressed hope Sunday that tempers will cool down a bit in the West. The expanded pipeline is to carry diluted bitumen from Alberta's oil sands to the British Columbia coast for export overseas. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 20, 2020. With files from Steve Lambert By PTI BEIJING: A 45-year-old Indian school teacher in the Chinese city of Shenzhen is undergoing treatment for a Streptococcal infection which was initially suspected to be a case of mysterious SARS-like coronavirus prevalent in the country. Preeti Maheshwari, a teacher at an international school in Shenzhen, is being treated for Streptococcal infection, her husband Ashuman Khowal told PTI from Shenzhen. He said the doctors said she was being treated for the infection in the intensive care unit and is currently on a ventilator and other supporting systems. Initially, it was suspected that Maheshwari may have been suffering from a new type of coronavirus. Khowal, however, clarified that his wife case had been diagnosed as Streptococcal infection. The Chinese city of Wuhan is currently under the grip of a new mysterious viral pneumonia. According to the official media reports, a tentative diagnosis of the pneumonia is caused by a coronavirus. The virus has caused alarm because of its connection to SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) which killed nearly 650 people in China and Hong Kong in 2002-2003. According to the reports from Wuhan, where the virus started surfacing few weeks ago, 17 new cases have been reported, taking the total number of cases to 62. A total of 19 have been cured and discharged from the hospital, and the rest remain in isolation and are receiving treatment, state-run Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday. Two people in Shenzhen are currently in quarantine at the Third People's Hospital, which specialises in the treatment of infectious diseases, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported. India on Friday issued an advisory to its nationals visiting China following a second death due to the outbreak of the new strain of pneumonia in the Chinese city of Wuhan where over 500 Indian medical students are studying. "An infection with a novel coronavirus has been reported from China. As on 11th January 2020, 41 confirmed cases have been reported so far," said the travel warning issued by India. Travel-related cases have been reported one each in Thailand and Japan. Over 500 Indian students study in the Wuhan city's medical colleges in universities. Most of them appear to have left for home for the Chinese New Year holidays. The clinical signs and symptoms of coronavirus infection are mainly fever with a few patients having difficulty in breathing, the Indian travel warning said. Mode of transmission is unclear as of now. However, so far there is little evidence of significant human-to-human transmission, it said. The patients showed symptoms such as fever or cough, the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission said. Epidemiological investigations into the 17 new cases are underway and close contacts are being traced, the authority said, adding that Wuhan will continue to expand the search area, identify suspected cases and conduct sampling tests. Epidemiological analysis of previously published cases found that some cases had no exposure to Wuhan's Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, which is believed to be related to most of the infected cases. It has been temporarily closed while disinfection is carried out, the Xinhua report said. A total of 681 among 763 close contacts who were placed under medical observation have been released. No cases were found among the close contacts. Reliance Industries, the only listed entity which has more than Rs 10-lakh crore market cap, reported highest ever quarterly profit of Rs 11,640 crore (up 3.4 percent QoQ and 13.5 percent YoY) in Q3FY20 driven by strong telecom, retail and refining business. Higher other income and lower tax cost also supported profitability. Revenue from operations during the quarter grew 2.5 percent sequentially (down 2.5 percent YoY) to Rs 1.57 lakh crore with gross refining margin at $9.2 a barrel (down by $2 a barrel QoQ and up $4 a barrel YoY. The stock was quoting at Rs 1,550.00, down Rs 30.65, or 1.94 percent on the BSE at 1046 hours IST. Most brokerages retained their bullish stance on the stock with CLSA and Nomura, the only brokerage which expects the stock to move above Rs 2,000 mark by year-end after quarterly earnings. "The company reported first positive free cash flow in over six years and its capex falls below cash PAT drove a cut in net debt," CLSA said, adding Jio's EBITDA missed by 3 percent but retail had another stellar quarter. Company is a growth leader with a clear GARP (growth at a reasonable price) story and the closure of $40 billion in deals would be a trigger, said the global brokerage which has a buy rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 2,010, implying 27.21 percent potential upside from current levels. Japanese brokerage Nomura also has a buy rating on Reliance with a target price of Rs 2,020 as numbers were largely in-line with petchem much weaker, but offset by better refining & retail. For All Earnings Related News - Click Here "Refining earnings were ahead of estimates due to lower operating expenses and higher volumes, while Jio was weaker than our expectation, but outlook remained strong," it said, adding retail business saw another strong quarter and margins will expand further. Top telecom operator Reliance Jio registered a whopping 36.4 percent sequential growth in Q3 profit at Rs 1,350 crore and its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased 8.4 percent quarter-on-quarter to Rs 5,601 crore and margin expanded by 80bps to 40.1 percent in Q3FY20. Jio's average revenue per user (ARPU) for the quarter stood at Rs 128.4, higher by 7 percent over Rs 120 in September quarter. It added 14.8 million subscribers during the quarter against 23.9 million users addition seen in previous quarter, taking its total subscriber base to 370 million at the end of December quarter. Reliance Retail continued to report stellar growth for the quarter as revenue grew by 27.4 percent YoY (up 10 percent QoQ) to Rs 45,327 crore with accelerated store roll-out and strong LFL sales. Mukesh Ambani said the company was making good progress on the value unlocking initiatives announced earlier while building on sustainable growth platforms for shareholders. Kotak Institutional Equities also reiterated its buy call on the stock with a target of Rs 1,850 as Q3 performance was operationally muted across segments except retail. Free cash flow turned positive after seven years led by an accelerated decline in capex and company may benefit meaningfully from plausible consolidation in telecom, it said. While having an overweight call on the stock with a target of Rs 1,753, Morgan Stanley said earnings were 6 percent above its estimate, mainly due to lower tax rate. "Better refinery utilisation rates were offset high telecom subscriber churn. Retail & chemical businesses had in-line margin trends," it added. Credit Suisse, the only brokerage having neutral call with a target at Rs 1,400, said Jio reported lower-than_expected result on ARPU, subscribers & margins, but Jio will become net recipient of access charges from Q4FY20. Strong margin improvement in retail was due to better mix. Gross refining margin declined QoQ due to lower middle distillate crack and the outlook on refining margin depends on pick-up in demand for marine gas oil, the brokerage said. Disclaimer: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd. The above report is compiled from information available on public platforms. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions. Police in Pakistan's Punjab province on Monday did not rule out a "foul play" in the mysterious deaths of two Pakistani-origin British girls who were found lying unconscious in the bathroom at their home, raising questions over whether they were victims of honour killings. Maria, 24, and Nadia, 17, were found dead in Gujrat city, some 150 kilometers from Lahore, last Thursday. It is suspected that their deaths were a result of "honour killings". According to police, both British girls were found dead in the bathroom of their house and the apparent cause of it is suffocation by gas leakage from a heater. The girls' father Abdul Rehman told police that his daughters went to take a shower on Thursday evening but when they did not come out of the bathroom after quite sometime, their mother knocked on the door and called them but received no response. When the door was broken, the girls were found lying unconscious. They were shifted to a local hospital where they were pronounced dead on arrival. Rehman said a leak in the gas heater in the bathroom resulted in the death of the girls. Tauseef Haider, a senior police officer in Gujrat, told reporters on Monday that the police had sent the bodies for autopsy. The exact cause of the girls' death would be determined by the post-mortem findings. He said the girls had recently returned from London to attend the death anniversary of their grandfather along with their parents. Asked if it was a case of honour killing, Haider said, "We have examined the crime scene and collected certain evidence. But at this stage we cannot form our opinion and also not rule out any foul play... let the autopsy report come." Police are also examining as to how both the girls went together into a "small bathroom" for a shower and how come both could not realise the leakage in the gas heater. Police have also recorded the statements of Rehman's neighbours. Rehman insisted that his daughters died because of gas leakage and there was no foul play involved. "I loved my daughters," he said, rubbishing the question of honour killing. Honour killings are not uncommon in Pakistan. The former prime minister Nawaz Sharif termed it a "stain" on the society while meeting the country's first Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy in 2016. The shocking murder of social media star Qandeel Baloch by her brother in 2016 had turned the spotlight on the so-called honour killings in Pakistan. Hundreds of women and girls are subject to "honour killings" in Pakistan every year. In Pakistan, the statistics vary from around 900 to just over 1,000 each year. But these figures represent only instances documented by human rights groups based on reports from the media or law enforcement authorities, according to Amnesty International. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Public apathy, gridlocked politics, wealthy industries devoted to fossil fuels - the struggle to halt the worst effects of climate change faces a long list of obstacles. But in the U.S. capital, efforts to expand clean energy use must increasingly contend with another question: Just how will they affect the slope of a 1910 mansard roof? The dropping cost of solar panels, combined with their promotion by federal and local officials, have brought the sun's energy within reach of American homeowners as never before. But some residents trying to embrace solar power are finding themselves at odds with powerful historic preservation officials. It is a debate playing out in towns and cities across the country, as the priorities of historic districts collide with the growing enthusiasm for clean energy. From the Great Lakes to the Black Hills, property owners worried about climate change find themselves debating the fine points of dormer contours and shingle color with preservationists worried about architectural integrity. The conflict is especially acute in Washington, D.C., where a concerted push for solar is taking place amid historic preservation agencies that in their territorial and procedural complexity rival the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. Some permit seekers have found themselves snarled for months, or even years, trying to convince regulators of the aesthetic merits of proposed solar installations. At an October meeting of the Historic Preservation Review Board, one applicant from the northwest area of D.C. questioned whether global warming might make the visual appeal of his American Foursquare home moot. "My main concern right now," Steven Preister said, "is if we do not change and loosen these standards, will the District be habitable in 100 years?" His application was rejected. Board members reversed themselves in December, signing off on the project after Preister agreed to spend additional money on wrappers that would camouflage the solar cells on the front-facing part of his roof. The board also adopted new standards last month that may provide greater flexibility installing solar atop historic homes. But both supporters and opponents of expanding solar panels in historic neighborhoods say the new rules are ambiguous. To complicate matters, would-be solar installers may have to seek approval from two other federal organizations - the Old Georgetown Board and U.S. Commission of Fine Arts - depending on where they live. The D.C. Council and mayor last year launched an aggressive push to convert the city to entirely renewable energy sources by 2032, a plan that calls for 10% of that energy to be generated by solar panels. Tommy Wells, director of the D.C. Department of Energy and Environment, said those goals will be hard enough to reach without historic preservationists and green-power advocates working at cross purposes. "Having, truly, the most ambitious goals in the nation for solar deployment within an urban area, that means that we will need as much surface area as possible for solar panels," Wells said. "A nearly impossible goal was even further out of reach if we started exempting roof space." Some historic preservationists say they are being unfairly blamed, the latest targets of a doctrinaire urbanism that does not always look kindly on old, single-family homes. "We're responsible for the gentrification, there's no affordable housing - so they say," said Sara Green, a D.C. resident who worries about the effects of liberalizing historic preservation standards to allow more solar panels. "Now we're killing polar bears." Green said she has no problem with existing historic district regulations that allow solar cells on flat roofs, where they cannot be seen from the street. But she believes it would be a mistake to permit installations on sloped roofs like those visible on the facades of many bungalows in her neighborhood. "The impact on the polar bears or on climate change is extremely minor," Green said. "However, the impact of putting solar panels on front-facing elevations in the Takoma historic district is enormous." - - - To Marcis Turner, putting solar panels on his 1938 brick rowhouse in his southeast D.C. neighborhood made sense. A 45-year-old building engineer, Turner liked the idea of doing his small part to cut carbon emissions. He also liked the idea of lowering his monthly electricity bills, which could reach $200 as his window air-conditioning units rattled through the District of Columbia's long summers. He secured a contractor and settled on a design. But on the eve of installation, he learned that the city's Historic Preservation Office objected to the placement of the structural beams supporting the panels. Turner didn't grasp the logic behind this aesthetic judgment - other buildings in his neighborhood are literally crumbling from neglect - but he said his contractor told him that adjusting the design wasn't feasible, and he had no desire to spend time appealing the decision. "It just was one of those things where you just throw up your hands," he said. Solar installers say they often hear similar sentiments among prospective customers unwilling to navigate the historic review process. Even when there is hope that the nine-member preservation review board might overrule a staff denial, the conditions it imposes can dramatically change the efficiency and economics of a project. "It's something that an installer isn't going to want to deal with, and it's something that the homeowner probably can't deal with," said Kyle Yost, co-founder of the installation firm DC Solar. "Currently, it takes a customer who really wants to drive it through to make it happen." Mark Chandler and Laurie Wingate applied for solar panels on the roof of their home in northwest D.C. in 2012. After multiple appearances before the historic review board, they finally won approval for a scaled-back installation that Chandler estimated is generating about half as much power as the project they originally proposed. It took four years. Steve Callcott, deputy preservation officer at the District's Office of Planning, said 1,500 properties in historic districts have obtained solar permits. Of those, he said, just over a dozen have come before the board for review. Callcott said he could not provide information on how many of the permits required owners to modify their original plans. Preister, 74, has lived in his home on Fifth Street in northwest Washington for 36 years. A semiretired social worker, he too was bracing for a protracted struggle when he sought to add 12 front-facing solar panels to his roof. He had already installed 35 panels on less conspicuous parts of his house, but board members took a dim view of the more visible proposed additions. "I applaud your greenness, and your desire to save the planet. And I realize that we are in crisis, politically as well as sustainably," said board member Chris Landis, an architect. "But I just have this vision of a row of houses with solar panels on the front of them and it just - it upsets me, as somebody who's supposed to protect the architectural fabric of a neighborhood." "Step back, and forget about the energy aspect of this," said another board member, Outerbridge Horsey, also an architect. "Just think about the color and the texture. Would this board, in a historic district, think about allowing a glass roof on a historic structure? I mean, that's basically what we're talking about if you remove the sustainability issues." All but one member of the board voted against Preister's solar panels. Their action drew widespread scorn after it was reported on the blog of Greater Greater Washington, a nonprofit urban policy and advocacy group. In December, Preister returned with a plan to wrap his front-facing solar panels in SolarSkin, a custom-designed sheath that would help the array blend in with his shingle roof. The coverings cost about $1,300, according to Preister's contractor, Suhaib Shah of the installation firm Solenergi. The board approved. Landis, whose three-year term ended this month, said in an interview that the scrutiny of Preister's project had been mischaracterized by environmentalists unfamiliar with the duties of historic preservation officials. "You could say we're old-fashioned, or we're Luddites, or whatever you want to call us. But it's a slippery slope, too. And once you start a precedent obviously everybody's going to want it," said Landis, noting that he has solar panels installed on the roof of his own business in Northeast Washington. "Imagine taking a look at a row of houses with, let's say, these little mansard roofs or hip roofs in front," he said. "And you're just going to see a sea of solar cells down that block. Aesthetically, it's a huge change." - - - Such controversies are flaring up around the country, said Sistine Solar chief executive Senthil Balasubramanian, whose company designed the solar-panel wrappers Preister incorporated. Aided by federal tax incentives, local energy credits and new financing options offered by installers, solar panels that once cost tens of thousands of dollars to install can now be had with little to no upfront cost. "As solar becomes increasingly common, the aesthetic objection starts to happen more frequently," Balasubramanian said. SolarSkin cuts the efficiency of photovoltaic cells by about 10 percent and can increase the price by roughly 8 percent, he said, but those trade-offs are worth it for customers who otherwise wouldn't be getting permits at all. In Hot Springs, South Dakota, Lucia Stanslaw used SolarSkin to mask the panels she placed on the awning of her boutique for fair-trade goods in a tourist-heavy historic district. Stanslaw said she understood the value of preserving historic buildings, some of which had been razed in her home city of Guadalajara, Mexico. But in the United States, she said, historic preservation officials can become fixated on details that obscure a bigger picture. "I think people just get stuck in trying to preserve a certain look when, gosh, I mean, we do have to evolve," Stanslaw said. "If that is going to require that we change our views on what is aesthetically pleasing, we really have to find some common ground." In Ann Arbor, Michigan, Matt and Kelly Grocoff faced skepticism in 2010 when they sought the blessing of the city's Historic District Commission for solar panels atop their 1901 Folk Victorian house. Matt Grocoff said that he overcame commissioners' suspicions in part by making the case for a broader view of preservation. "I quoted Henry David Thoreau: 'Of what use is a fine house if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on?' " Grocoff said. "With the urgency of the climate crisis, historic districts are really going to have to rethink what they allow. There is a way to preserve heritage, preserve these historic buildings, and still make them workable for the modern world." States and cities vary widely in their approach to solar panels on historic buildings. California for decades has barred local officials from placing excessive restrictions on homeowners' solar installations. Connecticut is trying to give solar adopters greater flexibility by allowing them to offset violations of historic preservation standards with other actions, such as preservation easements, said Todd Levine, a historian in the state's historic preservation office. Levine noted that solar panels, unlike some other modifications to historic buildings, are easily reversible - and will inevitably be replaced as technology improves. "At the end of the day, 20 years from now, they're all going to be removed," he said. "We wanted to have a system where we didn't slow down the applicants." As he waits to install his 12 new solar panels facing the street this spring, Preister said he hopes that District of Columbia officials will take seriously the need to streamline their own review process - and to actively encourage residents of historic districts to adopt solar. Without the contributions of those home and business owners, he said, the city's goal of an all-green energy supply just 12 years from now is likely to prove elusive. "If they don't get these people on board," Preister said, "they're not going to make it." - - - The Washington Post' Fenit Nirappil contributed to this report. Peter Dolan of Green River Road addresses the Planning Board on Tuesday night. Williamstown Planning Board Weighing New Pot Bylaw WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. The Planning Board last week heard from several residents who want it to prohibit outdoor production of marijuana in the language of an updated bylaw the board intends to send to May's annual town meeting. Several of the people who argued against granting a special permit to grow pot on a Blair Road parcel early last year were back at Town Hall on Tuesday to ask that town regulations be changed to allow marijuana production only indoors and then under highly regulated conditions to control odor. The Planning Board chose to address the bylaw passed by town meeting in 2017 because it was written before the commonwealth's Cannabis Control Commission had written statewide regulations in response to the November 2016 vote to decriminalize marijuana in Massachusetts. The town in 2017 was trying to "get ahead of the curve," and now wants to amend its language to align with the nomenclature used at the state level. For example, the 2017 bylaw refers to "marijuana production facilities." The CCC language is written to address indoor and outdoor "marijuana cultivators." While they are at it, the Planning Board members chose to address some of the concerns raised in the 2019 Zoning Board of Appeals hearings for an application that ultimately was withdrawn. The language the board drafted for outdoor cultivators set minimum lot area, setback and screening. But that does not go far enough for residents who fought what has been, to date, the only business to try to produce marijuana in town. "Outdoor marijuana growth produces noxious spores, which negatively impact people with breathing problems," said Robert Behr of Blair Road. "Surely you know someone with asthma, COPD or emphysema. If they're within half a mile [of a pot farm], they're going to suffer. "The smell, of course, is like a herd of skunks. The smell travels on the breeze at least half a mile. If the spores interact with motor exhaust, they become even more noxious." Behr said the 500-foot setback in the draft under consideration by the board would not protect neighborhoods in the districts where the bylaw would permit outdoor cultivation by special permit. "Then there is the financial side, which has to do with property values for homes close to outdoor growth," Behr said. "The property values of homes will shrink dramatically. The major real estate agent in town estimates shrinkage of 80 to 90 percent in value. "Real estate taxes would shrink, and Williamstown would lose the tax value." Ann Hogeland agreed. "I'm not seeing overwhelming benefit to the community of allowing outdoor cultivation and the risks that have been identified to the community," Hogeland said. "I think that's a much more risky and potentially detrimental road to go down and without a significant benefit to the community." Planning Board Chairwoman Stephanie Boyd said it might make sense to separate what was drafted as a single bylaw addressing both cultivators into two bylaws -- one for outdoor and one for indoor -- "and let the town weigh in at town meeting." The bylaw drafted prior to Tuesday's meeting called for indoor cultivators to "use artificial ventilation and filtering equipment to minimize the impact of odor on surrounding properties." Attorney Stanley Parese, who represented one of the opponents to the Massflora proposal last winter, told the Planning Board it needs to toughen its bylaw language on indoor cultivation if it is going to allow the practice at all. Parese gave the planners two model bylaws to consider, one from Lenox and one from Otis. The Lenox bylaw states, in part, "There shall be no noxious odors emitted from the cultivation or processing of marijuana or marijuana products." It goes on to give neighbors to such a facility agency by stating, "No use shall be allowed by a marijuana establishment which creates a nuisance to abutters or to the surrounding area " The Otis bylaw provides more detail with the same apparent intent. The four-page document provided by Parese to the Planning Board requires applicants in Otos to submit a facility odor emissions plan and to keep records that verify the odor control systems are well maintained. "Any examples of facility recordkeeping forms should be included as appendices to the [Odor Control Plan]," the Otis bylaw reads in part. "For existing facilities with engineering controls for all odor sources on the date of rule adoption: 1. Evidence that engineering controls for all odor sources were installed and operational on the date of rule adoption. 2. Evidence that engineering controls are sufficient to effectively mitigate odors for all odor sources." Parese suggests that Williamstown follow Otis' lead in reserving "the right to engage an independent consultant to review and advise during any application" and "the right to continued monitoring of emissions and water runoff from the facility" -- all at the cost of the would-be cultivator. Members of the board thanked Parese for his input, and town planner Andrew Groff agreed to rework the board's draft bylaw for consideration at its February meeting. Groff noted that the goal of the Planning Board should be to provide the best set of tools possible to the Zoning Board when it considers a request for special permits. Planner Alexander Carlisle said that he preferred to allow some avenue for small-scale, "boutique" growing that would benefit small farms in town, and he indicated that limiting production to indoor cultivation encourages large, industrial concerns from outside of town to build facilities. Chris Winters reminded his fellow planners that 60 percent of Williamstown voters voted for 2016's Question 4, which legalized pot. Although it is not a definitive statement on the town's will regarding production, it is a data point that needs to be considered, Winters said. "I'm sensitive to the fact that the majority of people in town seem favorably disposed to this concept," Winters said. "I like the idea that now that we have more specifics, we ask, How do you feel about how it's being put into practice?' Give them a chance to say, I like it this way and not that way.' " The Planning Board hopes to finalize the pot bylaw and other bylaws by its Feb. 11 meeting, to hold at least one public hearing in March to get feedback from residents and, possibly, modify the bylaw language, and get final language set in time for the town meeting warrant to be finalized on April 13. In other business Tuesday, the Planning Board OK'd language for two other bylaws it will put before voters in May. One brings the town's bylaw on non-conforming residences into compliance with current precedent from the Supreme Judicial Court in Boston. Another creates rules governing the grade, width and surfacing of long and common driveways in town; the new rules are a response to a dialogue with Williamstown Fire Chief Craig Pedercini, who asked the town to require driveways be adequate to allow access for emergency vehicles. The government last year reduced corporate tax rates to 22 percent, plus surcharge and cess New Delhi: The Confederation of Indian Industry has urged the Centre to converge multiple corporate tax rates to 15 percent by April 2023 without any exemptions and make the announcement in the upcoming Budget to facilitate investment decisions. "The Union Budget could announce a roadmap for convergence of all corporate tax rates to 15 percent, with no exemptions and incentives, by 1 April 2023. A signaling to this effect could help further boost investor sentiment and encourage investments," CII President Vikram Kirloskar said. According to the industry body, the desired impact of the reduction in corporate taxes on the ground is still far from satisfactory. It said one of the reasons behind this has been the multitude of tax rates, which have created tax rate inequalities across manufacturing and service sectors. The government last year reduced corporate tax rates to 22 percent, plus surcharge and cess. However, companies will not be allowed to avail any tax exemptions or incentives. Further, manufacturing facilities that start production before 31 March 2023 and are incorporated on or after 1 October 2019 would be taxed at only 15 percent, plus surcharge and cess. The new rates have catapulted India to a very competitive position against many of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) and BRICS countries, and others like Indonesia and Philippines. Over time, the lower rates will reduce the cost of capital and catalyse investments. The announcement of convergence of all these rates to a single rate of 15 percent by 2023 will provide a line of sight to industry and investors to take decisions now, CII said. The statutory corporate tax rate in India has been brought down in the last three decades from 45 percent in 1991-92 to 22 percent in 2019-20. Follow full coverage of Union Budget 2020-21 here A new legislation passed by lawmakers last week making runaway expat employees pay for their air tickets to fly back home, was retracted yesterday. Shura Council has voted to take back the proposal it passed with the intention of studying it further. Last week, after a long back and forth discussions between the Parliament and Shura Council, the council had finally approved the proposal, which aims to force runaway expat employees to pay for air tickets to fly back home. It had come despite reservations from the part of Labor Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA). The Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) had previously expressed its support for the proposal. It is unreasonable for the employer to have to bear the cost of sending worker in these cases where the worker violated the contract without a legitimate reason, the BCCI had previously stated this demand in its letter to the parliament. The MPs argued that employers should not have to pay the amount when the employee violates the contract. The House passed the proposal in this regard, adding a paragraph to Article (27) of Law No (19) of 2006 on the regulation of the labour market. Speaking at the Parliament, MP Ahmed Al Ansari said: The worker is responsible for his actions from the moment he decides to violate the contract and run away. In this situation the employers rights must be taken into account. The employer must not suffer the consequences of the workers actions. The price of Australian cigarettes are set to rise again this year by another 12.5 per cent - taking the average packet to almost $50. From September, Australians will be paying one of the highest prices in the world for a packet of cigarettes, with a 25 pack of Marlboro Golds costing an eye-watering $48.50. The cheapest pack will be about $29. The price hike will be the eighth consecutive yearly increase, and is part of the government's attempt to reduce tobacco use. However, experts claim the soaring prices punishes those who are addicted and further stimulates the black market. Up and up and up and up: The federal government's tobacco excise has leaped 12.5 per cent for every year since 2013 - plus an additional 25 per cent increase in 2010 People looking to save a buck by rolling their own sticks are not immune to the tax sting, with prices for a bag of tobacco jumping by a similar amount. A pack-a-day smoker will now likely spend over $10,000 a year on their habit. The World Health Organisation (WHO) found price hikes were 'the single most effective way to encourage tobacco users to quit and prevent children from starting to smoke'. However, Dr Colin Mendelsohn, from the University of NSW's school of public health, previously told Daily Mail Australia the tax hikes were no longer having the big impact on smoking rates they once did. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), price hikes were 'the single most effective way to encourage tobacco users to quit and prevent children from starting to smoke'. But data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed the number of adults who smoke daily has been stagnant in recent years - dropping only 0.7 per cent between 2014-15 and 2017-18. Figures had plunged from 23.8 per cent in 1995 to 13.8 per cent in 2017-18. Dr Mendelsohn said: 'We've traditionally always known increasing taxes reduces smoking once. 'But once you get to this eyewatering level people who are addicted will say, 'I have no choice I have to keep smoking anyway. 'You just don't get the benefit anymore. All you're doing is punishing the addicted smokers who can't quit and stimulating the black market.' Despite plain packaging, gruesome advertisements and ever more expensive cigarettes, Australian smoking rates have stalled Last year there was an increase in the amount of tobacco being sold on the black market. More than 300 tonnes of smuggled contraband was seized by officials, WA Today reported. WA Border Force commander Rod O'Donnell said there was a lot of money to be made in the illegal trade. While admitting the cost of cigarettes was contributing to the explosion in the industry, he supported the high excise. Prime Minister Scott Morrison himself announced the regular tax hit when he was the treasurer in 2016. Handing down the 2016-17 budget, Mr Morrison said the excise hikes would net the government $4.7 billion over four years. : A special court in Telangana will on January 27 pronounce its judgement in connection with the gang rape and murder of a Dalit woman after final arguments in the case concluded on Monday. On November 25, 2019, the body of the 30-year-old Scheduled Caste woman with stab marks was found in Lingapur mandal of Kumram Bheem-Asifabad district Subsequently three men were arrested for allegedly raping and murdering her. The woman was a travelling vendor, selling balloons for a living. The Telangana government had last month issued orders, setting up a special court for speedy trial in the case. On December 14, 2019,a charge sheet was filed in the court of the Fifth Additional District Judge,Adilabad,which has been designated as the special court for speedy trial in the case. "Arguments from the defense and prosecution were completed on Monday. The case has been posted for judgement for January 27. As many 25 witnesses were produced by prosecution, Kumram Bheem Asifabad district Superintendent of Police M Malla Reddy told PTI The three accused pleaded not guilty. Earlier in December, the woman's family and different people's organisations had staged protests and demanded an 'encounter' death for the three men on the lines of the four accused in the 'Disha' (woman veterinarian) gang rape and murder case. The four accused in the veterinarian case were killed in an alleged exchange of fire with police on December 6, 2019. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NuLegacy Gold Corporation (TSXV: NUG; OTCQB: NULG.F) is pleased to report that Mr. Mark Bradley, a Senior Project/Chief Geologist for Barrick Gold Corporation supervising major exploration teams and a Principal Geologist assessing new North American exploration opportunities, has joined NuLegacy Gold as Nevada Exploration Manager. Mark was the Cortez Project team leader during the discovery and definition of Barrick Golds multi-million-ounce Goldrush deposit. For this he was a co-recipient of the prestigious Thayer Lindsley Award for International Mineral Discovery from the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada. During the Goldrush discovery program he guided and managed the Cortez exploration team of 20+ geologists and a couple hundred drilling, construction and logistical contracting personnel. Mark worked with all the members of NuLegacys team of former Barrick Gold executives and geologists during their tenures at Barrick Gold. He will be responsible for the administration and execution of NuLegacys exploration programs so the geo-technical team can, with his input, focus exclusively on interpretive geology and locating the down-dip source/s of the high-grade intercepts drilled to date. As well as developing the Spring 2020 exploration program Mark will prioritize streamlining the permitting process to complete the expansion of the AV Plan of Operations (PoO) environmental permit in anticipation of drilling the highly prospective Rift Anticline in the fall of 2020. Assays from the Fall 2019 drilling are being processed for reporting mid-February. About NuLegacy Gold Corporation: NuLegacy is a Nevada exploration company focused on discovering Carlin-style gold deposits on its premier district scale 108 sq. km (42 sq. mile) Red Hill Property in the prolific Cortez gold trend of Nevada. To date NuLegacy has discovered the Iceberg Carlin-style gold deposits and has identified several more highly prospective exploration targets that are being drilled this year. NuLegacys Red Hill Property is located on trend and adjacenti to the three multi-million ounce Carlin-type gold deposits (the Pipeline, Cortez Hills and Goldrush deposits) that are amongst Barrick Golds largest, lowest cost and politically safest gold minesii. i The similarity and proximity of these deposits in the Cortez Trend is not necessarily indicative of the gold mineralization in NuLegacys Red Hill Property. ii As extracted from Barricks Q4-2013 and Q1-2014 reports. As reported by Barrick, the Goldrush resource contains 8,557,000 indicated ounces of gold within 25.78 million tonnes grading ~10.57 g/t and 1,650,000 inferred ounces within 5.6 million tonnes grading ~9.0 g/t. Dr. Roger Steininger, a Director of NuLegacy is a Certified Professional Geologist (CPG 7417) and the qualified person as defined by NI 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, responsible for approving the scientific and technical information contained in this news release. To learn more about NuLegacy Gold Corporation, please visit: www.nulegacygold.com or NuLegacy's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF NULEGACY GOLD CORPORATION Albert J. Matter Chief Executive Officer & Director Tel: +1 (604) 639-3640 Email: albert@nuggold.com Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information: This news release contains forward-looking information and forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws, which information and/or statements relate to future events or future performance (including, but not limited to, NuLegacys proposed drilling programs, the estimated date for approval of NuLegacys expanded AV PoP and the number, location, cost and timing of drill targets) and reflect managements current expectations and assumptions. Such forward-looking information and statements reflect managements current beliefs and are based on assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Readers are cautioned that such forward-looking information and statements are neither promises nor guarantees, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ materially from those expected including, but not limited to, actual results of exploration activities, environmental risks, operating risks, accidents, labour issues, delays in obtaining governmental approvals and permits, the availability of financing, market conditions, future prices for gold, changes in personnel and other risks in the mining industry. There are no known resources or reserves in the Red Hill Property and any proposed exploration programs are exploratory searches for commercial bodies of ore. In addition, the presence of gold resources on properties adjacent or near the Red Hill Property is not necessarily indicative of the gold mineralization on the Red Hill Property. All the forward-looking information and statements made in this news release are qualified by these cautionary statements and those in our continuous disclosure filings available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The forward-looking information and statements in this news release are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances save as required under applicable securities legislation. 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. 2.5 Metres at 6,931 gpt AgEq 7.8 Metres at 877 gpt AgEq 2.8 Metres at 2,109 gpt AgEq Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 20, 2020) - SilverCrest Metals Inc. (TSX: SIL) (NYSE American: SILV) ("SilverCrest" or the "Company") is pleased to announce additional in-fill and expansion drill results from the Babi Sur Vein ("Babi Sur", or the "Vein") of the Las Chispas Project ("Las Chispas") located in the state of Sonora, Mexico. In-fill and expansion drilling has increased the Company's confidence of wider and higher-grade continuity of mineralization for the Babi Sur Vein. Expansion drilling has also increased the high-grade mineralized footprint of the Vein (please see attached Figures). The 71 drill holes released today (85% in-fill for resource conversion and 15% expansion) are in addition to the 33 drill holes previously announced on August 28, 2019. Since the release of the March 2019 Resource Estimate, an additional 104 drill holes have been completed in the Babi Sur Vein. The Vein has a total of 140 drill holes which will be used in an updated resource and initial reserve estimate as part of the ongoing Feasibility Study to be released in late H1, 2020. The current resource estimate for the Babi Sur Vein is inferred resources only with ongoing in-fill drilling for conversion to measured and indicated resources. The Vein has a modelled average vein width (true) of 0.95 metres and cut diluted grade of 4.10 grams per tonne ("gpt") gold (or "Au") and 268.1 gpt silver (or "Ag"), or 575 gpt silver equivalent ("AgEq", based on assumptions defined in table below). The Babi Sur drill holes within the revised high grade footprint announced in this release have a weighted average estimated true width of 1.7 metres grading 9.82 gpt Au and 382.5 gpt Ag, or 1,119 gpt AgEq (uncut undiluted), with hole intercepts distributed along the same estimated mineralized length as presented in the Technical Report and Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Las Chispas Property, Sonora, Mexico effective May 15, 2019 and as amended on July 19, 2019. These new drill results, combined with previously released results in August 2019, suggests that the vein's true width is wider than previously estimated from 0.95 metres up to 1.4 to 1.7 metres, with an average grade above 750 gpt AgEq. In-fill drilling has also connected several discrete zones previously delineated, establishing better vein continuity, which should reduce underground development costs to access and mine the Vein. While drilling the Babi Sur Vein, the Babi Sur HW Vein was intercepted along with multiple other previously unknown vein intercepts, with these results presented in the tables below. N. Eric Fier, CPG, P.Eng, and CEO, remarked, "While overshadowed by the higher-grade Babicanora Main, Footwall, and Norte veins, the Babi Sur Vein is the fourth highest-grade vein of the 10 veins with estimated resources at Las Chispas. The results to date suggest a wider and higher-grade vein than estimated in the previous resource. Included in this news release is hole BAS19-138 with 2.5 metres of 6,931 gpt AgEq, ranking it in the top 10% of the best drill holes to date on the project. Hole BAS19-138, along with other intercepts, confirms higher grades and improved widths for the Vein. Babi Sur remains open along strike and to depth for potential expansion. This high-grade vein is in proximity to the Babicanora Vein (300 metres), requiring minimal underground development to access. After the completion of an updated resource estimate and Feasibility Study, Babi Sur drilling will continue in 2020 to potentially expand this priority vein. Several hundred additional drill holes for other high-grade veins are pending final compilation and release in Q1, 2020. The number of drills on site has increased to 19, with 17 on surface and 2 underground." The most significant results for this release are hole BAS19-138, at 2.5 metres (est. true width) grading 90.98 gpt Au and 108.2 gpt Ag, or 6,931 gpt AgEq and hole BAS19-119, which intersected 7.8 metres grading 10.53 gpt Au and 78.6 gpt Ag, or 877 gpt AgEq. Also, noteworthy is hole BAS19-99 at 2.8 metres grading 12.91 gpt Au and 1,141 gpt Ag, or 2,109 gpt AgEq. The following table summarizes the most significant drill intercepts (uncut, undiluted) for this release; Babi Sur Vein, Babicanora Area: Hole # From (m) To (m) Drilled Width (m) Est. True Width (m) Au gpt Ag gpt AgEq* gpt BAS-19-68 311.4 312.5 1.1 0.8 1.14 84.8 170 BAS-19-69 345.6 346.6 1.0 0.8 4.30 220.0 543 BAS-19-78 299.5 300.7 1.2 0.9 21.80 2,930.0 4,565 BAS-19-79 257.8 259.8 2.0 1.6 1.13 94.9 180 BAS-19-81 268.5 271.4 2.9 2.3 3.46 319.6 579 includes 268.5 269.0 0.5 0.4 12.05 1,050.0 1,954 BAS-19-83 315.2 316.0 0.8 0.6 13.10 1,475.0 2,458 BAS-19-84 148.8 150.1 1.3 1.0 5.45 280.8 690 BAS-19-86 229.9 231.8 1.9 1.5 0.88 122.9 189 BAS-19-87 179.3 180.8 1.5 1.2 3.11 255.7 489 BAS-19-88 269.2 270.0 0.8 0.6 2.60 178.0 373 BAS-19-89 166.4 173.3 6.9 5.5 2.36 176.5 354 includes 167.0 167.7 0.6 0.5 13.65 820.0 1,844 BAS-19-90 297.9 302.8 4.9 3.9 2.07 261.8 417 BAS-19-91 198.6 202.9 4.3 3.4 1.70 278.1 406 includes 198.6 199.4 0.7 0.6 7.63 785.0 1,357 BAS-19-92 289.4 290.4 1.0 0.8 2.55 191.0 382 BAS-19-93 151.7 152.2 0.5 0.4 16.05 307.0 1,511 BAS-19-94 273.9 276.2 2.3 1.8 8.04 599.9 1,203 includes 273.9 274.7 0.8 0.6 20.80 1,615.0 3,175 BAS-19-95A 199.6 200.6 1.0 0.8 5.20 600.5 990 includes 199.6 200.1 0.5 0.4 10.25 1,050.0 1,819 BAS-19-96 209.0 209.5 0.5 0.4 1.34 92.0 193 BAS-19-99 218.6 222.1 3.5 2.8 12.91 1,141.1 2,109 includes 219.1 220.1 1.0 0.8 39.80 3,280.0 6,265 BAS-19-100 242.2 242.9 0.6 0.5 6.23 681.0 1,148 BAS-19-101 151.1 156.6 5.5 4.4 5.70 476.7 904 includes 152.1 153.2 1.1 0.9 23.84 1,308.8 3,097 BAS-19-103 262.9 263.6 0.6 0.5 6.92 598.0 1,117 BAS-19-104 251.0 251.5 0.5 0.4 4.49 339.0 676 BAS-19-105 251.6 253.9 2.3 1.8 18.04 1,946.6 3,299 includes 252.3 253.0 0.7 0.5 54.70 4,890.0 8,993 BAS-19-107 193.3 193.8 0.5 0.4 8.18 652.0 1,266 BAS-19-108 246.5 247.5 1.0 0.8 2.09 143.5 300 BAS-19-113 118.1 118.9 0.8 0.6 1.75 65.0 196 BAS-19-114A 301.5 302.8 1.2 0.9 0.94 91.0 162 BAS-19-117 105.6 106.2 0.6 0.5 13.00 280.0 1,255 BAS-19-119 112.0 121.8 9.8 7.8 10.53 78.6 877 includes 112.0 112.7 0.6 0.5 37.60 540.0 3,360 includes 121.2 121.8 0.6 0.4 119.00 594.0 9,519 125.3 126.0 0.7 0.6 5.93 156.0 600 BAS-19-121 176.8 179.2 2.3 1.8 3.60 271.7 542 includes 178.0 178.6 0.6 0.4 9.79 482.0 1,216 BAS-19-124 287.6 288.8 1.1 0.9 1.23 204.0 296 BAS-19-125 130.4 131.6 1.2 0.9 4.80 72.5 432 BAS-19-127 305.1 305.7 0.5 0.4 4.93 375.0 745 includes 209.5 210.1 0.5 0.4 20.40 539.0 2,069 BAS-19-128 208.4 211.4 2.9 2.3 6.34 307.7 783 BAS-19-131 284.5 285.5 0.9 0.7 11.25 32.0 876 BAS-19-137 122.5 125.6 3.0 2.4 15.58 103.6 1,272 includes 122.5 123.4 0.9 0.7 48.90 30.0 3,698 BAS-19-138 120.8 124.0 3.3 2.5 90.98 108.2 6,931 includes 121.6 123.4 1.8 1.4 152.50 77.0 11,515 127.6 128.0 0.6 0.5 1.90 36.0 178 131.7 132.8 1.1 0.9 3.22 33.7 275 Weighted Average 2.1 1.7 9.82 382.5 1,119 Babi Sur HW Vein, Babicanora Area: Hole # From (m) To (m) Drilled Width (m) Est. True Width (m) Au gpt Ag gpt AgEq* gpt BAS-19-73 218.2 218.7 0.5 0.4 4.37 265.0 593 BAS-19-79 202.4 204.4 1.9 1.5 3.02 59.2 285 BAS-19-92 250.00 251.5 1.5 1.2 0.83 162.0 224 BAS-19-96 184.4 185.0 0.5 0.4 1.07 161.0 241 BAS-19-98 100.8 102.4 1.6 1.3 2.82 5.0 217 BAS-19-101 78.8 81.0 2.1 1.7 2.11 39.0 197 BAS-19-107 179.9 181.7 1.8 1.5 2.18 172.7 337 BAS-19-114A 274.1 274.7 0.6 0.5 3.34 77.0 328 BAS-19-123 168.7 169.8 1.0 0.8 1.76 43.0 175 BAS-19-133 63.0 65.4 2.4 1.9 41.42 21.2 3,128 BAS-19-139 293.7 294.2 0.5 0.4 1.62 143.0 265 Weighted Average 1.33 1.06 8.79 82.1 742 Babi Sur Unnamed Veins, Babicanora Area: Hole # From (m) To (m) Drilled Width (m) Est. True Width (m) Au gpt Ag gpt AgEq* gpt BAS-19-78 346.00 347.50 1.5 1.2 1.61 64.0 185 BAS-19-79 304.05 304.55 0.5 0.4 5.88 750.0 1,191 BAS-19-84 163.00 163.53 0.5 0.4 1.81 35.0 171 BAS-19-87 185.00 185.65 0.6 0.5 0.97 131.0 204 BAS-19-89 192.93 193.45 0.5 0.4 2.64 13.0 211 BAS-19-91 214.34 215.43 1.0 0.8 2.31 88.6 262 BAS-19-92 318.05 319.60 1.5 1.2 0.85 219.0 282 BAS-19-92 243.70 244.20 0.5 0.4 2.22 209.0 376 BAS-19-100 251.73 252.30 0.5 0.4 0.05 1,115.0 1,119 BAS-19-111 346.84 347.35 0.5 0.4 2.95 178.0 399 BAS-19-121 167.41 167.95 0.5 0.4 5.69 609.0 1,036 BAS-19-121 170.59 171.15 0.5 0.4 1.63 135.0 257 BAS-19-128 226.10 226.90 0.8 0.6 3.44 145.0 403 BAS-19-131 318.53 319.13 0.6 0.4 2.26 5.0 175 BAS-19-135 157.95 159.05 1.1 0.8 2.68 23.6 225 Note: all numbers are rounded. Based on a cutoff grade of 150 gpt AgEq with no minimum width. * AgEq based on 75 (Ag):1 (Au) calculated using long-term silver and gold prices of US$17 per ounce silver and US$1,225 per ounce gold, with average metallurgical recoveries of 90% silver and 95% gold. All assays were completed by ALS Chemex in Hermosillo, Mexico, and North Vancouver, BC, Canada. For the Babi Sur veins, holes BAS19-65, 66, 74 to 77, 80, 82, 85, 97, 102, 106, 109, 110, 112, 115, 116, 118, 120, 122, 126, 129, 130, 132, 134, and 136 intersected veining but were below the Company's cutoff grade of 150 gpt AgEq. The Babi Sur Vein and Babi Sur HW Vein are still open to depth and down plunge. Unnamed veins are under review for possible continuity and announcement of additional vein discoveries. Approximately 10 additional in-fill and expansion holes, for a minimum of 3,000 metres, are planned for the Babi Sur veins in Q1, 2020. Of the 19 drills currently operating at Las Chispas; four are drilling on the Babi Sur Vein for resource conversion and expansion, three are working on the Babicanora and Babicanora FW veins finalizing in-fill holes for updated resources and reserve estimation, one is on the Babi Vista Vein for in-fill and expansion, seven are on the Babicanora Norte Vein for in-fill and expansion, and four are drilling the Giovanni Vein, Las Chispas Vein and Area 118 for in-fill and expansion. The Company is on schedule to deliver the updated drill hole database to Gmining Services Inc. in late February for updated resource estimation and reserve estimation in the ongoing Feasibility Study anticipated in late H1, 2020. The Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects for this news release is N. Eric Fier, CPG, P.Eng, and CEO for SilverCrest, who has reviewed and approved its contents. ABOUT SILVERCREST METALS INC. SilverCrest is a Canadian precious metals exploration company headquartered in Vancouver, BC, that is focused on new discoveries, value-added acquisitions and targeting production in Mexico's historic precious metal districts. The Company's current focus is on the high-grade, historic Las Chispas mining district in Sonora, Mexico. The Las Chispas Project consists of 28 mineral concessions, of which the Company has 100% ownership of where all the resources are located. SilverCrest is the first company to successfully drill-test the historic Las Chispas Project resulting in numerous discoveries that are being evaluated for economic viability and potential production in the future. The Company is led by a proven management team in all aspects of the precious metal mining sector, including taking projects through discovery, finance, on time and on budget construction, and production. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This news release contains "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of Canadian and United States securities legislation. These include, without limitation, statements with respect to: the strategic plans, timing and expectations for the Company's exploration and drilling programs of the Las Chispas Property, including construction of the Area 51 decline, metallurgical test, mineralization estimates and grades for drill intercepts, permitting for various work, and optimizing and updating the Company's resource model and preparing a feasibility study; information with respect to high grade areas and size of veins projected from underground sampling results and drilling results; and the accessibility of future mining at the Las Chispas Property. Such forward-looking statements or information are based on a number of assumptions, which may prove to be incorrect. Assumptions have been made regarding, among other things: the reliability of mineralization estimates, the conditions in general economic and financial markets; availability of skilled labour; timing and amount of expenditures related to rehabilitation and drilling programs; and effects of regulation by governmental agencies. The actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of risk factors including: the timing and content of work programs; results of exploration activities; the interpretation of drilling results and other geological data; receipt, maintenance and security of permits and mineral property titles; environmental and other regulatory risks; project cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses; and general market and industry conditions. Forward-looking statements are based on the expectations and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. The assumptions used in the preparation of such statements, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date the statements were made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements included in this news release if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as otherwise required by applicable law. Figure 1: Las Chispas District with Babicanora Plan Map January 2020 To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/1467/51644_sc2.jpg Figure 2: Long Section (Inclined) of Babicanora Sur Vein Looking Southwest To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/1467/51644_sc4.jpg N. Eric Fier, CPG, P.Eng Chief Executive Officer SilverCrest Metals Inc. For Further Information: SilverCrest Metals Inc. Contact: Jacy Zerb, Investor Relations Manager Telephone: +1 (604) 694-1730 Fax: +1 (604) 357-1313 Toll Free: 1-866-691-1730 (Canada & USA) Email: info@silvercrestmetals.com Website: www.silvercrestmetals.com 570 Granville Street, Suite 501 Vancouver, British Columbia V6C 3P1 To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/51644 Businesswoman and daughter of ex-president dismisses Luanda Leaks as witch-hunt meant to discredit her and her father. Isabel dos Santos, Africas richest woman and daughter of Angolas former president, allegedly siphoned hundreds of millions of dollars of public money into offshore accounts, according to leaked documents. On Monday, however, dos Santos vehemently denied any wrongdoing in an interview with Al Jazeera, calling the leak a concentrated attack, a political attack against her. Released on Sunday, the so-called Luanda Leaks are based on a trove of more than 715,000 emails, charts, contracts, audits and accounts obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and shared with media organisations. The businesswoman whose father, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, ruled oil-rich Angola for almost 40 years until he stood down in 2017 vehemently dismissed the claims. The 46-year-old billionaire has long denied that her business success is the result of nepotism and corruption. But the New York-based ICIJ said its findings highlight a broken international regulatory system that allows professional services firms to serve the powerful with almost no questions asked. Our investigation, which took eight months and more than 100 journalists to complete, found that dos Santos, aided by her cadre of Western advisers, funnelled hundreds of millions of dollars into offshore shell companies and from there into all kinds of assets, including luxury homes and big businesses, the ICIJs Ben Hallman told Al Jazeera. W ell-coordinated attack Dos Santos, whose business empire stretches from telecommunications to banking to construction, was appointed head of Sonangol, Angolas state oil company, in 2016. But she was forced out the following year, in one of the first acts undertaken by Joao Lourenco, who succeeded her father after 38 years in power. Angolas prosecutors last month froze bank accounts and assets owned by dos Santos and her Congolese husband, Sindika Dokolo, a move she described as a groundless political vendetta. This is a very concentrated attack. It is an attack that has been very well coordinated. Its an attack coordinated with foreign media that is working with the Angolan authorities to create a false perception of my business, dos Santos told Al Jazeera. Angolas prosecutor general on Monday vowed to bring dos Santos back to Angola. We will use all possible means and activate international mechanisms to bring Isabel dos Santos back to the country, prosecutor general Helder Pitra Gros told public radio. Dos Santos left Luanda after her fathers successor came to power in 2017, and now moves mostly between Lisbon and London. Isabel dos Santos was appointed head of Sonangol, Angolas state oil company, in 2016 [Miguel Riopa/AFP] The former presidents son, Jose Filomeno dos Santos, who is Isabels half-brother, went on trial in early December for alleged corruption. Dos Santos whose net worth last year was estimated by Forbes magazine at $2.2bn accused the media of spreading lies. She has said she is considering running for president in Angolas 2022 election. She defended her business dealings and said her efforts helped her country economically. I have built over 10 commercial companies in Angola. Companies in retail so supermarkets, cinemas, shopping malls, media and telecoms I have over 20,000 employees I am one of Angolas largest taxpayers This is a politically motivated attack, she said. Red flags The ICIJ investigation said Western consulting firms such as PwC and Boston Consulting Group were apparently ignoring red flags while helping her stash away public assets. Regulators around the globe have virtually ignored the key role Western professionals play in maintaining an offshore industry that drives money laundering and drains trillions from public coffers, the report said. The document trove included redacted letters allegedly showing how consultants sought ways to open non-transparent bank accounts. None of the companies named in the documents issued an immediate statement in response to the investigation. A former Derry police chief is to retire from the PSNI. Assistant Chief Constable Stephen Martin has revealed he informed the Policing Board today that he intends to retire at the end of the month when a new Deputy Chief Constable is appointed. The senior police officer served as District Commander in Derry for more than four years prior to take up the post as Assistant Chief Constable in 2013. He said: "Being a police officer for nearly 34 years, in both the Royal Ulster Constabulary GC and the Police Service of Northern Ireland, has been a huge honour and a true privilege. "I believe passionately in the contribution that policing makes to our community; and it will be the many stories of bravery and compassion by my colleagues in the delivery of their duty, which I will remember in the years to come. "I will always be grateful for the friendships I have built both within the police service and among the community I have been humbled to serve. As I face the next chapter in my life, I am very mindful of the many colleagues and friends who weve lost and for whom retirement has been denied. They and their families will always be in my thoughts. "I am extremely proud to have been part of the journey that policing has made to date; and I know, with the commitment of colleagues and the partnership of the community, we will continue to make Northern Ireland a safer and more confident society. I leave with a real sense of optimism for the future and wish all my colleagues well as they continue their vital service to our entire community." The start of the new year is a great time to begin planning out those vacations. If you want to take a road trip from Houston, there are plenty of unique rental properties around the Texas Hill Country and the San Antonio area for an interesting staycation. These places are offered through Airbnb and also make great suggestions to friends and family coming in from out of town to visit. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot here on Monday expressed concern over the progress on the Barmer refinery project, saying that "negligence" by the Centre may delay it. Gehlot, who arrived in Jodhpur for a one-day visit, also termed the Union government "arrogant". "We are concerned that if the Indian government exercised negligence, the refinery would not be able to come on time. There is a need to expedite the work," said Gehlot. He also accused the Union government of diverting people's attention from real issues. "The Indian government has not been able to proceed on any front. Nothing is there except talks," he said. "There was the issue of the temple, then Article 370 and now the NPR, NRC and CAA. They are trying to divert the attention from real issues like how the youth will get employment, economy is strengthened and investment can be brought," he said. Gehlot further said there was a resentment among the youth and students in the country and ex-Congress president Rahul Gandhi would hold a rally in Jaipur on January 28 to address their concerns. (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 said that Libyans should decide on the country's future for themselves. "Now is the time for Libyans to decide on a future for themselves one free from violence fueled by external actors," he wrote on Twitter. Pompeo urged all parties to seize this opportunity, through the United Nations, facilitated mediation, to address the political, economic, and security issues that divide them. Senator Elizabeth Warren and former housing secretary Julian Castro pose for pictures with guests during a campaign stop at Fisher Elementary School on January 12, 2020 in Marshalltown, Iowa. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images In the days leading up to the Iowa caucuses, a number of leading presidential candidates wont be meeting voters or giving speeches. Instead, they will be forced to sit quietly, without any electronic devices or distractions, and listen to Alan Dershowitz speak. The impeachment trial of Donald Trump has disrupted American politics but perhaps its biggest impact could be on the 2020 Democratic presidential primary. The four senators who are still running for president will be required to spend a crucial stretch of the campaign in Washington, D.C. For Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, the three senators vying to win in Iowa, it comes at the most inconvenient time possible. The first day of arguments, scheduled for Tuesday, will be less than two weeks before the Iowa caucuses. It is a time when senators would normally skip votes to campaign. Instead, they will be legally compelled to be back in D.C. An aide from a rival campaign not affected by impeachment noted that in addition to the obvious downside that candidates would not be able to campaign in the state, it would also make it more difficult for them to get local news coverage. The aide argued that it gets a lot more important to be on local news in Des Moines or Cedar Rapids rather than being on CNN or MSNBC in the weeks before the caucus. Candidates who can afford private jets can still zoom in and out of the state for some evening events in Iowa. For example, Sanders is now scheduled to hold a rally on Wednesday evening in Cedar Falls, Iowa. However even with private jets, the trial schedule limits the amount of retail politicking any candidate can do in a state where caucusgoers notoriously like to interact with candidates. All of the campaigns will be using surrogates, tele-town halls, and Skype events to reach out to prospective voters. The bench of surrogates varies from candidate to candidate. Klobuchars underdog campaign will bring out Minnesota politicians like Tim Walz, the states governor, and the mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, to stump in Iowa. Warren will be able to use former presidential hopeful Julian Castro and Representative Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, among others, as substitutes. There is less of a burden for Michael Bennet of Colorado, who is focused on New Hampshire and can at least hop short flights to the Granite State every evening. There are direct flights to National Airport from Manchester every morning although the Colorado senator may be forced to endure Logan Airport to hold weeknight events in the state. Former Senator Rick Santorum, who sat through the Clinton impeachment trial in 1999 and won the Iowa Caucuses in 2012, told Intelligencer that it would be a really stressful time if he was in the same position as the presidential hopefuls in the Senate. In his view, every senator has already made up their mind on how they going to vote on impeachment and wont need to study the evidence. Santorum said that if he were in their place, I would be doing thank you notes and working as much as I could during that time. He nonetheless conceded though that spending the trial writing notes to political supporters did sound horrible. Senators are allowed to take notes during the trial but they are supposed to be related to the case. However, the former Pennsylvania senator noted, no one is watching the notes so you can probably write what you want. Santorum also remembered that the rules are that you have to pay attention, but as time went on they were less and less enforced. While the impeachment schedule is inconvenient, it is unlikely to be a nail in anyones coffin, according to Lara Henderson, a veteran Iowa operative who ran Kirsten Gillibrands campaign in the Hawkeye State. But thats not to say it wont be a drag on the senators campaigns. It hurts, she said. It would be better for [the impeachment trial] not to happen. Henderson did note that both Sanders and Warren have strong operations in the state, while Klobuchar has spent far more time in Iowa than any other major candidate and has visited all 99 counties. In a caucus with four candidates all within the margin of error of first place, it merely adds another layer of uncertainty in an already volatile race. As the aide for the rival campaign pointed out, there is no precedent for this. Protesters say prime minister Adel Abdul Mahdi has not fulfilled promises including naming a new government acceptable to Iraqis Baghdad: Dozens of Iraqi protesters were wounded in Baghdad and other cities on Monday in clashes with security forces who were trying to clear blocked roads, security and medical sources said, as anti-government unrest resumed after a lull of several weeks. In Baghdads Tayaran Square overnight, protesters threw petrol bombs and stones at police who responded with tear gas and stun grenades, Reuters witnesses said. Elsewhere in southern Iraq, hundreds of protesters burned tyres and blocked main roads in several cities, including Nassiriya, Kerbala, and Amara. They say prime minister Adel Abdul Mahdi has not fulfilled promises including naming a new government acceptable to Iraqis. They (security forces) should stop shooting and aiming, who are they and who we are? Both sides are Iraqis. So why are you killing your brothers? said one woman protester in Baghdad who declined to give her name. Baghdad police said its forces had successfully reopened all the roads that were closed by violent gatherings. Mass protests have gripped Iraq since 1 October, with mostly young protesters demanding an overhaul of a political system they see as profoundly corrupt and as keeping most Iraqis in poverty. More than 450 people have been killed. Numbers had dwindled but protests resumed last week as demonstrators sought to keep up the momentum after attention turned to the threat of a US-Iran conflict following Washingtons killing of Tehrans top general in an airstrike inside Iraq. The killing of Qassem Soleimani, to which Tehran responded with a ballistic missile attack on two Iraqi military bases, has highlighted the influence of some foreign powers in Iraq, especially Iran and the United States. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Tata Consultancy Services, the country's largest IT company, reported a constant currency revenue growth of 6.8 percent YoY for October-December quarter, missing analyst expectations and coming in lower than the previous one. The constant currency revenue growth in September quarter 2019 was 8.4 percent and 12.1 percent in December quarter 2018, while its peer Infosys had reported 9.5 percent YoY growth in CC revenue. The sequential CC revenue growth was 0.3 percent, which was far lower than the poll of analysts conducted by CNBC-TV18 which pegged at 1 percent. The stock was quoting at Rs 2,185.45, down Rs 32.60, or 1.47 percent, on the BSE at 1009 hours IST, but in last one year it rallied more than 15 percent. Its dollar revenue grew by 1.25 percent sequentially to $5,586 million and rupee revenue increased 2.25 percent QoQ to Rs 39,854 crore for the quarter ended December 2019, with deal wins for the quarter at $6 billion and $18 billion for nine months ended December 2019. Most brokerages are either bearish or neutral on the stock due to high valuations. For All Earnings Related News - Click Here While maintaining reduce call on the stock and raising target to Rs 2,020 (from Rs 1,900), Kotak Institutional Equities cut its revenue growth forecast marginally, but raised EBIT margin forecast by 20-30 bps. "The company will continue to gain market share. Valuation is expensive with the stock trading at peak multiple. But at the right valuation, it is a must have in the portfolio," the brokerage said. Citi is also bearish on the stock as it has a sell call with a target at Rs 1,975. "BFSI & UK were particularly sluggish with declines QoQ, but the good cost optimisation resulted in margin improvement of 100 bps QoQ." TCS will be impacted by challenges in BFS/Retail, while expectations remained elevated, said the brokerage. At operating level, earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) grew by 6.5 percent sequentially and margin expanded by 100bps QoQ to 25 percent due to rupee depreciation and efficiencies. BFSI (which contributed 30 percent to total revenue) and retail (15 percent to revenue) growth was muted at 5.3 percent and 5.10 percent YoY. Company expects BFSI to remain soft for the next few quarters. While having a hold rating with a target of Rs 1,950, HSBC said the company continued to report soft revenue growth, led by tepid banking business, but margins remained healthy. The global brokerage believes company needs to offer higher deal flexibility to revive growth. "Premium valuation underpinned our hold rating." Credit Suisse has a neutral call on the stock with a target at Rs 1,950 as it was a third successive revenue miss from the company as BFSI & Retail-led growth moderation continued. "Valuations are steep at current levels. We tweak our EPS estimate by 1 percent. Company is a high-quality franchise but not immune to uncertain environment," said the brokerage. Morgan Stanley believes the share price will fall over the next 15 days as valuations are expensive at 22x Dec-21e EPS. "We see P/E multiples coming under pressure as growth slows." The brokerage feels Q3 revenue growth was lower-than-expected on softness in BFSI & retail segments. "We have equal-weight call on the stock, but raised target to Rs 2,000 from Rs 1,980." Jefferies is the only brokerage having a bullish stance on the stock and also raised price target Rs 2,500 from Rs 2,300 as revenue was a miss and the guidance for Q4 was soft, but margin surprised positively. "We tweak our FY20-22 estimates mainly to reflect better margin and expect company to outperform top tier peers on both growth & margins," the brokerage said. : The above report is compiled from information available on public platforms. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions. Mangaluru: The Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) takes the low intensity Improvised Explosive Device (IED) that was found inside an unattended bag at the Mangalore airport, being carried for diffusion in Mangaluru on Jan 20, 2020. It all began Image Source: IANS News Mangaluru: The Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) takes the low intensity Improvised Explosive Device (IED) that was found inside an unattended bag at the Mangalore airport, being carried for diffusion in Mangaluru on Jan 20, 2020. It all began Image Source: IANS News Mangaluru: A still from the CCTV footage that shows the auto that carried a low intensity Improvised Explosive Device (IED) found inside an unattended bag to the Mangalore airport, on Jan 20, 2020. It all began at 8.45 a.m. when Central Industrial Se Image Source: IANS News Mangaluru: The Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) takes the low intensity Improvised Explosive Device (IED) that was found inside an unattended bag at the Mangalore airport, being carried for diffusion in Mangaluru on Jan 20, 2020. It all began Image Source: IANS News Mangaluru: A low intensity Improvised Explosive Device (IED) found inside an unattended bag at the Mangalore airport, that was defused by the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) by putting it inside the cooling pit, in Mangaluru on Jan 20, 2020. Image Source: IANS News Mangaluru, Jan 20 : The Mangalore airport is on a high alert after an unattended bag with a low-intensity explosive was recovered at the terminal building on Monday morning, sources said, adding an IndiGo flight had to be called back for checking following a threat call in the afternoon. It all began at 8.45 a.m. when Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), the paramilitary force mandated to guard the terminal building, recovered a black bag at the IndiGo ticket counter and later a Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) declared that an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) had been put inside it. CISF Deputy Inspector General Anil Pandey told IANS that it was a "low intensity" IED. The IED had been put inside the cooling pit and defused. "The CISF scrutinised the CCTV footage outside the terminal building and it was found that a man wearing a while cap left the bag at the IndiGo counter and left the airport in an autorickshaw," Pandey said. It was learnt that the bag was full of nails and some components -- battery, wire, timer, switch and detonator necessary for manufacturing an IED, said sources. As the security agencies went into a tizzy with CISF and state police personnel busy sanitizing airport terminal, an unknown threat call was received by terminal manager around 3.30 p.m. regarding a bomb aboard an IndiGo flight from Mangalore to Bengaluru (6E-528). Sources said the flight, which was due to take off, was called back for checks. "Nothing objectionable was found in the flight on checking. A complete sanitization operation was carried out at the Mangalore airport after the caller threatened that it is just a "trailer", the official said. The Mangaluru Police have released photographs and the CCTV footage of the suspected man getting out of the terminal building and the autorickshaw in which he left. (Reuters) - Brian Moynihan, the chief executive officer of Bank of America Corp , has said the bank could double its consumer market share in the United States despite fears about the power of the country's largest banking institutions. "Our market share in consumer is probably 12, 13, 14 percent, depending on who counts . ... The reality is, you could double that," Moynihan said in an interview with the Financial Times, pointing out that some auto, soft drink and beer companies had massively more consumer share than Bank of America. Moynihan did not provide a time frame in his interview for doubling the bank's consumer market share. "If we do a good job for the customers and clients and we're fair in our pricing, I think that's good because ... the scale that we have enables us to do more for the customers," he was quoted as saying, when asked whether greater concentration in banking was good for customers or likely to garner more scrutiny from regulators. With deposits growing above the industry rate, a low risk loan portfolio and a strong balance sheet with billions in excess liquidity, the pieces were in place for the bank to continue taking market share, he told the FT. The CEO of the Charlotte, North Carolina-based lender added that he would not look overseas for retail growth, as it would take years for the bank to achieve a market share capable of giving it material deposits or revenue. Bank of America is the second largest bank in the United States, with consumer banking its biggest business. (Reporting by Bhargav Acharya in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Cooney) Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Aankhen, a heist-thriller film directed by Vipul Shah and produced by Gaurang Doshi, is an all-time classic film. The film released in 2002, which also starred Akshay Kumar, Sushmita Sen, Arjun Rampal, and Paresh Rawal, has been in the news for quite some time now for its sequel. While there is no final confirmation on the sequel, producer Gaurag Doshi confirms that the original film will soon be releasing in 20,000 screens across China and Saudi Arabia. In a recent interview, producer Gaurang Doshi said that Aankhen will always be very special to him for many reasons. He also went on to say that the film has given him an identity of being a director and has also given him Amitabh Bachchan. The director also went on saying that, having its release in China and Saudi Arabia after so many years is reassurance and encouragement to continue making films that have global stories. Also read | Amitabh Bachchan Shares The First Look Of Jundh; Teaser To Release Tomorrow The decade-old film still manages to awe audiences across the world. According to the producer, the film will be dubbed in the local languages before it is released in the two foreign countries. He also said that there is immense scope for filmmakers internationally and he is also very glad that they are getting the opportunity to explore it with their film. Also read | Amitabh Bachchan Returns From Ritu Nanda's Chautha In Time For Father's Death Anniversary Being one of the very few films that have made it to both these markets, Aankhens release in Chinese and Arabic languages is a major breakthrough for Indian filmmakers. Interestingly, Gaurang Doshi will also be distributing his other films including Happy Anniversary, Aankhen Returns and Indians in Danger in China later this year. Gaurang Doshi has associated with Weijie Zhu, one of the largest and most coveted distributors in China, to provide Hindi movies to the Chinese audience and with Jane Saho in Saudi Arabia to cater to the Arabic viewers. Also read | #MeToo: 'Stree' Actress Flora Saini Slaps Notice Against Gaurang Doshi, Accuses Him Of Defamation Also read | From 'Ilzaam' To 'Aankhen', Tracing Govinda's Journey To Superstardom Image courtesy: Gaurang Doshi Productions YouTube 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. Saturday Sunday lockdown in Delhi: Know timings, guidelines, rules, What is allowed, what is not allowed DDMA orders DMs to number all shops within 24 hours as odd-even rule being violated in markets Delhi Assembly polls: RJD contesting in alliance with Congress, declares candidates on 4 seats India oi-Mousumi Dash New Delhi, Jan 21: Ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections, the Congress alliance partner, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), on Monday announced candidates on all the four seats alloted to it. Reportedly, the party through a tweet declared its four candidates - Pramod Tyagi (Burari), Riyazuddin Khan (Kirari), Shakti Kumar Bishnoi (Uttam Nagar) and Niram Kumar Singh (Palam). Lalu Prasad Yadav's RJD is contesting the Delhi elections in alliance with the Congress for the first time, it has sought to expand its footprint outside Bihar now. On February 8, the polling for the 70 member-Delhi Assembly will be held. It is the first election of 2020. According to PTI, the RJD had initially demanded 10 per cent seats in Delhi from the Congress, but finally it was decided that the party would contest on four constituencies -- Burari, Kirari, Palam and Uttam Nagar, senior RJD leader and Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha had earlier said. NEWS AT NOON, JANUARY 21st, 2020 This for the first time Congress that ruled the national capital for three consecutive terms from 1998 to 2013, is contesting the Delhi Assembly polls in alliance with another party. Out of the four seats RJD has got in the pre-poll alliance, the party had earlier unsuccessfully contested in Kirari, Burari and Palam seats. Delhi polls 2020: Kejriwal kickstarts rally before filing nominations As a member of United Progressive Alliance (UPA), RJD contested recent Jharkhand Assembly polls along with JMM and Congress and bagged a seat. Senator Bernie Sanders says he has always believed that a woman can be elected president of the United States, though he added that being a female candidate can be a negative. Sanders, who in some polls is leading in key primary states in the race for the Democratic nomination, made the remark during an interview on Sunday with New Hampshire Public Radio. Last week, Sanders and fellow candidate Senator Elizabeth Warren had an on-air dustup following a CNN-hosted debate in Des Moines, Iowa. Iowa is holding its caucus on February 3. The New Hampshire primary is scheduled to take place on February 11. Warren has claimed that in a private conversation between the two in 2018, Sanders told her that a woman could not win a general election. Sanders, the senator from Vermont, has denied saying so. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont gives an interview to New Hampshire Public Radio in Concord, New Hampshire, on Sunday Sanders said on Sunday he has 'always believed' a woman can be elected president, though he added that gender could be a 'negative' for a female candidate. The comments came days after Sanders and rival Senator Elizabeth Warren (left) sparred on camera over the issue At a candidate forum in New Hampshire on Sunday, the progressive senator sought to make his stance clear once and for all. It is hard for me to imagine why anybody in the year 2020 could not believe that a woman can become president of the United States. If you check my record, Ive been saying that for 30 years, Sanders said. Sanders noted that his 2016 rival, Hillary Clinton, won nearly 3 million more votes than Donald Trump, who was elected president on the strength of the electoral college. Of course, I always believed and believe today that a woman can be elected president of the United States, he added. Warren refused to shake Sanders' hand at the end of Tuesday's debate in Des Moines, Iowa. Audio was released showing Warren accusing Sanders of calling her a liar 'What?' Sanders is heard replying. Warren repeats: 'I think you called me a liar on national TV' And trust me, if Im not the nominee and a woman is, I will do everything I can to make sure that shes elected. But when Sanders was asked if gender was an obstacle for female politicians, he said: The answer is yes. But I think everybody has their own sets of problems. Im 78 years of age. Thats a problem, Sanders said. So we have to argue Please look at the totality of who I am. If youre looking at [Mayor Pete] Buttigieg, hes a young guy. People will say hes well too young to be president. Look at this one shes a woman. So everybody brings some negatives if you like. The Vermont senator added: I would just hope very much that the American people look at the totality of a candidate, not at their gender, not at their sexuality, not at their age. But at everything. Both Warren and Sanders attempted over the weekend to tamp down a weeklong disagreement over whether Sanders told Warren that a woman could not beat Trump in 2020. As the two senators and long-time allies campaigned in the early-voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire just two weeks before the first caucuses begin, both largely stuck to their liberal policy platforms and emphasized unity among Democrats hoping to take on Trump in the November election. As billionaire Tom Steyer (center) awkwardly tries to disentangle himself from the confrontation, Sanders blasts back: 'You know, let's not do it right now...' The tense exchange sparked tremendous speculation about what they were saying 'Bernie and I have been friends a long time. We fight for the same issues,' Warren said at a house party in Des Moines, Iowa, on Saturday, when quizzed by a supporter who said she believed Warren's side of the story. 'That's all I want to say about that topic because what I truly believe is we're going to have to pull together.' Sanders, speaking in Exeter, New Hampshire, pledged to come together with other Democrats to back their eventual nominee. 'No matter who wins this hotly contested primary, all of us will unite,' he said. The Warren-Sanders spat bubbled to the fore during last week's presidential debate in Iowa, when a CNN microphone caught Warren telling Sanders he made her out to be a liar on national television. The disintegration of the non-aggression pact between the two friends - and the resulting online backlash from supporters in both camps - caused hand-wringing among progressive groups, which urged backers of the two candidates to reserve their fire for centrist rivals. Sanders is leading Warren in most national opinion polls but both trail behind former Vice President Joe Biden, a moderate. Interviews with more than 20 voters who attended the two progressives' events on Friday and Saturday showed that they largely wanted the candidates to move on. Sue Foecke, 40, attended the Des Moines house party hosted by Planned Parenthood Action Fund, and plans to support Warren. But she said a continued focus on the 2018 meeting 'doesn't add anything to the conversation.' Sanders and Warren sparred several times during the Tuesday debate in Des Moines, Iowa Though Foecke said she does not have a backup candidate because Warren should be 'viable' in Iowa's caucuses and able to win delegates, some at Warren's events named Sanders as their second choice. 'It breaks my heart,' said Kathy Staub, 62, a Sanders backer who is involved in local politics in Manchester. Staub likes both candidates but contrasted Sanders' history as a grassroots organizer with Warren's more recent emergence as a leading progressive with 'policy wonk' plans. Asked by a supporter about Democratic infighting at his Exeter rally, Sanders did not mention Warren or any other candidate, and suggested that disputes were overblown by news media that 'often wants and exaggerates conflict.' Warren repeatedly demurred when she was asked by reporters about the scuffle, responding: 'I don't have anything else to say on this.' Even as the controversy with Warren died down, however, Sanders' campaign has zeroed in on Biden. It criticized Biden's 2002 vote for the Iraq War, which Sanders opposed, and accused him of in the past supporting cutting Social Security benefits for the elderly, which Biden denied. The former vice president's campaign accused Sanders staffers of lying. Description GIS 20 January, 2020: The cruise ship is an important segment of the tourism industry, geared towards bringing more tourists in Mauritius, stated the Minister of Tourism, Mr Georges Pierre Lesjongard, today, during a visit with stakeholders on board the German cruise ship, AIDAblu, in the Port Louis Harbour. In a statement, the Minister indicated that the cruise business segment contributes effectively to boosting activities in the tourism sector. Accordingly, he said, the Mauritius Ports Authority has embarked on the construction project of a cruise terminal so as to position the Port Louis Harbour as an attractive homeport for cruise vessels. He underlined that the project will be completed by the beginning of next year and it will provide necessary facilities so as to accommodate cruise vessels. For his part, the Captain of the passenger vessel, Mr Tonnies Kohrs, highlighted that the AIDAblu, is the seventh ship operated by the cruise line, AIDA cruises. The vessel, he added, has a passenger capacity of up to 2600 persons, with some 630 crew members of 20 nationalities including Filipinos and Indians. The cruise itinerary comprises Mauritius, Madagascar, Reunion Island and Seychelles. The AIDAblu will leave Mauritius on Wednesday afternoon for Reunion Island. The characteristics and dimensions of the passenger vessel are as follows: overall length of 251,89 m, length between perpendiculars of 225,84 m, breadth moulded of 32,20m, design draught of 7,20m and height bulkhead deck of 9,60m. It comprises more than 1000 cabins, 14 decks, eight restaurants, four saunas and a gym. It is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few years, that we feel prepared to make this adjustment. We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages. This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity. Rescuers in Nepal were forced to suspend their efforts on Monday (January 20) to find seven people, including four South Korean trekkers, after fresh avalanches hit the region where the group went missing last week. Three Nepali guides were among the group struck by an avalanche on Friday (January 17) along the popular route at the base of Mount Annapurna. Authorities say a military helicopter flew an army search and rescue team as well as sherpa climbers to the area, but a combination of bad weather, heavy snow, and frequent avalanches prevented them from landing -- leaving rescuers working out how best to proceed. The winter trekking season in Nepal, home to eight of the world's 14 highest mountains including Mount Everest, is set to draw to a close this month. Despite the setback, officials have promised the search will continue when the weather improves. TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - Toyota Motor Corp. has invested $394 million in U.S. electric air-taxi startup Joby Aviation as lead investor in the recent $590 million Series C financing. Toyota said it is continuing to leverage emerging technologies to provide 'Mobility for All' as the lead investor as part of its transformation into a mobility company. Apart from the investment, Toyota will also share its expertise in manufacturing, quality and cost controls for the development and production of Joby Aviation's breakthrough all-electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft project. Toyota Motor Executive Vice President Shigeki Tomoyama will join Joby's board of directors and play an active role in setting strategic direction at the Board level. 'Air 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,' said Toyota Motor President and CEO Akio Toyoda. The Japanese automotive giant's new collaboration with Joby Aviation is anticipated to help bring urban on-demand air transportation into the mainstream and initiate a new category of moving people and goods. The eVTOLs are also anticipated to help alleviate persistent mobility challenges such as traffic congestion in urban areas, increased environmental burden and the lack of transportation in underpopulated areas. The piloted all-electric powertrain, zero emissions aircraft is 100 times quieter than conventional aircraft during takeoff and landing, and near-silent when flying over. It can carry four passengers apart from the pilot and takes off and lands vertically like a helicopter. The aircraft is capable of speeds of 200 mph, and can fly over 150 miles on a single charge. The aircraft has six propellers, but can fly with fewer. The eVTOLs offer lower operating costs, lower costs of maintenance, and enhanced safety features, while accelerating the shift to sustainable transportation. Founded in 2009, Joby Aviation has been quietly developing the most advanced and comfortable electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft for over ten years, designed specifically to pioneer the air taxi market. This partnership will also enable Joby Aviation to take advantage of Toyota's globally known quality and reliability as well as best practices in engineering and manufacturing processes. It will also help Joby deliver high quality, durable and reliable aircraft, and meet exacting safety standards, while facilitating the efficient mass production of these aircraft. 'Through this new and exciting endeavor, we hope to deliver freedom of movement and enjoyment to customers everywhere, on land, and now, in the sky,' Akio added. This new investment brings Joby Aviation's total funding, including previous rounds, to $720 million. Prior investors also contributed to the latest round, including SPARX Group, Intel Capital, Capricorn Investment Group, JetBlue Technology Ventures, 8VC, Toyota AI Ventures, and AME Cloud Ventures. Other new investors include Baillie Gifford and Global Oryx Ltd. In December last year, Joby Aviation and Uber signed a multi-year commercial partnership to jointly launch a fast, clean, and affordable urban air taxi service targeted for 2023 in select geographies. South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor is also developing a similar S-A1 eVTOL aircraft in partnership with Uber, which is expected begin commercial operations in 2023. Aircraft maker Boeing is also in the fray, announcing in October last year a partnership with Volkswagen's Proche brand to develop a concept electric aircraft. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday appealed to governments of all northeastern states and opposition ruled states to pass a resolution against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). "I appeal to governments of all Northeastern states and Opposition ruled states that before taking any decision on conducting NPR, the state governments should study it carefully. I appeal to all states to pass a resolution against CAA," Mamata told ANI. Terming BJP leaders as arrogant, Mamata said, "I appeal to all states to pass a resolution against CAA. This is a shame. I don't want to respond to such leaders who are arrogant. People are protesting because they see the danger." "We will pass a resolution against CAA. There can be an all opposition party meet in Kolkata if they all agree. Centre should remove clauses of conditions in Population Register (NPR) that support NRC," She further said while cautioning the governments of non-BJP states who are opposing CAA. "I appeal to all opposition state governments to pass a resolution against CAA, NPR is a dangerous game," She added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) By Express News Service BENGALURU: As India celebrates Republic Day next weekend, the BJP Karnataka unit is readying itself to commemorate the day in a rather different way, in its 58,000 booths across the state. Party workers will hold interactions to tell people about the pain that thousands of refugees from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh have gone through, in the BJPs biggest-ever outreach to justify the Citizenship Amendment Act. BJP MLC and general secretary N Ravi Kumar said the party cadre will celebrate Republic Day in the booths by unfurling the national tricolour and complimenting Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the CAA. This comes against the backdrop of the rash of anti-CAA protests that have broken out and continued unabated across the state and country. MPs, MLAs, municipal members and even GP members will participate in the event that will mark the end of the partys People Outreach Programme held in January, he said, adding that the party received an overwhelming response from the people. He claimed that the masses were with the BJP on the CAA issue. Kumar explained that the party would bring out a booklet that would illustrate the trauma of refugees who had deserted their homes in the Islamic nations of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh, and come to India for shelter and dignity. He said the BJP will also utilise Republic Day to expose the Congress partys politics of negativism on the issue of CAA, and tell the people how the countrys oldest party is relying on falsehood and misinformation to mislead the people, especially the minorities. He said the party cadre have reached out to about 61 intellectuals, besides 70 lakh people by visiting about 20 lakh houses. As many as 10,15,031 calls have been made to support CAA, and 2.14 lakh letters written, expressing solidarity with the PM, Kumar said. Unlike her Vanderpump Rules castmates, Lala Kent had the privilege of rubbing elbows with Hollywood A-listers - including Oscar winner Meryl Streep - during the 26th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday. Because of her prime seat in the Shrine Auditorium, the 30-year-old SUR hostess wound up in the background of many shots from the awards ceremony's TNT/TBS telecast. Lala (born Lauryn) was tagged by several of her 1.3M Instagram followers excited to catch a glimpse of her while tuning into the show, and she reposted them via Insta-story. Well connected: Unlike her Vanderpump Rules castmates, Lala Kent (L) had the privilege of rubbing elbows with Hollywood A-listers - including Oscar winner Meryl Streep (R) - during the 26th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday Hi mom! Because of her prime seat in the Shrine Auditorium, the 30-year-old SUR hostess wound up in the background of many shots from the awards ceremony's TNT/TBS telecast 'I'm not worthy!' Kent commented. 'How the f*** is this happening...I'm putting this on my resume.' The 70-year-old acting legend was there competing with her 21 Big Little Lies castmates for the outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series trophy, which ultimately went to The Crown cast. And the Lala Beauty owner's fiance Randall Emmett was there on behalf of Martin Scorsese's epic gangster drama The Irishman, which lost all four categories it was nominated in. 'I'm not worthy!' Lala was tagged by several of her 1.3M Instagram followers excited to catch a glimpse of her while tuning into the show, and she reposted them via Insta-story The Crown won: The 70-year-old acting legend was there competing with her 21 Big Little Lies castmates for the outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series trophy Ouch! The Lala Beauty owner's fiance Randall Emmett was there on behalf of Martin Scorsese's epic gangster drama The Irishman, which lost all four categories it was nominated in The Utah-born blonde and the 48-year-old producer - whom Lala calls 'Daddy husband' - are excited to finally tie the knot on April 18. Lala will also soon be stepmother to Randall's son and daughter with ex-wife Ambyr Childers, whom he divorced in December 2017. Catch more of the May-December duo's wedding preparations in the eighth season of Vanderpump Rules, which airs Tuesdays on Bravo. In the hot seat! The Utah-born blonde and the 48-year-old producer - whom Lala calls 'Daddy husband' - are excited to finally tie the knot on April 18 Press Release January 20, 2020 Bill granting 7 additional days annual parental leave, 20% discount for solo parents pushed by Hontiveros If passed into law, the Expanded Solo Parents' Welfare Act or Senate Bill No. 164 will grant solo parents seven (7) additional days of parental leave annually, on top of leave privileges under existing laws. "Raising a child is daunting, but raising a child alone constitutes a specific set of challenges and difficulties," said Akbayan Senator Risa Hontiveros, principal author of the measure and the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality, on Monday said. A solo mom herself, Hontiveros said that her bill recognizes the difficulties and challenges of being a solo parent. "Sheroes' ang mga kapwa ko solo moms," Hontiveros added, combining the words 'she' and 'hero.' "Ganun din ang mga tatay na mag-isa lang. Solo parents play multiple difficult roles," she further said. Aside from the paid parental leave of 7 days annually, Hontiveros' bill will also entitle solo parents to 20% discount on goods and services in private establishments, costs of childcare, and on tuition fees per child. It also mandates government and private companies with more than 100 employees to create daycare facilities. "Para sa mga solo parents, maaaring mag-isa ka lang na kumakayod. My proposal is to ensure that our solo parents are given enough support to take care of our children well," Hontiveros explained. The Expanded Solo Parents' Welfare Bill also seeks to expand the definition of solo parents to include spouses of low-income overseas Filipino workers who are away from the Philippines for an unbroken period of twelve (12) months. "Parang mga solo parents na rin ang ilan sa mga asawa ng OFWs natin," said Hontiveros. "Minsan, more than a year na nasa abroad ang asawa. Kailangang suportahan ang mga asawa ng ating mga OFWs. We need to extend the solo parents' benefits to them too," she urged. The bill also pushes for the creation of a Solo Parents Affairs Office by the local government, and requires every barangay to have a Solo Parents' Help Desk that can immediately assist solo parents and their children. "Gusto kong malaman ng mga single tatay at single nanay na katulad ko na may nakikinig sa kanilang mga hinaing. We want to support our solo parents the best way we can. Ang isinusulong nating mga benepisyo ay mga konkretong solusyon," Hontiveros committed. Today's committee hearing in the Senate also discussed the passage of the Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Bill (Senate Bill No. 161) which aims to establish a national policy that prevents teenage pregnancies, the Girls Not Brides Bill (Senate Bill No. 162) that aims to eradicate child marriages in the Philippines, and the Domestic Adoption Act which seeks to fast-track the adoption process in the country. RICHMOND, Va. Thousands of gun-rights activists from around the country rallied peacefully at the Virginia Capitol on Monday, protesting plans by the states Democratic leadership to pass gun-control legislation that have become a key flash point in the national debate over gun violence. The size of the rally and the expected participation of white supremacists and fringe militia groups raised fears that the state could see a repeat of the violence that exploded in 2017 in Charlottesville. But the rally concluded uneventfully around noon, and the mood was largely festive as attendees many carrying military-style rifles spilled into the streets, chanting USA! and waving signs denouncing Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam. Authorities said there had been no reports of arrests or injuries by mid-afternoon. The Richmond protesters came out in the thousands despite frigid temperatures to send a message to legislators, they said. The government doesnt run us; we run the government, said Kem Regik, a private security officer from northern Virginia who brought a white flag with a picture of a rifle captioned, Come and take it. But Democratic lawmakers said the rally wasnt going to impact their plans to pass gun-control measures, including universal background checks and a one-handgun-purchase-a-month limit. I was prepared to see a whole lot more people show up than actually did and I think its an indication that a lot of this rhetoric is bluster, quite frankly, said Chris Hurst, a state delegate and gun-control advocate whose TV journalist girlfriend was killed in an on-air shooting in 2015. Many of the protesters wore camouflage. Some waved flags with messages of support for President Donald Trump. Trump, in turn, tweeted support for their goals. The Democrat Party in the Great Commonwealth of Virginia are working hard to take away your 2nd Amendment rights, he tweeted. This is just the beginning. Dont let it happen, VOTE REPUBLICAN in 2020! The Virginia State Police, the Capitol Police and the Richmond Police had a heavy presence, with officers deploying on rooftops, others patrolling in cars and on bicycles. Authorities were looking to avoid a repeat of the violence that erupted in Charlottesville in 2017 during one of the largest gatherings of white supremacists and other far-right groups in a decade. Attendees brawled with counterprotesters, and an avowed white supremacist drove his car into a crowd, killing a woman and injuring dozens more. Alan Suderman and Sarah Rankin are Associated Press writers. The tech sector is a powerful engine in todays economy, driving jobs and innovation, profits and returns. And its no wonder why tech is the key to the modern world, changing our lives and informing all that we do. Yes, the economy still runs on oil and coal, but digital technology has impacted all of us, whether we work in factories or offices or watch the kids at home. All of these factors make software companies a natural place for investors to look when they seek stocks with high return potential. If high tech is the key to modern life, then software is the key to high tech. Software companies create the code and programs that let us maneuver in the digital world, from messenger apps to word processing and facial recognition. Investment banking firm Needham recently released a report, outlining its software picks from the firms analysts. Collectively, Needhams analysts have a 61% success rate on their stock recommendations according to TipRanks so weve looked into their report to find three stocks that appear particularly compelling. Our first step was to run those tickers through TipRanks Stock Comparison tool, a powerful set of filters that allow prospective investors to locate stocks and view their vital stats side by side. Here are the results: We can see that each pick shows a variety of strengths and weaknesses. Lets take a closer look and find out what Needhams analysts have to say. Crowdstrike Holdings, Inc. (CRWD) Cybersecurity has emerged as a growing niche in the digital economy. From online banking to personal emails, we all have a clear interest in keeping our online activities safe and private. Crowdstrike works in this niche. The Silicon Valley company provides threat intelligence, endpoint security, and cyberattack response services for online clients. In its most recent earnings release, for fiscal Q3 2020, reported last month, the company posted better than expected results. Like many new tech companies, Crowdstrike is operating at a net loss but that net loss was only 7 cents per share rather than the forecasted 11 cents. Quarterly revenue came in at $125.1 million, 5.3% better than expected. Story continues Investor sentiment on this stock has been resoundingly positive. Based on a sample of over 45,000 portfolios, individual investors have been adding CRWD shares in both the last 7 and the last 30 days. Additionally, financial bloggers are bullish, with CRWD receiving favorable coverage 76% of the time, compared to 61% on average in the tech sector. Needhams Alex Henderson makes Crowdstrike his Single Best Idea in cybersecurity for the coming year, and adds it to his firms Conviction List. He writes, Crowd has the right technology to improve security for either legacy perimeter defense-built security postures or for emerging, superior, zero-trust, cloud-direct security. From an externality perspective we see a surprisingly low risk environment for CrowdStrike. While legacy players are falling away, opening major share opportunities for Crowd, we focus more on Crowd's ability to execute. Henderson gives the stock a $92 price target, suggesting a 45% upside growth potential, and a Buy rating. (To watch Hendersons track record, click here) Overall, CRWD shares get a Moderate Buy from the analyst consensus, based on 7 Buy ratings and 6 Holds. The stock sells for $63.45, and the average price target of $72.58 implies upside potential of 14%. (See Crowdstrike price targets and analyst ratings on TipRanks) Medallia, Inc. (MDLA) Number two on our list today is Medallia, a cloud-based SaaS customer experience management company from San Francisco. Medallia has a global reach, with offices in New York, Washington DC, London, Paris, Buenos Aires, Tel Aviv, and Sydney. The companys products meet B2B needs in the high-tech, hospitality, financial services, and retail sectors. Like Crowdstrike, Medallia inhabits a profitable niche. The companys quarterly revenues and earnings, reported in December, were ahead of the estimates. Revenues beat by 7% and came in at $103.1 million; EPS was a net loss, but only 1 cent per share against the 3 cents prediction. Scott Berg, 5-star analyst, added MDLA to Needhams Conviction List, and calls the stock his top pick for 2020. He says in his comments, A fast-growing end market, ramping sales investments, and an expanded GTM strategy taking hold are the key factors behind our thesis. With proper execution from a still-new management team, we believe MDLA will exit CY20 with accelerating revenue growth and cross the profitability chasm; these tend to be characteristics of stocks that outperform in our universe. Berg put a Buy rating on the stock and gave it a $45 price target, implying 42% upside potential from current trading levels. (To watch Bergs track record, click here) Medallia has 4 recent reviews, 3 Buys and 1 Hold, giving the stock an analyst consensus view of Strong Buy. The $44.25 average price target suggests an upside potential of 39% from the current share price of $31.77. (See Medallia stock analysis on TipRanks) Talend SA (TLND) The cloud and software-as-a-service subscription products have made waves in the software tech industry, but proprietary systems are only one path to profit. Open source software and integration systems are related niches ripe for exploitation. Talend SA develops data integration software to ease the process of owning open source platforms. The companys customers use the products to simplify development, learning, and cost of ownership involved in using open platforms. Like the stocks above, Talend has been delivering rising quarterly results. While running at a net loss, it is trimming that loss in Q3 2019, the company beat the EPS expectation by 15 cents reporting a loss of 8 cents against the consensus estimate of 23 cents. Revenues showed a modest beat, landing at $62.6 million but that number was an impressive 20% gain year-over-year. This stock was reviewed for Needham by Jack Andrews, a 5-star analyst ranked in the top 3% of the TipRanks database. Andrews was impressed with the companys strong secular tailwinds, and made it his Top Pick for the coming year. He wrote, There are 5 reasons why we are positive: 1) Pending disclosures on the cloud business should provide visibility and improve sentiment; 2) Migrations from on-premise to the cloud should result in upsell opportunities; 3) Leverage to rapid growth of cloud data warehouses; 4) FX headwinds should abate; and 5) Discounted valuation creates a favorable risk/reward setup. Andrews backs his Buy rating with a $65 price target, indicating his confidence in an eye-opening 63% upside potential. (To watch Andrews track record, click here) Talends two most recent reviews are Buys, giving the stock a Moderate Buy consensus rating. Shares show a very high upside potential the current price is $39.80, while the average price target of $60.50 suggests that theres room for 52% growth in the next 12 months. (See Talend stock analysis on TipRanks) Finnish Forest Industries Federation Says Potential 14-Day Labor Strike Could Cost Pulp and Paper Mills Nearly EUR 640 Million If all the strikes announced by the Paper Union start Jan. 27, the entire forest industry would be paralyzed for two weeks as the strikes would affect 110 mills and companies. Editor's note: The following press release was translated from Finnish to English through a translation program. The original release was published only in Finnish by the Finnish Forest Industries Federation. Jan. 20, 2020 (Press Release) - The Finnish Forest Industries Federation considers it highly likely that the strike threatening the mechanical forest industry's sawmills and plywood mills within a week will materialize. Negotiations on new terms and conditions of employment with the threatening strike industry have hardly progressed. "The [Paperiliito (Paper Union)] does not seem interested in genuine negotiations and agreement. It strives for a consistent package solution across all export sectors, and does not realize that the federation round is intended to agree on industry-specific terms of employment," estimates Jyrki Hollmen, Director of Labor Market at the Finnish Forest Industries Federation. The Finnish Forest Industries Federation has a negotiating relationship with the Paper Workers' Union, which represents workers in the paper, board and pulp industry. Negotiations have also taken place over the weekend and will resume on Monday (Jan. 20). On Tuesday, the parties will meet with the national mediator. "There is no solution yet, and very damaging strikes are threatening the industry. There are a lot of open things on the table," Hollmen continues. The global competitiveness of the paper, board and pulp industries and their potential for improving productivity should be supported by wage moderation, working time solutions and the launch of a comprehensive reform aimed at simplifying working time and pay patterns. The additional costs of collective bargaining for downtime and outsourcing should be made similar to other export industries. At least hundreds of millions lost If all the strikes announced by the Industrial Union and Trade Union Pro start [Jan. 27], the damage could be huge. The entire forest industry would be paralyzed for two weeks, as the strikes would affect 110 mills and companies. Strikes would result in widespread loss of production and longer-term competitive disadvantages. Losses in production would be the result of factory closures and production cuts, longer-term competitive disadvantages due to supply problems, loss of customer confidence and potential customer losses, and, more broadly, strengthening Finland's reputation as a strike-sensitive and labor-unstable country. Loss of production in the entire forest industry could amount to almost EUR 1 billion over a 14-day strike. Strikes in the mechanical forest industry could lead to an estimated loss of EUR 270 million and the paper, board and pulp mills to almost EUR 640 million. The estimates are based on Statistics Finland's data on the value of gross industry output in 2018, when the economic cycle was good. A paralysis of forest industry exports for 14 days would mean that Finland could lose up to EUR 500 million in export earnings. Paper and board products are Finland's most important export product, and the value of forest industry exports, according to Customs statistics, is over EUR 13 billion annually. Strikes would also result in tax losses for society as a whole. The lost direct tax revenue from the forest industry in two weeks is approximately EUR 47 million. Further losses would come from other parts of the value chain, as strikes would affect the entire forest sector from the timber trade to transportation. With irresponsible strikes, trade unions take control of all Finns and especially their own members. "After such losses, it is certain that the salary increase reserve will only decrease. In addition, strikes that drastically affect profitability, significantly weaken the ability to maintain industrial jobs in Finland," Hollmen says. The Finnish Forest Industries Federation (FFIF) is a lobbying organization made up of 77 member companies that operate in the pulp, paper, paperboard, and packaging industries as well as in the wood products industry in Finland. Its goal is to ensure that Finland offers a competitive and innovative operating environment for forest industry production, employment, and investments. To learn more, visit: www.forestindustries.fi SOURCE: Finnish Forest Industries Federation Go to a related story from the Helsinki Times: Industrial Union, Paper Workers Union announce strikes amid stalled talks . A 46-year-old woman was apprehended by CISF personnel at a Delhi Metro station on Monday for allegedly carrying two live bullets in her baggage, officials said. The woman, a resident of Mathura district in Uttar Pradesh, had kept the bullets in her bag and it was detected during X-ray screening of her luggage at Jama Masjid metro station around 1:30 pm, they said. She was handed over to the Delhi Police as she did not have any documents for carrying the ammunition, an official said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Iran to analyse black boxes of Ukrainian airliner TEHRAN: Iran is trying to analyse the black boxes of a Ukrainian airliner that was shot down this month, the state IRNA news agency reported on Sunday, denying a report that a decision had been taken to send the planes recorders to Ukraine. Canada, which had 57 citizens on the plane in which 176 people were killed, and other nations who lost nationals have been calling on Iran for a thorough investigation and have said the flight data and voice recorders should be analysed abroad. Ottawa has said the recorders, or black boxes, should be sent to France, after the military admitted shooting down Ukraine International Airlines flight 752 in error in the tense aftermath of tit-for-tat strikes by the United States and Iran. We are trying to read the black boxes here in Iran. Otherwise, our options are Ukraine and France, but no decision has been taken so far to send them to another country, Hassan Rezaifar, a director in charge of accident investigations at Irans Civil Aviation Organization, told IRNA. Irans semi-official Tasnim news agency had said on Saturday the black boxes were being sent to Ukraine. Adding teeth to India's air and maritime dominance in the Indian Ocean Region, a squadron of fourth generation fighter jets Sukhoi-30 MKI equipped with the BrahMos missile was inducted on Monday at the airforce station here, the first such base in South India. The 'Tigersharks' 222 squadron of Sukhoi 30 MKI jets, formally inducted by Chief of Defence Staff Gen.Bipin Rawat, will be tasked with the air dominance and maritime role and equipped with the air variant of the BrahMos. The squadron based in this ancient Chola capital, about 340 kms from Chennai, is seen as a gamechanger in guarding the strategically important Indian Ocean Region (IOR) that has seen growing Chinese presence. Expected to set right the military balance in the IOR, the Su-30 MKI is a state-of-the-art all weather multi-role fighter aircraft capable of undertaking varied air defence, ground attack and maritime missions. BrahMos, an Indo-Russian joint venture weapon, is a medium-range ramjet supersonic cruise missile capable of being launched from submarines, warships, fighter jets or land. The 2.5-tonne missile has a strike range of nearly 300 km. The BrahMos cruise missile travels at a speed of Mach 2.8, nearly three times that of sound. Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria and senior defence officials were among those present on the occasion of the induction ceremony with the former describing it as a historic day for the Indian Air Force. "So the role it will undertake is the Air Defence of Southern Peninsula and more importantly with this special maritime capability in combination of Brahmos it will be in for maritime role in support of nation," Bhadauria said. A defence release said with the operationalisation of the squadron, the air defence capablilites of IAF, particularly in the Southern Air Command area will be strengthened. "This would also provide protection to our island territories and sea lines of communication in the Indian Ocean Region. The IOR is increasingly gaining importance and the presence of a fighter squadron will provide security cover to all our strategic and vital assets in the region," it added. The Sukhois have a combat radius of almost 1,500 km without midair refuelling. "There has been a gradual to an accelerated expansion of varied maritime forces in the region which could afffect the existing military balance. Therefore, there is a need to protect our military and economic interests in the IOR," the release said in an apparent reference to the Chinese presence in the IOR and the need to respond to it. China already has a military base at the strategically located Djibouti at the horn of Africa, its first in a foreign nation, and it is also looking at expanding its presence. Enhancement of the IAF's capability with the induction of the squad was in response to both conventional and non conventional threats in the IOR and to ensure security and stability in the region, the release said. General Rawat, in his address said the "Tigersharks" underscored "integration," which is the future of the Indian Armed Forces. The Su-30 MKI aircraft, along with the BrahMos will be a game-changer and extensively enhance the security of the maritime domain, he noted. The squadron will be operating closely with the army and navy to get the ball rolling and thus harmonizing with the armed forces, he said. While the fighter jets got a water salute, the induction ceremony culminated with a flying display by light combat aircraft, Sarang helicopter display team and Surya Kiran aerobatic team. Bhadauria, in his address, said it was a historic day for the Indian Air Force. On the decision to choose Thanjavur as the base for the SU 30 MKI squadron, he said it was because of its strategic location. He complimented the Southern Air Command and all personnel of air force station here for their efforts in advancing the induction by almost a year. Apart from that the station would also handle all other roles that Air Force would assign in terms of offensive or defensive as part of any other missions, he said. The 222 squadron was raised at Ambala in 1969 with Sukhoi Su-7 aircraft. In July 1971, it was moved to Halwara and was engaged in combat with the Pakistan Air Force in the 1971 war. In 1985, the Tigersharks became the first Indian squadron to be equipped with the Mig-27 aircraft and it is now being "resurrected," with the Su-30 MKI at Thanjavur. With the induction, integrated flying training is also set to commence along with the indigenous Tejas aircraft which is already present in Coimbatore. According to the IAF, latest radars will be deployed in the region to further strengthen its integrated surveillance system. During the IAF exercise Gagan Shakti-2018, the capabilities of this aircraft were amply demonstrated. Also, it showcased an extended air operational range with the help of air to air refuelling by the IL-78 aircraft. The Indian Ocean Region, faced numerous challenges such as drug trafficking, piracy and maritime terrorism and the busiest trans oceanic trade route. The IOR is so important that more than 80 per cent of India's energy supply was routed through it and it is likely to grow to 95 per cent by 2025. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Passengers on Wuhan Flights Shrug at 'Temperature and a Form' Screenings By Michelle Quinn January 19, 2020 U.S. health officials began screening at three airports here, Los Angeles and New York of passengers traveling from Wuhan, a city in central China, where a viral pneumonia has spread. As of Saturday, the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission said four more people were diagnosed with the virus. The total number of cases stands at 62, with five people in serious condition, 19 people who have been discharged and the rest in stable condition. Two people have died, officials said. Flu Scare: Passengers from China Province Screened at 3 US Airports On Friday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it would send 100 people to the three airports to screen arriving passengers for signs of the illness. They would focus on direct or connecting flights from Wuhan, the city at the heart of the outbreak, for now. Since then, at least two direct flights to the U.S. from Wuhan have landed. A flight arrived Saturday morning in San Francisco. People who went through the screening said it was an easy procedure. Their temperature was taken. They filled out a form. Qi Zhou, a graphic designer, said, "They lead you to other room. So there are doctors there. There are different equipment there. They can measure your temperature there. They have all things there like face masks, the forms so you can let them know how to contact you. "I think they are prepared well," Zhou said. Sunny Xing, a student, said the passengers were kept on the plane and were screened in groupings. "They told us to stay in the plane. They said first 10 people, you can go down," Xing said. "Temperature and a form, that was it." The virus is believed to have started in Wuhan. It belongs to the same family of coronaviruses that includes the common cold as well as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). SARS killed nearly 800 people globally during an outbreak 17 years ago. It also started in China. Adding to health officials' concerns is that many of the 1.4 billion people of China are expected to travel abroad during the Lunar New Year holiday that starts this week. There have been 45 cases in Wuhan, as well as a person with the virus in both Japan and Thailand. Johnny Tang, a tech worker in Silicon Valley, was waiting for his parents to visit from Wuhan. "Because they knew it was a planned visit to come here, for the past week, they stayed home to avoid any contact of any potential risk," he said. After waiting about three hours, Tang and his parents were finally united. "It's OK. It was necessary. Government is responsible for the passengers. And the passengers for the country and the people they are visiting," Fei Guo, Tang's mother, said. Li Ying, a businessman, agreed, saying, "It's always better to have better control. There's no control from our start point" in Wuhan. Citing passenger privacy, a spokesperson with the CDC declined to say if any passengers from Wuhan were flagged at the three airports for possibly having the virus. Airport officials here have been told to expect the health screening to continue for two weeks. On Friday night, the first direct flight from Wuhan, arrived at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. VOA's Mandarin Service spoke to three passengers who described the process: An airline crew member distributed forms seeking basic information, such as personal information and whether they had been to Wuhan. After leaving the plane, their temperature was taken, and if it was normal, they could proceed. One passenger said no one's temperature was above normal. If someone had been determined to be at risk of the virus, they would have been taken to a nearby hospital and isolated for further assessment, the CDC said. A passenger, traveling with his wife and children, told VOA's Mandarin Service the screening was "very simple and very easy to pass. Just fill in your symptoms, your information, and take your temperature." The process took "just 15 minutes," he said. Chinese health officials said many of those who became sick worked at or visited a food market in the suburbs of Wuhan. Three cases have been detected outside China -- two in Thailand and one in Japan with health officials saying those patients had visited Wuhan before becoming sick. CDC officials told reporters during a conference call Friday that they expect more cases will be reported outside of China. They said the risk of the virus to the American public is low, but they want to take proper precautions. Health officials believe the virus spread in China from animals to humans. It is not clear if the virus is now capable of human-to-human transmission, but CDC officials say there are some indications that people may be able to spread the virus in a limited way. Scientists say that it is also possible that the virus could mutate to become more dangerous. At least a half-dozen countries in Asia have also started health screenings for incoming airline passengers from central China. Scott Pauley, a CDC spokesman, told VOA the CDC anticipates a higher number of Chinese travelers to the United States for the new year and has factored this into its planning. China said it has increased disinfection efforts in major transportation hubs to help ensure the virus does not spread. Wuhan is a main hub in China's railway network. A State Department spokesman said the United States is closely monitoring the outbreak in China as well as actively working with governments across the region to combat spread of the virus. The World Health Organization is warning that a wider outbreak of the virus is possible and has given guidance to hospitals worldwide. However, in a statement Thursday, the WHO said that it does not recommend instituting any trade or travel restrictions on China at this time. The most common symptoms of the newly identified virus are fever, cough and difficulty breathing. VOA State Department correspondent Nike Ching and Rong Shi of VOA's Mandarin Service contributed to this report. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Nepal's Parliament will elect its Speaker on Sunday, nearly three months after the post fell vacant. The ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) has decided to field its leader Agni Sapkota for the Speaker's position, which has remained vacant since Krishna Bahadur Mahara stepped down, following an attempt to rape allegation against him on October 7 last year. The House of Representatives (HoR) on Monday published the schedule for electing the new Speaker. The election will take place at 3 pm on January 26, as per the notification. The HoR meeting instructed the Parliament Secretariat's general secretary to fix the election date and publish the election calendar. According to Article 91 (2) of the Nepal Constitution, the Speaker and Deputy Speaker should be from different political parties and gender. There was a deadlock over electing the new Speaker as Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli and chairman of the ruling party Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' differed on their candidates for the post. The deadlock ended after Prime Minister Oli backtracked from fielding former Speaker Subhash Nembang for the post and accepted Prachanda's choice -- Sapkota. Meanwhile, main Opposition Nepali Congress has said it would not field a candidate for the Speaker post if it gets the post of Deputy Speaker. Deputy Speaker of the House of Representative Shiva Maya Tumbahangphe, who had expressed interest for the post, resigned on Monday. Her resignation comes a day after the ruling party backed Sapkota's candidature. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Getty Images SINGAPORE - A former Nanyang Technological University (NTU) scholar who filmed a woman in the shower at a residential hall was sentenced to a short detention order of two weeks on Monday (20 January). Han Shiyu, then an Electrical Engineering undergraduate, had used his girlfriends key to unlock the female toilet. Han was expelled by the university in October last year, according to previous media reports. A short detention order means that Han will not have a criminal record when he is released. The 18-year-old Chinese national pleaded guilty to one count of criminal trespass and one count of insulting the modesty of his 20-year-old victim. She cannot be named to protect her identity. Han had trespassed into a female toilet for the same purpose on an earlier occasion between 1 and 12 August. This offence was taken into consideration for his sentencing. Han had resided at another residential hall before he committed the offences. On 12 August last year, Han visited his girlfriend, who stayed on level 4 of her residential hall. The level only had female residents and toilets could only be accessed by keys issued to residents. Han used his girlfriends key to access the female toilet on the level. He heard the woman showering in one of the cubicles and decided to film her. He went to the cubicle next to hers and placed his phone beneath the partition to do so. The woman noticed the mobile phone, with its red recording light on. After about six seconds, Han retracted his phone and went into a toilet cubicle. Shocked and afraid to confront Han, the woman sent a text message to a male friend, who was also an NTU student. The friend met the woman outside the female toilet. They both decided to open the door of the female toilet, while at the same time, Han opened the door of the female toilet slightly to check if the coast was clear. When he noticed the victim and her friend, he closed the door and hid in the toilet. The victim then went to look for security guards while her friend stood guard outside the toilet. Story continues A security guard shortly called the police to report on a case of Peeping Tom. Other Singapore stories Receiving a short detention order means that Nguyen will not have a criminal record when he is released Ceva to help Vietnam develop new vaccines for ASF, FMD France's Ceva Sante Animale has signed a couple of agreements with the animal health department of the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development (MARD) for the research and development of new African swine fever (ASF) and foot and mouth disease (FMD) vaccines. ASF and FMD affect pigs and cattle, respectively. According to the animal healthcare company, the agreements, signed last Thursday, Jan. 16, support MARD's disease-control initiatives during a period of unprecedented challenge following the outbreak of ASF throughout Asia and some parts of Europe. Ceva, which has had operations in Vietnam for over 12 years, stressed the importance of the Southeast Asian country's livestock sector, which has grown rapidly over the last decade, thanks to strong growth in both income and population. The agreements include: -- A technology transfer collaboration aimed at developing more effective local FMD vaccines, specifically adapted to the local epidemiology; and -- A scientific collaboration with Vietnam for ongoing vaccine R&D programmes targeting ASF control. "These new projects illustrate our commitment to bring preventative health strategies to Vietnamese livestock farmers, by ensuring that the knowledge and expertise we have gained at a global level is practically adapted to meet local needs", said Marc Prikazsky, chairman and CEO of Ceva. by Ross Jared Joswick | Bulls Correspondent | Sun, Jan 19th 5:57pm EST DeMar DeRozan went for 20 points (7-16 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 6-6 FT), nine rebounds, nine assists and one steal in a five-point win against the Heat. Fantasy Impact: DeMar DeRozan continues to cook with gasoline for San Antonio. He narrowly missed a triple-double for the second straight game and has averaged a scorching 28.1 points-per-game over his last ten. DeRozan has caught fire in his last few contests and owners would be wise to ride the wave of production. Stick with the hot-hand up next against Phoenix. "iSimulate has revolutionized simulation training in healthcare through its creative simulation solutions including ALSi, REALITi, CTGi and AURiS," said Todd Murray, CEO of 3B Scientific. "We are extremely excited to further develop the 3B Scientific platform and add the great products and people of iSimulate to our company. Our 3B Scientific global distribution footprint including fourteen commercial locations is uniquely positioned to further support and accelerate the growth of iSimulate products worldwide." iSimulate CEO Peter McKie added, "We are proud of the progress we have made with our company and Anthony, Bobby and I decided that the 3B Scientific team would be the best partner for us to expand and grow the business in the years to come. We are excited for the next step in our journey and appreciate the support from our customers worldwide. We look forward to working closely with Todd and his team." After the closing, Peter McKie, Anthony Lewis and Bobby Syed will remain active in the company and continue to drive the business plan for iSimulate. A significant emphasis for strong growth and the development of the product pipeline lies in the active collaboration from and partnership with the experts from 3B Scientific and Cardionics. iSimulate operations will remain unchanged and will continue to be based in both Canberra, Australia and Albany, NY. The healthcare simulation market has experienced significant growth in the past decade and is estimated to reach USD $2.27 Billion by 2021, according to a 2016 MarketsandMarkets report. The acquisition is anticipated to be consummated in the first quarter of 2020. Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher LLP and Clayton Utz are serving as legal advisors to 3B Scientific and J.H. Whitney Capital Partners, LLC. Schwartz Heslin Group, Inc. is acting as a financial advisor to iSimulate, and Pepper Hamilton LLP and MinterEllison are serving as legal advisors to iSimulate. About the 3B Scientific Group 3B Scientific was founded in 1948 in Hamburg, Germany and has grown to be the world's leading manufacturer of anatomical models and a global supplier of innovative and reliable medical simulators for basic, advanced and specialty skill training. Today, 3B Scientific is represented in over 100 countries worldwide with the mission to advance medical and healthcare delivery through the quality, breadth and global reach of relevant educational and simulation products. To learn more about 3B Scientific, visit: www.3bscientific.com. About J.H. Whitney Capital Partners, LLC J.H. Whitney, established in 1946 by industrialist and philanthropist, John Hay "Jock" Whitney, was one of the first U.S. private equity firms and is often credited with pioneering the development of the private equity industry. Today, J.H. Whitney remains a leader in the private equity industry, having invested in over 400 companies since formation, and currently manages approximately $1.0 billion in private capital. J.H. Whitney remains privately owned by its investing professionals and its main activity is to provide private equity capital to small and middle market companies with strong growth prospects in a number of industries including consumer, healthcare, and specialty manufacturing. To learn more about J.H. Whitney, visit: http://www.whitney.com. About iSimulate iSimulate was founded by Peter McKie and Anthony Lewis in 2011 with the mission of providing effective, reliable and realistic simulation tools. The solution they developed together has revolutionized healthcare simulation training worldwide. To learn more about iSimulate, visit: www.isimulate.com. Related Links http://www.3bscientific.com SOURCE 3B Scientific Related Links http://www.3bscientific.com Sydneys CBD light rail wont reach its "wildly optimistic" running targets, according to the transport union, which says its drivers are struggling "under immense pressure" to right the flawed $2.9 billion service. The union attack comes almost eight years after an Infrastructure NSW report to the OFarrell government said CBD light rail had "no material speed benefits" and would be "significantly more expensive than bus services". Sydney's light rail drivers are struggling under immense pressure, the transport union says. Credit:Steven Siewert The government on Monday said travel times on the Randwick to Circular Quay service would decrease from 45-50 to 40-45 minutes this week, still slower than the 38-40 minutes forecast to NSW Parliament last year. The Rail, Tram and Bus Union NSW accused the government of trying to shift the blame for the sluggish light rail journey times to its drivers, rather than address fundamental problems with the service. - The EC has revealed that the country stands to save over GHS173.07 million should a new voters register be compiled ahead of the 2020 elections - According to the Electioneering body, procuring a fresh Biometric Voter Management System (BVMS) is less costly than upgrading the current register Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in The Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) has revealed that the country stands to save over GHS173.07m should a new voters register be compiled ahead of the 2020 general elections. According to the EC procuring a fresh Biometric Voter Management System (BVMS) is less costly than upgrading the current register as many concerned bodies and outfits are clamouring for. Speaking at a media briefing, IT consultant to the EC, Dr. Yaw Ofori-Adjei said the commission would incur GHS107.25 million to furnish the existing data centre but would only need GHS39.51 million for what they are suggesting. READ ALSO: University of Ghana test their own version of VAR Dr. Ofori-Adjei said that keeping the old biometric system would cost $74.36 million as compared to the $56 million needed to acquire a new system which includes Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) kits and the Biometric Verification Devices (BVD). Per the data, the total cost of using the old BVR system for the 2020 election is $38, 692,500.00 for the refurbishment of some BVR kits used in 2016 and the acquisition of new ones. The total number of kits used in the 2016 registration was 5,500 while the number of kits that were refurbished was 1,500 with a $3500 unit cost of refurbishment making the total cost of refurbishment at $5,250,000. However, for the new system, the number of BVR kits required for the 2020 election is 8,000 at a unit cost of $3,000.00, pegged at a total cost for the new BVR at $24,000,000. READ ALSO: We have restored internet services fully - MTN Ghana In other news, presidential candidate on the ticket of the Liberal Party of Ghana(LPG), Kofi Akpaloo has promised to initiate a social intervention policy dubbed Child Benefit. This, according to him, it would help meet the needs of Ghanaian children if given the nod to govern the nation. The Party intends to pay GH200 monthly stipend to every Ghanaian child from age one to 18, while twins will receive GH300.00. Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), John Amekah, the National Chairman of the Party, said that lack of child welfare policy exposed children to various harmful practices and it was time the nation prioritised childrens welfare. READ ALSO: Fact check: We have not lost Qwikloan data to undersea fibre cut - MTN Ghana Have national and human interest issues to discuss? 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 Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Home Regional News East Netflix NFLX recently opened a new office in Paris and plans to develop several new French shows in the coming years as well as several series and films developed by its production partners. The company has already developed 24 French titles and will invest more than 100 million to develop more than 20 new French-language productions in 2020. Upcoming productions include Big Bug, a comedy set in the future, and a series about gentleman-burglar Arsene Lupin, among others. The decision to expand its French content portfolio comes after the French governments announcement to force platforms like Netflix to invest at least 25% of their revenues earned in France to fund domestic content production. Although this comes as a setback for the company and is likely to hurt its profitability in France, Netflix can leverage this to expand its presence in the country and become a major studio. Netflix, Inc. Price and Consensus Netflix, Inc. Price and Consensus Netflix, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Netflix, Inc. Quote Strong International Content Portfolio Expected to Drive Growth The original French-language productions will be a valuable addition to Netflixs portfolio and are expected to drive the companys top-line growth. The company has been investing in diversifying its portfolio by developing several local language shows and movies, with some of them turning out to be huge hits. Notably, the third season of La Casa De Papel was the most-watched show on Netflix across its non-English language territories. Moreover, while The Naked Director was a hit in Japan, the second season of Sacred Games was the companys most-watched show in India. However, increased spending on new content is expected to hurt cash flow generation, with the company estimated to have spent around $15 billion on total content in 2019. Although fresh content will help in driving rapid subscriber growth, higher cash burn does not bode well for investors. Expanding Presence to Strengthen Competitive Position Netflixs expanding presence in France coupled with its partnership with Vivendi VIVHY owned Canal+ is expected to give it an edge in the country. In September 2019, the company partnered with Canal+ to launch an integrated bundle in France. However, competition is poised to intensify with the launch of Disneys DIS Disney+ in France on Mar 31, 2020. Moreover, Canal+ has signed a deal with Disney to be the sole distributor of Disney+ in the country. Additionally, Amazons AMZN prime video is working on four new French projects set to be launched in 2020 and 2021, which include Voltaire Mixte, a dramatic comedy, and Operations Totems, a spy series, among others. Zacks Rank Netflix currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Biggest Tech Breakthrough in a Generation Be among the early investors in the new type of device that experts say could impact society as much as the discovery of electricity. Current technology will soon be outdated and replaced by these new devices. In the process, its expected to create 22 million jobs and generate $12.3 trillion in activity. A select few stocks could skyrocket the most as rollout accelerates for this new tech. Early investors could see gains similar to buying Microsoft in the 1990s. Zacks just-released special report reveals 8 stocks to watch. The report is only available for a limited time. See 8 breakthrough stocks now>> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report The Walt Disney Company (DIS) : Free Stock Analysis Report Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) : Free Stock Analysis Report Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) : Free Stock Analysis Report Vivendi SA (VIVHY) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research By Trend UK Ambassador to Azerbaijan James Sharp has issued a message in connection with the 30th anniversary of the January 20 tragedy, Trend reports Jan. 20. Sharp expressed deep condolences to the Azerbaijani people in connection with the tragedy. Today is the 30th anniversary of Black January, the January 20 tragedy, the memory of the victims of which is honored by the Azerbaijani people, reads the message. January 20 martyrs played a special role in restoring Azerbaijans independence. On behalf of the UK government and on my own behalf, I express deep condolences to the Azerbaijani people and families of martyrs. The memory of the victims of this tragedy will always live in our hearts. January 20 is a day that went down in history of Azerbaijan's fight for independence and territorial integrity. On January 20, 1990, the Soviet army forces entered Baku to suppress the masses protesting the USSR-supported Armenian aggression based on territorial claims against Azerbaijan. The result was an unprecedented tragedy for Azerbaijan. As a result, 147 people were killed, 744 were injured and 841 were illegally arrested after Soviet troops entered Baku. The Soviet troops also destroyed 200 apartments and houses, as well as private and public property. Despite that many years have passed since those bloody days, Azerbaijanis remember the dreadful night that took many innocent lives and mark the anniversary of the January 20 tragedy every year. January 20 is immortalized in the memory of Azerbaijani nation as a Day of the Nationwide Sorrow. Climate risk is investment risk, he writes in his annual letter to other CEOs, the heads of firms in which BlackRock invests. Companies need to take advantage of the opportunities and protect themselves against the threats. Those that do will flourish; those that dont will falter. Profitability and performance will suffer. Fairbanks, AK (99707) Today Snow this evening will taper off as a few snow showers late. Low 2F. Winds light and variable. Chance of snow 90%. Snow accumulating 1 to 3 inches.. Tonight Snow this evening will taper off as a few snow showers late. Low 2F. Winds light and variable. Chance of snow 90%. Snow accumulating 1 to 3 inches. Odgers has begun joining in with her kids' screen time. Credit:Rozette Rago / The New York Times The researchers worry that the focus on keeping children away from screens is making it hard to have more productive conversations about topics like how to make phones more useful for low-income people, who tend to use them more, or how to protect the privacy of teenagers who share their lives online. "Many of the people who are terrifying kids about screens, they have hit a vein of attention from society and they are going to ride that. But that is super bad for society," said Andrew Przybylski, director of research at the Oxford Internet Institute, who has published several studies on the topic. The new article by Odgers and Michaeline R. Jensen, of the University of North Carolina, comes just a few weeks after the publication of an analysis by Amy Orben, a researcher at the University of Cambridge, and shortly before the planned publication of similar work from Jeff Hancock, the founder of the Stanford Social Media Lab. Both reached similar conclusions. "The current dominant discourse around phones and well-being is a lot of hype and a lot of fear," Hancock said. "But if you compare the effects of your phone to eating properly or sleeping or smoking, its not even close." Loading 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." 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 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?," Twenge attributed the sudden rise in reports of anxiety, depression and suicide from teens after 2012 to the spread of smartphones and social media. Twenge's critics argue that her work found a correlation between the appearance of smartphones and a real rise in reports of mental health issues, but that it did not establish that phones were the cause. It could, researchers argue, just as easily be that the rise in depression led teenagers to excessive phone use at a time when there were many other potential explanations for depression and anxiety. What's more, anxiety and suicide rates appear not to have risen in large parts of Europe, where phones have also become more prevalent. "Why else might American kids be anxious other than telephones?" Hancock said. "How about climate change? How about income inequality? How about more student debt? There are so many big giant structural issues that have a huge impact on us but are invisible and that we arent looking at." Twenge remains committed to her position, and she points to several more recent studies by other academics who have found a specific link between social media use and poor mental health. One paper found that when a group of college students gave up social media for three weeks, their sense of loneliness and depression declined. Loading Odgers, Hancock and Przybylski said they had not taken any funding from the tech industry, and all have been outspoken critics of the industry on issues other than mental health, such as privacy and the companies' lack of transparency. Odgers added that she was not surprised that people had a hard time accepting her findings. Her own mother questioned her research after one of her grandsons stopped talking to her during the long drives she used to enjoy. But children tuning out their elders when they become teenagers is hardly a new trend, she said. She also reminded her mother that their conversation was taking place during a video chat with Odgers' son; the kind of intergenerational connection that was impossible before smartphones. Odgers acknowledged that she was reluctant to give her two children more time on their iPads. But she recently tried playing the video game Fortnite with her son and found it an unexpectedly positive experience. "It's hard work because its not the environment we were raised in," she said. "It can be a little scary at times. I have those moments, too." (@ChaudhryMAli88) Algeria is ready to contribute to settlement of the Libyan conflict and provide a venue for the dialogue between the conflicting sides, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said on the sidelines of the Berlin conference on Libya MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th January, 2020) Algeria is ready to contribute to settlement of the Libyan conflict and provide a venue for the dialogue between the conflicting sides, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said on the sidelines of the Berlin conference on Libya. "We are required to set a clear and binding roadmap for the two parties, which would make the truce permanent and stop providing the Libyan parties with weapons ... and invite them to the negotiating table to find peaceful solution to the crisis through dialogue," Tebboune said as quoted by the official Algeria Press Service. The Algerian president expressed readiness to provide a platform for further dialogue between Libya's rival administrations. Representatives from a number of countries and organizations, including Russia, the United States, Turkey, Egypt, the European Union, the United Nations and the African Union, met in Berlin on Sunday to find solutions to the conflict in Libya. Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, the commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA), which controls the country's east, and the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj attended the Berlin conference, but there were no direct negotiations between them there. Yves here. One of my friends is adamant that men should always have to pay for sex. And trust me, shes partied quite a lot. While this article opens up an important topic for discussion, it then refuses to go anywhere with it. Quite a few, potentially most, sex workers were manipulated into it: sold by their families, taken abroad for what they were told was a different kind of job, recruited by drug dealers. But women also go into sex work by choice. In developing economies, a young woman will often earn a significant multiple of what her next best option is, say working in a factory, by providing sex. And in advanced economies, more respectable women than you think resort to prostitution in bad times until they can get back to their regular line of employment. It would have been nice if this article had discussed where sex workers had succeeded in improving their conditions, and in particular, how that had come about. By Borislav Gerasimov, communications and advocacy officer at the Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women and the editor of the Anti-Trafficking Review. Follow him @GAATW_IS. Originally published at openDemocracy We asked sex worker rights groups and allies around the world to discuss what works and doesnt work when arguing for the decriminalisation of sex work. This series reports what they said. The Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women (GAATW) was founded in 1994 by a group of feminists and womens rights advocates from, mostly, the Global South. As students, activists, asylum seekers, or migrants in the Global North, they had witnessed the struggles of their compatriots with much less privilege than their own. And as volunteer caregivers, translators, interviewers, and advocates in law courts, GAATWs founding mothers had heard the stories of working-class migrant women who had undertaken journeys in search of better livelihoods. Typically, women narrated stories of difficult situations: of the broken promises of agents/recruiters, unbearable working conditions, and financial destitution. Their stories, hard as they were to hear, testified to the womens courage, enterprise, and determination and challenged the stereotype of the victim of trafficking prevailing in the Global North. Trafficking and Sex Work GAATW has always been an ally of the sex worker rights movement. As feminists and human rights activists, our founding mothers thought it natural to support self-organising among this group of women. In the beginning, some were uncomfortable with the idea that sex work is work. However, their repeated interactions with individual sex workers and fledgling collectives forced them to question their middle-class mores. A few months ago, I met a feminist activist in Thailand who now works in the field of sexual and reproductive health and rights. She explained that she had been close to GAATW since the very beginning, and that back in the 1980s she had wanted to rescue Thai sex workers in the Netherlands. To her surprise, they had told her they didnt want to be rescued. They did not mind trading sex for money but wanted to earn more and work in better conditions. If she could help them with that, she was welcome. This and other similar interactions changed her views of sex work and sex workers. When she told me this story, I remembered something that Lin Lap Chew, one of GAATWs founding mothers, wrote in Trafficking and Prostitution Reconsidered about the evolution of her own views at the time: I [was] convinced that I was not against the women who worked as prostitutes, but that the patriarchal institution or prostitution should be dismantled, she wrote. But soon I was to learn, through direct and regular contact with women in prostitution, that [] the only way to break the stigma and marginalization of prostitutes was to accept the work that they do as exactly that a form of work. She ended with the observation that The personal struggle for me was to overcome the mainstream moral hypocrisy into which I had been socialized. Regular conversations with sex workers made both of these committed activists change their view from prostitution is patriarchal violence against women to sex work is work. That doesnt always happen, of course and Ive long wondered why. Why does speaking with sex workers change some peoples minds about sex work, but not others? I dont have the answer, and probably never will. What I suspect is the case is that some people simply give more credence to their favourite academic theoreticians, such as Kathleen Barry, than to the words of real-life women in sex work. Sex Work as Work, Sex Workers Rights as Workers Rights GAATWs support for the sex worker rights movement stems from our conviction that women are better able to challenge power and bring about change when they organise to collectively analyse their situation. This is as true for sex workers as it is for Indigenous, Dalit, migrant or trafficked women, farmers, domestic workers, and hawkers. We are honoured to stand in solidarity with their struggles. We do not pretend to speak on their behalf and GAATW will never lead a campaign on decriminalisation. But we will support those who do. That said, we do encourage our partners in the womens rights, labour rights, migrant rights and anti-trafficking fields to engage with sex workers as part of the larger struggle for human rights and workers rights. Even people who despise sex work should agree that those in it should be free from violence and stigma. They should also agree that all workspaces should have decent working conditions, regardless of the nature of work. To wish anything else to posit that sex workers should face violence, stigma, and abuse at work because their livelihoods raise moral questions is an odd position to take. As a colleague from another organisation told me once, I dont have particular feelings about the garment industry. But I want the workers who make clothes to do so in good conditions. GAATW does not separate trafficking for sexual exploitation from trafficking for labour exploitation (or sex trafficking from labour trafficking as they say in the US) as most organisations do. When necessary we specify whether we are talking about trafficking in the sex industry, or in domestic work, or in construction, agriculture, fishing, etc. This may seem petty and unimportant but its not. Language shapes thought. Drawing a line between sexual exploitation and labour exploitation in itself suggests that sex work is not work. Anyone who agrees that sex work is work should avoid referring to different forms of trafficking in this way. In particular, American activists, journalists, researchers and others concerned with sex workers safety should absolutely stop using the term sex trafficking. We follow the same strategy in our mutual learning and knowledge sharing work. Migrant and trafficked womens stories are strikingly similar regardless of the sector in which they are exploited. They all speak of deceptive agents and brokers, limited freedom of movement, physical, psychological, and sexual violence at the workplace, as well as stigma upon return. The strategies that women use to resist and escape exploitation are similar too. Our mutual learning exercises have taught us that, for all the talk of the unique nature of the trade, exploitation in the sex industry isnt unique at all. It is well known that some migrant women working in, for example, domestic work, garment factories, or restaurants do sex work on the side to earn more money. Yet, trade unions and NGOs working on migrants rights, domestic workers rights, and garment workers rights see sex work and sex workers rights as something completely unrelated to their work and their communities. When we organise meetings for different stakeholders, we always invite sex worker rights groups. This strategy has led to some people recognising the common experiences of women working in different sectors and at least being more open to learning about sex workers struggles. Advocating for the rights of sex workers to other groups is not an easy task. I often hear from our partners that they dont have a position on sex work. I understand where this is coming from, but it highlights a gap in logic that often appears when talk turns to sex work. GAATW doesnt have a position on many issues or groups of women. We dont have a position on cooking or selling vegetables on the street, even though there are women who cook or sell vegetables all around us in Bangkok. Yet our instinct would always be to stand in solidarity with them and support them in their demands, whatever these are for example, for the right to work where they can attract the most customers, maintain decent prices, and protect themselves against exploitative rents and corrupt government officials. These are the demands of all workers, including sex workers. Trade unions, womens rights and migrants rights organisations should stand in solidarity with them. One of five aid workers released by the Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) faction of Boko Haram on 15 January has said that Leah Sharibu , the 16 year-old schoolgirl abducted from her school in northeast Nigeria in February 2018, is alive and well. Jennifer Ukambong Samuel, who works for Action for International Medical Alliance (ALIMA), was abducted on 22 December 2019 while travelling along the Borno-Mungono road to the Plateau State capital Jos, by terrorists wearing military fatigues who spoke in English as they profiled travellers and executed several of them. Also abducted were her colleague Miss Asabe Cletus Musa; Solidarity International employee Arthur Ibojekwe China; and private security guards Adamu Auwal Ozeshi and George Danbaba Michael, who survived by pretending to work for the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the Red Cross. All five were released following negotiations involving ALIMA and Solidarity international. It remains unclear whether a ransom was paid. Leah Sharibu was the sole Christian among 110 schoolgirls abducted by ISWAP from their school in Dapchi, Yobe state on 19 February 2018. While her surviving classmates returned a month later following government negotiations, she was denied her freedom for refusing to convert as a precondition for her release. In October 2018 ISWAP declared that Ms Sharibu and Christian nurse Alice Loksha Ngaddah, who was abducted on 1 March 2018 during an attack on Rann, would be enslaved for life, and that it was now lawful for the terrorists to do whatever we want with them. In July 2019 ISWAP released a video of six workers for the French NGO Action Against Hunger (ACF) who were abducted on 18 July 2019, in which Grace Taku implied both Ms Sharibu and Mrs Ngaddah had been executed. However, this was quickly discounted. Ms Ukambong informed Nigerian media that while she had not seen Ms Sharibu or Ms Taku, she had been informed by Mrs Ngaddah, whom she reportedly visited in her house in the forest near Lake Chad, that both are alive, well and held in an undisclosed location. Ms Ukambong revealed that Mrs Ngaddah, who is now called Halima, provides injured terrorists with medical treatment, and had asked for prayer for all three of them, adding that she had left everything to God. Elsewhere, targeted attacks and abductions have continued in Kaduna State. On 17 January Rev Bitrus Ochara of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) in Katarma, Chikun Local Government Area (LGA), was kidnapped along with four members of his congregation. Two women were killed on 18 January by armed men on motorcycles who opened fire on youth as they were playing in the Gora-Gan community of Zongon Kataf LGA; and in the early hours of 20 January the traditional ruler of the Buruku area in Chikun LGA, the Sarkin Buruku, and an unnamed woman were abducted by heavily armed men. CSWs Chief Mervyn Thomas said: We are encouraged to hear that Leah Sharibu, Alice Ngaddah and Grace Taku are alive and well; however, it is important to remember that they are still in the hands of a highly dangerous and violent terrorist group. We continue to call on the government of Nigeria to do everything in its power to secure their immediate release, and urge the UK government to raise this case with President Buhari as they meet with him today for the UK-Africa Investment Summit . In addition, the current levels of insecurity in Nigeria are both a disincentive to investment and inimical to development. Therefore, we ask the UK government to raise the continuing deterioration in security, which is particularly marked in Kaduna State, and to impress upon the president the urgent need to protect every vulnerable community regardless of creed or ethnicity, to ensure the return of all abductees and to facilitate the stability necessary for sustainable investment. Australians desperate for solutions to raging wildfires might find them 8,000 miles away, where a new Stanford-led study proposes ways of overcoming barriers to prescribed burns - fires purposefully set under controlled conditions to clear ground fuels. The paper, published Jan. 20 in Nature Sustainability, outlines a range of approaches to significantly increase the deployment of prescribed burns in California and potentially in other regions, including Australia, that share similar climate, landscape and policy challenges. "We need a colossal expansion of fuel treatments," said study lead author Rebecca Miller, a PhD student in the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources within the Stanford School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences. "Prescribed burns are effective and safe," said study co-author Chris Field, the Perry L. McCarty Director of the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment and Melvin and Joan Lane Professor for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies. "California needs to remove obstacles to their use so we can avoid more devastating wildfires." Years of fire suppression in California have led to massive accumulations of wood and plant fuels in forests. Hotter, drier conditions have exacerbated the situation. Prescribed burns, in combination with thinning of vegetation that allows fire to climb into the tree canopy, have proven effective at reducing wildfire risks. They rarely escape their set boundaries and have ecological benefits that mimic the effects of naturally occurring fires, such as reducing the spread of disease and insects and increasing species diversity. To put a meaningful dent in wildfire numbers, California needs fuel treatments - whether prescribed burns or vegetation thinning - on about 20 million acres or nearly 20 percent of the state's land area, according to the researchers. While ambitions for prescribed burns in California have been rising - private, state and federal acres planned for the approach more than doubled between 2013 and 2018 - up to half of that acreage has gone unburned due to concerns about risks like the resulting smoky air, outdated regulations and limited resources. To better understand these barriers, the researchers interviewed federal and state government employees, state legislative staff and nonprofit representatives involved with wildfire management, as well as academics who study the field. They also analyzed legislative policies and combed through prescribed burn data to identify barriers and ultimately propose solutions. Barriers to burning Just about everyone the researchers interviewed described a risk-averse culture in the shadow of liability laws that place financial and legal responsibility for any prescribed burn that escapes on the burners. Private landowners explained how fears of bankruptcy swayed them to avoid burning on their property. Federal agency employees pointed to an absence of praise or rewards for doing prescribed burns, but punishment for any fires that escape. Federal and state employees claimed that negative public opinion - fear of fires escaping into developed areas and smoke damaging health - remains a challenge. Limited finances, complex regulations and a lack of qualified burners also get in the way. For example, wildfire suppression has historically diverted funding from wildfire prevention, many state fire crews are seasonal employees hired during the worst wildfire months rather than the months when conditions are best for prescribed burn and burners who receive federal or state funds must undergo potentially expensive and time-consuming environmental reviews. Toward solutions California has taken some meaningful steps to make prescribed burning easier. Recent legislation makes private landowners who enroll in a certification and training program or take appropriate precautions before burning exempt from financial liability for any prescribed burns that escape. And new public education programs are improving public opinion of the practice. To go further, stakeholders interviewed for the study suggested a range of improvements. They pointed to the need for consistent funding for wildfire prevention (rather than a primary focus on suppression), federal workforce rebuilding and training programs to bolster prescribed burn crews and standardization of regional air boards' burn evaluation and approval processes. Changing certain emissions calculations - prescribed burn smoke is currently considered human-caused, whereas wildfires count as natural emissions - may also incentivize treatments. Making these changes will require a multi-year commitment by the executive and legislative branches, according to the researchers. The magnitude of the 2017 and 2018 wildfires prompted new wildfire-related policy proposals, but maintaining that focus during lighter fire seasons will be critical to protecting California's communities and managing its ecosystems. "As catastrophic climate impacts intensify, societies increasingly need to innovate to keep people safe," said study co-author Katharine Mach, an associate professor at the University of Miami who was director of the Stanford Environment Assessment Facility and senior research scientist in the Stanford School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences at the time of the research. "Much of this innovation is conceptually simple: making sure the full portfolio of responses, prescribed burns and beyond, can be deployed." ### To read all stories about Stanford science, subscribe to the biweekly Stanford Science Digest. Field is also a professor of Earth system science and of biology; and a senior fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy. Don't expect to see Nikki Osborne hanging out with Charlotte Crosby outside of the South African jungle. Following her eviction from I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! on Sunday, Nikki, 38, admitted she didn't have fond memories of her 29-year-old co-star. 'She gave me the s**ts from time to time,' the comedian said bluntly during an interview on Monday's episode of The Project. Friction: Don't expect to see Nikki Osborne (left) hanging out with Charlotte Crosby (right) outside of the South African jungle Nikki admitted Charlotte was the one who annoyed her the most on the show, describing her as an attention seeker. She sarcastically referred to the former Geordie Shore star as an 'influencer' using air quotes, and said 'it's almost impossible to get a word in'. 'It was just hard to even speak when Charlotte was around because she would just jump in on top of you and she is so used to having the Charlotte show,' she explained. Harsh: Nikki sarcastically referred to the former Geordie Shore star as an 'influencer' using air quotes, and said 'it's almost impossible to get a word in' during an interview on The Project 'Like, literally, she has a show called The Charlotte Show, and I think she thinks this is The Charlotte Show as well, and I don't think she realises there is other players.' It's not the only time Nikki has spoken disparagingly of her former co-star following her eviction. In an interview with News.com.au on Monday, Nikki referred to Charlotte as 'a professional reality TV star'. 'It was just hard to even speak when Charlotte was around because she would just jump in on top of you and she is so used to having the Charlotte show,' Nikki explained 'It was very hard to get a word in when she was around. That's no slight on Charlotte, she's good at what she does,' Nikki told the publication. But it seems the root of their friction could be due to an underlying competitiveness between the two women. Nikki admitted she was worried about how she came across when compared to Charlotte's vivaciousness: 'It just made me seem a bit s**t.' PHOENIX, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- After jointly announcing its intentions in November 2019 with Keller Offers, real estate tech innovator Offerpad is now available to residents of Birmingham, Alabama and Jacksonville, Florida. The companies become the first national iBuyers to serve Alabama homeowners and buyers. Also, Offerpad is now in its third major Florida market. The moves were announced in late 2019 following a year full of diverse development by Offerpad which has helped it reach real estate consumers and build on its promise to "provide the best way to buy and sell a home." In 2019, Offerpad achieved additional market launches, investor financing, key leadership hires, strategic partnerships, and made product innovation announcements. It completed a headquarters move and was awarded new national and local business, tech, workplace, and leadership recognitions. Offerpad chief marketing officer, Darrin Shamo said, "The company remains intensely focused on improving its value proposition in residential real estate and has decisivelybut carefullytaken these steps forward in order to be a resource to home consumers who seek control and convenience in their real estate experiences." Innovative Offerings Offerpad unveiled Offerpad Greenhouse, the company's research and development arm, and announced several new solutions for home buyers: Instant Own, Buyer Boost, and an innovative home customization tool. The company also optimized its Homebuilder Alliance program by adding consumer benefits and enhancing processes as well as partnering with more top builders around the country. In 2019, Offerpad announced a partnership with Keller Offers. Under the mutual agreement, Offerpad is the acting facilitator for Keller Williams agents' instant home offers. To provide this service, Keller Williams real estate agents received iBuyer training and the joint services have rolled out in Offerpad's current markets with more planned for 2020, including Birmingham and Jacksonville. Internal Growth Throughout 2019, Offerpad hired for key leadership positions: chief financial officer, chief human resources officer, and national director of homebuilder alliances, among others. In all, the company continued its rapid hire rate growing another 20 percent in employee count. Offerpad's executives, leaders and teams were recognized with many new awards including five Stevies for Customer Service. Its new headquarters was also recognized by multiple outlets for its unique features and style. Market Expansion The company expanded to four new markets throughout 2019. Offerpad adopts a conservative, strategic approach to market expansion; the company prioritizes broadening its footprint in existing markets and launched in four new metro areas: Austin, Houston, Raleigh, and San Antonio. In total, Offerpad's real estate solutions are currently available in nearly 800 cities and towns following the company's expansions into the Birmingham and Jacksonville metro areas, which add about 60 municipalities. Birmingham Launch Together, Offerpad and Keller Offers have become the first among national iBuyers to take solutions to Alabama and help people sell their home in Birmingham. Homeowners can now go directly to Offerpad to receive an offer for their home within 24 hours of request. This convenient service is also available now through Keller Williams, the world's largest real estate technology franchise by agent count and the U.S. leader in units and sales volume. Keller Williams clients can now sell their home with the help of their agent through Keller Offers, powered by Offerpad. The companies are currently available to home sellers in 23 towns and cities in the metro area. Keller Offers chief operations officer, Gayln Ziegler said, "Our agents are excited and ready to meet the demands of consumers in Birmingham with our robust iBuyer offering. And, this launch is the start of the next phase in our expansion. This partnership enables us to provide an iBuyer offering to more consumers, in more market sizes, while leveraging KW's No.1 agent count footprint within the U.S." Jacksonville Launch Offerpad is also now open in its third Florida market, Jacksonville. The company initially provided buying and selling solutions to Florida in 2015 with Orlando and Tampa expansion only a few months after the company was founded. Offerpad is available to the numerous Jacksonville-area residents, as the company serves 35 cities in the area. It is now serving homeowners in over 200 Florida cities. Keller Offers will be available as an option to Jacksonville residents in early February. Vaughn Stewart, Offerpad's market director in Orlando and Jacksonville said, "Jacksonville is a strong real estate market with a promising local economy. Offerpad intends to meet the demand and exceed the expectations of even more Florida home buyers and sellers who are looking for the best in customized real estate options." About Offerpad Offerpad is a leading technology and real estate company on a mission to provide the best way to buy and sell a home. Leading with firsthand real estate experience and utilizing powerful technology developed in-house, Offerpad provides direct home offers to deliver modern, consumer-centric home buying and selling solutions that help people move freely. On average, Offerpad receives a new offer request from homeowners every 30 seconds and acquires a home every 20 minutes throughout regular business hours. Offerpad is a privately held company headquartered in Chandler, Arizona, operating across the country in 800 cities and counting. Visit Offerpad.com for more information. Media Contact: David Stephan 602-825-3135 [email protected] SOURCE Offerpad Related Links offerpad.com Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Councillor from Kucha Pandit in Old Delhi, Rakesh Kumar, on Monday joined the Congress along with his supporters. Kumar joined the Congress at Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) office here in the presence of DPCC chief Subash Chopra. In yet another rejig ahead of the Delhi polls, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), one of its old allies, said earlier today announced its decision not to contest the Delhi assembly elections as it was not ready to give up its stance on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Delhi unit BJP president Manoj Tiwari along with Union Minister and state election in-charge Prakash Javadekar announced its allies for the ensuing Assembly polls on Monday, the name of SAD was conspicuously missing from the list of allies. In a first, the Bharatiya Janata Party has decided to accommodate Janata Dal (United) and the Lok Janshakti Party in the ensuing Delhi assembly elections. The BJP is yet to announce its candidates for 10 seats. While AAP has declared candidates for all 70 assembly seats, Congress is likely to announce the list of its candidates soon. The process of nominations will end on January 21 and polling will take place on February 8. The results for Delhi assembly polls will be declared on February 11. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The shooting down by Iranian air defences of the Ukrainian airliner with 57 Canadians on board has raised, again, the issue of the absence of a Canadian embassy in Iran. How did this come to be, and what can be done? This situation is the result of the decision by the Conservative government in 2012 to shut down the Canadian embassy in Iran and expel Iranian diplomats from Ottawa. The Liberal government had pledged to re-establish relations, but suspended its efforts in 2018. Four factors led Ottawa to freeze re-engagement efforts. The first was the Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act (JVTA), adopted by the Conservative government. Alongside modifications to the State Immunity Act, the JVTA empowers victims to sue countries listed as supporting terrorism. The process allows for the seizure of government assets owned by a listed state in Canada in connection with a judgment against it. The Conservative government listed two states, Iran and Syria. Second, a split grew within the Liberal caucus, with those opposing re-engagement steadily gaining momentum. Third, although there was a window of opportunity in 2016-17 during which both sides were committed to re-engagement, bilateral relations were not a priority for either. Fourth, the politics of consular cases added additional roadblocks. After Kavous Seyed-Emami, a dual citizen, died in an Iranian jail in 2018, his widow, Maryam Mombeini, was held under house arrest in Iran. This led then Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland to announce that Canada would restrict communications with Iran until her case was resolved. Recent events illustrate the costs of the Conservatives decision. Without an embassy, it is more difficult for Canadian officials to support victims families, communicate with Iranian officials, cooperate with allies in Tehran, and gather information essential for optimal decision-making. Could the current crisis serve as a trigger for Canada and Iran to re-launch efforts to re-establish relations? Even if many obstacles the JVTA in particular remain, other variables have changed since 2018. Maryam Mombeini, in particular, came back to Canada in 2019. The first possibility is a continuation of the status quo: Canada and Iran have no permanent representation in each others capital, but Canadian officials work in Tehran for the time being. Channels of communication are open, but they are infrequent and unreliable. This is far from optimal. The second scenario would see Canada and Iran resume talks on re-engagement, and come back to a compromise they came relatively close to reaching in 2017: both would open an interests section in the others capital. In Ottawa, Oman would act as Irans protective power, hosting Iranian personnel (but not an ambassador). This would put Iranian assets under Omani jurisdiction, shielding them from the JVTA. One obstacle here would be to find a country willing to act as Canadas protective power in Tehran. Italy currently acts as Canadas protective power in Tehran, but does so without hosting an interests section. Realistically, if it can be achieved, this is probably the best outcome Canada can hope for. The third scenario, a re-opening of embassies, faces significant hurdles, largely as a result of the JVTA. The designation of Iran as a sponsor of terrorism is the product of a decision of cabinet; Iran can, therefore, in principle be de-listed. One option could see Canada re-establish relations without delisting Iran. But this would expose the Liberal government to criticism, especially from the Conservatives, that it is engaging a regime listed as sponsoring terrorism. Iran has also indicated, understandably, that it is unwilling to expose its government assets to seizure by Canadian courts. Ottawa could delist Iran, but this would imply the government doesnt think Tehran sponsors terrorism. This would also expose it to criticism. It would also be inaccurate, since Iran has significant ties to groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas, which Canada lists as terrorist groups. The JVTA tied the hands of future governments. It unnecessarily and counter-productively removed flexibility for the government in times of crisis precisely what we are going through now. Thomas Juneau is an assistant professor at the University of Ottawas Graduate School of Public and International Affairs and the author of Squandered Opportunity: Neoclassical realism and Iranian foreign policy. Read more about: Srinagar, Jan 20 : Three terrorists of the proscribed terrorist outfit Hizbul Mujahideen were gunned down by security forces in an encounter in Kashmir's Shopian district on Monday, the Army said. "Three terrorists eliminated in Joint Operation. Affiliated to proscribed terrorist outfit Hizbul Mujahideen. Weapons and war like stores recovered. Other details being ascertained", said the Army in a statement. One of the terrorists killed has been identified as Adil Sheikh, responsible for looting eight weapons from the residence of former People's Democratic Party MLA Ajaj Mir from Jawahar Nagar, Srinagar on September 29, 2018. The other terrorist killed in the encounter is Waseem Wani, a resident of Shopian while the identity of the third terrorist is yet to be ascertained. As per the preliminary reports, the encounter took place in the Wachi area of Shopian where the terrorists were hiding in a house. It was a joint operation by the Army, the CRPF and the Jammu and Kashmir Police. Peers handed Boris Johnson his first parliamentary defeat since the election by voting for EU citizens to be given physical proof of their right to stay in the UK after Brexit, to prevent another Windrush. The House of Lords rejected ministers pleas that the move would amount to ID card creep insisting it was necessary to guard against discrimination by employers, landlords and the state. The vote likely to be followed by further defeats over child refugees and lower courts ripping up EU laws sets the scene for a showdown when the withdrawal agreement bill returns to the Commons. The estimated 3.6m EU residents in the UK fear victimisation without physical documents after Brexit, including by immigration officials as happened in the Windrush scandal. But the Home Office is insisting its digital-only approach will be more secure, arguing physical documents can get lost, stolen, damaged and tampered with. Peers also voted against the government on the issue of allowing British judges to overturn EU law, and further passed an amendment to allow cases to be referred to the Supreme Court to decide whether to depart from EU case law. It means Conservative MPs will almost certainly be whipped to overturn the Lords defeat later this week, as the Bill is rushed through for Brexit Day on 31 January. Angela Smith, the Labour leader, urged the prime minister to listen to the argument, saying: I hope the prime minister and his colleagues will not think that they can get every detail of every bill right first time, and recognise that the second chamber is useful. A large Commons majority means the government is guaranteed to get its legislation through but it would be supremely arrogant to dismiss all scrutiny. And Jonny Oates, the Liberal Democrat peer, who tabled the key amendment, said it simply seeks to uphold the promise repeatedly made by Boris Johnson that the rights of EU citizens to remain in the UK would be automatically guaranteed. 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 "It would remove the risk that those who failed to meet the cut off deadline would be automatically criminalised and subject to deportation, he added. The government was defeated by 270 votes to 229, a majority of 41, as peers rejected the claim that digital proof of settled status would be robust and reliable. Currently, ministers are offering only the ability to print out a letter confirming settled status, which would have no legal status. But the3million group, representing EU citizens, says that would be vulnerable to forgery and no substitute for the biometric card issued to non-EU residents in the UK. There are also fears for those who fail to achieve settled status by the cut-off date of June 2021, many of whom are older, less IT-literate, people, or children. It was revealed last week that up to 900,000 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. To spread awareness about Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government's "correct decisions", a bridegroom-to-be in Rajasthan's Sikar district has printed a slogan expressing his support for the contentious CAA and NRC on his wedding invitation. Amit Khandelwal (27), whose wedding will take place on February 9, said 700 invitation cards have been printed with the slogan "We support NRC & CAA" and the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan logo. "The decision taken by the Modi government is correct and people should admire it. A lot of confusion is being created among our citizens on the issues of CAA and NRC. I decided to express my support for the government by printing the slogan on my wedding card," he said on Monday. Khandelwal, who runs an e-mitra kiosk and like Modi, is the son of a tea seller, said he has also sent the invitation to the Prime Minister's Office. According to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014, to escape religious persecution there will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship. The National Register of Citizens (NRC) seeks to identify infiltrators and take action against them. Recently, the country has witnessed widespread protests against CAA and NRC. Last week, a bridegroom in Madhya Pradesh's Narsinghpur had also printed a pro-CAA slogan on his wedding invitation to highlight the "correct facts" about the citizenship law. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Politically correct attitudes have toned down conservative officeholders with the notable exception of Donald Trump. Elected officials all share a private terror that somehow, somewhere they will say something that will offend a political or ethnic minority. Opponents comb through records for out-of-context remarks to trip up presidential appointees. H. L. Richardson, one of the last prominent California Republicans from the era when Ronald Reagan was governor, died this month at age 92. A state senator from 1967 to 1989, he helped catapult conservative politics to a new level of sophistication. Richardson didnt give a hoot about political correctness. He was one of the funniest, most effervescent, and most candid politicians I ever knew. Richardson pioneered a form of grassroots politics in California that proved to be revolutionary. In the 1970s, he grew concerned that Second Amendment rights were being eroded, so he founded Gun Owners of California to pressure his legislative colleagues. With the help of mail specialist Richard Viguerie, he perfected direct-mail appeals to gun owners that brought in millions of dollars in small donations. He then put those dollars to good use. Anytime any legislator talked against the Second Amendment, Richardson would recruit candidates and help fund them, train them, and run them against some of these incumbents, Sam Parades, the current executive director of Gun Owners of California, told the San Bernardino Sun. They didnt like that, but they had no means to fight back except to not sponsor legislation like that anymore. Richardsons high-water mark came in 1982, when he helped lead an effort to recall the chief justice of Californias supreme court, Rose Bird, a Jerry Brown appointee who had voted to overturn every death penalty conviction. Richardson turned not only Bird out of office in a landslide but also two of her liberal colleagues to boot. In that same election, Richardson crushed Proposition 15, a measure placed on the states ballot by gun-control activists. It would have required every gun in the state to be registered and frozen the total number of legal handguns in the state to the number in circulation six months after Prop 15s passage. Story continues Richardson effectively used a large campaign budget to alert voters to the dangers and impracticality of the measure. Voter turnout by gun owners in rural areas surged so much that in the same election Republican George Deukmejian defeated Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley, a Democrat, in a surprise upset. His ability to move the political needle even while he was stuck in the legislature as a member of the minority party inspired many others to believe that they could make a difference from the outside. Richardson was an early elected politician who was also an activist, recalled Grover Norquist, the head of Americans for Tax Reform. Too often good men or women choose to be one and not the other. Real political change comes when elected officials also see themselves as activists out to change the world. Even though Richardson often tangled with more-moderate Republicans, he got along well with them on a personal level. And, like his fellow Californian and friend Representative John Schmitz, he even convinced some that he was doing them a favor. Quoting Schmitz, he used to say: The middle of the road is determined by how far either side, left or right, is willing to push. If no one is going to push to the right, then the middle of the road is going to move closer to the left. Luckily, Richardson was a skilled writer and his wisdom and humor survive him in a series of pithy books. While working in the California legislature in the 1980s, I read his book What Makes You Think We Read the Bills? He convinced me that a full-time legislature which began in California the year Richardson was first elected, in 1966 had been a mistake. He writes: The longer [someone] is a full time legislator, the more dependent he becomes upon his salary. His former occupation and its business contacts are in the past and difficult to re-establish; going back to his old occupation seems like a step backward. It becomes all the more important for him to keep his legislative job and make a career out of politics. Richardson also railed against the favor factory of earmarks, the legislative allocation of money to politically connected projects, long before it became fashionable to do so: Earmarks are nothing more than covetous actions of legislators stealing from one to benefit themselves and others, in the process breaking two Commandments out of ten. When then-congressman Jeff Flake of Arizona led the successful charge to kill earmarks in the House of Representatives in 2006, he quoted Richardsons thoughts on the subject at length. H. L. Richardson was savvy, outrageous, funny, and a patriot. He was an example of a more forgiving, less judgmental political climate than we have today. In some ways he was Donald Trump before there was Donald Trump, his former top aide Bill Saracino told me. Indeed, while he lacked Trumps habits of crudeness and name-calling, Richardson shared with him the good luck of having blow-dried opponents who were so programmed that they didnt appear capable of uttering a spontaneous thought. Would that American politics had more H. L. Richardsons today. More from National Review Passengers arriving in Australia from China will be screened for symptoms of a new strain of coronavirus which has infected hundreds of people and left three dead. Authorities will ramp up security at airports to monitor flights between Wuhan, the sprawling capital of central China's Hubei province, to Australia after confirmation the new strain of the virus can be transmitted between humans. On Tuesday a Brisbane man with symptoms of the deadly Coronavirus was placed into isolation after returning home from a trip to China. The man is being kept at his home as he awaits test results for the mysterious virus. Scroll down for video Over the weekend, 136 fresh infections were reported in Wuhan, bringing the total number of cases China has confirmed to more than 200 The unnamed virus has infected an estimated 1,700 in Wuhan, China. Authorities said the virus had spread to other cities in China. The total confirmed cases has tipped 200 and three have died. Four confirmed cases are outside China in Thailand, Japan, and South Korea The man had been visiting China's Wuhan province, which is the epicentre of the coronavirus. There are three direct flights a week from the city into Sydney. Each of these flights will now be met by biosecurity staff. The virus is related to the deadly SARS and its symptoms are similar to pneumonia. The total number of cases in the world currently stands at 222, but there are reportedly more than 1,700 suspected infections. Four people have died since the outbreak in December. Australia's chief medical officer Brendan Murphy said the risk to the nation is low. 'There is no need for alarm and the risk to the Australian public from this novel coronavirus remains relatively low,' Professor Murphy told reporters on Tuesday. 'Although, we do need to keep a precautionary and active surveillance of the situation.' The total number of cases in the world currently stands at 222, but there are reportedly more than 1,700 suspected infections. Three people have died so far. Wuhan is the epicentre of the coronavirus and there are three direct flights a week from the city into Sydney. Each of these flights will now be met by biosecurity staff. 'No international travellers have yet been confirmed as having this coronavirus in Australia and we already have well-established existing biosecurity measures at the border,' Professor Murphy said. Professor Murphy warned there is 'no way' to stop the virus coming into Australia entirely if the disease continues to spread. 'There's no way of preventing this getting into the country if this becomes bigger,' he said. Pictured: Bangkok Airport staff performing thermal scans on a traveller 'We're doing some careful modelling to see if there are any other flights from China that have a high proportion of Wuhan-origin passengers, and we may consider expanding that too.' 'But we have to do the analysis to find out where they come from, because there are apparently 160 flights from China a week.' Information will be displayed across all other points of entry into Australia to warn people who develop symptoms to seek urgent medical attention. The disease has an incubation period of about a week, and there is currently no vaccine. Australian authorities will also work with the Chinese media to get the message across. 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 recognised 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 and 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 majority of patients have been traced to the Huanan Wholesale Seafood Market (pictured) The unnamed SARS-like virus has killed three people and has infected an estimated 1,700 in Wuhan city since December, researchers fear. Of those, 222 cases have been confirmed. Authorities said the virus has spread across China, with five cases in Beijing, 14 in Shenzhen and one in Shanghai. South Korea also recorded a case on Monday, making it the third country to diagnose the virus following Thailand and Japan last week. The spike in cases comes just days before millions of Chinese nationals travel abroad for the Lunar New Year holidays, with airports across Asia and the US to screen travellers. Chinese President Xi Jinping said saving lives was a top priority, adding that information about the disease was being released in a 'timely manner'. Chinese residents wear masks while waiting at a bus station near the closed Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, which has been linked to the outbreak which started in December The National Security Agency alerted Microsoft to a major flaw in its Windows operating system that could let hackers pose as legitimate software companies. Last Tuesday, Microsoft (MSFT) launched a software update to fix the vulnerability. The released patch for Windows 10 operating system was to fix a major vulnerability that could expose users to breaches or surveillance. Nowadays, Windows 10 is the most widely used operating system. The aforementioned vulnerability is found in a decades-old Windows cryptographic component, known as CryptoAPI. One function is it allows developers to digitally sign their software, proving that the software has not been tampered with. This is a departure for the NSA from its past strategy of keeping security flaws under wraps to exploit for its own intelligence needs. During a press conference on Tuesday, they said the "serious vulnerability" could be used to create malicious software that appeared to be legitimate. According to the NSA, "The consequences of not patching the vulnerability are severe and widespread." This means that people should update their Microsoft systems immediately to avoid hacking. The problem lies in Windows' mechanism for confirming the legitimacy of software or establishing secure web connections. If the verification check itself is not safe, attackers can exploit that fact to remotely distribute malware or intercept sensitive data. The vulnerability and patch updates were first reported by independent journalist Brian Krebs, who said Microsoft provided its software fix to the military and key infrastructure companies ahead of Tuesday's public release. According to Microsoft last Monday, it provides advanced versions of its updates to some users under a special testing program. The NSA's decision to warn Microsoft rather than exploit the bug for intelligence purposes underscores the magnitude of the threat it could pose to businesses, consumers and government agencies worldwide. According to Anne Neuberger, director of NSA's Cybersecurity Directorate, last Tuesday, organizations, and companies running Windows 10 should implement the patch immediately. Microsoft has not found any evidence that the flaw has been actively exploited. The security problem allows attackers to target users of unpatched Windows systems with malware that mimics the digital signature of a trusted provider. Last Wednesday, researcher Saleem Rashid tweeted images of the video "Never Gonna Give You Up," by 1980s heart-throb Rick Astley, playing on Github.com and NSA.gov. Demonstrating security flaws, Rashid's exploit causes both the Edge and Chrome browsers to spoof the HTTPS verified websites of Github and the National Security Agency. The flaw creates an impact on devices running the Windows 10 operating system, as well as the Windows Server 2016 and 2019 operating systems. Thus, attackers could create an exploit that creates fake security certificates, giving them a free pass to run malicious software on Windows devices while looking legitimate to the system. According to independent journalist Brian Krebs, Microsoft provided its software fix to the military and key infrastructure companies ahead of Tuesday's public release. The NSA said this marks the first time that it has come forward publicly to share vulnerability information with the private sector. RELATED ARTICLE: Google: Facebook and Microsoft Efforts to Reveal PRISM Requests Not Good Enough Four more cases have been identified in a viral pneumonia outbreak in the central Chinese city of Wuhan that has killed two people and prompted countries as far away as the United States to take precautionary measures. The latest cases bring to 45 the number of people who have contracted the illness, the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission said Saturday. Five are in serious condition, two died and 15 have been discharged. The others are in stable condition. The cause of the pneumonia has been traced to a new type of coronavirus. Health authorities are keen to avoid a repeat of SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, another coronavirus that started in southern China in late 2002 and spread to more than two dozen countries, killing nearly 800 people. The U.S. announced Friday that it would begin screening passengers at three major airports arriving on flights from Wuhan. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it would deploy 100 people to take the temperatures and ask about symptoms of incoming passengers at the Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York City's Kennedy airports. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 13:54:54|Editor: Wang Yamei Video Player Close MELBOURNE, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Defending Australian Open women's champion, Naomi Osaka from Japan moved comfortably through the first round on day one of the tournament on Monday, and will now prepare to face China's Zheng Saisai in the second round. Osaka beat Marie Bouzkova from the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-4, while Zheng progressed after beating Russian Anna Kalinskaya 6-3, 6-2. The third-ranked Osaka said she felt surprisingly comfortable with the pressure, having learned a lot after dropping out in the fourth round of the U.S. Open last year, where she was also chasing a second consecutive title. "I think for me I understand that I don't have to play perfect in the first round, it's more about building your level up and getting comfortable with yourself," Osaka told reporters. "Also just understanding that every match you play is probably going to be very difficult and being ok with that." Osaka will now face Zheng on Wednesday, after the Chinese player also breezed through her first round match-up. Having played against Zheng in the past, Osaka said she was not expecting the meeting to be an easy one. "She's a very tricky player, she slices and drop shots from what I can see of her matches in the past," Osaka said. "I think it will probably be a match where I have to dictate a lot and just stay consistent and be positive -- because there are going to be times when I do think I'll be frustrated." The newborn girl, who was stolen from a government hospital in West Bengal's Purba Barddhaman district, was rescued on Monday and the main accused in the case arrested within 24 hours of the incident, police said. The baby was rescued from a bus while the woman, identified as Madhumita Banerjee, was taking her to Durgapur, they said. The woman, a resident of Raina area in the district, left her husband and was staying with another man in Durgapur, police said who are yet to find out the motive behind the theft. The woman lured the newborn's parents with the promise of getting them money from a government scheme, police said. The accused woman was identified through CCTV footage of the hospital, police said. The girl was born in the maternity ward of the Barddhaman Medical College and Hospital on Friday and the baby and her mother, Rima Malik, were released on Sunday, Deputy Superintendent of the hospital Dr Amitabha Saha said. When the family members were leaving the hospital, the woman came to them claiming to be a social worker. She told them that the government provides Rs 6,000 to all girl child born in hospitals, Saha said. The accused woman took them to another government hospital and send the newborn's parents on errands and fled with the baby. The baby has been handed over to her parents, officials said. Police said they are further investigating the matter. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Moscow [Russia], Jan 20 (ANI/Sputnik): UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson told Russian President Vladimir Putin that London's position on the incident in Salisbury had not changed, the office of the prime minister said on Sunday. "The Prime Minister met President Putin in the margins of the Berlin Conference on Libya. He was clear there had been no change in the UK's position on Salisbury, which was a reckless use of chemical weapons and a brazen attempt to murder innocent people on UK soil. He said that such an attack must not be repeated", the 10 Downing Street statement read. Johnson remarked that both the UK and Russia "had a responsibility to address issues of international security including Libya, Syria, Iraq, and Iran". On March 4, 2018, Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, were found unconscious on a bench near a shopping center in the UK's Salisbury. London has claimed they were poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent called A234 and accused Moscow of staging the attack, which provoked a huge international scandal. London has also said that it suspects Russian nationals Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, who the government claims work for Russian intelligence, of carrying out the attack. Moscow has categorically dismissed the accusations, pointing to the absence of any evidence and London's rejection of its requests to cooperate in investigation and grant access to the poisoned Russian citizens. Petrov and Boshirov denied their involvement in the attack in an interview with the RT broadcaster, saying that they had visited Salisbury for tourism purposes and actually worked in the fitness industry. (ANI/Sputnik) From left: Mike Shore-Nye, Registrar, Emma Loosley, Jo Gill, Professor of English and Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the College of Humanities, Frank Gardner, Sally Faulkner and Janice Kaye, Provost BBC Security Correspondent Frank Gardner highlights importance of learning languages Esteemed BBC journalist Frank Gardner highlighted the importance of learning languages and shared his expertise on the complexities of Middle East politics during a special event at the University of Exeter. The Security Correspondent told the audience, which included many local school children, how being able to communicate with others in another tongue would bring them new friends and opportunities. Mr Gardner, an Arabic speaker and University of Exeter alumni, first became interested in learning and speaking languages at school. Being multilingual has helped him report around the world, from Afghanistan to Colombia and the Arctic. He spoke at the event, Languages in a Global World, which is held annually and brings together members of the public, local modern foreign language teachers and their GCSE and A-level students, local University of Exeter alumni, and current staff and students of languages and international cultures at the University. Mr Gardner told the audience he felt lucky to have travelled so widely in the Middle East before the current crisis across the region, and how he had witnessed how the events of 9/11 had made it a less hospitable place in some areas at times for Western travellers. He said: At first I thought the Arab Spring would be a breath of fresh air, it would lead to accountable transparent government, independent justices and a free press. But the issues people were protesting about are still there, theyve just been bottled up. Mr Gardner said there was no easy for solution for how the West intervened in the Middle East as several different approaches intervention, invasion and no action had all proved to be disastrous. There is no blueprint or catch-all solution. People in the Middle East are now just saying leave us alone, he said. There is so much underused talent in the Middle East, but people are being held back by bad governance. When asked about the most interesting moment he had spoken Arabic, Mr Gardner said it was when working in Yemen covering kidnapping. He used the language to stay safe, and follow clearly the conversations of those around him. He told the young people they would miss so much without having languages while working or travelling abroad. His tip for them was to learn holding phrases to allow them to pause and think in the middle of conversations if they were struggling to communicate. Mr Gardner told the audience how much he had enjoyed his time at Exeter; even if he was initially reluctant, he ended up loving studying Arabic poetry. On his year abroad as part of his Arabic degree in Egypt, he enjoyed exploring and sketching in medieval Cairo. He told the audience being able to listen was one of the most important skills he had learned, and advised them to decide what it is they are interested in, be available and demonstrate their interest through coming up with ideas or getting work experience. The discussion, guided by Professor Emma Loosley, from the Department of Theology and Religion, covered his career, interest in languages and the major world events he has covered. The event was chaired by Professor Sally Faulkner, Professor of Hispanic Studies and Film Studies in the College of Humanities and Assistant Deputy Vice Chancellor for Europe at the University. Mr Gardner was awarded an OBE by HM The Queen in 2005 and is now the author of four bestselling books Blood and Sand, describing his Middle East experiences and Far Horizons describing unusual journeys to unusual places and Crisis, his debut spy thriller set in Colombia. New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Soumitra Khan launched a scathing attack against prominent personalities of Kolkata who are opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and described them as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjees dogs. Khan claimed that these intellectuals are continuing with their protests against the new Citizenship Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) despite knowing all the facts. The persons who are doing so are dogs of Mamata Banerjee, Khan, who represents Bishnupur seat in the Lok Sabha, said. But the same persons remained silent about the gang rape cases at Kamduni and Park Street besides incidents of bomb blasts, Khan, who had joined the BJP after quitting the Trinamool Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in 2019, said. Actors, musicians, and directors in the state have been participating in anti-CAA rallies to register their protest against the new citizenship law. They have also come together in a video against the CAA and the NRC, asserting that they would not show any document if there is a bid by the Centre to submit fresh proof of citizenship. Bengal BJP Chief Again Says People Damaging Public Property Will Be Shot Earlier on Sunday, West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh said that one the saffron party government comes to power in the state, people damaging public property will be "identified and shot". Addressing a gathering in the North 24 Parganas district, Ghosh said that people who damage public property get away easily under the Mamata Banerjee government but "nobody will be spared" once the BJP government is formed. "Under Mamata Banerjee's government, even if one damages public property worth Rs 500 crores, that person escapes it. When we come to power then every such person will be identified and shot at. Nobody will be spared," Ghosh is heard saying in Bengali in a video shared by news agency ANI. He further said that 50 lakh "Muslim infiltrators" will be chased out of the country. Their names will be removed from the voter list and the BJP will get 200 seats in West Bengal in the next Assembly elections. The Bengal BJP chief had made similar remarks last week. He had said that such people will be shot in the same way they were shot in Uttar Pradesh. He was referring to the killings of anti-CAA protesters in Uttar Pradesh last year. "Mamata didi was not taking any step against the person who had destroyed public property as they were her voters," he said. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. (Alliance News) - Tlou Energy Ltd on Monday said gas production from testing of wells in Botswana has been inconsistent, while also cautioning on when commercial production can be achieved. Shares were 14% lower on Monday morning in London at 4.10 pence each. The two pods at Lesedi, Lesedi 3 and Lesedi 4, are currently being tested with the hope that one or both of them can be moved onto commercial production. Brisbane-based Tlou previously had announced initial gas flow of 20,000 cubic feet per day, with Tlou aiming for between 80,000 to 100,000 cubic feet from each site. "Since the initial rate announcement, gas flow rates have continued to fluctuate both up and down with periodic short-term rates observed which have been much higher than those initially announced. The company will not be in a position to announce an increased rate until such time that higher levels are sustained and confirmed by our advisors," said Tlou on Monday. Tlou said it may not even be possible to achieve commercial production, given no gas production has taken place in the region before, so the company has nothing with which to compare Lesedi. However, based on performance, Tlou said it "has no reason to believe the targeted commercial gas flow rates will not be achieved". The process also is taking more time because of Tlou's funding position. A shortage of cash means it is being cautious to ensure no damage to either pod. Water is being produced in isolation, Tlou continued, which makes dewatering the pods more difficult and time consuming than normal. Tlou is continuing talks with the Botswana government's Botswana Development Corp, and it is also in talks with other funding sources. Elsewhere, Tlou has asked the government for an initial power purchase agreement with the country, ahead of a full agreement. This, it said, is to prevent further delays and allow the company to secure funding. By George Collard; georgecollard@alliancenews.com Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, was honoured at a special Looking to the Future event in the National Concert Hall this morning. IDA Irelands inaugural Special Recognition Award recognises the contribution of IDA clients to Ireland and was presented by An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar. Today Apple is Corks largest employer with 6,000 people of over 100 different nationalities and is a global operation. An Taoiseach addressed the 1000-strong audience of invited guests drawn from IDA client companies, key stakeholders, business people as well as some Apple and IDA Ireland employees and presented the award to Tim Cook alongside Martin Shanahan and IDA Chairman Frank Ryan. This was followed by a keynote address from the Apple CEO and a conversation with Tim Cook and Martin Shanahan. IDA said that the event would showcase internationally Ireland as a location for FDI and focus on the excellent Irish Tech talent that is available. Speaking yesterday, Apples CEO, Tim Cook said, "Ireland has been a second home for Apple for forty years and this honour is even more special for us because it recognizes the contributions of our incredible team here who work tirelessly to serve our customers around the country, and around the world. I believe deeply that our most important work together is still ahead of us, and Im grateful to the people of Ireland for their commitment to openness, to innovation and to the cooperation that will make possible the next generation of world-changing ideas." An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar added, "Only four years after it was founded, Apple opened a factory in Hollyhill in Cork, employing 60 people. Today Apple is Corks largest employer with 6,000 people of over 100 different nationalities and is a global operation. During this period Ireland has become the tech capital of Europe." Source: www.businessworld.ie Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 15:30:04|Editor: mingmei Video Player Close NEW YORK, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- The great hall of the Chinese Consulate General in New York was filled with joyful laughter, beautiful melodies, and the smell of dumplings on Sunday night. Some 200 Chinese, U.S. and other international college students gathered here for a Lunar New Year Gala to welcome the Year of the Rat. From making dumplings, writing Chinese calligraphy to solving riddles, the diverse program of the evening provides an authentic Chinese culture experience for the attendees from universities in New York and neighboring cities and states. Chinese Consul General in New York Huang Ping showed the students how to make dumplings step by step, including dough-making, rolling the dough into wrappers and sealing the wrappers. Thelma Gonzalez, who came to New York from Mexico four years ago, enjoyed making dumplings because it reminds her of making the hispanic food empanada, though the ways of wrapping are different. She is embarking on her first China trip next month to the eastern city of Wenzhou, and is looking forward to experiencing a whole new culture. Dariel Bobadilla from the Stevens Institute of Technology told Xinhua that he found making dumplings "very difficult" but he is still happy for getting a chance to know more about Chinese traditions. The engineering major got interested in the Asian country through his Chinese friends in college. "They are all very friendly and always ready to help others," he said. He now plans to visit the Chinese city of Shanghai with his classmates in the summer, where he could enjoy his favorite Chinese food, the steamed buns, which is also a famous Shanghai dish. Holding a piece of "Fu," which he just wrote with a brush pen under the guidance of professionals, Bobadilla said he knew the character means fortune and luck and would stick the paper onto his door in a Chinese way of celebrating the Lunar New Year. For Chinese students here, it was also a wonderful night to share their nostalgia. Dozens of them offered performances featuring dance, songs, Peking opera and Chinese instruments performing to demonstrate the love toward their motherland. In his concluding remarks, Huang gave his sincere new year wishes to the students, and called on them to serve as the bridge of friendship between China and the United States. He said that the future of the China-U.S. relationship relies on the youth today, and through learning from each other's culture, people will gain mutual understanding, which is the foundation of healthy bilateral ties. "I also want to give my best wishes to the future of this relationship between China and the United States," he said. "By working together, we will make good things happen." Everybody is hopping on the hydrogen train, but it's being driven by natural gas. During a recent twitter discussion about Alstom's hydrogen trains that are running in Germany, I learned once again that I am ignorant and that Europe is awash in solar generated hydrogen. But in fact, Alstom is getting its hydrogen from Linde, which makes it for industrial purposes through steam reformation of natural gas. There are plans to dial up the amount of "green" hydrogen over the next few years, but if one looks at the economics, it doesn't make much sense. That's because, as the Bloomberg headline says, America is awash in natural gas and it's about to get worse. Bloomberg/via ..the industry is powerless to stop a wave of additional gas hitting the market as a byproduct of rising shale oil output in places like the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico. Even exports of liquefied natural gas provide little relief, as the international market is also oversupplied. The industry is a victim of its own success, said Devin McDermott, an analyst at Morgan Stanley. You dont just have oversupply in the U.S. -- you have oversupply in Europe, oversupply in Asia, and really oversupply across the globe. There is so much gas coming out of the ground that they literally cannot give it away. Lack of pipelines can force gas prices there to occasionally go negative -- that is, producers have to pay others to take the fuel. Theyre increasingly resorting to burning it off, a process known as flaring. The unwelcome attention attracted by flaring isnt helping gass environmental credentials, either. Despite being touted as greener bridge fuel that enables utilities to lower their emissions en route to a carbon-free future, gas is coming under attack in some parts of the U.S. from lawmakers seeking to ban all fossil fuels. Many in the natural gas industry still think of it as been a greener fuel, a way of reducing carbon emissions in power generation with a bright future. It emits 60 percent less carbon than coal and is easy to switch on and off, which plays nicely with intermittent wind and sun. But as Catherine Morehouse writes in Utility Dive, many are having second thoughts about natural gas. ...an increased push on climate and clean energy goals means more states, cities and utilities are aiming for carbon-free power mixes in the next few decades, and some industry observers worry utilities are over-purchasing on natural gas and will soon be left with the same stranded asset burdens that now plague the coal industry. The push to get off fossil fuels completely is growing, especially as the availability of renewables increases and their prices drop. Once those prices begin to undercut the price of natural gas, utilities may see more demand for low-cost, zero-emission power, putting natural gas in a precarious spot, say stakeholders. "The entire community in the natural gas value chain, from wellhead to burner tip ... [has] been surprised at the speed at which the decarbonization debate is occurring in many states," said [Consultant Mark] Eisenhower. "It's been a dramatic shift in a very short period of time." The industry knows that pressure to decarbonize is coming. This is why they keep talking about the hydrogen economy; it gives them something to put in their pipes and keeps them in business. Morehouse writes: The natural gas industry sees itself able to participate through longer-term technology solutions that likely won't mature this year, but that the sector continues to pursue. Those technologies include a transition toward biofuels and hydrogen, which would elongate the lifespan for some critical gas infrastructure. That's the true future of the hydrogen economy: to provide an excuse for keeping all those pipes and pumps and infrastructure working. To justify the continuing to pipe gas to homes and businesses. Notwithstanding the dreams of my admiring tweeter, the hydrogen economy (and the hydrogen train) is all just talk, a way to continue doing business as usual. It's why we have to keep working to reduce demand and electrify everything. Video PlayerClose General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Xi Jinping, also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, extends Chinese New Year greetings to the villagers in a village of the Wa ethnic group in Qingshui Township of Tengchong, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Jan. 19, 2020. Xi visited Simola Wa Village, Tengchong City, during an inspection tour to Yunnan ahead of the Chinese New Year. [Xinhua/Yan Yan] KUNMING, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, has congratulated villagers of a village of the Wa ethnic group in southwest China's Yunnan Province for shaking off poverty. Xi made the remarks on Sunday during a visit to Simola Wa Village, Tengchong City, during an inspection tour to the province ahead of the Chinese New Year. After China completes the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects, it is necessary to comprehensively promote rural vitalization and further address problems including the imbalance between urban and rural development, Xi said. Efforts should be made to develop rural industries, improve rural economy, increase income and improve people's wellbeing, he noted. During his visit to the Wa village, Xi beat a wooden drum three times according to local customs to wish favorable weather for bumper harvests, peace for the country and the people, and peace for the whole world. He also extended Chinese New Year greetings to the villagers. Video PlayerClose General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Xi Jinping, also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits a village of the Wa ethnic group in Qingshui Township of Tengchong, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Jan. 19, 2020. Xi visited Simola Wa Village, Tengchong City, during an inspection tour to Yunnan ahead of the Chinese New Year. [Xinhua/Ju Peng] Video PlayerClose General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Xi Jinping, also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, talks with villagers in a village of the Wa ethnic group in Qingshui Township of Tengchong, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Jan. 19, 2020. Xi visited Simola Wa Village, Tengchong City, during an inspection tour to Yunnan ahead of the Chinese New Year. [Xinhua/Xie Huanchi] (Source: Xinhua) An aerial view of Korea Gas Corporation's Liquefied Natural Gas power plant in Jeju that finished construction in November 2019./ Courtesy of Korea Gas Corporation. By Jung Hae-myoung Since the year 2000, when there were only 58 natural gas buses in the country, the number has increased to 27,422 as of November 2018. Around 38.2 million tons of natural gas was brought into the country in 2018, ranking Korea third in the world for natural gas imports. Natural gas is not only used to fuel buses but also for housing, industry, and combined heat and power generation. As Korean citizens are becoming more environmentally conscious, and paying more attention to pollution from fine dust and greenhouse gases, people are moving towards cleaner energy options such as natural gas. It is considered one of the most eco-friendly energy sources, as pollutants such as dust, sulfur and nitrogen are eliminated during the liquefaction process. Natural gas is considered safe compared to other energy sources, because it evaporates easily even if it leaks. The ignition temperature is high so there is less danger of explosion. The heat efficiency is higher compared to other fuels and thus it can be used across industries. The supply system is also stable since the energy is buried in different places worldwide. During the purification process, materials such as sulfur, butane, and propane can be also exported as well as hydrogen, which is slated as the future of energy. "Standing at the turning point from fossil fuels to the era of eco-friendly, low carbon energy where hydrogen and new renewable energy is important, natural gas will play a role as a bridge for the transition in energy," the official at Korea Gas Corporation said. Korea Gas Corporation is a company that is currently producing and supplying natural gas. It pays special attention to safety. Their main control station monitors the flux and pressure of the pipelines in Korea 24 hours a day with an up-to-date remote supervisory control system, backed up by a quick-response system in the face of a natural disaster. "The vision for the third Energy Basic Plan is sustainable development through the transformation of energy and boosting people's quality of life. Energy must transform to become cleaner and safer, and natural gas will play an important role in achieving this," the Korea Gas Corporation official said. President Trump hit his highest level of support in a monthly poll of farmers released on Sunday, just days after signing a phase-one trade deal with China to increase Chinese purchases of American agricultural products to $40 billion a year over the next two years. The agricultural publication Farm Journal announced Sunday that its monthly nationwide poll of farmers and ranchers concentrated in the Corn Belt of llinois, Iowa, Indiana, and Nebraska found an 83 percent approval rating of Trumps job performance, the highest number since the president took office. Of note is the strongly approve category went up three percentage points from an already lofty (December) number and his highest overall approval ratings ever, Pro Farmer policy analyst Jim Wiesemeyer said. That says the presidents approval is rock-solid. With the recent upbeat news on USMCA and the Phase 1 accord with China, the ratings will likely remain firm ahead. Trump spoke Sunday in Austin, Texas, at the annual American Farm Bureau Federation convention, touting the deal with China as proof of his administrations support of domestic agriculture and thanking farmers for your fortitude, your perseverance and your devotion. Were achieving what no administration has ever achieved before, and what do I get out of it? Tell me. I get impeached by these radical left lunatics, Trump said. But thats OK, the farmers are sticking with Trump. I will be going to Austin, Texas. Leaving soon. Always like (love!) being in the Lone Star State. Speaking to our great Farmers. They hit paydirt with our incredible new Trade Deals: CHINA, JAPAN, MEXICO, CANADA, SOUTH KOREA, and many others! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 19, 2020 At Wednesdays signing of the deal with representatives from Beijing, Trump said his policies are righting the wrongs of the past and delivering a future of economic justice and security for American workers, farmers and families. Story continues Futures markets have yet to respond to the trade deal, with soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade falling 1.3 percent Friday, and corn and wheat futures only marginally rising by 0.1 and 0.3 percent, respectively. More from National Review GARY A Gary teen already in custody for allegedly gunning down a 16-year-old Merrillville boy last summer is now linked to an armed robbery of a Region pizza delivery driver. Investigators say they pieced together Garry Higgins' involvement in a June 9 pizza robbery after speaking with a Domino's Pizza store manager and Higgins' associates and after reviewing phone data and text messages, court records show. Higgins already was facing murder charges for allegedly luring Johnny Peluyera, 16, of Merrillville, on June 12 to the 5000 block of Maryland Street in Gary with the promise of more money than Peluyera was asking for the sale of his Xbox. Now it's come to light that Higgins and two, possibly three, friends also lured a Domino's delivery driver to the same neighborhood in the 5000 block of Pennsylvania Street the night of June 9, just three days prior to Peluyera's slaying. Higgins, 18, of Gary, has been charged with armed robbery, a level 3 felony, in the pizza delivery case. When the delivery driver arrived in the area just before midnight, he said he stepped out of his car and noticed the residence to which he was delivering was "completely dark." Around 100 students and activists on Monday held a peaceful protest outside Sabarmati Ashram here against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC). The protesters also expressed solidarity with the students of New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and denounced the violence that took place in the campus earlier this month. The protest, organised by the Young India National Coordination Committee -- a body of university students -- is latest in a series of demonstrations held here since the new citizenship law was passed by Parliament in mid-December. The protesters, numbering around 100, held posters with slogans like 'No CAA-No NRC', 'Listen to the people', 'With JNU Students', Stand with students', 'Young India Against CAA-NRC' and 'Hum Leke Rahenge Aazadi'. Students from prominent institutions like the National Institute of Design (NID), Cept University, Central University of Gujarat, IIT Gandhinagar, Nirma University and Gujarat Vidyapith took part in the peaceful protest, said social activist Dev Desai, one of the participants. He said the demonstration outside Sabarmati Ashram, a place closely linked with Mahatma Gandhi, was organised with police permission. On January 17, students and activists had held a similar anti-CAA/NRC protest outside the IIM Ahmedabad. The CAA seeks to grant citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Parsis and Jain refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who entered India on or before December 31, 2014. The new citizenship law's passage in Parliament triggered nationwide protests, which turned violent at some places, including in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. To counter such protests, the BJP has launched its own nationwide pro-CAA drive. CAA's critics say the law is discriminatory and violates the core values of the Constitution. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-21 01:33:22|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close JERUSALEM, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Israel was on Monday in final preparations for the arrival of world leaders to mark 75 years after the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz in Poland. The event, titled "Remembering the Holocaust: Fighting Antisemitism," is organized by the International Holocaust Forum. From Tuesday to Thursday, some 40 world leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Emmanuel Macron, and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, are expected to land in the Ben Gurion international airport outside Tel Aviv. The event will focus on the commemoration of the Holocaust. The main ceremony will take place on Thursday at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Center in Jerusalem. The police said in a statement that thousands of police officers and security personnel will be deployed from Tuesday to Thursday in Jerusalem and its vicinity. Many highways and roads will be blocked. Israel's Channel 12 TV news reported that the army has deployed additional Iron Dome air defense batteries to intercepts possible rockets fired from the Gaza Strip. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to hold several bilateral meetings. "I will talk with them about Iran, various developments in the region and the strengthening of relations between the countries," he said at the start of his weekly cabinet meeting on Jan. 19. Former Brexit Secretary David Davis has backed Boris Johnson's pledge to end "vexatious" prosecutions of Army veterans - but said the promise should be introduced as law urgently. The Tory MP said the Northern Ireland power-sharing deal brokered earlier this month was "almost entirely good news for the province" but that one element had raised "enormous concern". He said this issue was the ongoing investigation into the killings that took place during the Troubles. Writing in the Sun on Sunday, Mr Davis said of the killings: "The overwhelming majority of them were carried out by terrorists. Yet these inquiries focus unfairly on Army veterans." The latest power-sharing deal, brokered by Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith and Tanaiste Simon Coveney, committed the UK Government to introducing legislation to implement the 2014 Stormont House Agreement within 100 days. Last week, Boris Johnson said that "nothing in the agreement, I want to reassure the House, will stop us from going ahead with legislation to make sure that no-one who served in our armed forces suffers unfair prosecution, vexatious or unfair prosecution for cases that happened many years ago where no new evidence has been provided". Part of the Stormont House Agreement was the creation of the Historical Investigations Unit to take on the criminal justice element of examining the past. A separate mechanism will offer bereaved relatives the chance to find out more about their loved ones' deaths without the prospect of a conviction. In his column, Mr Davis yesterday said the Troubles "were an extremely difficult period" and that the conflict "left indelible scars on the fabric of the nation". "Thousands died," he said. "This is why it is imperative we take legitimate accusations seriously. Where murder has been committed, where the law has been broken and when wrong has been done, legal recourse must be available." Mr Davis said the former Historical Enquiries Team (HET) and its successor, the Legacy Investigation Branch, were "important" but that their approach was "flawed". "The Armed Forces were responsible for approximately 10% of killings during the Troubles," he wrote. "Yet 30% of the effort is going into investigating them." The MP stated: "I do not for a moment think we should condone, nor turn a bind eye to, murders carried out in uniform. "But the fear today is that we are going to see a sudden rush of new investigations into honourable and decent people whose only crime is to have served their country with patriotism and courage. "Men in their seventies and eighties could face the misery of being dragged through the courts over events in which they behaved entirely properly but which are capable of misrepresentation because of the clouding of the mists of time." Mr Davis said the Prime Minister's manifesto pledge to end "unfair" prosecutions of veterans was crucial, adding that "loyal soldiers should be protected from politically motivated and vexatious accusations of murder". "But that protection should be legislated for now," he urged. The MP called for "sensible, level-headed action", adding "we need to make sure straight away there are comprehensive legal protections for those who deserve the Government's aid". Advertisement The biggest and brightest stars of Hollywood descended upon the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles for the SAG Awards, on Sunday. And Phoebe Waller-Bridge was sure to turn heads on the red carpet as she led the British glamour alongside Gwendoline Christie and Helena Bonham Carter. The Fleabag star, 34, showed off a glimpse of her toned abs in a black bandeau top which she paired with a form-fitting skirt by Armani Prive that cascaded to the floor, yet during her acceptance speech, she candidly revealed that her impressive abs were in fact drawn on by her make-up artist. SAG Awards: Phoebe Waller-Bridge stunned on the red carpet in a black bandeau top and skirt as she led the British glamour with dazzling Catherine Zeta-Jones and Helena Bonham Carter at the Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, on Sunday Phoebe gave her look an extra glamorous flair by wearing a silver mesh top over the ensemble, while she opted to just wear a pair of pearl earrings for the event. Her cropped brunette tresses were slicked back into a sleek wet-style, and she wore a natural palette of make-up to highlight her pretty features. She accessorized with Fernando Jorge High Brilliant Short Earrings, High Brilliant Open Ring and two High Brilliant Sequence Rings. The actress and writer came out on top at the awards show, as she won the Female Actor In A Comedy Series for her role in her hit show Fleabag. Getting candid about her getting ready process, Phoebe said in her speech: 'But I have to say, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for being so supportive of our show on these shores... Glam: Phoebe gave her Armani Prive look an extra glamorous flair by wearing a silver mesh top over the ensemble, while she opted to just wear a pair of pearl earrings for the event Stylish: cropped brunette tresses were slicked back into a sleek wet-style, and she wore a natural palette of make-up to highlight her pretty features. 'With all the chaos of the outfits, and the interviews and the six-pack that my makeup artist drew on me this evening, and all the kinds of pre-drinks and after-parties, and all the amazing Hollywoody things that happen here, it's quite easy to be distracted from the thing that has actually happened to us.' Catherine looked sensational in a plunging silver gown which was ruched at the waist with an intricate jewel design to accentuate her slender frame. The Welsh actress, 50, was sure to set pulses racing as her ensemble was backless and showed off a glimpse of her cleavage, while it also had a daring thigh split. Winner! The actress and writer came out on top at the awards show, as she won the Female Actor In A Comedy Series for her role in her hit show Fleabag She boosted her height in a pair of chic silver heels, while she kept her accessories simple by wearing a pair of dangling jewel earrings so that all attention remained on her dress. Her raven locks were pulled back into a glamorous half-back-do, while she accentuated her natural beauty by wearing light touches of make-up for the occasion. Catherine was joined by her husband of 19 years Michael Douglas, who looked dapper in a black suit which he wore with a white shirt, a black bow tie, and a white pocket square. Glamorous: Catherine was sure to set pulses racing as her ensemble was backless and showed off a glimpse of her cleavage, while it also had a daring thigh split Supportive: Catherine was joined by her husband of 19 years Michael Douglas, who looked dapper in a black suit which he wore with a white shirt, a black bow tie, and a white pocket square Attention to detail: Catherine offset her bright ensemble by wearing black nail polish for a glamorous flair Helena shimmered in a blue sequinned Self-Portrait dress that fell in an asymmetrical style and was cinched at the waist with a black belt to accentuate her hourglass frame. The Crown star's ensemble also had black mesh sleeves, while she complemented the look by wearing a pair of black wedge heels, which had a silver jewel design. She accessorised the outfit by wearing a pair of bedazzled silver sunglasses and a matching headband, which held her brunette locks back in a messy ponytail. Regal: Helena shimmered in a blue sequinned dress that fell in an asymmetrical style and was cinched at the waist with a black belt to accentuate her hourglass frame Punk chic: Helena accessorised the outfit by wearing a pair of bedazzled silver sunglasses and a matching headband, which held her brunette locks back in a messy ponytail The gang's (almost) all here! Helena was joined on the red carpet by fellow The Crown stars Josh O'Connor and Erin Doherty Dapper: Josh was dressed to impress in a black suit that he teamed with a white shirt and a black ribbon Meanwhile, Gwendoline opted for an edgy look as she stepped out in a pleated black gown that cascaded to the floor in an asymmetrical design. The 6ft 3in model wore her blonde locks pinned back into half-back style, and she wore a slick of dark red lipstick to complement her Gothic chic ensemble. Opting to keep all attention on her ensemble, Gwendoline kept her accessories to a minimum by simply wearing a few gold rings on her fingers. Striking: Meanwhile, Gwendoline opted for an edgy look as she stepped out in a pleated black gown that cascaded to the floor in an asymmetrical design Standing out: The 6ft 3in model wore her blonde locks pinned back into half-back style, and she wore a slick of dark red lipstick to complement her Gothic chic ensemble Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown hit the red carpet in a pristine white jumpsuit, and she looked glamorous in a crisp white Louis Vuitton ensemble which opened at the front to reveal matching white pants. The actress stunned as she accessorised with a corsage and an Essential Lines necklace with diamonds set in platinum, an Etincelle de Cartier ring glistening with diamonds, with matching pants under the dress and ivory pumps. She told red carpet interviewer Aisha Tyler that the ensemble is, 'everything I kind of wanted. I wanted to go for a masculine but very feminine look.' The actress' hit show Stranger Things is nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, going up against Big Little Lies, The Crown, Game of Thrones and The Handmaid's Tale. Ethereal: Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown hit the red carpet in a pristine white jumpsuit, and she looked glamorous in a crisp white Louis Vuitton ensemble which opened at the front to reveal matching white pants Androgynous chic: Millie told red carpet interviewer Aisha Tyler that the ensemble is, 'everything I kind of wanted. I wanted to go for a masculine but very feminine look' Lily Allen looked happier than ever as she joined her dapper beau David Harbour on the red carpet, as she stunned in a plunging pink and red gown on the red carpet. The Not Fair hitmaker kept her raven bob styled into a simple and sleek look and completed her look with pretty silver drop earrings. Ahead of the awards show, David took to Instagram to share a snap of his beautiful girlfriend Lily, along with a gushing caption about her red carpet look. He wrote: 'Who's the stunning one in red? That's right, it's the brilliant, beautiful, brash, bold, brave and just f***in' hot @lilyallen.' Beaming: Lily Allen was the picture of happiness as she joined her dapper beau David Harbour at the 26th Screen Actor's Guild Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday So sweet: Ahead of the awards show, David also took to Instagram Stories to share a gushing post about his beautiful girlfriend SAG Awards 2020 Winners Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role Christian Bale - Ford v Ferrari Leonardo DiCaprio - Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Adam Driver - Marriage Story Taron Egerton - Rocketman Joaquin Phoenix - Joker - WINNER Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role Cynthia Erivo - Harriet Scarlett Johansson - Marriage Story Lupita Nyongo - Us Charlize Theron - Bombshell Renee Zellweger - Judy - WINNER Sweep: Renee has won the Golden Globe, Critics' Choice, and now the SAG Award for her role portraying Judy Garland Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role Jamie Foxx - Just Mercy Tom Hanks - A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood Al Pacino - The Irishman Joe Pesci - The Irishman Brad Pitt - Once Upon a Time in Hollywood - WINNER Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role Laura Dern - Marriage Story - WINNER Scarlett Johansson - Jojo Rabbit Nicole Kidman - Bombshell Jennifer Lopez - Hustlers Margot Robbie - Bombshell Blonde ambition: Laura Dern was recognized for her role as Nora the divorce lawyer in Marriage Story Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Bombshell - Lionsgate The Irishman - Netflix Jojo Rabbit - Fox Once Upon a Time in Hollywood - Sony Parasite - Neon - WINNER Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture Avengers: Endgame - WINNER Ford v Ferrari The Irishman Joker Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series Game of Thrones - WINNER GLOW Stranger Things The Walking Dead Watchmen Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries Mahershala Ali - True Detective Russell Crowe - The Loudest Voice Jared Harris - Chernobyl Jharrel Jerome - When They See Us Sam Rockwell - Fosse/Verdon - WINNER Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries Patricia Arquette - The Act Toni Collette - Unbelievable Joey King - The Act Emily Watson - Chernobyl Michelle Williams - Fosse/Verdon - WINNER Transcendent: Michelle Williams was honored for her role as Gwen Verdon Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series Sterling K. Brown - This Is Us Steve Carell - The Morning Show Billy Crudup - The Morning Show Peter Dinklage - Game of Thrones - WINNER David Harbour - Stranger Things Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series Jennifer Aniston - The Morning Show - WINNER Helena Bonham Carter - The Crown Olivia Colman - The Crown Jodie Comer - Killing Eve Elisabeth Moss - The Handmaids Tale Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series Alan Arkin - The Kominsky Method Michael Douglas - The Kominsky Method Bill Hader - Barry Andrew Scott - Fleabag Tony Shalhoub - The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel - WINNER Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series Christina Applegate - Dead to Me Alex Borstein - The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Rachel Brosnahan - The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Catherine OHara - Schitts Creek Phoebe Waller-Bridge - Fleabag - WINNER Hey Obama! Phoebe Waller-Bridge was recognized once again for her work on Fleabag Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Big Little Lies - HBO The Crown - Netflix - WINNER Game of Thrones - HBO The Handmaids Tale - Hulu Stranger Things - Netflix Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Barry - HBO Fleabag - Amazon The Kominsky Method - Netflix The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel - Amazon - WINNER Schitts Creek - CBC Television/Pop TV Advertisement David's attendance at the awards show came as Stranger Things was nominated in Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series and Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series. The actor himself also received a nomination for his performance as Hawkins' police chief Jim Hopper for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series. The Screen Actors' Guild Awards have long been been a bellwether for Oscar success, since actors make up the largest percentage of the Academy. In film, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood and The Irishman earned top honours, securing two individual actor nominations and the coveted Best Ensemble honour. Both were also nominated in the stunt ensemble category. Flower power! Nathalie Emmanuel was sure to turn heads in her sleeveless gown that had a quirky floral pattern All that glitters: Nathalie wore an array of rings as well as chic earrings and a septum piercing Posing up a storm: Nathalie showed off her outfit from all angles as she rocked the red carpet Chic: Sophie Turner wowed on the red carpet as she stepped out in a strapless dress that showcased her svelte figure Date night: Sophie Turner and husband Joe Jonas beamed as they walked down the red carpet for the SAG Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles Reunion! Sophie met with her fellow Game Of Thrones co-star Alfie Allen on the red carpet, who played Theon Greyjoy besides her Sansa Stark in the hit show While Tarantino and Scorsese's films both seemed like shoe-ins, there were also many surprises. The SAGs rounded out best ensemble with the casts of Taika Waititi's Nazi Germany coming-of-age tale Jojo Rabbit, Jay Roach's Fox News docudrama Bombshell and Bong Joon Ho's class satire Parasite. Like Once Upon A Time In Hollywood and The Irishman, Bombshell also dominated the individual acting categories, earning nominations for lead Charlize Theron and supporting players Nicole Kidman Margot Robbie. Their ensemble nomination puts Bombshell in the same league as the critically-acclaimed Scorsese and Tarantino films. Parasite, the much-praised Korean film, makes history as just the second foreign language film to be nominated for the SAGs' top award. Looking sharp: The actor donned a red and black floral satin blazer and a matching shirt as arrived for the awards occasion, which saw Game Of Thrones nominated for three awards Funky: Phoebe's Fleabag co-star Andrew Scott continued to display his eclectic taste in suits as he donned a salmon pink ensemble and a matching pink satin shirt Colourful: The Sherlock star teamed it with a large black bow tie as he joined his co-star at the awards show Say cheese! Andrew also posed alongside Barry star Anthony Carrigan as he headed into the awards show before hearing about Fleabag's awards prospects Notably missing out on the best ensemble nomination was Noah Baumbach's divorce drama Marriage Story, which earlier this month led the Golden Globe nominations with six nods. It still came away with acting nominations for its leads, Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson, and Laura Dern for best female actor in a supporting role. Johansson earned double nominations for the evening, with a supporting nod for her performance in Jojo Rabbit as well. Other prominent contenders shut out included Sam Mendes' WWI thriller 1917, Greta Gerwig's Louisa May Alcott adaptation Little Women, Lulu Wangs family drama The Farewell, Fernando Meirelles' Vatican drama The Two Popes and Rian Johnson's star-studded whodunit Knives Out. Smart: Game Of Thrones star John Bradley, 31, joined his glamorous girlfriend Rebecca April May at the 26th Screen Actor's Guild Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday Smart: The actor cut a dapper figure in a classic black suit as he joined a slew of stars in attendance for the awards show. Cosy: He and his beautiful girlfriend Rebecca were the picture of happiness as they were among the arrival the early arrivals for the awards show The nominees for best performance by a female actor in a leading role were: Marriage Story's Johansson, Bombshell's Theron, Cynthia Erivo of Harriet, Lupita Nyong'o for Jordan Peele's horror romp Us and Renee Zellweger for the biopic Judy. Those picks omitted Saoirse Ronan of Little Women and Awkwafina of The Farewell, whose performance earned her a Golden Globe earlier this month. Joining Driver and DiCaprio in best actor were Christian Bale for Ford v Ferrari, Taron Egerton in the Elton John biopic Rocketman and Joaquin Phoenix in Joker. Among those left out were Antonio Banderas for Pain and Glory, Irishman lead Robert De Niro, Eddie Murphy for Dolemite Is My Name and Adam Sandler Uncut Gems. (While De Niro wasn't given an acting nomination, he will be bestowing with the Life Achievement Award at the show.) Cosy: Chernobyl star Jared Harris also put on a dapper display in a deep red blazer as he joined his wife Allegra Riggio, who dazzled in a blue sequinned gown for the awards show Legendary: The acclaimed actor was nominated for his performance as Valery Legasov, which has already earned him a Primetime Emmy Award Sharp: Rocketman star Taron Egerton also set the hearts of his fans fluttering as he was suited and booted for the star-studded awards show, ahead of presenting the Best Supporting Actress award Great style: The Kingsman star and recent Golden Globe winner donned a grey velvet blazer and a matching black bow tie as by Brunello Cucinelli as he made a solo appearance on the red carpet Tom Hanks (A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood) and Jamie Foxx (Just Mercy) were nominated for best male actor in a supporting role. And while she was snubbed by the Oscars, Jennifer Lopez could be adding to her trophy collection with a nomination for best female in a supporting role category. It was also a tough competition in TV, with Apple TV+'s The Morning Show earning three individual nominations for supporting actors Steve Carell and Billy Crudup, and female lead Jennifer Aniston, but the show failed to make the ensemble category. In Best Drama Series Ensemble, the actors nominated the casts of Big Little Lies, The Crown, Game of Thrones, The Handmaid's Tale and Stranger Things. Big night: Heaton and Dyer are part of the cast nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Chemistry: The couple of three years shared a tender moment during entrances Glitzy: They stood in style for photographers in top fashion, as their Netflix show is up for multiple honors at the award show Stunning in pink: English actress Cynthia Erivo looked striking in a red and pink voluminous gown Comedy Ensemble nods went to Barry, Fleabag, The Kominsky Method and The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel. HBO's Succession was surprisingly overlooked. Recently, a SAG ensemble nomination hasn't been quite as vital for a Best Picture winner at the Oscars as in years past. The last two winners, Green Book and The Shape of Water, managed the feat without a nod for the screen actors' top award. Before that, it had been two decades since the SAG Awards didn't help predict the eventual best-picture winner. Usually, about four out of five individual SAG nominees go on to land an Oscar nomination. (Alliance News) - Commodity trader Trafigura has taken a "significant" stake in President Energy PLC, President said on Monday. Singapore-based Trafigura traded nearly 400 million tonnes of commodities in 2019, achieved revenue of just over USD170 billion. President owns assets in Argentina's Noroeste and Neuquen basins, and also has interests in Paraguay and the US. Trafigura has subscribed for 76.0 million new President shares at 4.04 pence each, for USD4 million, and has also taken an option for a further USD6 million worth of shares at 4.65p each. The initial investment gives it a 6.1% in President. Leeds-based President's shares were 3.6% higher on Monday morning in London at 4.20p. President also said a company owned by Chair & Chief Executive Peter Levine, IYA Global Ltd, has converted a USD4.8 million loan into new shares. Initially, USD2.0 million of this is being converted at 4.04p, with the rest being converted at 4.65p if IYA decides to. The initial conversion gives Levine a 29.99% stake. The affect of both transactions, President said, will be to reduce net debt initially by GBP6.0 million, potentially reducing it by USD14.8 million. Levine commented: "We welcome Trafigura as a significant stakeholder in President. Trafigura, already an important off-taker of the group, is an international trading and logistics company with extensive interests in the energy sector. "With reduced debt and concomitant lower servicing requirements combined with a substantial and supportive international industry partner as a significant shareholder alongside myself and other shareholders, we are well placed to deliver on our strategy to generate growth not only organically but also through being able to take advantage of appropriate opportunities in various jurisdictions as they arise in the future." By George Collard; georgecollard@alliancenews.com Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. Angolan prosecutors vowed on Monday to use "all possible" means to bring back Isabel dos Santos, the former president's billionaire daughter, after thousands of leaked documents revealed new allegations she siphoned off hundreds of millions in public money. Dubbed Africa's richest woman, dos Santos is accused of using her father's backing to plunder state funds from the oil-rich but impoverished southern African country and -- with the help of Western consulting firms -- move the money offshore. She stopped living in Angola after her authoritarian father Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who ruled the country for nearly 40 years, stepped down in 2017 for his anointed successor Joao Lourenco. She now spends her time between London and Dubai. "We will use all possible means and activate international mechanisms to bring Isabel dos Santos back to the country," prosecutor general Helder Pitra Gros told public radio. "We have asked for international support from Portugal, Dubai and other countries," he added. The 46-year-old dos Santos is already being investigated as part of an anti-graft campaign launched by Lourenco, who has vowed to root out corruption. Prosecutors last month froze bank accounts and holdings owned by the businesswoman and her Congolese-Danish husband Sindika Dokolo, a move dos Santos described as motivated by a groundless political vendetta. Gros' remarks came after a trove of 715,000 files dubbed the "Luanda Leaks" on Sunday revealed how the eldest daughter of the former president allegedly moved the vast sums into overseas assets. The award-winning New York-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) behind the release alleged the international system has allowed powerful individuals like her to move assets around the world, without questions. "Based on a trove of more than 715,000 files, our investigation highlights a broken international regulatory system that allows professional services firms to serve the powerful with almost no questions asked," the ICIJ wrote. The group said its team of 120 reporters in 20 countries was able to trace "how an army of Western financial firms, lawyers, accountants, government officials and management companies helped (dos Santos and Dokolo) hide assets from tax authorities". - 'Highly coordinated attack' - Dos Santos took to Twitter to refute the claims, launching a salvo of around 30 tweets in Portuguese and English, accusing journalists involved in the investigation of telling "lies". "My fortune is built on my character, my intelligence, education, capacity for work, perseverance," she wrote. Born in Baku, Azerbaijan, and educated in Britain, dos Santos -- scornfully nicknamed "the princess" -- was named Africa's first female billionaire in 2013 by Forbes, which estimates her current wealth at $2.1 billion. Her lawyer dismissed the ICIJ findings as a "highly coordinated attack" orchestrated by Angola's current rulers, in a statement quoted by The Guardian newspaper. Dos Santos herself told BBC Africa the file dump was part of a "witch hunt" meant to discredit her and her father. She headed Angola's national oil company Sonangol until her father's successor forced her out after becoming president in 2017. "Red flags really went up when she was appointed head of the state oil company at a time when her father still had significant influence," said Daniel Bruce, who heads the UK branch of anti-corruption campaign group Transparency International. "You could see there were major conflicts of interest starting to emerge," he added. Dos Santos said on Wednesday that she would consider running for president in the next election in 2022. - Western consultants - The ICIJ investigation said Western consulting firms such as PwC and Boston Consulting Group were "apparently ignoring red flags" while helping her stash away public assets. "Regulators around the globe have virtually ignored the key role Western professionals play in maintaining an offshore industry that drives money laundering and drains trillions from public coffers," the report said. Its document trove included redacted letters allegedly showing how consultants sought out ways to open non-transparent bank accounts. London-based firm PwC was among those advising her businesses. The consultancy said it had "immediately initiated an investigation" in the wake of the "very serious and concerning allegations." "We have also taken action to terminate any ongoing work for entities controlled by members of the dos Santos family," it added in a statement. The Boston Consulting Group did not immediately respond to an attempt to get comment by AFP. One confidential document allegedly drafted by Boston Consulting in September 2015 outlined a complex scheme for the oil company to move its money offshore. The investigation also published a similar 99-page presentation from KPMG. "UK firms... have played a role both in helping her to amass this fortune but also to invest the proceeds of these suspicious deals," said Bruce. "There are questions to answer," he added. "Particularly for those who helped her acquire property." Dos Santos and Dokolo have invested in several luxurious London houses and amassed an impressive collection of valuable artwork. Her husband, a well-known collector of African arts, developed that passion from his billionaire banker father Augustin Dokolo Sanu. str-zak-sn-sch/pma A trove of leaked documents allege that Isabel dos Santos, the billionaire daught of Angola's ex-president, amassed her wealth by plundering state funds Prosecutors have already frozen the bank accounts and holdings owned by dos Santosand her Congolese husband Sindika Dokolo Former Angolan president Jose Eduardo Dos Santos ruled for nearly 40 years before stepping down in 2017 Off-duty police officer being driven by intoxicated woman dies in highway crash originally appeared on abcnews.go.com An off-duty police officer was killed as he sat in the passenger seat of a vehicle driven by an intoxicated woman who slammed into back of a box truck that had crashed in a separate accident. The incident happened early Sunday morning around 6:00 a.m. when, according to Illinois State Police, Charles Schauer, 33, of Glen Ellyn, Illinois, was sitting in a car with Erin Zilka, 35, of Plainfield, Illinois, driving on I-55 in Will County. Unbeknownst to Zilka and Schauer, a previous accident involving two trucks had occurred just a short time beforehand and those vehicles had come to a stop in the right two southbound lanes of I-55 just north of U.S. Route 30 in Plainfield. Zilka, who was driving a Dodge SUV and was later arrested and charged with driving under the influence, didnt slow down or move over when she was driving and then slammed into the rear of one of the box trucks involved in the earlier accident. Schauer was pronounced dead at the scene while Zilka was transported to an area hospital with non-life threatening injuries. (MORE: Woman injures 2 after allegedly driving into traffic as a test of faith) (MORE: Man drives off cliff and escapes with no injuries in 'miracle' crash) The subject from the Dodge Durango was not breathing another subject was unconscious and another accident happened right in the area, an official told ABC News Chicago station WLS-TV. The City of Berwyn Police Department is grieving the loss of a well-respected Police Officer, Charles Schauer, a ten year veteran, said the Berwyn Police Department in a Facebook post. Officer Schauer was a passenger in a vehicle that was in an auto accident in Will County. The accident investigation is being conducted by the Illinois State Police. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Schauer family during this time of need. Black bunting now hangs outside the Berwyn Police Department in honor of Schauer and the citys mayor has asked for thoughts and prayers during this time of grief. It's not known if the two other drivers were injured in either of the accidents but the investigation into both incidents is ongoing. January 3, 2020 Ottawa National Defence / Canadian Armed Forces Canadas Air Task Force (ATF)-Romania has completed its four-month NATO enhanced Air Policing mission in Romania. ATF-Romania is the air component of Operation REASSURANCE, Canadas contribution to NATO assurance and deterrence measures in Central and Eastern Europe. Since 2014, Operation REASSURANCE has been key to demonstrating Canadas commitment to our NATO allies. As part of NATOs enhanced Air Policing mission, the operation reinforces NATOs collective defence, demonstrating the Alliances combined strength and solidarity to any potential airspace aggressor. In addition to the enhanced Air Policing mission, the ATF conducted regular training with their Romanian counterparts, including flight operations, emergency response, flight safety, aircraft maintenance, command and control, and military policing. ATF-Romania also participated in several multinational joint exercises such as Exercise (Ex) Silver Arrow in Latvia, Ex Blue Bridge 19 and Ex Ramstein Dust. New Delhi, Jan 20 : Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi will address an anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) rally in Jaipur on January 28. It will be his third rally against the CAA after Delhi and Guwahati. Congress General Secretary and Rajasthan in-charge Avinash Pandey here on Monday discussed with Gandhi the broad outline of the rally. He will also highlight the plight of farmers and the unemployed. The Congress has been on the forefront of opposing the CAA. Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said the new citizenship law was an attack on the Constitution. "The movement against the CAA shall continue courageously and fearlessly," he said. Criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, Surjewala said the government was using the CAA as a tool to divide and rule, and to divert the people's attention from economic crisis and unemployment. The Congress vows to provide citizenship to all -- Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, Muslims and others -- irrespective of their nationality, country of origin, place of residence, ethnicity or religion. The enemy engage Ukrainian troops with proscribed 122mm artillery systems, 120mm mortars, tripod-mounted man-portable antitank guns, heavy machine guns, and small arms. Russia's hybrid military forces on January 19 mounted 11 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 11 times on January 19. 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 20. Read alsoDonbas war escalation: One Ukraine soldier killed, ten wounded on Jan 18 The enemy engaged Ukrainian troops with proscribed 122mm artillery systems, 120mm mortars, tripod-mounted man-portable antitank guns, heavy machine guns, and small arms. Under attack came Ukrainian positions near the villages of Pisky, Orikhove, Novo-Oleksandrivka, and Novotoshkivske. "Since Monday midnight, Russia-led forces have attacked Ukrainian positions near the villages of Travneve and Luhanske, using grenade launchers of various types, heavy machine guns, and rifles," the update said. No casualties have been reported since day-start on Monday. The number of inmates developing drug problems has more than doubled in five years, figures show fuelling concerns about the state of prisons in England and Wales. An analysis of data by think tank Reform shows one in seven prisoners are becoming addicted to illicit substances, with the figure increasing from 6 per cent to 15 per cent between 2014 and 2019. The findings, based on figures from annual reports by the HM Inspectorate of Prison from the past five years, have prompted concern that, three years after the government promised radical prison reform, much of the penal estate is not equipped to disrupt drug supply. Recent inspection reports for individual prisons have raised repeated concern that not enough is being done to curb the problem. A review of HMP Liverpool this week found that while the jail had seen some dramatic improvements, there were still too many drugs entering the prison and its strategy clearly needed to be reviewed and refined. A report on HMP Guys Marsh last month found that the response to the drugs problem was undermined by the fact that intelligence was not always processed promptly, and an inspection into Cardiff prison in November concluded that the prison would undoubtedly benefit from more technology to assist them in their efforts, with the lack of a body scanner creating a significant gap in their defences. Reform raised concern that security standards, such as X-ray body scanners, varied from prison to prison, and warned that while the governments one-off pledge of 100m could significantly improve prison security, ongoing spending on staffing as well as new equipment would be required in the long term. The report states that in order to tackle rising drug use in jails, the government must also focus on more effective sentencing policies, describing the current policy as counterintuitive and saying the continued use of short-term prison sentences was contributing to destabilising churn and overcrowding in the prison population. An analysis of official figures by the think tank shows the use of community sentences for minor offences has decreased 52 per cent since 2010, despite them proving to be on average more effective and around a ninth of the annual cost of prison. The report states that Boris Johnsons pledge to recruit 20,000 more police officers and introduce tougher sentences risks heaping further pressure on an already destabilised system by putting more people into prison for longer. Reform also warned that despite pledges by the government not to shut any prisons, a number are unfit for purpose and should be earmarked for closure. Aidan Shilson-Thomas, Reform researcher and author of the report, said: There must always be a place in prison for those who commit serious crimes. However, prison must also be an opportunity for inmates to change their behaviour. Stabilising the system means stemming the flow of drugs, reducing overcrowding, fixing the crumbling estate and improving officer retention. Its long-term sustainability requires a serious conversation about how many people we lock up and for how long. Richard Burgon, the shadow justice secretary, urged the government to accept that their approach had left prisons in chaos and said they should commit to fully restoring prisoner officer levels and bringing forward legislation to end ineffective short prison sentences. He added: Prison is often the worst place to deal with the drugs and other problems that lead many to commit certain crimes in the first place. Unprecedented cuts to prison officer numbers make it much less likely that prisoners get the support they need. At the same time, the Conservatives are ignoring clear evidence that short prison sentences often mean people lose their house, family ties and job and so end up much more likely to commit crime on release. Campbell Robb, chief executive of social justice charity Nacro, said that as well as tackling the supply of drugs, ministers must fix overcrowding, understaffing and violence in prisons, as well as scrapping short prison sentences which he described as a revolving door. Prime Minister pledges to pump 100 million into prison systems These latest figures show that not only are people with drug problems being sent to prison rather than being properly treated but that people actually develop drug addictions whilst in custody, he said. This is a stark reminder that in far too many cases sending someone to prison is doing far more harm than good, and that our broken justice system must be fixed. A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: Illicit substances pose huge challenges in our prisons which is why we are investing 100m in airport-style security including X-ray body scanners to stop them getting in. This is part of our 2.75bn investment to make jails safer for offenders and staff, while working closely with healthcare providers to ensure prisoners have the support they need to live drug-free upon release. The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly late on Monday night passed the AP Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Bill, 2020 that intended to give shape to state government's plan of having three capitals -- executive capital in Visakhapatnam, legislative in Amaravati and judicial in Kurnool. This was protested by hundreds of farmers and women in Amaravati region who defied prohibitory orders and broke security cordon to reach the state legislature complex. Caught off-guard, the police resorted to lathi-charge to quell the crowd. Even as the high drama was witnessed on the rear side of the complex, Leader of Opposition N Chandrababu Naidu led his Telugu Desam Party legislators on a foot march a few metres from the main entrance gate into the assembly. However, the TDP could not organise a siege of the assembly due to deployment of a strong posse of police force. Naidu and at least 17 MLAs of his party were taken in police custody late on Monday night as they tried to conduct a foot march from the assembly to nearby Mandadam village in violation of prohibitory orders. TDP leaders started off on the march after staging a sit-in near the assembly main entrance following the suspension of 17 MLAs from the House for the day. The TDP leaders were taken to the Mangalagiri police station. 17 MLAs of the TDP were suspended from the assembly for disrupting Chief Minister Reddy's address on the Andhra Pradesh Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Bill, 2020. The bill provides for dividing the state into various zones and establishing zonal planning and development boards. The village and (municipal) ward secretariats system that the government brought in October last year now gets statutory backing as it has been made part of the new bill. Moving the bill in the assembly on the first day of the extended winter session, Finance and Legislative Affairs Minister Buggana Rajendranath said the government decided to enact a new legislation for decentralisation and inclusive development of all regions in the state for ensuring 'balanced and inclusive growth'. "Regional imbalances, absence of equitable growth have caused an acute sense of deprivation among various sections of the state population, leading to disturbances. "The logical solution would be to lay emphasis on distributed development and decentralised administration to ensure that fruits of socio-economic progress are enjoyed equally by people of various regions," the minister said, quoting the recommendations of a high-power committee which formed the basis of the new legislation. The TDP members raised objection to the introduction of the bill and stormed the speaker's podium. They also stormed the podium during Reddy's address and raised slogans demanding that Naidu be allowed to continue with his address. They also raised 'Jai Amaravati' slogan during the address of the Leader of the House. A visibly irritated Reddy asked the Speaker to call in the House Marshals to evict the opposition members. Legislative Affairs Minister Buggana Rajendranath then moved a motion for suspension of the 17 TDP MLAs, including deputy leaders K Atchannaidu and N China Rajappa. The motion was passed by voice vote. Following this, marshals entered the House to evict the TDP members but the latter resisted, causing pandemonium. The marshals then forcibly evicted the protesting legislators from the House, after which the chief minister continued his address. Naidu then joined his colleagues at the assembly gate and staged a sit-in. Police claimed six of their personnel sustained injuries in stone pelting by the protesting farmers and others and said cases were being registered against those who defied the law. As many as 5,000 police personnel, including several senior officers, were deployed for bandobast duties in view of the crucial three-day extended winter session of the legislature. About 700 to 800 protestors, including a large number of women, from villages like Mandadam, Velagapudi and Tulluru ran across the barren fields and reached the rear periphery of the Legislature complex. The protesters even jumped over barbed wire fences placed by the police at various spots and some stood waist-deep in the slushy water, holding placards and raising Save Amaravati slogans. The Port city Visakhapatnam, which has the sobriquet City of Destiny, will soon become the Capital of the state if the Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy government overcomes the opposition in the Legislative Council and also possible legal hurdles. Meanwhile, the government also moved another bill to repeal the AP Capital Region Development Authority Act, 2014. The government said it intended to constitute a new Amaravati Metropolitan Region Development Area under the provisions of AP Metropolitan Region and Urban Development Authorities Act, 2016. The CRDA Act was enacted on December 22, 2014 for the development of the state capital post-bifurcation with a specific area demarcated as the capital region. Now that the YSR Congress government has decided to have three capitals for the state, the CRDA Act is proposed to be repealed. Earlier in the day, the Cabinet met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy and cleared the draft bills. The cabinet also approved the recommendations of the HPC on the capitals issue. But the government could face hurdles in getting the bills cleared in the Legislative Council, which sits from Tuesday, as the ruling party does not have a majority. Meanwhile, tensions prevailed at the Jana Sena Party headquarters at Mangalagiri as police prevented its president Pawan Kalyan from proceeding to the Amaravati region to speak to protesters fighting for the retention of only one capital for the state. DIG Kanti Rana Tata and other senior police officials reached the Sena office and blocked the exit of Kalyan and political affairs committee chairman Nadendla Manohar, resulting in an argument. Kalyan asked how could police impose restrictions within his own office. Scores of Sena workers gathered outside the office even as a large posse of police was posted to thwart Kalyan and other leaders' plans. About two dozen people attended Kyiv action in memory of native of Sevastopol, journalist Anastasia Baburova and human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov, gunned down by Russian far-right thugs in 2009 January 19, about two dozen people attended Kyiv action in memory of native of Sevastopol, journalist Anastasia Baburova and human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov, gunned down by Russian far-right thugs in 2009. 112.International journalist reports it from the scene. The commemoration of the eleventh anniversary of the murder also has acquired the meaning of protests against xenophobia, far-right terror, and lawlessness. The protesters came with the slogans: Solidarity instead of violence, To remember means to fight on, Stop the far-right terror, Goodbye, terror, Stop feeding the far-right! Few dozens of far-right provocateurs showed up to disrupt the commemoration rally, however, the law enforcers managed to stop them. The far-right were shouting Sieg heil! and giving Nazi salute. Ten provocateurs were detained. In Ukraine, the representatives of right-wing radical groups are also accused of committing high-profile crimes, including the murders of journalists Pavlo Sheremet and Oles Buzyna, former MP of Russian State Duma Denys Voronenkov, anti-corruption activist Kateryna Handziuk, murder of 23-year-old Roma David Pap in Lviv and paratrooper Ivan Kuznetsov, the attempted murder of deputy of Kyiv regional council Vyacheslav Sobolev, during which his three-year-old son died. The rally was attended by Ukrainian journalists from independent publications and human rights activists. Some of them have received anonymous threats for their political positions right after the rally. Baburova was a journalist for Novaya Gazeta, a Russian media outlet, and a student of journalism at Moscow State University. She was born in Sevastopol, Crimea, which is currently occupied by Russia. She was active in human rights defense and anarchist environmentalist movement. At first, it was reported that Baburova had been wounded in an attempt to detain Markelov's killer, but later Russian law enforcement authorities declared that Baburova was shot in the back of her head. Then-President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko sent her parents a condolence telegram on 23 January 2009. ST. PAUL State lawmakers are set to travel north to Hibbing on Tuesday, Jan. 21, to take up a slate of bills addressing Minnesota's firearm and public safety laws. Two of the measures set to come up before the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee would reduce restrictions on Minnesotans' right to carry, while two others would restrict gun sale and possession for certain people. They won't vote on the bills, but members of the committee will take up public testimony for the first time on a range of proposals. Crowds of advocates supporting both gun rights and gun control for months have filled hearing rooms and packed public spaces around the Capitol in displays of support and opposition for the dueling firearm proposals. And some are likely to make the trip Tuesday to weigh in on the plans up for consideration in Hibbing. Supporters of a pair of proposals aimed at limiting access to firearms have said the move to hold the discussion hours away from the Capitol in a hearing that will also consider permitless carry and stand your ground bills is an act of "window dressing" around the issues, rather than taking them seriously. ADVERTISEMENT Sen. Warren Limmer, R-Maple Grove, chairs the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee. And in announcing the hearing last month, he said it was important to have stakeholders in greater Minnesota weigh in on the plans, not just those in the Twin Cities metro area. "I think up until now, in the last two years, this gun debate has been one thats been initiated more by metropolitan interests," Limmer said. "I think its important to get opinion and the participation of our outstate citizens as well." The full Legislature could take up the proposals later this year as lawmakers return to St. Paul for the legislative session. But they'll likely face a tough path forth in the divided Legislature. Here's a look at some of the measures they're set to take up Tuesday. Senate File 2101 would require a court to set a compliance hearing within 10 days of issuing a firearms restriction after someone violates child abuse, domestic abuse, domestic assault, harassment or stalking laws. Firearms are supposed to be removed from the individual who violates the laws, but the current statute doesn't set out a process to ensure that happens. Senate File 434, referred to as the universal background check bill would require someone buying a firearm to obtain a transfer permit to purchase or file a transfer report. And if the buyer is obtaining a firearm from an unlicensed seller, they would also have to produce a transfer permit or provide a permit to carry and identification to the seller. Records of the sale or transfer would need to be kept for five years. Senate File 436, which has been called the "red flag" bill would allow law enforcement to remove firearms from a person believed to be a danger to him or herself or to others. Senate File 748 would allow Minnesotans authorized to carry a firearm under current permitting requirements to carry in public places without a permit. Senate File 72 would adopt in Minnesota law what is commonly known as stand your ground provisions, making justified the use of deadly force in efforts to defend one's self or others against real or perceived threats. Senate File 2596 would make it a felony to transfer a firearm to a person who has been denied a permit to carry, is ineligible for the permit or has been disqualified from possessing a permit. The hearing is set to begin at 1 p.m. Tuesday at the The Crown Ballroom in Hibbing. TOC Middle East, a container supply chain exhibition and conference for shipping, ports and terminals industries, returns to Dubai in 2020, taking place for the first time as part of UAE Maritime Week. The event will take place at the new Dubai Exhibition Centre, co-located with Expo 2020 Dubai. As part of the global portfolio of TOC conferences and exhibitions that champion ports and terminals as key enablers of maritime trade and supply chains, the 5th TOC Middle East will bring together cargo owners, ocean and land carriers, port operators and other stakeholder groups to discuss challenges and opportunities for the Middle East nations and their international trade partners, including the India Sub-continent and Africa. The exhibition will host the worlds leading suppliers of hardware, software, digital, automation and autonomous smart solutions for modern port, terminal and trade logistics operations. TOC Middle East is one of several flagship events being staged during UAE Maritime Week, which is hosted by Dubai Maritime City Authority. Other events taking place during the week include Seatrade Maritime Awards Middle East, Indian Subcontinent and Africa, Seatrade Maritime Middle East and Seatrade ShipTech Middle East. The Middle East has witnessed significant investment in new and upgraded port and terminal facilities over recent years, including adoption of some of the worlds most advanced automation and digitalisation technologies. Port volumes across the region are tipped to be among the fastest growing in the world over the coming few years according to market analyst Drewry, which forecasts growth of 5.1 per cent from 69 million TEU in 2018 to 89 million TEU by 2023. Exploring the regional outlook for port operations, shipping networks and maritime clusters, including the evolving role of ports and terminals as supply chain and trade logistics hubs, will be a central theme at the 2020 conference. Recently, TOC was pleased to present Abu Dhabi Ports with the award as Port & Terminal Operator of the Year at the 2019 Seatrade Maritime Middle East, Indian Subcontinent & Africa Awards. TOC Middle East 2020 will gather leading port and terminal operators from across all three regions to explore technology, operational best practice, finance and business development priorities. As part of the programme, there will be a special focus on One Belt One Road (OBOR) and other government-level investments in new corridors and clusters that are set to change the face of global trade. As with all TOC events in 2020, TOC Middle East 2020 will also provide a platform to explore accelerating technology innovation, including the new ecosystem of start-ups, scale-ups, incubators and accelerators as the industry seeks new solutions for eco-efficiency, clean energy, supply chain visibility and business process efficiency, regulatory compliance, safety, security and more. Its an honour to bring the TOC brand back to the Middle East and join the UAE Maritime Week, said Paul Holloway, TOC event director. We are looking forward to staging cutting edge business, technical and technology debates in a region we have not visited for 4 years. The decision to return was driven by demand, particularly from the exhibitors who have welcomed the news that we are back in the region. This occasion is particularly exciting as it is co-located with Expo 2020, a showcase of global innovation and creativity, Holloway added. TradeArabia News Service The ambitious collaboration from Performing Lines and the Arts Centre Melbourne reunites the writers behind the ground-breaking 1998 show, Whos Afraid of the Working Class? Credit:Sarah Walker This time around writers Andrew Bovell, Patricia Cornelius, Melissa Reeves, Christos Tsiolkas and composer Irine Vela have sought to capture life in todays Australia through conversations and characters in the railway carriages of suburban Melbourne. Here are four interwoven stories by four playwrights and a composer, performed by an ensemble of 12 actors and two musicians. Anthem is an ambitious collaboration from Performing Lines and the Arts Centre Melbourne which reunites the writers behind the ground-breaking 1998 show, Whos Afraid of the Working Class? Youve met everyone in Anthem, even if youve managed to ignore them; the cleaning lady from the end of the line, on her way to clean inner-city real estate; the mouthy group of kids who seem to think they are the only ones in the train; the Greek grandmother; the single mum with the grubby, whinging child; the tin-rattler and the racist. Loading Andrew Bovells Uncensored makes them into a chorus of individuals sharing one space, found comments appearing in random mouths. Meanwhile, specific characters emerge from the chorus to stake out their own narratives. Melissa Reeves introduces Loki and Lisa, two low-paid workers driven to desperate measures by the endless struggle. Patricia Cornelius turns an uncomfortable meeting between two women, the smartly-dressed Elaine and her former cleaning lady, Chi, into a contemplation of everyday misogyny and gender-based violence. Tehran says it will abandon key global treaty if European powers bring nuclear-deal breaches to the UN Security Council. Iran threatened to withdraw from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) if European countries bring alleged violations of the historic nuclear deal with world powers to the United Nations Security Council. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif issued the warning on Monday saying the Islamic Republic could take other steps before withdrawing from the NPT, without specifying them. If the Europeans continue their improper behaviour or send Irans file to the Security Council, we will withdraw from the NPT, Zarif said in comments carried by Iranian news agencies. The 190-member NPT, which was signed in 1968 and came into effect in 1970, bans signatories other than the United States, Russia, China, Britain, and France from acquiring nuclear weapons in return for allowing them to pursue peaceful nuclear programmes for power generation, overseen by the UN. NPT is the foundation of global nuclear arms control since the Cold War, including a 2015 deal that Iran signed with the world powers, which offered it access to global trade in return for accepting curbs to its atomic programme. The Islamic Republic gradually stepped back from its obligations under the accord after US President Donald Trump quit the deal in 2018 and reimposed crushing sanctions that have severely harmed the Iranian economy. Germany, France, and the UK accused Iran of violating the nuclear accord and launched a dispute mechanism last week, which could see the matter referred back to the Security Council and a reimposition of UN sanctions. If the Europeans return to the commitments, Iran will also stop reducing its commitments, but if the Europeans continue as they have been we have different options, said Zarif. Door not closed Earlier on Monday, Irans foreign ministry spokesman also warned more measures could be taken in retaliation for the European move. Seyyed Abbas Mousavi said Tehran had not closed the door to negotiations in efforts to resolve the dispute over the nuclear agreement. Tehran still remains in the deal The European powers claims about Iran violating the deal are unfounded, Mousavi said. Whether Iran will further decrease its nuclear commitments will depend on other parties and whether Irans interests are secured under the deal, he said. Tehran has repeatedly held talks with European officials to find ways to keep the nuclear agreement alive, but has blamed the Europeans for failing to guarantee economic benefits that Iran was meant to receive in return for curbing nuclear work. Britain has said a Trump deal could replace the 2015 deal, while France has called for broad talks to end the crisis. Iran says it cannot negotiate with Trump, who broke promises by repudiating the deal reached under his predecessor Barack Obama. Mousavi repeated Irans rejection of a Trump deal. Zarif skips Davos Mousavi also said Zarif will not attend this weeks World Economic Forum in Switzerland after organisers changed his programme. The four-day annual summit, which kicks off in the Swiss resort of Davos on Tuesday, is overshadowed by escalating tensions between the US and Iran. Zarifs absence removes any chance of a showdown with Trump, who is expected to attend the forum. They changed the original programme they had for him [Zarif], the programme that had been agreed upon, and came up with something else, said Mousavi. Either way, this trip unfortunately will not happen. Since the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal, tensions between Washington and Tehran have worsened, almost reaching a breaking point after a US drone attack on January 3 killed one of the Islamic Republics top military commanders, Qassem Soleimani. Iran hit back five days later by firing a barrage of missiles at US targets in neighbouring Iraq, but causing no fatalities. Hours later, Irans armed forces accidentally downed a Ukrainian airliner near Tehran, killing all 176 people on board. Trump previously threatened to hit 52 targets in Iran if it targeted US citizens or assets following Soleimanis killing. Iran, meanwhile, said the US bears some of the blame for the unintentional downing of the plane because of the heightened tensions. Five members of a fringe Tamil outfit were arrested here on Monday for burning an effigy of superstar Rajinikanth for his remarks on social reformer E V Ramasamy 'Periyar' The activists of Athi Tamizhar Peravai raised slogans and burnt an effigy of the actor, accusing him of spreading 'false' information about a 1971 rally to defame 'Periyar'. Some parties, including Dravidar Viduthulai Kazhagam, had already protested againstRajinikanth's statement. The DVK had demanded an unconditional apology and filed police complaints on January 17, seeking action against him. The party had alleged that Rajinikanth uttered a "blatant lie that images of Lord Ram and Sita were taken nude" in a 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," the party had said. The actor, in his address at the 50th anniversary-cum- readers' connect event of Tamil magazine 'Thuglak' on January 14 in Chennai, 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. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Iran Confirms Sending Downed Ukrainian Airliner's Black Boxes To Kyiv January 18, 2020 Iran has confirmed it will send the black-box flight recorders recovered from a Ukrainian passenger jet that was shot down over Tehran on January 8 to Kyiv. Hassan Rezaifer, head of the accident investigations unit of Iran's civil aviation authority, told the Tasnim news agency on January 18 that it had not been possible to read the black boxes in Iran. He said French, American, and Canadian experts will work with the equipment after it arrives in Kyiv. "If this effort is unsuccessful, then the black box will be sent to France," Rezaifer said. On January 15, Oleksandr Ruvin of the Kyiv Research Institute of Forensic Studies said the international team would begin studying the black boxes on January 20. Air-defense forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) shot down Ukrainian Airlines Flight PS752 shortly after takeoff, killing all 176 people on board. Iran has said the downing was an accident. The incident came shortly after Iran launched missiles at military bases in Iraq that hosted U.S. forces in response to an earlier U.S. airstrike that killed top Iranian military commander Major General Qasem Soleimani. Based on reporting by AP, Reuters, and TASS Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-confirms- sending-downed-ukrainian-airliner-s-black -boxes-to-kyiv/30384681.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 Mike Bloomberg is not your ordinary Leftist. Yes, he wants gun control, abortion on demand, birth control for schoolgirls, government-controlled education, the end of the coal industry, open borders, and amnesty for illegal aliens plus, he likes China's repressive government. On the other hand, Bloomberg supports strict drug laws (except for pot); opposes social promotion in schools; and, in a most un-socialist way, is a fiscal conservative who dislikes high taxes. Bloomberg can more accurately be described as a despot. A despot is a ruler with unlimited power, which seems to be Bloomberg's dream. His goal is to micromanage every citizen's life, right down to how Jewish kids get circumcised and how much salt people can eat. Many of his initiatives have less to do with ideology than with raw power (but always, of course, for the good of the little people). One thing Bloomberg understands is that, if criminals can get away with little crimes, they'll start committing bigger crimes until civil society breaks down. Exhibit A for this breakdown in America is San Francisco, followed by Seattle, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and every other Leftist-government city that believes it's racist to police criminals in order to protect law-abiding citizens. As New York's mayor, Bloomberg strongly supported "stop-and-frisk," a policy that allowed police to stop and search anyone they suspected was carrying illegal weapons or drugs. Whether because of racism or because minorities lag economically and therefore are in an economic class more prone to criminal activity, the New York police were stopping and frisking a lot of blacks. Blacks, therefore, do not like Bloomberg. Back in November, before he officially announced his candidacy, Bloomberg apologized for supporting the stop-and-frisk policy. Blacks were unimpressed. According to a recent poll of 1,088 blacks, when asked about their favorite Democrat candidate, only 4% supported Bloomberg, as opposed to the 48% supporting Biden. Faced with that news, Bloomberg has gone into pandering overdrive. He's announcing a $70-billion "Greenwood Initiative," which he describes in terms making it clear that it's a form of reparations: "For hundreds of years, America systematically stole black lives, black freedom and black labor," Bloomberg will say, according to his prepared remarks. "And the impact of that theft over a period of centuries has meant an enormous loss of wealth for individuals and families, across generations a kind of compound interest in reverse. Well, it's past time to say, 'Enough' and to damn well do something about it." [snip] Bloomberg's plan, according to details released by his team, focuses on investing in black business and home ownership, which includes "a $70 billion investment in the country's 100 most disadvantaged neighborhoods." The money will be controlled by a new White House office, the Neighborhood Equity and Opportunity Office, which will coordinate across federal agencies. The plan provided did not explicitly state the criteria to determine a level of disadvantage beyond being "place-based and evidence-based." (Emphasis added.) As you can see, the announcement also shows that Despot Mike again plans, personally, to take care of the little people. Trump has gone the other direction. By working to get the government out of the economy, he has given blacks, Hispanics, and women freedom's gift of letting them take care of their own well-being. Buying votes isn't the only pandering the once fiscally conservative Despot Mike is doing. He's now woke and is acknowledging his white privilege: Later in the speech, he is expected to add: "I didn't know it at the time, but when my parents moved to the house I grew up in, the owners wouldn't sell to them. They didn't want a Jewish family in the neighborhood. Luckily for us, our Irish lawyer was willing to buy it and transfer it to my parents. But if my mother and father had been black, we would not have been so lucky." In theory, Mini Mike, who hates Trump with a white-hot passion, could easily buy the White House. He's got operatives all over America to give him an exceptionally well funded ground game and he seems saner than most of the other Democrat candidates. Although Americans may flirt with socialism as an ideology, it's to be hoped they'll be less enthused about someone who's just a little dictator, no matter how well intentioned he seems. That's especially true of a charmless, tone-deaf little dictator. This is not to predict that Bloomberg will lose; it's just hard to imagine he will win. Having said that, be aware that many believe that Bloomberg's real goal isn't the presidency, but is, instead, a Democrat-majority Congress that will make it impossible for Trump to nominate any future conservative Supreme Court justices. In the upcoming election, don't just think about the president; think about the down-ballot votes, too. (@FahadShabbir) MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th January, 2020) Russia has signed the first defense cooperation deal with Eritrea since international sanctions were lifted off the African country and will deliver two Ansat helicopters to Eritrea in 2020, a source in the defense cooperation sector told Sputnik. "This country is no longer under sanctions. In 2019, a contract was signed with Eritrea on the delivery of two Ansat helicopters in a military modification to transport personnel. The deal is to be fulfilled in 2020," the source said. Eritrea was under UN sanctions between 2009 and 2018. The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the appeal of the All Progressive Congress and its candidate, Ahmed Aliyu, challenging Aminu Tambuwal of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as governor of Sokoto State. The seven-member of the apex court , in a unanimous judgement on Monday, dismissed the appeal for lacking in merit. Justice Uwani Abba-aji read the judgement. Justice Abba-aji held that the appellant(Mr Aliyu) failed to give any credible evidence to prove his petition against the outcome of the governorship election. The court noted that Mr Aliyu produced 12 witnesses before the tribunal, out of which 11 made their statements in Hausa language while the English version was tendered in evidence. Justice Abba-aji held that the appellant failed to tender the original version of the statements in evidence. The court further held that Mr Aliyu also failed to produce the translator to confirm the authenticity or otherwise of the 11 statements. They held that the appellant was unable to prove that the election was invalid by virtue of non-compliance with the Electoral Act. READ ALSO: In dismissing the appeal, the apex court held that Mr Aliyu failed to discharge the onus placed on him by the law, and accordingly dismissed the appeal. Earlier decisions Mr Aliyu had challenged the judgements of the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal and that of the Appeal Court that all dismissed his petitions. The Tribunal and Appeal Court had dismissed APCs petition for lacking in merits on October 2 and November 22, 2019, respectively. The Court of Appeal in Sokoto on November 22, upheld the re-election of Mr Tambuwal as the governor. Delivering judgment, Justice Hussein Mukhtar held that the judgement of the lower tribunal was in order and that the petitioners failed to establish their claims to non-compliance with the Electoral Act and the issue of over-voting. Mr Aliyu challenged the tribunal judgement that affirmed the election of Mr Tambuwal of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the 2019 governorship election in the state. The governorship election held on March 9 was declared inconclusive following the cancellation of 75,403 votes which were higher than the 3,413 votes margin between the leading candidates. The re-run was then conducted on March 23 and led to the victory of Mr Tambuwal who won with a slim margin of 342 votes. VANCOUVER, CANADA / ACCESSWIRE / January 20, 2020 / BeMetals Corp. ("BeMetals" or the "Company") (TSXV:BMET )(OTCQB:BMTLF) is pleased to announce the remaining analytical results from its Phase 1 underground drilling campaign, including holes SM19-016, SM19-017 and SM19-018 from the Company's high-grade South Mountain Base and Precious Metal Project ("South Mountain" or the "Project") in southwestern Idaho, U.S.A. Most importantly, drill hole SM19-016 has further increased the down plunge extent of the DMEA zone by approximately 75 metres and the zone remains open at depth (See Figures 1 & 2). The Company has also recently agreed upon revised terms with Copper Cross Zambia Limited at the Pangeni Copper Exploration Project in Zambia, to extend the due date for money-in-the-ground exploration investment until the end of 2020. This allows for a full field season of exploration activities this year. (See Pangeni section of this news release for more details). From this batch of recent analytical results, hole SM19-016 has identified multiple zones of dominant gold and silver mineralization in the projected extension of the polymetallic DMEA zone (See Figure 1 & Table 2). The geological logging and interpretation of SM19-016 suggests this drill hole intersected the margins of the DMEA zone based on an increase in the observed ratio of skarn to massive sulphide styles of mineralization. Future drilling will test areas in close proximity to SM19-016 where more massive sulphide mineralization is likely to be discovered. Drill holes SM19-017 and SM19-018 intersected intervals of predominantly zinc and silver mineralization associated with the MB4 target (See Figure 1 & Table 2). These holes represent the first drill testing at the MB4 target zone, generated from rib channel sampling results in the Sonneman level (See Company press release dated June 18, 2019), and as such the orientation of this mineralization is not yet fully understood. John Wilton, President, CEO and Director of BeMetals stated, "These recent results support and complete what has been a very successful phase 1 drilling program at the South Mountain Project in Idaho, U.S.A. This initial underground campaign of drilling has delivered on the Company's objective of demonstrating the potential to considerably expand the high-grade base and precious metal mineralization. Overall, we are pleased to see the increased gold and silver components in specifically the DMEA zone mineralization and have found this has been a consistent theme from the 2019 drilling results. In addition, we were pleased that in September 2019, one of the Company's advisors, Dr. Richard Sillitoe, an economic geologist, spent several days on site examining underground exposures, drill core and surface outcrops. He endorsed and was supportive of the general exploration methodology being applied to the deposit. Importantly it was noted that the massive sulphides have mainly replaced the Laxey marble unit, implying that they may be considered as carbonate-replacement deposit ("CRD") style of mineralization. This classification as a CRD by Dr. Sillitoe might well indicate that there is more upside to the ultimate scale of this deposit than was previously recognized." Table 1 below summarizes the drill intersections returned from the phase 1 program, demonstrating the high-grade nature of the base and precious metal mineralization. Figure 1 illustrates the compiled intersections which indicate the potential to expand the mineral resource base at the South Mountain deposit following phase 2 drilling in 2020. PHASE 1 DRILLING AT THE SOUTH MOUNTAIN PROJECT The principal objectives of the phase 1 work plan at South Mountain was to test for potential extensions of the mineralized zones and support the grade distribution of the current polymetallic mineral resource estimate. The Company has now successfully completed the phase 1 program comprised of 20 underground drill holes for a total of approximately 2,250 metres. Geological logging and sampling of all drill holes have now been completed with all analytical results received. These results have been compiled into the Project's geological database and will be used to design the phase 2 drilling program for 2020. Following a planned phase 2 drilling program, all new results will be integrated into an updated mineral resource estimation for the Project, expected to be completed towards the end of this year. Further expansion and definition of the DMEA, Texas, and MB4 zones, as well as other targets within reach of underground drill testing from the Sonneman level, provide excellent exploration upside for the 2020 program. Table 1. All Previously Reported Analytical and Assay Results for the Phase 1 Drilling Program Drill Hole ID, Zone & Interval From (m) To (m) Core Interval (m) Zn % Ag g/t Au g/t Pb % Cu % DMEA Zone SM19-002 Interval 1 46.88 57.39 10.51 17.81 226 2.41 1.59 0.16 Interval 2 67.85 71.63 3.78 5.45 145 8.39 0.58 0.15 Interval 3 85.83 96.39 10.56 11.42 123 4.43 0.36 0.52 SM19-003 Interval 1 51.18 75.35 24.17 11.12 267 3.44 3.75 0.29 Including 51.18 60.78 9.60 11.74 437 5.99 8.68 0.38 Including 62.09 75.35 13.26 11.77 169 1.88 0.54 0.25 Interval 2 77.60 81.24 3.64 9.74 331 1.94 1.11 0.34 SM19-005 75.13 86.37 11.23 7.97 128 1.20 0.91 0.24 SM19-006 28.01 43.71 15.70 21.27 147 8.04 0.77 0.30 SM19-007 26.97 39.17 12.20 18.16 122.6 4.41 1.55 0.16 SM19-014 Interval 1 105.31 120.40 15.09 9.59 127.1 1.50 0.69 0.28 Interval 2 138.07 143.88 5.81 4.88 76.9 2.55 0.21 0.12 Interval 3 155.17 158.95 3.78 14.49 145.5 0.37 0.25 0.48 Interval 4 184.40 189.56 5.15 0.28 79.9 2.08 0.15 0.06 Interval 5 250.65 258.94 8.29 8.11 178.7 0.48 0.57 1.73 Interval 6 266.33 268.16 1.83 1.32 158.9 2.56 0.56 0.11 Texas Zone SM19-010 Interval 1 24.41 31.62 7.21 4.37 155.2 0.13 0.03 2.07 Interval 2 53.11 63.15 10.04 0.40 135.1 0.07 0.01 1.75 Table 2 below shows the latest results received from holes SM19-016, SM19-017 and SM19-018 and Table 3 provides their drill hole co-ordinates, azimuth and dip. Table 2. Drill Holes SM19-016, SM19-017 and SM19-018: Analytical and Assay Results Drill Hole ID: Zone & Interval From (m) To (m) Core Interval (m) Zn % Ag g/t Au g/t Pb % Cu % DMEA Zone SM19-016 Interval 1 112.33 132.05 19.72 0.07 8.39 1.52 0.01 0.002 Interval 2 136.55 146.64 10.09 3.15 151.3 1.68 0.66 0.22 Interval 3 158.27 163.59 5.32 0.59 46.8 1.81 0.11 0.04 Interval 4 184.18 188.64 4.47 5.04 482.0 4.27 5.80 0.43 Interval 5 227.32 230.83 3.51 8.85 136.2 0.17 1.25 1.67 MB4 Target Zone SM19-017 Interval 1 1.37 5.23 3.86* 12.90 314.1 0.26 0.88 1.08 Interval 2 16.32 24.08 7.76* 10.23 91.4 0.07 0.36 0.55 SM19-018 Interval 1 0.00 18.62 18.62* 5.15 73.2 0.11 0.02 0.41 Including 8.53 18.62 10.09* 8.06 97.0 0.15 0.02 0.68 Note: Reported widths in tables 1 & 2 are drilled core lengths as true widths are unknown at this time. It is estimated based upon current data that true widths might range between 60-80% of the drilled intersection. For drill holes SM19-017* and SM19-018* true widths are unknown as these are the first drill intersections of the MD4 target. Intervals cut offs are based upon visual contacts of massive sulphide units with no more than 1.75 metres of internal skarn. For SM19-010 a nominal 0.5% copper cut off has been applied to determine the boundaries of the intersections for this skarn hosted mineralization with no more than 1.4m of internal dilution. For SM19-016 (intervals 1, 3 and 4) a nominal 0.46 g/t gold cut off has been applied to determine the boundaries of the intersections with no internal dilution. For SM19-017 & 018 a nominal 2.4% zinc cut off has been applied to determine the boundaries of the intersections for this skarn hosted mineralization with no more than 2m of internal dilution. (Note: See details below in QA/QC section). The above drill holes returned significant intersections of both massive sulphide and skarn styles of mineralization. Important sulphide minerals are pyrrhotite, sphalerite, galena, arsenopyrite and chalcopyrite. During the planned phase 2 campaign at South Mountain, the Company will carry out mineralogy and metallurgical test work studies to confirm historical results. From the recent batch of drilling, holes SM19-015, SM19-019, SM19-020 did not return any significant mineralization and this information will be compiled to be used to design and target areas of mineralization in the 2020 phase 2 program. Drill hole SM19-021 had to be terminated at 10 metres with a significant drill rig break down near the planned conclusion of the phase 1 program. Figure 1: 3D Perspective View inclined at 20 degrees looking north-north-east, showing locations of rib-sampling, priority target zones, and the phase 1 drill holes and highlighted the recent SM19-016, SM19-017 and SM19-018 Figure 2: Plan View of the Sonneman & Laxey Levels, South Mountain Deposit, showing locations of rib-sampling, priority target zones, and drill holes SM19-016, SM19-017 and SM19-018 Table 3 below shows the drill hole azimuth, dip, end of hole depth and collar co-ordinates. Table 3: Drill Hole Azimuth, Dip and Collar Co-ordinates Hole ID Azimuth Degree Dip Degree End of hole Length (m) East (ft.) North (ft.) Elevation (ft.) SM19-015 237 -68 106.07 231,1176 394,129 6868 SM19-016 237 -58.5 267.61 231,1176 394,129 6868 SM19-017 240 -42 74.06 231,0900 394,412 6868 SM19-018 235 -22 61.87 231,0900 394,412 6868 SM19-019 205 -45 91.44 231,0841 394,498 6863 SM19-020 205 -51 92.35 231,0841 394,498 6863 SM19-021 205 -41 10.06 231,0841 394,498 6863 QUALITY ASSURANCE AND QUALITY CONTROL PROCEDURES The Project employs a rigorous QC/QA program that includes; blanks, duplicates and appropriate certified standard reference material. All samples are introduced into the sample stream prior to sample handling/crushing to monitor analytical accuracy and precision. The insertion rate for the combined QA/QC samples is 10 percent or more depending upon batch sizes. ALS Global completed the analytical work with the core samples processed at their preparation facility in Reno, Nevada, U.S.A. All analytical and assay procedures are conducted in the ALS facility in North Vancouver, BC. The samples are processed by the following methods as appropriate to determine the grades; Au-AA23-Au 30g fire assay with AA finish, ME-ICP61-33 element four acid digest with ICP-AES finish, ME-OG62-ore grade elements, four acid with ICP-AES finish, Pb-OG62-ore grade Pb, four acid with ICP-AES finish, Zn-OG62-ore grade Zn, four acid digest with ICP-AES finish, Ag-GRA21-Ag 30g fire assay with gravimetric finish. THE SOUTH MOUNTAIN PROJECT South Mountain is a polymetallic development project focused on high-grade zinc and is located approximately 70 miles southwest of Boise, Idaho (see Figure 3). The Project was intermittently mined from the late 1800s to the late 1960s and its existing underground workings remain intact and well maintained. Historic production at the Project has largely come from high-grade massive sulphide bodies that remain open at depth and along strike. According to historical smelter records, approximately 53,642 tons of mineralized material has been mined to date. These records also indicate average grades; 14.5% Zn, 363.42 g/t Ag, 1.98 g/t Au, 2.4% Pb, and 1.4% Cu were realised. Thunder Mountain Gold Inc. purchased and advanced the Project from 2007 through 2019 investing approximately US$12M during that period. The current mineral resource estimate of the deposit is detailed in Table 3 below and the Company expects to provide a revised mineral resource update following a phase 2 drilling program in 2020. The Project is largely on and surrounded by private surface land, and as such, the permitting and environmental aspects of the Project are expected to be straightforward. Permits are in place for underground exploration activities and BeMetals does not anticipate significant barriers to any future development at the Project. Figure 3: Project Location Map Table 3. NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Statement for the South Mountain Project - April 1, 2019 Mineral Resources at 6.04% ZnEq Cut-off Classification Zinc Equivalent Resource Contained Metal Short Tons ZnEq lbs ZnEq % Zn lbs Zn% Ag oz. Ag opt (g/t) Au oz. Au opt (g/t) Pb lbs Pb % Cu lbs Cu % x1000 x1000 x1000 x1000 x1000 x1000 x1000 Measured 63.2 22,200 17.57 14,700 11.64 237 3.745 (116 g/t) 4.0 0.063 (1.96 g/t) 600 0.483 700 0.566 Indicated 106.7 37,800 17.72 21,500 10.08 576 5.398 (168 g/t) 7.0 0.066 (2.05 g/t) 2,100 0.983 1,600 0.766 Measured + Indicated 169.9 60,000 17.66 36,200 10.66 813 4.783 (149 g/t) 11.0 0.065 (2.09 g/t) 2,700 0.797 2,300 0.692 Inferred 363.2 120,800 16.63 70,500 9.70 2,029 5.585 (174 g/t) 16.3 0.045 (1.49 g/t) 8,700 1.202 5,200 0.696 The effective date of the mineral resource estimate is April 1, 2019. The QP for the estimate Mr. Randall K. Martin of Hard Rock Consulting, LLC, is independent of BeMetals Corp. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. Inferred mineral resources that are part of the mineral resource for which quantity and grade or quality are estimated on the basis of limited geologic evidence and sampling, which is sufficient to imply but not verify grade or quality and continuity. Inferred mineral resources may not be converted to mineral reserves. It is reasonably expected, though not guaranteed, that the majority of Inferred mineral resources could be upgraded to Indicated mineral resources with continued exploration. The mineral resource is reported at an underground mining cutoff of 6.04% Zinc Equivalent ("ZnEq") within coherent wireframe models. The ZnEq. calculation and cutoff is based on the following assumptions: an Au price of US$1,231/oz., Ag price of US$16.62/oz., Pb price of US$0.93/lb., Zn price of US$1.10/lb. and Cu price of $2.54/lb.; metallurgical recoveries of 75% for Au, 70% for Ag, 87% for Pb, 96% for Zn and 56% for Cu, assumed mining cost of US$70/ton, process costs of US$25/ton, general and administrative costs of US$7.50/ton, smelting and refining costs of US$25/ton. Based on the stated prices and recoveries the ZnEq formula is calculated as follows; ZnEq = (Au grade * 43.71) + (Ag grade * 0.55) + (Pb grade * 0.77) + (Cu grade * 1.35) + (Zn grade). Rounding may result in apparent differences when summing tons, grade and contained metal content. Tonnage and grade measurements are in imperial units. pangeni copper exploration project: revised terms for exploration expenditure Following the encouraging copper intersections returned during the 2019 field season, the Company is pleased to report it has agreed upon revised terms of the letter agreement with Copper Cross Zambia Limited, subject to approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. The due date for the remaining obligation of US$ 1,036,806 through money-in-the-ground exploration expenditures has been extended from the 5th of February, 2020 to the 31st of December, 2020. Also it has been agreed to settle an upcoming amount due from US$ 150,000 to US$ 100,000 with the issuance of common shares of BeMetals equal to US$ 50,000. The common shares will be subject to a hold period of four months and a day from the date of issuance. The parties have also agreed that any shortfall of the expenditure commitment amount as of 31st December, 2020 will be settled in common shares of BeMetals paid as at that date. The results of the 2019 drill program have delivered and exceeded the Company's objectives at the commencement of Pangeni. The prospectivity of this licence to deliver, potentially tier one scale, copper discovery through the identification of copper sulphide mineralization and associated alteration systems has been established. This area is an under explored region of potential extensions to the prolific Zambian Copperbelt. This data is now being used to design the next phase of exploration which will likely focus on further aircore drilling at the D2, SW (E2) and CT targets to test for extensions and vectors towards higher grade copper mineralization at these prospects during the 2020 field season. (See previous news release dated October 16, 2019). the pangeni copper exploration project The Pangeni Project is located on the western extension of the Zambian Copperbelt, within the Lufilian Arc, underlain by Katangan Supergroup metasediments situated unconformably on basement schists and gneisses, which are covered by a thin veneer of Kalahari sands. The open pit Sentinel Copper Mine is operated by First Quantum Minerals Ltd. some 130 kilometres to the northeast of the Pangeni Project. Several major international mining companies have identified this region of the Zambian Copperbelt to be prospective for the discovery of tier one copper mines and are also conducting extensive exploration work in this area. The Pangeni Project property is geologically prospective for the following deposit types; Basement-hosted Cu (analogues: the Lumwana Deposit, Nyungu Prospect), Sediment-hosted stratiform Cu-Co (analogues: Nchanga, Konkola, Nkana, and Mufulira Deposits), other Domes Region Deposits e.g. Sentinel, and Kansanshi and DRC Copperbelt Deposits e.g. Lonshi, Frontier, Kamoa-Kakula). The technical information in this news release for BeMetals has been reviewed and approved by John Wilton, CGeol FGS, CEO and President of BeMetals, and a "Qualified Person" as defined under National Instrument 43-101. About BeMetals Corp. BeMetals' founding Directors include John Wilton (President and CEO), Clive Johnson, Roger Richer, and Tom Garagan. BeMetals is a new base metals exploration and development company focused on becoming a significant base metal producer through the acquisition of quality exploration, development and potentially production stage projects. The Company is progressing both its advanced high-grade, zinc-silver polymetallic underground exploration at the South Mountain Project in Idaho, and its tier-one targeted, Pangeni Copper Exploration Project in Zambia. The Company's growth strategy is led by our strong Board, key members of which have an extensive proven record of delivering considerable value in the mining sector through the discovery, construction and operation of mines around the world. The Board, it's Advisors, and senior management also provide outstanding deal flow of project opportunities to BeMetals based upon their extensive network of contacts in the international minerals business. On Behalf of BeMetals Corp. "John Wilton" John Wilton President, CEO and Director For further information about BeMetals please visit our website at www.bemetalscorp.com and sign-up to our email list to receive timely updates, or contact: Derek Iwanaka Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Development Telephone: 604-609-6141 Email: diwanaka@bemetalscorp.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. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains "forward-looking statements" and "forward looking information" (as defined under applicable securities laws), based on management's best estimates, assumptions and current expectations. Such statements include but are not limited to, statements with respect to the plans for future exploration and development of the South Mountain and Pangeni projects, and the acquisition of additional base metal projects. Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "expects", "expected", "budgeted", "forecasts" , "anticipates" "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "aims", "potential", "goal", "objective", "prospective", and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "can", "could" or "should" occur. These statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such statements, including but not limited to: the actual results of exploration activities, the availability of financing and/or cash flow to fund the current and future plans and expenditures, the ability of the Company to satisfy the conditions of the option agreements for the South Mountain Project and/or the Pangeni Project, and changes in the world commodity markets or equity markets. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The forward-looking statements and forward looking information are made as of the date hereof and are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The Company disclaims any obligation to revise or update any such factors or to publicly announce the result of any revisions to any forward-looking statements or forward looking information contained herein to reflect future results, events or developments, except as require by law. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and information. Please refer to the Company's most recent filings under its profile at www.sedar.com for further information respecting the risks affecting the Company and its business. SOURCE: BeMetals Corp. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/573484/BeMetals-Further-Extends-Down-Plunge-DMEA-Zone-Mineralization-at-the-High-Grade-Polymetallic-South-Mountain-Project-in-Idaho-USA CHICAGO - The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago is marking the 50th anniversary of a program honouring the achievements of African Americans in science, technology, engineering, art and medicine and encouraging young people to consider those fields. The Black Creativity program began in 1970. This years event is focused on innovation. The program begins Monday and runs through March 1. The program includes hands-on activities for school groups and a museum exhibit featuring more than 200 works by black artists. The museum also has scheduled a career event on Feb. 29 highlighting black artists, scientists and engineers working in Chicago. As an institution that welcomes so many families and students, its critical to highlight the African-American leaders who are creating real change in their professional fields and within their communities, inspiring young people to add their own ideas to the legacy of African-American innovation, said David Mosena, the museums president and chief executive officer. A Houston accordionist is feeling squeezed by an obscure city law aimed at restricting where musicians can play for tips. Anthony Barilla, also a composer whose work can be heard on the radio program This American Life, lodged the lawsuit in federal court recently in hopes of striking down the decades-old Houston ordinance, contending that it violates the First Amendment. As the law stands, a performer regardless of their talent or instrument, be it a guitar, violin or their voice must have a permit to serenade the streets with any hope of making a buck. And that permit confines them to the Theater District. Barilla does not consider himself solely a busker, a musician who performs in public places often with a belly-up hat or an open instrument case to invite a toss of the coin. But he traversed Houstons permit process in 2018 to see what would happen and to brush up on the accordion. While he enjoyed the dozen or so times he performed, he found the Theater District to be a less than ideal stage. The Theater District is not a great place to busk, Barilla said. Barilla blames the limited hours of when people travel the streets to go to shows, and even then, theres not a lot of foot traffic. Fewer people means fewer tips. You dont really think about Houston and foot traffic in the same sentence, he said. Additionally, Barilla added, its just a dumb law. For most of the 20th century, musicians were barred from public street performances in Houston. Chronicle archives show that musicians began wooing the city for permits in the 1980s, but nothing serious happened until 1990, when the G-7 Summit was predicted to draw visitors to Houston. City officials OKd an experimental program to allow street performers in the Theater District only. The program, if it worked and were then made permanent, would lure more people downtown, especially during conventions, then-Mayor Kathy Whitmire hoped. According to reports, only five permits were issued during the pilot. The following year, City Council signed off on the ordinance. Unlike Houston, some cities do not require permits. Musicians dont need one to entertain straphangers amid the roar of New York Citys subway system. Busking has been street legal in most areas of Seattle for more than 40 years Houston is such a business-friendly town. This is my business, Barilla said. Youd think Houston, given our pro-business climate, that we wouldnt be that way. The law is archaic. We havent caught up to other world-class cities. Barilla did recoup the cost of his $50 permit for one year. I think it would have been easy to make a lot more in a better spot, he continued. If the ordinance were to change or be nixed entirely Barilla believes sections of Westheimer in Montrose, outside the watering holes along Main Street, and the Heights would be lucrative locales. Barilla also warned that having a permit does not guarantee a place to play. The rules force musicians to chase down written permission from the abutting property owners where they wish to play which can be awkward for some or difficult if the property owner can not be found. Barilla was rejected three times. His permit expired last August, and he opted not to renew it. Musicians have been spotted playing outside the Theater District the steps leading up to the Harris County Civil Courthouse, for example but technically, its against the ordinance. The rule, if enforced, could leave musicians with hefty $500 fines if theyre caught performing either within the districts eight-block boundary or outside the boundary while soliciting tips. But as far as city officials could tell, the ordinance is rarely enforced. No data could be provided by Friday to show how many permits were issued in 2018 or if any citations were written. The city has declined to comment on Barillas lawsuit. nicole.hensley@chron.com Struggling state-owned carrier South African Airways said on Monday (January 20) its services to all destinations were continuing as normal after talks over the weekend on a bailout plan for the airline ended with no solution. SAA is one of several state entities, including power company Eskom, struggling with debt after nearly a decade of mismanagement. Their woes are the single biggest threat to Africa's most industrialized economy and have been largely responsible for bringing South Africa's credit rating to the brink of junk. Government officials are now scrambling to work out how they can provide two billion rand promised to SAA when it entered a form of bankruptcy protection last month. SAA's rescue practitioners held talks throughout the weekend to try and resolve the situation but a person briefed on the talks said no solution had been found as of Sunday (January 19) evening. Last week, a senior trade union official said SAA may have to suspend some flights and delay salary payments if the government didn't come up with a plan to provide the funding soon. Langkawi: Malaysia will not take retaliatory trade action against India over its boycott of palm oil purchases amid a political row between the two countries, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Monday. India, the worlds largest edible oil buyer, this month effectively halted imports from its largest supplier and the worlds second-biggest producer in response to comments from Mahathir attacking Indias domestic policies. We are too small to take retaliatory action, Mahathir told reporters in Langkawi, a resort island off the western coast of Malaysia. We have to find ways and means to overcome that, he added. The 94-year-old premier of Muslim-majority Malaysia has criticised New Delhis new religion-based citizenship law and also accused India of invading the disputed region of Kashmir. Mahathir again criticised Indias citizenship law on Monday, saying he believed it was grossly unfair. India has been Malaysias largest palm oil market for the past five years, presenting the Southeast Asian country with a major challenge in finding new buyers for its palm oil. Benchmark Malaysian palm futures fell nearly 10% last week, their biggest weekly decline in more than 11 years. New Delhi is also unhappy with Malaysias refusal to revoke permanent resident status for controversial Indian Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, who has lived in Malaysia for about three years and faces charges of money laundering and hate speech in India. Mahathir said even if the Indian government guarantees a fair trial, Naik faces the real threat of vigilante action and that Malaysia will only relocate the preacher if it can find a third country where he would be safe. If we can find a place for him, we will send him out. Sufficient wheat stock available in the country: Makhdoom Khusro ISLAMABAD: Minister for National Food Security and Research Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtyar on Sunday said sufficient wheat stock was available in the country to fulfil the domestic requirements of flour, and expressed firm resolve to take strict action against those involve in hording, profiteering or creating artificial crisis of the commodity in the domestic markets. Addressing a press conference, he said current scenario of wheat and flour emerged due to multiple reasons that included transporters strike in Karachi which had affected the supply in the local markets of Sindh, and the ban on inter-provincial movement of wheat between Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to curb its smuggling. Both the causes, which were distorting the demand and supply in local markets, were dually addressed and supply of grains was restored, he said, adding that demand and supply gap had been bridged and situation would be smooth in the local markets , while prices would also come down in a couple of days. He informed that wheat supply to Karachi was enhanced to 10,000 metric tonnes from 9,000 metric tonnes and wheat-laden trucks of National Logistic Cell had already left, adding that the federal government had assured the provincial government of providing 50,000 tonnes more wheat from the PASCOs go-downs on requirement. He said the supply to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which was disturbed due to inter-provincial checks, was also realigned and supply to the province was increased from 4,000 metric tonnes per day to 5,000 tonnes. Besides, the private sector was also supplying 4,000 tonnes to provincial markets, he said, adding that the supply for KP would be enhanced by 10,000 metric tonnes from Monday. So far, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had lifted 250,000 metric tonnes of wheat out of 450,000 tonnes, he said, adding that 100,000 metric tonnes of more wheat would be provided to province after the approval of the Economic Coordination Committee that would meet on Monday. The minister said the flour mills of Punjab was provided 390 metric tonnes of wheat, adding that total demand of Lahore city and adjoining areas was recoded at 180,000 bags of 20kg per day. Out of the total requirements, the Food Department was supplying 140,000 bags and 35,000 bags were provided by the private sector, he said. Khusro Bakhtyar said the remaining 5,000-bag need was fulfilled from the local wheat grinders (atta chaki), adding that out of the total consumption, only 5-6 percent was fulfilled from these local grinders and the government was making a mechanism to regulate these to keep the prices smooth. He said that around 40,000 metric tonnes of wheat was smuggled to Afghanistan per month, and special measures were also made to check this smuggling to keep the supply smooth in local markets. The minister said a special helpline was also established to monitor the wheat supply in local markets and wheat procurement targets were also enhanced from six million tonnes to eight million tonnes to keep the strategic reserves for local requirements. To a question, he said the incumbent government had attached higher priorities with the agriculture sector and initiated development projects worth Rs 300 billion to enhance the output of major crops, including wheat. Meanwhile, Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan on Sunday said a mafia was creating artificial shortage of wheat and flour by purchasing the commodities from local markets in a bid to whiten their black money. Addressing a news conference, she said 368 sale points and 181 truck points had been set up to ensure smooth supply of wheat flour to people. She said indiscriminate action was being taken against elements involved in hoarding of flour. She said more than 25,000 tonnes of wheat was being provided to some 814 flour mills in Punjab on a daily basis. Firdous said the government was successfully breaking the nexus of the mafia to get rid of people creating artificial flour crisis. She said the government was taking stern legal action against stockists, hoarders and profiteers. She said now the war against price hike had entered in its final stages. She said Prime Minister Imran Khan had directed the government to ensure early provision of 400,000 tonnes of wheat to Sindh province, out of which Sindh had yet lifted 100,000 tonnes. She said the federal government had taken full responsibility of fulfilling the basic food needs of people of the country. She said the Sindh government showed negligence in purchase of wheat on time and miserably failed to manage demand and supply gap in the province. People across America will remember and honor Rev. Martin Luther King today. King was the most visible spokesperson and leader of the civil rights movement before being killed by an assassin on April 4, 1968. MLK Day is a federal holiday, though it was not made official until 18 years after his assassination. Efforts to honor King with a federal holiday began just months after his April 4, 1968 death. Those efforts failed, as did a 1979 vote by Congress that came after King's widow, Coretta Scott King, spoke out in favor of the day. Momentum for the holiday grew in 1980 when entertainer Stevie Wonder released "Happy Birthday" in King's honor, leading to a petition calling for MLK Day and, in 1983, House passage of a holiday bill. Despite Senate objections, the King holiday passed the Senate and was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in 1983. The first official Martin Luther King Jr. Day was observed on the third Monday of January 1986. In the beginning only 27 states recognized the holiday. In 2000, Utah became the last state to recognize MLK Day by name, the same year South Carolina became the final state to make Martin Luther King Jr. Day a paid holiday for employees. Heres a look at some of MLKs most inspirational quotes: "It is not possible to be in favor of justice for some people and not be in favor of justice for all people." Martin Luther King Jr. "Let no man pull you low enough to hate him." Martin Luther King Jr. "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." Martin Luther King Jr. "Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase." Martin Luther King Jr. We are not makers of history. We are made by history. Martin Luther King Jr. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence. Martin Luther King Jr. 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." Martin Luther King Jr. "There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because his conscience tells him it is right." Martin Luther King Jr. We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies. Martin Luther King. Jr. "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." Martin Luther King Jr. If you cant fly then run, if you cant run then walk, if you cant walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.- - Martin Luther King Jr. "In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." Martin Luther King Jr. "I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word." Martin Luther King, Jr. "Never, never be afraid to do what's right. Especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society's punishments are small compared to the ones we inflict on our soul when we look the other way." Martin Luther King Jr. "If I cannot do great things I can do small things in a great way." Martin Luther King Jr. "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands in times of challenge and controversy." Martin Luther King Jr. "That old law about 'an eye for an eye' leaves everybody blind. The time is always right to do the right thing." - Martin Luther King Jr. "A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus." Martin Luther King, Jr. "We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now." Martin Luther King, Jr. "History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people." Martin Luther King, Jr. The mission is bigger than any one person. Marina Salandy-Brown has employed that self-sacrificial task-focused approach to successfully create the most influential modern literary movement in the Caribbean: the Bocas Lit Fest. In 11 short years Salandy-Brown, as founder and president of the Bocas Lit Fest, has brought together the best and brightest of Caribbean literature for the annual celebration, the NGC Bocas Lit Fest, sparking a literary renaissance of sorts in the region. All India Students' Association (AISA) and other organisations on Monday held a protest march against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Register of Citizen (NRC) and Population Register (NPR) here on Monday. Former JNU student and activist Umar Khalid was also present during the protest. Demonstrators were seen carrying anti-CAA posters and chanted slogans against the implementation of the new act. One of the posters read: "Reject CAA-NPR-NRC" Protests broke out in different parts of the country against and in support 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. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Photo: The Canadian Press The Senate side of the U.S. Capitol in Washington. President Donald Trump's legal team asserted Monday that he did absolutely nothing wrong," urging the Senate to swiftly reject an impeachment case that it called flimsy" and a dangerous perversion of the Constitution." The lawyers decried the impeachment process as rigged and insisted that abuse of power was not a crime. The brief from Trump's lawyers, filed before arguments expected this week in the Senate impeachment trial, offered the most detailed glimpse of the lines of defence they intend to use against Democratic efforts to convict the president and oust him from office over his dealings with Ukraine. It is meant as a counter to a filing two days ago from House Democrats that summarized weeks of testimony from more than a dozen witnesses in laying out the impeachment case. The 110-page filing from the White House shifted the tone toward a more legal response. It still hinged on Trumps assertion he did nothing wrong and did not commit a crime even though impeachment does not depend on a material violation of law but rather on the more vague definition of other high crimes and misdemeanours as established in the Constitution. It is a constitutional travesty," the lawyers wrote. The prosecution team of House managers was spending another day on Capitol Hill preparing for the trial, which will be under heavy security. Before the filing, House prosecutors made their way through crowds of tourists in the Rotunda to tour the Senate chamber. In their own filing Monday, House prosecutors replied to Trump's not guilty plea by making fresh demands for fair trial in the Senate, where the Republican majority aligned with Trump has not yet disclosed the rules. President Trump asserts that his impeachment is a partisan hoax.' He is wrong, the prosecutors wrote in their reply. They wrote that the president can't have it both ways rejecting the facts of the House case but also stonewalling congressional subpoenas for witnesses and testimony. Senators must honour their own oaths by holding a fair trial with all relevant evidence," they wrote. The White House document Monday, much more fulsome than its weekend pleading, says the two articles of impeachment brought against the president abuse of power and obstruction of Congress don't amount to impeachment offences. It asserts that the impeachment inquiry, centred on Trump's request that Ukraine's president open an investigation into Democratic rival Joe Biden, was never about finding the truth. Instead, House Democrats were determined from the outset to find some way any way to corrupt the extraordinary power of impeachment for use as a political tool to overturn the result of the 2016 election and to interfere in the 2020 election," Trump's legal team wrote. All of that is a dangerous perversion of the Constitution that the Senate should swiftly and roundly condemn." The impeachment case accuses Trump of abusing power by withholding military aid from Ukraine at the same time that he was seeking an investigation into Biden, and of obstructing Congress by instructing administration officials not to appear for testimony or provide documents, defying congressional subpoenas. In a brief filed Saturday, House Democrats called Trump's conduct the worst nightmare" of the framers of the Constitution. Nicole Kidman channelled classic Hollywood glamour when she stepped out for the Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles on Monday. The 52-year-old Aussie actress looked stunning in a floor-length midnight blue gown with a thigh-high split up one side by Michael Kors Collection. Her intricately designed dress featured a small train, thin belt, and ruffle detailing around the waist and skirt. Movie star style: Nicole Kidman channelled classic Hollywood glamour when she stepped out for the Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles on Monday The round-neck gown also featured long sleeves, and beading across the bodice, which petered out on the skirt. Nicole completed her ensemble with a pair of complementary silver and blue jewelled high heels by Alexandre Birman. She also donned layered silver bangles and an assortment of rings, and wore jewelled drop earrings. All from Lydia Courteille and Le Vian. To bead or not to bead: The round-neck gown also featured long sleeves, and beading across the bodice, which petered out on the skirt Peek-a-boo: The 52-year-old Aussie actress looked stunning in a floor-length midnight blue gown with a thigh-high split up one side The stunning star styled her long blonde hair in finger waves, worn swept over to one side. In a post on Instagram Stories on Monday, Nicole shared a photo of herself getting ready ahead of the prestigious awards ceremony. Dressed in a white terry towelling robe, the Big Little Lies actress shared a close-up photo of herself getting her hair styled. Making waves: The stunning star styled her long blonde hair in finger waves, worn swept over to one side Behind the scenes: In a post on Instagram Stories on Monday, Nicole shared a photo of herself getting ready ahead of the prestigious awards ceremony Two hair clips were pinned at the front of her hair, holding her waves in place, and her porcelain skin looked luminous. 'Finger wave BTS,' she captioned the photo, adding a love heart emoji. She stepped out solo for the event, with no sign of her usual red carpet date, husband Keith Urban, 52. Flying solo: She stepped out solo for the event, with no sign of her usual red carpet date, husband Keith Urban Putting her best foot forward: Nicole completed her ensemble with a pair of complementary silver and blue jewelled high heels Inside, Nicole was met by fellow actress Jennifer Aniston, with the 50-year-old embracing her friend in a hug as they posed for photos. Nicole was nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role for her role in Bombshell. However she lost out to Laura Dern, 52, who won for her role in Marriage Story. Getting recognition: Nicole was nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role for her role in Bombshell Art imitating life: Nicole portrays real-life television journalist Gretchen Carlson, 53, who helped bring Fox News boss Roger Ailes to justice, after filing a sexual harassment lawsuit against him Nicole portrays real-life television journalist Gretchen Carlson, 53, who helped bring Fox News boss Roger Ailes to justice, after filing a sexual harassment lawsuit against him. In an interview with the The Sydney Morning Herald on Sunday, Nicole admitted she was initially apprehensive about taking on the role. She said it was actually Meryl Streep, 70, who convinced her she could pull off the performance. Reunited: Inside, Nicole was met by fellow actress Jennifer Aniston, with the 50-year-old embracing her friend in a hug as they posed for photos Feeling unsure: In an interview with the The Sydney Morning Herald on Sunday, Nicole admitted she was initially apprehensive about taking on her role in Bombshell 'I spoke to Meryl Streep - just to name-drop - "Should I play Gretchen Carlson?" Because I trust Meryl's taste and also because I obviously don't look like Gretchen,' she confessed. 'I was also thinking, as I always do, that there are 10 other actresses who'd be better, and she said, "Absolutely you should, because you need to be part of something that marks a time in history." And I said, "You're so right."' Nicole said she hopes the film will bring about positive changes, saying it's about something 'bigger' than just Fox. Taking care of business: Nicole said she hopes the film will bring about positive changes, saying it's about something 'bigger' than just Fox. Pictured as Gretchen Carlson in Bombshell 'I don't want this to continue in society and so how do we change it? It's a non-partisan issue...' she added. 'On a much bigger scale it's about where this behaviour has to stop so that the world is a much safer place for all of us.' In addition to her supporting actress nod, Nicole also received ensemble nominations for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture for Bombshell, and Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series for Big Little Lies. 'I was also thinking, as I always do, that there are 10 other actresses who'd be better,' she told The Sydney Morning Herald of taking on her role in Bombshell Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, has partnered with easyJet, offering customers easy access to both airlines' networks through joint gateways across Europe. The partnership follows easyJets accelerated and successful roll-out programme with world-leading flight comparison search engine, Dohop, which powers the easyJet website, connecting its European network with long haul flights. For Etihad, this has been achieved using the NDC (New Distribution Capability) platform providing technical capability for new partnerships previously not possible. The partnership with easyJet and Dohop is the UAE national airlines first use of this technology and Etihad plans to add more airlines and travel partners to their NDC portfolio in 2020. Ali Saleh, Etihad Airways vice president Alliances and Partnerships, said: This new collaboration between two great brands is a logical leap forward for both our companies. EasyJet is a perfect launch partner for us in Europe, allowing us to reliably increase the breadth of our continental reach to and from Abu Dhabi, as we enhance ways of connecting directly with more airlines and travel partners around the world. The ability to provide end-to-end booking capabilities through our NDC platform will provide customers with one stop solutions for seamless travel with partners, whether legacy or low-cost, through Etihads global gateways. Rachel Smith, easyJets head of Commercial Partnerships said: "We're excited to announce our partnership with Etihad Airways, which opens up Abu Dhabi as a destination to our passengers and more of Europe to Etihad. Through smart self-connections and strategic partnerships, we continue to extend the reach of the worldwide by easyJet network offering more value and more routes to more customers." Customers will for the first time be able to purchase tickets on the easyJet website from 68 cities on the airlines network in Europe to Abu Dhabi, connecting on to Etihad Airways flights from 10 European gateways in Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Rome, Geneva, Madrid, Manchester, Milan Malpensa, and Zurich. Both airlines plan to expand the partnership to include more destinations in the future. - TradeArabia News Service Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 22:19:01|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close ADDIS ABABA, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- An accident occurred as tens of thousands of Ethiopian Orthodox Christians on Monday gathered in Ethiopia's northwestern Gondar city to celebrate epiphany, the baptism of Jesus Christ. The tragic accident happened as a wooden bench that was constructed to serve people attending the epiphany celebrations in Gondar city collapsed, eventually affecting people nearby, eyewitnesses taking part at the event told Xinhua. One eyewitness also confirmed to Xinhua that security personnel and volunteers were seen undertaking lifesaving activities shortly after the incident that happened in the early hours of Monday. Despite various pictures circulating over social media platforms showcasing the incident as well as pictures of injured people, both federal and Amhara regional government officials are yet to confirm the number of human causalities from the incident. Thousands of Ethiopian Orthodox Christians across Ethiopia travel to Gondar city every year to celebrate epiphany, in which this year's edition of the celebrations in Gondar is also attended by senior Ethiopian government officials, including the Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewde. The Ethiopian epiphany (Timket in Amharic), which is considered as one of the East African country's highly rated religious and cultural events, is a colorful festival celebrated all over Ethiopia to commemorate the baptism of Jesus Christ by John the Baptist in the River Jordan. The commemoration starts on the eve of the main festival. According to Gondar city administration, tens of thousands of Ethiopian Orthodox Christians are attending this year's epiphany celebration in the historic city, while about 15,000 foreign nationals are also currently in Gondar city attending the epiphany celebrations. M7 Real Estate has sold three assets in Poland, on behalf of an M7 vehicle, PVBRI. The assets include two office buildings in Poznan, Dwor Hamburski, and RB House as well as Zgorzelec Plaza, a shopping centre located in Zgorzelec on the border with Germany. The two office buildings, comprising 3,741... Photos: M7 [] Facebook PR boss Nick Clegg has defended the company's decision to allow politicians to post false ads on the social network. The former deputy prime minister said that it would be "inappropriate" if the social network were to ban misleading marketing from candidates. The company has come under sustained criticism for its refusal to fact check the claims in politicians' ads in the same way it does other posts on the service. Even Facebook employees have criticised the policy, with a group of them signing an open letter to leadership asking them to reverse their stance. But the company has repeatedly claimed that fact checking would limit freedom of expression, and that users of the social network could choose whether to believe the claims in poliicians' posts. 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 Speaking on stage at the DLD Conference in Munich, Sir Nick said better regulation was needed in the tech sector and that it should not be down to private companies to decide on what constitutes truth. "We have a major societal issue," said the former deputy prime minister. "We have technologies which have erupted in a very short space of time," he said. "This is a young industry which has erupted in a very short space of time and it has had huge transformative effects. "I personally think that the net benefits to businesses, to communities, to families, to political movements and campaign movements, far outweighs the dark and the negative side. "Our task as a society is to minimise the bad while protecting the good, and of course, that is a role which in the end must be done, in mature democracies, by legislators, by governments accountable to the people. "In the end, it shouldn't be left to Google, Twitter or Facebook to make those decisions because it is not our democracy, it is the peoples' and the peoples' representatives who have to decide. "So what I hope we can do is move beyond shouting at the problem - which I understand and a lot of problems have been created by the industry itself - to fixing it, and you can only fix it by legislators and regulators setting down new rules, just as they set down new rules for cars and every new technology which has ever erupted in the history of time." The former Liberal Democrat leader also dismissed the suggestion that internet companies should more tightly police the content of adverts themselves. Twitter announced last year that it had banned political advertising entirely on its platform. Sir Nick acknowledged that Facebook's current approach was not as robust as some want - which is for tech firms to start vetting and fact-checking every claim made in political advertising - but he argued this would place private companies in the unsuitable role of deciding what should and should not be defined as truth. "I know this from 20 years in politics, political speech is by definition a sort of form of caricature - politicians caricature their virtues, caricature their opponents' vices and the idea that private companies should be the people to draw that fine line seems to us and to other Silicon Valley companies as an inappropriate power," he said. On Facebook's specific approach to political advertising, he claimed there had been "a lot of crossed wires" about Facebook's stance, and argued it was not an entirely new concept. "Broadcasters in the United States, are not entitled under law, to block political advertisements because of the content of them," he said. "So the stance that we're taking is not an outlier, it is a stance that has been in place in US politics for a long period." He added that Facebook's launch of a political advert library and other controls around how and why users saw certain adverts were "industry-leading" in dealing with the issue of election interference. "Facebook, far more than Twitter and Google, is investing in industry-leading transparency - and also giving users control, so if users don't want to see, or want to see fewer political ads, they can press a button and receive fewer political ads," he said. "But crucially, unlike 2016 (in the US presidential election) or the Brexit referendum, where ads were run on Facebook apps and it was impossible for rival campaigners to see who was doing what, that has changed utterly. "So now, campaigns in real-time can see who is paying for the ad, who they are trying to target, what their message is, what the different variants are of their message and so on." Additional reporting by agencies SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III discussed everything from climate change and the opioid crisis to economic development and equitable wages and education during a Town Hall meeting held at Springfield Technical Community College on Sunday. Given the moment that we are in where so many people doubt whether their government is seeing them, hearing them, speaking for them or that their thoughts, views, concerns and values arent taken into account in Washington, you have to be there, you have to show up and thats what we are trying to do here, he said. Kennedy is doing 14 Town Hall meetings across the state this month to introduce himself to voters and also to hear their concerns. They get to meet me and understand why Im in this race and I get to listen to their questions and hear whats on their mind. On the whole what Ive heard is that people have grave concerns about the future of our country under four more years of President Trump, he said. " They also want investments in infrastructure and education and have concerns about students loan debt and how we are going to address the climate crisis given the urgency of this moment." During the meeting Kennedy talked a bit about his past including his time in the Dominican Republic with the Peace Corps and his years as an assistant district attorney in the Cape and Islands and Middlesex County. He said he dealt with a lot of drug cases that were affecting more than just drug dealers. With drugs there is the buying and selling, but more often than not it was about the consequences of addiction and the length that someone would go to try to satiate that addiction, he said. There were also many domestic violence cases. While those cases are very different they are also a reflection of power in our society between someone who has it and someone who doesnt and what happens when those who are in need of protection and help dont get it." Kennedy said he felt he could do more to protect people by writing policy instead of prosecuting cases and so he ran for and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2013 and is now running against U.S. Sen. Ed Markey. Before the STCC event Kennedy stood outside the Mason Square Library to receive endorsements from several Springfield City Councilors including council president Justin Hurst and members Victor Davila, Adam Gomez, Orlando Ramos, Kateri Walsh and Tracye Whitfield. Whitfield said she was undecided on who to endorse until she got a call from Kennedy. "We stayed on the phone for a good 20 minutes and I was so impressed with his stance on childcare, the economy, civil rights and health care we just meshed and he took the time to explain what he stands for, she said. Hurst said Kennedy has his endorsement because he has committed to taking Springfield and Western Massachusetts into account. You cant advocate for a city if you dont understand the issues of this city, Hurst said. I also support him because he refuses to wait. While we have a lot of vibrant things happening in this community we cant wait for gun reform, for criminal justice reform, cant wait on things that matter." Kennedy said honored by the endorsements and will work with the city and the surrounding communities in Western Massachusetts. The critical piece going forward are the partnerships that endure from a federal level where we have the opportunity to generate the resources, fight for the advocacy, address the policies that are needed and necessary to help the people of Springfield recognize and fulfill the potential that is palpable and just needs is the opportunity to let it shine, he said. Eels were once a staple dish for working-class Londoners. Now dandies everywhere will be queueing up to wear them after Dunhills Paris mens fashion week show Sunday went off the scales. Mark Weston -- who is known for his cleverly engineered clothes -- lit up the catwalk with the ingeniously chic way he used the skin of the seas most slithery customer. With British designers dominating the final day of the mens show in the French capital, Weston gave an unexpectedly sensual allure to the most unlikely of luxury materials. In a sleek collection of shimmering and silky blacks and reds inspired by the 1980s New Romantic movement, and The Blitz nightclub in London in particular, the designer gave a dashing new dynamism to the heritage English label. With the rock star sheen he gave it, there is nothing fishy about eel skin, Weston told AFP afterwards. It is super-fine and delicate to work with and can be a bit papery to start with. But Dunhill is a leather house so we have these capabilities to experiment, he said. We gave it a bit of a sheen and it takes colours so beautifully and naturally, he said of his suddenly fashionable fish pelts, which had critics and fashion buyers reaching out to touch them. - Eat then wear - And its natural, Weston added. People eat eels all over the world so its a natural byproduct. I love the fact that they are being repurposed like this. Dunhill was the second major weekend show to channel the New Romantic movement, with Dior paying tribute to the late Judy Blame -- the one-time Duran Duran stylist -- in a collection of bravura aristocratic elegance on Friday. While the British veteran Paul Smith must be pleased to see fashion return to the tailoring he has so long championed, the loudest cheer for a Brit was for Paris newbie Craig Green, who at 33 is 40 years Smiths junior. Three times London menswear designer of the year, Green arrived trailing quite a reputation, and the youthful avant-gardist made no compromises with an out-there show based around intimacy and the packaging of the body and of people. Using a type of polythene and leather for future survival clothes that could have come from Ridley Scotts Alien: Covenant, for which he designed the costumes, they are unlikely to trouble the high street. - Romancing the Hadids - Yet there was an undeniable poetry and thoughtfulness about the way he transformed throwaway materials like the rubbery meshes used to wrap fruit. And there was a reflective quality too about his closing looks that used colourful blinds as a metaphor for peering out windows, even if the models rather looked like they had been hit by kites. While the debate rages over whether Green is the true genius of London hype, Lanvins even younger star Bruno Sialelli is already clearly the full package. His joyously romantic collection was based on Corto Maltese, the dashing and erudite naval officer who was the hero of Hugo Pratts cult graphic novel series. Having already paid homage to Babar the Elephant in a previous collection for the revived French house, 31-year-old Sialelli again plundered his childhood comic books for his youthful nostalgic vibe, with jackets modelled after Cortos officers coat. With the Hadid sisters Bella and Gigi also walking the co-ed show alongside South Sudanese supermodel Adut Akech, there were plenty of echos too of the glamorous women Corto romanced on his swashbuckling adventures around the globe. (This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.) Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter The pedestrian was hit by a car on Glenavy Road. Credit: Google maps Police at the scene of a crash on the Glenavy Road in Maghaberry on January 19th 2020 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) A male pedestrian has died after being hit by a car in Co Antrim. The collision happened on the Glenavy Road in Maghaberry at around 11.30pm on Sunday. Police attended the scene, along with the ambulance service, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene. Inspector Gordon said: We are appealing to anyone who may have been on the Glenavy Road just prior to or around the time of the collision, or anyone who recorded any dashcam or mobile phone footage that could potentially help our investigation. "The investigation team can be contacted by calling 101, quoting reference number 1771 of 19/01/20. The Glenavy Road was closed for a time, but has since re-opened. At a January 19th London event for his charity Sentebalean organization that supports the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people affected by HIV in Lesotho and BotswanaPrince Harry explained his reason for stepping out from under the umbrella of the royal family for the first time since the announcement was made. He expressed great sadness over the fact that he and wife Meghan Markle had no other option but to leave. And he further explained what this departure means for the future of his family, both immediate and extended. undefined Prince Harry expressed that he and Markle were excited, hopeful, and ready to serve the monarchy once married. For those reasons, it brings me great sadness that it has come to this. Since marrying into the royal family, Meghan has become a target for brutal criticism from the British media. Tabloids pitted her own family against her, conspired that she was never pregnant with baby Archie, and continuously pick apart everything shes donefrom the way she rested her hands on her baby bump, to the way she supposedly wears the pants in her relationship with Harry. This tabloid pressure hits hard for Harry, as hes spoken out about how the same type of stress contributed to the death of his mother, Princess Diana. undefined Story continues Harry then stated, What I want to make clear is, were not walking away. He explained that he and Markle originally wished to continue to serve the queen, the military, and the people, just without public funding, as is commonplace for members of the royal family. However, that wasnt possible, Harry explained. And because the rules could not be bent, Harry had to step back with his family and step forward into what he hopes can be a more peaceful life, he said. Harrys speech was uploaded to the official Sussex Royal Instagram page hours after it was announced that he and Meghan will drop their royal titles (HRHHis/Her Royal Highness) and pay back approximately $3 million of taxpayer money used to renovate Frogmore Cottage. Harry will also be required to drop the military appointments he achieved during his four-year service. These stipulations are part of the official deal Harry and Meghan made with Queen Elizabeth II. Judging by his words, its clear that Harry feels as though his only option to keep his family safe and happy was to oust himself from the only life hes ever known. As more news develops, well be sure to keep you in the loop about what the future looks like for Harry and Meghan. One of two coyotes caught in Chicago last week that bit a 6-year-old child was suffering from a would of BB gun pellet, authorities said on Sunday. None of the boy's bites were considered life-threatening, but he did require hospitalization following the Wednesday attack, authorities said. Cops and animal control officials had captured the coyote a day later after reports of attacks were made amid an increase in sightings of coyotes in the nation's third-largest city. One of two coyotes (pictured) caught in Chicago last week was confirmed to have bitten a 6-year-old child, and discovered to also be wounded by the pellet of a BB gun Cops and animal control officials had captured the coyote late Thursday after reports of attacks were made amid an increase in sightings of coyotes in the nation's third-largest city DNA confirmed it was the same animal which had bitten the boy, officials said on Sunday, reports ABC. The animal also was found to have been wounded by a BB gun pellet, the officials said, which may have explained why it was limping and its 'aggressive behavior.' The animal was captured by animal control in the 1700 block of North Freemont about 10:20 p.m. Thursday, a police spokeswoman told DailyMail.com at the time. The boy who was bitten had managed to escape the ferocious creature by running to a bus shelter with the adult he was with. The youngster suffered head and face lacerations when the coyote savaged him around 4 p.m. that same day in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood. Paramedics treated his wounds at the scene and he was taken to Lurie Children's Hospital in stable condition, according to ABC News. Cops are seen in images taken, and video also tweeted Twitter by Patrick Fazio of WMAQ in Chicago, which was reporting on the hunt, just as the animal was being tranquilized and later carried out in a green bag. Cops stun the animal after it attacked a 6-year-old. The animal was found to be suffering from a wound A man who also reportedly was attacked, walked into Northwestern Memorial Hospital Wednesday evening with cuts on his rear. Authorities did not say if the animal that bit the boy had also attacked the 32-year-old man. Additional footage also emerged of police and animal control officials chasing down another animal also believed to be a coyote. The animal reportedly got away after it was chased through the Cabrini-Green area Thursday night. The Monday protest seemed to highlight my many failings as a white man in his late 40s. For example, I have spent most of my adult life thinking it would be, at the very least, rude for a civilian to carry an assault rifle around in public, even if that civilian had the right to do so. Chandigarh, Jan 20 : The Haryana Assembly on Monday unanimously passed a motion to ratify the 126th Constitutional Amendment to extend reservations for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Punjab for another 10 years. Moving a motion in the House, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said now the Rajya Sabha secretariat "is to be apprised with the ratification" made in this regard. After passing the ratification, Speaker Gian Chand Gupta adjourned the Vidhan Sabha sine-die. Earlier in his customary address, Haryana Governor Satyadeo Narain Arya said the special session was convened to ratify the amendments to the Constitution. Latvian Ambassador to Korea Peteris Vaivars delivers a speech during the opening ceremony of a photo exhibition, titled "The Secrets of Amber" at Soorim Cultural Foundation Dongdaemun-gu, central Seoul, Jan. 15. The exhibition features Latvian photographer Andris Zegners's work documenting amber. / Embassy of Latvia By Yi Whan-woo The Embassy of Latvia in Korea, jointly with the Soorim Cultural Foundation, is hosting an exhibition of photos of amber, the fossilized tree resin that has served as a natural cultural symbol of Latvia. The exhibition, titled "The Secrets of Amber," is taking place at the foundation in Dongdaemun-gu, central Seoul, through Jan. 31. It features the works of Latvian photographer Andris Zegners who, using microphotography, reveals what is inside amber such as insects preserved for millions of years. The exhibition comes as part of efforts to introduce Latvian culture to Korea. In that regard, Latvian Ambassador to Korea Peteris Vaivars described amber as "one of the greatest treasures of Latvia's natural resources." Described as "northern gold" in ancient times, amber has been found on the Baltic coast. It especially shaped the rich culture and history of Latvia as it was a valued component in jewelry and was exported to Egypt, Greece and Syria through the "Amber Road" an ancient trade route from coastal areas of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. Latvian Ambassador to Korea Peteris Vaivars, fourth from right, and other dignitaries pose during the opening ceremony of a photo exhibition, titled "The Secrets of Amber" at Soorim Cultural Foundation in Dongdaemun-gu, central Seoul, Jan. 15. The exhibition features Latvian photographer Andris Zegners's work documenting amber. / Embassy of Latvia "This exhibition is particularly interesting as the amber is displayed in microphotographs that is an innovative approach to presenting the stone giving us a unique chance to understand the ancient world by looking at a close-up and inside of this ancient jewel with stunning details of insects preserved in amber millions of years ago," Ambassador Vaivars said during the opening ceremony of the exhibition, Jan. 15. Among the guests were ambassadors and other members of the diplomatic corps, Soorim Cultural Foundation executives and Zegners. In a separate speech, Zegners described amber as not only "an excellent material to make jewelry but a wonderful, mysterious object with a very special potential for photography." "My artistic interest is linked to a microphotography to reveal well-known natural elements flowers, water, stone, and even light from another perspective," he said. "My surprise was really great when, using micro possibilities and special lights I met so close ancient small creatures and plants that existed 40 million years ago." Zegners, according to the embassy, is one of the most remarkable Latvian artists of his generation. His areas of interest include the structures and textures of various objects and natural elements following a creative transformation. Zegners' works have been displayed in the Baltic States, Australia, China, Finland, India, Luxembourg, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. He held an exhibition in Korea from Dec. 12 to 30 in Yeongwol County, Gangwon Province. The embassy and foundation also jointly organized a photo exhibition on Latvian architecture from May to June last year. Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday followed the states of Kerala and Punjab, saying the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government too will pass a resolution against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and demand its withdrawal. For CAA we will pass a resolution within three to four days. We passed a resolution against CAB and NRC. At that time the CAB was a bill. Now it is a law. So, we will pass a resolution demanding its withdrawal, said Banerjee at the Kolkata airport before leaving for North Bengal where she will lead anti-CAA rallies in the plains and Darjeeling till January 24. TMC lost all the Lok Sabha seats in the region last year. Significantly, Banerjees statement comes two days after TMC Lok Sabha MP Saugata Roy said at an anti-CAA training programme for party leaders in North 24 Parganas district that Bengal was a step behind Kerala and Punjab in opposing CAA since these two states have passed resolutions against the amended citizenship law. ALSO WATCH | Will expel 50 lakh Muslim infiltrators: Dilip Ghoshs threat amid CAA row A few days ago, the government stopped the Congress and Left parties from introducing a resolution against CAA in the state assembly, saying the government had passed a resolution against NRC three months ago. Congress legislator and leader of the opposition in the Bengal assembly, Abdul Mannan said, It (the proposed resolution) is our baby. When we moved it, TMC criticized us. Banerjee has taken the decision because her credibility in the battle against CAA has come under question. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Bengal unit vice president Jay Prakash Majumdar said, She (Banerjee) has the majority in the assembly and hence can pass any resolution, including one that may say that none of the accused in the Narada probe can be arrested. That will not change the law of the country. We have passed a resolution against NPR. I will request other states also to pass the same resolution, said Banerjee referring to the government notification stalling all work relating to the National Population Register. Asked if she would call a meeting of opposition parties or whether she has plans to invite chief ministers of north eastern states to discuss issues related CAA, NPR and National Register of Citizens (NRC), Banerjee said that if the chief ministers are interested she can convene a meeting in Kolkata. The time has to be convenient because Republic Day is round the corner and they are all busy. Then we have Saraswati Puja, which is a big festival in the state. We are also busy, said Banerjee. I will appeal to all the chief ministers and governments of north eastern states including, Tripura and Assam, ruled by opposition and BJP, to oppose CAA, NPR and NRC, said Banerjee. In NPR there are so many conditions which are related to NRC. I will request them to check the law properly before taking any decision on starting the NPR exercise. I request them not to participate, said Banerjee. I came to know from the media that there is s column which asks citizens to produce their parents birth certificates and address. I have not seen it but media says it is not mandatory. If it is not mandatory why should it be there on paper? It (the clause) should be withdrawn. If it is included in the paper then you will have to give all details and certificates. Those who do not give would be excluded automatically (from the citizens list). There is an apprehension, said Banerjee. First they (the Centre) have to withdraw all these clauses and conditions. I think this is a very dangerous trend. I will request all the opposition states and the BJP-ruled states in north-east to pass a resolution together. NPR is a very dangerous game as it is related to CAA and NRC, said Banerjee. A few hours later, while addressing the crowd at a public meeting, Banerjee said, Even I will not be able to provide these documents. Other parties talked big (on NPR) but everybody went to the NPR meeting, except for us. We are fighting alone but I will keep fighting. I once again request all opposition-ruled states, including those in the North-East, to oppose CAA, NRC and NPR. They have been told in sugarcoated words that providing the date of birth or birthplace of parents is voluntary. Is it so simple? No! If you leave those columns blank while providing information for NPR, you will be waiting for trouble later, said Banerjee. Have you seen any blank column in a mark sheet? As long as the provisions are not struck out, there is no meaning of these sugarcoated words. We are not buying it, she said. China has confirmed the first examples of the deadly Wuhan Coronavirus spreading from human to human, with medical workers currently among the infected. Early on Tuesday officials confirmed a fourth death linked to the virus with more than 200 cases of the disease confirmed so far and instances reported in Japan, Thailand and South Korea. The 89-year-old man, who had some underlying health problems, developed symptoms on 13 January and was admitted to hospital on 18 January. He died the following day, the Wuhan municipal health commission said. Believed to have originated in a seafood market in Wuhan, central China, the illness potentially marks the seventh coronavirus known to science that can infect humans a grouping that includes SARS and MERS. The head of a Chinese government expert team, Zhong Nanshan, said two people in Guangdong province in southern China caught the disease from family members, according to state-controlled English language newspaper China Daily. Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Show all 154 1 /154 Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Paramedics wearing personal protective equipment carry patient on a stretcher on to an ambulance in North Point district in Hong Kong, China Getty Images Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A medical worker wearing protective gear takes a rest as he waits for ambulances carrying patients infected with the COVID-19 coronavirus at an entrance of a hospital in Daegu, South Korea YONHAP/AFP via Getty Images Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A medical worker sprays disinfectant on an ambulance after carrying a patient infected with the COVID-19 coronavirus at a hospital in Daegu YONHAP/AFP via Getty Images Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus People wearing protective face masks shop at a supermarket in Casalpusterlengo, one the northern Italian towns placed under 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hospital in Chuncheon, South Korea AP Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Soldiers in hazmat suits sanitize cargo from a China Airlines plane at the Taoyuan International Airport in Taoyuan City, Taiwan EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Barricades are seen to block the entrance a the gate of a local mall in a nearly empty area in Beijing, China Getty Images Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A vendor wearing a protective facemask waits for customers at a shop in Beijing AFP via Getty Images Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus The body temperature of an Iraqi child returning from Iran is measured upon her arrival at the Najaf International Airport AFP via Getty Images Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Volunteers hand out free facemasks at a shopping district in Quezon city, Metro Manila, Philippines Getty Images Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Medical workers wearing 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attend to a patient inside an isolated ward of Wuhan Red Cross Hospital Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A drone operated by the Suwon municipal government flies around Changyong Middle School spraying disinfectant, in Suwon, South Korea EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Workers transfer medical waste at Leishenshan Hospital AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A man wearing a protective mask rides a bicycle with his children in Guangzhou, China EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Volunteers in protective suits disinfect a railway station as the country is hit by an outbreak of the new coronavirus, in Changsha, Hunan province, China cnsphoto via Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A woman repatriated from Wuhan carries a child as she walks upon her arrival at the Van Don airport in Vietnam's Quang Ninh province AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Medical staff checking the body temperature of a patient who has displayed mild symptoms of the COVID-19 coronavirus, at an exhibition centre converted into a hospital in Wuhan AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A medical worker in protective suit transports oxygen tanks at Wuhan Red Cross Hospital Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Boys wearing protection masks, gloves and modified water bottles sit on a cart at the airport arrival terminal in Guangzhou EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Employees work on a production line manufacturing protective suits at a clothing factory in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province cnsphoto via Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Medical workers in protective suits move a patient at an isolated ward of a hospital in Caidian district following an outbreak of coronavirus in Wuhan China Daily via Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A worker in protective clothing, including face mask and gloves, carries a bucket as he works inside of The County Oak Medical Centre in Brighton, southern England, after it closed for "urgent operational health and safety reasons", following reports a member of staff was infected with the strain of the novel coronavirus AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Workers of the ecology and environment bureau collect samples from the sewage system of a hospital in Xinle, Hebei province China Daily via Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A man in protective clothing cleaning the County Oak Medical Centre GP practice The British government warned the outbreak of novel coronavirus was a "serious and imminent threat" and reported four new cases that brought the total recorded in the country to eight. Two hospitals The Royal Free and Guys and St Thomas', have both been designated as "isolation" facilities, with both currently housing Britons who have returned from Wuhan, the Chinese city at the centre of the outbreak PA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Medical staff transfer patients to the newly completed Huoshenshan temporary field Hospital in Wuhan. The global coronavirus death toll rose again with Hong Kong announcing its first death from the outbreak on 4 February EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Members of staff wait as coaches carrying Coronavirus evacuees arrive at Kents Hill Park Training and Conference Centre, in Milton Keynes, after being repatriated to the UK from the coronavirus-hit city of Wuhan PA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A crew member of the cruise ship Diamond Princess talks to a worker wearing protective gear standing near the vessel, where dozens of passengers were tested positive for coronavirus, at Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Doctors scan a patient's lungs at Huoshenshan temporary hospital built for patients diagnosed with coronavirus in Wuhan Xinhua News Agency/AP Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus People wearing protective suits walk from the Diamond Princess cruise ship, with around 3,600 people quarantined onboard due to fears of the new coronavirus, at the Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Indonesians who arrived from Wuhan are sprayed with antiseptic at Hang Nadim Airport in Batam. People evacuated from the Chinese city at the centre of a deadly virus outbreak, were transported to a quarantine zone on a remote island at the edge of the South China Sea, shortly after landing Indonesian Foreign Ministry via AP Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A woman wears a protective mask as she shops in a market in Beijing Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Medical staff members hugging each other in an isolation ward at a hospital in Zouping in China's easter Shandong province AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A portrait of Dr Li Wenliang is left at Li's hospital in Wuhan. He is regarded a whistleblower on the outbreak and died of the coronavirus which triggered wide-spread mourning on Chinese media Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Officers in protective gear enter the cruise ship Diamond Princess, where people tested positive for coronavirus, after the ship arrived at Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama, south of Tokyo Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Firefighters and personnel from the health ministry participate in a drill to prepare for the potential arrival of passengers infected with the coronavirus at the Viru Viru International Airport, in Santa Cruz, Bolivia Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Scientists are at work in the VirPath university laboratory as they try to find an effective treatment against the new Sars-like coronavirus AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Medical workers in protective suits attend to patients at the Wuhan International Conference and Exhibition Center, which has been converted into a makeshift hospital to receive patients with mild symptoms caused by the virus Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A girl wears a mask as a preventive measure against the coronavirus outbreak, in Bangkok, Thailand Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A man is transferred from the World Dream cruise ship to an ambulance at the Kai Tak cruise terminal in Hong Kong as health officials conduct inspections AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Workers from a disinfection service company enter Lotte Department Store in central Seoul, South Korea EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A man who arrived from Hubei province talks with police at a checkpoint at the Jiujiang Yangtze River Bridge Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A doctor holds a handheld digital thermometer near health officials preparing a health check for arriving passengers from China at Don Mueang Airport in Bangkok EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A resident walks across an empty track in Wuhan Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A scientific staff member works in a secure laboratory, researching the coronavirus, at the Pasteur Institute in Dakar AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Medical staff members preparing equipment to meet passengers of a military plane, which evacuated citizens of Russia and ex-Soviet countries from China's Wuhan province Vsluh.ru via Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Staff wearing protective suits as they prepare to disinfect a Vietnam Airlines plane at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi Vietnam Airlines/AFP/Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A South Korean person, who was evacuated from Wuhan, arrives at the National Medical Center after showing suspected symptoms of novel coronavirus, in Seoul EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Officers in protective gear escort a person (under the blue sheet) who was on board cruise ship Diamond Princess and was tested positive for coronavirus Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A doctor being disinfected by his colleague at a quarantine zone in Wuhan AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Buses carrying British nationals from the coronavirus-hit city of Wuhan, arrive at Arrowe Park Hospital in Merseyside Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Medical staff transfer patients in Wuhan EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Indonesian health officials conduct an exercise drill in transporting a patient requiring isolation at the Belawan port in Medan AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus The Pasteur Institute in Dakar, designated by the African Union as one of the two reference centres in Africa for the detection of the new coronavirus that appeared in China, is hosting experts from 15 countries on the continent this weekend to prepare them to deal with the disease AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A government worker disinfects a co-worker after visiting a quarantined woman's home in Qingdao EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus An aerial view of the deserted roads and bridges in Wuhan Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Medical workers hold a strike outside the Hospital Authority as they demand for Hong Kong to close its border with China to reduce the coronavirus spreading Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A person has their tempriture checked in Qingdao, China EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Ultrastructural morphology exhibited by coronaviruses. Note the spikes that adorn the outer surface of the virus, which impart the look of a corona surrounding the virion, when viewed electron microscopically Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/AFP Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Malaysian nationals being directed from a bus by health officials in protective suits as they arrived at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, after being evacuated from Wuhan Malaysia's Ministry of Health/AFP Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus People hoping to buy face masks crowd outside a medical supply shop that was raided by police for allegedly hoarding and overpricing the masks, as public fear over China's Wuhan Coronavirus grow in Manila, Philippines. The Philippine government has been heavily criticized after failing to immediately implement travel restrictions from China, the source of a deadly coronavirus that has now killed hundreds and infected thousands more Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Residents wearing masks and raincoats volunteer to take temperature of passengers following the outbreak of a new coronavirus at a bus stop at Tin Shui Wai, a border town in Hong Kong Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Italian citizens repatriated from Wuhan going though a health control zone after landing at the Mario De Bernardi military airport in Pratica di Mare, south of Rome, prior to be placed in quarantine Italian Defence Ministry/AFP Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Workers arrange beds in a 2,000-bed mobile hospital, set up in an exhibition center, in Wuhan EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A doctor checks conditions of occupants in a hotel accommodating isolated people in Wuhan EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Medical staff members wearing protective clothing to help stop the spread of a deadly virus which began in the city of Wuhan, arrive with a patient at the Wuhan Red Cross Hospital. The Chinese army deployed medical specialists to the epicentre of the spiralling viral outbreak that has killed and spread around the world AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A baby wearing a protective face mask is pushed by a woman as they arrive from Shenzhen to Hong Kong at Lo Wu MTR station AFP via Getty Images Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A health worker checks the temperature of a woman entering a subway station in Beijing Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A young child wears a protective mask and is covered in plastic while waiting to check in to a flight at Beijing Capital Airport The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday declared the coronavirus a public health emergency of international concern Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Ambulance crews arrive at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, as it prepares for a return flight from Wuhan, China. Eighty-three Britons and 27 foreign nationals who were trapped in Wuhan are being flown back to the UK Tom Maddick / SWNS Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A woman carries a baby wearing a protective mask as they exit the arrival hall at Hong Kong High Speed Rail Station Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Camp beds at a Medical Assessment Center set up at the airport in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany, on the eve of the arrival of German citizens evacuated from Wuhan AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Funeral parlour staff members in protective suits help a colleague with disinfection after they transferred a body at a hospital in Wuhan Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Muslims wearing masks pray for the victims of coronavirus at a mosque in Ahmedabad, India Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Medical officials waiting for people who wants to check the novel coronavirus at Myeongdong shopping district Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Children wear plastic bottles as makeshift homemade protection and protective masks while waiting to check in to a flight at Beijing Capital Airport Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A patient assisted by medical staff gets off an ambulance in Wuhan AFP/Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus People line up to buy face masks from a medical supply company in Nanning, southern China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Countries began evacuating their citizens from the Chinese city hardest-hit by a new virus that has now infected more people in China than were sickened in the country by SARS Chinatopix via AP Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Millions spent their normally festive Lunar New Year holiday under lockdown Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Children with face masks wash their hands before prayer at Erawan shrine in Bangkok. Thailand has detected eight Coronavirus cases so far AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus An Indonesian health officer points at the screen of a thermal scanner for passengers China confirmed that the deadly Wuhan coronavirus virus can be transmitted between humans AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Hospital workers wearing protective eyewear and masks examine an Indonesian student who returned from China in quarantine at a hospital in Banda Aceh AFP via Getty Images Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Ambulance staff dispose of an outfit at the hospital in Wuhan EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A person checks the temperature of a passenger to help stop the spread of a deadly virus as he arrives at the Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International airport in Palembang AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Nepali students, wearing face masks, attend a class at Matribhumi School in Bhaktapur, on the outskirts of Kathmandu AFP via Getty Images Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Medical staff at the Wuhan Red Cross Hospital AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Two Buddhist monks wear face masks while walking along a street in Yangon AFP via Getty Images Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Staff disinfecting a residential area in Ruichang, part of Jiujiang in China's central Jiangxi province AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Workers are seen at the construction site of a new hospital being built to treat patients from a deadly virus outbreak in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province on January 27, 2020. - China is rushing to build a new hospital in a staggering 10 days to treat patients at the epicentre of a deadly virus outbreak that has stricken thousands of people, state media reported on January 24. (Photo by Hector RETAMAL / AFP) (Photo by HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP via Getty Images) HECTOR RETAMAL AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Vapor blurs the goggles of an ambulance driver while they work, in Wuhan EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Workers producing facemasks at a factory in Yangzhou AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Medical staff getting on an ambulance in Wuhan AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A vendor of traditional masks wears a facial mask at his shop in Thamel EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus An airport official checks the temperature of a passenger upon his arrival at the Bacha Khan International Airport in Peshawar AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Medical staff members arrive with a patient at the Wuhan Red Cross Hospital AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus An ambulance driver talking with medical staff in Wuhan AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Wuhan Hygiene Emergency Response Team leave the closed Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market The new coronavirus appears to have its origins in a seafood market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, a popular transport hub AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Workers produce protective suits at a factory in Nantong AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Passengers scanned by thermal imaging for body temperature as they go through health measures and procedures after they landed at Rome's Fiumicino airport on a southern airlines flight from Wuhan Aeroporto Di Roma/AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A Thai royal guard wears a mask while on duty at the Grand Palace in Bangkok EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A man wearing a face mask rides a nearly empty subway train in Beijing AP Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Medical staff members at the Wuhan Red Cross Hospital AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A shopper wearing goggles with a face mask and gloves uses a self checkout machine at a supermarket in Wuhan AP Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Medical staff transfer patients to Jinyintan hospital EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Members of the Italian Red Cross putting on protective gear, getting ready to give health checks to passengers that landed at Rome's Fiumicino airport on a southern airlines flight from Wuhan Aeroporto Di Roma/AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A member of the Hong Kong government's Civil Aid Service gestures at the entrance to the Lady MacLehose Holiday Village which is being used as one of two quarantine centres for people who have been in close proximity with suspected cases of a SARS-type virus. Hong Kong will turn two holiday camps, including a former military barracks, into quarantine zones for people who may have come into contact with carriers of the Wuhan virus, officials announced AFP via Getty Images Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Medical staff wearing protective suits at the Zhongnan hospital in Wuhan STR/AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A Malaysia Health official checks passengers going through a thermal scanner upon their arrival at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Staff disinfecting Yingtan North Railway Station, China China banned trains and planes from leaving the major city at the centre of a virus outbreak on January 23, seeking to seal off its 11 million people to contain the contagious disease that has claimed lives and spread to other countries AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A passenger walks past a quarantine control station at Narita airport, Japan EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Patients queue up to seek treatment in Wuhan Tongji Hospital Fever Clinic, in Wuhan EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Quarantine workers spray disinfectant at Incheon International Airport, South Korea EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A member of staff checks the temperature of a guest entering the casino of the New Orient Landmark hotel in Macau, after it reported its first case of the new SARS-like virus AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Medical staff transfer patients to Jin Yintan hospital Little is known about the new disease which, if confirmed, would be only the seventh coronavirus known to science that can infect humans Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Members of the Three Gorges Medical Laboratory offering free masks to the public in Yichang, China AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Gabriel Leung, right, chair professor of public health medicine at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong, speaks about the extent of the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak in China AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Members of staff of the Wuhan Hygiene Emergency Response Team conducting searches on the closed Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A quarantine officer at Incheon International Airport, South Korea, uses an electronic thermometer to check the temperature of passengers arriving by plane from Wuhan The virus causes symptoms of viral pneumonia, and has already led to several deaths EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A screen shows cancelled flights at Tianhe airport in Wuhan AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Medical staff transfer patients to Jinyintan hospital EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Health officials hand out information about the current coronavirus at Kuala Lumpur International Airport AP Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A store owner argues with security guards as he attempts to enter the closed Huanan wholesale seafood market AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Workers producing facemasks at a factory in Handan, China's northern Hebei province AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Medical staff and security personnel stop patients' family members from being too close to the Jinyintan hospital Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus maya-goodfellowAn airport staff member uses a temperature gun to check people leaving Wuhan Tianhe International Airport AP Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A rescue worker walks past a notice about new coronavirus that has broken out in China Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Health officials wear face masks at an inspection site at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang AP Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Medical staff members carry a patient into the Jinyintan hospital AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A staff member checks body temperature of a child after a train from Wuhan arrived at Hangzhou Railway Station in Hangzhou AFP via Getty Images Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A quarantine station measures passenger body temperatures at Narita Airport JIJI PRESS/AFP via Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Passengers walk past a notice displayed near a quarantine control station at Narita airport EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Passengers walk past a poster alerting on coronavirus screening ahead upon their arrival at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus An employee sprays disinfectant on a train, as a precaution against coronavirus, at Suseo Station in Seoul EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Kazakh sanitary-epidemiological service worker uses a thermal scanner to detect travellers from China who may have symptoms possibly connected with the previously unknown coronavirus, at Almaty International Airport, Kazakhstan Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Pharmacist Liu Zhuzhen stands near a sign reading "face masks are sold out" at her pharmacy in Shanghai AP Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus The Wuhan Medical Treatment Center, EPA Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A worker in a protective suit at the closed seafood market in Wuhan Reuters Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus Passengers wear protective face masks at the departure hall of a high speed train station in Hong Kong AP Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A notice for passengers from Wuhan Getty Coronavirus: Cases soar of deadly new flu-like virus A man wears a mask while riding on mobike past the closed Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market Getty The National health commission task force also found that some medical workers have tested positive for the virus, with one reportedly in a critical condition. Concern over the further spread of the virus has led to stringent checks at airports with medical officials seen in hazmat suits boarding aeroplanes due to leave Wuhan to test for the illness and US airports screening travellers arriving from the city. Meanwhile, the outbreak has continued on to more cities within Chinas borders including Shanghai and Beijing. Ahead of the announcement president Xi Jinping said that its extremely crucial to take every possible measure to combat the illness. The recent outbreak of novel coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan and other places must be taken seriously, Mr Xi said, according to national broadcaster CCTV. Party committees, governments and relevant departments at all levels should put peoples lives and health first. They should ensure that the masses have a quiet, peaceful and joyous Spring Festival, he added. Officials have so far confirmed 217 cases of the virus as of Monday morning, with state TV claiming 198 of these were in Wuhan. However, a report by London Imperial Colleges MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis estimated that as of 12 January there were likely 1,723 cases in Wuhan City with related symptoms. Chinese health authorities have not commented directly on the report. Jeremy Farrar, a specialist in infectious disease epidemics and director of the Wellcome Trust global health charity, said: This outbreak is extremely concerning. Uncertainty and gaps remain, but it is now clear that there is person to person transmission. He added: Wuhan is a major hub and with travel being a huge part of the fast approaching Chinese New Year, the concern level must remain high. There is more to come from this outbreak. Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, who visited Shaheen Bagh area on Monday late night, said that CAA, NRC, and NPR are against the Constitution of India as "no one has the right to ask for proof of citizenship from people who chose to live in the country". The Congress leader visited the Shaheen Bagh area in Delhi where people are protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Register of Citizens (NRC) and Population Register (NPR) from over a month. "We are against CAA, NRC, NPR. These are against the Constitution. We are against the Centre's divisive policy. No one has the right to ask for proof of citizenship from people who chose to live here," he said. The Congress leader was, however, not allowed by women protestors to go to the stage or to deliver a speech during in Shaheen Bagh area. Singh, who visited the area along with his wife, later claimed that he was asked to deliver a speech but he refused stating that "it is not a political stage." When asked about women saying this is not a political stage, the Congress leader said, "They were right. I was asked to deliver a speech but I refused as it is not a political stage." Taking a dig at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Singh said if there is silence on CAA, one can understand Kejriwal is with whom. "I want to request Delhi Police that the right to implement NSA that they have taken...why the NSA was not imposed on DSP Davinder Singh who was caught openly roaming with terrorist, why was he not charged with sedition," he said responding to a question about Delhi Police appealing the protesters to vacate the place. CAA gives citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian refugees, who came from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan 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.) NEW YORK, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- EdApp today announces that their Learning Management System (LMS) has been deployed by Communicorp UK to transform the way their Broadcast Media workforce learns. Communicorp UK is an award-winning Broadcast Media company that is home to some of the most exciting brands in UK radio including Capital, Heart and Smooth Radio Networks. Founded in 2014, Communicorp UK employs over 100 individuals and partners with over 2,500 businesses annually. Communicorp UK owns 9 stations across the UK and provides its clients with a full range of marketing services with a focus on delivering a strong ROI. With EdApp's mobile-first microlearning platform, Communicorp UK can swiftly deploy highly interactive lessons to their hundreds of employees across the UK. CEO of EdApp, Darren Winterford said, "EdApp is currently deployed by market leaders around the globe in FMCG, Automotive, Retail, Health, and Finance to name a few. Our data-driven mobile-first platform and its ease of integration are what delivers results to all industries, which makes us excited to welcome Communicorp onboard as an influential contributor in Broadcast Media." Grace Hannah, Director of People at Communicorp UK said, "EdApp's intuitive interface and comprehensive template library makes it simple to integrate courseware and educate Communicorp UK's dynamic workforce. Since many of our employees are in the field, having a mobile-first platform that's easily accessible both on and offline is one element that sets EdApp apart from other eLearning platforms." With the implementation of EdApp's microlearning platform, Communicorp UK can now deploy the integrated cloud-based authoring and delivery to provide a better learning outcome. Darren said, "The core team behind Ed have worked extensively with leading psychologists and early microlearning pioneers to validate our approach. We are thrilled to have leading brands like Communicorp deploying the EdApp platform to reaching their L&D goals." About Communicorp UK Communicorp UK is home to some of the most exciting brands in UK radio including Capital networks in Scotland and South Wales, Heart Radio networks in Yorkshire and North Wales, Smooth Radio networks in the North East, North West and East Midlands as well as XS in Manchester. Our stations have a total reach of 3.422 million adult listeners a week and command 24.796 million adult listening hours each week. Communicorp UK works with over 2,500 businesses each year and we provide clients with a full range of marketing services with a focus on delivering a strong ROI. Source: RAJAR/Ipsos-MORI/RSMB six months ended September 2019 within the combined Communicorp UK TSA About EdApp EdApp is an award-winning microlearning-based and mobile-first Learning Management System (LMS). Designed to provide engaging, mobile-first user experiences, the EdApp platform provides Enterprise with the ability to deliver training directly to their workforces' smartphones, resulting in record engagement rates. EdApp delivers around 45,000 lessons per day across more than 30 countries and counting. www.edapp.com SOURCE EdApp Related Links http://www.edapp.com First among them is that his executive order in effect an invitation for Americans to turn away prospective neighbors who might look, sound or think different reinforces and encourages the most exclusionary, divisive, intolerant faults in Americas social fabric. By doing so, it diminishes the country, not least in the eyes of a world that has long looked to the United States as a leader of humanitarian causes such as resettling the planets most desperate people. Here are todays top news, analysis and opinion curated for you at 5 pm. Know all about the latest news and other news updates from Hindustan Times. BJP wont have alliance with Akali Dal, Dushyant Chautalas JJP in Delhi The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Delhi has had some mixed luck in its alliance formation ahead of assembly elections of February 8. Read more Not again: Supreme Court rejects gang-rape convicts juvenile plea Gupta had contended that he was a juvenile on 16 December 2012 when a 23-year-old paramedic on her way home was gang-raped and killed by six people. Read more Jagat Prakash Nadda, silent strategist, rises to the helm in BJP Belonging to a Brahmin family from Himachal Pradesh, it was in Bihar where Nadda got his initial lessons in politics as a student leader of the ABVP. Read more NGO owner Brajesh Thakur, 18 others convicted in Bihar shelter home case A Delhi court on Monday convicted people including NGO owner Brajesh Thakur for sexual assault of girls at Muzaffarpur shelter home in Bihar. Read more Not in name of religion, says plea against minorities commission in SC The Supreme Court on Monday sought the response of the central government on a petition challenging the constitutional validity of the National Commission for Minorities set up under a 1992 law. Read more ICC ODI Rankings: Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma reign supreme; Shikhar Dhawan, Ravindra Jadeja move up Kohli is at the top of the pile with 886 points after his Man of the Series effort of 183 runs while Rohits 171 runs, which included a match-winning 119 in the final ODI, took to 868 points and strengthened his number 2 position. Read more Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan trailer: Ayushmann Khurrana, Jitendra Kumar bring a long-awaited romcom. Watch Actor Ayushmann Khurrana has shared the first trailer for his next comedy film, Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan. Ayushmann plays a gay man in the film opposite Kota Factory star Jitendra Kumar. Read more Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is rolling out a fleet of electric delivery vehicles in India Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has shared a video highlighting that his company will soon roll out a fleet of electric delivery vehicles in India. Read more Paris Fashion Week 2020: Gigi and Bella Hadid twin in coordinated Jacquemus haute couture The sisters bear a huge resemblance to each other, obviously, but during the show they were even dressed in similar colours and styled the same way too, and looked like twins. Read more ALBANY New York is ramping up efforts to ensure a complete count in the 2020 census, starting with a new celebrity-led Census Council and an additional $10 million in state funding, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced Monday. The Census Council, which will host conferences across the state and help direct community outreach about the census, will be co-chaired by actress Lucy Liu, playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda and human rights activist Martin Luther King III. Cuomo will also propose the extra $10 million in funds in his budget address Tuesday, building upon roughly $60 million in resources already allocated by the state. "You can't have a government of the people, by the people and for the people if you do not know who the people are and where they live," Cuomo said on a conference call with reporters Monday. "And that is what the census is supposed to do. The census has dramatic effects on this state." The new council will work with the existing Complete Count Commission, co-chaired by SUNY Empire State College President Jim Malatras and New York Secretary of State Rossana Rosado. The commission in October produced a 126-page report nine months after it was due outlining an action plan to conduct a full count of New Yorkers. That report faced backlash from advocates, who said the plan was broad and did not offer new plans to include historically undercounted groups, such as children or foreign-born households. They have also criticized Cuomo for not allocating enough money to support the effort, after the state set aside $20 million in last year's budget a fraction of what activists had hoped. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Cuomo has since announced up to $40 million in state resources for the census, which include contributions from state agencies that will offer translation services, computers and other supplies to help promote the effort and make it easier for individuals to fill out forms. The governor has insisted that New York is dedicated to completing an accurate count, noting repeatedly what's at stake: federal funding and representation in Congress. He said that people in many communities, especially immigrants, may be reluctant to take part in the effort. SEOUL, South Korea The U.S. ambassador to South Korea has some unusual explanations for the harsh criticism hes faced in his host country. His mustache, maybe? Or a Japanese ancestry that raises unpleasant reminders of Japans former colonial domination of Korea? Many South Koreans, however, have a more straight-forward explanation for Harry Harris struggle to win hearts and minds in Seoul, and its got more to do with an outspoken manner that they see as undiplomatic and rude. Since arriving in Seoul in July 2018, Harris, a retired navy admiral born to a Japanese mother and an American navy officer, has been the focus of keen attention because of his military and ethnic background. The 63-year-old former U.S. Pacific Command chief has sometimes drawn criticism from those who take issue with his manner when dealing with South Koreans. His mustache has become the subject of ribbing online, with jokes made about how it resembles those of Japanese colonial masters, who brutally occupied the Korean Peninsula from 1910-45. But there is more serious concern that the discord could widen a growing rift in Seouls relations with Washington at a time when diplomacy with rival North Korea seem in danger of imploding. Harris recently said his appearance and ethnicity have been a source of his criticism in South Korea. My mustache, for some reason, has become a point of some fascination here, Harris told a group of foreign reporters in Seoul last week. I have been criticized in the media here, especially in social media, because of my ethnic background, because I am a Japanese-American. Its not the first time a U.S. ambassador in South Korea has been in the news for things other than diplomacy. In 2015, former Ambassador Mark Lippert was slashed in the face and arm by an anti-American activist. But unlike Lippert, Harris has repeatedly irked many South Koreans since President Donald Trump sent him here. After meeting Harris in November, Lee Hye-hoon, then chairwoman of the South Korean parliaments intelligence committee, said that the ambassador repeated about 20 times Trumps calls for Seoul to drastically increase its financial contribution to U.S. troop deployment in the South. In recent months, four students were arrested after they broke into Harris Seoul residence during an anti-U.S. rally. A mock mustache was plucked from his picture at another demonstration. Harris said his mustache has nothing to do with his Japanese background and that he started growing it only to mark the start of his career as a diplomat. To those people, I say that you are cherry-picking history, Harris said, adding that some Korean independence fighters also had a mustache. Harris said he understands the historical animosity that exists between Japan and South Korea. But Im not the Japanese-American ambassador to Korea, he said. Im the American ambassador to Korea. Kevin Gray, a professor of International Relations at the University of Sussex in the U.K., tweeted Friday that Koreans reaction to Harris mustache is vastly exaggerated. He said what did rile South Koreans was Harris imperialistic manner and efforts to undermine South Korean President Moon Jae-in and dictate South Korean government policy. A Monday editorial from the Korea Times said that the point is not his mustache. South Koreans would not have cared that much about his mustache if he was a normal ambassador, the editorial said. Most surveys show a majority of South Koreans support the U.S. military presence in South Korea as deterrence against potential North Korean aggression, but there is a small but determined anti-U.S. network. South Korean media have often compared Harris with his popular predecessor Lippert. Images of Lippert bleeding after the 2015 knife attack shocked many South Koreans and triggered an outpouring of public sympathy. The attack during a breakfast forum left deep gashes on Lipperts face and arm and required five days of hospitalization. While leaving a Seoul hospital, Lippert inspired many by saying in Korean: The ground hardens after rain. Lets go together. When asked by reporters about Moon saying he may push for individual tourism to North Korea because it wont violate U.S.-led international sanctions, Harris stressed the need for South Korea to consult with the United States. Those comments added to criticism of Harris, with ruling party lawmaker Song Young-gil comparing him to a Japanese governor general. Harris troubles may also be linked to growing unease between South Korea and the United States. The U.S. desire to enforce tough sanctions on North Korea doesnt fit with the dovish Moons push to get sanction exemptions and restart joint rapprochement projects with North Korea. Trumps demands for a large increase in Seouls payment for the U.S. military deployment prompted many South Koreans to question whether the United States is still a trustworthy ally. Rather than address the sources of these frustrations, some South Koreans have directed their ire at an American admiral-turned-diplomat of Japanese heritage, said Leif-Eric Easley, associate professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul. Unfortunately, Seoul faces political and diplomatic decisions that are much tougher than opting for a clean shave. ___ This story has been corrected to show that Harris was an admiral in the Navy, not a general. Dhananjay is currently busy with a string of movies including Yuvarathnaa, Salaga, Pogaru, and Popcorn Monkey Tiger. The actor has now commenced shooting for his next movie titled Daali. The cast and crew of the film are currently camped in Lucknow. They will be shooting for a major chunk of portions in the 23-day schedule. Directed by Prabhu Srinivas, the movie sees Dhananjay play the titular role derived from the character named Daali he played in the blockbuster hit, Tagaru. The movie also marks the Sandalwood debut of model-turned-actor Bhavya Trika. Actress Rachita Ram will also be joining the cast for the second schedule to be shot in Bengaluru. The chief antagonist to go up against Dhananjay in the movie will be portrayed by Baburaj Jacob. The talented actor will also be making his Kannada movie debut with Daali. The highly anticipated Sandalwood biggie is being bankrolled by Yogesh Narayan. The music for the film has been composed by Anoop Seelin whilst the lyrics for the songs have been penned by Jayant Kaikini and Nagendra Prasad. The cinematography for the project is being handled by Srinivas Devamasam. On the work front, Dhananjay will next be seen in Suris Popcorn Monkey Tiger. The movie is rumored to hit the silver screens on January 24, 2020. However, an official announcement from the makers is expected to take place soon. Post Suris PTM, will be seen as the villain in Duniya Vijays Salaga. The actor is also juggling between shooting for Badava Rascal and Daali at the same time. ALSO READ: Dhananjay Starrer Popcorn Monkey Tigers One-Minute Teaser Is Out, WATCH NOW! ALSO READ: Puneeth Rajkumar Bags The Audio Rights Of Suri Popcorn Monkey Tiger Starring Dhananjay EDMONTONThe Alberta government has signalled it is ready for potential legal battles over a public inquiry that critics have slammed as akin to modern-day McCarthyism. Hit with a new threat of a lawsuit from a left-leaning advocacy group, Albertas justice ministers message Monday was simple. Bring it on, Justice Minister Doug Schweitzer told reporters. A lawyer for Progress Alberta penned a letter last week to the commissioner of the public inquiry that will probe the financial backing of environmental activists and what the United Conservatives have alleged is a campaign to hamstring the provinces oil and gas industry. The letter to commissioner Steve Allan urged that the proceedings be stopped and alleged they could infringe on charter rights, before raising the propsect of further legal action by Progress Alberta. The ideological inquisition that the inquiry represents would be more at home in Russia or Saudi Arabia than in Alberta, wrote representative Amir Attaran, who is a professor with the University of Ottawas law faculty. The $2.5-million public inquiry was established last summer in response to what Jason Kenneys United Conservative government describes as a campaign to landlock energy resources. Its faced significant backlash for not only its public cost, but also for the governments appointment of Allan as commissioner. It has been revealed in media reports that hed campaigned on behalf of the justice minister in 2018 as he was running to be a nominee before the general election. Progress Alberta was singled out in a news release in April 2019, in which the United Conservative Party, just before it won the provincial election, said, (The group) received foreign funds specifically to oppose dirty fuels and pipelines and is putting those funds to use by running a Stop Kenney campaign in support of the Notley NDP. Attaran called the allegations within the news release false, malicious, arguably defamatory attacks. Progress Alberta has never campaigned against Alberta energy jobs or pipeline projects, he added. (It) has never been a part of the Tar Sands Campaign, and never had the goal to landlock Albertas oil and gas. While these types of attacks were pumped out by the party, he said, donors to Progress Alberta became discouraged from contributing. The threat of the inquiry has also forced Progress Alberta to divert resources toward research and legal defence, rather than reaching its target audience, Attaran continued. The public inquiry could infringe on the charter rights to freedom of expression and freedom of association, Attarans letter alleges. What this is, is a warning letter to the Alberta government that if they were to embark on the second phase of the inquiry, they would be doing something thats unconstitutional, said Attaran during an interview. Attaran further drew parallels with McCarthyism named after Sen. Joseph McCarthy who, in the 1950s, gained notoriety for trying to weed out alleged communists in the United States. When asked if the mandate of the inquiry could violate charter rights, Albertas justice minister said, It doesnt. We got elected on a mandate to stand up for Albertans, he said. To make sure that we get to the end as to how this foreign money is influencing groups that are actively campaigning against Albertas interests. The inquiry is in its initial stage seeking submissions, doing interviews and researching, although a spokesperson with Progress Alberta said they havent been contacted yet. Progress Alberta isnt the first group to go public with its opposition to the inquiry. Late last year, environmental law organization Ecojustice launched a legal challenge, requesting a judicial review thats currently before the court. The group alleged the inquiry was launched for political purposes, that its biased and that it deals with matters not in provincial jurisdiction. Amnesty International, a global human rights organization, has also raised concerns over the inquirys potential to violate charter rights. In a statement emailed to the Star, the inquirys commissioner said Monday that it had received Progress Albertas letter. But he added that with matters regarding the terms of reference for the inquiry before Albertas Court of Queens Bench stemming from the separate legal challenge he couldnt comment further. Following the delivery of the interim report, I expect there will be further clarity regarding the inquirys process going forward, Allan said. That interim report is expected by Albertas energy ministry by the end of the month, with a final report outlining findings and recommendations due in the summer. Read more about: Vodafone Idea, Tata Teleservices and Bharti Airtel have filed an application in the Supreme Court seeking modification of its earlier order and permit them to negotiate the payment schedule with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). The telecom companies have asked the apex court to allow them to hold discussions with the DoT and come up with a suitable time frame to make the payments. Last week, the top court had dismissed a review petition by various telecom companies challenging its judgement in the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) case, according to which these companies have to pay around Rs 92,000 crore to the Centre till 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 to pay around Rs 92,000 crore. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prayagraj: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad's central Margdarshak Mandal meeting underway at Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj on Jan 20, 2020. The meeting was dominated by planning for construction of Ram Temolem discussions for CAA, and on religious conversion. T Image Source: IANS News Prayagraj: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad's central Margdarshak Mandal meeting underway at Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj on Jan 20, 2020. The meeting was dominated by planning for construction of Ram Temolem discussions for CAA, and on religious conversion. T Image Source: IANS News Prayagraj: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad's central Margdarshak Mandal meeting underway at Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj on Jan 20, 2020. The meeting was dominated by planning for construction of Ram Temolem discussions for CAA, and on religious conversion. T Image Source: IANS News Prayagraj, Jan 20 : The Vishwa Hindu Parishad's central Margdarshak Mandal meeting at Uttar Pradesh' Prayagraj was dominated by the planning for the construction of Ram Temple, discussions over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and religious conversion. But interestingly, it's the CAA which took up the most time rather than construction of the Ram Temple, an issue close to the heart of the VHP. A resolution was brought to 'thank' the Centre for bringing in the legislation in the first place. Calling it a "fit legislation", the VHP resolution proposed to help in implementing the legislation. It was brought by Hariharanand Maharaj. It immediately received widespread support from within the VHP's mentor-level huddle. The resolution to support the CAA and work for it, was supported by Sadhvi Shakti Parishad's General Secretary Pragya Bharti. The pro-CAA resolution was unanimously passed at the meeting. The CAA makes it easier for the non-Muslim immigrants facing religious persecution in Muslim-majority nations -- Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan -- to become Indian citizen and reduces the stipulated years one needs to spend in India for applying for citizenship. Apart from the VHP'S Milind Parande and Akhileshwaranand, a slew of influential sants (holy men) were present at the meeting. The first session was presided over by Shankaracharya Vasudevanand Saraswati, while the second session was chaired by Avichaldasji Maharaj of the influential All India Sant Samiti. At a time when the opposition has been relentless in its protests against the CAA and even the Prime Minister on Monday passingly asked the BJP cadres to go door to door in order to counter 'falsehood', this unanimous support from the VHP and key groups of sants who wield immense power in terms of swinging the mood of their numerous followers, has definitely come as a breather for the ruling BJP. Hindi cinema magnate Amitabh Bachchan's almost two-decade-old film Aankhen will now again hit theaters. With this, the film, directed by Vipul Shah, one of the big directors of Hindi cinema, is going to overwhelm the people of China and Saudi Arabia, not just India, but the almost two decades old film 'Aankhen' by Amitabh Bachchan, the legend of Hindi cinema. Will knock theaters doors. Apart from this, the film, directed by Vipul Shah, one of the big directors of Hindi cinema, is now going to overwhelm the people of China and Saudi Arabia, not India. Box Office Collection: Ajay Devgn's Tanaji became biggest film of 2020, Know earning The producer of the film, Gaurang Doshi, has prepared to land the film on about 20,000 screens. Expressing his happiness towards this project, Gaurang says, 'Aankhen film will always be very special for me for many reasons. This film has given me a big identity and Mr. Bachchan. The release of this film in China and Saudi Arabia after so many years can provide a huge amount of encouragement and reassurance to producers making films with global stories. Producer Gaurang explains that the film can be dubbed in local languages before releasing it in both countries. Apart from this, he says, "There are a lot of opportunities for filmmakers internationally, and I am happy that we are getting an opportunity to take advantage of these opportunities with our films." This hot model breaks internet with her nude photos, see pictures here Interestingly, after this film, Gaurang is also looking to launch his other films in the international market, including his Happy Anniversary, Aankhen Returns. For this, Gaurang has joined hands with VG Zhu, one of China's largest distributors, as well as collaborating with Saudi distributor Jen Saho to establish his coinage in Saudi Arabia and make a foray into Hindi films. For your information, let us know that the film Aankhen is one of the blockbuster films of Hindi cinema. Apart from Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Sushmita Sen, Arjun Rampal, and Paresh Rawal are in the lead roles in this multistarrer film. The sequel of this film has been going on for a long time, but there is no announcement for it yet. Miss World Manushi Chillar will debut with Akshay Kumar's film, will play this character London: Meghan Markle's estranged father, Thomas Markle, accused his daughter of "cheapening" the British royal family in part of an interview released a day after Buckingham Palace said Prince Harry and his wife would no longer be working members of the monarchy. The palace announced on Saturday that the couple would no longer use their "Royal Highness" titles and would pay their own way in life. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the whole country wished them "the very best" with the new arrangement. "As I said before ... I was sure that the royal family, which has been around a very long time, will find a way forward," Johnson told Sky News in Germany, where he was attending a summit on Libya. The monarchy was thrown into turmoil earlier this month when Harry and his American former actress wife announced that they wanted to reduce their official duties and spend more time in North America. Saturday's announcement from the palace followed discussions in recent days between Queen Elizabeth, her family and officials over how this would work in practice for Harry, 35, and Meghan, 38. Thomas Markle told Channel 5 news in a documentary that he believed Meghan was tossing away "every girl's dream". "It's disappointing because she actually got every girl's dream. Every young girl wants to become a princess and she got that and now she's tossing that away, for, it looks like she's tossing that away for money," he said. The interview was filmed after the couple's announcement that they would step back as senior members of the royal family. Channel 5 released part of the interview on Sunday and said the full documentary would air "in the coming weeks". Lost Souls Thomas Markle described the royal family as "one of the greatest long-living institutions ever", saying that when Meghan married Harry in May 2018 they took an obligation "to be part of the royals and to represent the royals". "This is like one of the greatest long-living institutions ever," he said. "They are destroying it, they are cheapening it, they're making it shabby ... They are turning it into a Walmart with a crown of it now. It is something that is ridiculous, they shouldn't be doing this." Thomas Markle and his daughter have been estranged since her marriage to Harry. Earlier this month, the Mail on Sunday newspaper submitted its defence to court action by Meghan over the publication of a private letter she sent to her father. Thomas Markle said he did not expect Meghan to get in contact. "I can't see her reaching out to me, especially now ... or Harry for that matter, but I think both of them are turning into lost souls at this point," he said. "I don't know what they're looking for. I don't think they know what they are looking for." With BS6 deadline getting closer, Tata Motors is getting ready to update the existing Harrier BS4 to BS6 norms. Updated Harrier will get larger alloys, panoramic sunroof. Launched in January last year, Tata Harrier sales in the initial months were impressive. But post the launch of MG Hector in June 2019, sales declined rapidly. What followed was Tata trying hard to get back the lost sales by launching new editions, accessories, warranty packages, etc. Harrier is even offered at discounts of up to Rs 1 lakh. But nothing helped to get back the lost sales. Buyers still preferred the more expensive MG Hector, even though they have to wait for about 3 months or more. Tata will once again try to get back lost sales with the launch of Harrier BS6. Though it will not come with petrol engine, it will come with missing features like 18 inch dual tone alloys, panoramic electric sunroof, etc. It will also get the automatic transmission. Spy images are credit to automotive enthusiast Siddharth Patil. Currently, Harrier is only offered with a 2 liter diesel BS4 engine, sourced from FCA India. This engine on the Harrier delivers about 140 hp. In BS6 guise, this engine will deliver 170 hp, in both manual as well as auto transmission. This increase in power, BS6 update, new features, etc will result in the prices of the Harrier BS6 to be increased in the region of Rs 1 lakh. And even higher in cases of top variant and with automatic transmission. Currently, Tata Harrier BS4 prices start from Rs 13.4 lakhs and goes all the way to Rs 17.37 lakhs for top variant, ex-sh. Tata Harrier BS6 is expected to make its debut next month, at the 2020 Auto Expo. Launch is expected to take place in March 2020. At the auto show, Tata will also unveil Gravitas, which is the 7 seater variant of Harrier. Gravitas is expected to replace Hexa from company line-up. Tata will also showcase the H2X production variant at Auto Expo. Ahead of Auto Expo, later this week Tata Motors will launch facelifted Tiago, Tigor and Nexon. These three cars will get BS6 engines. Tiago and Tigor will only get petrol BS6 while Nexon will get BS6 petrol as well as BS6 diesel engine options. South India on Monday got its first squadron of Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jets, which have been modified to carry BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, at the Air Force station here. The new squadron is all set to enhance the IAF's air defence capability and ensure vigil over the strategically important Indian Ocean Region, according to a Defence release. The operationalisation of the squadron will ensure protection to India's island territories and sealines of communication in the Indian Ocean region, it said. Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat inducted the Sukhoi-30, 222 squadron "Tigersharks," in the presence of top officials including Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria. The Su-30 MKI is a state-of-the-art, all-weather multi-role fighter aircraft capable of undertaking air defence, ground attack and maritime missions. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday (January 20) UAE-based NRI businessman CC Thampi, who is a close aide of Robert Vadra. Thampi and his three companies, Holiday City Centre, Holiday Properties and Holiday Bekal Resorts were under ED investigation, under Foreign Exchange Management Act,1999 for an aggregate amount of Rs. 288 crores Thampi is also accused of being involved in several defence deals and it is learnt that he owns several illegal properties in India and UAE. It may be recalled that Thampi's name had also cropped up in a case related to London-based property of Robert Vadra and he was interrogated by ED in this case too. An ED official told IANS that Thampi has been arrested in the wake of the investigation involving Vadra, who is facing ED investigation in a money laundering case involving assets in the UK. The official added that some alleged undisclosed transactions has been detected by the ED for the purchase of properties in the UK by people linked to Vadra. After detailed probe, the ED found that Thampi was the person who was involved in routing the kickbacks allegedly to Vadra. Notably, the ED had questioned Thampi in April 2019, too and it is learnt that the discrepancies in statements of Vadra and Thampi led to the arrest of the latter. Sources said that during his questioning on February 6, 2019, Vadra had informed the ED that he met Thampi on board an Emirates' flight. A senior police officer on Monday reviewed security arrangements for the Republic Day celebrations here, stressing for a proper briefing to the security personnel deployed in view of the threat of terror attacks and frequent ceasefire violations by Pakistan. Jammu zone Inspector General of Police Mukesh Singh also called for effective and coordinated efforts at the grossroots level for a smooth conduct of the main function to be held at M A Stadium, a police spokesman said. He said senior officers of the police, Army, BSF, CRPF, central and Union Territory intelligence agencies and civil administration attended the meeting at the police control room here and discussed arrangements for the Republic Day functions. The IGP stressed that all officers should be briefed properly in view of the threat of terror attacks and frequent ceasefire violations from across the border, the spokesperson said. Reviewing the security arrangements made in and around the main venue of the function, the IGP called for proper and intensive foot patrolling and surveillance. On the border management front, Singh asked to erect checkpoints on all infiltration routes along the international border and the roads originating from the border and touching the national highway. The senior police officer also directed to intensify night patrolling. "All border police stations and posts, village defence committees be strengthened and proper briefing be given to them by supervisory offices on a daily basis regarding the nature or importance of duties to be performed by them," the IGP said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A university student has created an 'earth sandwich' with a stranger on the exact opposite side of the world using the help of the internet. The New Zealand student took a photo of him stood with a slice of bread on the ground at Bucklands Beach beach in eastern Auckland. At exactly the same time, his digital companion posed with another slice at a spot in rural western Spain about 90km west of the city of Malaga. A New Zealand student and a stranger in Spain (left and right) have created an 'earth sandwich' by placing a slice of bread on the ground at exact opposite points in the world at the same time The student - who goes by the name etinaude on Reddit - said he accomplished the unusual feat of 'sandwiching' the earth by asking for help on the social media website. 'For all those wondering how I did this, I posted in (the sub-thread) r/Spain if anyone lived around that point that was keen to do this,' he wrote. The creative Kiwi even posed alongside a New Zealand flag to mark the occasion as beach-goers milled around in the background. To further celebrate the occasion, the student said he used a laser to etch into 20 slices of bread an artistic impression of an 'earth sandwich'. Other social media users were in awe of the pair's accomplishment. 'I think this is one of the nerdiest things I've ever seen! Very adorable!' one person wrote. To celebrate the occasion, the student said he used a laser to etch into 20 slices of bread an artistic impression of an 'earth sandwich' (pictured) Another joked the 'sandwich filling might be a little bit hot' given it went straight through the earth's core. One said the unusual activity was typical of those from New Zealand. 'This is a classic thing for a Kiwi to do. Always making a mark outside of the norm. Good on ya!' The 'earth sandwich' had been created using a website which calculates the diametrically opposite point on earth to a certain location - also called the antipodes - using co-ordinates. After the two crafted the 'earth sandwich', other social media users reacted in awe of the accomplishment - while one joked about the nature of the sandwich's filling It comes after two YouTube 'daredevils' (one of the two Jay Swingler pictured at the Sydney Opera House) flew from London to Australia so they could place a slice of bread either side of the globe to make an 'Earth sandwich' It comes after two YouTube 'daredevils' flew from London to Australia so they could place a slice of bread either side of the globe to make an 'Earth sandwich'. British YouTubers Jay Swingler and Romell Henry spent 7,000 ($12,500) each on flights and travelled for two days straight to complete the bizarre stunt. Only a handful of locations on land have an antipodes which are also not in the ocean. For example, parts of south-east Asia have their opposite spot in South America while a section of Antarctica has theirs in Russia. SAN FRANCISCO and PFAFFIKON, Switzerland and LONDON, Jan. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- DiNAQOR AG, a global gene therapy platform company, today announced a research collaboration and exclusive license agreement with UCL to develop novel gene therapies for the treatment of monogenic cardiomyopathies, diseases of the heart muscle that can lead to heart failure in children and adults. The collaboration will focus on the development of therapies targeting several genes using DiNAQOR's cardiac modular technology platform. Under the terms of the agreement, DiNAQOR and UCL will collaborate to advance DiNAQOR's two discovery cardiac gene therapy programs into clinical development. DiNAQOR will obtain exclusive worldwide rights to any therapies developed as part of the collaboration. If a product is successfully commercialized from the collaboration, UCL will be entitled to royalties on sales. The license agreement was carried out by UCL's technology commercialisation company, UCL Business Ltd (UCLB), part of UCL Innovation & Enterprise. Based on the research of Professor Thomas Voit at the UCL GOSH Institute of Child Health, the agreement aims to utilise UCL's leading expertise in gene therapy. "Early stage partnerships are critical to expedite innovation in gene therapy research and development. UCL is one of the world's leading research centers and is ideally suited to help us expand our pipeline of gene therapies for cardiomyopathies," said Dr. Valeria Ricotti, Chief Medical Officer at DiNAQOR. "This partnership represents an exceptional opportunity to accelerate development of potentially life-saving gene therapies for patients suffering from heart failure. We are excited to collaborate with the DiNAQOR team to help find a cure for monogenic cardiomyopathies," said Dr. Perry Elliott, Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at The UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health (GOS ICH). About Monogenic Cardiomyopathies Cardiomyopathy is a disease of the heart muscle that can lead to heart failure. Approximately 50% of all cardiomyopathies are caused by a single-gene or monogenic defect. There are 1.7 million people in the European Union and the United States currently affected by a monogenic cardiomyopathy, 300,000 of these individuals have a defect in the MYBPC3 gene. There is currently no cure for patients living with genetic cardiomyopathies. About DiNAQOR Founded in 2019, DiNAQOR AG is a global gene therapy platform company focused on advancing novel solutions for patients suffering from heart disease. The company's lead preclinical program, DiNA-001 is focused on the treatment of MYBPC3-linked cardiomyopathy. DiNAQOR is headquartered in Pfaffikon, Switzerland, with additional presence in London, England and Boston, Massachusetts (US). For more information visit www.dinaqor.com. About UCL London's Global University UCL is a diverse community with the freedom to challenge and think differently. Our community of more than 41,500 students from 150 countries and over 12,500 staff pursues academic excellence, breaks boundaries and makes a positive impact on real world problems. We are consistently ranked among the top 10 universities in the world and are one of only a handful of institutions rated as having the strongest academic reputation and the broadest research impact. We have a progressive and integrated approach to our teaching and research championing innovation, creativity and cross-disciplinary working. We teach our students how to think, not what to think, and see them as partners, collaborators and contributors. For almost 200 years, we are proud to have opened higher education to students from a wide range of backgrounds and to change the way we create and share knowledge. We were the first in England to welcome women to university education and that courageous attitude and disruptive spirit is still alive today. We are UCL. www.ucl.ac.uk| Follow @uclnews on Twitter | Watch our YouTube channel | Listen to UCL podcasts on SoundCloud | Find out what's on at UCL Minds | #MadeAtUCL About UCL Business Ltd (UCLB) UCL Business Ltd (UCLB), part of UCL Innovation and Enterprise, is a leading technology commercialisation company that supports research and innovations arising from UCL, one of the UK's top research-led universities. UCLB has a successful track record and a strong reputation for identifying and protecting promising new technologies and innovations from UCL academics. UCLB has a strong track record in commercialising medical technologies and provides technology transfer services to UCL's associated hospitals; University College London Hospitals, Moorfields Eye Hospital, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children and the Royal Free London Hospital. It invests directly in development projects to maximise the potential of the research and manages the commercialisation process of technologies from laboratory to market. Contacts DiNAQOR: KWM Communications Kellie Walsh T: 1-914-315-6072 E: [email protected] UCL: UCL Media Relations Dr. Rebecca Caygill T: +44 (0)20 3108 3846 / +44 (0)7733 307 596 E: [email protected] SOURCE DiNAQOR Related Links http://www.dinaqor.com Read @LOLGOPs explanation about WHY were raising $10,000 for Run for Something in his piece Unfortunately, money still matters a lot in politics. Heres how to make the most of yours. Then please consider making a donation to help young, down-ticket progressives all across America. Susan Demas on Twitter: @SJDemas Susan Demas work Michigan Advance is HERE. Allison Donahue on Twitter: @donahual Allison Donahue at Michigan Advance: I tried to interview Sen. Peter Lucido. He told me a group of schoolboys could have a lot of fun with me. Allison Donahues important thread on Twitter: Thank you all for the support. I promise I will collect my thoughts soon, but I will say this: I didnt want to stand up for myself after that. Its awkward and in rare cases is it ever taken well and the comments apologized for. But Ive stayed silent before. Allison R. Donahue (@donahual) January 15, 2020 Also Allison Donahue on Twitter: If it is unlikely that I have your cell phone number saved and you need to reach me, please try text or email first. The prank calls have started and I dont feel incredibly safe answering random calls. Allison R. Donahue (@donahual) January 16, 2020 Brian Johnston at The Oakland Press: Lucido apologizes for misunderstanding over sexist remarks to reporter Paul Egan and Kathleen Gray at the Detroit Free Press: Sen. Peter Lucido changes story on sexist remark, now says he was misquoted Charlie Langton at Fox 2 Detroit: Sen. Ludico says female reporter misquoted him about inappropriate comment The BBC: Allison Donahue: US lawmaker Peter Lucido probed for comments to reporter Brittney McNamara at Teen Vogue: Young Reporter Allison Donahue Called Out Michigan Senator Peter Lucido for Sexist Comments Christine Hauser at The New York Times: Boys Could Have Fun With You, Michigan Legislator Tells Reporter Michigan Public Radio: Sen. Lucido comments reflect undercurrent in Capitol culture say statehouse reporters Julie Hinds at The Detroit Free Press: Mich. senators remark to reporter was about sex, power, not harmless small talk Steve Nealing at Detroit Metro Times: Triggered Trumpers call for violence against Michigan Democrats and Muslims in vile Facebook page Jordan Zakarin on Twitter: @JordanZakarin Progressives Everywhere on Twitter: @Progressives50 Help Progressives Everywhere help us raise $10,000 for Run For Something by Super Tuesday by clicking HERE. Progressives Everywheres website: ProgressivesEverywhere.org Support Progressives Everywhere by becoming a Patreon donor HERE. Jordans important project: Election-Calendar.com Give us a five-star review at iTunes! The GOTMFV Show Facebook page is HERE! Music clips Intro and transition music: You Dress Like an Asshole by Not The 1s Progressives Everywhere intro/outro: Theyre Everywhere by Jims Big Ego Outro music: Complain (from the movie Bob Roberts) by David Robbins & Tim Robbins NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / January 19, 2020 / Legislation in Texas was introduced in September 2019, in an effort cap the amount of sales tax for boats and yachts to promote major incentives in the marine industry as the super yacht market continues to grow. Significant tax relief for yacht owners, potential buyers can now make the luxury purchase with tax breaks, while seafarers' rights and conditions continue to stagnate and deteriorate. . The state of Texas is poised to benefit exponentially from the tax cuts which will naturally increase yacht sales and with it a steady volume of new job opportunities for seafarers. State Sen. Larry Taylor affirms that the legislation could create over 600 more jobs instantly. This major industry boost could also incur a major gap between prosperous yacht owners and the rights of seafarers that are likely to fall between legislative cracks. The case of Bowker v. Tatu reveals the true nature of the marine industry behind the glamour of luxury yachts and the lifestyles of their tax-rich owners. The legal battle is based on official records from the US District Court for the Southern District of California (Case No. '18CV1986 BEN WVG) and details the ongoing case between Texan yacht owners Tatiana Golovina, Michael Sims and crew members aboard the "Tatu" yacht. Golovina is a logistics and packing entrepreneur and Sims is a known oil magnate. The primary defendant, Taylor Bowker, is suing for $3.8 million USD in unpaid wages and damages incurred over a year and a half. The imbalance of power is clear- business couple Sims and Golovina have the direct upper hand to exploit crew members while seafarers have less resources to defend their rights which places them at a serious disadvantage. According to the Seafarer's Welfare Assistance Network (SWAN), the marine crew is more likely to be injured on the job than in other professions. Although marine labor movements have improved daily working conditions for seafarers since 2006, the demands of the yacht industry remain extremely strenuous. Regardless, yacht crews are loyal seafarers that are many times forced to leave family behind and leave their personal lives aside. The defendants from the Sims and Golovina side of the battle are primarily their businesses including Platinum Premier Corporation Limited, Texas Oil and Gas Limited LLC, Texas Oil & Gas Ltd, Texas Nevada Oil and Gas Limited Company, Texen Oil and Gas, Texen Energy Group PTE LTD and Marbella Properties. The plaintiff, Taylor Bowker, is a South African citizen who was hired to sail the Tatu and run the crew in early 2016. The complaint is a testament to the mistreatment of even the most experienced seafarers. Bowker is suing for the debt he incurred from his own pocket to maintain the vessel in an operational state. This entails providing a replacement for malfunctioning parts and servicing for the vessel which includes any repairs along the way. The complaint also details the severe neglect towards the monthly wages of the loyal captain. The legal document ascertains that while Bowker considered resigning multiple times due to unpaid wages, he held his position as captain. Golovina and Sims were able to keep Bowker aboard by promising compensation that was never delivered such as a considerable salary raise of more than 50% (from $182 to $283 USD) and a number of promissory notes. There were also trickles of small sums to keep the captain appeased, but after a year and a half of a tumultuous relationship to Sims and Golovina, the captain was forced to sue. Bowker is not the only crew member to stake his claim in the suit. Other vulnerable seafarers include the Tatu's onboard chef, US citizen Loralee Johnstone Byrnes. The chef was convinced by Golovina to fund a luxurious trip Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, as Byrnes shelled out $250,000 USD from her pension fund. All expenses were covered by the chef upon the promise of later being refunded with a security interest during the eventual sale of the vessel. This seemingly good deal quickly turned into a fraudulent mishap as legal documents confirm that Golovina and Sims in fact concealed the sale of the vessel to avoid reimbursing Byrnes with the promised interest. The unfortunate financial outcome for the crew members involved in the Bowker v. Tatu case illustrates the severe state of seafarers under legislation that completely disregards their rights while enabling yacht owners to overspend on luxury yachts they can very easily neglect. There are currently over 2,726 non-commercial boats in Texas, over half of which were registered from 2009 until the end of last year. The gap between seafarer rights and the industry boom can still be closed during these early growth stages, yet the outcome is uncertain. Loyal crew members deserve a secure future and benefits that mirror the stability of such a prosperous and accelerating industry. Contact : Name: Eric Wright Email: Email: Eric.superyachtcrewrights@gmail.com SOURCE: www.medium.com View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/573522/Texas-Legislation-Favors-Tax-Cuts-for-Yacht-Owners-While-Basic-Rights-of-Seafarers-Are-Severely-Compromised On matters relating to the Diaspora, the Centre needs to call the shots, suggests Ambassador T P S Sreenivasan. IMAGE: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan addresses the Loka Kerala Sabha, January 2, 2020. Photograph: Kind courtesy Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan/Twitter The wheel set off by Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi by inviting the states to be involved in formulating and implementing foreign policy has come full circle when a major congregation of overseas Indians was held in Kerala without the participation of the central government, whose responsibility it is to take care of the Diaspora. What is more, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan called it a 'gigantic hoax'. Opposition parties in Kerala boycotted the conference on the plea that it was a waste of money when the state was under financial constraints. A couple of years ago, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had staged a kind of mild coup by getting several Indian prisoners released by direct intervention with the ruler of Sharjah. There was thunderous silence in New Delhi, but no one protested. Subsequently, Kerala was not permitted to receive a cash grant from the UAE at the time of the floods in 2018 because of the Chief minister's premature announcement. Further, Kerala was not given permission to send its ministers on a mission to several countries to seek relief funds. The chief minister was allowed to visit the UAE, but there are no details available of the funds received. And now, by a conspiracy of circumstances, Kerala held a major Diaspora conference without the participation of the Government of India. Though the external affairs minister and the minister of state for external affairs were invited, there were no prior consultations with the nodal ministry. A major negative fallout of the Loka Kerala Sabha 2020 was that the unanimity among the political parties on the importance of the welfare of overseas Indians has been eroded. Successive governments have vied with each other to provide facilities to them like the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, Pravasi Samman and various welfare measures, particularly in the Gulf. State governments too had set up institutions and chipped in with their own schemes. All these will turn into partisan political exercises in the future. Another setback is the confusion it may have created in the host countries about the respective responsibilities of the Centre and the states for overseas Indians. Apart from their dire need for Indian workers, there is also a political element in these countries taking such a large number of Indians and the improving relations of India with the Gulf countries has been a helpful factor for the Indian communities in these countries. They will hesitate to deal with the state governments because they have no role in the overall political and economic relationship. If Kerala or any other state decides to set up parallel bodies for the welfare of Indians abroad, they will have to open offices in these countries, because the embassies will not involve themselves in programmes not endorsed by the ministry of external affairs. At the time of the UPA government, the ministry of overseas Indian affairs had found it difficult to get cooperation from our missions abroad because they were functioning under the ministry of external affairs. This was one of the reasons why the MOIA was merged with the MEA. The states will find it more difficult to implement their decisions without the active support of the missions. In other words, the noble objective of the Loka Kerala Sabha 2020 to address the concerns of overseas Indians by 'providing for a more inclusive democratic space' will not be met. The composition of the Loka Kerala Sabha itself is in question as the criteria for selection of members are arbitrary and opaque. It has been laid down that 'LKS shall be constituted taking into account the diversities of gender, age and occupational status; it shall also include eminent non-resident Keralites who have contributed immensely in their respective fields of engagement to achieve public acclaim.' An eternal problem of the Diaspora is the lack of a unified leadership at any level. The proliferation of associations in the name of region, religion, community and cast has made it difficult to deal with their representatives. In other overseas communities, there is greater cohesion and accountability of leaders. What the Loka Kerala Sabha has done is to add another layer of 'leaders' acknowledged by the state government, who will claim special privileges and amenities. The Loka Kerala Sabha has further divided the community rather than unite it. In the best of circumstances, the outcome of these conferences is forgotten soon after its conclusion and the same issues will be raised again. But the turbulence that was raging at the time of the conference made it all the more difficult to have any purposeful discussions. At one stage, the chief minister remonstrated the participants for trying to push their private agendas, instead of formulating general policies. It is well known that neither the Centre nor the states have an accurate figure of overseas Indians. They do not report to the missions except when they are in some kind of trouble. Repeated attempts were made to compile a register. It was reported that the state will prepare a comprehensive register of expatriates with the help of the Centre for Development Studies, a think-tank in Thiruvananthapuram. This is totally unrealistic when this could not be done with the resources of the Centre, which has a large network of missions. The cost also will be enormous to undertake such a register. Surprisingly, none objected to registers in the present climate, but it is certain that such a register will never be complete. The Loka Kerala Sabha took place at a time when there was a virtual confrontation between the entire legislature and the Kerala governor on citizenship issues. The Loka Kerala Sabha seemed unreal in that atmosphere. But the governor actually inaugurated the Loka Kerala Sabha before opposition to it had crystallised. A letter from Rahul Gandhi congratulating the chief minister on the Loka Kerala Sabha, obviously written before the Congress declared war against it added to the chaos and provided some comic relief. But the state appears relieved that the play of Hamlet is over even without the prince of Denmark. After all, the Bard had said: 'The play's the thing/Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King.' The Loka Kerala Sabha session this year highlighted the need to rethink the division between the Centre and the states on Diaspora issues. Though India has a federal structure, its spirit is one of a unitary state and on matters relating to foreign affairs, including the Diaspora, the Centre need to call the shots. T P Sreenivasan, (IFS 1967), former Ambassador of India and Governor for India of the IAEA is the Chairman, Academic Council and Director, NSS Academy of Civil Services, Director General, Kerala International Centre. HONOLULU A Hawaii handyman with a history of run-ins with police and neighbors faced eviction when he stabbed his landlord and killed two officers before the house he and two women were believed to be inside burned, authorities and neighbors said. Police responding Sunday to a call for help at the Waikiki location found a woman stabbed in the leg and resident Jaroslav Jerry Hanel, began shooting, killing Officers Tiffany Enriquez, a seven-year veteran, and Kaulike Kalama, a nine-year veteran, police Chief Susan Ballard said. Police suspect Hanel, who was in his 60s, and two women who have not been identified were inside the house when it caught fire. They were presumed dead, and Ballard said it could take days for authorities to recover remains and process evidence. The fire just a few blocks from oceanfront high-rise buildings spread and destroyed seven homes. The homeowner, Lois Cain, had recently sought to evict Hanel, who lived in the home for free in exchange for his work, according to court records and a lawyer who has represented him. A neighbor told the Associated Press she saw Cain being put into an ambulance suffering from knife wounds. Her condition was not disclosed. Neighbors described Hanel as mentally disturbed. Attorney Jonathan Burge has represented Hanel in various disputes with neighbors, including temporary restraining orders that three obtained against him. Hawaii has some of the toughest gun laws in the U.S. Residents cant buy firearms without permits approved by local police, who check databases to make sure applicants have not been convicted of felonies or misdemeanor crimes including assault or domestic violence. People are also denied permits if they have been acquitted of crimes because of mental problems or have been diagnosed with significant mental, behavioral or emotional disorders. Ballard said Hanel did not have any gun permits. Caleb Jones, Jennifer Kelleher and Marco Garcia are Associated Press writers. The WCO Secretariat organized the first WCO Workshop focusing on modernization and standardization of Customs Laboratory, which was held at the WCO Headquarter in Brussels on 15-16 January 2020 during the 35th Session of the Scientific Sub-Committee (SSC), the only global body which brings together experts in the field of Customs laboratories and technical areas. Representatives of Customs laboratories from eight Member administrations, i.e., Bulgaria, Canada, China, the EU, Japan, Korea, the Russian Federation and the US, and two international organizations, i.e., International Olive Council (IOC) and United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), made presentations during the Workshop. The Workshop dealt with a variety of subjects that would be extremely important and useful to all Member administrations for modernization and standardization of their Customs laboratories, which included challenges, future actions and updates on the analysis techniques/methods being used for the purposes of HS classification, identification of trade in controlled goods or drugs for the protection of our society. Delegates had a chance to conduct organoleptic tasting of various kind of olive oil specified in the accepted 2022 HS new subheadings. The Workshop provided a good opportunity to share knowledge and experiences with a view to enhancing the accuracy and effectiveness of laboratory analysis and promoting cooperation and networking between Customs laboratories. Based on the outcome of the Workshop, the SSC agreed to hold similar Workshops during future sessions as a regular Agenda Item to discuss specific themes and topics of common interest among the Customs laboratories. There is great potential for promoting the increasingly important role of Customs laboratories, which is expanding from revenue collection to social protection in a fast changing world. The workshop provided a good opportunity for the WCO to use an appropriate global forum for Members to share experience and strengthen networking in the modernisation and standardisation of Customs laboratories., said Dr. Kunio Mikuriya, Secretary General of the WCO. A DUTCH man who was jailed for four years for claiming over 225,000 in social welfare while living outside of Ireland has admitted to falsely claiming a further 18,000 in child benefit. Leendert Stolk fraudulently used a school stamp while claiming child benefit for his two children between 2011 and 2018, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard today. Stolk (50), of Coppice Road, Worthing, Sussex, England pleaded guilty to 22 sample counts of wrongfully claiming social welfare and four counts of using a false instrument. He is currently 13 months into a four-year prison sentence for welfare fraud during the same period. The child benefit fraud only came to light after Stolk's wife was arrested in relation to it, the court heard. Stolk then made full admissions to gardai. Judge Patricia Ryan ordered that the fresh charges be taken into consideration, meaning Stolk's prison sentence will remain the same. The court previously heard that Stolk moved to Ireland with his family in 2009 and left the jurisdiction in late 2010. He continued to make claims for jobseeker's allowance, rent allowance, back to work allowance and back to school allowance for seven years after leaving the country, as well as the child benefit claims. He regularly returned to the country, often every two weeks, to claim the payments. The court heard he used a stamp from a school in Meath when filling out the child benefit forms. Letters were sent to a house in the Dublin 15 area in which he resided while in Ireland and then redirected to his actual address outside of the country. Authorities began investigating him in July 2018 when a letter was returned to the Department of Social Protection instead of being redirected and gardai discovered that the house was in fact empty. Stolk was asked to provide proof he did not have a redirection in place and handed over a fraudulent declaration he claimed was from An Post. Including the child benefit claims, Stolk falsely claimed over 244,000 during the seven-year period. Stolk, who is originally from the Netherlands, had no previous convictions prior to the fraud. The court previously heard he was diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and that, while living in South Africa, he was kidnapped and confronted by an armed intruder to his property on two separate occasions. The Supreme Court has now rejected the plea of a death row convict in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case challenging the Delhi High Court order, which had dismissed his claim of being a juvenile at the time of the offence. A bench comprising Justices R Banumathi, Ashok Bushan and A S Bopanna dismissed the plea of convict Pawan Kumar Gupta and upheld the Delhi High Court verdict. Vinay Sharma, Mukesh Singh, Akshay Kumar Singh, and Pawan Gupta were arrested along with one Ram Singh and a juvenile in 2012 December for the horrific gang rape of a 23-year-old paramedical student on a moving bus in Delhi. While Ram Singh was found dead in his jail cell, in an apparent suicide during the trial, the juvenile was released in December 2015. As of now, the four men are to be hanged at Delhi's Tihar Jail on February 1. "We don't find any ground to entertain this petition. Once the issue of juvenility is examined and rejected by courts it can't be raised again," the Supreme Court noted. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for Delhi Police, said it would be a "travesty of justice" if the convict was allowed to raise the claim of juvenility repeatedly and at this point of time. He stressed that the convict was 19 years old at the time of the offence and there is a certified copy of his birth certificate as well as a school-leaving certificate. These were taken on record by each and every judicial forum. Nirbhaya case: SC rejects plea of death row convict claiming he was juvenile when crime was committed in 2012 Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 20, 2020 The police also said Pawan's parents had confirmed his age. They noted that his parents did not dispute that he was above 18 when Nirbhaya was gang-raped, tortured and killed in December 2012. #Breaking | SC rejects Nirbhaya rape convict Pawan Gupta's plea. 'Pawan Gupta is not a juvenile', says the SC also adding that it finds no grounds to interfere with the HC order that rejected Pawan Guptas plea. TIMES NOW's Bhavatosh & Harish with details. pic.twitter.com/GqxWEj79iw TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) January 20, 2020 One of the six men arrested for the crime was proven to be a juvenile at the time and had been released after three years in a reform home. The four death row convicts in the 2012 Delhi gang rape have been pulling all stops to delay the inevitable- their death sentence. From challenging their 2013 death sentences in High Court and Supreme Court to filing review and curative petitions and mercy plea. - Jennifer Aniston and her ex, Brad Pitt, both shone brightly at the 2020 Screen Actors Guild Awards - The pair also had a moment backstage that left fans eagerly awaiting news of a rekindled relationship - Jennifer and Brad have been hanging out more lately and it is hoped they still have a romantic spark Celebrities Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston met up for a brief moment at the 2020 Screen Actors Guild Awards and this got their fans excited. Many are hoping that the former darling couple of Hollywood will find their way back to each other, and this encounter added even more hope. READ ALSO: Cardi B elated after her 3 songs feature in Michelle Obama's workout playlist READ ALSO: It was hard but we had no choice: Prince Harry breaks silence on decision to step-back Both actors won awards at the ceremony, Brad for Performance by a Male Actor in a supporting role for his work in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood while Jennifer won for outstanding female in a drama series for her role on The Morning Show. Lucky for fans, the moment that the exes met was caught on camera and they felt that the photos spoke a thousand words. READ ALSO: Kenyan woman found dead in her room in Qatar READ ALSO: Wajue kupe wanaoifyonza na kuiua sekta ya elimu nchini Another photo showed Brad watching on as Jennifer received her award and gave her speech. Brad attended Jennifer's holiday party back in December 2019. The actress had a very exclusive and low-key holiday party recently, Brad was invited and this naturally caused excitement among die-hard 'Brennifer' fans. It is believed that Brad was one of the last guests to leave the party and this fuelled expectation of a reconciliation between the former lovers. 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. Babu Owino shoots a DJ at B-Club : Kenyans react | Tuko TV Source: TUKO.co.ke Mike Pence called one of the most persecuted Christians in America at church MLK celebration Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Bishop Vincent Mathews Jr., world missions president of the predominantly African American and 5.5 million member Church of God in Christ, called Vice President Mike Pence one of the most persecuted Christians in America Sunday. Mathews comments, which Pence alluded to as part of an overly generous introduction, came during a visit from the vice president at the Holy City Church of God in Christ in Raleigh, Tennessee. During the visit Pence hailed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as one of the heroes of his youth and highlighted ways in which the Trump administration has been good for African Americans. Before Pences speech, Mathews made it clear to the 800-member congregation that Pence, regardless of what others might think, is his brother in Christ who has suffered for his faith at the hands of the media. One thing I love about this man of God, you know if you dont know anything, is that he is one of the most persecuted Christians in America. The biggest criticism that he gets all over television and everywhere else is that he actually believes the Bible. They hate him for believing the Bible, the world missions president of Americas largest Pentecostal denomination said. In these divided times, let us remember Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as he challenged the conscience of a nation and touched the hearts of millions of Americans. pic.twitter.com/ZA9VtlSmvN Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) January 19, 2020 On the eve of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Pence made the focus of his speech about King, his life and his legacy, and highlighted how the Trump administration is seeking to build on Kings legacy by ensuring everyone has access to the American dream. Dr. King was one of the heroes of my youth as youve already heard. Frankly, to be here in Memphis on this occasion, the city where he spent his last days, is deeply humbling to me. He left this world too soon. April 4th, 1968, at the age of 39, Pence said. On his birthday last Wednesday he would have turned 91. Earlier today, visiting the National Civil Rights Museum, I was deeply moved standing in the parking lot and look up at the very balcony where he fell. Standing there I could not help but think what King David said on the death of Abner. Do you not know that a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Israel, Pence continued to smattered shouts of amen. Dr. Martin Luther King was a great man, he then declared, drawing more affirming applause from the church. While Mathews said Pence was not at the Tennessee church to campaign, nothing that the vice president said he just wanted to worship" and "celebrate Martin Luther King," Pence used the opportunity to highlight some of the Trump administration's achievements, including making $250 million in annual funding to historically black colleges and universities permanent under federal law. As Dr. King said in his Letter From Birmingham Jail, One day the South will know that when these disinherited children of God sat down at lunch counters they were in reality standing up for whats best in the American dream and for the most sacred values of our Judeo-Christian heritage, Pence said. As I stand before you today, I want to assure you that under this administration weve made every effort to open pathways to the American dream for every American and we have stood strong for the values that we hold dear. Under the leadership of President Donald Trump weve created more than 8,700 opportunity zones, including many here in Tennessee, bringing new investment and jobs to underserved communities across the nation. And Im proud to say that today, African American unemployment is at the lowest level ever recorded, Pence continued. Weve stood for the right of parents to choose where their children go to school. And not long ago, surrounded by university leaders, President Trump made the more than $250 million in annual funding to historically black colleges and universities permanent under federal law, he said. Pence also highlighted the Trump administrations work on criminal justice reform, religious freedom, and protecting the sanctity of life. We worked with leaders in both political parties to do justice, to enact criminal justice reform to make our justice system more fair. To give those caught up in our criminal justice system a second chance. Weve defended the religious freedom of every American of every faith. And like Bishop Matthews, we have stood without apology for the sanctity of human life, the vice president said to applause. Despite the work the administration had done, he noted that there's still more progress to be made as a nation. Weve made great progress as a nation but theres much to be done. And I can promise you, this president and this administration will always stand for the values we share and the right of every American to live the American dream regardless of race or creed of color, so help us God, he said to more applause. As he celebrated Kings life and legacy at the church on Sunday, Pence told the audience that it was Kings faith that helped shape him into a truly great American leader. History records Dr. King was a civil rights leader. As I said before, he was a truly great American leader. But for my part, I think it was important to remember that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was also a Christian leader. Throughout my life, what has inspired me most about his example was that he [was] first and foremost a man of faith. A minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, a workman approved rightly able to handle the word of truth. In Luke 6, our Lord says the good man brings good things out of the good treasure in his heart, for out of the overflow of his heart a man speaks. And one cannot hear or read the words of this great American without hearing the echoes of the Gospel and biblical truth, Pence added. He said we would not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream. He had a dream that one day every valley would be exalted, every hill and mountain would be made low. "And as he said in his last speech right here in Memphis at the headquarters of the Church of God in Christ, the day before he fell, that like Moses on mount Nebo, he had been to the mountain top. He had seen the Promised Land. Those words that echoed into history. He said I may not get there with you but I want you to know that tonight, that we as a people will get to the Promised Land. And so we did, Pence said. Dr. King could see all that ahead because he had hope and that hope came from his faith in God. As he said during his famous march in 1963, this is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope... National Association of Filipino Off-roaders (NAsFOR) concluded the final and biggest race of the latest season of the MAXXIS 44 Cup Extreme Off-Road Challenge, and when the smoke cleared, it was Joseph Rodriguez of 4Wheelers Davao who rose to the top of the heap. During the last race of the MAXXIS Off-Road Challenge, dubbed the Philippine Tough Truck Challenge (PTTC) 2019, Rodriguez managed to beat 28 of the countrys top extreme off-roaders en route to winning the final and biggest race of the racing season. Thanks to his superb performance during the final race, Rodriguez also nabbed his first NAsFOR Driver of the Year (DOY) honor, besting his fiercest rival Edison Tonton Dungca of the Kapampangan Racing Team, himself a two-time winner of the DOY award in 2013 and 2014. nasfor.com Aside from his final race win, Rodriguez was also a consistent podium placer of NAsFORs 2019 off-road racing season, winning five out of 12 racing legs. We at North Trend congratulate Joseph Rodriguez and all the racers who participated in this years 44 cup, said North Trend Marketing Corporation Chief Operating Officer Ronald Ang. We are happy to see passionate motorsport athletes conquer the tough obstacle courses with the help of our top-of-the-line tires such as the M9060 Mud Trepador and MT772 Razr MT. Trust that we shall continue to bring more powerful and efficient tires to help boost every Filipino racers drive. North Trend Marketing Corporation is the official distributor of MAXXIS Tires in the Philippines, and co-presentor of the MAXXIS 44 Cup Extreme Off-road Challenge annual motorsport event since its inception in 2013. nasfor.com We are very happy with the support that our sponsors have extended this year, especially with what was given by the title sponsor MAXXIS, NAsFOR Events Director Ramon Toong shares. With our combined networks, we were able to bring this unique and exciting competition to more Filipinos. Story continues We are very appreciative of the consistent support Maxxis Tires Philippines extends to the competition, adds NAsFOR President Reynan Jayme. With their help, extreme 44 racing has grown in the country. Other co-presentors of PTTC 2019 included 199 Off-roadhouse, FCC Trading, AEG Powertools, Racetech 44 Suspensions, TRE 44 and Mobil Lubricants. Also read: The post Davaos Joseph Rodriguez Wins NAsFOR Truck Challenge, Driver of the Year Award appeared first on Carmudi Philippines. Hyderabad: He was perhaps the only deputy superintendent of police (DSP) in the whole of Jammu and Kashmir who had the privilege of having armed security personnel posted at his residence, 24x7. For a brief while, when the security cover at his residence was removed, as DSP rank officials are not entitled to it, the now disgraced DSP Davinder Singh who always had his way in the J&K police got it back, leaving quite a few senior IPS officials in J&K red-faced. Though he cited threats from terrorists as the reason for security at his residence, it was in the company of most wanted terrorists, including Hizbul Mujahideens top commander Naveed Ahmed Shah alias Babu, that Davinder Singh was finally nabbed at Qazigund on January 11. Highly placed sources in J&K police told Deccan Chronicle that Davinder Singh, who already had two Personal Security Officers attached to him, covering him round-the-clock, managed to get himself four armed personnel drawn from J&K police posted at his residence in Srinagar something no DSP rank official was ever given. The security was in place for the last six years. He had cited heightened threat to his life from militants as he had worked in the Special Operations Group (SOG) for a long time and participated in anti-terror operations during which he suffered a bullet injury on one occasion. In J&K, several police personnel had worked in the SOG and had participated in many anti-terror operations but they had only been given PSOs for their protection. Davinder Singh was the only DSP who could boast of security cover at his residence as well. Interestingly, sources said that more than a threat due to massive operations undertaken by him, it was the constant fear that he could be attacked by militants due to his shady dealings with them that led him to seek and get additional security at his residence. He feared that at some point, militants might target him due to his financial dealings with them. He had a deep nexus with several terrorists and perhaps their handlers across the border, the sources said, adding that in such murky dealings, money disputes always arise. However, about two years ago, when the then Additional DGP (Armed) Munir Ahmed Khan learnt that four security personnel were posted at Davinder Singhs residence, he took strong objection to it. Days later, DGP Khan withdrew the security cover. Upset over this, Singh approached other senior officials and argued his case for security at his residence. Days later, he got what he wanted. The four-member security personnel were back at his house, protecting him and his family members round-the-clock. British documentarian Louis Theroux may have a point. But some of us are certainly stranger than others. Whether we acknowledge it or not, all of us are weirdos. Louis Theroux takes the stage in Melbourne Credit:Megan Moss In a bare-all two-hour show hosted by Julia Zemiro, Theroux unveils how he stumbled into the wide world of journalism and the key to his success: ultimately getting involved with his subjects more than a journalist ordinarily would. Unafraid of embarrassing himself, he has been able to get his interview subjects - or contributors, as he calls them - to reveal more about themselves. The screen flashes with the nude polaroid of himself he presented to gay porn film-makers to establish whether he had any potential. I think that was the original dick pic,quips Zemiro. Is this going to be my legacy? Theroux ponders. I always wondered if they blurred that enough! "It is about this encounter with art people who don't expect to come across challenges or questions in their daily walk from A to B," Lim says. "I always feel like that's a really important space to be engaging people, because it's setting up a question; it's setting up an encounter." Lim has found that giving the public access to her work, which comprises behavioural studies of everything from Australian-Chinese identity to the human cost of our relationship with technology, has become core to her practice. Eugenia Lim's The Australian Ugliness, which was exhibited as part of The National in 2019. Credit: Tom Ross "With The People's Currency, which is a project included in my show The Ambassador, it was a work which was devised for Federation Square and it was very much devised for a mass audience," Lim says. "It was important to me in that work that it wasn't going to be a rarefied experience, but instead, visually striking and inviting. It was a wonderful experience to be able to do something like that, to be able to take an artwork to tens of thousands of people it's such a rare opportunity for an artist." And the opportunity to stage works for an audience who might otherwise be disengaged has proved key to the practices of artists from a range of cultural backgrounds. In the rewriting of Indigenous voices, and the inclusion of First Nations people into Australia's cultural landscape, artist Fiona Foley believes that art shouldn't just be public, but should serve as a voice for Indigenous people, who she thinks have been otherwise voiceless in the creation of architecture and public spaces around Australia. Contemporary artist Fiona Foley's Who Are These Strangers and Where Are They Going?, from 2004. Credit:Fiona Foley "[Public art is] very important, particularly for Aboriginal people who are working in that space," Foley says. "Usually the premise behind my work in terms of public art is that I like to write an Aboriginal person, or aspects of Indigenous history, or an Aboriginal nation, back into the visual landscape because there's nothing there to represent them." Despite emerging as a platform for protest, critical engagement, and art education in recent years, public art remains a point of contention among art world experts and critics around the world. The criticism it attracts has often boiled down to the bureaucratic processes through which it's commissioned, and the way they can at times deter critically-acclaimed artists, leaving work that might read as sanitised, or ornamental. "We have a perception of public art as something that's often mediocre, cliche," Morton says. "It's art by committee, so it's something palatable for people based on what their notions of what art is." "So the ambition that I and a number of colleagues of mine have had for it, is to try and get good critical artists into public art. But often good artists won't go to public art because the processes are so complex," he says. Callum Morton's Helter Shelter during the Sydney Contemporary Art Fair at Barangaroo in September 2018. Credit:AAP According to Callum Morton, working within rigid and drawn-out commissioning processes often mount tiresome challenges in the face of artists creating public work, despite council and government efforts to improve them. "I think a lot of councils and state governments have implemented better commissioning processes; they've got better people in the room," Morton says. "So it's often surprising that when they [have them], that you still don't get a good outcome, just because of all the processes." "I mean, someone might be in the room at the beginning, an expert, and they'll choose something good, but then the process is still so difficult, that it kills the project." With the cultural landscape of Australian cities becoming an increasing subject on the agendas of all levels government, Lim sees an opportunity for growth that could lie in the hands of local, emerging artists. Ugo Rondinone, part of Making Art Public: 50 years of Kaldor Public Art Projects at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Credit:Louise Kennerley "I think it would be interesting for city and state governments to think more locally about how they commission works," Lim says. "I've been lucky enough with The Ambassador to be touring around regional locations that I may have never had the opportunity to visit. And I think that's amazing, but I also think there are often talented or emerging artists who live locally, that similar opportunities could be given to [instead]." But for Kaldor, it remains simple: all public art could improve if the primary objective of the work and those who commission it is to educate, as all art should. "I think there should be a greater focus on art education," Kaldor says. By Conor Humphries DUBLIN (Reuters) - The chairman of major aircraft leasing firm Air Lease , which has 150 of Boeing's grounded 737 MAX jet on order, on Monday called on the U.S. manufacturer to drop the "damaged" MAX brand to avoid it undermining the plane's value. The comments by Steven Udvar-Hazy, one of the founders of the airplane leasing industry which finances around half of the world's passenger fleet, echoes a call by U.S. President Donald Trump in April last year to "rebrand" its 737 MAX jetliner. Boeing said last June it had no plans to change the name of the jet. "We've asked Boeing to get rid of that word MAX," Udvar-Hazy told the Airline Economics aviation finance conference in Dublin. "I think that word MAX should go down in the history books as a bad name for an aircraft." "The MAX brand is damaged and there is really no reason for it," he added. 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. A U.S. official briefed on the matter on Friday said U.S. regulator the Federal Aviation Administration is now unlikely to approve the plane's return until March, and that it could take until April. Airlines are still trying to gauge passengers' reluctance to fly on the MAX, and how long this will last, Udvar-Hazy said. "Will it be two months, will it be six months, will it be different in different parts of the world?" "Will people in the U.S. after a few months forget about the accidents and think 'oh, it's just another 737', or are there going to be parts of the world where people are going to be more superstitious and it will take longer for them to erase that stigma?" The chief executive of another major aircraft lessor, Firoz Tarapore of Dubai Aerospace Enterprises (DAE), told the same conference he was worried he had not seen Boeing "addressing in a proactive way" the issue of customer confidence in the aircraft. Story continues DAE has shelved plans to order hundreds of single-aisle jets from Boeing or rival Airbus, citing high prices. Dublin-based lessor Avolon, which has 148 MAX jets on order, was more sanguine, predicting that strong demand for the plane as a Boeing product would support valuation. "Boeing's 737 MAX will safely return to revenue service in 2020 (and) airlines and passengers will turn up to fly," it said in its 2020 Outlook publication. Udvar-Hazy said he did not expect the MAX to flood the market and push down lease rates once it is cleared to fly, as Boeing is unlikely to be able to deliver more than 50-60 jets per month including new production. Any fall in lease values due to concerns about the MAX were likely to be temporary, Udvar-Hazy said. (Reporting by Conor Humphries; Editing by Jan Harvey) Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 20 By Leman Zeynalova - Trend: January 20, 1990, which is referred in history as "Bloody (Black) January", is not only a "Day of Mourning" for Azerbaijani people, but also a milestone for being a "Day of Honor" that sparked their courage and determination to move Azerbaijan rapidly towards independence, Trend reports citing a message from Baghdad Amreyev, Secretary General of the Turkic Council. On the 30th anniversary of this brutal event we join our Azerbaijani brothers to mourn and commemorate with deepest gratitude the victims who were subjected to persecution and martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the independence of their motherland, reads the message. Today, Azerbaijan commemorates the 30th anniversary of the January 20 tragedy. January 20 is a day that went down in history of Azerbaijan's fight for independence and territorial integrity. On January 20, 1990, the Soviet army forces entered Baku to suppress the masses protesting the USSR-supported Armenian aggression based on territorial claims against Azerbaijan. The result was an unprecedented tragedy for Azerbaijan. Valiant sons and daughters of Azerbaijan put the countrys freedom, honor and dignity above everything else, sacrificed their lives and became martyrs. On the night of January 19-20, 1990, 147 people were killed, 744 were injured and 841 were illegally arrested after Soviet troops entered Baku. The Soviet troops also destroyed 200 apartments and houses, as well as private and public property. The January 20 tragedy brought huge losses and death of innocent people. But it also demonstrated the spirit and pride of Azerbaijani nation, which couldn't stand the betrayal of the criminal empire led by Mikhail Gorbachov. Azerbaijanis gained the independence they were dreaming of, and the country achieved sovereignty. Despite that many years have passed since those bloody days, Azerbaijanis remember the dreadful night that took many innocent lives and mark the anniversary of the January 20 tragedy every year. January 20 is immortalized in the memory of Azerbaijani nation as a Day of the Nationwide Sorrow. Power stocks were trading with gains, with the S&P BSE Power index increasing 31.01 points or 1.55% at 2035.02 at 09:48 IST. Among the components of the S&P BSE Power index, NHPC Ltd (up 16.53%), Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (up 3.93%),Kalpataru Power Transmission Ltd (up 0.72%),K E C International Ltd (up 0.57%),Thermax Ltd (up 0.46%), were the top gainers. Among the other gainers were Adani Transmission Ltd (up 0.4%), and NTPC Ltd (up 0.29%). On the other hand, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (down 1.41%), Tata Power Company Ltd (down 0.81%), and Adani Power Ltd (down 0.39%) turned lower. At 09:48 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 7.62 or 0.02% at 41937.75. The Nifty 50 index was up 1.8 points or 0.01% at 12354.15. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 25.71 points or 0.17% at 14734.41. The S&P BSE 150 Midcap Index index was up 3.09 points or 0.06% at 5044.98. On BSE,888 shares were trading in green, 702 were trading in red and 82 were unchanged. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) And Joaquin Phoenix took home an award for playing the eponymous lead role in Joker (Chris Pizzello/AP) Jennifer Aniston took the award for outstanding performance by a female actor in a drama series for The Morning Show (Chris Pizzello/AP) Brad Pitt accepted the award for outstanding performance by a male actor in a supporting role for Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (Chris Pizzello/AP) Parasite wins the top prize South Korean dark comedy Parasite has continued its remarkable awards season run, taking the top prize at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. The acclaimed film was already one of the most talked-about foreign-language movies of recent years before it pulled off a shock win for outstanding cast in a motion picture. Director Bong Joon Hos Parasite, which is nominated for best picture ahead of next months Oscars, is also nominated for four Baftas and earlier this year was named best film at the Cannes film festival. Expand Close The stars accepting the award for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture for Parasite (Chris Pizzello/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The stars accepting the award for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture for Parasite (Chris Pizzello/AP) It has also established a firm presence online, where gifs from the film have become popular on Twitter and young cinephiles have dubbed themselves the #Bonghive. The movie follows the unemployed Kim family, who slowly work their way into the lives and the home of the wealthy Park family. They lie about their qualifications and relationship to each other to become indispensable to their oblivious employers and develop a taste for the good life. The film stars the directors frequent collaborator Song Kang Ho as Kim Ki-taek, whose family are all living in a squalid basement until his son lies his way into a tutoring job with the Parks. One by one, they gradually infiltrate their luxurious home, attempting to take over their affluent lifestyle. Video of the Day However, things take a dark turn when an unexpected interloper threatens their new comfort. It has already won a Golden Globe for best foreign-language film and is now in the running for best film, best director, best original screenplay and best film not in the English language at the Baftas. Parasite is released in Ireland on February 7. Brad and Jen share a moment Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston reunited at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. The former couple were married from 2000 to 2005, before Pitt got together with Angelina Jolie, who he eventually married in 2014. They were photographed together backstage at the ceremony after Pitt won the best supporting actor gong for Once Upon A Time In Hollywood and Aniston was recognised with the outstanding performance by a female actor in a drama series for The Morning Show. A photo shared on the awards shows official Twitter page shows them greeting each other, as Pitt holds her right hand and she reaches out to embrace him. The ceremony also shared a video of Pitt attentively watching on a screen backstage as Aniston collected her prize. We forever want to watch Brad watch Jen receive her Actor #sagawards pic.twitter.com/4arINQhKQx SAG Awards (@SAGawards) January 20, 2020 Earlier in the evening, he had made a joke about his colourful love life as he picked up his prize for the Quentin Tarantino film, saying: It was a difficult part, a guy who takes his shirt off, gets high and doesnt get on with his wife. It was a big stretch, big. Pitt split with Jolie in 2016 and he has since been photographed with a string of women, including Arrested Development star Alia Shawkat. He previously collected a prize at the Golden Globes and said: I wanted to bring my mom, but I couldnt because any woman I stand next to, they say Im dating. Robert De Niro takes a pop Robert De Niro took a thinly veiled swipe at Donald Trump as he decried a blatant abuse of power. The venerated actor received the latest honour of his garlanded career when he was bestowed with a lifetime achievement gong during the SAGs. To a lengthy standing ovation and loud cheers, Leonardo DiCaprio introduced De Niro to the stage, where he delivered a politically-charged acceptance speech. Expand Close Leonardo DiCaprio presented Robert De Niro with a lifetime achievement award at the SAG Awards (Photo/Chris Pizzello) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Leonardo DiCaprio presented Robert De Niro with a lifetime achievement award at the SAG Awards (Photo/Chris Pizzello) The 76-year-old two-time Oscar winner, a frequent and vociferous critic of the president, first praised the work of unions, saying politicians who support organised labour are more likely to be in favour of a diverse citizenry, reproductive rights, sensible gun control and fair wages and benefit. Then, The Irishman star De Niro turned his attention to Mr Trump, though never mentioned the president by name. I can imagine some of you are saying, Alright, lets not get into the politics, De Niro said. But were in such a dire situation and its so deeply concerning to me and so many others, I have to say something. Theres right and theres wrong, and theres common sense and theres abuse of power. Expand Close Robert De Niro poses with his lifetime achievement award (Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Robert De Niro poses with his lifetime achievement award (Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP) And as a citizen, I have as much right as anybody an actor, an athlete, a musician anybody else to voice my opinion. And if I have a bigger voice because of my situation, Im gonna use it whenever I see a blatant abuse of power. The star-studded audience inside the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles delivered another roar of approval. De Niro is one of Hollywoods greatest ever stars known for films including The Godfather Part II, Taxi Driver, The Deer Hunter, Goodfellas and Casino. Before inviting De Niro to the stage, DiCaprio reflected on his career, which includes accolades such as Oscars, a Golden Globe and a presidential medal of freedom. De Niro has won further critical acclaim for his role as ageing assassin Frank Sheeran in Netflixs The Irishman. Joaquin Phoenix dedicates win to Heath Ledger Phoenix won the prize for outstanding performance by a male actor in a film and spent his acceptance speech praising his competition before dedicating the award to the late Heath Ledger who previously played Joker. Speaking about fellow nominee Leonardo DiCaprio, he said, "When I started acting again, and going to auditions, I'd always get to like the final callback, and I think many people know what that's like. "And there would always be, like, two other guys that I was up against. And we'd always lose to this one kid. No actor would ever say his name because it was, like, too much, but every casting director would whisper, 'It's Leonardo.'" He also said Christian Bale, "never turns in a bad performance", adding, "It's infuriating. I wish you would one time just suck once." Adam Driver, he said gives "beautiful, nuanced" performances and said he was "devastating" in Marriage Story, before praising Taron Egerton for his portrayal of Elton John in Rocketman. "I can't wait to see what else you can do," he added. And the winners are: Parasite was a shock winner at the Screen Actors Guild Awards as Joaquin Phoenix and Renee Zellweger cemented their positions as Oscars favourites. Here are the winners from the 26th SAG Awards: Male actor in a comedy series - Tony Shalhoub (The Marvellous Mrs Maisel) Female actor in a comedy series - Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag) Ensemble in a comedy series - The Marvellous Mrs Maisel Female actor in a supporting role - Laura Dern (Marriage Story) Male actor in a supporting role - Brad Pitt (Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood) Female actor in a television movie or limited series - Michelle Williams (Fosse/Verdon) Female actor in a drama series - Jennifer Aniston (The Morning Show) Male actor in a drama series - Peter Dinklage (Game Of Thrones) Ensemble in a drama series - The Crown Male actor in a television movie or drama series - Sam Rockwell (Fosse/Verdon) Male actor in a leading role - Joaquin Phoenix (Joker) Female actor in a leading role - Renee Zellweger (Judy) Cast in a motion picture - Parasite Outstanding action performance by a stunt ensemble in a motion picture - Avengers: Endgame Outstanding action performance by a stunt ensemble in a comedy or drama series - Game Of Thrones On the upcoming Auto Expo in February, he said new players like Chinese automobile manufacturers Great Wall and Haima will showcase their products for the first time in the exhibition. Kolkata: Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), the apex body representing all major vehicle and vehicular engine manufacturers in the country, is bullish on the revival of the automobile industry in 2020, a senior official said on Monday. Since the penetration of automobiles in the country is low, many foreign players will look at this opportunity to enter India, he said here. "This is the worst downturn of the automobile industry in the last 20 years," SIAM deputy director Sugato Sen told reporters here. "We hope that the year 2020 will be the year of revival of the Indian automobile industry. Sales are expected to go up as penetration of automobiles in India is very low," Sen said. He said many foreign players will look at this scope to enter the Indian market. On the upcoming Auto Expo to be held in Greater Noida from 7 to 12 February, he said new players like Chinese automobile manufacturers Great Wall and Haima will showcase their products for the first time in the exhibition. Another Chinese player which will be also present for the first time is MG Motors which will bring in their entire range of automobiles in the Expo. There will be around 70 launches in the expo by SIAM members in the expo. "There will be also global launches by foreign players," SIAM deputy director said. Sen said all stalls will display electric vehicles (EV). The dip in commercial vehicles is due to the new axle loading norms announced by the government which has hit sales, he said. She's the former Love Island Australia star known for her jaw-dropping curves. And Shelby Bilby showed off her figure in green lace lingerie, in a mirror selfie shared to Instagram on Monday. Posing inside her Gold Coast bedroom, the 26-year-old drew attention to her ample cleavage and washboard stomach in the racy two-piece. Racy in lace! Love Island's Shelby Bilby, 26, revealed her ample cleavage and washboard stomach in lingerie, in a photo shared to Instagram on Monday In the photo, Shelby pushed one hip to the side and protected her modesty by blurring out her chest. The influencer styled her blonde locks out, and her makeup included bold brows, false lashes, contoured cheekbones and a natural colour on her plump pout. Shelby added a gold watch, bracelet and rings on her fingers, and gazed intently at her reflection in the mirror. Instagram sensation: Shelby's Instagram page is littered with sizzling pictures in scantily clad attire The glamazon's Instagram page is littered with sizzling pictures in scantily clad attire. But Shelby has admitted her racy photos often create problems with Instagram's strict censorship policies. In October last year, she revealed one of her photos had been removed by the social media app for being in breach of their nudity rules. Challenges: But the Queenslander has admitted her racy photos often create problems with Instagram's strict censorship policies Nudity rules: In October last year, Shelby revealed one of her photos had been removed by the social media app for being in breach of their nudity rules 'Take #2 cause apparently me holding my boobs is "sexual activity" yet there is 7192929293 accounts way worse than mine,' Shelby captioned a photo of herself covering her naked breasts with her arms. She added: 'What's wrong with a woman being confident in her own body? Stop being a prude and block yourself hun... Whyyyy you be like this @instagram? #Haters #JogOn.' Shelby rose to fame as an intruder on the 2018 season of Love Island Australia, and has since become a social media influencer. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 13:20:51|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KUNMING, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, exchanged greetings with tourists during an inspection tour ahead of the Chinese New Year. "Xi Dada, where is Peng Mama?" rang out from the crowd Sunday when Xi was visiting the old town of Heshun, a popular tourist destination in southwest China's Yunnan Province. "[She] didn't come," Xi replied with a smile. "Just busy preparing for the New Year at home like everyone else." Xi Dada and Peng Mama are popular nicknames Chinese netizens have given Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan, which are translated as Uncle Xi and Aunt Peng. Video clips of the short interaction gained waves of likes across various Chinese social media platforms. In Heshun, Xi also visited a local library and museum on the ancient Southern Silk Road. Trophy hunting is reinforcing deep apartheid-era social and racial inequalities in Africa, an economist will tell the UK government this week as it considers a ban on imports. Organised hunting of endangered wildlife, including elephants and lions, mostly benefits wealthy white landowners while exploiting black workers by paying them pitiful wages, according to Ross Harvey, an independent South African environmental economist. Mr Harvey's report comes in response to a government consultation on whether to ban imports of hunted animal bodies and parts, such as skins, tusks, heads and paws in Britain. The document is being delivered in Parliament on Wednesday before the consultation ends on Saturday. Protesters demand a UK ban on imports of 'trophy hunt' animal parts Show all 15 1 /15 Protesters demand a UK ban on imports of 'trophy hunt' animal parts Protesters demand a UK ban on imports of 'trophy hunt' animal parts Lobbying for a ban on imports of hunted wildlife parts It's estimated an elephant is killed every 20 or 25 minutes on average in Africa Paul Nicholls Protesters demand a UK ban on imports of 'trophy hunt' animal parts Lobbying for a ban on imports of hunted wildlife parts Broadcaster Nicky Campbell spoke passionately against trophy hunting and legal imports of animal parts Paul Nicholls Protesters demand a UK ban on imports of 'trophy hunt' animal parts Lobbying for a ban on imports of hunted wildlife parts Protesters at the fifth annual Global March for Elephants and Rhinos in London marched through central London Paul Nicholls Protesters demand a UK ban on imports of 'trophy hunt' animal parts Lobbying for a ban on imports of hunted wildlife parts Thousands of people joined the fifth annual Global March for Elephants and Rhinos in London Paul Nicholls Protesters demand a UK ban on imports of 'trophy hunt' animal parts Lobbying for a ban on imports of hunted wildlife parts Stanley Johnson, father of Boris Johnson, is a passionate supporter of the campaign to save elephants and rhinos from extinction Paul Nicholls Protesters demand a UK ban on imports of 'trophy hunt' animal parts Lobbying for a ban on imports of hunted wildlife parts Protesters at the fifth annual Global March for Elephants and Rhinos in London called for a UK ban on trophy imports Paul Nicholls Protesters demand a UK ban on imports of 'trophy hunt' animal parts Lobbying for a ban on imports of hunted wildlife parts Thousands of protesters at the Global March for Elephants and Rhinos marched to Downing Street Paul Nicholls Protesters demand a UK ban on imports of 'trophy hunt' animal parts Lobbying for a ban on imports of hunted wildlife parts Some protesters in London against trophy hunting dressed in wildlife costumes Paul Nicholls Protesters demand a UK ban on imports of 'trophy hunt' animal parts Lobbying for a ban on imports of hunted wildlife parts Campaigners fear elephants, rhinos and lions will become extinct if trophy hunting continues Paul Nicholls Protesters demand a UK ban on imports of 'trophy hunt' animal parts Lobbying for a ban on imports of hunted wildlife parts Protesters at the fifth annual Global March for Elephants and Rhinos in London against trophy hunting marched through central London Paul Nicholls Protesters demand a UK ban on imports of 'trophy hunt' animal parts Lobbying for a ban on imports of hunted wildlife parts Some protesters in London against trophy hunting dressed in wildlife costumes Paul Nicholls Protesters demand a UK ban on imports of 'trophy hunt' animal parts Lobbying for a ban on imports of hunted wildlife parts Protesters at the fifth annual Global March for Elephants and Rhinos in London called for a UK ban on trophy imports Paul Nicholls Protesters demand a UK ban on imports of 'trophy hunt' animal parts Lobbying for a ban on imports of hunted wildlife parts Protesters stopped traffic as they marched through London Paul Nicholls Protesters demand a UK ban on imports of 'trophy hunt' animal parts Lobbying for a ban on imports of hunted wildlife parts Campaigners fear elephants, rhinos and lions will become extinct if trophy hunting continues Paul Nicholls Protesters demand a UK ban on imports of 'trophy hunt' animal parts Lobbying for a ban on imports of hunted wildlife parts Palmerston the cat joined Denise Dresner, of Action for Elephants, John Stevenson, of Stop Ivory, actor Peter Egan, Cordelia Britton, of Four Paws, Mark Jones, of Born Free and Eduardo Goncalves, of the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting, as they delivered a letter to Downing Street Paul Nicholls Switching to other types of tourism would create 11 times as many jobs in South Africa, and they would be more highly skilled roles, Dr Harvey said. He told The Independent research suggested workers on South Africas 9,000 or more wildlife ranches were exploited as deeply as during apartheid and possibly more so. Labourers on ranches and hunting concessions, who are mostly black South Africans, earn pitiful wages, he said. A median income for them is 3,500 rand (185), so it contributes to exploitation and inequality. Together with Brazil, South Africa is the most unequal society on the planet. The average monthly salary in the country is about R30,000 (1,600) and the minimum wage is more than R4,000 (212) a month. In 2018, the World Bank identified South Africa as the most unequal country in the world, with black people at the highest risk of poverty. Dr Harveys report, seen exclusively by The Independent and which draws on more than 40 expert and academic pieces of research, argues trophy hunting could be phased out over five years, saying it perpetuates a colonial and apartheid-era master-slave dynamic. The study concludes: For South Africa alone, land currently allocated to hunting could provide 193,000 jobs instead of only 17,000. Recommended Ministers break pledge to ban lion hunt trophy imports to UK Moreover, the quality of hunting jobs is highly questionable, and evidence suggests that South Africas conversion of agricultural land to game ranching has worsened job security and deepened inequalities. This is the very opposite of community empowerment, which non-consumptive tourism is better able to accomplish. Hunting jobs in particular are mostly related to tracking and cleaning, he said, whereas tourism based on photography requires a lot more labour and the pay is better because the jobs are more highly skilled. Not every hectare of hunting land lends itself to photography, he acknowledged, but alternatives include high-tech schemes that pay local residents to restore forests and profitable conservation projects. Hunt supporters say organised shooting on dedicated land protects wildlife elsewhere. And permit fees, which can run into the tens of thousands of pounds in the case of animals such as elephants, can be put towards conservation or benefit local communities, they claim. Hunting companies also argue that they remove only older males so do not harm wildlife populations. But Dr Harvey, a former researcher at the South African Institute of International Affairs, a think tank on sustainable economics, disputed this, saying such bulls remain reproductive for almost their entire lives. Killing them also skewed population dynamics and made younger males delinquent and aggressive, he said. South African safari operators promote holidays to UK tourists who may shoot captive-bred lions in fenced areas from which there is no escape, and trophy imports are rising. The number of British hunters bringing back the parts from farmed lions more than doubled in the three years after the highly publicised death of Cecil the lion, compared with the three years before, official figures show. Imports after the 2015 shooting jumped to 59, against 27 before. In 2007 just four lion trophies were brought into Britain, but in 2017 the figure was 15, according to the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites). The government consultation will also consider other options, including tighter controls and a ban applying only to certain species. 4 including three kids who went missing from Bengaluru traced to Mangaluru Mangaluru central station to have 2 more new platforms by September How this ISIS operative from Mangaluru lured her victims and converted them to Islam Mangaluru police releases photographs of the suspect who kept IED bag in the airport India oi-Mousumi Dash Mangaluru, Jan 20: Mangaluru Police released photographs taken from the surveillance camera located in the airport of the suspect and the autorickshaw in which he was seen leaving in laptop bag containing IED on Monday morning at the Mangaluru International Airport. Panic spread at the Mangaluru International Airport after suspicious unattended laptop bag containing IED was found on today morning. The bag that was found kept in the rest area meant for the passengers outside the airport. The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) officials stated that they have focused on a suspect, who was seen leaving the airport in an auto-rickshaw. The bag, which was lying unattended near the entrance of the airport was removed from the spot by the airport security personnel at 8.45 am. Mangaluru Commissioner of Police, Dr P S Harsha said to news agency ANI, "An FIR has been registered under sections of Explosive Substance Act and Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. Three teams have been formed for the identification and apprehension of the accused." Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) DIG Anil Pandey said,'' We have found traces of Improvised explosive device (IED) from a bag lying at the ticket counter at Mangaluru airport, we have safely evacuated it.'' Bomb disposal squad & dog squad have rushed to the Airport. Investigation is underway. Live bomb found in Abandoned laptop bag triggers bomb scare at Mangalore Airport A team of police personnel led by Harsha was among the first to arrive at the spot, PTI reported. To a party colleagues question on why he prefers quick decision making over long-drawn-out deliberations, Amit Shah is learnt to have said, If I dont take quick decisions then I wont get things done....My style is to work on instinct, take quick decisions then work hard to prove the decision right. As he steps down as the president of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Shahs tenure is marked by many such decisions. Many worked, resulting in him being hailed as a master strategist; some didnt , resulting in the party facing criticism. Still, it cant be denied that it was under Shahs watch that the party expanded, in terms of the number of members, national footprint, and its strength in Parliament. Prime Minister Narendra Modi acknowledged as much on Monday when Jagat Prakash Nadda took over as party president from Shah in a planned move. I do not think words can do justice to the rich contribution of @AmitShah Ji as @BJP4India President. During his presidency, BJP got opportunities to serve in several parts of India. We also got our highest ever tally in a Parliamentary election. He is an outstanding Karyakarta, the PM tweeted. shortly after the new president was appointed. Shah was first appointed as the party president in 2014, when the then party chief, Rajnath Singh, was elevated as the union home minister following the BJPs stunning success in the Lok Sabha elections. That performance was predicated around the party almost sweeping Uttar Pradesh, which sends the most representatives to parliament; Shah had overseen the campaign in the state. That appointment was for the rest of Singhs term and Shah was given charge as the president for a full term on January 24, 2016. That stint came soon after the party lost elections in Bihar and Delhi and amid murmurs that its golden run could be on the wane. That is when he decided to go back to the grassrootshe emphasised that the party will have to revive the cadre, go back to its strength of presence at the booth level and borrow from the Sanghs (RSS) door-to-door outreach, said a party colleague who asked not to be named. The result was an ambitious membership drive that took the number of members from a little over 20 million to nearly 100 million by 2019. And the result was an emphasis on winning everything -- from Panchayat to Parliament.The party scripted electoral successes in states such as Assam, where it won for the first time (and which gave it a foothold in the Northeast). It subsequently formed governments, on its own or with allies, in Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya. And it persuaded the ruling parties in Sikkim and Mizoram to join the NEDA or the North East Democratic Alliance led by the BJP. There was apprehension among the minorities [tribal communities as well as Christians] in the Northeast that the BJP would appropriate their culture and lifestyle and impose hardline Hindutva. But the party has been able to reach out to minorities as well, said a BJP leader from the North East who asked not to be named. In between, there was much talk about Shahs unorthodox choices, which saw a person from the Other Backward Classes being appointed party president in Uttar Pradesh (between 2016 and 2017); a non-Maratha being appointed Chief Minister in Maharashtra; and even an alliance with an ideological opponent, the PDP, to form the government in Jammu and Kashmir. All this was justified as a means of strengthening the party and winning polls. Bhupinder Yadav, a party general secretary and a Rajya Sabha MP, also a confidant of Shah, said that during the latters tenure the party undertook the biggest ever membership drive, owing to which it now has over 100 million members, which is the highest for any party in the world; the party also saw a geographical expansion under his charge from the north-east of India to the south. The party also set up offices in every district making clear its ambitions of building a pan-India presence. This also sent out a message that the party was as serious about local elections as it was about winning the seat of power in Delhi. In terms of organisational strength, he took major steps, said Yadav. A BJP member from the south , where the BJP has not been as successful in gaining ground, recalled how Shah insisted on daily reporting from the states. He led the campaign in Kerala against the Left, highlighting the political violence [against right wing workers in the state]. And he has been pushing the cadre to carve their space in the political scene dominated by regional parties. Shahs tenure also saw the BJP becoming the second most powerful party in West Bengal. The party won 18 Lok Sabha seats in 2019 and now has its eyes set on the 2021 state elections. In their book on Shah, Anirban Ganguly and Shiwanand Dwivedi detail the mass contact programmes popularised by Shah and his relentless touring across the country. In his quest for expanding BJPs footprint, Shah covered more than 7,90,000 km between August 2014 and September 2018 undertaking major outreach programmes in the duration of 49 months; the average distance covered by him during this period was about 519 km a day and this is just a figure. Ideologically, Shah, who has never hidden his Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh roots, is also credited for striking a balance between the ideological demands of the Sangh and political compulsions. A senior RSS functionary said on condition of anonymity that Shah remains committed to the Sanghs larger ideology and was instrumental in fulfilling a long-pending dream of nullifying Article 370. Why India needs a population policy or the need for a uniform civil code (both longtime Sangh demands) are not lost on him. Vijay Chauthaiwale, who was roped in to head the BJPs Overseas Cell by Shah, said there is more to Shah than just his abilities as an electoral strategist. He has very deep political instincts, but he also has a good understanding of history, of culture, of Indias heritage and his interests are diverse; for instance he can speak on the Shankaracharya with as much ease as he can about the treatises of Chanakya. Some have criticised Shah and Modi for seeking to centralise leadership and say this is probably responsible for losses in some states, including, most recently, Jharkhand. They also say the party focuses too much on national issues in local polls. Political analyst, Neelanjan Sarkar, sees the centralisation as a bid to retain complete control and prevent factionalism. What both Modi and Shah have done is centralise the party between them and a few others whom they trust. There has been a sidelining of many senior leaders. What they have also done at the state levels is prop up relatively unknown faces as chief ministers because they dont want any factionalism. This is something that Indira Gandhi would have done in the 1970s. So in order to prevent factionalism at the central level they have made sacrifices at the state level, he said. Its an approach that has worked, he admitted. So far they have been able to array powers to themselves and the results showed in 2019, Sarkar said. Shahs tenure has also seen the party break up with some of its allies, including the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra; even its current partners, Shiromani Akali Dal and the Lok Jana Shakti Party have, at times, commented on the BJPs treatment of allies. Today, they have an absolute majority so they dont follow a consultative process, but what if things change at the end of the four and half years? asked a leader of one of the partys allies who asked not to be named. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The military authority says no fewer than 608 repentant Boko Haram insurgents are currently undergoing De-radicalisation, Rehabilitation and Reintegration (DRR) Programme by Operation Safe Corridor (OSC) at Malam-Sidi, Gombe State. Brig:- Gen. Musa Ibrahim, Commandant DRR Camp OSC made this known when the Managing Director, North East Development Commission (NEDC), Mr Mohammed Alkali visited the camp on Saturday. He said 14 of the repentant insurgents were foreigners from Cameroon, Chad and Niger Republic. Ibrahim said: From inception, we received 893 out of which 286 graduated and were returned to their respective states and countries for reintegration. He said the personnel in the camp were working diligently with the mandate of OSC in conformity with international best practices. According to him, the success of the programme will go a long way in restoring peace and security to the North East in particular and the country as a whole. Ibrahim said the programme was in need of five Hilux vans, additional vocational center, accommodation for camp staff and clients, and prompt release of funds to run the power generator among others. In his remarks, Alkali said the purpose of his visit was to have an on the spot appreciation of how the programme has been run. He said NEDC would do everything possible to ensure that the programme succeeded by providing them with facilities needed. `Mr President established this organisation and the NEDC with the mandate to make sure peace came back to the region as it was before in terms of development, he said. He, therefore, urged unrepentant insurgents who were still in the bushes causing mayhem to come and embrace peace and live a normal life. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates Washington D.C. [US], Jan 20 (ANI): At least two police officers were killed in a shooting incident that took place on Sunday morning in the Diamond Head area in Honolulu, reported CNN. Honolulu Police said the area of Hibiscus Drive was closed because of a police investigation. Earlier, the FBI had said authorities were responding to an "active shooter" in Waikiki. "We are responding to an active shooter in Waikiki. That is what we are responding to. It is developing," FBI Honolulu Operational Support Technician Derek Hayes was quoted as saying to CNN. "I would like to express my deepest condolences to the family and friends of the two officers as well as the entire Honolulu Police Department. This is an unprecedented tragedy for not only the City and County of Honolulu but the entire state of Hawai'i," tweeted Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell. "Our office is in communication with the Honolulu Police Department as more details about the circumstances around this horrific event come to light. Our hearts go out to the first responders who are on the scene as this event unfolds," Caldwell said in another tweet. Sputnik in its report citing local media said police officers responded to an assault call near Diamond Head, where they entered into a firefight with a male, who reportedly hid inside a house which was then abruptly engulfed by flames. The house in which the suspected gunman reportedly took refuge caught on fire and, as per reports, spread to several other homes. Further details are awaited. (ANI) German J. de Valcarcel Gonzalvo. Credit: Asociacion RUVID A five-country research team coordinated by German J. de Valcarcel Gonzalvo, Professor of Optics at the University of Valencia, has developed a new theory the coherent master equation that describes the behavior of pulsed lasers based on fast materials and highlights its effects of quantum coherence (the ability of material and light electrons to oscillate in unison for some time). These lasers can emit intense pulses of light of one billionth of a second at a constant rate and have great technological and scientific impact. The research, published this Thursday in the journal Nature Communications, opens the door to the design of new types of lasers, especially with semiconductor materials, from quantum theory, which describes in particular the interactions between of matter and luminous radiation electrons. Mode-locked (ML) pulsed lasers find a wide variety of applications in medical-surgical, microscopy, spectroscopy or telecommunications techniques, as well as in basic science experiments that enable research on fundamental phenomena. They are also important in precision metrology based on optical frequency combs (a type of radiation used, among others, in GPS or remote sensing technologies), which earned John L. Hall and Theodor W. Hunsch the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2005. The origins of ML lasers date back almost to the very birth of the laser in 1960, although it was not until 1975 that a simple and predictive theory of its behavior became available, explains German de Valcarcel. This framework, called the master equation, was developed by Hermann A. Haus and has been applied with great success to a multitude of ML laser types. The research team from Spain, France, Italy, New Zealand and the United Kingdom has worked on the limitations of this theory, which, among others, cannot explain the behavior of these lasers when the response of the amp medium is rapid pulse repetition frequency. To overcome this situation, the researchers have conducted a set of semiconductor-based laser experiments that confirm the theoretical predictions of their proposalthe coherent master equation which also explains the coherent quantum effects observed by other groups in previous experiments. "The new theory opens the door to exploiting the rich phenomenology of these effects in the design of new types of ML lasers, which could lead to new functionalities and uses, especially in areas such as precision metrology or optical communications," German de Valcarcel explained. Explore further New method to generate arbitrary optical pulses More information: Auro M. Perego et al. Coherent master equation for laser modelocking, Nature Communications (2020). Journal information: Nature Communications Auro M. Perego et al. Coherent master equation for laser modelocking,(2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-14013-4 No reports of casualties in rocket attack, which comes amid rising violence in Iraq following US killing of Soleimani. Three Katyusha rockets fell on Tuesday inside Baghdads Green Zone, which houses government buildings and foreign missions, Iraqi police sources told Reuters. The three rockets were launched from Zafaraniyah district outside Baghdad, the sources said, adding that two rockets landed near the United States embassy Sirens could be heard across the zone immediately after the rockets made impact. The US has blamed Iran-backed paramilitary groups for a spate of similar attacks in recent months on the Green Zone, but there has never been a claim of responsibility. Tensions in Iraq have risen since the US assassinated Qassem Soleimani, an Iranian military commander, in Baghdad on January 3. That killing came amid widespread anti-Iraq government demonstrations, which are continuing. Five protesters were killed on Monday in three Iraqi cities as demonstrators across the country ramped up pressure on the government to implement long-awaited reforms. The United Nations envoy to Iraq urged Iraqi political elites to resume pushing for reforms and for protests to remain peaceful. Any steps taken so far to address the peoples concerns will remain hollow if they are not completed, said envoy Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert in a statement issued by the UN. Violent suppression of peaceful protesters is intolerable and must be avoided at all costs. We are all seeing the impact of climate change and global warming unfold before our eyes and the intensity is only increasing with every passing day. Trees and forests are the best way to combat this impending crisis and save the planet we call home but despite repeated warnings by pro-environment groups, scientists and climate experts, we do not seem to be paying any heed. It has now emerged that more than 175 matured shisham and Jamun trees were allegedly cut and smuggled from Haripur forest range of the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve. It was confirmed by Superintendent of Police Abhishek Dixit, who busted a nexus between forest department personnel and smugglers. BCCL The SP said, It was a well-planned conspiracy by the smugglers who managed to obtain the forest and wildlife divisions permit for cutting trees standing in the agricultural fields close to the forest area. However, gradually they started cutting trees in the forest area in collusion with the range officer and field staff. According to the SP, the exchequer suffered a loss of over Rs 5 crore; besides, it also harmed the forests ecology. The forest and wildlife division had issued eight permits on December 18, of which only one was found to be genuine. Of the remaining seven, four permits issued for the agricultural field which was eroded by the Sharda and the standing trees washed away, said Dixit. BCCL PTR deputy director Naveen Khandelwal said shisham trees were cut in a vast area of over 200 hectares in the PTRs Haripur forest range, where migrants from eastern UP were rehabilitated nearly 30 years ago. The area is saturated with shisham trees mostly over 100 years old. The valuable trees could not be freed from trespassers and we brought the matter to the knowledge of the high court as well. As the police department needed the land record during the inquiry, the matter was referred to district magistrate Vaibhav Shrivastav, who set up an inquiry by Pilibhit Sadar SDM Vandana Trivedi. We are waiting for the report for lodging an FIR in the matter. However, we have seized the remaining stock of timber, added the SP. Asked about the SDMs findings, the DM said, She has been promoted to the city magistrate and transferred to Banda district. Now, I will hand over the inquiry to another officer. This completion of inquiry may take some time. Trees help reduce the impact of global warming. For our personal and selfish goals, we often end up harming the environment. Though its impact may not be visible immediately, but in the long run we are doing grave damage to ourselves as we all as the future generations. Pilibhit Tiger Reserve is located in Pilibhit district, Lakhimpur Kheri District and Bahraich District of Uttar Pradesh. It lies along the India-Nepal border in the foothills of the Himalayas and the plains of the terai in Uttar Pradesh. It is one of India's 50 Project Tiger reserves. With Corbett Tiger Reserve going to Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh always wanted to develop the Pilibhit forests area as a home for the striped cats. A proposal, created in 2005, to make a home for the endangered cats in Pilibhit forests was sent to the government of India in April 2008. Pilibhit Tiger Reserve was declared in September 2008 on the basis of its special type of ecosystem with vast open spaces and sufficient feed for the elegant predators. My immediate family continues to feel mortified by his behavior, and this has led to some awkward family gatherings. I recently looked at my father's social media account on my husband's phone, which I immediately regretted, as his behavior seems to have gotten worse. I'm afraid to discuss this directly with him, due to his short temper and the high likelihood that he will share our conversation publicly on social media. I want to keep our family matters private. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Apriza Pinandita and Dian Septiari (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, January 20, 2020 The government has lambasted the ineffective coordination of Malaysian authorities following the abduction of five Indonesian fishermen last week in waters off Sabah, the latest incident to underscore the lack of security in the tri-border area between Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. Six members from a faction of the notorious Abu Sayyaf militant group abducted on Thursday five Indonesian fishermen from their trawler in Sabahs easternmost waters off Lahad Datu, about 10 minutes from the Tawi-Tawi chain of islands in the southern Philippines. Indonesian Deputy Foreign Minister Mahendra Siregar said Monday that the government would work swiftly to take the necessary steps to handle the fresh kidnappings to ensure the safety of the hostages. He also expressed disappointment in the inability of Malaysias authorities to secure its borders. eKomi, a Berlin, Germany-based global feedback company, raised debt capital from HVB Tech and Pride Capital Partners. The amount of the deal was not disclosed. The company intends to use the proceeds to buy out minority investors. This will allow the companys management to be in full control again and push eKomi forward. Led by Michael Ambros, CEO and Founder, eKomi provides a platform based eKomi is an independent provider of transaction-based reviews & ratings. As a Google worldwide partner, the company has gathered & published over 40,000,000 reviews for customers. More than 14,000 companies leverage eKomis social commerce solution to increase sales, and drive organic traffic through self-perpetuating User-Generated-Content. eKomis social commerce technology enables online businesses to generate seller ratings, customer reviews, product reviews, social recommendations, and create viral effects on websites, social media, and search engines allowing these businesses to generate new revenue. FinSMEs 20/01/2020 - Ghana has signed four agreements with the world bank worth $570 million - The agreement is aimed to transform the economy, boost education, improve sanitation and fight flooding in Accra as well as reduce forest losses Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in Ghana has signed four agreements with the world bank worth $570 million aimed to transform the economy, boost education, improve sanitation and fight flooding in Accra as well as reduce forest losses. Ghana's Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta and Pierre Laporte, the World Bank Country signed the deal on behalf of Ghana and the World Bank respectively. According to a report by GhanaWeb, in his address Ofori-Atta commended the World Bank for supporting the projects that he believes would help to advance the governments quest for inclusiveness and transformation. READ ALSO: 7 Interesting facts about the Duchess of Sussex: Meghan Markle He said the government has proven to Ghanaians its desire of inclusiveness through flagship programmes such as the one district one factory and the free SHS programme. Ofori-Atta however urged development partners not to slow down the process because of an election year because the government was desirous to move forward development. Laporte added that the event showed the banks commitment to the government and Ghanaians through the signing of the legal Agreements of the four important and potentially transformative projects. We will work with you hand in hand to ensure that these projects, as well as others already ongoing, are implemented timely and effectively," Laporte added. READ ALSO: Fact check: We have not lost Qwikloan data to undersea fibre cut - MTN Ghana In other news, the cedis perennial struggles against the US dollar does not seem to go away as this years performance is rated as the worst in the three-year-old Akufo-Addo administration. According to data from the Bank of Ghana, the cedi depreciated by about 10.6 percent against the greenback compared to the 8.21 percent depreciation achieved last year. Even the 2018 performance was worst off when compared to 2017 where the cedi showed a rare determination to shed 3.27 percent of its value against the US dollar. READ ALSO: 2019 cedi performance worst in 3-years under Akufo-Addo administration Have national and human interest issues to discuss? 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 Call the Midwife fans have praised the show for sensitively handling a storyline that saw Nurse Crane come to the aid of an immigrant woman who was resisting treatment due to embarrassment. Phillys Crane, played by Linda Basset, is one of the central characters of the BBC One show following the lives of the fictional nurses working in Poplar in 1960s Britain. In last night's episode, she met with Mrs Mohamed, a Pakistani mother-of-two who was suffering with a post-natal fistula, which caused her to lose control of her bladder and unable to leave her flat. She had only recently arrived in the UK, but her husband, scared off by her illness, had 'moved in with friends', complaining that his wife and their flat smelled of urine. In a particularly touching moment, the nurse had the perfect response when Mrs Mohamed said she felt 'dirty' because of her infection, saying 'You're not "dirty," you're unwell, and there's no shame in that.' Viewers adored Nurse Crane's sensitive and kind attitude towards her patient throughout the episode, as she helped her get an appointment with Dr Turner and examined the patient herself to make her feel at ease. Call the Midwife viewers were deeply touched by the kindness and understanding displayed by Nurse Phyllis Crane in last night's episode of the BBC One show as she helped a woman who suffered from a fistula Mrs Mohamed was ashamed of her condition, which caused her to lose control over her bladder, and said she was dirty Initially, Nurse Crane, who had met Mrs Mohamed's two boys at school, went to visit her to inquire about the children's vaccinations. She realised the mother-of-two was not well when she caught a glimpse of her loose trousers, which were wet. 'Mrs Mohamed, I'm very worried about you,' Nurse Crane said. 'Are you having trouble getting to the toilet?'. But when she warned Mrs Mohamed she could be suffering from an infection and needed to come to the surgery, the mother-of-two refused, apparently distraught. Mrs Mohamed revealed through choked up tears that her husband had left her and was 'living with friends,' because he thought the 'smell was very bad,' and that she felt dirty. Nurse Crane made sure that Mrs Mohamed got the care she needed and that she was comfortable, going as far as to perform the exam herself Viewers said Nurse Crane was their favourite nurse from the show after the heartwarming experience Asking Nurse Crane to go, she then wet herself in front of her guest, which drew her into more panic. But not deterred by her patient's distress, Nurse Crane said she would first clean up while Mrs Mohamed changed, and that she would be coming back. On her second visit, the nurse found that the mother-of-two had a strong fever, and again pleaded for her to agree to see the doctor, which Mrs Mohamed eventually consented to. Mrs Mohamed explained she had likely contracted the infection after losing her unborn daughter following a home delivery that saw her go through four days of excruciating labour, three months before her move to the UK. It took a few more efforts to get the woman to agree to a professional examination, including finding her husband to translate for Dr Turner, who shared Nurse Crane's concerns. Mr Mohamed, who had first left his wife, scared of her illness, reconnected with her while translating for the healthcare professionals, telling her that he and their children needed her to 'get better.' She only agreed to be treated after Dr Turner said Phyllis would be carrying the exam while he waited in the other room. In a moment of panic, the mother-of-two said she was dirty and could not go see a GP when Nurse Crane first visited her The health professional reassured the mother and told her children needed her, and that she needed help from a doctor 'Brave lass,' said Nurse Crane with a smile after Mrs Mohamed agreed. The exam revealed the mother-of-two had a fistula between her birth canal and urethra, which had caused the infection. She had also reduced her water intake in the hope it would reduce her symptoms, which had worsened her chance of getting a urinary tract infection, as well as making the ordeal even more painful. Nurse Crane and Dr Turner sat her down for a chat and convinced her to agree to an emergency procedure in hospital. Viewers of the show loved Nurse Crane's thoughtful attitude throughout the episode, and said people should be more like her. Caring Nurse Crane did not back down and visited Mrs Mohamed a second time, where she realised she had a fever due to her infection Dr Turner waited in the other room while Nurse Crane performed the exam on their patient, describing what she found (pictured) 'I love Nurse Crane, she is just the most wonderful caring kindhearted nurse. And I so loved the friendship she had with Barbara and how she is on everybodys level no matter their age, class, race, religion whatever. Be More Nurse Crane,' one wrote. 'I'm always blubbing through #CallTheMidwife. "Brave lass". This programme explores many of the taboos around childbirth and prejudice. It touches my heart,' said another. 'Nurse Crane is my favourite midwife. Shes so lovely in this episode,' another poitned out. 'You're not dirty, you're unwell, there's no shame in that.' - Love Nurse Crane. My grandma as a Bangladeshi, witnessed and talks about how women were made to feel ashamed when they're unwell due to a lack of education & support. Superb episode & message,' one wrote. 'A wonderfully heart-warming story of suffering in silence is never the answer. Another great watch,' said one Prince Harry has spoken out in a raw and revealing speech about the reasons he and Meghan Markle are stepping back as members of the royal family. "I want you to hear the truth from me, as much as I can share - not as a Prince, or a Duke, but as Harry - the same person that many of you watched grow up, but now with a clearer perspective," he said at a dinner for the Sentebale charity in London. Footage of the bombshell speech was shared to the official Sussex Royal Instagram account. "Once Meghan and I were married, we were excited, we were hopeful, and we were here to serve," Harry explained. "For those reasons it brings me great sadness that it has come to this." The Duke of Sussex said he felt he had "no other option" than to take the drastic measure. The National Democratic Congress (NDC) branch in the Ashanti Region expects 20,000 people to join the Inter-Party Resistance Against New Voters' Register in its Kumasi protest against the compilation of a new voters register on Tuesday, January 21, 2020. This will be the second of three planned demonstrations by the coalition. The NDCs Ashanti Regional Secretary, Kwame Zu, said the protestors will pour their frustrations on the streets of Kumasi in a peaceful way. We expect to see not less than 20,000 pour onto the streets of Kumasi tomorrow and this in our bid to demonstrate and convey our displeasure at the consultative posture of the Electoral Commission, he told Citi News. In turn, the Ashanti Regional Police Command says it has put in place adequate security measures ahead of the demonstration. The Ashanti Regional Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Godwin Ahianyo, urged the protestors to stick to the route agreed to beforehand. The police will ensure that the route agreed on for the event is secured and that law and order is maintained throughout the entire period, ASP Godwin Ahianyo said to Citi News. He also warned that police will not entertain the throwing of stones, burning of tyres and any other forms of unrest. The protesters will start the demonstration from the Aboabu school park through to the Asawase Police station to the Central Mosque and then to Asante Mampong Senior high school and a number of other routes before finally ending at the jubilee park. Aside from the NDC, the Inter-Party Resistance Against New Voter Register is made up Progressive People's Party (PPP), Convention People's Party (CPP), People's National Convention (PNC), Eagle Party, All People's Party (APC) and Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP). The coalition has already held a protest in Tamale dubbed Tikusayi demo. The group maintains that GHS390 million approved to be spent on the register and a new Biometric Voter Management System (BVMS) will be a waste of taxpayer money. citinewsroom Contributed Photo / Getty Image BRIDGEPORT Bridgeport twins who were linked to the violent robbery and carjacking of an Ansonia delivery driver back in 2016 were sentenced to federal prison Friday, officials said. Antoine Snell and Treyquane Snell, both 21 of Bridgeport, were sentenced in Bridgeport federal court to serve 64 months and 72 months in prison, respectively, a news release from the office of U.S. Attorney for Connecticut John Durham said. Google faces antitrust probes from the Justice Department and nearly all 50 US state attorneys general. Alphabet Incs new chief executive, Sundar Pichai, will have the hot seat all to himself as regulators around the world investigate the company, US politicians demand that it be broken up, and President Donald Trump accuses it of aiding his rivals. Pichai, who has been CEO of Alphabets Google for four years now, was named to the additional post of CEO of Alphabet on Tuesday, making him the public face of a company long associated with co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Page and Brin relinquished their roles as Alphabet CEO and president, respectively, saying it was time for them to step aside. When Page declined to show up for a Senate hearing in Washington last year, senators left an empty chair next to top officers of Twitter and Facebook. Google leaders have acknowledged that was an embarrassing gaffe for the company. Other lawmakers have also to no avail demanded answers from Page on strategic decisions. The departure two years ago of Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, who had helped the company maintain ties in Washington, has also left a hole. Alphabet shareholder King Lip, chief investment strategist at Baker Avenue Asset Management in San Francisco, said the company was transforming and facing a new set of issues including political attacks and regulatory scrutiny. Pichai is uniquely suited to address given his overall affable attitude, Lip said by email. Apple Incs chief executive, Tim Cook, is seen as the standard for Silicon Valley success with the US president, having regular, cordial meetings with Trump. Trump has repeatedly taken aim at US technology companies, including Google, alleging at times that they have discriminated against him and fellow conservatives, without offering any evidence. Pichai himself met with Trump in March and July. Meeting ended very well! Trump tweeted in March. In August he adopted a different tone. He said Pichai was in the Oval Office working very hard to explain how much he liked me, what a great job the Administration is doing, that Google was not involved with Chinas military, that they didnt help Crooked Hillary over me in the 2016 Election. Trump has accused Google of interfering in elections to favor his 2016 Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton, although he offered no evidence, and no formal charges have been announced. A White House spokesman declined to comment Tuesday on Pichais new job. Pichai has also met on several occasions with Republican lawmaker critics to answer questions, and has since testified before Congress. In October, Pichai announced a new job training program alongside White House adviser Ivanka Trump in Texas. He has repeatedly met with lawmakers and testified before congressional committees after the company spurned a request to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee in September 2018. Probes into Google are coming from both sides of the political aisle, as well as from other countries. Google faces antitrust probes from the Justice Department and nearly all 50 US state attorneys general. The company is among four tech giants under an antitrust probe by the democratically controlled Judiciary Committee of the US House of Representatives. Last week Reuters reported that European Union antitrust regulators were seeking details of Googles data collection practices, after multiple EU fines. Only last week, Trumps reelection campaign and several Republican campaign committees criticized Googles decision to limit political advertising, saying the latest arbitrary rule changes are a blatant attempt to suppress voter information, knowledge, and engagement in the 2020 election. The groups argue Google is stifling the ability of citizens to participate in our democracy. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. There's no doubt that money can be made by owning shares of unprofitable businesses. For example, although Amazon.com made losses for many years after listing, if you had bought and held the shares since 1999, you would have made a fortune. But while history lauds those rare successes, those that fail are often forgotten; who remembers Pets.com? So, the natural question for African Energy Resources (ASX:AFR) shareholders is whether they should be concerned by its rate of cash burn. 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. The first step is to compare its cash burn with its cash reserves, to give us its 'cash runway'. Check out our latest analysis for African Energy Resources When Might African Energy Resources Run Out Of Money? You can calculate a company's cash runway by dividing the amount of cash it has by the rate at which it is spending that cash. As at June 2019, African Energy Resources had cash of US$2.6m and no debt. Looking at the last year, the company burnt through US$533k. So it had a cash runway of about 4.8 years from June 2019. A runway of this length affords the company the time and space it needs to develop the business. The image below shows how its cash balance has been changing over the last few years. ASX:AFR Historical Debt, January 19th 2020 How Is African Energy Resources's Cash Burn Changing Over Time? Because African Energy Resources isn't currently generating revenue, we consider it an early-stage business. Nonetheless, we can still examine its cash burn trajectory as part of our assessment of its cash burn situation. While it hardly paints a picture of imminent growth, the fact that it has reduced its cash burn by 36% over the last year suggests some degree of prudence. African Energy Resources makes us a little nervous due to its lack of substantial operating revenue. So we'd generally prefer stocks from this list of stocks that have analysts forecasting growth. Story continues How Hard Would It Be For African Energy Resources To Raise More Cash For Growth? While African Energy Resources is showing a solid reduction in its cash burn, it's still worth considering how easily it could raise more cash, even just to fuel faster growth. Issuing new shares, or taking on debt, are the most common ways for a listed company to raise more money for its business. Many companies end up issuing new shares to fund future growth. 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. African Energy Resources's cash burn of US$533k is about 3.6% of its US$15m market capitalisation. 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. Is African Energy Resources's Cash Burn A Worry? As you can probably tell by now, we're not too worried about African Energy Resources's cash burn. For example, we think its cash runway suggests that the company is on a good path. And even though its cash burn reduction wasn't quite as impressive, it was still a positive. Looking at all the measures in this article, together, we're not worried about its rate of cash burn, which seems to be under control. 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 African Energy Resources'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 interesting companies, 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. The partial closure of Nigerias borders is not solely because food products, particularly rice, were being smuggled into Nigeria, but also because arms and ammunition, as well as hard drugs, were being ferried into Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari has said. Holding a bilateral meeting Monday in London at the sidelines of UK-Africa Investment Summit 2020 with President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana, the Nigerian leader said he could not keep his eyes open, and watch youths being destroyed through cheap hard drugs, and compromised security caused by unbridled influx of small arms. When most of the vehicles carrying rice and other food products through our land borders are intercepted, you find cheap hard drugs, and small arms, under the food products. This has terrible consequences for any country, President Buhari said. He said it was regrettable that the partial border closure was having negative economic impact on our neighbours, but added that we cannot leave our country, particularly the youths, endangered. The president said the Sahel region was awash with small arms, which accounts for severe security challenges in Mali, Chad, Burkina Faso, Niger and Nigeria. We are in fact the biggest victims, he lamented. On time frame for reopening the borders, President Buhari said it would not happen till the final report of a committee set up on the matter was submitted and considered. We will get things sorted out. Our farmers, especially those who grow rice, now have a market, and are happy, and we are also concerned about hard drugs and weapons. Once the committee comes up with its recommendations, we will sit and consider them, the President said. President Akufo-Addo, while showing understanding of the need for Nigeria to protect her citizens, pleaded for an expedited process, because the Nigerian market is significant for certain categories of business people in Ghana. Femi Adesina Special Adviser to the President (Media and Publicity) W ho? Isabel dos Santos, 46, billionaire, erstwhile party pal of Nicole Scherzinger and Paris Hilton, proud owner of a $50 million superyacht and for the moment Africas richest woman, worth an estimated $2.2 billion. Sounds fun. Shes also fighting corruption charges brought against her by Angola, the petro-state her father Jose Eduardo dos Santos ruled for 38 years. In December, an Angolan court froze her assets in an attempt to recover more than $1 billion of state funds. Then on Sunday, a leaked tranche of bombshell documents emerged and raised further questions about a litany of shady dealings that allegedly ripped off Angola. Oof. Quite the fall from grace, then. Indeed. Or a witch-hunt, as Dos Santos calls it. Speaking to The Times newspaper from London, where shes said to be seeking sanctuary from death threats arising from a personal vendetta, she called the action a politically motivated attack from her fathers successor, President Joao Lourenco, designed to discredit the legacy of President Dos Santos. Thats a strong clap back. Whats the verdict? Shes certainly a lively character. The daughter of a Soviet-sponsored warrior who rose to power in the Angolan War of Independence, Dos Santos Jr ironically emerged as a poster girl of African capitalism. In 2013 Forbes named her as Africas first female billionaire. Born to the presidents first wife, Tatiana Kukanova, she spent two years at top public school St Pauls before going on to study engineering and business management at Kings College London, sharing a room in a hall of residence by Edgware Road. Nice and normal. She now claims a 13m iceberg mansion in Kensington among an international property portfolio that spans Portugal and Monaco. Dos Santos built a reputation as a hard worker at Kings. She had about 23 hours of classes per week, plus the labs, plus doing the reports, so youre not going to be partying, she said, although she certainly enjoyed late nights at exclusive London clubs while her dad was being feted by the great and the good in the Nineties. To her critics, who nickname her The Princess, she symbolises the rampant kleptocracy that her fathers rule is synonymous with. Princess? Not a compliment. She grew up at the centre of the privileged, powerful Futungo set that coalesced around her fathers court. When she married Congolese art collector Sindika Dokolo in 2003, a choir was said to be flown in from Belgium and two charter planes delivered food from France for the $4 million affair. Shes also reported to have spent $1m flying Mariah Carey in to sing at one of her extravagant parties. A third of Angolas population, meanwhile, live on just $2.50 a day. So... how many of these billions can we put down to hard work and determination? The jurys out, technically. Isabel Dos Santoss rise through the business world began with a failed beach restaurant and garbage-collection business in Angola while in her early 20s. A stake bought in Unitel, a telecoms company, proved a springboard for ventures into a Portuguese cable television company and an Angolan bank, and a flurry of state-backed deals. In 2016, three months before his retirement, her father installed her as head of the state oil firm Sonangol. Prosecutors allege the company was used to funnel money overseas to companies linked to Dos Santos, her husband and their financial advisor. Meanwhile, her half-brother has gone on trial for embezzlement of up to $1.5 billion while head of Angolas sovereign wealth fund. Dont cry for me, Angola. So whos her husband? A major collector of contemporary African art who, on the plus side, has vowed to find and return important Africa works removed from the continent in the colonial era, and assembled a GI Joe team of specialists to do so. He reportedly owns around 3,000 works by the likes of the South Africans William Kentridge and Zanele Muholi, Barthelemy Toguo from Cameroon, Kudzanai Chiurai from Zimbabwe and Edson Chagas from Angola. On the downside, he signed a questionable one-sided agreement in 2012 with Angolan state diamond company Sodiam another deal being investigated. Any chance of an in? Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 08:34:25|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close NICOSIA, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Cyprus reacted strongly to Turkey's announcement that it will start a new natural gas drilling off the southern coast of Cyprus, calling Turkey a "pirate state" in a statement issued on Sunday by President Nicos Anastasiades. Turkey "is turning into a pirate state in the eastern Mediterranean," the statement read, adding that the new drilling "constitutes yet another flagrant violation of the sovereign rights and jurisdiction of the Republic of Cyprus under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, as well as the relevant customary international law." Following the announcement by Turkish authorities that the drilling ship Yavuz is going to be dispatched for a new drilling operation, the European Union (EU) "recalls its position concerning Turkey's illegal drilling activities in Cyprus' Exclusive Economic Zone," said a statement issued on Saturday by the spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security policy. "Concrete steps towards creating an environment conducive to dialogue in good faith are needed. The intention by Turkey to launch further exploration and drilling activities in the wider region goes, regrettably, in the opposite direction," the EU statement noted. "EU rejects Turkey's intention 2dispatch drilling ship 4 illegal activities in Exclusive Economic Zone of Cyprus. International law, principles of good neighbourly relationship must be respected, actions to the contrary undermine regional stability," tweeted Peter Stano, the lead spokesperson. Responding to the EU statement, a spokesman for the Turkish foreign ministry on Sunday urged the EU to "end its unrealistic, prejudiced and double standard policies." Sirius Minerals has warned investors it is likely to collapse within weeks unless they approve a 405m rescue deal from a mining giant. Anglo American formally offered to buy the Yorkshire potash miner for 5.5p per share yesterday. The bid came after the two companies revealed earlier this month they were in advanced talks about a takeover. The move surprised the City and infuriated the 85,000 private shareholders who spent years backing the project with their own cash but now feel betrayed. Warning: Sirius has failed to finish building its mine under the North York Moors national park An investor who bought 10,000 of shares when they peaked above 40p each in 2016 would be left with a holding worth just 1,250 from the Anglo American deal. But Sirius chairman Russell Scrimshaw said that while the price will be a 'shock' to many, Anglo's lifeline is the only 'feasible option' to save the sprawling fertiliser mine and thousands of jobs it promised to bring to the local area. According to Scrimshaw, Sirius received another approach shortly after Anglo's interest was first revealed. But the board decided Anglo's offer, which will see it largely sticking to Sirius's construction timetable. Scrimshaw warned: 'If the acquisition is not approved by shareholders and does not complete, there is a high probability that the business could be placed into administration or liquidation within weeks.' Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets, said: 'Sirius's longer-term shareholders might be reluctant to take such a big hit, however, there aren't any other offers on the table.' One shareholder told the Mail: 'I am a long-term holder who has lost more than 100,000,' adding that 'the private shareholder has served his purpose and has now been royally shafted'. Mark Cutifani, Anglo's chief executive, said he was 'sensitive' to the fact that many Sirius investors will have lost money in the project, but did not comment on why they were not being offered stock in Anglo's offer. He added that Sirius chief executive Chris Fraser and several other executives would stay in their roles for at least a year. They will continue to receive their current remuneration package and also participate in bonus schemes. In 2018, Fraser, a former investment banker, received a basic salary of 475,000 and a bonus of the same amount. Figures for 2019 are not available. Sirius has been struggling to stay afloat since it failed to raise 400m of funding in September. The bond was needed to unlock a further 2 billion of funding which it needed to finish building the mine under the North York Moors national park. Building the mine, which would access the largest known reserve of a fertiliser called polyhalite, involves sinking two one-mile shafts and digging a 23-mile tunnel that will transport the minerals to a plant on Teesside. When the fundraising fell apart, Sirius stripped out costs, went to a bare-bones construction schedule to keep costs low and began looking for a strategic partner. Sirius reckoned it needed 2.5 billion in total to build the mine, which it insists would be low-cost to run and could produce polyhalite for 50 years. Anglo does not expect there to be any 'major changes' in employee numbers. Sirius has estimated it will create 4,000 jobs in one of the most deprived areas of the country. Bengaluru gets ready for the 11th Edition of Bengaluru INDIA NANO 2020 The 11th edition of Bengaluru India Nano, one of the front running events of the Department of IT, BT and S&T, Government of Karnataka will be held on 2nd and 3rd March 2020 with tutorials on 4th March at The Lalit Ashok, Bengaluru. This years theme is New Dimensions in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology for Industry 4.0. The event is being held in association with Karnatakas Vision Group on Nanotechnology, chaired by Prof. C.N.R. Rao, FRS, National Research Professor; Linu Pauling Research Professor & Honorary President, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR). Bengaluru India Nano offers an unparalleled opportunity for business networking and for knowledge sharing in the exciting field of Nanotechnology and it has now evolved as the leading and most sought-after international Nanotech event in India. Delivering the keynote address at the curtain raiser event recently in Bengaluru, Dr. C N Ashwath Narayan, Deputy Chief Minister, Minister for IT, BT and S&T and Minister for higher education and medical education, Government of Karnataka, said, The focal theme of the 11th Bengaluru India Nano New Dimensions in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology for Industry 4.0; has been aptly chosen by the Vision Group on Nanotechnology led by Bharat Ratna Prof. C N R Rao. Bengaluru India Nano has always been receiving tremendous response from Research, Academia and Industry and is today on the radar of many countries for connecting with whos who of the Indian Nanotech fraternity. I foresee that nanotechnology will provide a window of opportunity to apply technology applications in medicine, health care, energy, electronics, information technology, biotechnology, and so on, besides forging economic growth of the nation. Our Government will extend all possible help and support for the growth of this new sunrise industry in the State. Bengaluru India Nano will discuss a range of issues pertaining to Research, Technology Development, Skills Requirement, Institutions Involved, Risks Issues, Regulatory & Governance Structure, Investment and Collaborations between R&D, Academia & Industry. The event is expected to have significant participation from Chief Scientific Officers, Chief Technology Officers, Policy Makers, Scientists, Chemists, Research Leaders ,Fellows , Advisors from Industry, Venture capitalists, Governments and Research Institutions. Dr. E V Ramana Reddy, Additional Chief Secretary, Department of IT, BT and S&T and Department of Urban Development, said, It is predicted that this emerging technology is expected to become a greater economic force than any other technologies in the years to come. The global market for Nanotechnology is projected to reach $125.70 billion by 2024, driven by growing R&D efforts directed at enabling the development of nanotech-based products and solutions in diverse industries. Nanotechnology will have a broad and fundamental impact on nearly all sectors of the global economy namely electronics, energy, healthcare, consumer goods, defense, automotive, water purification and agriculture among others. Prof. C N R Rao, FRS, National Research Professor; Linus Pauling Research Professor & Honorary President, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) said, The Nano Technology space has been growing at a tremendous pace in the recent past. Nanotechnology is today being used across various industries including manufacturing, automotive and healthcare. In fact maximum benefit of nanotechnology has come from Nanomedicine. This presents us with a huge opportunity for research in Nanotechnology in areas such as healthcare and energy. There is also a big opportunity for research in Nanotechnology in the area of pollution in Bengaluru city. I'm sure we can come with some solution using Nanotechnology. The 11th edition of Bengaluru INDIA NANO event spectrum includes Multi-Track Conference, International Exhibition, Research Industry Collaboration Hub (RICH), Nan SparX, Nano Excellence Awards, Poster Walkway of Discovery, B2B partnering and Pre-Conference Tutorials. Over 800 delegates from organizations across the world, over 50 speakers will be participating in the event that includes pre-conference tutorials as well as Plenary and Keynote presentations and brainstorming deliberations along with networking. The International exhibition at Bengaluru INDIA NANO will offer opportunities to various industries to showcase their unique technologies, products and services. It will be an ideal platform for R&D Institutes, corporates, PSUs, Start-ups and educational institutions. DST Nano mission will bring together companies with innovative products and technologies in their pavilion. Other participants in exhibition will include Leading R&D Institutes, Instrumentation Manufacturers & Suppliers, Nano Based Product Companies, DST Nano Mission, Institutions of National Importance, Karnataka Education Pavilion, States of India Start-Ups and Financial Institutions etc. Nano Excellence Awards for outstanding contribution will be presented in the following categories: Prof. C N Rao Bengaluru India Nano Science Award, Bengaluru INDIA NANO Innovation Award, Malhotra Weikfield Foundation Awards, Nano Science Fellowship Awards, Karnataka DST Nanoscience Fellowships Awards, Nano Sparx, Best Exhibitor and Best Poster Award. Bengaluru India Nano 2020 will focus largely on Nano in Energy for E-mobility, Nano in Agriculture, Nano for Clean Water and Environment and Nano in Manufacturing. Photo Caption : L-R Jagdish Patankar, Executive Chairman, MMACTIV, Dr. E V Ramana Reddy, Additional Chief Secretary, Dept. of IT, BT and ST, Government of Karnataka, Dr. Ashwath Narayan, Dy. Chief Minister and Minister for IT, BT and ST, Prof. C N R Rao, RS, National Research Professor; Linus Pauling Research Professor & Honorary President, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR, Prof. Ajay Sood, FRS, Chair professor, Department of Physics, IISC Bangalore and Dr. H Honne Gowda, MD, Karnataka Science and Technology Promotion Society (KSTePS) Doctor Who Rating: COBRA Rating: Sit up straight and stop talking immediately. Doctor Who (BBC1) is on. Pay attention, because there will be homework later. Jodie Whittaker's Time Lord has become an intergalactic schoolma'am, marching through time to deliver illustrated lessons on science and political history. She's constantly out of breath and slightly fraught, because the curriculum is so crammed with no room for secondary details such as a plot that makes sense, or characters who have more to say than, 'What's that?' and 'I don't understand, Doctor.' This week, she introduced us to mad Serbian scientist Nikola Tesla, outlined his major discoveries (alternating current, radio, wifi), explained his feud with American inventor Thomas Edison (gramophone, light bulb, direct current), and supplied an analysis of why Tesla died an unknown pauper while his rival made millions. Sit up straight and stop talking immediately. Doctor Who (BBC1) is on. Pay attention, because there will be homework later With so much educational information to crowbar in to 50 minutes, the aliens barely got a look-in. When they did, they were obliged to stand around gnashing their X-shaped teeth while Jodie's pupils asked, 'How will that device work, Doctor?' Cue more explanations. Eventually, the bell rang for the end of lessons and the aliens were zapped into another galaxy, leaving the Doctor just enough breath for a recap of the chief points. Same time next week, and don't forget your P.E. kit. At least we were spared a stern lecture, unlike the previous episode, when Jodie whisked her companions (Tosin Cole, Mandip Gill and Bradley Walsh) off a parched and airless Earth to the Tardis for a real telling off about climate change. That was a fun five minutes. I suspect the real issue is that Chris Chibnall, who has run the show since Jodie's arrival, isn't a born sci-fi fan. There's no sense that he grew up boggling at classic authors such as Isaac Asimov, or queuing for midnight double-bills of Alien and Close Encounters. He has dutifully studied the Doctor Who back catalogue and makes occasional references to the original adventures featuring William Hartnell or Tom Baker. But his extraterrestrial monsters lack life. It feels like they're only there for contractual reasons, because the Doctor is required to fight aliens: it's in the small print, paragraph 6b, under 'Tardis, use of'. Jodie Whittaker's Time Lord has become an intergalactic schoolma'am, marching through time to deliver illustrated lessons on science and political history The Daleks and the Cybermen terrified us because we believed in them. The imaginations that dreamed them up made them hideously vivid. That's why the adaptation on BBC2 of Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman is so entertaining. It's preposterous, of course, with its notions of heaven, hell and the end of the world, but the writers make it all so convincing. Jodie Whitaker's didactic Doctor is failing to convince me at all. There's no need to believe in the catalogue of catastrophes in COBRA (Sky One) because this is raw hokum to be relished for its sheer awfulness. There hasn't been bad telly as good as this since Rob Lowe in Wild Bill last year. This political disaster thriller is like House Of Cards meets Bruce Willis in Armageddon, Westminster intrigue mixed with planetary extinction. There's no need to believe in the catalogue of catastrophes in COBRA (Sky One) because this is raw hokum to be relished for its sheer awfulness. Pictured: Robert Carlyle and Victoria Hamilton in the show The Sun is firing squirts of plasma energy with lethal accuracy at Western Europe, zapping aeroplanes out of the sky. Meanwhile, the PM's student daughter has accidentally plunged her best friend into a coma with a cup of hallucinogenic green tea. The dialogue is as superheated as the plot. My favourite line so far has the Remainer PM yelling at the callous, Brexiteer Home Secretary: 'You voted to leave Europe, not the human race!' It's not meant to be funny but I laughed so hard I got hiccups. LINCOLN, Neb., Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Sandhills Global will host auctioneer training forums in Billings, Montana, and Manhattan, Kansas, on January 23rd, 2020. Both forums will feature seminars focused on a range of best practices for successful auction management and business growth. Sandhills is the tech company behind Auction Flex, AuctionTime.com, HiBid.com, and many other brands, all of which serve to help connect buyers and sellers across multiple industries. The forums will provide attendees the opportunity to network with fellow auctioneers and learn about the latest capabilities of continually evolving auction technologies. Attendees will also receive hours that can be applied toward continuing education hours for the National Auctioneers Association. Each forum will begin with training on market-leading auction software Auction Flex, with in-depth information about cataloging, clerking, accounting, and strategies for obtaining the best results for auctioneers and consignors. Attendees will also learn more about AuctionTime.com, the weekly online-only auction platform designed especially for construction equipment, farm machinery, trucks, and trailers; and HiBid.com, an internet bidding solution that is integrated with Auction Flex and supports webcast, internet-only, and absentee bidding. Both forums will wrap up with a meet-and-greet reception. Interested in attending either of these upcoming auctioneer forums? Call 352-414-1947, email [email protected], or contact your AuctionTime.com sales representative to register. About AuctionTime.com Powered by Machinery Trader, CraneTrader, Truck Paper, TractorHouse, and MarketBook, AuctionTime.com is a product of Sandhills Globalan information processing company headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska. AuctionTime equipment listings appear both online and in print across Sandhills' trade publications and corresponding websites to reach buyers around the world in the trucking, agriculture, construction, and heavy equipment industries. About Auction Flex & HiBid Auction Flex is the market-leader in auction software for live auctions, with capabilities that include cataloging, clerking, cashiering, accounting, mailing list management, inventory management, multi-parcel, and more. Auction Flex also provides a seamless solution that enables auction houses to upload auction catalogs online and accept internet absentee bids, conduct internet-only auctions, or offer webcast live internet bidding through its integrated web service and internet bidding solutionHiBid (both a private-label solution and a portal). Auction Flex and HiBid were built from the ground up to function together seamlessly. Contact Auction Flex 352-414-1947 [email protected] SOURCE AuctionTime.com Related Links https://www.auctiontime.com Charles Idahosa, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has alleged that the partys National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole wa... Charles Idahosa, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has alleged that the partys National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole was plotting to be the running mate of a Northern presidential candidate in 2023. Idahosa made the allegation while warning that Oshiomhole will disappoint APC National Leader, Bola Tinubu in the build-up to the 2023 presidential election. Speaking with Daily Independent, Idahosa said Oshiomhole will team up with a Northerner to work against Tinubu. He said: I feel so sorry for Tinubu because he doesnt know who Oshiomhole is. I am aware he is one of those giving him support as the National chairman. Oshiomhole will disappoint him seriously. He will not support him in 2023, he can take that to the bank. Tinubu is one of the people supporting him as National chairman thinking that Oshiomhole will use his influence as National chairman to make him get the ticket. What he doesnt know is that Oshiomholes ambition is to become Vice- President to a northern presidential candidate in 2023. He is going to pair a northern candidate against the interest of Tinubu. Iraqi army soldiers are deployed in front of the U.S. embassy, in Baghdad, Iraq, on Jan. 1, 2020. (Nasser Nasser/AP Photo) 3 Rockets Land Near US Embassy in Baghdad: Iraqi Officials Iraqi military officials said three rockets landed near Baghdads Green Zone, which houses the U.S. Embassy and foreign missions. Three Katyusha rockets landed in the vicinity of the Green Zone without any casualties, said the Iraqi Security Media Cell, which falls under the responsibility of the Iraqi Prime Ministers office. It did not elaborate but said more details would be provided at a later time. One reporter posted video footage that purported to show rocket attack alarms in the Green Zone. Heard the booms myself on Union III. Speakers telling all to take shelter immediately, said the BBC reporter, Nafiseh Kohnavard, on Twitter. A Katyusha is a type of rocket artillery that was first built by the Soviet Union during World War II, but later variants were exported to Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Syria, and other parts of the Middle East. Last week, several rockets of the same type were fired targeting the Taji training camp, said the Security Media Cell. No Coalition troops were affected by this small attack at Taji Base, Col. Myles Caggins, spokesman for the U.S.-led military coalition, said in a statement at the time. Tensions have been high in the Middle East after the United States carried out an airstrike that killed Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad in early January. Iran then fired a barrage of missiles at Iraqi bases holding U.S. troops the following week, and sanctions were levied against Tehran by the White House. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, responding to another attack on an Iraqi airbase this month, wrote that he was outraged and said that continued violations of Iraqs sovereignty by groups not loyal to the Iraqi government must end. The Iranian regimes new Quds Force commander, Esmail Qaani, on Monday said Tehran would hit his enemy in a manly fashion, referring to the United States, adding that Washington killed his predecessor in a cowardly way. He added: through endeavors of [those] around the world who want vengeance over his blood, we will hit his enemy in a manly fashion, Al Jazeera reported. Meanwhile, six Iraqis, including two police officers, were killed and scores were wounded in Baghdad and other cities on Monday in clashes with security forces, medical and security sources said, as anti-government unrest resumed after a lull of several weeks. They (security forces) should stop shooting and aiming, who are they and who are we? Both sides are Iraqis. So why are you killing your brothers? said one woman protester in Baghdad who declined to give her name. Reuters contributed to this report. Bachelorette winner Lee Elliott launched into an angry personal attack on Married At First Sight star Dean Wells after he was cast on Dancing With The Stars. And now, the star's 'ex wife' Tracey Jewel, 36, has passionately defended him after he was called a 'sexist and chauvinist' in the vicious attack. 'Putting yourself in the TV lights again is a courageous and difficult thing to do - I'm so proud of Dean Wells - respect!' Tracey wrote of the feud. Pals: MAFS star Dean Wells' ex 'wife' Tracey Jewel has defended him on Instagram, amid his feud with The Bachelorette's Lee Elliott who called him 'sexist and chauvinist' last week She then went on to say it was a shame when people try to belittle you, adding it was important to remember to stay grounded and remember who you are. 'It's just a shame others will try and bring you down, the people that know you, know the truth of the great person you are,' she added. Tracey, who was paired with Dean on the show, went on to say that their continued friendship is a testament to his personality. 'The people that know you, know the truth of the great person you are - and as your friend for the past two years is a testament to that,' Tracey (pictured) wrote about Dean 'The people that know you, know the truth of the great person you are - and as your friend for the past two years is a testament to that.' She finished: 'You're going to tear up that dance floor.' A slew of other celebrities included fellow Married At First Sight stars Jules Robinson and Jesse Konstantinoff also made comment. 'Couldn't agree more,' Jules wrote. While Jesse added a love heart under the post. 'I am far from any of those things!' MAFS star Dean Wells (L) hit back at The Bachelorette's Lee Elliott (right) for calling him 'sexist and chauvinist' last week On Wednesday, Lee hit out at Channel 10 for casting a 'sexist and chauvinist' in the 2020 lineup for Dancing With The Stars. Responding to Lee's post, Dean told Daily Mail Australia the following day: 'I am as far from any of those things as a person can be.' Lee, who won Georgia Love's heart on The Bachelorette 2016, was clearly frustrated by the inclusion of Dean, who is known for his old-fashioned views on gender roles. Controversy: Dean (right), who describes himself as an 'alpha male', sparked controversy in 2018 when he said in a MAFS trailer that men should be in control in relationships. He later cheated on his 'wife', Tracey Jewel, with another bride, Davina Rankin (left) 'When did this country start celebrating intolerable, sexist, chauvinistic [people]?' he wrote over a promotional image of the DWTS cast. Dean, who once described himself as an 'alpha male', sparked controversy in 2018 when he said in a MAFS trailer that men should be in control in relationships. He later cheated on his 'wife', Tracey Jewel, with another bride, Davina Rankin. Warring: The Bachelorette's Lee (left) slammed Dancing with the Stars for casting a 'sexist and chauvinist' like Dean from Married At First Sight (right) Dean said of Lee's comments: 'Everyone's entitled to their opinion. However, if he had ever actually met me, he would know that I am as far from any of those things as a person can be. 'I don't judge anyone based on gender, ethnicity, sexuality or any other such traits. 'I am choosing to ignore negativity and focus on the challenge of learning to dance and hopefully raising money for my nominated charity, the BridgIT Water Foundation. That's what it's [the show] all about,' he said. Making his point: Lee made sure that Dean (far right) was the only star in view when he shared the post, so his followers didn't think he was referring to anyone else 'Dancing with the Stars is such a great show and I am honoured and humbled to be chosen amongst such a talented bunch of people,' Dean said. Bachelorette Angie Kent, NRL star Beau Ryan, radio presenter Ed Kavalee and Olivia Newton-John's daughter Chloe Lattanzi are also part of the 2020 cast. Dancing with he Stars premieres Sunday, February 9 on Channel 10 A 23-year-old newly recruited Army Officer, Patience Amos Yau, has been murdered by her boyfriend at Damilu, Yola, Adamawa State. The deceased was allegedly hacked to death by her boyfriend, Ali Mohammed Wakil, during a scuffle in his room around 11:00 pm on January 12, 2020. The boyfriend claimed to be military personnel serving with 68 Reference Hospital, Yaba, Lagos State. A neighbour said that they heard the shout of the deceased and Wakil but could not categorically explain the circumstances that led to the killing. READ ALSO Lagos Police Nab 23-Year-Old Girl For Theft They became suspicious when they did not see Patience for three days and became worried when a terrible odour started emanating from the boys room. They were compelled to forcefully open the window of the room only to discover the body of the deceased at the stage of decomposition. The suspect was spotted near the residence of the father of the deceased, strolling and enjoying his normal life as at the time when the girl was declared missing. He has since been arrested. Grant Shapps today appeared to cast doubt on the future of HS2 after an official government review into the viability of the project said it could end up costing as much as 106 billion. The Transport Secretary said ministers faced a 'massive decision' on whether the high speed rail initiative should go ahead as he insisted the way forward must be 'fact-based' and driven by data. He also said that decision will be made 'quite shortly' and in 'weeks rather than months'. Ultimately the decision on whether the project can proceed will be made by Boris Johnson who is being fiercely lobbied by both pro and anti-HS2 voices. There are mounting concerns about whether the project represents value for money with costs ballooning from an original estimate of 34 billion to 56 billion and then to approximately 88 billion last year. Now the Oakervee review of the project, led by former HS2 chairman Doug Oakervee, has apparently warned that it could ultimately cost north of 100 billion. Construction chiefs have said scrapping the project would cause 'irreparable damage' to the industry but sceptical Tory MPs believe HS2 will end up being a 'white elephant'. Mr Shapps said today: 'I asked Doug Oakervee to do that report and said to him "give me the facts, give me the data, give us the information so we can make a proper, informed decision". 'I've always approached this from a relatively neutral point of view and that information will help to inform a decision that is best for the whole country.' The HS2 high speed railway line is designed to better connect London with cities in the Midlands and north of England but there are growing concerns over the cost of the project The HS2 route would initially link London and Birmingham with the second phase of the project then heading north to Manchester and Leeds The Oakervee review reportedly states that 'on balance' the scheme should go ahead but it is far from an unequivocal backing, with the review insisting the project must meet 'a number of qualifications' before being built. The review's seemingly reluctant backing of the infrastructure project presents Mr Johnson with a potential headache. He is believed to be reluctant to cancel HS2 without there being a ready-made replacement on the table because of the message it could send to northern voters. The review's findings mean Mr Johnson will have to shoulder much of the responsibility for the project should he agree to allow it to proceed. The high speed railway line is designed to better connect London with Birmingham with a second stage of the network then pushing north to Manchester and Leeds. What is HS2 and how much will it cost? HS2 (High Speed 2) is a plan to construct a new high-speed railway line linking London, West Midlands, Leeds and Manchester. The line is to be built in a 'Y' configuration. London will be on the bottom of the 'Y', Birmingham at the centre, Leeds at the top right and Manchester at the top left. Work on phase one began in 2017 and the government's original plans envisaged the line being operational by 2026. The HS2 project is being developed by High Speed Two (HS2) Ltd. The project was originally estimated at costing approximately 34 billion. But the final bill for the project has been repeatedly revised upwards. It jumped to 42 billion in 2012 and then to 56 billion in 2015. An official estimate published last year put the cost at 88 billion. But the Oakervee report suggests it could end up costing as much as 106 billion. HS2 has already spent billions of pounds despite not yet actually laying any track. Advertisement However, the Oakervee report - seen by the Financial Times - apparently suggests that phase 2b should be paused for half a year. This would allow further work to be done to figure out whether the proposed improvements could be delivered via more conventional rail. This would likely save a lot of money but could risk undermining the purpose of the project. Mr Johnson will face a fierce backlash regardless of whether he decides to proceed with HS2 or scrap it. Many Tory MPs are opposed to the project either on cost grounds or over concerns about the route and what it could mean for parts of the English countryside. David Davis, the former Brexit secretary, said: '106bn is unlikely to be the final figure for HS2. 'This white elephant must be scrapped so we can invest in regional infrastructure projects, which will provide greater benefits for all.' A group of Conservative MPs who are opposed to the project are expected to meet with Mr Johnson this week to urge him to cancel it. However, pro-HS2 Tories are believed to be signing a letter to Mr Johnson urging him to press ahead with the scheme. There is also resistance to HS2 within some parts of the civil service. Former Treasury mandarin Nick Mapherson said: 'What will it take for our political elite to accept this vanity project is not value for money? 'Imagine how many sensible rail and road projects could be built with the money including the tunnel under Stonehenge.' But construction bosses are adamant it must go ahead amid concerns cancelling it would strike a hammer blow to the industry. The chief executives of Balfour Beatty, Skanska and Morgan Sindall were among the signatories to a letter sent to Johnson, seen by The Times, which urged him to approve the scheme and noted that it would take 'many years to get an equivalent pipeline of work in place' if HS2 was cancelled. Boris Johnson, pictured with Angela Merkel in Berlin yesterday, is expected to make a decision within weeks on whether to go ahead with HS2 HS2 would allow trains to travel at speeds of up to 250mph. That would mean much faster journeys between key UK cities. The graphic shows times for HS2 passengers (in red) verses the current times (in blue) Adam Marshall, director general of British Chambers of Commerce, said HS2 needed to be 'delivered in full without further delay'. 'This project is an investment that will transform the capacity of our railways and the potential of so many areas across the UK,' he said. 'While there can be no blank cheque, cutting the project back would put development and investment plans across the country at risk.' Downing Street refused to comment on the leaked report. The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: 'The government commissioned the Oakervee review to provide advice on whether and how to proceed with HS2. 'A draft of the Oakervee review was delivered shortly before Christmas. We are committed to publishing the findings of the review to Parliament.' 'That remains the case, I am not going to pre-empt its publication.' Oil Symbolism in the Old Testament It seems, at first glance at the Old Testament, that olive oil (or anointing oil) had predominantly a religious purpose. Not only would you pour oil on the head of a high priest, but also this holy oil would sprinkle on furnishings in the Tabernacle (Exodus 25:6), a transportable temple for Gods people, until they created a permanent place of worship during the time of Solomon. Olive oil also was used during the beautification process in Esther 2:12. Over the span of several months, Esther, along with other eligible ladies, would cleanse themselves with myrrh and oil for six months (and another six months with perfume and cosmetics). As stated in this Bible Study Tools article, oil often signified prosperity, blessings, and stability, opposed to other periods throughout Israels history where the harvest was not bountiful and famine had swept the land (Joel 1:10). Oil had sanctifying (cleansing) properties. Whenever someone poured oil on someone or something, they had set apart that object as a blessed object of the Lord. Therefore, this explains the reasons why those throughout the Old Testament would anoint both people and inanimate objects (Genesis 28:18). Israel commonly practiced anointing the heads of kings. That is why when Samuel chooses to anoint the lowliest of Jesses sons, young David (1 Samuel 16), which would have surprised the family. They didnt think, Oh, I guess hes giving Davids head a nice oil bath. They wouldve understood the implications of Samuels actions. God had chosen the next king of Israel, Jesses youngest son. Photo credit: Getty Images/Zdenek Sasek Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Director Matthew Albence speaks at a press conference in New York City on Jan. 17, 2020. (Scott Heins/Getty Images) ICE Director Releases List of Fugitive Illegal Aliens Freed By NYCs Sanctuary City Policies Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Jan. 17 issued a list of illegal immigrant fugitives who have been released into the city despite requests from ICE to take them into custody for deportation. Matthew Albence, the acting director of ICE presented the list to reporters at a press conference in New York where he also blamed the sanctuary policies of New York City for the sexual assault and killing of a 92-year-old woman in January. Maria Fuertes was reportedly sexually assaulted and killed in January as she walked near her home in Queens. A 21-year-old man, Reeaz Khan, was arrested by NYPD on Jan. 10 and charged with murder, sexual abuse, contact by forcible compulsion, and sexual abuse of Fuertes. He had previously been apprehended in November on charges of assault and criminal possession of a weapon after allegedly beating up his father. However, Khan was later released despite immigration officials filing a detainer request with the New York City Police Department asking that he be turned over for deportation. The acting director said that Fuertess death could have been prevented if city officials had complied with a federal request to turn over the assailant, a Guyanese national, for deportation. The NYPD have disputed ICEs claims and said it didnt obtain a detainer in regard to this individual, according to The New York Times. As a 25-year law enforcement professional, it is unbelievable that I have to come here and plead with the city of New York to cooperate with us to help keep this city safe, Albence said. Make no mistake, it is this citys sanctuary policies that are the sole reason this criminal was allowed to roam the streets freely and end an innocent womans life, he added. These policies, plain and simple, both here and elsewhere in the country, make all of us less safe, which is the opposite of what the primary goal of what every law enforcement officer, every agency, and every elected official should be. The list of fugitives that Albence shared include suspected illegal immigrants from Nigeria, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Guinea, Spain, and El Salvador. Those released have arrests for assault in the first, second and third degrees, attempted robbery, criminal possession of a weapon, gang assaults, and other violent offenses, according to Fox. All you need to do is call us before you release them. A phone call, one simple phone call, and Maria Fuertes would be alive today. These are preventable crimes people, and most importantly preventable victims, Albence said. He added that of the 7,526 detainers that have been rejected by NYC officials, roughly 200 were for suspected murderers. About Detainers A detainer is a formal request from ICE for local law enforcement agencies to provide notification to ICE before releasing an individual in custody, and to hold them for 48 hours beyond the scheduled time of release, so that ICE has time to take the individual into immigration custody. ICE lodges detainers on individuals who have been arrested on criminal charges and who it has probable cause to believe are removable aliens. However, when law enforcement agencies fail to honor immigration detainers and release serious criminal offenders onto the streets, it undermines ICEs ability to protect public safety and carry out its mission, the agency says. Safe Policy Mayor Bill de Blasio has spoken in defence of New York Citys sanctuary policies, saying that it has kept us safe and noting that there are 177 crimes for which the city will cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. New York City has passed its own common-sense laws about immigration enforcement that have driven crime to record lows. There are 177 crimes under NYC law that trigger cooperation with federal authorities, if and when someone is convicted, he said on Twitter. The government had written to the Rajya Sabha Chairman and Lok Sabha Speaker to not refer the Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2019, to a department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee, an activist who inspected the files under the RTI Act said Monday. Activist Anjali Bhardwaj had sought details of files related to the passing of Right to Information (Amendment) Act which made drastic changes in the tenure and the salary structure of adjudicators of RTI matters, the Information Commissioners, triggering allegations of cutting down their autonomy. She was allowed to inspect the files related to the bill. In her statement, Bhardwaj said Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh had written to the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Rajya Sabha Chairman, seeking relaxation of the provisions requiring prior notice to be given for introducing a bill and circulation of bills to members before it is introduced. She also said that the minister wrote to the Speaker and the Chairman requesting that the Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2019, not be referred to a Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee. "The amendment, and the subsequent rules promulgated by the government in October 2019, destroy the insulation provided to information commissions in the original Act to enable them to function independently," she said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat, and Air Force Chief RKS Bhadauria on Monday inducted South India's first squadron of Sukhoi-30 MKI jets. The Sukhoi-30 MKI will come with Brahmos missile, which has a range of 250-300 kilometer. It has the capability to attack from large standoff ranges on any target whether at sea or on land with absolute precision. The 222 Tiger Sharks Squadron, which will fly these jets, will be based in Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu. The full consignment of 18 fighters will be inducted towards the end of the year. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has massively modified Sukhoi-30 MKIs to carry missiles, including the Brahmos. The Sukhoi-30 has been named Sukhoi-30 MKI as the Russian fighter has been customised to suit Indian requirements. It is a combat aircraft capable of multiple roles, including ground attack or dog attack and air fight. The Sukhoi-30 MKI is a powerhouse as it covers a combat radius of approx 1,500 km without mid-air refueling. The squadron will help India strengthen its guard deep in the Indian Ocean Range (IOR). The latest entrant into the IAF is expected to perform combative as well as defensive roles. The Tiger Sharks were also the first squad to be equipped with the MiG-27s in the year 1985. Also read: Rakesh Sharma Birthday: Interesting facts about India's first space traveller Also read: Republic Day Parade rehearsals: Delhi police issues traffic advisory, tells routes to avoid The world's shortest man who could walk, as verified by Guinness World Records (GWR), has died at a hospital in Nepal at the age of 27. Khagendra Thapa Magar, from Nepal's Baglung district, measured 67.08cm (2ft 2.41in). His brother told AFP news agency he died on Friday following a battle with pneumonia. GWR paid tribute to Mr Magar, saying he "didn't let his small size stop him from getting the most out of life". Mr Magar was recognised as the world's smallest man on his 18th birthday in 2010, at a ceremony attended by local and international dignitaries. "I don't consider myself to be a small man. I'm a big man. I hope that having this title enables me to prove it and get a proper house for me and my family," he said at the time. GWR has two categories for people of short stature - mobile and non-mobile. Filipino Junrey Balawing, who is unable to walk or stand unaided, is the world's shortest non-mobile man, measuring 59.93cm. Mr Magar lost his title as the world's shortest mobile man to fellow Nepalese national Chandra Bahadur Dangi, who measured 54.6cm. However, he regained it following Mr Dangi's death in 2015. Mr Magar was first spotted by a travelling salesman when he was 14 and taken to local fairs, where children paid to be photographed next to him. After gaining recognition from GWR in 2010, he travelled around the world and made television appearances in Europe and the US. He also became an official face of Nepal's tourism campaign. During a meeting with a delegation from the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Francis reiterated the Church's condemnation of anti-Semitism, expressing concerns about an increase in selfishness and indifference, lack of concern for others and the attitude that says life is good as long as it is good for me, and when things go wrong, anger and malice are unleashed. For the pontiff, This creates a fertile ground for the forms of factionalism and populism we see around us, where hatred quickly springs up. Vatican City (AsiaNews) Pope Francis met this morning with a delegation from the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a few days before the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps. In his address, the pontiff stressed that it is through integration, examination and the understanding of others that the growing tide of anti-Semitism, racism and hatred of minorities in the world can be fought. The meeting gave the pontiff an opportunity to express his concerns over an increase in selfishness and indifference, lack of concern for others and the attitude that says life is good as long as it is good for me, and when things go wrong, anger and malice are unleashed. This creates a fertile ground for the forms of factionalism and populism we see around us, where hatred quickly springs up. For decades, you (the center) have maintained contacts with the Holy See, the Pope said, in a shared desire to make the world a better place in respect for human dignity. Such dignity is due to every person in equal measure, regardless of his or her ethnic origin, religion or social status. It is essential to teach tolerance, mutual understanding and freedom of religion, and the promotion of peace within society. A week from today (27 January) will mark the liberation of Auschwitz, which Francis visited in 2016 (pictured). I went there to reflect and to pray in silence. In our world, with its whirlwind of activity, we find it hard to pause, to look within and to listen in silence to the plea of suffering humanity. Our consumerist society also squanders words: how many unhelpful words are spoken, how much time is wasted in arguing, accusing, shouting insults, without a real concern for what we say. Silence, on the other hand, helps to keep memory alive. If we lose our memory, we destroy our future. May the anniversary of the unspeakable cruelty that humanity learnt of seventy-five years ago serve as a summons to pause, to be still and to remember. We need to do this, lest we become indifferent. Even recently, we have witnessed a barbaric resurgence of cases of antisemitism. Once more I firmly condemn every form of antisemitism. To tackle the cause of the problem, however, we must commit ourselves also to tilling the soil in which hatred grows and sowing peace instead. For it is through integration and seeking to understand others that we more effectively protect ourselves. Hence it is urgent to reintegrate those who are marginalised, to reach out to those far away, to support those ignored for lack of resources or funds, and assist to those who are victims of intolerance and discrimination. Jews and Christians have a rich spiritual heritage. For this reason, they are called, especially today, to such service: not to take the path of distance and exclusion, but that of proximity and inclusion; not to force solutions, but to initiate ways of drawing closer together. If we do not do this we who believe in Him who from on high remembered us and showed compassion for our weaknesses then who will? I am reminded of the words of the Book of Exodus: God was mindful of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God saw the Israelites, and God knew (2:24-25). Let us too remember the past and have compassion for those who suffer, and this way till the soil of fraternity. Struggling shopping centre owner Intu Properties is planning to raise as much as 1billion in cash as early as next month to tackle its 4.7billion debt pile. The firm, which owns Manchester's Trafford Centre and Lakeside in Essex among others, wants to kick off a huge rights issue alongside its annual results at the end of February or soon after. In a rights issue, companies tap their existing investors for cash by offering them shares at a cheaper price, rather than looking for outside support. Intu, which owns Manchester's Trafford Centre (pictured), plans to tap investors for cash The amount Intu hopes to raise from shareholders remains unclear, although reports in the Sunday Times put the figure at up to 1 billion. Intu shareholder and billionaire businessman John Whittaker, who has a 27 per cent stake, is said to be in favour of the plan, according to the newspaper. Bosses had already warned that its 4.7 billion debt pile is too high and are in the process of selling off assets to pay it down. Last month, Intu revealed it had sold Spain's largest shopping centre, the Intu Puerto Venecia in Zaragoza, for 405million. Intu has told the City it is considering a number of 'self-help' measures in addition to selling off assets. In a trading statement last year it said it was 'likely' to raise more cash to balance its books. Intu's shares have fallen by around 80 per cent in the last year as the High Street crisis has intensified and rental income has plunged. The company said: 'Intu properties continues to make progress in its strategy to fix the balance sheet. 'Consistent with previous announcements, this now includes targeting an equity raise alongside its full year results at the end of February. 'The company is currently engaged in constructive discussions with both shareholders and potential new investors on the proposed equity raise.' An equity raise involves issuing new shares to raise extra cash - but this tends to push the current share price down, which could upset current investors. Landlords have been hammered by a wave of insolvencies as tenants grapple with growing online sales and high business rates. At its half-year results last July, Intu cut the value of its shopping centres by 1billion. Matthew Roberts, Intu chief executive, said: 'We are making good progress with fixing the balance sheet, our number one priority, and are confident we have the right strategy in place to enable us to prosper as we see continued polarisation between the best destinations and the rest.' He added that footfall to Intu's UK centres was flat during the Christmas period compared with a year earlier - which was ahead of falls across the market more broadly. Around 95 per cent of space was occupied by tenants, with 97 per cent of rent collected for the first quarter of 2020, Intu said. Commercial property owners, particularly in retail, have suffered in recent years as several big name brands either went into administration or pushed through an insolvency process known as a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) to reduce rents. In November last year, Intu already warned that rental income in 2019 is likely to fall by 9 per cent, with more than half the decline coming from Arcadia and Monsoon using CVAs. Bosses said rent in 2020 is also expected to drop, but at a slower rate than 2019, and added that the political and economic uncertainty is putting off current tenants from signing up to new lettings. Joaquin Phoenix acknowledged Heath Ledgers performance as Joker during his acceptance speech at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) awards. The actor won for his role of Arthur Fleck, a variation of the same DC villain that Ledger played in Christopher Nolans film The Dark Knight. Ledger went on to win a posthumous Best Supporting Actor Oscar for the performance. Phoenix, who is favourite to win Best Actor at the 2020 Oscars, which take place in February, said: I am standing here on the shoulders of my favourite actor Heath Ledger. Daniel Day-Lewis previously paid tribute Ledger at the same awards ceremony shortly after the actors death in 2008. Many are praising Phoenix for the touching moment on Twitter. Meanwhile Brad Pitt won Best Supporting Actor for his role in Quentin Tarantinos Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and had the crowd including his ex-wife Jennifer Aniston in laughter over a joke about his failed marriages. Bong Joon-hos South Korean film Parasite made history by becoming the first foreign language film to win the evenings top prize. The Oscars take place on 9 February. U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on April 26, 2019. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images) Japan Faces Balancing Act in Relations With US, China News Analysis WASHINGTONAs the United States and Japan mark the 60th anniversary of the U.S.Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security, a leading critic of the Trump administration from Japans academic community said last week that U.S. President Donald Trump may be right to push Japan to pay its fair share for Americas military defense of the island nation. Speaking at the Japanese Embassys Japan Information & Culture Center in Washington last week, Yuichi Hosoya said that the stability of the JapanU.S. alliance is one of the constants in the world. Hosoya, who is a professor of international politics at Keio University in Tokyo and a frequent commentator in U.S. and British media, says Japan has another reality it must face. While the United States is Japans only ally by treaty, China is not only Japans close neighbor, but is also its biggest trading partner. Japan, therefore, has to strive to maintain good relationships with both, a balancing act often made difficult by the mercurial relationship between the United States and China. Adding to the complexity of the relationship is that the United States, China, and Japan are the worlds three largest economies, respectively. Japan, however, under the Trump administrations new policies in Asia, now finds itself having to do for America what America no longer wishes to do for itself, Hosoya said. That, he said, is to help the United States maintain its role as the leading force for order and stability in Asia, at a time when the U.S. president hates alliances and deep military engagements in the region. Thats a situation that could play right into Chinas hands, he believes. China, which is perpetually unhappy with the United States large military role in the region, is perfectly comfortable with filling any gap the United States leaves vacant, Hosoya said. Chinas budget for defense is four times greater than Japans, leaving Japan open to Chinese aggression should the United States reduce its role in Japans security, in particular, and Asian security overall. New Strategy Therefore, Japan, which had a leading role in creating the original Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) vision under Shinzo Abe when he first became prime minister in 2006, has since 2017 had to revamp the strategy into what can now be called FOIP 2.0. The difference between the two is simple. Japans Free and Open Indo-Pacific 2.0 counterintuitively includes rather than ignores Chinas One Belt, One Road initiative (OBOR, also called Belt & Road). OBOR is Chinese leader Xi Jinpings signature investment, infrastructure, and loan program to spread Chinese economic and political influence throughout Asia and the Eurasian continent, including the Middle East, Africa, and beyond. The initiative is plagued by criticism from not only Western democratic countries, but from target countries themselves that have been the recipients of projects largely under Chinese management. Critics have largely focused on the debt to which poor countries commit, which can lead to nonperformance on loans, and ultimately, transfer of the underlying assets to Chinese control. Therefore, Japans embrace of OBOR in its new strategy to manage the triangular relationship among China, Japan, and the United States is surprising. Indeed, FOIP 2.0, as Hosoya describes it, may well be on its way to becoming obsolete. Evidence shows that the United States isnt reducing its profile and power footprint in Asia, but is instead actually increasing it. As The Epoch Times reported last week, the U.S. Army is deploying a division-sized force to bolster its ability to respond quickly and efficiently in the Indo-Pacific region. And the U.S. Navy, while not sufficiently supplied with the intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and targeting resources it needs, has nonetheless increased its capabilities in the South China Sea and is being pressured to do more. As the Japanese government has been trying to offer an alternative idea in which the United States is the cornerstone of peace in the region, Japan finds itself as a bridge between the United States and China, a role it doesnt covet, Hosoya said. Paying More In an unusual reference to wartime Japan, the professor also said that as U.S. seems to retreat from some of its international roles, it is interesting that two former Axis powers, Japan and Germany, are trying to defend the world order that the United States created. Perhaps, he said, that is because both countries experienced an authoritarian regime, something the United States has not had. Some years ago, China proposed what came to be known as a G-2 condominium, in which China and the United States would divide the Asia-Pacific region, if not the world, into two spheres of influence. Not surprisingly, such an arrangement would leave Japan out of the equation. Chinas attitude toward Japan is further exposed by its frequent references to the 1943 Cairo Declaration, Hosoya said. The Cairo Declaration came out of a pivotal meeting among British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek from the Republic of China during World War II. The declaration is unequivocal in its purpose: The three great Allies are fighting this war to restrain and punish the aggression of Japan. It tellingly goes on to say, It is their purpose that Japan shall be stripped of all the islands in the Pacific which she has seized or occupied since the beginning of the first World War in 1914, and that all the territories Japan has stolen from the Chinese, such as Manchuria, Formosa, and the Pescadores, shall be restored to the Republic of China. China uses the Cairo Declaration to support its claims to islands which Japan claims for itself, a perennial area of tension between the two nations. Nonetheless, Japan will continue to support the United States, as well as China, in order to bolster peace and stability in the region, Hosoya said. On the one hand, Japan has spent huge amounts of money to support American military bases in Japan. The United States should recognize that American national security is supported by its allies, and it would therefore be wrong to criticize those allies, Hosoya said. But on the other hand, the professor said, underscoring the ambivalent relationship that Japan has right now with the United States, Trump is right in saying that Japan should pay its fair share for defense. Ultimately, we should more deeply understand what we have been doing, Hosoya said. Trump is saying some truth, and in the end, we have to support American global leadership. Meanwhile, the White House issued a statement Jan. 18 from Trump acknowledging the 60th anniversary of the mutual cooperation and security treaty between the United States and Japan. The president congratulated Japanese and American leaders, and Shinzo Abe, prime minister of Japan. The presidents statement made a glancing reference to his desire to see Japan pay more toward its own defense. I am confident that in the months and years ahead, Japans contributions to our mutual security will continue to grow, and the Alliance will continue to thrive. The truce, even if it is not permanence peace, will come under stress and test during the pending polls to rural local bodies in nine revenue districts and urban polls across the state, including those for 16 municipal corporations, starting with Chennai, the oldest and largest, says N Sathiya Moorthy. IMAGE: DMK president M K Stalin obliges young fans with a selfie. Photograph: Courtesy, DMK on Twitter. With Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president M K Stalin urging the cadres of his party and also those of the Congress, his electoral ally in Tamil Nadu, not to air their differences in public, the emerging strains within the coalition ahead of the state assembly polls, due by May next year, have been allowed to die down. The truce, even if it is not permanence peace, will come under stress and test during the pending polls to rural local bodies in nine revenue districts and urban polls across the state, including those for 16 municipal corporations, starting with Chennai, the oldest and largest. In a way, the DMK blew it out of proportion by staying away from the anti-CAA conclave of Opposition parties, called by Congress president Sonia Gandhi last week. While similar boycott by other regional parties made it a near-non-starter, the Congress high command was prepared for it. However, the party was not prepared for time-tested ally in the DMK doing so, that too when its parliamentary group leader and former Union Minister T R Baalu was very much in capital Delhi -- waiting for instructions from Stalin, whether or not to attend the conclave. The DMKs boycott, after persuasive calls from senior Congress leaders from Delhi failed to make an impact on Stalin, did help the party send across a strong message. Needing to repair the damage in DMK relations, both from the assembly poll perspective and even more from a national political angle, the high command reportedly directed state Congress chief K S Alagiri to meet Stalin and sort out the differences. It now looks as if the strains have disappeared as fast as they had appeared in the first place. The intervening strains, if it could be qualified so, appeared when alliance nominees for indirect polls to local body chairmen in south-central Sivaganga and adjoining Pudukottai districts lost to ruling AIADMK nominees, when they had a clear majority of elected members. Even as the DMK leadership was left licking the insult and was also finding out as to what had gone wrong, TNCCs Alagiri along with Congress legislature party leader K R Ramasamy issued a joint statement charging the DMK leadership with flouting coalition dharma. It was too much for the Stalin leadership to stomach when it was settling down as the head of the UPA coalition in the state, thanks especially after the near-sweep of the Lok Sabha polls last year, despite near-rout elsewhere across the country. The DMK was peeved when grassroots-level reports indicated that the directions for the coalition dharma statement had emanated from a veteran Congress leader in the state, who had also reportedly developed chief ministerial aspirations ahead of next years assembly polls. The said leader was believed to have charted out a plan for the party to contest the assembly polls in the company of superstar Rajinikanth, and hoped to win a majority. This was reportedly so, despite the fact that such experiments of the kind in the post-MGR assembly polls of 1989 did not help the party, which ended up aligning with the re-unified AIADMK under Jayalalithaa for elections 1991. It is another matter that Rajinikanth is yet to act on his public commitment to enter elections 2021 directly, and the speculation is that he would either go on his own or identify/align with the ruling BJP at the Centre. In the immediate context, the Stalin leadership discovered that the grass-roots level cooperation among the alliance partners in the two districts was satisfactory. The party is said to have briefed the Congress high commands interlocutors, who had sought to persuade them to attend the Delhi conclave, but not to the expected relief of an open apology as promised. What came out as an expression of regret kind of a statement from TNCCs Alagiri would not have convinced the DMK cadres across the state, hence the Stalin leadership was in no position to accept it -- especially when the final version had reportedly deviated from the original. In between, the Stalin leadership was also serious about conveying to the Congress high command, that the DMK would not countenance such behaviour on the part of the state Congress leadership, with or without prodding from party veterans, especially when they needed to work on seat-sharing for the assembly polls. With the DMK combine doing better than expected, the party felt that there would be increased pressure from now on, for more and favourable seats for allies, especially for the more visible city corporation mayoralties and municipal chairmen posts, when elections are held in the coming months. As Stalin had found from close quarters when late father M Karrunanidhi was at the helm, the Congress had delayed seat-share talks in Tamil Nadu almost till the last minute, and pressured the DMK to yield more than was its due, in the assembly polls of 2011 and 2016. Post-2016 polls, in which the alliance won 98 of 234 seats, with the Congress bagging only eight of 40, Karunanidhi went public that they would have formed the government if only they had not given away as many as 40 seats to the Congress ally. After the rural local bodies polls in 28 of the 37 districts, as directed by the Supreme Court, the DMK is also confident that they could bag the minority votes in the state without Congress help, and that the latter now needed them more than any time in the recent past -- than the other way round. The state Congress thinks otherwise, and some party leaders have reportedly calculated that their recent, three per cent vote-share that may have gone up to five in the LS polls last year, might have doubled, thanks to Article 370 abrogation, CAA and the poor state of the economy, for all of which it blames the BJP-NDA government at the Centre. Ahead of Alagiri meeting Stalin, Puducherrys Congress Chief Minister V Narayanaswamy called on the latter, indicating that the high command might have asked him to play peace-maker. His media statement that differences of the kind could be sorted out easily indicated as much. The DMK would now keep a closer watch on Alagiri and Ramasamy, both inside and outside the state assembly, to see any discordant note. The Stalin leadership may then press the panic button in ways the Congress high command takes notice, and repair the damage and for good. If it meant that there needs to be a change of leadership in the state Congress leadership, in time for the assembly polls, the DMK may not want to be seen as interfering in the internal affairs of an ally, but would only welcome the same. The TNCC leadership is not unaware of it. Between them, Alagiri is seen as the choice of former Union minister P Chidambaram, who had gained certain sympathy and voice across the country after what is perceived as unjustified extension of remand in Delhis Tihar jail, in cases filed by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate. CLP leader Ramasamy used to represent the Thirumaiyam assembly seat and is now MLA from Kattumannarkovil, both falling within the Sivaganga Lok Sabha constituency of the Chidamabarams, now represented by son Karthi. If the DMK alliance made Karthis victory possible last year, along with that of eight of the other nine Congress candidates in the 2019 LS polls, the Stalin leadership had convinced the cadres that their interests would be protected whenever the long-delayed local bodies polls were held. As the Congress high command was reportedly informed, in some districts where rural local body polls were held last month, the local Congress poll panels had reportedly surrendered the seats offered to them as part of seat-sharing at the district level. Sections of the state Congress say that they were offered seats that the alliance, leave alone the party, could not have won anyway. They also stick to the belief that the DMK would require the party votes, put now at around 10 per cent more, than the other way around. Even as the strains were seemingly dying down, AICC spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi has since added a new angle to the tale. Sources say that Singhvi was technically correct in claiming that the high command did not direct TNCCs Alagiri to meet Stalin (on this or any other issue). As they point out, the Sonia-Stalin leaderships wanted the issue to be treated at the local level, as an indication that the DMK is favourably disposed toward the Congress high command. Of course, there was the unsaid DMK message that for it all to remain that way, the AICC should direct the TNCC to work with and where needed under the DMK, as discordant notes of the recent kind could only strengthen the BJP-AIADMK rival in the state. N Sathiya Moorthy, veteran journalist and political analyst, is Distinguished Fellow and Head-Chennai Initiative, Observer Research Foundation. He can be contacted at sathiyam54@gmail.com. Burma Two Myanmar Constitution Amendment Bills Agreed by NLD, Ethnic Parties Thousands gather in Mandalay on July 21, 2019, to show their solidarity with the parliamentary Constitution Amendment Committee. / Zaw Zaw / The Irrawaddy YANGON Myanmars parliamentary committee tasked with proposing changes to the 2008 Constitution has finished drafting two amendment bills. Nearly 30 members from the National League for Democracy (NLD) and various ethnic parties on the committee approved the amendment bills on Monday. But all military representatives on the committee were absent from the meeting, said the committees secretary U Myat Nyana Soe, an Upper House lawmaker from the NLD. The Constitution Amendment Committee the mechanism that the NLD and ethnic parties chose for reforming the military-drafted Constitution was formed last February with 45 members from 14 political parties, independent representatives and members of the military bloc in Parliament. The NLD holds 18 seats on the committee, the military has eight and the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) was given two. The USDP, Arakan National Party and the National United Democratic Party quit the committee late last year. The military rejected the existence of the committee and its works as unconstitutional. Meanwhile, the military members submitted two amendment bills and three bills jointly with the USDP to the Parliament last year. U Myat Nyana Soe said the two new bills came from 11 months of discussion within the committee. He says he hopes the military will participate in the parliamentary discussions on the bills. The two bills will be forwarded to the speaker on Thursday. The first bill includes amendments that would be covered by Article 436(a), requiring approval by more than 75 percent of Parliament and over 50 percent support in a referendum. The second bill includes measures covered by Article 436 (b), requiring the approval of over 75 percent of Parliament but no referendum. The military was absent from the committee. Our stance is that we want to amend the Constitution, said Lower House lawmaker Lama Naw Aung of the Kachin State Peoples Party, who is on the committee. He added that he was satisfied with the committees step towards amending the Constitution. Yan Kyin Kan, a Lower House MP for the Kokang Democracy and Unity Party, endorsed the two bills. No countrys constitution is perfect the first time. We need to amend the charter to continue the countrys transition to democracy, he said. But the committee member said he feared the committees efforts to amend the Constitution depended on key players willingness to reform, referring to the militarys veto over constitutional change. The military members hold 25 percent of parliamentary seats and can prevent significant amendments. With contributions from Kyaw Myo in Naypyitaw British Prime Minister Boris Johnson touted the UK as an ideal business partner for Africa on Monday as the UK prepares for post-Brexit dealings with the world. But Britain faces tough challenges as it seeks to assert itself on a continent with several of the worlds fastest-growing economies and whose youthful 1.2 billion population is set to double by 2050. Far fewer of Africas 54 heads of state or government are attending the first U.K.-Africa Investment Summit than the dozens who attended the first Russia-Africa summit last year or the gatherings China regularly holds. The U.K.'s department for international trade says two-way trade with Africa in the year ending in the second quarter of 2019 was $46 billion. Meanwhile, Africas two-way trade with China, the continents top trading partner, was $208 billion in 2019. Johnson told delegates at the conference it was an event that is long overdue. He acknowledged that British officials and companies needed to work to convince African nations to do business with the U.K. We have no divine right to that business," he said. "This is a competitive world. You have may suitors." Britain is due to leave the European Union on Jan. 31, and Johnson said the U.K. would become a free-trading global Britain after Brexit. He pledged that the post-Brexit immigration system would "put people before passports," acknowledging a common frustration across Africa. Britain says 16 African leaders are attending Monday's summit in London, including the leaders of Nigeria, Congo, Kenya, Egypt, Ghana and Rwanda. Aside from the sluggishness of its top two economies, South Africa and Nigeria, Africa is showing economic momentum as the recently launched African Continental Free Trade Area gathers steam. Last year, economic growth slowed in all geographic areas except Africa, the United Nations reported last week in its annual World Economic Situation and Prospects 2020. The U.N. said GDP growth in Africa is projected to reach 3.2% in 2020 and 3.5% in 2021. And 25 African countries are projected to achieve economic growth of at least 5% this year. Kubota has unveiled a new futuristic concept tractor at a product exhibition recently held in Kyoto, Japan. The 'Dream Tractor', which also goes by the name of 'X tractor - cross tractor', was on display at an event to commemorate the 130th anniversary of the Japanese machinery giant. Equipped with the latest artificial intelligence and electrification technology, the tractor is completely autonomous. Kubota unveiled the concept model in anticipation of the full-scale introduction of smart farming, something which is 'continuously expected by farmers'. Key features of the concept tractor model include a fully unmanned operation driven by artificial intelligence. Based on various data such as weather data and growth rates, AI chooses the appropriate operation and makes actions timely, the Osaka-based company says. Full electrification of the tractor model helps achieve an environmentally-friendly farming operation. The tractor is based on 100 percent electric power by combination of lithium-ion batteries and solar batteries. The environmental data obtained by the model can then be automatically shared with other machines at site to realise centrally-managed efficient operation. Elsewhere, the four-wheeled crawler achieves stable autonomous driving even on wet paddies and uneven terrains. The crawler changes its shape to maintain the tractor height at the optimal level, thus performing in various processes. The in-wheel motor makes it possible to arbitrarily change the rotation speed of the four crawlers (front, rear, right, and left) to achieve a small turning radius for autonomous operation on various types of land. Kubota demonstrated the concept tractor at a product exhibition held in Kyoto on 15-16 January. Irelands High Court will hear Frances request to extradite Ian Bailey, a British man found guilty in absentia in a Paris court last year for the murder of television producer Sophie Toscan du Plantier in 1996, on February 10th. It is the third time French authorities have sought Mr Baileys surrender in relation to the death of Ms du Plantier. Lawyers for Mr Bailey told the High Court on Monday that they had finalised their points of objection to the proposed surrender Bailey maintains he has nothing to do with the murder of Toscan du Plantier, whose bludgeoned body was found outside a holiday home in a remote rural community in county Cork on 23 December 1996. Poor weather and a delayed investigation a coroner only arrived at the crime scene after 36 hours meant no material evidence could be gathered, and no murder weapon was ever found. Numerous testimonies and pieces of circumstantial evidence link Bailey with the murder, but Irish prosecutors have long held there is not enough evidence to press charges. Apart from occasional arrests on procedural grounds, Bailey continues to live freely in Ireland in the West Cork community where the murder took place more than 23 years ago. Found guilty in France A French criminal court decided in 2018 to proceed with a trial in absentia, and the British man was convicted of murder and sentenced to 25 years in prison in May last year. Irelands High Court has approved two previous extradition requests from France in 2010 and 2017, but Bailey has avoided extradition each time. Toscan du Plantiers family and their lawyers hope the ruling puts enough pressure on Irelands courts to see through an extradition. I ask simply that this man face a court of law, it doesnt matter if its in France, Ireland or elsewhere in Europe, Toscan du Plantiers son Pierre-Louis Baudey Vignau, who was 15 at the time of his mothers murder, told French radio RTL on Monday. What matters that he faces the elements that show that he assassinated my mother. RBI has notified that some State Governments have offered to sell securities by way of an auction, for an aggregate amount of Rs 9100 Cr. (Face Value). These include Andhra Pradesh (Rs 1000 crore for 14 years), Assam (Rs 500 crore for 10 years), Bihar (Rs 1000 crore for 10 years), Gujarat (Rs 1000 crore for 10 years), Himachal Pradesh (Rs 500 crore for 12 years), Karnataka (Rs 1000 crore for Re-issue), Maharashtra ( Rs 3000 crore for Re-issue), Puducherry (Rs 100 crore for 6 years). The auction will be conducted on the Reserve Bank of India Core Banking Solution (E-Kuber) system on January 21, 2020 (Tuesday). The Government Stock up to 10% of the notified amount of the sale of each stock will be allotted to eligible individuals and institutions subject to a maximum limit of 1% of its notified amount for a single bid per stock as per the Scheme for Non-competitive Bidding 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.) The news coming out of the Middle East is alarming for many of you, as such I thought it best to communicate with you directly to provide an update on Canadas missions in the region, and more importantly, the status and well-being of your family and friends deployed in Iraq and Kuwait and elsewhere in the Region. First and foremost, let me assure you that all necessary force protection measures that can be taken have been taken. The safety and security of Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel is my priority, as it is the priority of my senior leadership. Force protection measures continue to be considered, reassessed, and modified as required on a daily basis. In response to the events of late, the CAF , working in collaboration with our international partners, has temporarily paused our efforts in Iraq that fall under Operation IMPACT, and the NATO Mission Iraq (NMI). The situation in Iraq is complex and it is best to pause our work there in order to fully concentrate our attention and efforts towards the safety and security of our personnel while the situation develops. We have approximately 800 military members in the region, about 500 in Iraq, some of them are deployed on Operation IMPACT, and some with NMI two separate missions. Over the coming days, and as a result of Coalition and NATO planning, some of our people will be moved temporarily from Iraq to Kuwait. Simply put, we are doing this to ensure their safety and security. This also holds true of NMI . While this adjustment of our posture is underway, planned HLTA (leave) and rotation of people in and out of their tours will be interrupted. Despite the operational pause in Iraq, our mission in the Middle East carries-on with multiple other operations in the region. Naturally, the work we are doing on these missions, and the future of operations in Iraq, remain conditional on maintaining a sufficiently secure and productive operational environment. Over the coming days and weeks we, the leadership of the Canadian Armed Forces, will communicate with you again, and as often as necessary, to ensure that you are well informed about the status of your CAF loved-ones. Thank you for your continued support to those deployed in the service of Canada. Yours Sincerely, J.H Vance General Chief of the Defence Staff Major General Adel Al-Qumairi, of the Yemeni Armed Forces, visited the wounded on Sunday from a missile attack launched the previous day by Shiite rebels. The attack in Yemen hit an army camp, killing at least 25 troops, and wounded around 10 others. Officials said they expected the death toll to rise as burn victims were rushed to hospitals in Marib, about 115 kilometers (70 miles) east of the capital, Sanaa. Al-Qumairi blamed the strike on the country's Houthi rebels, who control most of the country's northwest, as authorities said fatalities had risen to at least 79 troops. Ballistic missiles smashed into a mosque in the training camp in the central province of Marib late Saturday, wounding 81 others during evening prayers, according to Abdu Abdullah Magli, spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces. The oil-rich province of Marib lies about 115 kilometers (70 miles) east of the Houthi-controlled capital, Sanaa. The city is a stronghold of the Saudi-led, U.S.-backed coalition. The missile strike was the bloodiest attack in Marib since the beginning of Yemen's long-running civil war, marking a military escalation in a rare spot of relative stability. The waning gibbous moon is seen above a C-5 Galaxy on the flightline at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Jan. 10, 2020. Frigid weather caused the nearby trees to be engulfed in frost as Airmen worked to maintain the transport aircraft. The C-5 enables the U.S. Air Force to provide heavy intercontinental-range strategic airlift capabilities, and is one of the largest aircraft in the world. (U.S. Air Force photo by Justin Connaher) X 0 20 Help Keep Us Soaring We need your help! Our subscription base has slowly been dwindling. We need your help in reversing that trend. We would like to add 20 new subscribers this month. Each month we count on your subscriptions or contributions. You can support us in the following ways: Zimbabwe could face increased load-shedding after critical coal mines that supply Hwange Thermal Power Station were flooded following heavy rains that pounded the area on Saturday. Hwange received heavy rains of up to 139mm in three hours on Saturday, which caused flash flooding, leaving 35 families in two suburbs Number 1 and Ciderella Village homeless. Energy and Power Development Minister Fortune Chasi last night tweeted: The weather has conspired against us. Hwange Power Station Coal Plant flooded. Power station now down to zero megawatts. 400MW lost. Zesa Working to recover. Coal miners said delayed payments totalling $100 million for power coal will slow the de-watering of the pits, while Zesa Holdings said poor quality power coal was damaging the station. Coal mines were flooded, said Coal Producers Association chairman Mr Raymond Mutokonyi in an interview yesterday, with his own Makomo Resources, the largest producer, the worst affected. Hwange Colliery, the second largest producer, said it will work to remove the flood inflows quickly. It is a disaster in terms of coal mining, as the pits are flooded, said Mr Mutokonyi. The situation is made worse by the fact that the de-watering process is expensive and most coal miners do not have money to undertake this mammoth exercise since the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) is not paying us for coal supplied. Coal miners are owed in excess of $100 million by ZPC as at January 10, 2020, but we have supplied more coal since then and the figure is now over $100 million. All mines are affected and we hope to start the process of de-watering on Monday (today). The flooding of coal mines recently significantly cut output at South Africas thermal power stations, resulting in the rolling out of power outages from November to December last year. There are a number of coal miners in Hwange, including Hwange Colliery Company Limited (HCCL), Makomo Resources and Zambezi Gas. Hwange Collierys corporate affairs manager Mrs Rugare Dhobbie said the mine had top-of-the-range equipment for de-watering. Makomo, which has become the countrys biggest coal miner after taking advantage of operational challenges affecting Hwange Colliery, said it had been hit hard by the flooding. The miner supplies most of the coal for electricity generation to ZPC, the power generation unit of Zesa Holdings. ZPC is understood to be struggling to pay for coal since cash flows have been affected by load-shedding, which has seen power consumption plunging. However, Zesa board chairman Dr Sydney Gata denied last Friday that coal miners were not getting their money. They are being paid, even for coal which is out of satisfaction, he said. They are being paid for the poor quality coal they are supplying, which damages equipment. I am meeting them (coal miners soon) to tell them that if they continue to supply rubbish coal, we will not pay. I will embarrass them. I was in Hwange yesterday (Thursday last week) and everyone is complaining about the quality of coal. Only Hwange can complain, not all those makorokozas. After being told that coal miners were complaining of being owed over $100 million, Dr Gata said he did not have the details. Mr Mutokonyi denied claims that the coal they supply to Hwange was of poor quality. There are quality control aspects that take place on both sides, he said. TAIPEI, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The disruptive SaaS platform FiO kicked off its ambitious 2020 roadmap this week in Taiwan. The company officially released its platform's alpha version at a Google Developers Group (GDG) meetup in Taichung, Taiwan, where a senior FiO engineer delivered a keynote speech, showcased the versatile blockchain-onboarding service in action and helped participants try it out. FiO's simple "blockchain tool" enables conventional companies to create tailored, non-technical blockchain applications, such as product provenance, online gaming, fitness tracking, and cross-platform loyalty rewards. On January 9th, 2020, FiO Senior Engineer Joe Huang delivered a keynote speech to Taichung's Google Developer Group (GDG), where he demonstrated the FiO alpha version, the convergence between blockchain and cloud services and shared insights on how to choose the right cloud service platform. Cloud service platforms have become a ubiquitous part of the digital economy over the last 5 years. Most features though are overly complex and hard to differentiate vis-a-vis, making it difficult for non-technical customers to review offerings on merit. Huang listed several key criteria to be assessed before choosing a solution, such as server locations, authority management, system maintenance, ease of access, synchronization accuracy, and more. Huang also touched on cloud companies that provide blockchain solutions, such as Google's GCP, Amazon's AWS, Alibaba's Alibaba Cloud and Microsoft Azure. He highlighted the converging relationship between blockchain technology and cloud services and the opportunities this present to specialist blockchain service providers like FiO. Huang finished by demonstrating how non-technical users could utilize FiO's blockchain tool without any programming knowledge, by using free Google cloud computing applications such as Google Sheets. After garnering significant buzz in 2019 from the blockchain industry, the event marks an important milestone for FiO as it's their first official alpha version release, a vital step in a dedicated testing process. Going forward, FiO will engage in rigorous further product testing and developer community feedback to provide users with a groundbreaking final product later in 2020. About GDG Taichung GDG Taichung is an independent Taiwanese Google Developers Group that helps the Google community connect and share their development expertise. Learn more: https://t.me/gdg_taichung About FiO FiO is a SaaS company that creates blockchain technology solutions for the mainstream market. Learn more: Website: www.FiO.one Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FiO.ONE2019 Telegram: t.me/FiOapp SOURCE FiO Related Links http://www.FiO.one Trump to meet EU chief, Iraqi president in Davos Washington, Jan 20 (AFP) Jan 20, 2020 US President Donald Trump will meet his Iraqi counterpart and the head of the European Union executive body during his visit to Davos in Switzerland this week, the White House said Monday. The meeting with President Barham Saleh will be the first between Trump and Iraqi officials since tensions erupted over the US killing of a top Iranian general and a senior pro-Iranian Iraqi commander in Baghdad. After calls in Iraq for the expulsion of thousands of US troops stationed there, Trump responded by threatening sanctions aimed at wrecking the country's economy. Trump, who arrives in Davos for the annual World Economic Forum get-together on Tuesday and leaves Wednesday, will also meet with European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen, the White House said. Their talks will come just after France and the United States agreed to extend negotiations on avoiding what could be a punishing trans-Atlantic trade war. Trump is also due to meet with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, Simonetta Sommaruga, the president of the Swiss Confederation, and Kurdish leader Nechirvan Barzani. The meetings will take place on the sidelines of the Davos conference, which this year is focusing heavily on climate emergency and social inequality. Shock jock Kyle Sandilands has referred to Meghan Markle's mother Doria Ragland as 'the black mum' and made sexual remarks about the Queen live on air. Hosts Kyle and Jackie O spoke with the Duchess of Sussex's estranged half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr, on KIIS FM on Monday morning. Another part of the interview had to be cut after Sandilands suggested women would 'spring their legs open' for Mr Markle due to his sister being a member of the Royal Family. Sandilands asked if Mr Markle would sleep with the 'red-headed bloody things with the stupid hats' - referring to Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie and the fascinators they wore to Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding in 2011. Scroll down for video KIIS FM was forced to edit its segment with Kyle and Jackie O (pictured) and Thomas Markle Jr after Sandilands called Meghan Markle's mother 'the black mum' The radio station cut out the word 'black' after Sandilands asked about Mr Markle's relationship with Meghans' mother Doria Ragland (pictured together) The radio host's comments about Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland, came after asking Mr Markle about the relationships between family members. A recording from the interview in which Sandilands asks about Ms Ragland can be heard - but the word 'black' has since been removed by the radio station. Another part of the interview has also since been deleted. 'You would have said 'hey have you seen that Meghan Markle? Well she's my sister. Boing! The legs spring open. It's amazing,' Sandilands said in the since deleted audio, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. Sandilands asked if Mr Markle would sleep with the 'red-headed bloody things with the stupid hats' - referring to Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie and the fascinators they wore to Prince William and Kate Middleton 's wedding in 2011 (pictured above) Following this, Mr Markle joked he was planning on calling The Queen to ask if he could move into Harry and Meghan's Frogmore Cottage to 'offer his services'. 'What do you mean? Sexually? To the Queen? That's a bit much,' Sandilands responded. 'What about one of those freckly cousins ... Eugenie or whatever its name was. Would you go there? You know, the freckly cousins, the red-headed bloody things with the stupid hats. Would you go there?' Mr Markle responded he would 'do anything for $100 an hour'. A spokesman for KIIS FM's owner, the Australian Radio Network, told the Sydney Morning Herald that interviews were often cut down to fit into a 'best of' package. 'This was a cheeky and irreverent interview in the style that regular listeners of the show are accustomed to. When listening to this interview within the context of the show, it is clear this is a light-hearted and inoffensive chat,' they said. Sandilands is no stranger to controversy. He was forced to apologise in September after saying the Virgin Mary was 'chock-a-blocked behind the camel shed'. Kyle offended thousands of listeners and attracted 150 formal complaints to media watchdog ACMA - by saying the Virgin Mary wasn't actually a virgin at all. Thomas Markle Jr (pictured) spoke out about his opinion on Meghan's decision to step down as senior members of the Royal Family saying he 'wishes her well' but doesn't support her 'disowning' her family 'I thought Mary was his [Jesus Christ's] girlfriend but apparently it was the mother,' he said. 'And the mother lied obviously and told everyone, 'Nah I got pregnant by a magical ghost'. Bulls**t.' Daily Mail Australia has contacted KIIS FM for comment. The Duchess of Sussex's brother spoke earlier of his opinion on Harry and Meghan's decision to move on from the Royal Family. Speaking to Sunrise on Monday, Mr Markle said while he 'wished her well' he was still hurt by Meghan's actions to 'disown' her family. 'She is my sister and I always loved her. We had a great upbringing, we had a pretty good childhood. It's like my father said, 'I don't recognise this person in my daughter anymore', and neither do I and the rest of the family,' Mr Markle said. During the interview, Sandilands made sexual remarks about The Queen to Mr Markle 'Obviously, I wish her well and the best in life, but on the other hand I don't believe in some of her actions as far as disowning her family and saying we don't exist when we've given her a great childhood and upbringing. But like I said, I do love her, she is my sister. 'I feel a bit betrayed being shoved off to the side like I don't exist like the rest of the family.' His comments came after the Duchess of Sussex announced earlier this month she and husband Prince Harry would be stepping down as senior members of the Royal Family. 'I think that's (royal title) probably one of the biggest achievements you can ever get in life and to be on that pedestal and that position is a major honour for anybody in the entire world,' Mr Markle said. 'It would just have to be a simple explanation that they want to live their lives the way they want to live it and I guess they wanna do it in private.' Mr Markle's comments come after the Duchess of Sussex announced earlier this month she and husband Prince Harry (pictured together) would be stepping down as senior members of the Royal Family Prince Harry appeared at what may be one of his final royal engagements in London on Monday, just hours after giving a heartfelt speech at the Ivy in Chelsea for Sentebale, the charity supporting young people affect by HIV and Aids that he founded in 2006. The 35-year-old said the royal couple had hoped to continue serving the Queen, the Commonwealth and his military associations, without any public funding. Insisting that the UK would always be his home, he maintained that his wife, Meghan, 'upholds the same values as I do' and was 'excited' and 'hopeful' about playing a full royal role after their wedding. But he said now 'there really was no other option' but to step back a decision which, he said, was 'not one I made lightly'. The duke paid a stirring tribute to his grandmother, calling her his 'commander-in-chief' and that he was 'incredibly grateful' to Her Majesty and the rest of his family for supporting him and Meghan. He said: 'Once Meghan and I were married, we were excited. We were hopeful and we were here to serve. For those reasons it brings me great sadness that it has come to this. 'The decision that I have made for my wife and I to step back is not one I made lightly. It was so many months of talks after so many years of challenges and I know I haven't always gotten it right but as far as this goes there really was no other option.' The Duke of Sussex was at a formal private dinner at the Ivy, in Chelsea, for vulnerable children's charity Sentebale, which founded in 2006, when he made the comments At least five demonstrators killed in Baghdad, Karbala, and Baqubah as security forces open fire. Iraqi protesters vowed to continue their escalation until demands for an independent prime minister and snap elections are met, as deadly violence surged in Baghdad and several key southern cities. Two protesters were killed in the capitals Tayaran Square in the early hours of Monday after security forces fired live ammunition and tear gas to disperse angry crowds, officials said. Another protester was killed in Baghdad later in the day. Two died after being struck by live rounds fired by security forces and the third after a tear gas canister pierced his neck, they said. Witnesses told Al Jazeera that Yusuf Sattar, a photojournalist and volunteer paramedic in his 20s, was among the dead. He was shot in the head by live-fire and died at the scene. Yusufs injury was quite severe. His head was visibly damaged and he was in critical condition, said Diaa, 34, an ambulance driver at the scene. He died right there. According to a statement by the National Union of Iraqi Journalists, Sattar was taking photos near Kilani Square when he was shot. Family members and protesters later gathered in central Baghdad to pay their respects at his funeral procession. A fourth protester was also killed in the southern city of Karbala after he was shot in the chest, witnesses and a police source told Al Jazeera. A video of the unidentified man showed him in an ambulance as a paramedic attempted to resuscitate him. The fifth demonstrator died in Baqubah, 50km (31 miles) to the northeast of Baghdad, but details of his death were not immediately available. In addition to the deaths, at least 100 others were wounded in the violence in Baghdad and Iraqs south, sources said. The Iraqi government did not confirm the number of deaths or injuries. A statement from the Baghdad Operations Command said 14 officers were wounded by a group of rock-throwing inciters of violence while trying to secure the entrance to Tahrir Square, the hub of the protest movement. Despite these actions, our forces continued to exercise restraint and follow up on the security duties assigned to them, said the statement. Until demands met The violence came as security forces tried to clear main highways and squares after protesters gathered to decry the governments lack of response to their demands. Last Monday, demonstrators gave the government a weeks deadline to respond to key demands, which included the appointment of an independent prime minister and holding snap elections under a new electoral law. As the deadline expired at midnight, protesters geared up for further escalations to express their anger. They sealed off main highways and roads inside and around the city, setting tyres on fire, turning back cars and putting up metal barriers to seal off central areas. We plan to keep going, cutting off more of the large highways and roads. Our aim is to bring the city to a complete standstill so the government responds to our demands, Hussein Hassaan, a 30-year-old protester near Baghdads Tayaran Square, told Al Jazeera. Weve managed to bring all movement on Mohamed Qassem highway to a complete stop and we will do the same across the whole city, he added. Haider Mohsen, 28, pledged to do the same. Well continue to protest until we have a new electoral law and until Parliament appoints an independent prime minister. We want someone who represents us, not the political parties in power, he said. In December, protesters demanding a complete overhaul of the political system rejected a move by the Iranian-backed Binaa parliamentary bloc to nominate Asaad al-Eidani, governor of the southern province of Basra, as the new prime minister. Demonstrators also publicly rejected other names that circulated as possible replacements. Escalations in the south Protests and roadblocks also continued on Monday throughout southern Iraq, including in the cities of Nasiriya, Basra, Najaf and Karbala where demonstrators burned tyres. In Nasiriya, protesters blocked the main highways linking the city to Baghdad in the north and Basra in the south, where Umm Qasr commodities port is located. Protesters said they aimed to bring operations at key ports, which receive vital imports including food, to a standstill. We wont allow any trucks from the ports to go any further from here, Alaa al-Rukaibi, a protester in Nasiriya, told Al Jazeera. We dont care if we starve. We dont care if they kill us. We are peaceful protesters and were here to stay. Our protest is open-ended. We will bring the whole country to a standstill if we have to until our demands are met, al-Rukaibi said. US-Iran tensions Protests across Iraq reignited this week after a temporary lull following spiralling regional tensions in the wake of the assassination of Irans elite Quds Force commander, General Qassem Soleimani, in an air strike ordered by US President Donald Trump on January 3. Protests began in early October in Baghdad and Iraqs mainly Shia-Muslim south when thousands of Iraqis took to the streets to call for a complete overhaul of the political elite and system, which they see as corrupt, sectarian, and denying Iraqis their basic rights. At least 470 protesters have been killed since the protests first erupted and 20,000 others have been injured. Rights groups have accused the security forces of using excessive force to crack down on the demonstrators. In November, embattled Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi stepped down in the wake of the protests, but he remains in office in a caretaker capacity as political parties have so far failed to agree on a new prime minister. LOLIWARE, the world's leading seaweed-based material technology company replacing plastics, announced the close of a $6MM financing round, led by prominent NY venture firm Hatzimemos / Libby. As part of this announcement the company added new leadership, a new board member and announced that demand for billions of LOLIWAREs Straw of the Future -- seaweed-based, biodegradable straws -- spans 68 countries across six continents. LOLIWARE will use the proceeds to meet global demand from Fortune 500 companies, scaling its first straws into the billions in 2020. LOLIWARE, co-founded by Chelsea Fawn Briganti, is focused on changing the way people think about single-use plastic. LOLIWAREs technology platform combines seaweed intelligence with cutting edge manufacturing techniques to create the plastic-free materials of the future. The LOLIWARE straw looks, feels and acts like plastic, but is made from 100% plant-based food-grade materials and is designed to disappear either through composting or natural processes. With a feel similar to plastic straws, the LOLIWARE Straw introduces an environmentally friendly solution to the global plastics problem without compromising the user experience or requiring a shift in consumer behavior. Unlike paper-based plastic-straw replacements, the LOLIWARE Straw can withstand over 18 hours of continuous use. The status quo - that single-use products should be built to last - is destroying our planet. Seaweed is a miracle replacement waiting for us, said Chelsea Fawn Briganti, LOLIWARE CEO. All across our blue planet, there is an incredible collection of massive aquatic forests, in some cases dwarfing land-based resources. They efficiently capture CO2, forming tremendous carbon sinks while growing up to three meters per day depending on the species, which is why a seaweed-based product has an environmental advantage vs. petroleum, corn, or tree-based products. Prior to starting LOLIWARE, Briganti contributed to breakthrough innovation teams for brands such as Coke, Pepsi, and Nestle, focused on industrial design and engineering, sustainable innovation, and smart materials. There's an inherent belief that there are always trade-offs with sustainable products when in actuality they can simply be better for people and better for the planet, said Oliver Libby, Managing Partner, Hatzimemos / Libby. LOLIWARE proves that aiming for high returns from high impact, socially responsible companies is not concessionary. Were investing in and co-building companies that we believe are good for people, the planet, and investors alike. Nishan Degnarain, an award-winning International Development Economist who chairs the LSE's Ocean Finance Initiative and was the former Chair of WEF's Global Ocean Agenda Council joins the LOLIWARE board said, I joined the board because LOLIWARE is dedicated to leading the blue carbon economy with the proliferation of seaweed kelp forests to support a post-plastic world. Degnarain advised Mauritius on its new Ministry of Ocean Economy, brokered the UN Declaration on Tuna Traceability, and was formerly at the UK's Prime Minister's Strategy Unit. He is the author of the book Soul of the Sea in the Age of the Algorithm. About LOLIWARE LOLIWARE has pioneered the world's leading seaweed technology to replace single-use plastics. LOLIWARE's products harness LIST (LOLIWARE Intelligent Seaweed Technologies) to create single-use items designed to disappear. The companys headquarters are in New York. In 2019, the company launched LOLIWAREs Straw - The Straw of the Future - to replace the 360 billion plastic straws used annually worldwide that contaminate our oceans and harm marine life. The company is venture-backed by Closed Loop Ventures, Hatzimemos/Libby, Mark Cuban, and NY State Venture Fund. http://www.loliware.com Contact: hello@loliware.com or cristina.dunning@sparkpr.com Wetherspoons is celebrating Brexit by knocking 60p off the price of 10 European drinks from January 31. The 'Let's stay friends' offer will see the cost of drinks from countries such as Germany, France, Spain, Poland, Holland and Ireland go down. From 'Brexit day' to February 29, pub-goers will get money off Estrella, from Spain, Beck's, from Germany, Peroni, from Italy, Grey Goose Vodka, from France, and Jameson Irish Whiskey. The promotion will run across the chain's 870 pubs, with owner Tim Martin determined that we should 'remain friends with our European neighbours despite his ardent campaign for Brexit during the 2016 referendum. Customers will be able to buy a bottle of Beck's for 1.49, a bottle of Peroni at 1.99, Grey Goose Vodka (25ml and mixer) for 2.99, and a pint of English beer Ruddles for 1.49 at 700 Wetherspoon pubs, but prices may vary at certain branches. Wetherspoons is celebrating Brexit by knocking 60p off the price of 10 European drinks from January 31 as part of its 'Let's stay friends' offer Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin said: 'Many of our customers are keen to celebrate Brexit. 'At the same time we want to remain friends with our European neighbours and offer a range of drinks at an excellent price. 'In my opinion, there has been far too much political posturing in negotiations between the UK and the EU up until now. 'The UK should aim to treat all countries of the world equally by eliminating current protectionist tariffs on nearly 13,000 non-EU imports, which cause every person, and most businesses in the UK, to pay artificially high prices for everyday goods, including rice, oranges, wine and children's clothing and shoes. 'The EU and UK need to understand that tariffs and protectionism are counter-productive. From 'Brexit day' to February 29, pub-goers will get money off Estrella, from Spain, Beck's, from Germany, Peroni, from Italy, Grey Goose Vodka, from France, and Jameson Irish Whiskey 'UK consumers will shun EU goods if tariffs are imposed on UK exports - as EU consumers might do if the roles were reversed. 'It is therefore pointless for one side to threaten the other with tariffs. 'The public and businesses will be the ultimate decision-makers through their purchasing choices. 'Let's stay friends and enjoy free trade, but take account of the economic reality. 'Consumers hold the whip hand in these negotiations, not governments.' Mr Martin published pro-Brexit slogans on beer mats across hundreds of Wetherspoon pubs during the 2016 referendum campaign. He also promised to take champagne and prosecco off the menu, replacing them with non-European or English sparkling wines. Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has once again sent mixed messages to the West, reiterating that the reductions in Tehran's obligations under the 2015 nuclear deal are reversible but indirectly threatening Europe. Rouhani on January 15 called on Western forces to leave the Middle East and warned that "the Middle East could become unsafe for European soldiers in the same way it is insecure for U.S. troops." Rouhani made the statement one day after the three European parties to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) resorted to a dispute settlement mechanism in the agreement to save the collapsing nuclear deal. The Guardian wrote on January 14 that UK, France and Germany have started "a process that could lead to United Nations sanctions being re-imposed on Iran." The Guardian added that the measure could lead to the collapse of the JCPOA after triggering the deals dispute resolution mechanism, also called the Trigger Mechanism. Based on article 37 of the JCPOA, in the worst-case scenario, Iran's case could be then handed over to the UN Security Council which might reactivate all of the sanctions it temporarily lifted after the 2015 agreement. The trigger mechanism can be activated if any one of the three European signatories of JCPOA (the United Kingdom, Germany, and France) decides that Iran has violated the agreement. In that case, the matter will be handed over to the UN Security Council within 65 days and the body could order a swift return of all international sanctions against Tehran. The paper quoted European officials, however, that the move was taken "more in sorrow than anger" while expressing concern over the fact that "Iran might be less than a year away from possessing the capacity to develop a nuclear bomb." This is a concern shared by the United States and its President Donald Trump who has raised the issue several times during the past years while stressing that Washington will make sure that Iran will not be capable of developing a nuclear bomb. Reports on January 15 quoted the Israeli army estimates that said "The Islamic Republic of Iran will be capable of producing enough fissile material to make a nuclear bomb by the end of 2020 and a missile capable of carrying a nuclear bomb within the next two years." Trump has also voiced concern about Iran's ballistic missile development program and its regional ambitions many times particularly after May 2018 when he left the JCPOA and imposed more sanctions on Iran while also re-imposing previous sanctions that had been lifted after the 2015 deal. Yet another concern Trump has raised about the Iran nuclear deal relates to Irans ability to buy and sell weapons. Iran will be able to purchase weapons to boost the power of its arsenal starting from 2021. In October 2021 on the fifth anniversary of the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA) so-called Adoption Day, an international embargo on military-related transfers to and from Iran will end. Before this happens, Washington can take action to extend the UN-based arms embargo, as well as reinforce its policy of sanctioning Iranian arms transfers. Rouhani said on Wednesday he has told two European heads of state that Europe and the United States should return to their initial commitments in the JCPOA. He said he has told the European leaders that Iran's reduction of its obligations is reversible, and its nuclear activities are being inspected by the UN nuclear watchdog IAEA. Without naming the European leaders he has spoken to, Rouhani said he has told them allegations about Iran being after nuclear weapons are baseless. Calling Boris Johnson "this Prime Minister gentleman in London," Rouhani said: "He said let us set aside the JCPOA and have a Trump Deal. What has Trump done other than breaking promises?" Meanwhile, Rouhani warned European leaders that "the Middle East could become unsafe for European soldiers in the same way it is insecure for U.S. troops if you take the wrong step." He also accused Europe of fearing the United States and being powerless before it. "What were you able to do after the U.S. withdrawal from the climate deal, NATO, Human Rights Council and UNESCO?" Rouhani also made a subtle threat calling for the withdrawal of Western forces from the Middle East. "We want you to leave the region without war. Leave wisely and this is in your interest. Take a path that would be in the interest of the world and the region," he said. FLINT, MI -- Halo Burger has been around the Flint area for 97 years -- long enough that the locals know all about it. But the companys marketing director explained it all from scratch when she appeared on the QSRweb podcast, a national production that focuses on quick service restaurants across the country. A lot of our menu and innovation is centered around being a Michigan-first brand ..., Halo Marketing Director Olivia Ross said on the podcast. "Were fiercely committed to quality and a menu that you would be proud to serve your family and your grandmother ... (The company is) a pillar of Flint, Michigan. We intend to remain that for the rest of time, Ross said. Halo Burger was founded in Flint in 1923 as Kewpee Hotel Hamburgers and was taken over by Bill Thomas in the late 1960s, according to Flint Journal files. Thomas turned the restaurant chain into Halo Burger -- as it is still known around Flint and Genesee County today. In 2010, Thomas sold the business to Dortch Enterprises, which sold to Halo Country LLC in 2016. Ross said Halo Burger currently has eight fixed locations, down from 15 when the sale took place. Halo Country, she said, has focused on returning to the companys roots and focusing first on quality. Shelly Whitehead, the podcast host, said in an email to MLive-The Flint Journal that she was familiar with Halo Burger and featured the brand because she thought they exemplified a quick-service success story, as well as the kind of out-of-the-box thinking that makes a brand well-loved by its community and customers. We have so many restaurant leaders that read our site daily to learn what other brands and brand leaders are doing, I thought this would be a hit with our audience. I just wish I could get to Flint to try those Boston Coolers because they sound delicious, Whiteheads email says. In this photo which chronicles a significant moment in Black history, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., right, looks out the window of a police car as he and other sit-in demonstrators are taken to jail, on Oct. 19, 1960, in Atlanta. Driver of the car is Atlanta Police Capt. R.E. Little. King was among 52 African-Americans arrested following demonstrations at several department and variety stores protesting lunch counter segregation. (AP) Directed by Greta Gerwig; written by Gerwig, based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott Little Women, directed by Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird), is the latest and a generally conscientious film adaptation of Louisa May Alcotts novel of the same title about four sisters and their parents during the Civil War era, the first part of which was published in 1868. There have now been seven films based on the deservedly beloved book (including versions directed by George Cukor, Mervyn LeRoy and Gillian Armstrong, featuringamong othersKatharine Hepburn, Joan Bennett, June Allyson, Elizabeth Taylor, Janet Leigh, Winona Ryder and Kirsten Dunst), and it has been serialized on television at least half a dozen more times. There also have been stage, opera and musical adaptations. Little Women was immediately popular and has never gone out of print, although Alcott by all accounts rather grudgingly wrote her book for girls, a genre she described as moral pap. Her work has been translated into more than 50 languages. Little Women The film and novel are principally set in Concord, Massachusetts, now a Boston suburb. In the mid-19th century, Concord, the site of the opening shots of the American Revolutionary War, was home to an illustrious group of writers and thinkers, including, at one point or another, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry David Thoreau, Margaret Fuller and Alcott herself. Other nearby residents and contemporaries included Herman Melville, Emily Dickinson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes, James Russell Lowell and Horace Mann. Alcott lived in Concord as a child, and later as a young woman. Her father, the transcendentalist Bronson Alcott, a complicated, often frustrated man, was a pioneer in progressive education and a fervent Abolitionist. Emerson, Thoreau, Fuller and Julia Ward Howe were all family friends and occasionally Louisas instructors. The Alcott family had little money and moved frequently, 22 times in 30 years. Louisa was the second of four daughters. Little Women is a fictional, somewhat idealized portrait of her family and life in Concord. Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy, and their mother, Margaret (or Marmee) March, are trying to make do while the girls father, Robert, is off with Union Army as a chaplain. The family is poor, although they have one wealthy relative, the irascible Aunt March. Jo (short for Josephine) is tomboyish and wild, Meg beautiful and primarily interested in domestic bliss, Beth kind and gentle, while Amy aspires to be a painter and tends to act selfishly, impulsively. Their relationships and exchanges make up the bulk of the novel and many of its more realistic, enduring moments. Eliza Scanlen in Little Women Gerwig has created a framework for her film version. Her Little Women begins in 1868 in New York City, with Jo March (Saoirse Ronan), now a teacher, endeavoring to get a story published by Mr. Dashwood (Tracy Letts), an editor of sensational material. After a few other sequences set in 1868, including one involving Jos youngest sister, Amy (Florence Pugh), on a trip to Paris with her great-aunt where she meets a childhood friend, Laurie (Timothee Chalamet), who is drinking too much and generally misbehaving after being rejected by Jo, the film returns seven years in time, to 1861. Gerwig includes in her film a number of the novels well-known episodes. One of the opening sequences takes place on Christmas Day. Mrs. March (Laura Dern) asks her daughters, assembled at the breakfast table anticipating a rare feast, to give up their meal to a poor, German immigrant family that lives nearby. They agree, pay a visit to the family, and are eventually rewarded when a rich neighbor, Mr. Laurence (Chris Cooper), Lauries grandfather, provides them with an even greater repast. After Amy is not allowed one evening to attend the theater with Jo and Laurie, she burns her elder sisters writings, an apparently unforgiveable act. The following day, Amy, desperate to make amends, falls through the ice on a pond chasing after her sister and Laurie, and they are forced to act quickly to save her life. Florence Pugh in Little Women Mr. March (Bob Odenkirk) falls ill in Washington, D.C., and to help her mother finance a trip there, Jo cuts off her abundant hair (a chestnut mane in the novel) and sells it to a barber for $25. She assumes an indifferent air in front of her assembled family, but later, in a sweet and authentic moment, relapses into more reasonable adolescent girl behavior, as the book has it: My... My hair! burst out poor Jo, trying vainly to smother her emotion in the pillow. Mr. Laurence, having lost a daughter, makes available to Beth, who loves music, the piano in his large house. She has the happiest moments of her life playing the instrument. The goodhearted girl continues to visit the impoverished family on her own, while her sisters only make excuses, and falls ill from scarlet fever as a result (based on the illness and death of Alcotts sister Lizzie, who contracted the disease while visiting a German family). Sadly, the fever eventually kills her. Laurie asks Jo to marry him, but she refuses him, arguing that their temperaments are too much alike and theyd only fight and make each other miserable. On a trip to Europe with his grandfather, Laurie encounters Amy and eventually falls in love with her. At first reluctant about accepting Jos castoff (Ive been second to Jo my entire life) and seemingly determined to marry an even richer man she doesnt love, Amy comes around to recognizing Lauries qualities. Jo stands apart from convention about marriage, declaring that Love is not all a womans good for, but also admits to being terribly lonely. In New York, she develops feelings for a German professor, Friedrich Bhaer (Louis Garrel), who returns her affections, but dares to criticize some of the stories shes had published as trivial and unworthy of her. They reconcile at her parents home in Concord. As her editor Mr. Dashwood insists, the central female character must either die or marry. This Little Women is generally appealing and often moving. It draws most of that strength from the original, but Gerwig has worked conscientiously to bring out the novels qualities. Saoirse Ronan is fine as Jo, although it seems a little ironic for a director presumably disdainful of objectifying women and measuring people in general by their looks to have chosen such an ultimately glamorous pairing as Ronan and Garrel, the well-known French actor (and director). Jo in Alcotts novel is very tall, thin, and brown, and reminded one of a colt, with her long, thick hair her one beauty, while Bhaer is older, and in Jos own words, rather stout and hasnt a really handsome feature in his face, other than the kindest eyes I ever saw. Hollywood will unfailingly be Hollywood. Saoirse Ronan and Timothee Chalamet in Little Women Timothee Chalamet is convincing and appealing as the initially dilettantish Laurie, who threatens to become dissolute but eventually finds his moral and emotional way, while the most remarkable performance is given by Florence Pugh as Amy. Pugh, who was memorable in Lady Macbeth (2016), continues to demonstrate a ferocity and intelligence that makes a strong impression. To her credit, and to ones pleasant surprise, Gerwig does not attempt to inject contemporary identity politics into her film, at least not overly so. The framing device of Jos dealings with her publisher lends itself a little to some of that, but it is kept to a respectable minimum. In general, Gerwig respects Alcotts tone and intentions. Little Women occupies an unusual place in literary history. As mentioned above, Alcott thought it a relatively lightweight affair (I plod away, she confided in her diary, although I dont enjoy this sort of thing), as did her real-life publisher. Although it is life idealized, rounded off, occasionally sentimentalized, the novel appealed to readers, young and not so young, at the time of its publication for its relatively unadorned and natural portrait of everyday existence, in opposition to much of the saccharine contemporary treatment of womens and childrens lives in particular. Its moralizing is subordinate, in the final analysis, to its realism. The books honesty and unpretentiousness are disarming. This description of Jo at her literary efforts presumably bears some relationship to Alcotts own experience and self-image: She did not think herself a genius by any means, but when the writing fit came on, she gave herself up to it with entire abandon, and led a blissful life, unconscious of want, care, or bad weather, while she sat safe and happy in an imaginary world, full of friends almost as real and dear to her as any in the flesh. Sleep forsook her eyes, meals stood untasted, day and night were all too short to enjoy the happiness which blessed her only at such times, and made these hours worth living, even if they bore no other fruit. The divine afflatus usually lasted a week or two, and then she emerged from her vortex, hungry, sleepy, cross, or despondent. Alcott had the undoubted advantage of her education and intellectual surroundings. Her dialogue is often witty, engaging and precise, no doubt in part the result of having overheard some extraordinary people in conversation. Literary critic Van Wyck Brooks noted Alcotts life spanned all the great days of Concord. He pointed out that she had built her first play-houses with diaries and dictionaries and had learned to use them both at four and five. Later, she browsed in Emersons library, where she read Shakespeare, Dante, Carlyle and Goethe. She had roamed the fields with Thoreau, studying the birds and flowers. When, Brooks observed, she made a battering-ram of her head, to force her way in the world and earn her living, she ignored the conventional notions that governed her sex. As for Little Women, he commented, it was the authors high spirits that captivated the world in this charming book. No doubt, but there is more to the novels continuing impact than that. The intellectual conditions of Alcotts life themselves were bound up with great changes in society in the build-up to the second American revolution, the Civil War. As noted, Alcott and her family were fervent Abolitionists. Bronson Alcott was a friend of William Lloyd Garrison and participated in rallies against the return of slaves to their owners. In one instance, during the trial of one such unfortunate in 1854, Alcott joined the storming of a Boston courthouse. The Alcott family house was a station on the Underground Railway, sheltering fleeing slaves. Louisa May Alcott Louisa May Alcott volunteered to be a nurse in the Civil War in 1862 on or near her 30th birthday, when a single woman became eligible for such service. I want to do something, she wrote, for the Union cause. For six weeks in December 1862 and January 1863, Alcott served at the Union Hotel Hospital in Georgetown in the District of Columbia. On her third day there, the casualties from the disastrous Battle of Fredericksburg began to arrive, as she writes in her remarkable Hospital Sketches (1863), on stretchers, each with its legless, armless, or desperately wounded occupant. Alcott tended to the sick and wounded, washing faces, serving rations, giving medicine, and sitting in a very hard chair, with pneumonia on one side, diphtheria on the other, five typhoids on the opposite, until she herself contracted typhoid pneumonia. Her father came and took her back to Concord, by which time she had fallen into delirium. She eventually recovered, but the war experience, along with the relationships she developed with African Americans in Washington (she shocked certain colleagues by treating the blacks as I did the whites), had life-altering effects. In an interesting 2015 article devoted to Alcotts war service, John Matteson of CUNY John Jay College argues that no life experience transformed her writing more profoundly than her stint as a Civil War nurse. Matteson comments that Alcott was no stranger to harrowing experiences, including her familys grinding poverty and her much-loved sisters death. She had even contemplated suicide in her mid-20s. Nevertheless, Matteson writes, her experience of war exposed her as nothing had yet done to the farthest limits of human struggle and endurance. Little Women can be categorized, and criticized, in a number of ways. There seems little question, however, but that when Alcott came to take up her book for girls, about the apparently most mundane details of life, she brought to it some of the intensity and life-and-death urgency of the epoch, which is one of the reasons it still holds interest. Two groups of students clashed near Dinhata College in West Bengal's Coochbehar district on Monday, leaving one of them injured, police said. The Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad (TMCP) alleged that "rowdies patronised by the BJP" attacked its activists near the college gate, leaving one student injured while RSS- affiliate ABVP dismissed the charges and termed the incident as "factional feud" of the TMCP's college unit. The injured student has been admitted to a hospital, an officer of Dinhata police station said. A college spokesperson said there was a report of "disturbances and scuffle between two groups of students outside the college campus" during the day but the authorities do not have further information. "As there is no support for ABVP in colleges across West Bengal, the BJP is desperate and trying to create terror and panic to help ABVP spread its base. We will not let that happen," TMCP state president Trinankur Bhattacharya told PTI. Dismissing the allegations, ABVP national secretary Saptarshi Sarkar said, "Everyone saw that both the factions of the students were holding TMCP flags during the clash." He alleged that the clash was a fallout of TMCP's bid to control the students' union fund in the college. "Similar incidents are taking place in higher educational institutions across the state wherever TMCP is in power. They will be rejected by students," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The St. Johns County Commission will proclaim January 2020 as St. Johns County Jewish History Month at its regularly scheduled meeting, 9 a.m. Jan. 21, in the County Commission Chambers, 500 San Sebastian View, St. Augustine 32084. The Proclamation is being made at the request of the St. Augustine Jewish Historical Society. The proclamation presentation is open to the public at no charge, all are welcome, no advance arrangements need be made. Florida Jewish History Month has been observed since 2003, when Governor Jeb Bush signed a bill declaring the statewide observance. Florida is the first state in the nation to have a month dedicated to the tremendous contributions of Jews to the growth of the Sunshine State. Artist Romero Britto created the official logo for the Florida Jewish Heritage Month. The St. Augustine Jewish Historical Society urges the Jews of St. Johns and surrounding counties to join them to receive the special proclamation from the St. Johns County Board of Commissioners. Best directions are available at 904-209-0300. Further information is available at 804-914-4460. Houston Rapper, Z-Ro celebrated his 43rd birthday in spectacular fashion Sunday night with luminaries of Houston's rap royalty at Houstons House of Blues. Joining him to kick off the H-town fete were Paul Wall, Slim Thug, Johnny Dang, Judge George Powell, J. Prince and Big Angry Charles Adams. Paul Wall and Slim Thug helped host the bash which drew some of Houstons most notable celebs. God wants us to flourish. In fact, he delights in our flourishing. Life isn't always fun, but in Christ it can always be fruitful. In her brand new book Chasing Vines: Finding Your Way to an Immensely Fruitful Life, which releases on February 4 via Baker Books, Beth Moore shows us from Scripture how all of life's concerns-the delights and the trials-matter to God. He uses all of it to help us flourish and be fruitful. Nothing is for nothing. Looking through the lens of Christ's transforming teaching on the vine and branches in John 15, Beth gives us a panoramic view of biblical teachings on the vine, vineyards, vine dressing, and fruitfulness. Join Beth on a journey of vine chasing all over the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, to discover why fruitfulness is so important to God-and how He can use anything that happens to us for His glory and for our flourishing. Know this: Your life matters, and it can be immensely fruitful. Let's start chasing some vines. Moore is a dynamic teacher whose conferences take her across the globe. Beth founded Living Proof Ministries in 1994 with the purpose of encouraging women to know and love Jesus through the study of Scripture. She has written numerous bestselling books and Bible studies, including Breaking Free, Believing God, Entrusted, and The Quest, which have been read by women of all ages, races, and denominations. Another recent addition includes her first work of fiction, The Undoing of Saint Silvanus. Beth recently celebrated twenty years of Living Proof Live conferences. She can be seen teaching Bible studies on the television program Living Proof with Beth Moore, aired on the Trinity Broadcasting Network. She and her husband of forty years reside in Houston, Texas. She is a dedicated wife, the mother of two adult daughters, and the grandmother of three delightful grandchildren.Beth Moore is a dynamic teacher whose conferences take her across the globe. Beth founded Living Proof Ministries in 1994 with the purpose of encouraging women to know and love Jesus through the study of Scripture. She has written numerous bestselling books and Bible studies, including Breaking Free, Believing God, Entrusted, and The Quest, which have been read by women of all ages, races, and denominations. Another recent addition includes her first work of fiction, The Undoing of Saint Silvanus. Beth recently celebrated twenty years of Living Proof Live conferences. She can be seen teaching Bible studies on the television program Living Proof with Beth Moore, aired on the Trinity Broadcasting Network. She and her husband of forty years reside in Houston, Texas. She is a dedicated wife, the mother of two adult daughters, and the grandmother of three delightful grandchildren. Tags : beth moore beth moore new book tyndale books Chasing Vines: Finding Your Way to an Immensely Fruitful Life She's out of the jungle, and Nikki Osborne isn't holding anything back after her eviction from I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! on Sunday. In an interview with News.com.au on Monday, the 38-year-old comedian described her time in the South African jungle as 'two weeks from hell'. And she also spoke disparagingly of her former co-stars, accusing them of 'trying to find their moment to create something to go to air'. Revealing all: She's out of the jungle, and Nikki Osborne (pictured) isn't holding anything back after her eviction from I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! on Sunday 'There were far more experienced reality TV starlets than myself, so I felt slightly stifled by the bigger personalities in the camp,' she confessed. Nikki cited Charlotte Crosby as an example, describing the 29-year-old as 'a professional reality TV star'. She added that it was 'very hard to get a word in' whenever the former Geordie Shore star was around. Looking for fame: In an interview with News.com.au on Monday, Nikki accused her former co-stars of 'trying to find their moment to create something to go to air' 'You'll see that someone starts having a deep and meaningful conversation in the corner and the cameras all turn,' Nikki added. 'And you see a lot of people race over because they want to be a part of that deep and meaningful.' But she confessed the biggest obstacle she had to overcome was boredom, claiming she did 'nothing' for 17 out of the 18 days she was on the show. Competing for the spotlight: She added that it was 'very hard to get a word in' whenever Charlotte Crosby was around On top of that, Nikki said she was 'starving', and admitted she would have happily drunk a 'monkey d**k in a smoothie'. Despite her 'horrendous' experience though, Nikki said she had absolutely no regrets following her appearance on the Network 10 reality series. 'Show aside, I've had the most spectacular experience in South Africa,' she wrote on Instagram following her appearance. A Chinese government health expert has confirmed that the Wuhan coronavirus, which is rapidly spreading across China and to neighboring countries, is capable of being transmitted between human beings. "We have now confirmed that human-to-human transmission is happening," Zhong Nanshan of China's National Health Commission told journalists on Monday. "This has happened in two places: in Guangdong [province] and in Wuhan." Zhong, an expert in respiratory illnesses, said two people in the southern province of Guangdong had caught the virus from family members, according to a video clip broadcast by state-run CCTV. "We have also confirmed that healthcare workers have been infected ...14 healthcare workers who were involved in various forms of care of patients with the novel coronavirus (nCoV) have now been infected with it." Zhong's announcement came as dozens of new cases of the Wuhan coronavirus were confirmed across China and in neighboring countries as the Lunar New Year travel rushwhich sees hundreds of millions take to planes, trains and automobiles to make it home by the evening of Jan. 24got under way. A video clip shot by a bystander inside a Wuhan hospital showed healthcare workers in full protective gear standing around a patient's bed. "[Surely] it's not such a big deal ... it's pretty scary," comments someone, clearly audible on the soundtrack of the clip. Passengers from China screened While the majority of cases are still being traced to Wuhan, cases of nCoV have been confirmed in Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong, where the authorities are screening anyone coming in from China in a bid to identify potential cases and isolate them. Staff in Hong Kong's West Kowloon High-Speed Rail Terminus were wearing surgical masks, and recorded public messages played over and over on the tannoy. "This is an appeal from the Hong Kong department of health," the announcement said. "In response to the recent pneumonia outbreak in Wuhan, Hubei province, tourists should avoid visiting ... markets and maintain good personal hygiene at all times." A Hongkonger who gave only a nickname Sammi was also wearing a surgical mask, in preparation for a trip to visit relatives in the southeastern province of Fujian. She said it's impossible to know whether the authorities are covering up the true extent of the epidemic, however. "We can't tell whether the government is giving us true or false information," Sammi said. "The numbers could be much bigger than [they are saying] and there could be far more cases in the hospitals." Stepped-up surveillance Food and health secretary Sophia Chan told a news conference that the authorities are stepping up surveillance of suspected cases coming from mainland China, and requiring travelers from Wuhan to fill out health declaration forms. "The department of health will further expand the scope of monitoring to cover anyone who has visited Hubei, and will continue to monitor all people who have visited mainland hospitals," Chan said. "A passenger health declaration system will be implemented for round-trip flights to Wuhan, requiring all passengers arriving from Wuhan by air to fill out and submit health declaration forms," she said. "We will also be implementing various strategies for the containment of infectious diseases, and cooperating with the department of health to report, isolate, and test at an early stage," Chan said. South Korean media reported on Monday that the country had its first confirmed case of nCoV, a 35-year-old woman from Wuhan who arrived at Incheon International Airport on Sunday aboard a Southern Airlines flight. She was placed in isolation after presenting with a high fever, and was confirmed to be infected with nCoV the following day. Airports around the world are stepping up preventive measures, including in Taiwan, Canada, and the United States. Cases top 200 The number of confirmed cases has topped 200, prompting Chinese president Xi Jinping to call on all government departments to take the outbreak seriously. The recent outbreak of novel coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan and other places must be taken seriously," Xi said in comments broadcast by CCTV. "Party committees, governments and relevant departments at all levels should put people's lives and health first." In Wuhan, an additional 136 cases have been confirmed in the city, raising the total to 198. Three people have died so far. Meanwhile, a spokesman for the China CDC in Beijing said that the virus has an 80 percent similarity with the coronavirus responsible for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which killed hundreds of people in 2002-2003, but is a separate virus with a different genetic sequence. Hong Kong's South China Morning Post newspaper reported suspected cases in Shanghai and Shenzhen, with at least two suspected cases in isolation at the Shenzhen No. 3 People's' Hospital. Reported by Man Hoi-tsan, Wong Lok-to, Lau Siu-fung and Lu Xi for RFA's Mandarin and Cantonese Services. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. New Delhi, Jan 20 : Karti Chidambaram, son of former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, here on Monday, appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning as summoned in connection with alleged violation of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in the INX media case. An ED official said Karti was summoned following new developments regarding his association with shell companies that received the siphoned off payments and invested that in properties abroad. During the custodial interrogation of Chidambaram, the agency unearthed new evidence and thus Karti, the main accused in the case, was questioned, said the official. Earlier this year, Karti, a Lok Sabha member from Tamil Nadu's Sivaganga, had skipped ED summons citing his preoccupation with Pongal festival. Chidambaram, arrested on August 21 by the CBI and later by the ED, had spent 106 days in the custody. The ED and the CBI are probing how Karti managed clearance for INX Media from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) in 2007 when his father was a Minister. According to the probe, INX Media directors Peter and Indrani Mukerjea had met Chidambaram to prevent any hold-up or delay in the FIPB approval. Karti was arrested on February 28, 2018, by the CBI for allegedly accepting money to facilitate the FIPB clearance. He was later granted bail. The ED registered a PMLA case based on a CBI FIR and alleged irregularities in the FIPB clearance to INX Media for receiving Rs 305 crore overseas funds in 2007. The agency has said the money received by associated entities was channelled back into the ASCPL. The ED has attached Rs 54 crore properties of Karti and a firm in the case. It has also attached Mukerjeas' properties in the case. On Monday, he is expected to join seven of his 2020 Democratic rivals in a King Day rally at the state Capitol, an annual event that began 20 years ago and has become practically mandatory for Democratic presidential candidates during election years as they try to win over black voters. Other candidates also attended church services here in Columbia on Sunday morning. The only African-American candidate remaining in the race, Deval Patrick, the former Massachusetts governor, was offering remarks at nearby Bethel African Methodist Episcopal. Both men were expected to attend a breakfast sponsored by the Urban League on Monday morning. Campaigning on Sunday in Tulsa, Okla., the site of what is regarded as the single worst massacre of black citizens by their white counterparts in history, Michael R. Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor, recalled the slaughter of hundreds of African-Americans by white mobs in that city as well as in East St. Louis, Ill.; Elaine, Ark.; and Rosewood, Fla. In just that short period, from 1917 to 1923, more than 1,000 black Americans were killed by white mobs in cities and towns all across the country, said Mr. Bloomberg, one of the few candidates who were not scheduled to appear this weekend in South Carolina as he pursues an unusual campaign strategy with a national focus. But the truth is: What happened during that period was part of a continuum of violence that black Americans faced even after the end of slavery violence that denied them their lives, their liberty and their pursuit of happiness. In South Carolina, Mr. Biden attended an oyster roast later in the day. A busload of surrogate campaigners had arrived earlier this past week, crisscrossing the state on a bus in what was called his Soul of the Nation Tour. Tata Consultancy Services or TCS, the Indian tech services giant, is going to hire around 39,000 fresh graduates in FY21, says Global HR Chief Milind Lakkad. This is about 30 per cent more than the number of employees hired in the current financial year. TCS inducted 30,000 people from campuses this year and has already issued offer letters to the selected candidates, Lakkad told Business Standard. The shortlisted candidates have to appear for the TCS National Qualifier Test (TCSNQT). TCS has had a rise in the number of employees enrolled on a net basis over the last five quarters. At the end of December quarter, the total number of employees working in the company stood at 446,675. Attrition increased from 0.06 per cent to 12.2 per cent in the quarter. When asked about the impact of such massive hiring of freshers, Lakkad told the daily it won't have an impact on the existing employee structure. Post the hiring of freshers, it becomes the company's obligation to provide employees with a relevant skill set so that they can fit in, says Lakkad. In the American offices of the Mumbai-headquartered behemoth, around 50 per cent of the workforce comprised local population, he said. Elaborating on hiring in the US, Lakkad said the company planned to hire another 1,500 trainee employees. Also read: NTA JEE Mains 2020 result declared on jeemain.nta.nic.in; 9 candidates score perfect 100 Also read: CBSE releases admit card for Class 10, 12 Board Exam 2020 After a whirlwind of emotions, speculations and rumors, Prince Harry finally breaks his silence on their decision to step back as senior members of the royal family. During his speech at the dinner party for the supporters of Sentebale, a charity he co-founded, the 35-year-old Prince delivered a heartfelt message addressing his infamous exit to the royal family with his wife, Meghan Markle. "I want you to hear the truth from me -- as much as I can share, not as a prince or a duke, but as Harry, the same person that many of you have watched grow up over the past 35 years," Harry began. The Prince said that the United Kingdom will always be his home, especially that he grew up getting the support of the people until he has found his wife and finally settled down. "Finally, the second son of Diana got hitched, hooray!" he jokingly said, which drew laughter from the crowd. The Duke of Sussex also acknowledged how the royal family supporters trusted him to marry a woman who upholds the same values as he does. Harry said that their controversial decision did not come easy, and they were left with "no other option" but to push through it. "The decision that I have made for my wife and I to step back is not one I made lightly. It was so many months of talks after so many years of challenges," Harry said. "What I want to make clear is, we're not walking away, and we certainly aren't walking away from you," he added, referring to the people of the U.K. and their supporters. The Prince reiterated that his new family would continue to serve the Queen, the Commonwealth, and his military associations even without public funding. He said that despite the lack of money, it would not change who he is and how committed he is in supporting the causes close to his heart. Prince Harry also appeals to the people to understand his decision to step back from the royal family so that he could step forward towards a more peaceful life with Meghan and their eight-month-old baby Archie. The Prince, who has been under heavy public scrutiny since he got married in May of 2018, also took a lowkey swipe on the media whom he referred to as a "powerful force." He added that in the future, he hopes that their mutual support will be more powerful than that of the media. The Duke of Sussex's speech came a few hours after his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II released an official statement expressing support to their decision to lead a private and independent life. The same statement from the Buckingham Palace also confirms that Meghan and Harry will be stripped down of their His/Her Roya Highness titles, but they could still use the Duke and Duchess of Sussex titles. Moreover, Harry would be able to keep his title as a Prince. The Palace also confirmed that the couple will payback the Sovereign Grant the used to repaid their Frogmore Cottage and said they will now rent it privately. However, the Palace refused to comment on Meghan and Harry's security arrangements. Parsons' attorneys said in a statement released Monday that the other driver admitted drinking, had alcohol in the car with him and passed out following the crash. The attorneys say the driver, who was not identified, is responsible for seriously injuring and potentially ending Mr. Parsons career as a professional athlete. LEXINGTON, Ky., Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- New Vista today announced the retirement of Paul R. Beatrice as Chief Executive Officer at the end of 2020. Linda Watt, New Vista Board of Directors Chair observed that, "During Paul's tenure as CEO, New Vista has met the challenges of an ever-changing healthcare landscape while staying true to our mission to serve Kentuckians who have limited resources to meet their behavioral health needs. New Vista is well-positioned for sustainability and future growth as the result of Paul's dedication and innovative leadership." New Vista is one of the largest behavioral health providers in Kentucky, offering more than 106 programs in 55 locations. Beatrice was named CEO in February 2014. He has more than 35 years of experience in behavioral health leadership. Under Beatrice's leadership, staff grew 53% to employ more than 2,000 Kentuckians who provide mental health, substance use and intellectual and developmental disability services to more than 25,000 children, adults and families annually. Beatrice expanded on his announcement by noting that "New Vista's role is a vital one. There remains a stigma associated with mental health and substance use services that we need to overcome. Our work will continue to address the public health needs in these areas and work to break down those barriers and help people reach their full potential. The staff at New Vista improves the lives of so many, and I am proud of our many accomplishments over the years. During this period of transition, I along with the executive team, will continue to do good work, create new programs and live our mission." A national search for a new CEO at New Vista will begin immediately. The process is expected to take several months, with Beatrice's successor likely to be determined and announced prior to Beatrice's departure. About New Vista New Vista serves children, adults and families in Central Kentucky with services in mental health, substance use and intellectual and developmental disabilities. The mission of New Vista is to assist individuals and families in the enhancement of their emotional, mental and physical well-being. New Vista serves the community and particularly those who have limited options for meeting their behavioral health needs. For more information, visit www.newvista.org. For support and services, call New Vista's 24-Hour Helpline at 1.800.928.8000. Media Contact: Bethany Langdon [email protected] 859-253-1686 SOURCE New Vista Related Links http://newvista.org Forces loyal to Haftar block oil exports from key Libyan ports Iran Press TV Sunday, 19 January 2020 1:20 AM Forces loyal to Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar blocked oil exports from the war-ravaged country's main ports Saturday, raising the stakes on the eve of an international summit aimed at bringing peace to the North African nation. The move to cripple the country's main source of income was a protest against Turkey's decision to send troops to shore up Haftar's rival, the head of Tripoli's UN-recognized government Fayez al-Sarraj. It comes ahead of Sunday's conference in Berlin that will see the United Nations try to extract a pledge from world leaders to stop meddling in the Libyan conflict -- be it through supplying troops, weapons or financing. "All foreign interference can provide some aspirin effect in the short term, but Libya needs all foreign interference to stop. That's one of the objectives of this conference," UN Libya envoy Ghassan Salame told AFP in an interview. The presidents of Russia, Turkey and France as well as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are to join the talks, held under the auspices of the UN. Haftar and Sarraj are also expected, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas confirmed Saturday, ahead of the first gathering of such scale on the conflict since 2018. After months of combat, which has killed more than 2,000 people, a ceasefire took effect on January 12 backed by both Ankara and Moscow, which is accused of supporting Haftar. But Saturday's blockade raised fears over the conflict. The disruption to oil exports is expected to more than halve the country's daily crude production, to 500,000 barrels from 1.3 million barrels, translating to losses of $55 million a day, warned Libya's National Oil Company. "Our line at the UN is clear. Don't play with petrol because it's the livelihood of the Libyans," warned Salame just hours before the blockade. Jalal Harchaoui, an expert at the Hague-based Institute Clingendael, said the petrol blockade was part of "the logic of blackmail". "It can work, but there's also a risk that Washington will react badly" he said. Washington was deeply opposed to any move that could drive up crude prices, he added. The oil-rich North African country has been torn by fighting between rival armed factions since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising killed dictator Moamer Kadhafi and toppled his regime. More recently, Haftar's forces launched an assault in April on Sarraj's troops in Tripoli, according to AFP. Although Sarraj's government is recognized by the UN, some powerful players have broken away to stand behind Haftar -- turning a domestic conflict into what is essentially a proxy war with international powers jostling to secure their own interests. Alarm grew internationally when Ankara ordered in troops early January to help shore up Sarraj. Russia has denied accusations it provided weapons, financing and mercenaries to Haftar. "We must end this vicious cycle of Libyans calling for the help of foreign powers. Their intervention deepens the divisions among the Libyans," said Salame. The place of international players should be to "help Libyans develop themselves", he added. The UN envoy said Sunday's meeting will also seek to "consolidate" the shaky ceasefire. "Today we only have a truce. We want to transform it into a real ceasefire with monitoring, separation (of rival camps), repositioning of heavy weapons" outside urban zones, he said. Although the UN has tried repeatedly to broker peace, talks have repeatedly collapsed. On the eve of the Berlin talks, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Europe to stand united behind Sarraj's government, as Tripoli's fall could leave "fertile ground" for extremist groups like Daesh or Al-Qaeda "to get back on their feet". Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also lashed out at Greece for hosting Haftar ahead of the international conference in Berlin, saying that the move by Athens would "sabotage" peace efforts. "Inviting Haftar to Greece and highlighting the Greek national agenda sabotage the efforts to bring peace to Libya," Cavusoglu wrote on Twitter. "We would like to remind our Greek friends that these futile efforts are in vain." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The Chinese telecommunications executive whose arrest in Vancouver badly strained Canada-China relations went to court on Monday to fight extradition to the United States, with her lawyers calling the accusations against her "fiction." Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of tech giant Huawei and eldest daughter of its founder Ren Zhengfei, is wanted by US authorities for alleged fraud. Meng made no comment as she rushed past protesters waving "Free Meng" and "Trump stop bullying us" placards outside the British Columbia Supreme Court. Inside, she sat quietly, following the proceedings with the help of an interpreter. Her attorneys in opening remarks rejected the fraud charges against Meng as "a fiction." "Sanctions drive this case," lead defense lawyer Richard Peck said, as Meng's husband Liu Xiaozong and Chinese consular officials looked on from a packed public gallery. "Would we be here in the absence of US sanctions? Our response is no," he said. In order to secure her freedom, the "princess of Huawei," must convince Judge Heather Holmes that the US charges would not stand up in Canada and are politically motivated. The US alleges Meng lied to HSBC Bank about Huawei's relationship with its Iran-based affiliate Skycom, putting the bank at risk of violating US sanctions against Tehran. Meng has denied the allegations. She has been out on bail, living in one of her two Vancouver mansions for the past year. Lawyers for Canada's attorney general on behalf of the US Justice Department have said they will justify extradition by arguing that the US accusations against Meng would be considered a crime in Canada if they had occurred here -- a key test known as double criminality. On Monday, her defense team began arguing that her misrepresentations, if they occurred, do not amount to fraud, and that Canada had not matched the US sanctions against Iran. "The US has cast (Meng's) alleged behavior as a fraud against a bank. This is an artifice," Peck told the court. "This case is founded on allegations of breach of US sanctions, which Canada has repudiated," he said, adding that Canada was effectively being asked "to enforce US sanctions." He also argued that HSBC would not be prosecuted in Canada for unwittingly breaking the sanctions and so Meng's actions caused no harm under its fraud definition. In court documents, the Crown asserted that Huawei controlled the operations of Skycom in Iran; that its staff used Huawei email accounts and security badges; and its bank accounts were controlled by Huawei. But Meng told HSBC executives in a presentation in 2013 that Huawei no longer owned Skycom and that she had resigned from that company's board. From 2010 to 2014, HSBC and its American subsidiary cleared more than US$100 million worth of transactions related to Skycom through the US. - 'Grave political incident' - Earlier, China's foreign ministry called Meng's extradition case a "grave political incident" and urged Ottawa to release the Huawei executive in order to normalize relations. Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland responded that Ottawa "honors its extradition treaty commitments" and will not interfere in the case. In a statement, Huawei said that it trusts Canada's judicial system and believes Meng will be found innocent. Meng's arrest during a stopover of a Hong Kong-to-Mexico flight in December 2018 put the 47-year-old at the center of the US and China's battle over the technology giant's growing global reach. It also stuck Canada in the middle of a trade row between the world's two largest economies, resulting in China restricting agricultural imports from Canada. Days after Meng was taken into custody, China arrested two Canadians on what Canada said were vague and trumped-up charges of "harming national security." China's "arbitrary detentions," according to Ottawa, of former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor have been widely interpreted as retribution by Beijing aimed at pressuring Canada to free Meng. The hearing in Vancouver is scheduled to last five days. But if the US accusations are found to also be a crime in Canada, a further phase will follow in June, with the defense arguing that authorities conspired to nab Meng as part of a "covert criminal investigation." - Stunting Huawei's rise - Ren Zhengfei has suggested that the case is part of a US plot to crush Huawei, seeing it as a security risk. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who had hoped when he came to power in 2015 to deepen Canada's economic ties with China, asked the US for help. He told broadcaster TVA last month that he urged US President Donald Trump not to finalize a trade deal with China "that doesn't settle the question of Meng Wanzhou and the two Canadians." Trump went ahead, however, and signed a "phase one" trade deal with China last week. Former Canadian leaders have urged Trudeau to simply release Meng in a "prisoner swap" for Spavor and Kovrig. But extradition experts consulted by AFP say that would encourage what some called Beijing's "hostage diplomacy" tactics. Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou leaves her Vancouver home to begin her extradition hearing in British Columbia Supreme Court, on January 20, 2020 in Vancouver, British Colombia People hold photos of detained Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig outside British Columbia Supreme Court, in Vancouver, on March 6, 2019 US President Donald Trump (pictured January 15, 2020) and Chinese Vice PremierLiuHe hold up signed agreements of "phase one" of a trade deal between the two countries Lambert here: This is an EU-focused, supranational Green Deal, and so not directly comparable to the Green New Deal. However, I think that the same issues of productivity occur on either side of the Atlantic. By Karl Aiginger, Director, Policy Crossover Center: Vienna Europe; Professor, Vienna University of Economics and Business. Originally published at VoxEU. The new president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has announced a European Green Deal and the Commission has asserted Europes need to develop a new growth model to achieve climate neutrality. However, the Commissions limited view of productivity ignores the fact that raising labour productivity can raise emissions and accelerate climate change. Instead, this column argues that a welfare-oriented Green Deal needs to focus on resource and energy productivity, not raising labour productivity. The new president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has announced a European Green Deal as her concept for a new agenda. This makes sense: it promises to improve economic dynamics and to combat climate change, with its ever more visible consequences for all and particularly harsh consequences for the less-privileged. The planned Green Deal, which supports wellbeing, is a coordination device and unifying programme for member countries. Its implementation calls for overdue fiscal reforms and altered behaviour on the part of politicians and citizens. However, the next climate summit in Glasgow will require better preparation than the one in Madrid in December 2019. The European Semester as a Policy Implementation Instrument At first glance, it looks as if the European Commissions bureaucracy has understood this. In a recent Communication to the Parliament titled Annual Sustainable Growth Strategy (European Commission 2010, 2019), economic growth is declared to be not an end in itself; it is asserted that Europe has to develop a new growth model towards its ambition to achieve climate neutrality, and that it is the task of the European Semester the institution providing annual economic guidelines to monitor this new strategy and its implementation in the member countries. However, what follows looks very out of date and will destroy all envisioned change. The core problem is the uncritical use of the notion of productivity, which dominates what should be a sustainable growth strategy. The long-term trend of declining productivity growth is carved out as the core of European problems. The document states that Europe needs a transformation of its society based on the quadruple goals of productivity, stability, fairness, and environment, but it uses the term productivity at least ten times without ever defining it or at least admitting that there are very different types of productivity. The Components of Higher Productivity Let us try to fill this gap. Productivity means more output per input. We set aside how output is measured, as this may be a task for specialists. But what is all-important is that productivity can be considered more output per worker, more output by capital investment, or more output per energy and resource input. All these partial productivities, together with a residual that is understood to be the effect of the innovation system, yield total factor productivity. Let us also set aside the factor capital which is again difficult to measure (though rules exist). The problem is that in this Communication, productivity is implicitly understood to be the increase in output per worker, which is a partial aspect of labour productivity. This term has been at the centre of policy for the last decades, and it still preoccupies the thinking of misguided experts in the European Commission. They do not even realise its advantages and disadvantages, especially when the increase in labour productivity is larger than that of resource productivity. The advantage of rising labour productivity is that it could lead to more leisure, and if this is not welcomed, it enables higher output and higher wages. However, its disadvantage is that if it is not accompanied by higher resource productivity, higher output will raise emissions and accelerate climate change. And it is a factor increasing the necessity for growth, if unemployment is not negligible. Alternatively, increasing output per resource input allows for higher output without higher emissions (Aiginger and Rodrik 2020). If this nice cousin of labour productivity is strong enough, we can enjoy higher wages and well-being together with strictly lower emissions, which is called absolute decoupling. The goals of the Paris Agreement require deep decoupling. Without strongly increasing resource productivity, higher output will undermine the fight against climate change. The Policy-Induced Technology Bias Must Change Thus, in a recent paper (Aiginger 2019), I argue that a welfare-oriented Green Deal needs to focus on resource and energy productivity, not raising labour productivity. This is not public policy interference in naturally given technology trends. The current economic policy is by far not neutral. It favours labour productivity, an ideology implicitly bought by the experts who wrote the Communication. Taxes are primarily raised on labour, making this factor expensive and forcing the firms to increase labour productivity. Emissions are not as highly taxed; if we calculate the subsidies for fossil energy, net taxes on fossil energy might be near zero or negative. Thus, current policy biases the technology into labour saving. If the European Commission uses the word productivity without defining it, we must suspect that the European Semester will not promote the Green Deal adequately. A Better European Green Deal in a Nutshell Today, scientists are unanimous in stating that climate change endangers our planet. Political leaders have followed, in principle, by signing the Paris Agreement. But limiting global warming to 1.5C requires cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 8095%. Global trends are at variance with this path.1 The US has announced it would exit the agreement, Brazil has opened its rain forests to commercial activity, China is investing heavily in new coal plants, and Africa needs energy to feed its tripling population. Regions feel they are being forgotten and support populist leaders who decry the importance of climate change. In this environment, Europe must take the lead. This is an obligation arising from history and past errors, but also a chance to become a technology leader in a dynamic technology field. The positive message not so well known but empirically proven is that the leader will enjoy net benefits through an ambitious strategy due to fewer costs, lower tangible and human damage, and ability to shape the next technology according to its own preferences. The reluctant follower who always demands that others take the lead faces higher costs for patents, licenses, and imported machines. Repairs are costly and acting in a state of emergency requires strong public intervention. Stern and Porter have argued and presented some evidence for the first-mover advantage in sustainability (Porter 1990, Porter and van der Linde 1995, Stern 2007, European Commission 2010). As additional evidence, in Aiginger (2016 and 2019) I show that the countries leading in environmental policy in Europe such as Denmark, Sweden, and Switzerland are also leading in income and well-being rankings. In my 2019 paper, I carve out five principles for the European lead: Emissions must be priced; subsidies for fossil energy must be curbed. Globalisation must be reshaped based on higher social and ecological standards enabled by international trade and investment agreements that are different from todays. Eliminating emissions by 90% and achieving climate neutrality requires new technology and energy sources, as well as boosting energy efficiency. A new strategy requires the greening of finance, new funds, products, and labelling. Behavioural changes are necessary, which require changes in education and training. Currently, neither the world nor Europe is on the path to Paris, although the best performers in Europe have curbed their emission by 20% since 2000. Fortunately, the new president of the European Commission has called for Europe to strive for more and to design a European Green Deal. The European Semester is a necessary tool for monitoring the strategy, but this will not work if the experts designing the general policy guidelines and the country-specific recommendations do not respect that the different components of productivity growth have different implications for the Green Deals targeted goals. References available at the original. (CNN) Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said Sunday that "the world has changed" and that American voters are now more concerned with a presidential candidate's positions than their gender or racial identity. All candidates, Sanders added later during the interview with NH Public Radio, have "their own sets of problems" when running for public office. His comments cap off a tense six days between the Vermont senator and his progressive colleague, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, over gender, identity and presidential politics. Warren said last Monday that Sanders told her during a private 2018 meeting that a woman could not win the presidency. In a CNN story published earlier that day, four sources had said Sanders had told Warren in the meeting a woman couldn't win. The claims touched off one of the most public feuds between the two candidates ahead of the Iowa caucuses. "The world has changed. And to those people who think that a woman cannot be elected you're dead wrong. If you think a gay American cannot be elected you are dead wrong. If you think an African American cannot be elected you are dead wrong," Sanders said in the interview Sunday. "I think the American people have moved very significantly in trying to look at candidates based on what they stand for, not on their gender, not on their sexuality, not on their race." Asked during the interview about the meeting he and Warren had before launching their White House bids last year, Sanders said he didn't "want to get into what was a private conversation," pivoting instead to say: "It is hard for me to imagine how anybody in the year 2020 could not believe that a woman could become president of the United States." Sanders reiterated that he had tried to draft Warren to launch a White House bid in 2016. Responding to Sanders' interview, Warren told reporters later Sunday that she has "no further comment on this," adding: "I have been friends with Bernie for a long time. We work together on many, many issues. And I've said all I'm going to say on this topic." 'Their own set of problems' During his radio interview, Sanders did agree there is an anxiety that exists around electing a woman to the presidency, but made the point that "as a country, we have come a long way," pointing to how the US grew to accept an African American as president, and has come a long way in terms of gay rights by accepting former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg, another 2020 hopeful, as a "serious candidate" who is openly gay and married. Asked if he believes woman candidates have a different experience running for president and if gender is still an obstacle for female politicians Sanders said: "Look, look I think, the answer is 'yes,' but I think everybody has their own sets of problems." The senator then argued that just as Warren has to grapple with her gender and Buttigieg has to grapple with being thought of as too young, Sanders must face voters who think he is too old. In this context, Sanders referred to Warren being a woman as one of the negatives voters must consider. "Yeah, so everybody, you know, brings some negatives if you like," he said. "There are a lot of people that said well, you know I like Bernie, he's a nice guy, but he is 78 years of age, alright? So we have to argue please look at the totality of who I am," he said. "I would just hope very much that the American people look at the totality of a candidate, not at their gender, not at their sexuality, not at their age, but at everything." After his town hall in Conway, New Hampshire, Sanders elaborated on his earlier remarks. "I think anybody who doesn't understand that there is an enormous amount of sexism in this country. That there is homophobia in this country. That there is anti-Semitism in this country," Sanders told CNN. "That there is ageism in this country. That there is religious bigotry in this country and that you think that doesn't impact the political process, I think you would be mistaken." A heated exchange The candidates' feud came to a head immediately following the conclusion of the CNN/Des Moines Register Democratic presidential debate Wednesday when the two senators engaged in a heated and brief conversation in which they confronted one another about the differing accounts they shared during the debate. Sanders vehemently denied questioning whether a woman could win the presidency during the debate, while Warren called Sanders her "friend" and insisted she wasn't there "to try to fight with Bernie." "I think you called me a liar on national TV," Warren can be heard saying after the debate to Sanders, who replied: "What?" "I think you called me a liar on national TV," she repeated. "You know, let's not do it right now. If you want to have that discussion, we'll have that discussion," Sanders said, to which Warren responded, "Anytime." "You called me a liar," Sanders continued. "You told me -- all right, let's not do it now." This story was first published on CNN.com 'Sanders says voters are more concerned with a candidate's positions than their gender or racial identity' About 2,000 students and teachers attended the event. Of these, 1,050 students were selected through an essay competition. New Delhi: Interacting with students from schools across the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday told them not to get demotivated by temporary setbacks. He suggested them to take time off from technology while at home and indulge in extracurricular activities based on their interests, as ways to reduce stress related to exams. Reaching out to students across the country through the third edition of the Pariksha Pe Charc-ha programme at the Talkatora Stadium here, Mr Modi used the Chandra-ayaan 2 mission as an example. Mr Modi also asked students to remember the India-Australia test series in 2001 to emphasise his message about positive thinking. He sought to speak to them in their own language and said his conversations with them will be hashtag without filter. In the event, telecast and streamed live, Mr Modi said everyone should keep abreast of the latest technology but stressed that it should not be allowed to govern lives. Technological trends are changing quickly. It is essential to stay updated with these trends. Fear of technology is not good. Technology is a friend. Mere knowledge of technology isnt enough. Its application is as important, he said. Mr Modi also asked students not to become slaves of technology. We should have the strength to keep technology under our control and ensure it does not waste our time. One room in our homes should be technology free. Whoever enters will not carry any gadgets, he said. About 2,000 students and teachers attended the event. Of these, 1,050 students were selected through an essay competition. Students who got to ask questions to the prime minister were short-listed on the basis of essays submitted on five subjects Gratitude is Great, Your Future Depends on Your Aspirations, Examining Exams, Our Duties, Your Take, and Balance is Beneficial. File image After Kerala and Punjab, several other non-BJP states are mulling over bringing in a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The CPI(M) government in Kerala and the Congress government in Punjab have already passed a resolution demanding scrapping of the contentious CAA. Now, Maharashtras Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government is planning to bring out such a resolution in the state assembly, news agency ANI has reported. In talks with ANI, Congress spokesperson Raju Waghmare said the senior party leader Balasaheb Thorat had shared his stand on the CAA and even Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had said that the party was against the CAA. However, as far as the resolution against CAA is concerned, senior leaders of MVA will sit together and decide, said Waghmare. Besides Maharashtra, states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh may consider bringing in a resolution in the legislative assemblies against the enforcement of the CAA, senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel has reportedly said. "After Punjab, we are seriously thinking of passing a resolution against Citizenship Amendment Act in (Congress-ruled) states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh," Patel said. He further said, "When so many state Assemblies pass resolutions with majority, it is a clear cut message to the Union government that you should seriously rethink this (CAA)." Patel's comments came a day after his party colleague Kapil Sibal had said that states could not decide against implementing a law passed by the Parliament. The Ashok Gehlot government in Rajasthan has decided to move a resolution in the state Assembly against CAA in the Budget session beginning from January 24. The CAA grants Indian citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Christian and Parsi refugees who came from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh on or before December 31, 2014 due to religious persecution. (With inputs from PTI) An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan on Monday granted more time to Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed's counsel to complete arguments in the terror financing case against him. The Anti-Terrorism Court-I (ATC) indicted Saeed and his close aides - Hafiz Abdul Salam, Muhammad Ashraf and Zafar Iqbal - on terror financing charges on December 11. "Advocates Naseeruddin Nayyar and Imran Fazal Gull, who are representing Saeed, presented their arguments for over four hours in the ATC Lahore here on Monday," a court official told PTI after the hearing. They requested the court to give them more time to complete their arguments in defence of the founder of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) in two terror financing cases registered against him in Lahore and Gujranwala. "ATC judge Arshad Hussain Bhutta accepted the plea of Saeed's lawyers and directed them to complete their arguments on next hearing," the official said. The court adjourned the hearing till January 23. Saeed and others were produced in the court in high security. In a separate case of terror financing, JuD spokesperson Yahya Mujahid and its senior leader Abdur Rehman Makki were also presented in the ATC-I Lahore. The court adjourned the hearing of the case till January 23. Saeed has already recorded his statement before the court in two terror financing cases against him in which he pleaded "not guilty". The cases of terror financing have been registered against him in Lahore and Gujranwala cities on the application of Counter Terrorism Department of Punjab police. Cross examination of prosecution witnesses against Saeed and his three close aides by the defense counsel has already been concluded. The prosecution had produced a good number of witnesses against Saeed. The CTD had registered 23 FIRs against Saeed and his accomplices on the charges of terror financing in different cities of Punjab province and arrested him on July 17. He is held at the Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore. Saeed-led JuD is believed to be the front organisation for the Lashkar-e-Taiba which is responsible for carrying out the 2008 Mumbai attack that killed 166 people, including six Americans. The US Department of the Treasury has designated Saeed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, and the US, since 2012, has offered a USD 10 million reward for information that brings Saeed to justice. The US has also welcomed Saeed's indictment, urging Islamabad to ensure a full prosecution and expeditious trial of the charges against him. The indictment followed growing international pressure on Pakistan to stop militant groups from collecting funds in the country and to take immediate action against those still involved in militant activities. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) ALTON Developers of the proposed Sunnybrook housing development in Alton are taking the city to court over a building permit for a $10 million housing project. Dr. Ed Hightower, the principal owner of EBJJ LLC the company proposing the development claims the city has failed to issue a permit. City officials claim Sunnybrook has not filed the proper applications. The project is partially funded by Illinois Housing Authority tax credits, which can be sold to raise cash. Circuit Judge Dave Dugan has ordered Alton to issue a building permit and has imposed a fine of $47,000 against the city for allegedly failing to comply. Originally filed in state court, the city has appealed the decision and fine to the Fifth District Appellate Court. At issue is whether the project is a planned development under the city code. The code defines a planned development as a tract of land which is developed as a unit under single ownership or unified control which includes two or more principal buildings or uses and flows applicable procedures of this zoning ordinance. Alton officials claim the developers have not filed for a building permit under that description. The developers describe the development in the 700 block of Washington Avenue of Alton as 10 structures with four homes each, plus a community center/office building. Mayor Brant Walker initially supported the plan but later decided against it. He said the plans had significantly changed, causing him to change his support. City officials claim the name of the entity requesting the permit changed and the suit was filed before the name change. Therefore, there was no request before the suit was filed so the city cannot be made to honor it. Hightower and other developers have also filed a federal discrimination suit against Alton, claiming the city anticipates a disproportionate number of black people to occupy the homes. The city is fighting that claim on the federal level. The citys insurance company is defending that suit. Backers say the planned Sunnybrook housing development will create jobs for 60 to 75 skilled local union workers and an additional $3 million to $4 million in business in the form of materials supplied by local suppliers. Hightower said the Laborers Home Development Corp., an affiliate of the Laborers International of North America, is behind the effort to increase its workforce in the area. He said the goal is to attract Madison County workforce employees in local logistics, such as the Gateway Enterprise Zone, and will target other entry level workers earning $12 to $20 per hour. (Alliance News) - AIM-listed Sound Energy PLC on Monday said Exploration Director Brian Mitchener will leave at the end of March. The Moroccan-focused gas company explained that the move is a part of its planned preparations for the forthcoming potential partial divestment of Eastern Morocco portfolio. Sound Energy said Mitchener has agreed to accept shares in the company in settlement of termination of his employment contract. As a result, Sound Energy said it expects to issue new shares, worth GBP107,983. "I am grateful to Brian for his leadership of our exploration programme and his continued support of our orderly handover of executive responsibilities for this next important phase of our development," said Chair Marco Fumagalli. Sound Energy shares closed flat in London on Monday at 1.85 pence each. By Evelina Grecenko; evelinagrecenko@alliancenews.com Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. Mumbai, Jan 20 : Debutante Sharvari, who will be seen in Kabir Khan's web series "The Forgotten Army" and Aditya Chopra's upcoming film "Bunty Aur Babli 2", has spoken about her eyeopening experience working with these filmmakers. Sharvari interned with filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali on "Bajirao Mastani". She describes the experience as "creatively stimulating". She was then cast as the heroine of Kabir Khan's "The Forgotten Army", and she went on to sign "Bunty Aur Babli 2". "I have been hugely fortunate to have found such mentors who have and are shaping my formative years in cinema. I don't have words to thank them enough. It was an eyeopening and creatively stimulating experience to have worked as an intern on Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 'Bajirao Mastani'," she said. She added that just by being on the sets and watching Bhansali as well as actors Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone at work, she got to learn a lot. On Kabir, Sharvari said he is the best mentor she could have found. "I'm grateful that Kabir sir believed in me and gave me the opportunity to be a part of his vision, 'The Forgotten Army'. It is an opportunity of a lifetime. I couldn't have asked for a better mentor than Kabir sir right at the beginning of my acting career," she said. For Sharvari, Aditya empowers her as an actress. "Aditya Chopra is a visionary and I still can't believe that I am being mentored by him. His insights are invaluable lessons for me. The amount of faith and trust Adi sir puts in you as an actor automatically makes you feel empowered and confident. As an artist, you are constantly learning and trying to get better at your craft each day and I feel I have truly been blessed in my journey so far," she concluded. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 07:44:22|Editor: ZD Video Player Close LONDON, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Marcus Rashford, the top scorer of Manchester United, would probably not be fit until February after injuring his back on Thursday, said Red Devils manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on Sunday. During the FA Cup's third-round replay that Manchester United ousted Wolves 2-1, Rashford was sent on the pitch by Solskjaer as a second-half substitute but had to be replaced after 16 minutes. "He got a couple of knocks and jolts when he came on against Wolves and aggravated his back," the club's official website quoted Solskjaer. "I wouldn't expect him to be back in the next few weeks," said the Norwegian."We've got a mid-season break and I'm not sure we'll see him before then. We're going to give him the time he needs." Rashford, 22, is the team's top scorer and third in the Premier League this season with 14 goals so far. Manchester United lost to league leaders Liverpool 2-1 on Sunday without Rashford and stay in fifth place with 34 points, five points away from fourth-placed Chelsea. SOME 39 years after his graduation from the University of the Philippines - Cebu Fine Arts Program, Celso Duazo Pepito has gone back to his alma mater for a retrospective exhibit of his career as an artist. For this exhibit, Pepito has 59 paintings on display. Some of these are from his own collection and some, from collectors who willingly lent their paintings for the showa few of them dating back to the earlier days of Pepitos career. This exhibit, explains its curator, professor Jay Nathan T. Jore, is an attempt to deconstruct [Pepitos] art by looking back at important moments that brought him to the forefronts of Cebuano cubism. By bringing together Celso Pepitos earlier works, we hope to meet along the alleys of the gallery the young Celso and see the many layers of expressions running through his paintings. From his earlier love affair with the picturesque sublimity of nature to his explorations and distortions of the human figure, we hope to unravel the pieces and fragments that form the monumentality of his now celebrated cubist aesthetics, Jore said. As art historical in its framework, the exhibition hopes to contribute to the much-needed study and urgent theorizing of Cebuano art and the various stylistic tendencies that coopts its growth or ungrowth. By looking at Celso Pepitos journey in art making, we hope to inspire art students and young artists today, to cadence through their own productive paths with persevering enthusiasm, always attentive to the ever fluxing condition of art: always becoming, rarely arriving. Pepito started his career as an impressionist-realist painter as he was influenced by his mentor, the late Martino Abellana. In 1994, encouraged by Tito Cuevas and Edgar Mojares, he shifted to cubism which, he explained, answered his search for attaining his own artistic expression with which he said he can inject my idealism as an artist, as a father, as a Christian and as a citizen. Story continues This was also the time he started to use acrylic paints as his main medium for its tendency to dry faster. I could also explore on different textures and other techniques that I found difficult to attain with other art media. With Pepitos recent works, one always finds an octagon inserted in the painting, aside from his signature. He explained that the octagon is actually the sun reduced to cubic terms and it is to signify his belief in positive development. If the sun continues to have its sunrise and sunset, we as individuals will only do our best from smaller to bigger things. Well always have that opportunity to be productive and to find fulfillment in our aspirations in life. His main message for this exhibit: Motivate my viewers to aspire for the best in everything they do and to contribute something to the betterment of society by giving goodand valid examplethat is to love God, love our family and by loving our country. By loving God, we automatically love our family, and by loving our family, we contribute to the strength of our country. More than improving their crafts, I hope to see the new generation of artists of Cebu to find their artistic direction and make art as a factor in nation-building. I look forward to seeing them create art not only for money but hopefully also to motivate their viewers to contribute to positive idealism. Balik Tanaw, the exhibit, is displayed on the second floor of the UP Cebu Fine Arts building and will run till the end of January. A New Jersey man was found fatally shot Sunday on the side of Interstate 295 in Bristol Township, authorities said. Pennsylvania State Police troopers were called to the eastbound lanes of mile marker 0.2 at about 2 a.m. after receiving reports about the body on the shoulder of the road. Investigators later identified the man as Joshua McRae, 31, of Trenton, and said he had been shot multiple times. But it remained unclear whether he was gunned down on the highway or shot somewhere else and then left on the shoulder of the highway. State police are asking anyone with information about McRaes whereabouts before the shooting to call the Trevose barracks at 215-942-3900. Former Milton Mayor Guy Thompson was sentenced to 51 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to 23 counts of tax evasion and embezzling more than $650,000 in charity donations. Not only will he face more than four years in prison, he will have to repay what he stole from societyevery single dime of it, U.S. District Judge Casey Rodgers ruled during an hours-long session at a packed Pensacola federal courthouse on Friday. Thompson pleaded guilty in May 2019 to 20 counts of wire fraud and three counts of tax evasion that he had committed as head of the Unified Way of Santa Rosa County, a charity funding organization. Thompson reportedly used his position as a cover for concealing a complex scheme of fraudulent money transfers and deposits. He managed to funnel an estimated yearly extra income of $80,000 to $90,000 meant for charity into his bank account, and avoided paying an estimated $159,362 in taxes, according to Fox News. Thompson used the money to make luxury purchases like a BMW and a beachside condominium, as well as gifts for his wife and family. Thompson, 66, a respected figure in Santa Rosa County and the city of Milton, represented as a counselor for the Republican Party from 1978 to 1994, after which he became the mayor Milton until 2014. Your ability to commit this crime was enabled by the reputation that you built in public service, Judge Rodgers told Thompson during the trial, according to the Pensacola News-Journal. Prosecutors did not establish any proof of Thompson having stolen money from the community in his position as Mayor. He did, however, abuse his authority to purloin hundreds of thousands of dollars while heading the charity. The case came to light when last year Thompson hired an administrative hand, 20-year army veteran Ronald Benson, to coordinate his charitables checkings. Benson soon stumbled upon irregularities in Thompsons accounting techniques, Benson testified in court. Benson resigned from the job when he found out about Thompsons scheme, but when he brought the case into the open, Thompson first tried to smear him in an attempt to cover it up. Benson also testified that Thompson, in the capacity of his job, managed to prevent Benson from getting a job ever since. The FBI launched an investigation into Thompsons accounts in October 2018 and raided United Way of Santa Rosa Countys headquarters in Milton, finding out that, indeed, Bensons allegations were trueand probably worse. Because the investigators could only trace Thompsons accounting history back till 2011, they could only prove that the fallen Mayor had embezzled $652,000. In his position as director of the charity, which he held since 2004, he could have suppressed much more. The government only knows about seven years, Rodgers told Thompson. You led that organization for nearly 40, the News-Journal reported. United Way Santa Rosa County promptly fired its director. The United Way organization demanded the local organization no longer operate under its name and will soon be disbanded. The Milton counsel, who had named their community center after Thompson to honor him for his services to the community, has decreed that the name shall be removed from the building as well as many other references to Thompson as soon as possible. A Philadelphia Police investigator stands on the 2400 block of North Patton Street in the Strawberrry Mansion section of Philadelphia surrounded by multiple shell casings where two men were shot early Sunday morning. Police said they have two men in custody. Read more Two men were shot to death in Philadelphia over the weekend in separate cases, while eight others were wounded in a string of shootings in yet another violent weekend in the city. The shootings began Friday afternoon when a 23-year-old man was found dead with two gunshot wounds to the head inside a home on the 2200 block of East Washington Lane in East Mount Airy, police said. The victims uncle found the man unresponsive and lying on a couch. On Saturday evening, a 60-year-old man was shot multiple times in the chest and died on the 3000 block of North Bambrey Street in North Philadelphia, according to police. No arrests were made in either case, and both killings are under investigation, a spokesperson confirmed Sunday afternoon. The police are offering a $20,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and a conviction. Five other non-fatal shootings started Friday evening and continued on Sunday. In the first of those, three young men, ages 17, 19, and 24, were critically injured on the 800 block of North 41st Street in West Philadelphias Belmont neighborhood about 8 p.m. Friday. Police said all three men were taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. In another case, two 20-year-old men were wounded on the 2400 block of North Patton Street in Strawberry Mansion early Sunday, police said. One victim was shot in the stomach and listed in critical condition, and the other man was shot in his left hand, according to police reports. Both were taken to Temple University Hospital. In that case, police said they found two guns and took two people into custody who had not been charged as of Sunday evening. About a mile south of that shooting, a 40-year-old man was shot overnight Sunday on the 3100 block of Clifford Street in Strawberry Mansion, police said Sunday. He was listed in stable condition after being wounded twice: in his right knee and in his left calf. No one had yet been arrested, police said. Another shooting, on the 2500 block of West Harold Street in Strawberry Mansion about 12:30 p.m. Sunday, wounded a 22-year-old woman in her stomach, police said. The woman was in critical condition at Temple University Hospital. Authorities had not recovered a weapon or made an arrest. And a 26-year-old man was shot in the right knee and upper left torso shortly after 3:30 p.m. Sunday on the 900 block of 43rd Street in Belmont. He was taken to Presbyterian Hospital and listed in stable condition. Police had made no arrest and found no weapon. Also early Sunday, police said, a 54-year-old man was stabbed in the chest during a robbery attempt near the 2900 block of Rorer Street in Kensington. He was taken to Temple University Hospital, and was in stable condition. No arrest was made in that case, either, police said. And a 35-year-old man was stabbed in the chest on the 3300 block of Krail Street in East Falls on Sunday night. He was taken to Einstein Hospital and was listed in critical condition. No arrests were made. Police investigating the brutal murder of a 17-year-old amid an escalating Irish gang war have arrested a man thought to be involved in his death - over a separate investigation into breaching bail conditions. Officers apprehended the 24-year-old, who is said to be central to an ongoing feud in the town of Drogheda, early Monday morning after a major manhunt. He was due to appear in court on Monday charged with violating parole while on bail for another serious offence that is not connected to the murder of teenager Keane Mulready-Woods. Meanwhile rumours have been circulating that Mulready-Woods was killed in a row over flip-flops stolen from another suspect's gym bag. Keane Mulready-Woods, 17, was murdered and dismembered just over a week ago, with his limbs stuffed into a gym bag. It is thought a pair of flip flops were also inside the bag, amid rumors that the theft of a similar pair from a north Dublin hitman sparked the killing Gardai pictured searching an area known locally as 'The Banks' near a house on Rathmullen Park, Drogheda, on Thursday, close to where the teen is thought to have been killed The second suspect, a 'psychotic' 35-year-old north Dublin hitman, was attacked on the streets of Dublin as he was coming out of a gym in recent weeks and the flip-flops stolen. Another man, an associate of Mulready-Woods who is also involved in the Drogheda feud, is then thought to have posed with the footwear in an image on social media. A similar pair of flip flops are thought to have been found inside a Puma gym bag containing the severed limbs of Mulready-Woods, which were dumped in the Coolock area of Dublin last week, as a warning to the hitman's rivals. Police were fearful that the 24-year-old suspect could flee Ireland for England, the Irish Independent reported. As a result they posted officers at Dublin Port and Airport to try and stop him. They say he failed to sign on at a Garda station several time in December and has not been staying at a house where he is required to spend the night as a condition of his High Court bail. 'Gardai... intend to bring the suspect off the streets and into prison,' the Independent reported. 'If this happens it will ease tensions.' Police are desperately trying to put an end to feuding in Drogheda which has seen a total of three people - including Mulready-Woods - killed in the last five months. Keane Mulready-Woods went missing in Drogheda on January 12, and police believe he was taken to a house nearby where he was killed before his body parts were dumped in Dublin Officers reportedly tried to put an end to the turf-war in August last year, shortly before the fatal shooting of Keith Branigan, during an informal sit-down with Owen Maguire - a gang boss involved in the fighting. But associates of Maguire, who was paralysed from the waist down in an attempted assassination the previous year, told officers that they would not back down until three men on a hit-list had been killed. The names included the Dublin hitman now believed to have murdered Mulready-Woods, the gunman who tried to kill Maguire, and a third gangland hitman linked to a number of assassination plots. 'The officer had an obligation to do everything to help end the dispute, but his request was completely ignored by Maguires associates,' a source told The Irish Sun. Details of the hit-list emerged as it was revealed the Mulready-Woods last spoke with his mother over the phone on Sunday at around 6pm to tell her that he would be coming home late. During the conversation he asked her to leave money on the mantelpiece to pay the taxi fare, but never made it home. Mulready-Woods was dismembered and decapitated before his remains were dumped in two locations in Dublin, some 35 miles away from the crime scene in Drogheda, Co Louth Keane Mulready-Woods is thought to have been caught up in a brutal gang war in the town of Drogheda Until that point he had been on a curfew meaning he had to be home before dark, and had largely been observing it. Mulready-Woods was abducted from Drogheda, Co Louth last Sunday before he was tortured in a house in Rathmullen Park in the town. His severed head and limbs were found in two locations in Dublin last week. The 17-year-old was involved in organised crime and detectives are investigating whether his killing was carried out in revenge for another recent murder or attack. Not long after the meeting between police and Maguire, one of Maguire's associates shot dead Keith Brannigan in Clogherhead, Co Louth. Mulready-Woods's murder comes amid two ongoing gang feuds - one in Drogheda and one in Coolock - which are now beginning to overlap Just three months later, his associates also murdered Richard Carberry. The chief suspect in the murder of Mulready-Woods is said to have vowed revenge after Carberry's killing. It has been reported that the gang feud will not stop until these three targeted are killed. Yesterday it emerged the chief suspect believed to be responsible for dismembering Mulready-Woods 'threatened to murder another man'. The suspect, who is well known to Gardai, posted footage of threats against a man who has since fled the country. As well as Mulready-Woods' murder, two men were shot in Dublin this week, as well as a student, Cameron Blair, who was stabbed to death during a house party in Cork on Thursday night. Two men were also shot and wounded outside a pub in the early hours of yesterday morning. (Newser) Instead of picking a side in the Democratic Party's centrists versus progressives debate, the New York Times editorial board has chosen to endorse two candidates. "May the best woman win," they write, giving the nod to Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren. On the progressive side, they describe Sen. Bernie Sanders as too uncompromising and say Warren has the "courage and conviction" to bring Democrats, Republicans, and independents behind her proposals. "There are plenty of progressives who are hungry for major change but may harbor lingering concerns about a messenger as divisive as Mr. Sanders," they write, and many more moderate Democratic primary voters see Warren "as someone who speaks to their concerns about inequality and corruption." story continues below As for centrists, the Times says Joe Biden's agenda merely "tinkers at the edges of issues like health care and climate" and at 77, "it is time for him to pass the torch to a new generation of political leaders." But Klobuchar, a "standard-bearer for the Democratic center," could represent "the best chance to enact many progressive plans." The Minnesotan is the "very definition of Midwestern charisma, grit, and sticktoitiveness," they write. "Her lengthy tenure in the Senate and bipartisan credentials would make her a deal maker (a real one) and uniter for the wings of the partyand perhaps the nation." The editorial board says they didn't pick a single candidate because the fight between centrists and progressives is "one that should be played out in the public arena and in the privacy of the voting booth." Click for the full piece. (Read more Election 2020 stories.) Cot death is 12 times more likely in children born to mothers who drank and smoked while pregnant, researchers have found. Scientists followed the outcomes of 12,000 pregnancies among women from South Africa and the US for eight years. Children born to mothers who drank and smoked beyond their first three months of pregnancy had a much higher risk of dying suddenly. Results showed there was a five-fold risk for children whose mothers gave up alcohol but carried on smoking beyond the first trimester. And there was a four-fold risk for children born to mothers in the opposite situation, giving up cigarettes but carrying on with drinking. Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), or cot death, is the sudden and unexplained death of a child under the age of one. Children born to mothers who drank and smoked while pregnant have a 12-fold increased risk of dying suddenly, scientists have found Around 230 babies in the UK and 2,500 in the US die from SIDS each year, figures show. The cause of SIDS is unknown but a wealth of evidence exists to show that both smoking and drinking increase the risk. The latest study is the first to look at how the risk is influenced by the timing and amount of exposure to both tobacco and alcohol in the womb. Researchers based at Avera Health Center for Pediatric & Community Research in South Dakota worked with a team in South Africa. Women living in areas of Cape Town and five areas in the US, including those living in two American Indian reservations, were tracked. The areas were selected for their high rates of both alcohol use in pregnancy and SIDS. They found that 66 babies died in their first year of life, with 28 dying from SIDS and 38 others from known causes. The risks of dying were compared to those for babies who had not been exposed to alcohol or tobacco. They were also compared to babies whose mothers quit smoking or drinking after three months of being pregnant. The study was reported in EclinicalMedicine, an online journal published by the Lancet. Lead author Dr. Amy Elliot said that exposure to both alcohol and tobacco produce a 'substantially higher' risk of sudden death than exposure to either. A statement from the US's National Institutes of Health, which supported the study, said: 'These findings provide still more evidence of the vital importance of the early prenatal environment to healthy postnatal outcomes. 'Insofar as many women quit drinking and smoking only after they learn that they are pregnant, this study argues strongly for screening for substance use early in pregnancy and intervening as soon as possible.' 'It also calls for stronger public health messaging regarding the dangers of drinking and smoking during pregnancy, and among women who plan to become pregnant.' Dr Elliot added: 'The Safe Passage Study results show that the quantity, frequency and timing of exposures played a critical role in risk of SIDS. 'These findings support the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the United States Surgeon General, and the World Health Organization's recommendation of no smoking or drinking during pregnancy and emphasize the importance of dual exposure, which provides the greatest risk for infant mortality. 'Given that many women quit drinking and smoking after pregnancy recognition, this finding has great public health impact for screening for substance use early and intervening as soon as possible.' Previous studies have suggested smoking may impact rates of sudden death by harming unborn babies' breathing. Nicotine in tobacco damages brain cells that control the tongue - stopping it from moving and opening the airway. In the womb babies have short pauses in breathing that last a few seconds before the tongue kicks into action and revives them. Known as hypoglossal neurons, they control a nerve that runs from grey matter to the underside of the tongue. But a discovery made by Arizona University scientists suggests a potential mechanism whereby infants stop breathing during sleep - leading to SIDS. It is also thought that parents who consume alcohol before sharing beds with their newborns may increase risk of them dying suddenly. HAIKOU, China, Jan. 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The third session of the Sixth People's Congress of Hainan Province opened in Haikou on January 16. According to Shen Xiaoming, governor of Hainan Province, in his government work report, the GDP of Hainan Province is estimated to increase by 5.8 percent year on year in 2019. The province has set a GDP growth target of 6.5 percent for this year. According to the work report of the People's Government of Hainan Province, last year, Hainan's tourism revenue increased by 11.3 percent year on year, and the number of overseas tourists increased by 13.6 percent, which is 9 percent higher than the country's average. The per capita disposable income of urban and rural residents increased by 8 percent. The per capita disposable income of urban and rural residents is expected to increase by 8 percent and 8.2 percent respectively in 2020. According to the report, since April 2018, more than 7,700 international skilled workers have come to work in Hainan. In 2019, the foreign investment in actual use and the number of newly established foreign-funded enterprises in Hainan increased by more than 100 percent. The province aims to create 130,000 urban jobs this year. Shen Xiaoming said that 2020 marks the year when the well-off society will be built in an all-round way and the "13th Five-Year Plan" will come to an end. It is a key year for the construction of Hainan Free Trade Port. Doing a good job in government work will be of great significance. Hainan will focus on the following works: The first is to speed up the construction of the free trade port and build new heights of opening-up. The second is to comprehensively strengthen institutional innovation and cultivate and strengthen core strengths. The third is to continue to promote industrial transformation and lay a solid foundation for high-quality development. The forth is to accurately implement the quality improvement and upgrading of the "five networks" and strengthen the support and guarantee capability. The fifth is to do a good job in the overall planning of urban and rural areas and promote the coordinated development of the whole province. The sixth is to strictly implement the tasks of the first phase of National Ecological Civilization Pilot Zone and raise the quality of the ecological environment to a new level. The seventh is to strive to make up for the shortcomings in social undertakings and optimize the supply of public services. The eighth is to actively address major problems in the field of people's livelihood and ensure that the fruits of development benefit all our people. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 20:46:49|Editor: mingmei Video Player Close ADDIS ABABA, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Ethiopian government has hailed the Ethiopia-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership as the two countries embark on a series of activities to mark the 50th anniversary since the establishment of diplomatic relations. "The diplomatic relations between Ethiopia and China have been growing ever since the two countries established official diplomatic ties back in the 1970s," the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement issued over the weekend. It added that the Ethiopia-China ties have over the years strengthened across various sectors, mainly following the decision among the two countries' governments to elevate bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership back in 2017. According to the ministry, the partnership platform has facilitated the further deepening of the Sino-Ethiopian ties across economic, social, political, defense as w ell as peace and security sectors. Amid the ever-expanding Ethiopia-China relations, the two countries have also elevated their people-to-people, party-to-party as well as governance and institutional level cooperation, according to the ministry. "As the year 2020 marks the Golden Jubilee in the Ethiopia-China diplomatic relations, various activities are underway both in Ethiopia and China to colorfully celebrate the overall progress and transformation as well as future prospects in the two countries' relations," the ministry said. The ministry also stressed that the Golden Jubilee celebrations are also expected to highlight the past progress and future progress in the two countries' growing knowledge transfer, finance, and technical cooperation. 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Domain and Server DOCTYPE XHTML 1.0 Transitional CHARSET AND LANGUAGE English (United States) UTF-8English (United States) DETECTED LANGUAGE English English SERVER Apache/2.2.22 (Unix) mod_ssl/2.2.22 OpenSSL/1.0.0-fips mod_auth_passthrough/2.1 mod_bwlimited/1.4 FrontPage/5.0.2.2635 (PHP/5.3.16) OPERATIVE SYSTEM Linux Linux The language of overwhelmingtraffic.com as detected by CoolSocial algorithms. Operative System running on the server. Character set and language of the site. Represents HTML declared type (e.g.: XHTML 1.1, HTML 4.0, the new HTML 5.0) Type of server and offered services. Site Traffic trend during the last year. Only available for sites ranked <= 100000 in the world. Referring domains for overwhelmingtraffic.com by MajesticSeo. High values are a sign of site importance over the web and on web engines. Facebook link FACEBOOK PAGE LINK FOUND FACEBOOK PAGE www.facebook.com/internetmarketingshow DESCRIPTION io': 'Anthony and Tim Buchalka are the Naked Internet Marketers with a huge mission - To bring integrity LIKES 324 PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT 2 PAGE TYPE Entertainer TIMELINE PAGE TIMELINE Facebook Timeline is the new layout of Facebook pages. The total number of people who tagged or talked about website Facebook page in the last 7-10 days. The 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 URL of the found Facebook page. The type of Facebook page. The total number of people who like website Facebook page. Twitter account link TWITTER PAGE LINK FOUND TWITTER PAGE twitter.com/#!/timbuchalka DESCRIPTION Game designer ACCOUNT CREATED ON 15 Oct 2012 LOCATION Adelaide TWEETS 480 FOLLOWERS 1131 LISTED 17 In 1978, Hollywood was looking to make a film about Hunter S. Thompson. No, it was not an adaptation of Fear & Loathing in Las Vegasthat would come later. Instead, this was the now-almost-forgotten Bill Murray vehicle Where the Buffalo Roam, which was based on Thompsons obituary for his friend and attorney from Fear & Loathing, Oscar Zeta Acosta. Knowing that both Thompson and illustrator Ralph Steadman would be involved and reuniting and driving from Aspen, through Las Vegas, and into Hollywood, the BBC dispatched a film crew for the arts program Omnibus. Director Nigel Finch returned with a ramshackle road trip of a film, one that always seems in danger of falling apart due to Thompsons paranoid and antagonistic state. For a lot of British viewers, this would have been their primer on the American writer, and quickly brings them up to date on Thompsons rise to infamy, the creation of Gonzo journalism, and his alter-ego Raoul Duke. Perhaps Finch thought that getting Thompson and Steadman together in a car would conjure up the Fear & Loathing vibe on screen, but the two make an awkward couple. At one point the reserved Steadman compares himself to Thompsons pet bird Edward. Thompson antagonizes this bird into some sort of trauma, then holds it close and talks to it. I feel absolutely taken apart, being friends with the writer, Steadman says. hes holding me like that bird and Im trying to bite my way out. In Vegas, the crew and Steadman try to rouse Thompson, then find him, confused, and with his face covered in white make-up. In Hollywood, Thompson hates the attention from the camera crew so muchnot to mention the tourists who assume he is a celebrity of some kindthat they find him hiding behind a parked car. This era was indeed the end of that phase of Thompsons career. At one point he asks Finch if hes there to film Thompson or to film Raoul Duke. Finch doesnt know. Thompson doesnt know either, but he does realize that The myth has taken overI feel like an appendage. He can no longer cover events like he did with the Hells Angels, or the Kentucky Derby, because of his fame. He cant cover the story, because hes become part of the story, and to a real journalist thats death. So perhaps thats the appeal of Hollywood? We see Thompson and Steadman meet with a screenwriter (probably John Kaye, who wrote Where the Buffalo Roam) to discuss the script. Thompson had agreed to option the script because, like Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas, he never believed it would get made. So when it went into production he had pretty much given away creative control. The script, he said, It sucks a bad, dumb, low-level, low-rent script. However, Bill Murray and Thompson hung out in Aspen together during the shoot and engaged in a sort of mind-meld, Murray becoming a version of Duke. When Murray returned to Saturday Night Live that season, he came back as a cigarette-holder-smoking faux-Thompson. Years later, Johnny Depp would also find himself being transformed during Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas. (I noticed right after watching this Omnibus special that I answered my phone in a sort of Thompson drawl until my friend called me out. The power of the Gonzo is such.) But the man who had an equal power over Thompson was Richard Nixon. Since seeing the wily politician reappear on the national stage during the Barry Goldwater campaign in 1964, Thompson correctly recognized an enemy of everything he held dear, a dark side of America rising from the corpse of John F. Kennedy. And Nixon caused the fear and the loathing in America to bear fruit. As Thompson says in the documentary: Richard Nixon for me stands for everything that I would not want to have happen to myself, or be, or be around. He is everything that I have contempt for and dislike and I think should be stomped out: Greed, treachery, stupidity, cupidity, positive power of lying, total contempt for any sort of human, constructive, political instinct. Everything thats wrong with America, everything that this country has demonstrated as a national trait, that the world finds repugnant: the bully instinct, the power grab, the dumbness, the insensitivity. Nixon represents everything thats wrong with this country, down the line. Maybe the question is not, what would Thompson think of Trump, who doesnt even feign Nixons humble routine. The question is, where is our Hunter S. Thompson? Related content: Read 11 Free Articles by Hunter S. Thompson That Span His Gonzo Journalist Career (1965-2005) Hunter S. Thompson Gets Confronted by The Hells Angels: Wheres Our Two Kegs of Beer? (1967) How Hunter S. Thompson Gave Birth to Gonzo Journalism: Short Film Revisits Thompsons Seminal 1970 Piece on the Kentucky Derby Hunter S. Thompsons Decadent Daily Breakfast: The Psychic Anchor of His Frenetic Creative Life Ted Mills is a freelance writer on the arts who currently hosts the artist interview-based FunkZone Podcast and is the producer of KCRWs Curious Coast. You can also follow him on Twitter at @tedmills, read his other arts writing at tedmills.com and/or watch his films here. CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.Elon Musks SpaceX simulated a successful emergency landing on Sunday in a dramatic test of a crucial abort system on an unmanned astronaut capsule, laying the foundation for its mission to fly NASA astronauts for the first time. A Crew Dragon astronaut capsule launched at 10:30 a.m. local time and softly splashed down about 19 miles (32 km) off the coast of Cape Canaveral in Florida roughly eight minutes later, after ejecting itself from a rocket that cut off its engines 12 miles (19 km) above the ocean to mimic a launch failure. National Aeronautics and Space Administration administrator Jim Bridenstine called the mission a success. SpaceX founder and chief engineer Elon Musk (R) speaking next to NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine (L) at a post-launch news conference to discuss the SpaceX Crew Dragon astronaut capsule in-flight abort test at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla, on Jan. 19, 2020. (Steve Nesius/Reuters) This critical test puts us on the cusp of once again launching American astronauts on American rockets from American soil, Bridenstine wrote on Twitter. Spacecraft recovery operations are underway. In a key trial for carrying humans, SpaceX was also testing its rescue teams response after splashdown. They scrambled toward Crew Dragon with the U.S. Air Forces Detachment 3 emergency rescue teams in towa vital part of the test to practice a rescue mission to retrieve astronauts from the capsule. Moments before the launch, Musk wrote on Twitter that it was a risky mission that was pushing the envelope in so many ways. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket engine intentionally self-destructs after jettisoning the Crew Dragon astronaut capsule shortly after takeoff at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla, on Jan. 19, 2020. (Joe Rimkus Jr/Reuters) The Crew Dragon capsule, an acorn-shaped pod that can seat seven astronauts, fired onboard thrusters to detach itself from a Falcon 9 rocket less than two minutes after liftoff, simulating an emergency abort scenario to prove it can return astronauts to safety. Each stage of the test prompted loud cheers from SpaceX crew members watching the footage from back on land. The test is crucial to qualify the capsule to fly humans to the International Space Station, something NASA expects to come as soon as mid-2020. It follows years of development and delays as the United States has sought to revive its human spaceflight program through private partnerships. NASA awarded $4.2 billion to Boeing and $2.5 billion to SpaceX in 2014 to develop separate capsule systems capable of ferrying astronauts to the space station from U.S. soil for the first time since NASAs space shuttle program ended in 2011. The space agency has since relied on Russian spacecraft for rides to the space station. During the test the Falcon 9 rockets boosters shut down in a mock failure that triggered Crew Dragons so-called SuperDraco thrusters to jet itself away at supersonic speeds of up to 1,500 miles per hour (2,400 kph). The Falcon 9 booster free-fell back to the ocean, with its first stage crashing into the ocean creating a tall plume of smoke seen on the horizon. The capsule deployed four parachutes to slow its descent to the water, and carried two human-shaped test dummies on seats fitted with motion sensors to collect data on the immense g-forcethe effect of acceleration on the bodyastronauts would be subjected to during abort. The test was originally scheduled for mid-2019 but was delayed after a Crew Dragon capsule exploded in April on a test stand just before firing its launch abort thrusters, triggering a lengthy investigation. SpaceX-led investigators in July zeroed in on a previously unknown explosive reaction between a titanium valve and a propellant used to ignite the thrusters. A SpaceX official said the company completed the investigation within the last week. By Joey Roulette President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn to board Marine One at the White House in Washington on Dec. 18, 2019. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times) White House Legal Brief: Impeachment a Dangerous Perversion of Constitution President Donald Trumps legal team asserted Monday that the House Democrats impeachment case against the president is frivolous and a dangerous perversion of the Constitution, while again saying Trump did absolutely nothing wrong, setting the tone for the potentially weeks-long Senate trial. In a brief that was submitted to the Senate before the trial will start Tuesday, Trumps lawyers will make the argument that both articles of impeachment against the president were constitutionally deficient, while potentially endangering the future office of the presidency and upsetting the governments balance of power. House Democrats were determined from the outset to find some wayany wayto corrupt the extraordinary power of impeachment for use as a political tool to overturn the result of the 2016 election and to interfere in the 2020 election, Trumps lawyers wrote. All of that is a dangerous perversion of the Constitution that the Senate should swiftly and roundly condemn. The Trump legal teams filing comes after House Democrats submitted their own brief that essentially summarized weeks of testimony from witnesses. The process that brought these articles of impeachment to the Senate was completely unprecedented in U.S. history, said a source working with Trumps legal team in a conference call. The source said that every presidential impeachment inquiry has involved basic due process protections for the accused, while arguing that Trump was given none of these rights by House Democrats during the inquiry late last year. The same source echoed House Republicans claims during the inquiry that only one of the witnesses involved in the case, Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, actually spoke to the president. Whats more, the source said House managers will not be able to provide a single witness who had direct knowledge of an alleged quid pro quo scheme between Trump and Ukraines leadership, as Democrats have alleged throughout the inquiry. It is the president who defines foreign policy, not the unelected bureaucrats who are his subordinates, his team will argue. Any theory of an impeachable offense that turns on ferreting out supposedly constitutionally improper motives by measuring the presidents policy decisions against a purported interagency consensus is both fundamentally anti-democratic and an absurdly impermissible inversion of the constitutional structure. Democrats impeachment case accuses Trump of abusing his power by withholding military aid from Ukraine while he was pushing to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, his son Hunter, and Ukraine-based energy company Burisma Holdings, of which the younger Biden sat on the board. They have also alleged Trump obstructed Congress by not sufficiently cooperating with their inquiry. Trump on Monday signaled on Twitter that he opposes the use of witnesses: They didnt want John Bolton and others in the House. They were in too much of a rush. Now they want them all in the Senate. Not supposed to be that way! He was referring to his former national security adviser, John Bolton, who indicated earlier this month that he would be willing to testify in the trial if he were subpoenaed. The House impeachment managers, including Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), responded to the White Houses filing on Monday afternoon. President Trump has engaged in the trifecta of constitutional misconduct warranting removal, the managers wrote in response. He is the Framers worst nightmare come to life. Their filing argued: President Trump did not engage in this corrupt conduct to uphold the Presidency or protect the right to vote. He did it to cheat in the next election and bury the evidence when he got caught. Over the weekend, the House management team filed their first brief with the Senate ahead of the trial, which is slated to start Tuesday and run for several weeks. Senators are expected to work six days per week. 16,532 people were registered with Luxembourg's National Employment Agency (ADEM) last month. Compared to the same time last year, this figure represents an increase of almost 9%. Seasonal variations aside, the overall rate of unemployment nevertheless remains low at 5.4% According to Statec, employment is growing in Luxembourg. The statistical increase in jobseekers is partly due to the exceptional decrease in unemployment rates that Luxembourg witnessed towards the end of 2018. This unusual decrease was, in return, partly due to the introduction of a new application procedure. ADEM recorded more than 2,300 new available positions in December - a 3.1% decrease compared to 2018. A total of 6,700 positions were open to applications last month. The highest job opening rates were found in the IT, accountancy, education of young children, and cleaning sectors. Nearly seven months after becoming the working president of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Jagat Prakash Nadda formally take over the reins of the party from Amit Shah on Monday. The 59-year-old BJP leader, who filed his nomination early today, has been elected unopposed since he is the only candidate. Top party leaders, including Union ministers and those from states, arrived at the BJP headquarter, where his name was formally proposed for new chief. His name was recommended by BJP parliamentary board members Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari. Nadda was the first choice of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for the job. As per report, PM Modi and Amit Shah are expected to arrive at the BJP office for Nadda's formal elevation. Senior BJP leader Radha Mohan Singh, who is in charge of the organisational election process, made the announcement at the party headquarters in Delhi. The appointment of a new president also brought to end incumbent Shah's tenure of over five and a half years during which the BJP expanded its footprints across the country like never before and enjoyed its best phase in electoral contests despite suffering a few setbacks in state polls. Also Read: Budget 2020: FM Nirmala Sitharaman kicks off budgetary exercise with 'Halwa' ceremony Nadda, who has been a member of the Himachal Pradesh legislative assembly thrice in 1993, 1998, and 2007, was handpicked for the top post in July last year after Shah was made the home minister. With Shah joining the Modi 2.0 government, the BJP began the exercise for electing his successor as the party has the convention that a person cannot hold more than one post whether in the party or in the government. In the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha election, Himachal Pradesh leader was in-charge of the BJP's election campaign in the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh, where the party faced a tough challenge from the grand alliance of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). The party managed to win 62 out of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh. Apart from this, he was a Cabinet minister in the first tenure of the Modi government and has been a member of the parliamentary board, the BJP's top decision making body. Also Read: Making India $5 trillion economy by 2024 'difficult, not impossible': Nitin Gadkari He entered into national politics in 2010 when the then BJP president Nitin Gadkari appointed him the general secretary of the party under his leadership. Soon after this, he became a member of Rajya Sabha in April, 2012, and served as health minister under Modi from 2014 to 2019. Nadda was born on 2 December 1960 to Narain Lall Nadda and Krishna Nadda. He did his schooling from St. Xavier's School, Patna, while he did his B.A. from Patna College, Patna University and LL.B. from Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla. Nadda is married to Mallika Nadda and the couple has two sons. By Chitranjan Kumar with PTI inputs A judge has granted court protection to a woman whose ex-partner is threatening to post intimate videos and photos of her on Facebook. At the family law court in Ennis, Judge Patrick Durcan granted the woman a two-year Safety Order against the man where she has been a victim of so-called revenge porn. The woman told the judge that she is in fear for her safety because of the man. In a statement to the court, the woman stated that the man is constantly sending her text messages and ringing her. She said that she blocked him on her phone but that he keeps getting a new phone number. She stated that she also found that the boiler in her house had been tampered with and that the man is following her every day. She added that the man is blackmailing her and has intimate photos and videos of me and is threatening to put them up on Facebook. The man was not in court to contest the application for the Safety Order and Judge Durcan granted the Safety Order for two years. Last May, the Cabinet approved measures to make revenge porn a specific criminal offence. However, chief executive of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC), Noeline Blackwell, today expressed disappointment that the proposed legislation didnt become law before the general election was called. Ms Blackwell said that the non-consensual action of posting intimate photos and videos online is a growing issue and we would hear that anecdotally from the Gardai and family law lawyers. She said that the current laws in place are totally inadequate to deal with this form of abuse". Ms Blackwell stated that the current sexual harassment laws require a pattern of behaviour and that doesnt cover one lethal uploading online that can have devastating consequences for the person who didnt give her or his consent. The current laws that can be used are not strong enough. Ms Blackwell said that England and Wales have specific laws to deal with the unauthorised sharing of intimate images online before adding that she hopes that the new Government that will be voted in will proceed to enact the legislation. She said: No one was against this being made law so that is why it is so disappointing that this abuse hasnt been made a specific offence." Ms Blackwell said that the social media companies must do more to combat such unauthorised sharing of intimate images online. Asked should those individuals who commit so called revenge porn be jailed , Ms Blackwell said that the unauthorised sharing is another form of abuse and sentencing should be in line with sentencing for other abuse offences. The DRCC was one of a number of bodies to make a submission to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice and Equality on the issue of online harassment and harmful communications last October. Ms Blackwell said that the work that the Committee has done on the issue should continue under the next Government. A Bill on the 'revenge porn' issue put forward by the Labour Party in 2017 proposed a six-month prison term for offenders. A spokesman for the Dept of Justice stated that the issue of harmful communications is one which Minister Charlie Flanagan is very concerned about. The spokesman said that Minister Flanagan proposed a number of significant amendments to a Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Bill put forward by Deputy Brendan Howlin designed to strengthen the proposals. He said that Government subsequently approved the drafting of these amendments which would include introducing a distinct offence of stalking and provide for two offences to deal with non-consensual recording and distribution of intimate images including so-called revenge pornography. Penalties of up to seven years imprisonment and/or an unlimited fines would be provided for in the draft legislation. The spokesman said: These penalties are intended to be sufficiently harsh to reflect the harm caused by harassment and the distribution of intimate images without consent. He said: The Department has been engaging closely with the Office of the Parliamentary Council to draft amendments to the Bill, to ensure consistency in its provisions and that the law in this area is robust and effective. Deputy Howlins office has been kept updated on developments. A manhunt is under way for a major Drogheda feud criminal - who is also suspected of involvement in the gruesome murder of Keane Mulready-Woods (17) - after a warrant was issued for his arrest. Specialist gardai were closely watching Dublin Airport and Port yesterday amid fears that the criminal - a leading member on one side of the bloody feud - would flee to England. Officers have been warned that the thug is "dangerous" and armed gardai may be required to deal with him. The arrest warrant, issued last Thursday, is not linked to last week's savage abduction, murder and dismemberment of the Drogheda teenager. Mobster The warrant alleges that the mobster has repeatedly breached strict bail conditions since December. Expand Close Gardai recovered further remains in this burned out car near Drumcondra in Dublin last week / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Gardai recovered further remains in this burned out car near Drumcondra in Dublin last week The criminal, in his 20s, is facing serious charges in relation to an incident in Drogheda last year. The warrant states that he has failed to sign on at a garda station as required by his bail conditions in December and this month. It is also alleged that the criminal has not been constantly staying at an address in Drogheda which he is also obliged to do. "Gardai hope to execute the arrest warrant with the intention of bringing the suspect off the streets and into prison," a source told the Herald. "If this happens it will ease tensions in the Co Louth town - there is a very strange atmosphere in Drogheda at the moment." The mobster is a main target for the rival Maguire faction and survived a recent attempt on his life. Sources say that the criminal has been "driving a lot of the hatred" in the feud and is suspected of goading and abusing paralysed Owen Maguire last year in a phone call. In the call recorded and shared on social media, Maguire - who is confined to a wheelchair after being shot by the rival gang in July 2018 - is ridiculed about being left paralysed, with the rival mobster asking: "Do you want to go for a walk and sort this out?" The latest development comes as it emerged that a verbal dispute over a pair of flip-flops may have led to the brutal murder and dismemberment of Mulready-Woods. A Dublin criminal in his 30s, released from jail just weeks ago, was recently attacked and filmed on a Dublin street, with footage shared on social media. Later, the Coolock man suspected of carrying out the assault posted a selfie in a pair of black and white flip-flops which are believed to have been taken from the criminal's gym bag. Investigators say tensions grew after the incident and sources say that the criminal and his associates were furious at how he was ridiculed publicly by the young Coolock man. In a gruesome turn of events, a pair of flip-flops was found in the bag containing the limbs of Mulready-Woods last Monday. Vanished Gardai received intelligence that the video incident may be intertwined in the savage murder shortly after the teenager vanished from Drogheda. The fitness fanatic criminal, who has more than 120 convictions including for drug offences, is just one of a number of major gangland figures whose recent activities are being looked at as part of the murder probe. This individual has links to drug dealer Richie Carberry, shot dead outside his Bettystown home while the criminal was in jail. Carberry - gunned down in the driveway of his house in early November - is understood to have been murdered on the orders of Mr Big, a Coolock drug boss and associate of Cornelius Price. Price is in turn closely aligned to Owen Maguire, whose gang is at war with their Drogheda opposition. Price's compound in Gormanston, Co Meath, was searched a number of times last week by gardai, first trying to locate Mulready-Woods's decapitated head and now his torso. Gardai and forensics experts are now working through the evidence gathered to date, including knives found at a house at Rathmullen Park, where gardai believe the teen may have been killed. The house has now been boarded up. No arrests have yet been made but gardai are following definite lines of inquiry. Meanwhile, the family of Mulready-Woods are awaiting word as to when they can organise his funeral. Not all of his body has been found yet, something which is causing his family a lot of stress and worry. It is believed that if the torso was found it would yield evidence of how the teen was killed, as a cause of death has not yet been identified based on the remains found to date. CARROLLTON Attorney John Wayne Guntren has entered the race for Greene County circuit judge. Guntren is the fourth candidate to declare his intention to run in the March primary to replace Circuit Judge James W. Day, who is retiring after 30 years on the bench. The other candidates are special prosecutor Matt Goetten, attorney Zachary Schmidt and attorney Elliott L. Turpin. Guntren, 64, is a self-employed attorney who has had a law practice in Jerseyville since 1983. Prior to starting his firm, he did legal work in Ohio and briefly practiced law for a firm in Jacksonville. The majority of his practice has consisted of trial work in the state and appellate courts. Guntren has been a court-appointed public defender in Jersey, Greene, Calhoun and Macoupin counties. He has also served on the Carrollton school board. Guntren said he believes he has the most experience practicing law, especially trial experience, of any of the candidates. He said his breadth of experience in courtrooms helps him understand the qualities necessary in a judge. I understand and know what a judge needs to do in a courtroom, he said. I have an understanding of what makes a good judge as opposed to maybe a judge that isnt quite up there with the rest of them. Those qualities include treating everybody in the courtroom with respect, following and upholding laws in the state and U.S. constitutions, and keeping politics out of the court, he said. I dont believe that you should be having anything else enter into your thinking as a judge other than what the facts of your case are and what the law is, Guntren said. I think you should treat people when they come in with a great deal of respect disregarding what political party people belong to. Guntren said Day practiced those values during his tenure and was always accessible to attorneys. Guntren lives in rural Greene County. He was born in Jerseyville and graduated from Jerseyville High School in 1973. He earned a bachelors degree in history and political science from Illinois College in 1977 and went to the University of Dayton law school in Ohio, graduating in 1982. Guntren received his license to practice law in Illinois in 1983 and also has an inactive license to practice law in Ohio. The nominally left candidate in the Labour Party leadership contest, Rebecca-Long Bailey, launched her campaign at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester Friday. The event confirmed that four years of Jeremy Corbyns leadership have changed nothing fundamental about the Labour Party. Not only does Labour continue to be politically dominated by the Blairites, but should Long-Bailey succeed her mentor then she would do their bidding all down the line. Unity with the Blairite right was the leitmotif of Long-Baileys campaign rally. Before she took to the stage, the Salford and Eccles MP was introduced by Kim Johnson, MP for Liverpool Riverside, who made no less than three appeals for unity with the right in just five minutes: We dont want to create any more diversions; we need to come together to support our party. We are broad church, and we can agree to disagree, she declared. We need to understand what needs to be done to bring the party together. Whoever wins the [leadership] election, the disunity of the past four years needs to be put behind us, and we have to unite behind our common and shared values. Rebecca Long-Bailey speaking at the launch event in Manchester Long-Bailey, a 40-year-old former solicitor, has no connections with any struggle waged by the working class. To conceal this fact, her handlersled by Jon Lansman of the pro-Corbyn Momentum grouphave concocted a fictional biography that rings hollow as soon as the words written for her are uttered. Long-Bailey told the audience that it was more than 30 years ago, that as a little girl I came here to the science and industry museum. This extraordinary museum trip apparently imbued her with a profound understanding of the history of the labour movementFrom 18th century cotton spinning, to the Victorian steam engines to the birth of flight, the first computer and space travel. It was like the history of human progress. The history of Salford and Manchester was about the Chartists, the trade unions, the Pankhursts. The history of our cities was the history of struggle, of solidarity, of social and economic progress on an unstoppable journey upwards. Long-Bailey was nine-years-old or younger when this vision of the sweep of the workers movement and fight for democratic rights from the 1830s and Chartism to the suffragettes in the 20th century supposedly struck her. She previously cited her concern over her father losing his job on Salfords docks, in 1982, when she was two years old. The truth is that when Long-Bailey was nine, her father got a job at an oil refinery near Ellesmere Port in the county of Cheshire, and the rest of her childhood was spent in the prosperous market town of Frodsham. Aside from such working-class window dressing, the most significant biographical reference made in Long-Baileys speech was her assertion that I also learnt my politics in May 1997 when just walking down the street and literally seeing people with a spring in their step with hope for the future again. This positive reference to Tony Blairs New Labour government, elected after 18 years of Tory rule, was calculated to reach out to the present-day Blairites and echoes her main right-wing competitor, Sir Keir Starmer, who has insisted, We are not going to trash the last Labour government. For 13 years, Blair and then Gordon Brown continued Thatchers policies, overseeing record levels of inequalitywith Blairs adviser Peter Mandelson becoming notorious for his statement that Labour was intensely relaxed about people getting filthy rich. Blair is despised for dragging Britain into an illegal war in Iraq that led to the deaths of over one million people. But Long-Bailey draws a veil over all of this, quietly shelving statements made earlier in her political career of how she opposed Blairs war on Iraq as a politics student. True or not, Long-Baileys supposedly intense interest in political history did not lead her to join the Labour Party or do anything remotely political. She left university to train to be a solicitor and pursue a legal career specialising in commercial property and National Health Service contracts and only joined the Labour Party around 2010, before becoming an MP just five years ago. Long-Bailey owes her subsequent political career to Corbyn, who won the leadership in September 2015 months after she became an MP. But on this score her main concern is to distance herself from her mentorrepeatedly rejecting descriptions of herself as the Corbyn continuity candidate to curry favour with the Blairites. However, even her grovelling self-abnegation reeks of true continuity with Corbyn, whose record consists of employing a smattering of left-phraseology to position himself as a block on rank-and-file demands for the expulsion of the Blairite right while he adapted himself to their every programmatic demand. The problem for Long-Bailey is she is attempting to take over as the voice of the Labour left just weeks after the ignominious collapse of the entire Corbyn project and the landslide election of Boris Johnsons Tories. A couple of hundred inveterate Labour opportunists and a few naive middle-class youth might be induced to sing Long-Baileys praises at a party launch meeting, but she has no political standing in the working class. The millions of workers and young people who turned away from Labour in December after taking Corbyns real measure will hardly be attracted to the Corbyn-lite persona of Long-Bailey. Corbyn at least had the advantage of decades as a backbencher during which he dutifully proclaimed his loyal opposition to the worst political crimes of Labours right-wing. Long-Bailey can only rely on her gender and a few phrases about a green industrial revolution to mask her essential agreement with the Blairites. Her speech in Manchester was even replete with Blair-style appeals to the aspirational voter. In answer to a question from the Financial Times about what she meant by getting the basics right, Long-Bailey again disavowed Corbyn, saying Labours election manifesto didnt resonate and what we should have been talking about is aspiration. We talked quite a lot about individual policies in relation to health care, etc. but we didnt match that with a message of aspiration. The following evening, Long-Bailey and the four other leadership candidatesStarmer, Emily Thornberry, Lisa Nandy and Jess Phillips, took part in a hustings in Liverpool. Long-Bailey stressed again that her focus was on party unity. Asked how she would unite the Labour Party and put a stop to factionalism, she replied, Over the last four years we havent been united as a party and united parties win elections and disunited parties dont weve got to recognise that the point of the Labour Party was that it was established to bring together all views across the centre left of politics. Growing numbers of Labour Party members who joined believing that Corbyn would shift the party to the left are despairing at the wreckage they confront, with the Blairites again on the rampage. Some have already decided to leave or are considering doing so. Should Long-Bailey become leader, those foolish enough to stay could find her signing off on their expulsionas evidenced by her signing up to the 10 pledges of the Board of Deputies of British Jews stipulating that anyone accused of anti-Semitism, based on their opposition to Israeli-repression of the Palestinians, will be expelled, along with anyone who dares defend them from expulsion. Lansman knows there is no popular enthusiasm for Long-Bailey. For this reason, he organised a poll of Momentums membership offering the choice of either backing Long-Bailey or no one. Just 7,395 (18 percent) of Momentums 40,000 members participated and Long-Bailey won just 70 percent of the vote. When members were asked to vote for Long-Baileys running mate Angela Rayner as deputy leader, only 52 percent did sowith almost half abstaining in disgust. Veterinarian staff care for a rescued platypus at an undisclosed location in New South Wales, Australia in this image released January 20, 2020 by Aussie Ark. (Photo : Aussie Ark via REUTERS) The prolonged drought and other effects of climate change are driving Australia's platypus population towards extinction, new research found. Researchers at the University of New South Wales say platypus already disappeared from as much as 40 percent on Australia's east coast due to the drought, land clearing, pollution, and construction of dams. They anticipated that the platypus population is going to drop an additional 66 percent over the following 50 years if the condition continues. Its population, if the circumstance worsens, may lessen to up to 73 percent less by 2070. Richard Kingsford, director for UNSW's Centre for Ecosystem Science, said the destiny for the platypus was 'grim.' Mr. Kingsford stated in the journal article, Biological Conservation the situation is affecting platypus' capacity to survive for the duration of these prolonged dry intervals and increased demand for water. Gilad Bino, the research co-author, said the chance of climate exchange could affect the platypus's potential to repopulate, noting they may face 'extinction.' "We are not monitoring what we anticipate to be a not unusual species. We might also awaken and understand it's too late," Dr. Bino said. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classified platypus as 'near-threatened' under its Red List of threatened species. The Victorian Environment Department stated they were working with the federal government over whether or not the platypus' status had to be changed to 'threatened.' NSW stated they recognized issues together with the drought will be placing the platypus 'at risk' category. Still, Dr. Bino says the government needs to evaluate how the animal belongs to that category. The researchers said the platypus' habitat would need to be managed to save from global extinction. Extinctions to accelerate Researchers said their findings that the first extinction probably passed off inside ten years of colonization. At least three extinctions took place within the last decade. They located that the introduction of predators like foxes and cats, drought, and hearth had harmed indigenous species, with climate alternate emerging as an issue greater recently. John Woinarski, the report's lead author, told Al Jazeera extinction in Australia changed into the best of any content inside the global and "fairly likely" to accelerate. Recalling a species of skink he had once held in his arms and became now extinct, Woinarski said the loss of any species turned into devastating. "To have held an animal or plant that has long gone extinct for your lifetime, it impacts your soul," he advised Al Jazeera. "Extinctions are a part of us. They aren't remote entities. They are real things that had existence and vitality, and that has been extinguished." 'Urgent need' The study is the first to set up a so-called "metapopulation" model across all platypus habitat zones to project the influences of climate change on the species going forward. The survey covered the full platypus population, which had fallen by 50 percent since the European agreement in 1788. "Under anticipated climate change, the losses forecast were greater due to extreme drought frequencies and duration, along with current dry spell," Bino said. The platypus is one of the international's strangest animals. It is the most effective mammal that lays eggs. Platypus looks unique, too, because it has an invoice of a duck, tail of a beaver, ft of an otter, and a venomous spur on its hind leg. Platypuses live in freshwater areas and are determined along the east coast and southeast coast of Australia. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 20:45:48|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close CHANGCHUN, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Four people were killed and 22 injured after a bus rolled over at about 12:40 p.m. Monday in Yushu City, northeast China's Jilin Province. Five of the 22 injured passengers have been discharged after being hospitalized and all of them are out of danger, said local authorities. The bus was carrying 54 people, including two drivers, a conductor and 51 passengers, when the rollover occurred. Further investigation is underway. Asking prices of properties coming onto the UK housing market have surged by 2.3 per cent since the general election, the largest monthly rise ever recorded at this time of the year. Rightmove, which tracked the prices of 65,000 properties, said the average asking price rose by 6,785 to 306,810 between mid-December and mid-January, up by 2.3 per cent on the previous month and 2.7 per cent on a year earlier. It also said new buyers enquiries to estate agents were up by 15 per cent to 1.3 million compared to the same period a year ago. There was a 7.4 per cent annual increase in the number of sales agreed. Miles Shipside, director and housing market analyst at Rightmove, said the figures indicated that many buyers and sellers felt the election result had given a window of stability. The housing market dislikes uncertainty, and the unsettled political outlook over the last three and a half years since the EU referendum caused some potential home movers to hesitate, he said. Recommended House prices rise at fastest monthly rate since 2013 Whilst a substantial rise is the norm in January, buoyed by the start of a new year, this is the biggest new year price surge that we have ever recorded. Mr Shipside said that while there might be more twists and turns in the Brexit saga, there was now an opportunity for sellers to get their property on the market for a spring move unaffected by Brexit deadlines There now seems to be a release of this pent-up demand, which suggests we are in store for an active spring market. The early birds are on it, with over 1.3 million buyer enquiries to agents since the election, he said. Asking prices for properties in the month following the 2019 general election was the largest month-on-month rise for a December-January period (Rightmove) However, Mr Shipside warned sellers not to get carried away with their pricing and miss out on a window of increased activity, saying that high prices meant many buyers faced stretched affordability. The Rightmove report will add to growing evidence that the election result has triggered renewed optimism in the housing market. Last week Halifax said prices rose in December at the fastest pace since 2013, while the surveyors organisation RICS said 17 per cent more respondents had seen a rise rather than fall in enquiries from new buyers. Business news: In pictures Show all 13 1 /13 Business news: In pictures Business news: In pictures Flybe collapses Airline Flybe has collapsed. All future flights on the Exeter-based airline have been cancelled leaving more than 2,300 staff facing an uncertain future, and wrecking the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers. The chief executive, Mark Anderson, said: Europes largest independent regional airline has been unable to overcome significant funding challenges to its business. AFP via Getty Business news: In pictures Future product placement will be 'tailored to individual viewers' Marketing executives say that product placement in films and televison shows on streaming services such as Netflix may be tailored to individuals in future. For instance, if data shows that a viewer is a fan of pepsi, a billboard in the background of a shot would host an advert for pepsi, while for a viewer known to have different tastes it could be for Coca-Cola Paramount Business news: In pictures Corbyn wishes Amazon a happy birthday In a card sent to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on the company's 25th birthday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn writes: "You owe the British people millions in taxes that pay for the public services that we all rely on. Please pay your fair share" Business news: In pictures No deal, no tariffs The government has announced that it would slash almost all tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Notable exceptions include cars and meat, which will see tariffs in place to protect British farmers Getty Business news: In pictures Fingerprint payment NatWest is trialling a new bank card that will allow people to touch their hand to the card when paying rather than typing in a PIN number. The card will work by recognising the user's fingerprint NatWest/PA Wire Business news: In pictures Mahabis bust High-end slipper retailer Mahabis has gone into administration. 2 Jan 2019 Mahabis Business news: In pictures Costa Cola Coca-Cola has paid 3.9bn for Costa Coffee. A cafe chain is a new venture for the global soft drinks giant PA Business news: In pictures RIP Payday Loans A funeral procession for payday loans was held in London on September 2. The future of pay day lenders is in doubt after Wonga, Britain's biggest, went into administration on August 30 PA Business news: In pictures Musk irks investors and directors Elon Musk has concluded that Tesla will remain public. Investors and company directors were angry at Musk for tweeting unexpectedly that he was considering taking Tesla private and share prices had taken a tumble in the following weeks Getty Business news: In pictures Jaguar warning Iconic British car maker Jaguar Land Rover warned on July 5, 2018 that a "bad" Brexit deal could jeopardise planned investment of more than $100 billion, upping corporate pressure as the government heads into crucial talks AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures Spotif-IPO Spotify traded publically for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. However, the company isn't issuing shares, but rather, shares held by Spotify's private investors will be sold AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures French blue passports The deadline to award a contract to make blue British passports after Brexit has been extended by two weeks following a request by bidder De La Rue. The move comes after anger at the announcement British passports would be produced by Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto when De La Rues contract ends in July. The British firm said Gemalto was chosen only because it undercut the competition, but the UK company also admitted that it was not the cheapest choice in the tendering process. Business news: In pictures Beast from the east economic impact The Beast from the East wiped 4m off of Flybes revenues due to flight cancellations, airport closures and delays, according to the budget airlines estimates. Flybe said it cancelled 994 flights in the three months to 31 March, compared to 372 in the same period last year. However, the Rightmove survey showed there was a north-south divide. The west midlands saw the fastest monthly rise of 2.6 per cent, followed by the east of England with 2.3 per cent and 2.1 per cent in Greater London. Wales recorded a fall of 0.9 per cent and Scotland saw a 0.8 per cent drop while Yorkshire and Humberside showed the weakest increase of 0.1 per cent. Marc von Grundherr, director of London estate agency Benham & Reeves, said even the slightest inkling of returning market stability had been enough to reignite the fires for both buyers and sellers. A tsunami of buyer demand soon spurred an increase in asking prices and savvy sellers were quick to ride the turning tide to ensure they secured the best price for their property, he said. Health authorities in China on Monday confirmed nearly 140 new cases of a mysterious pneumonia-like virus, which has killed three people so far. It comes as the country's peak holiday travel season kicks off ahead of the Lunar New Year, sparking concerns over the spread of the viral strain and its possible impact on economic growth. "It's highly likely we'll see this virus spread given that it appears there's some form of human-to-human transmission and given the scale of travel in the lead-up to Chinese New Year," said Alexandra Phelan, faculty research instructor in the microbiology and immunology department at Georgetown University. "Looking further on, I think we're likely to have cases around China and also there will likely be cases in other countries as people travel," Phelan told CNBC on Monday. While the Sars-virus first emerged in the central city of Wuhan in late December, the 139 new cases that appeared over the weekend in China showed new cases in the capital of Beijing in the north of the country, as well as in the southern city of Shenzhen, Reuters reported. This brings the total to more than 200 confirmed cases from the new coronavirus strain. Three of them have died. Impact on travelers Hundreds of millions of Chinese travelers are expected to travel both domestically and internationally as Lunar New Year starts this Saturday, igniting fears of a further spread of the virus and kindling memories of the fatal Sars pandemic in 2002 and 2003 that killed nearly 800 globally. The Sars pandemic also caused by a coronavirus cost the global economy tens of billions of dollars. On Monday, South Korea confirmed its first case of the new coronavirus in a Chinese woman who flew to Incheon International Airport from Wuhan. Two cases have also been reported in Thailand and one in Japan. They involved two Chinese from Wuhan and a resident in Japan who had travel history to the city where the virus is linked to a large seafood and animal market, suggesting that the virus had jumped from animals to humans, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on its website. However, some of the patients have not had exposure to the animal markets, "suggesting that some limited person-to-person spread is occurring," the CDC said Friday. Airport authorities around the world have already stepped up health screening of travelers at their borders to pick up suspected cases. Measures include temperature screening. However, as symptoms from the new Wuhan coronavirus infection are similar to that of other respiratory conditions, there will be "a lot" of travelers who would be wrongly picked up alongside, Phelan said. "They can be a useful opportunity to provide people with information if they do feel sick ... but most of the time, border screening is actually a very expensive, not particularly effective way of actually preventing the spread of disease," said Phelan. Impact on China's economy While the nature and severity of the new coronavirus is still under investigation, it could pose a major risk to Asia Pacific economies, experts said. "Human-to-human transmission will be (the) tipping point, and mass movements in China during CNY (Chinese New Year) may be an unwelcomed accelerant," said Vishnu Varathan, Asia head of economics and strategy at Mizuho Bank. The 2003 Sars crisis created a severe negative impact on GDP growth for the Chinese economy and also hit the economies of a number of Southeast Asian nations. Rajiv Biswas Asia Pacific chief economist at IHS Markit An Oregon woman was fired earlier this month after she gave a struggling customer $20 of her own money to help him get home to his family for Christmas. Emily James, who worked as a senior banker at a US Bank call center in Portland, went above and beyond for Marc Eugenio on Christmas Eve as he sat parked at a gas station unable to fill his tank. According to The Oregonian, on December 23 James spent more than an hour trying to help Eugenio get his paycheck that had been placed on hold by his new job. Eugenio had called the call center to see if anyone could get the hold removed so that he could access his funds. But James was unable to lift the hold and instead told Eugenio to visit his local branch in Clackamas on Christmas Eve. Emily James (pictured), who worked as a senior banker at a US Bank call center in Oregon was fired after she left work to give Marc Eugenio $20 of her own money for gas to help him get home to his family for Christmas When he arrived to the branch, no one was able to help him because most of the employees had gone home for the holiday. Devastated, Eugenio called the call center on Christmas Eve and asked to speak to James who had tried to help him the day before. There was still nothing that she could do. Eugenio told the Oregonian that he said: 'I wish I had just $20 bucks to get home.' 'And she said "Wait, hold on."' James, who usually speaks to customers from all over the country, was just 14 miles away from Eugenio. She told him to wait for her at the gas station and she arrived within 30 minutes. 'I didnt want her to do it,' he said. 'But Im not proud to the point that Im going to refuse help.' James told the newspaper: 'I handed him $20 in cash, said "Merry Christmas" and went right back to work.' But on New Years Eve, the regional service manager relieved James of her duties. In a statement a US Bank spokesperson explained that James 'was terminated following an internal investigation into her interactions with a customer' that 'put herself and the bank at risk with her actions' She says her supervisor was also fired for letting her leave and give Eugenio the funds. '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 I thought that this person would hurt me,' she told the Oregonian. It was around 3.30pm on Christmas Eve when James went to meet Eugenio at the gas station. James says she had never been disciplined while on the job and even has countless accolades for her work. She said: '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.' In a statement to the New York Post, a US Bank spokesperson explained the companys decision to fire James. 'Ms James was terminated following an internal investigation into her interactions with a customer. During this review it was determined Ms James did not use the available solutions to remedy the customers situation and instead put herself and the bank at risk with her actions.' From activist of Sweden to conservation scientist Krithi Karanth from India, the yearly jamboree of the rich and powerful from across the world in this Swiss ski resort town will host many a climate heroes this week. Going by the theme of the 50th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum, which calls itself an international organisation for public-private partnership, more than 3,000 global leaders will assemble here this week as 'stakeholders for a cohesive and sustainable world'. The WEF said, its 2020 annual meeting will be more action-oriented than ever with its Founder and Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab expecting it to be a "Do shop, not a talk shop". Helping bring about systemic change to return our planet to a sustainable path, there will be an unprecedented number of leaders from across civil society making progress at the community, national and global level, the WEF said. There would be a number of 'teenage changemakers' attending the event, including Fionn Ferreira of Netherlands. As a young scientist, Fionn has created a project extracting micro plastics from water and aims to prevent them from reaching oceans. Besides, it will be attended by Ayakha Melithafa, a 17 year-old South African who advocates for low-carbon footprint in her community and supports the inclusion of diverse voices in climate activism. Autumn Peltier of Canada, on the other hand, has been advocating for water conservation since the age of 8, and is Anishinabek's Chief Water Commissioner, representing over 40 First Nations in Canada. is already famous as an international climate activist and a leader of the School Strike for Climate movement. Melati Wijsen of Indonesia, with her initiative Bye Bye Plastics that she founded with her sister, has banned plastic bags, straws and Styrofoam in Bali since 2019. The members from the civil society and academia include Gary Bencheghib of Indonesia. Gary's film-making has brought home the impact of environmental degradation to millions of people. For example in a film he made navigating the world's most polluted river in Java in a kayak made of plastic bottles. Kerstin Forsberg of Peru has lead dozens of community-based environmental projects in Peru, engaging hundreds of citizen scientists and over 50 schools in marine education. Salvador Gomez-Colon of Puerto Rico, after Huricanne Maria devastated Puerto Rico in 2017, developed project 'Light and Hope' which supported over 3,000 families with solar lamps and manual washing machines. Jane Goodall of USA is a world-renowned primatologist and her work has paved redefined the relationship between humans and animals. From India, Krithi Karanth would be present. As Chief Conservation Scientist and Director of the Centre for Wildlife Studies, Kirithi's work focuses on human-animal conflict and land use change. Wanjuhi Njoroge of Kenya founded #SaveOurForestsKE as a campaign that raised awareness about the decimation of forests and led to a nine-month ban on national forest logging in the country. Carlos Afonso Nobre of Brazil has dedicated his career to the Amazon region and developed pioneer research on the climate impacts of deforestation. German citizen Johan Rockstrom's work developing the planetary boundaries framework that facilitates human development while defending the planet's boundaries is regarded as seminal. British Lord Nicholas Stern's seminal 2006 study on the economics of was the first of its kind to quantify the cost of Holly Syrett of Netherlands has led a grassroots approach in 40 cities for citizens to re-use, re-purpose, buy less, buy second-hand and use their purchasing-power to support items that respect people and planet. Neel Tamhane from Bangladesh has led a tree-planting drive that has already planted 9 billion trees in 27 cities in South Asia. Asha de Vos of Sri Lanka has founded the Sri Lankan Blue Whale Project in 2008, the first long term study on blue whales within the northern Indian Ocean. The WEF is also showcasing a series of installations, including Partnering with Nature, developed in collaboration with the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, the Algae Platform by Atelier Luma and Department of Seaweed by Julia Lohmann, two projects exploring the potential of algae as an alternative to conventional materials such as plastic; and Totomoxtle by designer Fernando Laposse which aims to reintroduce native varieties and restore indigenous farming practices in Mexico. The meeting brings together nearly 3,000 global leaders from politics, government, civil society, academia, the arts and culture as well as the media. Convening under the theme, Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World, participants will focus on defining new models for building sustainable and inclusive societies in a plurilateral world. Jan. 6 At 11:20 a.m., Detective Lieutenant Bartlett, Detective Macedo, and Detective Sandoval observed a young black male and an older Hispanic male struggling on the sidewalk in front of Bank of Texas in the 5300 block of Bellaire Boulevard. The Detectives observed the black male run south, across the westbound lanes of Bellaire Boulevard, with the Hispanic male chasing him. The black male got into a waiting sedan and the vehicle drove off. Detectives stopped the vehicle and found a jugging had occurred. Three suspects were arrested and charged with theft from person, evading, and fail to stop and give information (accident while fleeing). The Victims property was returned. Officer Baylis completed the report. Jan. 7 At 12:20 a.m., Officer Barrientos was parked in the outside shoulder of the 6800 block of IH 610 West Loop South southbound and observed a tan Dodge Neon traveling with defective equipment (license plate light out). Ofc. Barrientos conducted a traffic stop on the Dodge Neon for this offense. Ofc. Barrientos made contact with the driver and immediately smelled an odor of alcoholic beverage emitting from the drivers breath/person, red blood shot eyes and slurred speech. During the investigation, Ofc. Barrientos determined the driver was intoxicated while operating a motor vehicle and placed the driver in custody. At 11:08 p.m., Officer Guerra was dispatched to the 4500 block of Verone Street in regards to a family disturbance. It was determined numerous family members were involved in a physical altercation. The Harris County District Attorneys Office declined charges on all parties. Officers Norman, Barrientos and Sgt. Hollie assisted in this case. Jan. 8 At noon, Officer Andrade was dispatched to the Bellaire Police Department Lobby to meet with a complainant in reference to an identity theft in the 5600 block of Innsbruck Street. Upon arrival, Officer Andrade met with the victim who stated she received a fraudulent phone call from a male stating he observed fraudulent activity on the victims Bank of America credit card. The male then requested she fill out a form verifying her personal identifying information to reverse the fraudulent activity. The victim filled out the form and later found she was a victim to an identity theft. At 3:20 p.m., Officer Trujillo was dispatched to 5209 Bellaire Blvd. in reference to a burglary of a motor vehicle call. Upon arrival he spoke to the victim who stated an unknown person(s) broke out the rear drivers side window and took loose change from inside the vehicle. At 5:34 p.m., Officer D. Norman was dispatched to a theft of a purse that occurred at HEB at 5106 Bissonnet St. The reportee was shopping and had her back to her shopping cart when a black male stole her purse from the shopping cart and left the store. At 6:48 p.m., Officer D. Norman was dispatched to an auto theft that occurred at 6500 West Loop South. Officer Norman made contact with the victim who advised an unknown person stole his vehicle and left the parking garage in an unknown direction. At 8:52 p.m., Officer Barrientos was dispatched to the 5600 block of Saint Moritz regarding a family disturbance. Upon investigation, no injuries were observed and both parties separated for the night. Officers Andrade, Trujillo, and Clisham assisted with this case. Jan. 9 At 3 a.m., an unknown suspect broke the window on the west entry door to Fuzzys Pizza at 5303 Bissonnet St. to gain entry. The suspect did not take anything from the business. Officer Schwausch was dispatched to the location and found Fuzzys Pizza and Vivaldi Music academy were broken into. Officer Schwausch and Officer Quimby handled these incident reports. At 9:06 a.m., Officer Quimby was dispatched to 5305 Bissonnet St. in reference to a burglary of a building. Officer Quimby arrived at 9:10 a.m. and contacted the reportee who stated she arrived about 8:05 a.m. and found the glass on the West door shattered. Video surveillance shows the unknown suspect entered the business about 3:08 a.m. Nothing was taken from the business. At 1 p.m., Officer Jenkins was patrolling the Randalls parking lot at 5130 Bellaire Blvd. Officer Jenkins observed a subject exit the store and was took shampoo out of his sock. The suspect was arrested and charged with theft. At 4:44 p.m., Officer D. Norman was dispatched to a shoplifting in progress at 5130 Bellaire Blvd. Officers located the suspect vehicle in the 4800 block of Bellaire Blvd. Upon further investigation, one of the suspects was charged with fail to identify to a police officer and theft, a second suspect was charged with theft, and the third suspect was arrested for Missouri City warrants. Officers D. Bailey, M. Andrade and Sergeant D. Kerr assisted with this case. At 1:56 p.m., Officer Andrade was dispatched to the 4900 block of Maple Street in reference to identity theft. Upon arrival, Officer Andrade made contact with the victim who stated an unknown suspect opened a Verizon wireless cellular phone account using their personal identifying information. Jan. 10 At 7:28 a.m., Officer Tim Quimby observed a black and red 1997 Ford Ranger with expired registration (11/2019) in the 7000 block of South Rice Avenue traveling Northbound in the City of Bellaire, Harris County, Texas. The driver was arrested for traffic offenses and during the inventory incident to arrest, Officers located W-2s with a social security number which did not belong to the driver. The driver was charged with fraudulent use of identifying information. At 5:07 a.m., Officer Ortega was dispatched to 4337 Edith St. at Bellaire Public Works in reference to a theft. Officer Ortega arrived and observed damage to the North gate and equipment missing. The possible suspect left a license plate at the scene of the incident. Officer Liccketto and Officer Guerra assisted with the case. At 10:57 a.m., Officer Liccketto was dispatched to the 5700 block of Innsbruck Street in reference to a theft. Officer Liccketto met with the victim who stated a concrete saw was stolen while he was working on a construction site. The suspect was last seen getting into a white Nissan Maxima headed North on Newcastle. Jan. 11 At 5:22 a.m., Officer Bellard was dispatched to the 5200 block of Woodlawn in reference to a burglary of a motor vehicle. Officer Bellard arrived on scene at approximately 0532 hrs. and contacted the victim who advised unknown suspect(s) made entry into the bed of his truck by lifting the bed cover and removed tools. At 3:04 a.m., Officer Schwausch stopped a vehicle traveling without tail lights when required in the 6800 block of IH 610 East Service Road. During the traffic stop, the driver was identified by his Mississippi Drivers License. He was subsequently arrested for an outstanding warrant from Louisiana DPS Corrections Probation and Parole Department. Sgt. D Kerr completed this report. At 8:04 p.m., Officer Marcotte initiated a traffic stop on a 2006 Hyundai for not displaying registration in the 7000 block of IH 610 southbound. The passenger provided a false name and was arrested for failure to identify to police. At 10:27 a.m., Officer Baylis was dispatched to 6639 Ferris St. for an assault in progress call. Upon arrival at approximately 1028 hours, Officer Baylis and Officer Lysack made contact with the victim. The suspect was gone when officers arrived. Officer Baylis completed this report. At 11:54 a.m., Officers Baylis and Quimby were dispatched to the 800 block of Circle Drive in regards to a burglary of habitation. Upon arrival, Officers made contact with the residents who stated no items were taken or were missing. Officer Baylis completed the report. Jan. 12 At 2:32 a.m., Officer Ortega observed a grey BMW reversing in the 4700 block of Bellaire Blvd. Officer Ortega activated her emergency lights in an attempt to stop the vehicle and then observed another vehicle, traveling in reverse, strike the BMW. The suspect vehicle then drove away from the scene of the accident. After further investigation it was determined the suspect was an ex-boyfriend and stole the victims purse. The suspect was placed into custody for theft from a person and driving while intoxicated. Corporal Clawson and Officer Guerra assisted in this case. At 5:25 p.m., Officer Bailey was dispatched to the 4300 block of Lampton Circle in reference to a death investigation. Detective G. Macedo and the Harris County Medical Examiners Office arrived, and the body of the deceased male was released to the Medical Examiners Office. Corporal Porter, Officer Carson and Officer Norman assisted with this case. At 11:48 p.m., Officer Barrientos was patrolling the 6500 block of IH 610 northbound and observed three vehicles traveling at low rate of speed, next to each other and later accelerate at a high rate speed in a competitive manner. Ofc. Barrientos conducted a traffic stop on one of the vehicles for racing on a public highway. Ofc. Barrientos made contact with the driver. During the traffic stop investigation, the driver admitted he was racing and Ofc. Barrientos placed the driver. At 9:52 a.m., Officer Liccketto was dispatched to 5130 Bellaire Blvd. at Randalls in reference to a shoplifting in progress. Officer Liccketto arrived and found the suspect had kicked open the bathroom door to a nearby Subway store and locked himself in. Officer Liccketto took the suspect in custody who was then charged with theft, criminal mischief, and criminal trespass. New Delhi: Three Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists, including a police deserter, were killed in an encounter with security forces in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday. This came after security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Wacchi area of Shopian district following information about presence of terrorists there, a police official said. In the ensuing encounter, three terrorists of Hizbul Mujahideen were killed, the official said. One of the slain terrorists was been identified as Adil Ahmad, a special police officer who had deserted the force in 2018 and decamped with seven AK assault rifles from the official residence of then MLA Wacchi Aijaz Ahmad Mir from Jawahar Nagar area of the city, the official said. The identification of the other two terrorists is being ascertained, he added. This comes days after top Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist was gunned down in an encounter with security forces in Jammu and Kashmirs Doda. The encounter took place after the forces received a tip-off about the whereabouts of the terrorist. The terrorist was cornered in Gundana forest area of Doda in Jammu region. The encounter was on since late last night. It finally got over at around 10:30 am on Wednesday. Davinder Singh and Security of Valley The sensational arrest of senior Jammu and Kashmir Police officer Davinder Singh has put the spotlight on khaki-terror links. Davinder Singh was on Monday suspended as it emerged that he had sheltered three terrorists, arrested along with him, at his residence here right next to the Army's XV corps headquarters at Badami Bagh cantonment, officials said. Singh, who was decorated with President Police Medal about four months ago, continued to be grilled by a team of police and intelligence investigators. His office at Srinagar airport, where he was posted as deputy superintendent of police in the anti-hijacking squad, was sealed, they said. Piecing together the chain of events, the officials said the two terrorists -- self-styled district commander of banned Hizbul Mujahideen, Naveed Baba, and Altaf -- were taken to the officer's home on Friday by a lawyer Irfan, who the police said was an overground worker for terror groups. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Rep. Adam Schiff, the lead impeachment manager, accused the National Security Agency of withholding potentially relevant documents from Congress regarding Ukraine at a time when the impeachment trial against President Donald Trump is set to begin in the Senate. Appearing on ABCs This Week, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee was asked about a Politico report that said intelligence agency officials were not eager to appear before his committee in a public forum to avoid disagreeing with President Donald Trump. The intelligence community is reluctant to have an open hearing, something that we had done every year prior to the Trump administration, because theyre worried about angering the president, Schiff said. Advertisement After essentially confirming the Politico report, Schiff went further. Ill say something even more concerning to me, and that is the intelligence community is beginning to withhold documents from Congress on the issue of Ukraine, he said. They appear to be succumbing to pressure from the administration. The NSA in particular is withholding what are potentially relevant documents to our oversight responsibilities on Ukraine, but also withholding documents potentially relevant that the senators might want to see during the trial. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rep. Adam Schiff tells @gstephanopoulos a public hearing on global security threats before the House Intelligence Committee could be in jeopardy because members on the intelligence community are "worried about angering the president." https://t.co/cqiFPziHtO pic.twitter.com/eaNOV8gtfW This Week (@ThisWeekABC) January 19, 2020 Advertisement Advertisement Schiff went on to characterize that dynamic as deeply concerning and added that the CIA may be on the same tragic course. The Democratic lawmaker said members of the intelligence community dont just have to speak truth to power but also resist pressure from the administration to withhold information from Congress because the administration fears that they incriminate them. Democrats had previously said the State Department and the Pentagon were withholding relevant documents regarding Ukraine. When asked to comment, Amanda Schoch, assistant director of national intelligence for strategic communications, told NBC News in a statement: The Intelligence Community is committed to providing Congress with the information and intelligence it needs to carry out its critical oversight role. Prince Andrew joined the Queen at a church service on Sunday. (PA) The Queen has appeared in public with Prince Andrew for the first time since he stepped down from royal duties. The Duke of York was forced to withdraw from his role in November following his disastrous Newsnight interview over his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He accompanied the Queen to church on Sunday, in her first appearance since announcing that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will be stepping back from the Royal Family. Andrew joined the Queen at St Mary the Virgin church in Norfolk to attend a Sunday service. Earlier this month, she was reportedly deeply upset by the scandal involving Prince Andrew. Wearing a grey houndstooth checked dress and matching coat with a grey hat, the monarch smiled broadly as she arrived at the church in Hillington close to her estate. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Andrew attend St Mary the Virgin church at Hillington in Sandringham on Sunday. (PA) The Duke of York has stepped down from royal duties. (Getty) Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have announced they will stop carrying out royal duties from the spring, no longer use HRH and repay the taxpayers' millions spent on their Berkshire home. At the weekend the duchesss father, Thomas Markle, accused her of cheapening the Royal Family. The announcements from the young royals have raised fresh questions about Andrew's ongoing role in the Royal Family. The Duke of York has so-far kept his HRH title but reportedly faces changes to his security in the wake of Harry and Meghan's decision to leave the monarchy and split their time between the UK and Canada. The Evening Standard reported that the Home Office is recommending a major downgrade of security for Andrew after a Scotland Yard review. Read more GCHQ claims Huawei 5G deal like 'letting fox loose in a chicken coop' Harry Dunn death: PM vows to discuss 'driving habits' of US personnel with Mike Pompeo Here's why Canada is a savvy choice for Harry and Meghan's new home Harry and Meghan, like Andrew, have personal protection officers from the Metropolitan Police, paid for by taxpayers. But the change in roles for the Sussexes, their relocation and the removal of public funds meant their security and its funding formed part of the crisis talks. Story continues After the allegations first surfaced in August, Andrew's TV interview sealed his fate, when he was accused of lacking empathy for Epstein's victims and of failing to show regret over his friendship with the disgraced financier. The Queen has been dealing with the decision by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to step back from the Royal Family. (AFP/Getty) The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will spend their time between the UK and Canada. (Getty) Virginia Giuffre, who claims she was trafficked by Epstein, gave an interview to BBC Panorama and said she was left "horrified and ashamed" after an alleged sexual encounter with Andrew in London in 2001. Since the interview, the duke has resigned a large number of his major patronages. Meanwhile, the Queen said she recognised the "challenges" the Sussexes had faced over the past year, and added: "I want to thank them for all their dedicated work across this country, the Commonwealth and beyond, and am particularly proud of how Meghan has so quickly become one of the family. "It is my whole family's hope that today's agreement allows them to start building a happy and peaceful new life." Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 20) Association of Southeast Asian Nations foreign ministers have agreed to US President Donald Trumps proposal for a special meeting between him and the top leaders of the regional bloc. Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Teddyboy Locsin Jr. tweeted Monday that ASEAN foreign ministers adopted the consensus to hold the ASEAN-US Summit with Trump during their retreat in Khanh Hoa, Vietnam last week. Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh said in his statement during the retreat that ASEAN foreign ministers welcomed Trumps invitation for a special summit this year. Minh said they will report this to leaders of their respective countries for their final decision. Trump has skipped ASEAN summits for two years in a row, with most Southeast Asian leaders snubbing the scheduled US-ASEAN meeting in Bangkok, Thailand last year, where the US President sent National Security Adviser Robert OBrien as his representative. Trumps invitation to ASEAN leaders was sent in November 2019, but Malacanang only released it to the media on Sunday. It is not clear whether Duterte has accepted the invitation for him to come to the US. Trump has repeatedly invited Duterte to Washington, but the Philippine President has yet to make that visit. Trumps invitation came ahead of the approval of proposals in the US Congress to ban Philippine officials involved in extrajudicial killings and what US senators have described as "wrongful detention" of opposition Senator Leila de Lima. The opposition senator has been in jail for more than two years over drug charges, with the court trial hitting a snag. Since inviting ASEAN leaders to the US, the US Senate has urged Trump to deny US entry to and block all US-based transactions in property and interests of "members of the security forces and officials of the Government of the Philippines responsible for extrajudicial killings... and responsible for orchestrating the arrest and prolonged detention of Senator De Lima." The move is in line with the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, an American law which allows Washington to punish foreign officials implicated in "significant corruption or gross violations of human rights" in any part of the world. Under the law, the US President shall decide on requests to impose sanctions on human rights violators and corrupt foreigners within 120 days. Trump also signed in December a spending measure which includes a reference to a Senate committee report which instructs US State Secretary Mike Pompeo to ban foreign officials who have had a hand in the wrongful imprisonment of opposition Senator Leila de Lima from entering the US. EXPLAINER: How the US budget law bans Philippine officials Tim Rieser, a senior foreign policy aide of Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy, previously told CNN Philippines that it would not be easy for Pompeo to ignore the proposed ban as the State Department has taken notice of De Limas plight in human rights reports. CNN Philippines Xave Gregorio and Eimor Santos contributed to this report. PR-Inside.com: 2020-01-20 13:00:33 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 629 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / January 20, 2020 / TerraX Minerals Inc. (TSX-V:TXR)(Frankfurt:TX0)(OTC Pink:TRXXF) ("TerraX" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the commencement of a 10,000 meter drilling program at the Company's wholly owned Yellowknife Gold Project in the Northwest Territory ("Yellowknife" or the "Project"). (Map) This first phase of drilling will start at the Sam Otto gold deposit due to better access during the winter and will focus on expanding the current NI 43-101 inferred mineral resource estimate of 735,000 ounces of gold for the Project (Refer to press release dated November 4, 2019)David Suda, President and CEO, stated, "We are excited to start the drilling program at Sam Otto, one of the main gold deposits identified to date on the Property. The Sam Otto gold zone which is approximately 12 kilometres from Yellowknife, has already been defined in two main areas over a strike length of almost two kilometres. Drilling results to date have confirmed the potential to quickly and efficiently add quality gold ounces." The 10,000 metre drilling program at Sam Otto will consist of approximately 40 drill holes planned along strike, to expand the known mineralization corridor and test the open gap between Sam Otto Main and Sam Otto South. The corridor being drilled is over a strike length of approximately 1500 meters, with hole spacing on average of 100 meters to a depth of 250 metres. The winter program at Sam Otto will utilize 2 rigs, and will be completed by April 2020. Additional holes may be planned subject to the success of this ongoing program. The Company also plans a second drilling program at the Crestaurum high grade gold deposit for the summer of 2020.The technical information contained in this news release has been approved by Joseph Campbell who is a Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.About TerraXThrough a series of acquisitions, TerraX owns a 100% interest in the Yellowknife City Gold ("YCG") Project, encompassing 783 sq km of contiguous land within 12 kilometers of the city of Yellowknife. The Project is located in the prolific Yellowknife greenstone belt, covering approximately 70 kilometers of strike length along the main mineralized break in proximity to the former high-grade Con and Giant gold mines which have produced over 14 million ounces of gold. The YCG Project is close to vital infrastructure, including all-season roads, air transportation, service providers, hydro-electric power and skilled tradespeople.For more information on the YCG project, please visit our web site at www.terraxminerals.com On behalf of the Board of Directors,"DAVID SUDA"David SudaPresident and CEOFor more information, please contact:Samuel VellaManager of Corporate CommunicationsPhone: 604-689-1749 / Toll-Free: 1-855-737-2684svella@ terraxminerals.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.This news release contains forward-looking information, which involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual events to differ materially from current expectation. Important factors - including the availability of funds, the results of financing efforts, the completion of due diligence and the results of exploration activities - that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations are disclosed in the Company's documents filed from time to time on SEDAR (see www.sedar.com) . Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The company disclaims any intention or obligation, except to the extent required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, events or otherwise.SOURCE: TerraX Minerals Inc. OTTAWA - Canada's ambassador to China, Dominic Barton, will be among the first witnesses to testify before a new special parliamentary committee created to examine Canada's fraught relationship with China. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/1/2020 (722 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Flags of Canada and China are placed for the first China-Canada economic and financial strategy dialogue in Beijing, China, Monday, Nov. 12, 2018. A new special parliamentary committee created to examine Canada's fraught relationship with China will hold its first meeting in Ottawa.THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Jason Lee/Pool Photo via AP OTTAWA - Canada's ambassador to China, Dominic Barton, will be among the first witnesses to testify before a new special parliamentary committee created to examine Canada's fraught relationship with China. The committee held its first meeting Monday, largely a planning session, and MPs from all parties agreed it was essential to hear from Barton, despite some minor differences of opinion on the timing. Eventually, they agreed he would testify before Feb. 7. Conservatives are pushing for an earlier appearance because Barton will be in Houston next Tuesday. Barton was a high-powered business consultant who was named in September to Canada's top diplomatic post in Beijing to help repair Canada's shredded diplomatic and economic relations with China. Opposition parties have flexed their collective muscles to push for answers from the new Liberal minority government as the Chinese imprisonment of two Canadians by the People's Republic enters its second year. The committee is the result of a Conservative motion passed in December that was supported by opposition parties in the minority Parliament. Conservative deputy leader Leona Alleslev said Barton told her in an email that he is "ready and willing" to testify. She said it was important that he testify first because he could help the committee understand the government's strategy towards China. "It's such a critical witness," she told the committee. Alleslev said Barton could help the committee understand "what the lay of the land is from Canada's man on the ground, as they say." Liberal MP Rob Oliphant, the parliamentary secretary to the minister of foreign affairs, said government MPs on the committee realize the importance of Barton testifying, but he initially suggested that a briefing from officials at Global Affairs Canada would better set the table for MPs. "We will operate in good faith," he told reporters before the meeting. "We have Canadian lives at stake, and we're going to take that very seriously." Thirteen months ago, China detained two Canadian citizens, Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, who remain imprisoned without access to lawyers or their families. The move has been widely seen as retaliation for Canada's arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou at the behest of the United States, which wants to extradite her on fraud charges related to U.S. sanctions against Iran. The motion that created the committee authorized it to order Barton, as well as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne and Public Safety Minister Bill Blair to appear as witnesses "from time to time as the committee sees fit." Conservative foreign affairs critic Erin O'Toole said in December the committee will work to address Canada's current diplomatic dispute with China and help develop a specialized approach to easing the bilateral challenges between the two nations. The all-party Canada-China relations committee convened Monday afternoon to deal mainly with a series of procedural issues, and the subject of Barton's testimony took up a good portion of the discussion. The meeting coincided with start of Meng's extradition hearing in Vancouver. Earlier Monday, China's foreign ministry reiterated its call for Canada to release Meng. "The U.S. and Canada abused their bilateral extradition treaty and arbitrarily took compulsory measures against a Chinese citizen without cause," said spokesman Geng Shuang, according to translated remarks on his ministry's website. "This is entirely a serious political incident that grossly violates the legitimate rights and interests of the Chinese citizen." Meng is free on bail and living in one of her two multimillion-dollar homes in Vancouver. 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. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said Monday that the well-being and release of Kovrig and Spavor is a "clear priority" for the Liberal government. "That is at the heart of all the work we are doing and rightly so," she said in Winnipeg, where she was attending the Liberal cabinet retreat. Freeland also defended the Liberal government's handling of the Meng case. "Our government has been clear that we are a rule of law country and that we honour our extradition treaty commitments," she said. "That is what we need to do and that is what we will do." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 20, 2020. Gordon Brown said that the United Kingdom's '300-year-old history may at some point soon be over' unless Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and smaller regions took more control over their own decisions Boris Johnson was warned that he faces the possible break-up of the United Kingdom on his watch today as one of his predecessors called on him to cede some power. Gordon Brown said that the United Kingdom's '300-year-old history may at some point soon be over' unless Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and smaller regions took more control over their own decisions. The ex-Labour Prime Minister told an audience in Westminster his successor's mantra of 'getting Brexit done' was having the impact of 'leaving Britain undone'. He said: 'The danger is we have Scotland first, England first, Wales first, and so on in the United Kingdom.' And in a later interview with the BBC he warned 'cosmetic things like moving the House of Lords from London to York or Birmingham, or rotating the MPs round the regions' would not be enough. 'We need to recognise unless the regions and the nations feel they have a voice that is respected in the United Kingdom, the United Kingdom's 300-year-old history may at some point soon be over,' he added. Mr Johnson, pictured with the Duke of Sussex at the UK-Africa Investment Summit in London today, is facing Scottish Mr Brown, who was the last Labour PM between 2007 and 2010, said one way of reversing the UK's 'over-centralised' system was not only to grant more powers to Scotland to ward off the threat of independence, but also to give greater control to English regional leaders over investment and changes in their areas. He said he wanted to see regional citizens' assemblies set up to examine the issues Brexit will present the country with. 'I would give it powers to look at some of the important issues that arise from Brexit,' he told those at the event organised by campaign group, Hope Not Hate. 'When you transfer powers from Brussels to Westminster, you cannot say that's where powers should be located. 'There has to be devolution of some of these powers, otherwise Westminster and Whitehall will have even more centralisation and power than they have now.' Mr Brown criticised the Conservative idea of moving the House of Lords out of London in a bid to connect with voters, calling it a 'cosmetic' change. Instead, he said long-term reform of the House of Lords should use his example of the regional citizen assemblies and turn it into a 'senate of regions and nations' to give a stronger voice to places that feel left behind. Councils of the North - and in any other region that wants one - made up of councillors, MPs and elected mayors, could help direct resources to where needed, Mr Brown argued. And, if the government of the day was refusing to listen, pressure applied jointly by the regional councils would eventually be 'irresistible' for ministers, he predicted. Addressing current friction north of the border, the former Number 10 incumbent said the SNP had failed to win the argument over independence in Scotland and pushed for the UK to offer an alternative to splitting. 'There is not a decisive majority or even an overwhelming majority, as they (the SNP) would argue, for independence,' said Mr Brown. 'The danger is for Scotland is that we are caught between two positions - a no-change unionism, the status quo, and independence, which is where the nationalists want the debate to be.' The 68-year-old said the NHS still represented an illustration of how the UK could function in a united fashion and urged Britain to rediscover that spirit. 'The idea is that in any part of the UK, irrespective of whether you're Scottish, English, Welsh or Northern Irish, you can get access to the NHS,' said Mr Brown. 'The health service is there to treat you equally, on equal terms, irrespective of your money but dependent on your need. 'When we have blood transfusions and blood is donated by people, they don't ask if it is going to a Scottish or Welsh or English or Irish patient.' Mr Brown warned that unless Labour helped find a solution to Scotland's independence threat, then a party leader was unlikely to cross the threshold of Downing Street as prime minister again. 'There cannot easily be a Labour government without Scotland in particular turning to the Labour Party,' he said. India: Centre waives green clearance for onshore and offshore oil and gas exploration January 20,2020 | Source: The Hindu The Environment Ministry has exempted oil and gas firms, looking to conduct exploratory drilling, from seeking an environmental clearance. The clearance is for both on-shore and offshore drilling explorations and the process is an ecologically-intensive exercise that involves digging multiple wells and conducting seismic surveys offshore. Until today, even exploratory surveys have merited the highest level of environmental scrutiny called category A that required project proponents to prepare an environment impact assessment (EIA) plan, have it scrutinised by a Centrally constituted committee of experts and subject the proposal to a public hearing involving the local residents of the proposed project site. While public hearings, even for category A projects are frequently exempted if they are offshore, the new amendments demote exploratory projects to the category of B2. This means it will be conducted by the States concerned and will not require an EIA. The move is part of a larger process of decentralisation by the Centre in that it seeks to farm more regulatory actions to State and local units. Environmentalists aver that this can mean lax oversight. Developing an offshore or onshore drilling site as a hydrocarbon block will however continue to merit a category A treatment, the Ministry notification, made public on January 18, clarifies. In 2019, the ONGC and the Vedanta group were granted permission to conduct exploratory oil surveys in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry and this had led to protests led by the Opposition DMK and the Congress, which argue that the exploratory drilling will lead to destruction of agricultural fields in the Cauvery delta. Chennai-based environment activist Nityanand Jayaraman has argued that offshore drilling operations can possibly effect fish, lead to a build-up of heavy water contaminants, disorient whales and sea life that rely on sonar for navigation and exacerbate the risk of oil spills. This is part of a continuing trend by the larger lack of oversight by the Environment Ministry, said Debi Goenka, of the Conservation Action Trust and who deals with coastal ecology issues. The government in 2019 relaxed rules that incentivises companies conducting oil exploration surveys in less-explored oil fields to keep a greater share of revenue if they chance upon viable hydrocarbon blocks. This has led to a spurt in interest in oil and gas exploration with the Cauvery basin registering a spurt in activity. SHANGHAI Beijings alliance with the World Economic Forum started in 1979 with the arrival in Davos, Switzerland, of a small team of free-market economists led by a wizened Chinese intellectual, Qian Junrui, who had barely survived Maos Cultural Revolution. He had been imprisoned for eight years, tortured and repeatedly beaten unconscious. China and Davos have since become one of the oddest power couples in international economics and politics. The relationship traces the story of Chinas ascent after Mao. Chinese leaders have repeatedly chosen the forum for important policy speeches. Nearly three years after overseeing the Tiananmen crackdown in 1989, then-Premier Li Peng traveled to Davos and urged global business leaders to resume investing in China. Starting in 2007, the countrys premiers began hosting an annual summer Davos session in China, with the World Economic Forum, to gather business leaders from across the developing world. And in early 2017, Xi Jinping, Chinas current leader, selected Davos for his plea to the world not to embrace trade protectionism and populism. At this years gathering, Chinese officials dealing with a slowing economy and faltering investment are prepared for an energetic promotional message. Their pitch: The signing of an initial trade agreement with the Trump administration last week means China remains a good place for multinationals to keep much of their manufacturing supply chains. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - January 20, 2020) - Osoyoos Cannabis Inc. (CSE: OSO) ("Osoyoos" or the "Company") announced today that the Company's board of directors has accepted the resignation of Ernie Eves as a director of the Company and has appointed Graham Simmonds, Tyler Devenyi and Larry Horwitz to serve as directors of the Company, all effective January 16, 2020. The Company's board currently consists of six directors. Osoyoos also reports that its board of directors has appointed Graham Simmonds to serve as the Company's new CEO, effective January 16, 2020. Gerry Goldberg, who previously served as Interim CEO and Executive Chairman, will continue to serve as the Company's Executive Chairman. Mr. Goldberg, Executive Chairman of Osoyoos, commented, "On behalf of the board, we wish to extend our gratitude to Mr. Eves for his contribution to the Company and would like to wish him the best in his future endeavors." He continued, "We would also like to welcome Messrs. Horowitz, Devenyi and Simmonds to the board and am delighted to announce Mr. Simmonds has also accepted the position of CEO. Mr. Simmonds has significant M&A experience as well as experience in the development of early stage businesses and public companies. This unique skillset will be critical as we enter a maturing landscape within the cannabis industry both in Canada and internationally." Mr. Simmonds is an entrepreneur with a diverse background in consumer-driven businesses. He has founded and taken public three companies over the past 15 years in the gaming, cannabis and financial technology sectors. He has over 20 years of experience in public company management and business development projects within both the gaming and technology sectors. He is also licensed and/or has previously been licensed/registered with a number of horse racing and gaming commissions. Mr. Simmonds developed the first in-home digital video horse racing service in North America and is a former owner of eBet Technologies Inc., a licensed ADW operator and software developer for the online horse racing industry in the United States. eBet Technologies Inc. was successfully sold to Sportech PLC in 2012. Graham is also the founder and former Chairman and CEO of CordovaCann Corp., a Canadian-domiciled diversified cannabis investment company listed on the CSE, and DealNet Capital Corp., a consumer finance company listed on the TSX-V. Graham currently serves as a director, officer and/or advisor to a number of other public companies. Mr. Devenyi has been the COO of Osoyoos since October of 2018. He is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School and a member of the Law Society of Ontario. In addition to having worked in both full service and criminal law firms, Mr. Devenyi has worked as an investment banking analyst and was in charge of operations for an international medical real estate development company. Mr. Horwitz has practiced corporate securities law for many years representing private and public issuers of securities primarily in the United States, but also internationally including companies operating in Canada, China and Israel. Mr. Horwitz was a founder and board member of the NADSAQ National Market System oil and gas company Beta Oil & Gas, Inc. Mr. Horwitz has also been a board member of multiple legal cannabis operators and investors in the United States, including ManifestSeven, Inc., Cannabis Real Estate Consultants, Inc. and Strawberry Canyon Capital, Inc. He was also a founder of the most recognized cannabis stock index in the world, www.marijuanaindex.com tracking and reporting on public capital market developments throughout the world. Furthermore, the Company has entered into settlement agreements with arm's length creditors and has issued an aggregate of 220,000 common shares of the Company (the "Common Shares") and 220,000 Common Share purchase warrants, exercisable for a period of 24 months from the date of issuance at a price of $0.50 per share. About Osoyoos Cannabis Inc. Osoyoos Cannabis Inc. is focused on building a leading cannabinoid processing and extraction platform. Osoyoos is an applicant under the Cannabis Act (Canada) for a standard processing license for its 10,410 sq. ft. facility in Oliver, BC which is currently in the review stage. Once licensed, the Company plans to provide contract tolling extraction services, sale of bulk cannabinoid-oil and sale of other proprietary Osoyoos Cannabis-branded and white labeled products. The Company is also seeking out other opportunities within the cannabis industry both in Canada and internationally. For further information, please contact: Gerry Goldberg Executive Chairman (416) 460-3000 ggoldberg@osoyooscannabis.com DISCLAIMER & READER ADVISORY Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking information. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words "could", "intend", "expect", "believe", "will", "may", "projected", "estimated" and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the Company's current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. Actual future results may differ materially. In particular, this release contains forward-looking information relating to the execution of the Company's business plan. Various assumptions or factors are typically applied in drawing conclusions or making the forecasts or projections set out in forward-looking information. Those assumptions and factors are based on information currently available to the parties. The material factors and assumptions include regulatory and other third-party approvals; licensing and other risks. The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date hereof and the parties are not obligated to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. Because of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions contained herein, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The foregoing statements expressly qualify any forward-looking information contained herein. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/51658 President Donald Trump speaks at the American Farm Bureau Federation's (AFBF) annual convention at the Austin Convention Center on January 19, 2020 in Austin, Texas. (Callaghan O'Hare/Getty Images) Trumps Attorneys Call for Immediate Acquittal in Impeachment Trial President Donald Trumps attorneys called on the U.S. Senate to dismiss the articles of impeachment sent by the House and immediately acquit the president, calling the charges against the commander in chief a brazen political act that must be rejected. In a trial memorandum released by the White House a day before the start of the third impeachment trial in U.S. history, the presidents attorneys argue that the articles of impeachment fail to state an impeachable offense and are the result of an unconstitutional process executed by House Democrats. The articles are structurally deficient, the attorneys say, because each includes more than one alleged offense, making it impossible for senators to vote on isolated charges based on the evidence presented. The same issue had previously caused some senators to vote for acquittal during the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton. The Articles of Impeachment presented by House Democrats are constitutionally deficient on their face, the trial memo states. The theories underpinning them would do lasting damage to the separation of powers under the Constitution and to our structure of government. House Democrats detailed their case for removing the president in a legal brief on Jan. 18. They allege that Trump abused the power of his office by withholding foreign aid from Ukraine in order to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to open investigations into Trumps political rivals, including former Vice President Joe Biden. The facts are indisputable, and the evidence is overwhelming: President Trump abused the power of his office to solicit foreign interference in our elections for his own personal political gain, thereby jeopardizing our national security, the integrity of our elections, and our democracy. And when the president got caught, he tried to cover it up by obstructing the Houses investigation into his misconduct, the Democrats allege. Trumps attorneys assert that the House impeachment inquiry failed to produce a single witness who claims to have firsthand knowledge of Trump conditioning the release of military aid or a White House meeting with Zelensky on Ukraine announcing investigations. The charges in the article alleging abuse of power also rely on a theory by the Democrats that there was no legitimate reason for Trump to ask Zelensky about interference in the 2016 presidential election and the controversy surrounding Bidens son Hunter Biden and Ukrainian gas firm Burisma. Kyivs involvement in the 2016 U.S. election is outlined in an investigative report by Politico, titled Ukrainian Efforts to Sabotage Trump Backfire. Trumps interest in Hunter Biden, meanwhile, stems in part from a recording in which Joe Biden brags about forcing the firing of a Ukrainian prosecutor by withholding $1 billion in U.S. loan guarantees from Ukraine. Prior to his firing, the prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, had seized the assets of the owner of Burisma. At the same time, Hunter Biden received as much as $83,000 a month to serve on Burismas board of directors. Trumps attorneys argue that the president was well within his constitutional authority to inquire about election meddling and potential corruption. Uncovering potential foreign interference in U.S. elections is always a legitimate goal, whatever the source of the interference and whether or not it fits with Democrats preferred narrative about 2016, the memorandum states. It also would have been legitimate to mention the BidenBurisma affair. Trump has repeatedly indicated that he would prefer a brief trial in the Senate. He wrote on Twitter on Jan. 20 that he opposes calling former national security adviser John Bolton as a witness: They didnt want John Bolton and others in the House. They were in too much of a rush. Now they want them all in the Senate. Not supposed to be that way! Bolton indicated earlier this month that he would be willing to testify if he were subpoenaed. Last week, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) decided that the White House broke the law by withholding aid to Ukraine; the GAO had issued similar decisions regarding the Obama White House on several occasions. The Trump White House released the funds without any announcement of investigations by Ukraine, shortly after House lawmakers launched a probe into the hold on funds. Trump is scheduled to leave late Jan. 20 for Davos, Switzerland, to join global leaders at the World Economic Forum. As a result, he will be overseas on Jan. 21, when lawmakers will decide whether to admit witnesses and documents into the trial. Should the trial proceed, the senators, who serve as the jury, will eventually vote to either acquit or remove the president. A 67-vote supermajority is required for removal. Republicans hold a 5347 majority in the Senate. No Republican has indicated that he or she intends to vote to remove Trump. No president has ever been removed as a direct result of impeachment. Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton were impeached by the House but acquitted by the Senate. Richard Nixon resigned before an impeachment vote was taken. Bengaluru, Jan 20 : Financial expert Punit Sood will head the Royal Bank of Scotland's (RBS) technology and operations hub in India's tech city to build its strategic capabilities for achieving the bank's goals, worldwide, said an official on Monday. "Punit understands the vital contribution that India makes to the bank and, as we enter a new phase of innovation and transformation, Punit is very well positioned to transform our capabilities in the region for a greater strategic impact," RBS chief administrative officer Simon McNamara said in a statement on the appointment. As the head of technology for RBS in India earlier, Sood shaped the bank's technology business to operate as a centre of excellence. Sood said RBS India has made excellent progress in India in the recent years, emerging to become a more integral part of the bank by becoming an employer of choice in the region. "Look forward to working with our exceptional talent pool to build greater value for our customers, colleagues, and communities,a said Sood. A veteran industry executive with three decades of experience, Sood earlier worked with JP Morgan, Citibank, Mphasis and GE Capital Services. Headquartered in Edinburgh, financial services major RBS operates by its namesake and NatWest subsidiaries, including Ulster Bank and Coutts. New Delhi: Google CEO Sundar Pichai during a programme at Sri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) in New Delhi, on Dec 17, 2015. (File Photo: Sunil Majumdar/IANS) Image Source: PK San Francisco, Jan 20 : Joining Microsoft President Brad Smith and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai on Monday called for new regulations for Artificial Intelligence (AI), saying the only question now is how to approach it. Although new regulation is needed, "a cautious approach is required that might not see significant controls placed on AI," Pichai who was last month took over as the CEO of Alphabet, Google's parent company, in an editorial piece in The Financial Times. "There is no question in my mind that artificial intelligence needs to be regulated. It is too important not to. The only question is how to approach it". "Companies such as ours cannot just build promising new technology and let market forces decide how it will be used. It is equally incumbent on us to make sure that technology is harnessed for good and available to everyone," Pichai wrote. According to CNET, the timing of the editorial coincides with a big push from Google to reveal some of the results of its own work in AI and bring tools it has developed out into the world. The Alphabet CEO stressed that "international alignment will be critical to making global standards work" on AI. We need to take a "principled approach to applying AI, said the company, while offering Google's "expertise, experience and tools." "We need to be clear-eyed about what could go wrong," he said. His comments come as lawmakers and governments globally are considering to limit the use of AI in fields such as face recognition system - an issue close to Microsoft President Brad Smith's heart who has often criticized the technology, urging governments to enact legislation regarding the technology. "Unless we act, we risk waking up five years from now to find that facial recognition services have spread in ways that exacerbate societal issues," said Smith. Advanced AI which is beyond chat bots will soon be used to manipulate social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, Tesla CEO Elon Musk warned recently. In his famous debate with former Alibaba Chairman Jack Ma, Musk entered into a lassic argument over the capabilities of emerging technologies like AI. Musk said that computers will one day surpass humans in "every single way". He has predicted that a single company that develops "God-like super intelligence" might achieve world domination. If not regulated or controlled soon, AI could become an "immortal dictator" and there will be no escape for humans, the SpaceX CEO had warned. Bollywood actress Disha Patani and chef Sanjeev Kapoor have been roped in as brand ambassadors for 'Washington Apples', export of which from America is expected to rise by 20 per cent this year, a US government agency announced on Monday. India opened its market for the US apples way back in 2001 when only four containers were shipped. Now, the US apples have a market share of 16 per cent in India's imported apples, according to the Washington Apple Commission. "Export of the US applies are rising every year. Between March and July, apples are exported to India when domestic supplies in India are exhausted," US Ambassador to India Kenneth I Juster said at the launch of the campaign here. There are about 30-odd varieties of US apples but few of them are exported to India. "You all have many more varieties to try," he said, adding that export of US apples have been a win-win situation for both farmers and consumers. The Commission's President Todd Fryhover said the US aims to export 3 million boxes of apples in the ongoing 2019-20 marketing year (September-August), up by 20 per cent from 2.5 million boxes in the last year. Mainly four varieties of apples -- Red Delicious, Granny Smith, Gala and Fuji -- are exported to India. However, 90 per cent of the shipments comprise of 'Red Delicious' variety which is known for its crunchy texture and mildly sweet flavour, he said. The US apples, which attract 70 per cent of customs duty, are shipped through sea route and mostly via Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata ports, he added. Stating that India is the second largest market for US applies after Mexico, Fryhover said the US has lot of opportunities to expand its network here and it does not feel threatened if Chinese apples are allowed in India. India, which produces about 75 million bushel of apples annually mainly in Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir, imports about 28 million bushels of apples a year from different countries to meet its domestic demand, he said. A campaign 'Washington Apples Kuchh Khaas Hai' was also launched to create awareness among Indian consumers about Washington Apple varieties, best practices, food safety and fine growing conditions that exist for growing apple in Washington. Patani and Kapoor, who are going to be part of the awareness campaign, said they strongly believe an apple a day keeps the doctor away and it was an easy choice to endorse this fruit as they are convinced that "Washington Apples" are known for best quality because they are grown in highly suitable conditions, packed and shipped with great care. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) I was five when Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his I was five when Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his I Have a Dream speech. I was ten when he was assassinated, just weeks before Bobby Kennedy was shot and killed. I dont have any firsthand memories of Dr. Kings life or death. The Civil Rights Movement was in full swing during the 1960s, but I was only a child living a rather sheltered life. Growing up I didnt realize I might have certain privileges that were based on my race or even my gender. I did have a few friends who were African American, and I dont remember thinking of them as being all that different from me. Nevertheless, I grew up in something of a white bubble. It would many years before I truly understood that I might have benefits accrued to me due to my race and gender, let alone my sexual orientation. I just took my reality for granted. Over time the blinders began to come off, but not until my context began to change. It really wasnt until I moved to Southern California to attend seminary, that the scales covering my eyes began to fall off. I remember being caught off guard during my American Protestant Theology seminar. One of my classmates, an African American man, gave his presentation on James Cone and Black Theology. He stated matter of factly that unless one was Black, one could not truly understand Black theology. I might gain an intellectual understanding, but not an experiential one. That was a difficult lesson for me to learn, but it set in motion a road to discovery that has opened my eyes to other realities. Its still difficult to admit that I might have privileges attached to my race, my gender, and my sexual orientation, and yet I know this to be true. I will confess, I'm still learning what all this means. I have not reached perfection. Like many, I'm given to complacency. I have a dream that someday justice will reign. I have a dream that one day we can embrace our diversity, and regard each other with respect and honor, no matter who we are or where we come from. Unfortunately, fifty-plus years since Martin Luther King was assassinated, his dreams remain unfulfilled. Yes, we elected a Black President in 2008, and then the country turned around and elected a President who has given whose words and policies threaten to take away rights that were gained through hard-fought battles, and which took the lives of people like Dr. King. As we observe the ninety-first anniversary of Dr. Kings birth, it seems as if his dream set forth on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial has become a national nightmare. Nevertheless, I do believe that his dream still has a future. I still believe that the backlash we are experiencing will give way to a different vision of reality, one where those who are perceived as being different will no longer be demonized and oppressed. I still hope that a time will come when we can stop on this day and celebrate the beauty of our diversity. Were not there yet, but I believe that someday unfulfilled dreams will be fulfilled. Dreams can lead to complacency. We can hope for the best and do nothing to change the situation. In that famous speech in Washington in 1968 , Dr. King spoke of cashing the promissory note of justice that was enshrined in the Declaration of Independence. He spoke against gradualism and spoke of the urgency of now. That was nearly sixty years ago, and so the urgency is even greater, as it seems as if weve gone backward. I might not feel its sting, but the sting is being felt by the many. So, maybe this is the word we need to hear right now: We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children. Let us take this opportunity to commit ourselves to the pursuit of justice for all. May we not only dream but work together to bring that dream to fruition. This starts with letting go of the fear of the other, that keeps us from working toward the fulfillment of the promise of the prophet Amos: Spare me the sound of your hymns, and let not Me hear the music of your lutes. But let justice well up like water, and righteousness like an unfailing stream (Amos 4:23-24 Tanakh) Minister of Communications Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams has described a report which alleged taxpayers paid for her wedding anniversary celebrations as a malicious smear campaign. The report by the Sunday Independent stated the minister and her husband enjoyed these celebrations in the US and Switzerland on taxpayers money. The ministers husband also allegedly attended official meetings and enjoyed a chauffeur-driven ride in a Mercedes-Benz S600, allocated to the minister, from Geneva to Paris to go shopping, stated the report. Ndabeni-Abrahams has also been accused of outsourcing departmental functions to her husband, by allowing him to interview candidates for positions, added the report. Unfounded allegations Minister Ndabeni-Abrahams refutes the unfounded allegations made against her and her husband, said her department in a statement. This is a malicious smear campaign that must be treated with all the contempt that it deserves. The original report stated the department denied President Cyril Ramaphosas approval which it did not obtain was necessary for the ministers husband to accompany her on the trip. Public Works Minister Patricia De Lille disputed this view, however, arguing that ministers were always required to motivate and seek presidential approval for spouses for international trips. At the outset, attention is drawn to the fact that the president is not required to approve the inclusion of a spouse for official international trips, as long as all is in line with the limits set in the Ministerial Handbook, said Ndabeni-Abrahams department. The handbook allows for spouses to accompany members of the executive on two official international trips per year. That the trip coincided with the ministers anniversary is of no consequence as public funds were not used and/or misused for this purpose. The department said it was also malicious to claim that Mr Abrahams travelled to France on a shopping spree. It said he was in Geneva at all times during this trip. A baseless allegation is also made that Mr Abrahams used a chauffeur-driven Mercedes Benz S600 that was allocated to the minister for the said shopping spree. This is devoid of all truth because it did not happen. Attending meetings The department went on to state that Mr Abrahams did not attend any government meetings. He, from time-to-time, accompanies the minister to open government events, as is the case with any other spouse. Further, Mr Abrahams has never interfered with and in the affairs of the Ministry of Communications and Digital Technologies, as alleged in the article. The minister is fully well aware of the political malice at play, which has given shape to a well-orchestrated and sinister campaign to discredit her and deter her from fulfilling the departments mandate, which includes sector transformation. Ndabeni-Abrahams said that anyone who can provide evidence which points to impropriety and abuse of state resources may report it to the relevant authorities. Now read: Why Telkom wants to cut jobs Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 18:13:26|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TEHRAN, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Monday that the Islamic republic will leave the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in case the nuclear case of the country is sent to the UN Security Council. He said that during the search operation, the militants holed up in the village opened fire on the security which was retaliated, leading to an encounter. (Photo: Representational) SRINAGAR: The security forces combating a three-decade old insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday claimed that they killed a top commander of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen and his two associates in a gun battle in southern Shopian district. The officials said that among the slain is a former Special Police Officer (SPO) who had decamped with seven AK assault rifles and a pistol besides cash from the residence of the then PDP lawmaker Aijaz Ahmed is Srinagars Jawahar Nagar locality before joining the militants ranks in 2018. J&Ks director general of police, Dilbag Singh, told a hurriedly called press conference here that the gun fight took place after a joint team of the Army, J&K polices counterinsurgency Special Operations Group and the Central Reserve Police Force launched a cordon-and-search operation in Wachi village of Shopians Zainapora area on Monday morning. He said that during the search operation, the militants holed up in the village opened fire on the security which was retaliated, leading to an encounter. Terming the killing of the militant trio a major success, the police chief said that the Hizb is on the verge of elimination in south Kashmir. Mondays was one of the most successful operations we have carried out, so far, this year. Three terrorists were killed. Their criminal and terror record is very huge. Among the slain is their commander Waseem Wani who was active since 2017 and currently holding an important position within the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen in that area, Singh said. He said that there are as many as 19 FIRs registered against Wani for his involvement in various terror strikes including killing four civilians and an equal number of policemen. He said, With the elimination of this group the fear it had instilled among the people of Shopian for some time will come down. (@FahadShabbir) Rae Kwon Chung, a UN climate expert and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has told Sputnik that one should not expect too much from the upcoming climate change conference in Glasgow since negotiators at such meetings are constrained by their national policies in this area MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th January, 2020) Rae Kwon Chung, a UN climate expert and a Nobel Peace prize laureate, has told Sputnik that one should not expect too much from the upcoming climate change conference in Glasgow since negotiators at such meetings are constrained by their national policies in this area. In November, Glasgow will host the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26). UN chief Antonio Guterres has already called on Paris deal signatories to deliver more ambitious climate commitments. The meeting will follow COP25 in Madrid, which saw nations fail to agree on a regulatory framework for a global carbon trading system, which remains a major stumbling block for the 2016 Paris deal to become fully operational. "From COP itself it's very difficult to expect anything positive. These are negotiators, they are really bound by national positions, it's very difficult," Chung said. According to the Nobel laureate, it is "most critical" for the countries to change the attitude and view climate commitments as an "opportunity rather than a cost or a burden." "We should do more about changing the perception: emissions reduction opens new opportunities. Otherwise people's behavior will not change," he stated. Chung is an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) member, who received a personal copy of Nobel Peace Prize awarded to the IPCC in 2007 for his contribution to the panel's report on technology transfer. He also serves as Global Energy Prize International Award Committee chairman. MORE than 3,000 Angkas drivers in Cebu could lose their livelihood next week after the Technical Working Group (TWG) of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) recommended to Congress the termination of the study and pilot run of motorcycle taxis nationwide two months ahead of schedule. However, there is a possibility that they can continue their operations after Sen. Christopher Bong Go revealed that he plans to convince President Rodrigo Duterte and Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade to extend the pilot study under certain conditions. Of the three motorcycle taxi apps included in the pilot study, only Angkas operates in Cebu. The ride-hailing apps Joyride and Move It operate only in Metro Manila. In a document issued Jan. 17, 2020, Antonio Gardiola Jr., chairman of the TWG overseeing the pilot run, recommended stopping the implementation of the study to Tugade. The TWG conducted a six-month study from June 23 to Dec. 26, 2019 to help Congress further evaluate pending bills that seek to legalize the use of motorcycles as public utility vehicles (PUVs). The pilot run was later extended to March 23, 2020. Gardiola also recommended to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) the blacklisting of Angkas from participating as a motorcycle taxi service provider in the event that the law that governs PUVs will be amended, citing Angkass alleged blatantly exhibited defiance of guidelines set by the TWG to cover the study and extended pilot run. One of these violations is Angkass alleged operation outside of the identified study areas of Metro Manila and Metro Cebu. The TWG also said Angkas did not reveal to the public that it is not a majority-owned corporation, which violates Philippine laws. Angkas also did not disclose to the riding public that DBDOYC, its registered corporation name, is 99 percent foreign-owned, which is in violation of Philippine laws that common carriers should be at least 60 percent owned by Filipino citizens. Records from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have revealed that DBDOYC, or Angkas, is 99.996 percent owned by Angeline Xiwen Tham, a Singaporean, with P9.8 million in subscribed shares. Tham is also listed at the SEC as president of DBDOYC, the TWG said. Story continues If the TWGs recommendation is approved, more than 3,000 Angkas drivers and their operations will be considered illegal. They will be apprehended if caught running in the streets, said LTFRB Central Visayas Director Eduardo Montealto Jr. Montealto said motorcycle taxis are not safe and should not be considered as PUVs. He agreed with the DOTr-TWG decision, saying it is for the safety of the riding public. As of press time, both the LTFRB 7 and the Land Transportation Office (LTO) 7 had yet to receive word from their central offices regarding the pilot studys termination. But Montealto said if there is already an order, he will immediately activate the Inter-Agency Council for Traffic (IACT) which will conduct enforcement operations against motorcycle taxis. The IACT is composed of the LTFRB, the LTO, the Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Highway Patrol Group. Motorcycle taxi drivers across the nation, though, hope President Duterte will intervene, especially after Senator Go asked for an extension of the pilot study. During the hearing of the Senate committee on public services on the proposed legalization of motorcycle taxis on Monday, Jan. 20, Go expressed his support for the TWG and stressed the need for the government to thoroughly study the Motorcycle Taxi Service program and uphold public interest, especially in the aspect of safety. I will recommend the extension of the pilot study to the President and to Secretary Art Tugade, provided that they (motorcycle taxi operators and drivers) will abide and care for the safety of the passengers, Go said. Go clarified that he is not anti-business, but he urged motorcycle taxi operators to be responsible for their customers and to ensure that their services will remain safe. The DOTr, in a statement on its official Facebook page, said it will consider the sentiments raised by members of the Senate committee on public services and has ordered the TWG to convene to discuss these sentiments. The TWG shall further discuss all these on Wednesday (Jan. 22), after which a report shall be submitted to DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade. Another meeting shall likewise be conducted on Friday (Jan. 24) with stakeholders, resource persons and the three motorcycle providers participating in the study to iron out the specifics, the DOTrs statement added. Angkas is not new to legal issues. In December 2018, Angkas had to stop its operations after the Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order against a local court in Mandaluyong City that barred the LTFRB from interfering with Angkass operations. Angkas also filed cases before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 223 and the Mandaluyong City RTC Branch 212 in 2019, questioning the studys revised guidelines. The TWG said the move hampered the studys implementation. The TWG foresees its inability to gather accurate data to enable it to render any recommendation at the end of the pilot project. For this reason, the TWG hereby invokes Section 13 of the revised guidelines and recommends that the pilot recommendation be terminated, the TWG said in its recommendation. (HBL / JKV ) Credit: CC0 Public Domain A new coronavirus, a mysterious SARS-like disease, has spread around China and three other Asian countries since first emerging in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. A timeline: Alarm raised The World Health Organization (WHO) is alerted on December 31, 2019, by the Chinese authorities of a string of pneumonia-like cases in Wuhan, a city of 11 million people. Patients are quarantined and work begins on identifying the origin of the pneumonia. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identifies a seafood market suspected to be at the centre of the outbreak. It is closed on January 1, 2020. New coronavirus On January 9, the WHO says that the outbreak in Wuhan was caused by a previously unknown type of coronavirus, which is a broad family ranging from the common cold to more serious illnesses like SARS. To date 59 people have been infected of whom seven are in a serious condition, according to an official toll. First death The Chinese health authorities say a first person has died of the virus on January 11. They revise downwards the number of sick people to 41. Spreads beyond China On January 13, the virus spreads beyond China's borders for the first time with a case emerging in Thailand, according to the WHO. The victim is a Chinese woman diagnosed with mild pneumonia who was returning from a trip to Wuhan. On January 15 China's health commission says no human-to-human transmission of the virus behind the Wuhan outbreak has been confirmed so far, but the possibility "cannot be excluded". The next day a first case of the virus is confirmed in Japan in someone who had stayed in Wuhan in early January. US controls On January 17, a second person, a 69-year-old man, dies in Wuhan, according to the authorities. The same day, the CDC announces that it will begin screening passengers arriving from Wuhan at three airports: San Francisco, New York's JFK and Los Angeles. Human to human transmission confirmed On January 20, a third death and more than 100 new cases are announced in China, sparking concerns ahead of the annual Lunar New Year holiday which begins January 25 and sees hundreds of millions of Chinese people travel nationwide. The virus is present in Beijing in the north, Shanghai in the east and Shenzhen in the south. More than 200 cases have been recorded. The virus is also detected in South Korea in a Chinese person who has arrived by plane from Wuhan. China's President Xi Jinping says that the virus must be "resolutely contained", in his first public comments on the outbreak. Human-to-human transmission is "affirmative", a top Chinese expert on infectious diseases Zhong Nanshan tells state broadcaster CCTV. Explore further Thais find second case linked to China mystery virus 2020 AFP 1. Spain Photo for illustration (Source: Internet) Partying and fireworks are popular ways to celebrate the New Year worldwide. However, many years ago in Seville, Spain, people chose to count down to New Year's Eve - twelve, eleven, ten ... with each grape to bring good luck. 2. Denmark Photo for illustration (Source: zing.vn) Danish people throw old plates and glasses at the door of their relatives and friends in the hope of driving away the bad luck of the old year. They also often stand up from their seats, then jump to the ground with the hope of gaining good luck in the first month of the New Year. 3. Finland Photo for illustration (Photo: Fodors Travel Guide) In Finland, people predict the New Year with a unique and interesting cultural feature. They will melt tin and pour it into different shapes. Heart-shapes or rings are symbols for love and wedding, a ship for a wish to travel or a pig for a full New Year. 4. Scotland Photo for illustration ( Source: danviet.vn) Like the custom of the first visit to a house in New Year in Vietnam, in Scotland, the first person, who enters the door of the New Year will give the landlord a gift symbolizing luck. In the festive atmosphere, people will light camp-fires and make fireballs, a symbol of the Sun, to drive away bad luck in New Year. 5. The Philippines Photo for illustration (Source: tienphong.vn) You will see circle items throughout the Philippines on New Year's Eve because the people in this country think that the circle symbolizes the roundness and the coin is the symbol of prosperity. At the time of transferring from the old year to the new year, many people eat 12 round fruits (usually grapes). Even clothing with polka dots is also popular in the early days of the New Year. 6. American countries Photo for illustration (Source: fiveprime) In Brazil, Bolivia and Venezuela, to bring luck, people will wear colorful underwear on New Year's Eve. In particular, red with meaning will bring love in the New Year, yellow represents money and wealth. Colombian people usually carry empty suitcases around their house in the hope of a New Year filled with travel. In Chile, people hold coins in their hands or put money at the door to hope for a full New Year. In Ecuador, men can wear wigs, dark makeup, and short skirts. In Argentina, the New Year comes in the summer, as in many other South American countries, so families often go to the beach. 7. Greece Photo for illustration (Source: pixabay.com) Traditionally, onions are usually hung on the front door of houses in Greece. This image bears the meaning of rebirth in the New Year. In addition, on New Year's Day, parents will wake their children up by tapping on their heads with onions. 8. Japan Photo for illustration (Source: pinterest) In the land of the Rising Sun, on New Year's Eve, people will welcome Toshigami god of the New Year, the god of luck, health and prosperity. Buddhist pagodas across the country will ring the bell 108 times at midnight. The bell is said to help dispel negative things in everyone's temper./. Oregon lawmakers should not pass campaign contribution limits this year, Gov. Kate Brown said during a Friday briefing on the upcoming short legislative session. As a result, voters will likely have to decide in November on a state constitutional amendment that would allow political donation limits without knowing what those money limits might be. Last year, the Oregon House passed a bill that would have capped contributions to House and Senate candidates at $1,000 and $1,500, and statewide candidates at $2,800. It died in the Senate and there was talk that lawmakers might pass a similar plan this year, to give voters a clear idea of the impact they could have if they pass a constitutional amendment to allow the limits. When a reporter asked the governor about the issue at preview of the upcoming session arranged by the Associated Press on Friday, Brown responded that she has really strong thoughts. Ive been working on this issue 25 years. We should wait and see what the voters have to say on that particular measure, the governor said of the constitutional amendment. She did not cite any specific benefits of waiting until at least 2021 to pass statewide campaign contribution limits. I think that (lawmakers) should continue that work. This is really hard stuff. It is really difficult, as you know. Brown promised to make campaign finance reforms during her 2018 reelection campaign, when she went after her Republican opponent former Rep. Knute Buehler for taking $2.5 million in donations from Nike co-founder Phil Knight. At more than $37 million, spending in the governors race shattered the previous record. However, Brown never publicly identified specific changes she wanted to make. Oregons lack of state campaign contribution limits has allowed powerful interests to flood the governors race and other statewide and legislative elections with political money. In 2019, The Oregonian/OregonLives series Polluted by Money series revealed that corporate entities gave more money to Oregon lawmakers on a per capita basis over a decade than in any state in the country. The investigation found that money helped companies to limit environmental regulations in the state. Sen. Jeff Golden, D-Ashland, is chair of the Senate Committee on Campaign Finance and worked on contribution limits last year. On Monday, Golden said he understands lawmakers face a busy session in which were trying to pack 10 pounds of stuff in a one-pound box. However, Golden said a bill to limit campaign contributions needs to happen soon or else it will slide another couple election cycles, or it wont happen. Golden said he has not given up on trying to pass limits during the session that begins in February. Rep. Dan Rayfield, D-Corvallis, who sponsored a 2019 contribution limit proposal, could not immediately be reached for comment on Monday. Last year he told The Oregonian/OregonLive, Im going to work my darndest to make sure we have an absolutely solid bill in February that will hopefully have the votes. Hillary Borrud | hborrud@oregonian.com | 503-294-4034 | @hborrud Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. The Queensland government has defended measures it put in place to deal with silicosis, as figures show nearly one in five stonemasons in the state has the deadly lung disease. Health screening by WorkCover Queensland shows out of about 1000 stonemasons working in the state, 186 have been diagnosed with silicosis, or just over 18 per cent of workers. Of those, 26 have developed the more severe progressive massive fibrosis. One in five stonemasons in Queensland has been diagnosed with silicosis, leading to fresh calls for more to be done about the deadly lung disease. Credit:ninevms Jonathan Walsh, a Brisbane principal at law firm Maurice Blackburn, said the figures were deeply shocking and called on the state and federal governments to do more for workers affected by the disease. Foreign Minister Vadym Prystayko says Ukraine has asked the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to expand its monitoring mission in Ukraine. Prystayko made the announcement on January 20 after a meeting with OSCE Chairman-in-Office Edi Rama. The OSCE's special monitoring mission has been present in Ukraine since 2014, when fighting broke out in eastern Ukraine between government forces and Russia-backed separatists after Russia's annexation of Crimea. The war has killed more than 14,000 people and devastated Ukraine's industrial heartland. The mission's civilian monitors keep track in particular of the situation in the war-torn regions, with a special task of facilitating dialogue between the sides of the conflict. Its mandate expires on March 31. Prystayko said Kyiv asked the OSCE not only to extend the duration of the mission, but to "expand its possibilities and human resources" and support it financially. Rama called the separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine "the most pressing challenge to security and stability in Europe today." Leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany held talks in December, hoping to revive a 2015 peace deal. The talks didn't produce a breakthrough, but were hailed by both Russia and Ukraine as encouraging. Based on reporting by Reuters and Interfax A committee headed by the Defence Secretary on Monday reviewed the progress of the Indian Navys first indigenous aircraft carrier Vikrant, currently under the third phase of construction here. The EmpoweredApex Committee (EAC) headed by Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar reviewed theprogress of the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) project at Cochin Shipyard Limited. "The review critically examined the current status of the project as the IAC is in a very advanced stage of construction and is scheduled to commence basin trials in early 2020 followed by the sea trials by mid 2020", a Defence release said here. This is the 13th EAC Review Meeting of the Project and the first to be held after the signing of the Phase-III of the IAC Contract on October 31, 2019 between the Ministry of Defence and the public sector Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL). According to the officials, the construction of the aircraft carrier is in an advanced state with all four gas turbines, main engines having been started. Power generation systems comprising eight diesel alternators were ready and trials of the ships major systems and auxiliary equipment in progress. Basin trials are conducted for proving of the propulsion, transmission and shafting systems and is scheduled in early half of this year. The IAC would be ready to commence the Sea Trials once the Basin trials are successfully completed, the release said. The Defence Secretary was accompanied by Vice Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Ashok Kumar, Vice Admiral GS Pabby, Chief of Materiel, Vice AdmiralS R Sarma, Controller Warship Production & Acquisition, and other senior officers from the Integrated Headquarters (IHQ) of Ministry of Defence (Navy), Warship Overseeing Team and Carrier Acceptance & Trials Team. The basic design of the nearly 40,000-tonne IAC was done by the Indian Navy's Directorate of Naval Design and developed into a detailed one by the design team of CSL. The ship has a length of over 260 m and breadth of 60 m. It has two take-off runways and a landing strip with three arrester wires, capable of operating STOBAR aircraft including the indigenous LCA, as well as a range of helicopters with hangar facilities, officials had earlier said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Noema Alavez Perez walks with investigators last week on a wooded trail near the playground in Bridgeton City Park in the continuing search for clues for her missing 5-year-old daughter, Dulce Maria Alavez. Read more After walking one more time through the playground where she last saw her 5-year-old daughter, Noema Alavez Perez wondered aloud about her disappearance. She knows so little. All she knows is that her daughter, Dulce, raced off to play, ran toward someone and then she was gone. There was a witness: Dulces 3-year-old brother, Manuel. But he can say only so much. He saw everything, but like hes too young, the 19-year-old mother said last week. "For him, its hard to talk. Four months later, Dulce Maria Alavez is still missing. Authorities have interviewed 1,000 people, including the childs father in Mexico, people who were in Bridgeton City Park on the day she disappeared, and registered sex offenders in Cumberland and surrounding counties. They have chased down countless leads from tip lines from sources as far away as California, Michigan, and Texas, Bridgeton Police Chief Michael Gaimari said. After all that work, Gaimari remains hopeful and insists that the investigation has made progress. Im optimistic shes alive, he said. A task force of investigators from the police department, New Jersey State Police, county prosecutors, and the FBI meets daily as part of what Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae described as an active ongoing investigation. Authorities have urged anyone with information about the childs disappearance to call law enforcement. There is a $75,000 reward for information on her whereabouts. If you can come forward Im telling you that may be the crucial piece that finds Dulce, said FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Gregory Ehrie, head of the Newark field office. He and Supervisory Special Agent Christina Bedford said the agencys Child Abduction Rapid Deployment team joined the effort to find Dulce within about 24 hours of her disappearance. Ehrie said investigators have examined terabytes of video," but declined to discuss specifics of the investigation including whether authorities are still looking for a man who may fit the description of a composite sketch of a person seen in the park on the day Dulce disappeared or a red van that a child saw in the park that day. Alavez Perez, in an interview at her parents Bridgeton home, seemed to hold on to hope. Asked what she thought happened to Dulce, she said in a quiet voice: Im not sure. I still have hope that shes alive, she said. Asked what she would say to the person who took her child, Alavez Perez said: To let her go. Shes still young. I dont even know why they took her, what was the reason they took her. She still has her whole life in front of her. Its just sad that they took a little girl. She misses her daughter, she said: Inside of me hurts a lot. A Bridgeton native, Alavez Perez said shes been living with her boyfriend, Edgar Martinez, 27, about a five-minute drive from her parents home. Shes eight months pregnant with his child, she said. Her parents, who came to the United States from Mexico 20 years ago, took care of Dulce and Manuel. She said she didnt really know Dulces father, Edgar Perez, who is about five years older and got her pregnant when she was 13. They werent in a relationship, she said, and when Dulce was a toddler, he returned to Mexico. After Dulces disappearance, he called, and Alavez Perez recalled not wanting to talk to him. Supposedly theyre worried about her, but we dont see nothing from them, even helping us in the search, she said of the childs father and his family, who live in southwestern Mexico. Dulces disappearance has drawn national attention, and Alavez Perez was invited to appear on the Dr. Phil show. On the show, she was asked whether she had any idea who could have taken the child and she said an old friend I used to know. Asked about that, she said she gave that answer because Dr. Phil was like forcing me to say someones name, but shes not sure whether that acquaintance had anything to do with it. The child vanished on a September day. Alavez Perez had taken the children and her 8-year-old sister, Camila, for ice cream and then to the park. Dulce and Manuel went off to play and she was in the car with her sister about 30 yards away when Dulce wandered out of sight. When she went to find her, she was gone. Ever since, the mystery of what happened to Dulce has jolted residents of the South Jersey community. In Bridgeton City Park last week, Annalyse Cooper, 29, was thinking of Dulce. I just feel like people are still hopeful but also feel hopeless, she said. Speaking in Spanish, Antonio Ramirez, 30, a Bridgeton resident who hails from Oaxaca, said the case saddened him. Nothing like this has happened here before, he said. For Dulces family, the pain is palpable. Her grandmother, Norma Perez Alavez, said she stopped working at her job packaging fruit in a factory and started going to church three times a week since her granddaughters disappearance. We are anguished, she said in Spanish in an interview Friday. Who took her? I left my job so I can wait [at home] if anyone comes with news of Dulce. Asked what she thinks happened, the 42-year-old grandmother said: I dont know. Only God knows. Authorities ask that anyone with information about Dulces disappearance or her whereabouts contact the Bridgeton Police Department at 856-451-0033. Tipsters can remain anonymous by texting TIP411 (847411) and writing Bridgeton and the tip. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex had boldly declared that they would pursue a "progressive new role" within the royal family. Yet in the event, they ended up with no role at all. The differences between the future role confidently outlined by the couple when they first signalled their intentions to "step back" and the reality are stark, suggesting the queen denied them their wish to keep one foot within the Firm. When Harry and Meghan made their shock announcement on January 8, it was accompanied by the launch of a glossy website, packed with statements about how their new lives would look. This weekend it became clear the Sussexes had jumped the gun. What they said: They would "carve out a progressive new role" and "adjust their working model". The reality: They will not have a role in the institution and as such no working model. Their lives as members of the Firm will end in the spring. Instead, the couple are free to seek any employment they want. What they said: They would continue their royal duties and "fully support" the queen, the Commonwealth and their patronages. Their website said they'd "continue to collaborate" while also working "externally". The reality: Buckingham Palace made clear after five days of intense negotiations, the Sussexes would no longer represent the queen in any capacity. Their work will be undertaken independently and there appears little scope for any collaboration. As such, all of their work will be external. What they said: Their new careers will be built on the Sussex royal brand. The reality: The use of that moniker now hangs in jeopardy with royal aides admitting they did not know whether the couple would be free to continue trading on their "royal" heritage. Video of the Day If they are told they cannot use the term, they will be forced to rebrand their social media platforms, website and their new charitable foundation. What they said: That 95pc of their funding is derived from the Duchy of Cornwall via the Prince of Wales. The reality: Prince Charles has agreed to finance them in the short term, although this is more likely to be from his private income. What they said: The refurbishment of Frogmore Cottage was funded by the queen, "reflecting the monarchy's responsibility to maintain the upkeep of buildings with historical significance". The reality: The couple have agreed to repay the 2.4m (2.8m) refurbishment cost. ( Daily Telegraph, London) I used to believe Oregon was a model of good government. Now I say praise the Founding Fathers for our responsible, mainstream, free press. Once again, The Oregonian/OregonLive has exposed a state agency charged with protecting the public, this time the Oregon Department of Agriculture, as unconscionably lax and cozy with the industry it is supposed to be regulating (Siding with grocers, Oregon doesnt grade grocery stores on food safety, Jan. 13). Thank you to The Oregonian,/OregonLive and boo, hiss to our legislators, lining their campaign coffers with industry money. Bill Tomison, Beaverton VANCOUVER - The federal government is spending $500,000 to lure investors to develop untapped mineral resources in Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Yukon MP Larry Bagnell announced the initiative in Vancouver on Sunday on behalf of Melanie Joly, minister of economic development and official languages. The Yukon Mining Alliance will use the funding to showcase the opportunities in the North at the annual Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada conference for the next three years. Bagnell says the conference is the largest of its kind with over 1,000 exhibitors and 25,000 attendees from around the world, and this years event will take place in Toronto in March. He says the mining alliance will establish a key presence at the conference including a media centre, an all-day forum with information on the North and a networking event. Its part of the Invest Canada North initiative which aims to promote the territories as attractive investment destinations and create jobs for Indigenous and northern residents. Mining investors from New York or London may not know about the strong Indigenous corporations we have in the North and all the assets they have to bring to projects. They may not know about the strong mining organizations we have, Bagnell says. They may not know about how open and welcoming the territorial premiers are ... and their governments are to mining. They may not know about the millions of acres of undeveloped mining potential they could invest in. Yukon Premier Sandy Silver says his territory is a top-tier mining destination with rich geological potential. Yukon has an awful lot to offer investors, he says. We are a geopolitically safe jurisdiction and our governments take pride in our work to forge strong, mutually respective partnerships with Yukon First Nations for the benefit of all Yukoners. Caroline Cochrane, Northwest Territories premier, adds the north is filled with minerals that fuel the global green economy such as lithium and cobalt, which are used in rechargeable batteries. A lot of people say we should be closing down the mining sector but we cant. In fact, we need the mining sector. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 19, 2020. By Trend Turkey honors the memory of victims of the January 20 tragedy, a source in the Turkish Presidential Administration told Trend in connection with the 30th anniversary of the January 20 tragedy. Turkey remembers and will never forget the sons and daughters of fraternal Azerbaijan, who sacrificed their lives for the independence of their country, the source noted. Despite that 30 years have passed since the January 20 tragedy, this wound is still fresh in the memory of the Azerbaijani and Turkish peoples. It was also noted that despite that 30 years have passed since this bloody tragedy, its perpetrators are still unpunished. The source added that Turkey will continue to support fraternal Azerbaijan in all areas. January 20 is a day that went down in history of Azerbaijan's fight for independence and territorial integrity. On January 20, 1990, the Soviet army forces entered Baku to suppress the masses protesting the USSR-supported Armenian aggression based on territorial claims against Azerbaijan. The result was an unprecedented tragedy for Azerbaijan. On the night of January 19-20, 1990, 147 people were killed, 744 were injured and 841 were illegally arrested after Soviet troops entered Baku. The Soviet troops also destroyed 200 apartments and houses, as well as private and public property. The January 20 tragedy brought huge losses and death of innocent people. But it also demonstrated the spirit and pride of Azerbaijani nation. Azerbaijanis gained the independence they were dreaming of, and the country achieved sovereignty. Despite that many years have passed since those bloody days, Azerbaijanis remember the dreadful night that took many innocent lives and mark the anniversary of the January 20 tragedy every year. January 20 is immortalized in the memory of Azerbaijani nation as a Day of the Nationwide Sorrow. ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In the aftermath of multiple high-magnitude earthquakes that hit Puerto Rico last week, The Salvation Army is providing physical, emotional and spiritual care to individuals and families impacted by the disaster, as well as first responders. With aftershocks still persisting, more than 40,000 people are voluntarily displaced across Puerto Rico due to fears of structural collapse. With many residents still recovering from Hurricane Maria, local "camps" have been established by survivors who are afraid to return to their homes. The Salvation Army continues to work with local authorities such as the Puerto Rico Emergency Management Agency to serve these camps and pinpoint the most impacted areas for ongoing service delivery. "Our team of 124 and growing is working around the clock to support our brothers and sisters suffering from this ongoing disaster," said Major Eric Rodriguez, Divisional Commander for The Salvation Army in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. "Everywhere we go to provide supplies and services on our island, an overwhelming number of people are requesting emotional and spiritual care to cope with the constant fear of aftershocks. Whether we're serving meals or simply giving a hug, The Salvation Army will continue to be here in Puerto Rico serving the whole person physically, emotionally and spiritually." The Salvation Army has had a presence in Puerto Rico since 1962. With four facilities throughout the territory, they were uniquely prepared to serve immediate needs. As part of the local communities, Salvation Army staff and facilities have experienced damage during the quakes, yet they will remain serving on the front lines throughout response and recovery. Puerto Rico Earthquake Disaster Relief Overview The Salvation Army currently has 124 volunteers and officers deployed to the areas with the most need 1,717 cumulative hours have been spent helping survivors and first responders Disaster operation locations include: The Salvation Army's Ponce Corps (main location), Caguas EDS facility and Guayama Kroc Center Additional food and goods distributions are taking place in the Lares, La Luna, Playa Santa, Guanica, Lajas and Penuelas communities. Those seeking support can find The Salvation Army's distribution sites at the following municipality facilities. Note: Physical addresses are challenging in areas, so GPS coordinates are provided for those sites. Ponce: Estadio Poquito Montaner 18.002389, -66.631843 Yauco: Estadio Mario Nato Ramirez 18.022316, -66.858485 Penuelas: Pista Atletica 18.046823, -66.720530 Guanica: Pista Atletica 17.975489, -66.910541 As of Wednesday, January 15 , the following goods and services have been distributed to those in need: , the following goods and services have been distributed to those in need: 2,180 emotional and spiritual care cases 4,272 meals 7,851 drinks 3,572 snacks 3,126 hygiene kits 4,105 clothing items How to Help To contribute to The Salvation Army's Puerto Rico disaster relief efforts, visit HelpSalvationArmy.org or call 1-800-SAL-ARMY. disaster relief efforts, visit HelpSalvationArmy.org or call 1-800-SAL-ARMY. The Salvation Army does not place an administrative fee on disaster donations. During emergency disasters, 100 percent of designated gifts are used to support specific relief efforts. For more information on The Salvation Army's emergency disaster response, visit disaster.salvationarmyusa.org. About The Salvation Army The Salvation Army annually helps more than 23 million Americans overcome poverty, addiction and economic hardships through a range of social services. By providing food for the hungry, emergency relief for disaster survivors, rehabilitation for those suffering from drug and alcohol abuse, and clothing and shelter for people in need, The Salvation Army is doing the most good at 7,600 centers of operation around the country. During times of disaster, 100 percent of designated donations to The Salvation Army are used for immediate response and long-term efforts. In the first-ever listing of "America's Favorite Charities" by The Chronicle of Philanthropy, The Salvation Army ranked as the country's largest privately funded, direct-service nonprofit. For more information, visit SalvationArmyUSA.org. Follow us on Twitter @SalvationArmyUS and #DoingTheMostGood. SOURCE The Salvation Army Related Links http://www.salvationarmyusa.org CHARLOTTE, N.C. - On New Years Eve, hundreds of Fort Bragg-based paratroopers went from relaxing at home with their families to deploying to the Middle East within hours. Its something the was 82nd Airbornes Immediate Response Force prepares for constantly. This week, readiness preparation will continue for U.S. forces as they take part in a multinational training exercise in Colombia. On Thursday, 75 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division will team up with their Colombian counterparts for training both on the ground and in the air. Colombia is our closest, most capable partner in the region. We have decades of history working together, U.S. Southern Command Military Deputy Commander Lt. Gen. Michael Plehn told the Associated Press. While there, Paratroopers will use U.S. C-130 Hercules aircraft to simulate airborne assault exercises and work to secure an airfield. Plehn says these training missions, frequently conducted by U.S. Southern Command across the region, are about preparedness. You have to build trust all the time. Not just when you think you might need it, Plehn said. Relationship building is also paramount, according to Plehn. While these multinational paratroopers may start off as strangers, he says a week of training together brings them together with a common understanding. You realize what were all fighting for when we put on this uniform, he said. Were fighting for democracy. Were fighting for respect for human rights. The 82nd Airborne Division and U.S. Army support forces will be training in Colombia through January 29th. - Follow Sarah Blake Morgan at www.twitter.com/StorytellerSBM Cervical cancer has the potential to be eliminated thanks to improved testing and vaccination, NHS officials claim. A new detection method rolled out last month looks for traces of the human papillomavirus (HPV), which cause nearly all cervical tumours. Women with HPV positive results are then referred for further checks which search for abnormal changes in the cervix. A new detection method rolled out last month looks for traces of the human papillomavirus (HPV), which cause nearly all cervical tumours NHS England claims a quarter of new cases could be prevented by the method, which is carried out at the same time as the conventional smear test. Professor Peter Johnson, national clinical director for cancer, said he hoped that the technique, combined with the HPV jab, could see the disease 'eliminated altogether by the NHS in England'. Professor Peter Johnson, national clinical director for cancer, said he hoped that the technique, combined with the HPV jab, could see the disease 'eliminated altogether by the NHS in England' The jab, which protects against other forms of cancer as well as cervical, is offered to all girls and boys aged 12 and 13. About 2,500 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer every year in England. A man accused of grabbing a toddler by the arm and kissing him twice on the lips at a Sydney aquarium repeatedly apologised when the boy's father intervened and later told police there was a "cultural difference", a court has been told. Nikhil Bhatia, 28, an Indian national who has been in Australia for just a week, allegedly approached the two-year-old boy who was unrelated to him at the Sea Life Aquarium in Darling Harbour at about 5pm on Sunday. Sea Life Aquarium at Darling Harbour. On Monday, Central Local Court was told the toddler was with both of his parents when Mr Bhatia touched him on the head from behind, then moved in front of him and lowered himself down. A police prosecutor, Sergeant McKinnon, told the court Mr Bhatia grabbed the boy's arm and moved the child closer to him, before kissing the toddler twice on the lips. The boy's father, who intervened, later told police Mr Bhatia used force to bring the child towards him. Cesar Diaz-Rodriguez, 30, was arrested in Houston, Texas by ICE officers on Oct. 8, 2019. (U.S. Immigration And Customs Enforcement) ICE Subpoenas NYC for Detained Illegal Aliens Information Federal immigration authorities have issued four immigration subpoenas to New York City in an attempt to force it to hand over data about inmates wanted for deportation. This is not a requestits a demand, Henry Lucero, a senior U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official, told The Associated Press. This is a last resort for us. Dangerous criminals are being released every single day in New York. Mayor Bill de Blasios administration on Jan 18 said the city would review the subpoenas. New York is among about 200 so-called sanctuary jurisdictions that limit their agencies, including law enforcement officers, from cooperation with ICE. The development comes days after ICE sent similar subpoenas to the city of Denver, a move that reflected the agencys mounting pressure on jurisdictions that dont honor deportation detainers, or provide any details about defendants going in and out of local custody. The subpoenas sent to New York seek information about three inmatesincluding a man wanted for homicide in El Salvadorwho were recently released even as immigration officials requested the city turn them over for deportation. The fourth subpoena asks for information about a Guyanese man charged this month with sexually assaulting and killing Maria Fuertes, a 92-year-old Queens woman. The city had arrested the womans alleged attacker, Reeaz Khan, 21, in November 2019 on earlier assault charges, but released him instead of turning him over for deportation. Khan was charged with murder on Jan. 10 and remains in custody. While New York City police say they didnt receive a detainer request for Khan, ICE insists it was sent. Regardless, the city would not have turned him over under the terms of New Yorks local ordinance governing how police work with federal immigration officials. The citys detainer law says that officials have to turn over violators to ICE only after they are convicted and only for violent and serious offenses. Hours before the subpoenas were issued on Jan. 17, acting ICE Director Matthew Albence told a news conference in New York City that city leaders had blood on their hands in Fuertess death. It is this citys sanctuary policies that are the sole reason this criminal was allowed to roam the streets freely and end an innocent womans life, Albence said. In an email on Jan. 18, the citys spokeswoman, Freddi Goldstein, accused the Trump administration of trying to exploit this tragedy. De Blasio has accused ICE of employing scare tactics and spreading lies. He said on Twitter this week that the city has passed common-sense laws about immigration enforcement that have driven crime to record lows. City officials in Denver said they wouldnt comply with the requests, saying the subpoenas could be viewed as an effort to intimidate officers into help enforcing civil immigration law. The documents appear to be a request for information related to alleged violations of civil immigration law, Chad Sublet, senior counsel to the Department of Safety in Denver, wrote in a letter to ICE officials. But Lucero, ICEs acting deputy executive associate director for enforcement and removal operations, said the agency may consult with federal prosecutors to obtain a court order compelling the citys compliance. A judge can hold them in contempt, he told AP. Meanwhile, ICE is considering expanding its use of immigration subpoenas in other sanctuary jurisdictions. Like any law enforcement agency, we are used to modifying our tactics as criminals shift their strategies, Lucero said in a statement. But its disheartening that we must change our practices and jump through so many hoops with partners who are restricted by sanctuary laws passed by politicians with a dangerous agenda. Sanctuary Versus Crime New York City will not change the policies that have made us the safest big city in America, Goldstein said. Despite increases in recent years of some violent crimes, the citys crime rates have declined more than five-fold over the past 30 years (pdf, pdf). The city has been a sanctuary jurisdiction to varying degrees since 1989, but its not clear how much of the crime drop, if any, can be attributed to the policies. There seems to be little to no evidence that sanctuary policies decrease crime. A 2016 paper (pdf) indicated that sanctuary cities had, on average, higher violent crime rates than demographically comparable cities. But the rates were higher even before the cities assumed their sanctuary status. The authors concluded that the effect of passing such policies on crime was not statistically significant. Its not clear how much a citys illegal alien population changes in response to passing a sanctuary policy. Since illegal aliens are usually a small portion of a citys populace, even a significant change in their criminality should only have a small effect on the citys overall crime rates. Proponents argue that sanctuary policies encourage illegal aliens to help police solve crimes. Its not clear to what degree illegal aliens have been helpful to law enforcement, regardless of sanctuary policies. Several studies have shown that increased cooperation with immigration authorities could fray police-community relations at least temporarily (pdf), but dont necessarily affect levels of crime reporting to police. Opponents of the policies usually point to individual crime prevention. A 2014 ICE paper (pdf) said that nearly 9,000 ICE detainers issued in the first eight months of that year were declined by local jurisdictions. Of the illegal aliens targeted, almost 1,900 were subsequently arrested for a crime within less than 10 months. All the crimes they committed could have been prevented if they were handed over to ICE as requested, the opponents argue. Former Immigration Judge Andrew Arthur opined in a 2017 article that sanctuary policies encourage more people to enter the country illegally and thus fuel human smuggling by criminal organizations, such as gangs and drug cartels. Anything that promotes recourse to smugglers is a bad thing, because smugglers are, simply put, bad people. They are really just in it for the money, and have very little concern for the lives, safety, or well-being of their customers, he said. As importantly, however, money paid to smugglers often makes its way to the very groups whose violent activities abroad have spurred the exodus of those aliens. That money also helps finance those groups in spreading misery and death in the United States. Arthur is a fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, a think tank that advocates for lower immigration and opposes sanctuary policies. Jack Phillips and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Rahul Gandhi, who in 2019 general elections lost from his family bastion of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, had won from the Wayanad seat in Kerala. (Photo Credit: File Photo) New Delhi: Days after calling Congress leader Rahul Gandhi a fifth-generation dynast, historian Ramchandra Guha, in a series of tweets on Sunday tried to rest the ongoing controversy. In an eight-tweet thread, Guha said, it was patronising of him to chastise the Malayalis for electing Rahul Gandhi from Wayanad. Ramachandra Guha had called Rahul Gandhi a fifth-generation dynast and went on to say that Gandhi has no chance in Indian politics against a "hard-working and self-made" Narendra Modi, and Kerala did a disastrous thing by electing the Congress leader to Parliament. Rahul Gandhi, who in 2019 general elections lost from his family bastion of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, had won from the Wayanad seat in Kerala. His series of tweets came after parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor wrote, "Thanks for the clarification, @Ram_Guha. I'm sure you aren't elevating PM's capacity for hard work above its actual divisive consequences for the nation! Whatever you think about @RahulGandhi, he embodies an alternative vision of India that many millions support in resisting BJP. In response Ramachandra Guha wrote, "In view of the kerfuffle (to use a Tharoorian term) caused by the slanted and selective PTI report on my #KLF speech, a thread stating/restating my views on Rahul, Modi, Hindutva and India (sic)." Rahul Gandhi's "lack of focus and administrative experience and, most importantly, his being a fifth generation dynast are a great disadvantage," he added. "That said, I have been for many years a sharp critic of Modi's policies, as in my columns in @httweets and @ttindia (sic)," he tweeted. What Ramchandra Guha said against Rahul Gandhi 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. 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. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Photograph: Jonathan Drake/Reuters Anti-fascist activists will not mount a counter-protest at a gun rights rally at Virginias state capitol on Monday that is expected to attract thousands, including white supremacists and anti-government militia groups. Anti-fascists from Richmond and Charlottesville publicly advised supporters to avoid the rally altogether, citing serious safety concerns. Molly Conger, a journalist and activist, told the Guardian activists in Charlottesville had agreed to encourage supporters to stay away. Related: Virginia Democrats won an election. Gun owners are talking civil war There is no counter-demonstration planned for the 20 January convergence of armed militias on Virginias capitol, Conger wrote on Twitter on Saturday. Conditions [on] Monday will not be safe. This is not an outcome we can affect. Anti-fascist groups cited several reasons for their decision, including serious threats of violence, their own opposition to some gun control measures proposed by the Virginia government and concern for ordinary gun owners planning to attend the rally. A number of arrests have highlighted the risk of white supremacist violence at the event. Among those arrested are alleged members of a neo-Nazi group, including men who reportedly discussed opening fire at the Richmond rally, and men who were charged with plotting to murder an antifascist couple in Georgia. As white supremacists, militia groups and conspiracy theorists like Alex Jones announced plans to attend, the event has drawn comparisons to the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville in August 2017, which produced extensive violence and the murder of counter-protester Heather Heyer. Some local activists who monitor the far right, however, said there were clear differences this time. The Charlottesville event was, from the beginning, an event by neo-Nazis and for neo-Nazis, a Twitter account run anonymously by a longtime Richmond anti-fascist activist said on Saturday. There were no other players. Everyone going into that event knew exactly who would be participating and there wasnt the risk of 5,000 unknowing subjects caught in the middle. Story continues In contrast, Monday is Lobby Day, an annual event organized by a gun rights group, the Virginia Citizens Defense League, that attracts a range of local residents. I expect a lot of the participants to be older, working class Virginians that are not far-right and do not fit into the category of any hate group, the anonymous anti-fascist activist who runs the Richmond Twitter account told the Guardian. Part of the concern is their safety. The activist said many locals showing up to the rally will likely have had no experience with volatile protest environments. As conspiracy theories about what antifa activists might do at Lobby Day continue to circulate on the right, one Richmond-based anti-fascist group has publicly pushed back against such rumors. Hey! Antifascists are NOT bussing [people] in, Antifa Seven Hills wrote on Twitter. In fact we are encouraging folks to stay away from the capitol and downtown [Richmond] because of far-right escalations like this. Related: Pro-gun activists threaten to kill state lawmaker over bill they misunderstood In a direct message, the group told the Guardian: We are against the [gun control] legislation and the racists attempting to take advantage of this typically calm and multi-issue lobby day. Skepticism about government gun control is a point of agreement between rightwing activists and some US leftists, who argue that marginalized Americans should have the right to defend themselves with firearms. Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, said last week his supporters had been told antifa is actually on our side of the fence, because they dont like these gun laws either. If they show, its not going to be to protest us, Van Cleave told the Guardian on Wednesday. Parasite has officially infected this years award season. Bong Joon Hos Korean film became the first foreign language film to take top honours from the Screen Actors Guild on Sunday, setting itself up as a legitimate best-picture contender to the front-runner 1917 at next months Academy Awards. The win, over the starry productions likes of Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood and The Irishman was a surprise, but only to a degree. The audience at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, greeted the victory for Parasite with a standing ovation. The cast of Parasite accepts the award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. (REUTERS) Because actors make up the largest percentage of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, their picks are closely watched as an Academy Awards harbinger. But the last two years, the SAG ensemble winner has not gone on to win best picture: Black Panther last year and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri in 2018. And this years front-runner, 1917, more acclaimed for its technical acumen, wasnt nominated by the screen actors. On Saturday, 1917 won top honours at the highly predictive Producers Guild Awards. In 21 of the last 30 years, the PGA winner has lined up with the eventual best picture winner. Jennifer Aniston poses backstage with her Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series for The Morning Show. (REUTERS) One reunion trumped all others at the SAG Awards, where both Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston took home awards and celebrated each others wins. Pitt is headed toward his first acting Academy Award for his supporting performance in Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood, and he added to his front-runner status with a win from the actors guild. Along the way, his speeches have been full of one-liners, and he didnt disappoint Sunday at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. Pitt, who said he was nursing a flu, looked down at his award and said, Ive got to add this to my Tinder profile. Lets be honest, it was a difficult part. A guy who gets high, takes his shirt off and doesnt get on with his wife, joked Pitt. It was a big stretch. The audience laughed and clapped, including as the cameras captured Aniston, his ex-wife. Aniston later won an award of her own for best female actor in a drama series for the Apple TV Plus show The Morning Show. What! she said upon reaching the stage. Aniston finished her speech with a shout-out to her Murder Mystery co-star Adam Sandler, whose performance in Uncut Gems has gone mostly unrewarded this season despite considerable acclaim. Your performance is extraordinary and your magic is real. I love you, buddy, said Aniston. Backstage, Pitt watched Anistons acceptance speech. After she got off stage, they warmly congratulated each other on their first individual SAG Awards. Along with Pitt, all the Oscar favourites kept their momentum, including wins for Renee Zellweger (Judy), Joaquin Phoenix (Phoenix) and Laura Dern (Marriage Story). Joaquin Phoenix accepts the award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role for Joker. (REUTERS) As expected, Phoenix took best performance by a male actor. After individually praising each fellow nominee, Phoenix concluded with a nod to his Joker predecessor. Im standing here on the shoulders of my favourite actor, Heath Ledger, said Phoenix. Dern also further established herself as the best supporting actress favourite with a win from the actors guild. On her way to the stage, she hugged her father, Bruce Dern (part of the Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood ensemble). Phoebe Waller-Bridge continued her awards sweep for Fleabag, a winner at the Emmys and the Golden Globes. Waller-Bridge added a SAG win for best female actor in a comedy series and took a moment to reflect on the shows parade of accolades. Phoebe Waller-Bridge poses backstage with her Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series for Fleabag. (REUTERS) This whole thing really has been a dream, and if I wake up tomorrow and discover it was just that, then thank you, said Waller-Bridge. Its been the most beautiful dream. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel also continued its streak, winning best comedy series ensemble for the second straight year, along with Tony Shalhoub taking home the statue for best male actor in a comedy series. But accepting the ensemble award, the shows shocked Alex Borstein said she had voted for Fleabag. Honestly this makes no sense, said Borstein. Fleabag is brilliant. Also read: Shweta Bachchan says goodbye to mother-in-law Ritu Nanda in heartfelt tribute: Will miss you dearly Robert De Niro was given the guilds lifetime achievement award, an honour presented by Leonardo DiCaprio who, like De Niro, is a frequent leading man for Martin Scorsese. (The two co-star in Scorseses upcoming Killers of the Flower Moon. ) A raucous standing ovation greeted the 76-year-old actor. De Niro, a fiery critic of Donald Trump, referenced the president in his remarks. Theres right and theres wrong. And theres common sense and theres abuse of power. As a citizen, I have as much right as anybody an actor, an athlete, anybody else to voice my opinion, said De Niro. And if I have a bigger voice because of my situation, Im going to use it whenever I see a blatant abuse of power. Game of Thrones closed out its eight-season run with wins for Peter Dinklage for best male actor in a drama series and for best stunt ensemble work. The Crown took best ensemble in a drama series. And both Fosse/Verdon stars Michelle Williams and Sam Rockwell won for their performances in the miniseries. OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE Bombshell The Irishman Jojo Rabbit Once Upon a Time in Hollywood WINNER: Parasite OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE Cynthia Erivo, Harriet Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story Lupita Nyongo, Us Charlize Theron, Bombshell WINNER: Renee Zellweger, Judy OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE Christian Bale, Ford v Ferrari Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Adam Driver, Marriage Story Taron Egerton, Rocketman WINNER: Joaquin Phoenix, Joker OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION MOVIE OR LIMITED SERIES Mahershala Ali, True Detective Russell Crowe, The Loudest Voice Jared Harris, Chernobyl Jharrel Jerome, When They See Us WINNER: Sam Rockwell, Fosse/Verdon OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE IN A DRAMA SERIES Big Little Lies WINNER: The Crown Game of Thrones The Handmaids Tale Stranger Things OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us Steve Carell, The Morning Show Billy Crudup, The Morning Show WINNER: Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones David Harbour, Stranger Things LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Robert De Niro OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES WINNER: Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show Helena Bonham Carter, The Crown Olivia Colman, The Crown Jodie Comer, Killing Eve Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaids Tale OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION MOVIE OR LIMITED SERIES WINNER: Michelle Williams, Fosse/Verdon Patricia Arquette, The Act Joey King, The Act Emily Watson, Chernobyl Toni Collette, Unbelievable OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE WINNER: Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Jamie Foxx, Just Mercy Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood Al Pacino, The Irishman Joe Pesci, The Irishman OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE WINNER: Laura Dern, Marriage Story Scarlett Johansson, Jojo Rabbit Nicole Kidman, Bombshell Jennifer Lopez, Hustlers Margot Robbie, Bombshell OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE IN A COMEDY SERIES WINNER: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Schitts Creek Fleabag The Kominsky Method Barry OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES WINNER: Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Fleabag Christina Applegate, Dead to Me Alex Borstein, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Catherine OHara, Schitts Creek OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES WINNER: Tony Shalhoub, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Alan Arkin, The Kominsky Method Michael Douglas, The Kominsky Method Bill Hader, Barry Andrew Scott, Fleabag ACTION PERFORMANCE BY A STUNT ENSEMBLE IN A MOTION PICTURE WINNER: Avengers: Endgame Ford v Ferrari The Irishman Joker Once Upon a Time in Hollywood ACTION PERFORMANCE BY A STUNT ENSEMBLE IN A COMEDY OR DRAMA SERIES WINNER: Game of Thrones GLOW Stranger Things The Walking Dead Watchmen Follow @htshowbiz for more Americans celebrate the third Monday of every January in honor of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. However, his message of human dignity and racial equality inspired people worldwide, whether he delivered his sermons in Atlanta or Oslo. Below are six quotations that reflect his deepest beliefs and philosophy: On the source of human dignity: Deeply etched in the fiber of our religious tradition is the conviction that men are made in the image of God and that they are souls of infinite metaphysical value, the heirs of a legacy of dignity and worth. If we feel this as a profound moral fact, we cannot be content to see men hungry, to see men victimized with starvation and ill health when we have the means to help them. (The Quest for Peace and Justice. Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech. Oslo, Norway. December 11, 1964.) Why Martin Luther King Jr. rejected Communism: I strongly disagreed with communisms ethical relativism. Since for the Communist there is no divine government, no absolute moral order, there are no fixed, immutable principles; consequently almost anything force, violence murder, lying is a justifiable means to the millennial end. (from Strive Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story. 1957.) On rejecting overpopulation and Malthusianism: More than a century and a half ago people began to be disturbed about the twin problems of population and production. A thoughtful Englishman named Malthus wrote a book that set forth some rather frightening conclusions. He predicted that the human family was gradually moving toward global starvation because the world was producing people faster than it was producing food and material to support them. Later scientists, however, disproved the conclusion of Malthus, and revealed that he had vastly underestimated the resources of the world and the resourcefulness of man. Not too many years ago, Dr. Kirtley Mather, a Harvard geologist, wrote a book entitled Enough and to Spare. He set forth the basic theme that famine is wholly unnecessary in the modern world. Today, therefore, the question on the agenda must read: Why should there be hunger and privation in any land, in any city, at any table when man has the resources and the scientific know-how to provide all mankind with the basic necessities of life? Even deserts can be irrigated and top soil can be replaced. We cannot complain of a lack of land, for there are twenty-five million square miles of tillable land, of which we are using less than seven million. (The Quest for Peace and Justice. Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech. Oslo, Norway. December 11, 1964.) On the aristocracy of character: These tragic deaths may lead our nation to substitute an aristocracy of character for an aristocracy of color. The spilled blood of these innocent girls may cause the whole citizenry of Birmingham to transform the negative extremes of a dark past into the positive extremes of a bright future. We must not become bitter, nor must we harbor the desire to retaliate with violence. No, we must not lose faith in our white brothers. Somehow we must believe that the most misguided among them can learn to respect the dignity and the worth of all human personality. (Eulogy For The Young Victims of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church Bombing, September 18, 1963. Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama.) On doing a job well: We are challenged on every hand to work untiringly to achieve excellence in our lifework. Not all men are called to specialized or professional jobs; even fewer rise to the heights of genius in the arts and sciences; many are called to be laborers in factories, fields, and streets. But no work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence. (Strength to Love. 1963.) The worlds greatest problem: The trouble isnt so much that our scientific genius lags behind, but our moral genius lags behind. The great problem facing modern man is that, that the means by which we live, have outdistanced the spiritual ends for which we live. The problem is with man himself and mans soul. (Rediscovering Lost Values. Detroit, Michigan. February 28, 1954.) (Photo credit: Martin Luther King Jr. at the 1963 Civil Rights March in Washington, D.C. Public domain.) He slammed what he called the white backlash for being the cause of black discontent and demands for black power, rather than the result of it, calling it merely a new name for an old phenomenon. And he declared that true integration is not merely a romantic or aesthetic something where you merely add color to a still predominantly white power structure. This speech was delivered after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. As King put it in the 1967 interview, passage of those acts came at bargained rates. He explained: It didnt cost the nation anything. In fact, it helped the economic side of the nation to integrate lunch counters and public accommodations. It didnt cost the nation anything to get the right to vote established. And, now we are confronting issues that cannot be solved without costing the nation. It seems that King was even open to the idea of reparations, if not explicitly by name, at least in spirit. King said in his Stanford speech: In 1863 the Negro was freed from the bondage of physical slavery. But at the same time, the nation refused to give him land to make that freedom meaningful. And at that same period America was giving millions of acres of land in the West and the Midwest, which meant that America was willing to undergird its white peasants from Europe with an economic floor that would make it possible to grow and develop, and refused to give that economic floor to its black peasants. He extended this thought in other speeches, pointing out that not only did the government give the land to these white people, it also used government money to start land-grant colleges to teach them how to farm, sent out county agents to further their expertise, offered low-interest loans so that they could mechanize and instituted a system of subsidies for them, and these became the very people telling the black man he ought to lift himself by his own boot straps. PR-Inside.com: 2020-01-20 13:47:07 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 465 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 DUBAI, UAE / ACCESSWIRE / January 20, 2020 / Mashreq, one of the leading financial institutions in the UAE, has appointed Tarek El Nahasas its new Head of International Banking Group.Tarek spent 25 years at Citibank, most recently as the Head of Corporate and Investment Banking for North Africa, Egypt and Levant, managing teams across 6 countries in the MENA region.He has held several senior roles in Egypt, Algeria and the UAE and has extensive experience across a wide range of disciplines,including corporate finance, investment banking, derivatives and structured products, commercial banking and corporate banking. Tarek's wholesale banking experience extended to working with large corporates, financial institutions, sovereigns and the public sector. Tarek has a BA in economics and political science from the American University in Cairo and a MSc in economics from the London School of Economics.Commenting on the appointment, Ahmed Abdelaal, CEO, Mashreq Bank, said, "I am delighted to welcome Tarek to the Mashreq family. Our legacy has been built upon a commitment to developing our leadership capabilities and as we look to grow our international presence Tarek's experience will be invaluable."Tarek will take over from Jan-Willem Sudmann later this month. Jan played a pivotal role in the success of Mashreq's international banking story for the last 4 years. We wish Jan good luck and gratitude for his service to Mashreq." Tarek El Nahas, added: "I am excited to be joining Mashreq. Mashreq is recognized for innovation and service excellence and with my regional experience, I look forward to collaborating closely with my new colleagues to enhance the banks customer experience and creating further inroads to the international business group for Mashreq.About Mashreq:One of the UAE's best performing banks for five decades, Mashreq is a leading financial institution with an expanding footprint across the Middle East. We have international offices across Europe, Asia, Africa and the US, and a strong presence in all the financial capitals of the world.As the oldest bank in the UAE, our 51-year old journey can be traced back to humble beginnings in 1967, followed by periods of rapid growth and strategic expansion. Throughout our history, Mashreq has differentiated itself by pioneering new-to-market concepts and launching unique products and services.Our innovative approach sets us truly apart. It also continues to win us numerous awards and accolades in all the fields of banking we operate in - Digital,Corporate, Retail, International, Treasury and Islamic, and across the multiple banking channels we deploy - mobile, digital, online, traditional and telephony.Mashreq is proud to be the only institution in the UAE to be awarded the Gallup Great Workplace Award for six consecutive years from 2014 to 2019.Media Contact:Rana AlBornoPublic Relations, MashreqTel: 04 -6083629Email: RanaAlb@ mashreq.com Image link: https://imgur.com/Jrtofq4 SOURCE: Mashreq Bank Handing over the party's baton to JP Nadda, outgoing BJP president Amit Shah on Monday said the party doesn't function on the basis of casteism and dynasty and has a vibrant democracy that rewards its common workers. Addressing BJP workers at the party headquarters here after Nadda was elected as the saffron party chief, Shah looked back at his five-and-a-half-year tenure with satisfaction. "In the last five years, the party expanded its footprint across the country, won the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and registered victories in many states where it never dreamt it will. The party become the world's largest political party," he said. Shah emerged on the national scene after the BJP won 71 seats out of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh during the 2014 elections under his guidance as the party's general secretary and in-charge for the state. Later, he was unanimously elected as the BJP president and the party won many states for the first time such as Haryana, Assam and Tripura among others under his stewardship. While the BJP expanded to new territories under Shah, it also consolidated its presence and emerged as winner in Maharashtra, Uttrakhand and Jharkhand. The massive victory in politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh also came during his tenure. But BJP's electoral highs under Shah were interspersed with some setbacks as well, with the party facing defeats in Delhi and Bihar. His most challenging year was the year of general election: 2019. The party had lost three key states -- Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh -- as it headed for the Lok Sabha elections. But it made a remarkable comeback and registered a bigger victory in 2019 Lok Sabha elections -- winning 303 seats on its own -- compared to 2014. Shah, who is known as tough task master, on Monday said he might have been strict with the party workers at times but that was in the larger interest of the organisation. On completion of his tenure, Shah said he might have made some mistakes but he got cooperation and support from all party workers across the country. Shah, who is the party's most successful president till date in terms of electoral victories, has left an ever last impression on the BJP and it will be a tough task for his successor to replicate his successes. Applauding Shah's contribution to the party as its president, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "His tenure will always be remembered." Modi said it is a challenging task for the party to keep fighting when it is in power, but under Amit Shah's leadership it remained active and worked day and night and expanded across the country, which is amazing. Wishing Nadda well for the future, Shah said the party will touch newer heights under his leadership and urged the partymen to work hard to widen its base further. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Satellite image of the Gibraltar Arc. Credit: NASA A new study made by researchers at the Institute of Earth Sciences Jaume Almera of the Spanish National Research Council (ICTJA-CSIC) has been able to describe the effects of the lithospheric structure on the topography of the Strait of Gibraltar area. This new research shows the deep structure of the plate boundary between Africa and Eurasia across the Gibraltar Arc. It describes the distribution of density, temperature and composition of the lithosphere and sublithosphere (up to 400 km deep). The study, published recently in Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, estimates that the topography of the Strait of Gibraltar in the orogenic domain of the Betics and the Rif subsides by 1500 meters and is linked to the subduction in the Gibraltar Arc region. "We've been able to describe the lithospheric geometry and to identify sublithospheric anomalies of temperature and density and to link them with their topographic effects on the surface, in the area of the Gibraltar Strait and the Alboran Sea," said Ivone Jimenez-Munt, a researcher at the ICTJA-CSIC and first author of the study. "The thickening of the lithosphere beneath the Betics and Rif tectonic domain is linked with the subduction of the Iberian plate, visible in the seismic tomography. We estimate that the weight of this lithospheric slab sinking into the mantle may have pulled down the topography of the Strait of Gibraltar by about 1500 m," said Jimenez- Munt. "The latest part of this subsidence could be responsible for the reconnection of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, leading to the reflooding of the Mediterranean after the Messinian Salinity Crisis," researchers stated in the article. Credit: Institue of Earth Sciences Jaume Almera The new model proposed in this study constructs the lithospheric structure along a 945 km long geotransect, a profile that extends from the south of the South Iberian Massif to the Anti-Atlas, crossing the Betics-Rif orogen, the Strait of Gibraltar, and the Atlas Mountains. The study area is the result of the convergence between the African plate, moving towards the north, and the Iberian plate. The work shows significant variations at the boundary between the lithosphere, the outermost Earth layer that includes the crust and part of the upper mantle, and the asthenosphere, a denser and more fluid layer of the mantle, over which the lithosphere moves. Under the Betics and Rif mountain ranges the boundary between lithosphere and asthenosphere reaches its maximum values, about 220 and 260 km deep, respectively. The researchers developed this model using the new LitMod2D _2.0 modelling code which integrates petrological (chemical composition of the mantle), geophysical (gravimetry, geoid, heat flow, topography) and existing seismic data. "While we were developing the model, we found difficulties in fitting all the observables. We detected anomalies in the geoid and gravimetric data," said Ivone Jimenez- Munt. "The geoid is very sensitive to deep density anomalies," she added. These mismatches could only be explained by the presence of the subducting slab of the Iberian plate under the Alboran Sea east of the studied profile. Credit: Institue of Earth Sciences Jaume Almera "We think that this colder and heavier sinking plate may have some influence on the detected anomaly of the geoid," said Jimenez-Munt. Researchers incorporated a body with the same geochemical composition as the Iberian plate and colder than the surrounding asthenosphere into the model. They were then able to fit the observables. "This sublithospheric anomaly incorporated into the model simulates the subducting plate. By estimating its density, we were able to simulate its effect on the surface," explained Jimenez- Munt. The studied area is complex. "This is the plate boundary between Africa and Eurasia, but in this area, the boundary is diffused and producing a large deformation area. In the past, this boundary had been jumping between the south of the Iberian Peninsula and the north, in the Pyrenees, and at present is distributed between the Betics and North Africa. Although it is a convergent boundary, there had been periods of extension, and the hypothesis that it is an arcuate subduction is becoming stronger; that is, a subduction characterized by "breaking off " of the subducting slab from its upper part from east to west," says Jimenez- Munt. Montserrat Torne, Manel Fernandez, Jaume Verges, Ajay Kumar, Alberto Carballo and Daniel Garcia-Castellanos are the other ICTJA-CSIC researchers involved in this research. Explore further Study explores the density of the tectonic plates and why they sink in the Earth's mantle More information: I. JimenezMunt et al. Deep Seated Density Anomalies Across the IberiaAfrica Plate Boundary and Its Topographic Response, Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth (2019). I. JimenezMunt et al. Deep Seated Density Anomalies Across the IberiaAfrica Plate Boundary and Its Topographic Response,(2019). DOI: 10.1029/2019JB018445 By Express News Service Dhananjay, who is currently shooting for Daali, has made a temporary camp in Lucknow. The team started the shooting in the city of nawabs last week, and they will be covering a major chunk of portions for the next 23 days. The film, directed by Prabhu Srinivas, features Dhananjay in the titular role, which has been derived from the popular character Daali, which he played in the blockbuster film, Tagaru. Joining the lead hero is model-turned-actor Bhavya Trika, who is making her Kannada film debut. The film also features Rachita Ram as the female lead, who is said to be taking part in the Bengaluru schedule. Apart from Daali, Dhananjay has in his kitty Suris Popcorn Monkey Tiger, which is now getting ready for release. The actor is also looking forward to the release of Salaga, in which he shares screen space with actor-director Vijay. Dhananjays other films in line are Puneeth Rajkumar-starrer Yuvarathnaa, and Pogaru, starring Dhruva Sarja. He is currently juggling between shooting for Badava Rascal, his maiden production venture, and Daali. Baburaj to be seen as antagonist in Daali Daali also has actor Baburaj Jacob on board, who will be seen in a face-off with Dhananjay. The writer, actor, director, and producer has made his mark in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu cinema, and has also seen been as a villain in the Hindi film, Hulchul. He will now make his Kannada film debut with Daali, and is participating in the shooting being held in Lucknow. The film, produced by Yogesh Narayan, has music by Anoop Seelin while lyrics for the tracks have been written by Jayant Kaikini and Nagendra Prasad. Srinivas Devamasam is handling the cinematography. china virus NOEL CELIS/AFP via Getty Images Authorities in Wuhan, central China, have identified 17 more patients of a deadly new strain of pneumonia, according to Reuters. Official totals now count 62 patients who have been infected with 2019-nCov, and two who have died. Some doubt has been cast on the official totals however, as the World Health Organization told Reuters that more cases could be detected as Chinese health authorities ramp up screenings. Visit Business Insider's home page for more stories. Seventeen more people in China have been struck with a deadly virus, according to Reuters. The central China city of Wuhan's health commission told the outlet that the total number of known patients in the outbreak of the new, viral strain of pneumonia is now counted at 62. The city's public health officials previously confirmed that 45 people were infected with 2019-nCov and two had died. Business Insider previously reported that analysis from Imperial College London indicated that the actual number of infected patients as of January 12 was likely more in the region of 1,723, which is around 35 times the 45 cases that were announced by the city's authorities. The study said it reached that figure through statistical projection to forecast the spread of the virus from the point of origin at a Wuhan seafood market. Two people have also been diagnosed in Thailand, and one case of the virus was reported in Japan. All three of those patients had traveled through Wuhan, Reuters reported. The new and international cases of the virus cast doubt on the seafood market as the point of origin, the World Health Organization tweeted last week, and the organization told Reuters that increased screening could find new cases. World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) January 14, 2020 The outbreak comes just ahead of the city's planned celebrations for the Lunar New Year, and authorities told Reuters they were stepping up plans to contain the virus as many people are expected to travel for the holiday. The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention announced last week that it would begin airport screenings with additional staffers at San Francisco International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, and New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport. Read the original article on Business Insider COMMACK, N.Y., Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Girl Scouts aims to prepare young girls for a bright future. Those involved with Girl Scouts build confidence, make lifelong friends, and learn new skills. What better way to do that than to travel to new places? Travel helps girls to expand their world view, learn about new cultures, and places and fosters a sense of independence important for the modern young woman. Educational tours agency, Fantastic Tours, shares five benefits of Girl Scout troop travel. Building confidence and leadership skills. Travel is a great way to get Girl Scouts to gain more self-confidence and become better leaders. By participating in group activities and having unique experiences, Girl Scouts who travel tend to become more confident and comfortable leading groups in the future. Travel strengthens communication, collaboration, creativity, and more. Strengthening friendships. Girl Scout troops already form close bonds by spending a lot of time together and working towards common goals. But when they travel together, they bond in a way that is unique. Spending a few days in a row together and sharing activities, meals, and even hotel rooms can fortify already-strong bonds within the troop. Exposure to potential career paths. Without travel, Girl Scouts might not be exposed to certain professions, institutions, or technology. These trips allow them to explore the possible career paths they have not yet encountered, possibly finding a lifelong passion to pursue such as history or STEAM. Better understanding where we've been, and where we're going. Traveling to some of the country's most historic cities complements and furthers a Girl Scout's vision of our country's history. The impact of a personal visit makes a deeper impression on the cities they've only read about, it brings history to life. It furthers Girl Scout's perspectives by experiencing the influences and successes of the city as well as evaluating historical shortcomings. This helps Girl Scouts to shape the future into a better place, a future they see themselves in. Exposure to different cultures. The best way for Girl Scouts to learn about other cultures is to immerse themselves while visiting the city, whether through embassy appointments, cuisine, classrooms or visiting ethnic neighborhoods. When traveling throughout the United States , they can learn how other regions live and see how worldwide cultures are represented in our nation's melting pot cities, like New York City . If your Girl Scout troop is interested in a trip, be sure to enlist the help of a travel agency that specializes in school and Girl Scout trips. They can help you plan the ultimate trip and give you dedicated, 24/7 assistance every step of the way. About Fantastic Tours Fantastic Tours is a national tour company creating customized tour experiences for schools across America. Founded in 1984, a WBE certified agency, the Fantastic Tours team is experienced, passionate, and proud of their unique approach to educational travel. Their mission is to assist you in creating an enriching experience outside the classroom with travel, with a dedicated 24/7 client service approach. SOURCE Fantastic Tours & Travel Related Links https://fantastictours.com Lesley Gilchrist, 46, set up My Expert Midwife with her business partner Claire Charlton, 40. Lesley lives in Harrogate with her husband David Lister, 46, and their two children, Francesca, 11, and Ruairidh, nine. Birth has always fascinated me, so becoming a midwife was inevitable. I qualified in 2003 and loved giving women one-on-one care. But only when I had a baby myself, in 2008, did I understand what women went through afterwards. The postnatal pain was profound, yet I was only told to use basic painkillers. Lesley Gilchrist (pictured), 46, from Harrogate, revealed the inspiration behind her skincare company aimed at pregnant women and mothers In 2013, struggling to juggle two kids and NHS night shifts, I started teaching antenatal classes and working as a private midwife. That meant seeing women every day postnatally, and they were all in pain, too, desperate for something to help the swelling and bruising. I was doing a part-time Masters degree at the time, looking into psychological and physical birth trauma. Many clinical trials showed the benefits of essential oils, so I found an aromatherapist to make tinctures for my clients. When these proved phenomenally helpful, I decided to set up a company with a friend who did baby massage to develop the blend. We couldnt get a bank loan so remortgaged our houses to raise money. I even sold my planned pension fund property. We invested in creating and designing the brand, consumer research and employing a digital marketing agency to reach consumers. We found an amazing manufacturer with a technical director who understood what we wanted: premium ingredients, and that the product be must be highly effective and natural. We also wanted practicality a quick, easy spray that worked upside down. Heaven- scent: myexpertmidwife.com It took two years to develop, but eventually Spritz for Bitz was ready. It combines lavender oil (a natural painkiller), tee tree oil (naturally antibacterial and antifungal) and witch hazel (an astringent to take away swelling). People think of aromatherapy as fluffy, but most medicines and painkillers are derived from plants. The launch, in March 2017, was slow we sent out six parcels that first week. But a year on wed moved to bigger premises and outsourced packing. We now have 18 people working for us and are stocked by Ocado and Amazon. From mid-February, we will be available on boots.com, too. Our products have won lots of awards, and its wonderful having their effectiveness recognised. Analysts doubt good faith is enough to end bloodshed as world powers pledge to end foreign interference and back truce. Berlin, Germany At a summit bringing together backers of the main warring factions in Libya, world leaders pledged to end foreign interference and work towards a permanent ceasefire. Sundays Berlin conference was the latest of many diplomatic attempts aimed at pushing Libya on a path to peace. The participation of so many major powers embroiled in the conflict signalled a renewed sense of urgency to stop spiralling violence, but the future of what was agreed upon depends in large part on the good faith of the signatories and their ability to load pressure on their Libyan allies, both of which remain seriously in doubt. The meeting in Berlin was attended by Turkey, Russia, the UAE and Egypt, and included representatives from the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Congo, Algeria, United Nations, African Union and United Nations. Fayez al-Sarraj, who leads the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) based in Tripoli, and his rival, renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar, attended but did not participate. All participating parties signed a 55-point communique, in which they also pledged to respect a UN-imposed arms embargo, which has so far failed to stop an influx of troops, cash and weapons into the oil-rich north African state. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said there was a very arduous road ahead to end the bloodshed in a war that has become a complex proxy battle for economic and geopolitical influence. The agreement sought to build on a shaky ceasefire brokered by Turkey and Russia on January 12, calling on all parties concerned to redouble their efforts for a sustained suspension of hostilities, de-escalation and a permanent ceasefire. Merkel, who convened the summit, said al-Sarraj and Haftar were briefed on discussions but did not take part or meet each other. Libya has been in turmoil since the death of Muammar Gaddafi in a 2011 uprising, with various factions and militias taking advantage of the power vacuum to secure territory and control of Africas largest oil reserves. Haftars attempt to capture Tripoli, which began in April last year, marked the beginning of the conflicts latest stage, and has seen thousands killed in heavy fighting, focused mainly in the suburbs of the capital city. Berlin was useful in showing that Europe and European states are more engaged on the Libya file and are more keen to liaise with regional powers directly involved in the conflict in order to pressure them to de-escalate, Claudia Gazzini, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, told Al Jazeera. The key question will be whether it will be sufficient to de-escalate the conflict or not. Failure to make progress could undermine the process. Tarek Megerisi, policy fellow at European Council on Foreign Relations A UN arms embargo has been in place since 2011, but enforcement has been weak and foreign powers have supplied their Libyan allies. While Turkey has increased its supply of troops and weaponry to the GNA in recent months, Haftars military strength has been bolstered by Russia, Egypt and the UAE. 200120070222589 Only time will tell how sincere these commitments are well have to see whether weapons continue to arrive and whether fighters are shipped in or not, said Gazzini. The Berlin summit conclusions will be sent to the UN Security Council to approve and adopt; the promise to end foreign interference will remain what amounts to a gentlemans agreement unless council members decide to impose sanctions. There are fears Sundays agreement could prove toothless states in violation of the existing embargo are going unpunished, and permanent UN Security Council members such as Russia and France continue to show political sympathies towards Haftar. In the coming days, a meeting between five military officials from each side is expected. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres confirmed that these representatives were named in Berlin on Sunday. Previously, al-Serraj had named only three and Haftar none. Signs of positivity at this meeting would be a show of good faith that would inform the Security Councils handling of the Berlin agreement, but failure to make progress could undermine the process, said Tarek Megerisi, policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. If however, its a very negative meeting, doesnt really go anywhere [and] Haftars generals just grandstand then we can probably expect a return to violence, he told Al Jazeera. That meeting will be the first example of whether Haftars backers had any honesty in their commitment that they would pressure him towards a resolution. The UN peace plan envisions three defined streams of discussions to build upon a permanent ceasefire political, military, and economic to address issues of peace, governance and the management of public finances. As long as there are some tangible changes [at these meetings], we might see the process moving on, said Gazzini. But all of these are very fragile, and the chances of spoiling them, boycotting them, and putting up a fuss in the course of these meetings, is huge. Haftar has proven an unpredictable figure even to his allies, resisting pressure from Russia in Moscow last week to formally sign a ceasefire deal before walking out. The 76-year-old commander pushed tensions further with a shutdown of oil key oil fields and ports on the eve of the summit, immediately crippling Libyas oil production from 1.2 million to just 72,000 barrels per day and lifting crude prices worldwide. Libyan National Army forces and militias loyal to its leader Haftar control much of Libyas oil-producing regions of the country, leverage that the renegade commander has been eager to flex, even as signatories in Berlin reasserted their support for the authority of the Tripoli-based National Oil Corporation. This suggests that theyre not going to entertain Haftars ways to independently sell oil and things will be forced back to the way they were, said Megerisi Along with some other things there have been very bad plays by Haftar, and a misreading of the situation around the conflict, so it might work against him rather than in his favour. Two of Britains leading regional airports have denied that were Flybe to fail, they would have to close. A senior Conservative MP, Tobias Ellwood, named George Best Belfast City and Southampton airports as possible candidates for closure if the ailing regional airline collapsed. Speaking on BBC Radio 4s Any Questions?, the MP for Bournemouth East said: If Southampton airport were to close because this airline went bust, or indeed Belfast City airport, these are changes which are very difficult to then reverse if they happened. The pair have the highest proportion of Flybe operations among UK airports. At Southampton, 93 per cent of flights are currently provided by Flybe; at Belfast City, the figure is 81 per cent. Flybe was rescued by the government last week after its owners said it would fold if it was forced immediately to hand over air passenger duty (APD) collected from customers. Mr Ellwood defended the governments decision to rescue Flybe, saying: What we didnt want to see is a sudden breakdown of the country coming to a complete standstill, and then having to recuperate which will take a couple of months, two or three months, possibly with the closure of a couple of regional airports. That would be very, very damaging indeed. A spokesman for the Hampshire airport said: Although there would be significant and potentially ongoing disruption, Southampton airport wouldnt close without Flybe. We continue to take prudent measures to consider all opportunities should any of our airlines be unable to fulfil their flight schedules. Just recently we submitted our planning application to extend our runway by 164 metres, within our own perimeter, which will enable us to further improve the choice and connectivity we offer as one of the UKs most important regional airports. Belfast City airports spokesperson said: There is, and will continue to be, a significant demand for the popular destinations we serve. We continuously work with airlines, new and existing, to ensure our route network meets the needs of our passengers and that our business remains a profitable one. Virgin Atlantic, Stobart Group and a US investment fund, Cyrus Capital, took over Flybe in March 2019. The intention is to rebrand the airline as Virgin Connect. The buyers say they have pumped in 110m in 10 months a rate of more than 15,000 per hour. Mark Anderson, Flybes new chief executive, told staff last week: 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. The government agreed to provide the loss-making airline with a tax holiday to defer payment of around 10m. It is also reviewing APD on domestic trips. The flight tax is widely expected to be cut in the Budget in March. A Department for Transport (DfT) spokesperson said: The DfT is undertaking an urgent review into how we can level up the country by supporting regional air connectivity and will look at all the options to make sure our airports can continue to play an important role in driving economic growth, creating jobs and making aviation greener than ever. The Southampton airport spokesperson said: It is crucial that regional aviation is given the support to continue to serve the countrys needs, and this requires both a progressive taxation framework and ongoing policy support for airport growth. Belfast Citys spokesperson said: We welcome the arrival of Virgin Connect later this year and are confident the airline will provide a long-term, sustainable network to and from Northern Ireland. Environmentalists have reacted furiously to the prospect of a tax cut. Anna Hughes, director of Flight Free UK, said: Perhaps Flybes woes are a result of low taxes and the race to rock-bottom prices. Slashing APD is not the answer, not for the industry, and certainly not for the environment. However, only about half of its citizens have access to it Open source Ukraine was ranked second in the world Internet cheapness rating in terms of price/quality ratio. The average price amounted to 6,64 dollars/month, cable.co.uk reports. "Broadband in Ukraine is fast and cheap, though take-up is still relatively low around half the population has internet access compared to 90% in the UK, for example," the message reads. Syria was able to get first place, but it should be noted, however, that this is largely due to the ongoing collapse of the Syrian Pound. Third place belongs to Russia, whose providers offer speeds of up to 700Mbps at an average price of just 9,77 dollars per month. The five most expensive consumer broadband packages on the planet are found in Mauritania ($1333.78), Turks and Caicos Islands ($1488.11), Mauritania ($4386.95), Yemen ($8333.33) and Eritrea ($15051.29). As we reported earlier, the Russian Federation has successfully tested a country-wide alternative to the global internet. It has been announced by its government, BBC informed. Specific details on tests were not provided but, according to the Ministry of Communications, ordinary users did not notice any changes. The authorities in Hubei province's capital Wuhan, where the outbreak is thought to have originated, said the third death occurred on Saturday, reports Efe news. Beijing, Jan 20 (IANS) Chinese authorities on Monday confirmed the third death due to a new viral pneumonia outbreak similar to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which over the weekend saw 136 new cases, including two in Beijing and one in Shenzhen. The source also said 36 of the 136 new coronavirus victims were in a serious or critical situation. Among the newly infected, 70 are women and 66 are men, aged between 25 and 89, and all of them showed symptoms the same symptoms: fever and fatigue, dry cough and - in many cases - dyspnea (difficulty breathing). According to the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post newspaper, 198 people have been diagnosed so far, including the three dead. Of the cases detected outside Wuhan, both the Shenzhen patient and the two from Beijing said they had travelled to the city recently. So far, two cases have also been confirmed in Thailand and one in Japan. There was a further scare in South Korea, but no confirmation yet. On January 14, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that prevention measures had been implemented in hospitals worldwide following the new outbreak. On January 17, US health authorities began imposing controls on passengers arriving or connecting through Wuhan in airports in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York. According to the WHO, Chinese laboratories have already sequenced the coronavirus genome and provided that data to the global health community to help diagnose possible cases outside their country. The outbreak has caused panic in China as the situation is reminiscent of 2003, when SARS spread across the country and caused a total of 646 deaths (813 worldwide). ksk/ Opposing Sides Lay Out Their Case In Trump Impeachment Trial By RFE/RL January 19, 2020 The opposing sides in the impeachment trial of U.S. President Donald Trump laid out their cases on January 18, with Democratic managers saying Trump "abandoned" his oath of office, while the defense team fired back with claims of a "dangerous attack" on American democracy. In a 111-page brief filed ahead of a 5 p.m. deadline, Democratic-led House of Representatives prosecutors -- or "managers" -- wrote that it was clear that the "evidence overwhelmingly establishes" that Trump was guilty of both articles of impeachment against him. The historic trial officially began in the Senate on January 16 but was quickly adjourned until January 21, a day after the Martin Luther King holiday. It will take a two-thirds majority in the Senate to convict and remove Trump from office, an unlikely event given that his Republican party controls the chamber. Still, the Democrats set out their case, saying the "Senate should convict and remove President Trump to avoid serious and long-term damage to our democratic values and the nation's security." "The case against the president of the United States is simple, the facts are indisputable, and the evidence is overwhelming," they said. Trump faces two articles of impeachment, one charging him with abuse of power and the other with obstruction of Congress. He is specifically accused of pressuring Ukraine to investigate his political foes, in particular, former Vice President Joe Biden, who is a potential opponent in this year's presidential election. Trump also allegedly withheld documents that the House requested during the fact-finding phase of the inquiry and prevented administration officials and agencies from providing testimony in the impeachment hearings. Trump denies the charges and has called the impeachment proceedings a "sham," "hoax," and "witch hunt." Trump's legal team on January 18 issued a fiery response to the Democrats ahead of opening arguments in the trial, calling the two articles passed by the House last month "a dangerous attack on the right of the American people to freely choose their president." "This is a brazen and unlawful attempt to overturn the results of the 2016 election and interfere with the 2020 election, now just months away," the filing states. Trump's legal team is led by White House counsel Pat Cipollone and Trump personal lawyer Jay Sekulow. Trump also named to his team Ken Starr, a prosecutor whose investigation some 20 years ago led to President Bill Clinton's impeachment; and Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz. AP quoted two unnamed sources familiar with the White House strategy as saying Trump's lawyers had advised the president against including Dershowitz on his team. It said they are concerned about the professor's association with Jeffrey Epstein, the financier who killed himself in a New York City jail last summer while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. The legal team is challenging the impeachment on both procedural and constitutional grounds. It is expected to file a more-detailed legal brief on January 20, and House managers will have the opportunity to respond the following day before the formal trial begins. With reporting by Reuters and AP Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/democrats-republicans -trump-set-case-trump-impeachment -trial-ukraine/30385214.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 UPDATE: Police identify shooting victim, 23 WYOMING, MI Police are investigating the shooting death of a 23-year-old Wyoming man. The victims name was withheld pending notification of family. The shooting happened around 10:35 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 19, near 5027 Curtis Drive SW. Wyoming police, responding to a report of shots fired, found the victim dead at the scene. Police have not determined the relationship between the victim and the shooter or shooters who remain at large. Early investigation suggests that there is no specific threat or reason to believe there is any elevated danger to the general public, Lt Eric Wiler said in a statement. Police asked anyone with information to call Wyoming police at 616-530-7300 or 911, or Silent Observer at 616-774-2345. READ MORE: Woman, 33, and girl, 16, killed in Ottawa County crash Police search for person of interest in cold-case slaying of man found stabbed near U.P. grave Man indicted in 3 West Michigan bank robberies Japans Subaru Corp set a target on Monday to sell only electric vehicles worldwide by the first half of the 2030s, in a move toward its long-term goal of a carbon-free society, Trend with reference to Reuters reports. The news comes as Subaru has strengthened capital ties with Toyota Motor Corp, in a trend of global automakers joining forces to slash development and manufacturing costs of new technology. To supplement the mild hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars already in its lineup, Subaru plans to develop a so-called strong hybrid vehicle using Toyota technology and intended to debut later in the decade. It is also developing an all-battery electric car with Toyota for release around the same time. Although were using Toyota technology, we want to make hybrids that are distinctly Subaru, Chief Technology Officer Tetsuo Onuki told a briefing. Its not only about reducing CO2 emissions. We need to further improve vehicle safety and the performance of our all-wheel drive. Subaru said that by 2030 at least 40% of its cars sold worldwide will comprise battery electric vehicles or hybrids. The Japanese automaker, which produces the Outback and Forester SUVs, is known for its horizontally placed boxer engines, along with its EyeSight autonomous driver assist and all-wheel-drive technologies. Car manufacturers worldwide are scrambling to chase scale, manage costs and boost development of the self-driving cars, electric vehicles and new mobility services that are upending the industry. Subarus strong commitment and dedication toward car-manufacturing that we have cultivated throughout our history remain unchanged, President Tomomi Nakamura added. Demonstrators hold anti-Tesla posters during a protest against plans by U.S. electric vehicle pioneer Tesla to build its first European factory and design center in Gruenheide near Berlin, Germany January 18, 2020. REUTERS/Pawel Kopczynski Reuters Tesla is gearing up to clear 740 acres of forest near Berlin, Germany for its fourth Gigafactory. But some Germans, who have seen their native forests threatened by droughts and fires in recent years, don't want the factory in their native land. "I am not against Tesla," one activist told Reuters on Jan. 18 at a protest. "But it's about the site; in a forest area that is a protected wildlife zone. Is this necessary?" Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Tesla announced in Nov. the location of its fourth Gigafactory: a village of less than 9,000 souls called Grunheide, some 23 miles east of Berlin. The automaker would need to clear 740 acres of forest for the factory, which will produce up to 500,000 cars per year. The land alone will cost $45.36 million, according to Reuters. The factory will employ as many as 12,000 people. Bloomberg reported that plans for the factory have already lured more investment into the village of Grunheide; some developers have plied local leadership with plans for 22-story apartment high-rises and massive malls. But locals are pushing back. On Jan. 18, a group of some 250 protesters gathered in Grunheide to make clear their distaste for Elon Musk's plans. "We are here, we are loud, because Tesla is stealing our water," protesters chanted, according to a Reuters report. The protests were sparked by a report from a water association representing Brandenberg, a German state with 2.5 million residents. That report indicated Tesla would require more than 300 cubic meters of water per hour which would deplete local reserves. Read more: Thousands of truck drivers have lost their jobs in 2019 as the transportation 'bloodbath' unfolds. Here's the list of the biggest bankrupt trucking companies. Others are concerned that the factory would contaminate local drinking water, reported Deutsche Welle. This inspired signs like "no factory in the forest" and "Tesla or drinking water." Story continues Tesla did not return Business Insider's request for a statement. "I am not against Tesla," environmental activist Anne Bach told Reuters. "But it's about the site; in a forest area that is a protected wildlife zone. Is this necessary?" Germans' critique of the factory didn't start on Jan. 18. Conversationalists have studied the potential risks of the factory since the site was announced in November. Friedhelm Schmitz-Jersch, the chairman of the Nature Conservation Association (NABU) in Brandenburg, previously told Business Insider Deutschland that the factory could threaten a species of bat. "We need to start mapping out which species need to be taken into account," he said in an interview with Business Insider. A counterprotest also emerged albeit a much smaller one. Around 30 people held banners with messages like "construct instead of frustrate" and "Elon, I want a car from you," reported Deutsche Welle. FILE PHOTO: A demonstrators holds pro-Tesla poster during an action to support plans by U.S. electric vehicle pioneer Tesla to build its first European factory and design center in Gruenheide near Berlin, Germany January 18, 2020. REUTERS/Pawel Kopczynski Reuters Germans, on the whole, are more worried than Americans about the environment. A 2018 Pew survey revealed that 71% of Germans say climate change is a "major threat" to their country, compared to 59% of Americans and 68% of the average earthling. And woodlands are a particular flashpoint for German environmentalists. A third of Germany is covered by forests almost 90 billions trees covering a country half the size of Texas. And the country is investing seriously into fighting an upswing of droughts, storms, and fires that threatens those forests. "In such an ecological system like the one here and with the background that climate is changing, I cannot understand why another location was not selected from the beginning," Frank Gersdorf, whose group "Citizens' Initiative Gruenheide against Gigafactory" organized the protest, told Reuters. Read the original article on Business Insider Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh) [India], Jan 20 (ANI): Tense situation prevailed at 'Dharna Chowk' as the Amaravati Joint Action Committee (JAC) leaders marched towards the state assembly. When the leaders started marching to the assembly, police tried to stop them following which a verbal altercation took place. The JAC leaders expressed anger that police were illegally arresting those who were protesting peacefully. Former MP Maganti Babu, other JAC leaders, and other participants in the march including women were arrested and taken to police stations at different places. Meanwhile, TDP Chief N Chandrababu Naidu held a protest near the Andhra Pradesh assembly against the proposal of three capitals and demanded that Amaravati be retained as the sole capital for the state. He along with TDP MLAs walked in and sat on the steps in front of the assembly. Later he and the TDP MLAs entered the house. In the assembly, Andhra Pradesh finance minister Buggana Rajendranath introduced the Andhra Pradesh Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of all Region Bill 2020. Andhra Pradesh municipal administration and urban development minister Botsa Satyanarayana also introduced Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority Repeal Bill 2020 in the house. (ANI) DES MOINES - As she nears a verdict from voters in Iowa, Sen. Elizabeth Warren is leaning in on gender. Warren used a spat with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., to assert that the female candidates on Tuesday's debate stage were the most electable against President Donald Trump. She approached Sanders afterward to accuse him of calling her a "liar" as cameras rolled. She added a "fireside chat" with activists for Planned Parenthood Action Fund in Des Moines to her schedule Saturday. She picked up a key endorsement from Janet Petersen, the highest-ranking woman in the Iowa legislature, who on Sunday cited Warren's plans to improve maternal health care as the reason she sided with her. At the Planned Parenthood event, the senator from Massachusetts defined the election's stakes as she saw them: "To have an America where women are really secure, where access to health care is safe and readily available ... we need to have women representing us and we need to have people who are sympathetic to women representing us in all parts of our government in all states across this country. That is our mission." Warren, the sole female candidate among the campaign's front-runners, paid special heed to women who have flooded politics since the defeat in of Hillary Clinton, the first female nominee of a major party. "This is not 2016, and look - I was out there in 2016, and I know how many other people were, too," she said. "It didn't work, but it was a big, big wake up call for a lot of people. And that's why I say, the world has changed. So now the question is, what are we going to do about it?" The focus on gender this weekend coincided with the third anniversary of the Women's March, which included demonstrations in Iowa. The initial marches represented the first angry blast of female energy against Trump in the wake of his victory over Clinton, power that fueled a huge turnout of women in the 2018 midterm elections and pushed a record number of women to victory in House contests. Yet Warren's gender strategy is risky: This year, Democratic voters have shown little interest in reaching for history as they did in 2016, instead painstakingly calculating which candidate delivers the best odds of beating Trump. Two Democratic presidential candidates who put gender at the center of their messages - Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, and Kamala Harris of California - failed to gain traction over the past year. Another female senator, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, has struggled to join the top tier of candidates, even in next-door Iowa. All, like Warren, have fought against voter fears that replicating the party's 2016 choice would lead, again, to Trump's victory. "Voters are terrified of anything that looks or feels similar to 2016," said Meredith Kelly, a former aide to Gillibrand, who left the race last summer amid tepid support. "Because of that almost blinding fear, there are more barriers to cross as a female candidate in this race." Warren surrogates acknowledge the difficulty. "Half of this country are women, so it's important that our elected officials look more like our country," Rep. Deb Haaland, D-N.M., a Warren surrogate, said in an interview before she introduced Warren onstage in snowy Newton, Iowa. "We need that true representation." About voters' apparent anxiety about another female nominee, Haaland sounded resigned. "That doesn't escape me, trust me," Haaland said. "It doesn't escape me at all." Warren has made an overt connection throughout the campaign between her candidacy and the triumphs of earlier women - far more noticeably than did 2016 nominee Clinton. She has delivered three major speeches rooted in the stories of women who pressed for historic change, including an address in New York centered on the rise and influence of former labor secretary Frances Perkins after the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire. In that speech, Warren stood before an audience of about 20,000 below the marble arch in Washington Square Park and said bluntly: "We're not here today because of famous arches or famous men." A speech in Atlanta in November, Warren said black washerwomen who led a successful strike in the 1880s for higher wages proved "the women stood together." In a New Year's Day speech in Boston centered on Phillis Wheatley, the first black woman to publish a book of poetry in the United States, Warren urged voters to "imagine" a better country where more is possible. In her stump speech, Warren likes to outline executive actions she would take immediately and introduces the riff by saying, "I will do everything a president can do on day one, all by herself." She also frequently points out that she was told in 2012 that a woman couldn't beat popular Republican incumbent Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts. (She did.) Her campaign's gender tweaks are hardly subliminal. A surrogate handed out jars of nail polish specially made to match the campaign's signature "liberty green" hue - the color of the Statue of Liberty. Her walk-on music? The theme from "9 to 5," the movie in which three mistreated women workers take revenge on their abusive male boss. The highest-profile gender play, however, occurred on Tuesday's debate stage, when Warren confirmed a CNN report that Sanders, in a private meeting with her in 2018, had told her he thought a woman could not defeat Trump. Sanders has heatedly denied making that statement. Some watching embraced her argument that it was the women onstage who represented the best chance of victory in November. "Her goal was to use this as an opportunity to make a best electability argument she can, which I thought she definitely did," said Jennifer Palmieri, a former top aide to Clinton in 2016 and author of "Dear Madam President: An Open Letter to the Women Who Will Run the World." "In doing so she had an opportunity to strike a chord with women who know what it feels like to be doubted and undermined even by a friend," Palmieri said. "And that's a pretty powerful thing." Success by Warren would mean reversing the experience of the other women in this year's class of presidential candidates. Harris designed her campaign logo as an homage to Shirley Chisholm, the first woman to run for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination. Gillibrand adopted a hot-pink campaign motif, and made women's empowerment her central theme. But both campaigns learned early that 2020 would not be like 2018, the banner year for Democratic women. From focus groups, polling and front-door talks with voters, the Harris campaign repeatedly confronted voter concern about the electability of a female candidate against Trump. The Gillibrand campaign also heard in focus groups from potential Democratic voters worried that their neighbors would not support a woman for president, even as they said they would. "One of Trump's impacts on this election is those conversations on electability have really dominated," said Lily Adams, who served as a top Harris aide. "That really wasn't a conversation in 2016, when I worked for Hillary." Both campaigns built specific strategies in Iowa to try to turn out women energized by Trump's victory - many of whom, according to the campaigns, were new voters who had never participated in the caucuses. Gillibrand spoke at the Women's March in Des Moines last year as she sought to woo that support. By the end of her campaign, Harris had shifted her tone from one of empowerment and transcendence to a more defensive posture. She openly talked about bias against women and minority candidates, and encouraged her supporters to "be brave." Harris was especially aggressive in reaching out specifically to women angered by the rise of Trump, making what her campaign called "blue-wave women" a focal point of her Iowa organizing strategy. Warren's team has hired some of Harris's staffers in Iowa, and hopes to pull off what the senator from California could not, even if some voters are not sure that is possible. Meghan Davis leaned against a wood-paneled wall at a standing-room-only town hall for Warren on Friday and pulled a fistful of hot-pink yarn from her tote bag. She had just 17 days to complete two goals: finish knitting a pink pussy hat to wear to the caucuses and decide who she'll support when she gets there. Although she planned to wear the hat that has become the symbol of female resistance to Trump, she found herself torn between Warren and Pete Buttigieg, the former South Bend, Indiana, mayor. "My thought was 'Oh, I love her, but she doesn't really have a chance,' " said Davis, a Presbyterian pastor. Part of the hesitation, she said, is that after 2016 she sensed that "the deck is stacked against female candidates." - - - The Washington Post's Amy B Wang contributed to this report. An unattended bag near ticket counters of the Mangaluru airport in Karnataka created a bomb scare on Monday. The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which is maintaining the security of the airport, cordoned off the area Mangaluru: An unattended bag near ticket counters of the Mangaluru airport in Karnataka created a bomb scare on Monday. The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which is maintaining the security of the airport, cordoned off the area. Mangaluru Police Commissioner PS Harsha rushed to the airport along with a police team. An extensive search operation began with the help of bomb disposal and dog squads and metal detectors. "The CISF had found a suspicious bag, handled it as per the safety protocols and quickly informed the police control room. We have placed the bag in the isolation bay as per the safety protocol," Harsha later said in a video message. The police commissioner said the citizens had been kept away from the bag, adding that the situation was peaceful and the police were taking all precautions. According to some reports, two persons had come in an autorickshaw and placed the bag there. Police said they are verifying the CCTV footage Press Release 20 January 2020 Vivion Investments acquire Sanderson and St Martins Lane hotels in London Advertisements Luxembourg-based Vivion Investments, backed by Israeli real estate investor Amir Dayan, has reportedly acquired the 150-room Sanderson London and the 204-room St Martins Lane Hotel in London for a combined price of 255 million (720,000 per key). The seller of the properties is the family office of former Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani (HBJ), who acquired the hotels some eight years ago for 192 million. Walduck family acquires Holiday Inn Bloomsbury from Vivion The Imperial London Assets, the Walduck family's investment firm, has reportedly acquired the 316-room Holiday Inn Bloomsbury in London from Vivion Investments for approximately 90 million (285,000 per room). Located in central London, the hotel was acquired by Vivion in 2018 as part of a 22-hotel portfolio of Holiday Inn properties. The new sale price is reportedly 36% above the amount that Vivion allocated to the subject hotel when they acquired the portfolio. The Walduck family have been involved in the hospitality industry for several generations and already own nine hotels in London. Aviva forward-funds 400-room Premier Inn in the Docklands, London UK-based insurance company Aviva Investors has agreed to forward-fund a 400-room Premier Inn hotel, in London's Docklands area, adjacent to the Westferry DLR station near Canary Wharf. Scheduled to open in Q1 2022, the property is being developed by Rockwell, with the reported purchase price being 106 million (265,000 per room). With the 30-storey tower being part of a larger mixed-use scheme that includes 66 new homes, the hotel will be Premier Inn's largest hotel in London, and will be leased by the operator under a 30-year, index-linked lease contract. Capital Bay acquires Park Inn by Radisson Munich Berlin-based investment manager Capital Bay has acquired the 81-room Park Inn by Radisson Munich Frankfurter Ring in Munich from local developer Nunn Group. Located in the vicinity of a number of BMW offices, the buyer plans to redevelop the property into micro-living residential use. Sudbury, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - January 20, 2020) - Transition Metals Corp (TSXV: XTM) ("Transition", "the Company") is pleased to announce that Impala Canada Ltd. (Impala Canada) has resumed drilling at the Sunday Lake Platinum-Palladium (PGM) Property. Impala Platinum Holdings Limited (Implats) and Impala Canada Ltd. control a 75% interest in the Property and Transition holds a 25% free carried interest through to the completion of a Feasibility Study. Implats has communicated that it plans to drill 5,400 metres in four holes to test for high-grade PGM mineralization associated with the "Big Red" (AMT) anomaly identified from geophysical surveys completed in 2018. Drilling of this anomaly in 2019 returned significant mineralization including hole SL-19-026 which returned 41.20 metres @ 5.51 g/t Pt +Pd +Au (3.22 g/t Pt, 2.08 g/t Pd, 0.21 g/t Au, 0.57 % Cu) (see Company news release of April 29, 2019). Commenting on the results, Company CEO and President Scott McLean stated, "We are pleased to see drilling resume following the completion of the North American Palladium - Impala transaction (see Impala news release of December 13, 2019). The Sunday Lake Property is a key project for Transition Metals with results thus far outlining significant continuous and thick intervals of Pt and Pd mineralization across an area which is now 1,500 by 900 metres in size. Drilling targeting the Big Red anomaly in 2019 returned the best grades and thicknesses of mineralization intersected to date on the property so we are very excited about the planned follow-up program." About the Sunday Lake Property The Sunday Lake Property is located 30 kilometres north of Thunder Bay and represents one in a series of mafic-ultramafic intrusions interpreted to be Proterozoic in age and related to the emerging Mid-Continental Rift (MCR) Ni-Cu-PGM camp. Recent discoveries in the district include Panoramic Resources', Thunder Bay North Project in Ontario, Lundin Mining's, Eagle Mine in Michigan and Rio Tinto's Tamarack Deposit in Minnesota. Mineralization in the Sunday Lake Intrusion is hosted within the Marginal Zone located along the basal contact of the intrusion and consists primarily of disseminated to blebby sulphides as well as isolated sections of massive sulphide. Higher-grade and thicker sections of the Marginal Zone are interpreted to be hosted within structurally controlled embayments within the footwall and serve as the primary exploration target. To date a total of 29,343 metres have been completed on the property targeting sulphide mineralization associated with the basal Marginal Zone. Highlights of the drilling completed to date include: Table 1: Selected historic assay results from the Sunday Lake drill programs. Hole # From (m) To (m) Length (m) Pt g/t Pd g/t Au g/t Cu wt.% Ni wt.% 3E g/t SL-15-013 849.7 892.6 42.90 1.92 1.40 0.11 0.44 0.17 3.43 Including 860.8 865.6 4.80 2.87 2.24 0.16 0.68 0.22 5.28 including 871.4 881.5 10.10 3.18 2.28 0.16 0.71 0.24 5.61 SL-19-026 1392.00 1433.20 41.20 3.22 2.08 0.21 0.57 0.19 5.51 including 1417.40 1433.20 15.80 5.42 3.35 0.34 0.88 0.24 9.11 with 1418.85 1427.15 8.30 7.67 4.97 0.42 1.23 0.32 13.06 and 1425.24 1427.15 1.91 9.29 7.12 0.58 1.56 0.36 16.98 and 1425.24 1425.90 0.66 9.90 9.30 0.63 1.66 0.42 19.80 SL-19-029 1405.00 1466.00 61.00 1.20 0.80 0.15 0.22 0.15 2.20 including 1433.00 1465.00 32.00 1.90 1.20 0.23 0.33 0.18 3.35 including 1443.00 1449.00 6.00 2.90 1.90 0.34 0.55 0.28 5.15 and 1454.00 1465.00 11.00 2.70 1.70 0.30 0.46 0.18 4.75 including 1455.46 1463.63 8.17 3.20 2.00 0.33 0.51 0.20 5.44 and 1461.00 1463.00 2.00 3.50 2.20 0.35 0.64 0.19 5.97 Note: [January 19, 2020] The University of Hong Kong expanded collaboration with the University of Cambridge to offer Undergraduate Recruitment Scheme for Natural Sciences KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The University of Hong Kong (HKU) organised an Open House event at Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur on 18 January. HKU announced the expanded collaboration between HKU and the University of Cambridge to offer an Undergraduate Recruitment Scheme for Natural Sciences. The Faculty of Science, The University of Hong Kong (HKU) and the University of Cambridge (Cambridge) have formalised an academic collaboration to offer a joint recruitment scheme for talented students admitted to the Young Scientist Scheme (YSS) in the Bachelor of Science, enabling them to earn up to 4 degrees in natural sciences in 4-5 years starting in fall 2020 a BSc (2 years) from HKU, a BA (2 years), an MSci (1 year) from Cambridge, as well as an MA conferred by Cambridge upon application#. Selected students who opt to pursue undergraduate studies will only be conferred a BSc (2 years plus) from HKU, a BA (2 years) from Cambridge and an MA conferred by Cambridge# upon successful completion of their studies. As the new enhancement of YSS, this initiative opens a new path for elite participants to develop their global vision in both Asia and Europe. #The MA is conferred by right on holders of the BA degree at Cambridge, upon application after certain years' seniority as members of Cambridge. Designed for selected exceptional YSS participants in the BSc programme, the Cambridge-track allows the two renowned universities to offer the best of their strengths to nurture the next generation of science professionals, cultivating their independent thinking skills for life. Selected students will also have a chance to experience the unique culture and learning environment of Cambridge, expand their horizons, build their own global network, and equip themselves with competencies at workplace. The Natural Sciences courses at Cambridge provide students with experience in a range of different scientific disciplines that will enable them to appreciate and connect the intertwining science disciplines. The flexibility of the Natural Sciences course will not only give them a broad scientific background and an in-depth knowledge of the subject in which they finally specialise, but will also enable them to acquire a wide variety of all important transferable skills that are so much in demand by employers in all sectors, for example, intellectual skills, communication and presentation skills, and organisational, interpersonal as well as research skills. As an alumnus of Cambridge, Dean of HKU Science Professor Matthew R Evans, welcomes the collaboration with this distinguished partner institution. "The academic rigour of Cambridge makes it a benchmark university across the globe its encouragement of academic debate and intensive essay-writing training helps stimulate critical and logical thinking of students. Embraced by the intellectual atmosphere and exposed to an environment that encourages open discussion, students will find themselves more comfortable to take new challenges. Studying at these two leading universities would definitely be a once-of-a-lifetime experience for students," said Professor Evans. "This collaboration also signifies our mutual commitment to further strengthen the institutional ties between HKU and Cambridge," he added. Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Strategy and Planning of University of Cambridge Professor David Cardwell also welcomed the launch of the scheme. "Hopefully it will develop an unique collaboration between Cambridge and HKU further. I look forward to many successful years of continued participation in the scheme," he remarked. For more information, please refer to https://www.scifac.hku.hk/prospective/ug/6901-bsc/yss/cambridge/introduction. Media contact: Ms Tiffany Cheung Programme Manager, Admissions and Academic Liaison Section, the Registry Email: [email protected] Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20200119/2696381-1 Logo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20200119/2696381-1LOGO SOURCE The University of Hong Kong [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Yahoo is committed to finding you the best products at the best prices. We may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page. Prices were correct at the time of publication. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have hosted a reception at Buckingham Palace to mark the UK-Africa Investment Summit. The event, which was held on behalf of Her Majesty The Queen on Monday evening, celebrated the strength of the relationship between the UK and Africa. For the occasion, Kate stunned in a sequinned cherry red evening gown and co-ordinating crimson accessories. The glitzy gown was by British brand, Needle and Thread, who is known for exquisitely embellished evening wear at mid-range prices. Dresses retail at between 235 and 495. The Duchess of Cambridge wore a red sequin dress for a reception at Buckingham Palace to mark the UK-Africa Investment Summit (PA) The Duchess of Cambridge wore a sequin red dress at Buckingham Palace to mark the UK-Africa Investment Summit (PA) The Duchess of Cambridge paired the red dress with matching accessories (PA) Buy it: Aurora Gown | 410 from Needle and Thread Kates Aurora Gown, which featured long sleeves, a flattering A-line silhouette and frill lace detail is available to purchase for 410 in UK sizes 4 to 18. The designs available in four alternative colours: dusk blue, blossom, silver and black. However, the dress is currently only in stock in Cherry Red and Ballet Black. The glamorous sequined tulle dress also comes in a shorter mini dress style, which is a more affordable option at 350. Kate kept her look tonal, opting to accessorise with red suede Gianvito Rossi pumps, which are available to buy for 510, plus a red clutch bag and earrings. The event was also attended by numerous other Royal Family members, including Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex and Princess Anne. The Countess of Wessex also wore a red midi dress to the evening reception (PA) Sophie, Countess of Wessex, who celebrated her 55th birthday on Monday also wore a statement red dress. The mother-of-two wore a scalloped Alaia design that she has worn a number of times before. The occasion was not attended by Prince Harry, who earlier in the day had attended the UK-Africa Investment Summit in Greenwich along with prime minister Boris Johnson. 3 Needle & Thread dresses on sale Aurora Dress | 242 (Was 350) from Needle & Thread Story continues Scarlett Sequin Gown | 195 (Was 389) from Needle & Thread Sequin Mini Dress | 143 (Was 285) from Needle & Thread Iraqi Forces Say Detain One of Leaders of Daesh in Al-Fallujah Sputnik News 15:05 19.01.2020 MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Iraqi Special Operations Forces (ISOF) have detained one of the leaders of the Daesh* terrorist group in the city of Al-Fallujah, Anbar province, the ISOF said. According to the statement published on Twitter, the detained Daesh commander was in charge of Daesh internal security in the city. On 15 January, The New York Times reported citing military officials that the United States had resumed joint military operations with Iraq following a two-week pause. The officials, according to the report, said the United States was eager to resume joint operations with Iraq against Daesh to disrupt any momentum the organisation may have gained from the brief pause. Earlier in January, the Iraqi parliament voted to expel coalition forces over the US drone attack that killed Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani near the Baghdad airport. In December 2017, the Iraqi leadership declared victory over Daesh after fighting it for over three years. Nevertheless, the international coalition against the terrorist group, which was established in 2014, remained in the country to assist the government in creating a sustainable Iraqi security force that could secure the nation's borders and ensure a lasting victory over the terrorist group. Despite these efforts, however, terrorists continue to conduct raids and attacks across the country. *Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS) is a terrorist group banned in Russia A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Detention upheld for former Russian senator Arashukov, his father 13:07 20/01/2020 MOSCOW, January 20 (RAPSI) The Moscow City Court on Monday dismissed appeals against extension of detention of ex-Federation Council member Rauf Arashukov and his father Raul as part of a case over organizing a criminal community, RAPSI was told in the court s press service. Detention of the first deputy CEO of Gazprom Gazoraspredelenie Stavropol Nikolay Romanov was also upheld. In late December, Moscows Basmanny District Court extended detention of the former senator. his father and Romanov until January 30. In May, the Federation Council terminated senators powers of Rauf Arashukov charged with murder and participating in a gang. According to the Federation Councils Deputy Chair Yury Vorobyev, an upper houses commission revealed that Arashukov had not submitted his and his relatives tax declarations in time. In April, Moscows Basmanny District Court ordered the seizure of assets belonging to Arashukov. The seizure has been applied to monetary funds, land plots, cars and residential houses. Rauf Arashukov was arrested and detained in late January. The upper house of parliament stripped him of immunity and gave consent to his prosecution upon an application by the Prosecutor General. He stands charged with murder, participation in a gang and witness tampering. According to investigators, ex-Federation Council member was involved in the murder of a Karachay-Cherkessia public youth movements deputy chairman Aslan Zhukov and the republican presidents advisor Fral Shebzukhov in 2010. Moreover, investigators believe that the former senator is implicated to natural gas embezzlement from Gazprom company. He has pleaded not guilty. His father Raul Arashukov is accused in a 30-billion-ruble natural gas embezzlement case ($455 million). He was detained by court in February. Moreover, a court placed branch manager of Gazprom Mezhregiongaz Stavropol Guzer Khashukoyev, CEO of Gazprom Gazoraspredelenie Astrakhan and Gazprom Mezhregiongaz Astrakhan Ruslan Arashukov, first deputy CEO of Gazprom Gazoraspredelenie Stavropol Nikolay Romanov and CEO of Gazprom Mezhregiongaz Stavropol Igor Travinov in jail for the same term. According to investigation, all of them are involved in gas embezzlement from Gazprom company. The top managers have been allegedly stealing gas from the state-run energy giant over a period of several years. Raul Arashukov pleads not guilty and calls the case against him fabricated. The Japanese government will seek to establish interstate relations with North Korea, intends to open a new era in cooperation with China and intends to develop dialogue with the European Union and countries in the Asia-Pacific region, said Japanese PM Shinzo Abe, delivering a keynote speech at the opening of the parliament session. According to him, he will strive to establish interstate relations with North Korea, resolving the existing problems, drawing a line under the unhappy past, TASS reported. He noted he is ready meet with the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, without preconditions. Japan and China share the responsibility for the peace and prosperity of the region and the world, he said noring that by deepening and expanding ties in all areas, they will open a new era in relations with China. In this connection, Abe expressed hope for the success of the upcoming spring visit of President Xi Jinping to Japan. He recalled that Washington and Tokyo on Sunday celebrated the 60th anniversary of the bilateral security treaty. The Japanese-American alliance, the PM said is now stronger than ever. Based on this powerful foundation, they will strive to build a free and open Indo-Pacific space together with the EU, India, Australia, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and other countries with which they share the core values. In his speech, he also expressed concern about the growing tension in the Middle East and promised to continue active efforts there within the framework of peaceful diplomacy based on close relations with many states of the region. Abe called for the earliest possible start of trade negotiations with Britain after its withdrawal from the EU. (Natural News) Manuka honey is a special kind of honey that is only grown in Australia and New Zealand. It comes from the honey made by bees who pollinate from the Leptospermum scoparium, or the manuka bush. Because of its unique nature, manuka honey is more potent than regular honey, and provides more health benefits. These benefits make manuka honey an excellent addition to any preppers survival kit. Here are seven ways you can use manuka honey to survive when SHTF. (h/t to AskAPrepper.com) Soothes allergy symptoms Seasonal allergies can be disastrous, especially post-collapse. A study published in the Annals of Saudi Medicine found that ingesting manuka honey can provide relief against allergic rhinitis. Consuming manuka honey keep you functioning and on your feet during a disaster. Soothes acid reflux Acid reflux is when the acid inside the stomach flows up into the esophagus. This isnt a life threatening condition in any way, but the symptoms associated with it, such as heartburn and chest pain, can be painful and stop you in your tracks. Manuka honey is known to relieve these symptoms to help keep you going. Fights resistant bacteria There is evidence supporting manuka honeys ability to combat bacteria like MRSA, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and group A Streptococcus. These strains have become increasingly resistant to conventional medicine due to the overuse of antibiotics. Consuming manuka honey can kill MRSA, induce significant changes in the protein expression of P. aeruginosa and inhibit the growth of group A Strep. (Related: Manuka honey found to eliminate deadly drug-resistant bacteria in cystic fibrosis infections.) 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. Treats wounds, burns and sores Manuka honeys healing properties are well known. They can speed up healing, reduce inflammation, relieve pain and prevent wounds, burns and sores from contracting an infection. The acidic environment created by manuka honey favors wound healing. Simply apply a coat of manuka honey over the affected area and wrap it up with wound dressing to keep insects away from it. Fights gum disease If left untreated, gum disease can deteriorate tooth health and even cause some bone damage. Oral health experts will be difficult to find when SHTF. Luckily, manuka honeys antibacterial properties make it a great companion. It can reduce your risk of bleeding from periodontal disease and it can reduce incidence of dental plaque by up to 35 percent. Furthermore, the mineral content in manuka honey keeps teeth healthy. Reduces symptoms from bowel and intestinal conditions Manuka honey can protect against inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and, if you already have IBD, reduce its symptoms, thanks to the honeys unique ability to fight off bacterial infections and reduce inflammation. Manuka honey has also been shown to have an antibacterial effect against Clostridium difficile, the bacteria responsible for colitis. Helps you sleep When mixed with non-dairy milk and drunk before going to sleep, manuka honey can provide you with a deep, restful sleep. During a disaster, having plenty of good quality sleep is important as it can reduce the risk of potentially life threatening conditions such as heart disease. Before you run off to buy some manuka honey, verify its authenticity. All real manuka will have the Unique Manuka Factor (UMF) logo printed on the container along with a UMF number. This number is part of the grading system that rates the manuka honeys purity and quality. Consider buying manuka honey thats at least UMF 16, but anything above UMF 10 can also have the health supporting properties you need. With these health benefits, consider getting your hands on some manuka honey and packing it in your bug-out bag. Regular honey can also provide you with health benefits, but manuka honey is leagues above it and will be the best kind of honey you can have if you want to survive in a post-SHTF world. Sources include: AskAPrepper.com Healthline.com AnnSaudiMed.net NHS.uk NCBI.NLM.NIH.gov BMCResNotes.BioMedCentral.com UMF.org.nz BERLIN, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- World leaders attending the Libya Conference in Berlin on Sunday called for the end of foreign meddling in the Libyan conflict, pledging to set up a follow-up committee to oversee the outcomes of the conference, according to a draft communique. Senior leaders of major world powers and other countries concerned got together in Berlin on Sunday to find a peaceful solution to the conflict in Libya. Representatives from the United Nations (UN), European Union (EU), African Union and the Arab League, and leaders of warring factions -- Khalifa Haftar, commander of the east-based Libyan National Army, and Fayez al-Sarraj, head of the UN-recognized government in Libya -- also attended the conference. "We reaffirm our strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and national unity of Libya. Only a Libyan-led and Libyan-owned political process can end the conflict and bring lasting peace," stated the draft communique. "We call on all actors to refrain from any activities exacerbating the conflict or inconsistent with the UNSC (UN Security Council) arms embargo or the ceasefire, including the financing of military capabilities or the recruitment of mercenaries," read the draft communique. According to the draft communique, parties attending the conference called for credible, verifiable, sequenced and reciprocal steps, starting with a truce implemented by all parties concerned and leading to a comprehensive and lasting cessation of all hostilities including air operations over the territory of Libya. "The cessation of hostilities shall furthermore include the redeployment of heavy weapons, artillery and aerial vehicles and their cantonment and the termination of all military movements by, or in direct support of, the conflict parties, in and over the entire territory of Libya, starting from the beginning of the ceasefire process," explained the draft communique. "We herewith create an International Follow-Up Committee (IFC) to oversee the implementation of the Berlin conference outcomes, under the auspices of the United Nations and without prejudice to the mandate of the UN Security Council," the draft communique noted. Former Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch appears before the House Intelligence Committee during an impeachment hearing at the Longworth House Office Building on Nov. 15. Read more KYIV, Ukraine Ukrainian police said Thursday they have opened an investigation into the possibility that the U.S. ambassador came under illegal surveillance by an unknown party before she was recalled from her post in May. The announcement came two days after Democratic lawmakers in the United States released a trove of documents that showed Lev Parnas, an associate of President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, communicating about the removal of Marie Yovanovitch as the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. The Ukrainian Interior Ministry said in a statement that Ukrainian police are not interfering in the internal political affairs of the United States by conducting the probe. "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 ministry's statement continued. The Interior Ministry also said it has requested the FBI provide relevant materials. Interior Minister Arsen Avakov suggested that the U.S. side take part in the investigation, the statement said. There was no immediate comment from the State Department which one former diplomat assessed as extraordinary. This has to be a first in American history, Nick Burns, who rose to become the third-ranking official at the State Department before his retirement, wrote on Twitter. 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. And the Secretary of State refuses to say one word in her defense. Democrats in the House of Representatives released the files this week as they prepared to send articles of impeachment to the Senate for Trump's trial. A House committee chairman said Wednesday that the newly disclosed materials included text messages between Parnas and a Republican candidate for Congress that raised questions about the possible surveillance of Yovanovitch before she was ousted by the Trump administration. Our goal is to investigate whether there actually was a violation of Ukrainian and international law," the Ukrainian Interior Ministry said. "Or whether it is just bravado and fake information in the informal conversation between two U.S. citizens. In another move touching on the Trump impeachment, Ukraine said it was opening an investigation into reports that Russian hackers gained access to computers of the Ukrainian gas company Burisma. Hunter Biden, the son of Trump opponent and former U.S. vice president Joe Biden, was on the board of that company. The impeachment inquiry began with allegations that Trump had tried to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy into investigating Burisma by withholding promised military aid. The FBI also has been invited to take part in the Burisma hacking investigation, the Ukrainian Interior Ministry said. Jim Heintz in Moscow and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this article. The rise in the number of international tourist arrivals slowed to 4.0 percent in 2019, its slowest rate since 2016 due to a cooling global economy, geopolitical tensions and uncertainty regarding Brexit, the World Tourism Organization said Monday. The Madrid-based UN body, UNWTO, predicted global tourism will grow by 3.0-4.0 percent this year, buoyed by major sporting and cultural events such as the Tokyo Olympics in Japan. The number of international tourist arrivals hit 1.5 billion last year, up from 1.4 billion in 2018, the body said in a statement. Tourist numbers grew by 6.0 percent in 2018, 7.0 percent in 2017 and by 4.0 percent in 2016. "The slowdown in linked to the results of the global economy, with economic growth of around 3.0 percent," UNWTO's market intelligence chief, Sandra Carvao, told a news conference. She said "strong uncertainty around" Britain's looming exit from the European Union, simmering geopolitical tensions and the collapse of Thomas Cook, the world's oldest travel form, had also contributed to the slowdown. But Carvao stressed that both 2017 and 2018 had posted exceptionally high rates of tourism growth. "What is happening is we are returning to historical levels of tourism growth," she said. Europe and the Asia-Pacific region were the most affected by the slowdown in tourism arrivals. Arrivals rose by 4.0 percent in Europe in 2019, down from 6.0 percent in 2018, while in Asia-Pacific arrivals rose by 5.0 percent compared to 7.0 percent in 2018 as ongoing protests in Hong Kong weighed the sector down. Africa posted a 4.0-percent rise in tourist arrivals, down from 9.0 percent in 2018. The Middle East was the one bright spot as tourist arrivals in the region jumped by 8.0 percent in 2018, up from 3.0 percent in the previous year, due mainly to Saudi Arabia's ambitious plan to draw foreign visitors. UNWTO expects France, Spain and the United States to once again be the three most visited countries in the world last year once it has final figures. "We don't really expect changes in the rankings," said Carvao. In 2018, France remained the world's most visited nation with 89 million arrivals followed by Spain and the United States. In 2018, France was the world's most visited nation with 89 million arrivals The government may specify off-budget expenditure and other liabilities to provide a more accurate picture of its accounts, according to a report by The Economic Times. A clear account of real fiscal deficit should be presented...There have been discussions, a government official told the publication. There is also a suggestion to adopt accrual-based accounting from cash, which means the government may include its outstanding payments, the report said. Moneycontrol could not independently verify the story. The moves may raise the fiscal deficit to 4.5 percent, higher than the Centres target of 3.3 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) for FY20, the report added. The Budget will be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1. Several experts have said the fiscal deficit may be higher than the governments estimate. Former Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg in a blog post said earlier in January that real fiscal deficit could be 3.7-4 percent in FY20. Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee recently said that the fiscal deficit target had already been breached by a huge margin. Fiscal deficit has been breached by a huge margin already. In that sense, I dont think that its a big deal to breach it more. I wouldnt be supporting fiscal tightening right now, ANI quoted Banerjee as saying. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in December that increases in off-budget financing were responsible for debt as a share of GDP not changing much over the past decade even though there had been some improvement in reported fiscal deficits. Tasmania's Treasurer Peter Gutwein will take over the top job from outgoing Premier Will Hodgman. The governing Liberal party met on Monday to decide on a new leader and premier after the sudden resignation of Mr Hodgman. Mr Gutwein and State Growth Minister Michael Ferguson were vying for the top job in what was seen as a contest between the party's moderate and conservative factions. Mr Gutwein, who has been in charge of the state's books since the Liberals came to power in 2014, is running alongside current deputy Jeremy Rockliff. Former Tasmanian premier Will Hodgman with wife Nicki and his family on March 3, 2018 after winning re-election He ran in conjunction with incumbent deputy premier Jeremy Rockliff and represented the moderate faction of the party. Mr Gutwein, 55, is a qualified black belt instructor in Tae Kwon Do and married with two children. He was elected in 2002 and has been the Treasurer and Minister for the Environment during which he oversaw a period of economic growth, but also rising net debt. Before politics, he held senior management positions in financial services in Europe. He is a qualified black belt instructor in Tae Kwon Do and married with two children. Mr Ferguson, a devout Christian, was seen as a more conservative option. The party room vote came after Mr Hodgman last Tuesday stepped down as premier after six years in the role and 18 years in politics. Mr Hodgman cited a desire to spend more time with family and said a mid-term exit was the right time for fresh leadership ahead of the next state poll in 2022. Both Mr Gutwein and Mr Ferguson hail from the electorate of Bass, meaning Tasmania will have a premier based in the state's north for the first time in nearly 40 years. After Maharashtra Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray put his weight behind round the clock opening of malls and multiplexes located in gated complexes on pilot basis, State Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Monday asserted that "concept of nightlife" is difficult to implement all across Mumbai. He said that Cabinet will take a final call on the issue. "The concept of nightlife is not for all the areas in Mumbai. But yes we can think about it in some specific areas where tourists visit malls and other compounds," said Deshmukh. "It is difficult to allow the concept of nightlife all over Mumbai. So, on Wednesday we have a Cabinet meeting and we will discuss this and the decision will be announced on the same day," he added. Thackeray told media persons here on Friday that "Malls, multiplexes, shops, and eateries to operate 24x7 in gated communities of Mumbai on an experimental basis. It will be implemented from January 26" The decision was taken in a meeting with BMC and police officials. As decided by the Maharashtra government, these establishments will remain open round the clock in Fort and Kala Ghoda in South Mumbai and Bandra Kurla Complex in the west. He said that the move would help in generating employment and revenue to the state government. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) While mass anti-government and anti-Beijing protests in Hong Kong have temporarily stopped, three people tried to bring attention to another problem - Chief Executive Carrie Lams attempts to reform Hong Kongs pension system. But unlike protesters in France, the public doesn't seem interested. Kelvin Ho and two friends spread a small poster on the ground near the exit of the Admiralty Metro station, just opposite the imposing high rise that contains the governments offices. It calls attention to the Hong Kong government's latest proposals for change of the social welfare system. Just weeks ago, the government- and legislative council buildings were mobbed by thousands of angry protesters who managed to break through the barricades, climb inside, destroy furniture and spray painting anti-Beijing slogans on the walls. But today, all is quiet, passers by hardly pay attention to Kelvin's mini demonstration and he seems disappointed. The Chief Executive announced that two types of allowances for the elderly will be merged, he explains. According to the website of the Chief Executive, two pension schemes are to be merged into one, resulting in a monthly payment of 3585 HK$(416 Euro)/month. Poor enough But Kelvin Ho says, in order to be eligible for the pension, people need to prove that they are poor enough to be able to receive it, and there will be checks of income and assets. We dont think it is appropriate, says Kelvin, who points out that lower middle class may miss out. It is the right for all the elderly to get a pension. So we are fighting for all pensions in Hong Kong, instead of an allowance that you get after a screening. His proposal: 3500 HK$ (406 Euro) for everybody when they reach age 65 and no probes into ones bank accounts or assets. The proposed reforms of the Hong Kong pension system are part of a ten point plan that is designed to calm protesters without making any political concessions, says Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a political scientist with Baptist University. Story continues Other moves include reducing public transport fares to only 23 eurocent for elderly and handicapped, providing cash allowance for low-income households under certain conditions and providing a time-limited cash allowance for the unemployed. Two different places Meanwhile, the actions in France, where trade unions have paralyzed public transport for close to 50 days in protest against the French governments plans to change the pension system, puzzle him. Hong Kong and France are two different places. We dont have any true democracy. Our government can do what it wants, no matter how strong the opposition against a policy is, says Kalvin Ho. He is aware of the bold plan of the French to raise the pension age from 62 to 64. But in Hong Kong, where people have to work until they are 65 before they receive a very basic pension, this sounds surreal. I think if they would implement Hong Kongs pension policies in France, there would be a revolution, he grins. People would overthrow the government. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. Growth of RF filter market is largely influenced by several industry-specific factors including rising demand for satellite phones and increasing penetration of smartphones worldwide. With an upswing in digitization, the semiconductor scenario has drastically changed, paving significant pathways of growth for RF filter, according to the report. Persistence Market Research forecasts the RF filter market to grow at a stellar value CAGR of 17.3% during the period of forecast, 2018-2026. RF filter sales are estimated to touch a value of around US$ 25 Bn by the end of the period of assessment. 5G on the Go Trend Fueling Sales of RF Filter 5G has witnessed noteworthy acceleration since the past few months on the back of rising demand for high bandwidth from internet users worldwide. This has translated into increasing 5G field trials and deployments as service providers are sprinting to provide high speeds and next generation services to subscribers. Against this backdrop, semiconductor manufacturers are investing in developing their offerings for 5G-capable infrastructure. Manufacturing of 5G chips is expected to create potential opportunities for manufacturers of RF filter in the coming years, in turn pushing the growth of the RF filter market. This factor is expected to accelerate the use of RF filter in mobile phone communications, making it an attractive application area that RF filter manufacturers can leverage to gain profitability. Interesting.? Apply For A Sample Report @ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/24187 RF Filter Demand from Aerospace Industry to Push Global Sales Use of RF filter technology in aircraft such as Boeing and Airbus, for enhancing electronic surveillance, RADAR systems, navigation, GPS, Air Traffic Control (ATC) and data exchange is expected to auger well for the growth of the RF filter market. Moreover, rising demand for improved conversations between ground staff and pilots has fueled the sales of RF filter technology in the aerospace sector at a substantial rate. China Likely to Emerge as a Lucrative Regional Market for RF Filter Manufacturers Developed economies of North America, particularly the United States, have showcased higher adoption of RF filters since the past few years. According to the report, sales of RF filter in North America are projected to swell at a significant pace, making North America a highly lucrative market for RF filter. On the other hand, sales of RF filter in China and Japan are expected to soar at a high rate, with China at the forefront. Growing demand for RF filter in China can be attributed to the increasing shipments of smartphones in the country coupled with rising purchasing power parity of the Chinese people. Manufacturers of RF filter can expect a steady stream of opportunities from China and the United States in the years to follow. For In-Depth Competitive Analysis, Buy Now @ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/24187 Overcrowding Leading to Frequency Interference Factor Limiting Revenue Growth of the RF Filter Market Technological advances in the semiconductor industry have facilitated increased production of radio frequency devices since the past two decades. However, mushrooming growth of new technologies has translated into crowding of the RF filter spectrum thereby increasing complexities. Special RF filters are used in smartphones and communication technology, which are essentially SAW (Surface Acoustic Waves) filters. However, as bands are closely allocated with each other, the system is likely to project a lag or delay of around one minute causing interference of frequencies. This is expected to confine the growth of the RF filter market during the period of forecast. Bangladesh-Afghanistan opposed India Citizenship Amendment Act NEW DELHI: Bangladesh and Afghanistan have opposed Indias controversial law the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) which cites the two together with Pakistan as the three neighbours that discriminate against non-Muslim minorities. Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai told The Hindu that the law which excludes Muslims and woos Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Christians and Parsis from the three countries for citizenship rights should be extended to everyone equally. We dont have persecuted minorities in Afghanistan the whole country is persecuted. We have been in war and conflict for a long time. All religions in Afghanistan Muslims and Hindus and Sikhs which are our three main religions, have suffered, Mr Karzai said. He was speaking to The Hindu during a visit to Delhi where he addressed the inaugural session of the governments Raisina Dialogue. Mr Karzai said he hoped the sentiment that minorities must be protected would be reflected in India with regard to other Afghans, who are Muslim, as well. Article continues after ad Mr Karzais comments, differing from New Delhis view are significant, given that he has been seen as a strong friend of India. Like many Afghan leaders, Mr Karzai has also lived in India for several years beginning in 1976, and has studied in Shimla. In December, Indias foreign ministry had clarified that the CAA referred to past attacks against minorities in Afghanistan and that the current government had substantially addressed the concerns of the minority communities as per their constitutional provisions. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, seen as a key regional ally of Indias rightwing Hindu revivalist government, criticised the new law in an interview with Dubais Gulf News, saying the new law was not necessary. Ms Hasina said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had personally assured her that a related new measure the National Register of Citizens (NRC) was an internal matter of India that would not affect her people. But the NRC is being implemented in Assam, and is proposed to be extended across the country, with a view to sending back alleged illegal Bangladeshi migrants to their country. Home Minister Amit Shah has said the proposed countrywide NRC would be used to evict Muslim termites. We dont understand why (the Indian government) did it. It was not necessary, Ms Hasina told Gulf News in Abu Dhabi where she held high-level meetings. The statement is the first by the Bangladesh leader since the disputed law, that has triggered protests across India, was cleared by the Rajya Sabha on Dec 11. During the parliamentary debates, Home Minister Amit Shah repeatedly referred to persecution faced by minority communities, mainly the Hindus, in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan arguing that these groups should get citizenship rights in India. Ms Hasina distanced her country from the line taken by the Indian government. It is an internal affair. Bangladesh has always maintained that the CAA and NRC are internal matters of India. The government of India, on their part, has also repeatedly maintained that the NRC is an internal exercise of India, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has in person assured me of the same during my visit to New Delhi in October 2019, she said. BlackPearl Team-BHP Support Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Calcutta/London Posts: 3,438 Thanked: 15,047 Times View My Garage re: Normandy in a Mini Cooper - A weekend trip Day 4 - Rouen to London via Dieppe Next morning we visited the tourist places of Rouen. It is a very small town, hence does not take much time to go around. Our ferry from Calais back to Dover was at 10 in the night and we had plenty of time left. So we thought of taking a detour via Dieppe and have lunch there before going to Calais. During our last visit we had missed out on the seafood in Dieppe. This time we planned to utilise our time to the fullest. Unfortunately, by the time we reached Dieppe, most of the restaurants had stopped serving lunch. So we would have to wait till 5 pm before we could get dinner! But we were determined to have seafood and were willing to wait. Luckily we found a restaurant that was serving sandwich and Creme brulee. We had them as appetisers. At around 5 in the evening we found a restaurant that was kind enough to take our order for dinner. It will not be an exaggeration if I say that it was one the best seafood platters that I have ever had. No one can beat France when it comes to food! Trying whelks for the first time. I have become a fan! ( The smile says it all! The rest of the trip, from Dieppe to Calais to Dover and finally to London was uneventful and frankly speaking, quite boring. I have deliberately tried to post less pictures of the vehicle in this trip as my friends have complained that I am flooding social media with pictures of my cars from all angles! But it will be gross injustice if I do not post a parting shot of the beloved Mini Cooper. It was again a flawless performance by the little car! au revoir! Next morning we visited the tourist places of Rouen. It is a very small town, hence does not take much time to go around.Our ferry from Calais back to Dover was at 10 in the night and we had plenty of time left. So we thought of taking a detour via Dieppe and have lunch there before going to Calais.During our last visit we had missed out on the seafood in Dieppe. This time we planned to utilise our time to the fullest. Unfortunately, by the time we reached Dieppe, most of the restaurants had stopped serving lunch. So we would have to wait till 5 pm before we could get dinner! But we were determined to have seafood and were willing to wait. Luckily we found a restaurant that was serving sandwich and Creme brulee. We had them as appetisers.At around 5 in the evening we found a restaurant that was kind enough to take our order for dinner. It will not be an exaggeration if I say that it was one the best seafood platters that I have ever had. No one can beat France when it comes to food!Trying whelks for the first time. I have become a fan! ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whelk The smile says it all!The rest of the trip, from Dieppe to Calais to Dover and finally to London was uneventful and frankly speaking, quite boring. I have deliberately tried to post less pictures of the vehicle in this trip as my friends have complained that I am flooding social media with pictures of my cars from all angles! But it will be gross injustice if I do not post a parting shot of the beloved Mini Cooper. It was again a flawless performance by the little car! Last edited by BlackPearl : 19th January 2020 at 08:39 . North Korea has appointed a hawkish former point man on South Korea as its new foreign minister. Ri Son-gwon, who replaces Ri Yong-ho, is the former chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland. His appointment signals a tougher stance in North Korean diplomacy since Ri Son-gwon has a prominent military background and no experience in wider diplomacy. He has worked under Kim Yong-chol, the vice chairman of the Workers Party Central Committee who was the North's top nuclear negotiator, and oversaw preparations for the summit with the U.S. in Hanoi, Vietnam in February last year. One former government official here who has negotiated with Ri said, "He is the most-diligent student of Kim Yong-chol's hardline negotiating style in terms of shouting and strong language to pressure the other side." But another source said, "Ri may try to maintain the status quo rather than take a bold risk since he witnessed Kim suffer huge damage due to the failed Hanoi summit." Popular travel website Trivago misled consumers about cheap hotel deals on its website and in advertising, a Federal Court judge has ruled. The Netherlands-incorporated company did not actually show customers the cheapest deals for hotel rooms but promoted advertisers who paid them the biggest fees. 'Contrary to the impression created by the relevant conduct, the Trivago website did not provide an impartial, objective and transparent price comparison service,' Federal Court Justice Mark Moshinsky said on Monday. The Federal Court has ruled that Trivago (ad for the company in New York pictured) misled consumers with false price comparisons and did not show the cheapest deals 'The fact that Trivago was being paid by the online booking sites was not made clear,' he wrote in his judgment. The company was also found guilty of false and misleading price comparisons because they compared a standard room rate with a luxury room at the same hotel. This created a false impression of savings to those shopping around for a good hotel deal. Justice Moshinsky also found that the online giant displayed red strikes through text that led consumers to falsely believe it referred to the cheapest available option, The Sydney Morning herald reports. Australia's consumer watchdog took the company to court in August last year over misleading information on the website and television advertising. The claims were aired more than 400,000 times from late 2013 to mid-2018. The matter will return to the Federal Court for case management at a date yet to be set. On the third day of the Centre's special outreach programme, four more Union ministers on Monday toured different parts of the Jammu region addressing series of public meetings and inaugurating various development projects. The ministers who reached Jammu included Gen (Retd) V K Singh, Susree Debasree Choudhari, Partap Chandra Sarangi, officials said. "The government is committed to develop Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory and numerous innovative steps are being initiated in this regard which are yielding tangible results, Singh, Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways, said during a public outreach programme in Udhampur district. The programme witnessed overwhelming participation of Panchayati Raj Institution representatives and the general public who evinced keen interest in this unique initiative of the central government, the officials said. Singh expressed satisfaction over the implementation of several government schemes in the district and appreciated the efforts of district administration towards conservation of water and its focus on organic farming. He also interacted with the public and had feedback of the implementation of various government schemes on ground. "The road connectivity is the basic requirement for growth and development of an area and the Centre is endeavoring hard to establish a strong road network in the UT, he said and called upon the officers to make sincere and dedicated efforts towards taking the benefits of all government schemes to the targeted sections of the society. "The government is determined to provide enhanced basic facilities to the people of the area at their doorsteps, he added. Choudhari, the Union Minister of State for Women and Child Development, said the central government aims to promote good governance, generate employment and ensure that all the beneficiary-oriented schemes reach the citizens in Jammu and Kashmir. Addressing a public meeting at Marh here to disseminate information about the implementation of government policies and programmes for the overall development of the region, she said it is a great opportunity given by the prime minister to elected representatives to meet people and understand their needs. "The democracy at the grass root level is the need of the hour for the development of J&K, the minister said and reiterated that the conduct of the Block Development Council elections in J and K was a historical step, which has empowered people and given them a say in the decision making in the local government. She said the Panchayat elections that were held in 2018, despite various challenges, proves that J and K desires development in every sphere. Sarangi, the Minister of State for Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, visiged Kathua district and said the Union government is endeavoring hard towards all round development of every part of the UT with emphasis on unreached areas. Highlighting the benefits of several central welfare schemes, the MoS said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is taking keen interest towards making sure that benefit of all development and welfare schemes could percolate to the downtrodden and deserving segments of the society. Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda said advancement of education, health and employment sectors are main focus areas of centre government's development plan. Chairing a public outreach meeting at STC Talwara in Reasi district, Munda sought full involvement of local administration in meeting the targets of central schemes. He reiterated the government's resolve for holistic development of J and K in line with other parts of India. "Creation of avenues of self employment for the youth, besides expansion of education, health and other basic services to every nook and corner of Jammu and Kashmir is getting focused attention of the government," the minister said. He announced that the government has set the target of providing a house to all poor households of the country, before 75th Independence Day of India. Responding to the demands of locals, the minister assured to develop a Tribal Cluster' in the district. He also assured further assistance for development of Gujjar, Bakerwal and other scheduled tribe communities of the UT. On the request of Secretary Tribal Affairs, Munda also agreed to allow ST students of the district to apply for scholarships in offline mode. Later, the Union Minister presented pension orders and certificates to local beneficiaries. He also inaugurated newly-constructed road from Zero Morh to Malad via Gun Kolsar and launched the construction work of a well at Jerri panchayat, one pond each in panchayat Saloon and panchayat Porakotla. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister, Minister for European and Foreign Affairs of Albania, OSCE Chairman-in-Office Edi Rama, discussed Kyiv-OSCE relations in the context of Albania's chairmanship in this organization, as well as the situation in Donbas during their meeting. "It is very important to us that Albania has always expressed support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Thank you for that," a press service of the President's Office quotes the head of the state as saying. The president stressed that an important factor for Ukraine was the issue of relations with the OSCE in the context of Albania's presidency in the organization. Zelensky said that at the Normandy format meeting in Paris on December 9, 2019, the parties had agreed on several positions as regards the OSCE that would help achieve peace in Donbas. It is about the work of the Special Monitoring Mission 24/7, a mirror increase in the number of observers in Ukraine-controlled territory and occupied territory, as well as OSCE access to the areas where there was no disengagement. "The 24/7 OSCE work throughout Donbas, including the monitoring at the Ukrainian-Russian border, is crucial. And it is imperative that conditions for the safety of observers are created there. This is an important humanitarian mission," the president stressed. Rama agreed that such a format would help obtain more reliable surveillance data, and stressed that the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission should be stepped up. As the press service reported, the parties discussed extending the mandate of the OSCE Mission to Ukraine. They also covered the topic of economic relations between Ukraine and Albania. In particular, the interlocutors emphasized the development of tourism industry and the trade turnover potential. The 400-year-old city of Hoi An in central Vietnam has jumped four places to the 7th position on this years list of 10 cheapest destinations for the British. The 400-year-old city of Hoi An is on the list of 0 cheapest destinations for the British. Hoi An city in Quang Nam province and Bali in Indonesia werethe only two Southeast Asian destinations to break into the top 10, with thelatter ranking 8th, according to the annual Holiday Money report bythe Post Office, the UKs leading currency exchange. According to the report, the average cost in Hoi An is 77USD per day, which is cheaper the famous resort island of Bali at 80 USD perday. In Hoi An, visitors only need around 2.5 USD for a bottle ofbeer or 1.65 USD for a cup of coffee at a resort. The city, which is much loved for its peaceful atmosphereand its centuries-old houses, pagodas and unique cuisine, has repeatedly beenfeatured in best-value destination lists./.VNA (Alliance News) - UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Brexit deal has suffered a defeat in the Lords, over the right of EU citizens lawfully residing in the UK after Brexit. Peers backed a cross-party amendment to the EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill allowing them physical proof of their status. It was the first defeat for the government at the hands of peers since the general election. The vote, by 270 to 229, majority 41, means the Bill will have to go back to the Commons, where the prime minister will be able to use his big majority to overturn it. Liberal Democrat Jonathan Oates warned that without physical documentation EU citizens eligible to remain in the UK would be "severely disadvantaged" in dealings with landlords, airlines, employers and other officials. He denied it was an attempt to challenge Brexit or "frustrate" the legislation, which has already passed through the Commons with large majorities ahead of Brexit day on January 31. Oates said EU citizens covered by the settled status scheme should have the right to a physical form of proof of status, instead of only the digital proof proposed by the government. He said the right to remain should also be based on eligibility and not forfeited by failing to meet an arbitrary deadline under a cut-off date in June 2021, which could lead to EU citizens being "criminalised" afterwards. For the opposition, Iain McNicol said the party was "far from convinced" about the government's proposals and would vote against them unless concessions were granted. But Home Office minister Susan Williams warned that the amendment could lead to "ID card creep". Williams defended the digital provision of proof, insisting the service was robust and reliable. She warned physical documents could be lost, stolen or tampered with. "The government is adamant that we must avoid the situation where years down the line EU citizens who have built their lives here find themselves struggling to prove their rights and entitlements in the UK," Williams said. source: PA Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. Elon Musk's SpaceX simulated a successful emergency landing on Sunday in a dramatic test of a crucial abort system on an unmanned astronaut capsule, a big step its mission to fly NASA astronauts for the first time as soon as this spring. A Crew Dragon astronaut capsule launched at 10:30 a.m. and softly splashed down about 19 miles (32 km) off the coast of Cape Canaveral in Florida about eight minutes later, after ejecting itself from a rocket that cut off its engines 12 miles (19 km) above the ocean to mimic a launch failure. Crew Dragon detached from the Falcon 9 rocket at "more than double the speed of sound," Musk told reporters, at 131,000 feet (40km) above the Atlantic Ocean -- roughly twice the altitude of a commercial jetliner. "It is a picture perfect mission. It went as well as one can possibly expect," Musk said at a press conference. National Aeronautics and Space Administration administrator Jim Bridenstine also described the test as a success. The first mission with humans aboard, which will be the final test mission before NASA's commercial crewA program becomes operational, is scheduled for the second quarter of this year, after the spacecraft is completed no later than March, Musk said. In what was a key trial ahead of carrying humans, SpaceX also tested its rescue teams' response after splash down. They scrambled toward Crew Dragon with the U.S. Air Force's Detachment 3 emergency rescue teams in tow a a vital part of the test to practice a rescue mission to retrieve astronauts from the capsule. Crew Dragon, an acorn-shaped pod that can seat seven astronauts, fired on-board thrusters to detach itself from the rocket less than two minutes after liftoff, simulating an emergency abort scenario to prove it can return astronauts to safety. Each stage of the test prompted loud cheers from SpaceX crew members watching the footage from back on land. The test is crucial to qualify the capsule to fly humans to the International Space Station, something NASA expects to come as soon as mid-2020. It follows years of development and delays as the United States has sought to revive its human spaceflight program through private partnerships. NASA awarded $4.2 billion to Boeing and $2.5 billion to SpaceX in 2014 to develop separate capsule systems capable of ferrying astronauts to the space station from U.S. soil for the first time since NASA's space shuttle program ended in 2011. The space agency has since relied on Russian spacecraft for rides to the space station. During the test Crew Dragon used its so-called SuperDraco thrusters to jet itself away from the rocket at supersonic speeds of up to 1,500 miles per hour (2,400 kph). The Falcon 9 booster free-fell back to the ocean, with its first stage crashing into the waves and creating a tall plume of smoke seen on the horizon. The capsule deployed four parachutes to slow its descent, and carried two human-shaped test dummies on seats fitted with motion sensors to collect data on the immense g-force a the effect of acceleration on the body a astronauts would be subjected to during abort. The test was originally scheduled for mid-2019 but was delayed after a Crew Dragon capsule exploded in April on a test stand just before firing its launch abort thrusters, triggering a lengthy investigation. SpaceX-led investigators in July zeroed in on a previously unknown explosive reaction between a titanium valve and a propellant used to ignite the thrusters. A SpaceX official said the company completed the investigation within the last week. A man who posed as an Uttar Pradesh minister and enjoyed state guest status in Goa before being arrested for the crime in the second week of January was granted bail by a local court on Monday. Sunil Kumar Singh had arrived in Goa claiming to be Uttar Pradesh cooperation minister and was provided security here as well as official accommodation. However, he was arrested after Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant alerted the police. On Monday, Judicial Magistrate First Class Mapusa, Teisy Mascarenhas, granted bail to Singh on a bond of Rs 50,000 along with two local sureties, and asked him to appear before police once every 15 days till filing of charge sheet. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday hit out at opposition parties, saying those rejected by people in elections have been left with few weapons and were spreading confusion and lies. Photograph: Kamal Kishore/ Rediff.com IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with newly elected BJP national president JP Nadda at the party HQ in New Delhi. Without naming his rivals, Modi also targeted the "echo system" backing them, and said it has always been against the BJP. Asserting that despite attempts by the Opposition to spread confusion and lies, people's faith in the BJP and his government have remained "unshaken", he said the party returned to power with a bigger mandate in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls despite its rivals fighting with their full strength. He was addressing the BJP leaders and workers at a ceremony to felicitate newly elected party president J P Nadda. Modi also said that he was sure that the party will scale newer heights during Nadda's presidency. The Prime Minister also praised Amit Shah for his contribution, describing him as an "outstanding karyakarta (worker)". The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to get a new national president in place of Amit Shah on Monday (January 20) and it is widely expected that the party's incumbent working president Jagat Prakash Nadda would succeed Shah as the new president of the BJP. It is likely that Nadda would be elected as the BJP president unopposed. BJP sources said that senior leaders, including Union ministers, would file nominations in support of Nadda at the BJP headquarters. Notably, Nadda has the support of both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for the important post. Nadda was appointed as BJP's working president in July 2019 after Shah was inducted in PM Modi's cabinet. His elevation to the post of working president sent a clear message that the veteran leader from Himachal Pradesh leader was the top choice of PM Modi and Shah for the post of BJP president. The BJP has always elected its president with consensus and without any contest and it is highly unlikely that any leader will file his nomination against Nadda too. Nadda's election will end Shah's tenure of over five-and-a-half years during which he helped the BJP become a force to reckon with and Shah was largely instrumental in helping the BJP two consecutive Lok Sabha election under the leadership of PM Modi. It may be recalled that Nadda was in-charge of the BJP's election campaign in Uttar Pradesh before the 2019 Lok Sabha election. He played an important role in helping the BJP win 62 out of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh despite a tough challenge from the alliance of the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party. Live TV Nadda enjoys good support of Rashtriya Swaymsevak Sangh (RSS) and he has risen in the party through his hard work and commitment towards BJP's ideology. He has long been a member of the BJP parliamentary board, the highest decision making body of the BJP. Nadda had also served as a Cabinet minister in the first Modi government. COLUMBIA, S.C. In the closing days before the first votes are cast in the Democratic presidential contest, the partys leading hopefuls headed to South Carolina on Monday to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day. While Iowa and New Hampshire Democrats vote first for their nominee, South Carolinas first-in-the-South primary is a crucial proving ground for a candidates mettle with black voters. The states showcase holiday celebration, Columbias King Day at the Dome, is a notable and highly visible event for a Democratic politician. The festivities are marked by a march through the streets of downtown Columbia and a rally at the Statehouse. The top-tier candidates former Vice President Joe Biden, former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, San Francisco businessman Tom Steyer and Sens. Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren started Monday with prayer services around Columbia. Joining them in the capital were Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick. Gabbard, Klobuchar, Sanders and Warren sat together in the front row of Zion Baptist Church. This is THE handshake, Gabbard said, as Sanders and Warren reached across her to shake hands, referencing tension between the two senators following a confrontation in last weeks debate over a conversation regarding a possible female presidency. Sanders spokesman Michael Wukela said the King event in South Carolina was about respect pure and simple, noting that racial inequality in areas including criminal justice and poverty highlights the relevance of commemorating a civil rights icon here. If you cant stand shoulder to shoulder with people who face these challenges every day yet still manage to embrace a vision of hope and grace, then you dont deserve their respect, much less their vote, he said. King Day at the Dome began in 2000 as a reaction to state lawmakers decision that year to keep the Confederate battle flag flying from the Statehouses copper-covered cupola, a place of prominence that drew opposition. Tens of thousands of people marched through Columbias downtown from the prayer service to the Statehouse. Lawmakers eventually agreed to a compromise that moved the flag to a flagpole, albeit one prominently situated in front of the building. The deal also recognized Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the state and created Confederate Memorial Day. In 2015, following the racist massacre of nine Bible study participants at a historic black church in Charleston, lawmakers voted to remove the flag from the grounds. Meg Kinnard is an Associated Press writer. ALBANY For the past decade, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has found numerous opportunities to salt his speeches with the national motto e pluribus unum, a Latin phrase meaning out of many, one. For the initial string of mentions, Gov. Cuomo used the phrase in an uplifting, inspirational way, suggesting the sturdiness of e pluribus unum remained relevant at a time of significant national strife and division. Stitched in More recently, he has used it not just as a rallying theme in calls for unity but also to contrast his style of leadership with that of President Donald Trump, the man he labeled the great divider in chief during a 2018 church service. Now, Cuomo says he intends to pass legislation that would stitch the words E Pluribus Unum onto New Yorks official state flag. The phrase would join the only other word on the flag Excelsior, a Latin word meaning of high quality. Question of priorities Gov. Cuomo broached the proposal in his annual State of the State speech, prompting some lawmakers to question his priorities in a year when the state treasury faces a $6.1 billion budget deficit and many are debating criminal justice policy. Id rather see the governor focus on getting a full repeal of the bad bail reform law, which is hurting public safety, and cruise around so he can see how bad the bridges and roads are in this state, said Assemblyman John Salka, R-Madison County. On Tuesday, Gov. Cuomo will unveil his 2021 Fiscal Year Executive Budget to the Legislature starting at 1 p.m. Dont need bigotry Cuomo is likely to find more allies among his fellow Democrats. Assistant Assembly Speaker Felix Ortiz, D-Brooklyn, said the governor is sending the right message by trying to rally New Yorkers in the fight against a recent wave of bias attacks and threats. It would remind everyone that this is New York and we dont need anyone who brings bigotry and anti-Semitism to our state, Ortiz told CNHI. NY needs the immigrants Cuomos repeated mentions of e pluribus unum, along with the new flag gambit, show how influenced he is by the soaring oratory of his late father, three-term Gov. Mario Cuomo, who died five years ago, said Harvey Schantz, a political science professor at the State University of Plattsburgh. New York needs the immigrants, now more than ever, and so does the rest of the nation, the elder Cuomo once said in a speech reprinted in a memoir by William OShaughnessy, a New York media personality who was close to him. For Andrew Cuomo, the references to his familys Italian immigrant heritage have become a recurring theme, particularly when he discusses discrimination, Schantz noted. You almost feel that the governor still feels the slights handed out to his parents and his grandparents, the professor said. Fundamental to America Since Trump, a native New Yorker, was sworn in as president three years ago, Cuomo has expanded his references to e pluribus unum. Noting words so fundamental to America are on a flag hanging behind the executive desk in the Oval Office, Andrew Cuomo said, in a January 2018 speech, used e pluribus unum in a riff taking direct aim at Trump. To find the way forward, the president only needs to turn around, he said then. Take a step back Grant Reeher, director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute at Syracuse University, said Cuomos new gambit to update the state flag appears to be driven by a desire to react to the president, adding that he sees Cuomos trip to earthquake-damaged Puerto Rico this week in that vein as well. While the words e pluribus unum have significant historical value and have served the nation well, Reeher questioned the need to put them on the New York flag now. If you want to permanently insert that into the flag and seal because of a reaction to a particular president, then I think we should probably take a step back, he said. Reeher tossed out an alternative approach, suggesting the state could solicit ideas for a flag redesign. We could have a statewide process of coming together and vetting proposals, and have a system in place where the public can have input, Reeher said. He added: Maybe that would be an even stronger statement about participatory democracy, and the need for all of us to be together, and all of us to be involved. NY flag designs Using e pluribus unum on a state seal is not a novel idea. Michigan has been doing so since it approved its flag in 1911, with the Latin words on a red ribbon. Cuomo appears to be in unchartered waters with his push to update New Yorks flag, whose design has remained intact since 1881. The flag has figures symbolizing liberty and justice, with the justice figure stepping on a crown, suggesting the role New York colonists played during the American Revolution in the quest to expel British soldiers. The center shield depicts a sloop and a ship on the Hudson River. Embazoned below that image is the word EXCELSIOR. Cuomo would tuck E Pluribus Unum below EXCELSIOR. Joe Mahoney covers the New York Statehouse for CNHIs newspapers and websites. Reach him at jmahoney@cnhi.com Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 14 A small bean farm in Colombia's Darien region. Future climate scenarios can be modeled at the community scale thanks to a dataset created by the CGIAR research program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). Credit: Neil Palmer / International Center for Tropical Agriculture What the global climate emergency has in store may vary from one back yard to the next, particularly in the tropics where microclimates, geography and land-use practices shift dramatically over small areas. This has major implications for adaptation strategies at local levels and requires trustworthy, high-resolution data on plausible future climate scenarios. A dataset created by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and colleagues is filling this niche. Primarily intended to help policymakers devise adaptation strategies for smallholder farmers around the world, the open-access dataset has been used in 350 research papers. Users in at least 186 countries have downloaded almost 400,000 files from the dataset since it went online in 2013. A full description, review and validation of the dataset, including how it was built, was published January 20 in Scientific Data, an open-access publication by Nature for the description of scientifically valuable datasets. "Climate models are complex representations of the earth system, but they aren't perfect," said Julian Ramirez-Villegas, the principal investigator of the project and a scientist with CIAT and the CGIAR Research Platform on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). "These errors can have an impact on our agricultural models. Because these models help us make decisions, this can have dire consequences." While the data has primarily served agricultural research, it has also been used to map the potential global spread of Zika (a mosquito-borne disease), to plan investment strategies for international development, and to predict the ongoing decline of outdoor skating days in Canada due to warmer winters. "The use and applicability of this data have been really extensive and topically quite broad," said Ramirez-Villegas. "Of course, a large portion of the studies has been done on crops that are key to global food security and incomes such as rice, coffee, cocoa, maize, and others." A poster with infographics describes the review of a dataset for climate modeling at high resolution. DOI: 10.1038/s41597-019-0343-8 Credit: Carlos Eduardo Navarro / International Center for Tropical Agriculture Pinpointing climate impacts Climate-change projections are typically available at coarse scales, ranging 70-400km. But models for the impact of climate change for many agricultural plant varieties require data at finer scales. The researchers used techniques to increase the spatial resolution (a process known as downscaling) and to correct errors (a process known as bias correction) to create high-resolution future climate data for 436 scenarios. "This is a critical resource for modeling more realistically the future of crops and ecosystems," said Carlos Navarro, the lead author of the study who is affiliated with CIAT and CCAFS. For a given emissions pathway and future period, each scenario includes monthly information for average and extreme temperatures, rainfall, and 19 other related variables. The data are publicly available in the World Data Center for Climate and the CCAFS-Climate data portal. "Through these scenarios, we can understand, for instance, how agricultural productivity might evolve if the world continues on the current greenhouse emissions trajectory," said Navarro. "They also provide the data to model what types of adaptations would best counter any negative climate change effects." Global and regional models analyze climate conditions at a rougher scales and simplify natural processes, producing results that may deviate from realistic scenarios. The dataset is CGIAR's biggest Findable Accessible Interoperable Reusable (FAIR) database. It also underscores CGIAR's role in big data for development, through its Platform for Big Data in Agriculture. The dataset is currently included in its Global Agriculture Research Data Innovation and Acceleration Network (GARDIAN). The high-resolution scale of this data is useful for scientists, policymakers, NGOs and investors, as it can help them understand local climate change impacts and therefore make better bets on adaptation measures, which plans can specifically target watersheds, regions municipalities or countries. Explore further Colombia could lose 60% of land suitable for irrigated rice due to climate change More information: Carlos Navarro-Racines et al. High-resolution and bias-corrected CMIP5 projections for climate change impact assessments, Scientific Data (2020). Journal information: Nature Carlos Navarro-Racines et al. High-resolution and bias-corrected CMIP5 projections for climate change impact assessments,(2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41597-019-0343-8 Provided by International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) Russell Crowe found out he had won a Golden Globe because his son was watching the award show on television as the actor fixed up his bushfire-ravaged farm. The Hollywood actor has remained at his sprawling 400 hectare Nana Glen rural property near Coffs Harbour on the NSW north coast after it was hit by the fires in November. Crowe chose not to attend the 77th Golden Globe Awards on January 5, where won the award for his role in Stan miniseries The Loudest Voice. The 55-year-old told Nova Radio he found out he had won because his son happened to be watching the show. 'I was standing on the farm on the balcony and my eldest son tapped me on the shoulder and said, 'Dad come here for a second, you know you just won a Golden Globe?', Crowe said. 'I was standing on the farm not giving a s**t about whatever else was going on.' Russell Crowe found out he had won a Golden Globe because his son was watching the award show on television as the actor fixed up his bushfire-ravaged farm (pictured on his property) No-show: Russell Crowe chose not to attend the 77th Golden Globe Awards on Sunday - instead remaining at home in Australia amid the raging bushfire crisis. In his absence, actress Jennifer Aniston read a powerful message about climate change Russell had sent from Australia when he won Crowe took to Twitter on Wednesday and shared two striking images of the farm, one taken after the fire tore through and the other on Monday morning (both pictured) Winner: Russell won Best Actor in a Limited Series for his portrayal of controversial Fox News executive Roger Ailes in miniseries The Loudest Voice (pictured) In his absence, Jennifer Aniston read a powerful message about climate change Russell had sent from Australia when he won. The statement read: 'Make no mistake. The tragedy unfolding in Australia is climate change-based. We need to act based on science, move our global workforce to renewable energy and respect our planet for the unique and amazing place it is.' Crowe shared a before-and-after photo of his farm on Monday to his 2.7 million Twitter followers, showing the stark differences heavy rain had on the fire-ravaged property. He shared two striking images of the farm, one taken after the fire tore through and the other on Monday morning. Over the weekend the area was hit with 117mm of rain, with the property once again looking rejuvenated and green. 'Look at this place, absolutely f**king smashed': Crowe shared this image of a fallen, burnt out tree blocking his access to his home 'Sexy truck for sure': Russell Crowe stepped up his bushfire relief efforts this week by modifying his banged-up old Ford F1 into a makeshift fire truck (pictured) The Gladiator star was overseas where he found out on November 13 his property was under threat. Crowe's stunning sprawling home was later badly damaged in the blaze. The actor shared photos of the aftermath sent to to him by his family, showing the ash-covered ground and scorched trees, along with the charred remains of several ruined fixtures, including a horse trailer. 'Lost a couple of buildings, but overall very lucky so far. Chapel roof scorched. Deepest thanks to everyone on the ground. Some fires still burning and we are out of water. No livestock deaths to date. Horses ok,' he tweeted at the time. Earlier this month he stepped up his relief efforts by modifying his banged-up old Ford F1 into a makeshift fire truck. The 55-year-old shared a photo of the truck to Instagram, telling fans that he had 're-purposed' the vehicle in order to help his neighbours. 'I've owned this truck over 20 years and it was already an 'old' truck when I bought it,' he wrote in the caption. 'Repurposed to fight the good fight. I know... sexy truck for sure.' Earlier in the week, Russell had shared a video to Instagram in which he showed off the inside of his truck. 'We've got all the stuff you need for fighting fires': Earlier in the week, Russell had shared a video to Instagram in which he showed off the inside of his truck Before and after: Russell's 400-hectare property in Nana Glen, on the NSW mid-north coast, was badly damaged in November when a raging inferno tore through the area 'We keep this truck ready and prepared in case things get crazy,' he said. 'It's got a thousand litre water cube on it... it's got a couple of bins filed with dirt and shovels for spot fires.' 'We've got all the stuff you need for fighting fires,' he added, showing off his gear including spare hoses, fire blankets and respirators. Crowe has been sharing the damages from his property, posting videos of him working on cleaning up the farm. There were claims from distraught locals at the time the that fire crews rushed to Crowe's property first and left other homes to burn, which NSW Rural Fire Service described at the time as nonsense. His niece Chelsea Crowe, who also lives on his property also angrily fired back at the claims and set the record straight in a public Facebook post. Smoke from a large bushfire is seen outside Nana Glen, near Russell Crowe's 400-hectare property Crowe shared this photo of a fallen, burnt out tree blocking his access to his home 'Unfortunately, there is a lot of gossip... going around that fire crews abandoned properties in favour to protect Russell's home,' Chelsea posted. 'If you look at a map and knew the boundary lines the entire property is backed by Tallawudjah and the state forest. Whilst they moved to crews to a previously scouted vantage point to attack it as it came through the ridge. 'This move was not to protect his buildings in particular. It wouldn't have mattered who lived there.' Crowe first bought land in Nana Glen in 1999 before later expanding his property to included nine surrounding lots. He married long-time on-off partner Danielle Spencer on the property on his 39th birthday in 2003. In this June 17, 2019 file photo, the Supreme Court is seen in Washington. The justices will consider later this year Trump administration rules expanding religious, moral exemptions from contraceptive coverage. Read more The U.S. Supreme Court will review a Philadelphia federal judges decision last year to block new Trump administration rules that would have let almost any employer deny female workers no-cost birth control coverage by citing religious and moral objections. In an order late Friday, the justices said they would consider an appeal from White House lawyers, who lost a bid to overturn a nationwide injunction imposed by U.S. District Judge Wendy Beetlestone in January 2019. The case marks the third time this small but hotly contested portion of the Affordable Care Act has drawn high court scrutiny. But it is the first time that the courts new majority of Republican appointees including Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh will hear a contraception case. At issue is a push in 2017 to expand exemptions to the ACAs birth control mandate with new regulations that would allow all but publicly traded companies, including private colleges and universities that issue student health plans, to opt out on moral grounds. The attorneys general of Pennsylvania and New Jersey challenged the proposal, saying the rule change could saddle their states with the cost of dealing with thousands of unplanned pregnancies and as many as 127,000 women losing access to no-cost contraception. A unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit agreed in May, affirming Beetlestones decision. Two federal courts have blocked this rule and we are confident the Supreme Court of the United States will do the same, Josh Shapiro, the Pennsylvania attorney general, said in a statement. If allowed to move forward, he added, the proposed regulation would allow employers to deny contraception coverage for almost any reason including the belief that women dont belong in the workforce. But the Little Sisters of the Poor, an order of Roman Catholic nuns that intervened in the Pennsylvania and New Jersey case, argue that they should not be forced to provide coverage at odds with their religious beliefs. It is disappointing to think that as we enter a new decade we must still defend our ministry in court, said Sister Loraine Marie Maguire, mother provincial of the order in the United States. We are grateful the Supreme Court has decided to weigh in, and hopeful that the justices will reinforce their previous decision and allow us to focus on our lifelong work. In crafting her opinion last year, Beetlestone concluded that the Trump administrations proposed regulations ran counter to both government rule-making procedures and the intent of Congress when it crafted the Affordable Care Acts contraception provisions. Whats more, she cited the undue financial burden on states that moved in to pick up the tab. The negative effects of even a short period of decreased access to no-cost contraceptive services is irreversible, she wrote. The birth control mandate has been one of the most fiercely litigated aspects of Obamacare. Since it was enacted, the ACA has generally required employers and insurers to provide preventative health services to women at no charge. Houses of worship that claimed religious objection were provided an avenue to opt out soon after the laws passage. In the decade since and after a number of court battles the swath of employers eligible for exemptions has gradually expanded to include religiously affiliated hospitals, universities and nonprofits. In 2014, the Supreme Court added to that list businesses owned by a small group of owners whose religious beliefs run counter to the contraception provisions after hearing a case from a Lancaster County cabinet maker and Hobby Lobby, one of the nations largest craft store chains. Some of those exempted entities were still required to provide employees with health plans that offer birth control coverage paid by the insurance provider. But religious groups around the nation, including the Little Sisters, challenged that accommodation at the Supreme Court in 2016, arguing it still made them complicit in a violation of their faith. Since taking office, President Donald Trump has vowed to eliminate even that mandate in seeking to fulfill a campaign pledge he made to protect employers from being bullied by the federal government because of their religious beliefs. Brigitte Amiri, deputy director of the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, disputed the presidents claims of defending religious liberty, arguing instead that blocking access to birth control amounts to a form of discrimination. This "is yet another of the administrations many attacks on access to abortion and contraception, she said in a statement. We hope the Supreme Court will uphold the lower courts rulings blocking this awful law. The justices are likely to hear arguments on the case in April and decide it by late June. All Congress-ruled assemblies, one by one, are set to pass a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), bolstering their political protests against the Modi governments controversial law. The move comes after the all-party meeting convened by Congress president Sonia Gandhi on January 13 called upon state governments opposing CAA and National Register of Citizens (NRC) to pass a resolution in the assembly against National Population Register (NPR) exercise. Key Opposition parties such as the Congress, Left and Trinamool considers the NPR - an exercise initiated during the Manmohan Singh government - is being used by the current regime as the stepping stone of CAA-NRC. The Punjab Assembly, led by Chief Minister Captain Amrinder Singh, has already passed a resolution against the CAA. The resolution on January 17 asked the Centre to roll back CAA as it was found to be inherently discriminatory. Rajasthan Assembly is expected to be the next Congress-ruled state to pass a resolution against the CAA. The Assembly, which will meet on January 24 will take up the resolution on a priority basis. Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said, CAA is an attack on Indias Constitution. Peoples movement against CAA shall continue courageously & fearlessly. Citizens, parties and states shall continue to oppose CAA determinedly, indicating that in coming days more Opposition-ruled states would be adopting such resolutions. According to a non-Congress Opposition leader, the Opposition meeting had appealed to the chief ministers to pass assembly resolutions after it was noticed that Congress-ruled assemblies have not passed resolutions like Kerala or West Bengal. If all Opposition ruled states pass resolution to boycott CAA, NRC and NPR the government cant do anything as it is the states human resource and machinery that are used for such exercises, claimed CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury. Agartala, Jan 20 : The Tripura government will take action against the hundreds of rubber growers who illegally cultivated natural rubber on more than 21,019 acres of government land, a minister announced in the state assembly on Monday. Replying to a question, Tripura Revenue Minister Narendra Chandra Debbarma said that the government has asked the District Magistrates and Sub-Divisional Magistrates to get the government lands vacated. The Minister said that during the previous Left Front government 21,019 acres (or 8506 hectares) of government land across Tripura had been illegally allowed to cultivate natural rubber. He said that the BJP-led government has taken initiative to amend the Tripura Land Records and Land Reforms Act, 1960, to prevent the misuse of government lands violating the law. Debbarma also said that around 51,635 families had been residing in government lands in Tripura for the past many years. The issue saw heated debate in the state assembly on Monday. Tripura is the second largest rubber producer in India after Kerala with 85,000 hectares of land under plantation, producing 68,000 tonnes of rubber annually. Tripura's annual turnover from rubber cultivation is about Rs 700 crore. Just two years ago, Republicans seemed likely to have a chance at 60 Senate seats following the 2014 elections. But things certainly changed after Democrats won 25 of the 33 seats up this year. Instead, GOP strategists need to worry about whether Democrats will be in the position to win a filibuster-proof supermajority in 2016. Control of the U.S. Senate is not merely about arithmetic. It is also about timing. With one-third of the Senate up for election every two years, the key to holding 60 Senate seats the holy grail of any Senate majority leader is to have at least one very large Senate class. The Democratic supermajorities in the Senate throughout much of the 1960s relied on a blowout win in 1958, when the party won 24 of that Senate classs 32 seats. (Democrats actually did better than that on Election Day, winning another four special elections in seats not normally up in the cycle, including two in the newest state, Alaska.) STEPANAKERT, JANUARY 20, ARMENPRESS. Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan on January 20 attended an event dedicated to the Day of the Judicial System Worker, the Presidential Office told Armenpress. The President congratulated the workers and veterans of the system on the professional holiday, handed in state awards and title certificates to a group of the spheres representatives. President Sahakyan underlined that a fully functioning and professional judicial system complying with the letter and spirit of the law is of utmost importance for the establishment of democratic state, ensuring the balance between the branches of power. She seamlessly made the jump from an acclaimed Netflix series to another on Hulu, reaping honors and awards for her roles on both shows. Samira Wiley looked ravishing while rooting for her Hulu series The Handmaid's Tale during the 26th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on Sunday. Wiley, 32, wowed while there with her wife, television screenwriter and producer Lauren Morelli. Lady in blue: Actress Samira Wiley looked ravishing on Sunday night when she attended the Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles Samira had won three consecutive Ensemble SAG Awards in the comedy category for her prior series, Orange Is The New Black, from 2015 to 2017. On that show, Wiley played the beloved character Poussey Washington, whose exit from OITNB provided the series' most heartbreaking moment by far in its seven-season run. On Sunday, Wiley wowed in a one-shouldered, asymmetrical frilly gown, which featured black edging and a pleated skirt. She wore minimal diamond jewelry and carried a matching silver metallic clutch. Black and blue: Samira attended the show with her wife, television screenwriter and producer Lauren Morelli Beauty: Wiley wowed in a one-shouldered, asymmetrical frilly gown, which featured black edging and a pleated skirt Lauren, 37, was a gorgeous counterpart to her wife, stunning in a strapless sparkly black gown that boasted a plunging bust and off-the-shoulder capped sleeves. Morelli's garment was ruffled at the center, and featured a slight mermaid cut that spilled out into a small train behind her. The couple, who've been wed since 2017, held hands and smiled at each other lovingly as the cameras snapped away. Adorable: The couple, who've been wed since 2017, held hands and smiled at each other lovingly as the cameras snapped away And while Samira and her Handmaid's cast lost the SAG trophy to Netflix's The Crown, fans of the show still look forward to season four of the series, which is out later this year. Aside from that show, Wiley also has three very high profile feature films in the works, including sci-fi epic BIOS costarring Tom Hanks, a yet-to-be-titled drama opposite Jennifer Lawrence, and Breaking News In Yuba County, a dramatic thriller with Awkwafina, Mila Kunis and Allison Janney. Morelli acted as both a writer and producer on Orange Is The New Black, and also contributed to the most recent season of Tales Of The City for Netflix. Unsettling: Wiley was in attendance in support of her series The Handmaid's Tale, which was up for a SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Dramatic: On Orange Is The New Black, Wiley played the beloved character Poussey Washington (right, opposite Uzo Aduba), whose exit from the series provided its most heartbreaking moment by far Egypt's state of emergency is set to reach the three-year mark by April after the government announced it would extend it by another three months from Monday next week. The North African country has been under a state of emergency since April 2017 bombings of two Coptic churches by an Islamic State group affiliate that killed more than 40 people. The extension comes nine years after the January 2011 uprising that toppled former president Hosni Mubarak, who had also ruled for decades under a state of emergency. "The president of Egypt ordered the extension of the state of emergency nationwide for three months starting Monday, January 27," said the official gazette on Sunday. Under a state of emergency, police powers such as arresting and holding citizens are extended and constitutional rights such as freedom of speech and assembly are curtailed. Egypt has for years been battling an Islamist insurgency, which surged following the 2013 military ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi. The attacks have been largely concentrated in the restive northern Sinai Peninsula but occasionally struck elsewhere in the country. In February 2018, Egypt launched a large-scale nationwide anti-militant operation. Rights groups say the state of emergency coupled with the government's effective protest ban since 2013 has helped it in crushing dissent. In September, rare minor protests broke out in Egypt triggered by online calls for Sisi's removal. Some 4,000 people were arrested in the following weeks, according to local rights groups. Activists have called it one of the worst waves of a crackdown against any dissent that was launched when Sisi officially took power in 2014. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- New York State is hosting its annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Observance on Monday in The Egg Center for the Performing Arts Hart Theatre at the Empire State Plaza in Albany. The memorial will feature a keynote address by journalist and Black Panther: Who is the Black Panther author Jesse J. Holland and a special performance by Grammy-nominated vocalist Anita Wilson. The holiday theme this year is titled, The Beloved Community: The Fierce Urgency of Now. The program will begin promptly at 10 a.m. It will be streamed live at empirestateplaza.ny.gov/nyking. On Monday, an interfaith candlelight vigil will be held to condemn recent hate-based attacks throughout the tristate area. On the evening of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, community members and local religious leadership will gather in New Dorp where a set of flyers promoting a New Jersey hate group were found earlier this month. The event, hosted by the Staten Island Inter-Religious Leadership coalition, will be held at 7 p.m. in the St. Charles Church parking lot, located on Hylan Boulevard, between Penn Avenue and Tysens Lane. Heres a look at whats open and closed on Staten Island on Monday. FOLLOW ANNALISE KNUDSON ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER. So far weve had a fair share of rumors joined by blurry shots of the big SUVs interior an exterior cues, so weve put it all together to see what exactly do we know about and what to expect from the 2021 Cadillac Escalade. Arguably one of the most recognizable modern Cadillacs, the Escalade is getting ready to say bye-bye to its fourth generation as the fifth is set to make a debut on February the 4th, 2020. The big SUV is closing in on its debut date, so heres what to expect LISTEN 05:39 The 2021 Cadillac Escalade Has a New Platform The 2021 Cadillac Escalade will sit on GMs T1 platform, thus ditching the K2 platform used by the current version. The same T1 underpinnings are found under the 2019 Chevy Silverado 1500, 2019 GMC Sierra 1500, and the likes of 2021 Suburban, 2021 Tahoe, and 2021 GMC Yukon. GM T1 Platform At A Glance Name GMT-T1, T1XX Predecessor GMT-K2 Successor GM VSS-T Type body-on-frame Size full size Vehicle suitability SUV, pickup truck Layout front engine, RWD and AWD Engine positioning Longitudinal Engine compatibility 4-cylinder, 6-cylinder, 8-cylinder Gearbox compatibility GM 8-speed auto, GM 10-speed auto, Allison 10-speed According to GM Authority, the 2021 Escalade will also pack an independent rear suspension setup with coil springs, marking the end of the live rear axle/leaf springs era. Whats more, the swap to a more modern setup will affect for the better the Escalades ride and handling, but also clear up more space in the trunk. Expect the likes of Magnetic Ride Control and air suspension to find their way inside the new Cadillac Escalade, too, offered as optional features. Cadillac will most likely continue to assemble the Escalade in Arlington, Texas, where the current generation is being produced. What Engine Does the 2021 Cadillac Escalade Have? The 2021 Escalades main beating heart will be a naturally-aspirated 6.2-liter V-8 gasoline engine twinned to a 10-speed automatic gearbox. The new Escalades V-8 will use Dynamic Fuel Management instead of the Active Fuel Management thats offered by the current Escalade. Thats because the new Escalades V-8 is badged as L87, a step forward from the L86 unit utilized by the fourth-gen SUV. Theres no word on power or performance, but we expect the new Escalade to pack at least 450 horsepower. Rumor has it that a V-badged supercharged variant of the SUV is expected to boast 500+ horsepower, but were taking that with a pinch of salt for the time being. Whats more, the new Escalade could even adopt a hybrid powertrain - most likely borrowed from the now-defunct CT6 Plug-In Hybrid. In the large sedan, it mixed a 18.4-kWh battery pack, two e-motors, and a 2.0-liter inline-four gasoline engine for a grand total of 335 horsepower and 432 pound-feet of torque. Surely, Cadillac will want to retune the setup for more oomph, since the Escalade will be considerably heavier than the CT6 sedan. Still, a 400-mile range could be on the table for the SUV. Dont overrule a 3.0-liter turbodiesel inline-six at this point, but theres little info on Caddys intention of actually offering such a mill for the Escalade. Well have to wait and see about that. 2019 Cadillac Escalade specifications Type: 6.2L V-8 VVT DI with Active Fuel Management Bore & Stroke (in / mm): 4.06 x 3.62 / 103.25 x 92 Block Material: Cast aluminum Cylinder Head Material: Cast aluminum Valvetrain: Overhead valve, two valves per cylinder, variable valve timing Fuel Delivery: Direct high-pressure fuel injection with Active Fuel Management Horsepower (hp / kW): 420 / 313 @ 5600 rpm (SAE certified) Torque (lb.-ft. / Nm): 460 / 621 @ 4100 rpm (SAE certified) What Does the 2021 Cadillac Escalade Look Like? Judging by the leaked photos on Instagram, the exterior of the 2021 Escalade is polarizing to say at least. Given that the pics look like theyve been taken inside a production facility of sorts, this is pretty much what the road-going big Caddy will look like on the outside. We can spot a lot of similarities to the XT6, but the Escalade will keep the forward-canted C-pillar design. Viewed from the side, the Escalade looks a lot like the Tahoe and Suburban, which is not something we necessarily like, while in the back, the big SUV will flaunt vertical-positioned LED taillights. What Does the 2021 Cadillac Escalades Interior Look Like? A lot better than the exterior, we can tell you that much. If the leaked photos do indeed show a production-ready 2021 Cadillac Escalade interior, then owners will enjoy a dashboard decorated with two overlapping OLED displays, a la Cadillac Escala concept, with the larger one measuring 38 inches. The smaller screen will act as instrument cluster while the other will serve the Escalades multimedia system. From what we can tell, the overall cabin arrangement does look upscale, which will do the Escalade and Cadillac, for that matter, a world of good. As Road & Track points out, this will position the luxury SUV higher above Chevrolets similar offerings - just as it should be. The addition of the high-tech-y display duo also suggests an infusion of new tech inside the 2021 Escalade. GM Authority talks about the use of GMs Global B electrical architecture which will serve as the cars nervous system with extra processing power, better cybersecurity, and OTA (over-the-air) updates compatibility over the previous Global A platform. Caddys Super Cruise will trickle down the new Escalade and were also hearing rumors that the whole rear infotainment setup will be revamped with larger screens and a modern user interface. How Much Will the 2021 Cadillac Escalade Cost? Thats quite hard to tell at this point, but we can use the 2020 Cadillac Escalades price tag as starting point. For reference, Caddy is asking at least $76,490 for the normal-wheelbase version, while the stretched-wheelbase ESV will leave you without $79,490. Both cars use the 6.2-liter V-8 L86 good for 420 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of twist. We expect the new 2021 Escalade to start at $78,000-$79,000, with the ESV version priced at around $81,000-$82,000. KYIV, Ukraine - Lev Parnas, the Ukrainian American businessman at the heart of the Trump impeachment, adopted a tone of hearty bonhomie when exchanging messages with Ukraine's political elite, calling them "my brother" or "my friend," or telling them "I missed you" or "I embrace you." The Florida businessman, whose family moved to the United States from the Soviet Union when he was a child, has said he was part of a multi-pronged effort led by former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani to help President Donald Trump's re-election campaign and damage a political opponent, former vice president Joe Biden. Parnas has said he and his associate, Igor Fruman, used their deep knowledge of a Ukrainian government known for functioning on secret inside deals - a reputation it is trying to change - to support Giuliani's efforts. The two face federal charges over alleged campaign finance violations. The trove of communications released in recent days from Parnas reveal a frantic schedule of meetings, telephone calls and mobile phone messages over the past year. The connections read like a who's who of Ukraine's political elite: members of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's inner circle, the country's head police officer, chief of the security services, two former top prosecutors and one of Ukraine's richest men. Parnas' messages showed how he ping-ponged around the globe, jetting to Warsaw, Kyiv, Vienna, Israel, Paris and Madrid - always, he has claimed, with Giuliani's consent and Trump's knowledge - juggling a laundry list of tasks from the group involved in the project that he says included Giuliani; Derek Harvey, an aide to the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, Devin Nunes of California; and lawyer Victoria Toensing. The operation dismayed Ukraine anti-corruption activists who believed that it hurt the country just as it is struggling trying to shake off its past as a shady, post-Soviet backwater where prosecutions could be bought and sold and you could get whatever you wanted with the right political connections. Political analyst Taras Semenyuk of KyivStratPro, a strategic consultancy firm in Kyiv, said the American political machinations and the secret negotiations by Ukrainian officials with Parnas and others had damaged Ukraine's reputation. "This shows the weakness of the Ukrainian institutions, which can also be used by international partners for their own political purposes. Parnas and Fruman knew it and so they smashed this weak point," Semenyuk said. Parnas had a reputation for doing most of the talking on behalf of himself and his associate Fruman, who had the high-level contacts. Parnas said they represented themselves to Ukraine officials as the path to Trump, via Giuliani. The efforts to convince Zelensky to announce an inquiry into Biden are at the heart of the impeachment process. The messages track Parnas' hopes and frustrations as they rose and fell. Parnas, Fruman and Giuliani initially struggled for traction with the administration of newly elected Zelensky, a TV comedian who won the office April 21 on a mandate to end corruption and put a stop to insider deals. Earlier in the year, Parnas had approached Zelensky's predecessor, then-President Petro Poroshenko, Parnas has said, only to see him voted out. At times, Parnas showed frustration when efforts to get Zelensky officials to cooperate stumbled. Giuliani and Parnas struggled and failed to get a meeting between Giuliani and Zelensky in April and May. When his texts to members of Zelensky's presidential administration went unanswered Parnas, left hanging, responded, "??" with double question marks. He sent "??" to a close Zelensky aide, Sergiy Shefir on July 24, the day before the Trump's "do us a favor though" phone call with Zelensky that led to the impeachment trial. It would be Parnas' last message to Shefir. (The week before, Trump had told his acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, to hold back almost $400 million in military aid for Ukraine.) Eight days after Zelensky's inauguration as president on May 20, Parnas was on his phone, trying to contact the Zelensky aide Shefir. He texted Shefir asking when it would be convenient to speak but got no answer. Two question marks elicited no response. He kept trying with Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, a holdover from the Poroshenko administration. 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. Parnas asked him what was going on, resorting again to the double question marks when Avakov failed to respond straight away. Eleven minutes later, Avakov sent back a message that everything was normal and he and others were with Zelensky and he would speak to Parnas the next day. At 7:30 the next morning, a frustrated Parnas erupted in a message to Avakov, apparently referring to Shefir and someone else he called "the relevant person." "Sergei won't connect!!! And no message from the relevant person!!! It's very important that we speak today!!!" he wrote. Sergei is the Russian spelling for Sergiy. Fruman and Parnas also visited Ukrainian billionaire Ihor Kolomoisky, an influential oligarch who is close to Zelensky, in Israel in April, requesting he set up a meeting between Giuliani and Zelensky, without success. However Kolomoisky was still in touch with Parnas as late as September and October. Ukraine, analyst Semenyuk said, had to escape its reputation for secret inside deals with government officials. But he said Zelensky's administration, which has pledged to confront corruption, had inherited the problem. "Ukraine is drawn again into U.S. internal political games, thanks to officials of the former president Poroshenko, who pursued their own goals," Semenyuk said. "Zelensky inherited the system that was built by Poroshenko and now, whether he wants it or not, has to maneuver to avoid being used again by one of the parties of the U.S. presidential elections." Oleksandr Lemenov, of the anti-corruption organization State Watch, said enduring corruption made Ukraine attractive to unscrupulous figures. He saw Parnas and Fruman's reported activities in Ukraine as improper. "The behavior of Fruman and Parnas as representatives of Rudolph Giuliani did not surprise me personally," he said. "We understand that there are certain circles in the U.S. who are abusing their positions." By Tim Hepher DUBLIN, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Brazilian planemaker Embraer is in the advanced stages of studying the launch of a new turboprop aircraft to be developed through a venture it is planning with Boeing, subject to corporate approvals, a top executive said on Monday. The aircraft would be in the same size range or even larger than the 70-seat ATR-72, a Franco-Italian aircraft that currently dominates the market, Embraer Commercial Aviation Chief Executive John Slattery told Reuters. "It sits in our target market, which we have always been clear is below 150 seats, and will have natural adjacency to the E2 offering," he said, referring to the company's family of 80-120-seat regional jets. "The business case is going well." Embraer agreed in 2018 to fold its commercial aircraft activities into a venture to be controlled by Boeing. The deal has won approval from several regulators but the European Union is continuing to evaluate the deal's impact on competition. Slattery said Embraer would not go ahead with the project on a standalone basis because of the cost estimated at billions of dollars and other priorities. But he stressed there was no connection between the turboprop study and talks with regulators over the rest of Embraer's commercial airplane activities. "The amount of balance sheet required for a new state-of-the-art commercial aircraft is of an order of magnitude that we simply dont have the appetite for, outside of the joint-venture environment," Slattery said, adding, "No JV, no TP". He added he did not expect any such hurdle to arise because Embraer remains confident the Boeing deal will be approved on its merits, citing the support of several purchasing airlines. Embraer is also in "meaningful" discussions with engine makers General Electric, Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney Canada about an engine for the new plane. Analysts say turboprops are more efficient than jetliners over short distances, especially when oil prices are high. Airlines have used them to serve isolated communities that would not otherwise have air service in countries like Indonesia. ATR, co-owned by Airbus and Italy's Leonardo , controls about four fifths of the market, with the rest addressed by the De Havilland Canada DHC-8. China is also targeting the turboprop market with its future Xian MA700. (Reporting by Tim Hepher; editing by Mark Potter) After receiving flak for the food served on board Tejas Express on its first commercial run between Mumbai and Ahmedabad on Sunday, the Indian Rail Catering Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), on Monday, changed their menu. IRCTC also introduced board tablets along with headphones as an infotainment option for Tejas commuters. It has changed one of its snack items - sandwich dhokla to khaman dhokla after passengers took to social media to complain about the food quality. In the main course, biryani will now be served to passengers, instead of rajma chawal. The organisation also introduced digital and QR code payment to facilitate on the spot ticket purchase onboard the train. After constant feedback from passengers on the menu and other amenities, changes are being implemented. Besides, the passengers will be able to purchase tickets on-board the premium train. The tickets can be issued through digital payments as well, in case the passenger does not have cash, said a senior IRCTC official. After passengers had raised complaints regarding non-functional LCD screens on-board the Tejas express, IRCTC has introduced the facility to provide tablets for infotainment of the passengers. In a major setback to the Adani Group's bid to get a hold on Mumbai airport, an arbitration tribunal has restrained it from going ahead with buying out the 13.5 per cent stake of South African partner Bidvest Services in the country's the second largest airport. The tribunal has also asked Bidvest to maintain status quo on its stake but asked GVK, which owns 50.5 per cent in the airport, to compensate it for the delay by way of paying interest on the agreed share purchase agreement (Rs 1,248 crore) till the pendency of the case. "It is directed that pending the final disposal of the arbitration proceedings, Bid Services or anyone acting for and on behalf of it is restrained from alienating in any manner its 16.20 crore (13.5 per cent) equity shares in Mumbai international airport and that the escrow documents submitted to the tribunal by GVK to show its compliance of the September 15, 2019 order will not be altered till the end of the arbitral proceedings," the tribunal said in a 55-page order dated January 19. The case was sent for arbitration on July 2, 2019 by the Delhi High Court. The tribunal comprising retired justices KPS Radhakrishnan, AK Patanaik and Madan B Lokur, also asked GVK to pay interest to Bidvest Services on the agreed share purchase amount till the pendency of the issue. The tribunal has based its order on the fact that GVK has been able to satisfy all the parameters required for granting the interim order even though it could not deposit on its own the purchase amount into the escrow account because GVK made the fund transfer by two companies-Green Rock B 2015 of Jersey and Indo-Infra Inc of Canada. The Bombay High Court had late October asked GVK to close the deal by November 7, 2019 in third extension to arrange the Rs 1,248-crore or Rs 77 a share for the deal, valuing MIAL at Rs 9,500 crore. The Adanis', which already has won the bids to run six Airport Authority-built non-metro airports in Lucknow, Jaipur, Guwahati, Ahmedabad, Thiruvananthapuram and Mangalore, bid to enter the country's second busiest airport by buying out Bid Services Division Mauritius (Bidvest) from MIAL was stalled after GVK chose to exercise its first right of refusal, and matched the Rs 1,248-crore offer that the Adanis made to the Bidvest in March. The GVK Group exercised its right under clause 3.7 of the shareholders agreement (rights of first refusal) to purchase the shares. But the group failed to purchase the same within the time prescribed in the agreement, the plea said. According to the agreement, the date to make the payment and to transfer the shares was September 30 which was later extended by consent twice to November 7. On September 15, an arbitral tribunal, which heard the case between GVK and Bidvest, gave GVK time till October 31 to deposit the money. According to the arbitral order, if GVK failed to deposit the money, Bidvest was free to sell its stake to anyone else. On March 5, 2019, Bidvest had entered into an agreement with the Adanis to sell its entire 13.5 per cent stake in the airport for a consideration of Rs 1,248 crore. But later GVK made the counter offer, forcing the Adanis to move the Bombay High Court on September 4 claiming that the March pact with Bidvest was valid, subsisting and binding. According to the petition, GVK had exercised its right of first refusal before the 30-day mandated time frame on April 4. MIAL is 50.5 per cent owned by GVK Group, 26 per cent by the national airports operator AAI, 13.5 per cent by Bidevest and remaining 10 per cent by ACSA Global (Airports Company of South Africa). In the meanwhile, late June GVK had also moved the Delhi High Court seeking an injunction against Bidvest from offering or selling its shares to any person other than GVK, the Adanis said in their suit. Though the Delhi HC had on July 2 dismissed the petition noting that the company had not shown its willingness to complete the deal, a division bench later sent the dispute for arbitration. In the run-up to the November 7 deadline, the debt-laden GVK Group had on October 28 entered into an agreement to sell 79 per cent of its stake in GVK Airport Holdings for Rs 7,614 crore to the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, PSP Investments of Canada, and the state-owned National Investment and Infrastructure Fund. The move was aimed at preventing the Adanis, who have taken over five AAI-run airports earlier this year. The GVK Group also owns the upcoming Navi Mumbai international airport and a stake in MIAL will give an equal stake in the new airport as well. Adanis are also ready to buy out ACSA's 10 per cent but is stuck on valuation. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The first night train to set off for Belgium in 16 years departed from Vienna Sunday, carrying Austrian and European politicians who hope the new route can set an example as the continent tries to meet its climate targets. The carriages of the "OBB Nightjet" pulled out of Vienna's main station punctually at 8:38 pm to the strains of a live band playing the EU anthem "Ode to Joy", the slogan #loveyourplanet emblazoned along their sides. Scheduled to arrive in Brussels at 10:55 am on Monday, the rail journey emits less than a tenth of the CO2 per passenger than the equivalent flight. Austrian state railway company OeBB has for several years been a pioneer in the revival of night trains, and OeBB board chairman Andreas Matthae said he was "proud" of the new route. Joining a clutch of Austrian MEPs was Martin Selmayr, previously the powerful chief of staff to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and now the EU's representative in Vienna. For British holidaymaker Daniel, 35, the train was the clear choice -- not for environmental reasons but for comfort. "No airport routine, it's nice and easy... it's relaxing," he told AFP. Liesbet Vandebroek, who lives in Austria but works for the tourism authority of Belgium's Flanders region, said it was important for her to make the frequent journey to Brussels with "as small a footprint as possible" but also waxed lyrical about the romance of the night train. "As a student I travelled everywhere with the night train, it's so leisurely... and very nostalgic," said Vandebroek. The Vienna to Brussels service will initially run on Sundays and Wednesdays. The return leg will run on Mondays and Thursdays with a portion splitting off to serve Munich and Innsbruck. In October OeBB said that bookings on its night trains were up 11 percent year-on-year. With prices for non-sleeper seats as low as 19 euros ($21), it says its services are competitive with low-cost airlines -- although sleeper berths can cost considerably more. OeBB operates, either alone or in partnership, 27 night trains with another new service to Amsterdam scheduled to start in December. At the end of 2016 OeBB bought the night trains of the state rail operator in neighbouring Germany, Deutsche Bahn, which Matthae admitted was seen as risky at the time. Austria's new Green Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler said that that decision had been vindicated and that the new route was in line with the Austrian government's ambition to make the country carbon neutral by 2040. "There is no other city in the European Union that has so many night trains departing from Vienna, and the network can be expanded further," Gewessler said. Scheduled to arrive in Brussels at 10:55 am on Monday, the rail journey from Vienna emits less than a tenth of the CO2 per passenger than the equivalent flight Inside Hook Last month, Harvey Weinstein reached a $25 million settlement with 30 women who had accused him of sexual misconduct. At the time, The New York Times reported that the settlement would not require the Hollywood producer to admit wrongdoing or pay anything to his accusers himself. Some may have seen that news and thought that it let Weinstein off a little too easy, considering the things hes been accused of. As it turns out, several of Weinsteins accusers have opted out of the settlement the latest of whom, Dominique Huett, talked with The Guardian about her decision. Boots on the Ground Theater is presenting Aliyah at its charity gala on Jan. 25, 7 p.m., at KDS One Studios, 3601 Vineland Road, Suite 10, Orlando. Aliyah is a short experimental documentary that tells the story of a Holocaust survivor whose daughter is now a refugee displaced by the conflict in the Ukraine. The film combines original choreography, newly composed music, and hundreds of hours of on-the-ground interviews, all to answer the question, why are Jewish people leaving Ukraine? Jewish history in Ukraine is marked with persecution and intolerance. From the massacre of Jewish populations in the 7th century, the death of 1 million Jewish Ukrainians during WWII, to the 34,000 murdered in two days at Babi Yar; Jewish people have endured tremendous suffering. Today with anti-Semitism at a comparable low in Ukraine, why are Jewish populations still trying to leave the country? The Aliyah script is pulled directly from interviews done in Ukraine in 2018 and after years of repression, finally the stories of Ukrainian people are coming to the light. Aliyah is designed to inspire activism by bringing the first-hand accounts of emigration, intolerance, and resiliency of Jewish Ukrainians to life. Through partnerships with international aid organizations, Aliyah supplies each of its viewers with real-life action plans to advocate for Jewish Ukrainians living right now. Will you make sure people hear their story? Attire is Black Tie. There will be cocktails and light hors de-oeuvres. Proceeds will bring untold stories to light. This viewing is free and open to the public. Please RSVP to Charlotte at coverby@botgtheater.org or call 843-655-4953. BLRLABS has an outstanding record of success with some of the worlds top technology customers and we look forward to a strong and long-lasting partnership between our two companies." - Roy Jewell, Palma Ceia Palma Ceia SemiDesign, a provider of next-generation wireless connectivity solutions, today announced it has entered into a sales and support representative agreement with BLRLABS of Bangalore, India. Under the terms of the agreement, BLRLABS will provide expanded sales and technical support for Palma Ceia SemiDesigns NB-IoT products in India. Establishing sales and support capabilities for our customers in India is critical as we expand our global footprint, said Roy E. Jewell, chief executive officer of Palma Ceia SemiDesign. BLRLABS has an outstanding record of success with some of the worlds top technology customers and we look forward to a strong and long-lasting partnership between our two companies. BLRLABS seeks to co-create next-generation products by combining its expertise with that of its customers and technology partners. The companys solutions team works with product companies to plan & execute new business avenues while the design services team works as an extension of product development companies to meet their product realization. BLRLABS has affiliations with academia as well as with industry. We are excited to bring Palma Ceias NB-IoT technology to India, where some of the worlds top semiconductor companies operate, said Ravishankar Balasubramanian, chief executive officer of BLRLABS. India welcomes these technologies as a platform to enable smart systems across the board. We expect explosive growth to continue in the developing NB-IoT technologies, and we look forward to working with the Palma Ceia team to expand this growth. Palma Ceia SemiDesigns NB-IoT products support cellular standards targeted to support applications such as industrial IoT, smart cities, smart health and smart home -- sensor and cellular connection applications which typically need to operate under battery power for 10 years or more. The relationship with BLRLABS is the latest step in Palma Ceia SemiDesigns global expansion. In October 2019 the company added a design team in Cambridge, United Kingdom, and previously opened facilities in Hong Kong and China. Contact information is available on the Palma Ceia SemiDesign website. About BLRLABS BLRLABS is a technology pivot for co-designing hardware and software solutions. The companys proven expertise enables it to offer services in cutting-edge semiconductor design and system software. BLRLABS also offers product engineering services for various vertical markets of the Internet of Things. Visit BLRLABS on the web at http://www.blrlabs.com About Palma Ceia SemiDesign Palma Ceia SemiDesign (PCS) is a leading provider of communication IP and semiconductors for next-generation WiFi and cellular applications. With a focus on emerging WiFi and LTE standards, PCS targets the design of ICs for broadband, wireless, medical and automotive applications. Palma Ceia solutions are differentiated by low-power, high-performance and ease of integration. With operational headquarters in Hong Kong, the company has design centers in Cambridge (UK), Hong Kong (PRC), and McKinney, Texas (USA). Additional sales and support activities are located in greater China, Israel, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. Visit Palma Ceia SemiDesign on the web at http://www.pcsemi.com. Palma Ceia SemiDesign and the Palma Ceia SemiDesign logo are trademarks of Palma Ceia SemiDesign, a Cayman Islands corporation, and are protected by trademark laws of the United States and other jurisdictions. All other product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Palma Ceia SemiDesign Media Contact John Molyneux press@pcsemi.com BLRLABS Media Contact Vivek pr@blrlabs.com The worlds newest oil frontier, Guyana, has officially shipped its very first batch of crude oil on Monday, according to TankerTrackers.coma major oil-first for the South American country. The first batch of oila million barrels of Liza sweet crude oilis currently on a Suezmax tanker Yannis P headed for the United States, Tanker Trackers said. The Liza field is co-owned by Hess Corp (NYSE: HES), Chinas CNOOC, and operator ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM)who is the envy of all oil companies at the moment for 15 mouthwatering finds offshore Guyana. The project has uncovered more than 6 billion barrels of recoverable oil and gas, although a more recent find earlier this month will increase that figure. It is not yet known which of ExxonMobils US refineries the new crude will end up in. All in all, ExxonMobil and its partners are expecting to produce at least 750,000 barrels per day within five yearsa figure that if achieved would catapult Guyana into a serious global oil player. Guyanas most recent discovery courtesy of Exxon and Hess was from Mako-1, which is also in the Stabroek block. Exxons quick success in Guyana has triggered an exploration campaign in neighboring Suriname, with a Total/Apache partnership striking oil right across the border just last week. The development brings hope to Suriname that it, too, could one day become an oil powerhouse. HES stock has jumped from $51.87 a year ago, to $69.90 today, while XOM is trading down from $71.89 a year ago to $68.56 today. Meanwhile, Apache is trading nearly flat year over year. Speaking of the landmark moment, Guyanas Acting Prime Minister Khemraj Ramjattan called ExxonMobil the bravest, the most technologically driven with a record of durability second to none in the industry. By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The HSE has warned young people about the dangers of using laughing gas, saying it can lead to death by suffocation. The executive said it has become aware of anecdotal reports of the use of laughing gas, or nitrous oxide, among young people, particularly among festival-goers. The gas is intended for use as an anaesthetic in dental practices or as propellant in whipped-cream canisters. Nitrous oxide is a colourless gas that people inhale, usually from a balloon. To consume it, people open the cannister, which is easily bought legally online, transfer the gas into a balloon and inhale from it. "We are aware that nitrous oxide can be bought online from a number of different websites. Costs will vary, with some sites selling boxes of cartridges for 8 to 10 up to 30 or 40, depending on the quantity and product," said a HSE spokesperson. As with many other substances, the quality and purity of nitrous oxide depends on the source. When inhaled, the drug creates a short-lasting euphoria. However, the HSE spokesperson said: "There are a number of risks associated with use, it is known that death from suffocation or lack of oxygen can occur. Nitrous oxide can displace the air in the lungs and can temporarily prevent oxygen from entering the bloodstream. "Long-term risks associated with frequent use can lead to red blood cell problems and Vitamin B deficiency." Irish tourists may have come in contact with nitrous oxide while on holidays in Europe or Asia. In the Netherlands, laughing gas has been available in nightclubs as balloons filled from large canisters or as small canisters available from head shops. In response to a rapid increase in the use of nitrous oxide among young people, the Dutch government plans to include laughing gas on its blacklist of forbidden drugs. Last summer, the HSE launched an online survey in partnership with Trinity College Dublin to gather data on drug trends and harm reduction among Irish festival attendees. Unpublished preliminary data from more than 1,000 respondents indicates that nitrous oxide use is emerging as an issue among Irish festival-goers. Under Irish legislation, it is illegal to sell it for human consumption and to consume it. However due to its use in the catering industry, the gas can be purchased in large quantities online with relative ease. Joe Biden's campaign launched an all-out defense of his son Hunter Monday ahead of Donald Trump's impeachment trial, calling claims they worked together corruptly in Ukraine 'a debunked conspiracy theory.' The former vice president's campaign claimed in a memo sent to 'reporters and editors' Monday that the press needs to be careful not to contribute to 'spreading a malicious and conclusively debunked conspiracy theory.' Trump claims there was a conflict of interest when Hunter Biden took a job with Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian natural gas firm, while his father was still serving as vice president. The president has also questioned publicly Hunter's qualifications to become a board member at Burisma - and demanded Biden and his son give evidence at his own impeachment trial, which begins Tuesday. But the Biden campaign said: 'It is not sufficient to say the allegations are 'unsubstantiated' or that 'no evidence has emerged to support them. 'Not only is there 'no evidence' for Republicans' main argument against the Vice President there is a mountain of evidence that actively debunks it. And it is malpractice to ignore that truth.' Biden, who is running in the Democratic presidential primary, has asserted his son did not engaged in any unethical behavior - but has offered two different versions of whether he knew his son had become a member of the board of Burisma. Joe Biden's campaign is demanding media outlets don't allow Donald Trump's rhetoric about him and his son be included in their coverage of impeachment and the Ukraine scandal 'It is not sufficient to say the allegations are 'unsubstantiated' or that 'no evidence has emerged to support them,' the memo states, urging outlets not to let any political entity be their editors The Biden camp wants to make sure that media outlets' coverage of impeachment and the candidate do not contribute to this rhetoric, the campaign said. The move represents both a pre-emptive defense of both Bidens in an impeachment trial which will focus on Trump's demand that they be investigate, and a new element in Democrats' assault on Trump himself. It is also an unusual attempt to directly influence media outlets, who Biden's campaign calculate will feel obliged to use their rebuttal when claims of corruption are leveled at the father and son. So far no concrete proof of corruption has emerged despite months of focus on the Bidens, including by Trump's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, who instead is himself apparently the focus of a criminal investigation by federal prosecutors in New York. 'No political entity not the Republican Party nor the Democratic party, not the Biden campaign nor the Trump campaign can ever be allowed to act as your editors,' the memo read. It also listed several examples when different outlets outright said Biden engaged in 'corrupt' activities as vice president. Trump, in a call with his Ukrainian counterpart in July brought up Biden's business dealings, urging Volodymyr Zelesnky to open an investigation into his political rival. This sparked the events that eventually led to the House voting to impeach the president. Biden, while serving as Barack Obama's No. 2, removed a prosecutor, which the Trump administration claims was done to stop Hunter from getting investigated. In the Biden memo, sent from his deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield and senior advisor, Tony Blinken, it demanded members of the media stop suggesting through reporting that 'Biden engaged in wrongdoing when he executed official United States policy to remove a corrupt prosecutor from office.' 'To fail to make clear that the conspiracy theory and false accusations about Joe Biden have been comprehensively disproven, to artificially prop-up these egregious lies based on the 'principle' that if partisans make accusations, they have to be treated as legitimate regardless of the facts, is to make you an enabler of misinformation,' the memo threatens. While the gaffe-filled candidate claims there was no unethical behavior, he has been inconsistent when it comes to his and his son's dealings with Ukraine. Stop 'spreading a malicious and conclusively debunked conspiracy theory,' the memo demands Trump insists there is a conflict of interest between Biden's position as former vice president and his son's position on the board of a Ukrainian natural gas firm He told Axios last month that he wouldn't look into it further because 'I trust my son.' However, in an interview last week with The New York Times, he claimed he 'didn't realize' Hunter's position with Burisma until 'after he had been on the board. 'He has come forward and said it was a mistake on his part to be on the board,' Biden added on his son's role. The three-page memo comes just a day before the Senate is set to begin the impeachment trial against Donald Trump. Trump has deflected, claiming he is being impeached for making a 'perfect call' with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelesnky to flesh out issues with corruption in the Eastern European nation. He also insists it should be the Bidens who are being looked into by Congress not him. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the upper chamber would decide after opening arguments this week if they want to allow witnesses to be called in the trial. But Republicans warn that if Democrats get their way and end up calling individuals to testify, like Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton, then the GOP might end up calling witnesses like Joe and Hunter Biden and even the anonymous whistle-blower. Flying with large amounts of cash can be hazardous to your financial health. Case in point is the story, told by TribLive, of a woman flying out of Pittsburgh with $82,373, cash the life-savings of her 79-year-old father, a retired railroad engineer in western Pa. The woman, Rebecca Brown, 54, of Lowell, Mass., tells TribLive her father, Terry Rolin, of South Fayette, had entrusted her to manage his life savings while she was visiting him last year. Brown was flying back and says she didnt have time to bank the cash, which her dad had stashed at his house. So she attempted to carry it on the plane in a small, zippered bag inside a satchel. Instead, Brown had the cash seized at Pittsburgh International Airport, and now the government agencies involved want to keep the cash, TribLive reports, adding: Brown, now represented by the Institute for Justice, a nonprofit legal group in Washington, D.C., said a TSA agent working at a security checkpoint questioned her about the cash. Then later after being cleared but before boarding the plane, she said she was approached by a state trooper and a DEA agent, who asked about the money and had her call her father. The officials apparently didnt like the answers and took the cash. Later, the DEA sent Brown a civil forfeiture notice, informing her they intended to keep the cash, citing a broad catchall about seizing anything related to controlled substances, according to her lawyer, Dan Alban, a senior attorney with the Institute for Justice. Alban, whose group has filed suit for the cash on Browns behalf, told this to TribLive: Flying with any amount of cash is completely legal. But the TSA and the DEA have a policy that if you hit a certain threshold, its suspicious. For the DEA, its $5,000. For the TSA, we think its about $10,000. If youre flying internationally and you have more than $10,000, you have to fill out a form. But this was a domestic flight from Pittsburgh to Boston. And you dont forfeit your rights when you try to board an airplane. Perhaps not. But you still may lose your large wad of cash, anyway. Is it worth it? READ MORE: Heartfelt Sympathy: Pa. university in mourning for student hit, killed by bus Pa. public defender accused of stabbing her fiance, also a public defender Pa. man guilty of 9th DUI learns his fate Fingernail clipper becomes fatal weapon as wife stabs husband: cops Baby-faced fugitive nabbed after breaking out of Pa. sheriff deputys car Suspect, age 41, sought in rape of 13-year-old Pa. girl: state cops 2 babysitting teen girls behind video of vaping 2-year-old: cops Armenia News - NEWS.am presents a daily digest as of 20.01.2020: The funeral of Georgi Kutoyan, NSS former director, was held Monday in Yerevan. His dead body was found on January 17 by his wife, in his paternal apartment in Yerevan, with gunshot wounds. According to Armenian IC, no traces of violence were found on Kutoyan's body. By the way, in late December 2019, Kutoyan reportedly visited the apartment, where, after using alcohol, fired 35 irregular shots at the living room wall, from a legally owned pistol. Cattle farmers in Armenia have been protesting in Yerevan complaining about the conditions proposed by the countrys slaughterhouses. Armenias cattle farmers, who are protesting the government's decision on mandatory slaughtering of animals in slaughterhouses, have ended their protest in front of the government building Monday and will meet outside the government tomorrow until the issue is resolved. By the way, one of the demonstrators invited the head of the Food Safety Inspectorate for a debate. The Armenian and Artsakh MPs have adopted a joint statement condemning the Armenian pogroms in Baku 30 years ago. The statement was adopted at the conclusion of the joint special session of the interparliamentary committee of Artsakh and Armenia parliaments, and dedicated to the 30th anniversary of these pogroms. The MPs call on parliaments and parliamentary assemblies, international organizations, human rights organizations to condemn the atrocities committed by Azerbaijan against the Armenian population and the international humanitarian law violations which threaten the security, stability and development of not only the Armenian people, but the entire region, to take effective steps to prevent them. Netherlands FM Stef Blok will be in Armenia on an official visit from January 22 to 23. During the visit, the FM will meet his Armenian counterpart Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and PM Nikol Pashinyan. Blok will also visit the Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex. Greco-Roman wrestling Olympic champion, three-time World, four-time European, and European Games champion Arthur Aleksanyan won a gold medal at the United World Wrestling Grand Prix de France Henri Deglane in Nice, France. Armenia's Aleksanyan beat Azerbaijan's Orkhan Nuriyev 3-1. And Armenia's Karapet Chalyan won a silver medal in the final of the 77kg competition. Terrorist units on Sunday launched an attack on a Russian OTU base in Hmeimim, Syria, with drones fired from the de-escalation zone in northern Syria, SANA news agency reported. According to the agency, the anti-aircraft units in Latakia opened fire on these air targets. Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle will lose their royal titles and will no longer receive public funds, the Buckingham Palace said in a statement. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex also announced that they intend to return the 2.4 million pounds spent from the UK budget to repair their Windsor house. The two will also no longer represent the Queen. According to Prince Harry, it brings me great sadness that it has come to this. President Donald Trumps legal team asserted that he did absolutely nothing wrong, calling the impeachment case against him flimsy and a dangerous perversion of the constitution. The brief from Mr Trumps lawyers, filed ahead of arguments expected later this week in the Senate impeachment trial, offered the most detailed glimpse of the lines of defence they intend to use against Democratic efforts to convict the president and oust him from office over his dealings with Ukraine. It is meant as a counter to a brief filed two days ago by House Democrats that summarised weeks of evidence from more than a dozen witnesses in laying out the impeachment case. The 110-page filing from the White House shifted the tone toward a more legal response but still hinged on Mr Trumps assertion he did nothing wrong and did not commit a crime even though impeachment does not depend on a material violation of law but rather on the more vague definition of other high crimes and misdemeanours as established in the Constitution. It says the two articles of impeachment brought against the president, abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, do not amount to impeachment offences. All of that is a dangerous perversion of the Constitution that the Senate should swiftly and roundly condemnDonald Trump's legal team It asserts that the impeachment inquiry centred on Mr Trumps request that Ukraines president open an investigation into Democratic rival Joe Biden was never about finding the truth. Instead, House Democrats were determined from the outset to find some way any way to corrupt the extraordinary power of impeachment for use as a political tool to overturn the result of the 2016 election and to interfere in the 2020 election, Mr Trumps legal team wrote. All of that is a dangerous perversion of the constitution that the Senate should swiftly and roundly condemn. The prosecution team of House managers was expected to spend another day on Capitol Hill preparing for the trial, which will be under heavy security. Ahead of the filing, House prosecutors arrived on Capitol Hill to tour the Senate chamber. Opening arguments are expected within days following a debate over rules. The White House brief argues that the articles of impeachment passed by the House are structurally deficient because they charge multiple acts, creating a menu of options as possible grounds for conviction. Expand Close President Donald Trump (Susan Walsh/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp President Donald Trump (Susan Walsh/AP) The Trump team claims that the Constitution requires that senators agree on the specific basis for conviction and that there is no way to ensure that the senators agree on which acts are worthy of removal. Senior administration officials argued that similar imprecision in the articles applied to the multi-part article of impeachment for perjury in the Bill Clinton impeachment trial. They accused Democrats of diluting the standards for impeachment, an argument that echoed the case made Sunday by one of Trumps lawyers, Alan Dershowitz, who contended on a series of talk shows that impeachable offences must be criminal-like conduct. That assertion has been rejected by scholars, and Representative Adam Schiff, the Democratic chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, called it an absurdist position. Egypts Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Ahmed Hafez warned in statement on Sunday of the consequences of any unilateral measures that violate Cypriot rights and threaten the security and stability of the Eastern Mediterranean region. Hafez emphasised Egypt's support of the rights and sovereignty of Cyprus over its resources in the Eastern Mediterranean region, including the areas where Cyprus has been given licenses for offshore oil and gas exploration. Hafez stressed on the necessity of respecting and complying with the rules and provisions of international law. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised last Thursday that Turkey would start exploring for gas in the eastern Mediterranean this year in the maritime zone of Cyprus, after signing a maritime deal with Libya last year. The Cypriot presidency issued a statement on Sunday saying that "Turkey is turning into a pirate state in the Eastern Mediterranean." EU foreign policy spokesman Peter Stano said in a statement on Saturday that it is illegal for Turkey to drill for oil and gas around Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean. The EU has called on Turkey to pull back on its plans. Possible sanctions on Turkey could be discussed as early as Monday when the bloc's foreign ministers meet in Brussels, the AFP cited EU officials as saying. Turkey claims that it is drilling inside its continental shelf and that its actions are in accordance with international law. Turkey has been occupying the northern third of the Cypriot island since 1974 in response to a coup d'etat by a Greek military junta aimed at uniting the island with Greece. The remaining part of the island is controlled by the Republic of Cyprus. Search Keywords: Short link: MILAN (Reuters) - The leader of Italy's right-wing League party, Matteo Salvini, has defiantly asked to be put on trial over his handling of migrants at sea last year when he was interior minister in the previous government. Salvini has denounced moves to put him on trial over the incident last July in which he refused to let 131 migrants rescued at sea disembark from a coastguard vessel until other European states agreed to take them in. MILAN (Reuters) - The leader of Italy's right-wing League party, Matteo Salvini, has defiantly asked to be put on trial over his handling of migrants at sea last year when he was interior minister in the previous government. Salvini has denounced moves to put him on trial over the incident last July in which he refused to let 131 migrants rescued at sea disembark from a coastguard vessel until other European states agreed to take them in. A special Senate committee is due to vote on Monday on whether to accept a request by a special tribunal to put him on trial, a step that is required by law in cases involving former ministers. Campaigning ahead of a vital election in the north-central region of Emilia Romagna, he has used the incident to attack judges and the ruling coalition, saying he is being targeted for doing his duty as a minister to protect the country. "I say this to those senators who have to decide whether to send me to trial or not, I ask you formally, send me to trial, send me to trial because the Italian people will be on trial with me," he told a rally in the town of Maranello. "And if I have to go to jail for defending an idea, I'll go with my head held high." If Salvini does go to trial and is found guilty of illegally detaining the migrants, he could theoretically face up to 15 years in jail although that would only come at the end of a long appeals process. Salvini, who quit the government with the League last year, had pledged to stop migrant boats arriving from Libya by making it more difficult for them to dock in Italian ports. The League, which has a strong lead in national opinion polls, is hoping victory in Emilia Romagna, a traditional stronghold of the left in Italy, will bring down the government in Rome and trigger new elections. (Reporting by James Mackenzie; Editing by Nick Macfie) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. New Delhi: Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat has said on Monday that all the three organs of the Army have been asked to be prepared to deal with any situation regarding Pakistan. General Rawat said that what kind of situation will be formed in the coming time, it cannot be estimated. Therefore, we are fully prepared to face any situation. Mamata Banerjee's rally in Darjeeling against CAA says- "Proposal will be passed against this law" In fact, today the 12th squadron of Sukhoi 30 MKI equipped with BrahMos was officially deployed at Thanjavur Air Force Station in Tamil Nadu. This squadron will monitor the Indian waters in the Indian Ocean. CDS Bipin Rawat was present on this occasion. It is noteworthy that General Bipin Rawat had a meeting with the chiefs of the three armies a day after taking over as the country's first Chief of Defense Staff (CDS). CAA: Women with children persisting in protest even in cold winter During this meeting, he gave instructions to prepare a proposal to establish Air Defense Command for all the three forces. During the meeting, he also set a time period for the proposal. The Defense Ministry has stated that, 'The deadline for this proposal is 30 June 2020.' Walls of the mosque turned red with blood, corpses lying on the floor, this is the painful tale of 100 deaths In her 30-year insurance career in Los Angeles, Carrillo has worked as both an underwriter and surplus lines broker, including 20 years working for surplus lines brokerages in the western region. We are excited to announce that as of January 2020, Juliet has opened up access to two different competitive, limited distribution Habitational and Lessor's Risk Property programs. For the time being, Worldwide Facilities' access to these programs is exclusively through Juliet and she is happy to work collaboratively with other Worldwide Facilities producers. Carrillo has a strong underwriting background and detailed knowledge of underwriting guidelines and risk appetite. In her new role at Worldwide Facilities, Juliet plans to continue leveraging her knowledge and strong relationships into continued and new business opportunities. Contact Juliet Carrillo Assistant Vice President, Broker Direct: 213-236-4500 [email protected] About Worldwide Facilities Worldwide Facilities is a national wholesale insurance broker, managing general agent and program underwriter that has been in business since 1970. Its brokers and underwriters are industry leaders providing expertise in a wide range of specialty lines, as well as extensive contacts with carriers domestically and overseas. For more information, please visit wwfi.com. Media Contact: Erika Guerra, [email protected], Direct: 213-236-4509 SOURCE Worldwide Facilities, LLC Related Links https://www.wwfi.com Karen Matthews is planning to have a baby with her convicted paedophile fiance, a former friend has claimed - just hours after it reported that she was offered 50,000 to leave the country and never return. The 44-year-old, dubbed 'Britain's worst mother' after she faked her own daughter's kidnapping in 2008, is planning a baby with Paul Saunders, who was himself jailed for five years for sexually abusing a 15-year-old girl. 'The recent behaviour has shocked me. She knows about his past, she doesn't care. She just doesn't think that there's anything wrong. 'She thinks he's the victim in all of this. Now she's planning on having a baby with him. God forbid if they ever have a child,' the friend told The Sun. She has piled on two stone after getting hooked on Haribo sweets, and is worried about her hair falling out due to stress and from dying it to hide her identity Meanwhile, it emerged today that Matthews was offered 50,000 to leave the country and never return in a mystery hand-delivered note posted through her door. Matthews received the note after angering locals in a town in southern England where she moved to after her release from a four-year stint in prison. Neighbours are angry because she believes herself to be a minor celebrity after getting engaged to handyman lover Paul Saunders, 57, who himself was jailed for sexually abusing a 15-year-old girl. The fee offered is the same amount she tried to get in reward money after staging her daughter Shannon Matthew's disappearance in 2008. Karen Matthews, who is dubbed 'Britain's worst mother' after she faked her own daughter's kidnapping in 2008, and then more recently got engaged to a convicted paedophile - was initially spooked by the letter but is now thinking about starting afresh abroad. The note reads: 'Don't panic. Dear Miss Karen or whatever you call yourself now. 'I speak on behalf of many people. I will happily give you 50k you still seem to be searching for. In return I require you shut the f**k up and leave the country!! 'No f***ing kidding. 'Think hard on this. I'll be in touch. 'Bye.' A source said: 'She was really spooked when she first got it. But she thinks it is genuine and now has pound signs in her eyes. 'She keeps checking to see if she has had any more letters because they said they'd be in touch again. 'It is the exact amount for the reward money when Shannon went missing.' Matthews and her then-partner's uncle Michael Donovan were jailed for staging her daughter Shannon's abduction in a bid to pocket reward money 12 years ago (Shannon Matthews above) Matthews got engaged with a charity shop ring over Christmas and is planning a make-over - including weight loss and having her teeth done - before the wedding. She has piled on two stone after getting hooked on Haribo sweets, and is worried about her hair falling out due to stress and from dying it to hide her identity. She is hoping to get a celebrity agent too before her nuptials. Convicted paedophile Saunders was jailed for five years in 2010 for sexually abusing a 15-year-old girl. He was arrested on suspicion of breaching his parole terms two weeks ago but was later released. He and Karen fell out after she found out about his past but have now made up. Last year she tried to flog the rights to her autobiography to fund cosmetic surgery. She wanted to raise 12,000 for the treatments including a nose job and an eye lift, but couldn't find a publisher. Matthews has found love after struggling to make friends since she got out of jail. Last March, she resorted to sharing her problems with her pet budgie - Bobby - who she considered as a son. She spoke to him every day after living alone in a one-bed flat. In November, she bragged she was a real-life Del Boy after becoming a big fan of Flog It and Cash in the Attic. She became convinced she was going to make a fortune by finding a real treasure in an antiques shop. Matthews and her then-partner's uncle Michael Donovan were jailed for staging her daughter Shannon's abduction in a bid to pocket reward money 12 years ago. Donovan, now 51, kept the youngster drugged in his flat in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, for 24 days. Police then raided it and found her hidden inside a divan bed base. The pair were each jailed for eight years after being convicted of kidnapping, false imprisonment and perverting justice. Matthews was freed in 2012 after doing just four years. RICHMOND, Va. - Tens of thousands of protesters many decked out in full tactical gear and toting assault-style rifles, others brandishing colonial-era symbols of American liberty flooded the downtown core of Virginia's capital city Monday in a well-armed show of defiance and force against what they consider a Democratic attack on their right to bear arms. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/1/2020 (722 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Demonstrators stand outside a security zone before a pro-gun rally, Monday, Jan. 20, 2020, in Richmond, Va. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) RICHMOND, Va. - Tens of thousands of protesters many decked out in full tactical gear and toting assault-style rifles, others brandishing colonial-era symbols of American liberty flooded the downtown core of Virginia's capital city Monday in a well-armed show of defiance and force against what they consider a Democratic attack on their right to bear arms. Fearing a repeat of the deadly race-fuelled violence in 2017 that marred the reputation of the nearby city of Charlottesville, state, local and legislative police turned out in kind, herding huge crowds of people past miles of chain-link fencing and crowd-control barriers in what ultimately turned out to be a peaceful, even friendly, public display of grassroots American outrage. With security forcing people through a single, carefully controlled entrance to the lawn in front of the capitol, most chose to deliver their message from the streets instead, where chants of "U.S.A." and "We will not comply" rippled readily through the crowd. At one point, a man led a group standing in front of the U.S. Court of Appeals through a full-throated rendition of the pledge of allegiance. "We have the right to protect ourselves in this country it's a God-given right in this country," said Vanessa Dallas, brandishing an American flag decorated with the language of the Second Amendment on its red and white stripes. "We have rights, they're trying to take them away from us, and it's wrong. Wrong." Concerns that white supremacists and other far-right groups would show up to foment discord notorious conspiracy theorist Alex Jones muscled his way through security at one point had dissipated by midday, notwithstanding Gov. Ralph Northam's decision last week to declare a state of emergency and enforce stringent controls on people entering the legislative grounds. Those fears appeared rooted in an alleged plot, foiled last week by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, to sow chaos and violence among the crowd by three men accused of being members of the neo-Nazi group the Base, including Canadian fugitive Patrik Mathews. Mathews, a 27-year-old former combat engineer with 38 Canadian Brigade Group in Winnipeg who vanished last August, was arrested in the U.S. along with two U.S. citizens charged with harbouring him: Brian Mark Lemley, 33, and 19-year-old William Garfield Bilbrough. All three are scheduled to appear at bail hearings Wednesday. Instead of violence and hatred, Monday's protest appeared to bear out one of the primary arguments of the people who took part: that they are peaceful, passionate Americans who are simply out to defend their rights and defy those they believe want to take them away. "This is the United States. We need to protect our Second Amendment," said Jean Gannon, a Republican activist wearing a pink "Mothers for Trump" ball cap as she gathered signatures for a petition opposing the gun-control measures. "It's always a concern when you have this many people in a group, but I would say that most of the people here are good, law-abiding citizens and they're not going to let anybody get hurt." Although predominantly white males, Monday's protesters ran the gamut: men and women both, from bearded hipsters in camo hoodies and cargo pants to elderly farmers and hunters making their way through the crowd on gnarled wooden walking sticks. Most wore bright orange stickers reading, "Guns save lives." Armament, however, was the accessory of choice, particularly among the many self-styled militia members. One body-armoured enthusiast, rubbing his hands against the bitter January wind, leaned against a nearby fence and chatted with a group of fellow gun enthusiasts, flanked by a high-calibre sniper rifle almost as long as he was tall, a small U.S. flag protruding from the muzzle. Another common sentiment appeared to be solidarity with President Donald Trump, whose now-familiar campaign slogans and logos were everywhere. Street vendors peddled red "Make America Great Again" winter hats, a popular defence against the cold. From his nearby perch in Washington, Trump whose impeachment trial in the Senate gets underway in earnest Tuesday tweeted his support with a characteristic dig at his political nemeses. "The Democrat Party in the Great Commonwealth of Virginia are working hard to take away your 2nd Amendment rights," he tweeted. "This is just the beginning. Don't let it happen, VOTE REPUBLICAN in 2020!" Virginia Democrats hope to limit handgun purchases to once a month, impose universal background checks, permit municipal bans in public buildings and parks and temporarily take guns away from anyone deemed to be dangerous to themselves or others. A deep riptide of apprehension ran beneath the festive atmosphere. "The second amendment wasn't put in our constitution so we could go hunting. The main reason was so we could protect ourselves from a tyrannical government," said Dennis Gelardos, an emissary from the Virginia Citizens Defense League, which organized the event, and a group called Convention of States, which lobbies for stricter restrictions on government power. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 20, 2020. Follow James McCarten on Twitter @CdnPressStyle Mike Bloomberg said in an interview that aired Monday morning he would prefer if voters decided who was president in the general elections in November rather than Congress take action to impeach Donald Trump. The Democratic presidential candidate, however, admitted to Today Show host Craig Melvin that if he were a senator he would vote in favor of removing Trump from office. 'I was asked if I were Senator how would I vote, and I'd have to swallow two or three times, but I'd say I would vote to convict because there's just so much evidence he acted inappropriately,' the billionaire former mayor of New York City said. 'I think that impeachment is a political process. It's not good,' Bloomberg said. 'We'd be much better off letting the voters decide who is president in this country.' 'But, the President's actions eventually as information came out, it convinced me that he should be impeached,' he added. Billionaire Mike Bloomberg said in an interview that aired Monday that he would prefer voters choose who will serve the next four years at the ballot box in November instead of Democrats working to remove Donald Trump through impeachment He did say, however, that if he were a senator he would vote to remove Trump. 'I would vote to convict because there's just so much evidence he acted inappropriately,' Bloomberg told Today Republicans demanded several times during the House impeachment investigation that Democrats allow voters to make the decision if they want to reelect Donald Trump Trump took aim at Bloomberg, who ranks fifth in average polling, in a tweet Sunday, bashing him for his stances on guns and the Second Amendment Several Republicans made the same case as the House continued to conduct the impeachment investigation, claiming that it should be up to voters at the ballot box in November on if Trump should keep his place in the White House for another four years. Bloomberg, who was a Republican when he served as mayor in New York City from 2002-2013, entered the Democratic primary race in November a latecomer candidate. The field is slowly narrowing and evened out at 12 when Senator Cory Booker dropped out of the running earlier this month. Bloomberg has yet to qualify for any of the primary debates, but has swiftly rose to fifth place in the polls with an average of 7 per cent support as some contenders dropped their nomination The billionaire has also continuously topped all other candidates in spending on advertisements even before he announced his candidacy. Just eight weeks into his campaign, Bloomberg spent $248 million on advertisements, which is more than most candidates are able to spend in years. Bloomberg, despite spending the most money on advertisements, has not yet qualified to take stage in a Democratic primary debate. Fellow Billionaire Tom Steyer (left), however, has made every debate stage since announcing his candidacy Fellow billionaire and Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer comes in second place with advertisement spending, but he was able to use his exposure to reach the fundraising and polling thresholds required to make the debate stage. He was on stage for four of the seven Democratic primary debates that have taken place so far. He launched his campaign in July and did not have the time to make the stage that month, but has been in the spotlight at every other debate since then. Bloomberg has yet to appear on a debate stage and has not qualified yet for the first debate on February, which will take place in the first primary state of New Hampshire. Former Vice President Joe Bideen, Senators Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Amy Klobuchar, former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Steyer will all appear on stage at St. Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire next month. There are three Democratic primary debates taking place in February as states begin their caucuses and primary elections to decide which candidate will take on Donald Trump in November. '[I] know him better than anybody else,' Bloomberg told Today when making the case for why he could beat Trump. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi signed the articles of impeachment last week and sent them to the Republican-controlled Senate Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has not yet set the rules for the impeachment trial in the upper chamber. He also said it would be decided after opening arguments if witnesses will be permitted in the trial 'I would be more acceptable, I think, to the middle-of-the-road Republicans, who don't like him but do want somebody fiscally responsible,' he added. 'It's knowing how to deal with him. It's being tough enough to deal with him, at a practical level.' While Trump continues to hold reelection campaign rallies, he is also facing impeachment back in Washington. The impeachment articles abuse of power and obstruction of Congress were sent to the Senate last week after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi finally released them from the House after holding them there for a month. Upon signing the articles on Wednesday, the seven Democratic impeachment managers, including lead prosecutor and Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff, hand-delivered them to the Senate side of Congress. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Wednesday evening the impeachment trial would commence Tuesday. Republicans, however, have still not revealed to Democrats the rules for the upper chamber's trial, but an aide working on impeachment revealed one plan gives the defense and prosecution two days, and a total of 24 hours each, to make opening arguments. McConnell insists the Senate will vote on a resolution that will decide whether lawyers and lawmakers can call witnesses to testify in the trial. One concern is how AI could be used to create video or audio that shows anyone saying and doing anything, anywhere. The chief executive of Google parent company Alphabet on Monday backed a European Union proposal to temporarily ban facial-recognition technology because of the possibility that it could be used for nefarious purposes. I think it is important that governments and regulations tackle it sooner rather than later and gives a framework for it, Sundar Pichai told a conference in Brussels, Belgium, organised by the think-tank Bruegel. The European Commission acts as the EU executive. The commission is taking a tougher line on artificial intelligence (AI) than the United States. According to an 18-page proposal paper seen by Reuters, the commission wants to strengthen existing regulations on privacy and data rights. Part of this includes a moratorium of up to five years on using facial recognition technology in public areas, to give the EU time to work out how to prevent abuses, the paper said. It can be immediate, but maybe theres a waiting period before we really think about how its being used, Pichai said. Its up to governments to charter the course for the use of such technology. Pichai urged regulators to take a proportionate approach when drafting rules, days before the Commission is due to publish proposals on the issue. Regulators are grappling with ways to govern AI, encouraging innovation while trying to curb potential misuse, as companies and law enforcement agencies increasingly adopt the technology. There was no question AI needs to be regulated, Pichai said, but rulemakers should tread carefully. Sensible regulation must also take a proportionate approach, balancing potential harms with social opportunities. This is especially true in areas that are high risk and high value, he said. Regulators should tailor rules according to different sectors, Pichai said, citing medical devices and self-driving cars as examples that require different rules. He urged governments to align their rules and agree on core values. Earlier this month, the US government published regulatory guidelines on AI aimed at limiting authorities overreach and urged Europe to avoid an aggressive approach. Pichai said it was important to be clear-eyed about what could go wrong with AI, and that while it promised huge benefits there were real concerns about potential negative consequences. One area of concern is so-called deepfakes video or audio clips that have been manipulated using AI and which potentially could be created of any individual, saying anything in any setting. Pichai said Google had released open datasets to help the research community build better tools to detect such fakes. The worlds most popular internet search engine said last month that Google Cloud was not offering general-purpose facial-recognition application programming interfaces (APIs) while it establishes policy and technical safeguards. Mr Bernardi defected from the Liberal Party to form his own party, the Conservatives, in 2017 but announced he was quitting politics last year after his new party failed to have the impact Mr Bernardi hoped. "I will shortly be writing to His Excellency the Hon. Hieu Van Le, Governor of SA, to inform him of this vacancy, which will be filled in accordance with Section 15 of the Constitution," Senator Ryan wrote on Twitter. Conservative South Australian senator Cory Bernardi has officially resigned from Federal Parliament, handing his spot to the Liberal Party. "I realise that my enthusiasm to return to Parliament in the new year had gone and it's time to move on with other aspects of my life and let others pick up the cudgels," Mr Bernardi said at the time. Loading He has almost always voted with the Liberals since quitting the party. Former Law Council of Australia president Morry Bailes, South Australian Legislative Council president Andrew McLachlan and business consultant Michael van Dissel are in the running to fill Mr Bernardi's position. The South Australian Liberals will hold a preselection ballot in Adelaide on February 1 involving about 300 members to choose who will get the spot. [January 20, 2020] Peeks Social Ltd. Applies for Warrant Repricing TORONTO, Jan. 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Peeks Social Ltd. (the Company) (TSX.V: PEEK) (OTCQB: PKSLF) reports that at the request of certain debenture holders, it has applied to the TSX Venture Exchange (the Exchange) for a repricing of warrants that were issued in conjunction with a $500,000 convertible debenture financing that closed in December 2018 (the Offering). Under the terms of the Offering, the Company issued 5,250,000 common share purchase warrants (the Warrants). Each Warrant entitled the holder thereof to acquire one additional Common Share at a price of $0.15 per Common Share for a period of 2 years. The debentures and Warrants contained a provision that if the Company subsequently issued common shares at a price of less than $0.10 per common share, the Company would reduce the conversion price of the debentures, as well as reduce the exercise price of the warrants, subject to the approval of the Exchange./p> The Company will issue an update in due course following acceptance or rejection of the Companys application by the Exchange. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) has reviewed or accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this Release. For further information, please contact: Peeks Social Ltd. Mark Itwaru David Vinokurov Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Investor Relations 647-992-7727 416-716-9281 [email protected] [email protected] [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Afghan Government, Taliban Disagree on Timing of Ceasefire, Reduction of Violence Sputnik News 07:02 19.01.2020 KABUL (Sputnik) - With the consultations on Afghan peace ongoing in the Qatari capital of Doha, the Afghan government and the rival Taliban radical group appear to disagree on roadmap to achieving comprehensive peace through ceasefire. Throughout January so far, multiple unconfirmed statements have been suggesting that the Taliban have committed to reducing violence as an initial step toward coming to an official ceasefire accord with the government. Sputnik's sources in Qatar said Taliban leader Mullah Habitullah is expected to pledge commitment to reducing violence in writing. It now appears that the government in Kabul considers such pledge insufficient and wants the group to make a leap straight to the ceasefire agreement. "The reduction of violence is not clear, we want a ceasefire, which is why we insist on a ceasefire. War is not in the interest of the Taliban and so far didn't bring or get any achievements," Afghan presidential spokesman Sediq Sediqqi told journalists at the Government Media Centre on Saturday. He added that now that the Afghan government gets informed about progress of the Qatar talks, they can be expected to bring about results. The Taliban, in turn, see the reduction of violence as a step toward comprehensive ceasefire, the group's Attorney General Jalaluddin Shinwari told Sputnik. "We expect that the reduction of violence will turn into a ceasefire; the result of the Taliban's advice on violence has also been passed on to [US Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay] Khalilzad and the definition of reduction of violence has been outlined, but for peace [to be achieved] both sides should be flexible," Shinwari said. For Kabul, however, ceasefire comes first. Defence Ministry spokesman Rohullah Ahmadzai told Sputnik that the Afghan army would continue fighting the Taliban until the group agrees to lay down arms. "Afghan forces are fighting for peace, we want radical peace and the opposite side does not want basic peace. In some provinces, the Taliban have laid down their arms and have a decent or good life. If the Taliban choose this path, it is for the benefit of all Afghans," Ahmadzai said. In pursuit of recognition, the Taliban have been leading insurgency against the Afghan government since the early 2000s. They also seek all foreign troops to withdraw from the country. The group has been accused of providing terrorist organizations such as al-Qaeda (banned in Russia) and the Islamic State (banned in Russia) with safe haven in Afghanistan. Over the past year, the US held a number of peace talks with the Taliban in a bid to encourage the group to cut the ties with terrorists and begin rapprochement with the Afghan government, paving the way for US troops to pull out. No significant results have so far been achieved during these talks. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 23:20:09|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close RAMALLAH, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- A senior UN official on Monday urged the international community to continue with their support for the Palestinians. Ursula Mueller, assistant secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and deputy emergency relief coordinator in the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), called on the international community to "ensure consistent and sustained funding to help alleviate the challenges faced by Palestinians," said a press statement by the OCHA. Mueller just concluded a six-day visit to Palestine and Israel. Mueller met with Palestinian officials and reaffirmed the UN's commitment to addressing humanitarian needs across the occupied territory. "Until there is a viable political solution, it is critical that the international community should continue to render support in a consistent and sustained manner to meet the needs of the most vulnerable Palestinians," Mueller said. She urged the UN member states to continue to provide humanitarian assistance in Gaza and the West Bank and "work to rekindle a robust political dialogue and promote long-term solutions to address the root causes of this crisis." T he Duke of Sussex has met with Boris Johnson and other world leaders at what is understood to be his final royal engagement before jetting back to Canada. Harry looked stoical and composed as he stepped out of his black SUV ahead of the three-day UK-Africa Investment Summit 2020 in London's Docklands. He is expected to miss a reception hosted by his brother William at Buckingham Palace tonight as he prepares to rejoin wife Meghan and son Archie in Vancouver following an intense couple of weeks. It comes just hours after he gave a heartfelt speech describing his great sadness at stepping back from royal duties. There are reportedly no more official engagements in Harry's diary, and he is rumoured to be flying straight to the Canadian city at the end of today's summit. The event, hosted by Mr Johnson, brings together businesses, governments and international institutions to showcase and promote the breadth and quality of investment opportunities across Africa, according to its website. The duke has often spoken of his deep connection to the continent, referring to it as a "second home". The Duke and Duchess of Sussex: Tour of Africa 2019 - In pictures 1 /142 The Duke and Duchess of Sussex: Tour of Africa 2019 - In pictures The Duke and Duchess of Sussex meet a group of dancers at the Nyanga Township in Cape Town, South Africa, on the first day of their tour of Africa PA The Duke and Duchess of Sussex attend a reception for young people, community and civil society leaders at the Residence of the British High Commissioner in Cape Town, on day two of their tour of Africa PA Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, holding their son Archie, meet Archbishop Desmond Tutu at the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation in Cape Town, South Africa Reuters Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attends a reception for young people, community and civil society leaders at the Residence of the British High Commissioner, during the royal tour of South Africa Getty Images Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, is watched by Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex(R) as she delivers a speech at the Youth Employment Services Hub in Tembisa township, Johannesburg AFP/Getty Images Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, meet Graca Machel, the widow of the late Nelson Mandela, in Johannesburg, South Africa Reuters Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, speaks with Graca Machel, the widow of the late Nelson Mandela, in Johannesburg, South Africa Reuters Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, walks with Graca Machel, the widow of the late Nelson Mandela, in Johannesburg, South Africa Reuters Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex(L) and Meghan,Duchess of Sussex(R) arrive at the Youth Employment Services Hub in Tembisa township, Johannesburg AFP/Getty Images Duchess of Sussex during a visit to the Tembisa township near Johannesburg, where the royal couple met with local youth entrepreneurs and viewed skills initiatives addressing the rising unemployment challenge faced by youth in South Africa, on the last day day of their tour in Africa PA PA Reuters PA PA Reuters PA PA REUTERS REUTERS Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex visit a township to learn about Youth Employment Services in Johannesburg, South Africa Getty Images Meghan, Duchess of Sussex visits a township with Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex to learn about Youth Employment Services in Johannesburg, South Africa Getty Images Meghan, Duchess of Sussex visits a township with Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex to learn about Youth Employment Services in Johannesburg, South Africa Getty Images The Duchess of Sussex joins discussion about gender based violence as she visits Action Aid PA The Duchess of Sussex joins discussion about gender based violence as she visits Action Aid PA The Duchess of Sussex visiting Action Aid PA The Duchess of Sussex is presented flowers by Luyanda, eight, as she visits Action Aid PA The Duchess of Sussex is presented flowers by Luyanda, eight, as she visits Action Aid PA Meghan, Duchess of Sussex visits the University of Johannesburg Reuters Meghan, Duchess of Sussex visits the University of Johannesburg Reuters PA Meghan, Duchess of Sussex visits the University of Johannesburg AFP/Getty Images Meghan, Duchess of Sussex visits the University of Johannesburg Reuters Meghan, Duchess of Sussex visits the University of Johannesburg PA Meghan, Duchess of Sussex visits the University of Johannesburg Reuters Meghan, Duchess of Sussex visits the University of Johannesburg Getty Images The Duchess of Sussex visiting Victoria Yards, a regeneration project that is home to design studios, art galleries and a popular monthly food market in Johannesburg PA The Duke of Sussex pays tribute at the memorial site for Guardsman Mathew Talbot of the Coldstream Guards at the Liwonde National Park in Malawi PA The Duke of Sussex pays tribute at the memorial site for Guardsman Mathew Talbot of the Coldstream Guards PA The wreath placed by the Duke of Sussex, as he pays tribute at the memorial site for Guardsman Mathew Talbot of the Coldstream Guards at the Liwonde National Park in Malaw PA @sussexroyal Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (C) poses with South African female leaders (L-R) Lindiwe Mazibuko, Sonja De Bruyn Sebotsa, Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng, Sophia Williams-De Bruyn, Mbali Ntuli, Nompendulo Mkhatshwa, Siviwe Gwarube, Dr Mamphela Ramphele and Judy Sikuza in September of 2019 in Cape Town, South Africa SussexRoyal via Getty Images The Duchess of Sussex appearing via Skype during a visit by the Duke of Sussex to the Nalikule College of Education in Malawi on day seven of the royal tour of Africa PA Meghan paid tribute to University of Cape Town student Uyinene Mrwetyana PA The Duke of Sussex sits alone beneath the Diana Tree in Huambo, Angola, on day five of the royal tour of Africa. The Duke is visiting the minefield where his late mother, the Princess of Wales, was photographed in 1997, which is now a busy street with schools, shops and houses. PA The Duke of Sussex sits alone beneath the Diana Tree in Huambo, Angola, on day five of the royal tour of Africa. The Duke is visiting the minefield where his late mother, the Princess of Wales, was photographed in 1997, which is now a busy street with schools, shops and houses. PA The Duke of Sussex walks on Princess Diana Street in Huambo, Angola, on day five of the royal tour of Africa. The Duke is visiting the minefield where his late mother, the Princess of Wales, was photographed in 1997, which is now a busy street with schools, shops and houses. PA The Duke of Sussex walks by the Diana Tree in Huambo, Angola, on day five of the royal tour of Africa. The Duke is visiting the minefield where his late mother, the Princess of Wales, was photographed in 1997, which is now a busy street with schools, shops and houses PA The Duke of Sussex walks through a minefield in Dirico, Angola, during a visit to see the work of landmine clearance charity the Halo Trust, on day five of the royal tour of Africa. PA The Duke of Sussex with Jose Antonio (centre), of the Halo Trust and a mine clearance worker on a walk through of a minefield in Dirico, Angola, during a visit to see the work of landmine clearance charity the Halo Trust. PA PA The Duke of Sussex helps local schoolchildren plant trees at the Chobe Tree Reserve in Botswana, on day four of their tour of Africa. PA The Duke of Sussex during a tree planting event with local children, at the Chobe National Park, Botswana. PA The Duke of Sussex joins in a tree planting event with local school children, at the Chobe National Park, Botswana PA The Duke of Sussex is greeted by Tlotlo Moilwa during a visit to the Kasane Health Post, run by the Sentebale charity, in Kasane, Botswana. PA The Duke of Sussex is greeted by Tlotlo Moilwa during a visit to the Kasane Health Post, run by the Sentebale charity, in Kasane, Botswana. PA The Duke of Sussex plant trees at the Chobe Tree Reserve in Botswana, on day four of the royal tour of Africa. PA The Duke of Sussex plant trees at the Chobe Tree Reserve in Botswana, on day four of the royal tour of Africa. PA The Duke of Sussex speaks to the media at the Chobe Tree Reserve in Botswana, on day four of the royal tour of Africa PA The Duke of Sussex (right) with founder of Elephants Without Borders Dr Mike Chase, are welcomed to a tree planting event by local children, at the Chobe Tree Reserve, Botswana. PA The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, arrive at Auwal Mosque, the first and oldest mosque in South Africa, in the Bo Kaap district of Cape Town Reuters The Duke of Sussex with founder of Elephants Without Borders Dr Mike Chase, during a tree planting event with local schoolchildren, at the Chobe Tree Reserve, Botswana. PA The Duke of Sussex with founder of Elephants Without Borders Dr Mike Chase, during a tree planting event with local schoolchildren, at the Chobe Tree Reserve, Botswana. PA The Duke of Sussex with founder of Elephants Without Borders Dr Mike Chase, during a tree planting event with local schoolchildren, at the Chobe Tree Reserve, Botswana PA The Duke of Sussex joins in a confidence building exercise with young people at the Kasane Health Post, run by the Sentebale charity, in Kasane, Botswana, on day four of the royal tour of Africa. PA The Duke of Sussex joins in a confidence building exercise with young people at the Kasane Health Post, run by the Sentebale charity, in Kasane, Botswana, on day four of the royal tour of Africa PA The Duke of Sussex (second left) joins in a group exercise during a tree planting event with local children, at the Chobe Tree Reserve, Botswana. PA The Duke of Sussex joins a Botswana Defence Force anti-poaching patrol on the Chobe river in Kasane, Botswana, on day four of the royal tour of Africa PA The Duke of Sussex joins a Botswana Defence Force anti-poaching patrol on the Chobe river in Kasane, Botswana, on day four of the royal tour of Africa. PA The Duke of Sussex joins a Botswana Defence Force anti-poaching patrol on the Chobe river in Kasane, Botswana, on day four of the royal tour of Africa PA The Duke of Sussex joins a Botswana Defence Force anti-poaching patrol, on the Chobe river in Kasane, Botswana, on day four of the royal tour of Africa. PA The Duchess of Sussex during a visit to mothers2mothers in Cape Town, on day three of her tour of Africa with the Duke of Sussex. PA The Duchess of Sussex arrives for a visit to the Woodstock Exchange in Cape Town PA The Duchess of Sussex during a visit to mothers2mothers in Cape Town, on day three of her tour of Africa with the Duke of Sussex PA Meghan, Duchess of Sussex laughs with 12 inspiring female entrepreneurs as she visits Woodstock Exchange, a women founders/social entrepreneurs event during her royal tour of South Africa with Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex Getty Images The Duchess of Sussex during a visit to the Woodstock Exchange in Cape Town to meet female entrepreneurs working in technology, on day three of her tour of Africa with the Duke of Sussex PA The Duke and Duchess of Sussex holding their son Archie during a meeting with Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Mrs Tutu at their legacy foundation PA The Duke and Duchess of Sussex holding their son Archie during a meeting with Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Mrs Tutu at their legacy foundation PA Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, holding their son Archie, meet Archbishop Desmond Tutu (not pictured) at the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation in Cape Town, South Africa Reuters Archbishop Desmond Tutu kisses the forehead of baby Archie as his mother smiles on warmly Reuters Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attend a reception for young people, community and civil society leaders at the Residence of the British High Commissioner, during the royal tour of South Africa Getty Images The Duchess of Sussex attends a reception for young people, community and civil society leaders at the Residence of the British High Commissioner in Cape Town, on day two of her tour of Africa with her husband the Duke of Sussex PA Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attends a reception for young people, community and civil society leaders at the Residence of the British High Commissioner, during the royal tour of South Africa Getty Images The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan attend a reception for young people, community and civil society leaders at the Residence of the British High Commissioner in Cape Town, South Africa Reuters Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, attends a reception for young people, community and civil society leaders at the Residence of the British High Commissioner in Cape Town, South Afric Reuters Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, attends a reception for young people, community and civil society leaders at the Residence of the British High Commissioner in Cape Town, South Africa Reuters The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, sit with local residents in a house whilst tea is served in the Bo Kaap district of Cape Town, South Africa Reuters The Duke and Duchess of Sussex visit the Bo Kaap area of Cape Town to mark Heritage Day, a celebration of the great diversity of cultures, beliefs and traditions in South Africa, on day two of their tour of Africa PA The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, meet with local residents during Heritage Day public holiday celebrations in the Bo Kaap district of Cape Town Reuters The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, take part in Heritage Day public holiday celebrations in the Bo Kaap district of Cape Town Reuters Meghan, Duchess of Sussex meets a young wellwisher as she and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex walk through the colourful and multicultural neighbourhood of Bo-Kaap on Heritage Day during their royal tour of South Africa Getty Images The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrive for a visit to the Auwal Mosque, the oldest mosque in South Africa, on day two of their tour of Africa PA Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex poses with surf mentors as they visit Waves for Change, an NGO, at Monwabisi Beach on September 24, 2019 in Cape Town, South Africa Getty Images Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex with surf mentors as they visit Waves for Change, an NGO, at Monwabisi Beach on September 24, 2019 in Cape Town, South Africa Getty Images Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex visit the Waves for Change compound kitchen, where charity The Lunchbox Fund, provides nearly 30,000 nutritious meals every day to programmes in townships and rural areas at Monwabisi Beach Getty Images Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex meet surf mentors as they visit Waves for Change, an NGO, at Monwabisi Beach on September 24, 2019 in Cape Town, South Africa Getty Images The Duchess of Sussex dances as she begins her visit to South Africa, with her husband the Duke of Sussex, in the Nyanga Township, Cape Town, visiting a workshop that teaches children about their rights, self-awareness and safety and which provides self-defence classes and female empowerment training to young girls in the community PA Meghan, Duchess of Sussex dances as she visits a Justice Desk initiative in Nyanga township, with Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, during their royal tour of South Africa Getty Images The Duchess of Sussex joins in with dancers as she and the Duke of Sussex leave the Nyanga Township in Cape Town, South Africa, on the first day of their tour of Africa PA Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex dance with wellwishers during a visit to The Justice Desk in Cape Town Getty Images Meghan, Duchess of Sussex receives a hug from a young wellwisher as she visits a Justice Desk initiative in Nyanga township, with Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, during their royal tour of South Africa in Cape Town, South Africa Getty Images Meghan, Duchess of Sussex greets a wellwisher during a visit to The Justice Desk in Cape Town, South Africa Getty Images The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are presented with a gift for son Archie as they visit the Nyanga Township in Cape Town, South Africa, during the first day of their tour of Africa PA The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan, speaks during a Justice Desk initiative in Nyanga township, on the first day of her African tour in Cape Town, South Africa Reuters Meghan, Duchess of Sussex talks to children during a visit to The Justice Desk in Cape Town, South Africa Getty Images The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrive at the Nyanga Township in Cape Town, South Africa, for a visit to a workshop that teaches children about their rights, self-awareness and safety, on the first day of their tour of Africa PA Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex meet young wellwishers as they visit a Justice Desk initiative in Nyanga township, during their royal tour of South Africa in Cape Town Getty Images The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, visit Nyanga township, on the first day of their African tour in Cape Town, South Africa Reuters As today's event got under way, the PM and the duke had an informal catch-up, meeting for 20 minutes one-to-one without any aides present. The duke was scheduled to hold private meetings with a number of foreign leaders at the request of the UK Government. Over the course of the morning, he sat down to talks with Saad-Eddine El Othmani, prime minister of Morocco, Peter Mutharika, president of Malawi and Filipe Nyusi, president of Mozambique. The Duke of Sussex stands beside the Prime Minister at today's event / PA Today's conference comes just hours after the duke opened up about the terms of his and Meghan's departure from the Royal Family. Addressing guests at a charity event on Sunday night, he said the couple were not "walking away" but had "no other option." Speaking at the private dinner for HIV charity Sentable, he said: Our hope was to continue serving the Queen, the Commonwealth, and my military associations, but without public funding. Unfortunately, that wasnt possible, Ive accepted this, knowing that it doesnt change who I am or how committed I am. But I hope that helps you understand what it had to come to, that I would step my family back from all I have ever known, to take a step forward into what I hope can be a more peaceful life. Prince Harry Says There Is 'No Other Option' But To Stand Down During his heartfelt speech, Harry also paid a stirring tribute to family for their support and to his grandmother, calling her his commander-in-chief. What I want to make clear is were not walking away and we certainly arent walking away from you," he told his audience. The Queen announced on Saturday that Harry and Meghan will drop their HRH titles and pay back 2.4 million of taxpayer cash used to renovate their Windsor home which they will keep. In exchange, they have been allowed to quit frontline duties and given the freedom to seek employment and eventually become financially independent. Prince Charles will reportedly fund their new life out of his own investment income but he will seek to review the couples financial arrangements in a year. It comes amid a growing row about who will pay their annual security bill as they split their time between the UK and Canada, where it has been estimated the measures required could be similar to those of the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Listen to today's episode of The Leader: Could Shaw Communications Inc. (TSE:SJR.B) be an attractive dividend share to own for the long haul? Investors are often drawn to strong companies with the idea of reinvesting the dividends. If you are hoping to live on the income from dividends, it's important to be a lot more stringent with your investments than the average punter. In this case, Shaw Communications likely looks attractive to investors, given its 4.4% dividend yield and a payment history of over ten years. It would not be a surprise to discover that many investors buy it for the dividends. Before you buy any stock for its dividend however, you should always remember Warren Buffett's two rules: 1) Don't lose money, and 2) Remember rule #1. We'll run through some checks below to help with this. Explore this interactive chart for our latest analysis on Shaw Communications! TSX:SJR.B Historical Dividend Yield, January 20th 2020 Payout ratios Dividends are usually paid out of company earnings. If a company is paying more than it earns, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Comparing dividend payments to a company's net profit after tax is a simple way of reality-checking whether a dividend is sustainable. In the last year, Shaw Communications paid out 87% of its profit as dividends. Paying out a majority of its earnings limits the amount that can be reinvested in the business. This may indicate a commitment to paying a dividend, or a dearth of investment opportunities. Another important check we do is to see if the free cash flow generated is sufficient to pay the dividend. Last year, Shaw Communications paid a dividend while reporting negative free cash flow. While there may be an explanation, we think this behaviour is generally not sustainable. Is Shaw Communications's Balance Sheet Risky? As Shaw Communications has a meaningful amount of debt, we need to check its balance sheet to see if the company might have debt risks. A quick check of its financial situation can be done with two ratios: net debt divided by EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation), and net interest cover. Net debt to EBITDA is a measure of a company's total debt. Net interest cover measures the ability to meet interest payments. Essentially we check that a) the company does not have too much debt, and b) that it can afford to pay the interest. With net debt of 2.02 times its EBITDA, Shaw Communications has a noticeable amount of debt, although if business stays steady, this may not be overly concerning. Story continues Net interest cover can be calculated by dividing earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) by the company's net interest expense. With EBIT of 4.14 times its interest expense, Shaw Communications's interest cover is starting to look a bit thin. We update our data on Shaw Communications every 24 hours, so you can always get our latest analysis of its financial health, here. Dividend Volatility Before buying a stock for its income, we want to see if the dividends have been stable in the past, and if the company has a track record of maintaining its dividend. Shaw Communications has been paying dividends for a long time, but for the purpose of this analysis, we only examine the past 10 years of payments. The dividend has been stable over the past 10 years, which is great. We think this could suggest some resilience to the business and its dividends. During the past ten-year period, the first annual payment was CA$0.84 in 2010, compared to CA$1.19 last year. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 3.5% a year over that time. Slow and steady dividend growth might not sound that exciting, but dividends have been stable for ten years, which we think is seriously impressive. Dividend Growth Potential Dividend payments have been consistent over the past few years, but we should always check if earnings per share (EPS) are growing, as this will help maintain the purchasing power of the dividend. Over the past five years, it looks as though Shaw Communications's EPS have declined at around 5.9% a year. A modest decline in earnings per share is not great to see, but it doesn't automatically make a dividend unsustainable. Still, we'd vastly prefer to see EPS growth when researching dividend stocks. Conclusion Dividend investors should always want to know if a) a company's dividends are affordable, b) if there is a track record of consistent payments, and c) if the dividend is capable of growing. First, we think Shaw Communications has an acceptable payout ratio, although its dividend was not well covered by cashflow. Second, earnings per share have actually shrunk, but at least the dividends have been relatively stable. With this information in mind, we think Shaw Communications may not be an ideal dividend stock. Given that earnings are not growing, the dividend does not look nearly so attractive. Businesses can change though, and we think it would make sense to see what analysts are forecasting for the company. If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at our curated list of dividend stocks yielding above 3%. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 20) President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday offered to help Cebu build modern elevated highways by sourcing out funds. He said elevated highways, such as the skyways in Metro Manila, will help increase mobility in the highly-urbanized Visayan province. "I think the best alternative is really to build roadways over roads. You can do it here. You can start here if there's enough space. You can start with a railroad commuter and then build new roads above it," he said during the 40th Sinulog Festival in Cebu City. The President said mobility in Cebu is challenging because of narrow roads and easement issues. He said he will offer a hand to make it possible. He even said that he will turn to China for loans if necessary. "The only way to do it is through a small commuter train and highways. I will help you secure a loan for your projects," he said. "It will come to that if you really need more money. But the loan would come from China." He reiterated his order to finish projects within his term should his suggestion push through. TDP Chief N Chandrababu Naidu has condemned the house arrest of his party leaders and former MLAs ahead of the special session of the state assembly on three capitals issue put forward by Andhra Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. "House arrest of party leaders and Amaravati JAC leaders is condemnable. Suppression of public voice is undemocratic and against the Constitution. Even during the Emergency, it was much better," Naidu said. In the wake of ''Chalo Assembly (Let's march to assembly)'' call against the state government by Amaravati Parirakahana Samiti and TDP, the police have detained and house arrested TDP leaders from across the state late night. "Every citizen has the right to protest, and nobody has the power to prevent fundamental rights. YSRCP government is acting in such a way that the fundamental constitutional principles are being violated," he said. "Police using brute force is highly condemnable. The house arrests and illegal arrests must be immediately stopped. They should be immediately freed, he added. Also, the TDP state unit president K Kala Venkatrao has strongly condemned the house arrests of their party leaders. Public agitation cannot be stopped by police action, he said in a statement adding that the YSRCP government is acting in an undemocratic manner. Former minister and TDP leader Nakka Anand Babu has also been house arrested at his residence in Guntur. TDP MLC Buddha Venkanna is also house arrested. As there is no session of the AP legislative council, the MLC is about to take part in Chalo Assembly agitation. As a precautionary measure, the police has carried out the arrests. Former minister Prattipati Pullarao was house arrested in Chilakaluri, while the TDP leader K Ravi Kumar, former MLAs Ramana Murty and Venkataramana were arrested in Srikakulam. Former MLAs Kondababu and Anantalakshmi were house arrested in Kakinada. Several protests had erupted in the state, 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.) Photo by Joshua Barnatt In today's competitive job market where hiring managers can spend as little as seven seconds looking at a resume jobseekers may be tempted to add a little creative flair to their applications to help them stand out from the pack. According to the Wall Street Journal, this has led to a new phenomenon resumes are beginning to resemble social media profiles, with emojis, headshots and even bitmojis making an appearance. CNBC spoke to recruitment experts about how far job applicants should go when it comes to designing a creative resume. Keep it simple Speaking to CNBC via email, Deepa Somasundari, director of client success at global job site Indeed, urged jobseekers to err on the side of caution. "Jobseekers can apply some creative techniques, but always remember that relevance is what catches an employer's gaze not emojis," she advised. Instead of spending too much time and effort trying to create an innovative resume, Somasundari suggested making simple alterations to creatively enhance the information most likely to earn you an interview. "One way of highlighting specific skills, experiences and achievements is by bolding the text," she said. "This will help draw the attention of employers to your abilities." Darain Faraz, careers expert at LinkedIn, agreed that being creative doesn't have to equate to over-the-top artistic flair. "A 'creative CV' doesn't necessarily have an outlandish format and a rainbow of color it just means presenting the information you really want to get across so it stands out from the norm," he told CNBC in an email. He explained that this could mean pulling out important figures such as a number of awards won or a sum of money saved in a previous role putting key career milestones into a timeline format, or listing skills alongside a visual aid to denote how well-versed you are in them. Consider the role According to Jo Cresswell, community expert at Glassdoor, appropriate limits of creativity are dependent on the industry you're hoping to join. "Creative industries or creative roles lend themselves more naturally to visual, dynamic and even interactive CVs," she said. "Rather than applicants listing on their CV that they are proficient in design software, for example, they can actively demonstrate that capability through the format of their application." Cresswell added that hiring managers in corporations or more traditional industries, such as finance or law, were unlikely to be won over with colorful or visual resumes. "Instead, hiring managers will want to see clear achievements through numbers and detail as well as evidence of technical skills and capabilities," she told CNBC. "They won't want images and colors to distract. Application tracking software must also be considered, as less traditional CVs may not lend themselves well to being uploaded and re-formatted." Speaking to CNBC in a phone call, Kate Brooks, executive director of the Career Center at Vanderbilt University, agreed that the key is to bear the intended audience in mind. "Ask yourself: 'Is what I'm doing relevant to my audience? Is this appropriate for the job I'm applying for?'" she suggested. Emojis and selfies there's a time and a place The lone Republican on the Bernalillo County Commission is now its leader and depending on whom you ask, that represents either the dawn of a new era or a blatant affront to county voters. In a move that sparked a series of minisermons from the dais, the five-member commission narrowly elected Lonnie Talbert its chairman last week. Democratic Commissioners Charlene Pyskoty and Steven Michael Quezada supported Talbert in the 3-2 vote. Pyskoty explained their reasoning by reading a prepared joint statement touting Talberts independent voice and his past support of immigrants, common-sense gun laws and recognition of the climate crisis. Making him chair, she said, demonstrates the countys bipartisanship. It will show every New Mexican and the entire world that here in Bernalillo County our leaders work together despite the negative political climate that has shrouded our nation, she said. This is a new beginning for Bernalillo County. The start of a new chapter in our Countys future where civility prevails. But Democrats Debbie OMalley and Jim Collie cast the votes against Talbert, instead voting for OMalley to be chair. OMalley called Talbert a nice guy but said she does not like all of his votes, noting that he opposed a minimum wage increase ordinance, among others. She said Democrats should stick together in the era of President Donald Trump, who she called the most divisive president in U.S. history, and said that it was county voters who decided to put a Democratic majority on the commission. I respect the people I represent, and I respect the county and I believe the county has spoken in terms of the elections. Elections matter, she said. Talbert then spoke up, explaining his journey to this point and his political philosophy. He described being an unemployed banker who ran for the seat in 2012 out of concern about the values of then-incumbent Michael Weiner. He defeated Weiner in the Republican primary but said his political party does not define him, noting that his stance on gun safety does not go over well with fellow Republicans, and I dont care. What matters to me is that people feel safe. What matters to me is that people have an opportunity and voice, what matters to me is that we bring people together in order to show others that we dont need to be divided, Talbert said. Thats why (being elected chair) is one of the largest honors for me in my career. FIND A SEAT: Mayor Tim Keller has begun accepting applications to fill an existing vacancy on the Albuquerque City Council. Longtime District 1 representative Ken Sanchez died earlier this month, and the city charter requires the mayor to select a replacement. Kellers pick will serve until the next municipal election, which is scheduled for fall 2021. District 1 includes most of the city west of the Rio Grande between Central and Montano. Kellers office said interested candidates must apply at www.cabq.gov/councilor-nomination by Feb. 1. Jessica Dyer: jdyer@abqjournal.com When a designer is creating a clothing collection, jewelry is, more often than not, the final flourish. Not exactly an afterthought, but rarely the main event. For Schiaparellis spring 2020 haute couture show, which was held earlier today, the houses 34-year-old Texas-born artistic director, Daniel Roseberry, turned this idea on its head. This season I found myself designing entire looks around a piece of jewelry, and its become a whole language of the collection, he said, a week before the Paris show, as he surveyed the trays of glittering ornaments that covered the long white wooden desk in his atelier. He pointed out his favorite piece: a choker made from faux pearls and brass casts of teeth each one embellished with diamond cavities that resembled an Edwardian ruffled collar in shape. Its our demented version of the iconic pearl necklace, he said with a grin, To me, this is like, straight to the museum. After leaving his role as the design director of the New York-based luxury brand Thom Browne, where he worked for 10 years, Roseberry arrived at Schiaparelli, headquartered in one of the grand neo-Classical mansions on Pariss Place Vendome last April. Renowned as the most avant-garde of the 20th-century couturiers, Elsa Schiaparelli founded her maison in the late 1920s. Though untrained as a couturier, she carved out a place for herself as a vital force within the French capitals Modernist creative milieu; her friendships with artists such as Salvador Dali, Alberto Giacometti and Jean Cocteau not only informed her highly conceptual, witty designs but they also wielded museum-worthy collaborations, including the black felt hat she produced with Dali in 1937 that looked like an upturned shoe. This week is forecast to mark the end of Torontos extreme cold weather alert, making way for some sun, clouds and rain. After enduring a -23 C temperature with wind chill early Monday morning, the weekend cold spell will release its grip on Toronto, bringing the mercury up to -5 C during the day on Monday and -2 C on Tuesday before temperatures reach above 0 C for the remainder of the week. Late Monday night and early Tuesday morning, there is a 30 per cent chance of flurries. The cold returns at night, with overnight temperatures dipping to -11 C. After that, Wednesday through to Saturday isnt set to get colder than -5 C, with daytime temperatures reaching over 0 C, according to Environment Canada. Friday, Saturday and Sunday also show a chance of rain or snow, with Friday being the most likely at 60 per cent. Environment Canadas historical tracking shows Torontos warmest Jan. 20 came in 2006, reaching 11.4 C and its coldest in 1939, reaching a low of -23.3 C. The New York Times on Sunday endorsed Senators Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren for the Democratic presidential nomination, its first time choosing two candidates. The liberal newspaper's pick comes just a few weeks before the Iowa caucuses on February 3 which officially begins the presidential primary season. It represents a blow to Joe Biden, the frontrunner in the 2020 Democratic race, and to a lesser extent Bernie Sanders, who has polled in second place for much of the campaign but who never appeared likely to be endorsed by the Times editorial board. Biden and Sanders' views split along similar lines to those of Klobuchar and Warren. The Times described Massachusetts senator Warren as the 'radical' and Minnesota senator Klobuchar as the 'realist' choice. 'An essential debate is underway between two visions that may define the future of the (Democratic) party and perhaps the nation,' the editorial board wrote. Joint winners: The New York Times endorsed both Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren for the 2020 Democratic nomination - the first time they have ever split their endorsement. They met at a Martin Luther King Jr. Day march in Columbia, South Carolina Monday One up on Joe: Klobuchar's nomination as the moderate in the field is a blow to Biden, who has been the consistent poll frontrunner. The two were both at the same MLK Day march in Columbia, S.C. as other 2020 candidates Side-by-side: Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar were flanked by Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden, then men they bested to gain a joint endorsement from the New York Times editorial board Remembering: Bernie Sanders drops his head during the memorial for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as he sits beside (from left) Tulsi Gabbard, Elizabeth Warren, Warren's husband Bruce Mann and Amy Klobuchar Also in the running: Long-shot 2020 Democrat Tulsi Gabbard was at the MLK Day commemoration at Zion Baptist Church in Columbia, S.C. along with Warren and Sanders 'Some in the party view President Trump as an aberration and believe that a return to a more sensible America is possible. Then there are those who believe that President Trump was the product of political and economic systems so rotten that they must be replaced.' 'Both the radical and the realist models warrant serious consideration,' the board said. 'That's why we're endorsing the most effective candidates for each approach. They are Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar.' Warren has consistently polled at third place, behind former vice president Joe Biden and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders -- Warren's fellow progressive. She surged during the summer but has seen her support slide since October. But The Times called her the new 'standard-bearer for the Democratic left,' praising her plans for structural and social reform. 'Ms. Warren's path to the nomination is challenging, but not hard to envision,' the board said. For Klobuchar, who is more moderate, The Times said her 'lengthy tenure in the Senate and bipartisan credentials would make her a deal maker (a real one) and uniter for the wings of the party -- and perhaps the nation.' 'May the best woman win,' The Times concluded. The Times previously endorsed Hillary Clinton in the 2016 primary election season. She was also the first woman to receive its endorsement in a Democratic presidential primary, when she first ran in 2008. For the first time, The Times detailed its decision-making process on its television show 'The Weekly'. The episode shows the editorial board's interviews with nine leading Democratic presidential hopefuls. In addition to Warren and Klobuchar, The Times spoke with Biden, Sanders, billionaire activist Tom Steyer, entrepreneur Andrew Yang, former South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg, former Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick and New Jersey senator Cory Booker, who dropped out of the race January 13. The interviews were conducted on the record. In addition to showing video clips of the interviews in the 'Weekly' episode, the Times Opinion section also published interview transcripts. The European Union has launched a probe into how Google and Facebook gather, process, use and monetize data for advertising purposes. The European Commission, the EUs executive arm, on Monday told CNBC that it has begun distributing questionnaires as part of a preliminary investigation into Googles and Facebooks data practices. We use data to make our services more useful and to show relevant advertising, and we give people the controls to manage, delete or transfer their data, Google said in a statement provided to TechNewsWorld by spokesperson Jose Casteneda. We will continue to engage with the Commission and others on this important discussion for our industry. Facebook did not respond to our request to comment for this story. Amazon Also Targeted Facebook and Google join Amazon as targets of the EUs digital czar, Margrethe Vestager, the member of the European Commission in charge of competition policy. The probe of Amazon,s announced in July, aims to assess whether Amazons use of sensitive data from independent retailers who sell on its marketplace breaches EU competition rules. European consumers are increasingly shopping online, Vestager noted. E-commerce has boosted retail competition and brought more choice and better prices. We need to ensure that large online platforms dont eliminate these benefits through anti-competitive behavior, she pointed out. I have therefore decided to take a very close look at Amazons business practices and its dual role as marketplace and retailer, to assess its compliance with EU competition rules, Vestager said. Catch 22 Dilemma Facebook, Google and Amazon are finding themselves in a Catch 22 dilemma, maintained Daniel Castro, vice president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a research and public policy organization in Washington, D.C. If they do not restrict third-party access to data, they are accused of violating consumer privacy, he told TechNewsWorld. A D V E R T I S E M E N T If they do restrict access, they are accused of antitrust violations, Castro said. The common thread in these investigations has less to do with corporate wrongdoing or anticompetitive behavior than with consumer welfare. I dont know if there is an anti-American bias in the investigations, but the regulators seem to target the most successful Internet companies, and there is a strong correlation there with U.S. businesses, Castro observed. The lesson American regulators should take is that the U.S. regulatory environment is conducive to innovation, and they should seek to maintain its advantage in this area, rather than copy the European approach, he said. Fear of Success European regulators fear successful companies, asserted Ronald Cass, president of Cass & Associates, a Great Falls, Virginia, legal consultancy specializing in international trade. The regulators in Europe have a bias against any firm that becomes extremely successful, because they fear that those businesses can harm competitors, can harm consumers, or can accumulate power that threatens to undermine government, explained Cass, a former vice chairman and commissioner of the U.S. International Trade Commission. While these regulators attention has focused in the last two decades largely on American businesses, that may be more because those have been the more successful, more entrepreneurial, more rapidly expanding businesses in emerging high-technology fields, he told TechNewsWorld. Some American regulators more at the FTC and some state governments than at DoJ have similar biases, Cass added. The fears of ways that dominant businesses can use the power that comes with being the top dog in a business sector dont automatically justify government intervention, or even government investigation, which carries its own risks of tilting markets and discouraging innovation and competition, he said. The combination of those fears with fears about misuse of data is a powerful attraction for regulatory actions, Cass noted, especially in Europe where privacy rules are very different from the U.S. A D V E R T I S E M E N T Better Behavior Through Antitrust Some of these companies have frankly admitted that theyre having trouble managing all the data theyre collecting, observed Cory Doctorow, a special advisor to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an online rights advocacy group in San Francisco. If they cant manage their data, then maybe theyve gotten too big, he told TechNewsWorld. Even if antitrust actions dont result in breaking up a company, they can make companies behave better. The Microsoft antitrust case is widely acknowledged, even by Bill Gates, as being a force that disciplined the company and curbed many of its worse impulses, Doctorow said. Bill Gates recently said that one of the reasons Microsoft didnt get into mobile was that it was distracted by antitrust concerns, he said. The antitrust stuff ended eight years before the launch of Android, Doctorow continued. So what hes saying is that for as long as eight years after Microsoft went through antitrust investigations, they were so traumatized that they were made timid and didnt want to engage in the kind of monopolistic conduct that they had once been fond of. Probing Googles Heart Unlike the EUs past probes of Google, this latest investigation aims at the heart of its business model, observed Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog, a not-for-profit public interest group in Los Angeles. This isnt just about Google steering people toward its own products, he told TechNewsWorld. The EU is looking into whether Google is living up to the GDPR and its opt-in requirements. The GDPR General Data Privacy Regulation is an EU law that gives people greater control over their data and imposes stiff fines on companies that dont protect consumer data properly. This is all about how Google is using its data collection to control markets, Court explained. The GDPR was supposed to prevent companies from getting that type of monopoly because of its opt-in requirement. Reining in Facebook and Google will be a challenge for regulators, he added. The sheer size and power of these two companies is unprecedented. Theres a lot of danger in knowing everything about everybody when youre in a position to swing elections or change markets, Court said. The EU sees that and is wondering what it can do with the power it has to curb what these companies do. Meghan Markle's mother Doria Ragland has described her daughter as 'strong' and said she will 'always be okay' following the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's announcement that they are stepping down as senior royals , a source has claimed. Doria, 63, who lives in LA, is thought to have spent part of the couple's six-week break in Vancouver over the Christmas period with the family, and reportedly described grandson Archie, eight months, as 'the cutest'. The yoga teacher, who is particularly close to Meghan, 38, is said to also get on really well with Harry'. Meghan is currently in Canada with baby Archie, while Harry ties up loose ends following his negotiation over stepping down as senior royals in London. Meghan Markle's mother Doria Ragland (seen with Meghan in 2018 in Windsor) has described her daughter as 'strong' and said she will 'always be okay' following the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's announcement that they are stepping down as senior royals , a source has claimed A source told People: '[Doria] says Meghan is strong and will always be okay. 'She says her grandson is the cutest'. Another insider added of Doria: 'She and Meghan are so close. Harry really gets on well with her too. Any new mom wants her own mom around at this time, so it's great.' Meghan and Harry are due to split their time between London and Canada, where Meghan's mother Doria is predicted to be more actively involved in Archie's upbringing. The yoga teacher, who is particularly close to Meghan, 38, is said to also to get on really well with Harry'. The Sussexes are seen at Canada House last week On Sunday night the Duke of Sussex has said he is 'taking a leap of faith' in stepping back from his life as a member of the royal family, but 'there really was no other option'. Harry gave an emotional speech, where he told the 'truth' about leaving royal duties behind in a bid for a 'more peaceful life' for his family. The duke has attended his first public event since the announcement was released on Saturday that said from the spring, the duke and duchess will stop using HRH, spend the majority of their time living in Canada, and pay back the taxpayers' money spent renovating their Frogmore home. Harry was spotted arriving at the UK-Africa Investment Summit in London, where he held a number of private meetings, and was photographed shaking hands with the prime minister of Morocco Saad-Eddine El Othmani. Doria, 63, who lives in LA, is thought to have spent part of the couple's six week break in Vancouver over the Christmas period with the family, and reportedly described grandson Archie, eight months, (seen last September in South Africa) as 'the cutest' On Sunday night the Duke of Sussex has said he is 'taking a leap of faith' in stepping back from his life as a member of the royal family, but 'there really was no other option' In a speech at a private event for his charity Sentebale on Sunday night, Harry told invited guests: 'What I want to make clear is we're not walking away, and we certainly aren't walking away from you. 'Our hope was to continue serving the Queen, the Commonwealth, and my military associations, but without public funding. Unfortunately, that wasn't possible. 'I've accepted this, knowing that it doesn't change who I am or how committed I am. 'But I hope that helps you understand what it had to come to, that I would step my family back from all I have ever known, to take a step forward into what I hope can be a more peaceful life.' Earning money while being a member of the royal family appears to have been the crux of the discussions Harry held with the Queen, Prince of Wales and Duke of Cambridge about the future role of he and his wife. Sixty years ago, John Fitzgerald Kennedy and his brother Bobby ran what is considered to be the most innovative Presidential campaign ever. It is remembered for its slick ads. The campaign was fuelled by great wads of money, courtesy of JFKs rich father, Joe. The influence of TV was growing fast and Kennedy mastered the beast, quickly learning how to use teleprompters while avoiding the wordiness of politicians used to speaking on radio. This was the age of mass advertising and the catchy jingle used in brand promotions. The Kennedy political branding template has since been adopted by leaders such as Tony Blair and Barack Obama the latter making full use of social media techniques. The 2016 US election brought us data-led campaigning with discrete groups of individuals targeted. We now have a strange mix of data analytics and the Barnum & Bailey style campaigning of Donald Trump. The Trump effect suggests a backlash against slick campaigning. However, Americas wealthy continue to influence political decision making through so-called super PACs, committees that may raise and spend unlimited sums. In Ireland, the high point of business sponsorship of political parties was reached during the Noughties and the era of the Galway tent. Some of the helicopter buzz has gone out of our elections since then. What replaced it was a semi-permanent oppositionist campaigning that peaked with the water charges protests which drained the coalition Government and its propped up successor of much of their reformist intent. Since 2015, we have been in the era of safety-first Government and a kind of stand-off between those keen to guard the public purse and those anxious to open the wallets to tackle the crises in housing and health which developed since the financial crash. In a democracy, campaigns should be a time when people take stock of the major developments. Instead, what happens is that once off events distract while the public form judgements based on impressions. The choice is between steady as she goes and throw out the bums. The voters rarely get to consider issues of fundamental importance. A few examples: How the country may be transformed by climate change. How technology is impacting on our lives and what we can do about it. How more people can be reconnected with the fast-paced modern economy and brought in from the margins. How the twin crises of health and housing which are not unconnected can be truly addressed. How rural Ireland can address some of the huge changes coming down the track whether environmental, demographic or in food markets. The mishandling of the mental health crisis, the spread of drug use, rising demand on the medical services. The effectiveness of public administration in an increasingly complex rule-bound age is in doubt. These are all issues which can be addressed on an ongoing basis, but once the noise and thunder of an election campaign abates and a new Government is formed, real decision making on matters of vital importance is handed back to a small group of politicians and officials, many of whom suffer from deficits of time and expertise. There have been important innovations in Government. Important work is carried out by Oireachtas committees, though there has also been a degree of opportunistic grandstanding by certain members. As we have discovered, there is much disfunction in British political life, but one part of their Government that works well is their system of parliamentary committees. Our committee system should be better resourced and the media should give more recognition to the important work carried out there. But the making of decisions on key matters such as the proposed metro and quality bus corridors should be broadened out. In the run-up to the referendum on abortion, citizens assemblies played an important part in ensuring that the debate during the referendum was conducted at a reasonably high level. We need to involve more people with technical knowledge and expertise in the discussion, at an early stage of plans. Strong chairpersons will be required so that discussions are not dominated by cranks. The crafting of good consultation mechanisms is a vital, but not an easy business. A new national infrastructure body made up of people with technical expertise is badly needed, but it should itself be subject to close examination by the public including, in particular, people with relevant professional expertise, active or retired. It seems clear that the complexities of modern society, the scale of the challenges coming down the track, are such that they cannot be tackled simply by a small group of elected politicians, operating to 24/7 agendas, dictated by the need to react to day to day crises. Our democratic decision-making process needs to be one where discussion and analysis is ongoing and where decisions are crafted and sometimes amended in response to the popular will. Five yearly PR driven campaigns of the sort presided over by a Kennedy or a Blair, never mind a Trump, simply will no longer suffice. At times, it seems that decisions which could end up costing the country billions are being taken by people who are living deeply distracted lives, based on partial information supplied by parties with personal and sometimes financial agendas. This really is no way to run the national railroad. Theres a joke from way back in the 1980s about how the major media would report the announcement that the world is going to end tomorrow. The Wall Street Journals headline would say, World Ending Tomorrow; Markets to Close Early. USA Todays headline would say, World Ending Tomorrow, but Well Grin and Bear It. And the New York Times headline would say: World Ending Tomorrow: Women and Minorities Hardest Hit. Lo and behold, here is a real New York Times headline from two days ago: Its like theyre trying to put the Babylon Bee out of business or something. Meanwhile, the Times has announced its endorsement for president. Big surprise: they have endorsed a Democrat. As they have for the last 50+ years. But waittheyve actually endorsed two Democrats: Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren. The Times is calling it a break with convention, but it is exactly the opposite: clearly they cannot endorse a white male, no matter how experienced or qualified. Nothing is more conventional for liberalism today than the default to identity politics. The Times endorsement essay offers some wonderful comedy writing, such as: Senator Warren is a gifted storyteller. Did no one at the Times pause for a moment to ponder how true this is? And this passage about Klobuchar is fun: Reports of how Senator Klobuchar treats her staff give us pause. They raise serious questions about her ability to attract and hire talented people. Well, New York Times editorial writers obviously dont have to worry about finding out first hand. The cost of implementing the high-speed railway connecting London with Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds could reach 106bn, according to a leaked, government-commissioned review. High Speed 2 (HS2) was originally allocated 56bn, and current HS2 Ltd chairman Allan Cook revised the estimated costs to between 81bn and 88bn in October. But the draft report, seen by the Financial Times, now predicts the cost has increased and equates to 1,600 for each person in Britain. While recommending that the southern part of the line still goes ahead, the report urges a six-month pause before the second phase is implemented to evaluate whether using existing tracks could be more cost-efficient than building a totally new line. Proponents bill HS2 as a much-needed infrastructure update and a necessary step for the future, but critics say the eye-watering costs could be used more efficiently to update existing links across the country. IoS investigation: HS2 - the hidden cost to Britain's wildlife Show all 3 1 /3 IoS investigation: HS2 - the hidden cost to Britain's wildlife IoS investigation: HS2 - the hidden cost to Britain's wildlife 08-hs2environmental1-al.jpg Alamy IoS investigation: HS2 - the hidden cost to Britain's wildlife 08-hs2environmental2-gt.jpg Getty Images IoS investigation: HS2 - the hidden cost to Britain's wildlife 08-hs2environmental3-epa.jpg EPA Upgrading existing track and scrapping HS2 would cause "absurd disruption" for passengers, according to the chief of Network Rail. Regardless of where you stand on the issue, here are some other ways the the government could spend 106bn. Fund the NHS for a year The Department of Health spent 115bn on the NHS England budget in 2018-19, according to Full Fact. Meanwhile, you could pay for up to eight years of healthcare in Scotland, which is estimated to have cost Holyrood 13.1bn in the same year. Alternatively you could pay for 2.75 million nurses on a salary of 38,500 no doubt helping to alleviate the shortage of tens of thousands predicted by 2021. With Britains population ageing, and joint replacements rising, the money for HS2 could also fund nearly 11 million hip replacements. Build 200 large hospitals, or 1,000 small hospitals Matt Hancocks pre-election pledge to build 40 new hospitals came under fire as it was quickly revealed that funding was in place for just six including extensions to existing healthcare centres. The 106bn likely required for HS2 could be used to build 195 new large hospitals, judging by the recent cost of 545m to build Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, which opened in 2010. The budget for revamping or building smaller hospitals has been reported to be as small as 100m by Full Fact, which translates to 1,000 new hospitals in exchange for HS2. Pay for nearly four million university courses With student fees for UK residents capped at 9,250 per year, the money would be enough to pay for three years of university tuition for 3,819,000 people. It could also fund three years of the most expensive nursing bursaries available for more than a million people. Pay for a year's-worth of pensions The UK spent 92bn on state pensions in 2016-17, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility, and is the UKs largest single expenditure. Numerous large-scale rail projects A common argument against HS2 is that there could be more efficient ways of ensuring the country is better connected. For example, the Great North Rail Project which will stretch across Yorkshire and Lancashire is estimated to cost 13bn and is expected to be completed in 2022, contrasting with HS2s proposed completion date of 2032. Fund the royal family for a millenium The Sovereign Grant the amount given to the royal family from the public purse totalled 82.2m in 2018-19. This was significantly more than in previous years due to the costs of refurbishing Buckingham Palace, but even at this higher rate, the money could pay for the grant more than 1,200 times over. Fund the BBC for 20 years With Boris Johnson hinting he could scrap the licence fee, there has been increased discussion of the cost of the public service broadcaster. Going by its projected 2019-20 income of 3.9bn, building HS2 could be the equivalent of another 27 years of funding for the BBC. Run the UK's nuclear arsenal for several decades While the annual cost of running the Trident missile system and associated submarines is thought to be about 2bn, parliament voted to renew it in 2016 at an estimated cost of 41bn. The Ministry of defence has suggested that scrapping Trident would cost around 4bn over several years. Half of Brexit The cost of Brexit will have reached 200bn by the end of 2020, Bloomberg analysis suggests, by which time EU law will be about to cease to be in effect, which will happen on 1 January 2021. However, Bloomberg predicts the costs of Brexit will continue to rise each year. Archaeologists discover remains of man who named Australia during HS2 excavation Big Ben Brexit bong bonanzas into the far future While Mark Francois' dreams of crowdfunding the 500,000 reportedly required to ring the bell have been dashed by a lack of time to prepare, for the alleged cost of HS2 the European Research Group deputy chairman could hypothetically serve up an annual bong for the next 200,000 years. The cost was said to be around 500,000 because of ongoing renovations, although previous costs during construction work when a bong has been planned further in advance were 14,200 each on Remembrance Sunday and New Year's Eve according to a recent parliamentary question. Nationalise half of the UK's railways, water and energy companies, and the Royal Mail Labours renationalisation plans in the last general election would have cost at least 196bn, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) claimed. However this sum was greatly disputed by Labour, which criticised it as "scaremongering". Many experts pointed out that renationalising the railways could be done at no great cost, if the government were to simply wait for rail companies' time-limited ownership to end before bringing them into public possession for free. Buy every player in the Premier League Coming in at the most costly squad, Manchester Citys total market value estimated at just over 1bn by Transfermarkt, with Chelsea in second place at 879m. (Newser) Prince Harry says it "brings him great sadness" to step back from his royal dutiesbut "there really was no other option." The prince explained the decision Sunday in an emotional speech at a private dinner for Sentebale, the charity for children with HIV he co-founded with Lesotho's Prince Seeiso in 2006, the Independent reports. He said he was speaking "not as a prince, or a duke, but as Harry," reports the Guardian. "Our hope was to continue serving the Queen, the Commonwealth, and my military associations without public funding. Unfortunately that wasnt possible," said Harry, who reached a deal with Buckingham Palace on Saturday that requires the prince and his wife, Meghan, to stop using their "Royal Highness" titles and repay $3.1 million in public funds used to renovate their home. story continues below Harry, who has long complained about intrusive press coverage, explained that he had found the "love and happiness I had hoped for all my life" with Meghan, and stepping back from royal duties was what he had to do "to take a step forward into what I hope can be a more peaceful life." "The decision that I have made for my wife and I to step back is not one I made lightly," but "there really was no other option," he said, describing the media as "a powerful force." Harry, who is expected to join Meghan and their baby son, Archie, in Canada within days and spend much of his time in North America from now on, said the UK would remain his home and the place that he loves. He described Queen Elizabeth II as "my grandmother, my commander in chief," and said he had the "utmost respect" for her. (Meghan's estranged father spoke out on "Megxit" over the weekend.) : Four suspected Maoists, including a woman, raised slogans and distributed pamphlets and pasted posters at a village in Kannur district on Monday, prompting the police to launch combing operations to nab them. The police said they were informed by the local people about the presence of the ultras at Ambayathode in Kottiyoor. Police and 'Thunderbolt', an elite commando force of the Kerala police, was combing the forest area. A banner wanted people to cooperate with the CPI (Maoist) "Bharat Bandh" call on January 31 against the Centre's "Operation Samadhan"--anti-Left Wing Extremism (LWE) strategy. The pamphlets stated the kiling of four Maoists at Attapady in Palakkad last year would also be avenged. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) / -- MEDINEXUS - A National Medical Quiz Competition, is organized by LogIQuest- Kaplan in association with AMSA India. MEDINEXUS is a PAN-India event that gives an opportunity for the smartest medicos to test their medical knowledge, aptitude and awareness. Over 150+ teams across India are expected to participate in the first edition of MEDINEXUS. The event is open for all medical students in their 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th year and interns.However, passed out students are not eligible to participate in MEDINEXUS. It is a team event and each team must comprise of 3 members to participate, registrations are now open, and students can register online at usmle.logiquest.in/medinexus by paying a registration fees of Rs 900 per team or Individual students can register by paying a fee of Rs 500. Last day to register for the event is 31st January 2020. Top 3 teams will be awarded cash prizes and participants along with winners are eligible for scholarships worth Rs 10 Lakhs. Certificate of excellence will be awarded to the top 3 teams and participation certificates will be given to all participants. Further special appreciation awards will be given to colleges for their active participation and encouraging their students to participate in MEDINEXUS 2019. MEDINEXUS (2019) will be conducted on Sunday, 9th February 2020 at the Pearey Lal Bhawan Auditorium, Plot No 1, 2, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, Balmiki Basti, Vikram Nagar (1.5 KM from Maulana Azad Medical College) New Delhi, 110002. The event will also be hosting lunch for all the participants of MEDINEXUS 2019 at the venue. The format of the quiz will test the medical knowledge, aptitude and general awareness and will help students to assess their knowledge and boost their confidence for other competitive exams they will face in future. Also, expert career enhancement sessions have been planned for students to know more about medical opportunities in India and abroad. For any clarifications, Whatsapp or call at +91-7219204804 About LogIQuest LogIQuest is a division of ThinkCell Learning Solutions Pvt. Ltd, engaged in providing world-class preparatory solutions for USMLE and NBDE. LogIQuest is a result of ThinkCell's association with Kaplan Medical, one of the largest test prep companies in the world. LogIQuest as an exclusive Kaplan Certified Provider for USMLE & NBDE programs across India offers USMLE (Step 1, Step 2 CK, Step 2 CS & Step 3) and NBDE (Part1 & Part 2). ThinkCell (formerly Gateforum Educational Services Pvt. Ltd) has two lines of business - Gateforum & LogIQuest. GATEFORUM, promoted by alumni of the IIMs and IITs, is the largest organization in the field of GATE training, with a presence in more than 50 cities and having trained more than 2,30,000 students since inception. GATEFORUM is the number 1 institute for preparation for GATE Exam. The technical team at GATEFORUM comprises of Post Graduates of IITs, IISc and eminent professors teaching for GATE for a number of years. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With rumors swirling for quite some time about a possible reboot of the hit show 'Saved by the Bell', we are now getting some confirmation that it is actually going to happen. And while reboots of some of our favorite shows are always exciting, it was unknown whether any of the original cast would be making appearances on the show. Fortunately, not only has the filming begun, but some of the biggest castmembers have already shared information on what characters to expect in the show, as well as, the new faces that will take on different roles. Here's everything that we currently know. Related: 'Saved By The Bell' Reboot in Works With Mario Lopez and Elizabeth Berkley The New Saved by the Bell Plot Announcement People have so many questions about what to expect from the 90s reboot, but thankfully the details have emerged and there will certainly be some major differences between original and its contemporary counterpart. Regarding the plot, the Hollywood Reporter was privileged to be given exactly the storyline. "When California governor Zack Morris gets into hot water for closing too many low-income high schools, he proposes they send the affected students to the highest-performing schools in the stateincluding Bayside High," the Hollywood Report was told. "The influx of new students gives the overprivileged Bayside kids a much needed and hilarious dose of reality." Mario Lopez and Elizabeth Berkley Returning Along with New Faces The cast of Saved by the Bell will feature some of the old characters with a handful of new faces. One of the biggest new additions is with that of Josie Totah. The actress, who recently came out as transgender, will play Lexi. The Hollywood Reporter describes their character as "a beautiful, sharp-tongued cheerleader and the most popular girl at Bayside High who is both admired and feared by her fellow students". Elizabeth Berkley and Mario Lopez, who played Jessie and Slater, respectively, will both be making a return to the show. Berkley made the exciting announcement back in September on Instagram emphatically stating, "IM SO EXCITED.... here we gooooo!!! @mariolopez.... are you ready for grownup Jessie?! she wrote on Instagram. Jessie and Slater are back for more fun. We are thrilled to have Emmy winning 30Rock writer @TraceyWigfield bring the sequel to life on NBC/Universal." Story continues Mark-Paul Gosselaar Returning in Limited Role, Tiffani Theissen a Possibility Just this past Thursday, it was also revealed by The Hollywood Reporter that Mark-Paul Gosselaar, the actor who played Zack Morris, will also be returning to the show. His role, however, will not be a considerable one, as he's only slated for three episodes and will mainly be contributing the show's production. Another big development in the cast assembly is that production is in talks with Tiffani-Amber Theissen, the young heart-throb who played Kelly Kapowski, although nothing has been finalized between the parties as of now. Still, it's an exciting time as the show has already began filming and some of the castmembers are providing people with an inside look at the filming. Lopez and Berkley Give Fans an Inside Look on Set at The Max On Saturday, Lopez posted a video to his Instagram account of the actor and Berkley sitting inside an easily recognizable scene - The Max, which was a diner featured in the show, where the Bayside students spent most of their free time. In the Instagram post, Lopez captioned it with 'Back at The Max' with Berkley commenting, "Talk about being in a time machine." Although filming has begun, there is no set date for when the reboot will hit NBC's new streaming platform, Peacock. It is slated to be shown around April, though. In line with its commitment to attract regional capital investment into the country, Gabriel Lima, Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons of Equatorial Guinea, met with high-level Nigerian investors, bankers and financiers to discuss the opportunities offered by the countrys Year of Investment initiative. The delegation from Equatorial Guinea met with several Nigerian executives from the Africa Finance Corporation, Polaris Bank, Sterling Bank, First Bank, UBA and Zenith Bank but also captains of the industry such as Simbi Wabote, Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board. Such discussions with all the leading figures who have been a true engine of growth for the Nigerian economy is essential as Nigeria continues to be Africas largest economy. Minister Obiang Lima presented key opportunities for them to expand their portfolio by investing in Equatorial Guinea. The Equatorial Guinea delegation also listened to their expectations on investing in Equatorial Guinea, while advising Nigerian businesses on the latest development and opportunities offered to African investors within the countrys rapidly developing oil and mining sectors. A clear consensus came out of the discussions that only Africans can fully develop Africa while working with other partners coming from Asia, the Middle East, Europe and North America. Equatorial Guineas mission is to cut the dependence on foreign imports. It is important to boost local entrepreneurship, energy security and using our products to grow the local economy while engaging the regional market, declared Minister Obiang Lima. As such, Mr Lima committed to using Nigerian expertise to develop local content in Equatorial Guinea and also work with Nigeria on gas-related matters, oil market stabilization with OPEC, and industry coordination through APPO. The great relationship that has existed between H.E. President Muhammadu Buhari and H.E. President Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has really opened many doors for us. We dont take this engagement lightly and we must deliver. More than before, I am optimistic that we are going to have better collaboration and sign deals that will improve the lives of Nigerians and Equatorial Guineans and ensure our relationship reaches new heights, added Mr Lima. In that regard, Mr Lima confirmed his participation and attendance at the Nigeria International Petroleum Summit, set to take place in Abuja on February 9-12, 2020. With combined sales of $5.75 trillion, it's hard to imagine any industry bigger than the food retail and services sector. In modern America, chefs are celebrities and these food celebrities release cookbooks as if it's part of their job description. Even with (or perhaps because of) myriad food bloggers, cookbooks are one major book category surviving the shift to digital, with sales up 21% year-over-year in 2018. Personality, competition, and lifestyle food shows continue drawing huge viewership on television and online, exemplified by the likes of YouTube channels like Tastemade and Food Network stalwarts like "Chopped" and "Barefoot Contessa." Food-related documentaries like the acclaimed "Salt Fat Acid Heat" continue to flood Netflix and other streaming services. Once upon a time, naysayers questioned whether the Food Network could survive, but now Hollywood can't get enough culinary programming. VANCOUVER, British Columbia The first stage of an extradition hearing for a senior executive of Chinese tech giant Huawei started in a Vancouver courtroom M onday, a case that has infuriated Beijing, caused a diplomatic uproar between China and Canada and complicated high-stakes trade talks between China and the United States. Canadas arrest of chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of Huaweis founder, in late 2018 at Americas request enraged Beijing to the point it detained two Canadians in apparent retaliation. Huawei represents Chinas progress in becoming a technological power and has been a subject of U.S. security concerns for years. Beijing views Mengs case as an attempt to contain Chinas rise. Our government has been clear. We are a rule of law country and we honor our extradition treaty commitments, Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said at a Cabinet retreat in Manitoba. It is what we need to do and what we will do. Chinas foreign ministry on Monday accused the United States and Canada of violating Mengs rights and called for her release. It is completely a serious political incident, said a ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang. He urged Canada to correct mistakes with concrete actions, release Ms. Meng Wanzhou and let her return safely as soon as possible. Washington accuses Huawei of using a Hong Kong shell company to sell equipment to Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions. It says Meng, 47, committed fraud by misleading the HSBC bank about the companys business dealings in Iran. Meng, who is free on bail and living in one of the two Vancouver mansions she owns, sat next to her lawyers wearing a black dress with white polka dots. She earlier waved at reporters as she arrived at court. Meng denies the U.S. allegations. Her defense team says comments by President Donald Trump suggest the case against her is politically motivated. We trust in Canadas judicial system, which will prove Ms. Mengs innocence, Huawei said in a statement as the proceedings began. Meng was detained in December 2018 in Vancouver as she was changing flights on the same day that Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met for trade talks. Prosecutors have stressed that Mengs case is separate from the wider China-U.S. trade dispute, but Trump undercut that message weeks after her arrest when he said he would consider intervening in the case if it would help forge a trade deal with Beijing. China and the U.S. reached a Phase 1 trade agreement last week, but most analysts say any meaningful resolution of the main U.S. allegation that Beijing uses predatory tactics in its drive to supplant Americas technological supremacy could require years of contentious talks. Trump had raised the possibility of using Huaweis fate as a bargaining chip in the trade talks, but the deal announced Wednesday didnt mention the company. Huawei is the biggest global supplier of network gear for cellphone and internet companies. Washington is pressuring other countries to limit use of its technology, warning they could be opening themselves up to surveillance and theft. The initial stage of Mengs extradition hearing this week is focusing on whether Mengs alleged crimes are crimes both in the United States and Canada. Her lawyers filed a a motion Friday arguing that Mengs case is really about U.S. sanctions against Iran, not a fraud case. Canada does not have similar sanctions on Iran. Richard Peck, Mengs lawyer, said in court that the fraud allegations are a facade and the charges are really about the United States attempting to enforce its sanctions on Iran. Would we be here in the absence of U.S. sanctions law? My response is no, Peck said. Arguments will continue Tuesday and throughout the week. The second phase, scheduled for June, will consider defense allegations that Canada Border Services, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the FBI violated Mengs rights while collecting evidence before she was actually arrested. The extradition case could take years to resolve if there are appeals. Nearly 90% of those arrested in Canada on extradition requests from the United States. were surrendered to U.S. authorities between 2008 and 2018. In apparent retaliation for Mengs arrest, China detained former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and Canadian entrepreneur Michael Spavor. The two men have been denied access to lawyers and family and are being held in prison cells where the lights are kept on 24-hours-a-day. China has also placed restrictions on various Canadian exports to China, including canola oil seed and meat. Last January, China also handed a death sentence to a convicted Canadian drug smuggler in a sudden retrial. Thats mafia-style pressure, Lewis, the Washington-based analyst, said. ___ Associated Press writer Jim Morris reported this story in Vancouver and AP writer Rob Gillies reported from Toronto. Narsinghpur: In a bid to highlight "correct facts" about the citizenship law which triggered protests across the country, a groom in Madhya Pradesh has printed a slogan supporting the legislation on his marriage invitation card. Prabhat Garhwal, said he would explain the correct facts about the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) to dispel any wrong notions about it, if asked by his guests. Mr Garhwal, a resident of Kareli in Narsinghpur district, said he was upset with the "largescale violence" caused by the CAA, which grants citizenship to non-Muslim refugees migrated to India from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh. "I got the ''I support CAA'' slogan printed on the marriage card as I believe that people should abide by the Constitutional law. I thought this move will create the right awareness about the law," he added. GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- A new bakery in Grand Rapids wants to serve up a lot of flavor in tiny bites. Bros Doughs opened its doors at 2042 E. Beltline Ave N.E over the weekend. It serves 50-plus varieties of mini doughnuts. The tiny confections are sold fresh from the deep fryer and topped with classics like cinnamon sugar and chocolate frosting. Or you can get one of their creations like apple pie, lemon raspberry, strawberry pop-tart, M&M and more. We just believe in a better way to doughnut, said owner Brodie Bro Hock. We just saw that there was an opportunity in Grand Rapids, and nobodys doing hot, made-to-order doughnuts. Hock started the business with his wife Meghan. The two are Michigan natives who graduated from Cornerstone University. They moved to Kalamazoo to start their family, but decided to head back to Grand Rapids to dish out the mini doughnuts. We think a better way to doughnut is warm, fresh, made right in front of you, versus pre-made at 2 in the morning, Hock said. Even though I love those ones and I eat those ones. The name comes in part from Hocks daughter. The Bro is Hocks longtime nickname. But the dough comes from when his daughter said dough before she could say doughnut. So far, business has been good, Hock said. We felt super accepted by our neighbors and all around here, so we felt just truly blessed to be in Grand Rapids, he said. Bros Doughs is located off the East Beltline tucked into a small spot that Hock said is perfect for what they need. Its a unique spot that a lot of businesses couldnt fill, Hock said. But what we do is to-go and fast and fun and fresh, and its a really prime location. Hock said they want to keep it simple. They sell T-shirts and coffee mugs with their logo on them. They also sell brewed coffee and a few types of bottled beverages, but other than that, its just doughnuts. There are 48 staple flavors, but Hock said they plan to rotate in different special flavors every month. Depending on their popularity, those flavors might get added to the permanent menu. When fall comes around, you just gotta do something pumpkin spice," Hock said. "If you dont, youll get disowned by the community. Bros Doughs is open Monday-Saturday from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. For more reading on local businesses: New brunch restaurant coming to Grand Rapids Northwest Side Indoor dog park featuring food, alcohol to open in Grand Rapids area this summer Brewery, winery to open Grand Rapids tasting room The decision that I have made for my wife and I to step back is not one I made lightly. It was so many months of talks after so many years of challenges. And I know I havent always got it right, but as far as this goes, there really was no other option. Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat on Monday asserted that the defence services were prepared to take on any challenge, as he said it was very difficult to predict if a war scenario with Pakistan would emerge and downplayed the Chinese matrix in the Indian Ocean Region. Inducting the first Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter squadron in south India at the Air Force Station here, seen as a gamechanger in guarding the strategically important IOR, the top general said all the three services were tasked to prepare for any option that may emerge. He was responding to a question about any possibility of a war emerging between India and Pakistan. "...It is very difficult to predict a scenario. But, we are always prepared for any task that may be assigned to us," Gen Rawat told reporters. Asked about how Chinese presence in the Indian Ocean posed a threat to India, he said every nation looked at its security from a strategic perspective. While the squadron here is expected to give a thrust to India's capabilities for dominance especially in the IOR, China's presence in the same region is on the rise. The Dragon nation already has a military base at the strategically located Djibouti at the horn of Africa, its first in a foreign nation, and it is also looking at expanding its presence. "Every nation looks at its security from a strategic perspective. Oceans are meant for freedom of navigation. And therefore wherever you find any country which has interest in a particular area, it will attempt to come to that area to dominate the area more so for the freedom of navigation," he told reporters. Further, pointing to aspects like protection of trade in sea routes by any country, he said: "Therefore, I don't think we should look at it particularly from that perspective (a pointer to perceived threat from China)." Also, he said the navies were operating in this area (indicating IOR) only because of freedom of navigation. The top general also referred to facets like piracy that can disrupt movement of merchant ships. On how strong was the Army, Rawat said "have confidence in armed forces, they will never let you down. They have never let you down in the past and they will never let you down in the future." Asked about manpower shortage in the army, the Chief of Defence Staff said adequate number of people joined the three services, adding, in view of a very stringent form of selection some aspirants could not be selected. "You need people who are patriotic in their thought and who are willing to serve under very difficult operating conditions," he said. Gen Rawat said his new role was aimed at integrating defence systems and the three services (the Army, the Navy and the Indian Air Force). It was for this reason the post of CDS was created, he said. "...we will keep moving towards better integration and jointness," Rawat, who was appointed the country's first Chief of Defence Staff on December 30 last year, added. On strengthening the Air base here, Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria said it will undertake the role of the southern peninsula's air defence. Asked about threat of unmanned aerial vehicles, the IAF chief said said it will be tackled by developing new systems. "...We know that in the future unmanned systems will be used and we should also be capable of protecting our air space by defending our own systems through technology." The Indian Air Force commissioned a squadron of Sukhoi-30 MKI at the Air Force Station here, the first such base in south India for the high profile fighter jets, seen as a gamechanger in guarding the strategically important Indian Ocean Region (IOR). The 'Tigersharks' squadron of Sukhoi 30 MKI jets integrated with the BrahMos cruise missiles was inducted in the presence of the Air Chief and top officials. The Su-30 MKI is a state-of-the-art all weather multi-role fighter aircraft capable of undertaking varied air defence, ground attack and maritime missions. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters pose for a photo on a rooftop overlooking Baghouz, Syria, after the SDF declared the area free of ISIS terrorists after months of fighting on March 23, 2019. (Maya Alleruzzo/Photo via AP) ISIS Member in Charge of Funding Sleeper Cells Killed in SDF Operation A member of the ISIS terrorist group responsible for sleeper cell attacks against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has been killed in Deir ez-Zur, Syria, according to a military spokesperson. Abu Alward Al-Iraqi, an Iraqi citizen, was killed in an Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) and Syrian commando raid, OIR spokesman Col. Myles B. Caggins III said in a statement on Twitter. The ISIS Oil Emir was killed during @SOJTFOIR & Syrian commando raid. This hinders Daeshs ability to fund terrorism, Caggins wrote on Sunday. According to the Rojava Network, Al-Iraqi was responsible for providing money and oil to finance ISIS cells. The SDF said Al-Iraqi was killed when clashes erupted between ISIS terrorists and the Kurdish-led forces during the Jan. 14 operation where they were also able to seize a quantity of ammunition and documents, reported Kurdistan24. Al-Iraqi was in charge of oil and funding ISIS sleeper cells and supervising ISIS attacks in the area, the SDF said. Caggins said the operation disrupts the terror groups ability to generate revenue to finance its activity in Deir ez-Zur. ISIS would love to get their terrorists hands on the oil in eastern Syria, its a historical revenue source for them; with our Syrian commando partners, we will not allow this to happen again, he told Kurdistan 24. Our Syrian commando partners continue to prove their mettle in the fight against ISIS remnants. The SDF announced that it had defeated the extremist groups self-proclaimed caliphate in March 2019 after destroying its last stronghold in the town of al-Baghouz in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor. A fighter from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) holds a weapon in the village of Baghouz, Deir Al Zor province, Syria, on March 17, 2019. (Stringer/Reuters) Baghouz is free and the military victory against Daesh has been achieved, said Mustafa Bali, a spokesman for the Kurdish-led SDF, referring to ISIS by its Arabic acronym. At its height, ISIS ruled a third of both Syria and Iraq, holding millions of people hostage to its harsh and violent interpretation of Islamic law. While it imposed an unforgiving version of ISIS through public beheadings and crucifixions, the group also carried out governance in its territories, including regulating prices at markets. ISIS terrorist leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in northern Syria in October last year after U.S. special forces launched a nighttime raid on an ISIS-held compound. However, ISIS sleeper cell attacks continue to occur in areas now liberated from its brutal rule and the SDF, internal security forces, and the coalition continue in their efforts to drive out remaining ISIS members in Syria. On Jan. 13, ISIS terrorists launched an attack on the Al-Waleed Syrian-Iraqi border crossing located in the Al-Qaim District of western Al-Anbar, killing one officer and wounding four others, CNN reported. Just one day prior, a number of ISIS terrorists launched a failed attack on another security post near the Syrian border but fled after Iraqi security forces fired back. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a human rights watchdog group, estimates that there are at least 4,000 to 5,000 active ISIS members in Syrias northeast. - An alliance of civil society organisations in Nigeria have warned against alleged judicial influence in most cases across the country - The organisations said the challenges of the judiciary if not urgently addressed will erode the values of reprieve, justice and faith of the institution - According to the organisations, Nigerians to come together and seek ways to save the judiciary from self-destructing A group has warned that Nigeria stands at a dangerous judicial crossroad following the influence on some judges in several legal cases in the country. The group an alliance of civil society organisations said the challenges of the judiciary if not urgently addressed will erode the values of reprieve, justice and faith in the very institution that ordinarily should stand above the vagaries of politics and compromise At a press conference in Abuja on Sunday, January 19, the Alliance for Preservation of Democracy said describing the Supreme Courts' judgment in the Imo governorship tussle as "tsunamic" said judgments in Nigeria nowadays are more political than judicial. In its statement signed by Igho Akeregha, the president of Civil Liberties Organization (CLO); Ugochukwu Ezekiel, the co-founder of the Center Against Brutality and for Safety of Journalist in Africa (CABSOJA); Lemmy Ughegbe of Make A Difference Initiative (MAD) and Ibiang Livinus, the vice-chairman of Model Leadership Foundation (MLF) said judges are ruled by fear of what could befall them if they act contrary to the famed body language of those that wield executive powers. The group in the statement challenged all Nigerians to come together and seek ways to save the judiciary from self-destructing. The statement read: "It is still a waiting game to see how the Supreme Court will explain its historic ruling on the Imo gubernatorial contest owing to its obvious somersault on legal precedents it had established prior to the curious judgment of Tuesday, January 14, 2020." "We are not unmindful that right from the moment security operatives, in Gestapo manner, laid siege to the homes of judges and thereafter the grave assault in the removal of the Justice Walter Onnoghen, judges across the country are in great peril, therefore wont to pander to some interests. The reason is that some of them are mired in conduct unbecoming of judicial officers, therefore, susceptible to blackmail by agents of state," the group noted. It said it is imperative that those who are already compromised should seek for penance through the NJC or come public so as to have the moral courage to deliver judgments not only according to the law but their conscience. The organisations said the challenges of the judiciary if not urgently addressed will erode the values of reprieve, justice and faith of the institution Source: UGC Stating that it is about time that Nigerians stand in defence of the judiciary as it serves as the last bastion of safety, decency and guardian of the rule of law, the group said that for too long have citizens have shirked their duty of rallying behind a key arm of government that needs to be shielded from the vagaries of the other two arms. "If we allow the judiciary and judicial officers to continual be muddied and bullied, then we should all count ourselves lost," the statement added. "As things are, judicial officers must embark on a soul searching while we as citizens corporate or otherwise must work to insulate the judiciary from the grievous assault of those determined to upend our democracy and cast a cloud over our common destiny," it said. Finally, the group said it expects that as the Apex Court moves to deliver judgments on other pending appeals, it will stand on firm footing and not be swayed by any sentiment other than justice for the common good. Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that some members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun state took to the streets of Abeokuta to protest the judgment of the Supreme Court in Imo state governorship tussle. PAY ATTENTION: Read the best news on Nigeria's #1 news app The chairman of the faction backed by the national leadership of PDP, Sikirulai Ogundele, led aggrieved members of the party in a demonstration in Abeokuta. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) - Legit.ng We have upgraded to serve you better Jubilation as Supreme Court declares Uzodinma Imo state governor | - on Legit TV Source: Legit.ng Industry Update Appointment 20 January 2020 Saad Al-Ahmari Appointed Director of HR and Government Affairs, KSA and Bahrain At InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) Riyadh, Saudi Arabia IHG has also appointed Saad Al-Ahmari as Director of HR and Government Affairs, KSA and Bahrain. Saad joins IHG from Boeing, Saudi Arabia where he served as the Head of Human Resources. As a senior HR practitioner and Saudi national, Saad is well versed with the transformation taking place in KSA and has expertise in HR strategy, Saudization, change management, employee engagement, government relations, employment law, and talent management. IHG Hotels & Resorts IHG Hotels & Resorts [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global hospitality company, with a purpose to provide True Hospitality for Good. With a family of 17 hotel brands and IHG Rewards, one of the worlds largest hotel loyalty programmes, IHG has over 6,000 open hotels in more than 100 countries, and a further 1,800 in the development pipeline. more information Recent Appointments at IHG Hans Heijligers - General Manager 10 January 2022 Originally from the Netherlands, Hans Heijligers spent 35 years of his hotel career abroad. He mainly settled in Asia where he led the entire Western region of Japan while serving as Managing Director at InterContinental Osaka for 3 years. read more Dani Demerjian - General Manager 10 January 2022 InterContinental Abu Dhabi has announced the appointment of Dani Demerjian as general manager, marking his first permanent general manager position in the industry. Demerjian started his career with IHG - the operators of the InterContinental brand - and has worked for the company numerous times over the years. read more Kolkata, Jan 20 : Students and alumni of Presidency University staged a demonstration on the campus against the new citizenship law during the founder's day programme here on Monday. The protesters collected signatures in support of their movement "We won't show papers". Thespian Bivas Chakraborty and former West Bengal Home Secretary Prasad Ranjan Roy were among the signatories. Alleging that the entire issue of National Register of Citizens (NRC) and Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) has been 'thrust' on the people at astonishing speed, Roy said: "People of our generation don't have birth certificates. We have school certificate and degree, on the strength of which we joined government service. If now somebody asks me to show records of my ancestor's land holdings, I have to say we never had such documents. "What all is happening is unacceptable. What saddens me more is the failure of political parties to join forces in resisting it," said Roy. Chakraborty said a referendum or a plebiscite should be held to decide whether the law has acceptability. "This law should have been enacted after taking the public into confidence. They (BJP) are shouting that they have got 38 per cent votes (in the Lok Sabha polls). This is not done, this isn't democracy. You can't decide our future just because you have got the support of 38 per cent of the electors. "Let there be a referendum, plebiscite to determine whether this law is acceptable," he said. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), for the first time, put out minutes of its October central board meeting, albeit with some information blacked out. To enhance transparency, the central bank will continue to put out the minutes in the public domain in spirit of the Right to Information Act, after after appropriately severing information that is permitted to be severed in accordance with the Act. Such minutes will be available within two weeks from the date of its confirmation in the next meeting of the central board and on being signed by the chairman in the same meeting, the ... For long term investors, improvement in profitability and outperformance against the industry can be important characteristics in a stock. In this article, I will take a look at SDI Group plc's (AIM:SDI) track record on a high level, to give you some insight into how the company has been performing against its historical trend and its industry peers. View our latest analysis for SDI Group Were SDI's earnings stronger than its past performances and the industry? SDI's trailing twelve-month earnings (from 31 October 2019) of UK2.2m has jumped 29% compared to the previous year. However, this one-year growth rate has been lower than its average earnings growth rate over the past 5 years of 46%, indicating the rate at which SDI is growing has slowed down. What could be happening here? Well, let's examine what's transpiring with margins and whether the whole industry is feeling the heat. AIM:SDI Income Statement, January 20th 2020 In terms of returns from investment, SDI Group has fallen short of achieving a 20% return on equity (ROE), recording 12% instead. Furthermore, its return on assets (ROA) of 8.2% is below the GB Medical Equipment industry of 8.4%, indicating SDI Group's are utilized less efficiently. And finally, its return on capital (ROC), which also accounts for SDI Groups debt level, has declined over the past 3 years from 12% to 12%. This correlates with an increase in debt holding, with debt-to-equity ratio rising from 9.2% to 18% over the past 5 years. What does this mean? While past data is useful, it doesnt tell the whole story. While SDI Group has a good historical track record with positive growth and profitability, there's no certainty that this will extrapolate into the future. You should continue to research SDI Group to get a better picture of the stock by looking at: Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for SDIs future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for SDIs outlook. Financial Health: Are SDIs operations financially sustainable? Balance sheets can be hard to analyze, which is why weve done it for you. Check out our financial health checks here. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore our free list of these great stocks here. NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the trailing twelve months from 31 October 2019. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures. 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. Loose Women's Saira Khan has claimed that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have left Britain 'divided' after announcing their decision to step down as senior royals. The businesswoman, 49, from Derbyshire, claimed on today's show that she has seen the progress the country has made in 'race relations' and is 'disappointed' to see Britain's treatment of Meghan Markle being branded racist internationally. Saira claimed that she had been branded racist for pointing out Meghan's skin colour, and said that she would have preferred if the couple 'stuck it out' rather than 'stir up all this race stuff and just go'. Loose Women's Saira Khan (pictured) has claimed that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have left Britain 'divided' after announcing their decision to step down as senior royals The couple, (pictured) made the bombshell announcement on social media just days after returning from a six-week break in Canada She fumed: 'I am very passionate about this. 'I was born in this county I lived through the 70s and 80s and 90s. 'In Britain we are in a much better place, more than the rest of the world when it comes to race relations. 'You cannot just stir up all this race stuff and then just go. For me, Harry and Meghan, you come out and say it's because of racism we're leaving. 'Or you come out and you say, "We didn't want to do the job". But do not leave people divided in this country, because I don't think it's because of racism.' The businesswoman claimed she is 'disappointed' in Britain's treatment of Meghan Markle being branded racist internationally Saira claimed during her rant that she had been branded racist for pointing out Meghan's skin colour in the past The couple, who plan to split their time between Britain and North America,made the bombshell announcement on social media just days after returning from a six-week break in Canada. It was announced last week that they will no longer use their HRH titles and will repay millions of pounds of taxpayers' money spent refurbishing Frogmore Cottage as the price of a 'Hard Megxit' deal. After fellow host Christine Lampard pointed out that internationally Britain's treatment of Meghan could be construed as racist, Saira claimed that there are 'racist elements in every single community'. 'There are racist element in every single community, this is not just about white on black', said Saira. 'We can't just single out people on colour, this is a problem in all communities. 'That is why we had the Rotherham grooming gangs, of Asian culture, because people are too scared. We cannot be scared to call out things we want to call out.' The host insisted that she would have preferred if the couple 'stuck it out' rather than 'stir up all this race stuff and just go' The mother-of-two went on to insist that 'two-years is not long enough' to 'change world opinion' and explained how she has been branded a racist for suggesting that Meghan's skin colour helps to make the royal family more diverse. 'How long have they been married, two minutes. I'm of that generation sometimes you have to give something a good shot', said Saira. 'You've got to stick it out, people say that's an easy option, the royal family is a safe institution and I was really hopeful for Meghan. 'I remember on this show when she went in, I was like "Yeah, brown girl" and I was called a racist. '[They said] "We don't see her colour, how dare you mention her colour". I was like "Oh my goodness no this is brilliant, because it's diverse, it's opening up the royal family". 'And I just feel like two-years is not long enough, sometimes you can change world opinion from the inside. 'But you've got to give it a chance you've got to give it a go and that's why I feel disappointed.' Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) has signed a $300 million four-year unsecured term loan with China Construction Bank (DIFC Branch) and China Construction Bank (Asia) Corporation to support the needs of the business. The principal amount of the loan can be increased to $500 million, said a DAE statement. Firoz Tarapore, Chief Executive Officer of DAE, said: We are delighted to start the new year 2020 with a meaningful and sizeable transaction with the DIFC branch of one of the worlds leading banking organisations. We look forward to deepening our relationship with CCB in the future. Yuan Shengrui, Senior Executive Officer at China Construction Bank (DIFC Branch), said: CCB DIFC Branch is delighted to have been given the opportunity to co-lead this successful transaction. It is a privilege to assist DAE in their financing requirements and we look forward to further collaborations in future. This syndication is the first financing which CCB Group arranged for DAE, and we are pleased to have the opportunity to be involved with closing such a successful deal. It demonstrates that DAE is a well-established borrower, which commands significant interest in both Asia and Middle East banking market. We look forward to continuously leveraging on CCBs overseas network and resources to deepen our partnership with DAE and promote closer business collaboration in the future. - TradeArabia News Service Chinese President Xi Jinping said Monday that it was extremely crucial to take every possible measure to combat a new coronavirus that has infected more than 200 people in the country. His remarks, cited by state broadcaster CCTV, came the same day that the country reported a sharp rise in the number of people infected by the novel form of viral pneumonia, including the first cases in the capital. The outbreak comes as the country enters its busiest travel period, when millions board trains and planes for the Lunar New Year holidays. The recent outbreak of novel coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan and other places must be taken seriously, Xi said, according to CCTV. Party committees, governments and relevant departments at all levels should put people's lives and health first. Health authorities in the central city of Wuhan, where the viral pneumonia appears to have originated, said an additional 136 cases have been confirmed in the city, which now has a total of 198 infected patients. As of the weekend, a third patient had died, bringing the death toll to three. Five individuals in Beijing and 14 in southern China's Guangdong have also been diagnosed with the new coronavirus, CCTV reported. A total of seven suspected cases have been found in other parts of the country, including in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces in the southwest and in Shanghai. The outbreak has put other countries on alert as millions of Chinese travel for the Lunar New Year. Authorities in Thailand and in Japan have already identified at least three cases, all involving recent travel from China. South Korea reported its first case Monday. At least six countries in Asia and three U.S. airports have started screening incoming airline passengers from central China. Many of the initial cases of the coronavirus were linked to a seafood market in Wuhan, which was closed as authorities investigated. Non-bank lender Conrad Funds Management (CFML) has secured $100 million in funding from Westpac, and plans to significantly increase its mortgage lending activity across New Zealand. CFML is a licensed fund manager based in New Zealand, primarily providing investment funds focused on property. It also offers loans for owner-occupied and investment property, and deals with both interest-only and principal and interest loans. Westpacs $100 million funding line will allow CFML to scale up the mortgage lending side of its business. It will be targeting borrowers who have been refused credit from mainstream banks, as lending conditions remain strict. Khmer Rouge victims from the S-21 prison in Phnom Penh said last week they were appreciative of efforts to restore and preserve textiles and clothing belonging to victims detained at the notorious site. Chum Mey, one of the few survivors from the former school-turned-prison, has made his lifes effort to come back to the Tuol Sleng prison on most days to remind and educate people of the atrocities committed there. Attending an event last week, where the United States Embassy funded a $75,000 project to restore the textiles, Chum Mey said he supported the important project because it was in line with his intentions to preserve artifacts and stories about the Khmer Rouge for educational purposes. How important is it? he queried. It is important for the next generations to know the truth. If we dont preserve all these things, they will disappear. The launch of the project was attended by Culture Minister Phoeurng Sackona and U.S. Ambassador W. Patrick Murphy last Thursday. The U.S. ambassador said it was critical to preserve the sacred objects, which were visual reminders of the genocidal regime. They help educate us all now and in the future. Future generations who will definitely need that kind of education to know exactly what took place, and how we can ensure it doesnt happen again, Murphy said. Minister Sackona and Murphy were then taken on a short tour of the existing textiles, which include clothing and hats, and were informed of the stories behind some of the preserved piece. Accompanying them, Chhay Visoth, director of the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, said that apart from being a reminder for all people of the Khmer Rouges violent regime, the restoration project will be helpful for researchers and historians. He said the information gathered and published from the restoration project can be used by academics, who now had little chance to view or study the textiles because of their delicate condition. This is huge because we cant put all these clothes on display, he said. We cant do that because we are concerned, not about theft, but the clothes being damaged due to moisture and the [hot] weather. During the first phase, the project involved an American preservation expert, Julia Brennan, who helped train the museum staff with techniques to preserve the nearly 5,000 pieces of clothing. U.S. Embassy officials said the first two phases of the project had cost $130,000. Minister Sackona said that there were hats with names of prisoners on them, making them valuable objects to document the stories of people who were detained at the prison. Besides this, there is history such some hats were written with names. So, its necessary to show the [backgrounds of] individuals and the history of our country, and the sufferings that took place in this Tuol Sleng prison, she added. Intimately aware of the benefits of documenting the Khmer Rouge years, Youk Chhang, the executive director of DC-CAM, said that even small amounts of money could make large impacts when it came to preservation of Khmer Rouge era items. This funding is small because small steps are sometimes more impactful than large leaps, he added. As he continues to visit the museum frequently, Chum Mey, who also sells a book about his experiences, said he wanted the U.S. to increase their funding, fearing that vestiges of the genocidal regime could disappear at some point. We want them to continue adding funding further because we have to organize and preserve what happened from disappearing, he added. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 11:13:40|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close German Chancellor Angela Merkel (L) and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (R) welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping's special envoy Yang Jiechi (C), a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, in Berlin, Germany, Jan. 19, 2020. Yang attended the Berlin Conference on Libya Sunday. (Xinhua/Wang Qing) BERLIN, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping's special envoy Yang Jiechi called here on Sunday for an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire in Libya. Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, made the appeal at the Berlin Conference on Libya. Yang said that effort to address the Libyan issue should focus on the fundamental interests of the Libyan people and the future and destiny of the North African country. All parties concerned should restart dialogue and reconciliation as soon as possible, he added. Yang also called for effectively and appropriately resolving differences in a bid to achieve regional peace and stability. The spillover effects of the Libyan conflict should also be eliminated through a comprehensive approach that addresses both symptoms and root causes, he said. China always takes an objective and fair stand on the Libyan issue, abides by the purposes and principle of the UN Charter, always respects Libya's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and insists on promoting the political settlement of the Libyan issue under the UN leadership, Yang said. China is willing to continue to work with the international community to positively contribute to restoring peace, stability and development in Libya, Yang said. Prayers for an end to violence have been said in Drogheda, Co Louth. They took place at the Holy Family Church in Ballsgrove, the home parish of murdered teen Keane Mulready-Woods. Srinagar, Jan 20 : The J&K police has apprehended one more suspect in disgraced DSP Davinder Singh's case and handed him over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Irfan Shah, brother of Hizb terrorist Naveed Babu, was called for questioning by the Police and arrested in Jammu. He was later handed over to the NIA. Naveed was arrested with his accomplice, a lawyer, and DSP Davinder Singh last week while they were heading to Jammu. Sources said Naveed operated through Irfan who was a pointsman for communication across the border. He was on the police radar since two months. The J&K Police is investigating the DSP's travels to Bangladesh where his two daughters are studying. Canada To Help Victims' Families With Funds, Still Expects Compensation From Iran By RFE/RL January 18, 2020 Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government will provide quick funds to the families of 57 citizens and 29 permanent residents of the country who died when a Ukrainian jetliner was shot down in Iran last week. Trudeau on January 17 said that, although Canada will provide C$25,000 (US$19,122) to the Canadian-tied victims' families, he still expects Iran to compensate these relatives. He said the immediate funds will help families pay for funerals, travel to Iran, and other costs. Any funds later provided by Tehran will go directly to the victims' families, he said. "I want to be clear, we expect Iran to compensate these families," Trudeau said. "But I have met them. They can't wait weeks. They need support now." After initially denying responsibility, Iran admitted that its military "unintentionally" shot down the Ukrainian airliner on January 8 after it departed the Tehran airport, killing all 176 people aboard. Iranian officials said the plane was accidentally shot down after it veered toward a sensitive military site. Trudeau has said the downing of the aircraft was a "Canadian tragedy" because 138 of the passengers were headed for Canada. It had previously been reported that 57 of the victims were Canadian citizens, mainly from the country's large Canadian-Iranian community. Trudeau's remarks for the first time also confirmed that 29 permanent residents of Canada were also among the fatalities. Citizens of Iran, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Sweden, Britain, and Germany were also aboard the plane. Canada in 2012 suspended diplomatic relations with Tehran, but Trudeau and Canada's foreign minister have had contacts with their Iranian counterparts in the wake of the shoot-down. Trudeau also said the Boeing 737-800 passenger jet's "black boxes" had been badly damaged, and he called on Tehran to turn them over to France as part of the probe into the international investigation. "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. "The right place to send those black boxes to get proper information from them and in a rapid way" is France, he said, adding "that is what we're encouraging the Iranian authorities to agree to." The spokesman for BEA, the French accident investigating agency, said it has not been informed about whether it will eventually receive the plane's black boxes and its voice and data recorders as part of the investigation. With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and dpa Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/canada-funds-ukraine- plane-victims-iran-black-boxes/30384172.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 US ambassador to South Korea has some unusual explanations for the harsh criticism he's faced in his host country. His mustache, maybe? Or a Japanese ancestry that raises unpleasant reminders of Japan's former colonial domination of Korea? Many South Koreans, however, have a more straight-forward explanation for Harry Harris' struggle to win hearts and minds in Seoul, and it's got more to do with an outspoken manner that they see as undiplomatic and rude. Since arriving in Seoul in July 2018, Harris, a retired navy general born to a Japanese mother and an American navy officer, has been the focus of keen attention because of his military and ethnic background. The 63-year-old former US Pacific Command chief has sometimes drawn criticism from those who take issue with his manner when dealing with South Koreans. His mustache has become the subject of ribbing online, with jokes made about how it resembles those of Japanese colonial masters, who brutally occupied the Korean Peninsula from 1910-45. But there is more serious concern that the discord could widen a growing rift in Seoul's relations with Washington at a time when diplomacy with rival North Korea seem in danger of imploding. Harris recently said his appearance and ethnicity have been a source of his criticism in South Korea. "My mustache, for some reason, has become a point of some fascination here," Harris told a group of foreign reporters in Seoul last week. "I have been criticised in the media here, especially in social media, because of my ethnic background, because I am a Japanese-American." It's not the first time a US ambassador in South Korea has been in the for things other than diplomacy. In 2015, former Ambassador Mark Lippert was slashed in the face and arm by an anti-American activist. But unlike Lippert, Harris has repeatedly irked many South Koreans since President Donald Trump sent him here. After meeting Harris in November, Lee Hye-hoon, then chairwoman of the South Korean parliament's intelligence committee, said that the ambassador repeated about 20 times Trump's calls for Seoul to drastically increase its financial contribution to US troop deployment in the South. In recent months, four students were arrested after they broke into Harris' Seoul residence during an anti-US rally. A mock mustache was plucked from his picture at another demonstration. Harris said his mustache has nothing to do with his Japanese background and that he started growing it only to mark the start of his career as a diplomat. "To those people, I say that you are cherry-picking history," Harris said, adding that some Korean independence fighters also had a mustache. Harris said he understands the historical animosity that exists between Japan and South Korea. "But I'm not the Japanese-American ambassador to Korea," he said. "I'm the American ambassador to Korea." Kevin Gray, a professor of International Relations at the University of Sussex in the UK, tweeted Friday that "Koreans' reaction to Harris' mustache is vastly exaggerated." He said what did rile South Koreans was Harris' "imperialistic manner" and efforts to "undermine" South Korean President Moon Jae-in and "dictate" South Korean government policy. A Monday editorial from the Korea Times said that "the point is not his mustache." "South Koreans would not have cared that much about his mustache if he was a 'normal' ambassador," the editorial said. Most surveys show a majority of South Koreans support the US military presence in South Korea as deterrence against potential North Korean aggression, but there is a small but determined anti-US network. South Korean media have often compared Harris with his popular predecessor Lippert. Images of Lippert bleeding after the 2015 knife attack shocked many South Koreans and triggered an outpouring of public sympathy. The attack during a breakfast forum left deep gashes on Lippert's face and arm and required five days of hospitalization. While leaving a Seoul hospital, Lippert inspired many by saying in Korean: "The ground hardens after rain. Let's go together." When asked by reporters about Moon saying he may push for individual tourism to North Korea because it won't violate US-led international sanctions, Harris stressed the need for South Korea to consult with the United States. Those comments added to criticism of Harris, with ruling party lawmaker Song Young-gil comparing him to a Japanese governor general. Harris' troubles may also be linked to growing unease between South Korea and the United States. The US desire to enforce tough sanctions on North Korea doesn't fit with the dovish Moon's push to get sanction exemptions and restart joint rapprochement projects with North Korea. Trump's demands for a large increase in Seoul's payment for the US military deployment prompted many South Koreans to question whether the United States is still a trustworthy ally. "Rather than address the sources of these frustrations, some South Koreans have directed their ire at an American admiral-turned-diplomat of Japanese heritage," said Leif-Eric Easley, associate professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul. "Unfortunately, Seoul faces political and diplomatic decisions that are much tougher than opting for a clean shave. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Christina Koch are taking their third spacewalk outside the International Space Station today (Jan. 20) to replace the orbiting laboratories aging batteries and you can catch the epic action live online. The spacewalk began at 6:35 a.m. EST (1335 GMT) today, marking the third time an all-woman team has worked together outside the station. You can watch the spacewalk live here and on Space.com's homepage, courtesy of NASA TV. Meir and Koch are wrapping up work that began in October 2019, to upgrade the batteries that store power generated by the space station's solar array. Their first spacewalk (which was the first all-woman spacewalk ever) took place Oct. 18 . A second spacewalk successfully wrapped up Jan. 15 . Related: The amazing spacewalks of Expedition 61 in photos Astronauts use power in space for everything from lighting rooms to conducting experiments. The upgraded batteries are lithium-ion batteries, which are expected to last longer and to generate more power than the previous generation nickel-hydrogen batteries that were installed several years ago. If Koch and Meir finish the last battery spacewalk as expected, there's another spacewalk by other astronauts coming shortly. NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan and Italian ISS commander Luca Parmitano are expected to exit the ISS Saturday (Jan. 25), but for a different task. Parmitano and Morgan spent much of the end of 2019 working on the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS), which is an aging dark matter experiment on the ISS. The astronauts, in concert with teams on the ground, are doing a complex repair that NASA says is the toughest work the agency has done in space since the last Hubble Space Telescope upgrade in 2009 . NASA astronauts Christina Koch (left) and Jessica Meir prepare their spacesuits for a series of spacewalks in January 2020. (Image credit: NASA) The duo completed three of four planned AMS spacewalks in 2019. In December, NASA warned that the battery spacewalks (which are more urgent than the AMS spacewalks) and a busy schedule of visiting space vehicles could delay the last AMS spacewalk . As of this week, however, NASA is projecting all spacewalks will be finished before half of the six-person Expedition 61 crew returns to Earth in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. Three astronauts will remain in space as NASA works out the sequence of future missions, which is under discussion as final tests are being run for American commercial crew vehicles to fly astronauts. (Currently, all astronauts fly to the ISS using the Soyuz, but NASA is seeking to shift most of their astronauts to commercial crew vehicles.) Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook . Today is Monday, the 20th of January in the year of our Lord 2020. Or is it? Its also the 23rd day of Tevet, 5780, in the Hebrew calendar. Its also the the 24th day of Jumada Al-Awwal, 1441 in the Hijri, the Islamic calendar. And its also the 26th day of the 12th month of the 4717th year in the Chinese calendar. Today is not just one day it can be many days, depending on who you are or where you live. Its odd, because were all so familiar with a standard calendar and a standard system of time-telling, whether were talking about the hours of the day or the months of the year. That is to say, we use mean solar time and we use the Gregorian calendar. But time is a far more fluid construct than we make it out to be. This is the last week of the year in the Chinese calendar, which means that all over the world, the Chinese diaspora will be tidying their houses, preparing their business affairs (its considered horrifically bad luck to start the year with any unpaid debts), making plans to visit friends and extended family members, and most importantly of all, because food is at the core of Chinese culture conducting lavish multi-generational family dinners with tables laden with symbolically important dishes. Most people are acquainted with the idea that there is an animal associated with each year in the Chinese calendar. There are 12 of these animals, and they cycle through one every year in a particular sequence. This comes in very handy sometimes for those of us familiar with the Chinese zodiac cycle; all you need to know is someones zodiac animal in order to determine the year they were born in. Someone tells you theyre born in the year of the Rat, for example (the upcoming Chinese zodiac year), you can probably figure out if theyre 12, 24 or 36 years old. In the horological world, the advent of a new Chinese year means that we see a mini-deluge of timepieces that celebrate the Chinese zodiac animal. Sometimes, we have animals that are conventionally seen as noble or mighty. Such as the tiger, or the horse, or the dragon (the one imaginary animal in the entire zodiac, which I never understood the reason behind). Other times, we have rather incongruously low animals, such as the rat or its predecessor, the pig (people try to make it sound a little more elevated by calling it a boar, but a pig is a pig, all right). This makes for some rather interesting watch dial executions, as (mostly) Swiss manufacturers try to portray some frankly rather unpleasant animals in aesthetically pleasing ways. Of course, these animals dont always have the same associations in Chinese culture. Continuing with the example of the upcoming zodiac animal, people born in the year of the Rat are seen to be curious, highly intelligent and energetic. They certainly do not root around in other peoples trash. Keep an eye out our article on Chinese New Year watches, coming out later this week. And to our readers (Chinese or otherwise), lets all look forward to a year of curiosity, intelligence and great energy! The dilatory tactics of Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer to keep the Senate impeachment trial going with constant demands for new witnesses and new evidence is intended to tarnish the president with the stain of impeachment forever. It will also give media the opportunity to prosecute Trumps impeachment on CNN and MSNBC, and in the New York Times and Washington Post, for the purpose of turning the public against Trump and his reelection, no matter what happens in the Senate. YouTube screen grab They know they cannot get a guilty verdict in the upper chamber, so they will strive mightily for a guilty verdict from the public with a new Christine Blasey Ford emerging daily; Lev Parnas is merely the first. Like synchronized swimmers, Media heads will ask that days Julie Swetnick leading questions to get the answers they want -- something that wouldnt be allowed in a court. The goal is to get the public to convict Trump despite the House prosecutors inevitable loss in the Senate. The beauty of Dem/medias ploy is that it doesnt matter whether the Senate allows or disallows witnesses in the impeachment trial. If they cant get Republicans to agree to witnesses, they will cry, Coverup! If there is additional testimony, Republican witnesses will be ignored by media with the expectation that many voters will not seek the truth. Even so, some believe it might benefit McConnell and the Republicans to allow some prosecution witnesses as a tradeoff to getting testimony from defense witnesses such as Hunter Biden, whistleblower Ciaramella, Joe Hands on Leadership Biden, Schiff (Ill take House Committee Chairmen for $100, Alex), ICIG Atkinson, and maybe even the prayerfully prating and effulgent Nancy Pelosi (complete with her good Catholic coruscating halo). Exposing the whistleblower Ciaramella/Schiff/Atkinson conspiracy in the construction and submission of the complaint that precipitated impeachment has value even if media ignore it. The problem is Schiff, Ciaramella, and Atkinson can lie with impunity. They know there is zero chance of any repercussions. A Democrat cant get arrested in this town (see Comey, McCabe, Brennan, Clapper, et al). In naming Schiff as head prosecutor for the House, the always cagey Pelosi to some degree insulates him from being called as a witness. Nancy will paint it as a Republican dirty trick to call for his testimony and media will certainly echo that claim. The same goes should they seek testimony from her. People have been questioning Speaker Pelosis strategy during the entire impeachment process. Schiff and Nadlers hearings, filled with secondhand witnesses and hearsay evidence that wouldnt hold up in any court, were an exercise in onanism more than an actual impeachment investigation. In addition, the Articles of Impeachment adopted by House included 2 charges that werent even crimes, much less high crimes and misdemeanors: Abuse of Power and Obstruction of Congress. In what seemed to be tactical mistakes by Pelosi, the investigation was deliberately truncated because of urgency. Then the Articles of Impeachment were withheld as she tried to control rules for the Senate trial and force the further investigation and witness testimony urgency prevented in the House. This despite Pelosi having no power or leverage over the Senate, which is controlled by Republicans. Pelosi knows the Democrats are losing on impeachment. Now shes afraid theyre also losing the 2020 Presidential Election. None of the leading Democratic Party candidates can beat Trump in November. Pinning Warren and Sanders in the Senate for a months-long trial and having Bidens campaign destroyed by testimony doesnt hurt because Bloomberg and Buttigieg are waiting in the wings. Both may be mere adumbrations of a sane candidate, but the others are outright crazy. And neither Biden, nor Warren, nor Sanders in any case, can beat even an impeached forever Trump. Biden may be the front-runner in the Democrats quest for the presidency, but Trump will overwhelm him. Imagine Biden on CNN standing behind Erin Burnett, smelling her hair and telling her about the blond hairs on his legs, loved by so many minority children when he was a lifeguard at a mixed-race pool ruled by Corn Pop. Its not hard to imagine the Trump campaign commercial, Biden: he stands behind young girls everywhere. All Trump would need for Sanders is a 30-spot with pictures of the socialists honeymoon in Russia while the Beatles song Back in the USSR plays and Trump intones the aphorism (hopefully), America will never be a socialist country. Hed have the most fun with Warren who, as the stock market crashes at the thought of her presidency just before Election Day, will come out as a transsexual minority woman. Trump will tweet her picture with the line, I was born a poor black child. (Apologies to Steve Martin.) No, best to blow them up now in the hopes a moderate-sounding candidate like Bloomberg or a gay candidate like Buttigieg can give Trump a fight. With the Democrats and media continuing to investigate and portray every little thing as the walls closing in, and the noose tightening they can possibly keep the trial going on through November tying up the Senate and halting all Senate business. No judges will be approved because the Senators must attend the trial, an advantage in itself, and doubly so considering the frailty of Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Some say the only hope the Republicans have is to hear the House case and the Presidents defense and then immediately vote to dismiss. But it really doesnt matter what the Republicans do. If they dismiss immediately or allow witnesses, the Democrats and their propaganda arm, the media, will continue their impeachment of Donald Trump in the press. Pelosis gambit is doomed to failure, but its all she has. Please follow the author on Twitter @williamlgensert Jayanta Roy Chowdhury By Express News Service NEW DELHI: The final budget-making exercise kick-started on Monday saw finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman ladling out the traditional halwa for her staff out of a huge cast iron pot. The end result for the taxpayer may be bitter or sweet depending on how the budget pot is stirred and which cesses are added or taken out. Sitharaman will be looking for ways to reverse Indias slowdown which has seen unemployment at record levels, industry shrinking and the overall economy slowing down. Economic pundits want her to cut taxes for the middle class to boost consumer spending while at the same time increase expenditure on rural schemes and infrastructure building to increase employment and start a virtuous cycle of economic activity. The 'halwa ceremony' marks the start of the period when about 100 officials involved in the final budget-making process are 'locked in'. These officials and staff have to stay within the red-sandstone North Block to maintain the secrecy of the tax proposals they are working on. They can get back to the outside world only after the Budget is presented by the Union Finance Minister in Parliament. Landline phones and mobiles of the officials locked in are monitored by intelligence agencies. Visitors are escorted by security personnel to the officer they visit. Sensitive sections including the central board of direct taxes, central board of indirect taxes, revenue department and budget divisions dealing with taxation policies, which form the heart of the budget-making exercise, are kept under strict armed vigil throughout this period. Intelligence sleuths in plainclothes mentor their charges round the clock in one of the most elaborate yet least understood security exercises in the country. Cybersecurity and spyware ensure there is no cyber eavesdropping or leaks out of the building. While a powerful electronic jammer brought into play some years back ensures that mobile phones are not used to pass on sensitive information out of the corridors of the ministry, a small telephone exchange keeps an ear on sensitive landline phones. Despite the government announcing a series of steps to revive the economy including slashing corporate taxes and announcing relief for sectors like automobiles and realty, the budget remains a critical security event. Corporate sleuths hunt for taxation changes, including customs duty changes prior knowledge can mean thousands of crores in profit. For instance, if a coal importer brings in a million tonnes of coal ahead of a budget announcement to raise the duty on coal, he could make a killing. Or the knowledge that cigarettes would be taxed less could be used by a stock market punter to buy into tobacco stocks, fetching him millions in a post-budget rally, said a top revenue department official. Prince William and Prince Harry used to have a very close bond as brothers. However, it looks like things between the two princes are very tense these days. As with most problems in the royal family, Prince William and Prince Harry are often reluctant to share many details about their rift with the media. Yet, it seems that Prince William recently made a shocking statement that could be a confirmation of his feud with Prince Harry. Read on below to find out what exactly Prince William said. How the alleged feud began Prince Harry and Prince William | Karwai Tang/WireImage According to a lot of reports, Prince William and Prince Harry started becoming distant in 2016. Prince Harry had just begun dating Meghan Markle at the time, and Prince William had some concerns about his brothers new relationship. It was all so quick that William and Kate didnt have a moment to get to know Meghan because Harry hardly knew Meghan, royal expert Ingrid Seward said. And, of course, quite naturally William and Kate would have thought, Oh, shes been married before, shes older than Harry, I hope shes going to make him happy. Anyone would think that. Prince Harry did not see it like that, unfortunately. It was alleged that Prince Harry went ballistic when Prince William tried to have a conversation with him about Meghan. The younger prince did not like that his relationship was being questioned, and he also reportedly felt betrayed by his brother because he had always supported Prince Williams relationship with Kate Middleton. Sources also told People that, even without Meghan, Prince William and Prince Harry were already growing apart because of their different personalities and roles in the royal family. Royal historian Robert Lacey shared that the two princes bonded after the death of their mother, but its inevitable, as they grow up and develop different personalities, that synchronicity wont apply anymore. Meanwhile, an insider stated: William is the future king. There is going to be some competitiveness between him and Harry. That already puts a rock in the relationship. Prince Harry confirmed his rift with Prince William last year The feud between the two princes had just been mere rumors, but Prince Harry seemed to confirm once that it was indeed real. In the documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey that was released in the Fall 2019, Prince Harry talked a bit about his relationship with Prince William, alluding to the fact that the two of them are distant now. Part of this role and part of this job and this family being under the pressure that its under inevitably, you know, stuff happens, Prince Harry said. But, look, were brothers. Well always be brothers. Were certainly on different paths at the moment but I will always be there for him and, as I know, he will always be there for me. Prince William hinted that he and Prince Harry are not on the same page anymore ROYAL EXCLUSIVE: The Duke of Cambridge speaks of his sadness at the broken bond with Prince Harry and his sorrow that the royal family is no longer a team. Prince William: Ive put my arm around my brother all our lives and I cant do that anymoreIm sad about that. pic.twitter.com/EfYytgrf0T Roya Nikkhah (@RoyaNikkhah) January 11, 2020 Prince William had remained very quiet about the feud, but he recently also decided to open up a little about his rift with Prince Harry. Speaking to the Sunday Times, the Duke of Cambridge said: Ive put my arm around my brother all our lives and I cant do that anymore were separate entities All we can do, and all I can do, is try and support them and hope that the time comes when were all singing from the same page. I want everyone to play on the team. This came after there were reports saying that Prince William and the rest of the royal family were blindsided by Prince Harry and Meghans decision to step down from being senior members of the royal family. Royal expert Katie Nicholl believes that Prince William feels a sense of betrayal by his brother and possibly a sense of being abandoned too. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 18:38:57|Editor: mingmei Video Player Close People visit a Spring Festival fair at the Chinatown in San Francisco, the United States, Jan. 19, 2020. The annual Spring Festival fair features a variety of small gifts, good-luck new year items, potted flowers as well as Chinese folk performances. (Photo by Li Jianguo/Xinhua) Hollywood actor Joaquin Phoenix's SAG award speech was all about paying tributes to his fellow nominees and "The Dark Knight" star Heath Ledger whom the "Joker" star singled out for helping him "stand" on his shoulders. Ledger famously portrayed the DC supervillain in 2008 film directed by Christopher Nolan and won numerous awards, including a posthumous Academy Award, a Golden Globe and a SAG award. Ledger, 28, died the same year from an accidental overdose. "Really, I'm standing here on the shoulders of my favourite actor, Heath Ledger," Phoenix, who is nominated for best actor Oscar, said. He also gave a shout-out to Leonardo DiCaprio, who was nominated for "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood", reported Vanity Fair. The actor recalled how he and DiCaprio were pitted against each other as child actors during early audition days. "There would always be two other guys that I was up against and we'd always lose to this one kid... every casting director would always whisper, 'It's Leonardo'," he said as the audience roared with laughter. "You've been an inspiration for over 25 years to me and so many people," he added as DiCaprio acknowledged the nod. To Christian Bale, who was nominated for "Ford v Ferrari", Phoenix begged to deliver at least one bad performance. "It's infuriating. I wish you would. Just suck once," he said. Phoenix covered full ground as he paid homage to "Marriage Story" star Adam Driver and "Rocketman" fame Taron Egerton. "Adam, I've been watching you the last few years and you've been turning in these beautiful, nuanced, incredible, profound performances. I'm just so moved by you... you should be here. Taron, I'm so happy for you... you're so beautiful in this movie and I'm so happy for you, and I can't wait to see what else you do," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) It didnt take long for the post-Golden Globes dust to settle, as the weekend that followed (Jan. 11 and 12) brought more chances for Hollywoods Oscar hopefuls to scoop up a few more trophies. Surprisingly, there were a lot of nerves on display, too, even at the AARP The Magazines 19th Annual Movies for Grownups Awards, where most of the honorees were pretty sure they were winners. That gala designed for the over-50 crowd airs tonight on Great Performances at 6/5c on PBS, after actually happening on Jan. 11. Annette Bening was honored with a career achievement prize, as her husband Warren Beatty cheered her on, and Tony Danza acted as a lively and funny host for the evening. Conan OBrien and Adam Sandler attend AARP The Magazines 19th Annual Movies for Grownups Awards (Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for AARP) Also Read: '1917' Named Top Film at Producers Guild Awards Best Actor honoree Adam Sandler arrived early to the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, where he and his wife sat with Pedro Almodovar and joined the rest of the star-packed ballroom in dining on caprese salad and filet mignon. But his nervousness showed as the night went on. Im not used to this, being in the same room with people like De Niro, he told TheWrap. And Im even more nervous about the Critics Choice Awards tomorrow night. He was the poster boy for restless leg syndrome, especially when his buddy Conan OBrien showed up a bit late, but in time to present Sandler for his prize for his work in Uncut Gems. Sit down! OBrien bellowed at Sandler, as he jumped the gun and ran toward the stage before they even showed his acting clips. Lots of shouting and ribbing went on, but when Sandler finally accepted his AARP award, he was humble. Im just a comedian who cant act, the 53-year-old insisted. A few of the winners happened to reach age 50 in 2019, with Marriage Story writer-director Noah Baumbach leading the pack. Accepting his award for Best Screenwriter, he joked that, I thank the AARP for letting me into the club finally. Ive been trying to get in for years. He couldnt help making a more ironic joke about his drama that centers on a divorce that seems to strike very close to his own experience, saying, I want to thank all of our divorced parents Adams (Driver) parents, Scarletts (Johansson) divorced parents, Lauras (Dern) divorced parents, my divorced parents, our step-parents and all of our ex-husbands and ex-wives. Story continues Also Read: Tony-Winning Producer to Women in Hollywood: Awards Are Nice, Checks Are Better (Guest Blog) Noah Baumbach and Alan Alda attend AARP The Magazines 19th Annual Movies for Grownups Awards (Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for AARP) And Best Actress winner Renee Zellweger embraced the big 5-0 as well, telling the audience that included other award winners like Best Picture and Best Director Martin Scorsese (The Irishman) along with his stars Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel, Best Supporting Actress Laura Dern (Marriage Story) and Kasi Lemmons (Harriet) that Im 50 now, and Im kinda likin it! I dont feel like were getting older; I feel like were winning. There were winners galore the next night, too, as the Critics Choice Awards took over the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, airing live on the CW as the group presented their 25th annual prizes for the best in both film and television in 2019. The organization is 400 strong these days (it began with 40 film reviewers back in the day) and is traditionally a strong barometer of Oscars choices. Zellweger triumphed yet again at the CCAs, but while Sandler brought his nerves to the show, it was Joaquin Phoenix who took home the Best Actor crystal statue. Phoenix was the one who got the CCA to go to a plant-based meal, personally reaching out to Joey Berlin, the orgs founder and president to make the symbolic environmental shift. Seth Meyers, who presented the Best Supporting Actress award to Laura Dern, wasnt so impressed with the food supplied by Kahala Brands (The Counter, Baja Fresh, Pinkberry and Cold Stone Creamery). Did we enjoy our vegan meal? he asked with a guffaw. Good thing the food critics arent here tonight! Also Read: Ryan Murphy to Receive Vito Russo Award at GLAAD Media Awards Harvey Keitel, Robert De Niro and Al Pacino attend the 25th Annual Critics Choice Awards at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images) Most of the nominees and winners packed the elegant space, as Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel and Al Pacino sat front and center and took home the Best Film Ensemble Award, while Jennifer Lopez, Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, Saoirse Ronan, Greta Gerwig and Florence Pugh made the A-list tables look breathtakingly glamorous. Brett Gelman, Isobel Waller-Bridge, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Andrew Scott attend the 25th Annual Critics Choice Awards in Santa Monica (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images) Eddie Murphy took home a lifetime achievement award; TV favorite Fleabag kept up its system of winning every prize its nominated for; and the surprises of the night were twofold. First, Sam Mendes (1917) and Bong Joon-ho (Parasite) tied for Best Director only the tie was a surprise, as both movies were acknowledged frontrunners. The biggest surprise came as Quentin Tarantino scooped up the Best Picture prize for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and sending up gasps and cheers from the assemblage of Hollywoods best. Julia Butters and Quentin Tarantino attend the 25th Annual Critics Choice Awards in Santa Monica (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images) And as Monday dawned with the Academy Awards nominations announced, The Critics Choice Association once again proved its prescience, as all nine Best Picture Oscar nominees mirrored the same nine nominated by the CCA. Does that mean that Once Upon a Time will triumph on Feb. 9? This year is anyones guess, Joey Berlin said bemusedly, as the show wrapped up last Sunday. This is a great year for movies. Read original story AARP Movies for Grownups Honors Martin Scorsese, Renee Zellweger and More At TheWrap The Hudson County Prosecutors Office arrested a person in connection with the sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl in Union City, the agency announced in a tweet. Following an investigation, the Prosecutor's Office Special Victims Unit has made an arrest in a Union City sexual assault involving a 15-year-old female victim. Press release to follow. ProsecutorSuarezHCPO (@HCPOProsecutor) January 19, 2020 Details on the arrest and sex assault were not immediately available . More information is expected to be provided Monday, a spokesman said. Check back for updates. In a bid to strengthen the fight against Narendra Modi government in Parliament, the CPI(M)'s West Bengal unit is keen to nominate party general secretary to from the state, with the help of the Congress. Yechury had an excellent track record as a member of the Upper House of Parliament between 2005 and 2017, and the party is eager to nominate him in the elections to be held next month, state CPI(M) sources said on Monday. In 2017, his name had cropped up for re-election. Even then Congress president Rahul Gandhi was keen on supporting his nomination from West Bengal. But the CPI(M) leadership had turned down the offer citing party rules that no member would be nominated three times in a row for the Upper House. "Extraordinary situation calls for extraordinary measures. The country is going through an extraordinarily difficult situation and we need a strong voice in Parliament to oppose the Modi government's policies. There can be no better person than Yechury for the job. Presently discussions are on, let's see what happens," a senior CPI(M) leader told PTI. The rule of not allowing anyone to be a member of the beyond two consecutive terms would not apply now as Yechury already got a break since 2017, he said. According to the present strength of the CPI(M) in the state Assembly, the party cannot nominate someone on its own to the Rajya Sabha. "We need to take the support of the Congress, which we are hopeful of getting if Yechury is our candidate," the CPI (M) leader said. A senior state Congress leader said the party was willing to support the CPI(M) in 2017 Rajya Sabha polls had Yechury been the candidate, but the Left party itself had backed out. "This time also, if Yechury is the candidate, we don't think we would have any problem, given the kind of equation shares with Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi," the Congress leader said. The elections to five Rajya Sabha seats will be held in February. Presently four of these seats are held by the ruling Trinamool Congress. The fifth seat is held by Ritabrata Bandopadhyay, who was earlier elected as a CPI(M) nominee in 2014, but was expelled from the party in 2017. Since his expulsion and post-2019 Lok Sabha polls, the CPI(M) West Bengal unit does not have any representation in either the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha. This has happened for the first time since the party's inception in 1964. According to the distribution of seats in the present state Assembly, TMC will get four Rajya Sabha seats whereas a joint candidate of the CPI(M) and Congress will win one seat. The Andhra Pradesh Cabinet on Monday (January 20) approved three capital formula-- Secretariat at Visakhapatnam, High Court at Kurnool and Assembly at Amaravathi. The state government will introduce the AP Decentralized Governance and inclusive development of all areas of Andhra Pradesh Bill and Repealing APCRDA Act bill in the assembly. The decision was taken during a meeting of the Council of Ministers ahead of the special Assembly session. The state ministers along with Chief Secretary Neelam Sahney attended the cabinet meeting, which has 7 agendas on its table. 1. Cabinet has approved 4 bills including Andhra Pradesh Decentralisation and Equal Development of All Regions Act 2020. Live TV 2. Cabinet discussed the three capital proposal that was recommended by a high-power committee, which was based on both GN Rao and BCG reports. 3. Cabinet also approved to set up Raithu Bharosa center in every village secretariat of Andhra Pradesh. 4. Cabinet discussed to set up Pulivendula Urban Development Authority which is CM Jagan's own constituency. 5. Cabinet has discussed the proposal to bring all the capital area into one metropolitan development authority. 6. Cabinet also discussed to withdraw the CRDA (Capital Region Development Authority) Act. 7. Cabinet also decided that ex-gratia should be given to the Amaravathi farmers. Ahead of the cabinet meeting, the state government took several Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leaders into preventive custody in Vijayawada, Amaravati, and Guntur. The police administration has imposed section 144 and Police Act 30 in and around the secretariat and Amaravathi area in the wake of Chalo Assembly call given by Amaravati JAC, farmers and opposition parties including TDP, CPI, and Jana Sena. Around 7500 police personnel were deployed for the smooth functioning of the Assembly and to ensure that no untoward incident takes place. The intelligence wing also hinted at possible arson in the capital region and attacks on public representatives during the 3-day special session of state Assembly to discuss the three capital proposals for Andhra Pradesh. The police have also placed heavy security in both Guntur and Krishna districts and blocked the Prakasham Barrage. Meanwhile, members of the Amaravati Parirakshana Samithi and leaders of various political parties have already given a call for Chalo Assembly and Jail Bharo opposing the state governments move. Who doesnt love a good joke? Apparently, many Democrats and CNN. Its all knee slaps and giggles until you make fun of the wrong people. Most recently, CNN mounted its moral high-horse to scold the Babylon Bee, a conservative satirical website that needles mostly but not exclusively the political left. The story in the Bee, Democrats call for flags to be flown at half-staff to grieve the death of Soleimani, highlights the ridiculously misplaced and selective outrage on the part of many on the left over the death of a murderous terrorist who, according to the State Department, was responsible for the deaths of some 600 Americans and scores of others via Iranian proxy wars. Some Middle East experts consider his death more important than that of Osama Bin Laden. Soleimanis killing far eclipses the deaths of [Osama] Bin Laden or [Abu Bakr al-]Baghdadi in terms of strategic significance and implications there really is no underestimating the geopolitical ramifications of this, Charles Lister, a resident fellow at the Middle East Institute, told CNBC. Still, that hasnt stopped many liberals and Hollywood types, who had no issue with taking out Bin Laden, from falling all over themselves to decry Soleimanis death. Filmmaker Michael Moore and actress Rose McGowen apologized to Iran. I deeply regret the violence on our behalf by a man that most Americans have never voted for, Moore tweeted. The Bees story, which went viral, contained several choice tidbits. For example, In a rare moment of unity with The Squad, [Nancy] Pelosi gave each of the girls a hug, telling them to just let it all out in their time of sadness. Thats funny. But CNN didnt think so, neither did its disinformation reporter Donie OSullivan. Yes, reporting on disinformation is a job, at least at CNN. OSullivan was deeply concerned that too many conservatives thought the Bees story was real. To put this in perspective, this is the same number of engagements the top NY Times and CNN stories on Facebook had over the past week, he tweeted. A lot of people sharing this satirical story on Facebook dont know it is satire, OSullivan tweeted. Let me say that I appreciate CNNs attempt to parent those of us who are either too naive or too ivory-skulled to recognize satire. In fact, Im thinking of hiring someone from the network to sit next to me when I watch movies with complicated plot lines to answer all of my annoying questions. Whos that guy? What did I miss when I asked, Whos that guy? Im prepared to pay handsomely. We thickies need all the help we can get. But even I didnt need help working out the Bees story. The sites tagline Fake news you can trust is kind of a giveaway, as are a couple of the Bees recent headlines: Iran declines to sign Colin Kaepernick after reviewing workout video. Trump holds press conference to moon Iran on national television. I had to factcheck that last one, but it is indeed fake. Im not sure why CNN feels the need to send up flares to warn us of satire. I must have missed all of the red alerts when Saturday Night Life, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, among others, were lampooning conservatives which, by the way, is OK with me. Political satire is a form of free speech. But when the Bee responds to CNN with the story, CNN Attacks Babylon Bee: The internet is only big enough for one fake news site, the left stops laughing. There is always an underlying element of truth to humor. Thats what makes it funny. As Churchill once said, A joke is a very serious thing. CNN and its loyalists on the left arent really interested in protecting us from disinformation. Theyre more interested in silencing critical and even satirical voices. They dont seem particularly alarmed that many millennials rely on The Daily Show, which appears on Comedy Central, as their primary news source. Nor do they have a problem when liberals share stories from the Onion poking fun at conservatives. But it drives them to distraction to learn that the Bees story on Soleimani was shared 500,000 times on social medial. Im sure that CNN and the Democrats complaining about the Bee also enjoy good satire once in a while, but only if theyre the ones holding the skewer. Rich Manieri is a Philadelphia-born journalist and author. He is currently a professor of journalism at Asbury University in Kentucky. You can reach him at manieri2@gmail.com. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Over 7.24 lakh tablets and capsules, meant to treat anxiety and serve as sedatives, have been seized and three suspects arrested in an operation carried out in Delhi, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) said on Sunday. KPS Malhotra, a zonal director with the narcotics watchdog, estimated the total worth of the seized pills in the legal market to be over 70 lakh. Each of these pills cost about 10. People who use it for recreation pay 30-35 for each pill, said Malhotra. Malhotra said they were investigating the role of pharmaceutical companies, dealers and retailers in the matter. We have identified seven-eight pharmaceutical companies who had manufactured these drugs, but it is unlikely that the firms would be involved in this racket. However, we are probing everyones role, he said. The officer said the breakthrough came on January 10 when the NCB received a tip-off about the illegal trade psychotropic medicines. We got to know that these were being delivered through a courier company in Delhi. We intercepted a parcel and recovered 50,000 tablets of tramadol (a painkiller), Malhotra said. The NCB team identified the designated receiver of the seized drugs as a resident of Ludhiana. We arrested a chemist named Manoj Kumar, said the officer. The NCB said Kumar did not have the license to trade in the medicines he was receiving. But the huge margins in the illegal supply of these psychotropic medicines lured him into this crime. He used to further supply these medicines to other parts of Punjab, said the officer. Through Kumar, the investigators reached the courier, Gaurav Kumar Aggarwal, a resident of Agra. Gaurav used to work as an agent for the wholesale medicine dealers in Agra. He used to procure such consignments from various sources in Agra, said the officer. Thereafter, the NCB also arrested Mohit, who worked as a commission agent in this field. On the whole, we recovered 7.24 lakh tablets, 1,400 vials of an injection meant to serve as an anaesthesia, but used by drug addicts as a substitute for heroin, and 80 bottles of cough syrup, Malhotra said. The officer said his team is also likely to raid some shops in Delhis Bhagirath Palace, where medicines are sold wholesale. Malaysia will not take retaliatory trade action against India over its boycott of palm oil purchases amid a political row between the two countries, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Monday. India, the world's largest edible oil buyer, this month effectively halted imports from its largest supplier and the world's second-biggest producer in response to comments from Mahathir attacking India's domestic policies. "We are too small to take retaliatory action," Mahathir told reporters in Langkawi, a resort island off the western coast of Malaysia. "We have to find ways and means to overcome that," he added. The 94-year-old premier of Muslim-majority Malaysia has criticised New Delhi's new religion-based citizenship law and also accused India of invading the disputed region of Kashmir. Mahathir again criticised India's citizenship law on Monday, saying he believed it was "grossly unfair". India has been Malaysia's largest palm oil market for the past five years, presenting the Southeast Asian country with a major challenge in finding new buyers for its palm oil. Benchmark Malaysian palm futures fell nearly 10% last week, their biggest weekly decline in more than 11 years. New Delhi is also unhappy with Malaysia's refusal to revoke permanent resident status for controversial Indian Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, who has lived in Malaysia for about three years and faces charges of money laundering and hate speech in India. Mahathir said even if the Indian government guarantees a fair trial, Naik faces the real threat of vigilante action and that Malaysia will only relocate the preacher if it can find a third country where he would be safe. "If we can find a place for him, we will send him out." Also read: Govt imposes restriction on palm oil import after Malaysia's criticism of PM Modi's action on Kashmir, CAA Wuhan reports 4 more pneumonia cases Global Times By Zhang Hui Source:Global Times Published: 2020/1/18 20:03:40 Wuhan has reported four more viral pneumonia cases on Saturday amid the outbreak in the central Chinese city, killing two, prompting public concerns of risks of human-to-human transmission across the country. The four patients were identified with the pneumonia on Thursday and were in stable condition, the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission said on Saturday. So far, a total of 45 people have contracted the illness, and five were in critical condition. Other patients were in stable condition and under isolated treatment. The authority has put under medical observation 17 people who closely contacted the first pneumonia patient of Thailand, and has been tracking down people who closely contacted the second confirmed pneumonia patient in Thailand. Four people who closely contacted the first confirmed pneumonia patient in Japan are also under medical observation, the Wuhan health commission said. New cases diagnosed in Wuhan have sparked concerns from some Chinese netizens who posted on Weibo asking whether the outbreak could spread to other provinces. Some feared it may be another type of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) that caused wide public panic and forced authorities to address public concerns. The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention refuted five rumors of the pneumonia on Saturday, including SARS suspicions, and said the new coronavirus found in pneumonia is not SARS and the genetic sequences of SARS and the viral pneumonia have a big difference. Liu Youning, a professor of epidemiology and respiratory medicine at the Chinese PLA General Hospital, told the Global Times that more cases found proved signs of human-to-human transmission of the pneumonia, but it appeared to be far less infectious than SARS. As both Wuhan and the national health authority have regularly reported the pneumonia cases in detail, it's very unlikely that government has been covering up details of the spread of the disease like what then government did during the outbreak of SARS in 2003 that saw officials sacked, experts said. The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said China established a public incident monitoring system after the outbreak of SARS in 2003, which requires hospitals nationwide to immediately report cases of infectious diseases to the national health information center. All centers for disease control and prevention on different levels could access a daily report on various cases of diseases. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice Shopping list to make Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice: Chopped onions Celery Garlic Thyme, dried or fresh, bay leaves, paprika, and cayenne pepper Chicken broth Dried red kidney beans. I used Camellia Brand red beans, from one of our prize sponsors. Andouille or other spicy smoky sausage Green bell peppers Instant white rice Scallions for garnish How to Make Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice: This slow cooker stew is almost a "set it and forget it" recipe. There is very little prep besides simply adding the ingredients to the slow cooker. You will have to chop some onions, celery, and green bell peppers (the Cajun holy trinity), rinse the beans, and slice the sausage, but you can do this the night before and save them in the refrigerator. Before adding all of the ingredients to the slow cooker, you microwave the chopped onions, celery, garlic, and the herbs and spices for just five minutes. Next, you add all of the rest of the ingredients except the bell peppers and rice, set the slow cooker on high, and cook for 8 to 10 hours. Finally, once the beans are tender, you add the bell peppers and rice and cook on high for an additional 20 minutes. More Slow Cooker Recipes for National Slow Cooker Month: Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice Slow cooker red beans and rice is so creamy, smoky, comforting, and delicious. It's a wonderful welcome home meal at the end of a long day. Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice Print With Image Without Image Yield: 6 servings Author: Karen Kerr This Red Beans and Rice Stew is creamy, smoky, spicy, and satisfying. It will take you on a mini vacation to Louisiana. ingredients: 2 onions, finely diced 1 celery stalk, finely chopped 6 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 3 teaspoons fresh thyme, minced 2 teaspoons paprika 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 4 cups chicken broth 4 cups water 1 pound dried red kidney beans, rinsed and picked over 1 pound spicy andouille sausage (or other smoked spicy sausage), cut into 1/2 inch slices 2 bay leaves 2 green bell peppers, stems and seeds removed, cut into 1/2 inch dice 1/2 cup instant rice 3 scallions, thinly sliced Salt and pepper and red wine vinegar to taste instructions: How to cook Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice In a medium glass bowl, microwave the onions, celery, garlic, oil, thyme, paprika, and cayenne pepper for five minutes, stirring halfway through, until softened. Add the mixture to the slow cooker. Add the broth, water, beans, sausage, and bay leaves, and stir. Cover and cook on high for 8 to 10 hours, until the beans are fully cooked and tender. Remove the bay leaves from the slow cooker and add the bell peppers and rice. Cover and cook for an additional 20 minutes on high. Add the scallions. Stir in salt, pepper, and red wine vinegar to taste. Calories 434.89 Fat (grams) 27.24 Sat. Fat (grams) 7.59 Carbs (grams) 31.11 Fiber (grams) 7.23 Net carbs 23.88 Sugar (grams) 4.83 Protein (grams) 18.25 Sodium (milligrams) 1313.23 Cholesterol (grams) 49.44 https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2020/01/slow-cooker-red-beans-and-rice.html Karen's Kitchen Stories beans, slow cooker, red beans and rice Main dish, stew American Did you make this recipe? Tag @KarensKitchenStories on instagram and hashtag it #KarensKitchenStories Created using The Recipes Generator This recipe was adapted from affiliate link) a Rafflecopter giveaway Contest runs 1/20/2020 at 12:00 a.m. till 1/27/2020 at 11:59 p.m. The prize packages will be sent directly from the giveaway sponsors. Bloggers are not responsible for prize fulfillment. Winners have 24 hours to respond once notified by email, or they forfeit the prize and an alternate winner will be chosen. The #NationalSlowCookerMonth bloggers are not responsible for the fulfillment or delivery of the prize packages. Bloggers hosting this giveaway and their immediate family members living in the household cannot enter or win the giveaway. Entries will be verified. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter giveaway and contest is open only to US residents. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter or any other social channel mentioned in the #NationalSlowCookerMonth posts or entry. Thank you to our sponsors Banza, Camellia, and Rhodes for providing prizes. After the recipe, be sure to enter to win some pretty cool prizes from our sponsors, including 25 pounds of dried beans from Camellia Brand.This recipe was adapted from The Complete Slow Cooker: From Appetizers to Desserts from America's Test Kitchen This Red Beans and Rice Stew is creamy, smoky, spicy, and satisfying. It will take you on a mini vacation to Louisiana.Red beans and rice is a traditional Monday night dinner in New Orleans . It's a great dish to simmer all day and a dinner to look forward to on the first day of the work week, or any day of the week.Happy National Slow Cooker Month! About 20 bloggers have gathered together to celebrate, organized by Ashley of Cheese Curd in Paradise . After the recipe, be sure to check out our giveaway (yes, prizes!).To celebrate, I made these beans in my slow cooker. It was so easy! Plus, instead of making the rice separately, you just stir in some instant rice during the last 20 minutes to incorporate it into the stew.Making red beans and rice in the slow cooker results in such a creamy dish, and the spicy sausage infuses the sauce with a delicious smokiness. The Security Professionals Association (SPA) for SIRA is showcasing its comprehensive services to potential members and provide core insights into the regions security sector in the lead up to Expo 2020, during its debut participation in Intersec 2020 Exhibition, being held in Dubai, UAE. The event which opened on January 19 will run until January 21, at the Dubai World Trade Centre. As the worlds leading trade fair for security, safety and fire protection, Intersec is the ideal platform for SPA for SIRA to launch its comprehensive services to potential members and provide core insights into the regions security sector in the lead up to Expo 2020. SPA for SIRA foresees the much-awaited Expo 2020 to set the trend for the regions security systems and services. As the world enters a new decade, security will play a key role across all industries and security professionals must exceed their level of creativity and determination to protect the people and places they are responsible for. Applications such as smart cities, artificial intelligence and cyber security, all in development under the Expos theme of Sustainability, makes the scope of job availability within the security sector highly opportunistic. Commercial security, smart home, cyber security, fire and rescue, safety and health, homeland security and policing, and perimeter and physical security are all key sectors that will be amplified as Dubai gets set to host the world for Expo 2020. The industry is advancing towards technologies such as AI and machine learning applications, which will be used as part of the security protocols of Expo 2020, said Engineer Khalid Al Hammadi, chairman of SPA for SIRA, the first security professionals association in the Middle East. This is sure to create an array of job opportunities that will benefit individuals within the security sector, and SPA for SIRA will be there to act as a platform that bridges the gap between security professionals and regulators, as well as fosters a platform for knowledge exchange and development. Participating in Intersec not only enables our members to interact with a global network of security experts, but broadens their opportunity to inform themselves of the latest security applications and trends within the industry. This event showcases the latest cutting edge innovations and technologies in one of the most important years for the UAE, which will support the safe and secure logistics of Expo 2020, noted Al Hammadi. At Intersec 2020, new and existing SPA for SIRA members will be able to participate in interactive discussions with committee members, in order to gain knowledgeable insights from leading industry case studies and ascertain best practices. The initial launch of the organisation has welcomed more than 600 security professionals of all levels. The association also encouraged professionals in the security industry to register as a member and enjoy the benefits of a locally based professional security association, including women, who currently comprised only six per cent of the regions security professionals. SPA for SIRA aims to encourage women to join the industry in all fields. Adil Abdel-Hadi, second deputy chairman of SPA for SIRA, said: Enhancing and developing the quality of security professionals is very important, which is why SPA for SIRA welcomes individuals from all levels of the security industry to connect, by creating and sustaining a learning environment that cultivates a collaborative, competitive and diverse security industry in the region. SPA for SIRA will collaborate with top security professionals across the globe to discover cutting-edge solutions, share insights with industry experts and equip its members with the right tools to effectively carry out their duties and tasks in the rapidly evolving security world. Members will enjoy information services, knowledge and professional development, excellence and innovation, and discounts and promotions. Security professionals who are interested in becoming a member must meet certain requirements and be 21 years of age and above. The membership fee is Dh500 ($) and is valid for one year, it stated. TradeArabia News Service A young Canadian university graduate has used all her life savings to travel to Australia to help wildlife that have been ravaged by devastating bushfires. Instead of celebrating the end of her studies, Kelsey Trimble, 23, left her home in Toronto behind, and touched down in Sydney last week. She brought three suitcases filled with about 60kg of supplies to help the animals that have been affected by the fires. Ms Trimble said she spent the last year of her studies working tirelessly to raise enough money for a trip, and after seeing how badly Australia had been affected she decided to take action. The 23-year-old travelled from Toronto in Canada with donations from around 20 people Kelsey Trimble arrived in Australia last week with three suitcases full of supplies to help animals affected in the bushfires 'I noticed a fair bit of people were struggling to find a way to get their donations to Australia. And I then came up with the idea to take advantage of the luggage given to me with my flight and use it towards bringing donations over,' Ms Trimble told News.com.au. She was then overwhelmed with how many people from her community were willing to help out - with some leaving donations at her door step. 'There are so many people in Canada working together to help Australia We all want to help and are all working together to make that happen from the other side of the world,' she said. 'My love for animals is what drove me to begin gathering the donations I had to do something instead of sit on the side lines.' The 23-year-old spent more than $2,000 just to arrive in Australia and then hired a rental car for another $400. Her suitcases were filled with around 20kg each of pouches, medical supplies and money to help the affected animals Bat wraps were also packed in Ms Trimble's suitcase as she travelled to Australia last week She said she's 'exhausted' after waking up at the crack of dawn to deliver supplies to the animals who have been affected. These include fabrics, knits, medical supplies, food, towels, sheet and money. 'I've never seen people come together like this before, absolutely amazing,' she wrote on Facebook. The 23-year-old received donations including 85 nests, 12 bat wraps, 20 pouches, two beds, 69 pouch liners and over $1200 in medical supplies. Despite the exhausting days and expenses, Ms Trimble said it was 'worth it'. Violent bushfires have torn through the country with more than a billion animals expected to have died during the blaze along with 29 people. The 23-year-old said she spent the last year of her studies working tirelessly to raise enough money to travel to Australia Kuwaiti Foreign Minister, Dr. Shaikh Ahmed Nasser Al Mohammed Al-Sabah, yesterday received the outgoing Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani. Dr Shaikh Ahmed Nasser Al-Mohammed praised the tremendous efforts exerted by Dr Al Zayani throughout his tenure as GCC Secretary-General, recalling with pride his unwavering and commendable efforts to develop the GCC Secretariat-General at all levels so as to enable the GCC to achieve the goals of its noble mission of enhancing its joint action, as well as to meet the aspirations of GCC people for strengthening the pillars of security and peace across the region. Dr Al Zayani valued highly the remarkable role played by the State of Kuwait to consolidate security in the region, in addition to its support for strengthening GCC action to be able to confront challenges faced by the region and its peoples. He lauded Kuwaits leading role at various international gatherings, as well as the prestigious status it enjoys at the global level. Dr Abdullatif Al Zayani, who has been appointed the countrys new foreign minister, has had successful careers as a technocrat, academician and a diplomat. Dr Al Zayani became Secretary-General of the GCC on April 1, 2011. Prior to his appointment, he was advisor at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the rank of Minister, chairman of the Joint Steering Committee between Bahrain and the United Kingdom and chairman of the ministrys Development and Regulation committee. The top diplomat says Ukraine has no relation to the internal political processes ongoing in the USA. Foreign Minister of Ukraine Vadym Prystaiko has called on Ukraine's partners in the United States not to drag the country in the context of internal political struggle ongoing in connection with the impeachment process launched against President Donald Trump. "As far as impeachment is concerned, this topic has already been mentioned so often and we're so I beg your pardon for this word tired that we'd like to say once again: 'Please don't drag us into this and, first of all, it's not about you, journalists, but about the American side please, don't drag us into your internal political processes'," Prystaiko said at a Kyiv press conference Monday, according to an UNIAN correspondent. Read alsoZelensky says seeks to have "strong relationship" with U.S. The foreign minister said Ukraine's position had always been based on the fact that American bipartisan support in Congress is key to stability in relations between Ukraine and the United States. "We didn't and aren't going to take part in the internal political struggle, and we also hope that other parties don't take part in our internal political struggle either," the top diplomat added. "If they want to follow the path we've been walking, there's no trace of ours there. Please don't look for something that's just not there." In the downtown Portland home of Pink Martinis Thomas Lauderdale, a crowd featuring notable Portlanders like Storm Large and former-mayor-now-city-council-candidate Sam Adams gathered Sunday to celebrate a new twist on a legendary Oregon event -- Vortex2020. The original Vortex was the first government-sponsored music festival in U.S. history. The 1970 festival, spearheaded by then-governor Tom McCall, drew about 100,000 to Estacadas Milo McIver State Park. Vortex I: A Biodegradable Festival of Life, as it was called, was a week-long rock festival dreamt up by a small group of hippies, with the goal of drawing anti-war protestors of the American Legions national convention from Portland. The group persuaded McCall to hold the event and McCall, in turn, told officials to ignore drugs, sex and nudity. This new Vortex is being organized by a large coalition of people but spearheaded by Lauderdale and Robyn Tenenbaum. Vortex2020 will take place 50 years after the original Vortex festival at the same location as the original event. But it will have key difference from that first festival -- it is not government-sponsored, though it will be put on through a partnership with Oregon State Parks. It will, however, have a similar message of counter-programming to unrest. Exactly fifty years after Vortex I, Oregon is experiencing heightened levels of violent protests, a growing urban-rural divide, skyrocketing homelessness, rising income disparities, and a climate crisis," read a flyer handed out at the event. This year, it continued, "an unprecedented partnership between Oregon State Parks, nonprofits, musicians, foundations, artists, and activists gives us another historic chance to heal divisions through Oregonians shared love of music, the arts, and our beautiful outdoor space. Vortex2020 will not be a nostalgia project, reads the festivals website, but a fresh statement of our values: community, unity, kindness, historic awareness, and stewardship of our precious public lands. Tenenbaum said Sunday, Its really about all of Oregon being involved. One way the festival aims to do that is a novel approach to ticketing -- festival-goers must earn a ticket by volunteering at an approved partner organization. The exact way that will work is yet to be determined, but the volunteering will have to happen before the festival, Jessica Lyness, of Maxwell PR which is working pro bono for the festival, said Sunday. Who will attendees be volunteering to see? The final list will include around 25 bands with close ties to Oregon. Not all of them have been announced yet but they will include Pink Martini, Storm Large, Bocha, Edna Vazquez and the Dandy Warhols. Vortex2020 festival is set to happen on August 22 and 23. -- Lizzy Acker 503-221-8052 lacker@oregonian.com, @lizzzyacker Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. YEREVAN, JANUARY 20, ARMENPRESS. President Armen Sarkissian has departed Yerevan on a working visit to Switzerland to participate in the 50th World Economic Forum meeting in Davos. World Economic Forum founder and executive chairman Klaus Schwab had invited Sarkissian to participate in the event. You chaired the first World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Energy Security and the Forum considers you to be a Fourth Industrial Revolution visionary. I would be honored to once again welcome you to Davos to drive discussions on technology specifically the quantum-related agenda with the foremost experts and business and government leaders, Schwab said in a letter to Sarkissian earlier in November 2019. The annual Davos meeting will be held January 20-24 with over 700 speakers and more than 3000 participants in attendance. Speakers include US President Donald Trump, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, President of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde and others. Sarkissian will deliver a keynote address on global developments, global risks, new quantum technology and systems, the quantum behavior of politics and the directions and trends of development of the modern world. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 15:42:06|Editor: mingmei Video Player Close BEIJING, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- China has more than 41,000 online and offline public legal service platforms and hotlines at various administrative levels amid accelerated efforts to build its public legal service system, the Ministry of Justice said Sunday. There are currently 81,000 people working on public legal service platforms offline, the ministry said at a national meeting of judicial department heads. Last year, around 9.3 million disputes were resolved by mediation organizations and centers across the country, said the ministry. VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / January 20, 2020 / Orsu Metals Corporation (TSXV:OSU) ("Orsu" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the results of an updated Mineral Resource estimate for its Sergeevskoe Gold Project in Zabaikalsky Krai, Russia. The Mineral Resource estimate was independently prepared by Wardell Armstrong International Ltd. ("WAI") in accordance with the guidelines of the JORC Code (2012)/CIM Definitions Standards and NI 43-101 requirements. A Technical Report covering the Mineral Resource estimate will be filed on SEDAR within 45 days of this news release. Highlights: An Inferred Mineral Resource of 30.42 million tonnes, grading 1.45 g/t gold and containing 1.417 Moz gold at a 0.5 g/t gold cut-off grade and US$1450 per Troy ounce of gold, was optimized into an open pit constrained by the license boundaries at Sergeevskoe. Dr. Alexander Yakubchuk, Director of Exploration of Orsu commented: "As a result of the 2019 exploration programme, Orsu was able not only to double the mineralized footprint to 2x1 km at Sergeevskoe, the Company also succeeded in increasing by 19.3% its previously announced maiden Mineral Resource. We have no doubt that it is possible to further grow this resource as, due to the size of the limited drilling programme, obvious gaps were left along the strike of mineral wireframes. In addition, the system remains widely open to the west and north." An Inferred Mineral Resource was estimated for a large stockwork, containing 179 segments of sheeted subparallel quartz-tourmaline-sulfide veins in nine domains over a strike length of 2x1 km. The individual vein segments are separated by faults along the strike or unmineralized intervals across the strike. The mineralized envelope is divided by the Shirotnyi Fault (Figure 1) into two areas with largely northwest-trending stockworks in the Peak Klyuchi, Kozie West, and Klyuchi West domains (to the north of the fault) and west- to southwest-trending stockworks in Zone 23 West, Zone 23 Middle, Zone 23 East, and Adit 5 West and East domains (to the south). Based on 2019 exploration results, the veins in all domains were reshaped to greater or smaller extent (Figure 1). Exploration works at Peak Klyuchi yielded a swarm of new veins. After additional trenching, veins in Zone 23 West domain were reinterpreted to strike southwest. New veins were discovered at Kozie West. All veins between the Northeast Fault and Shirotnyi Fault are now interpreted to belong to a single domain of Klyuchi West. In Zone 23 East domain, previously constrained veins were discovered to continue downdip to a depth of 400 m. Several veins were discovered in the western part of Adit 5 West. Figure 1. Plan view of maiden (left) and updated (right) Mineral Resource domains in the unconstrained model at Sergeevskoe. (To view the full-size image, please click here) From these domains, an Inferred Mineral Resource of 30.42 million tonnes, grading 1.45 g/t gold and containing 1.417 Moz gold at a 0.5 g/t gold cut-off grade and using a gold price of US$1450 per Troy ounce was optimized into a pit constrained by the license boundaries to the east and southwest. The result was a 19.3% increase to the maiden Mineral resource estimate (see press release 17 April 2019). Table 1 shows a sensitivity analysis of tonnage and grade for the Sergeevskoe project within a pit constrained at different cut-off grades ("COG"). Table 1. Open pit Mineral Resource estimate for the Sergeevskoe Gold Project with base case at 0.5 g/t cut off grade and using the US$1450 per Troy ounce of gold prices for base case scenario, with sensitivity analysis of tonnage and grade at different cut-off grades as at January 9, 2020. COG Tonnes (Mt) Grade (g/t Au) Contained Metal (Au "000 oz) 0.0* 30.59 1.45 1,426 0.4 30.49 1.45 1,418 0.5 30.42 1.45 1,417 0.6 28.75 1.50 1,387 0.7 25.56 1.61 1,320 0.8 22.13 1.74 1,238 *- All Mineralisation within Wireframe Model Notes: (1) CIM Definition Standards were followed for Mineral Resources; (2) Mineral Resources reported for the Sergeevskoe Gold Project are classified as Inferred by Phil Newall, an independent Qualified Person as defined by CIM Definition Standards; (3) Mineral resources are limited to an optimised open pit shell based on appropriate economic and reasonable mining parameters as provided by Orsu Metals Corporation; (4) Mineral Resources are not reserves until they have demonstrated economic viability based on a Feasibility Study or Pre-Feasibility Study; (5) All figures are rounded to reflect the relative accuracy of the estimate, and apparent errors may occur due to rounding; (6) Contained metal refers to estimated contained metal in the ground not adjusted for metallurgical recovery; (7) The mineral resources reported represent the sub-celled model with no account of potential mining dilution of the mineralisation. Table 2 shows sensitivity of the open-pit constrained resources to different gold prices. Table 2. Sensitivity analysis of updated pit- and license-constrained mineral resources at different gold prices using the NPV Scheduler. Gold Price Mineralized Material (Mt) Waste (Mt) Au (g/t) Gold, Moz US$1,350 30.07 283.56 1.45 1.402 US$1,450 30.42 293.94 1.45 1.417 US$1,550 30.73 303.23 1.45 1.429 Figure 2 shows distribution of gold grade in mineralized veins. In the area to the north of Shirotnyi Fault, one can recognize a 1000x100 m northwest-trending High-Grade Zone ("HGZ"), grading in excess of 2 g/t Au, roughly along the apparent axis of the stockwork. To the northeast and southwest, it is accompanied by narrow high- and medium-grade veins, striking in parallel to the HGZ. The stockwork is split into three domains by the two northeast-striking faults. It is obvious that the updated resource model has gaps along the strike, which remained undrilled by Orsu. Similarly, the short veins in the northeast were discovered in trenches in the end of the 2019 field season and remained untested downdip and along strike. These areas indicate further potential for immediate growth. Figure 2. Gold grade distribution in stockworks to the north and south of the Shirotnyi Fault in the $1450/oz Au open pit at the Sergeevskoe gold project. Gaps along the strike of the stockwork were not yet drilled or trenched by Orsu, representing future opportunities within the pit shell. HGZ=High-grade zone. (To view the full-size image, please click here) To the south of the Shirotnyi Fault, within three domains of Zone 23, the stockwork tends to change its strike from the east-west to the southwest. At Adit 5 East, the veins strike to the southwest and then to the south. In the Adit 5 West domain, the stockwork maintains a northwest orientation. The axial parts of these domains also host higher-grade veins. Similarly to the maiden Mineral Resource, some portions of the veins near the eastern and southwestern license boundaries could not be optimized into the open pit, although they possess viable gold grades (Figure 3). Figure 3. The north-looking long vertical projection showing grade distribution with updated Mineral Resource pit outlines at $1350/oz Au, $1450/oz Au, and $1550/oz Au, constrained by Sergeevskoe license boundary. (To view the full-size image, please click here) GROWTH POTENTIAL Orsu once again confirmed that the full potential of the Sergeevskoe gold system remains unconstrained. Together with the adjacent Klyuchevskoe gold deposit to the east, the Company is dealing with part of the world-class gold system, collectively containing in excess of 8 Moz gold. As it was shown above, the mineralization envelope can be further grown. The mineralization remains open both along the strike to the northwest and in subparallel veins to the north. It also remains open downdip in all domains. In addition, there are numerous occurrences of gold mineralization and geochemical/geophysical anomalies not yet tested by Orsu beyond the area of detailed works within the Company's 7.6 square km license area of the Sergeevskoe project (see press release dated September 21, 2016). DETAILS OF MINERAL RESOURCE ESTIMATE DATED 9 JANUARY 2020 Details of Mineral Resource estimate dated 9 January 2020 The Mineral Resource estimate was prepared by WAI under the direction of Phil Newall and Andrey Tsoy. Dr Phil Newall is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101"). Mineral Resources for the Sergeevskoe Gold Project have been prepared in accordance with the guidelines of the JORC Code (2012) and the 2014 CIM Definition Standards by Phil Newall, an independent Qualified Person as defined by the 2014 CIM Definition Standards. WAI has approved this written disclosure of the Mineral Resource estimate. Section 1 Sampling Techniques and Data Criteria JORC Code explanation Commentary Sampling techniques Nature and quality of sampling (eg cut channels, random chips, or specific specialised industry standard measurement tools appropriate to the minerals under investigation, such as down hole gamma sondes, or handheld XRF instruments, etc). These examples should not be taken as limiting the broad meaning of sampling. Include reference to measures taken to ensure sample representivity and the appropriate calibration of any measurement tools or systems used. Aspects of the determination of mineralisation that are Material to the Public Report. In cases where "industry standard' work has been done this would be relatively simple (eg "reverse circulation drilling was used to obtain 1 m samples from which 3 kg was pulverised to produce a 30 g charge for fire assay'). In other cases more explanation may be required, such as where there is coarse gold that has inherent sampling problems. Unusual commodities or mineralisation types (eg submarine nodules) may warrant disclosure of detailed information. Sampling was predominantly carried out using a combination of diamond core and trench channel. Drilling Campaign 2017-2019 Diamond drilling was used to obtain predominantly 1.0m samples (minimum length 0.25m to a maximum of 3.00m) that were subsequently cut in half along its length to produce half core for sample preparation (crushing/pulverising) to produce a sample for laboratory analysis. Trenching Trenching was used to obtain predominately 1.0 samples (minimum length 0.10m to maximum a 2.00m). The entire material was used for sample preparation (crushing/pulverising) to produce a sample for laboratory analysis. Drilling techniques Drill type (eg core, reverse circulation, open-hole hammer, rotary air blast, auger, Bangka, sonic, etc) and details (eg core diameter, triple or standard tube, depth of diamond tails, face-sampling bit or other type, whether core is oriented and if so, by what method, etc). Drilling at Sergeevskoe has included diamond drilling only. In the majority of drillholes the core was oriented at the commencement of every run to allow structural measurements to be made and all holes are subject to down-hole survey at generally 20.0m intervals. Data from HQ (63.5mm) and NQ (47.6mm) wireline diamond drillholes is used for interpretation and grade estimation. The main drill campaigns at Sergeevskoe have taken place in 2017-2018. A further 14 drillholes (for 3,555.45m) was completed in 2019. A total of 96 diamond holes had been drilled for 20,660m. Drill sample recovery Method of recording and assessing core and chip sample recoveries and results assessed. Measures taken to maximise sample recovery and ensure representative nature of the samples. Whether a relationship exists between sample recovery and grade and whether sample bias may have occurred due to preferential loss/gain of fine/coarse material. WAI is not aware of any specific measures taken to reduce losses through drilling or that any drilling campaign suffered from poor recovery. Diamond drill recovery averages 95%. Due to good drilling practices followed at Sergeevskoe samples are considered homogenous and representative. No apparent relationship is observed between sample recovery and grade. Logging Whether core and chip samples have been geologically and geotechnically logged to a level of detail to support appropriate Mineral Resource estimation, mining studies and metallurgical studies. Whether logging is qualitative or quantitative in nature. Core (or costean, channel, etc) photography. The total length and percentage of the relevant intersections logged. Core was logged on site by company geological personnel using a standardised logging convention, to a level sufficient to support geological interpretation, modelling, and subsequent mineral resource estimation. Core was geologically logged including a description of lithology, alteration/weathering, major structures, mineralisation, and veining, hence was performed on a qualitative basis. Core was logged manually before transfer to an electronic system using Excel spreadsheets. Rock Quality Designation (RQD) measurements were also completed by the field geologists. Sub-sampling techniques and sample preparation If core, whether cut or sawn and whether quarter, half or all core taken. If non-core, whether riffled, tube sampled, rotary split, etc. and whether sampled wet or dry. For all sample types, the nature, quality and appropriateness of the sample preparation technique. Quality control procedures adopted for all sub-sampling stages to maximise representivity of samples. Measures taken to ensure that the sampling is representative of the in situ material collected, including for instance results for field duplicate/second-half sampling. Whether sample sizes are appropriate to the grain size of the material being sampled. Sample preparation has followed standard industry practices: Diamond drill core was cut lengthways along its long axis with half core used for subsequent sampling and the other half retained for reference purposes. Sample preparation for Sergeevskoe has predominantly been carried out by SGS lab (Chita), Russia. The sample preparation flowsheet generally comprised: Drying at 105C; Samples crushed and pulverised, note every 50 th sample screened to ensure satisfactory crushing; and sample screened to ensure satisfactory crushing; and Pulp sample produced for assay analysis. The sample preparation techniques at Sergeevskoe has carried out by SGS lab and has followed recognised industry standards and are deemed appropriate. Sub-sampling quality control has been maintained through use of company SOP's being adopted to ensure consistency by following a standard set of practices throughout the process. The use of duplicate sample analysis has been used throughout the drill campaign at Sergeevskoe in order to monitor precision and reproducibility. Quality of assay data and laboratory tests The nature, quality and appropriateness of the assaying and laboratory procedures used and whether the technique is considered partial or total. For geophysical tools, spectrometers, handheld XRF instruments, etc, the parameters used in determining the analysis including instrument make and model, reading times, calibrations factors applied and their derivation, etc. Nature of quality control procedures adopted (eg standards, blanks, duplicates, external laboratory checks) and whether acceptable levels of accuracy (ie lack of bias) and precision have been established. No geophysical or portable analysis tools were used to determine assay values stored in the database. Handheld XRF machine was only used as a guide while drilling and readings have not been included in review of the data. For the diamond drill samples and for trench channel samples QC results (blank, duplicates, standards) were in line with commercial procedures, reproducibility and accuracy. Standard (CRM) samples were initially obtained from Geostats Pty Ltd (Australia). Sample preparation and analysis was carried out in SGS lab (Chita). Analysis was conducted for Au and Ag using FA with AA finishing for gold and AA with ICP ending for silver; Blank sample results show no significant contamination issues and the assays of the laboratory standards, which cover a range of metal values for each of Cu show no bias. No systematic bias appears to be present in results. The quality control and assurance data reviewed by the QP indicates the assays are generally within expected limits. The QP is satisfied the quality assurance and control data is sufficient to support the Mineral Resource classification presented herein. Verification of sampling and assaying The verification of significant intersections by either independent or alternative company personnel. The use of twinned holes. Documentation of primary data, data entry procedures, data verification, data storage (physical and electronic) protocols. Discuss any adjustment to assay data. All work has been supervised by senior technical staff. The Competent Person has verified the data based on information provided by Orsu Metals and through site visits. Significant intersections have not been verified by either independent or alternate company personnel. Logging data in the first instance was recorded by hand to form documentation for each hole that includes collar and down hole survey information and assay information once available. This information is transferred to an electronic database. WAI completed a number of checks on the raw data and data entry process. Based on the verification work completed, WAI is confident that the compiled database is an accurate reflection of the available drilling data. No adjustments to assay data have been made. WAI visited the site in 2016 and 2018, and whilst drilling and sampling was being undertaken at the time the visit WAI was able to review the procedures followed and the results obtained. Location of data points Accuracy and quality of surveys used to locate drill holes (collar and down-hole surveys), trenches, mine workings and other locations used in Mineral Resource estimation. Specification of the grid system used. Quality and adequacy of topographic control. All data was supplied in the World Geodetic System 1984, Zone 50 Northern Hemisphere (UTM). Collar positions for all holes were laid out by the on-site surveyor using a differential GPS and then checked again once drilling was completed. Downhole surveys were carried out for all of the diamond drillholes. Topographic surveys were conducted in 2017, and that being used for the current Mineral Resource Estimate. The small differences between the GPS readings and the topographical survey data do not influence the mineralisation widths. Data spacing and distribution Data spacing for reporting of Exploration Results. Whether the data spacing and distribution is sufficient to establish the degree of geological and grade continuity appropriate for the Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve estimation procedure(s) and classifications applied. Whether sample compositing has been applied. Data spacing is down to 40m x 40m in a few places, though is generally between 60m and 100m, and is sufficient to establish geological and mineralisation continuity appropriate for the reporting of Mineral Resources. Mineral Resources are classified as Inferred in accordance with the guidelines of the JORC Code (2012), and through geostatistical analysis considering the spatial distribution of sample data. Sample compositing was carried out as part of the mineral resource estimation process. The diamond drill and trench data spacing is deemed by the QP to be sufficient to imply/confirm geological and grade continuity, sufficient for the classification of Inferred resources only. The average length of the samples is 1.10m therefore the composite length of 1.0m was chosen. Orientation of data in relation to geological structure Whether the orientation of sampling achieves unbiased sampling of possible structures and the extent to which this is known, considering the deposit type. If the relationship between the drilling orientation and the orientation of key mineralised structures is considered to have introduced a sampling bias, this should be assessed and reported if material. In general drilling is carried out so that the intersections of holes with mineralised zones occurs at a high angle which results in limited sample bias. The basis of the geological model in difference domain is broadly: Domains 100 and 200 - south-west to south east striking; Domains 300, 500 and 900 north-west striking; Domain 800 - south-east striking; Domains 600, 700 and 1000 east-west striking. Sub-vertical steeply dipping mineralisation zone hence drilling is generally inclined at -60 towards the strike of the zones. Intercepts are reported as apparent thicknesses except where otherwise stated. Sample security The measures taken to ensure sample security. Samples were transported regularly (typically weekly during the drilling campaigns) by commercial carrier to SGS lab in Chita in sealed bags. After preparation in the field, samples were packed into bags and dispatched to the freight forwarders directly by the Company. All bags were transported by the Company directly to the sample preparation/assay laboratory. The assay laboratory audits the samples on arrival and reports any discrepancies back to the Company. Sample security was managed by the Company. The QP was not able to inspect the sample dispatches and relies on the Company's representative to ensure that no discrepancies occurred, and the chain of custody is acceptable. Audits or reviews The results of any audits or reviews of sampling techniques and data. The QP has visited the Sergeevskoe Property in 2016 and 2018 and reviewed the sampling techniques with Company personnel. The QP considers that the sampling technique and data obtained is satisfactory and suitable for use in the subsequent Mineral Resource Estimate. Section 2 Reporting of Exploration Results Criteria JORC Code explanation Commentary Mineral tenement and land tenure status Type, reference name/number, location and ownership including agreements or material issues with third parties such as joint ventures, partnerships, overriding royalties, native title interests, historical sites, wilderness or national park and environmental settings. The security of the tenure held at the time of reporting along with any known impediments to obtaining a license to operate in the area. The Sergeevskoe license is located in eastern part of Zabaikal Region, Russia, some 440km of Chita city, the region capital, and centred on coordinates 5332'N, 11625.5'E. LLC SC "Alexandrovskoe", a subsidiary of Sibzoloto Investments Limited ("Sibzoloto"), a Cyprus registered company and the sole owner of LLC GK Alexandrovskoe. The license was issued on 31 December 2013 and it is valid until 31 December 2031. Orsu acquired privately owned Sibzoloto on 18 May 2017 in a share and cash transaction. Orsu currently owns 90% share in Sibzoloto. The Sergeevskoe license covers an area of 7.6 km 2 . . The QP is not aware of any known impediments to obtaining and maintaining a licence to operate the Sergeevskoe Project. The QP has relied on the information provided by Orsu Metals that the tenement is in good standing and all fees are paid. Exploration done by other parties Acknowledgment and appraisal of exploration by other parties. Sergeevskoe is brownfield site, the previous works have included soil-geochemistry and sampling at 1:10,000 scale as well as different ground and airborne geophysical survey methods. Prospecting/exploration activities include surface trenching, restricted amount of drilling and underground developments (shallow shafts and adits with cross-cuts). Predominately the exploration activity was between 1960s-1970s as part of prospecting at the nearest vicinities of Kluchevskoe Gold Deposit, immediately to the east of the Sergeevskoe license boundary. The work was then carried out by state-owned geological enterprises. Geology Deposit type, geological setting and style of mineralisation. Sergeevskoe Property is part of Davenda-Kluchevskoe metallogenic zone. More than 60% of Sergeevskoe area is occupied by the early Jurassic Dvenda intrusion of the Amanan intrusion complex which is represented by biotite-hornblende diorite, diorite, quartz diorite, granite and porphyry granite. Proterozoic granitoid occupies the northern part of the area. The intrusive rock is represented by biotite granite, granite-diorite and migmatite. The contact of the Davenda intrusion and Proterozoic granitoid has a northeast strike. The mineralisation occurs on north-western exo- and endocontact of Proterozoic intrusion where it is coincided with Jurassic intrusions. Mineralisation is controlled by Shirotnyi (main east-west fault at Kluchevskoe deposit) and Alekseevsko-Glubokinskiy faults. The mineralisation is located within the dextral strike-slip duplex tectonic structures formed by these faults. Mineralisation is accompanied by alteration represented by silicification, potassic alteration, berezitisation, tourmalinisation, pyritization and other alteration. Mineralised zones are grouped into several domains of predominately east-west, north-west and south-south-west strike. The mineralised structures are sub-vertical. Drill hole Information A summary of all information material to the understanding of the exploration results including a tabulation of the following information for all Material drill holes: easting and northing of the drill hole collar elevation or RL (Reduced Level - elevation above sea level in metres) of the drill hole collar dip and azimuth of the hole down hole length and interception depth hole length. If the exclusion of this information is justified on the basis that the information is not Material and this exclusion does not detract from the understanding of the report, the Competent Person should clearly explain why this is the case. Exploration data held in the database and used in the mineral resource estimate can be summarised as follows: Number of drillholes - 96; Number of trenches - 62; East collar ranges - 20,658292m to 20,659,859m North collar ranges - 5,936,321m to 5,937,216m Collar elevation ranges - 928.5m to 1,091.8.6m Azimuth ranges - 0 to 360 Dip ranges - 50 to -90 Length of holes/trenches - 8m to 500m The data of drillholes SDH18-56 and trench STR19-55 were not included in the MRE as mineralised intervals cannot reliably linked/interpreted with other intersections.. Both diamond drillhole and trench information and assay results were used in the Mineral Resource Estimation. Data aggregation methods In reporting Exploration Results, weighting averaging techniques, maximum and/or minimum grade truncations (eg cutting of high grades) and cut-off grades are usually Material and should be stated. Where aggregate intercepts incorporate short lengths of high grade results and longer lengths of low grade results, the procedure used for such aggregation should be stated and some typical examples of such aggregations should be shown in detail. The assumptions used for any reporting of metal equivalent values should be clearly stated. Top cutting was used during the mineral resource estimation process to reduce the potential for outlier grades to have an overbearing effect on estimated block grades. Top-cutting is based on decile analysis and log probability graphs for all zones and applied to Au and Ag (detailed in the main body of the text). No metal equivalent equations were used during the mineral resource estimation procedure or reporting. Samples were composited to 1m lengths during the mineral resource estimation procedure to ensure a consistent level of support during the estimation process. Relationship between mineralisation widths and intercept lengths These relationships are particularly important in the reporting of Exploration Results. If the geometry of the mineralisation with respect to the drill hole angle is known, its nature should be reported. If it is not known and only the down hole lengths are reported, there should be a clear statement to this effect (eg "down hole length, true width not known'). The nature of the main zones of mineralisation at Sergeevskoe is well recognised as being steeply dipping narrow vein structures. In general drilling is carried out so that the intersections of holes with mineralised zones occurs at a high angle to minimise sample bias. Down hole length reflects drilled meters not the true width of the mineralised structures. Diagrams Appropriate maps and sections (with scales) and tabulations of intercepts should be included for any significant discovery being reported These should include, but not be limited to a plan view of drill hole collar locations and appropriate sectional views. Appropriate data tabulations, plans and sections showing the nature of the mineralisation, exploration and final mineral resource estimate are included in the main body of the report. Balanced reporting Where comprehensive reporting of all Exploration Results is not practicable, representative reporting of both low and high grades and/or widths should be practiced to avoid misleading reporting of Exploration Results. Individual exploration results are not being reported. This section is not considered relevant to the overall reporting of the mineral resource estimate. 95 diamond drillholes and 61 trenches have been used for the current Mineral Resource Estimate. Other substantive exploration data Other exploration data, if meaningful and material, should be reported including (but not limited to): geological observations; geophysical survey results; geochemical survey results; bulk samples - size and method of treatment; metallurgical test results; bulk density, groundwater, geotechnical and rock characteristics; potential deleterious or contaminating substances. Metallurgical testwork was used to define recovery factors during pit optimisation used as a basis for limiting potential Mineral Resources based on the expectation of economic extraction. Geotechnical data of adjacent Kluchevskoe deposit was used at Sergeevskoe. Density measurement was completed on 97 samples for oxide material and 203 samples for primary material. Further work The nature and scale of planned further work (eg tests for lateral extensions or depth extensions or large-scale step-out drilling). Diagrams clearly highlighting the areas of possible extensions, including the main geological interpretations and future drilling areas, provided this information is not commercially sensitive. Over the next 12 months, Orsu will be focussed on upgrading the current resource base through a targeted RC drilling (circa 3,000m) and infill drilling (circa 3,500m) programme. Subject to positive results, these results will be used for the planned pilot mining and metallurgical testwork at the processing plant. Mineralisation is open along strike toward the west and north-west as well as down dip. Appropriate plans and sections are included in the main body of the report. Section 3 Estimation and Reporting of Mineral Resources Criteria JORC Code explanation Commentary Database integrity Measures taken to ensure that data has not been corrupted by, for example, transcription or keying errors, between its initial collection and its use for Mineral Resource estimation purposes. Data validation procedures used. Historical data are completely excluded from the mineral resource database. The project database is held in .csv and Datamine format files. Data held includes; collar location, downhole surveys, assay information, lithology and oxidation. Also held in Microsoft Excel spreadsheets is information on duplicate samples and certified reference materials. Access to the Sergeevskoe drilling/trenching database used for resource estimation is restricted to geological and selected technical staff. WAI completed a number of checks on the raw data supplied by Orsu Metals and is satisfied that the data does not contain significant errors nor has it been corrupted. Validation of the database was carried out during import of the data in to Datamine Studio 3 for production of the mineral resource estimate, no major issues were found with duplicate or overlapping samples. Site visits Comment on any site visits undertaken by the Competent Person and the outcome of those visits. If no site visits have been undertaken indicate why this is the case. The Qualified Person (Dr Phil Newall) visited the site between the 2 and 3 November 2016 and between 5 and 7 June 2018. The site visit included inspection of the Orsu drilling and trenching operations, and discussions with on-site technical and geological staff to verify the database, geological model and resource estimation. Geological interpretation Confidence in (or conversely, the uncertainty of) the geological interpretation of the mineral deposit. Nature of the data used and of any assumptions made. The effect, if any, of alternative interpretations on Mineral Resource estimation. The use of geology in guiding and controlling Mineral Resource estimation. The factors affecting continuity both of grade and geology. Grade estimation for Sergeevskoe uses diamond drilling and trench sampling only. The confidence in the geological interpretation is deemed good. Exploration drilling has been carried out on a grid down to 40m x 40m, though more typically between 60m and 100m, and geological logging is comprehensive. Geological logging has been carried out from drill core samples and in trenches and used to aid definition of mineralised domains within the overall resource model. The wireframes used to constrain the block model and grade interpolation were constructed based on Orsu's understanding of the geology, mineralisation, and alteration of the Sergeevskoe deposit. Namely, the resource model reflects the interpretation of an east-west, north-west and south-west orientated multi-vein system (zones) reflecting areas of elevated mineralisation. Dimensions The extent and variability of the Mineral Resource expressed as length (along strike or otherwise), plan width, and depth below surface to the upper and lower limits of the Mineral Resource. The mineralisation is split on a few domains which have east-west, north-west and south-west strike. The overall mineralisation dimension is 1,650m in east-west direction and 1,050m from south to north. The current mineral resource is constrained by an optimised open pit with a strike length of 1,300m, width of 1,080m at the crest, and a maximum depth of pit = 440m (measured from northern highwall to the pit bottom). The unconstrained block model has a maximum depth of mineralisation to 500m from the surface. Estimation and modelling techniques The nature and appropriateness of the estimation technique(s) applied and key assumptions, including treatment of extreme grade values, domaining, interpolation parameters and maximum distance of extrapolation from data points. If a computer assisted estimation method was chosen include a description of computer software and parameters used. The availability of check estimates, previous estimates and/or mine production records and whether the Mineral Resource estimate takes appropriate account of such data. The assumptions made regarding recovery of by-products. Estimation of deleterious elements or other non-grade variables of economic significance (eg sulphur for acid mine drainage characterisation). In the case of block model interpolation, the block size in relation to the average sample spacing and the search employed. Any assumptions behind modelling of selective mining units. Any assumptions about correlation between variables. Description of how the geological interpretation was used to control the resource estimates. Discussion of basis for using or not using grade cutting or capping. The process of validation, the checking process used, the comparison of model data to drill hole data, and use of reconciliation data if available. Multiple domains were created to represent each of the mineralised structures (zones). DTM surfaces were created to represent the topographical surface, overburden material and base of oxide/primary material. A block model was created using the geological and mineralised zone wireframes as boundaries. A parent block size of 10m (X) x 10m (Y) x 10m (Z) was used in the block model with key fields established for geological and mineralised domains. Additional key fields were established to denote oxide and fresh rock domains. Grade capping: Grade capping was carried out to stop local overestimation of grade from high-grade outlier samples. Grade capping was used for all variables on a zone by zone basis where outlier grades were identified using a combination of decile analysis and a review of log-probability plots. Composites: A 1m composite length was chosen to ensure consistent sample support during estimation. Composites were limited to the boundaries of mineralised domains. Variography: A variographic study by domain identified reasonably robust variogram models for Au across seven domains. Estimation: Estimation was carried out using Inverse distance (squared) as the primary method. Ordinary Kriging estimate was carried out for validation purposes. Only composite samples within an individual zone were used for estimation of that zone. Estimation parameters were based on models of grade continuity produced during geostatistical analysis. Dynamic anisotropy was used to change orientations of search ellipses based on local variations of dip and strike. Minimum and maximum sample criteria, an octant search restriction and restrictions of number of composite samples from a single drillhole were employed during grade estimation to assist with declustering and to reduce local grade bias. A multiple pass estimation as carried out with expanding search ellipses and less restrictive estimation parameters for estimating blocks in more poorly sampled areas. Estimation was carried out into parent cells only to reduce risk of conditional bias. Estimation was carried out using a discretisation of five points in each dimension. The block model was verified first by comparing drillhole composite sample values with estimated block values on a sectional and plan basis. Grade comparison was also carried out statistically by zone to ensure the global grade estimate was unbiased. Grade profile (swath) plots were also constructed to compare modelled grades and input composite grades in slices or varying width. During this process a comparison was made between declustered and clustered data to identify any possible local bias introduced by irregular grade spacing. No estimation of deleterious components was carried out. The estimated block model was validated by visual inspection of block grades in comparison with drillhole data, and comparison of the block model statistics. Moisture Whether the tonnages are estimated on a dry basis or with natural moisture, and the method of determination of the moisture content. All tonnages are reported as dry tonnages. Moisture content has been measured using weighing waxed samples and dried ones. Cut-off parameters The basis of the adopted cut-off grade(s) or quality parameters applied. Mineralised zones are defined at a natural cut-off grade of 0.5g/t Au. The mineral resource estimate is restricted to material falling within an NPV Scheduler optimised pit shell as described below in "Mining factors or assumptions", and above a cut-off grade representing breakeven cut-off grade derived from open pit optimisation parameters for each zone (Oxide and Fresh). Mining factors or assumptions Assumptions made regarding possible mining methods, minimum mining dimensions and internal (or, if applicable, external) mining dilution. It is always necessary as part of the process of determining reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction to consider potential mining methods, but the assumptions made regarding mining methods and parameters when estimating Mineral Resources may not always be rigorous. Where this is the case, this should be reported with an explanation of the basis of the mining assumptions made. The Project is deemed to be appropriate to being mined by the continuation of standard open pit mining operations. Reporting of mineral resources suitable for open pit extraction were limited by the creation of an optimised open pit shell in NPV Scheduler. The pit shell was created with the following major parameters: Gold price of US$1,450/oz Oxide mineralisation mining cost of US$1.2/t Primary mineralisation mining cost of US$1.5/t Waste mining cost of US$1.2/t Overburden mining cost of US$1.0/t Total processing cost of US$8.0/t G&A cost of US$1.5/t Royalty cost of US$6.0/t Processing recovery for Oxide of 93.0% and for Primary of 85.0% Slope angle between 51 Mining dilution of 0% and mining losses of 0% Metallurgical factors or assumptions The basis for assumptions or predictions regarding metallurgical amenability. It is always necessary as part of the process of determining reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction to consider potential metallurgical methods, but the assumptions regarding metallurgical treatment processes and parameters made when reporting Mineral Resources may not always be rigorous. Where this is the case, this should be reported with an explanation of the basis of the metallurgical assumptions made. Metallurgical recovery was utilised during the construction of an optimised pit shell used for limiting mineral resources based on an expectation of eventual economic extraction. Metallurgical recovery is based on the limited initial metallurgical testwok carried out in 2017 and 2018. Environmental factors or assumptions Assumptions made regarding possible waste and process residue disposal options. It is always necessary as part of the process of determining reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction to consider the potential environmental impacts of the mining and processing operation. While at this stage the determination of potential environmental impacts, particularly for a greenfields project, may not always be well advanced, the status of early consideration of these potential environmental impacts should be reported. Where these aspects have not been considered this should be reported with an explanation of the environmental assumptions made. WAI is unaware of any environmental factors which would preclude the reporting of Mineral Resources. Bulk density Whether assumed or determined. If assumed, the basis for the assumptions. If determined, the method used, whether wet or dry, the frequency of the measurements, the nature, size and representativeness of the samples. The bulk density for bulk material must have been measured by methods that adequately account for void spaces (vugs, porosity, etc), moisture and differences between rock and alteration zones within the deposit. Discuss assumptions for bulk density estimates used in the evaluation process of the different materials. Density measurements have been taken for oxide and primary material with respect to natural moisture. A total of 97 density measurements have been taken for oxide material and 203 measurements for primary material. Measurements were made using the Archimedes water immersion method, the results were recorded and imported into Excel spreadsheet. Density was assigned to the block model during the Mineral Resource estimation by applying the mean values for oxide material and following formula for primary material: Density = - 0.00072 x (Au g/t)2 + 0.1363 x (Au g/t) +2.6687 Moisture content was measured and applied for oxide and primary material. Classification The basis for the classification of the Mineral Resources into varying confidence categories. Whether appropriate account has been taken of all relevant factors (ie relative confidence in tonnage/grade estimations, reliability of input data, confidence in continuity of geology and metal values, quality, quantity and distribution of the data). Whether the result appropriately reflects the Competent Person's view of the deposit. Mineral Resource classification in accordance with the guidelines of the JORC Code (2012). Sergeevskoe Gold Project is considered to be at an early stage of development, based on limited exploration data, and that the interpretation of the mineralisation is largely based on assumed geological/structural features of the deposit rather than on the existing mineralised intercepts. Furthermore, there is no robust definition of oxide/primary mineralisation based on the appropriative assay data and/or metallurgical testwork and as such the resources are reported of Inferred category only. The mineral resource estimate classification reflects the Competent Person's view of the Sergeevskoe Project. Mineral Resources were limited using an optimised pit shell using parameters as laid out in the main section of the report and as described in "Mining factors and assumptions" above. The mineral resource estimate has been limited to the surveyed surface as detailed in the main report. Audits or reviews The results of any audits or reviews of Mineral Resource estimates. WAI is not aware of any audits or reviews of this Mineral Resource Estimate other than internal peer review. Discussion of relative accuracy/ confidence Where appropriate a statement of the relative accuracy and confidence level in the Mineral Resource estimate using an approach or procedure deemed appropriate by the Competent Person. For example, the application of statistical or geostatistical procedures to quantify the relative accuracy of the resource within stated confidence limits, or, if such an approach is not deemed appropriate, a qualitative discussion of the factors that could affect the relative accuracy and confidence of the estimate. The statement should specify whether it relates to global or local estimates, and, if local, state the relevant tonnages, which should be relevant to technical and economic evaluation. Documentation should include assumptions made and the procedures used. These statements of relative accuracy and confidence of the estimate should be compared with production data, where available. The relative accuracy and confidence in the mineral resource estimate is reflected in the reporting of the mineral resource as set out in the JORC Code (2012) The statement relates to global estimates of tonnes and grade. The classification applied to the mineral resource estimate is based upon; confidence of continuity of mineralisation, quality of data (QA/QC) and validation of the block model. Qualified Person Alexander Yakubchuk, the Company's Director of Exploration, Ph.D., MIMMM, a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved the exploration information disclosures contained in this press release. 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: This news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on the Company's current expectations and estimates. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "suggest", "indicate" and other similar words or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from estimated or anticipated events or results implied or expressed in such forward-looking statements. There may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein. ENDS For further information, please contact: Alexander Yakubchuk, Director of Exploration, Orsu Metals Corporation Doris Meyer, Corporate Secretary, Orsu Metals Corporation Tel: +1-604-536-2711 ext 6 SOURCE: Orsu Metals Corporation View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/573482/Orsu-Metals-Announces-an-Updated-Inferred-Mineral-Resource-at-Its-Sergeevskoe-Gold-Project-Russia One of the key things that all of us should look to achieve during this Labour leadership contest is changing how we discuss immigration. At least since the Empire Windrush docked in 1948, the arrival of people into this country to live, study and work has been treated at best as a necessary evil, couched in terms of the need for people to drive buses or work in the NHS; at worst a threat to the nation, our culture, wages and safety. Both attitudes fail to recognise the reality: that immigration is what makes us British. For too long we have allowed this debate to be dominated by fear-mongering opportunists: Nigel Farage standing in front of a poster featuring refugees and the words Breaking Point; Michael Gove whipping up fear of mass migration from Turkey. In an attempt to sound tough, Labour has sometimes been too slow to stand up against this kind of rhetoric and, in the worst cases, even been seen to appease it. In a battle thats become too much about the numbers, weve forgotten that, at its core, immigration is about people people who fall in love, create families, build better lives for themselves and make our communities the vibrant places they are. The most pernicious myth we have failed to bust is that working class-communities are hostile to immigration, and that Labour politicians must, therefore, watch their language or, worse, pander to this perceived prejudice. This then leads to political arm-wrestling between the left and the right over who can sound the toughest on immigration. Why, when were asked whether immigration is too high, do Labour politicians so often fumble their response? Lets say what we think: no, it isnt. I live in Birmingham and can talk proudly about my Irish ancestors who came here to build railways, bridges and cities. My friends and neighbours can point to their heritage all over the globe, from Africa, Asia, Europe, America and everywhere in-between. Pride and prejudice: The Victorian roots of a very British ambivalence to immigration Show all 3 1 /3 Pride and prejudice: The Victorian roots of a very British ambivalence to immigration Pride and prejudice: The Victorian roots of a very British ambivalence to immigration 405361.bin GETTY IMAGES Pride and prejudice: The Victorian roots of a very British ambivalence to immigration 405362.bin GETTY IMAGES Pride and prejudice: The Victorian roots of a very British ambivalence to immigration 405363.bin GETTY IMAGES The fact that one of the fastest-growing BAME groups is children with dual heritage suggests that our embrace of other ethnicities is more than theoretical. We should be proud of this fact, not talk about tolerating or mitigating it. And yet the immigration system is one of the cruellest and maddest parts of government. It has got so much worse under the Tories, with their hostile environment policy one of the starkest manifestations of this. Like every MP, immigration cases are some of the most heart-rending I deal with. One of my constituents made a simple error on their tax return, amounting to a few pennies, and was deemed by the Home Office to have bad character and threatened with deportation. Another was being threatened with deportation whilst they were working as an official for the Ministry of Justice. You couldnt make it up. I have raised case after case in parliament. I have exposed the folly of policies like the one that says skilled workers must be earning the equivalent of 30,000 to be allowed in, basically ruling out armies of teachers, nurses and others. As I told the House, I have since becoming an MP met plenty of people earning 30,000 and more with no discernible skills whatsoever. Rebecca Long Bailey defends immigration and says she would use Trident I have witnessed people driven to destitution in their fights with the Home Office even when they have won. I have seen families torn apart, children traumatised and vulnerable people abused. Women escaping domestic abuse being forced to lose their children. Squalid places like Yarls Wood, which institutionalise cruelty and corrode our capacity to call ourselves a civilised country. Imagine for a moment if we spent the same amount of effort pursuing the scumbags who traffic people as we do on the people they traffic. Of course, any government needs to know who is coming in and out of our country, and establish rules to regulate that flow. But setting arbitrary targets, as the Tories have done, dehumanises people. The fact is that immigrants contribute to our country culturally and economically. Far from taking our jobs, they create jobs, start businesses and create wealth. They contribute to our communities, work in our essential services and bring dynamism and vitality to our economy. Its time to start building a new consensus starting with new policies. Lets end the practice of deporting child refugees as soon as they turn 18, and give children leave to remain. Lets let people who have lived in this country for many years, who have families in Britain, stay, without fear of being pursued by the Home Office. Lets end immigration detention as a whole, not just insist on a time limit to it we dont need to lock people up. And lets overhaul our failed asylum system to give people seeking asylum the right to work. It isnt inevitable that 15,000 refugees and asylum seekers go to the Red Cross seeking help each year because of destitution its because of rules, rules that need to change. My challenge not just to the other leadership contenders, but to every Labour member is to come together to create policies that both reflect our shared humanity and work in practice. That starts by saying immigration is great, and ends with a Labour government that enacts our values. Jess Phillips is the MP for Birmingham Yardley and a Labour leadership candidate Heavily armed jihadists have carried out an "extremely violent" attack on a vital aid facility housing United Nations workers in northeast Nigeria, the UN said Monday. No aid workers were harmed in the assault, but a military source said that one soldier and four assailants died in the ensuing gunfight. Islamists in several trucks fitted with machine guns stormed the humanitarian hub near a camp holding 55,000 displaced people in the remote town of Ngala on Saturday, humanitarian and military sources said. The UN said it "was outraged by the extremely violent attack on this key humanitarian facility where five United Nations staff were staying at the time of the incident". The attack is the latest to target aid workers trying to tackle the vast humanitarian crisis caused by the decade-long jihadist insurgency in northeast Nigeria. An aid worker said the jihadists fired anti-aircraft machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades as they engaged soldiers in battle. "The soldiers managed to evacuate the aid staff to their base close by while fighting continued," the aid worker said. The UN said that an "entire section of the facility was burned down as well as one of the few vehicles UN agencies rely on for movement and aid delivery". UN humanitarian coordinator for northeast Nigeria Edward Kallon said he was "shocked by the violence and intensity of this attack, which is the latest of too many incidents directly targeting humanitarian actors and the assistance we provide". A Nigerian military officer said that the attackers "had also abandoned a vehicle laden with explosives intended for a suicide attack near the humanitarian hub". Twelve aid workers were killed in northeast Nigeria in 2019 as the conflict has become increasingly perilous for those trying to deliver humanitarian assistance to the hundreds of thousands of displaced. Two female humanitarian workers are still being held by jihadists after being kidnapped. The jihadist conflict in northeast Nigeria has killed 35,000 people and displaced around two million from their homes. The jihadists have splintered into rival factions, with one group loyal to long-time Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau and the other pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack from either faction. The violence has spread to neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting the formation of a regional military coalition to fight the Islamists. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) ORANGE CITY, Iowa The Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Dairy team will host a five-session webinar entitled "Eye on Employees," beginning Feb. 5. The webinars will address the main concerns that farm employers, especially dairy farmers, face. Fred Hall, a dairy specialist with ISU Extension, said the webinar series will take an in-depth look at how to hire and maintain farm employees. Each webinar will be from noon to 1 p.m. Dates, presenters and topics are: Feb. 5 -- Brett Stanley, special investigator with the Department of Homeland Security, will discuss what information is needed for I-9 forms and what documentation options there are for immigrant employees to confirm they can legally work here. ADVERTISEMENT Feb. 12 -- ISU Extension farm management specialist Melissa ORourke will discuss how to begin an interview conversation and give tips to learn the most about the applicant while not breaking the law. Feb. 19 -- ISU Extension dairy specialist Larry Tranel will discuss how labor and robotic milkers are not an either-or option for producers and explore the most recent research on the economics of automated milking systems. Feb. 26 -- Hall will outline the importance of an employee handbook and give producers ideas on how to create one for their dairy, as well as how to make it a part of their hiring process. March 4 -- ORourke will outline how employees are often misclassified and the consequences of doing so; plus, other employment pitfalls. Each webinar includes time for questions and answers. There is no registration fee; however, registration is required to receive the link for the program. Register online at https://form.jotform.com/4Hregion1/eye-on-employees. Lawyers representing undocumented immigrants detained by ICE allege that courts and government authorities under the Trump administration are not complying with a federal court order that protects mentally disabled immigrants in California, Arizona and Washington. The order, established in 2013 after a class-action lawsuit known as Franco-Gonzalez, applies to detained immigrants who suffer from serious mental illnesses or disabilities such as bipolar disorder and autism by providing them free access to counsel. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is required to flag individuals who show symptoms, and those immigrants then go before a judge for a competency hearing to determine if they qualify for protections. But immigration judges are granting these protections to fewer people, and ICE is referring fewer of them to the courts, attorneys say. That is forcing perhaps hundreds of disabled and mentally ill immigrants to represent themselves in court even though they are unfit to do so, putting them at risk of being deported without due process. There are no publicly available statistics on the number of immigrants deemed incompetent to represent themselves in court in recent years, and the results of individual cases are often difficult to track, according to several attorneys who handle Franco cases. Anecdotal records of these alleged violations prompted attorneys for plaintiffs in the Franco-Gonzalez case to file a motion in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, asking that the Department of Homeland security submit information including data on how its handling current Franco cases. A judge granted the motion Jan. 10, saying the evidence attorneys presented is more than adequate to raise serious questions about potential ongoing noncompliance. Attorneys laid out in court documents nearly a dozen cases they say are violations. They include: A man who was not given Franco protections until a third-party legal organization stepped in, despite several indications he was suffering from a psychotic disorder. The man, who was not identified, experienced a psychotic break while detained at the Eloy Detention Center in Arizona and reported hearing voices telling him to jump off the roof of the jails housing complex. An individual who waited seven months for Franco protections despite a reported history of schizophrenia and hallucinations. An individual who was ordered deported without ever receiving a competency hearing, despite a schizophrenia diagnosis and a previous stay in June 2019 in a psychiatric hospital, where he completed a criminal sentence. The government said the allegations do not raise serious questions about their noncompliance, according to court documents. In response to arguments that diagnoses by qualified mental health providers should have prompted timely competency hearings for the detainees, the government said that is not enough to establish class membership, rather, it must be accompanied by significant symptoms. Attorneys representing detained immigrants in the Bay Area say an incident that occurred in court late last year illustrates the tougher approach some judges are taking in Franco cases. During a hearing in San Francisco on Nov. 13, attorney Kelly Wells requested a competency hearing known formally as a Judicial Competency Inquiry to determine whether her client, Carlos Saavedra, was eligible for Franco protections. Judge Patrick OBrien denied her request, despite diagnoses from two psychologists saying Saavedra, 21, has an auditory processing disorder that prevents him from comprehending complex verbal communication. When Wells pressed the issue, OBrien removed her from the courtroom a highly unusual move that several attorneys and at least one judge said they have never witnessed in their careers. OBrien later recused himself from Saavedras case. There was overwhelming, voluminous evidence that this young man suffers from a disability. And yet, the judge literally said to us, I dont have a doubt that he is competent, said Wells, deputy public defender for the San Francisco Public Defenders Immigration Defense Unit, which provides pro bono legal representation to detained immigrants facing deportation. OBrien, a former ICE attorney who took the bench in August 2017, is not authorized to give interviews, said Kathryn Mattingly, a spokeswoman for the Executive Office of Immigration Review, an office in the Justice Department that oversees U.S. immigration courts. EOIR remains committed to ensuring that all who come before its courts will receive due process and a timely and fair adjudication, Mattingly said in an email. The Franco-Gonzalez class settlement is named after Jose Antonio Franco-Gonzalez, a Mexican immigrant with a cognitive disability who was detained in federal immigration facilities for nearly five years without a court hearing or an attorney. He sued the federal government in 2010. A settlement followed a few years later. The court order covers only jurisdictions that fall under the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, based in San Francisco. But the government offers similar protections to mentally ill detainees in other states. Detainees undergo a variety of screenings as soon as theyre processed into an ICE facility. If the screening shows evidence of a serious mental disorder, a mental health assessment follows within 14 days. If ICE authorities note symptoms that would likely make an individual qualify for legal protections as a Franco class member such as hallucinations, psychosis, traumatic brain injury, dementia or intellectual developmental delays theyre required to notify the ICE Office of Chief Counsel, which must follow up on the notice. A judge then has three weeks to hold a competency hearing. Not all potential class members are flagged by ICE. Attorneys and other individuals who come in contact with the detainee may also raise concerns to the government or the court. And, if an immigration judge has a bona fide doubt about an immigrants ability to represent him or herself in court, the judge can also order mental health screenings to determine competence. Under Franco, if an individual is deemed incompetent, the person is appointed a lawyer paid for by the U.S. government and granted bond hearings every six months, among other protections. But medical staff in ICE facilities often underreport mental heath issues, despite previous symptoms or diagnoses, according to Valerie Zukin, an attorney with the Northern California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice. Medical records are also difficult for detainees to obtain, she said. We have huge concerns about whats happening, Zukin said. Even if they get past that first hurdle and get a competency hearing, judges have the authority to determine whether the person is competent. Theyre increasingly hesitant to find people incompetent except in the most extreme cases. The three-year monitoring period established by the court to ensure the government was complying with Franco ended two years ago, leaving attorneys in the dark about how these cases are playing out in court. After that weve had a couple of years where we dont really know whats going on, said Ahilan Arulanantham, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union in Southern California who represented plaintiffs in the Franco case. We dont even know how many class members there are on any given day. We used to know that. About 1,000 class members were deemed incompetent to represent themselves between January 2015 and April 2018 due to serious mental disorders, according to attorneys for the plaintiffs. 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. Unlike other court judges, immigration judges fall under the executive branch, appointed by the Department of Justice. Under a policy established in 2018, judges are required to complete 700 cases a year or risk poor performance evaluations, in an effort to diminish a backlog of 1 million immigration cases across the county. That may be a factor in the reduction in Franco approvals, said Dana Leigh Marks, a San Francisco immigration judge for more than 30 years and former president of the National Association of Immigration Judges. The pressures have been unparalleled in the 33 years Ive been an immigration judge, said Marks, who spoke as a union member. In the Nov. 13 court hearing in immigration court in San Francisco, Wells was acting as a friend of the court, when she appeared before OBrien, meaning she was advocating on Saavedras behalf but was not formally his attorney at the time. She has since taken him on as a client. The Chronicle obtained an audio recording of the hearing from the public defenders office. After asking Saavedra three questions how he was doing that day, if hed found an attorney and whether he was trying to find an attorney OBrien said, in part, I have no doubt as to the respondents competence at this point. Wells argued that diagnoses by two credentialed psychologists in the past seven years the most recent in 2013 made Saavedra eligible for legal protection. OBrien said he did not see that as a qualified health professional making a mental health diagnosis. Im sorry your honor, I dont think your personal doubt comes into play here, Wells said. I believe thats a misreading of the settlement, and frankly it gives me great concern for those individuals who dont have the benefit of a public defender tracking their case. OBrien declined to hold a competency hearing for Saavedra, saying, I have enough experiences in these cases now where I think I can tell reasonably well that we could hold a (hearing) but this respondent is going to pass with flying colors. Wells told OBrien he was forcing the Department of Homeland Security to violate Franco. She threatened to file a complaint against him. A security guard removed her from the courtroom at OBriens request. The judge said Wells was being disruptive. Saavedra, who has been detained at the Mesa Verde Detention Facility in Bakersfield for four months, was arrested by ICE in September following convictions for DUI and possession of a controlled substance. He was enrolled in an adult school in Roseville (Placer County) at the time of his arrest, and faces possible deportation. He said he didnt feel like OBrien made an effort to listen to Wells arguments or to understand his case. I dont think he liked her standing up for me, Saavedra said in a December call from Mesa Verde. I dont think he liked that about her and he decided to do something about it. Tatiana Sanchez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tatiana.sanchez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TatianaYSanchez Here are the best images from across the world from the previous week. A rider goes through flames during the annual "Luminarias" celebration on the eve of Saint Anthony's day, Spain's patron saint of animals, in the village of San Bartolome de Pinares, northwest of Madrid, Spain. Photograph: Juan Medina/Reuters A villager tries to control a bull during a bull-taming festival, which is part of south India's harvest festival of Pongal, on the outskirts of Madurai in Tamil Nadu. Photograph: P Ravikumar/Reuters A man walks on a road blanketed with volcanic ash from the erupting Taal Volcano in Tagaytay, Philippines. Photograph: Eloisa Lopez/Reuters Members of Delhi Police stretch before the rehearsal for the Republic Day parade early morning in New Delhi, India. Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters An injured koala sits at the Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park, at the Wildlife Emergency Response Centre in Parndana, Kangaroo Island, Australia. Photograph: Tracey Nearmy/Reuters Democratic 2020 US presidential candidates Senator Elizabeth Warren speaks with Senator Bernie Sanders after the seventh Democratic 2020 presidential debate at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. Photograph: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters A man tries to extinguish an advertisement board set on fire during a demonstration of French labour union members and workers, as France faces its 38th consecutive day of strike against French government's pensions reform plans, in Paris, France. Photograph: Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters Men splash themselves with cold water during the annual cold water endurance ceremony, to purify their souls and wish for good fortune in the new year, at the Kanda Myojin shrine in Tokyo, Japan. Photograph: Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters People participate in the Women's March in Manhattan in New York City, New York, US. Photograph: Jeenah Moon/Reuters Filipino devotees join the annual Catholic procession of the Black Nazarene as police surround its carriage during its feast day in Manila, Philippines. Photograph: Eloisa Lopez/Reuters Iraqi women wave coloured smoke candles during the festival of colors, in the holy Shi'ite city of Najaf, Iraq. Photograph: Alaa al-Marjani/Reuters The investment prospects for the upcoming Aurangabad Industrial City (AURIC) will look up in near future, Maharashtra Industries Minister Subhash Desai said here on Monday. The AURIC greenfield industrial site is a part of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) located at Shendra and Bidkin near Aurangabad. Desai told reporters that Tanman Chakravarty of the Tata Sons and Prakash Jain, a senior official with an MNC, visited AURIC along with him on Sunday. "They have expressed satisfaction over the facilities and are positive to work here," he said. AURIC is developing as fast urban and industrial hub, the Shiv Sena leader said. Admitting that the IT vertical is still not present at the AURIC, the minister said, "We are in talks with several IT companies". "IT company officials need to travel long apart from their working hours. To overcome this, we are implementing walk-to-work concept here. We have also made an attractive investment policy for companies," Desai said. The minister also said the government is focusing on agriculture-based companies. The ground-breaking ceremony for the project of agriculture-based companies will be completed before June this year and land will be allotted to women entrepreneurs, he said. Desai also said that a systematic programme will be chalked out to address health issues in Aurangabad and at government hospitals in the city. Commenting on a dispute between MLA Sanjay Shirsat and former corporator Sushil Khedkar over a road tender issue, Desai said the party has the serious note of the matter and soon a meeting will be called. Meanwhile, Desai inspected a road connecting the historic 'Bibi ka Makbara' with the Aurangabad Caves, after contradictory claims were made in a meeting with the administration officials. He found the road in a bad condition and addressed officials there itself. Aurangabad MP Imtiyaz Jaleel has demanded that a police case be registered against officials who fail to complete vairous works. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Islamabad, Jan 20 : Pakistan has urged the US to get it off the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which monitors global money laundering and terror financing, it was reported. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said at a news briefing here on Friday night that Pakistan hoped the US would back its efforts to get it off the list at the FATF's Beijing meeting next month, Dawn news said in a report on Sunday. "This meeting is very important for us as it leads to a plenary meeting in Paris in April where the world body will decide whether Pakistan remains on the list or is taken off," he said. The FATF has placed Pakistan on a list of countries that have failed to eradicate money laundering and where terrorists can still raise funds for their activities. If not removed off the list by April, Pakistan may move to a blacklist of countries that face severe economic sanctions, such as Iran. Qureshi concluded his three-day visit to the US on Friday after a series of meetings with key US lawmakers and officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien. The Minister spent the week touring Iran, Saudi Arabia and the US on a diplomatic mission meant to defuse tensions between Washington and Tehran. At his news briefing, Qureshi also urged the US to review its travel advisories for Pakistan and encourage investments in the country. US travel advisories still present Pakistan as a country Americans should avoid travelling because of terrorism threats. Asked why the FATF's Beijing meeting was important, Qureshi said that decisions taken in China's capital would also impact the Force's Paris plenary, which would decide whether Pakistan stayed in or was taken off the gray list. The Minister acknowledged that removal from the FATF list could not happen overnight, but said that the US could enhance its engagements with Pakistan while waiting for the removal. Qureshi noted that in his meetings with Prime Minister Imran Khan last year, US President Donald Trump had said that he wanted to see Pakistan off the FATF gray list. "So, we expect US officials to work for it now." TORONTO, Jan. 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Members of CUPE Local 79, which represents over 20,000 City workers, turned out in historic numbers on Friday to give their bargaining team a strike mandate in its negotiations with the City of Toronto. 90% of participants in Fridays vote supported a strike mandate. "City workers are expecting a contract that is fair and recognizes their hard work," said Dave Mitchell, president of CUPE Local 79. "Our members took big hits in their last two contracts and this vote gives a clear signal that they won't stand for more they've had enough. Negotiations for new contracts between the City of Toronto and CUPE Local 79 have been ongoing since early December. Mitchell said the overwhelming backing of a strike mandate shows the bargaining team that it has strong support from the union's membership to push for a deal that is fair. Were united and determined to negotiate a contract that recognizes our members dedication to delivering high quality services to Torontos communities, said Mitchell. CUPE Local 79 represents over 20,000 City of Toronto employees working in all City divisions, including homeless shelters, public health, inspectors, planners, transportation, childcare centres, employment and social services, recreation programs and long-term care homes. For more information, please contact: Matthew Stella, CUPE National Communications: 613-252-4377 Tor Sandberg, CUPE Local 79 Communications: 416-655-8338 PUNE: A special court in Pune on Monday asked the government to initiate the sale of DSK properties attached by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The court has asked for attachment confirmation notification to be issued and published in newspapers. 463 DSK properties will be included. The notification will invite people who have interested parties to submit their interest, said Pravin Chavan, special public prosecutor in the case. The decision was made by judge Jayant Rane of the special Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors Act (MPID) court. Deepak Sakharam Kulkarni (DSK), the Pune-based realtor booked in investor fraud of over Rs 2,000 crore, and his wife Hemanthi Kulkarni were present along with a group of investors. The notification has to be issued before the next hearing in the case which will be held on February 3. In February 2019, ED had attached DSK properties worth Rs 904 crore in various parts of Maharashtra. The money from the eventual auction of these properties will be used to pay back over 35,000 people who invested in the company through fixed deposits. The court has drawn a list of depositors who will benefit. Three chargesheets have been filed in the case so far. A total of ten people have been named in the probe into the alleged Rs 2,091.11 crore fraud case registered under relevant sections of Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) Act, 1999 and Indian Penal Code (IPC). The first chargesheet in the case was against DSK and his wife Hemanthi Kulkarni. The second chargesheet is against Shirish Kulkarni, son of DSK; Anuradha Purandare, Vinay Baggandi, relatives of DSK; Kedar Wanjpe, DSKs elder brothers son-in-law; Sai Wanjpe, DSK Groups former chief operating officer (COO); and Dhananjay Pachpor, DSK Groups former chief operating officer (COO). The third chargesheet named Rajiv Newaskar, chief engineer and vice-president of DSK Developments Limited and Madhukar Ghatpande, accountant of DSK. Advertisement A teacher has captured the incredible moment her daughter ran towards a huge dust storm outside their home. Marcia Macmillan took the photo in Mullengudgery, central New South Wales, which has seen six so-called haboobs - large dust clouds caused by thunderstorms - in the past week. Ms Macmillan described the dust cloud as 'enormous' and said they can loom over her town for a whole day. On Monday she told Daily Mail Australia they are happening more frequently due to the drought. 'We are seeing dust storms of this magnitude more often than previously,' she said. Marcia Macmillan took this photo (above) in Mullengudgery, central New South Wales, which has seen six so-called haboobs - large dust clouds caused by thunderstorms - in the past week A dust storm has rolled into regional areas of New South Wales including Dubbo (pictured) and Parkes on Sunday afternoon 'This is due to very dry conditions and no groundcover. They have become so regular that we are no longer surprised or shocked when they roll in just deflated. 'We've now had six in the last week we are experiencing another right now.' Over the weekend residents in Dubbo and Parkes shared images of the dust storm passing through their towns and turning day into night. Some haboob clouds can be hundreds of kilometres wide and thousands of feet high, and they can form within minutes. An expert from meteorology group Higgins Storm Chasing said haboobs were far stronger than normal storms. '[The haboob] has much more density to it and a greater height as it's generated by severe thunderstorms,' they said. 'They're most common in the Middle East and the USA - however we are seeing far more in Australia now due to the continuing record breaking drought.' A Dubbo resident shared a picture from the local bowls club showing the monster cloud on the edge of town as it slowly moved toward him. The Bureau of Meteorology also recorded wind gusts of 107km/h at 7.41pm in Dubbo. Residents took to social media as the dust cloud blacked out the sun. 'It hit us in Narromine almost an hour ago. Wet towels jammed under the doors this time,' one user wrote. A number of people took to social media to share images of the terrifying cloud rolling across the landscape Before and after shots showed how the dust storm turned whole towns from day into night almost immediately (pictured) Parkes has also been hit with the dust storm and wind gusts up to 95km/h after experiencing a higher frequency of dust storms in 2019. Manager of the Station Motel in Parkes Damien Garro told The Daily Telegraph the cloud looked 'apocalyptic'. 'It was like 3am in the morning, it was so dark,' Mr Garro told the publication. 'We had a guest check in where mud had rained all over the vehicle. We've had a few storms lately but it was so thick we couldn't see across the road to the mobile phone tower across from us.' The dust cloud was a result of strong winds in the area which whipped up dry topsoil which forced the clouds into storm clouds already in the area. 'Once topsoil gets deficient in moisture it crumbles more easily. Gusty winds allow for dust to be lifted into the clouds, which may then fall as mud,' Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Jordan Notara said. The dust cloud (pictured) was a result of strong winds in the area which whipped up dry topsoil which forced the clouds into storm clouds already in the area English Common Law is currently the most widespread legal system in the world with about 30 percent of the worlds population living under Common Law. The Common Law is based on judicial decisions and consists of unwritten laws formed by previous court decisions that govern local customs, accepted behavior, and traditions. This system originates from Great Britain and for several centuries had developed in England where it was used as the foundation of several orders of law in former colonies. It is still widely used in many countries including Great Britain, Canada, and the United States. Origins Of The Common Law The term common originated from the fact that the law was uniform and common in all the Kings courts across the country. The Common Law is not based on substantive rights but rather procedural remedies. Judges and courts primarily developed the law as opposed to lawmakers, which is the case for most legal systems in the world. Over time, the procedural remedies of the English Common Law have developed to emphasize individual rights as opposed to the procedure. Today, about a third of the worlds population is guided by Common Law or live in systems that have civil law. This is owing to the historical occupation of the British Empire which spread the English legal system in their colonies. Publication Of The Law Since the Common Law is formed by unwritten decisions from previous court rulings, it can be accessed by anyone through a law report. Law reports contain the previous court decisions which are the primary foundation for the Common Law. The report is for use by the general public, lawyers and courts. Countries That Use The Common Law Countries such as the United Kingdom and its overseas territories, the United States, Kenya, Dominica, Fiji, Ghana, Grenada, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Ireland, Jamaica, Liberia, Malaysia, Malta, Namibia, Nauru, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Sierra Leone, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago, and Zimbabwe use the Common Law. Most of the countries are former British colonies. Characteristics Of English Common Law The principal characteristic of the Common Law is that it is based on unwritten laws that were developed by past court decisions. Previous legal choices serve as a benchmark for similar issues that may arise, and a judicial decision is made based on this. A precedent (previous decisions) may be based upon a group of numerous legal decisions and not necessarily a single one. Therefore, they become current custom laws and eventually form a pattern that is used to handle similar cases in the future. In practice, a case is judged in light of previous court decisions that presented the same legal issues or facts. Using the common law system, the judge then serves a decision with precedent from similar cases. However, the judge is not required to follow these precedents and may make consideration of his/her own and diverge to a different path. In conclusion, the English Common Law system, developed in the Middle Ages, continues to be used by many countries all over the world. The historical spread of the British Empire aided in the extensive use of the English Common Law. (Alliance News) - Trade talks with the EU may not begin until March, Brussels has admitted as Downing Street insisted the UK was ready to start negotiating on February 1. The European Commission said it would "take some time" for the bloc to agree its position. The prospect of trade talks not commencing until March could add to pressure for an extension to the negotiating period, but UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly insisted that a deal must be reached by the end of December. European Commission spokesman Eric Mamer said the process of agreeing the EU's position could only begin after Brexit. "This, we know, will take some time, which is why we have said we will start negotiations as quickly as we can, but it will certainly not be before the end of February, beginning of March," he said. "This is not a slowing down or speeding up of the process. "This is simply the nature of the institutional process and the consultations that need to take place before the negotiation directives can be formally adopted." The delay leaves open the option of the UK beginning trade talks with the US before negotiations begin with Brussels. Officials would not be drawn on a timetable for UK-US negotiations, but the two sides have made "extensive preparations". US President Donald Trump has repeatedly spoken of his desire to reach an agreement with Johnson, and the timing of the US presidential election means that a deal in the summer of 2020 could be his goal. The UK prime minister's official spokesman said: "We are free to begin discussions with countries around the world from February 1. We are ready to begin discussions with the EU from February 1. "The EU have various processes to go through before they are ready to sit down and have those discussions with us." The UK remains committed to agreeing a deal with Brussels by the end of the year. "The EU have agreed formally to complete this process by December 2020, that is what we would expect to be achieved," the spokesman said. The EU repeated its warning that the UK's plans to diverge from the Brussels rulebook would limit access to the bloc's markets. Mamer said: "There is a link between moving away from EU regulations and the degree of access that is possible into the single market." The prime minister's spokesman said the new situation would mean "it will be the UK which determines its own rules and laws". "It will not be a ruletaker from Brussels or the EU's institutions." source: PA Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. Chain link fence erected ahead of gun rights rally in Richmond Virginia - REUTERS The Republican leader in Virginia has told groups planning to spread "white supremacist garbage" at a pro-gun rally on Monday to stay away. Amid fears that violence could erupt with far-right militias joining pro-gun activists in a march on the state capitol in Richmond, Todd Gilbert joined forces with Democrat governor, Ralph Northam, in a plea for peace. The rally has been called to protest against sweeping gun-control measures proposed by Mr Northam's administration. "Lobby Day is a time for people to peacefully assemble and petition their government. It is not a place for hate and violence," Mr Gilbert said in a statement on Saturday. "Any group that comes to Richmond to spread white supremacist garbage, or any other form of hate, violence, or civil unrest isn't welcome here." My statement on Mondays 2nd Amendment rally in Richmond: pic.twitter.com/41imrpW6Ey Todd Gilbert (@cToddGilbert) January 18, 2020 The display of unity among Virginia's political leaders came against a backdrop of rising tension in the city of nearly 230, 000 following the arrest of several members of The Base, a neo-Nazi group last week. Fearing that the rally could become a repetition of the riot at Charlottesville, in which one person died, Mr Northam declared a state of emergency last week. Leaders of the "Unite the Right" groups, such as the Pennsylvania Light Foot Militia, who were present at Charlottesville, have said they are planning to go to Richmond. Mr Northam said the state had received credible intelligence that acts of violence were being planned including storming the state's Capitol. Culpeper County Sheriff Scott Jenkins has sworn to protect second amendment rights Credit: Eva Hambach/AFP An array of security measures has been put in place including a ban on carrying weapons in the Capitol grounds. The Federal Aviation Administration has imposed temporary flight restrictions above the city. Story continues Rally organiser Philip Van Cleave also called for the protests to be peaceful. Virginia has become the political epicentre of the battle over the second amendment which guarantees the right of citizens to bear arms. The Democrats, who control the statehouse for the first time in a generation, are poised to introduce a series of curbs including universal background checks on gun purchases and a ban on military-style assault weapons. Opposition to the measures has seen over 100 municipalities in the state declaring themselves "Second Amendment Sanctuaries" in which the authorities will refuse to enforce the new state laws. Last week Donald Trump gave his support to gun rights groups in the state. "Your 2nd Amendment is under very serious attack in the Great Commonwealth of Virginia he said on Twitter. She's one of the humblest - and most envied - faces in fashion. And model Emily Ratajkowski embodied that balance as she stepped out looking runway ready for a Sunday afternoon stroll with her dog, Colombo, in New York. The model was joined by her husband, Sebastian Bear-McClard, who adopted the darling dog with Ratajkowski in May of last year. Her baby: Emily Ratajowski was spotted out in NYC on Sunday afternoon walking her dog Colombo Doggy duty: With doggy bags in hand, Ratajkowski was ready to pick up after her pooch The 28-year-old, looking noticeably makeup free, still managed to turn heads in her effortless all-black ensemble. She made her way around Tribeca with leash in hand in a stunning black leather trench coat that featured a waist cinching belt. Peeping out from under the coat were a pair of form fitting yoga pants that cascaded over her HOKA x OV Clifton red and blue sneakers. Her brunette tresses were tucked up and away in a messy bun, while her eyes remained covered up by a pair of RayBan sunglasses. Matrix chic: The model donned an all black ensemble that featured a black leather trench coat and tight fitting black yoga pants Her man: Ratajkowski was joined by her husband Sebastian for the mid-day stroll with Colombo The model wielded a slew of doggy bags in case her fur child decided to make a pit stop along the way. Husband, Sebastian, opted for a more colorful outfit for their afternoon walk. The film producer donned an over-sized yellow puffer coat that he paired with water color inspired sweat pants and a dimensional orange tee. Love: Ratajkoski adopted the darling dog back in May; she shared this Instagram photo of herself with Colombo during a walk on Saturday Their family: The entire crew got to hang out in some fresh snowfall; Ratajkowski revealed that this was Colombo's 'first snow day' Ratajkowski handed the leash off to her hubby towards the latter end of their stroll. She held tightly onto Sebastian's arm as they braved the crowds. Emily first shared Colombo to the world on Instagram during the summer. She captioned his adoption post with the following: 'Everyone out here having babies, but we got a new special guy ourselves.' Their 'child': 'Everyone out here having babies, but we got a new special guy ourselves' captioned the model back in May on Instagram In the picture, the model cradles a much smaller Colombo and often refers to him as her and Sebastian's 'child.' Emily and husband Sebastian were married in a New York City courthouse ceremony in February 2018. The couple began dating only weeks earlier. McClard works as a film producer and actor, most recently he was one of the producers behind the Adam Sandler led drama, Uncut Gems. A 'stolen' WWI memorial stone for 'The Last Tommy' Harry Patch has been found two years after it vanished - as it emerged a driver saved it from being dumped in a river. Harry Patch attended the unveiling of the memorial stone in 2008 at Langemarck, Belgium, just six miles from Ypres where tens of thousands of soldiers were killed and many more injured between 1914 and 1918. The heroic Tommy, who was conscripted at the age of 18 just two years into the war, died in July 2009, at the age of 111. Simon Louagie (left), from Talbot House, and Johan Vandewalle, owner of De Dreve cafe at Polygon Wood, pictured with the Harry Patch memorial stone two years after it disappeared Harry Patch attended the unveiling of the memorial stone in 2008 at Langemarck, Belgium, just six miles from Ypres where tens of thousands of soldiers were killed and many more injured between 1914 and 1918 A group of cadets visiting the memorial in Belgium in July 2018 discovered the memorial stone was missing - and it remained missing for two whole years. Now, Harry's stone has been returned to Langemarck after ending up on the other side of Belgium in a bizarre turn of events. Military historian Jeremy Banning shared the remarkable tale on Sunday. He said a lorry driver from east Belgium saved the memorial from being thrown into the Steenbeek River. In a series of Tweets, Mr Banning wrote: 'Unbelievably, the missing memorial has now turned up. 'The story goes that a lorry driver was parked nearby when he saw a farmer in his tractor reversing into the memorial. Now, Harry's stone has been returned to Langemarck after ending up on the other side of Belgium in a bizarre turn of events (pictured in 2008) 'The farmer got out and, in a rage, was trying to remove the memorial as he considered it was in his way. He wanted to throw it into the Steenbeek. 'Our lorry driver remonstrated with him and took it away rather than let it be thrown into the Steenbeek. 'Our lorry driver lives in east Belgium and reported it to the police but no action was taken,' Mr Banning added. The historian wrote that the lorry driver managed to use social media to track down cafe owner Johan Vandewalle, who runs De Dreve cafe at Polygon Wood - the site of the Battle of Ypres in 1917. Harry Patch was born in Combe Down near Bath, Somerset, in 1898. In October 1916, two years into the First World War, he was conscripted into the British Army and reported for duty at a barracks in Taunton And yesterday (Sunday), the lorry driver travelled back across Belgium to hand the stone back over to Johan. Mr Banning added: Until May the memorial will be on display at Johan's excellent museum at De Dreve in Polygon Wood. 'It will then be moved to Talbot House Museum, a part of the new exhibition where it will remain. Great news. But funny old world eh?,' he concluded. Harry Patch was born in Combe Down near Bath, Somerset, in 1898. In October 1916, two years into the First World War, he was conscripted into the British Army and reported for duty at a barracks in Taunton. He went on to serve in the trenches, seeing some of the most horrific battles of the war. Recruited as a private, he served for several regiments, and was promoted to lance corporal - only, according to one tale, to be demoted again following a fist fight with a soldier over some boots. During the Battle of Passchendaele he suffered a groin injury when a shell exploded, killing several comrades, and in September 1917 he returned to Britain to recover. While recovering on the Isle of Wight, Armistice was declared with Germany in November 1918. In 2008 he was given freedom of the Somerset city of Wells. In July 2009, Harry Patch officially became the oldest living veteran and also, according to some, the oldest man in the UK. He died on July 25, 2009, aged 111, and was given a funeral on August 6 that year at Wells Cathedral If CAA, 2019 is not related to any religion why are we stating Hindu, Sikh, Buddhists, Christians, Parsis and Jains only! Why not include Muslims as well? Lets be transparent, Chandra Bose had tweeted last month. (Photo | ANI) Kolkata: An atmosphere of fear is being created by both the ruling and opposition parties over the new citizenship law, West Bengal BJP vice president Chandra Bose said on Monday, and urged the Centre to grant citizenship even to Muslims under the amended citizensip act. He also said the government should issue a written clarification on the issue. An atmosphere of fear is being created on the issue of citizenship. This applies to both the ruling party and the opposition parties. Just because it (the law) has been passed by Parliament, it cant be used to bulldoze people by ignoring the protests. The same applies to opposition parties which are deliberately misleading the masses, He told PTI. Bose, a grandnephew of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have categorically noted the Citizenship (Amendment) Act is not based on religion. However, statements made by some other leaders are creating confusion. In order to deal with this, I think that this clause should be included (in the new law) that the CAA is not based on religion....and Muslims should also be included in it, he said. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act aims to provide Indian citizenship to Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis who entered India on or before December 31, 2014 from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, having fled religious persecution in their countries. Now what will happens to the Muslims who had come to this country before that date? There is a confusion. The Centre must take steps to remove that confusion, Bose said. A few state BJP leaders PTI approached declined to comment on Boses statements. Bose had pitched for the inclusion of Muslims in the CAA earlier also. If CAA, 2019 is not related to any religion why are we stating Hindu, Sikh, Buddhists, Christians, Parsis and Jains only! Why not include Muslims as well? Lets be transparent, he had tweeted last month. Dont equate India or compare it with any other nation - as its a nation Open to all religions and communities, he had said in another tweet. West Bengal has been witnessing relentless protests over the CAA, a pan-India NRC and the updation of the National Population Register, with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee leading the charge against the government on these livewire issues. The protests, though initially very violent, have acquired a somewhat milder tone but are continuing. Scuffles have been reported from several campuses including the prestigious Jadavpur University and Visva Bharati. BERLIN Countries with interests in Libyas long-running civil war agreed Sunday to respect a much-violated arms embargo, hold off on military support to the warring parties and push them to reach a full cease-fire, German and U.N. leaders said. The agreement came after about four hours of talks in Berlin. German Chancellor Anglea Merkel hosted leaders of 11 countries involved in the conflict, with Libyas two main rival leaders also in the German capital but not at the main conference table. Organizers knew that we had to succeed in getting all the parties that connected in any way with the Libya conflict to speak with one voice because then the parties inside Libya will also understand that there is only a non-military way to a solution, Merkel said. We achieved this result here. Among those who attended were Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The participants agreed that we want to respect the arms embargo, and that the arms embargo will be more strongly controlled than was the case in the past, she said. She added that the results of the conference should be endorsed by the U.N. Security Council. Libyas main rival leaders, Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj and Gen. Khalifa Hifter, said the two named members of a military committee that will represent them at talks on a more permanent cease-fire, Merkel said. U.N. Secretary-General Guterres said that the committee would be convened in Geneva in the coming days. Merkel said the summit participants agreed that they will give no further support to the warring parties in Libya ahead of the committees meeting and cease operations as long as the cease-fire holds. Guterres said the Berlin conference had succeed in fending off the risk of a true regional escalation. 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. Libya has sunk further into chaos since the 2011 ouster and killing of its longtime dictator, Moammar Khadafy. It is now divided into rival administrations, each backed by different nations: the U.N.-recognized government based in Tripoli, headed by Sarraj, and one based in the countrys east, supported by Hifters forces. Hifters forces have been on the offensive since April, laying siege to Tripoli in an effort to capture the capital. Hifters forces are backed by Egypt, Russia and the United Arab Emirates, while the Tripoli government has turned to Turkey for troops and weapons. Frank Jordans and Geir Moulson are Associated Press writers. Construction on the citys new $60 million waste water treatment plant has started and is expected to be online by Spring 2022. Spurred by growth and the citys current facility nearing capacity, council members agree a new plant is critical for the communitys future. We are continuing to be good stewards for our community, said Norman McGuire, director of public works at City of Conroe. The fact that the city is growing rapidly is wonderful. But with that growth, we need to improve our infrastructure in an efficient, cost-effective manner. The wastewater treatment plant is an important component of that improvement. The new plant, which is being constructed on 25-acres of a 50-acre greenfield site east of Interstate 45 north of South Loop 336, will have a six million gallons a day capacity with the ability to be expanded to 12 MGD. Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam Inc. is the projects design engineer, while LEM Construction Co, Inc. is the contractor. The new treatment plant will increase the citys treatment capacity by 50 percent and is Conroes largest public works project to-date, said Melissa Mack, P.E., LANs senior associate and principal. It will also reduce the citys operating costs over the lifespan of the facility. According to Mack, the plant will have a capacity of six million gallons a day but has been designed to be expanded to 12 million gallons a day. The new facility will serve both existing and new customers as well. Tommy Woolley, director of capital projects and transportation for the city, told the council during an August workshop meeting, staff was able to bring the cost down from the original budget of $64 million. Good job, said Mayor Toby Powell. You got it within budget. Mayor Pro Tem Duke Coon echoed Powell. Congratulation to you guys for working so hard, Coon said. I sure liked seeing that (cost) reduction. The new plant will be located at Ed Kharbat Drive and Foster Drive. cdominguez@hcnonline.com Lee In-yong, president of corporate relations of Samsung Electronics By Baek Byung-yeul Samsung Electronics has promoted an adviser on corporate social responsibility (CSR) to head up corporate relations in what is seen as a move to improve management transparency. In its annual reshuffle of top executives announced Monday, the company said Rhee In-yong had been promoted to president of its corporate relations division. Rhee led the communication teams of Samsung Group and its core affiliate Samsung Electronics. He will replace Yoon Boo-keun, vice chairman and head of the division. Observers note that given Rhee is the only company man on the seven-member anti-corruption panel, recently launched to monitor law compliance, his promotion means Samsung is determined to show it is beefing up this program. Just a few days after the company named former Supreme Court Justice Kim Ji-hyung to lead the panel, top Samsung executives signed an agreement to fight corruption, and monitor and eradicate all illegal activities. Lee is known for organizing and strategizing the corporate's anti-corruption initiatives. Regarding the promotion, Samsung said it expects Rhee will actively communicate with those inside and outside the company. Given his influence on the corporation and close relationship with group heir Lee Jae-yong, it is also seen as something a local court will take into consideration after it asked Samsung to present "detailed action plans" on improving management transparency and ridding itself of any external political influence. "Rhee is a former broadcaster and served as a leader of the communications team at Samsung's Future Strategy Office and Samsung Electronics. Since November 2017, he has supervised Samsung Electronics' CSR division. With his broad network, Rhee is expected to communicate company policy effectively as head of corporate relations," the company said in a statement. Amid the ongoing hearings on group Vice President, Samsung made minimal changes in the personnel reshuffle, retaining incumbent chief executives. Samsung kept the three CEOs of its core businesses Kim Ki-nam, vice chairman and CEO of semiconductors; Kim Hyun-suk, CEO of consumer electronics; and Koh Dong-jin, CEO of the IT and mobile communications division. The annual reshuffle came more than a month later than usual apparently due to the prolonged uncertainties surrounding leader Lee Jae-yong who will face new hearings for alleged involvement in the massive corruption scandal that led to the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye. 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 Rogers Communications Inc.'s (TSE:RCI.B) P/E ratio to inform your assessment of the investment opportunity. Rogers Communications has a P/E ratio of 16.06, based on the last twelve months. That is equivalent to an earnings yield of about 6.2%. View our latest analysis for Rogers Communications How Do I Calculate Rogers Communications's Price To Earnings Ratio? The formula for price to earnings is: Price to Earnings Ratio = Price per Share Earnings per Share (EPS) Or for Rogers Communications: P/E of 16.06 = CAD64.94 CAD4.04 (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 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 CAD1 the company has earned over the last year. That isn't a good or a bad thing on its own, but a high P/E means that buyers have a higher opinion of the business's prospects, relative to stocks with a lower P/E. Does Rogers Communications Have A Relatively High Or Low P/E For Its Industry? We can get an indication of market expectations by looking at the P/E ratio. The image below shows that Rogers Communications has a lower P/E than the average (21.9) P/E for companies in the wireless telecom industry. TSX:RCI.B Price Estimation Relative to Market, January 20th 2020 This suggests that market participants think Rogers Communications will underperform other companies in its industry. Since the market seems unimpressed with Rogers Communications, it's quite possible it could surprise on the upside. It is arguably worth checking if insiders are buying shares, because that might imply they believe the stock is undervalued. 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. Earnings growth means that in the future the 'E' will be higher. Therefore, even if you pay a high multiple of earnings now, that multiple will become lower in the future. So while a stock may look expensive based on past earnings, it could be cheap based on future earnings. Story continues Rogers Communications's earnings per share were pretty steady over the last year. But it has grown its earnings per share by 8.8% per year over the last five years. Remember: P/E Ratios Don't Consider The Balance Sheet Don't forget that the P/E ratio considers market capitalization. Thus, the metric does not reflect cash or debt held by the company. 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. So What Does Rogers Communications's Balance Sheet Tell Us? Net debt totals 53% of Rogers Communications's market cap. This is enough debt that you'd have to make some adjustments before using the P/E ratio to compare it to a company with net cash. The Bottom Line On Rogers Communications's P/E Ratio Rogers Communications has a P/E of 16.1. That's around the same as the average in the CA market, which is 15.8. It has significant debt, though the market seems to take confidence from recent earnings growth. Investors should be looking to buy stocks that the market is wrong about. People often underestimate remarkable growth -- so investors can make money when fast growth is not fully appreciated. So this free visualization of the analyst consensus on future earnings could help you make the right decision about whether to buy, sell, or hold. Of course you might be able to find a better stock than Rogers Communications. 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. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Los Angeles, United States Mon, January 20, 2020 15:09 722 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad206038710 2 Entertainment 1917,Movie,united-states,Sam-Mendes,Apollo-11,Toy-Story-4,Fleabag Free Hollywood's producers handed 1917 their top annual prize Saturday, a reliable Oscars bellwether that puts the World War I thriller in the box seat for next month's showpiece event. The movie, which follows two British soldiers on a perilous mission across no man's land, has already scooped the Golden Globe for best drama, and has 10 Oscar nominations including for best picture. Collecting the Producers Guild of America (PGA) film award at a celebrity-packed ceremony in Los Angeles, director Sam Mendes said making the film was "humbling, joyful and by far the best experience of my professional life". In a bold filmmaking experiment, 1917 travels through trenches and crater-filled battlefields in what appears to be almost one continuous shot stretching for two hours. "From the first day we actually shot -- we did a six- or seven-minute take -- I thought 'this is exciting'," Mendes told AFP. "And I didn't feel we ever looked back. We had difficult days but I never doubted it." He added: "It's certainly unlike any movie I've made." The PGAs have predicted 21 of the past 30 winners of the Academy Award for best picture, including Mendes's 1999 victor American Beauty. Chosen by the 8,000-odd Hollywood movers and shakers of the PGA, the awards were attended by A-listers such as Brad Pitt, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Nicole Kidman. Netflix programming boss Ted Sarandos was given the guild's historic achievement award for overseeing the streaming giants rapid rise in Hollywood. "It's really hard to think that there's any bias against streaming," Sarandos told AFP, pointing to the firm's 24 Oscar nominations -- including two for best picture (The Irishman and Marriage Story.) Read also: Mendes war epic of grandfather's heroics shakes Hollywood "I think people are celebrating the films and the work, so it'll be great if we get the big one too." Pixar sequel Toy Story 4 won for animated film, while CNN's Apollo 11 topped both the documentary and TV movie categories. Comedian Billy Eichner poked fun at the lack of diversity in the television comedy category -- won by Fleabag -- announcing: "The five white devils nominated are... ". HBO's Succession and Chernobyl won for television drama and limited series, adding to their Golden Globe wins earlier this month. And the same network's Leaving Neverland, a groundbreaking documentary that shed new light on child sex allegations against Michael Jackson, won the non-fiction TV prize. But organizers were left red-faced as, after a lengthy pause, nobody appeared to collect the award. "All seems to be going well so far -- excellently produced evening," joked Mendes. Pitt, frontrunner for the Oscars supporting actor prize, accepted a career award for his production company Plan B (Moonlight.) "We've been at it for about 16 years, going on 17 -- I have no regrets, other than sharing our name with an emergency contraceptive pill," joked Pitt. "I didn't see that one coming." The tails of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft are seen parked at Boeing facilities at the Grant County International Airport in Moses Lake, Washington, September 16, 2019. Boeing is in talks with banks to secure a loan of $10 billion or more, according to people familiar with the matter, as the company faces rising costs stemming from two fatal crashes of its 737 Max planes. The company has secured at least $6 billion from banks so far, the people said, and is talking to other lenders for more contributions. The total amount could rise if there is additional demand from banks, one person familiar with the matter said. Liquidity isn't an immediate concern, analysts have said, but the new debt shows Boeing is shoring up its finances amid the cash-sapping fallout of the two crashes one in Indonesia in October 2018 and another in Ethiopia in March last year that killed all 346 people aboard the two flights. The amount Boeing is seeking to borrow is more than what some analysts were expecting. For example, Jefferies earlier this month forecast Boeing would issue $5 billion in debt this quarter. But the jets' return has faced potential new delays that are threatening to drive up Boeing's costs, including a new software issue disclosed by the company last week. Boeing this month suspended production of the troubled planes this month as the grounding stretches into its 11th month, a planned pause in production that has rippled through the supply chain and already cost thousands of jobs. However, Boeing earlier this month said it didn't plan to lay off 737 Max workers and said they would be reassigned to other functions. The company also reversed its stance and will now recommend pilots undergo simulator training, a time-consuming and costly process, before the jets can fly again. The company posted negative orders for aircraft last year, its weakest sales figures in decades, and handed the title of the world's biggest aircraft manufacturer over to its European rival Airbus. Boeing has developed a software fix for the planes after a flight-control system was implicated in the crashes but regulators have not yet signed of on that or completed other checks that would allow them to certify the planes as safe to resume operations. Boeing declined to comment on the debt raise. Moody's Investors Service last week said it was putting Boeing's credit rating, which is investment grade, on review for a potential downgrade due to the Max issues. "Recent developments suggest a more costly and protracted recovery for Boeing to restore confidence with its various market constituents, and an ensuing period of heightened operational and financial risk, even if certification of the Max comes relatively near-term, as expected," wrote Jonathan Root, Moody's lead Boeing analyst. Boeing had about $25 billion in total debt at the end of the last quarter, up from around $19 billion at the start of the three-month period, the company said. The loan Boeing is negotiating will be a two-year, delayed-draw loan, meaning Boeing can tap into it later, a move that may not immediately affect its credit rating as another type of loan or a bond would, according to one of the people familiar with the matter. J.P. Morgan estimates the grounding will still cost Boeing about $1 billion a month even after the planned production shutdown. The new loan would come as Boeing is trying to close its $4 billion acquisition of a majority stake in Embraer's commercial plane business. The company has also continued to pay investors dividends during the crisis. Banks that have already committed to contribute to the loan include Citigroup, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Wells Fargo and J.P. Morgan, people familiar with the matter said. Boeing's temporary production shut down of the planes, which had been its best-selling aircraft, is hurting its supply chain. Spirit AeroSystems, which makes fuselages and other parts for the 737 Max, said earlier this month it would lay off 2,800 workers. Moody's downgraded Spirit to junk territory last week, saying it "reflects our expectation that Spirit's liquidity profile will quickly and materially erode in the absence of mitigating developments that remain largely out of the company's control." General Electric, which makes engines for the planes through a joint venture with France's Safran, has laid off 70 temporary workers in Quebec, but it could hire them back later. Suppliers are in a tough position because they want to have skilled workers in place for a resumption in production. GE, which reports earnings at the end of the month and also makes engines for Airbus planes, can move workers to other plants and programs. The company is also considering reducing worker overtime, according to a person familiar with the matter. The 737 Max issues have cost airlines more than $1 billion in lost revenue, and Boeing took a $5.6 billion pre-tax charge last July to compensate its Max customers for the grounding and analysts expect it to report another this month. While the company has reached compensation agreements with airlines including American and Southwest, those agreements apply only to revenue lost in 2019 and analysts expect Boeing will have to pay more without a firm date to get the planes back in the air. American, Southwest and United have all pulled the plane from their schedules until June. Investors will hear more on the impact of the grounding from the carriers when they report earnings later this week and when Boeing reports on Jan. 29. Credit: CC0 Public Domain Disparities in drug prescribing suggest that black and Asian people with dementia are not receiving the same quality of care as their white peers, according to a new UCL-led study in the UK. Asian people with dementia are less likely to receive anti-dementia drugs, and take them for shorter periods, according to the findings published in Clinical Epidemiology. Dementia patients from black ethnic groups who are prescribed antipsychotic drugs, which are mainly used to treat dementia-related distress rather than the primary symptoms, take them for around four weeks longer per year compared to white people in the UK, exceeding suggested limits on how long they should be taken for. "Our new findings are concerning as they appear to reflect inequalities in the care people receive to treat symptoms associated with dementia," said the study's lead author, Professor Claudia Cooper (UCL Psychiatry). Researchers analysed data from 53,718 people across the UK who had a dementia diagnosis, and 1,648,889 people without dementia, drawing from The Health Improvement Network primary care database and collected between 2014 and 2016. They found that Asian people with dementia were 14% less likely than white patients to be prescribed anti-dementia drugs when they were potentially beneficial, and received them for an average of 15 fewer days per year. Anti-dementia drugscholinesterase inhibitors or memantineare the only class of medication available for treating dementia, as they can help with memory and other cognitive abilities, while other medications such as antipsychotics are sometimes prescribed to treat some of the associated behavioural and psychological symptoms. Previous studies in the USA and Australia have also found disparities in drug treatment for dementia for minority ethnic groups, but this is the first time the issue has been investigated in a large UK study. The researchers say that the greater socioeconomic disadvantages experienced by minority ethnic groups may lead to barriers to accessing care, while language and cultural barriers could also contribute to disparities. The researchers found that both black and Asian people with dementia were prescribed antipsychotic drugs for longer than white patients, by 27 and 17 days more, respectively, which could put them at greater risk of harmful side effects. As they did not identify differences in rates of an initial prescription of antipsychotics, the researchers say the findings may reflect differences in the likelihood of medication being reviewed and stopped when no longer needed. "Rates of antipsychotic prescribing in all ethnic groups exceeded recommendations for treating the often very distressing behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia, such as agitation or challenging behaviours, which are the most common reasons antipsychotic drugs are prescribed to people living with dementia," explained Professor Cooper. "While there has been a very sharp reduction in antipsychotic prescribing in the UK over the past 10 years, these figures suggest there is still work to do to ensure that people with dementia only receive potentially harmful antipsychotic drugs if there are no acceptable alternatives." Dr. Mary Elizabeth Jones (UCL Institute of Epidemiology & Health Care), first author of the study, commented: "While we have yet to find out whether taking antipsychotic drugs for a few weeks more increases the associated risks, which can include falls, cognitive decline, strokes and even death, it's a potentially significant inequality which we should take seriously. More work may need to be done to ensure that guidelines are being consistently met, and that dementia services are culturally competent." Co-author Professor Jill Manthorpe of the NIHR Health & Social Care Workforce Research Unit, King's College London, said that health professionals should question whether antipsychotic drugs are being prescribed instead of other forms of support that could address causes of the distressing symptoms. "Families too should ask if there are other alternatives such as social prescribing that may put people in contact with activities and sensory experiences which may help reduce feelings of distress. Culturally meaningful activities may be particularly helpful, such as hearing or playing music or enjoying the experience of tactile objects," she said. A previous study also led by Professor Cooper found that dementia rates are higher among black people compared to the UK average, and ethnic minority groups may be less likely to be diagnosed in a timely manner. She has also led a study finding that women with dementia have fewer GP visits, receive less health monitoring and take more potentially harmful medication than men with dementia. Explore further Likelihood of dementia higher among black ethnic groups More information: Mary Elizabeth Jones et al, Mary Elizabeth Jones et al, Differences in Psychotropic Drug Prescribing Between Ethnic Groups of People with Dementia in the United Kingdom , Clinical Epidemiology (2020). (2020). DOI: 10.2147/CLEP.S222126 According to the prime minister, the work is underway to prepare said changes. Ukrainian Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk has announced personnel reshuffles in his Cabinet. "There will be personnel changes. I've already signed one and submitted it to parliament. A Minister of Community Development a person holding this position will be replaced. And we even plan to introduce the position of Deputy Prime Minister for Community Development. Why? Because decentralization is a priority this year. We must create capable communities throughout the country and ensure local elections are held in new communities in autumn, and there must be coordination at the highest level to this end," PM told one the Ukrainian TV channels. Read also"This is unacceptable": PM Honcharuk says bugging of Cabinet offices threat to national security To a clarifying question whether it is necessary to expect other changes in the composition of the government, the prime minister said: "Of course, we are preparing them, and the parliament will decide on them." As UNIAN reported earlier, Minister of Community Development of Ukraine Aliona Babak resigned at the end of last week. SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- A 10-episode documentary series that recorded the 40-year history of China-U.S. relations premiered Saturday at the San Francisco Public Library. The documentary, produced by People's Daily Online West USA, presents a panoramic picture of the 40 years of ups and downs of China-U.S. relations, which made a milestone breakthrough in 1979. The series, titled "A Story Spanning 40 Years -- Vision and Conviction will Take China-U.S. Relations Forward," unfold key moments and changes in China-U.S. ties via 10 stories told by important figures. The story-tellers include Christopher Nixon Cox, grandson of former U.S. President Richard Nixon; Stephen Orlins, president of the National Committee on United States-China Relations, and Neil Mallon Bush, son of former U.S. President George H. Bush. Wang Donghua, Chinese Consul General in San Francisco, attended the event and said the documentary gives the American people an opportunity to learn more about China, review the history of China-U.S. relations, reflect on the most prominent issues in the bilateral ties, and explore means to resolving their differences. To develop sound China-U.S. relations conforms to the fundamental and long-term interests of both countries, and reflects the common aspirations of Chinese and American people, as well as the hopes of the rest of the world, Wang said. He said China hopes the United States will take the right approach to China, adopt a rational China policy, and work with China to build a coordinated, cooperative and stable China-U.S. relationship. Michael Lambert, chief of San Francisco Public Library, said the library is delighted to host the event that helps foster deeper understanding between China and the United States. "The documentary ... will promote understanding and friendship among people from the U.S. and China and ultimately connect both of our communities even more strongly," he said. WASHINGTON , Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Former Governor of Pennsylvania and first Secretary of U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Thomas J. Ridge, and financier R. Brad Lane announce a State CIO Council: Teri M. Takai Chair : former Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the U.S. Department of Defense. Previously, she served as Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the State of California . Prior to, she was the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Director, Department of Information Technology for the State of Michigan . She served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO), as a Board Member of FirstNet, and Executive Director of the Center for Digital Government. former Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the U.S. Department of Defense. Previously, she served as Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the . Prior to, she was the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Director, Department of Information Technology for the . She served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO), as a Board Member of FirstNet, and Executive Director of the Center for Digital Government. Stuart Davis : former Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the State of Ohio , as well as Assistant Director for the Ohio Department of Administrative Services (DAS), where he led the statewide program to transform and optimize IT operations for 26 state agencies and over 80 boards and commissions. He served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO). former Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the , as well as Assistant Director for the Ohio Department of Administrative Services (DAS), where led the statewide program to transform and optimize IT operations for 26 state agencies and over 80 boards and commissions. He served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO). Karen Robinson : former Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the State of Texas , and the Executive Director for the Texas Department of Information Resources, where she had statewide authority over information and communications technology planning, procurement, and service delivery. She served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO). former Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the , and the Executive Director for the Texas Department of Information Resources, where she had statewide authority over information and communications technology planning, procurement, and service delivery. She served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO). Jason Allison : served as Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the State of Florida , as well as the Executive Director of Florida's Agency for State Technology, the state's enterprise information technology organization, responsible for the procurement, management and direction of technology programs, services and policies. He served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO). served as Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the , as well as the Executive Director of Agency for State Technology, the state's enterprise information technology organization, responsible for the procurement, management and direction of technology programs, services and policies. He served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO). Otto Doll : former Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the State of South Dakota . Previously, he was the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the City of Minneapolis, Minnesota . Prior, he served as Director of U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). He served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO). former Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the . Previously, he was the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the . Prior, he served as Director of U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). He served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO). Patrick Moore: former Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the State of Georgia, where he also served as Executive Director of the Georgia Technology Authority, and previously as deputy Chief Operating Officer of the State of Georgia. He held executive positions at HP Enterprise Services, and is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Digital Government. former Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the State of Georgia, where he also served as Executive Director of the Georgia Technology Authority, and previously as deputy Chief Operating Officer of the State of Georgia. He held executive positions at HP Enterprise Services, and is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Digital Government. Jim Smith : former Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the State of Maine . Previously, he was Chief Information Officer (CIO) of Sun Life Financial. Prior, he was Vice President of Information Technology at American Express. He served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO). former Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the . Previously, he was Chief Information Officer (CIO) of Sun Life Financial. Prior, he was Vice President of Information Technology at American Express. He served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO). Kirk Lonbom: former Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the State of Illinois, where he also served as Secretary of the Illinois Department of Innovation and Technology. Prior, he was the States Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), and previously he served as Deputy CIO of the Illinois State Police and as Chief Information Officer of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency. former Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the State of Illinois, where he also served as Secretary of the Illinois Department of Innovation and Technology. Prior, he was the States Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), and previously he served as Deputy CIO of the Illinois State Police and as Chief Information Officer of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency. James Fowler : former Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the Commonwealth of Kentucky . Previously, he served as the 1 st Deputy Commissioner for Information Technology and Telecommunications for the City of New York . He also served as Chief Technology Officer of the University of Louisville . He served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO). former Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the Commonwealth of . Previously, he served as the 1 Deputy Commissioner for Information Technology and Telecommunications for the . He also served as Chief Technology Officer of the . He served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO). Carlos Ramos: former Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the State of California, where he also served as Director of Technology and Director Office of Systems Integration, for the State of California. Prior, he was the Executive Director of Teale Data Center. He served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO). "The fourth industrial revolution is marked by a second machine age that is accelerating the transformation of our hyper-interconnected digital environment, where being on the forefront of innovation is more important than ever before" said R. Brad Lane, CEO of RIDGE-LANE LP. "This distinguished team brings an unparalleled breadth and depth of technological domain expertise and functional acquisitions experience, which will foster the speed and scale of procurement and deployment for our private sector clientele, who bring novel solutions to critical needs of the public sector, civilians, and society as a whole." RIDGE-LANE Limited Partners is a venture development firm focused on root-cause solutions to grand challenges in Education, Sustainability, and Information Technology with a team of General Partners, Venture Partners, and Senior Advisors who have served at the highest levels of finance, government, and the military. We create value for our clients and society by bridging the gaps between private-sector innovation, investment capital, policy and procurement across the Federal, State, and Local levels: an innovation ecosystem, providing corporate development to commercialize and scale novel technology companies, as well as place-based solutions that improve cities and quality of life. Innovators tackling grand societal challenges: [email protected] For more information visit: www.RIDGE-LANE.com SOURCE RIDGE-LANE Limited Partners Related Links https://www.ridge-lane.com Ford Vietnams added focus on Hai Duong is hoped to bring another strong year for the company after a stellar 2019 The investment follows a strong and steady climb in the demand for Ford vehicles in the country including record sales of more than 32,000 vehicles in 2019 and healthy growth forecasts for Vietnams burgeoning automobile industry. With this additional investment, Ford Motor Company is expressing our continued confidence in the future of Vietnams auto industry, as well as underscoring our commitment to the market and to meeting the increasing demand for Ford vehicles in this country, said Andrea Cavallaro, operations director at Fords International Markets Group. The additional funding will bring Fords total in Vietnam to more than $200 million. The additional sums towards the Hai Duong facility will come in two stages over a two-year period, with the aim of being completed by mid-2022. The construction will expand the facility across an additional 60,000 square metres of land, bringing the total area to 226,000sq.m, adding a new body and paint shop, trim modification shop, and rearranging the logistics area. The investment will allow Ford to procure new manufacturing tools and equipment, including the latest technology-connected robots, to improve the plants efficiency and ensure the highest quality Ford vehicles for Vietnamese customers. As does the current Hai Duong facility, the expansion will follow Fords strict global manufacturing and environmentally-responsible processes and systems. Ford currently assembles three highly-competitive vehicle models in the Vietnamese market the EcoSport urban SUV, Transit commercial van, and the newly-launched seven-seat Tourneo MPV. The expansion of the Hai Duong factory opens up new opportunities for Ford to increase the number of locally-assembled vehicles. Ford is among the three fastest-growing auto brands in the country, with three of the six vehicles we sell in Vietnam leading their respective segments, explained Pham Van Dung, managing director of Ford Vietnam. The new investment in local production will help us grow even further and serve even more customers. One of the most important elements of Fords investment is its people. The new investment will add more than 500 direct jobs in Vietnam, nearly doubling its current total, as well as helping to create thousands more indirect jobs across Fords supplier and dealer networks in Vietnam. The additional investment in the Hai Duong facility coincides with Ford celebrating its 25th anniversary in Vietnam. Ford was one of the first investors in the country after the United States-Vietnam relations were normalised in the 1990s. We take pride in having been one of the first foreign companies to invest in Vietnam in 1995, and in our ongoing role in contributing to the development of the Vietnamese auto industry as well as the economy overall, said Dung. In addition to its record business growth, Ford has been an active and engaged corporate citizen across Vietnamese communities, including road safety education through Fords Driving Skills for Life driver safety programme. Since being launched locally in 2008, more than 15,000 people have participated in training sessions across the country, free of charge. Todays investment announcement is a great way to help celebrate Fords 25th anniversary of operations in Vietnam by underscoring our long-term commitment to the market and further contributing to the auto industrys ongoing growth and success, said Dung. UN Mission in Libya Says Country's Oil Facilities Should Not Become Part of Conflict Sputnik News 17:40 18.01.2020 BEIRUT8 (Sputnik) - The United Nations Support Mission in Libya has reiterated the need to keep the North African country's oil facilities out of conflict, in a statement published on 18 January following the news that Libyan National Army (LNA) forces had begun blocking oil exports from five ports. "The Mission urges all Libyans to exercise maximum restraint while international negotiations continue to broker an end to Libya's longstanding crisis, including recommending measures to ensure transparency in the allocation of resources. The Mission reiterates the importance of preserving the integrity and neutrality of the National Oil Corporation [NOC]", the statement read. The organisation has also warned of negative consequences, first and foremost, for the Libyan people who are mostly dependent on oil production. "It will also have terrible knock-on effects for the country's already deteriorated economic and financial situation", the UN Mission statement added. On 17 January, the NOC issued a statement warning that a shutdown of oil terminals would have far-reaching negative consequences for the national economy, as protesters reportedly entered and blockaded the Zueitina oil port in eastern Libya. Some Libyan tribal leaders and public figures close to LNA leader Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar on 16 January called for a blockade of the country's oil terminals in protest against the intervention of Turkish troops in support of the UN-backed Government of National of Accord. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address VANCOUVER - Fraud allegations against Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou are a "facade" and charges filed by the United States are really about the country trying to enforce its sanctions on Iran, a defence lawyer has argued. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/1/2020 (722 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Meng Wanzhou chief financial officer of Huawei leaves her home in Vancouver, B.C., Friday, January 17, 2020 as she heads to B.C. Supreme Court for a case management hearing. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward VANCOUVER - Fraud allegations against Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou are a "facade" and charges filed by the United States are really about the country trying to enforce its sanctions on Iran, a defence lawyer has argued. A court hearing began Monday in Vancouver over the American request to extradite Meng, a case that has fractured Canada-China relations. Beijing has detained two Canadians and restricted imports in moves widely seen as retaliation. At issue in this week's hearing is the legal test of double criminality, meaning that if her alleged conduct is a crime in Canada then Meng should be extradited to face the charges in the U.S. Meng is accused of lying to HSBC about Huawei's relationship with an Iran-based subsidiary, putting the bank at risk of violating U.S. sanctions against the country. However, her lawyer Richard Peck told a British Columbia Supreme Court judge that the allegations do not amount to fraud and Canada has expressly refused to impose similar sanctions against Iran. "Would we be here in the absence of U.S. sanctions law?" he asked. "In our respectful submission, the response is No." Peck said it's a "fiction" that America has any interest in policing a foreign citizen or foreign bank for activity on the other side of the globe, but it does have an interest in enforcing its sanctions. The sanctions are the basis of the alleged fraud, since the bank wouldn't have faced any economic or legal risk if the penalties didn't exist, he added. Lawyers for Canada's attorney general, on behalf of the U.S., have argued in court documents that Meng's alleged misrepresentations put HSBC at risk of economic loss and are sufficient to make a case of fraud in Canada. Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Huawei leaves her home in Vancouver, Monday, January, 20, 2020. A court hearing begins today in Vancouver over the American request to extradite an executive of the Chinese telecom giant Huawei on fraud charges. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward The U.S. alleges that Huawei controlled the operations of its affiliate Skycom in Iran from at least 2007 to 2014, but Meng met with a senior HSBC executive in 2013 and made assurances that Huawei no longer held a shareholding interest in Skycom. HSBC and its U.S. subsidiary cleared more than US$100 million worth of transactions related to Skycom through the U.S. between 2010 and 2014, exposing the bank to civil and criminal liability, American officials allege. However, Peck said in that alleged scenario HSBC is a victim and did not wilfully violate any sanctions. "Our laws do not punish innocent victims. Hence, HSBC could never be at risk of economic deprivation in Canada," he argued. Another lawyer for Meng, Eric Gottardi, noted that many of the transactions occurred prior to 2013 when Meng is accused of lying to the bank. He noted Canada had sanctions against Iran in 2013 but lifted them in 2016 after world powers signed a nuclear deal with Iran. The U.S. pulled out of the deal in 2018 and reinstated sanctions, but Canada refused to follow suit. The law says the conduct must be a crime in Canada at the time the country issues an "authority to proceed" with the extradition process, which in this case occurred in February 2019, Gottardi said. "The problem with the current request is its timing," he told the judge. Gottardi also criticized the attorney general's submissions for being contradictory. The Crown said in court documents that the judge does not need to consider American sanctions to prove a fraud case, but it also suggested the juge could import a foreign legal context in a limited way, to "better understand why HSBC's economic interests were at risk." The start of the extradition hearing drew a large crowd of members of the public, supporters of Meng and international media. A courtroom with a capacity of 150 people quickly filled and an overflow area was set up. Meng, who's free on bail and living in one of her two multimillion-dollar homes in Vancouver, denies the allegations. She took notes in court with the help of a Mandarin interpreter. Her husband Liu Xiaozong listened in the courtroom gallery. A spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry said Monday that the United States and Canada abused their bilateral extradition treaty and arbitrarily took compulsory measures against a Chinese citizen without cause. "This is entirely a serious political incident that grossly violates the legitimate rights and interests of the Chinese citizen," said Geng Shuang, urging Canada to release Meng. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said the Canadian government's priority is the well-being and release of the two Canadians detained by China, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. "Our government has been clear that we are a rule of law country and that we honour our extradition treaty commitments. That is what we need to do and that is what we will do," she told reporters in Winnipeg. 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. Huawei said in a statement that it trusts in Canada's judicial system and believes it will prove Meng's innocence. "Huawei stands with Ms. Meng in her pursuit for justice and freedom," the company said. If the judge decides the legal test of double criminality has not been met, Meng will be free to leave Canada, though she'll still have to stay out of America to avoid the charges. If the judge finds there is double criminality, the hearing will proceed to a second phase. That phase, scheduled for June, will consider defence allegations that Meng's rights were violated during her arrest in December 2018 at Vancouver's airport. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 20, 2020. U.S. President Donald Trump puts his hand to his head while speaking at the American Farm Bureau Federation Annual Convention and Trade Show in Austin, Texas, January 19, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque Reuters In a fiery response ahead of his Senate trial, President Donald Trump's legal team said the articles of impeachment against him were "deficient." Speaking ahead of a formal defense filing, sources working with Trump's legal team told reporters at a briefing that the charges should be tossed out because they were "frivolous and dangerous" and "constitutionally invalid." Those arguments come amid a slew of documentary evidence, witness testimony, and even statements by the president, that support the impeachment charges. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. President Donald Trump's legal team on Monday filed a response to charges accusing him of abusing his power and obstructing Congress, saying the articles of impeachment were "deficient" and should be thrown out. Speaking ahead of the filing, sources working with Trump's legal team said during a background briefing on Monday that the charges were "frivolous and dangerous" and failed to cite any legal violations. The sources did not say whether they would ask for a motion to dismiss the charges but did say the case should be rejected, arguing that the articles of impeachment "are deficient on their face." The 110-page legal briefing was filed to the Senate on Monday and pushed back on House Democrats' allegations that Trump abused his power. At the center of the impeachment inquiry are Trump's efforts to strong-arm Ukraine's government into pursuing investigations that could politically benefit him while withholding vital military aid and a White House meeting that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky desperately sought. The president's pressure campaign also included forcing the abrupt ouster of Marie Yovanovitch as the US ambassador to Ukraine because she stood in the way of Trump and his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani as they worked to get the Ukrainian government to dig up or manufacture political dirt against former Vice President Joe Biden, a 2020 Democratic presidential frontrunner. Story continues Trump's actions first came to light in an anonymous whistleblower's complaint that a US intelligence official filed in August. The complaint detailed a July 25 phone call between Trump and Zelensky during which the US president repeatedly pressed his Ukrainian counterpart to work with Giuliani and Attorney General William Barr to investigate the Bidens as well as a bogus conspiracy theory suggesting Ukraine interfered in the 2016 election to help Democrats. But a string of public testimony from career, nonpartisan government officials since then indicated that the phone call was just one data point in a months-long effort to bully Ukraine into caving to Trump's demands. The contents of the whistleblower complaint were corroborated by a White House memo summarizing the July 25 phone call, and Trump himself said several times in public that he wanted Ukraine to investigate the Bidens. Moreover, Gordon Sondland, the US ambassador to the European Union, testified to Congress that "everyone," including senior officials like the national security adviser John Bolton, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and the acting White House chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, was in the loop on what Trump was doing. Additional reporting and documents since the House impeached Trump in December revealed that there was widespread concern across lower levels of the government, including in the State Department and the Pentagon, about the legality of the president's actions. Trump's legal team filed another short document over the weekend calling the articles of impeachment "constitutionally invalid." The more comprehensive filing on Monday expanded on that claim. Trump will be represented at trial by the White House counsel, Pat Cipollone, and his personal lawyer Jay Sekulow. Other attorneys expected to take part include Ken Starr, Alan Dershowitz, Pam Bondi, Jane Serene Raskin, Eric Herschmann, and Robert Ray. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell plans to allot 24 hours a side to statements in the trial, which must be confined into two working days, according to NBC News. Read the original article on Business Insider Amid a row over the actual birthplace of Saibaba, villagers of Dhoopkheda in Maharashtra's Aurangabad district have demanded funds to the tune of Rs 50 crore for development of the place claiming that the 19th Century saint had been first spotted in their village. Terming Dhoopkheda as Saibaba's "Prakatbhoomi" or the land where he was spotted first, the villagers have now sought parity with Shirdi and Pathri. While Shirdi in Ahmednagar district has long been associated with Saibaba for being his abode till his death, Pathri in Parbhani district is being claimed by some to be his actual birthplace. On Sunday, a bandh was observed in Shirdi against Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's announcement to grant Rs 100 crore for development of facilities at "Sai janmasthan" (birthplace) at Pathri. Shirdi MP Sadashiv Lokhande of the Shiv Sena said on Monday that the controversy over the birthplace of Saibaba has been resolved in the meeting with the CM in Mumbai. Meanwhile, villagers in Dhoopkheda, around 31 kms from Aurangabad, on Monday passed a resolution demanding funds for infrastructure development, said village sarpanch Kailas Wagchoure. "There is no dispute over Dhoopkheda being the 'prakatbhoomi' of Saibaba, as his biography mentions so. Chand Patel who took Saibaba from here to Shirdi belonged to Dhoopkheda. Patel took Saibaba to Shirdi for his sister's marriage. After that Saibaba never returned here," he said. Waghchoure demanded fund to the tune of Rs 50 crore to construct good roads and develop premises of the Saibaba temple. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Meeting barriers in foreign markets, catfish processing companies have decided to exploit the domestic market. At the year-end seafood trade fair, visitors had a nice surprise as they could enjoy 90 dishes made from catfish by famous chefs Quoc Vo and Chiem Thanh Long. The performance at the trade fair was part of Co May Companys strategy to introduce catfish to the domestic market. We are creating a variety of products from catfish to bring fish to the dining table of Vietnamese people, said Pham Minh Thien, general director of Co May. Catfish farmers and exporters experienced a tough 2019 year as the export markets were gloomy and the catfish prices fell sharply. By the end of November 2019, Vietnams catfish still could not escape the minus growth rate compared with the same period of 2018. Catfish farmers and exporters experienced a tough 2019 year as the export markets were gloomy and the catfish prices fell sharply. By the end of November 2019, Vietnams catfish still could not escape the minus growth rate compared with the same period of 2018. According to Thien, this was foreseen two years ago. As the catfish prices escalated, farmers rushed to farm catfish. Some farmers even doubled their farming areas, thus leading to the oversupply. Farmers cannot sell domestically to mitigate risks as Vietnamese are not familiar with catfish. It will take seafood companies a lot of time and effort to conquer the home market. Also trying to exploit the domestic market, Vinh Hoan JSC is trying to make snacks from fish skin. However, though the leading company in the industry, the company also anticipates difficulties. The company saw revenue decreasing by 13.3 percent and profit by 5.3 percent as of Q3 2019 because of the decrease in both sale volume and selling price. The demand from the US, an important market for Vietnam, decreased dramatically by 60.2 percent compared with the same period last year. Vinh Hoan and Bien Dong are the two companies which can export catfish products to the US market with the tariff of zero percent. In order to be able to continue exporting catfish, many companies try to farm fish in accordance with organic standards. According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), many markets have shifted to consume organic catfish fillets, such as the US, Germany and Japan. Germany, the third largest export market for Vietnam in Europe, has increased imports by 36 percent compared with the same period of 2018 and the import products were frozen organic catfish fillets. Organic catfish products were sold at the high prices of $9.6-9.78 per kilogram, but they were still chosen by consumers. Therefore, Bien Dong has set up an organic catfish farming area along Hau River. According to Nguyen Duc Trung from Bien Dong, the company is applying a modern farming process with records about breeder management, water supply, ponds, waste water, feed management and care. Thanh Lich Vietnams catfish industry loses clout, suffers lower prices in 2019 A series of problems are affecting Vietnams catfish industry, including a sharp fall in catfish material price and decrease in breeder quality. The industry has lost its monopoly. On the world market. Representatives of Telekom Romania have reportedly met with the countrys Prime Minister Ludovic Orban to discuss the sale of OTE Groups holding in the operator. Romania Insider reported that both the Head of the Chancellery of the Prime Minister Ionel Danca and the Transport, Infrastructure and Communications Minister Lucian Bode attended the talks. Deutsche Telekom is the majority shareholder in OTE Group, which in turn holds a controlling stake in Telekom Romania granting DT indirect stakes of 70% and 54% in Telekom Romanias mobile and fixed units respectively. In January 2019, OTE approached a consortium of investors led by Bulgarias Spas Roussev to discuss the sale of its stake. Orange has reportedly agreed to acquire Deutsche Telekoms fixed-line business in the market. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 20) Government volcanologists said evacuees displaced by the Taal Volcano eruption have to wait for government sefety clearance to go home or reopen businesses even if the alert level is downgraded Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) Director Renato Solidum reminded residents and local authorities in Batangas and Cavite that safety checks are a must after a calamity. "For whatever disasters, when the threat is over... The local government must ensure that when people can go back at some point after the threat has passed, they have to check if there are lingering hazards in the area," Solidum said. "They need some time to reevaluate the situation before they would order people to go back. That's the standard procedure... May mga hazards pa, and volcanic eruptions and consequences are lingering disasters. Hindi 'yan bagyo na kapag dumaan, tapos na [It's not like a typhoon which is over once it has passed]," he added. Solidum cited fissures or cracks in the ground that may have weakened structures, as well as thick ashfall. The Phivolcs chief saidTaal remains on alert level 4, signaling that a hazardous eruption may occur within months or days. The alert level has not been adjusted since Sunday, when the volcano emitted a tall column of steam and ash that blanketed towns in Batangas and Cavite with heavy ashfall. People within a 14-kilometer (km) radius from the main crater have been forced to leave their homes, with 112,757 staying in evacuation centers within Calabarzon. READ: Foregone income from Taal eruption may hit 6.7B NEDA Solidum previously said that Phivolcs would need at least two weeks to see if Taal is really calming down. However, he said the threat of a strong and deadly eruption remained. "If you look at all the parameters, it doesn't really say that everything (in the volcano) is on a downward trend... There's pressure from the magma moving up," the Phivolcs chief said in a briefing Monday night. Tagaytay safe from danger Several businesses in Tagaytay City have resumed operations over the weekend, even if the Department of Interior and Local Government issued an order to shut down establishments within the danger zone. Some local executives have said they will defy this order, with those manning Tagaytay City insisting that they should be excluded from the shutdown. Solidum clarified that establishments and homes on top of and beyond the Tagaytay ridge a high point known as a popular tourist spot are "safe from base surges," or when hot gases, volcanic fragments and ash travel sideways at 60 kilometers per hour as fast as a car moving at average speed, state volcanologists said. Phivolcs: Hazardous eruption will 'definitely' kill anyone in Taal danger zone Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano has also said that since Tagaytay is out of the 14-km danger zone, he is leaving it to local officials to decide if businesses can be allowed to reopen. "It's a high ridge wall, lava cannot fly that high," Ano said about Tagaytay's location. However, Interior Director Edgar Allan Tabell said authorities are still reviewing rules banning commercial establishments to return resume operations. "We are looking into the possibility of harm on the part of employees and the people that are enticed to come... We will be taking this up with the local officials," Tabell said. He admitted that while local executives are in charge of the well-being of their constituents, danger may be imminent for visitors coming to Tagaytay The government of South Korea is planning to charge a 20% tax on income from cryptocurrency transactions. The countrys Ministry of Economy and Finance recently ordered its office of income tax to review a crypto taxation plan, local news outlet Pulse reported Monday, citing multiple government sources. Previously, the ministry's office of property tax had reviewed the plan. This change has reportedly raised speculation among Korean experts that the government will treat crypto trading gains as "other income" and not as "capital gains." The finance ministry is yet to finalize its direction but it surely has become more likely for the income from virtual asset trading to be labeled as other income, not as gains from transfer of capitals like real estate properties, an anonymous government official told Pulse. Other income in Korea is subject to a 20% tax on 40% of total other income, and the remaining 60% is tax-deductible, per the report. South Korea has been planning to levy taxes on crypto gains for over a month now. Once finalized as other income, the Korean tax authority, the National Tax Service (NTS), will reportedly be allowed to tax crypto gains with immediate effect. The NTS has already started labeling gains earned by foreigners from crypto trading as other income and has been collecting taxes indirectly through crypto exchanges. The authority recently hit Bithumb exchange with a withholding tax of over $69 million. Bithumb, however, has moved to court to nullify the tax. Kim Kardashian is becoming the person she wants to be as she follows her late father's footsteps in the field of law. After she helped push the Armenian Genocide bill, she is now ready to drive another advocacy through a new documentary. In October 2019, Kim supported the Armenian Genocide bill to Congress. Before it was successfully approved, Kardashian pleaded to her over 62 million Twitter followers to "call" the Congress and tell them to do the first step for the genocide's victims and descendants. Later that day, the House approved the resolution that recognizes and remembers the fallen Armenian victims. The vote ended with the result of 405-11 in favor of the bill. The Armenian Genocide bill will now allow Armenians to commemorate the killings of over 1.5 million of their countrymen by Turkey's Ottoman Empire in the early 1900s and consider it as a genocide. It took so long before the U.S government to recognize the mass killings, and the voting was the first in 35 years to have the U.S. government consider such legislation. Other than the recent bill, Kardashian also stood for prison reform advocacy by visiting the White House and joining President Donald Trump at a press conference in the same year. She partnered with Lyft to support the "First Step Act" for the prisoners, which the president signed in 2018 to allow discretion in sentencing drug offenders, reducing their life sentence and even providing rehabilitation for prisoners. However, Kim's defense for prisoners is not yet over. New Project For Incarcerated People? As the KKW Beauty founder moves forward on her legal journey, she found a new way again to address the mass incarceration problem in the U.S. On Jan. 19, she took to Twitter her good news on the release of her new documentary, "Kim Kardashian West: The Justice Project." pic.twitter.com/d5AvuvQE7a The official trailer for my new documentary is here! Criminal justice reform is something thats so important to me, and I can't wait to share these stories with all of you. #KKWTheJusticeProject premieres Sunday, April 5 at 7/6c on @Oxygen Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) January 19, 2020 The broadcast will be released on Apr. 5 on Oxygen, and it will mainly show the viewers a few of her efforts to address criminal justice reform. "There are a lot of people making bad choices after a life of trauma," she said after learning the stories of incarcerated victims through their letters. "People deserve a second chance." Moreover, in the trailer attached to her tweet, the 39-year-old TV personality admitted that she stepped into the project knowing nothing. However, her heart completely opened up as the program progressed. According to Oxygen, Kim will be exploring the lives and cases of Alexis Martin, David Sheppard, Dawn Jackson and Momolu Stewart -- the four inmates whom she and her legal experts think "have been unfairly sentenced." Kim also mentioned in the trailer how she wanted to bring the people affected by the broken justice system to the public -- to a national level -- to fight for a change. "This documentary is an honest depiction of me learning about the system and helping bring tangible results to justice reform," Kim Kardashian went on. Meanwhile, the executive vice president for Oxygen Media and E! Production, Rod Aissa, spoke up about how Kim's influence reached the White House and immediately made an impact. He also highlighted how Kim continuously uses her media empire to help the people in need. A group of Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) activists on Monday staged a demonstration here against the BJP for its alleged "criminal silence" post reorganisation over the issue of delimitation and Assembly elections in the Union Territory. Party chairman and former minister Harsh Dev Singh led the protest at Exhibition Ground with participants chanting slogans in support of their demand for setting up a delimitation commission to redraw assembly constituencies and holding early assembly polls. Seeking an official statement from the Bharatiya Janata Party over the issues, Singh said the delimitation of Assembly constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir has been repeatedly assured by the state as well central BJP leadership and had even been incorporated by the saffron party in its election manifesto released during the 2014 elections in the erstwhile state. "While it took no initiative during its three-and-a-half year rule in J&K over the subject, it tried to pacify the people by its persistent rhetoric that the post reorganisation era would witness delimitation of Assembly seats as a priority with a higher number of seats for Jammu region," he told reporters. The former minister said the party was given to understand that immediate steps would be taken upon conversion of the former state into a Union Territory for delimiting the Assembly constituencies, increase in the number of seats, rotation of reserved seats and reservation of Scheduled Tribes which will be followed by early elections in the newly created Union Territory. "Despite a lapse of five and a half months, the government has failed to even come out with any proposal for delimitation exercise and further maintained a studied, intriguing silence over the issue of holding elections," he said. He claimed that the BJP leadership was issuing veiled threats to JKNPP leaders to desist from seeking delimitation of Assembly constituencies instead of making any announcement over the issue. Seeking early Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, Singh said that repeated postponement of polls only amounted to subversion of the Constitution and defiance of judgments rulings pronounced by the Supreme Court. "By continuing its proxy rule in Jammu and Kashmir through its trusted lieutenant governor, the Centre was not only denying the people their fundamental rights and guarantees but also defying the Constitution which it was claiming to have extended to the Union Territory," Singh added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Philanthropist, businessman and man of the cloth, Prophet Uebert Angel and his wife BeBe Angel paid school fees for the whole year for an entire school of 797 pupils through their Uebert Angel Foundation. After making headlines for paying outstanding bills and debts for his church members, the couple paid full tuition for a year, for 797 students, at Kadyamadare Primary School. The Headmaster, Tafireyi Phiri, was happier for the parents who he said were having challenges of paying full tuition fees on time. There is no substitute for education. It is indeed a great move to invest in our childrens future. What a great start to our year 2020 as a school, many thanks to Uebert Angel Foundation for such a divine act to come in and be a helper to our students and parents, at such a time like this. It is now left to my admin, staff and teachers to deliver our promise of quality education, he said. There is no substitute for education. It is indeed a great move to invest in our childrens future. What a great start to our year 2020 as a school, many thanks to Uebert Angel Foundation for such a divine act to come in and be a helper to our students and parents, at such a time like this. It is now left to my admin, staff and teachers to deliver our promise of quality education, he said. The foundation promised more. This is just the first of many schools that the prophet and his wife are including in their Adopt A School program which seeks to relieve parents from the burden of school fees. The Uebert Angel Foundation Representative here in Zimbabwe, Pastor Felix Angel said. This came as a surprise to most parents. Even some staff members of Kadyamadare Primary School could not believe such luck when Prophet Angel offered to relieve all parents and guardians from the burden of paying school fees for their children in 2020 under his foundation Uebert Angel Foundation. Panama has sent police reinforcements to a remote indigenous village where locals have been left terrorized by the alleged religious sacrifice of six children and a pregnant woman, authorities said on Friday. Right now special forces are heading to the Terron community in Ngabe Bugle department on Panamas Caribbean coast around 250 kilometers from Panama City, said Enrique Martinez, police chief for neighbouring Veraguas province. A mass grave containing the remains of a pregnant woman and six children aged from one to 17 was found on Thursday. They had wounds consistent with being beaten. It was discovered a day after police raided an obscure religious sect allegedly involved in brutal exorcisms, arresting 10 people and rescuing 15 others. Police believe the victims were tortured and sacrificed and that the other 15 people would have been, too. The police units, who will be flown in by helicopter, will provide security and tranquility to this humble population, which is currently terrorized, added Martinez. Police are also due to remain on patrol in the area while investigating several churches to determine whether other sects operate there. Nine of the arrested suspected sect members -- eight men and a woman -- were due to appear in court on Friday. The 10th person arrested is a minor. They are accused of torturing, sacrificing and murdering those found in the grave. Amongst them is the father of the pregnant woman found in the mass grave. She was the mother of five of the six minors also found dead. Apparently they are members of a religious sect that was involved in rituals, and theyre the ones presumed to be responsible for the deaths, said Rafael Baloyes, the top prosecutor in neighboring Bocas del Torro province. The public security ministry named the sect as a group called Gods New Light. Amongst those rescued were nine children and two pregnant women that were treated for burns and injuries caused by beatings, authorities said. Domingo Gonzalez, who had managed to escape the sect, told the local TVN-2 channel that he saw a man beating his own son, who had been stripped naked by members of the sect. They started hitting him with the bible and a closed fist, said Gonzalez. They grabbed him (by the neck) and told him: drive out the demon you have inside you. The rituals took place on a ranch that was surrounded by dense vegetation making it invisible to the outside world. We are faced with a region with a population that is particularly vulnerable and with little State presence to prevent these type of situations, political scientist Claire Nevache told AFP. She said Panama has lax laws regarding the establishment of cults, as long as they are Christian. The latest discoveries come after the December 5 arrests of 17 foreign nationals, alleged members of another religious sect, in an operation carried out in the coastal town of San Carlos, about 45 miles west of the capital. As if Labour doesnt have enough problems with alienating Britains Jewish community, it now seems intent on becoming a hostile environment for Catholics, too. This is the only conclusion to be drawn from the way Rebecca Long-Bailey has been treated after the candidate for the partys leadership was revealed shock, horror to be a practising Catholic. One of her rivals for the top job (or someone on their team) unearthed an interview Long-Bailey gave in Salford Cathedral during the last election, in which she said she very much values the role of the Catholic community in providing education, and that I pray to God every daymy faith is often the only thing that keeps me going. A candidate for the party's leadership, Rebecca Long-Bailey, was revealed to be a practising Catholic. She is pictured during the Labour leadership hustings in Liverpool Worse, or so her rivals would see it, is that she criticised an aspect of the law governing termination of pregnancy. She pointed out that while abortions could not be carried out beyond the 24th week of a normal pregnancy, it was allowed right up to full term if the unborn child was found to have a disability. Long-Bailey said: I personally do not agree with this position. Dictated In response, Long-Baileys rival Jess Phillips opportunistically dashed off a piece for the Daily Mirror declaring that there can be no going back on abortion rights, not an inch. Meanwhile the former BBC and Channel 4 presenter Paul Mason now campaigning for Keir Starmer to become leader, having previously been a cheerleader for Jeremy Corbyn tweeted: I dont want Labours policy on reproductive rights dictated by the Vatican, thanks. Jess Phillips opportunistically dashed off a piece for the Daily Mirror declaring that there can be no going back on abortion rights, not an inch. She is pictured during the Labour leadership hustings in Liverpool This is identical to the justification given for Westminsters discrimination against Catholics in earlier centuries, namely that they were loyal to an alien authority: Rome. And it also has a parallel with the anti-Semitic trope rife among Corbyns most fanatical supporters, that British Jews are stooges for Israel. Just as the Jewish community had, for the most part, regarded Labour as its natural political home, so too did Catholics. This explains why the Labour MPs Mike Kane and Conor McGinn declared: For over one hundred years Catholics across the United Kingdom have formed the backbone of Labours vote. Neither of us have nominated Rebecca for the leadership. But we will not stand idle while her faith is being used to smear her. I am not a Catholic. Nor do I share Long-Baileys political views, which are what you might expect from someone who even after the election gave Jeremy Corbyn ten out of ten for his leadership. But for personal reasons, I am grateful for her criticism of the way unborn children with disabilities are regarded as suitable for eradication at any time in the womb, unlike those designated normal. Former BBC and Channel 4 presenter Paul Mason (pictured) now campaigning for Keir Starmer to become leader, having previously been a cheerleader for Jeremy Corbyn tweeted: I dont want Labours policy on reproductive rights dictated by the Vatican, thanks' Our youngest daughter, Domenica, has Downs Syndrome. And this condition is overwhelmingly the most common form of disability which, if detected, is considered grounds for termination. Indeed, mothers-to-be come under insidious pressure from medics to terminate, as some who refused have later related. We didnt know that Domenica was carrying a third copy of the 21st chromosome until she was born. But when she emerged with the visible signs of Downs (floppy, with almond-shaped eyes and a distended tongue) to the evident dismay of the medical staff, we were soon given the bleakest prognosis for her quality of life. She would suffer from her condition; she might never talk, or even walk. It was all rubbish. Now 24, Domenica has a vast vocabulary. She has qualified as a Zumba instructor. She works two halfdays a week in the kitchens of Brightons Grand Hotel. And she has a capacity for sheer joy, to an extent that I have not witnessed in any other human being. Domenica Lawson pictured with her father Dominic Lawson. Now 24, Domenica has a vast vocabulary. And she has a capacity for sheer joy, to an extent that I have not witnessed in any other human being This is not unusual among people with Downs, though. In 2011 the American Journal of Medical Genetics published a paper entitled Self-perceptions from people with Downs Syndrome, based on a survey of 300 people with the condition, aged 12 and over. The authors concluded: 99 per cent of people with DS indicated that they were happy with their lives, 97 per cent liked who they are, and 96 per cent liked how they look. You wouldnt get anything like such positive feelings from a similar questionnaire among normal people. Cerebral palsy is perhaps the next commonest form of disability observed in the new-born. So listen to what the comedian Francesca Martinez (who has CP) says: I have several mates with severe CP (I prefer uber-wobbly) who fall over regularly or take an age to get a sentence out. But they tend to be happier than pretty much everyone else Ive met. Comedian Francesca Martinez (pictured), who has cerebral palsy, says: I have several mates with severe CP (I prefer uber-wobbly) who fall over regularly or take an age to get a sentence out. But they tend to be happier than pretty much everyone else Ive met She added: Most parents-to-be still fear that their beloved newborn will turn out to be oh, the horror disabledHad my wobbliness been detected in the womb, my parents would probably have been advised, by a softly-spoken but firm doctor, to have an abortion. Offensive It is barbaric that people like Martinez or my daughter should be stigmatised in the womb as deserving, on grounds of their disability alone, inferior protection. Because if they were not deemed to be inferior, why is it legal for them to be aborted right up to the moment of natural birth, when such terminations between 24 and 40 weeks are illegal if the unborn child has no detected flaws? It is bizarre that the Labour Party, which sees itself as anti-discriminatory above all, should be blind to this. It is offensive that when Long-Bailey makes this point, it is attributed to her allegiance to the Vatican, rather than a genuine concern about an aspect of the law that discriminates against disability to the extent of making it a special reason for extinction. But in turning on Catholics, it is Labour that seems to have a death-wish. The real abdication was much more toxic Comparisons between Prince Harrys departure from Royal life and the abdication of his great-great uncle Edward VIII are a real stretch, and not just because Megxit is trivial set against the abdication of the monarch when Edward chose to marry the American divorcee Wallis Simpson. The financial negotiations with Harry agreeing to reimburse the taxpayer for the 2.4m spent on the home on the Windsor estate which had been gifted to the couple are also trivial compared with the bitter row over money between Edward and his brother George VI. Edward had managed to wring an annual allowance of 25,000 a year equivalent to no less than 1.75m in todays money. He also got George to cough up 300,000 for the royal residences of Sandringham and Balmoral (over 20m now). If Meghan makes Harry happy all his days the British people will (and should) treat her with kindness. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are pictured leaving Canada House in London this month It then emerged that Edward had given a grotesque underestimate of the other financial assets he had retained. George wrote to him, after discovering this: I am not seeking to reproach you but the fact remains that I was completely misled. And in a letter to Edwards friend and advisor Walter Monckton, Queen Elizabeth whom we later knew as the Queen Mother referred to Wallis Simpson as the lowest of the low. I have learned all this from my wife, who happens to be Walter Moncktons grand-daughter. Monckton was one of a handful of guests at the 1937 wedding in France of Edward and Wallis. After the service, he had what can only be described as a frank discussion with the bride: I told her that most people disliked her very much because the Duke had married her and given up his throne, but that if she kept him happy all his days, that would change; but that if he were unhappy nothing would be too bad for her. In that respect, at least, there is a genuine similarity between then and now. If Meghan makes Harry happy all his days the British people will (and should) treat her with kindness. We can only hope that this part of the fairy-tale comes true. Edwards friend and advisor Walter Monckton was one of a handful of guests at the 1937 wedding in France of Edward and Wallis. The Duke of Windsor and Walter Monckton pictured in London The 26th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards were held Sunday night at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, and Parasite made history by winning the Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture award, becoming the first foreign language film to do so. On the television side, the award for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a comedy series went to Amazons The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel for the second year in a row, while The Crown won the equivalent award for dramas. Heres Parasites Song Kang-ho accepting the awarddont miss the insert shot of director Bong Joon-ho filming the speech on his phone: Advertisement .@ParasiteMovie becomes the first foreign language film to take home the Actor for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture #sagawards pic.twitter.com/QAVDbNUu0O TNT Drama (@tntdrama) January 20, 2020 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the individual acting awards, Joaquin Phoenix and Renee Zellweger won the awards for performances in leading roles in films for Joker and Judy, respectively, while Brad Pitts performance in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Laura Derns performance in Marriage Story won the awards for supporting roles in films. Theres no award for Most Self-Deprecating Acceptance Speech, but if there were it would probably go to Brad Pitt, who joked that his performance as fading stuntman Cliff Booth was a big stretch, since the role required him to portray a guy who gets high, takes his shirt off, and doesnt get on with his wife. Advertisement Advertisement Individual television acting awards went to Sam Rockwell and Michelle Williams for Fosse/Verdun, Tony Shalhoub for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Phoebe Waller-Bridge for Fleabag, Peter Dinklage for Game of Thrones, and Jennifer Aniston for The Morning Show. Aniston, who had previously only won one SAG award as part of the ensemble cast of Friends back in 1996. She didnt attend the ceremony, which was only the second SAG awards ever: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Aniston made up for lost time at the SAG Awards winners podium, shouting out Laverne & Shirley, Happy Days, and Adam Sandlers performance in Uncut Gems. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And a lifetime achievement award went to living legend Robert De Niro, who handed in one of the years great performances in The Irishman. At least I know Ive got another year of health insurance, De Niro joked. He used his speech to thank his fellow actors, but also respond to those who criticize him for having outspoken political opinions: Advertisement I can imagine some of you are saying, All right, all right, lets not get into the politics and all that. But were in such a dire situation, so deeply concerning to me and to so many others, I have to say something. And I thought I said it pretty well to Variety the other day, so Im going to quote myself. Theres right and theres wrong. And theres common sense and theres abuse of power. And as a citizen, I have as much right as anybodyan actor, an athlete, a musician, anybody elseto voice my opinion. And if I have a bigger voice because of my situation, Im going to use it whenever I see a blatant abuse of power. And thats all Im going to say about that tonight. Advertisement Advertisement Congratulations to Robert De Niro on a lifetime of excellence. From iconic characters, to quotable lines, to historic movies, De Niro is a true generational talent and we are looking forward to more greatness to come #sagawards pic.twitter.com/z8NmBWxoat TNT Drama (@tntdrama) January 20, 2020 Heres the complete list of nominees and winners, which are indicated by bold type and asterisks. Advertisement Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role Christian Bale, Ford v Ferrari Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time In Hollywood Adam Driver, Marriage Story Taron Egerton, Rocketman *Joaquin Phoenix, Joker* Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role Cynthia Erivo, Harriet Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story Lupita Nyongo, Us Charlize Theron, Bombshell *Renee Zellweger, Judy* Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role Jamie Foxx, Just Mercy Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood Al Pacino, The Irishman Joe Pesci, The Irishman *Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time In Hollywood* Advertisement Advertisement Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role *Laura Dern, Marriage Story* Scarlett Johansson, Jojo Rabbit Nicole Kidman, Bombshell Jennifer Lopez, Hustlers Margot Robbie, Bombshell Advertisement Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Bombshell The Irishman Jojo Rabbit Once Upon a Time In Hollywood *Parasite* Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture *Avengers: Endgame* Ford v. Ferrari The Irishman Joker Once Upon a Time In Hollywood Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series Mahershala Ali, True Detective Russell Crowe, The Loudest Voice Jared Harris, Chernobyl Jharrel Jerome, When They See Us *Sam Rockwell, Fosse/Verdon* Advertisement Advertisement Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series Patricia Arquette, The Act Toni Collette, Unbelievable Joey King, The Act Emily Watson, Chernobyl *Michelle Williams, Fosse/Verdon* Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us Steve Carell, The Morning Show Billy Crudup, The Morning Show *Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones* David Harbour, Stranger Things Advertisement Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series *Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show* Helena Bonham Carter, The Crown Olivia Colman, The Crown Jodie Comer, Killing Eve Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaids Tale Advertisement Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series Alan Arkin, The Kominsky Method Michael Douglas, The Kominsky Method Bill Hader, Barry Andrew Scott, Fleabag *Tony Shalhoub, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel* Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series Christina Applegate, Dead to Me Alex Borstein, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Catherine OHara, Schitts Creek *Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Fleabag* Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Big Little Lies *The Crown* Game of Thrones The Handmaids Tale Stranger Things Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Barry Fleabag The Kominsky Method *The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel* Schitts Creek Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series *Game of Thrones* GLOW Stranger Things The Walking Dead Watchmen Former Gambian president Yahya Jammeh would face immediate arrest if he returned home, Gambias justice minister warned Sunday, days after his supporters called for his return from exile. After a year of hearings investigating abuses during his 22-year rule, it can no longer be ruled out that crimes against humanity have been committed in The Gambia, said Abubacarr Tambadou. There will be the accountability of the highest order for these crimes and I assure the victims that it is now only a question of when, and not if, he added. Unless the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) ruled otherwise, if former President Yahya Jammeh, ever comes back to this country, he will face immediate arrest and charges of the most serious kind. Tambadous speech, given to mark the opening of the judicial year, was quickly posted online by groups campaigning to have Jammeh brought to justice. The former dictator ruled the Gambia with an iron fist for 22 years but fled in January 2017 after losing a presidential election to relative unknown Adama Barrow. He only relinquished power after popular protests and international pressure, moving to Equatorial Guinea. On Thursday, thousands of the former presidents supporters demonstrated in the capital Banjul, calling for his return to the country and to active politics. They argue he has a right to return under a joint statement from the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the United Nations, published at the time of his exile. In an audio recording leaked last week, Jammeh could be heard saying he supported Thursdays protest. On Monday, the TRRC will resume its work investigating the alleged abuses during Jammehs years in power. Last year, it heard 190 witnesses give testimony alleging torture, murder, r3pe and witch hunts under his regime. Those in power at the time identified by the Commission will face certain prosecution in the most serious form, said Tambadou Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, January 20, 2020 Autotrader is sitting pretty following Googles announcement that it will phase out support for third-party cookies in Chrome within the next two years. The company, which seems to have created a closed-loop data system, has begun building out identity graphs and consumer profile insights by leveraging first-party and third-party data, Kevin LeSage, director of digital marketing at Autotrader, a Cox Automotive company, told Search Marketing Daily. The first-party data is owned by Cox companies like Autotrader, and Kelley Blue Book, he said, along with vAuto, NextGear Capital, and a host of global businesses and brands serving auto dealers, manufacturers and financial institutions. The insights are available to any Cox business unit. The project has been in the works for two years, but during the past eight months developed dedicated data teams across Cox Automotive. A tag embedded in each property owned by Cox allows marketers to map consumers on their journey. advertisement advertisement When asked about the number of available attributes, LeSage couldn't provide a specific number, but said the list of insights filled more than 1,600 pages. He once worked as the product manager when the company initially built out this division. Autotrader also combines the first-party data with third-party data. The third-party consumer data has attributes like credit scores, marital status, whether or not he has kids and if they are male or female, LeSage said. Some of the third-party data aggregators we work with track more than 300 million Americans and process more than one trillion transactions weekly, he said. Estimating the number, LeSage said Autotrader built out customer profile insights for 38 million households in the last 90 days. That data will allow Autotrader and its network of companies to personalize advertisements and marketing to millions of consumers. LeSage provided a real-life example that could allow brands to specifically target consumers with a free gift. My wife is pregnant with our second child, he said. Her car is just too small for two dogs and two car seats. So she went to Kelley Blue Book to see the worth of her car. Then we decided to get a used, newer model within a 50-mile radius. LeSage said his wife became an in-market shopper. Knowing the household is looking for a newer, used car ups the ante in personalization, allowing the manufacturer or brand to target the household, and other like them, with a specific offer such as a free baby seat with the purchase of the car. Its all privacy compliant, he said. You also need to stay in touch with the privacy changes from each company such as Google and Apple. And were no longer reliant on one cookie. The ability to track cookies for 30 days and target consumers with messages continue to quickly fade, LeSage said, because Apple, Google and Facebook have begun implementing some sort of intelligent tracking prevention (ITP). A Pakistani delegation is in Beijing for crucial three-day talks with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Working Group that would start its meeting on January 21, hoping to get a reprieve from the global money laundering watchdogs grey list. The team is led by economic affairs minister Hamad Azhar and contains officials from National Counter Terrorism Authority, foreign ministry, State Bank of Pakistan, Customs, interior ministry and Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU). The News daily reported on Monday that there is a possibility that voting might be conducted to consider Pakistans exit from the grey list. This was not confirmed by Pakistani officials. The report said that If Pakistan does not come out of the grey list, it is expected to win a largely-compliant rating from the FATF regarding implementation of 27 recommendations given in its Action Plan that can help it acquire more time from the watchdog for full compliance. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON YEREVAN. On January 20, the Speaker of the National Assembly (NA) of the Republic of Armenia (RA), Ararat Mirzoyan, received Adolfo Torres Ramirez, Chairman of the Mexico-Armenia Parliamentary Friendship Group at the Chamber of Deputies of Mexico. Mirzoyan expressed confidence that the Mexican guest's visit and contacts in Armenia will contribute to the further development of relations between the two countries, the NA informed Armenian News-NEWS.am. He also expressed confidence that the geographical distance between Armenia and Mexico cannot hinder the further warming of relations. Ararat Mirzoyan also voiced hope that the joint work of the friendship groups of the two countries' parliaments would help make the contacts between the parliaments of Armenia and Mexico more effective. They also spoke about the recognition of the Armenian Genocide and the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) problem. The RA NA Speaker expressed hope that the Mexican parliament would join the parliaments that have recognized the Armenian Genocide, and also stressed that Armenia expects a balanced position on the issue of Artsakh from its international partners. Ramirez informed that work is underway in Mexico to recognize the Armenian Genocide, and promised to make efforts to make the current situation in Artsakh visible. He emphasized that the solution to the situation is, of course, peace. Adolfo Torres Ramirez also expressed his great desire to deepen cooperation between Mexico and Armenia, and invited Mirzoyan to Mexico. Ararat Mirzoyan noted that he would gladly host his Mexican counterpart in Armenia and would visit Mexico with pleasure. OTTAWA - Canada's ambassador to China, Dominic Barton, will be among the first witnesses to testify before a new special parliamentary committee created to examine Canada's fraught relationship with China. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/1/2020 (722 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Flags of Canada and China are placed for the first China-Canada economic and financial strategy dialogue in Beijing, China, Monday, Nov. 12, 2018. A new special parliamentary committee created to examine Canada's fraught relationship with China will hold its first meeting in Ottawa.THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Jason Lee/Pool Photo via AP OTTAWA - Canada's ambassador to China, Dominic Barton, will be among the first witnesses to testify before a new special parliamentary committee created to examine Canada's fraught relationship with China. The committee held its first meeting Monday, largely a planning session, and MPs from all parties agreed it was essential to hear from Barton, despite some minor differences of opinion on the timing. Eventually, they agreed he would testify before Feb. 7. Conservatives are pushing for an earlier appearance because Barton will be in Houston next Tuesday. Barton was a high-powered business consultant who was named in September to Canada's top diplomatic post in Beijing to help repair Canada's shredded diplomatic and economic relations with China. Opposition parties have flexed their collective muscles to push for answers from the new Liberal minority government as the Chinese imprisonment of two Canadians by the People's Republic enters its second year. The committee is the result of a Conservative motion passed in December that was supported by opposition parties in the minority Parliament. Conservative deputy leader Leona Alleslev said Barton told her in an email that he is "ready and willing" to testify. She said it was important that he testify first because he could help the committee understand the government's strategy towards China. "It's such a critical witness," she told the committee. Alleslev said Barton could help the committee understand "what the lay of the land is from Canada's man on the ground, as they say." Liberal MP Rob Oliphant, the parliamentary secretary to the minister of foreign affairs, said government MPs on the committee realize the importance of Barton testifying, but he initially suggested that a briefing from officials at Global Affairs Canada would better set the table for MPs. "We will operate in good faith," he told reporters before the meeting. "We have Canadian lives at stake, and we're going to take that very seriously." Thirteen months ago, China detained two Canadian citizens, Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, who remain imprisoned without access to lawyers or their families. The move has been widely seen as retaliation for Canada's arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou at the behest of the United States, which wants to extradite her on fraud charges related to U.S. sanctions against Iran. The motion that created the committee authorized it to order Barton, as well as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne and Public Safety Minister Bill Blair to appear as witnesses "from time to time as the committee sees fit." Conservative foreign affairs critic Erin O'Toole said in December the committee will work to address Canada's current diplomatic dispute with China and help develop a specialized approach to easing the bilateral challenges between the two nations. The all-party Canada-China relations committee convened Monday afternoon to deal mainly with a series of procedural issues, and the subject of Barton's testimony took up a good portion of the discussion. The meeting coincided with start of Meng's extradition hearing in Vancouver. Earlier Monday, China's foreign ministry reiterated its call for Canada to release Meng. "The U.S. and Canada abused their bilateral extradition treaty and arbitrarily took compulsory measures against a Chinese citizen without cause," said spokesman Geng Shuang, according to translated remarks on his ministry's website. "This is entirely a serious political incident that grossly violates the legitimate rights and interests of the Chinese citizen." Meng is free on bail and living in one of her two multimillion-dollar homes in Vancouver. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said Monday that the well-being and release of Kovrig and Spavor is a "clear priority" for the Liberal government. "That is at the heart of all the work we are doing and rightly so," she said in Winnipeg, where she was attending the Liberal cabinet retreat. Freeland also defended the Liberal government's handling of the Meng case. "Our government has been clear that we are a rule of law country and that we honour our extradition treaty commitments," she said. "That is what we need to do and that is what we will do." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 20, 2020. Help India! Mahibul Haque, Twocircles.net While referring to the new Land Policy 2019 , Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in a press conference in December last year declared, After we bring the law, an indigenous person can sell his/her land to an indigenous person only, not to anyone else. Support TwoCircles Sarma, the ruling right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)s kingpin in Northeast India, further explained, The basic motto of the law is that an indigenous can sell land to an indigenous which essentially means that a Himanta Biswa Sarma can only sell land to a Chandan Brahma but a Himanta Biswa Sarma cannot sell land to an infiltrator non-indigenous, whether he/she came to Assam in 1951 or 1971 not even if he/she has come in 1941. That means our land will be preserved for our people. The new land policy which was adopted in October 2019 to provide and protect land rights of indigenous people, is set to become a law soon without much opposition as the saffron party along with its allies enjoys a brute majority in the state assembly. Apart from the new land policy, the state BJP has been announcing a slew of measures to appease indigenous communities of the state. The ostensible efforts include making Assamese the state language (of course excluding Barak Valley, Bodoland Territorial Area Districts and hill districts), considering Schedule Caste status for six communities- Adivasi, Chutiya, Koch-Rajbongshi, Moran, Matak and Tai-Ahom, and curving out new autonomous councils. These efforts and assurances to protect the rights of the indigenous population of the state on the part of Assam ministers as well as Prime Minister Narendra Modi , are seen as a measure to calm raging protests across the state against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019 which seeks to provide Indian Citizenship to undocumented minorities namely Hindus, Christians, Jains, Buddhist, Sikhs and Parsis from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan has given the fact that the protests in the North-Eastern state is stemming out of fear and apprehension that undocumented migrants from Bangladesh would sweep demographic and cultural composition if the contentious legislation happens to be implemented. Among all the announcements, the new Land Policy calls for critical quizzing as it is seen as a targeted assault on the rights of linguistic and religious minorities of Assam, whom right-wing politicians do not shy away to name call as infiltrators. BJPs mysterious indigenous people Though the Land Policy, 2019 document says that since independence Assam has adopted four land policies in 1958, 1968, 1972, and 1989 but it missed out to mention the first land policy of 1950 . The 2019 land policy is the sixth one to be adopted by the state. The initial four land policies dealt with land reforms and land allotment of land to landless people who belong to the state of Assam. However, the tumultuous decade and violent attacks against linguistic and religious minorities during the Assam agitation and the rise of entho-nationalism, phraseology seems to have had its impact on the states land policies as well. For the first time, the term indigenous was inserted in the 1989 land policy . Rather considered as a rehash of the existing land policy, the land policy 2019 was formulated based on the recommendations made in the Brahma Committee report. Earlier in 2017, the state government had formed the committee for suggesting measures including modifications in the Assam Land and Revenue regulations, 1886, other land laws, Government Circulars and Land Policy for ensuring the protection of land rights of indigenous people in the state of Assam. Along the lines of the Brahma Committee report the new land policy mentions the disputable term indigenous at least 43 times. However, both the 1989 and 2019 land policies refrain from defining who constitutes indigenous. Attributing to a senior official from the Assam Land and Revenue department, who was also involved in formulating the 2019 land policy, India based news portal scroll.in reported that it was beyond their mandate to define the word indigenous. The official was quoted as saying, The Clause 6 committee will decide it. The official was referring to a committee set up by the Indian central government for the implementation of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord which was signed in 1985 between the Union government and the agitating All Assam Students Union following massive protests in the 1980s. Notably, the landmark Assam Accord does not even mention the word indigenous in the Clause 6. It reads, Constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards, as may be appropriate, shall be provided to protect, preserve and promote the cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people. It may be mentioned that contrary to the claims made by BJP leaders and their belaboring of indigenous people, the new Land Policy 2019 actually reduces allotment of land from a maximum of 7 bighas (which was the norm in the 1989 land policy) to 3 bighas maximum. An anti-minority policy The murky remarks such as infiltrators made by BJP leaders are common occurrences in India now-a-days and Assam minister Sarma did not shy away from using it to appease the majoritarian minority-baiting Assamese nationalists during his press conference while explaining the new land settlement policy. As rhetoric in Assam, the term infiltrators is used to refer to Bengali speaking people of the state, especially Muslims. But this time, along with the rhetoric came a policy which is inherently anti-minority. Assam-based journalist and a rights activist Shakil Ahmed questioned the motive behind the new land policy. Speaking to TwoCircle.net Ahmed countered the land policys usage of the indigenous word, In Assam, Bengali speaking Muslims are not considered indigenous. Neither the Constitution nor any other law exclusively reserves rights to indigenous people. Every citizen of India is entitled to equal rights. So, has this policy been drafted to deprive the Muslims of their land rights? Ahmeds query is not all unfounded. The BJP government in the state has been carrying out evictions , predominantly in Bengali Muslim localities, by weaponising a 2015 Gauhati High Court order as a tool. Apprehending that such measures may also be taken to evict people from riverine areas or sandbanks of rivers, locally known as chars, Ahmed said, despite dwelling on the char areas for generations, most of the people do not possess land records. Even if a few have documents, those are seldom pattas (land deed issued by the government). And, to add to the worries of the likes of Ahmed, the new land policy churns out provisions for land settlement to deserving landless indigenous people in these char areas in section 1.11 and 1.12. The land policy arms the government to not provide land deeds to people who are already settled upon these chars for generations as section 1.14 of the policy says, Mere possession by way of encroachment shall not be a criteria for entitlement to get allotment/settlement of Government land. The land policy does not refrain from providing an arrangement to carry out evictions. In paragraph two of section 1.14, it makes the revenue official duty-bound to evict encroachers at the earliest. Wrath of hatred for char peasants Char areas cover about 3.60 lakh hectares of land which is around 4.6 percent of total area of Assam, and this 4.6 percent of the land is home to more than 9.37 percent or around 30 lakh of states total population. Distributed in 2,251 villages (presently) across 14 districts of the Brahmaputra valley- from Sadiya in the east to Dhubri in the west- these char dwellers are considered one of the most vulnerable communities in Assam as they face dual blows of flood and flood induced erosions. According to the economic survey 2011-12 of Assam, around 2, 034 villages have been eroded by river erosion and, as per independent estimates, have left more than 25 lakh people internally displaced. Most of these people settle down on sand banks and make a living as small cultivators, daily wage labourer, or are forced to migrate to cities for manual work. With around 80 percent of the population living below poverty line (BPL) and recording a meagre 19 percent literacy rate, these chars are very backward areas. Expecting them to be able to acquire land documents or produce them is very unjustified. Moreover, yearly floods and erosion wash away homes as well as almost all other possessions, Ahmed reiterated the plight of victims of flood and erosion opposing the new land policy which gives government officials a freehand to carry out evictions. Resonating with Ahmeds concerns, Abdul Batin Khandakar, working president of Brahmaputra Valley Civil Society, a Guwahati-based rights organisation, said, According Barh Ayog India, around 8,000 hecatre land use to get eroded yearly and till now around 4.7 lakh hectare land has been eroded, which is around 7.4 percent of total land mass of Assam. Such huge volume of erosion has rendered lakhs of people landless and homeless. Without having any policy to settle the internally displaced people as a result of river erosion, you cannot reserve the land in the name of indigenous people. On the issue of providing land rights to indigenous people Khandakar said, In Assam, Sixth Schedule areas, tribal belt and blocks, hill districts are already there to protect the rights of genuine indigenous people, that means indigenous tribals. But now a section of people are trying to preserve land rights for the upper caste population by naming them indigenous. Without considering economic and social issues, the BJP has hurriedly adopted this land policy to counter the huge (massive) resentment among people against Citizenship Amendment Act, observed Khandar. The newly adopted land policy is not just surreptitiously misleading but also highly controversial. The document, on which it is based on, the Brahma Committees report, is problematic. It calls Bengali speaking Muslims as immigrants. We are not immigrants. Our ancestors were brought here for agricultural purposes during the British reign and some came on their own and settled here. So ours is internal migration, and within a countrys internal migration is a general matter. Actually this policy has been brought to defame and deprive minorities (linguistic and religious) of land rights, Shajahan Ali Ahmed, another activist from Assam said. Depriving Bengali origin Muslims of land rights Over the last five years more than 11, 97, 228 bighas land was eroded and as many as 86,536 people have been rendered landless according to a Lok Sabha reply by the ministry of Jal Shakti (Water Power), Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation. Once the Land Policy 2019 is implemented, excluding the Bengali speaking Muslims of Assam their compatriots would be entitled to land rights. As the present government is infamous among the minority communities, to put it in Ahmeds word this government can do anything overnight. Despite being considered as hastily prepared and misleading land policy, the minority opinion makers are fearful of the new land settlement policy and view it as partisan. Some serious questions remain about the effect of the recent trade deals on farmers and manufacturing. We might be in for a late Election Night in Pennsylvania. And a pair of states are pushing constitutional changes for very different reasons. Check-in Cropping up: With Congress passage of the USMCA trade deal Republican President Donald Trumps tweak to NAFTA and the apparent easing of the trade war with China, farmers in Flyover states and around the country are expecting some much-welcomed relief from tariffs, the Quad City Times Robert Connelly reports. But whether easing up the trade war results in actual improvement as opposed to stopping the bleeding is still a huge question. As the Wall Street Journals Jon Hilsenrath reports, soybean futures prices didnt go up after news of the trade deals this week, indicating investors might not be convinced there will be a tangible effect. Contract year: The American manufacturing sector was in a slight technical recession during 2019, the Washington Posts Heather Long and Andrew Van Dam report. All told, factory production shrank by 1.3% despite other sectors of the economy remaining healthy. Multiple factors likely contributed to the decline, including Trumps tariffs, a slowdown in auto purchases and Boeing one of the largest manufacturers in the country grinding to a halt after a scandal involving its 737 Max jet. Delay of game: People waiting for close results on Election Night 2020 might have to wait a little longer in Pennsylvania because of a new state law, the Philadelphia Inquirers Jonathan Lai reports. Pennsylvania expanded absentee ballots to everyone in the state, and officials in the largest counties might not be able to count them on Election Night. As a refresher, the 2016 presidential election was decided by around 44,000 votes in the state, well below the 187,000 absentee ballots from November 2018. The first hurdle: Lawmakers in Iowa cleared a proposed state constitutional amendment that would overturn a 2018 court ruling finding access to abortion in the state is a fundamental right, the Des Moines Registers Stephen Gruber-Miller reports. The amendment, which wouldnt reach voters until 2022, would clear the way for the Hawkeye State to re-pass the heartbeat bill and other abortion restriction measures. At a minimum: Labor unions in Ohio are pushing to amend the states constitution to raise the minimum wage to $13 an hour by 2025, cleveland.coms Andrew Tobias reports. Voters previously amended the state constitution to raise the minimum wage incrementally in 2006. It is currently at $8.70 an hour. Short changed: Marijuana shortages were expected in Illinois once the recreational program opened, but as the Chicago Tribunes Robert McCoppin reports, those could continue for more than a year. The state has only 21 cultivation centers, far fewer than several other states with recreational programs. For comparison, Colorado a state less than half the size of Illinois started its legal pot program with about 200 growers. Back to the future: Marijuana advocates in Michigan arent thrilled with the states new anti-pot advertising campaign, which paints marijuana users as slovenly losers, the Detroit Free Press Craig Mauger reports. Critics said the state was spending money on antiquated propaganda all while reaping the benefits of the revenue from the recently launched recreational program. Incidentally, the ad which features a young man meeting his future self who warns hell become a listless stoner is literally the exact plot of a 2002 episode of South Park. Insider trading: Indiana lawmakers are considering taking away primary nominations for the states U.S. Senate seats, instead having delegates at party conventions choose the nominee, the Northwest Indiana Times Dan Carden reports. Some lawmakers still seem pretty skeptical, feeling it takes the choice away from voters and could lead to corruption, but six statewide officeholders are already picked by convention delegates. Smoke screen: Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, unveiled his plan to combat youth vaping with a broad package of bills, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinels Mary Spicuzza reports. Evers is looking to expand enforcement to prevent minors from purchasing vape products as well as ban them from all K-12 campuses. Iowa on the prize: In this week in useful abstract graphic interpretations from the Washington Posts Philip Bump, Bump looks at which candidates are mentioning Iowa as well as other states the most. Bumps maps dont come as a total surprise, with the Democrats consistently mentioning Flyover states, particularly Iowa, in their debate performances. Just further proof of which states are going to be the most pivotal in the 2020 election. Arrivals/Departures Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts was in Newton and Ankeny, Iowa, on Friday, per the Des Moines Register. Former Rep. John Delaney of Maryland was in Carroll, Templeton and Ankeny, Iowa, on Friday, per the campaign. Former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg was in Chicago on Friday, per the Chicago Tribune. Trump campaign press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, campaign Senior Adviser Mercedes Schlapp and Lara Trump the presidents daughter-in-law were in Davenport, Iowa, on Friday, per the Quad City Times. Entrepreneur Andrew Yang was in Iowa City, Marion and Independence, Iowa, on Saturday, per the Des Moines Register. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota was in West Des Moines, Coralville, Clinton and Davenport, Iowa, on Saturday, per The Dispatch-Argus. Buttigieg was in Clive, West Des Moines, Ankeny, Harlan and Council Bluffs, Iowa, on Saturday, per the Des Moines Register. Former Vice President Joe Biden was in West Des Moines and Indianola, Iowa, on Saturday, per the Des Moines Register. Warren was in West Des Moines and Des Moines, Iowa, on Saturday, per the campaign and the Des Moines Register. Delaney was in Dubuque, Tama and Ames, Iowa, on Saturday, per the Des Moines Register. Yang was in Waterloo and Van Meter, Iowa, on Sunday, per the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. Klobuchar was in Cedar Rapids and Des Moines, Iowa, on Sunday, per the campaign. Warren was in Des Moines on Sunday, per the campaign. Delaney was in Washington, Georgetown and Albia, Iowa, on Sunday, per the campaign. Nine candidates will be in Des Moines for the Vice News Iowa Brown and Black Presidential Forum on Monday: Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, Biden, Buttigieg, Delaney, Klobuchar, Warren and Yang. The forum starts at 12 p.m. CST and will be livestreamed on Vice.com and Facebook. Vice TV will air a special on the forum at 9 p.m. EST. Buttigieg will be in Pella, Fairfield and Burlington, Iowa, on Monday, per the campaign. Klobuchar will be in Ames and Mason City, Iowa, on Monday, per the campaign. Warren will be in Grimes, Iowa, on Monday, per the campaign. Yang will be in Grinnell, Iowa, on Monday, per the campaign. Biden will be in Ames and Fort Dodge, Iowa, on Tuesday, per the campaign. Buttigieg will be in Keokuk, Mount Pleasant, Muscatine and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Tuesday, per the campaign. Delaney will be in Fort Dodge, Dana, Jefferson and Panora, Iowa, on Tuesday, per the campaign. Billionaire philanthropist Tom Steyer will be in Council Bluffs and Atlantic, Iowa, on Tuesday, per the Des Moines Registers candidate tracker. President Donald Trump will hold a re-election rally in Des Moines on Jan. 30, per the Des Moines Register. Vice President Mike Pence will be in Sioux City, Council Bluffs and Des Moines on Jan. 30, per the Des Moines Register. Pence will join Trump on stage for Trumps rally. The man who punched a Trump protester at a 2018 Cincinatti rally is going to jail for four months, per the Cincinnati Enquirer. The Democrats are creating plenty of (light and sound) jobs in Iowa, per The Gazette. A Trump-signed copy of the articles of impeachment against him is going up for auction in Michigan, per the Detroit News. The West Side of Milwaukee will have some serious security for the DNC, per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Illinois state Rep. Luis Arroyo looks like hell plead guilty to federal corruption charges, per the Chicago Sun-Times. Arroyo was infamously caught on a wire allegedly trying to bribe an informant saying, This is the jackpot. Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller is now the longest-serving attorney general in U.S. history, per the Des Moines Register (hard paywall). This Is Your Captain Speaking This is a total disgrace, but just another reason that Im going to win Michigan again! -Republican President Donald Trump in a retweet of a story from the Daily Caller, a conservative news website founded by now-Fox News host Tucker Carlson, critical of the state using emergency funds to deal with the Flint water crisis. Enjoying The Flyover? Be sure and subscribe here. Email Seth at SRichardson@cleveland.com. Follow him on Twitter at @SethARichardson. (Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said hes hopeful and optimistic the intergovernmental Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development will strike a deal on corporation tax, as his company battles the European Union over a tax bill. Speaking at an event in Dublin on Monday, Cook said the debate on taxing complex multinational companies needs to take place at a global level. The OECD is meeting with countries this year about a plan to overhaul the tax system and address concerns that these firms, particularly tech giants, arent paying taxes in the right amounts or to the right countries. Read more about the OECDs plans here. Everybody knows the system needs to be overhauled, Cook said, acknowledging it isnt perfect. While law cant be retrofit, Cook said he desperately wants taxes to be fair. Cooks comments came as the company battles the EU after the bloc imposed a tax bill of as much as 13 billion euros ($14.4 billion) plus interest on the company, claiming Ireland illegally gave it special treatment that lowered Apples liabilities. Apple, which has appealed the decision, is the largest taxpayer in the world and has followed all tax laws, Cook said. Ireland also said it did nothing wrong. Cook visited Dublin to receive an award from Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar for his companys contribution to the nations economy since it set up a base there in the 1980s. It employs more than 6,000 people in Cork. To contact the reporters on this story: Peter Flanagan in Dublin at pflanagan23@bloomberg.net;Dara Doyle in Dublin at ddoyle1@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ambereen Choudhury at achoudhury@bloomberg.net, Amy Thomson, Christopher Elser 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. KATHMANDU, Nepal - Special Nepalese army and government rescue personnel continued searching Monday for four South Korean trekkers and their three Nepali guides missing since since an avalanche swept across popular mountain trekking route . The avalanche hit part of the Mount Annapurna trekking route on Friday after heavy snowfall earlier in the week. All other trekkers who were in the area have been safely rescued and flown to safer areas, Department of Tourism official Mira Acharya said. South Koreas foreign ministry said the missing trekkers are two women in their 30s and 50s and two men in their 50s and are teachers who were staying in Nepal for volunteer work. In photos taken early last week, sunshine hit bare and grassy mountain slopes. Two days of snowfall followed, and by Friday, snow was neck-deep and several avalanches had occurred, a veteran mountain guide who was helicoptered out of the area said. We had crossed the area just three hours before the big avalanche hit the area, which has a few rest stops and lodges, Phurba Ongel Sherpa told The Associated Press on Monday. On the way back, he said he saw the area from the helicopter where the avalanche had hit and it was covered with snow. There is no way that anyone buried in that pile could have survived, he said. Sherpa has climbed the worlds highest and second-highest peaks, Mount Everest nine times and K2 once. He said communication was cut off because of the weather. His family had been worried after news of the avalanche because his team was also comprised of four South Korean trekkers and three Nepali guides. An Uzbek blogger who spent weeks in involuntary psychiatric care after extensively covering alleged corruption and abuse among politicians has fled the country. Nafosat Olloshukurova, known on Facebook as Shabnam Olloshukurova, told RFE/RL in a telephone interview on January 20 that she planned to ask for political asylum in an unnamed Western state. In September, Olloshukurova was put under administrative arrest in the western Khorezm region for alleged violations including petty hooliganism and participating in unauthorized assemblies. She had reportedly been documenting a march by a journalist and poet to petition the authorities to drop a case against him. Olloshukurova told RFE/RL that police tortured her and threatened to rape her with a bottle in an attempt to force her to testify that exiled opposition figures were behind the march. Days after she began serving her sentence, a court ordered that Olloshukurova be placed in a regional psychiatric center, where she was kept incommunicado for almost three months. Olloshukurova, who was released in late December, said she had to leave Uzbekistan after the local authorities threatened to register her at a psychiatric clinic as an unstable person. She expressed thanks to the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent; the head of the Ezgulik human rights group, Abdurakhman Tashanov; and lawyer Umid Davletov for their support. Olloshukurova's 3-year-old twin daughters are staying with the blogger's mother in Tashkent. The Committee to Protect Journalists said in October that the Uzbek authorities "should not resort to the use of totalitarian practices like forced confinement of journalists in a psychiatric ward." A heated meeting of a Sydney go-kart club led to a protracted defamation fight in the NSW District Court, after a club member accused the president of branding him "corrupt" and of "low moral character". The case, which turned on the precise words uttered at an "angry and rowdy" annual general meeting of the North Shore Kart Club, pointed to the difficulties in proving "the exact words spoken" by a person accused of defaming someone in speech rather than writing, District Court Judge Judith Gibson said. Martin Brien accused North Shore Kart Club president Hussein "Sam" Mrad of defaming him at the club's 2018 AGM in Sydney. Credit:Louie Douvis Club member Martin Brien accused president Hussein "Sam" Mrad of defaming him at the September 2018 AGM by allegedly suggesting Mr Brien "bribed" a named member with a tyre discount to obtain a signed proxy vote supporting Mr Mrad's rival for the position of club president. Mr Brien was not present in the Bankstown Sports Club meeting room at the time the words were allegedly spoken. A logger saws through a timber log in the tropical rain forest of Cameroon in Ndimako, East Region, on 18 April 2017. Much of the wood from this part of the country ends up in China. (Amindeh Blaise Atabong for The Epoch Times) Activists, Experts Concerned About Chinas Deforestation Activities in Africa YAOUNDE, CameroonExperts and activists are sounding alarms over the increasing deforestation pressure in Africa because of Chinese-funded projects on the continent. China has significantly increased its footprint in Africa in recent years. According to data by China Africa Research Initiative, commercial exchange between Africa and China has multiplied by at least eight times since the 2000s. According to Liu Kyong of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration of China, about 180 Chinese logging companies operate in Africa. ChinaAfrica cooperation and the trade that results from this will only increase, Liu said. Chinas huge appetite for logging products such as rosewood has made China a major destination for timber sourced from vulnerable areas, and in some cases even UNESCO World Heritage sites, such as the nations in the Congo Basin, including Cameroon. The International Institute for Environment and Development estimated that in 2017, 75 percent of African timber was shipped to China, and the trend is expected to keep rising with the growing demand in China. In many cases, the products destined for China are the result of illegal logging. The U.S.-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) states that China is the largest importer of illegal timber. Chinas preference for raw timber to feed its factories has created an unprecedented situation where long supply chains from South America, Africa, and Asia have emerged to funnel logs into the country for processing, the EIA stated in a report. Samuel Nguiffo, executive secretary of the Cameroon-based Center for Environment and Development, says Chinas environmental footprint in Cameroon is increasing because of the African countrys heavy dependence on Chinese funding. According to Nguiffo, the large volumes of Chinese investment in Cameroon, including in mining projects in the eastern regions of the country, have created the conditions for forested areas to be exploited by Chinese companies. As reported previously by The Epoch Times, since 2011, Sud-Cameroun Hevea (Sudcam), a company controlled by a Chinese state-owned conglomerate operating in Cameroon, has replaced almost 25,000 acresequivalent to the size of Parisof dense tropical rainforest with a monoculture rubber plantation. Sudcams expansion project has approached the Dja Faunal Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and has displaced locals from their land and resources. According to Cameroon-based research consultant Samuel Assembe-Mvondo, Chinese in the economic capital of the country, Douala, engage in illicit financial flow to facilitate their illegal timber businesses. He says the companies violate local trade laws with impunity while local officials, who dont want to upset the Chinese, look away. Assembe-Mvondo, who has investigated the matter, said financial transactions in the trade are achieved by traders shipping logging products to China, and then the receiving party in China paying for the products by sending back consumer goods such as clothes and electronics to Cameroon. China is now effectively exporting deforestation around the world, said Faith Doherty, head of EIAs Forests Campaign, in a statement. In the report, EIA researchers say that Chinas state-owned companies play a strategic role in getting forest resources to China, accounting for about half of the logging products that are shipped from different parts of the world to China. 45 percent of all logs from Papua New Guinea were shipped to [Chinese] state enterprises and 44 percent from Mozambique, the 2012 report stated. Under the Phase 1 trade deal with China signed on Wednesday, China agree to import $32 billion more U.S. agricultural products over the next two years. Craig Turner is a Senior Ag Broker at Daniels Trading, author of Turners Take newsletter, and the host of Turners Take podcast. He develops strategies for farmers and others in the agriculture industry. He says many people are glad to see that things are returning to normal, he told NTD on Thursday. Im actually at a farmers conference right now in Kansas City. Everyones very excited that this trade deal gets done. I think its relief. I think its just nice to see things getting back to normal. Turner said. Turner says now farmers and others in the agriculture industry can better manage their expectation of the market supply-and-demand and product prices. When the trade war was going on, there were farmers worrying about, if they couldnt sell it, and the prices are down in the dumps, they might be worried about going out of business. And I think that worry is now taken off the table. During most of the last decade, U.S. agricultural exports to China have been between $20 to $30 billion annually. It dropped to less than $10 billion in 2018 because of the trade war. Under the terms of the trade deal, China will buy an extra $32 billion worth of U.S. agricultural products over the next two years. Some doubt that the number is realistic. Turner seems to think its achievable: Its not a huge stretch; I dont think so. You know when you consider the money and the tariffs and everything thats involved, you know. Another five or $10 billion in Ag products in the big picture of the trade between us and China is not a big deal. Another problem is, because of the trade war, China has shifted its purchases to Brazil and Argentina. Senate Minority Leader Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said: It appears the Trump administration has not addressed the fact that China has existing contracts with countries like Brazil and Argentina. They dont need any more of our products, certainly not the amount thats been talked about. Turner though is still optimistic: The thing is, with grain markets, the way it works isyou can have a contract with Brazil and Argentina, and the Chinese have a contract with us, they still do sales, or cancel or switch origin all the time. He added that China would want the tariffs to come down before a phase 2 deal. But President Trump said on Wednesday, the tariffs will be lifted after the phase 2 deal. Kim Kardashian West speaks onstage of "The Justice Project" during the 2020 Winter TCA Tour Day 12 at The Langham Huntington, Pasadena on January 18, 2020 in Pasadena, California. (Photo | Getty Images/AFP) Washington DC: American media personality Kim Kardashian West, who always wanted to become a lawyer, on Monday shared the trailer of her upcoming documentary 'The Justice Project'. Kim broke the news on her social media accounts that her upcoming documentary will be out on April 5 on Oxygen. The 'Keeping up with the Kardashian' star wrote on Twitter and Instagram, "The official trailer for my new documentary is here! Criminal justice reform is something that's so important to me, and I can't wait to share these stories with all of you. #KKWTheJusticeProject premieres Sunday, April 5 at 7/6c on @Oxygen." The popular Instagram star who says she is interested in criminal justice reform is seen profoundly shaken by prison inmates telling stories of being behind bars in the trailer and even spoke with their family and friends. The two-hour-long documentary features four cases, including one victim of sex trafficking and a woman who murdered a family member for molesting her. All the four believed that they received unfair sentences and two of them end up being released, as per Billboard. Ansaru, a militant group, has claimed responsibility for the attack on the convoy of Umaru Bubaram, Emir of Potiskum in Yobe state. Bulama Bukarti, an analyst and human rights lawyer who shared the development on Twitter, raised concerns that the attack might be a signal of the comeback of Ansaru, which was established in 2012. One of the groups last known attacks was in February 2013 when seven foreign nationals were kidnapped from a compound owned by the Lebanese construction company Setraco in Kano. The attack on the emir occurred along the Kaduna-Zaria highway on Wednesday and at least six lives were lost. The emir was on his way to Zaria, Kaduna, on a tour of some traditional institutions in the north as part of preparations for the official inauguration of the Potiskum Central Mosque, Yobe slated for Saturday. When he returned to his kingdom after the attack, the Emir said he slept in the bush overnight after the gunmen shot sporadically for two hours. He said the scene was like a battlefield. We were just about thirty seconds from our discussion then the sound of gunshots erupted. The gunshots were unbelievable. It was just like a war field, the emir told reporters at his palace. Instantly, I saw my pilot driver swerved and then hit a standing vehicle. I suspected the shooting affected him and the police people around him. As the shooting was going on, we decided to abandon our vehicles and take to safety. God in His infinite mercy led me to escape the danger zone. The gunshots continued for almost two hours. I continued trekking into the bush until when the sound of the guns was a bit far off from me. That is how I found myself, its God mercy that helped me to escape danger zone. Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits a village of the Wa ethnic group to extend his Chinese New Year's greetings to the villagers in Qingshui Township of the city of Tengchong, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Jan. 19, 2020. Xi visited Yunnan Province Sunday on an inspection tour ahead of Chinese New Year. (Xinhua/Ju Peng) KUNMING, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, visited southwest China's Yunnan Province Sunday on an inspection tour ahead of Chinese New Year. Xi went to a village of the Wa ethnic group in Qingshui Township of the city of Tengchong Sunday afternoon to learn about poverty alleviation efforts and extend his Chinese New Year's greetings to the villagers. He also visited the old town of Heshun, a gateway on the ancient Southern Silk Road that linked China's Sichuan and Yunnan with Myanmar and India, to learn about exchanges, historical and cultural inheritance, as well as ecological and environmental protection along the trade route. PRAYAGRAJ : Residing in a modest house in village Sarai Rajai of Kohdaur area of Pratapgarh district, around 15km north of Pratapgarh city, 62-year-old Radha Bai spends her free time glued to the television sets or scanning newspapers these days. Mother of four daughters and a son, Radha Bai has lived most of her life as a refugee in India, residing on the basis of a long-term visa that is renewed from time to time. Her husband Parasnath Pal and son do odd jobs like driving a rented taxi etc to make a living in Mumbai while the four daughters are all married to Indian citizens and reside in Mumbai with their families. The Citizenship Amendment Act is invaluable for someone like me. Having come to India as a child, I have lived all my life as a refugee. Even 36 years after marriage, I and all my children are yet to get Indian citizenship. The CAA has come as a new lease of life for us and I am happy, said Radha. She shared that she had applied for extension of her visa on October 11, 2019 but was yet to get the extension. I am a refugee and so please do not refer to me as illegal immigrant. My status is known to the government, she said. Amidst the hullabaloo over the CAA across the country, the sub divisional magistrate, Patti, visited her. I was scared at first. However, the officer explained that he was just here to collect my details in light of the CAA. I was relieved and am looking forward to finally and legally becoming an Indian, she said with a smile. Radha Bai said her grandfather Bhagauti Prasad, grandmother Devi Rani, father Hariram and mother Ramraji came to India in 1947 but were caught in Kanpur and sent back. My grandfather died in Pakistan. Then on January 14, 1979 my father and mother along with me and my two sisters Ishwari and Lakshmi came to India on a valid visa and settled in Pure Keshav Rai village in Pratapgarh and never returned to Karachi. Subsequently, all of us were married here, she added. Radha Bais marriage with Parasnath Pal was solemnised in 1984 and she has five kids, including four daughters and a sonall of whom are now married. I have told the SDM who visited me that I have already applied for Indian citizenship. Hopefully this Act will now allow me to become an Indian citizen. I have lived in fear for decades as I thought I may be deported to Pakistan as an illegal immigrant anytime my visa extension application got rejected. But now this veil of fear has been lifted, she said. I met Radha Bai who is residing in Sarai Rajai as a Pakistani refugee for many years now. She seemed pretty happy with the CAA. All support would be extended to her by the administration in applying for Indian citizenship as per the new law, said DP Singh, SDM, Patti. Gauri Singh is yet another refugee in Pratapgarh, who is waiting to be an Indian citizen. Hailing from Bangladesh, her birth name was Gauri Chatterjee. She now lives around 15 km from the district headquarters in Lakshamiganj Bazaar area of Jethwara. I belonged to Chittagong in Bangladesh. In 1970, I was attending a coaching class as an 18-year-old when a terrorist attack took place. I survived, but my hand was fractured. I somehow reached Kolkata with few others and here a Good Samaritan Sant Bahadur Singh offered me shelter and food, said 68-year-old Gauri who was reluctant to share details of her life. On Singhs suggestion, she came to Pratapgarh and in 1971 married Ram Bahadur Singh of Jamua Mandhata in Pratapgarh itself. I never heard from my father Rajesh Chatterjee and do not know his fate. I never ever returned to Bangladesh. I have heard of the CAA and am hopeful of finally being recognised as an Indian citizen after almost 50 years of staying in India and living in fear of being thrown out of the country anytime, she added. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A 40-year-old has been charged with the murder of a man in Co Armagh. Nathan Gibson, 25, was found fatally injured on a lakeside towpath in Craigavon on Thursday night. Sandia National Laboratories is setting up a collaborative facility to help researchers worldwide study low-temperature plasmas, the most pervasive state of matter in the universe. The five-year, $5.5 million project, called the Sandia Low Temperature Plasma Research Facility, is sponsored by the Department of Energys Office of Science. Participants will be selected biannually by Sandia and the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, where a similar collaborative facility is being established by the DOE. Low-temperature plasma a state of matter along with solids, liquids and gases consists of gaseous mixtures of ions and electrons that interact with background neutral atoms or molecules to make them reactive. It also generates energetic photons. This relentless activity means theres no shortage of plasmas to study. They can decontaminate surfaces, decompose materials and strengthen a wide range of catalysis-aided industrial reactions. Medically, they offer new tools to cut and heal tissues. Plasma makes metal arc welding possible and lights up plasma lamps. But thats small scale. Consider that the ionosphere wrapping the earth is a plasma that carries large electric currents in the polar regions. And low-pressure, collisionless plasmas that generate little heat are of interest to astrophysicists studying the plasmas hanging out between stars. In my view, a collaborative plasma research facility is different from a center for research, said Sandia facility leader Ed Barnat, an internationally recognized expert in diagnosing conditions associated with low-temperature plasmas. While a center can be a team of people focused on a specific subset of plasma science, a collaborative research facility is more customer-oriented: We help the visiting scientists set up their systems in our laboratories and utilize our capabilities to help answer their questions. Other Sandia researchers supporting the collaborative facility are Matt Hopkins, a computational modeling and simulation expert for plasma physics; Ben Yee, an experimentalist and a modeling and simulation scientist; and three researchers at Sandias Combustion Research Facility in California, Jonathan Frank, Chris Kliewer and Nils Hansen, who all have extensive experience developing and applying laser diagnostics and mass spectrometry to explain the physics and chemistry occurring in reacting plasma flows. Tools available to visiting scientists to analyze plasma behavior include nanosecond (a billionth of a second), picosecond (a trillionth of a second) and femtosecond (one millionth of one billionth of a second) laser systems, picosecond-shuttered cameras, massively parallel computers to simulate the range from vacuum to atmospheric-pressure plasma, a wide variety of spectrometers and the equipment needed to build or incorporate a broad range of plasma sources and operating conditions. Sandia researchers expect to engage with scientific collaborators to design, set up and execute proof-of-principle studies to enable participants to further their research objectives and analyze data generated during the collaboration. For the past decade Barnat has received funding from DOE to operate a prototype collaborative plasma research facility, said Sandia manager Shane Sickafoose. This experience made Eds expertise, along with Sandias one-of-a-kind diagnostic tools, available to the larger community, said Sickafoose. His team has provided critical insights regarding characteristics of electrical breakdown and plasmas. We have images resolved in picoseconds trillionths of a second that detect and display electrical fields prior to and during electrical discharge events. Theranexus is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that emerged from the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) in 2013. It develops drug candidates for the treatment of nervous system diseases. Theranexus identified the key role played by non-neuronal cells (also known as "glial cells") in the body's response to psychotropic drugs (which target the neurons). The company is a pioneer in the design and development of drug candidates affecting the interaction between neurons and glial cells. The unique, patented technology used by Theranexus is designed to improve the efficacy of psychotropic drugs already approved and on the market, by combining them with a glial cell modulator. This strategy of combining its innovations with registered drugs means Theranexus can significantly reduce development time and costs and considerably increase the chance of its drugs reaching the market. 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. Blue Monday may leave us 'primed' to feel down. [Photo: Getty] Today is Blue Monday, the most depressing day of the year. The third Monday of January typically brings chilly weather, mounting debts and failed New Years resolutions. Rumour has it the concept was thought up by a PR company, and many experts dismiss the idea that one day of the year can affect our mood more than any other. READ MORE: The pursuit of happiness may cause depression There is no science behind the idea of Blue Monday and it is entirely normal to feel a bit down about getting back to work after the Christmas break, Dr Meg Arroll, chartered psychologist at Healthspan, told Yahoo UK. And yet the idea may have become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Because we talk about this being the most depressing day of the year, it might in fact be were primed to feel rotten on this date, Dr Arroll said. Our expectations are key in our lived experience, so if you expect to feel terrible on Blue Monday you most probably will. Blue Monday aside, many suffer from a low mood at the start of the year. January in general includes a set of elements that may lead us to feeling down bad weather, the tensions and anti-climax of Christmas and New Year, getting back to work, reflecting on unmet resolutions, debt, Dr Arroll said. How to feel brighter this Blue Monday Depression is a recognised medical condition, with multiple treatments available. For those just feeling down in the dumps, simple tweaks can make things seem a little brighter. By switching our mindset to a positive position we can even experience the weather as beneficial, Dr Arroll said. For example, freezing on your train platform in the dark mornings is burning off some of those indulgent Christmas pounds. Or use the bad weather as an excuse to have some self-care time to yourself. READ MORE: Adding 35 minutes to your workout 'slashes the risk of depression' Rather than letting the January blues drag you down, focus on the positives. You can use a gratitude diary or simply think of three things youre grateful for every day, Dr Arroll said. Story continues These neednt be life-changing events, just a particularly nice cup of coffee. While dark evenings may leave you tempted to huddle inside, try to stick to your normal routine. It is important to push yourself to be proactive, plan your days and maintain a structure at this time, Dr Paul McLaren, medical director at Priory Hayes Grove, told Yahoo UK. Looking after your health in general may also improve your mood. As easy as it can be to reach for an unhealthy meal or snack, these foods can leave you tired and lethargic, Dr McLaren said. If you overeat on unhealthy foods when you are low, this may give you a momentary feeling of pleasure, but will only be fleeting and likely leave you feeling guilty afterwards. Take care of yourself by eating meals rich in folic acid, such as avocado and spinach, as well as those high in omega-3 acids, like salmon and tuna. Avocado and spinach are rich in folic acid. [Photo: Kim Kim Foster-Tobin/The State/Tribune News Service via Getty Images] While the gloomy weather makes the indoors particularly appealing, exercising outside can be a mood boost. Exercise releases endorphins, feel-good chemicals, which can help you feel calmer and happier, Dr McLaren said. Whats more, exercising outdoors in natural light can give you an additional boost of endorphins and help you get a good nights sleep. You could go for a walk at lunchtime, get off your bus a few stops earlier or play your favourite sport with your friends. READ MORE: Pollution linked to higher rates of depression and suicide Acknowledging feelings of sadness could also help combat the issue. Listen to your emotions, Dr McLaren said. Rather than ignoring how you feel, make a problem list where you write down all the things causing you to feel low and tackle them one at a time. For each problem, write down a solution and outline the benefit of working through the issue to give you the motivation to do so. When life seems tough, remember a problem shared can be a problem halved. Make time to speak someone youre close to, whether it is a partner, friend, family member or colleague, Dr McLaren said. While its normal to feel down every now and again, persistent unhappiness can be a sign of depression, according to the NHS. If you are in a depressive illness, every day can feel bleak, dark and hopelessness, Dr McLaren said. See your GP if you are concerned your low mood is serious. The NHS has more information. ABCs all-female daytime talk show The View has certainly had a revolving door of co-hosts for several years. But no spot seems to be more contentious and controversial than the one or two positions for a conservative View host each season. Outspoken Republican co-host Meghan McCain, who joined the show in 2017, has repeatedly suggested that the conservative co-host position is often a nerve-wracking one. Most recently, journalist Abby Huntsman announced she was leaving The View after two seasons to serve on her father Jon Huntsman Jr.s Utah gubernatorial campaign staff in 2020. While Huntsman insists theres no bad blood with McCain or any other co-hosts and says the job was a dream, its clear the show can be a pressure cooker environment for many. But is McCain right about how hard it is to stay on the show as a conservative co-host? Heres the complete list of every right-leaning co-host on The View so far, as well as their tenure on the show and their reasons for leaving. Abby Huntsman | Roy Rochlin/Getty Images Elisabeth Hasselbeck Elisabeth Hasselbeck joined The View as the shows most conservative co-host thus far in 2003, replacing Lisa Ling. The former Survivor contestant was a devout Catholic and frequently sparred with co-hosts Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Barbara Walters, and Rosie ODonnell in particular. Hasselbeck got into two especially memorable fights on The View during her decade on the show. She threatened to quit the show in 2006, angry that Walters had reprimanded her on air during an argument about the ethics of the morning-after pill. In another, she and Rosie ODonnell famously fought (with a split-screen setup, no less) about the War in Iraq. The bad blood between the co-hosts was so extreme that it ultimately led to ODonnells departure from the show. Hasselbeck claimed later in her book that she was asked to leave the show in 2013, allegedly due to her strong political beliefs. I was bent over shock, asthma and betrayal all stealing my wind, she wrote of the firing. Candace Cameron Bure Candace Cameron Bure, who first shot to fame in her role as D.J. Tanner on Full House, joined The View from 2015-2016 (Seasons 19 and 20) as another conservative co-host. Bures devout evangelical Christian beliefs often influenced her opinions on the show. However, she didnt always appear comfortable with confrontations and didnt seem to want to get into it with other co-hosts. Bure announced in Dec. 2016 that she would be leaving The View to ease the burden on her family, as her appearances on the show had forced her to adopt a bicoastal lifestyle. She also wanted to focus more on her role in Netflixs Fuller House and her many Hallmark Channel projects. In an interview on The Wendy Williams Show after her departure, Bure said she was happy to be discussing lighter topics. I dont miss The View at all, Bure said. I love being on talk shows, I love hosting talk shows, but that was a hard job every single day, talking politics. Paula Faris Paula Faris, a journalist and Good Morning America weekend correspondent at the time, joined The View as a co-host at the same time as Bure in 2015. Like Bure, Faris was a Christian conservative voice on the show. She frequently spoke about her faith as a co-host, but unlike Hasselbeck, she didnt get into many heated political debates. Faris left The View in Jul. 2018 to begin a podcast all about her Christian faith, as well as to move on to a senior correspondent role at ABC News. Her main reason for leaving, however, was her family. Faris told People at the time, What kicked it off is that I had a really tough miscarriage. I feel like it was in that moment that really repositioned my priority compass and our familys priority compass. I realized that my kids need me in the stands and on the sidelines, my husband and I need that time to reconnect. Jedediah Bila Jedediah Bila was a bit of a wild card in the politics department, identifying as a right-leaning libertarian. The former Fox News commentator, who wrote about her conservative politics in her 2011 book Outnumbered: Chronicles of a Manhattan Conservative, joined The View as a co-host in 2016, starting in Season 20. As an independent, Bila often sparred with her more liberal co-hosts, but she wasnt as driven by religious beliefs or set Republican values as some of her fellow conservative View hosts. Bila shocked viewers when she abruptly announced in 2017 that she would be leaving the show immediately. The co-host gave a friendly goodbye, saying warmly during her announcement, What you dont know about us, these ladies, were friends. Sunnys texts, Sara, Whoopi, youre my inspiration. Joy, when I need comedic relief, this is where I go. Still, rumors spread that Bila was actually fired due to her less-popular libertarian beliefs, while others believed she was fired for criticizing Hillary Clinton during her guest appearance on The View. Meghan McCain McCain, a political commentator for Fox and other networks as well as the daughter of the late Sen. John McCain of Arizona, joined The View in 2017. The staunchly conservative co-host has repeatedly stated that shes hoping to provide the kind of outspoken Republican voice on the show that Hasselbeck embodied. McCain quickly became known for getting into heated political debates with her co-hosts, from a recent argument with Goldberg (who told her on air, Girl, stop talking) to numerous strong exchanges with Behar. As of 2020, though, McCain is still a co-host on the show, and she has repeatedly denied rumors of bad blood between her co-hosts and herself. Abby Huntsman Huntsman, who formerly worked for MSNBCs The Cycle and as an assignment reporter for Fox & Friends Weekend, joined The View for Season 22 in 2018. After two seasons as a co-host, Huntsman announced she would be leaving to work on her fathers upcoming campaign in Utah as a senior advisor. The journalists last day on the show was in Jan. 2020. Although rumors abounded that Huntsman was pushed out because of troubles with co-host McCain, she vehemently denied that her exist was anything other than her choice. In a response to the rumors on the show, Huntsman declared on her last day at The View, People go nuts with rumors on this show and this week has been no exception, but I just want to be as clear as I possibly can. This has been a dream come true. This has been an incredible job. And I do love everyone at this table. New Delhi, Jan 20 : The anti-CAA protests have inspired Kashmiri Hindus, who are victims of Islamic extremism, to demand their rights on their homeland in the Kashmir valley. For the first time in 30 years, members of the global Kashmiri Hindu community, known as Kashmiri Pandits, rose as one on January 19, to remind the world of the atrocities they have suffered. Sunday saw Kashmiri Pandits, and their sympathisers, gather in large numbers at several places in different countries, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of their 'Exodus Day'. It was on this day in 1990 that Kashmiri Hindus, better known as Kashmiri Pandits, fled the valley overnight to escape the threats from Islamic extremists. The Kashmiri Pandit Global Kashmiri Pandit Diaspora (GKPD), along with its alliance partner associations, organized seminars, rallies, symposiums, and prayers in India, USA, UK, Germany, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. In US, Indian Americans for Kashmir (IAKF) and GKPD joined hands to organise an event to recognize the resilience and noble spirit of the survivors of genocide. Self-confessed India-lover and founder of Voice for India, Renee Lynn, expressed happiness over the passing of Citizenship Amendment Act by the Modi government. Noted film actor Anupam Kher also spoke to the gathering and provided a detailed account of the horror that Kashmiri pandit community had to face because of their faith. In Australia collective prayers were held to commemorate the genocide and ethnic cleansing. Events were organised at Brisbane, Perth and Sydney by KAshmiri Pandit organisations such as the Kashmiri Pandits Australia (KPA) and KPCSWA. In New Zealand, a seminar was organised by the local Kashmiri Pandit to commemorate 30 years of exile along with discussions on the way forward. Political analysts Major Gaurav Vaidya and Pushpendra Kulshreshta participated in the proceedings via Skype. In Canada a symposium was held in Toronto on 'Global terrorism and its impact on social, cultural and economic wellbeing of minorities' focusing on the return of indigenous Kashmiris to the land of their ancestors and restoration of their political rights. The event was organized by Indo Canadian Kashmir Forum (ICKF) and the speaker panelists were Rajiv Malhotra, Tahir Aslam Gora, Tom Quiggin, Vidhya Bushan Dhar. In India, at Jagati, the largest refugee camp, Jammu Helpline Humanity, in collaboration with GKPD, organized a symposium and painting competition the topic of which was 'Ethnic cleansing and the way forward'. A protest demonstration was organized in front of Raj Bhawan by all state Kashmir Pandit conference. In Delhi a silent sit-in was organized jointly by Jammu Kashmir Vichaar Manch (JKVM), Roots in Kashmir (RIK), Panun Kashmir (PK) and Kashmiri Samiti Delhi (KSD). In Mumbai, Kashmiri Pandits Association, Mumbai organized a seminar 'No more exodus' where eminent speakers such as Padamshree recipient, Dr. Kashi Nath Pandita, and Dr Rattan Sharda, a columnist and author, addressed a strong community gathering in Mumbai. In Jaipur, the Kashmiri Pandit Association of Jaipur organized a candle march. Coming in the backdrop of the anti-CAA protests which call for protection of minorities, the resolve of the Hindu minority in Kashmir is to raise their voice echoed strongly on their 'Exodus Day'. Boris Johnson today tried out kinetic energy technology which converts footsteps into electricity as he announced a UK government ban on investment in overseas coal mining and power plants. The Prime Minister said 'not another penny of UK taxpayers' money will be directly invested in digging up coal or burning it for electricity' as he set out proposals to shake up Britain's aid budget. The PM made the pledge in an address at the UK Africa Investment Summit in central London and he underlined his commitment to cleaner energy by then having a go at generating power by jumping up and down on a set of smart tiles. He was shown how the technology, developed by a company called Pavegen, works before suggesting that something similar had once been floated by Transport for London. Mr Johnson had earlier used his speech to set out his belief that the UK's post-Brexit immigration system would enable closer links between Britain and Africa because border control will change to put 'people before passports'. Boris Johnson spent time at the UK Africa Investment Summit today. He is pictured visiting a company which converts footsteps into energy Mr Johnson appeared to be in good spirits as he had a go on the smart flooring system The footsteps technology was located in the innovation zone at the summit which is designed to boost Africa UK relations Mr Johnson said the UK government will no longer provide any direct support for thermal coal mining or coal power plants overseas. He argued it would make no sense for such investment to continue given the efforts the UK has made to clean up its own energy production. He said: 'There is no point in the UK reducing the amount of coal we burn if we then trundle over to Africa and line our pockets by encouraging African states to use more of it. 'We all breathe the same air, we live beneath the same sky, we all suffer when carbon emissions rise and the planet warms. 'So from today the British government will no longer provide any new direct official development assistance... for thermal coal mining or coal power plants overseas. 'To put it simply not another penny of UK taxpayers' money will be directly invested in digging up coal or burning it for electricity.' Mr Johnson sought to use the summit as an opportunity to enhance business links between Britain and Africa after Brexit. He said the UK has 'no divine right to that business' but urged African leaders to listen to 'what we have to offer'. Mr Johnson had earlier used a speech at the summit to announce a ban on UK government investment in overseas coal mining The Prime Minister met Prince Harry on the the margins of the summit in London after delivering his address this morning He said the UK is the 'ultimate one stop shop for the ambitious, growing international economy' before telling the summit his new Australian-style points-based immigration system would help improve relations. 'One thing is changing: Our immigration system,' he said. 'I know that it is an issue which people have raised with me in the past but change is coming and our system is becoming fairer and more equal as between all our global friends and partners, treating people the same wherever they come from. 'By putting people before passports we will be able to attract the best talent from around the world wherever they may be.' Chinese authorities have reported 139 new cases of a mysterious virus in two days, marking the first time that the infection has been confirmed in the country outside of Wuhan city. The new cases were identified in the cities of Wuhan, Beijing and Shenzhen. The total number of confirmed cases now exceeds 200, and three have died from the respiratory illness. The World Health Organization (WHO) said the number of cases rose because of increased searching and testing. The new coronavirus strain first appeared in Wuhan in December and has already spread abroad, with two cases in Thailand and one in Japan. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates The number of newborns in the country decreased to 286,700 babies. The population of Ukraine in January-November 2019 declined by 230,500 people year-over-year, to 41.922 million people as of December 1. In January-November 2019, some 286,700 babies were born, while their number was 312,600 in January-November 2018, the State Statistics Service of Ukraine reported. Read alsoStatistics: Ukraine sees its population shrinking, to 41.98 mln by Sept 1 A natural decrease in the population in the 11 months last year was estimated at 533,700 people, while it was 535,100 people in the same period of 2018. However, the number of people who came to Ukraine exceeded the number of people who left the country by 16,456 people. In January-November 2018, this indicator was 13,677 people. In addition, there is a significant excess of the number of deaths over the number of newborns: 100 vs. 54. The report includes data from all regions of Ukraine, except for the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. Information on natural population changes and migration was generated without taking into account the temporarily occupied territories in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. As UNIAN reported earlier, a trial population census was launched in Ukraine on December 1, 2019, which is a preparatory stage for the 2020 nationwide population census. According to the State Statistics Service, the number of Ukrainians in 2018 decreased by more than 200,000 people. " Being a perfectionist" used to be the answer you saved for that awkward job interview question: whats your biggest weakness? Because, obviously, you couldn't possibly think of anything worse about your work ethic than striving to be perfect, right? Yet there is a dark side to perfectionism, and research suggests it's on the rise among young people. A 2018 study from the University of Bath found that younger generations reported substantially higher levels of perfectionism, or having exceptionally high standards and being overly self-critical, compared to previous generations at the same time in their lives. Using data taken from 40,000 North American and British university students, found that the extent to which young people place an irrational importance on "being perfect" had increased, as had the extent to which they felt others judge them harshly and that they must display perfection to secure approval. Growing competition for university places and jobs and increasingly demanding parents may be to blame, they concluded. Throw into the mix the exponential rise of social media, where perfectionism is idealised behind filters, and you've potentially got a recipe for disaster. The World Economic Forum describes perfectionism as a "hidden epidemic" and notes a substantial body of evidence linking it to serious mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety and eating disorders. "To me perfectionism is the belief that you're not good enough for some reason, so you then dedicate your entire life to proving that you are," says Chris Ward, who has just published a book about his own pursuit for perfectionism, Less Perfect More Happy. Clinical psychologist Ellen Hendriksen and author of How To Be Yourself: Quiet Your Inner Critic and Rise Above Social Anxiety, adds: "Perfectionism isnt necessarily about the pursuit of being perfect, while the name implies you're trying to achieve something, really it's about trying to avoid failure. It's an internal push to do more and always be better, but ultimately it can cost us more than it buys us." Of course there is nothing wrong with simply wanting to do well, having drive and high standards for yourself and others, so when does this become a problem? Ward says it's to do with the why you're pursuing something: "Theres a difference between doing something as well as you can and making something perfect. If you enjoy the journey of doing something or you do it because the rewards are going to be great, say a pay rise or medal, that's great. But if youre doing it because you're obsessed about proving you're good enough thats what perfectionism is. There's a distinct difference." It's when the balance starts to tip, Hendriksen offers: "For example, when a healthy appetite for exercising regularly becomes something compulsive and wholly unhealthy." This is when imposter syndrome comes in too. "If there was a venn diagram between imposter syndrome and perfectionism the overlap would be self-criticism," she says. "The feeling that I'm not good enough, I'm going to be revealed, theyll find out I dont belong here and think I'm stupid, incompetent or unqualified. "[It's] often part of the same thing because its just you being scared to be found out that you're not perfect." What are the tell-tale signs you're a perfectionist? One common trait of perfectionism is procrastination, but not for the reasons you might think. "Perfectionists procrastinate better, longer and harder than anyone else," Ward writes in his book. "As their projects need to be perfect, and as perfection is impossible to achieve, they can come up with any excuse to delay making the decisions as to whether to commit to one and start yet another long, endless round of workaholism." Meanwhile, Hendriksen says: "Often they fear that they're not going to be able to perform to the level that others might expect or that the end result won't be good enough, so it's not actually the avoidance of a task its avoidance of negative emotions associated with a task. If starting something makes someone feel incompetent, anxious or inadequate of course they're going to avoid it." Other elements of perfectionism can be seen in the way they make decisions, she adds. There are two extremes. Those who make snappy decisions and believe that they are absolutely making the "correct" or "right" decision and others who are so worried about making the wrong decision that they spend a disproportionate amount of time agonising over it, researching, making pros and cons lists and discussing it with to people for reassurance. "Thats the hallmark of perfectionism," she says, "because even if the end result is excellent, the process to get there is torture." Not being able to delegate is also a typical trait. "Again this is the idea that it costs you more than it buys you. If you're not able to get all your work done because you cant distribute work to direct reports or are slowing down projects because you're stuck in the trees and losing sight of the forest or things are on hold because youre agonising over a tiny detail, then it becomes a problem and it boils down to a lack of trust," she explains. Less Perfect More Happy by Chris Ward Being a perfectionist can not only hold you back in tasks at work, but it can also have a detrimental impact on your relationships at home, according to Ward, who observed himself being argumentative, demanding, controlling and righteous both as a parent and partner. And this may even prompt a vicious cycle, as Ward believes perfectionism runs in families both his parents were perfectionists though there's a lack of evidence about whether it's genetic or simply a result of nurture. Hendriksen agrees perfectionists often have having highly critical parents or parents who "hothouse" (have very high standards and push their children to perform very early on) which can result in their kids perceiving that love is contingent on them doing well at school. How can you be less of a perfectionist? Have more self-compassion. "As a recovering perfectionist thats the hardest change because that internal cattle prod is such a habit. But being kinder to yourself is really the key because self-criticism is what changes high standards into perfectionism," says Hendriksen. Spend time figuring out why you don't feel good enough. "It could be a combination of a few things, not getting the grades you wanted or even the rejection of asking someone out when you were a teenager," Ward says. In his own case, he says his perfectionism stems from feeling useless at school and craving attention and validation from his father. Practice striving for excellence for the sake of excellence. Don't work extra hard just to compensate for a or fill a deficit, says Hendriksen. "For example, work out regularly because you want to be healthy not because you feel like your body isnt good enough." (JNS)For many in the Middle East, Gen. Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force, the Islamic Republics elite extraterritorial black-ops arm, embodied Irans desires, aspirations and directives with respect to the countrys operations worldwide. He was also the man who controlled the purse strings with respect to funding the weapons that have so often ignited the region. For Irans friends and foes alike, Soleimani was second only to Supreme Leader Ali Khameneian ailing, elderly man who sits in an ivory tower in Tehran, detached from the harsh regional reality on the ground. Little wonder then that Irans regional alliesHezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Syrian President Bashar Assad and the leaders of the pro-Iranian militias in Iraq and Yemenhave been left feeling orphaned by the U.S. drone strike that killed him in Iraq on Friday morning. Presidents, defense ministers, chiefs of staff and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders have come and gone in Tehran over the past few decades, and no one remembers their names. But since Soleimani was named head of the Quds Force in 1997, he has steadily and resolutely consolidated his position within the regime, and more importantly, Irans grip on the Middle East. Soleimani was the driving force behind the Russian-Iranian move to prop up Assads regime in Syria during the eight-year civil war that threatened to unseat him, and also behind Tehrans decision to transform the Houthis, a mostly moderate Shiite faction, into a powerful, radicalized Iranian proxy in Yemen, with the power the threaten both Saudi Arabia and Israel. Soleimanis assassination in Iraq came as he worked to complete the Iranian takeover of that country, in an attempt to push the United States out using terrorism and violence. But even before that, Soleimani was the mastermind that came up with the concept of placing an Iranian proxy in Lebanon. Once Hezbollah was formed, the head of the Quds Force was instrumental in making it into the formidable military force it is today, possessing an arsenal of more than 150,000 missiles. Every move, large and small, taken by Irans proxies in the region needed Soleimanis approval, and he was also the creative mind behind many of them. His death is bound to have a paralyzing effectif only a temporary oneon these proxies, whose leaders now look to the sky, fearing they might meet a similar end. Iran and its allies are not interested in an all-out war from which they can only emerge with nothing, so they are likely to try not to cross red lines when exacting their revenge, lest they drag the entire region into war. Soleimani was masterful strategist and tactician alike, and Tehran will struggle to find someone as skilled, as daring and as charismatic to take his place. To say that his replacement, his deputy Gen. Esmail Ghaani, has big shoes to fill is a serious understatement. In the short term, the Iranian public will rally around the ayatollahs regime over the apparent American affront to the countrys honor. But in the long run, the debate in Tehran over whether investing billions of dollars in subversion and terrorism in the region is really serving Iranian interests is likely to resume. Eyal Zisser is a lecturer in the Middle East History Department at Tel Aviv University. This article first appeared in Israel Hayom. January 8, 2020 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada The Honourable Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today announced that he will welcome Dominic Raab, the United Kingdoms Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State, to Montreal, Quebec, on January 9, 2020. During the visit, the ministers will discuss a range of issues, including the tragic crash of Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752, in which both Canadian and British citizens were killed, and recent developments in Iraq. The Income Tax Department has conducted raids at locations linked to Bharat Hotels Managing Director Jyotsna Suri and her associates in an alleged case of tax evasion. Bharat Hotels owns the luxury hotel chain The LaLit. News Agency ANI quoted an I-T official saying that at least eight premises involving Suri were searched, including those of Suri's close associate Jayant Nanda. Suri, who's also founder president of FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries), had taken over as Bharat Hotels MD after the death of her husband, Lalit Suri, in 2006. Headquartered in New Delhi, the company opened its first hotel here in 1988. It offers twelve luxury hotels, places and resorts and two mid market segment hotels under The LaLiT Traveller brand. Vishwa Hindu Parishad president Vishnu Sadashiv Kokje on Monday termed the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act as a folly and claimed those objecting to the law had not even read it. Kokje, a former judge of the MP and Rajasthan high courts, said parties like the Congress and Trinamool Congress were protesting against the law in order to keep their "votebank of Bangladeshi intruders intact". "The protest against CAA is an absolutely folly. The protesters have not even read the Act. Nor they have understood its provisions. These protesters are not even saying which provision in the Act is wrong," he told PTI. "CAA needs to be enforced as the country is not a resting place where anyone can intrude and start living," he added. Targeting the Congress and Trinamool Congress, the VHP leader said, "To keep its vote bank of Bangladeshi intruders intact, people are being misguided on citizenship to fan anti-CAA protests." Speaking on some Congress-ruled states claiming they will not implement the Act, Kokje said "as per provisions of the Constitution, all state governments will have to implement it". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Advertisement Lydia Bright's baby shower came to an epic conclusion on Sunday night as the former TOWIE star turned 29 surrounded by her closest friends and family. The reality star, who is expecting her first child with her ex-boyfriend Lee Cronin, looked overjoyed with the second day of her celebrations as she was joined by her loved ones including best friend Lucy Mecklenburgh, who is due just weeks before her. Sharing a number of sweet snaps from the weekend, Lydia's proud mum Debbie thanked The Celtic Manor in South Wales for putting on such a fantastic event as day two came to a spectacular close. Celebrations: Lydia Bright's baby shower came to an epic conclusion on Sunday night as the former TOWIE star turned 29 surrounded by her closest friends and family, including fellow mum-to-be Lucy Mecklenburgh (pictured left with Lydia), at The Celtic Manor in South Wales She shared: 'My kinda people every single one of you are so truly special to me ..... what an absolutely perfect weekend of laughter....chats....cuddles and stories. Dinky you are surrounded with Love every minute of everyday. 'Thank you @lydiabright for being such a special soul your kindness can never be measured as its endless. I am so Lucky to call you my daughter 'and lastly a huge massive hug to all at @thecelticmanor for making every minute special #brightsbabyshower'. Lydia - who revealed at Christmas she was due to give birth in nine weeks' time - commented underneath, enthusing it had been the 'perfect weekend'. Squad: The reality star, who is expecting her first child with her ex-boyfriend Lee Cronin, looked overjoyed with the second day of celebrations Coordinating: Lucy (left) and Lydia (right) sported matching pyjamas embellished with the word 'Dinky', the nickname Lydia has given to her unborn baby The group posed for a sweet snap on the staircase, with Lucy and Lydia both cradling their bumps. Her best friend Lucy - who is expecting her first child with fiance Ryan Thomas - revealed to Debbie that she had just six weeks' left before her due date. Mum Debbie, who knows Lucy from the girls' pre-TOWIE days, also posted a snap of the BFFs, captioned: 'Its not that diamonds are a girls best friend its your best friend is a diamond @lydiabright @lucymeck1 #brightsbabyshower'. Day two of the festivities featured an elaborate sweet spread, with the girls tucking into mountains of cupcakes, fizzy sweets and a chocolate fountain. Delighted with her surprise: Lydia - who revealed at Christmas she was due to give birth in nine weeks' time - enthused it had been the 'perfect weekend' What a spread! Day two of the festivities featured an elaborate sweet spread, with the girls tucking into mountains of cupcakes, fizzy sweets and a chocolate fountain The room was decked out with balloons spelling out Lydia's unborn baby's nickname Dinky, a tribute to her late grandmother. The group enjoyed a long walk in the Welsh countryside, taking in the rolling hills and the stunning views. Later in the evening, Lydia was treated to a gourmet meal in a private dining room at the Celtic Manor Resort. On Saturday, Lydia gave fans a glimpse of her baby shower on Saturday as she settled into the first day of her relaxing lodge break. The TV star took to Instagram to share a slew of snaps from the resort, which has housed big names such as the Obamas. Day one: On Saturday, Lydia gave fans a glimpse of her baby shower on Saturday as she settled into the first day of her relaxing lodge break Lydia, who is due to give birth next month, pulled out all the stops for her lavish baby shower as she headed to the luxury resort with her mum Debbie, sisters Georgia and Roma and former TOWIE star Amber Dowding. The baby shower weekend kicked off with welcome drinks and a plush dinner prepared by chef Carl, with Lydia sharing photos of the numerous bottles of alcohol-free Champagne and gold leaf desserts. And the glamorous mum-to-be enjoyed a host of luxuries during their stay at the lodges; including an indoor sauna and an outdoor hot tub with incredible views of the Welsh countryside. Breathtaking views: The TV star took to Instagram to share a slew of snaps from the resort, which has housed big names such as the Obamas Making memories: The reality star couldn't resist posing outside the rural lodge in her 'mummy to be' dressing gown and wrote: 'Every girls dream. 15 of my nearest and dearest away to celebrate my birthday and baby shower' Cheers! Lydia was ready to pop the alcohol-free Champagne as the party gathered at the lodge Stunning: The glamorous mum-to-be enjoyed a host of luxuries during their stay at the lodges; including an indoor sauna and an outdoor hot tub with incredible views of the Welsh countryside Weekend break: Lydia shared a glimpse of the interior of the cosy lodge and it didn't take long for Lucy to feel at home Oh, baby! Lydia was welcomed with pink balloons and a giant placard which read 'Welcome to Lydia's Baby Shower' Wow: The family could relax in style at the lodge, which came complete with wood furnishings and a purple kitchen suite It didn't take long for the party to slip into the personalised silk pyjamas. Lydia's were embellished with her unborn daughter's nickname Dinky. The reality star couldn't resist posing outside the rural lodge in her 'mummy to be' dressing gown and wrote: 'Every girls dream 15 of my nearest and dearest away to celebrate my birthday and baby shower @thecelticmanor Feeling like the luckiest girl in the world.' During the weekend, therapists from the resort's spa were on hand to deliver pampering treatments. The party was also treated to deluxe wellness picnic hampers, a private dinner at Pad restaurant and an indulgent afternoon tea to celebrate the baby shower in style. Scrumptious: The baby-shower weekend kicked off with welcome drinks and a plush dinner prepared by chef Carl Here we go! Lydia's mum Debbie and sisters Georgia and Roma headed to Wales for the celebrations, with the family sharing a snap at the train station Celebrations: When Lydia asked if the girls were excited, the party raised their hands in the air and cheered Rest and relaxation: Heavily pregnant Lydia stayed in the lodge's bedroom suite which had a huge kingsize bed Luxurious: Lydia and the girls were gifted personalised silk pyjamas and a range of spa products. The TV star's were embellished with her unborn daughter's nickname Dinky and mummy-to-be Lydia is a regular guest at the resort, having attended the prestigious Polo at the Manor event at Celtic Manor for the last five years. The resort is no stranger to celebrity guests. In 2014, Barack Obama stayed in one of the lodges for the NATO summit and last year the resort hosted sisters Sam and Billie Faiers for filming of The Mummy Diaries. Lydia revealed she was expecting back in August, and her due date is the same week as her best friend Lucy's. The reality star revealed she and her best friend Lucy discovered they were pregnant on the same day in The Brights podcast. Lydia said: 'I'll never forget the day we both found out we were pregnant. Off to the spa! During the weekend, therapists from the resort's spa were on hand to deliver pampering treatments for the guests Dreamy: The girls could relax in the hotel's pool which comes complete with a midnight blue sky 'Basically, we were both due to start filming on Celebrity Hunted, I thought it would be a good idea to do a pregnancy test a couple of days before because I was off birth control and it came back positive to my shock. 'Because I fell pregnant very quickly, I gave Lucy a call, and she guessed that I was pregnant. 'So she ran out and got a pregnancy test and called me 6 hours later and said she was pregnant as well. I mean, it's crazy. You couldn't write it.' Raring to go: The girls appeared in high spirits as they headed to Wales for the weekend of celebrations Pregnant: Lucy, who is expecting a baby boy next month, looked in need of some pamper treatment as she arrived at the resort Trip to remember: Lydia posed with sisters Georgia and Roma before the family headed to Wales Former TOWIE star Lydia split from the baby's father, Lee Cronin - but has previously said he still goes to every scan with her. The couple had been together for two years before calling time on the relationship. During a previous Instagram Q&A she was asked if Lee is an 'active part' of her unborn daughter's life. She said: 'Our baby was very much planned and we are both very excited for her arrival.' Easthampton Mayor Nicole LaChapelle and her Northampton counterpart, Mayor David Narkewicz, headed north to New Hampshire over the weekend to canvass for presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren. The Western Massachusetts mayors, both of whom have endorsed the Massachusetts Democrats 2020 bid, posted photographs of themselves on Twitter in Keene, New Hampshire on Sunday, saying that they were knocking on doors for the Warren campaign. Only 24 days until the New Hampshire Primary and Im in sunny Keene with my friend @MayorLachapelle knocking doors for @ewarren! #TeamWarren, Narkewicz said in a tweet. Only 24 days until the New Hampshire Primary and Im in sunny Keene with my friend @MayorLachapelle knocking doors for @ewarren! #TeamWarren pic.twitter.com/89u61pMX9c David Narkewicz (@MayorNarkewicz) January 18, 2020 LaChapelle said she and Narkewicz were inspired by Maurice Moe Mitchell, director of the progressive advocacy organization Working Families, who spoke at the canvass kickoff event, according to a tweet from the Easthampton mayor. Great conversations with Keene voters today! I must say #Mayor canvass team crush it at the doors, LaChappelle said in another tweet. Warren, who endorsed Narkewiczs reelection in 2017, has a field office for her presidential campaign on Center Street in Northampton. Twenty-four state representatives from Western Massachusetts also traveled to New Hampshire to canvass for Warren in December. They went door to door in Claremont. The U.S. senator is one four top contenders in the Democratic primary race. Warren was one of the earliest candidates to enter the crowded field, and she has centered her campaign on making dramatic changes to major structures of government. The Massachusetts Democrat, who was endorsed by The New York Times editorial board on Sunday, is in a tight race in New Hampshire, only points behind South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden, according to a recent CNN poll. The New Hampshire Democratic primary is scheduled for Feb. 11. Related content: The protesters, chanting 'Azadi' and 'CAA-NCR Par Halla Bol', and other slogans also paraded a mock 'detention camp' portrayed with a cell on wheels inside of which sat little children of multiple faiths and changed slogans New Delhi: Hundreds of people, including women and children, on Sunday evening took out a massive anti-CAA march from Jamia Milia Islamia to Shaheen Bagh as the chorus to demand repealing of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) grew louder in Delhi. The march was high on symbolism as some locals dressed up as Mahatma Gandhi and BR Ambedkar, while three men assumed the identity of martyred revolutionaries Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev, one of them in prison clothes and tied in chains. The protesters, chanting 'Azadi' and 'CAA-NCR Par Halla Bol', and other slogans also paraded a mock 'detention camp' portrayed with a cell on wheels inside of which sat little children of multiple faiths and changed slogans. People have been protesting at Shaheen Bagh, which has become an epicentre of the anti-CAA agitation in the national capital, for the last over 30 days. Many of them held candles and others marched holding placards that said, 'We reject CAA, NRC and NPR', 'Hindu Muslim Sikh Isai, Aapas Meyn Bhai Bhai'. After the march ended, protesters gathered from various parts of Delhi, raised slogans against the central government and demanded revocation of the CAA. Mohammed Shah Rukh, a protester who came from Jaitpur, carrying the national flag spent his time trying to balance on the rail of the highway that runs through the area while holding the tricolour in his hand in a "freedom fighter pose". "I feel very overwhelmed by this movement, something we read in school textbooks about our freedom struggle, I feel we are fighting for that liberty again," he said. Khan, a car mechanic, said some of his brothers also took part in the protest. Several poets from various parts of the country also have gathered at Shaheen Bagh protest site, reciting patriotic poems, imbued with sarcasm towards the establishment. Till late night, people had gathered in large numbers to listen to the poets, including women, who watched and chanted slogans way past midnight. A group of four women, including two college girls, had come from Batla House to take part in the protest. "We come every day after doing our household chores. The government is stubborn about not moving an inch on CAA, then we are also stubborn and won't yield. The stubbornness on the side of truth will win I feel," said Amira Khatun. One of two Jamia Millia Islamia students, studying English Literature who did not wish to be named, said, "The Modi government talks about 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' but they can't see the pains of us women and girls. My studies have got affected. CAA has to go." Till late night, young and old, protested through songs, slogans, and 'shayri' while artistic posters, hung on the foot over bridge, denouncing CAA and NRC, added to the charged atmosphere. Many waved tricolours in front of the huge map of India mounted at the protest site, while others chanted 'Azadi' in front of the model of 'India Gate' erected in the street, not in any mood to relent. Stone Island Shadow Project gives everyday style an avant-garde upgrade with this black long-sleeved tee. Its crafted using premium mako cotton a fabric thats specially sourced from Egypt and then decorated at the front with the small military style 7219 graphic. At the back, the edgy geometric print finishes off the futuristic look. 100% Mako Cotton Garment Dyed Ribbed Crewneck Chest Pocket Printed Branding Made in Italy Style Code: 721920214-V0029 This product has undergone a garment dyeing process. Any uneven colour of the surface is a distinctive feature of the wash. New figures suggest strong growth for the rollout of fixed broadband lines in Argentina in the next four years. In fact, according to data and analytics company GlobalData, fixed broadband lines in Argentina will grow from 8.4 million in 2019 to 9.9 million by the end of 2024, led by operator investment in fixed infrastructure. Why this growth? GlobalData points out that growing demand for high-speed data services on fixed lines among residential and business customers, along with government initiatives to expand broadband services to rural and underserved areas, have led to the investment. It estimates that fixed broadband penetration will increase from an estimated 18.6 percent in 2019 to 21.0 percent by 2024. Cable will represent 42.2 percent of total fixed broadband lines in 2019 and will remain the leading broadband technology through to 2024. Fibre lines will grow at the fastest compound annual growth rate (CAGR) 13.1 percent over 2019-2024 mainly supported by rising demand for high-speed broadband connectivity and ongoing fibre network roll-outs by operators like Movistar Argentina. GlobalData additionally highlights the role of Argentinas National Broadband Plan, launched in October 2018 to improve fixed broadband infrastructure across the country. The plan includes a new rural broadband tender, support to ISPs with financial backing, and roll-out of internet services to localities with up to 5,000 residents in 2019. The state-owned satellite company ARSAT will also receive some $154m from a universal service fund (USF) by 2020 to help complete the Federal Fibre Optic Network, a federal backbone network made up of thirteen geographic regions, as well as provincial networks interconnected to the backbone. RABAT, Morocco, Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- A Chinese delegation from China International Import Expo (CIIE) held a presentation conference in Rabat, the capital city of Morocco, in the afternoon of January 15 (local time) to attract more Moroccan companies to join the third session of CIIE. Wang Bingnan, Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce and General Director of the CIIE Bureau, Li Li, China's Ambassador to Morocco, and Hicham Boudraa, head of Morocco's Investment and Export Development Agency, were present in the presentation conference. 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 Emailciie2020@ciie.org Websitehttp://www.ciie.org/zbh/en/ Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/ciieonline Twitterhttps://twitter.com/ciieonline Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1078562/China_International_Import_Expo.jpg Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1077995/CIIE_Logo.jpg SOURCE CIIE (Support Free Thought) - Kentucky An ominous bill that is currently making its way through the Kentucky Senate aims to give police unprecedented unconstitutional powers. These new powers will allow cops to stop anyone they want and demand that person tell them who they are, where they are going, and explain their actions. Naturally, it has civil rights advocates up in arms, but it doesnt seem to be slowing down the bills momentum. Police merely need to make an unsubstantiated claim that a person is involved in criminal activity which gives them free reign to stop that person, demand his name, home address and age as well as ask to see his drivers license, if he has one and tell him to explain what he is presently doing to the satisfaction of the officer. If you invoke your constitutional right not to answer the officers questions, this new bill grants cops the right to detain you for two hours. Even more ominous is the fact that this detainment is not considered an arrest so you have no right to an attorney and police dont even have to record it. This non-arrest grey area detention will undoubtedly be rife for abuse. Nevertheless, advocates for the police state tyranny say cops must have this new abilityto keep us safe. As Kentucky.com reports, Sen. Stephen Meredith, R-Leitchfield, said Grayson County law enforcement officials asked him for the bill after a number of local incidents showed the need for it. If a man acts suspicious, then why wouldnt you want to know what his name is? Meredith said in an interview. I cant imagine any legitimate reason in the world why a person would refuse to give their name and photo identification to a police officer if they were asked. In other words, if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fearor, in other words, submit to the police state. Wrong! Well Sen. Meredith, wed like to educate you in why a person would refuse to talk to policebecause it is our right not to! Legislation like this is straight out of the playbook of every tyranny in history. Remember Ihre Papiere, Bitte? That phrase often brought shudders to the people who heard it in the 1930s and 40s. It is German for Your papers, please, and this bill is nearly identical to that sinister Nazi policy. Critics of the bill are pointing out its obvious unconstitutional nature and note out how cops can already go after people if they suspect them of committing a crime. As Kentucky.com reports: Critics say Merediths bill would violate the Fourth Amendments protection against unreasonable search and seizure and the Fifth Amendments protection against self-incrimination. Police officers already have the right to approach people on the street and ask their names, but its established that citizens can refuse to respond, said Aaron Tucek, a legal fellow at the ACLU of Kentucky. If police can show reasonable suspicion that someone is carrying a deadly weapon, they can proceed to frisk that person, Tucek said. But they cannot detain people simply for not identifying themselves or explaining their activities to the satisfaction of the officer, Tucek said. The whole section of the bill on detention they can call it whatever they want, but Supreme Court case law is pretty clear that an arrest is not determined by whether you call it an arrest, its determined by the restraint you place on someones liberty, Tucek said. If you put someone in the back of a police car or if you take them down to the police station or if you otherwise refuse to let them go their own way, thats an arrest, and in our country, you cannot do that without probable cause. We agree and so does the constitution. The idea that we can detain people because we find them to be suspicious and we think they might commit a crime, that crosses a dangerous line, Rebecca DiLoreto, who lobbies in Frankfort for the Kentucky Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, said. Now, unfortunately, it has been known to happen. Sometimes its in a mostly white community where someone spots a black person walking down the street and they get suspicious and call police. The crime in this case is basically that youre here and we dont think, from looking at you, that you should be here, she added. The potential for abuse in that seems obvious. DiLoreta also pointed out the menacing nature of cops being able to essentially kidnap anyone they want for hours and keep it off the record. Nobody ever should be taken into police custody without a record being made of it, she said. Thats starting to approach what you see in a police state or Soviet Russia, DiLoreta said. Women put on an extra three pounds in weight after becoming mothers compared with those who remain childless, major research has revealed. The lifestyle changes that come with parenthood often lead to long-term weight gain, according to experts at the University of Cambridge. They analysed data from dozens of previous studies that tracked womens weight between the ages of 15 and 35. Overall, women who had no children gained around 1st, 2lb (7.5kg) over five to six years, while a mother put that much on plus an extra 2lb 14oz (1.3kg). Lifestyle changes that come with parenthood often lead to long-term weight gain, according to experts at the University of Cambridge (file image) Exhausted parents are less likely to exercise and more likely to snack on unhealthy food, experts suggest. The major analysis also revealed that getting a job and going to university are two other key life events that lead to notable weight gain. One study looked at the impact of becoming a father and found it did not lead to extra weight gain. Writing in journal Obesity Reviews, the experts said: Becoming a mother is associated with 17 per cent greater absolute BMI gain than remaining childless. Motherhood BMI gain is additional to an alarming BMI increase among young women, highlighting the need for obesity prevention among all young women, including new mothers. Dr Eleanor Winpenny, from the University of Cambridge, said: Over the age range of 15 to 35, people are gaining weight and we wanted to know whether there are particular life events that are contributing to this gain. Exhausted parents are less likely to exercise and more likely to snack on unhealthy food, experts suggest (file image) This study is not about pregnancy weight gain, its about all the lifestyle changes that happen as people become parents. People overall gain a small amount of weight over that transition and thats the bit were worried about. If all these life transitions are contributing to small weight gains, overall that becomes a problem. Parenthood is a time when lifestyles are changing. Of course there are challenges with having a small child, but its also an opportunity for people to think about their own lifestyles and how they could be more healthy and active. Dr Kirsten Corder, who also worked on the study, said: We need to take a look at the messages given to new parents by health practitioners as previous studies have suggested widespread confusion among new mothers about acceptable pregnancy-related weight gain. Experts also looked at female weight gain during the transition from secondary school into higher education or employment. Nine studies found that leaving school was associated with a decrease of seven minutes per day of moderate to vigorous exercise for women while men reduced theirs by 16.4 minutes. The change was biggest when people went to university, with overall levels of moderate to vigorous physical activity falling by 11.4 minutes per day. Three studies also showed people put on weight after leaving school, while others found decreases in physical activity on starting employment. Dr Winpenny said: When you leave school, its a time of lifestyle change. People are changing their habits as they move to university or into employment, often in a less healthy direction. Evidence suggests that in later adulthood, these behaviours then dont change very much. In school you are encouraged to do sport, and there are school food policies to encourage healthy eating, but then when you leave school, that changes. Also, in the workplace, there might be initiatives, but you probably have less time for exercise and more access to unhealthy food. Its not just about you and your choices, it could be how much time you have available, your social circle and your living and working environment. Tam Fry, from the National Obesity Forum, said: Successive UK governments have never given secondary school PE the commitment it deserves. So, apart from the sporty few who exercise in all weathers, physical activity as part of a daily routine gets to become a thing of the past for millions as they grow into young adults. WASHINGTON, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Four major auto manufacturers will be holding press availabilities during The Washington Auto Show's Industry Media Day on January 23, 2020 at the 2020 Washington Auto Show. Credentialed members of the press who would like credentials to Industry Media Day may apply for them by visiting the show's registration page. The manufacturers represent both domestic and foreign manufacturers, discussing a range of topics from vehicle debuts, luxury rebrands, cutting-edge auto technology, and proprietary driver and passenger safety advancements. The 2020 Washington Auto Show's Industry Media Day begins at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center at 8 a.m., with a breakfast presented by Toyota and the Washington Automotive Press Association, located near Hall E on the second main display level of the convention center. The morning program will then feature news-making events featuring leaders including U.S. Department of Energy Under Secretary Mark Menezes, plus executives from Ford Motor Company, AT&T, Lyft, UPS, EVGo, Honda, and AT&T, plus leaders of startup companies Lunewave, Vulog, and Upstream Security. Following the panel discussions and addresses, the following four auto manufacturers will have exclusive 20-minute media availabilities. The brands, timeslots, locations and media contacts are as follows: The afternoon programming of Thursday's packed Media Day lineup includes addresses from Uber Advanced Technologies CEO Eric Meyhofer, a fireside chat with Federal Communications Commission member Michael O'Rielly, and the announcements of the winners of the U.S. News 2020 Best Cars for the Money Awards, and the 2020 Green Car Awards. The day's formal programming concludes with a press conference featuring the winner of the National Road Safety Foundation's DriveSafe DC public service announcement contest. About The Washington Auto Show The 2020 Washington Auto Show will feature more than 600 new vehicles on display from nearly three dozen domestic and import auto manufacturers. Held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, the show will be open every day from Friday, January 24 through Sunday, February 2. The auto show is the largest annual indoor public event in the District of Columbia. For more information, visit www.washingtonautoshow.org. SOURCE Washington Auto Show Related Links http://www.washingtonautoshow.org Man accused of financing international terrorism faces trial in Russia flickr.com/ Jobs For Felons Hub 12:31 20/01/2020 MOSCOW, January 20 (RAPSI) The Second West District Military Court will consider a criminal case against Islam Otemov, who has allegedly transferred money to a member of the Islamic State terrorist organization banned in Russia, the Investigative Committee s press service reports. He is charged with terrorism financing, the statement reads. According to investigators, from 2015 to 2017, Otemov knowing about participation of a Dagestan resident in the terrorist activities in Syria transferred him 61,000 rubles. The Islamic State, an organization which is prohibited in Russia, is currently one of the major threats to global security. Over three years, these terrorists have managed to seize large areas of Iraq and Syria. The organization is also attempting to spread its influence on North Africa particularly, Libya. The area controlled by ISIS covers up to 90,000 square kilometers. NEW YORK, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The infertility treatment market is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 6% during the forecast period 20182024. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05839999/?utm_source=PRN The growing prevalence of infertility among men and women is increasing the demand for sterility treatment globally. Factors such as delayed parenthood, obesity, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and aging is increasing sterility incidences among married couples worldwide. The increasing acceptance of advanced and sophisticated medical care options such as ART and IVF is likely to drive the market. The globalization of healthcare facilities and the increasing popularity of medical tourism, especially fertility tourism, encourage several couples to travel abroad to seek state-of-the-art medical care options. The reimbursement coverage is also improving globally, and many countries cover fertility treatment as part of respective public health coverage programs The following factors are likely to contribute to the growth of the infertility treatment market during the forecast period: Increasing Prevalence of Infertility Growing Number of Obesity Cases Increasing Number of Facilities offering Fertility Services Increasing Financial Assistance Programs Growing popularity for Fertility Tourism The study considers the present scenario of the global infertility treatment market and its market dynamics for the period 2018?2024. It covers a detailed overview of several market growth enablers, restraints, and trends. The study offers both the demand and supply aspects of the market. It profiles and examines leading companies and other prominent companies operating in the market. Infertility Treatment Market: Segmentation This research report includes detailed segmentation by product, procedure, end-user, cause, and geography. Treatment by drugs has been dominating the infertility treatment market because it is a cost-effective measure and is considered to be the first choice among people to be treated. The acceptance of gonadotropin drugs for treatment is driving the segment significantly and is likely to witness steady growth during the forecast period. However, the surge in the prevalence of sterility, advances IVF devices technology, the increasing trend of delayed pregnancies, and the growth in disposable income are the major factors driving the infertility treatment devices market. Globally, the IVF treatments are witnessing an improvement in overall success rates majorly due to the availability of a broad range of culture media. The consumables segment is rapidly increasing due to the increasing effectiveness of ART procedures and surgical interventions that create huge demand for consumables and is expected to grow by 2024. The medication segment is the largest contributor due to a wide range and usage. The increasing approval of fertility services and cultural shifts has led to a high demand for medication and treatments. The awareness of sterility treatment has increased over time, thereby reducing the reluctance of people to opt for medication. ART is the fastest growing procedure on account of the high acceptance of this treatment because of the improvement in success rate and advanced techniques to cure sterility. The favorable financial support for ART procedures in both developed and emerging countries is another factor contributing to the growth. However, the segment is likely to witness hindrance due to the high cost of ART procedures. The fertility clinics dominate the market due to the high success rate of fertility services and IVF clinics. The number of fertility services is expanding across the globe. These clinics occupy the largest share in the infertility treatment market owing to the availability and accessibility of different services such as IVF programs, egg donation, ICSI, IMSI, and other services. The segment is projected to hold the highest share during the forecast period due to the constant rise in clinics and increasing partnerships of clinics with fertile consultants and experts. The female infertility segment is contributing significantly to the market due to the high prevalence of female infertility globally. The increase in the target pool of female patients and the growing number of dedicated fertility clinics are the major factors driving the growth of the segment. The prevalence of male sterility is increasing worldwide due to changes in lifestyle patterns, an increase in the consumption of alcohol and smoking, and an increase in the prevalence of obesity. All these factors affect sperm counts and their quality, thereby increasing the occurrence among men. Market Segmentation by Product Drugs o Gonadotropins o Other Drugs Devices o Equipment o Media o Consumables Market Segmentation by Procedure Drug Therapy ART Procedure Surgical Intervention Market Segmentation by End-user Infertility Clinics Hospitals Gynecological & Urology Clinics Others Market Segmentation by Cause Female Infertility Male Infertility Others Insights by Geography Europe is the major region, which is leading the market and is expected to bolster its dominance during the forecast period because the region is going through a phase of reduction in population and is seriously considering tackling this sociological phenomenon. The demand for fertility services is increasing rapidly in North America due to the growing prevalence of sterility, the presence of the aging population and the high occurrence of obesity. These factors are likely to generate significant demand for fertility services in the future. APAC is growing at a steady pace owing to the shifting mean age among women during their first childbirth and the increasing sterility among people in developing countries. Latin America is witnessing a rise in sterility among men and women and decreasing fertility rates in the population, which is likely to increase the demand for fertility services. MEA faces a low healthcare facility, a lack of specialized health care professionals, and inadequate awareness of fertility medical care. However, with the growing awareness and development of advanced technology, the region is expected to drive the infertility treatment market in the region. Market Segmentation by Geography Europe o Spain o France o Germany o UK o Italy North America o Canada o US APAC o China o Japan o South Korea o India o Australia Latin America o Brazil o Argentina o Mexico MEA o Turkey o Israel Insights by Vendors There are a few global and several local and regional vendors offering medicines, devices, and equipment for treatment. The fertility drugs market is highly concentrated with key pharmaceuticals accounting for commendable shares. However, the other fertility drugs market is highly fragmented with many local and domestic companies are offering a wide array of low-cost drugs in their respective countries. The market is competitive due to the availability of several low-cost drugs. Companies offering fertility drugs are registering impressive growth rates for their products due to the increased uptake of these drugs. Key Vendors The Cooper Companies Cook Medical Vitrolife Ferring Pharmaceuticals IVFtech Irvine Scientific Merck KGaA Other Vendors Abbott Sanofi Salix Pharmaceuticals Microtech IVF Novartis Hamilton Thorne The Merck Co Thermo Fisher Scientific INVO Bioscience MedGyn Products SOMATEX Medical Technologies CARL ZEISS Key Market Insights The analysis of the infertility treatment market provides sizing and growth opportunities for the forecast period 20192024. Provides comprehensive insights on the latest industry trends, forecast, and growth drivers in the market. Includes a detailed analysis of growth drivers, challenges, and investment opportunities. Delivers a complete overview of segments and the regional outlook of the infertility treatment market. Offers an exhaustive summary of the vendor landscape, competitive analysis, and key strategies to gain competitive advantage. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05839999/?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 Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 16:20:10|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close WASHINGTON, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- At least two people were killed and 15 others were injured in a late-night shooting on Sunday in Kansas City, Missouri, local media reported. Bolivia's Congress is to convene Tuesday to debate the validity of ex-president Evo Morales' resignation, with a vote expected on whether to accept or reject it, a leading lawmaker said. Senate speaker Eva Copa, a member of the former president's Movement for Socialism party MAS, summoned lawmakers from both houses of Congress to "consider the resignations of Evo Morales and Alvaro Garcia Linera from the posts of president and vice-president." The congress is constitutionally bound to examine the resignation to decide on its validity. MAS senator Omar Aguilar told journalists that Congress would vote "whether to accept or reject the resignations." Morales resigned under pressure from the armed forces on November 10 after rioting greeted his re-election following contested October 20 polls. The Organization of American States (OAS) later pointed to widespread irregularities. The right-wing interim government has scheduled a new election for May 3. Morales, who is living in exile in neighboring Argentina, insists he is still president until Congress declares otherwise. Morales' five-year term officially runs until Wednesday. Bolivia's ex-president Evo Morales is pictured in Argentina at his party's selection of its lineup for the next elections in La Paz By Express News Service NEW DELHI: The BJP on Sunday hit out at the Arvind Kejriwal-led government, for allegedly trying to save the four death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gangrape case instead of ensuring justice to her family. At a press conference held at the party headquarters here, Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari blasted the AAP over delay in the convicts hanging and also condemned the suggestion made by senior lawyer Indira Jaising to pardon the Nirbhaya convicts, and questioned her links with the Arvind Kejriwal government. Tiwari also referred to Jaisings representations of the Kejriwal government in the past as he sought to put the AAP dispensation in the dock over her remarks. The Tihar prison comes under the Delhi government, and the convicts, who should have been informed about the 2017 verdict soon after, were informed two years later in 2019, Tiwari claimed. ALSO READ: After HC order, Delhi Bar Council takes action against Nirbhaya convict's lawyer, issues notice It shows that the AAP-led government delayed the hanging and is now trying to save the convicts, he alleged. He further went on to say that Deputy CM Manish Sisodia held a press conference to say that, police is delaying the proceedings. No political party in the country has done something like this, as the AAP is stalling the justice for which Nirbhayas family has been waiting for eight years, Tiwari said. (With agency inputs) When his trial opens in the coming days, Harvey Weinsteins defense team is expected to go on the offensive against the women who have accused him of rape and sexual assault, in part by questioning if they acted like victims afterward. New York City prosecutors intend to counter with a strategy thats taken hold since the 2018 retrial of comedian Bill Cosby: calling a sex crimes expert as a witness to dispel assumptions about how rape and sexual assault victims behave after an attack. In fact, Weinsteins prosecutors are using the very same expert, Dr. Barbara Ziv. She was the first prosecution witness at Cosbys retrial and is expected to testify early in Weinsteins trial this month. Ziv, a forensic psychiatrist who has spent decades working with sex offenders and victims, is likely to be an important bulwark against Weinsteins defense that he had consensual relationships with the two women at the center of the case. One of the women, who accuses Weinstein of raping her in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013, sent him warm emails in the months after the alleged assault. Miss you big guy, said one note. There was similar evidence at Cosbys trial that he had remained in contact with some of his victims. Ziv testified that victims frequently avoid or delay reporting assaults to police, often keep in contact with the perpetrator, remember more details over time and differ in their emotional responses. Cosbys jury ultimately returned a guilty verdict in the first big celebrity trial of the #MeToo era. Prosecutors are now rethinking how they try sexual assault cases, especially those involving intimate partners, mentors, work friends and other potentially fraught relationships. Through experts like Ziv, they can focus the jurys attention on victim behavior and frame the way jurors hear later testimony. That approach can help prosecutors break myths and preemptively weaken defense strategies. I think that makes sense. Its basically a quick education for the jury, and its true the jury starts to see things through that lens, said Laurie Levenson, a criminal law professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. In addition to the alleged rape, Weinstein, 67, is charged with sexually assaulting another woman, Mimi Haleyi, in 2006. If convicted, he could be sentenced to life in prison. Opening statements are expected as soon as this week, following two weeks of jury selection. Weinsteins lead lawyer, former Chicago prosecutor Donna Rotunno, said in a pretrial interview with Vanity Fair that while some women might have regretted having sex with the former producer, regret sex is not rape. She said the email correspondence between Weinstein and both women is evidence that, at the time, neither considered what happened to be a crime. I think a woman who is a victim of rape is going to look at that and say, Thats not what rape victims do. If you were really raped, this is not what you do, she said. Maryclaire Dale is an Associated Press writer. Inward movement from Bangladesh witnessed marginal decline in 2018: NCRB India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Jan 20: The latest data provided by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) states that there had been a major jump in the number of people trying to cross over from India to Bangladesh. The NCRB data says that in 2018, there were 2,971 persons arrested by the BSF as opposed to 1,800 in 2017. Most of them were women and children the data also states. Out of the 2,971 persons arrested, 1,532 were men while 749 and 690 were woman and children respectively the report for 2018 also stated. 22 per cent spike in cases of child abuse: NCRB The inward movement from Bangladesh to India stood at 1,118 in 2018 as opposed to the 1,180 in 2017. Meanwhile, the NCRB data also stated that there had been a spike in the number of section cases. In Jammu and Kashmir, there were 12 sedition cases registered in 2018 when compared to the one that was registered in 2017. Jharkhand, however, recorded the highest number of these cases. There were 18 cases registered in Jharkhand, the NCRB data also said. Kerala recorded 9 such cases while in Manipur the number was 4. NEWS AT NOON, JANUARY 20th, 2020 Average 80 murders, 91 rapes reported daily in 2018: NCRB data Under the Official Secrets Act, there were 16 cases registered in Maharashtra. UP and Punjab registered 7 and 5 cases under the OSA. In the year 2017, the maximum number of cases registered under the OSA was at Rajasthan. While Rajasthan recorded 4 such cases, in Uttar Pradesh, the number stood at 3. "Parasite" created history at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards as the South Korean class drama went on to become the first foreign language film to pick up the top prize of the best motion picture cast award. The trophy, SAG-AFTRA's equivalent of a best picture award, for the Bong Joon-ho directorial is a favourable sign for the film which has been nominated for six Oscars, including best picture and best director. Besides "Parasite", the room full of the who's who of Hollywood also gave a standing ovation to veteran actor Robert De Niro who received the lifetime achievement award. A vocal critic of President Donald Trump, De Niro said he would continue to speak out despite the backlash. "There's right and there's wrong and there's common sense and there's abuse of power and as a citizen, I have as much right as anybody an actor, an athlete, a musician, anybody else to voice my opinion. "And if I have a bigger voice because of my situation, I'm going to use it whenever I see a blatant abuse of power," "The Irishman" star said. The winning run continued for Joaquin Phoenix and Renee Zellweger who took home the honours for outstanding performance in a leading role for their titular turns as "Joker" and "Judy", respectively. Like the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards, Brad Pitt and Laura Dern emerged favourites in the supporting categories for Quentin Tarantino's revisionist period piece "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" and divorce drama "Marriage Story". The SAG for outstanding action performance by a stunt ensemble in a motion picture was bagged by Marvel tentpole "Avengers: Endgame". In the television segment, "Fosse/Verdon" co-stars Sam Rockwell and Michelle Williams scored an award each in the categories of actor in a television movie or miniseries for playing the duo of choreographer and director Bob Fosse and iconic dancer Gwen Verdon. "Friends" alum Jennifer Aniston was a big winner as the actor won her first individual actor award in a drama series for her latest series, "The Morning Show". She earlier won a SAG actor honour as part of ensemble cast for the NBC series. Peter Dinklage was honoured as best actor in TV drama for his performance in the final season of "Game of Thrones" as the fan favourite Tyrion Lannister. The epic fantasy show, which ended last May, also won the award for outstanding action performance by a stunt ensemble in a comedy or drama series. "The Marvelous Mrs Maisel" star Tony Shalhoub was named the best male actor in a comedy series and the show, fronted by actor Rachel Brosnahan, won the award for best ensemble cast in a comedy series. Actor-writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who has been the toast of the award season post the second season of her show "Fleabag", was acknowledged by fellow actors as the best female actor in a comedy series for the beloved series. As the rein of "The Crown" changed hands from Claire Foy's Queen Elizabeth II to Olivia Colman's portrayal of the British monarch, the royal period drama was adjudged the best ensemble in a drama series. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Police claim that a woman in Pennsylvania intentionally drove her car into oncoming traffic while waiting to hear a calling from God. According to ABC News, the woman crashed into another vehicle injuring both passengers inside. Reports note, however, that the woman allegedly did not care about her victims conditions because she believed God would have taken care of them. Nadejda Reilly, the 31-year-old Pennsylvania woman, drove around for several hours earlier this month waiting to hear from God. Eventually, the woman took matters into her own hands and decided to drive her car straight into an oncoming vehicle on Route 93 near the Weatherly area of Carbon County, Pennsylvania, Fox News reports. Reilly is reported to have walked away from the car crash without any injuries. Bruce Baillet, the trooper who interviewed Reilly, noted that the two people in the other vehicle were sent to the hospital and treated for their injuries, but Reilly expressed no concern for them. The ages and conditions of the victims have not been reported. According to the arrest affidavit, Reilly related [that] God took care of her by not having her injured, Baillet wrote. Reilly expressed no concerns or remorse for the victims. Reilly also stated she did not care if the other people were injured because God would have taken care of them. Reilly remains in jail, where she has been charged with aggravated assault along with other offenses related to the two people injured in the second car. Court documents show that her bail which was set for $50,000 was revoked last week. According to her lawyer, Andrew Theyken Bench, Reilly plans to waive her formal arraignment in Carbon County court. He filed the motion last week but has declined to comment any further on her case. Photo courtesy: Pixabay / fsHH Mikaela Mathews is a freelance writer and editor based in Dallas, TX. She was the editor of a local magazine and a contributing writer for the Galveston Daily News and Spirit Magazine. Category Select Category Apparel/Garments Textiles Fashion Technical Textiles Information Technology E-commerce Retail Corporate Association Press Release SubCategory Select Sub-Category Ambitious French luxury brand Louis Vuitton recently added another feather to its gem-studded cap when it bought the worlds second-largest diamond. The diamond, named Sewelo, is a palm-sized, 1758-carat rough diamond with a dark colour. The diamonds name means 'rare find' in the southern African Tswana language and was recovered by Lucara Diamond Corp in Botswana last April. The Corp, along with Belgian diamond manufacturer HB Company, has collaborated with Louis Vuitton to polish and manufacture multiple smaller jewels from the Sewelo diamond. The CEO of Lucara Diamond, Eira Thomas, said, "We are delighted to be partnering with Louis Vuitton, the famous luxury House, to transform the historic, 1,758-carat Sewelo, Botswana's largest diamond, into a collection of fine jewellery that will commemorate this extraordinary discovery and contribute direct benefits to our local communities of interest in Botswana." Though Lucara Diamond has not officially disclosed the price of the diamond, the company has confirmed that it will receive an upfront payment for the diamond and will retain a 50 percent interest in the individual polished diamonds that are produced from the Sewelo. The World Socialist Web Site recently interviewed Dr Luba Volkova, a senior research fellow at the University of Melbourne, about Australias bushfire crisis. Luba Volkova Volkova has analysed forest fires and emissions, and bushfire fuels, for the past 10 years. Among her many bushfire-related projects, she co-authored the revision of the Australian methodology for estimating forest fires emissions in reporting to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Volkova was involved also in the development of the smoke dispersion model (updating bushfire fuel loads), which is now used in Victoria and has been proposed as the Australia-wide system. She is currently working with the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry and Environment to improve knowledge of peat-fire emissions. In her written answers, Volkova inserted references to scientific publications. Frank Gaglioti: Is climate change a significant factor in the lengthening and strengthening of the bush fire season? If so why? Luba Volkova: Yes it is, for southern Australia, climate change has led to the increase in average temperatures and decrease in rainfall since the mid-1990, as well as the increase in fire danger days (i.e., windy, hot and dry days). Thus weather is becoming hotter and dryer for longer, leading to the lengthening bushfire season. FG: What were climate scientists warnings? LV: Modelling indicated that weather in southern Australia will become more extreme with greater frequency of wildfires, shorter fire return intervals and more intense wildfires. See Table 1 from the report to the Bushfire CRC [Cooperative Research Centre] [1]. Now we are in the situation when the number of extreme fire weather days has increased by up to 65 percent. If no actions are taken to address climate change, by 2050 we may reach up to a 300 percent increase in extreme fire weather days. Extracted from Lucas et al 2007 This season, bushfire risk was exacerbated by record breaking drought, and the much earlier arrival of hot weather, which did not allow managers to conduct any (or very few) prescribed burns. Thus we had high loads of very dry fuels combined with record-breaking heat and prolonged drought. FG: What do you think about the warnings being ignored? LV: I think this wildfire season is a wakeup call and hopefully (and finally) something will be done to address the problem of global warming. I also believe that if nothing is done to address climate change this wildfire season will be a preview into our future. FG: Could you compare this fire season to others in the past? LV: This fire season is much more extreme than ever before. The closest in scale (and tragedy) was the 2009 Black Saturday fires, which burnt about 0.4 million hectares but claimed more lives (177). In this season, already more than 10 million hectares have been burnt and while 25 people died, this toll would have been much higher if the lessons from the Black Saturday fires were ignored. So well done to the Land Management Agencies for the great job and efforts in protecting our communities. FG: Did you see the statement signed by 11,000 scientists and published in the journal BioScience in November. It said planet Earth is facing a climate emergency. It noted that over the course of four decades of global climate negotiations, with few exceptions, we have generally conducted business as usual and have largely failed to address this predicament The climate crisis has arrived and is accelerating faster than most scientists expected. It is more severe than anticipated, threatening natural ecosystems and the fate of humanity ... Especially worrisome, are potential irreversible climate tipping points and natures reinforcing feedbacks that could lead to a catastrophic hothouse Earth, well beyond the control of humans. These climate chain reactions could cause significant disruptions to ecosystems, society, and economies, potentially making large areas of Earth uninhabitable. LV: Yes, I read the article, and I agree it is the climate crisis, and this bushfire season in Australia is the example (and just the beginning). But I also think that each of us should also take personal measures to reduce our individual emissions, not just waiting for the governments to come up with solutions and regulations. And this is very difficult! FG: What is the importance of global warming and what has been governments reaction? LV: An increase in average temperature by 1 degree C since 1800 causes disruption of air flow (hotter air at North and South poles leads to slower air flow). This leads to extreme weather events such as flooding, hurricanes, bushfires more often and more intense than ever before, etc. This leads to catastrophic loss of biodiversity, species extinction, human tragedies, etc. Each government responds differently. Some countries have pledged to be carbon neutral by 2050 (e.g., New Zealand). In Australia, the current government position is to maintain its election promises and achieve emission reduction targets though investment in the renewable sector. As per the Australian Broadcasting Corporations January 12 interview with the prime minister, our climate change policies are continuing to evolve. I hope they will evolve into something meaningful. Yet, individual states can come up with more ambitious targets like the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), which has made a pledge to be carbon neutral by 2050 (it was done before these wildfires). FG: How do the bushfires in Australia compare to wildfires in California and internationally? LV: I think this is the biggest recorded wildfire in history, with an estimated 10.3 million hectares already burnt (compared to about 7 million hectares for Siberia and 105,000 hectares for the 2019 California fires). Luba Volkova studying fire devastation FG: Do you have an opinion on the importance of burn-offs or fuel reduction burning? LV: They help and this is why they are implemented routinely in southern Australia at about a 1530-year return interval. But we need more of them and more often. I have observed that prescribed burning conducted 3 months before a wildfire had stopped the wildfire and greatly reduced emissions [2]. Also, along with my colleagues from the CSIRO [Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation] and the University of Melbourne, I recently developed a full carbon model specifically looking at the emission abatement potential of prescribed burning (currently there are no such models available to the government). Our model showed that in the scenario when we have more than three wildfires per century (historically it was one), there is a mitigation potential of prescribed burning conducted at 57-year return intervals. The mitigation is achieved by increasing soil carbon and by protecting above-ground storage through avoiding tree mortality (not to say the impact on communities and wildlife). Such a return interval (510 years) is also the most beneficial for direct suppression attack [3]. Frequent burning is also in line with Aboriginal practices. Yet, conducting prescribed burning at such short return intervals is very expensive and requires communities to be on board in supporting the burning practices, as well as conducting burning on private lands. Also, burning must be strategic and conducted around important assets. References [1] Lucas, Hennessy, Mills and Bathols (2007). Bushfire weather in southeast Australia: recent trends and projected climate change impacts. Consultancy report prepared for the Climate Institute of Australia. Melbourne: Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre, Australian Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research. [2] Volkova, Meyer, Murphy, Fairman, Reisen, and Weston (2014). Fuel reduction burning mitigates wildfire effects on forest carbon and greenhouse gas emission. International Journal of Wildland Fire, 23 (6), 771780. [3] McCarthy and Tolhurst (1998). Effectiveness of firefighting first attack operations by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment from 1991/921994/95. Fire Management Branch Research Report No. 47, Victorian Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Melbourne, Victoria. We made a mistake. That mea culpa, posted to Twitter on Saturday by the National Archives, came after revelations that it had made multiple alterations to a photo of the 2017 Womens March in D.C. that was part of an exhibition marking the centennial of the right of women to vote. The photo, by Getty Images photographer Mario Tama, shows a massive crowd filling Pennsylvania Avenue NW for the Womens March on Jan. 21, 2017, the day after President Donald Trumps inauguration. The image greeted visitors to the exhibition. But, as The Washington Post reported on Friday, the Archives admitted altering the photograph by blurring signs held by marchers that were critical of Trump. Words on signs that referenced womens anatomy were also blurred. A placard that proclaims God Hates Trump has Trump blotted out so that it reads God Hates. A sign that reads Trump & GOP Hands Off Women has the word Trump blurred out, noted The Post. A sign the read If my vagina could shoot bullets, itd be less REGULATED has vagina blurred out. Another that says This Pussy Grabs Back has the word Pussy erased, added The Post. The Archives said the decision to obscure certain words was made by agency managers and museum staff members. It said archivist David Ferriero, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama in 2009, supported the decision. As a non-partisan, non-political federal agency, we blurred references to the Presidents name on some posters, so as not to engage in current political controversy, Archives spokeswoman Miriam Kleiman said in a statement to The Post. Our mission is to safeguard and provide access to the nations most important federal records, and our exhibits are one way in which we connect the American people to those records. Modifying the image was an attempt on our part to keep the focus on the records, Kleiman added. Kleiman said the National Archives only alters images in exhibits when they are used as graphic design components. We do not alter images or documents that are displayed as artifacts in exhibitions, she said. In this case, the image is part of a promotional display, not an artifact, she noted. On Saturday, the Archives progressed from admission to apology, noted Slate. We were wrong to alter the image, the National Archives said on Twitter. We have removed the current display and will replace it as soon as possible with one that uses the unaltered image. The Archives also said it will review its procedures to make sure this does not happen again. When told what the Archives had done, historians were dismayed, noted The Post. "There's no reason for the National Archives to ever digitally alter a historic photograph," said historian Douglas Brinkley said. "If they don't want to use a specific image, then don't use it. But to confuse the public is reprehensible. Wendy Kline, a history professor at Purdue University, was furious that the Archives thought it would be OK to change an image regarding womens rights. Doctoring a commemorative photograph buys right into the notion that its okay to silence womens voice and actions, Kline said. It is literally erasing something that was accurately captured on camera. Thats an attempt to erase a powerful message. The story immediately sparked controversy on Twitter, with many likening the blurring of a photograph to what would be seen under an authoritarian government, notes Slate. Ive spent my career working in places like North Korea and Saddam controlled Iraq. But I couldnt have expected to see the airbrushing of photography and history in this country, tweeted photojournalist David Guttenfelder. A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a woman was struck by a car in northwest London. Police were called to Henlys Corner just before midday on Monday to reports of a fight between the occupants of two vehicles. During the altercation a woman was hit by a car, which then drove off. She was rushed to hospital in central London where she remains in a critical condition. A car was later stopped in Islington and the suspect arrested. He remains in custody. In a statement the Met Police said: During the altercation a woman no further details was struck by a car. London Ambulance Service and Londons Air Ambulance attended the scene and the woman was taken to a central London hospital for treatment; she remains there in a critical condition." At approximately 12:45hrs a car was stopped in Islington and a man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder; he remains in custody. Enquiries into the circumstances remain ongoing. Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky will visit Israel this week to participate in the ceremony timed to the 75th anniversary of the release of prisoners of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. The politician said so in the interview with The Times of Israel. The most important thing for each country is to honor the memory of its Holocaust victims. Its very important to go, whether we [leaders] speak or not. For me personally, it doesnt matter whether I speak. But so many people who died in this tragedy [of the Holocaust] were Ukrainian Jews starting with Babi Yar, where 150,000 Ukrainian Jews were executed. The statistical information that we know shows that one in four of the Jews who were killed in the Holocaust were Ukrainian. That is why, for Ukrainians, it is very important to honor the victims of the Holocaust. I think it would be fair, therefore, that the president of Ukraine would give a speech", Zelensky said. The Ukrainian President added that the government plans to start construction of Little Jerusalem memorial in the town of Uman, Cherkasy region. "We have a project in Uman, where, as you know, a lot of Jews from all around the world travel there to pay respect to renowned Jews (...). So we have decided to construct a historical museum, to create a big park and to reconstruct the synagogue. We want to make an authentic little town. We created the name Little Jerusalem as an idea, to make it very authentic, in a very professional way," he said. The world forum in memory of Holocaust victims will take place in Jerusalem on January 22-23. Press Release January 19, 2020 POE PANEL GATHERS STAKEHOLDERS TO DISCUSS MOTORCYCLE TAXI REGULATION Sen. Grace Poe said she looks ahead to productive discussions when the public services committee which she chairs convenes on Jan. 20, Monday, 10 a.m. at the Senate Session Hall. Transportation officials, motorcycle taxi operators, leaders of commuters groups and motorcycle suppliers are expected to attend the public hearing that will focus on the four bills pending at the committee on the regulation of motorcycle taxis as a safe and alternative public utility vehicle. "Tandaan natin na iisa ang ating mithiin-ang magkaroon ang ating mga kababayan ng alternatibong masasakyan na maginhawa at ligtas," Poe stressed. Among the resource persons who have confirmed attendance to the hearing are Asst. Sec. Mark Steven Pastor and Engr. Bert Suansing of DOTr; LTO chief Asec. Edgar Galvante; TWG chairperson Antonio Gardiola; George Royeca of Angkas; Eric Torres of Move It Philippines; Neil Sherwin Yu of JoyRide; Brian Cu of Grab, and other operators of motorycle taxi and representatives of commuters group. The results of the pilot run, the supply cap set by the government inter-agency regulator and the ownership of motorcycle taxi firms are among the topics to be tackled in the hearing. Poe said the panel would also focus on some of the specific regulations relating to safety, such as the requirement to declare one's weight when booking for a ride. "We are pleased with the commitment of government officials and all concerned stakeholders to sit down and discuss key matters. This will be a big leap towards regulating motorcycle taxis," Poe said. "Seen as time-savers, motorcycle taxis must pass the strictest standard of safety, and this is where regulation will play a critical role," she added. Poe is the author of Senate Bill 128 or the proposed Motorcycles-for-Hire Act of 2019, one of the four bills that will be discussed by the committee, alongside SBN 1025 of Sen. Sonny Angara, SBN 409 of Sen. Imee Marcos and SBN 50 of Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto. Hollywood actor and online shopping portal Goop founder, Gwyneth Paltrow has been grabbing headlines ever since she announced the launch of her brand new This Smells Like My Vagina candle for $75, approximately Rs 5,500, in late December. And it sold out within a few hours! And while the world is scampering to buy and be patient as their turn comes in the waiting list for the candle, one person who wants none of it is American businesswoman, and renowned chef, writer and television personality Martha Stewart. During an episode of Watch What Happens To Andy Cohen, when a caller asked her to weigh Goops viral candle This Smells Like My Vagina, Martha replied, Im sure its sold out, shes making that kind of irritation shes trying to silence the public to listen to them. And thats great, I mean let them do their thing. I wouldnt buy this candle. B07F32D5Z9, B07LFH8GZX And when host Andy Cohen, asked, What does it say about America that the candle is now sold out? I think its not America, Martha answered, adding, I think there are a lot of people who are horny. The candle was previously in the news when Dwayne The Rock Johnson was challenged by comedian Adam Ray, who commented on an Instagram post of the Goob candle, he wrote, It was only a matter of time until normal scented candles would be out of style. Your move Yankee Candle Co. Time to get @therock to sell candles that smell like his balls. Price is Right ONE DOLLAR her, and sell them for $74 #vaginacandles #balls [sic]. Witty as always, The Rock replied, Brother I tried to make those candles but I kept burning my balls. So I moved on to shampoo. #scentofsac. Always a sport, and sensing a great marketing opportunity, Gwyneth commented on the post, This is f*****g priceless #deceased. Interestingly, the inception of the controversial website started out as a joke according to the description on the Goop website. It reads, This candle started as a joke between perfumer Douglas Little and GPthe two were working on a fragrance, and she blurted out, Uhhh..this smells like a vaginabut evolved into a funny, gorgeous, sexy, and beautifully unexpected scent. That turned out to be perfect as a candlewe did a test run at an In goop Health, and it sold out within hours. B07LFGGGXJ, B00WZ56U7K According to the product description, the candle is made with geranium, citrusy bergamot, and cedar absolutes juxtaposed with Damask rose and ambrette seed to put us in mind of fantasy, seduction, and a sophisticated warmth. However, Paltrow has often been in the news for her quirky and eyebrow-raising products. According to Fox News, Gwyneths company was in the news last year as well when they made a holiday gifting guide which included a BDSM kit and earrings worth $ 43,000. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Festus Keyamo chamber has written a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari asking the latter to urgently mediate in the political crisis currently taking over Benin Republic. The chamber owned and operated by Nigeria's minister of state for labour before he joined the cabinet of Buhari, alleged that the president of Benin, Patrice Talon, was carrying out condemnable acts against his political opponent, Sebastien Germain Ajavon. The chamber made three demands in the letter dated January 17 and which it copied the chairperson of the African Union (AU), Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, the chairman of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS), Issoufou Mahamadou, as well as the Nigerian minister of foreign affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama. The letter was signed by Festus Ukpe, Esq, counsel, and John Ainetor, Esq, assistant head of Festus Keyamo chamber. Read the full letter below: Friday, January 17, 2020 The President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Aso Villa, Abuja. Your Excellency, The truncation of the democratic process of the Republic of Benin by Mr Patrice Talon's refusal to obey the judgement of the African court on human and people's rights with respect to his continued persecution of Sebastien Germain Ajavon in violation of the African charter We bring you felicitous compliments of the yuletide and best wishes in the New Year. The purpose of this letter is to respectfully bring to your attention the fact that our professional services have been retained by Sebastien Germain Ajavon (hereinafter referred to as our client) for the purposes of seeking and obtaining redress for him on account of the continued contravention of the clear orders of the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights (hereinafter referred to as ACHPR) by the president of the Republic of Benin (Mr Patrice Talon) and the Government of the Republic of Benin. Background facts Our client is a businessman, political leader and a citizen of the Republic of Benin. At the last presidential elections in 2016, our client was the candidate of the opposition party and scored the third-highest number of votes cast in the keenly contested election. Our client scored a total of 23% of the votes cast while Mr Patrice Talon scored 24% of the votes. Upon seeing the widespread acceptance of our client to the electorate during the presidential elections, the president of the Republic of Benin began to deploy state apparatus to harass, intimidate and discredit our client. The president of the Republic of Benin targeted our client for these treatments primarily because our client was the rallying point of the political opposition which would participate in the local and municipal elections in June 2020, and it looked increasingly likely that our client would contest the presidential elections in March 2021. Sometimes in October 2016, after the presidential elections, the Gendarmerie (the Benin paramilitary force) purportedly acting on a tip from the office of the president of the Republic of Benin found about 18 kilograms of cocaine in a container of frozen goods imported by Comptoir Mondial de Negoce (COMON SA) of which our client is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). After the media blitz against our client spearheaded by Mr Talon, our client along with some of his employees were eventually arraigned for trafficking in cocaine before the Cotonou First Class Court of First Instance. On the 4th of November, 2016, the court discharged and acquitted our client after a full-blown trial. The futility of an appeal also prevented the government of the Republic of Benin from challenging the judgment of the First Class Court acquitting our client. Mr Talon was dissatisfied with this outcome as it did not fit into his agenda. Two weeks after the above judgment was delivered, Mr Talon deployed the agencies of government against our client and his business concerns in a bid to whittle down the economic powers of the opposition. The government suspended the license of the container terminal of the Societe de Courtage de Transit et de Consignation (SOCOTRAC) owned by our client. Additionally, on November 28, 2016, the government cut the signals of the radio station SOLEIL FM and those of the TV channel SIKKA TV belonging to our client. Our client viewed the actions of the Talon-led government as a witch-hunt, an attempt to illegally deploy state resources to harass and intimidate him in violation of his rights. Our client equally noted the unwillingness and inefficiency of the judiciary in the Republic of Benin to accommodate those who seek redress against the Talon-led government. In the circumstances, our client had no option than to approach the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights which was set up for that purpose vide an application dated 27th February 2017 for enforcement of his rights. While the case was still pending and in a desperate bid to secure a conviction of our client at all costs, Mr Talon established the Anti-Economic Crimes and Terrorism Court (hereinafter referred to as CRIET) and filed fresh charges against our client for trafficking in narcotics which was the basis of the previous case. On October 15, 2018, our client applied to the ACHPR to order the Talon-led government of Benin to suspend his trial before the CRIET. On 18th October 2018 and before the ACHPR could make the sought order of stay of trial, the CRIET hurriedly rendered its judgement against our client. He was unjustly sentenced to a term of twenty years imprisonment. The judgement of the CRIET was rendered without affording our client an opportunity to be heard and curiously, the judgement of the CRIET is final and cannot be appealed against. On 26th October 2018, our client informed the ACHPR of this development and on 7th December 2018, the ACHPR issued an order directing the government to stay the execution of the CRIET Judgment pending the final determination of the case filed by our client before the ACHPR. In consonance with its recalcitrant posture, the Talon-led government of Benin refused to obey the said order of the ACHPR and proceeded to proscribe the opposition party led by our client. The ACHPR eventually proceeded to deliver its final judgment on 29th March 2019. The ACHPR held that the persecutorial steps taken by Mr Talon against our client amounted to a violation of our clients rights under the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights. The ACHPR vehemently condemned the actions of Mr Patrice Talon and the government of the Republic of Benin and found at least eleven (11) violations of our clients rights. The ACHPR then made remedial and restitutorial orders against the government of Benin and in favour of our client. Reliefs sought Your Excellency, the choice of democracy as the most accepted form of government is closely connected with the desire of all people to choose their own leaders without let or hindrance. This accounts for the spread of democracy throughout Africa across economic, tribal and religious divides. Unfortunately, some African leaders in a bid to cling to power and prevent the electorate from exercising their free choice, manipulate the democratic process by stifling any form of opposition and imposing a one-party state or one-candidate option on the electorate. This led to the creation of the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights by the African Union for the purpose of reining in recalcitrant governments who abuse public power for personal gains in violation of the rights of the citizens. Your Excellency, despite the reprieve granted to our client by the African Court on Human and Peoples rights, the Talon-led government of Benin has refused to comply with that order. Our clients business interests in Benin Republic are still being targeted, our clients political party is still proscribed and our client is still being threatened with arrest and imprisonment when he returns to the Republic of Benin. Our client has therefore been forced into exile on account of his political orientations and consequently, it has been impossible for the opposition party to mobilise support for our client and other candidates in view of the forthcoming 2021 Presidential elections and the Local and Communal elections scheduled for June 2020. The purpose of this letter is to bring the foregoing to your attention as well as solicit your support in our quest to entrench true democracy in the Republic of Benin and Africa in general. The role played by the Federal Republic of Nigeria in entrenching democracy both in the ECOWAS sub-region and in Africa cannot be overemphasised. In the circumstances, we hereby respectfully urge you to exercise your good offices in helping to restore representative democracy in the Republic of Benin by: 1. Prevailing on the government of the Republic of Benin through diplomatic channels to respect the decision of the ACHPR, comply with same and allow our client free, unrestricted and unhindered movement into and within the Republic of Benin. 2. Prevailing on the African Union, through its relevant organs to apply pressure on the Republic of Benin to respect the processes and the orders of the ACHPR (an institution of the African Union) and allow free, fair and credible elections to be conducted in the Republic of Benin with the full and unhindered participation of all political orientations. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app 3. Soliciting the support of other countries in the West Africa sub-region and the African continent to put together a package of sanctions against the Republic of Benin led by Mr Talon for violating the specific provisions of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Right by engaging in acts capable of endangering the security of the sub-region and the continent. Conclusion Your Excellency, the struggle for the entrenchment of true democracy in Benin Republic is in the interest of the peace and stability of the West African sub-region. We repose confidence in the efficacy of the support and assistance of the Federal Republic of Nigeria towards the ultimate victory of democracy in the Republic of Benin. Back here in Nigeria, Legit.ng reports that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has kickstarted its scheduled protest in Abuja early Monday, January 20, demanding that the Supreme Court reverses itself on the judgement against Emeka Ihedioha as governor of Imo state. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) - Legit.ng. We have upgraded to serve you better. Amotekun: Falana blasts Malami, says he has no right to declare group illegal | Legit TV Source: Legit.ng [January 20, 2020] WorldRemit Reflects On Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's Legacy of Economic Empowerment and What It Means to Migrants in America In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, WorldRemit reflects on the life and legacy of the iconic and inspirational civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (Dr. King) and his timeless message of economic empowerment. As a leader of the 1960's Civil Rights Movement, Dr. King was instrumental in securing transformational, political and social change across America. In addition to his legacy of achieving civil and voting rights for all, Dr. King passionately advocated for quality education, accessible housing, job opportunities and economic empowerment. "The rich nations must use their vast resources of wealth to develop the underdeveloped, school the unschooled, and feed the unfed. Ultimately a great nation is a compassionate nation. No individual or nation can be great if it does not have a concern for 'the least of these." said Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Nobel (News - Alert) Peace Prize address, 1964. Over fifty years after Dr. King's call for financial inclusion and economic empowerment, the message is still relevant today, especially in migrant communities. Transformative wealth continues to be concentrated within a small percentage of individuals, organizations and nations. Studies show that the wealthiest 1% of the population holds 45% of global wealth. While there have been some significant achievements in reducing financial inequalities since the 1960s, half of the global population living in extreme poverty (on less than $1.90 per day) live in just five countries - India, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, and Bangladesh. In the Philippines, over 20% of the population live below the national poverty line (PHP 10,481 per month for a family of five). Migrant remittances sent from America reached over $68 billion in 2019. The majority of the transferred funds received by family and friends were for investments, education, healthcare and daily needs. This mirrors Dr. King's message regarding the allocation and distribution of resources to reduce inequalities and facilitate economic empowerment within the community. "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 's message of economic empowerment truly resonates with us here at WorldRemit. As a brand, we were created to support migrants in their bid to economically empower and support their families and friends back home" said Daniel Canning, Managing Director US, WorldRemit. "By using technology, we have digitized international money transfers, reducing transaction costs, increasing security and making them more convenient for both the sender and receiver. This allows the distribution of more funds to where they are needed the most, including lower-income nations where the money transfers deliver economic empowerment." WorldRemit remains committed to Dr. King's legacy of economic empowerment by continuing to leverage technology; revolutionizing the way migrants send remittances back home. About WorldRemit WorldRemit has disrupted an industry previously dominated by offline legacy players by taking international money transfers online - making them safer, faster and lower-cost. We currently send from 50 to 150 countries, operate in 6,500 money transfer corridors worldwide and employ over 800 people worldwide. On the sending side WorldRemit is 100% digital (cashless), increasing convenience and enhancing security. For those receiving money, the company offers a wide range of options including bank deposit, cash collection, mobile airtime top-up and mobile money. Backed by Accel, TCV and Leapfrog - WorldRemit's headquarters are in London, UK with a global presence in the United States, Canada, South Africa, Japan, Singapore, the Philippines, Australia and New Zealand. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200120005241/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Frank Saul with rescue dog Maggie and his wife Bernadette in their Clondalkin home A rescue dog who spent three years waiting to be homed has been credited with saving the life of her owner. When Labrador-cross Maggie heard owner Frank Saul gasping for breath in his sleep she rushed into his bedroom barking loudly before running down the hall and pushing open his daughter's door to wake her up. An ambulance was called and the Dublin father was rushed to hospital where he was treated for a serious chest infection. The family had taken the nervous dog - who features in Dogs Trust Ireland's new Waiting For You rehoming campaign - into their Clondalkin home only weeks earlier. "My daughter says that only for Maggie maybe I wouldn't be here talking today," said Frank, who has since recovered. "She was running around barking like hell. Panicking Expand Close Frank plays with Maggie in the back yard after the dog helped to save his life / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Frank plays with Maggie in the back yard after the dog helped to save his life "Dogs Trust have some lovely dogs out there and hopefully this will make people think." He said his wife, Bernadette, was in a deep sleep at around 3am when he got into difficulty. "My wife was out cold, fast asleep. I was gasping for breath. Maggie was on the stairs and must have heard me coughing and panicking. "My daughter, Kirsty, said Maggie came into her room and was barking around her bed and back into our bedroom. "I was in a bad way and I was rushed by ambulance to Connolly Hospital. "It was a very, very bad chest infection which was on the way to pneumonia. I was in hospital for four days. My daughter said I had gone grey. It was so frightening." The dog owner revealed his heart-warming story for Dogs Trust's #WaitingForYou campaign to highlight the hundreds of rescue dogs coming through the doors of their rehoming centre in Finglas. Ireland's largest dog welfare charity, which revealed it has rehomed more than 9,000 dogs since opening its doors in November 2009, is urging the public to consider adopting rather than buying a dog. Frank said his family believe Maggie sensed there was something seriously wrong on the night he fell ill. "We presumed she sensed something. Normally, she stays downstairs but that evening she came up on to the landing." He said they had only taken in Maggie, who is around eight or nine years old, four or five weeks before the incident just before Christmas. "My daughter, Kirsty, sponsors a dog. It was for her, the dog, but now she says she's my dog," he said. "Maggie is a very, very nervous. She had been in Dogs Trust for a hell of a long time. We just fell for her and they were amazed at how quickly she settled in with us. "I think it was meant to be to get a dog like that. "Hopefully people will hear this and support Dogs Trust in some way or other, even if they are not getting a dog." To find out more about how you can support the campaign go to www.DogsTrust.ie Boise Fry Co. already offers customers a choice of several seasoning-salt mixtures to sprinkle on their french fries: Cajun spice, rosemary, jalapeno, salt and vinegar. Now, add crickets to the list. Gold prices rose Rs 143 to Rs 40,112 per 10 gram in the Mumbai bullion market after missile attack on Yemen, over the weekend, prompted investors to move to safe-haven assests. Rise in retail sales ahead of the Chinese New Year also provided support to the yellow metal. The rate of 10 grams 22-carat gold in Mumbai was Rs 36,743 plus 3 percent GST, while 24-carat 10 gram was Rs 40,112 plus GST. The 18-carat gold quoted at Rs 30,084 plus GST in the retail market. The gold/silver ratio currently stands at 86 to 1, which means the amount of silver required to buy one ounce of gold. Meanwhile, silver prices gained Rs 85 to 46,640 per kg. Gold added Rs 209 last week and silver rose Rs 375 in the same period. In the futures market, gold rate touched an intraday high of Rs 40,000 and an intraday low of Rs 39,880 on MCX. For the February series, the yellow metal touched a low of Rs 36,098 and a high of Rs 41,293. Gold futures for delivery in February rose Rs 34, or 0.09 percent on the MCX trading at Rs 39,980 per 10 gram in the evening trade in a business turnover of 11,652 lots. Gold contracts for April delivery gained Rs 32, or 0.08 percent, at Rs 40,087 per 10 gram in a business turnover of 11,749 lots. The far month June contract was trading up by Rs 132, or 0.33 percent at Rs 40,232 per 10 gram with a business volume of 470 lots. The value of the February contract traded so far is Rs 1,622.31 crore and April contract saw the value of Rs 241.71 crore. Similarly, Gold Mini contract for February jumped by Rs 40, or 0.10 percent at Rs 39,960 in a business turnover of 8,684 lots. Gold price is trading under rising trend line channel and is expected to trade positive. Sustaining above Rs 39,900 would push price higher towards Rs 40,100-40,300 levels, according to Axis Securities. On hourly chart, price is trading above 9, 21 and 60 EMA which is a positive sign for price. The brokerage firm advised its clients to buy February gold at Rs 39,900 with stoploss at Rs 39,800 and target of Rs 40,100. MCX Gold has support at Rs 39,780-39,580 whereas resistance is at Rs 40,050-40,220. Bias remains sideways to positive for the day, according to Motilal Oswal. The broking firm advised its clients to buy on dip targeting resistance level of Rs 40,050-40,220. The brokerage firm said spot gold has intraday support at $1,530 whereas resistance is at $1,590. At 12:02 pm (GMT), spot gold was up $3.67 at $1,559.89 an ounce in London trading. President Donald Trump's defense team and the prosecutors of his are laying out their arguments over whether his conduct toward Ukraine warrants his removal from office. Trump's lawyers on Sunday previewed their defense with the questionable assertion that the charges against him are invalid, adopting a position rejected by Democrats as nonsense. The trial resumes on Tuesday with what could be a fight over the ground rules. By then, both sides will have submitted briefs and four Democratic presidential candidates will have been forced back to Washington from the early nominating states to join every other senator in silence, sans phones, on the Senate floor. What they're likely to hear in this extraordinary setting is the House Democrats' articles that charge Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress over his pressure on Ukraine for political help. From the White House, the senator-jurors are expected to hear that Trump committed no crime, the impeachment articles are invalid and he's the victim of Democrats who want to overturn his election. Criminal-like conduct is required, said Alan Dershowitz, a constitutional lawyer on Trump's defense team. Dershowitz said he will be making the same argument to the Senate and if it prevails, there will be no need" to pursue the witness testimony or documents that Democrats are demanding. But the no crime, no impeachment approach has been roundly dismissed by scholars and Democrats, who were fresh off a trial brief that called Trump's behavior the worst nightmare of the country's founders. In their view, the standard of "high crimes and misdemeanors" is vague and open-ended in the Constitution and meant to encompass abuses of power that aren't necessarily illegal. The White House is pushing an absurdist position," said Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the lead Democratic prosecutor of the impeachment case. That's the argument I suppose you have to make if the facts are so dead set against you. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., another impeachment prosecutor, called it arrant nonsense and said evidence of Trump's misconduct is overwhelming. The back-and-forth came as all concerned agitated for the Senate to get on with the third impeachment trial in the nation's history. Behind the scenes. the seven House managers were shoring up which prosecutor will handle which parts of the case and doing a walk-through of the Senate.. No senators were more eager to get going than the four Democratic presidential candidates facing the prospect of being marooned in the Senate ahead of kickoff nominating votes in Iowa and New Hampshire. I'd rather be here, said Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders on New Hampshire Public Radio while campaigning Sunday in Concord. During the trial, Sanders and other senators are required to sit for perhaps six grueling hours of proceedings daily except Sundays, per Senate rules in pursuit of the impartial justice they pledged to pursue. But there was scant evidence that anyone's mind was really open about whether Trump earned vindication or ouster. Mystery, however, abounded over the trial's ground rules. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., shed no light on how the proceedings will follow and differ from the precedent of President Bill Clinton's impeachment trial in 1999. The president deserves a fair trial. The American people deserve a fair trial. So let's have that fair trial, said Democratic Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado, one of the seven impeachment prosecutors. But what's fair is as vigorously disputed as the basic question of whether Trump's pressure on Ukraine to help him politically merits a Senate conviction and removal from office. The stakes are enormous, with historic influence on the fate of Trump's presidency, the 2020 presidential and congressional elections and the future of any presidential impeachments. Whatever happens in the Senate, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has said, Trump will be impeached forever. Members of Trump's team countered that if they win a vindication for Trump, it means there will be an acquittal forever as well, Trump attorney Robert Ray said Sunday. That is the task ahead. For all of the suspense over the trial's structure and nature, some clues on what's to come sharpened on Sunday. The president's lawyers bore down on the suggestion that House impeachment is invalid unless the accused violated U.S. law. Dershowitz's argument, backed up by Ray, refers to an 1868 speech by Benjamin Curtis, who after serving as a Supreme Court justice acted as the chief lawyer for Andrew Johnson at his Senate impeachment trial. Johnson was ultimately acquitted by the Senate. The core of the impeachment parameters allege that crimes have been committed, treason, bribery, and things like that, in other words, other high crimes and misdemeanors, Ray said Sunday. Republicans have long signaled the strategy, which has, in turn, been disputed by other scholars. Unidentified flying objects (UFOs) have captured the public's attention over the decades. As exoplanet detection is on the rise, why not consider that star-hopping visitors from afar might be buzzing through our friendly skies by taking an interstellar off-ramp to Earth? On the other hand, could those piloting UFOs be us our future progeny that have mastered the landscape of time and space? Perhaps those reports of people coming into contact with strange beings represent our distant human descendants, returning from the future to study us in their own evolutionary past. The idea of us being them has been advanced before. But a recent book, "Identified Flying Objects: A Multidisciplinary Scientific Approach to the UFO Phenomenon" (Masters Creative LLC, 2019), takes a fresh look at this prospect, offering some thought-provoking proposals. Related: UFO Watch: 8 Times the Government Looked for Flying Saucers Multidisciplinary approach The book was written by Michael Masters, a professor of biological anthropology at Montana Technological University in Butte. Masters thinks that given the accelerating pace of change in science, technology, and engineering it is likely that humans of the distant future could develop the knowledge and machinery necessary to return to the past. The objective of the book, Masters said, is to spur a new and more informed discussion among believers and skeptics alike. "I took a multidisciplinary approach in order to try and understand the oddities of this phenomenon," Masters told Space.com. "Our job as scientists is to be asking big questions and try to find answers to unknown questions. There's something going on here, and we should be having a conversation about this. We should be at the forefront of trying to find out what it is." Human evolution Dubbing these purported visitors "extratempestrials," Masters notes that close-encounter accounts typically describe UFO tenants as bipedal, hairless, human-like beings with large brains, large eyes, small noses and small mouths. Further, the creatures are often said to have the ability to communicate with us in our own languages and possess technology advanced beyond, but clearly built upon, today's technological prowess. Masters believes that through a comprehensive analysis of consistent patterns of long-term biocultural change throughout human evolution as well as recent advances in our understanding of time and time travel we may begin to consider this future possibility in the context of a currently unexplained phenomenon. "The book ties together those known aspects of our evolutionary history with what is still an unproven, unverified aspect of UFOs and aliens ," he said. But why not argue that ET is actually a traveler from across the vastness of space, from a distant planet? Wouldn't that be a simpler answer? "I would argue it's the opposite," Masters responded. "We know we're here. We know humans exist. We know that we've had a long evolutionary history on this planet. And we know our technology is going to be more advanced in the future. I think the simplest explanation, innately, is that it is us. I'm just trying to offer what is likely the most parsimonious explanation." Related: 5 Bold Claims of Alien Life Artist's view of an aerial encounter with an unidentified flying object. (Image credit: MUFON) Archaeological tourism As an anthropologist who has worked on and directed numerous archaeological digs in Africa, France and throughout the United States, Masters observes that it is easy to conceptualize just how much more could be learned about our own evolutionary history if we currently possessed the technology to visit past periods of time. "The alleged abduction accounts are mostly scientific in nature. It's probably future anthropologists, historians, linguists that are coming back to get information in a way that we currently can't without access to that technology," Masters said. "That said, I do think that some component of it is also tourism," he added. "Undoubtedly in the future, there are those that will pay a lot of money to have the opportunity to go back and observe their favorite period in history. Some of the most popular tourist sites are the pyramids of Giza and Machu Picchu in Peru old and prehistoric sites." Masters calls his UFO research "an evolving project." "There's certainly still missing pieces of the puzzle," he said. "There are aspects of time that we don't yet understand. Wanted is a theory of quantum gravity , and we can meld general relativity and quantum mechanics. I'm just trying to put forth the best model I can based on current scientific knowledge. Hopefully, over time, we can continue to build on this." Solve this mystery "Masters postulates that using a multidisciplinary scientific approach to the UFO phenomenon will be what it takes to solve this mystery once and for all, and I couldn't agree more," said Jan Harzan, executive director of the nonprofit Mutual UFO Network (MUFON). "The premise that UFOs are us from the future is one of many possibilities that MUFON is exploring to explain the UFO phenomenon. All we know for sure is that we are not alone," Harzan added. "Now the question becomes, 'Who are they?' And Masters makes a great case for the time-traveler hypothesis." Tic-Tac-shaped objects were recently reported zipping through the sky by jet-fighter pilots and radar operators. The Pentagon's Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) was created to research and investigate Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP), including numerous videos of reported encounters, three of which were released to the public in 2017. (Image credit: U.S. Department of Defense/To The Stars Academy of Arts & Science) 'Highly dubious claim' But not everybody is on board with the idea, as you might imagine. "There is nothing in this book to take seriously, as it depends on the belief that 'time travel' is not only possible, but real," said Robert Sheaffer, a noted UFO skeptic. Supposedly our distant descendants have mastered time travel , Sheaffer said, and have traveled back in time to visit us. "So, according to Masters, you just spin something fast enough and it will begin to warp space, and even send stuff backwards in time. This is a highly dubious claim," he said. Moreover, Sheaffer said that Masters tries to deduce aliens' evolutionary history from witness descriptions, "suggesting that he takes such accounts far too literally." Related: 7 Things Most Often Mistaken for UFOs The problem of 'if' David Darling is a British astronomer and science writer who has authored books on a sweeping array of topics from gravity, Zen physics and astrobiology to teleportation and extraterrestrial life . "I've often thought that if some UFOs are 'alien' craft, it's just as reasonable to suppose that they might be time machines from our own future than that they're spacecraft from other stars," Darling told Space.com. "The problem is the 'if.' Darling said that, while some aerial phenomena have eluded easy identification, one of the least likely explanations, it seems to him, is that they're artificial and not of this world. "Outside of the popular mythos of flying saucers and archetypal, big-brained aliens, there's precious little credible evidence that they exist," Darling said. "So, my issue with the book is not the ingenuity of its thesis, but the fact that there's really no need for such a thesis in the first place." Reported UFOs take on all shapes and sizes. (Image credit: U.K. National Archives sightings chart, circa 1969) Exotic physics? Larry Lemke, a retired NASA aerospace engineer with an interest in the UFO phenomenon , finds the prospect of time-travelling visitors from the future intriguing. "The one thing that has become clear over the decades of sightings, if you believe the reports, is that these objects don't seem to be obeying the usual laws of aerodynamics and Newtonian mechanics," Lemke said, referring to the relationship, in the natural world, between force, mass and motion. Toss in for good measure Einstein's theory of general relativity and its consequences, like wormholes and black holes, along with other exotic physics ideas such as the Alcubierre warp-drive bubble . "There's a group of thinkers in the field of UFOs that point out that phenomena reported around some UFOs do, in fact, look exactly like general relativity effects," Lemke said. Missing time is a very common one." Lemke said that the idea that somebody has figured out how to manipulate space-time, on a local scale with a low-energy approach, would explain a lot of things across the UFO phenomenon, including those baffling Tic-Tac-shaped objects recently reported by jet-fighter pilots and radar operators. "No matter how much knowledge we have, how much we think we know, there's always some frontier beyond," he said. "And to understand that frontier is getting more and more esoteric." Leonard David is the author of the recently released book, " Moon Rush: The New Space Race " published by National Geographic in May 2019. A longtime writer for Space.com, David has been reporting on the space industry for more than five decades. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook . LAKEWOOD, Ohio -- Similar to the movie of the same name, if only in the notion of empowering kids to feel safe and secure when they find themselves the only one in their house or in charge of younger siblings, Help To Others Home Alone Safety Program held its first student-parent workshop Jan. 15 at Garfield Middle School. The first of our four sessions went great, H2O Coordinator Emmie Hutchison said. The kids were broken down into groups and assigned a group leader in a classroom. They received safety presentations in the classrooms and then rotated through the safety topics. The parents went back to the cafeteria and they receive presentations by safety experts -- police, fire EMT and cybercrimes investigations. The workshops covered topics such as first aid, internet safety, getting to and from school, after-school routines, tricky people, sibling conflict mediation and safe food handling and preparation. Home Alone Safety Program is a leadership skill initiative for Lakewood kids ages 9 to 12. Registration is required to attend the remaining student-parent workshops, scheduled for Jan. 29, Feb. 13 and Feb. 22 at Garfield Middle School. The H2O Youth Volunteer Program, which is operated by the City of Lakewood/Department of Human Services Division of Youth, provides Lakewood youth with meaningful opportunities to serve and make a difference in their community. The idea behind this is giving some kids baseline safety knowledge and skills to ensure their safety at home, but also to give them a sense of mastery and competence, so as they approach independence they do it with less anxiety, Hutchison said. Really, what its meant to do -- one of the reasons why the requirements to attend is both parent and child -- is foster some discussions about when a child is ready to have independence. The first Home Alone Safety Program was attended by 38 families, including parent Amy Muntean with daughter Ellie, 9. I felt that the program was very informative, as well as comprehensive, Muntean said. I was impacted by the responses that children gave to a survey regarding their home-alone experiences. I learned a great deal regarding keeping my children safe while online, as well as new information regarding fire safety. My daughter also enjoyed and retained much of what she learned. During the latter half of 2019, 11 Lakewood High School students developed the new program. Their efforts included meeting with first responders and internet crime investigators on how youth can be safe at home while parents are away. The program included 55 high school student volunteers. After our event on Wednesday, I felt the kids left with helpful and relevant information, Lakewood High School senior and Home Alone volunteer Hayley Welsh said. I do believe that Home Alone made a difference in the children and parents lives. My experience was fantastic -- not only did I get to help out our community, but I learned things, including leadership, communication and responsibility. Hutchison said the trained H20 volunteers did a great job their first time out. The high school kids were agile, getting the kids back on topic and keeping things flowing, Hutchison said. I know some of the feedback they got in one of the rooms was to be able to be more interactive with the kids -- making sure that theyre bringing them into the conversation while keeping them on topic. Its always a balancing act, so were going to work with the students to tighten up some of that. Overall, I think the next one will go off a lot better. We also need to tighten the timing a little bit, because I think the safety experts could have probably expanded their presentations by quite a bit. But overall, we hoped for positive responses and thats what received. Read more news from the Sun Post Herald. Vancouver, January 20, 2020 - Revelo Resources Corp. (TSXV: RVL) ("Revelo" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Company has agreed in principle to sell to EMX Royalty Corp. (TSXV: EMX) ("EMX") 20 generative net smelter return ("NSR") royalty interests over exploration properties for a cash total of US$1.5 million. The NSR royalty interests being sold include 11 generative NSR royalty interests on projects currently owned by third parties, and 9 NSR royalty interests on properties held by Revelo. Consummation of the transaction is subject to finalization of appropriate due diligence by EMX together with the execution of definitive documentation. Revelo will use the proceeds of the sale to pay back a loan due to EMX totalling approximately CAD$520,000 together with portions of a loan due to Term Oil Inc. (see news releases dated February 27, 2018 and October 3, 2019). Subsequent to the completion of the transaction, Revelo plans to implement other corporate initiatives to put the company onto a firm basis for future activities and success. These actions will be advised in due course. Summary of Generative Royalty Interests to be Sold Revelo's 11 generative NSR royalty interests on projects currently owned by third parties are as follows: Project Name Hectares (Approx') Principal Commodities NSR Royalty Interest Current Project Owner San Guillermo 12,000 Au-Ag 0.5% AM Austral Gold Ltd Reprado 2,700 Au-Ag 1.0% AM Austral Gold Ltd Limbo 5,600 Au-Ag 1.0% AM Austral Gold Ltd Magallanes 1,000 Au-Ag 1.0% AM Austral Gold Ltd Victoria Norte 38,400 Au-Ag / Cu-Mo 2.0% AM Hochschild Mining plc Q'Inti 100 Cu-Mo 2.0% AM Masglas America Corp Los Azules 3,700 Cu-Mo 2.0% AM Masglas America Corp Kolla Kananchiari 3,900 Au-Cu-Ag 1.0% PM / 0.5% BM Masglas America Corp San Valentino 1,100 Cu-Au-Mo 1.0% AM Atacama Copper Explor' T4 1,900 Cu-Au 1.5% AM Atacama Copper Explor' Las Animas 3,900 Cu-Au 1.5% AM Atacama Copper Explor' Revelo's 9 generative NSR royalty interests covering wholly-owned projects are as follows: Project Name Hectares (Approx') Principal Commodities NSR Royalty Interest Victoria Sur 6,600 Au-Ag-Cu 1.0% AM Arrieros 14,000 Cu-Mo-Au 1.0% AM Redondo-Veronica 5,000 Cu-Mo 1.0% AM Block 2 3,300 Cu-Mo 1.0% AM Block 3 10,000 Cu-Mo 1.0% AM Block 4 4,200 Cu-Mo 1.0% AM Cerro Blanco 6,500 Cu-Mo-Au 1.0% AM Cerro Buenos Aires 7,700 Cu-Mo-Au-Ag 1.0% AM Morros Blancos 7,900 Cu-Au-Mo 1.0% AM (AM = All Metals / PM = Precious Metals / BM = Base Metals) Qualified Person Dr. Demetrius Pohl, PhD., Certified Professional Geoscientist (CPG), an independent geological consultant to Revelo, is the Company's Qualified Person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosures for Mineral Projects of the Canadian Securities Administrators and has verified the data disclosed and approved the written disclosure of the technical information contained in this news release. ABOUT REVELO Revelo has interests in an outstanding portfolio of projects prospective for copper, gold and silver located along proven mineral belts in one of the world's top mining jurisdictions - Chile. The Company has a combination of wholly owned projects (for self-funded exploration, or available for option, joint venture or sale), some of which are subject to option agreements, shareholdings in third-party companies (including spun-out companies), and royalty interests (non-producing to date). Revelo's total exposure to mineral tenements in northern Chile, either wholly owned or through royalty interests, is around 200,000 hectares. Revelo is a Canadian company and is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSX-V: RVL). For more information, please visit Revelo's website at www.reveloresources.com ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD Michael Winn, Chairman INVESTOR CONTACT Timothy J Beale | President & CEO T: +1 604 687-5544 | info@reveloresources.com | www.reveloresources.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENT This news release contains certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical fact, that address events or developments that Revelo expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential", "indicate" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although Revelo 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 may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. REVELO PROJECT LOCATION MAP To view an enhanced version of this map, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3761/51624_18280391c49e5a45_003full.jpg Note: Coloured blocks represent properties in which Revelo has interests. Refer to the legend for more details. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/51624 The OSCE will do its utmost to enable comprehensive and sustainable ceasefire in Donbas, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Prime Minister of Albania for Europe and Foreign Affairs Edi Rama has said. The OSCE will do its utmost to guarantee comprehensive and sustainable ceasefire in Donbas as it is very important to the civilians, he said at a joint press conference with Foreign Minister of Ukraine Vadym Prystaiko on Monday, adding that the fact that victims among the civilians are still being registered was absolutely unacceptable. The OSCE "will strongly encourage the full implementation of the Minsk agreements supporting the efforts of the Trilateral Contact Group and also the process of the Normandy Format," he said. Rama also said that a lot of time will be required to discuss agreements, contracts, formulas, however the lives of people and the problems faced by the residents of the districts seized by the conflict are of major importance. The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office said that the restoration of a high-level dialogue and the Normandy Summit in Paris were important steps towards the settlement of the conflict in Donbas. He added that a lot of steps are yet to be taken towards sustainable peace. One of the chief promoters of Illinois agriculture is a 26-year-old rural Jacksonville resident whose passion and knowledge have catapulted her to the farming forefront. Jenny Jackson is the director of communications for the Illinois Pork Producers Association, a dream job for the farm girl who has been a fixture at the Morgan County Fair for most of her life and who now is one of the main voices promoting, educating, protecting and serving the states pig farmers. Jackson is also in her fourth and final year in the Illinois Farm Bureaus Young Leader program, representing a district that encompasses Morgan, Cass, Sangamon, Logan, Mason, Menard, Pike and Scott counties. She is secretary of the programs executive committee and has traveled the nation to attend agricultural leadership conferences, where she has heard President Donald Trump speak. Im most proud that I get to work for farmers and help them to continue farming in Illinois, Jackson said. This is my calling, I really feel comfortable doing it, theres always a challenge. Jacksons primary duty as the Pork Producers Associations communications director is news media relations, trying to generate positive stories about the states pork producers, particularly the associations 1,600 members. She also produces educational materials for those members so they can have the latest information about opportunities and threats facing the industry. Jackson is one of the chief organizers of the Illinois Pork Expo, an annual event coming up Feb. 4-5 in Springfield, and is in charge of several pork-related areas at the Illinois State Fair. I had a great college internship with the Illinois Farm Bureaus PR department and I did a lot of youth organization and communications for them. I got to coordinate the Master Showmanship competition at the Illinois State Fair, Jackson said. So all of that, plus being in 4H and FFA my entire childhood, have really prepared me for this position. Jackson has an associates degree in graphic design from Lincoln Land Community College and a bachelors degree in agriculture science from Western Illinois University. She was the marketing person for J.O. Harris Sales in Alexander, an agricultural implement dealer, throughout high school and college and for two years after. Then, Jackson got a lead on the open communications director position for the Illinois Pork Producers Association. It was just right up my alley. I have always loved agriculture but especially livestock, I grew up with both pigs and cattle, so it was a really natural fit, Jackson said. And here I am, almost three years later. The biggest thing on Jacksons PR plate right now is the threat of African Swine Fever. She helped to organize an event focused on African Swine Fever preparedness and helped put together a document outlining resources, information and Illinois specifics for farmers. Regional meetings on the issue may follow this spring. Its not what I expected to be handling when I started, but for the past year and a half I have been knee-deep in African Swine Fever preparedness, because it may be the next big thing to hit us, Jackson said. Heaven forbid that it does, but we want farmers to be prepared just in case. Tariffs are another big item for Illinois pork producers, and the association is working to help pass the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement because 40 percent of all U.S. pork fresh leg goes to Mexico. They love fresh ham, they know how to cook it and what to do with it, Jackson said. If we dont have trade agreements with them and they cant buy it at a reasonable rate without tariffs, they are going to Europe to get cheaper pork. Jackson is always looking for opportunities to promote the positive aspects of an industry that makes Illinois the nations fourth top pork producing state. She wants to make people aware that pig farmers take good care of their animals, are good caretakers of the land, and are committed to providing the public with a safer, cleaner product to eat. The fan of marinated pork chops likes to inform everyone that pork is a nutritious protein, with several cuts making the American Heart Associations heart-healthy list, although another favorite, bacon, is not among them. Bacon is everybodys favorite and obviously thats not heart-healthy, but its darn good and thats our biggest seller, Jackson said. The Pork Producers Youth in Education program, which she also coordinates, is one of Jacksons favorite activities. She also spearheads the Master Showmanship competition, promotes the Pork Patio, and manages the birthing center at the Illinois State Fairgrounds where people can see piglets being born. Our very first Illinois Pork Youth Day took place this year, we had over 150 kids, Jackson said. The idea is to reach the 4H age range, ages 8 to 18, about pork production to get them interested in our industry and keep them. This years Pork Youth Day will be Feb. 15 and the theme is career exploration. Jennifer Tirey is the executive director of the Illinois Pork Producers Association, Jacksons boss and the one who hired her. I was immediately impressed with Jennys level of involvement within the agriculture industry at such a young age. On her first day with Illinois Pork, she had just returned the night before from a convoy to Kansas that she helped organize that delivered hay to livestock farms devastated by wildfires, Tirey said. Now, after nearly three years working together, she continues to leave her mark, as a respected voice for our industry and a creative out-of-the-box thinker developing programs geared specifically toward our youth, the next generation. Jackson and her family have a long legacy at the Morgan County Fair. Her father, Mark, has served on the fair board for many years, and Jenny and her three sisters have been a near constant presence on the fairgrounds their entire lives. Jenny was part of the group that organized the first Morgan County Fair Gala. Its an extension of the lifelong commitment she has to promoting Illinois agriculture. I love pairing consumers with a farm, taking them on a tour, and watching that aha moment, Jackson said. There is no greater reward than a farmer thanking me for getting the word out there about their production practices and consumers having more trust in them now. Residents of an inner suburb of Perth are mortified by the possibility of losing one of their major entertainment, employment and education drawcards to the area as plans are floated to move sections of the precinct to the central business district. Mount Lawley residents have expressed their disappointment over the possible relocation of Edith Cowan University facilities after the institution confirmed it was exploring options to create a CBD-based campus. ECU Mount Lawley explores options to create CBD-based campus. Credit:Lauren Pilat ECU was one of four WA unis that submitted an expression of interest in 2019 to the federal and state governments joint City Deal for an undergraduate campus in the CBD to boost economic activity in Perth. Federal Cities Minister Alan Tudge met with Premier Mark McGowan last year to sign off on the deal and is expected to return to Perth this week as a panel of experts works to evaluate the proposed EOIs. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- About 50 young people gathered in Stapleton Monday afternoon for a conversation on racial and socio-economic disparities on Staten Islands North Shore. Organized on Martin Luther King Jr. Day by several Staten Island non-profits, like the Staten Island Justice Center and the New York Center for Interpersonal Development, the event brought together youth aged 16-25 to discuss the subjects most important to their futures. We were really happy with the turnout, NYCID Associate Executive Director of External Affairs Michael DeVito said. I saw that it was really hard for some our young people to articulate what they were feeling, because it is so heavy. Attendees split into groups of about 10 led by trained youth and adult facilitators to discuss issues like housing, health, and criminal justice at the Central Family Life Center on Wright Street. The young people in one of the groups had a heavy focus on gang violence, while another was concerned with education and after school opportunities in their neighborhoods. The event was part of a broader day of service organized by SIJC and other non-profits for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Other events included a food pantry cleanup in Port Richmond, and a food and clothing drive in Stapleton. We really wanted to have an event that allowed young people to be visible in the community and doing something positive, SIJC Director of Community Programs Talia Warmflash said. This event, in particular was a chance for them to really share their perspective on what its like to live on Staten Island. Funding for the projects was obtained, in part, by a grant from Youth Service America, a non-profit that works to create more volunteer opportunities for young people. Destiny Small, a senior at Susan Wagner High School, participated in the event as a youth facilitator leading the conversation with her peers. She said she wanted to have her voice heard, and hoped the conversation would help to bring people together. I feel like a lot of people need to speak on things, and if we work together -- because people in Staten Island are always working against each other instead of working together -- we can make things work, Small said. Staffers with the Advance sat in on each group to learn more about the issues facing young people on the boroughs North Shore as part of the papers ongoing project looking at economic and racial disparities on Staten Island. An event on the subject held in late November at the same location saw a turnout of nearly 200 people, but did not include a large youth presence. Attendees at the November event voiced similar concerns to those heard Monday, but Warmflash and DeVito said they wanted to ensure that the boroughs youth had an opportunity to bring attention to their specific concerns. DeVito said he hopes to continue the conversations with more focus on specific issues in smaller settings. I think that is part of the real true need for us to continue doing this type of work where we are opening up this space to have dialogue, he said. People interested in learning more about the project can contact the Advance at disparity@siadvance.com. The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Monday, dismissed a suit filed by Natasha Akpoti, the candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the November 16 governorship election in Kogi State, against the governor, Yahaya Bello, for lacking in locus standi. The judge, Inyang Ekwo, who delivered the judgement, held that the alleged offence was criminal and not a civil case, which could be instituted by an individual. The judge therefore declared that the plaintiff had no legal right to institute the case. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Ekwo had, on December 6, 2019, fixed January 20 to deliver a judgment in the suit, seeking Mr Bellos disqualification over alleged double registration as a voter. The SDPs candidate had, in a suit number: FHC/ABJ/CS/1221/2019 dated October 10 and filed by Mike Ozekhome, SAN, on her behalf, sought the courts determination on the eligibility of Mr Bello, at the just-concluded election, having been allegedly involved in double registration as a voter. But Mr Bello had told the court that he was ready to defend himself on the allegation of double registration, framed against him by Mrs Akpoti. While Mrs Akpoti was the plaintiff, the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Mr Bello were 1st, 2nd and 3rd defendants respectively. Delivering his judgment, Mr Ekwo, who noted Mrs Akpotis prayers before the court, said one of the issues raised in the 1st defendants application, was for the court to determine whether the plaintiff, who was not an aspirant in its primary election, had a locus standi to file the suit. He said it is the statement of claim that will determine whether the plaintiff has locus standi or not; in this case, it is the originating summons that will determine this. He said the plaintiff relied on sections of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended), as the basis of her locus standi to challenge Bello; as APCs candidate for the poll, following his involvement in electoral fraud. In her argument, the plaintiff said such a person is not a fit and proper person to be voted for, in any election, let alone for the highest office of a governor of a state, the judge said. Mr Ekwo, however, held that the section cited does not deal with fraud matters. The question now is whether the plaintiff locus standi to find a civil cause of action on Section 24(1)(e) of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended). The answer is simply, no! It can be seen from the originating process that this suit is a civil action. It is not about the prosecution of the 3rd defendant for the allegation stated in Section 24(1)(e) of Electoral Act, 2010 or proving the case against him beyond a reasonable doubt, as prescribed by the law. It is clear from the originating processes that the plaintiff is not a prosecuting authority and the plaintiff not being a prosecuting authority had not exhibit or any fiat by any prosecution agency to engage in this act, he held. According to him, going by the wording of provisions of Sections 24 and 24(1)(e) of the Electoral Act, 2010, it is my opinion that no litigant can create a civil action out of the provisions. He said the effect of lack of locus standi of the plaintiff portrayed that; the court cannot exercise jurisdiction on this matter. Mr Ekwo, therefore, struck out the matter for lack of locus standi. In an interview with journalists shortly after the proceeding, Counsel to Mr Bello, Muizudeen Abdullahi, said the court judgment had reaffirmed his position that the judiciary was on course. He said what the court had done today was to apply the law. The plaintiff actually filed the action challenging the qualification, nomination and sponsorship of Yahaya Bello, in the election that took place on November 16, 2019. And we, as counsel, have the duty to assist the court in knowing the position of the law. So we filed a preliminary objection challenging the competence of the action and in the judgment this morning, the court agreed with us that the plaintiff who filed the action had no locus standi to file the action on the grounds that the section of the law, which she came under, was the section that confides a criminal power against any of the persons that breached the provisions of the law. Advertisements So Section 24(e) as considered by the court has a criminal nature and not a civil action. So she filed a civil action and the court said by virtue of the fact that a section speaks on criminal issues, you, as an individual without a fiat of a prosecuting body, cannot file action, or a civil action to claim that one be punished under the law, he said. (NAN) Hardening his stand, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Monday rejected the Left front government's explanation over moving the Supreme Court against Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 without informing him and said it was 'unlawful'. "No explanation can satisfy me," the Governor told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday evening, a day after making it clear that he would not remain a 'mute spectator' as he sought a report from the Pinarayi Vijayan government. Khan's strongly-worded reaction came hours after state Chief Secretary Tom Jose met him at the Raj Bhavan and explained the grounds under which the state government had filed a suit in the Supreme Court against the citizenship law. The Chief Secretary, in the brief meeting, was also understood to have informed the Governor that the government had not willfully violated any rules, sources said. However, the Governor, who was on his way to Ayodhya, told reporters at the airport that no explanation of theirs (government) can satisfy him as what they did was 'unlawful' and 'not legally correct'. "My view is that approval is needed. They have gone to the Supreme Court without informing me. That is an unlawful act... not legally correct. So their no explanation can satisfy me," he said. However, Khan maintained that the matter was neither a 'clash of egos nor of any personal differences'. In a democracy, individuals are bestowed with brief authority, he said, adding 'that authority does not give the license to anybody to violate the law or the rules'. Pointing out that as per legislative assembly rules, the assembly shall not discuss any matter not concerned with the state government, Khan said adding 'you have violated rules and laws which you yourself framed'. "Any case which affects the relation between the state and the government of India, it is duty of the chief minister to submit to the Governor. And order can be issued only after the submission of the case to the Governor," he added. As constitutional head of the state, Khan said he would try his best to ensure that the administration of the state and business of the government was transacted strictly in accordance with the rules laid down in the constitution. "I will not allow the constitutional machinery to collapse in the state... that cannot be allowed," he said. On Communist Party of India-Marxist General Secretary Sitaram Yechury's statement that in independent India, the post of Governor was 'superfluous', Khan shot back saying it only proved one point that the Marxist veteran has not been able to find fault with him (Khan). They only want the Governor's post to be abolished so that there is none to oversee whether the rules and constitution are being followed or not, the Governor said. "They are entitled to their views. But for that this is not the forum. That authority, only the people of India can give. Let them ask the people of India to give them their trust. Then they can do whatever they want with the Constitution. Today they are not in a position to do so," he said in a dig at the Marxist party. Though the opposition Congress has criticised the Governor for holding press meets and airing his opinion in public, the Bharatiya Janata Party in the state has extended him complete support. However, giving a surprise to political circles, veteran saffron party leader and the lone BJP MLA in the assembly O Rajagopal on Monday criticised the Governor, saying he should show some 'restraint'. "It is not proper for the Governor and the government make public statements. Differences of opinion should be resolved in private," he told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram. Khan's stand had drawn the ire of the ruling front with CPI-M mouthpiece Deshabhimani slamming him for making 'political statements' and alleging he was 'threatening' the state in a 'tough language'. Last week it was smoke disrupting Melbourne's summer of tennis, on Monday it was rain - the city's wettest day since September 2011, no less. Forty-four millimetres were recorded at the Olympic Park weather station - right next door to the Australian Open, which had to suspend play on the outside courts. Rain delayed the first afternoon of Australian Open action. Credit:Getty Images The slow moving storms that moved over the city from Monday afternoon also made for the wettest January day since 2004. But that hasn't removed the risk of bushfires this week. Temperatures are expected to rise across Victoria again on Wednesday. Anti-Imperialism is Climate Justice! Party members hold successful forum at the Students of Sustainability Conference On Monday, 13th February members from the Sydney Central branch and the Maritime branch of the Communist Party of Australia (CPA) held a forum titled Anti-Imperialism is Climate Justice to an audience of over forty participants from around Australia. This forum occurred as part of the Students of Sustainability (SoS) conference being run by the Australian Student Environment Network (ASEN). ASEN is an explicitly anti-capitalist environmental activist student mass organisation. SoS this year took place at the University of Sydney Lidcombe campus. This forum was organised by CPA members to make a case for the environmental movement to consistently oppose imperialism and war, expose the dangers of green capitalism and publicise the internationalist concept of climate debt. The forum explored the nature of imperialism through a review of the historical record of Western imperialism. This record includes the colonisation and looting of the resources of nations in Latin America, Africa, India, and China. This process included deliberately engineered famines, enormous violence, slavery and genocides, left formally wealthy countries like India and China deeply improvised and constitute some of the greatest crimes in human history. However, to be able to oppose imperialism consistently, a moral denunciation of imperialist aggression and war is insufficient. The following arguments as to why environmental movements must consistently oppose imperialism were put forward. Firstly, imperialism is an essential tool for creating and recreating a global system of oppression. Imperialist aggression and wealth extraction from targeted countries was essential in the establishment of capitalism, was crucial in globalising capitalism and today retains a role of protecting the international capitalist order. Secondly, imperialism is a severe threat to progressive movements and winning progressive change, which is essential to win climate justice. Historically, this has been seen through aggression and encirclement against the Soviet Union and other revolutionary countries, through organised military coups against Chile in 1973 and Bolivia in 2019, and in the murders of environmental activists in Latin America by CIA backed paramilitaries. And finally, imperialism fundamentally involves massive environmental destruction and the threat of environmental destruction severe enough to make the planet uninhabitable. This is demonstrated by the use of weapons of war with severe environmental and health impacts, the enormous pollution produced by the military of the USA and the threat of global nuclear war. The recent coup in Bolivia was explored to demonstrate further the danger of imperialism. It also explored the manipulative tactics that the media uses to manufacture consent for imperialist aggression and to undermine support for genuine revolts against ruling elites by the working class. Finally, the concept of climate debt was offered as a way of exploring global climate justice. At the core of climate debt is a recognition of historic damage and impoverishment that the West has inflicted on the global south and also of the disproportionate suffering that is inflicted on the people in the global south by climate change. The global south has no responsibility for causing or having benefited from the economic systems that are causing climate change. The above was clearly summarised to the forum audience with a quote from Sharon Looremeta, an advocate for Maasai tribespeople in Kenya, who have lost at least 5 million cattle to drought in recent years: The Maasai community does not drive 4x4s or fly off on holidays in airplanes. We have not caused climate change, yet we are the ones suffering. This is an injustice and should be stopped right now. The most crucial aspect of climate debt is the recognition that western countries owe the global south reparations for both the historic damage on their societies from imperial exploitation and for the developing damage inflicted by climate change. These reparations would be crucial to accelerate the green development of the global south and promote resilience in a changing climate. This forum was successful and well received by the audience, which was struck by the increased need to oppose imperialism while organising to win climate justice. He's been working as a model since the age of 14. And Jordan Barrett, 23, has proven he can strike a perfect pose in any situation, after he was spotted pouting to cameras outside a Prada's Paris Fashion Week party on Sunday. Jordan was waiting in a line of other guests hoping to gain entry to the VIP party, when he spotted photographers. Zoolander moment! Jordan Barrett, 23, has proven he can strike a perfect pose in any situation, after he was spotted pouting to cameras outside a Prada's Paris Fashion Week party on Sunday Without missing a beat, Jordan turned to the snappers and gave the lens one of his trademark striking stares. The blond runway regular wore a white cable-knit jumper that featured yellow dip-dye detailing, and a pair of black cargo pants. He accessorised the look with a pair of black boots and an array of gold necklaces. Casually trendy: The blond runway regular wore a white cable-knit jumper that featured yellow dip-dye detailing, and a pair of black cargo pants Jordan is signed to Kate Moss' modelling agency and has graced the runway for a slew of high-end fashion labels, including Dolce & Gabbana, Moschino and Versace. He has also graced the covers of CR Book Carine Roitfeld, The London Times, and Wonderland Magazine. However the model's appeal lies beyond the catwalk, having been linked to the likes of 'it' girls Hailey Baldwin, Sofia Richie, Megan Blake Irwin, Lara Stone and Sahara Ray. Chic: Jordan accessorised the look with a pair of black boots and an array of gold necklaces He was was discovered at age 14 by a model scout working for the agency IMG. The chance meeting took place when he was caught stealing matches from a convenience store in Byron Bay, Australia. Jordan previously told New York Magazine of the incident: 'I wanted to have a cigarette, but I couldn't get a lighter because apparently you have to be over 18, so I decided I was gonna take matches from the counter.' WASHINGTON (AP) When President Donald Trumps historic impeachment trial is called to order in the Senate this week, he wont be watching from inside the chamber or on television from the White House. He'll be thousands of miles away at the Davos economic forum in the Swiss Alps, trying to charm global CEOs over dinner. Trump's participation in the annual World Economic Forum will provide a conspicuous split-screen moment in a presidency familiar with them. His two-day visit to Switzerland will test his ability to balance his anger over being impeached with a desire to project leadership on the world stage. Administration officials say Trump remains focused on serving the public. The president's work doesn't stop just because of the impeachment sham, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said in an email. Trump, who departs Washington on Monday night, said he's going to Davos to encourage businesses to invest in the U.S. We're now where the action is, he said at a farmers' convention Sunday in Texas. Swooping in for what will be his second appearance at the annual Swiss economic forum, Trump was scheduled to arrive at the ski resort early Tuesday and jet back on Wednesday to a Washington that will be consumed by the impeachment trial. Trump will give a speech at the forum and meet with world leaders and business executives. The Democratic-controlled House impeached the Republican president last month for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress after it was revealed that he had pressed Ukraines president to announce investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden, a Democratic political rival. Trump withheld foreign aid that Congress had approved for the Eastern European nation and dangled the prospect of an Oval Office meeting as leverage. Trump denies any wrongdoing and argues that Democrats want to remove him from office because they know they cant deny him reelection in November. Trump would be forced to leave office if convicted, but the Republican-controlled Senate is expected to acquit him. Story continues Trump said he would attend the Davos forum despite the awkward timing because he wants to encourage businesses to come back to the U.S. Our country is the hottest country anywhere in the world, he said at the White House last week. "There's nothing even close. Ill be meeting the biggest business leaders in the world, getting them to come here. The White House has not named any of the business leaders Trump is set to meet with. But he will hold talks with the leaders of Iraq, Pakistan, Switzerland and Iraq's self-governing Kurdish region, as well as the forum's founder, the White House said Monday. Trump also will have his first meeting with the new European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, the first woman to hold the position. That meeting could be the most significant, said analyst Matt Goodman, given Trumps many disagreements with Europe over tax and trade policy, like a new digital levy by the French that will force American tech giants such as Amazon and Google to pay up. She's new and she's formidable, said Goodman, who studies international economic policy as a senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He predicted a difficult year ahead for U.S.-EU relations. It could either go very well or very badly, Goodman said. Trump has smarted over the French tax, and his administration has announced plans to impose retaliatory tariffs of up to 100% on cheese, wine, lipstick and other French imports. France has threatened to fight back. But after speaking to Trump on Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted that they had a great discussion about the digital tax and "will work together on a good agreement to avoid tariff escalation. The U.S. has also threatened to impose retaliatory duties on $7.5 billion worth of European airplanes, cheese, wine and other goods in a separate dispute over subsidies for Airbus, a competitor to Chicago-based Boeing Co. Trump also has sought to wring trade concessions from the EU by threatening tariffs on German autos, including BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Trump heads to Switzerland as just the third American president, after Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton, to face a Senate impeachment trial. Johnson and Clinton were both acquitted by the Senate. There is precedent for international travel by an impeached U.S. leader. During his impeachment over an affair with a White House intern, Clinton visited Japan, South Korea, Israel and the Palestinian Authority. He traveled to Jordan for King Hussein's funeral in February 1999, just a few days before he was acquitted by the Senate. Two days after acquittal, Clinton went to Mexico on a state visit. Trump is planning to make his first visit to India at the end of February, probably after the conclusion of his impeachment trial. He also has talked about traveling soon to Beijing, although he has given no dates, to open a new round of trade talks with China. ___ Follow Darlene Superville on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dsupervilleap New Zealands housing market is becoming less affordable with current prices seven times the median household income, according to research group Demographia's latest report. The research groups annual housing affordability survey, which monitored cities in eight countries, found that New Zealand has a median multiple of 7, which meant seven times the median income for a median house up from 6.5 the previous year. Auckland was the sixth most unaffordable major market, level-pegging with Toronto at 8.6. Hugh Pavletich, the report's co-author, said housing affordability in the country should have improved because the Auckland market flattened for a few months, but the rising prices in Dunedin, Hamilton, Tauranga, and Wellington made it worse instead. The Chinese New Year is celebrated on Friday 12 February 2021. The festival sees typically members of the Chinese community across the world welcome the 2021 Year of the Ox, decorating their homes in the lucky colour red and attending parades as they wish for a happy and prosperous year ahead. This year, however, celebrations will be different due to the pandemic. Here is everything you need to know about the Chinese New Year and the meaning of the Year of the Ox: When is the Chinese New Year and how is its date decided? This year, the first day of the Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival or the Lunar Near Year, falls on Saturday 25 January. The day on which the celebration occurs on the Gregorian calendar varies on an annual basis, as its date is determined by the lunisolar Chinese calendar. Recommended 8 delicious Chinese New Year meal kits for feasting at home The festivities will last for just over a fortnight, culminating with the Lantern Festival on Saturday 8 February. The Lantern Festival, otherwise known as the Spring Lantern Festival, begins on the 15th day of the first lunar month. What is the significance of the Year of the Ox? The arrival of the 2021 Chinese New Year marks the beginning of the Year of the Ox. The years on the Chinese calendar are divided into 12-year cycles, meaning that the next Year of the Ox will occur in 12 years time. Last year marked the Year of the Rat, the first animal on the Chinese zodiac, while 2021 will signify the Year of the Ox, the second in the cycle. Some view the ox as being symbolic of hardworking attitudes and reliability because of its role in agriculture. According to the myth, the Jade Emperor organised a race for a group of animals on his birthday, the results of which determined the order of the Chinese zodiac. Legend goes that the rat was able to hitch a ride on the back of the ox, jumping off at the finish line in order to win first place and be named the first animal in the cycle. The Travel China Guide further illustrates that those born in the Year of the Ox are known for being diligent, persistent, and honest. People whose birth dates occurred in the Year of the Ox include those born in 1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, and 2009. Famous individuals born in the Year of the Ox include Barack Obama, George Clooney, and Malala Yousafzai. How is the Chinese New Year observed? In addition to China, the Chinese New Year is celebrated in countries across the world, including Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. Celebrations normally last for around two weeks from New Year's Eve up until the beginning of the Lantern Festival. The festivities traditionally begin with a thorough cleaning of the home, with red paper lanterns and banners inscribed with poetic sayings hung as decorations. Red is believed to bring good fortune, hence its prevalence during Chinese New Year and the reason why children are given "luck money" in red envelopes throughout the proceedings. Chinese New Year in London A symbolic feast is usually eaten among family on New Year's Eve during the Nian Ye Fan family reunion dinner, following the world's largest mass migration undertaken by those who observe festival making their way home. The Chinese New Year will also normally be observed with prayers recited in temples, New Year's Day fireworks displays and lavish parades. This year, however, celebrations will be somewhat subdued due to the pandemic. While London would typically host a major parade, the London Chinatown Chinese Association (LCCA) is instead urging people to follow lockdown rules and stay at home. The LCCA is organising a virtual celebration that families can enjoy from home and watch via its YouTube channel on 14 February. An amount of Rs 58,000 was collected from 116 school vehicles for driving without licenses in Mumbai. Mumbai: In 2019, the Mumbai traffic police has taken action against 17,531 vehicles used to ferry school children for violating traffic rules prescribed under the Motor Vehicles Act. According to the police, action was mainly taken for not possessing licenses, parking the vehicles dangerously, obstructing smooth movement of traffic, using mobile phones while driving and jumping signals. On Monday, Justice S.C. Dharmadhikari and Justice R.I. Chagala asked additional public prosecutor (APP) Manish Pabale not to file the report without the affidavit. According to the report, 2466 vehicles ferrying school children were charged under section 190(3) of the Motor Vehicles (MV) Act for obstructing free flow of traffic and Rs 493,200 was charged as penalty. An amount of Rs 58,000 was collected from 116 school vehicles for driving without licenses in Mumbai. More interestingly, 374 school vehicles were caught for jumping signals and Rs 74,800 was collected from them. According to the report, 544 vehicles were caught while driving in no-entry or one-way areas and 7311 vehicles were caught for being parked in no parking zones in Mumbai. Fines of Rs 1,462,200 and Rs 108,800 res-pectively, were recovered from them. Around 2,258 vehicles were charged for parking in dangerous conditions and 120 vehicle drivers were caught for using mobile phones while driving school vehicles. Acco-rding to the report, all 17,531 vehicles were char-ged for violating 119 different rules prescribed under the Motor Vehicles Act. The state government also informed the court that a special road safety drive had been conducted from January 7 to 14 thro-ughout the state wherein action against 833 vehicles ferrying school children had been taken. Among them, 103 auto-rickshaws and 109 two-wheelers were charged for violating rules. The court was hearing a PIL filed by the Parents-Teachers Association United Forum against the state government. Iran-backed Houthi rebels slaughtered 116 Yemeni troops in a missile strike on a barracks mosque during Saturday evening prayers. In one of the bloodiest assaults since the beginning of the civil war, ballistic missiles ripped through the holy building at a military training camp in the central province of Marib. Officials from the Saudi-backed Yemeni military announced today the death toll had risen to 116 with more than 60 other men wounded, it is expected to rise further. Yesterday a loud loud explosion was reported over the Saudi border city of Najran after another alleged Houthi missile was intercepted by Saudi air defences. Saudi-backed Yemeni troops inspect the site where a Houthi missile struck a barracks mosque on Saturday night during evening prayers. Today officials announced the death toll had risen to 116 A Yemeni solider inspects the decimated scene on Monday. The death toll is expected to rise further with more than 60 other men wounded in the strike Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry today said of Saturday's attack that 'such heinous, terrorist crimes deliberately undermine the path to a political solution' in the Yemeni conflict, according the kingdom's official news agency (pictured: a destroyed copy of the Quran is held by a soldier) The Iran-backed rebels have carried out a recent spate of barrages on the Saudi-backed troops east of Houthi's stronghold at Sanaa, the largest city in Yemen. Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry today said of Saturday's attack that 'such heinous, terrorist crimes deliberately undermine the path to a political solution' in the Yemeni conflict, according the kingdom's official news agency. The assault 'reflects this terrorist militia's disregard for sacred places and... for Yemeni blood'. The United Arab Emirates also condemned the 'criminal' attack, saying that it 'rejects all forms of violence that target security and stability'. The death toll increased to 116 and is expected to rise, military and medical sources told AFP on Monday. In recent months, Saudi Arabia started back-channel negotiations with the Houthis in the neighbouring country of Oman, after the rebels claimed an attack on Saudi oil infrastructure that threatened global oil supplies. The United States blamed the attack on Iran, which denied involvement. Government soldiers walk at the site of a Houthi missile attack on a military camp's mosque in Marib, Yemen on Monday The ruins of the desecrated mosque after the Houthi missile strike which killed more than a hundred military personnel on Saturday night Yemen's civil war erupted in 2014 when the Iran-backed Shiite Houthi rebels seized Sanaa, and much of the country's north, ousting the internationally recognised government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. The Saudi-led coalition launched its campaign in 2015 to drive out the Houthis and restore the government of Hadi, now exiled in Saudi Arabia. The grinding war in the Arab world's poorest country has killed more than 10,000 people, displaced over 3 million and pushed the country to the brink of famine. Both sides in Yemen's war have been accused of war crimes and rampant human rights abuses. Saudi-led coalition air strikes and rebel shelling have drawn widespread international criticism for killing civilians and hitting non-military targets. City College of San Francisco has faced more than its share of nightmare scenarios over the past decade: a five-year accreditation fight that nearly closed its doors, a series of highly unpopular class and faculty cuts, and widespread public fury over last years bungled plan to hike executive salaries by as much as 90%. So it takes quite a bit of audacity for its Board of Trustees to ask San Francisco voters for a whopping $845 million in bonds to modernize and rebuild its facilities. Thats what its doing with Proposition A, on the local March ballot. The board is asking San Francisco voters to put aside the slew of negative headlines and focus on the big picture of an institution thats saddled with dilapidated buildings all over town. This is a safety issue for all of our constituents, said Alex Randolph, president of the Board of Trustees. A lot of our facilities date back to the 1960s and 70s. Our main campus on Ocean Avenue has been particularly neglected. Randolph is absolutely right about the state of City Colleges facilities. Many of the institutions buildings are suffering from dilapidated roofs, walls and hallways. Many of its classrooms are outdated and ill-suited to serve the needs of contemporary teaching methods and computer-toting students. Some of its heating and plumbing systems are inefficient, unreliable and even unsafe. City College also has a responsibility to improve the seismic safety of its buildings. As hospitals and other public-facing institutions throughout the Bay Area have learned, this necessary undertaking is also extremely expensive. We arent prepared for an earthquake, trustee Shanell Williams said. About 10% of the bond money will go toward seismically related improvement projects, with a focus on the John Adams library in Hayes Valley and the vocationally focused Evans campus in the Bayview. Another large chunk of the money will go toward improving disability access all over the institution another improvement thats been deferred for decades. The rest of the money will go toward a long list of repair, renovation and construction projects that have been vetted for qualities like state of repair and shovel-readiness. This bond will only fund about half of the projects on our list, Randolph said. The temptation would be to fund something at every facility, just to spread the improvements around. But were doing this based on need first. Still, $845 million is a lot of money and a lot to ask of San Francisco property owners, who will pay $11 per year per $100,000 of their propertys assessed valuation. (The owner of a property assessed at $1 million would pay an extra $110 per year.) Theres also the risk that City College will be back in front of San Francisco voters with its hands out soon, since this bond measure wont cover all of City Colleges expenses. In our editorial board meeting, the trustees talked about how difficult it is to get funding from the private sector and the state for these kinds of capital expenditures. Difficult it may be, but the trustees will need to try a little harder before coming back to the voters for another funding round. Despite these problems, its important to separate City Colleges many operational mistakes from its capital needs. About 70% of the colleges buildings are ranked poor or very poor on the facilities condition index. The institution has also been a better steward of bond funds than it has been of day-to-day operations: Even with all of the turmoil of the last decade, its maintained a good credit rating. These are some of the reasons why we recommend a yes vote on Proposition A. For all of its many problems, City College remains one of San Franciscos most critical institutions for helping residents better their lives. It cant continue that mission in the last centurys facilities. 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. Mumbai: Former Maharashtra CM and current state government minister Ashok Chavan have said that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) will not apply in Maharashtra as long as the Congress is in power. The veteran Congress leader Ashok Chavan further said, 'No government can go against the Constitution, whether it is the rule of the state of Delhi.' Responsibility of foreign minister increased, will resume talks with America Chavan said that, we have joined the Maharashtra government to stop the BJP. 'As long as we are in power, CAA will not be implemented in Maharashtra'. Former CM Chavan said, 'No government can go against the Constitution that Ambedkar has given to the country, whether it is Delhi or Mumbai.' He said that our country is a secular country and the Act that should be made should be under the purview of constitution. Terrorist attack in West Niger, 89 soldiers killed So far Kerala and Punjab have passed the resolution against CAA in their respective assembly. At the same time, the West Bengal government led by Trinamool Congress (TMC) has already said that it is against the new Act. The Act provides for citizenship of India to migrants from Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Christian, Jain and Parsi communities. Under this law, refugees from three countries - Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan - will be granted Indian citizenship on or before 31 December 2014, provided they are not Muslim. Grandson of Subhash Chandra Bose says, 'No law can be imposed on citizens of country...' Senators will almost certainly get to vote on whether or not to call impeachment witnesses. The resolution laying out the rules of the trial, which will be presented Tuesday, is expected to mandate that senators can take up-or-down votes on calling for witnesses and documents. Yes, but: Those votes won't come until the House impeachment managers and President Trump's defense team deliver their opening arguments and field Senators' questions. Some moderate Senate Republicans have pushed for this precise language, including Sen. Susan Collins, who faces a tough re-election. The language is "critical" for her, a source familiar with Collins' thinking told Axios. What to watch: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is also expected to use the vote on the resolution to push Democrats' messaging, with an eye trained on weakening the GOP majority in the Senate and clawing back the more vulnerable seats in November. A Democratic leadership aide told Alayna that they will force votes on subpoenaing key witnesses such as Trump's former national security advisor John Bolton, acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, Mulvaney's senior advisor Robert Blair, and top White House budget official Michael Duffey, as well as relevant documents. This has concerned some vulnerable Senate Republicans. "The Democratic amendments that will be offered in the beginning will be designed to screw us," a Republican Senate aide told Axios. "Like, 'How can we cut these to look like an ad?'" "Democrats are going to try and amend these things until the cows come home, but remember, senators can't talk [during the trial]," a GOP leadership aide said. "So there won't be a clip of Susan Collins voting no on this." Reality check: Although senators are required to remain silent during the trial, all votes will be recorded. Although senators are required to remain silent during the trial, all votes will be recorded. "This is not the political silver bullet that Democrats think it will be," the aide added. "Remember that every time Schumer offers up something to tweak our organizing resolution, it's an implicit way of saying that the House investigation came up short." Meanwhile, a key strategy within the Trump team's defense mechanism is the notion that the articles themselves are not criminal, and therefore are not impeachable offenses, even if proven. In turn, they'll claim this is why the debate over witnesses is bogus. "If a person is indicted on something that is not a crime, you don't call the witnesses," Alan Dershowitz, a member of Trump's defense team, said earlier today on CNN's "State of the Union." Expect to hear this line again. Go deeper: Inside Trump's strategy for blocking impeachment witnesses In 2016, the Vietnamese government collaborated with the World Bank (WB) to launch the Vietnam 2035 report an ambitious vision outlining a plan to transform the Southeast Asian nation into an upper-middle-income country with a GDP per capita of US$10,000 per year. More than three years has passed since the report was issued. As we are stepping into a new decade, Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper hosted a round-table meeting with WB country director for Vietnam Ousmane Dione, Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Robyn Mudie, and former head of Vietnam Institute for Development Strategies Bui Tat Thang to reflect on what has been done to achieve those goals, while discussing the opportunities and challenges waiting ahead. In 2035, Vietnam will celebrate its 60-year anniversary since the reunification in 1975. As Dione said, at that age in life, a person has a combination of experience and maturity, especially the wish to leave a good legacy. The legacy Vietnam expects to see in 2035 involves a prosperous country with a clean and sustainable environment where all Vietnamese are able to benefit from green growth and act as citizens of the world, he said. Since the launch of the report, Vietnams GDP has witnessed an impressive growth rate of 6-7 percent per year. Different reviews by the government, World Bank, and other agencies also indicated remarkable reform progress, especially in 2018 and the first half of 2019. What changes do you think are the most significant? Ousmane Dione: Vietnams GDP has grown 6-7 percent over the last three years. At the same time, a number of policies have been enacted by the government, taking into account the fact that the country needs to move faster, foster innovations, translate them into jobs and economic growth, attract foreign investment like FDI (foreign direct investment), improve the environmental condition, and promote the private economic sector. Resolution No. 10, issued in 2017, considered the private sector as an important engine of growth, providing strong momentum for it to develop and strengthen. Vietnam also made concerted efforts in reforming regulatory frameworks with Resolutions No.19 No.2 in 2019. Such reforms improveVietnams ranking in international benchmarks. Vietnam has taken efforts to deepen economic integration with the CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership) signed in 2018 and EVFTA (EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement) signed in 2019 as significant examples. This is critical for an open economy like Vietnam and can result in robust export growth and FDI inflows. We have seen Vietnam making progress on this. At the same time, we believe that more can be done. Bui Tat Thang: I think there were three significant achievements. First, the 12th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam has recognized the private economic sector as an important engine of the economy. The Party has issued Resolution No.10 on developing the private sector and offered assistance policies, especially the Fund for Development of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. All these components along with the institutional reform, sub-license reduction, and liberation of activities of the private economic sector have helped the country thrive toward the goal of one million enterprises by 2020. There are some large private corporations that have built a strong reputation, taken the lead in some areas, and started expanding into manufacturing and providing public and social services. That trend needs encouragement. Vietnam is witnessing tremendous change. It jumped ten places in the 2019 Global Competitiveness Index. This is such a significant recognition for the start-up nation. The second achievement is innovation which serves as a backbone for the development of private economic sectors in the context of Industry 4.0. This is also a breakthrough in the ten-year development strategy, from 2021 to 2030. Further integration into the world economy is the third achievement. All of them have helped build a strong foundation for the countrys economy to accelerate in the next phase. 2035 is 15 years away. Facing unpredictable challenges, how should Vietnam change to realize visions set in the report? Ousmane Dione: In future periods, the challenges will be much more complex and difficult. This is one of the reasons why we always encourage Vietnam to further conduct reforms while the time is appropriate and the context is favorable to prepare for the headwinds of the two next circles before 2035. Most of the recent reports turn toward the stagnation of economies worldwide. Vietnam which has been an open economy needs to be prepared in order to withstand the shock of a slowdown. Vietnam also needs to pay attention to and manage its natural capital. The third challenge is how Vietnam is going to build strong human capital which pushes the country to the forefront of innovation, technology, and the digital agenda. It is important to have a competitive labor force and competitive market and at the same time to have a strong institution to help the country move forward. Transforming governance, paying attention to human capital, natural capital, and further embracing regional integration will be four key critical elements Vietnam must take notice of in order to achieve its vision for 2035. The former president of the World Bank said the objectives of Vietnam 2035 can only be realized if Vietnam solves its problems with productivity growth and continued economic reform. Is this statement still valid? Ousmane Dione: It is still strongly relevant today and there is much more work for Vietnam. That part cannot be done without economic reform, innovation, technology, and a digital agenda. The promotion of e-government, for example, is extremely critical in terms of digitalization to bring more productivity and transparency to citizens. Besides, Vietnam cannot develop without recognizing existing challenges. The country is now facing a rapidly aging population. Therefore, the issue of fostering productivity must be linked to how the demographics of Vietnam change in the future. This is where notions of information, innovation as well as skilling-up come in. At the same time, it is critical to keep reforming in terms of pension, retirement policies and deciding what the future economy will be like. This is why we keep saying while the economy is good, push the right reform and give us stronger reform. If Vietnam manages to build strong human capital and skills that align with competitiveness and innovation, as well as quality infrastructure to support goals, and pays attention to the management of natural resources, then Vietnam can be an even faster, more successful middle-income country. The question is: Is Vietnam doing it right? Robyn Mudie:I also think this statement is still valid. Vietnams commitment to economic reform has been impressive and has delivered substantial economic benefit, including to productivity growth. Yet many of the easier reforms have been completed, with the remaining barriers to further productivity growth requiring reform that is both technically and politically difficult. As Vietnams existing labor-intensive growth model comes under pressure from rising wages, an aging population, Industry 4.0, and automation, the need to address these barriers will increase. I am proud to say that Australia is here to help Vietnam address these challenges and share our own reform experience. Through our in-country partnership with the World Bank and our bilateral Aus4Reform program, Australia is helping Vietnam realize the ambitions outlined in the Vietnam 2035 report by supporting bold, innovative and sustainable productivity-enhancing reform efforts. Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Robyn Mudie speaks during a round-table meeting held by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre News In 2019, Vietnam experienced significant environmental problems, including the subsidence of the Mekong River Delta and air and water pollution in Hanoi. What should the country do to reduce and avoid environmental incidents in the future? Ousmane Dione: A mountain surrounded by dirt is the first image rippling in my mind when being asked the question, similar to what I thought several years ago during a discussion when I worked in China. In other words, do you want to have economic growth which can be completely at the expense of the environment? This is exactly the image that Vietnam of today needs to back in mind in order to avoid bitter consequences tomorrow. Air pollution solely can cost Vietnam 3-4 percent of GDP per year. At present, only 20-30 percent of wastewater in Vietnam is treated. Meanwhile, within the last four years, Vietnams tourism has grown four times, from 4.5 million to more than 16 million people visiting the country, creating tremendous burdens to the local environment. In my recent op-ed, I talk about PRIME approach, touching upon the importance of Planning, adequate Resources allocation, Information, comprehensive Management, and effective Enforcement. Various policies have been adopted including the Law on Environment, the National Target Program on Climate Change and Green Growth, Decision No. 491 on solid waste treatment, and Resolution No. 120 on the sustainable development of the Mekong Delta, building resilience against climate change. The fundamental question is that how they can implement those policies and demonstrate stronger commitments to climate change mitigation and nature conservation. Boosting investments into clean energy and building a clean agenda are critically important for Vietnam. With a coastal line of 3,260 kilometers, Vietnam has full potential to develop wind and solar energy. There are many different solutions but the determination of Vietnams government and people is the only key to push back impacts of climate change. Robyn Mudie: There have been many changes in Hanoi since my first posting here 25 years ago. Cars and motorbikes have replaced bicycles, the population has grown and the city expanded, and construction and development have changed the Hanoi skyline. Just like many modern cities around the globe, this change has also brought with it many challenges including managing environmental impacts like air pollution. As you point out, these challenges are not just restricted to cities but also apply in rural and regional areas. The key to addressing these challenges is to ensure economic growth and sustainable resource management go together in a mutually reinforcing way. Sound evidence-based government policies for sustainable development are crucial. Of course, solutions cannot be found by the governments acting alone. Industries and businesses have a key role to play in supporting innovation and catalyzing change. Researchers and scientists need to play their part also in developing new technologies, but we can better support them with an enabling environment to commercialize the best ideas. Our youth can also be encouraged to play a pioneering role to better respond to climate change and increasingly complex environmental challenges through appropriate policies, training, and government support. One example of how Australia is supporting this work is in the Mekong Delta an area of critical importance to Vietnams productivity and stability. We are working with the World Bank through the Australia-World Bank Strategic Partnership to help Vietnam to implement the prime ministers Resolution No. 120 and support climate-resilient development in the Mekong Delta. We are also sharing our experiences and lessons learned from Australias Murray Darling Basin many of the challenges we face in Australia are similar to those that threaten the Mekong Delta. WB country director for Vietnam Ousmane Dione (L) poses alongside Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Robyn Mudie during a round-table meeting held by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre News What do you think about the role of young people in Vietnams development? Ousmane Dione: The young Vietnamese generation has fantastic opportunities to make history. They have better education and globalization offers them opportunities to look at all that is happening across the globe to be inspired and from that to define the future of the country. That future should be built on inclusiveness, innovation, and capability for all people. They are also facing emerging challenges of climate change, pollution or solid waste which require more breakthroughs to address. I am extremely confident that with the capacity, courage, and determination, Vietnamese youth will be able to overcome challenges. Robyn Mudie: Like young people around the world, Vietnamese youths are becoming increasingly aware of the risks associated with exploiting natural resources without the necessary regulations, protections and focus on sustainability. Our future is in their hands. But the current generation has a crucial role to play too. We need to ensure that institutional and economic reforms focused on long-term sustainability are supported now to leave a strong legacy for the next generation to take over. Vietnamese people think that spring heralds a new start. What message would you like to convey to Vietnam in the coming year? Bui Tat Thang: I hope that all targets for 2035 will be realized since we set them based on careful consideration of both ambition and practicality. We are now enjoying favorable conditions of a high population, creativity and relatively good education. There is no reason for the economic and political institutions to hinder the development. In the current context, although many challenges have still remained on the way, most Vietnamese people have the motivation to move forward. They have left behind a long, arduous road, enough to comprehensively understand how it feels like to live in poverty, to suffer war; therefore, they both aspire to peace and express fierce determination for a better life. If we have many good businessmen who can successfully enter the world market, we can rapidly bridge gaps in technology and other aspects. Conditions have been improved, all we need is stronger determination. The question is on us. Challenges and opportunities are two sides of the coin and we need more coherent policies to cope with challenges and turn them into motivations for development. Robyn Mudie: Reflecting on our discussion today, a saying springs to my mind: If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together." Vietnam and its people are strong, resilient, creative, and ambitious for the future. Theres no doubt that there are challenges ahead, but by working together I am optimistic that Vietnam can realize its aspirations. Australia is proud to be a friend and partner to Vietnam as we strive towards a secure, safe and prosperous future together. I wish you all health, happiness, and prosperity for the year ahead. Ousmane Dione: 2019 marked 25 years of partnership between the World Bank and the government of Vietnam. We have been extremely proud and fortunate to be associated with every success that Vietnam has made over our past 25 years. We are very determined and extremely committed to bringing more support to Vietnam in different agendas for the success and prosperity of the country and Vietnamese people as well as building strong partnerships with the international community among our strategic partners such as Australia. Nguyen Viet Hung, founder, CEO ColorME Design Training Center: The governments support and growing Internet platforms have offered Vietnamese youth the greatest-ever conditions to unleash their potential. We are witnessing the emergence of companies founded by amazing young entrepreneurs, such as ELSA an English-learning app funded by Google, GoIT the worlds first knowledge-as-a-service platform, and Topica Southeast Asias largest edtech firm. Foreign investments in Vietnam over the past three years have reflected expectations that funds have held for the countrys start-up generation. As a young entrepreneur who is taking baby steps to the business world, I believe that Vietnam can develop more coherent policies to push innovation and utilize human capital. This can be realized by following changes: The first is to have more open policies and tax incentives for multinational corporations to encourage their expansion to Vietnam. Second, students must be encouraged to approach companies and experience different jobs in order to help them understand their own passion and make better choices. Third, we must promote programming and technology training for students from grade 1. Developed countries are now focusing on STEM education for children as they can learn fast and have no boundaries in creativity. With those changes, I imagine Vietnam can be a leading country in technology and innovation in the next 15 years. Nguyen Huong Ly, vice principal Maya Kindergarten: Education is an essential foundation to develop a qualified workforce able to realize the countrys aspirations for prosperity in the near future. I believe that if every school in Vietnam can create an environment in which diversity is respected, children can truly be themselves and adults teachers and parents can step down, patiently observe, and support them to unleash their potential so our children can have a happy childhood and become happy adults in the future. We need safe environments filled with unconditional love where every child is protected, nurtured, and recognized by their little achievements. Thus, children and adults can converse to know each other better and establish principles to follow. It is key for the girls and boys of today to be responsible for themselves and communities they live in and be able to unlock a bright future for their country tomorrow. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Your senior income will need to come from somewhere, and unless you're privy to a pension, which many workers today are not, you'll most likely rely on a combination of Social Security benefits and retirement savings to cover your bills once your time in the workforce wraps up. Social Security will probably replace around 40% of your pre-retirement income, provided you're an average earner. But most seniors need roughly double that amount to live comfortably, and so if you want to enjoy your golden years, you'll need a healthy level of savings in your IRA or 401(k). But a large number of older Americans are behind in this regard, reports TD Ameritrade in a new survey. An estimated 37% of workers in their 50s, 28% of workers in their 60s, and 20% of workers in their 70s have less than $50,000 socked away for the future. And these are the people who really need to catch up. Thankfully, that option is very much on the table with IRAs and 401(k)s, as both plans allow workers 50 and over to contribute more money on an annual basis than their younger counterparts. Younger workers can contribute up to $6,000 a year to an IRA, but for those 50 and over, that limit increases to $7,000. Meanwhile, workers under 50 can put up to $19,500 into a 401(k), but that limit rises to $26,000 among those 50 and older. But despite the option to make catch-up contributions in an IRA or 401(k), 69% of workers aged 50 to 79 aren't taking advantage of it. If you're behind on building savings, you'd be wise to capitalize on the catch-up option in your retirement plan. Otherwise, you may not be happy with your financial picture later on. What can catch-up contributions do for you? As a general rule, it's a good idea to aim to close out your career with 10 times your ending salary saved up. If you're not all that far away from retirement and are also nowhere close, then taking advantage of catch-up contributions could be your best bet. Imagine you're 55 with $40,000 in your IRA and that you're aiming to retire at age 70. If you contribute $6,000 a year to that plan over the next 15 years, and your investments generate an average annual 7% return (which is doable when you invest heavily in stocks), you'll grow your balance to about $261,000. But if you max out your IRA at $7,000 a year instead during that decade and a half, you'll wind up with a little more than $286,000. And that extra $25,000 could make a huge difference down the line. The gap between making catch-up contributions or not gets even wider with a 401(k). Let's adjust the above scenario to account for 401(k) limits. If you're starting with $40,000 at age 55 and contribute $19,500 to your savings over 15 years, you'll wind up with about $600,000, assuming an average annual 7% return. But if you take advantage of catch-ups in that account, socking away $26,000 annually for the next 15 years instead, you'll end up with close to $764,000. Of course, if you're doing fairly well savings-wise and are on track to retire with 10 times your ending salary or more, then you may not need to push yourself to make catch-up contributions to your IRA or 401(k). But if you're behind on savings, don't miss out on that key opportunity to make up for lost time. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 07:07:20|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close UN Special Envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (from L to R) attend a press conference after the Libya Conference in Berlin, Germany, Jan. 19, 2020. Participants in the Germany-called Libya Conference on Sunday have agreed to respect the arms embargo and truce in the war-torn north African country, pledging to establish an oversight mechanism to ensure long-term peace. (Xinhua/Wang Qing) BERLIN, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Participants in the Germany-called Libya Conference on Sunday have agreed to respect the arms embargo and truce in the war-torn north African country, pledging to establish an oversight mechanism to ensure long-term peace. "We had very serious negotiations here," German Chancellor Angela Merkel told the media after the conference. "This conference made an important contribution to driving peace efforts forward." "All participants agreed that 'we need a political solution'," said Merkel. "In the past few days, it had become clear once again that military intervention was by no means a solution. All participants worked very constructively together." "We can say that everyone agrees that we want to respect the arms embargo," said Merkel, adding that all participants knew that today they could not solve all the problems in Libya, but that this is the first step. "I believe that today the spirit has been created that we can move forward on the path. We have agreed on a very binding process," Merkel noted. The Berlin Conference on Libya will be followed by the first steps to implementing the results. There should soon be a meeting that should lay the foundation for a solid ceasefire, said the German chancellor. According to the 55-point Conference Conclusions issued after the meeting, all participants agree that "we commit to unequivocally and fully respect and implement the arms embargo established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1970 (2011) and the Council's subsequent Resolutions, including the proliferation of arms from Libya, and called on all international actors to do the same. "We call on all actors to refrain from any activities exacerbating the conflict or inconsistent with the UNSC arms embargo or the ceasefire, including the financing of military capabilities or the recruitment of mercenaries," read the paper. The paper stated that "we commit to efforts strengthening current monitoring mechanisms by the UN and competent national and international authorities, within our capabilities, including maritime, aerial and terrestrial monitoring, and through the provision of additional resources, in particular satellite imagery." The Conference Conclusions explained that an International Follow-Up Committee (IFC) consisting of all countries and international organizations that participated in Sunday's Berlin Conference on Libya will be established in order to maintain coordination in the aftermath of the conference, under the aegis of the UN. "I hope the commitments made today will contribute to a lasting solution to the Libya crisis. We need to have a cease-fire. We cannot monitor something that doesn't exist," said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the press conference. "It is a strong signal that we are fully committed to supporting a peaceful resolution of Libya crisis....We have a truce," said Guterres, who urged all participants not to do anything that could interfere with this path to a peaceful solution and refrain from interference in the conflict in Libya. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said at the press conference that signature on the conference conclusions alone is not enough, "we must now succeed in bringing the Libyan conflicting parties together and creating the conditions for the civil war to be brought to a political solution." Libya has been torn by fighting between rival armed factions since 2011. Most recently, troops of Libya's UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) led by Fayez al-Sarraj have been under attack since April from the troops of Khalifa Haftar, commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA). Al-Sarraj and Haftar were both in Berlin but refused to sit or meet with each other as tensions remained and differences too great between the two sides. Clashes have killed more than 280 civilians and 2,000 fighters and displaced tens of thousands. The Berlin Conference comes after the inter-Libyan talks held in Moscow on Jan. 13 under the mediation of Russia and Turkey. High-level representatives of Algeria, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Turkey, the Republic of the Congo, United Arab Emirates, Britain, and the United States attended the conference, together with representatives of the UN, the African Union, the European Union, and the League of Arab States. French President Emmanuel Macron, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Russian President Vladimir Putin, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo were among the participants. Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, attended the conference as Chinese President Xi Jinping's special representative. By Express News Service BENGALURU: On Sunday morning Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa left for Davos to attend the World Economic Forum with an aim to bring investments to the state. He told reporters before leaving that interactions had been fixed with 38 industrialists and investors. I will assure industrialists and investors that the government will give all necessary facilities within our limits, the CM said.Yediyurappa also said the cabinet will be expanded within two days of his return from Davos on January 24. Meanwhile, the 11 new BJP MLAs are in a sulk as the cabinet expansion is getting delayed further and they dont know who will be in or who out. To bolster their case, a delegation of these cabinet aspirants led by Gokak MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi met party national president and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Hubballi on Saturday. Though the aspirants maintained that theirs was a courtesy call, it was more of a gentle reminder to Amit Shah that ministerial berths were promised to them. The whole process seems to be stuck because it is not clear whether it will be a cabinet expansion or a reshuffle. For, on Saturday, when Yediyurappa mooted the idea of dropping a few ministers and inducting fresh faces, Amit Shah apparently didnt seem to be convinced about this proposal. Shah is said to have asked Yediyurappa to meet him in Delhi to discuss the expansion plans in detail once he returns from Davos. Now, Yediyurappa is back to where he started finding a suitable time to discuss the cabinet expansion with the central leadership in New Delhi. Albeit this time, it can happen only after he returns from Davos. I was able to discuss cabinet expansion with Amit Shah for about half an hour amid his tight schedule. He responded positively to the proposal. Cabinet will be expanded within two days after I return from Davos, Yediyurappa said.The statement comes after the new BJP MLAs met Shah in Hubballi. Shettar bound for Davos meet with CM Now the wait seems to be at least a week longer for them with the Chief Minister busy for the next four days at the World Economic Forum. These MLAs have been waiting in line to take oath as ministers since December 9, 2019 when the results of the bypolls to 15 assembly constituencies were announced. Apart from officials, the personal staff and Industries minister Jagadish Shettar will accompany Yediyurappa on the tour. A host of BJP leaders including Deputy Chief Minister Dr Ashwath Narayana, Minister Prabhu Chavan, MP, and Yediyurappas sons B Y Raghavendra and B Y Vijayendra visited the Chief Minister to wish him luck before the journey. Strength of promise Currently there are 18 ministers, including the Chief Minister in the cabinet that has a sanctioned strength of 34. Yediyurappa had said repeatedly that 11 of the new BJP MLAs will be made ministers Famed defense attorney Alan Dershowitz, who recently signed on to assist President Donald Trump's impeachment legal team, said Sunday that Trump should not be removed from office even if he is guilty of everything the House has accused him of in the articles of impeachment. "Congress was wrong in impeaching for these two articles," he told ABC's "This Week." "They are not articles of impeachment. The articles of impeachment are two non-criminal actions." Host George Stephanopoulos then asked, "Is it your position that President Trump should not be impeached even if all the evidence and arguments laid out by the House are accepted as fact?" Dershowitz responded, "When you have somebody who, for example, is indicted for a crime let's assume you have a lot of evidence but the grand jury simply indicts for something that's not a crime, and that's what happened here, you have a lot of evidence, disputed evidence, that could go both ways, but the vote was to impeach on abuse of power, which is not within the constitutional criteria for impeachment, and obstruction of Congress." Dershowitz was then asked if he agreed with a brief filed by Trump's attorneys on Saturday, which asserted the president did nothing wrong by pushing Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, his son Hunter Biden and Democrats. "I didn't sign that brief. I didn't even see the brief until after it was filed. That's not part of my mandate," Dershowitz said. "My mandate is to determine what is a constitutionally authorized criteria for impeachment." Pressed again, Dershowitz said, "There's a big difference between what's OK what's OK determines ... who you vote for." "I'm a liberal Democrat who's been critical of many of the policies of the president," he continued. "I'm here as a constitutional lawyer, a lawyer who's taught for 50 years constitutional criminal procedure at Harvard, taught a course on impeachment, taught a course on constitutional litigation." The president has been steadfast in his insistence that he did nothing wrong with respect to Ukraine, tweeting last week: "I JUST GOT IMPEACHED FOR MAKING A PERFECT PHONE CALL!" Democratic House managers in a brief filed Saturday called the president's behavior "the Framers' worst nightmare" and a "danger to our democratic processes." In response, the White House said the two articles of impeachment against Trump are a "dangerous attack on the right of the American people to freely choose their President." Asked about Dershowitz's assessment, Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., told "This Week" that he agrees with the Harvard law professor "at this point." "But I would still wait and hear the arguments," Shelby said. "I haven't focused on it. Professor Dershowitz is an esteemed scholar of constitutional law. And he's followed this and he's outspoken, and a lot of people follow him. We have a lot of respect for a lot of his opinions. But ultimately, we will make that decision in the Senate." Democrats had a different take on Dershowitz's analysis. "Well, that's the argument I suppose you have to make if the facts are so dead set against you. If the president has admitted to the wrongdoing, his chief of staff has confessed to the wrongdoing, his European Union ambassador has confessed to the same quid pro quo, you have to rely on an argument that even if he abused his office in this horrendous way, that it's not impeachable. You had to go so far out of the mainstream to find someone to make that argument, you had to leave the realm of constitutional law scholars and go to criminal defense lawyers," House Intelligence Committee Adam Schiff, D-Calif., told "This Week," adding that Dershowitz's interpretation "would have appalled the founders." Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., called Dershowitz's remarks "stunning." "And I don't know what signal we're sending to future presidents if that's the new standard in America, where you can openly solicit foreign interference, where you can hold up taxpayer dollars that, in fact, the Government Accountability Office says was illegal to do so in order to extort, to leverage foreign interference in our elections," he said. "This is preposterous that this would not be an impeachable offense, that this standard in America is now that presidents could abuse their power to help in elections." And on CBS's "Face the Nation," House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., said he was "surprised" to see Dershowitz's assessment. "That's simply ignorance," Nadler, a House impeachment manager, said. Is it your position that President Trump should not be impeached even if all the evidence and arguments laid out by the House are accepted as fact? Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is calling for the immediate and unconditional release of a Pakistani journalist who it says has been held for days on a "flimsy" charge of posting "anti-state" content on social media. Police in the city of Lahore arrested Azhar-ul Haq Wahid on January 16, and a local judge on January 20 rejected a request for his release, ordering him placed in judicial custody, RSF said in a statement. The Paris-based media-freedom watchdog said Wahid, a reporter for Channel 5 TV and the newspaper Khabrain, is facing up to three years in prison. His arrest "is clearly another attempt to intimidate journalists who refuse to be censored," said Daniel Bastard, the head of RSF's Asia-Pacific desk. "We call on the Lahore courts to dismiss the charges against him and to free him at once. The credibility of the rule of law in Pakistan is at stake," Bastard added. RSF quoted the Lahore police report as saying "anti-state and defamatory material against the public functionaries and state departments" was posted on Wahid's Facebook page. But the report failed to identify the offending material, the group said. RSF quoted Wahid's lawyer as saying his client was being punished for his criticism of the government and his comments about a recent court decision overturning the death sentence passed on former military ruler Pervez Musharraf in December. Wahid was charged under two articles of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), which RSF said was "often used by the authorities to silence journalists who dare to cross the regime's implicit red lines." "As the traditional media are heavily censored, online platforms have become the only place where Pakistanis can express opinions at variance with the official line," according to the watchdog. The country is ranked 142nd out of 180 countries in RSF's 2019 World Press Freedom Index. Amaravati, Jan 20 : Several opposition leaders were either detained or placed under house arrest in Andhra Pradesh as protests rocked Amaravati and surrounding districts on Monday, ahead of a crucial Assembly session where the state government is likely to announce its final decision on three capitals proposal. Tension prevailed as people took to streets to demand that Amaravati be continued as the only state capital. There was high tension at Tullur village as large number of farmers and other villagers tried to march towards the Assembly in response to the 'chalo Assembly' protest called by main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Joint Action Committee (JAC) fighting for protection of Amaravati as the state capital. The protesters, including women, removed police barricades to proceed towards the Assembly. Police used force to stop the protesters. Meanwhile, the police detained hundreds of TDP workers and protestors trying to reach Amaravati from Vijayawada, other parts of Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam and other districts in the state. Several top TDP leaders were either taken in custody or placed under house arrest. Vijayawada MP Kesineni Nai, former ministers D. Uma Maheswar Rao and Bandaru Satyanarayana Murthy were among the leaders placed under house arrest. Thousands of policemen were deployed in Amaravati, Vijayawada and surrounding towns to prevent protesters from heading towards Assembly. The Prakasam Barrage across Krishna river, which connects Vijayawada to Amaravati, has been sealed for traffic. Police threw a thick security cordon around the secretariat and Assembly and sealed several roads. Amid tight security, Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy reached the secretariat, where he chaired the state cabinet. The meeting is understood to have approved report of high-power committee on decentralization of development and state capital and also gave its nod for the Bills to be tabled in the three-day Assembly session. A Bill to repeal Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) is likely to be passed by the Assembly to facilitate shifting of key capital functions from Amaravati to Visakhapatnam and Kurnool. The YSRCP government proposes to develop Visakhapatnam as administrative capital and Kurnool as judicial capital while retaining Assembly in Amaravati. For more than a month, farmers in all 29 villages of Amaravati have been staging protests, demanding that Amaravati be retained as the only capital. The farmers had given 33,000 acres of land for development of Amaravati as the state capital in 2015. TDP President and Leader of Opposition N. Chandrababu Naidu termed Monday as a black day for the state. He alleged that the Chief Minister was destroying the dream capital of people to settle political scores with him. LAPEER, MI -- When Joe Davis, a Lapeer County deputy, and Tim Galbraith, a recovering addict, met at a Families Against Narcotics meeting, they were drawn together under a common goal. They both wanted to help prevent addiction and provide resources to those in recovery. Less than two months later, the two launched the first episode of their podcast, Law and Disorder, which has received attention from across the world. In the podcast, Davis represents law and Galbraith represents disorder. The pair have produced seven episodes since the first aired Dec. 29. Some episodes feature special guests, including recovering addicts and family members of those facing addiction. New details about Michigans opioid crisis: Billions of pills and aggressive suppliers Davis has been a deputy with Lapeer County for 17 years. Prior to his career in law enforcement, he said he joined the Army at 18 and was stationed in Germany for four years. Community outreach is part of the job of a local deputy, Davis said, so he serves as a Families Against Narcotics (FAN) board member. Galbraith is the director of The Golden Arrow, a peer-run resource center for people with mental illness. He also writes a weekly column for the Lapeer-area newspaper Tri-City Times. After Galbraith was arrested in October of 2018 for cocaine possession, he was placed in drug court and court-ordered to attend FAN meetings. As partners who face addiction from opposite spectrums," Davis said, he and Galbraith create a unique experience for listeners. Within FAN, the biggest hurdle is getting people in the door who need the help, Davis said. Theyre fighting embarrassment and sort of shame to go to a public meeting and somewhat be exposed. I mean, thats a big hurdle. The podcast allows people to tune in anonymously and learn about addiction recovery and available resources, he said. Special guests sharing their experiences help people really understand addiction and recovery. Podcast playback data shows the show has had listeners from throughout the country and beyond including hits in The Netherlands, El Salvador, Germany and beyond, Davis said. It kind of exploded on us before we expected, Davis said of the podcasts following. Improvements to audio quality have been implemented since the first episode, he added. Galbraith said he started using drugs at 14. He stopped using at 39 and has stayed sober for over six months. Peer pressure led him to first start using drugs but after he was prescribed pain medication for a knee sprain at age 24, he turned to opioids, opioids being my drug of choice and the single-most destructive substance in my life. Michigan has more annual opioid prescriptions than people Opioids are a class of drug used to reduce pain, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They include prescription drugs such as oxycodone (OxyContin), hydrocodone (Vicodin), morphine, and methadone, along with illegal illicit drugs such as heroin. So thats 25 years of substance abuse with maybe some brief stretches of sobriety, during which I was kind of a dry drunk," he said. "I wasnt really embracing recovery in a way that I needed to in order to change my life. Drug court has helped me do that. Its kind of the external accountability coupled with just being sick and tired of being sick and tired, as they say. Its helped me to turn this ship around pretty quickly here. Special guests on the podcast have included recovering addicts and the family members of addicts, but Galbraith said he is most excited about having his 12-year-old son and the boys mother as guests. She will not, in no way shape or form, be delicate with me or with this, so I think that will be valuable to any listeners," he said. To recover from addiction, the first step is being honest with yourself, said Galbrath, now 40. They say, Honesty is the antidote to our diseased thinking, so Ive brought that into my life and thats something that I look for in others and I think its something vital to any guest we have, he said. Originally, Galbraith said he attended FAN meetings only because of the court order. At first, I viewed them as just sort of another obligation that I wasnt excited about having, but in time, I grew to appreciate them and then expressed my interest in getting more involved, which they took me up on, he said. In addition to working on the podcast with Davis, Galbraith said they have been able to visit schools and talk to students about addiction. Law and Disorder is available to stream or download on most podcast apps and audio providers. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 20:48:49|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close BEIRUT, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon's state security arrested on Monday a U.S. national who was live-streaming videos of Beirut's protests and shared them with an Israeli newspaper, the National News Agency reported. The videos filmed by the American national, who resides in Beirut, were broadcasted on the webpage of Haaretz Israeli newspaper. The arrested was referred to the directorate of the Lebanese army for further investigation. Lebanon has been witnessing heavy clashes in the past two days between riot police and protesters against the current political class. PR-Inside.com: 2020-01-20 18:15:42 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 1083 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 HOUSTON, TX / ACCESSWIRE / January 20, 2020 / Both forex trading and stock trading provides investors with a diversity of investment opportunities, each with its own features, perks, and risk levels. Though they both deal with buying and selling, their major difference can be drawn from the kind of commodities they trade-forex trades foreign currencies over the counter (OTC) while stock trading is focused on trading company shares on a central exchange.What is the Forex Market?"The forex market is the market in which participants can buy, sell, exchange, and speculate on currenciesthe currency market is considered to be the largest financial market with over $5 trillion in daily transactions, which is more than the futures and equity markets combined." - InvestopediaWhat Is The Stock Market?"The stock market refers to the collection of markets and exchanges where regular activities of buying, selling, and issuance of shares of publicly-held companies take place." - InvestopediaTrading Forex Vs Trading StocksThere are investors/traders who trade both stocks and forex, but one of the major reasons why some traders would pick forex over stock trading is forex leverage. For a new investor or trader, it may be quite tricky knowing which one to trade in. No one is better than the other, they are both financial instruments that have the potential to fetch the investor or trader more profit if played well. Though the underlying goals and risk levels of forex and stock may be quite similar they have certain dissimilarities that set them apart. Outlined below are some of the dissimilarities.Trading Platform: In stock trading, investors or traders require a central exchange like the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to trade. These central exchanges provide stock traders and investors access to order-books that have records of all stock purchases and sales. With a record of all the buying and selling, traders/investors are able to analyze similar patterns that occurred on the exchange in the past and recent times. Stock traders and investors study past buying and selling patterns for different reasons one of which is tracking the exchange activity to know the best time to buy or sell a stock. While for forex trading, currencies are traded over the counter (OTC)-meaning that there is no central exchange that regulates forex as all transactions are privately done between buyer and seller.Trading Time: Another major difference between forex and stock trading can be seen in market trading hours. Since forex has no central exchange and it spans across different time frames, it is open 24 hours. Meaning that traders can trade currencies around the clock at all forex trading sessions. The major trading sessions are New York, London, Sydney, and Tokyo sessions. Note that the forex market is only open for trading during working days and closed for trading on weekends. On the flip side, the stock market is only open for trading on central exchanges from 8 am to 5 pm daily (the time is subject to the exchange geographical location). Once the market closes by 5 pm all pending trades can only be made when the market opens the next day by 8 am. For some traders, the stock market timing stands as a major limitation.Trading Pattern: In forex trading, currencies always quoted in pairs (e.g. USD/GBP or EUR/USD). Each currency quoted in a pair is dependent on the other. So, a forex trader is not only concerned about the financial status in the country of the currency that is being traded but also the financial situation of the country that is being traded against. Whereas, in stock trading, the trader is only concerned with the happenings surrounding the company he owns shares in. That is, if a trader owns Apple shares, he is only concerned with financial occurrences and other occurrences that happen around Apple. Whatever happens in other companies is absolutely none of his business, unless for other interests. Forex trading pairing nature requires that the trader be consciously aware of the economic standing of both countries before trading their currencies. A downside for the forex market is that it is prone to political and economic influence, unlike the stock market which is hardly affected by any socio-political and economic issues that may arise in a country.Minimum Capital Required: For most investors, forex is a more preferable way to enter into the financial market due to the lower capital required to enter the market. Unlike trading stocks which require more capital to get started. Through leverage, forex allows small speculators or traders to enlarge their controlling units when trading. This can be both beneficial and unprofitable for these speculators. Forex trading amounts can go as low as $500, but such an amount wouldn't yield much profit compared to a forex trader who trades $5,000 daily. Compared to stocks, the minimum trading amount would be on the high side, especially if the investor desires high returns.Leverage: The leverage in stock trading and forex trading greatly differ, and most traders prefer forex overstock for this reason. "Leverage allows the trader to buy more currencies with less cash, and when the currency's value increases the trader gains more return." In stock trading, traders are allowed a maximum of 2:1 leverage, that is, being able to make trades only twice above their current account balance. While in forex, some brokerage firms allow traders leverage of up to 50:1-allowing them to make trades up to fifty times above their account balance. 50:1 is the highest leverage in America, other countries can go as high as 400:1 leverage. High leverages may seem like a great opportunity provided to the trader, however, it also holds high tendencies of incurring losses. Leverage has the ability to increase your profits and losses, it all depends on how you place your bet.Insider Trading: Insider trading is an act that is greatly prohibited because it gives certain investors and traders an advantage over the rest of what's supposed to be a fair market. However, the issue of insider trading is one that is still ongoing as a large number of public listed companies give room for insider trading. The category of stock traders who take advantage of insider trading work hand-in-hand with stock market insiders who have firsthand information about a company's financial position, ongoing plans for a new product line, or any other important information required to make a successful stock trade or investment. The case is not so in forex trading, though the forex marke Peter Dinklage won his first ever Screen Actors Guild Award for playing Tyrion Lannister in HBO's Game of Thrones. Dinklage, 50, triumphed in the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor In a Drama Series category, beating out Sterling K. Brown (This Is Us), Steve Carell (The Morning Show), Billy Crudup (The Morning Show) and David Harbour (Stranger Things) during Sunday's ceremony at the Shrine Auditorium in LA. Before he won, a number of Game of Thrones cast members reunited for what could be their last encounter for quite some time. First timer: Peter Dinklage won his first ever Screen Actors Guild Award for playing Tyrion Lannister in HBO's Game of Thrones Dinklage took to the stage to accept his statuette, which features a naked man taking off a mask, joking, 'I think he was on Game of Thrones' since the show featured so much nudity. On a more serious note, Dinklage continued: 'I would like to thank the people of Northern Ireland, who put up with us for nine years.' He added that he would like to thank 'everyone at Table 9 and Table 10 and beyond,' where his Game of Thrones cast and creators were sitting, 'because we put with each other for nine years.' Joke: Dinklage took to the stage to accept his statuette, which features a naked man taking off a mask, joking that, 'I think he was on Game of Thrones' since the show featured so much nudity Thanks: 'And finally, I would like to thank my wife (Erica Schmidt) who put up with me for more than nine years but lived in a place far away from home, but made it home because we were together. Thank you,' Dinklage concluded 'And finally, I would like to thank my wife (Erica Schmidt) who put up with me for more than nine years but lived in a place far away from home, but made it home because we were together. Thank you,' Dinklage concluded. Game of Thrones also won Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Drama or Comedy Series, beating GLOW, Stranger Things, The Walking Dead and Watchmen. The show was also nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series with Big Little Lies, The Crown, The Handmaid's Tale and Stranger Things, but The Crown took home that award. Hugs: Several Game of Thrones stars were spotted reuniting at the awards show, including Sophie Turner, who was seen giving a big hug to Alfie Allen Chat: Turner was also spotted chatting with John Bradley and posting with Bradley and Allen at the venue Several Game of Thrones stars were spotted reuniting at the awards show, including Sophie Turner, who was seen giving a big hug to Alfie Allen. Turner was also spotted chatting with John Bradley, also posing for pictures with Bradley and Allen at the venue. Other Game Of Thrones stars spotted at the awards show include Kristofer Hivju, Ben Crompton and Liam Cunningham. Thrones stars: Other Game of Thrones stars spotted at the awards show include Kristofer Hivju, Ben Crompton and Liam Cunningham Final season: Game of Thrones ran for eight critically-acclaimed seasons, capped off by the show winning Outstanding Drama Series for its final season Game of Thrones ran for eight critically-acclaimed seasons, capped off by the show winning Outstanding Drama Series for its final season. The show ended its run with a record-breaking 58 Emmys, the most ever for a drama series with a record 161 nominations in total. For its final season, Thrones also broke a 25-year-old record by earning 32 Emmy nominations, the most for a show in a single year. They broke the old record of 26 nominations set by NYPD Blue in 1994. Peter and Leo: Peter Dinklage shakes hands with Leonardo DiCaprio as Al Pacino looks on After party: Peter Dinklage chats with Brad Pitt at the Netflix SAG After Party Reunited: Peter Dinklage reunites with his The Station Agent star Bobby Cannavale at the SAG Awards LONDON - Prince Harry says he's taking a leap of faith as he steps back from royal duties in an attempt to build a more peaceful life one free of the journalists who have filmed, photographed and written about him since the day he was born. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/1/2020 (722 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Britain's Prince Harry and Prime Minister Boris Johnson, left, at the UK Africa Investment Summit in London, Monday Jan. 20, 2020. Boris Johnson is hosting 54 African heads of state or government in London. The move comes as the U.K. prepares for post-Brexit dealings with the world. (Stefan Rousseau/Pool via AP) LONDON - Prince Harry says he's taking a "leap of faith as he steps back from royal duties in an attempt to build a more peaceful life one free of the journalists who have filmed, photographed and written about him since the day he was born. Fat chance. Global fame will follow Harry and his TV star wife, Meghan, even as they decamp to the seemingly more benign environment of Canada, said Pauline Maclaran, a business professor at Royal Holloway University of London and author of "Royal Fever: The British Monarchy in Consumer Culture.'' "They believe that if they are not representing the monarchy any longer, the tabloid press will eventually go away because it will be so expensive for them that there won't be the same savage approach. They feel they will be able to control it more from Canada,'' she said Monday. "I don't think they are being very realistic.'' Harry has long had a frosty relationship with the media, and on Sunday he made it clear that the press was a major reason for the couple's decision to step back from royal life. In a personal speech that referenced his mother, Princess Diana, who died in a car accident in 1997 while being pursued by paparazzi, he said he had "no other option'' but to step away. Harry has accused the media of directing "a wave of abuse and harassment" at the biracial Meghan, including "racial undertones" in articles. Both he and Meghan filed lawsuits last year against press outlets over alleged intrusion into their private lives. At the time, Harry gave an interview drawing parallels between the treatment of his wife and the media frenzy that contributed to the death of his mother. "When I lost my mum 23 years ago, you took me under your wing,'' Harry said Sunday at a London dinner for Sentebale, his Africa-based charity supporting youngsters affected by HIV. "You looked out for me for so long, but the media is a powerful force. And my hope is one day our collective support for each other can be more powerful, because this is so much bigger than just us.'' The comments were Harrys first since Saturday night, when his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, announced the terms under which the prince and his wife will walk away from most royal duties, give up public funding and try to become financially independent. The couple, who were named the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on their wedding day, are expected to spend most of their time in Canada while maintaining a home in England near Windsor Castle. The front pages of London's Sunday newspapers are displayed in London, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020.(AP Photo/Frank Augstein) Meghan has already returned to Canada, where the couple spent a Christmas break with their 8-month-old son, Archie. Harry continued in his royal role Monday, attending a U.K.-Africa investment summit in London alongside British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. It was not clear how soon Harry will join Meghan, Archie and the couple's dogs in Canada, or where in the country they plan to live. They spent the holiday season on Vancouver Island, while Meghan worked for seven years in Toronto where she filmed the TV series "Suits." Experts on branding and the royals believe the golden couple will, if anything, get even more attention than they do now. Though the couple have expressed disdain for the royal rota a pool system that gives British journalists access to royal events the system also served to control media demands. Now, all bets are off. "The paparazzi will follow them everywhere they go,'' said Jonathan Shalit, a celebrity agent and chairman of London-based InterTalent Rights Group. "A picture of Meghan going to the shops in Vancouver will have value. I certainly think the kind of attention going forward is going to be harder to control.'' And if they want to be financially independent, they won't be able to avoid the media altogether, because clients who pay for their services will want the publicity that comes with a connection to them, Shalit said as he predicted the couple could become a billion-dollar brand. They can expect lucrative deals, such as multimillion-dollar book packages and speaking fees, he said. Shalit said the Sussexes would outstrip former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, in earning power. "They are 100% more valuable than the Obamas,'' he said. "The Obamas arent royal. They are." Media companies are likely partners. Ted Sarandos, the chief content officer of streaming giant Netflix, told Britain's Press Association he would be interested in working with them, adding: "Who wouldn't be interested?'' The queen's statement on Saturday said the agreement, reached after crisis talks among the top royals and their staff, was a "constructive and supportive way forward." Under the terms of the deal, Harry and Meghan will no longer receive public funds and they won't use their "royal highness" titles once they stop performing royal duties although they will formally retain them. They will no longer represent the queen, and Harry must relinquish his honorary military appointments, including his role as Captain General of the Royal Marines. Harrys speech made it clear that he and Meghan were disappointed that they won't be allowed to carry on with some royal duties as they seek to cut the palace's purse strings. "Our hope was to continue serving the queen, the Commonwealth and my military associations, but without public funding. Unfortunately, that wasn't possible," he said. The conditions represent a starker break with the monarchy than Harry and Meghan had envisioned earlier this month when they first announced that they planned to give up full-time royal duties. "It brings me great sadness that it has come to this,'' Harry said Sunday. "The decision that I have made for my wife and I to step back is not one I made lightly,'' he said. "It was so many months of talks after so many years of challenges. And I know I haven't always got it right, but as far as this goes, there really was no other option." 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. Harry praised his grandmother, the queen, and the rest of his family for supporting him and his wife in recent months. The decision to change both jobs and continents is "a leap of faith," he said, adding that he hoped the move would allow him and his family to achieve a "more peaceful life." "I will always have the utmost respect for my grandmother my commander in chief and Im incredibly grateful to her and the rest of my family for the support they have shown Meghan and I over the last few months," he said. ___ Associated Press writer Jill Lawless contributed to this story. ___ Follow all royal coverage by The Associated Press at https://www.apnews.com/PrinceHarry by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, January 20, 2020 The head of Google is reportedly calling for a temporary block on the use of facial recognition technology until government officials weigh in with new rules. Facial recognition is fraught with risks, Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai said at a conference in Brussels, according to Reuters. I think it is important that dominant regulation tackles it sooner rather than later. Pichai's comments come as the EU is reportedly preparing to impose a five-year ban on the use of facial recognition technology in public. In the U.S., four cities -- San Francisco and Oakland, California, and Brookline and Somerville, Massachusetts -- have prohibited the police from using facial recognition software. Portland, Oregon is currently considering a similar prohibition. advertisement advertisement Several states, including Illinois and Texas, also restrict private companies' ability to use biometric data, including data gleaned from facial-recognition software. The Illinois law specifically provides for private lawsuits against companies that fail to comply with curbs on biometrics. Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vermont) has said he supports a ban on the use of the technology by the police. Pichai's comments come two days after The New York Times published an expose detailing how the company Clearview AI created and sold a facial recognition database to police departments by scraping photos from Facebook. After the article appeared, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) reiterated his support for a national privacy law. Americans have a right to know whether their personal photos are secretly being sucked into a private facial recognition database, he said on Twitter. Everyday we witness a growing need for strong federal laws to protect Americans privacy. (Photo : Photo by Karl Greif on Unsplash) US vs China Heats Up as America Plans to Ban Usage of Chinese-Made Drones (Photo : Amazon) US vs China: America Plans to Ban Usage of Chinese-Made Drones Looks like the feud between U.S. and China have been more intense these past months as U.S. bans Chinese drones-- citing issues of espionage. Will this result to a total ban of civilian drones? BBC reported on Jan. 16 that U.S. officials worried that civilian drones are used as a spying tool by the Chinese government. As of today, according to the Federal Aviation Administration or FAA, 2 million sets of drones had already been sold commercially in the country. Over the next years, this number is expected to be doubled with more than 2.4 million units. U.S. bans Chinese Drones? Head of the U.S. Department of Interior, David Bernhardt, recently got worried about the widespread use of civilian drones all over the country. According to him, most of these drones were made from China-based companies, which may result in Chinese espionage or the act of obtaining personal or confidential information without any permission from the owner. "Until this review is completed, the secretary has directed that drones manufactured in China or made from Chinese components be grounded," according to the statement sent to the BBC. As of now, a Shenzhen-based company called Da Jiang Innovations Science and Technology Company, or, DJI dominates the drone industry in the U.S. READ ALSO: FAA Wants to Track Your Drones, Effective 2023 Though Bernhardt said that the country is now worried about Chinese drones, Michael Oldenburg, a spokesman for DJI Technology Inc, tells the BBC that there is still no "credible evidence to support a broad country-of-origin restriction on drone technology." Meanwhile, the federal agency also clarified that drones that are being used for emergencies like rescuing people or fighting fires may still be used in the country. Chinese Intelligent Agent Spies concerning U.S. In Nov 2019, U.S. President Donald Trump already made concerns with the issue of Chinese intelligent agent spies circulating the country wherein they typically used drones technology. Trump even described China as 'cheaters' saying that "since China's entrance into the World Trade Organization in 2001, no one has manipulated better or taken advantage of the United States more. I will not say the word 'cheated,' but nobody's cheated better than China. I will say that." As of now, the Federal Agency has not yet released any official and final statement regarding the banning of civilian drones. U.S. Civilian Drones won't take flight anymore? In 2019, a reported number of mysterious flying drones were seen to be doing surveillance around U.S. military bases on parts of Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming. The first drones that were reported were via Phillips County Sheriff's Office on Colorado state wherein alleged 16 civilian drones were being investigated as having malicious intentions since some of them were flying in grid patterns. The U.S. Air Force already explained that these civilian drones were not part of any of their military exercises. That's why Colorado made a warning to all civilians to report any of these mysterious drones once they see it flying around their area. "If any of these drones fly onto your property or are looking into windows, please call the communications center immediately so a deputy can respond to your location. If you happen to come into possession of one of these drones, please contact the Sheriff's Office so we can conduct a forensic evaluation of the drone to identify the owners and take the appropriate actions," said Phillips County Sheriff's Office. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Several opposition leaders were either detained or placed under house arrest in as protests rocked Amaravati and surrounding districts on Monday, ahead of a crucial Assembly session where the state government is likely to announce its final decision on three capitals proposal. Tension prevailed as people took to streets to demand that Amaravati be continued as the only state capital. There was high tension at Tullur village as large number of farmers and other villagers tried to march towards the Assembly in response to the 'chalo Assembly' protest called by main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Joint Action Committee (JAC) fighting for protection of Amaravati as the state capital. The protesters, including women, removed police barricades to proceed towards the Assembly. Police used force to stop the protesters. Meanwhile, the police detained hundreds of TDP workers and protestors trying to reach Amaravati from Vijayawada, other parts of Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam and other districts in the state. Several top TDP leaders were either taken in custody or placed under house arrest. Vijayawada MP Kesineni Nai, former ministers D Uma Maheswar Rao and Bandaru Satyanarayana Murthy were among the leaders placed under house arrest. Thousands of policemen were deployed in Amaravati, Vijayawada and surrounding towns to prevent protesters from heading towards Assembly. The Prakasam Barrage across Krishna river, which connects Vijayawada to Amaravati, has been sealed for traffic. Police threw a thick security cordon around the secretariat and Assembly and sealed several roads. Amid tight security, Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy reached the secretariat, where he chaired the state cabinet. The meeting is understood to have approved report of high-power committee on decentralization of development and state capital and also gave its nod for the Bills to be tabled in the three-day Assembly session. A Bill to repeal Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) is likely to be passed by the Assembly to facilitate shifting of key capital functions from Amaravati to Visakhapatnam and Kurnool. The YSRCP government proposes to develop Visakhapatnam as administrative capital and Kurnool as judicial capital while retaining Assembly in Amaravati. For more than a month, farmers in all 29 villages of Amaravati have been staging protests, demanding that Amaravati be retained as the only capital. The farmers had given 33,000 acres of land for development of Amaravati as the state capital in 2015. TDP President and Leader of Opposition N Chandrababu Naidu termed Monday as a black day for the state. He alleged that the Chief Minister was destroying the dream capital of people to settle political scores with him. (Natural News) All eyes seem to be on Boeing these days as the legacy aircraft manufacturers reputation continues its slide into oblivion over the ongoing 737 Max debacle. But a former Boeing quality manager who worked at the company for 30 some-odd years recently came forward to confess that, unfortunately, the 737 Max isnt the only problematic aircraft that Boeing makes. According to John Barnett, when Boeing transferred some of its 787 Dreamliner manufacturing capacity to non-unionized South Carolina back in 2010, the exceptionally high safety standards that Boeing used to be known for basically went out the window. Much of the quality control that existed back in Washington was abandoned, he says, and it was almost as if Boeing became a completely different company almost overnight and not in a good way. They started pressuring us to not document defects, to work outside the procedures, to allow defective material to be installed without being corrected, Barnett says. They started bypassing procedures and not maintaining configurement control of airplanes, not maintaining control of non-conforming parts they just wanted to get the planes pushed out the door and make the cash register ring. Early on, it was mostly the administrative side of Boeings South Carolina operations that was impacted by these frightening changes. But eventually, the problems reached the production floor with all sorts of faulty parts being outfitted into Boeings Dreamliner planes like it was no big deal. Over time it got worse and worse, Barnett says. They began to ignore defective parts installed on the planes and basic issues related to aircraft safety. Barnett also recalls several defective bulkheads being installed without having been repaired. Sponsored solution from the Health Ranger Store: The Big Berkey water filter removes almost 100% of all contaminants using only the power of gravity (no electricity needed, works completely off-grid). Widely consider the ultimate "survival" water filter, the Big Berkey is made of stainless steel and has been laboratory verified for high-efficiency removal of heavy metals by CWC Labs, with tests personally conducted by Mike Adams. Explore more here. In one audit, it was discovered that a shocking 25 percent of the oxygen masks being installed into Boeings Dreamliner airplanes didnt even work. Even worse were the three-inch-long slivers of razor-sharp metal that routinely fell into areas of the planes with sensitive wiring and electronics during production. That surface below the floor board is where all of your flight control wires are, thats where all of your electronic equipment is, Barnett says about the metal slivers. It controls systems on the airplane, it controls the power of the airplane. All of your electronic equipment is down where all of these metal slivers are falling. For speaking out about these and other serious issues, Barnett was reassigned by Boeing South Carolina to a department that isolated him as punishment When Barnett tried to tell his superiors that these metal slivers were a serious problem, causing shorts and fires at the plant and posing risks in the air as they worked their way down into wire bundles, he was punished by being reassigned to a department that isolated him, according to reports. Every 787 out there has these slivers out there, Barnett warns. As far as the 787, I would change flights before I would fly a 787. Ive told my family please dont fly a 787. Fly something else. Try to get a different ticket. I want the people to know what they are riding on. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) audit has substantiated Barnetts claims, and the FAA has since told Boeing that no more Dreamliner planes with metal slivers can be delivered. However, this does not address the 800 Dreamliner planes that Boeing has already delivered, and that people are flying on at this very moment. Barnett has also filed a complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), but thus far nothing has been done as the situation is still under investigation. So, best advice we can give is to avoid flying on Boeing planes if at all possible. The company was obviously run into the ground by Dennis Muilenburg, its former CEO who made out like a bandit with a $100 million golden parachute, by the way. And the transfer of some of the companys production to South Carolina where a lack of union workers apparently translates to inconsistent quality priorities has further meant that quality and safety are no longer Boeing values. In other words, if its a Boeing, I aint going. For more related news about Boeing, be sure to check out Corruption.news. Sources for this article include: ZeroHedge.com NaturalNews.com By Mohammad Gharebagh, KYODO NEWS - Dec 23, 2019 - 18:38 | World, All Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Monday called on Japan to help save the 2015 nuclear deal with practical economic support, welcoming Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's de-escalation initiatives. "The Islamic Republic of Iran welcomes any efforts and diplomatic initiatives of friendly countries, including Japan, for salvaging the nuclear deal and lifting sanctions (against Iran) as well as de-escalation in the region," Rouhani said in a written reply to questions submitted by Kyodo News. "Japan can develop its economic and financial ties with Iran in various areas," he said, referring to what Tokyo could do practically to help save the deal that Tehran signed with world powers in 2015 to limit its nuclear activities in return for an end to severe economic sanctions. The Iranian president also stressed on keeping his country's "good relations" with Japan and welcomed any Japanese initiatives that could promote bilateral economic and financial relations. Since U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled his country out of the nuclear accord in May 2018, calling it "a very bad deal," and imposed the "heaviest sanctions ever" on Iran, it has become impossible for Tehran to export its oil to its traditional customers including Japan. Related coverage: Japan gets Iran's backing for sending SDF to Middle East Welcoming Abe's de-escalation policies, Rouhani called on the United States to restore the "lost trust" after its withdrawal and said that the U.S. return to nuclear deal and lifting the "cruel" sanctions are prerequisites for any other move. "Lifting sanctions and returning to the nuclear deal can create new capacities for continuation of negotiations. If they talk with the Iranian people with the language of respect, then they will receive a response in the same way," he said. Rouhani did not reject the possibility of having a meeting with his U.S. counterpart but said such a meeting could take place only if "they can implement past commitments and prove their goodwill." The Iranian president hailed Japan's efforts for de-escalating the tensions between Iran and the United States and said it would be "a right step on the right track" if any efforts can make Washington correct its approach toward Tehran. Rouhani was in Japan last Friday as the first Iranian leader to visit since Mohammad Khatami in October 2000, as Tehran apparently hopes to deepen bilateral ties amid the persisting Iran-U.S. standoff over the nuclear deal. As Trump has launched a "maximum pressure" campaign, Iran is struggling under oil and other U.S. sanctions. Increased gasoline prices have sparked widespread protests, adding to the country's woes. On the faltering 2015 nuclear deal, Abe told Rouhani that Iran should refrain from taking actions that would undermine it and instead fully abide by it. Tehran has chipped away at its commitments through breaches such as exceeding the uranium enrichment cap, which came in response to the U.S. withdrawal from the deal and the re-imposition of the sanctions. 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 GNA Head Sarraj Calls for Formation of UN-Mandated International Forces to Protect Libya Sputnik News 09:39 19.01.2020(updated 09:48 19.01.2020) MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Fayez Sarraj, the head of the Tripoli-based internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), has called on the international community to send a peacekeeping mission under the auspices of the United Nations to ensure a ceasefire in Libya. "If [Libyan National Army commander] Khalifa Haftar does not stop his offensive, the international community should take an active position and send international forces to protect Libyan civilians. Such forces should act under the UN mandate. Then experts should hold a discussion about who will participate, for example, the EU or the African Union, or the Arab League", Sarraj said in an interview with German newspaper Welt. He criticised the lack of EU efforts in resolving the Libyan conflict, calling them "too insignificant". "We expected the EU to strongly oppose Haftar's offensive and help to put an end to the Libyan crisis. The EU should be self-critical. The Europeans came too late", Sarraj added. Sarraj and Haftar, as well as leaders and representatives of several other countries and intergovernmental organisations, will be gathering for a high-level summit in Berlin later on Sunday to push for a UN-drafted agreement. Such an agreement could be a step toward peace negotiations in war-torn Libya. The Berlin conference follows intra-Libyan talks in Moscow with the participation of representatives of Russia and Turkey. Haftar left Moscow without signing a ceasefire agreement with Sarraj's government, whose delegation signed the agreement, and then headed to Istanbul. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address MIAMI, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- GlobalPro, a leading insurance risk and recovery firm, has announced Jorge I. Acosta as Director of Risk Services and Kevin Rivera as Creative Director. This announcement comes on the heels of the recent appointment of Elliott Carter, Vice President of Technology, along with multiple new hires across divisions. The additions will play an integral role in accommodating the company's growth. "GlobalPro has successfully grown year over year since conception." -said Daniel Odess, President, GlobalPro. "We are constantly looking for ways to improve our team, increase our services and push boundaries in the industry, and that can only be achieved by continuing to bring on distinguished individuals like Jorge and Kevin." Jorge I. Acosta has been hired as the company's Director of Risk Services. Bringing over 20 years of experience in sales and marketing in Property and Casualty, Risk Management and Employee Benefits Insurance to the team, Jorge will be responsible for coordinating and overseeing GlobalPro's business development for the Florida region. He serves as a team leader and is active in the sales and marketing departments as well as GlobalPro's Preferred Client Services program. His results-driven tactics help to assist with the growth and development of GlobalPro's ever-expanding business. Kevin Rivera has been appointed as the company's Creative Director. Bringing over a decade of experience in creative brand strategies and social media marketing to GlobalPro, he will be responsible for overseeing the brand's marketing efforts and content strategy. Working closely with multidisciplinary project teams, Kevin is an integral part of continuing to expand GlobalPro's overall brand identity. His excellent understanding of the social media landscape ensures that the GlobalPro brand will be strategically built to reach its target audience while remaining innovative in a niche space. With experience in application development, e-commerce start-up & strategic consulting, social media brand management, content marketing strategies and brand ambassador programs, Kevin is uniquely positioned to contribute to GlobalPro and its innovative solutions, while strategically enhancing its standing in the insurances services space. "We are thrilled to welcome Jorge I. Acosta and Kevin Rivera to GlobalPro as we kick off 2020." -said Daniel. "Both of these gentlemen add tremendous value to our team and will help the business reach new heights this year." GlobalPro's International Headquarters are located at 3139 SW 27th Ave, Miami, FL 33133. The company also has a regional Orlando office located at 20 N. Orange Avenue, Suite 1100, Orlando, FL 32801. GlobalPro's New York Headquarters are located at 401 Park Avenue South, Suite 824, New York, NY 10016. For more information on GlobalPro, please visit www.getglobalpro.com . About GlobalPro: GlobalPro is multidisciplinary professional firm that helps clients manage the risks to a financial recovery following a loss caused by wind, water, fire, theft or other calamity. Our family owned and operated international business has represented the interests of policyholders and has recovered more than $1 billion globally for our clients. Under the direction of President Daniel B. Odess, an experienced licensed public adjuster and licensed general contractor, our international company headquartered in Miami, Florida with offices in New York and Orlando, provides white-glove service to a select clientele in the United States and around the world. MEDIA CONTACT: Marni Blickman 786.888.4556 [email protected] SOURCE GlobalPro Related Links http://www.getglobalpro.com In 2008, United States government officials approved a patent for an electronic device that looks a lot like todays Apple iPhone. The patent gave special legal rights to a group of inventors, including Apple founder Steve Jobs. It barred other people and businesses from making, using or selling the device. In a few years, other companies were making similar mobile phones. Did they steal the idea? It was legal for those companies to make a similar product, as long as it was not exactly the same. But they had to solve for themselves how to make it. New ideas for technology are a kind of intellectual property the product of a persons mind. Inventors are worried more these days about new ways that others can learn about how their inventions work. One place where new products are demonstrated is at conferences where people from around the world are gathered, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) notes. CES 2020 Every January, CES, once called the Consumer Electronics Show, is held in Las Vegas, Nevada. More than 175,000 people attended the event this year. David Eagleman is a neuroscientist who teaches at Stanford University in California. He co-founded a company that created a wristband to help those who have trouble hearing. The wristband sends signals through their skin. Many years of research led to production of the device, so Eagleman wanted to protect it well globally. We have all the underlying technology patented, so we're not terribly worried about patent theft. This is a group of 170,000 smart people, and so it's something that we just have to watch out for..." The FBIs Aaron Rouse notes: It does happen from time to time where a piece of product may go missing or somebody has noticed when they get back to their factory that there has been a piece of software that's been installed onto one of their systems. Rouse is special agent in charge of the FBIs Las Vegas division. FBI catches lawbreakers The FBI and federal government lawyers say they have a long list of cases of stolen trade secrets from just the past year. They include a North Carolina man who stole trade secrets from aircraft companies. Another case involves a software engineer at a U.S. company that manufactures railroad engines. The engineer is accused of stealing proprietary information from his company and taking it to China. Another case involved a Chinese national in California who is now in prison for stealing secrets about medical devices and taking them to China. There are many different groups that want stolen technology. (They) "could be a criminal organization, could be a foreign intelligence service, could be a competitor, Aaron Rouse said. More than 4,000 companies demonstrated products and services at CES 2020. People from more than 160 countries attended the event. Rouse noted that it is important to watch everyone who touches the technology carefully. During the time of the convention, who's handling your equipment? Who is handling your product. And, do they have access or the capability of installing malware onto that product at that time?" Technology continues be reach more into everyday activities, and a lot of information is shared over the internet. The FBI warns that the growing rate of intellectual property theft can cost companies billions of dollars. Im Jill Robbins. Elizabeth Lee reported on this story for VOA News. Jill Robbins adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. What do you think of the theft of new ideas for technology? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story theft n. the act of stealing something mobile adj. able to be moved; changeable in purpose software n. programs for a computer install v. to make (a machine, a service or software programs) ready to be used in a certain place malware n. a computer program that is designed to damage or break into a computer The West Indies Rum Distillery has appealed the implementing of a Geographical Indication for Barbados rum which was put forward by Mount Gay, Foursquare and Saint Nicholas Abbey. West Indies Rum Distillery, acquired by Maison Ferrand in 2017, has appealed directly to the political leadership of Barbados and demanded to mature Barbados rum outside of Barbados. The three distillers which agreed on the indication are the largest bottlers of Barbados rum and together hold more than 90% of the islands aged reserves. Under the GI, Barbados rum will be required to be matured in Barbados. The value of rum increases as it matures. We cannot afford the loss of forex earnings by letting this production step happen outside of Barbados, said Larry Warren, Saint Nicholas Abbey. The proposed GI has no restrictions on the type of stills used, long and short fermentation techniques are allowed and either fresh juice, syrup or molasses may be used. Any yeast may be used, but non-saccharomyces strains must be native. The GI also retains a requirement for the use of Barbados water to make Barbados rum and maturation must be in new oak or in refill casks from a list of recognised wine and spirit denominations. Until this day, Mount Gay uses the same water sourced from our centuries old well to make our rum, said Raphael Grisoni, MD, Mount Gay Rum. Age statements must refer to the youngest spirit and vats are not acceptable for age statements while the addition of sugar syrup and flavourings is prohibited; however, caramel colour under strict guidelines, will be allowed for consistency. SEOUL, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- South Koreans' individual tour to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) would not be subject to the UN sanctions against Pyongyang, Yonhap news agency reported on Monday, citing the unification ministry of South Korea. The ministry disclosed a reference material on individuals' tour, saying South Koreans' individual tour to the DPRK would not be subject to the UN sanctions, but a project that can be pushed forward by the country independently. The individuals' tour would not be subject to a secondary boycott either, the ministry noted. The material came after South Korean President Moon Jae-in said in his New Year address that his government will enhance inter-Korean cooperation through various projects this year. The unification ministry expressed its position that individuals' tour to the DPRK would not violate the UN sanctions as seen in many other foreign tourists visiting the DPRK. The ministry noted that personal belongings, which tourists can carry while on trip to the DPRK, are not subject to the UN sanctions, saying it would draw up guidelines on how to carry personal belongings, such as mobile phones, laptops and cameras, in the DPRK. Regarding the cost tourists can pay in the DPRK, the ministry said it cannot be seen as the payment of "bulk cash" given that travelers to the DPRK pay the cost for lodging and food individually. Tour by South Koreans to the DPRK's scenic resort of Mount Kumgang, launched in 1998, had been run for about 10 years before being shut down in 2008 when a South Korean tourist was shot dead by a DPRK soldier after allegedly venturing into off-limit areas. South Koreans' tour to Mount Kumgang itself is not subject to UN Security Council resolutions, but the travel cost paid to the DPRK side in "bulk cash" could be subject to international sanctions. The ministry said the South Korean government planned to actually improve inter-Korean ties through individuals' tour to the DPRK, adding that the United States had a basic position of respecting Seoul's decision as a sovereign state. U.S. imposes sanctions on Iran's IRGC general People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 09:47, January 19, 2020 WASHINGTON, Jan. 18 -- The U.S. State Department said Saturday that it had imposed sanctions on a brigadier general of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC). The department said in a statement that it had blacklisted Brigadier General Hassan Shahvarpour, a commander in Khuzestan province, accusing him of commanding units blamed for killing protestors in Iran in November 2019. Following the designation, the blacklisted individual, as well as his immediate family members, is ineligible for entry into the United States. The latest move by the U.S. State Department came amid high tensions between Washington and Tehran following the U.S. killing of a top Iranian military commander and Iran's missiles attack on U.S. military bases in Iraq. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address News Abilene, Texas - A federal jury convicted a Texas attorney John O. Green and his client Thomas Selgas Wednesday for conspiring to defraud the United States, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Departments Tax Division. The jury also convicted Selgas of tax evasion. Selgass wife, Michelle Selgas, was acquitted of conspiring to defraud the United States and tax evasion. According to the evidence presented at trial, Selgas conspired with Green, an attorney licensed to practice in Texas, to defraud the United States by obstructing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from assessing and collecting Selgass taxes. Selgas and his wife owed approximately $1.1 million in outstanding taxes that Selgas refused to pay. When the IRS made efforts to collect the outstanding taxes, Selgas concealed funds by using Greens Interest on Lawyers Trust Account (IOLTA) rather than using accounts in his own name. An IOLTA is a bank account used by a lawyer to hold money in trust for clients. From 2007 to 2017, Selgas deposited proceeds from the sale of gold coins and other income into Greens IOLTA and Green would then pay the Selgases personal expenses, including their credit card bills, from that account. Selgas and Green also filed a false tax return on behalf of MyMail, Ltd., an intellectual property development and licensing partnership Selgas co-founded, omitting a substantial portion of the partnerships income. U.S. District Judge Karen Gren Scholer will set sentencing at a later date. Selgas faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison for each of the conspiracy and tax evasion counts. Green faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for the conspiracy count. They also face a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman thanked agents of the IRS - Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Tax Division Trial Attorneys Robert A. Kemins and Mara Strier, who are prosecuting the case. At least 40 percent to 90 percent of American voters stay home during elections, evidence that low voter turnout for both national and local elections is a serious problem throughout the United States. With the 2020 presidential election approaching, directives for people to get out and vote will be firing up again. Some people might be indifferent or simply not care, but many who forgo voting have legitimate reasons. Over the past decade, through my extensive research on civil rights and oppression, through my observations of social media comments and through my conversations with hundreds of college students, I have concluded that such reasons are both important and, generally, unnoticed. Voter suppression Republican-led efforts to diminish participation in voting and voter registration have greatly contributed to the number of nonvoters. Since 2010, 25 states have adopted measures specifically aimed at making voting more difficult. Such measures include additional voter identification requirements. Sometimes lawmakers said these were necessary to curb illegal voting, which research shows is an all-but-nonexistent problem. Some counties and states have also created confusion and uncertainty about how to initially register or re-register after a voter has moved. In other cases, people might not know where to vote, due to the distribution of deliberately false information. Since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Shelby County v. Holder in 2013 that key aspects of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 were unconstitutional, states have closed over 1,000 polling locations, half of these in Texas. Personal choice Some people decide to forgo voting. I hear again and again that sometimes people make such choices because they were intimidated by friends, by family members or by people at polling places. When facing the complexities of races with dozens of candidates and complicated issues, others say they dont feel they know enough to make informed decisions. People have also told me they worry about feeling personally responsible if they vote for a candidate or position and there are unforeseen consequences, such as cuts to important aid programs. Members of any group, but especially those of underrepresented groups, may long to vote for desirable candidates but not feel that current candidates offer the possibility that anything will really change. Individuals have shared with me that they have not voted because they do not trust a nation that they feel has lied and perpetuated systemic abuse against minorities, aggravated further by widespread gerrymandering and for presidential elections, by an Electoral College system that doesnt weigh each vote the same. In France and India, for example, people who dislike all of the candidates can formally vote without endorsing any candidate by selecting none of the above. Not having this option in the U.S. might affect turnout, too. Obstacles to access For others, voting may simply be too difficult. I often hear of people who even with early voting or absentee options cannot vote because they lack transportation. They are homeless. They lack child care. They are disabled. They work, go to school and live in different cities. This is even more applicable for the 7 to 8 million in the U.S. who hold multiple jobs. Laws guarantee time off for voting but arent enforceable and arent always workable. Such people are effectively disenfranchised. Lack of rights Only nonincarcerated, mentally competent, registered citizens of age can vote. Based on 2015 data, the right to vote was not extended to an over 13 million people with green cards, work visas or refugee status. Given the total population of people 18 and older exceeded 248 million in 2015, one out of every 20 adults living, working and spending money in the U.S. was not eligible to vote. Using vague and inconsistent language, states have also worked to deny disabled or mentally ill people a political voice. This affects potentially over a million people nationwide. As discussed in the books The New Jim Crow and in Race, Incarceration and American Values, an additional 6 million Americans cannot vote because of felony convictions, an issue that disproportionately affects black people. In some states, this disenfranchisement remains in effect for life. The future Given the legitimacy of reasons why they dont participate, nonvoters certainly shouldnt be scolded with, If you dont vote, you cant complain. Or with even harsher words, as one friend on Facebook put it: If you dont vote, everything wrong in the world is your fault. People long to be heard and deserve fair representation. Instead of bashing nonvoters, I recommend taking some deep breaths and initiating friendly conversations. Listen and learn. At a time when public trust in government is at historic lows, such conversations might even encourage someone to demand a voice. Andrew Joseph Pegoda is a lecturer in womens, gender and sexuality studies; religious studies; and first year writing at the University of Houston. This essay first appeared on the website The Conversation. This morning and, its worth noting, on the federal holiday honoring the memory of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. the White House released an Impeachment Trial Memorandum. This memorandum revealed how President Trump intends to shape the impeachment trials narrative, as well as what he expects from the Republican members of the Senate. The Articles of Impeachment now before the Senate are an affront to the Constitution and to our democratic institutions, the memorandum begins. The Articles themselves and the rigged process that brought them here are a brazenly political act by Democrats that should be rejected. And so the presidents defense team launch their offensive attack, not with a whimper, but with a bang. Notable is the manipulation of the terms of impeachment here. The assertion that this particular impeachment has turned into a political process completely ignores the fact that impeachment is, by its very nature, a political process. Thats why we use it rather than legal means to penalize a president who has done wrong. And the president has done wrong. Despite the memorandums argument that he did absolutely nothing wrong, most of us know that just isnt true. Trump asked a foreign nation to interfere in an American election. That point has been proven through credible, first-person witnesses and has been substantiated further by Lev Parnas detailed text messages and notes, which were turned over just last week. Further, the president attempted to stall and derail the investigation into his actions by obstructing Congress at every turn. That obstruction resulted in its own article of impeachment. The most resonant line of the presidents defense teams memorandum is this one: House Democrats were determined from the outset to find some way any way to corrupt the extraordinary power of impeachment for use as a political tool to overturn the result of the 2016 election and to interfere with the 2020 election. All of this is a dangerous perversion of Constitution that the Senate should swiftly and roundly condemn. Herein lies the thesis of the Trumpian argument. The rigged, concocted, and frivolous impeachment is nothing more than a malicious reaction to his daring to become president from indignant political losers. This argument may seem, to the rational thinker, no more effective than throwing darts in the dark. But the fact of the matter is that President Trump has learned the lesson of influence and narrative wholly. During his tenure as president, Trump has told somewhere around 16,000 lies according to The Washington Post (which claims to assiduously keep count). Still, his followers believe what they are told by him, and Trump knows, as a result, that his voice is important, even if his voice is dishonest. In the vacuum of Twitter, the presidents words true or otherwise resonate for those who look to him for guidance. As always, hes banking on that power to sustain him during the trial (and tribulations) that lie ahead. Mark Levin slams impeachment, claims Donald Trump gets less due process than the terrorists on 9/11' The Impeachment Trial Memorandum is a lengthy offensive designed to turn an earnest investigation into a farce. Its also a roadmap for senators grappling with how to defend the indefensible actions of the countrys leader. If all else fails, blame the Democrats for staging a coup. Thats essentially what is written on page 24 of the memorandum: House Democrats theory that the President can be impeached and removed from office under a vaguely defined concept of abuse of power would vastly expand the impeachment power beyond the limits set by the Constitution and should be rejected by the Senate. Needless to say, Republicans waged no similar attack on the premise of abuse of power as an article of impeachment when president Bill Clinton was charged with it two decades ago. Still, the intent is clear. Senators who wish to remain in Trumps good graces need only peruse the document for a signal as to which way they must vote in the coming weeks and how they can justify themselves. This memorandum adds no new information or nuance to the debate about the presidents actions. Those actions are still wrong and, yes, impeachable. What this memorandum does, however, is attempt to reconfigure the narrative, and owning the narrative is a technique that Trump has all but mastered. 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 What remains to be seen is whether or not this response is yet another example of how the Trumpian distortion of reality can become truth if you choose to believe it. And the only ones standing in that doorway between right and wrong are the 53 Republican Senators who will decide the fate of this president. Will they fall prey to this narrative of feigned innocence, too, using this memorandum as their guideline? Or will they choose a more righteous path in the interest of preserving democratic principles? Because there is only one truth, and the president isnt the one telling it. The police in Lagos have arrested 26-year-old Ataghar Namdoo for allegedly faking her own kidnap in order to extort money from her employer. The suspect was arrested on Thursday alongside another suspect. In a statement released by Bala Elkana, the Lagos police spokesperson on Sunday, the suspect conspired with her boyfriend, Emmanuel Idu, and Okpe David to stage her kidnap. According to the statement, the suspects produced short videos, where the lady was blindfolded and driven to a bush in a truck. In the second video, the suspect was seen in a bush at Sangotedo area Ajah threatened by a man wearing a mask and holding a Jack knife. The masked man in the video was later identified as Emmanuel Idu, the boyfriend of the suspect, the police said. The abductors demanded ten million naira as ransom in the video. The two videos were sent to the employer of the lady with a threat to kill her and to also go after the family of the employer if the ransom is not paid, the police said. The police said the employer lodged a complaint at the Lagos State Police Command, where the videos were analysed. Mr Elkana said a thorough analysis of the videos, alongside other vital leads, led to the arrest of the two suspects. Okpe David (second suspect) confessed to have provided the truck used in driving the girl to the bush. The truck was actually driven by him. He also did the video recordings sent to the employer, the police said. Mr Elkana added that the police have launched a manhunt for Mr Idu, who is on the run. A pigeon in Reno, Nevada was spotted wearing a tiny sombrero (a straw hat typical to Mexico and the southwest US) following the sighting of pigeons that were seen in town enrobed in cowboy hats in the city of Las Vegas last week. Sabra Newby, Reno City Manager posted the picture of the Pigeon on her official Twitter handle stating that she was out in the field on a ride with parking enforcement when she noticed a pigeon wearing a sombrero. So Im out in the field on a ride along with parking enforcement, and what do I see? It appears to be a pigeon with a sombrero.... pic.twitter.com/SOjPKw8nQ0 Sabra Newby (@sabrasireen) January 15, 2020 Read Technology Helps Fix Pigeon Chest In US Patient Read Flight Delayed In Russia After Pigeon Enters Aircraft's Cabin Sightings spark animal cruelty concerns The sightings of the birds donning hats have sparked concerns about animal cruelty across Nevada as a pigeon with a miniature cowboy hat fixed on its head had reportedly died last week. Reno City Manager, Sabra Newby reportedly tweeted about the bird Wednesday, saying its quirky and fun but still inhumane. The officials told the media that people who spot the birds draped in hats were encouraged to inform the animal service dispatch officers immediately. Manager Newby reportedly said that it was not established yet who put the hat on the pigeons but Reno as a city was concerned about the safety and protection of the birds that did not have to become a punchline. Twitter responded to the post condemning the act while some users mocked humour at the fact that pigeons loitered about the city in hats. What if they love their hats?, wrote one user jokingly. This is simply cruelty to animals. It is not cute. Stop doing it and stop promoting it in such a cutesy way, commented an aggravated user. While one user said, These pictures are the absolute best part of my day. I don't want to think of how they were attached or that it's mean to them. I just love the image and am going to convince myself they're happy pigeons. Our Vegas pigeons had the hats glued to their heads - extremely harmful, painful and essentially animal cruelty. One of the birds that was captured, unfortunately, died this week... #notsocute Sallie Doebler (@sddoebler) January 15, 2020 Can somebody remove the hat before the president deported him??? Anita (@Anitajuliah) January 17, 2020 This is what happens when Disney teaches the world that animals are people. Schnitz (@Schnitz1981) January 18, 2020 They were In Vegas forever. They needed a vacation I guess so headed to Reno Cindy Good (@poohtigger2424) January 17, 2020 Read 'Cowboy' Pigeon Finally Captured In Las Vegas With Hat Glued To Its Head Read PigeonBot: Stanford University Scientists Build 'winged Robot' To Fly Like An Actual Bird A Delhi court on Monday convicted 19 people including NGO owner Brajesh Thakur for sexual assault of girls at Muzaffarpur shelter home in Bihar. The judge slated the matter for arguments on quantum of sentence on January 28. Former Bihar Peoples Party MLA Brajesh Thakur, the prime accused in the case, was charged for rape, gang rape under various sections of the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act, Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act and criminal conspiracy. The court also acquitted one of the accused in the case. The accused included 12 men and eight women. he Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in December last year filed a chargesheet against the 21 persons. One of the chargesheeted is absconding. The court had earlier deferred for the third time pronouncement of judgement in the case till January 20 after the petition was filed before it. On December 12, the court had deferred the judgment for a second time in the case till January 14 as Judge Saurabh Kulshrestha, who had conducted the trial, was on leave. Earlier in November, the court had deferred by a month till December 12 as the as the accused could not be brought to court premises from jail due to lawyers strike in all six district courts in Delhi. The court had, on March 20, 2018, framed charges against 21 accused--nine women and 13 men --for offences of criminal conspiracy to commit rape and penetrative sexual assault against minors. The accused include employees of an NGO (Sewa Sankalp Evam Vikas Samiti) run by prime accused Brajesh Thakur, who is currently lodged in Tihar central jail, and officials of Bihars department of social welfare. More than 42 minors were allegedly sexually assaulted over a period of time in the shelter home which was run by Thakurs state-funded NGO. More than 42 minors were allegedly sexually assaulted over a period of time in the shelter home which was run by Thakurs state-funded NGO. The matter had come to light in February 2018 after the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) conducted a social audit and submitted the report to the Bihar government, highlighting the sexual abuse on the shelter home inmates for the first time. Protesters lobbed stones, firecrackers and street signs at riot police in weekend clashes that injured over 540 people. Officials in protest-hit Lebanon on Monday promised to take measures to deter attacks on security forces by alleged infiltrators during the violence over the weekend that injured hundreds of people. Lebanon has been rocked by mostly peaceful anti-government rallies since October 17, but the protests turned violent on Saturday and Sunday amid political deadlock and an ever-deepening economic crisis. Over the weekend, demonstrators, who had called for a week of rage, lobbed stones, firecrackers and street signs at riot police, who fired tear gas and rubber-coated bullets to clear a road leading to Parliament. The escalation saw more than 540 people wounded on the two sides and came as wrangling delayed the formation of a new government to replace that of Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who quit last year in the face of street protests. On Monday afternoon, President Michel Aoun presided over crisis talks on the violence between the caretaker interior and defence ministers, as well as the chiefs of the military and security agencies. Participants accused infiltrators of attacking security forces and vandalising property, and discussed security measures to deter further offences and protect peaceful protesters, government sources said after the meeting, without disclosing what measures would be taken. Aoun met security chiefs to work out a plan for deterring violent groups that security services have detailed information on while protecting property and peaceful protesters, the sources said. Brutal force In a show of defiance, demonstrators who said they took part in the weekend protests responded online using the Arabic hashtag The Infiltrator Is Me, disclosing their full personal details. They also accused security forces of firing rubber bullets at the eyes of protesters in other Twitter posts, as rights groups and the United Nations criticised police over the crackdown. Human Rights Watch accused riot police of launching tear gas canisters at protesters heads, firing rubber bullets in their eyes and attacking people at hospitals and a mosque. The UN also condemned the use of force. Violence from protesters and vandalism are, of course, unacceptable, said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric. But the vast majority of protesters were peaceful and they need to be protected, he added. A 22-year-old protester, who asked not to be named for security reasons, said he was severely beaten by security forces until he was bleeding from the head. Four of them were beating me with batons, said the man, who has been in the hospital since Saturday. Then they dragged me on the ground before they started kicking me. One of them slammed the base of a tear gas launcher against my mouth, another jabbed my face. Politicians have failed to agree on a government or an economic rescue plan since the unrest pushed Hariri to quit as prime minister on October 29, paralysing efforts to recover from a crisis that has shattered confidence in banks and raised investor concerns about its ability to repay steep foreign debt. Last month, little-known former minister Hassan Diab was designated prime minister with the backing of armed Shia group Hezbollah and its allies. But a deal on the cabinet formation is yet to be announced, with political factions squabbling over ministerial posts and portfolios. Early morning mist over fields near Pewsey in Wiltshire as plunging temperatures are expected across the country this weekend with the mercury predicted to dip as low as -6C. Forecasters have warned of disruption to TV networks as record high air pressure is set to cause havoc with radio signals. High pressue can bend or break signals and is expected to cause outages for Freeview, BT, TalkTalk, YouView and Plusnet customers across the UK. Met Office forecaster Marco Petagna told MailOnline: High pressure could well affect Freeview, causing signals to weaken and interfere with one another, due to a temperature inversion. Incredible high pressure around 1050 millibars will be over us. Photographers wait to take picture of a stag in a frost-covered Richmond Park in south west London where overnight temperatures dipped to -3C. Forecasters predict pressure will reach as high as 1050 millibars, close to the all-time record of 1053 millibars which was set in 1902. Freeview also warned its customers that A spokesperson for the company said: said: High air pressure can bend or reflect TV and radio waves, which interferes with the signals being sent from transmitters to aerials. This means that your aerial is not able to pick it up the same quality of signal that it normally would. READ MORE FROM YAHOO NEWS UK: As a result, some viewers may experience a pixelated picture, or in some cases a temporary loss of certain channels. The chilly weekend continued on Sunday as the mercury dipped below zero and fog coated large parts of the country. The Met Office said Northern Ireland experienced its coldest night of the winter, while the temperature fell to -6.8C (19.8F) in North Yorkshires Topcliffe, and hovered around -1C across the capital. The agencys Alex Burkhill said a fog warning had been put in place over sections of the West Midlands and north-west England. ---Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK--- Its been a very frosty start but through the bulk of the day its going to be largely fine and largely sunny, the forecaster said. Story continues It would still be quite chilly with expected highs of 8C scattered across parts of England, Mr Burkhill said. He added that there would be some rain for the Shetland Islands. A mid-range cold weather alert has been issued by Public Health England from 6pm on Sunday to 6pm on Tuesday and the organisation is urging people to prepare for cold weather conditions and look out for those most at risk. By Andrew Hammond The World Economic Forum (WEF) starts its landmark 50th anniversary summit at Davos, Switzerland, Tuesday. Yet, while the session is a landmark for international cooperation after a half century of such sessions, storm clouds are on the horizon as reflected in this year's theme of "stakeholders for a cohesive and sustainable world." The fact that U.S. President Donald Trump is perhaps the most high-profile guest in the Swiss ski resort personifies these tensions. It is his own "America first" vision which has been a key driver of the breakdown in international agreements and cooperation in the last few years by undermining a range of global agreements, including the Paris Climate Change Treaty. To be sure, Trump has significant support in the United States and internationally with his agenda, and he stands a significant chance of winning four more years in office in November. Yet, he will not be very popular among the elites and activists in and around Davos who tend to see him more as a menace than international messiah. In this vacuum, others have been warmly received in Davos, including Chinese President Xi Jinping who became the first Chinese president to give a speech, well received at the event in 2017, where he made an impassioned defense of globalization in the face of Trump's protectionist rhetoric. The key themes of promoting a more cohesive, sustainable world at this year's Davos underlines that, a generation from the promise of the late 1980s and early 1990s, which saw the collapse of Soviet Communism, many expectations about how the post-Cold War world might look have been dashed, not least around international cooperation. The WEF itself has ridden this wave of optimism and pessimism through its provision in the last several decades of a global platform for dialogue. Its early successes in bolstering international cooperation included the Davos Declaration signed in 1988 by Greece and Turkey, which saw the two turn back from the brink of war. In 1989, moreover, North and South Korea held their first ministerial-level meetings at the WEF in Switzerland, and East German Prime Minister Hans Modrow and West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl met there to discuss German reunification. Three decades on, the idealistic future vision held by some then of a universal order of liberal, capitalist, democratic states living in peace and contentment has been undermined. As multiple reports highlight, there is currently a potentially toxic cocktail of trade disputes, environmental risks, cyber threats, and geopolitical dangers threatening the fundamental fabric of the global political economy. To be sure, as a generation ago, the United States remains the world's most powerful country, certainly in a military sense. And it can still project and deploy overwhelming force relative to any probable enemy as Iran, for instance, is well aware of while it currently considers its options after the assassination of Qassem Soleimani. Yet, there are now multiple challenges confronting the U.S.-led order today which have helped drive the international fractures that the WEF will discuss. For instance, following Russia's annexation of Crimea, U.S. relations with Russia are now more strained than at any time since the Cold War, despite Trump's professed desire to try to improve relations. And the Israeli-Palestinian peace process has collapsed again, while Washington and Pyongyang remain locked in stalled nuclear diplomacy on the Korean Peninsula. Moreover, almost two decades after 9/11, Washington is still significantly engaged in Afghanistan and the Middle East. Indeed, Washington could become significantly more entrenched in the latter region if tensions with Iran continue to grow in 2020. On the positive side of the ledger, however, the world today continues to contain multiple positive opportunities for international cooperation. Take the example of the landmark global climate change deal agreed in Paris in 2015 which represents a welcome fillip to tackle global warming and, crucially, a new post-Kyoto framework has been put in place. Moreover, the once-every-five-years review framework means that countries can toughen their response to climate change in the future, especially if the political and public will to tackle the problem increases with time. Compared to three decades ago, in the last 1980s and early 1990s, the rise of China is one of the biggest game changers in global affairs. And, in the week during which Washington and Beijing sign a first stage trade deal, it is increasingly likely that the future of the international order may well depend on the condition of bilateral relations which could be shaping what is sometimes called a multi-bilateral world or a network of loosely coordinated bilateral and regional trade deals. One of the key indicators of whether such a future can be realized could come if the two sides can, ultimately, reach a wider ambitious, comprehensive, and sustainable phase two deal to settle their economic tensions. If so, this could help catalyze a new multi-bilateral trading order rather than the potential alternative of the world hurtling faster toward zero-sum trade relations descending into a full-blown economic war. While a "multi-bilateral" trade order would be more complicated and less satisfactory than the status quo, it will be better than a zero-sum world that could otherwise be our collective fate, salvaging significant, sizeable parts of the old post-1945 settlement. Andrew Hammond (andrewkorea@outlook.com) is an associate at LSE IDEAS at the London School of Economics. Meghan Markle's estranged father, Thomas Markle, accused the Duke and Duchess of Sussex of destroying and cheapening the royal family. In an interview for a documentary with Channel 5, the Duchess of Sussex's father described Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's behavior as "embarrassing." "When they got married, they took an obligation, and the obligation is to be part of the royals and to represent the royals," Thomas Markle said before saying it would be "foolish for them not to." He added that the British monarchy is "one of the greatest long-living institutions ever" and that the royal couple is "cheapening it" and "making it shabby." According to Thomas, Harry and Meghan are "turning into lost souls" who are making the royal family look like "a Walmart with a crown on" -- referring to the discount supermarket giant. Thomas then sent more hurtful messages to Meghan, emphasizing that how the former "Suits" actress behaves is not the way he raised her. Thomas also believes that Meghan was tossing away "every girl's dream." "Every young girl wants to become a princess and she got that and now she's tossing that away... it looks like she's tossing that away for money," the 75-year-old Markle patriarch said. The Duchess' dad went as far as to say that Meghan is tossing everything away, referring to their renovated Frogmore Cottage where the couple spent $3 million and then promised to pay back the taxpayers' money. "Apparently, $3 million and a 26-room home isn't enough for them. It is embarrassing to me," he said. Thomas was filmed at his home in Mexico for the documentary. He was once close to his daughter when she was growing up and even paid for her university tuition. Nonetheless, their relationship has broken down irrevocably in recent years. In fact, their relationship has been really bad that he could even testify against Meghan in the legal battle with the Mail on Sunday. The Mail on Sunday has already submitted its defense to court action by Meghan over the publication of the letter sent to her father. Thomas admitted that he is not expecting Prince Harry or Meghan to contact him, especially now. He also revealed that he does not know what the couple is looking for or if the couple actually know what they are looking for. Not only is Thomas Markle criticizing his blood-relative, even half-sister Samantha Markle has something to say about Meghan as well. "From my perception, I feel she 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," Samantha said. "But when the public start to criticize her behavior and expenditure, the tune changed and it became a bit more attribution error, avoiding accountability, flipping the script." The interview was filmed after Prince Harry and Meghan's announcement that they would step down as senior members of the royal family. The 90-minute documentary entitled "Thomas Markle: My Story" will talk about the "complicated" relationship with his daughter and their dramatic fallout. The Markles' intervention in the monarchy's worst crisis this generation came as the Queen finalized a deal for the Prince Harry and Meghan Markle who are leaving Britain to seek financial independence, according to the Daily Mail. It is expected to air soon, though a final date has not been confirmed. Oil prices jumped on Monday after two large crude production bases in Libya began shutting down following a military blockade, setting the stage for crude flows from the significant energy exporter to be cut to a trickle. Tensions in Iraq also contributed to the jump in crude prices. Brent crude futures were up by 75 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $65.60 by 01:09 GMT, having earlier reached $66.00 a barrel, the highest since January 9. The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) contract was up by 60 cents, or 1 percent, at $59.14 a barrel, after rising to $59.73, the highest since January 10. In the latest development in a long-running conflict in Libya, where two rival factions have claimed the right to rule the country for more than five years, the National Oil Corporation (NOC) on Sunday said two big oilfields in the southwest had begun shutting down after forces loyal to renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar closed a pipeline. If exports are halted for any sustained period, tanks for storage will fill within days and production will slow to 72,000 barrels per day (bpd), an NOC spokesman said. Libya has been producing about 1.2 million bpd recently. The situation there [eastern Libya] remains very chaotic. Four important oil terminals have been blocked by pro-Haftar protesters including armed groups and militiamen, Al Jazeeras Mahmoud Abdelwahed in Tripoli reported. Also on Sunday, foreign countries agreed at a summit in Berlin on Sunday to shore up a shaky truce in Libya, even as the talks were overshadowed by the latest blockade. German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters that the Berlin summit, attended by the main backers of the rival Libyan factions, had agreed that a tentative truce in Tripoli over the past week should be turned into a permanent ceasefire to allow a political process to take place. The oil and gas sector is the lifeblood of the Libyan economy and the single source of income for the Libyan people, NOC Chairman Mustafa Sanalla said on Friday. They are not cards to be played to solve political matters. Prices are likely to remain capped, given the markets reactive nature to fade geopolitical risk quickly, Stephen Innes, Asia Pacific strategist at AxiTrader, said in a note. In Iraq, security guards seeking permanent employment contracts blocked access to the al-Ahdab oil field, prompting a production halt, according to an official who couldnt be identified, Bloomberg reported. Protesters closed large roads in cities across Iraq, escalating their campaign for political change, as the clock ticked down the final hours to their deadline for the government to meet their demands for reform. The spike in oil prices is a rational response to the news on Libya and reflect the jumpy nature of the market, but the temporary stoppage of production in Iraq is more significant, Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney, told Bloomberg. The $60 mark for WTI is providing pretty solid resistance, he added. Oil prices surged earlier this month after Iran retaliated for the US killing of General Qassem Soleimani before retreating back to where they were in mid-December as the market shrugged off the threat of further disruptions. Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) have spare production capacity after cutting supply to prop up prices, analysts say, while non-OPEC output is expected to climb this year, adding a buffer to potential outages. An Italian senate committee was set to vote Monday on whether former interior minister Matteo Salvini should stand trial for allegedly illegally detaining migrants at sea last year. "They'll have to find a very large courtroom, for it will be a trial against the Italian people," Salvini, head of the far-right League party, said on Facebook Sunday. A tribunal has recommended Salvini stand trial for blocking migrants on a coastguard boat last July. Under Italian law ministers cannot be tried for actions taken in office unless a parliamentary committee gives the go-ahead. Should the committee vote in favour, the trial would proceed and Salvini faces up to 15 years in jail if found guilty. Should it rule against, parliament will be called to give its opinion in a vote likely to be held in February, Italian media said. Salvini had refused to allow 131 rescued migrants off the Gregoretti coastguard boat until a deal was reached with other European states to host them. A Catania court accused him of an "abuse of power" in blocking those saved on board from July 27 to July 31. Salvini insists that was not an individual decision, but one backed by the government and Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. Prosecutors in Sicily opened a probe into conditions on board the boat, where migrants shared one toilet between them. - 'Head held high' - This is the second time the League leader has risked trial over detaining migrants. Last year a court ruled that he should be tried for preventing 177 migrants from disembarking the Diciotti coastguard ship, but Italy's senate voted to defend his parliamentary immunity. Salvini called on League senators Sunday to vote in favour of the trial, "so we can clear this up once and for all". His opponents have accused him of using the incident to win support ahead of a key regional election by portraying himself as a man hounded by the government and law courts merely for doing his job. The then-interior minister's "closed ports" policy, aimed at stopping migrant arrivals from war-torn Libya, saw his popularity numbers shoot up. Italy has long complained it has been abandoned by Europe to deal with migrant arrivals alone. "If I have to go to jail for defending an idea, I'll go with my head held high," Salvini told a rally in the region of Emilia Romagna. The region, a traditional stronghold of the left, goes to the ballots on Sunday, pitting the ruling coalition parties -- the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) and anti-establishment Five Star movement (M5S) -- against the League. Salvini's anti-immigrant party has a strong lead in national polls and is betting on a victory in Emilia Romagna being damaging enough to collapse the government and spark elections. This is the second time the League leader has risked trial over detaining migrants Street artist Banksy's work in Venice portraying a migrant child wearing a life jacket and holding a flare Please be advised that the closing date for the receipt of applications for the Supplement to the Register of Electors is this Wednesday - January 22. Given the short statutory timelines please note that Kilkenny County Council Register of Electors Section is operating extended opening hours as follows, to facilitate the verification and/or receipt of forms only: County Hall, John Street, Kilkenny: 9am 6.30pm - Monday Wednesday January 20th 22nd. Supplement Forms must be witnessed and stamped by a Garda. If this is not possible forms can also be witnessed by a Registration Official at the offices of the Council at Franchise Office, Kilkenny County Council, County Hall, John Street, Kilkenny. Please therefore ensure you bring photographic ID to facilitate verification when submitting your form. In addition, forms can also be submitted at the following Council Area Offices: Callan; Castlecomer; City Hall, High Street, Kilkenny; and Ferrybank during normal office hours, 9am to 1pm and 2 to 5 p.m. The contact phone number for Kilkenny County Councils Register of Electors Section is 056 7794070 for all queries in relation to the Register of Electors for KILKENNY. Please note that to be registered to vote at this election, you must be an Irish or British citizen, be ordinarily resident in the State and be 18 years or over on polling day. Kryvonos says Ukraine Army should be prepared for this if such political decision is made. Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine Serhiy Kryvonos has named the conditions for liberating eastern Ukraine's Donbas by force. Kryvonos says Ukraine Army should be prepared for this if such political decision is made. "My opinion: the Armed Forces of Ukraine should be prepared for the liberation of the Donbas territories y force if such political decision is made... How much this will be possible depends on the work of politicians at the level of support from other states. See, had it not been for support for Croatia on the part of NATO member states, there would have been no 'Croatian scenario'," the official told RFE/RL's Donbas Realii project. Kryvonos says everything depends on how well the Armed Forces are prepared. "The option is not off the table if a political decision is made. It all depends on how well we prepare our Armed Forces. And we must be prepared for this and engaged in working out the liberation of our land - and I emphasize this the land is ours. We aren't seizing other nations' land, we are liberating our land," he said. Kryvonos also notes there is a package of measures that must be taken before making such a decision. Read alsoUkrainian Army was capable of repelling Crimea annexation in 2014 NSDC top official "First is further political movement to continue and strengthen sanctions against the Russian Federation. Second is the creation of a reliable system of territorial defense. Third is the strengthening of our Army and its capability to conduct pro-active offensive operations," the official said. "And in the case when this package of measures has been implemented, and when there are political decisions taken regarding Russia while Russia categorically doesn't want to implement them then by tightening sanctions and weakening Russia, we must understand that we have the opportunity to liberate our territories by force. That's in case if Russia does nothing to support separatist units. This is a whole set [of measures], including international support that must move in this direction. And this must be prepared and we must get prepared for this. This takes more than a month or two, but it's possible," he added. Lambasting Telugu Desam Party (TDP) for opposing the proposal of three capital for Andhra Pradesh, state Tourism Minister Muttamsetti and YSRCP leader Srinivasa Rao on Sunday claimed that the idea has been mooted to put an end to the backwardness of North Andhra region. "TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu ruled as the Cheif Minister of Andhra Pradesh by getting votes from the people. However, now he only wants development in one region (Amaravati). I want to tell you that the aim of the Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government in Andhra Pradesh is to bring development in backward areas of the North Andhra region," Rao told media here. On Sunday, the YSRCP held a huge rally in support of the three-capital idea of Reddy at Tagarapulasa village in Visakhapatnam. The rally witnessed the participation of YSRCP MLAs and leaders. A special session of Andhra Pradesh assembly will begin on Monday amid tight security as a decision is likely to be taken on decentralisation of the state capital, Amaravati.While the Reddy-led government is likely to pass a resolution for decentralisation of the state capital, the opposition parties will oppose the idea of three capitals with its 'Chalo Assembly' call to protest against it.The Communist Party of India and TDP will participate in the 'Chalo Assembly' demonstration.In view of the 'Chalo Assembly' programme, the state government is deploying heavy police force in Amravati to maintain peace and law and order. Section 144 Code of Criminal Procedure and Section 30 of Andhra Pradesh Police Act are already in force in the Amaravati region.Villages that fall in the way to Assembly will be totally guarded by the police personnel. A special route has been prepared for Reddy to reach Assembly from his residence. Several protests had erupted in the state, 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.) British Prime Minister Boris Johnson touted the UK as an ideal business partner for Africa on Monday as the UK prepares for post-Brexit dealings with the world. But Britain faces tough challenges as it seeks to assert itself on a continent with several of the world's fastest-growing economies and whose youthful 1.2 billion population is set to double by 2050. Far fewer of Africa's 54 heads of state or government are attending the first UK-Africa Investment Summit than the dozens who attended the first Russia-Africa summit last year or the gatherings China regularly holds. The UK's department for international trade says two-way trade with Africa in the year ending in the second quarter of 2019 was USD 46 billion. Meanwhile, Africa's two-way trade with China, the continent's top trading partner, was USD 208 billion in 2019. Johnson told attendees that the conference "is long overdue." He acknowledged that British officials and companies needed to work to convince African nations to do business with the UK. "We have no divine right to that business," he said. "This is a competitive world. You have may suitors" especially China and Russia. Britain is due to leave the European Union on January 31, and Johnson said the UK would become a free-trading "global Britain after Brexit." He pledged that the post-Brexit immigration system would "put people before passports," acknowledging a common frustration across Africa. While other global powers including Gulf nations and India have been increasing their diplomatic and economic presence in Africa, some observers have wondered about the UK's interest. When Theresa May visited Kenya in 2018, even Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta noted it was the first visit to East Africa's economic hub by a British prime minister in more than three decades. Britain says 16 African leaders are attending Monday's summit in London, including the leaders of Nigeria, Congo, Kenya, Egypt, Ghana and Rwanda. Aside from the sluggishness of its top two economies, South Africa and Nigeria, Africa is showing economic momentum as the recently launched African Continental Free Trade Area gathers steam. Last year, economic growth slowed in all geographic areas except Africa, the United Nations reported last week in its annual World Economic Situation and Prospects 2020. The UN said GDP growth in Africa is projected to reach 3.2 per cent in 2020 and 3.5 per cent in 2021. And 25 African countries are projected to achieve economic growth of at least 5 per cent this year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The controversy over birthplace of Sai Baba, a popular saint from Maharashtra, may get resolved on Monday. Following a protest call by the residents of Shirdi on Sunday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will discuss the issue in detail with the concerned people today. He has invited people from Shirdi (in Ahmednagar district), where the famous Sai Baba temple is situated and Pathri (Parbhani district), which is considered as his exact birthplace by some. A controversy had erupted after Thackeray announced 100 crore as grant for development of facilities at Sai Janmsthan (birthplace) at Pathri a few days ago. On Sunday, locals from Shirdi observed a bandh in the temple town protesting against the chief ministers remark on terming Pathri as birthplace of Sai Baba. The protest was called off after Thackerays decision to intervene. Some 25 villages had supported the call for bandh (shutdown). The chief minister has called public representatives from Pathri and Shirdi, CEO of Shirdi Shri Sansthan Trust Deepak Muglikar and others at 3.30 pm to discuss, said an official from the chief minister office. CM has assured to meet people of Shirdi and listen to what they wanted to say. He will also interact with Pathri residents and resolve the issue, said Neelam Gorhe, Sena leader and deputy speaker of the legislative council. Shiv Sena MP Sadashiv Lokhande said the decision to call off the bandh was taken in the evening gram sabha meeting of local residents of Shirdi and representatives of the SSST. Despite bandh, the Sai Baba temple remain opened on Sunday where devotees were allowed to offer prayers. Erdogan Calls Libya Peace Conference Important Step, Also Intends to Discuss Syria's Idlib Sputnik News 11:04 19.01.2020(updated 11:14 19.01.2020) ANKARA (Sputnik) - The Berlin conference follows the intra-Libyan talks in Moscow with the participation of representatives of Russia and Turkey. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called Sunday's Libya peace conference to be held in the German capital of Berlin an important step toward ending hostilities in the war-torn North African country and added that he also intended to discuss the ongoing conflict in the Syrian province of Idlib. "We held talks with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin in Istanbul and created the conditions and the foundation for a further settlement in Libya. The conference is an important step in finding a peace settlement, and we will wait for material results to follow afterwards. The second topic is Idlib. Despite the ceasefire, we still see that attacks are ongoing. It is time to say 'stop'", Erdogan told reporters before flying to Berlin. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also said that Ankara does not have a draft communique ahead of Sunday's peace conference on Libya to be held in the German capital of Berlin, as it too early to talk of one, although he expressed hope that the talks would yield positive results. "We do not have a communique text. Let us hold the conference first and then examine the results, see what steps we can take and then discuss them. Let us see what these will be. But I hope that this will be a positive development. Elections are out of the question against a background of armed conflict", Erdogan told reporters before flying to Berlin, answering a journalist's question regarding a draft communique which has been published by a number of media agencies. Libyan National Army chief Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar left Moscow without signing a ceasefire agreement with the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord led by Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj, whose delegation signed the agreement. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The Kumasi teaching hospital in Ghana is one of several to receive financial support from the UK Government (Contracta Construction / PA) The Government has provided financing worth 620 million to support projects and UK exports to Africa, International Trade Secretary Liz Truss has announced. The Secretary of State told the UK-Africa Investment Summit in London that the money will be used to support infrastructure projects including financing hospital beds and healthcare centres in Ghana and Zambia, a business park in Uganda and road upgrades in Gabon. Ms Truss said: Africa is home to eight of the 15 fastest growing economies in the world and its economic prosperity matters to the UK. Expand Close International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said she wants British expertise used in African projects (Aaron Chown / PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said she wants British expertise used in African projects (Aaron Chown / PA) We want the UK to be the partner of choice in Africa so I am delighted that, with UKEFs support, British expertise will form a key component of these infrastructure projects that will directly improve millions of lives. We are committed to strengthening our trading relationships in the region, to help deliver jobs and economic growth that will benefit African and British businesses alike. The funding comes as UK Export Finance (UKEF), which helps UK businesses win contracts and financial support overseas, provided almost 2 billion of support in the last two years. This is primarily through underwriting loans, providing advice and also through some direct funding. According to UKEF, the level of funding and underwriting has increased from 90 million in 2015-16 to 717 million last year. The increases have come following UKEF raising its spending limits and increasing appetite for investment into Egypt, Nigeria and Rwanda. In the latter, the country limit for UKEF has increased fivefold to up to 500 million, with support to Nigeria doubled to 1.25 billion the same level for support for exports to Egypt. The Government has been keen to reconnect with Egypt, ending a ban on British travellers heading to the Sharm el-sheikh region. TUI and EasyJet both announced plans to reintroduce flights and holidays to the region this year. Some of the main projects supported by the fund, which is overseen by the Department of International Trade, include: Ghana Support worth 110 million for Contracta Construction UK will upgrade Kumasi teaching hospital, creating 750 beds for maternity care. 40 million worth of support to enable the further development of Kumasi Airport, improving transport links for tourist and commercial use increasing capacity by an extra one million passengers a year. Zambia A direct loan of 244 million for 108 rural healthcare clinics powered by solar energy and three hospitals by NMS Limited. Gabon 40 million to upgrade 83km of roads through the capital Libreville by Colas (Gabon) UK Ltd. Uganda Support worth almost 185 million to build the Kampala Industrial Business Park. Belfast-based Lagan Group limited has partnered with Ugandan company DOTT services on the project which aims to create 200,000 jobs. A 1.5 million loan to enable the sale of machinery from Unatrac for use on road building to the north east of the country. Mexican special event The members of the the DXXE Group, through-out the 2020 year, will celebrate its 15th anniversary with the activation of the special callsign 4A15DXXE, from January 20th, until December 31st, 2020. Activity will be on all bands and modes especially in contests, special events, via satellite and EME from different Grid Locators in Mexico. QSL via LoTW only. ADDED NOTES: Over the coming months, look for other special events stations to celebrate this anniversary from Cuba, Spain, the Canary Islands, France and South America: - Raul/CO8ZZ and the DX Group of Cuba will operate as T40DXXE between January 20-31st. See "T40, CUBA (Special Event)" click here. - From Spain, Salva/EA5BB will be on the air between April 1-15th, as AO15DXXE and on the same days, from the Canary Islands (AF-004), Juan/EA8RM will sign AO15DXXE/8. - From France, Thierry/F4GVO will operate as TM15DXXE, between April 1-15th, and will be on SSB, FT4, FT8, from 80-6 meters. We share the same jacket and the same designer, said Poonam Soni, one of the ace jewellery designers in the country, about her recent sartorial twinning with Jeff Bezos on his recent trip to India. She was referring to the black and white Narendra Kumar Ahmed-designed bespoke jacket that the charismatic information technology (IT) tycoon had chosen to wear on his visit. Interestingly, both Ahmed and Soni share an association with Amazon, the Bezos-founded conglomerate that currently dominates the planet. Soni had been roped in to design the first precious jewellery collection for Amazon in India, and Ahmed heads the companys fashion and lifestyle division here. Nari had been roped in to do the fittings for Bezos, says Soni about the jacket, adding, I know this because his partner Kadambari is one of my closest friends, so I was in the loop, she said. I was thrilled to see that it was the same piece I had purchased. Its beautiful, and I wore it for the recent Sothebys auction and received so many compliments, she said. When the worlds leading online retail site had launched its operations in India, Soni had designed a fine jewellery collection for its site in the range of 1 lakh and she says she did a pair of earrings conceptualised in clean lines, with tiny diamond studs and detachable rose gold dangling balls. How many people can boast of wearing the same jacket as the worlds richest man? The only variation is that mine is black, white and gold, while the one Bezos chose is black and white, said Soni. Nice. TRUELIES The chatterati cannot get over the recent revelation that one of India Incs leading statesmen not only turned down the opportunity of receiving a lifetime achievement award from no less than the Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace in order to tend to one of his beloved pet pooches who was ailing, but that he called this Delhi-based marketing guru no less than 11 times to convey his apologies about the same. This delicious nugget of information was conveyed to the general public by none else than the marketing guru in an expensively-shot video interview, where it appears that the sole purpose of the exchange was to convey the gurus proximity to the statesman. Eleven calls? As far as image building and marketing of ones importance is concerned that surely is worth a hell of a lot of moolah and credibility. Incidentally, the marketing guru who was rumoured to have been out favour ever since his embroilment in the recent #MeToo scandal, is said to be back in favour again with the India Inc leader, perhaps after the latters recent embroilment in an unrelated scandal. As they say: Friends in need are friends indeed. Overheard India mein depression concept hee kahan hota hai (Who understands depression in India)? Nobody knows about it and in Meerut, certainly not. I had no one to talk to, felt almost constant chid-chidapan (irritation). -Former Indian fast bowler Praveen Kumar on his tryst with depression recently Cover of Jairam Rameshs book on VK Menon. To Krishna ji, with love We cannot be more thrilled about the launch of Jairam Rameshs A Chequered Brilliance: The Many Lives of VK Krishna Menon this evening in Mumbai. After all, the towering intellectual, politician and close aide of Jawaharlal Lal Nehru, widely believed to be the second-most powerful man in India of his time, had been a close friend of the family, someone whod been present at the hospital on the day we had been born! Krishnaji, as we fondly referred to the acerbic and towering intellect, had been a leitmotif of our growing years, a man deeply admired and loved by our parents for his brilliance and warmth. A product of Chennais Presidency College, and later the London School of Economics (where Harold Laski is said to have described him as the best student he ever had), Menon had been a controversial figure, one who had been as vilified as he had been admired. As Indias defence minister, he had laid the foundation for its relations with neighbours such as China, and as a diplomat, he is said to have been the architect of Indias foreign policy in the sixties and the seventies. But for us, Menon had been a familiar figure, a tall and handsome intellectual whose visits to our home had been frequent, and whose love for children much celebrated. My parents, along with the likes of barrister Rajni Patel, film stars Dilip Kumar and Sunil Dutt, and professionals such as Dr Borges, had rallied to Menons side when hed fought and won as a candidate for North Bombay in two hotly contested Lok Sabha elections. We had been barely a few years old then, but we still recall the ideological fervour that his candidacy had invoked. Later, he had gone on to stand from other constituencies in Bengal and Kerala, but his campaign in Mumbai was forever etched in the citys discourse. Incidentally, with his proximity to Nehruvian principles, his Keralite background, his performance at the United Nations, and his contribution to the world of literature and letters could there be any more similarities to a certain Mr Shashi Tharoor? Perhaps Tharoor is just the Menon of this Gen. And you only have to know of our regard for the late statesman to understand what a compliment that is! LOS ANGELES The men bringing James Dean back to life for a forthcoming film are aiming not just to give his digital likeness a role, but a whole new career. Dean's planned appearance in the Vietnam War movie "Finding Jack," and the possibility of future parts, comes as digital de-aging and duplication of real actors has tipped from cinematic trick into common practice. And it's giving new life to old arguments about the immortality and dignity of the dead. "Our intentions are to create the virtual being of James Dean. That's not only for one movie, but going to be used for many movies and also gaming and virtual reality," said Travis Cloyd, CEO of Worldwide XR, who is leading the design on the Dean project. "Our focus is on building the ultimate James Dean so he can live across any medium." Legally, they have every right to do it, via the full agreement of the Dean estate and his surviving relatives. Our clients want to protect these valuable intellectual property rights and the memories that they have of their loved ones, said Mark Roesler, CEO of CMG Worldwide, the legal and licensing company that has long owned the title to Deans likeness. We have to trust them. They want to see that their loved ones image and memory continues to live on. Dean is an obvious candidate for revival with his embodiment-of-Hollywood image and the brevity of his life and career he died at 24 and made just three films: "East of Eden," "Rebel Without a Cause" and "Giant." Roesler and Cloyd have not obtained the rights from Warner Bros. to use footage from those films, but they have a large trove of photos and Dean's dozens of TV roles. "There are thousands of images that we do have to work with," Cloyd said. "What we typically do is we take all those images and videos and we run them through machine learning to create that asset." That will be added to the work of a stand-in actor using motion-capture technology as commonly done now with CGI characters, along with the overdubbed voice of another actor. The announcement of the role last year caused a quick backlash, with responses like that of "Captain America" star Chris Evans on Twitter: "Maybe we can get a computer to paint us a new Picasso. Or write a couple new John Lennon tunes. The complete lack of understanding here is shameful." "I think there's definitely something cynical and what feels like a little bit distasteful about bringing especially long-dead actors back to life," said Terri White, editor-in-chief of film magazine "Empire." "The reaction to the likes of the James Dean news has actually shown that I think most people don't really want that." For the people behind the Dean project, the negative reaction is as inevitable as they believe the eventual acceptance will be. Cloyd foresees a Hollywood where even living actors have a "digital twin" that helps in their work. "This is disruptive technology," Cloyd said. "Some people hear it for the first time and they get shaken by it. But this is where the market is going." The revival of the dead, often done clumsily, has been happening for much of Hollywood's existence. Footage of Bela Lugosi, combined with a double holding a cape over his face, was used in 1959's "Plan 9 From Outer Space," released after the horror star's death. Bruce Lee's film "Game of Death," left unfinished before his 1973 death, was completed using doubles and voice overdubs and released five years later. "The Fast and the Furious" star Paul Walker died in 2013 before shooting was done on "Furious 7." His two younger brothers and others acted as stand-ins so his scenes could be finished. Even Lennon, and many other dead historical figures, were digitally revived in 1994 in "Forrest Gump." But the technology of recreation and resurrection has taken a major leap forward in quality and prestige, with the extensive de-aging and re-aging used in Martin Scorsese's "The Irishman"; a young Will Smith digitally returning to play opposite the current version in last summer's "Gemini Man"; and Carrie Fisher, whose younger self briefly returned digitally in 2016's "Star Wars: Rogue One" and appeared again after her death, in "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker." These instances have elicited scattered skepticism both of the quality of the technology and the propriety of the revivals but audiences have largely accepted them. Guy Williams, visual effects supervisor at filmmaker Peter Jackson's Weta Digital, said the possibilities do offer a moral dilemma. "The question isn't so much if you use somebody's likeness to bring them back or to create a digital version of them, it's what you do with it and the respect that you show to it," Williams said. "So that, to me, is the more important question." Pablo Helman, the visual effects supervisor behind the de-aging of Robert De Niro and others in "The Irishman," said he considers that moral dilemma in his work. RELATED: Golden Globes 2020: Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood, 1917 take top honors RELATED: Tom Hanks picks up Best Actor Oscar nomination for Fred Rogers movie "The main question that you need to ask yourself is why do it?" Helman said. "You know, just because you can do it doesn't mean you should, you know? That would be one thing that I'm always questioning: Is it in service of the story?" Ethical considerations are likely to give way to market forces if viewers decide they find digital versions of dead actors plausible, and palatable. "I think the moral question is going to be decided by the audiences and society, whether they want to see that," said Bill Westenhofer, visual effects supervisor on "Gemini Man." Dean will be playing a supporting role in "Finding Jack," which is now in pre-production. The limited screen time is, at this point, as far as those recreating him want to go. But they hope the digital avatar can eventually carry a movie, possibly even playing James Dean himself at different ages. "At some point there's going to be the James Dean biopic," Cloyd said. "I think the technology is not necessarily there today to take the risk." ___ Andrew Dalton and Matt Kemp of The Associated Press wrote this story. Kemp reported from London. ___ Follow AP Entertainment Writer Andrew Dalton on Twitter: https://twitter.com/andyjamesdalton. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday congratulated Jagat Prakash Nadda for being elected as the national president of the Bharatiya Janata Party. In his congratulatory message, Kumar said Nadda's election to the top post of the party was a matter of pride for Bihar since the BJP leader was born in Patna and had spent his childhood here. Kumar, who heads the JD(U), has been a BJP ally since 1996 and the two parties have been running a coalition government in Bihar since 2005, barring a four-year period from 2013 to 2017. Nadda, during his visit to the city in November to address a party function while he was the working president of the BJP, had called on the chief minister at his official residence and assured him of full support from the Centre for the all-round development of the state. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Seen until 6 March. Kolta Galeria proudly presents a master exhibition Kondor Laszlo; a Leica on the Frontline (Chicago 1968 Vietnam 1969-70) The photo exhibit opens with greetings by Katko Tamas, Art Director Kolta Galeria and a conversation with the photographer will be moderated by Ditzendy Attila, Journalist. Hungarian born photographer Kondor Laszlo, having lived in the United States for the latter half of the 20th century, returning to Hungary after the fall of the iron curtain - is now 78. This photographer has spent much of his professional life documenting world events from the US Vietnam War with its inevitable anti-war violence on the streets to the political halls of Chicagos Mayor Richard J. Daley (1902-1976. ) Not a stranger to conflict, having survived and fled the 1956 Hungarian revolution. The Leica on the Frontline exhibition looks at Kondors response to the conflicts he witnessed. The trilogy of analog black and white images were created in the late 1900s. The point of departure begins with a selection of work as a photojournalist in 1968 Chicago The Whole World is Watching. A counter-reaction is the work as a combat photographer in 1969 -1971 Vietnam Boots on the Ground. The finale - Life Goes On includes images that reflect reality, lyrically with empathy and sensitivity for the Vietnamese civilians caught up in the conflict, such as the iconic image Saigon Street Orphan 1970. The exhibitions 70 works include 20 from the permanent collection of the NVAM, National Veterans Art Museum in Chicago. Megan Owoc, NVAM Collection and Gallery Coordinator: Laszlo Kondors photographs of the Vietnam War are essential to the National Veterans Art Museums permanent collection. Kondors photos capture the inexorable horrors and anxieties of wartime, as well as the enduring moments of camaraderie, empathy, and innocence of both the American soldiers and Vietnamese civilians. These important images illustrate, first hand, the moments that defined the experience of serving in Vietnam during the war, and that continue to shape the character of our country in the years since. Kondor rarely exhibited, the day-to-day pressure of creating photographs for the press, in publications, and in print may explain why. The photographer was either directly commissioned by one or another magazine or client to produce their photos, or his photo-reports from the front lines of the Vietnam war were published in newspapers. However, Kondor had an instinct to horde and carefully maintained an archive of work from his 35-year career. Today, retired and living in Kapolcs, Hungary, Kondor is revisiting his archives to select images that illuminate his life in photography. In September 2020, this exhibit will travel to the NVAM in Chicago with a corresponding documentary film - Out of a Darkroom, the Life of Kondor Laszlo by Endre Dozsa and the publication Kondor Laszlo, as I Saw It - Vietnam Era, edited by Mate Havasi. Exhibition opens: Friday, 31 January, 6 pm Opening hours: Every weekday, 2 pm - 6 pm Venue: Kolta Galeria, Community and Cultural Center 1952 Budapest, Semmelweis u. 4. Photo courtesy of the organisers Erdogan Says Europe Should Support Turkish Effort If It Wants To End Libyan Conflict By RFE/RL January 18, 2020 Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has called on Europe to support his country's efforts in Libya, where it is providing military support to the internationally-recognized government, if it wants to end the conflict there. Erdogan made his remarks in a column published on the Politico website on January 18, one day ahead of a UN-sponsored summit in Berlin that will try to stabilize the country. Representatives of more than 10 countries, including Erdogan, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and others are expected to attend the January 19 conference. China, the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Egypt, Algeria, and the United Arab Emirates are expected to send representatives as well. The European Union and the Arab League will also participate. At the meeting, Germany and the United Nations will push rival Libyan camps fighting over the capital, Tripoli, to agree to a truce and monitoring mechanism as first steps toward peace, diplomats and a draft communique said. Turkey supports the government of Fayez al-Serraj in Tripoli and describes Khalifa Haftar, who heads the eastern Libyan National Army (LNA), as a coup plotter. "Keeping in mind that Europe is less interested in providing military support to Libya, the obvious choice is to work with Turkey, which has already promised military assistance," Erdogan wrote. "We will train Libya's security forces and help them combat terrorism, human trafficking, and other serious threats against international security," he added. In an article published in Tripoli on January 18, the UN's special envoy for Libya, Ghassan Salame, called for "all foreign fighters" to leave Libya. Salame also said ending illegal weapons smuggling into the country will be on the agenda in Berlin. The summit on January 19 will put pressure on Haftar and the LNA to halt a nine-month offensive against Tripoli after a week-long lull in fighting. But it will not try to broker power-sharing between the two sides, said diplomats briefed on preparations. Haftar and Serraj are both due in Berlin -- along with Erdogan and the leaders of Russia, Egypt and other Western and Arab powers. Libya has been in turmoil since the fall of Muammar Qaddafi in 2011. Erdogan said that, if Libya's legitimate government were to fall, Islamist militant groups such as Islamic State and Al Qaeda "will find a fertile ground to get back on their feet". Haftar is backed by the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan, Sudanese and Chadian fighters, and most recently Russian mercenaries. France has also given some support. With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and Politico Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/erdogan-europe-support-turkish- effort-end-libyan-conflict/30384366.html Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A lunch in Parliament house will no longer be a low-cost affair with the Lok Sabha secretariat deciding to revise upwards the prices for food, eliminating a subsidy thats come in for a lot of criticism. The plan will also involve pruning the menu from the current list of 48, by removing unpopular items, and a focus on quality. However, there is no move to entirely remove non-vegetarian items from the menu, a senior functionary of the Lok Sabha said on condition of anonymity. Non-vegetarian food will remain on the menu. We hope to finalise the new rates during the recess between the two parts of the budget session and roll out the revised food rates from March, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said. As the Lok Sabha has not yet set up a panel of food management, Birla is personally looking into the issue. Earlier, the Lok Sabha secretariat decided to roll out the revised rates from the budget session which starts from January 31. But a packed schedule of engagement didnt leave much time for Birla to look into the issue, Lok Sabha officials pointed out. The subsidy in Parliament canteen, which is run by Northern Railways, came up during discussion at a meeting of party leaders chaired by Birla in December last year. At least two leaders said that Birla wanted to know how much subsidy is given to Parliament canteen and how many MPs eat there regularly. Birla was told that the subsidy for the previous year ran into Rs 17 crore but that very few MPs have lunch in the canteen during the session. During an informal interaction with HT last week, the Speaker also indicated that some food items might be dropped in the revised list as there is limited demand for such items. From boiled vegetables to kesari bath, the canteen now serves a total of 48 food items for lunch and evening snacks. But items such as poha, mutton cutlet or bonda are not available regularly. According to canteen officials, the vegetarian thali (Rs 40) and chapattis (Rs 2 each) are the most sought-after food in the Parliament complex. According to data available with Lok Sabha officials, out of the Rs 17 crore subsidy, only Rs 24 lakh was spent on account of the MPs. The rest was accounted for by visitors, security personnel, government officials, and journalists covering Parliament. During a session, an average of 4,500 people eat daily at Parliament. In 2015, the then Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan approved a proposal to abolish subsidy on parliament food and run the canteens on a no-profit-no-loss basis. The decision came after years of public criticism that the canteen used to serve a plate of chicken curry for Rs 29 or dal for just Rs 2. Those prices have since been increased. Now, a fruit salad is sold for Rs 10 while chicken curry costs Rs 50. A masala dosa is priced at Rs 20. The functionary also added that so far, no vendor has been finalised to replace Northern Railways in the canteen. A query under the Right To Information Act revealed that between 2010 and 2015, the canteen received a subsidy of Rs 60.7 crore. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON S-Oil CEO Hussain Al-Qahtani delivers a box of rice cakes to a senior citizen living alone in Yeongdeungpo-gu, western Seoul, Monday. The CEO took part in the volunteer activity along with 100 other employees to celebrate his first Lunar New Year in Korea. / Courtesy of S-Oil The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Monday neutralized three dreaded terrorists, including a top commander of Hizbul Mujahideen. "Today in Shopian, we neutralised 3 terrorists. One of them, their commander Wasim Ahmed Wani was active since 2017 and was on a top position in Hizbul Mujahideen. He had 19 FIRs against him and was also involved in the killing of 4 civilians and 4 cops," J & K DGP Dilbag Singh told media. "The second was Adil Sheikh and the third has been identified as Jahangir," he added. "Adil Sheikh was involved in stealing 7 AK-47 rifles and one pistol on September 29, 2018, from the residence of Ezaz Ahmed Wasi. Since then, he was active in of Hizbul Mujahideen," he added. "With the elimination of this group the fear among the public will wane away," the cop explained. "Hizbul Mujahideen is on the verge of being completely wiped out in South Kashmir," asserted Singh. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Concerns about disinformation, particularly from mainland China, have grown since Tsai Ing-wen first took power in 2016. Taipei, Taiwan Childrens storyteller Billion Lee is on the front line in the battle against the online disinformation she worries is undermining Taiwans democracy, one of the most vibrant in Asia. As a co-founder of Cofacts, a collaborative platform, the 29-year-old helps people verify videos and stories they share on LINE, the Japanese instant messaging application that has some 21 million monthly users both companies and individuals on the self-ruled island. Taiwanese are unclear of the difference between fact and opinion, thats not in our education, Lee said. Set up in 2016, Cofacts is designed as a chatbot and receives approximately 250 questionable messages for verification each week. Each story or video is checked against the platforms ever-growing database of similar articles or videos that have already been fact-checked, as well as online tools before the outcome is messaged back to the sender. Most of the fact-check editors are volunteers who collaborate on each query. Concerns about disinformation, particularly from mainland China, have grown since President Tsai Ing-wen first took power in 2016 and China, which sees Taiwan as part of its territory, stepped up pressure on her government. She was returned this month for a second term in a landslide. Ming-Yeh Rawnsley, a research associate at SOASs Centre of Taiwan Studies in London and founding editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Taiwan Studies, said that it was relatively easy to spread fake news in Taiwan because of the popularity of social media platforms and messaging apps like LINE with their group chat features. LINE is hugely popular in Taiwan and many share pictures and information on the Japanese messaging app [File: Toru Hanai/Reuters] The news items they [people] circulated via their own social media networks were more on election-related items, Rawnsley told Al Jazeera. Social media becomes fertile ground for misinformation and partial information. Main target Analysts have said China is targeting the islands media. China is actively spreading false and misleading information abroad, with Taiwan as one of its main targets, the V-Dem Institute at the University of Gothenburg wrote in its V-Dem Annual Democracy Report 2019, which was published in May last year. By circulating misleading information on social media and investing in Taiwanese media outlets, China seeks to interfere in Taiwans domestic politics and to engineer a complete unification, the report added. In June, thousands took to the streets of the capital to protest against the presence of so-called red media outlets in Taiwan, publications said to be influenced by China. Last month parliament passed an anti-infiltration law legislation to counter the mainlands influence on the islands politics through the illegal funding of media and politicians. Cofactss Lee said she suspected some of the fake news stories they discovered originated from the mainland because the posts used different words and simplified Mandarin, in contrast to Taiwans traditional script. But it is not only China. In the run-up to this months election, some disinformation was found to have originated from Taiwanese politicians and their political supporters. Roy Ngerng, a researcher at the National Taiwan University (NTU)s Risk Society and Policy Research Centre, who studies the issue, said identity politics is key to the spread of such disinformation given the clearly defined split between those who identify more as Taiwanese and those who identify more with China. Depending on their political alignment, they would then fall prey to the type of disinformation based on their political beliefs, though it [is] clear the disinformation being spread by the pro-KMT camp is more pervasive, he told Al Jazeera. The KMT or Kuomintang is Taiwans pro-China party. Supporters of Han Kuo-yu, the pro-China KMTs election candidate; academics say Taiwans clear political identities help feed the spread of disinformation [File: Ng Han Guan/AP Photo] On an island that was governed by martial law between 1949 and 1987, Ngerng added that some were also still adjusting to the democratic environment. Some among the older generation who grew up under an authoritarian regime are more polarised and less critical of the news they absorb, and are more entrenched in taking political sides, Ngerng said. They tend to be faithful to specific TV channels based on their political affiliation, he added. As of 2018, Taiwan had five terrestrial television stations, 65 cable television operators and 252 newspaper publishers, regulated through the Radio and Television Act, which is supposed to ensure media independence and professionalism. According to the Reporters Without Borders, Taiwan is second only to South Korea in the Asia-Pacific in terms of media freedom and ranks 42nd out of 180 countries and territories in the 2019 World Press Freedom Index. Susceptible to disinformation Concerns about fake news have increased around the region and around the world as a political debate has moved online and onto social media and messaging apps. In Singapore, the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) came into effect in October, giving the government the power to order corrections be placed next to posts it deems to be false. Critics questioned whether the government, which has been in power since the 1960s and has all but six of the 89 elected seats in parliament, should really be making that decision. It has already made a number of orders, including against opposition politicians, and is now facing a court case brought by the Singapore Democratic Party after a minister ordered the opposition party to place a correction next to one of its posts. People learn how to spot and report suspected fake news at an event organised by a Taiwanese NGO called Fake News Cleaner in December [Ben Blanchard/Reuters] In Thailand, the government set up an anti-fake news centre last November, while Vietnam has a cybersecurity law that has been used against people making critical comments on social media. But other countries are reluctant to adopt such legislation for fear of undermining the democracy they say they are trying to protect. Malaysia last year repealed the Fake News Law brought in by the previous government just weeks before the 2018 election, and Taiwan, while it has passed the anti-infiltration law, may not want to bring in more regulation. This contravenes the very principle of free speech and human rights in a democracy, NTUs Ngerng said. Greater education and media literacy are better tools to address disinformation if the aim is to promote democratic thinking and development, he said. Lee hopes Cofacts will go some way towards helping the people of Taiwan be more discerning about the information they receive and verify its authenticity before sharing. But she also knows that fact-checking is only likely to become more challenging as technologies come online that make it easier to create and disseminate questionable content. You know these new media outlets, new [YouTube] channels, new information are all changing, then we have to pay more attention to this [change], Lee said. We hope we can help. [To read more provocative stories on race from The New York Times, sign up for our Race/Related newsletter here.] Last year, 5,590 Indigenous women were reported missing to the F.B.I.s National Crime Information Center, but advocates say the staggeringly high rates of violence suffered by Indigenous people are still not fully reflected in official accounting. Some of the victims are misclassified as Asian or Hispanic, or are overlooked if they live in urban areas instead of reservations, or their cases are lost in a jurisdictional maze over which state, federal or tribal law enforcement agency bears responsibility for investigating. Law enforcement officials said that these can be extremely difficult cases to investigate, sometimes ranging over vast expanses of territory, but that they are committed to solving them. The families say the problem is more a matter of will and resources than of difficulty. Native women have been dehumanized from the very beginning, said Desi Rodriguez-Lonebear, a demographer who grew up in Big Horn County and is on the board of the Sovereign Bodies Institute, which has created its own database of cases. The law has failed us time and time again. Were tired of it. Were tired of our people dying, of our kids going to jail. Now, families like Selenas are taking an urgent public stand to pressure politicians and law enforcement to provide more aggressive responses to these cases. They are raising alarms through social media and even bracing themselves against Montana blizzards to keep their loved ones from being forgotten. They are organizing candlelit vigils, rallying at courthouses and sheriffs offices and marching for days along prairie highways, reservation roads and to the steps of state capitols. Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Kumaraswamy on Monday said that it would not be difficult for the police to nab the culprits behind the IED (improvised explosive device) found at the Mangaluru airport. "I have got information that they have found a bomb at Mangaluru Airport. The airport has CCTVs. It is not that difficult to find out the perpetrators. The police have sought a month's time apparently," Kumaraswamy told reporters here. However, he said the government should not give the story a different spin later. "I have a suspicion that the government is creating a situation of conflict between different communities," he said. The improvised explosive device (IED) recovered from a bag at Mangaluru airport was defused in an open field by the personnel of the bomb disposal squad on Monday. Commissioner of Police in Mangaluru, PS Harsha said three teams have been formed for "identification and apprehension of the accused." He said that the visuals of the suspect have been shared. He urged people to inform the police if they have any knowledge of the accused. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Jagat Prakash Nadda took over the reins of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from Amit Shah on Monday. The transition is being closely watched for several reasons, key among these being the selection of the new national team and how the party fares in the upcoming state assembly elections in Delhi and later in the year in Bihar. The tenure of Shah, who became the youngest president of BJP, ended in December, but he continued in the position as the organisational elections in the states, a pre-requisite for the selection of the new national president, had not been concluded. His two terms established him as a president under whom the party not only saw a surge in its membership, but was also seen to breach bastions earlier out of its reach. How will the party change with the stepping down of Shah, who wielded control and oversaw every aspect from the membership drive to crafting the partys election strategy? Party functionaries who spoke to HT said JP Nadda, who brings with him organisational skills honed first as the ABVPs general secretary and later as a key functionary of the BJP in Himachal Pradesh, will follow the template of growth set by Shah, but will have a working style that will set him apart. Nadda is a hard working, patient, affable personality. He keeps a low profile, but is proficient in skills required for leading an organisation that is based on ideology, but is still made up of diverse people. His style of functioning will not be overshadowed by that of his predecessors, said a party leader familiar with Naddas style of work. While comparisons are inevitable, party leaders said they are expecting Nadda, who was first appointed as the partys working president in June 2019, to continue the processes established by the Modi-Shah duo. It is the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) and Shah team that galvanised karyakartas and led the party to its current position. Nadda will compliment the duo and it will be a successful troika, where Modi with his mass appeal, Shah with his tough decision making and Nadda with his grip on organisational affairs will steer the party, said a second functionary. The reappointment of several state unit presidents who were appointed during Shahs tenure is being perceived as an indication that his writ will continue to run. Party general secretary Murlidhar Rao said the party, which has set high targets for itself, in terms of electoral success, will make the most of the gains made under Shah. He sees collaborative efforts between the old guard and the new to keep the momentum going. Shah had a free hand for five years and it was under his watch that party won several state elections and the last Lok Sabha polls. For the new president, his 360 degree experience and tremendous know-how will be an added asset. He can reach out for advice and assistance and that will be the extent to which Shahs influence will continue, he said. Several leaders also said that Naddas man management skills, his cordiality will prove advantageous. Hes a sharp mind, a good listener and can work without creating waves... sometimes that is also necessary to bind people, said the second functionary. Former BJP leader and an ex-minister, Yashwant Sinha, who had a bitter fallout with the current BJP leadership, however, said the change is unlikely to see an end to the Modi-Shah control over the party. The party has undergone a metamorphosis under them (Modi and Shah). Shah was not a co-worker but a boss and he changed the character of the party both form within and outside. It became a corporate entity, Sinha said. On why he thinks Shahs control will be ubiquitous, Sinha said: He will be the home minister, an influential position. In other parties it is the president who is more powerful; but in the BJP it is the PM and the ministers who exert more power. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON LAME DEER, Montana -- On Monday, January 13, 2020, Gerry Robinson, Northern Cheyenne tribal member received a warm welcome home at Chief Dull Knife College (CDKC), Lame Deer where he held a book signing for his recently published book, The Cheyenne Story: An Interpretation of Courage The book of historical fiction, first of which Robinson plans as a trilogy, features the Northern Cheyenne experience from the first days after the Battle of the Little Big Horn until they were forced to Oklahoma. Future books Robinson said will focus on the early experience of the Northern Cheyenne returning to Montana and then Fort Keogh and Fort Robinson. This is an important contribution to our tribal history, said Mina Seminole, CDKC Cultural Researcher. It is so important to tell our own stories. It is very exciting, and we are proud of him. Maybe this will encourage others of us to write more. This is a real accomplishment for a Cheyenne to do this. There are other books, but they were told to white authors. The protagonist is William Rowland, Robinsons great-grandfather, a white man who arrived in Montana in 1849, who played a key role as interpreter during those dark days. Also featured is Chief Little Wolf, a famous Northern Cheyenne historically largely credited with bringing a small band of Northern Cheyenne back to Montana in the 1880s, an arduous trek chronicled in many books, features stories and even a movie. Another group under the leadership of Chief Dull Knife was not as successful, many massacred at Fort Robinson, Nebraska, the remembrance of that observed on January 9th. As a child in a family of twelve, Robinson grew up in the Ashland area of the reservation, where he then heard many stories of the oral tradition from tribal elders, which fascinated him, inspiring his current effort. I came to writing late in life. The sale of a landscaping business gave me more time to spend on it, he explained. I had heard so many stories, but it was a jumble of information that sometimes did not seem cohesive. Contact Clara Caufield at acheyennevoice@gmail.com Copyright permission Native Sun News Today Join the Conversation California officials are threatening to clear a mile-long homeless encampment that has grown to more than 200 people on a popular bike trail and is deemed a public health emergency. Last month, Sonoma County's Board of Supervisors approved nearly $12million in emergency money to provide housing and other services to those living in the encampment of tents and makeshift shelters along the Joe Rodota Trail in Santa Rosa. The vote came amid growing complaints from residents and businesses about squalid, unsanitary conditions, including rats and other pests and a rash of used needles in the area. California officials are threatening to clear a mile-long homeless encampment (pictured) that has grown to more than 200 people on a popular bike trail and is deemed a public health emergency Last month, Sonoma County's Board of Supervisors approved nearly $12million in emergency money to provide housing and other services to those living in the encampment (pictured) of tents and makeshift shelters along the Joe Rodota Trail in Santa Rosa The vote came amid growing complaints from residents and businesses about squalid, unsanitary conditions, including rats and other pests and a rash of used needles in the area Mike Westfall, who is a resident of the homeless encampment along the Joe Rodota Trail, stands for a portrait with his tent, bicycle and an artificial Christmas tree on Wednesday, December 11, 2019 in Santa Rosa, California The $11.63million plan earmarks about $7million for county officials to buy existing multi-bedroom units and also to open at least two 'indoor-outdoor' shelters where people can hook up recreational vehicles and have safe parking spots if living in their cars. There will also be protected areas for people to sleep outdoors if they refuse to come inside. Sonoma County also plans to spend $1million to create seven new positions at the Department of Health Services and about $465,000 on 15 substance abuse beds. The plan calls for at least two sanctioned encampments featuring indoor and outdoor shelter and services - at a cost of more than $2million - and leveraging another $5.5million to acquire existing housing. Supervisor David Rabbitt said the urgency of the homelessness issue on the trail prompted immediate action but he's worried about resources and the future of the county's 3,000 homeless people. 'Resources are few and far between, and the problem is huge,' Rabbitt said. 'Every jurisdiction has a homelessness problem. People are wonderful and empathetic, but everyone is scratching their heads about how to address it.' The $11.63M plan earmarks about $7M for officials to buy existing multi-bedroom units and open at least two 'indoor-outdoor' shelters where people can hook up recreational vehicles and have safe parking spots if living in their cars. The Joe Rodota Trail encampment pictured Supervisor David Rabbitt said the urgency of the homelessness issue on the trail prompted immediate action but he's worried about resources and the future of the county's 3,000 homeless people The homeless mile-long encampment set up along the Joe Rodota trail has at least 200 people living in it, with around 100 tents California's growing homeless emergency. Figures as of August 2019, include San Francisco with 8,011 homeless people and San Diego with 8,576 According to CNN, pest control workers installed 340 rat traps throughout the encampment after infrared video from a sheriff's helicopter revealed a major rodent infestation. 'I think it's sad and overwhelming,' pest control technician Matt Dougherty told CNN while speaking about the conditions. 'We're here just to make it better for them.' County officials have also installed portable toilets along the trail. Officials said their goal is to close the encampment by January 31. It's unclear if they will meet that deadline. Sonoma County isn't the only area grappling with the homelessness crisis. The homeless rate in the entire state of California has surged a staggering 16.4 per cent in the past twelve months. That means that more than 140,000 California residents are without shelter on any given night - accounting for more than a fifth of the entire homeless population across the United States. Although the Trump administration has told San Francisco and California to clean up its act, they're unwilling to pay for it. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson rejected a housing aid request from Gov Gavin Newson and mayors from the state's 13 biggest cities. The request asked for additional resources to fight homelessness, including 50,000 housing vouchers for the poor. WASHINGTON President Trumps legal team will argue in his Senate trial that abuse of power is not an impeachable offense, while Democrats called that claim absurdist and a signal that the president has no defense in the case against him. The third impeachment trial in U.S. history will start in earnest Tuesday, after its ceremonial opening last week with the swearing-in of senators who will serve as jurors and of Chief Justice John Roberts, who will preside. Both sides took to the TV talk shows Sunday to preview their arguments and court public opinion that has shown little movement since House impeachment proceedings began in September. Democrats said they have built an unassailable case that Trump improperly sought to trade congressionally mandated aid to vulnerable U.S. ally Ukraine in exchange for political favors, in what they allege was an abuse of power. Trump also is charged with obstructing Congress, an accusation leveled after the White House blocked House requests for key witnesses and documents. One of Trumps lawyers, Alan Dershowitz, best known for defending celebrity clients like Mike Tyson and O.J. Simpson, said he will argue that even if Trump did everything Democrats say he did, such conduct does not merit impeachment and removal from office. You cant charge a president with impeachable conduct if it doesnt fit within the criteria for the Constitution, Dershowitz said on ABCs This Week. Dershowitz said his legal approach would render irrelevant the question of whether witnesses should be called. Democrats insist the Republican-controlled Senate should subpoena witnesses, while Republican leaders have refused to commit to doing so. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, who recently abandoned a run for the Democratic presidential nomination, took sharp exception. This is preposterous that this would not be an impeachable offense that the standard in America is now that a president can abuse their power to help them in elections, Booker said on ABC. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., one of the Trumps most fervent backers and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, echoed Dershowitzs line of reasoning. Interviewed on Fox News Sunday, he said abuse of power was so poorly defined here that future presidents would not have a clear sense of pitfalls to be avoided. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has yet to introduce rules for the proceedings. Laura King is a Los Angeles Times writer. Samya.AI has been founded by Shailendra Singh, Deepinder Dhingra and Pavan Palety, experienced leaders who have previously held leadership positions at organizations including IBM, Noodle.ai, Mu Sigma and MarketsandMarkets. Shelly Singh and Deepinder Dhingra have been instrumental in scaling Mu Sigma to a unicorn with industry leading margins. Shelly held the position of Head of Sales & Commercial Effectiveness while Deepinder was Head of Products & Strategy. Pavan was leading the founder's office and was Europe sales leader. The global consumer packed goods (CPG) industry is losing 8%-10% revenue growth potential due to increased scale, complexity and volatility at the intersection of demand and supply operations. This loss is estimated to be $150Bn in the US alone. "Demand-supply interactions are becoming very unpredictable and vulnerable, resulting in huge lost revenue opportunity. This trend will continue unless addressed proactively, especially when a large number of CPG companies have been facing saturating growth," said Co-founder and CEO Shailendra 'Shelly' Singh. Most of this loss is due to inefficiencies at the intersection of the core sales/distribution, pricing & promotions and inventory operations. Each of these teams often work in silos, operate on different legacy systems, optimize for different metrics and are unable to anticipate and proactively learn emerging patterns, blind-spots and interdependencies in their activities. The impact of external factors such as evolving weather conditions, macro-economics, consumer preferences further escalates the problems. Samya.AI is the only Revenue Growth AI company in the CPG space addressing these issues holistically. Their unique approach maps use the power of AI/ML methods such as deep learning, probabilistic machine learning and reinforcement learning that can adapt to the unique challenges of this sector. With purpose-built and interconnected AI SaaS modules, Samya.AI is driving disruptive value and 10X improvement over other solutions. "AI/ML powered learning and recommendation systems that augment front line decision-makers are needed to plug revenue leakage," said Deepinder Dhingra, Co-founder, COO & CPO. "We are building a category defining product by assembling the best AI/ML and Engineering team in this space based out of Bangalore." "I have had the privilege to work closely with Shelly and Deepinder for many years at Mu Sigma, and am very excited to get a chance to work with both of them and Pavan in building Samya.AI.," said Shailendra Singh, Managing Director, Sequoia Capital (India) Singapore. "They are pursuing a bold vision and the early results of 'proof of value' pilots with global CPG companies are very exciting. Our goal here is to help build one of the leading cross-border AI SaaS companies out of India," he added. Samya is currently running proof of value engagements with a few Fortune 500 companies and seeing really promising initial results. "In the initial phase we are being very selective about partnering with visionary customers as this needs close collaboration with multiple stakeholders. In the long term we want to build a large and diverse ecosystem of partners and advisors who can help us drive customer success globally," concluded Pavan Palety, Samya's third Co-founder and Chief Customer Officer. About Samya.AI Samya.AI is the only Revenue Growth AI company in the CPG space operating at the intersection of demand and supply operations. Samya.AI brings the power of deep learning, probabilistic machine learning and reinforcement learning approaches together with deep domain expertise to help CPG companies recapture revenue growth potential. Samya.AI is headquartered in Chicago, USA with its offices in London, UK and main product and R&D centre in Bangalore, India. For media queries contact: Pavan Palety [email protected] +44 7762 562714 SOURCE Samya.AI Related Links samya.AI The Reds are one of the teams interested in signing free agent utility player Brock Holt, according to a report from Bobby Nightengale Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Things have been quiet all winter on Holt, who is a free agent for the first time after spending seven seasons with the Red Sox. Cincinnati is the first team reported to have interest in the 31-year-old. Boston spoke to Holt about a reunion early in the winter, but that possibility is viewed as unlikely now that the Sox have former Reds infielder Jose Peraza in the fold. Peraza, who can also play a variety of positions, cost just $3 million, which is likely less guaranteed money than Holt will get. Holt hit .297/.369/.402 with three homers in 87 games for the Red Sox last season, appearing at six different positions. After being acquired in a Dec. 2012 trade with the Pirates, he appeared in 615 games for Boston over seven years and was an All-Star in 2015. Holt previously expressed interest in returning to the Red Sox on a hometown discount. Bostons desire to cut payroll to get under the $208 million competitive balance tax threshold means the Sox will have to trade a high-priced player in order to add any other new players to the organization. CHILOQUIN, Ore. -- A Chiloquin man is in jail following a nearly eight-hour armed standoff that began on Sunday afternoon, according to the Klamath County Sheriff's Office. Deputies responded to a "shots fired" call just after 1:30 p.m., directing them to the 37000-block of Highway 97 near Chiloquin. The Sheriff's Office said that shots were fired at deputies from someone inside of the cabin when they arrived. The officers tried in vain for several hours to coax the suspect, later identified as 55-year-old Steven Earle White, out of the cabin. According to the Sheriff's Office, White refused to give himself up. "Certainly it was obvious to our negotiator that he was in some sort of mental distress," Klamath County Sheriff Chris Kaber told NewsWatch 12 on Monday. "And so we know that he had personal tragedy in his life a short time ago with a relative passing away, and we believe that's probably what started this." Sheriff Kaber said that anytime a deputy tried to approach the house on Sunday, White would open fire. At about 9:30 p.m., the deputies prepared to force their way inside, deploying an armored vehicle to get closer. The Sheriff's Office said that White had since started a fire inside the cabin "in an attempt to evade arrest," and flames poured from one side as officers moved in. Though White reportedly escaped outside and into the nearby trees, deputies were able to find him and take him into custody. According to a probable cause statement filed by the arresting officer, White called 911 "repeatedly" prior to the incident, but for non-emergency purposes. His calls included "inviting law enforcement to watch football and to inform us TMZ and CBS would contact us if something happened to him," the officer reported. Deputies who responded to the scene were assisted by units from Klamath Falls Police, Oregon State Police, and U.S. Forest Service law enforcement. The Sheriff's Office said that neither White or any first responders were injured in the standoff, but one patrol vehicle was damaged by gunfire. The probable cause statement indicated that a deputy's patrol vehicle was struck four times, damaging the passenger-side door and mirror. White was booked into jail for a number of charges, including Improper Use of 911, Unlawful Use of a Weapon, two counts of Attempted Aggravated Murder, two counts of Menacing, Criminal Mischief in the First Degree, and Arson in the First Degree. On Monday, NewsWatch 12 visited the cabin and met with members of White's family. The cabin itself is partially burned and riddled with bullet holes. "I would be in tears, like I knew this was going to happen. I knew someone was going to get hurt," said Kelsey White. She's the niece-in-law of Steven White. "She built that cabin. That cabin was her whole life." Sheriff Kaber and Kelsey White had similar ideas about what happened. Steven White's mother had passed away recently and he had been suffering ever since. "After grandma passed away no one has been able to go get any of her belongings, family heirlooms or anything . . . because of Steve," Kelsey said. "Now half of it's burned, we really dont know where to go from here." When asked if she would go visit Steven in jail to get some of her questions answered, Kelsey White said that she would have to think about it. * Indonesia's Feb, March purchases double those of last year * Other Asian consumers develop taste for S. American wheat By Naveen Thukral SINGAPORE, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Argentine wheat shipments to Asia are poised to climb to a record high over the next two months as a drought curbs Australian production and Black Sea inventories tighten, two trade sources said. Indonesia, Asia's biggest importer, along with Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines are expected to receive close to 1.2 million tonnes of wheat from the South American country, said the traders, who have access to shipping data. "This year's volumes of wheat coming to Asia from Argentina are substantially higher than in 2019, which itself was a record year for Argentinean supplies," said one trader who is based in Singapore and supplies wheat to flour millers across the region. "Argentina has a big crop to sell this year." Argentina's Buenos Aires grains exchange bumped up its wheat harvest forecast for the 2019/20 season to a bumper 18.8 million tonnes from an earlier estimate of 18.5 million tonnes. That leaves the country with a surplus of around 12 million tonnes for export in 2019/20, trade sources said. "More than half of 1.2 million tonnes (for February and March) is heading to just Indonesia," the trader said. Indonesia is scheduled to receive close to 700,000 tonnes, while vessels carrying around 300,000 tonnes are expected to arrive at Vietnamese ports over the next two months. Thailand has nearly 150,000 tonnes of Argentine wheat on the way, and the Philippines is getting close to 60,000 tonnes. For all of 2019, Indonesia bought 1.7 million tonnes of wheat from Argentina, according to Refinitiv Eikon data, while Vietnam imported 182,000 tonnes and Thailand 396,000 tonnes. Argentina became a key wheat exporter to Asia in early 2019 as a third year of drought curbed wheat exports from traditional supplier Australia and grain reserves tightened in the Black Sea region after a hectic pace of exports. Story continues This year, Russia's agriculture ministry is looking to set a non-tariff quota for grain exports of 20 million tonnes in January-June, it said in a statement on Tuesday, adding the quota would be scrapped later in the most active part of season for trading. Australia last month cut its wheat production forecast by nearly 20% for the year through June 2020, as an unrelenting drought across the country's east coast will likely see output fall to an 11-year low. (Reporting by Naveen Thukral; Editing by Tom Hogue) The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Water Company Limited, Dr Clifford Braimah, says his outfit is doing its possible best to ensure that Ghanaians have water flowing through their taps. This comes on the back of numerous reports received by Citi FM from Ghanaians in different parts of the country over the irregular flow of water. In an interview on the Citi Breakfast Show on Monday, Dr Braimah said factors such as obsolete pipes and unplanned settlements are to blame for the challenges. We anticipated this since November and all regions were asked to give out their plans towards the lean season where we don't have volumes of water in some of our reservoirs and where consumption is going to go very high. What is happening in Accra is that volumes of water have not increased over the years because, after the 2015 commissioning of the Kpone water system, we haven't added any volumes to Accra. Sometimes we have these burst pipes that take longer to repair so it leads to some delay. You go to East Legon, the lines we put there those days were very thin because the population then was small. Now the population is so much and so at any given time you have a cost. So people should bear with us. We are doing everything possible to make sure that people get water at least within a week and if within one week they don't get, then there might be a localised problem. We'll get to the district, then the district will find a way of getting there and rectify the problem, he assured. Sekondi-Takoradi water crisis Meanwhile, the Ghana Water Company has begun rationing water in Sekondi-Takoradi in the Western Region, as a result of the dry season. Speaking in a Citi News interview, the Regional Communications Manager of GWCL, Nana Yaw Barima Barnie, said the situation will normalize when the rainy season sets in. I must say that this is unfortunate but that is the best way we can ensure that everybody gets their first share of the water because if we don't do the rationing, what is going to happen is that because the pressures are going to be low due to the low quantities of water we are producing, only residents or customers who live in low line areas or those who live close to our reservoirs will be getting the water. And I would please urge our customers especially those in Takoradi to endeavour to get storage facilities. We are going to continue with this rationing until the rains start coming in, he emphasized. Situation in Northern Ghana Tropical and Sahel regions of West Africa, including Ghana, are currently experiencing the dry season and this means many communities have been ushered into a season marked by the long search for water and thirst. The situation is worse for areas that have not been connected to pipe-borne water. Communities like Nyeshie and Damakon-Yeli in the Northern Region have over the weeks been facing acute water shortages that are likely to wreak havoc on the residents due to the onset of the dry season in the country. The dams through which residents access water has begun drying up due to the harmattan, and they still face the risk of complete water shortage because they do not have access to pipe-borne water either. Yaw Elisha, a resident of Nyeshie said: the dam is even drying up and we are more scared. We suffer a lot in this community. We don't have taps. We only have three pipes here serving the people. They open the pipes for one day in a week. We only drink from the dam. Sometimes we apply alum and that is it, he added. citinewsroom U.K., France Cite Need For 'Long-Term Framework' After Tehran Warns It Could 'Reconsider' IAEA Cooperation January 19, 2020 The influential speaker of Iran's parliament has warned European powers against "for any reason" taking an "unfair" approach to the dispute mechanism in the 4-year-old nuclear deal that has been in the balance since a U.S. pullout in 2018. Tehran would "seriously reconsider our cooperation" with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as a result, the speaker, Ali Larijani, who is also a former chief nuclear negotiator for Tehran, was quoted as saying by state TV. Germany, Britain, and France announced last week that they had triggered the dispute mechanism in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which exchanged curbs on Iran's nuclear program for relief from international sanctions. "What the three European countries did regarding Iran's nuclear issue...is unfortunate," Larijani said. "We clearly announce that if Europe, for any reason, uses Article 37 of the nuclear agreement unfairly, then Iran will make a serious decision regarding cooperation with the agency," he added, according to AFP. The European states -- signatories of the JCPOA along with China, Russia, the European Union, and, formerly, the United States -- said that, while the mechanism could lead to UN sanctions against Iran, they were not joining Washington's yearlong "maximum pressure" campaign designed to change Tehran's behavior. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated their commitment to the JCPOA on January 19 and agreed during a meeting on the sidelines of a Libya-summit in Berlin that a long-term framework was needed, according to a Downing Street spokeswoman quoted by Reuters. "On Iran, the leaders reiterated their commitment to the JCPoA...and also acknowledged the need to define a long-term framework to prevent Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon," the spokeswoman said. "They agreed on the importance of de-escalation and of working with international partners to find a diplomatic way through the current tensions." Since the U.S. withdrawal from the deal, Iran has breached its main limitations, exceeding the stockpiles of heavy water and uranium allowed, the number and types of centrifuges it can operate to enrich uranium, and the purity of uranium. U.S. President Donald Trump -- who reimposed tough sanctions on Iran after leaving the JCPOA -- has said he wants Tehran to negotiate a new accord that would place indefinite curbs on its nuclear program and restrict Tehran's ballistic-missile program. Tehran has said it won't enter new talks until sanctions are lifted. Based on reporting by AP and Reuters Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-may-review- iaea-cooperation-if-eurpopean- pressure-mounts/30385437.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 [January 20, 2020] Zomedica Successfully Completes Development and Manufacturing Milestones for its Cancer Liquid Biopsy Platform ANN ARBOR, Mich., Jan. 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zomedica Pharmaceuticals Corp. (NYSE American: ZOM) (TSX-V: ZOM), a veterinary diagnostic and pharmaceutical company, today announced it has successfully completed the development and manufacturing milestones for its reference lab cancer liquid biopsy platform. Zomedica is developing assays for the detection of hemangiosarcoma, osteosarcoma, and lymphoma, for use with its liquid biopsy platform. Lymphoma, osteosarcoma and hemangiosarcoma are three of the top five most commonly diagnosed canine cancers. The development work done under its license and supply agreement with Celsee, Inc. (Celsee), an innovator of progressive rare cell capture, characterization and single cell analysis products in the emerging field of liquid biopsy, has demonstrated the capability to determine whether circulating tumor cells (CTCs) can be detected in canines to confirm the existence of certain cancers with a high level of sensitivity and specificity. The hemangiosarcoma and osteosarcoma assays have been developed under the Celsee agreement. Zomedica has independently developed the lymphoma assay, which is designed to identify specific genetic abnormalities using fluorescence in situ hybridization, or FISH. FISH tests are regularly used for cancers in human medicine, such as the HER2 breast cancer test. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, one in four dogs will develop cancer during their lifetime. Lymphomas represent approximately 10-25% of all cancers diagnosed in dogs. With the development work phase completed, Zomedica and Celsee have amended and restated the Celsee agreement to acknowledge the completion of the initial development work and to provide for definitive supply and pricing terms for the liquid biopsy instrument and related consumables. Under the terms of the restated agreement, Zomedica continues to have veterinary oncology care exclusive global rights to develop and market Celsees liquid biopsy platform for use by veterinarians as a cancer diagnostic. Zomedica initially intends to develop and market the platform and its non-invasive diagnostic assays or blood test that helps veterinarians diagnose cancer in canines. The Veterinary Cancer Society estimates that 50 percent of dogs over the age of 10 will develop cancer and one in four dogs at some stage in their life will develop cancer. Many more canine cancer cases may go undetected due to cost constraints and other factors. If validation of the liquid biopsy platform is successfully completed, Zomedica expects that the platform and assays for the detection of hemangiosarcoma, osteosarcoma, and lymphoma will provide veterinarians with a faster, more affordable, and less invasive test for cancer in canines compared to existing methods, which can be expensive and cost prohibitive for pet owners. Under the terms of the restated agreement, Celsee will supply Zomedica on an exclusive basis with the assays and the consumables for the products to be developed under the agreement pursuant to a rolling forecast to be provided by Zomedica at prices specified in the agreement. Zomedica has yet to provide its initial forecast, pending finalization of capital budgeting and capital-raising plans. Zomedica will be responsible for the marketing and sale of the assays and the related consumables. The agreement, which is exclusive in the field of veterinary cancer diagnostic applications, has a term of five yeas (subject to termination in certain circumstances) and automatically renews for additional two-year terms thereafter (subject to either party determining not to renew). In accordance with Zomedicas focus on point-of-care diagnostic testing, Zomedica intends to seek partners to continue development and commercialization of the hemangiosarcoma, osteosarcoma, and lymphoma assays and the related instruments which are intended to be used in an offsite reference lab, as well its therapeutic assets Zomedica believes that there is no pre-market regulatory burden to commercializing in the United States. About Celsee Celsee, Inc., a privately held company in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is breaking through the traditional barriers of single-cell analysis and delivering clinical-grade technology designed to support the life sciences revolution and precision medicine. Based on a gentle, gravity-induced, micro-well isolation technique, the patented technology forms the foundation for an elegant, scalable, and flexible single-cell analysis platform that makes more experiments feasible. Celsees first product, the Genesis System, enables scientists to analyze and interpret cellular behavior and collect previously inaccessible information for improved results in applications such as proteogenomics, next-generation sequencing, immune monitoring, and cell therapy. About Zomedica Based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Zomedica (NYSE American: ZOM) (TSX-V: ZOM) is a veterinary diagnostic and pharmaceutical company creating products for companion animals (canine, feline and equine) by focusing on the unmet needs of clinical veterinarians. Zomedicas product portfolio will include novel diagnostics and innovative therapeutics that emphasize patient health and practice health. With a team that includes clinical veterinary professionals, it is Zomedicas mission to give veterinarians the opportunity to lower costs, increase productivity, and grow revenue while better serving the animals in their care. For more information, visit www.ZOMEDICA.com . Follow Zomedica Email Alerts: http://investors.zomedica.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/zomedica Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zomedica/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/zomedica Reader Advisory 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 the release. Except for statements of historical fact, this news release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. We cannot guarantee future results, performance or achievements. Consequently, there is no representation that the actual results achieved will be the same, in whole or in part, as those set out in the forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking information. Some of the risks and other factors that could cause the results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information include, but are not limited to: market and other conditions, uncertainty as to whether our strategies and business plans will yield the expected benefits; uncertainty as to the timing and results of development work and pilot and pivotal studies, uncertainty as to the likelihood and timing of regulatory approvals, availability and cost of capital; the ability to identify and develop and achieve commercial success for new products and technologies; the level of expenditures necessary to maintain and improve the quality of products and services; changes in technology and changes in laws and regulations; our ability to secure and maintain strategic relationships (including a partner for validating and marketing the Celsee products); the ability of Celsee to perform its obligations under the restated agreement; risks related to veterinary acceptance of the Celsee products and competition from related products risks pertaining to permits and licensing, intellectual property infringement risks, risks relating to future clinical trials, regulatory approvals, safety and efficacy of our products, the use of our product, intellectual property protection and the other risk factors disclosed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and Canadian securities regulatory authorities. Readers are cautioned that this list of risk factors should not be construed as exhaustive. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. We undertake no duty to update any of the forward-looking information to conform such information to actual results or to changes in our expectations except as otherwise required by applicable securities legislation. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Investor Relations Contact: Shameze Rampertab, CPA, CA, Interim Chief Executive Officer [email protected] +1 647.283.3630 PCG Advisory Group Kirin Smith, COO [email protected] +1 646.863.6519 Media Contact: Meredith Newman [email protected] +1 734.369.2555 ext. 119 [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 22:16:00|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close BEIRUT, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese President Michel Aoun urged security agencies to take measures to protect peaceful protesters while preventing violent attacks against public properties, the president's office said in a statement on Monday. Aoun also called upon the judicial system to implement legislations against protesters who violate the law while asking security agencies to differentiate between peaceful protesters and violent ones. Aoun's remarks came during his security meeting at Baabda Palace with security agencies and caretaker ministers of defense and interior to discuss latest developments and the measures needed to overcome the security challenges. Lebanon has seen heavy clashes in the past days between protesters and riot police, causing hundreds of injuries. Protests have escalated lately because of the delay in the formation of a cabinet by the newly appointed prime minister and his attempt to name ministers who belong to political parties. One of the protesters' main demands is appointing independent ministers capable of saving the country from further economic and financial deterioration. The political correctness debate has now reached placid Springfield. Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, one of the most popular characters from the US animated series The Simpsons, might have to leave the fictional town for good. Following protests, voice-over artist Hank Azaria (55) is giving up the role of the Indian shop owner. Background: Hari Kondabolu (37), US comedian with Indian roots, feels insulted by the character. Apu allegedly reproduces racist stereotypes, because he speaks with a strong accent, has eight children, his marriage is arranged, and he is constantly robbed in his Kwik-E-Mart. It is unclear whether the character of Apu will continue to appear on the show. How ridiculous! If Apu becomes a precedent, you might as well cancel the entire show, since the complete cast of the Simpsons consists of stereotypes. Italians might feel discriminated by mafia-like and obese Fat Tony, Scots by the odd janitor Willy. Mexicans might complain that their character only appears in a bee costume and shouts things like Ay ay ay, no es bueno!. Pious Christians are represented by the most annoying neighbour in the world, Ned Flanders. Journalists could be upset by the vain Kent Brockman, gays by the uptight Mr. Smithers, teachers by Director Skinner, who still lives with his mother, and rich people by the unscrupulous Mr. Burns, whose heart is powered by gnomes. And what about doctors? Theres indiscreet Dr. Hibbert (one of the few Afro-Americans in town) and the quack doctor Nick Riviera. Not exactly flattering Not to mention the series most important protagonist: the overweight, lazy, incompetent, short-fused and uneducated American Homer Simpson! For 30 years now, the series has been fondly exaggerating cliches and toying with them. For a long time, this has not upset anyone, and millions watched in delight often including those who were satirized, of all people. Moreover, the character of Apu makes fun of Americans cliche-laden view of Indian immigrants and not of Indian immigrants. The same applies to the Germans who appear on the show. This is not anti-German, but it rather shows how Americans see Germans. With a lot of exaggeration and a grain of truth. The fact that countless Indians worldwide revere Apu as their hero, that they laugh and cry with him, is ignored by the few, but particularly loud, critics. In the US, in particular, the tone in the political debate is by now set by permanently insulted and hypersensitive people. Well, "just because you're offended, doesn't mean you're right!" (Ricky Gervais) Another accusation by the upset comedian is: Apus actor, Hank Azaria, an American with Greek-Jewish roots, is not from South Asia, but white. Imitating foreign accents is often considered a taboo among the American left. It counts as cultural appropriation or even racism. So will the Simpsons creators redesign the fictional small town of Springfield according to the rules of political correctness in the future? Will Apu have to close down his Kwik-E-Mart and return as a software engineer who suddenly speaks flawless Oxford English, despite his striking accent? Will Homer Simpson quit his job in the nuclear plant and become a controller in the wind power industry? Please dont. To quote one of Homers most frequent comments: BOOORING! P.S. If there is one group that could actually complain about the Simpsons, its the French. The blase waiter! And how they mistreat exchange student Bart, and how they cut their red wine with antifreeze mixture! Mon Dieu! But we dont want to give someone ideas Press Release January 19, 2020 Bong Go pushes for more proactive approach; calls for intensified info campaign on disaster preparedness "We should be more proactive when dealing with natural disasters. Dapat maging laging handa sa oras ng sakuna!" Senator Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go said this as he urged the government and the public for a change in mindset and approach when dealing with natural disasters and calamities. In line with this call, the senator also pushes for the creation of the Department of Disaster Resilience (DDR) and a bill mandating the construction of permanent evacuation centers throughout the country. Go emphasized the vulnerability of the country to natural calamities, saying "It is high time that we fully recognize that our country is highly vulnerable to ominous disasters given the frequency of natural calamities, like typhoons, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions, that hit and affect us every year." Given that such risk constantly poses an existential threat to the country, Go said that fostering a culture of proactivity is necessary to ensure the preparedness and safety of Filipinos in times of natural calamities. "Equally important na proactive tayo bago ang sakuna. Dapat may magtuturo sa mga LGUs at sa mga tao kung ano ang dapat gawin sakaling may darating na sakuna. Handa tayo dapat bago pa ito dumating," he added. Go also highlighted the important role of wide information dissemination and educating the public in a community's disaster preparedness effort given the unpredictability and potential severity of natural disasters. "We should acknowledge the fact that government as a whole can do more to educate and inform the public when it comes to disaster preparedness. Lalo na po sa mga LGUs na malapit sa bulkan o palaging tinatamaan ng bagyo," Go said. "This is also one of the reasons why I am pushing for the creation of DDR. Parte ng magiging mandate nito ay ang information dissemination and role in educating the Filipinos better on how to prepare for and respond to such natural occurences," he added. Located in the so-called "Pacific Ring of Fire," an area where earthquakes and volcanic activities are more frequent than in any other part of the world, the Philippines is one of the most vulnerable countries to these natural hazards. Its position in the Pacific Ocean also exposes the country to a high number of typhoons and related weather disturbances annually which, with the onset of climate change, may only drastically worsen and increase in frequency. Given the considerable amount of effort, coordination and resources involved in disaster preparation, management and mitigation, Go underscored the importance of having a central authority that will be in charge of these matters. "For example, pag health, DOH ang in charge. Kapag housing, that is why department of housing was created. Kapag may Department for Disaster Resilience po, alam ng tao sino lalapitan at sino in charge. Mas magiging mabilis at maayos ang pagresponde natin para matulungan ang mga kababayan nating apektado ng sakuna." The senator stressed that the current structure of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) allows it to act as a mere ad hoc inter-agency coordinating body when dealing with disasters. "Hindi dapat 'ad hoc' ang pag-iisip natin pagdating sa kalamidad. 'Norm' na sa bansa ang bagyo, lindol, at pati mga active na bulkan. More than structural change in the bureaucracy, we are also pushing for a change in mindset and approach. Dapat palaging handa ang gobyerno para maturuan maging handa ang bawat Pilipino," he said. Go cited his visits to Filipinos struck by both natural and man-made disasters where it has become clear that a proactive and holistic approach is the most effective way to address the catastrophic effects and mitigate the adverse impacts caused by natural disasters. "Bagama't hindi naman nape-predict ang ganitong mga natural occurences, dapat palaging maging handa ang mga Pilipino dahil geographically and historically, prone talaga sa ganitong mga disasters ang ating bansa," Go said. The senator filed Senate Bill (SB) No. 205 or the "Disaster Resilience Act of 2019". The measure proposes for the creation of a Department of Disaster Resilience, "an empowered, highly specialized department with clear unity of command and primarily responsible in ensuring safe, adaptive and disaster-resilient communities." The bill seeks to establish a clear system of responsibility for disaster preparedness and response in all levels of the government, given the increasing number of various disasters and the devastation that they bring. Through the proposed measure, the existing Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) offices will be renamed as Local Disaster Resilience Offices. A Disaster Resilience Fund will also be established to finance DDR's operations, disaster risk reduction, disaster preparedness, response, recovery, rehabilitation and building forward better programs, projects and activities formulated in the national level. The National Disaster Operations Center will be established, with its corresponding Alternative Command and Control Centers, while a Disaster Resilience Research and Training Institute will also be created to provide training and to collect, consolidate, manage and share knowledge and information resources to boost disaster resilience. Currently, disaster-related responsibilities are shared among various government agencies. "Sa totoo lang, si Pangulong Duterte, gusto niya talagang magkaroon ng isang point person na mamamahala sa lahat. Dapat magkaroon ng secretary-level na mayroong authority," Go said. Go also filed recently Senate Bill (SB) 1228, also known as the Mandatory Evacuation Center Act, which mandates the establishment of safe, permanent and dedicated evacuation centers. It will require every city, province and municipality to construct evacuation centers that will be equipped with basic necessities, such as emergency packs and medicines. "(At least) by province po dapat. Kulang ang by region. Huwag na nating hintayin na magkaroon pa ng mga lindol o baha. Naaantala ang pag-aaral ng mga bata. Minsan nagagamit ang eskwelahan. Panahon na magkaroon na ng permanent evacuation centers lalung lalo na po para sa mga apektadong bata," Go said. "Dapat may higaan, comfort rooms, 'yung sanitation maayos, hanggang sa makauwi sila sa kanilang mga pamamahay," he added. Urging the country to learn from its past mistakes, Go said it is high time that the nation scales up its preparedness and resilience against natural disasters. "Huwag na po tayong magsayang ng oras. Huwag na po nating hintayin na may dumating pang matinding kalamidad na tumama sa ating bansa. It is time to scale up our preparedness and resiliency against natural disasters. Panahon na para magkaroon tayo ng ahensyang magbibigay ng buong atensyon sa ating paghahanda at pagresponde sa mga kalamidad at sakuna," Go ended. Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed Jagat Prakash Nadda as he took over as the new president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday. At a felicitation ceremony for Nadda, PM Modi said he is a disciplined party worker. JP Nadda is an old friend. When I handled the party organisation, he was looking after the Yuva Morcha. We travelled together on scooter, PM Modi said at the change of guard ceremony at BJP headquarters in New Delhi. I got the privilege to work for a long time in Himachal Pradesh - and to find a friend like Naddaji, he added. The Prime Minister also said that though Nadda belongs to Himachal Pradesh, Bihar should feel more proud because he cut his teeth in politics there as a student leader of the ABVP. Also Watch l JP Nadda elected BJP President unopposed; the challenges ahead He also praised Amit Shah, who handed over the reins to Nadda. It is very difficult to run the party while being in the government. In the last 70 years, we have seen that the fine line that demarcated government and party, was blurred. I must appreciate the efforts put in by Amit Shah in steering the party as well as expanding the base at the same time, PM Modi said. A party becomes successful only when it grows horizontally and its workers grow vertically. And this has happened in the BJP, the Prime Minister added. Saying the the BJP is a democratic party, he also thanked the senior leaders who helped me in the initial years. In the BJP, seniors help the workers grow, they strengthen them, give them opportunities. He also asked the party workers to give all the support to Nadda. His leadership will give us new energy and inspiration. Its the job of all the workers to bring glory to Naddaji. We should give him what he wants, PM Modi said. The Prime Minister also attacked the Opposition parties against the backdrop of anti-CAA protests. Those who are not being heard, have very few weapons left. Among them is to spread lies and myths. And do it again and again using your ecosystem, he said. Nadda was formally elected unopposed as the BJP president on Monday. Soft-spoken, unassuming, yet resolute, the 59-year-old BJP leader from Himachal Pradesh is a man known generally to maintain a low profile. But underneath a soft exterior, Nadda hides a doughty perseverance, an unflinching commitment to ideology and shrewd organizational skills that have ensured his rise, say party leaders who have seen him over the years. Nadda has a Law degree from Himachal Pradesh. It was in the northern hill state where Nadda made his electoral debut getting elected to the state Assembly from the Bilaspur seat in 1993. He won this seat several times after and went on to become a state minister for forest, environment, science and technology. Next week, the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government of three partiesShiv Sena, NCP and Congress will be completing two months in office. The government was formed by the three parties in an unexpected manner after the BJP and Shiv Sena failed to work out a power-sharing pact even though their pre-poll alliance won a majority. There were doubts whether this government would be formed since the Senas ideology is completely different from that of the Congress. It was finally formed, but there is still uncertainty about its survival. Not just the opposition BJP, but many in the ruling parties, too, doubt if this government will last beyond a year or two. Most optimistic people in these parties are giving it three to five years, depending on how much faith they have in two key playersNCP chief Sharad Pawar and CM Uddhav Thackeraywhose roles will be crucial for survival of the government. During the MVA governments tenure so far, what is clearly visible is that the three parties are not on the same page over various issues. Shiv Senas flip-flop on the issue of National Register of Citizens and Citizenship (Amendment) Act was the best example. The party voted for CAA in Lok Sabha and staged a walkout in the Rajya Sabha after objections raised by ally Congress. NCP chief Pawar publicly demanded that the government should order an independent probe into the cases filed against activists in the Bhima-Koregaon case, but CM Thackeray chose not to act on the same immediately. Following the cabinet expansion, the home department has gone to the NCP and he would prefer the NCP minister himself take a decision on the same, say Sena insiders. On the issue of VD Savarkar, the Sena continuously takes a stand contradictory to that of the Congress. Senior leaders of both parties have been making public statements that are embarrassing for Thackeray and his government. The MVA partners have succeeded in creating a clear impression that the three parties are together just for power and they dont care for each others image or ideology. While it is true in case of all political parties that power is the only binding factor for them, they at least pretend to be together for certain issues. In this case, the MVA partners are not bothering to pretend so. Little wonder that in past two months the controversies related to the three ruling parties and their government made more headlines than any decisions taken by the new government. It is also clear that the government itself lacks discipline and coordination among its partners and their ministers. Several ministers are not very happy with deputy CM Ajit Pawar holding meetings of their departments and announcing decisions in their absence. He announced that the eastern freeway in Mumbai would be named after former CM late Vilasrao Deshmukh, the height of Dr Ambedkars proposed statue at Prabhadevi will be increased and Marathi could be mandatory in all schools in the state irrespective of their governing boards. Though NCP says he took the meetings in his capacity as states finance minister and was tapping ways to increase resources, the concerned ministers are not happy. They are also pointing out none of these announcements had anything to do with finance. They also point out that the deputy CM does not have powers like the CM who can take decision on behalf of any department. It is just a political arrangement, not a constitutional post, they say. They are hoping this is just initial enthusiasm and would stop soon. The other decision that is being talked about is tourism minister Aaditya Thackerays pet project to allow shops and restaurants to conduct business throughout the night. Mantralaya officials say none of the three departments concernedhome department which governs police, labour department which decides timing of the shops and other establishments, and excise department which issues liquor licences were aware about the announcement till it was made. It also led to a flip-flop by home minister Anil Deshmukh who had expressed concern about over-burdening the police force. Are there chances that the three parties will overcome the initial hiccups (as their leaders say), avoid unnecessary controversies and start the work they had promised? Or is the series of controversies an indication of what they would be resorting to in the coming days? SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON January 20, 2020 Philips on CDP Climate Change A-list for seventh year running Philips recognized for its actions to reduce emissions, mitigate climate risks and develop the low-carbon economy Amsterdam, the Netherlands - Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology, today announced that it has once again been placed on the CDP Climate Change A List [1], making this the seventh consecutive year it has achieved a CDP A-list ranking for its leadership in corporate climate action. CDP is a not-for-profit organization that runs a global disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, states and regions to help manage their environmental impact. The organization assesses a company's environmental impact disclosure data against a scoring methodology that rates them on a scale of A to D, with A being the highest possible achievement. Based on its 2019 disclosure to CDP, Philips has been recognized for its actions during the last reporting year to reduce emissions, mitigate climate risks and develop the low-carbon economy. "The results of the World Economic Forum's latest Global Risks Report , that environmental threats rank in the top five risks for the coming decade, confirm the concerns we are all having about the devastating effects of climate change," said Frans van Houten, CEO of Royal Philips. "That's why Philips is constantly innovating, not only to deliver affordable outcome-focused health technology solutions that will help to achieve universal health coverage, but also to make sure we do it in a sustainable way that minimizes our carbon footprint and natural resource consumption." To achieve its vision of making the world healthier and more sustainable through innovation with the goal of improving the lives of 3 billion people a year by 2030, Philips focuses its activities on three key UN Sustainable Development Goals - SDG3 health and wellbeing for all, SDG12 sustainable consumption and production, and SDG13 action on climate change. The company is committed to having 95% of its business revenues linked to these SDGs by the end of 2020. Philips' drive for affordable and effective healthcare delivery is based on a shift from volume-based care (payment per procedure) to value-based care (the best health outcomes for a given cost), using advanced digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and predictive analytics to improve diagnostic accuracy and treatment efficacy, enhance population health management, and maximize the efficient use of resources. Its strategy for sustainability and action on climate change is embedded in its business model on both the procurement side - for example, through the purchase of green energy - and on the customer side through implementation of circular economy solutions. Philips is now powering 100% of its Netherlands operations with renewable energy, matching the 100% renewable energy target already achieved in the company's US operations. The company is also on track to deliver on the circular economy commitment it made at the 2018 WEF Annual Meeting that by 2020 the company will take back and repurpose all the large medical systems that its customers are prepared to return to it. As witnessed by CEO Frans van Houten's co-chairmanship of PACE (Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy), the circular economy is central to Philips' vision of making the world healthier and more sustainable through innovation. "Congratulations to the companies that achieved a position on CDP's A List this year, for leading in environmental performance and transparency," said Paul Simpson, CEO of CDP. "The scale of the business risks from the climate emergency, deforestation and water insecurity are vast - as are the opportunities from addressing them - and it's clear the private sector has a vital role to play at this critical time. The A List companies are leading the market in corporate sustainability, tackling environmental risks and setting themselves up to thrive in tomorrow's economy." CDP's scoring methodology assesses companies on the comprehensiveness of their disclosure, their awareness and management of environmental risks, and their demonstration of best practices associated with environmental leadership, such as setting ambitious and meaningful targets. Information on Philips' sustainability strategy and its 'Healthy people, sustainable planet' program can be found here . [1] The Climate Change A List is published by CDP each year, alongside A Lists for leadership on protecting forests and water security. The full list of companies that made this year's CDP Climate Change A List is available, along with other publicly available company scores, at https://www.cdp.net/en/companies/companies-scores . For further information, please contact: Joost Maltha Philips Global Press Office Tel.: +31 6 10 55 8116 E-mail: joost.maltha@philips.com Ben Zwirs Philips Global Press Office Tel.: +31 6 15 2134 46 E-mail: ben.zwirs@philips.com About Royal Philips Royal Philips. Attachments Colin Old, 60, who has advanced prostate cancer has slammed Ryanair for demanding 230 to change the names on his tickets because he was too ill to fly A 60-year-old man with advanced prostate cancer has slammed Ryanair for demanding 230 to change the names on his tickets because he was too ill to fly. Colin Old's cancer recently spread to his bones, meaning he had to abandon the 39th wedding anniversary trip with his wife Theresa. Mr Old paid Ryanair 115 for the flights from Bournemouth to Dublin. When he asked if he could change the names on the tickets to those of his son and his son's girlfriend the airline demanded a 230 fee. Mr Old said: 'I was horrified to find that two simple name changes would cost 230, twice as much as we paid for the flights. 'In summary, I am shocked at how unhelpful and lacking in empathy the two operatives were.' Mr Old, from Poole, Dorset, was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2015. He had his prostate removed and endured several rounds of radiotherapy. Mr Old's cancer recently spread to his bones, meaning he had to abandon a 39th wedding anniversary trip with his wife. Pictured: Mr Old (right) and his son Jamie However, just a few days before Christmas, he discovered the cancer had spread to his lower back and pelvis. Unable to make the trip in February Mr Old asked Ryanair if his 28-year-old son, Jamie, and his girlfriend could fly instead. He said: 'I am totally disgusted by Ryanair and their staff, there is a total lack of empathy from them.' Mr Old added: 'I dont feel that a company should be able to treat people like this.' Unable to make the trip with his wife Theresa (centre) in February Mr Old asked Ryanair if his 28-year-old son, Jamie (left), and Jamie's girlfriend could fly instead. Right: The couple's other son Lewis Mr Old - who cancelled the bookings - said he was promised a refund in five to seven days if he sent them medical documentation to prove his diagnosis. A spokeswoman for Ryanair said: 'We have resolved this with the customer directly'. Towards the end of last year, Ryanair was voted the worst airline in the UK for the fourth year running, according to consumer research group Which? Mr Old (right), who has now been forced to cancel the bookings in Dublin, added: 'I don't feel that a company should be able to treat people like this.' Left: Jamie Mr Old shared his story on Facebook. A spokeswoman for Ryanair said: 'We have resolved this with the customer directly' Passengers of the Irish airline gave it one star for boarding, comfort, food and drink, environment and customer service. MailOnline contacted Ryanair for comment at the time. In May last year it was reported that the airline had made profits of 892m in the previous financial year. Aside from the traditional definition of democracy as government of the people, by the people and for the people, great scholars, commentators and political analysts, had at different times and places shared their thoughts about this form of government- it meaning, concepts, survival, merits and demerits. Part of such conversations in the past gave birth to the global believe that the best defense of democracy is to stress the values that are essential to good governance, especially transparency and accountability, and to support civil society, independent media, and free flow of information. Together, these steps could lower the risks of democratic backsliding and improve lives in the practicing country. Comparatively, regardless of nationality, countries that adhered strictly to these democratic ethos, today, display a number of common characteristics-internal development of the people, tackle unemployment through creation of tenure-based and, endless employment to its people, they consider and understand the critical importance of socioeconomic well being of the nation, create opportunities for participation in government, regard citizens as co-soldiers in the nations development army with equal ranks, display real commitment to the business of governance and promotes a common value system, and most importantly, instead of pursuing strictly financial objective when managing the affairs of their nation, they formulate and implement policies that improve the live chances of their people. Unfortunately, not so could be said of nations that flagrantly ignores democratic ethos. Infact, the practice of democracy in such countries is often always not only challenging and costly. This claim is evident in two major areas- over blotted costs of governance by elected officials and burden of harsh/poor policies placed on shoulders of citizens by elected and appointed public officials Nigeria and of course the vast majority of Africa countries provide good examples of nations with such virtues and attributes. Separate from other feeble policies in the past, the most obvious of such in Nigeria is the recent directive by the ministry of interior to the effect that henceforth intending married couples, worship centres and churches shall be made to pay a whopping sum of N 51, 000. The breakdown of this new fees going by the report is as follows; while marriage certificate goes for N21, 000, licencing of place of worship is required to pay N30, 000 before performing statutory marriages in Nigeria. Expectedly, aside from the directive coming at a time when the list of action not taken by the government to better the lives of Nigerians remains lengthy and worrisome, Nigerians with critical interest have expressed fears that such directive similar to the kind we used to see in China and Cuba have finally found its way on our political geography. And could come as strategic implication, capped with the capacity to set the stage for further abridgment of citizens fundamental and prevent religious groups from performing their statutory responsibilities. This fears expressed by Nigerians cannot be described as unfounded as they are not alone in this line of thinking. Recently, the coalition of civil society Organization (CSOs) under the aegis of the foundation for African cultural Heritage (FACH), during a press conference in Lagos, expressed similar displeasure about government decision. And queried why worship centres should be made to pay the sum N51, 000 in order to perform their statutory marriages. Going by their explanation, not only is the directive so arbitrarily and capriciously imposed without consultation with veritable Nigerian stakeholders, the licences, they added, are in gross violation of section 7(5) of the 1999 constitution of Nigerian and section 6 (1) (2), 21, 24, 30, 36, 37, 38, of the marriage act. And submitted that there are other ways the ministry of interior could generate revenue other than placing unnecessary and extra financial burden on couples, churches, Mosque and places of worship in Nigeria. Interpretatively, Nigerians and the Civil Society groups, in my views are not sad that the Federal Government is thinking of creative and innovative ways of boosting its revenue base as it is not only necessary but eminently desirable. For without such levies, the government may not have the required resources to bridge the infrastructural gaps in the country as well as attend to the day to day demands of the state. However, there are so many inherent ills associated with this particular directive by the Ministry. Very fundamental is the stunning error of procedure that characterized the Ministry of Interiors decision. As it is done in civilized climbs, what Nigerians with critical interest expects from the Ministry is not a directive but to have a bill submitted before the National Assembly- such process would make the process not only transparent but participatory as it paves way for stakeholders to make inputs at public hearing stage. Another observation that further plagues the directive, and did so well to qualify the Ministrys action as an ouster of the local Government Areas, is the conviction by Nigerians of goodwill that Section 7 (5) of the 1999 constitution vests the registration of all births, death and marriages solely rests on the local Governments area in Nigeria and not on the federal Government. Again, aside from the illegality inherent in the ministrys decision to single-handedly exercise the right to grant licences to couples, churches, and mosque and public places of worship, the consequence of the emerging strategy that places such responsibility on the ministry can only be described as cumbersome. There is also a related factor. It could be recalled that the lingering legal battles between the ministry of interior and the local government Areas over the right to conduct celebrate, register marriages and issues marriage certificates is all based on the current policy of the ministry of interior. Most local government Areas have rightly insisted that the statutory powers to register marriage are being usurped by the federal Government through this new policy of the ministry of interior. This, in my opinion is a clear indication that the current policy by the ministry is very unpopular and will continue to cause disaffection, mutual mistrust between the Ministry of interior and the people of Nigeria. And if allowed to stand, it can only but amount to an unjust code that is out of harmony with moral laws. Like every other well meaning Nigerian, i believe and still believe that Nigeria is practicing a presidential democracy that promotes justice for the common good of Nigeria. Hence, it will be rewarding if the Federal Government unlearn the attitude of making decisions for pecuniary reasons that places extra financial burden on couples, churches and places of worship in Nigeria and imbibe habits that will enhance the life chances of the people. Jerome-Mario Utomi ( [email protected] ), writes from Lagos, Nigeria Occidental Petroleums (NYSE:OXY) management has been pummeled since the deal with Anadarko Petroleum was announced last spring. Investors and stock analysts alike decried the purchase as being a value destroyer, lambasting OXYs leadership in the process. Of course, over the short run, theyve been right. OXYs stock fell from the upper $60s to the middle $30s as the deal closed. The magnitude of the deal, the early potential for a fight with Chevron (NYSE:CVX) and the surprise $10 billion buy-in from Warren Buffett to save the day all served to enhance the markets interest in this tie-up between the two Permian oil giants. Given the stakes, it came as no surprise to savvy market watchers when Carl Icahn entered the fray, with a plan to replace OXYs board with his own slate of directors. With a billion dollars of his own at stake, and his position under water, Mr. Icahn opined loudly against the deal. Buffett figuratively took her to the cleaners, Icahn said in a letter to shareholders. The Buffett deal was like taking candy from a baby and amazingly she even thanked him publicly for it! But you cant blame Warren, if Hollub was arrogant enough to negotiate a deal with Buffett of this magnitude despite her admittedly limited experience in M&A and the Board was misguided enough to rubber stamp it, then one might say in Warrens defense that it was almost his fiduciary duty to Berkshire Hathaway to accept it, Icahn added. It was a fairly safe bet that going into the annual meeting, typically in May, that current management would be seriously under the gun, if nothing changed. Momentum was clearly on Icahn's side, and the market wasn't doing OXY any favors as its stock has swooned over the past six months as previously noted. The smart money was betting for a clean sweep come May of 2020. Then on January 2nd, the oilfield worm turned, and things changed. Carl Icahn may have had to reach for the Maalox, as a central theme of his "the board was unqualified" spiel had just had a gaping hole poked in it. What had looked like a walk-over for him on the 1st, became a cage-fight on the 2nd. Andrew Gould joins OXYs board People (investors primarily) have been throwing a lot of potshots at Vicki Hollub, OXY's CEO, and architect of the Anadarko deal. They (Carl Icahn primarily) have also been throwing rocks at OXY's board, proposing a bunch of his guys and John Hofmeister (Former President of Shell NYSE: RDS.A) I haven't done a deep dive on the entire board, but its Chairman Eugene Batchelder has a pretty good oilfield pedigree. Most people think ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is a model of what the modern Super Major oil company should be and Batchelder was its Chief of Finance in 2012. In that role he gets some credit in building that company up to that point. Related: China Finds Oil In Asias Deepest Onshore Well The potshots at Ms. Hollub are just silly in my view and are driven by investor frustration at the stock action since the deal was announced. Investors are entitled to this frustration as it's been their treasure diminishing. That doesn't make them right. Vicki Hollub is absolutely the right person to integrate these companies. No one knows the Permian basin the way she does. She's worked in the Permian for much of her 30+ year career, in various roles from Drilling Engineer to Area VP for OXY. Suggestions that she's in over her head are just ludicrous, but that's the world we live in these days. Ive written on the OXY/APC deal previously in this publication. You might have a glance at this earlier article (What The Market Is Overlooking In The Occidental Deal) for insight as to my rationale for lining up so strongly behind this deal. Batchelder has been in lock-step with Ms. Hollub on the Anadarko deal, so we have to presume she has his confidence. A point worth making is that OXY and COP are often compared as regards low risk assets. One can only suspect that Batchelder's views have played a role here. Particularly with OXY's determination to acquire top-quality assets in America's most prolific oil and gas basin. I expect the addition of Andrew Gould was driven by Batchelder to bring an experienced, and well-known voice to the OXY board. Andrew Gould was a frequent guest on money shows during his time as Schlumberger's (NYSE: SLB) Chairman and CEO, and oversaw a period of intense growth for SLB. He has name recognition that no one else on the board will have, including Icahns pick-John Hofmeister. Among other things, I can see Gould resuming his advocacy on the money shows, joining Vicki Hollub. I think Gould's arrival is a good move that will serve to defuse Icahns pleas to the shareholders in May. Batchelder comments on Gould's arrival: Andrew brings a valuable perspective to the board through his extensive experience as a chief executive in the oil and gas industry, said Gene Batchelder, Occidentals chairman of the board. Throughout his long career, he drove significant value creation while managing a global business. Andrews knowledge and decades of operational and financial leadership in the industry will benefit the board and add valuable insight as Occidental continues to focus on generating returns for shareholders. In my estimation, most analysts given a choice of Gould or Hofmeister would take Gould. Why? Andrew Gould drove Schlumberger's drive to become the preeminent provider of oilfield services during his thirty-plus year tenure with SLB. He knows what oil companies need as they go forward from this experience. As non-Executive Chairman of BG Group he also played a key role in Shell's acquisition in 2016. Gould punches all the tickets, and he's a money-guy as Batchelder notes in the quote above. Worth noting as well, Gould sits on the board of Saudi Aramco (a little company that you may have heard of) and BJ Services, the privately held spin-off from Baker Hughes (NYSE:BKR ) during the Halliburton run at Baker Hughes in 2016. In my view, Gould brings unassailable stature to OXY's board and should dispel Icahn's concerns about oversight and governance. Will Icahn admit this and stand down? Never, but at the end of the day Gould will carry the day for present management and board membership. Analyst upgrades At least a couple of analysts see daylight for the company going forward. On January 8, Mizuho Securities proclaimed that "the worst is over for Occidental , " and set a price target of $58 citing "sustainable dividend growth through 2022." Related: 800,000 Bpd Offline After Haftar Affiliates Halt Exports Just the other day, Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) set a price target of $59, and called the stock a top pick for 2020. The analyst went on to say he "sees a clear path for the stock to re-rate higher through debt reduction, synergy realization and operational improvements." Its an oilfield maxim. Any time you can pick up choice assets that are being under-managed, and then fix these problems, you jump all over it, OXY did. It is with no small measure of satisfaction that we note these highly paid analysts coming to the same conclusion we did-6-months prior. Your takeaway If it were not OXY's dividend history and often stated commitment to maintaining the divvy, I might be concerned given the pullback in growth and capex for 2020. The fact that management has repeatedly committed to the dividend also gives me some comfort. Cedric Burgher, OXYs CFO We have established a capital budget for 2020 that we expect will fully optimize free cash flow and position us to grow production in a capital-efficient manner while maintaining the safety of our dividend. Vicki Hollub, OXYs CEO The substantial free cash flow we will generate in higher price environments, combined with our ability to pay a sector-leading dividend throughout lower commodity price environments, is unmatched. Q-3 CC So, we've established the company has some challenges ahead of it. Which oil and gas company doesn't these days? The last five years have been an awakening for this business. The good news is WTI pricing is and has been well above $55 for most of last year and seems to be building strength for a variety of reasons as the New Year begins. It's early days yet, but the trends for oil currently, including the massive inventory draw this week, are supportive. As previously stated, I believe OXY has answered Icahn's challenge to the board, from a quality perspective. As the company continues delevering and executing on the synergies forecast, the most current it announced just last week, shareholders should be rewarded with a return to growth for the stock. By David Messler for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The Charleston Area Chamber of Commerce is busy preparing for the 2020 Annual Dinner, to be held Saturday, Jan. 25th, in Eastern Illinois Universitys Grand Ballroom from 5-7:30 p.m. This is a particularly exciting year, as the Chamber is celebrating its 100-year anniversary! The Grand Ballroom will be full of various artifacts reflecting the history of the Chamber and the City of Charleston over the past 100 years. Guests at the Annual Dinner will be able to view photos from our community from the past 100 years, vintage brochures, Chamber calling cards, and so much more! The celebration will include a cocktail hour with live music, sponsored by Lifetime Eye Care, from local band, Chat Noir. After the cocktail hour, the Small Business of the Year, sponsored by Henigman Oil Co., Citizen of the Year, sponsored by Machinery Management Service Inc., and Diplomat of the Year, sponsored by Clarence Miller Insurance, will be honored. Created to recognize and honor businesses who have demonstrated the best practices of entrepreneurship, professional excellence, and community service, this years Small Business of the Year Award will be given to Home Again Consignment Shop. This years Citizen of the Award will be presented to Doctor Doug Bock. Doctor Bock is involved in the Rotary Club of Charleston, where he serves as a Rotary District Governor, serves on the Board of Doctors of CCAR Industries, is actively involved in Immanuel Lutheran Church, and served on the Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center Foundation for 24 years. The Diplomat of the Year recipient remains a surprise until the Dinner, but the recipient will also be honored at during the awards ceremony. After the Dinner, we welcome all in attendance to join us at Ikes for the after-party. There will be a cash bar, live music from JT Construction, dancing, and lots of fun! Tickets for this annual event are now available on the Chamber website! Sponsorships for the evening are still available as well, and we are accepting donations of a $20 bottle of red or white wine or liquor for our wine pull. For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit www.charlestonchamber.com or call 217-345-7041. Jessica Meadows is president and CEO for the Charleston Area Chamber of Commerce. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Trisha Krishnan is undoubtedly one of the busiest actresses in the South film industry. Lately, the 36-year-old has been filming for quite a few projects simultaneously. That's not all! Trisha is also excited to make her comeback in Malayalam cinema with Mohanlal starrer Ram. Directed by Jeethu Joseph, its Trisha's first outing with the Malayalam superstar. Coming to her Tamil releases, the actress will next be seen in political thriller Paramapadham Vilayattu which is slated to hit the theatres on January 31. She will also be seen in Garjanai, Raangi, and Sugar this year. With so many films lined-up for releases, 2020 definitely seems to be a crucial year for Trisha professionally. But we are sure you'll want to know what's happening in her personal life too. Is marriage on the cards for the beautiful lady? Has Trisha finally found that special someone? Well, not yet. In fact, she hasn't given a thought on getting hitched just yet. However, the gorgeous actress certainly knows where she wants to get married. Yesterday, the Kodi heroine asked her fans to shoot any questions they have at her on Instagram. When someone asked her if she's not interested in marriage, Trisha replied, "Not too much I think." The actress added a laughing emoticon at the end so it's safe to assume that she didn't mean it quite literally. A fan also asked her what's the craziest thing on her bucket list and to this, the model-turned-actress replied, "Getting married in Vegas." Well, in that case, we hope this southern beauty does get married in Las Vegas. After all, a bucket list is supposed to be fulfilled, right? Anyway, currently, Trisha is busy shooting for Ram wherein she plays the role of a doctor. The film went on floors on January 5 and is expected to release this year during Onam. ALSO READ: Trisha, Shruti Haasan & Other Kollywood Celebs Grace 66th Filmfare Awards South 2019! ALSO READ: Trisha About '96': 'Jaanu' Has Created Magic; The Love I've Received For 'Jaanu' Is Overwhelming! A teenage girl suffered horrific burns to her face when her father doused her in petrol and set her on fire after she stopped him beating her mother in Ukraine. Anna Krytska, 16, grabbed her father's arm after he came home drunk and tried to hit his wife Natalia, and shouted at him: 'You are not going to hurt her any more!' Her furious 38-year-old father, who has not been named, doused his daughter's face in petrol and then set it alight before callously sneering: 'May this bitch burn, I don't care.' Anna's brother heard her screams and bundled her out into the snow as the flames engulfed their home. Anna Krytska, 16, recovering in hospital after she was doused in petrol and set alight by her father when she tried to stop him beating up her mother A photo of Anna before the attack that has left her with severe burns on her face and hands She was rushed to hospital and treated for severe burns in an intensive care unit, but it is feared she will be scarred for life after the horrific attack in the city of Chernivtsi, in the west of the country. Her mother Natalia sobbed as she described the attack to a local TV news outlet. She said: 'He was going to beat me up but Anna grabbed his arm and shouted, "You are not going to hurt her anymore!" 'He pushed her aside and ran out of the house. 'We thought he went for a walk to let off steam but several seconds later he returned.' Anna's mother Natalia sobbed as she described the horrific attack on Ukrainian TV Anna being visited by her brother in hospital after she was treated for severe facial burns Natalia said her husband doused the whole room with petrol before throwing it in Anna's face and then on to the burning hot stove. Natalia said: 'The petrol exploded when it touched the stove and the fire immediately spread to Anna and the room. 'Her face was engulfed with flame. She tried to beat it out with her hands.' Anna's elder brother ran in after hearing his sister's screams and dragged her outside. The brother said: 'I dragged her out of the burning house and threw her on the snow. I started covering her with snow to put the fire out. 'Our father was standing beside and watching. I shouted to him, "Help me!", and he said "may this bitch burn, I don't care!"' Neighbours called the emergency services but Anna was forced to walk two miles to the ambulance because it couldn't get down the flooded lane that leads to her house. She was taken into intensive care and treated for burns to her face, neck, airways and hands. Igor Semenyuk, the head of the Chernivtsi Emergency Hospital, said: 'Parts of the damaged tissues should be removed from the girl's face and hands as burns are too deep and epidermis will not recover.' Anna's brother surveying the aftermath of the blaze that destroyed the family home Local charities and volunteers are helping the family to pay medical bills and collecting funds to buy a new house for them as their home was completely destroyed Doctors said she will need several plastic surgery operations to try and repair the damage. Her heartbroken mother added: 'I blame myself for what happened. I wish I could trade places with my daughter.' Local charity and volunteers are helping the family to pay medical bills and collecting funds to buy a new house for them. Police launched a criminal case for attempted murder against the father, who was arrested and taken into custody. Police spokesman Demyan Golyanskiy said: 'The suspect intended to kill all his family in the blaze. 'He has been charged with attempted murder and placed into custody for a two-month pre-trial period. 'He faces a life sentence if found guilty.' Anna is receiving counselling and will be in hospital for at least another month. Jonathan Ananda By Express News Service JonathanNEW DELHI: Telecom majors Vodafone Idea (VIL) and Bharti Airtel on Monday made a last-ditch attempt to gain some relief from the Supreme Court, filing a joint modification application seeking more time to pay their statutory AGR dues. Aggregating to over Rs 1.47 lakh crore, the SC had directed telecom service providers to pay the pending amount to the government by January 23. The development comes just days after the apex court dismissed petitions from Airtel, VIL and Tata Teleservices to review its October 2019 decision. Adjusted gross revenue (AGR) is the basis on which levies like licence fees and spectrum usage charges (SUC) are calculated and the SC had ruled last year this should include proceeds from the licence-holders non-telecom businesses too. ALSO READ: Airtel has liquidity, Vodafone to face challenge on AGR, says Report The decision impacts over 15 telecom firms, both current and defunct, but those with the highest liabilities are VIL, Airtel and Tata Teleservices who face bills for Rs 53,038 crore, Rs 35,586 crore and Rs 13,823 crore respectively. While VIL and Bharti Airtel did not comment, advocate Shally Bhasin from Agarwal Law Associates representing one of the companies confirmed the move. A modification application has been filed we will mention the matter before the bench on Tuesday, Bhasin told TNIE. In their plea, the companies have sought permission from the SC to negotiate with the Centres Department of Telecom (DoT) to tweak the dues payment schedule. This will give the firms more time to pay their liabilities and the government more leeway to extend relief in the form of an instalment-based payment schedule. ALSO READ: Airtel announces new prepaid plan with Rs 2 lakh built-in insurance cover It will also help VIL stay operational. According to analysts, while Airtel has sufficient liquidity to meet the cash outgo even without relief, VIL will find it a very difficult proposition. ... VIL remains most concerning due to insufficient cash balance and cash flows, and a lack of borrowing capacity to fund these dues, said JM Financial analysts in a note last week. Motilal Oswal Financial Services agrees, noting that even without factoring in the AGR liability, VIL is in trouble. The company has no source of cash to pay the liabilities and was entirely dependent on payment relief. It has cash merely to continue operations for the next 2-3 quarters, it said. The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed once again to take up the Obama-era abortion/contraceptive mandate in a case that will determine if a Trump administration rule granting religious exceptions to the mandate was proper. Lower courts ruled against the Trump administration, and the administration appealed to the high court. At issue are rules finalized by the Trump Department of Health and Human Services in 2018 that exempted employers who have a religious or moral objection to contraceptives and certain abortion-inducing drugs from being forced to cover them within Obamacare. The new rules did not apply to publicly traded companies. The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, required the coverage of preventive care, which Obamas HHS interpreted as covering any Food and Drug Administration-approved contraceptive and sterilization procedure including those such as Plan B, which can work after fertilization, and ella, which can work after implantation. Pro-life groups consider the latter two drugs abortifacients. Pennsylvania and California filed suit in separate circuits against the Trump rules in federal court and won. The Supreme Court will hear appeals from the Pennsylvania case, Trump v. Pennsylvania, and from a separate case, Little Sisters of the Poor v. Pennsylvania. The two cases will be consolidated. The Little Sisters of the Poor, an institute of Catholic nuns who serve the elderly poor, previously won in a 2016 Supreme Court decision, when the justices unanimously voided lower court rulings and returned the cases to those circuits. The Supreme Court justices, though, did not rule on the merits of the case. The Little Sisters of the Poor believed they had won an exemption when the Trump administration issued its new rules. But Pennsylvania then filed suit. It is disappointing to think that as we enter a new decade we must still defend our ministry in court, said Mother Loraine Marie Maguire of the Little Sisters of the Poor. We are grateful the Supreme Court has decided to weigh in, and hopeful that the Justices will reinforce their previous decision and allow us to focus on our lifelong work of serving the elderly poor once and for all. The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty is representing the Little Sisters. Pennsylvania needs to give it a rest, said Mark Rienzi, president of Becket. Why is Pennsylvania still trying to fight tired and unnecessary culture wars that were settled years ago? There are plenty of ways to provide people with contraceptives without forcing Catholic nuns to participate. Its too bad that the Supreme Court is being forced by Pennsylvania to deal with this issue again, but at least the Court can now bring this litigation to a permanent end. Related: Trump HHS Issues Rule Ending Obama-Era Abortion Pill Mandate 9th Circuit Blocks Trumps Religious Exemption to Abortion/Contraceptive Mandate Photo courtesy: Pixabay Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel. Fianna Fail have set out their plans to solve the current health crisis if they are elected to government. The strategy includes adding five million home-help hours, doubling the National Treatment Purchase Fund, adding 2,600 more hospital beds and hiring an extra 4,000 nursing staff over five years. Stephen Donnelly, the partys health spokesman and a former management consultant in the health sector, called the current state of the HSE dysfunctional and failing. Mr Donnelly pointed to overlap in management structures for rising costs and said moving to a more regional-based structure under the Slaintecare model would go towards remedying the issue. The party is in favour of moving to a universal healthcare system and says that although there will always be private healthcare, they want to phase out private healthcare in public hospitals. Theres two things weve got to do, of the 11 billion euro the Department of Finance are saying is available over the next Dail term, were allocating approximately two billion of that to health, he said on Monday. Here it is! @fiannafailparty Health Manifesto - our exact strategy to fix the Health Service. Highlights include: An extra 5 million home help hours. Double the NTPF fund to cut waiting times for patients. 2,600 more hospital beds. Hire extra 4,000 nursing staff over 5 yrs https://t.co/BumqxeKPoN Stephen Donnelly (@DonnellyStephen) January 20, 2020 We are being very, very careful and prudent to make sure that the commitments that we make are costed, and they can actually be provided for. So, yes, spending has to go up. Even if our healthcare system was working really well, we have a huge demographic challenge which is were getting older, as a nation, and as we get older, healthcare costs simply go up. The other thing we have to do is make sure that the money were already spending is spent in the right ways. At the moment, theres very poor understanding of how the money is spent in the system. So while this happened, the nurses and midwives went on strike, the ambulance drivers went on strike, the hospital support staff went on strike, the doctors have balloted to go on strike. Nothing like that has ever happened before and its time to turn that around. Mr Donnelly added: Before I ran for politics I was involved in fixing healthcare systems in other countries. One of the first things you would do if youre looking at a system with multiple hospitals, is youd say, what is the cost per night per hospital? When I submitted that question to Minister (Simon) Harris, he said: No we dont collect the data in that form. So weve have to start bringing in financial discipline to say, were spending a vast amount of money, already 18.1 billion euro this year, how are we spending it? On the recruitment and rentention crisis facing the HSE, which staff and unions say is the cause of low morale within the organisation, Mr Donnelly says Ireland must attract those who have left to come home. We will have the resources, we will deal with pay inequality, we will deal with the HR issues, please come home and work with us to make this a great place to beStephen Donnelly The reality is, the HSE does not have a good reputation in terms of hiring, he said. Weve got to hold on to the people we have. Weve also got to reach out around the world to Australia, to New Zealand, to America, to England, to Canada, to our amazing doctors, nurses, midwives, allied health professionals, and say, We need you to come home. We will have the resources, we will deal with pay inequality, we will deal with the HR issues, please come home and work with us to make this a great place to be. The reality is, over the last few years, the very opposite of that has been happening. The party says they will hire 800 to 1,000 consultants, but would not sign up to the recommendations set down Dr Donal de Buitleir, who chaired an expert group examining the removal of private practice from public hospitals one of the key elements of the proposed Slaintecare reforms. Dr de Buitleir said consultants should only see public patients in public hospitals. Mr Donnelly added that the consultants will be full-time, public sector consultants, and whatever limitations on private practice that may be attached will be negotiated with the consultants. An "atmosphere of fear" is being created by both the ruling and opposition parties over the new citizenship law, West Bengal BJP vice president Chandra Bose said on Monday, and urged the Centre to grant citizenship even to Muslims under the amended citizensip act. He also said the government should issue a written clarification on the issue. "An atmosphere of fear is being created on the issue of citizenship. This applies to both the ruling party and the opposition parties. READ: Madhya Pradesh: FIR Registered Against Pro-CAA Protesters For Manhandling Offcials "Just because it (the law) has been passed by Parliament, it can't be used to bulldoze people by ignoring the protests. The same applies to opposition parties which are deliberately misleading the masses," He told PTI. Bose, a grandnephew of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have categorically noted the Citizenship (Amendment) Act is not based on religion. However, statements made by some other leaders are creating confusion. "In order to deal with this, I think that this clause should be included (in the new law) that the CAA is not based on religion....and Muslims should also be included in it," he said. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act aims to provide Indian citizenship to Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis who entered India on or before December 31, 2014 from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, having fled religious persecution in their countries. "Now what will happens to the Muslims who had come to this country before that date? There is a confusion. The Centre must take steps to remove that confusion," Bose said. A few state BJP leaders PTI approached declined to comment on Bose's statements. Bose had pitched for the inclusion of Muslims in the CAA earlier also. "If CAA, 2019 is not related to any religion why are we stating Hindu, Sikh, Buddhists, Christians, Parsis and Jains only! Why not include Muslims as well? Lets be transparent," he had tweeted last month. "Don't equate India or compare it with any other nation - as it's a nation Open to all religions and communities," he had said in another tweet. West Bengal has been witnessing relentless protests over the CAA, a pan-India NRC and the updation of the National Population Register, with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee leading the charge against the government on these livewire issues. The protests, though initially very violent, have acquired a somewhat milder tone but are continuing. Scuffles have been reported from several campuses including the prestigious Jadavpur University and Visva Bharati. Hollywood veteran Robert De Niro, who was given the Life Achievement Award at SAG awards, took his time on the stage to appeal to the voters to look for candidates who support unions. The 76-year-old actor said the support from SAG meant a lot to him, especially "these days, when there's so much hostility towards unions". "Political leaders who support unions are more likely to support Affordable Care Act, equitable taxes, humane immigration regulations, a safe environment, a diverse citizenry, reproductive rights, sensible gun control, and fair wages and benefits. We owe them our support and we owe them our vote," De Niro said in his acceptance speech as reported by Deadline. The actor said since he was in a position to raise his voice against "blatant abuse of power", he would do so whenever the situation demanded. "I imagine some of you are saying, Alright, let's not get into the politics.' But we are in such a dire situation that is deeply concerning to me, and to so many others, so I had to say something. There's right and there's wrong, and there's common sense and there's abuse of power, and as a citizen I have as much right as anybodyan actor, an athlete, a musician, anybody elseto voice my opinion. "And if I have a bigger voice because of my situation, I'm going to use it whenever I see a blatant abuse of power," De Niro said as the audience rose to give him a standing ovation. The award was presented to "The Irishman" star by actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who called the senior actor "elemental". "It feels as if he's always been here and always will be here," DiCaprio said. He then recalled his first experience of working with De Niro on "This Boy's Life" in 1993. "To share scenes with an artist of his magnitude was monumental. It was a life-changing experience," DiCaprio said. He also paid tribute to the partnership between De Niro and director Martin Scorsese. "... Inarguably the greatest partnership in cinema history. They have single-handedly defined and elevated an entire genre," the 45-year-old actor said. In a first, the trio of Scorsese, De Niro and DiCaprio will be working in the director's next "Killers of the Flower Moon". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BEIJING, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- China's central bank on Sunday launched a new system to better disclose credit records of both individuals and enterprises. The new system will provide more details of the credit status in a better format, such as co-borrowing records and loan repayment records, according to the People's Bank of China (PBOC). The system update, reflecting recent developments in financial technologies, came in response to increased public demand for more effective credit information and service improvement, said the PBOC. Other details to be added to the individual's credit report include employment status, nationality and credit agreement information. For enterprises, inquirers will obtain further information like revolving overdraft and late payments. The new system has also intensified the management and protection of user identity and information transmission to ensure information security, said the PBOC. China first launched its credit record system in 2006. By the end of 2019, the system had kept records for more than 1 billion individuals and 28.34 million enterprises and organizations. Some 2.5 billion inquiries have been conducted with the system so far, according to the central bank. Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State and his Plateau State counterpart, Simon Lalong, have lauded the Supreme Court judgements that affirmed their elections. The two governors, who spoke with journalists after the judgements on Monday in Abuja, said the apex court had proved that the judiciary was the last hope of the common men. Mr Mohammed said the court verdict had confirmed his mandate and that it was now time to concentrate on quality governance. I want to appreciate the people of Bauchi State who have voted for me across party lines. I will make sure I work with them without discrimination. I will make sure I give them good governance and ensure nobody is excluded. I am extending hands of fellowship to the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mohammed Abubakar. He should come and join hands with me so that we can continue from where he stopped, Mr Mohammed said. Also reacting, Mr Lalong said the judgement had rekindled his confidence in the judiciary as the last hope of the common man. He thanked God that the litigation had finally ended at the Supreme Court, freeing him to fully concentrate on serving the Plateau people. READ ALSO: I thank the good people of Plateau who voted for me. Today, their mandate is validated. I will continue to serve them with all my strength and energy, Mr Lalong said. Gov. Simon Lalong of Plateau State. [PHOTO CREDIT: Official Twitter handle of Gov. Lalong] He appealed to the people of the state to quickly put the protracted litigation behind and unite toward building a prosperous state. The election has finished; litigation is over and it is now time to serve the people. For me, I am going to embrace the opponent, especially our father, Senator Jerry Useni, who brought us through this journey. I know he is not tired. We will make sure we tap from his experience so as to build a state we shall all be happy to call our own. (NAN) A resort in drought-stricken southern Queensland has donated its 96-megalitre water allowance to local charities and irrigators, with the announcement coming hours after Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she was considering cancelling its water extraction licence. Joyful View Garden Real Estate Development Resort Co - known as Cherrabah Resort - in Elbow Valley also committed to not taking any water from an underground aquifer during the drought. Cherrabah Resort, 140 kilometres south-west of Brisbane. Credit:Must Do Brisbane "The government understands that the resort operator has committed to not start taking water for bottling during drought," Acting Natural Resources Minister Mark Ryan said in a statement. "Theyve also offered their allocation to local charities and local irrigators. Ahead of the special session of the State Assembly for setting up three capitals, Tourism Minister MS Rao said that decentralisation is important and that TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu has been staging agitations only for political gains. "The Chief Minister (Jagan Mohan Reddy) is going to develop all the regions in the state in a uniform way; all 13 districts and 3 regions are important to us. We want to de-centralise development. N Chandrababu Naidu is staging agitations only for political gains," Rao said. Chief Whip Gadikota S Reddy said, "I am in favour of recommendations of the Boston Consulting Group and Sivaraman Committee. Five crore people are waiting to see if the committee's recommendations will get approved or not." Terming decentralisation of the State's capital as "very important", YSRCP MLA AR Reddy alleged that Naidu did not fulfil any promises he had made when he was the Chief Minister. In the wake of 'Chalo Assembly' call by Amaravati Parirakahana Samiti and political parties, the police have detained several TDP leaders and put them under house arrest. Police force is also deployed at Naidu's residence. Former minister Prattipati Pullarao was put under house arrest in Chilakaluri, while TDP leader K Ravi Kumar, former MLAs Ramana Murty and Venkataramana were put under house arrest in Srikakulam. Former MLAs Kondababu and Anantalakshmi were put under house arrest in Kakinada. TDP State unit president K Kala Venkatrao has strongly condemned the house arrests of his party leaders. Public agitation cannot be stopped by police action, he said in a statement adding that the YSRCP government is acting in an undemocratic manner. Meanwhile, a heavy police force has been deployed on Prakasam barrage, ahead of the State Assembly session. The barrage is on the way from Vijayawada to Amaravati assembly. As of now, all transport on that route has been stopped, except for vehicles of ministers, MLAs, MLCs, officials and emergency services. Several protests had erupted in the state, after 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 best use. It has 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.) By Thomas J. Botzman Many decades ago, I was fortunate to work for an employer who provided tuition assistance for my graduate studies. Under Section 127 of the Internal Revenue Service Code, up to $5,250 of that amount was not taxed. That additional support was helpful in my continued education, as it covered most of my annual tuition. It was reassuring to know that I could continue my education while paying my student loans. Many others, just like me, have benefited since the exclusion was passed in 1978. In 2020, the Section 127 exclusion remains, providing up to $5,250 of untaxable aid to collegians. Unfortunately, prices have increased since 1978 to where the equivalent increase in the consumer price index would result in an exclusion of about $21,600. U.S. House Bill 4849, co-sponsored by Reps. Danny K. Davis, D-Il., and Jason Smith, R-Mo., would more than double the tax-free amount allowed by statute to $11,500. This bipartisan legislation is supportive of students and will reduce the need for student loans. Loans undertaken by parents in support of their childrens college education would not be included. In addition, a new piece of legislation is proposing to expand the use of employer-provided educational assistance. The current statute limits use to tuition only for current employees working toward a college degree. The updated version would also permit student loan repayment assistance. Under the proposed legislation, an employer could provide a tax-free benefit to pay more than $30,000 in student debt over three years, effectively and quickly eliminating student debt for the vast majority of graduates. More than 200 legislators in the U.S. House have attached their names to House Resolution 1043, bipartisan legislation introduced by Davis and Rep. Scott Peters, D-Calif. They have been joined in the U.S. Senate with legislation sponsored by Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and John Thune, R-S.D. With 45 co-sponsors, Senate Bill 460 has strong bipartisan support. The Coalition to Preserve Employer Provided Education Assistance, comprised of business, education and labor groups, believes these pieces of legislation would be an important tool for addressing tuition costs and student debt, furthering higher education, allowing employers to attract the best employees, and building an educated workforce to continue to position the U.S. economy to compete globally. While employers would not be required to do so, they could choose to provide a combination of tuition and debt relief assistance to employees. Enhanced employer-provided educational assistance especially if it is expanded to include repayment of student loans is a solid way to offer support for every employee who seeks to continue their undergraduate or graduate degrees. After all, our future nurses, teachers, community leaders, business colleagues and more are looking forward toward a brighter future. Support of bipartisan, proactive legislation will do just that for everyone. Thomas J. Botzman is president of Misericordia University in Dallas, Pa. As many as 26 state representatives attended a preparatory meeting organised by the Union Health Ministry on Monday for the 10th round of National Deworming Day which is scheduled to be held on February 10. The National Deworming Day is implemented by the Ministry of Health to combat public health risk posed by intestinal worms in children and adolescents up to the age of 19. "The meeting was attended by 26 state nodal officers and representatives from WHO-India, Women and Child Development Ministry, HRD Ministry and representatives from the National Centre for Disease Control and National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme," a government official said. The meeting was organised with support from Evidence Action -- a technical assistance partner. Preschool and school-based deworming programs are globally recognized as a "development best buy", the official said. Deworming with the safe and beneficial albendazole tablet is an effective solution to controlling worm infections. India has the highest burden of worm infections in the world. According to WHO's 2014 report, over 22 crores of Indian children aged 1-14 years are at risk, the official said. He also said that intestinal worm infections can act as a deterrent to a child's growth and development, and can adversely impact performance in school, and livelihood potential later in life. Dr Manohar Agnani, Joint Secretary, Reproductive Child Health, in the health ministry said National Deworming Day is a cost-effective, evidence-based intervention and a successful example of inter-sectoral planning and coordination. He said that for India to achieve the WHO recommendation of treating 75 per cent of the population to eliminate morbidity due to from soil-transmitted helminthiases, there is a need to ensure effective target setting that is aligned with census targets. "To enhance the programme's reach and impact, all states must, engage with district administration and facilitate cross-learning," he said. Dr Ajay Khera from the Ministry of Health congratulated the participants for reaching 25.5 crore children and adolescents in the last round of National Deworming Day. He spoke about critical programme interventions of the National Deworming Day, specifically effective drug supply chain management, program convergence and media management and engagement for the programme. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Nearly a year after a shooting that injured one person in Lancaster, one of the suspects has been taken into custody. Raquee McNeil, 22, was one of two people charged in connection with the Feb. 19 shooting, which Lancaster police said Monday occurred during a drug deal. He was arraigned Jan. 10 on an outstanding warrant after he had been arrested in West Virginia and extradited back to Lancaster County to face charges of aggravated assault, criminal conspiracy and robbery. Police say the 20-year-old East Lampeter Township man who was shot in the incident met with McNeil and 40-year-old Chappelle Williams for a drug deal in a car parked on the 800 block of East Chestnut Street. During the deal, police say Williams pulled out a handgun and fired, grazing the 20-year-olds leg. They fought over the handgun, and Williams fired again, shooting the 20-year-old in the chest, police indicated. When police got to the scene of the shooting, they could not find a victim, but 10 minutes later, got a call from the hospital saying the 20-year-old man had been brought there by a private vehicle. Nearly a year later, he is still recovering from his injuries but is expected to survive. Following an investigation, police issued warrants for Williams and McNeil. Williams was taken into custody Feb. 25 on the same charges as McNeil. After his extradition and arraignment this month, McNeil was committed to Lancaster County Prison in lieu of $1 million bail. Thanks for visiting PennLive. Quality local journalism has never been more important. We need your support. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work. The First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei-Owusu, has challenged Japanese automobile firms operating in Ghana to invest in the training of Ghanaian mechanics in order to enable them acquire the technical know-how to repair vehicles from Japan when they break down. He noted that the Ghanaian market abounds with several Japanese automobiles however, these vehicles become obsolete when it breaks down since the local mechanic is unable to repair or fix it. Speaking at Parliament House during a courtesy call on him by a four-member delegation from the Japan-Ghana Parliamentary Friendship Association in Accra on Monday, he said companies in Japan should invest in training mechanics. Vehicles are more popular when mechanics can repair them and it can be used for a long time. Japanese automobile brands such as Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Isuzu, Suzuki have been in the Ghanaian market for decades hence the call for the transfer of skills. Mr.Osei-Owusu, also commended Toyota Ghana for plans to set up an assembly plant in the country which is expected to be ready by August this year. The Leader of the delegation, Hon. Manabu Sakai told the Deputy Speaker and his entourage made up of the Majority Leader, Osei-Kyei Mensah-Bonsu and the Chairman of the Ghana-Japan Parliamentary Friendship Association, Seth Acheampong among others that some Japanese businesses which are eager to invest in Ghana are awaiting the approval of a JETRO office. The Japanese government has expressed interest in establishing a Japanese External Trade Organization (JETRO) office in Ghana to facilitate trade among citizens of the two countries subject to the approval of the Parliament of Ghana. The JETRO is a government-related organization that works to promote mutual trade and investment between Japan and the rest of the world. To this end, the delegation made a call on the Parliament of Ghana to expedite actions on the request when Parliament resumes sittings by the end of the month of January. On his part, Chairman of the Ghana-Japan Parliamentary Friendship Association, Seth Acheampong, indicated that it is very significant for Japan to plan to set up a JETRO office to deepen business relations between the two countries and added that the West African country remains a rising nation with regard to economic stability and growth as well as ease of doing business. The Japanese delegations visit to Ghanas Parliament was a reciprocal gesture on the back of similar visit by the Ghanaian team last year to foster cordial relationship and boost Parliament to Parliament collaboration. A Vietnamese couple use their smartphones while sitting with their dogs by the Hoan Kiem lake in Hanoi on Jan. 12, 2020. AFP-Yonhap By Kim Yoo-chul As a series of budget and affordable smartphones from Apple and Google, as well as from Chinese manufacturers will arrive this year, market leader Samsung Electronics presented its plan on where the industry is headed and how it will position itself in the already-saturated market by naming a new mobile boss, Monday. In a statement, Samsung Electronics said it had named Roh Tae-moon as the chief of its smartphone business. The 52-year-old senior Samsung executive is well-known and is expected to significantly help the firm cement Samsung Galaxy's brand awareness in the industry. But one interesting takeaway for Monday's replacement of Samsung mobile chief is Roh has been outspoken on the "fact" that there are strategic issues that need to be fine-tuned and addressed to keep the momentum of Samsung's smartphone businesses alive from a profit standpoint. "In light of the shrinking smartphone market, Samsung was hoping to continue maintaining overall shipments by focusing more on premium smartphones in strategic markets. That's because smartphone profitability, still a key business engine, would continue to be a question in the near future. Various measures to cut costs are needed," a Samsung official said by telephone. While Apple and Google are considered to be Samsung's rivals, the weak performance of Chinese smartphone vendors from Xiaomi to Huawei are also putting pressure on Samsung. That means these Chinese manufacturers will launch more budget models to save their market share, according to analysts. Data from Strategy Analytics showed Samsung's global smartphone share as of the second quarter of last year was some 23 percent, followed by China's Huawei with 17 percent. Another Samsung official said the replacement of its mobile division chief doesn't necessarily mean the sector leader will be passive in launching cheaper smartphones as Samsung's more than 20 percent global share could be supported thanks to the rising prominence of budget mobile devices. "One point is that the industry has been grappling with slowing sales over the past couple of years and this trend will continue. Largely and vastly-enhanced mid-tier smartphones which offer quite competitive designs and specifications would appeal to customers. But this is a legacy business growth model that was effective when the market was on an expansionary track. Under Roh's leadership, Samsung is expected to explore ways to convince consumers that paying about $1,000 is OK," the official added. The possible strategic shift is also in accordance with Samsung's bet on the promising fifth-generation (5G) smartphone and relevant parts market. Samsung is better positioned for these segments and expects speedy progress over Chinese competitors. While the United States has agreed with China on a "phase 1" deal in their blockbuster trade dispute, U.S. President Donald Trump was still against wider usage of Huawei-manufactured telecom services in the mainland United States due to security issues. The trade friction between the world's top two economic powerhouses is also expected to offer some fresh impetus for Samsung in upscaling its footing in the segments. On a related note, Samsung recently bought a U.S.-based 5G service consulting firm for an undisclosed amount. Years ago, Samsung was hit by battery-related issues with its earlier smartphone models; however, the setback was successfully managed mostly thanks to U.S. sales curbs on Huawei for security concerns. Roh, who previously handled Samsung's next-generation mobile from Sept. 2011 to Jul. 2014, is expected to make his international debut at the upcoming company's Unpacked event for new Galaxy products to be held in San Francisco next month. Samsung Electronics said the appointment of Roh to the position is a strategic decision given the executive's long-time commitment to develop next-generation smartphones such as the Galaxy Fold. "He will present new strategies as market competition is looming and providing new invigoration," Samsung said. In letters sent to the UN, Syria has said that terrorists are keeping civilians as human shields and preventing them from leaving writes SANA. Syria reaffirmed that it will continue carrying out its legal and constitutional duty to fight terrorism and protect Syrians from the criminal practices of armed terrorist groups. In two identical letters sent by the Foreign and Expatriates Ministry to the UN Secretary-General and the head of the Security Council on Saturday, Syria said that whenever the Syrian Arab Army makes progress in fighting terrorism, the states which sponsor terrorism always launch fervent media misdirection campaigns. The letters pointed to the suffering of civilians due to the practices of terrorist groups, which have been spreading death and destruction for nine years wherever they go, using civilians as human shields, turning hospitals and schools into military centers, and firing shells and rockets arbitrarily at residential areas. The letters said that recently, terrorists positioned in the western outskirts of Aleppo province and in other areas increased their attacks on residential areas in cities in Aleppo, Idleb, and Lattakia, claiming the lives of dozens of civilians, most of them women and children. The letters noted that the Syrian government has taken steps to provide humanitarian aid to innocent civilians in areas where terrorists are positioned, as well as working to ensure their safe exit from those areas, but terrorists continue to target civilians and prevent them from leaving so that they can keep using them as human shields. The letters said the Syrian government will spare no effort to save civilians in the areas where terrorists are present, affirming that the military operations against terrorists come as a response to the sources of their attacks against innocent civilians. 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. Police communication services in the country are expected to be bolstered as a revamped and upgraded POLNET 2.0 was commissioned on Monday by Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai at a national conference here. The new platform is armed with a robust multi-media facility and is a captive satellite-based network that provides video, audio and data connectivity across the country, especially in times of disasters when regular communication either gets jammed or crashes. "The operationalisation of POLNET 2.0 is a big achievement for the country and the DCPW is to be complimented for rendering this task. This system will work in any weather," Rai said while launching the facility at Vigyan Bhawan here. The Directorate of Coordination Police Wireless (DCPW) that operates POLNET or the police network services in the country has brought out an enhanced communication platform for police and security forces to communicate better during law and order problems and disasters, including linkup from remote border and coastal areas. The DCPW was set up in 1946 and it was placed under the Ministry of Home Affairs in 1950 with the primary mandate of coordination between state and central police and security agencies for radio communication and frequency allocation. It has been operating POLNET since 2006. The new platform is named POLNET 2.0 and for the first time it will provide video-conferencing facility to four entities sitting at different locations in the country with Internet-enabled multimedia services, a senior official said. From its control room in Delhi, it can host 40 people talking at one point of time, the official added. The new police communication platform was expected to be launched by Union home minister Amit Shah but he could not attend the event owing to some other engagements, he said. Rai, during the event, also interacted with the police chiefs of coastal and border states which have numerous remote and inaccessible locations. He heard the communication-related issues being faced by them and assured all help by the Centre. POLNET 2.0 will also have a phone calling facility for personnel of police and paramilitary forces deployed in remote areas to talk to their families. The communication facility will not only bring all disaster response and security forces like the National Disaster Response Force, state and central forces, fire units and hospitals during disasters on one platform but also enable them to share photos, videos and other logistical data on a real-time basis. The new platform will work on the robust C-band satellite network as compared to POLNET that worked in the Ku-band. It will also connect about 260 remote police stations with the CCTNS (crime and criminal tracking network and systems). The minister launched the 'national communication standards' for police forces during the event that will end on Tuesday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The deliberations also suggest that some in the presidents circle are uneasy about what Bolton might say. While some refuse to view him as a political threat and cast him as a conservative operative who wants a future in a Trump-dominated Republican Party, others predict that he could upend the presidents fourth year in office with his testimony, since he is known as a lawyer with a sharp memory for meetings and policy. LOS ANGELES, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Toyo Life Service Co. Ltd., the makers of Japan's #1 facial exfoliator Natural Aqua Gel Cure recently sold out for the second time on the Home Shopping Network (HSN) within 10 minutes! This most current airing appeared on HSN's Beauty Spy. Following this sold-out airing, customers turned to Amazon to purchase Natural Aqua Cure Gel which also sold out! To date, Natural Aqua Gel Cure maintains a 4.2 out of 5 stars and over 3,100 customer ratings on Amazon. As the #1 exfoliator in Japan, it sells 1 bottle every 4.5 seconds! It is also sold in over 22 countries worldwide. Cure's status as a cult hit and Japanese beauty product legend stems from the simple fact that Cure does what it promises: exfoliate gently and effectively, without harsh chemicals. Natural Aqua Gel Cure, is also the recent recipient of the 2019 "Brand of the Year Award" in the Health and Beauty Category at the World Branding Awards. This is the 3rd consecutive year the brand has received this prestigious award. The event was held at Kensington Palace in London, England on November 14, 2019. Koji Kamoda, CEO of Toyo Life Service International Inc. was on hand to receive the award. About Toyo Life Service International, Inc. Toyo Life Service International, Inc. is the U.S. subsidiary of Toyo Life Service Co., Ltd., a Japanese company that manufactures high end skin care products providing comfort, recovery and results with each product. Current brands include: Natural Aqua Gel Cure, Cure Water Treatment and Cure Bathtime. The company has successfully built #1 selling brands, winning countless awards in the cosmetic industry. They are sold in over 22 countries around the world. https://cureaquagel.com/ SOURCE Toyo Life Service Co. Ltd. Related Links https://cureaquagel.com By Peter Nurse Investing.com - European stock markets pushed with traders taking the opportunity offered by the U.S. holiday to consolidate recent sharp gains. Eyes are on Davos as the world political and business leaders gather to discuss the global economy at the World Economic Forum. At 04:15 ET (0915 GMT), the DAX traded 30 points, or 0.2% higher. France's CAC 40 was up 21 points, or 0.3%, while the FTSE 100 in the U.K. also dropped 21 points, or 0.3%. The pan-eurozone index, the Euro Stoxx 50 fell 15 points, or 0.4%. French telecoms and media group Iliad (PA:ILD) formally launched its previously announced plan for a 1.4 billion euros ($1.6 billion) capital increase, which will be used to finance a share buyback offer. Shares drop 1.5%. In more positive news, the French hotel group Accor (PA:ACCP) said it has launched a share buyback of up to 300 million euros ($332.6 million). This forms part of a larger plan to return EUR1 billion to shareholders over the next two years. Defence company BAe Systems (LON:BAES) announced it has agreed to buy Collins Aerospaces Military Global Positioning System and Raytheons Airborne Tactical Radios businesses for a total price of $2.2 billion. BAEs shares climbed 3.2%. The businesses are being offloaded as a condition for antitrust approval of Raytheon's merger with United Technogies. Later, the International Monetary Fund is set to present new forecasts for the global economy at 8:00 AM ET (13:00 GMT). The Fund's last update predicted gross domestic product growth to pick up to 3.5% this year from 3.2% in 2019, assumptions that were based on the avoidance of a disorderly Brexit and the lack of any further escalation in the China-U.S. trade war. Those assumptions appear - for now at least - to have been borne out. On Friday, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said the interim trade deal between Washington and Beijing will reduce - but not eliminate - uncertainty that has acted as a drag on global growth. Story continues The organization had previously estimated that global trade tensions would shave 0.8% off international economic growth. The U.S. equity markets are closed Monday to celebrate Martin Luther King Day, and this is likely to limit activity in Europe. In commodity news, the price of oil pushed to its highest levels in more than a week higher amid intensifying tensions in the Middle East, raising output and exports concerns. On Sunday, Iraq halted output at an oilfield as widespread unrest escalated. Meanwhile, in Libya, in the latest development in a long-running conflict, two large crude production bases in Libya began shutting down amid a military blockade, even as international powers agreed in Berlin not to stoke the conflict with arms sales or military interventions. At 4:15 AM ET (09:15 GMT), U.S. crude futures traded 0.4% at $58.83 and the international benchmark Brent contract rose 0.5% to $65.19. Gold futures for February delivery on New Yorks COMEX were flat at $1,560. Related Articles Japan, U.S. lead survey's corporate climate change action 'A List' Climate change pushes investors to take their temperature European shares dip as investors eye PMI data, ECB meeting WASHINGTON Among the corporate titans recognized last week by President Trump during a White House signing ceremony for his China trade deal was Sanjay Mehrotra, the chief executive of Micron Technology, whose Idaho semiconductor company is at the heart of Mr. Trumps trade war. Micron, which makes memory chips for computers and smartphones, is precisely the kind of advanced technology company that the Trump administration views as crucial to maintaining a competitive edge over China. After Micron rebuffed a 2015 takeover attempt by a Chinese state-owned company, it watched with disbelief as its innovations were stolen and copied by a Chinese competitor and its business was blocked from China. Chinas treatment of American companies like Micron fed Mr. Trumps decision to unleash a punishing trade war with the worlds second-largest economy, a fight he said would halt Beijings use of unfair practices to undermine the United States. But that two-year conflagration may wind up being more damaging to American technology companies. The initial trade deal announced last week should make operating in China easier for companies like Micron. The deal contains provisions meant to protect American technology and trade secrets and allow companies to challenge China on accusations of theft, including older cases like Microns that precede the agreement. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas said the upcoming impeachment trial of President Donald Trump could last up to eight weeks if the Senate votes to call witnesses. 'I think it's certainly possible that this trial could last one to two weeks. On the other hand, if the Senate makes the decision to go down the road of additional witnesses, that could extend it to six to eight weeks or even longer,' Cruz told Fox News' Maria Bartiromo on 'Sunday Morning Futures.' 'This week is going to be the first time in a year that the president has had the opportunity to defend himself, to lay out the facts, to lay out the law, to lay out the actual substance,' he added. Senators Mike Lee of Utah and Ted Cruz of Texas (center) arrive to the Senate chamber for impeachment proceedings Thursday. Cruz told Fox News the upcoming impeachment trial of President Donald Trump could last up to eight weeks if the Senate votes to call witnesses US President Donald Trump takes the stage at the American Farm Bureau Federation Annual Convention and Trade Show in Austin, Texas, on Sunday. Cruz says this week's start of the impeachment trial will be the first time Trump gets a chance to defend himself The Senate trial of the president got underway Thursday. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi named seven impeachment managers as prosecutors, including House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff to lead the effort, along with Judiciary Committee Chairman Nadler. In the House, Schiff and Nadler's committees handled impeachment, which Pelosi called Wednesday, 'an impeachment that would last forever.' The speaker also named the No. 5 Democrat in the House, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, as a manager. Jeffries is a member of the Judiciary Committee. As are Reps. Zoe Lofgren, Val Demings and Sylvia Garcia, named Wednesday by the speaker. She also picked Rep. Jason Crow, a Colorado Democrat, who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Democrats have called for subpoenaing four witnesses, including former Trump national security adviser John Bolton and acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney. Cruz said that if the chamber elects to call witnesses, the rules of reciprocity should apply. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff of California (front left), and House Judiciary Committee Chairman, Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York, and other House impeachment managers, walk to the Senate chamber on Capitol Hill Thursday Former National security adviser John Bolton speaks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington in September. He is one of four witnesses Democrats have called to testify at this week's impeachment trial of Donald Trump Fellow Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a Senate Judiciary Committee member, has expressed a similar view. 'If the prosecution gets a witness, the defense gets a witness. If the prosecution gets two, the defense gets two. If the prosecution gets to call John Bolton, the prosecution gets to call Hunter Biden,' Cruz said. Cruz wants equal ground in the trial, bringing up Biden, son of former Vice President Joe Biden, who Trump says should be investigated for his role on the board of a Ukrainian utility company. The president says the younger Biden and his father, who is vying for the Democratic nomination in this year's presidential race, should both be investigated for alleged corruption. Claims of such have not ever been founded or substantiated. Senators Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Roy Blunt of Missouri trailed by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and Pat Leahy, a senator from Vermont, arrive to the Senate chamber for impeachment proceedings at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday Cruz wants equal ground in the trial, bringing up Hunter Biden (pictured), son of former Vice President Joe Biden, who Trump says should be investigated for his role on the board of a Ukrainian utility company 'The Democrats are terrified about seeing a witness like Hunter Biden testify because they don't want to hear evidence of actual corruption.' Democrats, Cruz said, 'blocked all those witnesses in the House. They're not going to succeed in blocking them in the Senate,' he said referring to a closed-door impeachment process that was taken before articles of impeachment were voted on. 'If they want to go down the road of witnesses, that means the president enjoys the rights to due process, which means he can call witnesses and lay out his defense,' adds Cruz about the upcoming impeachment trial in the Senate. A spike of 50 per cent has been recorded in the number of people being caught while trying to illegally cross over to Bangladesh from India in 2018, according to a report by the Hindustan Times. The Border Security Force (BSF) in 2018 arrested 2,971 people compared to 1,800 in 2017, according to the latest data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). The majority of the people who were caught trying to illegally emigrate were women and children. Among the 2,971 people arrested in 2018 for illegally entering Bangladesh, 1,532 were men, 749 women and 690 children. The corresponding numbers were 1,477, 268 and 55 in 2017. The number of people illegally entering India from Bangladesh came down marginally to 1,118 in 2018 in comparison to 1,180 in 2017, as per the report. The data comes amid fears of people crossing over to Bangladesh after their names were not included in the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam. The final draft list, which was published last year on July 31, is said to have excluded 19 lakh people. "A definite reverse migration is happening to Bangladesh because of primarily two reasons a fear factor generated by NRC in Assam, followed by repeated statements by BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) leaders that such an exercise would be conducted all over India. Secondly, Bangladeshs economy today is in a much better position and there is uncertainty in India. Those who came here (to India) in the 1970s and 1980s have better opportunities in Bangladesh. Why would they risk being beaten up and called illegal immigrants when they can respectfully work in their country?" Subir Bhaumik, an author and Bangladesh expert, told the publication. He added that the 2019 figure may be even higher. A senior BSF official confirmed to the reverse in the trend of Indians crossing over to Bangladesh. "The number of people trying to cross over is not alarming but it has definitely increased. It will be difficult to assess how many of these people have actually tried to leave the country either on their own, as they wanted to emigrate to Bangladesh or through trafficking networks," a senior BSF official posted at a section of 4,096km-long India-Bangladesh border told the publication on condition of anonymity. Recent research suggests that ignoring sex-specific risk factors of heart disease has resulted in women having a higher risk of dying from heart failure than men. Share on Pinterest Differences between men and women may mean that the latter do not receive the right treatment for heart conditions. A review published in Nature Medicine reveals an alarming failure to successfully treat cardiometabolic disorders, such as diabetes, heart disease, and stroke, in women. The authors urge health services to consider the biological differences between men and women when treating heart disease. The review, by Prof. Eva Gerdts, of the University of Bergen, in Norway, and Prof. Vera Regitz-Zagrosek, of the Charite Universitatsmedizin Berlin, in Germany, compares the common risk factors for both sexes. Men and women have different biologies, and this results in different types of the same heart diseases. It is about time to recognize these differences. Prof. Eva Gerdts The authors summarize the results of over 18 major studies that have explored the causal factors of heart disease in each sex. The overwhelming finding was that women are more at risk of receiving the wrong treatment because health service professionals fail to spot symptoms or risk factors that are unique to women. Obesity at the heart of it Recent research has substantiated fears that the global rise in cardiometabolic disorders is linked to obesity. Meanwhile, fresh evidence suggests that obesity and associated damage to the heart occur differently in men and women. Global figures show that obesity in women is on the rise, and as Prof. Gerdts review explains, women store fat differently from men. The mechanisms behind this process combine to create an increased risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease. If we see this from a life span perspective, we can see that obesity increases with age and that this trend is greater for women than men. Obesity increases the risk of having high blood pressure by a factor of three. This, in turn, increases the risk of heart disease, explains Prof. Gerdts. The estrogen advantage The hormone estrogen works to impede metabolic syndrome by preventing connective tissue from forming in the heart. This also helps keep blood pressure stable. But the decrease in estrogen that occurs during menopause can increase the risk of arterial stiffening and subsequent disease. This helps explain an increase in hypertension among women over 60. In men, meanwhile, hypertension is more common before the age of 60. Lifestyle risks increase with age Socioeconomic status and lifestyle factors also play a role in cardiovascular risk discrepancies. The researchers highlight the fact that, around the world, women are more likely to experience low levels of education, low income, and joblessness, and that studies have associated each of these factors with diabetes and depression two major contributing factors for heart disease. Meanwhile, the adverse effects of unhealthful habits, such as smoking which is on the rise in women multiply as we age. This can lead to high blood pressure, which can cause heart failure if a person does not receive treatment. For women, the effects of risk factors such as smoking, obesity, and high blood pressure increase after menopause, says Prof. Gerdts. The Trump Administration continued its march to unravel critical environmental protections that Texans, and all Americans, count on last week when it took aim at the half-century-old National Environmental Policy Act, the first and most fundamental modern conservation law. This law, often called the Magna Carta of our environmental protections, embodies the simple, but essential, idea that federal decision-makers should look before they leap when planning or approving major infrastructure projects like pipelines, highways, bridges, reservoirs and levees. The Administrations proposal would rollback virtually every facet of the laws requirements, including eviscerating the publics right to be heard. It would completely eliminate environmental review for many types of projects, make it harder for the public to provide input, place arbitrary time limits on project reviews and severely limit the types of impacts that can be looked at. For example, the proposal expressly eliminates the requirement that the government consider a projects cumulative impacts, which could include things like pollution or land loss or other incremental but harmful changes over time. Importantly, in these times of crippling drought and flood-inducing storms, it could eliminate consideration of climate impacts. It simply does not add up to take climate and other large-scale impact assessments out of the equation for federal decision-makers. Whether its the proposed Kinder Morgan pipeline, the proposed North Houston Highway Improvement Project or plans to build a storm barrier on the Texas coast, these projects must be considered in the context of the future conditions we will be facing. This last example, known to Houstonians as the Coastal Spine, is especially instructive because input from the public through the National Environmental Policy Act has led to proposed changes in this U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project that will better satisfy the needs of coastal communities and better protect local fish and wildlife. The Coastal Spine project has grabbed headlines since its inception because the Upper Texas Coast and the Galveston Bay ecosystem are incredibly important to Texas. It is the site of major oil and gas activity, and its rich biological diversity supports fisheries and other wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico. Additionally, millions of people call this area home and rely on the upper coast for their livelihoods. With a price tag in the tens of billions of dollars, the project faces intense scrutiny. The project got underway when Hurricane Ike slammed into Galveston Bay in September 2008. The original plan to protect the Texas coast, however, did not fully evaluate long-term and cumulative impacts to the Galveston Bay system, in particular how changes in water quality and salinity would impact critical fisheries. In its initial plan, the Corps proposed a series of levees and seawalls that would have harmed birds such as piping plovers and red knots, as well as the many species of sea turtles that frequent the bay. The National Environmental Policy Act provides the means for the affected residents to provide vital input. As a result of widespread public feedback from area residents, commercial fishing interests, conservation groups and others, the Army Corps of Engineers is completely eliminating from its plan the barrier levee originally proposed along Galveston Island and the Bolivar Peninsula. Instead the Corps is investigating an engineered dune and beach system, which has the potential to better mimic a natural system. The Corps is continuing to hold open houses to keep the dialogue flowing with residents, and once they release an updated draft plan that includes the new dune feature, expected to be in fall 2020, a second public review and comment period will open. This is just one example of how the National Environmental Policy Act strengthens federal decision-making and makes it more responsive and of what could be lost through the Trump Administrations proposed shortcuts. The president and his aides have argued for their policy changes by saying too many projects spend years tied up in red tape. In fact, the vast majority of projects undergo fast-tracked environmental review or are excluded from National Environmental Policy Act process entirely. When President Nixon signed the National Environmental Policy Act into law on Jan. 1, 1970, he called it a fitting moment the first day of a new decade to reflect on the challenges facing the environment. Half a century later, the National Environmental Policy Act has done much to address these challenges to our water, wildlife, way of life and natural world. But there is still much work to do, which makes President Trumps decision at the dawn of this decade to drill into this foundational, bedrock environmental law tragically misguided. Susan Kaderka is the Director of the National Wildlife Federations South Central Region, which includes Texas. Ukraine proposes strengthening the activities of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission with additional human and financial resources. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said this at a joint press conference with OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Albania's Prime Minister and Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Edi Rama, in Kyiv on Monday, according to an Ukrinform correspondent. "We have made a formal proposal to continue the activity of this mission, not only to continue, but to add human and financial resources to make this mission even more effective than in previous years," he said. Prystaiko said that he had discussed with Rama the interaction within the SMM in Donbas and the expectation by the Ukrainian side of additional efforts of the mission. "We hope that this year we will make enough progress towards a peaceful resolution of the war in eastern Ukraine," Prystaiko said. op KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Two people are dead and at least 15 others are reported wounded after a shooting Sunday night outside a nightclub in Kansas City, according to police. Police were called about 11:30 p.m. to the 4800 block of Noland Road, where officers found "a chaotic scene" of people running, said Capt. David Jackson, a Kansas City police spokesman. Police called in help from across the city. A man and woman were found dead, Jackson said. The suspected shooter is believed to be the deceased man, he said. It appeared an armed security guard who was working at the property shot and killed the suspect, according to police. Police then received reports of more and more victims arriving at area hospitals. As of early Monday, that number was at least 15, including three people who were listed in critical condition, Jackson said. It was unclear if all 15 people suffered gunshot wounds. ADVERTISEMENT A motive was unknown as of Monday morning. The suspected shooter started firing into a line of people waiting to get inside the nearby bar, Jackson said. Police taped off the parking lot of the bar, the 9ine Ultra Lounge. Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said while the number of gunshot victims had not been confirmed, she called the total high. She said gun violence is an epidemic in Kansas City. "It just puts such a tragic end to such a wonderful day in Kansas City," Baker said hours after the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Tennessee Titans, earning them a spot at Super Bowl LIV. "I have scores, really, that are in the hospital right now having their wounds mended." A Facebook post on the club's page advertised Sunday night's "Sold Out Sundays" event, which appeared to be a celebration of the Chiefs, The Associated Press reported. Mayor Quinton Lucas said his thoughts were with the families and friends of those whose lives were lost or affected during the shooting. "Our greatest challenges remain even this morning in our community," Lucas wrote on Twitter. "Thankful security appears to have kept the situation from being even worse." Several areas were blocked off as police continued the investigation early Monday. The Independence Police Department and the Jackson County Sheriff's Office were assisting at the scene, Sheriff Darryl Forte said in a Twitter post. ADVERTISEMENT Baker called on anyone with cellphone footage that might assist detectives to call the Kansas City Police Department. "It's just hard to stand here and talk about this kind of tragedy on really one of the best days Kansas City has had in a long time," she told reporters. Police were working to notify the next of kin of the deceased. --- (c)2020 The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Mo.) Visit The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Mo.) at www.kansascity.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) A 55-year-old Indiana man had to be rescued in Yellowstone National Park after he rappelled down a deep canyon, then was unable to climb back out after he left his rope to retrieve a backpack he dropped, park officials said. Dave Christensen of Winamac was uninjured in the Jan. 6 incident, but he was cited for disorderly conduct and for illegally going off-trail in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, according to court records. He has a court hearing scheduled for Feb. 3. A call made to a phone number listed for Christensen rang unanswered on Saturday. Christensen was near the end of his 360-foot (110-meter) rope in the canyon, which is more than 1,200 feet (366 meters) deep in places, when he dropped his backpack, district park ranger Klint Powell told the Billings Gazette. He slid down the canyon wall to retrieve it and then could not climb back up. A friend who was communicating with him by radio from the top confirmed he was not injured and then called for help after about two hours, Powell said. A rescuer was lowered 800 feet (244 meters) to Christensen, and it took four hours to raise them both in the blowing snow and freezing temperatures, officials said. It was a long, slow haul to bring him back up, Powell said. The rescuer had to work their way up through really deep snow. Two student groups will be representing Guam in the Junior Achievement Asia Pacific Company of the Year competition: Pasiadot and Geftao. This island wide high school program that encourages students to create a business venture that fills a need or solves a problem in their community. Both Pasiadot and Geftao will represent JA Guam at the JA Asia Pacific Company of the Year competition in Tumon, Guam in March. This annual celebration of success allows young people from this region to demonstrate their business acumen and spirit of entrepreneurship in a competitive environment which will engage business, education and regional leaders as well as the media, said JA Guam Executive Director Beth Lizama. On behalf of the JA Guam Board of Directors, thank you to our company sponsors, students, parents, teachers, GEDA, and all our corporate donors who helped make this program successful. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. The 2019 JA Company Program concluded with an awards ceremony recognizing this years students accomplishments. The ceremony was held at the Bank of Guam Headquarters in Hagatna on Saturday. The awards presented include: Company of the Year Pasiadot, sponsored by United Airlines 2nd place Company of the Year Geftao, sponsored by Bank of Hawaii President of the Year Devin Eligio, representing Simon Sanchez High School Finance VP of the Year Jin Hee Choe, Isla I Linala, sponsored by GTA Teleguam Production VP of the Year Kiran Toh, Pasiadot, sponsored by United Airlines Marketing VP of the Year Padme Madrigal, Isla I Linala, sponsored by GTA Teleguam Best Financial Practices Pasiadot, sponsored by United Airlines Product of the Year Pasiadot, sponsored by United Airlines Best in Show Pasiadot, sponsored by United Airlines Best Annual Report Pasiadot, sponsored by United Airlines Best Commercial Pasiadot, sponsored by United Airlines Students' union leaders who were part of 'Chalo Assembly' march were detained by police here. They raised slogans against the three capitals proposal during the protest. In the wake of ''Chalo Assembly (Let's march to assembly)'' call against the state government by Amaravati Parirakahana Samiti and TDP, the police have detained several TDP leaders from across the state late night and put them under house arrest. Section 144 of CrPc, which prohibits assembly of four or more people in an area, was imposed in some parts of Vijayawada and Guntur to facilitate smooth functioning of the State Assembly proceedings and movement of public representatives today. The YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government is likely to pass a resolution for decentralisation of the state capital today. Protests had erupted in the state, after 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. The Committee 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.) Valentines Day is on its way, precisely just 25 days away as Tinder tweeted to remind people. A few hours back, the dating apps India chapter shared a tweet on their official handle and it has now sparked hilarious replies from tweeple. Netflix India too joined the fun and dished out an equally witty reply. 25 din hai Valentines Day mein... Tinder India wrote. Since being shared, it has received close to 442 likes and the numbers are only increasing. 25 din hai Valentine's Day mein... Tinder India (@Tinder_India) January 20, 2020 It didnt take long for the creative minds on Twitter to come up with hilarious posts especially memes. While some took at dig at Tinder, others wrote about how they plan to avoid the day. Many people, however, grabbed the opportunity to drop memes and show how singles may react on Valentines Day. Some people used existing meme formats to put across their thoughts. There were others who used dialogues from various Hindi films in a witty way. We have collected some such singles memes. Though not a single-status related tweet, Netflix India also joined the fun. Expectedly, they dropped an amusing reply. Bacha lena apne love life ko! Netflix India (@NetflixIndia) January 20, 2020 Its not uncommon for brands to dish out tweets which end up attracting hilarious reactions from people. A few days back, the micro-blogging site Twitter dished out a funny post which created quite a stir online. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Libyan National Oil Corporation Declares Emergency After Oil Supplies From Several Ports Suspended Sputnik News 16:10 18.01.2020(updated 16:41 18.01.2020) On 16 January, some Libyan tribal leaders and public figures called to shut down oil terminals in protest against what they describe as the UN-backed Government of National Accord's (GNA) payments for foreign military support using oil revenues. The Libyan National Oil Corporation (NOC) has declared a state of emergency after oil supplies from several ports were suspended. "NOC declares force majeure after LNA blockades oil exports from Brega, Ras Lanuf, Hariga, Zueitina and Sidra ports. This will result in a loss of crude oil production of 800,000 b/d and daily financial losses of approximately $55 million per day", the NOC announced in a post on Facebook. The statement comes after the company said earlier in the day that the possible shutdown of oil terminals would have far-reaching negative consequences for the nation's economy. Libyan media reported on 17 January that protesters had entered the oil port of Zueitina in the eastern part of the country, but the terminal had not been closed. Prior to this, Turkish special forces reportedly started arriving in Tripoli to "ensure the safety of officials of the Government of National Accord (GNA)" following Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed commitment to support the GNA by sending troops to Libya. Libya has been mired in a severe political crisis since a coup in 2011 that toppled leader Muammar Gaddafi. Two rival administrations have since then practically split the oil-rich country in two, with the Libyan National Army (LNA) controlling the east and the GNA controlling the west. The situation has escalated over the past several weeks as LNA Commander Khalifa Haftar ordered his troops to advance on the GNA-held capital of Tripoli. The LNA and the GNA, which is getting military support from Turkey, will take part in an upcoming peace conference in Berlin on 19 January. Earlier in January, Russia and Turkey called on Libya's warring parties to end hostilities in the country. In November, Ankara and the GNA signed a military cooperation agreement, triggering a backlash from the rival east-based Libyan administration, as well as Egypt, Greece, Cyprus and a host of other countries. Turkey has since been threatening to deploy troops to Libya to help the Tripoli-based government in its fight against the Libyan National Army (LNA), which backs the eastern government. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Could QMS Media Limited (ASX:QMS) be an attractive dividend share to own for the long haul? Investors are often drawn to strong companies with the idea of reinvesting the dividends. Unfortunately, it's common for investors to be enticed in by the seemingly attractive yield, and lose money when the company has to cut its dividend payments. With only a three-year payment history, and a 1.8% yield, investors probably think QMS Media is not much of a dividend stock. A low dividend might not be a bad thing, if the company is reinvesting heavily and growing its sales and profits. That said, the recent jump in the share price will make QMS Media's dividend yield look smaller, even though the company prospects could be improving. Some simple research can reduce the risk of buying QMS Media for its dividend - read on to learn more. Explore this interactive chart for our latest analysis on QMS Media! ASX:QMS Historical Dividend Yield, January 20th 2020 Payout ratios Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. As a result, we should always investigate whether a company can afford its dividend, measured as a percentage of a company's net income after tax. Looking at the data, we can see that 118% of QMS Media's profits were paid out as dividends in the last 12 months. A payout ratio above 100% is definitely an item of concern, unless there are some other circumstances that would justify it. We update our data on QMS Media every 24 hours, so you can always get our latest analysis of its financial health, here. Dividend Volatility From the perspective of an income investor who wants to earn dividends for many years, there is not much point buying a stock if its dividend is regularly cut or is not reliable. The dividend has not fluctuated much, but with a relatively short payment history, we can't be sure this is sustainable across a full market cycle. During the past three-year period, the first annual payment was AU$0.015 in 2017, compared to AU$0.022 last year. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 14% a year over that time. Story continues The dividend has been growing pretty quickly, which could be enough to get us interested even though the dividend history is relatively short. Further research may be warranted. Dividend Growth Potential While dividend payments have been relatively reliable, it would also be nice if earnings per share (EPS) were growing, as this is essential to maintaining the dividend's purchasing power over the long term. It's good to see QMS Media has been growing its earnings per share at 22% a year over the past three years. Earnings per share have been growing very rapidly, although the company is also paying out virtually all of its profit in dividends. Generally, a company that is growing rapidly while paying out a majority of its earnings, is seeing its debt burden increase. We'd be conscious of any extra risk added by this practice. Conclusion Dividend investors should always want to know if a) a company's dividends are affordable, b) if there is a track record of consistent payments, and c) if the dividend is capable of growing. First, it's not great to see how much of its earnings are being paid as dividends. Next, earnings growth has been good, but unfortunately the company has not been paying dividends as long as we'd like. QMS Media might not be a bad business, but it doesn't show all of the characteristics we look for in a dividend stock. Now, if you want to look closer, it would be worth checking out our free research on QMS Media management tenure, salary, and performance. If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at our curated list of dividend stocks yielding above 3%. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading. Facebook apologized Saturday after its platform translated Xi Jinping, the name of the Chinese leader, from Burmese to a vulgar word in English. The mistranslation caught the companys attention when Aung San Suu Kyi, the de facto civilian leader of Myanmar, wrote on her official Facebook page about Xis two-day visit to her country. When the Burmese posts were translated into English on Facebook, Xis name repeatedly appeared as Mr. S-hole. It was not clear how long the issue lasted, but Googles translation function did not show the same error, Reuters reported. Andy Stone, a spokesman for Facebook, apologized Saturday. We fixed a technical issue that caused incorrect translations from Burmese to English on Facebook, Stone said. This should not have happened and we are taking steps to ensure it doesnt happen again. Xis visit to Myanmar, the first by a Chinese leader in nearly two decades, was designed to celebrate Beijings expanding presence in the region. During Xis two-day visit, the governments agreed to 33 projects designed to stitch the two countries closer together at a time when Myanmar is facing global criticism for its violent campaign against Rohingya Muslims. The embassies of the Peoples Republic of China and the Republic of the Union of Myanmar in the United States did not immediately respond to requests for comment Saturday. News of the vulgar translation appeared to be censored in China, where major news websites and social media platforms were silent about it. In China, citizens have been detained, and even convicted and imprisoned, for much milder derision of Xi. When Facebooks system finds a word that does not have a translation, it makes a guess and replaces it with a word with similar syllables, Stone said. After running tests, Facebook found that multiple Burmese words starting with xi and shi translated to the vulgarity in English. U Po Myint, the chairman of the China Myanmar Friendship Association, said he thought that Facebook may have intentionally mistranslated Xis name because there are other more likely renderings of his given name in Burmese. But Facebook already apologized for their mistake so we can forgive, Po Myint said. Kenneth Wong, a Burmese language instructor at the University of California, Berkeley, said when he first saw the translation he thought someone intentionally made it to embarrass Xi. But on closer inspection of the original Burmese post, Wong said, he could see how a machine would make that error. Xis name sounds similar to chi kyin phyin, which roughly translates to feces hole buttocks in Burmese, Wong said. Greg Garvey, a professor of game design and development at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut, said there were multiple explanations for how this might have occurred. When the translation system finds a word that doesnt have a direct translation, it should put in a replacement word using the context of the rest of the sentence and data from millions of Facebook users. Excluding malicious intent, Garvey said the vulgarity would have been used only if the systems algorithm found it made sense based on Facebooks trove of user data. The exception, Garvey said, would be if there were words that corresponded in Burmese to the vulgarity a happenstance that Wong and Facebook said did, in fact, occur. Read more about: Regulatory News: DEINOVE (Paris:ALDEI), a French biotech company that uses a disruptive approach to develop innovative antibiotics and bio-based active ingredients for cosmetics and nutrition, announces today its provisional financial calendar for 2020*. April 2 nd , 2020: Publication of 2019 Annual Results , 2020: Publication of 2019 Annual Results June 16 th , 2020: Annual Shareholders' Meeting, in Paris (2:00pm CET) at Fieldfisher Law firm, 48, rue Cambon, 75001 Paris , 2020: Annual Shareholders' Meeting, in Paris (2:00pm CET) at Fieldfisher Law firm, 48, rue Cambon, 75001 Paris October 1st, 2020: Publication of 2020 First Half Financial Results * This financial calendar is for indicative purposes only and the Company could change its publication dates, should it deem necessary. ABOUT DEINOVE DEINOVE is a French biotechnology company, a leader in disruptive innovation, which aims to help meet the challenges of antibiotic resistance and the transition to a sustainable production model for the cosmetics and nutrition industries. DEINOVE has developed a unique and comprehensive expertise in the field of rare bacteria that it can decipher, culture, and optimize to disclose unsuspected possibilities and induce them to produce biobased molecules with activities of interest on an industrial scale. To do so, DEINOVE has been building and documenting since its creation an unparalleled biodiversity bank that it exploits thanks to a unique technological platform in Europe. DEINOVE is organized around two areas of expertise: ANTIBIOTICS, New-generation anti-infective drugs : A first antibiotic candidate is now in Phase II. The Company is also pursuing the systematic exploration of biodiversity to supply its portfolio with new leads, drawing notably on partnerships with bioMerieux and Naicons (AGIR program supported by Bpifrance). : A first antibiotic candidate is now in Phase II. The Company is also pursuing the systematic exploration of biodiversity to supply its portfolio with new leads, drawing notably on partnerships with bioMerieux and Naicons (AGIR program supported by Bpifrance). BIOACTIVES, Active ingredients of natural origin with cosmetics as the first market and potential in nutrition and health: DEINOVE is already marketing a first cosmetic active ingredient, a second in partnership with Greentech and plans to launch new proprietary assets in 2020. Several other cosmetic actives are in development, including with Oleos (Hallstar Group) and Dow. It also runs a program in animal nutrition with Groupe Avril. Within the Euromedecine science park located in Montpellier, DEINOVE employs 60 employees, mainly researchers, engineers, and technicians, and has filed more than 350 patent applications internationally. The Company has been listed on EURONEXT GROWTH since April 2010. Visit www.deinove.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200120005285/en/ Contacts: Investors Coralie Martin Communication, Marketing and Investor Relations Ph.: +33 (0)4 48 19 01 60 coralie.martin@deinove.com Media ALIZE RP Caroline Carmagnol Ph.: +33 (0)6 64 18 99 59 deinove@alizerp.com Oregon Childrens Theatres latest production, Dragons Love Tacos now at the Newmark Theatre, reimagines a popular childrens tale into a stage production thats colorful, whimsical and delightfully ridiculous. You might be wondering how Adam Rubins best-selling childrens book, which isnt exactly heavy on plot, could be turned into an hourlong theatrical experience. The 2015 stage adaptation, written by Ernie Nolan, pads out the action with plenty of musical interludes, dragon dancing, taco eating and nonsense. In this version, the unseen narrator from the book becomes our on-stage guide, taking the form of a slick-talking man in a shiny suit who materializes from the TV with some mind-blowing, titillating secrets about dragons. I dont think were giving away too much of the plot by divulging that one of those secrets is dragons love tacos. Another secret is that, while they do love tacos, spicy salsa gives dragons tummy troubles. When a fire-breathing dragon gets an upset stomach, bad things happen. Since this show is aimed at children, I asked Frany McCullar, a 9-year-old student at Holy Cross School and big theater fan, to join me on this review. I have a little bit of theater experience, Frany said. Ive seen Wicked and a lot of shows with my mom down at the Keller, and Ive been in shows at our school, so I have high expectations. Oregonian/OregonLive reporter Samantha Swindler and Frany McCullar, a 9-year-old student at Holy Cross School, reviewed 'Dragons Love Tacos.' Frany is a serious theater critic and meticulous notetaker, whose observations began before the show started. The theater announcements paid tribute to the Native American tribes who first lived in this area. I liked how they gave the history before the show, saying, Close your eyes and remember the people who have been here before us. I thought that was a really nice addition, Frany said. Strengths: The dragon costumes are whimsically imagined, colorful and wildly different. The red dragon, a towering mesh contraption, commands the stage, but still gives actor Raphael Likes plenty of freedom of movement and expression. Franys favorite was the feathered white and silver dragon. She also loved the yellow dragon, played by Tess Raunig, who uses a wheelchair. Costume designer Sydney Dufka incorporated Raunigs wheelchair into the dragons wide body, without having the actor lost behind a costume. Dufka has found creative ways to give each dragon a different shape and personality. Weaknesses: While we loved the dragons, the costume for the dog, who I initially mistook as a caveman, was a miss. I do think the person who played the dog did a good job, Frany said. The costume just didnt come across the same way as the other characters. It was a little too human-like. And while I thought the segments featuring audience callbacks were fun, Frany found them distracting. It wasnt my favorite part because it got the audience excited, but then the audience didnt really calm down, she said. It was a little too crazy at some points. Which I understand, kids do that sometimes, little kids. Standout performance: As the unnamed Man in Suit and the character with nearly all of the lines actor Justin Charles carries the show as our guide to Dragonology. Charles channels Jim Carrey in his range of impressions, movements and ability to entertain audience members of all ages. When the Man in a Suit cracked an Earth, Wind and Fire joke, I leaned over and asked Frany if she knew that song. No, she said. I know its a reference from beyond my time. Line of the night: With a little drive and determination, amazing things can happen. While the book doesnt offer much of a morality tale, the play attempts to insert one into all the madness. The boy, played in this performance by Phillip Wells, learns not to give up too easily, whether on a difficult homework problem or a dragon-induced house fire. Franys favorite line was delivered by the Man in a Suit, who pouted and cried, You cant laugh at me! which of course solicited a roar of laughter from the young audience. Takeaway: Any child whos a fan of the book Dragons Love Tacos will love this show, and since the book is aimed at kids ages 3 to 5, so is this production. The show features several callback scenes, along with a game of charades, so kids will be engaged throughout the 60-minute run time. Parents who sit through it wont be bored either. Mature 9-year-olds will appreciate the music, dance and costumes. This is a great first live theater experience for little ones, but maybe too juvenile for older kids. Dragons Love Tacos When: 2 and 5 p.m. Saturdays, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Sundays through Feb. 16 Where: Newmark Theatre, 1111 S.W. Broadway Ave. Tickets: $15-$37, octc.org or 503-228-9571. -- Samantha Swindler; sswindler@oregonian.com; @editorswindler Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. The easiest way for a tourist to get U.S. citizenship to their children is to give birth in the United States, according to a published article in KCET. Getting a U.S. citizenship is a dream that most non-Americans dream, and most especially for their children. One of the reasons for this matter is to secure the future of their children since the country has some of the best government services like education and healthcare assistance. Plus, in America, if you work hard and stay focused you will become successful. In a video recently uploaded to the KCET website, it is revealed how most ASIANS, particularly Chinese, easily get U.S. citizenship. Most of the pregnant Chinese arrive in the United States with a tourist visa, but the reason they stay in the country until their delivery is to give birth in America. Tjis way their baby can get U.S citizenship automatically. Birth tourism hotels in Southern California became a booming industry and these hotels are mostly in the San Gabriel Valley, which is mostly occupied by Asians. Other pregnant women came from other countries to give birth in the U.S. for citizenship, but this has become the practice of a lot of Chinese. One of the reasons is because of the one-child policy in China. The birth tourism hotels in California are very appealing as most of them offer $3,000 to $4,000 all-in package a month. Moreover, after the delivery, the baby will return home with a little something extra, a U.S. passport. According to John Kang, an immigration lawyer, this has become one of the most popular schemes of tourists over the past few years. He said that he usually received 10 to 15 calls a week with inquiries about how to get a U.S. passport and then travel back to their country of origin. Meanwhile, Laura Ling, the reporter in the video, clarified that John Kang specializes in immigration issues, but that he has nothing to do with birth tourism hotels. In the video, Kang showed a picture of a hotel room where there were six or seven baby cribs with one lady standing. She is designated to take care of the babies. Kang added that there should be more or less 100 establishments in Los Angeles County alone who are offering this service. However, according to Ling, these houses in Los Angeles that are offering birth rooms are not licensed to operate. There are no signs outside the house and the only preponderance are pregnant women coming in and out. Who is commonly coming over to give birth in the United States? These are mostly people who have accumulated much wealth, those who are successful in business and politics. Is it legal that the baby gets U.S. citizenship? According to the 14th amendment of the U.S. Constitution, babies who are born in the country automatically become a U.S. citizen. The amendment says: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the state wherein they reside." This amendment was passed in 1868, after the Civil War, to guarantee citizenship to newly freed slaves and their children. There are cases upheld in the Supreme Court where immigrant parents give birth in the country, thus giving their child automatic citizenship and that is how it works until today. Is it not legal for foreigners to give birth in the country? According to Kang, no law in the United States says that foreigners are not allowed to visit the country and give birth to have their child U.S. citizenship or passport. Foreigners are allowed to stay in the country for months if they have a tourist visa and visit their friends or family members and in the meantime give birth in the country. Is there a loophole in the law? Kang, the immigrant lawyer, said that it is not necessarily a loophole because people are just taking advantage of the best use of the law. It was also found that tourist visas coming from China have increased to over a million people every year. Meanwhile, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection have no specific regulations in prohibiting foreign pregnant nationals from entering the country. However, there is a policy that states, "Officers take into consideration the date your child is due for delivery and the length of time you intend to stay in the U.S. If it's determined that you don't have sufficient medical insurance, you can be denied entry." However, even though this policy is enforced, this still cannot be used against foreign pregnant nationals, because they have legal tourist visas. A Delhi BJP delegation on Monday met the Chief Election Commissioner demanding cancellation of AAP candidate Jitender Singh Tomar's nomination from the Trinagar Assembly seat. The Delhi High Court on Friday held as "void" the election of Tomar to the legislative assembly in 2015 polls for furnishing false information of his educational qualification in the nomination papers. He has been again fielded by the Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) from the same seat. The BJP delegation, including party's co-incharge for Assembly elections and Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri, met the Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora. Puri said the AAP has made a mockery of peoples' trust by fielding Tomar and other party leaders who were facing serious charges. Former Union Minister and Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Goel said Tomar was made the Law Minister of Delhi government in 2015 and was later arrested in a fake degree case. "Tomar had to resign from the post of Law Minister and still the AAP has given ticket to Tomar again for Assembly elections and proved that this party prefers 'tainted' leaders," Goel said. Voting for 70 Assembly constituencies in Delhi will take place on February 8. Results will be declared on February 11. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 18:39:32|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close Demonstrators rally during the 2020 Women's March in San Francisco, the United States, Jan. 18, 2020. Thousands of people on Saturday staged the fourth annual Women's March in front of San Francisco City Hall to call for the protection of women's rights and gender equality. (Photo by Li Jianguo/Xinhua) The plane, en route to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, was carrying 167 passengers and nine crew members from several countries. (Photo Credit: Reuters) New Delhi: Iran has backtracked on plans to send the flight recorders of the Ukrainian airliner, Boeing 737-800, which was accidentally shot down by it abroad for analysis, a day after saying they would be sent to Kyiv. Hassan Rezaeifer, the head of accident investigations for the civil aviation, said the flight recorders from the Ukrainian Boeing are in Iranian hands and we have no plans to send them out. His refusal comes days after he had said further analysis was not possible in Iran and experts from France, America and Canada will help analyse the black box in Kiev. In case the analysis is not successful in Kiev, the boxes will then be handed over to France, news agency Tasnim quotes Rezaeifer as saying. The plane, en route to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, was carrying 167 passengers and nine crew members from several countries, including 82 Iranians, at least 57 Canadians and 11 Ukrainians. The plane was a Boeing 737-800 that was designed and built in the U.S. The plane's engine was designed by CFM International, a joint company between French group Safran and U.S. group GE Aviation. Investigators from both countries have been invited to take part in the probe. Iran Accepts The Error Three days after the incident, Iran had admitted responsibility after Western leaders said there was strong evidence the plane was hit by a surface-to-air missile. Regretting the crash, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani had offered condolences to the families of the victims. Armed Forces internal investigation has concluded that regrettably missiles fired due to human error caused the horrific crash of the Ukrainian plane & death of 176 innocent people. Investigations continue to identify & prosecute this great tragedy & unforgivable mistake. #PS752 (sic), Rouhani said on Twitter. The Islamic Republic of Iran deeply regrets this disastrous mistake. My thoughts and prayers go to all the mourning families. I offer my sincerest condolences, he said in another tweet. Javad Zarif terms development sad Irans Foreign Minister Javad Zarif termed the development as sad day. Using a heartbreak emoji, Zarif tweeted, A sad day. Preliminary conclusions of internal investigation by Armed Forces: Human error at time of crisis caused by US adventurism led to disaster Our profound regrets, apologies and condolences to our people, to the families of all victims, and to other affected nations. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Open source During the current day in the Donbas, militants violated the ceasefire seen times, using 120 mm caliber mortars, grenade launchers of various systems and small arms. The press service of the Ministry of Defense reported that. In the Donetsk region, the invaders made two shellings: near the settlement Pavlopil - from a manual anti-tank grenade launcher; near the Mariinka - from grenade launchers of various systems and heavy machine guns. In the Luhansk region, the militants carried out five shellings: near Travneve - from grenade launchers of various systems, heavy machine guns and small arms; next to Luhanske - from anti-tank hand grenade launchers and heavy machine guns; three times near the village Orikhove - from 120-mm mortars and grenade launchers of various systems. The Joint Forces did not take any casualties due to the attacks. As we reported, former OSCE Chairman-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Tripartite Contact Group Martin Sajdik compared Ukraine to a "gnome" and Russia to a "giant", who threatens the gnome. He argued that Russia should not threaten Ukraine. Kevin Scott, was charged Sunday with a felony count of aggravated driving under the influence in the crash, which happened Saturday evening in Chicagos Englewood neighborhood on the South Side. He was also charged with a misdemeanor count of driving under the influence of alcohol and was cited for failing to reduce speed, operating an uninsured vehicle and a child restraint violation. Noel Nestor tells of the psychological damage he faced while suffering from homelessness in a documentary set to air on TG4 A homeless man has revealed the fear and desperation he suffered living in his car with his beloved dog. Noel Nestor (36) lost all sense of self-worth and at one point consoled himself with the thought he could always commit suicide. The Galway man has revealed the psychological damage being homeless can cause in a shocking documentary which looks at the homeless crisis in the City of Tribes, to be shown on TG4 on Wednesday night. Tabu: Homeless In Galway follows the plight of Noel, and others, as he tries to get his life back on track with charity Cope. He said he started living in his Ford Fiesta van in a cold snap in 2018 when the temperature plummeted to -6C. "There is no insulation, it's just a normal car, so you felt every bit of the cold," he said. Expand Close Noel started living in his Ford Fiesta with his beloved dog, Mia / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Noel started living in his Ford Fiesta with his beloved dog, Mia Torture "You could hear people walking outside in the middle of the night and cars pulling in beside you. I did not feel secure. "I would just freeze, not move, not make any noise and try to make sure my dog Mia was calm at the same time." Things got even worse in the hot summer. "There is no air-con in there and you can't leave the windows down. It's torture," he said. "With the cold you can put on more layers but the heat was driving me mad towards the end. "The other option was a tent but there are too many horror stories. I've met an awful lot of people in similar types of situations. "They save up for weeks to get a tent, all their belongings are in it, they might have a doctor's appointment in town and when they come back the tent is gone, everything is gone. So they are back to square one." College graduate Noel said his life spiralled out of control when he suffered post-traumatic stress after being abused by a nun when he was young. "Before I was homeless I would have thought a homeless person would be a guy in a sleeping bag on the side of the street with a cup begging for money," he said. "It's not like that. There's a full spectrum of people - there are families, young kids, single parents, old people, young people, there's no one immune to it. Charity "I had no one to turn to, and I mean no one, to the point I rang the Samaritans one time. "During the heaviest of the depression I thought suicide would be an option and I used that as comfort for a while." Eventually, Noel was able to get help from homeless charity Cope and he ended up working in its charity shop which boosted his confidence. Tabu: Homeless In Galway airs on TG4 on Wednesday at 9.30pm YEREVAN, JANUARY 20, ARMENPRESS. In 1918, the second major wave of pogroms of the Armenian population was planned and carried out in Baku by local Tatars and Turkish-Azerbaijani troops, as a result of which more than 23,000 Armenians were massacred which was about 25% of the Armenian community. Baku pogroms were covered by the International Press of that time. According to the prestigious American newspapers of the time, there were about 30 thousand Armenian victims. In particular, theres a pack of American papers and magazines of the Armenian pogroms of 1918-1920 at the Archives of the U.S. Congress with broad reports on the massacres. The pogroms were highlighted by American The Seattle Star, El Paso Herald, Alexandria, British The Sun and many other international renowned papers. The second major wave of Armenian pogroms in Baku started from September 15, 1918, after the invasion of Turkish troops, and lasted till November. An article on El Paso Herlalds October 25, 1918 edition says there was a report from Tehran to the United States Department of State on October 22, stating that when the British evacuated Baku some time ago, it was almost 36 hours before the Turks arrived. In the meantime, the Tartars had looted and murdered indiscriminately and it was reported that thousands of Armenians were massacred. El Paso herald., October 26, 1918, HOME EDITION, Page 2 30 thousand killed in fighting at Baku; Armenians suffer Horribly is how El Paso Herald described the pogroms of 1918 on its December 7th edition. The paper refers to reports received by German paper Vorwarts. The latter states that Turkish forces massacred 10 thousand Armenians while evacuating the towns of Baku, Olti and Ardahan, in the Caucasus and in some towns the entire Armenian population was exterminated. The Turks permitted Tartar troops to plunder the Armenians. The next day this report was published by British The Sun, American The Maui News (Hawaii, U.S.) and by Alexandria newspaper (Virginia, U.S). The latter states with Turks massacre 10 000, More Turkish atrocities reported, Fleeing Turks slay 10 000. The Sun. [volume], December 08, 1918, Page 4 Associated Press agencys report on the massacres of the peaceful Armenians was published in Indian states The Richmond Palladium And Aun-Telegram newspaper on January 28, 1919. "Intense anxiety is felt by Armenians here over reports that large bodies of Turkish troops have joined Tartar bands and are attacking Armenian villages. It is feared that still another chapter of atrocity will be added to the Turkish record before the allies are able to relieve the beleaguered Armenian towns... Unofficial reports to the Armenian bureau here indicate that about 20 000 people, including a considerable number of Armenian bodies, were slaughtered in Baku and in the surrounding regions. Associated Press also shares details about the defense organized in Baku. Referring to the reports received by the secretary of the Armenian Bureau, Armenians had been holding Baku for 8 months before the British force arrived and when they were ordered to evacuate the city, a British relief force commanded by General Dunsterville arrived. It is important to note that the latter advised Armenians to surrender when the situation became hopeless. Raffi then states that the advice was not followed,apparently, for the town was taken by assault, September 16, two days after the British left, indicating that a part, at least, of the Armenians held out until overwhelmed by the combined forces of Turks, Tartars and Germans. Some of the people remaining in the town had fled and part of the military force succeeded in retiring in good order to the persian port of Enzeli. The article was completed with the following statement. All remainders were massacred. The Associated Press article was republished by the American Grants Pass Daily Courier (Oregon, U.S.) and The Bridgeport Times And Evening Farmer (Connecticut, U.S.) papers. The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume], January 28, 1919 The tragic state of the Baku Armenians is also stated by Carson City Daily Appeal daily newspaper (Nevada. U.S.) on its June 26th edition of 1919. Referring to United Press, another noteworthy newspaper of that time, the headline of which states Armenians starving - says Red Cross man. Giving more details, the article also states that 30 thousand Armenians were massacred at Baku, on the Caspian Sea, last December by the Turks. The evidence is provided by Lieutenant Melville Chater, who also mentions that some were able to escape before the massacres, becoming refugees. This article was also published on The Seattle Star(Seattle, Washington state) and The Dairly Morning Oasis (Arizona). Carson City daily appeal. [volume], June 26, 1919 These publications on the International press once again highlight the fact that in the period of 1918 September-November, peaceful Armenian population became the victims of planned and organized pogroms and currently are the undeniable proofs of the anti-Armenian state policy of the modern-day Azerbaijan Republic. Azerbaijans genocidal policy remained unpunished paving the way for more anti-Armenian campaigns and pogroms against Armenians as the world witnessed in Sumgait, Kirovabad (Gandzak, nowadays Gyanja), Baku and other settlements of the Azerbaijan SSR. Hundreds of Armenians lost their lives and thousands were deprived from their houses and properties, becoming refugees. They were forced to leave the territories that belonged to them and their ancestors. Besides Armenians, Russians and Georgians have also been the target of the rascist and xenophobic policy of Azerbaijan. The latter should still be considered as regional threat since the indigenous people and minorities living in Azerbaijan are currently under the threat of the same policy. The policy of racism and chauvinism, which is promoted in Azerbaijan at the state level, is a danger not only for Artsakh and Armenia, but also for the entire region and civilized society as a whole. Fresh off an impressive win over Dalton last Friday, the GPS Swimming and Diving program kept its momentum moving forward in another home meet tonight. This time, rather than a state powerhouse program from Georgia, the victim in the final team scoring was nationally ranked Harpeth Hall from Nashville. The Bruisers once again used their depth to pick up key wins throughout the night and ended with a 100-86 triumph over the Honeybears. GPS won all 11 swimming events for the second meet in a row with victories from five different swimmers. Emma Scruggs, Ellie Taliaferro, and Brighton Smith each won two individual events in addition to assisting on various first place relay teams. Scruggs won the 200-yard free and the grueling 500-yard free events. Taliaferro won the 100-yard fly by almost 10 seconds and also captured the 100-yard backstroke. Smith collected winning times in the 200-yard IM and the 100-yard free. Additional first place finishes were turned in by Keller Williamson in the 50-yard free (26.26) and by Catherine Lynch in the 100-yard breast (1:11.58). Jordan Billups from Harpeth Hall won the 1-meter diving competition with a final score of 161.30. Ninth-grader Kendall Rizer was the top finisher from GPS in that event with a mark of 136.85, good enough for third place overall. With the final result of the meet still in doubt, GPS closed out the meet with a dominating first place finish in the 400-yard free relay. Smith, Williamson, Scruggs, and Alana Ratchford finished the race in 3:53.59, just over 25 seconds better than the closest foursome from Harpeth Hall. Next up for the Bruisers is a meet against the Baylor School next Thursday at McCallie. Help India! Dr Nadeem Zafar Jilani, Twocircles.net Vilification & denigration of Muslims is nothing new. We have seen concerted media campaign to almost make the word terrorism synonyms with Muslims in the post 9/11 world. So a similar murder of innocents on the streets will be described in a different phraseology if the perpetrators were white racists/far-right or in India from Sangh affiliated organisations. Support TwoCircles In India, similarly, first, a stereotype has been created & sustained in public memory that Muslims are violent, Jihadis planning terror attacks or antinational anarchists if they are men. Muslim women, on the other hand, are described as brainless, faceless oppressed species who have no voice and need a Messiah from the Hindu community to champion their liberation from the hands of clergy & patriarchy. While there is no denying that some Muslim men may be involved in criminal activity as is true with any community in India or some Muslim women having restricted freedom again not something much different from Indian society in general but the way these issues have been highlighted through print & electronic media smacks of a conspiracy & campaign of defamation. Take, for example, the recent protests against CAA & NRC. Protests are massive & mostly peaceful. Despite that initial narrative dominating the media was that protesters were violent anarchist out to destroy public properties. Despite video footages available showing that in most instances it was the police that instigated the violence to find an excuse to teach Muslim barbarians a lesson. After all, more a leader spills Muslim blood on the streets, higher is his chances of ascent to the highest throne as experienced in the first two decades of this century. The students of Indias premier universities who were exercising their democratic right of peaceful protest were mercilessly beaten and treated like criminals, and still, media continued to describe them responsible for their injuries or deaths of protesters in BJP ruled states. They didnt question mass arrests, breaking in homes & School and terrorise those who were not even protesting. A leader from the ruling party of India boasted that our (BJP) government (in UP, Delhi, Assam & Karnataka) shot protesters like dogs. It is not just a coincidence that almost all 30 plus deaths in police firing came from these states. The political observers & advisors of the ruling clan had calculated that with violent crackdown and disinformation through media they will be able to control the narrative and they almost did.till Shaheen Bagh happened. Brave, educated and articulate women of Shaheen Bagh occupying an important street in Delhi as a means of peaceful protest changed the whole narrative & in the process demolished many stereotypes, myths and disinformation. Media couldnt paint it violent and when the growing influence of this Satyagraha with nationalistic symbols like constitution & Tiranga surfaced it couldnt be branded communal or Jihadist either. Now in its desperation, BJP IT cell and its stooges in media are trying to portray this as managed by a political party and protesters who are braving the cold & hardship to reclaim their secular India from the fascist thugs as paid workers. Yes, you heard it right. Imagine the mind-set and the level media can go down to in portraying Muslims negatively. It should be ignored with the disdain it deserves. And for the lowlifes of BJP IT cell & BJP supporters I cant resist myself quoting Iqbal: Parwaaz hai dono ki isi ek fiza main Shaheen ka jahan aur, kargas ka fiza aur ( , , () !!) (Though flying in the same skies, there is a difference between the worlds of Falcons & vultures) (Author: Dr Nadeem Zafar Jilani is a UK based Paediatrician currently working in Doha. He writes on contemporary issues. He can be contacted at [email protected]) [January 20, 2020] Arizona Technology Council Applauds STEM Investments in Governor Ducey's Executive Budget The Arizona Technology Council applauds Governor Doug Ducey on his proposed FY 2021 executive budget, especially with its emphasis on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The governor's executive budget plan totals nearly $12.5 billion. The proposal includes roughly 6% in additional spending over the budget enacted last year, nearly half of which is earmarked for education. With the final installment of the 20X2020 teacher pay raise and the complete restoration of the additional assistance, Governor Ducey continues his commitment to Education. Additionally, the focus on STEM funding, especially in Rural Arizona, is the type of investment that will keep the state's economy strong and cement why Arizona is such a great place to live and work. Below are some of the STEM and technology focused proposals from Governor Ducey's budget proposal: $35 million to a "New Economy" initiative to support Arizona's workforce $10 million for Governor's research and grants matching funds as a part of the "New Economy" initiative $11 million in restorations to STEM and Workforce Programs in Maricopa, Pima and Pinal community colleges $6 million to rural community college districts to meet the demand for career and technical programs $4 million to expand the Arizona Advanced Technology Corridor $10 million to triple state's investment in Rural Broadband Grants This type of investment will help support Arizona's growing technology industry and prepare our workforce for the jobs our tech companies need. "With Arizona's technology sector growing at a pace 40% faster than the rest of the nation, we are increasingly pleased with the Governor's leadership in investing in K12, higher education and specifically in STEM," said Steven G. Zylstra, the Council's president and CEO. "The Council is advocating for STEM ecosystem investment and cultivation as one of its 2020 legislative priorities, and we look forward to working with the Governor on making our vision a reality." From the Office of the Governor and the U.S. Congress to legislative committee rooms and city halls across the state, the Council serves as the voice advocating for a technology-based, pro-growth, business-focused agenda. The Council recently released its 2020 Public Policy Guide designed to inform the Governor, the Legislature, Arizona's Congressional delegation and the Council's more than 850 member companies along with the wider technology community of the organization's advocacy activities, principles and positions. It also aims to help elected officials at all levels of government as they craft policies affecting Arizona's economy and technology sector for years to come. Visit www.aztechcouncil.org to learn more about the Council's public policy activities. About the Arizona Technology Council The Arizona Technology Council is Arizona's premier trade association for science and technology companies. Recognized as having a diverse professional business community, Council members work towards furthering the advancement of technology in Arizona through leadership, education, legislation and social action. The Council offers numerous events, educational forums and business conferences that bring together leaders, visionaries and community members to make an impact on the technology industry. These interactions contribute to the Council's culture of growing member businesses and transforming technology in Arizona. To become a member or to learn more about the Arizona Technology Council, please visit www.aztechcouncil.org. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200120005543/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] In the weeks she spent in the mansion, everyone, from the delirious mistress to all the servants, became deeply attached to her. They had never had a little girl in that stone house haunted by semi-feral cats and ghosts from past ages. The most infatuated was the professor, who was vividly reminded of the privilege of teaching an avid mind, but even he realized that her stay with them could not go on forever. He waited for her to recover completely and to put some flesh on her bones, then decided to visit the far side of the mountain and tell her negligent parents a few hard truths. Ignoring his wifes pleas, he installed her, well wrapped up in his carriage, and took her off. They came to a low muddy shack at the edge of the village, one of many wretched places in the area. The peasants lived on starvation wages, working on the land as serfs for big landowners or the Church. The professor called out, and several frightened children came to the door, followed by a witch dressed in black. She was not, as Don Santiago first thought, the girls great-grandmother, but was in fact Rosers mother. These villagers had never received the visit of a carriage with gleaming horses before, and were dumbstruck when they saw Roser climbing out of it with such a distinguished-looking gentleman. Ive come to talk to you about this child, Don Santiago began in the authoritarian tone that had once struck fear into his university students. Before he could continue, the woman grabbed Roser by the hair and started shouting and slapping her, accusing her of the loss of their goats. The professor immediately understood there was no point reproaching this exhausted woman for anything, and on the spot came up with a plan that would drastically alter the girls destiny. [ Return to the review of A Long Petal of the Sea. ] Roser spent the rest of her childhood in the Guzman mansion, officially adopted and taken in as the mistresss personal servant, but also as the professors pupil. In exchange for helping the maids and bringing the Gentle Lunatic solace, she was given board and an education. The historian shared a good part of his library with her, taught her more than she would have learned in any school, and let her practice on the grand piano once played by his wife, who now could no longer recall what on earth this huge black monster was for. Roser, who during the first seven years of her life had heard no music at all apart from the drunkards accordions on Saint Johns Eve, turned out to have an extraordinary good ear. There was an old cylinder phonograph in the house, but as soon as Don Santiago realized his protegee could play tunes on the piano after listening to them only once, he ordered a modern gramophone from Madrid, together with a collection of records. Within a short time Roser Brugera, whose feet still didnt reach the pedals, could play the music from the records with her eyes closed. Delighted, he found her a music teacher in Santa Fe, sent her there three times a week, and personally supervised her practice sessions. Roser, who was able to play anything from memory, didnt see much point in learning to read music or to practice the same scales for hours, but did so out of respect for her mentor. By the time she was fourteen, Roser was far more accomplished than her teacher, and at fifteen Don Santiago installed her in a guest house for young Catholic ladies in Barcelona so that she could continue her music studies. He would have liked to keep her by his side, but his duty as an educator won out over his paternal instinct. He decided that the girl had received a special talent from God, and his role in this world was to help her develop it. It was around this time that the Gentle Lunatic began to fade away, and in the end died without any fuss. Alone in his mansion, Santiago Guzman began increasingly to feel the weight of his years. He had to give up his walks with his pilgrims staff and the time spent reading by the hearth. His hunting dog also died, and he was loath to replace it because he didnt want to die first and leave the animal without a master. The arrival of Spains Second Republic in 1931 embittered the old man. As soon as the election results favoring the Left became known, King Alfonso XIII left for exile in France, and Don Santiago, monarchist, staunch conservative and Catholic that he was, saw his world collapsing around him. He could never tolerate the Reds, still less adapt to their vulgar ways: those ruthless people were lackeys of the Soviets who went around burning churches and executing priests. The idea that everyone was equal was fine as a theoretical slogan, he said, but in practice it was an aberration. We are not equal in the eyes of God, because He was the one who created social classes and other distinctions among mankind. The agrarian reform stripped Don Santiago of his land, which was not worth a great deal but had belonged to his family forever. HOWELL, MI - A father who shot himself in the leg at a Howell elementary school Friday could face charges for not having a permit to carry the gun, police said. The Hamburg Township man fired his handgun at about 3 p.m., Jan. 17 at Three Fires Elementary School, 4125 Crooked Lake Road, according to Michigan State Police. Father shoots self in leg while picking up child at Howell school, police say The man was waiting for his child in the schools pickup spot when he started adjusting his gun inside the vehicle and it went off, police said. He did not have a concealed pistol license, said Lt. Brian Oleksyk of the Michigan State Police. A trooper could seek weapons charges, Oleksyk said. State law states a pistol in a vehicle operated or occupied by a person without a valid permit is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison or a maximum $2,500 fine. The trooper will send his reported findings to the Livingston County Prosecutors Office for review, Oleksyk said. The father suffered injuries to his hand and leg that are not life-threatening and was transported to the University of Michigan Hospital for treatment, police said. No one else was injured, police said. The elementary school was placed on temporary lockdown, but parents were able to pickup their children, police said. The initial investigation showed there was no criminal intent, police said. READ MORE PUBLIC SAFETY STORIES: Man accused of hiding cameras in Ypsilanti restaurant bathrooms heads to trial Drunken man caught driving wrong way on I-96, police say Convict who took children to armed robbery sues sheriff for $500M The 49ac residential farm near Knocklong, Co Limerick is for sale by private treaty with a guide price of 430,000. You can take the child from the land, but you can't take the land from the child. Many children from farming families long to own their own few acres and when time and fortune turn in their favour, they go in search of their own parcel of ground as the place they call home. In that regard, auctioneers tell me that while some non-farming buyers are returning to the market in search of development land, a sizeable number of land parcels are being bought by sons and daughters of the soil in search of the hobby farm. Typical of these properties is this residential holding near Knocklong, Co Limerick. A 40-minute drive from Limerick City and 15 minutes from Kilmallock, the 49ac farm with a four-bedroom house is for sale by private treaty with a guide price of 430,000. The land is described by auctioneer Pat Dooley as good-quality grazing ground laid out in five divisions fenced with hedgerow. Built in 1951, the house extends to 1,345 sq ft and is in good condition throughout. The dwelling is serviced by oil fired central heating and a septic tank. Outside, there is a range of dated farm buildings that could be renovated or converted for other uses. West Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh on Monday said that people who damage public property in West Bengal should be shot at. "People who damage public property in West Bengal should be shot at. If people think my statement is wrong then the people under West Bengal government who shoot protesters participating in a peaceful demonstration, they should apologise first," Ghosh said. Ghosh had earlier sparked controversy by threatening to shoot down those who damage public property in West Bengal. "Uttar Pradesh government had not only booked such people but also lathi-charged and shot them. Similarly, we will also shoot, lathi-charge and book whoever destroys public property in the state," Ghosh had said addressing a public gathering. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday appealed to her counterparts in the northeast and non-BJP states to study carefully the NPR form, its questions and criteria, before taking a decision on updating it. Dubbing the NPR exercise as "a dangerous game", Banerjee said the form, which seeks birth details and residential proof of parents, was nothing but a precursor to NRC implementation. "I will appeal to all chief ministers, governments including those in BJP-ruled northeast states - Tripura, Assam, Manipur and Arunachal - and the opposition party-ruled states to read the law properly and consider the clauses in the NPR form before arriving at a decision. "I request them not to participate in this matter because the condition is very bad," she said. Banerjee also said that she came to know from media that sections in the National Population Register (NPR) form which seek birth details of parents were not mandatory. "If the fields are not mandatory, why are they a part of the form? Efforts should be made to remove those questions. If they continue to exist on paper (form), those that do not enter birth details of parents might be automatically excluded. There is an apprehension..." she claimed. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo also asserted that the West Bengal Assembly would soon pass a resolution against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. "We have earlier passed a resolution against NPR. Next, the Assembly will take up a resolution against the citizenship law within three to four days," she said. Earlier this month, the TMC had prevented the passage of an anti-CAA resolution in the Assembly, even as the Congress and the CPI(M) pitched for it. The CM reasoned that the House had already adopted a resolution against a pan-India NRC in September last year, which, in turn, also denounced according Indian citizenship to people on the basis of religion. Incidentally, Kerala and Punjab have passed a resolution against the citizenship law. The chief minister, after inaugurating the Uttarbanga Utsab in Siliguri, later in the day, said she would not be able to provide all details sought in the form. "Earlier, I had thought that NPR was only a regular exercise for census update. But after looking at the columns, which sought date of birth and address of parents, I realised that I will not be able to provide them that information... I do not have them," she said. Justifying her decision of not participating in a meeting convened by the Centre on NPR, Banerjee said she was happy to be the only one to skip it. "Many people, who had spoken on the matter (NPR update), went to participate in the meeting. I am the only one who did not go. At least one person protested. I would request you all to rethink..." she said, reciting Rabindranath Tagore's patriotic song 'Jodi Tor Dak Shune Keu Na Ase Tobe Ekla Cholo Re' (If no one responds to your call, walk alone). "They (Centre) have misguided you (participating CMs) by telling that the column to provide your parents' details is not mandatory, if that is so why don't you pass a resolution to withdraw those fields from the NPR form," she Describing herself as the 'custodian of common people', she iterated that NPR and NRC would not be implemented in West Bengal. "Nobody will be able to snatch away our rights. This state is ours. Do not think we are there only when elections are around. I am the custodian of common people. I am not going to listen to them unless the necessary changes are made in the NPR form," Banerjee added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The protest was part of the 'holocaust day' which is being observed by the displaced community who were forced to flee from Kashmir to Jammu and other states in the early 90s soon after the outbreak of militancy. 21-year-old Ritik Jotshi was among a group of Kashmiri Pandits who have joined a peaceful sit in outside Raj Bhavan in Jammu on Sunday to mark the completion of their 30 years in exile. Chanting high pitch slogans in support of the demand for their return and rehabilitation in the valley, Jotshi whose family migrated from their ancestral Brahman Mohalla village in Anantnag district of south Kashmir is hopeful of making it back to his village with dignity. "This is for the first time that I am joining the protest here. We want the government to come out with a roadmap for our return and rehabilitation in the valley without further delay," he told mediapersons. Jotshi said he had visited his ancestral village for a few days after his birth in Jammu but 'the desire in my heart to live in my land remains alive'. "The government needs to look into the plight of Kashmiri Pandits on humanitarian grounds and ensure our return and rehabilitation," he said. Joining him in highlighting the demand, Akash Pandit of Shopian and Amit Koul of Ashmuqam, who were also in their 20s, said the community wants justice as successive governments have only made promises and done nothing concrete to ensure their return to the land of their ancestors. Sunandan Handoo, another youth, however, demanded a probe commission to look into the atrocities on the community leading to their exodus and strict punishment to those responsible. The protest was organised by All State Kashmiri Pandit Conference (ASKPC), whose delegation led by its president Ravinder Raina later submitted a memorandum to the Lt Governor G C Murmu, highlighting various demands with special thrust for return and rehabilitation in their homeland. Apart from the ASKPC, several other pandit organisations including the All Party Migrant Coordination Committee (APMCC), Panun Kashmir, All India Pandit Conference (AIPC) and All Displaced KP United Forum organised separate functions to commemorate the 'holocaust day'. The day also marked a campaign #HumWapasAayenge on social media by the community, pledging to return home after 30 years of exile. "We request Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Lt Governor to address all our issues related to social, economic and political rights. There is also a need to set a time frame for our return and rehabilitation in the valley," APMCC chairman Vinod Pandita said. Raina said the community has entered into 31st year of exile and living as refugees in their own country. KPs have been 'cheated by hollow promises' of return and rehabilitation by all successive governments. "Government after taking into confidence the community leaders, should come out with a blueprint for resettlement of community at one place in Kashmir with political empowerment and economic rehabilitation, till then community be declared as internally displaced," he said. Convenor, Panun Kashmir, Agnishekhar said this year the 'holocaust day was observed in the backdrop of historical and epochal decisions taken by the Union government with regards to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir and amendment in Citizenship Act which have reestablished the faith of entire exiled Hindus of Kashmir. "The pain and agony of forced displacement has left indelible marks on the psyche of Hindus of Kashmir and last 30 years have added to our festering wounds," he said. He expressed hope that after abrogation of special status of J&K on August 5 last and amendments in Citizenship Act, the Centre would address the pain and agony suffered by Hindus of Kashmir for last 30 years. New Delhi: At start of 2020, the top trend on social media was World War 3! The shocking assassination of Irans top military leader Qasem Soleimani at the Baghdad Airport in first week of January led to tense speculations and with potential of exploding into biggest crisis that the world has seen in recent times. Amid tension with Iran, a peculiar message surfaced on the social media that the US Army was seeking to enlist civilians on urgent basis. A strange message went viral with many people in America sharing their concerns and surprise over such an appeal by the US Army. Hello, we are contacting you in regards to the United States official army draft, we tried contacting you through your email several times and have had no response. You've been marked eligible and must come to the nearest branch in the New Jersey Area for immediate departure to Iran. Please contact us at the following number immediately." The message also had names and numbers of persons concerned. The area in the text differed from region to region. It also had a warning of the recipient of the message. Were aware that this number is not disconnected, youll be fined and sent to jail for minimum 6 years if no reply, the text concluded. The draft texts went viral even as Iran bombed American military installations in Iraq. After several people reported the draft text to the military, the US Army finally issued a statement terming the messages as totally BOGUS! Recent text messages telling recipients they have been selected for a new military draft are bogus, the US Army and Selective Service say. Do not respond! Learn about avoiding texting scams: https://t.co/w0p1bz7Igc #FCCtips #ProtectingConsumers The FCC (@FCC) January 15, 2020 U.S. Army Recruiting Command has received multiple calls and emails about these fake text messages and wants to ensure Americans understand these texts are false and were not initiated by this command or the U.S. Army, a statement on the Armys website read. Registering for the Selective Service does not enlist a person into the military. Army recruiting operations are proceeding as normal, the statement added. Pentagon and the White House had officially confirmed that President Donald Trump ordered the assassination of Irans high-profile General in an airstrike in Baghdad on Friday morning. In a statement, the White House said that, At the direction of the President, the US military has taken decisive defensive action to protect US personnel abroad by killing Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force, a US-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. The Department of Defense added that, "General Soleimani was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region. General Soleimani and his Quds Force were responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American and coalition service members and the wounding of thousands more." For all the Latest Fact Check News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Hindustan Zinc fell 0.28% to Rs 216.40 after net profit dropped 26.72% to Rs 1,620 crore on 15.66% decline in net sales to Rs 4,626 crore in Q3 December 2019 over Q3 December 2018. On a standalone basis, profit before tax was down by 26.43% to Rs 2,095 crore in Q3 December 2019 as against Rs 2,848 crore in Q3 December 2018. Net tax expense for Q3 December 2019 declined 25.43% to Rs 475 crore from Rs 637 crore in Q3 December 2019. The Q3 results was declared during market hours today, 20 January 2020. EBITDA fell 20% to Rs 2,288 crore in Q3 December 2019 over Q3 December 2018. Mined metal production fell 5% to 235 kilo-tonne in Q3 December 2019 over Q3 December 2018. Refined metal production fell 9% to 219 kilo-tonne in Q3 December 2019 over Q3 December 2018. Silver production fell 16% to 149 million-tonne in Q3 December 2019 over Q3 December 2018. Commenting on the Q3 results, Sunil Duggal, the CEO of Hinduatan Zinc, said that, "We have delivered good performance in a challenging market environment and are committed to maintain the growth trajectory. We remain focused on our fundamentals of sustainability, efficiency, technology & digitalization to maintain industry leadership and deliver healthy return to our shareholders." Swayam Saurab, the CFO of Hindustan Zinc, said that, "Our target is to maintain cost leadership by bringing in operational efficiencies and higher productivity through technology adoption and digital transformation, aided by completion of our key projects." The cash & cash equivalents for the quarter Q3 December 2019 jumped 15.10% to Rs 19,513 from Rs 16,952 at the end of FY2019 and was majorly invested in high quality debt instruments. Hindustan Zinc is engaged in the mining and smelting of zinc, lead and silver metal in India. The company's segments are mining and smelting of zinc, lead and silver and wind energy. As of 31 December 2019, the Government of India holds 29.54% stake in the company. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Home decor retailer Kirklands will shutter at least two of its New Jersey stores in 2020. A manager at the Kirklands in West Long Branch told NJ Advance Media that location was closing, and a report on NorthJersey.com said the Bergen Town Center store in Paramus is closing within the next two months. Kirklands, which sells furniture, kitchen supplies, lighting, rugs and other home decor, announced in a Jan. 16 statement at least 27 stores across the country would close as it aims to transform the business to a more profitable model, according to CEO Woody Woodward. There are currently 10 stores in New Jersey, according to Kirklands website. Managers at the Brick, Cherry Hill, Rockaway and Watchung locations told NJ Advance Media their stores will remain in operation. Managers at the Deptford, Freehold, Marlton and Mays Landing locations said they either could not comment or did not know if their stores were shuttering. Kirklands is just another in a long list of chain stores to be hit by the retail apocalypse, including several this month. Papyrus just announced the closure of more than 260 stores, Pier 1 Imports will shutter up to 450 and Bose will close all its stores. Kirklands is based in Brentwood, Tennessee. Nicolette Accardi can be reached at naccardi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter: @N_Accardi. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips MORE RETAIL AND SHOPPING COVERAGE: The list of chains that closed stores in 2019 Amazon joins the wireless earbud craze with Echo Buds Pier 1 Imports will close 450 stores. Heres the status of each N.J. location. The mystery coronavirus can be transmitted between humans, China confirmed late on Monday night as the death toll from the mysterious virus rose to three, the total number of infected crossed the 225-mark and the outbreak spread across the country including to Beijing and Shanghai. As many as 14 medical workers were infected by the disease, health officials said, a sign that the disease is highly infectious. Zhong Nanshan, director of the State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease said transmission between humans was behind at least one confirmed case in Wuhan and also infections in two families in south Chinas Guangdong province. ALSO WATCH | Coronavirus: Toll rises, infection spreads; China claims active response Zhong added said 14 medical staff contracted the virus from one carrier without giving details. Zhong added that at least 95 percent of the cases were connected to Wuhan, the capital of the central Chinese province of Hubei. He said the occurrence of human-to-human and infection of the medical staff infection were important signs and the priority should be to prevent the spread of the disease. The total number of confirmed cases of the infection until Monday evening was 217; at least seven more suspected cases were reported from different parts of China. A Chinese woman was hospitalised with the Coronavirus in South Koreas Seoul on Monday after disembarking from a flight from the city of Wuhan in central China where the virus is said to have originated. One person in Japan and two more in Thailand have also been diagnosed with the disease. Taking note of the situation, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday that the country will curb the spread of an outbreak of pneumonia caused by a new coronavirus, state television reported. Peoples lives and health should be given top priority and the spread of the outbreak should be resolutely curbed, it quoted Xi as saying. The spread of the virus has sparked fears of a wider outbreak as the travel rush for the upcoming Chinese New Year (CNY) holidays peaks this week. More than three billion trips are expected to be made during a 40-day rush for the CNY holidays. All three deaths were reported from Wuhan, a university city with a population nearly 11 million and thousands foreign including Indian students. The city has reported 198 cases so far. As of 6 pm on Monday, at least five cases of the disease have been reported in Beijing, two in Shanghai and as many as 14 in the southern province of Guangdong. The numbers are set to rise, experts said with a WHO official reiterating the possibility and danger of human-to-human transmission. It is clear that there is at least some human-to-human transmission from the evidence we have, but we dont have clear evidence that shows the virus has acquired the capacity to transmit among humans easily, said Takeshi Kasai, the WHOs regional director for the western pacific, in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Monday. We need more information to analyse that. At present, there is no special cure for this new coronavirus and [we are] conducting some tests with animals, Zhong was quoted by Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post as saying. We expect the number of infected cases will increase over the Lunar New Year travel period and we need to prevent the emergence of a super-spreader of the virus, Zhong added. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Buckingham Palace is reportedly reconsidering the royal title of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex because the punctuation is the same as in the titles of women who have divorced royal men. After announcing Prince Harry and Meghan would be stepping away from the front lines of the royal family, palace insiders were left scrambling to decide how to balance the couples titles against their desire for a more private life. Ultimately it was decided the two would go on as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex but would lose the ability to refer to themselves as his or her royal highness (HRH). However, staff are now reviewing the pairs new titles after the comma in Meghan, Duchess of Sussex was highlighted as suggesting the former actress had been divorced by Prince Harry, according to Sky News. A Buckingham Palace source said they would confirm in due course how the couples names will be styled in future, the broadcaster reported. World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down Show all 24 1 /24 World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down US World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down Canada World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down Italy World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down UK World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down UK World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down US World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down Canada World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down UK World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down Argentina World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down US World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down UK World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down Belgiam World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down UK World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down US World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down Brazil World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down UK World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down Chile World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down UK World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down UK World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down Belgiam World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down UK World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down Canada World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down UK Both Harrys mother and the former wife of Prince Andrew were given commas after they were stripped of their HRH titles going by Diana, Princess of Wales and Sarah, Duchess of York from then on. The Independent has contacted Buckingham Palace for comment. It comes after Prince Harry said there was no other option for the pair than to stand down from royal duties, in a speech referring to the powerful force of the media. The Duke of Sussex explained he and his wife had made the decision during a private dinner at an event for his Sentebale mental health charity in London on Sunday night. The Duke of Sussex has reportedly flown back to Canada to be reunited with his wife and baby son after his decision to step back from royal life was endorsed by the charitys chairman. Recommended Why Canada is the promised land for Meghan Markle I want you to hear the truth from me, as much as I can share not as a prince or a duke but as Harry, the same person that many of you have watched grow up over the last 35 years, but with a clearer perspective, he told guests. The UK is my home and a place that I love. That will never change. I have grown up feeling support from so many of you, and I watched as you welcomed Meghan with open arms as you saw me find the love and happiness that I had hoped for all my life. Finally, the second son of Diana got hitched. Once Meghan and I were married, we were excited, we were hopeful, and we were here to serve, he said. For those reasons, it brings me great sadness that it has come to this. One among the three adolescent girls from the poorest households around the world has never attended school, according to the UNICEF paper launched on January 20. It was launched when education ministers gathered at the Education World Forum and as leaders prepare to convene at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting. It revealed that poverty, discrimination due to gender, disability, ethnic origin or language of instruction, physical distance from schools and poor infrastructure are some of the major factors that continues to prevent the poorest children from accessing quality education. READ: At 67,385, India Records Highest Number Of Babies Born Globally On New Years Day: UNICEF Gender. Ability. Ethnicity. These are some of the things preventing the worlds poorest children from getting a quality education. #WEF20 #ForEveryChild pic.twitter.com/dce63H8M35 UNICEF (@UNICEF) January 20, 2020 Disparities spending in education The paper says that the exclusion of the poorest children from education is a key driver of a global learning crisis. The data was analyzed from 42 countries and it was found that "education for children from the richest 20 per cent of households are allocated nearly double the amount of education funding than children from the poorest 20 per cent of households." Disparities spending in education are particularly high in ten African countries with funding allocated to the richest children compared with the poorest. READ: ICC Extends Partnership With UNICEF For 2020 Women's T20 World Cup Dont tell anyone. You will get into trouble. No one will believe you. Fear, stigma and shame stops many girls and women from speaking out against violence. This is unacceptable. #ENDviolence pic.twitter.com/fa02is8qLS UNICEF (@UNICEF) January 20, 2020 Adverse effect of unequally distributed funding Limited and unequally distributed funding results in large class sizes, less skilled teachers, lack of educational materials and poor school infrastructure. It has an adverse effect on attendance, enrolment, and learning. Barbados, Denmark, Ireland, Norway and Sweden are the only countries included in the analysis that distribute education funding equally between the richest and poorest quintiles. In Guinea and the Central African Republic, the richest children benefit from nine to six-time, respectively, the amount of public education funds than the poorest children. READ: PARTNERED CONTENT | UNICEF Swapnadisha: Everyone Needs A Friend Like Kiran READ: Malaysia To Join Hands With UNICEF For Polio Vaccination In The Sabah ROME, N.Y. A Rome man was arrested Friday for allegedly damaging vehicles and stealing parts, after state police found him at a traffic stop in Marcy. State police say they had been searching for 26-year-old Richard D. Tennant Jr. for two months on multiple arrest warrants issued in Utica, Rome and Oneida. Tennant is charged with auto stripping, criminal mischief and grand larceny for allegedly stealing catalytic converters and selling them to scrap yards. Police say Tennant had been evading arrest until he was found as a passenger in a car pulled over in Marcy on Jan. 17. Tennant was taken to Oneida County Centralized Arraignment Court and held on bail due to his outstanding warrant from Madison County. He is scheduled to appear in court at a later date. North Korea's tourism website DPR Korea Tour can be accessed from South Korea, which normally blocks all North Korean websites under the decades-old National Security Law. The exemption is fueling speculation that it has something to do with the plan the government has mooted to allow individual South Koreans to travel to North Korea to improve inter-Korean relations. North Korea opened the website around 2017. It features information about the scenic areas of Wonsan, Mt. Kumgang, Mt. Baekdu and other potential tourist attractions in five languages. It also explains how to get a visa and hails North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. System error error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. context: ... 21: 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: 28:
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Know all about the latest news and other news updates from Hindustan Times. Income tax raids on Jyotsna Suri, MD of group that owns LaLit Hotel chain The Income Tax department on Monday conducted raids on the premises of Jyotsna Suri, MD of Bharat Hotels, in a tax evasion case. The group owns The LaLit luxury hotel chain. An I-T official said on Monday that eight premises are being searched, including that of Suri and her associates. Read More Chandrayaan 2, India-Aus 2001 match in PMs Pariksha Pe Charcha message Prime Minister Narendra Modi exhorted the students of the country to learn from failure to become successful in life. At the third edition of Pariksha pe Charcha - Prime Ministers interaction with students ahead of their exams - he gave the analogy of the unsuccessful launch of Chandrayaan 2, Indias moon mission, last year. Read More Not a single paisa paid, says Justice Nariman before recusing from Vijay Mallyas case The Supreme Court on Monday told fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya that he hadnt repaid the money the defunct airlines Kingfisher owed to the banks. Not a single paisa has come, Justice Rohinton Nariman remarked as soon a bench led by Chief Justice SA Bobde took up the businessmans petition to stop proceedings to confiscate his assets. Justice Nariman recused from the case soon after. Chief Justice Bobde will reconstitute the bench that will hear the case. Read More How Sukhoi-30 fighter jets will help check Chinese footprint in Indian Ocean The Indian Air Force is raising a new squadron of Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jets at the Thanjavur air force station in Tamil Nadu on Monday, a development that will boost the IAFs capabilities in peninsular India and help keep an eye on the Indian Ocean Region where Chinese footprint is growing at a swift pace. Read More Ajay Devgn thanks army, navy and air chiefs for watching Tanhaji with him Actor Ajay Devgn has shared a note of thanks on Twitter towards the Indian Navy, Indian Army and Indian Air Force chiefs. The three military heads came together for a screening of Ajays latest film, Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior. Read More India vs Australia: 3 big takeaways from Indias emphatic series win After their series win against Australia, Team India captain Virat Kohli spoke about the intensity, the body language and the ability of the side to bounce back from losses as the biggest takeaways from Indias start in 2020. What are the three big takeaways for India from the series? Read More Martha Stewart wouldnt buy Gwyneth Paltrows 5,500 This Smells Like My Vagina Hollywood actor and online shopping portal Goop founder, Gwyneth Paltrow has been grabbing headlines ever since she announced the launch of her brand new This Smells Like My Vagina candle. While the world is scampering to buy and be patient as their turn comes in the waiting list for the candle, one person who wants none of it is American businesswoman, and renowned chef, writer and television personality Martha Stewart. Read More Washington, Jan 20 : The US state of Virginia was on high alert as thousands of people were expected to descend on the city of Richmond on Monday for a pro-gun rally that authorities fear could turn violent. State Governor Ralph Northam on Sunday declared a state of emergency ahead of the Lobby Day rally, banning firearms from the area around the Capitol building, the BBC reported. The Federal Aviation Administration has also issued temporary flight restrictions over the city, making it illegal to fly planes or drones. The rally is an annual event, but several gun-control bills passed in January by the Democrat-led Virginia legislature, in the state where gun rights have historically been permissive, have angered gun owners and activists. The Virginia Citizens Defence League (VCDL), a gun rights group which organised the rally, said it expected as many as 50,000 people. Many of the buses laid on from neighbouring states were sold out before the weekend. Various groups including armed militia, right-wing extremists and local Antifa, or anti-fascist movement, are expected to attend. Christian Yingling, who led the Pennsylvania Light Foot Militia during the violent clashes in Charlottesville in 2017, told the BBC that he was hoping for a big turnout. "I'd like to see a lot of people, I really would. I know from chatter online that a lot of militia types are coming in from some distance... Texas, Illinois, elsewhere," he said. He said he hoped the rally would pass peacefully but feared it would not. "I think there's enormous potential for something to go wrong." At a rural community hall about 20 miles south of Richmond, dozens of people from different militia groups gathered on Sunday night to talk about tactics for Monday's rally and about the broader threat to gun rights they see in Virginia. When Greg Trojan, one of the founders of the VCDL, asked how many people had travelled in from outside the state, more than half raised their hands. Many at the meeting said they hoped for a peaceful day tomorrow, some said they anticipated violence. A male Stanford University sophomore was found dead inside the Theta Delta Chi fraternity house on Friday morning. Investigators in Santa Clara County, California, are trying to determine the cause of death. A preliminary investigation found that there was no foul play involved, according to the Stanford Daily. The Palo Alto Fire Department found the student unresponsive in the home and pronounced him dead at approximately 10:21am on Friday. The university has so far refused to publish the deceased man's name. A male sophomore student enrolled at Stanford University was found dead inside an on-campus fraternity home (seen in the above stock image) on Friday, according to authorities 'We have been in touch with the students family...,' Susie Brubaker-Cole, Stanford's vice provost, wrote in a campus-wide email. 'While we are working to understand the familys wishes, we are not in a position to share the students name. Investigators have yet to determine a cause of death, though preliminary findings point to no foul play. The Stanford campus in Palo Alto, California, is seen in the above file photo 'This is very difficult news for any family to bear. Our university community grieves with them.' Brubaker-Cole said that counseling services would be provided to students. Personalized Internet Assessor - Congo (Swahili Language) Ref: 200116-PIASW Places of work: Kinshasa, Congo Kinshasa Are you looking for a role that gives you the opportunity to work with one of America's top 100 most trusted Companies while also increasing your income from the comfort of your home? Then why not join Lionbridge as a part-time Independent Contractor. We are currently recruiting for the role of Swahili speaking Personalized Internet Assessors who are based in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. What does the role involve? In this role you will be reviewing online search results in order to improve their content and quality. You will be required to provide feedback and analysis on content found in search engine results and provide ratings on their relevance to the search terms used. Another aspect of this role will involve reviewing the Swahili language used in the search results by examining grammar, tone and cultural relevance. Through this work you will be making a valuable contribution by expressing your opinion on the quality and content of what is currently out there on the web. You will play a part in improving the quality of one of the largest search engines in the world using both your PC and required Smartphone device. Who is suitable for this role? We are currently seeking dynamic and creative people who have a strong interest in social media, specifically those who are an active daily user of Gmail. We also require suitable candidates to own & use a smartphone - Android or iPhone - and have a familiarity with other forms of social media and Google products. You should also be flexible, reliable and have the ability to interpret and follow established guidelines. You will have the flexibility and freedom to work from your own home, working your own hours. Hours for this role are between 2 - 5 hours per week depending on task availability. We are currently seeking people who have a specific smartphone device (Android V4.2 or higher or iPhone running iOS version 9.0 or higher) to complete tasks What are the main requirements for the role? You must be fluent in written and verbal English and Swahili. You must be currently living and have resided in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for the last 5 consecutive years You must own and use a Smartphone (Android V4.2 or higher or iPhone running iOS version 9.0 or higher) to complete tasks. The majority of the task types will require both a desktop/laptop and a Smartphone Gmail must be your primary email account Active daily user of Gmail and other forms of social media. You must have familiarity with current and historical business, media, sport, news, social media and cultural affairs in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Access to and use of a broadband internet connection and associated computer and software to perform the work, all provided at your own expense Experience in use of web browsers to navigate and interact with a variety of content What's next? Don't Delay! Submit your application through the below link using a desktop PC/Laptop and a member of our recruitment team will then review and process your application. For the online application, please use the exact following email address/ internet link: https://jobstats.robopost.com/count/clic.php?v=232446&j=2146 NEW YORK, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The education-themed movie drama Miss Virginia will fill the big screen at a special event which brings New York City school leaders together and celebrates K-12 education on Wednesday, Jan. 22. Virginia Walden Ford, the education advocate whose life inspired the movie, will be present for a reception, book-signing opportunity, and discussion before the movie. Parents, educators, and school leaders will attend the special screening, which is one of New York's largest events planned during School Choice Week. The reception and book-signing with Virginia Walden Ford will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Landmark at 57 West and include free appetizers and drinks. At 6:30 p.m., Virginia Walden Ford and National School Choice Week President Andrew Campanella will introduce the film and discuss Virginia's inspiring story of helping enact an opportunity scholarship program for low-income children in D.C. 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. "Miss Virginia tells a story that gets to the heart of expanding educational opportunities and the belief that parents are the first educators of their children," said Darla M. Romfo, president of Children's Scholarship Fund. "This School Choice Week, we are excited to introduce the movie and Virginia Walden Ford herself to leaders from quality schools all over New York City while celebrating the diverse educational options they provide." The movie screening is organized by the Children's Scholarship Fund, which expands educational opportunity by providing scholarships to families in need so children can attend K-8 private schools. The Landmark is located at 657 West 57th St., at 12th Ave. Event guests can receive free parking at MTP Parking between 11th and 12th Avenues, on the north side of the street. 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/new-york. SOURCE National School Choice Week Related Links http://www.schoolchoiceweek.com The former chairman of a panel that reviewed NI Water more than a decade ago has said water charges will need to be implemented to repair Northern Ireland's ageing infrastructure. Paddy Hillyard, who is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Queen's University Belfast, said the newly reformed Stormont Executive has been wrong to hastily dismiss the idea of water charges. In a letter to the Belfast Telegraph, the leading academic said: "In the context of a climate emergency and the sad state of our water infrastructure, it is disappointing that within days of forming a government, most of the Executive should have dismissed out of hand the introduction of water charges without any evidence-based discussion of the issues." Professor Hillyard, who led the Independent Water Review Panel in 2007, claims that its two reports have been ignored in the current debate over finance by the new Executive. He said: "We recommended the introduction of domestic water charges, supported by an affordability scheme to prevent water poverty. "As metering was an expensive option, we proposed that the charge should be based on the rateable valuable of the house. We argued that this would be fair and proportionate, targeted at those who could afford to pay." NI Water needs at least 2.5bn to address capacity issues and to continue providing essential water and wastewater services - despite the Government providing just 2bn to the new Stormont Executive in total. Mr Hillyard added: "Every year the subsidy to NI Water has been between 250m to 300m. "In the 11 years our reports have been gathering dust, the total subsidy has come to just over 3bn. "As the Barnett formula - the mechanism for allocating funds to Northern Ireland from the Treasury - does not cover water charges, this sum has had to be taken from the health and education budgets. "This loss of income therefore partly explains the deplorable state of our health and education systems," he said. NI Water says the 2.5bn figure includes an infrastructure investment requirement of approximately 1bn needed in Greater Belfast during the 2020s to support the existing population and to allow the city to grow. Mr Hillyard added: "At the heart of sustainable development is the principle that the polluter should pay the cost, whether it is for water or a factory that produces a potentially poisonous substance. It is impossible to see where this (2.5bn) investment can come from unless water charges are introduced and even then the sums will be insufficient." Last week 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 added that discussions "will have to be had" over possible rates rises instead as Stormont attempts to find the necessary funding for infrastructure, health, education and justice. Letters, Page 26 A hot potato: Politicians rarely have anything good to say about video games, and former US vice president Joe Biden is particularly unimpressed by the industry, calling developers he met at the White House creeps and arrogant who make games that teach people how to kill. Biden, who is currently campaigning to become the Democratic nominee for the 2020 presidential election, shared his opinions in an interview with the New York Times. When asked about Silicon Valleys expansion of power during his time in the Obama administration, Biden said: And you may recall, the criticism I got for meeting with the leaders in Silicon Valley, when I was trying to work out an agreement dealing with them protecting intellectual property for artists in the United States of America. And at one point, one of the little creeps sitting around that table, who was a multi- close to a billionaire who told me he was an artist because he was able to come up with games to teach you how to kill people. As for which game executive Biden was referring to as a creep, Kotaku has some theories about who the person might be, including EAs then-CEO John Riccitiello. And then one of these righteous people said to me that, you know, 'We are the economic engine of America. We are the ones.' And fortunately I had done a little homework before I went and I said, you know, I find it fascinating, Biden continued. As I added up the seven outfits, everyones there but Microsoft. I said, you have fewer people on your payroll than all the losses that General Motors just faced in the last quarter, of employees. So dont lecture me about how youve created all this employment.. The point is, theres an arrogance about it, an overwhelming arrogance that we are, we are the ones. We can do what we want to do. I disagree. Biden has expressed his distaste for video games in the past. During 2013, while he was vice president, he proposed an additional tax on violent media, including violent games. Despite numerous studies showing no link between violent video games and real-life violent crimes, weve seen several politicians suggesting extra taxes be added to the titles. The White House famously used a video to illustrate violence in games back in 2018, which are often blamed following mass shootings. It led to the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) saying that games should not be made a scapegoat for the gun violence problem. Everyone knows that the global corporate tax system needs to be overhauled, Apple chief executive Tim Cook has said, backing changes to global rules that are under consideration. The growth of internet companies such as Apple has pushed international tax rules to the limit, prompting the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to pursue global reforms over where multinational firms should be taxed. The reforms being examined centre around the booking of profits by multinational firms in low-tax countries such as Ireland where they have bases, rather than where most of their customers are. I think logically everybody knows it needs to be rehauled, I would certainly be the last person to say the current system or the past system was the perfect system. Im hopeful and optimistic that they [the OECD] will find something, Mr Cook said. Its very complex to know how to tax a multinational. We desperately want it to be fair, the Apple CEO said in Dublin, after receiving an inaugural award from the IDA recognising the contribution of multinationals. Apple is one of Irelands largest multinational employers with 6,000 workers. Its appeal with the Government to the EUs second-highest court, against the order that Apple must pay 13bn in back taxes to Ireland, began in September and could run for years. Mr Cook said Apples belief that law should not be retrofitted was at the heart of the case and that the company had great faith in the justice system. Apples commitment to Ireland, which became its first European operation in 1980, was unshakable, Mr Cook said. The Apple chief executive also said that more regulation was needed in the area of privacy and must go further than the 2018 European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) privacy laws that handed regulators there significantly more powers. More regulation is needed in this area, it is probably strange for a business person to be talking about regulation but it has become apparent that companies will not self-police in this area, he said. We were one of the first to endorse GDPR, we think it is overall extremely good, not only for Europe. We think its necessary but not sufficient, he said. Reuters Jackie Goldschneider has been a cast member on Real Housewives of New Jersey for two seasons. The New Yorker has been able to stand on her own and go toe-to-toe with vets on the show without missing a beat. Shes become a fan favorite for her ability to articulate herself in heated debates, unlike many of her co-stars who resort to verbal attacks. More recently, the usually humbled Goldschnier declared that she is the wealthiest out of the cast, causing a stir with her co-stars and some viewers eager to learn how shes earned her living. Jackie Goldschneider | Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images Jackie Goldschneider on RHONJ Goldschneider began appearing on the show in season 9. Shes a busy mother of two sets of twins and is happily married to her husband Evan. Goldschneider grew up in Staten Island, New York but moved to New Jersey in high school and considers herself a Jersey girl. Shes been a resident of Bergen County for a decade. As a freelance writer, fellow RHONJ star, Margaret Josephs, became a fan of Goldschneiders work. The two became friends and Josephs suggested that Goldschneider join the cast. She met with producers and they loved her. Source: YouTube Her time on the show hasnt been easy. While shes formed close friendships with Josephs and Melissa Gorga, the same cant be said for Gorgas sister-in-law, Teresa Guidice. The two have famously feuded over comments Goldschneider made regarding Guidices husbands incarceration. Goldschedier has also argued with Delores Cantania and Jennifer Aydin. Source: YouTube Despite the not so great relationships with some of her co-stars, Goldscnheider has used her platform to advocate for women who battle eating disorders. Shes been about her journey with overcoming anorexia after being overweight for the majority of her childhood. She now sticks to a healthy eating and workout regime while working with a nutritionist. What is RHONJ stars Jackie Goldschneiders net worth? While Goldschneider is the least flashy of the cast, questions about her fortune began when she told an interesting story from her past. Source: YouTube According to her, during her time working for a popular law firm in her 20s, one of the senior partners gave her a heads up that her co-worker, whom she was dating, was going to propose to her. She wasnt in love with him and couldnt see herself walking down the aisle so she enlisted the help of her mother. Knowing her boyfriend spent more money on the ring than he could afford, Goldschneider had her mother buy the ring from the guy so that he wouldnt lose the money. Her mother brought the ring for $15,000! Goldschneiders co-stars were stunned, particularly Aydin, who considers Goldschneider to be cheap for not splurging as much as the group. Aydin was also shocked to learn that Goldschneider rents her Hamptons home for $50,000 a month. But Goldschneider is unfazed by the groups opinions and has always had a very specific relationship with money. According to Goldschneider, she has family money. She explained on a recent episode of The Daily Dish podcast exactly where her money comes from. Though her parents both grew up poor, they started businesses in their 20s after graduating from college and built their wealth from there. My parents were very smart about it. My father also did very well for himself and everything that they made together, they started investing, she said. They invested in stocks, they invested in real estate, and they really did amazingly well for themselves. But the reality star says she and her husband do not live off her parents money. When she has used money from a trust fund, shes followed their model by investing in real estate which includes her Hamptons home as well as properties in Manhattan. She also says she runs a small real estate management company. Goldschneider has built her own empire. She is a former real estate attorney who found a second career as a freelance journalist and newspaper columnist. She recently began writing for Good Housekeeping. She has her own blog titled Into the Mummy Brain, and has also written posts for the Huffington Post, Scary Mommy, and the New Jersey newspaper Bergen Records. According to Floor 8, her accumulated net worth before even joining the show was an impressive $2 million. As for why she opts to not spend frivolously, she told The Daily Dish: Money to me is not what makes you an impressive person or an admirable person, so its not something that you brag about. And I buy things; I do spend money but I just dont flash it all over Instagram, because I find it tacky. Source: YouTube With a mindset like Goldscnheiders, she wont be another reality star added to the list of those who go broke. The podcast will air on Jan. 23. Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his British counterpart Dominic Raab discussed on Monday in London ways to boost Egyptian-British ties and cooperation in different fields, the Egyptian foreign ministry said. According to the foreign ministry's statement, Shoukry and Raab discussed during the meeting on the sidelines of the UK-Africa Investment Summit the recent regional and international developments. Shoukry said he wants to explore new prospects for cooperation between Africa and the UK, particularly under Egypt's current chairmanship of the African Union in ways that best serve the people of the continent. Shoukry underlined that President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave great importance to boosting bilateral cooperation on all levels, hailing the thriving ties between both countries in the recent period, the statement added. Search Keywords: Short link: Her hit series Power may be coming to a close. But that won't stop La La Anthony from shining. The 38-year-old actress took to Instagram to share a scintillating snap from her envy-inducing trip to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic on Saturday. Wow factor: La La Anthony took to Instagram to share a scintillating snap from her envy-inducing trip to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic on Saturday Despite it being evening time, she lit up the serene Caribbean locale by wearing a flowy white jumpsuit featuring flared trousers and an asymmetrical design. She kept the look uber chic with a pair of matching cat eye shades as she accessorized with large hoop earrings. Her brunette tresses were pulled back in a ponytail as she did her coolest pose in the photo simply captioned: 'White night.' Not only did La La get to enjoy the beautiful scenery in the Caribbean but she was also honored along with her Power co-stars and producers. Busy: Not only did La La get to enjoy the beautiful scenery in the Caribbean but she was also honored along with her Power co-stars and producers Wow factor: The actress and television personality was recognized for her work on the Starz series at the Cana Dorada Film & Music Festival on Saturday night The actress and television personality was recognized for her work on the Starz series at the Cana Dorada Film & Music Festival on Saturday night. La La was joined by castmates Omar Hardwick, Naturi Naughton, Joseph Sikora, Lela Loren, Lucy Walters, Andy Bean and Adam Huss in addition to producer Mark Canton. The talented cast and crew looked happy to join each other on the island ahead of their sixth and final season of their highly-successful series. The multiple-day event was jam packed with the brightest stars as Dolph Lundgren, Aracely Arambula, Victoria Bonya, Dorthy Canton, and Cheryl B. Isaacs. Lovely: She donned her shimmering silver look as she proudly carried along her new trophy After the gala, La La headed to the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana for some rest and relaxation where she was primped and pampered like the A-lister that she is. She also celebrated at one of the hottest spots and most exclusive party experiences on the island at ORO Nightclub at the resort. The Dominican Republic certainly seems to be the go-to destination for celebrities in 2020 as Mariah Carey and Bella Thorne have famously spent time there in recent weeks. Squad goals: Shane Johnson, Larenz Tate, Naturi Naughton and La La (pictured from left to right) as they were honored for the hit series Also recently vacationing in the DR was Golden Globe winner Taron Egerton. The Rocketman actor splurged on lavish birthday celebration in the Dominican Republic back in November. Breaking Bad's Aaron Paul also recently splurged on an incredible celebration on the island with Bryan Cranston. Likewise, the talented Ansel Elgort just made the island home for a getaway with longtime girlfriend Violetta. Celebs have been drawn to the island for its ultra-private, family friendly atmosphere. Flawless: La La was one of the lucky few celebrities who received a special delivery courtesy of Beyonce featuring her Ivy Park x Adidas collection Simply stunning: The mother of one looked absolutely gorgeous while showing off the new athleisure range Jennifer Lopez, Pharrell Williams, Justin Bieber, and the Kardashians have also enjoyed relaxing times there without fear of being bothered. Cardi B took a trip to the Caribbean country in October to throw her grandmother an 80th birthday bash and superstars Jay-Z and Beyonce also recently visited with their family. Vin Diesel also just visited. During his trip he made sure to pay it forward, seen visiting a local orphanage and spending time with the kids. Image: Twitter live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More HCL Technologies share price rallied more than 3 percent to hit a record high of Rs 618.90 on January 20 after company reported slightly better than expected revenue and margin in Q3 with revision of lower end of full year guidance, but the stock wiped out those gains to trade lower followed weakness in equity market. It was quoting at Rs 595.05, down Rs 3.75, or 0.63 percent on the BSE at 1210 hours IST. However, it rallied 25 percent in last one year. The country's third largest technology company reported a 14.6 percent sequential growth in Q3 profit on revenue of Rs 18,135 crore that increased 3.5 percent QoQ. Dollar revenue grew by 2.3 percent QoQ and constant currency revenue growth stood at 2.1 percent in Q3. Company raised its full year constant currency revenue growth forecast to 16.5-17 percent from 15-17 percent and margin to 19-19.5 percent from 18.5-19.5 percent earlier. Most brokerages remained positive on the stock and also raised price target, citing inexpensive valuations. While having a buy call on the stock and raising price target to Rs 685 (from Rs 660 per share), Citi said while EBIT was in-line, revenue was slightly lower than estimates. For All Earnings Related News - Click Here "Performance was reasonable given the sluggish performance for Tier-I names and valuations are reasonable at current levels," the brokerage said, adding it revised EPS estimates by 3-4 percent. Credit Suisse maintained outperform call on the stock and raised price target to Rs 700 (from Rs 665) as it feels Q3 was an all-round beat with yet another guidance raise. "It should be the fastest organically growing large cap IT company in FY20. Concerns over high IMS exposure were overdone and hence, we raised EPS estimate by 2-3 percent," said the brokerage, adding the outperform call was on the back of growth revival and undemanding valuations. At operating level, company's earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) grew by 4.5 percent QoQ to Rs 3,670 crore and margin expanded 25bps QoQ to 20.2 percent in quarter ended December 2019. While having add rating on the stock and revising target to Rs 650 (from Rs 615), Kotak Institutional Equities retained its revenue growth estimate and raised EPS estimate by 3-6 percent. "Company traded at inexpensive valuation of 14x FY21 earnings. Valuations are attractive even after recognising product execution risks," said the global brokerage. ICICI Direct has upgraded the stock to buy recommendation with a target of Rs 700 per share as HCL Tech reported a healthy quarter from the perspective of margin expansion and organic growth guidance. The brokerage expects the company to continue to report healthy growth in organic revenues in coming quarters. Further, it expects Mode-2 to improve in subsequent quarters. "Additionally, easing of seasonality pressure in the products & platforms business within IBM driven by renewals would ensure growth. Further, we expect margins to improve gradually in FY19-22E," it said. Motilal Oswal reiterated a buy call on the stock with a target of Rs 720 and upgraded its EPS estimates over FY20-22 by 1-4 percent. "HCL Tech to be the key beneficiary of public cloud repatriation given its higher IMS exposure and stronger hybrid cloud capabilities." "Despite positive seasonality, the products business reported a slight decline on an organic basis and order booking during the quarter witnessed a dip. However, outlook on both growth and margins remained stable," said the brokerage. However, Morgan Stanley is the only brokerage which has an underweight call on the stock, but raised target price to Rs 580 (from Rs 545) as revenue growth was in-line with additional revenue coming in from IBM IP business. Key highlight was margin improvement driven by better productivity and the management is hopeful about growth given a strong pipeline, said the brokerage which raised its FY20, FY21 & FY22 EPS estimates by 8 percent, 5 percent and 4 percent. : The above report is compiled from information available on public platforms. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions. Reduction in the Goods & Services Tax (GST) tops the budget wish-list of the beleaguered automobile industry. Last year, the industry recorded its worst-ever sales decline in two decades as a variety of factors spooked the retail buyer despite manufacturers offering never-seen-before discounts. Multiple hikes in insurance premiums, safety-related regulatory changes, easing axle load norms, fuel price hikes, lending crisis in the NBFC space, uncertainty over the future of BS-IV vehicles and tighter lending norms by banks are some of the reasons why auto demand has remained subdued for several quarters. Cost of cars is estimated to have risen 20 percent in the past 12 months due to mandatory additions like airbag, reverse sensors, ABS, crash conformity standards and upgradation to Bharat Stage VI emission standards. There was a 14 percent decline in automotive volumes in 2019 to 23.07 million units, data supplied by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) revealed. After BS-VI implementation from April 1, the industry expects retail demand to remain dull for at least two quarters. Manufacturers have thus suggested a slew of measures to the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with a hope to see a turnaround in coming months. A reduction in GST tops the list of those demands. The lobby body wants the government to temporarily pare down the GST rate to 18 percent from the present 28 percent. This, the industry hopes, will negate the incessant vehicle price hike (including that due to BS-VI implementation) and make them more affordable. If there is reduction in GST, it will boost the governments tax revenue as a higher retail demand will generate an additional tax income. On the other hand, if GST is not reduced, then falling retail sales will translate in lower GST revenue. Indian roads are home to several outdated and polluting trucks and buses, which have reached the end of their serviceable lives. With very little or no restriction laid on them, such vehicles are chief polluters and pose a serious risk of life because of poor maintenance. The industry has been hoping that the government will steadfastly rollout the scrappage policy, which has been in the making for several years. The policy will not only incentivise truck and bus owners, but makes it mandatory to give up vehicles that are older than the stipulated date. Under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric and Hybrid Vehicles (FAME) scheme, the Centre provides monetary incentives to buyers of electric and hybrid vehicles. The government has committed Rs 10,000 crore for the FAME II scheme. However, private car buyers cannot benefit from the scheme, which provides incentives of around Rs 1.5 lakh per vehicle. Only those electric and hybrid car buyers can benefit from the scheme who put up their vehicles for commercial use. The industry is seeking relief from customs duty on lithium-ion cells import, which it feels is necessary to develop the EV ecosystem in India, especially battery manufacturing. The government has been looking to incentivise battery making in India and has earmarked subsidy for the same to promote clean technology. However, these plans have remained largely on paper despite being in the rounds for more than a year. Post implementation of GST, some manufacturers expressed their displeasure after the government placed hybrids in the same bracket as large cars and SUVs. At 43 percent, taxes on hybrids are very steep compared to EVs, which carry a GST of 5 percent.The industry hopes that either GST on hybrids be reduced to 18 percent from 28 percent or some reduction be made on the 15 percent cess. The steep pricing of hybrids has forced carmakers to go only after electric vehicle technology, even as several governments across the world believe that hybrids are the perfect bridge between petrol/diesel cars and electric cars. Squirmed for a bit before going still: The final moments of Nirbhayas killers SC rejects juvenility plea by Nirbhayas killer India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Jan 20: The Supreme Court has rejected the plea filed by one of Nirbhaya's killers who claimed that he was a juvenile at the time of the commission of the offence. The court accepted the police plea that his birth certificate suggested that he was 19 at the offence. One of the convicts Pawan Gupta had argued that he was a juvenile at the time of the commission of the offence. He also said that the High Court had wrongly rejected his plea. Nirbhaya case convicts to be hanged on Feb 1 at 6 am; fresh death warrant issued Gupta had moved the Supreme Court on Friday seeking a direction to stay the execution of the death sentence against him, scheduled for February 1. Gupta's counsel alleged that there was a big conspiracy to conceal the age of his client. The court said that this issue was decided in the review filed on July 9. This issue was heard and dismissed on the same material. Can this be repeatedly argued, the court asked. The magistrate considered this issue and rejected it in 2013. The High Court also rejected the same, following which the Supreme Court passed similar orders. How many times will you raise this issue, the Bench also asked. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that the fact that Gupta was not a juvenile was consistently accepted. The claim can be raised at any time, but not repeatedly, Mehta also told the Bench. A family was rescued after falling through ice into a frozen lake in Southern California on Saturday. The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department responded to the incident at Big Bear Lake, 75 miles east of Los Angeles, at 2:30 p.m. After deputies arrived, they pulled the people out of the icy water in about three minutes. Video footage posted on TMZ shows deputies throwing ropes to the mother, father and daughter and pulling them across the thin layer of ice back to shore. Signs were posted around the lake warning people to stay off the ice, according to the San Bernardino Sun. SBSD spokeperson Jodi Miller told the Sun that the father was cited for not obeying signs. ALSO: Weather Service issues 'sneaker wave' warning for Bay Area beaches After the incident, the Big Bear Fire Department posted a statement on Facebook, warning of the hazards of frozen lakes. "Did you know, that if you fall into water that is 35 Degrees Fahrenheit or colder, that your hands and feet stop working in 2 minutes or less," it reads. "This is why there are multiple victims when one person falls in, it takes a couple people to pull you out because you have no motor functions. You cant grab a rope or use your hands to pull yourself up on the ice. Also, if not rescued within 15 minutes, unconsciousness and/or death can occur. Please, stay off the ice for yours, and your families safety." Amy Graff is a digital editor with SFGATE. Email her: agraff@sfgate.com. DAVOS, Switzerland The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is hoping that China and the United States will reach a broader trade agreement in the coming months, despite the recent signing of their "phase one" deal. The two largest economies in the world agreed to roll back some of their existing trade tariffs last week in what was dubbed as a "phase one" deal. The agreement also envisaged higher Chinese purchases of U.S. agricultural goods and it was seen as a temporary truce in a two-year-long dispute between Washington, D.C., and Beijing. However, the IMF is expecting more from both nations. "While we have had positive news with the U.S.-China 'phase one' trade deal, there's obviously a lot more that still needs to be done," Gita Gopinath, the IMF's chief economist, told CNBC Monday. "We would hope there would be a more comprehensive deal between the U.S. and China as the months go by," Gopinath also told CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. In its latest economic update, released Monday, the IMF trimmed its global growth forecasts. The Fund now expects a global growth rate of 3.3% for 2020. In the report, the IMF also warned that trade tensions and disruptions could return. The signing of the deal is expected to boost the Chinese economy slightly. The IMF upped its growth forecast for China by 0.2 percentage points for 2020 to 6%. "However, unresolved disputes on broader U.S.-China economic relations, as well as needed domestic financial regulatory strengthening, are expected to continue weighing on activity," the IMF said Monday. Speaking to CNBC at Davos, Gopinath added that "trade tensions and disruptions is something that we put out there as an important risk." A 50-year-old man from Nepal has been caught with a little over 1 kg charas in Himachal Pradesh's Kullu district, police said on Monday. Chhutum Lama was arrested with 1.025 kg of the drug in his possession during checking at Jainallah by a team of Jari police station on Sunday night, according to Kullu Superintendent of Police Gaurav Singh. An FIR has been registered against Lama under section 20 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act at Sadar police station, he said, adding that further investigation is on. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A technique for holding your breath for over five minutes has been discovered by researchers that can be used as a potential treatment method for people suffering from heart conditions like cardiac arrhythmias. The research was conducted by a team from the University of Birmingham, and the study was further published in Frontiers in Physiology. The technique was initially proposed as a new mean for the diagnosis of ischaemic heart disease. The technique involves hyperventilating conscious, unmedicated patients using a mechanical ventilator which delivers air to the patient via a face mask. Hyperventilation causes hypocapnia that leads to temporary constriction in the coronary arteries. The research team was able to confirm that mechanical hyperventilation and hypocapnia were well-tolerated and safe for patients with angina. This bought the idea to induce breath-holds of over five minutes to support an emerging new technique in which radiotherapy, instead of radiofrequency or freezing, is used for cardiac ablation. In this procedure, patients with arrhythmias undergo precisely targeted radiotherapy, applied from outside the chest, to destroy tissue that is allowing incorrect electrical signals to cause an abnormal heart rhythm. Breathing is a problem because each breath causes the heart to move within the chest. Lead author Dr Michael Parkes, of the University's School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, explained "Stopping breathing with a safe breath-hold of over 5 minutes, using mechanically induced hypocapnia and now with oxygen-enriched air, could allow surgeons to target the radiotherapy for cardiac ablation much more precisely." The next step is to test this technique in patients with cardiac arrhythmias to see if they too can hold their breath long enough to apply the radiotherapy. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Kim Kardashian, known more for her extravagant lifestyle and appearances on Keeping Up With the Kardashians, has her hand in a lot of different endeavors. For one, she's an entrepreneur and business owner for her brands that include KKW Beauty, KKW Fragrance, and most recently, Skims. Kardashian has also been pursuing a legal career, where she's been working as a paralegal and studying law. In California, people are eligible to take the Bar after so many years working in a firm. This seems to be the path that the mother of four is pursuing. While she's been doing this, she's also made it a point to fight the injustices of people who are unfairly incarcerated. To chronicle her experiences, she has executively produced a documentary that follows her through this journey. 'There Is A Mass Incarceration Problem in the United States' The documentary titled 'Kim Kardashian West: The Justice Project', which is set to air on Oxygen in April, recently dropped their trailer, providing a glimpse of what to expect from the film. In the trailer, Kardashian West states, "There is a mass incarceration problem in the United States," sharing the main premise of the documentary. The film, which lasts two hours, follows the cases of Dawn Jackson, Alexis Martin, Momolu Stewart and, David Sheppard, all prisoners who she believes have been unfairly put into prison. Throughout the documentary, Kardashian West speaks with friends and family of the inmates, as well as, public officials, and lawyers, all while trying to obtain information that can lead to each of their releases. Kardashian West Provides a Statement on the Documentary The makeup mogul released a formal statement on the documentary and what it's truly about for her. "I partnered with Oxygen to do the Kim Kardashian West: The Justice Project documentary because there are millions of people impacted by this broken justice system, and I wanted to put faces to these numbers and statistics," she began. Story continues "There are a lot of people who deserve a second chance, but many do not have the resources to make it happen. I want to help elevate these cases to a national level to effect change, and this documentary is an honest depiction of me learning about the system and helping bring tangible results to justice reform." Alice Marie Johnson Set to Appear in the Documentary The documentary also features Alice Marie Johnson, the prisoner that Kardashian West was able to help get released from prison after serving twenty-one years in a federal corrections facility. Johnson was sentenced to life in prison after being a prominent member of a Memphis cocaine trafficking ring. To Kardashian West and others vying for clemency to be granted, the sentence that she was charged with didn't match the crime, somthing the Skims owner thinks is applicable to a majority of African-Americans that are currently incarcerated. The Potential Implications of Raising Awareness on Mass Incarceration While the documentary is sure to cause some controversy, Kardashian West is hoping that this raises awareness for an ongoing social injustice within the United States prison system. However, people are beginning to come around as it pertains to the 'War on Drugs' which levied massively excessive charges and sentencing on people that are involved in non-violent crimes. If this film is able to get across to people, there may be many others who are afforded a second chance in life. The documentary is set to appear on Sunday, April 5th on the Oxygen network. (JNS)Israel and many Jewish organizations around the world have responded strenuously to counter the Boycott, Divest and Sanctions movement. They have taken a strong defensive position, arguing that Israel is being unfairly singled out. But how has Israel fared, and what is the best long-term strategy to combat anti-Israel boycotts? There is a case to be made that, thank God, Israel has fared well in many sectors, and that the best long-term business strategy may be to increase labeling and sharing successes. There are between 550 and 630 million evangelical Christians worldwide, most of whom are active supporters of Israel. Add to that a host of other nations and religious groups which support Israel, including most Jews. In the 60s American Jews and supporters of Israel went out of their way looking for the Jaffa label on oranges in order to support Israel. The same sentiment is alive and well and today, and could grow stronger. Depending upon the product, it may actually be increasingly advantageous to identify products as made in Israel. Think of BDS as Buy Directly from Samaria. As important as it is to disclose where a product is made, equally of interest is to know where it was developed or invented. According to Michael Eisenberg, leading venture capitalist with the ALEPH group, the BDS movement has actually helped highlight Israels innovation efforts on behalf of all humanity. He believes the need to help motivates Israeli entrepreneurs. BDS is anti-Semitism and the best way to counter it and its hatefulness is through innovation and caring, he said. Amazingly, today there are over 250 research and development centers in Israel owned by multinational companies. As we know, cell phones and computers have key components developed in Israel. WAZE, Flash drives and the cherry tomato were developed in Israel. The leading forest wildfire retardant was developed there. Drone programs that track everything from border security to the health of trees in an orange grove are being developed there. Flexible stents for heart patients were developed there. The list is long and growing and much of the world increasingly understands this. In a backhanded way, the BDS movement has focused attention on Israeli ingenuity and its positive impact. Increasing knowledge of what Israel is developing and increased labeling of Israeli products may actually build greater connections and support. What about energy labeling? Who could have predicted that Israel would be exporting natural gas? Israeli solar and geothermal technology provides critical renewable energy around the globe. On the flip side, those who support Israel may not want to purchase energy from countries sworn to its destruction. The implications of full disclosure in the energy sector would seem to help Israels economy and present a challenge to those governments who threaten us. There may be long-term benefits should Egyptian and European gas customers see a note on their monthly statements identifying Israel as the source country. It may help normalize relations. Oil is often traded on the high seas based on real-time demand at refineries around the world. Nevertheless, if companies better labeled and publicized their sources, realizing this could impact how oil is traded, perhaps it could have an impact. More disclosure would also help combat the core BDS argument. The typical anti-BDS argument is defensive, boiling down to Israels really not that bad when compared to many other countries. Israelis as well as Jews around the world should want something much better than this. How about Israel is a role model that other nations should emulate? No country rushes to aid nations in need the way that Israel does. No other country provides heart surgery for children from all over the world, many from hostile countries. No country would bending over backwards the way Israel does to help a population the leaders of which are actively seeking its destruction. No country in a similar situation would be providing energy and water to Gaza, or funding transportation and infrastructure projects in Arab communities in Judea and Samaria. The vast majority of employment for Arabs living in Judea and Samaria is on the Israeli side of the security barrier. For example, many are Israeli-trained doctors, nurses and pharmacists. As time goes on, there will likely be an increasing number of Arab citizens who will be willing to proudly speak up without fear of reprisal and tout the benefits of living in Israel. The Prime Ministers Office can also effectively support both offensive and defensive long-term disclosure strategies. For example, if a country in Europe were to consider a national boycott policy against Israel or parts of Israel, can the prime minister appeal directly to Israels supporters, for example, evangelical Christians across the globe, to support Israeli products made in those areas? Israel may underestimate its friends willingness to help and what harnessing their buying power could mean. Fighting BDS is important. Israel and its supporters may want to press forward with at least as much effort in an offensive long-term strategy. Increased labeling and disclosure can provide important results for Israel. Gary Schiff was the energy program leader for the U.S. Forest Service, which manages renewable and non-renewable energy operations on 10 percent of the continental United States. He consults on natural resource opportunities between Israel and the United States. Troops blocked Guaido from the National Assembly long enough for the Socialist Party to declare another man its head. The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on seven Venezuelan government officials. The US claims the South American legislators led a bid by Venezuelan socialist President Nicolas Maduro to wrest control of the countrys congress from US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido. This month, troops blocked Guaido from entering the National Assembly of Venezuela long enough for the Socialist Party to declare allied legislator Luis Parra as its head. Opposition legislators in a separate session on January 5 re-elected Guaido and later returned to the legislative palace to hold session. Washington blacklisted Parra and six other current or former officials who, at the bidding of Maduro, attempted to block the democratic process in Venezuela, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in the statement. Sanctions on the officials prohibit their access to US financial markets, freeze any of their assets in US control, and prohibit those in the US from any transactions with those targeted. Other Maduro-aligned National Assembly delegates blacklisted on Monday are: Jose Noriega, Franklyn Duarte, Jose Brito, Conrado Perez, Adolfo Superlano and Negal Morales. By Douglas Busvine MUNICH (Reuters) - Facebook will do a better job of preventing bad actors from abusing its platform to manipulate this year's U.S. presidential election than it did four years ago, its public affairs chief Nick Clegg said on Monday. Facing a critical audience at a technology conference in Munich, Clegg, a British former deputy prime minister hired by Facebook in 2018, said interference by Russian and other operatives in the 2016 vote had "shocked everybody". But the world's largest social network had since taken effective action to reduce the spread of fake news, he said, while most extremist political content was now being detected before it comes to public notice. "We are getting better and better at protecting elections from foreign interference," Clegg told the DLD technology conference. "Touch wood, we will be able to do a lot better in the U.S. presidential elections this year than we did four years ago." U.S. special prosecutor Robert Mueller's report into suspected Russian meddling in the presidential election found that Russian agents had used Facebook to spread divisive messages, including false news reports, to help elect Donald Trump and harm his opponent Hillary Clinton. Facebook was plunged into crisis nearly two years ago by revelations that British political consultancy Cambridge Analytica had used data harvested from millions of unsuspecting users to target U.S. election ads. In the audience was former Cambridge Analytica staffer-turned-whistleblower Brittany Kaiser who, in a question to Clegg, accused Facebook of wrongly comparing the proper task of moderating content on its platform to censorship. Clegg, keeping his cool, respectfully disagreed: "I don't think we do. We need to strike the right balance." EUROSCEPTICS Clegg was also challenged on a dispute in Germany over vulgar personal insults made on Facebook against Renate Kuenast, a senior Greens politician. Story continues Kuenast took the case to a Berlin court, which found last year that the insults did not represent a violation of free speech. Judges refused her request to order Facebook to turn over the data of those making the offensive posts. Facebook, Clegg said, had not been a party to the case. While not defending the language used, he said any decision to hand over that user data would have been improper as the law had not been broken. "We are going to be very careful, for content that is disgusting but not illegal, about giving over personal data," he told the conference. Facebook had since changed its content rules so that, if such language were used again, it would be taken down, he said. DON'T CHOP US INTO BITS In an earlier newspaper editorial, Clegg resisted calls to break up dominant U.S. technology firms, instead urging lawmakers and regulators to take steps to create an environment more conducive to competition. "Regulating the tech sector is a far more effective way to ensure that tech serves the needs of society than simply chopping successful companies into bits," he wrote in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. He urged the European Union's new executive Commission to "get to work" and, for example, make it easier for Facebook users to move their data to another social network. "If we want a competitive, open internet where new services can compete with large platforms like Facebook, we have to enable people to move their data from one service to a competing one," he wrote. (Reporting by Douglas Busvine; Editing by Peter Graff) Live bomb found in Abandoned laptop bag triggers bomb scare at Mangalore Airport India oi-Madhuri Adnal Mangaluru, Jan 20: A suspicious unattended laptop bag containing IED was found abandoned at the Bajpe airport in Mangaluru on Monday. The bag was found kept in the rest area meant for the passengers outside the airport. According to reports, two men came in auto and left the bag near the ticket counter, which is near the VIP vehicles parking area. The bag, which was lying unattended near the entrance of the airport was removed from the spot by the airport security personnel at 8.45 am. Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) DIG Anil Pandey said,'' We have found traces of Improvised explosive device (IED) from a bag lying at the ticket counter at Mangaluru airport, we have safely evacuated it.'' Bomb disposal squad & dog squad have rushed to the Airport. Investigation is underway. NEWS AT NOON, JANUARY 20th, 2020 Mangaluru Police Commissioner P S Harsha rushed to the airport along with a police team. An extensive search operation began with the help of bomb disposal and dog squads and metal detectors. "The CISF had found a suspicious bag, handled it as per the safety protocols and quickly informed the police control room. We have placed the bag in the isolation bay as per the safety protocol," Harsha later said in a video message. AirAsia flight makes emergency landing at Kolkata airport after woman claims she has bomb The police commissioner said the citizens had been kept away from the bag, adding that the situation was peaceful and the police were taking all precautions. According to some reports, two persons had come in an autorickshaw and placed the bag there. Police said they are verifying the CCTV footage. In the meantime, security has been tightened at the airport in view of the bomb threat. Meanwhile, Security beefed up at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru after an abandoned bag was found in Mangaluru Airport. New Delhi, Jan 20 (UNI) A delegation of Delhi BJP leaders on Monday met Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora, and demanded the cancellation of the nomination of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Jitendra Singh Tomar from Trinagar Assembly Constituency, in the light of recent decision of High Court in the forged degree case. The prominent persons in the delegation included Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, former Union Minister and Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Goel, Advocate Om Pathak, Spokesperson Harish Khurana, BJP Pradesh Legal and Legislative Department Convener Neeraj. Taking cognizance on the complaint, Mr Arora assured of appropriate action in this case. 'In its decision the High Court, on January 17, had found Mr Tomar guilty of filing false information regarding his education. Now for the sake of vote bank the AAP has again given ticket to Mr Tomar who was arrested in forged degree case in the year 2015. The AAP has crossed all the limits of low-grade politics by again nominating Tomar. There are 15 leaders in AAP who are facing serious charges and have been found guilty but even after that they have been given tickets to contest Assembly elections. By doing so AAP has made a mockery of trust of the people,' Mr Puri said. Mr Goel said that Mr Tomar was made the Law Minister of Delhi government in 2015 but later on in July he was arrested in forged degree case. 'Due to this, Mr Tomar had to resign from the post of Law Minister. In spite of this fact, AAP has given ticket to Mr Tomar again for Assembly Elections and proved that this party prefers the leaders involved in corruption and forgery,' he added. UNI PY ADG 1757 1 of 2 Oppo Find X2 to feature 6.5-inch QHD+ display and 5 unique specifications The Oppo Find X2 is all set to come to the market with a 6.5-inch QHD+ display with a highest possible resolution of 3168 x 1440 pixels. The smartphones display will come running at 120Hz refresh rate. However, users are being said to have an option of choosing between Users the standard 60Hz refresh rate and 120Hz refresh rate, both of which will support resolutions between Full HD+ and QHD+. Thereby ensuring that the phone will support a maximum resolution of QHD+ with a 120Hz refresh rate - something that Samsungs upcoming flagship, the Galaxy S20 is rumoured to not be able to do. The founder and CEO of OPPO, Chen Mingyong also confirm the launch of Find X2 in an interview shortly after. At the time, he also added that the Snapdragon 865 chipset powered phone will bring an extraordinary 5G experience. Read More... (Newser) Hundreds of millions of people in China are preparing to travel for Lunar New Yearand authorities are worried that an emerging virus could hitch a ride with them. Authorities in China have reported 139 new cases of the coronavirus, with a case reported in Beijing for the first time, the Guardian reports. Cases have also been reported in Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces, though the vast majority are in Wuhan, where the outbreak began. At least three patients have died from the respiratory illness. Japan and Thailand have also reported cases and on Monday, South Korea said it had confirmed a case in a woman who arrived in the country from Wuhan on Sunday, the New York Times reports. The woman, whose symptoms included a fever and muscle pains, was placed in quarantine. story continues below At least six Asian countries and three airports in the US have started screening passengers from central China, the AP reports. Infrared thermometers have been installed at train stations and the airport in Wuhan to detect fevers. President Xi Jinping said Monday that it is "extremely crucial" to authorities to combat the outbreak and "put people's lives and health first." It's not clear how infectious the new coronavirus is, but the World Health Organization said Sunday that there is evidence of "limited human-to-human transmission," raising fears that it could be spread widely during the New Year travel period, CNN reports. (Read more coronavirus stories.) Syracuse, N.Y. -- Destiny USA is cracking down on mall workers who violate its strict no-smoking policy. In its weekly newsletter to the malls tenants, Destiny USA officials said it had come to our attention that several employees are smoking in the back hallways, an act it said was a direct violation of Onondaga Countys fire code. It said any store employees caught smoking anywhere on the property would be banned from the mall for a year, an action it acknowledged would result in the employees inability to return to work. It added there will be no exceptions. We are a smoke free property," the message states. No butts about it. Destiny USA spokesperson Nikita Jankowski said mall management decided to institute the zero-tolerance policy after finding discarded cigarette butts and noticing the smell of smoke in hallways accessible only to employees. State law has prohibited smoking inside public buildings and work places since 2003. Mall management banned all smoking on the property, including sidewalks, parking lots and loading docks, starting in 2008. This message was included in an email to mall tenants at Destiny USA in Syracuse. Rick Moriarty covers business news and consumer issues. Have a question or news tip? Contact him anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-470-3148 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. Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during an interactive session-Pariksha Par Charcha 2020 with school and college students at Talkatora Stadium in New Delhi on Monday. PTI photo New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday pitched for the Central government's 'Make in India' initiative at the Pariksha Pe Charcha 2020, asking students to do their bid in strengthening the country's economy by buying Indian-made products. "Can we decide that by 2022 when the nation would mark 75 years of independence we will all buy everything that's India made? We will promote 'Make In India'. This will help our economy. This will strengthen our country," Modi said. "There are a lot of things that we as citizens can do for the development of our country. We shouldn't let water flow needlessly. We mustn't use electricity more than we need," he added. The Prime Minister said that he hopes that the young generation would take it upon themselves to act on some of the Fundamental Duties enshrined in the Constitution. "Today, I am talking to students who would be playing a key role in India's development in 2047, when we mark a hundred years since independence. I hope this generation takes it upon themselves to act on some of the Fundamental Duties enshrined in our Constitution," Modi said. The third edition of Prime Minister's interaction programme with school students 'Pariksha Pe Charcha 2020' is being held at Talkatora Stadium in New Delhi. Around 2,000 students are participating from all over India in the programme. Reaching out to students in their own language, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday addressed 200 of them during a Pariksha Pe Charcha. Here are key takeaways from what he told students at the Talkatora Stadium. Modi said his conversations with them would be hashtag without filter. 1) Modi said everyone should keep abreast of the latest technology but it should not be allowed to govern lives.We should have the strength to keep technology under our control and ensure it does not waste our time. One room in our homes should be technology-free. Whoever enters will not carry any gadgets, he told students while stressing that exams are not everything. 2) The prime minister also urged students to spend their spare time with the elderly. 3) Modi asked students should not be afraid of failure and take it as a part of life. Was told I shouldn't attend Chandrayaan landing as there was no guarantee of success but I needed to be there, recalled the PM. 4) Good marks in exams are not everything, he told students in the interaction. We have to come out of the thinking that exams are everything. 5) The PM also highlighted the importance of taking on extra-curricular activities and said there is a growing tendency among parents to push their children into activities considered glamorous.Parents should take time out to find out what their children want to do instead of pushing them into activities that are considered glamorous which they can discuss in their conversations with their friends, Modi said. One of the organizers thanked the group of people assembled in Mt. Pleasants town center for be on during the day they had off to celebrate the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. About 250 people walked to town center, starting at 3 p.m., with a banner dedicated to the man out front on a chilly Monday afternoon. It took them approximately half an hour to complete their walk, which started south of Preston Street, to downtown. Along the way, officers from the Mt. Pleasant Police Department and Central Michigan University Police Department occasionally stopped traffic. Once in the downtown, the crowd heard a trio sing a brief song, a CMU student speak and finally an address from Vincent Whitelock, an assistant professor in the College of Business Administration. Whitelock told the crowd of mostly students that his message to them is to be the best they can be, and then read to them one of the speeches King gave using the parable of the street sweeper. The message is to be the best that you can be. READ MORE: NEW CANAAN Fotis Dulos put up more than $400,000 to bail himself out of jail, but he cannot pay for electricity or heat at his Sturbridge Hill Road home under foreclosure, according to a sworn affidavit filed by a bank executive. The Savings Bank of Danbury wants a judge to put the home into receivership. The bank foreclosed on the home in late 2019 after Fotis Dulos failed to make payments on the $2.7 million mortgage. The 7,000-square-foot home was part of the Jennifer Dulos investigation after neighbors reported hearing loud bangs coming from the property the morning after the May 24 disappearance. Nothing connected to the disappearance was found on the property, according to search warrants unsealed last week. Fotis Dulos and his high-end real estate company, Fore Group, were developing the property at 61 Sturbridge Hill Road for sale when his estranged wife disappeared. Fotis Dulos, 52, is now on house arrest, confined to his Farmington property, after being charged this month with murder, felony murder and first-degree kidnapping. He was previously charged with tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution. Mr. Dulos has been charged with murder and is presently under house arrest and cannot leave his Farmington home without court approval, Nicholas Gazetos, executive vice president of the Savings Bank of Danbury, said in a sworn affidavit Friday supporting the receivership. Mr. Dulos is unable to maintain the premises while under house arrest. Furthermore, Mr. Dulos has informed the bank that he does not have sufficient funds to maintain the premises and pay for such things as snow plowing and lawn maintenance. Fotis Dulos has also asked the bank to pay utilities to keep the electricity and heat on, the court documents said. So far, he has not received any money from the Savings Bank of Danbury to maintain the utilities, the documents said. The house is on the market for $3.9 million, but Fotis Dulos owes more than $4.5 million on the property, including a $500,000 loan from his Greek business associate Ioannis Toutziardis, a $600,000 loan from his friend Harry Masiello and a $500,000 attachment to the home by his mother-in-law Gloria Farber, who is suing him for $2.5 million, court documents said. Farber is also foreclosing on the 14,000-square-foot Farmington home built by the Fore Group in 2012 where Fotis Dulos is now under house arrest. The bank wants a judge to name Luigi DAcunto, of DBI Development of Norwalk, as the receiver who will make sure the property is maintained and the utility bills are paid so pipes dont burst and lower the value of the home, court documents said. The bank is also considering installing a security system to keep an eye on the property, Gazetos said. There is also a $15,662 real estate tax payment due this month to the town of New Canaan that Fotis Dulos cannot pay, the bank said. Under the appointment of a receiver, Fotis Dulos could still market the property for sale and preserve its value, the court documents said. Fotis Dulos can only leave his Farmington home for court appearances, church or court-approved business activities after posting more than $400,000 of a $6 million bond on the murder charges. Fotis Dulos former girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, 45, is also released on house arrest, charged with conspiracy to commit murder, tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution. His close friend and former attorney, Kent Mawhinney, 54, remains jailed on $2 million after being charged this month with conspiracy to commit murder. New Canaan police investigating a missing persons report filed May 24 found blood stains and splatter in the garage of Jennifer Dulos Welles Lane home, arrest warrants said. Police believe Fotis Dulos was lying in wait at her home that morning as she was dropping off their five children at school, arrest warrants said. Police later discovered videos of Troconis and Fotis Dulos dumping garbage bags in trash bins along Albany Avenue in Hartford that night, the warrants said. The bags, which police retrieved one week later, contained items stained with the blood of Jennifer Dulos, arrest warrants said. In the latest arrest warrants, Chief State Medical Examiner James Gill described Jennifer Dulos death as a homicide of violence that likely included traumatic blunt-force injuries such as bludgeoning and stabbing. The warrant describes Jennifer Dulos being bound with zip ties during the alleged attack. Four ties were used, the warrant states, and two were found with her blood on them. It appears the zip ties were used to secure and incapacitate Jennifer Dulos, the warrant reads. It is reasonable that Jennifer Dulos was alive at the time the zip ties were attached to restrain her movements and to prevent her escape. Fotis Dulos will be back in state Superior Court in Stamford on Wednesday when his attorney plans to request a probable cause hearing. Lun Yeow Siang, 42, was convicted on 20 counts of instigating forgery for the purposes of cheating. (PHOTO: Getty Images) SINGAPORE A woman was jailed 10 months on Monday (20 January) for her role in cheating the then Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) of over $160,000. Lun Yeow Siang, 42, was convicted on 20 counts of instigating forgery for the purposes of cheating, said the police in a news release. Another 90 similar charges were taken into consideration for her sentencing. According to court documents, Lun had been working for the Adonis Group of companies as its assistant general manager between April 2011 and July 2013. During this time she was placed in charge of training. One of the companies under Adonis Group was Adonis International, which was an Approved Training Organisation authorised to provide Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) courses. Between 2021 and June 2013, Lun enlisted the help of a fellow Adonis employee administrator Tan Zhenni to deceive the WDA by claiming that Adonis Group employees had attended WSQ courses held by Adonis International, which made the company eligible for WDA subsidies. To back up these fraudulent claims, false course attendance records and assessment plans were created and submitted to the WDA. Under Luns instructions, Tan would dishonestly sign on behalf of purported students. The fraudulent claims amounted to $162,379.20, of which full restitution has been made by Adonis Group. Lun was also found to have not gained any direct financial benefit from the forgery and fraudulent claims. Tan has been charged with forgery for the purposes of cheating and court proceedings in that case are ongoing. In mitigation, Luns lawyers Josephus Tan and Cory Wong submitted that their client had been cooperative with the authorities from the outset, which indicated her genuine remorse. Asking for no more than 10 months jail, they noted that Lun was also prepared to commence her jail term right away, despite Chinese New Year being around the corner. More Singapore stories: Singaporeans must welcome new citizens, not allow others to exploit tensions and divide us: Heng Swee Keat COMMENT: GE 2020 is dress rehearsal for Tan Cheng Bock's party Man on trial for scalding son to death once strangled pregnant sister, court heard Xi's Myanmar visit promotes building of community with shared future for humanity People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 07:13, January 19, 2020 NAY PYI TAW, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Myanmar, his first overseas trip this year, is another important practice for China to promote the building of a community with shared future for humanity in the region, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Saturday. The Chinese president arrived in Nay Pyi Taw earlier on Friday for a state visit to Myanmar. It is the first visit to the Asian neighbor by a Chinese president after an interval of 19 years. During the visit, Xi attended 12 events and witnessed the signing of 29 cooperation documents in various fields, Wang said, adding that the two sides have also issued a joint statement. The Myanmar side has for long highly expected Xi's state visit, Wang said, noting that the Chinese president was met with the highest courtesy and a grand reception by the Myanmar side. BUILDING CHINA-MYANMAR COMMUNITY WITH SHARED FUTURE Wang said that during Xi's visit, China and Myanmar have agreed to work together to build a community with shared future, opening a new era of bilateral ties. This decision conforms to the trend of the times, meets expectations of the two peoples and injects new impetus and vitality into bilateral cooperation, Wang said. All sectors of the Myanmar society have responded positively to the decision, with the Myanmar leadership expressing support to Xi's proposal of building a community with shared future for humanity, Wang said. During the meetings, Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi said that China has always been a good friend of Myanmar, and fate has bound the two sides closely, according to Wang. To celebrate the 70th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties, Wang said the two countries agree to hold the China-Myanmar Year of Culture and Tourism, and to carry out over 70 activities, covering education, tourism, culture and other fields. HIGH-QUALITY CO-CONSTRUCTION OF BRI During the visit, President Xi and Myanmar leaders held in-depth discussions on promoting high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road and reached new important consensus, Wang said. The two sides agreed to promote the construction of the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone, the New Yangon City, the China-Myanmar Border Economic Cooperation Zone, as well as roads, railways and power and energy infrastructures. It marks the transition of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) from conceptual planning to substantive construction, Wang said. China is willing to work with Myanmar to steadily advance the construction of key cooperation projects in the CMEC within the framework of jointly building the Belt and Road, bringing local people more benefits and giving them stronger sense of gain and happiness, Wang said. For the Myanmar side, its leaders said that the construction of the economic corridor under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative is of great significance to Myanmar's national development, Wang said. Myanmar Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services Min Aung Hlaing also pledged that the Myanmar military will firmly support and promote the joint construction of the Belt and Road, Wang added. SAFEGUARDING INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE Noting that the world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, Wang said injustice and inequality remain prominent in international relations, and protectionism, unilateralism as well as bullying actions are rising against the trend. Developing countries, including China and Myanmar, are facing new challenges in safeguarding their sovereignty, security and development interests, he said. When meeting with Myanmar leaders, Xi stressed that all countries have the right to choose a development path suited to their national conditions. The development path chosen by the Chinese people is successful, and the Chinese will continue to follow the path unswervingly, Xi said, adding that China is willing to share its experience in poverty alleviation with Myanmar. Myanmar felt sincere happiness for China's success, Wang quoted Myanmar leaders as saying, adding that the Myanmar leaders expressed their hopes that China will share more experience in state governance with Myanmar and other developing countries. China's successful experience will provide practical reference for Myanmar's economic development, improvement of people's well-being and poverty alleviation, the Myanmar leaders said. Myanmar staunchly abides by the one-China principle, firmly supports China in safeguarding its core interests, and stands unshakably on the side of Chinese friends, they also said. Xi, meanwhile, stressed that China is committed to peaceful development, will never seek hegemony or interfere in other countries' internal affairs, and will continue to speak out for justice for developing countries on the international stage. China supports Myanmar in moving forward along the development path it has chosen and in safeguarding its legitimate rights and interests and national dignity on the international stage, Xi said. Leaders of the two countries also pledged to continue to uphold the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, jointly uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, work together to uphold the common interests of developing countries and uphold international fairness and justice, Wang said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address YEREVAN -- A former chief of Armenia's National Security Service (HAAT) who was found dead with a gunshot wound to his temple last week has been buried in Yerevan. The January 20 ceremony, held three days after Georgi Kutoyan was found dead in an apartment in the capital, was attended by his former colleagues and ex-President Serzh Sarkisian. The Investigative Committee has launched a criminal investigation into possible incitement to commit suicide, and spokeswoman Naira Harutiunian told RFE/RL that no suspects had been identified so far. Harutiunian said the autopsy had not found trace of violence on Kutoyan's body beside the gunshot wound. A lawyer by education, Kutoyan was appointed HAAT chief in February 2016 after serving as an assistant to then-President Sarkisian. Kutoyan was dismissed by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian in May 2018 shortly after popular unrest forced Sarkisian to resign. He kept a low profile while in office and did not make any public statements after his dismissal. Kutoyan is the second former top security official to be found shot dead in the last four months. Hayk Harutiunian, a former head of the Armenian police, was found dead at his country house in September. Harutiunian reportedly had a gunshot wound to the head, and investigators suggested he had committed suicide. During the previous months, Harutiunian was interrogated several times in a criminal investigation into postelection violence in Yerevan in 2008. Investigators said Kutoyan was not questioned as a suspect or a witness in that case. By PTI JAIPUR: Twenty-one child labourers were rescued from a bangle factory and four men were arrested in this connection here on Monday, police said. A police team raided a bangle making factory and 21 children working there were rescued, said Shiv Narayan, Station House Officer of Bhatta Basti police station. He said the children are in the age group of 12 to 16 years and all residents of Bihar. Four men -- Mohammad Anzar, Mohammad Firoz, Mohammad Dildar and Lorik Kumar -- were arrested in this connection, Narayan said. The rescued children have been sent to a juvenile home, he said. INDIANOLA, Iowa - The race for the Democratic nomination burst into a multifront flurry of attacks and counterattacks on Sunday, as the largely issue-driven contest veered personal just two weeks before the first vote. The aggression came from multiple candidates on multiple fronts, with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and former Vice President Joe Biden sparring about Social Security while Sanders aides excoriated Biden for his record on race. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., criticized Mike Bloomberg for postponing the release of his financial disclosure statements, saying that the billionaire and former New York mayor is "trying to skip the democracy part of the election" and that voters won't know of potential financial entanglements until after Super Tuesday. It is all unfolding in the midst of a confrontation between Sanders and Warren over gender and electability, which continued to play out Sunday, when Sanders said he believed gender is an obstacle for any female presidential candidate. The pent-up feuds are unspooling at an unpredictable moment, with a quartet of candidates essentially tied in Iowa and trying to mobilize two of the most energized portions of the Democratic electorate: suburban women and black voters. These dynamics are playing out in multiple early-voting states, including in Iowa, where some 60% of likely caucus-goers still undecided, and South Carolina, with its heavily black population and a Feb. 29 primary, in which polls show Biden out ahead. "There's still such a large group of undecideds, and everyone's goal is to sway the undecideds into their camp," said Tameika Isaac Devine, the influential mayor pro tem of Columbia, South Carolina. "I don't think anybody would necessarily think it's desperation time yet, but there's a strong sense of urgency." It's unclear how these aggressive attacks will play in a contest where candidates who launch negative attacks are often penalized in the polls. One of the most fraught areas of debate has been over the role that gender should play as voters consider who would is best-positioned to defeat President Donald Trump. Warren has said Sanders told her in a private meeting in 2018 that a woman could not win, a charge that Sanders denied. After a heated exchange on the debate stage last week, in which he continued to contradict her account, Warren approached Sanders, didn't take his outstretched hand, and said, "I think you called me a liar on national TV." Asked on Sunday if he thought gender was an obstacle for female candidates, Sanders replied, "The answer is yes." "But I think everybody has their own sets of problems," he said in an interview with New Hampshire Public Radio. "I'm 78 years of age. That's a problem. . . . If you're looking at Buttigieg, he's a young guy, people will say, 'Well, he's too young to be president. You look at this one, she's a woman.' So everybody, you know, brings some negatives." "I would just hope very much that the American people look at the totality of a candidate," he said. "Not at their gender, not at their sexuality, not at their age. But at everything. Nobody is perfect. There ain't no perfect candidate out there." Warren declined to engage in any further debate on the subject. When asked in Des Moines whether being a woman is a political obstacle she said, "I have no further comment on this." "I have been friends with Bernie for a long time," she said. "We work together on many, many issues. And that's all I'm going to say on this." Compared with the 2016 Republican primary, when Trump mocked the appearance of his opponents and their wives and was ridiculedabout the size of his hands, this most recent Democratic contest has been mild. Much of the discussion so far has focused on health care policy, troop levels in the Middle East and immigration. But underlying most of the debate of late is a question of how Trump would use his politics of personal destruction against the eventual nominee, and which Democrat is most equipped to handle that. Sanders has said Trump would launch sexist attacks that could prove effective against Warren. He has also said that Biden has too much "baggage" that the president could weaponize. Biden, meanwhile, has said that the positions held by Sanders, a democratic socialist, would be used by Trump to defeat him as presidential nominee and could also hurt Democrats in down-ballot races. Biden has grown increasingly agitated over the tone Sanders had taken with him recently, and had been simmering over a video his rival's campaign was pushing that suggested Biden wanted to cut Social Security. In an indication that the attacks were resonating, a voter here on Saturday pressed Biden about his position. Biden initially hesitated to name Sanders, saying that his campaign advisers would probably urge him not to challenge his rival over a video that his campaign had been circulating online. "It's simply a lie," Biden said of a video that showed him lauding Paul Ryan for wanting to cut Social Security. "This is a doctored tape. And I think it's beneath [Sanders]. And I'm looking for his campaign to come forward and disown it. But they haven't done it yet." The video did not appear to have been "doctored" - which Biden twice claimed - but it had taken his comments out of context. Biden's campaign has said that he was mocking, not lauding, Ryan's position. Still, there are other videos of Biden that show him expressing an openness to considering changes to entitlement programs. When Biden was asked during his 2008 presidential campaign whether he would consider changing the cost-of-living increases or the age of eligibility for Medicare and Social Security, he said "absolutely." "You have to," he said on NBC News' Meet the Press. "It's - one of the things that my, you know, the political advisers say to me is, 'Whoa, don't touch that third [rail]' - look, the American people aren't stupid. It's a real simple proposition. . . . You've got to put all of it on the table." Sanders on Sunday acknowledged that the video one of his aides promoted should have shown fuller context of Biden's remarks, but he insisted Biden's record deserves to be scrutinized. "I think anyone who looks at the vice president's record understands that time after time after time, Joe has talked about the need to cut Social Security," Sanders said in response to a question from The Washington Post as he left a radio interview in New Hampshire. "I don't think that that is disputable." Asked to respond, Biden campaign spokesman Andrew Bates called Biden "a champion of Social Security" and pointed to legislative scorecards when Biden was a senator from Delaware. One group, the Alliance for Retired Americans, listed him as having a 96% lifetime score for issues that impact retirees in 2008, his last year as a senator. Warren has been more subtle, not mentioning her campaign rivals directly. But over the weekend, she also emphasized her proposal to increase Social Security payments. She was far more direct in criticizing Bloomberg, who has launched an unusual campaign that avoids the first four states and is instead premised on a fractured field in which his personal wealth can give him an advantage. "We've got billionaires who think they can just buy an election," Warren said. "He's decided to skip the 'democracy' part of the election. He's not coming to places like Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada and meeting people. Instead, it's all going to be set up for his TV ads, running his TV ads, and making it work." She also ridiculed him for having been granted an extension until March 20 to file federal forms required of all presidential candidates that would provide a picture of his personal finances. "Think about this: If he has entanglements with China, serious conflicts of interest, business interests in other parts of the world or other corporations," she said, "when are we going to know about that? Not until after Super Tuesday. That is not how democracy is supposed to work, and we need to shut that down." Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., have generally avoided squabbles even amid the escalating intensity among the other candidates. "Now's the time for a closing argument," Buttigieg told reporters over the weekend in Harlan, Iowa. "Mine is going to be about not why I think I have the best policy, but why I'll be the right nominee to take on and defeat Donald Trump - and why I've focused on bringing together not just our party, but our country when the time comes." The growing friction played out as the leading candidates descended on South Carolina for church services and speeches that will be delivered on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, part of a frenetic battle for the support of black voters. Buttigieg spent Saturday scrambling to place the King holiday event on his schedule, and he faced some blunt criticism about why it wasn't on his calendar in the first place. Nina Turner, a national co-chair of the Sanders campaign, has tried to poke holes in the argument that Biden is the best option for African Americans. In an op-ed in the State newspaper in Columbia, Turner, who is black, excoriated Biden's legislative record, saying he'd buddied up to segregationist senators, worked with right-wing Republicans to pass legislation detrimental to black communities and spread the black-woman-welfare-queen stereotype. "Will our community side with former Vice President Joe Biden, who has repeatedly betrayed black voters to side with Republican lawmakers and undermine our progress?' Turner wrote. "Or will we stand with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and a movement that has been fighting for racial and economic justice since the civil rights era?" The op-ed sparked a backlash both from Biden supporters and from those who worry that intraparty stone-throwing gives Trump an easier path to reelection. Bernice Scott, the influential former councilwoman from Richland County, South Carolina, who originally endorsed Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., then, after Harris' departure, Biden, defended the former vice president in her own editorial in the State. It was headlined "African Americans trust and support Joe Biden - and Bernie Sanders' dirty tactics won't change that" "I'm disappointed to see that Sen. Bernie Sanders and his campaign have taken their eyes off the ball," Scott wrote. "Instead of taking the fight to President Donald Trump, they have turned to tearing down their own." Later in the day, Sanders also returned to warmer words about Biden. Asked why, if he disagreed so strongly with Biden's record on Social Security, the former vice president he was so popular with seniors, he paused. "You know why? I'll tell you why. Because Joe is a nice guy. OK? He is a decent person. He's a friend of mine," Sanders said. "We're not going to make personal attacks on Joe Biden. But I think the records shows that Joe's history in the Senate and my record in Congress are very different." - - - The Washington Post's Annie Linskey and Chelsea Janes contributed to this report. A German-Afghan translator for the German army goes on trial Monday along with his wife on charges of treason for allegedly spying for Iran. Abdul S., 51, stands accused of "a particularly serious case of treason" and of "violating state secrets" in 18 instances, according to the higher regional court of Koblenz in western Germany. The suspect was arrested in January 2019, reportedly after a tip-off from abroad and an ensuing set-up to catch him in the act. His 40-year-old wife Asiea S. will be in the dock with him, after prosecutors in December charged her with aiding and abetting treason. Asiea S. is accused of "helping her husband from the very beginning" with his espionage activities for Iranian intelligence services, the Koblenz court said. Abdul S. worked for several years as a civilian translator and cultural adviser to the German Bundeswehr at the Heinrich-Hertz barracks in the town of Daun, near Koblenz. Officials have been tight-lipped about the case, revealing no details about the information that was allegedly leaked. Abdul S. himself "has yet to comment on the accusations against him", the court said in a statement, adding that much of the legal proceedings will take place behind closed doors. Abdul S. risks life in jail if found guilty, which in Germany usually means a sentence of at least 15 years. His wife faces a maximum of 11 years in prison. According to Der Spiegel weekly, the hunt for the spy started in 2017 after Germany's military counterintelligence service (MAD) received a warning from "a friendly secret service" that Iran had an informant in the Bundeswehr. MAD spycatchers quickly focussed their attention on Abdul S. after noticing that his trips to certain EU cities overlapped with those of a senior officer in Iran's secret service, Spiegel wrote in an in-depth article last year. To confirm their suspicions, the MAD started to dripfeed Abdul S. fake documents that appeared to contain sensitive or classified information, and then watched as he reached out to his Iranian contact to set up meetings. The MAD shared its findings with federal prosecutors, tasked with handling cases of national security, in the spring of 2018. Spiegel said Abdul S.'s work for the German military included eavesdropping on phone calls or intercepted radio messages from the Taliban. But it "is doubtful" that Abdul S. had access to classified information about the actions and deployments of German troops in Afghanistan, the weekly added. Nevertheless, the case is embarrassing for the Bundeswehr since Abdul S. would have had to pass stringent background checks before being hired. Germany's BfV domestic intelligence agency has identified Iran has one of the countries most active in spying on Germany, along with China and Russia. Iranian spy services "are regularly looking for appropriate sources to cover the information needs of the regime", the BfV said in a report. In 2018, Germany arrested a Vienna-based Iranian diplomat suspected of being a spy, with prosecutors alleging he was plotting with a Belgium-based couple to bomb an Iranian opposition rally in Paris. In another high-profile case, former German intelligence agent Markus Reichel was convicted in 2016 for spying for both the CIA and the Russian secret service. In 2011, Germany jailed a married couple for spying for the Russian secret services for more than 20 years. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BRIDGEPORT The city honored Martin Luther King, Jr. Day with its Bridgeport Has a Dream program at the Klein Memorial Auditorium on Monday. The program, organized by Connect-Us, included a wide variety of music and dance performances, as well as readings by about a hundred school aged kids from around Bridgeport. Wind turbines in the sea of Tra Vinh. The Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh is home to a series of wind power projects thanks to its favourable position. - Photo cafef.vn Among them is the 48 MW wind power plant project invested by Truong Thanh Viet Nam Group JSC in co-operation with Sermsang Power Corporation. The project covers an area of 1,220ha, with a total investment of VND2.23 trillion. Construction on the project started in September last year and is expected to be partially connected before October this year. The Refrigeration Electrical Engineering Corporation (REE) also plans to invest in the No 3 wind power plant with a total investment of VND1.22 trillion on an area of 1,225 ha. Construction started in October 2019, with a total expected capacity of 48KW. The North Investment Construction and Development JSC and Hung Bac Energy Investment JSC have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on a wind power project with total investment capital of VND7.17 trillion. Trung Nam Construction Investment Corporation has also invested in a wind power plant project with total capital of VND6.75 trillion. It is believed that Trung Nam successfully mobilised over VND3 trillion for its energy segment last year. Hung Hai Investment JSC and Truong Thanh Energy and Technology JSC have also poured investment into their wind power projects with the same amount of capital of VND5.78 trillion. Thang Long Construction Group has invested VND8.59 trillion into Thang Long wind power project. SG-CCG JSC has poured VND4 trillion into Duyen Hai wind power plant. Tra Vinh is situated between the Tien and Hau rivers, the two main branches of the Mekong River, which allow transport with other south-western provinces, HCM City and neighbouring countries. It is also bordered by a 65km long coastline. Its geography creates favourable conditions for the province to develop transportation, trade and services, tourism and cultural exchange with other regions. According to the Provincial Statistics Office, Tra Vinhs Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) last year was estimated to increase by 14.85 per cent, which was the highest jump compared to other provinces in the Mekong Delta region. The agriculture, forestry and fishery sector posted a growth of 2.58 per cent, industry and construction rose by 34.37 per cent and service sector rose by 6.94 per cent. The Meghalaya Assembly on Monday ratified a bill to extend reservation to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for another 10 years. Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said although people belonging to the SC and the ST communities have made considerable progress in the last 70 years, the reasons which weighed with the Constituent Assembly in making provisions with regard to the reservation of seats have not ceased to exist. "Therefore, with a view to retaining the inclusive character as envisioned by the founding fathers of the Constitution, it is proposed to continue the reservation of seats for the SC and ST for another 10 years i.e. up to 25th January 2030," he said in the House. Though the opposition Congress supported the resolution, it expressed concern over the decision of the Centre to not further extend reservation to the Anglo Indians. Leader of Opposition Mukul Sangma said, "We must look at the possibility of articulating our concern as we send this ratification." In his reply, the chief minister said though the proposed amendment does not extend the reservation for Anglo Indians, it does not affect Meghalaya. Meanwhile, the chief minister also assured the House that the suggestion to set up a commission for SC and ST at the state-level will be examined by his government. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Speaker of the Council of Representatives, Fawzia Zainal, has lauded the deep-rooted strategic relations between Bahrain and Egypt, strengthened thanks to the directives of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, and President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, of Egypt. While receiving here the newly-appointed Egyptian Ambassador to Bahrain, Yasser Mohammed Shaaban, the Speaker said that co-operation across various fields and vital sectors enjoy the interest of the two brotherly countries, stressing that Egypts security and stability are integral to those of Bahrain and the region. She highlighted the existing co-operation, co-ordination and complementarity between Bahrains Council of Representatives and Egypts House of Representatives at various regional and international parliamentary gatherings. She also highlighted the existing partnership between the legislative institutions at the level of the secretariat-general. She wished the envoy every success in carrying out his diplomatic duties to strengthen partnership between two countries. BAY CITY, MI - Options for where to purchase recreational marijuana are growing in Bay County as another business is starting recreational sales this week. Pharmaco Inc., of Southfield will open the Dank on Arrival provisioning center at 3650 Patterson Road on Friday, Jan. 24. Doors will open at 9 a.m. for recreational sales. DOA is located in Bangor Township and is the third facility to offer recreational sales through Pharmaco in the state. Pharmaco started selling through Roots at 3557 Wilder Road in Bangor Township on Dec. 27. We are very excited for the opportunity to open our newest recreationally licensed store in the city," said Pharmaco Chief Operating Officer Vikas Patel. We believe recreational sales will continue to have a positive impact on the city and surrounding area. According to a statement released by Pharmaco, the company is focused on treating recreational customers with the same service that they do for their current medical patients and aims to price recreational marijuana fairly. DOA will have limited supplies of recreational products, selling items such as selected flower and cartridges. Pharmaco owns eight dispensaries in Michigan plus the company holds a license to grow 1,500 plants. Michigan voters legalized recreational marijuana use and possession for adults during the 2018 election. Sales began in the state on Dec. 1 and about $3 million in recreational marijuana was sold in the first two weeks. Related news: First recreational marijuana sales in Bay County begin at Roots Provisioning Bay City Commission changes citys recreational marijuana regulations Michigans recreational marijuana industry poised to grow exponentially in 2020 There are 195 countries in the world. Of these, 193 countries are members of the United Nations. Of the 195 countries, two nations, Holy See (Vatican) and the State of Palestine, are considered as UN observer states. The statehood of Kosovo and Taiwan is controversial. Otherwise, if they were to be included in the numbers of world nations, there would be 197 countries in the world. How is a Country Defined? A country is a political entity that maintains total sovereignty over its territory and people. Recognition of a country as an independent state is based upon four major components: (1) The state must amass absolute power within its territory. (2) The state must be inhabited by humans (population). (3) The state must have land coupled with clearly marked geographical boundaries not contested by any other country. (4) The state must be capable of enforcing its policies through a legitimate government. The UN considers a country part of the United Nations membership by consent from the five Security Council namely China, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Russia. Additionally, the country should garner two-thirds of votes from the General Assembly. Countries With Controversial Statehood Four countries whose statehood is controversial are Kosovo, Taiwan, the State of Palestine, and Holy See. Kosovo is a member of both the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). 110 countries recognize its independence including the United States. However, Kosovos statehood is disputed because Serbia claims that Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence was invalid. Taiwan, officially called the Republic of China, has its own constitution, armed forces, and elected president. The United Nations and 21 of its members recognize Taiwans independence. However, China does not recognize Taiwan as an independent country and instead claims its government is illegitimate. Another controversial country is the State of Palestine which is a de jure sovereign state. It claims ownership of the West Bank and Gaza Strip which are also claimed by Israel. The Holy See, also known as the See of Rome, is the seat of the Roman Catholic Church located within Vatican City. Given its position as a religious state, it has chosen to not become a member of the United Nations. Countries Per Continent The largest continent in the world by land area is Asia which is composed of 48 states. The 2nd largest continent by land area, Africa, consists of 54 countries. North America encompasses 23 countries. Europe consists of 44 countries. Oceania has 14 nations. Finally, South America has 12 countries. Press Release January 20, 2020 Dispatch from Crame No. 705: Sen. Leila M. de Lima on US President Trump's reported invitation to President Duterte 1/20/20 In my humble view, the reported invitation of US President Trump to President Duterte simply means that the US Government is not yet implementing the entry ban as this could still be undergoing some internal process. Hence, it remains the prerogative of the US President to extend anew a standing invitation. This invitation should not affect the implementation of the Global Magnitsky Act. The recently signed pieces of US legislative measures, namely, the 2020 US Appropriations Act which includes the Prohibition on Entry provision, and S. Res. 142, refer to particular matters involving the United States' commitment to human rights. I understand it will take some time to operationalize this policy and anticipate that we will see this implemented in the near future, regardless of any standing invitation. I also understand that subsection (c) of the pertinent provision of the 2020 US Appropriations Act gives the State Department the discretion to waive visa restrictions in accordance with the conditions allowed by the US Congress. It is completely up to President Duterte whether to go to the US on the strength of President Trump's invitation. *Access the handwritten version of Dispatch from Crame No. 705 here: https://issuu.com/senatorleilam.delima/docs/dispatch_705 The BJP is set to get its new national president in place of Amit Shah on Monday, with its working president JP Nadda expected to be elected to the post unopposed New Delhi: The BJP is set to get its new national president in place of Amit Shah on Monday, with its working president JP Nadda expected to be elected to the post unopposed. Top party leaders, including Union ministers and those from states, are likely to arrive at the BJP headquarters to file nominations in support of Nadda, who has long been seen as the choice of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah for the job. Nadda's decades-long experience in the organisation, starting from student politics, proximity to the RSS and clean image is seen as his strengths. Shah held a meeting with senior party leaders, including several Union ministers and chief ministers of the party-ruled states, on Sunday evening. Though there was no official communication about what transpired, sources said the party leaders deliberated over the details of the election exercise. Senior BJP leader Radha Mohan Singh, who is in charge of the party's organisational poll process, said that nominations for the national president's election will be filed on January 20, and a contest will take place the next day if required. The BJP has the convention of electing its president with consensus and without any contest, and there is little possibility that it will be any other way this time. The election of a new president will bring to end incumbent Shah's tenure of over five-and-a-half years during which the BJP expanded its footprints across the country like never before and enjoyed its best phase in electoral contests despite suffering a few setbacks in state polls. With Shah joining the Modi 2.0 government as home minister, the BJP began the exercise for electing his successor as the party has the convention of 'one person, one post'. Nadda was appointed as the party's working president in July last year is an indication that the Himachal Pradesh leader was the likely choice for the top organisational job. In the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha election, he was in charge of the BJP's election campaign in the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh, where the party faced a tough challenge from the grand alliance of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). The party won 62 out of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh. Having risen through the saffron ranks, Nadda has long been a member of the BJP parliamentary board, its highest decision-making body. He had served as a minister in the first Modi government. Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 20 By Leman Zeynalova - Trend: Those who ordered and perpetrated bloodshed in January 1990 have yet to be punished, Trend reports citing a statement made by Permanent Mission of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the United Nations. On 20 January 2020, Azerbaijan commemorates the thirtieth anniversary of the "Black January". Thousands of people visit today the Martyrs Alley in the capital of Azerbaijan Baku to pay tribute to those who sacrificed their lives for the independent and prosperous Azerbaijan. At the end of the 1980s the people of Azerbaijan had gone into the streets and squares of Baku and other major cities to protest against illegal territorial claims of neighboring Armenia, killings, persecution and forcible mass expulsion of more than 200 thousand Azerbaijanis from their ancestral lands in Armenia and the unjust policy pursued by the leadership of the Soviet Union towards Azerbaijan and its territorial integrity. In response, the Soviet leadership resorted to force to suppress the free expression of popular will, reads the statement. Over the night from 19 to 20 January 1990, following a series of provocations orchestrated by the central authorities and the USSR State Security Committee (KGB), Soviet troops attacked Baku and other major cities and towns in Azerbaijan. As a result of a full-scale military assault, 131 civilians were killed, 744 people were wounded and 841 were indiscriminately and unlawfully detained or arrested. Among other acts, Soviet soldiers were observed executing the wounded, firing at passerby and at dwellings, stores, medical and other facilities. In several cases, tanks and other armored vehicles crushed or opened fire upon moving as well as parked vehicles. Clearly marked ambulances were targets of shooting and also were not allowed to aid the wounded. Many civilians were shot in their apartments, building entryways, buses and places of employment. During the investigation of bullet wounds on the bodies, forensic experts noted the particularly damaging effects of the bullets. By using military force, the Soviet leadership was hoping to frighten the people of Azerbaijan, break its resistance and maintain the communist rule in the republic. However, the "Black January" gave a new impetus to the national liberation movement. On 22 January 1990, 2 million people attended the funeral ceremony of martyrs in Baku. On 18 October 1991, Azerbaijan restored its independence. Indeed, the "Black January" is not only a tragedy, but also a victory of the unarmed people over the totalitarian regime. Those who ordered and perpetrated bloodshed in January 1990 have yet to be punished. Azerbaijan is determined to end impunity for the heinous crime committed against its people and to bring those responsible to justice," reads the statement. --- Follow the author on Twitter:@Lyaman_Zeyn Calling Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma a "habitual liar", Congress leader Tarun Gogoi on Monday alleged that the BJP leader had lied in the Assembly about the Assam Accord despite submitting an affidavit in the Supreme Court with 1971 as the cut-off year for detecting and deporting illegal immigrants. The former Assam chief minister accused Sarma, who was his former cabinet colleague, of "misleading" people of the state with "false explanations". Gogoi's comments on Sarma came a day after the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) had made similar allegations against the minister, saying he had lied in the Assembly by claiming there was no mention of the March 24, 1971 cut-off date in the Accord. "Himanta Biswa Sarma lied in the Assembly that the Accord did not say anything about 1971. Lying is his habit. What more can we expect when the Prime Minister Narendra Modi lies on everything," Gogoi told reporters here. Sarma is misleading the people of Assam to deviate the movement against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, he said. "Himanta himself had submitted an affidavit in the Supreme Court on July 14, 2015 on fixing 1971 as base year for the NRC update work. It is strange that now he is saying that there is no mention of 1971 in the Accord," Gogoi said. He asked how were the Foreigners' Tribunals conducting trials for suspected illegal immigrants coming to Assam after March 24, 1971 if there was no mention of the cut-off date in the Assam Accord. On January 13, Sarma had said in the Assembly that the amended Citizenship Act does not violate the Assam Accord, but is aimed at addressing the "unresolved" issues of the pact. "The Assam Accord didn't speak about children of those coming before 1971, so it's inconclusive," he had said. "The Assam Accord is not that bad. If we had read it properly, 1966 would have been the cut off year and 1967 voter list would have been the NRC. I regret that," he had claimed citing clauses 5.1 to 5.7 of the pact. However, Sarma did not mention Clause 5.8 of the Accord which says, "Foreigners who came to Assam on or after March 25, 1971 shall continue to be detected, deleted and expelled in accordance with law. Immediate and practical steps shall be taken to expel such foreigners." AASU Chief Adviser Samujjal Kumar Bhattacharya had on Sunday demanded that Sarma and Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal apologise to the people for providing "wrong explanation" about the Accord at the one-day special session of the Assembly on January 13. A six-year agitation demanding identification and deportation of illegal immigrants was launched by the AASU in 1979. It had culminated with the signing of the Assam Accord on August 15, 1985, in the presence of the then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. Gogoi further alleged that the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) was brought in to deviate attention of the people from issues affecting the country such as "economic slowdown, job loss, price rise and failed attempts to bring back blackmoney". "The Constitution is at stake, democracy is at stake, there is a constant suppression of democratic rights and India is going the Fascism way. Our freedom of expression is being attacked by the government," he said. The three-time former chief minister said CAA was the first step towards making India a Hindu nation. Speaking on BJP's aim to win 100 of the 126 Assembly seats in the 2021 state elections, Gogoi said, "If they (BJP leaders) are so confident, then why are they worried about Muslims and regularly complain that a number of seats have gone to the minority community?" Sarma had on January 13 said in the Assembly that "Ajmal (AIUDF chief) or his son or grandson will be Assam chief minister after 30 years and no-one can dispute and stop it". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Witnesses have described the absolute chaos of a mass stabbing where three men were murdered in a residential London street. The men, who police believe knew each other, were all stabbed to death near Seven Kings railway station in Ilford on Sunday evening. Investigators said a fight started between two groups of Sikh men before spilling down a public stairway that links to Elmstead Road. Louis ODonoghoe, 40, said he heard screaming and shouting outside his house before going outside to see absolute chaos. It was like something out of a movie, horrific, he added. I could see it all, one [body] to the left, two at the bottom of the stairs. It was like a bad day in Bosnia. The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims Show all 18 1 /18 The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims Purple ribbons are seen tied to a tree and fence at a park near to where 17-year-old Jodie Chesney was stabbed to death in an attack with no obvious motive, in the Harold Hill area of London. Chesney was stabbed in an unprovoked attack while out with friends on March 1, 2019. Four males aged 16, 17, 19 and 20 have been charged with her murder which all four deny. In honour of her favourite colour, purple ribbons were tied to a railing, alongside a message also written in purple: "Choose life, drop the knife! RIP Jodie. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims Floral tributes and bottles of alcohol are seen outside the house where 20-year-old Tyrelle Burke was stabbed to death, in the Wythenshawe area of Manchester. Burke was stabbed to death on April 5, outside his home by a friend following a night out. 18-year-old Denver Walton was charged with his murder. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims A woman walks past floral tributes near to where 29-year-old Joshua White was stabbed to death, in the Hackney area of London. Joshua White died after he was stabbed through the heart in broad daylight on April 26. Two teenagers have been charged with his murder, and police are attempting to extradite an 18-year-old from Ireland in relation to the attack. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims Floral tributes and photographs are left at the spot where 17-year-old Yousef Makki was stabbed to death, in Hale Barns. Makki was stabbed to death on March 2 during a row with another boy. A 17-year-old boy was cleared of his murder by a jury at Manchester Crown Court on July 12. Makki's family have protested against the verdict. Photography by Reuters The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims Floral tributes and packets of crisps and a chocolate bar are tied to a fence where 21-year-old James Halewood was stabbed to death, in the Kirkby area of Liverpool. Halewood was stabbed to death in broad daylight outside a parade of shops at lunchtime on July 7. Two men aged 26 and 23 have been arrested in connection with his death. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims Graffiti on a fence of an industrial unit near to where 18-year-old Hazrat Umar was killed, in the Bordesley Green area of Birmingham. Umar was killed after being stabbed 15 times in an unprovoked attack on February 25, on his way to the gym. Adam Muhammad, 17, a student at the same college, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life imprisonment for his murder. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims Floral tributes are seen tied to a pedestrian crossing near to where 40-year-old Gavin Garraway was stabbed to death, in the Clapham area of London. Garroway was stabbed to death through the window of his car on March 29. Zion Chiata, 18, has been charged with his murder. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims Floral tributes and teddy bears are seen outside a house where 26-year-old Kelly-Mary Fauvrelle and her unborn baby where stabbed to death, in the Croydon area of London. Fauvrelle was stabbed to death in the bedroom of her home in the early hours of June 29. Her baby boy, Riley, was delivered but also died four days later. Ex-partner Aaron McKenzie has been charged with her murder and causing the death of the baby. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims Flowers are tied to the entrance of Sara Park near to where 16-year-old Abdullah Muhammad was killed in the Small Heath area of Birmingham. Abdullah died after suffering stab wounds to the chest and back in the evening of February 20. Three males aged 17, 19 and 20 have been charged in connection with his murder. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims The remains of candles and tributes are seen near to where 19-year-old Kamali Gabbidon-Lynck was stabbed to death, in the Wood Green area of London. Gabbidon-Lynck died after he was stabbed by a gang on bicycles on February 22, in an incident which left another man suffering from knife and gunshot wounds. Three men aged 18, 19 and 20 have been charged with murder, attempted murder and robbery. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims A woman pushes a pram past a row of houses where 33-year-old Charlotte Huggins was stabbed to death, in south London. Huggins was the first stabbing victim of 2019, stabbed in the back at her home in the early hours of New Year's Day. Her ex-boyfriend Michael Rolle was found guilty of her murder and jailed for life. He stabbed Huggins after she celebrated New Year's eve with a male friend. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims Floral tributes are left at the spot where 18-year-old Cheyon Evans was stabbed to death, in the Wandsworth area of London. Evans died from a stab wound to the chest after being attacked by a group of youths in broad daylight on June 14. Three males aged 18, 18 and 17 have been charged with his murder. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims Lanfrey Place is where 17-year-old Ayub Hassan died after suffering multiple stab wounds in the street, in the West Kensington area of London. Hassan was killed after his attack on March 7. A 15-year-old boy has been charged with his murder. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims Floral tributes are left near to where 21-year-old Lewis Bagshaw was stabbed to death, in the Southey area of Sheffield. Bagshaw collapsed and died on July 21, when seeking help from residents of Piper Crescent after suffering stab wounds. Police investigations into his death are ongoing. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims Flowers and toys are left at the scene where 19-year-old Lejean Richards was stabbed to death, in the Battersea area of London. Richards was attacked and fatally stabbed on February 5. Roy Reyes-Nieves, 23, and Roger Reyes-Nieves, 18, have been charges with his murder. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims A man walks past floral tributes left near to where 24-year-old Joe O'Brien died after being stabbed in a fight outside a pub, in Manchester. O'Brien died following a fight outside the Royal Oak pub on April 21. Momodou Jallow, 21, has been charged with his murder. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims Flowers are seen near to where 29-year-old Nathaniel Armstrong was stabbed to death, in the Fulham area of London. Armstrong was stabbed to death during an altercation on March 16. Murder charges against a 29-year-old male were dropped after prosecutors said there was no realistic prospect of conviction. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims A police officer stands outside a row of terraced houses where 33-year-old nurse Saima Riaz was stabbed to death, in Rochdale. Riaz, a mother of three, was found on April 23. 36-year-old Mohammed Abid Choudhry has been charged with her murder. Reuters/Phil Noble It was pretty horrific really. Ive never seen anything like it, to be honest. Its like something in a movie. The owner of a taxi firm opposite the station said a man with blood on his hands had said three people were badly injured and asked for help during the incident. Nadeem Rana said: I was shocked. He had blood on his hands and he said there were people in very poor condition. Lauren Marshall, a nearby resident, described how locals came out of their houses to investigate what was happening. There were police everywhere it was manic, the 26-year-old added. Ive lived here my whole life and nothing like this has ever happened. It was a shock. Police were called to a disturbance in Elmstead Road shortly after 7.30pm on Sunday, and the victims aged in their twenties or thirties were all pronounced dead at the scene. Two men, aged 29 and 39, have been arrested on suspicion of murder. Chief superintendent Stephen Clayman said the suspects and the victims were all known to each other and enquiries into the circumstances were ongoing. An evidence tent at the junction of Salisbury Road and Elmstead Road (PA) (Jonathan Brady/PA Wire) We believe the parties involved were from the Sikh community and known to each other, he added. A fight has taken place which has escalated, resulting in three people being fatally attacked. Police did not confirm local reports that the fight had started in a restaurant, and Ch Supt Clayman appealed for any witnesses to come forward. This investigation remains in its early stages and work continues to establish the exact sequence of events that led to this shocking incident, he added. As forensic work continued at the crime scene, the Metropolitan Police were to increase patrols in the area to reassure the local community and gather intelligence. The triple stabbing came less than two months after 24-year-old Akeem Dylon Barnes was fatally stabbed during a fight in nearby Telegraph Mews. A man has been charged with his murder. There have been six homicides in London since the start of 2020. Last year there were 149, a rise from 133 in 2018, despite a drop nationally. The latest murders came after official figures showed that knife and bladed weapon offences have hit a new record in England and Wales. Akeem Dylon Barnes was stabbed to death in Telegraph Mews on 24 November (Metropolitan Police) Neil Zammett, a local councillor, told The Independent that residents were shocked and horrified by the triple stabbing. This is a tragic loss of life in a residential area, he added. Jas Athwal, the leader of Redbridge Council, said he believed it was an isolated incident. An incident like this is unheard of within the Sikh community here in Redbridge, he said. I think tragically there are at least three families who are going to be in mourning and this is going to last a lifetime for the people left behind. Weve got to look at the causes of why this happened and address those. He was critical of bloody footage shared on social media appearing to show the aftermath of the killings. I think the first response should be What can we do to help?. To put it on social media is not right. Anyone with information is asked to call police investigating the Seven Kings Stabbing on 020 8345 3865 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. Additional reporting by PA Copyright 2020 Albuquerque Journal SANTA FE From hard-hitting billboards to television ads, outside groups are aiming to ramp up public pressure on New Mexico lawmakers as a 30-day legislative session approaches. One progressive advocacy group is launching a billboard campaign Monday including two billboards along Interstate 25 between Albuquerque and Santa Fe that targets legislators votes on abortion-related issues, including a bill to repeal a long-dormant state abortion ban. And a Washington, D.C.-based group is spending $175,000 to launch a TV ad blitz urging legislators to support a proposal backed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to create a new early childhood endowment fund. When it comes to our kids potential, the sky is the limit, says the narrator of the 30-second ad, which will run through the last day of the legislative session on three Albuquerque-based network stations and several cable and digital channels. The group behind the ad, Save the Children Action Network, also supported Lujan Grishams 2018 gubernatorial campaign with a $400,000 ad buy on broadcast TV and online. Lobbying campaigns are nothing new when it comes to New Mexico legislative sessions, but such efforts typically take place in Roundhouse hallways. More visible lobbying campaigns have not always been successful at swaying New Mexico legislators on public policy issues. For instance, a billboard campaign several years ago that targeted Democratic senators over a separate early childhood proposal one that involves diverting more money from the states largest permanent fund did not lead to the measures approval. But backers of the new ad campaigns say theyre hopeful of raising public awareness on hot-button issues. Marianna Anaya, the communications director for ProgressNow New Mexico, the advocacy group launching the abortion rights campaign, said the billboards are part of a broader attempt to mobilize state residents on the issue. While New Mexico is among the states with the fewest abortion restrictions, some Democrats have expressed concern about the possibility of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning a 1973 decision that made the procedure legal nationwide. These billboards are about fighting back against the anti-abortion extremists who are trying to control our bodies, said Anaya. In addition to the two billboards along I-25, similar abortion-themed billboards will be displayed on a truck that will drive around downtown Santa Fe on the legislative sessions opening day. A new version of the abortion bill pushed last year by Lujan Grisham is not included on the governors agenda for this years session. The bill died on the Senate floor last year when eight Senate Democrats joined the chambers Republican members in voting against it and Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, recently said during a pre-session event that we simply do not have the votes to pass the legislation during this years 30-day session, according to a Santa Fe New Mexican report. The legislative session begins Tuesday and goes until Feb. 20. A sea turtle that was found entangled in fishing lines in Galveston earlier this month has been returned to the Gulf, marking the Houston Zoo's first sea turtle release of 2020. The green sea turtle, known affectionately by Houston rescuers as "Beefcake", was released back into the Gulf Jan. 16, according to a release from the Houston Zoo. Beefcake spent the last few weeks recuperating with the Houston Zoo's sea turtle hospital keepers before being returned home. Parents who believe religious schools such as Stillwater absolutely are the places for their children are at the center of what could be a landmark Supreme Court case testing the constitutionality of state laws that exclude religious organizations from government funding available to others. In this case, the issue rests on whether a scholarship fund supported by tax-deductible donations can help children attending the states private schools, most of which are religious. A former governor of old Kaduna State, Balarabe Musa, has said that the main reason the leaders and governors of the Southwest region s... A former governor of old Kaduna State, Balarabe Musa, has said that the main reason the leaders and governors of the Southwest region set up the new security outfit, Operation Amotekun was to create Oduduwa Republic. Governors in the South West region had established and inaugurated the security outfit to curb the menace of herdsmen attacks in their region. But Musa, in an interview with the Sun, warned that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government must not allow the operation of such security network, adding that it falls out of the established laws of the country. He warned that it was a ploy to secure Yoruba land and a prelude to the declaration of Oduduwa Republic. The former Governor further said that some of the security components of the outfit like the OPC have records of recklessness in terms of securing the lives and property of non-Yoruba. First of all, taking into account what happened in the history of Nigeria, this Amotekun will lead to a declaration of Oduduwa Republic. Look at the composition of those who constitute the organization in addition to the six states governors. There is also the OPC, Afenifere, and others. So the fear is quite obvious. And this is in spite of the fact that this government is incompetent. Definitely, this government is incompetent. And it is because of the incompetence of this government that this problem has arisen. But let us also not forget that this Federal Government is an alliance between the North and the Southwest. So, why should this happen? Any correction in the set up of the country is possible if this alliance, which controls the government in the country can do its work. The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami had earlier declared Amotekun as illegal. He added, Oh yes! It is illegal because it contravenes the provisions of the law in the constitution. And unfortunately for them in spite of the intellectual aura of the elite class in the Southwest, they couldnt be articulate because they could have been articulate like the Kano State did in the case of Hisbah. They went through the State House of Assembly. Now, if this Amotekun had been taken through the six-state Houses of Assembly before it was formed you could say they have a case in the sense that the state Houses of Assembly are in charge of lawmaking. Secondly, the governor of each state is the chief security officer of his state. So, if you combine this two and enact a law allowing for the formation of Amotekun, they would have gotten it right. But in spite of their articulation, they failed to do so, which means it must be deliberate that what they are concerned exactly is an Oduduwa State Press Release 20 January 2020 Tourism marketers and hotel managers should take account of the distances people travel and offer them different packages, according to Dr Sangwon Park of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and his co-researchers. In a recently published study, the researchers used information collected from TripAdvisor to evaluate how travel distance affects tourists' satisfaction with the level of hotel service at the destination. They found what they called an "inverted U-shaped" relationship, which suggests that there is an optimum point at which the distance travelled maximises the perception of service quality, after which it begins to decline. Advertisements The distance between a traveller's origin and destination is an "important parameter in understanding tourist demand and behaviour", the researchers suggest. Travel distance, they note, represents the "effort that a tourist makes to overcome the geographical obstacles" to travel, and the further a destination is from the origin, the lower the number of tourists willing to travel. The distance does not just influence demand, but also tourists' behaviour at the destination, because it makes economic sense to stay longer and spend more after travelling a long way. Although significant academic attention has been focused on the influence of distance on tourism demand, very little is known about how travel distance shapes tourists' experiences, particularly their satisfaction, once they have arrived. This is rather surprising, given that customer satisfaction is one of the most prominent elements in understanding and enhancing customers' experiences and measuring overall competitiveness in the hospitality industry. In the retail context, it is known that shoppers prefer to minimise the distance they travel to shop, and the further they have to travel, the less positive their evaluation of their shopping experience. However, the researchers point out that the same may not be true for tourism-related travel because for tourists, the journey is an inherent part of the experience. Travel may thus not be regarded as particularly onerous, and it may even provide satisfaction in its own right. The motivation to travel to distant places and experience adventure and novelty is referred to as the "Ulysses factor", and is associated with the willingness to engage with different cultures. Nevertheless, distance is still something of a barrier, with travel demand increasing with distance up to a certain point, and then decreasing as both the financial and time costs increase. However, the extra cost and effort of long-distance travel may influence tourists' expectations of, and hence their level of satisfaction with, their experiences at the destination. To determine whether distance does indeed influence tourists' appreciation of their destinations, the researchers collected reviews from TripAdvisor. They focused on hotels in four cities in the United States: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and San Antonio. The first three are the three largest cities in the US, while San Antonio is the seventh largest. They are all highly popular tourist destinations and have extensive convention and event facilities that, as the researchers note, "support the business travel market". The researchers chose to focus on the service satisfaction ratings provided in guests' TripAdvisor reviews. Overall, there were 81,486 reviews for New York, 15,340 for Los Angeles, 44,922 for Chicago and 34,502 for San Antonio. However, a high number of these reviews were excluded from the analysis for various reasons, mainly to focus on travellers from other US cities rather than international tourists. Information about guests' home locations was obtained from users' TripAdvisor profiles, so that the geographical distance to the travel destination could be calculated. The reviews were mainly left by "couple travellers, business travellers and family travellers", with fewer solo travellers and travellers with friends. Among these different types, reviews from business travellers were the most common in Los Angeles and Chicago hotels, and family travellers were the most common in San Antonio hotels. About 60% of guests gave the highest rating of five for hotel service, with only 10% rating the service as poor or terrible. Among the cities, New York had the highest average travel distance of 1,082 miles, indicating that the city attracts hotel guests from a wider geographical range. Through analysing the results, the researchers identified an "inverted U-shaped relationship" between the distance the reviewers had travelled and their satisfaction with the hotel service at the destination. They explain that tourists seem to enjoy better service experiences when they travel further, but the "service quality starts to reduce" beyond a certain point. The finding that satisfaction increases with distance confirms the Ulysses hypothesis that a longer travel distance meets what the researchers label "people's novelty-seeking motivation". It also confirms that people view travel distance in a different way depending on the purpose of travel: when people travel to shop or commute, increasing distance has a negative effect on their experience, but when they travel as tourists, the distance enhances their positive perception. The researchers explain this by referring to "construal theory", a psychological theory which suggests that the further away something is, the more abstract people's thoughts about it become. So, for instance, if we think about visiting a nearby city, we might imagine it in fairly concrete detail, but when thinking about visiting somewhere very far away, we can only imagine it in abstract terms, which also affects our judgement of it. When tourists are planning a long-distance trip, therefore, their expectations are less specific and their judgment while at the destination is more favourable. As the researchers put it, tourists show a "positivity bias when assessing hotel service experiences under long distance travel". This effect, however, does not extend to the longest travel distances, as beyond a certain point service expectations increase along with the financial and time costs of travel. The researchers pinpoint this "inflection point" as approximately 1,300 miles for travel to New York and Los Angeles, and about 950 miles for travel to Chicago and San Antonio. The researchers also identify differences in the level of satisfaction expressed by different types of travellers. More experienced travellers tend to leave less positive reviews, suggesting that "the more trip experiences" people have, "the more their expectations increase", leading to lower levels of satisfaction with the service they receive. Business travellers are also "more demanding" than other travellers in most situations, which might reflect their greater travel experience. Hotel managers cannot, of course, change where their customers travel from, yet the researchers still have some recommendations for how their findings can be implemented in practice. They suggest, for instance, that managers could "develop different marketing and operational strategies" for guests travelling different distances. Those who live close to the destination might not "generate a sense of getaway", so managers could offer them novel experiences that satisfy the quest for adventure. Conversely, guests who travel long distances, beyond the threshold where satisfaction starts to decline, might require a higher level of service to compensate for their increased "psychological, physical and monetary" travel costs. The study provides interesting insights into how travel distance affects travellers' perceptions of the service they receive at their destination. Although their findings currently only apply to domestic travellers, the same methodology could be used to provide similar insights into how distance affects international travellers' perceptions, while also taking into account the effects of "different countries and cultures". Sangwon Park, Yang Yang, and Mingshu Wang. (2019). Travel Distance and Hotel Service Satisfaction: An Inverted U-shaped Relationship. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 76, 261-270. The PDP on Monday termed the political situation in Jammu and Kashmir "precarious" and said there was a dire need for the party to rededicate itself to peace and development through dialogue and reconciliation as envisioned by its founder Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. The party also expressed serious concern over the prolonged detention of its president and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, and said the "continuous incarceration" of its leadership was "worrying and detrimental for the democracy to survive". Against the backdrop of recent developments which saw four senior party leaders resigning from the primary membership after expulsion of eight prominent leaders for meeting a delegation of visiting foreign envoys on January 10, a high-level meeting of the party was held here. At the meeting, senior party leaders including former legislators opined that the PDP will have a more responsible and crucial role in the present political situation in Jammu and Kashmir and it was mandatory that the party cadre and leadership to stay united, a party spokesperson said. "The leadership and agenda of the party is undisputed and shall remain firm," the meeting resolved, adding, "Those who are deviating from the core agenda are not the one who represent either the PDP or people in general. The spokesperson said the PDP's agenda is the only viable roadmap to get Jammu and Kashmir out of political uncertainty. "Whether it was the government led by Mufti in 2002 or the subsequent times, PDP led the way towards a peaceful and prosperous Jammu and Kashmir. Getting New Delhi and Islamabad to engage, initiating dialogue, giving incentives of the improving security situation to common people and ushering in a new era of development has been the hallmark of PDP," the meeting observed. The PDP spokesperson said the meeting underlined how Mufti Mohammad Sayeed reined in even the staunchest opponents of Jammu and Kashmir special status and initiated dialogue and reconciliation with an impeccable will and courage for the greater common good. "The meeting endorsed and appreciated the role of party leadership in forging unity across the political spectrum on the issue of common concern and stated the party will not shy away from taking further initiatives for protecting the institutions of democracy," he said. He said the PDP leaders expressed full confidence in the leadership of Mehbooba Mufti and stated that the party is "intact, united and firm" in its resolve to get Jammu and Kashmir out of the "mire of political uncertainty". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New Delhi The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has said it has no information concerning tukde-tukde gang, while replying to a query filed under the Right to Information (RTI) law. The RTI application filed by Maharastra based Saket Gokhale asked the MHA to state the definition of the tukde-tukde gang and whether a standard operating procedure (SoP) has been drawn up to identify the alleged gang The RTI application also asked MHA to clarify whether the Union Home Ministers reference to this alleged tukde-tukde gang was based on specific briefings by the ministry or other law enforcement agencies. In addition, the RTI application also asked the MHA to clarify whether it has drawn up a list of leader and members of the tukde-tukde gang. The application was filed in late December, on the same day, home minister Amit Shah said a so-called tukde tukde gang was behind protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act. Other BJP leaders have also used the term, coined after the February 2016 protests in Jawaharlal Nehru University during which, it is alleged, the term was first used by people saying they would break India into pieces (tukde tukde means pieces). MHA did not respond to queries seeking a clarification on its response to the RTI. Fort Bend County District Attorney's Office A 37-year-old Kendleton man was sentenced to 10 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to beating and strangling his girlfriend for five days in his home, according to Fort Bend County prosecutors. Gene Edward Petterway took a plea deal with Fort Bend County prosecutors last week, accepting a sentence of 10 years in prison for each charge of assault family violence in lieu of his jury trial, prosecutors said. The sentences will run concurrently. Press Release January 20, 2020 De Lima warns of unscrupulous solicitations for Taal-affected families Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima has warned the public against unscrupulous individuals who are using the generosity of others to steal donations and contributions intended for relief and recovery efforts to those affected by Taal volcano's eruption. De Lima made the statement after she received reports that certain unscrupulous individuals are capitalizing on the miseries of thousands of families, including farmers and fishermen, who were badly hit by the eruption of Taal Volcano. "It is very heart-warming to learn that people are volunteering for rescue and relief operations being organized to assist the victims of Taal eruption and help them get back on their feet," she said. "But let us also exercise some due diligence in welcoming these solicitations and sending our donations to fly-by-night organizations and shadowy individuals who want to profit from such tragedy," she added. Netizens have reported of alleged scams of personalities pretending to be affiliated with charities, religious organizations and celebrities claiming that they are gathering funds for evacuees affected by the Taal volcano eruption last Jan. 12. Similar scams were also reportedly happening outside the country. In Vancouver, Canada, users of social media website Reddit reported that Filipinos "working in two's or three's" have been seen soliciting funds in stores and malls in the area. Recently, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) warned against a similar scam using the name of several bishops to solicit donations for a gift to be given to Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle who was recently appointed to a Vatican post. De Lima, who chairs the Senate Committee on Social Justice, Welfare and Rural Development, reiterated her call for her Senate colleagues to repeal and replace the 40-year-old solicitation law to penalize these unscrupulous individuals and organizations. "With your kind indulgence, allow me to renew my call on my colleagues to expedite the passage of Senate Bill No. 851 that would require stringent requirements for solicitation permits and impose stiff penalties for violators," she said. The proposed measure aims to institutionalize the issuance of solicitation permit during calamities or disasters, implementing more stringent monitoring and validation of permits, and reportorial requirements for exempt organizations. "The bill ultimately seeks to safeguard the welfare of the most vulnerable by ensuring that proceeds raised for the benefit of our disadvantaged countrymen will rightfully be translated to programs that will help their causes," she pointed out. The lady Senator from Bicol also urged those who are looking for ways to contribute to ongoing relief and humanitarian efforts for Taal evacuees, to donate to reputable charities and organizations. "I also urge the public to be more vigilant when approached by those who are soliciting funds for charities linked to causes or disasters. It will be safer to send donations, whether it be in cash or in kind, directly to legitimate charities or organizations instead to those claiming to be their intermediaries," she added. Under SB 851, individuals or organizations shall be held accountable if they solicit without securing a solicitation permit from the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office, the City Social Welfare and Development Office, or the Municipal Social Welfare Development Office. Among the other prohibited acts punishable under the measure also include soliciting beyond the allowed area of coverage as indicated in the approved solicitation permit, using a falsified or tampered permit, and using the solicited funds for purposes other than those indicated in the application form. Any individual, organization or agency who commits any of the prohibited acts shall be punished with imprisonment of not less than one year but not more than three years or a fine of not less than 100,000 but not more than 500,000, or both at the discretion of the court. If the offender is a foreigner, the offender shall, after serving sentence, be immediately deported and barred permanently from entering the country. MONTREAL, QCDirector Chi Chi LaRue has released his latest feature Rubdown, a new all-bareback feature starring DeAngelo Jackson and a slew of acclaimed performers, through leading gay studio Icon Male. This film marks IconMales venture into all-bareback DVD content, which genre will continue through 2020. The movie is distributed through parent company Mile High Media. Directed by LaRue and written by Taylor Saracen, Rubdown stars Jackson along with Liam Cyber, Avery Jones, Drew Dixon, Julian Grey, Colby Tucker and Dale Savage in an erotic tale of the denizens of an all-male massage parlor. To view box art and product information, click here. Chi Chi LaRue takes viewers into the world of a passionate young man and his erotic adventures, explained Mile High Media Vice President Jon Blitt. DeAngelo is dynamite as he takes his game to the next level with an explosive performance that will enthrall fans like never before. Its intense bareback action from one of the most iconic filmmakers in gay porn. Rubdown tells the story of DeAngelo, who really wants a job at the massage parlor and he will do whatever it takes to get it. His boss, Julian Grey, sees all the potential in DeAngelo, especially his demanding physique, but is not yet convinced. The other employees, Drew Dixon and Colby Tucker, certainly know how to take care of their clients, so Avery Jones agrees to teach DeAngelo the ropes by giving him a private lesson. But when DeAngelos stepbrother Liam Cyber comes in for some TLC, thats when things get really hot. The movie features four intense hardcore sex scenes shot in HD along with animated chapter index, a photo gallery and more. The latest Icon Male trailers can be seen on IconMale.com. For Icon Male sales and distribution, contact [email protected]. For the latest news and BTS previews, follow Icon Male on Twitter. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 20 By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend: Turkeys export of chemical products to Russia increased by 15.9 percent from January through December 2019 compared to the same period of 2018, and amounted to $437.1 million, Turkeys Ministry of Trade told Trend on Jan. 20. In December 2019, Turkeys export of chemical products to Russia increased by 48.8 percent compared to December 2018, and reached $37.2 million. Export of chemistry products from Turkey increased by 18 percent in 2019 compared to 2018, amounting to $26 billion or to 11.4 percent of countrys total export. Turkeys export of chemical products increased by 20.5 percent in December 2019 compared to the same month of 2018, reaching $1.8 billion or to 11.8 percent countrys total export. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu The three, obviously, are intertwined, and Bloomberg promised they are not pie in the sky ideas that sound good but will never happen. These are concrete proposals that we can afford and we can get done. Bloombergs 30-minute speech obviously targeted an African American audience. He had spent the morning across the street at Vernon AME Church and brought with him John Rogers Jr., head of the nations largest minority-run mutual fund, but more importantly for his Sunday audience, the great grandson of J.B. Stradford, one of the heaviest financial losers in the race massacre. He spoke almost entirely about past and present inequities affecting African Americans. Bloombergs audience, though, turned out to be more white than black. It also included some notable local figures, including fellow billionaire George Kaiser, a large contingent of Democratic lawmakers past and present, and Columbia, South Carolina, Mayor Steve Benjamin, one of Bloombergs campaign co-chairs. As a late entry into the Democratic field, Bloomberg is counting on making up ground in Super Tuesday primaries, including Oklahomas, in the first week of March. Prime minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday that Japan will form a space defence unit to protect itself from potential threats as rivals develop missiles and other technology and the new unit will work closely with its American counterpart recently launched by Donald Trump. The Space Domain Mission Unit will start in April as part of Japan's Air Self-Defence Force, Mr Abe said in a policy speech marking the start of the year's parliamentary session. He said Japan must also defend itself from threats in cyberspace and from electromagnetic interference against Japanese satellites. Concerns are growing that China and Russia are seeking ways to interfere, disable or destroy satellites. We will drastically bolster capability and system in order to secure superiority in those areas, Mr Abe said. The space unit will be added to an existing air base at Fuchu in the western suburbs of Tokyo, where about 20 people will be staffed ahead of a full launch in 2022. The role of the space unit is to conduct satellite-based navigation and communications for other troops in the field, rather than being on the ground. Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures Show all 10 1 /10 Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures Mystic Mountain, a pillar of gas and dust standing at three-light-years tall, bursting with jets of gas from fledgling stars buried within, was captured by Nasa's Hubble Space Telescope in February 2010 Nasa/ESA/STScI Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures The first ever selfie taken on an alien planet, captured by Nasa's Curiosity Rover in the early days of its mission to explore Mars in 2012 Nasa/JPL-Caltech/MSSS Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures Death of a star: This image from Nasa's Chandra X-ray telescope shows the supernova of Tycho, a star in our Milky Way galaxy Nasa Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures Arrokoth, the most distant object ever explored, pictured here on 1 January 2019 by a camera on Nasa's New Horizons spaceraft at a distance of 4.1 billion miles from Earth Getty Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures An image of the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy seen in infrared light by the Herschel Space Observatory in January 2012. Regions of space such as this are where new stars are born from a mixture of elements and cosmic dust Nasa Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures The first ever image of a black hole, captured by the Event Horizon telescope, as part of a global collaboration involving Nasa, and released on 10 April 2019. The image reveals the black hole at the centre of Messier 87, a massive galaxy in the nearby Virgo galaxy cluster. This black hole resides about 54 million light-years from Earth Getty Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures Pluto, as pictured by Nasa's New Horizons spacecraft as it flew over the dwarf planet for the first time ever in July 2015 Nasa/APL/SwRI Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures A coronal mass ejection as seen by the Chandra Observatory in 2019. This is the first time that Chandra has detected this phenomenon from a star other than the Sun Nasa Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures Dark, narrow, 100 meter-long streaks running downhill on the surface Mars were believed to be evidence of contemporary flowing water. It has since been suggested that they may instead be formed by flowing sand Nasa/JPL/University of Arizona Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures Morning Aurora: Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly captured this photograph of the green lights of the aurora from the International Space Station in October 2015 Nasa/Scott Kelly In December, Mr Abe's cabinet approved 50.6bn yen (350m) budget in space-related projects, pending parliamentary approval. The unit will cooperate with the US Space Command that Mr Trump established in August, as well as Japan's space exploration agency, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Underscoring the need to step up cyber security, Mitsubishi Electric revealed on Monday that it had suffered a cyber attack last June that may have compromised personal and corporate data involving thousands of its job applicants, employees and retirees. Mitsubishi said there was no breach of sensitive data in the company's operations involving defence, space, transportation, electric power and other businesses sectors. It promised to enhance security measures and monitoring. Mr Abe has pushed for Japan's Self-Defence Force to expand its international role and capability by bolstering cooperation and weapons compatibility with the US, as it increasingly works alongside American troops and as it grows concerned about the capabilities of China and North Korea. In marking Sunday's 60th anniversary of the signing of Japan-US security treaty, Mr Abe vowed to bolster Japan's capability and cooperation with the US, including in the areas of space and cyber security. Recommended Trump admin mocked for launching camouflage Space Force uniform He said he is determined to settle Japan's unfortunate past with North Korea, as he hopes to sum up his country's postwar legacies before his term expires next year. He reiterated his intention to hold talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un without the conditions he had demanded in the past denuclearising the Korean Peninsula and resolving the decades-old issue of abductions of Japanese citizens by North Korea. Part of Mr Abe's plan while in office is to achieve his long-cherished goal of revising Japan's US-drafted constitution that prohibits use of force in settling international disputes. Despite Mr Abe's push, chances are fading for the revision due to a lack of public interest and the opposition's focus on other controversial issues such as Japan's recent dispatch of naval troops to Middle East and questionable public record-keeping at Mr Abe's annual cherry blossom-viewing parties. In a sign of a thaw in Japan's recently tense relations with South Korea, Mr Abe said he planned to cooperate closely with South Korea in dealing with a harsh security environment in northeast Asia. However, Mr Abe repeated his demand that South Korea resolve the issue of compensation for the former Korean labourers during Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule. I hope [South Korea] will keep its promise between the two countries and build future-oriented bilateral relations, he said. Associated Press Energysavingmedia.com scored 47 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 May 2013, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. The total number of people who shared the energysavingmedia homepage on Google Plus by a google +1 button. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared the energysavingmedia homepage on Twitter + the total number of energysavingmedia followers (if energysavingmedia has a Twitter account). This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared, liked or recommended the energysavingmedia homepage on Facebook + the total number of page likes (if energysavingmedia has a Facebook fan page). The total number of people who shared the energysavingmedia homepage on StumbleUpon. The total number of people who shared the energysavingmedia homepage on Delicious. Basic Information PAGE TITLE Welcome To EnergySavingmedia.com DESCRIPTION Energy Saving KEYWORDS OTHER KEYWORDS welcome to energysavingmedia, welcome to, to energysavingmedia, com , welcome, energysavingmedia, CoolSocial advanced keyword analysis tool is able to detect and analyze every keyword on each page of a site. The keywords meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. The URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address of the site. The title found in the head section of the homepage. The description meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. Domain and Server DOCTYPE XHTML 1.0 Transitional CHARSET AND LANGUAGE UTF-8 DETECTED LANGUAGE English English SERVER Apache/2 OPERATIVE SYSTEM Linux Linux The language of energysavingmedia.com as detected by CoolSocial algorithms. Operative System running on the server. Represents HTML declared type (e.g.: XHTML 1.1, HTML 4.0, the new HTML 5.0) Character set and language of the site. Type of server and offered services. Site Traffic trend during the last year. Only available for sites ranked <= 100000 in the world. Referring domains for energysavingmedia.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. Facebook Timeline is the new layout of Facebook pages. 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 total number of people who tagged or talked about website Facebook page in the last 7-10 days. The total number of people who like website Facebook page. The URL of the found Facebook page. Twitter account link TWITTER PAGE LINK NOT FOUND HONOLULU A man shot and killed two police officers Sunday as they responded to an assault call at a burning home in a leafy neighborhood beneath the rim of a famed volcanic crater near Waikiki Beach, authorities said. The officers found a woman at the scene with a stab wound to her leg, and the gunman opened fire as police arrived, killing officers Tiffany Enriquez and Kaulike Kalama, said police Chief Susan Ballard. She said the suspect as well as two women who were in the home were unaccounted for. PARIS, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Strikes, protests, and disrupted traffic that began on Dec. 5, 2019 in France, are beginning to weigh on various sectors and reflect a deep crisis for the French political regime. The social movements in France have been pushing back against the government's proposed retirement system reforms. This unprecedented social conflict, the longest in France since the 1960s, by a strong union movement, brought together that day 806,000 protesters throughout the country. Since then, there has been no respite, especially among unions representing the public transport sector, which are on their 46th day of strike on Jan. 19. MAJOR IMPASSES The pivot age (the age at which a retiree can collect full benefits), the elimination of special retirement regimes, and a universal point system for retirement make up the major impasses in the negotiations between the French government and labor unions. Many fear the costs of these blocks and denounce a "neo-liberal reform". Carole Alibert, a primary school teacher, told Xinhua on the fringes of a protest that she had come "to defend the retirement of teachers who risk to be really misdirected with this new point-based reform." "I have to work until 67 years old because I started in National Education after a change of professions and even in working until 67, I will not manage to receive 2,000 euros (2,220 U.S. dollars) a month for my retirement. If I stop at 60 years old, I'll be at 1,100 euros," said Alibert. "I am fighting for my children and for my pupils. I don't know if we'll manage to stay strong until the end, but it is absolutely necessary that we be heard. All the peoples of the world are waking up," said Alibert. Also on the fringes of the protest, Jean-Marc Cambo, civil servant at the departmental council of Seine-Saint-Denis just north of Paris, told Xinhua that "with this reform, we do not have salary raises and no career perspectives -- the future seems blocked." After more than a month of protests against its retirement reform proposals, the French government decided on Jan. 11 to scrap from the draft legislation a pivot age of 64 years old. The French Prime Minister, Edouard Philippe, reaffirmed the determination of his government, however, concerning the implementation of a universal retirement system as well as the elimination of special regimes. This "compromise" is not calming the anger of the unions, nor is it making way for a truce in strike activity. After the pivot age was pulled, the CGT union continued to demand "the withdrawal" of the retirement reform. In a statement, the workers' union said it was "more determined than ever to obtain the withdrawal of the text." MULTIPLE CONSEQUENCES After several weeks of social unrest, the impact is starting to be felt in sectors as important as public transport, business or even tourism. The SNCF (French national rail service) and the RATP (Paris public transport) have estimated losses of several million euros per day of strike. "We will soon reach over 700 million euros of revenues lost, declared the president of the SNCF Jean-Pierre Farandu. At the RATP, the impact of the strikes is estimated at "more than 150 million euros" including "60 to 90 million euros lost in ticketing." In the sensitive sectors of commerce and hospitality, stakeholders have expressed their concerns since the first week of the conflict and have warned of the consequences of a potential prolongation of the movement. In a survey conducted on Dec. 6-11 on the consequences of the social movement on very small and medium-sized businesses, the Confederation of small and medium businesses (CPME) said that 80 percent of the businesses are impacted either by losses in revenues, delays in deliveries, or by fuel shortages. The business sector is the most concerned by the recent events. A 20-25 percent drop in revenues was also observed in Paris by the Union of hospitality professions and industries, starting from the first week of the social movement against retirement reform. "If the strikes continue, tourists will turn toward other destinations," had warned Jean-Marc Banquet, President of the Union of hospitality professions and industries. On the political landscape, one of the stakes in the conflict is the struggle for public opinion. Despite the inconveniences (transport disruption, loss in business earnings, etc) linked to the strikes, public opinion continues to support the movement. According to the latest barometer conducted on Jan. 13 by Harris Interactive, 60 percent of French people say they support the movement in protest of the proposed retirement reforms. The popularity of French President Emmanuel Macron has also taken a toll. In the latest YouGov poll held on Jan. 6-7, Macron's popularity dropped 4 points, with 25 percent favorable opinions, compared to 29 percent in December 2019. According to analysts, public opinion could end up being reflected at the polls in municipal elections next March. INSTITUTIONAL CRISIS In the eyes of certain experts and analysts, this social conflict reveals the faultlines in a political system which cannot resolve impasses or reconcile a fragmented society. "The strike can be considered as a microcosm which reveals the vulnerability of the French economy and the institutional crisis of the country," said Zhao Junjie, a researcher at the Institute of European Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "Until now, the data on French economic growth seemed good, or at least better than the German data, but there remain many problems still, such as a relatively high unemployment rate, public debt, fragile budget balancing and a lack of innovation," indicated Zhao. According to official figures, spending for retirement pensions in France has represented 14 percent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), above that of all other European countries. If the government does not take measures, the potential deficit from pensions should reach 17 billion euros by 2025. Mu Gengyuan, a researcher at the China Institute of International Studies, told Xinhua that "the elevated spending for social security has provoked enormous budget deficits and represents financial unsustainability, which explains the absolute necessity for the retirement reforms." She considers the coexistence of more than 40 types of retirement systems to be "too complex", which "does not favor mobility of labor power and negatively affects social justice." In addition, Mu denounced a growing disequilibrium in French society at the basis of the "yellow vest" movement and the strikes. "Economic development has not benefited all citizens, while the gap between different social groups continues to deepen." For French historian Maxime Tandonnet, cited by French daily Le Figaro, "this shock translates the growing defiance of the population toward a ruling class perceived as being all the more haughty and arrogant as it fails in resolving problems (unemployment, poverty, violence, deficits, migration crisis, etc.)." According to Zhao Junjie, the protest and the strike reflect "an institutional crisis" and "a problem rooted in the capitalist system and in its political parties." "France finds itself at a crucial stage in the reform. If the reform cannot advance, problems will only accumulate," concluded Zhao. (1 euro=1.11 U.S. dollars) Wildflowers & snowgum In both California and Australia, people bemoan the loss of eucalyptus trees in fires. But many dont want them removed or even thinned out. Deniers want us to chop down millions of hectares of forests and become a treeless nation. No-one but a dastardly climate criminal could even consider chopping down these beautiful snow gums. The weird get weirder. A bloke called Paul Driessen, whose job includes telling lies about climate change and bringing back smog to the USA, has come up with a wild idea and it's been posted at WUWT . This time he's really gone bananas. What he's saying is that Australia should get rid of all its trees, or those of the eucalypt species which is pretty much the same thing, and that would stop fires. In other words, he's suggesting we get rid of almost all our forests. That's one solution to stopping fires, though not original Don't believe me? Here's what he wrote Many don't want them removed? Really? How about almost no-one wants them removed. It's only a few shock jocks in Australia, and Paul Driessen, and probably Rupert Murdoch, who want to chop down all our forests. I can understand that peoplewould regard the Australian blue gum as a pest - in California. (That's probably the only eucalypt they know.) What I don't understand is why anyone would want to remove all the eucalypts in Australia. All 894 varieties , coast to coast? (What about the koalas?)In case anyone is thinking, well, Australia has forests dominated by other species, you'd be right. However, most of our forests are eucalypt forests. Here's a map showing the different types, courtesy the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES):Many of the other species: acacia, melaleuca etc also burn quite readily. Should we chop them down as well? And what about the rainforests that have burnt for the first time in thousands of years? How about the rivers, firebreaks, cleared areas, areas burnt several times already? Maybe we should just cover the country in tar and cement!Paul Driessen is really and truly suggesting we strip bare our continent of the tree species that defines us and our forests, the eucalypt, destroying the homes of birds, kangaroos, koalas, possums, gliders and protects so many species of other flora.Deniers really are most peculiar.BTW, I've been watching out for this and Paul is the first denier I've come across who says "CO2 is plant food" is one reason Australia's fires were so bad (those weren't his exact words).Oh, and ignore the rest of his article, it's complete and utter nonsense. Paul got most of it from various wacko websites in the USA and people who know nothing about Australia (like himself). It's a mix of lies, conspiracy theories and nut-job politics that WUWT is known for (i.e. to anyone who has the misfortune to know it). Paul is pushing the crazy line that scores of people spent days hiking and climbing for miles deep into inaccessible parts of the Great Dividing Range, waited till they were caught in the middle of electrical storms , then set the forest alight. These people, he must assume, were highly coordinated and set off fires all over NSW and Victoria at the same time as lightning was shooting about. These arsonists who want to get rid of Australia's forests are very cunning, aren't they.Next he'll be recommending we blow away all the clouds to stop the hailstones WUWT is not recommended for the sane. Mitigating and adapting to climate change is going to be the main driver for policy in the coming decades and farmers need to be on board with it. This is according to the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers (CAAV), who highlight how farmers will see their practices driven to tackle climate change over the coming years. In each part of the UK, agricultural policy will be adopted and adapted as part of an incremental process over the next 30 years, says Jeremy Moody, secretary of CAAV. As part of the National Planning Policy Framework, environmental issues will be critical, he says. There will be changes in planning rules so that any future housing developments will need to provide a 10% net gain in biodiversity for every project, he explains. As a result, farmers are likely to see their role in facilitating this expand exponentially, as they act to provide a service to developers so that government targets can be met. There should come a stage where we can look at the environment as an enterprise and price environmental goods so that they offer a profit and are not priced on a compensation basis, explains Mr Moody. We want this to provide an income in the same way producing crops or meat would. Additionally, works like improving soils are positively synergistic with good farming. Such environmental management could then give a business margin where farming is unprofitable, he adds. Farmers are likely to play a key role in reversing biodiversity loss and off-setting carbon emissions, but this can be looked at with commercial practicality as a branch of the farm business, rather than as another tick box to complete. There are further benefits to adopting new opportunities, such as aiding drought resilience and flood prevention. Increased flooding is the UKs biggest property and business risk from climate change and estimates suggest that around 3.6m people will suffer from annual flooding by 2050. This will affect farmers too, says Mr Moody. But deploying strategic interventions now and getting paid to do so could mitigate the impacts to valuable farmland, while also providing a public good as part of the business. Overall, theres a real opportunity for farmers to look at their businesses here and ask how these developing policies can be used advantageously. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 20) The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said it is looking to downscale the alert levels for the Mayon and Bulusan volcanoes as the threat of strong eruptions may have waned. Mariton Bornas, chief of Phivolcs' Volcano Monitoring and Eruption Prediction Division, said Monday that state volcanologists were about to propose downgrading the alert level 2 hoisted over Mayon volcano and alert level 1 on Mount Bulusan last week. "Ito pong mga bulkan na ito ay actually irerekomenda na ibaba ang alert noong nakaraang Lunes, kaya lang po ay naunahan tayo ng pagputok ng Taal [We were supposed to recommend downgrading the alert on these two volcanoes last Monday, but we had to focus on Taal's sudden eruption first]," Bornas said in a media briefing. Phivolcs had to swiftly raise the alert level for Taal volcano last January 12 after it erupted a tall column of ash and steam, blanketing towns in Batangas and Cavite with ashfall. Residents within the 14-kilometer radius from the main crater have been told to evacuate. Mount Mayon has been on alert level 2 since March 2018, with Phivolcs denying recent claims on social media that the volcano just had the alert level raised and is now on the verge of erupting. Alert level 2 meant there is "increasing unrest" in the Mayon volcano, with increasing sulfur emissions, a faint or intermittent crater glow, and a decrease in water flow to wells and springs. Scaling down the threat to alert level 1 would indicate that there will be no "imminent" eruption. TIMELINE: The Mayon eruption Meanwhile, Bulusan has been on alert level 1 since May 2019. This meant that there is an "abnormal state" of unrest, observed through slight increase in volcanic earthquakes or steam and gas, sporadic explosions from vents, hotter springs, and a swelling in its edifice. Bulusan last erupted in June 2017, while Mayon was last seen spewing lava in January 2018. Bornas said the plan to reduce the threat level for the two volcanoes in the Bicol region will take effect once Phivolcs reaches a consensus and issues a bulletin. The highest level is alert level 5, which incidates that a hazardous eruption is in progress. The lowest is alert level 0 when a volcano is quiet. She added that authorities are conducting 24/7 monitoring on 10 volcanoes in the country. Apart from Mayon, Bulusan and Taal, authorities are closely watching activity in Mount Pinatubo; Kanlaon in Negros Oriental; Hibok-Hibok in Camiguin; Matutum and Parker in Mindanao; Iriga and Isarog in Camarines Sur. Phivolcs also mounted an auxiliary monitoring of Mount Apo in Davao following a series of earthquakes that rocked Mindanao late last year, Bornas said. Taal remains on alert level 4 as of Monday morning. Phivolcs Director Renato Solidum earlier said that authorities would still have to assess trends in the volcano's activity for at least two weeks to determine whether Taal is entering a lull before it can downgrade the alert level. Scarlett Johansson brought the drama when she hit the red carpet of the 2020 Screen Actors Guild Awards with fiance Colin Jost on Sunday night. The 35-year-old actress looked vibrant wearing a plunging ocean blue Armani Prive gown to the awards show, held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. Scarlett looked like she was bouncing back after falling 'violently ill' before the 2020 Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Friday, rendering her unable to accept an award for her performance in Marriage Story. Scarlett's look: Scarlett Johansson hit the red carpet at the 2020 Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday night, with fiance Colin Jost at her side All eyes were on the actress as she stepped out in a glamorous and shimmering teal satin dress by Armani Prive with her hair pulled back. The breathtaking look continued to turn heads with gemstone adorned straps. She also rocked diamond drop earrings with a gold bracelet on her left wrist as she hit the red carpet. The actress is nominated for two awards at the SAG Awards, Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role for Marriage Story and Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role for Jojo Rabbit. Armani dress: The actress stepped out in a glamorous and shimmering teal satin dress by Armani Prive with her hair pulled back Scarlett's look: Johansson was nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role alongside Cynthia Eriva (Harriet), Lupita Nyong'o (Us), Charlize Theron (Bombshell) and Renee Zelwegger Johansson was nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role alongside Cynthia Eriva (Harriet), Lupita Nyong'o (Us), Charlize Theron (Bombshell) and Renee Zelwegger. She went up against Laura Dern (Marriage Story), Nicole Kidman (Bombshell), Jennifer Lopez (Hustlers) and Margot Robbie (Bombshell) in the Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role But Johansson lost the Supporting Role award to Laura Dern during the ceremony. She also took to the stage to present a video package for her film Jojo Rabbit with star-director Taika Waititi and Roman Griffin Davis. Recovery: Johansson revealed in a hand-written note she gave to her Marriage Story co-star Adam Driver that he read on stage Nominee: She went up against Laura Dern (Marriage Story), Nicole Kidman (Bombshell), Jennifer Lopez (Hustlers) and Margot Robbie (Bombshell) in the Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role On stage: She also took to the stage to present a video package for her film Jojo Rabbit with star-director Taika Waititi and Roman Griffin Davis Johansson revealed in a hand-written note she gave to her Marriage Story co-star Adam Driver that he read on stage. 'I am so saddened that I can not be here with you this evening,' penned the actress. She added that, about 'an hour and a half' before the ceremony she had become 'violently ill' though she added. 'I was so looking forward to accepting this incredible honor in person, and to not be here on stage with Adam is deeply disappointing, to say the least,' she concluded. Great run: On the red carpet, Johansson spoke about her great run this year, stating she was honored to work with, 'some incredible writer-directors this year' Incredible: 'I was so looking forward to accepting this incredible honor in person, and to not be here on stage with Adam is deeply disappointing, to say the least,' she concluded Ill: She added that, about 'an hour and a half' before the ceremony she had become 'violently ill' though she added On the red carpet, Johansson spoke about her great run this year, stating she was honored to work with, 'some incredible writer-directors this year.' 'I think sometimes it seems like there are more opportunities for women who are not the sidekick, wife, other woman,' she said. Johansson will next be seen on the big screen in Marvel Studios' Black Widow, her highly-anticipated superhero adventure. The actress returns as Natasha Romanoff, a.k.a. Black Widow, who made her Marvel Studios debut in 2010's Iron Man 2. She also returns to voice Ash in the upcoming animated sequel Sing 2, which is slated for release on July 2, 2021. Opportunities: 'I think sometimes it seems like there are more opportunities for women who are not the sidekick, wife, other woman,' she said Coming soon: Johansson will next be seen on the big screen in Marvel Studios' Black Widow, her highly-anticipated superhero adventure Smiles: Scarlett Johansson is all smiles at the SAG Awards Scarlett's look: Scarlett Johansson makes her way through the SAG Awards Scarlett and Colin: Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost arrive at the SAG Awards Scarlett and Laura: Scarlett Johansson and Laura Dern hit the red carpet Laughs: Scarlet Johansson shares a laugh with Laura Dern Hand in hand: Scarlett Johansson goes hand in hand with Colin Jost Melbourne is again getting a dousing just a day after monster hail caused widespread damage around the city. The Bureau of Meteorology on Monday afternoon warned that severe thunderstorms were likely to drop heavy rainfall across the state, including fire-affected East Gippsland. The Bureau of Meteorology issued a warning for the state. BOM duty forecaster Richard Carlyon said that, by late afternoon, Monday's storm activity had not produced the same damaging hail that lashed the city on Sunday afternoon. Instead, there had been heavy rainfalls in the outer eastern suburbs, including Ferny Creek (38mm in the afternoon), Monbulk (30mm) and Narre Warren (26mm). A 24-year-old who is one of the main suspects in the gruesome murder of Keane Mulready-Woods (17) has been arrested by gardai following a major manhunt yesterday. It is understood the Drogheda criminal was arrested in the early hours of this morning and is expected to appear in court later today in relation to breaching bail conditions. The warrant for his arrest is not linked to the garda murder investigation but for a separate case that he is charged with. Specialist gardai closely watched Dublin Airport and Dublin Port yesterday amid fears the man - a leading member on one side of the bloody feud - was planning to flee to England. He is the main target for the rival Maguire faction and suspected of being the man recorded goading and abusing paralysed Owen Maguire last year in a recorded phone call. In the call, which was video recorded and shared on social media, Maguire - who is confined to a wheelchair after being shot by the rival gang in July 2018 - is ridiculed about his paralysis. The rival mobster goads him by asking: "Do you want to go for a walk and sort this out?" Meanwhile, gardai continue their investigation into the death of Keane Mulready-Woods. Last week it was confirmed that partial remains discovered in Priorswood, Coolock and in a vehicle at Trinity Terrace, Dublin 3, were those of the 17-year-old teenager. Drogheda chief superintendent Christy Mangan described it as a "brutal and savage attack of a child - unacceptable in any normal democratic society". "The level of violence is shocking and the investigation into the murder of Keane is being coordinated from Drogheda Garda Station. It is important to remember that Keane was a child, a young boy trying to find his way of life. He has now lost his life and his family have lost their loving son . "Were there to protect and serve the public, but there are a number of groups who are interested in controlling certain parts of society and their own lifestyles through drugs and intimidation. "Were not going to allow that to happen. Were there to protect the people of Drogheda and will certainly do that in a very robust fashion," he added. NEW YORK Jan. 17, 2020 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Mount Sinai New York Dusan Bogunovic Mount Sinai Mount Sinai France Rockefeller University Marta Martin-Fernandez Riyadh Mount Sinai Mount Sinai New York City's New York Mount Sinai's New York City Westchester Long Island Florida Mount Sinai's Mount Sinai Mount Sinai /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- 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, and immunologists at the Icahn School of Medicine atinA 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, PhD, Associate Professor of Microbiology, and Pediatrics, at the Icahn School of Medicine atand 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 that's 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 tovia Paris Descartes University inabout 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 asin 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, 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, 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 forscientists to investigate the genomics and molecular/cellular biology behind conditions less severe than the boy's. 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, 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 islargest integrated delivery system, encompassing eight hospitals, a leading medical school, and a vast network of ambulatory practices throughout the greaterregion.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, and; 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.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 ofis ranked 12th nationally for Ophthalmology, Mount Sinai St. Luke's 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 findon Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.SOURCE Mount Sinai Health System In a news story you would expect to read on websites like The Onion, a Ugandan holy man was suspended from his duties as imam, after it was discovered that he had unknowingly wed a fellow man. 27-year-old Sheikh Mohammed Mutumba, was recently suspended from his duties as a cleric at the Kyampisi Masjid Noor mosque in Kayunga, after his wife of two weeks was caught stealing a TV from a neighbour. The theft wasnt what caused the imams suspension, but the shocking revelation that his wife, Swabullah Nabukeera, was actually a man. Mutumba is said to have been totally oblivious to his wifes real gender, and was devastated by the news. His superiors at the mosque still decided to suspend him in order to preserve the integrity of their faith. Photo: Andrew Itaga/Unsplash Mutumba and his young bride got married in a traditional Islamic ceremony, last month. Pictures taken at the event show both newlyweds smiling and surrounded by family and friends. Amisi Kibunga, who works at the Kyampisi Masjid Noor mosque, told the Daily Monitor that he and most of the people who had met the imams bride were fooled by her voice and demeanour. He had a sweet soft voice and walked like a woman, Kibunga said, adding that he had heard Mutumba complain that four days after the wedding his new bride refused to take her clothes off while they slept. When she was out of the house, Nabukeera always wore a hijab or a traditional gomesi dress, which didnt raise any suspicion. She also performed all her usual duties, like cooking, cleaning and doing the laundry, so her husband didnt suspect a thing. Sheikh Mohammed Mutumba and Swabullah Nabukeera The truth came out when the imams wife was caught trying to steal a TV set and some clothing from one of her next door neighbors. When police showed up on the scene, they performed a body search to see if the woman was concealing anything, and thats when they discovered that she was actually a man. The impostor reportedly confessed that his real name was Richard Tumushabe, and that he had married Sheikh Mohammed Mutumba in an attempt to steal his money. An investigation is still ongoing. Richard Tumushabe, aka Swabullah Nabukeera Mutumba reportedly met his bride through her aunt, Nuuru Nabukeera, who lives in Kituula village. As is traditional, the imam paid a dowry which included two goats, two bags of sugar, three busuutis, a carton of salt and a Koran. The aunt was also arrested following the shocking revelation, but she maintains that she did not know Richard was a man, as she only met him as a young adult, when he had already adopted his female persona. As for imam Mutumba, he has been suspended from his duties at the mosque in Kayunga, and has reportedly moved in with some relatives and is receiving counselling to help him get over the ordeal. It was just announced that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle aka the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will be relinquishing their royal titles, duties and money. As a member of the Monarchy, Henry Charles Albert David is entitled to certain things, like His Royal Highness as a title, and public funding for a lot of his life. When he married Rachel Meghan Markle, she, by virtue of being his wife, had access to some of these benefits of varying degree. But see, all that glittered wasnt gold but ash. The British Monarchys existence is a forever spotlight on class superiority, with an ever-present underpinning of exclusivity by ethnicity (no shoutout to racism). Meghan, whose mother is a Black woman from California, was fighting an uphill battle from the moment Harry fell in love with her. After years of the British media and tabloids utmost disrespect, deep scrutiny and a monarchy that hasnt done too much to protect someone who should be family to them, here we are. Kate Middletons caucasity never had to deal with this level of trolling and hate directed her way that Meghans melanin has. Harry and Meghan made the decision to step back from it all. The duties, the titles, the money. Because the drumbeat all along is that Meghan is not good enough for Harry. Her only crime has been being a Black woman, not of the bourgeouisie, who found love with a ginger-haired white man whose family is at the head of a centuries-old caste system. That is Meghans ONLY crime, and for it, shes been loudly lambasted by a public that still has its head in its own ass, over the fact that white people sometimes find Black people they adore, and marry. And a BLACK PRINCESS? Peoples minds have been exploding since that Royal wedding. Even when Disney gave us a Black princess, she was a frog for 75% of the movie she was in. Once this became public, of course it became the talk of the world. And social media, being a microcosm and a megaphone of the worlds thoughts, has exploded with all types of takes. The ones that make me want to beat my head against a wall are the loudest and wrongest dimwits who are wondering why Prince Harry is daring to do this, just for Meghan. From paid simpletons like Piers Morgan to unpaid random trolls sitting in their parents basements in ratty underwear. People are fixing their useless mouths and fingers to ask why Prince Harry is sacrificing his royal title and money for his wife, and it lets me know why some people wont ever have anything worth protecting in life. Toxic ass goats. Love is a verb. It isnt just to post about on the internet. It isnt just about changing your Facebook status. It surely aint just about being able to say I have a wife. or I have a husband because it sounds cute. If youre not willing to protect what you say you cherish, then what is the point? People really do not know what showing up means. What Harry is doing, is showing up for his family. And its a beautiful thing. And then folks are calling this MEGXIT to demonize Meghan, as if she tied this man down and forced his hand. As if Prince Harry isnt a grown ass man who has the world at his feet and can literally make any choice he wants. As if he didnt witness for himself, what could happen when someone who married in to the Monarchy is deeply unliked and lambasted publicly could literally DIE for it. He has spoken openly about how the death of his mother, Princess Diana, when he was 12, has affected and continues to affect him. Really, I think it comes down to the fact that people find it completely unbelievable that a white man (a royal one, at that) could pick a Black woman as his partner, and then pick HER over everyone and everything else in his life. There are even some people, who are Black, spewing some of this. That Harry didnt do this because of Meghan, but because of his disdain for the Monarchy. Harry HAS had a problem with Royal life but what made him make this decision now, and in such a concrete way, was his family: Meghan and Baby Archie. I will not reduce the enormity of his decision with well hes been tired of royal duties. Ok. But if he was a single man, he might not feel the urge to do this now. Some people are actually also showing their own baggage in not understanding that Meghan and the love of her, is what allowed Harry to come to this place, where he is making this decision. Meghan (and you, in case you need to hear it) are worth this sacrifice. Women are the ones usually expected to sacrifice for their family. So part of whats happening here is a man is giving up A LOT for his family and people are shell-shocked and projecting their own baggage unto this. Meghan had a whole budding career in Hollywood. She dropped it and moved across the pond and no one thanked her or made a big deal of it. Because thats what she was supposed to do, right?? Yeah ok. People are trying to call Harrys manhood into question for putting love and family first, over money. This act of his proves he is more of a MAN than most people can fathom. Im sure some of the men who are calling his machoness into court, are the types of miss the birth of their baby for some random sporting event. You, know, the types of troglodytes who think the only emotion to show is anger and the only time to cry is when their mama dies. It be the same people who are worried about women who are golddiggers. FOOL YOU DONT EVEN HAVE TIN FOIL OR THE SENSE GOD GAVE A TOENAIL! WHAT WILL A WOMAN HAVE TO DIG FROM YOU!?!?!? The fuckery abounds. I am heartened with the love Harry and Meghan are choosing over everything else. The yuckmouths who question this act are proof that some people exist in this world to inspire the rest of us to not be them. Happily ever after isnt some prince coming to save his love. Its a grown man, telling the world that his family is more important than anything else, and that he will do what he can to protect it. May we all have someone or people in our lives who are worth cherishing, protecting and fighting for in a world that tells us to chase money first, not love. I wish Harry and Meghan and Archie peace. Liuyishou Hotpot Boston | Photo: Ames K./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 Boston, based on Yelp ratings and our own methodology. Happy Lunar New Year! 1. Liuyishou Hotpot Boston Photo: tiffany d./Yelp Topping the list is Liuyishou Hotpot Boston. Located at 702 Washington St. (between Stuart and Kneeland streets) in Chinatown, the Chinese spot is the highest-rated Chinese restaurant in Boston, boasting four stars out of 167 reviews on Yelp. 2. Chinatown Cafe photo: david r./yelp Next up is Chinatown's Chinatown Cafe, situated at 262 Harrison Ave. (between Curve Street and Marginal Road). With four stars out of 176 reviews on Yelp, the Chinese spot has proven to be a local favorite. 3. Hong Kong 888 Cafe photo: danny l./yelp Roslindale's Hong Kong 888 Cafe, located at 888 South St. (between Robert and Fletcher streets), is another top choice, with Yelpers giving the Chinese spot four stars out of 113 reviews. 4. Little Asia Restaurant photo: dave k./yelp Little Asia Restaurant, a Chinese spot in East Boston, is another go-to, with four stars out of 73 Yelp reviews. Head over to 991 Bennington St. (between Saratoga and Trident streets) to see for yourself. 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. Two people were killed and five were wounded late Sunday when an assailant began shooting "indiscriminately" inside a club in San Antonio, according to police. San Antonio Police Chief William McManus told reporters that someone opened fire about 9 p.m. during a performance at Ventura, a music venue and bar in the River Walk, just north of downtown. On Monday evening, police, who had spent the day searching for the suspect, said they had arrested 19-year-old Kieran Christopher Williams, who will be charged with murder. Williams began shooting during an an altercation inside the bar, McManus said. One of the deceased victims, identified by police as Robert Martinez, was 21 years old, McManus said. Another victim, identified as 25-year-old Alejandro Robles, died on the way to a hospital, he said. Five others were wounded and hospitalized Sunday night, and police said Monday that they are expected to survive. "It's nothing more complicated than an argument that occurred inside the club with at least one person pulling out a firearm," McManus said. "I'm told the individuals shot were patrons." McManus said he could not confirm what the argument was about. "We're working on that," he added. "I'm confident we will identify the individual and have that person in custody sooner [rather] than later." The shooting took place just hours before an unrelated shooting outside a bar in Kansas City, Mo., bar, which left two dead and 15 wounded. Police said that assailant, who was killed, opened fire on a line of people waiting outside the bar. On Sunday morning, two police officers in Honolulu were fatally shot near the base of a volcanic crater. A fire was started and quickly spread, destroying five homes. A neighbor told the Associated Press that a woman who had filed four days earlier to evict the alleged gunman left in an ambulance with stab wounds. The officers who were killed were identified as Tiffany Enriquez, who was with the Honolulu police force for seven years, and Kaulike Kalama, who was on the force for nine years, Honolulu Police Chief Susan Ballard said at a news conference Sunday. Police in Honolulu think the gunman, believed to be Jaroslav "Jerry" Hanel, died in the fire. - - - The Washington Post's Reis Thebault contributed to this report The Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) has put on its biting tool in anticipation to clamp down on deadly Insecticide Producers who are currently operating at Odorkor Maclean in Accra. The community, located off the Kaneshie-Mallam stretch and within the Okaikoi South Municipal Assembly of the Greater Accra region, houses over 30 unlicensed and unapproved insecticide manufacturing units, housed in unlabeled kiosks. According to the GSA, these illegal insecticide production units pose a major health threat to the lives of the general public. The Authority says it is on a mission to save lives as well as protect the health of residents. After a weekend swoop to halt the activities of the insecticide manufacturers, the Director-General of the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), Professor Alex Dodoo said the companies must be checked considering the severe harm they pose to residents. The size of harmful chemicals we have seen and their potential to cause harm and death should they have been mixed with wrongful products instantly will blow your mind. It is scary. The residents only think they kill mice and they don't kill human beings. These chemicals are dangerous and the more one is exposed to it, your risk increases. So most of the people at the adjoining communities are at huge risk of cancers and respiratory diseases. This is multi-sectoral, you should not have a factory until the Environmental Protection Agency has you given the license to be sure that whatever you are doing is fit for the environment. The company never approached us so from what is going on, they are even operating illegally. Clearly, this is a criminal activity which has to be stopped. What residents need to be aware of is that they have been exposed to high levels of dangerous chemicals, he added. The clampdown exercise Last Saturday, the Authority had to close down an insecticides manufacturing company in the area for operating without a license. The action follows complaints from residents who raised concerns over the health implications of the stench and the indiscriminate disposal of their waste. Among the initial charges were that some of the products had the GSA mark of conformity and labelling that had not been duly approved. A team led by the Business Development Manager of the GSA, George Anti, seized samples of the insecticides and other packaging materials on site. We have received several complaints from residents in the area of incessant fumes that they are constantly inhaling as a result of this manufacturing that is going on here. These things pose a major health risk to the public, he remarked. The manufacturing is not even being done in accordance with the laid down procedure and clearly they're printing labels and misleading the public as though they have gone through the right processes but they haven't, he noted. Arrest Two persons, who identified themselves as caretakers for the shop, were arrested as the original owners of the place were not available upon the team's visit. The production site, situated in a relatively congested neighbourhood, was also close to the preparation and packaging of delicacies like plantain chips. Residents will not readily divulge any information to the task force. But some of the products that were found on site were NOPEST, Teacher Power, Two Brothers disinfectants, and other unused packets of paper and adhesive glue or starch. What GSA does GSA is a government agency responsible for developing, publishing and promoting standards in the country. It does so through standardisation, metrology and conformity assessment activities. Some of these activities are testing, inspection and certification. These activities ensure that products or goods and services produced in Ghana, whether for local consumption or for export are safe, reliable and are of good quality. ---CitinewsRoom A complaint has been registered against protestors in Shaheen Bagh area on Sunday for blocking the road while agitating against the Citizenship Amendment Act, Population Register and Register of Citizens. According to Delhi Police, the complaint states that immense inconvenience has been caused to commuters as they have to take alternate routes due to ongoing anti-CAA protest in Shaheen Bagh area. "From the past 35 days, we have to take alternate routes causing us immense inconvenience. It is requested that an FIR be registered and blockade may be removed at once to get rid of this nuisance," the complaint said. On Sunday, people took out a candle march protest against the CAA, NRC, and NPR outside Jamia Millia Islamia to Shaheen Bagh, holding tricolors, and placards and posters reading 'Save India, Save Constitution and Save Democracy'. On Saturday, actor Sushant Singh joined protests at Shaheen Bagh and expressed solidarity with students. Southeast Delhi Deputy Commissioner of Police Chinmoy Biswal had said that talks are being held with the protesters to persuade them to stage agitation without blocking the roads. The remarks came after the Delhi High Court asked the Delhi Police to look into the matter of blockage of Kalindi Kunj road due to the protest at Shaheen Bagh.The court in its recent order had also directed the police to consider the plight of students who have to travel to schools and also have board examinations.Justice Navin Chawla had further directed the police to consider the representation of the Federation of Sarita Vihar Resident's welfare association.The association had moved the court claiming that there are many students who are facing difficulties during board examinations as the area is closed since December 15, due to ongoing protests against the Act. Protests are going on across the country against 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. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) European Union officials are meeting in Brussels to discuss options for supporting the ceasefire in Libya. The European Union will discuss all ways to uphold a formal ceasefire in Libya, the blocs top diplomat has said, adding however that any any long-term peace deal will need real support from Europe to make it hold. The comments by Josep Borrell came as European foreign ministers held discussions in Brussels on how to strengthen the shaky truce on Monday, a day after international leaders including some that have backed opposing sides in Libyas conflict agreed at a summit in Berlin to uphold a UN arms embargo and end military support for the countrys warring factions. A ceasefire requires someone to take care of it, said Borrell, when asked if the EU would consider a military peacekeeping mission. You cannot say, this is a ceasefire and forget about it Someone has to monitor it, to manage it. Libya has been torn by fighting between rival armed factions since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising overthrew and killed longtime-leader Muammar Gaddafi. The deeply divided country currently has two rival administrations: The UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli and another allied with renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar in the eastern city of Tobruk. In April, Haftars forces launched an offensive to seize Tripoli, with clashes so far killing more than 280 civilians and 2,000 fighters and displacing tens of thousands. On January 12, a fragile ceasefire backed by both Turkey and Russia was put into place. Operation Sophia Asked if the EUs naval mission off the Libyan coast could be restarted, Borrell said: I think we have to revive it, yes. The EU ceased maritime patrols under Operation Sophia at the end of March last year, after Italy where anti-migrant sentiment had been rising said it would no longer receive those rescued at sea. EU governments wanted the mission to continue because they felt it had been effective in dissuading human traffickers and upholding the UN arms embargo on Libya, meaning Romes position remains central to putting boats back on the water. Italys far-right League party, whose leader Matteo Salvini held the influential position of interior minister and pushed for anti-immigrant reforms, collapsed the countrys ruling coalition last year in a bid to force snap elections and take power. Instead, the populist Five Star Movement joined forces with the centre-left Democratic Party to form a new government. Luciana Lamorgese, a career civil servant and international migration specialist known for promoting integration events, succeeded Salvini. The EUs Foreign Affairs Council will on Monday also discuss the situations in Bolivia, India and Venezuela as well as the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in the Sahel region, a strategic priority for the EU and its member states. Ministers are also talking about ways to step up climate diplomacy and enhance outreach activities towards third countries. The Middle East peace process will be the subject of discussion over an informal lunch, according to an indicative agenda published by the EU. Pope Francis has condemned the 'barbaric resurgence' of anti-Semitism around the world, and linked it to the rise of populism. The head of the Roman Catholic church told a delegation in Vatican City that the increasing spread of an attitude that says 'life is good as long as it is good for me' has created a 'fertile ground' for hatred to spring up. His words came after Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI was alleged to have co-authored a book attacking his leadership. Benedict has claimed he did not write the book and has asked the publishers to remove his name from the work. Head of the Roman Catholic church said he thought a rise in 'selfishness and indifference' had created a space for hatred to spring up. (He is pictured today meeting the Simon Wiesenthal Center delegation in Vatican City) The Pope made the comments while speaking to a delegation from the human rights group Simon Wiesenthal Center in Vatican City 'Next weeks 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp should serve as a reminder not to become indifferent', Francis told a delegation from the human rights group the Simon Wiesenthal Center today. 'It is troubling to see, in many parts of the world, an increase in selfishness and indifference, lack of concern for others and the attitude that says life is good as long as it is good for me, and when things go wrong, anger and malice are unleashed.' 'This creates a fertile ground for the forms of factionalism and populism we see around us, where hatred quickly springs up ... where hatred is seminated. 'Even recently, we have witnessed a barbaric resurgence of cases of anti-Semitism. Once more, I firmly condemn every form of anti-Semitism.' He did not specifically mention any countries or populist movements. The 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp will happen next week, the Pope reminded the delegation. (Pictured delivering a blessing from his studio window in St Peter's Square) His words come after an Anti-Semitic attack at a Jewish cemetery last month where 107 graves were daubed with swastikas (pictured above A Jewish cemetery was attacked in eastern France last month, with 107 Jewish graves being desecrated with Nazi symbols. It came hours before French lawmakers adopted a resolution equating anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism. France has Europes biggest Jewish community - around 550,000 - and anti-Semitic attacks are common, with more than 500 alone in 2018. In the UK, Jeremy Corbyn's Labour party has come under sustained and repeated criticism for failing to handle anti-Semitism in its ranks. A global survey by the US-based Anti-Defamation League in November found an increase in anti-Semitic attitudes across many places, but significantly in Eastern and Central Europe. It also found that large percentages of people in Eastern and Western European countries think Jews talk too much about the Holocaust, with 78 per cent of people asked in Poland giving this view. The attack came hours before French lawmakers adopted a resolution equating Anti-Zionism with Anti-Semitism. (Attacked graves are pictured above) France has Europe's largest Jewish population. Anti-Semitic attacks in the country are common, with 500 alone in 2018 The Nazis and their collaborators killed about six million Jews in their attempt to exterminate European Jewry. Millions of others were also killed, including homosexuals, gypsies and political dissenters. Francis, who visited Auschwitz in 2016, said remembering the Holocaust was vital to ensure that similar atrocities do not happen again. 'If we lose our memory, we destroy our future. May the anniversary of the unspeakable cruelty that humanity learned of seventy-five years ago serve as a summons to pause, to be still and to remember. We need to do this, lest we become indifferent,' he said. Arrests are imminent in the investigation into the killing of student Cameron Blair in Cork last week, the Herald understands. Gardai have interviewed three youths who had gained entry to a house party despite being uninvited, as well as people who were at the party, and are now cross-referencing details from those interviews. A number of photos taken at the student party on the Bandon Road last Thursday are also being examined. Peacemaker Investigators believe Mr Blair (20), a second-year engineering student at Cork Institute of Technology, from Ballinascarthy, west Cork, died after he was slashed in the neck with a blade after three people who had been told to leave the party arrived back at about 9.20pm. A boxcutter-type blade was found near the scene and is undergoing analysis to determine if it might have been used in the attack. The three youths who allegedly gatecrashed the party are not students at Cork Institute of Technology and were not friends of the students at the party. Sources said a row broke out inside the house after they arrived and were told to leave, but they returned shortly afterwards and a second row broke out. They said Mr Blair, a highly popular student, was attempting to act as a peacemaker and defuse the tensions when he was slashed in the neck. He then stumbled out into the street before collapsing and his friends raised the alarm. Paramedics battled to save him and he was taken by ambulance to Cork University Hospital, where he died a short time later. A post-mortem examination took place at the hospital on Friday afternoon. One of the three young men who had fled the scene on Bandon Road was spotted by gardai a number of streets away from the party as they were responding to the frantic 999 calls. A second man agreed to a voluntary interview with investigators the following day and the third youth also spoke with officers. It is understood cautioned statements were taken from all three youths. However, a decision was taken to hold off on making arrests until gardai are confident of charging a suspect. "Investigators will be going through all the interviews and evidence because they want to be as sure as they can be about what the sequence of events was and what witnesses are saying before they move on a suspect," one source said. CCTV and witness reports are proving crucial to the investigation. Ballinascarthy is 40km from the scene of the killing, and neighbours and friends in the local community have been rallying around the Blair family as they try to cope with the shock of their loss. Sympathies Mr Blair attended Bandon Grammar School before completing his Leaving Certificate at the nearby Hamilton High School. Cork Institute of Technology president Barry O'Connor said the entire CIT community is in shock at Mr Blair's death. He extended "heartfelt sympathies" to his family and friends. Mr Blair was a keen rugby player and played for Bandon Rugby Club. Arrangements for his funeral are expected to be made this week. Gardai have appealed for any witnesses or anyone who may have phone or camera footage to contact Togher Garda Station on 021 4947120, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666111 or any garda station. Kerry Airport Ireland recorded a slight increase in passenger numbers on their two London routes last year despite the threat of Brexit.. Across all its routes the airport recorded a 1.2% increase with passenger numbers travelling through Farranfore reaching nearly 370,000. Kerry Airport CEO, John Mulhern, said there was growth of 1% on their London routes in defiance of being under the Brexit cloud throughout the year. Aer Lingus Regional operate a twice-daily service between Kerry and Dublin and it also recorded growth last year. The Berlin and Frankfurt Hahn routes continue to perform very well and we welcome Ryanairs decision to extend the Berlin route through the summer of 2020, Mr Mulhern said. This underlines the importance of Wild Atlantic Kerry as a destination for the German tourist market. Ryanair is also increasing the frequency of its Kerry to Alicante route this summer. Shannon Airport reported last week that the grounding of the Boeing 737-Max aircraft and a Brexit-related downturn in UK visitors resulted in a fall in passenger numbers for the first time since 2013. The global grounding of the Boeing 737-Max, for safety reasons, saw us lose 120,000 seats, which affected our Norwegian Airlines and Air Canada services to North America, said Mary Considine, chief executive of Shannon Group. According to the Irish Aviation Authority the number of flights through Shannon fell by 3.3% to 24,703. Cork Airport saw a 14.6% increase to 48,618. Bharat Hotel runs five-star properties under the brand The LaLiT. The Income Tax Department carried out searches on the premises of Bharat Hotel chairperson and managing director Jyotsna Suri and her associates in connection with an alleged tax evasion case, said media reports. .@IncomeTaxIndia department sources tell CNBC-TV18 that wife of the late Lalit Suri, Jyotsna Suri & associate Jayant Nanda are being raided for tax evasion Jayant Nanda is the owner of Cargo Motors, one of the biggest dealers of Tata automobiles Here are more details pic.twitter.com/nMMVWtvjie CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) January 20, 2020 Along with Suri, her close associates including Jayant Nanda, who owns Cargo Motors, are also being raided, according to a CNBC TV18 report. Bharat Hotel runs five-star properties under the brand The Lalit. In 2006, Suri took charge of the chain after the death of her husband Lalit Suri, said the report. The I-T department sleuths raided as many as of 8 locations in the country. The tax sleuths also conducted raids on the premises of Jayant Nanda, managing director of Cargo Motors, the largest dealer of Tata Motors commercial vehicles in the country, said a report in ET Now. Bharat Hotel has as many as 12 luxury hotels and resorts. The hospitality firm has also launched The Lalit Traveller brand which has two mid-market segment hotels under it. HARTFORD While it might sound good at first, Connecticuts Chief Public Defender warns that a proposal intended to address racial disparities in pretrial incarcerations might hurt the very people its trying to help. The state Sentencing Commission is suggesting eliminating cash bail. It might be a surprise to know that our division has not jumped on board with this with both feet, Christine Rapillo said during a panel discussion at the commissions day-long symposium on racial disparities in the states criminal justice system on Friday. Towards Equal Protection Under Law focused on how disparities could be eliminated at various points in the criminal justice system, from policing during car stops to the proposal to end cash bail in favor of preventive detention hearings which decide if a person can be released without putting up any money. The states inmate population is down by about a third compared to 20 years ago, officials said. But the number of people incarcerated during their pretrial proceedings has remained fairly steady at over 3,000 - until this year, Rapillo said. The pretrial population has dropped 14 percent from 2018 to 2019 to below 3,000 people for the first time in decades, said Rapillo who attributed the decrease to additional services to help people get, and stay, out of jail. She said shed like to see more of those service programs rather than the elimination of cash bail. The elimination of cash bond proposal is intended to allow more people who are predominantly poor and of color, to remain out of jail while their cases are pending, according to retired Judge John Silbert, who moderated the panel. Silbert said that about 500 of the nearly 3,000 people being held during pretrial proceedings are there for misdemeanor charges. The goal, Silbert said, was to craft a proposal that would gain the support of the states entire criminal justice system, including prosecutors. The commission is considering how to implement the plan, including a requirement that people face a preventive detention hearing to determine if they pose a risk requiring incarceration rather than remaining free without cash bail. The plan will likely be part of the package of legislative proposals put forth when the General Assembly convenes in early February. But Rapillo pointed out that her agency, which represents indigent defendants charged with a crime, is not on board with the plan since the preventive detention aspect could lead to unintended consequences including more people of color being detained and more people of color pleading guilty to charges just to get out. It is very difficult, if not impossible, to have an assessment tool that is truly race-neutral, she said. The criteria that are used to assess risk do adversely impact the poor, people who live in certain zip codes and those with criminal records who may have been charged simply because of the way policing is done in their area, she said. By taking away cash bail, state leaders would be taking away the possibility for some people to get out and continue with their lives, their work and maintain housing while their case works its way through the court system, Rapillo said. Rapillo agreed with advocates of the plan who said its easier for those who are not incarcerated to defend their case than people who are being held. But shes concerned that the proposal will not have a significant impact on our poor clients and will not assist in their ability to be at liberty while their case is being processed. By setting a money bond you still have the possibility that someone can still get out, she said. It costs $120 a day to keep a person incarcerated, said panelist Isabel Blank, senior manager of external affairs for the Yankee Institute. Thats a waste of money in our eyes, Blank said. People are not being productive members of society when they are incarcerated. The Yankee Institute is primarily known for its work scrutinizing programs and tax initiatives for potential taxpayer savings. But Blank said they also support policies that help people pursue freedoms, including freedom through economic status. Deputy Chief States Attorney Kevin Lawlor said prosecutors arent necessarily against the plan. We understand the seriousness of this issue. This is not something that we are diametrically opposed to in any way, shape or form, he said. Lawlors office, which represents the interests of Connecticuts 13 states attorneys offices, is looking for a system to determine bail that is fundamentally fair that also considers public protection and can assure peoples appearance in court, he said. Lawlor also questioned the preventive detention aspect, asking whether there would be actual hearings that would involve testimony. What would be the level of proof required? Lawlor said. Would there be testimony? For domestic violence victims, its hard enough to get people to complete a police report statement let alone testimony. Hey, India. Were rolling out our new fleet of electric delivery rickshaws. Fully electric. Zero carbon. #ClimatePledge pic.twitter.com/qFXdZOsY4y Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) January 20, 2020 Amazon has rolled out its fleet of electric delivery vehicles in India. Its chief Jeff Bezos announced the rollout in a bid to tackle climate change. Bezos had previously announced that Amazon would invest $1 billion in India till 2025. The investment is aimed to digitise small and medium businesses. Bezos, during his visit to India for the Amazon SMBHAV event, delivered a package to a local kirana store amid protests from the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT). The Amazon chief also met differently-abled people that were hired under Amazon's new programme. In a series of tweets, Bezos praised the programme. Amazon partners with thousands of kirana stores all over India as delivery points. Its good for customers, and it helps the shop owners earn additional income. Got to visit one in Mumbai. Thank you, Amol, for letting me deliver a package. #MSME pic.twitter.com/VpoHUoJOIH Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) January 18, 2020 The richest man in the world received a cold shoulder from the Centre, with Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal even stating that Amazon is not doing a great favour by investing a billion dollars in India. The minister later clarified that his statement was taken out of context. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) announced that it will be collaborating with the Chicago Police Department (CPD) in a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between the federal and city agencies last April. HSI, a branch of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), grants CPD officials the legal authority to enforce laws ranging from drug and sex trafficking, cybercrimes, gang activity and immigration. The document was signed by former CPD Superintendent Eddie T. Johnson and James M. Gibbons of HSI. The MOU states that HSI will now have the ability to deputize Chicago police officers as customs officials who will be authorized to enforce the full range of federal offenses but are not authorized to enforce administrative violations of immigration law. The agreement between ICE and CPD was not made public until the Chicago Sun-Times published the MOU in an article on January 14, after it was obtained by Freddy Martinez, a policy analyst at Open the Government. The publication of the agreement contradicts the narrative of Chicago officials who claim that CPD does not cooperate with federal immigration officials. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot in particular has been attempting to whitewash the agreement. On January 15 the Chicago city council passed an Accountability on Communication and Transparency (ACT) ordinance that promises to restrict federal access to CPDs massive databases. ACT also states that CPD officers will not participate in cooperating and aiding in any civil immigration enforcement operations. However, the new ACT ordinance does not override the MOU between ICE and CPD. At a press conference the same day, Lightfoot attempted to defend the previously secret MOU, claiming, The agreement is around Homeland Security, which is a distinct and separate activity. It specifically states that they may not participate in immigration enforcement activities. Lightfoots statement contradicts the MOUs main point: that Chicago cops will have the authority to enforce the full range of federal offenses, which includes illegal immigration. The specific powers granted to Chicago police officials who have been deputized under the agreement are defined in ICE form 73-001 and 19 U.S. Code 1589a. The documents show that a deputized officer will be tasked to Execute and serve orders in accordance with laws administered and/or enforced by HIS, this will include the power to conduct customs border searches and carry out other actions that are virtually identical to the duties of ICE agents. It is possible that areas like Chicago, which have sanctuary city laws that block local police from assisting in the detention of immigrants and other ICE operations, could have these rules overridden if officers are ordered deputized by the federal agency. The legality is murky, as it is unclear if a CPD officer who has been deputized by HSI is still bound by the Chicago city ordinance or if they will act fully as a federal agent. Its certain that the collaboration will foster more ICE raids with CPD officials working with ICE or acting directly to find and detain undocumented immigrants in Chicago. According to vera.org, 1.7 million immigrants reside in Chicago with an estimated 900,000 of them at risk of deportation. The agreement between the two parties came during a time of abundant ICE raids taking place throughout the country. According to statistics from ice.gov, in 2019 ICE arrested 143,000 undocumented immigrants and deported almost 300,000. Although this statistic is a 10 percent drop from the total number of immigrants arrested the previous year, the number of individuals apprehended at the border increased by 68 percent from 2018. In Chicago alone, ICE arrested 8,427 individuals. While there has been an increase in sanctuary city legislation being passed in the recent years due to pressure from popular opposition to attacks on immigrants, the federal government is looking for ways to bypass local orders and collaborate with police forces to bolster their anti-immigrant arrests and deportations. ICE has already carried out mass raids nationally with several large raids in the Chicago area. As the WSWS reported in May 2018, ICE arrested 156 workers in Chicago whose nations of origin included Mexico, Poland, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, the Philippines, Ecuador, Jamaica, Jordan, Lithuania and New Zealand. In 2019 alone, ICE arrested 8,427 immigrants in the Chicago area. The passage of the ACT ordinance and the empty statements of Lightfoot and other Chicago officials should be viewed with extreme caution by immigrants and workers. While city officials make endless phony pledges to support Chicagos immigrant communities, at the same time they have made backdoor agreements like that between HIS and CPD. The Democratic Party cannot be relied upon to provide any kind of immigration reform. Instead, there must be a turn to the working class in the US and internationally, the only force capable of defending immigrants and refugees from the threat of deportation and persecution. Corporate tax cut by the Modi government showcases the Centre's intention of aggressively attracting new investments and job creation, Gaurav Garg, Head of Research at CapitalVia Global Research Limited- Investment Advisor, said in an interview with Moneycontrols Kshitij Anand. Edited excerpts: Q) US market scaling new peaks along with hopes of new measures in the Union Budget is fueling optimism on the Street. What factors do you think can drive the rally which looks broad-based compared to what we saw in 2019? A) Positive expectations from the upcoming Budget 2020 is a major driving force behind the ongoing rally. Investors are hoping for relaxation on the income tax front. The governments action plan over the countrys growth revival is something that investors are expecting from this Budget. It has been evident over the past few months that the government is concerned about sluggishness in the economy. The finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has taken various steps to revive the economy. Corporate tax cut by the Modi government showcases the Centre's intention of aggressively attracting new investments and job creation. Investors are also hoping for relief in LTCG, along with some relief over DDT (Dividend distribution tax). Q) After the recent run-up what will you advise investors leading up to the Budget. Do you think we could be in the final leg of the upwards move (short term)? What are the major support and resistance levels which one should watch out for? A) It would be wise to lighten the portfolio and off-load some holdings in overvalued stocks ahead of the Budget as a correction is expected in the Nifty indicated by RSI Divergence and new positions would not be advised until this event. The level of 12,200 is a major support for the Nifty and 12,500 can be considered as a major resistance ahead of the Budget 2020. It seems that we are in the final leg of upwards move as seen by shrinking momentum and a minor correction phase is very much expected. Q) It has been a great week for Indian markets with Sensex climbing above Mount 42K and Nifty50 hitting fresh record highs closer to 12,400 levels? Do you think the momentum should hold in the coming week as well? Bhopal, Jan 20 : With the conflict over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) turning into a full-blown war between the BJP and other parties, civil and uniformed officials are caught in the crossfire. In Madhya Pradesh, the past and the current ruling political parties have squared up against each other and have put young bureaucrats under intense pressure. Television channels are taking sides without cross-checking their information on Sunday's incident in Rajgarh district. The bureaucrats are damned if they act against protesters and damned if they don't. They are accused of high-handedness. If they don't, they are blamed for negligence. After Sunday's violent encounter involving Rajgarh District Magistrate Nidhi Nivedita and her deputy with activists defying restrictive orders under section 144, the state BJP on Monday called for intensifying fight against the government. Party spokesperson Lokendra Parashar went as far as saying that the collector was mentally unstable and needed treatment or she was acting at the instance of the ruling party to crush a democratic agitation. The Kamal Nath government has opposed the CAA passed by Parliament recently. Former Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh and current Minister Sajjan Singh Verma have jumped into the social media war to support the valour of bureaucrats. Video clips of Sunday's protest at Biaora that went viral showed Nidhi Nivedita "slapping" a man and additional collector Priya Verma being pulled by hair while taking on some BJP workers. Trying to maximise the mileage from Sunday's incident former chief minister Shivraj Singh on Monday tweeted, "The Rajgarh incident will prove the last nail in the coffin of the state government." "We are going to build up a massive movement against it. We are going to get First Information Report (FIR) lodged against the (Rajgarh) Collector and if it is not registered, we are going to move a court," said the former Chief Minister. Collector Nidhi Nivedita, on the other hand, blamed the agitators for provocative acts. "I am saddened at the politicization of the incident," she said. She said permission to an anti-CAA rally was cancelled at the last-minute following intelligence inputs about possible escalation of violence. We convinced those protesters to drop the rally even after they had made full preparations. The pro-CAA rally was also denied permission in view of the preparations for the Republic Day. The district had witnessed communal flareup during the R-Day celebrations last year in Khujner town. The elements involved in last year's violence were keen for fresh trouble this year too. Despite agreeing not to hold out a rally they assembled unlawfully and began raising inflammatory slogans. One of them was overly active to provoke trouble and began abusing women officials. "I just tapped him to dissuade against inciting people. I did not slap him though we are empowered to dismiss an unlawful assembly by physical force. I reacted when he hurled at me," she said. "Since I had withdrawn permission to Congress leaders and others twice for holding anti-CAA protests, I did not allow the pro-CAA rally to be neutral and fair to both parties," she said. "I got information after the pro-CAA rally of Sunday, some people wanted to hold anti-new citizenship law rally in this district which is communal sensitive," she contended. "I have to maintain law and order in view of Republic Day," Nivedita said. She said 124 people have been booked for defying the prohibitory orders under section 188 of IPC (for defying an order promulgated by a public servant). Collector Nivedita said ten persons had been arrested for misbehaving with herself and the collector. Five or them were let off late. "While we were doing our duty, a crowd came from the other side and misbehaved with us," she had said. Even if I was not a public serving officer, I would have acted against those men who almost tried to molest women. Verma said a man pulled her hair from back while another kicked her in the waist. 'All that (her physical retaliation against some men) happened later'. Madhya Pradesh minister for Urban Development Jaivardhan Singh who represents the neighbouring Raghogarh constituency, said, "we have also held rallies and taken to the street for protests but, have adhered to law." NEW YORK (JTA)-Rabbi Chaim Rottenberg, whose home was the site of a stabbing last month on the holiday of Chanukah, delivered an invocation at Governor Andrew Cuomo's State of the State address. Joseph Gluck, the man who stopped the attacker by throwing a coffee table at his head, was also in attendance and received a standing ovation. The attacker injured five people at Rottenberg's home in Monsey, New York, on Dec. 28, including the rabbi's son. One of those wounded, Joseph Neumann, remains in critical condition. "May it be your will that we all join together in the struggle to see divine dignity in all of humanity," Rottenberg said Wednesday, ahead of the governor's annual address in Albany. "Father in heaven, bless and heal us. I will never forget the horror of that night. But I will also never forget how we continued to celebrate after the attack, how we continued to rejoice in the miracle of Hanukkah. I will never forget the resilience on display that night and in the following days, the resilience of Jewish people and the resilience of New York." Rottenberg also advocated for protection of the Hasidic way of life. In particular, he spoke out on behalf of Hasidic private schools, which may be forced to devote more hours to secular subjects like math, science and English pending a proposal now under consideration by the state Department of Education. The proposal has met intense resistance from Hasidic leaders. "We pray that divine providence should continue protecting us from evil forces who are out to harm us physically or from those who are out to attack our Hasidic traditional way of life and system of education," he said. Later, referring to Cuomo, he added, "Help him promote and instill the values of tolerance and appreciation among all our neighborhoods and communities who may look different, talk in a different language or raise and educate their children according to their unique ancestral traditions." Cuomo condemned anti-Semitism near the beginning of the speech and praised Gluck, calling him "the definition of New York bravery." Near the end of the speech, he called on New York to end the national rise in anti-Semitism. "There is no place for hate in our state, period," he said. "What happened in Monsey is intolerable and we will not allow it to happen in this state." Cuomo proposed a series of measures to prevent anti-Semitism. Against the backdrop of a photo of the recent march against anti-Semitism, he repeated an earlier call to define hate crime attacks as domestic terrorism, promised to increase the capacity of the New York state police hate crimes task force, and provide additional funding for security to schools and houses of worship. He also called for adding classes about bigotry and religious freedom to the educational curriculum. He recounted George Washington's letter to the Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island, in which he wrote that Jews would be able to practice their religion freely in America, and he called for clergy to preach against hate crimes. Cuomo also proposed an expansion of the Museum of Jewish Heritage, a Holocaust museum in Lower Manhattan, and called for schools across the state to visit the museum. "Let's make sure our schools are teaching our young children, who are frighteningly involved in so many of these incidents, let's teach them what America truly stands for," he said. "I want our schools to add to their curriculum a lesson that teaches our young people our civic values and our history on diversity, and that a fundamental premise of this nation is religious freedom." HONOLULU A disgruntled tenant facing eviction opened fire on the police on Sunday, killing two officers and setting fire to the bungalow where he had been staying, officials said. The blaze spread to six other nearby homes that were destroyed, the authorities said. The violent outburst in Honolulu started when the gunman stabbed his landlord in the leg, leaving her in serious condition, said Susan Ballard, the Honolulu police chief, during a news conference Sunday night. The gunman and two women who were in the house where the fires started were unaccounted for. Chief Ballard identified the two officers who were killed as Tiffany-Victoria Enriquez and Kaulike Kalama, who she said were seven- and nine-year veterans of the police force. She did not give ages for the officers, who she said were both parents and were the first Honolulu police officers to die in the line of duty since 2012. Both officers were wearing bulletproof vests, she said. Bahrain has welcomed the final communique of Berlin Conference on Libya, held in Germany. The participants during the conference agreed on a comprehensive plan to settle the crisis in Libya, pledged not to interfere in Libyan internal affairs and wok towards the disarmament of armed groups, among other binding results and commitments that represent an important step toward the achievement of a comprehensive political settlement. The Kingdom praised Germanys role and the keenness of the participating countries in restoring security and stability to Libya. Bahrain expressed its aspiration for greater efforts and work in accordance with the Skhirat Agreement that was concluded in 2015 in Morocco. The agreement is the political framework that is accepted by the international community and all parties in Libya, making it a solid basis for resolving the crisis in a way that fulfills the aspirations of the Libyan people in security and stability. It preserves the safety and territorial integrity of Libya and leads to the elimination of violence, extremism and terrorism in all its forms. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-21 02:09:25|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BERLIN, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Regional Court of Munich convicted on Monday a 30-year-old man pretending to be a doctor for attempted murder in 13 cases. He was sentenced to eleven years in prison. The court said that it was proven that the computer scientist impersonated a doctor and persuaded girls and young women to give themselves life-threatening electric shocks. For years, the man claimed to be conducting scientific studies on pain therapy and offered his victims money in return, up to 3,000 euros (3,325 U.S. dollars). His victims, for example, built devices with spoons or had themselves tied to a chair for the electric shocks. The false doctor watched his victims via video chat and recorded everything. These video documents were used as evidence in court. Initially, the man was charged with 88 counts of attempted murder. However, the court did not evaluate all cases as attempted murders. In some cases it assumed assault. Enditem Decision to fine KFC $1,600 for selling unmarked products upheld in court of appeals 10:59 20/01/2020 MOSCOW, January 20 (RAPSI) The Ninth Commercial Court of Appeals has upheld a 100,000-ruble (about $1,600) fine served by Russias consumer rights agency Rospotrebnadzor on International Restaurant Brands (KFC Restaurants) company for sales of unmarked products, the court ruling reads. The company appealed against a decision of the Moscow Commercial Court of October 18, 2019, by which it dismissed a KFC Restaurants claim to the agency. Earlier, an individual had turned to a Rospotrebnadzor office in a Moscow district claiming a local KFC Auto establishment was selling International Restaurant Brands products without required markings. A surprise inspection could prove the claim as consumer rights watchdog officials were indeed sold products lacking the marking required by the rules of the Eurasian Customs Union governing product labelling and food safety. The KFC Restaurants was therefore fined; the company challenged the fine in a court. President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday said that the fundamental principle of restraint and responsibility has been substantially undermined in media these days and fake news has emerged as a new menace. He said that "breaking news syndrome" has consumed the media. "In the days of the breaking news syndrome that has consumed the media now, this fundamental principle of restraint and responsibility has been undermined substantially," said President Kovind while addressing Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award ceremony here. He said that "fake news has emerged a new menace", the "purveyors of which proclaim themselves as journalists" and taint this noble profession. "I am aware that journalists tend to wear many hats in the line of their duty. These days, they often assume the role of an investigator, a prosecutor and a judge - all rolled into one," Kovind said. "It requires a great deal of inner strength and incredible passion for journalists to play so many roles at a time to arrive at the truth. Their versatility is praiseworthy. But that prompts me to ask if such a sweeping exercise of power is accompanied by genuine accountability?" he added. Kovind said that the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards honour those journalists who have maintained the highest standards of their profession and, despite immense challenges, produced work that sustains public trust in the media and impacts the lives of people. "Ramnath Goenka Ji would never have allowed the situation to go adrift and initiated measures for course correction for the whole media fraternity. There is no doubt that journalism has been passing through a critical phase," he said. The President also remembered Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi, who he said was an "extraordinary journalist" who sacrificed his life to douse the flames of hatred during communal violence in Kanpur. "The quest for truth is, of course, difficult and easier said than done. But it must be pursued. A democracy like ours deeply relies on the uncovering of facts and a willingness to debate them. Democracy is meaningful only when the citizen is well informed," Kovind said. He also presented the awards to journalists in New Delhi and congratulated all the winners and urged them to never let go of their pursuit of truth. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) and US President Donald Trump at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on November 9, 2017. By sharply accelerating in recent months its trade adjustment with the U.S., China has finally done what it should have initiated more than two years ago. Beijing is on the way to seriously dismantling Washington's economic and political leverage over China's economy. During 11 months of last year, China stepped up the rate of decline of its trade surplus with the U.S. to 16.2%. Feverish sinologists would call that "decoupling" a misnomer for China's belated exit from a position of an excessive and unsustainable trade surplus with the U.S. Those sinologists don't seem to notice that China is getting out of that self-imposed structural trap by aggressively slashing its U.S. purchases at an annual rate of 12% between January and November of last year. Instead of worrying about "decoupling," advocates of friendly U.S.-China ties should remind Beijing that it should be doing exactly the opposite by drastically stepping up imports of American goods and services. If the Chinese did that, they would not have to abandon their U.S. markets by cutting exports at an annual rate of 15.2%, as they did for nearly all of last year. So, the question is: Who is in a hurry to "decouple?" Looking at trade flows and China's declining holdings of U.S. debt, the Chinese have apparently concluded that a rapid narrowing of U.S. exposure was a matter of their national interest. That conclusion has come after years of pleading for a "win-win cooperation," while Washington kept trying to contain China's growing global economic and political influence. Instead of cooperation, the U.S. defined its relationship with China as a strategic competition with a country seeking to destroy the Western (i.e., American) world order. Cooperation made sense for China because it meant an open access to U.S. markets and technology transfers. The U.S., however, finally began to see things differently as it woke up from its evanescing dream that an increasingly prosperous China would shake off its communist rule and join the U.S.-led Western community. What followed was a radical U.S. policy change Beijing apparently did not expect. China's huge, and growing, American trade surpluses became an imminent strategic danger that had to be fought by tariffs, sanctions and strict limits to Chinese investments in the U.S. economy. Navy to honor Doris Miller with 1st aircraft carrier named after African American originally appeared on abcnews.go.com The U.S. Navy is set to announce Monday that a future aircraft carrier will be the first named in honor of an African American. The ship will be named in honor of Doris Miller, who was serving as a ship's cook during the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly said in a statement Sunday. The announcement is timed to coincide with Martin Luther King Jr. Day. MORE: Researchers share never-before-seen images of US ship that fired 1st shots at Pearl Harbor This will be the second ship named in honor of Miller for his actions during the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. When the attack from the Japanese began, Miller was collecting laundry on the West Virginia battleship. Miller headed to his battle station, but found it destroyed by torpedo damage. Miller helped move injured sailors to safety before he was ordered to help the captain of the ship, who was mortally wounded. After that, Miller manned an anti-aircraft machine gun, a weapon he had not been trained to operate, until it was out of ammunition. PHOTO: Adm. Chester Nimitz awards the Navy Cross medal to Mess Attendant 2nd Class Doris Miller for his actions aboard the battleship USS West Virginia (BB-48) during the Dec. 7, 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. (U.S. Navy) When the ship was ordered to be abandoned because of fires and flaming oil from another destroyed ship, Miller again helped move injured sailors. Miller's actions earned a commendation from the secretary of the Navy at the time, which was presented to him by Adm. Chester Nimitz, then-commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. "This marks the first time in this conflict that such high tribute has been made in the Pacific Fleet to a member of his race and I'm sure the future will see others similarly honored for brave acts," Nimitz said at the time. MORE: Researchers share never-before-seen images of US ship that fired 1st shots at Pearl Harbor The USS Miller, a frigate, was also named in honor of Miller. Miller also received a Purple Heart Medal, the American Defense Service Medal, Fleet Clasp, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal. Miller died in action in 1943 after a torpedo hit the ship he was aboard in the Gilbert Islands. Story continues "Doris Miller stood for everything that is good about our nation, and his story deserves to be remembered and repeated wherever our people continue the watch today," Modly said in a statement. PHOTO: Mess Attendant 2nd Class Doris Miller stands at attention after being awarded the Navy Cross medal for for his actions aboard the battleship USS West Virginia (BB-48) during the Dec. 7, 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. (U.S. Navy) In a press release, the Navy said that the future USS Doris Miller will be the "premier forward asset for crisis response and humanitarian relief, and early decisive striking power in a major combat operations." Modly is expected to officially announce the naming of the future Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier at a ceremony in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. A 6-year-old girl is being credited with saving the lives of her parents and younger brother after she alerted her father to a fire in their New Jersey home. WOODBRIDGE, N.J. A 6-year-old girl is being credited with saving the lives of her parents and younger brother after she awoke early Sunday and alerted her father to a fire in their New Jersey home. As a result, the girl, Madalyn Karlbon, her 2-year-old brother and their parents were all able to safely evacuate the home, according to Fire Official Cory S. Spillar. Their home in Avenel, New Jersey, however, has been deemed uninhabitable due to fire, smoke and water damage on the first floor and smoke damage on the second floor. The family is temporarily staying at a hotel, Spillar said. According to Spillar, the father and two children had gone to bed Saturday night. The mother came in later and fell asleep downstairs. Fire-damaged interior of the New Jersey home. About 2:17 a.m., Madalyn, who goes by Madi, woke up to a burning sensation in her eyes and throat. She also heard the smoke detector alarm sounding in the home, Spillar said. She went downstairs where she saw fire. Unable to wake her mother who was asleep downstairs, she ran upstairs to wake her father who got her and her brother out of the house. The father then went back into the home to get the mother out, Spillar said. "To say all of us here at the Avenel Fire Department are so proud of you is an understatement," the department said in a Facebook post. "Way to go Madalyn. You're indeed a hero!!!" Fire-damaged interior of the New Jersey home. The fire remains under investigation. Spillar said the fire, which is considered accidental, appears to have started at the kitchen stove during a cooking process before everyone in the home fell asleep. He said the bulk of the fire damage was confined to the kitchen. The Avenel Fire Company is accepting donations of clothing, toys and toiletries for the family at the firehouse, 346 Avenel St. Cash contributions also can be made out the Avenel Fire Company Community Fund, 346 Avenel St., Avenel, NJ 07001. Contact reporter Suzanne Russell: srussell@gannettnj.com His story was shared by thousands: After uproar, VA promises vet new prosthetic legs after his were taken away Its scary: As DACA decision looms, Texas college students worry about their future This article originally appeared on Bridgewater Courier News: 6-year-old New Jersey girl saves family in Avenel house fire One Ukrainian soldier killed, another 10 injured amid enemy attacks on Jan 18 - JFO HQ Russia-led forces six times violated the ceasefire with weapons including those prohibited under the Minsk Agreements in the area of Joint Forces Operation (JFO) over the 24 hours that ended on January 18. One Ukrainian soldier was killed and another ten were injured, the JFO headquarters said on Facebook on Sunday. Four fire attacks were recorded in the responsibility area of Ukraine's Shid (East) operational-tactical group. The adversary opened fire using small arms near the populated locality of Pisky. Tripod-mounted anti-tank grenade launchers were used near Krasnohorivka, Kyiv said. An unmanned aerial vehicle dropped grenades from a 30mm VOG-17 grenade launcher, targeting defenders of Pavlopil, it said. An area near the village of Vasylivka saw a shootout using small arms, it said. The responsibility area of Kyiv's Pivnich (North) operational-tactical group saw Donbas mercenaries fire 120m mortars, various systems of grenade launchers, heavy machineguns and small arms, targeting the Ukrainian army's positions near Orikhove. The enemy showed no combat activity in the beginning of the next 24 hours. No casualties have been reported, the JFO headquarters said. Srei Infrastructure Finance Ltd on Monday said it plans to raise up to Rs 2,000 crore via NCDs and another Rs 1,000 crore in commercial papers in fiscal 2020-21. The proposals will be placed before its board for approval on February 14. The Kolkata-based company plans a public issue of Rs 1,000 crore and an equal amount in private placement during the next financial year, it said in an exchange filing. Srei Infrastructure Finance will also issue commercial papers totalling Rs 1,000 crore on private placement basis. In September last year, it had asked the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to allow buy back of non-convertible debentures from retail investors. A rating agency had recently downgraded Srei's NCDs, perpetual debt instrument and commercial paper programme aggregating to Rs 5,327 crore. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The design practices of Wesfarmers-owned retail chain Target have been called into question after claims it ripped off the work of a Queensland small business. Sharon Hunter, owner of Queensland-based Emondo Kids, was surprised to see a product "very similar" to her best-selling Karri Koala plate on sale at Target stores nationally last month. Sharon Hunter has accused Target of copying her Karri Koala plate. Ms Hunter said Target denied copying the design but has agreed to stop selling the product once its current batch of stock runs out. "The koala character is our brand and to see it in a big corporation like Target is devastating," Ms Hunter said. "There are slight differences but you can see it is very much the same." The New York Times editorial board announced Sunday evening that it would endorse two candidates for president for the first time in the newspapers history: Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota received the papers support. The Timess editorial board interviewed nine of the top candidates last month for in-depth interviews and documented the process of how they settled on the double endorsement in the papers documentary show The Weekly on FX. The papers endorsement of Warren, senator from Massachusetts, and Klobuchar, senator from Minnesota, comes just two weeks before the Iowa caucuses on February 3. The Times remarked that the similarities between the platforms of progressive Democrats, embodied by Warren, and more moderate Democrats like Klobuchar became striking during the course of their interviews and influenced the papers decision to embrace candidates who embody both flanks of the party. Some in the party view President Trump as an aberration and believe that a return to a more sensible America is possible, the Times wrote in is announcement. Then there are those who believe that President Trump was the product of political and economic systems so rotten that they must be replaced. The Times chose not to endorse the current front runner for the Democratic nomination, former vice president Joe Biden, saying that Bidens agenda of merely restoring the status quo will not get America where it needs to go as a society, and it is time for him to pass the torch. The paper also declined to endorse progressive Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, now in second place behind Biden, calling him over-promising and divisive. The Times final four candidates included Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, who suspended his campaign earlier this month, and former Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind. Warren polls in third place nationally, while Klobuchar, although popular in Minnesota, has struggled to break out and currently polls at 3 percent, according to the Real Clear Politics average of polls. More from National Review One of Britains biggest shopping centre owners has revealed it will be tapping up shareholders for extra cash to pay down its debts. Intu Properties, which owns several shopping centres including Lakeside in Essex and Manchesters Trafford Centre, said the money will be raised next month ahead of the companys results. Bosses have already warned that its 5 billion debt pile is too high and are in the process of selling off assets to pay it down. The company said: Intu properties continues to make progress in its strategy to fix the balance sheet. Consistent with previous announcements, this now includes targeting an equity raise alongside its full year results at the end of February. The company is currently engaged in constructive discussions with both shareholders and potential new investors on the proposed equity raise. Expand Close Intus Trafford Centre (Anthony Devlin / PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Intus Trafford Centre (Anthony Devlin / PA) An equity raise involves issuing new shares to raise extra cash but this tends to push the current share price down, which could upset current investors. Matthew Roberts, Intu chief executive, said: We are making good progress with fixing the balance sheet, our number one priority, and are confident we have the right strategy in place to enable us to prosper as we see continued polarisation between the best destinations and the rest. He added that footfall to Intus UK centres was flat during the Christmas period compared with a year earlier which was ahead of falls across the market more broadly. Around 95% of space was occupied by tenants, with 97% of rent collected for the first quarter of 2020, Intu said. Last month to reduce the debt levels, Intu revealed it had sold Spains largest shopping centre the Intu Puerto Venecia in Zaragoza for 475.3 million euro (405 million). Intu banked 237.7 million euro from the deal as a part owner. The amount Intu hopes to raise from shareholders remains unclear, although reports in the Sunday Times put the figure at up to 1 billion. Intu shareholder and billionaire businessman John Whittaker, who has a 27% stake, is said to be in favour of the plan, according to the newspaper. Commercial property owners, particularly in retail, have suffered in recent years as several big name brands either went into administration or pushed through an insolvency process known as a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) to reduce rents. In November last year, Intu already warned that rental income in 2019 is likely to fall by 9%, with more than half the decline coming from Arcadia and Monsoon using CVAs. Bosses said rent in 2020 is also expected to drop, but at a slower rate than 2019, and added that the political and economic uncertainty is putting off current tenants from signing up to new lettings. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 19:56:39|Editor: mingmei Video Player Close KUALA LUMPUR, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Malaysian state-owned oil firm Petronas said on Monday that it has signed an agreement with China's Shenergy Group Company Limited (Shenergy) to supply 1.5 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per annum to its Wuhaogou receiving terminal in China. Petronas said in a statement that the LNG supply agreement was inked through its subsidiary Petronas LNG Ltd, and it is for a 12-year term starting from 2022. It also involves a shipping collaboration to construct and charter new mid-sized LNG vessels for the cargo delivery, according to the statement. Petronas said the new long-term agreement allowed the oil firm to continue to establish itself as Shenergy's preferred LNG solutions partner. Petronas has been a major LNG supplier to Shenergy subsidiary, Shanghai LNG Co., Ltd since 2006. The new deal for additional LNG supply allowed Petronas to support Shenergy's increasing demand for LNG, while further strengthening the group's foothold in one of the world's fastest growing LNG markets, said the statement. Petronas Executive Vice President and CEO of gas and new energy Adnan Zainal Abidin said the group values its long-term relationship with Shenergy, which has continued to grow, from strength-to-strength since 2006. - Simphiwe Dana shared a statement about her time in court recently - The muso had to appear after her former fiance, Leshoto Itsweng, laid a counter-charge of assault and crimen injuria against her - However, the prosecutor did not want to proceed and the case was dropped PAY ATTENTION: Click See First under the Following tab to see Briefly.co.za News on your News Feed! Award-winning musician, Simphiwe Dana, opened up to her fans about her time in court recently. She had to appear in court after handing herself Norwood Police Station on 16 January. Simphiwe's ex-fiance, Leshoto Itsweng, opened a counter-claim against her, accusing her of assault and crimen injuria. This came after she has opened a case of assault against Lesotho for allegedly abusing her. However, Briefly.co.za gathered that the prosecutor did not want to prosecute the case and it was dropped. READ ALSO: Betty White turns 98 and credits optimism for such a long life Simphiwe expressed her disappointment with the justice system, especially when it comes to the way gender-based victims are treated. "My experience has been a disturbing revelation about how the criminal justice system can be manipulated to revictimise and harass victims of intimate-partner abuse. "The swiftness with which the police respond to the countercharges by imprisoning the survivor serves to perpetuate inequality and revictimisation." However, Simphiwe is not about to give up. She will continue with her case against Lesotho. "I will continue with my case, and am committed to seeing it through the end." After her court appearance, Simphiwe was supported by those close to her. As reported on by Bona magazine, the musician opened up earlier about the alleged abuse she suffered at Lesotho's hands. "This guy spat in my face. Strangled me. Told me he would slit my throat and get away with it. Said his friend in the police force runs the province. "In a world where we have sleepless nights for our daughters. A man threatening me in this way will have all my wrath. His name is Leshoto Itsweng." Enjoyed reading our story? Download BRIEFLY's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major South African news! Source: Briefly News A 53-year-old woman has lodged a complaint against her neighbour who allegedly let loose his dog to attack her outside her residence in east Delhi's Shahdara, police said on Monday. The woman sustained injuries on her waist and legs in the attack that took place on on Saturday, they said. The complainant, Suman Mahajan, and her neighbour, Kuldeep Rawal, were embroiled in a property dispute, the police said. In her complaint, Mahajan said, "I was going to a temple around 8:40 am on Saturday and saw my neighbour with his dog. He came in front of me and unleashed his dog. The dog ran towards, jumped on my right leg and bit me. It also attacked me with its nails on the left leg and waist." The woman was rescued by her parents who came out of the house after hearing the commotion. She was rushed to the Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital, the police said. She was discharged the next day after preliminary examination, they said. Rawal and Mahajan's family are embroiled in a property dispute, the police said. The victim told police that her family had filed a lawsuit against the accused a year ago and he wanted to put pressure on them to withdraw it, they said. A case has been registered against Rawal at the Vivek Vihar police station. He has not been arrested yet as the victim's claims are being verified, the police said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Dirty Dancers challenge is sure to ruffle feathers on Monday night's installment of Love Island. Siannise Fudge and Jess Gale look set to get the boys' hearts racing as they put on a very sultry display in a bid to win the challenge. The West Country brunette makes jaws drop as she storms over to the fire pit in a glittering, Strictly-inspired number. Making an entrance: The Dirty Dancers challenge is sure to ruffle feathers on Monday night's installment of Love Island (pictured: Siannise Fudge) Meanwhile, Jess - whose twin sister Eve became the first contestant to be booted from the villa last week - put on an equally sizzling display. Dressed as a Playboy bunny in a black leotard, Jess made a beeline for Mike Boateng - and her moves certainly seem to have elevated his heart rate. He declared: 'She surprised me when she came out with the whip and put it straight in my mouth!' Earlier in the day, the Islanders are seen anxiously preparing for the challenge. Going for it: Jess Gale made a beeline for Mike Boateng - and her moves certainly seem to have elevated his heart rate Causing a stir: The West Country brunette makes jaws drop as she storms out to the fire pit in a glittering, Strictly inspired number Shocked: Nas Majeed (left) and Connagh Howard (right) couldn't believe their eyes Reading out a text, Siannise informed her fellow contestants: 'Islanders, tonight you'll be getting each others' hearts racing in a Boys vs Girls challenge, Dirty Dancers.' The excitement was palpable, but Finley Tapp definitely wasn't looking forward to it. Speaking in the Beach Hut, he shared: 'I am probably the stiffest person on the dancefloor. I am panicking!' Reading out a text, Siannise informs her fellow contestants: 'Islanders, tonight you'll be getting each others' hearts racing in a Boys vs Girls challenge, Dirty Dancers' Nervous: The excitement is palpable, but Finley Tapp definitely wasn't looking forward to it Call the doctor! Callum Jones donned a pair of tight white underpants for the challenge Sweeping Sophie off her feet! Connor Durman showed Sophie Piper what she was missing Another person set to cause a stir is new bombshell Rebecca, who leaves her co-stars livid by making a move on Mike within minutes of entering the South African villa. The brunette, 21, dances for the boys in a sexy swimsuit before planting a kiss on Leanne's partner Mike. The girls are raging as they watch from the roof terrace while the former Miss Newcastle makes it clear which boy she's planning on getting to know better. Bold move: Another person set to cause a stir is new bombshell Rebecca, who leaves her co-stars livid by making a move on Mike within minutes of entering the South African villa Rebecca is seen modelling a swimsuit underneath a Grecian goddess outfit, complete with gold arm bands. After the boys gather around the fire pit, Rebecca sashays over to Mike and kissing his cheek. The girls are left open-mouthed in shock, visibly outraged the newcomer would go for the former policeman. Mike and Leanne have proved themselves to be one of the strongest couples so far and are already firm fan favourites. Tease: The brunette, 21, is certainly set to ruffle feathers, dancing for the boys in a sexy swimsuit Pucker up! Rebecca was then seen planting a kiss on Leanne's partner Mike in a teaser clip for Monday night's episode Fuming: The girls including Leanne (third right) are raging as they watch from the roof terrace Rebecca's explosive entrance was teased at the end of Sunday night's episode, where she made it clear she had her eye on Mike, Callum and Connagh. She's set to face stiff competition in her bid to land any one of the three men, as Callum was seen recoupling with outspoken Shaugnha on Friday. Meanwhile, fellow bombshell Connagh was responsible for one of the biggest shocks of the series thus far, when he opted to 'steal' Sophie from Connor during Friday night's dramatic recoupling. However, it would appear that Rebecca is up for the challenge, as she's not short on confidence, rating herself an '8.5 maybe nine' out of 10 in the looks department, while assuring that she's 'fun, loud, outgoing, fearless, and spontaneous'. Strutting her stuff: Rebecca is seen modelling a bikini underneath a Grecian goddess outfit, complete with gold arm bands Making her mark: The newcomer's appearance was teased on Sunday night's show, and she certainly doesn't disappoint when it comes to making an immediate impact in the villa What the? The girls are left open-mouthed in shock, visibly outraged the newcomer would go for the former policeman The Geordie beauty appears keen on landing herself a man who also has a commanding presence, saying: 'I like a 'Jack the lad'. He's got to be the centre of attention easy to get along with, and someone who gets involved with the chat.' Rebecca, who has assured that she'll go 'as far as [she] needs to go' to land the man of her choice, has revealed that her turnoffs include men with long nails. As for her strategy with luring one of the men in the villa, she explained: 'I need to chat to them. I haven't seen enough of them to know how I'm going to approach it. 'I like funny guys, so I'm thinking making the guy laugh is a tick in the box. But no smooth moves, I'll just be myself.' Here comes trouble! Callum couldn't believe the scenes that were unfolding in front of his eyes Don't mess with the Fudge! Siannise couldn't hold back her anger as she saw bombshell Rebecca set her sights on taken Mike Taking the plunge: The Geordie beauty appears keen on landing herself a man who also has a commanding presence Hours before heading making her debut on the show, her Instagram account boasted almost 7,000 followers, who have been treated to a stream of glamorous snapshots from her travels, glitzy partying lifestyle and exploits as a beauty queen. She scooped the coveted crown as Miss Newcastle in June 2018, and took to Instagram to share a series of snapshots from the memorable moment. Sharing her thoughts soon afterwards, she wrote on Instagram: 'Such a proud little moment for my self! I am so overwhelmed that I managed to raise an incredible amount of 2000 for the Chronicle Sunshine Fund. 'Not only have I been awarded MISS CHARITY but also crowned MISS NEWCASTLE 2018. I am so pleased all of my hard work has paid off to help this amazing cause.' Bombshell: Rebecca's explosive entrance was teased at the end of Sunday night's episode, where she made it clear she had her eye on Mike, Callum and Connagh Beauty queen: The breathtaking brunette comes with some heavyweight credentials in the realm of attracting positive attention, as she was crowned Miss Newcastle 2018 A.K.A. The Wolf of Wall Street A.K.A. The Billion-Dollar Whale FIRST HUSTLE Between high school and college he made a tidy $20,000 selling Italian ice on the beach. FIRST HUSTLE He helped Kuwait buy an $87 million luxury high-rise in Kuala Lumpur. HE STOLE HOW MUCH? $200 million HE STOLE HOW MUCH? $4.5 billion FAMOUS LAST WORDS It was awful what I did, but I was under the influence of massive quantities of drugs. FAMOUS LAST WORDS Ive nothing to hide. VALUE OF HIS OLD DIGS $2.4 million for his Long Island mansion VALUE OF HIS OLD DIGS $24.5 million for his Hollywood Hill estate WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS Belfort had his bachelor party at the Mirage Hotel in Vegas along with around 200 attendees. It got so out of hand that he had to pay to refurbish an entire floor afterward. WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS A regular in Vegas, Low once celebrated the New Years Eve countdown twice: once in Sydney, then again in Vegas via private jet with Jamie Foxx, Jonah Hill, Leonardo DiCaprio and others. JAIL TIME Twenty-two months. Belfort served in a minimum-security prison in California. JAIL TIME None. He faces eight counts, each with a maximum sentence of five years. SUPERYACHT OF CHOICE Nadine (167ft) SUPERYACHT OF CHOICE Equanimity (300ft) KNOWS LEONARDO DiCAPRIO BECAUSE DiCaprio played Belfort in the biopic The Wolf of Wall Street (2013). Leonardo DiCaprio KNOWS LEONARDO DiCAPRIO BECAUSE Low helped fund The Wolf of Wall Street. He claims he helped DiCaprio, a friend of his, secure the role. Leonardo DiCaprio DOWNFALL After years of scrutiny, the National Association of Securities Dealers finally shut down Stratton Oakmont down in 1996. DOWNFALL Xavier Justo leaked to the press 230,000 e-mails from his former employer PetroSaudi, exposing 1MDB. Current Net Worth $100 million Current Net Worth $150 million DID HE PAY IT ALL BACK Nope. Since his 2003 sentencing, Belfort still owes about $97 million in reparations. DID HE PAY IT ALL BACK No, he settled with the US in a $700 million deal that will drop the governments case against him. Kumquat bonsai trees shaped like rats - the zodiac animal of the upcoming 2020 Lunar New Year - are picking up among shoppers for Tet decorations in southern Vietnam. It is less than one week away from the 2020 Lunar New Year, which will fall on January 25. During this festive season, it is a tradition for Vietnamese families to put up ornamental plants outside and around their house to liven up the atmosphere while expressing a wish for good luck, happiness, and prosperity in the new year. As the coming lunar year will be the Year of the Rat according to the Vietnamese zodiac, farmers in the south-central province of Binh Dinh have been shaping their kumquat bonsai trees to resemble the rodent in an effort to boost sales. Rat-shaped kumquat bonsai trees are up for sale in Quy Nhon City, Binh Dinh Province, Vietnam. Clip: Thai Thinh / Tuoi Tre Along Nguyen Tat Thanh and An Duong Vuong Streets in Quy Nhon, the capital city of Binh Dinh, droves of such rat-shaped ornamental trees are put up for sale, fetching around VND5 million (US$215) apiece. To create such masterpieces, farmers first bend steel wires into desired shapes before letting their kumquat trees grow onto the steel frames. According to sellers, kumquat trees are believed to symbolize prosperity because they are always laden with fruits. During Tet, it is believed that the more fruits there are on a kumquat tree inside a house, the more luck will come to the owner in the new year. Rat-shaped kumquat bonsai trees are up for sale in Quy Nhon City, Binh Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Thai Thinh / Tuoi Tre Rat-shaped kumquat bonsai trees are up for sale in Quy Nhon City, Binh Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Thai Thinh / Tuoi Tre Rat-shaped kumquat bonsai trees are up for sale in Quy Nhon City, Binh Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Thai Thinh / Tuoi Tre Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! A boat party descended into chaos after one man overdosed and another was arrested when he urinated on deck and spat on a police officer. More than 400 people, including Geordie Shore star Marty McKenna, were on board the SeaDeck boat on Sunday when it set off from King Street Wharf, in Sydney, at 5pm. The popular event entitled 'Beachball on SeaDeck' was sold out and revellers enjoyed a DJ, cocktail bar and impressive displays from live performers. More than 400 people, including Geordie Shore star Marty McKenna, were on board the SeaDeck boat on Sunday when it set off from King Street Wharf, in Sydney, at 5pm The popular event entitled 'Beachball on SeaDeck' was sold out and revellers enjoyed a DJ, cocktail bar and impressive displays from live performers Long queues of people wait to get on board the SeaDeck boat for the five hour long booze cruise These young women were enjoying themselves before their night out was cut short when one man was arrested and another 'overdosed' SeaDeck claims to be a 'floating oasis' and a 'unique venue with nothing else quite like it in the world,' on its website. But the event was forced to finish early when emergency services were called to the vessel around 8pm after a man was found unconscious. The boat docked at wharf in Athol Bay where NSW Ambulance paramedics managed to stabilised the 28-year-old before taking him to Royal North Shore hospital. When police boarded the vessel they were told by security guards that another 28-year-old man had urinated on deck. The man allegedly spat on one of the officers as they were trying to arrest him. The raucous boat part was attended by around 400 people including this woman who appears to have had a baby 10 weeks ago Revellers enjoyed views of the Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. There is no suggestion that any of the men in this photo overdosed or urinated on a police officer He was arrested and issued with a court attendance notice for offensive behaviour and for assaulting a police officer. The boat was escorted back to King Street Wharf by police and the other passengers were told to disembark. Footage from 7News showed people slowly making their way off of the vessel after police shut down the party. An inspection of the boat was taken out. Tickets for the even ranged from $50 to $2,000 for a table. It is not clear whether revellers will get a partial refund after the event finished early. Daily Mail Australia has contacted SeaDeck for comment. Young women look impressed by one live performer who dangled from the ceiling Tickets for the even ranged from $50 to $2,000 for a table. It is not clear whether revellers will get a partial refund after the event finished early UPDATE: MSU says this fall break is a possibility still being considered, according to a school spokesperson. EAST LANSING, MI A pilot fall break could give Michigan State University students a long weekend that includes Election Day 2020. Some say recent efforts to encourage student voting on campus could be undercut by such a break, and could result in fewer students voting overall, The Associated Press reports. The push for a fall break has the support of university President Samuel Stanley and the student government organization, Associated Student of Michigan State University (ASMSU). MSU officials say the possibility is under consideration and the dates have not been finalized. ASMSU advocated for a break that would cancel classes on Monday, Nov. 2, and Tuesday, Nov. 3, which is Election Day, to allow students to go home to vote, the AP reported. Stanley declared his support for the initiative at the MSU Board of Trustees meeting in December. But this long weekend could jeopardize the universitys on-campus student voter turnout, said Sarah Reckhow, MSU associate political science professor, according to the AP report. The campus has mobilized around on-campus voting for the past two years, encouraging students to register at their campus address, she said. MSU student vote totals saw a slight decrease from the presidential election in 2012 to 2016, according to National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement. While MSU student Carter Oselett likes the idea of a fall break, hes concerned about it including Election Day, the report said. Im scared that people are going to be out of town, and theyre not going to vote, said Oselett, a field organizer for the group RISE, which advocates for free college and voter registration campaigns. Hes encouraging students to vote early and use absentee ballots. READ MORE: Temps dropped to -17 in some Michigan spots today, more cold air tonight Your ultimate Michigan travel bucket list: 50 places you need to visit Michigan native on Ellen for paying Uber drivers college bill South Korean thriller Parasite is now the first foreign language movie to score the top prize at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. The cast won best ensemble Sunday night in Los Angeles, marking a surprise triumph for the acclaimed feature directed by Bong Joon-ho. Park So-dam, Lee Sun-kyun, Choi Woo-sik, Lee Jeong-eun, and Song Kang-ho hit the stage at the Shrine Auditorium to accept their historic prize. Victory: Parasite made history Sunday as the first foreign film to win the SAG Awards top honor. Star Park So-dam, Lee Sun-kyun, Choi Woo-sik, Lee Jeong-eun, and Song Kang-ho accepted the Best Ensemble honors together Kang-ho gave the acceptance speech in Korean, with a translator stepping in at intervals to deliver it in English. 'Although Parasite - the title is Parasite, I think the story is about coexistence and how we can all live together,' the translator said. 'But to be honored with the best ensemble award, it occurs to me that maybe we haven't created such a bad movie.' The speech concluded: 'I am so honored to receive this award in front of such amazing actors I admire. I will never forget this beautiful night. Thank you so much.' What a night: The cast won best ensemble Sunday night in Los Angeles, marking a surprise triumph for the acclaimed feature directed by Bong Joon-ho 'I will never forget this beautiful night': Kang-ho gave the acceptance speech in Korean, with a translator stepping in at intervals to deliver it in English After their win, the victorious cast members had their picture taken with their awards in the press room, where they were joined by their director. So-dam, Woo-sik, Jeong-eun and Kang-ho portray a poor family who gradually insinuate themselves into staff jobs in the wealthy Park household. Their plan involves getting previous staff members fired, in a move that eventually comes back to haunt them with blood-curdling results. The man himself: After their win, the victorious cast members got their picture taken with their awards in the press room where they were joined by their director Toast of the town: Parasite also played Cannes and has gained a great deal of attention in this awards season, winning the Golden Globe for best foreign language film Sun-kyun plays the head of the Park household, a dashing and imperious businessman with a ditzy wife and two pampered children. The director's previous film Okja also gained attention in the United States, as it was made for Netflix and screened at the Cannes Film Festival. Parasite also played Cannes and has gained a great deal of attention in this awards season, winning the Golden Globe for best foreign language film. Strength to strength: This Monday Parasite got six Oscar nods - best director, picture, original screenplay, international feature, production design and film editing It's shaping up to be a busy awards season for the film. This Monday Parasite got six Oscar nods - Best Director, Picture, Original Screenplay, International Feature, Production Design and Film Editing. In doing so it became the first South Korean movie and 12th foreign language film ever to be nominated for the highest honor at the Oscars. Parasite is also the first South Korean film nominated for what used to be the best Foreign Language film award, now called Best International Feature. Although Joon-ho's movie Mother was his country's submission for 2009, it was not nominated. That year the winner was the Argentine crime drama The Secret In Their Eyes. Who's who: So-dam (left), Woo-sik (right), Jeong-eun and Kang-ho portray a poor family who gradually insinuate themselves into staff jobs in the wealthy Park household The company that owns the Oakland home where protesting mothers were evicted last week said Monday it will sell the residence to a nonprofit affordable housing group a decision it reached after speaking with Gov. Gavin Newsom and city leaders. Under a good faith agreement announced Monday, Wedgewood Properties, which specializes in house-flipping, will negotiate the sale with the Oakland Community Land Trust, a nonprofit organization that acquires land and property for affordable housing, said the office of Mayor Libby Schaaf. Schaaf helped arrange the deal that requires the three-bedroom, one-bath house at 2928 Magnolia St. to sell for no more than its appraised value. Although a formal appraisal will need to take place, the home is listed at $631,201 on the real-estate site Zillow. Built in 1908, the two-story house sold in 1997 for $50,000, and in 1987 for only $15,000. Wedgewood bought the house for $500,000 at a foreclosure sale in July. Under the agreement, Wedgewood will also negotiate a right-of-first-refusal program for its Oakland properties, about 50, according to the company. Wedgewood said it will also hire construction workers for its projects from local organizations, including the citys Cypress Mandela, a job-training nonprofit. This is what happens when we organize, when people come together to build the beloved community, Dominique Walker, one of the homeless mothers, said in a statement. At a news conference Monday, Schaaf said: These are huge wins in our fight to address the humanitarian crisis of homelessness. In November, a rotating group of at least three mothers calling themselves Moms 4 Housing moved into the vacant West Oakland home with their children. The families lived there for nearly two months before sheriffs deputies evicted them last week, an act the mayor condemned. The group had repeatedly called on Wedgewood to negotiate with the Oakland Community Land Trust so the mothers could purchase the property through the nonprofit. But the company said it would not negotiate as long as the women occupied its property. Wedgewood, a Southern California firm, is one of Oaklands most prolific house flippers, rehabbing and selling 160 homes in nine years. Wedgewood wouldnt negotiate or have any discussions until the squatters were out of the house, said Sam Singer, a Wedgewood spokesman. The company always said once the illegal activity was concluded, it would be open to having discussions. On Monday, Wedgewood said it decided to sell after speaking with Newsom, Schaaf and Councilman Larry Reid. None revealed details about the discussion, and Singer insisted that Wedgewood got nothing in return for making the deal. At a news conference Monday, Misty Cross, one of the mothers, said the company and the mayors office should have come to the negotiating table sooner. It shouldnt have gotten this far for them to negotiate, she said. We are still hurting. There is still pain here. We went to jail. We stood up and put our bodies on the line. ... It should not have happened. In addition to selling the disputed home to the Oakland Community Land Trust, the company said Monday in a joint statement with Moms 4 Housing and Schaaf that it would provide a right of first refusal to the Trust and the city for all of its Oakland properties. To do that, Schaaf said the city would implement a policy requiring Wedgewood to first offer its Oakland homes to the Trust to buy and convert into affordable housing. Schaaf said the organization will have a timeline, still to be determined, to work out a deal. If no deal is reached, Wedgewood could flip the house. Wedgewood has also agreed to encourage other real estate companies that own properties in the city to follow in its commitment, Schaaf added. The agreement is a step in the right direction in helping to address Oaklands homelessness and housing crisis, Singer said in a statement. We are honored and inspired to collaborate with the City of Oakland on reasonable, thoughtful, and organized actions to address the issue of homelessness and housing. Meanwhile, he said Wedgewood doesnt believe the Trust will be able to buy all of the companys properties. 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. They will be able to buy some, whatever they budget for, Singer said. Its a good community deed and it helps solve the problem that Oakland has. You never know where new relationships lead. Several weeks ago, the mothers confronted Schaaf during a housing rally outside City Hall and asked why she had not responded to their pleas for help. Schaaf said she reached out to Gary Geiser, Wedgewoods CEO, on Thursday two days after the eviction to discuss an agreement giving the mothers the first right of refusal to buy the home. The mothers also requested a meeting with the governor, which prompted the conversation that led to the agreement, Schaaf said. After the mothers moved into the house, a legal dispute ensued between them and the owners. Last week, a judge ordered the mothers removed. On Jan. 14, sheriffs deputies in riot gear and using armored vehicles evicted the mothers in a predawn operation and arrested several of the mothers. The mothers and their supporters have argued that housing is a human right and Oaklands dire housing shortage gave them no choice but to take up residence in the home. The case has highlighted growing tensions around Oaklands housing and homelessness crisis. The city had a 47% increase in homelessness in just two years, and 3,210 homeless people are unsheltered, according to a point-in-time count. Im so pleased to hear that what we and many others urged is now making progress, said City Council President Rebecca Kaplan, who was among several council members who have called on Wedgewood to negotiate with the land trust. It is vital to protect and provide affordable housing in our community. Schaaf said she is also convening an Advisory Board on Community Ownership of Housing, to be co-chaired by one of the mothers, to work on policies that will ensure speculative purchases are first offered to affordable housing organizations and that tenants have the right of first refusal on purchasing properties. Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani Britains Prince Harry has said he and his wife Meghan had "really no other option" but to step back as senior royals after "many years of challenges", even as he expressed "great sadness" after being stripped of their royal titles. IMAGE: Britain's Prince Harry asserted that it was a great honour to serve his country and the Queen. Photograph: Jeremy Selwyn/WPA Pool/Getty Images In his first personal statement on Sunday night after a formal split from the royal family was finalised by Queen Elizabeth II over the weekend, the 35-year-old Duke of Sussex said when he and his American actress wife were married they were "excited" and "hopeful". He spoke of his "great sadness" at a decision which he said was not taken lightly and that the UK would always be his home even as the couple divide their time between Canada and Britain. "The decision that I have made for my wife and I to step back, is not one I made lightly," he said in a speech at a dinner event for charity Sentebale, co-founded by him in 2006 to support those affected by HIV in Lesotho and Botswana in southern Africa. "It was so many months of talks after so many years of challenges. And I know I haven't always got it right, but as far as this goes, there really was no other option. What I want to make clear is we're not walking away, and we certainly aren't walking away from you," he said. In a visibly heartfelt message, he said he wanted to share "the truth" about the revelations of the last few weeks, insisting that he was still the same old Harry they have known "but with a clearer perspective". The speech came a day after the Buckingham Palace announced that the couple will be forsaking their His and Her Royal Highness titles and no longer receive any share of the Sovereign Grant, or the UK taxpayer funding allocated to senior royals. It followed weeks of talks after Harry and Meghan, 38, had announced plans earlier this month to step back from the royal frontline and spend more time in North America. "I was born into this life, and it is a great honour to serve my country and the Queen...It has been our privilege to serve you, and we will continue to lead a life of service," Harry said. Striking a personal tone, Harry told the gathering: "The UK is my home and a place that I love. That will never change. "I have grown up feeling support from so many of you, and I watched as you welcomed Meghan with open arms as you saw me find the love and happiness that I had hoped for all my life. I also know you've come to know me well enough over all these years to trust that the woman I chose as my wife upholds the same values as I do. "We both do everything we can to fly the flag and carry out our roles for this country with pride. Once Meghan and I were married, we were excited, we were hopeful, and we were here to serve. For those reasons, it brings me great sadness that it has come to this," he added. Explaining how it had not been possible to continue serving his grandmother, the 93-year-old Queen, in any official capacity without public funding, Harry said he had to accept that reality but it did not change his commitment to his royal duty. "Our hope was to continue serving the Queen, the Commonwealth, and my military associations, but without public funding. Unfortunately, that wasn't possible. I've accepted this, knowing that it doesn't change who I am or how committed I am," he said. "But I hope that helps you understand what it had to come to, that I would step my family back from all I have ever known, to take a step forward into what I hope can be a more peaceful life," the Prince added. Referring to the tragic death of his mother Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997 in a car crash in Paris, he added: "When I lost my mum 23 years ago, you took me under your wing. You've looked out for me for so long, but the media is a powerful force, and my hope is one day our collective support for each other can be more powerful because this is so much bigger than just us." Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, is already in Vancouver Island in Canada with the couple's eight-month-old son Archie and Harry is expected to join them soon. Meanwhile, Harry will continue with his pending royal duties in the UK until the new agreement struck with the palace kicks in from spring towards the end of March and the couple begin their new financially independent roles. The couple intend to repay 2.4 million pounds of UK taxpayer money for the refurbishment of Frogmore Cottage, which will remain their UK family home as they split their time between Britain and Canada. The palace has declined to comment on security arrangements and who would foot that bill for the couple in future, an issue that has been at the centre of much of the debate since they announced their decision to step back as senior royals earlier this month. Harry and Meghan have issued their own update on their official Sussex Royal website, which has been updated to remove references to the HRH titles on the opening page. "We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages. "This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity," the statement on their website reads. PR-Inside.com: 2020-01-20 13:00:27 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 755 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 VANCOUVER, CANADA / ACCESSWIRE / January 20, 2020 / BeMetals Corp. ("BeMetals" or the "Company") (TSXV:BMET )(OTCQB:BMTLF) is pleased to announce the remaining analytical results from its Phase 1 underground drilling campaign, including holes SM19-016, SM19-017 and SM19-018 from the Company's high-grade South Mountain Base and Precious Metal Project ("South Mountain" or the "Project") in southwestern Idaho, U.S.A. Most importantly, drill hole SM19-016 has further increased the down plunge extent of the DMEA zone by approximately 75 metres and the zone remains open at depth (See Figures 1 & 2). The Company has also recently agreed upon revised terms with Copper Cross Zambia Limited at the Pangeni Copper Exploration Project in Zambia, to extend the due date for money-in-the-ground exploration investment until the end of 2020. This allows for a full field season of exploration activities this year. (See Pangeni section of this news release for more details).From this batch of recent analytical results, hole SM19-016 has identified multiple zones of dominant gold and silver mineralization in the projected extension of the polymetallic DMEA zone (See Figure 1 & Table 2). The geological logging and interpretation of SM19-016 suggests this drill hole intersected the margins of the DMEA zone based on an increase in the observed ratio of skarn to massive sulphide styles of mineralization. Future drilling will test areas in close proximity to SM19-016 where more massive sulphide mineralization is likely to be discovered. Drill holes SM19-017 and SM19-018 intersected intervals of predominantly zinc and silver mineralization associated with the MB4 target (See Figure 1 & Table 2). These holes represent the first drill testing at the MB4 target zone, generated from rib channel sampling results in the Sonneman level (See Company press release dated June 18, 2019), and as such the orientation of this mineralization is not yet fully understood.John Wilton, President, CEO and Director of BeMetals stated, "These recent results support and complete what has been a very successful phase 1 drilling program at the South Mountain Project in Idaho, U.S.A. This initial underground campaign of drilling has delivered on the Company's objective of demonstrating the potential to considerably expand the high-grade base and precious metal mineralization. Overall, we are pleased to see the increased gold and silver components in specifically the DMEA zone mineralization and have found this has been a consistent theme from the 2019 drilling results.In addition, we were pleased that in September 2019, one of the Company's advisors, Dr. Richard Sillitoe, an economic geologist, spent several days on site examining underground exposures, drill core and surface outcrops. He endorsed and was supportive of the general exploration methodology being applied to the deposit. Importantly it was noted that the massive sulphides have mainly replaced the Laxey marble unit, implying that they may be considered as carbonate-replacement deposit ("CRD") style of mineralization. This classification as a CRD by Dr. Sillitoe might well indicate that there is more upside to the ultimate scale of this deposit than was previously recognized." Table 1 below summarizes the drill intersections returned from the phase 1 program, demonstrating the high-grade nature of the base and precious metal mineralization. Figure 1 illustrates the compiled intersections which indicate the potential to expand the mineral resource base at the South Mountain deposit following phase 2 drilling in 2020.PHASE 1 DRILLING AT THE SOUTH MOUNTAIN PROJECTThe principal objectives of the phase 1 work plan at South Mountain was to test for potential extensions of the mineralized zones and support the grade distribution of the current polymetallic mineral resource estimate. The Company has now successfully completed the phase 1 program comprised of 20 underground drill holes for a total of approximately 2,250 metres. Geological logging and sampling of all drill holes have now been completed with all analytical results received. These results have been compiled into the Project's geological database and will be used to design the phase 2 drilling program for 2020. Following a planned phase 2 drilling program, all new results will be integrated into an updated mineral resource estimation for the Project, expected to be completed towards the end of this year. Further expansion and definition of the DMEA, Texas, and MB4 zones, as well as other targets within reach of underground drill testing from the Sonneman level, provide excellent exploration upside for the 2020 program.Table 1. All Previously Reported Analytical and Assay Results for the Phase 1 Drilling ProgramDrill Hole ID, Zone& IntervalFrom(m)To(m)Core Interval (m)Zn %Agg/tAug/tPb %Cu %DMEA ZoneSM19-002Interval 146.8857.3910.5117.812262.411.590.16Interval 267.8571.633.785.451458.390.580.15Interval 385.8396.3910.5611.421234.430.360.52SM19-003Interval 151.1875.3524.1711.122673.443.750.29Including51.1860.789.60 While drinking tea with officials at a plantation in southern India, Sharda Krishnan had memories of her childhood. She thought of the farm where, as a girl, she was enslaved. Her only payment was food. Her future seemed hopeless. Now she co-owns a tea plantation in Kerala state. Former enslaved laborers have operated the farm for almost 35 years. It is a place where freedom is a given and fear does not exist. There will always be work issues, but it will never be like earlier, said Krishnan. Her family was rescued from forced farm labor in the 1980s. I am one of the owners now so why should I be scared? she asked. The state government gave over 360 hectares of land to survivors of slavery in 1986. Since then, workers have started farming other crops. They now grow peppers and coffee, as well as tea. The plantation has also opened itself to eco-tourism. It welcomes visitors interested in seeing a large undisturbed, natural area. The plantation is considered an unusual success story in India, where the government estimates about 18 million people are trapped in slavery. They work without pay on farms, in factories, as servants or as sex workers to repay debts. Once rescued from slavery, workers are sent back to their communities with some money and the promise of more support. Yet most survivors struggle to receive government assistance. They often end up jobless and unable to pay off their debts. So many fall right back into slavery. Projects such as the Kerala plantation bring victims together. They receive support from charitable groups, which hope to change the lives of slaves who have been freed. Rehabilitation of rescued workers continues to be one of the biggest challenges, said Kandasamy Krishnan. He heads the National Adivasi Solidarity Council, an organization that works on labor rights issues. He spoke to the Thomson Reuters Foundation. The plantation...should be celebrated, added Krishnan. He believes the model should be used in other parts of India. Training the rescued workers to run it could be a starting point. Tea tourism The name of Sharda Krishnans plantation is the Priyadarshini Tea Environs. Its 150 workers produce about 40,000 kilograms of tea each month. Every Vishwas Gold tea packet sold there has a note explaining the slaves-to-owners story and a picture of hands breaking free of chains. An industry slowdown led to losses, so the plantation teamed up with the states tourism office to organize events for tourists to raise money. We want every visitor to know the struggle of the men and women behind the plantation, said Vikalp Bhardwaj, a civil servant. He directs day-to-day operations at the plantation. The events have created jobs for the children of plantation workers. They have been trained to work as travel guides or in tourism. When the rehabilitation program reaches out to the next generation as well, it is complete, said Dinesan Chirakkal Kalarikkal. He leads a local human rights charity. Indias program for victims of forced labor gives survivors financial help, as well as some land, chickens, and job training to help start afresh. Yet as of last April, just one survivor received the full compensation of $2,500, government information shows. Kuralamuthan Thandavarayan is with the anti-slavery group International Justice Mission. Group models do better because they bring survivors together as a community and help them rebuild together, he said. They become each others support system as well. Im Susan Shand. Reuters reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story plantation n. a large farm scared adj. frightened eco-tourism n. visiting a place for pleasure while helping with environmental issues undisturbed adj. not interfered with; untouched charity n. a group that helps the poor rehabilitation n. to make a person as they were before sick or a tragedy challenge n. a goal that is difficult to reach packet n. a covering or container; a small, thin object chain n. a series of metal links connected to another one; something that restricts movement UN urges 'foreign' players to stop 'meddling' in Libya conflict Iran Press TV Saturday, 18 January 2020 3:01 PM The United Nations has urged all "foreign" players to stop "interfering" in the conflict in Libya, just a day before a peace summit in Germany aimed at establishing a permanent ceasefire between the two warring sides in the North African country. Since 2014, Libya has been divided between two rival camps: the internationally-recognized government of Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, known as the Government of National Accord (GNA), and another group based in the eastern city of Tobruk. Libya's renegade General Khalifa Haftar, commander of the east-based army, 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 capital Tripoli, the seat of the GNA, 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 the capital. Germany will host a peace conference, under the auspices of the UN, in Berlin on Sunday with Sarraj and Haftar expected to show up and hold talks on a permanent truce to put an end to months of bloodshed. The heads of state of Russia, Turkey and France are also due to join negotiations in the German capital. "All foreign interference can provide some aspirin effect in the short term, but Libya needs all foreign interference to stop. That's one of the objectives of this conference," said Ghassan Salame, the head of the UN Support Mission in Libya, on the eve of the Berlin summit. His remarks could be considered as a direct reference to Turkey, which reached a military agreement with the GNA recently and sent troops to the North African country to help Sarraj's government defend itself against Haftar's attacks, a move that angered Haftar and prompted him to vow to sink approaching Turkish ships near Libya. "We must end this vicious cycle of Libyans calling for the help of foreign powers. Their intervention deepens the divisions among the Libyans," added Salame in his interview with AFP in Berlin, stressing that the place of international players should be to "help Libyans develop themselves." 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 Sarraj, sparking fears about a shaky ceasefire, which went into effect days earlier. On Thursday, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said that during his trip to Libya Haftar had agreed to abide by the ongoing ceasefire and pledged to show up in Berlin for the upcoming peace talks. Sarraj, for his part, has already said he is ready to attend the Berlin summit. Erdogan blasts Europe for failure to back GNA Separately on Saturday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in an article published in Politico, warned Europe that it could face new threats from "terrorist" groups if the GNA was to fall. "Europe will encounter a fresh set of problems and threats if Libya's legitimate government were to fall," Erdogan wrote, warning, "Terrorist organizations such as" the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group "and al-Qaeda, which suffered a military defeat in Syria and Iraq, will find a fertile ground to get back on their feet." While condemning Haftar for attacking the GNA and his efforts to oust it, Erdogan further said that "Europe is less interested in providing military support to Libya. [Therefore] the obvious choice is to work with Turkey, which has already promised military assistance." 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. 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 The Road to 270 is a weekly column leading up to the presidential election. Each installment is dedicated to understanding one states political landscape and how that might influence which party will win its electoral votes in 2020. Well do these roughly in order of expected competitiveness, moving toward the most intensely contested battlegrounds as election day nears. The Road to 270 will be published every Monday. The column is written by Seth Moskowitz, a 270toWin elections and politics contributor. Contact Seth at s.k.moskowitz@gmail.com or on Twitter @skmoskowitz. Vermont Vermont, now heavily Democratic, was once fertile Republican territory. The first presidential nominee of that newly formed party received 78% of the vote here in 1856. The state would vote with the GOP for the next 26 elections. That single party streak is the longest in American history. Between 1856 and 1988, the state only voted once for a Democratic nominee. Vermont has often been an anomaly. Its state legislature was the first to legalize same-sex marriage and recreational marijuana use. It was one of just two states to resist Franklin Roosevelts 1936 landslide. This nonconformist tradition traces back nearly four centuries, before Vermont was called Vermont. Settlement to Statehood Though Vermont is now a part of New England, it was the French who originally settled here. The French explorer, Samuel de Champlain, was the first European to reach the territory and he claimed it as a part of New France. It was over a half century later, in 1666, that the first permanent settlement would actually be built. French control continued until the territory was relinquished following the French and Indian War. The Treaty of Paris in 1763 ended French rule and handed the colony over to the British. At the time, the land was called the New Hampshire Grants and claimed by New Hampshire. In 1764, New York claimed parts of the territory, threatening the New Hampshire land owners. A militia called the Green Mountain Boys organized to defend against the newcomers. After successfully fighting off the New Yorkers, representatives of the New Hampshire Grants declared the land an independent republic in 1777. They named it New Connecticut. Later that year, New Connecticut renamed itself Vermont. From the beginning, Vermont was ahead of its time. Its original constitution abolished slavery and instituted universal male suffrage. After Vermont settled residual New York land claims and ratified the U.S. Constitution, it was admitted to the Union on March 4, 1791. It was the first state created outside of the original 13 colonies and was admitted as a pair to Kentucky in order to continue the balance of political power between north and south. Three periods in the states political history were especially formative. First is the development of the Republican Party; second is that party's dominance from 1856 through 1988; third is the late 20th century shift to staunchly Democratic. Well first look at these three eras and then get to Vermonts contemporary political landscape. The Development of the GOP Vermonts political identity as a loyal Republican state traces back to the Anti-Masonic Party. The party opposed the Masons, a secret fraternal society that was seen as subversive and antidemocratic. The Anti-Masonic Party was the United States first major third party and found the most success in Vermont. In the 1832 presidential election, Vermont cast its seven electoral votes for the Anti-Masonic Party candidate, the only state to do so. The party quickly broke down as the Masons began to lose influence and fear of the group faded. After the Anti-Masonic Partys decline, many of its members joined the Whig Party. The Whig Partys primary concern was shifting federal power from the Executive Branch (the president) to the Legislative Branch (Congress). The defining issue for Vermonters, however, was slavery. They had been opposed to the practice going back to the 18th Century. The Whigs, while not explicitly an anti-slavery party, better reflected the abolitionist position of the population than the Democratic Party of that era. The state was pushed further into the Whig camp due to ethnic polarization; Protestant farmers, of which Vermont had many, broadly favored the Whigs. From 1836 to 1852, Vermont voted for the Whig Party in each presidential election. The Whig Party fractured before the 1856 election over the question of slavery. In its place came the Republican Party. The new party, formed primarily as a vehicle to oppose slavery, attracted abolitionist Whigs and took hold in Vermont for over a century. Unlike some coastal states, Vermont did not have significant trade ties to the South. This made it even less friendly to the Southern economy and its reliance on slavery. In 1860, Republican Abraham Lincoln beat Democrat Stephen Douglas 76% to 19% here, his best showing of any state in the nation. A Century of Republican Dominance Vermont would continue to vote Republican for the next century. The 1912 election, perhaps better than any other, illustrates the states unwavering Republican loyalty. That year the Republican Party was split between its official nominee, William Taft, and a popular former Republican, Theodore Roosevelt, who ran as a third-party candidate. The divide handed Democrat Woodrow Wilson a 435-88 Electoral College victory even as he only carried 42% of the vote to Roosevelt and Tafts combined 51%. The Republican Partys official nominee, Taft, only won the plurality in two states, one of which was Vermont. Jump ahead to 1932 and Vermont again votes Republican in a Democratic landslide. Franklin Roosevelts New Deal coalition, which brought together labor unions, city political machines, minorities, urban intellectuals and farmers, ushered in a new era of Democratic Party dominance. Roosevelt carried every state except six, one of which was Vermont. Results in 1936 were even more stark than in 1932. That year, Roosevelt won 61% of the popular vote and carried every state except two Vermont and Maine. Roosevelt won over city machines, labor, minorities, and white southern farmers, groups that were not heavily represented in Vermont. The state was largely made up of conservative white protestants working as farmers, factory workers, and miners, groups that didnt fit well into FDRs coalition. Change Begins In the 1960s, Vermont began to change. Urbanites from New York and Massachusetts began looking for a quieter life or vacation homes and Vermont was the destination. Next door, New Hampshire also became a home for these city escapees. The two states, however, took different paths of environmental regulation and taxation. Vermont put an emphasis on preserving its pristine environment. In doing so it attracted environmentalists, progressives, and younger, liberal professionals. Meanwhile, New Hampshire, with its low taxes and Live Free or Die motto pulled in conservative-minded newcomers. Vermonts vacation economy grew as people built summer homes and ski resorts. Similarly, IBM built a production and design facility outside Burlington in 1957. The facilitys success drew in other technology companies, eventually creating a small technology hub in the city. As more newcomers moved to Vermont, a divide in the populace developed. Old Vermont comprised the traditional, rural, fiscally conservative, less educated, and ancestrally Republican old Vermonters. The new Vermont was younger, more educated and liberal. The first crack in the states century old Republican dominance came in 1964. Vermont, in voting for Democrat Lyndon Johnson did not cast its electoral votes for the Republican nominee for the first time since 1856. However, that was short-lived. The state snapped back to its Republican trend in 1968 and voted for the party through George H.W. Bushs victory in 1988. In 1992, the new Democratic coalition overtook the old Republican guard. Since Democrat Bill Clintons victory that year, Democrats have carried Vermont in every presidential election. Recent Presidential Politics Democrats have carried Vermont by double digits in every presidential election since 1992. In 2008, Barack Obama routed John McCain by 37%, far outpacing any recent Democratic nominee. Four years later, Obama again dominated the state, beating Mitt Romney by 36%. In 2016, Hillary Clinton beat Donald Trump in Vermont with a 26% margin. This was a decisive victory, but less commanding than Obamas 2008 and 2012 victories. The trend in Vermont was the same as the nation overall, with Trump improving in rural regions and Clinton in urban ones. Trump performed much better in the Northeast Kingdom, the three counties in the northeast corner of the state. Trump managed to flip one of these, Essex County, making him the first Republican to carry any county in Vermont since 2004. Essex County is the least dense county in the state, making it the most inclined to lean Republican. Trump received a slightly smaller percentage of the vote than Romney in 2012. The tighter margins are mostly due to Clinton bleeding support to Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. While Obama won 67% of the vote in 2012, Clinton only carried 57%. Seven percent of the total vote count were write-in votes, almost all of which went to Sanders. Clinton only performed better than Obama in Chittenden County. The county is home to the states biggest and most dense city, Burlington. The city is more diverse than the rest of the state, in part due to being a major resettlement city for refugees and is home to a growing technology sector. A Counterintuitive State Gallup Polling recently labeled Vermont the 3rd most liberal and the least religious state in the nation. The state has a Democratic-Socialist Senator, Bernie Sanders, who flattened Hillary Clinton in the 2016 primary by 86% to 14%. Vermont also broke progressive ground in legalizing same sex marriage and recreational marijuana use. The state has strict environmental regulations and passed its own Clean Air Act. As of 2014, Burlington reported that 100% of its energy comes from renewable sources. The state even has a land trust that buys farmland in order to slow the collapse of local, family owned farms. These progressive achievements seem contradictory to recent Republicans successes in Vermont. The state had a Republican governor from 2003-2009, years when Democrats easily won the state in presidential elections. The current governor, Republican Phil Scott, won his race in 2016 as Clinton carried the state by 26%. Scott won re-election in 2018 by 15%. The GOP success is largely due to the type of Republicans that run in the state. Vermont Republicans are notoriously moderate. Governor Phil Scott brands himself as a fiscal conservative and social moderate. Hes a pro-choice Republican who supports same-sex marriage and backed the impeachment inquiry into President Trump. Vermonts idiosyncratic political landscape is also partly responsible for Republican success in a deep blue state. The state does not have party registration and holds open primaries, which can weaken voter loyalty and party ties. The state is also small in size and population. With only 620,000 people and 9,200 square miles, retail campaigning is easier and candidates can personally interact with a critical mass of voters. As the country becomes increasingly polarized by demographics, Vermont could continue the rightward drift that was evident in 2016. The states white, aging, and rural characteristics could make it a long-term target for Republicans. Even with this trend, though, Vermont is safe for Democrats in November. The Democratic nominee is all but certain to win the state and will likely do so by a wide margin. Next Week: South Dakota The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the South-east has asked the Supreme Court to reverse its judgement on the Imo State governorship election. The National Vice Chairman of the party for the zone, Austin Umahi, gave a 24-hour ultimatum during a peaceful protest by the Ebonyi State chapter of the party in Abakaliki, the state capital. He said the Supreme Court judges who gave the verdict will not know peace unless they reverse the judgement. The court had last week sacked Emeka Ihedioha of the PDP as Governor of Imo State. The court also declared Hope Uzodinma of the All Progressive Congress (APC) as the winner of the election. The judgement has stoked controversy and protests across the country and Ebonyi on Monday joined in the protests. Thousands of the partys faithful in the state marched around the city to protest what they described as injustice and a rape on democracy. The protest, which commenced from the state party secretariat, terminated at the Federal High Court where the State Chairman of the Party, Onyekachi Nwebonyi, and Mr Umahi addressed the party faithful. They bore placards some of which read: NJC must act now, Imo guber case: Supreme Court must revisit judgement, Ihedioha must return as Imo State governor, Save Democracy in Nigeria, Judiciary is now the lost hope of the common man. The protesters wore black clothes to reflect their grief over the judgement. Mr Umahi said the party was giving the Supreme Court and the National Judicial Council 24 hours to reverse the sack of Mr Ihedioha. We are giving them 24hours to reverse the judgment. If they dont reverse the judgment, then democracy has been murdered in Nigeria. If they dont reverse the judgement, they will never have peace in their lives, Mr Umahi said. Mr Umahi described the judgement as unfortunate, saying the judiciary has lost the respect it used to command in the past from the masses. It is very unfortunate that our democracy has been murdered. It is very unfortunate that under the watch of the judiciary our democracy is murdered. Our understanding is that judiciary is the last hope of the common man, but today it is the lost hope of the common man. For how long shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? And the Bible says, God forbid. We want and we are saying it very categorical that the Judgment of the Supreme Court is a perverted judgement and must be reversed immediately, for the oneness of this nation and for the furtherance of democracy. They should reverse and reinstate the man that was elected by the Imolites and he is the RT. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha and not a man that was imported and through the back door imposed on the people of Imo State. He is an agenda and we understand the agenda that is in him and will resist him with all that we have. That judgement cannot stand. We are here as lovers of democracy. Judiciary, I want to pass an information to you: it could be one person today, tomorrow, it could be your turn. If you dont resist this abnormality. If you dont resist this abomination and If you dont resist this imperfection, one day, it will be your turn. It is time to rise up and say what is wrong is wrong. We have risen as democrats to say that what is wrong is wrong. To say, that we shouldnt allow our judiciary to die. Once judiciary is captured, we are finished in this country and from all indications, we can see that we have a compromised judiciary. We can see there is no independence again. There is no rule of law in this country. peaceful protest by the Ebonyi State chapter of the peoples democratic party Where are we going as a country? This is worst than a banana republic. You are talking of awarding victory to someone that came fourth in an election? I dont know where the Supreme Court got that political Mathmatics? From all calculations and from all permutations, it is wrong before God. On his part, Mr Nwebonyi decried the removal of a duly elected governor. As a lawyer and even the layman will agree with me that court does not admit evidence from unlawful custody. A situation where somebody will be in the comfort of his room and put up a result to represent INEC result, such results were not tendered by INEC officials. Now the question is this? Who tendered those report at the Supreme Court? Those witnesses that tendered the result are they the proper witnesses? It is a trite law that it is only INEC and its ad-hoc staff that can tender election result before a tribunal or any other law court. But under the APC-led government, the judiciary has compromised. The judiciary is supposed to be the last hope of the common man but under APC the judiciary is not the last hope of the common man, he said Advertisements The Supreme Court on Monday affirmed Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State as duly elected in the March 23 governorship Election in the state. In a unanimous judgement read by Justice Sylvester Ngwuta on Monday, the court held that the challenger, Abba Yusuf of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), did not show that the Court of Appeal and the Election Tribunal were wrong in their earlier rulings. The seven-member panel said the appeal had no merit and dismissed it. The apex court also struck out a cross-appeal filed by Mr Ganduje, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC. The Kaduna Division of the Court of Appeal had on November 22, 2019, upheld Mr Gandujes election, affirming an earlier decision by the tribunal led by Justice Halima Shamaki. The Court of Appeal five-member panel, led by Justice Tijjani Abubakar, in a unanimous judgment, dismissed the entire petition of the PDPs candidate and its party for lacking in merit. The governor had defeated his opponent after a rescheduled election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). On March 24, 2019, the INEC had declared Mr Ganduje winner, saying Mr Ganduje scored 1,033,695 votes to defeat his closest rival, Mr Yusuf, who got 1,024,713 votes. Dissatisfied, the candidate of the PDP and his party challenged the outcome at the Kano State Election Petition Tribunal. Lawyers argument Appearing before the apex court on Tuesday, the lawyer to Mr Yusuf of the PDP, Adegboyega Awomolo, asked the court to allow the appeal and grant all the appellants prayers. Mr Awomolo noted that the returning officer cancelled results in 207 polling units, declared the election inconclusive and rescheduled another election for March 23, 2019. Mr Awolowo said the cancellation made by the state returning officer in 207 polling units after announcing the entire results in the state was outside his powers. Therefore, the result of the second rescheduled election of March 23 is null and void, he said. The only lawful votes at the Kano State governorship election were those announced by the returning officer on March 11. In conclusion, I urge your lordship to allow this appeal on the grounds that the appellant scored the highest votes at the election of March 9, 20,19 and satisfied section 179 (2) a and b. Opposing arguments But the lawyer representing INEC, Ahmed Raji, urged the court to summarily dismiss the appeal. Mr Raji said it was not correct that the returning officer cancelled votes. He said the evidence laid did not prove any cancellation. Also, the legal team said they had addressed all the issues raised in their brief of argument. Mr Gandujes lawyers, including Alex Iziyon, said allowing the appeal would mean sanctioning election violence, giving credit to somebody who has clearly violated the law and admitted the same. They urged the apex court to dismiss the appeal with a substantial cost of N5 million in their favour. Advertisements Delhi's former Lieutenant Governor (L-G) Najeeb Jung on Monday suggested that the Central government should make changes in the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) to put an end to the protest against the newly amended law. Najeeb Jung said that there is a need to improve the CAA by making it inclusive of Muslims. He asserted if Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses their issues, the matter would be resolved. "I feel that the CAA needs a revamp. They should either include Muslims or remove other names. Make it inclusive. The matter will get dismissed. If the PM calls these people and talks, the matter will get resolved," Najeeb Jung told the media outside the Jamia Millia Islamia in Delhi. READ | Anti-CAA Protest: Plea In SC Over Traffic Blockade In Delhi's Shaheen Bagh Jung further said that if the Act does not include all religions, it will violate Article 14 and hence stand as unconstitutional. He raised concerns that the incessant protests are affecting the countrys economy. "How will the solution come if we don't talk? How long will this protest go on? The economy is suffering. Shops are closed. Buses are not plying. Losses are being incurred," Najeeb Jung added. BJP leader Chandra Bose also expressed similar views earlier on Monday and sought citizenship to Muslim refugees under CAA. READ | Lawyers Read Constitution Preamble Outside HC; Call CAA "constitutionally Wrong" BJPs Chandra Bose Wants Muslims Included In CAA West Bengal BJP vice president Chandra Bose said on Monday that an "atmosphere of fear" is being created by both the ruling and opposition parties over the new citizenship law, and urged the Centre to grant citizenship even to Muslims under the amended citizenship act. He also said the government should issue a written clarification on the matter. "An atmosphere of fear is being created on the issue of citizenship. This applies to both the ruling party and the opposition parties." "In order to deal with this, I think that this clause should be included in the new law that it is not based on religion....and Muslims should also be included in it," he said. There have been continuous wide-spread demonstrations across the country against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act. The CAA seeks to grant citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Parsi, Buddhist and Christian refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, who faced religious persecution and came to India on or before December 31, 2014. READ | Mamata Banerjee Upps Ante; Tells North-east States To Stall NPR, Pass Anti-CAA Resolutions READ | BJP Leader And Netaji's Nephew Chandra Bose Wants Muslims Included In CAA Diesel consumption in Britain fell for the first time last year since the financial crisis more than a decade ago, official figures show. Between January and November 2019, Britons filled up with nearly half a billion litres less diesel than they did the year previous, marking the first decline in consumption since 2008, according to HM Revenue and Customs data. The AA said the drop-off was down to drivers' shift away from diesel-engined vehicles following the dieselgate scandal in 2015 and a fall in lorry and van traffic last year. Diesel dip: Consumption of diesel was down in 2019 for the first time in over a decade, official figures show Some 27.416billion litres of diesel was pumped into vehicles in Britain in the first 11 months of 2019. That's down from 27.909billion litres in the same period in 2018. The 493million litre slip in demand is equivalent to nearly six days without a single diesel vehicle on UK roads, the AA calculated. The AA said Volkswagen's dieselgate scandal and ongoing demonisation of oil burning cars had already slowed the growth of UK diesel consumption between 2016 and 2018. UK road fuel consumption (Jan- Nov) in billion litres 2009: Petrol 20.189, Diesel 22.904, Total 43.093 2010: Petrol 19.020, Diesel 23.624, Total 42.644 2011: Petrol 17.947, Diesel 23.697, Total 41.644 2012: Petrol 17.230, Diesel 23.978, Total 41.208 2013: Petrol 16.525, Diesel 24.608, Total 41.133 2014: Petrol 16.227, Diesel 25.509, Total 41.736 2015: Petrol 15.861, Diesel 26.404, Total 42.265 2016: Petrol 15.672, Diesel 27.482, Total 43.154 2017: Petrol 15.401, Diesel 27.720, Total 43.121 2018: Petrol 15.217, Diesel 27.909, Total 43.126 2019: Petrol 15.366, Diesel 27.416, Total 42.782 Source: HM Revenue and Customs The impact of the first low emission zones, such as the ULEZ introduced in April 2019 in London - which punishes diesel cars more than petrol equivalents - has also taken its toll on demand for new oil-burning models. As has threats from councils to implement bans on diesel passenger cars in cities such as Brighton and Bristol and ongoing reports of the impact inhaling diesel fumes has on the public's health. However, with sales of SUVs - which predominantly have diesel engines - continuing to rise, the requirement for diesel fuel has not waned as much as falling vehicle registrations suggests it might. Instead, it was a drop in van and lorry traffic last year - most likely due to economic uncertainty - that sparked the first fall in demand for diesel since the financial crisis. In comparison, petrol consumption grew for a second consecutive year. Vehicles in the UK topped up with 15.366billion litres of unleaded between January and November last year - up from 15.217billion in 2018. This is a drop of nearly 5billion litres compared to a decade ago. Meanwhile, diesel consumption is up nearly 5billion in the same timeframe. Luke Bosdet, from the AA, said: 'The first drop in UK diesel demand in a decade is one to watch: whether a Brexit economic bounce back reinvigorates commercial traffic levels and therefore diesel use, or whether the reduction signals UK fossil fuel use moving from tipping point to actual decline.' The AA said the decline in consumption was due to a drop in van and lorry traffic last year - most likely due to economic uncertainty Cost of filling up with diesel and petrol in January has risen by up to 3p a litre The cost of filling up a car has risen in January due to a combination of supermarkets pulling the plug on fuel deals for Christmas and the rising tension between the US and Iran forcing oil prices higher. Average petrol prices rose by 2.5p a litre and diesel increased by 3p since mid- December, according to the AA's latest fuel price index. Motorists who regularly brim their vehicles at supermarkets will feel the pinch most, with average prices jumping by more than 5p a litre, the analysis found. A review of last week's average forecourt prices found that unleaded had risen from 125.50p a month ago to 128.01p while diesel was up from 129.62p per litre on the run-up to Christmas to 132.70p by the middle of January. Asda is the cheapest fuel retailer in January, even despite supermarket Christmas deals on petrol and diesel lapsing Supermarket prices jumped as much as 5.2p a litre in the same period, giving drivers a jolt at the start of the new decade. The AA said the sudden jump in prices at supermarkets was 'not entirely unexpected', given the ferocity of the big four's battle for Christmas customers, drawing motorists to the pumps with lower prices and deals based on in-store spending. AA analysis of the gap between the average price of supermarket petrol and other fuel retailers shows in November supermarkets were 3.97p lower, becoming 5.92p cheaper in December, but have since reverted back to being just 3.48p less expensive. 'Rising pump prices have come as something of a New Year shock for drivers, although the end of supermarkets Christmas special offers on fuel made it to some extent predictable,' Bosdet said. 'This 'cold turkey' moment was made worse by the $5 rise in the price of oil following the Iran-US missile strikes,' he added. Sidney Powell, author of the bestseller "Licensed to Lie "and lead counsel in more than 500 appeals in the Fifth Circuit, in Washington on May 30, 2019. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times) Flynns Lawyer: FBI Agents Wrote Flynn Didnt Lie, We Have Eyewitness Sidney Powell, lawyer of Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, said the FBI excluded crucial information from a report on their interview of her client. The report, an FBI 302 form, was used to charge Flynn with lying to the FBI, but the original draft of the 302 stated that Flynn was honest with the FBI, according to a witness who saw the draft, Powell said. Flynn, former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency and former national security adviser to President Donald Trump, pleaded guilty on Dec. 1, 2017, to one count of lying to FBI agents during a Jan. 24, 2017, interview. A 302 report summarizing the interview was supposed to be filed within five days. But the earliest draft Flynns lawyers were provided was from Feb. 10, 2017more than two weeks after the interview. Powell, who took over Flynns defense in June 2019, has for months asserted that an earlier 302 must exist. Prosecutors have said they dont have it, stopping short of saying it doesnt exist. In an Oct. 24, 2019, court filing (pdf), Powell rejected the suggestion that the 302 draft was missing, saying neither the bureau nor its digital document system loses the most important of its reports that is supposed to support the federal felony of the Presidents National Security Adviser. On Jan. 16, Powell disclosed that she has a witness who could attest to what was in the original draft. Ive now found a witness who says the original 302 did in fact say that Flynn was honest with the agents and did not lie, she told Larry OConnor on his WMAL radio show. So for somebody to delete that from the 302 is just beyond outrageous. She didnt elaborate much further when asked by The Epoch Times. Cant say more about witness but yes, person saw it, she said via email. Withdrawing Plea Flynn was expected to receive a light sentence because of cooperation with the government on two investigationsone led by then-special counsel Robert Mueller and the other in the Eastern District of Virginia against Flynns former business partner, Bijan Rafiekian. In a Jan. 7 sentencing memo (pdf), however, prosecutors asked for up to six months in prison for Flynn, saying he pulled back his cooperation in the Rafiekian case last year. In response to the memo, Flynn asked the court on Jan. 14 (pdf) to allow him to withdraw his original plea, saying the prosecutors violated the terms of the agreement. Rafiekian was charged with acting as an unregistered foreign agent based on a job that Flynns now-defunct consultancy, Flynn Intel Group (FIG), did for Turkish businessman Kamil Ekim Alptekin. Flynn wasnt charged in that case, and Rafiekian was ultimately acquitted due to insufficient evidence. In June 2019, after Flynn fired his original lawyers and hired a new legal team led by Powell, prosecutors asked Flynn to testify that he signed FIGs lobbying forms knowing there were lies in them. He refused, saying he only learned there was something wrong with the registration in retrospect. That angered the lead prosecutor, Brandon Van Grack, notes from a June 27, 2019, conference call indicate. Powell said that ever since then, the prosecutors behavior has been retaliatory, vindictive, and in bad faith because Flynn refused to lie. In a Jan. 16 court filing (pdf), she disclosed documents that, in her view, indicate the prosecutors knew they were asking for a false statement. She previously asked Judge Emmet Sullivan to order the government to hand over a plethora of documents she said were exculpatory to Flynn. She said the case should be dismissed for government misconduct, including for withholding the documents. Sullivan denied the request. Top Brass Witnesses Powell said in the WMAL radio interview that if Sullivan allows the plea withdrawal and the case goes to trial, she will call witnesses including former FBI Director James Comey, his former deputy, Andrew McCabe, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former FBI Deputy Assistant Director Peter Strzok, and the agent who cannot be named, referring to Special Agent Joe Pientka. It was Strzok and Pientka who interviewed Flynn, while Comey and McCabe were involved in planning the interview. Powell previously requested Clappers phone records to confirm whether he communicated with Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, especially on January 10, 2017, when Clapper told Ignatius in words to the effect of take the kill shot on Flynn, she said. Ignatius and Van Grack, the leading prosecutor in the Flynn case, didnt immediately respond to requests for comment. An FBI spokesman declined to comment. An attempt to reach Clapper for comment was unsuccessful. The state government has approved a budget of Rs 21 crore for the beautification of Queen Heo memorial park in Ayodhya. As per the plan, a statue of the Queen and King Suro will also come up at the park, the foundation stone of expansion of which was laid by first lady of South Korea Kim Jung sook and chief minister Yogi Adityanath during Deepotsav on November 6, 2018. Under the beautification plan, the government will also set up a golden Egg (Globe) to portray journey of Queen Heo from Ayodhya to South Korea. The Hwang-ok memorial in Ayodhya is spread in 2.5 acres near bank of river Saryu. The state government has approved complete beautification of the Queen Heo memorial park in Ayodhya. Statues of King and Queen will also come up at the Park, said Neelkanth Tewari, UPs tourism and culture minister. As per legends, Princess Suriratna of Ayodhya had travelled to Korea and married King Kim Suro and became Queen Heo Hwang-ok in 48 AD. Many Koreans trace their ancestry to the legendary princess, who is known as Queen Heo Hwang-ok. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his South Korean counterpart President Moon Jae-in had signed an MOU in May 2015 during the India Prime Ministers visit to South Korean for expansion and beautification of the existing memorial of Queen Heo Hwang-ok situated on banks of river Saryu. With Rs 133 crore package from the Centre, the Yogi Adityanath government will not only develop ghats of this ancient city but will also add necessary amenities to it. From Ram Katha gallery and park, Queen Heo Memorial, Ram Ki Paidi and Lakshman Kila ghat, all figure in Ayodhyas transformation. Apart from these historic and religious places, the state government has also laid out an elaborate plan to spend Rs 8 core on eight development activities, including landscape at public places, public toilets, drainage, street lights, sign boards and sandstone benches among others. - Susan Ofori-Atta was a princess who became the 1st medical doctor in the history of Ghana - She was the daughter of Nana Sir Ofori Atta I and his wife Nana Akosua Doudu and her life was filled with amazing exploits right from school - Susan Ofori-Atta was the brain behind the medical term 'Kwashiokor' and was a founding member of the Pediatric Department in the University of Ghana, among others Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in Susan Ofori-Atta whose name later became Susan de-Graft Johnson was a local princess who became the first Ghanaian female doctor in the history of Ghana (then Gold Coast). Ghanamuseum.com reports that the brilliant woman was born in Kyebi as far back as 1917 and was the daughter of Nana Sir Ofori Atta I and his wife Nana Akosua Doudu. Nana Sir Ofori Atta I was the Okyenhene and Paramount Chief of the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Area. Susan was an extremely brilliant child who started her secondary education at Achimota Secondary School at the tender age of 12. READ ALSO: Woman wins award for worlds longest nails grown over 23 years The princess enrolled in Achimota only two years after the school was started in 1927. As one of the pioneers, Susan's performance was unparalleled as she quickly emerged top in every class she was in. Susan Ofori-Atta was made the Girls Head Prefect when she was in final year and also became one of the few ladies who sat for the Cambridge School Certificate and passed. The brilliant princess further practised midwifery at Korle-Bu during her tertiary education level and further continued her education at Edinburgh University Medical School, where she obtained her MB, Ch.B degree in 1949. READ ALSO: Sophie Smith: Woman who went through 7 miscarriages about to have her own child finally With the groundbreaking achievement, the princess became the first-ever female medical doctor in the Gold Coast which is now Ghana. Her life as a practising medical doctor was as amazing and brilliant as her education. Susan Ofori-Atta became a founding member of the Pediatric Department in the University of Ghana. Susan conducted research into malnutrition in children and named the findings of her research work Kwashiokor, a Ga word which became part of the medical vocabulary. Her amazing exploits were not only in the medical field. READ ALSO: 22-year-old UCC student arrested after kidnapping SHS girl for 5 days Susan was a member of the 1969 Constituent Assembly which drafted the Constitution for the Second Republic of Ghana and got honoured by the University of Ghana in 1974 with an honorary Doctor of Science for her pioneering research work into childhood malnutrition. Sadly, Ghana lost this great woman in July 1985. In other news, the Ghanaian-born British by name Mariah Coby who was in Ghana to mark the Year of Return festivities has narrated that she lost her iPhone 11 Pro in Ghana and later bought it at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle. 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 The forthcoming general election is an opportunity to highlight the failings of our psychiatric services, such as bed and staff shortages and waiting lists, says Paul Gilligan MENTAL health care is in crisis. Time after time, we read reports of poor-quality services, long waiting lists, staff shortages, and lives affected by these failures. There are 13 reasons why mental health care should be the priority issue of the forthcoming election: 1. Peoples human rights are being infringed within a creaking, under-resourced mental health service. The president of the High Court, Mr Justice Peter Kelly, recently described a man with mental health difficulties being held on remand in Mountjoy prison, because of the lack of a more suitable setting, as a truly awful situation and one that should not exist in a civilised state. Few approved centres for in-patient treatment meet the Mental Health Commission regulations and standards. 2. Many people who require care do not receive it on time. Some 25% of people referred to primary care psychology services wait over 52 weeks for an appointment. Access to mental health care is poor. At any given time, there are thousands of people on waiting lists for specialist community care. These delays cause further distress and deterioration in mental health. 3. We are failing hundreds of children who have mental health difficulties. At any given time, 2,000 children are waiting for a first appointment with a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service and 200 are waiting more than a year. There are fewer than 100 in-patient beds to treat children nationally and many of these are not operational. Every year, 50 children spend some time in adult in-patient units and some are sent abroad for treatment. In February 2019, the Childrens Rights Alliance, through its annual report card, awarded the Government a D- grade for its performance on meeting its own promises about childrens mental health care. This is distressing, and unacceptable given that, over the 13 years of publication of the report card, government has never achieved higher than a C+ grade. Some years, it has received an F grade. This damning analysis is supported by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child and the European Network of Childrens Ombudsmen. 4. Specialist mental health services (for people with disabilities, from specific ethnic groups, and for the homeless) are under-resourced, further exposing vulnerable people. The suicide rate among Traveller men is 6.6 times that of the general population and accounts for one in 10 Traveller deaths. 5. Stigma persists. Despite increased awareness and more open discussion about mental health, many people still hold inaccurate and unhelpful attitudes about people who have mental health difficulties. A survey conducted by St Patricks Mental Health Services, in 2019, indicated improving attitudes to mental health, but also found that one third of people said they would not tell their partner if their child was depressed. One quarter of adults reported they would not tell anyone if they had suicidal thoughts. When violent acts are committed, many people still attribute them solely to mental health difficulties. 6. We are not investing enough in mental health care. The proportion of the health budget, 6%, spent on mental health care is significantly less than what other countries spend and less than the 10% recommended by the Slaintecare strategy. The emphasis remains on reducing expenditure and fuelling the myth that services are costing too much. 7. There is an unprecedented staffing crisis. Few mental health teams have the required complement of staff, fewer mental health professionals are being trained, and working in mental health in Ireland is challenging and unattractive. 8. The economic and social impact of untreated mental health difficulties is substantial. The chances of becoming unemployed, homeless, or of dropping out of education increase if a person experiencing mental health difficulties does not receive treatment. Carers and family members are also often absent from school or work. The economic cost of not treating those with mental health difficulties represents 4% of GDP. 9. The physical impact of untreated mental health is also significant. Much of the demand placed on accident and emergency departments comes from those who have acute episodes of mental health difficulties and who cannot access other services. Untreated mental health difficulties can lead to alcohol and drug abuse. 10. Evidence shows that people with mental health difficulties, even the severest forms, can live happy, healthy, and productive lives, if they are given the right support and treatment. Failing to give them this opportunity is not only an infringement of their human rights, but also impacts on the health and productivity of our society. 11. We have the opportunity to create a world-class mental health care system. There are some excellent services in Ireland, provided by dedicated staff. These can be replicated. As an immediate first step, we could consolidate the existing staff numbers to enable the provision of as many fully staffed, highest-quality community and in-patient services as possible. By leveraging tele-mental health services and the voluntary and independent sectors, it should be possible to provide every part of the country with a fully manned mental health team and the highest quality care. In time, at least five centres of excellence could be established, servicing the entire country and providing the full range of care options. This should be supported by a vibrant, all-inclusive primary care system and access to a full range of helplines. There is an opportunity to establish a national prevention and awareness-raising strategy to be implemented by all relevant voluntary, statutory, and independent organisations. 12. Service users and those experiencing mental health difficulties want to, and can, shape, and lead, a new recovery-based approach to mental health care. The current system disempowers, through blocks and delays in accessing care, through poor quality services, and through people being disrespected. However, the new emphasis on human rights in Irish society is strengthening the resolve of people who need care and the resolve of their families and carers. With the right support, people will begin to take more control over their treatment and will come to expect more choice and decision, not just on the services they receive, but also in the shaping, delivery, and evaluation of these services. 13. Every family in Ireland is affected by mental health difficulties. Every family is aware of the daily struggle to obtain high-quality, effective, and accountable mental health care. Each of us is aware of the strain and destruction that failing to get this care can bring. These struggles can be all-consuming, not leaving energy or time for political activism. But this election needs to be different. The time has come to put mental health at the centre of the political agenda. Each party, each candidate, each analyst needs to be confronted about their intentions and attitudes towards the mental health care system in our country. Vague promises or excuses need to be dismissed and specific promises to reinvest, restructure, and rebuild our mental health system need to be obtained. Without this, we are failing our society, our loved-ones, and ourselves. Paul Gilligan is a clinical psychologist and CEO at St Patricks Mental Health Care and author of Raising Emotionally Healthy Children Two signs were hanging at the entrance of the Sam Miller oyster bar in Richmond, Virginia as thousands of guns rights activists descended on the state capitol for a major demonstration. One, placed above a rainbow flag, read: Everyone is welcome here. The other, featuring a cartoon handgun that had been struck through in a bold, red circle, stated: No firearms allowed on premises. Both felt necessary. Approaching the demonstration, the first chants I heard were attacks against media personnel as they set up television shots on a patch of grass near the capitol grounds, where Virginia Governor Ralph Northam had declared a state of emergency. Armed activists screamed: Fake news! Fake news! I quickly tucked away my reporting gear as I got closer to the crowd. It felt like a justified precaution, being as I was unarmed in a sea of semi-automatic weapons attached to unsympathetic owners. Nevertheless, for the most part, I found folks were happy to speak with reporters like myself, who had come from all over the country to document a potentially historic day. The Virginia state legislature which, for the first time in nearly 25 years, has been taken over by the Democratic Party just passed a series of controversial gun laws. In reality, the more contentious bills were killed before they ever came up for a vote in the Virginia Senate, while three bills typically considered common sense gun reforms were passed. Those bills SB70, SB 69 and SB 35, to give them their official categorizations establish statewide mandatory background checks, limit the purchasing of firearms to once a month, and provide local governments the ability to ban firearms from public events, respectively. But none of that mattered by Monday, when demonstrators were already riled up by what they described as a declaration of war against law-abiding gun owners. A lot of the activists who arrived to demonstrate in opposition to gun control on Martin Luther King Jr Day were angry some of them would say pissed off and werent afraid to show it. I was happy to discuss their cause with those who agreed to speak civilly with me but not everyone was keen for a chat. As I snapped photos of a line of armed demonstrators, I could hear a group of men with thick southern accents behind me. Another journalist, one said. Fake news f****t, his buddy replied. It wasnt the only time I heard the phrase fake news f****t directed at me: As I walked past the states court of appeals, which faces the capitol grounds, an older man smoking a cigar said it as well. I forgot I had taken out my reporters' notepad a thin, blue pad that almost anyone would assume belongs to a journalist a while earlier to interview a Republican running for US Senate in Virginia against Democratic incumbent Mark Warner. I slipped the notepad back into my jacket, feeling a sense of both dread and shame. I couldnt be sure if that shame came from being gay, or a being a journalist or a combination of them both. Regardless, I felt too seen for my own good, and aimed to slip back into obscurity. As a cisgender white male, I knew I was privileged to be able to do just that at an event like this, which was dominated by cisgender, straight white folks: Folks who look like me on the surface. Gun control activists who come from all walks of life expressed concern to me about attending the events ahead of time, with many of them saying they would stay away out of fear of a possible clash with the heavily armed demonstrators at Virginias capitol. Thomas Freeman, one gun control activist I spoke to at the event, told me: Traditionally on this day a lot of folks come to lobby, including guns rights activists, but [today] they dont feel safe." In many ways, the demonstrations perfectly reflected modern America: We are one of the most complicated and divided countries in the world right now, and more so over gun rights than any other issue. From the nationwide gun control protests in the wake of the Parkland school shootings to the Black Lives Matter marches and the Lobby Day demonstrations held on Monday in Virginia, its clear that our ideological views on guns and their place in society run the gamut. Those who take to the streets dont always have the answers but they certainly want to be heard. While Lobby Day proved to be a mostly peaceful event, the rally could have erupted into a second Charlottesville at any given moment. And yet thousands of Americans were provided the space and ability to practice their First and Second Amendment rights. There is so much work to be done until were all given a seat at the table and figure out how to move forward as a united front. But sometimes, in the thick of such difficult challenges, its helpful to remember that America has always been an idea, and remains something to fight and strive for. Virginia will soon implement tougher gun restrictions as the law of the land. Perhaps gun owners will continue to protest in opposition to those measures, and, in some cases, they may very well be successful in their fight. The other side will undoubtedly continue to fight as well. At the end of it all, I cling to hope: Hope that we will find a common middle ground, where each citizen is given the space, freedom and safety to voice their own opinions without fear of retribution. That is, after all, the American dream. A twisted couple who filmed their sickening abuse of five young girls have been jailed for 26 years. A detective investigating the case described the text messages sent between Peter Taylor and Keeli Burlingham as some of the most appalling she had read in her career. Taylor and Burlingham, both 33, used their phones to film and to take pictures of their victims and document the attacks, a court heard. Police raided the couples home in Dukinfield, Tameside, Manchester, in April 2018 after a tip-off, the Manchester Evening News reports. Officers seized several phones and a computer, discovering messages on one of the devices which revealed that Taylor had encouraged his partner Burlingham to molest a young girl. Burlingham then carried out the sexual assault and send indecent images of the attack to her partner. Videos by Taylor and Burlingham of other assaults they carried out were also found on their phones and computer police said. The pair were found to have abused five young girls. They denied all offences they were charged with. Taylor was found guilty of sexual assault of a girl under 13; arranging of facilitating the commission of a sexual offence; taking indecent photographs of a child; making indecent photographs of a child; intentionally encouraging the commission of an offence; and encouraging the commission of an offence believing it to be committed. He was jailed for 15 years at Minshull Street Crown Court on Friday, January 17. Burlingham was convicted of sexual assault of a child under 13; assault of a child under 13 by penetration; arranging of facilitating the commission of a sexual offence; taking indecent photographs of a child; making indecent photographs of a child; and distributing indecent photographs of a child. She was sentenced to 11 years, plus a one-year extended sentence. Detective Chief Inspector Judith Holmes, of GMPs Public Protection Unit, said: Taylor and Burlingham knew how old their victims were. They have absolutely no excuse for their grossly inappropriate and predatory behaviour towards children Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates The latest laser metal cutting machines and the worlds first automated welding and assembly line were introduced to the regional market at the 16th edition of SteelFab 2020, under way in Sharjah. The regions largest showcase of machinery, equipment, tools, and accessories for the metalworking and forming industry is being held at Expo Centre Sharjah with the support of Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI). The four-day event will run till January 16. On display are the latest products and services relating to welding and cutting technology, machine tools, fasteners and allied industries, some of which are showcased for the first time. Saif Mohammad Al Midfa, CEO of Expo Centre Sharjah, affirmed that SteelFab has become the first and most preferred destination for steel fabrication and metal companies looking for state-of-the-art technologies. At this annual show, interested companies can find everything that meets their business needs and go above and beyond their expectations, said Al Midfa. The accelerating technological development in the steel and metal industry has made it imperative for manufacturing companies to constantly look for the latest innovations that can catapult their businesses into new levels of excellence. With that in mind, we, at the Expo Centre Sharjah, are doing our best to enhance SteelFabs position to keep it the first and the only platform in the region that meets aspirations attracts leading companies in metal technology and technologies and offers the latest innovations in these fields, he added. One of this years highlights was launching the latest laser metal cutting machine by the Chinese company Bodor. The machine precisely cuts off the iron, steel, copper plate, aluminium plate, titanium, and other metal plates, and is widely used in processing metal accessories for automotive, elevator, electrical accessories, cutting railways and other industries. Additionally, the Austrian company "Zeman" introduced the first automated welding and assembly line in the world, which is capable of processing and welding equipment with a weight of up to 6 tons and is based on a fully robotic system. Meanwhile, companies from the UAE have also had a strong presence in the show. MK Factories Equip & Machinery TRD, has showcased a distinguished group of factory equipment of iron and laser machines and scissors as well as equipment for the production lines of fully equipped factories; while Arwani Trading presented a large number of digital machines for auto parts and industrial equipment, in addition to displaying a group of welding robots. More than 300 manufacturers, distributors, and 700 brands from 35 countries from across the world are displaying products and solutions ranging from the requirements of the smallest of the fabrication works to everything that a large project would require. Every international brand worth its name is available at the stalls that are spread across nearly 20,000 sq m. Also participating in the exhibition are the US-based Haas Automation, one of the worlds leading manufacturers of CNC machine tools, and Ebflow, a UK-based company specialising in the manufacture of equipment for the oil and gas sectors, including flotation tanks, floating tubes, undersea building structures, cooling towers, in addition to the shipbuilding equipment industry. TradeArabia News Service Martin Luther King Jr. Day will start the week on a mellow note with cloudy skies, only a slight chance of rain and mild temperatures. A weather system approaching the coast Monday will strike a glancing blow to the tip of northwest Oregon. The coast and the Coast Range will see some showers, and areas of southwest Washington could get some rain through the afternoon. Portlands high temperature is forecast to be 49 degrees. Rain in the valleys will begin late Monday night and into Tuesday. The heaviest rain will fall early then turn to showers later in the morning, according to the National Weather Service. The incoming cold front will also bring windy conditions. Portland will see south winds at 15 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. The high is expected to be 49. Tuesdays system could bring a good dumping of snow for the Cascades with the southern Washington Cascades seeing the bulk of the snowfall. Conditions will be windy on the mountains. The snow level will dip below the passes, and driving could be hazardous. The next in a series of rain events arrives Wednesday afternoon, with the morning mostly. The daytime high is expected to reach 50 degrees. Snow levels may rise above the pass levels later in the day. The National Weather Service in Portland takes a look a what is normal for January: Lovestruck Lauren Wall was so grateful to her mum for paying for her wedding that she even took her along on her honeymoon. And while she was delighted her mother and her groom got on so well, it quickly became clear that may have been a mistake. Just eight weeks after the 15,000 ceremony, her hubby Paul White moved out and nine months later her mum Julie gave birth to his child, announcing that she and Paul were now a couple. Lauren said: Paul always got on really well with Mum. I never thought it strange though, as she was his mum-in-law and he was just being friendly. Theyd laugh a lot together. I didnt think to be worried at all. Who would? I couldnt wait to settle in to marriage but the ink was barely dry on our certificate when Paul changed. He went out for hours and became protective over his phone. Four weeks after we said I do, I found out why. Laurens sister was using mum Julies phone and found what Lauren claims were texts between Julie and Paul. And after agonising privately over the discovery, Lauren finally voiced her fears. She said: Mum denied everything, saying, Youre crazy! When I confronted Paul he went white as a sheet and refused to let me see his phone. Days later, Paul removed his wedding ring and walked out on his new bride and their seven-month-old daughter. Although Julie and Paul have always denied having an affair, Lauren said: I felt like my world had ended. I was a 19-year-old kid with a kid. When she heard talk that airport worker Paul had moved in with her mum, Lauren was dumbstruck. She said: I couldnt believe the two people I loved and trusted most in the world could betray me like this. It was sick. Its one of the worst things a mum can do to a daughter. Paul may have been a gutless groom but shes my mum. Shes meant to love and protect me above all others. Instead, she stole my husband, shattering my family and my dreams. For that, Ill never truly forgive her. That short-lived dream had begun on Valentines Day two years previously, when she and Paul a year older than her at 18 went on their first date. Lauren, of Twickenham, south-west London, recalled: I met him at a local pub I fancied him straight away. He asked for my number and the next day he texted asking to go on a date to the cinema. We started going out straight after that. The blossoming relationship got off to a happy start a few months later when Lauren found herself pregnant. Their daughter arrived in March 2004 and the pair then married in the August after Paul got down on one knee to propose. Recalling the lavish ceremony put on with the help of her mother, business development manager Lauren said: Although we hadnt planned a family so soon, when our daughter was born we were thrilled. Five months later we were getting married in a beautiful church ceremony with friends and family. Mum looked on proudly as we exchanged vows. She even splashed out 15,000 on the occasion. And it was a fairytale wedding I had my dream dress and Paul was showering me with compliments. Lauren, 34, added: I must have been young and naive as I thought everything was going well. He told me that he wanted to be with me for ever. The couple went on a week-long honeymoon to Devon and gratefully took Julie with them. But within two months, that family harmony was painfully blown apart. And if losing her husband had been hard, Lauren had worse still to endure. Just weeks after hearing rumours that Paul and Julie were now living together, she saw her mother walking down the street, apparently pregnant. Lauren said: When I saw her in the street and noticed she had a bump, my mind raced. She clutched her stomach and told me, Its a cyst. I felt so sick, I went home and destroyed all the photos of our wedding. She also set about getting a divorce and rebuilding her life. In July 2005 nine months after Paul had walked out Laurens mum Julie had his baby. Lauren was unable to resist one last jibe. She admitted: I texted her to say Removed the cyst then? She tried to claim the father was another boyfriend but I knew the truth. Paul and Mum officially announced themselves as a couple that summer and my world crumbled. Five years after his marriage to Lauren, Paul was taking his wedding vows again with Julie. And that was a new anguish for heartbroken Lauren who bravely attended for the sake of her daughter. It followed a painstaking attempt to rebuild bridges with her mother. Lauren said: She initiated it. I dropped my brother off at her house and she got in my car, started crying and just said, Im sorry. I told her, Get out of my car. She wrote me a letter a couple of weeks later apologising. And that was the start of us mending our relationship. That was in 2006. Unsurprisingly, Lauren still finds it hard. She said: Wed get on all right, have a massive falling out, and then get on again. I still bring it up and make a comment and she doesnt like it. Just because we spoke after doesnt mean Im over it. Paul never said sorry or tried to apologise to me. I speak to him as hes married to my mum. Ive asked him before to explain to our daughter and he just says its forgotten about now. When Julie decided to marry Paul, she wanted her daughter close by. Lauren said: She rang me up and invited me. It was awkward. I got married on the 14th August 2004, they married on the 15th August 2009. It was almost too much to bear but I did it for my daughter. I went to watch Mum marry the same man Id wed five years earlier. As they exchanged vows it was hard not to think of the day Paul had said the same words to me, when Mum had stood alongside me, the proud mother of the bride. A decade on from that second wedding, Lauren is philosophical about how her relationship fell apart. She still has infrequent contact with her mother, who works in child services and who remains married to her former son-in-law. Lauren herself has managed to move on and has recently found a new partner. She is now happily pregnant with her fourth child. But she admits her path has not been easy. She said: Whats happened still has an impact on me, and on any relationship Ive had. Its going to give me trust issues for the rest of my life. Time is a great healer, and Mum and I have tried to have a normal relationship. But we will never be as close as we were and Ill never fully trust her again. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-21 01:25:21|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close COLOMBO, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka registered a 21 percent increase in tax revenue collection in 2019 compared to 2018, local media quoting Inland Revenue Department (IRD) Commissioner General Nadun Guruge said here on Monday. According to Guruge, the IRD provisionally collected 4.3 billion U.S. dollars in 2019, narrowly missing the target of 4.4 billion dollars. Guruge said that the IRD's performance in 2019 saw a respectable 21 percent increase compared to 2018's total tax revenue collection of 3.5 billion dollars. In 2019 alone, the IRD opened 10,000 new tax files and filed 434 cases against defaulters. Guruge said that the tax revenue target for 2020 has not been set yet as the IRD is waiting for a decision by the Ministry of Finance. He noted that tax revenues in 2020 will likely be lower due to the widespread tax reliefs announced in December last year. But the boost to aggregate demand caused by the tax reliefs will widen the tax net and increase tax revenue in the medium-term, he added. In December 2019, the Sri Lankan government announced wide-ranging tax reliefs including reductions in the Value Added Tax (VAT), abolition of certain taxation categories, and tax exemptions for economic sectors such as agriculture, fisheries and livestock. Enditem In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what's on the radar of our editors for the morning of Jan. 20. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/1/2020 (722 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois-Philippe Champagne speaks to media alongside during the Liberal cabinet retreat in Winnipeg, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mike Sudoma In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what's on the radar of our editors for the morning of Jan. 20. What we are watching in Canada ... WINNIPEG Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will meet today with the least hostile of conservative Prairie premiers, Manitoba's Brian Pallister. The tete-a-tete comes on the second day of a three-day federal cabinet retreat, being held in Winnipeg as part of a bid to reach out to a region that spurned Trudeau's Liberals in the Oct. 21 election. The election reduced the Liberals to a minority; they were entirely shut out of Alberta and Saskatchewan and lost three of seven seats in Manitoba. Pallister has signalled his willingness to act as something of a bridge between the federal government and the other two, openly hostile Prairie premiers, Alberta's Jason Kenney and Saskatchewan's Scott Moe. They blame federal environmental policies for gutting their provinces' energy industries. Since the Liberals were re-elected with a minority, talk of alienation and even outright separatism has ramped up in the two oil and gas-producing provinces. But while the cabinet retreat is an exercise in outreach to the discontented region, Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson signalled Sunday that the government's plan to combat climate change, including the centrepiece national carbon tax, isn't likely to be modified to mollify westerners. --- Also this ... VANCOUVER A court hearing begins today in Vancouver over the American request to extradite an executive of the Chinese telecom giant Huawei on fraud charges. The arrest of Meng Wanzhou in 2018 fractured relations between Canada and China. At issue at the hearing is the legal test of double criminality, meaning if the allegations are also a crime in Canada then Meng should be extradited to the United States. Meng is accused of lying to a bank about a Huawei subsidiary's business in Iran, putting the financial institution at risk of violating U.S. sanctions against the country. Her lawyers have argued the allegations do not amount to fraud and Canada does not have similar sanctions against Iran. Meng, who's free on bail and living in one of her two multimillion-dollar homes in Vancouver, denies the allegations. China has detained two Canadians and restricted some imports including canola, moves that are widely seen as retaliation for Meng's arrest. --- ICYMI (in case you missed it) ... ST. JOHN'S Armed Forces personnel were deployed Sunday to help Newfoundland and Labrador dig out from the monster blizzard that paralyzed eastern regions of the province with record breaking amounts of snow, as forecasts called for yet more precipitation overnight. Premier Dwight Ball asked for Ottawa's help on Saturday, as residents of St. John's and other communities on the Avalon Peninsula awoke to drifts that blocked doorways and clogged roads. Through the weekend, neighbours worked to help one another unbury their vehicles and homes, and to locate necessities ranging from prescription medicines to gasoline. Meanwhile, Newfoundlanders and Labradorians were among the first personnel boarding Hercules aircraft from Gagetown, N.B., to join with reserves in St. John's. Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said at a news conference in Winnipeg that two Cormorant helicopters, at least one Griffin helicopter and two Hercules aircraft have been deployed to Newfoundland. The military personnel are expected to assist with snow removal, provide residents with transportation to warming or emergency centres, and help ensure the elderly as well as those with health concerns are cared for. --- What we are watching in the U.S. ... WASHINGTON, D.C. President Donald Trumps defence team and the prosecutors of his impeachment are laying out their arguments over whether his conduct toward Ukraine warrants his removal from office. Trump's lawyers on Sunday previewed their impeachment defence with the questionable assertion that the charges against him are invalid, adopting a position rejected by Democrats as nonsense. The trial resumes on Tuesday with what could be a fight over the ground rules. By then, both sides will have submitted briefs and four Democratic presidential candidates will have been forced back to Washington from the early nominating states to join every other senator in silence, sans phones, on the Senate floor. What they're likely to hear in this extraordinary setting is the House Democrats' impeachment articles that charge Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress over his pressure on Ukraine for political help. From the White House, the senator-jurors are expected to hear that Trump committed no crime, the impeachment articles are invalid and he's the victim of Democrats who want to overturn his election. --- What we are watching in the rest of the world ... BEIJING China reported Monday a sharp rise in the number of people infected with a new coronavirus, including the first cases in the capital. The outbreak coincides with the country's busiest travel period, as millions board trains and planes for the Lunar New Year holidays. Health authorities in the central city of Wuhan, where the viral pneumonia appears to have originated, said an additional 136 cases have been confirmed in the city, which now has a total of 198 infected patients. As of the weekend, a third patient had died, bringing the death toll to three. Two individuals in Beijing and one in the southern city of Shenzhen have also been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus, health commissions in the respective cities said Monday. The three people had visited Wuhan. The outbreak has put other countries on alert as millions of Chinese travel for Lunar New Year. Authorities in Thailand and in Japan have already identified at least three cases, all involving recent travel from China. At least a half-dozen countries in Asia as well as some airports in Canada and the U.S. have started screening incoming airline passengers from central China. --- This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Jan. 20, 2020. A Maltese government minister has resigned after her husband was revealed to have gone to a Chelsea match with a tycoon charged with plotting a journalist's murder he had been investigating. Justyne Caruana resigned on Monday after a video of her husband, Silvio Valletta - a former investigator into the murder - also emerged of him in tycoon Yorgen Fenech's Rolls Royce. The footage was found on the businessman's phone and is said to show Valletta 'fooling around' pretending to be the owner of the luxury car. Caruana - who was appointed to the government's brand-new cabinet just last week - said in her resignation letter that she was quitting despite being 'totally extraneous' to the affair, the prime minister's office said in a statement. Her exit came after the Times of Malta revealed yesterday that her husband had been to a Chelsea match in London at Stamford Bridge with Fenech in September 2018. Justyne Caruana (right) resigned on Monday after it emerged her husband, Silvio Valletta (left) - a former investigator into the murder - had holidayed in the UK with tycoon Yorgen Fenech Maltese businessman Yorgen Fenech, who has been accused of plotting the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, is pictured leaving the Courts of Justice in Valletta, Malta, in November They took a business class Air Malta flight to Heathrow Airport and watched Chelsea draw 1-1 with Liverpool from a private box. Fenech also took his children on the trip. A witness who saw the pair said they heard the businessman say to his children as they boarded: 'Hold Uncle Silvio's hand'. Fenech has since been charged with complicity in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia who was killed in a car bomb in 2017 after she exposed high level corruption in the island state. Valletta was deputy police commissioner at the time of her death. He suspended himself from the case in June 2018 after a court upheld a claim by the slain reporter's family that there was a conflict of interest, because of the investigator's ties to a minister in a government Caruana Galizia had frequently targeted. That ruling was appealed by the attorney general, but upheld by the country's highest court in October 2018. Caruana was sworn in on Wednesday as minister for the island of Gozo under Malta's new leader Robert Abela. She had held the same post under his predecessor, Joseph Muscat, who resigned over allegations he hampered the murder probe. Valletta travelled to the UK with the tycoon after suspending himself from the case. A video showing him in Fenech's Rolls Royce was found on the businessman's phone but it was not clear when it was taken. Fenech was charged as an accomplice in the murder after being detained trying to leave the country on his yacht. A woman holds a placard with a picture of murdered blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia during a recent protest demanding justice over her murder His arrest in November sparked the resignation of Muscat's chief of staff and the tourism minister, before claiming Muscat's scalp as well. Three men are on trial for allegedly detonating the bomb that killed the 53-year-old mother of three. Valletta on Sunday admitted the holiday with Fenech, but said it only came once he had stepped aside from the case. He said he paid for the flights himself, and he did not know Fenech was a suspect in the murder at the time. 'I never did anything wrong and would certainly never have gone abroad with anyone who I suspected or knew to be under investigation', Valletta, who retired from the police force in September, told journalists. Malta's home affairs minister said Valletta's trip with Fenech will be investigated. NEW YORK, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Structural Health Monitoring market worldwide is projected to grow by US$3.2 Billion, driven by a compounded growth of 18.2%. Wired, one of the segments analyzed and sized in this study, displays the potential to grow at over 15.6%. The shifting dynamics supporting this growth makes it critical for businesses in this space to keep abreast of the changing pulse of the market. Poised to reach over US$1.8 Billion by the year 2025, Wired will bring in healthy gains adding significant momentum to global growth. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05798893/?utm_source=PRN - Representing the developed world, the United States will maintain a 19.7% growth momentum. Within Europe, which continues to remain an important element in the world economy, Germany will add over US$125.8 Million to the region's size and clout in the next 5 to 6 years. Over US$152.6 Million worth of projected demand in the region will come from Rest of Europe markets. In Japan, Wired will reach a market size of US$140 Million by the close of the analysis period. As the world's second largest economy and the new game changer in global markets, China exhibits the potential to grow at 18% over the next couple of years and add approximately US$567.4 Million in terms of addressable opportunity for the picking by aspiring businesses and their astute leaders. Presented in visually rich graphics are these and many more need-to-know quantitative data important in ensuring quality of strategy decisions, be it entry into new markets or allocation of resources within a portfolio. Several macroeconomic factors and internal market forces will shape growth and development of demand patterns in emerging countries in Asia-Pacific. All research viewpoints presented are based on validated engagements from influencers in the market, whose opinions supersede all other research methodologies. - Competitors identified in this market include, among others, Campbell Scientific Inc.; Rst Instruments Ltd.; Geokon Inc.; Sensuron; Acellent Technology, Inc.; Avt Reliability; Cowi A/S; Pure Technologies Ltd.; Bridge Diagnostics, Inc.; Digitexx Data Systems Inc.; Feac Engineering P.C; Geocomp Corp.; Geomotion Singapore; Sisgeo S.r.l.; YapiDestek Engineering Ltd. Co. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05798893/?utm_source=PRN I. METHODOLOGY II. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. MARKET OVERVIEW Global Competitor Market Shares Infrastructure Monitoring Competitor Market Share Scenario Worldwide (in %): 2019 & 2025 2. FOCUS ON SELECT PLAYERS 3. MARKET TRENDS & DRIVERS 4. GLOBAL MARKET PERSPECTIVE Table 1: Structural Health Monitoring Global Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Thousand by Region/Country: 2018-2025 Table 2: Structural Health Monitoring Market Share Shift across Key Geographies Worldwide: 2019 VS 2025 Table 3: Wired (Technology) World Market by Region/Country in US$ Thousand: 2018 to 2025 Table 4: Wired (Technology) Market Share Breakdown of Worldwide Sales by Region/Country: 2019 VS 2025 Table 5: Wireless (Technology) Potential Growth Markets Worldwide in US$ Thousand: 2018 to 2025 Table 6: Wireless (Technology) Market Sales Breakdown by Region/Country in Percentage: 2019 VS 2025 Table 7: Hardware (Offering) Geographic Market Spread Worldwide in US$ Thousand: 2018 to 2025 Table 8: Hardware (Offering) Market Share Distribution in Percentage by Region/Country: 2019 VS 2025 Table 9: Software & Services (Offering) World Market Estimates and Forecasts by Region/Country in US$ Thousand: 2018 to 2025 Table 10: Software & Services (Offering) Market Share Breakdown by Region/Country: 2019 VS 2025 Table 11: Civil Infrastructure (Vertical) Worldwide Latent Demand Forecasts in US$ Thousand by Region/Country: 2018-2025 Table 12: Civil Infrastructure (Vertical) Distribution of Global Sales by Region/Country: 2019 VS 2025 Table 13: Aerospace & Defense (Vertical) Sales Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Thousand by Region/Country for the Years 2018 through 2025 Table 14: Aerospace & Defense (Vertical) Global Market Share Distribution by Region/Country for 2019 and 2025 Table 15: Energy (Vertical) Global Opportunity Assessment in US$ Thousand by Region/Country: 2018-2025 Table 16: Energy (Vertical) Percentage Share Breakdown of Global Sales by Region/Country: 2019 VS 2025 Table 17: Other Verticals (Vertical) Worldwide Sales in US$ Thousand by Region/Country: 2018-2025 Table 18: Other Verticals (Vertical) Market Share Shift across Key Geographies: 2019 VS 2025 III. MARKET ANALYSIS GEOGRAPHIC MARKET ANALYSIS UNITED STATES Market Facts & Figures US Infrastructure Monitoring Market Share (in %) by Company: 2019 & 2025 Table 19: Structural Health Monitoring Market in US$ Thousand in the United States by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 20: United States Structural Health Monitoring Market Share Breakdown by Technology: 2019 VS 2025 Table 21: United States Structural Health Monitoring Market Estimates and Projections in US$ Thousand by Offering: 2018 to 2025 Table 22: United States Structural Health Monitoring Market Share Breakdown by Offering: 2019 VS 2025 Table 23: United States Structural Health Monitoring Latent Demand Forecasts in US$ Thousand by Vertical: 2018 to 2025 Table 24: Structural Health Monitoring Market Share Breakdown in the United States by Vertical: 2019 VS 2025 CANADA Table 25: Structural Health Monitoring Market Analysis in Canada in US$ Thousand by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 26: Canadian Structural Health Monitoring Market Share Breakdown by Technology: 2019 VS 2025 Table 27: Canadian Structural Health Monitoring Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Thousand by Offering: 2018 to 2025 Table 28: Structural Health Monitoring Market in Canada: Percentage Share Breakdown of Sales by Offering for 2019 and 2025 Table 29: Canadian Structural Health Monitoring Market Quantitative Demand Analysis in US$ Thousand by Vertical: 2018 to 2025 Table 30: Canadian Structural Health Monitoring Market Share Analysis by Vertical: 2019 VS 2025 JAPAN Table 31: Japanese Medium & Long-Term Outlook for Structural Health Monitoring Market in US$ Thousand by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 32: Japanese Structural Health Monitoring Market Percentage Share Distribution by Technology: 2019 VS 2025 Table 33: Japanese Market for Structural Health Monitoring: Annual Sales Estimates and Projections in US$ Thousand by Offering for the Period 2018-2025 Table 34: Japanese Structural Health Monitoring Market Share Analysis by Offering: 2019 VS 2025 Table 35: Japanese Demand Estimates and Forecasts for Structural Health Monitoring in US$ Thousand by Vertical: 2018 to 2025 Table 36: Structural Health Monitoring Market Share Shift in Japan by Vertical: 2019 VS 2025 CHINA Table 37: Structural Health Monitoring Market Estimates and Forecasts in China in US$ Thousand by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 38: Structural Health Monitoring Market in China: Percentage Share Analysis by Technology for 2019 and 2025 Table 39: Chinese Structural Health Monitoring Market Growth Prospects in US$ Thousand by Offering for the Period 2018-2025 Table 40: Chinese Structural Health Monitoring Market by Offering: Percentage Breakdown of Sales for 2019 and 2025 Table 41: Chinese Demand for Structural Health Monitoring in US$ Thousand by Vertical: 2018 to 2025 Table 42: Chinese Structural Health Monitoring Market Share Breakdown by Vertical: 2019 VS 2025 EUROPE Market Facts & Figures European Infrastructure Monitoring Market: Competitor Market Share Scenario (in %) for 2019 & 2025 Table 43: European Structural Health Monitoring Market Demand Scenario in US$ Thousand by Region/Country: 2018-2025 Table 44: European Structural Health Monitoring Market Share Shift by Region/Country: 2019 VS 2025 Table 45: European Structural Health Monitoring Market Assessment in US$ Thousand by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 46: Structural Health Monitoring Market in Europe: Percentage Breakdown of Sales by Technology for 2019 and 2025 Table 47: European Structural Health Monitoring Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Thousand by Offering: 2018-2025 Table 48: European Structural Health Monitoring Market Share Breakdown by Offering: 2019 VS 2025 Table 49: European Structural Health Monitoring Addressable Market Opportunity in US$ Thousand by Vertical: 2018-2025 Table 50: European Structural Health Monitoring Market Share Analysis by Vertical: 2019 VS 2025 FRANCE Table 51: French Structural Health Monitoring Market Estimates and Projections in US$ Thousand by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 52: French Structural Health Monitoring Market Share Breakdown by Technology: 2019 VS 2025 Table 53: Structural Health Monitoring Market in France by Offering: Estimates and Projections in US$ Thousand for the Period 2018-2025 Table 54: French Structural Health Monitoring Market Share Analysis by Offering: 2019 VS 2025 Table 55: Structural Health Monitoring Quantitative Demand Analysis in France in US$ Thousand by Vertical: 2018-2025 Table 56: French Structural Health Monitoring Market Share Analysis: A 7-Year Perspective by Vertical for 2019 and 2025 GERMANY Table 57: German Structural Health Monitoring Latent Demand Forecasts in US$ Thousand by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 58: German Structural Health Monitoring Market Share Breakdown by Technology: 2019 VS 2025 Table 59: Structural Health Monitoring Market in Germany: Recent Past, Current and Future Analysis in US$ Thousand by Offering for the Period 2018-2025 Table 60: German Structural Health Monitoring Market Share Breakdown by Offering: 2019 VS 2025 Table 61: Structural Health Monitoring Market in Germany: Annual Sales Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Thousand by Vertical for the Period 2018-2025 Table 62: Structural Health Monitoring Market Share Distribution in Germany by Vertical: 2019 VS 2025 ITALY Table 63: Structural Health Monitoring Market Estimates and Forecasts in Italy in US$ Thousand by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 64: Structural Health Monitoring Market in Italy: Percentage Share Analysis by Technology for 2019 and 2025 Table 65: Italian Structural Health Monitoring Market Growth Prospects in US$ Thousand by Offering for the Period 2018-2025 Table 66: Italian Structural Health Monitoring Market by Offering: Percentage Breakdown of Sales for 2019 and 2025 Table 67: Italian Demand for Structural Health Monitoring in US$ Thousand by Vertical: 2018 to 2025 Table 68: Italian Structural Health Monitoring Market Share Breakdown by Vertical: 2019 VS 2025 UNITED KINGDOM Table 69: United Kingdom Medium & Long-Term Outlook for Structural Health Monitoring Market in US$ Thousand by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 70: United Kingdom Structural Health Monitoring Market Percentage Share Distribution by Technology: 2019 VS 2025 Table 71: United Kingdom Market for Structural Health Monitoring: Annual Sales Estimates and Projections in US$ Thousand by Offering for the Period 2018-2025 Table 72: United Kingdom Structural Health Monitoring Market Share Analysis by Offering: 2019 VS 2025 Table 73: United Kingdom Demand Estimates and Forecasts for Structural Health Monitoring in US$ Thousand by Vertical: 2018 to 2025 Table 74: Structural Health Monitoring Market Share Shift in the United Kingdom by Vertical: 2019 VS 2025 REST OF EUROPE Table 75: Rest of Europe Structural Health Monitoring Market Assessment in US$ Thousand by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 76: Structural Health Monitoring Market in Rest of Europe: Percentage Breakdown of Sales by Technology for 2019 and 2025 Table 77: Rest of Europe Structural Health Monitoring Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Thousand by Offering: 2018-2025 Table 78: Rest of Europe Structural Health Monitoring Market Share Breakdown by Offering: 2019 VS 2025 Table 79: Rest of Europe Structural Health Monitoring Addressable Market Opportunity in US$ Thousand by Vertical: 2018-2025 Table 80: Rest of Europe Structural Health Monitoring Market Share Analysis by Vertical: 2019 VS 2025 ASIA-PACIFIC Table 81: Asia-Pacific Structural Health Monitoring Market Estimates and Projections in US$ Thousand by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 82: Asia-Pacific Structural Health Monitoring Market Share Breakdown by Technology: 2019 VS 2025 Table 83: Structural Health Monitoring Market in Asia-Pacific by Offering: Estimates and Projections in US$ Thousand for the Period 2018-2025 Table 84: Asia-Pacific Structural Health Monitoring Market Share Analysis by Offering: 2019 VS 2025 Table 85: Structural Health Monitoring Quantitative Demand Analysis in Asia-Pacific in US$ Thousand by Vertical: 2018-2025 Table 86: Asia-Pacific Structural Health Monitoring Market Share Analysis: A 7-Year Perspective by Vertical for 2019 and 2025 REST OF WORLD Table 87: Structural Health Monitoring Market Analysis in Rest of World in US$ Thousand by Technology: 2018-2025 Table 88: Rest of World Structural Health Monitoring Market Share Breakdown by Technology: 2019 VS 2025 Table 89: Rest of World Structural Health Monitoring Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Thousand by Offering: 2018 to 2025 Table 90: Structural Health Monitoring Market in Rest of World: Percentage Share Breakdown of Sales by Offering for 2019 and 2025 Table 91: Rest of World Structural Health Monitoring Market Quantitative Demand Analysis in US$ Thousand by Vertical: 2018 to 2025 Table 92: Rest of World Structural Health Monitoring Market Share Analysis by Vertical: 2019 VS 2025 IV. COMPETITION ACELLENT TECHNOLOGY, INC. AVT RELIABILITY BRIDGE DIAGNOSTICS COWI A/S DIGITEXX DATA SYSTEMS FEAC ENGINEERING P.C GEOCOMP GEOKON GEOMOTION SINGAPORE PURE TECHNOLOGIES LTD. RST INSTRUMENTS SENSURON SISGEO S.R.L. YAPIDESTEK ENGINEERING V. CURATED RESEARCH Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05798893/?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 Reese Witherspoon was nominated for her fourth Screen Actors Guild Award at Sunday's awards show in Los Angeles. The Southern belle exuded star power in a dazzling black gown which offered up a lovely look at her legs as she hit the red carpet of the Shrine auditorium. The actress was there representing her HBO show Big Little Lies, which was nominated for Outstanding Performance By An Ensemble in a Drama Series. Leggy display: Reese Witherspoon put on a leggy display in a dazzling shimmery black gown as she hit the red carpet of the Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday The 43-year-old looked statuesque in a floor-length black sequined Celine dress, adorned with white beads. It was trimmed across the top in a sparkling silver looped one-shoulder strap, featuring a cutout across her decolletage. The dress featured a thigh-high leg slit, showing off her toned stems in a pair of strappy black stilettos with silver metallic accents. She accessorized with a diamond chain Harry Winston bracelet and matching rings and stud earrings. Witherspoon carried a black leather Tyler Ellis clutch, which perfectly complemented the ensemble. The star's blonde locks meanwhile were styled in a slick straight style that was swept over with a side part - courtesy of hairstylist Lona Vigi for Olivia Garden. Lona explained that the inspiration for the style 'came from Reese's Old Hollywood glam dress', revealing: 'We wanted to keep it simple and polished, yet dramatic and sleek.' Stunning and statuesque: The 43-year-old looked statuesque in a floor-length black sequined Celine dress, adorned with white beads Hell on heels: It was trimmed across the top in a sparkling silver looped one-shoulder strap, featuring a cutout across her decolletage. The dress featured a thigh-high leg slit, showing off her toned stems in a pair of strappy black stilettos with silver metallic accents Dripping in diamonds: She accessorized with a diamond chain Harry Winston bracelet and matching rings and stud earrings Hitching a ride: Witherspoon took to Instagram ahead of the awards show, as she posed in her driveway, captioned: 'Waiting for my Uber like...' To achieve this, the beauty pro used the Virtue Volumizing Mousse at the roots on wet hair, before blow drying the locks with the Olivia Garden Ceramic + Ion Hair Dryer and Olivia Garden Private Collection Large Round Brush. After the hair was dry, Lona used the Virtue Healing Oil on the ends of the locks, before straightening Reese's 'do with the Olivia Garden Ceramic + Ion Flat Iron. The final step? Virtue Finale Shaping Spray. Et voila! Reese proudly showed off her finish look by taking to Instagram ahead of the awards show, as she posed in her driveway, writing: 'Waiting for my Uber like...' Big Little Lies ultimately lost the ensemble category to The Crown, which also beat out Game of Thrones, The Handmaid's Tale and Stranger Things. In addition to Big Little Lies, her other show The Morning Show nabbed some nominations as well, including Best Actress for Jennifer Aniston. Old pals: She ran into her Big Little Lies co-star Zoe Kravitz, both celebrating the show's Best Ensemble nomination Living legends: Inside, she caught up with another co-star Meryl Streep, who wore custom Alberta Ferretti Limited Edition Mama's girl: She also posed for a snap with her onscreen daughter Kathryn Newton For the 'gram: The ladies took a selfie in front of the stage before the show kicked off Witherspoon stars alongside Aniston and Billy Crudup in the Apple TV+ show, on which she also serves as executive producer. Earlier in the day, she and Aniston discussed the second season of their show at a TCA panel in Pasadena. According to The Hollywood Reporter, she said: 'We have a lot explore. It's not just #MeToo. We explore racism, sexism, homophobia all the things currently happening in news media. 'We're just beginning because there's a whole new world order. It's chaos. No one knows who is in charge. What does leadership mean at this point? And I think that's what we're exploring in this culture as we speak.' Armenian President Armen Sarkissian has left for Switzerland on a working visit. At the invitation of founder of the World Economic Forum in Davos and President of Switzerland Klaus Schwab, President Sarkissian will attend the 50th annual meeting of the Davos forum. The President of Armenia will also address the forum, and speak on the rapid developments in the world, global risks, new quantum technologies and systems, quantum policy behavior, and directions and trends in the development of the modern world. Within the framework of the World Economic Forum, President Sarkissian will also meet with the representatives of a number of heads of states and governments, and business circles attending this event. The aid worker rescued from Boko Haram, on Sunday has revealed the state of Leah Sharibu, the Christian girl the terrorists kidnapped two years ago at Dapchi, Yobe, and refuses to release because she will ot deny her faith Te released worker, Jennifer Ukambong Samuel, said Sharibu was in good health. This will surpeise many Nigerians who have read different accounts of stories about the death or horrible state of the Dapchi school girl Jennifer said though she did not see Leah Sharibu, she was informed by one Alice, another girl who has been in captivity for about two years that Leah was alive. Jennifer told the Daily Trust stated that it was a miracle to be free because others whom she met in captivity were still there. She disclosed that the insurgents refuse to free othes still in captivity because negotiations for their release broke down, making the government look unserous to the captives. Jeninifer and four other aid workers were rescued by Nigerian security agencies last Wednesday. Others were Asabe Cletus Musa (ALIMA), Adamu Auwal Ozeshi; Arthur Ibojekwe Chima (Solidarity International) and George Danbaba Michael (International Organisation for Migration, IOM). They were abducted by the Islamic State West Africa Province, ISWAP, on December 22, 2019 along Monguno-Maiduguri Road in Borno State. In reaction, the United Nations (UN) Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Edward Kallon, expressed relief and called for the release of all still being held by Boko Haram and ISWAP. PV: 0 President Rajapaksa tweeted that strengthening of bilateral cooperation on national security, intelligence sharing, maritime security and fostering of regional cooperation were some of the key points of discussion. Indias National Security Advisor Ajit Doval met Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and stated that it was imperative that India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives review the Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) program. India and Sri Lanka agreed to further bolster cooperation to ensure maritime security in the Indian Ocean and sharing of intelligence inputs. President Rajapaksa tweeted that strengthening of bilateral cooperation on national security, intelligence sharing, maritime security and fostering of regional cooperation were some of the key points of discussion. Doval said this, among other things, when he met President Gotabaya Rajapaksa here on Saturday. There were two meetings, the first one was one to one, and the other was in the presence of officials from both sides. The meetings were followed by a working lunch. The Presidential Media Division said in a press release that in the cordial discussions, both countries expressed an interest in stepping up military to military corporation, maritime security and close co-operation and inter-operability between their Coast Guards. Doval brought up the need for the interoperability of the two Coast Guards in order to check smuggling, drug-trafficking, gun-running by Non-State Actors and illegal fishing. India also promised support to Sri Lanka in obtaining intelligence-gathering technology. A USD 50 million credit line to purchase intelligence-gathering equipment was reiterated. Establishment of a Maritime Research Coordinating Centre was also discussed. It is not known as to what other matters were discussed in the one on one meeting between the Lankan President and the Indian NSA. But in the presence of other officials, Indian fishermens intrusions and poaching in North Sri Lanka; Islamic terrorism and the deal to give the Eastern Container Terminal construction work to a consortium including India and Japan, were not discussed, reliable sources said. ( Agencies) Ukraine will try to reach out to its Normandy Format counterparts France, Germany, and Russia in the wake of the worsening situation in Donbas and the fact that territories not controlled by Kyiv are not complying with the Minsk Agreements, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said. "As concerns the Minsk process and the shelling, we are certainly concerned about this. We have discussed it with the new OSCE chairperson-in-office to see what this actually means on the whole. Does this mean the complete disruption of the process or just a coincidence of numerous factors that have led to the intensification of shelling," Prystaiko said at a joint press conference with OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Albanian Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign and European Affairs Edi Rama in Kyiv on Monday. "What we should do right now, and you've heard this from the Albanian prime minister, is reinforce the OSCE mission, which concerns their mandate, their round-the-clock presence, and technical support to record these instances and demand compliance," he said. Ukraine will respond to these shelling incidents by trying to reach out immediately to its Normandy format counterparts, Prystaiko said. "Because, indeed, we see just like you do that the agreements don't work," he said. Charlotte Crosby and Ryan Gallagher's jungle romance is reportedly heating up on I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! Australia. According to NW magazine, the couple have been enjoying 'secret hook-ups' in areas of the camp where cameras can't see them. 'They like to go behind the long drop [toilet] while there are no cameras!' said a source. Too rude for TV? Charlotte Crosby and Ryan Gallagher's jungle romance is reportedly heating up on I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! Australia. Pictured on Sunday's episode 'They come back [to camp] separately after about 20 minutes and sneak back into bed,' the insider added. Charlotte and Ryan shared their first on-screen kiss just days after they had entered the South African jungle. But the late-night tryst sparked outrage among fans, many of whom said the scene was too explicit for young viewers. Sneaky! According to NW magazine, the couple have been enjoying 'secret hook-ups' in areas of the camp where cameras can't see them Racy! 'They like to go behind the long drop [toilet] while there are no cameras!' said a source 'This is supposed to be a family friendly show. Not a mix between Married At First Sight and Big Brother,' one viewer raged on social media. Another commented: 'I'd prefer no love in the jungle. It'll turn into the sleazy Geordie Shore show.' It comes after sources claimed that Charlotte and Ryan's 'love story' could just be a publicity stunt. 'Young kids watch this': Charlotte and Ryan's recent late-night tryst sparked outrage among fans, many of whom said the scene was too explicit for young viewers A source told Woman's Day last week that Ryan had set his sights on Charlotte because he knew it would get them more airtime. 'Ryan loves the opportunities that come with his reality TV fame, so he wouldn't think twice about hooking up if it means he'll generate more headlines,' they alleged. The pair are also represented by the same Australian talent agency, Stage Addiction, which hasn't been disclosed on the show. 'Ryan loves the opportunities that come with his fame': A source told Woman's Day last week that Ryan had set his sights on Charlotte because he knew it would get them more airtime However, a friend of Ryan's - who asked to remain anonymous - told News.com.au the MAFS star would never agree to participate in a 'showmance'. 'There is no way Ryan decided to be part of a fake relationship. It's just not who he is,' they said. I'm a Celebrity continues Monday at 7:30pm on Channel 10 Amid anti-CAA protests across the country, Dalit activist Sushma Andhare on Sunday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of dividing the country in the name of religion. Speaking during a protest organised against the Citizenship Amendment Act and register of Citizens at Auragabad's Delhi Gate, Andhare said, "The NRC is already a provision in the Constitution but the current government wants to implement NRC under the garb of CAA and take away the rights of the original inhabitants of the country." "We have come on the path of unity of India, whereas the RSS and BJP want to divide this country in the name of religion. The people of India will never let this happen," she said. Expressing concern over the implementation of CAA, the protestors alleged that it was totally a violation of the Constitution. Mousfera, a woman protestor, alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi government is "misleading the people under the cover of CAA and NRC". "We are staging a protest to stand with the minority community. The CAA and NRC are a conspiracy to divide our country and will not let this conspiracy succeed," Sheikh Maria, an agitator said. On Sunday, the city witnessed a mega rally with women from different walks of life participating in large numbers at the Delhi Gate.The event organised by Muslim Numainda Council, a social-religious and minority rights body.Holding anti-CAA and anti-NRC placards and posters, slogans like 'CAA se lenge Azadi', ' NRC se lenge Azadi', 'NPR se lenge Azadi', 'Modi sun lo Azadi' 'Amit Shah Sun lo Azadi', 'Hindu Muslim Sikh Isai hum hai sab bhai Bahi' were raised during the protest.Protests broke out in different parts of the country against the 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. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The on Monday agreed to hear a plea challenging the amendments made in the Investigation Agency (Amendment) Act, 2019, on the ground that it gives "unfettered discretionary powers" to the A bench of Justices R F Nariman and S Ravindra Bhat issued notice to the and sought its reply within four weeks. The plea filed by organisation 'Solidarity Youth Movement' says that the new amendment has diluted the nature and operation of the Act, which was enacted to prosecute offences affecting security, by incorporating legislations unrelated to terrorism. The petition filed through advocate Jaimon Andrews, alleges that the Act "unconstitutionally" concentrates investigative and prosecutorial activities which would otherwise have been within the purview of respective state governments where offences have been committed. "In addition to its unconstitutional concentration of powers, no objective and third-party empirical data has been provided as to the inability or the incompetence of the state investigation agencies to carry out investigations and prosecution," the petition said. It claimed that after the Amendments in the Act, the offences unrelated to terrorism such as trafficking of minors for sexual exploitation has also been included in the purview of the Act, therefore further usurping the powers of state investigation agencies. "The statement of object of the Act clearly states that the underlying purpose is to constitute a investigation agency which would be empowered to register, investigate and prosecute offences wherein the national security, national integrity, sovereignty, friendly relations with foreign states, and offences under the Act enacted pursuant to international treaties, agreements, are affected," it said. The petition said that with the impugned amendments, the purview of the law was broadened. "The amendment has incorporated offences pertaining to trafficking of persons and minors for sexual exploitation or forced labour, possession, usage, making, delivery of counterfeited currency notes, which are wholly unrelated to countering terrorism," it added. The plea said that the "co-operative federalism, which is the fundamental pillar of governmental functioning has been diluted by this amendment". On January 15, the Congress-led Chhattisgarh government had also moved the apex court seeking the UPA-1 era NIA Act be declared unconstitutional and arbitrary on the ground that it affects the state's sovereignty and confers unbridled power on the The then Manmohan Singh government had come out with the law in the aftermath of the 2008 Mumbai attack, when senior Congress leader P Chidambaram was the union home minister. The legislation provides NIA concurrent jurisdiction to probe terror attacks in any part of the country without any specific permission from states and in the last one decade it has been involved in the investigation of all such cases. The Chhattisgarh government filed the original suit under Article 131 of the Constitution which empowers a state to move the directly in matters of dispute with the Centre or any other state. It is the first state to challenge the Act. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and one of its oldest allies, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), will not be fighting the Delhi assembly elections together, the latter said on Monday, citing differences over the amendment to Indias citizenship law. On Monday, the BJP said its allies, the Janata Dal United (JD-U) and the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) would contest two seats and one seat respectively, but did not name any for the Akalis, which whom it had an alliance in the 2015 election. The SAD claimed its stand on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) was responsible for this. The BJPs leader in charge of Delhi elections, Union minister Prakash Javdekar, did not respond to HTs queries. To be sure, the SAD supported the government during the passage of the CAA in Parliament but the party has since nuanced its position, and repeatedly said Muslims cannot be left out of the act which fast tracks citizenship for non-Muslims from three neighbouring nations. Akali leader Majinder Singh Sirsa told reporters, During our meeting with the BJP, we were asked to reconsider our stand on CAA but we declined to do so. Shiromani Akali Dal is of the firm stand that Muslims cannot be left out of CAA. A senior BJP leader said on condition of anonymity that the decision has nothing to do with CAA but the Akalis limited influence in Delhi. Not many agree with that. There are around a million Sikh voters in Delhi and analysts say they could affect the outcomes in around 10 of the 70 assembly constituencies. HT learns that while the Akalis initially asked for eight seats in a meeting with BJP leaders, they eventually agreed to two. If the BJP doesnt want to take along the minorities, then it is up to them. They are the senior partners and so we have to go by their wishes, said Sirsa to HT. In a recent interview, Akali leader and member of parliament Sukhbir Badal told HT, My partys view is that the CAA should mention minorities instead of naming religious communities (whose citizenship will be fast-tracked under the new law). Nobody in the country should feel that they have been omitted or left out. Other than the SAD, the BJP and its Haryana ally Jannayak Janata Party (JJP), will also not be contesting together. JJP leader and Haryana deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala did not comment on this. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 13:00:49|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BERLIN, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping's special envoy, Yang Jiechi, met here on Sunday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, with both sides pledging to support multilateralism in addressing international issues. Yang, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, headed a delegation to attend the Berlin Conference on Libya. Facing a complex and changing global situation, China and Germany, as the world's two important countries, should respect each other, enhance cooperation, jointly practice multilateralism, join hands to tackle global challenges and continuously promote healthy and steady development of bilateral ties, Yang said. Noting that China is willing to keep close high-level exchanges with Germany, Yang said the Chinese side appreciates Merkel's effort to actively push the EU to strengthen cooperation with China. China stands ready to work with Germany and the new leadership of the EU institutions to advance the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership. For her part, Merkel expressed her gratitude to Xi for sending a delegation to the Berlin Conference on Libya, saying she appreciates China's support for multilateralism and international cooperation, as well as its constructive role in tackling international and regional issues. Merkel said she will actively improve and develop Germany-China relations, and is earnestly preparing for a series of important Germany-China and EU-China political agendas for this year. Merkel added that she will keep close contact with the Chinese side to ensure positive results. An 'offline chair' that can block a sitter's access to the internet has been designed to help smartphone addicts get back to reality and find a moment of relaxation. The chair is the brainchild of 28-year-old Polish designer Agata Nowak, who hopes interest in the seat will increase as people grow more aware of internet addiction. Upholstered in a soft, grey covering fabric, the chair provides a 'cosy, intimate, comfy and silent' space to isolate its occupants from the surrounding environment. Its key feature is a so-called 'offline pocket', which blocks WiFi and mobile signals from reaching any device placed inside. Scroll down for video An 'offline chair' that can block a sitter's access to the internet has been designed to help smartphone addicts get back to reality and find a moment of relaxation. The chair's key feature is a so-called 'offline pocket', which blocks WiFi and mobile signals from reaching any device placed inside 'Studies show that an average user unlocks the phone 110 times per day, and record-breakers even 900!' said Ms Nowak, who began work on the offline chair in 2015, while studying Furniture Design at the University of Fine Arts in Poznan, Poland. At this time, the average time that people spend on their phones was estimated at around 2 hours each day. Less than five years later, however, and the average use is reported to have increased to around four hours each day around a quarter of our waking lives. 'I observed people and their behaviour,' Ms Nowak told Central European News. 'Back then, it was likely you would see people stuck on their phones but now it has become ordinary.' 'We are over-stimulated. We are now turning to activities such as meditation and mindfulness as we need solutions to help us calm down, relax.' The chair's key feature is a so-called 'offline pocket', which blocks WiFi and mobile signals from reaching any device placed inside The chair is the brainchild of 28-year-old Polish designer Agata Nowak, pictured, who hopes interest in the seat will increase as people grow more aware of internet addiction 'Studies show that an average user unlocks the phone 110 times per day, and record-breakers even 900!' said Ms Nowak, who began work on the offline chair in 2015, while studying Furniture Design at the University of Fine Arts in Poznan, Poland 'We have apps that help us calm down before sleeping, but I still believe we feel better when we forget about our smartphones for a moment, not hear notifications, and just enjoy it,' Ms Nowak added. 'Putting this into practice is much harder though, because we are simply addicted to it.' Ms Nowak is looking for a producer to help develop her chair commercially. Upholstered in a soft, grey covering fabric, the chair provides a 'cosy, intimate, comfy and silent' space to isolate its occupants from the surrounding environment 'I observed people and their behaviour,' Ms Nowak told Central European News. 'Back then, it was likely you would see people stuck on their phones but now it has become ordinary' P ub giant JD Wetherspoon will reduce the price of 10 drinks to celebrate Britain leaving the EU on January 31. Beverages that originate from European countries including Germany, France, Spain, Poland, Holland and Ireland, as well as from across the UK, will be around 60p cheaper. The Lets stay friends promotion will run until February 29 in all of the companys 870 pubs in Britain. Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin, who has been a strong advocate for leaving the European Union, said: Many of our customers are keen to celebrate Brexit. Brexiteer and Wetherspoons boss Tim Martin / PA Wire/PA Images At the same time we want to remain friends with our European neighbours and offer a range of drinks at an excellent price. In my opinion, there has been far too much political posturing in negotiations between the UK and the EU up until now. The promotion will end in February / PA Archive/PA Images The UK should aim to treat all countries of the world equally by eliminating current protectionist tariffs on nearly 13,000 non-EU imports, which cause every person, and most businesses in the UK, to pay artificially high prices for everyday goods, including rice, oranges, wine and childrens clothing and shoes. The EU and UK need to understand that tariffs and protectionism are counter-productive. Mr Martin said that UK consumers will shun EU goods if tariffs are imposed on UK exports as EU consumers might do if the roles were reversed. He said that it is therefore pointless for one side to threaten the other with tariffs and added: The public and businesses will be the ultimate decision-makers through their purchasing choices. Lets stay friends and enjoy free trade, but take account of the economic reality. She became 'violently ill' ahead of her big night at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Friday. And on Saturday, Scarlett Johannson was seen leaving the Miramar Hotel in Santa Barbara alongside fiance Colin Jost. Come Sunday, things were looking up for the star, who looked to be in good spirits as she stepped out in satin at the SAG Awards. Pick-me-up: On Saturday, Scarlett Johannson was seen leaving the Miramar Hotel in Santa Barbara with a Gatorade in hand Scarlett, 35, looked casual in a long-sleeve dark top. The pretty blonde wore her short hair back in a low bun and kept her eyes concealed with shades. Colin, 37, looked handsome in a fitted sweater, rolled trousers and boots. Absent: Just one day prior, the actress became 'violently ill' ahead of her big night at the Santa Barbara Film Festival, causing her to miss it Letting his lady rest: Fiance Colin Jost, 37, took the driver's seat On Friday, Scarlett was scheduled to attend the SBIFF, because she and Marriage Story co-star Adam Driver were set to receive the Outstanding Performers of the Year Award. A statement by the star was read during the time it came for the Marvel actress and and Adam to receive their award. 'I am so saddened that I can not be here with you this evening. An hour-and-a-half ago, I became violently ill right as I was about to leave the Miramar Hotel for the theater,' the statement reportedly read, according to ET Canada. 'I was so looking forward to accepting this incredible honor in person, and to not be here on stage with Adam is deeply disappointing, to say the least.' Sharp: Colin looked handsome in a fitted sweater, rolled trousers and boots Perfect for California! The duo drove away in their red Mustang Going home: It appears that Scarlett and Colin left Santa Barbara on Saturday and headed back to LA, as they both attended the SAGs the next day Come Sunday, Scarlett looked to have been feeling better. The mother-of-one was nominated for three awards that evening, though did not win. She was up for Cast in a Motion Picture and Female Actor in a Supporting Role for her work in Jojo Rabbit, and Female Actor in a Leading Role for her appearance in Marriage Story. Scarlett is also nominated for the first time at the Academy Awards for both of those projects. 753 Shares Share My uncle died last year. As physicians, we are all too familiar with death. Even if we are practicing primary care, we are touched by death and the line between life and death. That patient who had what statistically shouldve been acid reflux, but who you found to have stomach cancer. That breastfeeding mom who thought a little lump was a clogged milk duct, when it actually turned out to be metastatic breast cancer. Or that patient who was improving and stable enough to be sent to a skilled nursing facility who coded in the midst of being transferred onto the gurney. My uncle. In 2017, KevinMD published my article, Why this physician cant be her familys doctor. In this article, the first paragraph read: The day I got into medical school, my uncle said to me, You are going to be a doctor! We finally have a doctor in the family. You are going to take care of your uncle in his old age. I continued on in my article to outline why I didnt feel I could be unbiased enough to be my familys doctor, and that their medical problems were better left to be solved by their own physicians. That uncle in my article was my uncle who died last year. And I still havent gotten over it. Of course, I miss him because he was my favorite uncle. The one I could count on. The one who loved me like his own daughter. The one who was always there. And, because he was my uncle. But, I also have struggled with his death as a physician. You see, I didnt get involved soon enough. Three years before his death, my uncle started to lose weight. All of us, including him, attributed his weight loss to stress. My grandmother could no longer care for herself, and along with my mom, he became her caregiver. He took this job very seriously. He slept over her apartment at nights and made it a point to drive her to the senior center every day for lunch. He put a lot of pressure on himself to be the best caregiver to my grandmother. Hed always been anxious and high strung, and the three cups of coffee he drank every day didnt help either. So, we all just thought this extra stress of being a caregiver was causing him to not eat and lose weight. Fast forward, six months later, he continued to lose weight. People were telling him he was too thin, so he finally began to seek care from his family doctor. He had blood work done, an EGD, colonoscopy, CT scans. Nothing, he said, when I finally decided to ask him about what his doctors had found, Theyve found nothing, and Im fine. They say its stress. I didnt press him further. One year later, he could barely stand and walk by himself. He was a skeleton. By then, my grandmother had died six months earlier. Even with the caregiver stress removed, he had still lost a tremendous amount of weight, an alarming amount of weight. In medicine, we call this a red flag. His older son, who is not in medicine, became more involved at that time. He took him to various doctors appointments, for various blood tests, repeat CT scans, other scans. Nothing, my cousin would say. By now, my uncle was so weak, sometimes he couldnt talk. One day, my cousin said, Theres a spot on his lung, but dont worry, they are looking into it. Up until then, Id been hanging back. Not getting involved because I was worried I was going to be biased. Or something like that. But, now with the news of a spot, I finally stepped up as a physician and not just a niece. Lets review his medical records and visit his doctor. Four months later, he died. To protect him and his family, I wont tell you what he died of. But, I can tell you that it is something very treatable. People rarely die from what he had. I know there are many factors that influenced the circumstances of his death, but I cant help but feel that Im one of those factors. That if Id stepped up as a physician, hed be here today, anxious about getting somewhere in time, driving us crazy, but still here. My niece, the doctor, hed always say with pride as he hugged me. I wish Id been your doctor. Karen Yeter is a rheumatologist who blogs at Resuscitating You. Image credit: Shutterstock.com The European Space Agency (ESA) has opened its plant in the Netherlands specifically designed to extract oxygen from moondust. Making oxygen in space for long-duration exploration is an essential step which would allow astronauts to manufacture their own breathable air and also produce rocket fuel. The Dutch plant places the moondust in molten calcium chloride at 950C and runs an electric current through the liquid. This extracts the oxygen trapped within the material and also converts the dust into usable metal alloys. Researchers hope this prototype will lay the foundations for one day building a self-sustained base on the moon. Scroll down for video Lunar regolith (pictured left, a simulated material before the experiment) is made up of 4045 per cent oxygen by weight, its single most abundant element. After it has been processed in the experiment (right) it is converted into a usable metal alloys The Dutch plant places the moondust in molten calcium chloride at 950C and runs an electric current through the liquid. This extracts the oxygen trapped within the material and also converts the dust into usable metal alloys (pictured) ESA has opened its prototype plant in the Netherlands to extract oxygen from moondust. It hopes to one day make a elf-sustaining plant for the moon to provide a constant source of oxygen for colonisation missions Analysis of real space rocks reveals lunar regolith is made up of 4045 per cent oxygen by weight, its single most abundant element. But this oxygen is tightly bound to other elements in the form of minerals or glass. A form of electrolysis the passing of an electrical current through a liquid helps free the oxygen in the form of a gas and traps it for later use. The silent process is currently performed on fake moondust designed to replicate the properties of the lunar surface. Oxygen is currently vented out as steam, but future upgrades will see storage facilities added to the prototype. The prototype was built in the Materials and Electrical Components Laboratory of the European Space Research and Technology Centre, ESTEC, based in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. 'Having our own facility allows us to focus on oxygen production, measuring it with a mass spectrometer as it is extracted from the regolith simulant,' said Beth Lomax of the University of Glasgow. 'Being able to acquire oxygen from resources found on the Moon would obviously be hugely useful for future lunar settlers, both for breathing and in the local production of rocket fuel.' The method for releasing the oxygen was initially created by a commercial firm in the UK, called Metalysis, which focuses on turning dust into metal alloys for manufacturing. For Metalysis, the gas that was produced was an unwanted byproduct. However, Ms Lomax, who worked at Metalysis before working at the Dutch plant, has focused her PhD thesis on adapting the method for space exploration. Pictured: Microscopic image of moondust simulant. A form of electrolysis the passing of an electrical current through a liquid helps free the oxygen trapped within and it can then be trapped and stored for later use The prototype was built in the Materials and Electrical Components Laboratory of the European Space Research and Technology Centre, ESTEC, based in Noordwijk, the Netherlands (pictured) Pictured: Moondust simulant undergoing oxygen extraction. The Dutch plant places the moondust in molten calcium chloride at 950C and ru 'At Metalysis, oxygen produced by the process is an unwanted by-product and is instead released as carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, which means the reactors are not designed to withstand oxygen gas itself,' she said. 'So we had to redesign the ESTEC version to be able to have the oxygen available to measure. The lab team was very helpful in getting it installed and operating safely.' Researchers hope the success of this initial prototype will allow them to explore the two avenues of research equally, with the ultimate goal of building a 'pilot plant' that could operate sustainably on the Moon. 'ESA and NASA are heading back to the Moon with crewed missions, this time with a view towards staying,' says Tommaso Ghidini, Head of ESA's Structures, Mechanisms and Materials Division. 'Accordingly we're shifting our engineering approach to a systematic use of lunar resources in-situ. 'We are working with our colleagues in the Human and Robotics Exploration Directorate, European industry and academia to provide top class scientific approaches and key enabling technologies like this one, towards a sustained human presence on the Moon and maybe one day Mars.' Sanjiv Chadha has been appointed as Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Bank of Baroda, a Personnel Ministry order issued on Monday said. Chadha, who is at present Deputy Managing Director in State Bank of India, has been appointed to the new post for a period of three years, it said. Lingam Venkata Prabhakar, Executive Director in Punjab National Bank, will be MD and CEO in Canara Bank, the order said. His tenure, from the date of assumption of charge on or after February 1, will be till December 31, 2022. Atanu Kumar Das has been appointed as the MD and CEO in Bank of India for a three-year term. He is at present working as the Executive Director in the same bank. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A delegation of 40 people, including Sai Temple Trust members and Shiv Sena MP Sadashiv Lokhande, will meet Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray today. The delegation has left for Mumbai from Shirdi earlier today. A delegation of Sai Trust from Nashik and Mumbai will also be present at the meeting. Devotees in Shirdi on Sunday staged a protest against Thackeray over his decision to develop Pathri in Parbhani as a religious centre terming it the birthplace of Sai Baba. The indefinite 'bandh' was later called off. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) "While some of the better-known holidays are over, celebrating fun unofficial holidays continues," said Jenny Fouracre, Domino's spokesperson. "We want cheese lovers, deal seekers and all pizza pie fanatics to celebrate with our $5.99 large carryout pizzas." Customers can choose any two toppings as part of the deal whether it be extra cheese, pepperoni and sausage, or double green peppers. Domino's $5.99 weeklong carryout deal is applicable over the phone, in-store, at dominos.com or via Domino's mobile ordering apps. To find the nearest Domino's location, visit dominos.com. About Domino's Pizza Founded in 1960, Domino's Pizza is the largest pizza company in the world based on retail sales, with a significant business in both delivery and carryout pizza. It ranks among the world's top public restaurant brands with a global enterprise of more than 16,500 stores in over 85 markets. Domino's had global retail sales of over $13.5 billion in 2018, with nearly $6.6 billion in the U.S. and more than $6.9 billion internationally. In the third quarter of 2019, Domino's had global retail sales of over $3.2 billion, with over $1.6 billion in the U.S. and over $1.6 billion internationally. Its system is comprised of independent franchise owners who accounted for 98% of Domino's stores as of the third quarter of 2019. Emphasis on technology innovation helped Domino's achieve more than half of all global retail sales in 2018 from digital channels. 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Related Links http://www.dominos.com : Hardening his stand, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Monday rejected the Left front government's explanation over moving the Supreme Court against CAA without informing him and said it was 'unlawful'. "No explanation can satisfy me", the Governor told reporters here this evening, a day after making it clear that he would not remain a "mute spectator" as he sought a report from the Pinarayi Vijayan government. Khan's strongly-worded reaction came hours after state Chief Secretary Tom Jose met him at the Raj Bhavan and explained the grounds under which the state government had filed a suit in the Supreme Court against the citizenship law. The Chief Secretary, in the brief meeting, was also understood to have informed the Governor that the government had not willfully violated any rules, sources said. However, the Governor, who was on his way to Ayodhya, told reporters at the airport that no explanation of theirs (government) can satisfy him as what they did was "unlawful" and "not legally correct". "My view is that approval is needed. They have gone to the Supreme Court without informing me. That is an unlawful act... not legally correct. So their no explanation can satisfy me," he said. However, Khan maintained that the matter was neither a "clash of egos nor of any personal differences." In a democracy, individuals are bestowed with brief authority, he said, adding "that authority does not give the license to anybody to violate the law or the rules". Pointing out that as per legislative assembly rules, the assembly shall not discuss any matter not concerned with the state government, Khan said adding "you have violated rules and laws which you yourself framed". "Any case which affects the relation between the state and the government of India, it is duty of the Chief Minister to submit to the Governor. And order can be issued only after the submission of the case to the Governor," he added. As constitutional head of the state, Khan said he would try his best to ensure that the administration of the state and business of the government was transacted strictly in accordance with the rules laid down in the constitution. "I will not allow the constitutional machinery to collapse in the state... that cannot be allowed," he said. On CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury's statement that in independent India, the post of Governor was "superfluous", Khan shot back saying it only proved one point that the Marxist veteran has not been able to find fault with him (Khan). They only want the Governor's post to be abolished so that there is none to oversee whether the rules and constitution are being followed or not, the Governor said. "They are entitled to their views. But for that this is not the forum. That authority, only the people of India can give. Let them ask the people of India to give them their trust. Then they can do whatever they want with the Constitution. Today they are not in a position to do so," he said in a dig at the Marxist party. Though the opposition Congress has criticised the Governor for holding press meets and airing his opinion in public, BJP in the state has extended him complete support. However, giving a surprise to political circles, veteran saffron party leader and the lone BJP MLA in the assembly O Rajagopal on Monday criticised the Governor, saying he should show some "restraint". "It is not proper for the Governor and the government make public statements. Differences of opinion should be resolved in private," he told reporters here. Khan's stand had drawn the ire of the ruling front with CPI(M) mouthpiece Deshabhimani slamming him for making "political statements" and alleging he was "threatening" the state in a "tough language". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Constructive engagement with Iran,US,Arab countries to defuse tensions: Shah Mehmood ISLAMABAD/WASHINGTON: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that he had constructive engagement with his counterparts in Iran, the United States and Arab countries on efforts to defuse tensions and promote peace in the Middle East. Mr Qureshi made the statement through his official Twitter account after returning to the country early on Sunday. [I] visited Iran, Saudi Arabia, Oman, US and Qatar on Prime Minister Imran Khans directive. Had constructive engagement with counterparts on efforts to defuse tensions & promote peace in [the] ME. Pakistans message I took to all; We stand for peace and stability in the region, he said. Through another tweet, Mr Qureshi said that during his visit to the US, he got the opportunity to meet Secretary General of the UN Antonio Guterres and during the meeting, he apprised him of the situation in India-held Kashmir. [I] also met UNSG @antonioguterres in NY [New York] where I underscored the critical importance of the international communitys continued attention to the suffering of Kashmiris under Indian occupation and for this to be resolved in line with UN resolutions and the will of the Kashmiri people. Earlier, while reviewing his US visit with journalists at the Pakistans embassy in Washington, Mr Qureshi stated that Pakistan wanted US President Donald Trump to discuss the Kashmir issue with Indian leaders if he visited New Delhi next month. The foreign minister said US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross would soon visit Pakistan with a delegation of American businessmen to explore investment possibilities. I discussed this with Secretary [of State Mike] Pompeo on Friday and he assured me that Secretary Ross will soon visit Pakistan with a delegation, Mr Qureshi said. Mr Pompeos response to Pakistans request for reviewing travel advisories was also positive, he added. US travel advisories depict Pakistan as a country not safe for tourists, which hampers Islamabads efforts to promote tourism. Mr Qureshi said Pakistan wanted President Trump to raise the Kashmir issue in New Delhi because the situation in the occupied valley remained grave. Curfew in the valley entered its sixth month. Human rights violations continue. Media restrictions are unchanged. Pellet guns are still used. People are disappearing. Women are dishonoured, he said. The foreign minister noted that India arranged a guided tour of some New Delhi-based diplomats to the selected areas in held Kashmir to hide the real situation. But we want President Trump to discuss the real situation with the Indian leaders, he said. Mr Qureshi pointed out that the UN Security Council held two meetings on Kashmir in the past five months, negating Indias claim that this was an internal matter. It is an unresolved issue, which needs the attention of world leaders like President Trump, he said. I told Secretary Pompeo, please take notice of this as the situation can get worse, he added. On Iran, he said, Secretary Pompeo acknowledged Pakistans positive role. I told them clearly that Pakistan is not playing a mediatory role. Our objective is de-escalation. We want to avoid a new war in the region. He said Pakistan was against this war because it would have a negative impact on the country, region and the world. Oil prices will go up, which will have an adverse impact on Pakistans economy. Asked who would Pakistan side with if theres a war, he said: We told them we can be partner for peace, not war. What do people worry about when they worry about Donald Trump? There are three pools of dread. They talk about the two or three daily events (in any other presidency, theyd be catastrophes) that astound them, and then extrapolate. For instance, given the news that Trump thug Rudy Giulianis thugs may have sought to have the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine shadowed by a gunman, it is not beyond belief that Trump might assassinate someone if they blocked his re-election. Or worse. Second, they question each other intensely about whether he will or will not win re-election. Whichever, theres no hostility. There are no bad ideas in brainstorming. Were all in this together. They approach the third pool cautiously. What would a re-elected Trump do? Obviously, there are subcategories. We know what hell do to Americans. We wonder where hell wage war and on how many fronts. China? The famous sh hole countries of Africa? But more realistically, what would he do to Canada that would be worse than what he has already done, damaging us economically and dooming 86 Canadian citizens and permanent residents to a horrible death? This is the deep end of the dread pool and thats where Ill be drowning. Heres a better, healthier question. What could happen that would change American minds, put an end to the Trump mixed martial arts presidency and ensure that Republican voters would never allow such a thing again? Early in December, I read a minor interview in the Guardian with the American journalist Michael Lewis that went unnoticed. Lewis had written a book, The Fifth Risk, that didnt win the attention that his more alarming books had, but that was deliberate. He was interested in a risk as yet untested in the U.S.: a loss of faith in the mission of effective governance. It drilled into the more boring departments of the American government, energy, agriculture, and commerce, the ones where public servants do essential unseen work. They are scientists, statisticians, weather-mappers, risk-assessors, nutritionists, measurers and regulators, medical specialists, data collectors and data explorers. Trump is laying waste to them and anti-government, anti-facts, anti-science Republicans are thrilled. The Guardian asked Lewis, Do you think there will come a point when people demand leaders who understand the importance of scientific knowledge? And Lewis, casual as always, said this: For people to suddenly start to value what good government does, I think there will have to be something that threatens a lot of people at once. The problem with a wildfire in California, or a hurricane in Florida, is that for most people it is happening to someone else. I think a pandemic might do it, something that could affect millions of people indiscriminately and from which you could not insulate yourself, even if you were rich. He may be right. Without a draft, an American war isnt collective. But a pandemic would be an equalizer, where no one is less terrified than anyone else because everyone is stiff with fear. Death would lavishly and randomly lay waste to millions, who would already be aware that every single human act from blowing a toddlers nose to spreading butter on bread might be for the last time. In the first terrible week, Americans would discover that death is not special. It is randomized and par for the course, like mass layoffs. The U.S. would need the Centers for Disease Control to gather data and narrow the hunt for salvation, the diplomatic corps to communicate internationally, co-ordination of medical services and supplies, numbers to call, mass flight to organize, police to try to control widespread shootings by a well-ordered militia comprising millions of panic-stricken men with guns, global scientific investigation, quarantine, flight regulation, a co-ordinated quest for a safe zone, a trusted source of public information, and the sight of a bureaucracy enabling science to be a saviour. As for Trump, Lewis said he wasnt expecting the decline and fall of the American nation. It could be that. But my gut says dont bet against the country. It has this incredible capacity for self-reinvention. I think something will come along that will finally induce the requisite state of terror and it will regenerate the place. Heather Mallick is a columnist based in Toronto covering current affairs. Follow her on Twitter: is a columnist based in Toronto covering current affairs. Follow her on Twitter: @HeatherMallick Read more about: NEW YORK, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The global pet insurance market is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 20% during the period 20192025. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05840005/?utm_source=PRN The global pet insurance market is catching pace in several developed as well as developing countries. The rise in pet ownership has paved the way for several developments in the industry in recent times. Issued under the property insurance category, pet insurance is in the introductory growth stage in most countries. The rapid growth in the number of animal owners in the past decade across the globe, especially in the US, Canada, the UK, and Sweden, where dogs and cats are treated as a family members is expected to influence the market significantly. The increasing popularity of pet humanization concept is increasing the demand for pet grooming and care products. Owners, especially millennials, are willing to spend more on their animals to ensure a healthy and secure life. The US household spent more than $72 billion in 2018 on pet medical insurance care, which is 4.5% higher than in 2017. Pet food and related products earned a revenue of more than $45 billion in Europe in 2018. Hence, the increased interest of European animal owners to spend is likely to opt for animal protection cover. Europe constituted the largest market for pet health insurance in 2018, which is expected to grow during the forecast period. The accident and illness policies segment is expected to witness an incremental growth of over $8 billion by 2025. With more than four million cats as pets, Australia has one of the highest vendors' presence, which is likely to drive the country as the forerunner in the pet insurance market in APAC. The following factors are likely to contribute to the growth of the pet insurance market during the forecast period: Increased Awareness of Pet Insurance High Interest of Millennials in Pets Popularity of Pet Humanization Concept The study considers the present scenario of the pet insurance market and dynamics for the period 2019?2025. It covers a detailed overview of several market growth enablers, restraints, and trends. The report covers both the demand and supply aspects of the market. It profiles and examines leading companies and other prominent companies operating in the market. Pet Insurance Market: Segmentation The research report includes detailed segmentation by insurance type, animal type, distribution, and geography. In terms of coverage, the accident and illness segment is the most significant contributor to the global pet insurance market. This segment covers the reimbursement for accidents as well as illness, including hereditary conditions and behavioral challenges among them. While a majority of insurers offer this policy, most plans, ranging from premium to advanced, depend on the age and breed of the animal. Since the owners are willing to spend on pet welfare and prevent expensive veterinary bills, the segment is expected to increase its reach during the forecast period. The increased willingness to adopt additional coverages for a lifetime by animal owners in North America and Europe is likely to boost the segment further. Although the accident and illness plans cover a majority of the market share, the increasing premium with the rise in the age of the pet is a hindrance to the segment growth. Hence, the cost-effectiveness offered by accident only plans is a significant factor for the acceptance of this segment. Also, several owners in developing economies such as APAC are likely to opt for accident-only plans due to low awareness of other insurances. While the pet insurance concept is in the nascent stage world over, the policies are most commonly adopted for dogs and cats. The popularity of the humanization concept is increasingly affecting the adoption of dogs, thereby leading to wellness concerns. With more than 26% of UK adults adopting a dog, it is the largest market for dog insurance. The European region is expected to the largest growing market during the forecast period. Insurers are increasing their efforts to reach customers as the conversion ratio of potential customers to loyal ones could be a challenge. Moreover, low awareness of insurance adds to the burden. Effective distribution channels can be a vital enhancer in terms of reach and scope. Agencies are the most preferred medium, as most insurance sales are expected to take place during the forecast period. Since agencies have a direct relationship with animal owners, pre and post-sale services remain intact. Brokers are one of the efficient indirect distribution systems. They specifically target middle class and upper-class animal owners. The share of this segment is growing significantly due to the increased efforts put by brokers. Bancassurance is expected to be the fastest-growing segment during the forecast period due to the low distribution and maintenance costs. With the growing number of pets in the regions of North America and Europe, brokers and direct writers have relatively low penetration, which can be increased in the coming years. Agency is the most successful and prominent mode that should be executed in the same way with the capitalization of markets in growing economies of Latin and MEA countries. Market Segmentation by Insurance Type Accidents and Illness Accident Only Market Segmentation by Animal Type Dogs Cats Others Market Segmentation by Distribution Agency Bancassurance Brokers Direct Writing Insights by Geography The global pet insurance market is concentrated in North America and Europe, with a large number of vendors. With the growing awareness and perception of the benefits acquired from the policies, there is a huge possibility of animal owners getting involved with the concept of insurance in the under-penetrated and developing nations of APAC, MEA, and Latin regions. Europe was the largest market, with over 53% share of the global market in 2019. With more than 102 million cats, 85 million dogs, and around 50 million birds as pets, the region is expected to contribute significantly toward the adoption of protection cover policies. The concept of humanization and the growing preference toward the pet industry are vital drivers for the market. APAC is estimated to be the third-largest market, with the growing animal ownership, changing demographics, socio-economic conditions, and trending humanization concept driving the market growth. The market in Latin America is dominated by Brazil and Mexico, which are also one of the largest markets for pet-related products in the world. Brazil is one of the largest pet populated countries across the globe, which is filled with abundant dogs of large breeds for guarding purposes too. South Africa is the largest market in the MEA region. Middle to high-income consumers are particularly driving the premium pet insurance market in South Africa. Market Segmentation Geography APAC o China o Japan o Australia o South Korea Europe o Germany o France o UK o Sweden o Netherlands North America o US o Canada MEA o South Africa Latin America o Brazil o Mexico Key Vendor Analysis The pet insurance market is in the growing stage, and it has been penetrating European countries such as Sweden, the UK, and the US. The market consists of a high number of concentrated players, making it highly fragmented with intense competition. In countries such as the US, there are 45 major players, which are comprising more than 75% of the total market. However, there are no major players in the UAE and Saudi, where there are immense opportunities for vendors to expand their business. The US region is under-penetrated with large potential to be addressed. Since the market is dominated by major players such as Nationwide, Trupanion, ASPCA, and Petplan, competitors and new entrants can differentiate their products by low-cost policies, strengthening through partnerships with veterinary clinics and low waiting periods. Since the globalization is limited, foreign-owned agencies are lower than dominant domestic providers. This can open opportunities for emerging vendors. Mergers and acquisitions can help companies to expand the penetration level and expansion strategies, which are key to the insurance industry. Key Vendors Nationwide Trupanion Healthy Paws Pet Insurance PetPlan Agria Other Prominent Vendors Crum & Forster Hartville Pet Insurance Embrace Pet Insurance Pet Secure RSA Pet Plan (North America) Directline Anicom Holding Ipet Insurance Japan Animal Club Pet Insurance Bow Wow Meow 1300 Insurance Petsy Kogan Prime Pet Insurance Pet Secure Pets Best Bupa Sainsbury Allstate Figo ASPCA Mapfre HKT Financial Services Oriental Dot Sure Pet Sure Medipet One Plan Hollard Pet Assure Dog Sure Paw Paw Geico LV Liberty Santalucia Inov Expat Caser Protectapet New India Assurance Waggel Understand Insurance Pets Plus Us 24 Pet Watch Animal Friends Cat Sure Kido Rogz Solver 365 Pet Insurance Barmenia Direkt Gunn & Partner Helvetia Reaal Dier & Zorg Ohra Hema April Bulle Bleue ECA My French House Picc Meritz Samsung Fire & Marine Lotte Non-Life Insurance Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance United India HappyTails AIA CIMB 4 Paws Toto If FWD MSIG Key Market Insights The analysis of the pet insurance market provides sizing and growth opportunities for the forecast period 20202025. Offers market sizing and growth prospects for the forecast period 20202025. Provides comprehensive insights on the latest industry trends, forecast, and growth drivers in the market. Includes a detailed analysis of growth drivers, challenges, and investment opportunities. Delivers a complete overview of segments and the regional outlook of the market. Offers an exhaustive summary of the vendor landscape, competitive analysis, and key strategies to gain competitive advantage. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05840005/?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 T he Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have hosted a reception at Buckingham Palace to mark the UK-Africa Investment Summit. William and Kate, who greeted world leaders on behalf of the Queen for the first time, showed no sign of strain following a tumultuous fortnight for the Royal Family. The Duchess of Cambridge wore a dazzling red dress by Needle and Thread as she greeted African heads of state. The couple were joined by other royals at the event, which followed a day of meetings for the prime ministers and presidents attending the event staged in London. Royals gather at Buckingham Palace for UK-Africa summit - In pictures 1 /17 Royals gather at Buckingham Palace for UK-Africa summit - In pictures The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge welcome guest to a reception at London's Buckingham Palace PA The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Princess Royal and the Earl and Countess of Wessex join Heads of Government, Ministers and members of NGOs attending the UK-Africa Investment Summit PA The Duchess of Cambridge welcomes guest to a reception at London's Buckingham Palace. PA The Earl and Countess of Wessex arrive PA The Earl and Countess of Wessex speak with the Duchess of Cambridge PA The Duchess of Cambridge walks through to the State Room with the Master of the Household PA She stunned in a red sparkling gown PA The Earl of Wessex and the Duke of Cambridge at a reception at London's Buckingham Palace PA The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrive PA Boris Johnson also attended PA PA PA PA Also at the event were the Earl and Countess of Wessex and the Princess Royal, who mingled with the heads of state and government and their partners, Boris Johnson and UK and African business figures. Sophie, who wore a red dress by Alaia, was also celebrating her 55th birthday. In a warm and personal speech, the Duke welcomed guests from 21 African nations, telling them: My grandmother is sorry not to be here this evening but she has asked me to pass on her warmest wishes to you all. He continued: The African continent holds a very special place in my heart. It is the place my father took my brother and me shortly after our mother died. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge welcome guest to a reception at London's Buckingham Palace / PA And when deciding where best to propose to Catherine, I could think of no more fitting place than Kenya to get down on one knee. Throughout my life, I have been lucky enough to spend time in many other parts of Africa. Im also honoured to be the Patron of the Royal African Society. And as Catherine and I have said to several of you here tonight, we hope to have the chance to visit many more countries in the future and share our mutual love of your continent with our children. The summit aims to demonstrate the strength of the relationship between the UK and Africa, showcase and promote the breadth and quality of investment opportunities across Africa. It also aims to highlight the UK's commitment to supporting economic development in Africa. A group photo at the reception in Buckinham Palace / PA William and Kate were all smiles as they received a line of visiting Heads of State and their partners in the Music Room. During a group photograph with the heads of state and government in the Throne Room, Prime Minister Boris Johnson joked Say Brexit as the photographer counted them down. The royals then joined a reception with the leaders in the Green Drawing Room before joining other guests in the Picture Gallery, where the Duke of Cambridge gave his speech. Earlier in the day, Harry held private bilateral meetings with Moroccan PM Saad-Eddine El Othmani Peter Mutharika, President of Malawi and Filipe Nyusi, president of Mozambique at the request of the Government. Meanwhile William held his own meetings at Buckingham Palace with Ghanas President Nana Akufo-Adda and Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda. The Earl of Wessex and the Duke of Cambridge / PA The Duke was apparently asked about his brother during the line up and was heard to say: You saw him today? to Filipe Nyusi, Mozambique's President. And chatting to Malawis President Peter Mutharika, who also met Harry earlier today, he said: I need to go there, I will be there soon. As well as announcing his intention of visiting the African continent with his wife and three children, William also told several leaders he was keen to visit their countries. Speaking to Angolas minister for economic and social development Manuel Nunes Junior, he said: Please pass on my best wishes to President Lourenco, Im very keen to come. Whats going on in Angola is very exciting. I look forward to seeing him. The Duke is understood to have three more bilateral meetings with African leaders tomorrow. On Monday, Prince Harry gave an emotional speech on Sunday night where he said he had "no other option" but to give up his official royal duties and forge a new life with wife Meghan and their baby son in Canada. The Duke of Sussex said he was taking a leap of faith in stepping back from his life as a member of the royal family but added there really was no other option, during a speech at a private dinner for his charity Sentebale on Sunday evening. He added: Our hope was to continue serving the Queen, the Commonwealth and my military associations, but without public funding. Unfortunately that wasnt possible. Earlier, Prince Harry carried out what is likely to be one of his few remaining official engagements when he met some of the leaders for audiences - one-to-one meetings. ALBANY, N.Y. Passenger traffic at Albany International Airport continued a six-year pattern of growth during 2019. Enplanements during 2019 totaled 1,518,969, an increase of 3.6 percent over 2018 during which 1,466,706 passengers boarded at Albany, according to officials. Business and leisure travelers in the Greater Capital Region continue to benefit from the Airport Authoritys successful effort to attract new airlines that have provided new non-stop destinations for our travelers, Rev. Kenneth Doyle, Chairman of the Albany County Airport Authority said in a news release. We believe that our existing carriers and new airlines will continue to view upstate New York as an opportunity for growth in the years to come, Doyle added. Officials noted that a good portion of the increase in enplanements was the result of two ultra low-fare carriers launching service at Albany International Airport. Allegiant Airlines and Frontier Airlines together accounted for over 136,000 passengers during 2019. More than 56-million passengers have traveled through the Albany International Airport since the new terminal opened in 1998. Florida continues to be the most popular destination among Albany travelers with more than one out of four passengers traveling to airports in Ft. Lauderdale, Ft. Myers, Orlando, and Tampa. The Airport Authority recently embarked on a $60 million program to upgrade the terminal with new terrazzo floors and escalators, improved restrooms, new way-finding signage, LED lighting, modern wall coverings, and upgraded airline hold rooms. In addition, the Authority, with the assistance of a $22 million grant from Gov. Andrew Cuomo, is nearing completion of a new 1,000 space parking garage. Four new concessions including The Albany Empire, Chick-fil-A, Burger King, and Wolfgang Puck Pizza have been added to improve the customer experience. A fifth new concession, The Beer Union, is now under construction on Concourse-B. Newly-elected BJP chief JP Nadda and his predecessor Amit Shah, the union home minister, will hold rallies in Uttar Pradesh this week, in what is being seen by political observers as an indication of the partys continued focus on the most populous state. While Shah will hold a rally in Lucknows Ram Katha Park on Tuesday to drum up support for the new citizenship law, Nadda will be in Agra on Thursday for identical purposes. Defence minister Rajnath Singh and union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari, both former BJP chiefs, are also scheduled to hold rallies in UP. Naddas term will last until 2022 when UP goes to the polls. His political rally in Agra would reveal his blueprint for UP as well as the country. Under Shah, the BJP expanded splendidly across the country. Now, Nadda faces the tough task of maintaining the good work and building on it. If BJP has to grow, Nadda would need help from UP, a party leader added. He is easy, accessible and gets work done. Thats his biggest strength. Also, he works silently and his RSS association and his proximity to Prime Minister Narendra Modi made him an obvious choice, said a senior BJP leader from UP. UP has played a crucial role in the elevation of both Shah and Nadda. With Shah as the partys UP in-charge, BJP won 71 out of 80 Lok Sabha seats from UP in 2014 Lok Sabha polls. In 2019 Lok Sabha polls, when Nadda was the state in-charge, the BJP defied the caste chemistry of the SP-BSP to post, along with its ally Apna Dal, a hugely impressive 64 Lok Sabha seats, said Irshad Ilmi, a veteran journalist. Amid protests over citizenship law, Nadda faces the task of steering the party through the controversy, party leaders said. UP indeed played a huge role in Naddas rise to the top post and as party chief he would definitely have a job in hand of countering the common perception that minorities have on the Citizenship Law and NRC. How Nadda tackles this situation remains to be seen, said Athar Hussain of the Centre for Objective Research and Development. Nadda was also expected to have people from UP in his new team, said party functionaries who burst crackers to celebrate his elevation to the top BJP post. Nadda is a Brahmin and his appointment as UP in-charge had also helped assuage Brahmins and OBCs, both of whom were apprehensive after the introduction of the SC/ST Act that allowed for police arrest in case of complaint by dalits. As party chief, Amit Shah had regularly visited UP and asked BJP leaders against speaking in different voices and focused on proper coordination between the party and the government, a line that BJP leaders expect Nadda to continue with. In many ways, Nadda is expected to continue with Shahs policies which led to the BJPs rise across the country. But its UP, which played a great role in shaping BJPs expansion, party leaders said. Like Shah, Nadda too undertook tours to ensure organisational preparedness and visiting majority of the 80 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state. He also micromanaged tours and visits of party leaders, overseeing the social media team and focusing on campaign targeted at boosting the morale of the cadre, many of whom had their doubts about BJPs ability to defeat the formidable caste chemistry of SP-BSP in 2019 LS polls. On paper, the SP-BSP caste combination was formidable. There is no way one could not be worried at the coming together of parties which commanded the loyalty of OBC and Dalit votes. I remember Nadda ji visited Unnao where he patiently sat with cadres and told them to go to the people with the line that the coming together of old political enemies indicated they feared BJP. He also coined the term maha-milawat (unholy alliance). The BJP also kept asking Mayawati if she had forgiven the SP for the Lucknows guesthouse incident when SP cadres had targeted her, a party leader explained. In Kannauj, where BSP chief Mayawati had gone to campaign for SP chief Akhilesh Yadavs wife Dimple, who had publicly bent down to touch the feet of Mayawati, Naddaji asked the cadre to play up the inner contradictions of the alliance and the strategy worked, the party leader said. UP has 19 per cent Muslim voters and in 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls as well as 2017 UP polls, the party made impressive gains even in Muslim dominated regions like Deoband in western UP. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON SUE RYDER is to shut its Nettlebed hospice at the end of March. The charity will not now create a new bedded facility elsewhere but instead will continue to offer its hospice at home, which it says has become increasingly popular. It is expected to sell Joyce Grove, where it has been caring for patients since 1979, for redevelopment and the charitys regular sales there will no longer take place. Staff were told of the closure plans on Monday shortly before the news was broken exclusively on the Henley Standards website. Sue Ryder said the decision was driven by its finances and the success of its home care service, which was launched in April 2018 and led to a reduction in the number of inpatient beds at Nettlebed from 12 to six a year later. In a statement, the charity said: It costs Sue Ryder 3.1 million a year to deliver a range of palliative care services across South Oxfordshire. The charity receives just over a quarter of that cost in the form of statutory funding and works to source the remaining 2.3 million from donations and sales via its national retail operation. As is the case for all hospice providers in the UK, it is becoming increasingly difficult to deliver services through predominantly charitable funds and Sue Ryder has a responsibility to ensure that its limited resources are distributed in the most effective way for the most number of patients. The original decision to relocate was made as a result of the high costs of running a listed building, paired with the challenges of maintaining a care environment in a building which was not built to be a healthcare facility. During the charitys search for an alternative location for its inpatient unit, some clear patient trends became apparent. The statement said that Sue Ryder would continue providing palliative care at homes in the district through its outpatient hub, which offers a phone line to nurses who can provide specialist advice or rapid response care 24 hours a day. It said the service had become increasingly popular, serving 539 patients to date, while inpatient referrals had dropped sharply. It was also responding to national trends as surveys showed most people would now prefer to die at home. The statement said: The numbers of patients coming into the inpatient unit has continued to decrease since April 2019, with an average of four people being cared for at any one time. After careful investigation with referral partners, the charity feels assured that the decline in patient numbers is due to a decrease in demand. The same numbers of staff are needed for an inpatient unit with eight beds as are needed for an inpatient unit with four beds so the inpatient unit has also become financially unviable. The charity said it would liaise with other organisations which provide inpatient care so that patients who wanted a hospice bed could still access one. If none was available, they would be offered one of the 15 beds at Sue Ryders Duchess of Kent hospice in Reading. The statement said: Sue Ryder knows that inpatient care in a hospice setting remains the right choice for some patients. It added: It remains reliant on the generous fundraising support and from the local community. There are currently two patients in the hospice and no new patients will be accepted from March 8. Sue Ryder says patients wanting a bed will first be referred to the Sobell House hospice in Oxford. It cannot guarantee a bed at its Reading hospice because of fluctuations in demand. It is still working to identify a new site for its outpatient hub, which will also provide day services such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy, family support and befriending. The Oxfordshire NHS clinical commissioning group, which is responsible for planning health services across the county, said it supported the charitys decision. Chief executive Louise Patten said: Sue Ryders inpatient unit at Nettlebed has provided a hugely valuable service for many patients over the years and we are grateful to all the staff for their dedicated work. We will be sorry to see it close but understand it is the right decision for a number of reasons. People are increasingly choosing to receive hospice care at and, as a charity, Sue Ryder must ensure its resources support as many patients as possible in a sustainable way. Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire clinical commissioning groups have been working with Sue Ryder and other healthcare colleagues to ensure patients continue receiving the right care for their needs. Often this takes the form of hospice at home services but we recognise that some families may prefer hospice beds or there may be a clinical need in the last stages of illness. We will continue making inpatient beds available at alternative locations for people in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. In February 2018, Sue Ryder confirmed the Nettlebed hospice was to likely to shut, blaming the cost of maintaining a Grade II listed building and the complexity of working from premises not built for the purpose. It said the house, which was erected by the Fleming banking dynasty in 1908 and has 27 acres of grounds, was tough for patients and their families to reach in bad weather because of its rural location. Six months later, the charitys national hospices director Hollie Spiers promised it would move to a new, single site with no fewer than eight beds and this wouldnt happen until a suitable venue became available. However, bed occupancy at the time was about 70 per cent. In 2014, the hospice was due to move into a purpose-built 12-bed centre on the second floor of Townlands Memorial Hospital in Henley as part of a larger health campus. However, Sue Ryder backed out of the agreement with the NHS because it would have needed more space elsewhere and didnt want to be spread across multiple sites. Henley town councillor Ian Reissmann, chairman of the Townlands Steering Group, criticised the charity for announcing the closure without consulting the group or the town council. In a joint statement with Mayor Ken Arlett and town, district and county councillor Stefan Gawrysiak, he said: The hospice at Nettlebed is a much-loved and valuable facility and service. We were disappointed at the news that closure was likely but partly reassured when we were told that a home-based service could not replace Joyce Grove and a bedded service would be retained in South Oxfordshire. We were also reassured that Sue Ryder promised to discuss the plans with the community as these developed. Its disappointing that they have announced this decision before consulting further. The community deserves clear answers about the way patients and families who need this service will be provided for after March. We will be pressing Sue Ryder and the clinical commissioning group to explain this clearly. It will not be fair to ask patients and families to travel long distances at such a difficult time. Moreover, many of those affected are often reliant on public transport. Dr Philip Unwin, senior partner at the Hart Surgery in Henley, said alternative services in the area were already at capacity so a smaller bedded facility was still needed. He said the nearest alternatives in Reading or at Sobell House in Oxford were too far away for families to visit regularly. He said: The hospice at Nettlebed has been an invaluable resource to us over the years and its very, very sad that its closing. I get why theyre doing it as its very expensive to run for relatively few patients but there will always be a demand for inpatient palliative care. They must find somewhere local and convenient for the people of Henley where those needing inpatient care can be looked after by true experts. Im not sure theres space anywhere else its bulging at the seams more or less everywhere so there should be a small, bespoke bedded set-up. Some people just dont have anyone else to look after them and there has to be somewhere they can go. Barbara Lewis, vice-chairwoman of Nettlebed Parish Council and a member of Townlands Steering Group, said she and her colleagues would work with Sue Ryder to ensure the redevelopment didnt adversely affect the community. They would also ask Oxfordshire County Council, the highways authority, to designate unofficial walking routes across the site as footpaths so that families could still visit trees planted in memory of loved ones. Cllr Lewis said: Weve known this was on the cards for some time and obviously theres a great deal of sadness in the village at the news. Many people living in Nettlebed and slightly further afield were volunteers. Most of us are very aware of the great work the hospice does and, as a parish council, weve worked closely with Sue Ryder to help balance its fundraising needs with reducing the traffic disruption which the sales sometimes cause. People were very concerned about the proposed closure and I did ask whether they might build a purpose-built facility in the grounds but theyve made their decision and dont think they need that number of beds now. There are arguments both ways as to whether or not people are happy with home care but Sue Ryder has promised that nobody will be left high and dry if they need a bed. Whoever the site is sold to, our concern is that sufficient infrastructure is provided to sustain such a large development and the increased number of people coming into our village. Henley MP John Howell said: Ive visited the at-home service, which has been running for the past two years, and think it works very well and is much appreciated. I just hope that the move away from Nettlebed doesnt reduce the amount of donations that Sue Ryder is able to raise because it requires a considerable amount and people should continue to give generously. Its a sad decision for them to make but Im sure they have their patients best interests at heart. The hospice costs an enormous amount to run and we have to assume theyve done their figures and concluded this is the best way forward. There will be some people who still wish to go into a hospice and well just have to see how the alternative provision works out. I would also pay tribute to the staff, who do a fantastic job, and hope they are treated fairly and integrated into any future arrangements. What do you think? Write to: Letters, Henley Standard, Caxton House, 1 Station Road, Henley or email letters@henleystandard.co.uk Belgrade-Pristina direct flights may soon be restored Letter of intention with Lufthansa, customs duties issue (ANSAmed) - BELGRADE, JANUARY 20 - A delegation from the Serbian economy ministry on Monday signed a letter of intention for the resumption of direct flights between Belgrade and Pristina in Berlin with the German flag carrier Lufthansa. As the Serbian ministry reported in a statement, the signing marked an initial symbolic step towards the resumption of a direct flight between the Serbian capital and Pristina, which Belgrade continues to consider the capital of its southern province, Kosovo. For the implementation of the letter of intention and the actual resumption of the flight, the statement from the Serbian economy ministry said, it is necessary that Pristina remove the customs duties raised by 100% over a year ago on goods from Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, that a commitment is made to comply with obligations taken during negotiations, and that EU-facilitated dialogue resume with Belgrade. Serbia will inform the UN mission in Kosovo, UNMIK, of the intention to restore the flight to Pristina as well as the NATO military mission for Kosovo on the basis of Resolution 1244 of the UN Security Council. Lufthansa has informed the Pristina authorities of the signing of the letter of intention, which happened at the US embassy in Berlin in the presence of Ambassador Richard Grenell and the National Security Advisor for President Donald Trump, Robert O'Brien. Grenell was the US's special envoy for dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina. Positive reactions on the possibility of resumption of the flights between Belgrade and Pristina came both from Serbian leaders and their Kosovo counterparts. In the eyes of Kosovo president Hashim Thaci, it was an ''important step in the process towards normalization'' of relations with Belgrade. Serbian Transport and Infrastructure Minister Zorana Mihajlovic said that the resumption of the direct flight could only have positive effects. Serbia does not recognise the independence proclaimed by Kosovo on February 17, 2008, and air and rail connections have been interrupted since the conflict at the end of the 1990s. (ANSAmed). Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 14:54:00|Editor: Wang Yamei Video Player Close JAKARTA, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Rescuers recovered nine bodies and were searching another missing person after a suspension bridge collapsed in Indonesia's western Bengkulu province on Sunday, Head of the Search and Rescue Office of the province Abdul Malik said on Monday. Torrential rains had triggered flash floods that hit the bridge in the province's district of Kaur at 3:00 p.m. Jakarta time, the National Disaster Management Agency has said. A total of 17 people survived the accident and suffered injuries, according to spokesman for the province's Disaster Management Agency Heru. "We have recovered nine victims of the bridge collapse. All of them have been dead. And our target now is to find one person who is still missing," Abdul told Xinhua. The rescuers were combing the downstream area of the river to find the missing person, involving over 100 rescuers from his office, soldiers, policemen and personnel of the Disaster Management Agency as well as volunteers. "The search would cover about a 27-km long area, starting from the bridge, and it will end to the estuary of the river," said Malik. Although the rescuers used rubber and rigid boats, the strong current of the river hampered the search mission, he said. "The current remains strong after days of heavy downpours. That is an obstacle for us now," said Abdul. Torrential rains were blamed for the natural disaster, according to Agus Wibowo, spokesman of the National Disaster Management Agency. The Indonesian Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency has warned of possible excessive downpours in several parts of the vast-archipelagic country in January and February. New Delhi, Jan 20 : With the Archery Association of India (AAI) conducting elections on January 20 and electing new office-bearers, Indian Olympic Association President Narinder Batra has written to the World Archery President Ugur Erdener and requested him to lift the ban on AAI so that the association can start preparing for the Tokyo Olympics. In his mail to the World Archery President, Batra has written: "I am enclosing the election results of AAI Elections held in Delhi on 20th January, 2020 in the presence of WA Observer. I would personally like to request for lifting of suspension on AAI so that work can start properly for preparations for Tokyo 2020." Union Minister Arjun Munda was on Saturday elected President of the AAI after he beat B.V.P. Rao to the post. Munda, who enjoys the support of former president V.K. Malhotra, beat his rival Rao 34-18. Munda's entire panel won in the much-delayed elections and that too by comfortable margins. 26 out of 31 state associations cast their votes with Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and Jammu and Kashmir being excluded. Captain Abhimanyu Sindhu was elected senior Vice-President while Pramod Chandurkar became the Secretary General, beating Maha Singh 31-21. Rajendar Singh Tomar was elected Treasurer, beating Samikhya Nanda Das 34-18. In a statement, Munda said that reversing the AAI's suspension by World Archery will be one of the top priorities of the association. "Lifting ban of the World Archery, restoring the recognition status of the association with the Ministry of Sports, setting up more archery academies, streamlining the activities of the association, generating funds through sponsorships etc are in our priority list," his statement read. "Securing full quota places in women category for Tokyo Olympics, preparing Indian team for Olympics, international events and providing all necessary facilities are our priorities." Namita Bajpai By Express News Service LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) arrested an agent of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Mohammad Rashid, in a joint operation with Military Intelligence unit, in Varanasi, PM Modis parliamentary constituency, on Monday. Rashid (23) had been passing on important information, pictures and videos of military and CRPF installations to his handlers across the border in Pakistan since March 2019. Rashid was brought to Lucknow by the ATS team for interrogation. Even the military intelligence team is believed to have joined the ATS in the interrogation of the arrested ISI agent. The suspect has been booked under Section 123 (concealing with intent to facilitate design to wage war) of Indian Penal Code. As per the sources, the military intelligence unit developed the input through months of discreet surveillance and analysis with support from other central agencies. Finally, a joint team of military intelligence and UP ATS was formed to identify the suspect on the ground and neutralise him. After weeks of reconnaissance, physical surveillance, it emerged that Mohammad Rashid had been passing on information to Pakistan. Consequently, Rashid was called for the initial round of questioning on January 16, 2020. His mobile phone was also checked to corroborate his involvement with ISI. After getting concrete indications of his involvement in espionage net, Rashid was zeroed in on Monday. As per sources, the suspected ISI agent had shared photos and videos of several places including Air Force Selection Board, Kashi Vishwanath temple, Gyanvapi, Sankat Mochan temple, Cantt railway station, Dashashwamedh Ghat (in Varanasi), Agra Fort, Naini Bridge and Ardh Kumbh Mela (in Prayagraj/ Allahabad, UP), CRPF camps (Chandauli and Amethi), Gorakhpur railway station, Renukoot Thermal Power Plant (Sonbhadra), India Gate in Delhi, Ajmer Sharif (Rajasthan), Nagpur railway station (Maharashtra) and others. The sources also claimed that Rashid had sent video and photos of recent protests at Banaras Hindu University (BHU) and anti- CAA/ NRC protests in Lucknow. The last known communication of Rashid with his handlers was on January 13, 2020. As per the details of his remuneration from ISI, Rashid got a T-shirt in Pakistan's nation colours (Green & White) in May 2019 and a payment of Rs 5,000 in July 2019. The sources claimed that Rashid was also asked by the ISI bosses to set up a shop near the Army installation in Jodhpur to monitor their movements during October-November 2019. He was assured a sum of Rs 1,00,000 and monthly rental of Rs 10,000-15,000 for the purpose. As per the military intelligence sources, Rashid belonged to Chaurhat under Mughalsarai police station area in Chanduali district. Son of one Idris Ahmad, Rashid used to live in Chhittupur near BHU in Varanasi and had been engaged in poster and banner sticking. As per the highly placed military intelligence sources, Rashid had purportedly visited his maternal aunt based in Karachi in 2018. In Karachi, Rashid came in contact with ISI through whatsapp and a mobile phone was recovered from him. As per the local sources, Rashid had been staying with his maternal grandfather (Nana) and uncle (Mama) in Chandauli, in Varanasi division due to the troubled marriage of his parents father Idris Ahmad and mother Shehzadi Begum. Rashid, a class VIII pass out, had worked at a tailoring shop and medical store in Varanasi before taking up the task of fixing flexi signboards to earn his livelihood. Rashid used to visit his relatives in Orangi Town, one of the largest slum in the world, in Karchi during 2017, 2018 and 2019, said the sources. During one of his visits, he was introduced to two ISI personnel -- Ashim and Amad by his cousin. The ISI personnel entrusted him to provide Indian numbers for their use on WhatsApp and photos/videos/information on movement and deployment of Army units. He was also tasked to send information about sensitive places and protests/rallies in India. They promised him money and assured help him marry his cousin whom Rashid was in love with in Karachi. On return, Rashid provided the One Time Password (OTP) of two his mobile numbers to ISI handlers. They, subsequently, created two WhatsApp accounts on Indian numbers, which were later used by Pakistani agencies to trap Indian defence personnel. However, talking to media persons, Rashids mother said that the family had no inkling about his anti-national activities. If he is found guilty of working against the antion, he should be punished, she said. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has congratulated the Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal and Nigerians on the affirmation of his election as the Governor of Sokoto state. Recall that earlier in the day, the Supreme Court affirmed Aminu Tambuwal of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as the winner of the March 2019 governorship election in Sokoto State. Also Read: Supreme Court Upholds Tambuwals Election As Sokoto Governor The Peoples Democratic Party who went on a protest across the country Monday over the Supreme Courts sacking of Emeka Ihedioha in Imo State, congratulated Nigerians on the ruling. See the post below: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex has been with Prince Harry for quite some time now. Although they have only been officially married since 2018, Harry admits that he knew immediately upon meeting Meghan that she was the person with whom he wanted to spend the rest of his life. The two of them are obviously in love, and they are often seen attending royal events and engagements looking extremely happy and devoted to their connections with members of the public. However, the sad reality is that ever since Meghan and Harry announced that they were in a serious relationship, she has been relentlessly criticized by both the media as well as royal fans. People even go so far as to accuse Meghan of not taking her status as the Duchess of Sussex as seriously as she could, and she has been called an opportunist on more than one occasion. Now that Meghan and Harry have announced that they are officially stepping back from royal duties, they are making headlines more than ever before. Many people are wondering if Harry would have made the same decision had it not been for Meghan, which leads us to one very important question does Meghan Duchess of Sussex really lack self-awareness? Is Meghan really more celebrity than royal? Meghan, Duchess of Sussex | DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images As we all know, Meghan was a successful actress long before she and Harry ever met. After getting her big break on the legal drama, Suits, Meghan was able to get a taste of what celebrity life was really like, and she appeared to enjoy the glitz and glamour that came along with it. After marrying into the royal family, however, Meghan seemed to come to the realization that royal life was the complete opposite of what she was used to. According to Fox News, she admitted that she was finding life in the royal family to be somewhat unfair, something that she never said when she was an actress. Meghan is under constant criticism No matter what she does, it seems that Meghan just cant catch a break. She is constantly being criticized in the media, facing backlash from high-profile people such as Piers Morgan. The Good Morning Britain presenter has a negative opinion on just about everything that Meghan says or does, and unfortunately, a lot of others have followed suit. She has been under pressure for her parenting skills, and BuzzFeed News even gave Meghan a hard time for her stint as a guest editor for British Vogue. Meghan has been dealing with so much stress since becoming the wife of Prince Harry, and it doesnt look like its about to let up any time soon. Does the Duchess of Sussex really lack self-awareness? Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. Thats it, thats the tweet pic.twitter.com/IBMcbcqBq5 (@meghmarkle) January 16, 2020 So, the huge question on everyones mind is whether or not Meghan lacks self-awareness. According to Daily Mail, social media users and celebrities seem to think that she does. Some say that she is more concerned with increasing her own popularity than she is with doing what is right for the British Monarchy, and others feel that she cant let go of her former celebrity status. Meghan has been adamant for years about how she supports a force for change In some ways, her royal work definitely reflects this, such as when she wrote empowering messages on bananas for sex workers. On the flip side, International Business Times reports that Meghan definitely lacks self-awareness and the fact that she is more celebrity than royal is definitely evidence of this. At this time, it doesnt appear as if Meghan isnt staying true to what she believes in. She still advocates for womens rights and has not forgotten about the causes that are important to her. Although she has been struggling a bit in her new role as the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan has remained as self-aware as she always has been. Key Players Squabble Over Trump's Impeachment Trial By Ken Bredemeier January 19, 2020 Key players in the impeachment trial of U.S. President Donald Trump and his defense argued sharply Sunday whether his efforts to get Ukraine to launch investigations to benefit him politically were impeachable offenses that warranted his removal from office. Trump's Senate trial formally opened last week and is set to hear opening arguments on Tuesday. But combatants in the political and legal fight over Trump's fate waged verbal battles across the airwaves on Sunday morning news talk shows in the U.S. that offered a glimpse of the Senate drama the American public will witness in the days ahead. Criminal defense lawyer Alan Dershowitz, one of the team of lawyers defending Trump, told CNN's "State of the Union" show that he will tell the 100 members of the Senate, who are acting as jurors deciding Trump's fate, that "even if the facts as presented are true, it would not rise to the level of impeachment" to convict Trump and oust him from office. The lawmakers will be deciding whether Trump committed "high crimes and misdemeanors," the standard the U.S. Constitution set for removing a president from office. As the trial nears, the Republican-majority Senate remains highly unlikely to convict Trump, a Republican, since a two-thirds vote against Trump would be necessary to oust him from the White House. Trump last July asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to launch an investigation of one of his top 2020 Democratic challengers, former Vice President Joe Biden, his son Hunter Biden's work for a Ukrainian natural gas company, and a debunked conspiracy theory that Ukraine sought to undermine Trump's 2016 campaign. The phone call between the two leaders happened at the same time Trump was temporarily blocking release of $391 million in military aid Kyiv wanted to help fight pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. Dershowitz argued that Trump's actions did not amount to criminal conduct. He said that "if my argument prevails" and the Senate decides no impeachable offenses occurred, "There's no need for witnesses" at Trump's Senate trial and "the Senate should vote to acquit [Trump] or dismiss" the case against him. Congressman Adam Schiff, the leader of seven House of Representative managers prosecuting the case against Trump, told ABC News' "This Week" show, "The facts aren't seriously contested, that the president withheld hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid to an ally at war with Russia, withheld a White House meeting that the president of Ukraine desperately sought to establish with his country and with his adversary the support of the United States in order to coerce Ukraine to helping him cheat in the next election." Schiff added, "They really can't contest those facts. So the only thing really new about the president's defense is that they're now arguing that because they can't contest the facts that the president cannot be impeached for abusing the power of his office." On Saturday, both the House lawmakers pushing for Trump's conviction, and Trump's defenders, filed legal arguments in the case. The House managers said it was clear that the "evidence overwhelmingly establishes" that Trump is guilty of both charges in the two articles of impeachment he is facing. Meanwhile, Trump's legal team called the impeachment effort against him "a dangerous attack on the right of the American people to freely choose their president.'' His lawyers called the impeachment effort "a brazen and unlawful attempt to overturn the results of the 2016 election and interfere with the 2020 election, now just months away." But Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee that heard weeks of testimony about Trump and his aides' attempts to pressure Ukraine for the Biden investigations, said the White House legal stance is "surprising in that It doesn't really offer much new beyond the failed arguments we heard in the House." "So the only thing really new about the president's defense is that they're now arguing that because they can't contest the facts that the president cannot be impeached for abusing the power of his office," Schiff said. "That's the argument I suppose you have to make if the facts are so dead set against you. You have to rely on an argument that even if he abused his office in this horrendous way that it's not impeachable. You had to go so far out of the mainstream to find someone to make that argument you had to leave the realm of constitutional law scholars and go to criminal defense lawyers." The Senate has yet to decide whether it will hear witnesses in the impeachment trial, with new testimony opposed by Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. Democrats want to subpoena former national security adviser John Bolton, acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and others to testify about their knowledge of Trump's Ukraine actions. Trump eventually released the Ukraine military aid in September after a 55-day delay without Zelenskiy launching the Biden investigations, which Republicans say is proof that Trump did not engage in a reciprocal quid pro quo deal the military aid in exchange for the investigations to help him politically. "We'll be fighting for a fair trial," Schiff said. "That is really the foundation on which this all rests. If the Senate decides, if Senator McConnell prevails and there are no witnesses, it will be the first impeachment trial in history that goes to conclusion without witnesses." He said, "We don't know what witnesses will be allowed or even if we'll be allowed witnesses. The threshold issue here is, will there be a fair trial? Will the senators allow the House to call witnesses, to introduce documents. That is the foundational issue on which everything else rests. There is one thing the public is overwhelmingly in support of and that is a fair trial." One of Trump's staunchest Senate defenders, Sen. Lindsey Graham, on the "Fox News Sunday" show, called the impeachment effort "a partisan railroad job. It's the first impeachment in history where there's no allegation of a crime by the president." He said if Democrats demand to hear testimony from Bolton, Mulvaney and others, Trump will seek to invoke executive privilege against their testimony to protect the sanctity of private White House conversations. "Clearly to me any president would ask for executive privilege regarding these witnesses," Graham said, adding that if they were that important to the House case against Trump, Democrats should have sought their testimony during the House investigation. Democrats did seek more testimony from White House aides, but Trump ordered them to not cooperate with the impeachment investigation; several aides complied with Trump's edict while others did not. Democrats dropped their efforts to compel some testimony out of a fear that it would result in a lengthy legal battle that could have been tied up in U.S. for months. Trump is spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago retreat along the Atlantic Ocean in Florida. Late Saturday, he resumed his almost daily attacks on the Democrats' impeachment campaign against him, saying on Twitter, "What a disgrace this Impeachment Scam is for our great Country!" But Graham predicted that Trump would be exonerated ahead of the president's annual State of the Union address set for Feb. 4. "His mood is to go to the State of the Union with this behind him and talk about what he wants to do for the next, rest of 2020 and what he wants to do for the next four years," Graham said on Fox. "He is very much comfortable with the idea that this is going to turn out well for him." Trump's Senate impeachment trial is only the third such event in the nearly 2 1/2 centuries of U.S. history. Two other presidents Andrew Johnson in the mid-19th century and Bill Clinton two decades ago were impeached by the House but acquitted in Senate trials and remained in office. A fourth U.S. president, Richard Nixon in the mid-1970s, faced almost certain impeachment in the Watergate political scandal, but resigned before the House acted. Credit: University of Liverpool A rapid test to diagnose severe illnesses such as sepsis and meningitis, using personalized gene signatures, is being developed by an international team of scientists. The new approach could speed up diagnosis times for many serious conditions including pneumonia, tuberculosis, sepsis, meningitis, and inflammatory and immune diseases, to under two hours. The University of Liverpool is part of the landmark project, which is being led by Imperial College London and has been awarded a major EU grant worth 22.5m over five years, to develop the test and bring it to hospitals across Europe. The project, named DIAMONDS (Diagnosis and Management of Febrile Illness using RNA Personalised Molecular Signature Diagnosis), involves teams in Australia, Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Slovenia, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Gambia, Australia, Nepal and the UK. The current stepwise process of diagnosing infectious and inflammatory diseases involves doing many different blood tests and scans which can be slow and inefficient, meaning that there may be significant delays before the right treatment is given. The researchers believe diagnosis can be made accurately and rapidly on the first blood sample taken when a patient attends a hospital or health center, by identifying the pattern of genes switched on in each patient's blood. The international group will build a "library of gene signatures" where the signatures of all common infectious and inflammatory diseases will be stored and made publicly available. By comparing the pattern of genes in each patient's blood sample with the signature of all diseases in the "gene signature library," the diagnosis in each individual can be made rapidly. The team will spend the next two years building the library of gene signatures covering all common conditions. In parallel to the search for diagnostic signatures, engineering and industry members of the team will develop novel device prototypes that can quickly and accurately determine gene expression in a blood samplethis is done by measuring the number of RNA molecules each gene is making. They will turn this into a rapid test platform that can measure the small number of genes needed to diagnose most common infectious and inflammatory diseases. In the final stage they will conduct a trial of the new diagnostic approach compared to current diagnosis. The scientists have called this new approach Personalised Molecular Signature Diagnosis (PMSD) and they aim to conduct the first pilot trials in UK and European hospitals in 2023 and 2024. The University of Liverpool has been a partner in the previous EU funded consortia, EUCLIDS and PERFORM, which have successfully identified gene patterns for several conditions such as Kawasaki disease, bacterial and viral infections. Professor of Paediatric Infection Enitan Carrol, from the University's Institute of Infection and Global Health and Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust, is leading the Liverpool site for the study. She said "It is very exciting to be part of this ongoing program of research, spanning nearly a decade in the EU-funded EUCLIDS and PERFORM studies. "Gene signature libraries, if validated in prospective studies, could be a game changer in the management of febrile children. It could provide earlier specific management for inflammatory diseases, and support targeted antimicrobial therapy, thus helping to combat antimicrobial resistance. "The University of Liverpool will contribute to clinical recruitment, product development and evaluation, cost-effectiveness analysis and pilot demonstration of the prototype product." Project lead, Professor Michael Levin, from Imperial College London, said: "We're very confident that identifying the pattern of genes switched on in each patient will enable us to make an accurate diagnosis rapidly, as every disease has its own unique signature. "The ambition is to develop a rapid test that will make the correct diagnosis based on the gene signature on the first blood sample taken when a patient arrives in hospital, and with the result within 1-2 hours. In the future the whole basis of medical diagnosis could be based on molecular signatures." The DIAMONDS project will recruit thousands of patients from across Europe with conditions caused by infections, and inflammation. It is being funded by the EU's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Actions. Explore further Researchers identify potential diagnostic test for Kawasaki disease London: Prominent Labor MP Ed Husic says Prince Harry and Meghan's decision to quit the "antiquated" royal family shows that Australia should also "call time" on the monarchy. The push for an Australian republic has largely stalled since its defeat in the 1999 referendum with even Malcolm Turnbull, who headed the failed campaign for change, urging any renewed push to begin only after Queen Elizabeth's reign ended. Australia should "call time" on the monarchy, says Labor MP Ed Husic. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Failed Labor Leader Bill Shorten pledged a two-stage referendum if he won government but his unexpected loss appeared to have set back the referendum cause even further, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison an avowed monarchist. But Mr Husic told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age Prince Harry and Meghan's decision to quit palace life dubbed "Megxit" for a "progressive new role" showed Australia that it too could be better off by cutting the cord. The Vishva Hindu Parishad on Monday said seers will travel to villages to dispel the "confusion" being created over the Citizenship Amendment Act. The decision was taken at a meeting here of the VHP "margdarshak mandal". Mandal member Akhileshwaranand told reporters that the "sadhus" will go from village to village and tell people, especially Muslims, that the new law does not take away anyone's citizenship. He said the seers also expressed happiness over the abrogation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and thanked the Union government for "removing hurdles" in the way of national unity. On the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, Akhileshwaranand said the VHP will declare a date after the Centre sets up the trust for that. In a landmark judgment on November 9 last year, the Supreme Court had directed the Centre to set up a trust in three months to formulate a scheme for the construction of a Ram temple at the site where the Babri mosque was demolished. He said the issue of population explosion was also discussed during the meeting. We will support any proposal of the Union government to check population explosion and spread awareness regarding this, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A court in Cambodias capital Phnom Penh on Monday postponed its ruling on a request by two former RFA reporters to drop a reinvestigation into espionage charges against them, saying it will deliver its decision on Jan. 28. Yeang Sothearin and Uon Chhinwho had worked as an editor, reporter and news anchor, and a photographer and videographer for RFAs Khmer Service, respectivelywere taken into custody in November 2017 and charged with illegally collecting information for a foreign source after RFA closed its bureau in the capital in September that year. On Dec. 30, the court rejected an appeal by the two reporters to halt a reinvestigation into separate charges of producing pornography, allowing a new investigation into those charges to proceed. Speaking to reporters following Monday's hearing, Yeang Sothearin said that court investigators have already had "lots of time to work on our cases," adding, "I feel like they are treating us as political hostages." "I expect the Appeals Court judges to now fully consider the arguments of our defense lawyer and provide justice for us," he said. Also speaking following the hearing, Uuon Chhin said that if their case is delayed much longer, "there will be no end to our mistreatment and harassment." "Now we can neither travel freely or find permanent jobs like normal people," he said. "So the longer this goes on, the more we will have to suffer." A tool to silence the press Local and international rights groups and legal observers have meanwhile condemned the treatment of Yeang Sothearin and Uon Chhin in the courts as part of a wider attack on the media in Cambodia and called for their release. In a Jan. 20 statement, Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Phil Robertson said Cambodia's government is "clearly up to its old tricks." "Foreign governments should interpret today's inconclusive hearing as yet another signal the Cambodian government refuses to make any concessions on civil and political rights, and fails to respect the principle of media freedom," Robert said. "More than ever, this case has been revealed as a crude tool to intimidate and silence other independent journalists in Cambodia." Meanwhile, on Jan. 16, the American Bar Association noted in a statement that the pretrial treatment of Chhin and Sothearin had been marked by significant due process abuses, including violations of the right to be informed of the reasons for arrest, the right to communicate with counsel, and the prohibition against cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, the Association said. Further, the detention of Mr. Chhin and Mr. Sothearin was arbitrary. The evidence suggests that the men were actually detained on the basis of their work for RFA, which entailed reporting critical of the government, the Association said. The trial courts order permitting a second investigation into Chhin and Sothearins conduct absence any evidence of guilt was inconsistent with the journalists right to the presumption of innocence, the Clooney Foundation for Justices Trial Watch Initiative said in a statement, also on Jan. 16. [In] Chhin and Sothearins case, the Cambodian Prosecution Service and judiciary are not enforcing the law but functioning as a tool to silence the press, the Foundation said. Media restrictions RFA closed its nearly 20-year-old bureau in Phnom Penh on Sept. 12, 2017 amid a crackdown by Hun Sens ruling Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP) that also saw the Supreme Court dissolve the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) a month later. The move paved the way for Prime Minister Hun Sens ruling Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP) to sweep the ballot in national elections in 2018, effectively turning Cambodia into a one-party state. Cambodian journalists working for RFA had reported over the years on corruption, illegal logging, and forced evictions, among other stories largely ignored by pro-government media, and authorities had already closed independent radio stations carrying RFA reports, using a pretext of tax and administrative violations. The arrest of Uong Chhin and Yeang Sothearin came after a warning from Cambodias Ministries of Information and Interior that any journalists still working for RFA after its office in the capital closed would be treated as spies. They were released on bail in August 2018, but were placed under court supervision, which barred them from changing their addresses or traveling abroad, and required them to check in with their local police station once a month. Reported and translated by RFA's Khmer Service. Written in English by Richard Finney. Attorney General K.K. Venugopal on Monday told the Supreme Court, during the hearing on Unitech, it cannot dig into the Rs 25,000-crore fund for homebuyers, as these funds are not meant for housing projects under litigation in the Supreme Court and the High Court. In December 2019, for Amrapali Group, the Centre made an application having a five-point criterion for financing the selected stalled projects. But for Unitech, the Centre refused to infuse funds from the Rs 25,000 crore corpus created to salvage stalled residential projects. Unitech is in the thick of financial mess as a consequence of siphoning of more than 50% of money deposited by individuals and financial institutions. Advocate M.L. Lahoti, who represents thousands of homebuyers' in Amrapali and Unitech, said the Centre's stand on resolving the housing projects issue is not consistent. In Amrapali Group, the top court directed SBICAP Ventures Ltd to decide on financing the uncompleted projects of the defunct Amrapali Group. "The Centre had gone on record by placing the application of SBICAP Ventures Ltd. (in Amrapali matter) with respect to the process for selection of stalled projects for funding of SWAMIH Investment Fund-U and corresponding timeline. But, in Unitech, they have refused to infuse to complete the unfinished projects", said Lahoti. The SBICAP is the fund manager of the government sponsored Special Window for Affordable and Mid-Income Housing (SWAMIH) fund. A bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra had directed court receiver senior advocate R. Venkatramani, based on this application, to draw out a roadmap and make an application to SBICAP Ventures and submit the information in connection with the stalled projects. The court had said, "We request the receiver to deliberate with the SBICAP Ventures Ltd and furnish the requisite information. On the requisite information being furnished, the SBICAP Ventures Ltd is to deal with the same within 10 days and to submit its proposal." The Attorney General contended before the apex court that there are many stalled housing projects in the country, which are not under litigation, and the stress fund created by the Centre will essentially serve as a fuel for these projects. Kumar Mihir, advocate representing many homebuyers, said: "The Centre's stress funds should be utilized in the interest of homebuyers who have invested their hard-earned money in these housing projects, and there should not be any discrimination for projects under litigation." In Amrapali Group matter, the criteria for financing the stalled projects identifies at least 90 per cent of the available FSI/FAR being developed as affordable housing units or mid-income housing units and is networth positive -- value of sold receivables plus unsold inventory being greater than the cost of construction and to service the investment by the fund. (Sumit Saxena can be contacted at sumit.s@ians.in) Davinder Singh was the only DSP who could boast about security cover at his residence as well. Hyderabad: He was perhaps the only deputy superintendent of police (DSP) in the whole of Jammu and Kashmir who had the privilege of having armed security personnel posted at his residence, 24x7. For a brief while, when the security cover at his residence was removed, as DSP rank officials are not entitled to it, the now disgraced DSP Davinder Singh who always had his way in the J&K police got the security cover back, leaving quite a few senior IPS officials in J&K red faced. Though he cited threats from terrorists as the reason for security at his residence, it was in the company of most wanted terrorists, including Hizbul Mujahideens top commander Naveed Ahmed Shah alias Babu, that Davinder Singh was finally nabbed at Qazigund on January 11. His long association with terrorists is being probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Highly placed sources in J&K police told this newspaper that Davinder Singh, who already had two Personal Security Officers (PSO) attached to him, covering him round the clock, managed to get himself four armed personnel drawn from J&K police posted at his residence in Srinagar something no DSP rank official was ever given. The security was in place for the last six years. He had cited heightened threat to his life from militants as he had worked in the Special Operations Group (SOG) for a long time and participated in anti-terror operations during which he suffered a bullet injury on one occasion. In J&K, several police personnel had worked in the SOG and had participated in many anti-terror operations but they had only been given PSOs for their protection. Davinder Singh was the only DSP who could boast about security cover at his residence as well. Interestingly, sources said that more than a threat due to massive operations undertaken by him, it was the constant fear that he could be attacked by militants due to his shady dealings with them that led him to seek and get additional security at his residence. He feared that at some point, militants might target him due to his financial dealings with them. He had a deep nexus with several terrorists and perhaps their handlers across the border, the sources said, adding that in such murky dealings, money disputes always arise. However, about two years ago, when the then Additional DGP (Armed) Munir Ahmed Khan learnt that four security personnel were posted at Davinder Singhs residence, he took strong objection to it. Days later, DGP Khan withdrew the security cover. Upset over this, Mr Singh approached other senior officials and argued his case for requiring security at his residence. Days later, he got what he wanted. The four-member security personnel were back at his house, protecting him and his family members round-the-clock. It is learnt that soon after his arrest along with Naveed Shah on January 11, all the security guards posted at his residence were questioned by J&K police and also the NIA to know more about the visitors to Davinders house. It is not immediately known if they revealed anything about terrorists visiting the disgraced DSPs house. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin go head-to-head in a pre-election debate this Wednesday - but there will be no place for Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald on the stage. Virgin Media announced two debates that will take place on the channel ahead of the February 8 General Election. In what will be the first televised debate of the campaign, Pat Kenny will be the host as the leaders of the two biggest parties in the country square off as Ireland decides who will be the Taoiseach when Britain leaves the European Union. Virgin Media, just like RTE have left Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald out of the prime slot. This is despite Sinn Fein being just 1% behind Fine Gael in the weekend's Sunday Times poll. The second broadcast on Virgin Media will be a debate where the seven major parties will be represented which will be hosted by Ivan Yeats and Matt Cooper. That takes place on January 30 - three days after RTE's Claire Byrne Live Leaders' Debate which will also see broader party representation. The debate between Mr Varadkar and Mr Martin is be the first of two one-on-one debates - the pair will also be apart of the The Prime Time Leaders Debate on February 4 - just days before the country goes to the polls. Yesterday, Ms McDonald has declared it a farce that she is being excluded from the RTE leaders head-to-head debate. "What kind of debate is it to say to people that you can have Fine Gael or Fianna Fail which really is no choice at all? Were taking legal advice on the matter also, she added. President Donald tweeted Monday that it was 'so appropriate' that the day honoring Dr. Mr. Luther King Jr. falls on the third anniversary of his own inauguration hours after a top aide said King's vision would be against the president's impeachment. Trump fired off the tweet three years after he warned of 'American carnage' in his inauguration address and then sparred with the press over the size of his crowd. Hours after his tweet, which drew some criticism online, Trump paid a visit to the King memorial in Washington, D.C. shortly before he was to fly to Davos to attend an economic conference. 'It was exactly three years ago today, January 20, 2017, that I was sworn into office. So appropriate that today is also MLK jr DAY. African-American Unemployment is the LOWEST in the history of our Country, by far,' Trump tweeted, citing employment gains during his tenure. 'Also, best Poverty, Youth, and Employment numbers, ever. Great!' 'It was exactly three years ago today, January 20, 2017, that I was sworn into office,' the president wrote on MLK day, saying it was 'appropriate' His boast came just hours after counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway said the slain civil rights leader would have opposed Trump's impeachment if he were alive today. Trump's Senate trial starts Tuesday on articles charging him with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. 'I've held my opinion on it for a very long time, but when you see the articles of impeachment that came out I don't think it was Dr. King's vision to have Americans dragged through a process where the president is not going to be removed from office, is not being charged bribery, extortion, high crimes and misdemeanors,' she told NBC News. 'And I think that anybody who cares about 'And Justice for All' on today and any day of the year will appreciate the fact that the president now will have a full throttled defense on the facts.,' conway said. President Trump flashes a thumbs-up at the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial Monday 'So appropriate that today is also MLK jr DAY,' wrote Trump, acknowledging the federal holiday for the slain civil rights leader President Trump cited low African-American unemployment during his tenure Trump's comment drew criticism online Trump and his press team famously fought with the press over the size of his inauguration compared to President Barack Obama, the nation's first black president HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway said MLK would oppose Trump's impeachment. 'I don't think it was Dr. King's vision to have Americans dragged through a process where the president is not going to be removed from office, is not being charged bribery, extortion, high crimes and misdemeanors,' she said Trump with his father Fred Trump, after graduating from college in 1968, the year King was shot U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence visit the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, U.S. January 20, 2020 Trump visited the memorial after tweeting about MLK and shortly before he was to leave town for Switzerland She also pointed out that Monday was her own birthday. 'I, this morning, was reading some of the lesser-known passages by Dr. King and I appreciate the fact that we as a nation respect him by giving him his own day,' she said. 'I'm happy to share a birthday with this day.' Conway also said Trump 'agrees with many of the things that Dr. King stood for and agreed with for many years, including unity and equality. And he's not the one trying to tear the country apart through an impeachment process and the lack of substance that really is very shameful at this point.' Conway's husband, lawyer Geoge Conway, mocked a legal brief assembled by Trump's team of a dozen lawyers in a Washington Post op-ed, writing Trump's defense 'represents an attack on the impeachment process and on the Constitution itself.' How do you transform an aging credit union building into a new one on the same site, without disrupting the flow of business? Steinbach Credit Union intends to find out. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/1/2020 (722 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. How do you transform an aging credit union building into a new one on the same site, without disrupting the flow of business? Steinbach Credit Union intends to find out. The financial institution is working on an ambitious plan to overhaul one if its two Winnipeg locations, replacing its existing Linden Ridge branch with a larger, four-storey building while keeping the branch open throughout construction. The plan calls for building two floors on top of the branch at McGillivray and Kenaston boulevards, temporarily moving the branchs operations into the new floors, then demolishing the original structure below and building a new one. SCUs Linden Ridge branch opened in February 2003 in a building thats about 50 years old, said CEO Glenn Friesen. Its the smallest of the credit unions three locations, including its home base in Steinbach and its other Winnipeg branch on Lagimodiere Boulevard. "Its a building that has been very good for us, and its a location thats been very good for us," Friesen told the Free Press. "We need to accommodate our existing members, and the new members as we get them, and the existing building is too small for that." MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Steinbach Credit Union at 2100 McGillivray Blvd. Despite its physical limitations, Friesen said the Linden Ridge branch is the credit unions largest in terms of membership and assets, and its growing quickly. He said SCU officials considered renovating the building, but determined constructing a new branch would only cost about one-third more. "So for about a third more, we can get ourselves a brand new building, and it will be a stunning building," he said. SCUs chief retail and brand officer Celina Philpot said the Linden Ridge branch is running out of space for employees. "Were cutting offices in half to try and accommodate more than one employee, just because the membership growth has been substantial in this area," she said. "Theres been a lot of development, and in our credit union weve been blessed to grow along with the community." Cramped office space is also less than ideal for clients who want privacy while discussing their finances, Philpot added. "Our physical space, we believe, is part of our brand, and we want people to feel a certain way when they come in to see our branch and interact with us, so that they feel like its a place they want to be." MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Celina Philpot, chief retail and brand officer, in the main customer service area of SCUs McGillivray Boulevard branch. Employees currently share cramped spaces and there is a need for more privacy for clients. Philpot said clients of the Linden Ridge branch will notice disruptions once the project gets underway, but the credit union will work to make the transition "as painless as possible." At some point in the project, she expects clients will be temporarily unable to access their safety deposit boxes while theyre moved. The project ought to take about two years once it gets underway, although a start date has yet to be determined. Philpot said the plan is waiting for the green light from the credit unions board of directors. 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. Plans submitted to the city show the proposed new building will have 152 parking stalls, roughly the same as the existing parking lot, plus bicycle parking and improved pedestrian access. A new landscaping plan calls for more trees and shrubs to be planted on the site. Friesen said the new branch will measure about 45,000 square feet, comparable in size to the Lagimodiere branch. The project is expected to cost about $15 million. Friesen said that price tag might seem high but with the credit unions assets under management approaching the $7-billion mark, he added, "Its a reasonable investment for us to make." "There will be some inconveniences, but overall I think well be able to serve our members in the same manner that we do now," said Friesen. solomon.israel@freepress.mb.ca @sol_israel Recently, the Indonesian Minister of Defense explained to France that his country wanted to arm itself to counter the Chinese threat. According to some sources, Jakarta is interested in buying up to 4 Scorpene submarines and 2 Gowind corvettes. Recently, the Indonesian Minister of Defense explained to France that his country wanted to arm itself to counter the Chinese threat. According to some sources, Jakarta is interested in buying up to 4 Scorpene submarines and 2 Gowind corvettes. Indonesia could acquire Scorpene submarine as India and Malaysia did before (Picture source: Indian Navy) According to concordant sources, Indonesia is interested in purchasing up to four Scorpene submarines armed with Exocet SM39 missile and two 2,500-ton Gowind corvettes (Naval Group). The visit to Paris on Monday of the Minister of Defense of Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto, an ex-general reputed to be Francophile, was deemed constructive even if we must remain very cautious at this stage. These purchases could be made through an intergovernmental agreement between France and Indonesia, which wishes to go quickly. For the record, in 10 years, Paris has sold 1.36 billion euros in military equipment to Jakarta, with a peak in 2013 (480 million euros). That year, MBDA had sold a very short-range surface-to-air weapon system (Mistral 3) for more than 200 million euros and Nexter had placed 37 Caesar systems (115 million euros). The three-colour groups can rely on the strategic partnership signed in 2011 between France and Indonesia. Regarding the Scorpene submarines already sold in India and Malaysia, Indonesia has two French proposals: one relating to the sale of two submarines and the other to the acquisition of four models carried out as part of a technology transfer (ToT) with the Indonesian group PT PAL. A working group has already been set up between Naval Group and the Indonesian Navy. They are facing off for the same Screen Actors Guild Award. But there were clearly no hard feelings between Patricia Arquette and her The Act co-star Joey King as they hit the show's red carpet in Los Angeles on Sunday. Joey, 20, modeled a floor-length black Jason Wu gown as she shared a laugh with Patricia outside the Shrine Auditorium. So sweet: There were clearly no hard feelings between Patricia Arquette and her The Act co-star Joey King as they hit the show's red carpet in Los Angeles on Sunday She teamed her sparkling gown with a pair of drop earrings and a sleek black Jimmy Choo clutch as she posed up a storm with Patricia for the shutterbugs. Meanwhile, the 51-year-old brought back the 1970s in a crimson bell bottom trouser suit with black accents at the stylish lapels. Patricia wore her long black blouse untucked so that it hung down to slightly below the hem of her fashionable jacket. When the pair were both nominated at the Golden Globes for their performances in the miniseries The Act, Patricia ended up winning. All smiles: Joey, 20, could be spotted modeling a floor-length black sleeveless gown as she shared a laugh with Patricia outside the Shrine Auditorium There they are: She teamed her sparkling gown with a pair of drop earrings and a sleek black Jimmy Choo clutch as she posed up a storm with Patricia for the shutterbugs While on the red carpet this Sunday Patricia was asked by People TV how she selects roles and confessed 'Well, you know, I think sometimes people think I get offered more than I do. The reality is, I don't get offered everything in the world. Months will go by, I don't get offered anything.' She added: 'Then I'll get, yeah, several things. Usually, you'll get a lot of good things at once, you know, and you'll have to decide. But you have to take different things into account. Look, I've been a single mom since I was 20. Sometimes you have to pay your bills, you know, and you're grateful for whatever job you get.' Patricia went on: 'Sometimes you know, you're overwhelmed, your body's worn down and you need to make adjustments because of that.' The True Romance star made sure to note that 'I feel like casting directors have championed me a lot in the room. Even with this, after all of these years, with The Act, the acting director Sharon Bialy, she went to bat for me.' Patricia allowed: 'Now, people at home might not think that I need a casting director at this point to champion me, but she did, and also one of the creators, Michelle Dean did and our director. But other than that, I may not have gotten this part.' She and Joey are nominated this year for best actress in a TV movie or miniseries, the same category as their Golden Globe nods. Glowing: Patricia was dressed like a champion when she hit the red carpet for the Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles Looking fab: The 51-year-old brought back the 1970s in a crimson bell bottom trouser suit with black accents at the stylish lapels Simple touches: Patricia wore her long black blouse untucked so that it hung down to slightly below the hem of her fashionable jacket In The Act, Patricia and Joey King respectively play a mother-and-daughter in a real life story of Munchausen by proxy and eventual murder. Patricia and Joey have tough competition, facing off against Emily Watson for Chernobyl, Michelle Williams for Fosse/Verdon and Toni Collette for Unbelievable. The dynamic duo from The Act, Patricia and Joey, could be glimpsed posing together on the red carpet. Dee Dee Blanchard (Patricia) purportedly took drastic measures against her daughter Gypsy, including making her child have operations she did not need. Joey features on the web series as Gypsy, who eventually got together with her boyfriend Nicholas Godejohn to murder Dee Dee in 2015. Gypsy and Nicholas are both in jail now - she for 10 years, he for life - and their story was told in the 2017 HBO documentary Mommy Dead And Dearest. The actress could not have looked further from her on-screen role when she hit the red carpet on Sunday evening, showing off a sexy makeup look that was created by her long-time friend Allan Avendano. Transformed: She is nominated this year for best actress in a TV movie or miniseries, courtesy her performance in The Act (pictured) Who's who: In The Act, Patricia and Joey King respectively play a mother-and-daughter in a real life story of Munchausen by proxy and eventual murder 'Joeys stylist Jared Eng put her in a custom Jason Wu black gown that had a sexy silhouette,' Allan said of the inspiration behind the look. 'The designers notes were to give a sexy smoke that elongated the eyes so I went for Femme Fatale Spy chic.' To ensure the look lasted all night long, Allan prepped Joey's skin with the Urban Decay All Nighter Face Primer, before kicking off the 'sexy smokey eye' by applying the brand's Eyeshadow Primer Potion to her lids. Then, he used the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil to tightly line her upper lash line, before adding some color from the Born to Run Palette to give the look 'dimension and shimmer' which helped to 'open up the eyes'. Finally, the eye look was completed with the brand's Perversion Mascara, before Allan moved on to the complexion, applying the Urban Decay Stay Naked Weightless Liquid Foundation and the Stay Naked Correcting Concealer. Joey's natural glow was emphasized with the Urban Decay Stay Naked Threesome, before her pout was perfected with the brand's 24/7 Glide-On Lip Pencil in Liar, which was topped off with the Vice Lipstick in Ex-Girlfriend. PARIS The reckoning for Frances longest-ever transport strike is not yet in, even as the action itself is losing steam. On Monday, the national rail company said traffic was near normal on much of its network, although the strike is not officially over. But when the winners and losers are tallied, one man previously consigned to the political dead will have to be counted among the living: Philippe Martinez, the combative head of the countrys most militant union. Behind his giant mustache, Mr. Martinez, an ex-communist who heads Frances oldest union, the General Confederation of Workers, or C.G.T., has become the public face of the strike, which he has used to revive a moribund union movement that was shedding members. He has risen as the counterpoint to President Emmanuel Macron and to his business-friendly vision for France. He is omnipresent on television and radio. His giant image plasters the walls of the citys news kiosks. He is visible at the head of weeks of marches through Paris. He pops up at early-morning pep rallies to keep the strikers mobilized. By Deepak Chopra, MD The recent reckless skirmish between the U.S. and Iran held a deep irony. Neither side wanted to go to war, and yet neither side could talk to each other except in terms of war. Language and action go together. If you are stuck in the metaphor of war, with its winners and losers, revenge, enmities that last for generations, and the macho image of the warrior, you can never end war even though you want to. There is no clean end to war once you are in a war mentality. Winners in one war become losers the next, and combat runs into a quagmire in which it is obvious that neither side will be able to claim victory, war thinking keeps stubbornly drilling home the same metaphor of war. As history teaches us from World War I to Vietnam and now Afghanistan, wars are at once pointless, relentless, and endless. War heroes on one side are war criminals on the other. There is a way to end war, and one sees signs of the solution appearing wherever people realize that we share the same goal, to achieve a prosperous, healthy, sustainable planet. War doesnt serve this shared goal, and the question is how long it will take for a positive global purpose to overshadow the metaphor of war that is embedded in nationalism, tribalism, racial and ethnic divides, and the other fellow travelers of war. All of these divisions are mind-made. They exist because we constructed them, and the secret is that whatever you made you can unmake. In the face of so much blood and death, it seems strange to root war in a misguided concept. What William Blake called our mind-forgd manacles are a form of self-imprisonment. Change your concepts, and only then will the manacles fall off. Here are some of the replacements for the whole concept of war. De-escalate the concept of enemy. An enemy can be reframed, in progressive order, as an adversary, competitor, partner, teacher, and finally your equal. Treat the other side with respect. Otherwise you lose them before you start. Recognize that there is the perception of injustice on both sides. This is a point of agreement adversaries can join in. Be prepared to forgive and ask for forgiveness. Here forgiveness means letting go of your desire for retribution and revenge. This is an act of true courage. Even if you believe that the other side doesnt deserve forgiveness, you deserve peace. Refrain from belligerence. It will be taken as bullying and arouses renewed antagonism. Use emotional intelligence, which means understanding the other sides feelings, giving them value, and making them equal to your feelings. Reach out to understand the other sides values, both personal and cultural. The fog of war descends when two adversaries know nothing about one another. The result is a war based on projections and prejudice. The goal is mutual acceptance. At the deepest level we all want the same things. Refrain from ideological rhetoric over politics and religion. Recognize that there is fear on both sides. Dont be afraid to express your anxieties and to ask the other side what they are afraid of. Do not insist on being right and proving the other side wrong. Give up the need to be right allows you to focus on what you actually want. These ideas work in any negotiation, whether between nations or in a family. When we lack these ideas, we cannot turn them into coping mechanisms. War is the worst of all coping mechanisms, yet in many cases conflict is the first response we make when we feel resistance, obstacles, and pushback. When people dont know how to cope, nations dont either. The basis of peace is peace consciousness in individuals. Even though you and I cant change how nations interact, we have the choice to be units of peace consciousness and to put the ideas listed above into daily practice. The survival of the planet depends on as many people hearing the call in the shortest possible time. DEEPAK CHOPRA MD, FACP, founder of The Chopra Foundation, a non-profit entity for research on well-being and humanitarianism, and Chopra Global, a modern-day health company at the intersection of science and spirituality, is a world-renowned pioneer in integrative medicine and personal transformation. He is a Clinical Professor of Family Medicine and Public Health at the University of California, San Diego. Chopra is the author of over 89 books translated into over forty-three languages, including numerous New York Times bestsellers. His 90th book and national bestseller, Metahuman: Unleashing Your Infinite Potential (Harmony Books), unlocks the secrets to moving beyond our present limitations to access a field of infinite possibilities. TIME magazine has described Dr. Chopra as one of the top 100 heroes and icons of the century. Please select all that apply: A link, button or video is not working It has a spelling mistake Information is missing Information is outdated or wrong Login error when trying to access an account (e.g. My Service Canada Account) GC Key access SecureKey Concierge (Banking Credential) access Personal Access Code (PAC) problems or EI Access Code (AC) problems Social Insurance Number (SIN) validation problems Other login error not in this list I can't find what I'm looking for A decade-long battle over a camellia bush has ended in court after one resident claimed it blocked her multi-million dollar view of the Sydney Opera House. When Fiona Hyde moved into Waiwera Street at Lavender Bay in 2010, she paid $4.2 million for a ground floor unit that featured views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House. But she soon found the camellia hedge of her neighbours Frances and Bob Vagg was blocking part of her promised view. The Vaggs - who have lived on the street since 1992 - initially agreed to trim back the hedge, but not enough to placate Ms Hyde. The parties ended up in the NSW Land and Environment Court this month when their 10-year battle over the bush could not be resolved. Two neighbours in one of Australia's most exclusive suburbs have ended up in court to settle a decade-long row over a camellia bush (right), which one claims is blocking her view of Sydney Harbour (pictured) The hedge in between Bob and Frances Vagg's home (left) and Fiona Hyde's ground floor unit (right) has been a point of contention for almost ten years Court documents seen by Daily Mail Australia show that discussions between both parties over the height of the hedge began in 2011. Ms Hyde had moved into her apartment 12 months earlier, while the Vaggs had been living there since the early 1990s. After the initial discussion the hedge was trimmed slightly, but not to a level Ms Hyde had been hoping. The warring neighbours entered mediation in 2016 without success. At its highest the hedge stood at close to 3.5 metres tall, before dropping down as it neared the water to 2.7 metres. Tensions escalated when the Vaggs returned from an extended holiday to find parts of their hedge appeared to have been deliberately hacked at, leaving a series of large gaps and reducing the plant's ability to act as a privacy screen. It is not suggested that Ms Hyde was responsible for this action. In an effort to protect it, the Vaggs placed a large green shade cloth over the hedge but Ms Hyde claimed this only further reduced her view. Bob and Frances Vagg (front right, pictured with family and friends) have been ordered by the Land and Environment Court to trim back their hedge The debate over Ms Hyde's view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House landed the neighbours in the NSW Land and Environment Court earlier this month Ms Hyde claimed her view was affected at four different locations in the living/dining area of her ground floor unit. The impact to her view ranged from the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House being 'partially blocked' at spot one, to the Sydney Opera House being almost 'totally obscured' at the fourth position. Ms Hyde took the Vaggs to the Land and Environment Court in early 2019 in a bid to put the matter to rest. In a backyard hearing held across both properties, the Land and Environment Court's acting commissioner John Douglas found in favour of Ms Hyde. 'Mr and Mrs Vagg have for many years resisted pruning the hedge to assist Ms Hyde, they were aware that the applicants view was obstructed,' Mr Douglas found. The Land and Environment Court's acting commissioner John Douglas found in favour of Ms Hyde, ordering Mr and Mrs Vagg to trim back their camellia hedge '(They) had ample opportunity to reduce the severity, before the onsite hearing.' Mr Douglas ordered that the hedge be reduced to a maximum of 2.4 metres nearest the house and 2.3 metres closer to the water. In a statement, Mr and Mrs Vagg told Daily Mail Australia they were 'assessing their options'. I n my former role as Labrador correspondent for Tatler, I often wrote about Prince Harry. Somebody would trot into the office on a Monday morning and declare that Harry had snogged their friend Biffys sister at a hunt ball in Gloucestershire that weekend and off I went, tracking down a major story for the next issue. Once, on hearing that Harry had been spotted with a brunette Sloane instead of a blonde Sloane in a South Kensington club, the magazines art director designed a swirling hair colour chart, much as youd see in a hairdressers, to illustrate the young princes journey through his various romances. It seems less riotously amusing now, huh? Little wonder theyre off. Years of similar stories have become so boring that Harry and Meghan have lopped the HRH from their titles, are paying back the 2.4 million renovation costs spent on their Windsor home, Frogmore Cottage and a new life in Canada beckons. I maintain that keeping the duke and duchess titles still makes them fairly posh, but perhaps the Canadians will just think they have weird middle names. There has been a lot of guff written recently and, although the couple are moving away, there will continue to be plenty of noise surrounding them. There was one detail about Harry in an article last week, however, which reminded me of something Id been told before he reads every word written about him. It might even have been Biffy who told me this, I cant remember. But last weeks piece, by an authoritative and long-standing royal reporter revealed he has also started reading the comments section on certain websites. If its being said about me, then I want to know it, he told the reporter. I dont profess to be the oracle on, well, anything really, apart from Labradors. But reading stuff about yourself on the internet? Harry, that way madness lies. Years ago, I read a comment about me underneath a piece along these lines: If we must read drivel from a posh bird, can we at least have one who looks less like a horse? To be fair, I do have a long face. But after that I gave up on the comments section and, as someone with a ludicrous and incendiary name, nor do I ever search for myself online. Who knows, Google would probably just chuck back a few photos of Shergar. Prince Harry / PA Why go looking for trouble? One comment, one sentence, one word can colour your whole day, or week. Longer. David Baddiel wrote an excellent piece about trolling at the weekend and quoted several whod attacked him. OK, hes got a tour to promote and he admits its good for his material but, also, he remembers the barbs because they hurt. Of course Harry will be angry if hes read even a little of the stuff that people have spaffed on the internet about him and his wife. And he doesnt just get trolls. He gets front page headlines, viral Twitter gags, Instagram parodies, and bossy columnists telling him to stop reading any of them. Why go looking for trouble? One comment, one sentence or one word can colour your whole day or week or longer He really should stop reading them, though. The internet can suck us all in but it is not real life. Forget moving to Toronto, he needs to go somewhere with incredibly slow broadband. My local cafe in W12, would be perfect. It almost never works in there. Harry should give it a whirl. All Laurence Fox needs is some self-care Im a bit worried about actor Laurence Fox. Its not because of his Question Time appearance when he told an audience member that accusing him of white male privilege was racism. Its not because a podcast he recently recorded with the Breitbart journalist James Delingpole has revealed he wont date women under 35 because were all too woke and bonkers. I listened to this podcast and have to admit I was quite entertained. It includes some amusing lines. Laurence Fox / Dave Benett At one stage, Laurence talks of his fears about his children being indoctrinated with wokeness after his 11-year-old son Winston told him, Sorry if this is racist, but mums a better cook than you. Later Delingpole declares weaponised womanhood one of the more deplorable aspects of our culture, as if we women are coming after men with bullets shooting from our nipples like Liz Hurley in Austen Powers. No, what Im worried about is Lozzas health. Not because of the trolls now going after him, including death threats, but because he looks washed out. Has he eaten a vegetable recently, or had a hot bath? And a haircut wouldnt go amiss, either. Should we have a whip-round and send over an Abel and Cole box? Godmother guidance In happier royal news, its been revealed that William and Harrys former nanny, Tiggy Legge-Bourke, is little Archies godmother. In one of my intrepid investigations, I went to Wales and stayed at Tiggys B&B. Its a lovely farmhouse underneath the Brecon Beacons and I had a ball. Tiggy cooked a shepherds pie and we ate it on the sofa watching telly with a glass of wine. In the past, shes copped plenty of flak, most notably for letting William and Harry abseil without helmets. On my visit she was welcoming and cosy and irrepressibly cheerful. The suspect was arrested in January 2019, reportedly after a tip-off from an overseas source and an ensuing set-up. A German-Afghan translator for the German army goes on trial on Monday, along with his wife, on charges of spying for Iran. Abdul S is accused of a particularly serious case of treason and of violating state secrets in 18 instances, according to the higher regional court of Koblenz in western Germany. The 51-year-old was arrested in January 2019, reportedly after a tip-off from an overseas source and an ensuing set-up to catch him in the act. He has been in detention ever since. His 40-year-old wife, Asiea S, will be in the dock with him after prosecutors in December charged her with aiding and abetting treason. Asiea is accused of helping her husband from the very beginning with his espionage activities for Iranian intelligence services, the Koblenz court said, but she had not been detained by police. 191204121924993 Abdul worked for several years as a civilian translator and cultural adviser to the German Bundeswehr at the Heinrich-Hertz barracks in the town of Daun, near Koblenz. Officials have been tight-lipped about the case, revealing no details about the information that was allegedly leaked. Abdul himself has yet to comment on the accusations against him, the court said in a statement. He risks life in jail if found guilty, which in Germany usually means a sentence of at least 15 years. His wife faces a maximum of 11 years in prison. The court case will be held behind closed doors and is expected to last until the end of March. Germanys BfV domestic intelligence agency has identified Iran has one of the countries most active in spying on Germany, along with China and Russia. Iranian spy services are regularly looking for appropriate sources to cover the information needs of the regime, the BfV said in a report. In 2018, Germany arrested a Vienna-based Iranian diplomat suspected of being a spy, with prosecutors alleging he was plotting with a Belgium-based couple to bomb an Iranian opposition rally in Paris. In another high-profile case, former German intelligence agent Markus Reichel was convicted in 2016 for spying for both the CIA and the Russian secret service. In 2011, Germany jailed a married couple for spying for the Russian secret services for more than 20 years. BOCA RATON, Fla., Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- After arranging a triumphant maiden-voyage book signing at The Palm Beach Book Store, where Donald Trump and other celebrities sign their books, TransMedia Group will now set sail to publicize PR guru Tom Madden's new book "Love Boat 78" on the high seas of Amazon, with his beautiful Brazilian wife Rita Pierotti aboard as love story's happy ending. https://www.amazon.com/Love-Boat-78-Tom-Madden/dp/164543088X/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=love+boat+78&qid=1579294481&sr=8-1 "Our publicity will tell the story that begins when Madden's beloved wife of 54 years, Angela, passes away, leaving him heartbroken, depressed and sleepless in Boca Raton, FL," said TransMedia's executive vice president Catherine deHaan. Boca is where the international public relations firm they started together in Manhattan, TransMedia Group, is now based. The PR program will highlight how then 78-year-old Madden finds himself adrift in choppy, lonely seas, unable to navigate to shore without the help of his first mate. After grieving deeply, he realizes maybe he shouldn't just sit idly in his oceanfront condo watching life sail bymaybe it was time for a change, for life to start anew, said deHaan. At the suggestion of a friend, Madden dove headfirst back into the dating pool, except this time, it wasn't just a poolit was a raging dating ocean called the Internet. From whirlwind romances to digital breakups, Madden experienced everything Internet dating has to offer, she said. TransMedia publicity for Love Boat 78, published by Mascot Books, will explore how Madden's huge heart, racing libido and irreverent humor helped him cope with loss and ultimately sail into the sunset once again in love after meeting his Brazilian wife, not on the Internet, but in a sports bar called Duffy's. Shortly after meeting Rita de Cassia Pierotti and falling in love, they were married, and she became the book's happy ending. Love Boat 78 will be brought to the attention of the film community at Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah where Madden will sign copies of his book at the screening of a documentary directed by Terence Gordon about Madden's friend Alfredo Versace. The event is sponsored by African American Women In Cinema. Other books by Madden include his autobiography "SPIN MAN," satiric novel "King of the Condo," and "Is There Enough Brady in Trump to Win the inSUPERable Bowl?" Media contact: Adrienne Mazzone 561-750-9800 x2270; [email protected]. SOURCE TransMedia Group ATLANTA - Against the backdrop of a presidential election year, Mondays Martin Luther King Jr. holiday found leaders still wrestling over how to best embody the slain civil rights leader. In Atlanta, Republicans told a sometimes cool crowd at Ebenezer Baptist Church, Kings onetime church, that they were honouring Kings legacy of service and political empowerment. But Democrats found more favour by highlighting the ways they said the current political and social order calls for more radical action in line with Kings principles. Mondays speeches at Ebenezer Baptist were just one slice of the political struggle in Georgia, where Democrats believe they can make further inroads in the Republican controlled state, aided by diverse in-migration and a suburban backlash against President Donald Trump. Up for re-election this year, Trump sought to stamp his own mark on the commemoration. He and Vice-President Mike Pence made a brief visit to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington. Earlier in the day, Trump sent a tweet noting that it was the third anniversary of his inauguration: So appropriate that today is also MLK jr DAY. African-American Unemployment is the LOWEST in the history of our Country, by far. Also, best Poverty, Youth, and Employment numbers, ever. Great! Black unemployment has reached a record low during the Trump administration, but many economists note economic growth since 2009 has driven hiring. The most dramatic drop in black unemployment came under President Barack Obama. Despite economic success, polls find most African American voters regard Trump with distaste. In Atlanta, Republican U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, appointed last month by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, said her upbringing on an Illinois farm was touched by King. Dr. Kings call to service, to sacrifice, to put others first, it shaped our home and inspired us to ask what Dr. King asked the world. What are you doing for others? Loeffler said. One of Loefflers Democratic opponents in a November special election could be the Rev. Raphael Warnock, the current pastor at Ebenezer, which King and his father once led. Warnock, without mentioning Loeffler by name, said that honouring King means more than just voicing lip service on one weekend a year. Everyone wants to be seen standing where Dr. King stood. Thats fine, youre welcome, said Warnock, who could soon announce a Senate run. But if today you would stand in this holy place, where Dr. King stood, make sure, that come tomorrow, well find you standing where Dr. King stood. Of King, Warnock said that too many people like to remember him and dismember him at the same time, calling Georgia ground zero for voter suppression and citing the failure of the states Republican leadership to fully expand the Medicaid health insurance program. Others agreed with him, with keynote speaker Rev. Howard-John Wesley of Alexandria, Virginia, telling attendees that we have lost the radicality of Kings vision, talking about how King attacked the Vietnam War and the unequal American economy at the end of his career. Loeffler made no mention of Trump or the Senate impeachment trial, but Democratic U.S. Rep Hank Johnson did, drawing applause when he mentioned impeachment and saying American democracy is in grave danger. Our communities are once again finding themselves on the front lines of fighting to protect our very republic, Johnson said. And it can be easy, brothers and sisters, in moments like these to despair. But even in our darkest hours, the legacy of Dr. King is a hope that dawn will come. Georgias Republican Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger took the stage, seeking to build confidence that his office supports broad voter participation and that the states new voting machines will guarantee a fair vote. Democrats led by former gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams have attacked his actions, including a mass purge of inactive voters from the states voting rolls. Every voter gets one vote. We all have a voice. We all count, Raffensperger said. Kings daughter Bernice spoke about the King holiday becoming a day of service, a day on, not a day off. She said the holiday needs a broader vision. A day on is not enough. What we need is a light on, committed to working vigilantly to build the beloved community, she said. A light on encompasses a commitment not just to service but to systemic change as well. The same kind of wrestling over what King means in the present moment was taking place elsewhere, with Pence speaking Sunday at a church service in Memphis, Tennessee. Pence spoke at the Holy City Church of God in Christ about Kings religion and how he challenged the conscience of a nation to live up to our highest ideals by speaking to our common foundation of faith. Acknowledging the nations divisions, Pence said that if Americans rededicate themselves to the ideals that King advanced while striving to open opportunities for everyone, well see our way through these divided times and well do our part in our time to form a more perfect union. As a presidential election looms this fall, divisions rankle, according to recent opinion polls. Among black Americans, more than 80% said last year that President Donald Trumps actions in office have made things worse for people like them, while only 4% said they thought Trumps actions have been good for African Americans in general. Thats according to a poll conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Not much can cause your shoebox of an apartment to feel like a lush, tropical paradise than indoor trees. A few things are non-negotiable to keep so grand a specimen alive and wellnamely, tall enough ceilings to house it comfortably and enough natural light to make it feel like home (home being its native habitat, of course). So no, the dark interior corner of a room isn't probably the best place for it. And yes, you're probably better off buying a young tree and letting it grow and adapt to your home's conditions (which will be cheaper than buying a huge tree, anyway). It is doable! Many trees and tropical indoor plants can thrive indoors if cared for properly. Read through to discover 17 of the best indoor trees and tropical plants that will thrive inside your living room. 1. Bird of Paradise (Caesalpinia) "For jungle vibes," says The Sill's Eliza Blank. "Indoors, these usually max out around 6 feet tall and the leaves naturally split as they mature." Needs: Bright sunlight and high humidity. 2. Dragon Tree (Dracaena marginata) "For that mid-century modern feel," Eliza recommends these tall, spindly plants. "Indoors, they can grow to well over 10 feet, but it wont be straight vertical growth." Needs: Medium to bright, indirect sun ("it will drop leaves if it doesnt get enough sunlight," she cautions). Photo: Courtesy of The Sill 3. Norfolk Island Pine (Araucaria heterophylla) Though they somewhat resemble Christmas trees (and are sometimes used in their stead), this tropical plant has much softer, more delicate needles. Needs: Full sun and acidic soil. 4. Fishtail Palm (Caryota) Featuring lush, jagged-edge leaves, this bushy palm varietal will transport any room to the tropics. Needs: Abundant bright light and lots of water. 5. European Olive (Olea europea) So long as you're wiling to move them outside eventually (or regularly, during summer months) olive trees in containers can be very happy indoors for short periods of time. Needs: Good drainage and ample direct sun. Story continues 469857683 Photo: kokoroyuki / Getty Images 6. Triangle Ficus (Ficus triangularis) "From the same genus as the classic 'Rubber Tree' and the ever-trendy but hard-to-keep-alive 'Fiddle leaf Fig,' but with a highly unique triangular leaf and open, airy growth habit," is how Jesse Waldman from Pistils Nursery describes this lesser-known (and far less fussy) pick. Needs: Bright light and some humidity. 7. Corn Plant (Dracaena fragrans) Unsexy name, but a perfectly delightful, palm-like silhouette and yellow-green striped leaves. Needs: Filtered sunlight and little else. 8. Parlour Palm (Chamaedora elegans) The O.G. indoor palm tree: Long, palm-like leaves sprout out in abundance around a center stalk, and they can grow quite tall even indoors. Needs: Low light (hooray!) and plenty of moisture. 9. Umbrella Tree (Schefflera amata) "This larger-leaf version of the classic 'umbrella plant' is easy to care for," Jesse says, "and the 'Soliel' cultivar has neon/chartreuse foliage." Needs: Medium light and standard watering. 10. Yucca (Yucca elephantipes) Besides being great at air-filtration, these spiky-topped plants add a distinct desert flair to any room. Needs: Partial-sunlight and not too much water (they're drought-tolerant!). 11. Fiddle Leaf Fig (Ficus lyrata) While not the easiest plants to keep alive, these broad-leafed beauties are super popular "and can grow well over 10 feet indoors," Eliza points out. Needs: Bright, indirect sun and "a very consistent environment" (so don't move it around or those leaves will drop!). 12. African Candelabra (Euphorbia ammak) While technically not at all a tree (it's a succulent!), this tree-like plant recommended by Kristina Smith at the Jungalow can grow up to 20 feet tall (!). Needs: Full- to part-sun and good drainage. Photo: Dabito 13. Tree Fern "Whether a Dicksonia or Cyathea, tree ferns are native to Australia and New Zealand and are absolutely incredible," Jesse gushes. "They grow really tall in nature (not quite as tall in your home) with large feathery fern fronds atop a furry/woody 'trunk'." Needs: Bright light, plenty of water (don't let it dry out), and high humidity. Photo: Courtesy of Pistils Nursery 14. Rubber Tree (Ficus elastica) While more commonly spotted in small sizes, these glossy-leafed beauties can be found come in tree form"and it's beautiful when you do, as they often grow to be 3 to 6' tall," says Eliza. Needs: Bright, indirect light and some coddling (wipe the leaves clean when they get dusty!). 15. Rhapis Palm (Rhapis excelsa) With finger-like leaves (it's often called a "Finger Palm") on fanned branches, these elegant plants are thought to be native to southern China and Taiwan. Needs: Indirect sunlight, as by an east-facing window. 16. Natal Mahogany (Trichilia emetica) With "big and bushy dark green leaves that can fill a void," this low-light tolerant tree is full of personality and volume. "It will provide that lush summery depth that you might be searching for," says Tara Heibel, the owner of Sprout Home in Brooklyn and Chicago, as long as you water it regularly (even misting the leaves to simulate more humid environments). Needs: Medium light and water at least once a week. Most of the indoor trees on this list will survive if you skip a week of watering, but not the Natal mahogany. It will not recover if the soil dries out. 17. Split Leaf (Monstera deliciosa) This robust, easy-to-grow tropical indoor plant can grow up to nine feet. Needs: Bright light, and 11 inches on either side of the plant so the glossy leaves have room to grow outward. Water weekly. Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest New Delhi [India], Jan 20 (ANI): All India Students' Association (AISA) and other organisations on Monday held a protest march against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Register of Citizen (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR) here on Monday. Former JNU student and activist Umar Khalid was also present during the protest. Demonstrators were seen carrying anti-CAA posters and chanted slogans against the implementation of the new act. One of the posters read: "Reject CAA-NPR-NRC" Protests broke out in different parts of the country against and in support 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. (ANI) B osses today called on the Government to stop dithering and press on with HS2 despite reports of rising costs on the high-speed rail project. Costs could rise to as much as 106 billion, 20% above the previous forecast of between 81 billion and 88 billion, according to a leaked government review, the Financial Times reported today. The review by former HS2 chairman Doug Oakervee also says work on phase two of the project, which links the West Midlands and Manchester and Leeds, should be paused for six months to rethink it. Construction bosses have written to the Prime Minister asking him to approve the project. Adam Marshall, director general of British Chambers of Commerce, said: Business communities in the Midlands, North and beyond want to see this crucial project move forward. Further political delay would increase costs, and hit investment plans in towns and cities across the country at a critical moment for business confidence. HS2 should be delivered, in full, with a careful eye on costs. There should be no blank cheque for any project, but cancelling or drastically scaling back HS2 would be a hammer blow to growth plans in so many areas. CBI infrastructure director Tom Thackray said: Completing HS2 in its entirety will be a shot in the arm for businesses and communities across the country. As we enter a new decade is it vital we lift our aspirations and commit to The North by fully unlocking its economic potential. HS2 is key to that. The costs of not building HS2 are far higher in communities left behind, commuter trains filled to capacity and businesses struggling to grow. HS2 is key to tackling the productivity gap and helping the regions level up. Government should listen to the regional demand for HS2 and back it, build it, and benefit from it. An Institute of Directors spokesman said: "There is considerable support for HS2 among companies in the Midlands and North. While business leaders of course want to see value for money from infrastructure, we need to get better in this country about making timely decisions on major projects and delivering them on time." Poignant: Ingabire Mushumba, from Rwamagana, whose life is being transformed by gifts of Irish cows through Bothar. Photo: Sean Curtin True Media. Broadcaster Doireann Garrihy has admitted to "being floored" by her first day in Rwanda, 25 years after the 1994 genocide. The 2FM star and her father Eugene travelled to the central African country this week to see first-hand the work being carried out by Irish charity Bothar since the mass slaughter. The duo got to see one of the Irish heifers - 30 were sent out two weeks ago - in her new home just six weeks after they saw her at Shelton Abbey Prison, Co Wicklow. Having arrived in Rwanda to see their progress, Ms Garrihy admitted it was hard to come to terms with how the nation had fallen, but heart-warming to see how it is rising again. "It's such a roller-coaster of emotions," she said. "There's poverty here at a level that you won't see in too many countries and then you see this family that has been donated an Irish cow and how it is going to change their lives. Expand Close Doireann Garrihy with Mukakabogo Gaudance, a genocide widow from Rwamagana. Photo: Sean Curtin True Media. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Doireann Garrihy with Mukakabogo Gaudance, a genocide widow from Rwamagana. Photo: Sean Curtin True Media. "One woman who lost her husband and children said she had completely lost hope in the years following the genocide but now she has hope again thanks to this donation. It makes you so proud that Irish people are doing this," she said. Her father Eugene said the first day of their five-day visit had left them in disbelief at how bad it had been there during those three horrific months of 1994. "It's actually hard to take in," he said. "We've just been to one of many memorials and there were the remains of 25,000 people amassed in just a few hundred coffins. "The clothes that the people were killed in were there, personal items like crosses and other jewellery, some items that were used to kill also. They don't try to hide anything here and maybe that's helping them in some way. They don't hide the memory of it as a nation. "All those people in that memorial were killed in a small area of the country not much larger than the part of west Clare where I grew up, 25,000 people in a small place. It's just hard to grasp. "The personal stories of survivors are horrific. We met one woman who hasn't been able to walk since the genocide. She was stabbed, beaten and raped. She lost eight children and a husband in the genocide. But now, Bothar has been connected with her and she has a fine Irish cow that her son is going to farm. It's going to change her life," he said. Bothar has been flying cows over to the region since 1991, helping provide impoverished families with a new source of sustenance. By Tom Plate Without becoming too defensive about America at this rocky passage in its political history (well, it is difficult to defend), I nonetheless will offer something of a defense, since almost no one else wants to try, but maybe someone ought to. So we start with this: Whether the current American president's actions and policies are indefensible or not is not the point. At worst, President Donald Trump is in office for another term but then he's out. Does any other superpower offer such a term-limited peace of mind? Even so, America is not one person any more than China is one person or even one party. To be sure, even if the best comes to pass a one-term Trump presidency a lot of bad could happen in the year ahead. That's why many Americans are not letting up. Our civil society sector is anything but brain dead and is supported politically as well as financially by many Americans who are well aware of our flaws and the limitations of our government no matter what political party or which politician is at the top. The average educated American respects more than one secular or political god. I worship several myself, and this week one of them will step into the spotlight for a famous annual ritual that reminds us of both the enduring value of our civil society organizations and the kinds of issues they fearlessly take on. Known as the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, and founded by Manhattan Project scientists in the aftermath of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, this gold-star non-profit believes we must work dramatically harder to reduce nuclear arsenals curated by arrogant nations that foolishly believe they can have them without thermonuclear accidents, much less for intentional usage. The nine nuclear-armed powers are Britain, China, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia and last but definitely not least the U.S. Any more coming at us? Iran? The organization's trademark is the Doomsday Clock a mockup of a large wall timepiece set on a display easel. Its dead hands are manually maneuvered, and every year about this time it is reset, sometimes near or not so very near darkest midnight, to suggest the ever-present potential of nuclear doomsday, and shown to the world. Last January, scientists set the clock at two minutes to midnight; where exactly it will be set this year will be unveiled this week at the ritual of the reset clock in Washington. The VIP list of attendees will include members of The Elders, a high-minded organization started by the late Nelson Mandela including Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland; Jerry Brown, former governor of California (twice); and Ban Ki-moon, the former U.N. secretary-general. And on the science side: Sivan Kartha from the Stockholm Environmental Institute; Robert Rosner of the Argonne National Laboratory as well as professor in the Departments of Astronomy & Astrophysics and Physics at the University of Chicago; and Robert Latiff, of the University of Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study and a retired Air Force major general. Since its birth, the Doomsday Clock (set at 11:53 in 1947) has been reset about two dozen times, each recalibration reflecting updated technical input from its Science and Security Board and though heartfelt mental fibrillations of scientists reacting to the feel of current world tensions. To illustrate, after the two nuclear superpowers reached significant arms-control agreements, the 1991 clock was set back at a less-nervous 17 minutes to midnight. Today, with those nine over-confident nuclear-armed nations ticking on this planet, don't be surprised if the clock's hands wind up near the midnight hour. The fear is not just about the presence of the arsenals or even the insane possibility of their usage but the possibility of technical error or management blunder. Military managers will downplay that idea, as always. But will they always be right? A nuclear accident cannot happen? Ironically, the validity of this annual event never seems vitiated simply because nuclear catastrophe has not occurred. This atomic-scientist-centered issues group (thebulletin.org) is not the only nonprofit, public-interest group to which I contribute an amazingly small amount of money, but it may be the most intellectually issue-robust. Rather than confining its scope to its initial nuclear-doomsday fear, the institution's remit now includes topics such as disruptive technologies (artificial intelligence, etc.) and climate change challenges. It insists that precisely because we humans in effect created these potential catastrophes, it is our job to take them on with all commitment and resolve. Accordingly, Australia's current nightmare prompts it to remind members that the country "is literally burning. It needs leadership that is able to recognize that and act. And it needs voters to hold politicians accountable at the ballot box." Accidents can happen, especially when they are not so much pure accidents as familiar byproducts of recurring human imperfection negligence, risk-denial, corruption. Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752 with 176 human beings on board was tragically blown from the sky by an Iranian surface-to-air missile fired off in the evident belief that it had zeroed in on an incoming enemy. But colossally many more people surely will die (and future gene pools will be poisoned) when similar 'human error' is found to be behind a nuclear mistake. Does true nuclear weapons reform and reduction have to await a true nuclear disaster? This is what the Atomic Scientists have been trying to tell us all these years. So watch their Doomsday Clock this week for a sense of the future. Not all Americans are serious people, but for sure the Bulletin boys and girls are. And they are my America, too. Tom Plate, distinguished scholar of Asian and Pacific studies at Loyola Marymount University, is the author of "Understanding Doomsday: A Guide for Hawks, Doves and People" (1971), an early effort to explain the nuclear arms race to a general audience. His commentary was distributed by the South China Morning Post. By Express News Service BENGALURU: The city police on Sunday got the owner of a parcel of land in Kariyammana Agrahara to demolish at least 23 sheds on his land which had been occupied by people said to be illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. Although the owner, Chetan Babu, himself said that they were people from other parts of Karnataka and from the northern and north-eastern parts of the country -- and none from Bangladesh or any other country -- the city police issued him a notice to get them vacated by demolishing the sheds. The notice also stated that illegal electricity was being provided to them. The police received a bunch of complaints and on January 11, Marthahalli Police Station Inspector acted on one complaint, raised by the residents of nearby apartments who alleged that these inhabitants were creating a nuisance. When TNIE contacted the Marthahalli Police Inspector and Deputy Commissioner of Police, Whitefield, they refused to comment. Kolagan from Tripura, who lost his shed, said, On Saturday the police visited our place and said we were Bangladeshi immigrants and asked us to vacate. We showed our documents but they did not bother to check them. They told us again that we have to vacate the place. But we did not. On Sunday, they came with earthmovers and brought down our sheds. Where do we go now? Residents of the sheds who were evacuated show their documents | EPS We are Indians, have valid papers While some inhabitants are labourers, some others are domestic helps, waste-pickers and security guards. The inhabitants TNIE spoke to said they were Indians with valid documents and even showed them to the police. But they were reportedly not interested in the documents. Instead, they insisted that they vacate the place as the sheds would be demolished. I work as a housekeeping staff in a private company in Bellandur. My wife called me in the afternoon to say that our shed was demolished. I was shocked. We have our documents and Im from Gangavati in Koppal, but still my shed was razed. I left work and rushed to the spot and now we have moved to a nearby lodge until we find another place. We have no space to live. We are worried, said Basveshwara. Reportedly under pressure from the police, Babu on Sunday called for an earthmover and in the presence of Marthahalli police demolished 23 sheds, leaving many homeless. Babu told TNIE that the people living in the sheds were not Bangladeshi immigrants, but Indians. Based on an order from the police, I carried out the demolition. I and my seven brothers own this land and people from different parts of Karnataka as well as from states like West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh live there. All of them have their documents. However, with the polices order, I called for an earthmover and demolished some of the sheds. Initially, many inhabitants assumed it was the BBMP staff who had ordered the demolition. Randeep D, Special Commissioner, Mahadevapura zone, firmly denied it. I got information of the demolition. We have not given any orders for it. I have even checked with the Joint Commissioner of Mahadevapura zone and he said he did not give any orders either. On Monday, we will check with police officials, he said. Ukraine's PM Oleksiy Honcharuk Open source Ukraine has a good tradition to postpone all the important things until Friday. During Yanukovychs rule, well-known oppositionists were detained precisely on Friday, so that the society, busy with preparations for the weekend, would let the big news pass by. It is difficult to realize the logic of Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk when tendering his resignation: did he want his demarche not to be noticed? In any case, the head of government well masked his intention - he did not address the statement to the Verkhovna Rada, as required by Articles 85 and 115 of the Constitution of Ukraine, but directed it to the president. Perhaps Honcharuk is a layman (by his own definition) not only in economics but also in law. One way or another, and the former MP of the CEC, Andriy Magera, rightly notes on his Facebook page that Honcharuks statement is nothing more than a declaration. I came to the office to fulfill the presidents program. For me, he is an example 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 handed it to the president with the right to submit it to parliament, Honcharuk reported. The prime ministers position regarding the resignation statement is correct and strong. This step underlines the command nature of their relations. We are waiting for the presidents decision, Davyd Arakhamia, the head of the Servant of the People faction, wrote. The question here is, does Honcharuk really not know that the Verkhovna Rada is responsible for appointing and dismissing the Prime Minister, or is he mocking us? If he really wanted to resign, it was enough to write a statement to the Verkhovna Rada. Were glad, but its possible that Goncharuk laughed at the president oh, a touchy man it will be enough for Zelensky to give rise to his statement, political analyst Kyrylo Sazonov comments. The first scenario: status quo and leave Honcharuk in the office. It is also possible that the president will support the prime minister, take responsibility for him, and the whole scandal will slow down. As for voting in the Verkhovna Rada, it will only illustrate the division into pro-government and opposition parts (the opposition will most likely vote for resignation), and in fact, it will turn into a vote of support for Honcharuk himself, says Ruslan Bortnyk, director of the Ukrainian Institute for Analysis and Policy Management. However, if the option of total forgiveness is rejected, the option of the governments resignation remains actual. It will take place later, Bohdan Petrenko, deputy director of the Ukrainian Institute for the Study of Extremism, is convinced. "The government of Honcharuk will resign because our governments have always served as lightning rods. But there are two key questions here - land issues and local elections. If today they dismiss Honcharuk, then tomorrow the new government and the new prime minister must launch the land market. In such a way, they will take over the whole negative and will lead the president out of the attack. However, the best option is to implement the land law through the hands of this government, using it as a sponge to absorb negative moods," said the expert. In addition to the "lightning rod" function, Honcharuk is also useful to Zelensky in that he distances him from the claims of oligarch Ihor Kolomoysky. The latter would not be very averse to letting some other person to the prime minister's office. "Perhaps the situation with Privatbank has come to a standstill, and Kolomoysky will organize pressure on the president and the government to achieve his goals," political expert Yevhen Bulavka suggests. But in any case, he continues, all answers are within the framework of behind-the-scenes agreements, and everything will depend on which of the groups that surround Zelensky will prevail. This is a game of thrones, which will last until Zelenskys inflated rating allows non-state decisions to be made but group interests. Under such conditions, the best prime minister is the prime minister equidistant from both Kolomoysky and Soros, Hungarian-American investor and philanthropist. But Honcharuk is one of those Soros-related representatives, Kyrylo Sazonov recalls. Everything is complicated by the fact that the incumbent prime minister has already stood up in the West. The IMF praised and supported Honcharuk, and in addition, they also demanded an explanation about what was happening around the person of the head of government. "The IMF will not approve of the removal of Honcharuk. Because they have a certain prejudice towards the group that can win if the prime minister resigns, that is, the Kolomoysky group," says Bohdan Petrenko. And yet, "Western partners support Honcharuk. They consider his resignation to be at least premature," says Ruslan Bortnyk. Formally, Oleksiy Honcharuk can lead the government, even if the Verkhovna Rada votes for his resignation. He acquires the status of "acting" and de facto leads the Cabinet of Ministers. But there are some nuances. "As soon as Honcharuk becomes acting, the counter is turned on to form a new government. Then Zelensky has 60 days unless the situation is complicated by reformatting the coalition. Theoretically, Zelensky can take such a step. But he is not profitable for him. Therefore, Zelensky will most likely ease the situation with Honcharuk, suggests Bohdan Petrenko. The Cabinet, meanwhile, has already begun to reform itself. January 16, Aliona Babak, the Minister for Development of Communities and Territories, resigned. Political expert Bulavka states: "A very insignificant part of the government was noticed in constructive activity, and Aliona Babak was the figure that belonged to the productive minority." Its not the government that makes the key decisions - its the president who makes legislative initiatives regarding the land and the like. Therefore, the name of the next prime minister is not really important at all, he doesnt affect anything. The governments work is completely disorganized, its acting according to some rules, which remain opaque to society, Bulavka assures. "It's a shame that we came to changes in the power structure not because of essential problems, but because of personal issues of the oligarchs," he adds. Global Coal Market 2020-2024 The analyst the global coal market, and it is poised to grow by USD 66. 3 billion during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of almost 2% during the forecast period. New York, Jan. 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Coal Market by Type and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2020-2024" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05840298/?utm_source=GNW Our reports on global coal market provide a holistic analysis, market size and forecast, trends, growth drivers, and challenges, as well as vendor analysis covering around 25 vendors. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current global market scenario, the latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment. The market is driven by increasing demand and advances in the mining industry. Market Segmentation This global coal market is segmented as below: Type Bituminous and sub-bituminous Anthracite Others Geographic segmentation APAC Europe North America ROW Key Trends for global coal market growth This study identifies advances in the mining industry as the prime reasons driving the global coal market growth during the next few years. Prominent vendors in global coal market We provide a detailed analysis of around 25 vendors operating in the global coal market, including some of the vendors such as Anglo American Plc, Arch Coal Inc., BHP, China Coal Energy Co. Ltd., China Shenhua Energy Co. Ltd., Coal India Ltd., Glencore Plc, JSC Siberian Coal Energy Co., NLC India Ltd. and Vale SA. The study was conducted using an objective combination of primary and secondary information including inputs from key participants in the industry. The report contains a comprehensive market and vendor landscape in addition to an analysis of the key vendors. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05840298/?utm_source=GNW 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. __________________________ Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001 The impact of climate change on ocean currents which help propel warmer water towards Ireland could lead to plunging temperatures or a greater likelihood of extreme storms in the future, according to new research. The Atlantic Heat Conveyor or Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, or AMOC, results in warm water being moved northwards in the upper ocean and towards Ireland and Britain, predominantly by the Gulf Stream system. But new research, involving a senior oceanographer at Maynooth University, indicates that climate change may lessen this effect - with the possibility of Ireland bearing the brunt of changing weather patterns. The research, entitled 'Effects of climate change on the Atlantic Heat Conveyor relevant to the UK', was written by six academics, including Dr Gerard McCarthy of the Irish Climate Analysis and Research Unit (ICARUS) at the Department of Geography in Maynooth University. It outlines how the AMOC is a major factor in the maintenance of the climate and marine environment of the UK and Ireland and how "the AMOC is predicted to weaken in the coming century due to climate change". The study claimed that while there is "little support for the idea that the AMOC will abruptly shut down", it is currently in a weakened state and the subpolar North Atlantic appears to be entering a cooler period, driven largely by airsea heat loss. "Large biogeographical and climatic shifts are expected in response to this shift to cooler conditions," it said. "The AMOC is currently in a reduced state," it added, saying that when this began and why is disputed. "The Atlantic shift towards a weaker AMOC and a cooler sub-polar phase has global consequences," the study continued. There are already predictions that the AMOC is "very likely" to decline by 2100, possibly by as much as 34%, led by global warming and the loss of Arctic sea ice. Dr McCarthy said the gulf stream system acted as a type of temperature regulator for Ireland and has acted as a buffer against many extreme weather patterns such as storms. "We know that that is weakening," he said of AMOC. "The areas over the sub-polar North Atlantic are not warming as fast as they were, in some parts it is cooling. There is no country in the world, probably, as dependent on this ocean's heat. We are very dependent on it." Dr McCarthy said a full collapse of the AMOC - "the Day After Tomorrow scenario" - was thought unlikely, but that it was very likely that it would slow down significantly, with the potential effect that Ireland would be more prone to different weather systems. He said that could include hurricanes and storms and more extreme colder weather, but stressed that because of climate change in general Irish weather would be impacted regardless or not exclusively because of changes to the gulf stream system. The study, which is part of the Marine Climate Change Impacts: Report Card 2020, involves input from academics including from the Scottish Association for Marine Science and the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton. David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet Omniplex Cinemas will be screening the premiere of David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet on April 16. In this unique feature documentary, the beloved naturalist reflects upon both the defining moments of his lifetime and the devastating changes he has seen. In his 93 years, David Attenborough has visited every continent on the globe, exploring the wild places of our planet and documenting the living world in all its variety and wonder. Mr Attenborough has warned that humans have overrun the world and warns that the actions of humanity are sending the planet into decline. Now, for the first time he reflects upon both the defining moments of his lifetime as a naturalist and the devastating changes he has seen. This documentary is described as an 'urgent' first-hand account of humanitys impact on nature and a message of hope for future generations. The film will also be followed by a Q&A with David Attenborough live from the world premiere at the Royal Albert Hall. Omniplex cinemas at Cork's MahonPoint; Belfast (Dundonald), Dublin (Rathmines), Galway (Salthill), Limerick, Lisburn, and Newry will hold screenings of the film on April 16. The film will also be released globally on Netflix in the spring. Ukraine and Turkey are holding talks in Ankara on the signing of a free trade agreement, the Embassy of Ukraine in Turkey has reported on its Twitter account. "Another round of negotiations on the signing of a free trade agreement between Ukraine and Turkey is underway in Ankara," the tweet reads. It notes that the parties are ready to hold a constructive dialogue and take into account mutual interests in bilateral trade. The Ukrainian delegation is headed by Taras Kachka, Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture, Ukraine's Trade Representative. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at a press conference after talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Ankara on August 7, 2019, that it was time to complete negotiations on the creation of a free trade area between Ukraine and Turkey. Erdogan noted that in 2018, trade between Ukraine and Turkey amounted to about $4 billion. He also expressed hope that the sides would speed up all the procedures on agreeing on controversial points needed to sign the free trade agreement. Photo credit: twitter.com/UKRinTR A young mother and father who died suddenly at their home in Londonderry on Friday evening have been named. Kim Hazlett who was 23 and her partner Patrick Stokes, also believed to be in his 20s, were found unconscious at their Claragh Court home in Strathfoyle shortly after 5pm. Emergency services were called to the scene but neither of them were taken to hospital. The couple had a young daughter together. Police say the deaths are not being treated as suspicious at this stage, although post mortem examinations will be carried out to determine the cause of the couple's deaths. SDLP councillor Jim McKeever said that the community was reeling from the news about the young parents. "Our condolences go to their families. It was a shock for the whole community," he said. "Hopefully we will find out what happened and work to address the issues so that it doesn't happen to anyone else. "There is total shock and sadness that such young lives are lost, regardless of the circumstances. "It's hard to comprehend. They had their whole lives in front of them." Alliance councillor Rachael Ferguson added: "It's just absolutely shocking news to hear, especially two people so young. "I've been talking to people in Strathfoyle this morning and everyone is so saddened about what has happened. "This is a very close-knit community and I'm sure those in the area will rally round the families of the young man and woman and do whatever they can to support them. "I would like to offer my deepest sympathies to them at this time." Funeral notices last night paid tribute to Ms Hazlett as a "devoted mother to Lilly-May and Nevaeh Grace" as well as a dearly loved daughter and sister. Last night tributes to the young couple were also paid on social media. One friend wrote: "Look after your two gorgeous baby girls. I'll make sure to always make sure they know how much their Daddy and Mummy loved them." Another wrote: "Can't believe this. RIP Kim, another young soul gone. I can't believe it. We were last with each other a couple months ago. "You'll be missed by a lot of people." Ms Hazlett's funeral service will take place on Thursday in St Peter's Church at 2pm followed by burial in Ballyoan Cemetery. Mr Stokes' funeral details are yet to be released. Using your credit and debit cards is about to get a bit safer. On January 15, 2020, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a notification asking all the banks to enhance the security features of debit and credit card transactions. Some common queries regarding this transition are addressed here. Q: What are the new security features added for domestic and international transactions? A: Effective March 16, 2020, banks need to have features that limit the usage of debit and credit cards in India and when customers travel abroad. Consumers can now modify transaction limits within the overall card limit for all types of domestic and international transactions, be they at point of sale (PoS) terminals, ATMs, online, or contactless. This feature will be available for transactions carried out with the physical, virtual and contactless cards. Often, consumers have concerns relating to the misuse of cards. However, they can now protect the misuse on cards by switching off the use for online transactions, international usage, etc. Also, consumers were worried of overspending with multiple debit and credit cards. They can restrict the usage by setting the limit for usage on all cards. By setting the transaction limit, the consumer can now limit the use to certain expenses and monitor the usage of the card periodically. Also, other features make the cards more secure for consumers. Q: My card allows international transaction, but Im not flying abroad anytime soon. Can I turn off my international spend feature temporarily to avoid mis-use? A: Yes, you can. And there are other features as well that you can similarly switch on and off. For instance, if you hold a credit card and use it only for online shopping on e-commerce websites such as Amazon and Flipkart, it will make sense to switch off other transaction modes such as PoS, ATMs and contactless transactions on that card. Similarly, you can switch your international usage when its time for you to travel abroad. The RBIs directives are steps towards curbing card frauds and unauthorised transactions. At the same time, it gives more control to the consumers in deciding several aspects of card usage. Banks need to provide the facility to switch on and off various features on your cards, on a 24 x 7 basis through multiple channels mobile application, internet banking, automated teller machine (the banks own ATM) and interactive voice response (IVR). A consumer can also avail of this facility by visiting the banks branch. Q: Can I still continue to use my existing credit and debit cards? A: The RBI has instructed banks to disable features in existing debit and credit cards that have never been used for online or contactless transactions. It means, if you have been using your cards only at ATMs and point of sale terminals, only those features will be enabled. This decision from central bank is to protect rural and new to banking consumers, senior citizens, etc. from fraudulent transactions wherein they may not be using all transaction facilities available. Q: I have just applied for a new card. Will it now come with new features? From March 16, banks will issue new cards or re-issue existing ones on expiry. These would enable only transactions via physical swipes in point-of-sale terminals and ATMs. Everything else, from online transactions on e-commerce websites to contactless transactions, would have to be manually enabled by the consumer. The likes of HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, etc. already have some of these safety and control features for their consumers. The resolution also allows Trumps team to move to dismiss the charges at any time although it is not explicitly mentioned in the four-page measure because doing so is allowed under standard impeachment trial rules. The Senate trial also wont automatically admit evidence from the House process, according to GOP officials, a key difference from the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton more than two decades ago. Though the material will be printed and made available to senators, it wont be automatically admissible unless a majority of senators approve it. Frank Hanna has been the CEO of Michelmersh Brick Holdings plc (LON:MBH) since 2016. First, this article will compare CEO compensation with compensation at similar sized companies. Then we'll look at a snap shot of the business growth. Third, we'll reflect on the total return to shareholders over three years, as a second measure of business performance. The aim of all this is to consider the appropriateness of CEO pay levels. See our latest analysis for Michelmersh Brick Holdings How Does Frank Hanna's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies? At the time of writing, our data says that Michelmersh Brick Holdings plc has a market cap of UK119m, and reported total annual CEO compensation of UK348k for the year to December 2018. While we always look at total compensation first, we note that the salary component is less, at UK198k. We examined companies with market caps from UK77m to UK307m, and discovered that the median CEO total compensation of that group was UK459k. So Frank Hanna is paid around the average of the companies we looked at. Although this fact alone doesn't tell us a great deal, it becomes more relevant when considered against the business performance. You can see a visual representation of the CEO compensation at Michelmersh Brick Holdings, below. AIM:MBH CEO Compensation, January 20th 2020 Is Michelmersh Brick Holdings plc Growing? On average over the last three years, Michelmersh Brick Holdings plc has grown earnings per share (EPS) by 16% each year (using a line of best fit). It achieved revenue growth of 12% over the last year. Overall this is a positive result for shareholders, showing that the company has improved in recent years. It's also good to see decent revenue growth in the last year, suggesting the business is healthy and growing. It could be important to check this free visual depiction of what analysts expect for the future. Has Michelmersh Brick Holdings plc Been A Good Investment? Most shareholders would probably be pleased with Michelmersh Brick Holdings plc for providing a total return of 171% 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. Story continues In Summary... Frank Hanna is paid around what is normal the leaders of comparable size companies. Few would be critical of the leadership, since returns have been juicy and earnings per share are moving in the right direction. Although the pay is a normal amount, some shareholders probably consider it fair or modest, given the good performance of the stock. If you think CEO compensation levels are interesting you will probably really like this free visualization of insider trading at Michelmersh Brick Holdings. Arguably, business quality is much more important than CEO compensation levels. So check out this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity 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. BJP working president J P Nadda appears set to be elected as its next national president on January 20, succeeding Amit Shah, with the party on Friday announcing the schedule for election to its top organisational post. In a statement, senior BJP leader Radha Mohan Singh, who is in charge of the party''s organisational poll process, said that nominations for the national president''s election will be filed on January 20, and a contest will take place the next day if required. Party sources have said that Nadda, who has decades of organisational experience, is likely to be elected unopposed, as has been the convention in the organisation. Top party leaders, including Union ministers, from across the country are expected to arrive at the BJP headquarters on Monday to file nominations in support of Nadda's candidature. The election of a new president will bring to end incumbent Shah's tenure of over five and a half years during which the BJP expanded its footprints across the country like never before and enjoyed its best phase in electoral contests despite suffering a few setbacks in state polls. With Shah joining the Modi 2.0 government as home minister, the BJP began the exercise for electing his successor as the party has the convention of ''one person one post''. Radha Mohan Singh said the party's internal poll exercise was completed in 21 of its 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 and UT units have completed their organisational election exercise. Nadda was appointed as the party's working president in July last year in an indication that Prime Minister Narendra Modi wanted him to take over the party's helm from Shah. The Himachal Pradesh leader also enjoys backing from the RSS, the Hindutva mentor of the BJP. In the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha, he was in-charge of the BJP's election campaign in the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh, where the party faced a tough challenge from the grand alliance of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). The party won 62 out of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh. Apart from handling crucial states for the BJP in the general elections, Nadda was a Cabinet minister in the first tenure of the Modi government and has been a member of the parliamentary board, the BJP''s top decision making body. Also read: NCLAT directs DLF to register transfer of 60,000 shares to shareholder's heirs Also read: Q3 preview: India Inc to see de-growth in sales, contraction in margins New cancer treatments might already be in your medicine cabinet, a new study suggests. Scientists at Harvard, Massachusetts University of Technology and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have identified 49 existing drugs with potential to kill tumor cells. The drugs range from medication used to treat osteoarthritis in dogs to an alcohol dependence drug for people. While some of the compounds the team discovered are early starting places for the development of new drugs, others may be soon be ready to test in people. After testing over 4,500 existing medications, scientists at Harvard, MIT and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute discovered far more than they expected - 49 - that act on cancer (file) Developing new drugs is costly and can take years, if not decades and cost hundreds of millions of dolalrs. So it behooves scientists to periodically check that compounds haven't already been synthesized. The new team, spread across three institutions, screened 4,518 drugs approved used to treat conditions other than cancers, including some used to treat dogs. 'We thought wed be lucky if we found even a single compound with anti-cancer properties, but we were surprised to find so many,' said Dr Todd Golub, study co-author and cancer and pediatrics scientist working out of all three institutes. Namely, 49 drugs. Chemotherapy, which is still the standard treatment for most forms of cancers, treats the disease by attacking proteins called enzymes that fuel cell division and allow tumors to grow and spread. But these enzymes are by no means the only thing that fuel cancer cells. And scientists are increasingly exploring these new targets, including by simply seeing what existing drugs can do to tumors. In the course of their new study, published in the journal Nature Cancer, the researchers found that many non-cancer drugs act on tumor cells in different ways. 'Most existing cancer drugs work by blocking proteins, but were finding that compounds can act through other mechanisms,' said Dr Steven Corsello, an oncologist at Dana-Farber Institute and a research scientist at Broad. Four drugs were particularly promising, including an anti-inflammatory used to treat arthritis in dogs, a drug initially made to treat diabetes, and Antabuse, a drug used to treat alcohol dependence. In lab tests, the first drug, called tepoxalin, acted on a component of cancer cells that often drives resistance to chemotherapy. The second, a diabetes drug that employs a metal called vanadium targeted a protein, but not one usually aimed at by cancer treatments. Finally, Antabuse, a drug used to treat alcohol dependence, 'has been around for decades, and is available as an inexpensive generic medication and was more active against cancers that have lost a part of a chromosome,' Dr Corsello told DailyMail.com. This happens with regularity in breast and other cancers, and the mutation can make the diseases harder to treat. Dr Corsello says that there's still a great deal of lab testing to be done before the drugs are ready for human trials, though Antabuse could potentially reach that point within a year or two. Still, that's far faster than the typical pipeline of drug development. Jumping that line by using existing drugs to make cancer treatments could save lives, he says. 'As an oncologist, I see first-hand every week in clinic the need for new cancer treatments, but development from scratch can take up to a decade,' said Dr Corsello. 'Those [existing drugs] can be brought to more clinical trials more quickly and potentially benefit patients.' Australian mineral makeup brand Nude by Nature has released an exhaustive list of the natural ingredients they use, and these six virtually unheard of ones are sure to amp up your routine. There were 39 ingredients included on its website with more obvious components like shea butter, vitamin C and papaya extract documented alongside images of each one. But some of them - like quandong, phytomoist and desert lime - have less of a devout following and might require an explanation as to what they're for. But some of them - like quandong, phytomoist and desert lime - have less of a devout following and might require an explanation as to what they're for SANDALWOOD KERNEL OIL Australian Sandalwood is a tree native to semi-arid areas around southwest Australia. There are more than 10 species of sandalwood that exist throughout Asia, Australia and the Pacific region, six of which are native to Australia. Sandalwood Kernel Oil dates back over 4000 years. Records suggest that in ancient India, Greece, Rome and Egypt it was used in medicines and traditional ceremonies. Sandalwood Kernel Oil is rich in Omega 3, 6, 9, and Ximenynic acids, ideal for targeting skin inflammation, the appearance of fine lines, improved skin tone and hydration. Sandalwood Kernel Oil dates back over 4000 years. Records suggest that in ancient India, Greece, Rome and Egypt it was used in medicines and traditional ceremonies QUANDONG Known by its Aboriginal name 'Goorti', Quandong is a unique Australian fruit found widely throughout southern Australia, and used by Indigenous communities for centuries as an important food source and medicine. Growing wild for centuries, Quandong has had to develop complex adaption skills to survive. This ability to thrive in these extreme environments is considered a contributing factor in why they contain such high levels of antioxidants. Quandong has a shiny red appearance with outstanding antioxidant capacity and is known as a wonderful source of vitamin E, folate, zinc, magnesium, calcium and iron at levels higher than the blueberry, and also twice the vitamin C of oranges. Quandong has a shiny red appearance with outstanding antioxidant capacity and is known as a wonderful source of vitamin E PHYTOMOIST Phytomoist contains a natural hyaluronic acid derived from the edible 'snow' mushroom, found within Asia. It is extremely moisturising and helps improve skin softness and fight the visible signs of ageing. Clinical studies have shown Phytomoist to be 400 times as moisturising as sodium hyaluronate, which is the the sodium salt of hyaluronic acid. Phytomoist contains a natural hyaluronic acid derived from the edible 'snow' mushroom, found within Asia Which skincare ingredients should you avoid while pregnant? Fake tan It's best to consider natural at-home formulas when tanning, and forgo spray tanning so that you don't inhale any chemicals. At home formulas are generally safe but you definitely need to avoid ones with Brown HT DMDM Hydratoin and Imidazolindiyl. Skin care Retinol or vVitamin A derivatives are off-limits, so are products with salicylic acid. Make up It's best to go as natural as possible with your makeup items but you definitely need to avoid parabens and synthetic fragrances. Perfume Synthetic fragrances are best avoided and it's now a good time to try natural alternatives that use oils and plant extracts. Advertisement KUKUI NUT OIL Kukui nut oil has been used for many years in Hawaii due to the oil's soothing and rejuvenating properties, but only recently has become known to the rest of the world. The oil is cold pressed from the kernels of the Kukui nut tree, retaining the high levels of beneficial fatty acids. It also contains vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin E, providing antioxidants to help protect the skin. Kukui nut oil is a lightweight, nourishing oil known to have soothing and moisturising properties. Kukui nut oil has been used for many years in Hawaii due to the oil's soothing and rejuvenating properties, but only recently has become known to the rest of the world DESERT LIME Desert Lime grows wildly across semi-arid areas of western and central Queensland and is one of a few Australian natives that are a true citrus species. It exhibits potent antioxidant and brightening benefits while supporting skin hydration. Desert Lime is a small, edible fruit about the size of a grape and is celebrated as a rich source of calcium, Vitamin C, Folate (Vitamin B9), Vitamin E and antioxidants. Also known as bush lime, historically they were eaten by Aboriginal people as a thirst quencher while in the outback. Desert Lime grows wildly across semi-arid areas of western and central Queensland and is one of a few Australian natives that are a true citrus species CEHAMI EXTRACT Cehami, commonly known as 'Old Man Weed' is a distinctive Australian plant which is valued by the Aboriginal people for its soothing, wound-healing and medicinal properties. Cehami has proven antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and promotes a more youthful, healthier complexion. It grows wild along the Murray River in eastern Victoria and has a long history of traditional medicinal use by the Aboriginal people of Australia. You can find more on the ingredients glossary over on Nude by Nature's website. Hundreds of koalas are being treated in a fire-ravaged region in Australia, an animal charity said, warning they are finding an increasing number the animals curled up and shut down. The Humane Society International (HSI), which has been rescuing animals affected during Australias worst wildfire season on record, said that they are now treating more than 200 koalas on Kangaroo Island. There has been an increase in the number of dehydrated koala survivors taken in across Kangaroo Island over the past few days, HSI warned. Kelly Donithan, the charitys disaster response specialist, said this could be due to cooler weather, which has allowed koalas to move about in search of food and water sources, many of which have been obliterated. As the days go by, these animals are weakening more and more to a point where they require intervention because theres virtually nothing left for them out here, said Ms Donithan. 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 Blazes have destroyed vegetation and food sources on Kangaroo Island, an area famous for its natural wildlife, as well as leaving animals badly burnt. An image of a koala stooping over a dead animal has been interpreted as it showing grief, although HSI said scores of exhausted koalas have been found in a similar stance. Wendy Higgins, a HSI spokesperson, said: It is not normal to see so many on the ground relatively limp and lifeless. Conservationists have warned of the devastating effect of Australias blazes on wildlife, with some warning entire species may have already gone extinct after blazes tore into their population and habitat. Experts have estimated more than a billion animals have died since fires started in September. One animal charity worker recently said: In some places you cant walk 10 metres without coming across another carcass. Around 25,000 koalas on Kangaroo Island half of the original population are believed to have died as a result of the blazes, according to World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF). As many as one third of Australias koalas may have been lost in total, the conversation group has said. Thousands of homes have been torched and at least 29 people have died during the catastrophic wildfire season. Australia has seen storms and heavy rain in recent days, which fire services had welcomed as they fought against blazes. However, the extreme weather has brought its own set of problems. Parts of the country have experienced flash flooding, while a hail storm in Canberra on Monday damaged buildings, cut power to some suburbs, felled trees and injured two people, according to emergency services officials. Additional reporting by Associated Press LAS VEGAS, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Signature Kitchen Suite, the trailblazing luxury kitchen appliance brand, is broadening its portfolio of built-in culinary appliances with a new pro-range, pro- cooktop and wall ovens all featuring the must-have innovation the brand is known for: sous vide technology. Signature Kitchen Suite, the trailblazing luxury kitchen appliance brand, is broadening its portfolio of built-in culinary appliances with a new pro-range, pro- cooktop and wall ovens all featuring the must-have innovation the brand is known for: sous vide technology. Displayed for the first time at North America's premier kitchen industry trade show, the 2020 Kitchen & Bath Industry Show, these culinary innovations exemplify how Signature Kitchen Suite is reinvigorating the luxury category. Signature Kitchen Suite caters to Technicureans a new generation of forward-thinking home chefs and is known for delivering culinary precision and high performance with its high-end appliances with each of its offerings such as the widely-celebrated 48-inch dual-fuel pro range with sous vide modality, an industry-first innovation bringing restaurant-quality cooking into homes. A new study conducted by The Research Institute for Cooking & Kitchen Intelligence reveals that kitchen designers have seen increased demand for dual-fuel appliances in the past year and that convection and induction cooking are on the rise. Signature Kitchen Suite's new introductions address these needs without sacrificing other favorite cooking methods including sous vide, induction, convection and gas. New 2020 Signature Kitchen Suite cooking innovations introduced at KBIS smart appliances that are all Wi-Fi enabled and powered by ThinQ technology are punctuated by the new sous vide-equipped range, cooktops and wall ovens: 36-Inch Dual-Fuel Pro Range: This range the newest range to follow the brand's flagship 48-inch dual-fuel pro range with sous vide, induction and gas burners packs all the power with a smaller footprint. It is complemented by a 36-inch hood that is engineered to be installed without the need for a separate make-up air system, as the range stays under 39,000 BTUs, making this ideal for installations in urban homes or luxury high-rise buildings. Complete with sous vide, induction and two gas burners on same cooktop, this range is designed to help home chefs achieve professional-level results. This range the newest range to follow the brand's flagship 48-inch dual-fuel pro range with sous vide, induction and gas burners packs all the power with a smaller footprint. It is complemented by a 36-inch hood that is engineered to be installed without the need for a separate make-up air system, as the range stays under 39,000 BTUs, making this ideal for installations in urban homes or luxury high-rise buildings. Complete with sous vide, induction and two gas burners on same cooktop, this range is designed to help home chefs achieve professional-level results. 36- and 48-Inch Pro Rangetops with Sous Vide and Induction: The first dual-fuel cooktops with built-in sous vide delivers the ultimate in precision cooking. The Ultra-High Burners provide 23K BTUs of pure gas cooking power for better searing and quick stir frying, while the Ultra-Low Burners simmer down to maintain temperatures as low as 100 degrees to prepare delicate sauces and sugary confections. The two-zone induction area can be used for a teppanyaki plate or larger cookware. The first dual-fuel cooktops with built-in sous vide delivers the ultimate in precision cooking. The Ultra-High Burners provide BTUs of pure gas cooking power for better searing and quick stir frying, while the Ultra-Low Burners simmer down to maintain temperatures as low as 100 degrees to prepare delicate sauces and sugary confections. The two-zone induction area can be used for a teppanyaki plate or larger cookware. Single and Double Wall Ovens with Steam Assist Sous Vide: These versatile ovens combine steam and convection cooking for gourmet results. The convection system cooks food quickly and evenly, while the steam helps to preserve texture, appearance and taste. Also new is the steam sous vide cooking mode which allows users to enjoy sous vide results right in the oven without the need for preheating. These versatile ovens combine steam and convection cooking for gourmet results. The convection system cooks food quickly and evenly, while the steam helps to preserve texture, appearance and taste. Also new is the steam sous vide cooking mode which allows users to enjoy sous vide results right in the oven without the need for preheating. Combination Wall Oven with Speed Cook, Steam Assist Sous Vide: This advanced oven combines convection, steam-assist and steam sous vide complemented by Turbocook technology for even more functionality. The Turbocook feature provides the quick performance of a microwave oven with the quality results of a convection oven without requiring any preheating. "Signature Kitchen Suite embraces the idea that better cooking is possible through better thinking, and nowhere is this more evident than in our 2020 culinary portfolio, where our appliances incorporate purposeful design and professional-grade features to help transform the functionality of today's home kitchen," said Zach Elkin, general manager of Signature Kitchen Suite. "With our advanced new ranges, cooktops and wall ovens, we're giving today's forward-thinking home chefs even more tools to prepare food in the best possible way, delivering on our brand promise of being 'True to Food.'" Once limited to the pros, sous-vide is a cooking technique that utilizes precise temperature control to deliver consistent, restaurant-quality results. Sous-vide has been the go-to method in some of the world's best restaurants for years, and for good reason: it brings food to the precise temperature chefs look for and delivers perfect doneness, edge-to-edge, every time. Now, with Signature Kitchen Suite, home chefs have the capability to achieve professional-level results and capture the full, true flavor of foods right at home. This brings restaurant-worthy results to steaks, chicken, fish, eggs, vegetables, and much more. For more information on the entire line of appliances, visit SignatureKitchenSuite.com. About Signature Kitchen Suite Signature Kitchen Suite delivers innovation in the luxury built-in kitchen appliance market with leading-edge technology that provides more flexibility to prepare food in the best possible way, demonstrating respect for the food at every level. The new luxury brand from global home appliance leader LG Electronics, Signature Kitchen Suite is embracing a new generation of forward-thinking Technicurean cooks, combining their passion for food with their appreciation for innovation. From the first-of-its-kind built-in sous vide range to the industry's only built-in French Door refrigerator with a convertible middle drawer, Signature Kitchen Suite's versatile and high-performance appliances deliver the ultimate precision cooking experience. Visit www.signaturekitchensuite.com or follow the brand on social channels @SKSappliances. SOURCE Signature Kitchen Suite Related Links http://SignatureKitchenSuite.com By Kang Seung-woo The unexpected replacement of North Korea's top diplomat indicates that Pyongyang is picking up where it left off more than two years ago, or a new anti-U.S. hardline policy, according to diplomatic observers, Monday. The replacement is also unlikely to help improve inter-Korean ties, experts said. According to media reports, the North has appointed Ri Son-gwon, chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country, as its foreign minister, sacking Ri Yong-ho, a career diplomat, apparently over the stalled nuclear talks with the U.S., despite three meetings between their leaders. The new foreign minister had been the North's key official for relations with South Korea. The regime has yet to confirm the appointment; while the South Korean unification ministry said it was also trying to confirm the reports. This article is part of David Leonhardts newsletter. You can sign up here to receive it each weekday. The House impeached President Trump for inappropriately using the powers of the United States government for his own political benefit. Last week, on the cusp of the Senate trial, The Timess Adam Goldman broke the news of another way that Trump may be abusing his power: The Justice Department is investigating years-old leaks to journalists, apparently focused on James Comey, the former F.B.I. director and harsh critic of Trump. We keep seeing examples of the Department of Justice weaponized against Trumps political antagonists, Jesse Eisinger of ProPublica wrote, in response to the news. Its among the most dangerous and lasting aspects of his presidency. DETROIT - An officer found one man shot to death inside a car and another on the ground nearby in Detroit early Monday, police said. According to police, an officer found the bodies after responding to a call that a car had hit a fence shortly after 2 a.m. on the citys east side. Police said it was not immediately clear if the two had been shooting at each other or were shot by someone else. Their names have not been released. Burma Blaze Burns Mandalay Mall, Myanmar Police Sue Shop Owner Firefighters put out a fire at the Skywalk Shopping Mall in Mandalay on Friday night. / Zaw Zaw MANDALAYPolice have said they will open a lawsuit against the manager of a Mandalay shoe shop for poor electrical safety which allegedly caused a fire that burned down the first floor of the Skywalk Shopping Mall in Mandalays Yadanabon Market Complex on Saturday evening. According to police, the fire began in a name-brand shoe shop on the first floor and consumed 125 of the 155 shops on the first floor. The fire from the name-brand shoe shop, apparently caused by an electrical spark, got out of control even though the mall security guards used fire extinguishers and water hoses. We are opening the case against the shop manager for poor electrical safety and the case is under investigation, said Police Major Sai Htoo Hla, Mandalay District Police chief. Two firemen were seriously injured while trying to enter the burning building on Saturday. According to police, total losses from the fire total over 1 billion kyats (US$680,000). On Monday, shops owners were allowed to enter the mall to remove any unburned stock and property. Most of the shops on the burned first floor of the Skywalk Shopping Mall sell name-brand fashion products, including Timberland, Charles & Keith, Giordano, Gucci and Louis Vuitton. Stores, offices and tutoring centers in the rest of the five-floor mall, including the Mandalay Region Chamber of Commerce and Industry, did not burn but police said the mall will be closed until there is an investigation of the buildings structural integrity. In February 2006, a fired burned almost all of the Yadanabon Market Complex, including the Skywalk Shopping Mall at the northern end of the complex. The mall was rebuilt and reopened in March 2014. You may also like these stories: What Will Xi Jinpings Visit Mean for Myanmars Future? Facebook Apologizes After Vulgar Translation of Chinese Leaders Name Myanmar, China Sign Dozens of Deals on BRI Projects, Cooperation During Xis Visit The 30th annual Chefs for Jimmy event will raise money for cancer research and patient care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at the Jimmy Fund in Boston. The event will feature a variety of small plates and desserts from the areas top chefs and caterers. There is truly something for everyone! From seafood to noodle bowls, vegan tacos to chicken schnitzel, even homemade ice cream and other treats, said Jillian T. Davis, officer, event fundraising at The Jimmy Fund who assists the event committee with planning and organizing this event. Chefs for Jimmy raises unrestricted funds, meaning the money raised is used toward wherever there is greatest need at any given time, she explained. The planning committee is thrilled that this is the 30th annual Chefs for Jimmy. This event has become a beloved annual event in the Western Mass. community and has raised over $1.8 million for Dana-Farber and the Jimmy Fund over the years, making a huge impact. Chefs for Jimmy 2020 in memory of Neal Webber and Stan Winer long-time supporters of the Jimmy Fund will take place Friday, Jan. 24 from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Chez Josef, 176 Shoemaker Lane, Agawam. The 2020 participating restaurants are expected to be 350 Grill, Burgundy Brook Cafe, Cerrato's Pastry Shop, Chez Josef, Dana's Main Street Tavern, Delaney's Grill & The Mick, Elegant Affairs, Fazio's Ristorante, Johnny's Tavern, Leone's Restaurant, Longmeadow Country Club, Max's Tavern, Murphy's Pub, Nadim's Downtown, Ninas Cookies, Nosh Restaurant & Cafe, On the Border Mexican Grill & Cantina, Pierce Brothers Coffee Roasters, Pintu's Indian Restaurant, Rondeau's Dairy Bar, Shortstop Bar & Grill, Steaming Tender, Storrowton Tavern Restaurant & Carriage House, Tekoa Country Club, The Chandler Steakhouse, The Starting Gate at GreatHorse, The Student Prince Cafe & The Fort Dining Room, Tokyo Asian Cuisine and Tuckers Restaurant. Attending the event is the perfect opportunity to sample food from many different restaurants all under one roof. Its a great way to support local businesses while raising money for a worthy cause, Davis said. There are always new restaurants each year, so you may discover some new favorites. The event also features a large silent auction, a drawing for a restaurant gift card basket and a fun, new theme every year. This years theme is One Night of Peace, Love and Food paying homage to Woodstock and the 1960s. The Jimmy Fund is grateful for the communitys ongoing support of this event. We look forward to a groovy evening on Jan. 24 at Chez Josef! Davis enthused. Individual tickets are $100 each or $90 each for four or more). If you go Event: Chefs for Jimmy When: Friday, Jan. 24, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Where: Chez Josef, 176 Shoemaker Lane, Agawam Tickets: $100 For more info: Online at jimmyfund.org/events/cancer-fundraising-events/chefs-for-jimmy Prince Harry and Meghan Markle may have just finalized the details of their royal exit, but Harry isn't taking any time off from resuming some of his official duties. Harry took some time out on Monday (January 20) to meet with leaders at the UK-Africa Investment Summit in London. He spoke with HE President Filipe Nyusi, the president of Mozambique, HE Arthur Peter Mutharika, president of Malawi, and HE Saadeddine Othmani, the prime minister of Morocco. He also spoke to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson while attending during a private meeting. WPA Pool/Getty Images The leaders met with Harry in an effort to promote investment opportunities across Africa, specifically the UK's role in supporting economic development there. RELATED: Prince Harry Speaks Out for the First Time About His and Meghan's Decision to Step Down as Royals Harry's dedication to his official duties didn't take any time off, despite the somewhat confusing nature of the royal family's communications over the past few weeks. WPA Pool/Getty Images The meetings came following a rather tumultuous weekend in terms of royal news, during which Harry spoke up about his "sadness" when it comes to stepping back from his royal roles. "Once Meghan and I were married, we were excited, we were hopeful, and we were here to serve," Harry opened up during a meeting with charity supporters of his Sentebale organization on Sunday (January 19). "The decision that I have made for my wife and I to step back, is not one I made lightly," he continued. "It was so many months of talks after so many years of challenges. And I know I havent always gotten it right, but as far as this goes, there really was no other option. What I want to make clear is were not walking away, and we certainly arent walking away from you." Harry reportedly isn't the only member of the royal family who's down about the whole thing, though. While Queen Elizabeth is reportedly dealing with the step-down agreement just fine, she's not so chuffed about having to spend less time with Harry and Meghan's son, baby Archie. Story continues The Sunday Times reports that the Queen is "very sad" that Archie will grow up primarily outside of the UK, as they haven't seen much of each other since he was born. "She will be very sad to have barely seen Archie and that he will miss out on growing up with his cousins and wider family," a source offered. This new arrangement for Harry and Meghan (and little Archie) will undoubtedly be difficult for some members of the royal family at first, but as Harry proved by getting on with his official duties, things will eventually get back to "normal" in the end. Imperial Valley News Center Malian National Charged With the Overseas Murder of a U.S. Citizen and Providing Material Support to Two Foreign Terrorist Organizations New York - A criminal complaint was filed Thursday 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 dIvoire 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 DIvoire and Mali for their continued support and assistance throughout this investigation. Theres 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 womens 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 dIvoire. Following the attack in Ouagadougou, Baba met with the operations chief of al-Murabitoun to plan another attack against Westerners, this one in Cote dIvoire. 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 dIvoire, 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 governments case is being handled by the Offices 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 Divisions Office of International Affairs of the Justice Department assisted in the investigation. Register of Deeds Marc Gravitt said he is aiming to scan all the Hamilton County land transactions dating back to before Tennessee was a state. And he wants to greatly speed up the process. Mr. Gravitt, a former state legislator from East Ridge, said, "At the present pace we are doing it, I and my staff will all be dead by the time it is finished." He is making plans to hire an outside firm with expertise in scanning documents and making them available in digital form. The firm would be hired through a Request for Proposals. Mr. Gravitt said, "Our office has one large, flatbed scanner. The outside firm would have a number of those with a staff that would be assigned just to this project." He expects the outside firm could do it within a few months. The land records have been scanned in by staff back to the 1970s. But there's a long way to go back to the county's founding in 1819. There are over 1,400 books still to go at 750 pages each. Mr. Gravitt said one old record that was found in the archives kept in county storage on Dayton Boulevard "pre-dated Tennessee's founding in 1796." He said some of the old records "refer to 'the Indian Village near Chickamauga Creek." Others have boundaries that include a tree with a special mark on it or "to the middle of the creek." He notes, "Creeks change courses." Mr. Gravitt, who was in the auction business for many years, said the cost could be paid from the office data processing fund that currently stands at over $600,000. He said the online documents would be especially valuable to land title specialists who could work from their offices rather than making the trek to the courthouse and finding a place to park. It would also be a bonanza for those working on their family tree or studying early county history, he said. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has said its stand on the Citizenship Amendment Act or CAA is what upset the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and it decided to not have an alliance for Delhi Assembly elections. BJP was upset with us for our opposition to citizenship amendment act passed by the NDA government. But SAD has its own stand and we will stick to it. Senior leaders of our party are meeting in Delhi to draw out a strategy, said SAD spokesman Daljit Singh Cheema. A senior BJP leader told Hindustan Times that the BJP will not be fighting the elections in Delhi SAD, its long standing alliance partner. ALSO WATCH | Delhi Elections 2020 l Bijli-paani-school or CAA, Modi: Whatll Delhi vote on? There are approximately 10 lakh Sikh voters in the national capital and according to political estimates, they impact the outcome in 10 out of 70 assembly seats, mostly in the West Delhi area. Other than the SAD, the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP), which is one of their newest allies in Haryana, will also not be fighting with the BJP in the upcoming elections. While deputy chief minister and JJP leader Dushyant Chautala was unavailable for comment, the SADs Delhi leader MS Sirsa said, If the BJP doesnt want to take along the minorities, then it is up to them. They are the senior partners and so we have to go by their wishes, he said. While it is unclear if the partys top leadership okayed this decision, HT has learnt that the call was taken by the election team in Delhi. This is led by Union minister Prakash Javdekar and also includes BJP national vice president Shyam Jaju and partys national secretary Tarun Chugh. In the recent past, the BJP and the Akalis have been slightly out of sync with SAD leader Sukhbir Badal raising concerns about the CAA. In a recent interview, he told HT, My partys view is that the CAA should mention minorities instead of naming religious communities (whose citizenship will be fast-tracked under the new law). Nobody in the country should feel that they have been omitted or left out. The news comes on a day when the BJP has managed to work out deals with two of their partners in Delhi - the Janata Dal (United) and the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), which are also important alliance partners in Bihar which goes to polls later this year. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky once again emphasizes that he would like to have good reliable relations with the United States as one of Ukraine's strategic partners and not be involved in internal political processes in that country. "I didn't do anything illegal. I had phone calls with the president of the United States. As the president of Ukraine, I did what I could do as the president of Ukraine to have a good, reliable and strong relationship with one of our strategic partners, the United States of America," he said in an interview with The Times of Israel, published on Sunday. Zelensky indicated that he was used to behaving this way and behaving in such a way as to avoid any participation or involvement of Ukraine, or each individual Ukrainian, in the political situation in the United States. "It is their country [U.S.], and they treat their country the way they like it. And I do not want them to involve us in any case related to their internal politics," he said. The Portland Trail Blazers shook up their roster this weekend, sending Kent Bazemore, Anthony Tolliver and two future second-round picks to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Trevor Ariza, Wenyen Gabriel and Caleb Swanigan. The move will save the Blazers money, but what might these new players bring to the court? Also, are the Blazers likely to make more deals as the Feb. 6 trade deadline nears? Join The Oregonian/OregonLives Joe Freeman at 12:30 p.m. PT Monday to talk about these and other Trail Blazers topics. Start leaving your questions in the comments section of this post now, and then come back for the hourlong discussion with Freeman this afternoon. By Roberto Ramirez TECUN UMAN (Reuters) - Hundreds of Central Americans gathered on the Guatemala-Mexico border on Sunday, aiming to cross en masse early on Monday in what could prove a stiff test of the Mexican government's pledge to satisfy U.S. demands to curb migrant flows. President Donald Trump has threatened to hurt Mexico and Central American countries economically if they allow large numbers to reach the U.S. border. U.S. border agents have tracked the latest exodus from Honduras this week. Small groups of migrants crossed the bridge from Tecun Uman, Guatemala, to Ciudad Hidalgo, Mexico, on Saturday after Mexican National Guardsmen repelled an attempt by some of the Central Americans to force their way through the border gates. Afterwards, most of the migrants withdrew to Tecun Uman to await the arrival of more travelers behind them in the hope they stand a better chance of progressing in one caravan. "We've been getting organized," said Jose Luis Cruz, a 33-year-old autoworker from Comayagua, Honduras, who left behind a wife and two children in a bid to reach the United States. Cruz said migrants waiting in Tecun Uman wanted to try and enter Mexico en masse at around 5 a.m. on Monday, hoping that authorities would let them pass to avoid clashes. "If we cross alone, they'll get us, and all the sacrifices we've made to get here will have been in vain," he added. Guatemala's government says at least 4,000 people have entered from Honduras since Wednesday, making for one of the biggest surges since three Central American governments signed agreements with the Trump administration obliging them to assume more of the responsibility of dealing with migrants. Tecun Uman's main migrant shelter quickly filled to capacity with 600 people, and another 1,300 broke their journey in a second, makeshift refuge, said local priest Alfredo Camarena. Mexican authorities have so far controlled the border more successfully than in late 2018, when a large caravan of people sought to break through at the same crossing. Many later crossed into Mexico via the Suchiate River dividing the two countries. Mexico has offered migrants work in the south, but those who do not accept it or seek asylum will not be issued safe conduct passes to the United States, the interior ministry said. (Writing by Dave Graham; Editing by Nick Zieminski) Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. USA (20-JAN-2020) Find yourself getting a neglected call up from an unfamiliar contact after which hope that you might realize who it's with no calling them again and also prompting? I recognize the accustomed to accidentally as well my mates continuously till I stumbled upon revealphoneowner phone lookup web-site. When you're wondering concerning phone search in general and the ways to research a telephone number and also mobile phone owner, and then still check this out short article. 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Website : https://www.revealphoneowner.com/ Delhi court on Monday convicted Brajesh Thakur, the main accused in the sexual and physical assault on several girls in a Muzaffarpur shelter home, for gang rape and aggravated penetrative sexual assault. A Delhi court on Monday convicted Brajesh Thakur, the main accused in the sexual and physical assault on several girls in a Muzaffarpur shelter home, for gang rape and aggravated penetrative sexual assault. Eighteen others were also held guilty. The court will hear arguments before pronouncing the quantum of sentence on 28 January at 11 am. According to reports, 19 out of 20 accused have been convicted by the court. One accused, Vicky, has been acquitted by additional sessions judge Dr Saurabh Kulshreshtha. According to Bar&Bench, Thakur has also been convicted for the commission of offence of rape. Thakur has also been convicted under Section 6 of the POCSO Act, and offences under Juvenile Justice Act. Breaking: #Muzaffarpur Shelter Home: Delhi Court convicts Brajesh Thakur and 18 others for offences such as rape, conspiracy, and aggravated sexual assault of minors. One person has been acquitted Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) January 20, 2020 News18 reported that soon after the court announced its decision, one of the convicts broke down and said, "I didn't even touch the girls. I will commit suicide." The report also said that the accused included eight women and 12 men. The court also charged Thakur, his employees, and officials of the Bihar Social Welfare Department with "criminal conspiracy, neglect of duty, failure to report the assault on the girls, and cruelty to children under their authority." The Delhi court on 18 January dismissed a plea filed by Thakur which claimed that testimonies of witnesses in the case were not reliable. During an in-camera proceeding, Kulshreshtha had rejected the plea on the ground that the case of sexual assault was different from the case of alleged murder of some of the girls in the shelter home, said a lawyer privy to the matter. The CBI had told the court that the probe agency had just given an interim report in the Supreme Court stating they had found no evidence against the allegations of murder and in fact the girls who were believed to have been murdered were found to be alive, the lawyer said. The case of alleged murder of girls in the shelter home and the case of alleged sexual assault were two different cases, the CBI said. The probe agency, in its reply filed before the court, said that they have not yet given a clean chit to the accused against the allegations of murder and the statement in the top court was just an interim report. The court had earlier deferred for the third time pronouncement of judgement in the case till 20 January after the petition was filed before it. The plea said the CBI on 8 January submitted a status report in the Supreme Court wherein it said that the some of the girls of the shelter home, who were thought to be allegedly murdered, were alive. Thakur's petition, filed through advocate PK Dubey, has claimed that the prosecution witnesses in the shelter home sexual assault case were not trustworthy as the investigation into the allegations of murder were based on their statements. These facts were relevant and essential for a fair trial, it said. With inputs from agencies Entries for the Absa Business Day Supplier Development Awards are open until 17 February 2020. A total of 11 awards will be decided this year, with two new categories included.The awards showcase supplier development best practice and are essential for celebrating the efforts of large South African companies who have committed themselves to build inclusive and transformed supply chains that thrive.Entries do not carry any costs for applicants and can be made by completing the application form at www.sdawards.co.za . Entries close on 17 February 2020. Winners of the Absa Business Day Supplier Development Awards will be awarded at an interactive breakfast event hosted by Arena Holdings on 20 May 2020, in Parktown, Johannesburg. What happens to world markets when China buys an additional $50 billion-plus in U.S. energy products over the next two years? For some analysts, as spectacular as this may sound to fossil fuel bulls, at best, its unrealistic. After months of negotiations, the United States and China have finally agreed to and signed a phase-one trade agreement between the worlds two largest economies. The agreement would see China purchase billions of dollars worth of oil, coal, and LNG, to the tune of $52 billiona scenario that if fulfilled, would change the course of the worlds energy landscape forever. The agreement, which analysts prefer to call a trade truce because it does not address any of the major underlying issues that started the trade war in first place, is a step toward resolving differences that has eaten into US energy-product exports to China. The agreement calls for an increase in the exports of the worlds number-one crude oil producer, the United States, to the worlds largest crude oil importer, China. The phase-one agreement is also intended to significantly raise U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to China, which had dwindled after China slapped tariffs on U.S. LNG imports and stopped altogether after April 2019. U.S. coal exports could also see a jump to China, if Beijing makes good on its promise to increase its imports of U.S. energy products by billions of U.S. dollars over the next two years. Under the phase-one deal, China is set to buy this year no less than US$18.5 billion worth of U.S. energy products above the 2017 baseline, and no less than US$33.9 billion above the corresponding 2017 baseline in 2021. This is an additional US$52.4 billion worth of U.S. energy product flows from the United States into China in 2020 and 2021 above the levels of Chinese imports of energy back in 2017, before the trade war began and before the two biggest economies started slapping tariffs on each others goods. Related: How Important Is The Suriname Oil Discovery? Thats a big ask. Analysts believe that Chinas pledge to buy so much more U.S. energy products is unrealistic and challenging for Beijing, even if its intentions are to stick to this deal. A Global Impact If China were to buy so much more additional U.S. energy products, the worlds flow of crude oil, LNG, and coal would shift, as Reuters columnist Clyde Russell notes. For now, China still has tariffs on imports of U.S. crude oil and LNG, which could dampen the prospects for US to China crude flows. Beijing has not eliminated a 5-percent tariff on crude oil imports from the U.S. in the phase-one trade deal, nor has it removed a much steeper, 25-percent tariff on US LNG imports. If China were to keep its end of the bargain in the phase-one trade deal, it would have to more than double the volume of imports of U.S. crude oil and LNG from the monthly records in recent years, Reuters Russell has estimated. The record month for Chinese imports of U.S. crude oil was March 2018, which saw a total of 14.5 million barrels ship, but things have cooled down since then, falling to 6 million barrels as of last September. The record monthly volume of LNG imports from the U.S. was set in October 2017, as per Energy Information Administration (EIA) data, at 24.6 million cubic feet for the month. But from May to October 2019, no US LNG made its way to China. If China were to double these record monthly volumes and sustain them for the whole of 2020, it could come at least close to fulfilling its pledge for a huge boost in imports of U.S. energy products. However, even with government-mandated purchases of U.S. oil and gas, China will find those targets challenging to achieve because the trade of energy products on the global market is also dictated by market forces and prices, especially for U.S. oil producers. The Chinese tariffs on U.S. crude oil and LNG still in place are one of the factors likely to limit immediate boosts in Chinas imports of American oil and gas. Related: Why Oilfield Service Giants Are Dumping Assets While the American Petroleum Institute (API) applauded the phase one trade deal, it called for the U.S. to work to eliminate all energy related tariffs. We encourage the administration to stay at the negotiating table until the U.S.-China marketplace for energy trade is fully restored and all remaining tariffs are lifted including U.S. tariffs on imports of industrial components used in our industry and Chinese retaliatory tariffs on U.S. energy exports, API President and CEO Mike Sommers said in a statement. U.S. crude oil exporters will have to compete with other major exporters for a piece of the Chinese market, which they had just started to win over, before losing China as a major buyer in the most heated periods of the trade war. Russia and the Middle East Russia and oil suppliers from the Middle East will fight tooth and nail for their prized export market in Asia. The proximity of the Middle East and Russia will also make U.S. crude oil sales on Chinas market more challenging, because shipping costs are higher and the arbitrage needs to be open for U.S. crude oil flows to China. For China to massively increase imports of oil and LNG from the US while tariffs remain in place, is going to be challenging, Wood Mackenzies Asia Pacific Vice Chair Gavin Thompson said last week, commenting on the phase one deal. If China is to significantly boost its LNG imports from the U.S., the 25-percent tariff will have to be either absorbed by the importing company or passed through to the consumer. We expect that Chinese national oil companies will be reluctant to commit to large-scale purchases given this. At the same time, the next two years will also see a slower pace of gas demand growth in China, rising domestic production, and the arrival of Russian pipeline gas, creating a more competitive gas market, Thompson noted. Qatar and Australia Furthermore, Qatar and Australia will be Americas competition in LNG supply both in China and in other markets. Qatar and Australia are geographically better positioned than the U.S. on the Chinese market. But if China buys significantly more LNG from the U.S. at the expense of Australia and Qatar, those two LNG exporters would go after other Asian LNG markets and also the European markets, where the U.S. has boosted LNG supply recently. The flows of global crude oil and LNG could be upended if China manages to reach its purchase commitments in the phase one trade deal. But right now, this looks like a very big if. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Josep Lluis Trapero, former police chief of Catalonia on Monday went on trial over his role in the region's failed independence bid in 2017. According to reports, Josep, who was the head of Mossos d'Esquadra regional police force at the time of 2017 protests is accused of "total passivity" by state prosecutors. Prosecutors have said that during the October 1 independence referendum, Mossos under Trapero's watch did not respond while Spain's national police led the violent crackdown to stop voters. Read: Catalan Protesters Outside EU Parliament To Show Support For Puigdemont Josep Lluis Trapero's trial The trial that is taking place at a court in San Fernando de Henares on the outskirts of Madrid is expected to last until March 19. According to reports, Josep Lluis Trapero is facing the court on charges of rebellion with prosecutors seeking an 11-year jail sentence. The Supreme Court of Spain in October 2019, sentenced nine Catalan separatist leaders to prison terms but dismissed the charge of rebellion against them and charged them with sedition instead, which carries a shorter jail term. Trapero also appeared at the separatists' trial as a witness where he defended his role as police chief saying that Mossos had no intention of facilitating the referendum. Read: El Clasico: Catalans Protest, Clash With Police At Football Match In Spain Reports suggest that shortly after the October 27 referendum was passed in the Catalan Parliament in 2017, Trapero was dismissed along with the Catalan government and direct rule was imposed from the central government in Madrid. His dismissal came just two months after he was praised for capturing Islamic State extremists who were behind a summer van attack that killed 14 people in Barcelona. Voters in Catalonia voted in favour of independence during the October 1 referendum that saw a turnout of 43 per cent. After the referendum, the President of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, declared the independence of Catalonia but left it suspended in order to engage in a dialogue to reach an agreement with the Spanish government. Read: Hong Kong Protesters To Rally For Catalan Separatists For Independence Read: Spain Sends Third Arrest Warrant Against Catalan Ex-leader In Belgium First Omicron case detected in Andhra Pradesh, overall tally rises to 36 People in Andhra to get quality liquor at Rs 50 if BJP comes to power: Somu Veerraju Night curfew in Andhra Pradesh: Know timings, guidelines, rules; What is allowed, what is not allowed Andhra Pradesh Assembly passes the 3 capital resolution Bill 2020 India oi-Mousumi Dash Amaravati, Jan 20: Andhra Pradesh legislative assembly on Monday passed the 'Andhra Pradesh Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Bill 2020'. Both bills will be placed before the legislative council on Tuesday. Earlier, on Monday Andhra Pradesh Cabinet cleared the decks for the development of the three cities Amaravati, Visakhapatnam and Kurnool as the legislative, executive and judicial capital cities respectively during the special Assembly session. The Jagan Mohan Reddy government proposed to shift the state Secretariat and the Chief Minister's office to Visakhapatnam and the High Court to Kurnool. Amid the proceeding tension prevailed in Andhra Pradesh, 17 TDP (Telugu Desam Party) MLAs were suspended from the state assembly for the day, as they had created ruckus while the CM Jagan Mohan Reddy was addressing the House today, the MLA's raised the slogans of 'Jai Amaravati'. 3 capital for Andhra: Cabinet clears decks for development of Amaravati, Visakhapatnam and Kurnool Later, TDP MP Jayadev Galla was detained while a rally held by farmers against the cabinet nod on setting up three state capitals in Andhra Pradesh. The State finance minister Buggana Rajendranath introduced this Bill earlier in the day, today. Sydney: Thunderstorms and giant hail battered parts of Australia's east coast on Monday after "apocalyptic" dust storms swept across drought-stricken areas, as extreme weather patterns collided in the bushfire-fatigued country. Australia has since October been overwhelmed by an unprecedented bushfire season made worse by climate change. Swathes of the country have burned, hundreds of millions of animals have died, more than 2,000 homes have been destroyed and at least 29 lives have been lost. Violent hail storms pelted the capital Canberra on Monday, with footage showing the storm ripping branches off trees. Emergency services were warning people there to "move cars undercover and away from trees and power lines". The bureau of meteorology told people in the southeast of New South Wales, including Sydney, to brace for the approaching storm. "Severe thunderstorms are likely to produce damaging, locally destructive winds, large, possibly giant hailstones and heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding in the warning area over the next several hours," the bureau said. Two people visiting the popular tourist destination the Blue Mountains were taken to hospital when a 16-year-old boy was hit by lightning and a 24-year-old man suffered injuries while leaning on a nearby metal railing. "These people are extremely lucky to be alive," Ambulance New South Wales duty manager Greg Marshall said in a statement. "One centimeter either away and they would have faced a direct hit which could've been fatal." They both remain in hospital in a stable condition. Dramatic images captured over the weekend from western New South Wales show a massive wall of dust rolling through outback towns. Locals reported being cast into darkness in the middle of the day. "We are used to the ritual and rush of bringing in washing, turning air cons off, closing windows and doors, before a big dust storm hits," Ashleigh Hull from the rural town of Dubbo told AFP. This one was "more spectacular" than the typical dust storm, she added. Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and US President Donald Trump will meet this week on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, the Foreign Office announced on Monday. Khan would attend the WEF in Davos, Switzerland, from January 21 to 23 at the invitation of Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the WEF. "On the sidelines, the Prime Minister will hold bilateral meetings with several world leaders. These include Prime Minister's meeting with US President Trump," the FO said. This would be the third leadership-level interaction between Pakistan and the US since Prime Minister Khan's maiden visit to Washington in July 2019. The two leaders had also met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September. Their meeting comes amid tensions in the Gulf region between Iran and the US, and Pakistan's efforts to drum up support on the Kashmir issue. Ahead of the announcement of his meeting with Trump, Khan on Saturday warned that he feared "an Indian false flag operation." He said there was an urgent need for UN Security Council to insist India allow the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) return to Kashmir. "I want to make clear to India and the international community that if India continues its military attacks killing civilians across LoC, Pakistan will find it increasingly difficult to remain an inactive observer along the LoC," Khan tweeted on Saturday. India maintains that the UNMOGIP, established in January 1949, has outlived its utility and is irrelevant after the Simla Agreement and the consequent establishment of the Line of Control. Several other meetings are also scheduled with a wide range of corporate, business, technology and finance executives, and representatives of international financial institutions, the Foreign Office said, disclosing details of Khan's programme in Davos. Khan would deliver a keynote address at the WEF Special Session, and interact with CEOs and corporate leaders at the 'Pakistan Strategy Dialogue'. He will also speak to international media and editors during a session with the Forum's International Media Council. Throughout his engagements at Davos, Khan will share Pakistan's vision and achievements in the areas of economy, peace and stability, trade, business and investment opportunities, the FO said. He will also highlight the current situation in Kashmir and Pakistan's perspective on key regional and international issues, it said. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Forum. In keeping with the significance of this milestone, political leaders, business executives, heads of international organisations and civil society representatives will deliberate on contemporary economic, geopolitical, social and environmental issues at Davos summit. VP Pence Responds to Joy Behar Mocking Christian Faith as 'Mental Illness' Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Vice President Mike Pence has responded to an ABC talk show host who likened Christianity to "mental illness," criticizing the network for allowing open mockery of the faith of millions of Americans. In an interview with Axios Wednesday, the vice president was asked about Joy Behar's words Tuesday on ABC's daytime talk show "The View," where she and other co-hosts discussed former White House staffer Omarosa Manigault Newman's comments on Celebrity Big Brother, where she is presently a contestant. Newman told fellow contestants on the reality show that they should fear Pence more than Trump because he is "extreme" and that Jesus tells him to say things. Behar commented that the idea that Jesus Christ speaks to Pence was evidence the vice president has a "mental illness." Pence replied that while he is accustomed to criticism and wanted to just laugh about it, he could not let this go. "An overwhelming majority of Americans cherish their faith, and we have all different types of faith in this country," Pence said. "But I have to tell you: To have ABC maintain a broadcast forum that compared Christianity to mental illness is just wrong." He added that it was not only personally insulting but also to the large majority of Americans for whom faith is important. "I just think it demonstrates how out of touch some people in the mainstream media are with the faith and values of the American people that you could have a major network like ABC permit a forum for invective against religion like that," the vice president reiterated. "I just call them out on it, not because of what was said about me, but it's just simply wrong for ABC to have a television program that expresses that kind of religious intolerance. We're better than that, our country is better than that." Pence also spoke about how his faith influences his and his wife's life. "I try to start every day by opening the Good Book. My wife and I try to have a prayer together before I leave every morning," he recounted during the interview. "I can honestly tell you my faith sustains me in all that I do and it's just a regular part of our lives. But I'm not unusual. I think I'm a very typical American, whatever your faith tradition, people understand that." Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas and a member of President Trump's evangelical advisory board, said of the talk show host's words in a Fox News interview Wednesday: "Let's just go ahead and say what we all know is true, if Joy Behar had attacked a devout Muslim for his faith, ABC would have fired her in a nanosecond." "To the Left, when it comes to attacking conservative Christians, it is always open season." Comments like Behar's are why evangelicals largely supported Donald Trump in the 2016 election, he continued, as Christians are sick of being bullied for their faith in the public square. "Mike Pence has committed the unpardonable sin when it comes to the Left and that is he still maintains the personal belief that marriage should be between a man and a woman," Jeffress explained when asked why some seem to have such a problem with the vice president's faith. The January 18 notification declares the Gulf country as a "reciprocating territory" for the purpose of Code of Civil Procedure and identifying superior courts here, thereby facilitating execution of UAE civil court orders through the Indian courts. New Delhi, Jan 20 (IANS) Loan defaulters and convicts in other civil cases in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will no longer be able to escape the law and flee to India after a gazette notification by the Indian Ministry of Law and Justice. The notification reads: "In exercise of powers conferred by Explanation 1 to Section 44A of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908), the Central government hereby declares the United Arab Emirates to be a reciprocating territory for the purposes of the said Section and the following courts in the UAE to be superior courts of that territory." It listed federal and local courts across the UAE that were identified as superior courts. The notification comes as part of a 1999 agreement between the UAE and India related to cooperation in civil and commercial matters. The move will help in execution of civil verdicts in financial and divorce cases. san/tsb * N.Korea told embassies Ri Son Gwon was new foreign minister * Change comes as talks with U.S. stalled * New minister has led talks with S.Korea, but never U.S. By Hyonhee Shin SEOUL, Jan 20 (Reuters) - North Korea's new foreign minister is a former defence commander with little diplomatic experience, spotlighting leader Kim Jong Un's reliance on party and military loyalists at a sensitive time amid stalled U.S. talks, analysts in Seoul said on Monday. Last week, North Korea told countries with embassies in Pyongyang that Ri Son Gwon, a senior military officer and official of the ruling Workers' Party, had been appointed foreign minister, a diplomatic source in Seoul told Reuters. He replaces Ri Yong Ho, a career diplomat with years of experience negotiating with Washington, but who often took a backseat to other officials during the last two years of diplomacy. Seoul-based NK News first reported the change on Saturday, citing unnamed sources in Pyongyang. Analysts said it was too soon to tell exactly what impact the appointment may have for the stalled denuclearisation talks with the United States, but said Ri Son Gwon had often played a confrontational role in negotiations with South Korea. Unlike his predecessor, Ri Son Gwon does not have any experience in dealing with nuclear issues or U.S. officials, though he has led high-level talks between the neighbours. Previously chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country (CPRC), which handles relations with South Korea, Ri is the latest military official to be promoted to the party leadership. "There has been a demonstrative crossover dynamic in which senior military officials migrate into the party leadership," said Michael Madden, a North Korea leadership expert at the Stimson Centre, a U.S. think tank. As the young North Korean leader oversaw a number of short-range ballistic missile launches in the past year, the number of military and arms industry officials appearing in public with Kim Jong Un has increased sharply. Ri had largely stayed out of the public eye since talks with South Korea stalled last year. But in April he was named to the foreign affairs panel of the Supreme People's Assembly, the country's parliament, and was most recently seen at a meeting of the party's policy-making central committee in December. Story continues A tough, hawkish negotiator, Ri "stormed out of the room" during military talks with South Korea in 2014 when Seoul demanded an apology for what it saw as the North's past military provocations, a former South Korean official who met him said. Ri was also known as a right-hand man of Kim Yong Chol, another former military leader who took up a top party post before steering nuclear talks with the United States. POWER SHIFTS After the failed Hanoi summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, Kim Yong Chol faded from public view as Kim Jong Un elevated diplomats versed in U.S. relations, including Ri Yong Ho's deputy Choe Son Hui. But Kim Yong Chol seemed to retain influence behind the scenes, while the role of Ri Yong Ho gradually withered, as working-level talks with the United States also collapsed in October and Washington ignored a year-end deadline to resume negotiations. Ri Yong Ho's absence from a group photograph of top party executives at the December meeting prompted speculation about his future. "Ri Yong Ho is the official who was effectively sidelined after the Hanoi meetings and was removed from office because the interlocutors selected by the foreign ministry appeared not to accomplish anything," Madden said. As Ri Son Gwon becomes foreign minister, deputy Choe is expected to retain an influential position, thanks in part to her family background and personal rapport with an inner circle of women close to Kim Jong Un, including his sister and wife, diplomatic sources say. "What's most important is what Kim Jong Un thinks, and he needs someone he can trust to speak for him, whether it be Ri Son Gwon or Choe Son Hui," said Kim Hong-kyun, a former South Korean nuclear negotiator. (Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Josh Smith and Clarence Fernandez) A woman who was orally raped by her own father has revealed he pleaded guilty not to spare her, but because he had a fear of being lonely and would rather go to prison than die alone. Alex Mimer, 21, who is from London but now lives in West Wales, was seven-years-old when her dad Sydney Mimer started abusing her around the years of 2006 - and 12 months later, he raped her in his van during a work trip to Scotland. On 21 July 2017, he was charged with numerous sexual offences against Alex, including rape, but denied it, but three days into his trial he admitted everything. And when the court heard how Sydney, then aged 69, had a fear of dying alone, Alex realised her 'calculating' father had pleaded guilty not because of regret, but because he wanted to go to prison so that he would die surrounded by others. He was sentenced to 12 years with a licence of three years and two months, for 2 counts of rape of a child under 13, 1 count of sexual activity and 2 counts of causing a child to engage in sexual activity. Alex Mimer, 21, who is from London but now lives in West Wales, was orally raped by her father Sydney Mimer during a work trip to Scotland when she was just eight-years-old. Pictured, together when she was a baby Alex has since gone on to rebuild her life, and has moved from London to her favourite place, West Wales. Pictured, camping in Wales - the only place where she's ever felt free Now, Alex has waived her right to anonymity in a bid to speak out and help others suffering. Im glad hes where he belongs,' she said. 'He shattered my childhood, I didnt have one, and his abuse has affected me ever since. But Im glad I found the courage to speak up, rather than hiding away.' I still struggle with my mental health but the good days are beginning to outweigh the bad and Ive finally found happiness with my fiance. Alexs dad was 50 when she was born, her mum was much younger at 32, and she was the one with the energy to play with Alex after her work as a teaching assistant. 'Dad wouldnt do much with me,' she explained. 'He drove a van and would usually come home, open a beer and slump on the sofa, playing games on his PlayStation.' Occasionally Id sit on his knee and I looked up to him, after all he was my dad. But in childhood photos of me with him I was never smiling. Her parents would take her on the occasional day out and family holiday, but Alex says she doesnt have many fond childhood memories. When I look back there are no happy family images in my head, only photos, like the one of me aged six in my zip up hoodie with a big white star when we went to visit Mums family abroad,' she explained. Sydney Mimer (pictured) was sentenced to 12 years with a licence of three years and two months, for 2 counts of rape of a child under 13, 1 count of sexual activity and 2 counts of causing a child to engage in sexual activity Alex doesnt have many fond childhood memories (pictured with her father Sydney when she was younger) and says she was always told it was 'their little secret' when she was abused by her dad Then one afternoon the following year, her mum went to the shops leaving Alex at home with her dad. He was on his PlayStation as usual and it was vibrating, when suddenly he held it against my crotch,' recalled Alex. 'He had a strange grin on his face and asked me how it felt. I was confused and told him I wasn't sure, and he then carried on with his game. However, it wasnt long before Sydney abused her again. The next time Alex's mum went out he put his hands down her knickers and touched her. Hed pull down his trousers and pants and hed make me touch him too, telling me, through his stale cigarette breath not to tell anyone,' she explained. 'He'd always say it was "our little secret."' Afterwards, hed give me loose change from his pocket for sweets. He acted so matter of fact about it, like it was normal. Alex's dad would travel with his job and when she was eight, he had to drive from where they lived in London, up to Scotland. He said hed take her and that they could sleep there overnight, on the bunk beds in the van. 'I was excited, thinking it would be an adventure, and I packed some clothes and a teddy,' said Alex. 'But the journey was long and tiring and that night as we pulled up in a parking lot, Dad orally raped me.' He made me give him oral sex. I was crying, so confused and as I wretched I thought I was going to be sick.' When Dad had finished he gave me a tissue, and said to me again: "Remember its our little secret." Afterwards he fell asleep.' She added: Lying in the bunk above I held my teddy close and sobbed into my pillow until I had no tears left. Alex and her father Sydney (in the star hoodie), pictured when they were abroad visiting her mother's family Alex says she's determined to make the most of her life with fiance Owain, 26 (pictured together with her engagement ring) and also by sharing her story in a bid to help others The next day Sydney acted as if nothing had happened as Alex helped him with his work, unloading the van. And out of a mixture of misplaced loyalty and fear when they got home, Alex stayed quiet. I prayed it wouldnt happen again and whenever he came near me Id tell him I didnt want to do it,' she said. 'But I was too powerless to stop it from happening.' It dawned that hed pleaded guilty, not to spare me but because hed rather go to prison than die alone. Hed been thinking of himself. Calculating to the very end.' Alex Mimer All the time Mum had no idea what was happening but she and Dad would often argue. One morning when Alex had turned ten, she woke her up and told her that they were moving. Before she knew it they were in a new flat, living without her dad. 'It was all so confusing and Dad didnt come to see us, but I didnt miss him or the things hed done to me, she explained. Alex had no understanding of the damage her dad had done but she felt an increasing sense of losing control. And when she was 12, she learned through sex education at school, the true horror of it all. Shame and anger built up inside me,' explained Alex. 'But instead of telling anyone I withdrew into myself. It left me feeling isolated at home as well as school and I stopped doing well in lessons.' The teachers started having conversations with Mum, but she was at a loss to explain. I began to feel like a massive problem and thought it must've all been my fault. I started self-harming.' She continued: As the blade sank deep into my flesh the pain was nothing compared to what I was trying to block out. Sometimes I wanted to end it once and for all and Id swallow a handful of painkillers. But Mum would find me and Id be rushed to hospital where my stomach would be pumped. She'd beg me to talk to someone and while she was doing her best, I pushed her away. Even when counselling sessions were arranged I refused to talk.' It was only when Alex turned 12 that she learned through sex education at school, the true horror of the abuse she had suffered. Pictured, Alex now After struggling through her teens and keeping her dads sick secret for a decade, Alex broke down after attending a family friend's wedding and told her mum. Now, Alex with her fiance Owain All the time, Alex's fathers sick secret ate away at her. Suffering flashbacks and nightmares, in her minds eye, shed see his face, smell his breath, relieve the abuse. One day when she was 14 she was on a bus with friends when she saw him for real. I was sat at the back and when he got on I nearly had a heart attack,' explained Alex. He looked dishevelled and as he turned to look directly at me my heart thumped against my chest. But there was no flicker of recognition and luckily he got off before my stop. But it really shook me up. As time passed, Alex continued to struggle. At 15 she was prescribed anti-depressants and one day, having swallowed a handful of them she collapsed on the street. Her then boyfriend took her to hospital and called her mum, but still, Alex didnt tell her about the abuse. Instead she started to drink to try and blot it all out - and says the smallest thing would make her erupt. Sometimes Id punch the walls with my fists until my knuckles bled,' she said. 'But that kind of pain was much easier than the pain I felt inside. Alex says the only time shed ever feel happy was one week each summer when she went to Wales with a camping group, which shed done since she was 11. But in March 2016, aged 17, Alex and her mum were invited to a family friends wedding. Alex didnt feel up to it, but not wanting to disappoint her mum, she made an effort, putting on a dress and doing her make-up. The church service was lovely and afterwards at the reception everyone was happy, having a good time,' she explained. Plastering on a smile I managed to hold it together, but I ended up several glasses of wine. By the end of the night, around 11pm, Alex was being helped into the back of the car, sat behind her mum as a friend drove them home. After keeping her dads sick secret for a decade, Alex (pictured) broke down after attending a family freinds wedding and told her mum I remember seeing Mum in the front before passing out, explained Alex. 'I woke up vomiting into a bag, so our friend pulled into a service station and Mum came with me to the ladies.' But in there Alex began crying uncontrollably and when her mum asked her what was wrong, she couldnt hold it in any longer and through frantic sobs, it all came out. 'I told her Dad did stuff to me when I was a child,' recalled Alex. Mum gasped and her face turned ashen. She asked me why Id never told her and she started crying, blaming herself. I told her none of it was her fault.' But now that her mum knew, Alex was scared. She didnt want her to call the police, but her mum insisted. Alex went to a friends overnight, desperate to hide away, but the next day a police officer rang her and asked her to go to the station, where she made a video statement. 'I was shaking and sobbing as I raked up all the sordid things Dad had done to me,' explained Alex. 'But the police let me take my time and I managed to answer all their questions. Afterwards, Sydney was arrested. Despite refusing to speak and denying everything, he was charged with sexual offences against Alex, including rape. It meant a trial, the prospect of which filled Alex with dread. But now shed spoken up she realised that she was no longer scared of him. And on 21 July 2017 when the trial came round at Snaresbrook Crown Court, Alex was determined to look him in the eye, to show she was no longer afraid. At first Sydney continued to maintain his innocence, but when Alex arrived at court on the third day, she was ushered into another room, where her barrister gave her the news her father had changed his plea and had admitted everything. Sydney Mimer was convicted of two counts of rape of a child under 13, one count of sexual activity and two counts of causing a child to engage in sexual activity. Relief flooded through me but I was left feeling confused,' said Alex. 'I didnt understand why hed suddenly changed his mind, had it been to spare me? While Alex's dad robbed her of a childhood, she says she's determined to make the most of her life with Owain, 26 (pictured together) The following month when Alex returned to court for the sentencing, she stared straight at him, looking for signs of remorse - but there werent any. When her dads barrister told the court that her father had a fear of dying alone, the penny dropped. It dawned that hed pleaded guilty, not to spare me but because hed rather go to prison than die alone,' she said. 'Hed been thinking of himself. Calculating to the very end.' When the judge sentenced him to 12 years, with a licence of three years and two months he actually smiled.' Afterwards, DC Neil Golding who led the case said: 'Mimer is a predatory paedophile who carried out a sustained campaign of sexual abuse against a young girl. 'His actions have had a devastating impact on the girls life and I can only hope seeing him jailed for a significant period of time can give her some form of closure and allow her to move with her life. Over two years on from the court case Alex admits it hasnt been easy. She still suffers from bad days and carries both the mental and physical scars. But due to her enormous bravery she has gone on to rebuild her life, moving from the city to her favourite place, West Wales, where she now works in a bank and is currently planning her wedding to her fiance, Owain, I never thought Id find happiness, and I dont think I would have done, if I hadnt spoken up about dads abuse,' she said. I didnt have a childhood but Dad wont take my future. Im determined to make the most of my life with Owain, 26, and also by telling my story I hope to help others whove been through similar and show them that there is life after abuse. NUNEATON, United Kingdom, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- CompTIA, the leading technology industry association, has today announced that it is working with North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College to provide digital skills across the West Midlands. Following a grant from the Digital Skills Funding pot available from West Midlands Combines Authority, North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College has launched the IT & Digital Skills Training Academy. The Academy aims to deliver vital digital skills training to the West Midlands area. People living in the area will be able to benefit from free training courses that enable them to either join the growing digital and IT roles available in the region or by upskilling so that they can progress in their field. The first courses being offered by the Academy are a series of blended courses built on CompTIA's IT Fundamentals, A+ and Security+ certifications. Each certification provides students with the fundamental skills needed to start a career in technology. With recent research from CompTIA finding Birmingham one of the UK's best tech hubs, this course presents an opportunity for residents of the West Midlands to take full advantage of the potential career paths the city and beyond has to offer. The courses, run flexibly over a 12-week period, accessible online and enable students to gain qualifications in everything from technology concepts to managing devices. This approach makes the course all-inclusive, ensuring that adult learners with additional responsibilities still have the chance to develop their skills according to their own schedule. Students can then progress onto apprenticeships or onto higher level courses. Andy Street, the Mayor of the West Midlands, said: "Investment in digital skills will help us future-proof our region's workforce and continue to help establish the West Midlands as the UK's leading tech hub. "The WMCA's funding for the IT and Digital Training Academy is a huge step in making sure we are providing citizens with every opportunity to thrive in tech roles, and we look forward to seeing the course make a real and positive difference to the people and businesses of the West Midlands." Graham Hunter, VP Skills Certification at CompTIA, added: "Giving people the skills to thrive in an IT role is at the heart of CompTIA's certifications and this partnership gives us the opportunity to maximise the impact we have across the UK. The West Midlands area has a lot to gain and a lot to contribute to the IT industry and this course will allow individuals and businesses alike to reach their full digital potential." The IT Fundamentals certification provides an introduction to basic IT knowledge and skills, while A+ and Security+ develop these skills further with training on critical IT support and cybersecurity topics respectively. As industry-recognised credentials, trusted by employers to identify individuals who can thrive in technical roles, a combination of the three certifications provides students with a solid set of digital skills that enables them to move straight into tech roles. Sally Denning, Director of Adult Learning at North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College, said: "North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College has received funding from the West Midlands Combined Authority to help deliver our vision to support and grow a world-class digital workforce. Funding the delivery of CompTIA qualifications will help to meet our vision of upskilling individuals who are looking for a career in IT or who wish to progress in the IT industry." The course is enrolling until 30th July 2020, and prospective students can apply via this link: https://www.nwslc.ac.uk/it-digital-training-academy/. About CompTIA The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is a leading voice and advocate for the $5.2 trillion global information technology ecosystem; and the more than 50 million industry and tech professionals who design, implement, manage, and safeguard the technology that powers the world's economy. Through education, training, certifications, advocacy, philanthropy, and market research, CompTIA is the hub for advancing the tech industry and its workforce. Visit www.comptia.org to learn more. About North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College is a leading college group based in the Midlands. The group has five Campuses located across Leicestershire and Warwickshire. Through the shared Mission, 'to achieve success through learning,' the college is committed to working in partnership with local, regional and national employers to ensure it delivers the skills training that industry needs today and in the future. North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College also sponsors the Midland Academies Trust, an independent charitable organisation designed to support local schools. For more information visit www.nwslc.ac.uk. Contact: Niall Moran AprilSix Proof on behalf of CompTIA [email protected] 0203 141 2989 SOURCE CompTIA Related Links http://www.comptia.org By Roberto Ramirez SUCHIATE RIVER, Guatemala/Mexico (Reuters) - Mexican security forces fired tear gas at rock-hurling Central American migrants who waded across a river into Mexico earlier on Monday, in a chaotic scramble that saw mothers separated from their young children. The clashes between hundreds of U.S.-bound Central Americans and the Mexican National Guard underscores the challenge President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador faces to contain migration at the bidding of his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump. The mostly Honduran migrants numbered around 500, according to Mexico's National Migration Institute (INM). They were part of a group of several thousand people that had set off last week from Honduras, fleeing rampant gang violence and dire job prospects in their homeland. Video footage showed scattered groups of migrants throwing rocks at a few members of the National Guard militarized police who were on the banks of the river attempting to thwart illegal crossings, while hundreds of others ran past into Mexico. Five National Guard police were injured in the clashes, the INM said. "We didn't come to stay here. We just want to cross to the other side," said Ingrid, 18, a Honduran migrant. "I don't want to go back to my country because there is nothing there, just hunger." A Reuters witness spoke to at least two mothers whose young children went missing amid the chaos, as the migrants on Mexican soil scattered in an attempt to avoid being detained by Mexican officials. The INM said it had detained 402 migrants and transferred them to immigration stations where they will receive food, water and shelter. The INM will return them to their home countries via airplane or bus if their legal status cannot be resolved. A spokeswoman at the INM said the institute had no reports of children going missing amid the clashes. The Reuters witness said that several kilometers from the border, Mexican immigration authorities had filled a bus and pickup trucks with detained migrants. Story continues The Honduran Ambassador to Mexico, Alden Rivera, said that Mexican authorities have some 1,300 Hondurans in migration centers and will start deporting them back home by airplane and bus on Tuesday. Trump has threatened to punish Mexico and Central American countries economically if they fail to curb migrant flows, resulting in a series of agreements aimed at making good on Trump campaign promises to curb immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border. WADING ACROSS THE RIVER Over the weekend, at least 2,000 migrants had been camped in the Guatemalan border town of Tecun Uman, opposite Ciudad Hidalgo on the Mexican side. The migrants appeared to grow impatient on the bridge over the Suchiate River that connects the two countries, after some were denied permission to cross by assembled Mexican migration officials. The INM said it informed the migrants it could not allow them to cross into Mexican territory to "transit" through and blamed the group's organizers for "ignoring the risk to minors and at-risk people" by crossing the river. Mexico has offered migrants work in the south, but those who do not accept it or seek asylum will not be issued safe conduct passes to the United States, and most will be deported, the interior ministry said. Mexican authorities had already received nearly 1,100 migrants in the states of Chiapas and Tabasco, the ministry said on Sunday. According to Guatemala, at least 4,000 people entered from Honduras since Wednesday, making for one of the biggest surges since three Central American governments signed agreements with the Trump administration obliging them to assume more of the responsibility for dealing with migrants. (Reporting by Roberto Ramirez; Additional reporting by Dave Graham and Lizbeth Diaz in Mexico City; Writing by David Alire Garcia and Anthony Esposito; Editing by Bill Berkrot and Christopher Cushing) Jagat Prakash Nadda was elected unopposed as the BJP's national president on Monday, taking over the reins from Amit Shah whose tenure of five-and-a-half years saw the party turning into a formidable election-winning machinery despite occasional setbacks. The 59-year-old leader from Himachal Pradesh is seen as an affable and low-key politician who enjoys the trust of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the RSS -- the BJP's ideological mentor. He is largely expected to continue with the course it took under Shah with Modi laying out the broader agenda. The Delhi assembly election is the first challenge for Nadda, who has been touring the capital extensively as the Bharatiya Janata Party works overtime to oust the Aam Aadmi Party from power. BJP leader Radha Mohan Singh, who was the incharge of the organisational election process, made the announcement of Nadda's election as the party's 11th president after he emerged as the only nominee in the fray. Modi later arrived at the party headquarters to felicitate the newly-elected president at a ceremony that was attended by members of the BJP parliamentary board, its highest body, and veterans like L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi. Earlier, Shah was joined by senior party leaders, including Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari, besides several functionaries from state units in filing nominations in support of Nadda. BJP chief ministers like Yogi Adityanath of Uttar Pradesh and Vijay Rupani of Gujarat were also at the party headquarters to endorse his bid. Nadda's elevation was on expected lines since his appointment as the BJP working president last June after Shah joined the Modi government as the home minister. The BJP has traditionally abided by the norm of 'one party one post'. BJP leaders hailed the appointment, expressing confidence that the party would achieve new successes under his leadership. Shah congratulated Nadda and expressed confidence that under the new BJP president and the guidance of Modi, the party will scale new heights of success and grow from strength to strength. Wishing Nadda a successful tenure, Rajnath Singh said: "I am confident the party will achieve new glory and success under his leadership. Known for his organisational experience Naddaji has always been an asset to the party." Gadkari said the elevation of Nadda, who started as a common party worker and rose through its ranks, shows that the BJP was an organisation of workers unlike parties run by dynasties. Nadda, considered an affable and accessible politician, enjoys good rapport with all top party leaders. He is seen as seasoned organisation man, who was associated with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) from his college days before joining the youth wing of the BJP and rising through its ranks. Nadda has also served as a minister in the BJP governments in Himachal Pradesh and at the Centre. He has also been in charge of his party's campaigns in a number of states, including in Uttar Pradesh during the 2019 Lok Sabha election. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) For street gangs, the battle doesnt end with the arrest. Pittsylvania County Sheriff Mike Taylor has to remain vigilant in separating rival gang members from one another in the county jail. If you put two rival gang members in the same cell block, youre going to have trouble, he said. Danville Sheriff Mike Mondul encounters the same problem in the Danville City Jail and uses many of the same security protocols as Taylor. We keep different gang members separate, he said. Fighting is not the only problem incarcerated gang members pose they also recruit new members while behind bars. We see evidence that recruitment is occurring, but it is covert and not direct, Mondul explained. The behind-bars criminal activity of gang members is problematic throughout the nation, experts contacted by the Danville Register & Bee said. Prison gangs do represent a significant threat of violence and criminal activity, wrote Sean Baldwin, a senior research associate with the Tallahassee, Florida-based National Gang Center. These gangs are prevalent in prison facilities that provide long term incarceration across the nation. An estimated 14.3% of inmates in the states prison system are confirmed gang members, according to the Virginia Department of Corrections. Nationally, about 15% of state or federal prisoners are gang members, explained David Pyrooz, a gang expert and sociology professor at the University of Boulder Colorado. By contrast, he notes only .002% of the nations free population are in gangs. George Knox, an organized crime and gang expert at the National Gang Research Center explained gangs can destroy a prison from the inside out with their activities. They [prison gangs] are a corrupting influence, Knox wrote, and have the ability to systematically compromise correctional officers through bribes and other favors. Gangs operate most of the scams and rackets found behind bars, generally selling cellphones, food, drugs or other forms of contraband. Incarcerated gang members are known to extort, shakedown and actively recruit new gang members inside both prisons and jails. Gangs are the source of most smuggling into correctional facilities, Knox said, they like to smuggle in drugs and cellphones. To prevent fighting, Mondul keeps track of known gang members. We identify them and keep a record of it, he said. Taylor also noted actively maintaining a record of known gang members is important. We try to do our homework, so to speak, to keep that type of conflict [fighting between gangs] down, he said. Avent is a reporter with the Danville Register & Bee. Reach him at (434) 797-7983. Avent is a reporter with the Danville Register & Bee. Reach him at (434) 797-7983. (Newser) A Pennsylvania woman told police she was driving around, waiting for a calling from God, when she decided to test her faith by driving into oncoming traffic. Nadejda Reilly, 31, was not hurt, but was arrested on aggravated assault and other charges after the January 7 incident, Lehigh Valley Live reports. "Reilly related God took care of her by not having her injured," wrote a state trooper in an arrest affidavit. "Reilly expressed no concerns or remorse for the victims. Reilly also stated she did not care if the other people were injured because God would have taken care of them." Two people in the car she allegedly hit on Route 93 were, indeed, injured. Reilly's bail was revoked Wednesday. (Read more Pennsylvania stories.) IRVING, Texas, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Integrity Staffing Solutions, the engine of opportunity for job seekers across the United States, is pleased to announce the opening of its newest Opportunity Center located in Irving, Texas. This new location will serve the Dallas, Collin, and Tarrant counties and surrounding areas, offering a full range of staffing and employment services across a variety of professional and light industrial categories. As a result of robust and ongoing client growth coupled with the expansion of Integrity's professional & light industrial divisions, the agency's new workspace will support the company's Texas-based clients, employees, and associates. "The opening of our new location in Texas is an exciting development for us," says Todd Bavol, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Integrity Staffing Solutions. "We've built a strong team of sales professionals and recruitment specialists who are working in tandem to help further the strategic hiring goals of our clients and will help continue to build on the growing business needs in this region." A proud member of the National Safety Council, Integrity brings fresh solutions to the market in support of its clients, including a free safety analysis for business looking to better protect their staff. Integrity Staffing Solutions is located in the Las Colinas corridor at 1431 Greenway Drive in the Regus Executive Office Space in Irving, Texas, 75038. For more information, please call: 469-504-0473. About Integrity Staffing Solutions Since its launch in 1997, Integrity Staffing Solutions has been committed to generating opportunities for its associates to exceed their own expectations by supplying the skills that advance future fulfillment. The company specializes in temporary and direct-hire employment and customized staffing models that facilitate the growth of careers, communities, and companies. A true engine of opportunity, Integrity is based on the philosophy that its clients succeed only when its associates do. For additional information about Integrity Staffing, please visit: IntegrityStaffing.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Contact: Jonathan Barnes Integrity Staffing Solutions [email protected] SOURCE Integrity Staffing Solutions Related Links http://www.integritystaffing.com Zarif calls for rejecting politicization of plane incident IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Tehran, Jan 18, IRNA -- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in a message referred to his bilateral meeting with his Canadian counterpart Francois-Philippe Champagne in Muscat and called for rejecting politicization of the Ukrainian plane incident. "In Oman today, met with Canadian FM @FP_Champagne to discuss consular, technical & legal cooperation among nations impacted by #PS752 tragedy," Zarif tweeted on Friday. He added: "Agreed on continued exchanges between respective experts." "Politicization of this tragedy must be rejected. Focus on victims' families," he reiterated. Earlier on Friday, Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi said that the tragic incident of Ukraine passenger plane should not be used as a tool in service of political gains and gestures. 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. After the US increased tensions in the Middle East by assassinating Iran's Lieutenant-General Qasem Soeimani, the country made a reaction and hit the US airbase in Iraq with missiles. Iran's military had been put on alert to counter any US adventurism. But unintentionally, a Ukrainian Boeing 737 was shot down near Tehran minutes after takeoff. Iranian officials have admitted that human error was responsible for downing the passenger plane and expressed regret and apologized for the tragedy. 9376**2050 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Northam praised law enforcement and said he was thankful there was no violence. Today showed that when people disagree, they can do so peacefully, he said in a written statement. The issues before us evoke strong emotions, and progress is often difficult. I will continue to listen to the voices of Virginians, and I will continue to do everything in my power to keep our Commonwealth safe. A middle-aged woman was injured after she was stabbed multiple times by a man on Monday near the Dakshineswar Kali temple in northern fringes of the city, police said. The woman has been admitted to Sagore Dutta Hospital with grievous injuries and the man arrested, they said. Police said that after stabbing the woman near the sky-walk, the man also stabbed himself, resulting in some minor injuries. They are married to different persons, said officials who suspect it to be a case of an illicit affair going wrong. Further investigations are underway, they said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. Thermal Insulation Coating (TIC) also referred to as ceramic beads is suitable for application to a surface forms a protective finish and provide resistance to the heat flow, meaning TIC is an effective insulator, providing personal protection from hot surfaces or heat. TIC also provides resistance to the corrosion. With today's high energy prices and the augmenting demand for the reduction of energy consumption and hence the total cost, there is growing interest in the use of thermal insulating coatings for its cost-efficiency and reduced cost for craft labor. Generally, these coatings are used to meet corporate energy-saving goals, quick-curing for fast energy reduction results, energy efficiency for equipment and buildings, reduce production costs per unit by lowering energy requirements. Thermal Insulation Coating finds a range of applications including marine, automotive, industrial, and commercial fields. Apart from temperature intensive application for minimizing heat transfer and greenhouse gas emission, TIC is used in a broad range of industrial applications including project and maintenance work in refineries, petrochemical, and gas processing plants, etc. The extensive uptake is a key driving force escalating the market growth. Acknowledging the kind of traction gained by this market, Market Research Future (MRFR) has recently published a study report. In its report, MRFR foretells that the global Thermal Insulation Coating market is expected to grow exponentially by 2023, registering a phenomenal CAGR during the forecast period (2017 2023). In addition to automobiles, TICs also witness huge uptake in the aviation (aircraft manufacturing) industry. As the demand for aircraft carriers arises, so the demand for TIC increases. Burgeoning aircraft and automotive industry drive the market growth of TIC. Additional factors driving the market growth include increasing population along with the increasing urbanization & industrialization worldwide. Industries like automotive & transport, electrical & electronics, and building & construction, backed by the increasing sales due to the consumers improving purchasing power led by the improving economic conditions are driving the market growth, augmenting the demand for TICs. Similarly, TIC is a preferred insulating option in the packaged foods industry to coat retort carbon steel cookers, which cook foods to be packaged and distributed. These cookers have an unusual configuration and geometry that makes conventional battery type insulation non-feasible to install and maintain. TICs, along with the convenience of application also enhance crucial personnel protection in the facility and reduce energy requirements, reflecting heat back into the cookers. Another key benefitting factor of TIC is that it meets the current The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) & the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) requirements for specifying a low-volatile organic compound (VOC) product in the food industry. Global Thermal Insulation Coating Market Segmentation The MRFR analysis into three key dynamics for the convenience of understanding; By Types : Acrylic, Epoxy, Polyurethane, and Yttria Stabilized Zirconia, among others. By End-Uses : Aviation, Transportation, Industrial, and Construction among others. By Regions : North America, Europe, APAC and Rest-of-the-World. Thermal Insulation Coating Market Regional Analysis Globally, North America accounts for one of the promising markets for thermal insulation coating followed by the Asia Pacific and the Middle East & Africa. Attributing to the expanding aviation industry in the region, the North America market is expected to grow with the highest CAGR during the review period, 2017 to 2023. Thermal Insulation Coating market in the US, Canada, and Mexico enjoy augmented demand due to the high adoption rate of the product by the petrochemical producers. Additional factors substantiating the market growth include the presence of large oil & gas reserves in this region, increasing production capacities and high consumption potential. The US, backed by the growth in the production of crude oil is expected to account for the major contributor to the growth of the regional market. The Europe Thermal Insulation Coating market is another promising space on the global level. The market is witnessing huge demand for thermal insulation coating especially due to the growing demand from the countries such as Germany, Italy, Spain, France, the U.K, and Russia backed by the increased expenditure in innovation and growing purchasing power of consumers. Furthermore, the presence of major automobile manufacturers specifically in Germany is providing an enormous impetus to the market growth in the region. Thermal Insulation Coating market in the Asia Pacific is predicted to grow with the moderate CAGR over the assessment period due to the growing activities of crude oil processing and petroleum refineries in India and China. Also, the burgeoning automotive sector in various developing nations of APAC such as India, China, Japan, Malaysia, and Thailand is predicted to fuel the market growth over the forecast period (2017 to 2023), augmenting the demand for Thermal Insulation Coating. Additional factors such as the growing GDP, rapid industrialization, growing production and industrial bases, increased demand to save energy and reduce greenhouse emissions are substantiating the market growth in the region. The ensuing increase in foreign investments and a rise in the number of new manufacturing establishments will contribute to the market growth in APAC. Global Thermal Insulation Coating Market - Competitive Analysis Thermal Insulation Coating market appears highly competitive. This competition will further get intensified with the high investments estimated to transpire during the forecast period. Innovation, mergers & acquisitions, and brand reinforcement remain the key trends for leading players in the market. Key Players: Some of the key players of thermal insulation coating market include - The Sherwin-Williams Company (US), PPG Industries, Inc. (US), The Dow Chemical Company (US), Kansai Paint Co., Ltd. (Japan), Akzo Nobel NV (Netherlands), Jotun (Norway), Carboline Company (US), Nippon Paint Holdings Co., Ltd. (Japan), Mascoat (US), and Sharpshell Industrial Solutions (South Africa). Industry / Innovation / Related News: March 29, 2018 - Mascoat (US), a manufacturer of insulating coatings, launched its new TIC product - the WeatherBloc - HRC Coating, a new thermal insulation coating for commercial buildings and metal roofs. WeatherBloc combines thermal insulation with reflective paint to provide dependable thermal protection, even on dirty surfaces or cloudy days, unlike standard reflective rooftop paints. Hay and sweet potatoes are seen spread out on the ground for local animals in an area devastated by bushfires in Kangaroo Valley By Angie Teo KANGAROO VALLEY (Reuters) - Hard-hit businesses in Australia's blaze-ravaged Kangaroo Valley are calling for tourists to return now that the wildfires are under control, and fear firms and jobs will be lost unless the all-clear message is heard. The tourism industry estimates the fires that raged throughout the holiday season have already cost it almost A$1 billion ($688 million). Kangaroo Valley, a wildlife haven 150 kms (93 miles) south of Sydney, was badly affected as video of blazing forests went global and scared away holidaymakers both from home and abroad. Now, several days of rain and a break in the heat wave have reduced the number of active fires across the country's densely populated southeast. "A lot of tourists were told not to come because of the bushfires risk," says Andi Csantos, a resident who is organising a fundraising dinner for the town. "That risk is now totally over. And it's really important that people come and support our community so that our businesses can continue." Traditionally the weeks starting from November to New Year are the busiest time for the area, which lost more than 30 homes to the flames. "I just have to have faith and help (to) actually support my employees," says restaurant owner, Monique Moul, who has seen business halve in the last few weeks. In the town centre flanked by dozens of wooden single-storey shops and houses, holidaymakers have slowly started to make their way back. "The quicker we come back to support them, then they will survive. If not, some may not do so," said Sam Thoma, a traveller from Sydney. Australia's government over the weekend pitched in with millions in aid for the tourist industry, which accounts for more than 3% of the country's annual economic output and one in every 13 jobs. While rain and cooler weather in recent days have eased the fire risk, authorities warn hotter conditions are set to return later in the week. Story continues (This story corrects the spelling of Csantos in paragraph 5) ($1 = 1.4535 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Angie Teo, writing by Wayne Cole; Editing by Stephen Coates) Every year, as we take time out to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, I spend some time reflecting not only on what he was able to accomplish but how he was able to do it. We live in an age with many strong leaders, who've accomplished tremendous things, but arguably not of King's magnitude. So I'm always curious about what it was about Dr. King's leadership approach that produced such a profound impact worldwide, in the midst of extreme and unjust opposition. As I pore over his books, speeches, sermons, and other accounts of his works, I get new revelations as to what made him such a transformational leader. Here are three tenets of Dr. King's leadership approach, that strengthened not only his impact, but also compelled masses of people to look to him as an example to follow, both while he was living, and long after his untimely death. 1. Boldness Dr. King felt a strong sense of urgency to challenge unjust laws and the terrible treatment of black people during the civil rights movement. That urgency prompted him and his leadership team to take bold action, including calling for the bus boycotts, various marches, and sit-ins. That urgency fueled his boldness in telling government leaders that the progress they had made up to that point had been inadequate. It even caused him to call out other leaders in the clergy when they were silent on those matters of injustice. As you work to achieve the goals you have for your business, don't shy away from bold action. That sense of urgency behind making positive change will fuel you and your team to move from where you are to where you want to be. 2. Culture One of the elements that made Dr. King's movement so remarkable was how he was always diligent about making sure there was clarity around the norms he and his team expected of both themselves and others. He did this because he knew the culture of the movement was critical to its quest in accomplishing its goals. Thus, Dr. King spent plenty of time talking about what that culture looked like, and even training followers on how to embody that culture as they went about fighting for the cause. Here's how he covered this important topic in his iconic I Have a Dream speech: But there is something that I must say to my people...in the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. Don't leave your company or team's culture up to chance. Be clear about the values and behaviors you want everyone to embrace to create the environment needed to achieve your goals. 3. Belonging When you look at the issues Dr. King fought for, one unifying thread links them all together: belonging. Dr. King didn't want people to just exist. He wanted them to feel like they belonged in the spaces, environments, and in the world in which they inhabited. In his I Have a Dream speech, King painted vivid pictures of what belonging looked like: I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood...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. He was also clear to highlight how far we were as a nation from that ideal: But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself in exile in his own land. Mission, innovation and inclusion are at the heart of a new model of responsible leadership A new research study from the World Economic Forum in collaboration with Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has identified five elements at the heart of a new model of responsible leadership for an era of stakeholder capitalism one that focuses on strong organizational performance in concert with positive social and environmental impact. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200119005004/en/ The study suggests that tackling the challenges of the coming decade to accelerate growth and improve societal outcomes will require a wider range of attributes and characteristics from leaders, which the study identifies as: Stakeholder Inclusion. Safeguarding trust and positive impact for all by standing in the shoes of diverse stakeholders when making decisions and fostering an inclusive environment in which diverse individuals have a voice and feel they belong. Safeguarding trust and positive impact for all by standing in the shoes of diverse stakeholders when making decisions and fostering an inclusive environment in which diverse individuals have a voice and feel they belong. Emotion Intuition. Unlocking commitment and creativity by being truly human, showing compassion, humility and openness. Unlocking commitment and creativity by being truly human, showing compassion, humility and openness. Mission Purpose. Advancing common goals by inspiring a shared vision of sustainable prosperity for the organization and its stakeholders. Advancing common goals by inspiring a shared vision of sustainable prosperity for the organization and its stakeholders. Technology Innovation. Creating new organizational and societal value by innovating responsibly with emerging technology. Creating new organizational and societal value by innovating responsibly with emerging technology. Intellect Insight. Finding ever-improved paths to success by embracing continuous learning and knowledge exchange. "The climate crisis, growing inequality and economic fragility threaten human wellbeing like never before," said Adrian Monck, managing director for the World Economic Forum. "We need a stakeholder approach in which companies combine entrepreneurialism with purpose, working with others to improve the state of the world in which they operate. The good news is that the next generations want to develop the broad range of leadership skills needed to make this happen." Titled Seeking New Leadership, the report is based on surveys of more than 20,000 people comprising members of the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leaders and Global Shapers communities ("emerging leaders"); CEOs and other business leaders; and employees, consumers and other stakeholder groups as well as an econometric analysis of company performance and other original research. The report highlights the growing demand for businesses to address environmental, social and economic issues in return for their "license to prosper." For instance, six in 10 (61%) of the emerging leaders surveyed said that business models should be pursued only if they improve both societal outcomes and profitable growth. Further, the vast majority of both business leaders (79%) and stakeholders (73%) said that the positive potential of emerging technology calls for businesses to reconsider their role in society. According to the study, many business executives are out of step with stakeholders, who want leaders with more Emotion Intuition and Mission Purpose. Findings from an online focus group of more than 500 people from Generation Y and Generation Z (people born since 1980) conducted as part of the research also suggest that younger people believe that leadership decisions in the coming decade will require a balanced approach across all five attributes of responsible leadership. Performance Premiums Associated with Sustainability, Trust and Innovation At the same time, the study notes that profits and responsible leadership needn't be mutually exclusive; in fact, it finds a link between responsible leadership and higher financial performance. As part of the research, Accenture examined the financial performance and actions related to sustainability, stakeholder trust and innovation of more than 2,500 publicly listed companies between 2015 and 2018. A key finding: Companies that achieve high levels of both innovation and stakeholder trust outperform their industry peers financially with an average of 3.1% higher operating profits as well as greater returns for shareholders. In addition, companies that achieve industry-leading innovation, stakeholder trust and financial performance display all five elements of responsible leadership to a greater extent than do their peers. According to the report, the findings suggest that only stakeholder-centric business models can unlock the full power of innovation to elevate organizational performance and drive societal progress. "Organizations have not only the opportunity, but an obligation, to drive organizational growth in tandem with positive social and environmental outcomes. This starts with redefining what it means to lead responsibly," said Ellyn Shook, Accenture's chief leadership and human resources officer. "A new generation is leading the way, focused on driving value while honoring values where a sense of mission, stakeholder inclusion and compassion becomes second nature. Through our collaboration with the Young Global Leaders and Global Shapers, we are excited to define and catalyze these new leadership qualities in the individuals and teams entrusted to shape the world's future." The study represents the first stage of a multi-year initiative between Accenture and the Young Global Leaders and Global Shapers communities of the World Economic Forum to create a new framework for responsible leadership and to help organizations cultivate environments in which responsible leadership can flourish. For more information on Seeking New Leadership, please visit www.accenture.com/responsible-leadership. About the Research The research comprised several streams, all of which were undertaken in 2019: The Accenture Responsible Business survey of 2,298 business leaders and 2,971 stakeholders in 11 countries; the Accenture Whole Brain Leadership survey of 11,400 consumers and employees and 200 C-suite executives across six countries; the annual survey of the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leaders and Global Shapers (1,830 respondents); and economic modelling of data related to publicly listed companies. About the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leaders and Global Shapers The Forum of Young Global Leaders is a community of enterprising, socially-minded leaders who have achieved individual success and want to build and leverage their talents for social good. A sought-after peer network, with more than 1,300 members and alumni, that offers executive education courses, global summits, group expeditions, and opportunities to collaborate and test ideas with peers. Visit us at www.weforum.org/communities/young-global-leaders About the Global Shapers Community Born out of the World Economic Forum, the Global Shapers Community is a network of inspiring young people under the age of 30 working together to address local, regional and global challenges. With more than 10,000 members, the Global Shapers Community spans 400+ city-based hubs in 150+ countries. Visit us at www.globalshapers.org. About Accenture Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries and all business functions underpinned by the world's largest delivery network Accenture works at the intersection of business and technology to help clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for their stakeholders. With 505,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture drives innovation to improve the way the world works and lives. Visit us at www.accenture.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200119005004/en/ Contacts: Tourang Nazari Accenture +1 202.322.4640 tourang.nazari@accenture.com Sam Hyland Accenture +1 914 924 1749 samuel.hyland@accenture.com COLUMBIA, S.C. Former Vice President Joe Biden paid a visit to Sunday services at Bethlehem Baptist Church, a large black congregation here, urging the crowd to fight back against hatred and condemning President Donald Trump in some of his strongest language yet for heightening racial divisions in the country. This president and his the Ku Klux Klans and the rest of them, they think theyve beaten us again. But they have no idea were just coming back, Biden told the congregation. I thought you could defeat hate, he said. But hate only hides. It never fully goes away, he added, pointing to the outbreak of white supremacist violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017. And they asked the president what he thought, and he said, There were very fine people on both sides. Referring to what he called a historic inflection point when the police aimed fire hoses at civil rights activists in Birmingham, Alabama, during the 1960s, galvanizing more of the country behind their movement Biden said that the country had reached a similar moment. His remarks to the 1,300-member congregation were among the strongest condemnations of the president to date in a campaign season in which a number of leading candidates have harshly criticized the presidents posture on race and immigration. Biden also made the comments as he seeks to position himself as the inevitable Democratic challenger to Trump. One of his main rivals in the primary race, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, has sought to more forcefully confront the former vice president, tangling with him in recent days over his record on Social Security. On Sunday, Sanders continued that line of attack, saying in New Hampshire that time and time again, Joe Biden has been clear in supporting cuts to Social Security. Sanders, for his part, has been trying to move on from his sudden rift with Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. Asked at a separate event in New Hampshire on Sunday if gender remained an obstacle for female politicians, he responded yes, then quickly changed the subject to age. The answers yes, but I think everybody has their own sets of problems, he said. Im 78 years of age. Thats a problem. There are a lot of people who say, Well, I like Bernie, hes a nice guy, but hes 78 years of age. So we have to argue, Please look at the totality of who I am. In South Carolina on Sunday, Biden left his seat at one point during the joyful services to hug and shake hands with church members, joining them in hymns and applause. Its contagious when youre in a black church, he quipped during his 12-minute remarks to the congregation, to much laughter. Biden was seated in the front pew with his sister, Valerie Biden Owens, and Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., who introduced Biden and spoke about her recent endorsement of him. He also picked up the endorsement of the Rev. Anthony A. McCallum, the congregations pastor, who compared him to former President Barack Obama. Lets get behind this soldier, McCallum told his congregation. Someone who could touch all people, not just a 1%, but to the common folk. It was the first event of a Martin Luther Kings Birthday weekend visit here in South Carolina by Biden, who is aiming to cement his support in the early primary state, where polls six weeks before the election show he is the strong front-runner, at least partly on the strength of his association with Obama. Biden, who stayed after the service for more than an hour to talk with members of the congregation, invoked the name Barack twice during his remarks. On Monday, he is expected to join seven of his 2020 Democratic rivals in a King Day rally at the state Capitol, an annual event that began 20 years ago and has become practically mandatory for Democratic presidential candidates during election years as they try to win over black voters. Other candidates also attended church services here in Columbia on Sunday morning. The only African-American candidate remaining in the race, Deval Patrick, the former Massachusetts governor, was offering remarks at nearby Bethel African Methodist Episcopal. Both men were expected to attend a breakfast sponsored by the Urban League on Monday morning. Campaigning on Sunday in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the site of what is regarded as the single worst massacre of black citizens by their white counterparts in history, Michael Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor, recalled the slaughter of hundreds of African-Americans by white mobs in that city as well as in East St. Louis, Illinois; Elaine, Arkansas; and Rosewood, Florida. In just that short period, from 1917 to 1923, more than 1,000 black Americans were killed by white mobs in cities and towns all across the country, said Bloomberg, one of the few candidates who were not scheduled to appear this weekend in South Carolina as he pursues an unusual campaign strategy with a national focus. But the truth is: What happened during that period was part of a continuum of violence that black Americans faced even after the end of slavery violence that denied them their lives, their liberty and their pursuit of happiness. Biden arrived in South Carolina on Sunday morning and attended an oyster roast later in the day. A busload of surrogate campaigners had arrived earlier this past week, crisscrossing the state on a bus in what was called his Soul of the Nation Tour. Speaking to predominantly black audiences at church social halls as well as in beauty shops and barber shops, the group of Biden surrogates included Randall Woodfin, the mayor of Birmingham, Alabama; Sean Patrick Thomas, an actor who grew up in Bidens home state, Delaware; and Symone Sanders, a former spokeswoman for Sanders during his 2016 campaign who has become a top adviser to Biden. While those attending the events in South Carolina were mostly supportive of Biden, at least two people raised questions about his role as a senator in helping write a 1994 crime bill that was regarded by many crime experts as contributing to the mass incarceration of black men. In his church remarks, Biden recalled meeting clients near the Amtrak station in Wilmington, Delaware, when he was a young public defender and later standing at the same station for his inauguration as vice president in January 2009. Forty years later, Biden said, I was standing on that same platform waiting for a black man to come down on a train 27 miles from Philadelphia to pick this white boy up and go 127 miles down to Washington to be sworn in as president and vice president of the United States. Choking up when he mentioned his deceased son, Beau Biden, Biden said that on that day, he told his children that things had changed. Biden also invoked Kings dream that all men are created equal. Dr. King didnt give up on the dream, and Im asking you all, dont give up on it, he added. We can defeat this moment of hate. Biden did not say anything at the church about his back-and-forth a day earlier with Sanders over Social Security. But Sanders returned to it during remarks with reporters on Sunday in Conway, New Hampshire, where he leveled a broad critique of Bidens record. If you run for office, you defend your record, Sanders said. Characterizing Bidens Senate votes authorizing military action in Iraq and on other issues, he said: Joe voted for the war in Iraq. I vigorously opposed it. Joe voted for a bankruptcy bill, which I think has been very harmful to working families. I vigorously opposed it. Joe voted for a number of trade agreements, like the North American Free Trade Agreement, which Sanders said undercut good jobs in the United States. And on the issue of Social Security, time and time again, Joe Biden has been clear in supporting cuts to Social Security, Sanders argued, citing Bidens support for a balanced-budget amendment in the 1990s that the Vermont senator said would have harmed the program. And in Concord, New Hampshire, on Sunday, Sanders addressed questions about gender during a New Hampshire Public Radio forum, noting that age and other factors could also sway voters decisions. If youre looking at Buttigieg, hes a young guy, people will say, Well, hes too young to be president, Sanders said, referring to Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana. Look at this one, shes a woman. So everybody brings some negatives, if you like, he went on. I would just hope, very much, that the American people look at the totality of a candidate, not at their gender, not at their sexuality, not at their age, but at everything. Nobody is perfect. There aint no perfect candidate out there. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Oakland police are searching for three male suspects in a hit-and-run crash that left a woman dead early Sunday. Police said a 2014 Audi A4 was going southbound on Grand Avenue when it hit a 2002 Subaru Outback traveling eastbound on MacArthur Boulevard. Emergency crews treated the driver of the Subaru at the scene and transported her to Highland Hospital, where the 42-year-old Oakland resident died, police said. The Audis driver and two passengers fled the scene after the crash, police said. Its unknown if alcohol or drugs were involved. Police are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the suspects. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Oakland Police Departments Traffic Investigation Unit at 510-777-8570. Tatiana Sanchez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tatiana.sanchez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TatianaYSanchez. By Express News Service BHOPAL: A major political unrest broke out in Congress-ruled Madhya Pradesh over Sundays incidents in Biaora town of Rajgarh district when the CAA supporters who were taking out a rally sans permission were they were lathi-charged by the police. Also, district collector Nidhi Nivedita and deputy collector Priya Verma reportedly slapped some of the party workers for 'misbehaving'. A day after the violent incidents, an opposition BJP team headed by ex-MP minister and present Narela-Bhopal MLA Vishwas Sarang visited Rajgarh district on Monday. Its not the CAA supporters, including our BJP workers who took law in hands by violating Section 144 of CrPc clamped in Rajgarh district. Instead, its the district collector and her deputy who took law in their hands by slapping and thrashing peaceful BJP workers and leaders. After permission was denied to take out rally in support of CAA on Sunday, the CAA supporters were singing bhajans inside a temples premises. It was then that siren blaring police and administration vehicles arrived there and our people were assaulted there, Vishawas Sarang alleged. He further alleged, in the first place prohibitory orders clamped under Section 144 of CrPc were not violated. But if any case the prohibitory orders were violated then the violators should have been booked u/s Section 188 of IPC. Who gave the district collector and her deputy the right to take law in their own hands by assaulting the peaceful protesters. The former minister further alleged, not only were the peaceful protesters thrashed by the collector, her deputy and other officers and cops. The collector and her deputy even snatched the national flag being carried by the peaceful protesters and disrespected the flag by grounding it. We demand lodging criminal case against all concerned cops and officers under various sections, including those pertaining to sedition against the collector and her deputy. While informing that the party would complain against the Rajgarh district collector Nidh Nivedita to the department of personnel and training (DoPT) in the central government, a similar complaint will be made against the state administrative service officials to the state governments general administration department. Weve set January 22 as the deadline for the cops to register a case against collector and deputy collector. Our senior leaders, including state party chief Rakesh Singh and ex-CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan will be here on Wednesday to press for lodging case against the concerned officials and cops, said Sarang. He also alleged ex-CM Digvijaya Singhs hand in the entire episode. Entire assault by officials and cops in Biaora town of Rajgarh on Sunday was scripted by the ex-CM, who is now protecting those officials. Earlier, in the day, the ex-CM Digvijaya Singh had tweeted The hooliganism of BJP people has been exposed in the manner in which the district collector and deputy collector were assaulted and pulled through the hair by the hooligans. Were proud of the brave women officers. Meanwhile, in a series of tweets, former CM and BJP national vice president Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced visiting Biaora town of Rajgarh district along with other senior party leaders on Wednesday to press for registering case of sedition against the district collector and her deputy, as the duo officers had thrashed BJP workers chanting Bharat Mata ki Jai and also disrespected national flag being carried by the peaceful protesters. On Sunday, CAA supporters taking out a rally sans permission of local administration had reportedly clashed with cops and officials in Biaora (Rajgarh). While trying to prevent the violent CAA supporters from going ahead, the district collector Nidhi Nivedita and deputy collector Priya Verma had also slapped BJP workers. Also, those in the crowd had allegedly pulled the deputy collectors hair, kicked her and pulled her through her clothes. Several BJP workers were subsequently hurt in police cane charge. Two cases have so far been lodged in connection with Sundays incidents. While over 600 unidentified and identified persons, mostly BJP leaders and workers have been booked u/s 188 of IPC for violating the prohibitory orders, two persons have been booked u/s Section 353 and 354 of IPC for misbehaving with the women officials. One person identified as BJP worker Bhupendra has been taken into custody in connection with the second case, while 17 others were arrested in connection with the first case. Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government on Monday sent its chief secretary to explain to governor Arif Mohammed Khan why it felt impelled to challenge the new citizenship law brought about by the central government. Tom Jose spent 20 minutes telling the guv what he was told to tell: that there was no intention on the part of the Pinarayi Vijayan government to keep Khan in the dark. By the end of the day, it was clear the governor was not mollified in the least. No explanation can satisfy me, Khan declared to reporters, making it clear he would not remain a mute spectator as Pinarayi Vijayan government goes about setting an example to other states in defying New Delhi. Khan was simply not convinced by what the chief secretary had told him, that the state government had broken no law or convention in filing a suit in the Supreme Court. My view is that my approval is needed. They have gone to the Supreme Court without informing me. That is an unlawful act... not legally correct," he said. While insisting that this was not a clash of egos nor of any personal differences" with chief minister Pinarayi, Khan said, Any case that affects relations between the state government and the government of India, it is the duty of the chief minister to submit to the governor. An order can be issued only after the submission of the case to the governor," he added. Then the governor added that as the constitutional head of the state, he would try his best to ensure that the administration of the state and the business of government was transacted strictly in accordance with the rules laid down in the Constitution. I will not allow the constitutional machinery to collapse in the state... that cannot be allowed," he said. It is a well-known secret that law enforcement agencies take help from third-party vendors to crack iPhones. Apple has been facing the wrath of regulatory agencies. The authorities were persuading Apple to create a backdoor that will allow them access to iPhones. Now Scotland Police has openly posted a video that shows Cellebrite device in action and explains its usefulness. The video shows how Police can access various items like text messages, photos, and calendar entries from the smartphone. Thats not all, the Scotland Police insists that solutions like Cellebrite allow it to determine whether or not a phone contains evidence. If it doesnt then the phone can be returned to the owner. Cyber kiosks are desktop computers, which will be located in police stations across local policing divisions. The technology allows specially trained officers to triage mobile devices to determine if they contain information which may be of value to a police investigation or incident. This will allow lines of enquiry to be progressed at a much earlier stage and devices that are not relevant to an investigation to be returned quicker. The Scotland Police also talk at length about the digital forensic examination and its increased involvement. Furthermore, they claim that with the help of such technology the devices of victims and suspects can be returned faster. Increases in the involvement of digital devices in investigations and the ever-expanding capabilities of these devices mean that demand on digital forensic examinations is higher than ever. Current limitations however, mean the devices of victims, witnesses and suspects can be taken for months at a time, even if it later transpires that there is no worthwhile evidence on them. The article also sheds some light upon Data ethics and claims to be developing a Data Ethics Governance Framework in order to comply with data protection and privacy regulations. What are your thoughts on creating an iPhone backdoor for authorities? Let us know in the comments below. [via Scotland Police The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) today (1/16) approved a settlement regarding a joint application by Aqua America, Inc, and its subsidiaries, Aqua Pennsylvania, Inc. and Aqua Pennsylvania Wastewater, Inc. (collectively, Aqua), together with Peoples Natural Gas Company LLC, Peoples Natural Gas Company LLC - Equitable Division, and Peoples Gas Company LLC (collectively, the Peoples Companies), for Aqua America to acquire ownership of the Peoples Companies. The Commission voted 4-1 to approve a motion from Vice Chairman David W. Sweet, approving the Joint Petition for Settlement, with Commissioner Place dissenting. The settlement includes commitments regarding infrastructure replacement, employment levels, rate credits, and enhancements in a variety of areas, including customer service and reliability, universal service, financial governance, and retail competition. Numerous parties voiced their support for the settlement, including Aqua; the Peoples Companies; the Pennsylvania the Office of Consumer Advocate (OCA); the Coalition of Affordable Utility Service and Energy Efficiency in Pennsylvania (CAUSE-PA); Direct Energy Business Marketing, LLC and Direct Energy Small Business Marketing, LLC (collectively, Direct Energy); various the Natural Gas Supplier Parties and the Retail Energy Supply Association (NGS/RESA); the Pennsylvania Independent Oil and Gas Association (PIOGA), Laborers' District Council of Western Pennsylvania; and Utilities Workers Union of America, Local 612. Aqua America and its subsidiaries provide water and/or wastewater service to approximately three million customers in Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, Illinois, Texas, New Jersey, Indiana, and Virginia - including services to over 430,000 customers across thirty-two counties in Pennsylvania. The Peoples companies provide natural gas services to approximately 680,000 Pennsylvania customers in all or portions of Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Blair, Butler, Cambria, Clarion, Clearfield, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Jefferson, Lawrence, Mercer, Somerset, Venango, Washington, and Westmoreland counties. According to the joint application filed by Aqua and the Peoples Companies, the transaction has a purchase price of $4.275 billion. The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission balances the needs of consumers and utilities; ensures safe and reliable utility service at reasonable rates; protects the public interest; educates consumers to make independent and informed utility choices; furthers economic development; and fosters new technologies and competitive markets in an environmentally sound manner. Visit the PUC's website at www.puc.pa.gov for recent news releases and video of select proceedings. You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube. Search for the "Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission" or "PA PUC" on your favorite social media channel for updates on utility issues and other helpful consumer information. Docket Nos.: A-2018-3006061 A-2018-3006062 A-2018-3006063 Contact: Nils Hagen-Frederiksen Press Secretary 717-783-6152 nhagen-fre@pa.gov Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday made a veiled attack on the Congress and some other opposition parties over their stance on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and NPR, saying that "lies and rumours" were being spread by the parties which had been rejected by the people in 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The Prime Minister lauded the BJP workers and asked them to be "more active" in reaching out to the people. In his speech at the BJP headquarters after JP Nadda was elected the party's new president, Modi said that some people had objections to the party's ideals. He hit out at the Congress and said those who had been rejected by the people in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, saying that "those whose words people were not willing to hear had very few weapons left." He accused them of "spreading rumours and lies" and said that these were being fanned by the eco-system created by them. Modi said the BJP workers do not rely on mediums to convey their message but reach out to the people directly. "It is that power, which brought us back to power with a greater majority. This is an important development in India's history," he said. "There is a need to be more active. There is a need to reach every citizen," he said. Congress and several other opposition parties have opposed the Citizenship Amendment Act and raised their objections to the manner in which the Population Register was being conducted. They have also accused the government of trying to bring the Register of Citizens. Congress leader P Chidambaram has termed NPR as "disguised NRC". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Burma No Genocidal Intent in Security Operations in Rakhine State, Myanmar Commission Says A police officer stands guard near a house that was burnt down in Maungdaw, northern Rakhine State, on Aug. 30, 2017. / REUTERS YANGONA Myanmar government commission set up to investigate alleged human rights violations in Rakhine State said killings and displacement of Rohingya Muslims during security forces clearance operations there did not have genocidal intent, contradicting the findings of UN investigators. The Independent Commission of Enquiry (ICOE) submitted its final report to Myanmar President U Win Myint and State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on Monday. Despite its denial of genocidal intent, the report admitted that war crimes, serious human rights violations, and violations of domestic law took place. The 461-page report is widely viewed as Myanmars counter narrative to the international version of events, which has been harshly critical of the country. The release of the long-awaited report came just two days shy of the International Court of Justices ruling on whether to approve The Gambias request that provisional measures be taken against Myanmar. The small African nation filed a lawsuit with the court accusing Myanmar of committing genocide against the Rohingya. More than 700,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar to neighboring Bangladesh in late 2017 after the governments security forces launched clearance operations in northern Rakhine State in response to a series of attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) on police outposts in the area. Those who fled recalled arbitrary killings, rape and arson against their property by Myanmar security forces. UN investigators said the operations had genocidal intent. Both the Myanmar government and military have denied the accusations. In a press release following the submission of the report on Monday, the ICOE said it had found no evidence to suggest that the killings or acts of displacement were committed pursuant to an intent or plan to destroy the Muslim or any other community in northern Rakhine State. There is insufficient evidence to argue, much less conclude, that the crimes committed were undertaken with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, or with any other requisite mental state for the international crime of genocide, the report says. It added: The ECVT [the ICOEs Evidence Collection and Verification Team] findings reveal no indication of a pattern of conduct from which one could reasonably conclude that the acts were committed with genocidal intent. The ICOE said it had provided 22 recommendations in its report. It urged the Myanmar government and the countrys defense services to continue their respective investigations, taking into account the ECVTs findings. Neither the commissions recommendations nor the full report have yet been made public, however. Currently, the Myanmar military is conducting courts martial in northern Rakhine State. The ICOE said its evidence-collection teams were dispatched to Rakhine State, Yangon and Naypyitaw, where they interviewed about 1,500 witnesses from various communities in northern Rakhine State, including Muslims and ethnic Rakhine, Mro and Daingnet people, as well as military and police personnel. While ruling out genocidal intent, the commission did not denybased on the information available to it and the results of investigations carried out in northern Rakhine State and elsewherethat war crimes, serious human rights violations and violations of domestic law took place during security operations between Aug. 25 and Sept. 5, 2017, the period when security forces carried out clearance operations in the area. Although these serious crimes and violations were committed by multiple actors, there are reasonable grounds to believe that members of Myanmars security forces were involved, the report said, blaming ARSAs initial attacks for provoking the response by Myanmars security forces. The killing of innocent villagers and destruction of their homes were committed by some members of the Myanmar security forces through disproportionate use of force during the internal armed conflict, it added. However, the report failed to impress human rights activists like U Aung Myo Min, the executive director of Equality Myanmar, who said he didnt see anything in the report about taking action against the perpetrators. He said the report simply advises that, the Myanmar Government and Myanmars Defense Services must continue their respective investigations, taking into account the ECVTs findings. Taking action against those who are guilty is really important. Thats what the international community is calling for, he said. He noted that the reports findings were identical to comments made by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi at the ICJ, in which she denied there had been any genocidal intent and spoke of the possibility of war crimes. With the ruling by the ICJ looming late this week, the human rights advocate said the report was unlikely to have any impact on the courts decision on provisional measures. He said if the report had been released before the ICJ hearings in December, the court would have taken its findings into consideration. Instead, it relied on information from independent bodies like the UN Fact Finding Mission, not the government commission, he said. So, its very unlikely to have an influence, he said. The ICOE was formed by the Myanmar government in 2018 to investigate allegations of human rights violations and related issues following the terrorist attacks by ARSA in Rakhine State with a view to seeking accountability and formulating recommendations on steps to be taken to ensure peace and stability in Rakhine State. It is chaired by Rosario Manalo, a former deputy foreign minister of the Philippines, and includes Kenzo Oshima, a former permanent representative of Japan to the UN, and two Myanmar nationals. You may also like these stories: Civil Servants Refusing to Work in Chin States Paletwa Amid Fighting Between Military, AA Myanmar Military, AA Swap Blame for Civilian Deaths in Chin State Rakhine Baby Shot Dead by Myanmar Soldiers: Father New Delhi: South Indian Bank on Monday said it is planning to raise Rs 500 crore from bonds to fund its business expansion. An amount of Rs 300 crore will be raised through Basel III-compliant tier 1 bonds with a Rs 200 crore green-shoe option. The capital planning and infusion committee of directors of the bank today approved the information memorandum for issuance of rated, unsecured, perpetual, non-convertible, Basel III Compliant, Tier 1 Subordinated Bonds in the nature of debentures (NCDs) bearing a face value of Rs 1 lakh with a base issue size of Rs 300 crore," South Indian Bank said in a regulatory filing. It will have a green-shoe option to retain oversubscription up to Rs 200 crore aggregating to Rs 500 crore, it said. Hungarys government agreed to limit the number of people who could receive diplomatic immunity in Hungary as staff or guests of the International Investment Bank (IIB). Only one or two dozen of them would receive immunity, Direkt36 has learned. The bank relocated its headquarters from Moscow to Budapest this summer. For months, there has been a major disagreement between the Hungarian and U.S. governments over IIB. The U.S. is openly opposed to the banks relocation to Hungary, because they believe the banks presence offers no real economic benefits, while Russia can use the bank to expand its malign influence over the region. Most recently, after the Hungarian parliaments Hungarian-American friendship groups meeting last week, the groups chairman said that there are still disputes between the U.S. and Hungarian governments about the banks relocation. U.S. Ambassador to Hungary David Cornstein had similar laments. In addition to the U.S., Hungarys other NATO allies are also disturbed by IIBs presence in the Hungarian capital. Several EU diplomats in Budapest have told Direkt36 that the Americans are not alone in fighting the bank. They are coordinating their actions with diplomats of the United Kingdom, who also aim to curb the Russian bank. As a result of their protests, the Orban government has made several concessions in recent months. For example, they promised that Hungarian and U.S. intelligence services would cooperate closely in monitoring the bank. The Hungarian government also accepted that the IIB could not have its offices near the diplomatic representation of either the United States or any other NATO member state (it was revealed this week that the IIB will be based in the Chain Bridge Palace). However, one issue that still bothers Hungarys allies is diplomatic immunity granted for bank employees and guests. Just a matter of courtesy According to the agreement on the banks relocation, adopted by Hungarys parliament earlier this year (Act XI of 2019), the banks staff will be granted diplomatic immunity. Quite precisely, the agreement states that bank officials enjoy various privileges and immunities in performing their official duties while in Hungary. Diplomatic immunity is available primarily to diplomats working in Hungary. To put it simply, the immunity means that, besides all kinds of tax exemptions, they cannot be arrested by the authorities of the host country or be tried by the court unless the sending country waives the immunity. If they commit a crime such as espionage and get caught, they can be quickly evacuated from the country. The immunity protects them throughout their stay in the host country and in all their activities there. For this reason, many foreign intelligence officers arrive in the country of destination officially as a diplomat. The U.S. claims that the bank can also be used to send spies to Budapest, who can then move freely across the European Union and even enjoy diplomatic protection. So far, however, there is no evidence to support allegations of spying. Georgy Potapov, Deputy Chairman of the Board of the International Investment Bank told Hungarian daily Nepszava in June that we will say it again and again when we are asked: we are not spies, we are not a spy organization, thats not why we are in Budapest. However, all our colleagues go through (national security) screening before they get their work permit and diplomatic immunity. The importance of the disagreement over the diplomatic immunities is illustrated by the fact that, before Russian President Vladimir Putins visit on October 30 to Budapest, Hungarys government started but soon stopped granting diplomatic status according to public information. For the time being, only IIB chairman Nikolay Kosov and his wife received immunity. This is the debate in which the Hungarian government introduced a new argument at the end of the year and made another concession to reassure its anxious allies. In a written response to Direkt36, Hungarys Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (KKM) stated that neither the IIB chairman nor his staff actually enjoy diplomatic immunity. Kosov and his staff are only granted functional immunity limited to matters related to the performance of their official duties. Functional immunity is similar to diplomatic immunity, but it provides a narrower scope of protection because it is limited to official matters only. Typically such functional immunity is not granted to real diplomats, but to administrative, technical and other support staff at embassies or to honorary consuls. The Hungarian foreign ministry claims that, by law, IIB enjoys only functional immunity in Hungary, similar to that of the European Investment Bank, the Budapest office of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, or the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. A Hungarian foreign ministry official told Direkt36 that although IIB chairman Nikolay Kosov is indeed among the diplomats accredited to Budapest in the official diplomatic database of the ministry, he too only received functional immunity. Putting Kosovs name on the list of accredited real diplomats is just a matter of courtesy, to show that he is heading an international institution, according to the source. The ministry official explained that this is because, for example, if someone arranges a reception for the heads of international institutions or banks, then Kosov will also get an invitation as he is on the list too. Even local heads of the UN, UNICEF etc. enjoy full, meaning much broader diplomatic immunity than Kosovo, the source said, explaining why they think that the status granted to Kosov is insignificant. Contradicting the Hungarian governments claims, however, at an IIB event in November, Kosov said that he and his wife do have diplomatic immunity. It was and remains a bad idea The Hungarian governments argument did not reassure the U.S., Direkt36 has learned. We dont see a distinction between diplomatic immunity and functional immunity, you can call it this or that, any kind immunity given to the banks staff is extremely problematic, a U.S. State Department official familiar with the dispute over the IIB told Direkt36. According to the source, the U.S. Ambassadors position is that we dont need a hundred Russians running around with diplomatic immunities in Budapest. Why does such a small bank coming from outside of NATO need so many people? Compared to the banks size and financial weight it doesnt make sense. IIB deputy chairman Georgy Potapov told Nepszava in June that in the first phase, 50 to 60 employees would start working in Budapest. But once the bank had found a permanent headquarters, only those will remain in Moscow who deal with non-EU countries, plus the IT and administrative departments, about 25 people. Everyone else is coming, the total number will be around 110 people. The U.S. is so concerned about the banks presence that it made the Orban government agree to limit the number of people who can come to Hungary with any kind of diplomatic immunity as an IIB employee. According to our information, the Hungarian government has agreed not to grant immunities to more than one or two dozen people. This maximum number will include not only the banks permanent staff but also temporary experts and guests. Multiple sources familiar with the deal told Direkt36 that, despite the agreement, it is still the main goal of U.S. diplomacy to completely eliminate IIB from Hungary. This was confirmed by the U.S. Embassy in Budapest, who replied to our inquiry by writing that it was and remains a bad idea to bring the International Investment Bank to Budapest. Any small economic benefits are vastly outweighed by the risks of Russia utilizing the bank for malign purposes. () This issue is the subject of continued discussion. The Embassy has received certain assurances that address some of our concerns, but this so-called bank will continue to pose a threat so long as it is based on the soil of a NATO Ally. According to Czech weekly Respekt, the U.S. is heavily lobbying against the bank in Prague too. As the Czech Republic is also a member of IIB, according to Czech law, the banks relocation to Budapest had to be approved by the Czech Senate. However, according to Respekt, the vote was due in October and the Senate wanted to vote down the relocation, supporting instead the countrys withdrawal from the bank. To avoid this from happening, the Czech government decided to withdraw the agreement on the relocation before the Senate could have voted. Meanwhile, according to the Czech weekly, the Orban government is encouraging the Czechs to remain members of IIB and even increase their capital. MTI Photo Article republished with the permission of the source: direkt36.hu Direkt36 is a non-profit investigative journalism center in Hungary with the mission to expose wrongdoings and abuse of power through fair but tough reporting, a kind of journalism that is vital for any democracy. A senior executive whose arrest in Vancouver led to a breakdown in Canada-China relations headed to court on Monday to fight extradition to the United States. Meng Wanzhou, the company's chief financial officer and eldest daughter of its founder Ren Zhengfei, is wanted by US authorities for alleged fraud. In order to secure her freedom, the "princess of Huawei" must convince a Canadian judge that the US charges -- linked to alleged violations of US sanctions on Iran -- would not stand up in and are politically motivated. The US 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 Tehran. "Simply put, there is evidence she deceived HSBC in order to induce it to continue to provide banking services to Huawei," the 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 justice department will say in arguing for her extradition that the US accusations against Meng would be considered a crime in if they had occurred there. This is a key test known as double criminality. Her lawyers, however, will counter that the misrepresentations do not amount to fraud, but rather are an attempt by the United States to enforce its sanctions against Iran -- which has not matched. Meng's arrest during a Hong Kong-to-Mexico flight stopover in December 2018 put the 47-year-old at the centre of the US and China's battle over the technology giant's growing global reach. It also stuck Canada in the middle of a trade row between the world's two largest economies, resulting in the arrests of two Canadians and restrictions on its agricultural shipments to China. China's "arbitrary detentions," according to Ottawa, of former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor on espionage suspicions, nine days after Meng was taken into custody, have been widely interpreted as retribution by Beijing aimed at pressuring Canada to free Meng. 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. The hearing is scheduled to last five days. But if the US accusations are found to also be a crime in Canada, it will proceed to a next phase in June, when defense arguments that authorities conspired to nab Meng as part of a "covert criminal investigation" would be heard. Later in the year, the court is also scheduled to weigh evidence in the US fraud case. Any appeals risk drawing out the proceedings for years. According to court documents, allegedly controlled the operations of Skycom in Iran. Its staff used email accounts and security badges, and its bank accounts were controlled by Huawei, the Crown said. But Meng told HSBC executives in a presentation in 2013 that Huawei no longer owned Skycom and that she had resigned from Skycom's board. From 2010 to 2014, HSBC and its American subsidiary cleared more than US$100 million worth of transactions related to Skycom through the US. Ren Zhengfei has suggested that the case is part of a US plot to crush Huawei, which it sees as a security risk. Founded by the former People's Liberation Army engineer in 1987, Huawei has grown into one of the world's biggest technology firms. Meng is "like a small ant caught between the collision of two giant powers," Ren told broadcaster CNN. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who'd hoped when he came to power in 2015 to deepen Canada's economic ties with China, prevailed on the US for help. He told broadcaster TVA last month that he urged US President Donald Trump not to finalize a trade deal with China "that doesn't settle the question of Meng Wanzhou and the two Canadians." Trump still went ahead and signed a "phase one" trade deal with China last week. Former Canadian prime minister Jean Chretien and his ex-deputy John Manley, meanwhile, have urged Trudeau to simply release Meng in a "prisoner swap" for Spavor and Kovrig, in order to normalize relations with China. That, however, risks legitimizing Beijing's "hostage diplomacy" tactics, according to leading extradition experts consulted by AFP. Myanmars government-appointed panel failed to find any genocidal intent behind the displacement of Rohingya Muslims from the Rakhine state. The Independent Commission of Enquiry (ICOE) submitted a 461-page final report on January 20 after holding its 15th meeting in Nay Pyi Taw. The ICOE has not found any evidence suggesting that these killings or acts of displacement were committed pursuant to an intent or plan to destroy the Muslim or any other community in northern Rakhine State, said the panel in a statement. The panel further added that the findings of Evidence Collection and Verification Team (ECVT) didnt indicate any pattern of conduct that could reasonably conclude that the acts were committed with genocidal intent. Read: Rakhine Rebels Say Suu Kyi's Party Official Killed In Attack By Myanmar Army Acknowledges human rights violations However, the panel acknowledged that war crimes, serious human rights violations, and violations of domestic law took place during the security operations between August 25 - September 5, 2017. According to the report, although the serious crimes and violations were committed by multiple actors, the panel found reasonable grounds to believe that members of Myanmars security forces were also involved. The committee said that initial attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) provoked Myanmars security forces to respond but some members of the security forces used disproportionate force that killed innocent villagers and destroyed their homes. Read: Myanmar Leader Suu Kyi Aung Given Hero's Welcome On Return From The Hague Nearly 7,40,000 Rohingya Muslims were forced to take refuge in several camps in Bangladesh after Myanmars military launched a crackdown on the minority group. The crackdown on minorities tarnished the image of Suu Kyi and Amnesty International, human rights organisation, withdrew its highest honour, the Ambassador of Conscience Award, from the State Counsellor. In December, Myanmars State Counsellor and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi took the centre stage at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to defend genocide allegations against Myanmars military. Suu Kyi denied the claims at the UN top court blaming the Gambia, country that filed the case at the ICJ, of putting an incomplete, misleading factual picture of the situation in Rakhine state. Read: Nearly 100 Rohingya Face Prison Time In Myanmar As Suu Kyi Defends Genocide Charges Read: US Imposes Sanctions On Myanmar Military Chief Over Alleged Rohingya Atrocities Looking to satisfy your appetite for Mediterranean fare? Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the top Mediterranean spots around Sunnyvale, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of the best spots to satisfy your cravings. Consumers in the Sunnyvale area tend to spend more in the winter at restaurants than any other season of the year, according to data on local business transactions from Womply, a software provider that helps small businesses get more customers. The average amount spent per customer transaction at Sunnyvale-area restaurants grew to $35 for the metro area in the winter of last year, 2% higher than the average for the rest of the year. 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. 1. Dishdash photo: iris w./yelp First on the list is DishDash. Located at 190 S. Murphy Ave. in Washington, the Middle Eastern and Mediterranean spot is the most popular Mediterranean restaurant in Sunnyvale, boasting 4.5 stars out of 3,744 reviews on Yelp. 2. Obed Mediterranean Cuisine photo: mona w./yelp Next up is East Murphy's Obed Mediterranean Cuisine, situated at 911 E. Duane Ave. With 4.5 stars out of 352 reviews on Yelp, the Mediterranean spot has proven to be a local favorite. 3. Meyhouse Washington's Meyhouse, located at 133 S. Murphy Ave., is another top choice, with Yelpers giving the Turkish, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern spot 4.5 stars out of 148 reviews. 4. SAJJ Mediterranean Photo: Tori A./Yelp A city location of the California chain SAJJ Mediterranean, a Mediterranean spot in Washington, is another go-to, with four stars out of 263 Yelp reviews. Head over to 123 S. Frances St. to see for yourself. This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. The US has called on Pakistan to take sustained and irreversible action against terror groups operating from its soil to achieve the potential for bilateral relations against the backdrop of a visit to Islamabad by the top American diplomat for South Asia. Washington last month said it will revive the International Military Education and Training (IMET) programme for the Pakistani military. The programme, along with all other security aid, was suspended by President Donald Trump in 2018 after he accused Pakistan of giving nothing but lies and deceit in return for billions of dollars of aid. Alice Wells, the acting assistant secretary for South Asia, began a four-day visit to Pakistan on Sunday. She is scheduled to meet senior government officials in Islamabad to discuss bilateral and regional issues. A US state department spokesperson was quoted by VOA as saying that the Trump administration sees the US-Pakistan relationship as one of potential. We have made clear that fulfilling that potential requires progress on our joint efforts to bring stability to Afghanistan and on Pakistan taking sustained and irreversible action against the militant groups and terrorist groups that destabilise the region from its soil, the spokesperson said. We expect our bilateral relationship to continue to mature to one more focussed on trade than aid, and we are continuing to target investments in ways that help improve the overall business climate, the spokesperson added. There is much room to grow the $6.6-billion annual bilateral trade, and Washington looks forward to working with Islamabad on energy and agricultural exports in 2020, the spokesperson said. Wells has already travelled to India and Sri Lanka as part of a regional tour. She arrived in Islamabad days after Pakistans foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshis trip to Washington, where he held talks with secretary of state Mike Pompeo and National Security Adviser Robert OBrien. Enjoyed meeting with Pakistani Foreign Minister @SMQureshiPTI today. We discussed countering Iranian aggression, the Afghan peace process, trade ties, and regional stability, Pompeo tweeted after meeting Qureshi on Friday. The upturn in US-Pakistan ties is linked to Islamabads cooperation in facilitating Washingtons peace talks with the Taliban to end the war in Afghanistan. Trump suspended US security aid worth about $2 billion in January 2018 to pressure Pakistan to crack down on terrorist groups operating from its soil. However, recent reports have said that several Pakistan-based groups such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed have been sending fighters to Afghanistan. Just before the holidays, I drove to Stockton for a discussion with local businesses on access to capital. When I posted on Twitter earlier in the year about a similar roundtable we held in Venice, Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs was quick to reach out: Central California Stockton next? In 2012, Stockton became the first U.S. municipality with a population over 100,000 to file for bankruptcy after years of mismanagement gave way to financial collapse in the aftermath of the housing crisis. Stockton exited bankruptcy in 2015. In recent years, Stockton has received national attention with innovative programs such as an experimental rollout of Universal Basic Income as Tubbs seeks to revitalize the city. Stockton is exactly the type of community the Governors Office of Business and Economic Developments California Entrepreneurship Task Force was launched to help. Its part of the sprawling third of the state long ignored by neighboring Silicon Valley. ETF, a first ever initiative that brings together private sector leaders to promote entrepreneurship, has held listening sessions across the state. Each community I have met as chair is unique: they range from tech startups to main street service providers and family-owned firms; and they vary in the scale they have achieved, or even desire to achieve. I took Mayor Tubbs up on his offer to convene in Stockton. The room was packed with small businesses and capital providers. An air of anticipation that would beat any gathering of startups lining up in front of Silicon Valley venture capitalists (if you could get them convened in one place). Isabel Guzman, who is Californias Small Business Advocate and my state government partner, kicked it off and passed it to me to moderate. No amount of preparation can fully equip one to facilitate a dialogue with a community whose entrepreneurial journey and aspirations are as diverse as this. I asked roundtable participants to tell us about their business and experience raising capital. I just dont like borrowing money. Its hard to find the right kind of lending, said the founder of a 4-year-old hair salon. I was struck by her calm, confident demeanor as she spoke about predatory lending and lack of transparency. Next, co-founders of an event company, who both returned to their native Stockton after college, shared how they won grants to grow, but with little guidance. Then we heard from a chef who started his downtown restaurant four years ago. I borrowed $5,000; I had to return $9,500. Capital remains a concern as the owner looks to meet growing demand. A few participants later, a software company founder, incubated by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, shared her story and focus on bringing Latinx mom-and-pop caterers online. While Stockton is only two hours from Lumiata, my company based in San Mateo, Silicon Valley and Central Valley are worlds apart. The stories I heard from founders recounting the basic challenges they faced, and the absence of an entrepreneurial ecosystem, are not dissimilar to a developing country. Beyond geography, there are socioeconomic barriers that limit people of color and women. In the Venice roundtable, diverse entrepreneurs spoke passionately about how they found it impossible to access venture capital as they lacked connections in an industry that relies heavily on networking to source deals. While the odds may be against them, entrepreneurs I have met in Californias heartland are taking charge of their destinies, and their communities as well. Stocktons rebound is, in part, being led by small businesses that have emerged to revitalize the city. Some 70,000 Stockton residents commute to work in Silicon Valley. As these startups grow, this local talent pool will be a major asset for scaling. In Fresno, leaders have developed a 10-year plan that includes a downtown AgTech innovation center with Fresno State and UC Merced. High-speed rail connecting Merced to Bakersfield will pass through Fresno and transform the regions economy and its connections to the Bay Area and Southern California. Its time Silicon Valley takes notice. Its own future is tied to the Central Valley given the severe talent crunch and lack of affordable housing in the Bay Area. The Central Valley, with a steady supply of local college graduates, low cost of living and, above all, diverse talent base passionate and rooted in their communities, can be a major competitive advantage for Silicon Valley. Regions rise together. The rise of the Central Valley, partnering with Silicon Valley, will ensure Californias continued leadership as a global innovator. The future is being scripted in the Central Valley. Dilawar Syed is president and CEO at Lumiata, an AI for Healthcare company based in San Mateo. He serves as founding chair of California Entrepreneurship Task Force, an initiative of the Governors Office of Business and Economic Development. Thousands Gather at Virginia Capitol in Support of 2nd Amendment Thousands of people gathered at Virginias state capitol to protest proposed gun bans as officials attempted to tighten security ahead of the events. Photos and several live streams showed what appear to be several thousand demonstrators at the state capitol, with some dressed in camouflage, holding signs, and Revolutionary War-era flags. Those same live streams showed a heavy police presence. One demonstrator, who identified himself as internet radio host Doc Greene, told local outlet WUSA9s during a live stream that the Virginia state legislature is proposing historically bad ideas by trying to clamp down on gun ownership. He said one of the reasons why he and numerous others have descended on the capitol is to show others who have strong feelings about protecting the Second Amendment that theyre not alone. Whats at stake is our gun rights, one rally-goer told Breitbart News during its live stream. Another said that the Second Amendment is to keep tyrants in place, and suggested the governor was one. Around 6,000 people said on the events Facebook page that they planned to attend. THREAD: NOW: Im at Virginia state Capitol covering the gun rights rally lots of people here already at 8 a.m. pic.twitter.com/rP2t0THWw3 Bowen Xiao (@BowenXiao_) January 20, 2020 The rally comes days after Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, declared a state of emergency at the capitol grounds ahead of the rally. He said at a press conference that his office received credible intelligence from our law enforcement agencies that there are groups with malicious plans for the rally that is planned for Monday. He continued, Intelligence shows the threat of armed militia groups storming our capitol. The event is being organized by gun rights group Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL). VCDL Lobby Day is an event that has been held at the capitol for the past two decades on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The emergency ban drew several legal motions, with the VCDL attempting to overturn the gun ban in court. A judge last week upheld Northams ban, while Virginias state Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge, effectively leaving the state of emergency in place. Gun rights activists take part in a rally in Richmond, Virginia, on Jan. 20, 2020. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times) But Northam told reporters that hes confident that most of the attendees will be peaceful. Last week, the FBI arrested suspected members of a white supremacist group called The Base who were planning to attend the rally. My hope is that everyone traveling to Richmond tomorrow is coming with peaceful intentions and the day will pass without incident, Virginia state Attorney General Mark Herring, a Democrat, wrote Sunday on Twitter. Our country was founded on free speech and a right to assemble. We can protect those rights while ensuring Virginians are safe. Gun rights activists take part in a rally in Richmond, Virginia, on Jan. 20, 2020. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times) Virginia House of Delegates Minority Leader Todd Gilbert, a Republican, said in a statement that any group that comes to Richmond to spread white supremacist garbage, or any other form of hate, violence, or civil unrest isnt welcome here. Thousands of law-abiding Virginians simply want to have their voices heard at the seat of government. The rally comes as the legislatures proposed laws restricting firearms were met with opposition in dozens of counties and municipalities across Virginia. Since November, more than 100 counties, sheriffs departments, and municipalities have declared themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries. Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment In an old episode of the Simpsons, Lisa asks her neighbor Ned, How do we know the guys who wrote the Bible just didnt make all that stuff up? According to a Gallup poll, taken a little over a year ago, fewer than one in four Americans (24%) now believe the Bible is "the actual word of God, and is to be taken literally, word for word," similar to the 26% who view it as "a book of fables, legends, history and moral precepts recorded by man." This is the first time in Gallup's four-decade trend that biblical literalism has not surpassed biblical skepticism. Meanwhile, about half of Americans a proportion largely unchanged over the years fall in the middle, saying the Bible is the inspired word of God but that not all of it should be taken literally. Given that Im in the actual word of God camp, let me give you the two primary reasons I believe the Bible. The Best Historical Text First, I believe what the Bible says is true for the same reason I believe other historical books are correct in what they report. The legal / forensic method and its principles are used to judge the validity of any historical text, with it all coming down to the accounts that were (hopefully) faithfully and accurately recorded by eyewitnesses who can be trusted. There are three primary tests historians use to determine if the text before them passes muster. First is the bibliographical test that asks how reliable the manuscripts are and how early is the dating. When that spotlight is shined on the New Testament, it rises above all other historical texts: tens of thousands of ancient manuscripts that can be extensively compared to confirm reliability and the earliest dating to its recorded events of any historical book. The second test is the internal evidence test, which concerns itself with whether there are multiple attestations of the events in question and if those accounts are free of contradictions (i.e. do they match). Again, when the dust settles, the New Testament is found in the winners circle. Remember that there was no New Testament during the time of Jesus, and instead what you had were the multiple biographies of Jesus circulating as well as Pauls and other apostles letters all of which agree on every major fact and chronicled event and all of which were written closer to the actual occurrences that any other book of history. As to contradictions or manuscript variants, the overwhelming majority of variants are inconsequential, consisting of spelling and numerical differences that cant be translated in certain manuscripts, sentence word order changes, etc. This leads scholars like Neil Lightfoot to say, The conclusion is that practically all of the variations found among the manuscripts do not affect our present text. Although a few textual problems remain, these are explained in the footnotes of most recent translations. The third and final historiographical test is the external evidence test that asks if evidence outside the document corroborates the text. Again, the New Testament is green-lighted because countless archaeological discoveries validate the historicity of the Bible as do works such as Robert Van Voorsts Jesus Outside the New Testament, which chronicles what non-biblical writers had to say about Jesus. So, when it comes to passing the key historiographical tests for trustworthiness, Scripture is the best of the best. Because of that, I believe what it says is true. The Best Witness Even though the Bible crushes its competition where standard tests of historicity are concerned, many still reject its truth claims. On the surface, some say they deny Scripture because of the many miracles it records (i.e. they are anti-supernaturalists). However, below that surface, most discard the Bible because it is commissive, that is, it demands we make a commitment to what it declares. Or, as philosopher Sren Kierkegaard put it: Truth is subjectivity (i.e. you must subject yourself to it). The fact is that Scripture itself tells us in several key passages why people reject the Bible. For example, In Romans 8, Paul says: For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so (vs. 5-7, emphasis mine). Paul states the same thing in 1 Corinthians: But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised (2:14, emphasis mine). The Bible is clear on the reason why people stiff-arm Gods Word its because all of us are initially born and live in a state of spiritual death and are naturally both blind and hostile to God and His truth. So then how did I and many others come to believe and accept the Bible? Paul tells us: For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. . . .For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. . . .By His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord (1 Cor. 18, 21-24, 30). How did the Bible go from something I couldnt care less about to being absolutely precious to me and something that I deeply trust? That was all Gods doing. It wasnt because I am smarter, more spiritual, etc., but rather it was because God saved me and gifted me with the Holy Spirit who serves as my best witness to Scripture, constantly convincing me of its truth. In the End Those who reject the Bible naturally balk at such a statement and cling to claims of contradictions, disbelief in miracles, and supposed textual changes over the years. But I can tell you thats simply not true. The historical evidence for Scriptures reliability is rock solid. The fact is, belief is a matter of the will. History has shown that we are amazing in our ability to reject evidence in favor of what we like or dont like. As Blaise Pascal put it: People almost invariably arrive at their beliefs not on the basis of proof but on the basis of what they find attractive. So why do I believe the Bible? I trust Scripture because it passes all the historiographical tests for ancient texts with flying colors, but also because the Holy Spirit, who has been gifted to me by God, opened both my heart and mind to the Word and unceasingly testifies to its truth. Nearly 80 years after the Navy declined to even name the hero black sailor who displayed extraordinary bravery during the attack on Pearl Harbor, the services acting secretary is breaking with tradition to name a powerful aircraft carrier in his honor. The family of Navy Cross recipient Doris Dorie Miller said Sunday that acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modlys decision to name a carrier for their uncle is an honor. Having the announcement made on Martin Luther King Jr. Day only makes the situation even more meaningful, Millers niece Brenda Haven told CBS Sunday Morning. That's beautiful, Haven said, adding, It has been a long, hard road. Over the last several decades, most of the Navys aircraft carriers have been named for U.S. presidents. This will mark the first time a carrier will be named for an African American or a sailor who performed heroic acts while serving in the enlisted ranks. In selecting this name, we honor the contributions of all our enlisted ranks, past and present, men and women, of every race, religion and background, Modly said Sunday. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. observed, Everybody can be great - because anybody can serve. No one understands the importance and true meaning of service than those who have volunteered to put the needs of others above themselves. Modly will formally announce his decision to name the next Ford-class carrier for Miller Monday -- Martin Luther King Jr. Day -- at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Thats where Miller is credited with displaying extraordinary courage and disregard for his own personal safety to move his captain to safety after the Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese attack. Related: Navy to Name Aircraft Carrier for Pearl Harbor Hero Miller Then-Mess Attendant 3rd Class Miller not only got his mortally wounded officer to safety during a serious fire, but also manned a machine gun to fire at Japanese aircraft until it ran out of ammunition and he was ordered to leave the bridge. Black sailors were limited in the roles they could serve in at that time, which meant Miller wasnt trained to operate the machine gun. When the Navy later recognized the men whod receive awards for heroism for their actions that day, the service referred to Miller only as an unknown Negro sailor. Facing public pushback over that move, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt later stepped in to award Miller the Navy Cross -- but as Modly told CBS Sunday Morning, the move wasnt without controversy. There were some people who did not want him to receive the Navy Cross because of his race, the acting SecNav said. Miller was the first black service member to receive the Navy Cross, which was presented to him by Fleet Adm. Chester Nimitz. The Navy in 1973 commissioned a Knox-class frigate named in honor of Miller. Modly wanted to name the next Ford-class carrier for a Navy hero, USNI News reported. He decided on Miller after extensive conversations with current and former Navy leaders, according to the outlet. After receiving the Navy Cross, Miller would go onto become a high-profile spokesman for the sea service before being assigned to the carrier Liscome Bay. That ship was sunk by a Japanese torpedo. Miller and 645 others died in the attack. The ship named for Miller will be the fourth in the new Ford-class carriers, which will replace the aging Nimitz-class flattops. Two of the other carriers in the class -- the Gerald R. Ford and John F. Kennedy -- are named for presidents. Doris Miller stood for everything that is good about our nation, and his story deserves to be remembered and repeated wherever our people continue the watch today, Modly said. Editors note: This story has been updated to reflect how often aircraft carriers are named for U.S. presidents. The practice has been common since the 1970s. -- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins. Read More: 5 Incredible Navy Cross Recipients Saturday Sunday lockdown in Delhi: Know timings, guidelines, rules, What is allowed, what is not allowed DDMA orders DMs to number all shops within 24 hours as odd-even rule being violated in markets Delhi Congress, BJP bigwigs file nominations; Kejriwal postpones filing of papers India oi-PTI New Delhi, Jan 20: Delhi Congress bigwigs Haroon Yusuf and Arvinder Singh Lovely as well as senior BJP leader Vijender Gupta were among the 343 candidates who filed their nominations on Monday, even as Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was unable to submit his papers due to a delay caused by his rally. Kejriwal, who started his roadshow from Valmiki Mandir near R K Ashram Marg metro station to the Hanuman Mandir near Connaught Place, traversed around 2.2 kilometres in over two hours. The 'Walk With Kejriwal' roadshow was to be followed by the Delhi chief minister going to Jamnagar House to file his nomination papers, but owing to the delay in the rally, he was unable to reach the SDM office in time. Kejriwal said the nomination will now be filed on Tuesday, which is also the last day for filing of nomination for the February 8 polls in Delhi. Before joining the mega roadshow, Kejriwal sought the blessings of his parents at his residence. His entire family, including his wife, two children and parents reached the Valmiki Mandir at noon from where the AAP leader commenced his roadshow, ahead of filing his nomination from the New Delhi constituency. He was also accompanied by his close confidant and deputy in the Delhi government Manish Sisodia and party MP Sanjay Singh. A total of whopping 508 fresh nominations were filed on Monday by 343 candidates belonging to big and smaller parties. With this, the total number of nominations for the upcoming elections has gone up to 722 received from 496 candidates, a senior official of the Delhi CEO office said. The total number of male candidates stand at 395, much larger than 101 woman contestants, he said. Tuesday is expected to witness last minute rush by the Congress and the BJP who were yet to announce candidates on a few seats until Monday night. The two parties until late Monday evening had not announced their candidates for the remaining seats. More than 40 BJP candidates, including its Leader of Opposition in the outgoing Delhi Assembly Gupta, filed their nomination papers. NEWS AT NOON, JANUARY 21st, 2020 Many other BJP candidates, including Ravi Negi (Patparganj), Kiran Vaidya (Trilokpuri), and Rajkumar Dhillon (Kondli), also filed their nominations. They were accompanied by East Delhi MP Gautam Gambhir. Delhi polls 2020: Kejriwal kickstarts rally before filing nominations "BJP candidates have worked very hard on the ground in the past five years and I am sure that they will do very well," Gambhir said on the occasion. Sitting Vishwas Nagar MLA OP Sharma also filed his nomination papers to seek re-election from the same seat, at Nand Nagri SDM office. He was accompanied by Sonali Jaitley, daughter of late Arun Jaitley. Another sitting MLA Jagdish Pradhan also filed his nomination papers from the Mustafabad constituency. Yusuf, Lovely, who were ministers in the then Sheila Dikshit government, filed their nomination papers from Ballimaran and Gandhi Nagar, respectively. Alka Lamba and Poonam Azad were also among those who filed their nomination papers from Chandni Chowk and Sangam Vihar, respectively. Former Delhi Assembly speaker Yoganand Shastri's daughter Priyanka is in the fray from R K Puram. The Congress is contesting the February 8 polls in alliance with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), which has been allotted four seats. This is the first time that the Congress is contesting the Delhi elections in partnership with another party. The last date for submission of nomination papers is January 21 and scrutiny will take place the next day. The last date of withdrawal of candidature is January 24. Results will be declared on February 11. According to the final electoral roll, over 1.46 crore people are eligible to exercise their franchise in the upcoming polls. Supreme Court judge, Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman on Monday recused himself from hearing liquor baron Vijay Mallya's petition against the confiscation of his properties by the Enforcement Directorate. The apex court directed the matter to be listed before an appropriate Bench. In the petition filed last year, Mallya submitted that no properties other than those related to Kingfisher Airlines, which is facing cases of alleged irregularities, should be attached. On January 1, the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Mumbai which deals with offences related to money laundering allowed banks which had lent money to Mallya to utilise the seized assets, Enforcement Directorate (ED) sources had said. According to sources, the seized assets mainly comprise of financial securities, such as shares. In July 11 last year, the Bombay High court had dismissed Mallya's petition seeking a stay on the procedure for the confiscation of his properties by a government agency. A special PMLA court had on January 5 declared Mallya a fugitive economic offender and directed that the properties of the 63-year-old be confiscated. He had fled the country in March 2016 and has been living in the United Kingdom since then. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Maldives government is looking to a dialogue with China to find solutions to problems arising from the irresponsible borrowing by the former Abdulla Yameen regime, foreign minister Abdulla Shahid has said. Projects being implemented in the Maldives through a $1.4-billion aid package from India might take more time because both countries are committed to transparency, Shahid said during an interview. The loans taken by Yameen, who was perceived as close to China, resulted in financial problems for the government of President Ibrahim Solih, who has adopted an India first policy. The aid package was provided during Solihs visit to India in 2018 and New Delhi recently gifted Male a patrol vessel and launched four development projects. The former government was most irresponsible in borrowing and this is something we have inherited. We are confident we will be able to deal with it, we are confident we will be able to have a dialogue with China...and I hope we will be able to move ahead for finding solutions to the problems, Shahid said. Stating and restating the problems will not be the way out, the way out would be talking to the concerned people and finding solutions and that this government will do. Asked about the possibility of renegotiating deals with China, he said Beijing was very generous to Male for social development projects, especially in the housing sector, where many projects were completed. Referring to ongoing projects, he added: We are confident China will continue to complete those projects and continue to be a good friend of the Maldives. Shahid was non-committal about going ahead with a free trade pact (FTA) signed with China by Yameen. The FTA is being studied by the government, he said, adding it had not yet been ratified by the Maldives. Yameens regime adopted very irresponsible policies, including trying to play India and China against each other and this resulted in ties between Male and New Delhi hitting rock bottom, he said. The two sides now have an outstanding relationship that is reflected in the number of visits and meetings between the leadership, he said. Indias $1.4-billion package, including budgetary aid, a currency swap between the two central banks and concessional loans of $800 million, has been utilised. Some of the smaller projects have already started, some of the larger projects like the Greater Male connectivity, the detailed project proposals are being done. The Addu development project, part of it is already underway, so theres a lot of movement, he said. Shahid said India and the Maldives, as democracies, are committed to good governance and transparency. We will do everything through transparent means and that might take a little bit more time, but still I would believe it is a better way to do things than doing it under the table, he said. Asked about Indias shift from the Saarc grouping to Bimstec, Shahid said the Maldives is very committed to regional cooperation. We have to address the core issues that are hindering regional cooperation. Addressing these very difficult issues will be the only way forward. We will continue to have good relations with all our neighbours and try to sort it out, he said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Dahua Technology, a world leading video-centric smart IoT solution and service provider, unveils its 2020 core product launch at Intersec Dubai including the over-coax technology advancement HDCVI 6.0, AI (WizSense/WizMind) and Full-color technology which enables outstanding performance under extreme low light conditions, enabling and accelerating the AIoT transformation. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200119005026/en/ Dahua Technology Unveils Core Product Launch for 2020 (Graphic: Business Wire) HDCVI 6.0 A longtime leader in HDCVI realm that offers great convenience, unparalleled quality and least cost, Dahua Technology launches HDCVI 6.0. Featuring 4K real-time (30fps live view), AI coding, two-way talk and enhanced AI, HDCVI 6.0 provides a superior visual experience where tiny details are captured with better clarity in a large monitoring coverage. Focused on human and vehicle, it significantly improves the streaming quality compared with H.265. Real-time communication allows users to warn off intruders and verify actual situations. Moreover, enhanced AI brings new possibilities to HDCVI 6.0. Full-color The demand for low-light cameras is rising. Dahua Technology launched Full-color cameras, which capture vivid colorful information even in low-light conditions. In places with high crime rate like dark alleys, it effectively extracts color features of humans, vehicles and other objects, providing great help during evidence obtaining procedure. Working with AI algorithms, target recognition and feature extraction accuracy is further enhanced in low-light environment. AI (WizSense/WizMind) To accelerate AI adoption, Dahua Technology releases WizSense, AI-powered solutions focusing on human and vehicle, providing intelligence, simplicity and inclusivity to users. WizSense, easy to use and not-pricey to own, is competent to meet ordinary users needs. Featuring SMD Plus, active deterrence, perimeter protection, face recognition, AI coding, etc., it guarantees accurate prediction before events; instant deterrence during events; quick target search after events; storage saving while ensuring target details. Certified by TUV Rheinland, UL, etc., WizSense ensures high-level cyber security using encryption algorithms. WizMind, besides WizSense functions, also supports people counting, video structure, ANPR, human face/body privacy protection, large scene monitoring, etc. Its a high-end series of tailored solutions to create more value for system integrators and installers. Applications The core technologies can be applied to dark places, busy areas with many people & vehicles and extremely important and delicate places, such as dark street corners, crossroads, casinos, museums, bank vault, etc. With mission of Enabling a safer society and smarter living, Dahua Technology will continue to focus on Innovation, Quality and Service to serve partners and customers around the world. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200119005026/en/ Close Who are the Labour leadership contenders? Boris Johnson is under fire over plans to impose strict new restrictions on EU immigration at the beginning of 2021 two years earlier than promised by Theresa May. Labour said the proposed limits on lower-skilled migrants were damaging, ill-informed and reactionary. The prime minister is also facing pressure over the mounting costs of the controversial HS2 rail project. Critics dubbed it white elephant, as a widely leaked government-commissioned review suggested the total cost could spiral up to 106bn. It comes as the European Commission said it might take until March to finalise its mandate for trade deal negotiations. Meanwhile, prospective Labour members have until 5pm on Monday to join and vote in the leadership contest with over 100,000 people believed to have signed up in recent weeks. This liveblog has now closed Australia's heat and bushfires are signs of fundamental shifts in its climate Posted on 20 January 2020 by greenman3610 This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Australias worst fire season ever recorded. Thats how the Australian Broadcasting Company, among many others, aptly described as an apocalypse, the gates of Hell, or the nightmare bushfires that have enveloped much of the southeastern coast of the land down under. Its not that there havent been breath-taking bushfires and heat waves in the past in Australia. There certainly have been. But the nature of them this year has changed, experts say in this months This is Not Cool video by Peter Sinclair for Yale Climate Connections. Its not just a drought that afflicts Australia nowadays, two experts agree, but a fundamental shift in the storm track, with a parching decline in rainfall, particularly during the Southern Hemisphere spring and summer months, becoming the proverbial new normal. Its the frequency and intensity of those conditions that is so concerning, says University of Melbourne scientist Linden Ashcroft. She says the trends are exactly in line with what the [climate] science said 10 or 20 years ago. Broadcast meteorologist Jeff Berardelli points to a single recent day on which the entire enormous continent of Australia recorded a country-wide average temperature of 107 degrees Fahrenheit. National Center for Atmospheric Research climate scientist Kevin Trenberth says a single month of such high temperatures often can be tolerated without lasting damage, but at two months or longer, as with this years bushfire season, serious damages can set in and be long-lasting. Also see: How climate change influenced Australias unprecedented fires Advertisement The stars have been out in force since fashion week season started once more. And Monday was no different at the Dior Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2020 show during Paris Fashion Week, as stars including Alexa Chung, Kristin Scott Thomas and Doutzen Kroes put on stunning displays. The British model and TV presenter, 36, looked stunning in her trademark indie style, while The English Patient star, 59, donned a camel coat with a thick waistbelt and the Dutch star, 34, wore a sexy mini. Here come the girls! at the Dior Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2020 show during Paris Fashion Week, as stars including Alexa Chung, Kristin Scott Thomas and Doutzen Kroes (left-right) put on stunning displays Alexa was joined at the event by her musician boyfriend Orson Fry, 23, who was looking as stylish as his stunning girlfriend posed alongside him in a cosy fashion in the midst of the star-studded event. Her leather mini-skirt featured a gold adornment at the hip which coordinated with her chic black handbag, while she covered up with a pair of low denier tights which still showed off her pins. Inside the bash took off her chic black coat and displayed her crisp blue shirt which gave a preppy feel to the stylish ensemble which made her stand-out on the FROW. Stunning Doutzen wore an elegant black skirt suit with tough black ankle boots. She posed alongside Alexa, Derek Blasberg and Lauren Santo Domingo for a super A-list turn out. All the stars: Stunning Doutzen wore an elegant black skirt suit with tough black ankle boots. She posed alongside Alexa, Derek Blasberg and Lauren Santo Domingo for a super A-list turn out Golden girls: The Grecian style collection was phenomenal in its graceful styles and luscious materials Wow! Doutzen looked sensational in her black suit while she hid her eyes behind glam sunglasses Here come the girls! Alexa later took off her jacket to display her crisp blue shirt while Kristin looked sensational in a floor-sweeping camel coat Stunning: The backdrop of the show featured a tapestry reading: 'What if women ruled the world?' Kristin looked sensational in her full-skirted camel coat with a thick black leather waistbelt. She ensured she was the image of grace and style at the glitzy bash. Uma Thurman was attending the event with her son Levon Roan Thurman-Hawke, 18, who she shares with her ex-husband Ethan Hawke. She was looking sleek in an overcoat and culottes. Bianca Jagger, 74, looked phenomenal in a blinged-up ensemble comprising of a dazzling walking stick with studded gloves and a pretty tiered skirt. Her raven locks were worn in volumunious curls. Susan Sarandon, 73, was every inch the timeless beauty in a monochrome get-up. She wore a long white collarless coat with black trousers and a simple black top. Stunner: Susan Sarandon, 73, was every inch the timeless beauty in a monochrome get-up. She wore a long white collarless coat with black trousers and a simple black top Elegant: Natalia Vodianova wowed in a sweeping coat with an A-line shape and sky-high boots while Lady Kitty Spencer donned an all-white jumpsuit to add a utility touch A vision: Uma Thurman looked stylish in culottes as she joined Valentina Ferragni and Bianca Jagger (left-right) Mum and son: Uma Thurman was attending the event with her son Levon Roan Thurman-Hawke, 18, who she shares with her ex-husband Ethan Hawke. She was looking sleek in an overcoat and culottes Hot stuff: Former Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld looked edgy in a PVC jacket with sky-high boots as she strutted in while Blogger Bryanboy was in a typically outlandish look Diorlings: Kat Graham, Haley Bennett and Giovanna Battaglia Engelbert (left-right) all brought the glamour in Dior looks Dreamy: The weather was playing ball for the fashionistas in the City Of Love Poles apart! Bianca was brandishing her walking stick in hilarious style Former Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld looked edgy in a PVC jacket with sky-high boots as she strutted in. Lady Kitty Spencer wore a chic denim boiler while she scraped her blonde locks behind her ears and into a ponytail at the nape of her neck. Alexa and Orson are said to be so besotted that Orson has as good as moved into her swanky apartment in Dalston, while she cheers him on when he performs with his band, Soundtown, in pubs across the capital. Tongues were set wagging in June when Alexa was spotted with her 'hunk' at the All Points East Festival at Victoria Park a stone's thrown from her home prompting whispers that she might have found happiness following her split from True Blood actor Alexander Skarsgard last year. A vision: The ensembles along the runway were sensational with the epic setting making the clothes even more stunning A vision: There was an ethereal feel to the collection, with Grecian undertones - including a Medusa-style snake headdress A vision: She looked sensational as they rubbed shoulders with the stars She has also been the face of DKNY Jeans and fashion house Lacoste. She has her own fashion range labelled Alexa Chung and created two collections for M&S. Orson, whose father is thrice married Cosmo Fry, 60 a descendant of the Fry's chocolate dynasty graduated from the private liberal arts college Bard in New York two years ago, and juggles singing in his band with working as a waiter. His mother was Amanda Aspinall daughter of gambling tycoon and animal park owner John Aspinall. Orson was heartbroken when she died last January aged 61. Stunner: Alexa was joined at the event by her musician boyfriend Orson Fry, 23, who was looking as stylish as his stunning girlfriend posed alongside him in a cosy fashion in the midst of the star-studded event Here come the girls! Nine Marie d'Urso, Ines de La Fressange and Lucie de la Falaise were all looking radiant Sleek: Editor-In-Chief of British Vogue Edward Enninful was naturally putting in an appearance Her guy: She was bringing her son as her date for the big bash ATLANTA, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- DISH has once again employed its tired intimidation tactics in negotiations with Cox Media Group (CMG), blacking out multiple CMG TV stations across the country and punishing its own DISH customers. CMG has reached reasonable and amicable agreements with all other major cable and satellite providers to carry local CMG TV stations across the country, serving millions of Americans. "DISH is notoriously greedy, unreasonable, and difficult to deal with in retransmission consent negotiations. DISH is trying to underpay for our award-winning programming so it can boost its own profits. Despite all of its bluster, I doubt that DISH customers will ever see any savings for them," said Kim Guthrie, CEO of Cox Media Group. "Let me be very clear it was 100% DISH's decision to remove our TV stations from its service. CMG won't be bullied into submitting to DISH's below-market compensation demands which would harm our ability to continue to produce our award-winning programming. Our viewers are our top priority and we regret they have been harmed by DISH's scorched earth approach." CMG has repeatedly extended its contract with DISH and has been negotiating intensively in good faith. CMG has made numerous offers with reasonable terms, but DISH has refused to respond with a single serious proposal. DISH has made it clear it would rather blackout CMG's programming than engage in earnest to come to a fair deal with CMG. In order to distract from its own destructive business tactics, DISH has also recently made the false claim that representatives from Apollo Global Management are leading these negotiations. It is CMG that continues to lead negotiations in earnest with DISH and remains committed to resolve this dispute. "We remain willing to negotiate in good faith and we sincerely hope DISH will stop this tired PR campaign and get serious about reaching a fair and long-term agreement with our stations and restoring our valuable programming for our viewers in the communities we serve," says Guthrie. If you are disappointed and frustrated by DISH's decision to deprive you of local programming, please make your voice heard. Call DISH today at 1-800-333-3474 and urge them to engage with CMG in good faith to get your local programming back on their service as quickly as possible. About Cox Media Group Cox Media Group ("CMG") is an industry-leading media company with best-in-class brands, award winning content, and exceptional people. The new CMG was built in December 2019 when private equity funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, Inc. acquired the television assets of Northwest Broadcasting through the acquisition of NBI Holdings, LLC, which subsequently acquired certain television, radio, newspaper and other media assets of Cox Enterprises, Inc. and its affiliates. CMG provides valuable local content to diverse audiences in the communities it serves. Media Inquiries: [email protected] SOURCE Cox Media Group EPA Kickstarts 50-State Clean Trucks Initiative to Improve Air Quality Agency says initiative would cut nitrogen oxide, modernize truck engines, and set standards without hurting U.S. economy U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Regional Administrator Pete Lopez visited New Jerseys Port Elizabeth last week to outline the steps the EPA is taking to advance the Cleaner Trucks Initiative (CTI). The new rules for truck engines will focus on reducing pollutants from heavy-duty engines that cause asthma and even lung cancer. Lopez said the EPA is now seeking pre-proposal comments (pdf) from the public and interested stakeholders on the matter. The EPAs Clean Trucks Initiative, however, takes a markedly different approach to the Multi-State Medium- and Heavy-Duty Zero Emission Vehicle Initiative (pdf) proposed in December by a group of 8 states and the District of Colombia. The multi-state initiative focuses much more heavily on decarbonization and combating climate change through the introduction of heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles or ZEVs, such as battery- or hydrogen-powered trucks. The recurring theme of the EPAs CTI, in contrast, is to secure improvements in human health through incremental improvements in existing technologies and research into new oneswithout forcing a revolution in trucking technology. The CTIs Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (pdf) stretches to some 97 pages as it outlines the EPAs approach. Over the course of those 97 pages, carbon is mentioned three times, but climate, climate change or global warming cannot be found. Instead, the terms health or healthy feature 19 times in all. The Multi-State ZEV initiative put forward by California, Oregon, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, and the District of Colombia comes to approximately one page of text. It mentions climate crisis, climate change or climate action four times, but health only once. The Cleaner Trucks Initiative rulemaking will establish new, more stringent emission standards for NOx & other pollutants for highway heavy-duty engines. EPA is seeking input from the public and interested stakeholders. More: https://t.co/2pqNnPltis pic.twitter.com/3doWGryd7S U.S. EPA (@EPA) January 6, 2020 EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler launched the CTI officially in mid-November. According to Wheeler, This initiative will help modernize heavy-duty truck engines, improving their efficiency and providing cleaner air for all Americans. Wheeler said the new rules will establish updated standards to address nitrogen oxide emissions from heavy-duty trucks. We will do this in a manner that improves air quality and protects public health without jeopardizing the historic economic growth weve achieved under President Trump. Today, I was proud to advance the Cleaner Trucks Initiative along with @RepRiggleman & stakeholders. The U.S. has made major reductions in NOx emissions, but though this initiative we will continue to reduce emissions while spurring innovative new tech. https://t.co/UlK12kqMz7 pic.twitter.com/0KkAZYZIxk EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler (@EPAAWheeler) January 6, 2020 Wheeler stated, Thanks largely to innovation and technology, the U.S. has made big reductions in NOx emissions over the past several decades. Since 2000, NOx emissions in the U.S. have been reduced by 52 percent. However, it is estimated that heavy-duty trucks will be responsible for one-third of NOx emissions from transportation in 2025, and its been nearly 20 years since the EPA last set NOx emissions standards for heavy duty trucks. He also spoke to the Trump Administration policy of deregulation and cutting regulatory costs and red tape. Part of this initiative will also be to cut unnecessary red tape while simplifying certification and compliance requirements for heavy-duty vehicles, said Wheeler. For the past two decades, additional regulatory requirements have been added to on-highway heavy duty vehicles in a piecemeal fashion. This has resulted in some overly complex and costly requirements that do little to actually improve the environment. He said the EPA will review current requirements and root out inefficiencies while ensuring a common-sense, 50-state approach to regulation. The War on Nitrogen Oxide NYCDEP states that Nitrogen oxides are gases produced by fuel combustion. They include nitric oxide (NO), which is rapidly converted to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) after emission from vehicles and other sources. Exposures have been associated with lung irritation, emergency department visits and hospital admissions for respiratory conditions. Nitrogen oxides also contribute to the formation of ozone. According to the American Lung Association, Ozone is an air pollutant that causes essentially a sunburn in the lungs and can be deadly. According to the EPA, Short-term exposures to NO2 (an oxide of nitrogen) can aggravate respiratory diseases, particularly asthma, leading to respiratory symptoms, hospital admissions and emergency department visits. Long-term exposures to NO2 have been shown to contribute to asthma development and may also increase susceptibility to respiratory infections. Ozone exposure reduces lung function and causes respiratory symptoms, such as coughing and shortness of breath. Ozone exposure also aggravates asthma and lung diseases such as emphysema, leading to increased medication use, hospital admissions, and emergency department visits. According to New York Citys Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP), Despite significant improvements in recent years, air pollution in New York City is still a significant environmental threat, with trucks and cars producing a range of substances harmful for human healthincluding particulate matter (PM), NOx gases, sulfur dioxide, and ozone. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) states that fuels such as gasoline and diesel consumed for transportation cause around 80 percent of the NOx gases that form ozone. Ozone is a primary component of smog, which continues to plague cities such as Los Angeles. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), gasoline made up 54 percent of transportation fossil fuels consumed in 2018 (including cars and light trucks), while distillates such as diesel constituted some 23 percent, with diesel favored for engines in heavy trucks due to its stability and particularly high energy density. The EPA states that Gasoline-fueled engines tend to be lighter and less expensive than diesel engines although less durable and less fuel efficient. Did you know this out-of-this-world trucking fact? Truckers are definitely going places! pic.twitter.com/FduqQOP0CA Trucking Association of New York (@TruckingAssocNY) January 7, 2020 According to the EPAs Advance Notice of the Proposed Rule (pdf), NOx emissions in the U.S. have dropped by more than 40 percent over the past decade, though the EPA projects that heavy-duty vehicles will continue to be one of the largest contributors to the mobile source NOx inventory in 2028. According to American Trucking Association (ATA) Executive Vice President of Advocacy, Bill Sullivan, Since 1985, newly manufactured trucks have reduced NOx emissions by over 98%, but our work is not yet done. The 50-State Solution Due to the continued contribution of heavy-duty trucks to the NOx inventory, more than 20 organizations, including state and local air agencies from across the country, petitioned the EPA to develop more stringent NOx emission standards for on-road heavy-duty engines. According to the EPA, It became clear that there is broad support for federal action in collaboration with the California Air Resources Board (CARB). So-called 50-state standards enable technology suppliers and manufacturers to efficiently produce a single set of reliable and compliant products. Furthermore, the EPA and CARB often cooperate during the implementation of highway heavy-duty standards. Thus, for many years the regulated industry has been able to design a single product line of engines and vehicles which can be certified to both EPA and CARB emission standards (which have been the same) and sold in all 50 states. The EPA is thus seeking to harmonize efforts to lower NOx emission standards, while also focusing on issues such as implementing real-world testing protocols, ensuring the longer useful life of any regulations, considering future engine rebuilds, and introducing incentives to encourage the transition to current- and next-generation cleaner technologies as soon as possible. This will be done by reducing in-use emissions (rather than those measured on stationary testing apparatus), considering cost impacts on an industry pressed by higher wage and insurance costs, encouraging innovation and early compliance and ensuring a coordinated 50-state program. Real-World Testing The EPA says that Current heavy-duty engine emission standards reduced PM and NOx tailpipe emissions by over 90 percent for emissions measured using the specified test procedures, but their impact on in-use emissions during real-world operation is less clear. Among the reasons for this are that NOx emissions can be significantly higher during engine warm-up, idling, and certain other types of operation that result in low load on the engine or transitioning from low to high loads. The EPA states that modern diesel engines rely heavily upon catalytic aftertreatment to meet emission standards, with oxidation catalysts reducing hydrocarbons (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO), diesel particle filters (DPFs) reducing PM, and selective catalytic reduction (SCR) catalysts reducing NOx. Current designs typically include the diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC) function as part of the broader DPF/SCR system. However, SCR systems (including the DOC function) are effective only when the exhaust temperature is sufficiently high. All three types of aftertreatment also have the potential to lose effectiveness if the catalysts degrade. Truck engine manufacturers will be encouraged to find innovative solutions to reduce real-world emissions, including during lower-temperature operations such as when idling, warming the engine after starting, and driving downhill or on deadhead trips. According to the EPA, We have also observed an industry trend toward engine down-speedingthat is, designing engines to do more of their work at lower engine speeds where frictional losses are lower. Lower speeds, however, normally result in lower operating temperatures, and some technologies are then quite ineffective. Review of in-use data has indicated that SCR-based emission controls systems for diesel engines are not functional over a significant fraction of real-world operation due to low aftertreatment temperatures, which are often the result of extended time at low load and idle operation. Industry Approval According to a statement (pdf) from Jed Mandel, president of the Truck & Engine Manufacturers Association, which includes industry giants such as Cummins, Navistar, Caterpillar, AGCO, GM and Ford, the EPAs Cleaner Trucks Initiative provides the opportunity to move from a prescriptive-based compliance program to one that is performance-based. By doing so, we can achieve real-world NOx reductions, implement modern in-use compliance protocols, and streamline current redundant regulations, Mandel explained. We need to work together to make those changes while preserving the necessary diversity of the commercial vehicle marketplace and protecting the needs of our customers for fuel-efficient, durable, and reliable products. You are here: World Flash Four people were killed and six others were missing after a suspension bridge collapsed during flash floods in Indonesia's western Bengkulu province on Sunday, a disaster agency official said. The disaster occurred at 3:00 p.m. Jakarta time when floods hit the bridge in the province's district of Kaur, spokesman for the National Disaster Management Agency Agus Wibowo said. A total of 17 people survived the accident after falling from the bridge, the spokesman told Xinhua. Torrential rains were blamed for the accident, he said. Search for the missing persons was underway involving soldiers, policemen, the personnel of the Search and Rescue Office and volunteers, he added. The assessment on the risks of the flash floods had been carried out, said Wibowo. The Indonesian Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency warned of possible excessive downpours in several parts of the vast-archipelagic country this month and next month. New Delhi: Britains Prince Harry expressed great sadness on Sunday at the way he and his wife Meghan had to give up their royal titles as part of a separation settlement with the Queen. It brings me great sadness that it has come to this, Harry said in his first remarks on Saturdays historic agreement, made during a public address and posted on the couples Instagram account. Our hope was to continue serving the Queen, the commonwealth, and my military associations, but without public funding. Unfortunately, that wasnt possible, he told supporters of his Africa-based charity for youngsters with HIV at an event in London. But Harry said he felt utmost respect for Queen Elizabeth II. It has been our privilege to serve you, and we will continue to lead a life of service. I will always have the utmost respect for my grandmother, my commander in chief, and I am incredibly grateful to her and the rest of my family, for the support they have shown Meghan and I over the last few months. Queen Elizabeth II holds talks with her grandson On Monday, Britains Queen Elizabeth II agreed to offer Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle a period of transition during which the couple can divide their time between the UK and Canada. After her first face-to-face talks with her grandson and senior members of the royal family at the 93-year-old monarchs Sandringham estate in Norfolk, Buckingham Palace issued a statement, saying as the transition period kicks in right away, the complex matter of the couples future roles will be fleshed out in the coming days. The queens announcement is her second on the royal crisisdubbed Megxit in honour of Britains painful battle over Brexitahead of Harry and Meghans effective resignation on March 8. We have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution, the couple said at the time. We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America. Meghan then jetted back to Canada and is now their with their son Archie. Their announcement caught the royal family by surprise and created a media sensation in both Britain and the wider world. Their treatment by Londons hard-hitting tabloid press and their personal futureas well as questions about longstanding royal traditionshave turned into daily front-page news. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. In 2019, more than 50 operators across the globe announced their commercial launch of 5G, with over 200,000 new 5G Sub-6GHz base stations deployed. However, 5G commercialization still remains in the initial stage of infrastructure development, as indicated by large-scale construction only in China, South Korea, the United States, and a few other countries in Europe and the Middle East. It is estimated that China will build more than 500,000 5G base stations in 2020, which will accelerate global 5G deployment. Currently, 5G rollout has faced a number of challenges, which includes stricter requirements for base stations density, lower power consumption, and profitable business models. In addition, operators are seeking Return on Investment (RoI) from different vertical industries and a collaborative ecosystem for empowering all industries through 5G innovations. A decade ago, 4G witnessed its worldwide prosperity despite uncertainties. Technological development in combination with innovative practices facilitated the commercial deployment of 4G, enabling the mobile internet to expedite social transformation. Technological development is promoting large-scale 5G commercialization Although the per-bit power consumption of 5G has dramatically decreased compared with that of 4G, the power efficiency still remains a key issue as 5G networks are expected to accelerate data processing rate by dozens of times. Chipsets are determinant to the performance, integration, power consumption, and other key parameters of products; therefore the foundry process of chipsets is crucial for product evolution. In the past, the foundry process of the 28 nm chipset available for both system equipment and mobile devices impelled 4G commercialization. Today, the 7 nm chipset is bound to drive 5G commercialization. With its self-developed 7 nm baseband chips and DIF chips, ZTE has made remarkable progress, including a 40% improvement in integration, a over 20% increase in end-to-end RF output power, and a 30% decrease in both power consumption and product weight. In 2020, these chipsets will be extensively used in 5G networks. In the next few years, continuous development of technologies, power consumption and product weight will continue to reduce. Therefore, the industry-leading development of 7nm/5nm chipsets will consolidate the leadership of mainstream vendors' 5G products. Coverage issue that brought by 5G higher spectrum band can be mitigated by using new technologies, such as Massive MIMO. Therefore, the 5G base station density in urban areas is similar to that of 4G base stations Multi-vendor integration is still the biggest challenge for 5GC commercialization. Currently, the Cloud-Native Architecture (CNA) and Service Based Architecture (SBA) have already achieved software-hardware decoupling and been put into commercial use. Network slicing can achieve automatic cross-deployment in the RAN, transport network, and core network built by one vendor. Operators are now looking into exploring multi-vendor integration to improve management domain standards facilitating automatic end-to-end deployment. The typical services that emerge in the 5GC commercialization, including 5G VoNR and SMS services, billing service, inter-RAT handover, and user data migration without change of SIM cards or numbers, have passed Interoperability Testing (IOT) and proven their capabilities to support eMBB scenarios. The standards for the vertical industry-oriented services such as high-precision 5G positioning, ESTUN, NPN, TSN, and 5G LAN are getting matured. ZTE has been a leading player in promoting 5GC commercialization based on mature 5GC products, field testing and network performance. In the initial stage of 5G development, the standards for 5G user equipment and 5G systems are still under development. Therefore, vendors with end-to-end 5G capabilities become industry leaders in implementing unified commissioning and making better use of spectrum bands. In February 2019, ZTE released the Axon 10 Pro 5G, China's first 5G smartphone in commercial use. By the end of 2019, the shipments of 5G smartphones to global customers had reached 5 million, accounting for 0.15% of the total smartphone shipments in the world. In the first quarter of 2020, ZTE intends to release a series of next-generation multimode multi-frequency 5G smartphones like the Axon 11. By the end of 2020, the lowest price of ZTE's 5G smartphones is anticipated to be USD 300, and the price of SA modules for vertical industries is also expected to decrease rapidly. With the wider coverage of 5G networks, global operators predict that by the end of 2020, the 5G user equipment around the world will reach 160 million. 5G commercialization practices is impelling digital transformation ZTE is collaborating with vertical industry partners to maximize the value of each application. ZTE has explored the deep integration of 5G and vertical industries with Sany Heavy Industry, Xinhua News Agency, Tianjin Port, and Suning, jointly promoting the digital transformation of the industries. Practices and explorations of 5G in vertical industries indicate that the combination of real and virtual scenarios is vital requirements raised by industries. In many 5G applications, video services are considered essential for digital transformation. Although 4G can support the transmission of text, data, pictures, and small videos, 5G ensures the reliable transmission of control signals and video services that feature interaction, real time, and deterministic latency. By promoting digitization in societies and putting digital control systems into applications, 5G can accelerate digital transformation. In the 2G era, operators concentrated on the construction of network infrastructure, to enjoy benefits exclusively, reaching their golden age when voice services predominated. In 3G and 4G eras, the weak correlation between contents and networks enabled OTT service providers to share benefits derived from the existing networks. Therefore, those who stayed forefront in the mobile internet and cloud computing became the industry giants. In the 5G era, the requirements for large bandwidth, high interaction, and deterministic latency make services more reliant on networks that enable contents, computing, and storage services. While 4G is a catalyst for the booming cloud computing, 5G will be the driving force for distributed, real-time and synchronized video services in the cloud computing era. Telecom operators would share benefits originating from the digital economy on the basis of their superior network resources and capability advantages. Partnering with leading enterprises in different industries, ZTE is dedicated to boosting the development of vertical industries through 5G and empowering all partners to enable core capabilities such as Cloud XR, AI, intelligent interconnection, high-precision positioning, and security capabilities for industrial applications. Application of essential software is advancing the establishment of a multi-vendor ecosystem Unlike that in the traditional consumer field, the digital transformation in vertical industries requires a more mature ecosystem and a dramatic uplift in reliability from 99.9% to 99.999% and even higher. Essential software, such as operating systems and databases is fundamental to the best use of both hardware and applications. ZTE's NewStart operating system has been adopted in the key fields of telecom, high-speed rail, power, automotive and industrial automation. With more than 200 million sets shipped to global customers, the NewStart operating system has become a fundamental technology that ensures reliable social evolution. In view of the increasing amount of data to be processed and the increasing business transactions in the 5G era, traditional network architecture with dedicated servers and centralized databases cannot support long-term service development with its currently limited system performance, scalability, and flexibility. The application of distributed databases, given their better performance and higher reliability, ensures rapid implementation of new technologies in the ecosystem, and removes the risks of shrinking ecosystem, the difficulties in talent cultivation, and the high costs brought by dedicated servers. GoldenDB, ZTE's distributed database, has been applied by major banks in their credit card systems to meet the stringent business requirements. Assisting customers in smoothly processing the spiking traffic in the Double 11 (11 Nov) and Double 12 (12 Dec) Shopping Festivals, the database sets an example for other innovative database applications in diverse industries. ZTE is committed to facilitating the 5G commercialization and the development of information superhighway, advancing digital transformation by empowering vertical industries through 5G. By promoting its widely-used and mature NewStart operating system and GoldenDB database, the company is committed to striving for the prosperity of the ecosystem. CONTACT: Margret Ma at +86-755-26775189 / +86-13641437743, Email: [email protected] SOURCE ZTE Corporation Related Links www.zte.com.cn When Martin Luther King, Jr., brought his nonviolent campaign against segregation to Bull Connors Birmingham, he laid siege to the bastion of Jim Crow. In Birmingham between 1957 and 1962, black homes and churches had been subjected to a series of horrific bombings intended to terrorize the community. In April 1963 King answered the call to bring his campaign to Birmingham. When King landed in jail on Good Friday for violating an injunction prohibiting demonstrations, he took the opportunity to meditate on the counsel of prudence with which Birminghams white ministers had greeted his campaign. Kings Letter from Birmingham Jail was the result. Reading the Letter fifty years later is a humbling experience. Perhaps most striking is Kings seething anger over the indignities of segregation: I guess it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say, Wait. But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate filled policemen curse, kick, brutalize and even kill your black brothers and sisters with impunity; when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society; when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she cant go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see the depressing clouds of inferiority begin to form in her little mental sky, and see her begin to distort her little personality by unconsciously developing a bitterness toward white people; when you have to concoct an answer for a five-year-old son asking in agonizing pathos: Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?; when you take a cross-country drive and find it necessary to sleep night after night in the uncomfortable corners of your automobile because no motel will accept you; when you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading white and colored; when your first name becomes nigger, your middle name becomes boy (however old you are) and your last name becomes John, and your wife and mother are never given the respected title Mrs.; when you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro, living constantly at tip-toe stance never quite knowing what to expect next, and plagued with inner fears and outer resentments; when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of nobodiness; then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait. There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into an abyss of despair. I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience. In addition to Kings witness, Kings prophetic call permeates the Letter. Why did King presume to come from Atlanta to Birmingham? King writes: I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. Just as the eighth century prophets left their little villages and carried their thus saith the Lord far beyond the boundaries of their home towns; and just as the Apostle Paul left his little village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to practically every hamlet and city of the Graeco-Roman world, I too am compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my particular home town. Like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid. Kings prophetic call must have been both a source of strength and of concern. His strength was manifest; he rarely let his concern show. Perfection is not a condition of the prophets call, and King was both imperfect and aware of his imperfections. His unbending strength is all the more remarkable. It is difficult to comprehend that King was only 39 years old at the time of his assassination in Memphis on April 4, 1968, or that the prospect of his death weighed so heavily on his mind. He seems too young to have accomplished so much, or to have maintained his judgment under such trying circumstances. The magnitude of his own trials must have had a deep impact on him. In the speech he gave in Memphis the day before his assassination, he movingly recalled his first confrontation with death: You know, several years ago, I was in New York City autographing the first book that I had written. And while sitting there autographing books, a demented black woman came up. The only question I heard from her was, Are you Martin Luther King? And I was looking down writing, and I said yes. And the next minute I felt something beating on my chest. Before I knew it I had been stabbed by this demented woman. I was rushed to Harlem Hospital. It was a dark Saturday afternoon. And that blade had gone through, and the X-rays revealed that the tip of the blade was on the edge of my aorta, the main artery. And once thats punctured, you drown in your own blood thats the end of you. It came out in the New York Times the next morning, that if I had sneezed, I would have died. Well, about four days later, they allowed me, after the operation, after my chest had been opened, and the blade had been taken out, to move around in the wheel chair in the hospital. They allowed me to read some of the mail that came in, and from all over the states, and the world, kind letters came in. I read a few, but one of them I will never forget. I had received one from the President and the Vice-President. Ive forgotten what those telegrams said. Id received a visit and a letter from the Governor of New York, but Ive forgotten what the letter said. But there was another letter that came from a little girl, a young girl who was a student at the White Plains High School. And I looked at that letter, and Ill never forget it. It said simply, Dear Dr. King: I am a ninth-grade student at the White Plains High School. She said, While it should not matter, I would like to mention that I am a white girl. I read in the paper of your misfortune, and of your suffering. And I read that if you had sneezed, you would have died. And Im simply writing you to say that Im so happy that you didnt sneeze. Here he paused to look back on what he had achieved with the time he had been granted: And I want to say tonight, I want to say that I am happy that I didnt sneeze. Because if I had sneezed, I wouldnt have been around here in 1960, when students all over the South started sitting-in at lunch counters. And I knew that as they were sitting in, they were really standing up for the best in the American dream. And taking the whole nation back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the Founding Fathers in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. If I had sneezed, I wouldnt have been around in 1962, when Negroes in Albany, Georgia, decided to straighten their backs up. And whenever men and women straighten their backs up, they are going somewhere, because a man cant ride your back unless it is bent. If I had sneezed, I wouldnt have been here in 1963, when the black people of Birmingham, Alabama, aroused the conscience of this nation, and brought into being the Civil Rights Bill. If I had sneezed, I wouldnt have had a chance later that year, in August, to try to tell America about a dream that I had had. If I had sneezed, I wouldnt have been down in Selma, Alabama, been in Memphis to see the community rally around those brothers and sisters who are suffering. Im so happy that I didnt sneeze. Looking beyond his accomplishments, he likened himself to Moses, the prophet par excellence, and testified to the source of the prophets voice: Well, I dont know what will happen now. Weve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesnt matter with me now. Because Ive been to the mountaintop. And I dont mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But Im not concerned about that now. I just want to do Gods will. And Hes allowed me to go up to the mountain. And Ive looked over. And Ive seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And Im happy, tonight. Im not worried about anything. Im not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord. (First posted on Martin Luther King Day 2005.) UPDATE 2011: Dr. Art Fougner writes from Forest Hills to note: Recently, our Medical Society of the County of Queens honored Dr. John W. Cordice with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Dr. Cordice was a young surgeon on duty at Harlem Hospital when Dr. King was brought in with his near fatal injury and was one of the team that saved his life. Thought youd appreciate the circles being completed. Dr. Fougner is past president of the society. Latest News Sydney property prices might not drop yet, as planning problems persist NSW planning approvals have fallen off a cliff since October, showing that the supply crisis might yet continue The key trends for property investment in 2022 analysed The key trends for property investment in 2022 analysed, with rentvesting and borderless investing likely to surge The scope of the donations to Red Cross, including the $375,000 raised by the mortgage and finance industry over the last two weeks, has allowed the organisation to add to its ongoing relief efforts that have been in effect since the beginning of summer. Red Cross has doubled its emergency cash grant to $10,000 for those who have lost their homes and will provide an initial $20,000 bereavement payment to the families of those who lost a loved one in the fire, to help address their needs during this difficult time, including funeral and related expenses. Nearly 500 cash grants have been approved since last week. Because of the incredible generosity of the Australian community and beyond, we are able to provide more emergency funds to people whose lives have been devastated by these bushfires, said Judy Slatyer, Australian Red Cross CEO. We are working hard to ensure the generous donations from the Australian community and others around the world are used in the best way possible to help people and communities cope with the fires and recover well. Emergency cash grants are just the start of what will be a long journey for these people. We will continue to adapt and evolve our plan to support people and communities and will make further announcements as new supports are provided. People from around the world have donated more than $95m to Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery. Later this week, Red Cross will appoint external advisors to its Fund Advisory Panel, to oversee the allocation and distribution of funds to both meet the immediate needs and to support the long term recovery of impacted communities. The donated funds have gone to providing psychological first aid and other essentials such as food, water and relief supplies. Our volunteers and staff are working to support communities impacted during the fires, to process grant applications as they come in and to commence recovery programs in affected communities, said Slatyer. Once we have the basic information needed to approve a grant, payment is made within a few days. The organisation has committed to investing in tailored recovery programs in the affected communities for at least the next three years in coordination with government and community agencies. Our recovery programs will include mental health and wellbeing, support for children and people who are vulnerable, community support events and more, said Slatyer. It will be guided by consultations with affected communities and our own extensive experience in disaster recovery. Contribute to the industry's bushfire relief fund here Curious just how far your dollar goes in Houston? We've rounded up the latest places for rent via rental sites Zumper and Apartment Guide to get a sense of what to expect when it comes to locating affordable apartments in Houston if you don't want to spend more than $1,200/month on rent. Read on for the listings. (Note: Prices and availability are subject to change.) 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. 1400 El Camino Village Drive, #21125 Listed at $1,079/month, this 730-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment is located at 1400 El Camino Village Drive. The apartment offers a dishwasher and a balcony. Amenities offered in the building include garage parking and a swimming pool. Pet owners, take heed: This rental is both dog-friendly and cat-friendly. Future tenants needn't worry about a leasing fee. Per Walk Score ratings, the area around this address is somewhat walkable, has minimal bike infrastructure and offers limited transit options. (See the complete listing here.) 3000 Murworth Drive (Braeswood Place) Next, there's this two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment located at 3000 Murworth Drive. It's listed for $1,103/month for its 1,052 square feet. The building features secured entry and a gym. In the unit, the listing promises hardwood flooring and a dishwasher. Pet lovers are in luck: This rental is both dog-friendly and cat-friendly. The listing specifies a $300 pet deposit. Per Walk Score ratings, this location is moderately walkable, has some bike infrastructure and has a few nearby public transportation options. (Check out the complete listing here.) 2401 Westridge St. (South Main) Located at 2401 Westridge St., here's a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment that's listed for $1,109/month. You can expect to see a walk-in closet in the unit. Animals are permitted. Future tenants needn't worry about a leasing fee. Walk Score indicates that the area around this address isn't very walkable, isn't particularly bikeable and has good transit options. (Check out the complete listing here.) Westheimer and South Voss roads (Mid West) Listed at $1,110/month, this two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment is located at Westheimer and South Voss roads. The unit includes a walk-in closet, a dishwasher and a fireplace. Good news for pet lovers: This rental is both dog-friendly and cat-friendly. (Check out the complete listing here.) This story was created automatically using local real estate data from Zumper and Apartment Guide, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Additionally, if youre an agent or a broker, read on for real estate marketing ideas to promote your local listing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. Senator Bernie Sanders (D., Vt.) on Monday said he may be open to demolishing sections of the U.S.Mexico border wall, as well as halting 99 percent of deportations. When asked whether he would support tearing down the wall, Sanders responded I dont know, maybe the answer is yes, according to the Washington Posts Dave Weigel. If its going to cost me billions of dollars to tear it down, maybe the money would be better spent on child care in this country. The senator then indicated his openness to a moratorium on deportations of illegal immigrants. If someone has been convicted of a terrible, terrible crime, that might be an exception to the rule, Sanders said. A moratorium on 99% of deportations is nothing to sniff at, and I think the undocumented community would be very proud of that. Sanders, whose presidential campaign has maintained strong fundraising numbers and the backing of a large portion of the Democratic partys progressive base, is currently second in the RealClearPolitics average of polls of the race, eight points behind former vice president Joe Biden. Building the border wall has remained one of President Trumps top priorities since his 2016 campaign, but progress has been slow: Of the 450 miles of barrier he promised to erect by the end of 2020, so far only 101 miles have been completed. The Trump administration has diverted funds from the Pentagon to construct the wall, following House Democrats refusal to include requested funding in the federal budget. The diversion of Pentagon funds has in turn been met with numerous court challenges. Most recently, the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in New Orleans, ruled earlier this month that a lower courts injunction against the unilateral appropriation of funds should be lifted. More from National Review A likely fourth Revolutionary War skeleton has been unearthed on private property near the Battle of Ridgefields kill zone. State archaeologist Nicholas Bellantoni has found another skeleton he believes could be the remains of someone who fought in the battle in April of 1777. The newest discovery also yielded 28 brass buttons, according to the Ridgefield Historical Society. Bellantoni said his team continued a very difficult excavation, under tunneling for almost three feet to remove the new person. We were able to remove this individual completely and he turned out to be most interesting, he said. Burial No. 4 had 28 brass buttons associated throughout his chest and arms, including cuff buttons. All buttons were badly corroded and need to be cleaned in the lab to look for insignia. The address and location of the excavation is a closely kept secret, but the site is well within the area of the historic battle. We would like to figure out who these people were and what their life histories were, Dr. Bellantoni told UConn Today in a recent interview. We might even be lucky enough to get to the point to be able to identify some of them in terms of actual family names. Major General David Wooster and and Brigadier General Benedict Arnold a hero of the battle who later turned infamous traitor were among the combatants on the American side. Major General William Tryon, New Yorks royal governor, commanded the British troops. The startling skeleton discoveries began in December, when the first set of human bones was discovered during construction work in a basement at the private home. The individuals bones were removed by the state medical examiners office and determined to be very old. Bellantoni was called in to assess the site and then discovered two more skeletons. All of the skeletons belonged to robust young men. Working with the Ridgefield Historical Society, which provided context for the discovery in relation to the Battle of Ridgefield, Bellantoni proceeded to disinter the two additional skeletons that were buried somewhat haphazardly, but in the Christian tradition (on their backs, feet to the east). The extraction of the bones was difficult because of the hard packed soil surrounding the second and third skeletons and concerns about the stability of the site led to a delay in removing one of the skeletons, Bellantoni said. Work resumed in January to retrieve this skeleton designated Burial No. 2 and it turned out that there was yet another individual, further under the foundation. Throughout the process of retrieval and study, Bellantoni emphasized the care and respect that is being accorded the unknown 18th century remains. Whether it can be determined that they were in fact soldiers British or American are questions to be answered. Were not 100 percent sure, but I think its safe to say were 85 to 90 percent sure or we wouldnt be here, said Bellantoni at a press conference in Ridgefield last month. There are a lot of things that could disprove our hypothesis that these men were soldiers but I have yet to find any of those things. The recently unearthed artifacts will undergo testing by a team of forensic experts at the University of Connecticut, Quinnipiac University, Yale University, the University of Florida and the University of California-Santa Cruz. The Ridgefield Historical Society will provide financial support for the forensic work and for the eventual reinterment of the remains. Should they prove to be fallen soldiers of The Crown, they may be repatriated to England. State Historian Walter Woodward, who has also been involved in the project since the beginning, has informed the British Consulate of the discovery and will keep consular officials apprised of developments. If the studies reveal these were Americans, efforts will be made to more precisely identify them and then determine where their final resting places should be. A special Battle of Ridgefield fund has been established by the Ridgefield Historical Society and donations to help identify and honor the men who died on Ridgefields battleground are welcome. Donations may be made online at ridgefieldhistoricalsociety.org or checks may be sent to the Ridgefield Historical Society, with the notation Battle of Ridgefield, 4 Sunset Lane, Ridgefield. For more information about the skeletons and updates on research, visit ridgefieldhistoricalsociety.org or call 203-438-5821. CHEYENNE, Wyo., Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Wyoming's School Choice Fair will bring all types of schoolspublic, private, charter, homeschooling, and onlineunder one roof at Little America Hotel & Resort's Grand Ballroom on Saturday, Jan. 25. One of the state's largest events during National School Choice Week, this event is free and open to all families and community members. While parents explore a diverse display of school vendors and learn more about K-12 education options in the Cheyenne area, children can enjoy face-painting, a photo booth, a magic show, refreshments, and other fun and games. The fair is hosted by Wyoming Parent Magazine and will take place 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event builds on the success of last year's inaugural Wyoming School Choice Fair and 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. "Today's students are tomorrow's leaders, and Wyoming Parent Magazine looks forward to bringing the state's schools together so parents of the 138,000 children in Wyoming can examine what's available in one venue," said Mary-Frances Main, editor of Wyoming Parent Magazine. "Our event kicks off National School Choice Week, where public, private, and charter schools come together with homeschooling groups and online academies to increase public awareness about the various K-12 education options." This event is organized by Wyoming Parent Magazine, an online-only publication that provides informative, relevant, and timely articles with the interests of Wyoming parents in mind. Little America Hotel & Resort's Grand Ballroom is located at 2800 W. Lincolnway. 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/wyoming. SOURCE National School Choice Week Related Links www.schoolchoiceweek.com US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Sunday expressed to President Fattah al-Sisi his outrage at the death of a US citizen in prison in Egypt, a death that the American top diplomat branded as pointless and tragic. Pompeo made the complaint following the death of Mustafa Kassem, 54. After a protracted hunger strike. Mustafa Kassem died of heart failure on Monday Jan.13, according to Pretrial Rights International and The Freedom Initiative, the two organizations that represented him during his case. The State Department in a statement said Pompeo raised his concerns to President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi about Kassems pointless and tragic death. The sharp remarks translate Washingtons first serious discomfort towards the al-Sisi regime that has received the White House support, since ascending to power following a military coup against first democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi in 2013. Mustafa Kassem, an auto parts dealer from Long Island, New York, was arrested in 2013 in a violent crackdown on an Islamist sit-in in capital Cairo, his lawyer noted. He was later sentenced to 15 years in jail for attending the illegal protest. The US citizen denied any wrongdoing and started a hunger strike last year. Researchers on Lord Howe Island in Australia have reported that their plan to reintroduce a species of near extinct bird has been a success after what they described as the largest ever rodent eradication program on an island. The Lord Howe woodhen is a small flightless bird that had lived peaceably for thousands of years on the picturesque tourist island a little less than 400 miles northeast of Sydney. In the summer of 2019, the island's woodhen populations were threatened by an explosion in the rodent population, which topped 360,000more than 1,000 for every one of its 350 human residents. The Lord Howe woodhen were threatened with extinction for the second time last year, after the island's rodent population exploded The woodhens had already survived one extinction scare in the early 1970s, when their numbers dwindled to fewer than 30, thanks to a mix of human hunting, and owls, feral cats, and hogs. To prevent a second potential extinction crisis, researchers decided to instead move forward with a radical plan to wipe out the islands rodent population. A group of workers from Sydneys Taronga Zoo captured around 230 woodhens and kept them in specially designed enclosures, alongside currawong, another subspecies of island bird that was targeted by rodents. We had to sit down and work out what to feed them and how to look after them, and how many staff we would need and what kind of facility we would need to construct, project supervisor Michael Shiels told ABC.net. The enclosures had to be mouse-proof and rat-proof and safe for the birds. Lord Howe Island is a small is a small but popular tourist attraction a little less than 400 miles off the coast of Sydney, with just 350 local residents Meanwhile, the team placed poisoned grain pellets inside some 22,000 small locking traps and distributed them around the island, using helicopters to drop them into some of the otherwise difficult reach mountainous regions. Over the course of several months, the rats and mice were killed after trying to eat the toxic pellets. In the fall the researchers began reintroducing the woodhens to their natural habitat via helicopter, mainly the remote mountaintop regions where theyd previously settled. The team believes the woodhen will continue to thrive without the threat of rodents because there arent any other major natural predators of them on the island. Researchers began reintroducing the woodhen this fall and say their population is safely growing After safely reintroducing the woodhen to its natural habitat, researchers have turned their attention to studying the effects of the rodent extermination on the island's ecosystem Its unclear, however how eliminating the islands rodent population will affect the island ecosystem. The team has begun gathering data for a separate study to see what exactly those long term consequences will be. An ecosystem is really the interaction of various species, so if you then take out a huge biomass, which the rodent eradication is doing, obviously that will change the entire ecosystem, one of the researchers, Dr. Melanie Massaro of Charles Sturt University, said. Difference of opinions among Congress leaders have started coming to fore over the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 in States of the country following the passing of resolution against the new legislation by the Assemblies of Kerala and Punjab. After Congress leader Kapil Sibal, party colleague and former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda also said that a State cannot refuse to implement a law passed by Parliament. "Once a law or act is passed by the Parliament, I think that the constitutional view is that, any state can't and should not say no but this has to be legally examined," Hooda told ANI on Sunday. Congress leader Kapil Sibal, who is also a renowned lawyer, had said that no State can say that it will not implement the Citizenship Amendment Act, as doing so will be unconstitutional. Former union minister and party leader Salman Khurshid also backed Sibal and said 'if something is on the statute book, you have to obey the law'. "If the SC doesn't interfere, it'll remain on the statute book. If something is on the statute book, you have to obey the law, else there are consequences. It is a matter where the state governments have a very serious difference of opinion with the Centre as far as this (CAA) law is concerned. So, we would wait for the final pronouncement made by the SC. Ultimately, the SC will decide and till then everything said, done, not done is provisional and tentative," he said. However, senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel said that that his party is thinking about bringing a resolution against the CAA in Congress-ruled states. "After Punjab, we are thinking about bringing a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act in states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh. It would be a clear message to the Central Government to reconsider the Act," he said. Several Opposition parties including Congress are opposing the CAA grants citizenship to the non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, who came to India on or before December 31, 2014. Several petitions have also been filed against the new Act in the Supreme Court. Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh also announced that his government will be joining the Kerala government in the Apex Court against CAA. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Exciting new cancer therapies may be on the horizon after experts stumbled across an immune cell that kills off multiple forms of the disease. The new T-cells, a type of white blood cell, recognised and destroyed most types of cancers while leaving healthy tissue unscathed. Scientists at Cardiff University were analysing blood samples for immune cells that may fight bugs when they made the discovery. They say the new tumour-killing cell may one day provide a 'one-size' fits all cancer treatment which was once believed to be impossible. But their latest study only looked at the T-cells' effectiveness on cancer grown in a laboratory. Animal and eventually human studies will be needed to test its true tumour-destroying abilities. A 'one-size' fits all cancer treatment once believed to be impossible may be on the horizon after scientists discovered an immune cell that kills off multiple forms of the disease. Pictured: T-cells attack tumour cells in this stock image Doctors have for years been using a treatment called CAR-T therapy, which involves extracting patients' own immune cells and genetically modifying them. The form of immunotherapy sees the T-cells returned to the sufferer's blood where they hunt and destroy cancer cells. But the treatment only targets a limited number of cancers - including blood and bone marrow - and has not been successful for solid tumours, which make up the majority of disease cases. T-cells find it difficult to differentiate tumour cells from healthy tissue because of their similar genetic make-up, so they tend to end up attacking them both. However the new killer cell is able to distinguish between the two and only kill off the cancerous ones. The researchers are now investigating exactly how this is possible. In the latest study, the cell type was found to destroy 10 cancers while ignoring healthy tissue in a laboratory dish. Scientists discover 49 drugs already approved to treat diabetes, alcoholism and dogs' arthritis may also combat cancer New cancer treatments might already be in your medicine cabinet, a new study suggests. Scientists at Harvard, Massachusetts University of Technology and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have identified 49 existing drugs with potential to kill tumor cells. The drugs range from medication used to treat osteoarthritis in dogs to an alcohol dependence drug for people. Four drugs were particularly promising, including an anti-inflammatory used to treat arthritis in dogs, a drug initially made to treat diabetes, and Antabuse, a drug used to treat alcohol dependence. In lab tests, the first drug, called tepoxalin, acted on a component of cancer cells that often drives resistance to chemotherapy. The second, a diabetes drug that employs a metal called vanadium targeted a protein, but not one usually aimed at by cancer treatments. Finally, Antabuse, a drug used to treat alcohol dependence, 'has been around for decades, and is available as an inexpensive generic medication and was more active against cancers that have lost a part of a chromosome,' Dr Corsello told DailyMail.com. The new team, spread across three institutions, screened 4,518 drugs approved used to treat conditions other than cancers, including some used to treat dogs. 'We thought wed be lucky if we found even a single compound with anti-cancer properties, but we were surprised to find so many,' said Dr Todd Golub, study co-author and cancer and pediatrics scientist working out of all three institutes. Advertisement It was effective at treating lung, skin, blood, colon, breast, bone, prostate, ovarian, kidney and cervical cancer. Lead study author Professor Andrew Sewell, from Cardiff University's School of Medicine, said it was 'highly unusual' to find an attack cell which could accurately target so many types of cancer but still not healthy cells. He said it raised the prospect of a 'universal' cancer therapy. 'We hope this new TCR may provide us with a different route to target and destroy a wide range of cancers in all individuals,' he said. 'Current TCR-based therapies can only be used in a minority of patients with a minority of cancers. '[The finding] raises the prospect of a 'one-size-fits-all' cancer treatment; a single type of T-cell that could be capable of destroying many different types of cancers across the population. 'Previously nobody believed this could be possible.' To test the therapeutic potential of the new T-cells, researchers injected them into mice with human cancers and human immune systems. Scientists say they showed 'encouraging cancer-clearing abilities'. Professor Awen Gallimore, of the University's division of infection and immunity, and cancer immunology lead for the Wales Cancer Research Centre, added: 'If this transformative new finding holds up, it will lay the foundation for a universal T-cell medicine, mitigating against the tremendous costs associated with the identification, generation and manufacture of personalised T-cells. 'This is truly exciting and potentially a great step forward for the accessibility of cancer immunotherapy.' The Welsh researchers hope to trial the new approach in patients towards the end of the year. The findings - published in the journal Nature Immunology - were met with enthusiasm from the science community. Daniel Davis, professor of immunology at the University of Manchester, was not involved with the research but said: 'In general, we are in the midst of a medical revolution harnessing the power of the immune system to tackle cancer. 'But not everyone responds to the current therapies and there can be harmful side-effects. 'The Cardiff team and their collaborators have made the exciting discovery that a type of immune cell which hasnt been studied much before, seems able to recognise a broad range of cancers. 'The team have convincingly shown that, in a lab dish, this type of immune cell reacts against a range of different cancer cells. 'We still need to understand exactly how it recognises and kills cancer cells, while not responding to normal healthy cells.' Baghdad: Six Iraqis including two police officers have been killed and scores of people have been injured in Baghdad and other cities in clashes with security forces as anti-government unrest resumed after a lull of several weeks. A protester waves the national flag during clashes with security forces in central Baghdad. Credit:AP Three protesters died at a Baghdad hospital after police fired live rounds in Tayaran Square, medical and security sources said. Two protesters were shot by live bullets while a third was hit by a tear gas canister, they said. A fourth demonstrator was shot dead by police in the Shi'ite holy city of Kerbala, the sources added. SPRINGFIELD The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) on Wednesday, Jan. 15, approved its fiscal year 2021 budget recommendation for public education statewide. ISBE recommends a $760 million increase in General Funds for public education for a total investment of $9.64 billion. The request includes a $100 million increase for early childhood programs to build on the historic investments in last years budget and help advance the goal of making Illinois the best state in the nation for families raising young children. ISBE will deliver its budget recommendation to Governor JB Pritzker and the General Assembly. ISBEs request also includes $43.75 million for high-impact investments in the teaching profession to elevate the recruitment and retention of diverse and effective educators. As a state, Illinois is committed to becoming the best place in the nation for families raising young children, with the nations best early childhood education and childcare, State Superintendent of Education, Dr. Carmen I. Ayala said. I make this promise as state superintendent, as a mother and a grandmother, and as a former kindergarten teacher for every single child in Illinois to have high quality early learning programs that help them develop the cognitive and social-emotional skills that they need to be successful. Governor Pritzkers FY 2020 budget included the largest appropriation for early childhood in Illinois history. ISBEs recommended increase of $100 million for FY 2021 will allow Early Childhood Block Grant programs to serve approximately 10,775 more children from birth to age 5. I also make a commitment to Illinois current and future teachers: We will invest in our profession, said Ayala. The work of our teachers in the classroom is where the magic happens. Our teachers love their students and love their jobs, and we promise to invest in them and their work in return. The $43.75 million that ISBE recommends for investments in the teaching profession includes: $15 million Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois, which provides tuition assistance for academically talented students, especially students of color, to earn teaching degrees; and Golden Apple Accelerators, which provides a path to teaching for career-changers with a bachelors degrees. $10 million Career and Technical Education programs that support high school students in gaining college credit and hands-on experience leading toward careers in teaching. $9 million High-quality teacher and principal mentoring programs, which can reduce turnover by 50 percent. $2.5 million Future Teachers Program, which creates pathways for students to pursue careers in bilingual education, while simultaneously earning the State Seal of Biliteracy. $2.5 million Recruitment of individuals of color to participate in educator pathways and teacher preparation programs, as part of the Diverse and Learner-Ready Teachers initiative. $2 million Teach for America (TFA), which recruits, places, and supports teachers in schools serving low-income students. TFA has committed to at least 50 percent of the teachers it places in FY 2021 being teachers of color. $1.5 million National Board Certification, which supports experienced educators in growing as practitioners. $1 million Educators Rising, which is a student organization that supports aspiring teachers and their mentors. $200,000 Stipend and expenses for the Illinois Teacher of the Year. $50,000 Illinois School Psychologist Internship Consortium, which connects districts and other entities to students who are preparing to serve as school psychologists. In addition to targeted investments in early childhood programs and the teaching profession, ISBE recommends a $510 million increase for Evidence-Based Funding (EBF) in FY 2021 to accelerate the states progress toward adequately funding every school district. Governor Pritzkers budget last year exceeded the required minimum investment in EBF. Increases in EBF spending largely go to districts with the greatest need. EBF accounts for 80.1 percent of ISBEs total FY 2021 General Funds budget request. School districts have the flexibility to use EBF to meet local needs, including hiring and supporting teachers and staff. ISBEs budget recommendation also includes $3.3 million across FY 2020 and 2021 for the agency to establish the Student Care Department, which will continue analyzing and investigating instances of time out and restraint in Illinois schools. The department will be dedicated to receiving and addressing any concerns about student safety and wellbeing going forward. More than 350 submissions from educators, parents, families and community advocates informed ISBEs FY 2021 budget recommendation. ISBE hosted four hearings in East St. Louis, Bloomington, Mt. Vernon and Chicago to gather feedback. New photos have emerged which for the first time show convicted Nazi guard John Demjanjuk at the Sobibor death camp, a Berlin archive confirmed Monday, although he always denied ever being there. Ukrainian-American Demjanjuk was convicted of being an accessory to the murder of nearly 30,000 Jews at Sobibor by a German court in 2011. He died while his appeal was pending. According to the Berlin-based Topography of Terror archive, photos of Demjanjuk are among a newly discovered collection of more than 350 snaps which give "detailed insight" into the camp in German-occupied Poland. The photos surfaced from the estate of former SS officer Johann Niemann, who was killed in an inmates' uprising at Sobibor in 1943. In a statement, the archive said the collection provided "hitherto unknown insights" into both the Holocaust and the euthanasia programme the Nazis forced on disabled or ill people. "The Niemann collection expands our knowledge of 'Aktion Reinhard', the murder of 1.8 million Jews in the Sobibor, Belzec and Treblinka camps," the statement said. The photos are to be published in a forthcoming book and will be presented in Berlin on January 28. They offer proof that Demjanjuk was present at Sobibor, an accusation he rejected until his death in 2012. Born in Ukraine in 1920, Demjanjuk emigrated to the US after the Second World War. In 1986, he stood trial in Jerusalem accused of being "Ivan the Terrible," an infamous Ukrainian guard at another death camp, Treblinka. An initial death sentence was overturned by the Israeli supreme court in 1993. But after evidence emerged that he served as a guard at other Nazi camps, Demjanjuk was stripped of his US citizenship in 2002 for lying about his war record on immigration forms. Extradited to Germany in 2009, he was later sentenced to five years in prison in a landmark case for the German justice system. Prosecutors alleged that he had been one of thousands of Soviet prisoners of war recruited to the SS training camp Trawniki in occupied southeastern Poland before being moved to Sobibor. They rested their case on a green SS identity card issued at Trawniki to a Ukrainian called Ivan Demjanjuk, John's original name. The court ruled that as a guard at the camp, he was automatically implicated in killings carried out there at the time. The case set a new legal precedent and prompted several further convictions of Nazi officers, including that of the "bookkeeper of Auschwitz" Oscar Groening, on the basis they served as cogs in the Nazi killing machine. In 2019, Demjanjuk was the subject of the Netflix documentary "The Devil Next Door". Ukrainian-American Demjanjuk was convicted of being an accessory to the murder of nearly 30,000 Jews No Interest in the Exchange of Ideas When It Comes to Abortion Commentary What do we want? Choice! When do we want it? Now! chanted a band of abortion rights activists at Kings University College in London, Ontario, earlier this month. What these brave demonstrators were protesting was a screening of the anti-abortion film Unplanned, which has been the subject of controversy due to its telling of the story of Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood employee turned pro-life activist who left the organization upon witnessing the abortion process firsthand. The screening was hosted by the Catholic campus ministry at Kings, whose director, Reverend Michael Bechard, told the student newspaper: Its part of our values and our mission statement to support life in all its stages, from conception to natural death, while noting that the goal wasnt to persuade attendees to turn against abortion, but to have a conversation about it. Bechard said the university should preoccupy itself with putting things out there that are going to generate ideas, powerful emotions, and divergent thoughts. Those who protested also could have come and engaged in a respectful discussion. In other words, they were free to participate in a pluralist environment that universities are supposed to cherish and facilitate. And in such an environment, participants might want to express views that are rooted in their religious beliefand do it in a public space to which they have the same rights as others at the Catholic college. But hyperventilating activists tend to think that freedom of speech and conscience are fine ideas as long as one uses their speech to affirm the progressive orthodoxy while treating their conscience as private views that have to be subdued when in public. The ministry states on its webpage, Firmly rooted in the Roman Catholic tradition, Campus Ministry at Kings seeks to nurture and challenge students, staff, faculty, and the wider community in order to bring all into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ. But to actually act upon these principles is something that adherents of the faith of progressiveness will not tolerate, lest they allow these antiquated Catholics to invade the progressive campus so they can espouse their ostensibly theocratic ideals. As usual, leftist activists catastrophize and attach a threat of imminent violence or malicious intent to a thought, no matter how cordially its expressed. Dissenting thought could give rise to curiosity in others whose search for knowledge might threaten the prevailing consensus. In their fantasy universe, they have a monopoly on reason and morals and all debates are settled. When such a sentiment collides with the reality of a free society, those with alternative visions of what constitutes a good, virtuous life must be coerced into conforming or be excluded from the public square. Enter the more than 40 professors who, in response to the screening, issued a letter to principal David Malloy demanding that the college apologize for showing the film. The letter accused the campus ministry of underestimating the schools commitment to deep debate and criticized its failure to seek input from experts on reproductive rights. One need not be a connoisseur of academic newspeak to conclude that this is nonsense. Its rather difficult to say with any confidence that these experts would see a pro-life advocate as a worthy participant in any debate, since in another part of the letter they claim: Women who have exercised their rights to reproductive care risk being stigmatized and traumatized by the ideological position presented both in the film and in the Directors Statement. The fact that there is no interest in the exchange of ideas is glaringly obvious. There is one invulnerable truth in these professors eyes, and it can never be challenged or subjected to further interrogation. The counterargument is something the helpless must be protected from, as its a reassertion of the dominant white male Christian culture in a space where, by any metric, those characteristics are becoming increasingly unpopular. Herein lies the problem that so pervades our universities. Those whose ideas are already considered fashionable fancy themselves the ones punching up against the orthodoxy, thereby denying that they themselves are the Puritans who have established and enforced the progressive orthodoxy that currently reigns supreme. Shane Miller is a political writer based in London, Ontario. Follow him at @Miller_Shane94. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. (JNS)-The wave of Iranian ballistic missiles that struck two military bases in Iraq early on Wednesday that house U.S. personnel was a clear Iranian attempt to conclude the current phase of escalation with Washington. The missiles failed, intentionally or not, to cause any casualties, after days of warnings by Iranian officials saying that U.S. military targets would be hit-possibly an early warning designed to decrease the chance of victims when the strikes actually came. Still, they were an exhibit of accurate Iranian firepower. Iran's military industry is mass-producing guided ballistic and cruise missiles, and the attacks were a reminder of Iran's mounting accurate firepower-used, for the first time and openly, against American targets in the region. The missile attacks represent a highly calculated move by the Islamic Republic, designed to save face after being knocked back hard by the surprise American airstrike assassination of Quds Force Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani on Jan. 3 in Baghdad. Despite the fiery rhetoric, the Iranian regime's leadership-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme National Security Council and the Islamic Republican Guards Corps' senior command-is capable of a rational cost-benefit analysis. Iran is perfectly aware that comparing its conventional firepower with that of the United States is an almost childish exercise. Iranian decision-makers have no interest in encountering Tomahawk cruise missiles or B52 bombing raids on military bases and strategic sites in Iranian cities. Tehran understands that it miscalculated in recent weeks, pushed too hard and misread the Trump administration, particularly when it ordered its militia to launch a deadly rocket attack on a U.S. base and ordered mobs to storm the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. Despite the apparent de-escalation, the risk of war is far from passing. The Iranians remain on a collision course with the United States in Iraq, but they are likely seeking a return to their comfort zone: proxy operations, outsourced to the Shi'ite militias in Iraq, or plausible deniability attacks on American troops in the future. Its goal, however, remains unaltered: to eject the Americans from Iraq and complete its takeover of that country, as part of a wider scheme to destabilize the region and move towards violent hegemony. The regime calls this vision "exporting the revolution." This is a plan that includes the goal of surrounding Israel with heavily armed terror armies. Soleimani was instrumental in trying to achieve this dangerous vision. He also demonstrated that proxy warfare is the least risky way to proceed for achieving Iran's radical strategy. Building a network of armed forces and nourishing them with increasingly advanced weapons, cash and orders was his modus operandi. As the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studied noted in its recent report, "By 2019, Iran's influence in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen had become a new normal in a region where such a concept would have once been unthinkable by the region's leaders, including those in Tehran. Iran had achieved much of this change using a transnational Shia militancy, capable of fighting with varying degrees of skill and discipline, which confronted different Iranian adversaries on disconnected battlefields simultaneously." Khamenei speech hints at intentions moving forward "There is one important issue: What is our role?" asked Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, after chants of "Death to America!" and "Death to Israel!" died down among the regime-organized audience. Iranian television broadcast his speech on Wednesday, and it was translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute. "After all," Khamenei said, "something important has happened." The United States received a "slap last night," he said, referring to the missile attacks. "As a response, such military operations are not enough. What's important is that America's corrupting presence in the region must come to an end." The audience erupted in chants of "Allah Huakbar!" The broadcast is a regime propaganda message, but one that contains real information about Tehran's intentions moving forward. The same message is echoing among members of the Iranian-Shi'ite radical camp throughout the Middle East. U.S. soldiers and officers will return home in coffins, threatened Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah during a speech in Beirut a few days after Soleimani's assassination. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani tweeted on Wednesday that "our final answer to his [Soleimani] assassination will be to kick all U.S. forces out of the region." 'Attacking foreign entities on Iran's behalf' Iran is signaling its intent to revert to asymmetrical combat tactics in the future via its network of proxies. It can also be expected to politically pressure the barely functioning Iraqi government to end all cooperation with the Americans. The Popular Mobilization Front is an umbrella of Shi'ite militias in Iraq, representing tens of thousands of armed members, and is dominated by organizations that are funded, trained and equipped by Iran. These include Kataib Hezbollah, whose leader, Abu Mahdi Al-Mandis, was killed alongside Soleimani in the American strike. Kataib Hezbollah, as well as other groups like Kataib Sayid al-Shuhada and Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, are essentially Iranian attack pieces that can be activated at any time against America. Iraqi Shi'ite paramilitaries are also active in Syria, where they have been part of Iran's attempt to entrench itself and prepare attack bases against Israel. As the United States Military Academy at West Point's Combating Terrorism Center said in a recent report, such groups "are growing in economic and political power and are attacking foreign entities on Iran's behalf." They have encountered growing resistance from Iraqi civilians fed up with their government's failures and Iran's meddling. But they remain present and powerful. Their presence represents a deep infiltration of Iraq by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. So while Iran may have taken a step back from the brink with the Trump administration for now-opting for the patient game of continuing to build up its network of terror armies and political influence-the Iranian takeover plan remains in place. As a result, the situation in the region will remain highly explosive, with the smallest tactical incidents being able to snowball into general war-whether any side wants it or not. Israel has not been a part of this latest escalation, but remains on high alert. The same Iranian-Shi'ite bloc in the region poses the most severe threat to its security from multiple directions. The challenges facing the Jewish state are not decreasing, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu stated on Wednesday, adding that those who seek to attack Israel will absorb a crushing counterstrike, he warned. Blue and White Party leader and former IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz offered a similar warning, saying, "The Iranian attack on American bases again proves that Iran is a threat to world peace and Middle Eastern stability. The IDF is the most powerful military in the region, and I would not recommend for anyone to drag us into an incident that is not tied to us, and to test us." If such a provocation did occur, he said, "I am convinced that the response will be powerful, severe and unequivocal." Howard Marks put it nicely when he said that, rather than worrying about share price volatility, 'The possibility of permanent loss is the risk I worry about... and every practical investor I know worries about. When we think about how risky a company is, we always like to look at its use of debt, since debt overload can lead to ruin. As with many other companies Everbright Grand China Assets Limited (HKG:3699) makes use of debt. But should shareholders be worried about its use of debt? When Is Debt A Problem? Debt assists a business until the business has trouble paying it off, either with new capital or with free cash flow. If things get really bad, the lenders can take control of the business. While that is not too common, we often do see indebted companies permanently diluting shareholders because lenders force them to raise capital at a distressed price. Of course, the upside of debt is that it often represents cheap capital, especially when it replaces dilution in a company with the ability to reinvest at high rates of return. When we examine debt levels, we first consider both cash and debt levels, together. See our latest analysis for Everbright Grand China Assets What Is Everbright Grand China Assets's Net Debt? The image below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that at June 2019 Everbright Grand China Assets had debt of CN23.5m, up from CN29.5 in one year. However, it does have CN184.1m in cash offsetting this, leading to net cash of CN160.6m. SEHK:3699 Historical Debt, January 20th 2020 A Look At Everbright Grand China Assets's Liabilities Zooming in on the latest balance sheet data, we can see that Everbright Grand China Assets had liabilities of CN29.7m due within 12 months and liabilities of CN195.1m due beyond that. Offsetting this, it had CN184.1m in cash and CN13.2m in receivables that were due within 12 months. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by CN27.5m. Since publicly traded Everbright Grand China Assets shares are worth a total of CN194.9m, it seems unlikely that this level of liabilities would be a major threat. Having said that, it's clear that we should continue to monitor its balance sheet, lest it change for the worse. Despite its noteworthy liabilities, Everbright Grand China Assets boasts net cash, so it's fair to say it does not have a heavy debt load! Story continues Everbright Grand China Assets's EBIT was pretty flat over the last year, but that shouldn't be an issue given the it doesn't have a lot of debt. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But it is Everbright Grand China Assets's earnings that will influence how the balance sheet holds up in the future. So when considering debt, it's definitely worth looking at the earnings trend. Click here for an interactive snapshot. Finally, a business needs free cash flow to pay off debt; accounting profits just don't cut it. Everbright Grand China Assets may have net cash on the balance sheet, but it is still interesting to look at how well the business converts its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to free cash flow, because that will influence both its need for, and its capacity to manage debt. Happily for any shareholders, Everbright Grand China Assets actually produced more free cash flow than EBIT over the last three years. There's nothing better than incoming cash when it comes to staying in your lenders' good graces. Summing up Although Everbright Grand China Assets's balance sheet isn't particularly strong, due to the total liabilities, it is clearly positive to see that it has net cash of CN160.6m. And it impressed us with free cash flow of CN21m, being 119% of its EBIT. So is Everbright Grand China Assets's debt a risk? It doesn't seem so to us. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But ultimately, every company can contain risks that exist outside of the balance sheet. Case in point: We've spotted 4 warning signs for Everbright Grand China Assets you should be aware of. If, after all that, you're more interested in a fast growing company with a rock-solid balance sheet, then check out our list of net cash growth stocks without delay. 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. Female chimps often leave their family unit as they reach puberty but research has found those with a powerful mother are more inclined to stay put. Normally, females leave to find a new group when they are around 11 years old, in order to avoid inbreeding with their brothers. Males however, stay in the same group for life and work together to defend the colony. But researchers from Duke University in the US found the perks of having a high-ranking mother encourages some females to stay. Being in close proximity to a powerful mother means young females can use some of their mother's social clout to get more food. This, it appears, is worth staying put for and overcomes the risk of mating with their brothers and having inbred offspring that will likely not survive to adulthood. Scroll down for video Pictured: Gaia the chimpanzee grooms with her mother Gremlin at Gombe National Park. A new study finds that female chimps with a high-ranking mother are less likely to leave home, instead reproducing in the group where they grew up WHY DO FEMALE CHIMPS LEAVE THEIR FAMILY? Chimps are unusual among mammals in that daughters, not sons, typically pick up their roots at puberty and move away from their families. Males spend their entire lives in the group where they were born, cooperating to defend their territory,. Females however, often move away permanently when they reach puberty. Immigrant chimps risk a great deal - leaving behind the familiar faces and comforts of home to strike out alone on a perilous journey, only to face multiple challenges upon arrival. Compared to stay-at-home females, those who leave are often attacked by resident females when they arrive in a new group. They also get a later start on motherhood. It is unknown exactly why females leave their original family group but it may be to avoid interbreeding. Although siblings often avoid mating with one another, it does happen occasionally. In these instance, the offspring has only around 25 per cent chance of survival. Advertisement Primatologists Kara Walker and Anne Pusey assessed chimpanzees born in Gombe National Park in Tanzania dating back to 1970. The data spanned 45 years and included observations of 31 chimpanzees. Scientists have long sought to understand why females leave the group, often between the ages of 11 and 13, and a clear explanation has never been found. Professor Pusey says she has sought to answer this question with her research for several decades. Leaving home to find a new group is risky, with many of the immigrant chimps being attacked by other females as they join a new group. As a result of their perilous journey they also often get a later start on motherhood. In the study, published in the journal Current Biology, the researchers found the issue may be related to the potential for inbreeding. Groups all had similar amounts of food and numbers, indicating competition for space or meals was not the main factor driving the adolescent chimps out of the group. However, young females in a group with a larger number of brothers were forced out. Researchers say this may be in an attempt to avoid inbreeding. With four brothers at home, a young female chimpanzee named Flirt (pictured) left her birth family at puberty to settle elsewhere. Normally, brothers and sisters express little sexual interest in each other, but in some situations high-ranking brothers persuade their female siblings to mate with them Normally, brothers and sisters express little sexual interest in each other but, in some situations, high-ranking brothers persuade their female siblings to mate with them. This has catastrophic implications for the offspring of these trysts, with only 25 per cent of the children surviving to adulthood. 'Breeding with a brother is a pretty costly mistake,' Dr Walker said. As a result, the females are ousted to avoid the high mortality rate and a corrupted gene pool. The research proved avoiding inbreeding is the principle reason for why teen female chimps leave, but it also uncovered the one factor which can stop them leaving their mother. If the mother of a family with lots of brothers is of high social stature, it can supersede the exile process. The perks of having a powerful mum include better access to food and not having to wait in line as well as protection It seems for female chimpanzees, the occasional pestering by a brother wanting to mate is a price they are willing to pay for an easier life. Hundreds of Central Americans from a new migrant caravan tried to force their way into Mexico Monday by crossing the river that divides the country from Guatemala, prompting the National Guard to fire tear gas. The Central Americans, from the so-called "2020 Caravan" of around 3,500 undocumented migrants, gathered on the Guatemalan side of the Suchiate River at dawn, demanding migration authorities let them continue their journey to the United States. When authorities did not immediately respond, the migrants began fording the river, which is shallow this time of year. Mexican troops fired tear gas in an attempt to force them back. Scores of migrants, many with cloths tied around their faces to protect them from the tear gas, pelted the military police guarding the river with large stones, as the latter sheltered behind riot shields. "Let us through! Put your hands on your hearts," shouted a Honduran migrant named Jorge, who was traveling with his wife and two young children. "They're trying to trick us. They tell us to register (with the authorities), but then they deport us," said another migrant, Tania, who has been with the caravan since it formed last week in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, around 650 kilometers (400 miles) away. "We got desperate because of the heat. It's been exhausting, especially for the children," Honduran migrant Elvis Martinez, 33, told AFP on the Guatemalan side of the border as he prepared to ford the river. "I'm asking (Mexican President Andres Manuel) Lopez Obrador to consider his conscience" and let the migrants through, he added. But Lopez Obrador's government faces intense pressure to do just the opposite from President Donald Trump, who last year threatened to impose steep tariffs on Mexico if it did not do more to stop a surge of undocumented Central Americans arriving at the US-Mexican border. Central American migrants - mostly Hondurans, travelling on caravan to the US- cross the Suichate River, the natural border between Tecum Uman, Guatemala and Ciudad Hidalgo, Mexico, on January 20, 2020 Central American migrants - mostly Hondurans, travelling on caravan to the US- remain at the international bridge that connects Tecum Uman, Guatemala, with Ciudad Hidalgo, Mexico, on January 20, 2020 Mexican armed forces stand guard as Central American migrants, travelling on caravan to the US, wait to cross the international bridge that connects Tecum Uman, Guatemala, with Ciudad Hidalgo, Mexico, on January 20, 2020 The rally, which prompted fears of violence, ended peacefully amid tight security after state of emergency was declared. Thousands of gun rights advocates, including dozens of armed militias, gathered in the US state of Virginia on Monday in a rally that many feared could have turned violent. The event ended peacefully amid heavy security after the states Governor Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency, which banned all weapons from the Capitol grounds in Richmond through Tuesday. While officials estimated about 6,000 people entered the Capitol Square to lobby against new gun control measures currently making their way through the state legislature, 16,000 others chose to stay off the grounds with many openly touting their guns. We the people of Virginia will not stand idly by and allow ill-intended advances that strip law-abiding citizens of our constitutional freedoms and Second Amendment rights, so help us God, state Senator Amanda Chase told the crowd inside the fenced-in area at the Capitol Square. A demonstrator stands outside a security zone before a pro-gun rally in Richmond [Julio Cortez/AP Photo] The Lobby Day event, organised by Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL), has traditionally seen gun rights advocates take to the capital to lobby legislators against gun control measures. This year sparked fears of violence, however, after dozens of militia groups said they would attend the event. We have received credible intelligence from our law enforcement agencies of threats of violence surrounding the demonstration planned for Monday, January 20, Northam said when declaring the state of emergency. This includes extremist rhetoric similar to what has been seen before major incidents, such as Charlottesville in 2017, he tweeted, referring to the Virginia white supremacist rally in which a neo-Nazi rammed his car into a group of anti-racist protesters, killing 32-year-old anti-racist demonstrator Heather Heyer. Several men with links to the neo-Nazi collective, The Base, were arrested last week. Law enforcement said some of the men planned to attend Mondays rally with the intention to commit violence. Gun rights advocates fly flags, including a composite of the Confederate and US flag, at a rally around Virginias Capitol, in Richmond, Virginia [Jonathan Drake/Reuters] Militia groups and other activists said Mondays event was important in the face of a newly elected Democratic state legislature. Three gun control measures passed the state Senate last week. Those bills include limits of the purchases of handguns, background checks for firearm transfers and a measure that would enable local governments to ban guns in parks and other public spaces. The governor and Democrats also support other measures, including a ban on assault-style rifles and a so-called red flag bill, which would allow law enforcement and lawyers to seek emergency orders to confiscate or block the sale of firearms to anyone deemed a substantial risk of injury to himself or others. Your 2nd Amendment is under very serious attack in the Great Commonwealth of Virginia, US President Donald Trump tweeted last week. On Monday, he urged Virginia residents to vote Democrats out of office. Howard Graves, a senior research analyst with the Southern Poverty Law Center watchdog group, said, Theres this understanding or belief that Virginia is this red bastion and within that, its also the old capital of the Confederacy. That understanding, Graves told Al Jazeera, has kind of amplified some of the underlying concerns about whats happening in that state with a Governor Northams promised agenda of actually delivering on firearms legislation. Democrats and gun control advocates say the measures are needed following recent mass shootings, including one in Virginia last year in which 12 people were killed when a gunman opened fire inside a city government building in Virginia Beach. We WILL be passing common sense gun violence prevention legislation THIS YEAR, tweeted Alfonso Lopez, a Democratic member of the Virginia House of Delegates, in advance of Mondays rally. March for Our Lives camps out in Capitol As of Monday afternoon, one arrest was reported. Some online were angered that it appeared that those in attendance at Mondays rally were mostly allowed to wear face masks, which were largely outlawed years ago to combat the Ku Klux Klan. This crowd had lots of people blatantly violating VAs laws against masking and against open carrying certain weapons in the City of Richmond, tweeted Lee Carter, a Democratic members of the House of Delegates. There was zero enforcement of these laws, which are routinely enforced against left wing protests. According to officials, the one individual who was arrested was taken into custody after police repeatedly warned her not to cover her face with a bandanna. Anti-fascists and other activists, who typically counter large mobilisations of far-right groups, largely stayed away from Mondays event, citing credible threats of violence. One is a group of adults getting ready to discuss common sense reforms with lawmakers. The other is a man carrying a .50 caliber to protest background checks. Dont worry, sir. Theyre fighting to keep you safe too. #VirginiaRally pic.twitter.com/a11K8S6jma Brandon Wolf (@bjoewolf) January 20, 2020 A coalition of gun control groups also cancelled their annual vigil for victims of gun violence. A small group from gun-control advocacy group March For Our Lives, however, camped out inside the offices of the state General Assembly, where they met with legislators on Monday and held a small gathering to remember those killed due to gun violence. Today was a huge success and we were glad not only to advance our lifesaving agenda with legislators, but also to serve as a moral counterweight to the hate and division on display in the streets, said Michael McCabe, political director of March for Our Lives Virginia. We were still able to hold a small gathering on the Capitol steps and to carry on the solemn 28-year tradition, the 17-year-old told Al Jazeera. WASHINGTON - When President Donald Trumps historic impeachment trial is called to order in the Senate this week, he wont be watching from inside the chamber or on television from the White House. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/1/2020 (722 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. President Donald Trump returns to the White House in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020, from a campaign trip to Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) WASHINGTON - When President Donald Trumps historic impeachment trial is called to order in the Senate this week, he wont be watching from inside the chamber or on television from the White House. He'll be thousands of miles away at the Davos economic forum in the Swiss Alps, trying to charm global CEOs over dinner. Trump's participation in the annual World Economic Forum will provide a conspicuous split-screen moment in a presidency familiar with them. His two-day visit to Switzerland will test his ability to balance his anger over being impeached with a desire to project leadership on the world stage. Administration officials say Trump remains focused on serving the public. "The president's work doesn't stop just because of the impeachment sham," White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said in an email. Trump, who departs Washington on Monday night, said he's going to Davos to encourage businesses to invest in the U.S. "We're now where the action is," he said at a farmers' convention Sunday in Texas. Swooping in for what will be his second appearance at the annual Swiss economic forum, Trump was scheduled to arrive at the ski resort early Tuesday and jet back on Wednesday to a Washington that will be consumed by the impeachment trial. Trump will give a speech at the forum and meet with world leaders and business executives. The Democratic-controlled House impeached the Republican president last month for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress after it was revealed that he had pressed Ukraines president to announce investigations into former Vice-President Joe Biden, a Democratic political rival. Trump withheld foreign aid that Congress had approved for the Eastern European nation and dangled the prospect of an Oval Office meeting as leverage. Trump denies any wrongdoing and argues that Democrats want to remove him from office because they know they cant deny him reelection in November. Trump would be forced to leave office if convicted, but the Republican-controlled Senate is expected to acquit him. Trump said he would attend the Davos forum despite the awkward timing because he wants to encourage businesses to come back to the U.S. "Our country is the hottest country anywhere in the world," he said at the White House last week. "There's nothing even close. Ill be meeting the biggest business leaders in the world, getting them to come here." The White House has not named any of the business leaders Trump is set to meet with. But he will hold talks with the leaders of Iraq, Pakistan, Switzerland and Iraq's self-governing Kurdish region, as well as the forum's founder, the White House said Monday. Trump also will have his first meeting with the new European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, the first woman to hold the position. That meeting could be the most significant, said analyst Matt Goodman, given Trumps many disagreements with Europe over tax and trade policy, like a new digital levy by the French that will force American tech giants such as Amazon and Google to pay up. "She's new and she's formidable," said Goodman, who studies international economic policy as a senior vice-president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He predicted a difficult year ahead for U.S.-EU relations. "It could either go very well or very badly," Goodman said. Trump has smarted over the French tax, and his administration has announced plans to impose retaliatory tariffs of up to 100% on cheese, wine, lipstick and other French imports. France has threatened to fight back. But after speaking to Trump on Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted that they had a "great discussion" about the digital tax and "will work together on a good agreement to avoid tariff escalation." The U.S. has also threatened to impose retaliatory duties on $7.5 billion worth of European airplanes, cheese, wine and other goods in a separate dispute over subsidies for Airbus, a competitor to Chicago-based Boeing Co. Trump also has sought to wring trade concessions from the EU by threatening tariffs on German autos, including BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Trump heads to Switzerland as just the third American president, after Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton, to face a Senate impeachment trial. Johnson and Clinton were both acquitted by the Senate. 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 precedent for international travel by an impeached U.S. leader. During his impeachment over an affair with a White House intern, Clinton visited Japan, South Korea, Israel and the Palestinian Authority. He travelled to Jordan for King Hussein's funeral in February 1999, just a few days before he was acquitted by the Senate. Two days after acquittal, Clinton went to Mexico on a state visit. Trump is planning to make his first visit to India at the end of February, probably after the conclusion of his impeachment trial. He also has talked about travelling soon to Beijing, although he has given no dates, to open a new round of trade talks with China. ___ Follow Darlene Superville on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dsupervilleap Reaching out to students in their own language, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday addressed 200 of them during a Pariksha Pe Charcha and said his conversations with them will be hashtag without filter. Assuring students of his complete focus, Modi said they could speak to him openly. Speak to me hashtag without filter, he said. He also said students should not be afraid of failure and take it as a part of life. Was told I shouldnt attend Chandrayaan landing as there was no guarantee of success but I needed to be there, he said. Good marks in exams are not everything, he told the students in the interaction. We have to come out of the thinking that exams are everything, the Prime Minister said. The Philadelphia School District's handling of asbestos repairs at Alexander McClure Elementary has led to a lawsuit against it by the Philadelphia teachers' union. Read more Leaders of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers filed a lawsuit late Monday against the School District, accusing it of failing to protect roughly 125,000 students and 13,000 employees from asbestos hazards in aging buildings. From start to finish, the districts egregious missteps have shown a disregard for the health of my members and our students, PFT president Jerry Jordan said at a morning news conference at union headquarters in Center City. Not only is the process by which the district deals with known hazards extraordinarily flawed, but also, from the start, they are missing even identifying extremely hazardous conditions. Since October, district officials have closed six schools after the discovery of damaged asbestos that the districts environmental inspectors had either missed previously or the district failed to repair or remove. The majority of district schools contain asbestos, which is not considered dangerous if kept in good condition. But the districts struggle to stay on top of cracked or crumbling asbestos material in schools citywide has shaken many parents and staff. One parent, Stefanie Marrero, said she has kept her three children ages 8, 7, and 6 home from Richmond Elementary since early November because shes worried about their health. In a letter sent last month, the district warned Marrero that it can take her to Truancy Court, citing her childrens illegal absences. Education is important, but Im sorry that my childrens health is more important, Marrero said during the PFT news conference. You know, the School District threatened us with truancy and they want to report us to [the Department of Human Services], but who do we report them to for neglecting our children? Thats neglect. The PFTs legal action came after district officials were forced Friday to close McClure Elementary in North Philadelphia for the second time after air tests, demanded by teachers and union leaders, showed elevated levels of asbestos in the air. District leaders had repeatedly assured teachers that the building was safe to enter. The school was open for two full days before testing showed airborne asbestos fibers. The PFT expert said, McClure is not safe. The district said, Of course it is until it wasnt, said lawyer Deborah Willig, whose law firm has represented the PFT for 40 years. This cant continue to happen. We are asking the court to stop it now. Willig filed the complaint in Common Pleas Court. The lawsuit seeks immediate relief," asking a judge to order the School District to comply with the PFTs demands, which include that the district: Perform periodic and systematic inspections of all schools where they know or should have known about environmental hazards. Work directly with the PFT to come up with a written, comprehensive, court-approved plan that best protects students and staff from asbestos. Does not conduct asbestos inspections or testing without the involvement of the PFT, which would have immediate access to all asbestos reports and lab results. The district has acknowledged that its schools conditions are hazardous and has developed district-wide health and safety standards applicable to asbestos testing and remediation, the 45-page lawsuit reads. However, [the district] has failed to comply with its own standards, despite years of complaints from the union as well as teachers, staff, and students who occupy district buildings. District officials have said that they comply with federal laws, which mandate air testing during and after large asbestos jobs and require the district conduct thorough inspections of buildings every three years. All of our students and staff members deserve that we stay 100% focused on our efforts to improve environmental conditions in schools, the district said in a statement Monday morning. We will do just that. Our hope is that we can focus our collective efforts on finalizing the processes and protocols document we proposed to the PFT in November and genuinely working together without distractions to address environmental issues effectively and with the urgency our students and staff deserve. We will thoroughly review the legal filings once we receive them. Amazon chief Jeff Bezos has unveiled a new three-wheeler electric delivery rickshaw in India. Bezos on Monday shared a 34-second long video on Twitter, saying: "Hey, India. We're rolling out our new fleet of electric delivery rickshaws. Fully electric. Zero carbon. #ClimatePledge". The billionaire is seen having fun driving an e-rickshaw, followed by several others drivers. Hey, India. Were rolling out our new fleet of electric delivery rickshaws. Fully electric. Zero carbon. #ClimatePledge pic.twitter.com/qFXdZOsY4y Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) January 20, 2020 E-commerce major Amazon India on Monday said it would have a fleet of 10,000 EVs plying on Indian roads by 2025. "The fleet of 10,000 EVs - including three-wheeler and four-wheeler vehicles - has been designed and manufactured by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in India," Amazon noted in its statement. In 2020, these vehicles will operate in over 20 cities of India - Delhi NCR, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune, Nagpur and Coimbatore, among others. Bezos, who came to India on January 14, on a three-day visit got a cold shoulder from the government over his $1 billion investment. Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said Amazon was not doing India "a great favour" by investing $1 billion in the country. Later, Bezos in an open letter said Amazon would create one million new jobs in the country over the next five years. Goyal later said his comments on Amazon's investment had been misinterpreted. Also read: Amazon boss Jeff Bezos holds closed-door meet with top industry honchos Also read: Is this the real reason why Modi govt is unhappy with Jeff Bezos and Amazon? The number of reported cases of a pneumonia virus spreading through China jumped over the weekend, CNN reports, bringing the total to 201. On Friday, there were 62 reported cases of the illness in China. By Monday, another 139 cases had been reported, and three people had died. The virus, which originated in a wildlife market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, has also spread to other countries, including South Korea, Thailand, and Japan, CNN reports. Health authorities say the pathogen is a new strain of coronavirus, which CNN explains is "in the same family of the deadly severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)." Its symptoms include fever and shortness of breath, QZ reports. The outbreak comes as China prepares to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Last year, CNN estimates 7 million people traveled outside the country for the occasion. South Korea has been screening travelers arriving from Wuhan for fever at Seoul's Incheon International Airport. Some airports in the U.S. are doing the same. However, CNN points out that "a new study by Imperial College London suggests the number of infections in Wuhan is likely to have been grossly underestimated." "The detection of three cases outside China is worrying," Neil Ferguson, a disease outbreak scientist at Imperial College London, said. "We calculate, based on flight and population data, that there is only a 1 in 574 chance that a person infected in Wuhan would travel overseas before they sought medical care. This implies there might have been over 1,700 cases in Wuhan so far." More stories from theweek.com White House counsel falsely claims Adam Schiff blocked Republicans from attending classified impeachment meetings More U.S. service members receiving treatment following Iranian missile attack Derek Jeter and Larry Walker elected to Baseball Hall of Fame Surveillance footage showing a masked suspect in an underground parking lot has been released by the Prosecutors Office of the Republic of Bulgaria as evidence in an investigation into the 2015 poisoning of Emilian Gebrev, a Bulgarian arms dealer. Gebrev, owner of Emco, a Bulgarian small arms and ammunition manufacturing company, was admitted to hospital on April 28, 2015, after a severe deterioration in his health, according to a press release issued by the Prosecutors Office. After saving his life, doctors determined that he had been poisoned. This footage, taken from the parking garage of Emco, shows what a separate press release describes as a masked person moving between the companys vehicles on the date of the poisoning attempt. The release of the video is part of a joint Bulgaria-Britain investigation into Gebrevs 2015 poisoning to determine whether the Russian nerve agent novichok was involved, The Guardian reported. Novichok was used in a 2018 attack in Salisbury against Sergei Skripal, a former Russian spy who served as a double agent for the UK. According to the investigative website Bellingcat, a suspect in the Skripal novichok attack was reportedly in Bulgaria during Gebrevs poisoning. Credit: Prosecutors Officer of the Republic of Bulgaria via Storyful The income tax (I-T) department has launched searches at multiple locations of the group, its associates and a leading automobile dealer firm in connection with a tax evasion probe, officials said on Monday. They said about eight premises linked to CMD Jyotsna Suri (pictured) and some of her associates as well as Jayant Nanda, promoter of Cargo Motors, one of the largest dealers of Tata motors in the country, are being searched in and around the capital. The searches, they said, were launched late on Sunday and are related to a tax evasion probe being conducted by the department. Transactions of these groups, under the scanner of the department, are related, official sources said. The group owns the chain of Lalit hotels in the country. It runs over a dozen such luxury facilities at present. Jyotsna Suri has been associated with the Bharat Hotels group since 1989 and took over as the CMD in 2006, after the death of her husband and hotelier Lalit Suri. The businesswoman has also been the chairman of industry body FICCI in the past. All hotels within the group operated under the brand The Grand Hotels, Palaces and Resorts. It was re-branded as The LaLiT on November 19, 2008 as a tribute to the companys Founder Chairman Mr Lalit Suri. "The company offers twelve luxury hotels, places & resorts and two mid market segment hotels under The LaLiT Traveller brand offering 2,261 rooms. In addition, we also hold the exclusive management rights to operate hotel in London offering 70 rooms," information provided on the official website of the Lalit group said. As per information available on the official web portal of Cargo Motors, "Mr. Yash Pal Nanda founded Cargo Motors in 1959..." "Presently it is operational in Delhi, Gujarat, Punjab and Rajasthan through 73 sales outlets and 30 workshops." Puerto Ricos governor Wanda Vazquez announced the dismissal of two more cabinet officials on Sunday the latest fallout over the discovery of a warehouse full of emergency supplies intended for Hurricane Maria relief. Glorimar Andujar, the secretary of family service, and Fernando Gil-Ensenat, the secretary of housing, were sacked on Sunday, becoming the most recent cabinet members to lose their jobs after the dismissal of the director of Puerto Ricos Office of Emergency Management, Carlos Acevedo, who was fired on Saturday. Mr Acevedo was fired just hours after a video was circulated on Facebook showing angry people breaking into the warehouse, in an area where thousands have been living in shelters since a recent earthquake. At a news conference discussing the dismissals, Ms Vazquez said: There have been actions by government officials that have been completely unacceptable. Under my administration, nobody can come to me with lies. I have a commitment [to the people of Puerto Rico]. Public officials with me have the same commitment. Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Show all 20 1 /20 Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Crew chief Kenney shelters under the blade of an HH-60 Blackhawk helicopter from 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit preparing to take off during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in Isla Grande, Puerto Rico, October 6, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico An HH-60 Blackhawk helicopter from 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit takes off behind Crew Chief Alexander Blake and his fellow soldiers during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in Morovis, October 5, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Crew member Bynum stands in tropical rain as a HH-60 Blackhawk helicopter from 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit prepares to take off during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in Isla Grande, October 6, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter pilot Chris Greenway receives a hug from a woman thanking him for water as he works with the First Armored Division's Combat Aviation Brigade during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in Verde de Comerio, October 7, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico A man carries a case of water away from an HH-60 Blackhawk helicopter after soldiers working with 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit dropped off relief supplies during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in Jayuya, October 5, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Crew chief Alexander Blake from 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit loads water into a helicopter during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in Isla Grande, October 5, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Residents wait for soldiers in UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters from the First Armored Division's Combat Aviation Brigade to deliver food and water during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in San Lorenzo Reuters Bringing aid to Puerto Rico An HH-60 Blackhawk helicopter from 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit lands in a field to avoid lightning during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in Manati, October 5, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Residents hold their hands aloft to signal that they need water as UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters from the First Armored Division's Combat Aviation Brigade fly past during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, near Ciales, October 7, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Tropical rain splashes on a runway as HH-60 Blackhawk helicopters from 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit wait for weather to clear during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in Isla Grande, October 6, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Pilot Eldwin Bocanegra Torres speaks with residents isolated by landslides in the mountains after unloading water and food from a helicopter during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, near Utuado, October 10, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Residents stand in front of wind-damaged trees as they wait for soldiers in UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters from the First Armored Division's Combat Aviation Brigade to deliver food and water during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in San Lorenzo, October 7, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico The contents of a home are seen from the air during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria near Utuado, October 10, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Thomas looks out of the window of an HH-60 Blackhawk helicopter from 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit, loaded with relief supplies, during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria in Isla Grande, October 6, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico A message written on the rooftop is seen from the air during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria near Humacao, October 10, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico A HH-60 Blackhawk helicopter from 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit lands in a field during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria in San Sebastian, October 6, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Sergeant First Class Eladio Tirado, who is from Puerto Rico, looks for a landing spot for a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter from the First Armored Division's Combat Aviation Brigade, during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria near Ciales, October 7, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Boys carry water away from an HH-60 Blackhawk helicopter after soldiers working with the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit dropped off relief supplies during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in Jayuya, October 5, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Sergeant First Class Eladio Tirado from the First Armored Division's Combat Aviation Brigade, who is from Puerto Rico, speaks with residents as he helps during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in San Lorenzo, October 7, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Residents peek through a fence at helicopters from 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit that had parked in a locked field during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in Lares, October 6, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson She said the decision to fire the two ministers was made after they failed to provide information she requested about other collection and distribution centres. They werent able to personally tell me specifically where these centres were located, what they contained and whether an inventory was completed, she said. Blogger Lorenzo Delgado posted a live video of the warehouse after receiving a tip about it, revealing its contents of water bottles, cots, baby food, and other basic supplies that had been apparently sitting untouched since Hurricane Maria battered the US territory in September 2017. The warehouse is located in the southern coastal city of Ponce, where a recent 6.4 magnitude earthquake rocked the region, killing one person and displacing 7,000 people into shelters as strong aftershocks continue. Recommended Puerto Rico disaster agency boss sacked over unused supplies Ponce Mayor Maria Melendez told The Associated Press she was outraged by the discovery as she and other mayors had been trying to locate basic supplies since the earthquake hit. I spent several days requesting cots and water, she said. They sent me to Cabo Rojo for the cots and to San Juan for the water. If I had known that those supplies were there, I would have demanded that they be taken out immediately. Ms Vazquez responded to questions on how it was possible she did not know about the existence of the warehouse by saying: Thats what the head of agencies are for to inform the governor. She added her concerns that the discovery of the warehouse and ensuing fallout would affect Puerto Ricos standing in Washington, which temporarily retained some federal funds for Maria relief amid corruption and mismanagement fears. Experts have claimed that everyone has an 'inner madwoman' who makes them feel 'less than' - and that befriending the self-critic is the key to coping with stress. Twin sisters Dr Emily and Amelia Nagoski, from Massachusetts, have written a book entitled Burnout, which looks into avoiding the physical and mental exhaustion that comes from not being able to deal with stress in a healthy way. After studying how women build up the emotion and then struggle to deal with it, the authors have offered solutions on how to 'complete the stress cycle' and have introduced several key concepts. Amongst these include the notion that all females have an 'inner madwoman,' a voice which highlights their failures in a negative light, which only adds to their stress levels. Dr Emily and Amelia Nagoski explain that befriending your 'inner madwoman' is key to get rid of stress (Pictured: stock picture) The concept was born from the literary character of Bertha Mason, Mr Rochester's insane wife in the Charlotte Bronte''s class Jane Eyre, who he moved to Thornfield Hall and locked in a room. Who is 'the madwoman in the attic'? Bertha Mason is a fictional character in Charlotte Bronte's 1847 novel Jane Eyre. In the novel, she is described as the violently insane first wife of Edward Rochester, who moved her to Thornfield Hall and locked her in a room on the third floor. Rochester travels abroad to forget his horrible marriage. However, Bertha manages to escape, causing havoc in the house: starting a fire in Mr Rochester's bed and biting and stabbing her visiting brother. Rochester's marriage to Bertha eventually stands in the way of his marrying Jane, who is unaware of Bertha's existence and whom he truly loves. Bertha dies after throwing herself off the roof, leaving her husband free to marry Jane. Advertisement Emily and Amelia argue the best way to prevent this inner voice from becoming destructive - as Bertha Mason becomes in the novel - is to 'befriend' her as a way to relive the daily internal battle and better cope with stress that comes your way. IDENTIFYING YOUR INNER MADWOMAN Dr Emily and Amelia explain that the 'madwoman' is a mental representation of everything we aspire to be and that we're not, or everything we could have been. It also carries a sense of what society expect a woman to be and as a result, the 'madwoman' manifests in moments of harsh self-criticism and insecurities, adding to stress and leading women to be too hard on themselves. Dr Emily, a best-selling author and director of Wellness Education at Smith College, believes that each 'madwoman' is different from person-to-person. In the book, the sisters write: 'Each persons madwoman is different. For you, maybe shes more like a shadow, following you around, a perpetual reminder of what youre not; or a spindly creature lurking under the bed until you put on some jeans that feel tight or send a text you immediately wish you hadnt sent; or, as one friend of ours put it, "a whiny, annoying brat of a six-year-old who thinks she knows everything and will notgive me strengthshut up unless I take deep breaths for her, then she goes quiet." Another friend said, "Shes the skinnier, younger-looking, richer, better-dressed, prettier-by-societal-standards, lives-in-the- amazing-and-much-larger-house-next-door-with-the-perfect- lawn version of me. On the outside, she really seems to have her s*** together. But I know (and I have to keep reminding myself all of the time) that deep down somewhere in her, she is sadder and lonelier and doesnt have much more than what is on her outside, than me." Still another friend said, Mine is more like a teenage version: the smart, quiet, yet sad and downtrodden girl who always sat in the back of class and no one talked to. When something goes wrong, I can hear her told you so voice in the back of my mind. 'Some madwomen are more protective than destructive; some are more sad than angry; some have a sense of humor. They are the shadow, the hurt little girl, the downtrodden teenager, the perfect version of ourselves, the madwoman in the attic yelling terrible things that echo through the house. Whats yours like? Take a few minutes to imagine herher uncomfortableness and her fragility, both.' BEFRIENDING YOUR MADWOMAN Dr Emily and Amelia (pictured) explain that the stress cycle can be broken if people befriend their inner madwoman To overcome the 'inner madwoman,' they argue that rather than trying to repress the voice, women should identify, understand and befriend her. In identifying when the inner voice becomes too prominent, a female can determine what causes the stress, before taking back some control. Understanding where the voice is coming from - be it from trauma, education, or friendships - is one step towards appeasing your self-criticism. Without checking in with the voice, Dr Emily and Amelia argue that the 'inner madwoman' can become toxic and exhausting to deal with, leading to a build-up of stress and eventual burnout. Burnout: Solve Your Stress Cycle, by Emily and Amelia Nagoski is published by Vermilion Dr Emily and Amelia go on to say that the madwoman can also be a source of self-motivation for some people, pushing them to work harder, exercise, and get out of bed in the morning. But because she walks the line between motivation and self-punishment or persecution, people can be left with a feeling of lack of compassion over failed achievements, only focusing on the things they do wrong, instead of recognising their stress. Dr Amelia and Emily argue this can lead people to beat themselves up to be active and achieve their goal, which leads to a vicious circle. 'They're worried that if they stop beating themselves up, they'll lose all motivation,' they explain. They add that while self-compassion can be difficult, one key to avoid feeling stressed by the madwoman is to befriend her, by picturing her and looking over the shortcormings she highlights with kindness. Instead of stressing over the things you feel you do wrong, Dr Amelia and Emily say it is better to tell yourself that you're doing the best you can. Tips to break down the stress circle Run: Emily and Amelia insist that the best way to beat down stress is to exercise regularly because it gives the body a way to expire the stress. Breathe: Slow Breathing and contracting your belly is also a good way to get rid of some of the stress quickly, when it's not that high Have a chat: Positive social interaction, like a fun chat with a co-worker or loved one can reassure you that the world is a safe place and give you the power to let the stress go. Laugh: belly laughs in particular - is great against stressed, as it's been proved by research that it maintains social bonds and regulates emotions. The six-second kiss: Kissing a loved one for six seconds gives you the opportunity to realise you really like them and feel safe with them, which sends reassuring signals to your body. A 20-second hug with a friend works just as good if you're single. Demonstrations of affections work just as well with pets, so petting dogs, cats or other domestic animals is also a great way to regulate stress. Cry: Sometimes the only way to deal with stress is to let it all out and cry, thus expiring the stress and negative emotions that come with, in order to feel relieved. Advertisement Burnout, by Dr Amelia and Dr Emily Nagoski is published by Vermilion. Left: Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on the campaign trail in Des Moines, Iowa, on Jan. 19, 2020. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Right: Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) on the campaign trail in Fairfield, Iowa, on Dec. 20, 2019. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) New York Times Editorial Board Endorses Warren and Klobuchar for President The New York Times editorial board said late Jan. 19 it was endorsing two candidates for president, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.). The pair are the only women left in the race with the exception of Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii). The double endorsement was a break with convention, the paper said. The board spent hours with nine of the leading candidates, and said nearly any of them would be the most progressive president in decades on issues like health care, the economy, and governments allocations of resources. Where they differ most significantly is not the what but the how, in whether they believe the countrys institutions and norms are up to the challenge of the moment, the board added. The history of the editorial board would suggest that we would side squarely with the candidate with a more traditional approach to pushing the nation forward, within the realities of a constitutional framework and a multiparty country. But the events of the past few years have shaken the confidence of even the most committed institutionalists. We are not veering away from the values we espouse, but we are rattled by the weakness of the institutions that we trusted to undergird those values. Warren, the board said, is the most effective advocate for a radical model of government. Klobuchar is the most effective advocate for a realist model of government. Warren, 70, is a gifted storyteller who speaks elegantly of how the economic system is rigged against all but the wealthiest Americans, and of our chance to rewrite the rules of power in our country, as she put it in a speech last month, the board wrote. Warren has seriously approached policymaking, releasing plans relating to a gamut of areas, like universal childcare, increasing government investment in research into alternative sources of energy, and free public college, the board said. Warren, among the candidates who have said they will issue executive orders to implement policy if blocked by Congress, can wield the presidencys wide-ranging powers to shape American society through the creation and enforcement of regulations, it said. Warren shared the endorsement on social media, writing, So, I guess @AmyKlobuchar and I are now both undefeated in elections and undefeated in New York Times endorsements! The statement was a reference to Warren pointing out that the men on the debate stage last week had lost a number of elections, declaring, The only people on this stage who have won every single election that they have been in are the women. The 59-year-old Klobuchar, meanwhile, has emerged as a standard-bearer for the Democratic center, the board said. Her vision goes beyond the incremental. Given the polarization in Washington and beyond, the best chance to enact many progressive plans could be under a Klobuchar administration. The senator from Minnesota is the very definition of Midwestern charisma, grit and sticktoitiveness. Her lengthy tenure in the Senate and bipartisan credentials would make her a deal maker (a real one) and uniter for the wings of the partyand perhaps the nation, it added. Klobuchar wrote on social media that the endorsement was An honor! The board said it didnt endorse former Vice President Joe Biden, 77, because he merely wants to restore the status quo. Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, 38, hasnt worked his way up through politics yet, the board said; entrepreneur Andrew Yang, 45, has virtually no experience in government; and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, 77, has blemishes on his record, including stop-and-frisk. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), 78, has health concerns and isnt open to compromise, the board said. Three years into the Trump administration, we see little advantage to exchanging one over-promising, divisive figure in Washington for another, it stated. The board said it spoke with Biden, Sanders, billionaire Tom Steyer, Warren, Klobuchar, Yang, Biden, former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), who dropped out of the race earlier this month. Gabbard, Bloomberg, and Julian Castro, who also dropped out of the race, declined to be interviewed. KANDAHAR, Afghanistan The young poet sat in the barbers chair, facing a giant mirror on the wall that he could not see. The poet was Zaheer Ahmad Zindani, and this was the eve of his wedding. The war in Afghanistan had taken many things from him: his eyes, his father, his sister, his first love. But he had a chance at a new beginning, preparing to marry a woman his mother had worked tirelessly to find. Make it so no matter which of the four directions I comb, it looks good, Mr. Zindani told the barber. The narrow alleys and matchbox houses in his neighborhood of Kandahar City, in southern Afghanistan, were dark. Electricity had been patchy since the Taliban blew up a cable that fed power to the city. Despite that, he was busy entertaining relatives. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Bharti Airtel share price climbed 1.5 percent in the morning trade to hit a fresh 52-week high of Rs 507.50 on the BSE on January 20. If the stock ends the day in the green, it will be its third consecutive session of gains. The stock has been on an upward trajectory after the Supreme Court on December 16 dismissed a petition seeking a review of its judgment on adjusted gross revenue (AGR). The top court dismissed the review petitions filed by Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, Tata Teleservices and state-owned telecom infrastructure services provider RailTel against its October 24 order. In its order on the longstanding AGR-liability case, the court had ruled in favour of the Department of Telecommunications and ordered the telecom companies to pay their AGR liabilities within three months of the judgment date, which is January 23. Brokerages and analysts, however, remain bullish on Bharti Airtel even after the AGR setback. "The fundraising will help Bharti keep gearing levels in check," UBS said. Kotak Institutional Equities, in a report, said the development is a net positive for Bharti Airtel. "Upside from further consolidation will more than makeup for the AGR payout impact for Bharti. Our valuation for Bharti had already assumed 100 percent upfront payment of AGR liabilities," Kotak said. Bharti Airtel, on January 19, announced Rs 179 prepaid bundle that packs in a term life cover of Rs 2 lakh from Bharti AXA Life Insurance. The pack has a validity of 28 days and is targeted at entry-level smartphone users and feature phone users in semi-urban and rural markets. The insurance cover is available to customers aged 18-54 years and requires no paperwork or medical test, it said. The policy or Certificate of Insurance will be instantaneously delivered digitally and a physical copy of the insurance can be provided on request, it added. Shashwat Sharma, Chief Marketing Officer, said the prepaid bundles with built-in term insurance plans have got a positive response and encouraged the company to take the solution even deeper to the masses. Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions. Mumbai, Jan 20 : The weeklong fracas over the birthplace of the mystical saint Saibaba of Shirdi appeared to have been resolved for the present, officials said here on Monday. The indications came after Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray convened a meeting which was attended by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat, Shirdi Shiv Sena MP Sadashiv Lokhande, Shirdi Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust Chief Executive Deepak Muglikar and representatives of villagers. Amid speculation that Thackeray had reportedly withdrawn his remarks of Pathri in Parbhani being the birthplace of the 19th century saint Saibaba, Vikhe-Patil announced that the controversy was resolved amicably and the agitation by Shirdi townsfolk has been called off. Lokhande also claimed that the CM has retracted his statement and approval was granted to the Rs 100-crore development plan of Pathri, to which the Shirdi people had no objections. The fast-paced developments came a day after the 37,000-population Shirdi town and two dozen adjoining villages observed a 24-hour long shutdown on Sunday along with a counter-bandh by the people of Pathri. Sri Sai Janmasthan Trust, Pathri, Trustee Sanjay Bhusari reiterated that the village (Pathri) was the birthplace and nobody could change this reality even as a fresh emerged came from Aurangabad that Saibaba first manifested there. Thackeray said that Pathri would be developed as a pilgrimage centre so there should be no dispute over the birthplace. Nationalist Congress Party MLC from Pathri and Sri Saibaba Janmasthan Action Committee (SSJAC) President Durrani Abdullah Khan maintained that there are 29 historical evidences and record which corroborates the claim that Saibaba was born here (Pathri). Khan contended that the objections from Shirdi people was because it would reduce the importance of that town and have economic ramifications on the local economy. Incidentally, Shirdi ranks among the top three temple trusts in the country in terms of revenues and donations from devotees. Khan said that religious tourism has contributed immensely to Shirdi's development and the town has now got the best of infrastructure, including an airport, railway line, hotels, financial institutions, etc, and once developed, Pathri could become "a strong competitor" to Shirdi. Kamlakar Kote, one of the delegation members, said the Shirdi people have no objections to the Rs 100-crore grant to Pathri, but it should not be accorded the status of Saibaba's birthplace since he (Saibaba) himself never revealed his name, birthplace, religion, etc and is revered by people belonging to all communities. Mumbai Police hosted the fifth edition of the charity event Umang this weekend, the collaboration with Bollywood stars is set to help the police force and their families. Over the years, the event has become a prominent star-studded affair. Along with many celebrities, Priyanka Chopra also made a rare appearance as the 'Desi Girl' in a blue saree. Priyanka Chopra is a complete desi at heart and is often seen sporting Sarees and Salwar suits. The actress during her wedding functions stayed true to the roots and wore all kind of traditional ensemble, from lehengas to sarees. This weekend, Chopra was seen donning a simple Blue saree at the event. While sharing the picture on social media, Priyanka captioned the post with a blue heart. The picture shows Chopra flaunting her saree as the pallu flies in the air behind her. Take a look: The post received a lot of love from fans and even fellow celebrities. Husband Nick also left a comment calling her absolutely 'stunning'. One fan said the actress looked like Madhuri Dixit, in the post. While many others commented, 'She is beautiful as always'. Umang 2020 was attended by many other celebrities including, Rani Mukerji, Rakul Preet Singh, Riteish Deshmukh, Sara Ali Khan, Kartik Aaryan, Shilpa Shetty, Arjun Kapoor, Bhumi Pednekar, Arjun Kapoor, Johnny Lever, Raveena Tandon, Madhuri Dixit Nene, Janhvi Kapoor, Kriti Sanon, Siddhant Chaturvedi and more. On the work front, Priyanka Chopra was last seen in Nick Jonas's recent music video, What Men Gotta Do, and is currently working on several international projects. Before announcing her return to television with Richard Madden in Prime Video's thriller series Citadel, she is also scheduled to be seen in two Netflix releases. An adaptation of Aravind Adiga's satirical novel The White Tiger and Robert Rodriguez's superhero film We Can Be Heroes. Priyanka has also signed a project with Mindy Kaling, which is said to be based on lavish Indian weddings. Priyanka Chopra Returns With J Sisters For 'What A Man Gotta Do' Video By Jonas Brothers I work in a field called human-computer interaction (HCI), which involves us understanding how people use technology to make it better for others to adopt. Specifically, I look at how psychological science can be applied to understand and design speech and language technologies, and the effect these have on people's behaviour, emotions and performance. When I moved to Ireland a few years ago after my postdoc at the HCI Centre at Birmingham University, there was no similar group in Dublin. So along with my colleague, David Coyle, we set one up at UCD. It's now one of the largest HCI groups in Ireland. I'm from Scotland and studied psychology and business studies, followed by a PhD in usability engineering in Edinburgh, where I met my Irish wife. When the post came up at UCD, it was an easy decision for us - I feel incredibly welcome here. I was lucky I moved before the Brexit vote; there is a lot of uncertainty at UK universities, where academics are striking due to pay cuts and deteriorating conditions. There are signs of strain in Ireland, with student numbers increasing, but this is nowhere near as bad as in the UK. Academia has a different flavour here; there is less emphasis on the optics of success. The UK is very target-orientated, encouraging a lot of low-level trumpets - as you have to constantly shout about what you are up to. Here, there is more space to figure out what you want to do, and this is important as doing good research takes time. There is a lot of understated brilliance here, with some world-class research going on. Attainment culture of academia In academia, there is a constant pressure to publish, though this is worse in the UK, where there is a huge emphasis on how much you publish, where you publish and how many people cite your findings, obsessing about these impact metrics. The reality is there is no way of knowing what research today will be crucial in 15 years' time. Peter Higgs, who proposed the Higgs boson, only published a few papers in his career. I feel this drive for quantity is not healthy. Chronic overwork unproductive Technology is supposed to make our lives easier but if not used properly, it results in a never-ending to-do list. In my experience, this unstinting commitment does not lead to more productivity. Rather, the compulsion to get more done results in exhaustion and stress. Despite being surrounded by great people when I was a postdoc in Birmingham, I suffered burnout; there was huge pressure because I was doing the job of lecturer and researcher, but without job security. The pressure was mainly from within; I was so passionate about my research and was unable to limit the mental energy and time I put into it. At UCD, similar to the Russell Group model, the work is broken down into 40pc research, 40pc teaching and 20pc admin. The reality is at times one area will dominate. There is flexibility to accommodate this but, like technology, this needs to be used properly. It's like being a sole trader while working for a large organisation, and you do need to be regimented with your time management skills. Would you like to chat to Siri? The market for intelligent assistants like Amazon Alexa and Apple Siri is worth a lot of money, and the tech that runs these has been the subject of extensive research. Yet there is comparatively little known about how people use them and how they feel about it. My lab recently researched what people value in conversation and how this could manifest in talking to computers, or agents. There is huge potential in supporting long-term human-agent relationships, but computers have not yet learned to be good conversationalists - the dialogue is nothing like natural conversation. At the moment, people view their computer in utilitarian terms; there is no emotional attachment. It's almost like conversation with agents needs to be seen as a new genre of conversation, and the chat that you would have with a stranger on a bus is a good starting point. Imposing boundaries I don't work weekends; there is a message on my email to explain I respond between 9am and 6pm Monday to Friday. I find I get an incredible amount done in those hours as, although I take breaks, I am really focused. My wife also works and we have two very small kids; it simply would not be fair to be working weekends. And I don't want to; I want my children to remember me being around. Having them has helped me realise what I want my life to look like. I enjoy my work immensely; it helps that I genuinely like the people I work with. My research is incredibly important to me and while left to my own devices, I could let it swallow me up. I put my family first. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 13:49:53|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close HOUSTON, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Two people were killed and five others injured in a shooting on Sunday evening in downtown San Antonio, the U.S. state of Texas, according to local police. San Antonio Police Chief William McManus told media that an argument broke out between a group of individuals, and one person pulled out a gun and started shooting. "It's nothing more complicated than an argument," he said. A manhunt was underway. New Delhi, Jan 20 : A plea has been moved in the Supreme Court seeking directions to the police to take action for ensuring smooth traffic movement on the Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch, which has been closed for over a month due to anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests, making the public at large suffer. The plea moved by a lawyer-activist, Amit Sahni, sought supervision of the situation in Shaheen Bagh where several women are sitting on an indefinite protest, by a retired Supreme Court judge or a sitting judge of the Delhi High Court to avoid any further deterioration in the situation and to circumvent any violence. "The respondents (Delhi Police) cannot be permitted to behave like mute spectators particularly in a situation presently faced by persons living in the vicinity of Kalindi Kunj," said the plea. Sahni contended that the Delhi High Court did not order the forthwith removal of traffic restrictions and observed that no direction can be issued on the methodology to handle protest and traffic movement successfully, and left it to the discretion of the police. "No one can be permitted to occupy a public road for any reason whatsoever under the pretext of peaceful protest and that too for indefinite period to make others suffer for the same", said the plea. The High Court had asked the police to examine the issue while bearing in mind that law and order is supposed to be maintained. "The protests at public road cannot be permitted to continue as the same would set a wrong precedent and the same has inspired Shaheen Bagh-style protests in Prayagraj, Gaya, Nagpur, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Lucknow and Kota," the plea said. The plea contended that the situation is extremely sensitive as there is huge business loss to the businessmen who are having shops in the vicinity but have to close their shops due to the alarming situation. The Kalindi Kunj stretch is crucial as it connects Delhi, Faridabad in Haryana and Noida in Uttar Pradesh. In the backdrop of the closure of this stretch, lakhs of commuters are forced to take alternative routes -- Delhi-Noida-Delhi (DND) Expressway and Ashram -- leading to traffic jams and wastage of fuel. On January 10, the High Court had refused to entertain an application, in the form of a letter, seeking directions to remove demonstrators protesting against the CAA at Shaheen Bagh. The 'serial killer' son of a murderer has been arrested after hundreds of bones belonging to young women were found submerged in his pond. Wealthy property heir Apichai Ongwisit, 40, is being held by police in Bangkok, Thailand, after the body of his former girlfriend Warinthorn Chaiyachet, 22, was found in the pond six months after she disappeared. Her decomposing remains were identified by a large tattoo on her back. Police decided to search the pond after receiving a tip off, and have found 298 other bones. They believe there may be at least two other victims. Ongwisit's father Chalermchai Onkvisit, who is wealthy and owns a market in the capital, was jailed in 1983 for butchering a 15-year-old girl. The remains of the property heir's girlfriend Warinthorn Chaiyachet, 22, (pictured) were found in the pond in Bangkok, Thailand. She was identified by a large tattoo on her back Wealthy property heir Apichai Ongwisit, 40, is being held by police. His father Chalermchai Onkvisit, who owns a market in the capital, was jailed in 1983 for butchering a 15-year-old girl Part of the bag in which Ms Chaiyachet's body was found. It had been wrapped in a black plastic bag and white sheet Pictures show that police found the body wrapped in clothes, a bedsheet, and a black plastic bag. The body had been fastened to the bottom of the pond with a large metal object and dumbbells with chains, the Bangkok Post reported. Ongwisit allegedly made his girlfriend, known to friends as 'Kik', sleep in a metal casket he was so worried she would leave him. Officers have claimed that she was suffocated and then hurled into the pond. Her remains were found on January 9. They now believe there could be many more victims after fishing at least 298 human bones from the murky waters on Friday January 17. The family of a missing 12-year-old who live near the property in the Thai capital's Bang Khae district have said they believe she could be in the pond. Police divers have pulled hundreds of bones from the pond. Pictured above is a rib Officials were alerted to the possibility that bodies were in the pond by a tip off Three police divers surface at the pond as they search for bones in the murky water. Officials plan to drain the pond in order to discover the full extent of the crimes Authorities are planning to drain the pond for their investigation, in order to uncover the full extent of Ongwisit's alleged killing spree. He has been dubbed by local media the 'metal casket killer'. Police Colonel Jirakrit Jarunpat, commander of the Womens and Childrens Welfare Division, said the investigation suggests there are many more victims who were killed by Ongwisit, who has been remanded in custody while investigators consider further charges. The police chief said: 'The investigation has found several women who were involved the culprit have disappeared. They include his friends, girlfriends and prostitutes. 'We have found 298 bone pieces in the pond so far but could not clarify that how many humans those bones were from. 'We are also seeking his ex-girlfriend who we believe might have witnessed or have information about him killing the missing women.' Ms Chaiyachet disappeared in July last year after making a complaint to police about a sexual assault. She is pictured above A police line is stretched around the large body of water as police continue their investigation Officers are shown looking at items from the pond stretched out on a white sheet, left, as individuals talk at the side of the pond, right Ongwisit has allegedly admitted killing Ms Chaiyachet at his home in August, reports the Bangkok Post. When he opened the metal case he kept her in, Ongwisit said he found that she had died. Her body is being transferred to Siriraj Hospital in Thailand along with the other remains for forensic examination. The case began back in July last year when Ongwisit and his girlfriend, Kik, made a police complaint. They began searching for suspects who had allegedly sexually assaulted Kik. However, shortly after the Kik's complaint, the family reported her missing. Investigators continued trying to contact her until an informant in their 50s, said she had been killed. They then discovered her body in the pond and were urged by those who knew the alleged killer to search through the pond for other victims. His father had been arrested on charges of murdering and dismembering a 15-year-old girl in 1983. He was later shot dead. His mother, accused of masterminding the crime, subsequently fled abroad with his younger sister. East Greenbush As a Walmart official sought to defuse a nationally trending Times Union story about a controversial firing of an employee, a groundswell of indignation spurred an online petition, calls for action against the retailer and hundreds of angry comments on social media. Aaron Mullins, a Walmart spokesman, clarified that employee Thomas Smith was fired for redeeming $2 worth of cans and bottles left behind in a shopping cart at the East Greenbush store for roughly an hour in an entryway next to redemption machines. "He was terminated for taking property inside the store," Mullins said Thursday after reaction to the Times Union story grew. It fueled calls for a Walmart boycott, sparked letters of outrage to Walmart officials, and spurred a Chicago woman to launch a GoFundMe crowd-funding campaign that by Friday had raised $4,465 for Smith from 227 donors around the country. On Wednesday, Mullins said Smith was fired due to a human resource matter that he could not elaborate on. Later Thursday, after the story set off a firestorm of protest, Mullins called the Times Union to clarify the details of Smith's firing. Mullins said Walmart was not disputing $3.10 worth of empty beer cans discarded in the parking lot next to a trash can that Smith, after he saw the man who dumped them drive off, took inside the store and redeemed for the nickel deposits. Rather, Mullins said, the termination focused on $2 worth of cans and bottles left in the shopping cart, a few yards off the parking lot, just inside the store's entryway. Smith, 52, of Albany, a formerly homeless ex-convict who has a learning disability, was fired after he signed a statement following an interrogation by three security managers inside the security office. Smith said he did not have his glasses and could not read the statement, but he signed it because he did not want to argue and risk any violation of his parole. Walmart officials refused to provide Smith with a copy of the statement and also refused to release the statement to an attorney with The Center for Law and Justice in Albany, where founder Alice Green took up Smith's cause. Mullins said he would not provide a copy of that statement to the Times Union, but he said Smith was terminated for "gross misconduct" regarding the $2 in bottles and cans left in the shopping cart. Meanwhile on Friday, OUR Walmart, a national advocacy group of current and former Walmart employees, whom the company calls associates, joined local labor groups in planning actions to protest Walmart's handling of Smith and to urge his reinstatement as an employee. "C'mon. Firing the guy for $2 in bottles and cans? Where's the human compassion? Where's the dignity and respect?" asked Mark Emanatian, lead organizer of Citizen Action of New York's Albany chapter. "It struck us as an outrageous example of Walmart treating its workers poorly," said Emily McNeill, lead organizer of the Labor-Religion Coalitions. Both groups were successful in the campaign to increase the pay of fast-food workers to $15 an hour. Those two organizations, FOCUS Churches, the Capital District Area Labor Federation, OUR Walmart and others are drawing up an online petition they will distribute asking Walmart to reinstate Smith at a different store. They also will publicize Smith's case at OUR Walmart's annual Black Friday protests at Walmart stores across the country. The groups also are seeking a meeting with Walmart officials to discuss Smith's firing as they consider additional actions. More for you Support pours in for fired E. Greenbush Walmart employee who... "We're not calling for a boycott yet. I always think it's better to go through the process and talk reasonably, rather than throw up a picket in front of the store," Emanatian said. "This effort is really taking off. I'm getting calls from all over the country," said Green of the Center for Law and Justice in Albany, which has been working on Smith's behalf and trying to get him his job back. She and center employees are making sure thousands of dollars being donated go directly to Smith. Assemblyman Steven McLaughlin, a Republican from Schaghticoke who represents parts of Rensselaer County, visited the Walmart store in East Greenbush and asked a manager to rehire Smith at a different store. He also spoke to a Walmart official at its corporate headquarters. "I said this is nonsense. Let's just try to help the guy. He made a mistake, give him a warning and move on," McLaughlin said. "He's been in prison, he was homeless and now he's got a job and is trying to contribute to society. They're turning a mole hill into a mountain of bad publicity. I told Walmart they're a week away from their biggest shopping day of the year and they could end up with a bunch of protesters outside the store. Just transfer him to a different store. Easy fix." Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Meanwhile, a Target manager who read about Smith's firing plans to consider him for employment. "We have to look into his situation more, but we are interested in speaking to him," said Marita Paredez, human resources manager at the Target store in East Greenbush. On Friday, Smith said the disputed $2 in cans and bottles involved a couple who asked him for a shopping cart when they parked. He got them a cart and they dumped several plastic bags of empty cans and bottles into the cart. He watched them go into the store. Nearly an hour later, Smith saw the couple leave the store after they finished shopping, and he said he went into the entryway, saw the couple's leftover cans and bottles in a shopping cart and fed them into the machines. He got a receipt for $2, went to the cashier and was given two singles. His activities were recorded by surveillance cameras and that was used in the interrogation and cited in his firing, Mullins said. Smith never disputed that he redeemed the cans and bottles. He said he never received an employee handbook, was never told about company policy regarding cans and bottles left behind and he never felt he was stealing since the empties were discarded. Mullins said those bottles were Walmart property and by redeeming them, Smith was guilty of "gross misconduct." Smith said he never heard that term used in the statement that was read to him before he signed it. The total of bottles and cans redeemed by Smith was $5.10 on two occasions in more than two months he worked at Walmart. He often agreed to work extra weekend shifts and extra hours beyond his 25-hour workweek when requested to do so by management. On the day he was fired, a Friday, he worked four hours beyond his regular shift and was fired after he had been working for more than eight hours. Smith was a few weeks short of the end of his 90-day probationary period, when he would be eligible for a 10 percent employee discount. Smith remained adamant in an interview with the Times Union on Friday that he never stole from Walmart. "I never stole anything from that store," Smith said. "I paid for everything I bought inside the store." He said he bought work boots and a few other items during his time as an employee and paid a cashier each time in cash. pgrondahl@timesunion.com 518-454-5623 @PaulGrondahl TAMPA, Fla., Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Mainsail Lodging & Development is opening Mainsail Corporate Housing, the company's first brand entry into the corporate housing industry. The new Mainsail Corporate Housing will initially serve the Virginia, South Carolina and North Carolina markets. The expansion follows Mainsail's Jan. 1 acquisition of Commonwealth Corporate Suites, which has offered premium fully-furnished apartments throughout Virginia since 2004. As a successful franchisee of Oakwood Worldwide, Mainsail Housing will continue its operations for market-leading brands ExecuStay and Oakwood in Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee. "This is a great opportunity and natural progression for Mainsail Housing, allowing us to build on nearly two decades of success in the Southeast," said Jana Collier, Managing Partner of Mainsail Housing. "With the acquisition of Commonwealth Corporate Suites, we've gained a well-established team with tremendous market knowledge and experience to help introduce the Mainsail Corporate Housing brand in the region." Leading efforts to establish the new brand in Virginia and the Carolinas is Sarah Everhart, Vice President of Mainsail Corporate Housing, who was formerly the President of Commonwealth Corporate Suites. With more than 25 years of experience in the apartment industry and a successful track record as a manager and sales leader, Everhart will be joined by two of her former Commonwealth team members. Melissa Hoban was Operations Manager at Commonwealth for nearly 15 years and is now General Manager, Virginia, for Mainsail. Longtime veteran of the corporate housing industry, Renee Baker was Senior Account Manager at Commonwealth and will now use her relationship-building skills as Account Coordinator for Mainsail. "This is an exciting start to the new year, working with my trusted colleagues to ensure a successful market entry," said Everhart. "We have strong synergy within the team, which will be a huge advantage as we introduce the new Mainsail brand." Rounding out the Mainsail Corporate Housing team is Jason Chern, General Manager, Carolinas. Most recently Project Manager for Mainsail Housing, Chern served as General Manager of ExecuStay-Raleigh, Charlotte, Greenville for Mainsail for 14 years and will draw on his experience to lead the startup and growth of Mainsail Housing in the North and South Carolina markets. For more information on Mainsail Corporate Housing, visit MainsailHousing.com. Images can be found HERE! SOURCE Mainsail Lodging & Development San Francisco, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/20/2020 -- TMR Research has very recently published a new research report that provides in detail information about the inner working dynamics of the global flat glass market. The research report divides the global flat glass market in five key geographical regions namely North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, and Europe. Of these regional segments, the Asia Pacific region is expected to account for the largest share in the global market for the give assessment period of 2019 to 2029. The growth of the regional market is primarily attributed to the booming construction industry in the Southeastern Asian nations. Moreover, with the growing infrastructural developments happening across nations such as India, China, Bangladesh, and Malaysia are also expected to contribute considerably in the development of flat glass market in the Asia Pacific region. Get Sample Copy of the Report @ https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=6224 The Middle East and Africa region is also expected to show great promise in the development of its domestic flat glass market. With increasing investments in the construction and infrastructural developments, the region is expected to experience a considerable demand for flat glasses in the next few years. For instance, the government of Kenya announced an investment of US$14.5 billion for the development of a technology hub in its capital Nairobi. The projection received an additional US$100 million from Microsoft as funding. Such developments and activities are thus expected to create great opportunities of growth for the flat glass market in the region. The TMR Research report on the global flat glass market offers insights on the key factors that are influencing its overall development. One of the biggest driving factor for the market growth has been increasing demand for preservation of historical monuments and architectural monuments. Numerous such places and monuments have been destroyed or damged due to environmental and human intervention. Thus, their timely repair is extremely important from both sentimental and cultural point of view. Since, majority of these repairs need flat glass, there has been a growing demand for the same. This has thus helped in promoting the development of the global flat glass market in recent years. Moreover, activities of construction, infrastructural developments, and industrial activities too require flat glass at various stages. With considerable rise in all such activities, the demand for flat glass is expected to grow and thus help in the overall development of the global market. Request TOC of the Report @ https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=6224 Preference of Artists to Give Market Much Needed Impetus Another key trend that has been observed in the global glass market is its growing demand from artists and painters. They prominently use flat glass for their work and this trend is expected to help in pushing the development of the global market in the next few years. The use of flat glass has considerably grown for activities such as manifestation of different art forms, calligraphy, and painting among others. Majority of these activities are preferred to be done on translucent or transparent flat glass. It can also be engrave quite easily with different carvings and designs. This feature makes it an ideal choice for street artists. This too has helped in driving the development of the global flat glass market in recent years. Retaining Brand Loyalty is Key for Market Leaders The competitive landscape of the global flat glass market is dominated by a few notable brand names. The vendor landscape is fragmented because of the presence of several key players. These leading companies are expected to provide high end and more advanced and sturdier products in order to retain brand loyalty and also improve sales. Some of the key players in the global flat glass market are Xinyi Glass Holding Limited, Vitro, Sisecam Group, SCHOTT AG, and Gaurdian Industries among others. Read Comprehensive Overview of Report @ https://www.tmrresearch.com/flat-glass-market About TMR Research TMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in today's supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients' conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends. Kerala governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Monday rejected the Left Front government's explanation over moving the Supreme Court against the Citizenship Amendment Act without informing him and said it was unlawful. Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Monday rejected the Left Front government's explanation over moving the Supreme Court against the Citizenship Amendment Act without informing him and said it was unlawful. "No explanation can satisfy me", the governor told reporters on Monday, a day after making it clear that he would not remain a "mute spectator" as he sought a report from the Pinarayi Vijayan government. Khan's strongly-worded reaction came hours after state Chief Secretary Tom Jose met him at the Raj Bhavan and explained the grounds under which the state government filed a suit in the Supreme Court against the Centre. The chief secretary, in the brief meeting, was also understood to have informed the governor that the government had not willfully violated any rules, sources said. However, hours later, the governor, who was on his way to Ayodhya, told reporters at the airport that no explanation of theirs (government) can satisfy him as what they did was "unlawful" and "not legally correct". "My view is that approval is needed. They have gone to the Supreme Court without informing me. That is an unlawful act... not legally correct. So none of their explanations can satisfy me," he said. However, Khan maintained that the matter was neither a "clash of egos nor any personal differences." In a democracy, individuals are bestowed with brief authority, he said, adding "that authority does not give the license to anybody to violate the law or the rules". Khan had said that as per Rule of Business Sec 34 (2) sub section 5, the state government should inform the Governor on matters affecting relations between the state and the Centre. Though the Opposition Congress has criticised the governor for holding press meets and airing his opinion in public, the BJP in the state extended him complete support. However, giving a surprise to political circles, veteran saffron party leader and the lone BJP MLA in the state assembly, O Rajagopal, on Monday criticised the governor, saying that he should show some "restraint". "It is not proper for the Governor and the government make public statements. Differences of opinion should be resolved in private," he told reporters. Khan's stand had drawn the ire of the ruling front with CPM mouthpiece Deshabhimani slamming him for making "political statements" and alleging he was "threatening" the state in a "tough language". One of the most fraught areas of debate has been over the role that gender should play as voters consider who would be best-positioned to defeat President Trump. Warren has said Sanders told her in a private meeting in 2018 that a woman could not win, a charge that Sanders denied. After a heated exchange on the debate stage last week, in which he continued to contradict her account, Warren approached Sanders, didnt take his outstretched hand, and said, I think you called me a liar on national TV. MARQUETTE, MI - Two persons of interest have been developed in the cold-case slaying of a man who was found stabbed to death, his body lying in a popular Upper Peninsula park near the grave of a well-known Native American. Marquette Police said recently that one of the two persons of interest have been identified, but the second has not. Authorities have released a forensic sketch of that second person, in hopes the public can help identify him. The person police are seeking is described as: Height - 58 to 510 Slender build Sandy, lighter-colored hair Approximate age in 1988 - 25 to 35 Bad posture, slumped over when he sat Cognitively impaired, not social, not well-kept in appearance and dress If you recognize this person, please call the Marquette City Police Department at (906) 228-0400. The body of Paul Girard, 34, was found on Sept. 30, 1988 near Chief Kawbawgams grave at Presque Isle Park, according to WLUC. Girard had several stab wounds on his face, chest and back. Charlie Kawbawgam, who died around 1902, was known as the last local Chippewa chief. He and his wife, Charlotte, are buried in a grave marked by a glacial boulder, according to The Mining Journal. The park is a popular spot in all seasons, encompassing a 323-acre peninsula that extends into Lake Superior. When it comes to celebrity couples, Chrissy Teigen and John Legend are not only talented, successful, and good-looking, they just make take the prize for being the most romantic power couple. Just listening to Legends beautiful song, All of Me, gives you a picture of a love far beyond the surface level glitz and glamour often seen in Hollywood romances. This man loves his wife, in all of her perfect imperfections, and he shows it in ways big and small that go far beyond his music. Teigen is just as loving in ways of her own. John Legends odd gift to Chrissy Teigen goes viral One way that Teigen shows her love for Legend, their two children, and the rest of their family and friends is by cooking. She loves cooking so much, she even wrote a book about it, a companion to her cookbook. If were talking love languages, it appears that acts of service is hers. While Legend seems to lean more towards gift-giving and not just any gifts, but personal and often comical ones. In 2015, Legend gave Teigen a surprise that was just perfect for both of their sensibilities. It wasnt jewelry or a yacht or a new Ferrari, but a giant hollowed-out cheese wheel. Teigen gushed on Instagram: John got me my lifetime dream for Christmas! A cheese wheel to dump pasta and risotto in for years to come! My tableside serving game is bout to be liiiiiit! Heading out to relax with the fam now woohoo! The cheese wheel posts were a hit and went viral. The gift was novel and delicious and the fans, metaphorically, ate it up. One of John Legends biggest surprises almost got spoiled By far one of the biggest gifts Legend gave to Teigen was her engagement ring. With the ring carefully hidden, the two set off to the Maldives where he planned to pop the question. On Oprahs Next Chapter Legend shared that while going through airport security the agents wanted to look just in his bag, but specifically in the ring box. Teigen was right next to him and he feared he would have to get on [his] knees in the airport and propose right there. Luckily this didnt come to pass. For some reason, they decided not to look in the box. They just didnt look, he said. The proposal went off as planned, and of course, as we all now know, she said yes. The two were married on September 14, 2013, on the picturesque banks of Lake Como, Italy. Chrissy Teigens yearly gift to John Legend Chrissy Teigen | Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic / Getty Images Teigens gift-giving style is a little more low-key than Legends. In fact, she has even expressed in interviews that she gets uncomfortable opening gifts in front of others. So its no surprise that she doesnt make a big to-do when giving gifts herself. She shared with InStyle that she prefers giving many little gifts or gift cards saying: Everybody in my life has such different personality types and interests, so my go-to has always been gift cards and cash Nobodys ever been mad at a gift card. She also said sometimes shell find out where her loved ones are on vacation and send them over a bottle of wine or pay for dinner. When it comes to her husband, she does have one sure-fire personal gift for him: Every year I get him what we call a computer bag, but that sounds so nerdy Its usually some kind of leather tote that he can fit his laptop in with all the cords, the watch box, and his passport. All that travel stuff. Thats the only constant in our life, that were always going to be traveling. So I love getting him that bag. Teigen told CNN that he looks forward to getting his new bag each year and that hell use it every day for the year until the new bag comes along. Cheese wheel or suede bag, its clear that this celebrity couple shares a lot of love, and fans will be rooting for more fun gift stories from them in the future. The new Chinese plan will ban the production and sale of disposable polystyrene and plastic tableware by the end of the year China will ban plastic bags in major cities and single-use straws from restaurants by the end of this year in a bid to cut down on waste. The country is one of the world's biggest users of plastic, and the plan targets a 30 percent reduction in disposable plastic utensils used by the takeaway food industry in major cities within five years. In a document released Sunday, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment said the production and sale of disposable polystyrene and plastic tableware will be banned by the end of the year. The plan also outlaws single-use straws in the food and beverage industry this year, while disposable plastic products should not be "actively provided" by hotels by 2022. Decades of rapid development and a consumption drive have created huge levels of waste in the country of 1.4 billion people. China produced 210 million tonnes of trash in 2017, according to World Bank figures, which warns that could soar to 500 million tonnes annually by 2030. Ma Jun, director of Chinese environmental group Institute of Public and Environment Affairs, told AFP the latest measures come more than a decade after China banned shops from giving out free plastic bags in 2008. China is one of the world's biggest users of plastic But e-commerce and deliveries have boomed since then, changing consumer behaviour and causing plastic use to spike, he said. The NDRC said the new plan covers all aspects of plastic product production, use and disposal, and paves the way for a "long-term mechanism to control plastic pollution". Implementation By 2025, authorities plan to effectively control plastic pollution and cut the amount of waste in landfills of key cities, on top of setting up a management system. But Ma warned that while the latest measures are "more comprehensive" than before, the key is in implementation and China has to learn from its past experiences. "The last time, authorities did well by stopping large retailers from giving out free plastic bags," he said. "Today, they have to work with online retail platforms to implement the regulations." Chinese environmentalists created a 68-metre long whale formed by plastic waste collected from the ocean in June 2019 to draw attention to the problem There are also limitations to bans alone, he said, noting that ultra-thin plastic bags were still being used even though they were banned in the previous round of regulations. The new targets also extend to plastic packaging used in postal services, a massive area of growth in the last decade given China's booming e-commerce sector. Postal delivery outlets in areas such as Beijing, Shanghai and Jiangsu will ban the use of non-degradable plastic packaging and disposable woven bags by the end of 2022. More than 2.3 billion parcels were shipped in the aftermath of last year's massive shopping festival known as Singles Day, according to China's postal authority. In place of plastic bags, China says it is promoting alternatives such as cloth bags, paper bags and degradable shopping bags in malls and supermarkets. The document also calls for firms in sectors such as e-commerce and food delivery to cultivate new business models and work with their merchants to reduce waste and disposable plastics. In place of plastic bags, China says it is promoting alternatives such as cloth bags, paper bags and degradable shopping bags in malls and supermarkets Last year, Shanghai launched China's most ambitious garbage separation and recycling programme ever, with a plan to roll it out across other cities. And in 2018, China banned certain imports of foreign waste that it used to accept for years for recyclinga move that upended global garbage flows. China is not alone in trying to control levels of plastic waste. Last year, Canada said it would ban single-use plastics from 2021, targeting items such as straws, plastic bags and cutlery. The European Union and the European Parliament also voted to ban from 2021 single-use plastics such as straws, cutlery and cotton buds. The European Commission estimates some 70 percent of plastic waste clogs the world's oceans, killing a range of species from turtles, seals, whales and seabirds to fish and shellfish. Explore further Taiwan to ban disposable plastic items by 2030 2020 AFP Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 20:16:44|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close GABORONE, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- The government of Botswana is committed to the process particularly aimed at promoting gender equality and women's empowerment in the African continent, Botswana's nationality, immigration and gender affairs minister said on Monday. Anna Mokgethi was addressing a validation workshop of African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) study on governance, gender and peace building - strengthening the nexus in Gaborone, Botswana's capital city. The APRM is a mutually agreed instrument voluntarily acceded to by the African Union (AU) member states as an African self-monitoring mechanism adopted by African Heads of state and Government as a systematic peer learning and self-assessment mechanism, according to its website. Through APRM, African countries envisage the process of adopting gender budgeting which should provide a holistic approach to address challenges emanating from conflict including prevention in non-conflict situations. Mokgethi called for adopting an integrated approach which is multi-spectral to effectively manage conflict. According to Mokgethi, the active engagement of women in preventing and resolving conflicts in Africa as well as formulating durable solutions for women refugees, internally displaced persons and returnees will yield the peace that the whole continent requires. "It is said to note that women and children remain the majority of victims of armed conflict, refugees and internally displaced persons, as they are easy target of combatants," said Mokgethi. It is important that they are key participators in peace negotiations and reconciliation at all levels, she said. Two of the Columbus, Ohio vice cops who arrested AVN Hall of Famer Storm Daniels during her strip act at a club there in 2018 are now facing a lawsuit by a different strip club in the city. That club, Kahoots, claims in federal court filings that a vendetta by vice officers Steve Rosser and Whitney Lancaster ultimately cost the club so much money that owners were forced to shut down, according to a report by WOSU Radio in Columbus. Daniels was arrested by Rosser, Lancaster and other vice cops in July of 2018, supposedly for violating a local ordinance against nude performers making physical contact with club patrons. But the charges were dropped within less than 24 hours, and an internal police department investigation ruled the arrest improper. The two officers were relieved of their dutiesand the Columbus vice unit was disbanded. The Daniels arrest was just one of several scandals that led Columbus to scrap its vice squad, however. In April of last year, dancers at the Kahoots strip club filed a lawsuit against Rosser and Lancaster, saying that the officers unfairly targeted them for arrest as part of a revenge scheme against the club. The club had fired a bouncer who reportedly worked for Rosser as a confidential informant. Rosser then threatened to file a bunch of tickets against the club and close it down unless the bouncer was rehired, according t allegations in the dancers lawsuit. Now, the clubs owners say in a federal lawsuit filed January 7 that the alleged vendetta by Rosser and Lancaster did, in fact, result in Kahoots going out of business. The two cops, the lawsuit says, cited several dancers for supposed violations of the same no touching ordinance under which Daniels had also been arrested. But the Columbus city attorney later dropped the charges, because the officers working undercover, on duty, did not count as patrons of the club. The earlier lawsuit by six dancers against the city and the two cops was recently settled for a sum of about $30,000 per dancer, the dancers lawyer, Bart Keyes, told WBNS TV. Keyes also represents the Kahoots owners in the new lawsuit. He said that the financial terms of the settlement with the six dancers has not yet been okayed by the Columbus city council. Last November, the city council greenlit a $450,000 payment to Daniels, to settle her lawsuit over her arrest by Rosser and Lancaster. According to the WBNS report, the city has so far paid out approximately $600,000 in settlements directly resulting from improper actions by Rosser and Lancaster. Photo By WCMH-TV YouTube Screen Capture On Jan. 12, when we all got the emergency alert about the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station, my mind when straight to my KI pills (Potassium Iodide tablets). Id ordered them on a whim a few years back after reading an article in the Star. KI pills are supposed to help protect people in the event of radioactive gas leaks and are supplied free of charge to anyone within 50 km of a nuclear power plant (a catchment area that, in southern Ontario stretches roughly from Cobourg in the east to the IKEA on the Queensway in Etobicoke and, to the north, includes Lake Scugog, Richmond Hill, Markham and all of North York). Unlike most things in my house, I know exactly where the pills are. I run across them whenever I pull things out of my special booze stasha secret cabinet with rare and precious things meant to be enjoyed on special occasions. Why there? Because, if I ever have occasion to take them, Ill also be wanting some of that 25-year-old scotch. Unlike whisky though, medication goes bad. I got my KI pills almost exactly four years ago. Are they still good? And when should I take them? At the first sign of an alarm? Do they have side effects? Are they a magic bullet for all radioactive emissions? Are they safe for children? Do they need a smaller dose? After six-plus hours being shunted between a half-dozen government agencies (some more than once) at municipal, provincial and federal levelsall of which said it wasnt their departmentI finally did get my answers. I was never granted a phone interview, but, after several email exchanges, I did get typed responses to the majority of my questions from the Ontario Ministry of Health. The expiry date is on the package (mine are good until 2027) and side effects are generally rare and mild. KI pills are really just salt that fills up your thyroid so that no radiation can get in. Youre supposed to take the pills before youre exposed to radioactive gas. And there are, indeed, different doses for people of different ages, all of which can be found online by reading a document prepared by the Emergency Management Branch. And, no, theyre not a magic bullet. They only protect you from thyroid cancer. Thats really important though. If people in the vicinity of the Chernobyl disaster had taken KI pills, they might have prevented an estimated 6,000 cases of thyroid cancer. The potassium iodide is attracted to your thyroid, so when you swallow it, you saturate your thyroid and, if you breathe in radioactive iodine gas later, youre able to just exhale it, explains Shawn-Patrick Stensil, program director at Greenpeace Canada. It only addresses one aspect of what we might be exposed to in the event of an emergency but its important because thats something tangible that people can do. According to the Durham Region Health Department, in week or so since our delightful Sunday morning wake-up text, 60,518 people put in their order. By comparison, prior to that, 112 people had ordered KI pills over the first 11 days of the new year. And, although the false alarm was unfortunate and stressful, getting KI pills into peoples homes is a good thing. Unfortunately, we live in a nuclear city, says Stensil, There are 10 operating nuclear reactors in the GTA (six at Pickering and four at Darlington) and, so long as thats the case, the public should be aware of it and ready for an emergency. I think the KI pill should be in everyones home emergency kit, just like you have bottled water and just like you have candles. Anyone within a 50 km radius of the Pickering plant can order pills from Ontario Power Generation at preparetobesafe.ca. So why doesnt everybody have them? It all comes down to public awareness, which falls off the farther away people are from the plants. It would be really nice if, every year, our Chief Medical Officer of Health could issue a press release encouraging people to order these pills, says Stensil. They could do advertising in downtown Toronto, Mississauga and Markham, just like they do in Durham region. It shouldnt end at the Scarborough border which is what it does right now. Stensil says there are a lot of problems with our current state of preparedness that go way beyond false alarms and a byzantine maze of people who may or may not be responsible for communications about things like KI pills. Given that I couldnt even find out who was in charge of what for the first six hours, Im not exactly surprised. Theoretically, if a real accident happened, they would send out an advisory telling people to take the pills, he explains. But the pills are stockpiled in a provincial pharmacy and theyd have to somehow distribute them to people and get people to take them within tight timelines. It boggles the mind, but this is the assertion of how they would do it. Why doesnt everyone have KI pills? Although nuclear accidents arent predictable, the actual emissions of radioactive gasses (theoretically, again) would bealthough Stensil says that hasnt always been the case in real life. So, if Sunday hadnt been a false alarm, how quickly would emergency response teams have been able to get pills into Toronto residents hands? Dont forget, the pills need to be taken before exposure. And, after 24 hours, theyre pointless. Of course, another alternative would be to address the source of the problem and get rid of some (or all) of the 10 GTA reactors. First of all, we should just shut Pickering down, says Stensil, We wouldnt build Pickering today if a proposal was submitted to build a new nuclear station in Canadas biggest city. It wouldnt be permitted. So, its time to close this plant. As we recently learned though, the Pickering Nuclear Generating Stations life was recently extended past its 2024 best before date by Doug Fords government, despite safety concerns that stem from its location, size and age (Pickering turns 50 next year). On top of that, Ford recently cancelled a number of clean energy projects. None of this is happy news, obviously. Having a pack of RadBlock thats good until 2027 doesnt take the edge off. And, neither does the 25-year-old scotch. But if the next alert isnt a false one, youll know where to find me. Read more about: New Delhi [India], Jan 20 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Monday interact with students, teachers, and parents during his 'Pariksha Pe Charcha 2020' programme. The third edition of Prime Minister's interaction programme with school students 'Pariksha Pe Charcha 2020' will be held at Talkatora Stadium in New Delhi at 11 am. During the programme, Prime Minister Modi will answer the questions and interact with selected students about how they can beat examination stress. Around 2,000 students are participating from all over India in the programme. "The HRD Ministry in partnership with MyGov launched a 'short essay' competition on five different themes for students of classes 9 to 12 for the programme, a government press release said. Among all the students attending the event, 1,050 students have been selected through an essay competition. "To make this programme more student-centric, first-time students will moderate the one-hour long program of Prime Minister. This year, four Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) schools students will conduct the programme," it read. (ANI) "A lot of excitement and enthusiasm is being seen among the students, teachers and parents to not only participate in the unique event but also to receive valuable tips from the Prime Minister who is keen to ensure that the students take exams in a relaxed atmosphere and do not come under stress, to ensure better results in the long run," it added. The first edition of Prime Minister's Interaction Programme with school and college students 'Pariksha Pe Charcha 1.0' was held at Talkatora Stadium on February 16, 2018. (ANI) Travellers wear face masks as they walk outside of the Beijing Railway Station in Beijing (Mark Schiefelbein/AP) Chinese President Xi Jinping said it was extremely crucial to take every possible measure to combat a new coronavirus that has infected 217 people in the country. His remarks, cited by state broadcaster CCTV on Monday, came the same day that the country reported a sharp rise in the number of people infected by the novel form of viral pneumonia, including the first cases in the capital. The recent outbreak of novel coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan and other places must be taken seriouslyXi Jinping The outbreak comes as the country enters its busiest travel period, when millions board trains and planes for the Lunar New Year holidays. The recent outbreak of novel coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan and other places must be taken seriously, Mr Xi said, according to CCTV. Party committees, governments and relevant departments at all levels should put peoples lives and health first. They should ensure that the masses have a quiet, peaceful and joyous Spring Festival, he added. Health authorities in the central city of Wuhan, where the viral pneumonia appears to have originated, said an additional 136 cases have been confirmed in the city, which now has a total of 198 infected patients. Expand Close Chinese President Xi Jinping (Mark Schiefelbein/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Chinese President Xi Jinping (Mark Schiefelbein/AP) As of the weekend, a third patient had died. Five individuals in Beijing and 14 in southern Chinas Guangdong province have also been diagnosed with the new coronavirus, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Monday evening. A total of seven suspected cases have been found in other parts of the country, including in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces in the southwest and in Shanghai. Ahead of Delhi Assembly election, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will be filing his nomination for the New Delhi assembly seat on Monday at SDM office in Jamnagar House. Before filing his nomination, Kejriwal will hold a roadshow which will go to Connaught Place via Panchkuian Marg into the Inner Circle and then towards the Outer Circle on to Baba Kharak Singh Marg. The AAP roadshow will end near the Patel Chowk Metro station. Kejriwal on Sunday promised a 10-step "Guarantee card" which included list of promises like--free bus rides for students and deployment of "mohalla marshals" for women safety. The ten promises also included 24-hour supply of power and clean piped water to every household. And, assurances like to clean air and a clean Yamuna river if Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) gets re-elected in Delhi. Here are 10 promises included in the "Kejriwal ka Guarantee Card" for Delhi assembly polls 2020 1. 24 hours electricity and 200 units free: Kejriwal said Delhiites will get 24-hour electricity supply and 200 units will continue to be free. Also, electricity will be distributed to all households through underground cables to tackle the mess of overhead electricity cables. 2. 24 hours supply of clean piped water: CM Kejriwal has promised 24-hour supply of clean drinking water straight from the tap to every household in Delhi. He also said that the scheme of 20,000-litre free water to every household will continue. 3. Quality education: "We will create a world-class education system for every child in Delhi. This, I take as our government's responsibility," Kejriwal said. The Delhi CM, in his 'Guarantee card' said students would get access to quality education till graduation. The government will also facilitate Delhi students with loans for graduate studies. 4. Cheap, accessible and better healthcare for all: The AAP government also promised to provide cheap, accessible and better healthcare for all. "We'll build more mohalla clinics, polyclinics, and hospitals. And through this, free and proper treatment will be given to all people in every household," Kejriwal said. 5. Largest and cheapest transport system: The transport system in Delhi will be made a robust one with over 11,000 buses and more than 500 kilometers of metro network, Kejriwal has promised. 6. Pollution free Delhi and clean Yamuna: Kejriwal has talked abpout controlling air pollution in the city. He also assured to clean Yamuna. "We promise that after five years, anyone will be able to take a dip in the Yamuna without fearing of diseases due to dirty water," Kejriwal said. 7. Clean and beautiful Delhi: Dust on roads will be removed using vacuum cleaners and two crore trees will be planted to make Delhi greener, Kejriwal has promised. 8. Safe Delhi for women: CM Kejriwal said making Delhi safe for women is one of the most important priorities of the AAP government. He also said that his government has installed nearly 1.5 lakh CCTV cameras, and another 1.5 lakh will be installed in the next few months in the city to ensure woman safety. Also, similar to bus marshals, Mohalla Marshals will be appointed. 9. Basic infrastructure in unauthorised colonies: The CM promised road, water supply, sewer, CCTV and mohalla clinics for the unauthorised colonies as his ninth guarantee. 10. Pukka house for slum dwellers: His last and tenth promise was to give 'pucca' houses to people living in slums under the 'Jahan Jhuggi Wahin Makan' scheme. Kejriwal said that a detailed manifesto will be released in the upcoming 7-10 days. The Delhi Assembly election 2020 will be held on February 8 and the results will be announced on February 11. The Delhi Assembly election 2020 will be held on February 8 and the results will be announced on February 11. In 2015, AAP had won 67 of 70 assembly seats. Also read: Kejriwal Guarantee Card launched: AAP promises 24x7 drinking water supply, free buses, women safety Boeing should rename its 737-Max to deflect passengers concerns once the grounded jet returns to the skies, according to plane leasing-industry veteran Steven Udvar-Hazy. The Max brand has been damaged by two fatal crashes last year, and theres no reason for Boeing to retain it, Mr Udvar-Hazy the founder and chairman of Air Lease Corporation said at the Airlines Economics aviation finance conference in Dublin. Weve asked Boeing to get rid of that word, Max, Mr Udvar-Hazy said. I think that word, Max, should go down in the history books as a bad name for an aircraft. Since theres no reference to the Max brand, as such, in Boeing documentation submitted to regulators, the company can simply market the model according to the numeric variant, such as the 737-8 or 737-10, he said. Air Lease is one of the biggest customers for the Max, with about 200 ordered. Renaming the Max will help address public reluctance to fly on the plane, especially in more superstitious markets, according to Mr Udvar-Hazy. He said airlines are working to understand what sort of customer reluctance, or defections to other models and carriers, they might face, and for how long. Is it going to be for two months, six months, is it going to be different in different parts of the world? Mr Udvar-Hazy asked. Will people in the US, after a few months, forget about the accidents and say, Oh, its just another 737? Are there going to be parts of the world where people are, maybe, more superstitious and will it take longer for them to erase that stigma? Boeing is working with the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) in the US, and airline regulators around the world, to re-certify the plane. Airlines expect commercial flights to begin around mid-year. In June, Dennis Muilenburg, Boeings former chief executive, said that he saw no need to drop the Max brand. That was after US president, Donald Trump, said, on Twitter, in April, that in Boeings shoes hed rename the plane. Last week, Mr Muilenburg was replaced as CEO by David Calhoun, a General Electric veteran. Late last week, Boeing said it had identified a new software flaw in the grounded 737-Max that will require additional work, possibly further delaying the planes return to service. The company said it alerted the FAA and was notifying customers and its suppliers. Bloomberg During the most recent Democratic presidential debate, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) had a memorable zinger when the conversation inevitably turned to the question of her electability. "Can a woman beat Trump?" Warren asked. "Look at the men on this stage. Collectively, they have lost 10 elections. The only people on this stage who have won every single election that they have been in are the women. Amy [Klobuchar] and me." It seems The New York Times took that to heart. For the first time ever, the paper's editorial board endorsed not one but two presidential candidates on Sunday: Warren and, you guessed it, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar. In its announcement, the Times appeared torn, as many voters are, between "the radical and the realist models" on display within the Democratic field. But the paper said "Ms. Klobuchar and Ms. Warren right now are the Democrats best equipped to lead that debate." While pushing back on more "radical" ideas of Warren's, "like nationalizing health insurance or decriminalizing the border," the paper's editorial board said her ideas "have matched the moment." It praised her anti-corruption legislation, along with her proposals on housing reform, energy policy, social security expansion, and childcare and education. Meanwhile, the board called Klobuchar "a standard-bearer for the Democratic center" and applauded her long history as a lawmaker, noting she is "the most productive senator among the Democratic field in terms of bills passed with bipartisan support." The board was less enthusiastic about concerning reports about Klobuchar's management style. But otherwise it had very little criticism of her, aside from acknowledging "she has struggled to gain traction on the campaign trail." The paper said its decision was likely to leave some readers "dissatisfied," and indeed, the blow back has already begun. You can read the entire endorsement or rather, endorsements at The New York Times. More stories from theweek.com The first case of Wuhan virus has reportedly been detected in the U.S. Senators can only drink water or milk during the impeachment trial Ozzy Osbourne reveals he's been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease The federal government has relinquished the greater oversight it assumed last year over MD Anderson Cancer Center after two patient deaths. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services last month notified the Houston hospital that it is again in compliance with the agencys conditions of participation and that its supervision has been transferred back to its accrediting body, the Joint Commission. The commission subsequently notified MD Anderson it has granted it the re-accreditation that had been left on hold in September because CMS had taken control. The new accreditation remains valid three years, dating back to Sept. 14. It is truly a testament to MD Andersons culture and the spirit of our people that we were able to make rapid, measurable and sustainable improvements, Chief Operating Officer Rosanna Morris wrote this month in an email to employees. I look forward to seeing how we can apply our shared learnings and push the boundaries of our continuous improvement efforts even further this upcoming year. Morris added that it is important to note that our pursuit of exceeding regulatory and accreditation standards is ongoing, a reference to the more than 70 such bodies that regularly review MD Anderson. A spokesperson said none of those bodies had put reviews on hold after CMS assumed oversight of MD Anderson. On HoustonChronicle.com: Report: MD Anderson deficiencies jeopardized patient health CMS in June had taken more aggressive oversight of MD Anderson, known as removing its deemed status, after its post-death investigations found numerous safety and care deficiencies. The deaths involved a 23-year-old leukemia patient who received a contaminated blood product and a patient who became unresponsive days after his or her vital signs rose to troubling levels and were not reported to the doctor whod requested such notification. CMS also documented a lack of monitoring of vital signs in the death of the leukemia patient. CMS reported a third patient death at MD Anderson in November, based on information provided by the hospital. The information turned out to be incorrect the patient is still alive. The disciplinary action by CMS it informed MD Anderson that deficiencies found during an August inspection constituted an immediate jeopardy to patient health and safety represented a black mark for the elite cancer center, sterling reputation of which is buttressed by routine No. 1 rankings in U.S. News & World Reports annual survey of best cancer hospitals. It is unclear whether CMS findings and actions might affect future rankings, which emphasize patient care and safety. On HoustonChronicle.com: Feds cite another Houston hospital for another preventable death CMS officials had told MD Anderson officials in November they planned to reinstate its deemed status because its follow-up inspection found its corrective plan had sufficiently addressed its deficiencies. CMS new notification makes the action official. MD Anderson is the second Texas Medical Center institution to have its deemed status reinstated after a patient death. CMS in July relinquished the greater oversight it assumed over Baylor St. Lukes Medical Center. CMS had found deficiencies in patient safety at St. Lukes after an inspection in the aftermath of the death of a 75-year-old woman whod been given the wrong blood type in the emergency department. The incident, which followed an outsize number of post-heart transplant deaths and unusual complications documented by the Houston Chronicle and ProPublica during a yearlong investigation, was the last straw that led the St. Lukes board to oust the president, the chief nursing officer and a top physician last year. The Harris Health System is still under aggressive oversight by CMS, following two deaths at Ben Taub Hospital and one at Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital. The Ben Taub deaths both involved patients who did not receive timely treatment and ultimately were discovered unresponsive in restroom of the ER waiting room, unable to be resuscitated. The LBJ case involved a woman who died hours after giving birth, following staffs failure to communicate and act on seemingly obvious warning signals about her condition. The six deaths represented a seemingly unprecedented bad stretch among medical center institutions. todd.ackerman@chron.com Free GP care for the under 18s and free dental care up to the age of 16 are among the carrots being offered to the electorate by Fine Gael, it was revealed as part of a major child health policy launch this afternoon. The provision of free care for all children will be achieved over the lifetime of the next Government should Fine Gael be returned to power, health minister Simon Harris said, with children under the age of eight set to be covered from the beginning of the next school year. Such care is typically unpopular with GPs given that younger people dont get as sick as often or as badly as those aged over 65, meaning that surgeries spend a lot of time dealing with parents whose children are not especially ill for a nominal State payment in return. Mr Harris said he wanted to make it very clear to GPs who work so hard that Fine Gael will want to talk to you about how we can support you and how we can continue to put more resources in general practice. The minister also announced he is planning to remove all inpatient hospital charges for children aged under the age of 18, together with the provision of free dental care for the under 16s. I think its really important if you have a sick child in hospital you have enough on your plate without worrying about the costs of that child spending a night in hospital, he said adding that the new service will be capped at 800 per annum. The last strand of the policy announcement is to be a baby box, containing information and essentials for a newborn, for every new birth. Mr Harris said: I do believe that its right and proper that hard-working families, who do get up early in the morning, that they do have access to healthcare and they dont have to lie awake at night wondering if they have the 60 or 70 in their back pocket to bring my child to the GP. He said that Fine Gaels proposals had been fully costed. Free dental care will cost 26m, with the baby box to cost 10m, and free inpatient care for all children to cost 15m per year. He also took a number of shots at Fianna Fail, who had launched their overarching health policy earlier this morning, saying that from what I understand its unclear, unambitious, and underfunded. He accused Fianna Fail health spokesperson Stephen Donnelly of abandoning Slaintecare with his commitment to an additional 2bn budget for health for five years, roughly half the rate at which the budget has been rising under Fine Gael. There is a chance Fianna Fail could win this election, the Minister said, in light of the Sunday Times poll released at the weekend which shows Fine Gael languishing 12 points behind their rivals. Theres a long way to go, he said. But its definitely motivated the troops, right across the country. Fine Gael is also promising to provide a further seven weeks of paid parental leave should they be returned to office. Speaking at a press briefing in Dublin, ministers Paschal Donohoe, Regina Doherty and Joe McHugh outlined their plans, which they said would make life easier on families. We will provide a further seven weeks for paid parental leave in addition to the existing two weeks parental leave introduced in 2019. This applies to each child per parent, benefitting up to 60,000 parents every year. This will be in addition to existing maternity and paternity leave, so that by 2025 mothers can avail of 35 paid weeks and fathers 11 paid weeks, Minister Donohoe said. The party is also promising to extend the school hot meals programme so by the end of this year, 42,000 children will get a hot meal every day. In Budget 2020, the Government committed to continue the roll-out of this new initiative by providing hot meals to a further 35,000 children in primary schools. We will continue this level of expansion over the next five-years, focusing in the first instance on providing hot meals to the most vulnerable children in our society." It is also promising to introduce a free school books scheme for all primary schools. WESTPORT Two Bridgeport men were arrested for allegedly plotting to rob a local Panera Bread, police said. On Oct. 25 at 8:54 p.m., officers responded to a report of an attempted robbery at the Post Road East eatery. By the time police arrived, the suspect had fled. According to police, the suspect entered the restaurant, approached an employee with a box cutter, instructed the employee not to move and walked them to the rear of the establishment past other employees. The suspect then returned to the front of the store, where they unsuccessfully attempted to open the cash registers and an office. The individual then left through the front door, police said. During an investigation, it was discovered the target of the robbery was a wallet containing over $7,000 in cash that had been found and stored in the managers office earlier that day. A Panera employee, who was present on the night of the incident, had also communicated with the robbery suspect, police said. An arrest warrant was subsequently granted for the employee, identified as 32-year-old Horace Rawlings. Police also identified Rochelle Smith, 24, in connection to the incident. The two had allegedly formulated a plan to have a third individual arrive at the restaurant pretending to be the owner of the wallet. Police have not named the third suspect. On Thursday, Bridgeport police reported having Rawlings in custody. He was later brought to the Westport Police Department, where he was charged with first-degree criminal attempt at robbery, third-degree criminal attempt at larceny and first-degree conspiracy at robbery. Rawlings was unable to post $200,000 bond and was taken to state Superior Court in Norwalk. Smith turned himself in for the active warrant on Thursday and was charged with third-degree conspiracy to commit larceny and third-degree criminal attempt to commit larceny. He posted $50,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in state Superior Court in Norwalk on Jan. 23. dj.simmons@hearstmediact.com According to the internet, Anil Upadhyay is an elected official from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modis Bharatiya Janata Party. Other posts claim hes an opposition politician who happens to like Modi, while others say hes a fierce critic of the government. Hes also said to have committed electoral fraud, tortured people and been cruel to animals. The France 24 Observers team wanted to find out who this mysterious politician with so many faces really is and we were surprised by the result of our quest. The most recent online appearance of the man said to be Anil Upadhyay was in a video posted on WhatsApp and Facebook in early January. The footage shows Anil Upadhyay, who is said to be an elected official from Prime Minister Narendra Modis Hindu nationalist BJP party, criticising politicians from his own camp during a speech against a controversial reform of citizenship laws. This video was posted along with a caption that reads: BJP Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) Anil Upadhyay. What is Modi going to say about this speech? India has been thrown into chaos since the adoption of the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in December 2019, with many taking to the streets to protest the bill that they see as discriminatory. The CAA would allow refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who are Hindu or Christian, for example, to acquire Indian nationality, but excludes Muslims. But the man in this video isnt Anil Upadhyay because, turns out, Anil Upadhyay doesnt exist. More on that later. But Indian fact-checking website BOOM ran this particular footage through a reverse image search (click here to find out how) and discovered that the video showed a politician named Faruk Ahmed, from a local party called the VBA, giving a speech on December 20 in Maharashtra state. Faruk Ahmed, a leader from the local VBA party, gave a speech on December 20 in Nanded, Maharashtra. "In these videos, everyone is named Anil Upadhyay!" Story continues This video is not the first purporting to show Anil Upadhyay, who is apparently an elected Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA). An MLA is a representative elected directly to the state legislature in one of Indias 29 states. India is the worlds largest democracy. The journalists who work for BOOM are fairly used to seeing this imaginary politician pop up all over social media and have written dozens of articles about him. Journalist Nivedita Niranjankunmar first came across Anil Upadhyay in April 2019, in the height of the legislative elections: We were looking into a viral video showing a group of people armed with batons beating up a young man in the middle of the street. Online, people were saying that the video showed a policitian from the BJP beating up a dalit who was seen driving a luxury car [Editors note: Also known as an untouchables, dalits are the people who fall lowest on Indias caste system and are considered inferior. They often work jobs considered by others to be impure.] The caption read, What will Prime Minister Modi say about these blows by BJP Member of the Legislative Assembly Anil Upadhyay ?. Many people shared this video, including a member of parliament from the opposition [Editors note: MLAs, like Anil Upadhyay is supposed to be, represent Indians at the state level. MPs are part of the national government]. This video was shared along with the caption: What will Prime Minister Modi say about these blows by BJP Member of the Legislative Assembly Anil Upadhyay? Thanks to a reverse image search, we were able to establish what this video actually shows. It was filmed back in 2017 and shows a father beating up his son-in-law after the son-in-law beat up his daughter. The incident was widely reported in the media at the time. Local TV channel VTV Gujarati broadcast a report about the video back when it was filmed in 2017 and explained that it showed a violent family dispute. Back then, we were happy to verify the video and we didnt really pay attention to the name of the BJP politician that people had wrongly associated with the video. But we started seeing the name pop up more and more in fake videos that were circulating during the elections. We saw quite a few different videos circulating online that highlighted poor behaviour from MLAs representing states all over India. Sometimes these politicians were from the BJP, other times they were from the main opposition party, the Congress Party but all of them were named Anil Upadhyay! Violence, fraud and singing Modis praises In one video circulating online, Anil Upadhyay was said to be a member of the Congress Party attacking a police officer in the state of Uttar Pradesh. In reality, the video showed a BJP politician named Manish Kumar. Another video circulating online allegedly showed Anil Upadhyay accompanying a woman into a voting booth in Bengal state and tampering with her vote. In some versions, he was from the BJP. In other versions, he was from the Congress Party. In reality, the man in the video is named Hamizuddin and he isnt a member of either party. He was already subject to a complaint for violation of the electoral code. Back in April, a television channel said to have close links with the BJP party shared a video of a man praising Modi. The video named the man as Anil Upadhyay, elected to the Legislative Assembly who was said to be a member of the opposition Congress Party but who was singing Modis praises anyway. This report, broadcast on national television channel Republic TV, claims to show "Anil Upadhyay, an elected member of the Legislative Assembly In reality, this video has been circulating online for a while-- but suddenly, people were sharing it with a caption that said the man was named Anil Upadhyay and that he was an elected official from Uttar Pradesh. But I found the man who actually appears in the video. His name is Mohan Chandra Pandey and he said he didnt belong to any party, he was just a "big fan of Modi". "Add in someones name and suddenly your fake video seems more credible!" Even after the legislative elections in May, videos allegedly featuring Anil Upadhyay kept popping up. In September, people started sharing a gruesome video showing a man torturing, beating and sexually assaulting another man who was suspended from the ceiling. People said it was Anil Upadhyay again, even though, in reality, it was the owner of a transport company who horrifically abused one of his drivers as a punishment for allegedly misusing funds. In November, Anil Upadhyay was accused of killing a doe in a paddock when, in reality, the culprit was a Bangladeshi farmer. This BJP elected official, Anil Upadhyay, is learning to hunt by shooting does in a park. Share the video so hell be punished in court! Journalist Niranjankunmar tried to see if an Anil Upadhyay actually existed: I scoured public lists of all of the members of all of the Legislative Assemblies in every state in India who belonged either to the BJP or the Congress Party. I didnt find anyone named Anil Upadhyay. There are two mentions of someone named Anil Upadhyay in the Myneta database, which has information about the finances and criminal records of electoral candidates [Editors note: Myneta is run by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), which fights against corruption]. However, neither of these men are members of the Legislative Assembly and neither were candidates in recent elections. There is no mention of an elected official by that name in the Indian press. There are no politicians whove been active in recent years named Anil Upadhyay! People are probably using it because it helps a video go viral-- add in someones name, especially a politicians name, and suddenly your fake video seems more credible! Where did Anil Upadhyay come from? The origins of this made-up politician remain foggy. However, the France 24 Observers were able to dig up a reference to him from a few years back-- the earliest mention weve seen yet. Back in August 2018, millions of people watched a video showing a man ranting about Hindus who took part in beef exports [Editors note: Cows are sacred animals to Hindus]. What would Modi say about this statement made by Member of the Legislative Assembly Anil Upadhyay? read the caption. However, this video has been doctored. The France 24 Observers found the original video, which features the Congress Party logo and pictures of its leaders. In the version shared widely, those images have been replaced with photos of Narendra Modi and the BJP logo. The man in the video isnt the mysterious Anil Upadhyay-- hes actually an actor named Satyajit who features in movies made in Kannada [a language spoken in southern India] and regularly shares his political opinions in similar videos. Article by Pierre Hamdi (@PierreHamdi) Boris Johnson was accused of sexism today as senior ministers prepared for a post-Brexit reshuffle expected to see several senior women axed from his top team. The Prime Minister will make a series of changes to his Cabinet next month after the UK leaves the EU on January 31. And it is the few women in the team who are expected to be chopped, with names in the frame including Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey. Other ministers expected to be purged include Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg. One female Cabinet minister complained of a gender bias in the process. 'If you look at all of the people who get briefed to be getting the sack, it is all of the women. You do wonder if there is some sexism at work there,' she told the Times. It came after it was revealed at the weekend that Mr Johnson will give his Cabinet Ministers 'marks out of 10' for their performance over the next month as he decides who to fire in a reshufffle with those who showboat on TV top of his hit list. Names in the frame to be sacked include Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey It was revealed at the weekend that Mr Johnson will give his Cabinet Ministers 'marks out of 10' for their performance over the next month There are just seven female full Cabinet ministers. Pictured are Environment Secretary Theresa Villiers (left) and International Trade Secretary Liz Truss (right) The move is part of plans to re-energise his Government following criticism of his failure to set out a blueprint for power and accusations that he is dithering over big decisions. And he has told No 10 officials to scale back his foreign travel plans so he can 'personally drive delivery' of his Election manifesto promises, which he will set out after Brexit Day on January 31. Mr Johnson has already come under fire for the lack of gender balance in his top team. There are just seven female full Cabinet ministers, with Home Secretary Priti Patel the most senior, and 16 men. Stationary retailer Papyrus is shuttering all of its stores, with liquidation sales already underway, according to a report by Retail Dive. There are more than 260 Papyrus stores, including eight in New Jersey, according to the companys website. The New Jersey stores are in Bridgewater, Chester, Hackensack, Jersey City, Marlton, Paramus, Ridgewood and Short Hills. Store managers and employees at each location told NJ Advance Media either they have no comment or a closing date is not yet known. The store closures are a result of the current challenges of the retail industry, Papyrus said in a statement to Retail Dive. The company hired liquidation firm Gordon Brothers to assist with liquidation sales, according to the report. Greeting cards, gift bags, paper products and writing accessories are sold by Papyrus, which said in its statement it has not yet been determined if its e-commerce sites will halt operations. Papyrus is just another in a long list of chain stores to be hit by the retail apocalypse. Bose recently announced the closure of 119 stores, and Pier 1 Imports will shutter up to 450. The Schurman family founded Papyrus in 1950. Nicolette Accardi can be reached at naccardi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter: @N_Accardi. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips MORE RETAIL AND SHOPPING COVERAGE: The list of chains that closed stores in 2019 Amazon joins the wireless earbud craze with Echo Buds Pier 1 Imports will close 450 stores. Heres the status of each N.J. location. Huawei Executives Extradition Hearing Begins in Canada VANCOUVER, British ColumbiaThe first stage of an extradition hearing for a senior executive of Chinese telecom giant Huawei begins on Jan. 20 in a Vancouver courtroom, a case that has infuriated Beijing and caused a diplomatic uproar. Canadas arrest of chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of Huaweis founder, in late 2018 at Americas request shocked Beijing. This is one of the top priorities for the Chinese government. Theyve been very mad. They will be watching this very closely, said Wenran Jiang, a senior fellow at the Institute of Asian Research at the University of British Columbia. Chinas foreign ministry complained on Monday the United States and Canada were violating Mengs rights and called for her release. It is completely a serious political incident, said a ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang. He urged Canada to correct mistakes with concrete actions, release Ms. Meng Wanzhou and let her return safely as soon as possible. Washington accuses Huawei of using a Hong Kong shell company to sell equipment to Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions. It says Meng, 47, committed fraud by misleading the HSBC bank about the companys business dealings in Iran. Meng, who is free on bail and living in one of the two Vancouver mansions she owns, denies the allegations. A home reported to be owned by Huawei Technologies CFO Meng Wanzhou is seen in Vancouver, Canada, on Dec. 10, 2018. (Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images) Meng was detained in December 2018 in Vancouver as she was changing flightson the same day that Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met for trade talks. Prosecutors have stressed that Mengs case is separate from the wider China-U.S. trade dispute, but weeks after her arrest Trump said he would consider intervening in the case if it would help forge a trade deal with Beijing. China and the United States reached a Phase 1 trade agreement last week, but most analysts say any meaningful resolution of the main U.S. allegationthat Beijing uses predatory tactics in its drive to supplant Americas technological supremacycould require years of contentious talks. Trump had raised the possibility of using Huaweis fate as a bargaining chip in the trade talks, but the deal announced on Jan. 15 didnt mention the company. Huawei is the biggest global supplier of network gear for cellphone and internet companies. Washington is pressuring other countries to limit use of its technology, warning they could be opening themselves up to surveillance and theft. I think this is the beginning of a technological war along ideological fronts, said Lynette Ong, an associate professor at the University of Toronto. You are going to see the world divided into two parts. One side would use Chinese companies and the other side would not use Chinese companies because they are weary of the political implications of using Chinese platforms. James Lewis at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies said the United States wanted to send a message with Mengs arrest. There is good evidence that Huawei willfully violated sanctions, he said. The message that you are no longer invulnerable has been sent to Chinese executives, Lewis said. No one has held China accountable. They steal technology, they violate their WTO commitments and the old line is, Oh, they are a developing economy, who cares. When you are the second-largest economy in the world you cant do that anymore. The initial stage of Mengs extradition hearing will focus on whether Mengs alleged crimes are crimes both in the United States and Canada. Her lawyers filed a a motion on Friday arguing that Mengs case is really about U.S. sanctions against Iran, not a fraud case. Canada does not have similar sanctions on Iran. The second phase, scheduled for June, will consider defense allegations that Canada Border Services, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the FBI violated her rights while collecting evidence before she was actually arrested. Canadians Michael Spavor (L) and Michael Kovrig have been detained in China since shortly after Canada arrested Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver in December 2018. (AP Photo) The extradition case could take years to resolve if there are appeals. Virtually all extradition requests from Canada to the United States are approved by Canadian judges. In apparent retaliation for Mengs arrest, China detained former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and Canadian entrepreneur Michael Spavor. The two men have been denied access to lawyers and family and are being held in prison cells where the lights are kept on 24-hours-a-day. Thats mafia-style pressure, Lewis said. China has also placed restrictions on various Canadian exports to China, including canola seed, oil, and meat. Last January, China also handed a death sentence to a convicted Canadian drug smuggler in a sudden retrial. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- About 90 seconds after Elon Musks SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sunday, it burst into flames in the air just as it was supposed to. NASA and SpaceX were testing a key safety system of the companys Crew Dragon spacecraft, which is a capsule designed to bring astronauts for NASA to the International Space Station (ISS). Sundays test flight was unmanned. Instead of real astronauts, crash dummies filled with sensors to measure the forces a real crew would experience if they needed to be saved by the capsules escape system were used during the launch. The launch escape test, which was the final major test for the spacecraft before it begins carrying astronauts for real, began at 10:30 a.m., according to NASA. Shortly after liftoff, a launch escape was initiated under strenuous circumstances. The upper portion of the Crew Dragon craft, where astronauts would normally be located, jettisoned from the trunk of the rocket. Next, the capsule fired its thrusters to re-orient the craft at high-altitude in order to re-enter the Earths atmosphere. Once it began descending back down towards the Earth, the crafts parachutes were deployed, safely returning it to the Earth. NASA said that all major functions were executed, including separation from the craft, engine firings, parachute deployment and landing. Eight minutes after launch, Crew Dragon splashed down just off the Florida coast the test was a massive success, NASA said. This critical flight test puts us on the cusp of returning the capability to launch astronauts in American spacecraft on American rockets from American soil, said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. We are thrilled with the progress NASAs Commercial Crew Program is making and look forward to the next milestone for Crew Dragon. Following the launch, teams of personnel from SpaceX and the U.S. Air Force 45th Operation Groups Detachment-3 will recover the spacecraft and begin recovering pieces of Falcon 9, which NASA said broke apart as planned. Crew Dragon separating from Falcon 9 during todays test, which verified the spacecrafts ability to carry astronauts to safety in the unlikely event of an emergency on ascent pic.twitter.com/rxUDPFD0v5 SpaceX (@SpaceX) January 19, 2020 As far as we can tell thus far, its a picture perfect mission. It went as well as one can possibly expect," said Elon Musk, Chief Engineer at SpaceX. This is a reflection of the dedication and hard work of the SpaceX and NASA teams to achieve this goal. Obviously, Im super fired up. This is great. Watching only a few miles away from the launch were two astronauts heavily invested in the flights outcome. Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, the two crew members tabbed to be the first to pilot SpaceX as part of the NASA Commercial Crew Program an initiative to send astronauts to the ISS by privately operated crew vehicles closely watched the successful launch from the SpaceX launch control center. The past few days have been an incredible experience for us, said Hurley. We started with a full dress rehearsal of what Bob and I will do for our mission. Today, we watched the demonstration of a system that we hope to never use, but can save lives if we ever do. It took a lot of work between NASA and SpaceX to get to this point, and we cant wait to take a ride to the space station soon. While only a test flight, NASA said that teams involved in the mission completed launch day procedures for the first crewed flight test, from suit-up to standard launch pad operations. Now, NASA said that joint teams will begin data review prior to the astronauts flying the system during the Space X Demo-2 mission. Musk reportedly said that Behnken and Hurleys flight could be as soon as mid-2020, likely between April and June. South Korea's finance ministry has been considering imposing a 20 percent tax on income from cryptocurrency transactions, officials said Monday. The Ministry of Economy and Finance has recently ordered its office of income tax to review a taxation plan for cryptocurrencies, according to officials. Previously, the ministry's office of property tax had reviewed the plan. The move raised speculation that the government may categorize gains from cryptocurrency trading as other income, not capital gains. A government official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the finance ministry has not finalized its plan to tax cryptocurrencies. But, there is a possibility that the government may impose a 20 percent tax on cryptocurrencies, the official said. Currently, other income includes gains resulting from lectures, lottery purchases and prizes. In November last year, South Korea's tax agency imposed 80.3 billion won ($69.2 million) in withholding tax on Bithumb Korea. Vidente, the largest shareholder of Bithumb Holdings, said in a regulatory filing that it confirmed the decision by the National Tax Service (NTS) on withholding tax of foreign customers. Bithumb Korea South Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchange, operated by Bithumb Holdings plans to take legal action against the withholding tax, according to Vidente. Under the law, an employer paying salary, pension and other income is required to withhold income tax at the time of such payment and to pay it to the government. The NTS decision means that Bithumb Korea has to pay the withholding tax to the government on behalf of its foreign customers and that Bithumb Korea should receive the money from its overseas clients. (Yonhap) Kolkata, Jan 20 : The West Bengal government is planning to pass a resolution in the state Assembly against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in the next three-four days, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Monday and demanded that the provision seeking the birth certificates and parents place of birth be deleted from the NPR form. She also appealed to the north eastern states not to participate in the National Population Register (NPR) exercise. "We have also passed a resolution against National Register of Citizens (NRC) three months ago. We will pass a resolution against CAA also within three-four days," Banerjee told mediapersons. The CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala and Congress ruled Punjab have already passed resolutions in the respective state assemblies demanding scrapping of the controversial CAA. Referring to the NPR, Banerjee pointed out that the form has a column seeking aA birth certificates and place of birth of parents. "But now they (central government) are saying it is not mandatory. If it's not mandatory, you withdraw. Why will it exist in the form?" he said. "So there is an apprehension. First they have to withdraw all these clauses, all these conditions," she said. Banerjee requested the north eastern states and their chief ministers to go through the law carefully before taking any decision about NPR. "Because in the name of so-called NPR, there are so many conditions, related to NRC. And I will request them not to participate in this matter, because the conditions are very bad," she said. The CAA, passed in the Parliament last month, seeks to provide Indian nationality to Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Parsis, Jains and Buddhists fleeing persecution in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh before December 31, 2014. As per the Act, such communities will not be treated as illegal immigrants now and will be given Indian citizenship. The legislation, which has come into force on January 10, has led to countrywide protests, with students coming out on the streets in thousands in almost all the states. Civil society members, anti-BJP political parties and commoners have also joined the protests. The north-eastern states, including Assam, have been on the boil, amid fear among indigenous communities that the law could give recognition to lakhs of immigrants who came from Bangladesh over the decades. Kanye West shares how Jesus saved him from devil; hundreds dedicate lives to Christ at youth conference Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. Kanye West shared how Jesus radically changed his life and saved him from the devil while performing along with his Sunday Service choir at a youth conference where hundreds of students dedicated their lives to Christ. I believe Jesus died for my sins. There was a time when the devil had me, West testified before the 12,400 students gathered for the Strength to Stand Conference on Sunday. Do you know the good news? Jesus can save a wretch like me, he continued as the 135-member Sunday Service choir around him sang the words, I stretch my hands to you/Father I stretch. When I dont know what to do, I can still stretch my hands, he said. Surrounded by 38,000 flowers, West and the choir put on an unforgettable service at the East Tennessee conference, complete with rap, gospel-infused songs, and traditional hymns. By wearing the same gray outfit as the choir, West took the focus off himself. With little stage presence, the hip hop artist stayed within the choir throughout the majority of the service and spoke few words as he performed. The goal of the Sunday Service was clear: God, and not Kanye, was going to be glorified. And glorified He was. West powerfully spoke the lyrics of Jesus Is King tracks Selah, Follow God, and the fan-favorite Closed on Sunday. During the service, the Sunday Service Choir belted out songs including Ultralight Beam, Every Hour and Revelation 19:1, along with traditional hymns including How Great Thou Art and Jesus Loves Me. Hallelujah, He is wonderful! the choir sang as students raised their hands in worship, reflecting the communal spirit of the church. Wests pastor, Los Angeles-based Adam Tyson, delivered a short sermon on the story of the Prodigal Son. The Father is saying to his son, If you'll come back, I'm so glad you're back. I love you, Tyson said. Are you hearing me this morning? If you come back to the Father, He runs after you. He loves you. He wants to embrace you. He wants to give you a holy kiss; a kiss of mercy, a kiss of love, a kiss of acceptance. It's from the Father and it's for you. It's forgiveness for you. When you come to Christ, when you come to the Father through the blood of Jesus, He gives you the garment of praise, he continued. He gives you authority over sin and you have authority over the devil and over this world. Tyson concluded his message with an altar call, during which over 200 students dedicated their lives to Christ, according to event coordinators. He told students gathered in the audience, God's calling you home. You might be here this morning in a bad place because of your own sin. God says this morning through His Word, I love you. I'm calling you home. And when you return to the Father, He runs up to you. He's not shy. He's not angry with you. He's inviting you back into relationship with Him. Following Tysons message, the Sunday Service Choir performed the Coldplay song Fix You, altered to include the lines: Christ will guide you home/and revive your soul/Christ is here to fix you. West closed the Sunday Service with a powerful rendition of his 2005 hit, Jesus Walks, before silently filing out of the venue behind choir members. Scott Dawson and his organization, the Scott Dawson Evangelistic Association, has held Strength to Stand in Pigeon Forge since 1994. In total, 17,000 students took part in the three-day conference the largest gathering to date. Dawson told The Christian Post that he began working with Kanye West for the conference 10 weeks ago when they needed to replace John Crist, the former headliner for the conference. We're just humbled that we were able, through a divine orchestration, to deliver a cultural icon like Kanye West and the transformational power of the Gospel, Dawson said. We believe this is part of Gods divine appointment for a movement to go across our country. Were in awe: You plan a conference, and all the sudden God is developing a movement. Dawson said that the humility shown by West and his team has been refreshing but also convicting to those of us who are in full-time ministry. If some of our leaders would show that type of humility, maybe we'd start seeing revival across our country, he said. What you're seeing is that the Gospel never changes, but the Gospel can penetrate any culture. And I think what's happened is a lot of times we tried to retreat when in Scripture it always tells us to go forward. I think it may be Christianity going into pop culture instead of pop culture coming into Christianity. To Christians who are skeptical of Wests conversion, Dawson said, You need to understand the transformational power of Christ in a man's life. ... Anyone who reads the New Testament understands the power of Jesus. He pointed to the Apostle Paul, who was famously thrown off his track of persecuting Christians after an encounter with Jesus. I don't know what's going to happen in his life. I don't know what's going to happen in my life. I don't know what's going to happen in your life. But I am firmly convinced I'm speaking to a brother in Christ, Dawson said of West. Geared for students from middle school to college-age, the conference seeks to go beyond the surface of casual Christianity and bring them into a lifetime commitment to Jesus Christ, Dawson told CP. Other headliners at the Strength to Stand conference included Hillsong Young & Free, Lecrae, and Jonathan Edwards. Dawson told CP that the first night of the event, over 400 students dedicated their lives to Christ. We not doing this for an experience, we're doing this for eternity, he told CP. There's an atmosphere that's conducive for the Holy Spirit to speak to a young person's life and for them to see someone that may have experienced the power of Christ. Dawson added, Ultimately, I hope to see them to walk out of here and take Jesus with them. JACKSON, Miss. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs says it will make a new pair of prosthetic legs for a Mississippi veteran after his were repossessed two days before Christmas. Jerry Holliman, a 69-year-old, two-time Bronze Star recipient, had his legs amputated over the past two years after his diabetes worsened. Without legs, the once-independent man was resigned to a nursing home. Anxiety and depression dimmed his hope, Holliman said, and he felt trapped. Now, both a local company and the VA have promised to help. Holliman had previously tried to get prosthetic legs through the VA. He went to a prosthetics clinic in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and thought the VA was paying for his new legs. Jerry Holliman with the prosthetic legs that were returned to him. It wasn't. On Dec. 23, Holliman said a man from a prosthetics company, Hanger, came to his room and took back the legs because they hadn't been paid for. For help, he turned to the Mississippi Clarion Ledger, part of the USA TODAY Network. Holliman's story was shared thousands of times, leading to an outpouring of support and outrage. The original story: A vet's prosthetic legs were repossessed two days before Christmas. He got them back, but broken Today in dystopian medical care news: An Army veteran has his prosthetic legs repossessed after the VA refused to pay for them. He earned a Bronze Star in both Vietnam and Iraq https://t.co/eyEKpZlcCo Robbie Gramer (@RobbieGramer) January 10, 2020 Holliman served active duty in the U.S. Army twice as an 18-year-old specialist who volunteered to fight in Vietnam and as a 53-year-old master sergeant in Iraq. Between active duty and the U.S Army National Guard, Holliman said he served 40 years in the military. While in Vietnam, Holliman said, he was exposed to Agent Orange, a chemical the American military used to kill vegetation. The chemical also caused diseases in Vietnamese and U.S. Service members, including cancers and diabetes. Story continues Holliman said he's survived three forms of cancer, but in recent years, diabetes began affecting his legs, eventually leading to amputations. "Jerry Holliman put his life on the line for our country. Now, America is failing him," veteran and presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg wrote on Facebook. Post by petebuttigieg1. The VA would not initially comment on Holliman's case, citing federal privacy rights. Holliman has since waived those rights, allowing the VA to explain. 'You are stronger than you realize': Widow finds letters from husband written in case of his death What went wrong? Doctors amputated his right leg in November 2018 and the left leg in April. VA spokesman Matthew Gowan said in an email that Holliman requested prosthetics from the VA after his legs were amputated. "However, the amputation sites were not completely healed and the veteran was instructed to follow-up with a vascular surgeon," Gowan said. It is apparently this step a consultation with a vascular surgeon that was never taken and led to Holliman's legs being repossessed months later. It's unclear if this was ever effectively communicated to Holliman. In several conversations with the Clarion Ledger, Holliman never mentioned a vascular surgeon and said he did not know why the VA had not provided him with prosthetic legs. Holliman said Thursday that he never recalled anyone from the VA telling him he needed to see a vascular surgeon. Instead, Holliman ended up going to appointments with a private company called Hanger at a clinic in Hattiesburg. But Holliman said that he was steered into these appointments with little explanation or understanding by various medical staff. Jerry Holliman, 69, reviews medical paperwork on Jan. 2, 2019, in his room at the Veterans Home in Collins, Mississippi. When asked if there was anyone at the VA who helped him navigate his paperwork, Gowan did not answer. "VAs Prosthetic & Sensory Aids Service stands ready to deliver comprehensive support to optimize health and independence of our veterans," Gowan said. "But if eligible veterans do not wish to take advantage of these services, VA is unable to intervene and correct issues arising with personal purchases." Holliman said the VA has sent him so much paperwork that a person could use it to stand on and change a light bulb. He felt inundated, he said, and it often seemed like different parts of the VA were segmented and not communicating with each other. "It takes a lawyer to understand it," Holliman said of the paperwork. When asked whether Holliman was at fault or if the VA needed to do a better job communicating with veterans, Gowan said, "Instead of placing blame, we take these types of situations to heart in order to better serve veterans in the future." The VA will provide Holliman with prosthetic legs at no cost because of his disability, Gowan said, and the step that tripped up the whole process seeing a vascular surgeon is no longer necessary. Gowan said Holliman's legs healed on their own. Holliman has an appointment later this month at the prosthetics clinic at the VA Medical Center in Jackson. He said he's "cautiously optimistic." "You can't live and you can't walk on promises," Holliman said. "... This is a lifetime situation here. A lifetime obligation." A local company steps up The Clarion Ledger sat down with Holliman for an interview at Veterans Home, a state-run nursing home for veterans in Collins, on the morning of Jan. 2. The only evidence of his prosthetic legs was the paperwork Holliman held onto and a pair of new black gym shoes sitting underneath a table in his room he had to buy for the prosthetic legs. Hours after a reporter and photographer left, a man came to Holliman's room with his prosthetic legs. According to Holliman, it was the same employee of the prosthetics company who had taken his legs. This time, he was bringing them back, but they were useless without further adjustments. The company declined numerous requests for comment on Holliman's case, citing federal privacy law. Jerry Holliman, 69, reviews medical paperwork on Jan. 2, 2019, in his room at the Veterans Home in Collins, Mississippi. When the prosthetist at a Mississippi company called Quest Prosthetics read about that in the Clarion Ledger, he told his boss that something had to be done. John Robicheaux, the president of Quest, agreed. Robicheaux said he used to work in pharmaceutical sales, but helping people regain their independence with prosthetics brings a joy he never experienced in his previous career. "It's extremely rewarding," Robicheaux said. "... Sometimes our payment is much greater than monetary, if that makes sense." So Robicheaux decided to help. 'A ray of sunshine' Robicheaux and his prosthetist Josh Millet met with Holliman on Wednesday. There were some issues with the legs, Robicheaux said, and they would need to order some new parts worth a few thousand dollars at no cost to Holliman. In the meantime, Millet made several adjustments, Robicheaux said, and they did some physical therapy with Holliman, who used the legs to stand and even take a few steps while holding onto a parallel bar. According to Robicheaux, Holliman will have to work hard at physical therapy and he may always need a cane or walker to get around, but Holliman can regain mobility and independence. Quest Prosthetics is ready to fix Holliman's prosthetic legs, Robicheaux said, but he said he understands if Holliman decides to take the VA up on its promise to make new prosthetics for him instead. A Bronze Star Medal hangs in a display showcasing various U.S. service medals at G. V. Sonny Montgomery VA Medical Center in Jackson, Miss. on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019. The Bronze Star Medal is a decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either achievement, merit or valor in a combat zone. To Holliman, the actions of Robicheaux and Millet were "a ray of sunshine." "There's some people that believe in you and will help you. That's wonderful," Holliman said. "... It restored hope." Holliman said he knows he has a long way to go with physical therapy, with making his home in Hattiesburg more accessible and with his truck, which could need changes for him to drive. "I'm not gonna get out there and run track," Holliman said, but he now can see a future outside the room he shares with a fellow veteran at the nursing home. He pictures himself hunting, fishing, standing and walking. "I was independent before this happened," Holliman said. "This is giving me my life back again." Follow reporter Giacomo "Jack" Bologna on Twitter @gbolognaCL. 'Unacceptable': Warehouse of emergency supplies went unused in Puerto Rico after Maria. Now 2 officials are fired China's coronavirus outbreak: Human-to-human transmission confirmed; 200 cases reported This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: VA will give veteran new prosthetic legs after his were repossessed The General Staff had been working out a plan that provided for countering the seizure of the Ukrainian territory. Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine Serhiy Kryvonos has said the Ukrainian military could restrain Russian aggression during the process of the illegal annexation of Crimea back in 2014. Ukrainian units of highly mobile landing troops and special operations forces were put on combat readiness on January 31, 2014, the official told RFE/RL's Donbas Realii project. "We began to work out a plan that provided for countering the seizure of the Ukrainian territory. This option was provided and worked out by the General Staff. Many military units were tasked, according to the plan, to counter possible attempts of territorial seizure, including airborne forces, namely the 25th and the 79th airborne brigades. They were supposed to be deployed in Crimea, take up positions, and strengthen the grouping of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Crimea," said the official. According to Kryvonos, the first stage of the plan had begun to be implemented. Read alsoOver 40,000 people in Ukraine victims of Russian aggression MFA "After a while, the second stage had to be launched. But it was never implemented because combat orders for the use of said units were never signed. Accordingly, the plan was curtailed," he said. Kryvonos expressed confidence that the Ukrainian military, in particular, the airborne troops, "were capable of fulfilling their task." "I have my own point of view and, perhaps, I am also mistaken, relying on the amount of information that I have. But I clearly know that units of the airborne forces were able to fulfill their task under that plan. Just as the special operations forces of our regiments and centers in Crimea were clearly aware of their tasks and performing them clearly. And, in principle, theoretically, our [forces'] deployment in Crimea, the strengthening of the grouping would, let's say, keep Russian troops from unpunished impudence," the official added. Ateneo de Manila is one of the most prestigious centers of excellence in the Philippines. The university offers a range of courses to its students. Other than having large numbers of students joining it, the institution boasts of some notable alumni serving the country in different capacities. Image: facebook.com, @Ateneo de Manila University Source: Facebook With education becoming an essential requirement for life advancement, numerous people are finding reasons for studying up to the university level. It is, however, necessary that one takes time to understand the institutions they would like to join before applying. Information such as the location and courses are vital in deciding which institution one joins. Ateneo de Manila Ateneo de Manila is a private Catholic-sponsored institution. The Society of Jesus founded it in 1859, and thus it is the third oldest in the Philippines. It has a motto that defines its moral obligations and day to day engagements in the institution. The motto is from the letter of Saint Paul to the Ephesians (Ephesians 5:8). "Light in the Lord". The institution constitutes; Basic Education school: Grade school, Junior high school, and the Ateneo de Manila senior high school. Loyola school: Offer undergraduate and graduate programs Professional school: Law school, Graduate school of Business, School of Government, School of Medicine, and Public Health. Ateneo de Manila University This is a center of learning for many students in and outside the Philippine. It is a private research institution located in Quezon City, in the Philippines, along Katipunan Avenue. Ateneo de Manila University campus offers a variety of courses Ateneo de Manila university tuition fee Different factors determine the amount of fee amount you pay as a student. Some of these include the course of study, level of education (undergraduate/graduate), and whether you are a local or international student. READ ALSO: 15 top universities in the Philippines 2020: List Ateneo de manila courses Are you looking forward to getting Ateneo de Manila admission? Well, the university is made up of numerous departments under different schools. These schools and departments have several courses it offers. Below are the courses offered. School of Humanities The following courses are offered in the school of humanities. Undergraduate courses include; AB Art Management BFA Theater Arts AB Literature (English) BFA Creative Writing AB Humanities AB Panitikang Filipino (Bachelor of Arts in Filipino Literature) BFA Information Design AB Interdisciplinary Studies AB Philosophy Masters courses include; Arts in English Language and Literature Teaching English Language and Literature Teaching Arts in Literary and Cultural Studies Arts in Philosophy Arts in Religious Education Religious Education Theology and Ministry Program Arts in Theological Studies Pastoral Ministry Family Ministry and Counseling Spirituality and Retreat Directing Pastoral Leadership and Management Doctor of Philosophy courses include; Doctor of Philosophy in English Language and Literature Doctor of Ministry Doctor of Philosophy in Theology Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy School of Social Sciences These are the courses offered in this school. Image: facebook.com, @Ateneo de Manila University Source: Facebook Undergraduate course are; AB Chinese Studies AB Economics (Honors) AB Political Science - Masters in Public Management AB Communication AB European Studies AB Psychology AB Development Studies AB History BS Psychology AB Diplomacy and International Relations with Specialization in East and Southeast Asian Studies AB Management Economics AB Sociology AB Economics AB/MA Political Science - Global Politics Masters course include; Arts in Communication Master in Communication Master in Journalism Arts in Economics Master in Economics Arts in Basic Education Teaching Basic Education Teaching Arts in Educational Administration Arts in Guidance and Counseling Arts in Reading Education Educational Administration Guidance and Counseling Information Technology Integration Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language Arts in European Studies, major in Comparative Regional Relations of Asia and Europe European Studies, major in Comparative Regional Relations of Asia and Europe Arts in History Master in History Arts in Japanese Studies Arts in Political Science, major in Global Politics Political Science, major in Global Politics Arts in Counseling Psychology Arts in Developmental Psychology Arts in Organizational Psychology Arts in Social Psychology Counseling Psychology Developmental Psychology Organizational Psychology Social Psychology Applied Sociology and Anthropology Arts in Anthropology Arts in Sociology Science in Social Development Doctor of Philosophy courses are; Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology Doctor of Philosophy in Leadership Studies, major in Organization Development Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology READ ALSO: Raffy Tulfo office: Address, contact number, working hours School of Science and Engineering The courses offered in the School of Science and Engineering are as follows; Image: unsplash.com, @mio6556 Source: UGC BS Biology BS/MS Computer Science BS Mathematics BS Chemistry BS Health Sciences BS Applied Mathematics - Master in Data Science BS Chemistry - BS Materials Science and Engineering BS Life Sciences BS Physics BS Management Information Systems BS Applied Physics - BS Materials Science and Engineering BS Computer Science - BS Digital Game Design and Development BS Computer Engineering BS Management Information Systems - MS Computer Science BS Electronic Engineering BS Environmental Science BS/M Applied Mathematics with Specialization in Mathematical Finance Masters courses are as follows; Master of Science in Biology Master of Science in Science Education Master in Science Education Master of Science in Chemistry Master of Science in Chemistry Education Master in Chemistry Education Master in Chemistry Master of Science in Electronics Engineering Master of Science in Environmental Science Master in Environmental Management Master in Disaster Risk and Resilience Master of Science in Computer Science Master in Information Technology Master of Science in Data Science Master of Science in Innovation through Media Arts Technology Master in Innovation through Media Arts Technology Master of Science in Mathematics Master of Science in Mathematics Education Master in Mathematics Education Master of Science in Physics Master of Science in Atmospheric Science Master in Physics Master in Physics Education Doctor of Philosophy courses include; Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics Education Doctor of Philosophy in Economics Doctor of Philosophy in Physics Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Science Doctor of Philosophy in Biology John Gokongwei School of Management The courses offered here include; Undergraduate courses are; BS Communications Technology Management BS Legal Management BS Management Engineering BS Information Technology Entrepreneurship BS Management BS Management of Applied Chemistry BS Management (Honors) BS Restaurant Entrepreneurship Ateneo de Manila address Ateneo de Manila contact number and address are essential to both current and potential students. More information about Ateneo de Manila application, admissions, and fee can be inquired using the contact information below. Physical address : G/F Kostka Hall, Loyola Schools, Ateneo de Manila University, Loyola Heights, Quezon City, 1108 Philippines : G/F Kostka Hall, Loyola Schools, Ateneo de Manila University, Loyola Heights, Quezon City, 1108 Philippines Telephone numbers : (+632) 8426-6001 loc. 5154 5155 : (+632) 8426-6001 loc. 5154 5155 Direct line : (+632) 8426-6075 : (+632) 8426-6075 Fax number: (+632) 8426-1214 You can also find out more about Ateneo de manila university careers through the contact information above or visit the institution's website. Ateneo de Manila university notable alumni The institution is known for producing quality graduates who have had a positive impact in the Philippines and across the world. Some of the notable names of the institution's graduates are; Benigno Aquino III: The 15th president of the Philippines Jose Rizal: A writer and revolutionary regarded as the greatest national hero of the Philippines Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo: A former president of the Philippines Juan Ponce Enrile: Politician, Jurist, and Lawyer Bam Aquino: Famous politician Ateneo de Manila is one of the best study destinations in the world. The institution receives numerous students each year and has continued to impact the lives of people around the globe academically as well as morally. READ ALSO: Makati Medical Center: contact number, doctors, careers, address Source: KAMI.com.gh I see that a website describes the call of Canarian corys shearwaters as waca waca. Its a mad, hysterical call, uttered when the parent birds arrive to feed their nestlings. They tour overhead, screaming their waca waca while their offspring echo it to tell where they are in the darkness. I wonder if its like the baa of sheep, the distinctive cries of ewes to their darling lambs, and the answering baas of the darlings. From the shores of South Africa or the coasts of South America, the adults fly over thousands of kilometres of open ocean to return to this island of La Gomera in May. Here, they are known as pardelas, and reoccupy traditional nest sites in burrows on inaccessible cliff tops up to 320m above the sea. They have not touched land since leaving the year before. They hatch a single white egg in June. It is after the hatch that the nightly racket begins, loud enough to be heard a kilometre away from their nesting sites. It signals a triumph. They are back again and blessed with family, a single but much valued child. It is an event raucously celebrated every night throughout the rearing. The adults, after the day spent hunting on the local ocean, come in the dark of night to feed their chicks, their days catch of squid or pelagic fish regurgitated into hungry beaks. Feeding at night is a protective measure. Predatory gulls would be only too eager to attack and seize the squabs if they could locate the nests. However, when darkness falls, gulls go to roost and the chicks can be safely visited. Around the cliff wall, adult birds swoop and cry for hours on end, weaving like ghostly shadows. Ive seen them on a moonlit night, and thought it extraordinary that they didnt collide in flight, so wild and madcap they seemed. They are strong birds, but awkward on land, with weak legs. For crossing oceans, as they do, evolution has skilfully equipped them. Their width of their wings is 125cm, twice the length of their bodies. On such wings they can shear the ocean effortlessly, and for months on end. To rest, they alight and swim, for they have webbed feet. When the young are fledged, the parents leave them to fend for themselves and go back to their ocean wandering. Corys shearwaters from La Gomera may next be seen off the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa and later off Las Arenas at the tip of South America. However, they will be back on the cliffs south of Las Vueltas in La Gomera in time for nesting season the following year. Las Vueltas, indeed. Vuelta means the turn around place in Spanish: perhaps it was named for the birds. All of the 30 shearwater species are long-distance migrants. Sooty shearwaters migrate from the Falkland Island in the South Atlantic to the coast of Norway in the North Atlantic, travelling 64,000km each year. Short-tailed shearwaters fly there and back from Tasmania to Alaska annually. Shearwaters are not only well travelled but long lived. The facts are astounding. In 2004, an analysis of a Manx shearwater breeding on Copeland Island, Co Down, concluded that it was 55 years old, the oldest known wild bird in the world. Because the species migrates 10,000km to South America every winter, it would have covered 1,000,000km in its life time on migration alone, never mind flying around Irish waters. The young fledged in Gomera, like those elsewhere, follow the parents north, south, east or west; in the course of four to six years wandering, they may reach the Indian Ocean but will come back to Gomera to nest. Sometimes, however, before they ever get going, these youngsters get themselves into trouble, attracted by the harbour lights and ending in a dangerous crash landing in the village nearby. However, rescue is at hand. Notices are posted in the vicinity of the nesting sites telling the public what to do if they find a downed pardela. The possibility of liftoff, with a dazed head and weak legs, is unlikely, and the first thing for the finder is to take the foundling out of the reach of cats or dogs. There is, then, a rescue service that can be contacted that will care for it and, when it is ready to fly again, relaunch it. The same service exists in Tenerife, Lanzarote and the other islands. A rescued bird can even be taken into custody by the Guardia Civil. Mumbai, Jan 20 : The recent storm of protests across the country against National Population Register (NPR) notwithstanding, the Bharatiya Janata Party government at the Centre had conceived and taken a decision to implement it way back in 2015, more than a year before demonetisation, official sources reveal. The Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance had issued a notification to the effect on July 7, 2015, while amending the Prevention of Money Laundering (Maintenance of Records) Amendment Rules, 2005. The MoF notification had directed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to include NPR as one of the requirements for Know Your Customer norms besides the other existing Officially Valid Documents (OVDs). The other OVDs were further described as: "The passport, the driving licence, proof of possession of Aadhaar number, the Voter's Identity Card issued by the Election Commission of India, job card issued by NREGA duly signed by an officer of the state government, the letter issued by the National Population Register containing details of name, address or any other document as notified by the Central Government in consultation with the Regulator". It said that the OVD would recognise a name change after its issuance provided it was supported by a marriage certificate issued by the state governments or a gazette notification indicating such a change of name. At that time, the late Arun Jaitley was the Union Finance Minister while Nirmala Sitharaman and Jayant Sinha were the two Ministers of State, but the issue has come to the fore in a big way only in the second tenure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government. Due to reasons not clear, it was only after nearly three years that the RBI included NPR in its KYC MD from April 2018 and in all successive MDs updated later, said the sources. The issue had recently triggered panic among people as the NPR was announced by the RBI in its KYC Master Direction (MD) of January 9, 2020, months after it permitted a 'video-based Customer Identification process for verification'. Adding to the confusion, the public-sector Central Bank of India (CBI) had issued an advertisement in a Hyderabad language daily including the NPR as the new OVD for opening bank accounts, applying for credit cards, and other banking formalities. "This has been done as per the RBI's MD on KYC. We are merely following RBI' orders. It is one of the OVDs, and not mandatory as speculated in some quarters," CBI Managing Director Pallav Mohapatra told IANS. Trade Unions Joint Action Committee (TUJAC) Maharashtra Convenor and banking expert Vishwas Utagi termed the development as "a systematic hoodwinking of the people and the parliamentarians by the BJP government". "Such an important issue like NPR should have been discussed and announced separately and not included in a document pertaining to an amendment to some other existing laws. By this surreptitious strategy, the BJP has further raised suspicions on its real motives and intentions about the NPR, Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register for Citizens," Utagi told IANS. RBI officials have already said that the NPR will be one of the OVDs required for KYC norms, but it (NPR) is not mandatory and even other documents are all at an equal footing. Besides, the KYC documents are reviewed every few years depending on the risk categorisation of the customers, based on the FATFs Risk-Based Approach. "So, normally, if a re-KYC is not done due to the customers' non-cooperative approach, banks can put a temporary debit freeze, making the account technically 'non-KYC compliant' till the customers cooperate," RBI sources told IANS, preferring anonymity. EVFTA makes Vietnam more attractive to EU investors: German media Updated: 10:19 - 20/01/2020 Illustrative photo__Photo: VNA Foreign investors, especially those from the European Union (EU) would find it more appealing to land investment in Vietnam when the EU- Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) takes effect, according to German broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW).In a story posted on its website, DW said the trade agreement would be the most ambitious the EU has ever negotiated with a developing country, which abolishes 99 percent of customs duties, eliminates bureaucratic hurdles by aligning standards for goods like cars and medicine, and ensures easier market access for both European and Vietnamese companies.On January 21, the EU Parliaments International Trade Committee (INTA) will present a draft resolution of the EVFTA. If the European Parliament accepts the resolution during its plenary session in February, the EVFTA will come into force one month later.The trade deal is a positive step for the economies of both Vietnam and the EU, DW quoted Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Nguyen Minh Vu as saying.In the context of trade tensions and rising protectionism, the EVFTA provides a strong signal of support from both sides for globalization and unwavering commitments to a free and rules-based trade system, he said.The Vietnamese diplomat also believed that the pact will significantly deepen the strategic partnership between Vietnam and EU economically and politically.Vietnams economy has grown by an average 6.5 percent in the last five years, and foreign direct investment has played a large part in this. The EVFTA is expected to serve as a boon for Vietnam to lure more foreign investment in the time ahead.Currently, the EU is Vietnams 5biggest foreign investors. It is reasonable to hope that the figure will increase significantly, Ambassador Vu said, adding 62 percent of investors from the EU have a positive opinion of doing business in the Southeast Asian country.Meanwhile, Erwin Schweisshelm, former head of the Friedrich-Ebert Foundation in Vietnam said that the EVFTA is part of the EUs wider economic strategy in Southeast Asia. The EVFTA would be the EU's second free trade agreement with a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a bloc with ten members and a population of 600 million people. In November 2019, the EU-Singapore free trade agreement entered into force.In long term, there could be an ASEAN-EU agreement, he said.The article also said that Vietnam has already ratified six of eight International Labor Organization (ILO) standards, and commended the countrys adoption of revised Labor Code in November 2019 , allowing the creation of independent trade unions at the enterprise level that do not have to join the Vietnam trade union.- Mitch McConnell still haven't announced the rules for the Senate impeachment trial by Monday just one day before the proceedings are set to commence. The Senate majority leader has refused to share details of the resolution he will seek to pass Tuesday that will set the rules of the upper chamber's trial, but Republican Senator David Perdue revealed a plan Sunday that McConnell is considering. 'Twenty-four hours of presentation by the House managers over two days, then 24 hours of presentation by the president's team over two days and then 16 hours of questions submitted by the members in writing to the chief justice,' Perdue, a senator from Georgia, said in an interview with NBC News Sunday morning. 'That's our proposal,' he added. An aide working on the impeachment trial said the proceedings are expected to start at 1:00 p.m. each day, The New York Times reported, meaning if lawmakers go for 12 hours each day the arguments could span through the early hours of the next morning. Senate Republicans have still not set the rules for the impeachment trial a day before the proceedings are set to commence. An aide said one suggested plan would be to give the prosecution and defense both two days, and a total of 24 hours, to present opening arguments Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said this abbreviated approach would contribute to McConnell trying to engage in a 'cover-up' McConnell announced Wednesday that the trial would commence Tuesday after Congress observed Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday. The seven Democratic impeachment managers, announced Wednesday morning, hand-delivered the articles of impeachment to the Senate side that evening after the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi singed them. Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, who headed the impeachment inquiry in the House, is the lead impeachment manager. The rest of the prosecution team includes Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler, and Representatives Hakeem Jeffries, Zoe Lofgren, Val Demings, Sylvia Garcia and Jason Crow. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer lashed out at McConnell and his proposal during a press conference Sunday night. 'Whether it's because McConnell knows the trial is a cover-up and wants to whip through it as quickly as possible, or because he's afraid even more evidence will come out, he's trying to rush it through,' Schumer, a Democratic senator from New York, said. Donald Trump's team announced this weekend that attorneys Alan Dershowitz (left) and Ken Starr (right) will present the defense's opening arguments 'That is wrong. And it is so wrong that no one even knows what his plan is a day and a half before one of the most momentous decisions any senator will ever make,' he continued. 'He's afraid of what the American people might hear,' Schumer said of his Republican counterpart. The seven impeachment prosecutors met Sunday to strategize for the opening arguments, congressional aides working on the trial told The Times. The Republican-controlled chamber has not said yet if it will allow witnesses to be called in the trial but McConnell said that would be decided after opening arguments are delivered. 'It's not negotiable whether you have witnesses,' Nadler said Sunday in an interview with CBS News' Face the Nation. 'And this whole controversy about whether there should be witnesses is really a question of, does the Senate want to have a fair trial, or are they part of the cover-up of the president?' he continued. McConnell and other Republicans have warned Democrats that if witnesses are permitted in the trail, the GOP would call individuals like former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden. Trump has also said he wants to hear the still-anonymous whistle-blower, whose report sparked the events that lead to the impeachment inquiry. Donald Trump's team announced over the weekend that attorneys Alan Dershowitz and Ken Starr will argue that the two articles abuse of power and obstruction of Congress are not impeachable offenses, according to the Constitution. The companies will leverage their global relationships and capabilities to deliver high-impact geospatial intelligence solutions Herndon, Virginia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 20, 2020) - HawkEye 360 Inc., the first commercial company to use formation flying satellites to create a new class of radio frequency (RF) data and analytics, today announced that it has formed a strategic partnership with Airbus, a global leader in the aerospace and defense industry. Through the partnership, Airbus and HawkEye 360 will deliver high-impact geospatial intelligence solutions not currently available. Both companies can leverage the platforms and services of the other partner to address client mission needs. Companies will leverage RF signal data and satellite imagery capabilities to created fused geospatial intelligence solutions. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6072/51645_he360.jpg "Airbus is an exceptional partner and investor as we develop and deliver our vision for the future of space-based RF data and analytics," said John Serafini, Chief Executive Officer, HawkEye 360. "Together with Airbus, we will be able to build sophisticated products and services that intelligently leverage a more comprehensive range of data than previously commercially available." This partnership enables HawkEye 360 and Airbus to fuse complementary data sets to maximize value to customers. Airbus will distribute HawkEye 360's RF data and analytics across Europe to augment its maritime, defense, and intelligence products. HawkEye 360 will offer Airbus' earth observation optical and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) products jointly with its RF solutions to serve defense and intelligence customers. "HawkEye 360 is a pioneer in space-based RF data and analytics and an ideal partner in our mission to improve global situational awareness for our defense, security, and civil customers," said Francois Lombard, Director of the Intelligence Business for Airbus Defence and Space. "I look forward to deploying these innovations to serve the growing needs of our customers." "The world's first EO, SAR, and RF commercial constellation offers unique capabilities, such as a tip-and-cueing Multi-INT system for unprecedented global situational awareness," said Alex Fox, EVP of Business Development, Sales and Marketing, HawkEye 360. "Integrating these analytics will provide customers valuable insights to execute more informed decisions. We are excited about the business opportunities this unique relationship will bring for both Airbus and HawkEye 360." Airbus was among the investors who participated in HawkEye 360's $70 million Series B funding in August 2019. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) provided approval for Airbus to close its investment transaction Jan. 8. The Series B funding enables HawkEye 360 to build and launch the full commercial satellite constellation and develop a full line of RF analytic products. More information about HawkEye 360 can be found at www.he360.com. About HawkEye 360 HawkEye 360 is a Radio Frequency (RF) data analytics company. We operate a first-of-its-kind commercial satellite constellation to identify and geolocate a broad set of RF signals. We extract value from this unique data through proprietary algorithms, fusing it with other sources to create powerful analytical products that solve hard challenges for our global customers. Our products include maritime domain awareness and spectrum mapping and monitoring; our customers include a wide range of commercial, government and international entities. About Airbus Airbus is a global leader in aeronautics, space and related services. In 2018, it generated revenues of 64 billion and employed a workforce of around 134,000. Airbus offers the most comprehensive range of passenger airliners. Airbus is also a European leader providing tanker, combat, transport and mission aircraft, as well as one of the world's leading space companies. In helicopters, Airbus provides the most efficient civil and military rotorcraft solutions worldwide. Media Contacts Adam Bennett Product Marketing Director adam@he360.com +1 (571) 203-0360 Fabienne Grazzini Media Manager fabienne.grazzini@airbus.com +33 5 62 19 41 19 Related Images hawkeye-360-and-airbus-form.jpg HawkEye 360 and Airbus Form Strategic Partnership Companies will leverage RF signal data and satellite imagery capabilities to created fused geospatial intelligence solutions. Related Links http://he360.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/51645 Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Arya Dipa (The Jakarta Post) Bandung Mon, January 20, 2020 After being forced to spend four nights on a sidewalk, dozens of visually impaired students were allowed to return to their dormitory at the Wyata Guna Social Rehabilitation Center for the Blind (BRSPDSN) in Bandung, West Java, over the weekend. An agreement for their return was reached on Saturday following negotiations taking place a day earlier between representatives of the students as well as the Social Affairs Ministry. Among those who were involved were the ministrys social services and rehabilitation directorate general secretary, Idit Supriadi, and Wyata Guna head Sudarsono. 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 Dileep V Kumar By Express News Service THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The health department is planning a No Nipah campaign against the backdrop of a possible Nipah (NiV) outbreak in the state annually. A mock drill at major hospitals, including those in the private sector, is also part of the campaign meant to enhance the readiness in checking spread of the virus before a large outbreak occurs. It is too premature to say NiV is an annual outbreak in the state. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) data, NiV incidence was first established in India and Bangladesh in 2001. Since then, nearly annual outbreaks have occurred in Bangladesh. The disease has also been identified periodically in eastern India. This calls for cautiousness, said a health department officer. Sources said the campaign will help hospitals and health staff to stop the outbreak, treat infections, provide essential services and prevent further outbreaks. Besides, it will ensure basic steps to prevent infections. Moreover, there will be an assessment of Nipah awareness and training imparted to health workers for adopting appropriate methods in treating the infection. Additionally, principal secretary (Health) Rajan Khobragade had on Thursday convened a video conference of Medical College doctors to brief them on the campaign. And the doctors were asked to devise an action plan for conducting the mock drill, it is learnt. Health Minister KK Shailaja, who had informed the assembly of the proposed plan in November, stated that the campaign will help the health machinery fight the deadly virus. The first confirmed outbreak of NiV in Kerala was in 2018 and it claimed 17 lives. Medvedev Says He's Hanging On To United Russia Party Chairmanship January 19, 2020 Russian ex-Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on January 19 that he will continue to chair the ruling United Russia party, which has worked in close concert with President Vladimir Putin to dominate the country's political scene for two decades. Medvedev resigned along with his government after Putin used his annual state-of-the-nation speech on January 15 to call for a referendum on substantial constitutional amendments that he said would strengthen parliament's powers. Russian news agencies later said Putin planned to create the position of deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia, which is formally headed by Putin, and that the post would be offered to Medvedev. "If we speak about a particular new job, this position does not run counter to being engaged in political activity, including in activity related to leading the party. I remain chairman of the United Russia party," Medvedev told Rossia 1 TV on January 19, according to TASS. Medvedev served as head of state during what critics described as a sort of interregnum in 2008-12 between Putin's second and third presidential terms to keep in line with a constitutional term limit. The announcement that he would not seek reelection but instead return to the prime minister's job to allow a third term for Putin set off massive protests that sparked a brutal crackdown on dissent. Lawmakers in the State Duma, where United Russia holds a super-majority of around three-quarters of the 450 seats, overwhelmingly approved Putin's choice for new prime minister, the little-known tax chief Mikhail Mishustin, on January 16. Some observers suspect that Putin's surprise constitutional shakeup could help keep the 67-year-old former KGB officer in power beyond the end of his fourth presidential term in 2024. Based on reporting by TASS Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/medvedev-united-russia- party-chairmanship/30385586.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 Okay, first of all, what a complete waste of liquid gold, aka precious breastmilk. While it sometimes is inevitable for pumping mums to travel with frozen breast milk, a woman might have unintentionally caused herself some trouble at the airport customs. In a Chinese womans effort to transport frozen breastmilk for her baby from Singapore to Quanzhou, she risked having 23kg worth of milk confiscated at the Chinese customs of Quanzhou Jinjiang International Airport in Fujian province, according to reports from Quanzhou Evening News. She was unable to explain the source of the breastmilk discovered in her luggage, according to the same report. 89 insulated plastic bags, labelled with dates and times, were used to store the breastmilk according to the South China Morning Post. Unfortunately for the woman, the bags of breastmilk were destroyed by the officers as she did not get quarantine approval in advance. Travel With Frozen Breast Milk It is mandatory to get a quarantine approval in advance in order to travel with frozen breast milk. | Photo: Handout After being taken in for questioning, the lady was let go off to continue on with her journey. The unidentified woman arrived in Quanzhou on flight MU238 from Singapore on 10 January 2020, last Friday. It is a mandatory practice for all milk and its by-products, other than infant formula, to be approved prior to transportation into China by refrigerated transport. Expressed breast milk stored and frozen. | Photo: istock While such cases are not the first seen in the province according to local authorities, the amount of frozen breast milk confiscated this time was the most they had come across in recent years. Source: SCMP, Quanzhou Evening News Get daily updates about our top stories when you follow us on Telegram at https://t.me/theAsianparentSG. Also READ: 3-year-old Malay Boy With 142 IQ Score Becomes Mensa UKs Youngest Member Cecilia Cheung, Actress, Tries To Fly Back To HK Every Night To Wish Sons Goodnight The post 23kg Of Frozen Breast Milk Seized By Chinese Customs From Woman Returning From Singapore appeared first on theAsianparent - Your Guide to Pregnancy, Baby & Raising Kids. Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images Lawyers acting on behalf of Donald Trump on Monday branded the impeachment case against him flimsy and a dangerous perversion of the constitution, setting the stage for the opening of his long-awaited Senate trial on Tuesday. As the president prepared to jet off to Davos, where he is set to give a keynote speech at the World Economic Forum on Tuesday, the White House submitted its formal trial defence brief, a 110-page document in which it also claimed the impeachment process has been a charade and insisted Trump did absolutely nothing wrong in his dealings with Ukraine. Related: What are the articles of impeachment against Donald Trump? The brief submitted as a counter to a document filed by the House Democrats on Saturday presented the most thorough outline to date of the lines of defence that Trumps lawyers plan to use against the case to remove the president at his congressional trial, scheduled to begin in the US Senate on Tuesday. The articles of impeachment now before the Senate are an affront to the constitution and to our democratic institutions, his legal team wrote, adding: The articles themselves and the rigged process that brought them here are a brazenly political act by House Democrats that must be rejected. They debase the grave power of impeachment and disdain the solemn responsibility that power entails. Trump and his legal team urge a swift resolution to the trial, concluding with Trumps decisive acquittal on a vote by the Republicans who dominate the Senate. Mondays brief added: The process that brought the articles here violated every precedent and every principle of fairness followed in impeachment inquiries for more than 150 years. Even so, all that House Democrats have succeeded in proving is that the president did absolutely nothing wrong. (April 1, 2019) Through his personal emissary, Rudy Giuliani, Trump applies pressure on Ukraine to announce investigations tied to Joe Biden and his son Hunter. The Ukrainian president-elect, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, meets with subordinates to discuss how to stay out of it. Story continues (July 3, 2019) Lt Col Alexander Vindman, top adviser on Ukraine on the National Security Council, is made aware of the suspension of military aid for Ukraine. (July 10, 2019) Trump emissaries at the White House ask top Ukrainian officials to investigate Biden, shocking US national security officials. According to multiple accounts, after EU ambassador Gordon Sondland makes the Biden ask, then national security adviser John Bolton abruptly terminates the meeting, later calling it a drug deal. The Office of Management and Budget later informs the Pentagon and state department that Trump has suspended $391m in military aid for Ukraine. (July 25, 2019) Trump speaks on the phone with Zelenskiy, reminding him that the United States has been very, very good to Ukraine and then asking for a favor. Trump wants Ukraine to announce investigations designed to make Joe Biden look bad and to cast doubt on Russian tampering in the 2016 US election. (August 12, 2019) A whistleblower complaint against Trump is secretly filed to the inspector general of the intelligence community. For six weeks, the Trump administration will block Congress from obtaining the complaint. (September 1, 2019) Bilateral meetings in Warsaw, Poland. In testimony, Sondland says, I now recall speaking individually with [Zelenskiy aide Andriy] Yermak, where I said that resumption of US aid would likely not occur until Ukraine provided the public anti-corruption statement that we had been discussing for many weeks. (September 24, 2019) Nancy Pelosi announces a formal impeachment inquiry, accusing Trump of a betrayal of his oath of office, a betrayal of our national security and betrayal of the integrity of our elections. The following day, the White House releases a partial transcript of the 25 July call, hours before Trumps first face-to-face meeting with Zelenskiy at the United Nations. (September 26, 2019) The whistleblower complaint is released. Citing more than half-a-dozen US officials, it presents an accurate version of the Trump-Zelenskiy call and alleges that the White House tried to cover up the call. (October 8, 2019) The White House releases a letter refusing to cooperate with the impeachment inquiry, and accusing Democrats of trying to reverse the result of the 2016 election. (November 3, 2019) The House votes on a resolution laying out a process to move impeachment from closed-door depositions to open hearings. (November 5, 2019) The impeachment committees begin releasing testimony transcripts. The overlapping testimonies tell the same story, of demands by US officials of Ukraine steadily ratcheting up between May and September, from a demand to investigate corruption to a demand that President Zelenskiy to go to a microphone and say investigations, Biden, and Clinton. (November 13, 2019) Public impeachment hearings begin with the testimony of ambassador Bill Taylor and deputy assistant secretary of state George P Kent. Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch follows on 15 November. (December 7, 2019) The House judiciary committee releases a report on the constitutional grounds for impeachment on Saturday. Shortly after that, Donald Trump once again insists the whole thing is a witch-hunt and a total hoax (December 10, 2019) Democrats unveil articles of impeachment against Trump, concerning abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. (December 13, 2019) A day after the House judiciary committee abruptly postponed a historic vote to advance articles of impeachment following a 14-hour meeting that devolved into a rancorous, deeply partisan debate that stretched late into the night, it reconvenes and votes to move the two articles to the House floor. (December 18, 2019) The House of Representatives prepares to approve articles of impeachment against a president for only the third time. (January 16, 2020) Trump's impeachment trial formally starts, as the US Government Accountability Office finds suspension of military aid at the presidents direction violated the law. Tom McCarthy and Martin Belam The Democrats case centres around a 25 July phone call between Trump and the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in which Trump asked his counterpart to do him a favour and investigate both a conspiracy theory concerning election interference and ties between the former vice-president Joe Biden and his son Hunter and the eastern European country. Mondays brief stated that the two articles do not amount to impeachable offenses and that the inquiry was not aimed at looking for the truth. Instead, House Democrats were determined from the outset to find some way any way to corrupt the extraordinary power of impeachment for use as a political tool to overturn the result of the 2016 election and to interfere in the 2020 election, wrote Trumps legal team. All of that is a dangerous perversion of the constitution that the Senate should swiftly and roundly condemn. They also claimed that the articles of impeachment are structurally deficient because they charge multiple acts and accused Democrats of watering down the grounds for impeachment. It comes after the House impeachment managers, who will act as prosecutors in Trumps trial, released their own legal brief on Saturday in a 111-page document. In a joint statement, the House managers, Adam Schiff, Jerry Nadler, Zoe Lofgren, Hakeem Jeffries, Val Demings, Jason Crow and Sylvia Garcia, said the case against Trump is simple, the facts are indisputable and the evidence is overwhelming: President Trump abused the power of his office to solicit foreign interference in our elections for his own personal political gain, thereby jeopardizing our national security, the integrity of our elections and our democracy. They added: And when the president got caught, he tried to cover it up by obstructing the Houses investigation into his misconduct. Trumps legal team issued an initial response on Saturday that claimed the impeachment articles are constitutionally invalid and a brazen and unlawful attempt to overturn the results of the 2016 election and interfere with the 2020 election now just months away. The House of Representatives now has until midday Tuesday to respond to Trumps defense an hour before the start of the impeachment trial, scheduled for 1pm. Senators, who will act as the jury, will then sit six days a week, Monday to Saturday, between 1pm and 5 or 6pm ET. With a Republican-controlled Senate and a two-thirds majority needed to convict on either of the two articles abuse of power and obstruction of Congress it appears highly unlikely that Trump will be removed. However, Democrats only need four Republicans to form a majority to win votes over rules and witnesses. Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, said on Sunday that he wants to hold a vote on Tuesday on whether witnesses and additional evidence will be allowed to be brought before the trial if the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, does not include them in his proposal. On Monday morning Trump appeared to tweet in response, saying: They didnt want John Bolton and others in the House. They were in too much of a rush. Now they want them all in the Senate. Not supposed to be that way! He added: Cryin Chuck Schumer is now asking for fairness, when he and the Democrat House members worked together to make sure I got ZERO fairness in the House. So, what else is new? The White House document advises the Senate to speedily reject these deficient articles of impeachment and acquit the president. New Delhi, Jan 20 : A video showing the District Collector Nidhi Nivedita slapping an unruly protester and Deputy Collector Priya Verma indulging in a street fight is doing the rounds on the Internet. The clip showed a man pulling Priya Verma by her hair after she slapped her during a melee amid heavy police presence. Hashtag #Terminate_Priya_Verma and #I_support_PriyaVerma is trending on twitter as Netizens were divided on social media, with some supporting and others against the official. A user accusing the female official Priya Verma tweeted, "We demand #Terminate_priya_verma from her services as such officers are dangerous for our integrity & sovereignty." Another wrote, "She should join Congress party and given award for chamchagiri of party. Shame on such DM..." A post read, "Being an administrative post, DC has no right to beat the protestors. To maintain law and order is the duty of the police. But here Ms #PriyaVerma has herself started beating protestors and all for chanting 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai'." "What an utter shameful and unprofessional way of tackling the situation. Unnecessary sheroism" read one post. However, other twitter users came out in support of the Rajgarh Deputy Collector Priya Verma and wrote, "If this was done by #AntiCAA_NRC_NPR protesters in #UP then the Sanghi police could have shot them. Salute to Priya Verma. #WeSupportPriyaVerma." A Tweeple remarked, "Shame On BJP & RSS workers for misbehaving with Deputy Collector #PriyaVerma In #IndiaSupportCAA Rally In #Rajgarh In #MadhyaPradesh. Today, the officer won the heart." "BJP activists pulled hair of Rajgarh Deputy Collector Priya Verma. The BJP took out a pro-CAA rally without permission and Dy Collector tried to stop them and sanghi goons attacked her," wrote another. Credit: RUDN University RUDN University physicians have proposed a method for diagnosing the dangerous heart disease AL-amyloid cardiopathy. Until now, doctors could detect it only in the later stages, when treatment is not possible. The results of the study provide effective diagnosis of AL-amyloidosis at an early stage. The results are published in Amyloid. With amyloidosis, protein metabolism is disrupted in the body and amyloid is intensively deposited between cells in organs and tissues. Deposits of amyloid in the muscle membrane of the heart compress blood vessels or are deposited directly in the walls of blood vessels. The most common form of amyloidosis is light-chain amyloidosis (AL-amyloidosis). It is difficult to diagnose the disease in the early stages since there are no symptoms characteristic only for amyloidosis. Its manifestations are often mistaken for ischemic disease or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. External signs of the disease appear only in the later stages, when the pathological process has gone far enough, and the probability of death is high. RUDN University physicians proved that AL-amyloidosis can also indicate chronic kidney disease. Vilen Rameev and Ayten Safarova from RUDN University conducted a study involving 55 patients (33 men and 22 women) who were diagnosed with AL-amyloidosis. The patients were assessed for 44 months using electrocardiography, standard echocardiography and blood tests for the protein NTproBNP, a high concentration of which indicates cardiac decompensation. The tests showed whether the disease was progressing. At the same time, the patients' kidney function was studied as doctors measured the concentration of protein in the urine, the symptoms of nephrotic syndrome and other indicators. Patients were divided into two groups: the first group (24 people) had a stable course of the disease and the second group (31 people) had progressive amyloidosis and prognosis of death. When comparing the results, doctors took into account that patients in the second group had a higher baseline level of NTproBNP protein in the blood. The results showed that in patients with chronic renal insufficiency (stages 3 to 5), the heart condition worsened over time. However, in patients with preserved renal function (stages 1 to 2 of chronic renal insufficiency), the level of NTproBNP in the blood, ECG and echocardiography along with standard results decreased, that is, in patients with normal or almost normal renal function, amyloidosis did not progress. The results will allow researchers to develop methods for the diagnosis of AL-amyloidosis in the early stages of the disease with the help of parallel testing of the kidneys. The ability to distinguish AL-amyloidosis from other heart diseases is important for the timely treatment order and the prevention of death with a greater probability. Explore further Renal infarction is associated with acute kidney injury in patients with cardiac amyloidosis More information: Anna Rameeva et al. The critical role of chronic kidney disease in the progression of AL-amyloid cardiopathy, Amyloid (2019). Anna Rameeva et al. The critical role of chronic kidney disease in the progression of AL-amyloid cardiopathy,(2019). DOI: 10.1080/13506129.2019.1583188 Palace officials were last night forced to admit they had made a blunder by announcing Meghan would take the title of a divorced woman. After confirming that she and Harry will give up their HRH His and Her Royal Highness titles, aides said the couple would instead be known as Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. But as Harry boarded a flight to Canada last night to start his new life with Meghan and baby Archie, palace officials at home were scrambling to confirm the couple's correct titles after admitting they had got them wrong. Typically only the divorced wives or widows of hereditary peers are referred to by their Christian name, followed by a comma, then their title as in the case of Diana, Princess of Wales and Sarah, Duchess of York. Palace officials were last night forced to admit they had made a blunder by announcing Meghan would take the title of a divorced woman This is to distinguish them from the current holder of the same title. After this was pointed out by the Mail, royal officials yesterday confirmed the information had been given out in error by the Press Office and that the couple's new titles would be reported in due course. It is likely they will simply revert to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, without the HRH. The blunder came as the Duchess of Cornwall, Harry's step-mother, commented on the saga for the first time. It is likely they will simply revert to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, without the HRH Asked if she would miss Harry and Meghan during an official visit yesterday, she smiled and said: 'Course'. And yesterday Harry had a private 15-20 minute meeting with Prime Minister Boris Johnson, but aides declined to say what was discussed. Harry, who is still sixth in line to the throne, flew to Vancouver last night where he will be reunited with eight-month-old Archie after more than two weeks apart. It comes after the prince told on Monday night of his disappointment at not being able to continue performing duties on behalf of his grandmother. He said: 'What I want to make clear is we're not walking away, and we certainly aren't walking away from you. 'Our hope was to continue serving the Queen, the Commonwealth, and my military associations, but without public funding. Unfortunately, that wasn't possible. 'I've accepted this, knowing that it doesn't change who I am or how committed I am. But I hope that helps you understand what it had to come to, that I would step my family back from all I have ever known, to take a step forward into what I hope can be a more peaceful life.' Typically only the divorced wives or widows of hereditary peers are referred to by their Christian name, followed by a comma, then their title Although there was no official confirmation from Buckingham Palace, the BBC reported Harry had been seen boarding a flight at Heathrow. Before the flight, he was uncharacteristically relegated to a 'walk-on' role at the high-profile UK-Africa Investment Summit in London as his brother and sister-in-law, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, held a glittering reception at Buckingham Palace. It was a sign of his new rank in the royal hierarchy. Harry boarded a flight to Canada last night to start his new life with Meghan and baby Archie Harry and Meghan would have been expected to attend but William and Kate were joined by the Earl and Countess of Wessex and Princess Anne, in what has been described as the 'new royal order' those who will support the Queen from now on. Harry's 'walk-on' appearance came as sources told the Mail that the prince, who looked tired and worn out at the event, is determined to prove wrong those who say his plan to earn a living commercially is incompatible with his position. Royal aides are concerned the couple's desire to exploit their commercial earning potential could embarrass the monarchy, but have agreed to let them give it a go, with a review in a year's time. One source said: 'Harry and Meghan just wanted more flexibility in their lives. They felt constrained by the institution and their place in the hierarchy. They were wheeled out when they were needed, otherwise their wings were clipped. 'Now it is up to them to prove that this new model can be successful. Harry wants to be able to go back to the Queen in a year's time and say: 'Granny, this can work'.' The UK-Africa Investment Summit brought together heads of state and government and senior representatives from African countries, agencies and businesses to promote investment across Africa. But although Harry met the prime minister of Morocco and the presidents of Malawi and Mozambique, his was very much a bit-part role. A student earned a distinction in her masters degree while beating cancer for the second time. Michelle Fredman, 26, will graduate in international journalism at City university tomorrow after using the experience of fighting the disease to inspire her studies. I refused to let the cancer define me, she said. I refused to let it affect my life at university. I had worked too hard to let it control me. I used my masters as my motivation, as a reason to fight my way out of bed in the morning. Ms Fredman was born in South Africa and grew up in London until she was 10. In December 2015, when she was 22 and studying for an undergraduate degree in Cape Town, she was diagnosed with stage two Hodgkin lymphoma. The aggressive blood cancer, which affects the immune system and the ability of the body to fight disease, is rare but more commonly found in young people. She went into remission in August 2016 but the cancer returned in October 2018, a month after she arrived at City. She knew it had come back when she began to lose weight, constantly felt tired and struggled with her breathing. Michelle Fredman The second time felt worse, she said. I was more scared than before. I should have been feeling invincible at this stage of my life, but instead I was terrified. I thought: If I have cancer, I may as well make it useful for something. I wrote my dissertation on going through cancer in your twenties how cancer can affect you sexually, about hair loss and femininity, and survivors who motivated me. I would wear a backpack with tubes going into my arm pumping chemotherapy throughout my body. I wore it for 24 hours a day every five days. When the treatment had finished, I would usually be heading to the library or lectures ... or out to Shoreditch. Ms Fredmans own stem cells were too damaged from her previous treatment to be rebooted by immunotherapy, meaning a donor had to be found. She was cured by a stem cell transplant from her older sister, Nicole, who flew from Australia to London last summer. She also had to contend with the death of her mother from dementia in May 2018. She wrote a cancer column and blogged about her experiences. I want to stay in London and become a journalist, Ms Fredman said. I want to be an optimistic voice, covering stories that have positive influences. It feels amazing to be graduating. Skeena Welcomes New Director&Announces AGM Results Posted by Publisher Internet Skeena Resources Limited (TSX.V: SKE, OTCQX: SKREF) (?Skeena? or the ?Company? -? https://www.commodity-tv.com/play/skeena-resources-exploration-and-development-of-historic-gold-mine-deal-with-barrick/ ) is pleased to announce the results of the Company?s Annual General meeting of Shareholders (?AGM?) held in Vancouver, British Columbia on January 10, 2020 including the appointment of Suki Gill to the Board of Directors of the Company as an independent director. Ms. Gill currently serves as a partner at Smythe LLP. She is a Chartered Professional Accountant with 19 years of experience and specializes in providing assurance services to publicly traded companies operating in the resource industry, as well as private companies across a number of industries in both Canada and the United States. Ms. Gill is on the board of directors for Provincial Health Services Authority and British Columbia Emergency Health Services. Shareholders approved all motions put forth at the AGM including the appointment of Grant Thornton?LLP as the Company\-\-s independent auditor, and the annual confirmation of the Company\-\-s Stock Option Plan. The shareholders re-elected Walter Coles, Craig Parry, Borden R. Putnam III and Isac Burstein to the Company\-\-s Board of Directors. Skeena would like to thank the outgoing board member, Don Siemens, for his time spent with the Company. The Company also reports that the Board of Directors granted 2,940,000 incentive stock options to directors, officers, employees and consultants of the Company, subject to TSX Venture Exchange acceptance. The options will have a term of 5 years, expiring on January 17, 2025. All of the options will vest over a 24-month period with one third of the options vesting immediately, one third after 12 months and one third after 24 months. Each option will allow the holder to purchase one common share in the Company at a price of C$1.04. Any shares issued on the exercise of these stock options will be subject to a four month hold period from the date of grant. In addition, subject to regulatory approval, the Company announces that it has approved the reservation of 192,308 common shares in the capital of the Company in order to satisfy the payment of incentive compensation declared by the Board of Directors as payable to certain officers and employees of the Company (the ?Incentive Shares?), subject to vesting.? In order to help retain and motivate key members of management, these Incentive Shares will not be issued unless or until they vest on January 17, 2022, or in the event of a change of control of the Company if sooner. The Incentive Shares are currently valued at $200,000, but it is expected that they will have a different value upon the eventual vesting and issuance to the key members of management, if the vesting conditions are satisfied. About Skeena Skeena Resources Limited is a junior Canadian mining exploration company focused on developing prospective precious and base metal properties in the Golden Triangle of northwest British Columbia, Canada. The Company?s primary activities are the exploration and development of the past-producing Snip mine and the Eskay Creek mine. In addition, the Company has completed a Preliminary Economic Assessment on the GJ copper-gold porphyry project. Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements Certain statements made and information contained herein may constitute ?forward looking information? and ?forward looking statements? within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation. These statements and information are based on facts currently available to the Company and there is no assurance that actual results will meet management?s expectations.? Forward-looking statements and information may be identified by such terms as ?anticipates?, ?believes?, ?targets?, ?estimates?, ?plans?, ?expects?, ?may?, ?will?, ?could? or ?would?.? Forward-looking statements and information contained herein are based on certain factors and assumptions regarding, among other things, the estimation of mineral resources and reserves, the realization of resource and reserve estimates, metal prices, taxation, the estimation, timing and amount of future exploration and development, capital and operating costs, the availability of financing, the receipt of regulatory approvals, environmental risks, title disputes and other matters.? While the Company considers its assumptions to be reasonable as of the date hereof, forward-looking statements and information are not guarantees of future performance and readers should not place undue importance on such statements as actual events and results may differ materially from those described herein. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements or information except as may be required by applicable securities laws. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Syracuse Studios, the film studio and trade-school that services American High and other productions in Liverpool, N.Y., has named a new president. Syracuse native and Minoa resident Molle DeBartolo will take over as president of Syracuse Studios, according to a press release. After graduating from Ithaca College in 2007, Bartolo began her film career in New York City, where she was involved in the post work flow for the first film shot on ARRI Alexa and the first 4k digital intermediate at NYC Deluxe. According to IMDb, DeBartolo quickly racked up dozens of film and television credits as a senior digital intermediate producer and account executive on titles like Magic Mike XXL," A Most Violent Year," Hope Springs and Showtimes Billions. She returned to Central New York in 2015, working with American High and Syracuse Studios to build the entire post workflow for Syracuse Studios and serving as both Post Production Supervisor and UPM on several Syracuse-based films. Going forward, DeBartolo says shes looking forward to expanding Syracuse Studios and attracting exponentially more films to the region. Nine movies were shot in the Syracuse area last year, including American Highs The Binge (starring Vince Vaughn) and other productions like The Night House" (starring Rebecca Hall), which will premiere at the Sundance film festival this month. Jeremy Garelick will continue to run the production company American High, which recently shot The Ultimate Playlist of Noise, its seventh movie in two years at Syracuse Studios and the surrounding area. Garelick was previously among the leaders at Syracuse Studios when it opened in 2017, but producer Will Phelps says electing DeBartolo as a president will help the studio and school grow even more. This is our first step toward making it a stand alone company that can expand and service more than just one film at a time, Phelps said. Molle is a genius and has big plans to make Syracuse Studios a company that can attract films from all over the world. Edit: An earlier version of this story said Confession would be the first movie of 2020 to use Syracuse Studios. The film is shooting in the Syracuse area, but a producer says they are not using the studio. * * * * * 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. Vietnamese communities all over the world held separate gatherings on January 18 to celebrate the Tet (Lunar New Year), which falls on January 25. A music performance staged in the Tet celebration of Vietnamese community in Ufa city of the Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia on January 18. In Russia, theConsulate General of Vietnam in Ekaterinburg hosted a get-together in Ufa, thecapital city of the Republic of Bashkortostan during which Consul General NgoPhuong Nghi said he was happy to celebrate the traditional New Year withVietnamese people living here. He briefed hisguests on Vietnams outstanding political and economic achievements last year and lauded the strongdevelopment of the Vietnamese community in Ufa. In Berlin,Germany, Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Minh Vu spoke highly of the bilateralrelations between the two countries, saying this year, the two sides will markthe 45th anniversary of diplomatic ties and 10th years of the StrategicPartnership. He hoped thatVietnam and Germany will together foster cooperation in various areas, fromeconomy, politics, education,science-technology and security-defence to tourism and culture, and promote collaboration atmultilateral forums. He alsoappreciated the contributions made by the overseas Vietnamese to the homeland and the enthusiastic support for the Embassy ofVietnam in Germany in recent times. The Embassy ofVietnam in South Africa marked the Lunar New Year festival in an event inPretoria where Ambassador Vu Van Dung said he is confident that the Vietnamese community here will stay united and grow strongerand stronger in the future. He also lookedforward the Vietnamese here organising more practical activities to promote theimage of Vietnam and bolster the Vietnam-South Africa relations. A similarevent was held by the Vietnamese Embassy in Beijing, China. Addressing theevent, Ambassador Pham Sao Mai recognised efforts made by the Vietnamese people in China over recentyears, saying he hopes they will always uphold patriotism and do their best tonurture the two countries friendship./.VNA The source said Mykytas had asked prosecutors to allow him to fly to London for treatment citing health issues. Former Ukrainian MP Maksym Mykytas charged with illegally seizing property of the National Guard of Ukraine worth over UAH 81 million (US$3.3 million) was detained by Ukrainian border guards at Boryspil Airport as he was set to fly from Ukraine on January 20. That's according to the State Border Guard Service press office, which provided no other details of the incident citing involvement of other law enforcement agencies. According to a source of Ukrayinska Pravda, Mykytas had allegedly obtained permission to leave Ukraine from Deputy Head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office Maksym Hryshchuk, but later the permit was canceled. The source Mykytas had sought permission to fly to London for treatment, citing health issues. The State Border Guard Service said the incident took place at Boryspil International Airport. As UNIAN reported earlier, on May 14, 2019, detectives with the National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) raided offices and homes of a number of officials of the National Guard, as well as the headquarters of a number of firms. The searches took place as part of a probe into a real estate corruption scheme, which led to a loss of National Guard property worth UAH 81.64 million. On May 15, NABU pressed charges against former National Guard Commander Yuriy Allerov, Ukrbud developing company CEO Oleh Maiboroda, and independent appraiser Alisa Hrynchuk. The court chose to remand Allerov in cusdody, setting a bail at UAH 4.8 million (US$198,019). Allerov was shortly bailed out. Maiboroda was arrested with a bail of UAH 2 million (US$82,508), and Hrynchuk with a bail of UAH 1.5 million (US$61,881). On July 18, suspicion was reported to the fourth participant in the scheme, who at the time of the crime served as deputy head of the State Construction Corporation. On October 3, NABU officers charged former MP Mykytas of setting up an illicit real estate transaction with the National Guard. On October 4, the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) set a bail for Mykytas at UAH 5.5 million (US$226,897). On October 8, the bail was paid. On October 22, the Appeals Chamber of the HACC increased the bail from UAH 5.5 to UAH 80 million (US$3.3 million). In late December, the HACC extended procedural duties assigned to Mykytas until February 14, 2020. Recently, there were reports that the Government of Sri Lanka has rejected permission to Superstar Rajinikanth but Namal Rajapaksa, son the country's president Rajapaksa took to his Twitter page to deny it as a mere rumor. Namal also said that both his dad and him are fans of Superstar Rajinikanth."News about #Indian veteran actor #Rajnikanths visa to enter #Srilanka been denied is nothing but a rumor. Both my father and I, like the many other Sri Lankans islandwise are huge fans of his films. If he wishes to visit #lka there will be no hindrances", tweeted Namal Rajapaksa. Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai slammed the Indian government over the Citizenship Act on Monday saying that India must treat all Afghans equally. We dont have persecuted minorities in Afghanistanthe whole country is persecuted. We have been in war and conflict for a long time. All religions in Afghanistan Muslims and Hindus and Sikhs which are our three main religions, have suffered, Karzai told The Hindu. "These (Iran and Pakistan) are our two most significant neighbours. Both have together welcomed millions of Afghan refugees, about two to three million each. The peace process (with the Taliban) that has started, is definitely linked to their assistance and goodwill towards us, and vice-versa. So Pakistan has a lot of impact on us," he told the daily. Karzai was on a visit to Delhi to address the inaugural session of the governments Raisina Dialogue. The available studies rely on data at least two years old and probably understate how rapidly China is leapfrogging into the developed world as a tech power. It has more than tripled research and development over the past decade to $440 billion a year, more than in all of Europe. Today nine of the 20 largest internet companies in the world are Chinese (alongside 10 from the United States and one from Canada). Explosive growth in online banking is helping to fuel 20 percent annual growth in consumer lending and an overdue shift from export manufacturing to domestic consumption as the main driver of economic growth. Set up in 2015, Alibabas MYbank has extended loans to 16 million customers, including 3-1-0 microloans that require three minutes to apply, one second to approve and zero humans involved. Automation is killing off jobs. At Hema grocery stores, owned by Alibaba, little white robots work the lunch counter in place of waiters. Gym patrons follow the steps on a giant video screen embedded in the floor, no trainer required. Shenzhen residents say criminals have been driven off the streets by the surveillance cameras. Yet on balance, tech is probably creating more professions than it destroys. A recent International Monetary Fund paper estimates that after subtracting the jobs it eliminates, digitalization accounts for up to half of all job growth. Alibaba platforms alone host millions of small companies, which over the past decade have added 30 million jobs more than China has lost in heavy industry. Chinas tech revolution was made possible by two of the forces that were expected to slow the economy. The population may be aging, but it still provides a vast market in which tech start-ups can blossom. And though growth normally slows when countries attain a middle-class income, in China the new middle class provides the main customers for new mobile internet services. No other country has this combination. India has the population, not the income. Brazil has the income, not the population. And these democratic societies are also far more suspicious of government surveillance than China is. Witness the widespread controversy over the rollout of biometric IDs in India. In China, at least outside Xinjiang, the relatively mild concern about personal data has helped fuel the boom in digital payments and e-commerce. China is the worlds largest e-commerce market by far, and fleets of motorbikes painted in the colors of online delivery companies park five to six rows deep outside malls and office towers. At the incense offering ceremony (Photo: VNA) Following the incense offering ceremony, the provincial authorities held a meeting with the delegation. Vice Chairman of the provincial Peoples Committee Nguyen Van Phong briefed the guests about the local socio-economic development, saying that Bac Ninh is home to over 1,500 relic sites, including four special national relics, namely Do temple in Tu Son township, Phat Tich pagoda in Tien Du district, But Thap and Dau pagodas in Thuan Thanh district. It also houses eight national treasures, three intangible cultural heritages of humanity, including Quan Ho Bac Ninh (love duet singing), Ca tru (ceremonial singing), tugging rituals and games, he said. The province is preparing a dossier to submit to the UNESCO to seek its recognition of Dong Ho folk paintings as an intangible cultural heritage in need of urgent safeguarding. Last year, Bac Ninh ranked seventh nationwide in terms of gross domestic product and fifth in terms of average income per capita. It also led the country in terms of industrial production value. Up to 93 out of the total 94 communes, 7 out of 8 district-level units in the province met criteria for new-style rural areas. The rate of poor households based on multidimensional criteria was reduced to 1.27 percent. Chairman of the Vietnamese Businesspeople Association in France Nguyen Hai Nam said OVs will continue with activities to contribute to the homeland in the future./. US President Donald Trump will meet his Iraqi counterpart and the head of the European Union executive body during his visit to Davos in Switzerland this week, the White House said Monday. The meeting with President Barham Saleh will be the first between Trump and Iraqi officials since tensions erupted over the US killing of a top Iranian general and a senior pro-Iranian Iraqi commander in Baghdad. After calls in Iraq for the expulsion of thousands of US troops stationed there, Trump responded by threatening sanctions aimed at wrecking the country's economy. Trump, who arrives in Davos for the annual World Economic Forum get-together on Tuesday and leaves Wednesday, will also meet with European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen, the White House said. Their talks will come just after France and the United States agreed to extend negotiations on avoiding what could be a punishing trans-Atlantic trade war. Trump is also due to meet with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, Simonetta Sommaruga, the president of the Swiss Confederation, and Kurdish leader Nechirvan Barzani. The meetings will take place on the sidelines of the Davos conference, which this year is focusing heavily on climate emergency and social inequality. (FILES) In this file photo taken on January 9, 2020 US President Donald Trump speaks in Toledo, Ohio; His meeting with President Barham Saleh will be the first between Trump and Iraqi officials since tensions erupted over the US killing of a top Iranian general and a senior pro-Iranian Iraqi commander in Baghdad The average age for a woman to go through the menopause is 51. [Photo: Getty] Women who go through the menopause early may be three times more likely to suffer multiple health issues in later life, research suggests. Scientists from The University of Queensland in Brisbane looked at more than 5,000 women aged 40-to-50 over 20 years. They found the women who went through the menopause before 50 were twice as likely to develop multimorbidities by 60 and three times more at risk from 60 onwards. READ MORE: How to enjoy sex during the menopause We found 71% of women with premature menopause developed multimorbidity by the age of 60 compared with 55% of women who experienced menopause at the age of 50-to-51, study author Dr Xiaolin Xu said. In addition, 45% of women with premature menopause developed multimorbidity in their 60s compared with 40% of women who experienced menopause at the age of 50-51. The menopause occurs when a woman stops having her periods and can no longer become pregnant naturally. This a normal part of the ageing process and usually occurs between 45 and 55 years of age, according to the NHS. In both the UK and US, the average age for a woman to go through the change is 51, statistics show. The NHS defines an early menopause as before 45. This can occur naturally, or as a result of chemo, radiotherapy or surgery to remove the ovaries. READ MORE: Erectile dysfunction puts post-menopausal women off sex more than low libido To uncover the risks of an early menopause, the scientists looked at thousands of middle-aged women who took part in the Australian Longitudinal Study. The women answered a questionnaire in 1996, followed by additional surveys around every three years. They noted if they had suffered any of the following: diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, arthritis, osteoporosis, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, depression, anxiety or breast cancer. Multimorbidity was defined as being diagnosed or treated for two or more of the conditions. Results suggest those who went through an early natural menopause, not treatment induced, were more likely to suffer several health complications years later. Story continues We also found premature menopause is associated with a higher incidence of individual chronic conditions, Dr Xu said. The results remained true after adjusting for other factors that influence health, including BMI, exercise levels and smoking status. READ MORE: Love Island star Amy Hart will definitely freeze her eggs Exactly how premature menopause and multiple health issues are linked is unclear. One study suggests the same DNA that causes a woman to go through the change early may also affect heart health, the scientists wrote in the journal Human Reproduction. Plummeting oestrogen levels during the menopause may also alter several fundamental ageing processes at the cellular, organ and system level, finally leading to the onset of chronic conditions and multimorbidity. Our findings suggest health professionals should consider providing comprehensive screening and assessment of risk factors when treating women who experience natural premature menopause in order to assess their risk of multimorbidity, study author Professor Gita Mishra said. Our findings also highlight multimorbidity should be considered as a clinical and public health priority when policy-makers are considering how to control and prevent chronic health problems in women. The scientists stress it is unclear if an early menopause causes health issues, only that there may be an association between the two. They are looking into whether certain risk factors can be targeted to prevent or slow health problems in those going through the change early. These may include not smoking, controlling body weight or exercise. A 32-year-old woman was battered to death at her home when she resisted an attempt to rob her jewellery in Rajasthan's Jhalawar district early on Monday, police said. Before fleeing with the valuables, the unidentified assailants threw the woman's bloodstained body outside her house, according to Jhalrapatan police station Sub Inspector Komal Pradas. Sonabai Meghwal was at home while her two children were asleep around 4.30 am, the SI said. Her husband Radheshyam had earlier left home to collect cow dung from a nearby field. The assailants had kept note of him leaving the house and then barged inside, the policeman said. The woman resisted the bid to loot her mangalsutra and gold earrings. They assaulted her with a heavy stone causing fatal injuries to her head, back and stomach, he added. Police have lodged a case of loot and murder under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code against the accused and handed over the woman's body to her family after a post mortem was conducted. A search is on for the assailants, the SI further said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New Delhi Former Delhi lieutenant governor (L-G) of Delhi and ex-vice chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia Najeeb Jung on Monday said there was need to revamp the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) to make it inclusive. Addressing protesters at the ongoing ant-CAA and National Register of Citizens (NRC) agitation outside the university, Jung said,I feel that CAA needs a revamp. They should either include Muslims or remove other names. Make it inclusive, matter will get dismissed. If PM calls these people and talks, the matter will get resolved, he said. Jung said the Centre needs to have a dialogue with those protesting against the CAA-NRC. When Anna Hazare movement had happened (2011), the Congress government at the Centre was ready to talk to the agitators. Why the present government is not ready to have such a dialogue? There should be talks, he said. Congratulating students and local residents who have been protesting outside Jamia for the last five weeks, Jung said, Its very encouraging to see that an Act, which was meant to create divide among people, have united everyone. Jamia Millia Islamia and the neighbouring areas have been witnessing protests against the new citizenship law since December 15 when a protest near the university turned violent and policemen allegedly stormed into the campus, beating up students and damaging property. In the neighbouring Shaheen Bagh area, a large protest gathering has been going on for over a month now. On Monday, students from several universities also took out a protest march against the amended citizenship law from Mandi House to Jantar Mantar. The protest was held under the banner of Young India against CAA-NRC-NPR, a collective of over 30 students groups. N Sai Balaji, AISA national president and former JNU students union (JNUSU) president said, Students and youth today have showed that they wont get divided by hate. We are together to defend our Constitution. Social activist Harsh Mandar, who was also present at the protest, said, We are fighting against hatred with our love and Constitution. The young India is showing us the hope and we will take back our India. Meanwhile, a group of students from Jamia, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and Delhi University (DU) have launched a flash protest campaign against the CAA, under which they will protest on the streets, in the Metro trains and malls every Sunday. Shaheen Abdullah, a student of Jamia, said they had held one such protest in the Delhi Metro on Sunday. The idea is to hold flash protest in areas where people are not protesting against the CAA and NRC at present. The students will peacefully raise slogans for 4-5 minutes because we do not want to create disturbance, he said. Denying involvement of any students group in the initiative, Abdullah said, Its not about any group or organisation. Students from different universities have realised that we should come out of our comfort zones and protest in the places where none is protesting. The front pages of Londons Sunday newspapers are displayed in London on Sunday. AP photo London: Britain's Prince Harry and his wife Meghan began a new life Sunday as somewhat ordinary people with financial worries and security concerns after being stripped of their royal titles and public funding by the Queen. The settlement announced by Buckingham Palace on Saturday saw the 93-year-old monarch assume her painfully familiar role of managing a family crisis that threatened the very foundations of one of Britain's oldest institutions. The "Megxit" mess began when the young couple gave up their font-line family duties and announced plans to chart a "progressive new role" in North America on January 8. They did so without winning Queen Elizabeth II's permission or seemingly knowing how it was all going to work out. A mad rush of royal family meetings and screaming headlines in the tabloid press culminated with a ruling Saturday that The Daily Telegraph called "the hardest Megxit possible". 'Absolutely unprecedented' The couple lost their right to be called "his and her royal highness" (HRH) -- much as Harry's late mother Princess Diana did when she divorced Prince Charles in another family drama that upset the Queen in 1996. They further agreed to repay 2.4 million pound ($3.1 million) of taxpayer's money spent on renovating their Frogmore Cottage home near Windsor Castle. "No royal has ever paid back money," former royal press secretary Dickie Arbiter wrote in The Sun on Sunday. "It is absolutely unprecedented." Harry was also stripped of the military titles and patronages he was awarded after serving two tours in Afghanistan with the British Army and rising to the rank of captain. But Arbiter said it was the loss of the HRH "royal highness" title that really made Palace history. "Even when Edward VIII abdicated (in 1936) he dropped from being His Majesty The King to HRH the Duke of Windsor," he said. Arbiter noted that Princess Diana was not born a royal and had her HRH "obtained through marriage." 'The point of life' Few know what Meghan -- an American former TV actress with a huge social media following and A-list celebrity friends such as Oprah Winfrey and the Obamas -- thinks of the British brouhaha about ancient acronyms. The 38-year-old frankly admitted on UK television in October that she "really tried to adopt this British sensibility of a stiff upper lip. I tried, I really tried." But she admitted sadly: "That's not the point of life. You've got to thrive." Harry has also been open about still being haunted by his mother's death in a 1997 car crash involving a chasing pack of paparazzi. He and Meghan filed a series of lawsuits against British media outlets in October -- a step that predictably outraged the tabloids and renewed debates about the royals' role in public life. Harry is expected to join Meghan and their baby son Archie on a resort island near the southwestern Canadian city of Vancouver this coming week. Royal observers think they will spend little time in Britain once -- in the restrained words of Buckingham Palace -- "this new model" takes effect "in the spring of 2020". 'Stuck In Public's Throats' The immediate question facing Harry and Meghan is how they will make ends meet. Sky News said Prince Charles will continue paying his son some money from his private income. Harry has undisclosed millions of pounds in savings and Meghan has enjoyed a lucrative acting career. She is now thinking of starting her own line of health and "wellness" products. The Sunday Times asked a royal aide if Harry and Meghan will be able to cash in on the "Sussex Royal" brand they trademarked in December. "That is still one the areas being worked through," the royal aide told the paper. "That translates as: 'The Queen isn't at all sure'," The Sunday Times wrote. Arbiter observed that Diana's "global appeal" was in no way affected by her losing the HRH tag. Some deals are likely to involve Hollywood. Video footage emerged of Harry highlighting Meghan's interest in doing voiceover work to a Disney boss in December. There has also been some speculation about the couple teaming up with Netflix. The Palace said the separate issue of who pays for their pricey security detail will have to be resolved by the UK government at a later date. But royal biography Penny Junor said the idea of the couple in any way profiting from their royal titles really "stuck in the public's throats". "Harry is who he is simply by accident of birth," said Junor. "If he was able to make squillions of pounds from that it would be wrong." Thats simply a statistical fact. FBI Director Christopher Wray said Tuesday that the agency has made about 100 domestic terrorism-related arrests since October, and the majority were tied to white supremacy. I will say that a majority of the domestic terrorism cases that weve investigated are motivated by some version of what you might call white supremacist violence, but it does include other things as well, Wray said at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, referring to cases in fiscal 2019, which began Oct. 1. The FBI is aggressively investigating domestic terrorism and hate crimes, Wray said, noting that the bureau is focused on investigating the violence, not the ideology motivating the attacks. Wray distinguished between what he termed homegrown violent extremism, wording he said the FBI uses to refer to people in United States who are inspired by global jihadists, and domestic extremism, which Wray described as broader to include racially motivated extremists, anarchists and others. The number of domestic terrorism arrests are on par with the amount international terrorism cases, according to Wray. In terms of number of arrests, we have through the third quarter of this fiscal year had about give or take 100 arrests on the international terrorism side, which includes the homegrown violent extremism, Wray told Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) at the hearing. Weve also had just about the same number again, dont quote me to the exact digit on the domestic terrorism side. Durbin used his time to zero in on the threat of white supremacist- and white nationalist-motivated violence. Several high-profile domestic crimes in recent years have been tied to white supremacists, including the death of a counterprotester at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017. Speaking of Charlottesville, it is also a fact that when Nazis and KKK showed up to rally in that Virginia town and murder and injure innocent people, their Cult Leader in Chief described the people marching under the banner of the swastika as very fine people, a description the Cult simultaneously denies and embraces, because they are liars, like their Cult Leader. Now the Nazis and KKK weirdos are on the march again. This time it is the Virginia State Capitol, to tell the state of Virginia that Nazis and KKK love them their guns and will threaten with violence anybody who thinks it is crazy to let Nazis and KKK have guns. Virginia responded by declaring a state of emergencybecause armed Nazis and KKK whack jobs were coming to the capitol. Some of the everlasting excuse makers for armed right wing whack job offered excuses like, What about me? What about my needs? Me. Me. Me. My gun! My rights! Me! Me! MEEEEEE!!! without giving a single thought to the fact that Nazis and KKK nuts were coming to the capitol to threaten innocent people with the same death and mayhem they inflicted at Charlottesvillebecause the Gun Cult always and only thinks about itself and responds to violent weirdos with guns in two ways: 1. By saying Dont blame me! while never ever ever thinking about other people, and 2. By fantasizing about being the hero who guns down the MAGA weirdo he fought to arm after the weirdo starts spraying a mall in El Paso with bullets. Oh, and of course, the MAGA cultist steadfastly denies that any of this has anything to do with race. The Nazis and KKK who marched under the banner of the swastika and murdered innocents in Charlottesville were just statuary enthusiasts who happened to enjoy Confederate art appreciation. And these same nuts just happen to have picked the national holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King to threaten everybody about the need for Nazis and KKK to have guns. What a crazy random happenstance for these people the President of the United States calls very fine people. Rest in Peace, Dr. King. Your non-violent way was Christs way and these weirdo devotees of violence and hate will not, in the end, prevail. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. (Mt 5:9). . European markets closed slightly lower on Monday as policymakers and business leaders gather in Davos, Switzerland for the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) conference . The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed down by 0.1%, with household goods falling 0.9% to lead losses while insurance stocks added 0.5%. Climate change and sustainable business will be a key focus for delegates at this year's WEF summit, but other political risks such as international trade and geopolitical instability are also likely to be on the agenda. Elsewhere, the People's Bank of China kept its loan prime rate unchanged on Monday, sending Asian shares higher. The decision came after President Donald Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He signed a long-awaited "phase one" trade deal on Wednesday, easing tensions between the world's two largest economies. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned Russian President Vladimir Putin on January 19 to not repeat the 2018 chemical attack in Salisbury that almost killed former spy Sergei Skripal. It was the first official meeting of the leaders on the sidelines of Berlin Conference on Libya after which Downing Street said that Johnson has said Putin that ties between Moscow and London would not return to normal until Russia ended its destabilising activities. PM @BorisJohnson met President Putin in the margins of the Berlin Conference on Libya. https://t.co/8jA3gPvfoU pic.twitter.com/36WgO0FBCS UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) January 19, 2020 Read - 'UK Committed To Nuclear Deal With Iran,' Says British PM Despite US' Call For Breakaway According to the statement released by the Downing Street, Johnson was clear that there had been no change in the UK's position on Salisbury and also called it reckless use of chemical weapons. The UK PM has also said that such attack must not be repeated because it was a brazen attempt to murder innocent people in Britain. Downing Street released a statement saying, The Prime Minister said there will be no normalisation of our bilateral relationship until Russia ends the destabilising activity that threatens the UK and our allies and undermines the safety of our citizens and our collective security. Read - British PM Extends Heartfelt Condolences To Martin Peters Family And Friends Russia rejects accusations According to international reports, Russia rejected accusations that its GRU military intelligence agency's officers used a powerful nerve agent to poison Skripal in retribution for his work with British and other Western spy services. Both, Skripal and his daughter spent days in a coma and went into hiding after surviving. It was this incident which has undermined Britain's already tense relations with Russia. Downing Street's statement said that Johnson has told Putin that both leaders had a responsibility to address the issues of international security including Libya, Syria, Iraq, and Iran. However, UK PM has also made it clear the first official dialogue exchanged between the leaders does not mean relations between London and Moscow have returned to normal. Downing Street statement said, The prime minister said there will be no normalisation of our bilateral relationship until Russia ends the destabilising activity that threatens the UK and our allies and undermines the safety of our citizens and our collective security." Read - Donald Trump 'agrees' With Boris Johnson's 'Iran Deal' Remark Read - Boris Johnson Says Iran Nuclear Accord Could Be Replaced With 'Trump Deal' Is it too much to hope that an important public health matter, such as Lyme disease, will be an issue in the general election? Theres been a worrying reluctance by the authorities to face up to the extent of the disease here. A leading infectious disease consultant, Dr Jack Lambert, of the Mater Hospital, Dublin, who is treating Lyme patients from all over the country, believes the number of cases is greatly underestimated. A two-page, special report in this newspaper, on October 7 last, revealed a 10-fold increase in the disease in the Cork/Kerry region alone. And, while there was feedback from some patients and the public, there was almost zero reaction from politicians. During the election campaign, people will be able to highlight the situation with those seeking their votes and bluntly tell them to wake up. People spending a large amount of time outdoors are at higher risk of the disease, which can be contracted following a bite from the common tick, called a sceartan in Irish. This is a blood-sucking parasite which feeds on animals like deer, cattle, sheep and goats. The Lyme Resource Centre (LRC) was opened in the Mater Hospital, in November 2018, to meet growing demand from patients as the number of suspected cases continues to rise. The first of its kind in the state, the main aim of the centre is to educate the public and the medical profession about the disease and related tick-borne infections. Far more progress is being made in America than in Britain or Ireland. Attitudes in the US are changing where Lyme disease is six times more prevalent than HIV; yet, until now, the health budget for Lyme was less than 1% of that for HIV. However, charities in the US are now funding major research, a number of drugs with potential to treat the disease have been identified and government and voluntary agencies have started to work together. And, while the US is finally recognising the extent of the epidemic, efforts have been made to downplay the extent of tick-borne infections in the UK and Ireland, says the LRC. Instead, what is urgently needed is much-expanded education and training, research funding, and a concerted government action plan for tackling tick-borne diseases, it adds. At present, says the LRC, there are no charitable foundations funding research similar to those in the US, government funding is almost non-existent and government interest and action is inadequate. New tick-borne diseases are expected in Ireland a result of climate change. Dr Jack Lambert, meanwhile, is the Irish contributing author to a scholarly new book, Lyme Disease, by Dr Bernard Raxlen and Allie Cashel, which features several international experts. Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh) [India], Jan 20 (ANI): Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MP Galla Jayadev was on Monday detained by the police in Amaravati during a rally by farmers against state government approving setting up of three capitals. "The government never mentioned about three capital before the elections. They kept the pubic in dark. They did not mention this in the manifesto and they have got no mandate from the public to change the capital or make it into three. They have won the election on a false pretext and false claims," MP Jayadev said. He claimed that no government officials have come here to speak to the farmers who are protesting for 32 days. "Today is the 32nd day of the peaceful protests and till now no government officials have come to speak to farmers. The Chief Minister has not come, not even the local MLAs are coming. This is a single party protest even the YRSCP leaders have participated in the protests. In total 23 people have died in the last 32 days. It is shameful that the government failed to understand what the protest means to people," he added. The leader said he condemns the autocratic attitude and the fight for Amaravati will continue. A tense situation prevailed at 'Dharna Chowk' as the Amaravati Joint Action Committee (JAC) leaders marched towards the state assembly. When the leaders started marching to the assembly, police tried to stop them following which a verbal altercation took place. The JAC leaders expressed anger that police were illegally arresting those who were protesting peacefully. Former MP Maganti Babu, other JAC leaders, and other participants in the march including women were arrested and taken to police stations at different places. In the assembly, Andhra Pradesh finance minister Buggana Rajendranath introduced the Andhra Pradesh Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of all Region Bill 2020. Andhra Pradesh municipal administration and urban development minister Botsa Satyanarayana also introduced Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority Repeal Bill 2020 in the house. (ANI) Farmers have been urged to follow heightened levels of biosecurity after a new outbreak of swine dysentery was confirmed in North Yorkshire. The outbreak was confirmed on Wednesday (15 January) and identified by clinical signs and subsequently confirmed by laboratory tests. Swine dysentery is a severe, infectious disease characterised by diarrhoea and is marked by weight loss which severely limits productivity. In the UK, the industry has worked together to mitigate the impact of the disease with an emphasis on early control and prevention of spread. In the new outbreak, the disease was suspected to have been present for up to two months as no clinical signs were present and the unit was undergoing medication when looseness was first noticed. Strict biosecurity measures are in place and a specific medication programme is to be developed for the unit. In its notification of the outbreak, AHDB said: If you have recently moved pigs from North Yorkshire please monitor them closely for the development of any clinical signs of enteric disease and notify your vet immediately if you observe any suspect diarrhoea. It is important that a heightened level of biosecurity and monitoring for clinical signs are observed over the next few weeks, especially within the North Yorkshire region. It comes after a spate of outbreaks last year, which the National Pig Association (NPA) called a 'worrying escalation'. Industry groups launched the #MuckFreeTruck campaign, partly in response to evidence that some swine dysentery cases have been spread via transport. Producers are urged to familiarise themselves with AHDB's Standard Operating Procedures for lorry washing and cleansing and disinfecting, as well as general biosecurity procedures. AHDB's advice to pig producers Ask where any visitors to your pig unit have been previously and, if in doubt, dont let them on its simply not worth the risk All units should avoid unnecessary visitors and vehicles Ask regular suppliers to take extra biosecurity measures Consider your actions and their potential effect on others in the region Make sure all farm equipment stays on farm, including overalls and boots Vehicles need to be properly cleaned, including paying special attention to wheel arches Respect each others requests for downtime/a pig-free period The Ukrainian Embassy in Britain has publicly called on police officials to remove the trident, Ukraines national symbol and state coat of arms, from a counterterrorism guide that was distributed to police officers, teachers, and medical staff last year. Placing the Tridentconstitutional national symbol & Coat of Arms of #Ukraine, in Extremism Guide produced by @TerrorismPolice for UK teachers & medical staff is beyond outrageous, the Ukrainian Embassy in Britain tweeted on January 19. No explanations acceptable. We demand Trident to be removed from Guide with official apologies. The statement was in reference to a 24-page guide that British authorities produced while giving anti-extremism briefings last year to help front-line officers discern signs and symbols. London daily The Guardian first reported on the guides contents. The police document, according to the newspaper, shows a Nazi swastika in one section and nonviolent groups such as Greenpeace in another. Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistance Commissioner Dean Haydon told the BBC that the visual aid was produced in order to help police identify and understand signs and symbols so they know the difference between them. In a statement, he said that many groups listed in the guide are not of counterterrorism interest. Based on reporting by The Guardian, BBC, UNIAN, and Interfax Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], Jan 20 (ANI): Shiv Sena leader Kamlakar Kothe on Monday said that Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has assured that the Pathri village will not be termed as Saibaba's birthplace and stressed that no new dispute will be created as the matter has ended. "Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has accepted our demands. People of Shirdi are satisfied with what he said. He has assured us that no new dispute will be created and we are ending the matter," Kothe, who is also a representative of the Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust, said after a meeting. A delegation of 40 people, including Sai Temple Trust members and Shiv Sena MP Sadashiv Lokhande, meet Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray earlier today. On Sunday, devotees in Shirdi staged a protest against Thackeray over his decision to develop Pathri in Parbhani as a religious centre terming it the birthplace of Sai Baba. The indefinite 'bandh' was later called off later. (ANI) Whether you love them or hate them, the Duggars have graced our television screens for over a decade and they never seem to get less controversial. It all began with Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar bringing their 19 children into the spotlight. And now that many of their kids are all grown up with children of their own, many diehard fans get an inside peek into the Duggar familys lives via Instagram instead of waiting for new seasons of Counting On. Not only do many of the older Duggar kids have their own social media presence, but Jim Bob and Michelle keep fans apprised with whats going on at the Duggar family home with their Instagram. And a photo showing Jim Bob with three of his youngest daughters at a pro-life rally is getting significant backlash. Heres whats going on. The Duggars are known for having pro-life beliefs Jim Bob Duggar, center, and his wife, Michelle Duggar, make a stop on their Values Bus Tour | Matt McClain/ The Washington Post via Getty Images There are plenty of ultra-conservative families around the U.S. but few are featured on the small screen and under the watchful eye of the public. Since the Duggars were first featured on television, Jim Bob and Michelle explained their beliefs. And their strict family rules and courtship guidelines have shocked viewers for years. The Duggar kids were not allowed to take in any modern media growing up. Not only that, but they abided by a strict dress code that required the women to wear long skirts and shirts that covered their shoulders. And when it comes to dating, the Duggars believe in courtships with chaperoned dates and no touching or kissing until the wedding day. Since the Duggars are conservative Christians, they also believe in the pro-life movement and have been adamant about sharing this with their followers. Back in March 2019, OK! Magazine reported that the Duggar Family Instagram posted a photo of the Duggars fighting for pro-life legislation. And this is far from the only documented instance. The Duggar Family Instagram posted a photo of Jim Bob Duggar at a rally with his daughters Despite the backlash of the past, it hasnt stopped Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar from sharing what theyre up to publicly on Instagram. On Jan. 19, 2020, the familys Instagram posted another controversial image. The photo shows Jim Bob with three of his young daughters holding up a photo of a fetus seven weeks after conception followed by a video of the rally. Every human life has value and is created in Gods image! So encouraged to stand up as a family with thousands of people across America and affirm the value of those who cannot speak for themselves! the caption of the post reads. We cant forget that before Jim Bob was known for having 19 kids, he was a Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives. And Buzzfeed notes he had a strong stance against abortion when he ran for the U.S. Senate, which shouldnt be too surprising. Fans are outraged over the photo The Duggars have many pro-life followers, of course. But many of the comments on the Instagram post are staunchly against the idea of Jim Bob bringing his younger girls to a pro-life rally. Not only that, but considering the oldest Duggar child, Josh, was found to have been molesting his younger sisters, many believe Jim Bob should redirect his moral compass. Who speaks for the abused children after they are born??? They dont have a voice either, one follower commented on the post. I feel so awful for the women who have to Walk past these disgusting protestors on their way to abortion clinics. They shouldnt have to be attacked by such hatred, another wrote. Leave women alone, they are already stressed out and you dont need to be screaming in their ears about things going on with their own bodies. Yet another commented, Have loved you all since day one but no longer.your ignorant judgment has lost you another fan. No matter how much hate the Duggars get, they havent considered changing their pro-life stance yet and we doubt theyll take their followers into consideration now. Instead, their followers should be prepared to see even more of this type of content going forward. Check out Showbiz Cheat Sheet on Facebook! Advertisement Wrapped up against the bitter cold, some bearing their few remaining possessions on their shoulders, men, women and children queue up in neat rows of five and wait... to find out whether they are going to live or die. Behind them, mothers and their children each wearing a yellow star to denote their religious status continue to pour out of the train, often leaving their suitcases behind them, as they are herded into lines. Those immediately selected for death will be guided towards the gas chambers. The rest are deemed suitable for work and will have their heads shaved before being marched off to the labour camp where they will endure the harshest conditions. Taken in 1944 by a German photographer billeted to Auschwitz-Birkenau in southern occupied Poland, these extraordinary images are the only known record of scores of Jewish families who arrived at the Nazis most notorious extermination camp where 1.1 million people died or were killed between 1940 and 1945. Herded like cattle: Newly arrived Jewish inmates are forced by SS officers into two queues one destined for the gas chambers Witnesses to evil: Orthodox Jews realise that time is running out as they see their families being herded away And now ahead of the forthcoming Channel 4 documentary, Auschwitz Untold, which commemorates the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camp some 37 of the photographs have been recast in colour for the first time, bringing alive the horror of Holocaust for a new generation. In the documentary, Holocaust survivor Judith Altmann, 95, who was arrested in 1944 and transported from her home in Czechoslovakia to Auschwitz, says: Ive seen it and I cannot erase it from my mind. We were wearing colours. We were not all in grey. That we are able to witness these photographs let alone in full colour is as remarkable as the harrowing stories they depict. The album, which contains 193 photographs over 56 pages, was discovered by another survivor, Lilly Jacob, the 18-year-old daughter of a horse trader. She came from the small town of Bilke in Hungary, and with her family had been sent to a ghetto in the Carpathian Mountains where she had slept on the floor of a brick factory. Slaves of the Reich: A group of Jewish women selected for slave labour, with the discarded belongings of those sent straight to their deaths piled up in the background. They would be sent to other camps to work on armaments and rockets Those immediately selected for death will be guided towards the gas chambers. The rest are deemed suitable for work and will have their heads shaved before being marched off to the labour camp where they will endure the harshest conditions In May 1944, Lilly and her family were put on a train to Auschwitz. Her parents and five brothers were immediately dispatched to the gas chambers. Lilly was transferred to a series of Nazi labour camps before ending up in Mittelbau-Dora camp in Germany, where the inmates were forced to help manufacture V-2 rocket missiles. There, Lilly contracted typhus just days before the American forces liberated the camp, and was hospitalised in a vacated SS barracks. Freezing cold in her ragged prison garb, and with only thin blankets available to her, she went looking for more clothes in a cupboard in the barracks. It was there, nestled under a pyjama jacket, that she discovered the album. Leafing through its pages, she discovered a photograph of two of her brothers Israel, eight, and Zelig, 10. Shaven-headed Lilly Jacob (centre). Lilly was transferred to a series of Nazi labour camps before ending up in Mittelbau-Dora camp in Germany, where the inmates were forced to help manufacture V-2 rocket missiles Lilly Jacob with the photo album she discovered in Mittelbau-Dora camp. After the war, Lilly took the album back with her to Bilke, where she would turn up at the station to meet the train every day in the hope that some members of her family had survived. Not one of them ever returned Speaking 20 years later at the Frankfurt Trials, which were held between by 1963 and 1965 with the sole purpose of charging 22 Nazis who had served at Auschwitz, she said: I recognised a picture of the rabbi who married my parents. And as I was leafing through, I recognised my grandparents, my cousin, even myself. After the war, Lilly took the album back with her to Bilke, where she would turn up at the station to meet the train every day in the hope that some members of her family had survived. Not one of them ever returned. She married a local butcher and they moved to Miami, Florida to begin a new life she worked as a waitress far from the horrors she had experienced and the challenges of post-war Europe. But word of the album in her possession soon spread among Auschwitz survivors, many of whom still didnt know or refused to believe the fate of their family members. In search of answers, they came from across the world to Lillys home to see the album in the hope that they might recognise a loved one. On the rare occasion that someone did identify a family member, Lilly would give them the photograph. Entrance to hell: German guards await the shuttered transport trains at Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in occupied Poland. The camps crematoria can be seen in the far haze Lilly's doomed brothers: Lilly Jacob found this photograph of her brothers Israel (left) and Zelig. They perished with her three other siblings and their parents It was only in 1980 that renowned Nazi hunter Serge Klarsfeld, a Romanian Jew, tracked Lilly down and convinced her that the album should be safeguarded at Israels World Holocaust Remembrance Centre, Yad Vashem. She agreed and flew to Jerusalem to donate it in person. En route, she visited Auschwitz, to honour those who had died there and to bury her ghosts. I want to see for myself that my parents are not there, that my parents are really dead, she said at the time. Thats the only way I can rid myself of that memory. Lilly Jacob died in 1999. Her photographs, now immortalised in colour, live on for all to see and bear witness to the evil rule of Nazi Germany. Flash Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and his Malaysian counterpart, Mahathir Mohamad, sent congratulatory messages respectively to the opening ceremony of 2020 China-Malaysia Year of Culture and Tourism, which was held Sunday in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur. In his message, Li said China and Malaysia are neighbors across the sea, and the two sides have enjoyed a traditional friendship for thousands of years. Chinese navigator from the Ming Dynasty Zheng He set out seven times for the expeditions to Western Seas, during which he docked his massive fleet in Malacca five times and forged a profound friendship with the locals, Li said, adding that it has become a much-told story in the history of China-Malaysia exchanges. Li said that the China-Malaysia relationship has maintained a healthy and stable development in recent years, and the two countries have enjoyed close cooperation bilaterally and within such multilateral frameworks as the China-ASEAN cooperation, which have promoted the respective development of the two countries and brought new momentum to regional prosperity and stability. The Chinese premier said he hopes the two sides can take the Year of Culture and Tourism as an opportunity to expand cultural interactions, deepen tourism cooperation, and boost personnel exchanges, so as to promote mutual understanding between the two peoples, continue to write new chapters of bilateral friendship, and further consolidate the foundation of public and social support for the development of the China-Malaysia comprehensive strategic partnership. In Mahathir's message, noting that Malaysia and China share a long history of relations, he said he believes that the Year of Culture and Tourism will lead to new progress in bilateral relations and friendship. Mahathir said he wishes the two peoples happiness and well-being in the Year of the Rat, and that bilateral relations and cooperation will keep moving forward. LOS ANGELESEducational organization Everyone Deserves Sex Ed (EDSE) will be holding its next 25-hour sex educator certification course in Los Angeles on April 18-19 and 25-26, 2020. It is open to adult industry members looking for valuable professional development. Founded and created by industry veteran Anne Hodder-Shipp, EDSE certification provides a foundational understanding of human sexuality, including anatomy, gender, and safer sex, in order to transform the way professionals think about their businesses. Whether working in product design and development, sales and customer service, or content production and performance, attendees are given access to the tools and information necessary to stand out from the competition with an informed, inclusive, and sex-positive perspective. Adult industry professionals talk about sex almost every day, whether its with a customer, a client, a fan, or a shopper trying to pick out a new product, and saying the right (or wrong) thing can make or break the conversation, Hodder-Shipp said. Information is empowerment, and I want industry professionals to feel comfortable and confident doing their jobs while providing the best customer service possible. The EDSE certification not only helps reduce misinformation and personal bias from the process, but also gives adult companies a way to differentiate themselves in this competitive industry. EDSEs mission is to make accurate, unbiased, and LBGTQIA+ inclusive sexuality information available to as many communities as possible. With more than a decade of experience working within the adult industry, Hodder-Shipp recognized a need for this kind of sex education training and sought to develop a program that would help staff have more informed, inclusive, and confident conversations about sex. We hear the term 'sexual wellness' so often in our industry and it was nice to finally put a face to that name, Lion's Den buyer Danny Gibson said. Our customers continue to grow and have become so knowledgeable, and its important to stay ahead of that so we can continue to guide them along their journeys. Im so thankful for the EDSE experience and glad I could take part in it! Ideal for adult industry professionals, the EDSE certification prepares attendees to have informed, inclusive and confident conversations about sex. Over the course of two weekends, EDSE attendees learn key information about human sexuality, intimate health, consent, and communication skills and be trained to respond to sex-related questions in a concise and nonjudgmental manner. Attendees also leave with new insight into their own sexualitya fun side effect of sex education training. Walking in, I thought I knew my fair share, but Anne and her speakers opened my eyes to a lot, from being cognizant of my own judgments to how to be a better advocate for my fellow human beings, said Kerin De Francis, Director of Sales at Doc Johnson. I think parents, teachers, just about anyone in any kind of authoritative position could really benefit from working with EDSE. EDSE offers corporate rates to companies who want to certify a few employees or even their entire staff, Hodder-Shipp said. The certification process is hosted in the comfort and privacy of companies own offices, and EDSE can customize the curriculum according to clients specific needs. Though EDSE is headquartered in the heart of Los Angeles, Anne and her team can travel to companies interested in certifying five or more staff members. For more information about EDSE and its sex educator certification, click here or email Hodder-Shipp directly at [email protected]. Advertisement Hundreds of Central American migrants forced their way across the Guatemalan border into Mexico on Monday after the Mexican government denied them free transit through the country to the United States' southern border. A caravan of 2,000 migrants, mostly Hondurans, gathered before dawn Monday along the Rodolfo Robles International Bridge spanning the Suchiate River between Guatemala and Mexico. Hundred were seen crossing the river into southern Mexico. Amid shouts and even some fireworks they began wading across the shallow river. The migrants moved off the border bridge and toward the river after Mexican officials told them they would not be granted passage through the country. According to AFP, Mexican security forces fired tear gas as the migrants attempted to flee to Mexico through the river's shallow waters. It is the first major caravan since the United States and Mexico agreed to work together to combat migrant crossings through the Mexico-Guatemala border. Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador last summer pledged to help the United States curtail mass movements of migrants. U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to punish Mexico and Central American countries economically if they fail to curb migrant flows, resulting in a series of agreements aimed at taking pressure off the United States. Hundreds of Central American migrants defied orders from Mexican officials and crossed into southern Mexico on Monday Hundreds migrants from Central America formed part of the caravan that streamed into Mexico on Monday after crossing the A group of Central American migrants crossed into southern Mexico on Monday morning Central American migrants, most from Honduras, were spotted Monday morning walking across the Suchiate River that separates Guatemala and Mexico Thousands of Central American migrants, mostly Hondurans, threatened to cross the Guatemala-Mexico border by force Small groups of migrants managed to make their way into Mexico over the weekend, but security officials blocked other Central Americans who attempted to force their way through the border, leading to violent shoving at the crossing. According to Guatemala, at least 4,000 people have entered from Honduras since Wednesday, making for one of the biggest surges since three Central American governments signed agreements with the Trump administration obliging them to assume more of the responsibility for dealing with migrants. Guatemalan officials, with the assistance of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, placed about 400 migrants on buses and returned them to Honduras last week. Mexican security forces were deployed Monday at the Rodolfo Robles International Bridge to block 2,000 Central American migrants from entering southern Mexico Security forces offer aid to a man moments after soldiers allegedly fired tear gas at a caravan of Central American migrants A boy paces through a massive group of migrant caravan members on Monday morning. Hundreds remained camped out at a bridge that connects Tecum Uman, Guatemala, with Ciudad Hidalgo, Mexico By Monday morning, more than 2,000 migrants blocked the Rodolfo Robles International Bridge that spans the Suchiate River between Guatemala and Mexico and demanded they be allowed to cross into Mexico without restrictions More than 2,000 Central Americans are part of a caravan that filed across a bridge connecting Guatemala and Honduras and threatened an immigration signed by the Trump administration with Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatelama However, the caravan of at least 2,000 migrants remained in the Guatemalan border town of Tecun Uman and set off for Mexico en masse early on Monday, believing that they stood a better chance of making progress in a large group. As of Sunday, Mexican authorities had received 1,087 migrants in the states of Chiapas and Tabasco and set out various options to them in accordance with their migration status. 'However, in the majority of cases, once the particular migration situation has been reviewed, assisted returns will be carried out to their countries of origin, assuming that their situation warrants it,' the ministry said. By dawn Monday, thousands of migrants made their way to the Rodolfo Robles International Bridge that connects Guatemala with Mexico. They have threatened to forcefully make their way into Mexico unless its presidents grants them free passage to the United States border where they seek to apply for asylum An aerial shot of the Rodolfo Robles International Bridge that spans the Sichuate River between Guatemala and Mexico shows the large group of migrants who hope to reach the Mexico-United States border Thousands of people from Central America are trying to cross the bridge that allows the passage to Mexico, in Tecun Uman, Guatemala Mexico has so far controlled the border at Tecun Uman more successfully than in late 2018, when a large caravan of migrants sought to break through there. Many later crossed into Mexico via the Suchiate River. It led to President Lopez Obrador agreeing to deploy the national guard to the Guatemala-Mexico border, after Trump threatened to levy taxes on imported goods if the immigrants weren't stopped. The leftist leader's government on Friday offered migrants 4,000 jobs to work in the south, but those who do not accept it or seek asylum will not be issued safe conduct passes to the United States, the interior ministry said. A 23-year-old music composer, who abandoned his native Honduras in search better opportunities in America, pleaded with Lopez Obrador and asked him to reconsider his government's approach to the migrant crisis. 'The authorities do not care about supporting young people's talent, buying books and notebooks for schools or for medicine for hospitals. They worry about buying weapons and tear gas to repress the people," Brayan Pineda said, according to Mexican newspaper El Universal. 'I ask the President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to allow us the free passage. We do not want to stay in Mexico. Our goal is to reach the United States,' he added. The so-called "Asylum Cooperation Agreements," or ACAs, are just the latest in a series of measures by the Trump administration aimed at reducing the number of asylum applicants arriving at the country's southwest border. The new caravan is the first since last fall, when Washington signed bilateral agreements with Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador to reduce the number of migrants crossing the southern border. More than 55,000 asylum seekers have requested asylum at the U.S. border and been returned to Mexico to wait out cases that will take months, if not years to resolve under the "Remain in Mexico" program, also known as the Migrant Protection Protocols. Beginning with Guatemala in July of 2019, the U.S. government signed agreements with Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador that would allow the U.S. to send asylum seekers from other countries to Central America. Under the deals, asylum seekers won't be given the opportunity to request asylum in the U.S., but rather will be flown to these Central American countries where they will have the opportunity to request asylum. Migrants holds their Honduran flag on Monday morning at the Rodolfo Robles International Bridge As the region still filled with campers and other tourists, Victorias Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp tells them they should turn around and go home. Now. This is an account of how the crisis unfolded as it happened, drawing from The Age and The Sydney Morning Heralds rolling live coverage, reporting and video from warnings, through the disaster and then the dramatic rescues. Culminating in a dramatic and unprecedented navy rescue by sea, the fire left thousands huddled on the beach as the world, in disbelief, watched the sky turn red. The fire that shut off Mallacoota is one of the defining moments of this summers bushfire season. The warning tells people they are in danger and should take shelter immediately. People in the area are told that an earlier Watch and Act warning has been upgraded due to concerns about an out-of-control bushfire at Wingan River bearing down on Mallacoota. It is predicted to reach the area between 5pm-6pm. An emergency warning is issued for the Mallacoota area. Those who have stayed don't know it, but they are already out of time. Within hours of his warning, a small fire at Wingan River starts. It is about 30 kilometres west of Mallacoota, soon out of control and generating its own weather. "If you're holidaying in that part of the state, it's time that you left," he says. The fire is expected to reach the outskirts of the town at daybreak. Mallacoota is without power. The bushfire is now big enough to generate its own lightning and is bearing down on the town. Around 4000 people are gathered on the foreshore in the hope theyll escape its wrath. People wake on New Years Eve in Mallacoota to the news that they are entirely hemmed in by fire. "Were walking up and down and my bags are packed," she tells The Age. "Its hot and its smoky and were just on the cusp of a wind change. Were in such a vulnerable place here." Jo Grant tells The Age she is preparing to take shelter with her husband, daughter and grandchild. It is too late to leave. Leaving now would be deadly. Genoa-Mallacoota Road is now closed. There are reports that CFA fire trucks have formed a ring around people on the foreshore to protect them. On Twitter Mallacoota local Brendan is sending out photos of the area, where smoke blots out the sun and turns day to night. Franchesca also tells ABC she thinks her home will be gone. "You can see nothing. It is like the darkest, darkest night. You can hear the fire, it's roaring away. Were getting a lot of ash falling. Unless youve got [a mask] youll be in trouble. A lot of people are using wet tea towels. And that works, but you cannot get enough air in." Mallacoota rescue coordinator Don Ashby tells ABC Gippsland that the CFA is instructing people on the foreshore they should get under the water if the fire trucks activate their sirens. The Bureau of Meteorology's weather gauge at Mallacoota is showing 49 degrees, with winds gusting up to 80km/h. A new emergency warning has been issued. The fire front is expected to enter Mallacoota within half an hour. "My home is in the fire path. I won't have a home. That's just how it's going to be. We have to try to remain calm. We have maybe 20 per cent visibility. But I'd rather be alive than be at home." Incident Alert is now showing 10 fires, including a house fire, in the main street of Mallacoota. People down on the beach are tweeting out images showing a blood red sky. Larry Gray is at the end of a jetty at Mallacoota wrapped in a blanket. "We can see the fire coming towards us, there's hot embers flying through the air - small ones," Gray tells The Age. "It sounds like a freight train. It's completely black like midnight. There's a weird red glow." Gas bottles from caravans on the foreshore have been dragged into the ocean to stop them exploding, he says. "People are really scared ... People are thinking the whole town is going to go." The bushfire has begun to burn the outskirts of Mallacoota. The majority of those stuck in the town are huddled at the boat ramp where theyre waiting in anticipation. "Everyone is down at the boat ramp area. The fire has not reached ... yet," Mark from Mallacoota tells ABC Gippsland. "I am hearing multiple gas cylinders exploding in the township. I don't know where But I've probably heard anywhere from 12 to 15 cylinders exploding. None of the CFA trucks are down at the boat ramp. I dare say they are all out fighting fires." Several houses have now been lost in Mallacoota and a medical centre has been set up. "It is pitch black. It is quite scary in that community. They right now are under threat. But we will hold our line and they will be saved and protected," says CFA chief officer Steve Warrington. Some people have chosen to stay and defend their houses, rather than sheltering on the foreshore. Trucks will not be able to reach and protect them, he confirms. "Literally as we speak the advice I am receiving from the fire ground is houses are visibly being lost. But the main CBD has been saved." Incident Alert also indicates a grass fire within the town where around 4000 people are sheltering. The smoke lifts slightly, providing some reprieve for those sheltering on the shores of Malacoota. Mary OMalley is sheltering on a boat and says some of the thick smoke has lifted after hours of what looked like "armageddon". "Suddenly, for the first time this morning we've got some daylight." The sky had either been pitch black or glowing red since about 8.30am, "which is the scariest thing I've ever experienced". She agreed the situation would probably become a health issue soon, with about 4000 people needing the toilet. "We have limited food too," she says. CFAs Steve Warrington says that there has been a wind change and the fire has bypassed the town centre. "We'll take any good news we can get at the moment," he says. There is still an active fire in the area and the town remains isolated. Defence Minister Linda Reynolds announces just after 5pm that the navy and air force will deploy to Victoria to help communities including a possible evacuation at Mallacoota. People in Mallacoota are being urged to boil tap water before drinking it. Loading Forest Fire Management Victoria issues an alert because the fire put heavy demands on tap water and has affected supply. The alert notes that bottled water is available from the local IGA supermarket free of charge, and additional supplies are on their way. It urges all residents and visitors to restrict their water use immediately to essential use, and says the water supply should return to normal within three days. Defence outlines its assistance to isolated communities including several helicopters and the dispatch of HMAS Choules and MV Sycamore. Local federal Nationals MP Darren Chester confirms there are at least four people missing in Victoria and that dozens of homes have likely been lost in Mallacoota. "We will have to find a way to get some of those people out as quick as we possibly can. The full assessment of damage at Mallacoota hasn't been done. The agencies haven't been able to get there safely yet, go through street by street. "My mate on the ground, he tells me dozens of homes have been destroyed. People will need help to get through the next few months, years." Geoff Belmore has lost two houses. He's been holidaying in Mallacoota for 25 years and has lived there for the last four. "I have been working on the units for the last couple of years," Mr Belmore says. "Finally got them finished and then its totally gone. The whole structure has collapsed. I have a 1977 Corvette, a 1964 Holden ute, a 1942 Dodge that I was turning into a hot rod, a beautiful Harley Davidson, a boat that I loved with a couple of brand-new motors on it and now they're molten aluminium." Musican Justin Brady also loses his home. He is able to save his instruments - including a fiddle, harmonica and mandolin - but his home on Karbeethong Hill does not survive. "I lost everything pretty much," Brady says. "I built the house 25 years ago but only just recently, the last three months, I decided to live there as my base. Previously I had lived here but toured too." During the fire he takes refuge for hours in a boat near a jetty where 50 people sheltered. "It was apocalyptic," he says. HMAS Choules, an amphibious landing ship with a dock for helicopters and the capacity to carry 700 troops at maximum load, leaves Sydney Harbour on Wednesday morning to help Mallacoota. It will be joined by MV Sycamore - a patrol vessel that can carry a helicopter. Gas company Esso is helping with the rescue and recovery effort in Mallacoota, offering two ships and helicopters to help emergency services and assist in evacuations. Emergency Commissioner Andrew Crisp announces that water, food and petrol supplies are headed for Mallacoota. He outlines a plan to use helicopters to assist in the delivery of the supplies and facilitate a shift change for the firefighters on the ground. A barge containing 30,000 litres of fuel and a two-week supply of food and water is also on its way from Melbourne. The Australian Defence Force is also moving naval assets, two Black Hawk helicopters and a larger Taipan helicopter into Mallacoota. This video posted on the Mallacoota Community News Facebook page shows the moment locals form a human chain to help carry some cases of bottled water from a boat to a waiting trailer. A large helicopter leaves Bairnsdale Airport, carrying 20 firefighters. They have been sent in to relieve some of the exhausted and injured firemen on the ground. Tap water in Mallacoota is safe to drink again but people are urged to restrict their water usage to conserve supplies. HMAS Choules is capable of carrying about 1000 passengers, but about 4000 people remain stranded around the town's beach area, including about 1000 locals. Emergency Management Victoria says the ship will make two to three trips over the coming days, with a view to evacuating all of those stranded before conditions worsen on Saturday. The vessel will also deliver water, food and medical supplies. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says 800 people will be evacuated on Thursday morning. He is unable to say where they will be taken to. People are lining up to register for Friday's evacuation. The commander of HMAS Choules says the registration is to gauge how many of the 4000 people stranded want to be evacuated. "If the number is greater than 1000, then its going to be a second load. Its 16-17 hours to the closest boat port, then weve got to come back." For the first time in Victoria's history, a state of disaster is declared. Premier Daniel Andrews desperately urges residents in threatened communities to evacuate before fire conditions deteriorate today and tomorrow. The declaration gives the state government powers to evacuate residents and towns in six designated local government areas and the alpine resorts. The HMAS Choules evacuation mission begins. The journey is complex and has been restricted to the able-bodied and those above the age of four. It will involve climbing up rope ladders and smaller ferry boats. Others wanting to leave will be offered flights out while conditions are still relatively clear. The first of 1000 people to evacuate have begun to board vessels at Bastion Point to be ferried out to HMAS Choules under a thick cloud of smoke. There are a number of teary faces as people leave the much-loved area shrouded in a blanket of deep, heavy smoke. Age photographer Justin McManus overhears a sombre conversation between a little boy and his mother lining up to board HMAS Choules. "I never want to come here again," the boy says before his mother tries to reassure him: "But we'll go back next year. Everything would have grown back." As about 1000 weary Mallacoota evacuees and their pets board HMAS Choules for the journey to safety they are provided with a little comic relief. A ship commander greets the displaced with an instruction to think of the impressive navy vessel as "a cruise ship without the pina coladas". The first 58 evacuees arrive in Melbourne via the MV Sycamore. They and 150 of their pets, including rabbits and a parrot will make their way to the Somerville relief centre to end this week of horror. Shire mayor Sam Hearn says staff had worked "pretty hard" over the past few days to prepare all the support people may need. "That includes everything from obviously food and water, spaces to rest, quiet spaces, mental and emotional wellbeing support with some chaplaincy and mental health workers, pharmaceutical and medical support as well," Cr Hearn says. Defence Minister Linda Reynolds has ordered the "compulsory call-out" of up to 3000 Army reservists to help with the bushfire response. As well as Army reservists, the federal government is sending in the Navy. Prime Minister Morrison says HMAS Adelaide will sail from Sydney this afternoon, and be located offshore from fire-affected areas near the border of Victoria and New South Wales from tomorrow afternoon. The ship is "fully equipped for disaster relief and humanitarian aid", he says, and able to carry 400 crew, including medical staff, as well as 300 tonnes of emergency relief supplies. Mallacoota is now under ember attack. "Were trying to get people inside the hall, out of the embers. Weve got people on the roof with hoses," Don Ashby tells ABC Gippsland. With up to 3000 people still in the town, Mr Ashby said the relief centre has only just sourced a fridge and most people were eating cold Foodbank donations brought in by sea. The smoke has grounded helicopters being used to airlift people who were not eligible for evacuation on HMAS Choules including children. Sarah Beer, who has children aged one and three, tells The Age the sky has turned black and their caravan on the foreshore is being soaked with water as a precaution. Sarah Beer with daughter Elsie and son Xavier holed up in the caravan. Credit:Justin McManus "Its pitch black outside now so I am a little bit scared - we are getting another attack coming through," she says. "Both of my children have shown respiratory issues because of four days of constant smoke. We need to get out of the smoke but there are no planes or choppers going anywhere. We are still stuck." Mallacoota is now shrouded in a burgundy darkness. Twitter user @Brendanh remarks it's so "dark that people are almost invisible". HMAS Choules has docked at Hastings where the evacuees are transported onto buses. The first busload of people is expected to arrive at the Somerville relief centre at 5:30pm. About 800 people are heading to Somerville, with a further 200 going straight to Melbourne. Those headed to Melbourne will be put up at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre or at Crown. Nineteen-year-old Jackie Stefanopoulous, who was on board HMAS Choules, had been holidaying in Mallacoota with her boyfriend and his family, when "all of a sudden we heard about the incoming bushfires". "I was petrified, a lot of people were petrified," she tells The Age. "The sense of uncertainty [was frightening], like not knowing whether we will be OK, understanding that there were bushfires surrounding us only a couple of metres. I feared for my life, it was really scary." Buses are taking people from the Mallacoota Hall to board a C-27J Spartan helicopter that is evacuating holidaymakers by air. "Theyre flying people out while the weathers good. Its pretty clear here, we can see the Howe Range for the first time in two days," Don Ashby says. Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp says 61 people have left by air this morning, with an expected total of 350 people to evacuate by the end of the day. After days of life-threatening fire, black skies, oppressive smoke, caring for a sick child and repeated disappointments about evacuation, Montreal-based Meaghan Wegg tells The Age she has had enough of Mallacoota. I don't cry much but it definitely came out last night, she says. This latest airlift leaves 400 people who have chosen to stay in the community. Tim Buckley and son Jackson on board a Chinook helicopter with their family Meaghan Wegg and Georgia. Credit:Justin McManus Two vets from Healesville Sanctuary have arrived in Mallacoota to treat injured wildlife. Despite their injuries and trauma, the bravery shown by the koalas and wildlife at Mallacoota is inspiring, Dr Leanne Wicker says. Zoos Victoria chief executive Jenny Grey said an estimated 500 million animals had been killed in bushfires this fire season and that the full impact was impossible to determine at this stage. Its raining. East Gippsland has seen 5 millimetres of patchy rain over the past 24 hours. Another 5-10 millimetres are expected to arrive today. Its unfortunately not enough to impact the fires. Three hundred people have registered to evacuate Mallacoota today. Premier Daniel Andrews says 406 people were taken out by helicopter on Sunday. Priority for evacuation by air is given to young children and their families, the sick and the elderly who had not been allowed on HMAS Choules, which on Friday took more than 900 people from Mallacoota on a 20-hour journey to Melbourne. But then airlifts were repeatedly delayed because of poor visibility and a Chinook helicopter and RAAF Spartan military transport aircraft were unable to land at Mallacoota airport. The final 300 people who would like to evacuate Mallacoota are scheduled to leave via HMAS Choules this afternoon, a State Control Centre spokesman says. Loading The Navy ship is expected to dock in Hastings, near the Mornington Peninsula, tomorrow evening. The City of Melbourne will re-open an emergency relief centre at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre for another group of people aboard HMAS Choules from Mallacoota. About 200 evacuees are expected to arrive at Hastings, on the Mornington Peninsula, about 5pm on Wednesday. A further 142 people left behind at Mallacoota and wanting to leave will be flown out when weather conditions allow. Diesel has been dropped into Mallacoota to power generators with priority given to relief centres, hospitals, airports, communications and essential services. Federal MP for East Gippsland Darren Chester says petrol supplies have arrived in Mallacoota. We were able to provide today four 200 litre drums of unleaded fuel for the public to access to maintain that little bit of comfort they may have until the power is restored to the town, he says. He also says that fresh milk and produce was delivered to the supermarkets of Mallacoota by the Australian Defence Force. Mr Chester says the remaining residents are in great spirits. At least 300 homes have been lost. Everyone who has registered their desire to leave Mallacoota has now been evacuated. The Age reporter Michael Fowler visits Mallacoota on January 15 and finds it nearly deserted. Local firefighter Dean Shaw, whose home has been running on a generator for 15 days, says an end to the fires is, at least, in sight. A fair way away, but itll be good. Then the town, once everyone goes and its back to just us, has got to turn around, he says. I dont think weve really taken in and comprehended the enormity of the whole thing yet. T he public is likely to face an "enormous bill" for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's future security, a former Home Office minister has warned. Ex-Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker suggested the fact Harry will not use but will still retain his HRH style was a way of ensuring he could qualify for paid security, unlike Diana, Princess of Wales, who was stripped of her HRH style and police protection. Buckingham Palace is not commenting on whether taxpayers will still have to pay for Harry, Meghan and baby Archie Mountbatten-Windsor's round-the-clock guards. Mr Baker, the author of a book about royal family finances entitled And What Do You Do?, said the family's new life in North America would cause costs to escalate. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are to no longer use their HRH titles / PA "We're going to end up from the public purse paying more for Harry and Meghan than we do now because the security costs are going to go through the roof," he said. "It's not just the cost of Harry and Meghan's security, but it's also the cost of flying police officers out of Scotland Yard, over on transatlantic planes to and from Canada on shifts 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. "It's an enormous bill." Security for the royal family as a whole costs the taxpayer in excess of an estimated 100 million a year, but the actual figure is never disclosed. Harry and Meghan will earn their own money when they step back fully from royal life. Former Home Office Minister Norman Baker arrives at Liberal Democrat offices in Westminster / PA They had initially hoped for a dual role, supporting the Queen, the Commonwealth and Harry's military associations as well, but the idea was fraught with problems and in the end unworkable. The Prince of Wales will offer some private financial support to Harry and Meghan but it is not known if this will come from his 21 million a year Duchy of Cornwall income or other private funds. Mr Baker claimed the taxpayer could lose out if Charles uses his Duchy income, if there was a reduction in his tax liability. He said: "It depends how he supports them. If he wants to support them from genuinely his own money, that's fine. The Prince of Wales will offer some private financial support to Harry and Meghan / Getty Images "However, I suspect based on previous behaviour, he won't do that, he'll support them through the Duchy of Cornwall. "What he will then do, based on previous experience, is claim that as a legitimate expense and he will use that to reduce his tax liability and therefore the public purse will continue to support Harry indirectly." Sources insisted, however, that the prince will not be attempting to offset any contributions against tax, and that he would pay all relevant tax. He voluntarily pays income tax at the 45% rate on his income from the Duchy of Cornwall, after his business-related costs are deducted, and his taxes are checked by HMRC. Mr Baker argued that the Duchy, the landed estate set up in 1337 by Edward III to provide an income for heirs to the throne, should be subject to corporation tax, and called for the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to look into the Duchy's finances. Meghan and Harry with their son Archie / Getty Images "There's a need for a drastic look at royal finances and that's the body that should be doing it," he added. The Duchy of Cornwall's website says it is not a corporation and therefore not subject to corporation tax. Mr Baker said the PAC would also be able to investigate whether Harry and Meghan, who will start paying commercial rent on their UK base Frogmore Cottage, will be charged at the correct level. Rents on Frogmore Cottage - a newly renovated four-bedroom property with a nursery in Windsor's Home Park - could be around 5,000 a month as it could not be let commercially for security reasons. But other estimates have suggested the home would fetch up to 30,000 a month. Harry and Meghan have also said they will pay the running costs, and repay the renovation bill of 2.4 million, which is likely to rise when the bill for additional work not completed by the time of last year's accounts is added. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 05:54:16|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close A Lebanese demonstrator protests in front of the house of newly-appointed Prime Minister Hassan Diab in Beirut, Lebanon, on Jan. 14, 2020. (Xinhua/Bilal Jawich) At least 70 people were injured in protests in Lebanon's capital Beirut which have been escalated due to officials' failure to form a cabinet of independent ministers capable of dealing with the country's crises. BEIRUT, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Clashes between protesters and riot police continued on Sunday evening in Lebanon's capital Beirut, leaving 70 injured, the LBCI local TV channel reported. Among the injured, 30 people were transported by the Lebanese Red Cross to nearby hospitals, said the report. Protesters attempted to break into the parliament by throwing stones at security forces who used water cannons to disperse demonstrators. Meanwhile, Lebanese President Michel Aoun on Sunday called for an urgent security meeting to be held on Monday with defense and interior ministers and security agencies to discuss the latest developments in the country. Heavy clashes had started a day earlier due to the failure of the ruling political class to adopt quick measures to save the deteriorating economy prevailing in the country. Saturday's clashes caused a total of 169 injuries, according to the Lebanese Red Cross. Protests have escalated in the past few days due to officials' failure to form a cabinet of independent ministers capable of dealing with the country's different crises. Nationwide protests started in Lebanon on Oct. 17, 2019 and they succeeded to topple the government of Prime Minister Saad Hariri and led to the appointment of Hassan Diab as the new prime minister. Close Virginia governor declares state of emergency over 'threats of violence' from pro-gun rally Thousands of guns rights activists descended on Capitol Square in Richmond, Virginia, for a rally after the state Senate passed a series of bills limiting the purchasing of firearms and establishing mandatory background checks. Gun owners rallied on the streets amid heavy security, with many demonstrators holding weapons, pro-gun rights banners and wearing camouflage clothing. Activists were campaigning for their right to bear arms, which is protected by the Second Amendment of the constitution. Governor Ralph Northam (D-VA) declared a state of emergency and temporarily banned guns on capitol grounds as the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) held its annual Lobby Day demonstrations on Martin Luther King Jr Day. The demonstrations come less than a week after the gun control measures were advanced in the state legislature, setting up for a contentious showdown between gun owners attending the rally and counter-protestors calling for common sense reforms in Virginia, known for its lax gun laws. Gun rights rally in Virginia Show all 32 1 /32 Gun rights rally in Virginia Gun rights rally in Virginia Gun rights advocates and militia members attend a rally organised by The Virginia Citizens Defense League on Capitol Square near the state capitol building in Richmond Reuters Gun rights rally in Virginia During elections last year, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam promised to enact sweeping gun control laws in 2020, including limiting handgun purchase to one per month, banning military-style weapons and silencers, allowing localities to ban guns in public spaces and enacting a 'red flag' law so authorities can temporarily seize weapons from someone deemed a threat AP Gun rights rally in Virginia While event organisers asked supporters to show up un-armed, militias and other far-right groups from across the country attended the rally with guns to show their support for gun rights AP Gun rights rally in Virginia A man with his face covered joins the rally Getty Gun rights rally in Virginia EPA Gun rights rally in Virginia Getty Gun rights rally in Virginia AP Gun rights rally in Virginia Reuters Gun rights rally in Virginia EPA Gun rights rally in Virginia Reuters Gun rights rally in Virginia AP Gun rights rally in Virginia Reuters Gun rights rally in Virginia Reuters Gun rights rally in Virginia EPA Gun rights rally in Virginia Reuters Gun rights rally in Virginia Getty Gun rights rally in Virginia AFP via Getty Gun rights rally in Virginia EPA Gun rights rally in Virginia EPA Gun rights rally in Virginia AP Gun rights rally in Virginia Getty Gun rights rally in Virginia AP Gun rights rally in Virginia EPA Gun rights rally in Virginia Getty Gun rights rally in Virginia AP Gun rights rally in Virginia EPA Gun rights rally in Virginia EPA Gun rights rally in Virginia EPA Gun rights rally in Virginia Reuters Gun rights rally in Virginia AFP via Getty Gun rights rally in Virginia AFP via Getty Gun rights rally in Virginia AP Donald Trump tweeted a message shortly before the rally officially began appearing to support the protestors. The president said: The Democrat Party in the Great Commonwealth of Virginia are working hard to take away your 2nd Amendment rights, followed by a call for people to vote Republican in the 2020 US election. The FBI arrested multiple suspected neo-Nazis in the build-up to the event, who had reportedly discussed opening fire at the demonstrations and were anticipating a possible race war. There were initially fears of a second Charlottesville -- when a white supremacist rally turned deadly in Virginia nearly three years ago -- but it was ultimately a peaceful, albeit tense, event. Catch-up on events as they happened Please allow a moment for the liveblog to load An outbreak of a mysterious virus has not deterred millions of people in China from packing into crowded trains as they head home for the Lunar New Year -- but some are donning masks as a precaution. The world's biggest annual travel rush comes as a SARS-like coronavirus has spread from the central city of Wuhan to Beijing, southern Guangdong province and three Asian countries, with more than 200 people stricken, including three fatalities. A renowned government expert on Monday said the virus is contagious between humans, which would raise the risk of more people getting sick as they sit next to each other on long rides to their hometowns. But going back to the countryside or other parts of the country to gather with family is an annual ritual that is impossible to miss -- the country will come to a halt from Friday until Thursday next week to celebrate the Year of the Rat's arrival. More than 100 million train trips have already been taken since the mass migration began about 10 days ago, the national railway operator said Sunday. Lines formed on Monday at ticket booths outside Beijing Railway Station, where commuters -- young and old -- gathered with their luggage and souvenirs. Li Yang, 28, an account manager from northern Inner Mongolia region, said it had been five to six years since she returned to her hometown from Beijing. "It's hard to guard against such viruses," she told AFP. "Watching the news, I do feel a little worried. But I haven't taken precautionary measures beyond wearing regular masks," she added. "Even if I remained in Beijing, I would have to visit public spaces." A worker in the finance sector surnamed Guo added that she and her friends had been reminding each other to wear masks as a precaution. "We're not sure how else we can protect ourselves, but I am generally vigilant," said the 26-year-old. "What else can we do? We still have to go home over the Spring Festival." President Xi Jinping weighed in on Monday, instructing authorities to contain the spread of the virus, release information on the epidemic "in a timely manner", and "ensure that the masses have a stable and peaceful Spring Festival". - 'Avoid public places' - The new coronavirus has caused alarm because of its connection to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which killed nearly 650 people across mainland China and Hong Kong in 2002-2003. Authorities in Wuhan, a city of 11 million people that also serves as a major transport hub, said Monday a third person was confirmed to have died and 136 new cases were found over the weekend. A Wuhan seafood market is believed to be the epicentre of the virus, and the World Health Organization said an animal source seemed most likely to be the "primary" culprit. In Hong Kong, 106 people were being monitored. Authorities kept a close eye on developments -- especially given the proximity of Guangdong to the densely packed financial hub. Passengers arriving at the city's airport and high-speed train terminals have been subject to increased monitoring, including temperature checks. Health officials said Monday they were expanding their enhanced checks to include anyone coming in from Hubei province, not just Wuhan. All passengers flying in from Wuhan will also be asked to fill out a health declaration form. At Shanghai's busy Hongqiao Railway Station, some in the crowd wore masks, but not significantly more than usually seen in the eastern city. No flu screening stations or signs were visible. A 25-year-old woman surnamed Jiang, who works for a medical device company, was heading to her hometown in Hubei, the province where Wuhan is located. "Previously, I had many plans in Wuhan, like hanging around for one to two days. But now I think I will just transfer there instead of staying," she said. A woman surnamed Xia, a 29-year-old auto industry employee, was wearing a mask because she was heading home to Wuhan. She said one cousin who lives in southern China was "very worried" about the virus and "doesn't dare go back to Wuhan". "I think the pneumonia situation is controllable," Xia said. "But after I go home, I'll avoid public places, seafood and live poultry." INVASION DAY Celebrating 250 Years of Destruction What is Australia Day? Australia Day celebrates the anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet in New South Wales, the myth of terra nullius, and the raising of the Union Jack for the first time on Aboriginal land. 2020 also marks the 250th anniversary of Captain Cook raising the Union Jack on Possession Island north of the tip of what is now known as Queensland. Any celebration of Australia Day, especially a celebration of events that mark the destruction and genocide of the First Nations people is, therefore, a dismissal of Australias colonial history. Since 1938, instead of celebrating these moments of history, Aboriginal groups have used the date to advocate for: acknowledgement of colonial history, a day to mourn those who died in the Frontier Wars, a chance to advocate for sovereignty and land rights, and a time to make other demands of justice for Indigenous people. One of the major groups that pushed for a celebration of Australia Day on the 26th of January was the Australian Native Association. Unlike what the name suggests, the Australian Native Association were a group of middle-class white Europeans who had been born in Australia. The name choice for their group seems extremely deliberate. On the one hand, they are clearly advocating for a new nation the Australian nation as opposed to simply being British settlers. On the other hand, they have specifically chosen the word native to suggest they were the original inhabitants of the land, which is a complete erasure of the Indigenous people who lived on the land before them for over 60,000 years. Membership to this association was restricted to European descendants, so second-generation non-whites could not be considered native. Therefore, by somehow ignoring a huge contradiction, only Europeans could be considered native to the land. The group began a campaign for 26th January to be celebrated officially as a national holiday now known as Australia Day, and in 1931 Victoria accepted their proposal, and by 1935 all other states and territories had followed. It makes sense why a group like the Australian Native Association would mark Britains colonial invasion as the beginning of the formation of their nation since their nation requires European descent. But why are we still celebrating, rather than soberly remembering, the day that marked the colonial invasion, the nation built by forced labour for the British bourgeoisie, and chosen by a bunch of white supremacists? For the 150th anniversary of the First Fleet, a group of Aboriginal people were forced to partake in the re-enactment of the First Fleet arrival despite refusing to do so. Australia Day organisers took a group of men from Menindee, locked them up at a police station in Sydney, and only released them on the day of re-enactment when they were told to run up the beach fleeing the British. This is history of Australia Day celebrations. In 1937 William Ferguson of the Aborigines Progressive Association of New South Wales went to Melbourne to meet with the Australian Aborigines League of Victoria in order to organise national protests of Australia Day. They called 26th January a Day of Mourning and events were organised for the week surrounding the 26th. The protests aimed to eventually form a national body for Aboriginal people, with their own manifesto and finally a voice to parliament. The term Invasion Day was first used to describe the commemoration of 26th January in 1988 when 40,000 Aboriginal people and their allies from all over the country marched through Sydney as a response to the 200th anniversary of the First Fleet. The march also aimed to remind Australia of its Black history. Speaker at the march Gary Foley said on the day that it was so magnificent to see black and white Australians together in harmony and that this is what Australia could and should be like. So why do people celebrate Australia Day despite its history? According to the National Council for Australia Day, thirteen million people participate in specific Australia Day events. It also notes that seventy-five percent of Australians see it as a day to celebrate diversity, fifty-four percent use the day to consider how lucky we are, and forty-six percent use it to celebrate Australian freedom. Australian freedom that is, the liberal ideas of a fair go, rather than being a right to food, housing, education and employment. How lucky are we when 250 years of exploitation and mismanagement of stolen land has resulted in over ten million acres destroyed by the bushfire crisis? When we have governments, such as Victorian Labor illegally logging and exploiting public land, exacerbating climate change for a profit? What about the over 400 Aboriginal deaths in custody since the Royal Commission in 1991? What happened to Veronica Nelsons fair go when she died in custody at the beginning of this year after being arrested just for shoplifting? Nationwide protests of 2020 Invasion Day demand: Abolishment of Australia Day The end of the removal of Aboriginal children from their communities Action on Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody End to racist, and systematic discrimination of Indigenous people Protection of sacred places from mining companies and government Stop selling constitutional recognition to the public instead of sovereignty and land rights The end to the NT Intervention For the Endeavour replica to not sail Australian seas in celebration of the First Fleet. If Australia wants to celebrate its nation, it needs to confront its past, find its independence, grant land rights to Indigenous people and find a day that does not celebrate colonial destruction. Ever since Wendy Williams announced that she and her longterm husband were divorcing, shes introduced her fans to a whole new side of her. The infamously blunt talk show host who once publicly referred to herself as a homebody has rebranded herself as a traveling partygoer. Her excursions shared during the Hot Topics segment of The Wendy Williams Show read like a scene from the latest popular reality series. Wendy Williams 2019 | BG027/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images Along with her new social life is her desire to completely remove herself from her soon-to-be ex-husband. Though she has to cough up some of her hard-earned fortune to her ex in their settlement, shes not looking back. Williams recently re-listed their marital home and is eager for a buyer. Wendy Williams lists marital home with ex-husband, Kevin Hunter, for sale Williams is ready to rid herself completely of all things related to her old life with Hunter and that includes their marital home. The media maven initially listed her and Hunters Livingston, New Jersey home for sale shortly after filing for divorce last year. She took it off the market to handle personal drama between her husband and son. Williams re-listed the home on Jan. 15, according to The Blast. Wendy Williams and Kevin Hunter 2018 | Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images The 5,700 sq ft mansion is luxurious. This custom-built home has five bedrooms and 4 and a half bathrooms, as well as an oversized full finished basement with that adds on 2500 sq ft. The gourmet kitchen is equipped with granite countertops and high-end appliances, custom cabinetry and a center island. The kitchen also has a large walk-in pantry. The first floor of the mansion lives the private master suite with a marble master bathroom featuring both a jacuzzi tub and steam shower, and a private sitting room. Williams former home has every additional perk youd imagine a celebrity home to include, such as two oversized walk-in closets and a space used dually as a library home office. Source: YouTube With the new listing came a new price tag. Williams initially asked for almost $1.9 million but slashed the price to $1.7 million this time around. Normally, a lower cost is a hint that the seller is looking for a quick turnaround. Interested buyers can check out the home on the Zillow listing. Wendy Williams is thriving as a single woman Williams isnt letting her divorce slow her down. Despite the heartache and public shame having to endure a cheating scandal and a divorce after over 20 years of marriage, she is pressing forward in a positive way. Her talk show has been renewed for several more seasons and for the first time, shes running the show. Her ex was removed as an executive producer of the show, as well as released from his managerial duties, following their split. Williams hit the town when she became free of Hunter and spent the summer of 2019 traveling and hanging out with celebrity friends. She spent a lot of time between New York, Los Angeles and, Miami and was spotted enjoying time with everyone from Blac Chyna to Kim Kardashian West. She even took a trip to Atlanta to reconnect with RHOA star, Nene Leakes. Leakes and Williams had a public fallout that Williams made it her duty to rectify post her divorce filing. One of the first things Williams did was move out of her New Jersey home she shared with Hunter and their son and into her own New York City bachelorette pad. The $15,000 a month apartment is in the Financial District of the city. According to Page Six, the three-bedroom, three-bathroom apartment is 2,304 square feet and sits on a midlevel floor of a luxury building. Williams two-floor unit features one bedroom on the main level and the two others are on the second level, as well as a beautiful view of the Hudson River. Its more than enough space for the star as her son is living independently in Florida where he attends college. Wendy Williams with her star in Hollywoods Walk of Fame 2019 | Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic Williams received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to television and radio last fall. Her Lifetime biopic is also slated to air this year and she promises to reveal all in the movie! BRIDGEPORT A Sacred Heart University student has been charged with disseminating nude photographs of a young woman without her permission, police said. Nicholas Otto-Bernstein, 20, of New York, is charged with illegally disseminating intimate images, voyeurism and disseminating voyeurism images. He is free on a promise to appear in court on Feb. 28. An SHU spokesperson said he has voluntarily withdrawn from the university. Sacred Heart Universitys primary goal is always the protection of our students, faculty, staff and visitors to our campus. To that end, we have been investigating this incident since it came to our attention, said Deb Noack, a spokesperson for SHU. The student who was alleged to have distributed the photo has voluntarily withdrawn from the University. Beyond that, federal privacy laws prevent us from commenting on individual students. Otto-Bernsteins lawyer, Felice Duffy, did not immediately return calls for comment. Bridgeport police said a 20-year-old Sacred Heart University student said she had attended an off-campus student party in October 2019. She said she had two drinks and then blacked out. She awoke some hours later back in her dormitory room with no recollection how she got there, police said. Police said sometime later the young woman told them she received a text from a friend stating that a nude photo of her had been posted on the mobile messaging app Snapchat. The image, saved by the friend, showed the victim lying naked on a bed, police said. The victim later learned that the image had been sent to members of the universitys Omega Phi Kappa fraternity, according to the police report. Police said they were able to trace the image back to Otto-Bernstein. The victim said she had met him at the party, according to the police report. The police report identified Otto-Bernstein as a member of the fraternity. However, Justin Carde, a SHU alum and adviser to the Fairfield County Omega Phi Kappa chapters, said Otto-Bernstein was not a member of the fraternity although he went through initiation last spring. Hes never been inducted into our fraternity. Hes not a member at all, Carde said. As of Monday evening, police has not responded to attempts to clarify Otto-Bernsteins status as a member of the Omega Phi Kappa fraternity. Press Release January 20, 2020 Bong Go pushes for amendments to Solo Parents' Welfare Act to provide greater benefits for solo parents Senator Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go urged his fellow Senators on Monday, January 20, to support the bill that he filed that seeks to amend Republic Act No. (RA) 8972 or the Solo Parents' Welfare Act of 2000. "I am pushing for these amendments to be included in the existing law to cater to as many solo parents as possible, to help them build a stronger family despite their situation, and to support them as productive members of society," Go said during the public hearing that the Committee on Women, Children and Family Relations and Gender Equality conducted with the Senate Committees on Social Justice, Welfare and Rural Development; Finance; Health and Demography; and Ways and Means. "Solo parents are both the breadwinners and caregivers of their families, and they should be acknowledged appropriately. As the law now stands, the privileges and benefits awarded to them are insufficient and show a lack of understanding for the complexity of their needs," the Senator explained. "The enhancements I have introduced to the Solo Parents' Welfare Act aim to provide redress for some 14 million solo parents who are saddled by the double hardship of raising their children. They will infuse more benefits and privileges to the solo parent which will ease the burden of single-handedly raising his or her children," he added. If passed into law, Go's Senate Bill (SB) No. 206 will give solo parents amnesty or reduction in real estate and inheritance taxes and add P50,000 to their exemption from individual income tax. The bill will also grant them additional special discounts in purchases, such as ten percent from clothes for babies up to two years old, fifteen percent from baby's milk and food up to two years old, and fifteen percent from medicine up to five years old. According to the proposed amendments of Go, children of solo parents will also enjoy ten percent tuition fee discount from public and private schools from grade one to college and twenty percent discount from school supplies until 21 years old. Before solo parents could avail themselves of the privileges, however, they must apply for a Solo Parent Identification Card from the Local Social Welfare and Development Office and present the card to the companies and establishments from whom discounted purchases are made. The companies and establishments are likewise allowed to claim the discounts as part of their business expense. "Employment benefits are also included in my proposal. Under the existing law, solo parent employees who have rendered service of at least one year shall be granted parental leave of not more than seven working days. My proposed measure lowers the required length of service to six months instead and specifies that the leave should be granted 'with pay,'" Go said. "Further, I included penal provisions among my amendments in order to ensure compliance with the dictates of the law. Para mas makatulong talaga itong batas sa mga solo parents natin," he added. A fine of P200,000 or imprisonment of up to two years is proposed to be imposed on "any person, corporation, entity or agency which refuses or fails to provide the benefits granted to solo parents." Wanting the bill to benefit as many deserving Filipinos as possible, Go expanded the definition of solo parent in SB 206. Solo parent is defined under Section 3 as any individual who falls under any of the following categories: "A woman who gives birth as a result of rape and other crimes against chastity, even without a final conviction of the offender; provided, that the mother keeps and raises the child; "Parent left solo or alone with the responsibility of parenthood due death of spouse; "Parent left solo or alone with the responsibility of parenthood while spouse is detained or is serving sentence for a criminal conviction for at least one (1) year; "Parent left solo or alone with the responsibility of parenthood due to physical and/or mental incapacity of spouse as certified by a public medical practitioner; "Parent left solo or alone with the responsibility of parenthood due to legal separation or de facto separation from spouse for at least six (6) months, provided he/she is entrusted with the custody of the children; "Parent left solo or alone with the responsibility of parenthood due to declaration of nullity or annulment of marriage as decreed by a court or by a church, provided he/she is entrusted with the custody of the children; "Parent left solo or alone with the responsibility of parenthood due to abandonment of spouse for at least six (6) months; "Unmarried mother/father who has preferred to keep and rear his/her child/children; who has actual custody of the said child/children, instead of having others care for them or giving them up to a welfare institution; "Any other person who bears sole parental responsibility a child or children, including a foster parent duly-recognized by the Department of Social Welfare and Development, a legal guardian appointed by the court or a legal single adoptive parent; and "Any family member who assumes the responsibility as the head of the family resulting from the death, abandonment, disappearance or prolonged absence of the parents or solo parent." Under RA 8972, parents who are covered are those who have been left solo due to separation from the spouse or abandonment of the spouse for at least one year. The required time is reduced to six months in SB 206. The inclusion of duly recognized foster parents is another amendment introduced in SB 206. Go also reminded his colleagues that President Rodrigo Duterte called for the passage of the measure in his State of the Nation Address in July 2019. "Ito ay isang priority measure ng ating mahal na Pangulo na binanggit niya noong SONA niya, kaya hinihikayat ko ang aking mga kasamahan dito sa Senado na ipasa ito sa lalong madaling panahon," Go said. YEREVAN, JANUARY 20, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands Stef Blok will arrive in Armenia on an official visit on January 22-23, the Armenian foreign ministry told Armenpress. On January 23 the Armenian and Dutch FMs will have a meeting in the ministry after which they will hold a joint press conference. During the visit the Dutch FM will meet with Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan. The minister will also visit the Armenian Genocide Memorial to pay tribute to the memory of innocent victims. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan SEVENTEEN of the worlds billionaire individuals and families are Irish citizens, according to a new report on the gap between rich and poor. Oxfam says this equates to 3.5 billionaires per 1 million residents here the fifth-highest ratio in the world. Only Hong Kong, Cyprus, Switzerland and Singapore have more billionaires per head of population. The US leads the world in total billionaires with 607. China has 324, Germany 114, India 106 and Russia 98. Oxfam says growing global inequality means the worlds 2,153 billionaires own more wealth than 4.6 billion people. The report published to coincide with this weeks World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland suggests these are Irelands richest individuals and families. Estimated net worth comes chiefly from the 2019 Sunday Independent Rich List. These are the top Irish billionaires: 1. THE WESTONS 7.1bn Hilary and Galen Weston founded the Primark brand as part of amassing a family fortune topping 7bn. Their sprawling Wittington Investments retail portfolio includes Brown Thomas and Arnotts in Ireland, the Loblaw grocery chain in Canada, the high-end British chain Selfridges, and Fortnum & Mason. The Westons today divide their time between Toronto and a luxurious gated community in Florida. 2. THE COLLISON BROTHERS 5bn Expand Close Brothers Patrick (CEO) and John Collison, co-founders of Stripe, which has been described as America's second-largest startup. Photo: Bloomberg / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Brothers Patrick (CEO) and John Collison, co-founders of Stripe, which has been described as America's second-largest startup. Photo: Bloomberg If you bought anything online recently, the odds are strong that the payment was processed by Stripe, the firm founded in 2010 by Limerick brothers Patrick and John Collison. They sold their first company, Shuppa, while still in their teens. Both brothers dropped out of college early from MIT and Harvard respectively to develop the online payments technology that would make their fortunes. Stripes software allows businesses to connect websites and apps instantly with credit card and banking systems. The idea attracted early backing from Tesla founder Elon Musk and PayPals Peter Thiel. Businesses including Lyft and Facebook and have turned Stripe into the financial backbone of their operations. Despite their wealth, the brothers share a modest apartment in San Francisco. Their biggest luxury is a private plane. 3. JOHN DORRANCE 2.44bn John Dorrance IIIs chemist grandfather invented Campbells formula for condensed soup a century ago. It has generated massive wealth for his heirs, and John Ippy Dorrance III cashed in his 10.5pc stake in Campbells Soup in the 1990s. Around the same time, he moved to Ireland with his Finnish-born wife. He was granted a passport after he invested $1.5m in a tree-planting project and is believed to have a home in Dartry in Dublin 6. 4. DERMOT DESMOND 2.1bn Expand Close Dermot Desmond. Picture credit; Damien Eagers / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Dermot Desmond. Picture credit; Damien Eagers Long considered one of Irelands greatest dealmakers, Mr Desmond today is currently the largest shareholder at troubled travel software firm Datalex. The Cork-born businessman started out in banking and made his first fortune in 1994 after selling the stockbroking firm he founded, NCB, for 49m. His wide-ranging investments since have included stakes in Arctic diamonds, Celtic FC and Independent News & Media. Last year he sold his 15pc stake in INM for 22m, roughly breaking even in the process. He is credited with developing Dublins now booming IFSC in the 1980s. His most lucrative deal was the 2006 sale of London City Airport for 1bn, which his investment group bought for just 30m in 1995. He also made 120m from his original 475,000 investment in Denis OBriens Esat. 5. DENIS OBRIEN 2.05bn Expand Close Denis O'Brien. Photo: Damien Eagers / INM / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Denis O'Brien. Photo: Damien Eagers / INM Mr OBrien made his first fortune from Esat Telecom which he built up in the 1990s and sold to British Telecom Group in 2000 for 2.4bn. He brought his telecoms expertise to the Caribbean with Digicel, which today operates in more than 30 countries across Asia, Oceania and Central America. Another early success was winning a new radio licence for Dublin, 98FM, which he still owns through Communicorp, also home to Today FM and Newstalk. He took a loss exceeding 450m last year when he offloaded his majority holding in INM. He also has investments in property, healthcare and hospitality, including the Beacon Hospital in Dublin and the PGA Catalunya and Quinta do Lago resorts on the Iberian peninsula. He owns a superyacht named Nero and a luxury ski chalet in the French Alps called Chalet Chocolat Chaud (Chalet Hot Chocolate). STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. City Comptroller Scott Stringer believes the planned offshore storm barriers for New York Harbor will not adequately protect at-risk coastal communities and is urging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to reconsider its current plan in favor of more holistic onshore resiliency projects. Theres no question about it a future Superstorm Sandy will come and New York Harbor will bear the brunt of it. Too many of our waterfront communities are all too vulnerable to the next storm, or even the next high tide, Stringer said. Not long after Stringer voiced his concerns, President Trump sent out a tweet voicing strong opposition to the entire project. A massive 200 Billion Dollar Sea Wall, built around New York to protect it from rare storms, is a costly, foolish & environmentally unfriendly idea that, when needed, probably wont work anyway, Trump said in the tweet. A massive 200 Billion Dollar Sea Wall, built around New York to protect it from rare storms, is a costly, foolish & environmentally unfriendly idea that, when needed, probably wont work anyway. It will also look terrible. Sorry, youll just have to get your mops & buckets ready! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 18, 2020 It will also look terrible. Sorry, youll just have to get your mops & buckets ready! the tweet continued. Borough President James Oddo also took to Twitter to voice his opposition was to Trumps tweet. The force of the surge and the wave that hit Staten Island during Sandy was so strong it crossed Fr. Capodanno Boulevard and blew open a hole in the wall of the townhouse facing Sand Lane. A couple of days later someone put an American flag there.#Sandymemories #7thanniversary pic.twitter.com/Jj9bGd0pnk Jimmy Oddo (@HeyNowJO) October 26, 2019 I guess they didnt have a mop or bucket, Oddos tweet said, along with a photo of a house on Fr. Capodanno Boulevard. The house had a large hole in it after being hit by a storm surge during Superstorm Sandy. Mayor Bill de Blasio also had something to say about Trumps comment. Mops and buckets. We lost 44 of our neighbors in Hurricane Sandy. You should know, you lived here at the time, de Blasio said from his official Twitter account. Mops and buckets We lost 44 of our neighbors in Hurricane Sandy. You should know, you lived here at the time. Your climate denial isnt just dangerous to those youve sworn to protect its deadly. https://t.co/VUNPh8eMrD Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) January 19, 2020 STRINGER APPEALS TO ARMY CORPS Stringer penned a letter to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Colonel Thomas D. Asbery and Deputy District Engineer for Programs and Project Management Joseph Seebode asking them to scrap the current plan. You can read the full letter here. The five resiliency proposals would not replace the East Shore seawall now under construction but are aimed at keeping the shoreline safe. However, a single proposal is still years away from being selected, the U.S. Army Corps told the New York Times. The proposals are the result of the New York and New Jersey Harbor and Tributaries Focus Area Feasibility study. The study was a partnership with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the New York state Department of Environmental Conservation. Due to climate change, Stringer said, citing scientists, New York Citys risk for superstorms similar to Superstorm Sandy could increase from one-in 500 years to one-in-five years. Current estimates published by the New York Panel on Climate Change caution that sea levels surrounding the city can be expected to rise by as much as 21 inches by the 2050s and by as much as 39 inches by the 2080s, he said. Offshore storm barriers simply cannot protect all of our coastal communities from the myriad challenges posed by climate change and are incompatible with a healthy, thriving New York Harbor, he said in the letter. Michael Embrich, spokesman for the Army Corps said, We are still in the very early phases of this study, potential features and measures are purely suggestions at this point. The Corps will continue to accept public comments and work with our local partners at the City of New York. We look forward to a continued open dialogue and public engagement period as we move forward with the study process, in response to Stringers letter. ONSHORE RESILIENCY WOULD BE MORE EFFICIENT, COST-SAVING Instead, Stringer is asking the Army Corps to develop a more integrated and holistic system of onshore resiliency projects like localized flood walls, dune and wetland restoration, living shorelines, reefs and levees. Protecting these communities will require massive investment in resilient infrastructure that can protect our shorelines and our environment, he went on to say. The Army Corps has estimated the proposed six-mile long seawall would cost $119 billion and could take upwards of 25 years to fully construct. Stringer said using monies that were allocated -- but never used for Superstorm Sandy recovery -- would be better used for a new resiliency plan. He outlined these concerns in a report titled The Costs of Climate Change: New York Citys Economic Exposure to Rising Seas, in May 2019. Investigators of the territorial administration of the State Bureau of Investigation, located in the city of Kyiv, are investigating a possible suicide committed by an employee of the State Guard of Ukraine at the premises of the Central Election Commission. The press service of the State Bureau of Investigation reported that. According to preliminary information, a State Guard of Ukraine employee shot himself in the head with a service weapon, namely Makarov pistol. The tragedy took place at about 18:20 on January 20, 2020. The soldier died on the spot. Priority investigative actions are ongoing. The procedural management of the pre-trial investigation in criminal proceedings is carried out by the military prosecutor's office of the Kyiv department in the Central region of Ukraine. As we reported, the employee of the State Guard of Ukraine shot himself in the building of the Central Election Commission (CEC) in Kyiv. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-20 13:26:51|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close SYDNEY, Jan 20 (Xinhua) -- A prison guard and one prisoner have both been killed during a mass breakout at Buimo Jail, in the Papua New Guinea city of Lae. According to the Post Courier Newspaper, the prisoner who was serving a 35-year jail sentence for murder was shot dead during the incident which took place on Sunday, however details about how the correctional services (CS) officer died still remain unclear. "The first 32 prisoners [of the day] were sent out to see their families with 15 returning back to the compound, while the other 17 dashed for freedom jumping over the fence and fleeing through the CS officers' residential area heading towards Miles suburbs," Acting Lae Metropolitan Police Commander Superintendent Chris Kunyanban explained on Monday. While guards at the facility gave chase to the men, they were unable to detain them. "The prisoners ran into the bush, removed their prison uniforms and fled." Although the police were also alerted and on the lookout for the criminals, they were unsuccessful in locating the fugitives. "I'm calling on city residents to take precautions when moving around," Kunyanban said. "These escapees are convicted for rape, murder and armed robbery and are a real threat to the community." "If you have any information on the whereabouts of the escapees please do not hesitate to report it to the police." An investigation into the death of the prison guard is now underway, while 16 convicted criminals remain at large. Putin Says He Rejects Soviet-Style Leaders For Life By RFE/RL's Russian Service January 18, 2020 Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he would not like to see his country return to the Soviet practice of having lifelong rulers who died without a clear succession procedure. Speaking to a group of World War II veterans in St. Petersburg on January 18, Putin was asked if it would be desirable to remove the term limit for presidents. "It would be very worrying to return to the situation we had in the mid-1980s when state leaders stayed in power, one by one, until the end of their days and left office without ensuring the necessary conditions for a transition of power," Putin said. "I think it would be better not to return to that situation." Putin, who has held power in Russia either as president or prime minister since 2000, is currently serving his fourth term as president. Russia is in the midst of a fevered discussion of what will happen when his current term ends in 2024 because he is not eligible to run again under the current constitution, which limits presidents to two consecutive terms. In his state-of-the-nation address on January 15, Putin, 67, proposed a raft of constitutional changes that, if adopted, could offer him various strategies for retaining power after his term ends, including by heading an enhanced State Council. Putin also told the veterans that Russia plans to open an archival center devoted to the history of World War II. "We will put a sock in the rotten mouths that some people abroad keep opening to achieve immediate political goals," he said. "We will shut them up with true, basic information." "We will put a sock in the mouths of all those who are trying to twist history, to misrepresent it, to belittle the role of our fathers and grandfathers, of our heroes who fell dead defending their motherland and actually the whole world from the brown plague," he said, referring to the danger of fascism. "We will shut those rotten mouths forever with those documents in order to teach them a lesson," he concluded. Russia has been locked in a war of words in recent weeks with Poland over the history of the war, including Soviet actions under the 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and the Soviet occupation of Poland and much of Central Europe after the war. "We respect soldiers' blood sacrifice in the fight vs. Nazism," Poland's Foreign Ministry posted on Twitter on January 18. "But in '45 Stalin's regime brought [Poland] terror, atrocities, and economic exploitation." The ministry also said that "unless [Russia] accepts its own difficult history, Europe would be under threat. Whitewashing Soviet crimes of the past is a threat for today." Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-s-putin-rejects -soviet-style-leaders-for-life/30384778.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 PROVIDENCE, Rhode IslandCan a live orchestra miraculously appear where there wasnt one before? Listening to classical musicians Eve and Alex Pappas describe their experience at Shen Yun Performing Arts, one could almost say so. In the beginning, we thought maybe it was pre-[recorded], we didnt realize that there was actually an orchestra there. Thats how great it sounded. And when we realized it was actually performing there, we just couldnt believe. It was beautiful! said Alex, who plays Baroque classical music in New England with his wife, a multi-instrumentalist, (Eve) Yvonne Makilya Pappas. The pair attended New York-based Shen Yun at the Providence Performing Arts Center on Jan. 19, 2020. Top notch! Something that you would see at a palace. It was just wonderful. Yvonne Makilya Pappas Everything was just absolutely exquisite, Eve said. Top notch! Something that you would see at a palace. It was just wonderful. Shen Yun seeks to revive ancient Chinas traditional culture and share it with the world through exquisite art forms such as highly-expressive classical Chinese dance. Every year, it sends seven touring groups around the world, each with its own orchestra uniquely comprised of Chinese and Western instruments. Im a classical musician myself. So I can really see the decorative [aspects] and the professionalism to it. It just looks like years and years of practice and I just absolutely loved it, Eve said. I would recommend this for anyone. It was so uplifting. Its great for all ages, and Oh it was the best thing I did for 2020! The essence of ancient China was its spirituality, which forms a key theme in Shen Yuns storytelling dances. This combination of dance, music, and divine culture received a warm welcome from the Pappas. We think its very exquisite, it included everybody. It showed how were all divine and how the earth can be a very beautiful, magical place and it was just, it was almost like a combination of everything wonderful you could ever think of, Eve said. The lyrics were beautiful, very moving, she continued. The bass had a magical voice and the tenor had a magical voice, too. The pianist was exquisite. We absolutely value them and enjoyed that. And I hope that the next show theyre just gonna keep coming and playing music for us. Wed love to have more. One of the shows messages, according to Alex is the different cultures and the different territories, everybody comes together and can enjoy music and dance and art. Its beautiful. And we want Chinese people to know that America loves them. We want more of it. We want more and more [Shen Yun], Eve added. To Shen Yuns conductor, choreographer, artistic director and all of the artists, the Pappas has warm words of thanks and encouragement. Thank you so much and just keep sharing your beauty and who you are inside. And each of them have such a magical place in our hearts. And I know were not related in culture, but we are related through music and art. We love them all so, so much, Eve said. It was very enjoyable. Well definitely come again. We really appreciate it, Alex said. With reporting by Wei Yong and Brett Featherstone. The Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time and has covered audience reactions since the companys inception in 2006. Revilla pushes for fund increase of LGUs' public health services A bill has been filed in the Senate making mandatory the imposition of 20-percent ad valorem tax on idle lands, ensuring funds for the local government units' (LGUs) public health services. Sen. Bong Revilla filed Senate Bill No. 1202, appropriating funds generated from the additional ad valorem tax on idle lands to the special health fund (SHF) of the city or municipality where the land is located. Under Republic Act 7160 or the Local Government Code of 1991, the annual tax on idle lands is five percent of the assessed value of the property, in addition to the basic real property tax. Currently, the imposition of the idle land tax is optional on the part of the local government units (LGUs) concerned. The bill aims to encourage real property owners to put idle lands into productive use, considering that land resources are getting scarce, Revilla said. "Land owners and developers that opt to keep private lands idle and unproductive should, in exchange, share in the burden of the public health care delivery through an enforced tax contribution," he stressed. Under the measure, Revilla proposed that the local health boards manage the SHF to be collected from ad valorem tax on idle lands. "The SHF shall be exclusively used to upgrade the facilities and equipment of local hospitals, rural health clinics, lying-in clinics, emergency hospitals, nursing homes and other health institutions found in cities and municipalities," Revilla said. The SHF under Section 20 of RA 11223 or the Universal Health Care Act, finances population-based and individual-based health services being implemented city-wide or province-wide by LGUs. It also covers the operating costs, capital investments, and remuneration of additional health workers and incentives for all health workers. In case of component cities and municipalities, 20 percent of the proceeds of the additional ad valorem real property tax on idle lands shall be allocated to the SHF of the province in which the land is located.